Living Caverns

The rough-hewn majesty of this cavern far outpaces any delight in the multitudes of curves that form its enclosure. The glabrous grey granite is shot through with translucent obsidian, lending subtly-veined sparkle to the walls and the foot-trodden smoothness of the floor that shows centuries-old placements of the scarred trestle tables; carven hollows give homes for the glow baskets and the coat-pegs that line the walls. No mosaics, no painting, no tiles: just a few well-done tapestries mark the pathway that lead to the kitchen to the north and the inner caverns to the west, and frame the nighthearth's stew and snacks, while a heavier strip of oiled canvas shields the unwary from the wind in the bowl.

Sorana and Lylia are here.

"You haven't met D'renn?" Lylia's response comes out as a squeak. Maybe she's gotten too used to teasing some... "He's a bluerider, and the Weyrlingmaster. He's interesting." Her grin widens, turning a little evil. "And T'sin's a bronze rider, but I don't know him, just seen him sometimes..." Trailing off, she shrugs and returns to stroking her new pet.

Sorana shrugs a bit /too/ nonchalantly. "Nope, never heard of them. I'll keep that in mind, though." She peers with interest at the little bronze. "So, how'd you get him?"

"What about D'renn?" A blond head peers down at a little bit of 'lizard lump, peeking up to reveal Lis' face when she hears the mention of that bluerider again. With a turn of a heel, she's in a klah-pot-ly direction, still offering bits of meat to a tawny little brown.

Draxus walks in from the Central Bowl.

Draxus enters and smiles to everyone "Hello."

Lylia glances back up, this time grumbling. "Sleeping on the floor." Realizing no one was up when she was stomping around, she clarifies. "Silly gold of Tiri's decided that after I rolled off my cot, it would be a perfect place to keep her eggs warm." Now she's real cranky. "I was still irked this afternoon, since the stupid thing wouldn't leave. But I snatched an egg for revenge, and it hatched on me." Slight tender smile peeking through the irritated expression, Lylia once again looks at the blaring pink, pointing. "Should got the queen to nest in those."

D'renn strides in from the Central Bowl.

"D'renn? Nothing. Just discussing his undergarments." Lylia's so sweet and innocent. "Where'd ya get that?" Her pointing switches to the little brown on Lis's arm, her own bronze peering sleepily at it.

Did someone mention his name? And his underwear? By some means of summoning, D'renn has appeared in the living cavern, a reasonably relaxed expression on his face even as he glances past those two pairs of pink boxers. He's hardly going to recognise them as his own, after all...

Liseria furrows her brows at Lylia. It just keeps getting better... Turning towards the boxers, the girl smirks at the now-pink abdominations. "I see... Oh, Kythe? Tiri's gold was swooping about the Living Cavern, and I got one dropped near me." Lis peers past her fellow Candidate, spotting the man of the candlemark: D'renn. Fingers are waved blue-rider wards before the girl's cheeped at plaintivly by Kyther.

"Hello!" Suddenly masked by innocence, the halo nearly visible, Lylia turns to the rider and smiles. Nope, she didn't say nothin'. Peering back at Liseria, she chuckles. "Least you didn't have to fight for it. Good thing Impressing little Quenn made her annoyed enough to leave."

Sorana grins at Lylia. "I see. I was /wondering/ why you looked tired." She nods to D'renn, naiively, then peers at Lylia as her friend aquires a 'halo'.

"Lylia? /Why/ were you mentioning my underwear?" D'renn has to ask - and peers in vain around the cavern, trying to spot his blue boxers.

"But you didn't have to listen to a ranting Tiri," Lis puts in dryly. "But fighting off a gold doesn't sound like a bowl of tunnelsnake stew either." As she pours herself a mug of nice 'Reaches klah, Lis starts to go off on a tangent of vague metaphors. D'renn's question gets a head-lifting from Liseria. Once she's put the pot down, of course.

Gekoki arrives from deeper in the Weyr.

She's sweet as a sweetstick, this candidate would neeevvveeer do anything bad! Lylia nods with sudden enthusiasm to Sorana, still wincing at the bruises from sleeping on stone. "Underwear? /Me/, mentioning your underwear?" Nope, Ly's resisting making the comment. "Oh... just wondering if Auri was right about you and dragons." Her eyes pointedly shift towards the pink boxers, the radiant decorations of the caverns.

D'renn's eyes follow Lylia's gaze, scanning across those dragon-painted boxers. "They're not /mine/, are they?" The tone of his voice rather suggests that they better not be... and blue eyes flash a stern gaze around the caverns, lighting even on non-Candidates.

Draxus looks around innocentley "I just got here!" starts to back outta the room. "Well i am gonna go take a look around" He flashes a slight smile.

Draxus walks out.

Sorana blinks several times, peers closer at D'renn's knot, and gives a little yelp, scooting back a bit. She bites her lip, tiptoeing a bit to the side. It wasn't me, I swear!

A muffled, choking explosion of laughter suddenly bursts from Liseria's side of the cavern, the Candidate trying to hide in the darker recesses of the Living Caverns' tables. She brings her mug up in front of her smile, shrinking as minutely as possible into her chair.

"What was Tiri rantin' about?" Lylia raises an eyebrow, little puzzled. "Though I'd rather have her than that gold of hers! She's scary!" Unvoluntarily shivering at the thought of the cranky gold, her attention is driven back to D'renn. "Are what yours?" Batting her lashes, she points to the ones with the white. "I was told to come down to see these recently, and I heard those are T'sin's..." She's avoiding the dragon-covered pair, and a glare is shot towards Lis. Shh! Lylia must protect her friends...

Gekoki is a Candidate, and so wilts under D'renn's look even as she comes in. Recovering from it, she flashes a glance at the boxers, admiring the results of what she had heard talked about but not observed for herself. "Er..." is all she can really say, edging away from the blonde-dragon-painted-pink-boxers.

"They /are/ mine, aren't they." This isn't a question, it's a statement of fact... and from the way D'renn is looking at just those with Candidate knots, he's got a fair idea of who to blame.

Sorana gives an inadvertant sigh of relief. Lookit her, she's not white decorated. That means that she can't be to boame, right? Sorana walks slowly to a table, then takes a cup of klah. Mmm-mm good...

"Er..." Shoving back a squeak, Lylia tries to make her way closer to the door while keeping the irritated bluerider from noticing. Now she casts a smirk towards Lis--watch out. "If you mean the blonde dragon ones..." Poor little Lylia hesistates. "I /heard/ they /may/ be..." She's not admitting to nothin' directly.

Draxus walks in from the Central Bowl.

Draxus enters slowly hoping not to be noticed as he goes and sits in front of the fire and gets some klah.

Nadesda comes out of the kitchens, the smell of fresh baking following just behind.

Liseria shuts up really good now, after that tactless snort that escaped from her earlier. Mug is sipped with the least of slurps, one hand over Kythe's muzzle as the girl slinks still lower into the armchair - by now her chin's fairly below her tucked-up knees.

Draxus sips his klah and looks around. He wonders if D'renn has calmed down with a chuckle he turns his attention to the fire.

Gekoki tries to keep the small crowd of the living caverns between her and D'renn, shifting back and forthto keep a particularly tall and wide person in front of her. She didn't have anything to do with it, nuh uh, but she doesn't expect D'renn to check before sending all the Candies in sight to do extra chores...

From Lylia's shoulder, Quenn cheeps nervously, his humanpet's movement knocking him out of sleep. Neep?

D'renn looms in Liseria's direction, as well as he can with his lack of height. "Liseria? You seem to know something?" Voice remains ominously calm.

Sorana hides a giggle with a cough-snort, then is quiet, sipping her klah innocently.

Now the candidate's /really/ shrinking back, even if she's not the one on trial. Lylia's eyes dart towards the door, then back at Liseria. Can't desert her new friend now. Skin so pale she matches the snow outside, Lylia digs her nails into her crossed arms. Oh dear... It's still funny, but this isn't good...

Height isn't too much of an issue, not with Liseria curled up into a little Ball of Candi in her chair. "Well, I heard - But I didn't think they'd really..." A stuttering breath is taken. "I didn't paint nothing!" Grammatical errors and all, the high-pitched denial is uttered proudly, the girl suddenly straightening up in her chair.

A billow of comforting warmth follows the smiling head chef as she makes her way through the doorframe with a kettle and tray in hand. Nodding amiably towards people that catch her attention, Nade makes her way towards the food table, her apron strings trailing behind her. Setting the hot klah down upon a hot mat, she looks towards D'renn questioningly before relieving herself from the tray of steaming biscuts.

D'renn steps back from the previously-cowed Liseria, stepping over to take a hot biscuit. Tap-tap goes his left boot as he stands, munching, and looking back and forth around the Candidates. "So, is /anyone/ going to admit it?"

Sorana snorts from behind the shelter of her cup-o-klah. My, this is funny. To her, at least. The green-eyed hair cutter grins discretely at Lylia.

"Not if we aren't sure which of us did it," Lylia pipes up with some semblence of dignity returning. It was hiding in her sock. "I heard some mumblings about another clothing thing last night, but was too busy being tired to notice. This morning I just heard it from someone and came down. There's a lot of candidates." Even if she has any idea, the slightly scared candidate doesn't allow a hint. Even when she starts glaring at Sorana and her mug of klah. Lylia carefully keeps a neutral face for her next remark. "Pink is a nice color." Ly likes pink. Doesn't everyone?

Gekoki peeks out from behind her big person, and sends a glare out towards Sorana, though whether it reaches her is unsure. A fellow person being picked on for absolutely no good reason -of course, it might actually have been Lis, but that's not the point!- is no reason to get picked on.

D'renn stares up at his painted boxers again, foot still tapping. "They are really mine, aren't they?" he asks in a final, futile attempt at denial.

Ooops. Sorana recieves the glare, grimaces, and uses another gulp of klah to shove down that grin. Bad, mouth, bad. She glances around innocently, then returns her emerald gaze to the scene in front.

Liseria's form relaxes with the slightest of sighs once D'renn backs up. Eyeballs tense as glaring gaze peers 'round at the other Candidate faces: first Lylia, then Gekoki and anyone she can find wearing the infamous white knot. Finding no solace in simply staring at the suspects, D'renn gets a meek nod from Liseria. "Mm-hmm."

"They're, umm, hot." Pause. "Dun't burn yerself." Nade is almost sure that D'renn wouldn't appreciate loosing his attentive audience of Candidates due to him burning his mouth. Peering around the bluerider's shoulder towards the Candie's, she raises another questioning eyebrow -- that is, right before she notices the painted pair of gutchies upon the floor. Hands immidiately fly towards her mouth to prevent a gale of laughter from bubbling out of her system.

Harme shimmers his honeyed frame ::between::!

"Um... I think so." Lylia tries a tentative smile. "They're certainly interesting. Noticeable." Why, they're the best boxers in all of Pern! And you're glaring? It was a gift! Yep, Lylia's trying to keep her thoughts poisitive...

D'renn finishes his biscuit with just a sideways look for Nadesda. Thanks for the authority support, there. "So.... if no one person did the deed, I think that you'll all have to pay the price." This sounds ominous.

Dum-dum-DUM!

Sorana resists the urge to giggle...again. No, Sorana, not funny. Kinda. Another giggle smothered with a gulp of klah.

This is what Lylia dreaded. "But there's lots of candidates that it could have been! We just don't know who 'cause we were sleepin' and doin' our normal chores and stuff..." Shivering and wrapping her pale arms around her, Lylia nervously looks at the suddenly frightening and imposing bluerider. Oh, Sorana's gonna get it later...

Draxus looks at d'renn then at his boxers a chuckle escapes him but he quickly covers hi mouth and offers d'renn a cup of klah or a bubbly pie?

Oblivious to her impending doom, Sorana cheerfully finishes her klah, washes the cup, and sits back down to her unparalleled view of this...haranguing.

Liseria's eyes bug and her mouth opens with a softly indignant squeak, snapping her jaw shut hopefully before D'renn noticed too much. Brows raise near into her bronzen hairline as she watches Lylia dig herself into a hole... taking the rest of them with her, no doubt.

It's dark where Lylia is. A little pit of ruin. And she know's she's there.... "Sorana, you're grinning too much." She can't help it, the girl's beginning to bug her.

"Hmmm?" Sorana looks with oh-so-wide eyes to Lylia. "Grinning too much? Whyever would you think that?" *blinkblinkblink*

Nadesda recieves the side-ways glare and suddenly sobers up in enough time to gently shake her finger towards the assembled in a reprimanding manner. Shrugging, she scoops up a mug and pours a generous amount of sweetener into it before filling the remainder with klah. Bliss.

Sorana decides to leave right then. She doesn't worry about Lylia getting at her..it's the...irate...bluerider that she's worried. This gal's seen the sides be turned...smooches and hugs to all, she's beating a fast track outa here.

Frightening and imposing? D'renn? This is possibly a first... though he's scared more than a few weyrlings into behaving themselves, in his time. "Alright.... so.... unless someone admits to me by tomorrow who it was, the whole lot of you will find yourselves with a very unpleasant job to do." It's a promise, not a threat, and the dark tones of his voice indicate just that. Turning his back on everyone, he steals another biscuit... and gives Nadesda a wink.

Sorana goes home.

Oren moves heavily in from ::between::, silver claws gleaming!

Muttermutter. Under her breath, Liseria rattles off a string of grumblings: Unfair... Shards'nshells... Candidates. D'renn is peered at innocently throught her brows, however; the girl's gotten fairly good at turning herself into a reverent lump of Candidate.

"Okay...." Lylia's mind races. Who could it be? That candidate from Tillek who snores? That girl she hasn't spoken to yet? One of her friends? "Eep..." Squeaking, the young woman shivers, wondering if she'll be caught with extra chores. Not fun, no no no. Noticing the little bronze nearly slipping off her arm, any worries fly out the window. "Best let this little guy rest in my cot.... I'll see you all later." With a grin for her fellow white knot-wearers, and a shy smile at D'renn, she casts one last look at the hanging boxers and their lovely designs and heads back to the barracks. No one can hear her laugh there, anyway.

Lylia steps into the shadows that lead back into the Weyr.

Lightly licking the sacchrine from her roseate lips, Nade with-holds another bout of laughter -- this time away from the Candidates instead of the 'frightening bluerider'. Interested hazel gaze now ventures from Candidate to Candidate before landing, laughing, in her mug of klah.

Gekoki is having her own little glower-fest over by the tunnel further into the Weyr. It's not fair if everyone's being punished... She didn't do anything; at least let her get caught for something she did...

Hmm hah. D'renn turns to look back around the cavern, face absolutely bland - neither anger nor amusement flickers on his features. "I'll speak to you all tomorrow." And stealing another biscuit, the bluerider leaves, with one last look for his transformed undershorts.

D'renn exchanges the protection of stone for the bowl outside.