Homesick Lujayn
Who: Lujayn, Milani, Niena
When: day 27, month 6, Turn 15
Where: Fishing Pond; Snowasis, HRW
Summary: Lujayn is homesick. Turning to fishing, she is joined by Niena. Milani shows up a bit later and a stop at the Snowasis seems to be in order.
Lujayn is perched on one of the rocks jutting out from the pond, a simplistic fishing pole in one hand and a patient expression on her face. The sun is just setting, candidates and other weyrfolk freed from duties. Who knows how long she's been sitting there, but it can't have been long.
Niena is recently freed and recently divested of soot, except for a smudge on the end of her nose. She ambles in and smiles over toward the other candidate.
Lujayn sighs and shifts her position, wiggling her stick to make its tempting bait bob along on the pond surface. Silvery shapes move in the shadows, but for now they don't bite. "C'mon.." She grumbles, but brightens as Niena approaches. "Hey there. Figured I'd try for some peace and quiet, steer clear of the lake for tonight."
Niena says "Hello -- I was going for the same. I nearly got bowled over by some of the young teens earlier at the diving cliff." She sits with her back to a rock, pulling her knees to her chin. Indicating the fish, she says "I see they're not being cooperative tonight."
"Not nearly." Lujayn gives the rod such a forceful tug that the bait merely flops up to the rock, forcing her to reel it in again. Sighting for a cast, she aims for a place populated by the elusive fish. "How was your day?" Busy hands, idle tongue.
Niena says "In a word: sooty." She smiles a little, then asks "What are you using for bait?"
"I got some of the fishers to let me have nightcrawlers. Careful of that can." She remembers to add, pointing to a tin near to where Niena's sitting, containing mud and a few of the wriggly critters. "Just needed something to do, and they have plenty to spare." The end flies, the cork end splashing down but bobbing quickly up, leaving its tempting worm floating below. "Reminds me of sitting at the lake at home. Though I used to skip stones there, not fish."
Niena looks into the tin. "They look nasty enough to attract beasts which eat thread." She shudders at the thought. "What will you do if you catch one? And can you teach me how to skip stones sometime? I never could get the hang of it."
Lujayn looks surprised, her quiet expression lifting into a soft smile. "Sure I'll teach you sometime. Lakes are better for it than this little pond. Less reeds, more distance.." Tug tug on the stick, waiting. "If I catch one, I'll probably just let it go. No sense gutting a fish at this hour."
Niena nods. "And too dark to see if the stone skips or sinks. Is fishing something you usuaully do just to have time to think?"
Lujayn shifts so her legs are crossed, no longer hanging down the cold face of rock. "Mostly, but I prefer to skip stones. Both let your mind go while your body does something else." She feels a slight pull on the other end of the line and inhales, pulling the line in ever so slightly. "Let's see if I can bring it in, eh?"
Niena nods, hushing as if that might help.
There is silence, not even Lujayn uttering a sound as she works on the fish. It's a tricky game, but the splashing of the snared fish draws closer and closer, finally flopping up on the rock. Lu drags it up to have a look, holding it by the gills at arm's length. "Well, that's a nice one," It's about the size of her forearm, flopping weakly out of water. "Want a look before he goes back?" She asks Niena, leaning over to find the other girl.
Niena stands up, brushing off her pants, and heads over. "That's very... big." She manages, by way of a compliment. "Congratulations."
Lujayn tilts her head, carefully unhooking the fish and tossing it back to the waters. "Biggest I've seen so far." She reaches for another nightcrawler, but stays her hand. "You grew up here, right?" Turning to face the girl in the approaching darkness.
Niena nods, then realizes it can't be seen. "Yes, in the nurseries."
Lujayn shifts back to gaze across the pond, pensive. "It's not home I miss so much as the people in it." And there it is, in the open, staring her down. "Everyone is so nice here, but I just...miss things." She ducks her head, monotone.
Niena muses, "I've never been away, so it's hard to imagine. I wonder if I'd even miss my little brother." Then she looks to Lujayn. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I went to Telgar once on Search but never felt homesick." Lujayn frowns. "I don't know. Just thought I'd come out here, try to focus on something else." Though fishing doesn't seem to be much help, she tried. "What do you recommend?"
Niena grins and says "I'd recommend beating up my little brother." More seriously, she says "I'm not really sure, short of really throwing yourself into candidate chores, and that's not much fun."
Lujayn finally plunks down the can of worms, winding up the fishing line for the night. "I've never met him," She remarks lightly, but seems to think. "Chores were good today. I did message running.. maybe that's what made me homesick, just a reminder of what I used to do all the time." She lets the pole sit by her crawlers, squinting towards darting silver-shapes in the shallow waters.
Niena ohs. "That's right, you were a message runner. I wonder how odd it will feel when I end up on nursery duty. Do you think food might help? There's some good stuff at the night hearth tonight, I think."
The sun has recently set, casting chilly shadows over the small pond. Lujayn sits on a rock by the pond's edge, a fishing pole and can of crawlers at her feet. Niena stands nearby, both engaged in quiet conversation. "I should have saved that fish, if you're hungry. We could have gutted it." She replies to the nanny. "Not me, so much."
Niena shakes her head. "I'm not hungry, but I sometimes find eating helps when I'm unhappy. In retrospect, I'm probably lucky I don't look like any number of aunties yet. When you were home, what did you do to take your mind off of things?"
Quiet humming precedes Milani around the edge of the lake to the pond, bare feet padding along the ground, her shoes held in one hand. The sound of voices brings her head up and she spots the other two near Lujayn's rock. "Hey there!" she calls out brightly. "How're you two doing?" The assistant headwoman has a friendly smile for them both.
Lujayn looks down at the fishing pole. "This, or I'd skip rocks..." She's at a loss, completely. Milani's arrival gives her something to focus on, and she waves in greeting. "I'm good, Millie, how are you?"
Niena smiles to the assistant headwoman. "I'm well. We're trying to figure out some way to help with homesickness. I've never been away from here without my parents, so I'm out of my league."
"Got me," Milani, answers with an easy shrug. "Never really been away from home much myself either!" She grins over at Lujayn. "I like to skip rocks too though. Just for the fun of it, or to think things through. Or just throw some in the lake. And I'm good thanks." She props a hip up against the rock and considers. "Maybe making things more like home here would help?"
Lujayn shoots a glance to Niena, but sticks a smile up on her face. "I don't mean to drag everyone down. I've never been homesick, either." Her eyes flick back to the ground. "It just happened."
Niena is blissfully oblivious to Lujayn's look, but hmmmms at Milani's suggestion. "That might be something interesting -- have everyone do some kind of decoration from home in the barracks."
"You're not," Milani says bluntly, looking over at the runner girl curiously. "I bet if I did go away I probably would too. I mean, how do you get used to somewhere different all at once, right?" She drops her shoes down on the ground and curls her toes in the gravelly soil along the shore. "Well I was thinking more like, foods and doing things the same way and stuff. But that's a pretty good idea too." Beat. "Or y'know, if it's not too close to the eggs being hard, go back for a visit?"
Lujayn shrugs, bending down to collect her fishing pole and can of muddy worms. "I wasn't homesick when I went on long runs, or even when I went to Telgar a few turns ago. So I don't know what's different now." She shoulders the pole, thoughtful. "Who knows." Lu pauses, stuck in some mental mud, but rallies herself. "Hey, when did it get so dark? Let's check out the hearth." Opting for Niena's earlier suggestion. "The fish probably won't bite any more..."
Niena says "I'm on board. I remembered what it is tonight -- finger sandwiches. And klah, of course." She mananges to tumble some pebbles as she steps out, causing the pond to ripple."
Milani looks back towards the caverns and laughs a little. "When the sun went down. And me, I'd rather go see what's on the menu at the Snowasis. Because there's drinks to figure out there too. You know, the kind that make you a /little/ silly." And her eyes dance with good humor. "Still, hearth's okay too. If it's snacks you're after." The tall young woman bends down to pick her shoes back up, bare foot tracing a line in the gravel. "And you're right about the fish. They're persnickety that way."
"I've never eaten at the Snowasis," Lujayn notes, perking up a bit. "Sounds interesting." She follows after Milani, fishing gear in hand.
Niena says "That sounds wonderful. Their klah is much better than the night hearth's."
"They have like - little snacky plates," Milani explains. "The kind of stuff you can nibble on while holding a glass in your other hand." She beams over at the other two again and tilts her head in the appropriate direction. "C'mon then, I'll bet there's interesting people to watch there too," and her brows waggle a little as she cruises on across the Bowl back the way she just came, still barefooted.
*in transit to Snowasis*
Milani keeps up a light conversational patter as they cross the Bowl. Light stuff about the weather and how nicely that store room they all cleaned is coming along. She leads the way up through the garden ledge where there's a few people sitting enjoying the summer evening air, conversation, drinks and in one case a little closeness. Inside, it's fairly busy, but not crazy crowded and there's room at the bar for three girls to sit if they so chose, and several other tables or booths to choose from. "... so I told Hayda that it was all going well and she seems pretty happy!"
Niena whews at the last. "Thank Faranth. I'd hate to see her stay annoyed for much longer." She orders her klah and looks to see where the other two are going to sit.
Lujayn looks around for a long moment, letting the conversation flow as she slips into one of the empty booths. "We don't have to go down there again, right?" She asks Milani, none too happy at the memory. "Not for cleanup, at least?"
Milani leans against the edge of the booth and turns to look towards the bar. "Want me to get a sampler plate, try a little bit of everything? And you have to tell me what you want for drinks. The tender's one of the ones who likes me and won't give me a hard time about getting whatever I want," she says blithely then drops her shoes to the ground by the booth's edge. "Depends on what duty you pull from the roster, and whether or not you're good at ducking Hayda when she swings around." Millie eyes Lujayn and Niena speculatively and teases a little: "You're both so good at killing tunnelsnakes, it'd be /hard/ to give you up to other duties!" she grins brightly and bounces a little on her toes. "Anyway. Drinks!" And she waits expectantly for choices.
Niena grins and holds up her mug. "I already have one, unless you want me to drink this down fast." She slides into the booth as well. "And a sampler of tapas would be wonderful. I wonder what they have this time of turn."
Lujayn nods. "That sounds fine. I don't know what I like for drinks - I've only ever had wine, nothing fancy." She's still looking around the high-ceilinged room, inspecting the decoration. One foot nudges her fishing rod and can of worms inconspicuously under her seat (or so she hopes).
"Only ever had wine ... hmm. All right, trust me to get you something a little different then?" Milani proposes, eyes alight with the fun of the idea. "And a sampler plate it is." She blinks over at Niena in surprise. "Where'd you get that from?" And her head shakes a little, like she's seeing things, then she pads away, the soles of her feet slapping a little against the floor. She leans against the bar, waits to catch the tender's attention and once she's got it, twirls a strand of hair around her finger, clearly flirting with the man. A few minutes later, she's back with a plate of some kind of crunchy chip thing and a bowl of dip and two glasses of something brownish on tray. "Here we go! And the rest of the food'll be up soon. You /sure/ you don't want something strong, Niena?"
Niena shakes her head. "Possibly later, when it's close to bedtime, if the klah has me too wound up. Wine tends to put me to sleep if I have too much, though. I shudder to think of what anything heavier might do." She glances curiously at the drinks on the tray and tries one of the chips, undipped.
Lujayn leans forward, reaching out for the crunchy things curiously. "What did you get to drink?" She asks Milani, eyeing the two brownish things. "And what are these?"
This time, Milani sits down after the tray's been set on the table and she folds her legs up beneath her, leans forward to claim a the crunchy baked corn chip and dips it into red sauce that came with it. "It's a rummy thing. Not all rum, and there's a little fruit liquor in it too. Takes the edge off a bit, but lets you taste the rum. Kind of a decent way to get used to it I guess. At least, that's what my brother says." And Millie leans forward to pick up one of the glasses. "Here's to Candidates and making friends and good stuff like that," she toasts smilingly.
Niena raises her mug, smiling, and says "Hear hear."
Lujayn has one chip partway to her mouth before the toast, but raises her glass with the other hand. "To good stuff," She echoes, drinking a bit cautiously. "Not bad." Lu smiles, crunching the chip afterwards. "Good choice."
Taking a bigger sip than Lu, Milani sets the glass down and nods. "Yeah, goes down easy I think." And she munches away on the chip she picked up. "So. I guess you didn't get any fish, yeah?" And she looks between the other two curiously.
Niena nibbles on the chips, occasionally looking over toward the bar. For a change she is tactful, deferring to Lujayn. At least, she says nothing and looks to the other candidate.
"Just one, pretty good size." Lujayn takes a deeper drink and smiles. "I put him back, though; wasn't really out there ti catch food, just to think." She reasons, loading another chip with red sauce. "Is this stuff spicy?"
"Oh good for you!" Milani's exuberant with that praise. "I used to fish out by the pond a bunch when I was younger and I always had pretty rotten luck, but you're right, it's good for thinking, fishing." She's interrupted in this long streaming sentence by the bar tender calling ovr to her and waving her up to the bar. "Oh! More food! And I guess, just a little?" About the dip. And she beams at her companions, drops her feet to the floor and goes to fetch the stuff. When she comes back, there's a big plate with a selection of little finger foods, baby sandwiches, fried rolls, fried breaded cheese, little tartlets. Mostly bite-sized things.
Niena unerringly homes in on a tartlet and begins nibbling on it in between small sips of klah. "She said skipping stones works better for thinking. She's going to teach me how, if I can finally get the hang of it. I'd just as soon not touch the night crawlers."
Lujayn goes wide-eyed at the sight of so much food. "Ooh," While Niena speaks, Lu is taking little bites out of whatever she can reach. "That's right," She nods in agreement with the nanny. "Next rest day, we can spend an afternoon or something like that."
"Have to agree with Lujayn on that one, I guess!" Milani snags a few different things too, munching away with good appetite. "And you don't know how, Niena? Well good thing Lujayn'll teach you. My brother taught me, ages and ages ago seems like!" Her eyes cross a little as a string of cheese stretches between the tidbit in her hand and her mouth. Biting carefully she cuts it off, covering her mouth partly with one hand. "Oops! Good stuff though. Don't mind the bugs so much when they're meant as bait, but it's not too much fun dealing with them, nope." She sets that partly eaten snack down and reaches for her glass again, another mouthful of the rum-blend down. "And that sounds like a really nice way to spend a rest-day too."
Niena shakes her head. "I've tried to learn, but they always just plunk in." She begins to say something else, then stifles a yawn. "I Don't think I'll need any wine to get to sleep after all." She doesn't move yet, though, trying some of the savory appetizers and finishing her klah along with another tart.
Lujayn is looking sleepy as well, but is determined to finish her drink before heading off. "These are all delicious," She turns the plate to get at one of those fried cheese sticks, in love. "How much do I owe you?" Lu asks after the next big mouthful, suddenly conscientous. "Kind of a wrist motion..." She adds to Niena, demonstrating with her empty hand. "You'll get it eventually."
"Totally," Milani agrees with Lu and tosses back the last of her drink. "Nothing. Since I didn't have to pay," she notes with an impish grin and winks across at the other two. She collects a few of the snacks in her hands and slides her feet over to find her shoes. "And turning in is sounding like a good idea. Hayda and that store room'll be waiting tomorrow!" Big eyes made and Millie bobs her head. "Nice talking with you both, I'll see you around!" And with that the assistant headwoman rises and scoots out of her seat to head off into the lower caverns, still munching as she goes.
Niena stifles another yawn and gets up. To Lujayn she says, noting Milani's departing figure, "Next time remind me to let her get my klah."
"Bye, Millie," Lujayn pulls her fishing gear out from under her seat, draining her own glass. "This isn't too bad, Niena. Try it next time," She suggests, rising with the other candidate. "We'd better get to bed, or at least the barracks." There's a smile on her face, at least, which is something considering her homesickness. "Don't wait for a rest day - if we're both free, let's go skip stones sometime."
When: day 27, month 6, Turn 15
Where: Fishing Pond; Snowasis, HRW
Summary: Lujayn is homesick. Turning to fishing, she is joined by Niena. Milani shows up a bit later and a stop at the Snowasis seems to be in order.
Lujayn is perched on one of the rocks jutting out from the pond, a simplistic fishing pole in one hand and a patient expression on her face. The sun is just setting, candidates and other weyrfolk freed from duties. Who knows how long she's been sitting there, but it can't have been long.
Niena is recently freed and recently divested of soot, except for a smudge on the end of her nose. She ambles in and smiles over toward the other candidate.
Lujayn sighs and shifts her position, wiggling her stick to make its tempting bait bob along on the pond surface. Silvery shapes move in the shadows, but for now they don't bite. "C'mon.." She grumbles, but brightens as Niena approaches. "Hey there. Figured I'd try for some peace and quiet, steer clear of the lake for tonight."
Niena says "Hello -- I was going for the same. I nearly got bowled over by some of the young teens earlier at the diving cliff." She sits with her back to a rock, pulling her knees to her chin. Indicating the fish, she says "I see they're not being cooperative tonight."
"Not nearly." Lujayn gives the rod such a forceful tug that the bait merely flops up to the rock, forcing her to reel it in again. Sighting for a cast, she aims for a place populated by the elusive fish. "How was your day?" Busy hands, idle tongue.
Niena says "In a word: sooty." She smiles a little, then asks "What are you using for bait?"
"I got some of the fishers to let me have nightcrawlers. Careful of that can." She remembers to add, pointing to a tin near to where Niena's sitting, containing mud and a few of the wriggly critters. "Just needed something to do, and they have plenty to spare." The end flies, the cork end splashing down but bobbing quickly up, leaving its tempting worm floating below. "Reminds me of sitting at the lake at home. Though I used to skip stones there, not fish."
Niena looks into the tin. "They look nasty enough to attract beasts which eat thread." She shudders at the thought. "What will you do if you catch one? And can you teach me how to skip stones sometime? I never could get the hang of it."
Lujayn looks surprised, her quiet expression lifting into a soft smile. "Sure I'll teach you sometime. Lakes are better for it than this little pond. Less reeds, more distance.." Tug tug on the stick, waiting. "If I catch one, I'll probably just let it go. No sense gutting a fish at this hour."
Niena nods. "And too dark to see if the stone skips or sinks. Is fishing something you usuaully do just to have time to think?"
Lujayn shifts so her legs are crossed, no longer hanging down the cold face of rock. "Mostly, but I prefer to skip stones. Both let your mind go while your body does something else." She feels a slight pull on the other end of the line and inhales, pulling the line in ever so slightly. "Let's see if I can bring it in, eh?"
Niena nods, hushing as if that might help.
There is silence, not even Lujayn uttering a sound as she works on the fish. It's a tricky game, but the splashing of the snared fish draws closer and closer, finally flopping up on the rock. Lu drags it up to have a look, holding it by the gills at arm's length. "Well, that's a nice one," It's about the size of her forearm, flopping weakly out of water. "Want a look before he goes back?" She asks Niena, leaning over to find the other girl.
Niena stands up, brushing off her pants, and heads over. "That's very... big." She manages, by way of a compliment. "Congratulations."
Lujayn tilts her head, carefully unhooking the fish and tossing it back to the waters. "Biggest I've seen so far." She reaches for another nightcrawler, but stays her hand. "You grew up here, right?" Turning to face the girl in the approaching darkness.
Niena nods, then realizes it can't be seen. "Yes, in the nurseries."
Lujayn shifts back to gaze across the pond, pensive. "It's not home I miss so much as the people in it." And there it is, in the open, staring her down. "Everyone is so nice here, but I just...miss things." She ducks her head, monotone.
Niena muses, "I've never been away, so it's hard to imagine. I wonder if I'd even miss my little brother." Then she looks to Lujayn. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I went to Telgar once on Search but never felt homesick." Lujayn frowns. "I don't know. Just thought I'd come out here, try to focus on something else." Though fishing doesn't seem to be much help, she tried. "What do you recommend?"
Niena grins and says "I'd recommend beating up my little brother." More seriously, she says "I'm not really sure, short of really throwing yourself into candidate chores, and that's not much fun."
Lujayn finally plunks down the can of worms, winding up the fishing line for the night. "I've never met him," She remarks lightly, but seems to think. "Chores were good today. I did message running.. maybe that's what made me homesick, just a reminder of what I used to do all the time." She lets the pole sit by her crawlers, squinting towards darting silver-shapes in the shallow waters.
Niena ohs. "That's right, you were a message runner. I wonder how odd it will feel when I end up on nursery duty. Do you think food might help? There's some good stuff at the night hearth tonight, I think."
The sun has recently set, casting chilly shadows over the small pond. Lujayn sits on a rock by the pond's edge, a fishing pole and can of crawlers at her feet. Niena stands nearby, both engaged in quiet conversation. "I should have saved that fish, if you're hungry. We could have gutted it." She replies to the nanny. "Not me, so much."
Niena shakes her head. "I'm not hungry, but I sometimes find eating helps when I'm unhappy. In retrospect, I'm probably lucky I don't look like any number of aunties yet. When you were home, what did you do to take your mind off of things?"
Quiet humming precedes Milani around the edge of the lake to the pond, bare feet padding along the ground, her shoes held in one hand. The sound of voices brings her head up and she spots the other two near Lujayn's rock. "Hey there!" she calls out brightly. "How're you two doing?" The assistant headwoman has a friendly smile for them both.
Lujayn looks down at the fishing pole. "This, or I'd skip rocks..." She's at a loss, completely. Milani's arrival gives her something to focus on, and she waves in greeting. "I'm good, Millie, how are you?"
Niena smiles to the assistant headwoman. "I'm well. We're trying to figure out some way to help with homesickness. I've never been away from here without my parents, so I'm out of my league."
"Got me," Milani, answers with an easy shrug. "Never really been away from home much myself either!" She grins over at Lujayn. "I like to skip rocks too though. Just for the fun of it, or to think things through. Or just throw some in the lake. And I'm good thanks." She props a hip up against the rock and considers. "Maybe making things more like home here would help?"
Lujayn shoots a glance to Niena, but sticks a smile up on her face. "I don't mean to drag everyone down. I've never been homesick, either." Her eyes flick back to the ground. "It just happened."
Niena is blissfully oblivious to Lujayn's look, but hmmmms at Milani's suggestion. "That might be something interesting -- have everyone do some kind of decoration from home in the barracks."
"You're not," Milani says bluntly, looking over at the runner girl curiously. "I bet if I did go away I probably would too. I mean, how do you get used to somewhere different all at once, right?" She drops her shoes down on the ground and curls her toes in the gravelly soil along the shore. "Well I was thinking more like, foods and doing things the same way and stuff. But that's a pretty good idea too." Beat. "Or y'know, if it's not too close to the eggs being hard, go back for a visit?"
Lujayn shrugs, bending down to collect her fishing pole and can of muddy worms. "I wasn't homesick when I went on long runs, or even when I went to Telgar a few turns ago. So I don't know what's different now." She shoulders the pole, thoughtful. "Who knows." Lu pauses, stuck in some mental mud, but rallies herself. "Hey, when did it get so dark? Let's check out the hearth." Opting for Niena's earlier suggestion. "The fish probably won't bite any more..."
Niena says "I'm on board. I remembered what it is tonight -- finger sandwiches. And klah, of course." She mananges to tumble some pebbles as she steps out, causing the pond to ripple."
Milani looks back towards the caverns and laughs a little. "When the sun went down. And me, I'd rather go see what's on the menu at the Snowasis. Because there's drinks to figure out there too. You know, the kind that make you a /little/ silly." And her eyes dance with good humor. "Still, hearth's okay too. If it's snacks you're after." The tall young woman bends down to pick her shoes back up, bare foot tracing a line in the gravel. "And you're right about the fish. They're persnickety that way."
"I've never eaten at the Snowasis," Lujayn notes, perking up a bit. "Sounds interesting." She follows after Milani, fishing gear in hand.
Niena says "That sounds wonderful. Their klah is much better than the night hearth's."
"They have like - little snacky plates," Milani explains. "The kind of stuff you can nibble on while holding a glass in your other hand." She beams over at the other two again and tilts her head in the appropriate direction. "C'mon then, I'll bet there's interesting people to watch there too," and her brows waggle a little as she cruises on across the Bowl back the way she just came, still barefooted.
*in transit to Snowasis*
Milani keeps up a light conversational patter as they cross the Bowl. Light stuff about the weather and how nicely that store room they all cleaned is coming along. She leads the way up through the garden ledge where there's a few people sitting enjoying the summer evening air, conversation, drinks and in one case a little closeness. Inside, it's fairly busy, but not crazy crowded and there's room at the bar for three girls to sit if they so chose, and several other tables or booths to choose from. "... so I told Hayda that it was all going well and she seems pretty happy!"
Niena whews at the last. "Thank Faranth. I'd hate to see her stay annoyed for much longer." She orders her klah and looks to see where the other two are going to sit.
Lujayn looks around for a long moment, letting the conversation flow as she slips into one of the empty booths. "We don't have to go down there again, right?" She asks Milani, none too happy at the memory. "Not for cleanup, at least?"
Milani leans against the edge of the booth and turns to look towards the bar. "Want me to get a sampler plate, try a little bit of everything? And you have to tell me what you want for drinks. The tender's one of the ones who likes me and won't give me a hard time about getting whatever I want," she says blithely then drops her shoes to the ground by the booth's edge. "Depends on what duty you pull from the roster, and whether or not you're good at ducking Hayda when she swings around." Millie eyes Lujayn and Niena speculatively and teases a little: "You're both so good at killing tunnelsnakes, it'd be /hard/ to give you up to other duties!" she grins brightly and bounces a little on her toes. "Anyway. Drinks!" And she waits expectantly for choices.
Niena grins and holds up her mug. "I already have one, unless you want me to drink this down fast." She slides into the booth as well. "And a sampler of tapas would be wonderful. I wonder what they have this time of turn."
Lujayn nods. "That sounds fine. I don't know what I like for drinks - I've only ever had wine, nothing fancy." She's still looking around the high-ceilinged room, inspecting the decoration. One foot nudges her fishing rod and can of worms inconspicuously under her seat (or so she hopes).
"Only ever had wine ... hmm. All right, trust me to get you something a little different then?" Milani proposes, eyes alight with the fun of the idea. "And a sampler plate it is." She blinks over at Niena in surprise. "Where'd you get that from?" And her head shakes a little, like she's seeing things, then she pads away, the soles of her feet slapping a little against the floor. She leans against the bar, waits to catch the tender's attention and once she's got it, twirls a strand of hair around her finger, clearly flirting with the man. A few minutes later, she's back with a plate of some kind of crunchy chip thing and a bowl of dip and two glasses of something brownish on tray. "Here we go! And the rest of the food'll be up soon. You /sure/ you don't want something strong, Niena?"
Niena shakes her head. "Possibly later, when it's close to bedtime, if the klah has me too wound up. Wine tends to put me to sleep if I have too much, though. I shudder to think of what anything heavier might do." She glances curiously at the drinks on the tray and tries one of the chips, undipped.
Lujayn leans forward, reaching out for the crunchy things curiously. "What did you get to drink?" She asks Milani, eyeing the two brownish things. "And what are these?"
This time, Milani sits down after the tray's been set on the table and she folds her legs up beneath her, leans forward to claim a the crunchy baked corn chip and dips it into red sauce that came with it. "It's a rummy thing. Not all rum, and there's a little fruit liquor in it too. Takes the edge off a bit, but lets you taste the rum. Kind of a decent way to get used to it I guess. At least, that's what my brother says." And Millie leans forward to pick up one of the glasses. "Here's to Candidates and making friends and good stuff like that," she toasts smilingly.
Niena raises her mug, smiling, and says "Hear hear."
Lujayn has one chip partway to her mouth before the toast, but raises her glass with the other hand. "To good stuff," She echoes, drinking a bit cautiously. "Not bad." Lu smiles, crunching the chip afterwards. "Good choice."
Taking a bigger sip than Lu, Milani sets the glass down and nods. "Yeah, goes down easy I think." And she munches away on the chip she picked up. "So. I guess you didn't get any fish, yeah?" And she looks between the other two curiously.
Niena nibbles on the chips, occasionally looking over toward the bar. For a change she is tactful, deferring to Lujayn. At least, she says nothing and looks to the other candidate.
"Just one, pretty good size." Lujayn takes a deeper drink and smiles. "I put him back, though; wasn't really out there ti catch food, just to think." She reasons, loading another chip with red sauce. "Is this stuff spicy?"
"Oh good for you!" Milani's exuberant with that praise. "I used to fish out by the pond a bunch when I was younger and I always had pretty rotten luck, but you're right, it's good for thinking, fishing." She's interrupted in this long streaming sentence by the bar tender calling ovr to her and waving her up to the bar. "Oh! More food! And I guess, just a little?" About the dip. And she beams at her companions, drops her feet to the floor and goes to fetch the stuff. When she comes back, there's a big plate with a selection of little finger foods, baby sandwiches, fried rolls, fried breaded cheese, little tartlets. Mostly bite-sized things.
Niena unerringly homes in on a tartlet and begins nibbling on it in between small sips of klah. "She said skipping stones works better for thinking. She's going to teach me how, if I can finally get the hang of it. I'd just as soon not touch the night crawlers."
Lujayn goes wide-eyed at the sight of so much food. "Ooh," While Niena speaks, Lu is taking little bites out of whatever she can reach. "That's right," She nods in agreement with the nanny. "Next rest day, we can spend an afternoon or something like that."
"Have to agree with Lujayn on that one, I guess!" Milani snags a few different things too, munching away with good appetite. "And you don't know how, Niena? Well good thing Lujayn'll teach you. My brother taught me, ages and ages ago seems like!" Her eyes cross a little as a string of cheese stretches between the tidbit in her hand and her mouth. Biting carefully she cuts it off, covering her mouth partly with one hand. "Oops! Good stuff though. Don't mind the bugs so much when they're meant as bait, but it's not too much fun dealing with them, nope." She sets that partly eaten snack down and reaches for her glass again, another mouthful of the rum-blend down. "And that sounds like a really nice way to spend a rest-day too."
Niena shakes her head. "I've tried to learn, but they always just plunk in." She begins to say something else, then stifles a yawn. "I Don't think I'll need any wine to get to sleep after all." She doesn't move yet, though, trying some of the savory appetizers and finishing her klah along with another tart.
Lujayn is looking sleepy as well, but is determined to finish her drink before heading off. "These are all delicious," She turns the plate to get at one of those fried cheese sticks, in love. "How much do I owe you?" Lu asks after the next big mouthful, suddenly conscientous. "Kind of a wrist motion..." She adds to Niena, demonstrating with her empty hand. "You'll get it eventually."
"Totally," Milani agrees with Lu and tosses back the last of her drink. "Nothing. Since I didn't have to pay," she notes with an impish grin and winks across at the other two. She collects a few of the snacks in her hands and slides her feet over to find her shoes. "And turning in is sounding like a good idea. Hayda and that store room'll be waiting tomorrow!" Big eyes made and Millie bobs her head. "Nice talking with you both, I'll see you around!" And with that the assistant headwoman rises and scoots out of her seat to head off into the lower caverns, still munching as she goes.
Niena stifles another yawn and gets up. To Lujayn she says, noting Milani's departing figure, "Next time remind me to let her get my klah."
"Bye, Millie," Lujayn pulls her fishing gear out from under her seat, draining her own glass. "This isn't too bad, Niena. Try it next time," She suggests, rising with the other candidate. "We'd better get to bed, or at least the barracks." There's a smile on her face, at least, which is something considering her homesickness. "Don't wait for a rest day - if we're both free, let's go skip stones sometime."