Some klah is sipped, it's true.
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Xanadu Weyr - Caverns

A massive cavern in it's own right, this one has been skillfully adapted for human habitation. The high ceilings have been painted a light, soft ivory, as are the walls where numerous tapestries hang to provide brilliant color and insulation from the stone. The floor has been left in its natural state, pale pink granite speckled through with glittering mica and dark flecks of basalt, leveled carefully but kept sufficiently rough to avoid slips.

The cavern itself is loosely divided into areas, each one set up to be suitable for some segment of the Weyr's population. The most frequently occupied area, however, is the one near the Kitchens where tables of varying sizes provide a place to sit down and eat or chat and a buffet of consumables is almost always kept stocked. Its plain that on most days, this area wouldn't accommodate anywhere near the full population of the Weyr and equally plain that on such occasions when a formal meal is laid out, tables are appropriated from all the other areas.

A big fireplace is set into the wall near the Kitchens as well, several comfortable chairs nearby providing haunts for elderly residents or riders who like a good view of all that happens. Rugs cover the floor in strategic spots, all of them abstract or geometric in design and most in the softly neutral colors of undyed wool.

Exits lead off in all directions, a big archway the largest and that leading outside. Shallow stairs to the west lead to the offices and administration area while tunnels to the east lead to the infirmary, kitchen and resident's quarters. Southwards, a sloping tunnel leads down to the hot springs.


It's morning, according to Rukbat's position in the sky and most of Xanadu. Not even a particularly early morning - the first wave of the breakfast crowd has already been and gone. Soriana arrived somewhere in there, but she hasn't yet managed to get her breakfast. She has a mug of klah, and she's been sipping it as she sits at a table and stares vaguely across at… people. She thinks they're people. The problem is that, while according to Xanadu, it's morning, according to Soriana's internal clock… it's about six hours earlier. Okay, maybe only five by this point, but she still hasn't fully adjusted back from Ierne time. If she has enough klah, she'll be awake in time for her shift in the dragon infirmary. She just needs enough - huh. She lowers the mug she had lifted, and peers into it. Empty. That won't do. This means she… right. More klah. She needs more klah, because if she'd had enough klah, she'd have noticed she was out of klah before trying to drink it! So she shoves back from the table and shambles in the direction of the klahpot.

Best hurry for that klah! For the breakfast crowd is already gone, but were those klahpots refilled or replaced recently? Kiena is by the table, looking groggy and still much half-asleep, to judge by the grim look to her features and her messy, rumpled hair — oh wait, no, that's the bluerider on a normal day. At least she isn't fresh from the forges? She is still dressed in her flight leathers, her jacket half unbuttoned so as not to overheat too quickly while indoors. Snagging one of the klahpots (perhaps the last - gasp!), she begins pouring herself a generous mug of it and sensing movement and a figure approaching, lifts her blue eyes from the task once its completed. Wouldn't do to go pouring klah over the table now, would it? "Morning, weyrwoman." she murmurs and dips her head in a respectful nod. Lack of salute may have to be forgiven, as Kiena has no hands free quite then to make the gesture and not fumble it awkwardly. "Klah?" The pot is held up for hers to take. Maybe there is enough left for one last mug after all!

Which makes Grayden the only one of the three that looks put together and awake, recently shaved, hair newly trimmed, the whole 'tidy' bit. Not that it means he's had much of a headstart on them, since he still has the smell of soap-and-aftershave about him and is coming from the residential corridors, headed toward the - yes, you guessed it: klah pot. That there seems to be a rush on the morning beverage gives him pause halfway across the cavern, his steps going from brisk to loitering when the two women converge as one, and he hangs back a few yards to survey the situation: is it going to be a brawl for the restorative, or will there be enough to go around? Stay tuned to find out!

Soriana did at least manage to put her clothes on this morning - in the right order and facing the right way and everything! Color coordination… well, that's made easier by the fact that her wardrobe is mostly colors that go with each other no matter which she picks. Powder blue blouse and black slacks? Yeah, good enough. Only not too good, because she'll be in the infirmary and getting disarrayed soon. So, just good enough. She peers groggily at the pots formerly containing klah. There's a bit of sludge in that one, it… might?… still count? It's probably caffeinated, anyhow. Though the taste… well… moving on! There's that one - oh, nope, that's the decaf. Why do they even brew it, anyhow? There's a reason why it's half-full after the crowds have been and gone. So Kiena really has got the last (for now) and Soriana settles her gaze on the bluerider as she pours. Not that she's waiting, no. She just happens to be standing here. "Good morning," she says at the appropriate point, with a nod of her head. Salute? Please don't. The klah might get spilled! Ooh, here it is now. "Thank you," she says in grateful tones, and takes the pot to attempt to pour herself another mug. This one (the dregs of the pot) will surely be the one that makes her fully awake, right? The power of klah has just been hiding thus far. Grayden? Yeah, she doesn't notice him, or she might try to save him some. Maybe. She might not be awake enough for that, even if she did see him. But she doesn't, so… the klah is hers!

Alas, there shall be no brawl! At least not between the two women. Kiena is content to start edging away then, now that she has claimed her drink but there are still some formalities to pass through or at the very least proper behavior. "Welcome. You're lucky you got to the table when you did." she mutters with a vague half-smile. She should make her escape then, perhaps snag some food and dart to the nearest corner to huddle there and go about the usual routine. Yet she lingers, mug still firmly held between her fingers as she gives Soriana a cursory glance. "Just startin' your day?" Kiena drawls after a moment of hesitation. Social conversation is not her forte. More movement has her gaze drawn away and spying Grayden lurking (at least in her mind he is), he's given a curious but wary look over. Who's this? He's too far yet, else she'd have likely warned him not to get his hopes up if klah is what he seeks. Maybe that's why she smirks?

Grayden's lurking. That's a pretty fair assumption. Being noticed lurking doesn't stop him from continuing to do it, just has his eyes pass over Kiena's and his brows lift in the moment afterward - yes, he's seen her seeing him, and he's not at all ashamed about it. A moment afterward, his eyes go naturally to the klah pot (that being what brought him out here in the first place), watching the last of it empty into someone else's mug. His lower lip swells up just a bit - the impression of a pout forming though it never fully materializes - and he slips his way into their still-formative conversation to assume, "That was the last of it, then?"

Admittedly, the pots would make for pretty good weapons if there were to be a brawl, but… nope. No brawl today! Soriana pours out the klah to the last drip - which probably means she's got some sludge in her mug to go with it, but she'll deal with that when she notices it… or doesn't. Depends how awake she is when she gets there. "One of those mornings when I need a mug of klah just to come get some klah," she says with a crooked smile, and sets the empty pot down before taking a sip of what she's snagged from it. Oh, klah. A truly marvelous… "Heh." That's to Grayden, with a rueful twist of her lips as she lowers her mug. "There'll be another pot out soon." Once the cooks get to it - maybe there was more of a run on it this morning than they were expecting. Soriana looks back to Kiena. "So yeah, just getting started. How about you?" Her eyes take in the rumpled look, but… that doesn't necessarily mean much. Take a rider fresh off night patrols, for instance, and they'd look like that on the way to bed.

Kiena utters a muttered sound of understanding at the 'klah needed for klah' statement from Soriana. Yep, been there and done that! Probably far more often then the bluerider would like. Grayden is joining them and as her attention had shifted back to the junior weyrwoman it now drifts back to him and that smirk returns again, along with a soft snort. "Likely the last of anything good. Tables are well picked over." Or she's just downright finicky, because there seems to be still some selection left on the tables bearing food stuffs. "Think we could get an entire pot to ourselves?" she drawls. To share! … Right? Maybe not. Back to the discussion with Soriana, Kiena shrugs her shoulders and finally takes the first sip of her drink. Ahh, delicious! "Mhm. Just startin'. First shifts at the forges aren't for a bit yet. Figured I'd sneak in here, though I wonder if I shouldn't have just tried to get more sleep." Decisions, decisions! To Grayden, she adds. "And you? Day just startin' too?"

Blowing a breath out of puffed cheeks, Grayden accepts defeat as decorously as a man who hasn't had a drink yet this morning can be expected to accept it. His shoulders sag for a second, but he tries to bolster himself to the morning by taking the empty pot - opening the lid just to be sure - and then answering Kiena's smirk with (a slightly less chipper-looking) one of his own. "We'll find out," he answers, waving away Soriana's assurance that another will be along shortly in favor of making his way toward the kitchen himself. The two of them can discuss the start of their respective days while he goes after a refill, diving in to the fray with no regard to life and limb (cue the dramatic swell of music).

"Mmh," Soriana says to Kiena's opinion of the food tables, and nods. Maybe there's still something to be found - or maybe Grayden can take care of that, too. If he can be all proactive and klah-getting, he probably doesn't need the drink nearly so much as Soriana does, so she's perfectly content to let him be the one who argues with the cooks and explains the importance of klah now instead of… whatever else they're doing. He can brave the wooden spoons! She can… vaguely wave to him, say, "Good luck!" and have another sip of the klah. Of course, with her fancy knot, surely if she did go and ask they'd give her a pot promptly, no wooden spoons involved, but… she doesn't. Instead, she nods to Kiena. "Best to be sure you're awake before you get to the forges, though. I remember that much from when I used to go and watch." She grins. "Awake, alert, and aware." Even visitors get to hear the lectures about safety, and given the lungs on some of those journeymen… it can be a memorable experience. Soriana has another sip of her klah. "D'you have a particular project you'll be working on?"

Kiena's eyes follow Grayden as the man makes his way over to the kitchens on his own, her brief amusement over his check of the pots (just to be sure!) giving way to slight puzzlement and then a shrug. Her mug is raised to her lips again and a slow sip is nursed while her gaze peers at Soriana from over the ridge. Swallowing, she uses a free hand to tuck back some of that wild mess of hair she has behind her ear before answering with a faint chuckle in her voice. "So you've been around to watch through those lectures, huh? Never thought the forges to be that interestin'. But yeah, 'aware and alert' I think applies to almost every line of work?" As for projects, the bluerider frowns for a moment as if to gather her still groggy thoughts and shakes her head. "Wouldn't say their exactly projects or nothing that interestin' really. Whatever the Journeymen will give me to do that they figure is easy enough for an Apprentice to do and not muddle it up. I'd like to do my own projects but I'm not quite ready." And from her tone, she does not agree but what the higher ups say goes! Even if it rankles her. "You?" Kiena asks curiously.

Grayden's still off getting klah. It takes a bit, you know, so do carry on without him for the moment. We can assume he'll be back shortly. Or else the cooks didn't appreciate his presence and introduced him to their meat cleavers. Either way - he's not around to eavesdrop presently.

"Yeah, I came by to watch Ka'el a few times." Back when he was Kale and just a smithcraft apprentice, and Soriana had more free time on her hands. She shrugs a little, and half-grins. "Journeyman Orik's got good lungs." The other half of her grin appears as she nods about how useful that advice is. "True enough. Unless you're a dreamcrafter." She has another sip of the klah, observing that frown, then nods. "Sometimes you can get more leeway if you find the right one to ask at the right moment." Know your target and all, but… yeah, no, what the senior smiths say goes, as far as the forge is concerned! Soriana likes the lack of flying metal and roaring flame across the meadow. "Depends who shows up," she says to the question of her day. "I'm at the dragon infirmary today. If there's patients, I get to deal with patients. If not…" A rueful smile. "I think there's some data entry with my name on it."

Kiena comprehension dawns the moment Ka'el's name is mentioned. Oh right! It's a wonder if she should be trusted around the forges, what with her memory lapses. Perhaps only to certain details? "Journeyman Orik certainly does! Which is why I tend to try and stay on his good side if I can." She makes a show of rubbing one ear with her fingers with a feigned grimace. Chuckling, she lifts her mug up as if to toast the last statement. "Dreamcrafter, eh? Kind of has a nice ring to it." As for knowing her target, the bluerider nods. This has been something she's likely been considering. "Not sure which one sounds more appealin', but then I am biased. Never had the knack or patience for much paperwork. Infirmary though… Dragonhealer, then?" Is this a widely known fact or is Kiena still waking up and oblivious? Even before the answer is given, her gaze sweeps the caverns and realizing they're still hovering about the klah table, the bluerider cants her head to the side to motion towards the vacant seats. Shall they?

Grayden did all right on his foray into the kitchens. He emerges after a few minutes, carrying the pot with one hand and balancing a plate of reasonably fresh-looking breakfast (eggs, bacon, toast, none of it boasting the congealed grease commonly reserved for latecomers) on his upturned fingertips. It's precarious, to be sure, but he manages himself commendably. Maybe he noticed where Kiena was nodding on his way out, maybe it's just one of those awesome coincidences that make life worth living, but he slides pot and plate onto that particular table, slips a few steps away to collect himself a mug, and then lowers into a seat with a small but satisfied smile. Life, as they say, is good.

Some things are more easily remembered than others. It's probably actually a good thing to not go prying into people's personal lives! Well, except when it's useful to know, but still. If Kiena's got the choice between remembering how to not send metal flying and remembering who's dating who… Soriana would rather the safety lessons get priority! She chuckles at the comment about Orik, and nods, lifting her mug of klah (to banish dreams and replace them with wakefulness) before having another sip. As for being a dragonhealer - "Grade two." There's a beam of pride for that, given the recency of the accomplishment, and then she glances toward the indicated seats and nods. "Be right there." First she's going to go by the food table and grab a muffin. It's kind of like a hearty breakfast (thank you, Grayden, for the demonstration) only smaller and faster. With her hands so occupied, she makes her way to that table, and she'll continue the conversation she started. "I'd rather have patients." Because, well, she did decide to be a dragonhealer, even if she usually shows the junior weyrwoman knot instead of that one. It's easily missed unless one happens to see her at work - golds are needed to help calm injured dragons anyhow, it's just the question of whether their riders are along for the ride or actually being useful. Soriana hehs, and adds, "But not too many." Just a trickle of minor injuries, that's all. Enough to keep her from the paperwork without being anything that won't heal! She also adds a nod to Grayden. Hi again!

If there is one thing Kiena is good at is focusing on her work! Smithing means a lot to the young bluerider and she's not about to do something to mess that part of her life up. So if any metal goes flying into the meadow or - Faranth forbid - an explosion, it won't be at her hands. Brows lift up in mild surprise, but she grins. Hard to miss that beam of pride from the goldrider! "Grade two! This a new accomplishment?" she asks, not really meaning to pry but her curiosity is in full swing now. Leaving Soriana to hunt down that muffin, Kiena turns instead to take her seat at that table only to find that Grayden has rejoined them. And with a breakfast feast! She stares at the platter and then darts a look up at him in wonder. How did he…? "So what'd you say to the cooks?" she drawls. Do share? Content with her klah as "breakfast", she leans back in her chair and picks up the conversation along with Soriana when the goldrider returns. "And nothing to severe, here's hoping!" Another tip of her mug to that!

Maybe he's just so polite that he won't answer Kiena's question when the two women are smack in the middle of a conversation? It'd be rude to interrupt, after all. But all Grayden has to answer for what he said to the cooks is a smile that's two parts enigmatic and one part simple self-confidence, the latter of which really comes out in force while he's filling his mug, eyes on it rather than either of the riders. Putting the pot in the middle of the table, an unspoken 'and share alike' in the placement of it, he settles back with a sip and answers Soriana nod-for-nod. Hi again, exactly his thoughts. There's nothing withdrawn about his silence, not like he considers them interlopers at his table, just that he's eating and listening (and has no idea what they're talking about but is content to listen just the same).

Or maybe Grayden just thinks being mysterious will get him somewhere. Besides at the table with breakfast and klah, that is, because it (or whatever else he used) has already gotten him that far. Soriana nods to her grade newness, "Was just at the Ierne school getting it finished." Prying? Maybe, but she doesn't seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, she laughs briefly. "That's some of why I'm still not awake yet." Because there's a part of her body that's not entirely convinced it isn't 3am right now. Oh, time differences… but she's doing better. The klah or the conversation is helping, in some combination. Mm, klah. It's most of breakfast, but that muffin can go with it as a bonus. She nibbles a bite, then nods to Kiena. "Exactly. A few scrapes to numb, maybe an ingrown claw or three…"

Mysterious indeed and while Kiena may have questioned Grayden's lack of response, she doesn't have much time to focus on the man's continued silence as the conversation continues to roll on. Setting her mug to the table's edge, the bluerider grins crookedly when Soriana laughs briefly. "Guess that would explain it." she muses. "You must've been in Ierne for some time then for the time change to sink in. Never liked that weird sensation, myself. Muddling with your head and all… Sometimes catches up to me if I have to go between here and Western Weyr too often." Another shrug of her shoulders. What can you do? "Well, here's hoping to an easy day then!" Here's hoping!

Or maybe Grayden is just a pisspoor conversationalist (especially pre-klah) and silence is his way of keeping that fact to himself. The world may never know. Anyway, he's several sips in and has a bite of breakfast poised on the end of his fork, eggs flapping in the breeze, before he interjects, "What were you doing at Ierne?" Where 'Ierne' could easily be substituted with 'someplace that sucks so badly he hardly cares to speak of it', judging by his tone.

"A month," Soriana says as a further detail about her visit to Ierne. "At least it's only six hours. Western is… what, nearly twelve?" She might know if she was more awake. She's been there before. There's a handy chart on the wall in the form of a map. She just… isn't coming up with a number more definite than 'big', right this moment. "…and an interesting one!" she adds to Kiena's proposal. Interesting, but not too interesting. So, neither paperwork nor fireballs. Soriana glances to Grayden at his question, and her head tilts slightly, a curious expression in the arch of her brows. He's the one asking the question, but that tone… makes her wonder, though she answers the question. "Studying. The main dragonhealing school's there, and I was doing exams." And now she's grade two, so don't go and say nothing good comes out of the Weyrhold.

Kiena's brows knit together and it's clear that the bluerider is working out the math or trying too. Judging by the way her expression twists and she grimaces, her mind isn't quite up for that task yet. "Eh, something like that? Fort's no better." she remarks casually and at the addition to her earlier proposal, she grins. "That too!" She agrees. Catastrophe's need not apply. Now it's her turn to play the silent one, as Grayden's tone draws her attention though she keeps her comments to herself. She knows very little of Ierne Weyrhold, beyond what she's heard of it in passing or overheard in conversations and so her mug is sought but only to idly hold it between her hands as she looks between the man and Soriana, curious but not questioning.

Grayden's ahhhh is duly enlightened, as Soriana's said probably the one thing that could make a voluntary sojourn at Ierne Weyrhold make sense. At least in his mind. "I wasn't aware," he clarifies (ignorant like the majority of the dragon-free population, no doubt). Putting his bite into his mouth, he nods back between the two of them in a carry-on sort of way, his apology for interrupting their chat evident in the deference that lowers his chin further than strictly necessary for just a nod. Apparently, that's as much as he was prepared to contribute. Aside from bringing the klah. Which was a totally awesome contribution, you have to admit.

"It's the weather that gets me, with Fort," Soriana says to Kiena. "I go from snow to heat or the other way around, and it's just… strange." She gives a shake of her head, thoughtful for a moment - maybe she's trying to imagine what the weather report for Fort region is today? Oh wait, it'd be fall there, so there's no predicting it. She nods to Grayden's enlightenment, but doesn't quite carry on as instructed. "You can see it from the market, but there's not a sign on that approach." So that's probably why he didn't know? She's assuming his experience with Ierne - whatever it was - involved the market, anyhow. What with this being Grayden. Soriana sets her muffin down, and reaches for the pot to pour herself some more klah. As such, she admits his contribution to be - at the very least - worthwhile. Awesome? Maybe. She'll consider it.

Kiena tilts her head for a moment and swigs down the rest of her klah while she mulls over Soriana's mentioning Fort's weather. What does… Oh! There we go, it clicks! Her nose wrinkles a bit as her mug is return to the table and her eyes briefly glance at the pot. Hmm. "Strange is one way of putting it. Honestly forgot about the season switch too. Guess that's one downside to Betweenin'? Or another to add… But that's instant travel for you. No easin' into the change and shift." she murmurs and falls quiet again for the mention of the Weyrhold. While not actively a part of that conversation, she's still tucking a few tidbits away for later reflection. Tilting her mug confirms its near-emptiness and with Soriana having taken her share from Grayden's contributed klah pot, she too now helps herself. "Thanks." It's quickly said but meant to be polite all the same.

For a moment, pale eyes tilted upward, it's obvious that Grayden's trying to place this dragonhealing school amid some memory of Ierne - and then he takes a breath, shakes his head to clear the thought, and agrees, "I probably never noticed it." A few more pieces of egg get speared with his fork in quick succession, stab stab stab, and he quickly puts that bite in his mouth, making it too full for him to politely do more than nod at Kiena's courtesy, she's welcome. At that, he stands with his plate in hand, getting enough of his bite swallowed so that there's nothing showing when he requests, "Pardon me, ladies," like whatever time he had stashed for breakfast has now been entirely pilfered. At least he chomped through most of that meal.

Hard on the wardrobe is another. Does one dress for the chill of between, the warmth of the other side, or the cool of the starting point? But Soriana nods to Kiena around a mouthful of muffin, then chews and swallows. "You sorta get used to it. But not really." A grin, and then a sip of the klah before she nods to Grayden. "Didn't have a reason to, I expect," she says to his lack of notice - because really, who goes poking around in things that don't concern them? - before giving her klah mug a swirl. She's turning her eyes back to Kiena, about to continue the conversation, when she notes the gentleman rising, and purses her lips. He looks to be off about his day, and… sigh. "I should too." She tops off her klah mug before she goes, though she doesn't actually steal the entire pot. Don't think she isn't tempted! "Gotta check on things before my shift." Back in the administration hall, where they can't keep her because she's got to make it to the infirmary on time. In passing is the best way to check on things like that! "Thanks for the klah," to Grayden, "and company." To Kiena, though presumably Grayden counts too. She's just got to share the niceties before she heads off!

Kiena dips her head in silent farewell to Grayden, realizing only once he's gone that she never even got the man's name. That brings a short lived frown, but she's quick to brush that thought aside. "A necessary evil?" she drawls to Soriana in reference to never quite being used to the shifts jumping from zone to zone. Kiena seems to be the only one still rooted to her seat, though her gaze follows the junior weyrwoman as she stands. "So the day begins," she muses before offering a polite nod to Soriana as well. "Same to you and always up for some idle chatter, when time permits." Smiling crookedly, she'll return to nursing her klah until at last it's her turn to slip out as well to her work. The forges call! Err… or that's Journeyman Orik, perhaps?


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