In Search of Music
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Xanadu Weyr - Store Room
The storerooms here are carved into the stone, stretching back deep underground. There is, after all, little need for natural light here; a series of electric lights are more than sufficient to illuminate smoothly cut walls and the assortment of supplies kept until they are needed once more.
For some of the things here, that time will be long in coming. Broken furniture and torn clothing awaits the opportunity for someone to repair it - or else the kindling and rag piles. Other items are more immediately useful; gently worn clothing and boots are neatly arranged in rows and on racks, especially in the quickly outgrown children's sizes, and an assortment of furniture and small appliances in functional condition await new homes.
A series of side rooms connected to the kitchen are the larder which feeds the Weyr through the winter. Sacks of grain lean against barrels of salted meat and wheels of hard cheeses stacked high. Refrigeration and dragonflight make for a more flexible winter diet, but it still takes a great deal of food to provide for this many people. The food is a tempting target for tunnelsnakes, and the occasional scuttle can be heard in the otherwise quiet depths of these caves.
Much of the stores are easily accessed, requiring only the appropriate permissions to be borrowed from. These supplies are, after all, here for the good of the Weyr and the people living here. A few rooms - those containing particularly valuable or dangerous items - are kept locked.


Even though she's a candidate now, that doesn't stop Kera from doing her needlework, unless you are out of threads. That little fact will stop her needle from flashing. That's why she's lurking around the storage caverns this evening. She's recently come from the baths, her wet hair is hanging loose and the ends drip down her back. Kera is sorting through a couple of boxes, one at a time of coarse. Minimur is perched on an upper shelf, peering down at his healer while she holds up differant small spools of thread. Every so often, she'll extend one towards the lizard as if comparing with a critical eye.

There usually isn't much reason for Weyrleaders to visit the stores. Their income is enough that whatever he my need, he likely could acquire new with little to no problem whatsoever. And plus, keeping track of stock is the job of the junior Weyrwomen, not him. So why does the young Weyrleader make his way down into the storeroom? Well, sometimes acquiring brand new things is no fun at all! Ka'el has a mission in mind as he enters the stores, looking as if he's fresh from the office considering his business casual attire. It's been back to work for him, and lately he's been in pleasant mood. Moreso than usual, as his moods have been pleasant for a time now. His arms are given a stretch behind his back as he moves through the rows of items, heading towards the small electronics side of things. He's alone. No Alloy today, and he whistles a tune to himself as he goes along.

Kera disregards several differant colorful thread spools for everyone that she puts in her 'keep' pile. Plucking another as she sorts through the differant various shades of the base colors, "Ugh, no definately not." is muttered as another spool is dismissed. This goes on til she is tossing another 'ugly' shade, but Minimur chitters and stretches his neck downward. Kera pauses and glances to the lizard, then frowning at the color as she holds it up to compare it against his hide. She starts to hear whistling and glances along either end of the row she's on. Shrugging since she doesn't see anyone, her attention goes back to comparing the spool of thread, with a shake of head head. "So ya like this one huh?" A few seconds later, Minimur chirls so she adds that to the keep pile. Now the whistling is a bit louder and she peers around, then crouches down, peering through the boxes to the next row over.

Ka'el gets distracted by a row of books that line a shelf. Unlike the books in the archives which hold volumes of relevant Weyr information, the books here are of the entertainment kind. Fictional stories written to please the mind. Adventures. Mysteries. Ka'el is not known for having his nose stuck in a book, but he does like to read. And so he begins to slow, still whistling, as he eyes the titles imprinted upon the spines. He hears someone. Possibly. There are always sounds to be heard here. The scuttling noise of creepy crawlies. The sound of people rustling through boxes and shelves. And then .. another sound… A ghostly sound sometimes that haunts the place. Echoed whispers that come fron nowhere. Light, scraping sounds upon stone. He lifts a hand to finger the spine of one of those books. "If you're the ghost of this place, rest easy. I'm a friend. No one that you wish to haunt, spirit. My life is hardly so interesting."

Kera leans first one way, then the other as she peeks through the cracks between the the crates and boxes. Seeing legs further down the opposite row, she packs up the box she was looking through. Gathering up the near dozen of differant colored thread spools, Kera starts strolling towards the end of the row. Minimur takes the quick approach. Why go all the way around when he can scramble up and over, which he does. His little talons make soft scratching or clattering sounds against the bare shelving. The curious brown peers down at the whistler, churling chaotically as if trying to mimic Ka'el little tune. While all this is going on, Kera is getting to the end of the row and rounding the corner. Seeing the bronzerider she glances around before starting towards the book section. "G'day sir. You're in luck today. No ghost about. Just a healer lurking around."

More noise! The scrabbling claws kind of noise that causes Ka'el to look up just as Minimur climbs over the top of the shelf. Oh. Firelizard. Not ghost after all? "You're not in here alone, are you?" he asks, perhaps recognizing the brown, perhaps not. Firelizards are firelizards! At a glance, they all look relatively alike. He quirks a brow up as he watches the brown, but then his attention is stolen by actual words (not spoken by the firelizard!). He glances down the aisle, spotting the recognizable face of Kera. "Oh. Not a wonder this guy looked so familiar," he says, nodding up to Mini. Grinning faintly, he turns to head her way, leaving behind the books he wasn't here to get in the first place. "I don't mind ghosts much. It's only when they start trouble that I find issue." He smiles, then glances to her box. "Find what you're looking for?"

Kera get's most of the way to where Ka'el is before chuckling up to Minimur on her perch, then back to Ka'el. "Oh, it's real easy to tell him apart from other browns. Just look at his little paws. All four of them are rather red. I've been looking closely at other lizards since I got him, but haven't seen any others that look like they are wearing red soled sandals." With a grin, she nods at the question. "Enough to at least get a start. Got an idea sketched out of Minimur I wanna do." Shifting the little spools around to get a better hold on them, she tips her chin up to the books, while she scans lettered spines. "How about yourself? You looking for something specific?"

Red paws? Ka'el peers. Huh. They are a bit red, aren't they? "Maybe you should've named him … Redpaws. Or Hotfeet. Or Bloodclaw." Ooh, that's a good one! He likes that, and that's easily told by the look on his face after he says it. Bloodclaw. What an utterly awesome name for a firelizard! He smirks to himself before looking back to her instead of Minimur's paws. Her and her many spools. "An idea…of what?" he asks, not able to visualize just what all of those spools of thread or for. A firelizard jacket, maybe? It is getting al ittle cooler now that the Turn has turned. Her glance to the books has him shaking his head. "No. Not here, anyway. This was a pitstop on my way to the electronics… The small ones," he says, nodding for her to accompany him as he heads that way. "See, I was looking at getting a music player for the office. I was told I could order one anew or purchase one here in the Weyr, but…I've always liked fixing up old things. So, figured here'd be a good spot to find an old thing that needs fixin'."

Kera smiles up to her unique firelizard before looking back down to the books then Ka'el as the Weyrleader thinks up alternate names for her brown. "Hmm, I have to admit, Bloodclaw does sound like a really good name." Eyeing her lizard a second she nods "I know he's chased after some greens, so if I see any red footed little hatchlings, I'll mention it." Turning an amused look back to the Weyrleader when he mentions a jacket, Kera is quick to shake her head "Oh no, I was gonna make a threadwork of him..like the stiched peice I have you." Kera frowns a bit as if uncertain "I did give it to you didn't I?" Or does she just think she gave it to him then lost it. "I wonder if I could train him to wear a little coat." is mused half to herself before shaking it off and nodding at the mention of a music player, Kera grins "Oh, that's rather handy. I've never been good with some things from the Technical crafthall. Fraid I'ld do more damage than good there." Tucking the little spools into her satchel, after counting them to make sure she fills out the little requisition sheet at the front correctly. "Want me to help ya look?"

Ka'el laughs and shakes his head whiel waving his arms. "Oh, noooo. I don't need any more firelizards," he says. "Alloy is more than enough, thank you." One dragon. One firelizard. He's a one on one type of guy! When they reach the end of the aisle, he turns down aonther one, scanning the shelves that are lined with things like alarm clocks, simple blenders, and other small appliances. "Music players, music players…" he says beneath his breath as he searches. "And you needn't look, Kera. Not if you don't want," he says over his shoulder to her. "They'll prop out in front of me eventually. And if not, I'll send someone down here later to take a second look. I know we have to have them." An abundance of them? Probably not. But one or two should be laying around! "How's Candidacy," he asks as he searches. "Getting along with everyone?"

With her hands free, Kera pulls her hair out of the way and gestures for Minimur to hop down to her shoulder. When he does, she steps along with Ka'el, peering along the rows up and down "I don't mind helping look for a bit. I've a little time til I gotta be back. And two sets of eyes might spot something quicker." Reaching up, she flip her hair back, scraping a few clinging strands from the side of her face. "I guess it's going well. I'm a bit out of my element with all the differant classes on top of what I already had. Oh, another healer appeared, I've not been able to learn where she was searched yet. And there's an Innes, she seems to be a bit of a character." The apprentice turned candidate hesitates briefly before shrugging "Well, I won't say I'm getting along with 'everyone'…..I mean really. How hard is it to scrape the muck from your shoes before ya go stomping all around everyone's cots'?" Needless to say, one male candidate has earned a smelly knickname from ther others.

Ka'el gladly accepts her help, as his own time is growing short as it tends to do quicker nowadays. Search, search. Ooh, what's this? It's so easy to get sidetracked in a place like this! He finds himself investigating some sort of remote control. What does it remotely control? He doesn't know, but there are buttons on it that are just screaming to be pressed. Which one of these is the 'Blow Up the Weyr' button that he should stay away from? He randomly presses a button and braces as he waits for something to happen …. It doesn't. Maybe it's out of batteries? "Most are out of their element," he says in regards to Candidacy. "Even if it isn't the first itme for some, every time feels like the first. As for tracking in muck, he pauses in his button pressing to eye her. "No way. The Candidate Coordinators are probably..not too happy with him either." He wrinkles his nose. "That the only bit of trouble though? If so, I'd say the lot of you are off to a grand start.

Kera goes along, scanning the labels on the boxes, and eyeing the interesting assortment of all manner of things with plugs. Glancing around, she notices Ka'el preoccupation with some remotey gizmo thingy. Scrutinizing it, then the rider, Kera doesn't attempt to stifle her laugh when a button is pushed and he seems to be…waiting. She resist the urge to ask him 'What were ya expecting to happen?' Nodding agreeably to his advice, since he went through it himself. Going back to scanning the shelves, Minimur creeps down Kera's arm til she ends up snuggling him to her as she walks along, one wing drooping lazily across the healing candidate's arm as she shrugs. "I don't if he was spoken to or not. I made a quick exit for fresh air with Innes on my heels." That last causes her to chuckle.

"Innes seems alright," Ka'el muses with another glance at that remote control before he leaves it alone. "I've only spoken with her once, not counting Turnover. I'm afraid I didn't make the greatest of impressions, largely thanks to Kanekith hijacking my mouth." A smirk, and he pauses in his search. "The Candidates seem well-rounded. None too old or crazy young. Different personalities. It'll be a good hatching, when it happens." He turns to look at her. "Enjoy Candidacy, alright? Hopefully you'll only go through it once, but … regardless've of that, enjoy it." He smiles and nods towards the exit. "I'll find the music player another time. I need to get back to work. Have a good day, eh?"

Kera lift a brow over Kanekith hijacking Ka'el's mouth. "I'll have to ask her about that when there is a bit of quiet in the barracks sometime." Giving up the search on this row, she glances to the bronzerider with a smirk and shake of her head "I wouldn't say there aren't a couple of crazy ones in there." Uncertain about how to respond concerning the candidancy, she simply nods "Alright sir. Have a good evening." She waves to the departing rider and turns to go fill out the sheet up front.


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