
Xanadu Weyr - Clock Tower
The walls of the tower are the same dark gray stones that make up the outside of the tower. The central portion of the structure is open, so that one may stand in the center of the structure and see the top. Well…almost the top. A ceiling cuts off the view to whatever it is that's at the very top of the tower. Very little light comes in, just tiny beams of light from the arrow-slits in the walls. The floor is of dark hardwood slats, thin enough to have been worked easily but thick enough to provide protection from insects and wildlife that might be trying to get in.
A wooden staircase is built along wall, one that spirals up and up around the inner wall of the structure. It leads a workshop, where along every wall there are…clocks, of course! Clocks of just about every configuration one could think of, and quite a few that are outlandish enough to escape one's consideration at first. While most of these clocks are working, there are more than a few of them that aren't. The gentle ticking sounds fill the space, the clocks almost always perfectly in sync with each otherand with the ticking from the movement of the big clock aboveand the sounds mingling together to form an ordered cacophony of sounds.
Clock parts are strewn across a table in one corner. There are a couple of cabinets with parts in them like the ones downstairs—parts that are significantly smaller than those on the first floor. These are obviously for the smaller clocks that are built here. There are no less than two large grandfather clocks in this workshop, both working.
A thick support threads through a large hole in the center of the floor, extending from below to above. A chain hangs beside it too, anchored high above, and the spiral staircase continues up, past a door on the outside and on to more storage space, dedicated to piles of crates with springs and "little" parts for the clocktower's main movement. Of course, the word "little" may not be the best way to describe it; some of these springs and levers are longer than a man's arm. And some of the gears in these crates a man could actually put his arm through the middle of easily.
Somewhere near dinner time, Mathis can be discovered in the Clock Tower all by himself, tucked away and sat beneath that table covered in clock parts. He's got a small burlap pouch open beside him which contained various finger foods, making it seem as if he were planning to have his evening meal here alone rather than brave the congestion of the living cavern. He's got a tube sock coiled in his lap for some reason, his hands otherwise occupied with scraping into a man's-fist sized hunk of wood with a long and narrow tool of some sort, a far-away look of concentration on his face.
What better time to scope out the Clock Tower for PURPOSES than when everyone is supposed to be at dinner? Sylvarin arrives in the hopes that it's fairly empty with the rock-baby-pet strapped to his chest. It's inconveniently wrinkling the nice looking shirt he has on, though his pants remain safe. And…it kind of looks like it has hair now. Or maybe that's the moss he pretended to feed it for breakfast. Either way, he's here to consider very /strongly/ something Nessalyn mentioned to him. Unfortunately, he's quick to find out that he's not alone. He arrives at the top of the staircase, gaze quickly moving over towards Mathis who earns a brief wave. "Hey." A simple greeting really. He doesn't seem to find the situation awkward at least.
That sock, it looked…lumpy…in the middle, when closer inspection allows. Perhaps Mathis was using it to store his treasures, kids do that right? There's something on it as well, drawn with a thick black marker here and there, but the toe part of the sock was mostly obscured by being clumped up against his body. At the sound of the door opening, a second's hesitation and hazel eyes lift up and over, if only to drop back down soon after. There is no indication that the boy really registered who it was he could see coming in other than some small measure of tension seeped into his shoulders, but he does try to keep as quiet as he could, even breathing becomes a subtle thing. Each footfall to the flight of stairs heralds his doom, rigid enough to seem like a well detailed replica of Mathis by the time that Sylvarin gets to the top. Without looking up again, "Hi," comes softly, scrunching in on himself to symbolize just how busy he obviously was and probably hoping that the baker could take a hint. Go. AWAY. With the man between him and his escape route, once again his sanctuary becomes his prison.
Sylvarin eyes Mathis for a moment before shaking his head. It seems that the baker isn't going to be departing at this moment because he's here for a reason, but he's also not intent on pushing the other candidate about things anymore. So, after a brief examination of the sock puppet and a nod to indicate he heard the greeting in reply, Sylvarin is heading over towards an opening to the wall that leads to an outside area that can be accessed. It's not /exactly/ a balcony but similar enough. (Or at least let's pretend like it is!) He crouches down, examining the opening. His gaze subtly flicks between it and the rock in front of him. Yeah, he could probably squeeze through there easily enough, rock and all. Perfect. An evil sort of glint appears in his eyes, a hint of mischief that had been rather absent since the egg touching. But here it is again. There's plenty of stuff that could fit through this opening. Plenty of /breakable/ things.
Maybe Mathis had seen Sylvarin at the egg touching, the first time he would have laid eyes upon him since their 'talk' aboard the Yokohama. He hadn't said anything of course, why would he? CLEARLY SOMEONE HAD BEEN IN THE WRONG. Since then, he's been around, not avoiding the baker so much as moving on with his life. However, being trapped as it were in a small enough space to make it awkward and uncomfortable for him, was not exactly his idea of a good time. Head shaking and departures are not commented on, chest rising and falling with more ease as he accepts whole-heartily that he was to be ignored in favor of exploring, but curiosity was a strong motivator. Despite himself, Mathis lifts his head just a little and peeks over towards Sylvarin out of the corner of his eyes, his hands going still again. Brows begin to dip downwards as he watches the man inspects the opening he's found and before he can stop himself, "What are you doing?" is said loud enough to carry over.
Had Sylvarin been in the wrong? He certainly didn't think so, at least not where Mathis was concerned. To Teinon though he had already made his apology and it had been put behind them. Sylvarin straightens up, his examination of said little exit completed. The boy's words reach his ears just as he stands up fully and there's a glance over his shoulder. "Scouting." Because that's such a /great/ explanation. That evil amusement continues to play on his features, the corners of his lips quirked upwards in what can only be a knowing smile. His blue-green eyes flash with anticipation as he turns to start making his way back to the staircase. "Just in case I need to go out there for something." Basically he is making plans to MURDER his rocket-pet, but Nessalyn will be the only one privy to those plans for now. "There's a little ledge out there some things could fit on." What things? Parachute experiment things. But again, he doesn't seem to be going into anymore detail. Instead he's raising a hand to wave, "Enjoy your dinner…and your pet." Someone should at least! And after such a brief appearance, the baker is quickly disappearing!
There were some things that Mathis didn't get about the adult world, and he probably wouldn't until he was older. What he did know was that he'd tried to settle everything by himself and in his own way make sense of it all through his actions in the hydroponics bay, not expecting to be bodily hoisted over a shoulder and shown kindness and understanding in the face of his heartbreak. Sylvarin didn't know it yet and Mathis might never thank him for it, but what seemed like the worst thing to do had really been the best. Sure, he would torture poor Teinon and hold his grudge towards the baker a while longer, but the boy was officially over his first crush. It had awakened realization as well as opened up a whole other world for him to someday explore, once he was ready for it. "Scouting," Mathis echoes, a dubious expression at best settling into his features, one that is transformed into apprehension once he gets an eyeful of all that evil-laced amusement and eager anticipation. "Out there for what?" Wanting to know was bigger than being mad at his fellow candidate for Teinon and sticking his nose where Mathis believed it didn't belong (it kinda did, considering). He might have been horrified to learn about the plans that the baker had for his baby-rock-pet, existing in blissful ignorance for the time being. A breath taken in, he opens his mouth again but only gets as far as "What…?" before the man is back on the stairs and waving his farewells. So off kilter by this mystery wrapped in enigma, the woodcrafter waves back for a moment or two before he catches himself doing it, hrmfing to himself before muttering something inaudible. It didn't matter, whatever it was, the boy frowning slightly as he stares down at the little bag of deliciousness he'd brought up there with him. Only after Sylvarin was well and truly gone does he exhale a rough, "Whatever."