Introducing... Sundari!

Western Weyr - Living Caverns
Here is the center of Weyr life, the living caverns. These two main rooms were man-shaped from smaller caves, and are joined by a carved arch with depictions of dragons in flight and dolphins leaping in swirling waves. One room has many round stone and wooden tables and a stone fire-pit instead of a hearth. Over the round-walled, gas fired pit is a large conical hood made of polished bronze, with reliefs of dragons with their riders flying over ships guided by dolphins. This hood and chimney keeps the room smoke-free. Through the archway is an enormous hall, with long tables and benches, some carved from the rock floor, many crafted of wood. This room is a combination dining and meeting hall, and can seat over 300 comfortably. Above both rooms, angled shafts lined with polished metal bring in sunlight during the day. Electric lights also burn, day and night.


It's a nice day out at Western. Not too sweltering, even though it is summer at the tropical weyr. It's a bit before lunchtime, but that doesn't mean that Zi'on isn't heading into the caverns to get something to eat. He's… walking a little funny today. Surely, this could not have been the result of his recent flight-win. Could it? It would be quite strange, as the greenie in question is Raev. He moves over to the serving tables and peers down at the selection. After a while he gets a bowl of fruit and a sweetroll and sits down to eat. Sits down… very slowly and carefully.

Sundari likes nothing better than an nice summery day, though here she is helping her sisters bring some baskets of both fresh and dried fish on towards the caverns. Oh sure others could have done this but seems the sisters got pegged as the ones to do it today. Sunny pauses peering at rather slowly moving Zi'on, and Carlina is there grabbing at her shirt collar to drag the girl along. "No staring.." Is murmured from the older sister. Sundari isn't happy at this. "Butttttt!" "No buts." Comes from Adrianne as the girls continue on the trek into the kitchen.

Zi'on's behind may be acting funny, but the rest of him is fine. He pops a few berries into his mouth and eyes the delivery sisters as they stroll into the caverns with fish and also fish. The bronzer makes eye contact with Sundari briefly and gives her a smile. "Hello there." It's simple, but enough of a distraction that it might allow Sundari to break away from her sisters momentarily to chat with Zi'on. She wouldn't want to be rude now, would she?"

Sundari doesn't tend to be rude, and the only reason she was peering over was she was rather sure that Zi'on is the Weyrleader, she's been told that plenty of times but has never actually seen him, or well any of the higher ups for the Weyr. She doesn't actually live at the Weyr so that is most likely a reason why. A faint grumble escapes the girl, as if she wants to say something to her dear sisters but for the moment is quiet. The new voice makes her pek back over and she blinks before a smile is seen and she waves towards him with a hand, fingers wiggling. "Hello!" Carlina and Adrianne both pause, blinking and offers a polite nod to the Weyrleader." Afternoon sir." Comes from both of them, twins doing twin things like talking at the same time.

Zi'on -is- the weyrleader! Though most people are surprised to find it out. But there's the big shiny knot. At least bearded the bronzer looks older than he actually is. Zi'on nods to the trio of sisters, and is about to go back to his lunch when he spots -her-. Her! His archrival, the terrible headwoman Cosima. Even to this day the bronzer fears her broom. Even though she is old and feeble by now. He reaches out to take hold of Sundari's wrist. "Ladies, I need to borrow your sister for a moment. Please feel free to continue about your business." Next thing you know, Zi'on is pulling out the chair next to him and trying to force Sundari into it. "Sit! Sit. I need to pretend I'm having an intense conversation with someone. Or the headwoman will find something to yell at me about."

Sundari grins and looks up to her sisters about to tell them something until, wait, what is this? Her wrist is snagged and she ers softly. Carlina blinks, seeming a bit unsure about this at first. "Very well. Don't do anything silly Sunny." The younger girl smirks a moment and lets her siblings take the basket of fishyfish with them. She is pulled along and is thus sitting down upon the chair, listing in on what he is saying. "Oh, well then. Have you heard about the green beast out at Isle attacking ships?" Yes she just dug that out from somewhere, but it should be an intense conversation, right?

Zi'on grins to the twins. He was going for boyish, but probably just ends up looking like a creeper who is trying to get with their younger sister. Zi'on slides the bowl over as an offering of his fruit. If she eats some he doesn't have to eat the whole bowl. He blinks at her. "The what? The green beast? Is that like… the name of a ship? Or are you just pulling my leg?" Because if there's something out there attacking ships that means all sorts of headaches for him. "I was hoping you might introduce yourself before you starts giving me a heart attack." Cosima is over there. Peering around. And at Zi'on. And around.

Sundari pauses at the look she gets, she ponders a moment on actually giving her name before giving in it seems. "Just a story.. You did say intense conversation." She was only trying to go along. "I'm Sundari." Carlina and Adrianne catch that 'boyish' look from Zi'on, both mumble something between them before they are off to the kitchens to drop off the fish. At the offer of fruit she smiles and picks up a bit. "Thank you." Well at least she has manners in saying thanks.

Zi'on breathes a big sigh of relief. "Oh thank Faranth. I was about to head back to my office, organize a ton of extra sweeps, then a hunting party, remind a bunch of dragons how to flame. My whole sevenday would have been completely ruined. And then I'd have to listen to everyone telling me 'well you should have done this' or 'you should have done that'. Well it's easy for them to say that! After the fact. Captain Hindsight." Zi'on babbles away until the headwoman starts to shuffle off. "Anyways. Hi Sundari. Your sisters call you Sunny. Can I call you that to? I think it's cute. I'd name one of my kids Sunny, but all my kids' names have to start with 'E'. I'm Zi'on by the way, Suldith's rider." No mention of being weyrleader. "Are you from one of the surrounding island holds?"

Sundari pers at Zi'on looking a bit confused at everything that is said about sweeps, and hunting parties. "Wait, the dragon's can spit fire?" Ya she didn't know they could do that. When it comes to someone babbling she didn't think adults could do it so well. "Zi'on?" She ponders and grins. "So you are the Weyrleader. I thought Crissen was joking." Her bright blue gaze flicks over the other a moment and she leans forward just a bit. "Aren't… You like a bit young to be Weyrleader?" Yup she went there. A slight shake of her head is seen. "Nope. I Live on a boat, go fishing and what not. Also take people fishing." She grins now. "You know how to fish?" Well it is a family business. "Oh sure, you can call me Sunny, everyone does. Suppose my name is too long, not that I think it is just a normal length name really." Now she's rambling. Something dawns on her after a moment. "Why does your kids names have to all start with 'E' anyway?"

Zi'on blinks. "Well, yeah. That's why they're called dragons… I think. I dunno it has something to do with our ancestors." He waves her off that topic cavalierly. Zi'on is the king of babble. "Yep, weyrleader. That's me. I'm young I guess, but I'm not the youngest. Enka and I were weyrmates for a while before I was weyrleader, and I think Miraneith got used to Suldith. Plus I used to be Enka's assistant when I was just a 'brat, so I knew how to do stuff. It made sense, but the dragons decide." He peers at her. "Aren't you a bit young to be askin' questions of the weyrleader?" He asks, grinning at her. It's a joke really, though not that funny. "On a boat! Don't you have a land house though? Yeah I can fish. But I don't go that often. My weyrmate hates fishing." He shrugs. "Your name isn't that long, but Sunny is cute." He pops a piece of fruit in his mouth, then continues about the 'E' thing. "It's a family thing, passed down from my father. From his cothold, to discourage inbreeding."

Sundari ponders the bit on the dragons. "Well, yes I suppose that makes sense. Never gave it much thought before. How do they um, well flame?" A slight smile is seen and she nods a moment, the names offered of dragons, undragons and the lot she has no clue on whom they could or could not be so she just listens on. At the glance and bit on her questioning a weyrleader she just peers back at him. Well he is grinning so it must be alright; either that or he likes to pull people in to a false sense of security before sending them off to the stockades. "Maybe? But I don't see you telling me to stop ask 'em." A pleasant little smile seen while her arms old upon the table. "I can stop though Possibly." She does tend to ask a lot of questions. "No land home, just stay on the boat. Sometimes stay with friends when the weather gets to bad out on the water."

"They eat rocks." Zi'on bursts out without any sort of explanation. He quickly realizes his mistake though. "Special rocks. They have a special stomach for the rocks to go in and somehow that makes flames. You'll have to ask a dragonhealer for a better explanation than that. I can only pick out the rocks and figure out how many Suldith should eat." Zi'on wouldn't even know where to send someone for the stockades. "Ah I'm kidding!" He blinks at her when she says she's got no land home. "On the boat. All the time. How big is the boat? So you guys are fishermen then? Do you sail all over the place? Or just about Western?"

Sundari just peers at him a few moments, rocks. Before she is able to say 'any type' he goes saying they have to be special ones. A slight grin is seen and she nods. "Well, I was hoping that you were. If not I was wondering how fast I could run to try and escape the punishment." This said with a joking tone. "Pretty much. It's a rather large boat, but still it's a boat." She shrugs a moment at the thought. "All around Western, fishing, boating some supplies to the Islands, and taking people on fishing trips when there around on vacation and so forth."

It would be awesome if dragons could flame eating just any old type of rock. But alas. "Hah. You couldn't outrun me anyways. I'm like twice your size. Ooh, open up your mouth and I'll see if I can toss in a blueberry." He fishes a blueberry out of his fruit bowl and shows it to her. "Boats can be fun. I generally am only on little dinghies though, rowing out to or between the islands. There's this one island I like to go to on vacations. It's small and pretty much deserted, but it's got melons in the trees. MELONS! They are awesome. Have you been to the melon island? If not you should let me take you as long as you promise not to go crazy with the melons." Yes he is serious. About the melons.

Sundari ponders this 'challenge' of who can outrun who. "Maybe, but being smaller I can duck under and tgo throw things and don't have to run a straight path or anything like that." She's totally thought this out it seems. At the question of tossing a blueberry in her mouth she pulls her head back, bangs falling into her eyes which are quickly pushed back. Leave it to a teenager to go along with the game. "My father owns three boats, they have sails and everything. So we don't really have to row as long there is a good gust of wing around, though sometimes my brothers and uncle get stuck with it if there are a lot of rocks or the like around." She blinks and peers at him. "Melons?" For some reason she finds this amusing. "I've seen some trees with melons, is the island full of melon trees then?" She seems curious, an yes she goes about opening her mouth to see if he can toss that blueberry well or not.

Zi'on laughs. "I can jump over things though. And bat things away. I can also pick you up and hang you on a tree branch by your undies." Leave it to Zi'on to suggest a game that involves throwing food in the middle of the caverns. "Ah. I've been on a sail boat before, but I wouldn't know how to sail one. I'd end up going the wrong way, or just having to row anyways." He grins to her. "It's not full of them, but there are a lot of them. And since there's no people living there you can basically eat all you want. I guess technically I should have them harvested for the weyr, but it just seems wrong since I think they're all there naturally." The bronzer tosses a blueberry at her, but it plunks off her nose and goes rolling under the table. "Whoops! I'll try again." He throws another at her. It's closer! Maybe if she moves her head it'll go in.

Sundari makes a slight face at the talk of being hanged up from a tree branch by her undies. "Now you're sounding like my brothers." She's the youngest kid in her family so she's been threatened with that before. "Bet I could still out run you though." She seems rather sure of herself on this matter. The blueberry bounces of her nose and she lowers her head to rub at it a moment before another is tossed at her. She leans forward just a bit and catch it. "Point for you!" Is said with an amused tone while she munches on the berry. "What about getting trees planted elsewhere to grow your own melons?"

Zi'on grins to Sundari. "Maybe I -am- one of your brothers! But I'm not. I do have two younger siblings of my own. Well, actually I have a lot more than two, but only two full-blooded siblings. They're twins." Zi'on peers at Sundari. "Bet you couldn't. Do you even know how? There's no place to run on a boat. Care to make it interesting, then? We will race. And if I win, you have to be my slave for a sevenday." He chuckles as she catches the fruit. "We have melons!" He holds up a piece of melon from his bowl. "But the weyr isn't really responsible for agriculture. They comes from the surrounding holds."

Sundari ponders this idea while eyeing Zi'on a few moments, she taps a finger against the table a few times. "Naw, rather sure you're not one of my brothers. How many is a lot? I have five siblings." Which is a lot in her book! Then there is this talk about a race again and she rolls her eyes. "Sure I know how to run. On a boat you can just run around in circles. Though when the boats are docked I have to do something when I'm dealing with taking supplies and fish back and forth." There is a pause at the bit about the bet. "Well, what would I have to do?" Her eyes narrow slightly in thought of being a slave. "You're a weyrleader, what would you need a slave for?" She glances to the melon in the bowl. "Well that makes sense I suppose."

It's lunchtime at Western and Zi'on and Sundari are sitting and chatting. Zi'on grins at Sundari while she ponders. "I have like… sixty." He says, popping that piece of melon in her mouth. "Where are you in the sibling line up? I see your sisters are older than you. Or at least it seems like it." The bronzer chuckles at her. "Round and round, eh? Well we might run in a straight line. Are you sure you can handle it?" He ponders her slave questions. "I dunno. Slave stuff. Pick up my laundry, rub my feet, fetch my dinner. Whatever slaves do. Yes but I have to pay people to do that stuff. If you're a slave you don't get paid." He raises a brow at her. "You don't want to discuss your victory conditions?"

Sundari blinks once, and then again while she just peers at Zi'on. "You have sixty siblings?" She ponders how this is even possible. "I'm not even sure I want to know how that is possible." At least she doesn't ask it straight out. "I know how to run in a straight line." She smirks while saying that, hey she's a kid don't they always think they can do /anything/ at these ages? "Wait, you'd want me to rub your feet?" There is a pause, she makes a face and a slight eww escapes her. "I'm not too sure what I could ask for I mean you're a Weyrleader." She ponders while tapping her fingers upon the table, another bit of fruit is snagged and she chews on it. "I've never gotten to ride on a dragon before." Boats sure, dragons not too much. "If I won could I go for a ride maybe?"

The bronzer nods to Sundari. "Yep. Most are half-siblings. I only have two full ones. My dad got around." Zi'on peers off in another direction for a moment. "Lots of flight babies. And stuff. At least three different weyrmates. You know. That sort of thing. It's sort of easy to collect kids. I've got five myself from three different ladies. Two of which were or are my weyrmate" Zi'on smirks right back at her. One would hope Sundari can manage to run in a straight line. Being faster than Zi'on though.. "Yes. Totally." Mostly because he can see it grosses her out. He waits for her own conditions, then just stares at her slack-jawed for a moment. "So.. I'm asking for a WHOLE SEVENDAY of slavery… and you want a trip around the bowl on Suldith? You should have at least gone for slavery for a week to start with. Then I'd have to do whatever."

Sundari actually doesn't know a lot about any of this flight stuff, oh sure she's heard stuff but she isn't sure if any of it is actual true. "Still That's a lot of kids to be related too." She ponders a moment before remembering she forgot to answer the question. "I'm the youngest." Which means she gets away with a lot and doesn't often have to taking or even making bets for things. "Well, what about seven flights then?" A bit more fair, right? A shrug is seen. "Naw, I didn't even think about going to make you do anything like that." The thought of rubbing his feet thought makes her twitch.

Zi'on can tell Sundari all about flights. All about them. Secrets that not even Ila'den knows, that big fat jerk who abandoned us. The weyrleader laughs. "It is. My siblings pop up all over. One is a healer here. I heard I got a few at Fort… at least one over at Xanadu. They are all over. If you meet anyone else whose name starts with a 'Z' they might be related to me." Zi'on eyes Sundari. "The youngest, eh? I'm the oldest." Zi'on almost spits out his fruit at her next suggestion. "Seven flights!? You'll be bored to death after the first one. But if we have to. We can go to different places. Outside of Western. Pick some spots you want to visit then." Zi'on probably has big hairy hobbit feet. At least he's not living a stinky bachelor life though, so he washes them.

Sundari nods to the bit on her being the youngest, she is still attempting to understand how someone could have so many siblings. Well yes she supposes it is possible but still! "Must be sort of strange to run into them, I mean do you all keep in touch with one another?" That would be sort of strange now wouldn't it? She grins a bit at the seven flights part. "Well, I've never flown anywhere before. How do you know I'll be bored with one?" She questions with a curious tone. "I'll pick spots, sure!" She has a few places already picked out in her mind actually. "So, you want to do the race still then?" There is a bit of amusement clearly seen as she asks this. Oh if she loses and he does have hobbit feet just imagen the rumors she can get going then.

Zi'on shrugs. "Most of them I don't know. As in, I've never met them and if I bumped into them on the street I wouldn't even know it. I see my full-blooded siblings now and again. They're up at Telgar with my mother. And Ziria, my sister that lives here, I see her a fair bit. She's a healer. The rest… eh." Zi'on eyes Sundari. "You'll either be bored or terrified. That tends to be the reaction after a flight around the bowl." He laughs. "You do that. And yes I want to race! Anyways it won't matter where you pick since I'll be winning the race. We can't do it right now though. I'm in my good clothes and I have stuff to do this afternoon. But tomorrow though. Will you still be here, or will you be off on the boat?" Zi'on pays no attention to such things! Besides most people have seen his feet at the beach. They're not THAT hairy.

"I bet it's strange thought, or maybe it's just my way of thinking about possibly having that many siblings." Sundari says with a slight shake of her head. She peers back at him once he brings up she could be terrified. "Why would I be terrified?" Seems it hasn't fully kicked in with the seacrafter girl that dragons are well dragons, and a flight involves being off the ground. "Alright, tomorrow works. I should be around here or over at the market place." She points a finger at him. "Shouldn't say that, I bet your lose now for jinxing yourself." This said while she grins. Psh, he most likely has big harry bigfoot feets.

"I suppose it would be strange for those people who grow up with a manageable number of siblings. Which I guess is everyone but me and my siblings." Though most of Zi'on's siblings probably didn't realize they were part of a brood. Zi'on raises a brow at Sunny. "Because. It's high up and all. And some people find dragons scary in general. I am guessing you do not though." He nods to her. "Alright then. Tomorrow it is. When I'm ready I'll come get you." When she points her finger at him, he reaches over to poke her nose. Boop. "I am confident in my assured victory." That is for Zi'on to know and for Sundari to find out! The bronzer rises from his seat them. "Oof. My behind his numb. You should go find your sisters. I need to get back to the office."

Sundari didn't even think about the whole hight thing, not until right now. She ponders this and lifts her had a moment while letting her fingers tap upon the table. She nods ands miles. "Alright, sure." She peers cross-eyed at the poke to her nose and then glances back to the Weyrleader. "We're see who wins tomorrow now won't we?" There is a grin. About this time both Carlina and Adrianne are making their way out from the kitchens with empty baskets. "Sunny, come along. We need to get back to the market." The calls comes from one of the twins and with a wave to Zi'on, Sundari is off to join her sisters. There is plenty of talk about this 'race' it seems during the trip out from the caverns.


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