Wool Sock Coats
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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.


The summer season is winding on, thus the muggy, rainy weather has Kera hold up inside the Weyr today. It's past midday, and and the main rush on the food tables has past, even though there are still some coming or going. The apprentice healer is taken over one of the empty tables near one of the large fireplaces. Some books are scattered around her and she's taking notes as she studies. Occassionally she takes a nibble from a plate of cookies on the table. Her brown is curled up on a stack of loose pages and Kera is currently flipping through her notebook searching for something.

Takapola's trailing along after someone more important than he is. This isn't all that hard, given, Takapola, but! He's following a gruff seacrafter around, staying out of the way, being attentive, aaaaand… y'know what, it's not like his presence is actually required for this part. Okay, sure, it will be. In theory. If they ever get the details worked out. Until then, though? He slinks himself away from the consultation, strolls himself over to Kera's table, and plops himself down in a chair. Also, grins. "Hi."

Innes had no intention of stopping at Xanadu today. She was on her way to being just about anywhere else, but her intentions couldn't withstand the rainy weather, not after her clothes were soaked through. Which is what lead her to this place, haunting the edges of the cavern in her still-damp clothes. Her tired legs demand a seat, and so she eventually settles herself at the table near Kera and Takapola, careful to leave a wet clothes radius. Just in case. "Hi," she greets, giving both a nod of her head before she busies herself with the task of pulling damp items from her bags and setting them out on the table to dry.

Kera begins frowning as she flips more and more pages in her notebook and doesn't seem to find what she is looking for. Finally giving it up, she scans the table til her gaze lands on Minimur. More accurately the stack of pages he's curled up on. "You brat." Said brat peeks open his lids and yawns lazily. Kera gently swipes his off the pages and start leafing though them. The scuffing of a chair at the table gets her attention and she peeks up at the greeting. Nodding with a smile to the seacrafter. "G'day…Takapola. Things going well with loading your ship?" Her gaze flicks back down to the pages, shuffling them through as she listens. Is that squishing and sloshing she hears? Who knows. The soft greeting close to the fire drags her attention over that way. Looking over the soaked red headed girl, she winces a little. "Must be coming down pretty heavy huh?"

Chance met by Xanadu, prou- waitno. That's something different. Takapola shrugs to Kera. "They're going. Nothing's exploded yet. Then again, we haven't loaded any fireworks. Yet." He grins to her, then glances over to Innes, and also grins at her. "Hi!" he repeats. Just to reiterate. Because it's important, apparently. As these things are. Also, she's wet. Hmm. He glances to Kera. "You think he," a jerk of his thumb back toward the seacrafter in consultation, "will manage to finish before the rains do?" Because of course the healer apprentice is qualified to offer her opinion.

Innes swears under her breath as she pulls out a notebook that has been sitting at the bottom of her bag, soaking up rainwater as it filtered through the layers of cloth. She shakes it out vigorously, doing her best not to splatter any droplets in the direction of the two at her table. Anyone else, she's not too worried about. She sets the book out on the table, gently attempting to separate the damp pages and preserve the dry bits. And this is why it's best to come inside /before/ one is soaked to the bone. "It's not that bad," she admits after a short pause, realizing belatedly that she's being addressed. "I was just trying to wait it out. You know, stay outside long enough and it's bound to stop." That was the theory. But then the cold began to seep under her skin and the wet clothes became too much to bear. Of course, that's not what she'll admit. "But I got bored. You might be stuck here for a while if you're waiting it out. What are you doing?"

Kera plucks a page from the stack and drops the group of pages back where they were. Minimur waste no time in slinking back onto the bed of pages and curls right back up. "Brat." is muttered as Kera doesn't miss his actions. She chuckles to Takapola and smirks. "Wait, it's still early yet." Plenty of time for something to explode. A quick glance to the older seacrafter when he is pointed out, and a shrug lifts her shoulder. "I've no idea. I think we're getting a few days of rain, but no one is talking about a big storm coming." Finding the spot in her notebook, she compares the notes and scribbles a few corrections in it. Glancing to where the wet, red girl is laying out wet items, Kera reaches over to gather her things in neater stacks, giving Innes more room on the table. "Waiting out the cold rain while out in it isn't the best of ideas when the weather is going colder." At the questions, a little grin is given. "Just tryin to review for a test I gotta take….Yourself? I'm Kera by the way."

Good planning, that. Takapola, being at the table, could flip it. Anyone else? Yeah, they'd have to first come to the table, then flip it, and that's probably far too much effort. Innes is wise. Probably. "Nah, probably not." That's for the rain. "I've seen some where I'm pretty sure it's dryer underwater." And that's saying something. Well, really, saying anything is saying something, buuut… "Hah. I'm not going to wait for it. I'm just waiting to be ordered around." A pause. "…by the quartermaster." Another indication of the seacrafter he's allegedly helping out, who (fortunately for Takapola) is too busy to notice what Takapola's being busy (or not) with. "Pretty sure I'm not supposed to be actually causing any explosions, though." He looks… contemplative… for a moment, then nods firmly. "So I won't."

Innes blinks, her eyes narrowing slightly as she contemplates Takapola. "Right…" Her hand moves to flip her hair over her shoulder in a reflexive gesture, only wet hair doesn't flip quite as neatly as dry. A few red strands stick to her hair, while the rest only flops halfway over her shoulder. Her faces scrunches up in annoyance before she shoves the rest of the loose strands safely away from her face. "Well, it didn't feel that cold at first," she answers stubbornly. Or stupidly, depending on how one looks at it. "I'm Innes. Just sort of traveling. I guess it's a good thing I was this close to the Weyr." She pulls the last of her belongings from the bag and turns the whole thing inside out, shaking it gently to free any water that hasn't sunk into the fabric. She lays it out carefully on the bench beside herself to dry. "Explosions might warm things up."

Kera snickers to Innes's comment but shakes her head "I'm sure it would, but please don't tempt fate. Expecially around some of these Weyrfolk." A quick gestures towards the clearing "Or maybe it's just when they are weyrlings, going through a phase or something." Grinning she nods "Nice to meetya Innes. You look like you should get ya something to help ya warm up while your things dry out." She packs up the books not currently being used and shoves the pack under her chair and glances towards Takapola's quartermaster briefly "What kind of duties does he have ya doing off ship?" With a grin she lowers her voice a bit. "When you aren't supposed to be following in his wake that is."

"They might." Takapola, meet the gleam in Takapola's eye. The two of you will be friends. And cause trouble. Possibly also explosions. As for the cold? "I recommend wool socks." Aww. No explosions? "You could make a coat out of wool socks. It'd be great." And wooly. He arches his brows to Kera's suggestion. "I never saw 'em make explosions, other weyrs I've been at. Try to drown me, yes. Explosions - well. Okay, so there was that one fire, but that hardly counts." He shrugs. "Oh, me? Fetching and carrying, mostly. Also, I'm Takapola." No, it's not a job title, it's his name. He grins to Innes. "Hi."

"You could also just make a wool coat," Innes offers with a roll of her eyes. Obviously. She glances down at her soaked clothing. Up until this very moment, she was doing a fairly good job of ignoring the clammy discomfort of it sticking to her skin, but Kera's comment has reminded her that she's even more of a mess than usual. "Yeah, maybe I should get something." She glances around, considering her options. There's hot food and drink, undoubtedly. Probably someone who'd lend her dry clothes, too. But her gaze falls back to her damp things, and she shakes her head. "Later." Because Innes isn't about to admit that she needs any kind of help. She grins a little at the comments about weyrlings, throwing in her own in a low tone, "I'm pretty sure all riders are a little crazy. At least crazy enough for explosions."

Kera nods sympathetically to Takapola. "Add a mop and bucket to the mix and it would sound like some infirmary duties." A little smirk over that and her gaze slips back to her page, scribbling notes and flashing a couple of grins towards her tablemates as they discuss wool coats versus wool socks, jumping in that conversation here or there. "Fireworks? Hope we have some here next Turnover." Pages are flipped in her notebooks before plucking the pages outfrom under Minimur again, much to the chittering lizard's annoyance. Inness is flashed an amused grin and she nods agreeably. "I am sorta starting to notice a trend leaning that way." She's refering to rider's being crazy of coarse.

A wool coat? "Well, sure, you could," Takapola agrees. "But think about it! All the socks, all the very many bright colors, all together and stuck to each other and… glorious!" Yes. That's the only proper description. A mop and bucket? "S'called swabbing the decks." And yes, it's one of Takapola's duties sometimes. He even does it. Sometimes. "If you do have fireworks, don't set 'em off in the feeding grounds. S'bad idea." He leans his chair back, balancing it on two legs. Crazy? Takapola knows nothing about that. He doesn't comment.

Innes gives Takapola another /look/. "Couldn't you just dye the coat multiple colors?" Some people are good at that. She's not one of them, but she knows a good number of Weavers with far more skill than she could ever pretend to have. She could probably light a coat on fire while trying to dye it. "Have you set fireworks off in the feeding grounds?" she demands, looking at him as though he might have spontaneously sprouted a second head. Her gaze shifts to Kera, looking for some kind of confirmation that she isn't the only one who thinks this guy is a little off. "Maybe everyone is crazy," she amends in a mumble.

Kera pauses in her note-taking and flicks her gaze between the others with an amused expression. "Sock coats huh? You should definately speak with the Headwoman about starting a line of those." A slight strangled sound slips from the apprentice healer as she lifts her book to read the lines closer, and not to strategically hide her face as she laughs. "Promise me you'll let me be around when ya bring it up?" This said from behind her book of coarse. She tries to get a grip on her amusement, which Takapola assist with, by his next comment. A lift brow peeks up over her books "Fireworks where?" Gaze slips to the soaked redhead "He's joking, …right?"

"Sure. But I'm not a weaver." Takapola shrugs. "I'd probably dye myself blue and green in the process. But I can sew. More or less." Well enough to keep his clothes from falling into pieces during the long stretches on the boat. As for Kera's suggestion? He grins. "You find me the Headwoman, I'll speak to her on the subject!" Simple as that. Or, well, maybe not that simple, but hey. He can claim it is. As for the accusation from Innes? Takapola laughs. "No. I've never set off fireworks at all, matter of fact. Haven't set feeding grounds on fire, neither. S'bad idea."

Innes flips her hand in a 'who even knows' gesture at Kera's question, having given up all assumption of logical behavior. She looks mildly relieved to hear that Takapola is less crazy than she thought. Slightly so, at least. The declaration of her own place as a weaver is on the tip of her tongue, but she bites it back. She /was/ a weaver. And a terrible one at that. "Blue and green might be a good look for you," she offers with a bit of a shrug. "But it's nice to know you won't be setting any feeding grounds on fire anytime soon. I'd strongly suggest just staying away from fire in general, for you." A glance goes to Kera in the hopes that she'll back her up.

Kera nods agreeably with Innes "I think excessive fire are frowned on round here. There were a couple of incedents about a turn ago. But thankfully, nothing recently." Canting her head at Takapola, she observes him a few seconds before lifting her hands some and shrugging "If ya really like, I can introduce you to her." With a note, from two holds away. "And you can propose your idea." Tis your funeral. She grins between Innes and the seacrafter and gives her head a slight shake. "Hmm, I'm not sure the blue and green would go with his vest."

Words of… well, they're words, anyhow. Straight from the Takapola's mouth. "I dunno, I've always thought of myself more a burnt umber kind of guy. Maybe with some polka dots." Takapola grins. "But hey, I'm up for trying new things in the name of fashion. Got to have something to go with my coat of socks." Not that his current clothes are terribly fashionable. Not awful, mind, but they're more on the practical side of things than the stylish. He grins to Innes. "And what about you, O Keeper of the Flames? How close are you allowed to fire?" Just asking! And then he shrugs to Kera about the headwoman. "You want it proposed, you make the introductions!"

"Burnt umber with polka dots?" Innes wrinkles her nose at the combination. Not that she's any great proponent of fashion herself, given her general state of disarray. Still. "You can be the king of fashion as far as I'm concerned. Have at it." She waves any sort of personal responsibility on the subject away. Although her expression remains bemused, she's careful to avoid any ties to this Headwoman business. "Keeper of the Flames?" She arches an eyebrow. A few strands of her hair are pinched between her fingertips and offered up for his viewing. "See this hair? It gives me permission to go as close to fire as I'd like."

Kera snorts out a chuckle with a quick shake of her head "Oh no, your not dragging me into it. I've no opinion what so ever when it comes to discussing clothes with the Headwoman. Nope nope nope, as a matter of fact, how about if I just point you to her office and then when I find a safe spot to observe, I'll peek out and see if there is anything of ya left to patch up." Turning the page, she scans it briefly before peering back across the table to Innes with grin. "It may, but even wet hair can singe if it gets too close to the heat." Her nose wrinkles up "And that's an odor that just won't come out of your nose for a while."

King? "I'd rather not," Takapola says. "Then I'd have to rule it. Being in charge's inconvenient like that." He shrugs his orange-vested shoulders. Now, about this Headwoman, the Ruler of the Caverns, She Who Brings Order And Perhaps Is Fashionable About It? Ohhhh, so Kera's not going to make the introductions? Takapola can deal with that. He grins. "If I survive… what'll you give me?" Hmmm? He eyes her a moment, then looks back to Innes. "Oh, yeah, you're keeping some of the flames right there on your head." Or, well, flame-colored hair. Close enough. "So are you planning to set anything on fire?" He gives Innes a curious look, followed by a grin and a casual, "Just wondering."

Innes allows her damp hair to drop from between her fingertips, pleased to note that it seems well on its way to drying off. Her clothes, on the other hand, are still quite wet. At least they're not dripping, though. She grabs the hem of her shirt flaps the loose material a bit, theoretically making it air dry faster. That is how it works, isn't it? "I don't think the Headwoman will kill you," she offers with a shrug. "Maim you, maybe, but not kill you." It's some form of optimism. She laughs and lifts her shoulders in a casually vague gesture. "Who knows? Maybe I will if the mood strikes me." Or purely by accident.

Kera considers Takapola a few seconds before finally nodding with a grin "Alright, fair enough. If you propose your idea to the Headwoman, I'll pay for a meal at the cafe or tavern." That's gotta be worth a few scrapes and booboos, right? "Maiming, most definately, killing, unlikely." The headwoman might wanna play with her food a while. Kera starts stowing things away in her pack, cleaning up the clutter she had strewn across the table. Looking between the two "Hmm, I think I better be checking the infirmary stocks. If you two spend a few days here, I've a feeling we'll be going through supplies quick in the infirmary."

No? Takapola tilts his head to Innes idea of his (non-fatal) fate. "I'll take bets?" he says. Because, hey, he's already taking his life in his hands (apparently), so why not? Or, okaaaay, maybe it's just a maiming. Still! He's taking risks here, he expects rewards. A meal? Sure, that's a reward. And so Takapola stands up tall - after first thunking the chair down onto all four legs - and puts his hand over his heart. "Challenge accepted," he says to Kera, and bows to her. Onward! To… "Should I tell her about that?" he asks Innes. "The setting things on fire? Or would you rather it be a surprise?" Also, after a moment, he adds, "And which way?" Because it's not like he knows these things!

Innes shakes her head with complete bemusement, watching this saga - or soon to be saga - unfold. "I'll put a bet on you getting chased out of the room." That seems relatively safe. Never mind that she has next to no money to be betting with. She's all practicality, this one. She lifts her gaze to watch Takapola's foolish proclamation, biting her tongue to avoid encouraging him any further. It doesn't seem like he needs the help in getting into trouble. "I'll tell you what a great job you did if you succeed. Because success is its own reward and all of that." And she's poor. She shakes her head quickly, waving her hand to drive him off that topic. "No, please. Don't tell her about the setting things on fire. I probably won't be here long enough to do any of that." Probably. She glances over at Kera, adding with a mischevous smile, "But maybe stock up that infirmary, just in case."

Kera looks at Takapola like he's sprouted a few extra eyes and noses. Glancing quickly to Innes as she offers a wager of her own, which draws a few laughs from the young healer as she finishes stuffing books in her pack. That done, she glances to the seacrafter, seeing he's serious and just nods with a hand lifting to the stairs. "Her office is up those stairs, I think her door is clearly marked. I trust you'll be kind enough to keep my name out of it, yes?" An amused nod is given to Innes "I'll be sure to check the aloe and numbweed supplies." Wiggling her fingers "It was nice meeting you. Hope you dry up soon….Y'two have a good evening." A quick whistle and the brown lizard flutters ahead of the young healer as she strolls towards the infirmary.

Only a few extra eyes? Takapola will have to try harder next time! But first, he has to collect his bets (and hopefully also collect on his bets, by not being too dead or maimed to do so). He nods to Innes. "Chased out, got it. So you'll tell me I've done a great job if I manage to succeed in getting chased out." He grins. "And if I fail, well, hopefully I'll learn my lesson." Back to Kera, and he looks to the route she indicates. "Clear as tropical waters or a becalmed sky." He grins. "And you don't want a share of the sock-coat profits. Got it." Innes again. "The flaming inferno is to be a surprise. Check." He gives both of the ladies a bow, and turns to start for the hallway. He's… even whistling.

/Someone/ is going to get into trouble in this group, that's for certain. Bets should really be placed on whether that lot falls to Innes of Takapola first. Innes simply shakes her head again, and fails at fighting back a laugh. "What you hopefully learn and what's actually learned is usually pretty different," she says with a grin that speaks to years of experience in that particular field. "Nice to meet you, too," she calls to Kera's retreating back. With her companions rather quickly disappearing, Innes begins to busy herself with checking on the status of her belongings. Still wet, still damp… looks like she could be here for a bit. With a sigh, she settles back into her seat. One hand lifts to wave a farewell to Takapola, and wish him well on his quest. "Best of luck to you. I'm holding out for you to keep all of your limbs." Such optimism.

"Usually. But not always." Takapola grins. "Me, I have the hopes and dreams of a thousand minnows." What…ever that means? He grins, and waves his own farewell. "Maybe I'll come back with extra!" And then he'll have a leg up! But for now, he's just armed and ready, and so off he strides. Keen eyes might note he nods his head to the quartermaster along the way. Not so keen eyes will just note that he disappears down the hall!


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