[Log] Rescue Efforts
Who: Danika, Kynvelin, Tiriana, Virgil, Xhaiden
When: Day 6, Month 5, Turn 16
Where: Lakeshore, Telgar Weyr
What: Candidates hang out at the lake.
Lake Shore, Telgar Weyr
The vegetation thickens near the lake, becoming a meadow that runs along the edge of a narrow, sandy beach. The sands spill down into a crystal lake to the north, lapping against the crater walls to the north and east. A fence runs northwest-southeast, blocking off the lake from the feeding grounds. The grass is thick with autumn, and the long strands are beginning to seed. The few trees that stand on the banks of the lake are in their full splendor with leaves of red, gold, and brown. In one corner of the meadow, Telgar's herb garden makes the air thick with the smell of mint, thyme and chive. The light of the morning sun spills over the eastern rim of the bowl, and sets the lake sparkling and shining like a giant mirror.
The afternoon is partly cloudy, though the sun still shines through. There seems to be a light breeze and the spring air is warm enough, with only a slight chill.
Contents:
Danika
Kynvelin
Virgil
Xhaiden
Obvious exits:
Bowl Weyrgardens
Your location's current time: 12:46 on day 6, month 5, Turn 16, of the Interval. It is a spring afternoon.
Danika
Danika is a young girl, somewhere in her middle teens, though at that age it's hard to tell exactly. She has long black hair and when she's not doing some chore that requires it to be pulled back into a braid she's taken to leaving it loose. This seems to be a new development however, because she's constantly pushing her hair back behind her ear.
She is currently wearing dark brown trousers, clean but well-worn. With it she's paired a dark blue long sleeved shirt with her knot on her shoulder. That knot indicates that she's a candidate at Telgar.
Kynvelin
Slightly below average in height, this young man is just under six feet tall. Though muscular, he doesn't show it - his is a more subtle build, on the slender side of athletic but with sturdiness and enough muscle on his arms and legs to show that he has plenty of strength. He carries himself with a quiet confidence, though certainly not threateningly, and those small green eyes of his are usually placid. His forehead is square, his jaw tapering into a round chin. His cheekbones are pronounced, as is his nose, it being quite long, rounded and protuberant. His lips are fairly wide, though thin, and a pale pink that suits his slightly tanned complexion well. He wears his dark brown hair short with sideburns, and likes to have a very short beard and moustache. He looks older than his 17 Turns.
Kynvelin wears a simple outfit consisting of a short-sleeved white top, somewhat dirty, with a sleeveless jacket over the top. His trousers are thick and durable, but with stains that just won't wash out. He wears boots with thickened areas above where his toes are. His knot is that of a Telgar Weyr candidate.
Virgil
With a sharp little chin, nose, and pronounced cheekbones, Virgil's face appears small, fragile even. Add in the so-pale skin and she seems rather severe. She has a pretty mouth though, and there are freckles dusted across her cheeks; these things take some of the edge off. The way her long hair floats around her jawline, permanently static-charged and framing her in white-blonde, softens that part of her too, and her eyes are tempered stone grey. Her neck curves, long and thin, to a small set of shoulders and a frame that follows suit in being thin and modest and lacking in many curves. She's skinny for now, a little bony in places, with little hands and a ragamuffin vibe. At 5'4" she stands well below her peers, and she looks about 16 Turns, 11 months, and 3 days old.
She wears medium-length skirts and dresses paired with too-large sweaters and knee-high boots. Scarves are common too, as are fingerless gloves and crocheted hats with odd ear flaps. Her colors tend towards the mismatched. She's never without the vibrant string of red ribbon around her neck, from which dangles a circle of bronze, a ring that's probably much too big for any of her fingers; her knot, too, is ever-present. Simple white, with Telgar's colors, mark her as a candidate.
Xhaiden
Like many active boys, Xhaiden is nothing but skin and bone over lean muscle. His hands and feet are large, just waiting for his whip-cord thin body to grow into their size. Even his features need some growing into, the chin with it's dimple and cheekbones and nose overly pronounced in his thin face. The impish curve of his mouth don't seem quite fitted to his long face. For now though, he is only around 5 foot tall, hovering on the brink of adolescence. For all the underfed-look to him, he is healthy and carries himself with a self assurance beyond his few turns. Tanned bronze by the sun, he has a fine line of dark pin-points across his cheek bones and bridge of his nose. His hair is kept long, but neatly trimmed, the top is white-blonde while beneith is deep brown, nearly black. From under the frindge of gold, his sapphire eyes shine with a michevious fire of mirth and merriment, as though some manner of trouble-making is always in the works just behind the all too innocent guise.
He wear fine clothing for a child of his age. The light weight tunic is a shimmering peacock blue with feather-shaped buttons of polished bone. The breeches are slate, trimmed with gold and matching peacock blue embroidery like feathers spiralling down to pile up at the cuffs of the legs. Short, soft boots clad his feet, matching the wide leather belt. A stylish dagger is sheathed at his hip, the hilt intercately carved with a fishing scene on the exposed side.
Xhaiden stands at the shore of the lake. Just stands there, with his arms crossed over his chest, brooding over the water, or at least his thoughts. There are footsteps in the damp sand of the shoreline where he has been wandering back and forth but for now he's just still, lost in thought.
Danika is not in danger of becoming lost in thought, because she isn't thinking all that much at the moment. She isn't even looking where she's going, which might be why she almost trips over her own feet as she approaches the lake shore from the bowl. She's got a bucket in one hand and a basket of something in the other but she seems a little lost. Once she approaches the edge, she looks around and says to noone in particular but to anyone within earshot, "So, how do we know where and when to wash dragons, anyway? What if none are dirty today, can I go back to sleep?"
How does one tend hot springs out at the lake? Tiriana seems determined to find out; a long lunch break has led to a trip out to the lake, which has in turn led to an encounter with some stablehand associates of hers. She's just now escaping their ribbing about candidacy, ducking away and trudging back along the shore in time to overhear Danika. "You just sit and look unobtrusive so they don't come ask you about it--/I'm/ not going to wash their dragons for them. That's their job," she announces, mouth curving into a smirk. "Shouldn't have stood if they don't want everything that goes along with it."
Kynvelin looks somewhat queasy - or maybe being pale is the new spring fashion? As he steps onto the sandy part around the edge of the lake he sucks in a deep breath and that seems to relax him. His arms uncross and he looks a bit less sick, at least. Then he spots Tiriana approaching Danika and starts in their direction, looking worried now. He hasn't heard their words, but can one risk letting their little sister meet Tiriana?
Can one risk /anyone/ meeting Tiriana? Really? It's a tricky situation, one Virgil's very interested in when she happens upon the shore like, it seems, almost everyone else in their class. "Hi," she calls, early on, while she's still walking that carefree walk of hers, her hands in her pockets, the ear flaps of her hat flopping in time.
Danika smiles and nods at Tiriana. "That was my thought, when I saw what my duty was. Didn't they say that's something I'd have to do if I impressed? That and a whole long list of other things? What, whenever there's a candidate class starting does everyone sigh in relief that someone else gets to do their work for them?" She spots Kynvelin's approach and frowns. "You all right? Something seems different." She raises her own hand in greeting when Virgil calls out. "Hi."
Xhaiden has disconnected.
"Yeah, the other stuff--the dishes and stores and all that--that's one thing," agrees Tiriana, nose wrinkling in distaste. "Dragon washing? Next thing you know they'll want you to muck up after them. Not that we have any like that now," the girl amends. "Not until weyrlings again, and then we won't be candidates." She frowns slightly, but lifts a hand in greeting to both Kynvelin and Virgil as they join them.
Kynvelin slows down when he realises Tiriana and Danika are getting along. Tiriana doesn't even look that scowly. The worried relaxes into a relieved smile. "Oh, nothing. Come out to get some fresh lake air. Latrine duty," he adds, darkly, as if those two words will explain his need for fresh air. Virgil, upon her approach, gets a smile - but just that. Unfamiliar face and all.
"Mucking? After dragons?" Virgil doesn't dislike many things, the things she /does/ dislike are general. She dislikes murder. She dislikes an uncomfortable chair. She dislikes poop. "I hope not. Hi." That's for Kynvelin, whom she may not have introduced herself to yet. "I'm Gil." There! All taken care of.
Danika nods at Tiriana. "That's true, but then some of us will be doing it for our own dragons. Though the concept of that hasn't really full sunk in yet. Too outside a chance, you know? Don't they search more people than there are eggs, just in case?" She points over at Kynvelin. "He I might be able to see it happening to. He's all responsible and stuff." She nods at him. "I can imagine, though I haven't had that duty yet. I'm not looking forward to it and now I know I had a reason not to be." She smiles at Virgil. "Well, no mucking for now at least. Nice to meet you. I'm Danika."
Tiriana smirks at Kynvelin, rather smug. "Sucks for you," she tells him, not the least bit sympathetic. And she turns right back to Danika, though not until adding to Virgil, "Of course. Anyway, not like you can make somebody else do /that/ for you." Beat. "Twice as many, usually," is added more reluctantly. "For choice, yeah."
"Gil?" Kynvelin echoes, nodding. "I'm Kynvelin. Or...just Kyn, if you want." He looks over at Danika when she points at him, and blushes at what she's saying. "Dragons look for all sorts of things. I think." He clears his throat and looks out at the lake, breathing deeply, letting Danika and Virgil do the greeting thing. Tiriana's comment has him lowering his eyes to the ground. "Someone's gotta do it," he mutters. But he'll confirm Tiriana's comment on the candidate numbers. "They aim for twice as many, yeah."
"Nice meeting you. Both of you. I think we see a lot of each other, barracks and all. Sorry I've been too busy to say something sooner." Virgil says all of this while rocking back and forth on her heels; constant energy. "What're we talking about?" she asks a beat later, her eyebrows knitting. 'Nother beat. "/Oh/. Twice as many candidates, yep. We'll all be milling around out there comes time."
Danika says "That's what I was thinking," she responds to Tiriana's answer. "I know they're not all in there, but the number of cots I saw made me think that. Though the room was built to accomodate double a large clutch, wasn't it? So I couldn't be sure I was calculating it accurately." She nods at Kynvelin. "It's true, and that somebody is probably going to be me soon enough so I won't tease you *too* much about having to do it today." A pause. "Though maybe a little." She grins at Virgil. "Seems everyone knew but me, huh? Well, it's a big area it probably won't be too crowded on the sands I guess. Hey," she turns to Kynvelin. "You gonna stand near me when it comes time?""
Xhaiden has connected.
Tiriana's brows knit, and she eyes Kynvelin then. "Because what, it's not good enough when I say it?" she asks him, frowning. Doing her best to work up a bad mood, her answers to Danika next are still a little curt, however undeservedly. "They're larger in the Pass, so of course. They plan for these things." Beat. "You're already panning for that?" A little surprised with the other girl's latter question, Tiriana's distracted from ill humor for the moment.
"We've all been busy," Kynvelin notes, flashing Virgil a warm smile. "It's not your fault." He looks at Danika, rolling his eyes. "Not /too/ much? Just you wait. It smells worse than firestone." His sister's question gets no response at first, as Kyn thinks. "Sure. I haven't promised anyone else I'll stand near them. It's a long way away, anyway." And he pointedly doesn't look at Tiriana for her comment to him. "I was saying you were /right/." Quiet but firm.
Virgil's calm gaze finds Tiriana easily, holds fast. Care Bear Stare. "You sure do get defensive easy. I don't think anyone's out to get you here, friend." She even adds a smile, small and pleasant, to match that earnest expression on her face. "Relax?"
Danika shrugs at Tiriana. "Not really planning, it just occurred to me is all. I usually say things as they come into my head or I might forget them. I'm making the assumption that I can act well enough not to get kicked out completely, so when we started talking about the hatching I just thought I'd ask. He is my brother after all." She wrinkles are nose at Kynvelin. "You don't have to hold my hand or anything you know. It's not *that* much of a burden." She smiles at Virgil. "Relaxing is probably a good idea, while there is safely no dragon to wash." She even takes action, slipping out of her shoes and wiggling her toes in the sand.
Xhaiden comes wandering down the shoreline towards the other candidates. He had made a quick path away when they arrived, but not it appears he's come to be social. Nodding towards the others as he comes up and lifts his hand, "Hello there." that's pretty much it for now, looking from one to the other to try to figure out what he's walked back into.
Tiriana folds her arms over her chest, frown persisting. "I don't need you telling me I'm right for me to /be/ right," she grumbles, shaking her head. "And don't tell me to relax, either. I am relaxed." Sniff. But she does settle, more or less, though not without a roll of her eyes at Danika's words. "Oh, yeah, like you have anything to worry about," scoffs the girl. "Getting thrown out."
Kynvelin looks at Tiriana briefly, to gaage her reaction to Virgil, but it's Danika that his gaze shifts to after a moment. "You're /not/ going to get kicked out, Danika. Just...don't do anything silly." But he finds humour in his sister's expression and next words, and pokes his tongue out at her. "I'll keep the dragons away from you, so you don't get hurt," he jests, grinning. Xhaiden receives a polite, "hi," though Kyn's expression can be read as, 'another male! Back-up!'. Xhaiden gets looked up and down very briefly, before he looks at the lake again and rolls his eyes. "Hm," is his "reply" to Tiriana, as he partly dismisses her. That's before he bristles a little as the ex-stablehand scoffs at Danika. "Don't talk to my sister like that," he says calmly, still looking out at the lake.
"Do you? Have a lot to worry about?" Eyebrows lifted, Virgil regards the former stablehand for a long moment longer before she tears her attention away. For Xhaiden, for now. "Hi," she answers him, unpocketing her hand very briefly - brr - to wave at him. "I don't think we met officially, either," she adds, wrinkling her forehead; her smile returns like it never left, and it did there for a second. "I'm Gil." For Danika, as an aside, "I'm the same way." Saying things right off she means, probably. Annnd things are all tense again. Drat. "Way I see it, we're better off a united front come hatching day." It's a suggestion really. Aheh.
Danika bobs her head from side to side once as she considers Tiriana's response. "Well, I guess. It's not like I get in trouble intentionally. Or would get kicked out intentionally. But my parents *did* send me to Tillek when I was just having some fun that turned into getting in trouble. So I guess it's not always about intentions. Or about what you do - my best friend didn't get into nearly as much trouble. Course, they assumed it was my idea." She grins a little. "They'd be right." She grins at Kynvelin. "I'll try. I'll be especially good. Good beyond belief." When he defends her against Tiriana she rolls her eyes. "I'm not a delicate flower, Kyn." She nods at Virgil. "I agree. Some know a little more what's going on than others and the more help the merrier." She waves and sends a friendly smile Xhaiden's way. "Hello there."
Xhaiden inclines his head slowly, "I'm Xhaiden. A pleasure to meet you." One side of his mouth quirks into a bit of a grin at the conversations but he doesn't dive right in yet. Instead he just soaks it all up, bright eyes attentive and watchful. Perhaps he doesn't have an opinion, or just doesn't care to voice it.
"Oh, like you just did?" Tiriana answers Kynvelin, cocking her head slightly. One brow lifts, a challenging expression as she regards the young man. That confrontation takes precedence over answering either Danika herself or the others, though after a few seconds of regarding Kynvelin with that expectant gaze she does finally tell Virgil, sharply and without looking, "No. I don't have anything." This is her lying voice.
Kynvelin very nearly 'harrumphs' when Danika makes the 'delicate flower' comment, but satisfies himself with clenching his fist to relieve his tension some. "She's my sister. I was joking with her." He tells Tiriana bluntly, reacting to her challenge more than he ought to. He takes a deep breath then, exhaling hard, and goes for the wussy option, mumbling, "I better get back to work. Latrines won't clean themselves." And so he'll turn on his heel and leave, with a nod of farewell to the group at large. Long steps carry him back to the bowl and onwards.
Kynvelin walks into the central bowl, telgar weyr.
Kynvelin has left.
Amidst all of this, Virgil stands there looking from one combatant to the next, and poor Xhaiden too, who hasn't even said anything, and listens. And watches. And waits. When Kynvelin's finally had enough and leaves she lifts /one/ eyebrow at Tiriana this time and says-- nothing. That, apparently, should suffice: she isn't mad, she's just disappointed. "I'm gonna go," she announces. "It was nice meeting everyone." With a smile and a wave she turns and takes the way Kyn did.
Virgil goes home.
Virgil has left.
Danika smiles at Xhaiden. "I was thinking we started on the wrong foot when I first got here. So when I heard they were switching out a couple bakers here in a sevenday or so, I found out who. If a journeyrank's cooking is good enough, Clara is really great and she can make something you like when she gets here. Just let me know what it is so I can warn her." She wouldn't know Tiriana's lying voice from her happy one so she doesn't comment either way. Instead she waves to her brother's back. "You know, they should make a contraption that cleans latrines themselves. Or maybe just with a crank from a safe, less smelly distance away." She manges to wave at Virgil's back too but can't do anything else before another candidate has left the beach.
It's a victory, or so says Tiriana's smug little smile when Kynvelin turns to leave. But then Virgil's giving her that look and leaving, too, and Tiriana's brows knit less certainly as she frowns after the other girl. "Anyway," she says determinedly. "What about bakers?"
Xhaiden clears his throat at the mass exit and chuckles softly, "I know it wasn't anything that I said." HE murmurs as he watches them go. Danika's remark draws his attention back to her, surprise clear on his face. "huh? Oh, well that's very...nice of you," he sounds wary though. "I have to agree about the latrine cleaning, but it's better than the stables. sharding runners."
Danika says "There's going to be a switch in postings in a sevenday," she responds to Tiriana, "that's all I was saying. And since I know the new girl I thought I'd get her to help us out." She smiles at Xhaiden. "Just trying to make up for not being nice myself, afterwards. My least favorite of the two would have to be the latines. Especially since some of the duties with the runners is taking care of the animals themselves, right? Grooming them and feeding them or something? That can't be so bad. It would be nice to learn to ride one, wonder if I'll have the chance."
It evens out in the end, Danika's comments and Xhaiden's; the latter have Tiriana bristling, the former settling her back down slightly. "Nothing wrong with the runners," she retorts. "And I'm a stablehand. --I have chores to do; I work unlike /some/ people." With her nose in the air, she turns to stroll off.
Xhaiden does look pleased about the baker, even if it's with a hint of wariness, "I'm not sure why you'd be nice to me...but, thank you." People, especially girls who are nice, make him edgy apparently. He shoots a look over at Tiriana, knowing she'll be full of the regular vemon that he's used to. "Eh, you can keep the runners. Nasty, stupid beasts. They kick and they bite and they stink and grooming them gets hair all over your clothing." Just in case he has some on him, he smooths down the front of his tunic carefully.
Danika shrugs. "I was just thinking that except for that first thing when we first met, you seem to try to be polite. So that maybe that first thing was your way of trying to be polite. Also, you mentioned in the living cavern that day when we were talking about Daegan that you punched him when you first met him. Which showed that you aren't oblivious to what your friend does, but that you stick by him anyway. That means you're a good friend and I can't fault you for that. So I decided I'd say sorry with food. That's what I'm best at."