Xanadu Weyr - Craft Complex
This large area has been painted a soft cream with dark orange trim used as an accent. It's separated into a variety of smaller sitting areas, couches and chairs organized into rings and squares, tables set where they can be used easily. Recessed electric lights in the ceiling provide a warm glow, and a row of angled skylights on the eastern wall above the entrance give some natural light when bleary crafters first emerge. There's often a cart with klah parked off to one side to help with waking up or finishing that important project - or simply to be enjoyed with comfortable seating and good company.
Along the southern edge, an open archway leads to a library of books and records. There's something for every craft, it seems, from tomes of caprine diseases, to Pernese history and law, to gemstone identification, to sheet music, to sea charts and herbal manuals. There's even a few works of fiction, though none of it seems very well organized. Whatever is sought, it's probably here… somewhere. A few desks for studying are tucked in amongst the shelves, each with a lamp to illuminate the reading material. Near that archway, a long table holds a row of computers. They're connected to databases all over Pern, and are available for general use except when the computercraft requires them.
To the north, a pair of double doors open onto a grand hall, the vaulted ceiling designed with acoustics in mind. This space is used for lectures and concerts, rows of benches set up to face the front. Along one wall, instruments hang free or on shelves for anyone with the appropriate skills to use. There are often harpers here, practicing their craft.
A pair of hallways lead back from the western wall, one going to the apprentice dorms and the the private quarters for the ranking crafters posted at the weyr. The other provides access to the various workshops.
It's late morning, just edging toward the hour for lunch, and the craft complex is in that mid-morning stage where simple projects are winding up, and larger work is being put off slightly to start in earnest after eating. Meion is one of the exceptions to that trend, having taken over one end of the computer table. She's pulled the three end computers together into a cluster, so she can shift back and forth between them, leaving half the table bare and creating a buffer between Her Workspace and the terminals that are still available for general use. Right now she's staring intently and somewhat blearily at the rightmost of the three, periodically glancing to the notebook in her lap and paging through information on the other two screens to cross-reference … something. A lot of numbers, by the look of it. She looks like she's been there a while - based on the collection of empty mugs that have built up next to her workspace, she's probably worked through the night.
Numbers numbers? Numbers! Numbers… numbers? …numbers. D'lei arrives from down the back hallway, looking around the area at it empties out. Mmmh… wait. His gaze shifts back to Meion, obscured as she is by that collection of computers, and he tilts his head to the side consideringly before giving a small nod. And then he approaches, taking the chair that would be for the rightmost of those terminals and giving it a spin so that it faces the computercrafter, then sitting himself down so as to put his face in the position of next-monitor-in-sequence. And then? …he sits there. Will she notice? Well, eventually… probably… but he'll find out! Or at least, he'll sit there for a fair bit and wait, and watch, and see!
Why is Risali there? DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, THAT'S WHY. But she is there, not exactly on the heels of D'lei, but close enough for it to be suspicious if anybody were paying attention. As it stands, Risali is moving considerably more slow, still subject to using a crutch even if the angry bruising on her face has started to turn colors and look a little less horrifying to behold. UNIMPORTANT. Important is Risali taking in Meion and D'lei, tilting her head towards the Weyrleader as if asking a silent question, and then moving to join them. See, Risali grabs the chair that'd be intended for the leftmost terminal and then sits herself there, resting crutch between her legs and her elbow on the desk so that her chin can drop on top of that fist and she can watch, with all the quiet amusement she can muster. This isn't remotely unsettling or suspicious. Not in the least.
It speaks to that particular hyper-focused space some crafters can get into, that Meion manages to be completely oblivious to the approach behind her. A minute passes before she seems to notice that she's no longer alone, and she turns to the occupant of the extra chair, not really looking at who it is. "M'using all three, but the ones at the end there are free -" She glances up to check that those _are_ free, and that's enough for her to realize -who- she's just put off. "Er. I mean." She comes up short, as the part of her brain that wants to get back to cross-correlating data is brushed firmly aside by the part of her brain that's rousing from sleep with a spike of adrenaline. She just brushed off the Weyrwoman. They're going to kick her out and she won't be able to come back and maybe if she's nice they won't make her leave all her notes behind… She stammers, but doesn't manage another coherent statement immediately.
Weyrwoman to the right of her! Weyrleader to the left of her! And there in the middle… is Meion. D'lei's got a grin for just a moment before he ducks his head in the attempt to get it to disappear as he sees Meion's reaction as she rises back up to Human Interaction levels of awareness… but no, he's not going to help. He's not going to help Risali, either, though his eyes shift past to her with amusement that is now somewhat better hidden… but she knows him well enough to see it. Go on then! WEYRWOM-AT-IT.
BLESS YOU, SWEET MEION. BLESS YOU A THOUSAND TIMES OVER. The moment the computercrafter starts to speak, Risali leans in just a little closer as if she means to catch every word, and - ohp! Recognition. Risali's lips pull at the corners, a hint of amusement that bespeaks to mischief, a moment of hushed laughter that has those grey eyes jumping to find D'lei and not bothering at all to hide her own amusement for that reaction. She's not laughing at Meion, more the situation, and maybe that's why something a little more gently apologetic crosses her features in tandem with that next breath. "It's alright," Risali offers, "honest. This does look complicated, though. What are you doing?" That curiosity is genuine, grey eyes jumping to numbers in notebooks to the three screens that Meion has commandeered for herself. D'LEI, YOU ARE JUST THE RUDEST RUDE.
Meion looks straight at Risali for a moment with abject relief at her expression - then follows that glance to realize D'lei is there too, and she's nervous and relieved at the same time. She stumbles over herself slightly - "I'm, um." Briefly she tries to think about how to explain what she's doing, and then she just plows forward with the complex version. "There was something I saw in the data the other night, when I was looking through some of the old records - I wanted to try cross-comparing it with some of the other notes. I think maybe the old system recorded temperatures with an offset from how we do it today - like, all the numbers are a lot higher, but they go up and down the same amount, exactly.." She indicates a page in her notes, where she's been manually graphing two lines that follow exactly, but with values almost 300 apart. "So, maybe that would… let us… um. Do temperature things." The practical implications are a little harder. "But - what happened? Are you okay?" Last time she looked, only D'lei was showing signs of injury, and now…
D'lei smiles to Meion as she looks his way, with a slight nod of greeting that might be more traditional without the sneaking-up-on coming first, but… still. He tilts his head as he listens to her, the social-smile edging over into one that's more curious as she talks about numbers and temperatures, then wry - almost to grimace - as she proceeds to those questions. A glance across her, to Risali. "Seriously, Risa, you don't have to make everything a competition…" he says with a teasing grin, then glances back toward those notes and that rise and fall of number-line. "What're the temperatures of, anyhow?" he asks, as the first line of practical in amid that data.
"Temperatures?" Risali echoes, leaning in to take a look at those graphs with knitted brows and the kind of concentration that says she wants to understand. It's not until that question of her wellbeing that Risali looks up, grey eyes finding Meion's gaze with lips slightly parted as if she didn't quite hear it, and then jumping to D'lei when he speaks. Ha. Risali grasps at that hint of humor and runs with it, scrunching up her nose and sticking out her tongue before breathing out, "Of course I do; I can't let you be the best at everything." Even getting beat up, apparently. But she leaves it at that, with another smile for Meion that's lacking her usual mischief and maybe just a touch awkward. "I'm fine, honest. I fell." WHAT. "From a dragon." Brows knit. "Right. So what D'lei asked. What are the temperatures of?" SMILE. AWKWARDLY. Listen, Risali is not the best with people, but she is trying okay.
Data describing actual things? What a novel concept! This data certainly describes something, but that's a few layers of problem back for Meion. She flips pages back to look for her notes on that, reassured by Risali's vague assurances. "Uh. So, it's from something I noticed in the local files. There's something actively recording data into the Weyr's local storage device. I don't get all of it, but - there's this one column here, and it matches up with this other data - this is the records they've been keeping of the hatching sands. So I think maybe that's what the sensor is looking at?" She grins. "But if it is, that also would help me find temperatures in the old data, because they're not in the range I expected!"
There's a flicker of wry from D'lei for Risali's explanation, but Meion just gets interest. He leans in, looking at those notes. "Huh. I mean, we do have a radiant heating system down there. There certainly could be something in it that's doing temperature readings… though I'm not sure we could find it without digging the whole thing up." A crooked smile. "Which is not a good idea right now." He's gotten used to clarifying those things! "Still, it seems plausible enough…" He leans back a little, considering further.
"Huh," Risali offers up, shifting again to look at those notes as if she might decipher what they mean, grey eyes jumping to D'lei when he speaks and then back down to paper as her lips soften to a frown in thought. One, two, three, and her attention is back on Meion. "I wasn't trained in the techcraft," she offers up first, as if to lend clarification to her own struggle to grasp the exact concept, "but if, once the eggs hatched, we could dig up the sands…" Risali looks back towards the weyrleader, as if gauging just how plausible that might be. "Would it help? If there was something measuring the heat on the sands, would it help you correlate the data better?" Because hey, Risali might not get it, but that doesn't mean it's not important.
Meion considers on Risali's offer for a moment, and makes a sort of equivocal gesture. "One of the dragonhealers has been measuring the sands twice a day. That's where I got this information from" - she points to the numbers that seem reasonable for temperatures. "But -" and now she's thinking on her feet, of the sort of thing she's never considered before. "Once the eggs hatch, I wonder if we could try going the other way. If it's sending its temperature to the computers, maybe it's also listening and we could adjust it from here?" She looks eager at the prospect. "If we did that, then I could write a program that notices if the temperature isn't what we expect, and maybe it could even adjust automatically." A very overcomplicated thermostat with lots of room for error! But it would be a _really neat_ thermostat!
"I'd want to check the specs," D'lei says about the digging-up of sands. "I remember seeing something about a meltdown, a couple decades back, and before we dig anything up I'd want to make sure we could put it back together safely." There he goes, being responsible and wanting to not burn everything down. BORING. Though… he listens with a sharpening of interest as Meion continues, with a slow nod and then a firmer one. "Even if we just had a better alarm system… I'm sure the dragonhealers would love something that shouted at them before the queen noticed things going wrong." He gives a wry half-smile. "We'd have to work out the details… but I rather suspect they'd be interested." Talking to actual people! Things having real-world applications! Gasp!
Risali is way out of her element here, y'all, but she is LOVING IT. There's a nod for both Meion and D'lei -Meion in order to acknowledge how she is getting her information, and D'lei to show agreement before they BURN EVERYTHING TO THE GROUND. The goldrider shifts her attention back to Meion's notebook as the woman explains what could be done if the right systems are already in place, takes in the logistics of what her programming capabilities could yield to make so many lives potentially easier, and then looks between D'lei and Meion with a curl of lips that speaks to amusement and a soft huff of laughter before she looks back down. "That would be amazing," she breathes, because it absolutely would be. And then there's a hesitation, a pause as those grey eyes flicker back up to find amber, as her lips move and then she asks a question that comes just slightly haltingly. "So… could you do this correlation of data for something else?" Which might sound like a stupid question, because of course she probably can, but SEGUES, MEION. GIVE HER SOME CREDIT. "Like, say…" A beat. "A point of origin?" Way to go there on that explanation, Risa. ABSOLUTE ACES.
A point of origin. That doesn't sound too hard, does it? Just a matter of triangulation, or something more or less like it. "If we have enough data, then… I mean, probably! I can do the same sort of triangulation that the navigators do, but I can probably do it with less data if I have some time to work on it." Real work! For the Weyr! That's definitely a good way to minimize yellings-at for monopolizing all the computers like Meion is doing. "I mean, I'd need to know a little more, but I'm happy to try."
The corner of D'lei's mouth quirks up as Risali changes the subject, because right, yes, there are other things to talk about. He nods as she explains it - or at least, makes a vague outline - then again as Meion agrees, at least vaguely. "So," he says, to take up those explanations, "It's a rather muddy data set. You see…" He makes a slight shift back in the chair, mouth shifting as he works over words. "We've got some… incidents." A moment's hesitation, and then a half-smile. "Shipwrecks and the like. There's always some, of course, but… we think there's more than usual." His gaze is steady, observing Meion as if to assess her assessment of the problem-space. "We'd like to know if there's a pattern. If there's, oh, something dangerous out there -" so off-handed, he makes it sound "- and where it's coming from." He hehs. "…or that we're crazy and it's just normal variation, I suppose. We'd like to know that, too."
'Happy to try,' and Risali seems happy to hear it. She leans forward to catch Meion's shoulder with her hands in a gentle grip, to give her a gentle shake around too big of a smile and words of, "You're the best," before she lets her go, before those grey eyes jump back to D'lei with that smile still intact and a wrinkle of her nose that communicates something else adoring. But then Risali's nodding as D'lei finishes his explanation, shifting forward in her chair just a bit as that smile falters and brows knit inward again. "We are also asking that you be discreet. There is…" Grey eyes jump to amber again, searching for words or answers there before continuing with, "a possibility that somebody might not like this information being looked at too closely, on the off chance that we're not crazy and misinterpreting some kind of natural phenomenon. Would you still be willing?" Because nobody should take blind risks! At least, not completely blind ones, anyway.
A glance between the pair. This is happening, apparently. In a real sort of way. "Of - of course." Meion is suddenly, acutely aware of just how many people pass through this room, right over her shoulder. "Is there.. is there a less public place where I could get a computer?" Not that anyone in the weyr stands much chance of looking over her shoulder and having a clue what the columns of numbers mean - but paranoia is rarely rational. She pauses. Blinks blearily. "And - maybe we could get some klah?" That request is less hypothetical-future, and more the realization that she's having trouble focusing on either of their faces.
D'lei nods again for Risali's additions, with a more somber shift to his expression for it. They might be crazy! Ooor there might be someone out to get them. At least they're willing to consider both possibilities? His gaze remains on Meion, intent but more than willing to wait as long as it takes for a proper choice… which she makes! There's a grin, for a moment - even with the seriousness of the question - and then a nod. "Of course." A glance over to Risali, and he adds, "Thari won't be at her desk for a while." A faint grimace for that, and then he stands up, with a glance over Meion's used klah cups before he gives up on figuring out which one and just picks up a few to take over and drop off while he picks up a fresh one for the awake-giving powers of hopefully-fresh-ish klah.
WELCOME TO THE CLUB OF BADASSES, MEION. At least, that's probably what Leirith would be booming to the world if she were not under strict orders to shut the hell up about whatever discussion is happening in this room, between a Weyrwoman, a Weyrleader, and a Computercrafter. So instead, Risali winces for talk of Bethari, and adds, "There's plenty of space in there for you to work, and D'lei and I will be right next door, in case you find something or need us." So easy reach! But then she's watching D'lei retrieve mugs and hopefully comes back with MORE KLAH. How does Risali fill that awkward lapse in conversation? Awkwardly, of course. "So earlier, about the sands and the eggs… have you been to see them yet?"
Meion shakes her head. "No, I hadn't." A pause. Those are Leirith's eggs, so… "I mean, not that I don't want to; Leirith is…" She pauses. "I'm just usually asleep at normal hours, and.. it felt weird just sneaking in there at night, and I'm always trying to get a little more done on this" - she indicates the mess of papers and mugs all around her workspace. Come to think of it, she's never actually managed to make it to see the eggs any of the times she's been at a Weyr; she's always so busy, and then suddenly they're hatched before she ever thought to see.
The miracle of klah! The marvel of caffeine! The… two cups of it that D'lei makes, both with generous milk and sugar… because Risali likes it, and because he's got this suspicion that Meion has been about as good at food as she has been at sleep. He makes his way back with them, stepping in to lean between the pair of them to set the mugs down and then back so as to not block view… and to give Risali a diagonal glance. "It'd only be fair," he says to her. "Since we're already interfering with Hall duties and all." Dragons, folks: they're the best for making the enigmatic statements between couples even more enigmatic.
There's a hint of a smile as Meion starts and does not finish just what Leirith is. "You don't get lonely?" Because that sounds lonely. But there's D'lei with drinks. LOOK AT THAT EXPRESSION, it says so many things as Risali reaches for that mug of klah and pulls it closer, as she tilts her head to find D'lei and then reaches out to brush fingers down along his arm until her fingers are pushing through the spaces in his and giving a squeeze. It's probably a thank you, because she's drawing her hand back almost just as quickly to handle that mug of Klah, and it's not until she's had a sip that she's setting it down and breathing out, "You're right," to D'lei. "And it will give her a good excuse to skirt around those duties we're already interrupting too." So now Risali is clearing her throat and turning her attention back onto Meion. "Would you… maybe want to get closer to the eggs? You could maybe even take the temperature of the sands yourself, if you wanted, and you wouldn't have to sneak to do it. We could make time for you." A beat. "As a candidate. If you wanted."
Lonely? That's not the question Meion expected, and it catches her off-guard a little. "I mean, sometimes, but. It's not like the computercrafters don't…" She stops -before- actually saying anything about exactly what members of the craft actually get up to. "I mean. Yeah. But it's so easy to get wrapped up in work, and…" A pause, as her answering the first question is pre-empted by the second, more consequential question. "What." Meion looks utterly lost. It's not that she doesn't have a concept of what Search _is_ but… that's a thing that happens to other people. It's much too generous. "I mean, you don't have to offer that!"
D'lei tangles fingers back with Risali's, with just enough time to squeeze before she's moving on to important things. Like klah! He nods to her, then turns his gaze to Meion to listen to her confusion, er, answer. Actually, mostly confusion, but… he grins. "S'true," he says. "We don't." FACTS. D'lei brushes his fingers along Risali's shoulder on the way to leaning lightly on the back of her chair, amber gaze on Meion. "But really, that's just because Leirith is perfectly capable of demanding it herself, so it's not like she'd need to pressure us to do it." Another grin, playful before it softens. "It's not actually a bribe - or a reward, either. It's more… we don't actually know what the dragons are looking for. We've got hints, but there's no clear pattern. So… when we see people who might fit…" A shrug. "We tend to think it's worth trying."
Risali hides her amusement for what computercrafters do or don't get up to by biting down on her bottom lip and diverting her gaze. There's definitely a hint of smile still lingering in the corner of her lips thought when she nods for explanations about getting wrapped up in work because - "I understand that." And she does. It's the next part that has Risali's lips parting, then coming back together when D'lei's fingers brush her shoulder and the Weyrleader assumes the helm for answering. Risali's attention remains on Meion as well, the Weyrwoman nodding in agreement as if this might reiterate the truth in D'lei's assessment. "And Leirith has a thing for people she thinks are badass," comes around another smile, as Risali retrieves her mug of klah and pulls it a little closer. "You've convinced her - and me - that you're exactly that. So what do you say? Because the next step is Leirith asking you herself and -" « NOBODY WANTS THAT, MINION. » A wince, because she totally is booming into everybody's voice.
It takes a few passes at the explanation to start to break through Meion's general sense that clearly this must be intended for someone else; someone it would actually be appropriate for. But she's starting to get there, right when Leirith says something loud enough to make her visibly cringe and grab at the back of her chair to steady herself. "I. I never thought. Do I have to answer right now?" There's a part of her head that wants to run screaming - this isn't how she pictured her life going forward! - and another part that wants to say yes, yes, yes and throw herself to hug… no, that's definitely not a good plan. Injuries. So she wavers, looking eagerscared. "Maybe.. could someone show me the way to the sands?" In her time here, she's mastered the routes between her room, the craft center, and the kitchen. She is maybe a little focused.
Compubadassery! It's a real thing, or so Leirith would claim. There's a tilt of D'lei's head to the side to follow that mental boom, and a flicker of amusement just a moment later. "You've got some time," he says to Meion. "You can also change your mind about it… at least, up until the hatching." A crooked grin. "But yes. Sleep on it, if you'd like." Hint, hint, oh-so-subtle-a-hint. "As for the sands… we're heading that way ourselves," he says to Meion, then gives a glance down to Risali. "That 'inappropriate' costume we heard about," he says by way of explanation to her. "I want to see just where it actually falls." What he's really asking is, how many milli-D'merials is it?
Risali's answering expression for Leirith's invasion is sympathetic, even if no real apology comes from Risali. Instead she's watching Meion work through her reactions and — dang it, Meion. It's NEVER A BAD TIME FOR HUGS. Instead, Risali smiles when D'lei answers, tilts her head to look at the Weyrleader and then focuses back on Meion. "There's no rush." But she will leave it at that, because anything else might well become pressure, and now they talking about the sands and costumes and Risali is rolling her eyes as she meets D'lei's gaze. "Off. My guess is that it falls completely off." Because D'MERIAL, Y'ALL. THE RESIDENT PERV. But now Risali is pushing herself to her feet, using her crutch so as to not faceplant right down on Meion. She moves just far enough to press herself in against D'lei's side, to sling her non-crutch using arm low around his hips as she tilts her head towards Meion. "Whenever you're ready." Then they can go!
Meion pauses a moment, weighing uncertainty. As the weyrleadership rise together, she sits for a moment, considering, then rises. "Let me - I'll com with you?" She's honestly not going to get any more real work done here - to be honest, she probably hadn't accomplished much in the last few hours besides sitting and staring at the same few lines of data.
D'lei puts his arm back around Risali, because he is the stable one now! …in the staying-upright category, not anything else. "If it falls completely off, it's not a costume any more. Just a mediocre rug." And the world has enough of those! He nods to Meion as she rises. "Come on, then. Bring your klah." D'lei is not yet so stable as to carry two people, so Meion will just have to stay awake for the journey. It begins with a single step! And then another one, out of the platonic flicker of computer-cavern and into Rukbat's light. And the clearing!
Xanadu Weyr - Observation Level
Dark blue seats form a semi-circle around the sands below, the lowest row separated from the multicolored red and white sands by merely a railing. The seats climb upwards, each row a bit higher than the previous, and they are broken up into sections by three sets of staircases. Between the first and second section, a glass wall descends to separate the observers from the heat of the sands. Air is kept in motion through a set of fans, and so these seats are quieter and cooler than the rest… though the noise and heat of the sands is still present.
Lights are evenly spaced along the outer wall, lighting the seats and the sands easily, though they tend to be dimmed unless a major event is taking place. A large balcony overhead connects to the glass wall. Vents for cooling run along the bottom of it, and the ledge provides a place for observers of the draconic kind to watch without obstructing the view for others.
The sand below is variegated in hue, individual grains of red and white that have a pinkish hue when seen from across the circle of the hatching grounds but - up close over that railing - are clearly two varieties mingled.
You did say D'lei can't carry two people. SO WAH-LAH. WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT IT IS OKAY FOR HIM TO CARRY ONE. That's probably why Risali is on his back and nobody is safe as Risali JOUSTS WITH HER CRUTCH FROM ATOP HER STUDLY STEED. Just kidding. Except she really is on his back, and she is definitely waving that STICK OF DOOM around with vigor. She's also tilting her head to look from Meion to D'lei as they lead the way to those fabled sands. CLIMB ALL THE STAIRS, D'LEI. DO IT. YOU GOT THIS. "… And they're all a bit odd." The eggs, she probably means. There's LEIRITH OUT THERE THO, MOM-SITTING HER EGGS, PROBABLY SQUISHING GAROUTH, DOING IMPORTANT, QUEENLY THINGS. Yep. Enjoy that. That's my re-set.
So these are the sands. The warm is so much more present in person than the data lets on; the column of numbers less prone to induce sweating and slight wobbliness - or maybe that's the sleep deprivation. Probably both. Meion walks up to the frontmost ring of seats and then crouches down in front of a seat instead of sitting, putting both her palms on the ground and feeling how the heat radiates up. She stares out over the sands, from egg to egg, as a sense of faint unease rises in her. They're all so… alive-feeling. She'd never really considered how much they already feel like /someones/, even in this state. "They're.." She looks like she wants to say 'beautiful', or something of the sort, but what comes out is "..fascinating." Honesty.
Risali is COMPLETELY KIDDING except for the serious parts. So, y'know. BUSINESS AS USUAL. (Serious business.) It's kind of ambiguous whether the healers will be happy with D'lei for re-building those muscles, or upset that he's going to re-injure himself, but hey. He's here, he's survived, so has Risali, so has Meion, and nobody important has gotten smacked by that crutch, so. ALL GOOD. Garouth is indeed out there, his bronze and black between Leirith's mustard and the red and white of the sands and his eyes mere yellowed slits that shift to take in the change in viewers with a minimum of effort. He's got to save his energy, after all; there's a lot of watch to be kept here. That gaze shifts to Meion as she comes to look, not objecting to her but… noting her, just in case he might have to object later. D'lei sinks himself down to one knee with the help of hands on the rail, the better to let Risali get off his back - because she's definitely not jumping around as well as usual. Also because he's maybe not up for as prolonged a steed-duty as usual, and he's going to stay in that lean for a moment to recover his breath. He tilts his head to the side, regarding Meion as she feels the heat of the sands and observes those eggs, and nods. "They're already starting to develop… selves, even before they hatch. But they're… strange. Not quite… anything, yet."
Already lurking among those dark blue seats is a Nessalyn, the techcrafter lingering in a far section of the observation level, staking claim to a spot where no one will bother her. Not that anyone is likely to bother her, but with that white knot it doesn't hurt to take extra precautions. However, the arrival of familiar faces does peak her interest, and she leans forward in her seat to try to get a better view of what the three below are up to. Whatever they're saying can't reach her, and when her eavesdropping fails to prove fruitful, Nessalyn decides to sneak down the stairs. It's an effort that's somewhat encumbered by her crutch, and the way she has to hobble-hop her way down the stairs to move closer to them. But shhhhh, she's totally subtle.
The sands are so warm. Why is that so surprising to Meion, when she's spent the last fifteen hours correlating records of temperatures on the hatching sands? They didn't say it was chilly, or even comfortable - but still, the visceral reality of it it, the lack of sleep, the presence of these proto-minds nudging at the edge of perception with a _something_ that isn't the focused telepathy of her father's green, or the BROADCAST MESSAGES of Leirith. It's discomfiting to be so close to. It's discomfiting to consider walking away from. So she kneels, palms on the sand starting to edge toward hurt as the heat keeps constant on them, and she wrestles with what she actually wants, and she just nods her acknowledgment of D'lei's explanation.
D'lei smiles, seeing Meion's expression as she thinks, and he nudges himself back from the edge of the sands, stepping back to Risali. His arm slides around her, hers does the same to him, and then they continue to taunt Nessalyn by speaking QUIETLY to each other, in words meant to not distract Meion from her thoughts as she gazes at the eggs that gold and bronze on the sand made and guard together… and thus far too quiet to satisfy the thump-roaching techcrafter's curiosity. Because they are deliberate jerks, clearly.
Wow, some people are just rude. When the trio doesn't have the decency to talk at a volume that she can overhear from a safe distance, Nessalyn creeps closer. And closer. Except it's not really creeping, as there's the audible meeting of the crutch with the ground every other step, in spite of her best efforts to set it down gently. Crutches may have great utility when it comes to allowing the injured to get around, but they're entirely unhelpful in espionage. With a grumpy huff that goes hand-in-hand with the assumption that she has already been heard, Ness gives up on earning her subtlety badge and goes straight for, "Is Leirith demanding that more people look at her eggs? I'm sure you could pay people to fill up these seats, if she's feeling lonely."
Eventually, the hot sands make it hard for Meion's indecisiveness to keep her there, and she flinches back to take her palms of the edge othe sand, half-standing a little. She glances up and notices Nessalyn, and the little cluster of Risali and D'lei, all conspiratorial. She feels compelled to answer Ness' retort. "I was studying the sands. There's some interesting data about their temperature…" And she trails off, as she remembers that most people do not consider the minutiae of automated measurement systems as exciting as she does. "But it's hard not to notice the eggs."
D'lei looks up from those rudely quiet words to Nessalyn, and hehs. "Always." Because, well - « NO BRIBERY IS REQUIRED. THEY DRAW PEOPLE NATURALLY. WITH THEIR NATURAL BADASS. IT IS THEIR NATURE. » …Leirith is interrupting to join in the conversation, because of course she is. At least the Garouth squished underneath her doesn't do more than shift his eyes from half-open to three-quarters-open. D'lei turns his gaze back to Meion as she speaks up, and nods to her. "I still am interested in checking that," he says, then glances to Nessalyn again. "Apparently there's a sensor buried down there." A gesture toward the sands. "Now we know." And knowing is… a source of more questions, really. His gaze shifts back to Meion again, and there's a smile tinged with memory as he asks, "So what do you think?"
"Really?" A skeptical eyebrow lifts fractionally, just enough to distinguish the expression. "I wouldn't think there'd be enough fluctuation for it to be interesting." It's a flat statement, one which does little to clarify whether she's interested or merely can't resist challenging someone. Nessalyn's gaze shifts toward those sands when Leirith pipes up, fixing the gold with a withering look which might not manage to communicate itself across the distance (and spaces betweeeeeeen them~). "Of course there's a sensor down there," Nessalyn replies as though she absolutely knew it was there. Chances are she didn't, if only because she hasn't spent much time looking into the tech around the hatching grounds.
Rinian makes her way along the line of first chairs next to the sands. It seems she's not the only one with the idea to have a look, but she hangs back a bit, not wanting to intrude on any private conversations. Instead she leans against the railing to look out with curiosity at the eggs and their parents.
Do not mind Leirith, you guys. She is definitely not down on the sands yelling to get your attention, abandoning Garouth-pillows, moving from one egg to the next pretending that she suddenly became Vanna White and is modeling her eggs like YOU'VE JUST WON A BRAND. NEW. DRAGON!!! She is definitely just making sure that you (AND YOU AND YOU) appreciate all of the hard work that SHE did. Garouth helped a little. For like all of flight minutes of it. Risali, meanwhile, is leaning more weight on D'lei than on her crutch, and peeking around him to find Nessalyn with a wicked smile that only serves to reiterate D'lei's answer. But she does add on, "What are you doing up here?" FOR SOME FLAVOR. Those grey eyes shift to Meion, up towards D'lei, and then back out across the sands to dragons and their progeny. D'lei has asked all the important questions, so she will merely wait for those important answers. Also, probably it's by way of seeing-eye minions, but Leirith is definitely booming, « I SAW THAT, MINION. » And also, « GAROUTH, MY NOT-WIFE IS HERE. » BADUMBADUMBADUM.
"It, um. There's about a five degree variance, actually. And notes I borrowed from the Dragonhealers said there's a bit more safe range than that, but they still don't like when it changes too fast. And there's the day-night cycle to account for, and…" Meion trails off a little, but perks up when Nessalyn seems to have some knowledge about the sensor. "Is it accessible? If I could look at it more directly, maybe there's a label or something I can look up in the database." As long as she's focused on her craft project, she doesn't need to contend with the hard question. But then D'lei's eyes are on her, and she has to meet them, and it's completely obvious what she's going to answer. "I.. I don't think I should waste your time." Which is not how this obvious answer is supposed to go! But: "I could sleep on it, but… I can't imagine saying no. So." Meion tries to stand up tall, which isn't exactly something she's built for. "So I won't make you wait. Yes."
« Good, » Garouth answers with the subtlety for which he is known and Leirith is not. « It would be very impolite of her to leave during the engagement. » He looks away from the cluster of people, though, taking the time to sweep his gaze across the rest of the sands and make sure that there is nobody else for him to be suspicious about. It's important to check these things! And, since Leirith's checking the eggs, it falls to Garouth to check for intruders. Naturally. D'lei tilts his head down slightly at Nessalyn's claims, the expression one of general skepticism… but never mind that. He tilts his head to Meion, with an arch of brows at her un-obvious beginning to the obvious answer, followed by a grin. « Mice-tunnels twist in between many roots, » Garouth says - though it's not entirely words, more just that visual-metaphor as an amused observation. Words are for humans! "So," D'lei answers her, "In that case, we'd better give you a knot." He tilts his head to glance to Risali, as the more likely to actually have one of those around. It's like Leirith makes a lot of candidate-related demands!
"Five degrees doesn't seem significant." Nessalyn doesn't have a great wealth of experience in that sort of data analysis, but she is the type to make snap judgements and profess to more knowledge than she possesses. As for the sensor, "I could find it and answer that question for you." This is a skill she might actually possess, and the thought of a treasure hunt (as it were) does intrigue her. She glances out toward the sands with renewed interest, rolling her eyes at Leirith for effect. The gold can see it all, but she can't stop Nessalyn from here. "I'm looking at the eggs," she informs Risali with a shrug, because duh. "Isn't that what candidates do?" If she has some other purpose in being here, it's hidden behind a blantantly false smile. A glance goes Rinian's way as the other girl appears, before her attention is drawn back to Meion and D'lei with the promise of a knot being offered. "I guess that's another one."
Rinian smiles, as seems to happen every time she gets called not-wife, and waves to Leirith. And it is to her she says, "They are amazing." She casts a glance to the other group and it doesn't take her long to figure out what just happened there and so to Meion she says, "Congratulations."
Of course it would be rude of her to leave during the engagement, that is why Leirith is parting with bombastic laughter and then moving her way back towards the bronze and away from that half-dozen eggs they made. THEY DID THAT. FROM SCRATCH. BASK. THUMP. Leirith settles beside Garouth this time, resting her head on his paws, keeping her eyes tilted towards the humans while Risali's lips pull up and out into a smile. D'lei's downward glance to her is met with an upward one towards him that communicates some kind of joy, and then she's drawing away to dig into a pocket and produce - AHA! A white knot. She moves forward slow enough to give Meion time to change her mind or run if she wants to, and pauses once she's reached her with that knot extended for the taking. "Congratulations," she whispers to the computercrafter. "And thank you." And now Risali is tilting her head to look at Nessalyn, answering HER SASS with, "Are you asking me, or are you telling me?" But that smile is playful, the question rhetorical. « THAT IS BECAUSE THEY ARE GAROUTH'S. TELL THE OTHER MINION THAT I SAW THAT TOO. » Awwyis. But then she's withdrawing after that, seemingly more content to just observe, for now.
It's rude to leave someone hanging. But now, with such a huge change in what she thought was even _possible_ sitting there before her, Meion hesitates. Her eyes flick about and catch sight of the search knot on Rinian, and that makes it all seem a little less unreal. This is a thing. It happens to people. Even, apparently, to people like her who hole up in front of computer terminals all day and obsess over decoding exactly how temperature sensors are dumping their data onto the network that connects them. And maybe she won't be chosen. Maybe everything gets to go back to normal and she's just the kind of person who brushes right up against it. But if she's going to brush up against it… Meion reaches out and takes the white knot from Risali. For a moment she looks like she might bow, or try the first curtsy she has ever, ever made - and then she thinks better of it, and steps in to give Risali a cautious hug, one hand squeezed tight on that little piece of cord.
"Not while there are eggs on the sands, you won't," D'lei tells Nessalyn firmly. No digging around for sensors, because while Leirith may or may not think it's badass, Garouth will certainly not approve. And neither does his rider! Yellow eyes gaze up from the sands, and he gives a slow blink before he tucks his head in over Leirith's, neck half-twined to hers so they can look like some kind of weird hydra or something. Or, y'know, a pair of dragons on the sands, keeping watch over their clutch. Which is what they are, and now… Meion… is having a last moment of indecision, but after that, she is in fact a candidate! D'lei grins. "Even a crashed system's right sometimes." IS THAT A GLANCE TO NESSA? MAYBE. But he moves on from there to give a wave to Rinian as he notices her, then back to Meion once more.
"Who said I'd have to disturb the eggs?" Nessalyn retorts, unable to accept a 'no' for what it is. "I could do some investigating without actually disturbing the sands." Clasped hands rest somewhere near the center of her chest, the very portrait of innocence and good intentions (DON'T TRUST IT!) as she looks first at D'lei, and then toward the hydra dragons on the sands. "Just give it a good kick." That's how you fix crashed systems, right? As Meion moves to hug Risali, Nessalyn does an awkward one-crutch crab walk toward Rinian, getting out of that display of emotion. "I didn't think it was that exciting," she mutters to Riri, before her gaze slips back toward Risali with a challenging smirk. "What do you think it was?"
Rinian looks to Ness, a bit confused. To be honest, the looks she usually gives to Ness are confused. Wonder why that is? "Didn't think what was that exciting?" She nods politely to D'lei to acknowledge his wave, but she stays off to the side away from the rest of them. Though she's already broken into their conversation with the 'congrats'.
Risali's surprise at finding her arms full of computercrafter is fleeting, that delay of brain catching up to moment a mere heartbeat of inaction before Risali returns cautious hugs in the only manner she knows how: full-heartedly. So that crutch goes clattering to the ground as the weyrwoman brings both arms around Meion, as she squeezes tight and presses her cheek in against the side of her hair and laughs on an exhale of breath. But then she's drawing back, hands coming up to catch Meion's face between her hands so she can blue-green eyes with grey when she whispers, "You're going to do great." And then she's letting go — kind of. Mostly she's holding on to one of Meion's arms, and then shifting to rest her weight on against the computercrafter's side while grey eyes go from her FALLEN CRUTCH RIP, to D'lei… with the kind of eyes that say, 'I DID A DUMB BUT IT WAS WORTH IT, PLS SEND HALP.' Still, her attention moves to Rinian, and there's a wave of one hand to accompany a smile, those eyes fixing on Ness. What did she think it was? "A very polite way of asking me for latrine duties." EVIL. But don't worry, Risali is totally kidding and gesturing towards the sands. "Anyway, Garouth will probably actually eat you, so don't get any ideas." NO SANDS FOR YOU, MISSY.
There's that crutch falling, and. Oh no. Now Meion is a support device for the weyrwoman. This is what happens when you give ill-advised hugs to enthusiastic goldriders who are injured! It's… maybe a little overspecific, as morals go. But! She stands firm, grinning and terrified, as an all-night work-session and a momentous day are coming down on her, and… Huh. Is the room getting darker? Oh, that's the tunnel-vision thing she heard about from that healer once. That's a warning sign… that you.. might. She stops being nearly so effective a crutch as strength leaves her legs - but that's okay, because she's not conscious to notice when her body slumps, not-quite at the edge of the hot sands.
RISALI, THOU ART HEALED. ….yeah, doesn't work so much. D'lei bends down to pick up that crutch with just a tiny bit of wince - he's been doing better, really he has, which is why he did his own dumb thing of actually carrying Risali here, and why now he's maybe not as adept at bending down to pick things up as he might ordinarily be… but he's still competent enough to manage it. And everything might have concluded with at least a modicum of dignity and grace all around, BUT NO. Someone failed to eat food. Or sleep. Or hydrate before leaning over hot sands. And since Meion is rapidly becoming too unconscious to notice that she's being so, it's D'lei who yelps with a, "Faranth!" as she starts to sideways-slump - and Risali who's there like a domino, to be some combination of dragged-with and pushing-over. So… never mind the crutch, D'lei is shifting from that careful bend to a less-cautious lunge to catch Meion… which, yes, he technically manages, in the sense that his arm goes around her and she does not fall off onto the sands. Of course, the part where he ends up in a diagonal sprawl because he couldn't quite get the angle to support her without falling over himself and being half-underneath her… that part is less ideal. At least Risali has two people worth of padding to fall over onto?
Nessalyn scoffs. "I'll have you know I'm innocent of any and all wrongdoing in this particular scenario at this exact moment." Which is a far cry from actually being innocent of all wrongdoing, but at least she hasn't done anything wrong in the last few minutes. To Rinian she offers a bemused look that begs the question of what could possibly have required clarity, while still amused by the inquiry. "Becoming a candidate, obviously." And then Meion simply collapses while D'lei dives after her, and Nessalyn stares at the pile of girl and Weyrleader (and Weyrwoman??) for a moment before offering, "Definitely not that exciting." She should probably be concerned, but there's no trace of that in her expression. Instead, she just shrugs, dismissing the collapse as one of the many follies of being overly-emotional. She does, however, make her way over toward that abandoned crutch, awkwardly balancing on one leg as she tips over to pick it up. That's offered in Risali's general direction, whether that be upright or on the ground. "I think this might be yours," she comments dryly, like she didn't just watch the human version of dominoes. If there's more help needed, that can all be Rinian, because that sassy observation is all that's forthcoming from Nessalyn, who promptly moves to take a seat without a care in the world.
Rinian starts to reply to Ness when the dominos start to fall. With a cry of dismay she is quick to bounce over to the trio to lend whatever aid she can. "Are you all ok?" She first tries to help support the unconcious Meion, assuming if D'lei hasn't got her he can get himself sorted out, and Ness is there with the crutch for Risali so..well. Maybe not so much the last bit. Thankfully she's a lot stronger than her size would indicate. All that tossing around lumber and such.
This is why you don't be affectionate, kids. YOU PASS OUT. See, Risali was looking thataway, so she didn't really notice that Meion was slowly-but-surely checking out in the worst possible way. It's that sudden addition of weight that has her turning her head and - "Oh. Oh no. Don't do tha - DASH!" Too late. THERE THEY GO! Risali makes a strangled sound in her throat that's probably drowned out by D'lei's exclamation and subsequent SEXY HERO DIVE (that Risali would have totally appreciated were she not attempting to stay upright, 10/10 FOR YOU SIR), and then WHUMP. Sorry, Meion. You've just become a weyrleading sandwich, and not in the fun way. Double sorry for you D'lei, because that's gotta hurt. Risali's breath leaves on an exhale, and by the time she's drawing in the next one she's attempting to roll herself off of the pile without too many elbows or awkwardly-placed hands. AWWWWYIS. And somewhere in getting herself removed from the pile, Nessalyn and Rinian both arrive to help, Risali sounding actually grateful when she takes the crutch from Ness and tells the techcrafter, "Thank you," while reassuring Rinian, "I'm alright." But PASSING OUT IS NOT ALRIGHT, and that's probably why there's still some sense of urgency in her voice when she's still not using her crutch and kneeling to try and help Rinian and D'lei. "One of you go get a healer, please," comes with a touch of authority, her voice steady and gentling when she breathes out, "Are you okay, baby?" A beat, a little more anxiety-riddled. "Is Meion?" COME ON, USE THAT SEARCH AND RESCUE.
After a flurry of quick (and only mostly ill-advised) responses, there's just Meion's body lying there, looking somewhat unpiloted. D'lei can add "emergency pillow" to the list of skills he brings to the Weyr, as she reached the ground in a mostly-controlled fashion, and there didn't seem to be any sort of contact between her head and any of the hard things that cause so much trouble in a fall. So that just leaves the matter of consciousness. She's breathing - good sign - but she feels colder than she should, and her pulse - should anyone check - is weak.
Gravity is nearly as much of a jerk as time is, sometimes, and when the two of them team up, it's… "Nghf." Yes. That is D'lei's considered opinion on the situation, which his facial expression helps explain means ow. Garouth's risen to his paws, toward the cluster of people with an oranged glint to the yellow of his eyes, but he's only gotten to the point of tail-twitching and not actually leaping into action… probably because it's hard for a dragon to do much good given the relative scales here. "'m'kay," he says in slightly more coherent words to Risali, but he's mostly saving what breath he has left to shift enough that he can reach down to Meion's neck to check for… c'mon… there it is, a pulse. "I'd bet heatstroke," he says as his eyes lift from Meion to Risali, then over to Rinian. "Get a stretcher!" Because yeah, he's pretty much assuming that she's the one going for the healer, given that the alternative is Nessalyn. (Well, okay, the actual alternative is those dragons, but still. Human-given directions are useful!) Once that's dispatched, he looks back to Risali. "Just needs a cool room and fluids," he says by way of reassurance to her… assuming, of course, that he's diagnosing correctly - but he was Wingleader of Search and Rescue before he was Weyrleader. He has at least a vague clue of what he's doing! And what he's doing right now is… making sure that nobody panics before the healers get here.
Nessalyn is sitting down, y'all, she's not going anywhere. Also, she still has that crutch, which means she'd take at least double as long as Rinian. Plus, she's Nessalyn, and it's not like Meion is about to die. There's no rush. "Everyone's okay," she says confidently with her complete lack of medical knowledge, "just some of us are unconscious." A glance goes toward Rinian expectantly, since she knows she's not about to play fetch-the-healer. "Or just one really strong healer who can carry her. Bonus points if he's hot." Please ignore her. Crisis-response is evidently not her forte, as Ness simply sits there and watches everything unfold, offering nothing else constructive.
As soon as it's asked of her, Rinian is running out the door. Hey, look at that, she can run fast too! No worries, she'll get them here as quick as she can, and ignoring Ness is more of a side effect of springing into motion than deliberate. So sadly, the request for cute healers goes unheard. But who knows, maybe Ness will get lucky and they will be cute anyway.
GO, RINIAN, GO! And here they come. It is super impressive how one very tiny, very heavily pregnant healer can be so expressively angry without shouting - but that is Fioreyla as she comes up those stairs with decreased lung-capacity thanks to an elbow, or a butt, or a set of tiny feet pushing against vital organs and leaving her breathless. But she has a team with her, and while that red flush about her face in tandem with that very displeased set of her lips says she's angry with you, Fire's remarkably level when she starts to issue orders to people. Risali's attempting to not be involved because she's fine, really, but violet eyes find grey, find amber with a look that says she's ANGRILY UNIMPRESSED and she will not be challenged as both weyrwoman and weyrleader are helped to their feet. Those tiny shoulders square as she says, "Infirmary. Both of you. Now," just like a mother might inflict upon her two very naughty, very much NOT LISTENING children. BUT HEY, one of those healer-boys is probably pretty on-point for those bonus hots, Nessalyn. SO BASK, as one very trapped Fortian healer and Xanadu's finest do their work. They load up Meion, they CORRAL leadership types, and just like that they're gone, carting off people for JUICE and BED REST and LECTURES WHILE USUALLY GENTLE FINGERS POKE A LITTLE TOO HARD in agitation.