Xanadu Weyr - Candidate and Weyrling Barracks
Xanadu's barracks are a massive, L-shaped amalgamation of caverns and construction, squared on one end, rough-hewn and oblong on the other, with weyrlings and candidates separated from one another by a large communal area. Wood and stone floors meet in a clever spiral pattern that interlaces and spreads, creating harmony in a space meant for completion of chores, classes, and storage of both dragon supplies and bedding for humans. A singular wooden door leads into an office for the weyrlingstaff.
Windows stretch the length of the candidate barracks, a long, low-ceilinged room that opens off the training grounds. One wall is slightly curved, set against the outer wall of the hatching arena, with a locked door closing off a tunnel that leads onto the sands. Cots are set in two rows along the length of the room, each with its own small press at the foot for personal belongings. It's always warm here when there are eggs on the sands; candidates seldom need more than a light blanket, but a diminutive hearth is available for the warming of beverages or the occasional firelizard-surprise.
The weyrling half of the barracks have been burrowed back into stone. Close and dark when shutters to the outside world are drawn, the ample paths between dragon couches have been lit with dim strips of light. Smaller couches are obviously intended for the very young weyrlings, while the largest ones at the back are for those close to graduation. A second small hearth abuts a massive cavern opening that slopes gently down to the training grounds outside.
Late morning finds Zachariah returning from the kitchens. Covered. In. Flour. Seriously, how did the teenage candidate get flour in his hair like that?
Seated at an otherwise unoccupied table, his brows drawn together in a deep frown and the tip of his tongue framed by the twin piercings through his lower lip where it's just peeking out as he concentrates, Velorn has the guts of a computer spread out in front of him. Blue eyes are comically enlarged by the magnifying goggles he's wearing as the young man touches a soldering pen to a circut board. His hair is wadded up in a knot at the top of his head. He's not so absorbed in his work that he doesn't hear someone else enter the barracks, glancing up and startling a little at the sight of the younger candidate. Woah. Quickly, he sets the pen and circut board down and raises his goggles, "Not that it's not a good look on you," being dusted in white, "but what happened? Get in a fight with a cake?" He doesn't bother trying to hide the amusement in his voice.
Zachariah wrinkles his nose towards Velorn though his brows do lift slightly at those enlarged eyes before the goggles are lifted up. His words are uttered at the end of a long suffering sigh. "I was told baking was easy." he laments. "I was told anyone could do kitchen duty but baking was the more fun part of it. I was just supposed to be making an easy breakfast item. He plops down onto a nearby chair to start tugging at one booted foot. "I told them I don't just learn from watching that I need to study the process…but noooo." the teen grunts once as he works on the now stubborn boot.
There's a quiet snickering from Velorn and he shakes his head in sympathy, "Ain't nothing easy about baking." He lifts his arms over his head, fingers laced together, and streeeeetches, back crackling quietly in a series of pops. He groans in satisfaction, an almost indecent sound, and lets his arms fall to his sides, "What'd you make?" So he can avoid it, probably. A small smirk pulls up one corner of his mouth as he lets his eyes roam over the teenager, "Need a hand?" He lets his voice drop to a husk rumble.
"You've tried baking?" Zach inquires of his fellow candidate. "Well then you understand. It aint easy. And I aint trying it again." he shakes his head vehemently. With his head down as he works on the suddenly stubborn laces he completely misses the back popping stretch and accompanying satisfied groan. "I made." he glances up briefly. "Breakfast biscuits." or he tried anyway. "I'm sure the lumpy ones can be used for something else." At the offer of help he grunts once again. "I can't." annoyance in his tone. "Get this lace undone!"
Velorn actually laughs at that, "I was a candidate at Fort back when I was still an apprentice." 'Still'… He's been a journeyman for less than a turn, "Dumbass me decided to keep studying my craft and do chores." Not doing that this time, though. Nope! He nods, wrinkling his nose a little at the thought of lumps of rock masquerading as breakfast, and pushes his chair back so that he can stand. He positively prowls over to kneel by the boy's chair, reaching out for the offending boot, "Let me." He's used to dexterous work like this. Or something.
"I don't have a craft to worry about." Zach points out. "Were you too tired from all that? D'lei told Zaira not to overdo it on chores and studying. Maybe you were too tired." he doesn't say that's why Velorn didn't impress but it's implied a little. An eyebrow lifts curiously at the prowling. "You hurt your back? Ol' Uncle in the caravan hurt his back once. Watched him crawl like that to the latrine."
"It was worth it." A small, whistful smile plays at the corners of Velorn's mouth and he starts to zone out for a moment before a very… unusual looking green suddenly appears just behind him to grab onto the back of his light tan tanktop, startling him out of his thoughts, "Clio!" Yeah, he doesn't even have to see her to know that his flying ball of rage is the beastie that practically attacked him, "Get off!" Instead, the firelizard just clings tighter. If his back wasn't hurting before, it probably is now… He blinks a couple of times at the notion that he'd hurt his back and being compared to an old uncle, "What?" He- what? "No." The Clio situation has got to be resolved, though, and it looks like the only way to do that is to get out of his shirt, "If you've ripped this one, too…" The threat trails off, unfinished.
Above their heads a loud *pop* and brief burst of coldness is felt as a younger blue firelizard appears from *between* with a loud squawk. Chittering loudly, for despite his small size he has a loud voice, he swoops around the older firelizard. "Blue! no…stop Blue!" Zach, forgetting that Velorn was working on his boot, stands suddenly to try to grab his firelizard.
Clio hisses at the younger firelizard, wings flaired and her back arching like an angry feline as she releases her grip on her… friend's… back. Though, really, the term 'friend' is debatable. Poor Velorn loses his balance and falls back with a thud, shirt halfway off. It would be kind of funny if it weren't for the chaos of the irritable green darting in the direction of his cot. He sighs in frustration, through there's a note of fond amusement crinkling the corners of his eyes, and shakes his head, "… Clio…" Well, there goes his idea of getting the kid's boot off.
Blue gives a high-pitched indigent sound of surprise and zooms away from the older firelizard. Retreating up high above the barracks he chitters and complains but doesn't leave his safe perch up there. Zach flails his arms slightly as his own balance is off set ( he's not the most coordinated person here) and falls backwards to sit heavy in his chair with surprised 'oof' escaping him. He does look terribly worried for the other candidate. "Are you okay? Did you get scratched? She doesn't seem to like you much." he notes.
Velorn sighs and finishes peeling off his shirt, shaking it out to look at the tears in the back. He shakes his head, his voice an irritated mutter, "Third one this sevenday…" The question about getting scratched has him craining his neck to try to look over his shoulder at his own back, "Probably." He folds his legs up and lets the shirt fall into his lap, still held in one hand, while holding up his right hand to show off a bunch of pale scars, "Wouldn't be the first time." His firelizard is a vicious little thing. Clio settles on her favorite victim's cot and suddenly pounces on a well chewed bone that's nearly bigger than she is that's sitting on top of his press, growling happily as she gets to work on reducing it to splinters. Vel gestures over his shoulder in the direction of the growl, "She's better since I started giving her stuff like that." Thank Faranth for rider friends willing to part with their dragons' leftovers!
Zachariah watches Clio with a mixture of revulsion and fascination. "Do….all firelizards do that?" he lifts one hand to point at the bone being reduced to splinters. "I've never seen Blue do that." a brief glance is cast upwards towards the blue who is still chittering and squealing in annoyance though no longer in the ear-piercing range of hearing.
"Clio's… special." Velorn's expression is wry, "Tried to take my finger off when she hatched." Fortunately, that first time, anyway, she missed. Absently, the older candidate reaches up to feel around behind his shoulder to check for damage, "… I really need to get a vest or something." Something all leather and padded so that Clio can hang from it all she wants. His attention turns back to the craftless one, "She's panicked while sleeping across my shoulders and got tangled in my hair before." He rolls his eyes, "Seriously thought about getting it cut for a while." The hazards of having long hair.
While he's sitting he starts to rework the stubborn laces on his boots. After all he is still flour covered. "A vest sounds practical." he's all about being practical. "As does shorter hair perhaps. I would think it'd be painful if she gets all caught up in your hair." a pause to glance towards Vel. "Then you'd prolly have to cut it anyway to get her out." Zach smirks faintly at the image of the firelizard being cut out of someone's hair.
Velorn pouts, shoulders slumping, as his hand moves from feeling up his own back to protectively pat at his hair just below where it's piled on top of his head, "I like my hair, though…" Finally taking note of the still booted teenager, he makes a face and scoots closer to grab for it and take over picking the laces loose, "Gimme that." The nice thing about working with delicate wiring and electronics is that it requires nimble fingers. It might take a little work, but he does finally get the younger teenager's foot free, holding the offending footwear aloft triumphantly, "HA!" One down, one to go.
Zachariah leans back to allow those nimble fingers work their magic with those stubborn laces. Gratefully he says "Thanks. I thought I'd be stuck in that boot forever.' absently he pats at his flour-covered legs which sends up a puff of white into the air.
"Yeah. No problem." Velorn smirks up at the younger candidate, already reaching to take care of the other boot. Whether Zachariah actually needs the help or not, "Dunno that I ever actually caught your name." He's been staying busy with computer craft stuff, after all, "I'm Velorn." Since he doesn't know, or maybe just doesn't remember, the kid's name, he might as well introduce himself, right? "The beast back there is Clio." One thumb is jerked in the green's direction again. She seems to sense that she's being talked about and raises her head to look at them, spreading her wings to hide her chew toy and hissing. The sudden cloud of flour has Vel jerking back a little in surprise and coughing twice, waving one hand in front of his face to clear the air.
Zachariah isn't the greatest at names either, hopefully he remembers this introduction, so it's possible introductions had been made and forgotten. "Zachariah. Or just plain Zach." a gesture upwards. "That's Blue. For lack of a better name. He feels inclined to explain why the blue firelizard is so plainly named. "Oops, sorry!" he's quick to apologize at the flour cloud. As the other boot gets untangled too he wiggles his sock covered toes. "Thanks! I think flour got into my laces."
Velorn chuckles, coughing once more, and shakes his head, "S'fine." A flipant two fingered salute meets the introductions, "Well met, Zach and Blue." The firelizard's name does get a slightly smirkier smirk, but he doesn't comment on it. It's a very apt description, after all. With both boots finally dealt with, his smirk grows into a full grin, "Anytime. I needed the break, anyway." Soldering is tedious, hot work, after all. There's a snicker at that last, "Least it wasn't adhesive or solder." Now that's hard to get loose! "Ruined a couple sets of laces," and lots of other clothing, "that way when I was an apprentice." But only right at first. He's not completely incompetant, after all. If he were, he'd have never have made journeyman!
With his boots off Zach moves over towards his cot and trunk at the foot of it. Digging through for clean clothes he pulls out some. "You got solder on your laces?" interesting. "I should get cleaned up before it's time to help with lunch. This time with no baking!"
"I was, like, twelve!" Velorn protests his innocence. Or something, anyway. Yeah. It happened. "I was just starting to learn how to solder." He shrugs, pushing himself to his feet once the younger candidate has moved from his chair, "I prefer programming, anyway." It's… easier. Not as messy. He walks over to his own cot, eying the disassembled compter as he passes it and then eying Clio, "Darling, you are going to have to move. Just for a minute." He needs to dig out a fresh shirt. And should probably get those scratches on his back looked at… Carefully, he reaches under the edge of the cot for an old towel he keeps there, quickly throwing it over both firelizard and bone to roll out of the way, snatching the first thing his hand touches out and sprinting toward the exit before the firelizard can untangle herself, "I'll see you later, Zack!" ZOOM! He's gone. Still bare chested. …And barefoot. Oops.