Xanadu Weyr - Kitchens
It seems that with the fire that destroyed much of the kitchen, care has been taken to restore it to a condition well beyond what it was orignally. And thus state of the art equipment has been brought in from the various crafts to be used - stoves and large ovens replacing the hearths, while thin metal sheets have been installed over each countertop, for both ease of use and ease of cleanup. A large pantry remains generally open, containing a all the nonperishable goods, while a similarly large icechest contains the perishable goods.
Cenlia sneaks into the Xanadu kitchens. Sneak sneak sneak… Okay, so she mostly just peeks inside. And then creeps past the various kitchen staff. She's not really very conspicuous, after all. It doesn't take her long before she's rummaging in the pantry, mumbling a soft, "Aha!" as she discovers various pastry-making items.
X'hil just sort of lingers by the door, looking around shiftily, half hoping to encounter Isabet, half hoping /not/ to. How exactly could he explain his current circumstances to the woman? She'd have a heart attack, probably. He grimaces, and glances over to Cenlia at the pantry, fidgeting a little. The whole thing was a bad idea, from the very beginning. A nightmare. A booze-fueled nightmare. Any minute now he'd wake up, back in his barn-weyr at Ierne… Aaany moment now.
Arms laden with stuff, the girl emerges from the pantry and sets everything down on a clear countertop, away from most of the activity. Staying out of the way, that's her plan. She flashes a grin at the fidgeting weyrsecond as she begins sorting through what look like cake trays and an assortment of bags full ingredients for the pastries. "He's a great getaway dragon," she comments, continuing the conversation, though keeping her voice low, so as not to attract too much attention.
X'hil has to snicker at that, and nod. "He is, he is. He got me away from Xanadu quite nicely." the man grimaces. No, he's not still bitter about /that/, surely! "I /liked/ being not here. It was nice. No always sharding proddy-bright green dragons." Well, that's a little … specific. That does describe his mother's green quite neatly. He's keeping his voice low, of course, but he's still managing to inject a bit of bitterness and anger to his hushed tone.
Cenlia raises an eyebrow at him as she begins measuring out dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl. "Away from Xanadu? You don't like the green dragons here?" she asks. She seems a bit surprised, but then blinks, perhaps having gotten her hungover brain to finally figure out his bronze and green comment from earlier. "Oh," she mumbles, and quickly busies herself with finding a wooden spoon to stir the bowl with.
X'hil snorts, and leans against a bench, frowning at the floor. He's really not much help in a kitchen situation, is he? "Kinseth, he… It doesn't matter." he shakes his head. "I… What're you making?" he asks then, "I mean, I know, sweets, pastries, and all. But what kind?" Distraction. Yes. Distraction /good/.
Cenlia grins, finding a spoon and waggling it in the air as she talks, "I don't know yet… I'm improvising!" Uh oh… improvisation. She then shoves the bowl and spoon aside with a, "Mix that," before she begins tugging at a bag of flour, trying to worry it open.
X'hil smirks a little at the improvising comment, though his stomach sinks a little. He takes the bowl and gets to mixing, eyeing the … mixture skeptically. "Ah, do you… improvise… often?" he asks, hesitantly.
A familiar - to X'hil at least - face enters the kitchen then, moving over to a stove on the far side of the room to check on something that was baking there. X'hil doesn't see her yet, nor does she see him…
Cenlia chuckles, giving X'hil a mischievous grin, "Pretty ofph-" and she acks as the bag of flour she was tugging at suddenly flies open, exploding a cloud of white power right into her face! Coughing and sputtering, the girl sets the torn bag on the counter and blinks in disgust… The fine white particles coat her skin, and cover her hair, face, and clothing. The top half of her body is ghost-white, making her look as if she'd been dipped in sweetening. Needless to say, the effect is rather comical.
X'hil can't help it, he snickers a little at Cenlia's mess, finally looking up from his dutiful mixing just in time to catch it. "Heh. Heh heh, who?" There's a silence then, as X'hil's eyes go wide, staring at something, or someone, beyond Cenlia. "Sorry, gotta go!" he says quickly, looking very much like he's seen a ghost, his skin near as pale as Cenlia's own flour-dusted self. He panics then, pressing the mixing bowl and spoon into Cenlia's hands, and bolting.
Cenlia starts to mutter a "Hey! w-" but then he's bolted off, and Cenlia is left standing there, half-covered in flour, holding a mixing bowl and spoon. Ugh, dragonriders! Totally unreliable. She is SO blaming this on him. Somehow… once she figures out how to explain the mess to the rapidly approaching cook. Oh, wait, she knows… she'll say she was baking a cake to congratulate Weyrsecond X'hil on his promotion. Hah.
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.
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.
X'hil emerges from the kitchen at great speed, looking like he's seen a ghost. He tears off out to the clearing, never to be seen again! Or so he hopes. He can't escape that easily! Kinseth won't let him, for one. A puzzled chef seems to follow him out, a vague squint of recognition on her face, before shaking her head, and heading back to the kitchen. Riders!
A few minutes after X'hil comes bolting out of the kitchens, Cenlia emerges, thoroughly dusted in flour. Her entire top half is coated in fine powdery white particles, making her look almost ghostly. Or at least as if she's been dipped in sweetening. Her hair, clothing, skin… she's going to have one heck of a time scrubbing it all off. However, she does look vaguely smug, and perhaps can be heard explaining to one of the cooks as she leaves, "Yes Ma'am, I'll tell him that. I'll be sure to tell Weyrsecond X'hil."