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 colour 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 colours of undyed wool.
Exits lead off in all directions, a big archway the largest and that leading outside. Shallow stairs to the west lead to the offices and administration area while tunnels to the east lead to the infirmary, kitchen and resident's quarters. Southwards, a sloping tunnel leads down to the hot springs and southwest is a wide tunnel, carefully roped off to avoid accidents.
C'ian walks in, his two firelizards squawking at each other. "If you two don't be quiet, I'll let your big brother play with you. And you know how much you /love/ that."
Niva is flopped rather ungracefully in a chair, the table she occupies far enough away from others to make ignoring their blabbering easier. A mug of juice is within easy reach and a small plate of tidbits there as well. Ixi is perched on the edge of the table and the Healer offers the unperfect bits to the brown. Glancing over at C'ian for a moment, she doesn't say anything at all.
Finally, his two be quiet, the blue, Morpheus eventually just fluttering off to a chair and perching. Shigure, the gold, stays on C'ian's shoulder. He grins over to Niva and nods. "Hey there. How are you doing today?" Moprheus squawks again, and a soft rumble from outside quickly shuts him up.
Niva had gone back to picking through the contents of her plate, more ending up in the maw of the brown then in her own mouth. As she's addressed, she lifts her gaze to peer at him for a moment, diciphering the knot before responding. "Things were going rather nicely.." At least there were no expletives. Or name calling. Or implications of stupidity… C'ian should consider himself lucky.
C'ian plops himself down on a chair, not too far from her own. "Well that's good to hear." Then again, C'ian's happy-go-lucky attitude probably would have kept him from even noticing a verbal jab, if she had used one. Or maybe he's just an idiot. Either way.. "Things are good here too. Fly here, fly there, it's great. I wish I more time to work on my projects, but, what can you do?"
Niva isn't energetic enough at the moment to argue his placement, and she fidgets more with her food then anything else. "At least you can do that. I have too much time to work on my projects and deal with people who simply aren't careful." Seems Niva had one too many stupid accident cases in the infirmary today.
C'ian tilts his head to the side, flicking a small shred of meat to his two firelizards. "What do you mean by that? Have the brats been hurting themselves more than usual these days?"
Niva continues to push the food about the plate with one finger, Ixi complaining at her idleness and prompting her to offer him another bit. "Not just the brats. They at least have an excuse…" That of course, in her mind, is that they are irresponsible, stupid kids. "If they were legitimate injuries, it would be so… Irritating." Or something like that.
C'ian sits back in his chair. "So then other people? And what would you suggest in order to fix this problem?" Moprheus chrips quietly and floats around before perching on C'ian's head. "H-hey now!" Shigure nudges her brother and croons softly.
Niva just glares at his firelizards for a moment with a face before shrugging, still slouched down low. "Aside from them opening their eyes and having some common sense, you mean?" And her words are bitter as she reaches for her mug. "If they'd just do that, who knows what they'd accomplish."
C'ian thinks for a moment, before taking a quiet sip of his drink. "You are a healer though. It's you're job to help people when they injure themselves. Why then, the bitterness against it?"
Niva focuses her glare on him this time, simmering silently as she takes a sip of her juice before the mug returns to the table. "Its a waste of my time when people come in with minor scrapes and bruises that anyone with half a brain would know how to handle. There's more then enough to do without them adding to it."
C'ian sips. "Then why not simply explain to the parents how to easily fix such things? Or to the Weyrfolk in general." Another sip, before he continues. "You could even hold a small meeting about first aid. Then less people would bother you, no?"
Niva regards him for a long moment, seemingly starting to even ponder such an idea. And then she dismisses it with a wave of her hand. "They probably wouldn't like it." They being, perhaps, her superiors. "And they'd have to listen, anyway.. As if that'd happen." Rant, rant, rant.
C'ian chuckles to himself and smiles to her. "So sure of that are you? I could talk to a few people, see if it can be organized? You could even use the theater if you would like."
Niva shrugs, once again reaching for her juice. "I suppose I'll talk to them about it." There's that ambiguous pronoun again… One of her favorites, it seems. "It might help, if people listen… And remember."
C'ian sighs softly and takes another sip, then he sets the cup down. "You have little faith. Not everyone would dismiss such things you know. I, for one, wouldn't mind a refresher on first aid, as I haven't had one since Weyrlinghood.
Niva takes a long sip as he talks, shrugging slightly. "Its hard to have faith when you have the same people over and over again, with similar injuries." And then as she finally actually /listens/ to his words, an eyebrow arches. "Would you?" Its one, at least.
C'ian nods to himself. "You bet. And, I could probably convince all of Cyclone. My Weyrmate can probably get Typhoon Wing too. And you can bet your bottom mark that we'll listen to you."
Niva bites her lip, chewing on it thoughtfully before shrugging again. "I suppose you can ask. I'll let you know if its okay, or not." Since she's not quite upset enough to do something without permission. And if they don't listen to her, she'll eat them. Really.
C'ian smiles and chuckles. "Then how about a smile?"
Niva ponders it for a moment, regarding C'ian with a blank face. He's pushing it, really. A smile? And then with a roll of her eyes her lips curl up, only slightly and only for a moment, but that's her smile. Atleast until it goes over successfully.
C'ian chuckles again and flicks some bread at her. "That's not a smile! Aren't you happy about anything over there?"
Niva flicks a few pieces of whatever is on her plate back at him… Mashed tubers, most likely. "I dunno, what if I'm not?"
C'ian hrms a bit. There's a thought. "Well, why wouldn't you be? There's always something to be happy about, you know?" He flicks another piece at her, but Shigure picks it out of the air before it hits her, and returns to her perch.
Niva launches another clump of tuber at C'ian idly, shrugging a bit. "Is there? I'm stuck in the infirmary most of the day with pointless injuries, I'm stuck as an Apprentice, and whenever something is going on, I'm stuck on duty." Since most of what makes Niva happy is prestige, there isn't much for her to have.
C'ian thinks for a few moments, before replying with, "Well, what if someone came down and visited you once in a while?
Niva tries to stifle a snort and it comes out as more of a cough then anything. "Someone come visit me? As in who?" Her family members are too busy with their own postings and duties to care, everyone else seems to avoid the infimary until they need help.
C'ian shrugs. "I'll come visit you, if you want." He picks up his cup and takes another sip of his drink. "It's no trouble at all, and it'd be nice to be on the ground for a while.
Niva tilts her head to one side, eyeing him cautiously for a moment before slowly nodding her head. "You would? Wouldn't you rather spend your time with someone else?"
C'ian thinks a moment. "Well, I spend work with people, and nights with my Weyrmate… so.. I have plenty of time between to come and visit you. I mean, why not?
Niva actually manages a smile. More like half a smile in reality, but it'll have to do. "Thanks… I mean.." Perhaps Niva'll have to try being nice more often.
C'ian waves a hand before taking another sip of his drink. "Don't have to thank me at all, Niva. I understand how it is, really. Not getting any visitors except for your 'employers,' so to speak. That's how it was when I was a child.
Niva simply nods her head slowly, fingers curling around her mug as she takes a long sip, rather surprised by the change in things. Perhaps its a good thing to vent once in a while if it gains you non-injured visitors. And then she's peering at him for a long moment. "You won't come in with an injury, will you?" That would defeat the whole purpose, afterall.
C'ian chuckles to himself. "Only if I'm missing an appendage." He laughs some more, then continues. "I can't promise that /every/ visit will be without injury, but I can certainly tell you that I won't always have one when I come to visit," he says with a smile.
"I suppose that's a fair deal.." As long as its doesn't suddenly become more often with an injury then less. Niva wiggles back against the back of her chair before replying belatedly. "You know I probably couldn't reattach it, right?" Might not be worth it to come to the Healers if you have fellis and numbweed of your own.
C'ian nods. "I know. But, it'd be nice to see a friend before I passed out from blood loss." He grins and laughs.
Although if Niva's that friend, it might not be such a good thing. "Are you planning on losing an apendage, then?" And with a wry grin, she shakes her head. "I'd rethink it, if I was you."
C'ian thinks a moment. "No, I'd like to think that I have many a turns before that happened, and I think that I'd rather it not happen at all." He chuckles and smiles to her. "Besides, I'd rather visit."
Niva simply shakes her head at his delay, the grin staying on her face as she does so. "Lets hope so, in any case." And she drains the last of her juice from her mug. "Okay then, figured I'd check."
C'ian flicks another piece of bread at her. "You should smile more, you look prettier." Morpheus squawks in defience, 'why on earth did you throw that food?!'
Niva flicks more tubers at him. He started it, afterall, and its just what she happens to have handy. "Oh?" And pink creeps steadily into her face, another clump of tubers flying in his direction.
C'ian grins and whistles and, in a gold and blue blur, his firelizards zip around and pick up most of the tubers in the air, and C'ian himself gets some in his own mouth. Grinning, he just eats the tubers. "Yup!"
Niva makes a face at the display… They're taking all her fun away. Because tossing tubers is much more fun when it makes a mess. "If you insist…"
Flick, flick flick! "I do I do!" He chuckles to himself and then tosses a tuber or two himself, back at her. He's not going to lose.
Niva isn't quite quick enough to dodge the tubers that come in her direction and she's quickly launching an offensive of her own. "Hey!" Although there's no guarantee on how her aim is.
C'ian rolls himself and his chair backwards, so that his chair falls over and he rolls out, firelizards fliting all over the place. He peers from behind and throws a few more, dodging a few, and getting hit in the head a few times. He just laughs.
Niva actually starts to laugh then, Who'd have thought it possible?, And ducks behind a table as a shield, head popping up now and then to launch some more semi-sticky clumps. One of his catches her above the eyebrow, most of of it falling to the ground while a sticky base remains.
C'ian laughs and laughs. "I got you good on that one, I did," he exclaims before getting pelted himself. "Bloody…"
Niva laughs loudly, sticking her tongue out at him as she launches a few more, one not going where she wants to, instead flying backwards and into her own hair. Whoops. "But I got you better!"
C'ian whistles again and his firelizards come to him, then fly up and circle above her head. C'ian launches a few more and whistles again, as his firelizards dump a few from the sky. Yes!!
Niva is out of ammunition, as well, and at the massive assault, her eyes widen before she instinctively curls up in a little ball, hands covering her head. "That's not fair!" Although because of how she's sitting, her words are muffled.
C'ian stands up, from behind the chair and laughs, victorious.
Niva scrapes enough off herself to launch one more at C'ian, making a face at him. "You cheated!" And she humphs slightly, arms crossed infront of her. A moment later and she sticks out her tongue at him. Miss Immature.
C'ian chuckles, even as he's hit in the forehead with the food. He walks over to her and looks at her. "Cheated is just another way of saying, out witted."
Niva lifts her chin to peer at him, an eyebrow arching. "Is it, really? Are you sure it isn't 'Would have been outwitted otherwise?'" And she bites her lip in an attempt to keep a straight face.
C'ian grins and chuckles before sitting next to her. "Perhaps perhaps. But the fact of the matter is that I wasn't."
Niva doesn't sit, simply leaning against the edge of the table. Perhaps she thinks it gives her an advantage, or something. "You weren't? Seems you're messier then I am…" No matter she scraped most of hers off to /get/ him that messy.
C'ian looks at himself. "Bah, I just need a shower, that's all. That doesn't mean anything at all."
Niva snorts softly, shaking her head. "Good luck getting it off." And with a bob of her head, she makes a face. "I'll settle for a bath…" And then she's tilting her head to regard him thoughtfully. "It doesn't?"
C'ian shakes his head. "Of course not." Then, after a moment, he says thoughtfully, "A bath /would/ be good…"