Log: Bring the Stars Close
Who: Nenita, P'draig
When: About an hour after the clutching party
Where: Kitchen/Bowl, Ista Weyr
What: Paddy goes in search of Nenny to make sure she's okay. There's comfort to be found in cake, a walk and a ride under the stars.
Finally, after maybe an hour of dishwashing and helping someone got it into their minds that Nenita probably isn't supposed to be there working. Especially after she'd been there the entire day before the party. Directed over to the tables she's been seated there in front of a big piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk. And directed to eat it too, apparently. She's still wearing her yellow dress from the party, except now she's donned an apron over the top of it. An apron that's covered in old grease, water and soap. Her hair that was nicely done just hours ago has been roughly pulled back, looking now like it always does. Messy. Her mood seem lighter than it was before and at the very least? She's poking at the piece of cake and eating little bits of it.
In that hour, Paddy's seen the headwoman safely home and ducked his head into various dorms looking for Nenita and has now opted for the kitchen as his next try. And bingo. One cute cook perched at the table eating cake. The sight brings a smile to P'draig's face and he pushes on through into the kitchen, casually greeting some of the workers still there and then comes to a halt at Nenny's table. "Looks good. Mind some company?" he asks, gray-blue eyes serious enough on her face though he's smiling.
Nenita's focus is pretty well onto that cake and she's trying to break off the now slightly hard frosting. Then pick it up and pop it into her mouth. There are plenty of people wandering around so the sounds of one persons footsteps amongst many don't readily garner her interest. However the familiar voice talking to her from across the table does. With an uplift of dark eyes she settles her gaze onto P'draig, producing something close to a smile for him. "Not at all. Want some cake? It's really rich." She pushes the plate a little bit towards him. "I guess the excitement died down some?"
"Sure, I like cake," P'draig says cheerily and pulls out a chair, drops into it and reaches out to break off a piece, pops it into his mouth. His head bobs in answer. "Yeah. Vlad popped K'aus one, but then they both left so it didn't go any further than that. At least I hope it didn't. They kind of both went in the same direction afterward." Thoughtful for a moment, Paddy licks some of the frosting off of his fingers. "Made sure Loe got home okay." His eyes scan her face and P'draig smiles again. "I was wondering if you'd still like to go down to the beach with me? Get that dance in?"
Her fingers push the plate a little closer towards him once more. "Vladilen's an asshole." Nenita comments, offhandedly with a sort of natural ease, as if she's said this more than once in her life. "And K'aus is disgusting creep. They deserve each other, honestly." She snorts and picks the glass of milk up to take a long drink from it. "I don't think Loe was having a very good night. And I'm sure certain people didn't make it any better for her." Those certain people going unnamed for now. At the offer for a dance, she smiles and slowly moves her head from side to side. "I don't know, Paddy. It's been a long night. I think I might be afraid to go out there again. It's nice in here." Safe.
P'draig breaks off another piece of cake, but he's offering the bite to her this time. "Sounds like you know him better than I do even," the brownrider says curiously of Vlad and eyes Nenny for that statement about K'aus. "What'd he do to earn that title?" His nod follows though at further mention of the headwoman. "No, she wasn't. Stressed out about the party and then those two losers had to go turn it into a sort of fight. Sometimes, I'm ashamed of my gender." His eyes scan her face again and P'draig exhales, nods. "I understand. Though ... there's Jekzith too. Could take you a little ways away too. Where it's quiet. Just hate to see your night ending so unhappily, that's all."
"Once upon a time, I did. But it doesn't seem he's changed any since the last time we spoke." Nenita says on the subject of the stores worker. And for the other highly intelligent man they're discussing, "By acting like a creep." Which is such a grand explanation. Her fingers find their way sneaking across the table to lightly pat the brownrider on the hand. "You don't have to be ashamed of your gender. You're a fine specimen." His exhale earns yet another supposed to be comforting pat of her hand. "It's not ending unhappily. It's just ending quietly. I got to work." She smiles again and then squeezes her fingers. "We could take a little walk if it would make you feel better."
"Once upon a time," P'draig echoes thoughtfully and has a little more cake, grin pulling to the side about K'aus. The hand patting lifts his gaze back up to her face and the brownrider laughs. "You know, I came looking for you to make sure you were okay and to comfort you and the table's been flipped," he says humorously, pulls a hanky from his pocket to wipe his fingers and stows it again. "Walk sounds good if you're up fort it. Otherwise, here's just fine. Kitchens you know, they do just feel -- safe. Comforting. I learned to cook some here when I was a kid. My grandmother was posted here for a while."
"Well, you seem sort of upset about whether or not I'm upset." Nenita points out, grinning more fully now. "The kitchens are the safest place for me. I don't think there's a single spot in this whole weyr that I feel better in." She breaks her gaze from him to take a glance around. The cavern is beginning to empty, finally, as people leave to go home for the night. "Your grandmother was posted here?" The cook asks idly as she pushes her chair back and makes to stand. She leans over to get the remains of the cake. "Lets walk. Maybe the fresh air will do us both good."
"Not upset, just a little concerned. Both you and Veri ran off. With Veri ... well I know she usually just needs some time by herself. Thought I should check on you," Paddy says sincerely and pushes his chair back too, rises and offers over a hand for her to take if she likes. "Yep. Master Emne. She started out at Ruatha, went to Benden, then Telgar, posted down here for a while when I was a little boy, then went back to Telgar. She's still there, though she's getting on, doesn't really work much anymore and her health isn't so great." Sober that last, then a smile. "Fresh air often does."
"She seemed really upset when she left." Nenita comments, seeming a little worried. "She's probably on the Layabout or in her weyr or something. Ianna didn't seem too pleased with the evening either. I thought clutchings were supposed to be a good time?" Heading over to the sinks she gets rid of the rest of the cake in the garbage and slips the plate into some soaking water. Turning around she meets him at the table again, twining her arm with his. "Age gets everyone, I suppose." Leaning her forehead into his arm, "Where are we going to walk to?"
"Yeah, a lot of of unhappy faces," Paddy says, shaking his head. "Usually everyone's happy about eggs, yes." He waits while she dumps the cake, grins as her arm slips through his and he tucks hers companionably close as they head out. "Eventually. Time doesn't stop," the brownrider replies about his grandmother, smiles down at her again as her forehead leans into his arm. "Could head down the jungle paths or out around the corrals. Can see the stars really well from the plateau."
"Lets... Lets go towards the plateau. The party should be over now. If we go down by the jungle we'll be too near that rowdy bar that's over there." And Nenita doesn't seem too interested in any loud bars at the moment. "I was happy about the eggs. But then one thing leads to another and all of a sudden you find yourself having a miserable time and two annoying guys are duking it out."
"The Lucky Seven? Veri said it was nice, not rowdy?" P'draig asks curiously as he heads out through the caverns towards the plateau and the corrals, away from the garden where the party took place. "It's a good clutch for Interval," the brownrider says with a grin. "And it means Searchriders get to go out."
"Yeah, that place. I heard rumors that there was a fight and lots of drunk gamblers and all that, just on the night it opens. Who knows what it's like now?" Nenita's feet find their way easily in the dark. "Fifteen eggs. That's actually quite a bit, usually it's less than that." She bumps into him playfully. "How exactly do you figure who's a searchrider and who's not?"
"Gambling in the back I thought, but ... fight that does sound rowdly," P'draig agrees as they amble along. Soon enough the sky speckled with bright stars opens up above them in the bowl. "Yeah, very good for an Interval," the brownrider says and laughs for the bump, bumps back gently. "Well often it's if a dragon's Searched before. Some of them are better at picking out a person than others."
"Fights are always rowdy." Nenita places her free hand on his arm and squeezes gently, "I hope that it's a strong clutch. I'm glad that our Weyrleader is actually Istan for once. Too many foreigners these past few turns." For his answer there's a little 'huh'. "Is there a specific group that go out? Or is it just in general?"
"Me too," P'draig says sincerely about the clutch and grins down at Nenita. "How come I get a pass on foreigner?" He teases just a little and reaches across to cover her hand with his atop his arm. "There are groups that go out, yeah. But sometimes it's just someone on sweeps or visiting somewhere."
"Because you're nice. And you came here for T'mic, not to take over the weyr and not to change things." Nenita tells him, slowing to a stop when they make it to a particular part of the plateau. Looking up at the sky she seems momentarily distracted. "Do the stars look any different anywhere else? Like at Fort? Do they seem any different to you?"
"No, not to change things - though if I get tapped to work with the weyrlings again, I might do some things differently this time. That's just kind of ... part of the job though." Paddy's arm shifts to curl around behind her gently, rubbing at her back a little. "Sometimes I think they look like they're /closer/ here. The constellations that you can see are a little different, but not too much, the big difference is when you go down South."
"That's not the same. It's not a take over. You didn't come here for power or prestige or anything like that. You came to make your life easier and happier." Nenita unwinds her arm from his so that she can take a step forward. A step that's taken almost as if it'll help her see the stars just a little bit better. "Do you fly at night? Does it make them seem like they're any closer at all? Or do they seem just as far away?"
"None of those are ... really my thing. Though I don't think that some of the people who've come here were in it for that either, Nenny," P'draig says quietly. He smiles in the dark, watching her. "I do. And they do. Even if it's just imagination." Beat. "Would you like to go up with me and Jekzith?"
"How do you know?" Nenita asks, turning to look at him curiously. "I'm sure that there were certainly some of them here to further their own agenda. Outsiders look at Ista like that. Like it's some tropical get away spot. That they can just come here and use her, then leave." Her lips press together and she shakes her head. For his offer, her mouth begins to curve into a little smile. "I think I would. Just to see for myself."
"Because I talked to some of them and got to know them. Didn't really strike me as what they were after," P'draig says honestly. "But ... there's always people who do take advantage too. Just have to be watchful for spotting them." The brownrider reaches a hand out towards her shoulder to squeeze it gently, comfortingly. "He's coming down," Paddy says of his brown, his own smile flashing in the darkness.
There's a dubious expression on her face, even when he says that he's known some of these 'people'. She steps back to lean into him when his hand comes for her shoulder. "Can you actually see him?" Nenita asks, narrowing her eyes up into the darkness.
Down Paddy's hand slides along her arm and then both are curling around her warmly. "I don't need to see him. I can feel him. And I can see where he is from what he can see. I just ... know. I know where he is." P'draig smiles again and gives Nenita a little hug. Moments later, there's a rush of wings and the sound of talons scrabbling against the bowl floor. "He's here."
Meanwhile Nenita is still trying to find that shape amongst the sky. Maybe Jekzith will blot out some stars for her so that there's a clue to his location. "That's very convinent." She says quietly to him, turning to look up at him again. She looks over at the brown and then turns around in P'draig's arms to give him an impulsive hug.
"All part of being a rider," P'draig answers and blinks at the sudden hug, but bends to return it. "It takes some getting used to at first, to be honest. But it is very convenient. Whole conversations without ever opening my mouth!" Laughter in his voice as he leads the way over to Jekzith who is in fact, more shadow or darker shape in the bowl and against the sky on the plateau's edge. "Up you go. I'll sit behind. Keep you warm," Paddy says with a touch of humor in his voice still.
Nenita clambers up the dragon's side, like someone who's done this at least a couple of times. She twists around to watch him as he makes his own ascent up the dragon's body. "Thanks, Paddy. I'm glad that you came down to the kitchens. This is probably more fun than sitting there and eating slightly stale cake."
Paddy does stand by while she mounts up, watchful for any slips, then follos up after, settling in behind the slight cook. Safety straps are a necessity and quickly dealt with. The brownrider's arms close around her as he just said and there's a hug given. "You're welcome. Let's see if we can make it a lot more fun than slightly stale cake," he says winningly and sends Jekzith aloft. The brown is a mobile, acrobatic flyer for all his length and does his best to make that a good ride and bring them all as close to the stars as he can for a little while.
When: About an hour after the clutching party
Where: Kitchen/Bowl, Ista Weyr
What: Paddy goes in search of Nenny to make sure she's okay. There's comfort to be found in cake, a walk and a ride under the stars.
Finally, after maybe an hour of dishwashing and helping someone got it into their minds that Nenita probably isn't supposed to be there working. Especially after she'd been there the entire day before the party. Directed over to the tables she's been seated there in front of a big piece of chocolate cake and a glass of milk. And directed to eat it too, apparently. She's still wearing her yellow dress from the party, except now she's donned an apron over the top of it. An apron that's covered in old grease, water and soap. Her hair that was nicely done just hours ago has been roughly pulled back, looking now like it always does. Messy. Her mood seem lighter than it was before and at the very least? She's poking at the piece of cake and eating little bits of it.
In that hour, Paddy's seen the headwoman safely home and ducked his head into various dorms looking for Nenita and has now opted for the kitchen as his next try. And bingo. One cute cook perched at the table eating cake. The sight brings a smile to P'draig's face and he pushes on through into the kitchen, casually greeting some of the workers still there and then comes to a halt at Nenny's table. "Looks good. Mind some company?" he asks, gray-blue eyes serious enough on her face though he's smiling.
Nenita's focus is pretty well onto that cake and she's trying to break off the now slightly hard frosting. Then pick it up and pop it into her mouth. There are plenty of people wandering around so the sounds of one persons footsteps amongst many don't readily garner her interest. However the familiar voice talking to her from across the table does. With an uplift of dark eyes she settles her gaze onto P'draig, producing something close to a smile for him. "Not at all. Want some cake? It's really rich." She pushes the plate a little bit towards him. "I guess the excitement died down some?"
"Sure, I like cake," P'draig says cheerily and pulls out a chair, drops into it and reaches out to break off a piece, pops it into his mouth. His head bobs in answer. "Yeah. Vlad popped K'aus one, but then they both left so it didn't go any further than that. At least I hope it didn't. They kind of both went in the same direction afterward." Thoughtful for a moment, Paddy licks some of the frosting off of his fingers. "Made sure Loe got home okay." His eyes scan her face and P'draig smiles again. "I was wondering if you'd still like to go down to the beach with me? Get that dance in?"
Her fingers push the plate a little closer towards him once more. "Vladilen's an asshole." Nenita comments, offhandedly with a sort of natural ease, as if she's said this more than once in her life. "And K'aus is disgusting creep. They deserve each other, honestly." She snorts and picks the glass of milk up to take a long drink from it. "I don't think Loe was having a very good night. And I'm sure certain people didn't make it any better for her." Those certain people going unnamed for now. At the offer for a dance, she smiles and slowly moves her head from side to side. "I don't know, Paddy. It's been a long night. I think I might be afraid to go out there again. It's nice in here." Safe.
P'draig breaks off another piece of cake, but he's offering the bite to her this time. "Sounds like you know him better than I do even," the brownrider says curiously of Vlad and eyes Nenny for that statement about K'aus. "What'd he do to earn that title?" His nod follows though at further mention of the headwoman. "No, she wasn't. Stressed out about the party and then those two losers had to go turn it into a sort of fight. Sometimes, I'm ashamed of my gender." His eyes scan her face again and P'draig exhales, nods. "I understand. Though ... there's Jekzith too. Could take you a little ways away too. Where it's quiet. Just hate to see your night ending so unhappily, that's all."
"Once upon a time, I did. But it doesn't seem he's changed any since the last time we spoke." Nenita says on the subject of the stores worker. And for the other highly intelligent man they're discussing, "By acting like a creep." Which is such a grand explanation. Her fingers find their way sneaking across the table to lightly pat the brownrider on the hand. "You don't have to be ashamed of your gender. You're a fine specimen." His exhale earns yet another supposed to be comforting pat of her hand. "It's not ending unhappily. It's just ending quietly. I got to work." She smiles again and then squeezes her fingers. "We could take a little walk if it would make you feel better."
"Once upon a time," P'draig echoes thoughtfully and has a little more cake, grin pulling to the side about K'aus. The hand patting lifts his gaze back up to her face and the brownrider laughs. "You know, I came looking for you to make sure you were okay and to comfort you and the table's been flipped," he says humorously, pulls a hanky from his pocket to wipe his fingers and stows it again. "Walk sounds good if you're up fort it. Otherwise, here's just fine. Kitchens you know, they do just feel -- safe. Comforting. I learned to cook some here when I was a kid. My grandmother was posted here for a while."
"Well, you seem sort of upset about whether or not I'm upset." Nenita points out, grinning more fully now. "The kitchens are the safest place for me. I don't think there's a single spot in this whole weyr that I feel better in." She breaks her gaze from him to take a glance around. The cavern is beginning to empty, finally, as people leave to go home for the night. "Your grandmother was posted here?" The cook asks idly as she pushes her chair back and makes to stand. She leans over to get the remains of the cake. "Lets walk. Maybe the fresh air will do us both good."
"Not upset, just a little concerned. Both you and Veri ran off. With Veri ... well I know she usually just needs some time by herself. Thought I should check on you," Paddy says sincerely and pushes his chair back too, rises and offers over a hand for her to take if she likes. "Yep. Master Emne. She started out at Ruatha, went to Benden, then Telgar, posted down here for a while when I was a little boy, then went back to Telgar. She's still there, though she's getting on, doesn't really work much anymore and her health isn't so great." Sober that last, then a smile. "Fresh air often does."
"She seemed really upset when she left." Nenita comments, seeming a little worried. "She's probably on the Layabout or in her weyr or something. Ianna didn't seem too pleased with the evening either. I thought clutchings were supposed to be a good time?" Heading over to the sinks she gets rid of the rest of the cake in the garbage and slips the plate into some soaking water. Turning around she meets him at the table again, twining her arm with his. "Age gets everyone, I suppose." Leaning her forehead into his arm, "Where are we going to walk to?"
"Yeah, a lot of of unhappy faces," Paddy says, shaking his head. "Usually everyone's happy about eggs, yes." He waits while she dumps the cake, grins as her arm slips through his and he tucks hers companionably close as they head out. "Eventually. Time doesn't stop," the brownrider replies about his grandmother, smiles down at her again as her forehead leans into his arm. "Could head down the jungle paths or out around the corrals. Can see the stars really well from the plateau."
"Lets... Lets go towards the plateau. The party should be over now. If we go down by the jungle we'll be too near that rowdy bar that's over there." And Nenita doesn't seem too interested in any loud bars at the moment. "I was happy about the eggs. But then one thing leads to another and all of a sudden you find yourself having a miserable time and two annoying guys are duking it out."
"The Lucky Seven? Veri said it was nice, not rowdy?" P'draig asks curiously as he heads out through the caverns towards the plateau and the corrals, away from the garden where the party took place. "It's a good clutch for Interval," the brownrider says with a grin. "And it means Searchriders get to go out."
"Yeah, that place. I heard rumors that there was a fight and lots of drunk gamblers and all that, just on the night it opens. Who knows what it's like now?" Nenita's feet find their way easily in the dark. "Fifteen eggs. That's actually quite a bit, usually it's less than that." She bumps into him playfully. "How exactly do you figure who's a searchrider and who's not?"
"Gambling in the back I thought, but ... fight that does sound rowdly," P'draig agrees as they amble along. Soon enough the sky speckled with bright stars opens up above them in the bowl. "Yeah, very good for an Interval," the brownrider says and laughs for the bump, bumps back gently. "Well often it's if a dragon's Searched before. Some of them are better at picking out a person than others."
"Fights are always rowdy." Nenita places her free hand on his arm and squeezes gently, "I hope that it's a strong clutch. I'm glad that our Weyrleader is actually Istan for once. Too many foreigners these past few turns." For his answer there's a little 'huh'. "Is there a specific group that go out? Or is it just in general?"
"Me too," P'draig says sincerely about the clutch and grins down at Nenita. "How come I get a pass on foreigner?" He teases just a little and reaches across to cover her hand with his atop his arm. "There are groups that go out, yeah. But sometimes it's just someone on sweeps or visiting somewhere."
"Because you're nice. And you came here for T'mic, not to take over the weyr and not to change things." Nenita tells him, slowing to a stop when they make it to a particular part of the plateau. Looking up at the sky she seems momentarily distracted. "Do the stars look any different anywhere else? Like at Fort? Do they seem any different to you?"
"No, not to change things - though if I get tapped to work with the weyrlings again, I might do some things differently this time. That's just kind of ... part of the job though." Paddy's arm shifts to curl around behind her gently, rubbing at her back a little. "Sometimes I think they look like they're /closer/ here. The constellations that you can see are a little different, but not too much, the big difference is when you go down South."
"That's not the same. It's not a take over. You didn't come here for power or prestige or anything like that. You came to make your life easier and happier." Nenita unwinds her arm from his so that she can take a step forward. A step that's taken almost as if it'll help her see the stars just a little bit better. "Do you fly at night? Does it make them seem like they're any closer at all? Or do they seem just as far away?"
"None of those are ... really my thing. Though I don't think that some of the people who've come here were in it for that either, Nenny," P'draig says quietly. He smiles in the dark, watching her. "I do. And they do. Even if it's just imagination." Beat. "Would you like to go up with me and Jekzith?"
"How do you know?" Nenita asks, turning to look at him curiously. "I'm sure that there were certainly some of them here to further their own agenda. Outsiders look at Ista like that. Like it's some tropical get away spot. That they can just come here and use her, then leave." Her lips press together and she shakes her head. For his offer, her mouth begins to curve into a little smile. "I think I would. Just to see for myself."
"Because I talked to some of them and got to know them. Didn't really strike me as what they were after," P'draig says honestly. "But ... there's always people who do take advantage too. Just have to be watchful for spotting them." The brownrider reaches a hand out towards her shoulder to squeeze it gently, comfortingly. "He's coming down," Paddy says of his brown, his own smile flashing in the darkness.
There's a dubious expression on her face, even when he says that he's known some of these 'people'. She steps back to lean into him when his hand comes for her shoulder. "Can you actually see him?" Nenita asks, narrowing her eyes up into the darkness.
Down Paddy's hand slides along her arm and then both are curling around her warmly. "I don't need to see him. I can feel him. And I can see where he is from what he can see. I just ... know. I know where he is." P'draig smiles again and gives Nenita a little hug. Moments later, there's a rush of wings and the sound of talons scrabbling against the bowl floor. "He's here."
Meanwhile Nenita is still trying to find that shape amongst the sky. Maybe Jekzith will blot out some stars for her so that there's a clue to his location. "That's very convinent." She says quietly to him, turning to look up at him again. She looks over at the brown and then turns around in P'draig's arms to give him an impulsive hug.
"All part of being a rider," P'draig answers and blinks at the sudden hug, but bends to return it. "It takes some getting used to at first, to be honest. But it is very convenient. Whole conversations without ever opening my mouth!" Laughter in his voice as he leads the way over to Jekzith who is in fact, more shadow or darker shape in the bowl and against the sky on the plateau's edge. "Up you go. I'll sit behind. Keep you warm," Paddy says with a touch of humor in his voice still.
Nenita clambers up the dragon's side, like someone who's done this at least a couple of times. She twists around to watch him as he makes his own ascent up the dragon's body. "Thanks, Paddy. I'm glad that you came down to the kitchens. This is probably more fun than sitting there and eating slightly stale cake."
Paddy does stand by while she mounts up, watchful for any slips, then follos up after, settling in behind the slight cook. Safety straps are a necessity and quickly dealt with. The brownrider's arms close around her as he just said and there's a hug given. "You're welcome. Let's see if we can make it a lot more fun than slightly stale cake," he says winningly and sends Jekzith aloft. The brown is a mobile, acrobatic flyer for all his length and does his best to make that a good ride and bring them all as close to the stars as he can for a little while.