Xanadu Weyr - Meadow
A large, slightly rolling meadow is set high enough above the riverbank on both sides to avoid suffering from flooding, healthy ground cover and grass spreading out from either side of the dividing river. Scattered amongst the meadow are a variety of weyrs, each with a narrow path leading up to it from a main, winding road. Some are set under a few trees, while others sit by themselves.
Runner stables with the paddock beyond are to the south beyond the meadow weyrs, a smithy and a woodcraft shop are settled closer in towards the path to the clearing, while trees border the western edge of the meadow, and a faint outline of a stone wall and low rolling hills can be seen to the north. Wagons laden with felled trees from the forests to the southwest or ore from the mountains to the southeast are hauled by burden beast up the road through the meadow, over the bridge spanning the river to be processed in the appropriate workshops.
YAYYYY for RESTDAYS!! Not on the schedule in the infirmary, nor on the candidate chore list. So what is a candidate apprentice to do with an entire day to herslf? Why, write some letters and /try/ to catch up on her studies. A fraction of a bit at least. Kera is seated on the thick grass, leaning against a half buried boulder. Minimur is perched on the rock above her sunning himself while the apprentice turned candidate braces an old travel desk on her knees while she scribbles away with a rather unique looking pen that looks like an old fashioned syringe. It's mid-morning and the autumn morning is bright and sunny with a hint of a cool breeze.
Innes may not have the day off, but that doesn't keep her from minding a few minutes to spare in between running errands. She's not doing anything too important at the moment. Might as well take a short break to rest her feet and try to figure out exactly where she's meant to be next. The meadow seems like the perfect place for a bit of peace (with a lower likelihood of someone around to claim she's shirking duties), and so she happily trods along. Kera goes unnoticed at first, but upon a second scan of the area Innes spots her and grins. With a mischievous grin, she creeps up on Kera as quietly as possible, hoping to surprise her fellow candidate. When she's close, she announces loudly, "Good day, Kera!"
Kera pauses in her writing and glances briefly around the meadow while she considers her words. When a likely combination pops into her head, she peers back down to her paper as her pen resumes is journey across the paper, repeatedly. Too wrapped up in what she's doing to notice that she's being stalked. One would think after being stalked a few times, she would start to get a sense for when it's happening. But no. Innes sudden greeting startles so that her last letter she wrotes ends with a long slash towards the end of the page. Frowning at her paper with a sigh and shake of her head, Kera looks up towards the chirpy candidate with a smirk "And a g'morn' to you as well Innes."
Innes grins with self-confident pride as Kera falls victim to her little scheme. There's no hint of guilt on her face for causing her fellow candidate to slip up in her writing, even though she's watching closely enough to see it happen. "What are you doing?" she queries as she takes an uninvited seat on the grass nearby. "You're usually running in and out of the infirmary. Do you need something to do? Because I can help with that." She winks. She doesn't truthfully have anything for Kera to do, but that won't stop her from teasing. With one hand, she tears a few pieces of grass from the ground and begins twisting the longest piece around her finger.
Kera chuckles as Innes plops down on the grass next to her. A little shake of her head "No, don't need anything to ruin my restday thank youuuuu." Eyeing the page, she ignores the mistake Innes caused her to make and goes on scribbiling down her unfinished thought. "I'm just writing a couple of letters, then I'm gonna try to catch up a little bit in my studies." She speaks in a halting manner while her pen does its work. "What are you up to this morning?" Pausing her syringe, Kera peers to her new friend. "I've been busy with chores the last couple of days and haven't see ya since the other evening. Are you feeling better?"
"It wouldn't ruin your restday! Just add to it," Innes insists jokingly, but she lets the topic drop. She sits up a little to sort of peer at Kera's writing, but making no real effort to read it. Her curiosity is more about the fact that her fellow candidate is writing at all, and not about the content. It's a good reminder that she owes a letter, herself. "Are you telling everyone about the fabulous new friends you're making as a candidate, especially the one named Innes?" With the strand of grass wrapped tightly around her finger, she tugs until it seems ready to tear and then releases it, watching as the grass spirals out and falls away from her hand. "I'm running errands," she admits, "but I needed a little break." She cants her head, trying to recall when it was she last saw Kera in more than just passing. Oh. "I'm just fine. How about you?"
Kera gives a little nod. "Actually, yea. Was telling mom and dad about some of the other candidates." Smirking at the other girl, "At least errand duty is better than dishes. And me, here I am, having to suffer through an entire day of not doing any actual work." With a dramatic sigh "Oh, however will I manage it?" Cutting her eyes to Innes, she begins to chuckle. "Well take a break and tell me what was going on with you the other day at the beach."
"Only good things, I hope." Innes smiles hopefully, her posture relaxed. Good or bad, she's not overly concerned. It's unlikely she'll ever meet Kera's parents, so even if they hear horrible things… she'll be off the hook. "I don't mind errand duty, my feet were just getting tired." Or she was just getting bored. She picks up another piece of grass and repeats the wrapping motion, releasing it as before. "Nothing was going on," she answers with a shrug. "He was being rude, so I told him how I felt about it."
Kera cants her head at Innes, giving the other girl a curious look before shrugging and peering back towards her unfinished letter "You should be careful, even if he was being rude. I thought for sure you would have been sent on your way for a bit there." Considering the page halfheartedly, her attention goes back to Innes for a few long seconds "When I was first posted here from the Hall, I had a complaint sent to the Steward for assaulting a Weyrling." She gives a little snort and lowers her voice a bit "Who would have thought that dousing a bit of perfume on someone would be considered assault." Evidently, not Kera. Shaking her head at the memory. "
Innes lifts her shoulders in a shrug, allowing them to drop halfheartedly after a moment. "I'm not going to respect someone who doesn't show the same respect for me. A knot only means I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt until they show they deserve otherwise." Her tone is dismissive, and she waves a hand (sending a piece of grass flying) to indicate just how unconcerned she is. Or at least how unconcerned she wants to appear. "If they want to send me on my way, they can. Better than pretending to be someone I'm not," she says decidedly. One brow arches at Kera's story, and her expression is one of absolute bewilderment. "You doused someone in perfume and they called it assault?"
Kera and Innes are seated on the thick grass by a halfburied boulder, which a brown firelizard is sleeping on. It's midmorning and the autumn morning is sunny with a cool breeze in the air. Kera has an old travel desk propped on her knees as she leands against the boulder. A little nod in replay to something Innes says "It turns out the herbs that were in the perfume could have damaged his eyes if it had got in them. Maybe. Or so I was told when I got in trouble." Making a rolling motion with her pen clutching hand, she continues. "Anyway, long story short, the weyrling I doused was Mur'dah cause I thought something he said was rude. And I got in trouble with both the Steward and my Journeyman."
Sorel is in explore-y mode at the moment. Sure, he's been at the weyr for a bit now but one can only check out a new place so much in a shorter period of time. And even if he lived here his whole life he still might find new places. Weyrs are sneaky that way. The seacrafter candidate makes his way into the meadow, a piece of straw or something sticking out the corner of his mouth as he chews. The voices of Innes and Kera catch his attention however and he slowly makes his way closer. "Hello ladies." He greets, motioning to a spot not far away as if asking if it's okay if he takes a seat and joins them. "What's this talk of weyrlings and perfume?" He only caught clips of conversation after all.
Ila'den? He didn't catch a single piece of any conversation going on anywhere - aside from one much-too-familiar, 'Hello, ladies,' from his brother's voice. The bronzerider is appearing from… where? The massive bronze that usually follows after him is nowhere to be found, but /oh/, Western's Weyrsecond is there, and he's bringing one of those muscle-taut arms around Sorel's shoulders, and giving an almost-companionable squeeze that might really just be a subtle assertion of DOMINANCE (which it probably is, let's not lie). "Sorel," Ila'den begins, and the smile on his face is genuine delight. Those grey eyes shift, fall on Innes and Kera, and then he's giving them a mock salute with a crooked tilt of his lips. "Western's duties, ladies. I trust you're giving my brother a hard time?" And then there's a mischievous turn of his lips when Ila'den lifts his brows and turns his attention back onto Sorel, as if he's expecting some kind of… reaction. There's also a shoulder nudge, for good measure.
Kera is actually paying attention to her surroundings this time, thus Sorel doesn't sneak up on her like Innes did. Seeing him approach, she nods to the other candidate and clicking her pen closed, that letter won't be finished right this moment it seems. As he chooses a spot of grass by them, she smirks at what he heard of the conversation and flashes an amused look to Innes before shaking her head to Sorel. "Hi Sorel. Nothing you would probably be interested in. Just girls talking about perfume and it's uses." A innocent shrug lifts her shoulders, almost too innocent. Her fellow candidate suddenly being attacked by a visiting rider is watched with amusement. Brother? Nodding a greeting "Well met and welcome to Xanadu Sir." She gives a action that supposed to be a salute. "I'm Kera, and this is Innes." She speaks up for the other girl as if she couldn't do it herself.
Out of all the people to randomly show up at Xanadu, Ila'den was not on that list, or really, any list that involved Xanadu. So when the bronzerider appears and puts an arm around his shoulder, the younger man tenses and turns his head to give a very queer look at his half-brother. It pretty much says 'What the hell?' before he casually shrugs off the arm. A pretty clear 'go screw yourself' move. And then Sorel plops down on the ground, not particularly thrilled at being so much lower than the Western Weyrsecond but not wanting to really stand next to him either. "Perfume and its uses? What other use does it have besides making one smell.. pretty." That last word is added after a brief pause as he searched for a proper word, but even that one seems to fall flat. It's only then that he decides to speak words to the visitor, "Why're you here?" His voice is utterly flat.
Ila'den offers a smile up for the welcome to Xanadu line, though it might be amusement at the action-that-might-be-a-salute. "Well met, Kera," he says, smooth as those grey eye shift from Sorel, to her, to Innes, "And you, Innes." And then he's being shrugged away from Sorel, and the man watches with poorly-hidden humor as the young dopplegranger of himself settles, ignores, and eventually relents with less-than-pleased tones. "What do you /mean/ what am I doing here? I came because it's my turnday! I came for presents!" And then Ila'den is sparing Sorel the difference in height when he hunkers down into a crouch and leans in much-too-close with much-too-wide a grin and bumps his shoulder against his brother's. "And also to congratulate you on getting searched. But /mostly/, I am here for presents." And then those brows jump up as he looks to Kera and Innes, half a grin still clinging to his lips. "What do you think Kera, Innes? Doesn't a man deserve a gift on his turnday? Especially when he's come all the way from Western to say hello?"
Innes could certainly introduce herself, but why would she when Kera is here to do it for her? She's more than happy to sit idly by, smirking as her friend excuses their conversation as being about perfume. "Oh yeah," she says to Sorel, offering him a wink. "There's nothing I like more than smelling pretty and girly. Same with Kera." She jerks her thumb in the aforementioned candidate's direction. Ila'den's arrival receives an arched eyebrow and and a little wave of her hand that's conveniently placed near her forehead. That passes for a salute, right? "Turnday presents?" She shrugs. "I suppose if a man deserves turnday presents, he'll get them. If he doesn't, well…"
Kera considers the siblings, grinning at their interaction, well the visitors actions at least. Her fellow candidate's actions just confuse her however. Putting her pen away and putting her notebook away, Kera doesn't even have to think about the visiting rider's question, just nods "Of coarse. Everyone deserves something on their turnday." Looking between Innes and Sorel, she chews on her bottom lipbriefly before snapping her fingers and rumaging around in her satchel. "Ahha!" Tugging out a small clean bag, she offers up a strip of dried meat "Happy Turnday sir." Wow, huge feast offered up there huh? Of coarse the sight of the meat has her little brown waking up and giving a pitiful little churl, as if he were starving.
Sorel just grunts at the fact that it's his half-siblings turnday. Where was his present a few sevendays ago when he turned twenty? Huh? HUH? Yah that's right, he got jack. But Sorel isn't all bad, so what does he do? He digs into his pocket and pulls out a rather crushed and linty meatroll and tosses it at him. "Happy turnday." Again with the flat tone and very not amused look plastered upon his face. One can definitely tell that Sorel is not enjoying the bronzerider's presence. So he more than happily starts ignoring him in favor of Innes. It's unfortunate he doesn't know her better to know precisely when she's being sarcastic or not, so he just kinda offers this short chuckle of sorts at the comment about smelling girly. "Well I haven't met any men who douse themselves in anything flowery on purpose." But there could always be a first! As for her comment about deserving a turnday present he just snorts. Yup. Not touching that. "Not everyone." He offers to Kera before he's pushing up off the ground and dusting off his butt. "I was hoping to be able to sit down and chat for a little bit, but it appears something has come up. So I'll catch you two later." Ash hued eyes dance over to Ila and the candidate only offers him a glare before marching off back towards the barracks.
"Lady Innes, you wound my heart. You think I am a man undeserving of presents?" Ila'den places his hands over his heart, feigning hurt right up until Kera is holding out a piece of dried meat for him to take. The bronzerider takes it with solemn reverence (and a Cheshire grin), saying, "How did you know? You must be a woman after my heart." Well you're certainly going about it the right way, even if you're not /trying/ (and between us, don't try - ever!). Ila'den's breaking off a piece of the meat then, holding it out for the churling brown while Sorel tosses a /meatroll/ at him. "Oi!" Ila'den laughs, jerking to the side when he gets pelted by crushed food, and then watching with thinly veiled amusement as the candidate gains his feet and makes quite the departure. There's a roll of shoulders, leather jacket creaking with the movement as both of those gray hues settle back on the women. One, two, three Mississippi and he takes a bite of Kera's gift for himself. "Well, I suppose now it's just awkward if I hang around," Ila'den observes, moments before he gains his feet, tucks what's left of the dried meat into a pocket, and then holds out one hand each for Kera and Innes. "But it really was a pleasure meeting the both of you. And thank you, Kera. For the gift." And then, just like that! The rider is giving both ladies a roguish smile and, regardless of whether or not they've shaken his hand, he's turning his back to them and walking away, waving from over his shoulder. "Best of luck to you both!"