Late Night Rendevous
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Xanadu Weyr - Caverns

A massive cavern in it's own right, this one has been skillfully adapted for human habitation. The high ceilings have been painted a light, soft ivory, as are the walls where numerous tapestries hang to provide brilliant color and insulation from the stone. The floor has been left in its natural state, pale pink granite speckled through with glittering mica and dark flecks of basalt, leveled carefully but kept sufficiently rough to avoid slips.

The cavern itself is loosely divided into areas, each one set up to be suitable for some segment of the Weyr's population. The most frequently occupied area, however, is the one near the Kitchens where tables of varying sizes provide a place to sit down and eat or chat and a buffet of consumables is almost always kept stocked. Its plain that on most days, this area wouldn't accommodate anywhere near the full population of the Weyr and equally plain that on such occasions when a formal meal is laid out, tables are appropriated from all the other areas.

A big fireplace is set into the wall near the Kitchens as well, several comfortable chairs nearby providing haunts for elderly residents or riders who like a good view of all that happens. Rugs cover the floor in strategic spots, all of them abstract or geometric in design and most in the softly neutral colors of undyed wool.


Late night doesn't save M'nol from a scurried trip to the nearly empty caverns. Tourmaline had been meaner than most since he'd given her eggs to that boy at Fort and he was, once again, running for late-night meat for the angry green. The caverns are mostly empty, which is probably a good thing as he runs haphazardly through them, green Tourmaline right on his tail, hissing angrily. The rest of his fair following behind at a more sedate pace. Why not? There was food to be had, right?

Late night, and for some reason Phylicia is in the caverns as well, instead of in bed. But with her bruise still a little on the painful side if she over exerts it, she's either been waiting for M'nol to return from his duties, or sometimes just crashing back in the apprentice dorms, when he's out late and she's really too tired to be climbing those stairs. The girl is nestled into one of the big chairs, both Ciaran and Estevan curled up with her as she's starting to drift off. But starting is not fully, and as scurrying feet enter the caverns, followed by the sound of wingbeats, she looks over, only to smile drowsily. "Evening, 'Nol." She calls out muzzily from her chair.

M'nol doesn't really recover consciousness until he's stuffing firelizard maws with meat. Once they're distracted enough, he sets the meat aside, where they continue to eat unbidden, and collapses into the comfy spot next to Phy, "Hey, Phy… What're you doing here? Thought you'd be home by now…" he glares at the greedy firelizards, "Oughtta just make 'em hunt on their own. They're more than capable."

"I… didn't - and don't - feel like climbing the stairs tonight." Phylicia admits a bit sheepishly, with a small smile. "The bruise has been acting up today." Some days are better than others, but today is one where the bruise has taken the chance to throb at any inconcvient time it could. Estevan and Ciaran haven't stirred, even with the sound of the fair feeding, curled contently in their human's lap as they are. "You should. Ciar and Este don't bother me much for food." Which is a blessing, since she can't run out during a shift to feed them.

M'nol nods slowly, "Still bad?" His eyes slide down to her bruised him, "I don't suppose there's anything I could do to make it better? I don't like seeing you in pain…" The firelizards get half a glance, then a shrug, "The rate Tour's going they'll eat the lake out of fish." He chuckles some, but still focused on her hip.

Phylicia lifts her shoulders in a small shrug. "It's getting better." She says honestly as she nestles herself back into the embrace of the chair, where she's made a nice cozy nook for herself. The only thing she really lacks, is a light blanket to ward off drafts that breeze through now and again. "It's just being obnoxious today." But one thing can be said for the bruise, even if it keeps her relatively hobbled to the Weyr proper: its letting her catch up on a little bit of lost sleep. "Is she that hungry, or is she just being greedy?" The apprentice asks after a moment, smiling a bit.

M'nol catches a slight shiver on Phy's part and sloughs off his thick riding jacket, draping it over her, "I'm glad it's healing… wish it would speed up, though." Gingerly, he snuggles in beside her, one arm worming its way behind her head, "Tour's just mad at me for giving her eggs away. Broody as a queen, that one. The rest are just taking advantage." He grins, planting a gentle kiss on her cheek, "How do you keep Ciaran and Estevan from begging you for food?"

The draping of the jacket over Phylicia's front and shoulders manages to disturb her pair of firelizards, whom cracked faceted eyes to look up at M'nol and slink further down Phy's lap where they shouldn't be disturbed as Phy half-grins. "It heals on its own time. You should know that." She chides him gently. There's no point in trying to rush a wound well, because that's when things tend to go bad. She shifts slightly then, letting a bit of her weight rest against M'nol as she slips back into a relaxed state. "I only give them so much when they ask without shrieking at me. I've made it clear that I can't always have meat on hand." Because if she had meat on hand in the forest, she'd be asking for Bad Things to start following her.

M'nol grins, "I used to do that, too… but Tour's been so pushy, lately… and I guess I feel guilty about giving her eggs away, but I don't need any more flying stomachs." He chuckles some, then gives her a light squeeze against her shoulder, "It seems to be healing slowly to me, though. Been there forever." He shrugs, "But you're the healer. You'd know." A few moments silent contemplation follow, then, "How're your lessons with Tenebrous?"

Phylicia's shoulders lift in another shrug, the tone this time saying 'that's the way things are'. "I bruised it deeply, 'Nol. If it's taking this long to go away, I probably bruised the bone." She answers him softly before she smiles. "Anyways. The color is starting to improve." Yes, instead of looking like she's bleeding under her skin, her thigh looks like a zombie corpse. But the question about her lessons brings about a sigh. "On hold until I can run again." But that's not to say she hasn't been taking minor walks a small ways into the forest now and again on days that her thigh feels better.

M'nol nods, "I guess so." He makes a sower face, "If by improve you mean look dead instead of rotten." He gives Phy another squeeze, "Sorry to hear that. I know you liked them." A glance is shot at the now burping and heading off to sleep firelizards, then he sighs, "Faraeth can give you a ride up, if you want… It's a little cold down here."

Phylicia inhales and exhales, sounding remarkably like a sigh as she starts to shift herself out of the chair, though she first scoops up her brown and blue, curling their sleepy selves around her shoulders carefully before she finally stands up herself, trying not to dump 'Nol in the spot she just vacated in the chair. "That would be nice, if he could manage to get me down in the morning too?" She asks, waiting for M'nol to stand as well. One can tell her bruise is healing merely because she isn't walking with a permanent limp anymore.

M'nol grins as she stands, then nods, "Of course he could." He stands, whistling to his brood. He moves to support her despite the lack of limp, "Faraeth would probably fly you anywhere, with or without me, at this point."

Phylicia doesn't take his support, though instead she takes his hand as they start to walk back towards their shared weyr. "Just a simple lift, where I don't have to climb anything would be better today." She says, not actually wanting to have to mount Faraeth. That would probably take more work than climbing the stairs themselves!

M'nol grins, chuckling some, "I'm sure he'd be willing to give you a ride on his nose again." He pushes the door open to where the brown waits, "I recall you liking that last time around."

"A bit… startling, but it worked." Phylicia says with a bit of a chuckle as she continues on with M'nol, leaving the caverns behind.

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