[Log] Home Guard
Who: Elianne, Ileste, Kynvelin, Tamarisk, Tiriana
When: Day 14, Month 2, Turn 16
Where: Living Cavern, Telgar Weyr
What: Tiriana spends a rest day 'guarding' the Weyr from foreign invasion.
Living Cavern, Telgar Weyr
This huge cavern is sufficiently roomy to hold a large portion of the Weyr's population without feeling cramped. There's always a bustle of activity here. Fragrant dishes are constantly in prepartion for mealtimes: currently for the evening meal. Drudges are always present, either cleaning under Pierron's watchful eye, or helping fetch and carry. A myriad of glowbaskets and many ever-lit hearths make the cavern warm and inviting despite its size. The scents of cooking meats, baking breads and pastries, and the pungent aroma of spices hang mouthwateringly in the air. It is little wonder that those seeking to relax nearly always find their way here to do it. Branches of evergreens and glistening winter berries are ornaments of the season.
A short tunnel jaunts northward out to the bowl and the merry sounds of cooking, chores, and laughter echo from the kitchen at the southeast end of the cavern near the easterly passage to the rest of the lower caverns. Within the lower caverns is an entrance to the infirmary weyr to care for injured dragons and riders.
Contents:
Elianne
Kynvelin
Mariun
Telgar Serving Tables
Obvious exits:
Inner Caverns Kitchen Bowl
Elianne gives a wave goodbye to Mariun, "shards, goats sound like hard work!" She gives a smile and a nod to folks nearby
Kynvelin smirks a little at that. "Goats sound like fun." Then Mariun's off, and Kyn offers a 'goodbye' as she leaves. Turning his attention to Elianne, the stablehand asks, "so, what do you do at Igen? You don't work goats, I'm guessing." He grins, and his fingers tap lightly on the handle of his mug. Tiron tucks his head back into the warmth of the jacket and, no doubt, goes back to sleep. Kynvelin and Elianne are sat at a table, Elianne with a plate of meat and Kynvelin with an empty plate. It's lunchtime.
Rest days are always slow affairs, Tiriana's today no exception. After a morning of loitering around and being a nuisance in the caverns, she's back up to the living cavern barely an hour and a half after the last time she was there to eat a late breakfast. Still, she eyes the serving tables again, picking up small portions of a couple of things, along with cookies for dessert before she wanders toward a table aimlessly. She arrives at Kynvelin and Elianne's, and promptly announces, "I'm bored," as though it's their solemn duty to entertain her now. It's followed by an appraising look over the visiting girl and a more interested, "Igen?"
Elianne looks up at the tall arrival and then sets her chin and says firmly "Igen, born and bred. I help my aunt in the kitchens at the Weyr and did the same for my ma in the Hold before that. Ain't nothing in a kitchen can foil me." Then she smiles quite suddenly and her face brightens like the sun. "So, tell me, who are y'all and what do you do?" She sits back in her chair, quizzical, expectant expression on her face.
"Rest day?" Kynvelin guesses when Tiriana approaches with his announcement. "Take a seat," he offers; then, noticing her interest in Elianne, adds, "this is Elianne." Apparently Tiriana's already overheard where the girl's from, so Kyn leaves the introduction at that. He smiles at Elianne's attitude, flexing his hand to ease a cramp in it. "Hm? Oh, we work in the stables, both of us." But he'll leave Tiriana to introduce herself, looking from Elianne to the Telgari woman.
"Igen," repeats Tiriana. "Kitchens." She snorts, a little disdainful of that occupation, as she hooks a chair out across from them and drops into it noisily, plate arrayed before her. She doesn't touch it now, instead focusing on turning her chair half-sideways so she can sprawl her feet out in the chair beside her, one arm propped on the back of her chair and the other elbow on the table. "Tiriana. Stablehand," she tells Elianne, with a look for Kynvelin when he gives that information first. "So just what're you doing /here/?"
Ileste walks in from the inner caverns.
Ileste has arrived.
Tamarisk strides in from the inner caverns.
Tamarisk has arrived.
Elianne is little taken aback by Tiriana's seeming attitude, her smile falters somewhat "here? well, my youngest brother rides at Ista and sometimes when he's off on an errand and I'm not busy he'll take me along - only if it's not urgent, important stuff." She sounds a little defensive, as if expecting to be reprimanded. She wraps her arms around herself and the bulging scarf round her body.
Kynvelin's eyebrows twitch at Tiriana's tone, but he doesn't say anything. He drains the last of his klah, making a face at the bitter taste of the last dregs of the stuff, before watching Elianne, listening politely to her reason for being here. "Must be nice to have a brother that nice," he comments with a little smile, as he leans back a little in his chair, wriggling his back to get comfortable. The lump in his half-open jacket bulges, then shrinks back to its normal size.
Tiriana, one-woman welcoming committee. Or maybe not. She still eyes Elianne, just a hair suspicious. "So you're from Igen, your brother's at Ista, and you turn up at Telgar," she repeats slowly. "What sort of errand?" As though she's now expecting some kind of invasion from warmer climes now. She's sprawled out over about three chairs, finally getting down to munching one of the cookies she picked up for dessert, ignoring the small helping of real food she's also taken. "Right, nice," Tiriana echoes Kynvelin.
Elianne wriggles uneasily in her seat at the cross-questioning and compulsively tucks the strand of escaped, dark, wiry hair behind her ear again. "Well, it's nothing to do with me and I don't pry into other weyr's business; so I couldn't really say, could I?! And, yes, my brother is nice! He is my brother after all and he knows I'm newly left home and not knowing many people, so he looks out for me, and why shouldn't he? I'd do the same for him if I could - or for any of my brothers!" There's a touch of defiance in her tone but a slight damp shine in the eyes that belies it. She rises "I'm getting Klah, anyone else want anything while I'm up?" Her helpful nature rising to the fore again.
"I don't think it's important," Kynvelin says calmly, eyes on Tiriana for a moment before his gaze shifts, away to the visitor. "Sounds like he really cares for you," he says to Elianne, tone somewhat soothing, and a smile on his lips. "Oh, no, I'm fine," he says when the girl rises and makes that offer. "If I have any more klah, I'll be running to the latrines," he jokes quietly. He, Elianne and Tiriana are sat at a table at lunchtime, the living caverns busy.
"/Some/body's touchy," Tiriana smirks at Elianne's reaction, a brow lifting up before she sends a conspiratorial over at Kynvelin. But of course, he's not in on her amusement, and her smirk quickly takes a downward curve. While Elianne gets up, Tiriana just eyes him. "Of course /you/ don't think it's important. There's a reason you're just a stablehand, after all," one stablehand condescends to the other. "Besides, don't you just want to know? How do you just not ask questions?" A question for both of them, as she peers back and forth between Kynvelin and Elianne expectantly.
Elianne pauses on the verge of proclaiming herself /not/ touchy but thinks better of it and bites her tongue, scowling she merely remarks "there's questions and questions, in my book anyway. I'll be back in a mo'" And with that she turns and wends her way through the people and tables and chairs until she reaches the klah-pot. She pours and pauses to peruse the other offerings on the table; absentmindly shifting the lump under the scarf on her right side that's starting to wriggle again.
Ileste, having slipped into the living cavern, pauses by the entrance to listen when she sees who's gathered. "What's not important?" she pipes up, finally, catching some interesting conversational thread: if Tiriana's expounding upon some notion or other, something entertaining must be sure to follow.
Kynvelin carefully doesn't look at Tiriana's face when she eyes him, instead toying with his mug like it's suddenly interesting. "Mm-/hmm/," he says simply when she makes that 'just a stablehand' comment, arching a brow but not saying anything more. "Well, I would like to know," he then says, finally looking at Tiriana. "But I've no pressing desire to. And, besides, I'd be nice to someone if I wanted to ask them questions," he adds in a quieter tone, looking away again. And ah, Ileste! Maybe she'll distract Tiriana and save Kynvelin from whatever rebuke he'll get for that comment. He looks a bit red, having come out with it, it being unlike him to say such a thing.
"What's she doing her," Tiriana chirps in reply to Ileste when the infirmary worker joins them. "She /says/ it's 'cause her brother dumped her on us while he had some kind of 'errand'." You can practically hear the quotes around that word. She just rolls her eyes at Kynvelin. "And he won't ask anything," Tiriana adds, pointedly. She waves off his latter words. "Interrogation gets you a lot further than just sitting there and waiting for them to spill everything." She nods, sagely, firmly.
Elianne returns to the table with her klah and a redfruit - an odd combination, but perhaps she just needs something to occupy her hands. She sits and arranges the klah and fruit neatly before her, then hooks that unruly piece of hair back behind her ear /again/. She looks up and smiles, firmly, to all and gives an extra nod and 'hello' to the newcomer to the table. Under the scarf diagonally tied around her there is a definite wriggling and a little hum to boot.
"Well, as long as you don't break out the herdbeast-prods." And Ileste moves to get herself klah of her own. "And no scalpels, either. Well met, um--" And her smile to Elianne is cheerful. "What's your name? Welcome to Telgar. That's Tiriana, if you haven't got her name yet, and she's set on protecting the weyr from all interlopers one interrogation at a time."
"You don't have to go so far as /interrogation/," Kynvelin comments blandly, before rising, one hand underneath the lump in his jacket. Elianne returns in time for him to say, "see you agaian some time, maybe, Elianna?" and he gives a friendly nod to Ileste before he collects his empty mug with the other hand and heads towards the kitchen.
Kynvelin walks off towards the kitchen.
Kynvelin has left.
Tamarisk has been absently watching this little group's animated conversation when he spots Elianne at the buffet table. But she leaves before he makes it over to the table. He shrugs, then turns back to the buffet table when he spies Ileste headed towards the klah pots. He manages to beat Ileste by the smallest of margins -- or a dead heat. Like a good waiter he checks on the status of the pots, removing one that's nearly empty and pouring the contente of another into a partly full pot.
Elianne gives Kynvelin a wave and a smile "I hope so!" A small grin escapes her at Ileste's comment "I'm Elianne, thank you for your welcome; I'm Igen, myself and I'm no interloper, just a visitor. If it makes Tiriana feel any better I'll be leaving soon anyway." This last is said studiously without looking at /anyone/. Elianne picks up her mug of klah and drinks deeply, with a sigh.
"Maybe we'll try torturing the stuff out of them next," Tiriana shoots back at Kynvelin, likely just to rile him. Because Ileste just had to give her the ideas. An absent wave sends Kynvelin on his way, though, before she turns back to the two remaining girls. Ileste's latter words actually make her proud, smirk broadening again. "Home guard, or something. After all that crap with Crom and the Reaches, can't be /too/ careful, after all." Beat. "Why is your scarf alive?" The wiggling beneath Elianne's garment catches her eye then, and she shoots a sharp look around at it, as though that will quell the motion.
Ileste beams at Elianne-- "Oh, no, stay as long as you like. We like guests. She's just very enthusiastic about her work." Tiriana gets the same cheer, too. "I haven't heard about anything bad out of Igen lately, fortunately. So it should be all right." And Tamarisk gets a small 'eep'. "Oh! Is there enough for two? Should I go get more?"
Elianne looks at Tiriana for a moment then says flippantly "Magic!". The she relents "It's just Dhari; he's only a few days old and won't perch on me yet." She disentangles the scarf from the wriggling mass and a bronzed, snoozy firelizard head emerges, letting out a chirrup that is clearly intended to express annoyance at the disturbance of his nap. Elianne soothes him with a tiny chirp back and wee strokes from one gentle finger.
Tamarisk sets down the empty pots and takes a full one. "Here's a full pot, fresh-brewed. It'll taste much better than stuff that's been sitting around for a couple of hours." He then looks over at the group, now one member smaller, and just barely catches sight of the tiny bronze wrapped in her scarf. "Jus' hope he stays asleep. I don't want no firelizards flitting around in the kitchen stealing scraps."
"Oh," says Tiriana, nose wrinkling when the firelizard emerges. "One of /those/." She shakes her head a little, then flicks a look at Ileste. "Her brother's from Ista," she begins, pointing at Elianne, "and Ista has that Reachian thief for a Weyrleader." But she's grasping at straws, and even she knows it, mouth forming into a well-practiced pout and arms folding over her chest. "Yeah!" she's quick to back up Tamarisk when he joins them; it brings her smirk right back out again.
Ileste ducks her head to hide her grin at Tiriana. "But he can't help who won, and neither can she, just like we couldn't." And she turns amiably back to Tamarisk. "You pour for me, I pour for you?"
Elianne rises sharply "you know, I'm not quite sure what it is you think a kitchen hand with a baby firelizard is going to do to you; but I think you might just be a /teeny/ bit paranoid." Elianne mutters to Ileste "What is she? The chief torturer? Or chief underwhelmingly rude?!" To Tiriana she smiles, exceedingly sweetly, "I've been polite to you, and some might say, tried to be friendly. I really don't know /what/ I've done to offend you but I really didn't come here to overthrow Telgar singlehandedly, or with only a firelizard that does nothing but demand food voraciously and sleep determinedly. My brother is from Igen, like me, and we bear no ill-will toward you or yours. Now, I won't joust with you further - I suggest we put this /misunderstanding/ behind us and decide to be friendly-like, or at least civil. I'll offer my hand to you if you'll agree." She folds her arms in front of her and then hurriedly unfolds them as they encounter grumpy firelizard, somewhat undermining her possibly unwise stand.
"Sure," Tamarsk replies as he pours Ileste a mugfull and waits for her to return the favor. At Elianne's remark he snorts. "If you're kitchen help, then why haven't I seen you around? An' as for your little flit, you just gave the reason why they're not welcome in the kitchen --those things are flying stomachs, always gettin' in the way tryin' to steal food. I haven't seen a single one doing anything useful." He looks at Tiriana with a faint, wry smile of agreement.
Ah, logic: Tiriana's mortal enemy. She gives up, throwing her hands up slightly. "Fine, whatever. There's nothing wrong with Igen. /Now/," she conceeds, scowl-faced. But Elianne's words just make her mouth stretch back out, as she shoots a look to her fellow Telgari. "Ooh, look at that, she'll offer her hand to me," she says, snickering. "What're you going to do if I /don't/ agree?" Curious, she lifts a brow, head tilting.
Ileste pours for Tamarisk. To Tiriana, she chirps, "But who's going to wear the wedding dress?"
She turns to Tamarisk, hands open in appeal "Igen! I'm kitchen help at Igen! Not here - and this firelizard isn't flitting anywhere at the moment, nor will I let him when he gets to that stage. /I/ know what an untrained flit is like in the kitchen." She turns more slowly to Tiriana "I suppose I'll go sit in the bowl until my brother's ready to leave; I'm offering peace and I hope you'll agree. There's no reason for us to disagree that I can see."
Tamarisk shrugs at Elianne's remarks. "'It's okay then. Was just wonderin' since I'm kitchen help here and know everyone and everything here. But I'm glad you understand what I'm getting at. A lot of it is that I just don't like firelizards." Tiriana gets another smirk of agreement.
Ileste's words just completely confuse Tiriana, who blinks at the infirmary aide before shrugging off what she can't comprehend. Instead, to Elianne, she shakes her head. "Not taking it. /I'm/ not disagreeing--you're the one over there getting mad at everything I say. Not my fault." She shoots a look at Ileste and Tamarisk for the expected agreement.
"well, each to their own and I've just been reacting to what's been said and /how/ it's been said." Elianne points this remark to Tiriana and Tamarisk. She sits and her face clouds over and she looks down; she'd probably be on the verge of tears if she'd allow herself and she /knows/ D'ran won't be taking her places again if he finds out she's been making herself unpopular. "sorry." she mutters under her breath, almost to herself.
There's a shrill whistle from the entryway to the bowl at which Elianne's head jerks up and round. On seeing the source of the sound she stands quickly, making sure the small bronze is neatly tucked up in the scarf. She turns to her table companions and looks round at them all. "That's my brother; he's ready to leave. I'm sorry if I've offended you; I didn't come here to be trouble. I just thought to see somewhere new and meet some new people for a short time." She smiles at Ileste and nods jerkily; then she turns to the other two and nods to each of them. "If'n I'm ever here again, I'll steer clear, not give you reason to complain. Hope that's to your satisfaction." She turns and runs from the Living Cavern.
And Tamarisk delivers with a wry smile that flits from Tiriana to Elianne and back again, softening slightly as Elianne's tottering on the verge of a breakdown. "Maybe you shouldn't travel to other Weyrs if you're like this all the time."
Elianne walks down the short tunnel and out into the bowl.
Elianne has left.
Tiriana just smirks when Elianne leaves, looking pleased. "Well, /my/ work here's done," she announces smugly. "Since the entertainment's gone, though, I'm going home and enjoy the rest of my rest day." Not that the prospect seems to thrill her; she shoots an almost regretful look back after Elianne--not for being cruel itself, but for driving the prey off so early in the day.
"They're just teasing, Elianne," Ileste states gently. "Don't take it too har--" And then Elianne is gone. "...Oh dear." But she doesn't criticize either of the other two, instead perching on the edge of a table, feet dangling, to drink her klah.