Xanadu Weyr - Caverns
A massive cavern in its own right, this one has been skillfully adapted for human habitation. The high ceilings have been painted a light, soft ivory, as have walls hung with numerous tapestries that provide brilliant color and insulation from the stone. The floor has been left in its natural state, pale pink granite speckled through with glittering mica and dark flecks of basalt. The stone is carefully leveled but kept sufficiently rough to avoid slips.
The cavern itself is loosely divided into areas, each one set up to be suitable for some segment of the Weyr's population. The most frequently occupied area is the one near the Kitchens, where tables of varying sizes provide a place to sit down and eat or chat and a buffet of consumables is almost always kept stocked. It's plain that on most days, this area wouldn't accommodate anywhere near the full population of the Weyr, instead feeding people in shifts as they come off duty. On occasions when a formal meal is laid out, tables are borrowed from all the other areas.
There's also a big fireplace set into the western wall, several comfortable chairs nearby providing haunts for elderly residents or riders who like a good view of all that happens. Rugs cover the floor in strategic spots, all of them abstract or geometric in design and most in the softly neutral colors of undyed wool.
Exits lead off in all directions, the largest an archway to the northeast that leads outside. Near it there's an alcove with hooks for coats and shelves for muddy boots. A tunnel to the east goes to the infirmary, and a set of stairs just a little south of that lead up to the offices and administration area. To the south, a long and sloping tunnel leads down to the hot springs. The kitchen is off to the southwest, while the residents' quarters are reached by tunnels going west, deeper into the cliff.
Hot, hot, HOT. As Mur'dah staggers into the caverns he's eagerly unbuttoning his riding leathers and pulling off the satchel that crosses his chest, the bag bouncing against his hip. *thump* it goes onto one of the tables, followed by his coat. Rolling up the sleeves of his tunic, the brownrider huffs and stretches, before stomping to the drink table to drink not one, but four mugs of water, one right after the other.
Yup, Rukbat is definitely still up there in the sky! Soriana… wasn't actually worried, but it's nice of the weather to reassure her. Sort of. She's near the kitchens, talking to one of the cooks quietly. Something about what the infirmary wants to feed people with given the heat, and why the healers can't talk in normal people language. She glances up at the sound of the thump, waving in Mur'dah's direction before she adds something else to the cook to finish off their conversation.
In comes another to escape from the heat! And not just the heat from the outdoors. It's probably not the best of times to be at the forges, but there Kiena was and there she stayed until her work was done and the Journeyman on duty cleared her for break. Probably for the best! The bluerider looks exhausted, but at least she wiped most of her skin clean but her hair remains in a frightful state. As she steps through the entrance, she'll spot both Soriana and Mur'dah. To the Weyrwoman, she nods respectfully and a small half-salute, half waves follow as she walks to where the brownrider is chugging water. "Don't you know that that is a prime way to set yourself up to be sick, hmm?" she drawls to Mur'dah with a smirk, edging around him to take one of the pitchers and pour herself a glass. "… and there's something to be said about sharing too!"
Rehydrated, Mur'dah gets a small plate and piles it up with two sandwiches and a bowl of fruit, precariously balanced, before he notices Kiena and winks at her. "Long, long flight today. Straight, to a cothold I've never heard of, to deliver supplies because the traders are sick with the plague…" He shakes his head and returns to his table to sit and open his satchel, removing a stack of neatly organized hides. "Ma'am," he greets Soriana respectfully, offering a salute.
At least on hot days the forges are just more of the same, instead of leaving smiths with wistful feelings about cooler air? Soriana wouldn't know, never having done more than visit there. Then again, she's spent enough time on the sands to have opinions from that, so who knows. She finishes talking with the cook, who turns to go back into the kitchens, "-and maybe get more water," Soriana adds before turning away herself, making her way toward Kiena and Mur'dah. She returns the half-salute from Kiena, then her hand hesitates as Mur'dah goes for the crisp one before she sighs and returns it, polite and proper. "Not going to melt, I hope?"
Kiena's brows knit into a concerned frown. "That's… a bit of troubling news." she mumbles under her breath, only to eye those sandwiches and the fruit Mur'dah has to balance in order to carry. "Eyes bigger than your stomach?" she teases him but all too soon she'll be helping herself just as… generously… to the food. Maybe it's after the sandwich, some finger foods, the (big) serving of fruit she grabs and a roll that she realizes she's edging well into the term 'glutton'. Eyes dart to Soriana, to the caverns and she oh-so casually tries to sneak the roll (or two) back. Ahem. Nothing to see there! "I won't be. Mur'dah might? I'm used to the heat, after all. 'N you? Care to join us?" Since Kiena is totally inviting herself already to the brown rider's table.
Mur'dah lifts a brow questioningly when Soriana sighs before returning the salute. "Everything okay?" he asks the Senior, flipping through the hides and pulling out a stack, setting it aside before the rest of his paperwork is returned to his satchel. Then satchel and jacket are pulled off the table and put on the back of his chair so he can begin to eat, flashing Kiena another grin. "This is just the first course!" He does /grin/ when she gets almost as much food though, but decides not to tease her about it. "Work in the forges today?" At Kiena's invitation he half rises, pulling out a chair in case Sori wishes to join them.
Soriana smiles to Mur'dah. "Hopefully." she says, and shrugs. "I'm sorry I've been Senior more than friend." She nods to Kiena. "Well, there's cool spots down in the stores if it starts to seem dangerous," she replies, then nods. "Only a snack for me, though." Compared to the feasts of the other two? Soriana picks out a few bits of cut fruit and some cheese, and brings them over along with a cold mint tea to set at the table. "Thanks," she says to Mur'dah's offered chair, and sits herself down.
"Careful you don't eat out the whole caverns. Somehow I don't think the cooks'll like you for that one," Kiena drawls to Mur'dah, followed by a smirk as she plucks up a slice of crisp and fresh vegetable and takes a bite. Snorting softly, she'll level him with a look but her mouth does quirk up at the corners with a hint of amusement. "Where else?" Looking over as Soriana sits down, there's a small smile given to the Weyrwoman, just before she starts at the response given to Mur'dah. Her eyes look between them and while curiosity is there, she'll politely look down at her heaped plate of food. "Tempting! I'll keep that in mind…" she murmurs quickly, concerning the stores.
Mur'dah smiles gently at Soriana, his eyes distant for a moment. "It's okay," he finally says quietly. "Out of anyone, I'd understand." He grew up with his mother balancing Senior and Mom. It's tough, and he knows just how tough. He winks at Kiena. "Eh, the cooks know me." But he doesn't say if that's a good thing or not. "Feel good to be back? What are you working on?"
"Yeah?" Soriana says to Mur'dah, and looks down to her plate. "She knew a lot of stuff I don't." She picks up a grape, toying with it for a moment. "But, well… I'm not going to ask you to do anything you're not comfortable with." She glances up to him, and smiles, then pops the grape into her mouth to eat it as she listens to them talk. "Just don't get lost down there," she says to Kiena. "We only have so many rescue whers to send." She's probably joking. Probably.
Kiena quietly picks at her plate, her eyes still shifting from Mur'dah to Soriana while they have their conversation and she does not interject or interrupt. Taking a bite of her sandwich, she'll wrinkle her nose when something inside of it doesn't quite agree with her. Bleh. She'll apparently forget her manners by fishing it out and… promptly sticking it to Mur'dah's plate. Here you go! Presents. At least it's not a present to Soriana? "Uh, yeah… it does?" Kiena awkwardly mumbles and followed by a shrug of her shoulders. "I was welcomed back without much fanfare and just put to simple stuff 'till I get the swing of things…" There's a pause and she exhales with a grimace. "No pun intended." Honest! "Still working on the design… And hey, no promises Soriana! Knowing my head of late, I'm lucky I don't get lost walking home."
Mur'dah pokes at his food for a moment. "You'll learn. She did. So will you," he finally says quietly, looking up again with a small smile. "Comfortable? In what way? All I ever wanted was to be friends, Sori. The salute…crap…I thought that's what you and Ka'el wanted. I don't know anything about being Senior though." He can't help her there. Then he picks up his sandwich, shutting himself up with a bite before he hastily swallows and laughs. "I'm not eating that," he says to Kiena when she 'shares'. Reaching out, he gives her arm a squeeze and a warm smile. "Just don't over work yourself, okay? What are you designing?"
Soriana just stares at Mur'dah. "What?" she just says. "When have I ever… ever… asked for a salute?" She shakes her head. "I don't speak for Ka'el. He doesn't speak for me." Soriana looks down to her plate and toys with a piece of citrus. Her mouth opens, then closes again as she gives her head another little shake. Maybe the watch she's keeping over her plate is to make sure Kiena doesn't deliver any presents there? Especially if the smith's fingers get as lost as the rest of her. "Follow the trampoline sounds?" she suggests, though her eyes remain on that fruit on her plate. Still, it's conversing.
Kiena pauses mid-bite and swallows, giving Soriana a sidelong look. "It's a respectful thing to do between a rider and his superior. Traditional. Doubt he meant it in any way disrespectful. Right, Mur'dah?" She'll look to him and resume picking at her plate, having hardly made a dent to the contents. She'll pout mockingly when her "gift" to Mur'dah's plate is refused. "But I don't want it? Now it'll go to waste…" she points out, only to blink when he reaches out to squeeze her arm. Chuckling, she'll place her hand over his. "No promises there. You know my habits but… to save everyone the headache of hearing it from the Journeyman, I'll try!" she mutters and she'll give him a brief and pointed look before turning back to her meal. "Our rings. Said I'd do it, so…" She's working on it! Between her other projects. There's a soft laugh, "If only it were so simple!" she mumbles around a mouthful of food. Quiet a moment, she then asks in a strangely quiet tone. "Everything alright…?"
Mur'dah glances up at Soriana. She never has, so all he can do is shrug. It was assumed. Ass-u-me-d. Then he's quick to shake his head. "Oh shards, no, it wasn't meant to be mocking or anything. Just…thought you wanted it, is all. And you never corrected me before." He eyes Kiena's 'gift'. "So? Plenty of food to go around." Then he grins, brightening right away. "Yeah? I can't wait to see what you do with them." His eyes then go to Soriana, head tilted a bit as he waits for her answer to Kiena's question.
Soriana tilts her head to look at Kiena, and exhales. "Of course," she says quietly. "I'm grateful for the respect." She looks on to Mur'dah. "I don't want to make people uncomfortable. Sometimes…" She shrugs. "They'd rather have a Weyrwoman." Soriana glances down to her plate again, lifting that bit of citrus to eat it slowly. Kiena's unwanted food, well, that's between her and the cooks. "Do they have a duty roster in the forges?" she asks Kiena. "So they know who's spent how much time there?" If not, should they implement one? Soriana's looking back to her food again when Kiena asks her that question, and she looks up to… huh, Kiena's looking at her, apparently. "…what do you mean?"
"I'll try to do them justice," Kiena admits and just a touch sheepishly to Mur'dah's enthusiasm for seeing the finished pieces. Taking another bite of her sandwich, she'll shrug her shoulders again while she chews and only speaks again when her mouth is clear. At least her manners go that far! "Uh-huh. There's logs and rosters and such," she drawls. "Gotta have them, else there's too many folks clamouring for the forges and not enough working on the other stages of things and projects overlapping…" Chaos, in other words. Tilting her head slightly, her brows knit from Soriana's question. "Just… asking how you're doing?"
Mur'dah nods in understanding. "Well I'd rather have a friend." Just so that's clear. He offers her a warm smile and digs into his meal once more. "Oh I'm sure you will, Kiena. I've no doubt." No pressure, right, his grinning, boundless confidence in her skills? "Did Skyler's turnday party go well?"
Soriana smiles back to Mur'dah. "I like having friends too. Just because I'm Weyrwoman in my office or when something needs doing… that doesn't mean I'm always Weyrwoman." She is, of course, but that doesn't mean she acts like it… or expects that other people will. Not all the time, not when she's just having a snack in the caverns. She has another grape around her smile, then nods to Kiena. "Well, that's good." Though, given the times she's been in the forges, chaos… seems like it's still a pretty apt description sometimes! "At least he's patient?" she says with a tilt of her head to Mur'dah waiting for those rings and a crooked grin. Also sure of Kiena's abilities, apparently! She glances from Kiena to Mur'dah, then nods. "I'm doing fine. Skyler's party went well. It was an utter mess, of course, but only in the ways you'd expect from having a bunch of babies running around." Er, crawling around. "Everyone seemed to have fun."
Kiena's quiet again as she listens to the conversation between Mur'dah and Soriana, nibbling on a few pieces of fruit before slipping in with her own soft spoken comment. "Friends are important." It's all she says on the matter, as the conversation is already shifting and perhaps for the best. Kiena smirks, but seems pleased by Mur'dah's faith in her abilities, which is soon echoed by Soriana. "Thanks, both of you. I'll try not to let you down!" That last bit is drawled, with a hint of amusement colouring her voice and followed by a chuckle. "He better be patient!" she informs Soriana with a crooked smile. "So long as everyone had fun, that's all that matters, eh?" Kiena remarks while poking at her plate of food, most of which has now been eaten. "I'd have brought Ellie and Ezzie, only they'd misbehaved from what I was told by their foster parents. So…" No party of them.
Mur'dah smiles warmly at Soriana, nodding his head in understanding. He laughs. "Of course I'm patient. I waited for you, didn't I?" he teases, grinning at Kiena and giving her a nudge. And that's a /total/ lie, too. There was no waiting on /his/ part. "Sounds chaotic, but in a fun sort of way. Yeah, I had duties, covering for Y'len while he's out with that broken leg." He taps the stack of papers thoughtfully.
Soriana smiles, nodding to Kiena as she slowly nibbles on her own small plate of fruit. She doesn't have much more to add about Kiena's smithing - not her craft! - but she does laugh as they get to the topic of the party. "Is there anything that has to do with babies that isn't chaotic? Other than the time they're sleeping… which is full of cleaning up the chaos?" She says it with a smile, though, then nods to Kiena. "They might have been a little bored anyhow. They're a bit too old for babies, I suspect. Though there were a few kids their age…" Being bored. So, really, it's for the best. She nods to Mur'dah as well. "Someone's got to do it!"
Kiena gives Mur'dah a lingering look for his teasing but it brings another chuckle and a return nudge to the side. "How sweet of you," she drawls with a little more sarcasm than needed as she jokes with him. Glancing to Soriana, she laughs softly and polishes off the last of her fruit. "Sadly, no and the chaos only escalates the older they get." How… reassuring? Not. As for the girls being bored, Kiena can only shake her head. "Perhaps but they had expressed interest in going. Only after their little stunt, they didn't quite deserve to go out. Might be a bit harsh but… they're seven Turns now, going on eight." Time they know better! For… whatever their transgression was. Kiena winces to the news Mur'dah shares concerning Y'len's misfortune, "Broken leg? Shells, that's some bad luck."
Mur'dah wrinkles his nose at the talk of baby chaos, turning to watch Kiena for a moment. "I think you did the right thing, not letting them go. They should know better by now…" Then a nod. "Yeah, he tripped over a shipping crate of all things…" Not a glorious way to break a leg.
"Something to look forward to?" Soriana says wryly for Kiena's notes about the future of children, and smiles. "Oh well, it's an adventure." A chaos-filled, messy adventure. She nods about Ellie and Ezzie. "They probably just wanted the cake," she says teasingly, then grins. "Can't say I blame them, mind." Discipline and rules… well, right now Skyler's not any good at looking forward to things more than about five minutes ahead, so there are limits to what she can try to do with him. Y'len's bad luck gets a frown, and she nods. "Here, I hope, and not some middle of nowhere hold?"
"Glad you approve of it! Next time it's your turn then to tell 'em "no" on something they want," Kiena drawls to Mur'dah and she grins. She'll get the popcorn ready? Soriana's wry comment earns another low chuckle from the bluerider and she pushes her now mostly-empty plate aside and slouches comfortably in her chair. "Guess I should enjoy them now being so young! They'll be teenagers soon enough and that just brings a whole different kettle of problems, doesn't it? And yeah, knowing my girls? It was probably the cake." Poor Y'len! Not that Kiena shows that much sympathy and concern for him but she does wrinkle her nose in response to Soriana's querry to Mur'dah. "We can only hope?"
Mur'dah grins. "You have /so/ much to look forward to, Soriana. It's a blast. They're so much fun. Aww, there was cake?" Stupid duties. He grins at Kiena. "I can do that." Confident…yeah. For now. "Yeah, here. Right in the bowl, pretty embarrassing. The first morning after we piled crates all around his cot in the infirmary." The brownrider grins.
"You could probably get cake from cook if you promised to bring some of it to Y'len?" Soriana suggests to Mur'dah with a grin, then laughs. "Oh, I'm sure there's plenty ahead of us, but one day at a time, right?" She looks to Kiena, and nods. "Each age in its own way, right? Even teenagers aren't so bad as all that. I remember being one." And she was perfectly fine, it was just all the various adults who were slow and didn't get it. Right? …okay, maybe not, but she's holding on to the delusion.
Kiena's smile to Mur'dah, though she does her best to 'hide' it by tucking her head down, is rather openly fond for the brown rider's energetic response concerning the girls and just children in general. "Uh huh? Alright. You'll get to face off the potential melt down then next time," she drawls, only to snort in disbelief. "You didn't! I'd almost say that was mean only… it'd be something I'd probably do… Hopefully Y'len took it in stride? Otherwise — yeah, what Soriana said! Take him some cake." Cake for everyone! Turning back to Soriana, Kiena laughs. "Oh, come on! A perfect teenager?" She's not buying it. "I was… heh… let's just say 'awful' is probably too light of a word but anything else I could use to describe ain't polite for public. Which is why I fear the future a bit. Ezzie's already acting too much like me temperament wise and Faranth only knows if Ellie will follow. If they do… I'm sorry in advance?" So very, very sorry.
Mur'dah grins. "That's a great idea. Bet we could both use some cake." He laughs. "Oh, he laughed, but…cake makes everything better. I'll do that, soon as I deliver this paperwork." Tap tap. "Considering I'm still a teenager…I'll have to just sit this one out." Smirk. "Oh I'm sure the girls will be fine. They've got a great upbringing."
Soriana just lifts her brows to Kiena's protests about teenagers, then snickers and tilts her head toward Mur'dah, the teenager in the room. "I'll let the two of you argue that one out," she says. So not getting in the middle! Instead, she's eating fruit and listening. Though… "Cake does tend to make things better. It probably cures broken legs, if you have enough of it!" Spread out over enough time… as in, long enough for the natural healing process to happen. "And you can give it to teenagers… or eat it all yourself… depending." She's got this all figured out! Maybe. Or else she's just pretending.
Kiena scoffs, giving Mur'dah another look but does not protest his comment concerning the girl's upbringing. That could lead to a long, rambling discussion and the bluerider just politely keeps her tongue in check for once. "Cake for all ailments, eh? Why haven't the Healers done this before? I'd probably go to the Infirmary more often if that were their prescription of choice…" she muses, glancing sidelong to Soriana and grinning. "Could be an effective distraction tool too, I guess. 'Here, have some cake and by the way…'! So simple." Now why didn't she think of it before? Stretching out her legs in front of her, Kiena grimaces a bit. "Shells, either the heat baked my head a little more than I thought or something in todays menu's not quite agreeing…" she mutters under her breath. That or she just overate! "… but I'm feeling it now. Could just slouch in this chair all afternoon!" Of course she won't, but from her tired looking grin, the temptation is there.
"So…" There's a pause while Mur'dah finishes his sandwich. "What kind of cake was it?" Looking over to Kiena, he gives her a look of concern. "Need some water? Or…nap, maybe?"
"I'll let the infirmary know," Soriana says with a grin. There will be cake for everyone! …or, more likely, she'll get some raised eyebrows and a lecture about how eating that much cake isn't healthy. Even the Weyrwoman can't do everything. To Mur'dah, she says, "Berry. Skyler likes fruit, so… it worked." Of course, usually his fruit's not covered in icing, but turndays are special. Soriana tilts her head to Kiena with a concerned frown, and nods. "The hot weather can make things a bit queasy…" she offers. Here's one thing that cake won't solve? "Might feel better for stretching out a bit… carefully."
It's worth a shot though! Then one can say she tried. Kiena seems to perk up a bit, at least enough to grin to Soriana at the mention of the cake flavour. "Skyler's got good taste for such a little fellow! Fruit is the best, be it on its own or in a dessert…" And maybe she'll just stop talking about food as it's not helping with the queasiness. Ugh. "Water would be nice. Probably haven't had enough," Possibly, probably but who knows? Kiena doesn't quite wave off either Mur'dah's or Soriana's concern, though she acknowledges it briefly with a half-smile of reassurance. It's nothing! Really. "Could be but it can be many things. Might get up in a moment to walk," Water first before she attempts that! Chuckling, she looks sidelong to Mur'dah. "Y'know I can't nap. I'm lucky if I sleep through a night. When's your next shift, anyhow?"
Mur'dah grins. "Perfect. Berry cake is one of my favorite." Along with all the other types of cake. Because c'mon. Is any flavor of cake truly /bad/? He pushes to his feet. "Tomorrow morning. I just need to deliver this paperwork then I'm off duty. Let me get you a mug of water, then I'll take this paperwork, then we'll decide what to do." He smiles warmly, bending to kiss Kiena's hair. "I'll be back." For Sori, he just smiles (no salute!). "Take care, see you later." Then the brownrider is gone, but not before delivering that water as promised.
Soriana grins. "Mostly Skyler likes anything," she admits. "But fruit's easy enough and healthy enough, so… it works well!" She laughs to Mur'dah about the cake, but then… yeah, maybe Kiena will be happier if they stop talking about food. She finishes up her food, while she's at it, then smiles and waves (but doesn't salute) Mur'dah as he heads off. "At least it's probably past the worst of the heat for today…" Or at least, she hopes! "The hot nights don't much help with trying to sleep."
"May as well give him all the fruit he wants in case his tastes change as he grows?" Kiena muses to Soriana. Enjoy it now, before he wants everything that isn't healthy! She smiles gently to Mur'dah and nods her head in agreement, "Alright. Just find me at the forges when you're done. See you soon!" If she ever gets out of her chair! That he sticks to his word about the water only has the bluerider smiling all the more as she accepts it with a murmured thanks and sips at it (cautiously!). "Heh, tell me about it! Dunno how the hotter regions stand it, like Ista and Igen. Even Half Moon Bay could be bad most months! Dunno if it's just this heat though." she murmurs as she lifts the mug to her lips once more.
Unhealthy things like… cake! Oh wait, they're calling cake healthy now. At least until the healers call them on it. Soriana laughs. "I'm just hoping he doesn't turn picky in a turn or two. So long as he'll keep eating a variety… I think we'll work it out." She smiles about the weather, then tilts her head. "Worried you've caught something?" With the plague going around, no wonder that's on people's minds. At least Soriana doesn't scoot away!
Kiena chuckles, "If he does, there's some clever ways to still sneak healthy foods in right under his nose!" Some of which the bluerider would be happy to share, as she's had to pick up a few tricks in order to keep her daughters eating well. Not that she oversees many of their meals! She may be grateful that Soriana doesn't scoot away but the guess still has her smirking crookedly. "Briefly it crossed my mind but no, I doubt I've caught that blasted illness." Still, she's careful to keep her voice low, less anyone overhear she's not entirely well. Silence stretches out as Kiena finishes her water and after setting the mug aside with her finished plate she pushes out her chair to stand. It's a gradual thing and she's clearly taking her time at it, whether it be by precaution or simply because she has more to say (or both). "Might've caught the other "p-word" though, if you catch my drift? Won't know for sure… yet. I've wagers set with Mur'dah over the outcome…" Wait, what? "Want in?" She… no, she didn't just offer that (she did)! Kiena chuckles and grins to Soriana, before looking out towards that entrance door. "I should be going." she murmurs. "See if I can't finish my quota ahead of schedule today… heat or no heat."
"Oh, I'm sure there are," Soriana says, and laughs. "We'll fly that when we come to it." No use borrowing trouble from the future, there's always enough to be had in the present. Like p-words! …which present is one of, come to think of it. Soriana tilts her head curiously as Kiena continues, then… "Oh," she says. An uncertain maybe thing! And Soriana looks a bit uncertain as well, given what Kiena's told her about the last time the bluerider went through this. "Which side are you wagering on?" she asks curiously, then nods to her. "Good luck, then! Keep hydrated!" It's the first step to not passing out, after all.
For now, Kiena's reaction seems oddly… calm about it it all and it's likely the uncertainty that's doing it. It's like a cushion (or a blind!) that blocks out the realization of what could be looming in the near future. So far it's only been words exchanged between her and Mur'dah, as any couple discuss. What ifs and various possibilities but they've always been just that: words. She likely still thinks it is. Only when a solid outcome is proven will it hit her full force and that "bubble" popped. "I'm wagering that I am. He is on the opposite side. So we'll see, won't we?" And perhaps it'll be different this go around but that is another what if. Kiena smiles to Soriana and dips her head, "Thanks, Soriana! Hope your day is just as well! Try not to hide too long in that office?" Chuckling, Kiena will linger another few seconds before turning to leave.
"Got it," Soriana says, then laughs. "No, I don't think I'll wager, but good luck!" Whatever that actually means in this case. She waves to the departing smith, and smiles. "Thanks! I'll do my best to make a timely escape." She grins, then clears up her plate and heads… back to the office! As expected.