Friends with Kids
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Xanadu Weyr - Firelizard Theater
There are many different things to look at here. In the northern part of this field lies a massive fort made out of wood. About 10 feet to the right of the fort, there are wooden sit-toys carved in the likeness of dragons and even painted as such. In the middle of the field are two sets of swings suspended from a wooden beam, held up by two wooden beams on either side. To the left of the swings is a 5 by 6 rectangular box filled not quite to the top with sand from Xanadu Weyr's Beach. To the right of the swings are monkey bars, completely crafted out of wood. In front of you are two seesaws, both made out of wood. Finally, to your near left are two benches underneath a large Lemosian Ironwood tree. You find yourself standing in the Courtyard of The Firelizard.


Evening draws over Xanadu, the dwindling sun lessoning the blinding effect of the snow that's settled over the Weyr. That doesn't keep everyone inside though. After grabbing a quick snack to eat while she walked, Kera meandered around til she found herself at the playground. Taking notice of a little one-armed snowman someone made earlier, the apprentice takes the last bite of her roll and brushes her hands of crumbs. Bending a bit, she reaches down for a sad looking little twig and jabs it back into the place. There, you're healed. With a little snort, Kera's boots crunch across the snow til she flops into opne of the swings.

There isn't much time in Ka'el's days (shards, life) for him to get bored. Between getting up early for mandatory conditioning (aka, running…lots of running and lifting), dragon prep, drill practice, flyovers, ground patrols, dragon tack maintenance, dragon maintenance, and rescue practice…there's little left for Ka'el Time.. But Ka'el Time does come around once every few sevens, and today he finds himself with one of those rare rest days where he can dress in regular clothes and do whatever he wants! ….. He's bored. -.-; His rider friends are on duty. He hasn't had any opportunity to really hang out with his girlfriend in sevens, and of course now she's doing weyrwomanly things. And going door-to-door looking for entertainment isn't really his thing. So Ka'el is out looking for his own, which brings him here. Maybe he'll play with some of the local weyrbrats? Oh ho, even better! Spying Kera on the swings, he grins and heads towards her, hands gloved and scarf around his neck. "Hey!" he greets when near, hopping up to stand on the swing next to her, grasping at the chain links to keep himself from falling over.

Not everyone is inside and a playground is likely the last place anyone ever expected to find Kiena. Yet the bluerider is there and she is not alone as she idly walks, her boots crunching over the snow and pausing frequently. She looks distracted and her eyes are constantly darting around but it soon is apparent why as two little girls, only a few months over three Turns come wandering out from the wooden fort. They're dressed for the weather and despite the evening hour drawing in are still active — another reason why they may be here and not inside. Energy burn! Talking (more like babbling) amongst themselves and laughing, the two girls meander right over to the swings with the bolder of the two going right up to plunk herself down on a swing on the opposite side of Kera with a brightly chirped "Hi!", while her shy sister hangs back and peers at the apprentice. As Ka'el arrives as well and hops up on the swing, both girls stare at him in that wide eyed fascinated way and Kiena approaches, eyeing the one on the swing. "Don't think about it." she mutters and that girl promptly parks her behind back on the swing. "Evenin'" she goes on to drawl with a crooked half-smile.

Kera settles more comfortably on the swing, while wrapping her arms around the chains, then sorta hugging herself. With a little nudge, she drifts one way, then the other slowly. As she stares off into the trees and continues to give little absentminded nudges of her feet to keep her in motion. Snowcrunching footfalls draw her attention towards Ka'el, "Hi Ka'el." offering her friend a little nod and smirks "This explains why ya didn't seem to be at your weyr a little while ago." The giggling sounds and more snowcrunches catches her attention and a little smile is offered to the young girls "Hello there." Kera wiggles her gloved fingers in greeting, then again to the rider she before. "G'evening ma'am."

Look at that! Ka'el's already being a bad influence, and he's not even trying. Kids, this is how /not/ to swing. Probably the surest way of falling off and breaking an arm! He sways his body a little so that the swing swings slightly forward and back as he stands on the seat that's meant to be sat upon. "You came by?" he says to the apprentice, brows shooting it. "Ah shard it, sorry! Yeah, I've been…doin' a whole lot of nothin'. I felt like I was going to explode if I stay in a minute longer, but walkin' with no goal isn't much better." He smirks, attention flitting to the little girls. Oh look, entertainment! (because isn't that what children are?) He eyes the little ones, glancing from the one on the swing, to the one not on the swing. Then back. And again. And then he grins, because not smiling at kids is a mean thing to do! Finally, his attention is drawn to Kiena. "Don't look now, but I think y'picked up a pair've wild beasts," he stage whispers.

The bolder of the twin girls simply beams up at Kera and Ka'el both, waving back though her eyes remain riveted on the bronzerider's not-safe way of being on the swing. So much so that she's even forgot to actually swing. The shy girl just shuffles her way around, giving both rider and apprentice a wiiiiide berth as she peers at them and says nothing as she goes to cling to Kiena's leg. Hello shield! The bluerider sighs, but rests a hand gently on the girl's shoulder. Ma'am? Brows lift and she blinks at Kera. They've met before, haven't they? But just in case… "Ain't no ma'am — really. Kiena works just fine." she muses with a faint and crooked smile. Eyes then dart to Ka'el for his stage whispering which only has the bluerider smirking, yet still amused. "So I have and wild is only half of it! Want 'em for the night?" she drawls, glancing to Kera as well. She's kidding, right?

Kera loosens her hold on the chains and leans back, regrasping the chains with her arms outstretched, assuming a bit of a lazy slouch. A nod canted towards the bronzer with a little chuckle. "Tell me about it. I can't wait til the weather breaks and can go swimming again." Nudging her feet lightly, she peers back towards Kiena and the young girls, grinning quietly at Ka'el's beasty joke. Eyeing the bold girl's rapt attention of Ka'el, she glances his way and after a moment frowns when something occurs to her. "Ah, yea. The wild beasty that ya are /not/ setting a safe swinging example for there Ka'el." Wouldn't the bronze rider feel just *horrible* if the little one got hurt trying to swing like that. Looking back to the bluerider, Kera laughs a bit "Oh, I can see it now. Me trying to hide'm in my little half a trunk and hope the Headwoman not find out?" A small shake of her head is given as she grows a little more serious, just a little though. "Sorry, can't help ya. Me and little Mini bout all that will fit in the dorms."

Want them? Uuuuuuh .. yeahnothanks! Ka'el eyes the girls again, as if considering taking one of them off of her hands. "I have had experience childsitting once," he says thoughtfully. "The child didn't keel over. I fed her .. somethin' or another. Meat or something." Granted the knowledge of cutting the poor kid's food wasn't quite something he knew he was supposed to do. Pft. Men. "What d'you say?" he asks, eyes on the one in the swing. "Want to come with me for a while? Fly on a dragon? Do some exercises and training?" He grins, then considers Kera's input. "Example?" He allows the swing to go back and forth once before he continues. "I'm showin' them the most advanced way of swinging. Only do-able by those with great balance! It takes /turns/ of training," he says, looking from the swinger to the hider, brows lifted. "But once you've mastered it, it's the only way you'll want to swing." Best babysitter ever! He smirks, though Kiera is now given a questioning glance. "Who are these girls?" Unless he's been totally unobservant, he's never seen these kids before. Perhaps she's the one who's childsitting right now.

Kiena snorts softly as she overhears Kera's comment on the weather breaking. "I'm with you on that. It'd be nice to be warm again and not worry if there will be ice or not when you wake up." she mutters, only to grin when the apprentice calls Ka'el out on him leading a poor example. Though the bluerider happens to disagree. "It is an advanced form of swinging and just as fun but a bit much for them quite yet." Cue another pointed stare at the little one in the swing, who had begun to wrap her arms up the chains in preparation to attempt it again and sullenly pouts as she's caught. Darn it! Kiena tilts her head at Ka'el and then is clearly trying not to laugh out loud for his thoughtful retelling of his once childsitting stint. "Typical!" Men! She glances swiftly to Kera. Right? "Feedin' is generally a good start to keep 'em from keelin' over." she says teasingly, only to be drowned out as both girls chime in to the offers from the bronzerider, even the shy one! "We ride on Uji and sometimes Suldith!" "What's your dragon's name?" "Can we go now?" That'd be the bold one. To Kera, one asks: "Why'd we hide? Do you have a dragon too?" Ahh, innocence. Kiena only stares at both Ka'el and Kera, though mostly to the bronzerider she shoots the 'look what you did now' look. It's likely very few have ever seen these girls, as Kiena never speaks of them (openly) and they usually are in Western Weyr. "This is Eliana." The shy one is drawn up closer to her side, while her free hand points to the girl on the swing. "And I'm Ezsrisa!" The girl happily informs all. Beam! "They're my daughters." Kiena finishes in a quiet voice. Not so much beaming.

Kera cast a disbelieving yet amused look to Ka'el, listening to his speel of advanced swinging techniques. Chuckling softly as her gaze rolls towards some snow covered branches and some lizards fluttering and darting through them a few seconds. Kera smiles around the gathered group as Ka'el continues enticing the young girls with thoughts….excercise…training… Someone needs to help those poor children before the bronze rider. "Gonna teach then the finer points of cheating at kickball? Don't forget to mention they need a huge dragon to block the target zone." Kera laughs and nudges her feet to keep her out of the bronzer's reach, flashing an amused glance to Kiena and nodding agreeably. Both to the wished for swarmth and the idea that it's generally a good idea to keep the little ones fed. When the barrage of questions begins, Kera smiles and turns her gaze to Ka'el before she realizes some of those inquiries are directed to her? With a little shake of her head. "Me? No, I'm not one of the dragonfolk." She flashes an uncertain glance towards Kiena, unsure why anyone was hiding but peers back to the young girl with a little shake of her head and smile "I don't know why ya were hiding littlebit. Nice to meetcha. I'm Kera." as the introductions are made.

Heh-heh, Ka'el likes that one. That sneaky one on the swings who was caught red-handed trying to stand up! Don't worry little sneakster, he'll teach you one day. But not today. In fact, Ka'el steps off of the swing altogether, hopefully to lessen the temptation a little. "That's what people say, anyway," he comments to Kiena about feeding children. "Apparently, these things are like … regular humans, but tiny sized." Fancy that! He snerks at Kera and juts his chin up a bit. "I've never cheated in my life…" *cough!* He beams a grin at her, then looks at the smaller girls as they're introduced. "Well met, Eliana," he says, grinning to her and bending down a little as he does so. "And Ez…Ezsrisa? That's a mouthful. Anyone ever call you Ezzie? Ezzie and Ellie. That's a good pair've names, innit?" He straightens. "Yup. I have a dragon. His name is Kanekith an' he'd love to give you both a ride someday. His back is big enough for all've us! And ..er…" He glances to Kiena to make sure she's really not planning on dropping these kids off with him. Everybody will regret it. And his eyes stay on her as she speaks more information about the twins. Uh.. her twins? "…No shi-.." He holds his tongue but continues to boggle. "..No way. Yours? Like, they came from…" he makes a round-belly gesture to his stomach-ish area.

"What's kickball? And why a dragon needed to cheat?" Ezsrisa chimes in again to Kera, not seeming to care at all that she just barges right into the conversation. She's begun to swing a little now, or as much as she possibly can given her small frame. There's only a nod given when the apprentice says she's not a dragonrider before the girl is frowning. "We're not hidin'! You said you'd hide us?" Her nose wrinkles as her eyes lift to Ka'el. What's this about their names? "Nooo. That's not our names. Ezz-ri-zah. Eh-lee-ana." There! Kid logic. You got it wrong, now let me show you! "Kanekith is a nice name." That'd be Eliana piping up shyly. "Kera too." Both girls brighten considerably for the bronzerider's offering though and Kiena only shakes her head and smirks at him. Someone just volunteered themselves! Unknowingly. "You heard right," she informs him. "It ain't that hard to mind them… when they're calm." Which never lasts. The bluerider then looks confused by Ka'el's remark, only to scowl when he makes the round-belly gesture. "Duh? Where else do you think?" she remarks sarcastically, giving little Eliana a nudge forwards to try and encourage the shy one to do something other than cling to her. Which of course encourages the stubborn-clinging and leads only to Kiena sighing as she gives up.

Kera begins drifting forward and then back again slowly with little nudges of her feet, gaze slipping from one face to another as the conversation progresses. Frequently her head is shaking, even though she is clearly amused, by Ka'el's antics and tall tales. Though she gives hmm an obvious /DUH!/ look at the belly gestures he makes towards Kiena. Men! Why bother? No hope for any of them. Turning her gaze back to the little girl, the apprentice grins "Kickball is a game, and /some/ people can only win if they have a dragon to help them." Her eyes roll pointedly towards the Bronzer then away with a shrug to her shoulders and all toooo innocent smirk "I'm just sayin.." Thinkin a moment, she nods to herself, oh yea, she did say that didn't she. "I meant I would get in trouble if the headwoman found ya, so I would need to.." She glances to the bluerider with a look that clearly says /help!/ even if she is very amused by the young girl's efforts to *teach* Ka'el how to say her and her sister's name's properly. Knowing how horrible she is with names at first, Kera smiles, but doesn't dare risk joining in the bronzers lessons "Thank you, both of your name's are pretty too."

So babies come from bellies, eh? Maybe someday someone will educate Ka'el on just how those babies get in the bellies. … >.> … Joking! "But… you've been here for .. turns now, right? At least one. Two? I've never…seen them…before. You don't keep them with you?" Uncharted territory here. A rider he is! A rider with children, he is not. And apparently he's never quite understood children not being with their parents from birth til they make something of themselves. Hold born and bred, this one! But although it seems as of poor Ka'el is lacking tact when it comes to asking what could be considered personal questions, he does seem to have a knack for talking to kids! It couldn't be because he's such a childish one himself, right? He makes a twisted up face as poor Ezsrisa breaks down the names for him. "Uh-huh. That's what I said. Ezzzzzzie. And Eeeeellie. And it's good to meet you! I'm Ka'el. A friend've your..ma's. Kiena, a mom. He's still wrapping his head around that one, so much so that he doesn't even think of a quip back to Kera! (gasp)

Men! Kiena would agree with Kera on that, to a degree. For now though she only flinches slightly as Ka'el goes right into uncharted territory. Uncharted and awkward territory. She knew it'd come up and though her cheeks color a bit and her eyes narrow, darting between him and Kera, she answers him. "No, I don't. They usually stay in Western Weyr, with their foster parents—" Cue the 'helpful' chime in from Ezsrisa. "And with 'da! He's the Weyrleader!" Grin. Kiena barely manages to keep from grimacing. Whelp! So much for leaving that unknown, since it wouldn't be too hard to put two and two together if one knew enough of the bluerider's past… Not that she offers any more. "It's a long story." she mutters, which is hint of either: I don't want to talk about it or not now, maybe later. Kids are right there, after all! Both twins listen again to Kera and it's Ezsrisa who speaks up again. "Can we play kickball too? With no dragon? And noooo!" she protests, glaring as angrily as she can at Ka'el. "That's not right at all!" Pout. For a second, before she's blinking and looking from him to her mother and sister. "Oh!" Nice to meet you! "So we can all play?" Kera is included with that too. Uh oh. RUN! Eliana only shrinks back against Kiena when Kera mentions hiding them away again. "I dun wanna…" But before things can go further, the bluerider is motioning to Ezsrisa as she glances towards the evening sky. "Come on. Play will be for another time." If they ever are brought back to Xanadu before they're older and have long forgotten this exchange. It'll take some effort to convince the one girl off the swing but Kiena manages and with them both at her side now she gives Ka'el and Kera both a crooked smirk and an expression that is difficult to read. "Enjoy your evening, you two. I've got to see 'em back before they're too tired to walk." And then it's the slow exit, as she's locked to the pace the girl's set and there's a chorus of farewells from the girls before they're out of sight.

Kera just has to snicker a bit at the scolding Ka'el is receiving from the little girls. She doesn't even attempt to hide her amusement while nodding to the little girls "Perhaps we can play sometime." She adds a little conspiratory wink "With no dragons." Not questioning the bluerider over issues that are clearing not the apprentice's business, she simply nods and wiggles her fingers to the trio when Kiena starts herding her daughters back to the Weyr. "Have a nice evening." Then she's leaning back in the swing, a little kick before she's swinging forward a bit.

Woah. And even more to take in! Foster parents. Yeah Ka'el has heard of those. Does he 'get' what it's all about? Er.. Perhaps weyrlinghood should add a few more lessons? And then, more! The Weyrleader? Of Western? Ugh. He can't help the face that he makes at that. Not the childishly playful one he gave to little Ezsrisa, but instead a twisted face of disgust that likely is not meant for any of the girls present. But, with the little girls present, he does at least attempt to keep his opinions to himself, and that scowl shifts back to a relatively neutral look as his eyes flit to Kiena. But he says nothing, seeing that look on her face and hearing her mutter, and he nods once in reply. Gears shift, and when he looks at Ezsrisa again, the playfully confuddled look is back. "It isn't? Geeze, why must your name be so hard!" He laughs, though it soon is obvious that the family is leaving. He waves to both little girls and speaks a goodbye to Kiera and sits down (correctly) on the swing once the three are gone. "Learn somethin' new every day."

Kera nods agreeably to Ka'el's statement after the trio head off. "So the day's not a total loss then is it? Now that ya learned something." A little grin might be seen as she kicks a few more times on the backward swings to send her a little bit higher next time. She doesn't go crazy with the height though. Back and forth the little nudging kicks send her, and she glances over to Ka'el once the quiet has stretched a moment or two. "So what's got you so quiet and thoughtful all of a sudden?"

"That," Ka'el replies, nodding in the directed of the departed three. "I never knew that about her. I mean, all this time, an' to not have her own children with her? Not mentioning anything about them even once.. It just….gives me things to think about, is all," he says as he lightly rocks back and forth, pushing on the balls of his feet against the snowy ground. He adjusts his grip on the cold chain, glad that he has gloves on. "Sorry you came to an empty weyr. Hopefully that won't mean y'won't ever knock on my door again. I like company," he says with a light smile. "An' speakin' of, want to get dinner with me, or have you already eaten?"

Kera glances in the direction the little group went with a little understanding nod at where her friend's thoughts have gone. Having only met the woman once before a few months ago, she simply remains silent on the subject. Glancing up to the bronzer when he removes himself from the swing, she gives a little shake of her head. "I ate before I wandered out here. You go ahead. I'm gonna stay here a bit before I go track down Minimur." She does give an agreeable nod though "I'll stop by again when I have some free time, don't worry." Waving off the hungry rider. "Go get yourself something to eat. Oh! And give my best to Sori will ya? I've not been able to catch her yet to give her the present I made for her." Kera winces, feeling a bit guilty at that. "Have a good eve'n."

Ka'el nods in reply to her. Alone time. He understands that. Not today for him. Today, he needs company to fend off the gnaw of boredom, and luckily there should be plenty of that to be found in the Caverns! He rises from his swing as he listens to her request. Soriana? Ha, to give his best means that he'll actually have to see her, which reminds him that he hasn’t and that he misses her… sigh. The joys of dating a weyrwoman while being a Galaxy rider! But he nods anyway. "Sure thing. She'll love it if it's anything like mine." He waves to her then turns to trudge through the snow for warmth and food.


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