Xanadu Weyr - Contemplate the Stars Weyrbarn
Large and roomy, this weyrbarn was built with a bronze or brown in mind, for the stone couch inside this structure is certainly big enough for one. The place is vacant and has obviously been flooded in the recent past as a faint waterline can be seen, a grimy ring about the inner whitewashed walls. The slate roof has been repaired where it was pierced with a fallen tree.
All of the furniture has been removed from the living area, likely soaked in the flood and discarded, but the flagstone floors have been recently scrubbed free of the scummy silt and resealed to a shine. There's no kitchenette in this dwelling; apparently the former occupants ate in the caverns, but there is an alcove meant for a table and chairs with large windows that overlook the lake and outlets where both cooler and heating unit could be plugged. Large tufted tapestry rugs with shades of gold, blue and bronze are placed where the dining table will go and another where the couches will be are obviously Thea's handiwork and done with the soft camelid yarn native to her hold.
The best part of this home is the loft, accessed by a spiral staircase ingeniously crafted around a center post with the ends free - all fitted together without the need of nails. The loft itself is a wide, roomy space under the eaves with a sturdy desk, a bookshelf and single bed created on the wide sill of a large inset window in the peak. The thick, feather-stuffed mattress and pillow are new, as are the neatly folded stack of crisp linens and soft coverlet. The lack of curtains gives the sleeper a clear view of both the far distant shores of Black Rock Hold across the Caspian Lake and the expanse of stars at night. A small colorful stained glass lamp on the desk, a few books in the bookcase and another rug complete the space and add warmth.
Its late evening, well after dinner but not so late that the average person would be in bed yet. Its then that a knock comes to the door of N'shen's weyr. When the door is opened it might be a rather unexpected face, that of his father.
Someone has been hard at work rearranging his weyr, and it shows behind him as N'shen opens the door, looking a bit puzzled, then surprised. "Fa - D'had, come in." Stepping back, the young bronzerider skims a hand through his thick black hair, then flicks out his arm to indicate for the bluerider to enter. "Everything okay? Thea? The twins?"
"Everything's fine," D'had assures. "Twins are in bed, Thea's keepin' an eye on 'em in case they wake and I'm a little late on a certain turnday," he goes on to explain as he steps through the door producing a thin box that obviously wasn't wrapped by him.
"Turnda- oh." N'shen's puzzlement clears, and he smirks slightly as he accepts the box. "To be quite fair, I missed it myself. Time was I was most anxious to turn sixteen so I could finally join a wing. Now, well - being V'dim's assistant suits me just fine." And that would have nothing to do with a certain greenriding weyrling, would it? Leading the bluerider into the weyr, he makes for the table set back in its alcove, gesturing for the Weyrsecond to take a seat even as he swings into his own, picking fitfully at the wrapping of the box. "Everything going okay? Ain't seen much of you guys lately."
D'had chuckles as he follows into the space and then on to the table. Taking a seat he turns a grin on the boy as he opens that box. "Just been keepin' busy is all, but I'm sure you have too. Bein' V'dim's assistant and all." Beat. "How bout that girl of yours?" Curious he is, that's all. Inside the box are afew of those rather inscrupulous pictures that Thea would shoot him for having given the boy, but then father to son it seems fitting for sixteen.
As the paper comes off and the box is opened, N'shen gives D'had a thoughtful look, not yet glancing inside. "Been busy enough," he conceeds after a moment. "The old man loves to run me ragged, but it keeps me from getting bored, so I don't mind so much. And what girl would that be?" he asks dryly as he finally glances into the box, sputtering in surprise. "How on Pern did you get these past Thea?"
D'had nods slowly, watching. Waiting for him to get to what's inside. "Last time we talked there was something about a girl." What exactly he doesn't remember for certain. He chuckles aloud as the boy sputters however. "Oh, come on now. You don't think she knows everything, do ya? She said no, but I figure I was up to worse than pictures when I was your age."
"Nothing I haven't seen before," N'shen muses as he spreads the pictures on the table, tilting his head to the side to study them thoughtfully. "Well - nothing this, ah - pronounced. But." Coughing into his fist, he glances sidelong at his father and shakes his head, clearly amused, and a bit touched, by the gift. "I guess this means I finally have something to hide under my matress when she comes over to visit."
"I'm sure she's got somethin' else from the both of us," D'had assures on Thea's behalf. "Yer right though, should probably hide that when she comes around. And just a hint, closets work wonders for the real deal," he adds with a wink. He was a teenager once, and apparently he's not going to pretend things like that don't happen.
"I'm hardly going to hide some woman in my closet simply because my step-mother comes to visit," N'shen replies dryly. "I'm a bronzerider, it's to be expected, after all." And though he may not in actuality live up to the stereotype, he's not above putting it to good use when necessary. "Still," he adds, flipping idly through the pictures, "it's good information to have."
"Got ya this too," D'had notes, setting a bottle of whiskey on the table in front of the boy. Yep, he's going to pass all his vices onto his son in one night. "You got some glasses?" he inquires with a raise of a brow, "Or we just gonna go with the bottle?"
Silently studying the whiskey, N'shen glances from the bottle to his father and back again, then rises without a word, going to a cupboard. He takes a single glass and returns with it, placing it before the bluerider with a sweet smile. "Enjoy." Those amused green eyes wait, watching.
D'had opens the bottle while N'shen is fetching that glass. He smirks at the boy's amusement, pouring half a glass and returning bottle to table and sliding glass towards his son. "Bottoms up."
Shaking his head, N'shen nudges the glass back towards his father. "I don't drink," he says quietly. "Can't even really stand the smell of the stuff." In the weyr, Taozyuth fixes whirling eyes on the riders and rumbles approvingly, clearly in agreement with his lifemate on this score. "Few times I did try, I dunno - made me sick. Not like drunk sick. But please," he adds, nudging the glass closer, "enjoy."
D'had raises a brow, but thankfully he's not going to push it further than that. "Well then you put that up and save it fer me," he replies, lifting the glass in mock toast before swallowing half of it. "Or visitors," he adds. It doesn't have to all be for him specifically. "Anyway, hope ya didn't work too hard that day." Meaning of course the boy's turnday.
Snickering, N'shen lounges back in his chair, reaching out to idly rub a finger over the glossy surface of the table. "It'll go in my cabinet - I do keep some booze around, for visitors. I just don't drink myself." And he seems completely unbothered by how 'uncool' that probably makes him. "I did the usual - worked with the Weyrlings, taunted the Candidates, went swimming with Taozyuth. Nothing special."
D'had nods, "Long as ya had fun," he replies before tossing back the other half of the whiskey he'd poured. "Probably shouldn't stay too long. Thea's gonna be wonderin' and don't want you ta be fallin' asleep on duty tomorrow." Taughting the boy of course. "Wanted ta get that to ya," a nod to indicate the gift he'd opened earlier, "'for Ah forgot."
"Yeah, you old people, you have to actually sleep each consecutive day, I get it," N'shen retorts back, eyes flashing merrily as he drops his hand to rub over the head of a kitten who has decided to make the leap onto his lap. Nimble fingers scratching the feline behind the ears, the bronzerider shakes his head in mock sorrow. "Don't let me keep you from your beauty sleep, you sure need it." He touches the pictures again, and his smile shifts from mocking to cheerful. "Thanks for these, really. I appreciate them, and the sentiment."
D'had chuckles. "I'd worry more bout Thea gettin' the sleep than me. Faranth knows she ain't gonna til I'm back." Amusement tinges his voice however. "But glad ya like it. Just don't tell her bout those, she told me no." The man pushes to his feet then, leaving glass on the table as he stands. "Night boy." A solid pat to the boy's shoulder as he passes on the way to the door. "We'll see ya soon."
"I see how well that no worked. Give her a kiss for me - a nice one, if you please," N'shen adds, lips quirking in a smirk even as he pushes the pictures together, rising to clasp a hand to his father's shoulder. "Sleep well, D'had, and I'll see you around. Don't be such a stranger - now you know I have booze around for ya."