Xanadu Weyr - Store Room
The storerooms here are carved into the stone, stretching back deep underground beneath the upper hallways that serve for residences and work areas. 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.
Toward the southern edge, near the path leading down to the hot springs, there's the laundry rooms, a set of steam-filled chambers where water and soap are scrubbed into fabric of various sorts and the dirt and grime is scrubbed right back out.
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.
Evening has descended upon Xanadu, bringing with it the dinner hour and busy cooks who bustle to and fro around the larder area, harvesting ingredients as necessary. The rest of the stores, however, are largely deserted, as it seems most people don't require anything the stores have to offer at this hour. There is one person, however, who is limping her way through the stores with one crutch on her bad side. The bruising on her face is slowly beginning to change color, although she'll likely look a wreck for a while. She's rooting around in a supply of tools, haphazardly discarding those that don't suit her purpose. Most of them are just shoved to the side, but occasionally she seems to find one particularly offensive and chucks it over her shoulder.
Rinian happens to be one of those rare ones that is coming to the non-food area of the caverns in search of something, but before she can started on her own search she hears noises. She follows the sound and finds…a Ness! Making a mess. Nesses making messes? There is a very good reason Rin isn't a harper. "Good evening, Nessalyn."
Nesses are always making messes. Although there's a small chance that this mess might actually get cleaned up. Maybe. The techcrafter twists quickly at the sound of Rinian's voice, wincing when that pulls muscles that still seem to be sore. "Riri." Whatever was in her hand is slipped back into the toolbox, as she begins rooting around once more. "What are you doing here?"
Rinian notices the wince and apologizes, "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. And the same as you, I suppose. In search of something I need." She politely offers, "Maybe I could help you find what you are searching for?"
"I wasn't startled," Nessalyn insists, even though she clearly was. She'll never admit to it. "What are you looking for?" She pauses in her rustling when the other girl offers to assist her in her search, abruptly drawing out a screwdriver that looks much like a few others on the floor. "I've found it, it's fine."
Rinian eyes the screwdriver, and the ones on the floor. With a shrug she crouches down to pick up some of the things that had been tossed there. "I need some cooler clothes, and certainly something cooler to sleep in and a lighter blanket. I was hoping to find some used things down here."
Nessalyn tucks the screwdriver into her messy bun, despite the fact that there's something that looks suspiciously like another one already hidden away up there. She seems faintly pleased when Rinian doesn't ask questions, and makes no move to help her - it's difficult for her to bend over, after all. "There's some over there." A thumb is jerked in the right direction, although it's hardly enough of an indicator.
Rinian picks up what she sees and tries to set it all someplace that makes sense, so she misses the indicated direction. "Sorry…where?" Not that she would likely pry anyway. She has got to be one of the least nosy people around here. One must question her upbringing!
"Here, give that to me," Nessalyn demands, holding out an impatient hand rather than allow Rinian to continue putting things away. "I know where it goes." Dumped right back where it came from in an entirely disorderly fashion! "I'll show you." It's not particularly kind, but it's still an unusual offer.
Rinian arches a brow, but offers the items in question to Ness. She takes Ness at her word though, because helping people is normal? Right. Surely Ness couldn't have an ulterior motive, right? She smiles, "Thank you, Ness. That would be very nice."
Nessalyn definitely isn't trying to distract Rinian so she can get to whichever shady things she really wanted, right? Tossing everything back into the bein she was raiding, Ness leaves her own pursuits behind to limp her way toward the appropriate part of the stores. "It's not nice," she mutters gruffly, "it just gets you out of my hair faster."
Rinian notes as she follows, "I'm not in your hair, there isn't enough room left." She eyes the screwdrivers. Did she actually make a joke? "Wouldn't it go faster for you if I helped you find what you're looking for?" Because it obviously wasn't the screwdriver.
Nessalyn allows a breath or two to pass before she huffs out a laugh, offering some form of tribute to that joke. "If it's going to be on top of my head, it might as well make itself useful." Because what is hair for, if not utility? There's a shake of her head as she comes to a stop near the gently-used clothing. "I'll know it when I find it. It'd be more work to try to explain it to you." That last, at least, is definitely true.
Rinian ahs softly as they get to the area that she needs. A quick glance shows that these items are more gently used than her usual hand-me-downs. She is probably asking the wrong person but… "Is it ok to just take what I need?" She's got plenty of hair, but she never thought of making use of it. Hmm..would it be a good idea to put hers up and hold the sharp, pointy objects of her trade? "And yes, I can understand how it might be hard to describe. Thank you for taking your time to help me."
Nessalyn is definitely the wrong person to ask, but she answers with conviction, "Yes, of course." It's entirely possible that she's leading Rinian astray on purpose, but there's no visible deception in her features. "If they didn't want us to take it, they'd lock it up." She gestures down the way to one of the locked doors, her gaze lingering a moment before she glances back to the other girl. "Sure."
Rinian can then blame Ness if the information is incorrect, but she nods, "Well that certainly makes sense." She tries to see if they are sorted by sizes, as that would make it a whole lot easier to go shopping, and she doesn't make a huge mess as she goes about it. "I wonder what they keep in those locked rooms?"
Blaming Nessalyn is usually a safe bet, and at this point most people will buy it whether or not it's true. "Of course it does," she returns, as though it must have made sense because it came out of her mouth. "Dangerous things. I'm assuming a few blades, and who knows what else. Anything they wouldn't want the kids rooting around in if they end up down here alone, I'd bet."
Rinian nods slowly as she searches, and then finds the area that seems to carry her size. The short people size. She's surprised to find so many choices as that isn't usually the case for her. "Good point. It wouldn't do to let just anyone get into things like that." You know, anyones like Ness maybe? "You and Sylvarin aren't really going to do something awful and blame it on someone else are you? You were just joking?"
Xanadu does have a number of short people who'd require more petite sizes. And there are always the teens, who may yet be hitting a growth spurt. "Yeah, that's what I hear." She sounds slightly skeptical of this fact, but she doesn't belabor the point. "We might. Why wouldn't we?" She turns a critical eye upon the woodcrafter.
Rinian looks over at the woman who is old enough to know better..right? "Because its wrong, of course. Why would you want to get an innocent person in trouble?"
"Why is it wrong? No one is being injured. No permanent damage is being done." Nessalyn's stare doesn't waver, one brow arching slightly in a challenge. It's a far more understated expression than it might be without her healing wounds, but the adversarial stare is still in effect. "No one is innocent."
Rinian turns to face her and leans against the shelving behind her. "No permament damage? To being falsely accused? No one is completely innocent, but they can be innocent of things they didn't do." She frowns a little as she tries to figure out how to put what she wants to say in actual words. "It is harmful though. Damaging a person's reputation for one thing. Think about how it would feel to be accused of something you know you didn't do, and you're not believed? Even if it is only for a short time? It would be awful."
"Well, first of all, no one is going to be falsely accused. Sylvarin was talking about baking something and blaming it on someone else. He's known for unusual flavors and lots of decoration, there's no one in this Weyr who would ever believe it was anyone but him." There's an annoyed roll of her eyes, as though it's taxing to even have to talk about this, but despite the underlying frustration her body language is deceptively calm. "It's not awful. People get it wrong, they accuse you, you know they're idiots, and you move on. Nothing about that is harmful. If I say I'm going to burn half the Weyr down and blame it on the bartender, then yeah, I get it. But if you can't hear about a prank without getting self-righteous, you're going to spend most of your time here miserable."
Rinian frowns a little again. "I don't mean to be self-righteous." She doesn't seem too bothered by the accusation. "I just don't like the idea of someone getting into trouble for something they didn't do." She adds, "Though you have a point about the baking. He's the only baker I've met so far." It seems her social skills are lacking in picking up on their brand of fun conversation.
"You have to do a lot more than anything Sylvarin was planning on doing to get into trouble around here." Nessalyn snorts dismissively with the words, as though the very idea were preposterous. "The worst they'd get would be a two-minute talking to, in which they'd proclaim their innocence and they'd be believed." She waves it all off with a flick of her wrist. "There are other bakers, but none like him around here." At least as far as she knows, or she'd be cozying up to them for free desserts as well.
Rinian gives her head a faint shake. "Back home something like that would get you in a whole heap of trouble. Too much of it could get you sent off out of the craft hall and back to wherever you came from." She sighs, "I wonder if I'll ever get used to this place."
"Well, you're not home. And like I said, you're going to spend most of your time offended if you try judging people here by the standards you're used to. You're not at your craft hall now." It's as much a warning as it is a suggestion. Nessalyn picks up one of the nearby tops, eyeing it for a moment before tucking it under her arm. It's definitely not her itty bitty size, but she seems to have some use for it. "Not with an attitude like that, you won't." And with that oh-so-reassuring sentiment shared, Nessalyn makes her way back to where she came from without so much as a farewell. Off to finish her nefarious plot, no doubt.
Rinian watches Ness go, absently chewing a bit on her bottom lip as she thinks that over. Needless to say even as she goes back to her own search, she's probably still thinking it over.