Xanadu Weyr - Stables
The Stables of Xanadu Weyr are composed of one long building, lined with box and standing stalls that are kept thoroughly clean by the resident grooms and stablehands. Runners nicker and neigh at everyone who enters, save for the obstinate ones that just flicker their ears in indignant curiousity that they dare not make visible. The foremost stalls near the door to the Barn Yard are the grand box stalls which are home to the prized runners of Xanadu, as well as the most pregnant, those which are so far along that they require constant observation by the Herders, so as to ensure easy foaling.
However, the primary design of stall which lines the broad pathway that is covered in saw dust which is the main avenue of the Stables, is that of the Standing Stall. Many runners are in the standing stalls, with ropes strung across the front so as to keep the runners from leaving their designated containers. A few hay bales sit here and there along the avenue, some of which act as seats for the stablehands and grooms on their breaks, others as snacks for those runners who can reach out their necks far enough. Buckets and baskets of grooming supplies, brushes and combs, and the like also sit here and there, occassionally knocked over by a wayward hoof or inquiring muzzle.
"'Rissa! 'Rissa!" Datsun comes calling as he trots into the Stables, looking around. The Woodcrafter walks over to a stall door, peering inside a stall, then the next stall and the one after that. A moment's pause as he notices one of the wooden boards is a bit loose. "Hrm. Another loose board…" Sigh.
Idrissa is leading a large black and white runner back into the stables from outside. At her name she peers around blinking and catches sight of Datsun. "Hey Datsun, what's up. Something wrong?" This questioned while she leads the large runner into it's stall, and goes about unhooking the halter.
"Right, coming through, please don't squish the fowers. Thanks, move out of the way." In comes Tsenik, with one of the biggest floral arrangements he's had to do yet. And it's causing problems, because people stop and stare as he makes his way through. Minna?" He calls out, looking for someone in particular. No responce, "Minna? Flowers for you?" A hand rubs at the back of his head and then there's a loud squeel and some woman rushes over to assault poor Tsenik who looks more than a little uncomfortable. "Err.. from your boyfriend, right, here you go." And he'll slink away while the female's distracted. Run! He ducks behind Idrissa and Datsum, "Hide me!"
Datsun blinks, looking at the large runner, "That's a handsome runner." is commented before he grins at Idrissa, "No, nothing at all. Just this loose board but I can fix that in a flash. I was bored and decided I'd come calling for you." However, the odd scent of flowers in a place of horse scents distracts him momentarily, turning around and peering at Tsenik, "Hide you? That can be arranged." And Datsun opens the stall door that he's currently by, "Get in there."
Idrissa glances to the runner and then looks back to Datsun and offers him a smile and nods. "Well, I imagen there is a few around here. The wood has a lot of wear and tear in some palces you know?" Her gaze turns to Tsenik and she blinks and then ums before pointing to the stall she is in and pulls Tsenik in with her and closes the door enough to hide him. She'll ask why later!
Tsenik sighs softly as he scoots into the stall, glancing over the edge to see the outcome of the squeeling female, "I /hate/ that." Tsenik grumbles quietly, seeming to relax once the female seems to wander out of the stable carrying the rather large bouquet. "How are you two doing, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb your chat."
Datsun glances around the stables, "Yes, I can see that." Seeming to sense a business opportunity, the Woodcrafter sidles over to Idrissa, peering over the stall's gate down at the other two, "Say… you think your superior would be open to a complete retrofit?" Tsenik gets a raised eyebrow, "No worries. Watch out for that pile." A finger is pointed at a horse patty. "It seems your flower business is doing quite well. You must be wealthy by now."
Idrissa tilts her head while watching Tsenik and ahs. "I see.. Don't worry I think your safe in here." She offers with a smile and nods. Her gaze turns over to Datsun and she lifts a brow while smirking faintly.
Tsenik continues to peer over the top of the stable gate and only seems to relax when the stables falls silent again. "Eh? Me? Rich?" Tsenik laughs at the very thought, "If I was rich, I wouldn't be staying here. I'm saving up for my own shop, and trust me, I'm not in anyway rich. It costs a lot more to do stuff than you think." He looks over his shoulder at the horse patty in question, "Eww…this is why I don't come in here."
"Saving up for your own shop? That takes a lot of marks, so that means you /are/ rich. Just that you're reserving your marks." answers Datsun. "I would imagine it'd cost to start up stuff but not as much to maintain it. You already have your tools, your flowers, all that stuff, yes?" Idrissa gets a peer at her smirk before Datsun wanders over to the largest runner in the Stables, "What's his name?"
Idrissa chuckles softly and hums while tilting her head to look within the stall and smirks. "Could be worse Tsenik. You could have to muck a stall." She points out with an amused tone while she slips out from the stall and brushes her hands off. A soft hum escapes her while she follows after Datsun to peer at the runner and smiles. "That is Goliath. Beautiful an't he?" She questions while leaning in to rub his nose.
Tsenik shudders at the thought of mucking up a stall, "I think I'd throw up. I have a weak stomach for that sort of stuff. I'd end up making more of a mess than I would cleaning it up." He pushes shifts away as far as he can from the horse patty, already looking a little shade of green. "I'm not rich, I'm not even near the point where I'd be close to buying a shop. It'll take me forever at the rate I'm going."
Datsun reaches out to pet Goliath as well, "That he is. If I'd ridden a runner like that during my travels, I certainly wouldn't have let him go." Agreeing with Idrissa, glancing over his shoulder at Tsenik, "Well, if the flowers aren't bringing in enough marks, why not start doing something else on the side to bring in extra marks? A dating service or something like that. Not that she needs it." His head jerks at Idrissa.
Idrissa chuckles as she hears Tsenik. "It's really no that bad, I promise you." But then she has been doing this for a rather long time actually so maybe that isn't a problem to her? She nods and smiles to Datsun while looking in at Goliath, whom whinnies out. "I worked with a bunch of work runners, there great really." She blinks and peers at Datsun curiously. "Wait…what?" Is questioned with a unsure tone.
Tsenik shakes his head, "I'll leave you to the runners, I'll stick with my flowers. At least they smell good and they don't come from animals." His eyes flicker towards the runner curiously, but then his head is jerking to Datsun. "A dating service?" One of his brows dissapears into his bangs, "I don't know how I'd go about doing that. I try to stay out of relationships, especially considering what I do. People'd get jealous too quickly."
Datsun blinks, turning around to face Tsenik but still keeps one hand on Goliath. "It's simple business sense, really. More dating means more flower business for you. I'm no expert on dating but I'd say a good way to start a date or ask one out would be to send a girl a flower. So both sides would benefit you, marks-wise." A smirk at Idrissa, "I said you don't need a service because you already have someone. A certain Apprentice." A brow raises at her before turning his attention back to Tsenik, free hand opening up the pouch on his belt. A half-mark is pulled out and flipped over to Tsenik. "I'll be your first client. Find me a girl."
Idrissa blinks and blushes as she hears Datsun, a soft ah escapes her and she chuckles while lifting a hand to brush a few curls out from her face. "Ah… Well yes." She smiles as she thinks about Kale and she blinks before looking to at the talk of Tsenik looking for a girl for him?
Tsenik arches a brow, "Ah, you guys hooked up? I thought it looked like you guys were kind of an item. Not that it's any of my business." Tsenik looks over towards Datsum, considering his logic. "Find you a girl but I don't even know what sort of girl you like. And I don't even know how I would get to doing that sort of thing, and that would mean me taking time to get to know a girl for you." A hand rubs at the back of his head, "So…I'm not sure I feel comfortable in finding a girl fo you."
Datsun smirks at Idrissa's blush and Tsenik's words to her, "Great color on you, by the way, 'Rissa." That smirk turns into a smile at Tsenik, "Ask your flower clients. I'm sure they'd know lonely people. As for what sort of girl I like…" A shrug, "Shells, I don't even know what kind of girl /I/ like. Maybe something like this…" He takes his hand off Goliath and makes the curvaeous outline of a woman's body with both hands. "A pleasant personality. Definitely not one who's a dimwit. Well, nothing worth earning was ever easy. Of course, you don't have to do it if you don't want to. But you've already got a half-mark in your hands and that's a half-mark closer to your flower shop."
Are we talking about girls? What a perfect conversation for Kale to enter in! Because as it is well known, he is the master of relationships and all things romantic. .. *cough* Not. He enters the stables with a rolled note in hand, looking vaguely sweaty. Unfortunately, even on free days, if a random Journeyman asks you to run an errand for you … well, you run the errand! Blue eyes dart here and there til they alight upon a stablehand, to which he hands the note over to and exchanges a followup message verbally. Said stablehand looks none too happy but nods. With that mini task done, Kale is free to run off and pla-.. hey wait. People he knows! Hearing familiar voices, he gravitates towards the small group, grinning. "Hey! Havin' a stable party an' not tellin' me about it? Psh. I thought we were all friends."
Idrissa blushes even more as she hears Tsenik. "Um.. well…" What can she say to that? "Who brought up this conversation?" She questions while clearing her throat and eyes the two in front of her. Her gaze rests on Datsun and she smirks a bit before hearing Kale and ohs while blushing for a moment before attemping to hide it. HAH as if that ever worked.. "Hey Kale. Oh totally.. We was gona tell you, just later."
Tsenik looks over the stables again, seeming to deem that it is safe to venture out the stalls, "You keep the mark, Datsun. I'm not really sure I could find someone that'd be right for you, and I don't really want you to pay for something that I'd probably fail in." He offers a smile to the other male, "But! I'll keep my eyes open for you, okay? If I meet any girls I think you'll like, I'll introduce you." He winks playfully and nods a greeting to Kale. "Heya Kale!" Another quick look to the area, "I think I'm gonna duck out, she's probably gone now and I have more deliveries to get done before the day is over."
Datsun shrugs, "Very well." The half-mark is taken back, re-depositing it into his pouch and pulled tight. "Sounds good." A wave after the departing flower dude, tilting his head to look at Kale, "Kale. We are. However, Mr. Flower Man does bring up a good point. What kind of girl would I like?" He wonders, "What do you think?"
"She?" questions Kale quizzically, but Tsenik is already off. Huh. He shrugs a little, though turns a questioning look to the two left, slowing as he joins them. "Was he bein' chased by a rabid female canine?" he guesses, smirking after. Datsun's question is, to him at least, random. But he wasn't part of the previous conversation! "Er…" Wait, is he asking him? He glances to Idrissa, brows lifting a bit. "Uh..well, y'like..wood, so maybe… a girl that likes bein' outdoors?" he assumes, eyes back on Datsun now. "An' a girl that likes to go around places, cuz you traveled around a lot. And a girl that is…nice lookin'?" Yes. Total expert here!
Idrissa glances after Tsenik an a faint ah escapes her before she shrugs and looks over to Kale curiously at the question he is asked. A bit of amusement seen and she hums before nodding. "Perhaps someone that doesn't mind a little dirt at times. I mean, someone that isn't so primp and proper sorta deal." There is a pause. "Does that make sense?…" She looks well, unsure now.
Datsun hmms softly to himself at Kale and Idrissa's answers, nodding at Kale, "Something like that." is his response about Tsenik, raising an eyebrow. "So… someone like…" The Woodcrafter sidles closer to Idrissa, draping an arm around her shoulders, "Her?" There's a mischevious glint in his half-grin, waiting and watching.
Kale grins a little at Idrissa's addition, already ruling out one rather prim girl off the list of possibles for Datsun! But that's alright, for that only makes Kale's own chances with her go from zero percent to … er, one hundredth of a percent, maybe. Moving on up in the list, little by little! He looks to Datsun now for his take on their analysis, and his answer … huh. That does sound a lot like Idrissa, doesn't it? And hey, where's that arm of his doing around her like that? "Uh, yes .. but no," he replies, giving him the stink eye. "Idrissa is.." His? Er, not really but.. "an apprentice. You can't go arond with her. It's improper an' you'll be in trouble." He's not sure if this is entirely true, but it sounds good!
Idrissa nods slightly and smiles to them both. "Well I'm sure there will be plenty of girls around that would fit that bill. What about Susan…" There is a pause as Datsun moves to place a arm around her shoulders and she blinks, a glance sent towards Datsun before she looks back to Kale. She watches him a moment, as if wondering what he might say. "Ah… Ya.. I bet it isn't good for you to date a apprentice right?"
A bark of laughter issues forth from Datsun, "Improper? What do you call two apprentices kissing each other on the beach in full view of people?" That particular excuse is thrown back at Kale, smirking. "You both listed qualities, and they all fit dear Idrissa. I mean, don't we look good?" He moves his head, placing it next to Idrissa's. That stink eye of Kale's is noted, waiting for his response.
It's good to know that Idrissa is on board with his thought processing, and the fact that she isn't (or at least doesn't appear to be!) swooning at Datsun's attention is encouraging. But who really can be sure what goes through the minds of girls? They're such fickle creatures, and Datsun /does/ have that older guy appeal about him. The mentioning of their flip the coin kiss his him lifting his chin in a defiant sort of way. "That was different. Plus, we're both apprentices, so it's alright." So says he! He squints his eyes a little, sizing up the image of the two've them. "Eeeh … no, not at all," he says, shaking his head. "She's too pretty for you. And now I know the perfect girl for ya. There's an ogre of a girl that lives down the coastal road. You 'n her would be like two peas n' a pod."
Idrissa watches Kale, wondering what if anything he could possible say, or will he say anything after everything now? She is even more unsure at hears Datsun about the beach, and is blushing rather hotly at the moment. "Um…" Is about all she can get out at the moment. Her gaze rests on Kale for a few moments more, an at his answer she was well…hoping for him to perhaps say something else? She soon attempt to inch away from Datsun. Well, at least he thinks she's pretty?
Datsun breaks out laughing, stepping away from Idrissa, one hand coming up to facepalm his face as he turns to face Goliath's stall door. After a moment or two of laughter, the Woodcrafter seems to regain control of himself before looking up at the curious Goliath peering down at him. Somehow, the sight of the horse causes him to burst out laughing again, turning and facing Kale, "Ah, Kale!" The Journeyman lifts his eyes to lock on the Smith Apprentice, suddenly serious. "What's the name of the ogre girl?"
Blink blink. Hm. Possibly … growing older means one loses his mind! If that'st he case, Kale is staying fourteen forever, no matter how much closer his birthday is inclined to inch towards him. The laughing Datsun is given a bewildered look. At least he's broken away from Idrissa, a fact that causes a vague sort of tightness in his chest to loosen. A feeling he wasn't aware of til now. "Are you alright?" he can't help but ask before the journeyman asks a question of him. "Er Tegan, I think. I don' really talk to her.." He eyes him. "But she's /awful/." If he's going to hook him up with someone, he really doesn't want to be known as the guy who got Datsun and Togre (as she's so lovingly referred to by boys his age) together! He looks over to Idrissa and, not able to read her mind, grins her way.
Idrissa is quiet while half listening to the two, she brushes off her hands across her jeans. A slight nod is offered to Kale. "Ya, I'm fine." She says softly, a faint smile offered to him before she moves off to work on getting up the runners grain, an well letting the two boys talk for a few moments on there own it seems.
Datsun follows Kale's gaze to Idrissa, watching her return to her work before moving closer to the younger boy, placing a hand on the other's shoulder, "I'm perfectly fine. I was joking with you both." Then he lowers his voice so Idrissa can't hear him. Then a finger comes up and taps Kale's chest before Datsun steps away, "As for Tegan, I'm actually thinking about Tsenik for her." A grin is flashed.
Kale senses "Datsun says, "You should've seen the look you gave me. She's yours, you know that, don't you? Kale, my friend. You need to listen to your heart.""
Kale glances at the hand that's settled upon him, though he seems to have to problem with being touched. Heheh of course Datsun was joking! Kale knew that all along… He'd claim this if he was ever asked, anyway. And so he laughs as if to show that he was perfectly in the know the entire time, though the sound quiets in order to hear the softly spoken words. He can feel heat rising to his ears, gently rendering them pink. "Sure.. yeah.." he says in reply to that, nodding quickly, a hand lifting to rub at the back of his neck. Luckily, Datsun's joke, or what he hopes to be a joke, is easy enough to laugh at and focus on instead. "I don' think even all the flowers on Xanadu'll help him with /that/."
Idrissa doesn't hear much of the conversation between the two as she is working on carrying grain to several runners. Though she does look over now and then..
Datsun smiles lopsidedly at Kale, "Yeah, after all, I doubt ogres like flowers." His hands pat his stomach, announcing, "I am /famished/. I'm going to go find something to eat. See you crazy kids later." A wave as he departs. However, when he passes Kale, he suggests some advice. "Talk to her." Then the Woodcrafter's gone.
Talk to her? That's super advice, and Datsun isn't the first to give it to him. But what everone is forgetting to add to that is … just what it is he's supposed to say! Isn't life scripted? Someone forgot to give him his part. Kale watches Datsun as he heads off, and he nods a bit belatedly. Apparently, he's processing things a bit slowly today. "See you!" he calls in his wake. "An' thanks…" spoken a little softer. With Idrissa busy, he flops down on a mound of hat, arms crossing behind his head. "Need help?" Because he looks so ready to help right now as he lounges.
Talk to who? Idrissa looks over an notices that Datsun is gone. "Well… If you want? Sure." She says with a smile and points towards a bucket. "Just a scoop of grain into there feed bins." Rather easy, right?