Xanadu Weyr - Thea's Weyr
This clearing is sheltered by a thick canopy of trees, which seems supported at its centre by an immense, wild-growing fellis tree. Hanging from one of its high branches is a swing, made up of two ropes and a seat of softwood and leather. The grass is tall here and interrupted in places by clusters of white and blue alyssum. Alyssum covers the indentation of the wallow, remaining hardy despite being continually crushed. The constant sound of herdbeast in their pens can be heard close-by, though its source is invisible through the foliage.
Early afternoon in Xanadu with one of the last days of Fall hurrying towards Winter, a day unusually warm for this time of the Turn. It's a pale sun that shines through the nearly-leafless branches of the huge fellis tree in Seryth's clearing. Seated on the swing under the tree is Thea, her lap a make-shift desk, the clearing her office. Someone's tired of being indoors, apparently.
Is that a bit of cloud cover moving in overhead? Nope, it's just Azaeth flying past. If it weren't for his mahogany coloring, one might mistake those mighty haunches for that of a gold's. K'ael is off today, but that doesn't mean he's sitting in his yet to be unpacked weyr, nope. The bronzer is out for a run, dressed in just a sleeveless t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He stops to take a breather not too far from where Thea is sitting.
Thea's head lifts as the shadow passes overhead, but it's the sound of that breathing that draws her attention. One hand keeps her papers in place, the other shades her eyes to spot who has run down her trail to Seryth's clearing. The runner's head is down so… "Hello?" A cheerful sort of greeting to the man. "I'm afraid the trail's a dead end here, unless you wanna bushwhack." The words are light, laced with a laugh.
K'ael takes a second to wipe his face with the collar of his shirt. "Whew. Sorry. Hello. This trail doesn't go on further down in the woods?" K'ael points a bit down into the woods there with a pout, squinting to see if he can make out a trail. "Ah well. Maybe I'll head back down to the road in that case." He stretches out a bit, and then finally gets a look at who he's been talking to, and the pout comes back.
Thea notices it is K'ael barely a second before he's realizing who she is. The irony combined with the bronzerider's pout is enough to cause her to snicker, but she quashes that impulse and just smiles instead. "This one doesn't, but if you turn around and go back to the road, it goes further into the forest." She lowers the hand shading her eyes and offers, "You look hot, something to drink?" She gestures at a small table beside her swing, a pitcher of iced something and a stack of mugs. "It's just fruit juice, unless you want some of D'had's ale. Can go in and get you a bottle?"
"Ah…" K'ael replies, looking back out towards the road for a moment before she's offering him a drink. "I er.." He looks like he's about to refuse… but then he /could/ use a drink. "Sure, a drink would be great. Juice is fine. Probably shouldn't have ale so close after a run anyways." He rubs the back of his neck a bit, looking down at the table. "Thanks."
Thea remains seated, just watching K'ael as he decides, "Welcome. Help yourself." She shrugs, "I'm usually prepared for thirsty children coming to climb the tree, so it's no big deal." She points to one of the stacks, "Those're the clean ones." She lowers her eyes to her paperwork, her lips twitch as she adds, "They ate all the cookies though, sorry. If I'd known you'd be stopping, I'd have saved you one." There's mischief in her tone. Not implying anything, no.
K'ael nods to her heading over to grab a fresh cup and pours himself some juice. He takes a long drink. "Ah. I haven't climbed a tree in a long while. My mother always told us not to when we were kids, but boys will be boys I guess." He laughs about the cookies. "That's alright, I'm watching my figure anyways." He rubs his midsection, as if he had any sort of belly to speak of. He sets down the half finished cup of juice and uses the trunk of the tree to grab onto a higher branch. "This is a nice tree though. Is that your weyr over there?" And he takes a minute to swing his legs up, hooking the branch with his knees and hanging upside-down.
When Thea lifts her head her eyes are laughing, but she simply nods answering his question, "That's my cottage, yes." Then he's… hanging upside down from her tree and she grins, "The other kids don't worry about their figures. Stop by tomorrow and I'll have one for you." She tilts her head back, eyes moving towards the top of the huge tree, "I've climbed it all the way to the top." An arm lifts and she points up at the dense crown, "Someone built a split log seat way up there." She lowers her arm slowly, a faint sadness has infused her eyes. "Only sat in it once…"
K'ael chuckles. "Well… fair enough. I suppose I'll stop by tomorrow to find out what these cookies are that all the kids are raving about then." After a couple of sit ups, he grabs hold of the branch to right himself, sitting on it and letting his legs dangle. "Is it a rough climb?" He asks, assuming that would be the cause of only bothering to climb to the top once. The bronzer looks up the tree, trying to gauge it for himself.
"They're raving, are they? Must be the fellis-berries I'm picking from this tree to put in them." Thea smirks as she says that. Yeah, right. Buzzed weyrkids. She peeks back up that tree, a half-smile tugs her lips, "Not for me. For Enkavir? Was awful." Her gaze returns to him, she notes his assessing the climb, looking to her like he might try it himself. "Don't?" Very soft the plea, "I haven't been back up there since… he went away." If that explains it.
K'ael chuckles. "Free cookies and a tree to play on? I bet they are." Then he laughs. "Do you scoop them up off the ground once they fall out of the tree from too many fellis-cookies then?" He looks back up into the tree. "Oh? Is he afraid of heights?" He looks back to her. "Is that so? It doesn't look so bad really." He hops down to the ground and moves back over to pick up his glass of juice. "Seems a bit of a waste though, to know there's a seat up there never being used."
"Nah, I just leave 'em lay to sleep off their high. Seryth steps carefully then." Thea snickers for a moment at the thought of a kid-littered clearing. "Is?" She shrugs. "Dunno what he is anymore. Been gone for over a turn. He was not… comfortable climbing." She merely smiles at K'ael's comment about the seat, "Not wasted. It's empty. And that serves its own purpose." She doesn't explain that cryptic comment. Instead she tilts her head to see his face, a gentle smile there for him, "I'm sorry about yesterday, K'ael. Didn't mean to, ah, sound like I was reprimanding you, though I guess it sounded like I was. Forgive me?"
K'ael chuckles. "Ah right. Of course. Then the nannies come by with a wagon or something later?" He frowns and nods to her. "I see." He's not /completely/ oblivious. At least he seems to get the point. "Heh. I suppose I guess?" He takes a sip of his juice then shakes his head at her. "No, I'm sorry. I just don't want to cause any trouble here. I had enough of that at Ista, you know? I just want to come here and do my job and keep to myself. So… don't worry about it. I think your friend thinks I'm a jerk now though."
Thea laughs. "Something like that," she admits with a wink. "Just don't tell the Healers. They'll come lock me up or something." She sobers as he speaks, nodding. "Ista… has gone insane. Spent enough time in their prison to know that." She shudders before adding, " I don't think you have to worry about trouble here, K'ael. D'son's your best friend and…" Her eyes dance as she leans towards him with a mock-whisper, "I hear he has some sort of in with the Weyrwoman." She gives a sage nod before a giggle overtakes the false solemnity. Facetious much is she? Then she shakes her her head, "Keep to yourself? Aw, don't do that! You won't have any fun at all. And Cenlia will mourn if she can't find ya to ply with her peach brandy." Tenebrous. She just shakes her head with a smile, "He's… different than most people I know. And he's wise enough to reserve judgment until he knows you better."
K'ael sighs and nods to her about Ista. "I try not to think about it. It makes me feel depressed, and guilty. Like I'm responsible." Then he raises a brow at her before laughing. "You mean by way of him being the weyrleader, or by the way of him sleeping with her daughter?" He grins to her. "I think I've had quite enough of Cenlia's brandy and her… what does she call them… flamin' ovines. And he's certainly an interesting fellow for sure. But that's good to know, I don't really need any more enemies."
"Well, you're not! Don't let her make you feel guilty," Thea says crisply before a shout of laughter has her snickering at his audacity. She raises her hand, "Now the second one would likely not help him with Niva." She's still got laughter in her eyes, "Ah, you'll find a bunch of friends here if you don't stay hidden in your weyr. We have some… colorful characters here and they'll rub of on ya, if you let 'em." Or paint you when you're drunk.
K'ael smiles a bit. "I can't help it really. Which is why I try not to think about it. It's good to be back on a wing though, keeps me busy, distracted." Then he grins to her. "Heh. Niva isn't a dummy, and her daughter rides green now. There are worse men she could have gotten tangled up with than D'son." He chuckles to her. "I don't know… I like my weyr. I have cats."
Thea just nods to that with a sad sort of smile. "That's too bad, really. It only takes one…" She sighs and leaves that unfinished, instead she perks at his mention of a wing, "Oh? Which one did you join?" She nods approval for D'son, "He's made a fine Weyrleader. I like him a lot. He manages the wings very well." Simple honesty and nothing else in that comment. "Cats. Well that's nice." (*cough* Call the mindhealers) She's looking like she doesn't quiet know what to say to that except, "Lots of gals around Xanadu, too." There's a teasing light in her eyes, "Can have D'son introduce you to some?"
K'ael nods to her. "Transport. Uh… Comet, I guess." There's a nod about D'son. "Yeah. I was happy to hear he'd won Niva's flight, though the search and rescue wing at Ista misses him I'm sure." Then he raises a brow at her and laughs. "D'son and I's taste in women varies a bit. I'm not really in the market for more girls right now anyways." He coughs. "I've got a pregnant greenrider at Fort, actually. That uh… enough for now I think."
Thea nods, "Well then Transport will allow you to see her more often, yeah? Lots of stuff we have gets sent up there." She looks down at her pile of paperwork reluctantly, "I… suppose I ought to be getting these back to the office." She gathers them, stands up from the swing, "I hope you find yourself with friends here, K'ael. Everyone needs friends." It's said warmly as she steps towards the trail. "Running on, or would you like to walk back with me?"
K'ael chuckles. "Ah, we're not like… in a committed relationship or anything of that nature… It's all a bit strange, actually. These riders who want to get pregnant." He motions for her to hand him the paperwork. "I'm sure I'll find at least a few hoodlums to hang around." He grins to her. "It's my job to do the transporting, after all. So if you won't give me the papers I'll just have to carry you back to the office instead."
Thea laughs and offers the paperwork hastily. "Every time I get carried around here I wind up in some weyr-" She stops, finishes with, "Last time I'd had one too many of Cenlia's cupcakes." For some reason that has her reddening, "So-o I think I'll pass on being carried because they'll all wonder if I'm drunk or something." She's laughing though the papers are held up as some sort of shield that would stop him. Oh, wouldn't the office love to see them delivered that way?
K'ael laughs to her. "Last time Cenlia and I spent any time together I woke up naked not too far from here." He does peer as she goes on with excuses as to why she can't be carried. He raises an eyebrow to her for a minute, then just move to try and scoop her up like a sack of potatoes. "We can just tell them you've hurt your ankle or something. I need the exercise." If he can't get the goldrider, he'll take the papers. But either way, he's headed towards the office whistling casually.
And so Thea is carted off to deliver her finished paperwork via the K'ael Express. Thea's too wise to flail and kick, for those papers, if they go flying will be ruined. So she just gives in with a headshake and a helpless sort of laugh. Oh won't those other Juniors love that? And the Weyrsecond… he'll likely snicker along with the rest of them. The things one must do to help a newcomer feel welcome.