[Log] Staring
Who: Chihanne, Draila, Reighley, T'rien, Zahava
When: Day 16, Month 3, Turn 9
Where: Living Cavern, Fort Weyr
What: Reighley stops by the living cavern and runs into some old friends.
Fort Weyr Living Cavern
Approaching half the size of the Hatching Grounds, this cavern echoes with voices during the day, and the soft patter of feet during the night. Dozens of tables are spaced throughout, each with open space around to provide small amounts of privacy for the discussions carried on at each. The night hearth, with a cluster of pots of stew and klah, is situated near the large entrance to the tunnel. Several other hearths are spaced around the huge chamber, lending light and some heat to the room. The far wall is lined with tables that always hold something edible to feed the throngs of people who come into this immense room in search of a meal, a snack, or something to drink. As with most Weyrs, the Living Cavern is the busiest place with the most activity. It is here that Fortians and visitors alike migrate in an effort to find information, share gossip, and just plain socialize.
Broad marble steps to the southwest lead up to the impressive Fort Weyr kitchen. An almost constant stream of activity centers around this staircase: people coming and going with loads of goods for the stores, fresh food, dirty or clean dishes and utensils, and plenty of folks just going in to do their duty for the day or night. The aromas wafting down the stairs are indicators of which meal is being prepared or served at the moment. The view into the kitchens is clear from the Living Cavern, everything gleaming and clean, and the muffled but bustling noises coming from within just add to the air of comfort, family, and hard work done at Fort Weyr.
To the east, a short flight of stairs leads to the hallway to the inner caverns. A stout door to the north has a healer's emblem on it, marking the Infirmary. To the south is a wide tunnel, leading out of the Weyr, and a wide opening to the west leads to the Weyr bowl.
Contents:
Chihanne
T'rien
Buffet Table
Meg and Peg
Fort Weyr Firelizard Perch
Obvious exits:
Bowl INFirmary Inner Caverns Tunnel Kitchen
T'rien lifts his shoulders in a shrug. "Not really. Okay, a little bit but I grew up watching flights every day. My sister, my aunt and my grandmother are all greenriders. Proddy is as proddy does."
"What a strange saying." Chihanne replies, abandoning her fork to lift a sweet roll from her plate and begin tearing at pieces of it. "I dunno. I guess I'll deal with things as they come. For now, I want to master going between."
T'rien hmmms, poking again at his plate. "Me, too. Can't wait to be able to go where I please."
Reighley enters from the bowl by herself, heading straight for the serving tables to gain herself a meal and a drink. She loads her plate more heavily than usual--someone's had a long day--and then she turns, scanning for a seat. Seeing T'rien and Chihanne, she starts that way, stopping by the end of their table. "Hi. Can I sit here?" she asks.
T'rien looks up and nods to Reighley, gesturing toward an empty seat. "Sure."
Chihanne turns her head to offer Reighley a friendly smile. "Sure." She echoes T'rien. "Plenty of room, really. How are you?"
T'rien pushes his plate aside, most of its contents still intact. He's either not all that hungry or just not interested in eating tonight. He seems almost eager for another face on which to focus his attention, however. "How're you, Reighley?"
Reighley settles into the chair carefully then, scooting up to the table and laying out her meal in front of her. "I'm good; how are you two?" she returns politely. "And your dragons, how're they doing now?"
Chihanne doesn't seem to have T'rien's problem with eating and is continuing to nibble at her own plate as she chats. "I'm well, thanks. And so is Lucilyth, thanks. I haven't seen you around much lately, what've you been up to?"
T'rien does drink from his glass, stifling a yawn between sips. "How's...healing, and all that stuff?"
"I've been busy," Reighley notes, wrinkling her nose as she starts into her own meal. "But you know what? I apprenticed! Healer, so I get to work in the infirmary and help fix people. And I get to work with the Weyrhealer, so I don't have to go to the Hall except once in a while for classes. It's great, I love it," she says more enthusiastically.
Chihanne smiles. "I'm so glad! It sounds like you're having a lot of fun." The girl says cheerfully before movement near the entrance of the living cavern catches her eye. "Oh, if you two will excuse me...I think I see my sister and I had something I wanted to talk to her about." A warm smile is directed to the others before she rises to leave, a hand reaching out to ruffle T'rien's hair. "And you: cheer up." She says, sticking her tongue out at him before wandering off.
T'rien grimaces. "That's one craft I never had any desire to join. No offense, Reighley. It's just that...all that blood and guts and stuff." He shudders. "Good night, Chi," he murmurs, turning his head to watch the younger weyrling depart.
Chihanne has disconnected.
"See you later!" Reighley calls after Chihanne, waving a hand after her. Then, turning back to T'rien and her food, she shrugs. "I wouldn't have thought I would, either, actually, but... Well, after the hatching and everything, it just seemed like something I should do. And I like it, and I think I'm pretty good, too," she tells him matter-of-factly. "What crafts /would/ you apprentice to?"
T'rien tings his glass with his fork, eyes still following Chihanne's trail out of the living cavern. "Craft? Oh...probably Harper craft. Maybe Seacraft. I dunno."
When T'rien just keeps watching Chihanne leave, Reighley cranes her neck backward to watch the girl as well, brows knitting when she turns back to T'rien curiously. "What?" she asks him, ignoring his own answer to her earlier question.
T'rien blinks and looks at Reighley, apparently unaware he /was/ watching Chihanne. 'What what?"
"What are you staring at her for," Reighley answers plainly, with the boldness of pre-teens everywhere.
T'rien says "Staring at who? I wasn't staring at anyone."
Reighley explains patiently, like she's talking to a much younger child, "You were staring after Chihanne."
T'rien looks cross. "I was not!"
Zahava comes up the steps from the Inner Caverns.
Zahava has arrived.
Poutily, Reighley regards T'rien, then shrugs. "Fine, be that way," she tells him, just as sulkily as she turns back to her food and acts like she's ignoring him.
Zahava steps in from the busy kitchen, already carrying her tray of food. Spotting, Reighley, the woman smiles and angles across the living cavern towards the girl and her weyrling companion. "Hey, there," she greets.
T'rien rolls his eyes and tings his glass again. "Evening, Zahava,' he murmurs without looking up.
"Hi, Zahava!" Reighley greets the woman with an enthusiasm markedly opposed to the way she pretends T'rien isn't sitting right across from her.
"Have you seen my little sister?" Zahava asks as she settles into a chair, her question apparently directed at the girl's fellow weyrling, as it's him she's looking at. "I need to speak with her about something," she continues as she sets her glass of wine on the table as well.
T'rien gestures with his fork in the direction Chihanne went. "She just took off looking for you, actually."
"T'rien knows because he was staring after her," Reighley pipes up, with a sweet smile for the weyrling.
T'rien looks up now and gives Reighley a smirk. "I was /not/ staring after her!"
Zahava drops the fork she's just picked up, the utensil clattering back to the plate. She looks at T'rien for a long moment. "I hope not. That'd be... disgusting," she says, no hint of humor in her expression.
T'rien bllnks, now turning his attention to Zahava. "Disgusting? Whyever for?"
"Yes, yo--disgusting?" Reighley breaks off, glancing from T'rien to Zahava.
"Chihanne? My little sister? You're what? Close to my age, I'd guess, and if Chihanne weren't a weyrling, I'd be /fostering/ her still," Zahava says flatly.
Draila comes up the steps from the Inner Caverns.
Draila has arrived.
T'rien snaps his fingers, looking at Reighley in triumph. "Exactly! That's what I said!"
Draila makes her way into the living cavern a few pieces of cloth in her arms along with a sewing kit.
Zahava is slow about picking up her fork again, still eyeing T'rien with a wary protectiveness. "I hope so," she murmurs. "Chihanne's growing up, but in many ways she's still very much a child."
T'rien puts down his fork and lifts his glass to his lips. "Don't worry, Zahava. I agree with you..." and he looks up as Draila enters the cavern "...She's a bit young."
Draila listens to the voices as she heads over to claim a seat near one of the hearth. But what she hears causes her to pause and murmur softly before searching the sewing kit for needle and thread. "I hope your wrong Zahava.. for her sake at least."
Zahava glances up at Draila, her expression blank for a moment. She shrugs loosely. "I know my sister. I'm not wrong," she says simply. She pokes her fork at her food for a moment, then rises. "I think I'll skip dinner tonight. Reighley, I've finished that bracelet. I'll look for you with it later."
T'rien drains his glass and sets it down with a thud. Draila's words catch his attention again and he nods, slowly. "Me, too. When Lucilyth rises..."
Draila's gaze flicks upwards once she finds what she's looking for, a pained look carried in them. "I'm sorry to hear that. It will be worse for her in the long run if things remain that way for her." Then her gaze lowers again and she quietly applies the thread to the needle.
Reighley has tuned out the conversation in favor of watching some of her peers across the room. She eats mechanically and finishes quickly, pushing the plate back. "Okay," she tells Zahava. "I'll be here, or in the dorms, I think. I'll see you later." Standing, offering them a quick grin, she heads toward the other girls.