Xanadu Weyr - Meadow
A large, slightly rolling meadow is set high enough above the riverbank on both sides to avoid suffering from flooding, healthy ground cover and grass spreading out from either side of the dividing river. Scattered amongst the meadow are a variety of weyrs, each with a narrow path leading up to it from a main, winding road. Some are set under a few trees, while others sit by themselves.
Runner stables with the paddock beyond are to the south beyond the meadow weyrs, a smithy and a woodcraft shop are settled closer in towards the path to the clearing, while trees border the western edge of the meadow, and a faint outline of a stone wall and low rolling hills can be seen to the north. Wagons laden with felled trees from the forests to the southwest or ore from the mountains to the southeast are hauled by burden beast up the road through the meadow, over the bridge spanning the river to be processed in the appropriate workshops.
It's only morning, but the day's already warm, promising to be hot by the time it really gets going and Rukbat's beating right down. Good weather! …if you're a dragon that likes the heat. There's plenty of them basking on the beach, on various rocks, but Luraoth's here in the field, lying stretched out in the tall grass and watching… the stables. Okay, not quite the stables themselves - more just the stir of people and runners around the stables. Buildings are only so interesting, even when they're getting crowded in preparation for a race. The debate a pair of grooms are having (wild gesticulations and raised voices included) and the way it's making a high-strung runner stamp her hooves as she eyes it sidewise and tugs at her lead… that's interesting. In fact, it's interesting enough that Soriana's here too, headed for the stables at a brisk walk.
Kera trots along in Moncerath's waddling bounds, the young green churling to each sunning dragon the pair passes. As Mon shares her good mood to her fellow dragons, Kera swipes her sweaty forehead with the back of her arm and readjusts the strap weighing down her shoulder. Hearing the commotion ahead, her gaze squints into the distance seeing Soriana's Luraoth is seen, then her friend stalking towards the stables. Hurrying her steps a bit, she slows her dragonmate with a touch to a greenhided shoulder. Approaching sunning queen, Kera gives a smile and dip of her head to the gold. "G'day Luraoth." Moncerath warbles a greeting as well before the green pair's attention is drawn by more shouts and ruckus. Not having much admiration for runnerbeasts, Kera stays back away from the entrance, tryin to peek in from a safe distance.
Luraoth chirps a greeting to Kera. That one doesn't have words. The one she sends to Moncerath, on the other hand, does. « Good morning! » she tells the green, her words accompanied by the sound of jingling harness. « They are very hurried. » There's an echo of runner-hooves, racing along. « How are you? » Soriana, meanwhile, has gone and actually started talking to the grooms. Or, well, made them stop yelling at each other. Same thing, right? "-out for a ride and calm her down," she's informing the one. "And you-" Nope. Groom one says, "I won't just leave-" so Soriana turns back to him. "Yes, you will." Stare. "I'll find a place for her, but not if she panics and breaks free. There's wild felines here, you know." Not… this close to the Weyr, generally. Or desperate enough to go after a healthy runner, this season. The mare'd be in more danger from just breaking her neck, but that's not the point. The point is, the threat works, and the groom swallows, nods, and leads the anxious mare away to calm her down. Soriana watches him go for a moment, and that's when she notices Kera near the doorway. She waves, offers a brief smile, then looks back to groom two. "So why isn't there room?"
Kera watches the panicky runner a few seconds before focusing on Soriana as she unleashes Las Sorianas on the grooms. Giving her head an amused shake and waving towards the queenrider, Kera scans the meadow briefly. Moncerath ambles to a stop at a respectable distance from Luraoth replying like wispy hint of clingy fog. « Good Morning Luraoth! » Dainty green head cants to peer towards the jittery beasts « And loud. » Oversized wings stretch lazily, the tips fluttering before she relaxes them loosely to her sides. « I am well. Mine sees to me well. She won't let me jump much though. Will yours let you jump high? » Kera peeks around to Moncerath with a lifted brow before shrugging off the satchel weighing on her shoulder and letting it drop to the ground as Las Sorianas finishes spitting out one groom and sets her sights on the next.
Innes just happens to be in the vicinity as well, wandering through the meadow with a watchful eye. And Kairoikyriath? Well, there's a reason for that watchful eye, and it's largely to do with the lack of a certain dragon by Innes' side. The redhead took too much time bathing this morning, and her companion took personal offense to the fact that she's still permanently banned from the caverns (shouldn't permanent not last this long?) and wandered off on her own. Innes isn't too worried, given that there aren't many places for a gold to go at her age and she's not exactly out of contact. Still, she's keeping a watchful eye out for the stubborn dragon who refuses to give up her location. Just in case. But hello! She's found a gold, and while it isn't the right one, she does tip her head to Luraoth in greeting. And there's Moncerath, which means that Kera likely isn't… yes, there she is. Upon spotting her fellow weyrling, Innes gives a quick wave and approaches the girl. "You haven't seen Kairo, have you?" she asks casually, before glancing toward the stables. "What're we watching?"
Unleashes? Wouldn't that require Soriana to walk around on a leash, usually? That'd… that'd just be weird. Anyway, Soriana talks to the other groom - or rather, he talks to her. Something about horses and stabling and how someone's got an entourage and the stables are being used for them, and that's when Soriana asks some clarifying questions and discovers that, really, that many? For him? Well now, that's fascinating. So then she smiles to the groom and makes a few suggestions. Nice ones! He even seems to think so, to judge from the relieved smile he gets halfway through and the way he starts nodding. Luraoth chirps a friendly greeting to Innes, then laughs to Moncerath, bells that echo through the fog and a shine of diffuse pink light. « I have heard louder. » A pause, as she considers on it, then another laugh. « I can be louder. » But she doesn't, for which everyone's ears are likely grateful. Instead she stretches slowly, flexing out her wings, then chirps inquisitively. « She will not? » The gold glances to Kera. « I fly, with mine or alone. » There's a mental query to Soriana that makes the goldrider look over at her dragon and arch a brow with a 'what?' expression, and as Soriana returns to her discussion, Luraoth adds, « She only says not to break anything. » Because that's something gold dragons (or really, any color of dragon) can definitely do. But golds are responsible, right? Anyway, Soriana glance-nods to Innes, then continues her discussion with that groom. "-or we'll start charging boarding fees." Sothere.
Kera sidesteps half a pace to lean against Moncerath's shoulder while the jr. weyrwoman handles the groom and stabling issue. Glancing around and lifting a greeting hand towards the approaching goldling, she waves Innes over. Smirking at the question, a quick shake of her head "Not since Mon squeezed by her on our way out of the barracks a couple candlemarks ago." Flashing a grin to her friend, she shrugs and gestures off to where the first groom led a panicky runner off "Not sure. Crazy runner beasts acting up again. So, nothing new there really." Attention drifts back to Soriana, who's far enough away to only catch a few words scattered throughout Soriana's managing of the groom. "Whatever's going on, looks like Soriana is calming the situation." Throughout the weyrling exchange, Moncerath warbles inquisitively to the sunning queen « Break? No. Break nothing. Mine says I pull too hard on leg. So no jump today. » The young green peers down to her own leg, talons wiggling as she does.
Innes cants her head and watches Soriana interacting with the groom for a moment, but given that she arrived after the initial confrontation she has even less idea of what's going on, and quickly grows bored with it. Should she be watching to see how a weyrwoman handles these things? Probably. But she's still a weyrling for now, which means she can attempt to casually dismiss the thought of that responsibility for a little longer yet. "Oh well. She'll turn up sooner or later," she says with a wave of her hand, dismissing the thought. Her eyes go distant for a moment, focusing on whatever curiosity Kairoikyriath seems to have found, before her lips curl up in a slight smile. She's beginning to guess where the gold is, and if she's right it's not far. Her gaze shifts back to Kera, and then to Soriana and the groom. "Well, looks like she sorted it, at least." A shrug. "What are you two doing?"
It's the boring part where things don't explode. Which is actually what werywomen are supposed to make happen. Bringing more boredom to the universe. It's… okay, not the best of things, but Soriana gets this one resolved with firm nods all around. Luraoth, meanwhile, looks curiously to Moncerath's leg. « You should do stretches. » Because that's how things get fixed! At least… in her past experience, which may or may not match Moncerath's actual problem. « Like very slow jumps, where you don't leave the ground. They will make it better. » Soriana, the actual dragonhealer here, does not add her own opinion, because she hasn't been asked. She does head back, once she's finished, to where she's noted one - now two - weyrlings. She nods to them! But this one is with a smile. "Hey," she says. What're they doing? Good question! How about a round of that. So she waits to hear it.
Kera nods agreeably to Innes when the weyrwoman starts away from the stables. "And it doesn't seem like anyone is crying." Referring to the groom of coarse. A flick of her fingers towards her satchel on the ground "I was gonna send out a few things for tomorrow's transports. One home and one to N'talya over at Ista." Her attention goes to Moncerath, as the young green shifts the bulk of her weight onto three legs while stretching out the fourth slowly. Smirking after a moment of studying her dragonmate "And it seems it takes Luraoth to make her understand the need for 'warming up' before jumping." A hint of a frown slips across her features when she glances back around to Innes and probably Soriana now as well. "I was worried that she was hurting her shoulder earlier. It felt hotter than it should have, even with the sun high overhead." A polite head tip to Soriana and salute, "G'day ma'am"
"I should do something like that," Innes says after a moment's pause, considering. She probably owes home a few greetings, among other things. Apologies might be chief among them. "What's warming up?" she jokes with a wry grin. For a moment her head cants to the side again, and she nods. Yes, she knows where Kairoikyriath is, now. She's safe enough, which means Innes can focus on Soriana's approach instead. "Hey, Soriana," she offers with her usual half-formed salute. "Solved everything?"
Luraoth watches those stretches approvingly. « I did many stretches. » Even if some of the reasons why have slipped her mind, because the truth of the moment is the truth of forever when it comes to dragons. Kera's greeting receives a lift of eyebrows, and it's not for the g'day part. Soriana looks to Innes. Is she going to? Ahhh. The eyebrows lower and mouth rises in a smile. "Hey," she says back with… oh, call it a quarter-salute (or a half wave). "Been busy with lessons, have you?" She looks back to Kera. "All the old stuff falls right out of your head." Like names. For instance. She glances to Moncerath, because watching dragons stretch is… well, sometimes it's her job. Not this one right now, though. Not unless she actually get hurt. Then, that too will need to be solved. Like the thing at the stables, and she nods to Innes. "For now. There'll be more juggling to do as the rest of the runners arrive. We… only sort of have the space for them." She sighs, then hmms. "Don't suppose either of you know much about runners, do you?" It's thoughtful and hopeful both.
"Lessons? What lessons?" Innes asks, ever so innocently. Which is to say, with a teasing smirk on her face and no real attempt to pass the word's off as truth. No one would fall for that. "Maybe someone'd lend out their weyr?" she offers after a moment, shrugging. It's the best she has, for the moment, but knowing Innes there'll be quite a bit of thought on the subject later, even though her assistance hasn't been requested. Because she likes solving problems, she just doesn't like being required to solve them. And speaking of being required… her head tilts to the side again, and her brows draw together in a frown. "They're a lot bigger than me. Runners." Not that it's saying much, given her slight stature. "That's about it. I have to go. There's a… thing." A thing that she has to see, apparently. At least that's Kairoikyriath's opinion, which is the only one that matters. "See you later!" She waves to both women as she backs away, and then turns on her heel to head for the beach, her dragon, and this Thing.
Kera flicks her gaze between the two queenriders, then gives a nod to Soriana "Lessons, Moncerath, duties, and…well extra chores." A halfhearted shrug lifts her shoulders "So yea, busy busy busy." Innes's joke about warming up get's an amused eyeroll and she reaches out to rub Moncerath's shoulder. "It's what will keep Kairo from hurting herself, when ya can find her." A teasing wink offered to her weyrling friend before shaking her head to the Jr. Weyrwoman. "'Fraid not, other than they can be rather vicious it the notion takes them."
Innes has disconnected.
Soriana certainly doesn't fall for that - just smirks at Innes's extra innocence (with a sweet cherry on top). To Kera, she smiles. "I figured." Though the extra chores get a lift of her eyebrows. "Anything interesting?" She probably means in the 'reasons why' department… or maybe she just wants to know if someone's gone and come up with interesting chores. Despite those being pretty much the opposite of chores. But hey, "Maybe. And there's the barracks," she says to Innes's suggestion of some lending a weyr. "Could work." By which she means not work at all, because most of the visiting runners are going to be terrified at the scent of large dragons what might eat them, and even if they're not, their owners will be. But in theory! And she'll be thinking about how to make this work with as few ruffled feathers as possible. Or ruffled runners, and she hehs. "They are," she says to Innes, and then to Kera, "They're not so bad, if you know how to handle them." Which evidently, neither of these two do. Oh well! "You enjoy that thing," she says to Innes with a wave, then gives the stable a look to make sure things are under control before returning her attention to Kera.
Kera grins to Innes and waves to her fellow weyrling's back. Smirking a bit as she turns her attention back to Soriana "She's always got one thing or another in the works. How she manages to keep track of it all.." An exasperated sigh slips out as she shrugs. "Nothing you would probably consider interesting. My salutes are sloppy and some other things, so I am lucky enough to get more chores." Kera tries joking it off a bit as Moncerath shifts her weight once more and lets her wings droop loosely. Scanning briefly around the meadow, maybe looking out for an awlm, or a transport ride, who knows. Soriana gets her attention again and a quick smile graces her features. "Congratulations by the way."
"Good question," Soriana says to all those things to be tracked. She - or at least the slight smirk on her face - have a few guesses, but she doesn't share them. Maybe they're not interesting enough, though she nods to Kera about her own uninterestingness. "You can always find a mirror, I suppose. Or practice lifting firestone to build those arm muscles." She shrugs, not seeming all that concerned about it, then arches a brow. "For?" Not that she's objecting, because, hey, congratulations! But her head's all full of runners and stabling at the moment.
Kera lifts a brow when it seems Soriana doesn't know what she's talking about. "Oh um, I thought I heard Ka'.. the Weyrleader mention that you both were living together now." Momentarily uncertain of her information, she gives a slight shrug "I may have misunderstood though. I wasn't able to chat but a moment or two." Meaning she needed to get a start on extra chores. A wince flashes quickly across her face at the mention of lifting firestone bags. Automatically reaching up and rubbing her upper arms. "I was aching well enough from scrubbing the walls half the night while the Awlm instructed me on 'proper' salute." Hopefully the little greenhealer's arms will uncramp before she has to scrub more walls.
"Oh," Soriana says. "Yeah, that." Y'know. The bit where the Weyrleader's gone and made his dragon grumpy by - "We are." She smiles. "We're weyrmates." Also living together, but hey, that doesn't necessarily go together. In either direction! But they are. See, there's a shiny ring on Soriana's finger and everything, with twiny gold and bronze and a sparkly stone. Not that she thinks to display it, but it's there. Good thing she doesn't have those chores, huh? "Have they started you with the firestone tossing yet?" she asks. "Or the relay races?" And all the other fun muscle-building exercises those AWLMs will insist are completely necessary.
Kera nods with a cheery smile to Soriana and lifts a hand as if to shield her eyes from an intense glare when the sparkly ring shines brightly when shown off. "Careful with that, might blind someone." A giggle slips out as she admire the golden-bronze twines circlet and nods "Tis very pretty Soriana." Looking it over a few seconds more she gives a shake of her head "Not yet, and I'm certainly not looking forward to it. Some of it seems more to punish than to train." Like tossing huge sacks of stone at people. Then again, maybe she can toss/slip a few sack towards that lazy Praela. Canting her head a bit "You couldn't by chance give us a heads up on what to expect from the relay races could you?" By us, she includes the growing green at her side of coarse.
Soriana gives a somewhat crooked smile as Kera oohs and ahs over the ring, with a small heh for the 'warning'. For the training, she shrugs. "Some of it's more old than not, but if you end up riding transport, you'll be grateful for the practice. Or search and rescue. There's not much call for paper-pushing in riders, you can do that perfectly well without a companion." She glances to Moncerath, then back to Kera. "You'll be racing?" Her smile is a teasing one. "In turns, I expect. What with the relays."
Kera considers a moment before smirking "Can we hobble the weyrlings with long legs? Give the rest of us a fair shot that way." She reaches out to smack Moncerath's shoulder gently a couple of times "Even if I will have to remind Mon to do her stretches before jumping right in." Kera's shoulder is nudged as the green snorts her response to her weyrling. The young healer laughs to her dragonmate before peering back to Soriana "I don't think I would be much good with doing transport. Besides, I'll have studies to get back too. And a rather grumpy Journeyman letting me know how far behind my lessons are and such." Kera gives a rueful smirk but nods "We did a few training sessions with Galaxy Wing in a couple of mock rescues, before candidancy. So that's always a future option."
Soriana lifts an eyebrow. "And how will you learn cooperation and teamwork, if we let you do that?" she asks Kera, then smiles. "Not that it's me deciding it, mind you. That's up to V'dim." And the AWLMs, so… fun times. Soriana listens to Kera's assessment of the wings, and nods. "Even if you do go back to your craft, you'll likely end up running transport sometimes. If there's a fragile or hazardous medical item that needs to be sent somewhere, they like sending a rider with skills to keep track of it." So there's no getting out of the tossing things! "Galaxy likes riders with healer skills, too."
Kera grins, canting her head to Soriana a little. "If the other side has people with longer legs, then…" she trails off with a carefree shrug and chuckles before a thoughtful frown consumes her expression. "Oh, I'll return to my studies eventually." In fact, her parents will insist on it, dragon or not. Not wanting to comtemplate potential injuries that may occur from getting bonked in the noggin by a sack of firestone, Kera gestures towards the stables with a tip up of her chin. "So what was the commotion with the runners? Is it the recent shipment of camelids that is spooking them?"
Soriana just arches a brow for that 'then'. Like she's waiting for continuations, but she doesn't worry much about not getting them. As for those studies, she nods. "It's just a question of how much time you'll be able to devote to them, along with what else. Life's always going to be busier, now that you've got Moncerath." She smiles, then glances back to the stables. "Mmh? No, nothing to do with that. There's just starting to be some new arrivals for the races, that's all, and there's a few… discussions… about where some of them are to be housed. It'll all work out."
Kera nods and glances back after watching a groom lead one of the smaller runnerbeast into the stables. "Some of the weyrlings have been talking about the coming races. I think they are beastcrafters since they seem to be discussing specific runners in their debates." A little shrug follows her words, but she grins soon enough when her gaze slips over to Luraoth, then back to Soriana. "Thankfully, I've not as much hide to tend as yourself and Innes. Nor the Weyr issues." Another flick of her fingers towards the stables to mark as an example to her comment. "So there will be plenty of time for studies and duties both." Hopefully. "Even with Luraoth, and your own work load, your still furthering your studies, and advancing, right?" Nothing to say Kera can't do the same one day.
"That, or just interested amateurs," Soriana says with a laugh. "I'll admit, I haven't kept up with who's favored, myself." She shrugs. "I'm sure the bookies will be glad enough to tell you at length, though." She smiles, then mmhs at the mention of Weyr issues. Yeah, how about those. "I'm sure there'll be time if you make time," she says. "And yes, I'm still studying. Though at the moment…" Sigh. "Weyr duties await." She waves. "I'll see you around, I'm sure." And then she heads off toward the caverns and her office, where there's piles of work to be done.
Kera grins and shakes her head, "Since I know nothing of what makes the differant runners better than another, I'll do myself a favor and save my marks." As Soriana has to get back to duties, Kera waves to her friend "And I should gets my packages on the list for tomorrow's transport." Crouching down and grabbing up her satchel, she settles it across her back. "Have a good day Soriana, and congratulations to both of you." Another wave given as she turns back to her dragonmate briefly then heads off to find a transport rider.