Log: In which there are too many goldriders for Taikrin.
Date: Day 26, Month 3, Turn 25 of Interval 10
Summary: Taikrin is sunburned and snakebitten and miserable. But who could be upset with not one, but /two/ young goldriders around paying attention to them? Not Taikrin, that's who. She even gets /complemented/ on her /company/. The horror!
NorCon MUSH - 3/17/2011
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Snowasis, High Reaches Weyr(#555RJ)
The Snowasis is rarely quiet, and even then, the high-ceilinged former weyr is kept from echoing by the fantastical booths tucked into its convoluted perimeter. The secluded seating spaces have been shaped from the truncated stalagmites that escaped the smoothing of the main floor, and are both softened and separated by colorful hangings that are thick and opaque enough to make each corner its own private nook.
Some of the smaller stalactites still roam the ceiling, their jagged teeth tracing a bumpy, inverted spine to the hearth. There, a thick rug with a low klah table and comfortable armchairs and couches sit, their upholstery and cushions changed sporadically to match the season: bright, light colors in the summer, fresh greens and yellows in the spring, warm autumnals in fall, and clear, rich hues for winter. Small tables litter the rest of the cavern, enough to fit up to four people each, while stools stand along the smooth wooden bar behind which is the passthrough window to the kitchen. Glass-paneled cabinetry behind the bar provides a clear view of the available liquors, the many colors reflecting the soft light of glows tucked into strategic niches around the cavern.
Contents:
Lujayn(#510PJXace)
Teris
Obvious exits:
Hallway Patio Ledge
It is a winter night, 20:18 of day 26, month 3, turn 25 of Interval 10.
Lujayn shrugs off her water-soaked jacket as she enters the Snowasis, pausing only for a moment before she gets her bearings in the once-familiar establishment. Though the night is well underway, her eyes are bright and wakeful. The goldrider smoothes her hair back from a windblown tangle, nonchalant as she hops up on a bar stool and quietly orders a drink. She doesn't look around much, but after a minute Lu's eyeing the crowd, trying to pick out familiar faces - or put names to unfamiliar ones.
Aside from one gossip-fueling morning in the infirmary, Taikrin has been scarcely seen since returning from Southern for Teris' turnday. The reason is pretty obvious: the parts of there that aren't lobster-red are peeling. On top of that, her right hand is swathed in bandages so thick that she can barely move the fingers. But at least she's out of hiding today! There's a swath of empty room to either side of her at the bar, where she sits nursing something amber in a clear glass. At the far side of the bar, a pair of early-thirties greenriders are amusing themselves to no end by making flirty faces at Taikrin and watching her scowl in return: apparently this is /not/ the way things usually work.
"So I guess I was right," says Teris as she comes up alongside Taikrin and settles herself on the stool without so much as a how-do-you-do. "Wine, please," to the bartender before her attention is back on the brownrider, looking uncharacteristically amused. "That they would hatch soon, I mean." She even smiles then though it's clear she's trying to hide at least some of it. She can't say much about the sun burns, though. She's sporting her own little mask of sun still, just not quite so red.
Lujayn does turn more obviously at that: hatching? She wasn't aware of any clutches at High Reaches, unless they're talking about some other Weyr entirely. Close enough to lean over without getting too close to what appears to be a rather prickly woman, she eyes the pair over her drink. "I heard Ista's shells were hard as rocks," Lu tosses in her two cents, whether or not that's the ambiguous topic. She silently notes the matching sunburns, the breezy familiarity from one woman to the other, and tries valiantly to remember their names - knots give so much away, you know. "But I haven't been there to see for myself." Could have fooled anyone, walking around so tan in the middle of a 'Reaches winter. Ready to accept silence as equally as response, she sits back a bit to swirl her glass, toying with its citrine peel adornment.
Only with the greatest of efforts does Taikrin modulate her insinctive glower at Teris into something a little less overtly hostile. Still, her grunt of, "Whatever," is hardly welcoming. She has to down the rest of her glass in one smooth motion before she can summon the wherewithall to only /half/ grimace at Teris. "Yeah. Flamin' hatched all right." It's just luck, really, that Lujayn shows up after Teris; otherwise, there might have been another glower instead of what might resemble a sardonic smile. "Don't know as there's enough marks on the planet t'send me south again. 'Specially for no flamin' bloody eggs." Beat, then, cautiously, "Y'ain't from there, are you? Sure don't know as I seen /you/ before."
"Well, I'm just glad you survived it. I would have been cross if you'd let some little hatchlings eat your face." Teris certainly sees the humor in the situation but that could be because it wasn't her blood that was shed. Lujayn earns a look, a quick, calculating up and down and her trademarked smile of absolute politeness. "I went to an Istan hatching once. I don't like the heat down there. But I imagine it's good for the eggs." She takes her wine but no drink just yet.
"Fort, originally. Name's Lujayn," The woman doesn't beat the bush around introductions, shaking her head at Taikrin's guess. Better to get it out than pretend it's some horrible secret. "Impressed here and got my hide sent off to Igen, of all places. It's been a while." She muses. "Between Weyrs, really, Rielsath an' me are visiting while the sandbottoms decide if they can stand.." Well, it's not like Lu to go smearing around other Weyrs. But she hadn't cast the first stone, anyhow. "Sounds like I'm welcome here, as far as I can tell." She smiles back at Teris, more guarded for the other rider's immediate politeness. "Not the best season, though." Casting an eye to her coat, then towards the clouded patio exit.
"/Real/ funny, Teris." There's a glare shot at her friend for that, followed by a low, plaintive murmur. "Would it'a /killed/ you to at least spend /five seconds/ takin' a look at those eggs? /Really/?" Taikrin is, after all, rather obviously without a hatchling firelizard anywhere on her person. While her unbandaged hand waves at the bartender for another refill, she watches Lujayn out of the corner of her eye. It takes several moments of processing before she blinks, suddenly, surprise shaking her temporarily out of her foul temper. "Wait, /Rielsath's/?! /You're/ the one Szad's been buggin' me about lately? Flamin' jerk ain't left off badgerin' me about findin' 'the new gold's' rider all night." There's a glare somewhere in there for Teris, because obviously this /must/ be her fault.
That's kind of a common reaction to Teris' politeness. And probably well deserved. "Winter is more tolerable than summer," she notes. "So you're thinking of returning here or?" There might be a note of /something/ in her voice but it's hard to tell what exactly it is. And then she's glancing back at Taikrin with a small frown. "Don't try to blame that on /me./ There were other people--" That's where she cuts off and her icy blue eyes are back on the other goldrider, paying little attention to any glares she might get from the brownrider.
Lujayn raises her eyebrows and lets the other two have at it, content to be out of the loop on these 'eggs' as she surveys the other Snowasis patrons. No old friends pop out of the woodwork, and she pivots on her stool again. "Well, you found me," Nonplussed, "Rielsath hasn't mentioned anyone annoying her, at least. He just gets after you?" It seems she's taking her chats on as individuals, no common thread just yet. "Wasn't getting on well with some of the juniors; Rielsath especially took up the cause to let them know I wasn't happy. Can't have queens bickering, /that's/ dangerous." A note of seriousness enters her tone, a familiar sigh. "I'd rather be here than anywhere else, since no one's dying to get our support at the moment." Freedom is nice, even if it's not true freedom just yet. "Visiting for now, like I said. Back and forth the next few sevendays to sort matters out, see what happens." A shrug and last gulp of her drink, staring thoughtfully at her empty glass. "Teris, isn't it?" Time for a wild guess, based on her sketchy image of High Reaches' history over the past five turns. "'Fraid I don't know you." To Taikrin, apologetic.
Taikrin is only a little mollified that Teris isn't in on /this/ particular gag. As Lujayn goes on, the brownrider's jaw sort of drops, her eyes glazing in that familiar dragon-inspired way. She manages to splutter out, after a moment of gathering her wits, "Szad, uh -- Szadath, I mean -- ain't like to go badgerin' after some unfamiliar gold, 'cause Iskiveth--" Here she cuts another look to Teris, this one just a little bit pleading: stop the ramble that's beginning to build up steam! "-- and, uh. So if y'all /are/ coming back, then I guess she ain't gonna be unfamiliar, but probably Szadath won't bother her anyways none 'cause he /does/ like Iskiveth, I swear. Just wants t'get t'know her, like. But-- Taikrin. Me-- I. I'm Taikrin." Over on the other side of the bar, the greenriders are falling all over each other with laughter. At least the brownrider's not making angry faces anymore?
"Yes, I'm Teris," she says to Lujayn but her expression has set into one brow arched up a bit higher than the other as she watches Taikrin commence with her babbling. "I haven't heard anything from Iskiveth about her being horribly upset with Szadath, so." There's that. She lifts her wine like a toast to the other women. "If you don't mind, I'll leave you two to it for now. I have a date with my brother and I imagine he'll be around any moment now. Have fun." She smiles again, then slips from her stool and starts making her way off.
Teris has left.
Nodding respectfully in new understanding about the pair's relationship - or at least their dragons' - Lujayn "I'll make sure Ri doesn't overstep, then. But she's never been much of a boy-chaser." Better not wiggle out of bickering queens just to land herself in another mess. She waves at Teris, but her attention is soon grabbed by irritating noises. Lu glances sharply at the greenriders, speaking without pause for thought, "Maybe you lot've had enough for tonight," She remarks icily, voice carrying over several patrons to be heard across the bar. Either the drink was strong or the time switch is getting to her, but the goldrider seems more authorative and uninhibited than usual.. that is, if Taikrin knew a 'usual' Lu. "Give 'em a dunk in the lake?" She suggests to her remaining companion, tapping one toe on the edge of her stool. "No worries, though. Like I said, Rielsath won't chase tail until .. well, until she does, and that's all of a sudden." Yep, definitely less inhibited. "Don't know how she and Iskiveth'll get on, but it can't be that bad." Smile, pause, trying to catch the bartender's eye - then rethinks. "I did come for the hatchings, though. You're one of Iovniath's?"
Taikrin's arm twitches after Teris when the weyrwoman moves to go, and though she tries to make it look like a wave, it was clearly meant as a grab at her sleeve. "Teris!" There's a desperate note in her voice, not that it does any good. She nods along with Lujayn; a hint of her usual spark shows in a glower for the reprimanded greenriders, but that's quickly washed away by her overwhelmed-face. "No, I-- Szad's chased 'em, it's fine, he chases just about-- uh. Yes. Iovniath's. Same as Teris." She reaches for her refilled whiskey with her bandaged hand, curses as she nearly overturns the glass, then tosses half the liquid down her throat in one fluid motion with her good hand. "I-- uh." It does a little to restore the brownrider's compusure, but she's clearly out of her depth. "Sure it'll be fine, s'long as she ain't tryin' t'go after Iskiveth's stuff or nothin', 'cause she gets kinda prickly 'bout that. Uh." Beat. "Y'did say you all were stayin' on, yeah?"
Lujayn pushes back her glass when the bartender meanders over, "That's my plan, at least." Which makes it /the/ plan, obviously. "Ri wasn't keen on the desert, wanted to leave as soon as she could force it, but I got her to settle down there. Won't be as hard to come back, except some changes.. different people, different leadership. Things I don't know about just yet." The frightening unknown? It's tough to be the new gal in town. "We'll fit in there somehow. Still some friends who stuck around here." Toying with her coat, not wanting to leave the company but compelled to pass out somewhere that isn't so public. "Seems all the trouble she makes, she doesn't realize the consequences." A fond little smile. "There and back again for a while, yeah, moving and all the diplomatic footwork. Igen's got me to spare, luckily, or I'd be in a real spot."
"We, uh," Taikrin ventures carefully, "We /are/ short some golds, I guess, 'specially if Szadath keeps keepin' up with Iskiveth." There is a hint of both pride and defiance there: Szadath sharding well /better/ keep keepin' up with Iskiveth. "Not that I don't bet he /couldn't/ make one, but, uh-- " She catches herself before veering off into a rant, but it's a near thing. "Sure it'll be fine, uh--- great? She was shelled here, yeah? Reckon it's just the, uh, same as when y'left." Except possibly with 500% more criminals. "Cold, good booze." Which Taikrin will make a show of polishing off in quite the hurry.
Dragon> To Szadath, Rielsath's curious light filters in through the looming stormclouds, curled in the safety of her guest weyr. << Well, don't bother to say hello, >> More amused than huffy, << I speak for myself, too. >> She offers a candle, a soft golden glow of welcome. There's a rasp of desert sand, but the gold quickly blows it away.
Dragon> To Rielsath, Szadath's not shy or anything-- far from it. His voice is boomingly, resoundingly loud, fraught with a chill breeze that flickers against Rielsath's sand. << Hey, just letting Taikrin do all the hard stuff. She likes that sort of thing. >> Bright amusement, and a shared flash of the annoyed hey-knock-it-off that's flashing across their bond. << So, how /you/ doin'? >> That's Szadath, zero-to-outrageous in 5.1 seconds.
"One of Teonath's," Lujayn muses calmly as the bashful brownrider stumbles, seeming not to notice. "She's Cadejoth's dam, I remember that," Point of interest, maybe. But there were more clutches at Igen, ones now grabbing at strands of memories. "If he's as loyal as you make him out to be, I don't doubt it. Gotta play the odds there." Conversation drifts off into thoughtful silence again, but this time Lu heads it off. "I can stay a little longer, let you finish that drink," She confesses, "Ri's getting fidgety. Guest weyr's a tad small for her. I mean, no rush - I got lucky, good company on my first dip back to the Snowasis."
Dragon> To Szadath, Rielsath catches onto the flash of irritation, turning it into her own splash of lightning to match the outdoors. Silent and blinding, her youthful voice far from thundering. << I see. Right now, I'd rather be in that stupid desert with a bigger wallow than here with this tiny one. >> A little exaggerating never hurt anyone, right? << She is taking /forever/ to move. >> Impatience towards her rider, tempered with warm affection. << Talking to Lu, hard? >>
"Loyal, hah." That earns a not-too-kindly snort from Taikrin. "More like she's got all the best ideas, and probably she'd stop doin' adventures with him if he pissed her off." She does linger over the last bit of her drink, though, tapping the glass against her chin briefly while she does a bit of mental math. "So, she's Szad's granddam? Since he was from Cadejoth's..." Her eyebrow twitches, and she's suddenly all awkward-and-nerves again, blurting out, "Don't want t'keep you none, really, 'specially if she's gettin' riled. Sure you'll see us around, since -- good company?! -- 'm always down here if I ain't got sweeps, so it's no big thing. Always happy t'have a drink." Or ten.
Dragon> To Rielsath, Szadath is either oblivious to the mismatch in their mental presences, or he flat out doesn't care. << Getting the first feel. Making the first play. >> Smug, full of bright white self-confidence. << You could make a snow wallow. I know a good place. >> A landscape is shared, flickering briefly in a remembered sun. << Not itchy like sand. >> Thinly implied: Szadath will share. << Anyways, you look too hot. Snow will cool you down, dude. >>
Seems like it, Lu's expression reads in a knowing manner. Instead, she continues with the proposed draconic family tree. "Didn't think of that. Really doesn't seem to matter much to them, does it? Once they grow up, at least. We're the ones keeping track of who clutched who." Tapping into some silent conversation, she rubs her forehead and reaches for her coat. "Traveling between timezones throws me off.. usually I'd have a few more hours in me, but.." The garment is mostly dry, thankfully, so she shrugs it on while keeping her seat. "I'll see you around, no doubt. Get Szadath to track us down if we're out of the Weyr." A little unaware of the brown's nature just yet. "G'night, then." Lu hops sprightly from her seat and waves out the door, back to that guest weyr to placate her restless gold.
Dragon> To Szadath, Rielsath tosses and turns, curling in on herself, hoarding the small candle flame. << Later, >> She says, mood still out of sorts at this back and forth travel. << Snow is loads better than any sand, even the kind they use to scrub with, >> The gold asserts, << Lujayn's coming. We'll get to the bottom of this. >> Presence not entirely cut off, though she offers no more light, nor comments. Just a watchful, curious presence in the form of an overcast moon.
"I-- yeah. Szad don't seem t'care what with Iskiveth bein' his sister and all, and I'm sure y'all will be hearin' plenty from him an' yeah, don't let me keep y'all up--" Taikrin stumbles to her feet, a little off-kilter with drink, a second after Lujeyn does in a misplaced gesture of respect. "Night, uh, Lujayn." In their corner, the greenriders are /dying/.
Lujayn has left.
Summary: Taikrin is sunburned and snakebitten and miserable. But who could be upset with not one, but /two/ young goldriders around paying attention to them? Not Taikrin, that's who. She even gets /complemented/ on her /company/. The horror!
NorCon MUSH - 3/17/2011
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Snowasis, High Reaches Weyr(#555RJ)
The Snowasis is rarely quiet, and even then, the high-ceilinged former weyr is kept from echoing by the fantastical booths tucked into its convoluted perimeter. The secluded seating spaces have been shaped from the truncated stalagmites that escaped the smoothing of the main floor, and are both softened and separated by colorful hangings that are thick and opaque enough to make each corner its own private nook.
Some of the smaller stalactites still roam the ceiling, their jagged teeth tracing a bumpy, inverted spine to the hearth. There, a thick rug with a low klah table and comfortable armchairs and couches sit, their upholstery and cushions changed sporadically to match the season: bright, light colors in the summer, fresh greens and yellows in the spring, warm autumnals in fall, and clear, rich hues for winter. Small tables litter the rest of the cavern, enough to fit up to four people each, while stools stand along the smooth wooden bar behind which is the passthrough window to the kitchen. Glass-paneled cabinetry behind the bar provides a clear view of the available liquors, the many colors reflecting the soft light of glows tucked into strategic niches around the cavern.
Contents:
Lujayn(#510PJXace)
Teris
Obvious exits:
Hallway Patio Ledge
It is a winter night, 20:18 of day 26, month 3, turn 25 of Interval 10.
Lujayn shrugs off her water-soaked jacket as she enters the Snowasis, pausing only for a moment before she gets her bearings in the once-familiar establishment. Though the night is well underway, her eyes are bright and wakeful. The goldrider smoothes her hair back from a windblown tangle, nonchalant as she hops up on a bar stool and quietly orders a drink. She doesn't look around much, but after a minute Lu's eyeing the crowd, trying to pick out familiar faces - or put names to unfamiliar ones.
Aside from one gossip-fueling morning in the infirmary, Taikrin has been scarcely seen since returning from Southern for Teris' turnday. The reason is pretty obvious: the parts of there that aren't lobster-red are peeling. On top of that, her right hand is swathed in bandages so thick that she can barely move the fingers. But at least she's out of hiding today! There's a swath of empty room to either side of her at the bar, where she sits nursing something amber in a clear glass. At the far side of the bar, a pair of early-thirties greenriders are amusing themselves to no end by making flirty faces at Taikrin and watching her scowl in return: apparently this is /not/ the way things usually work.
"So I guess I was right," says Teris as she comes up alongside Taikrin and settles herself on the stool without so much as a how-do-you-do. "Wine, please," to the bartender before her attention is back on the brownrider, looking uncharacteristically amused. "That they would hatch soon, I mean." She even smiles then though it's clear she's trying to hide at least some of it. She can't say much about the sun burns, though. She's sporting her own little mask of sun still, just not quite so red.
Lujayn does turn more obviously at that: hatching? She wasn't aware of any clutches at High Reaches, unless they're talking about some other Weyr entirely. Close enough to lean over without getting too close to what appears to be a rather prickly woman, she eyes the pair over her drink. "I heard Ista's shells were hard as rocks," Lu tosses in her two cents, whether or not that's the ambiguous topic. She silently notes the matching sunburns, the breezy familiarity from one woman to the other, and tries valiantly to remember their names - knots give so much away, you know. "But I haven't been there to see for myself." Could have fooled anyone, walking around so tan in the middle of a 'Reaches winter. Ready to accept silence as equally as response, she sits back a bit to swirl her glass, toying with its citrine peel adornment.
Only with the greatest of efforts does Taikrin modulate her insinctive glower at Teris into something a little less overtly hostile. Still, her grunt of, "Whatever," is hardly welcoming. She has to down the rest of her glass in one smooth motion before she can summon the wherewithall to only /half/ grimace at Teris. "Yeah. Flamin' hatched all right." It's just luck, really, that Lujayn shows up after Teris; otherwise, there might have been another glower instead of what might resemble a sardonic smile. "Don't know as there's enough marks on the planet t'send me south again. 'Specially for no flamin' bloody eggs." Beat, then, cautiously, "Y'ain't from there, are you? Sure don't know as I seen /you/ before."
"Well, I'm just glad you survived it. I would have been cross if you'd let some little hatchlings eat your face." Teris certainly sees the humor in the situation but that could be because it wasn't her blood that was shed. Lujayn earns a look, a quick, calculating up and down and her trademarked smile of absolute politeness. "I went to an Istan hatching once. I don't like the heat down there. But I imagine it's good for the eggs." She takes her wine but no drink just yet.
"Fort, originally. Name's Lujayn," The woman doesn't beat the bush around introductions, shaking her head at Taikrin's guess. Better to get it out than pretend it's some horrible secret. "Impressed here and got my hide sent off to Igen, of all places. It's been a while." She muses. "Between Weyrs, really, Rielsath an' me are visiting while the sandbottoms decide if they can stand.." Well, it's not like Lu to go smearing around other Weyrs. But she hadn't cast the first stone, anyhow. "Sounds like I'm welcome here, as far as I can tell." She smiles back at Teris, more guarded for the other rider's immediate politeness. "Not the best season, though." Casting an eye to her coat, then towards the clouded patio exit.
"/Real/ funny, Teris." There's a glare shot at her friend for that, followed by a low, plaintive murmur. "Would it'a /killed/ you to at least spend /five seconds/ takin' a look at those eggs? /Really/?" Taikrin is, after all, rather obviously without a hatchling firelizard anywhere on her person. While her unbandaged hand waves at the bartender for another refill, she watches Lujayn out of the corner of her eye. It takes several moments of processing before she blinks, suddenly, surprise shaking her temporarily out of her foul temper. "Wait, /Rielsath's/?! /You're/ the one Szad's been buggin' me about lately? Flamin' jerk ain't left off badgerin' me about findin' 'the new gold's' rider all night." There's a glare somewhere in there for Teris, because obviously this /must/ be her fault.
That's kind of a common reaction to Teris' politeness. And probably well deserved. "Winter is more tolerable than summer," she notes. "So you're thinking of returning here or?" There might be a note of /something/ in her voice but it's hard to tell what exactly it is. And then she's glancing back at Taikrin with a small frown. "Don't try to blame that on /me./ There were other people--" That's where she cuts off and her icy blue eyes are back on the other goldrider, paying little attention to any glares she might get from the brownrider.
Lujayn raises her eyebrows and lets the other two have at it, content to be out of the loop on these 'eggs' as she surveys the other Snowasis patrons. No old friends pop out of the woodwork, and she pivots on her stool again. "Well, you found me," Nonplussed, "Rielsath hasn't mentioned anyone annoying her, at least. He just gets after you?" It seems she's taking her chats on as individuals, no common thread just yet. "Wasn't getting on well with some of the juniors; Rielsath especially took up the cause to let them know I wasn't happy. Can't have queens bickering, /that's/ dangerous." A note of seriousness enters her tone, a familiar sigh. "I'd rather be here than anywhere else, since no one's dying to get our support at the moment." Freedom is nice, even if it's not true freedom just yet. "Visiting for now, like I said. Back and forth the next few sevendays to sort matters out, see what happens." A shrug and last gulp of her drink, staring thoughtfully at her empty glass. "Teris, isn't it?" Time for a wild guess, based on her sketchy image of High Reaches' history over the past five turns. "'Fraid I don't know you." To Taikrin, apologetic.
Taikrin is only a little mollified that Teris isn't in on /this/ particular gag. As Lujayn goes on, the brownrider's jaw sort of drops, her eyes glazing in that familiar dragon-inspired way. She manages to splutter out, after a moment of gathering her wits, "Szad, uh -- Szadath, I mean -- ain't like to go badgerin' after some unfamiliar gold, 'cause Iskiveth--" Here she cuts another look to Teris, this one just a little bit pleading: stop the ramble that's beginning to build up steam! "-- and, uh. So if y'all /are/ coming back, then I guess she ain't gonna be unfamiliar, but probably Szadath won't bother her anyways none 'cause he /does/ like Iskiveth, I swear. Just wants t'get t'know her, like. But-- Taikrin. Me-- I. I'm Taikrin." Over on the other side of the bar, the greenriders are falling all over each other with laughter. At least the brownrider's not making angry faces anymore?
"Yes, I'm Teris," she says to Lujayn but her expression has set into one brow arched up a bit higher than the other as she watches Taikrin commence with her babbling. "I haven't heard anything from Iskiveth about her being horribly upset with Szadath, so." There's that. She lifts her wine like a toast to the other women. "If you don't mind, I'll leave you two to it for now. I have a date with my brother and I imagine he'll be around any moment now. Have fun." She smiles again, then slips from her stool and starts making her way off.
Teris has left.
Nodding respectfully in new understanding about the pair's relationship - or at least their dragons' - Lujayn "I'll make sure Ri doesn't overstep, then. But she's never been much of a boy-chaser." Better not wiggle out of bickering queens just to land herself in another mess. She waves at Teris, but her attention is soon grabbed by irritating noises. Lu glances sharply at the greenriders, speaking without pause for thought, "Maybe you lot've had enough for tonight," She remarks icily, voice carrying over several patrons to be heard across the bar. Either the drink was strong or the time switch is getting to her, but the goldrider seems more authorative and uninhibited than usual.. that is, if Taikrin knew a 'usual' Lu. "Give 'em a dunk in the lake?" She suggests to her remaining companion, tapping one toe on the edge of her stool. "No worries, though. Like I said, Rielsath won't chase tail until .. well, until she does, and that's all of a sudden." Yep, definitely less inhibited. "Don't know how she and Iskiveth'll get on, but it can't be that bad." Smile, pause, trying to catch the bartender's eye - then rethinks. "I did come for the hatchings, though. You're one of Iovniath's?"
Taikrin's arm twitches after Teris when the weyrwoman moves to go, and though she tries to make it look like a wave, it was clearly meant as a grab at her sleeve. "Teris!" There's a desperate note in her voice, not that it does any good. She nods along with Lujayn; a hint of her usual spark shows in a glower for the reprimanded greenriders, but that's quickly washed away by her overwhelmed-face. "No, I-- Szad's chased 'em, it's fine, he chases just about-- uh. Yes. Iovniath's. Same as Teris." She reaches for her refilled whiskey with her bandaged hand, curses as she nearly overturns the glass, then tosses half the liquid down her throat in one fluid motion with her good hand. "I-- uh." It does a little to restore the brownrider's compusure, but she's clearly out of her depth. "Sure it'll be fine, s'long as she ain't tryin' t'go after Iskiveth's stuff or nothin', 'cause she gets kinda prickly 'bout that. Uh." Beat. "Y'did say you all were stayin' on, yeah?"
Lujayn pushes back her glass when the bartender meanders over, "That's my plan, at least." Which makes it /the/ plan, obviously. "Ri wasn't keen on the desert, wanted to leave as soon as she could force it, but I got her to settle down there. Won't be as hard to come back, except some changes.. different people, different leadership. Things I don't know about just yet." The frightening unknown? It's tough to be the new gal in town. "We'll fit in there somehow. Still some friends who stuck around here." Toying with her coat, not wanting to leave the company but compelled to pass out somewhere that isn't so public. "Seems all the trouble she makes, she doesn't realize the consequences." A fond little smile. "There and back again for a while, yeah, moving and all the diplomatic footwork. Igen's got me to spare, luckily, or I'd be in a real spot."
"We, uh," Taikrin ventures carefully, "We /are/ short some golds, I guess, 'specially if Szadath keeps keepin' up with Iskiveth." There is a hint of both pride and defiance there: Szadath sharding well /better/ keep keepin' up with Iskiveth. "Not that I don't bet he /couldn't/ make one, but, uh-- " She catches herself before veering off into a rant, but it's a near thing. "Sure it'll be fine, uh--- great? She was shelled here, yeah? Reckon it's just the, uh, same as when y'left." Except possibly with 500% more criminals. "Cold, good booze." Which Taikrin will make a show of polishing off in quite the hurry.
Dragon> To Szadath, Rielsath's curious light filters in through the looming stormclouds, curled in the safety of her guest weyr. << Well, don't bother to say hello, >> More amused than huffy, << I speak for myself, too. >> She offers a candle, a soft golden glow of welcome. There's a rasp of desert sand, but the gold quickly blows it away.
Dragon> To Rielsath, Szadath's not shy or anything-- far from it. His voice is boomingly, resoundingly loud, fraught with a chill breeze that flickers against Rielsath's sand. << Hey, just letting Taikrin do all the hard stuff. She likes that sort of thing. >> Bright amusement, and a shared flash of the annoyed hey-knock-it-off that's flashing across their bond. << So, how /you/ doin'? >> That's Szadath, zero-to-outrageous in 5.1 seconds.
"One of Teonath's," Lujayn muses calmly as the bashful brownrider stumbles, seeming not to notice. "She's Cadejoth's dam, I remember that," Point of interest, maybe. But there were more clutches at Igen, ones now grabbing at strands of memories. "If he's as loyal as you make him out to be, I don't doubt it. Gotta play the odds there." Conversation drifts off into thoughtful silence again, but this time Lu heads it off. "I can stay a little longer, let you finish that drink," She confesses, "Ri's getting fidgety. Guest weyr's a tad small for her. I mean, no rush - I got lucky, good company on my first dip back to the Snowasis."
Dragon> To Szadath, Rielsath catches onto the flash of irritation, turning it into her own splash of lightning to match the outdoors. Silent and blinding, her youthful voice far from thundering. << I see. Right now, I'd rather be in that stupid desert with a bigger wallow than here with this tiny one. >> A little exaggerating never hurt anyone, right? << She is taking /forever/ to move. >> Impatience towards her rider, tempered with warm affection. << Talking to Lu, hard? >>
"Loyal, hah." That earns a not-too-kindly snort from Taikrin. "More like she's got all the best ideas, and probably she'd stop doin' adventures with him if he pissed her off." She does linger over the last bit of her drink, though, tapping the glass against her chin briefly while she does a bit of mental math. "So, she's Szad's granddam? Since he was from Cadejoth's..." Her eyebrow twitches, and she's suddenly all awkward-and-nerves again, blurting out, "Don't want t'keep you none, really, 'specially if she's gettin' riled. Sure you'll see us around, since -- good company?! -- 'm always down here if I ain't got sweeps, so it's no big thing. Always happy t'have a drink." Or ten.
Dragon> To Rielsath, Szadath is either oblivious to the mismatch in their mental presences, or he flat out doesn't care. << Getting the first feel. Making the first play. >> Smug, full of bright white self-confidence. << You could make a snow wallow. I know a good place. >> A landscape is shared, flickering briefly in a remembered sun. << Not itchy like sand. >> Thinly implied: Szadath will share. << Anyways, you look too hot. Snow will cool you down, dude. >>
Seems like it, Lu's expression reads in a knowing manner. Instead, she continues with the proposed draconic family tree. "Didn't think of that. Really doesn't seem to matter much to them, does it? Once they grow up, at least. We're the ones keeping track of who clutched who." Tapping into some silent conversation, she rubs her forehead and reaches for her coat. "Traveling between timezones throws me off.. usually I'd have a few more hours in me, but.." The garment is mostly dry, thankfully, so she shrugs it on while keeping her seat. "I'll see you around, no doubt. Get Szadath to track us down if we're out of the Weyr." A little unaware of the brown's nature just yet. "G'night, then." Lu hops sprightly from her seat and waves out the door, back to that guest weyr to placate her restless gold.
Dragon> To Szadath, Rielsath tosses and turns, curling in on herself, hoarding the small candle flame. << Later, >> She says, mood still out of sorts at this back and forth travel. << Snow is loads better than any sand, even the kind they use to scrub with, >> The gold asserts, << Lujayn's coming. We'll get to the bottom of this. >> Presence not entirely cut off, though she offers no more light, nor comments. Just a watchful, curious presence in the form of an overcast moon.
"I-- yeah. Szad don't seem t'care what with Iskiveth bein' his sister and all, and I'm sure y'all will be hearin' plenty from him an' yeah, don't let me keep y'all up--" Taikrin stumbles to her feet, a little off-kilter with drink, a second after Lujeyn does in a misplaced gesture of respect. "Night, uh, Lujayn." In their corner, the greenriders are /dying/.
Lujayn has left.