Plotting, part 1
It is a summer afternoon of day 12, month 6, turn 22 of Interval 10.
Living Cavern, Fort Weyr
The interior of the living cavern is luxurious, relatively speaking -- the walls are smoothed and there are wall sconces in addition to the myriad array of glow baskets and lamps used to keep the place well lit. It's a large space, suited to handle large numbers of people, with dozens of tables arranged strategically throughout; serving tables are also conveniently located at various intervals. Tapestries hang on the walls, many of them having been there for hundreds of turns and periodically taken down for cleaning and restoration.
Up a flight of stairs would be the kitchens, where much of the hustle and bustle can be heard, if not seen. Food is transported down via discretely located dumb waiters and dispersed by servers as necessary, but the aromas of food being prepared is as pervasive as the constant chatter of people as they drift through in search of food, drink, or company. Servers are generally available to assist and ensure that cups are filled and tables are cleaned regularly.
To the west is both the main entrance to the bowl and also the night hearth, which is kept stocked with fresh klah and pots of stew. Other hearths are scattered throughout, radiating heat and warmth as well as providing gathering spots for private discussions. To the east, a short flight of stairs leads down to the inner caverns, while a stout wooden door with a purple caduceus to the south leads to the infirmary.
Obvious exits:
Bowl Inner Caverns Kitchen
Early afternoon and Kai's just coming back from sweeps - midday for him, dawn for Chielyth. It's just late enough that most of the lunchtime press has gone, though the room is still plenty crowded and noisy with cheerful hubbub. The greenrider nods to a few faces here and there, but mostly he's interested in collecting a plate and piling it high with food.
Signs of earlier company litter the table where the weyrleader sits, a mug of klah in one hand, sipped slowly as he goes through a handful of mixed paper and hide. Looks like the morning reports in fact, likely from other sweepsriders or their wingleaders. Pausing in his reading, T'rev tips his chair back and crosses gazes with Kai in one of the moments where the greenrider is nodding at someone and directs a casual wave his way along with a lift of brows: Join him? The request is politely filtered along via Mecaith to Chielyth in fact, so T'rev isn't shouting across the whole cavern.
The wave is given an absent nod - yes, hi, I see you - and the greenrider continues on another shuffling step, reaching for a roll. T'rev can probably see exactly when the request is passed: a few seconds later Kai pauses again, looks squarely at the Weyrleader, and drops a nod. With someone waiting he doesn't loiter, but makes quick work of the rest of the line and then the distance to T'rev's table. "Hey," he says as he drops into a chair. "Nice day out there. Good for flying." A beat later, "You wanted t' see me for something?"
"Hey Kai," T'rev answers casually and sets the reports down, takes another pull from his mug and settles it down as well, leaning forward to fold his hands atop abandoned papers. "Yeah? Did Chielyth have fun?" He smiles and his head bobs. "I'm glad the weather's turned. Nice n' warm." Breath out. "Wanted to check in, s'all, see how you and Chielyth are doing."
B'kaiv breathes a laugh, one corner of his mouth turning up. "Course she did. We been out on sweeps. Early for her, but I told her she could go sleep by th' lake, so that's what she's doing." He pokes around his plate, trying to decide what to eat first, and settles for tearing the roll in half and mounding it with cheese. "We been good. You and Mecaith? Doing a'right?"
"Great," T'rev says with a slightly wider smile. "And yeah, hope she gets a good nap in." The weyrleader's elbows remain resting in place atop the table and he nods as Kai replies. "Good. No issues since you came back. Glad t'hear it. We're good, yeah. Things seem to be settlin' down, so."
B'kaiv says, "Good. Been working on th' new place," he aims a questioning look at T'rev. "You heard about that? Dunno what took so long, but Shevana said as I could use one of th' empty weyrs for my place. I been working on it, getting it clean and set up and all."
"Yeah, heard a thing or two," T'rev says with a grin. "I'll come buy a beer when you're open," the weyrleader continues mildly. "How're you lookin' to get set up?"
Kai mumbles something mostly unintelligible through a mouthful of food. He holds up a finger and hurriedly chews, swallows, tries again. "What d'you mean? I got furniture outta stores. No point in buying new if it ain't gonna last. Th' bar's th' hardest part, but I think I got a line on how t' get that set."
"Sure, not a problem to pull from stores. Meant ... you know, typical bar with a counter? How many days open? That kinda thing," T"rev says with an open-handed gesture and a roll of his shoulders.
B'kaiv ohs and reaches past his plate to sketch a rough map on the table. "Ledge here, gonna put a couple tables out when th' weather's nice. S'a big ledge, so there's room t' land still. Th' old wallow's th' main room, gonna have tables and a couple couches there. Then th' old weyr, that's th' bar. 'Nother table, some stools. Got seating for," he does quick math in his head, "say, 30 if th' place is packed. Only gonna be open a couple days a seven, at least t' start. Dunno how th' new Wingleader's gonna take it, right?"
Leaning forward a little, T'rev watches the movements of Kai's hand with interest. "That's a lot of space," the weyrleader says with a nod. "And sounds good - being open just the few days. Don't think anyone'd really complain about that."
"Bigger weyr'n Chielyth's," Kai agrees, settling back in his chair with a satisfied nod to the invisible map. "Dunno as there's never gonna /be/ 30 in there, but there's room for a couple more tables or something. Just a place t' go and play cards, you know? Nothing snooty." Another nod and he resumes his lunch. After a bit, "First beer for you's on th' house."
"How does she feel about it? The extra weyr and so on?" T'rev asks and shrugs at the remark about snootiness. "Sure. Hope the beer's good. Let me know if you need a recommendation on where to get some good stuff. There's a guy I know."
B'kaiv narrows one eye at the bronzerider. "Chielyth?" Though there's little chance he'd be asking after anyone else. Kai brushes it off. "She don't mind. Likes it. Gonna put a table down in th' wallow, but for now that's her spot when we're over there. Might end up leaving it open for her, dunno." He shoots T'rev another look but nods, shrugs just because, and spears a few slices of tubers. "Been nice, all this quiet."
"Sure - you know, Mecaith's got opinions on things, figured I'd ask about hers," T'rev answers, returning that narrow look with an open and frank one. "And with that big ledge, was thinking you know, she might like lying there. Good sun?" His klah mug is futzed with a little but he doesn't drink. "More time to do things that aren't related to raiders and panic," the weyrleader agrees with a nod. "Though there's still patrols goin' on of course. Sounds like his Lord Wardership might be lookin' to step down the pokin' around though. Especially if there's no hits over the summer."
Kai ahs understanding and expands, "Long as she gets t' fly and it don't take me away from her, she's plenty happy. She don't care about th' bar 'cept as it makes me happy, so." He shrugs before continuing to plow through his meal. "Yeah, we been keeping our eyes open on sweeps. Ain't seen nothing, though. Think it's more as they got their head down than they're gone, though. But who knows, maybe we got lucky last time, and we -did- get 'em all. Guess we'll find out, huh." He offers T'rev a crooked, rueful smile. "What about you? Think you're gonna follow his lead?"
"Good to know. Some dragons wouldn't understand so much," T'rev notes with a wry turn of one corner of his mouth and he picks up his mug this time. "Mm. Yeah, hard to say. A lot did get caught," the weyrleader says quietly and drums his fingers against the side of his mug. "No. Gonna keep on askin' people to keep their eyes peeled. Because I don't want any nasty surprises. Want our riders to stay close with holders too. Talk to people. Keep their ears open as well as eyes. Because maybe there's more we could've done or could do to prevent somethin'."
B'kaiv smirks without humor and nods, turns his attention to the very important task of sopping up gravy with some bread. "Look for firelizards too," he adds nice and quiet. "Dragons can ask them, maybe - they can talk t' 'em, yeah?"
"Yeah if they don't skitter off. Given how many you said they had ... it's a good spot to focus on. Could find out some more maybe, by catchin' the right ones, yeah?" T'rev turns his mug around and around watching the liquid inside swirl.
B'kaiv snorts but nods reluctant agreement. "That's th' hard part. It's /all/ th' hard part, but shells, there's a /lot/ t' look for." He nods, by way of example, to a nearby hearth, where a row of firelizards perch, dozing or chattering amongst themselves. "How many of them is ours? How many ain't? I dunno as there's no way t' tell."
"Yeah, hard to pin down. Probably why they went for that for talkin' back and forth, don't you think?" T'rev muses thoughtfully. "Still. Firelizards like to talk and if Chielyth likes to listen to them for one, or other dragons ... "
"Easy t' take messages too," Kai agrees, sending the firelizards a sour stare before refocusing on his lunch and T'rev. "I can try t' get her t' listen, sure. They don't like her, but they don't -not- like her neither. She can try at th' lake, maybe." Another bite later, with his voice dropped yet farther, "Did you tell M'try what I done?"
"Most of ours are banded, Fort colors. Though I guess not everyone still does that," T'rev says with a hand rubbed to his chin. "They don't? Hm. Yeah, seems to be a case by case basis with Mecaith. I think he's too slow for most lizards, but at the same time, some of them seem to like the fact that they can just kind of ... listen and his thoughts stick to one thing for a long time. That or they like some of his patterns." That last cocks T'rev's brows upward.
B'kaiv shrugs and works his way through the rest of his tubers, grunting where appropriate. "They ain't fast enough t' keep up with her," he finally offers, having thought about it. "She likes playing with them at th' lake, but that ain't where she spends most of her time. I can ask her t' keep a ear out, any road. She might hear something."
"Oh in a straight up flight," T'rev nods a couple of times and downs some more of his klah, then in an undertone, offers over a quiet: "Yes."
Displeased but thoughtful, the greenrider doesn't say anything for a good handful of seconds. "Next time," he suggests, "you wanna /tell me/ if you been telling people so I don't got t' go around threatening t' bust people's jaws? He was yapping about it middle of th' sharding /caverns/." Kai's not angry, more like exasperated; he twists about in his chair to scan the room, but doesn't find whoever - if anyone - he was looking for. In a more normal voice, "You should come flying with me and Hattie sometime. Chielyth's been all over these rocks she found. Mecaith's like 'em, probably."
That hikes T'rev's brows a little further upward and his lips purse faintly with a touch of his own exasperation. "Great. Glad t'see our former harper studied up on the meanin' of the word 'confidential'." He looks around and makes a little face. "Was gonna pull you aside to talk through a thing or two, but not in the caverns." Speaking of. But, breath out. "Rocks?"
B'kaiv rolls his eyes, for once in complete agreement with T'rev. Boot party for M'try, hoorah! "Yeah," he agrees, either for 'not here' or 'rocks'. Or both. "You got nothing you're doing later?" There's a nod for the hides. "There's Gather up t' Lemos in a bit, too. Know how much you like gathers. --Both of you," he adds with a faint almost-smile.
"I'll ... have a little word with him," T'rev says quietly again and shakes his head. "A mostly free evenin' after finishing up with tis and a couple of chats with various folks. And Mecaith might need a little bit of oil - not a full go-over." His smile goes wide though and he nods. "Yeah, gather'd be nice. You bringin' someone along else?"
B'kaiv says, "Think I made it plenty clear - t' At're, too. He was close, dunno how much he heard." Will that let T'rev off the hook? ...Not entirely. "There anybody /else/ as knows things and I don't know about it? 'Cause let me tell you, people knowing things makes it real sharding itchy right between my shoulder blades." He shakes his head for the rest, stops to think but shakes his head again. "Nah."
"Just Jaeyi," T'rev replies, still in an undertone and looking none-too-pleased still about how that particular bit of confidentiality went. "No? Hm. Y'know, we should go grab Hattie by her elbows and bring her along. Make sure she gets a couple of good dances in and ain't thinkin' about any work."
Kai nearly spit-takes but manages to keep it together and wipe a hand across his mouth while shooting T'rev a dark oh-you-didn't-just-say-that look. "/Jaeyi/? Shit." He almost says something more, doesn't, says something -else- and doesn't say that either. Finally, after another swallow (this one wholly more successful), he manages a nod and something approximating a normal tone. "Yeah. Yeah, I like taking her dancing. I call th' first toss dance." A beat and he adds, "With her, not you."
"Mm. Can talk about it on the way over to relieve Hattie of her paperwork," T'rev drawls out with a bit of a grin on his face and finishes off the rest of his klah. "Didn't think I was your type, nope. And I'm not sure even you could get me up high enough in a toss dance and have it still be a dance," the weyrleader notes, but he's pushing his chair back, a gleam of good-natured humor in his eyes.
B'kaiv only /hahs/ before finishing off the rest of his meal and shoving back his chair. "You ain't. Could throw you around plenty, though." He narrows one eye at the bronzerider, not -precisely- teasing. But then again, neither is he not /not/ teasing. By the time he's cleared his plate, T'rev'll have the chance to gather his hides, and the two can head off to invade Hattie's privacy.
"Mmm. Plenty of throwin', not so much graceful pirouettin'," T'rev says with a laugh as he tucks hides under arm and picks up his mug to drop in the dirty dish bin. "C'mon, let's go find us a junior weyrwoman."
Hattie's Burnished Fretwork Weyr
Leading in someway from the ledge, the space is initially lopsided in shape, almost longer than it is wide. Most of the surfaces in this part of the cavern are smooth, including that of the wallow, rock warn down to a polished sheen beneath blankets and turns of use. Behind the wallow lies a tall tree constructed from various bits of driftwood, ornaments in silver, white and blue hanging from its branches.
Beyond the narrow entrance to the rider's weyr, the cavern is spacious and well-appointed. Small arrangements of glows have been placed on outcroppings and inside nooks roughly midway up the walls, to create a bar of light that casts fainter illumination towards both ceiling and floor. The room itself is a tip-tilted oblong, clearly divided into 'work' and 'home' by the first of two, tall fretwork screens coated in dark varnish. The first section houses table, chairs and comfortable furniture in natural tones, obviously doubling as a meeting area. Behind the screen sit, bed, hearth, bookcases and couch, brighter colours able to be glimpsed through fretwork. At the back of the weyr, the second of the screens hides the bathing chamber and its oval-shaped pool.
Obvious exits:
Out
Now here's a sight you don't see everyday: B'kaiv and T'rev walking side by side across the bowl, for all intents and purposes chatting amiably. "Mecaith talked t' her yet?" Kai says as they reach the level of Elaruth's ledge. "Or we just dropping in surprising-like?"
Cocking his head to the side, T'rev nods. "Elaruth anyway. But I think a little but of surprise might be a good idea," the weyrleader says slowly, thoughtfully. A deep breath taken, let out and then T'rev starts up the steps to the weyr.
Really, it can't be any kind of shocking to discover that Hattie has managed to find a dozen or so new hides to fold into the collection she's got set out across the table in her weyr. Or that she's sat eyeing one of them and comparing it to the next, her lifemate far less involved and curled up in her wallow, seeming utterly bored. Activity outside has Elaruth lifting her head and looking up, but she doesn't move further than that, nor does she warn her rider that there're people out there. Nor will she if they wander past her.
"Gotta wake Chielyth up," Kai adds, distracted. He gives Elaruth a quick smile and a nod, looks over at T'rev as if to make sure the bronzerider is still there, then moves past the gold to invade Hattie's inner sanctum. "She's working," he tosses over his shoulder, utterly unsurprised by this turn of events. "Hattie, when's th' last time you gone outside?"
Strolling along after Kai, seemingly casual, T'rev casts a look inside and rubs at his chin. "I think it's probably been too long," he tells the greenrider 'confidentially' and moves further inward, nudges a toe at the foot of one of Hattie's trunks. "Do you still have some pretty skirts hidden away in there?" he questions next, tone mild and looks up at Hattie. "Because I think you should come with us and show Lemos a thing or two about the toss dance."
Hattie hesitates with her pen midair and just /stares/. B'kaiv. T'rev. B'kaiv. T'rev. And back again. "I went to get breakfast this morning. Then I went to the Records. Then I travelled back here," she states. "When's the last time you thought of calling ahead before blundering into a person's weyr?" Evidently something about the greenrider's question has already got her on the defensive. Perhaps everything is still processing, for she doesn't have time to stop her features twisting in confusion or distaste. "I'm sure I could show them a thing or two, but today is not my day off."
"Did," Kai says simply, jerking his head at T'rev and thumb back at Elaruth. He's dressed up - for Kai, which mostly means his clothes don't look like he dragged them from the bottom of a heap somewhere, and probably saw an iron sometime in the last few days. "S'a real nice day out there, Hattie. Them hides don't care if you do 'em when it's sunny or raining." Daringly, he reaches to try and pluck the pen from her hand. It's Kai, of course, so he's probably not even going to notice if she wallops him one.
Looking up T'rev starts to shake his head to warn Kai off of grabbing Hattie's pen, but it's likely a little too late. THe weyrleader's gaze shifts to the goldrider though and he takes a step forward, holds up his own sheaf. "I've got these to work through m'self. So it'll be an hour or so yet. But we'd like to formally request the honor of bein' your escorts to the Lemos gather. Business hours'll be over soon. And we've both got a hankerin' to take you for a spin on the dance floor and make complete idiots of ourselves."
Hattie determinedly hangs onto the pen for a moment before releasing it and jumping her hand away as though burnt; fingers actually curling into a fist. It can't be one aimed for Kai, however, being that she can't mean to punch him like that unless she means to break her thumb. Dark eyes glance over to the entryway, but she dismisses it soon enough and looks back down at the table for a long, long, /long/, time. When she looks up again, she blinks a few times, eyeing first Kai, then T'rev before asking quietly, "Do I get to make an idiot of myself too?"
B'kaiv, stubborn as she is, tugs until he pulls the pen free and offers half a smile as payment. While she's quiet he ambles around the room but ends up leaning on the wall closest to Elaruth rather than poking his nose into things he doesn't want to know about. "If you want. C'mon, Hattie, don't go trying t' tell /me/ you don't like dancing. You're just sore it weren't your idea." He pokes a thumb at the gold. "'Sides, Chielyth wants t' go flying with Mecaith and Elaruth. You ain't gonna tell -her- no?"
Nodding along with Kai, T'rev grins up at Hattie. "We can even go incognito if y'like, for maximum idiocy," the weyrleader quips mildly and tips his head towards the out-of-doors. "That or y'know, someone's gotta keep me from bein' an ass, right?" He takes a breath, lets it out. Mecaith's definitely keen on the company." Still conversationally spoken.
Now staring down into her lap, fingers laced tightly together, Hattie shakes her head and states, "No, I wouldn't tell her no." She peers up and over at T'rev, adding, "Or him." It takes another few seconds for her to decide to get to her feet and line a couple of stray hides up in the process. "I think, maybe, that today somebody else will have to prevent you from being an ass, because I don't intend to wear my knot, which means neither of you are going to either. Got it?" She folds her hands behind her back. "Maximum idiocy, yes?"
B'kaiv not only doesn't play fair, he doesn't care that he doesn't play fair, though his smile fades at the byplay between the others. "What's th' knot got t' do with nothing? ...What's ingot - shells. Nito-thing?" He checks with Elaruth, in case she knows, but Hattie's probably a better bet.
"Excellent," T'rev crows out with a gleeful little grin. "Then I get to just plain be an ass," and he beams over at Kai. "Incognito, undercover. When we go, we're just Kai, Trev and Hattie, not greenrider, weyrleader and weyrwoman. You good with that?" And Mecaith lets out a quiet whuff from just outside.
"You not having to punch any idiot bronzeriders who try to charm me because of the knot," Hattie adds in a faintly teasing tone, with a nod over in Kai's direction. "Of course, if any idiots try it for the heck of it, then please, you're quite welcome to." She tugs at the hem of her shirt, gaze seeking out the nearest trunk and likely location of a dress of some sort. "Now, are you boys intent on sticking around to see me undress, or shall we meet in the bowl later?" That said, she doesn't actually appear all that concerned about either of them seeing her get changed. Quietly, very quietly, Elaruth rises to her feet, nosing first the way of the entryway and Kai, then she pads out to her ledge to say a proper hello to Mecaith.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Kai tells Hattie, though he sends a shrug T'rev's way. "You don't want no knots, sure, but it's gonna be kinda obvious t' anyone as sees us land." He pushes off the wall anyway, pausing to give Elaruth another smile, then jerks his head invitingly at T'rev. "Bowl's fine. I got t' wake Chielyth up anyway. You coming?"
Chuckling, T'rev just grins at Kai. "And you know about the trick of landin' off a ways so you don't get seen," he reminds the greenrider, face alight with mischief. He cocks a look over at Hattie, winks at her. "You know I'd enjoy that show for too much, so I'll be on my way with my good friend here and get the last of what I need to squared up and change out into somethin' as doesn't scream 'weyrleader of Fort'. See you in a bit." ANd so saying, he tags after Kai.
"I just offered to let you punch regular morons, what more do you want?" Hattie questions rhetorically, something similar to a grin directed over at Kai. "But yes, with that," and she points specifically at T'rev, "in mind, everybody out. I'll be ready in a little while." The goldrider turns back to the hides, to start figuring out which need the most attention after she's changed, but she looks up at the last minute and says quietly, "...Thank you," to both green and bronzerider. Though she has to look away again, sharpish, back to business until it's time to leave.
Going to a gather? With them two? Never woulda thought. Got enough time to let Chielyth sleep a little more, maybe get a quick wash.
Continued in part two
Living Cavern, Fort Weyr
The interior of the living cavern is luxurious, relatively speaking -- the walls are smoothed and there are wall sconces in addition to the myriad array of glow baskets and lamps used to keep the place well lit. It's a large space, suited to handle large numbers of people, with dozens of tables arranged strategically throughout; serving tables are also conveniently located at various intervals. Tapestries hang on the walls, many of them having been there for hundreds of turns and periodically taken down for cleaning and restoration.
Up a flight of stairs would be the kitchens, where much of the hustle and bustle can be heard, if not seen. Food is transported down via discretely located dumb waiters and dispersed by servers as necessary, but the aromas of food being prepared is as pervasive as the constant chatter of people as they drift through in search of food, drink, or company. Servers are generally available to assist and ensure that cups are filled and tables are cleaned regularly.
To the west is both the main entrance to the bowl and also the night hearth, which is kept stocked with fresh klah and pots of stew. Other hearths are scattered throughout, radiating heat and warmth as well as providing gathering spots for private discussions. To the east, a short flight of stairs leads down to the inner caverns, while a stout wooden door with a purple caduceus to the south leads to the infirmary.
Obvious exits:
Bowl Inner Caverns Kitchen
Early afternoon and Kai's just coming back from sweeps - midday for him, dawn for Chielyth. It's just late enough that most of the lunchtime press has gone, though the room is still plenty crowded and noisy with cheerful hubbub. The greenrider nods to a few faces here and there, but mostly he's interested in collecting a plate and piling it high with food.
Signs of earlier company litter the table where the weyrleader sits, a mug of klah in one hand, sipped slowly as he goes through a handful of mixed paper and hide. Looks like the morning reports in fact, likely from other sweepsriders or their wingleaders. Pausing in his reading, T'rev tips his chair back and crosses gazes with Kai in one of the moments where the greenrider is nodding at someone and directs a casual wave his way along with a lift of brows: Join him? The request is politely filtered along via Mecaith to Chielyth in fact, so T'rev isn't shouting across the whole cavern.
The wave is given an absent nod - yes, hi, I see you - and the greenrider continues on another shuffling step, reaching for a roll. T'rev can probably see exactly when the request is passed: a few seconds later Kai pauses again, looks squarely at the Weyrleader, and drops a nod. With someone waiting he doesn't loiter, but makes quick work of the rest of the line and then the distance to T'rev's table. "Hey," he says as he drops into a chair. "Nice day out there. Good for flying." A beat later, "You wanted t' see me for something?"
"Hey Kai," T'rev answers casually and sets the reports down, takes another pull from his mug and settles it down as well, leaning forward to fold his hands atop abandoned papers. "Yeah? Did Chielyth have fun?" He smiles and his head bobs. "I'm glad the weather's turned. Nice n' warm." Breath out. "Wanted to check in, s'all, see how you and Chielyth are doing."
B'kaiv breathes a laugh, one corner of his mouth turning up. "Course she did. We been out on sweeps. Early for her, but I told her she could go sleep by th' lake, so that's what she's doing." He pokes around his plate, trying to decide what to eat first, and settles for tearing the roll in half and mounding it with cheese. "We been good. You and Mecaith? Doing a'right?"
"Great," T'rev says with a slightly wider smile. "And yeah, hope she gets a good nap in." The weyrleader's elbows remain resting in place atop the table and he nods as Kai replies. "Good. No issues since you came back. Glad t'hear it. We're good, yeah. Things seem to be settlin' down, so."
B'kaiv says, "Good. Been working on th' new place," he aims a questioning look at T'rev. "You heard about that? Dunno what took so long, but Shevana said as I could use one of th' empty weyrs for my place. I been working on it, getting it clean and set up and all."
"Yeah, heard a thing or two," T'rev says with a grin. "I'll come buy a beer when you're open," the weyrleader continues mildly. "How're you lookin' to get set up?"
Kai mumbles something mostly unintelligible through a mouthful of food. He holds up a finger and hurriedly chews, swallows, tries again. "What d'you mean? I got furniture outta stores. No point in buying new if it ain't gonna last. Th' bar's th' hardest part, but I think I got a line on how t' get that set."
"Sure, not a problem to pull from stores. Meant ... you know, typical bar with a counter? How many days open? That kinda thing," T"rev says with an open-handed gesture and a roll of his shoulders.
B'kaiv ohs and reaches past his plate to sketch a rough map on the table. "Ledge here, gonna put a couple tables out when th' weather's nice. S'a big ledge, so there's room t' land still. Th' old wallow's th' main room, gonna have tables and a couple couches there. Then th' old weyr, that's th' bar. 'Nother table, some stools. Got seating for," he does quick math in his head, "say, 30 if th' place is packed. Only gonna be open a couple days a seven, at least t' start. Dunno how th' new Wingleader's gonna take it, right?"
Leaning forward a little, T'rev watches the movements of Kai's hand with interest. "That's a lot of space," the weyrleader says with a nod. "And sounds good - being open just the few days. Don't think anyone'd really complain about that."
"Bigger weyr'n Chielyth's," Kai agrees, settling back in his chair with a satisfied nod to the invisible map. "Dunno as there's never gonna /be/ 30 in there, but there's room for a couple more tables or something. Just a place t' go and play cards, you know? Nothing snooty." Another nod and he resumes his lunch. After a bit, "First beer for you's on th' house."
"How does she feel about it? The extra weyr and so on?" T'rev asks and shrugs at the remark about snootiness. "Sure. Hope the beer's good. Let me know if you need a recommendation on where to get some good stuff. There's a guy I know."
B'kaiv narrows one eye at the bronzerider. "Chielyth?" Though there's little chance he'd be asking after anyone else. Kai brushes it off. "She don't mind. Likes it. Gonna put a table down in th' wallow, but for now that's her spot when we're over there. Might end up leaving it open for her, dunno." He shoots T'rev another look but nods, shrugs just because, and spears a few slices of tubers. "Been nice, all this quiet."
"Sure - you know, Mecaith's got opinions on things, figured I'd ask about hers," T'rev answers, returning that narrow look with an open and frank one. "And with that big ledge, was thinking you know, she might like lying there. Good sun?" His klah mug is futzed with a little but he doesn't drink. "More time to do things that aren't related to raiders and panic," the weyrleader agrees with a nod. "Though there's still patrols goin' on of course. Sounds like his Lord Wardership might be lookin' to step down the pokin' around though. Especially if there's no hits over the summer."
Kai ahs understanding and expands, "Long as she gets t' fly and it don't take me away from her, she's plenty happy. She don't care about th' bar 'cept as it makes me happy, so." He shrugs before continuing to plow through his meal. "Yeah, we been keeping our eyes open on sweeps. Ain't seen nothing, though. Think it's more as they got their head down than they're gone, though. But who knows, maybe we got lucky last time, and we -did- get 'em all. Guess we'll find out, huh." He offers T'rev a crooked, rueful smile. "What about you? Think you're gonna follow his lead?"
"Good to know. Some dragons wouldn't understand so much," T'rev notes with a wry turn of one corner of his mouth and he picks up his mug this time. "Mm. Yeah, hard to say. A lot did get caught," the weyrleader says quietly and drums his fingers against the side of his mug. "No. Gonna keep on askin' people to keep their eyes peeled. Because I don't want any nasty surprises. Want our riders to stay close with holders too. Talk to people. Keep their ears open as well as eyes. Because maybe there's more we could've done or could do to prevent somethin'."
B'kaiv smirks without humor and nods, turns his attention to the very important task of sopping up gravy with some bread. "Look for firelizards too," he adds nice and quiet. "Dragons can ask them, maybe - they can talk t' 'em, yeah?"
"Yeah if they don't skitter off. Given how many you said they had ... it's a good spot to focus on. Could find out some more maybe, by catchin' the right ones, yeah?" T'rev turns his mug around and around watching the liquid inside swirl.
B'kaiv snorts but nods reluctant agreement. "That's th' hard part. It's /all/ th' hard part, but shells, there's a /lot/ t' look for." He nods, by way of example, to a nearby hearth, where a row of firelizards perch, dozing or chattering amongst themselves. "How many of them is ours? How many ain't? I dunno as there's no way t' tell."
"Yeah, hard to pin down. Probably why they went for that for talkin' back and forth, don't you think?" T'rev muses thoughtfully. "Still. Firelizards like to talk and if Chielyth likes to listen to them for one, or other dragons ... "
"Easy t' take messages too," Kai agrees, sending the firelizards a sour stare before refocusing on his lunch and T'rev. "I can try t' get her t' listen, sure. They don't like her, but they don't -not- like her neither. She can try at th' lake, maybe." Another bite later, with his voice dropped yet farther, "Did you tell M'try what I done?"
"Most of ours are banded, Fort colors. Though I guess not everyone still does that," T'rev says with a hand rubbed to his chin. "They don't? Hm. Yeah, seems to be a case by case basis with Mecaith. I think he's too slow for most lizards, but at the same time, some of them seem to like the fact that they can just kind of ... listen and his thoughts stick to one thing for a long time. That or they like some of his patterns." That last cocks T'rev's brows upward.
B'kaiv shrugs and works his way through the rest of his tubers, grunting where appropriate. "They ain't fast enough t' keep up with her," he finally offers, having thought about it. "She likes playing with them at th' lake, but that ain't where she spends most of her time. I can ask her t' keep a ear out, any road. She might hear something."
"Oh in a straight up flight," T'rev nods a couple of times and downs some more of his klah, then in an undertone, offers over a quiet: "Yes."
Displeased but thoughtful, the greenrider doesn't say anything for a good handful of seconds. "Next time," he suggests, "you wanna /tell me/ if you been telling people so I don't got t' go around threatening t' bust people's jaws? He was yapping about it middle of th' sharding /caverns/." Kai's not angry, more like exasperated; he twists about in his chair to scan the room, but doesn't find whoever - if anyone - he was looking for. In a more normal voice, "You should come flying with me and Hattie sometime. Chielyth's been all over these rocks she found. Mecaith's like 'em, probably."
That hikes T'rev's brows a little further upward and his lips purse faintly with a touch of his own exasperation. "Great. Glad t'see our former harper studied up on the meanin' of the word 'confidential'." He looks around and makes a little face. "Was gonna pull you aside to talk through a thing or two, but not in the caverns." Speaking of. But, breath out. "Rocks?"
B'kaiv rolls his eyes, for once in complete agreement with T'rev. Boot party for M'try, hoorah! "Yeah," he agrees, either for 'not here' or 'rocks'. Or both. "You got nothing you're doing later?" There's a nod for the hides. "There's Gather up t' Lemos in a bit, too. Know how much you like gathers. --Both of you," he adds with a faint almost-smile.
"I'll ... have a little word with him," T'rev says quietly again and shakes his head. "A mostly free evenin' after finishing up with tis and a couple of chats with various folks. And Mecaith might need a little bit of oil - not a full go-over." His smile goes wide though and he nods. "Yeah, gather'd be nice. You bringin' someone along else?"
B'kaiv says, "Think I made it plenty clear - t' At're, too. He was close, dunno how much he heard." Will that let T'rev off the hook? ...Not entirely. "There anybody /else/ as knows things and I don't know about it? 'Cause let me tell you, people knowing things makes it real sharding itchy right between my shoulder blades." He shakes his head for the rest, stops to think but shakes his head again. "Nah."
"Just Jaeyi," T'rev replies, still in an undertone and looking none-too-pleased still about how that particular bit of confidentiality went. "No? Hm. Y'know, we should go grab Hattie by her elbows and bring her along. Make sure she gets a couple of good dances in and ain't thinkin' about any work."
Kai nearly spit-takes but manages to keep it together and wipe a hand across his mouth while shooting T'rev a dark oh-you-didn't-just-say-that look. "/Jaeyi/? Shit." He almost says something more, doesn't, says something -else- and doesn't say that either. Finally, after another swallow (this one wholly more successful), he manages a nod and something approximating a normal tone. "Yeah. Yeah, I like taking her dancing. I call th' first toss dance." A beat and he adds, "With her, not you."
"Mm. Can talk about it on the way over to relieve Hattie of her paperwork," T'rev drawls out with a bit of a grin on his face and finishes off the rest of his klah. "Didn't think I was your type, nope. And I'm not sure even you could get me up high enough in a toss dance and have it still be a dance," the weyrleader notes, but he's pushing his chair back, a gleam of good-natured humor in his eyes.
B'kaiv only /hahs/ before finishing off the rest of his meal and shoving back his chair. "You ain't. Could throw you around plenty, though." He narrows one eye at the bronzerider, not -precisely- teasing. But then again, neither is he not /not/ teasing. By the time he's cleared his plate, T'rev'll have the chance to gather his hides, and the two can head off to invade Hattie's privacy.
"Mmm. Plenty of throwin', not so much graceful pirouettin'," T'rev says with a laugh as he tucks hides under arm and picks up his mug to drop in the dirty dish bin. "C'mon, let's go find us a junior weyrwoman."
Hattie's Burnished Fretwork Weyr
Leading in someway from the ledge, the space is initially lopsided in shape, almost longer than it is wide. Most of the surfaces in this part of the cavern are smooth, including that of the wallow, rock warn down to a polished sheen beneath blankets and turns of use. Behind the wallow lies a tall tree constructed from various bits of driftwood, ornaments in silver, white and blue hanging from its branches.
Beyond the narrow entrance to the rider's weyr, the cavern is spacious and well-appointed. Small arrangements of glows have been placed on outcroppings and inside nooks roughly midway up the walls, to create a bar of light that casts fainter illumination towards both ceiling and floor. The room itself is a tip-tilted oblong, clearly divided into 'work' and 'home' by the first of two, tall fretwork screens coated in dark varnish. The first section houses table, chairs and comfortable furniture in natural tones, obviously doubling as a meeting area. Behind the screen sit, bed, hearth, bookcases and couch, brighter colours able to be glimpsed through fretwork. At the back of the weyr, the second of the screens hides the bathing chamber and its oval-shaped pool.
Obvious exits:
Out
Now here's a sight you don't see everyday: B'kaiv and T'rev walking side by side across the bowl, for all intents and purposes chatting amiably. "Mecaith talked t' her yet?" Kai says as they reach the level of Elaruth's ledge. "Or we just dropping in surprising-like?"
Cocking his head to the side, T'rev nods. "Elaruth anyway. But I think a little but of surprise might be a good idea," the weyrleader says slowly, thoughtfully. A deep breath taken, let out and then T'rev starts up the steps to the weyr.
Really, it can't be any kind of shocking to discover that Hattie has managed to find a dozen or so new hides to fold into the collection she's got set out across the table in her weyr. Or that she's sat eyeing one of them and comparing it to the next, her lifemate far less involved and curled up in her wallow, seeming utterly bored. Activity outside has Elaruth lifting her head and looking up, but she doesn't move further than that, nor does she warn her rider that there're people out there. Nor will she if they wander past her.
"Gotta wake Chielyth up," Kai adds, distracted. He gives Elaruth a quick smile and a nod, looks over at T'rev as if to make sure the bronzerider is still there, then moves past the gold to invade Hattie's inner sanctum. "She's working," he tosses over his shoulder, utterly unsurprised by this turn of events. "Hattie, when's th' last time you gone outside?"
Strolling along after Kai, seemingly casual, T'rev casts a look inside and rubs at his chin. "I think it's probably been too long," he tells the greenrider 'confidentially' and moves further inward, nudges a toe at the foot of one of Hattie's trunks. "Do you still have some pretty skirts hidden away in there?" he questions next, tone mild and looks up at Hattie. "Because I think you should come with us and show Lemos a thing or two about the toss dance."
Hattie hesitates with her pen midair and just /stares/. B'kaiv. T'rev. B'kaiv. T'rev. And back again. "I went to get breakfast this morning. Then I went to the Records. Then I travelled back here," she states. "When's the last time you thought of calling ahead before blundering into a person's weyr?" Evidently something about the greenrider's question has already got her on the defensive. Perhaps everything is still processing, for she doesn't have time to stop her features twisting in confusion or distaste. "I'm sure I could show them a thing or two, but today is not my day off."
"Did," Kai says simply, jerking his head at T'rev and thumb back at Elaruth. He's dressed up - for Kai, which mostly means his clothes don't look like he dragged them from the bottom of a heap somewhere, and probably saw an iron sometime in the last few days. "S'a real nice day out there, Hattie. Them hides don't care if you do 'em when it's sunny or raining." Daringly, he reaches to try and pluck the pen from her hand. It's Kai, of course, so he's probably not even going to notice if she wallops him one.
Looking up T'rev starts to shake his head to warn Kai off of grabbing Hattie's pen, but it's likely a little too late. THe weyrleader's gaze shifts to the goldrider though and he takes a step forward, holds up his own sheaf. "I've got these to work through m'self. So it'll be an hour or so yet. But we'd like to formally request the honor of bein' your escorts to the Lemos gather. Business hours'll be over soon. And we've both got a hankerin' to take you for a spin on the dance floor and make complete idiots of ourselves."
Hattie determinedly hangs onto the pen for a moment before releasing it and jumping her hand away as though burnt; fingers actually curling into a fist. It can't be one aimed for Kai, however, being that she can't mean to punch him like that unless she means to break her thumb. Dark eyes glance over to the entryway, but she dismisses it soon enough and looks back down at the table for a long, long, /long/, time. When she looks up again, she blinks a few times, eyeing first Kai, then T'rev before asking quietly, "Do I get to make an idiot of myself too?"
B'kaiv, stubborn as she is, tugs until he pulls the pen free and offers half a smile as payment. While she's quiet he ambles around the room but ends up leaning on the wall closest to Elaruth rather than poking his nose into things he doesn't want to know about. "If you want. C'mon, Hattie, don't go trying t' tell /me/ you don't like dancing. You're just sore it weren't your idea." He pokes a thumb at the gold. "'Sides, Chielyth wants t' go flying with Mecaith and Elaruth. You ain't gonna tell -her- no?"
Nodding along with Kai, T'rev grins up at Hattie. "We can even go incognito if y'like, for maximum idiocy," the weyrleader quips mildly and tips his head towards the out-of-doors. "That or y'know, someone's gotta keep me from bein' an ass, right?" He takes a breath, lets it out. Mecaith's definitely keen on the company." Still conversationally spoken.
Now staring down into her lap, fingers laced tightly together, Hattie shakes her head and states, "No, I wouldn't tell her no." She peers up and over at T'rev, adding, "Or him." It takes another few seconds for her to decide to get to her feet and line a couple of stray hides up in the process. "I think, maybe, that today somebody else will have to prevent you from being an ass, because I don't intend to wear my knot, which means neither of you are going to either. Got it?" She folds her hands behind her back. "Maximum idiocy, yes?"
B'kaiv not only doesn't play fair, he doesn't care that he doesn't play fair, though his smile fades at the byplay between the others. "What's th' knot got t' do with nothing? ...What's ingot - shells. Nito-thing?" He checks with Elaruth, in case she knows, but Hattie's probably a better bet.
"Excellent," T'rev crows out with a gleeful little grin. "Then I get to just plain be an ass," and he beams over at Kai. "Incognito, undercover. When we go, we're just Kai, Trev and Hattie, not greenrider, weyrleader and weyrwoman. You good with that?" And Mecaith lets out a quiet whuff from just outside.
"You not having to punch any idiot bronzeriders who try to charm me because of the knot," Hattie adds in a faintly teasing tone, with a nod over in Kai's direction. "Of course, if any idiots try it for the heck of it, then please, you're quite welcome to." She tugs at the hem of her shirt, gaze seeking out the nearest trunk and likely location of a dress of some sort. "Now, are you boys intent on sticking around to see me undress, or shall we meet in the bowl later?" That said, she doesn't actually appear all that concerned about either of them seeing her get changed. Quietly, very quietly, Elaruth rises to her feet, nosing first the way of the entryway and Kai, then she pads out to her ledge to say a proper hello to Mecaith.
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Kai tells Hattie, though he sends a shrug T'rev's way. "You don't want no knots, sure, but it's gonna be kinda obvious t' anyone as sees us land." He pushes off the wall anyway, pausing to give Elaruth another smile, then jerks his head invitingly at T'rev. "Bowl's fine. I got t' wake Chielyth up anyway. You coming?"
Chuckling, T'rev just grins at Kai. "And you know about the trick of landin' off a ways so you don't get seen," he reminds the greenrider, face alight with mischief. He cocks a look over at Hattie, winks at her. "You know I'd enjoy that show for too much, so I'll be on my way with my good friend here and get the last of what I need to squared up and change out into somethin' as doesn't scream 'weyrleader of Fort'. See you in a bit." ANd so saying, he tags after Kai.
"I just offered to let you punch regular morons, what more do you want?" Hattie questions rhetorically, something similar to a grin directed over at Kai. "But yes, with that," and she points specifically at T'rev, "in mind, everybody out. I'll be ready in a little while." The goldrider turns back to the hides, to start figuring out which need the most attention after she's changed, but she looks up at the last minute and says quietly, "...Thank you," to both green and bronzerider. Though she has to look away again, sharpish, back to business until it's time to leave.
Going to a gather? With them two? Never woulda thought. Got enough time to let Chielyth sleep a little more, maybe get a quick wash.
Continued in part two