Flooded

Xanadu Weyr - Siebith's Weyrbarn

Covered in rough, weathered wood, aged by the weather and the sun, the irregular grayed clapboards outside of this weyrbarn lend the place has a rustic, masculine charm. White shutters and window boxes overflowing with brightly-hued tangles of flowers on the lower windows and flowering vines twine about the supports for the porch overhang add a feminine touch, softening the stark stone steps leading to it.

The worn stone floor of Siebith's area is just inside the large sliding door. The living area of the weyrbarn has an open, airy layout gives the utilitarian, bachelor-like plain white-washed walls and simple hardwood floors a sense of wide open spaces. A sturdy mahogany-toned table with chairs that somehow manage to match despite their variety accent the earthy, wooden tones of the kitchenette. The same dark reddish hues are in the door at the far side of the barn, as well as in the low-slung coffee table in front of the plush, worn couch. Dusky sea-blue rugs are scattered here and there. Dark golden curtains hang on either side of the many windows and partition off the loft up above, led to by a black wrought iron set of ladder-like stairs. Lilies arranged in glass vases on the tables provide a crisp of white counterpoint to the dark wood tones.

A new addition, the bedroom has walls of the same plain white, but the floors are made of newer wood, still shiny with polish. A four-poster bed of the same red mahogany takes up the most of one wall of the small space, a blue-and-cream linen coverlet spread on the wide mattress. A set of wooden bureaus take up the bulk of the wall opposite while another wall has been painted upon in the very center with a seascape mural, its crisp blue waters and sandy shores. The final wall is graced by a feminine-looking writing desk stacked with papers and bedecked with knick-knacks. Over the bed, a set of stained-glass windows allows golden-brown light mingled with white whorls and blue haze to shine into the room with the rising of the sun, though both panes are able to be unlocked and swung wide to accept lake breezes.


Deep darkness is upon Xanadu. The Weyr sleeps, exhausted from fighting fires, even though for several days they've been out thanks to a heavy, steady rain. No one has really felt like going much of anywhere the previous day, although sweeps may have been done, for the winds have calmed enough to do so if the torrential rain permits. So far the water has simply run off into the dry creek beds and presented little problem. How fortunate for the beleaguered weyrfolk. In Siebith's weyrbarn Thea lies in bed curled fast asleep in spite of the staccato beat upon the roof.

D'had was one of the ones who took time out when the rains let up to go out on sweeps and check on how things looked. Despite being gone Siebith was in contact with Seryth, a check in with the gold now and then to see how things were at home. Tonight however he's found, or perhaps made, the time to lie down and get some much needed rest and as such is found beside Thea though it’s a restless sleep.

Perhaps it is movement beside her in the bed, perhaps it is the rains upon the roof that increase, changing from a steady, comforting beat, to a near-roar. Thea blinks awake, confused for a moment as to what has awakened her, moving nothing but her eyes. There is nothing to see; the room is black. Restlessness behind her has her turning to face the man carefully so as not to interrupt even that poor sleep as she tries to reposition herself and go back to sleep.

D'had's head jerks, rolling over to the other side as he lies on his back. "Thea.." he murmurs in his sleep. The rain doesn't wake him, even though its coming down harder all of a sudden. The movement beside him is perhaps noticed, though he doesn't wake - or perhaps it's just coincidence.

Thea's eyes are just drifting shut again. "Mmm?" A sleepy murmur before it sinks into her tired brain that it was a masculine voice saying her name and who that voice belongs to. Eyes open and she stops breathing for a moment, waiting but no, he isn't calling her; he isn't awake she decides. She relaxes, moving closer to him, carefully so as not to awaken him slides an arm across his stomach. "I'm here," almost inaudible the words are spoken, hoping to soothe him into a deeper, less restless sleep.

Breath is rough. But he can feel the weight of her when she moves to him. An arm instinctively curls around her wherever it is. A moment later D'had's eyes begin to open, turning towards her though still more than half asleep.

Thea can feel the ragged rise and fall of D'had's chest and the too-rapid beat of his heart under her arm. Concerned, she lifts her head to try and see him better. It's a futile effort, more instinctual than anything else, for the darkness is complete. Unsure if he is ill or not, she shifts carefully to place her cheek against his, an attempt to feel whether he is feverish or not. Overhead there's a lull in the rain and the deafening roar fades to a gentle patter.

No, there's no fever there. Warm for having been under covers and body heat, but not feverish. D'had stirs, hand on her back brushing against her before he comes to the realization that yes, she is there. "Babe?" he half questions.

Thea draws back, relieved that he is not ill. "I'm here, Donn." Her voice in the darkness is reassuring. For the moment she remains near, propped on one elbow. Her other hand lifts to place the palm of her hand over his chest. "You called to me in your sleep. Seemed restless. I thought you might be sick or something." Her words are also half-questions.

"I'm fine," D'had assures even if the words are a bit gruff in his state of not quite awake. "Just not sleepin' good." Nor has he been for the last good while. At least tonight he was sleeping and didn't wake up right off when she moved?

"Not sleeping good?" Concern etches the echo as Thea frowns although he cannot see. But he has said he is fine, so she doesn't ask a whole host of medical-type questions. She slides her elbow out from underneath her and lies back down to tuck her head into the hollow of his shoulder. "How long has this been going on?"

D'had shrugs a shoulder, the one Thea's not laying on, which just so happens to be the one that's bruised though it has been getting dramatically better. "Couple days," he replies as if it were no big deal. No need to worry her over it.

"Couple of days." Thea is in repeat mode tonight it seems. "Something on your mind keeping you awake?" Casual her tone as if she were not doing just that - worrying. Her arm moves once again, this time she lifts her hand to lightly trace the tired lines she is sure are there on his face. "Anything you wanna tell me?"

"Nah," D'had replies, the shake of his head that accompanies the single-worded reply being little more than a simple roll of his head towards her. "Just restless I guess," he adds, lips pulling into a slight smile as her fingers brush against his cheek. "How come you're awake?"

Thea's fingertips lift at that movement of his head before resuming her gentle tracing. She's relaxed if half-holding her breath until he answers her. Her breathing resumes, but she winces slightly choosing not to press him for the moment. His question draws an, "I'm not sure. Might be the rain, might be you were restless." She hesitates, then careful neutrality in her voice as she tells him, "You called my name in your sleep."

D'had nods a bit in mild understanding of her reply. "Must have been a good dream then," he comments. Of course it could just as easily have been a bad one… He gives a bit of a tug, pulling her a bit closer to him before sliding that hand up her back to give a gentle push for her to put her head down again.

Thea complies at that tug, resting her head back where it was on his shoulder. "You… don't remember?" She waits for a breath then, "Donn?" The fingers that were tracing his cheek flatten to cup it in her palm, her voice is plaintive in appeal. "You'd tell me, wouldn't you, if there's something bothering you?"

D'had shrugs again, this time for the dream, a subtle movement but she's still liable to feel it. "Sure babe," D'had agrees, almost too easily. Then again, he might not. But that's neither here nor there isn't it. If you ask him anyway. "Go back to sleep. Need your rest."

Now there's a such thing as women's intuition. It's something that men do not have. Puts them at a terrible disadvantage at times and it's horribly unfair. But that is also neither here nor there. Perhaps it is something in his tone. Perhaps it is the movement under her cheek or the ripple of muscle that seems tense under her arms. Thea couldn't define it if you asked her. It's something she feels, almost palpable in the air and if you were to tell her it's not real, she'd beg to differ. "Donn. Please?" A gentle plea as she starts to lift her head again, arm lifting to reach towards the light. She's going to have a peek at his face if she can…

"Just been a long seven," D'had tries to placate her with that simple explanation. "Sweeps and the fires." And her father and worrying over her and her fall. All ganging up with the lack of sleep that accompanied them in the first place. "How you feelin'?"

Thea continues that lean across him towards the lamp and if he's not stopping her, he's going to be flooded with light in his eyes whether he wants it or not. "It's been hard, yeah, fighting those fires-" she braces an arm on his chest to steady herself; the lamp is not on her side of the bed, unfortunately. "-and sweeps are nothing new. You should be tired. Not restless." She pauses in her reach for the light, looking down at him in the dark - as if she could see him - how silly. "I'm… feeling… worried about you?"

D'had chuckles, quietly but he does. "Lets leave the light out. Hmm?" He might not have her intuition skills, but he does have common sense enough to put together her reach and the location of the lamp. "Am tired," he replies, "So go back to sleep?"

Thea sighs in defeat, reluctantly slides back across him to settle by his side once more. There's just a wee bit of sulk in her voice as she mutters, "If you're so tired why aren't you sleeping better?" She doesn't really expect an answer from the rhetorical way that question is asked and the second sigh that follows it as she snuggles in and wraps her arm around him once more. Obediently shutting her eyes she says, "G'night, then."

D'had gives her a light squeeze as she relents. He wasn't stopping, just suggestion. All the better that she just went along with it though. No long conversations that way. Or at least no bright light in his face in the middle of the night. "Over tired?" he suggests, letting out a sigh of his own as she settles into place. "Worried about you," he notes after a long moment of silence.

Thea's lips begin a slight grin in the darkness. Good thing he cannot see it, for there is a bit of smug triumph it in. "Shh! Trying to sleep here." There's a teasing quality to it, however and with a slight giggle she pulls with that arm she's got curved around him and turns on her back, attempting to pull him with her. "Worried 'bout what now? I'm fine."

D'had shakes his head, seemingly content to simply hold her close. "I know, I know," he replies with a sigh. "Just you've been tired too." They've already agreed it's been a hectic sevenday. "The baby. .. That fall of yours." Beat. "I know the healers said you were alright, but.." It still had him thinking about it. "Know I'm not goin' to talk you out of workin' so hard just yet. But take a break if you need it. Okay?"

Thea is content to he held close to him as well. In the darkness she nods, then remembers he cannot see her, so she injects as much reassurance as she can in her voice, "I promise I won't push myself beyond my limits, okay?" She tightens her arms about him, hoping to comfort, "Back when you were sleeping, you seemed upset." Her tone is light; she's not going to press him. Overhead the quiet patter of rain once again picks up, heavy, insistent. From outside near the ground, against the outer wall of the weyrbarn, a rhythmic klunking sound begins.

D'had shifts a bit, finding a more comfortable place as he leans to press a kiss about where her forehead should be. "Alright," he agrees, taking some comfort in her assurance it would seem. As for his sleep he shrugs. "Bad dream I guess," he replies, uncertain himself what it was anymore. But then there's that sound from outside that perks his ears. "You hear that?"

Thea grins as that kiss lands on one of her eyelids, "Oh." Disappointment over his uncertainly before she lifts her head slightly to listen. The sound continues. "Yeah?" Uncertainty in her voice as to what it could be, she plants one hand on his chest, the other on the bed and pushes herself up, gathering her knees under her and peeks out the stained glass windows above their bed where a murky pre-dawn light barely shows a hint of shadowed grey and indistinct shapes. "Can't see through this window-" Her fingers fumble at the latch in the near-darkness.

D'had pushes up after her, but she's just enough ahead of him in getting up that she's to opening the window before he can stop her. "You see anything?" he questions, looking out over her shoulder himself.

Thea's headshake turns to a blink of consternation as she pushes the two halves of that window out. Immediately sound of rain hissing into water is heard. She pokes her head out a little to see and then gasps softly. "There's no -way-!" One hand reaches for D'had's shoulder to pull herself further up until she is standing on the bed. One hand braces on the windowsill as she leans out and looks down. "The lake is… " She leans further out unmindful of the soaking rain now falling on her head, "Yeah. The lake has risen." And in the rapidly growing dimly-lit pre-dawn, the barest reflection of shimmer can be seen undulating below them, about two feet high against the stone foundation. Moving with the rhythm the gentle waves that bring it against the weyrbarn is the remains of that ruined sailboat Thea was going to have mended and never got to.

D'had blinks, suddenly far more awake than he first was given that bit of information. He pushes up further to get a better look, peering out into the first light of morning only to blink again. "This .. isn't good." Understatement of the turn. "Get your things."

"Things?" Thea repeats it rather blankly still peering out at the lake surrounding their weyrbarn. She finally thinks to pull her head in from the rain. "But, but it's -pouring- out there!" She's tired and the bed is warm and cozy. Her head is now rain-soaked and since she doesn't want to drip on the bed, she steps down to grab a towel, flips her head and wraps it around her hanging hair before straightening back up and climbing back into bed. "It wasn't rushing or anything, maybe we should wait and see?" Though she is from the mountains, so she's never been in a flood, so she's obviously uncertain.

"Things," D'had repeats. "Not leaving yet," he clarifies, "But should be ready if we need to. "Don't want to be stuck in here if it gets higher." And like she said, it's -pouring- rain. He does however reach up to pull the window closed while she dries her hair. "If we need to go, we need to go, not be trying to grab things then."

So Thea reluctantly slides from the bed, stands there indecisively for a moment before heading to flip the wall-switch on. The room remains dark. "Power's out." She fumbles in the dresser and pulls out several changes of clothes, grabbing a carrysack and begins stuffing it. "Clothes… what else?" She removes the towel, shakes her head to allow her hair to fall. Her hairbrush is stuffed into the sack after it is used to restore order to her damp hair. Beyond that she is at a loss.

D'had follows suit, collecting a few changes of clothes, not that he has many of them to begin with. They're shoved into a travel bag as well as a few other little things, though in the dark it's difficult. "Anything you don't want flooded."

"Anything I don't want-?" Thea's mouth drops open as she grabs her boots to place them beside her carrysack. Legs suddenly gone weak, she lowers herself to the bed. "But that would be everything!" It's almost a wail. "The bed… the furniture… all my clothes… " And she has perhaps too many of those. In the near-darkness she turns towards him, clearly upset, "Donn…. our home!" Danger is the last thing on her mind.

D'had sighs, turning to find his way back to the bed, sitting down to reach over to her. "Get the important things. We can replace the bed." Though her thought of that does earn a chuckle from him as he wraps an arm around her shoulders. "Can rebuild if we need to. Can't find another you."

Thea can take forest fires, falling down ravines, being thrown in prison, a crazy Holder for a father, but for some reason the thought of the weyrbarn being destroyed as her in tears suddenly that makes it hard for her to speak, "But you… worked so… hard on it!"

D'had slides over closer to let her lay her head against his shoulder. "And I can do it again," he replies. And what if the forest fire had burnt down their weyr, would it be any different? "Babe.. It-it'll be okay," he tries to assure, though the words come out somewhat awkwardly. Tears are just not something he knows what to do with.

As D'had moves closer, she does just that - rests her head on his shoulder, damp hair tumbling about her face as she curls into him for strength. She works to get those tears under control. She was much too busy during the fire to give much thought to the Weyr burning and their home along with it. After a few minutes of ragged breathing, she lifts her head. The light has grown to a grey dimness and it's enough for him to see the flash in her eyes. "I'm not leaving! We stopped the fire. There's got to be something we can do!" She really doesn't know floods.

D'had gives her the time she needs to pull herself under control, rubbing her back awkwardly the whole time. "We can try," he replies, "Can only pile a break so high though. Its not the same as a fire babe. Do our best, but we might have to." Leave that is.

Thea doesn't know what building a break is, but whatever it is, the mention of it offers her some action, a way to fight and she is heartened by it. "Okay." Suddenly resolute, she gives him a final squeeze and a quick grateful kiss on his cheek. Her mood changes and she is all brisk 'let's-get-it-done' as she lifts her chin and smiles at D'had. "I'm gonna pile some stuff on the table just in case." Then she tilts her head to look at the rafters above. "Can we tie stuff up there just in case the water gets higher?" She's not waiting around for chit-chat though, she slides back out of bed and begins dressing.

D'had chuckles, still a bit uncertain given the sudden change of mood, letting her go when she pulls away. Hey, she needed something to occupy her. Why not that? "Sure…" he agrees in that 'if you must' sort of way. "Could move some things up to the loft if we need to, too."

Thea pauses as she's wriggling into her pants. "The… loft?" Clearly she forgot all about that. She yanks them up to button them about her waist, taking a flying leap to throw her arms about his neck and giving him a sound kiss - surprise! She flashes him a brilliant smile for that ray of hope he's given her. "Perfect!" And then she's squirming to be off and finding a shirt. Once that's accomplished, she begins picking up her handmade rugs from the floor, rolling them and doing just that, heading towards the ladder to store them where hopefully the water won't destroy them.

Ack! Surprise is right as D'had nearly falls backwards when she throws herself at him. "Thanks?" He nods, pausing a long while, adding before she can get too far with her moving, "Just try to keep it out of the way of Hali's things?" Not that the girl is around that often anymore really, but she might be or something.. Right? "And be careful," he calls after her, moving to dress himself and follow out of the bedroom. "I should get into the office." Yes, it’s still very early, but no matter. "See if the Weyrleader has anything to say on it." Or some such.

Thea pauses as she's rolling rugs, "I will, but given the circumstances, do you really think Hali will mind?" Then she's swiftly hefting it to her shoulder, staggering under the weight a little. She blinks at him. "The… office? But… but…" Who is going to help her save their home? She doesn't persist, however. She eyes the chairs. If he's not here to stop her from hauling them up there… From outside there's a sudden ominous sound. A sharp crack, a groan, more crackling and then silence before a crash right outside the front door shakes weyrbarn, causing the structure to shudder.

"Not really," D'had replies of Hali a touch distractedly as he heads for the door. He might have been about to say something else when that sound comes. So instead of replying he's jumping towards the door, and incidentally the window beside it, to look for what it might have been. At least there aren't nearly so many trees here as there are in the forest where Thea's place once was?

Thea gives the ceiling a rather wild look as the weyrbarn shudders. When it doesn't come toppling down on them, she lowers that rolled rug down on the table with a small groan. The thing is heavier than she'd thought. She follows D'had to the window, stepping to his side to peer out. "What was-?" Outside amidst the shambles that was once the front porch and wedged tightly against the front of the weyrbarn door is a huge tree, uprooted by the soft ground that is now unable to support its weight. Off by the other cottages there are some other trees beginning to lean. And now that it is getting lighter, it is plain to see that the water extends further in than Thea had imagined, although it doesn't seem to be rising fast, it looks to be about knee-deep. The weyrwoman is stunned speechless. Floods. Trees down. Who knew?

D'had isn't exactly calm in his head, but he puts on a rather good show of it for Thea. "That's it, we're both heading up to the office." That said he's already working on getting the window open, after all with a tree against it there's no way they're going to get the door open just now. "Grab the bags," he adds over his shoulder for her.

For once Thea doesn't argue. Eyes wide as she continues to gaze out the window, it registers that D'had's planning it for an escape route. She eyes the tangled wreckage of the porch and tree. "Uh, we're gonna climb through all that? What if we step on a nail or something?" Even while asking the question, she's off to get those bags, back beside him a moment later. She's taken the time to stuff her feet in her boots. She eyes the water, "It's a good thing we have a high foundation that's-" she starts to say when there is another ominous creaking from a tree nearby.

"How else you planning on getting out," D'had replies with a grunt as he finally gets the right angle on the windowframe to push it open with the tangle of branches and debris outside it. Not like they can exactly walk out the front door right now. "Yeah," he takes enough of a moment to agree with that half thought of hers. "Now come on."

"I…" Thea wasn't planning, apparently, for she as no ideas to give him. Still looking stunned she whispers, "The office. Okay." She hands him his bag, shoulders her own. Then, "Oh, wait!" She drops her bag there on the floor and trots back into the bedroom. From in there he can hear sounds of something moving, then, "Rope. Donn, do you have any rope and can you come help me tie this?" Outside the rain continues to pour down.

D'had takes the bag, turning to shove it through first only to have her disappear back into the bedroom on him. "Wha-" he starts, looking back over his shoulder, drops the bag with a shake of his head as he follows back. "Tie what?"

When D'had reaches the bedroom door, Thea is back on the bed, kneeling astride their thick coverlet, which has been rolled into a bundle around their pillows. She turns her head, eyeing him over her shoulder, "This. It keeps wanting to pop open." Which explains why she's sitting on it. "We're… not going to be returning here to sleep, are we?" Not looking too happy about that, but she goes on to explain, "We'll need something to be comfortable and stores won't have enough to go around for all the displaced folks, I'm sure. You… do have rope, yes?" This last a bit anxiously.

D'had has some somewhere. While he might have argued for leaving her reasoning makes sense. Good on her for giving it right off. "Just a minute," he replies, heading back to the main area where he's able to find a coil of rope in among an extra bag that can be attached to straps. "Here," he starts when he returns, moving to tie up the bundle so she doesn't have to sit on it to keep it together any longer. It might not be good to hold for a long while, but it'll be enough until they get out of here. "We go now?"

Thea moves off of that bedroll when D'had returns to tie the bedding, assisting where she can by holding the unwieldy thing for him, then slips off of the bed to stand beside him. When it is finished, the question of his has her giving the place one last look-around and tears start to gather in her eyes again. She blinks them back as she meets D'had's eyes, "Okay." She can't even say it, rather it comes out whispered.

D'had pulls that roll to him, at her agreement, heading back to the open window to toss it through as well. Siebith is waiting to shelter their climb out and its likely knowing Seryth that she's nearby too. "Where are her straps?" he asks, moving off to collect is own and returning with them only to head back for hers once he knows where he's looking and doing the same. "Watch your head," he notes as he ushers her out first.

Thea follows D'had to the window, trying not to wince as the pretty coverlet gets tossed out into the rubble outside the window. She points silently to the peg by the entrance Siebith uses and when he has collected them, she complies, wriggling through the window, ducking her head as she goes through when he warns. The pile of stuff shifts as she stands just outside that window and she grabs the sill to steady herself. "What do you need me to do?" Trying to forget her own grief over their home and be more help than hindrance, she opens her arms to take whatever if he chooses to hand her something. Seryth is indeed close, but a ways off giving Siebith room, the slowly rising water lapping around her legs. The young queen's eyes are tinged yellow amongst the green, but it's likely Thea's distress, or some emotion Siebith is relaying from his rider that she's picking up on rather than any sense of danger.

"Grab these," D'had says, when she asks, handing her straps though rather than just tossing them. Easiest not to get them all tangled in the debris. Then he's climbing through, which includes a bumped head, elbow and knee, before turning to pull his own through. He's out into the rain then putting the blue's straps on in order to tie up a few things to the underside where they can stay dry(ish) on the way to the caverns without the two of them having to carry it all.

Thea takes the straps automatically, holding the awkward bundle of leather to her, steps back to give him room to get out, staggers on the uneven mess outside the window, then simply leans against the wall. To say she's dazed would be an understatement. She's not even thinking about what to do with Seryth's straps, likely wouldn't have even thought to bring them. From nearby, groaning and splintering heralds yet another tree's demise as it goes down, this one landing on a vacant weyr beside theirs and the thing disintegrates in a dull boom and flying splintered wood and water.

Straps secured D'had moves on to attaching their bags and the bundle of bedding to them. Next are Seyrth's straps, retrieved from Thea and bundled awkwardly onto Siebith's but at least there they're not getting to wet or tangled. "Ready?" he asks, though he's not exactly waiting for an answer as he drapes an arm around her protectively. He's already wet, yes, and that tree falling is blocked out from his mind as much as he can. Right now its about getting out of danger and since he knows that one is empty…

Thea's fingers and arms allow that bundle of straps to slip through as D'had takes them from her; her mind simply isn't on them. Her arms fall limply to her sides now that they are no longer occupied holding anything. She flinches as the tree next door starts going, jumping as the weyr is smashed, turning to watch it with a look of disbelief. D'had is there then and saying something to her that doesn't really register. She turns to look at him, but her eyes are blank, unfocused and she doesn't move as his arm encircles her. "Our… home." As if it were theirs that was just flattened.

"It'll be alright," D'had does his best to assure her as he ushers her around the remnants of their porch and that tree that feel earlier. There's a glance for next door, and despite the rain Siebith shelters the pair of them on the way across to the caverns. There's plenty of water to slog through on the way without getting pelted from above. At least for the moment it's let up on the rain a little.

Thea moves numbly, not resisting being guided, although as they splash through nearly knee-deep water, she turns her head to look back at the weyrbarn once last time, stumbling against D'had when she steps in a slight dip. She grabs at him for support, seems to shake out of her daze. "The office. We can sleep there tonight." Then she does take a more aware look around in the grey dawn, blinking at how far inland the water has reached. "Donn. The meadow." She points, glimpsing it through the trees. Cottages near the river are also surrounded by slowly rising floodwaters.

D'had nods, "Yeah," he agrees about where to spend the night. He grabs back at that stumble. "I know," he adds, having been looking on the walk. But now that she's aware maybe what he'd said earlier has had a chance to sink in. "Just too much water," he says with a sigh, watching (and feeling) his steps.

Thea steadies herself, them moves on, watching more carefully herself. Her shock is fading, along with it her practicality returns, "It's a mess." Folks have been exhausted from fighting the fires and it is so early that there are very few folks sloshing through the water with bundles as they are towards the caverns and higher ground. Thea notes this with a frown. "Folks should be warned-" she interrupts herself to ask him, "Did Siebith bespeak Inimeth?" Three years in Xanadu and nothing like this before, clearly the junior is unsure what to so first. "Kilaueth tells Seryth that Niva is awake and aware."

D'had nods, peering though dim lighting and rain. "Will be for awhile," he replies. Not exactly assuring that, but its the truth. "Yea… not yet, no. Letting him know now." That wasn't something he'd thought about yet. "Promise me though, you'll stay inside and help with the stores or something. Let the rest of us deal out here."

"At least the mess is just water and not twisted wreckage like we got from that storm," Thea sighs remembering aloud as she wades through the water. But then what did he just say now? She halts, blinking up at D'had with mild protest. "Stay… inside?" Green eyes sweep across the area, then back to him, "It's just water. Not like there's a roaring flood to sweep me away." She tries to make light of it for him, "How dangerous can it be? The fires were worse. This is nothing like that?" Folks that draw up to them are pointed towards the hatching arena silently.

D'had shakes his head, "Maybe not now," he replies. "But could be. Hard to say. Don't know how much more we're gonna get. Depends on where ya are. What the currents are like…" he tries to explain the variables. "Kinda like.. the winds with the fire."

Thea tries hard not to boggle - D'had's using sentences with more than three words in them after all. And she does pay attention to them as she stands there in knee-deep water. "But, Donn. It's like the ocean then, right? Seryth could swim through it if she had to?" Not arguing, just trying to understand his reasoning. "She flies through wind currents." Her gaze flits over his face, taking in his expression. He's serious, she can see it, but isn't following his reasoning.

D'had leads on, coming to the caverns at last as he tries to explain somehow she'll understand. "Ocean doesn't have all the stuff that's here." Stuff being debris and falling trees and the like. "Water's different," than air currents. "Just.. help with stuff here. Okay?"

Thea moves with D'had, nodding comprehension, "So sweeping floodwaters carry junk in them. I won't land Seryth in them." She doesn't make that promise to him, instead her lips press together then she mutters, "What good's the training if I can't use it then?" She waits for him to unfasten and hand her something from Siebith, eyeing the still leaden skies, which thankfully aren't soaking them with drenching rain at the moment. Seryth remains nearby, looking pleased with the little that is still falling, her pleased chuff sprays Siebith with raindrops in a 'we must go play in this' sort of way.

"Good," D'had replies, happy enough with that agreement for the moment. He turns to unfasten Seryth's straps first and hands them over before moving on to the rest of the few things they brought with them to the caverns. Unloaded, he nods towards the entrance. "Gonna take this stuff to the office then catch up with D'son. Maybe do a fly over. You need anything let Sie know."

Thea takes what he gives her to carry, steps through the caverns, following with her burden to the office the weyrsecond shares with the Juniors, keeping her voice level as she finds a corner to stow it in. "Donn." Her voice a quiet protest, "It's not up to me what I do in this crisis. If D'son assigns the goldriders to help?" Trying to keep frustration out of her tone and failing.

"I know babe," D'had replies. He knows, doesn't mean he wants her out there if he can help it. "Just.. whatever, be careful. Alright?" That's all he really wants. "Should get out there though and see how bad it really is. You," he continues, stepping over to her to leave her with a quick kiss, "Be good."

Thea nods with a sigh of resignation, "I'll be careful. They'll probably stick me with monitoring the radio where I can't see or do anything anyway." She returns his kiss, allowing him his leave, a small smirk at that last, "Oh, yes, I'm so bad you must keep reminding me to behave." But then she is turning to grab a clipboard and heading to meet with the other goldriders in Niva's office.

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