Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Barracks
A long and roughly oblong cavern, about a third of the space is open, used for classes or chores as required. The rest of the space is filled with couches of varying sizes, all with plenty of space between them. Some couches are obviously intended for the very young weyrlings while the largest ones at the back are for the older weyrlings.
Lan and Zhaoth, have moved their things in the barracks to the furthest cot away from the other weyrlings. Since the barracks at one point could house thirty, the seclusion is not that hard to obtain. Zhaoth is currently sleeping, forepaws crossed and back legs kicked out to the side, wings tucked in, tail over Lan's thighs. Since the lockdown, Lan has done what was asked for, speaking to no one other than his lifemate. With the time of day only implicated by the beams of light in the room, the hours slip by slowly. At least Ers'lan has found a book, in which he is currently attempting to read. Many times it looks like he is sounding out a word that stumps him, writing down the said word on a pad of paper to his side. It was time for self-improvement, and he was taking advantage of it.
Keziah has rotated in with the changing of the guard. Seems she's a very unhappy camper and many of the weyrlings are ignored. She doesn't even glare at them. Pretty much just making sure they're doing as was required of them. However, a few she seeks out, at least to watch them. Basically making sure they're doing okay. These are the ones that have been caught up in the crossfire. A few of those have already been released from quarters upon their chat with V'dim. She makes her way towards the back of the barracks and notes some of the changes. Seems a few others have sequestered themselves as well. However, 'lans studiousness has caught her attention and she heads his way "What are you studying?"
Ers'lan seems enraptured in his own self thought, his own learning as it was, flipping the page on his book without a glance up toward those coming or going. They would use his name if they wanted his attention. So, onwards he studies, stopping at the trouble spots in the lines of text. A finger marks the page when the voice of his one of his weyrlingmasters inquires after him. Eyes climb languidly off the page, drawing the book back with his other hand so that she might see the title: Stories from Across the Sea. Just better than a children's story book. His mouth purses a little, voice taught, as if half expecting some ridicule for the book he was reading, "Bri whar helpin me learn ta read 'n write. I be tryin ta better meself."
Keziah looks just a little startled at those words "Oh." Not what she expected to hear, but then she never did give much thought whether or not someone hadn't been taught to read and write. "So, how are the stories? Anything interesting in there?" she asks as she leans back against a nearby wall. "Having any trouble with it? Though by the looks you do have some skills down. Definately not just single words and pictures."
Keziah gives a nod "Must a bit hard though right now with not being allowed to talk with each other for the moment." she notes with a thoughful look. "Hmm, so tell me about the one about hunting treasure? That sounds like an exciting story to hear. ANd there's nothing that needs helpin' with at the moment. Just checkin up on ya all." she notes quietly and looks away momentarily. Obviously something else on her mind but she seems to be leaving it for the moment as she looks over the weyrlings.
Lan glances over toward the rest of the barracks, a slight debate there seen upon his face. Answering with a shrug, he murmurs, "Narh as hard as it looks." A scornful reproach for some of the empty cots, for those who might've gained leave of the barracks ahead of others. The writing pad is glanced at again, his lips working silently over some of the more difficult words there upon. A minor annoyance flashes over his features, gaze flashing up at the request to repeat the stories, "Iffin ya want ta know, ya can be readin it fer yourself." The book is lobbed over toward the end of his cot, where she is likely to stand. Finally, he leans back, his skull thumping up against the head rest for her lingering, dawn blue eyes regarding for a lengthy moment until he blandly remarks, "We be fine."
Keziah starts as the book hits the cot she turns to look at Ers'lan and her face turns into a mask at his words. "I see. Well, never mind then. I don't need any stories." she says as she stands back up straight away from the wall. "Well then, maybe I should just leave you to your studies then. Obviously, not wanted." she notes her voice kinda flat. "Good luck with V'dim." she does say after a moment, her voice having dropped to a near whisper.
Zhaoth is the first that seems to react to the emotions, his eyes opening up with a gentle roll of his head. The brownrider looks to quickly be in conversation with his lifemate, shooting a sharp glare over to Zhaoth as the brown settles his head back down, as if nothing happened. Tossing the writing pad to the side, he swats the tail of Zhaoth off his lap to stand, sending one final look toward Zhaoth as his hand reaches out to stop Keziah from going, meaning to catch her wrist. "Wait…" he finds himself saying, his other hand skimming fingers over the book that he tossed, picking it up, "I be readin some ta yah iffin that is truly whar ya want."
Keziah stops as her wrist is grabbed. There's a deep breath taken as she stands there. "I wouldn't want to put you out." she murmurs. However, even though she hasn't turned around as of yet, she hasn't pulled away either. "And I wasn't asking you to read to me. Just to tell me about it." She sighs a little. "I know you're probably pretty mad at me right now. And I am sorry. I know it's alot to ask your forgiveness, so perhaps your undertanding as well? I can't go against Thea or V'dim. You have to stay here until he's talked with you."
The man looks down at where his hand was holding her wrist, torn over his next action, as there his hesitation. His hand does drop away, when she doesn't pull away or turn back to him. The book is dropped back onto the cot, his eyes staying down with the said novel. Shifting, he drops down to sit on the edge of his cot, hands to either side of him. "I be not askin ya to go against them. I be knowing whar caused this and it was narh you." Shoulders slump a bit forward, chin is down, "That dun explain yer words ta me the other time." There's a beat, eyes remaining on the floorboards, "Yah be having no idea who I be, yet ya jumped down me throat when I did narh have me a direction marked out on a map. Narh everyone can be so quick ta know whar life is ta be like."
Keziah winces a little and then she carefully turns around. "No, you're right. I don't know who you are." She shakes her head a little "And it wasn't because you don't have a course charted or however you wanna pharse it, but that you seem disinclined to find one." She closes her eyes and sighs a little and throws up her other hand. "I dunno. I just dunno. " she groans a little "Maybe this was a mistake. I shouldn't be doing this."
The younger man lifts his face when he notices the motion of her pivoting, his eyes upon her face the entire time, hands clenching the end of the bed frame. "I be thar way because I dun narh know whar ta do with myself. I never be thinking Zhaoth would happen. T'wasn't even a thought. Being a rider be not even a dream of mine. I be standin because I be asked ta stand and because I be lost even before. I lost me life, out on the Azov." His answers sincere, tinged with shaking emotion, hands drawn up now to bunch in his lap and roil together, "T'was hard ta believe I be starting over, with Zhaoth. Unlike me craft, I be knowing little bout this life." Eyes drift between her and the floor, then back over his shoulder at his lifemate. Finally, he grunts toward her, "Tisn't jus me that not be knowin." There flashes a little smirk, reaching out for her hand again, meaning to encourage her to sit down next to him. "Whar be a mistake? Talkin ta me?"
Keziah gives a little nod "Understood. It is a different life and all, it does take some getting used to." she startles a little as her hand is grabbed. "Umm, yeah. I umm uh, yeah. I, uh." she stops and takes a breath "No, I shouldn't. I uh." she huffs a little and then sits. "No, not a mistake to talk." she shrugs a little and then doesn't elaborate.
Clearly, the reaction is not one that he expected, so his encouragement lessened a touch, as if second guessing. Yet, when she does sit down, he just stares at her, eyes widened a touch around the edges, his mouth parted a space. "Whar is the matter?" he says, befuddled by her general response to merely sitting with him. Eyes dance away from her however, flashing toward the otherside as brows furrow in ponderance, as if trying to put pieces together, knowing some are missing. The former-sailor lifts a brow toward her as he glances back, speaking lowly, "Whar be going on in yer head…"
Keziah coughs a little "Well, still tryin ta learn the in and out of being a weryling master and all. You know boundaries and such." She nods a little. That sounds good. "And umm." she pauses a little as if searching for something. She pauses a moment as something seems to come to mind. "Well, that and umm. Mirai. Yeah, Mirai. Umm, I dunno if I should tell you this." she pauses as she looks him over "No, you wouldn't take advantage of it." a pause and a closer look and then she grins "You better not. But Mirai has some kind of a crush on you."
Ers'lan makes a bit of a noise of understanding at the mention of learning what it was to be a weyrlingmaster, clasping his hands together, resting them on his lap in the meantime. The moment she starts fumbling for words, is when he regards her yet again in that quizzical manner; brow perched, squinted eye, jaw flexing. There is confusion in his dawn blue gaze when she speaks of not taking advantage of it, in unison with the name of some unknown girl. When at last the news comes, he blinks a few times, then gives a loud snort, "Aye, thar be a good story. Dun reckon I even know a Mirai."
Keziah shakes her head "No, doubt you've met her even as a candidate. She's my daughter." she says by way of explanation. She sighs a little "Course, she's seen you. Well the whole Weyr has seen you." She shakes her head a little and then rolls her eyes "She's eleven almost twelve." she notes with a long suffering sigh. "And it seems yer the one she's decided to have her first puppy love on."
That sharp look suddenly clouding his eyes is the look of disapproval and alarm, "D..da..daughter?" he stutters a little, running his hand through his short hair, eyes wide. "Faranth… Tis narh me fault, I dun nothin ta encourage it… her…" he frowns at Keziah, almost a concerned look, as if he would be taken to task over the idea. The worst news of her age comes with the man's eyes widening even further, shock there and evident. Mouth is hung open. With a shake of his head, a dubious tone rises from him, "And ya be narh tryin ta stop her? Shells, whar ya trying ta do here?"
Keziah watches Ers'lan and she nods and then stands up "Yes, daughter." she shakes her head a little 'Oh, I know it's not your fault and I'm sure you haven't." She pauses and then smirks "Aside from being your big hunky sailor self." she snorts a bit. "Oh aye, I'm doing something to stop it. I'm lettin ya know. I trust that you will discourage it." she notes and then looks at him. "As for what I'm tryin' ta do? Warn ya?" She shrugs a little "It's a little odd having my baby girl grow up and discovering guys. I thought it was bad enough with her wanting a daddy, maybe this crush is my fault as well. I never got her a daddy so now she's looking for a man herself." she sighs "I guess I am a failure." She stops "Forgive me. I shouldn't drop my doubts on you. Faranth knows I've caused enough dragons to panic." She turns away again.
Lan withdraws his head back an inch as his eyes blink, quick reflection done, "Whar? Ya think I be a 'big hunky sailor'?" There is some amusement cutting through the previous tension, a chuff of laughter for her words. "Aye, dun reckon I be having much of a choice-" said with a thumb back toward Zhaoth. He stands up finally, drawing himself closer to her, listening to her mention her failure to locate a father figure for her daughter. With heartfelt sincerity and a hand that pops up onto her shoulder (if she does not evade it), he'll offer a gentle squeeze while he murmurs, "She be lucky ta have a mom that be lovin her. Tis not everyone who be gettin even that." He shakes his head to her own self-doubts, "Ya, but a great man be telling me once, that iffin ya dun narh fail, ya do narh learn." He lets that hang for a mere moment before he adds with a gentler voice, still rough with his accent, yet softer, "I reckon ya narh be a failure due to narh finding a man ta be her ph'dar. Tis fine Keziah…" he looks over the rest of the weyrling barracks, "Yah be learning like the rest of us."
Keziah just smacks her forhead with the heel of her palm "No, Mirai says you're a big hunky sailor" she groans a little "I wouldn't be sayin' yer a big hunky anything." she wrinkles her nose, more for the words than anything. At his hand on her shoulder she does stop talking. "Thank you." she murmurs softly "I'm lucky to have her. I think it was a lucky day indeed when she washed up on the beach." She turns back around "True words those. But sometimes failure can lead to others deaths, and thats what I can't have. I can't lose you guys." she hmms a little "As for a father, well maybe if I'd found her a father figure. I dunno. Almost 12 turns and I still be learnin' with her."
Lan makes a comical face, the sort of face one would do to cover up disappointment, a hand going to the back of his neck to rub it slowly, his hand now moved away from her. There's a slight 'Oh' made for the fact that Mirai said it, "I see. I reckon I best meet this Mirai, since she be thinking I'm something." There is clearly a jest in his tone, his lips quirked into a smirk, looking ready to back away incase she reacts to his words of meeting Mirai. For the rest of it, he leans back on the post of his bed, arms crossing, a shrug, "Ya be not losin us yet. I reckon the danger comes from flyin, aye?" He cans his head over his shoulder to regard Zhaoth, who was awake by now, content to just watch. Lan rolls his eyes at something unsaid between dragon and man, eyes sliding back to Keziah, "Aye. Wait… whar…" he gestures with his hands to roll back some, "Whar ya mean ya found her on a beach?"
What? Kezi admit any attraction felt? Right… She just shakes her head a little "She be something else. She's been wanting to come out and meet you guys." she notes and then she purses her lips "I almost brought her with me to the lesson." she hmms and then she nods a little "Yeah, flying and even more so betweening. I don't want any of ya to end up in rock like the weyrling back in that cave." she shudders a little a that. And yeah, she was in a basket. Like someone had abandoned her. Sometimes though I almost wish that maybe it as an accident. Someone's ship went down and she was lucky to be in it. It wasn't like a regular woven basket and all, it was water tight so it'd float.. but I dunno. I just hate to think that someone just got rid of her."
Ers'lan wears a smirk that carries for a time during their conversation, nodding a bit at the mention of her daughter meeting the weyrlings. "Best ta maybe narh do it durin a lesson, iffin we be all emotional. Tis emotions we battle, since I know Zhaoth be hightening mine… all the time…" He looks back over his shoulder, the brownling's lips pulled back as if he was smiling, showing teeth all the same. Lan gives a quiet chuckle, peering back at Kezi when she speaks about the baby in the basket. "Be it that she was put in it ta survive. Even iffin she be put in it on purpose, the mother would have had a purpose. She be lucky fer you finding her…" he trails off, then asks, "Ya never had yer own children?"
Keziah shakes her head a little "No, none of my own body. But Mirai is mine." she states almost defensively and then coughs "Yeah, no lessons. My anatomy lesson though was certainly not quite so near umm violent." she hmmphs a little "THough, I suppose there's a purpose. There's always a purpose." she snorts a bit. "So, how are you taking the hightened senses?" she asks as she flips around on the subject. How is your bonding coming?"
"I be meanin no offense," quickly spoken to the mention of having her own children, awkwardly scrubbing his hand through his hair, rolling his head to the side. As for the matter of the lesson, he grunts a little, "Rudeness. Some need tah be dialed in…" likely a reason he's still in the barracks while others are not, since he does hold people responsible for what they say. Wrinkling his nose, with finger scrubbing his stubble, he eventually dismisses the conversation of what happened during the lesson for the talk of his lifemate. An arm extends and he flexes it, his eyes sliding over the bulging muscle, there's a teasing smirk over his formed muscle, "Whar ya think? He be making me train fer hours a day, longer and har…" he can't hold it, and starts to laugh, shaking his head as if for her to dismiss his jest. In all sincerity, he turns his face back to her with a smile, "He be tough on me, nuthin new. He wants the best from me. Tis hard to deal with anger tho, he be hightening that a lot. He be making me deal with whar be causing it."
Keziah just snorts "Oh yeah, long and hard." she rolls her eyes. Then there's a blink and slight blush. Yeah, scratch that last remark. She makes a wry face at his laughing and just shakes her head a little "Well, ain't nothin' wrong with wantin the best of ya." she notes and head tilts a little "Dealing with it huh?" she eyes the dragon and then Ers'an "Might not be the best idea right now. But something to definately talk to V'dim about" she notes after a moment
Ers'lan chuckles at Keziah for her own response to his playing around, though it lightened the mood, if only for a while. Folding his arms across his chest once more, he nods at her, "Aye. Tis hard ta deal with, whar be inside. Tis whar made me … me." There is a pang of honesty in there, as he looks back over his shoulder, a hand dipping down to grab that book he was previously attempting to read. His fingers brush over the title of the book, smirking at something as he sweeps over the word 'sea'… Inhaling a deep breath, he shakes his head, "Nay. Tis up ta me to deal with it. Be no one else, save fer Zhaoth."
Sahazyth is curled up on her couch, but she has rarely slept since the lockdown even if Briana has. The girl at present curled up against her side finally asleep as the gold mantles over the girl protectively. When Briana hasn't been sleeping she has been quiet and withdrawn. What she thought was not an issue anymore slapped her in the face yesterday and it is clear that it left its stinging mark.
Keziah snorts a little bit as she eyes Ers'lan "No. Not right now. Right now you need to take advantage of those with the knowledge to help with these things. Like V'dim." she states "Doncha be stubborn on this now. I mean it." she hmmphs a little and plants her hnads on her hips. "Don't make me pull rank on ya aShe hmmphs "Honestly." She pauses and says in a quieter tone "You're not alone now."
Sahazyth gives a low warble of greeting to Keziah and a softer look towards Ers'lan and his dragon. They defended her and her lifemate, she will forever now look well upon the pair. The movement of her dragon causes Briana to stir a bit, but for now she does not yet wake.
"Tis narh his business… I dun even know him… Why would I confess in things that be deep ta me heart?" The two are talking near Lan's new cot, since he packed up his things and moved to a point of seclusion from the rest of the weyrlings, especially after what happened on the beach. Zhaoth is half drapped over on the man's cot, awake now, but noiseless, listening to the weyrlingmaster and his rider speak to one another. "Kezi…" he murmurs, "dun pull rank on this, narh this. I dun need ta be forced ta talk to anyone. I be better ta deal with it now, with Zhaoth.. Be this narh whar it be all 'bout." A glance up has him looking over to Sahazyth, Zhaoth too tilting his jaw up, making a greeting sound to he young queen.
Keziah eyes Ers'lan "Not even after 3 months?" she asks and then shakes her head a little. "Fine, whatever. I've already proven I don't know anything." she states "And yeah, sure you're right. The Weyrlingmaster doesn't need to know about the anger or anything else like that. Nope. Not a bit. After all, all you guys are wonderful at controlling yourselves and your dragons and I'm just an idiot. Good day." she turns away again and starts walking towards the front she pauses a moment near the gold as she warbles and she tips her head "Sorry to have woken you."
Ers'lan sighs heavily, throwing his hands up in his exasperation when Keziah leaves. Instead of trying to stop her this time, he just sits heavily on the edge of his bed, while Zhaoth nudges him in his back - hard. « Oil. » Is all that the young brown says, an insistant tone that doesn't allow Lan to dwell on Keziah any longer. "Tis a woman. They make no sense at times Zhao… Tis narh my fault. Aye… she be my superior… Aye… Aye… AYE…" a growl of frustration as he goes and gathers a pot of oil, grumbling all the while.