You amble northwestwards to the bright and cheerful living cavern.
S'vilen pulls a small flask from inside his vest, tipping clear liquid into the remains of his cider. There being only a few sips of cider left, he appears to add quite a bit. He recaps the flask, tucks it away and lifts the cider for a long sip. He hasn't noticed Kadan lurking and watching, yet.
Sisala arches an eyebrow at that, "Explaining it is /not/ a waste of time." She frowns at Kaysera, "You're part of the weyr... just because you don't have a lifemate.. doesn't mean that dragons don't impact it. If you are curious... we can try." She's not been a rider long.. just give her a chance to talk about her dragon.
Jalis considers for a moment then gets a brilliant 'I have an idea' look on her face. "Well, Kaysera, is it? Do you have any siblings, like a little brother or a little sister?" She begins hopefully. She glances Kadan's way, inspecting him curiously.
Kadan chooses this moment to pipe up, possibly because he's finished his cake. "S'easy," he informs Kaysera, with his biggest, brightest, most innocent-est grin. And it's not a bad effort. "It's easy to admire someone from far away, a Lord, say, but once you get up close, you probably find that they're more or less the same as you. They fight with their spouse, hate greens, whatever. Dragons look beautiful from a distance, but they're kinda normal too, once they're in your head, I suppose. Mother was always squabbling with her lifemate, but they still loved each other. It was just how they were." As he concludes this little speech on social relations, he snitches another snack from another passing tray, pulling a slight face as he discovers it's a sandwich.
With a languid stride, Ilesyn crosses the cavern, drawing up in front of the hearth as she seeks out cider. With this in hand, she steps across the room again, turning her gaze about as she searches for an empty seat - this, she finds by chance near to the general group, watchfully glancing about the table, issuing a short nod, before she ducks her head towards her cider, as yet silent, though doubtlessly listening.
Kaysera looks at Sisala and nods, "I suppose your true there Sisala." Looking to Jalis, she nods, "One of each..." she answers not really knowing what they have to do with anything. She turns to look at Kadan ashe speaks his mind too. "Alright. I suppose that's true too." she then glances at the entering Ilesyn, offering a very quick nod before turning back to Jalis. "What about them then?"
Sisala grins, slightly, at Jalis' words. She leans back in her seat, just watching and waiting for the lesson to come.
S'vilen drinks the rest of his artificially hard cider down and watches Jalis as well, expression blank.
Kaysera figures by the look on everyone's faces that she's walked right into this one. She doesn't seem too upset by this though, rather she seems to /want/ to listen.
Jalis nods and then says "Well then imagine how much you love your sibling, but how much of a pain they can be some times when they want to play just when you need to do something important." She says after some long moments of thought in order to get it out all right in a way that Kaysera might understand. "Or when you have to make them something to eat, just when you were getting some sleep. Or when they come to you cranky and upset or with a bad tummy, when you need to wash the dishes."
Kaysera mulls this over in her mind for a moment before agreeing. "Alright, I get it." she smirks, "Thanks for explaining in lamens terms for me." She then nods and takes the last gulp of her Klah.
Jalis looks relieved and nods "I'm glad to be able to. I don't ever like or intend to make anyone feel left out or leave them bereft of understanding." She assures the young woman. Then she glances at Kadan and says sharply, "You look like the feline who caught a chicken and has feathers all around its mouth while trying to look innocent. Just what are you up to?"
S'vilen stands up. "Or when they want something you simply can't give them without screwing your own life up," he says flatly, setting his empty cider cup on the table, swooping up his gloves and heading towards the bowl with a nod to the people he'd been sitting with.
Sisala smirks as Jalis' attention moves to the gambler, and she glances towards her sibling. "Siv?" SHe calls out, uncertainly, watching him confusedly. She pushes back in her seat, untucking her feet.
Ilesyn returns Kaysera's nod languidly - almost carelessly, and certainly without overt interest; her gaze has fallen towards Jalis, and she's listening, for once silent, her fingers tapping against the edge of the table, and about the rim of her ceramic mug. As Jalis draws attention to Kadan, her own attention shifts: "Don't trust him," she notes, rapidly. "He's not trustworthy. A real troublemaker."
Jalis shoots a curious look in S'vilen's direction at that comment. She looks like she'd desperately like to be in on the know of what caused that outburst.
Jalis turns to look at the healer. "He isn't?" She says, voice growing suspicious. "What'd he do to you that made you say that?"
Kadan starts - what's this, attention? That's usually not good. "Me, ma'am? Nothing, ma'am!" Ilsyn is favoured with a hurt gaze, as slightly dirty fingers rake back his unmanageable hair. "I was just doing what the Weyrsecond told me to do. He said it was worth learning about dragonpoker, so I was in there learning. Can't help it if they didn't like how fast I learned..." One might suspect he had a little previous, undisclosed experience with the game.
S'vilen doesn't seem to hear Sisala's call, muttering under his breath as he heads out into the cold winter air.
S'vilen walks off westwards to the center bowl.
"He's not," avers Ilesyn. "He knows how to play all right." She listens, as he speaks, continuing lazily, "In fact, he knows enough so that he cheated a bunch of young boys-- and got them mad enough to dunk his head in the stew." Her expression is all innocence, a smile put in place as she turns her face back to Kadan, "Isn't that right?"
Sisala pushes herself up, and then murmurs, "Excuse me." Hide is swiped up and tucked under her arm, but her untouched plate of food and half-drunk glass of wine are left on the table.
Kaysera nods, "I appreciate it." she gives her thanks to Jalis once more, nodding a farewell to S'vilen. She then peers at Kadan and watches as these event unfold, light smirk spread over her face.
Jalis wrinkles her nose. "Thats gross." She gives Kadan a dirty look, "That's awful. How can you stand yourself?" She wonders, then to Ilesyn, "Healer, they dumped out the pot of stew didn't they? It wasn't too hot I hope? I don't see any burns on the lad so it must not of been so hot that he was burnt."
Jalis adds in a disgusted voice "But well he looks rather dirty so I hope they dumped out the stew."
Kadan is all injured innocence, drawing himself up straight (which doesn't add a lot of height) as he tries a defence. "Well, I told them to empty it out, but they wouldn't. Didn't I risk life and limb to warn the innocent, though?" This last is an appeal to Ilesyn. "They might have been a group of young boys, but they were all bigger than me, I'll tell you that. And I smelt like stew for days!" Any minute now someone's going to think /he's/ the victim. "Honestly, if they hadn't seen a trick as simple as that before, I was performing a service showing it to them. They could have been taken in for far worse stakes!" See? It was the right thing to do!
Kaysera chuckles lightly and stands, managing to pick up her mug and Sisala's plate and glass. She makes her way to the kitchen and re-appears not soon after without any of these items. She waves to the room in general, not saying a word as to disrupt the conversation, and heads out.
Ilesyn shakes her head, as her gaze is returned to Jalis, "I'm afraid not. This was-- a few sevendays ago. They served the stew. I don't know about burns," her eyebrows lift, meaningfully, "but I would say that he deserved any he recieved." She lifts the ceramic mug in front of her towards her lips, taking a slow, almost deliberate sip, partially toothless grin eerily grim about the edge of the mug. "Seems to me you like to try and excuse yourself from a lot of things," she says, almost darkly. "I still think I could do a lot for you."
Jalis starts to actually look kind of sympathetic. "Poor lad." But then she ruins it all by saying. "I guess that'll teach you." She snorts in matronly disgust.
Kaysera walks off southeastwards to the darker inner cavern.
Sisala walks off westwards to the center bowl.
Kadan does the hard-done-by thing well, lowering his gaze as though in shame, small shoulders dropping. "I'm sorry. I'll try to be more of a credit to the weyr ma'am, I promise." And he's turning, shuffling off towards the kitchens. Perhaps the only problem with the performance is that he spoils it by pulling his pack of cards out of his belt pouch while he's still in view, a small smile visible on his profile as he trots into the kitchens. Another one's born every minute.
Ilesyn's expression turns dark, her eyes following Kadan out of the room. "I don't trust him. Not in the least," she declares, her head shaking. "He's got that innocent look, with which he will try and deceive us all, I'd wager." Another slow sip of her cider is taken, head shaken as if she were an old auntie waggling her finger at the youth of today.
Kadan'd wager too, but I wouldn't wager with him if I were you. (Kadan)
Jalis just shakes her head and gives Ilesyn a meaningful look. "He's one of those lads who'll never learn I reckon. " She murmurs this to the healer as the boy makes his way to the kitchens. Then she sighs. "Well speaking of never learning. Ceristh wants to be oiled as soon as she wakes, and I freed up my afternoon for it. Her belly's stretching out with the eggs and she feels itchy. And she just woke up."
"I'd count on it," agrees Ilesyn, lifting her head so that - almost - smiles to Jalis, mug still held almost in front of her lips so that her words are muffled. "Oh. All right, Weyrwoman. Good luck in placating your lifemate - if that's needed."
Jalis begins to stand -- reluctant to do so as she moves slow and stiffly. "I'll talk to you later Ilesyn." She grins at the healer. "Thank you for the insight." She remarks before making her slow, sullen way toward the bowl and where her dragon must be waiting for an oiling.
Jalis walks off westwards to the center bowl.
Posted by Louise at January 29, 2003 11:23 AM