LOG: Thought I Did
Date: Day 8, Month 8, Turn 20
Location: Garden Patio Ledge, High Reaches Weyr
Synopsis: K'del has that drink with Audria, and then has to deal with P'ax. Things go about as well as they ever do.
Garden Patio Ledge, High Reaches Weyr
Partly sheltered by the curving stone overhang, partly exposed to the weather, the wide stone patio serves as a balcony for socializing or just plain drinking on a sizable scale. The repurposed ledge might once have let two large dragons land, but now there's too much furniture for that: two rustic tables with attendant chairs, plus a couple more in particularly good weather, and a wrought iron bench situated to make the most of the view of the western bowl and the lake beyond.
Other changes include rough little niches carved out of the stone walls to hold glows in colored bottles at night, the climbing plant that's being trained to grow up along the overhang, and the blue ceramic pots of flowers that dot the edge of the ledge as a colorful reminder not to fall off.
An archway leads to the Snowasis itself, housed in the ledge's former weyr, while a few wide steps descend along the wall to the bowl.
The sun is high in the sky and there is not a cloud in sight. There's a breeze that tempers the heat with no humidity lingering in the air.
Summer afternoons in the Reaches can be a thing of beauty: warm, sunny, not too hot, just /nice/. Probably that's why K'del has settled himself out here on the patio, this afternoon, with a beer in hand, his feet bare, his couple of stacks of papers and reports spread out on the table around him. He's nominally working, though the handful of pretty teenaged girls chattering merrily at the table just across seem to be doing a pretty good job at distracting him from the report he's trying to work through.
Audria makes her way up to the patio, with a soft smile on her face. She's looking around as she goes, pausing at the edge of the patio to take in the view from off of it. After a moment she turns to take in the rest of the terrace. K'del, and where his attention lies, gets a light giggle from her.
That giggle happens to occur right in the middle of a conversational pause amidst the group of teenage girls, and sends their attention off in Audria's direction - which takes it right past K'del, too. /That/ causes enormous amounts of giggles from the girls, a couple of whom begin making eyes at the poor young rider. He smiles at them, a winning, lazy grin, then tilts his head off to see where the initial giggle came from. "Audria, wasn't it?"
Audria watches all that with slightly wide eyes before she nods her head. "It is. You remembered." She doesn't sound like she expected him to. "Don't let me interupt your, um, work." Or flirting. Whatever the case may be.
K'del's lazy smile gets aimed at Audria this time, as he notes, "/Try/ to remember these things. Not always good at it, but-- do /try/." He casts a rueful glance down at his paperwork, and reaches instead for his beer, which he sips at before, "Probably interrupted before you, don't worry. Not really the best place to get things done, just too nice to resist, sometimes. Seem to remember I promised you a drink, didn't I? Want to claim it?"
Audria gives another quick look around before she turns and nods. "This would be a good time for it. The weather is just beautiful for sitting outside today." She adds, casting one more glance at his paperwork before she moves to take a seat, settling her skirt around her with a few slightly awkward ruffles. "Just so long as I'm not going to make the weyr collapse by distracting you from that paperwork."
"Isn't it, just," agrees K'del, with a glance up at the clear blue sky. "Got to make the most of it while it lasts. Guess it's not so much longer before it starts getting cold. Anyway, promise, if the work was /that/ important, I'd be doing it somewhere with fewer distractions." He sets down his mug, now more or less empty, and draws himself towards his feet. "Now. What can I get you?"
"I suppose that's true. This wouldn't be the best place for the really important stuff." Audria states before she hesitates. "I, uh, something good?" Maybe she hasn't been that much of a drinker. "What are you drinking?" She asks up before she adds. "These days are what we remember when it gets really freezing. That it won't always be that way."
"Right. These are just-- wing reports, weyrling reports, nothing that's going to be too big and important." K'del laughs outright at her request, though not /unkindly/. "I've just got a beer, but I wouldn't recommend it, if you're not used to it... maybe something fruity?" He adds, too, "Exactly, yeah. May have awfully long winters, but the summers make up for it. Something to remember."
Audria considers that. "Fruity would be good. How about some kind of cider?" She asks with a faint blush for his laugh before she nods. "I may be new here, but I'm from High Reaches Hold. I know about winters. And winter fun outside helps to. Like making things in the snow. Snowholds and things. Skating. But the summers are great. Got to store up enough warmth in your bones to get you through."
K'del shakes his head, ruefully. "Cider! What is it wi-- cider it is." He grins, at least, letting his fingers wander lazily over the tabletop, nodding along to the rest of what she has to say. "All of it is. But. Doesn't mean I don't like to get out of here in winter, sometimes. Ista, Boll, Southern... though I'm from Tillek, and it's not exactly /balmy/ there, either. Anyway. Back in a minute."
Audria blinks at that first statement. "What about cider? Is it a bad choice?" She asks, looking a bit worried before she shakes her head. And then, well, she'll enjoy the view as she waits for him to return. Because it really is a nice place to bask in the sun.
K'del doesn't answer the question before he leaves, but as he returns, a few minutes later, with a mug of beer in one hand, and a mug of cider, which he hands to Audria, in the other, he explains in a round about kind of way. "Can't stand apples, myself. Not a big fan of cider, as a result. Seems like it's one of the things about this area, though. Guess Nabol is known for the apples." He reclaims his seat, easing back in his chair to take the first sip from his own drink.
Audria takes her drink with a quick laugh for that. "Oh. Thank you very much for this. I like apples. They're very tasty plain, and you can use them to make a lot of good things. They're good for cooking." She states, taking a tentative sip of the cider, and then a slightly longer one. "It must be nice to be able to visit warmer places in the winter. I've, uh, this is the farthest I've ever been from the Hold."
"People keep telling me how tasty they are, and I just--" K'del shrugs his shoulders, laughing. "Don't get it, I guess." One of his bare feet drags over an empty chair, then rests on it, joined in short order by the other foot. "It /is/ nice. Just getting to visit other places in general, I guess, but especially in winter. Friend of mine has her turnday end of month 12, so we tend to go somewhere south for the day, and it's just... nice." Beat. He looks rueful, as though he's aware he's probably rambling a bit. "Being in the weyr, there's plenty of occasions to go visiting, though. Bet you'll get the chance."
"They're really good in a pastry with some spices. But if you don't like them, well, sometimes things just aren't good any way for someone." Audria admits before she adds. "I just like food. Maybe that's why I cook. There's not really anything I've found yet that I don't like." She'll do her own amount of rambling here, between little sips of the cider. "That would be really interesting. To get the chance to see other parts of Pern."
K'del takes another swig from his mug, then sets it down before he answers. "Pie is good, definitely. Any other kind of pie, and I'm there in a minute. Just... something about apples, I guess." Beat. "So! You cook. That's good. Never been able to myself, but it's a useful skill to have around here, I guess. In general, too. You know." Way to ramble. Again, he reaches for his drink. "There's usually riders around in the bowl, heading off on different errands. Most won't mind a tag-along, so long as you're ready to leave when they are, and don't cause any trouble."
Audria nods her head with a smile. "I do! Well, sometimes I think I spent as much time cutting up vegetables and things as cooking, but I still really enjoy getting to be in the kitchen all day long here. There are so many people to feed here that we keep plenty busy." Now that she's more comfortable with him, she's free to talk. Or overtalk. "I've learned to make a few new dishes already, too. Or variations on what I knew, at least." She pauses for a moment to consider. "Since I work in the kitchen, I might be able to bring them some fresh from the oven something in return for letting me tag-along, too."
"All important, isn't it? Can't cook without the chopping first, I guess?" Beat. "My mother didn't even let me in her kitchen when I was a kid, so I'm not even familiar with that much, really. But I did a bit when I was a candidate. Chopping, though, almost exclusively." The young bronzerider angles his chair back further, toes stretching out in a pose of utter relaxation. "So you cooked back at the Hold, too? So you can-- uh, compare techniques, or something, I guess." He adds, too, "Reckon they'd like that. Something fresh. /Particularly/ come winter, but now, too."
"I'm sure there's a reason candidates get to chop. Wouldn't want to mess up dinner." Audria states before she smiles over. "You'd just have to eat a lot of raw fruits and vegetables if it wasn't for us then. Or, well, I bet you'd figure it out. And I did. Cook at the hold, that is. It was my favorite, and I was pretty good at it, so I got to do more and more. What did you do before you were searched?"
"Yeah, exactly. Makes total sense," agrees K'del. "/I/ wouldn't trust candidates with actual cooking. Or me in general, I guess. Can't blame my mother." He turns his mug in his hands, nodding along, then adds, "Makes sense, doing what you're good at, what you like, all of that. I was a handyman, though not really very good at it. Not for long though. And before that, worked at my father's vineyard. Hated that, too, though."
Audria stretches out her legs, settling back in her chair. The longer she sits, the more relaxed she is about this conversation. "Only the ones who knew how to cook before being searched could probably handle more than chopping, without the weyr going hungry." She pauses a second, for a longer sip of her cider, putting the cup on the table before she adds. "Well, I hope you've finally found something you like doing. Even if there is all that paperwork. Or all that watching the table of girls."
K'del's mug gets set down again, and he nods along. "Right. No point teaching a bunch of candidates to do too much. Might as well just get them to do the easy stuff. Grunt work - only, not quite. Can't afford to waste food." His response to the rest of what she says is easy, albeit made with a firm nod. "Figure I have. Not sure the /exact/ position was what I was after, as such, just yet, but-- the girl watching is pretty tough. Hard life I have. sometimes." He grins.
Audria can't help but let out a giggle of a laugh at that. "I'm sure that it must be just so hard to get through. The girl watching part. How ever do you manage?" Yes, she's really relaxed now. Maybe it's the almost empty cider cup for someone who rarely drinks. Or maybe it's just having talked to K'del more. "It must have been quite a surprise. Your position, I mean."
With a shake of his head, and a mock-serious expression; "I don't know. I truly don't." He can't quite keep it straight, though, and ends up grinning. His mug isn't quite so empty yet, but he's working at it pretty steadily, adding around the edge of it, again without too much seriousness to his tone, "Was. For everyone, I think. Maybe mostly me, maybe not."
Audria grins back before she breaks into a bit more laughter. "They didn't seem to mind." She points out, about the girls before she nods. "Well, so far the weyr hasn't broken apart. So, uh, you must not be bad at it. Right?"
K'del's head tilts back towards those girls, but they've long since been distracted by something else, and he laughs. "Maybe not. Figured it'd be the best thing in the world, once, having all those girls, but-- funny. Changes a bit, I guess, over time. Anyway." His attention returns to Audria, as he adds, "That's the theory. Wouldn't call myself /good/ at it, but sure, maybe /not bad/. Guess we'll see, in the longer run."
"Maybe it's too easy. I've got a brother. Well, one just a turn and a bit more younger than me. He likes watching the giggling girls, but then he just does this whole blushing stammering thing when they try to talk to him. It's funny to watch. Well, it was." And Audria's rambling is back. "Well, you can always get better at it over time."
"Been a few turns now, since I found talking to girls that hard, even before I was a rider," laughs K'del. "But mm, you may be right. That your only sibling, the brother?" He finishes off the last of his drink in a single swig, settling it back down on the table. "Right. Guess that's the idea in general, huh? Get better over time. Working on it, anyway."
Audria shakes her head with a laugh. "Oh now. I've got lots. But I'm the oldest. And most of them are still pretty little. He's just the closest to me. But not in distance anymore. Do you have siblings?" She asks curiously before she nods. "That's the idea in most things. I'd like to be a better cook in a turn than I am now."
"Family like mine then," says K'del, approvingly. "I'm eighth out of nine in mine. Six older brothers, one older sister, one younger. Kash'd be... probably around your age? And the eldest is... closing in on thirty, I guess. Ish. Something like that." He pushes his empty mug across the table past some of his hides, nodding along. "Right. Good ambition to have. Not always about 'want this new position before next turn'. Just. Want to be better."
Audria nods her head. "I like the job I have. I'd just like to be the best I can be at it. And that's a lot of older brothers." She seems a little impressed by that. "I bet you got teased all the time. And I'm sixteen. Just turned it a few days before I came here. I've got the brother closer to my age, then six more younger ones. The oldest of them is ten, and the littlest is just a baby."
K'del, pushing a curled strand of hair away from his face, looks less impressed. "I'd be inclined to say too many, sometimes, but it's possible I'm bitter. Least my sister and I are close enough in age that we always got along. She's a few months off turning seventeen, I guess." He's silent for a moment, perhaps thinking, and then he adds, "Must be nice, at least a little, having space from them all. Or do you miss them heaps?"
Audria bites her lip a bit, considering that. "Some of both. Mostly, it's nice having space. I miss my brother though. The oldest one. I'd never tell my mama this, but he's who I miss the most. We've always been good friends, even if he's much more likely than I am to enjoy getting dirty."
P'ax heads up a short flight of stairs from the bowl.
"My parents never really got why Kash and I were so close," admits K'del. "Sometimes-- dunno. Just works? Least it's not too far-- you can visit, and maybe he can visit you, too. It was hard, when I was a weyrling, not getting to go visit at all." He and Audria are sitting at one of the tables on the Patio, a couple of empty mugs littered around them, not to mention a pile of reports that K'del has apparently entirely abandoned for the moment. He's barefoot, his feet resting atop of one of the empty chairs. "I liked that I could be myself, here, without anyone who knew me already to-- you know, imply I was wrong, or whatever."
Audria leans back in her own chair, tucking her skirt around her again, and nods. "Yeah. Or to tell embarrassing stories of the horrid things I did when I was younger and even more awkward." Because that's not something she's totally outgrown. "It's a fresh start. Only my uncle really knows me here. And he's not likely to share twelve and tripping over her own feet stories all the time. He wasn't around /that/ much. He lives here."
P'ax ambles cheerfully up onto the ledge, clearly in high spirits. His hair is wet and he looks freshly washed. In for a drink, it would seem. He notices the pair at the table, barely glances at them, in fact, until something catches his attention enough to make him take a second look. He dithers as he passes on whether to approach them but the moment is past when he reaches the entrance into the snowasis, and thus is just another passer-by for the moment.
K'del outright grins, enthusiastic. "/Exactly/. Some of my brothers... still can't quite remember that I'm not a little kid anymore, and don't do the same kind of dumb things." Just different kinds of dumb things, probably. "What's your uncle do? Don't remember if you told me or not." He's too involved in this conversation, however light it is, to actually notice P'ax - yet.
Audria catches a look at P'ax, but well, he's just another face in the crowd to her. "Right! I don't do the same embarrassing things over and over. I try to do new ones each time at least. And I don't need /everyone/ to know all about the old ones. It's bad enough I remember them." Audria pauses a moment as she changes subjects. "He's a rider. My uncle. With a really pretty blue dragon."
Not long, that's precisely the time it takes P'ax to get a drink and come out to the ledge again, obviously unable to pass up a chance at catching K'del out there relaxing. It helps that he has a sick enjoyment of ruining his girl-time out here. Mug in hand, he ambles back towards the table. "Evening, Weyrleader." That's never going to get old. "Miss," he adds, tipping his head at Audria politely.
"Exactly," grins K'del, head nodding rapidly in response to Audria's remarks. "/Exactly/. S'why I'm glad none of them have followed me here... imagine it'd be even /more/ awkward, now." Cue P'ax, and the young bronzerider's expression shifting visibly under the weight of that greeting. "P'ax." Carefully. Not exactly warmly. "Audria, this is P'ax, one of my clutchmates and wingmates. P'ax, this is Audria, she's new to the weyr. She was just telling me--" Beat. "Her uncle's a bluerider here. What was his name, Audria? Perhaps we know him."
Audria sits up a bit straighter as someone she hasn't met comes to join them. And it's the awkwards back in full force. "P'ax? It's, uh, it's nice to meet you. I'm, well, I'm Audria. But he already said that." There's a bit of a flush to her cheeks as she stumbles over her words. But then, there's K'del's question to answer. "K'dan. He's a lot older than you guys." And right there she'll just stop talking.
P'ax smirks at K'del, as if he's well aware of the strangeness between them. "Yyth missed Cadejoth the other night," is slipped in casually. But his attention turns on Audria and he extends his hand. "Lovely to meet you, Audria. What brings you to the Weyr?" He muses on the name and then shakes his head. "I probably know him, but I can't put a face ot it right now."
K'del reaches for his stack of reports, tidying the pile as, apparently, something to keep his hands busy. "Yyth should know better than that, now. Cadejoth won't chase her, not as long as he's Iovniath's mate. I'm sure she was quite happy with Zhikath, though." So he did pay attention, at least that much. "K'dan? Oh - right. Don't know him personally, but sure, know who he is. Nice enough guy, I think?"
"I think he's nice, but then, he's family." So Audria might be a bit biased. She looks between the two of them for a moment, but chooses not to comment on all the dragon names flying around. Instead she looks over to P'ax. "Living here. I mean, I'm living here now. I was visiting my uncle, but I liked it, so I'm staying. And cooking. In the kitchens." Because who knows where else she might be cooking, really.
"I know better. She's a greedy grump-butt though." P'ax shrugs, like he can't really help the male-collecting ways of his green. "Would it be acceptable if I sat down?" He nods to their table. "Unless I'm interrupting, in which case, I can take my drink back inside." For Audria he grins. "Then I'll surely be seeing a bit of you in the future. I have several friends in the kitchens, I usually stop by for a bit to say hi. It's a good way to get first samples of what's on for meals." He winks at her and pats his stomach. The boys at Reaches obviously don't suffer from malnourishment, they way they all get so tall, certainly.
K'del's lips part, like he's going to say something, but he stops himself. Even so, he has to take several deep breaths before he can get out, still not sounding terribly enthusiastic, "Of course, P'ax, join us." He even takes his feet off the seat they've been on, though there are others around. "There's members of /my/ family I don't think are nice, but that may be just me," he adds in, ignoring the rest of the conversation. For now.
Audria looks over to K'del for a moment, with curiousity for that reaction before she looks to P'ax, blinking. "Do you two not like each other?" She blushes bright red then shaking her head. "Forget I said that. Sometimes things come out that I mean to not say. Or not say the way I do." Audria definately does not come anywhere near matching them in height. Might be time to learn to look up all the time. "You can tastetest when we try something new. Make sure it doesn't, like, make everyone want to be sick." There's a vote of self-confidence in her cooking skills.
P'ax cheerfully offers up, "I think my whole family is mean. I'm glad they got called back to the Hall. My mom was starting to give me this beady eyed look like she was thinking about smashing a jar of acid on my head." Surely he's exaggerating... Maybe. He casually dusts off the chair K'del so conviently vacates and grins at Audria. "Us? Nah, we were friends." He sets his mug down, plops his elbows onto the table and folds his fingers together to make a shelf for his chin to rest on. "I'm sure your cooking will be just fine. I have confidence! And a whole lot of faith in the head cook. She's a good teacher. She even taught me." If boiling water and peeling tubers counts as 'cooking'.
K'del doesn't grace P'ax's talk of his family with an answer, and though he opens his mouth to say something, the greenrider's answer to the question about the pair of them makes it out first. It makes him frown, though he doesn't clarify the answer; were friends. Were. "You can ask whatever you like, Audria. Most people'll just tell you to shut up, if they don't want to answer. Nicely. Most of the time. Anyway, P'ax can taste test, but I want first dibs on the final draft, all approved and everything. Unless it involves apples, of course."
Audria gives K'del a smile and a nod. "Edible dishes without apples will come your way." She says before she adds. "I tend to say things and then realize I shouldn't have said them as soon as they come out of my mouth. And then I feel like an idiot. Especially when I'm nervous. Or meeting new people. Which leads to being nervous." And to rambling about it. "I do know how to cook. I can make a tasty stew. Just not fancy things. Someday I'll know those." Because cooking is a safe topic.
P'ax seems at least more than a little amused by the young girl, lifting his ale to sip at it. His eyes do stray to K'del however, and an eyebrow lifts at his frown. "I suppose you'll know it's not safe to eat if I fall down dead, huh?" Teasing. "You know... the verbal vomit is sort of endearing. Don't worry about it. And don't be afraid to ask people questions. It's how you get to know them. Are you an apprentice, then, with Bakercraft, or just know your way around the kitchens for now?"
"My hero," teases K'del, his attention directed at Audria. "Have been known to--" Beat, glance at P'ax, his lips twitching, "'verbal vomit' myself. Know how it feels. Questions are-- right. What P'ax says." He leans back, reaching for his empty mug and twisting it between his hands, one to the other, then back again, as he listens to the rest of the conversation around him.
Audria wrinkles her nose. "That makes it sound like I'm in need of a healer for it." She states before she shakes her head. "Not a baker. Just working in the kitchen. So, really, I'll probably never learn the fanciest things. But I can dream." She says with a bit of joking to her tone. "And falling down dead would be a bad reaction to food. Try not to."
P'ax's eyes shift, unfocus momentarily and then back again between the two of them, thoughtfully puzzling over the expressions on their faces. "That depends. Carobet might have a field day with you. Not that I'd recommend letting her." He gives Audria one of his toothiest grins. "I promise, I shall endeavor /not/ to die on your kitchen floor. It would be a grievous thing indeed. Besides, K'del would miss me. Wouldn't you, K'del?" He makes to nudge the bronzerider cheerfully with his elbow.
By way of explanation, K'del notes to Audria, "Carobet's an apprentice mindhealer. Nice girl, but... Not someone /I'd/ like to see in a professional capacity." The nudge P'ax gives him makes him stiffen slightly, but he recovers quickly to note, "Of course I would. Have to find someone else to put on dawn sweeps then, wouldn't I? Besides... Cadejoth'd miss Yyth. Eventually. One day."
Audria blinks at that. "I don't think I need a mindhealer. I hope not. I mean, I might trip over my tongue, but I don't think I'm /truly/ crazy." Audria notes before she gives P'ax a smile. "Not dying is good. Especially by my cooking."
P'ax croons sweetly, "I love the crappy shifts. Night watch, dawn sweeps. You spoil me." Then he sniffs theatrically. "Yyth's too salty to follow me down. She'd just haul my dead body back to her ledge and carry on like everything was normal. Actually, that might be normal for her." He blinks a few times, reflecting on that thought, and then bats it away like an annoying vtol. "All joking aside, I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. I hear the murder rate in the cooking world is pretty low anyways."
"No, you seem pretty sane to me, don't worry," promises K'del. "Though there're plenty who'd say /I/ can't be sane, so... that might not count for much." He twists his gaze back towards P'ax, expression unreadable. "Nothing but the best for you, P'ax. I guess. You know me."
"But I'd think the crazy might recognize the crazy best. They've got experience with it." Audria states, looking between K'del and P'ax again. She hasn't missed the tension there. That's for sure.
P'ax considers K'del's words. Then, resolutely sour. "Thought I did, once upon a time." He lifts his mug off the table, gets to his feet. The ale is toasted towards Audria without a hint of the tension buzzing after his clutchmate. "Nice to meet you, dear. I'll be sure to be by soon to brave your cooking." He turns, a little stiffly and says, "Weyrleader," before heading off into the snowasis again.
That reaction from P'ax makes K'del's face freeze, and for a moment, he looks as though he's going to call out after the greenrider. Instead, he lets out a long sigh, shakes his head, and glances back at Audria. "Sorry about that."
Audria looks after P'ax and shakes her head. "Don't be sorry about that for me. You're the one that got the not-happiness directed towards you." She points out before she adds. "Must be hard to work together all the time, after your relationship changes." And she's more relaxed in general now that P'ax is out of the picture.
"We hated each other, and then we were friends, and then-- things went bad." K'del looks moody as he explains things. "And now I'm his boss, and it just sucks. But. I'm not exactly sure what I said to cause that reaction. That's the problem. I never do know until it's too late." He looks awkward, even outright rueful, and then adds, "Just don't want you to feel awkward about it. We're always kind of like that, I guess, him and me."
Audria shakes her head. "Being his boss probably really doesn't help things. Because then he'll take everything personally." She pauses to cover a yawn with her hand. "I was up really early to start things for breakfast. So there would be food for people doing dawn sweeps. I think I might go take a short nap. Thank you for the drink. And the conversation. It was fun to talk to you."
"No, I guess not," says K'del, sounding frustrated. But he draws his attention back to Audria, and smiles. "Of course. Thank you, too. Glad to see that you're settling in well. Talk to you again at some point, I'm sure. Suppose I should get back to my work, anyway."
Audria stands and nods. "Have fun with all that paperwork. Or the girlwatching. Maybe that will get you back in a good mood." She suggests. "I'm sure I will see you again." And with that and a wave, she's off, back towards the maze of the inner caverns.
Mention of girlwatching makes K'del grin, but he says nothing, just bobbing his head after the departing Audria before, finally, he glances back down at his work. Ah, yes. Work. Woe.
Location: Garden Patio Ledge, High Reaches Weyr
Synopsis: K'del has that drink with Audria, and then has to deal with P'ax. Things go about as well as they ever do.
Garden Patio Ledge, High Reaches Weyr
Partly sheltered by the curving stone overhang, partly exposed to the weather, the wide stone patio serves as a balcony for socializing or just plain drinking on a sizable scale. The repurposed ledge might once have let two large dragons land, but now there's too much furniture for that: two rustic tables with attendant chairs, plus a couple more in particularly good weather, and a wrought iron bench situated to make the most of the view of the western bowl and the lake beyond.
Other changes include rough little niches carved out of the stone walls to hold glows in colored bottles at night, the climbing plant that's being trained to grow up along the overhang, and the blue ceramic pots of flowers that dot the edge of the ledge as a colorful reminder not to fall off.
An archway leads to the Snowasis itself, housed in the ledge's former weyr, while a few wide steps descend along the wall to the bowl.
The sun is high in the sky and there is not a cloud in sight. There's a breeze that tempers the heat with no humidity lingering in the air.
Summer afternoons in the Reaches can be a thing of beauty: warm, sunny, not too hot, just /nice/. Probably that's why K'del has settled himself out here on the patio, this afternoon, with a beer in hand, his feet bare, his couple of stacks of papers and reports spread out on the table around him. He's nominally working, though the handful of pretty teenaged girls chattering merrily at the table just across seem to be doing a pretty good job at distracting him from the report he's trying to work through.
Audria makes her way up to the patio, with a soft smile on her face. She's looking around as she goes, pausing at the edge of the patio to take in the view from off of it. After a moment she turns to take in the rest of the terrace. K'del, and where his attention lies, gets a light giggle from her.
That giggle happens to occur right in the middle of a conversational pause amidst the group of teenage girls, and sends their attention off in Audria's direction - which takes it right past K'del, too. /That/ causes enormous amounts of giggles from the girls, a couple of whom begin making eyes at the poor young rider. He smiles at them, a winning, lazy grin, then tilts his head off to see where the initial giggle came from. "Audria, wasn't it?"
Audria watches all that with slightly wide eyes before she nods her head. "It is. You remembered." She doesn't sound like she expected him to. "Don't let me interupt your, um, work." Or flirting. Whatever the case may be.
K'del's lazy smile gets aimed at Audria this time, as he notes, "/Try/ to remember these things. Not always good at it, but-- do /try/." He casts a rueful glance down at his paperwork, and reaches instead for his beer, which he sips at before, "Probably interrupted before you, don't worry. Not really the best place to get things done, just too nice to resist, sometimes. Seem to remember I promised you a drink, didn't I? Want to claim it?"
Audria gives another quick look around before she turns and nods. "This would be a good time for it. The weather is just beautiful for sitting outside today." She adds, casting one more glance at his paperwork before she moves to take a seat, settling her skirt around her with a few slightly awkward ruffles. "Just so long as I'm not going to make the weyr collapse by distracting you from that paperwork."
"Isn't it, just," agrees K'del, with a glance up at the clear blue sky. "Got to make the most of it while it lasts. Guess it's not so much longer before it starts getting cold. Anyway, promise, if the work was /that/ important, I'd be doing it somewhere with fewer distractions." He sets down his mug, now more or less empty, and draws himself towards his feet. "Now. What can I get you?"
"I suppose that's true. This wouldn't be the best place for the really important stuff." Audria states before she hesitates. "I, uh, something good?" Maybe she hasn't been that much of a drinker. "What are you drinking?" She asks up before she adds. "These days are what we remember when it gets really freezing. That it won't always be that way."
"Right. These are just-- wing reports, weyrling reports, nothing that's going to be too big and important." K'del laughs outright at her request, though not /unkindly/. "I've just got a beer, but I wouldn't recommend it, if you're not used to it... maybe something fruity?" He adds, too, "Exactly, yeah. May have awfully long winters, but the summers make up for it. Something to remember."
Audria considers that. "Fruity would be good. How about some kind of cider?" She asks with a faint blush for his laugh before she nods. "I may be new here, but I'm from High Reaches Hold. I know about winters. And winter fun outside helps to. Like making things in the snow. Snowholds and things. Skating. But the summers are great. Got to store up enough warmth in your bones to get you through."
K'del shakes his head, ruefully. "Cider! What is it wi-- cider it is." He grins, at least, letting his fingers wander lazily over the tabletop, nodding along to the rest of what she has to say. "All of it is. But. Doesn't mean I don't like to get out of here in winter, sometimes. Ista, Boll, Southern... though I'm from Tillek, and it's not exactly /balmy/ there, either. Anyway. Back in a minute."
Audria blinks at that first statement. "What about cider? Is it a bad choice?" She asks, looking a bit worried before she shakes her head. And then, well, she'll enjoy the view as she waits for him to return. Because it really is a nice place to bask in the sun.
K'del doesn't answer the question before he leaves, but as he returns, a few minutes later, with a mug of beer in one hand, and a mug of cider, which he hands to Audria, in the other, he explains in a round about kind of way. "Can't stand apples, myself. Not a big fan of cider, as a result. Seems like it's one of the things about this area, though. Guess Nabol is known for the apples." He reclaims his seat, easing back in his chair to take the first sip from his own drink.
Audria takes her drink with a quick laugh for that. "Oh. Thank you very much for this. I like apples. They're very tasty plain, and you can use them to make a lot of good things. They're good for cooking." She states, taking a tentative sip of the cider, and then a slightly longer one. "It must be nice to be able to visit warmer places in the winter. I've, uh, this is the farthest I've ever been from the Hold."
"People keep telling me how tasty they are, and I just--" K'del shrugs his shoulders, laughing. "Don't get it, I guess." One of his bare feet drags over an empty chair, then rests on it, joined in short order by the other foot. "It /is/ nice. Just getting to visit other places in general, I guess, but especially in winter. Friend of mine has her turnday end of month 12, so we tend to go somewhere south for the day, and it's just... nice." Beat. He looks rueful, as though he's aware he's probably rambling a bit. "Being in the weyr, there's plenty of occasions to go visiting, though. Bet you'll get the chance."
"They're really good in a pastry with some spices. But if you don't like them, well, sometimes things just aren't good any way for someone." Audria admits before she adds. "I just like food. Maybe that's why I cook. There's not really anything I've found yet that I don't like." She'll do her own amount of rambling here, between little sips of the cider. "That would be really interesting. To get the chance to see other parts of Pern."
K'del takes another swig from his mug, then sets it down before he answers. "Pie is good, definitely. Any other kind of pie, and I'm there in a minute. Just... something about apples, I guess." Beat. "So! You cook. That's good. Never been able to myself, but it's a useful skill to have around here, I guess. In general, too. You know." Way to ramble. Again, he reaches for his drink. "There's usually riders around in the bowl, heading off on different errands. Most won't mind a tag-along, so long as you're ready to leave when they are, and don't cause any trouble."
Audria nods her head with a smile. "I do! Well, sometimes I think I spent as much time cutting up vegetables and things as cooking, but I still really enjoy getting to be in the kitchen all day long here. There are so many people to feed here that we keep plenty busy." Now that she's more comfortable with him, she's free to talk. Or overtalk. "I've learned to make a few new dishes already, too. Or variations on what I knew, at least." She pauses for a moment to consider. "Since I work in the kitchen, I might be able to bring them some fresh from the oven something in return for letting me tag-along, too."
"All important, isn't it? Can't cook without the chopping first, I guess?" Beat. "My mother didn't even let me in her kitchen when I was a kid, so I'm not even familiar with that much, really. But I did a bit when I was a candidate. Chopping, though, almost exclusively." The young bronzerider angles his chair back further, toes stretching out in a pose of utter relaxation. "So you cooked back at the Hold, too? So you can-- uh, compare techniques, or something, I guess." He adds, too, "Reckon they'd like that. Something fresh. /Particularly/ come winter, but now, too."
"I'm sure there's a reason candidates get to chop. Wouldn't want to mess up dinner." Audria states before she smiles over. "You'd just have to eat a lot of raw fruits and vegetables if it wasn't for us then. Or, well, I bet you'd figure it out. And I did. Cook at the hold, that is. It was my favorite, and I was pretty good at it, so I got to do more and more. What did you do before you were searched?"
"Yeah, exactly. Makes total sense," agrees K'del. "/I/ wouldn't trust candidates with actual cooking. Or me in general, I guess. Can't blame my mother." He turns his mug in his hands, nodding along, then adds, "Makes sense, doing what you're good at, what you like, all of that. I was a handyman, though not really very good at it. Not for long though. And before that, worked at my father's vineyard. Hated that, too, though."
Audria stretches out her legs, settling back in her chair. The longer she sits, the more relaxed she is about this conversation. "Only the ones who knew how to cook before being searched could probably handle more than chopping, without the weyr going hungry." She pauses a second, for a longer sip of her cider, putting the cup on the table before she adds. "Well, I hope you've finally found something you like doing. Even if there is all that paperwork. Or all that watching the table of girls."
K'del's mug gets set down again, and he nods along. "Right. No point teaching a bunch of candidates to do too much. Might as well just get them to do the easy stuff. Grunt work - only, not quite. Can't afford to waste food." His response to the rest of what she says is easy, albeit made with a firm nod. "Figure I have. Not sure the /exact/ position was what I was after, as such, just yet, but-- the girl watching is pretty tough. Hard life I have. sometimes." He grins.
Audria can't help but let out a giggle of a laugh at that. "I'm sure that it must be just so hard to get through. The girl watching part. How ever do you manage?" Yes, she's really relaxed now. Maybe it's the almost empty cider cup for someone who rarely drinks. Or maybe it's just having talked to K'del more. "It must have been quite a surprise. Your position, I mean."
With a shake of his head, and a mock-serious expression; "I don't know. I truly don't." He can't quite keep it straight, though, and ends up grinning. His mug isn't quite so empty yet, but he's working at it pretty steadily, adding around the edge of it, again without too much seriousness to his tone, "Was. For everyone, I think. Maybe mostly me, maybe not."
Audria grins back before she breaks into a bit more laughter. "They didn't seem to mind." She points out, about the girls before she nods. "Well, so far the weyr hasn't broken apart. So, uh, you must not be bad at it. Right?"
K'del's head tilts back towards those girls, but they've long since been distracted by something else, and he laughs. "Maybe not. Figured it'd be the best thing in the world, once, having all those girls, but-- funny. Changes a bit, I guess, over time. Anyway." His attention returns to Audria, as he adds, "That's the theory. Wouldn't call myself /good/ at it, but sure, maybe /not bad/. Guess we'll see, in the longer run."
"Maybe it's too easy. I've got a brother. Well, one just a turn and a bit more younger than me. He likes watching the giggling girls, but then he just does this whole blushing stammering thing when they try to talk to him. It's funny to watch. Well, it was." And Audria's rambling is back. "Well, you can always get better at it over time."
"Been a few turns now, since I found talking to girls that hard, even before I was a rider," laughs K'del. "But mm, you may be right. That your only sibling, the brother?" He finishes off the last of his drink in a single swig, settling it back down on the table. "Right. Guess that's the idea in general, huh? Get better over time. Working on it, anyway."
Audria shakes her head with a laugh. "Oh now. I've got lots. But I'm the oldest. And most of them are still pretty little. He's just the closest to me. But not in distance anymore. Do you have siblings?" She asks curiously before she nods. "That's the idea in most things. I'd like to be a better cook in a turn than I am now."
"Family like mine then," says K'del, approvingly. "I'm eighth out of nine in mine. Six older brothers, one older sister, one younger. Kash'd be... probably around your age? And the eldest is... closing in on thirty, I guess. Ish. Something like that." He pushes his empty mug across the table past some of his hides, nodding along. "Right. Good ambition to have. Not always about 'want this new position before next turn'. Just. Want to be better."
Audria nods her head. "I like the job I have. I'd just like to be the best I can be at it. And that's a lot of older brothers." She seems a little impressed by that. "I bet you got teased all the time. And I'm sixteen. Just turned it a few days before I came here. I've got the brother closer to my age, then six more younger ones. The oldest of them is ten, and the littlest is just a baby."
K'del, pushing a curled strand of hair away from his face, looks less impressed. "I'd be inclined to say too many, sometimes, but it's possible I'm bitter. Least my sister and I are close enough in age that we always got along. She's a few months off turning seventeen, I guess." He's silent for a moment, perhaps thinking, and then he adds, "Must be nice, at least a little, having space from them all. Or do you miss them heaps?"
Audria bites her lip a bit, considering that. "Some of both. Mostly, it's nice having space. I miss my brother though. The oldest one. I'd never tell my mama this, but he's who I miss the most. We've always been good friends, even if he's much more likely than I am to enjoy getting dirty."
P'ax heads up a short flight of stairs from the bowl.
"My parents never really got why Kash and I were so close," admits K'del. "Sometimes-- dunno. Just works? Least it's not too far-- you can visit, and maybe he can visit you, too. It was hard, when I was a weyrling, not getting to go visit at all." He and Audria are sitting at one of the tables on the Patio, a couple of empty mugs littered around them, not to mention a pile of reports that K'del has apparently entirely abandoned for the moment. He's barefoot, his feet resting atop of one of the empty chairs. "I liked that I could be myself, here, without anyone who knew me already to-- you know, imply I was wrong, or whatever."
Audria leans back in her own chair, tucking her skirt around her again, and nods. "Yeah. Or to tell embarrassing stories of the horrid things I did when I was younger and even more awkward." Because that's not something she's totally outgrown. "It's a fresh start. Only my uncle really knows me here. And he's not likely to share twelve and tripping over her own feet stories all the time. He wasn't around /that/ much. He lives here."
P'ax ambles cheerfully up onto the ledge, clearly in high spirits. His hair is wet and he looks freshly washed. In for a drink, it would seem. He notices the pair at the table, barely glances at them, in fact, until something catches his attention enough to make him take a second look. He dithers as he passes on whether to approach them but the moment is past when he reaches the entrance into the snowasis, and thus is just another passer-by for the moment.
K'del outright grins, enthusiastic. "/Exactly/. Some of my brothers... still can't quite remember that I'm not a little kid anymore, and don't do the same kind of dumb things." Just different kinds of dumb things, probably. "What's your uncle do? Don't remember if you told me or not." He's too involved in this conversation, however light it is, to actually notice P'ax - yet.
Audria catches a look at P'ax, but well, he's just another face in the crowd to her. "Right! I don't do the same embarrassing things over and over. I try to do new ones each time at least. And I don't need /everyone/ to know all about the old ones. It's bad enough I remember them." Audria pauses a moment as she changes subjects. "He's a rider. My uncle. With a really pretty blue dragon."
Not long, that's precisely the time it takes P'ax to get a drink and come out to the ledge again, obviously unable to pass up a chance at catching K'del out there relaxing. It helps that he has a sick enjoyment of ruining his girl-time out here. Mug in hand, he ambles back towards the table. "Evening, Weyrleader." That's never going to get old. "Miss," he adds, tipping his head at Audria politely.
"Exactly," grins K'del, head nodding rapidly in response to Audria's remarks. "/Exactly/. S'why I'm glad none of them have followed me here... imagine it'd be even /more/ awkward, now." Cue P'ax, and the young bronzerider's expression shifting visibly under the weight of that greeting. "P'ax." Carefully. Not exactly warmly. "Audria, this is P'ax, one of my clutchmates and wingmates. P'ax, this is Audria, she's new to the weyr. She was just telling me--" Beat. "Her uncle's a bluerider here. What was his name, Audria? Perhaps we know him."
Audria sits up a bit straighter as someone she hasn't met comes to join them. And it's the awkwards back in full force. "P'ax? It's, uh, it's nice to meet you. I'm, well, I'm Audria. But he already said that." There's a bit of a flush to her cheeks as she stumbles over her words. But then, there's K'del's question to answer. "K'dan. He's a lot older than you guys." And right there she'll just stop talking.
P'ax smirks at K'del, as if he's well aware of the strangeness between them. "Yyth missed Cadejoth the other night," is slipped in casually. But his attention turns on Audria and he extends his hand. "Lovely to meet you, Audria. What brings you to the Weyr?" He muses on the name and then shakes his head. "I probably know him, but I can't put a face ot it right now."
K'del reaches for his stack of reports, tidying the pile as, apparently, something to keep his hands busy. "Yyth should know better than that, now. Cadejoth won't chase her, not as long as he's Iovniath's mate. I'm sure she was quite happy with Zhikath, though." So he did pay attention, at least that much. "K'dan? Oh - right. Don't know him personally, but sure, know who he is. Nice enough guy, I think?"
"I think he's nice, but then, he's family." So Audria might be a bit biased. She looks between the two of them for a moment, but chooses not to comment on all the dragon names flying around. Instead she looks over to P'ax. "Living here. I mean, I'm living here now. I was visiting my uncle, but I liked it, so I'm staying. And cooking. In the kitchens." Because who knows where else she might be cooking, really.
"I know better. She's a greedy grump-butt though." P'ax shrugs, like he can't really help the male-collecting ways of his green. "Would it be acceptable if I sat down?" He nods to their table. "Unless I'm interrupting, in which case, I can take my drink back inside." For Audria he grins. "Then I'll surely be seeing a bit of you in the future. I have several friends in the kitchens, I usually stop by for a bit to say hi. It's a good way to get first samples of what's on for meals." He winks at her and pats his stomach. The boys at Reaches obviously don't suffer from malnourishment, they way they all get so tall, certainly.
K'del's lips part, like he's going to say something, but he stops himself. Even so, he has to take several deep breaths before he can get out, still not sounding terribly enthusiastic, "Of course, P'ax, join us." He even takes his feet off the seat they've been on, though there are others around. "There's members of /my/ family I don't think are nice, but that may be just me," he adds in, ignoring the rest of the conversation. For now.
Audria looks over to K'del for a moment, with curiousity for that reaction before she looks to P'ax, blinking. "Do you two not like each other?" She blushes bright red then shaking her head. "Forget I said that. Sometimes things come out that I mean to not say. Or not say the way I do." Audria definately does not come anywhere near matching them in height. Might be time to learn to look up all the time. "You can tastetest when we try something new. Make sure it doesn't, like, make everyone want to be sick." There's a vote of self-confidence in her cooking skills.
P'ax cheerfully offers up, "I think my whole family is mean. I'm glad they got called back to the Hall. My mom was starting to give me this beady eyed look like she was thinking about smashing a jar of acid on my head." Surely he's exaggerating... Maybe. He casually dusts off the chair K'del so conviently vacates and grins at Audria. "Us? Nah, we were friends." He sets his mug down, plops his elbows onto the table and folds his fingers together to make a shelf for his chin to rest on. "I'm sure your cooking will be just fine. I have confidence! And a whole lot of faith in the head cook. She's a good teacher. She even taught me." If boiling water and peeling tubers counts as 'cooking'.
K'del doesn't grace P'ax's talk of his family with an answer, and though he opens his mouth to say something, the greenrider's answer to the question about the pair of them makes it out first. It makes him frown, though he doesn't clarify the answer; were friends. Were. "You can ask whatever you like, Audria. Most people'll just tell you to shut up, if they don't want to answer. Nicely. Most of the time. Anyway, P'ax can taste test, but I want first dibs on the final draft, all approved and everything. Unless it involves apples, of course."
Audria gives K'del a smile and a nod. "Edible dishes without apples will come your way." She says before she adds. "I tend to say things and then realize I shouldn't have said them as soon as they come out of my mouth. And then I feel like an idiot. Especially when I'm nervous. Or meeting new people. Which leads to being nervous." And to rambling about it. "I do know how to cook. I can make a tasty stew. Just not fancy things. Someday I'll know those." Because cooking is a safe topic.
P'ax seems at least more than a little amused by the young girl, lifting his ale to sip at it. His eyes do stray to K'del however, and an eyebrow lifts at his frown. "I suppose you'll know it's not safe to eat if I fall down dead, huh?" Teasing. "You know... the verbal vomit is sort of endearing. Don't worry about it. And don't be afraid to ask people questions. It's how you get to know them. Are you an apprentice, then, with Bakercraft, or just know your way around the kitchens for now?"
"My hero," teases K'del, his attention directed at Audria. "Have been known to--" Beat, glance at P'ax, his lips twitching, "'verbal vomit' myself. Know how it feels. Questions are-- right. What P'ax says." He leans back, reaching for his empty mug and twisting it between his hands, one to the other, then back again, as he listens to the rest of the conversation around him.
Audria wrinkles her nose. "That makes it sound like I'm in need of a healer for it." She states before she shakes her head. "Not a baker. Just working in the kitchen. So, really, I'll probably never learn the fanciest things. But I can dream." She says with a bit of joking to her tone. "And falling down dead would be a bad reaction to food. Try not to."
P'ax's eyes shift, unfocus momentarily and then back again between the two of them, thoughtfully puzzling over the expressions on their faces. "That depends. Carobet might have a field day with you. Not that I'd recommend letting her." He gives Audria one of his toothiest grins. "I promise, I shall endeavor /not/ to die on your kitchen floor. It would be a grievous thing indeed. Besides, K'del would miss me. Wouldn't you, K'del?" He makes to nudge the bronzerider cheerfully with his elbow.
By way of explanation, K'del notes to Audria, "Carobet's an apprentice mindhealer. Nice girl, but... Not someone /I'd/ like to see in a professional capacity." The nudge P'ax gives him makes him stiffen slightly, but he recovers quickly to note, "Of course I would. Have to find someone else to put on dawn sweeps then, wouldn't I? Besides... Cadejoth'd miss Yyth. Eventually. One day."
Audria blinks at that. "I don't think I need a mindhealer. I hope not. I mean, I might trip over my tongue, but I don't think I'm /truly/ crazy." Audria notes before she gives P'ax a smile. "Not dying is good. Especially by my cooking."
P'ax croons sweetly, "I love the crappy shifts. Night watch, dawn sweeps. You spoil me." Then he sniffs theatrically. "Yyth's too salty to follow me down. She'd just haul my dead body back to her ledge and carry on like everything was normal. Actually, that might be normal for her." He blinks a few times, reflecting on that thought, and then bats it away like an annoying vtol. "All joking aside, I'm sure you'll do wonderfully. I hear the murder rate in the cooking world is pretty low anyways."
"No, you seem pretty sane to me, don't worry," promises K'del. "Though there're plenty who'd say /I/ can't be sane, so... that might not count for much." He twists his gaze back towards P'ax, expression unreadable. "Nothing but the best for you, P'ax. I guess. You know me."
"But I'd think the crazy might recognize the crazy best. They've got experience with it." Audria states, looking between K'del and P'ax again. She hasn't missed the tension there. That's for sure.
P'ax considers K'del's words. Then, resolutely sour. "Thought I did, once upon a time." He lifts his mug off the table, gets to his feet. The ale is toasted towards Audria without a hint of the tension buzzing after his clutchmate. "Nice to meet you, dear. I'll be sure to be by soon to brave your cooking." He turns, a little stiffly and says, "Weyrleader," before heading off into the snowasis again.
That reaction from P'ax makes K'del's face freeze, and for a moment, he looks as though he's going to call out after the greenrider. Instead, he lets out a long sigh, shakes his head, and glances back at Audria. "Sorry about that."
Audria looks after P'ax and shakes her head. "Don't be sorry about that for me. You're the one that got the not-happiness directed towards you." She points out before she adds. "Must be hard to work together all the time, after your relationship changes." And she's more relaxed in general now that P'ax is out of the picture.
"We hated each other, and then we were friends, and then-- things went bad." K'del looks moody as he explains things. "And now I'm his boss, and it just sucks. But. I'm not exactly sure what I said to cause that reaction. That's the problem. I never do know until it's too late." He looks awkward, even outright rueful, and then adds, "Just don't want you to feel awkward about it. We're always kind of like that, I guess, him and me."
Audria shakes her head. "Being his boss probably really doesn't help things. Because then he'll take everything personally." She pauses to cover a yawn with her hand. "I was up really early to start things for breakfast. So there would be food for people doing dawn sweeps. I think I might go take a short nap. Thank you for the drink. And the conversation. It was fun to talk to you."
"No, I guess not," says K'del, sounding frustrated. But he draws his attention back to Audria, and smiles. "Of course. Thank you, too. Glad to see that you're settling in well. Talk to you again at some point, I'm sure. Suppose I should get back to my work, anyway."
Audria stands and nods. "Have fun with all that paperwork. Or the girlwatching. Maybe that will get you back in a good mood." She suggests. "I'm sure I will see you again." And with that and a wave, she's off, back towards the maze of the inner caverns.
Mention of girlwatching makes K'del grin, but he says nothing, just bobbing his head after the departing Audria before, finally, he glances back down at his work. Ah, yes. Work. Woe.