Upside Down
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Xanadu Weyr - Meadow
A large, slightly rolling meadow is set high enough above the riverbank on both sides to avoid suffering from flooding, healthy ground cover and grass spreading out from either side of the dividing river. Scattered amongst the meadow are a variety of weyrs, each with a narrow path leading up to it from a main, winding road. Some are set under a few trees, while others sit by themselves.

Runner stables with the paddock beyond are to the south beyond the meadow weyrs, a smithy and a woodcraft shop are settled closer in towards the path to the clearing, while trees border the western edge of the meadow, and a faint outline of a stone wall and low rolling hills can be seen to the north. Wagons laden with felled trees from the forests to the southwest or ore from the mountains to the southeast are hauled by burden beast up the road through the meadow, over the bridge spanning the river to be processed in the appropriate workshops.


The spring afternoon is cloudless and warm with the sky just now beginning to shift towards the colors of sunset. Ka'el is on a break. Or maybe it's his rest day? Or maybe the Weyrleader ran from the office the moment no one was looking for some fresh air. That would explain why he's not in his office right now. It probably doesn't explain why he's laying on the grass with his arms behind his head as if he wasn't wearing a knot that says he probably should have a more proper stance than Lounging Meadow Man. It also doesn't explain the random canine that's laying with him, looking just as lazy and twice as old, the floppy eared hound sporting gray around the muzzle. Ka'el watches a dragon fly high overhead. Old man dog drools lazily at his side, leaning in to give him an investigative drooly sniff. "Hey…hey!" He pushes the wet snout away. Yuck.

The Lounging Meadow Man knot is green and brown and doesn't have many loopy things on it. Soriana knows this because… uh… she's not saying. She's not wearing it, either, but she is crossing the meadow. There's a dog there, which is the first thing she notices, but she doesn't have much reason to go greet random dogs. Random Weyrleaders, though… well… not usually. Most Weyrleaders, she wouldn't stop for. Ka'els, though, those she's willing to stop for, and she turns away from her previously decided path to come over to him and loom over and block his view of that dragon. Also of the clouds. He'll just have to see a Soriana instead, one with a lopsided grin as she peers upside-down-down at him. "Hey."

Ka'el wipes dog drool from his hand onto the grass while still looking up, the smell of dog breath still lingering. But at least Mr. Drool isn't drooling at him. In fact, the old hound is looking at Soriana now. He may be a geezer and those floppy ears may not be as keen as they were turns earlier, but he still has his nose! His thin tail whips once before settling still. That's enough effort for one day! Ka'el pays no mind to the canine's wandered attention until his view of the sky is blocked by someone's big head. He blinks. Oh wait. He knows that head! He grins. Would his upside down grin look like a frown? Hm, maybe. So he frowns instead (or tries to anyway) to make it look right side up to her. "Hey. Does it look like I'm smiling?" He stops talking long enough to frown (smile) again at her.

Doggy breath. Aww yeah. It's a perfume the likes of which Xanadu has seldom known. Soriana doesn't give the hound much more than a glance in return. Her nose (or, uh, his nose, in a roundabout way?) has led her to something far more interesting. Something that is - "What?" she asks. Blink. And she stares down at him. "Uh. Nooooo?" she says, with a stare and a quirk of her lips up (to her). So, down, to him, except relative to her eyes they're still up, except, "Uh. Unless you mean the super inverse mega zord smile. But those are secret."

"Wait. So this isn't a smile?" Ka'el frowny faces again, just in case she, you know, went blind and didn't see it the first time. And he frooooowns this time. Like really deeply omg distress frowns. So much so that Old Hound gets distressed and whines because he knows faces and that face means that something wrong is afoot! Or maybe he's just hungry or needs to pass gas. "Look closely," he encourages, interrupting his ultimate frown by talking, so he has to fix his face all over again to get the extreme effect back. Aaand…frrrroooown. THERE! Now this frown must look totally like…a smile.. >.> Because that's the way this works, right?

Soriana looks in close. Really close. Like. Super mega close. So close she has to bend over, and then get down on her knees, and then peeeeeer in at him, really super mega extra close. "Right. Your smiling face. Which you got by turning a frown. Upside down." LIKE THEY SAY. And… she reaches down, brushing her fingers against his chin (cuz, it's like brushing them against his hair, only, upside down) and smirks as she leans in to kiss… his nose? Probably? She might get confused, because angles and upside-down and things are afoot. So says Sleuthy the Hound. It's probably a game. Because hounds chase game. They're like that. It's how things work.

Upside down is the new right side up. Everyone will be doing everything upside down, just watch. Upside down smiling is just the start. Next, it'll be upside down laughing. Upside down eating. Upside down walking! But for now, Ka'el will be happy to perfect his frown/smile, holding it while Soriana inspects with the sound of panting dog breaking the light lapses to silence. And then.. Nose kiss! Woot! That'll be the next thing to catch on too! Ka'el doesn't know this yet though, because he's trying to position his head to kiss her back. Kinda… doesn't…work… Woof! goes Mr. Old Dog. "You missed me completely. It's almost as if you haven't practiced this at all," he says with a snort. And a grin. Not a frown.

It's a frile. According to the cool kids. Soriana's kiss is… "Uh, no, I studied this for weeks," she informs him. She could not have failed. That is un-possible. Like, the upside down version of possible, that's actually not possible. Or like a smown. (That's what the not-so-cool kids call it.) She smirks. Or maybe frirks? But not frinks, that'd be if she were a lemur, and then leans in a little more over him and tilts her head a little more. Maybe he'll be happier with this one, which actually intends to have lip-on-lip action.

"Weeks huh? Y'should've gone a few more. I wouldn't feel as if I have to fail you if you had," Ka'el replies gravely, his upside down frown smile returning to his face to accompany that grave look. Her frile was subpar! He has no other choice. That kiss, off its mark! Can he even call it a kiss? A kiss to his nose. A … kniss! or kose.. Or if we wanted to get fancy, a smose! Which of course is a smooch to the nose. But better than that is a kiss to the lips, which is what Ka'el happily gets now. Kiss! He lifts up a hand to touch fingers to her cheek, but overshoots it and gets a handful of her ear instead. So smooth and charming! And he laughs. Oops! Add a canine's snuffling nose to the other side of Soriana's face to complete the charismatic picture.

This upside down stuff is hard. Friles and smowns and - wait, was Soriana supposed to be doing the upside down version too? She thought she was right-side up! And then… uh… okay, yes, the kniss, but should that be upside down too? Should it have been a… a… ssiuk? Or… something? She just doesn't know! Those fancy version? Pah, they're nowhere near ready for that, and the canine nose is just the final indication that they are so not good with this upside-down stuff, and she laughs as she settles back onto her heels, ruffling back at the canine with one hand and draping her other in along Ka'el's shoulder and resting against his chest. "Maybe I'll go back and study again. Maybe." Or maybe she'll just give up while she's behind.

They both fail. Oh well, at least they fail…together? That sounds noble! And they have a canine to bear witness, and he's happy to do so, especially since he's getting some petting in in the process. That's enough reason for him to wag his tail about five more times. He's gotta ration out those tail wags, you know. "No no, don't go," pleads Ka'el, looking up at her with puppy dog eyes that'd rival even those of the actual dog in the area. "I'm in hiding. I've run off without permission, and so now I'm number one on Xanadu's most wanted list." He and his runaway dog. And they're hiding so well, aren't they? "So you have to stay a while. This may be the last time you see me ……" this is what we call a dramatic pause, "……. as a free man." Dun, dun, duuun!

Five entire wags? Soriana is clearly the best thing in this dog's life today. She's not watching him, though. Ka'el, though, gets a tilt of her head and then a laugh. It's not a mocking laugh. More a laugh of sympathy, if such things exist, and she shifts her position, wiggling in closer to him and stretching out her legs to spread them to either side of him. She'll shield him from prying eyes. "Yeah. Sometimes… sometimes that's important. I doubt the Weyr'll burn down while you're gone." She glances to a few of the nearby cottages, just to warn them in case they were thinking of combusting. As cottages do. But had better not. "…we should flee together. Run off to…" Hmm.

Ka'el does his part to lift his head and scoot himself back a little before resting his head back down and upon her. A Sori pillow! His eyes half close in obvious comfort, leaned against her as she is…hidden from Search and Rescue that's undoubtedly doing flyovers just to find him and cart of off to the cells. Or worse, back to the office! Not that he minds his job much, but still…he needs a break. "To the most unassuming speck on the map that none'll think to look for us on. A place so small even our dragons wouldn't be able to place it in their minds, it's so … unimportant. Some place warm. With cold drinks on platters delivered beachside right to us. And we get massages of the body free of charge whenever we beckon." He snaps his fingers to show just how easy beckoning would be on this imagined miracle island.

Soriana drapes her other arm around Ka'el to go with the first one. Sorry canine, you don't rate. In fact, she leans in and touches her lips to the top of his head, before leaning back up again because that hunch wasn't really that comfortable. "It's a cave. See, because the place is so unassuming, it can't possibly have the silver drink platters and the masseuses. But there's a hidden passage to a cave, and down in that cave is the paradise of warm importance. And a beach. Underground." Because this is not implausible in the slightest.

Nooo! Mr. Graybeard Canine is now without scriiitches! It's a sad day for the old dog, buuuut other than a whine he doesn't have the energy to complain too much. He plops down, with a huuurmph! and..well, he doesn't do much else besides that. He's just a canine, besides. Ka'el though, he's a man (who’s supposed to be watching a dog?) and he can do a great many things. Like imagine this imaginary secret underground place of peace. Ahh.. He moves a hand to graze his palm languidly against her arm. Back and forth, back and forth. "With string lights?" He likes those. "Sounds perfect. Let's go. Leave no note behind. How badly would we be missed?"

No scritches. None! Soriana is utterly heartless, in that - having ruffled him - she doesn't do it again. Not even an ear-ruffle! Because apparently she needs both her hands to go around Ka'el, the fingers of one trailing along his chest lazily, the other having his hand move against her arm. Good times, even if they do have to be stolen from the day or they'll never happen. String lights? "Definitely. Multiple colors, too." Because hey. Dream big. Or, well, small and private and secret. "We can be there by morning. We'll have to fly straight, since it's so obscure." Unrecognizable by dragons. That's the whole point. She grins for a moment… and then… she sighs.

Ooh. Fancy with the multi-colored lights! Ka'el grins, a lazy sort of look that gradually makes its way across his face, as if he has all the time in the world. Which … he doesn't. In fact, this stolen moment beneath a setting sun is soon to be reclaimed by duties and responsibilities before long. "It's a plan," he confirms with eyes that have slid closed in comfort, reveling beneath the touch of her arms and feel of her fingers to his chest. He falls silent now, hearing her sigh and squeezing her arm in response to it. Yup. "A little longer," he says, voice soft. "We'll go back in a little while.." Her to her studies. Her duties. Her dragons. Him to his office. His meetings. His decisions to make before nightfall. But for now … his Soriana is all he has focus for now, and he's happy to give her all of his attention while he can.

Soriana nods. "Yeah." It's a plan. A plan that… they can dream, because they can't actually do it. Not unless they're… actually going to be irresponsible. Like, really irresponsible, not just a little irresponsible. "We will. I'll come with you." She's done with her shifts in the Annex for today, and she can do paperwork and studying just as well in his office as hers… assuming, of course, that he's not in meetings too secret for a junior Weyrwoman. She doesn't always invite herself along. Just… sometimes. Besides, if she sticks with him, maybe they can get a late dinner together before collapsing into bed before another long and worky day as Refugees from Responsibility. For now? She'll enjoy this time with wandering fingers and her Ka'el. (And an old hound dog.)


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