Western Weyr - Center Bowl
This is the center of the huge oval crater of the Weyr. Standing here you can see how immense it is. The cliff sides rise up all around you, dotted with the caves of the dragon rider's weyrs. To the west you can see the arch open to the sea. North is the hatching grounds, south you see the cave entrance to the living caverns, and to the south east the entrance to the infirmary, raised a little from the weyr wall.
Even in winter, Western is still warm. Warmer than parts of the northern continent which are currently buried in snow. Here? Not so much. The wind is chilly and the skies are grey and cloudy, but the weather holds comfortably enough that a jacket may or may not be necessary to enjoy the outdoors depending on one's tolerance. Weather is not the concern for one arriving in Western however and as Ujinath bursts from Between, he will hover a moment before dipping his wings and beginning a long, curving descent to the centre bowl below. Kiena has come at last for her twin girls, now that all the necessary paperwork and other necessities have been dealt with. Foster family situated, confirmed and all that nitty gritty stuff. She also has support and help! Word was sent ahead to Zi'on, to warn the Western Weyrleader of her arrival and to ready the girls and their belongings but she also sent notice to Mur'dah and Ka'el, calling on their earlier promises and offers. Today is the day and Kiena will dismount the moment Ujinath has settled, trying not to fidget or pace restlessly as she waits on the others — and keeps a lookout for Zi'on too. It's hard to say where the blue rider's mood is currently, though with her that's usually normal.
Mur'dah and Kalsuoth emerge from between not long after Ujinath, the Comet rider having to finish one more delivery in Fort before hopping across the planet to Western. The dark brown dips his wings and circles, landing a polite distance from Ujinath and greeting him with a low rumble. Dismounting, Mur'dah sheds his goggles and helmet and strides towards Kiena, offering her arm a gentle squeeze in silent support. "Hey. They here yet?" he asks, scanning the bowl.
Xanadu to Western. From warm to … well. Cool. Although Western may not be a blustery ice storm of a Weyr, Ka'el's grown accustomed enough to the warm of his home for it to feel more than a bit chilly! He's glad for his jacket as he and Kanekith arrive from between, wings flared and brilliant body frozen in the air for a beat. Then, a trumpeted call and movement resumes as the dominant bronze makes his descent upon the relatively unfamiliar Weyr, landing in the bowl away from the others. He is large, and thus needs room! Wings splay a moment before folding at his sides, giving his head a shake while his rider adjusts himself in his seat, sitting up and lifting goggles away from his eyes. The two approach the blue and brown, and when near, Kanekith pauses to allow his rider to dismount, boots crunching softly on the ground below. A gloved hand rubs at a bronze foreleg before he moves ahead, catching sight of the others easily enough. "Kiena," he greets, "Thanks for the call." His smile, albeit small, is encouraging and warm. A nod is given to Mur'dah in greeting as well. "Mur'dah."
Zi'on doesn't care too much for cold weather, which might partially explain why he's been at Western for so long. The other part is probably because he's landed himself a cushy job here, by some standards. And isn't inclined to leave it behind so long as he and Suldith can manage. Suldith arrives from further down the bowl, two young girls sitting in front and Zi'on behind. One of the girls points down at the familiar blue and yells something, its specifics lost to the wind. Behind the trio comes a single brown, laden with boxes and luggage. Once Suldith settles into the bowl, Zi'on slides off and helps the girls down. They each take one of Zi'on's hands as he moves toward the Xanadu trio, specifically Kiena. Zi'on's mood? Well it's rather somber, given the look on his face. And the girls? Well, they seem excited. It's their fourth turnday after all, so there have already been lots of presents. Even if it's going to follow up with a stoic goodbye from their father. Once their close enough, the pair releases Zi'on and go running off for their mother. Zi'on follows at a slower pace. "Kiena. Here they are. I didn't realize you'd be traveling with an entourage, or I wouldn't have booked a transport rider."
Kiena shakes her head as Mur'dah approaches and his gentle squeeze to her arm is accepted and her hand will slip across to clasp his arm in return. A silent thanks for the support as her blue eyes sweep the bowl. "Not yet." she murmurs and then turns her head to offer the brownrider a small smile. "Thanks for coming. Both of you," Since by then Ka'el has arrived and joined them. "No problem." About the call. "Shouldn't take long…" No need for it to be drawn out, right? Ujinath welcomes Kalsuoth and Kanekith both with a low rumble, but is otherwise crouched tensely and on edge. When Suldith and the Western brown approach, the blue grows fidgety with a flick of a wing here, a twitch of the tail there and the click of talons against stone. "Here they are," Kiena points out what may already be obvious to Mur'dah and Ka'el and she will stand just that much more straighter. Tense, more like it. Her brows knit together in slight confusion at the unfamiliar brown but soon has to focus on her daughters as the twins rush over, babbling excitedly. Ka'el and Mur'dah will get their fair share too of greetings and onslaught of questions and, of course, boasting that they're four now. FOUR. "Zi'on." Who needs rank? And entourage? Her eyes dart to the Xanadian riders. Her friends. Kiena smirks, her voice clipped and cool. "I'm pretty sure I mentioned having help. Didn't know what to expect." Now what?
Mur'dah looks quite surprised to see Ka'el here, brows furrowing briefly before his expression smooths to bland nothingness. "Weyrleader, sir," he says properly, snapping off a perfect salute as his posture straightens. His eyes flick from Ka'el to Kiena - the call? - and then his focus is on Zi'on, offering the Western Weyrleader a proper salute, before his expression softens at the sight of the twins. He's got their presents back at Xanadu. "Happy turnday!" he tells them once they're close enough, crouching down to offer them grins. And a little sweet from his pocket for each of them. Because giving kids sugar is awesome, right? His gaze flicks to the transport rider and then to Kalsuoth. "We can carry things," he offers.
Ka'el bobs his head in answer to Kiena, though he's not worried about the length of time, and his slight smile remains on her, pausing only to acknowledge the salute from Mur'dah. And now, others are here. Two dragons and a small handful of people. Two of which are very small. Eyes turn to Western's bronze, watching him as closely as Kanekith is. Or perhaps because Kanekith is. His own dragon rumbles lowly to Ujinath, a smooth sound of reassurance to the fidgety blue. A blink focuses Ka'el's attention back to the human side of things, watching the resident Weyrleader's approach while he stands to one side of Kiena. This isn't quite a diplomatic journey, yet still, he is a Weyrleader upon another Weyrleader's Weyr, and so all journeys tend to be diplomatic in some way. So. "Xanadu's duties to Western and her Queens," is spoken, though his stoic demeanor softens by the gushing girls. "Ellie! Ezzie! It's good to see you again. .. What? … It's your turnday?" Shock and awe! He makes the face to match. And he wishes them happy turn day and listens to whatever they have to say, and does he have a gift for them? Uuuh. Maybe! (no, but he can totally get one with his super Weyrleader powers of influence). Soon enough though, he refocuses on the adults, eyes shifting to Mur'dah and nodding confirmation.
The girls are still too young to fully understand what's happening. They sort of got it. That they'd be moving, switching families. Zi'on had already dealt with those tears and fears. Their turnday had helped to distract them. Zi'on nods a greeting to Mur'dah and Ka'el. "Rider. Weyrleader. Western's duties to you." He moves back to Suldith for a moment then, pulling two sets of small riding leathers from a satchel hooked into Suldith's straps. "You're weclome to unload things from my transport rider if you'd like." Suldith eyes the younger dragons suspiciously, keeping his distance. Ujinath is largely ignored from the cold treatment. "Come girls, let's get you suited up for between." Both suits are unzipped and Zi'on squats down to help the twins get into them. Even if there is some confusion as to whose suit is whose. "How are things at Xanadu, then?" He asks, to no one in particular.
Kiena only shakes her head a fraction to Mur'dah. A signal, perhaps, that they'll talk later? Or is she taken aback at how crisply formal he is towards Ka'el and Zi'on. So far she's showed little the way in proper manners. Salutes? Respect? Pfft. She'll let them cover that. She has a valid excuse right? The girls of course are all over Mur'dah when he has sweets to offer and then move on to Ka'el when he wishes them a Happy Turnday too. There may have been tears and fears earlier but now they seem distracted enough to be excited. Kiena is more than thankful to have Mur'dah and Ka'el here, even if to just distract the twins while she speaks with Zi'on and matters are settled for good. "Would you mind if we unloaded him?" Seeing as Mur'dah had already offered. She glances to Ka'el too with a curious look. Him too? Ujinath doesn't mind being ignored, though he keeps a wary eye on Suldith and soothed from his fidgeting by Kanekith. Yeah, yeah. He'll behave. As the girls return to swarm Zi'on, Kiena begins to fidget now and her one hand will begin to rub at the one all but healed now. Eyes lift again, first to Mur'dah and then Ka'el. Wait, which? Oh. She'll start? "They're fine." Bluntness, thy name is Kiena. "The usual."
Mur'dah lifts a brow slightly at Kiena, but then he's nodding and stepping away from the group to walk towards the transport rider. His posture relaxes with each step, and once he reaches the other brownrider he's friendly and all smiles. Kalsuoth kicks into the sky to glide over and nimbly land beside the other brown with a low rumble of greeting, his thoughts brushing gently against Ujinath's as he passes. It's okay. Then Mur'dah can busy himself with helping the other rider unload and re-load the girls' things.
Unload? Oh, Ka'el has people for that. Too bad they're all the way back at Xanadu. But luckily, Ka'el doesn't have his head too far up his own arse to be opposed to doing things himself, especially if it is to help out one that he considers a friend. His eyes shift to the unknown brown, and he touches base with Kanekith. He'll need to move closer to expedite this switcheroo, and so the Xanaduian bronze moves, though not first without brushing minds with Ujinath, his a shadowed presence, yet not ominously so. But with Kalsuoth there, he may not be needed at all. From brown to brown all things can be transferred, but Kanekith moves closer anyway in case his girth can be of use. Oh how he hates to be used as a common pack runner, but for this he'll make an exception. Ka'el lingers where he is. With Mur'dah unpacking, he feels at least one should stay near Kiena, and so he does unless he's needed with the loading process. For now, he's a visual reminder that she needn't worry. His eyes are on Zi'on, but he doesn't supply an answer. Idle chat with the Western leader is not on his agenda, or so it'd seem.
Zi'on gives an unconcerned wave towards the brown and his rider. "I've already paid him extra, so I doubt he'll mind either way." Zi'on has little else to say, really. He's not much up for smalltalk at the given moment. Instead he focuses on suiting up the girls properly to head to Xanadu. Eliana goes first, and then immediately starts to complain about the heat in the leather while her sister is suited up. Afterwards, Zi'on draws both the girls into a long hug, and kisses them each on the forehead. "Da loves you girls. Go on with your ma now." After releasing the girls back to their mother, Zi'on turns back toward his dragon. "I trust you can handle things from here."
Kiena's eyes follow Mur'dah as he moves away with Kalsuoth to begin helping in unloading and repacking the twin's belongings, then Kanekith going too. Ujinath remains silent but shifts to stand closer to his rider when the blue rider's fidgeting doesn't ebb. Doesn't help when the conversation becomes so stilted, no thanks to her. But it'll be okay! She takes a steadying breath, glancing sidelong to Ka'el and nodding slightly, if not an excuse to look away while Zi'on says his goodbyes to the girls after suiting them up. No, she can't look at that. Call her weak, but she just can't. Her gaze will slide to Mur'dah then and Ujinath's mind will brush up against Kalsuoth and Kanekith too. How's the repacking coming along? Almost good to go? "We can." Kiena welcomes her girls again once Zi'on sends them over and she may have left it at that but she manages to add after considerable pause. "Thanks. For… this." Whatever that means. Getting them ready? Letting them go? Who knows. She wants to go home now, before the stress of this works into her control. "Common girls. Maybe Weyrleader Ka'el will be nice enough to help you guys up and I'm sure Mur'dah has more sweets too for when we get back. If you're good." No using the blue as a jungle gym!
Mur'dah is good at his job, and quick to get all the girls' stuff transferred over to Kalsuoth. Shaking the other brownrider's hand, Mur'dah walks back towards the group, saluting Zi'on as he passes. "Ready?" he asks, approaching Kiena, Ka'el and the girls, though his concerned look is for the bluerider, before he glances down at the twins. "I've got your present in Xanadu, too," he promises with a grin. "It involves painting." And water. It's still summer, right? "Oh yeah, and sweets, totally." He always has sweets. For him, yeah, but he'll share.
Ka'el's watchful eyes continue to do just that. Keep watch. Watching for signs that Kiena may need things sped up a little. Or if the Western Weyrleader may be having second thoughts about all this. Kanekith will inform him if Mur'dah needs any help, which the brownrider ends up not needing. And things are kept civil and easy (ish) and before long, the girls are ready to go and things have been transferred from one brown to the next. Blue eyes linger on Kiena now, and picking up on her cue, he gives a light nod before moving to usher them towards the blue. "Alright then, who's first up? And anyone want to ride with me? Kanekith's got a big back see? Show'm Kane." And he does, by spreading his wings and flaunting himself as he loves to do. When they're ready, Ka'el helps one twin at a time up on the dragon of her choosing, giving each the usual warnings of what not to do while up there and strapping them in nice and secure.
Zi'on climbs back up onto Suldith's neck. He gives the girls a final wave, and then give Kiena a long look. For a moment, his stoic demeanor fails and he looks sad. "You know where I am if you need me." There's a polite nod to the other two riders. "If you'll excuse me. Goodbye girls. Be good for your mother." Suldith's wings unfold, and with a couple of easy flaps he is airborne and heading back to the other side of the bowl.
The girls will wave to Zi'on and Suldith as they depart and when Kanekith shows off and displays, they will watch in awe. Ezsrisa is almost won over but in the end the girls feel comfortable enough going together on Ujinath. No offence! Both brighten to Mur'dah's promise of presents which totally outweigh sweets. Excitement aside, they're aware something is different and something Big is happening so once Ka'el begins helping them up their mood rapidly tapers and sobers as he buckles them in. Kiena nods stiffly to Zi'on, watching as he and Suldith leave and then with a sigh, she turns to approach Mur'dah first. "Thanks for repacking everything. You know where to go?" They've covered this, haven't they? Once assured, she'll clasp the brownrider on the shoulder before moving on to Ka'el. "Thanks for seeing to them. Didn't give you too much trouble?" she murmurs and repeats the same shoulder-clasp gesture to the bronzerider too. Weyrleader, yes but Kiena seems to have blurred the lines. Her mind is probably a wee bit off track right now. Before she moves away, she'll give a 'we'll talk later' look if Ka'el isn't busy helping her corralling the girls along with Mur'dah. Or unpacking? Maybe Kiena will leave all that to the foster family… time will tell! But it's evident she's eager to leave and to be gone. Mounting up behind the girls on Ujinath, she'll buckle in and then have the blue give the cue to rise to the others before kicking off.
Mur'dah nods, "Yeah, I do," he reassures her, returning the shoulder squeeze before he's giving Ka'el another sharp salute and turning to mount up. Buckling in and pulling on his headgear, Kalsuoth kicks off and vanishes between to deliver the items to the foster family, and Mur'dah will definitely help unpack before he seeks out the girls to give them their gifts.
Ka'el takes no offense to the girls choosing their familiar blue buddy over show-offy Kanekith. Kanekith is rather glad too! He's a passenger- less sort of bronze, you see. Ka'el makes sure the twins are up there safely before he grounds himself and looks towards Kiena. And then Zi'on. There's an indescribable look on his face that's reserved for the Weyrleader. Not quite unfriendly, not not exactly pulling off neutral either. But Suldith is departing and now they must leave too, and Ka'el like Kiena is a bit eager to get back onto familiar home territory. To Kiena, he grins, banishing away that nondescript look. "Trouble? Never." Well… they aren't trouble yet, anyway! Only time will tell what adventures those twins will get into on Xanadu. He reaches out to lightly catch at her arm, giving her a reassuring squeeze. "We're right behind you." Then, he's off to mount up on Kanekith and take to the skies once they're all ready. Back Between. Back home!