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.
Khia, Ariadiane, Auri, and Lylia are here.
Ariadiane blinks as Irim comes from between and she looks at the newly arrived gold and sighs then calls her gently as she recognises her.
Irimglig cheeps and glides gracefully down to the forearm of the girl who has called her so quietly.
"Hi, Aria!" Khia turns her head just to see her sister, and many other people that has 'followed' her. She'd thought she had the living caverns to herself... with the exception of the firelizards. "Ooh... Pretty gold! Is she yours?" she tries her best not to get her own gold any jealous at all. Besides, Sentanta always had tried to convince everybody that she /the/ golden beauty of Pern.
Ariadiane shakes her head, "Nope, she is my friends, I don't know why she's here though." she says tilting her head at the pretty.
Faye comes out of the kitchens, the smell of fresh baking following just behind.
Irimglig rumbles irratatedly.
La la. Skip, wander, and all that. Lylia enters the caverns and pauses. The stillness is broken by a single blink, as she peers up at the dripping, tied wineskins. For another moment, she doesn't move, but suddenly her silence is broken by laughter erupting from the candidate. "Lovely!" Clapping her hands together, Lylia dances out into the caverns, mouth open and tongue out to catch a precious drop. Her mind returns to her position as she notices the words. Mouth shut, she nods, mumbling. "No one else if the wine lovers can't!"
Khia fills the mug in her hand, more awkwardly with the weight of the nearly full pot of klah. "She's still pretty anyway," the girl shrugs, catching the stern glance sent at her from Sentanta, as if understanding what they are actually saying. "Yes, yes! You're pretty too!" she mutters to her gold, while noticing Faye enter, and sending a little wave to her friend.
Pyrene arrives from deeper in the Weyr.
Ariadiane glances at the gold in her hands. "Well. I'm going to send her home her other half is prolly waiting for her." she pushes the gold into the air and then she dissappears into the frozen between.
Irimglig suddenly disappears ::between::!
Auri arrives from deeper in the Weyr.
Attempts at robe-making discarded yet again, Pyrene enters the caverns and the gold convention apparently going on within. Kernow chirrs wide-eyed at all the others, but Tremayne merely snorts, nipping Pyrene's ear to grab him some food. Pyrene does so, ducking the odd wineskin as she moves to the table. "Afternoon all..." she says warily... nobody wants her to do chores do they?
Eyeing the ceiling for a moment, Faye grumbles, but scoots to her hearth haven before a dribble of wine topples onto her head, and before she goes completely insane. Another candidate prank. Whether they know it or not it's toughest on the cooks, food seems to be a big part in all these... jokes. She rolls her eyes and plops down on a seat, retrieving some leftover klah lazily. "'Lo Khia," she greets briskly, irritated at the prank.
Tagging along behind Faye, Ditzee emerges with - luckily enough - a bowl of meat. "Why, thanks, Ditzee," Lis mutters sweetly to the flashing-eyed blonde, wrenching the bowl from her grasp and sending Ditzee back towards the kitchens. "Now, Shoobie, let's just eat this over here?" I.e., out of range of those dangling wineskins.
"Auuuriii!" A whine eminates from Lylia. She really needs to stay away from the weyrbrats... "I wish we could have wine!" Sniffle, cry. A slow smirk does spread across her face. "But it's nice to see we aren't the only ones who can't have it."
Ariadiane waves at Pyrene "Hiya Py," she calls finding a place to sit in a big chair and dragging an odd blanket behind her.
Auri looks significantly happier than earlier today. Maybe due to...the wine windchimes. Sure there isn't wind inside, but hey. She grins at Lylia. "If we can't have any, nobody else can either!"
Pyrene spots Lis with the bowl of scraps and heads discreetly in that direction. "Liiissss..." she calls, that jarringly plaintive whine in her voice. "Could you let Mayne feed as well? And Pol... And Kerny..." as all the other lizzen set up creeling. Ariadiane gets glared at. "Don't /call/ me that!"
Ariadiane glances up at Pyrene "ok, Pyrene. I won't call ya that today.' she says being as annoying as she possibly can at the momment, while residing in the most comfortable chair there is at the momment.
Liseria watches Pyrene google-eyed as the former nanny brings her fair of 'lizzen over to her nice, quiet bowl. "Erm... sure..." She can't really say no, can she? Not with the odor of raw meat crinkling through the nostrils of /her/ fair, not to mention the various others 'round the room. As her eyes glance up from the redredred - and dripping, too - meat, she quirks a smile at Lylia and Auri's antics. Worse than firelizards, they are.
Auri dashes after her beloved former-nanny, constantly saying "Nanrene, nanrene, nanrene, nanrene, nareeeeene...." She stops in front of Pyrene, finally getting in front of her. "Where's my robe?" A drip falls on her head and she grins happily, turning head up to drink.
"'Rene! Hi!" Khia catches sight of the /former/ head nanny, which is now, of course, a candidate. "Icky. The 'caverns are all wet with... wine," she eyes the ceiling, where damp wineskins are in sight, dripping wine almost every minute. "Faye, can you get Psychedelic and Sentanta some meat... please?" the brat is trying her best not to risk being involved in Faye's 'anger' or irritation.
Lylia gives an approving, sharp nod. "Right! Such a pity..." A slight wistful sigh comes from her now, as her eyes look up at the hanging, delicious drink. Wiiiiiine. "A little depressing though. Suppose I should work on my robes, only started last night..." Sigh. Unconsiously, she rubs her needle-pricked fingers. Sewing nasty.
Faye sips the leftover klah, chestnut gaze bearing the tiniest hint of joy at the klah still being warm. She's too lazy today, best if no one bugs her for anything -- unless they're prepared to hear a grumpy cook hiss like an angry firelizard. "What?" she asks to Khia, preoccupied in continuously sipping the klah as she observes the candidates. Which one did it, hmm?
From Lylia's arms, Endymion chitters, eagerly squirming from his human creature's arms. Put me down! FoodFoodFoodFood!
Pyrene beams sunnily at Lis, good mood utterly restored. "Oh, /thank/ you... OK, shoo you lot... Lis'll feed you!" Well you didn't expect Pyrene to do it herself, did you? At any rate, the trio (just the trio) take up position around the bowl's rim. Tremayne spreading wings to get enough space, and Pol sidling protectively up to Kernow, never mind the fact that she's bigger than him now. Pyrene drops contentedly into a fireside seat. "Robes can wait... And I know Khia... But it wasn't me..." She casts a wary glance to the cook--never pays to be on their wrong side.
"I will?" The flaxen brows of Lis' are raised skeptically at Pyrene, but with resigned sigh the Starcrafter Candidate bows to the will of the 'Reacher. "Listen up, you lot," she barks softly at the ammassed trio. "You're gonna behave yourselves and eat /nice/ly." You'd think they were kidlets, not 'lizzen, the way Lis talks to 'em.
Faye's head is softly leaned against her bronze, irritation flickering along with her peering eyes every moment. Good tip, Pyrene. Who'd feed you, otherwise? Though now she feels like giving all the candidates some rotten tunnel snake--drip! A big, huge, more-than-large droplet of wine plops right on her head. She doesn't even /like/ wine. She casts a glance upwards but leaves it. Peachy.
From Lylia's shoulder, Solo chirrips. Food? Smell meat... but sleep first...
"Ah... Can you get meat for Sentanta and Psychedelic, please?" Khia repeats in her occasional polite manner, with might be only a small bit of a surprise. "I wish they put meat instead of wineskins up there, that'll occupy my pair of... flying stomaches," she doesn't recall to anybody in particular though she is more of talking to 'Rene.
Pyrene quietly shifts her chair out of range of any drips and just settles quietly with some redfruit juice, watching in heartfelt relief at getting a break. Tremayne is eating fastidiously and paying no attention to anything else. Kernow and Pol eat with the more common single-minded appetite... for now. And Pyrene merely looks vague at Khia. "Food? Oh Liseria's got it..." If Liseria ever opens up an all-you-can-eat firelizard buffet, she'll thank Pyrene for the advertising she's doing now.
Auri arrives from deeper in the Weyr.
Etain arrives from deeper in the Weyr.
Liseria whimpers at Pyrene sends more 'customers' her way. 'Rene doesn't have the bowl on her lap! Glancing 'round the cavern, Lis tries to hold the meat bowl away from her face - can't have that gouged by firelizard limbs, now can we? Shiftshift... muscles go numb off and on as Liseria sits in one spot for far too long.
"Oh, sure," Faye replies in a happier tone. She'd never be mean to her friends, of course. Though candidates, she can't be sure. Right now, by the look of her angered face she could do worse than rotten food, maybe put some rotten food /dangling/ up there. Hmph. She stands up and shuffles to the kitchen, returning with fetched a tray of wherry, herdbeast, and meatrolls. "May as well put a bunch of meat out," she grumbles, returning to her hearthish sanctuary again. No firelizard will dare touch that meat unless given to them by their human pet. Stay sanitary!
Tirone blinks in from ::between::!
Reno blinks in from ::between::!
Etain can't help but wonder if she is the only person who isn't a canidate.
Lylia glances up, tired of standing and watching the 'lizard restaurant. She leans against a wall, stretching out her legs. "Hello Etain, and Auri! Hiya..." The girl's eyes are once more on poor Lis. Can she even be seen through the pile of fire lizards?
Etain says, "Hi Lylia."
Reno struts up to Liseria, red-gold chest puffed out as he flizzen-swaggers up to her, tail waving in the air proudly. So what if he's just a hatchling? He's a /cool/ hatchling.
Faye is /not/ a candidate, and rather proud. How do people who do such rotten things for personal pleasure find themselves so special? Her peering eyes flash from firelizard to firelizard. Don't touch my food, you little monsters. Excpet my little babies here. She nuzzles her firelizards, all three perched contentfully on her shoulders. Strawberry will take the wine spills, and Denim the food. Blueblue will stay here?
Poldhu chirrs sweetly at Lis, his appetite tapering offnow--which only means that he can play more with his food and encourage Kernow et al to do likewise--terrible influence that he is!
Pix flies about the caverns, warbling in the most ridiculous manner, stopping to hover periodically in front of each female to give a cheeky squawk. Tirone just sits and stares icily. She snorts at Pix's antics. Idiot.
Quenn chirrs irritably at the weird little brown. More like /foolish/ hatching. Now he's a young bronze, quite the nice one.
"'Lo Lylia!" comes the plaintive voice, the mouth shrouded by green, blue, brown, bronze and even the odd gold winged beasties. Liseria: the firelizard perch and feeding trough. "Aw, don't crowd so much! There's only /so/ much meat, y'know!" And Lis doesn't want to be stuck there with an empty bowl, no no no.
"There! Meat for you both to share, now stop bothering me!" Khia shoos both her firelizards from her shoulders quickly, also sending a relieved thanks towards Faye. Sentanta dives for the food first, about to devour everything in mere /seconds/ but ends up eating slowly in a more appropriate manner of her kind.
Psychedelic simply does the opposite, plunging downwards, aiming for the food, and tries to snatch all the meat he can, as he also struggles to fit an entire meatroll in his mouth.
Faye releases Strawberry, who launches into the air.
Strawberry chirps viciously, attempting to shoo away the awful little monsters. Stay away! I'm warning you! Before.. before! Eep! Lookit, lookit! Faye's already looking angry 'gain!
"Errr.... want a little help?" Lylia raises an eyebrow, glancing at the poor little candidate. Where is she? Somewhere under there, she supposes... "If I can do anything to keep you from being munched to death, that is."
Liseria peeks out from around the tiny wings of her Kythe. "More. Meat. Please?" Gutteral, yes, but hopefully it'll get the point across to Lylia. The girl peers at her bowl, noticing that there's only a few, pathetic scraps in there as it is. And /still/ more 'lizards are coming!
Siannen walks in from the Central Bowl.
Faye rumbles, eyeing the firelizards, just like a dragon! It's Faye-Dragon! Well.. not quite. It's Faye-Angry! She sips her klah, not letting her eyes flutter away from the firelizards. "Psychedelic, Sentanta, stay away from that.. you little monsters, acting like 'brats! And--hey, that could have been for people, too!" She falls into her seat, a heap of what used to be a cook. All those evil firelizards. 'Cept her own.
"Yeah... else there may be a riot..." Shuddering, Lylia heads for the kitchen. 'Least her own have been fed. And Solo's but a lump on her shoulder. A sleepy, chubby lump. Time to save the drowning Lis...
Pyrene sits and bithely ignores Liseria's plight. She's got redfruit juice. And she's not a nanny so Siannen's entrance can be overlooked.
Lylia heads north into the redolent depths of the kitchens.
Strawberry's eyes turn a radiant reddish orange, irritated just like his human pet. STOP! He starts tackling all the firelizards, before all the meat is gone. Pernese firelizard football? Tackle, tackle, peck? Sure, his own tummy is rumbling, but here's a bronze with /discipline/.
Pix swoops low, grabs a piece of meat, and offers it to the ladies, specifically Sentanta and Shoobie. Roni is ignored, not that she minds. Auri sits in her seat with head turned back, hoping to catch a few drops of wine. And then Siannen arrives. "Sian!" *whoosh* Auri goes flying towards her friend in ecstasy.
Siannen shrieks as she spots her sidekick in the crowd, catching the flying candie up in a big hug. "Auri!! Ooooh, you got a new knot, and you're a candie, an, ooooooohhhh!!!!"
Locke blinks in from ::between::!
Etain says, "Hello Sian"
Shoobie pokes her delicate sunbeam nose into the last bits of meat, going after something that looks good - mush fat. Slluuurrrpp goes the gold, in goes the meat, and squawk goes Kythe as she steals the meat out from under him. Pix's meat is given an interested sniff. For me?
Yolk blinks in from ::between::!
Auri giggles wildly, reuinited with her partner in crime. "Yup, I'm a candie-cane, n' I got a new knot, and a new bed, and a new firelizard, n' I like wine, n' I like sweetsticks, n' if I can't have any, neither can anyone else! So there!" She beams. "Siannen!" is shouted out once more.
Creeeeelll. Locke peers around, fluttering. The brown that is better than all other browns has entered. So here I am! But what's that dripping on me? And what's that smell... meat?
Pyrene glances around at the crowds and suddenly decides that perhaps the barracks would actually be /quieter/ than the caverns tonight. Taking pity on Lis, she calls off her lizards and slips gently out. Besides... Siannen and Auri together are scary.
Strawberry grumbles, continuously tackling all the firelizards before his human pet starts doing it herself. That would be.. mildly amusing? Faye groans and sighs unhappily. "Show 'em, 'Berry," she mutters, reading to smack all of those evil little.. evils. Someone please, get the firelizard riot control?
Siannen manages to find a couple of /clean/ sweetsticks in her pocket and plops one into Auri's hand. "Oh, that is sooooo awesome!! If you get a draggie can it come live wif me an Ris an Ty?"
Liseria lets out a relieved sigh as one of the 'Brat-Candidates slips out from the kitchen, gleefully ducking 'neath the wobbling wingspars of Lis' amassed fair to pour more scraps of meat into her bowl. Lis mumbles a word of thanks before it's back to ducking the whipping limbs of 'lizards. That wingclaw almost got her, it did!
Pix gives the gold a rakish grin, showing pointy teeth. Of course for you my sweet...um...firelizard queen. Tirone just snorts, then notices that handsome bronze appear. Ooh, and he's older, and even more good-looking. A pleasant cheep is sounded out to Yolk.
Khia attempts to secretly steal a meatroll from her firelizard's tray, though Psychedelic watches, forcing her away from /his/ meat. Sentanta slips away from her own meat, more interested in the meat offered to her... Well her and Shoobie. But it should be /her/. She examines the meat, eyeing Shoobie cautiously but a softer glance is given to Pix.
Etain wonders what her two friends are like in action. She has heard of their rep, but never actually seen them in action/
Yolk trills, his vocal talents having mellowed, but not too much, since he's still a little off-key. Hellllo Roni!
Pix takes to his large, scarred wings. Not thread-scarred, but, well apron-scarred. He swoops high and low, doing aerial acrobatics galore, dipping, and diving, flipping, turning, somersaulting, all while warbling quite singsongily.
Shoobie swoops away from Pix, being young and naive and easily distractable, like Lis. Leaving the Pix-offered meat to Sentana, she ecstatically burries her nose into some more fat-rippled meat. It's yummy, it is.
Strawberry snorts loudly, trying to get some sort of attention. Not succeeding, the irritated bronze swoops up and tries to prevent Pix from impressing the golds with food. Unless they all want to be smacked by Faye..