Xanadu Weyr - Observation Level
Dark blue seats form a semi-circle around the sands below, the lowest row separating from the sands themselves by merely a railing. The seats climb upwards, each row a bit higher then the previous, and they are broken up into sections by 3 sets of staircases. Lights are evenly spaced along the outer wall, lighting the seats and the sands easily, though they tend to be dimmed unless a major event is taking place. A large balcony looms overhead, darkening some of the seats, providing a place for observers of the draconic kind to watch without obstructing the view for others.
When one looks over the railing, the oddly hued sand below can be seen easily, the circle-shaped area of the sands spread out to the far walls, the sand itself a unique mixture of red and white grains.
With a hardening clutch on the sands and a broody Seryth guarding them, it's not surprising that her rider is nearby. Hot-hot in here, but somewhat cooler in the observation level, so this is where the junior has settled herself this afternoon while the gold rests irritably below. Thea has a little table set up with a pitcher of iced juice and her ever-present paperwork. Alas, can't escape that chore. Right now she's going down some sort of checklist, ticking things off, comparing it with another document. What fun.
Looking just a little out of place, Pora wanders into the observation level with a somewhat lost expression on her face. There's a little sweat on her forehead, from a combination of the heat and her nerves as she walks along the steps. Then she comes into view of the sands, and her eyes widen. She hurries down towards the rail for a better look, ending up at a spot beside Thea as she peers down into the open area.
Oh look! A distraction! Anything but paperwork -pleaseprettyplease! At least this seems to be the look on the young junior's face as she hears footsteps on stone. Silent for a few beats, she allows the girl to have her look at whatever eggs might be visible - and there are some pretty colors peeking out from the sands here and there. "Hello there," Thea finally says, her voice modulated low-pitched so as not to startle the girl, friendly and pleasant. "I don't think I know you. Visiting?"
It might not be the most dazzling display ever seen from the observation level, but the fact that any eggs are visible at all is quite something to Pora. She stares for a moment past the greeting, perhaps only belatedly realizing that it was meant for her. "Huh?" She turns and smiles at Thea. "Oh, yes. Mm-hmm. Bringing in grain from my family farm, ma'am." She says, eyes darting to look at the eggs again. "I've never seen dragon eggs before."
Thea grins at the dazed response she gets, but merely says, "There's a first time for everything then, isn't there? But you may call me Thea. I'm not really fond of being called Ma'am." That last bit somewhat dryly added on while her pencil taps idly on the sheet in front of her. Her head tilts as she regards the girl with bright interest in her pale green eyes. "I was a farmer too, sort of. We raised the grain our camelids ate, anyway." Curiously, she asks, "What hold are you from?"
Pora looks back at Thea, a slightly puzzled look on her face. Perhaps she recognizes the name as familiar, but doesn't place her as a weyrwoman. Not yet, anyways. "You used to be a farmer? And you're a rider now? That's really neat… Oh! I'm being rude. My name's Pora." She says with a slightly goofy smile. "My family's from near Ressac, our farmland's a little inland from there."
Thea doesn't seem to mind in the slightest not being recognized. Since her knot is on her jacket, and that's been thrown over a seat, her knot isn't visible and she's not calling attention to it. She merely nods to the question of rider and says quietly, "From the High Reaches area. Well-met, Pora and welcome to Xanadu." With a slight uptilt to her tone a hint of a question, she continues, "I hope your stay is a comfortable one." If she tenses at the mention of Ressac the flinch is soon past and she merely says, "I've flown over the area. It's pretty."
"It's very nice to meet you, Thea. Thank you for the welcome." Pora replies with a beaming smile before her attention returns to the visible eggs. "They look beautiful… I mean, what I can see of them. How long have they been on the sands?" She asks, unable to contain her curiosity.
"Of course," Thea replies courteously, her smile grows in response to Pora's enthusiasm. Pushing up higher in her seat, she cranes her neck to see the sands, giving the eggs a critical look. "Last I felt the shells I'd say a couple of sevens yet before they hatch. They've been on the sands for several weeks now. They're hardening nicely." With a sly look sent sidelong to the girl, she asks, "Have you ever been to a hatching?"
"Uh-uh." Pora says with a little shake of her head, still looking down at the sands. "Never. I hope I'll still be in the weyr when these ones hatch, but I don't know how long I'll get to stay… I'm trying to convince my father to let me stay for the Winter. It's very nice here."
Thea considers this, leaning back in her seat, stretching long legs out in front of her and crossing her ankles. "A stay at the Weyr could be a valuable learning experience. And I'm sure the Weyr could use an extra hand somewhere, whether it's in the stables or stores." As if she's saying what might help the girl's father to agree or something. "Would it help if you got a letter of recommendation from our Weyrwoman?"
"I could help out in the stores. I'm pretty strong, from all the work on the farm." Pora says, apparently liking the idea. "And I can cook. I could work in the kitchens, if that would help." She looks surprised, tilting her head at the last offer. "You know her?" She asks, still not in the loop.
Thea nods, her smile deepening, "Yep, I know Weyrwoman Niva. I work with her. Well, just down the hall from her when I'm not stuck here with her-" She headtilts towards the slumbering gold below, "-and her eggs." Shifting to stretch both hands above her head, a move that ends with her fingers pushing heavy hair off her forehead, palms swiping at the beaded sweat, she adds, "I'm one of her juniors."
Pora slowly seems to piece together exactly who she is speaking with. She looks down at the dozing gold on the sands, then back up at Thea. "You're… her rider?" She appears suitably impressed. "Wow… I'd really, really appreciate it if you put in a good word for me. It would mean a lot. Thank you…"
If anything, Thea seems a little uncomfortable with having impressed the girl. She waves it away with a slight grimace, although a quick, reassuring smile soon follows, "I'm just me. Thea, remember?" She pulls out a clean sheet, bends to write a few simple lines, her pencil scratches on her paper and she signs it below. Two folds are made in the page and she straightens to offer it to Pora. "You'd need to see her and she might want to re-word the recommendation. She'll need to approve it anyway. But your father might be persuaded to let you stay, hmm?"
"Right… Thea." Pora still seems a little awed, likely meeting a goldrider for the very first time in her life. Still, the hint is taken, and she tries to tone it down. She accepts the folded paper with a very grateful smile. "Thank you so much… I really do appreciate it. I'd love to stay here… I hear the beach is beautiful when it warms up. And of course I want to see the eggs hatch."
Thea takes it in stride, not one to be irritable. With an easy smile, she replies, "You're quite welcome." As for the beach, she nods agreeably, "It is, but first we have to get through Winter. We usually get quite a bit of snow and the lake freezes…" She trails off thoughtfully, tapping her lips with her pencil, eyes gazing off into the distance. "But winter's usually less busy crops-wise, if I recall, so it's a good time for you to be away from home, hopefully." Returning to Pora, she adds, "The first hatching I ever saw was after I'd been searched." If she can imagine.
"That's very true." Pora replies, her gaze still trailing back to the eggs, distracted despite the conversation. "Winter would be the best time to be away from the farm… and it is very beautiful around here now, even with the snow and the cold." She looks impressed again by the story. "Really? Wow. That must've been… well, it sound scary."
Thea has seen egg-thrall before, so she's understanding with that distraction. She gives that small table a push, rises a little stiffly from her gallery seat; oy, she's been sitting too long! Stepping the few paces to the railing, she leans her forearms on it and gazes down at the sands along with Pora. "It was… pretty overwhelming," she admits wryly. "Kilaueth was the dam and I didn't Impress in that hatching. She'll be clutching again soon, so we'll have a second lot of eggs in a few sevens."
"Oh, really?" Pora asks, her curiosity returning as she once again peeks back up at the rider, away from the eggs. "A friend of mine was telling me that one of the golds was going to lay eggs soon… I'd like to see that. I mean, that's got to be a pretty incredible thing to watch, right?"
Thea coughs, stifling a laugh at that question, her eyes crinkle with humor nonetheless as she turns her head to glance back at Pora. "Ironically, the first clutching I got to watch was hers also." A nod back down at the queen below. "I arrived in Xanadu after both Kilaueth and Ellamariseth clutched and afterwards… well weyrlinghood is a busy time. Even with multiple queens here, I managed to miss the few that happened until Seryth clutched, but it's interesting, yeah. Sometimes there's a party atmosphere up here. People snacking, taking bets." A hand waves towards the sand, "Sometimes you can see the eggs before they get buried."
"A party?" That definitely piques Pora's interest, her eyebrows raising. "I've heard that weyr parties can be a lot of fun." She leans back on the railing, trying to peer at the mostly-buried eggs. "I would definitely like to see that. I mean, the bits you can see past the sand look really pretty."
"Oh you have no idea," Thea mutters wryly in an under-her-breath aside about parties. "Some of the beach parties…" She coughs again, adding, "Might want to avoid some of those." Then again… maybe she wouldn't? Brightly and more audibly she says, "Clutchings can take several hours, so people bring wineskins, water, juice… it's fun." She tilts a look down at the sand and those exposed shells. "She'll be covering them back up when she wakes."
Pora appears intrigued, looking back to Thea with wide eyes, clearly desperate for the real dirt about weyr life. "Why? What happens at the beach parties?" She asks in a hushed tone, clearly desperate for gossip. It's enough to even distract her from the eggs for the moment.
Thea winces at the question, hesitates to answer, her gaze remaining on the sands below. Finally she says, "Too much booze and too little restraint when it came to deciding what to do with some paint." With a half-frown, she glances at the teen, adding, "I wasn't there, but I, um-" She coughs, "-saw the aftereffects." Which the girl will undoubtedly hear about sooner or later - all those rainbow-colored people. "You, ah might not want to mention them to your father." Below them, Seryth takes this moment to awake, grumble-rumbling to her feet and begins pacing about, nosing fresh sand over those eggs fretfully. The junior watches for a moment before stepping away, "I've got to get down there, Pora. See if I can soothe her a bit. It was nice meeting you." She flashes a big smile over her shoulder and then scoots down those steps and out onto the sands.
Pora clearly doesn't get what Thea is getting at, judging by the puzzled look on her face. "Paint…?" She tries to piece it together. "Did someone vandalize a building, or something?" Probably best if she just goes on thinking that. She is shaken out of her thoughts when Thea prepares to depart, and gives her a smile and wave goodbye. "Oh. Have a nice day, it was nice meeting you!"