Never Challenge Riders

Summary: Whilst Enka, A'ven, and T'burk relax in the Living Caverns. Someone rushes in.

Date: 2688.13.13


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.


With the lunch hour just past, the living caverns are, by and large, silent. Save for the late stragglers of course, coming in to get their food and the kitchen crew clearing away remains of the midday meal. Amongst the late stragglers (or perhaps the meal has run long) is Enka, the goldrider seated at one of the round wooden tables nearest the stone fire pit, a cup of klah near her elbow and a plate of food just to her right. She's got some paperwork piled up out of the way, but seems to be relaxing back in the chair for now.

It's a good thing that the lunch had run long, if it has; or Tailklor's just a lucky guy! The young adult bursts through the door and hides against the wall for a moment; the faint yelling of an older man can be heard outside. Something to the effect of going to pound some sense into Taik's head. Once he's sure he's gone, the resident lets out a sigh before he pushes off and heads to get himself some food. Thankfully, or unfortunately, he hasn't noticed Enka relaxing near the door.

A'ven turns a page in the book he's reading and sips on some juice. Nobody's noticed him yet. If you were to ask one of the old uncles, you'd perhaps find out that he's been here for about four hours now, and for the most part, people have forgotten that he's there, as they sometimes do, once the novelty has worn off.

T'burk looks up from the sketchbook he's working in when he hears the yelling coming from outside. "Now what?" he says softly to himself. He's at his small table off to the side. It gives a pretty good view of the rest of the cavern.

Enka's lips quirk into a wry smile, gray eyes flickering in the direction of Taiklor's exuberant entrance before she tilts her head, listening somewhat to the sounds of the yelling man beyond before she chuckles. "Well," comes the droll comment from the young woman, "I imagine I'm goin' to have my hands full if my boys come burstin' in here when they get older." She reaches for the klah, sipping briefly and then cradling the mug between her palms. "Still, it's bein' young, isn't it?" A merry smirk crosses her mouth then. "Seems I was the same way when I was a 'brat." Still is, apparently. Once a weyrbrat, always a weyrbrat.

Taiklor steals a glance back at the door to see if that man comes in after him before he lets out a sigh of relief. He grabs himself some of the leftovers that are set out before he gets himself some klah as well. When he turns around, he spots Enka and he winces a bit as he hopes she doesn't ask questions about his entrance. Though the resident does start to make his way towards a table.

A'ven chuckles, unable to resist commenting on Enka's observation, "I'm still a Weyrbrat.", he admits with a wry grin. I may not have been born here but… definitely still a Weyrbrat." He waves to T'burk, and perhaps shares a bit of his frustration at the interruption. In the end though, he decides his book can wait as he takes a closer look at the new face. "Afternoon.", he offers lightly, "May we assume you're requesting sanctuary from whomever that is outside that wants your hide?", a merry sparkle begins in his eyes.

T'burk raises a hand and waves back to A'ven. He just chuckles, the corners of his eyes crinkling up with the jest. "I'll give no comments and thereby will prolong my life," he teases back to A'ven. He checks over the lad from his distance. No blood, he's still ambulatory…no worries, it seems.

"Y'can take the 'brat out of the Weyr, but you can't take the Weyr out of the 'brat." Enka quips rather cheerfully, leaning forward to set her cup down with a faint thunk and to get a better glimpse of the Weyrleader. "I'm hearin' you, A'ven, and quite agreein'. I was a Weyrbrat all me life, and it's not goin' to change now. Probably goin' to end up raisin' my kids as weyrbrats." Save Western, save it! She nods slightly in T'burk's direction, greeting the older greenrider with a wry smile. "Wise decision," comes the Weyrwoman's remark. With that, she settles back against the chair again, not quite in a relaxful pose any longer, but certainly animated and aware of her surroundings.

Taiklor looks back at A'ven, giving a slightly nervous laugh before he replies with, "Nnnno one? Honest!" Though there might be a broken gate in the inner portion of the wherry's pasture that Enka and/or A'ven might hear about later in the day! He laughs a bit more before he sits down, equal distance beween A'ven and Enka as he takes a drink of his klah. At all the talk of weyrbrats, the teenager chuckles under his breath, "I do think that my dad is still one as well. Ciragath is always letting me know that he's doing something that he's too old for."

A'ven notes, with some gravity, "The most important thing about being a proper Weyrbrat, young man, is not getting caught. I think, you may have underestimated Ciragath's ability to find you." He nods. "Yes indeed… it's very difficult to actually hide from a dragon, and consequently, difficult to ditch the rider. I'd encourage you to keep moving, except of course, if you're hungry… then you might indeed eat, while you're here." "Do you know him T'burk? Enka?", he asks, wondering if the condemned will at least offer his name, at some point.

Enka's response is a slight chuckle, the goldrider settling her gaze first on Taiklor, and then straying somewhat to A'ven. "Leavin' 'em guessin' as to who the culprit is is vitally important. Soon as someone knows," she snaps her fingers, "it's done for, like that. Still, nothin' you could have done could possibly be any worse than anythin' I've done, right?" Ahem, Western senior was quite a mischief maker in her day — there was something about pillows long ago at Ista, and a score of other pranks too. "You're safe for now, at least," she offers cheerily to the teenager. "Might as well follow A'ven's advice," At that, she pauses, shaking her head in the Weyrleader's direction. "Can't say that I do. D'you?"

Taiklor coughs a laugh into his klah before he wipes his face off with a snicker. He takes a bite to eat before he glances over at A'ven with a soft smile, "I woulda thought Ciragath's name woulda tipped you off." He tsks a bit before his own eyes gain a glint of mirth. "Or're we going to have to test your eyesight again." A smug smile forms on his lips before he takes a bite to eat of the food he managed to snag from the table. He glances over at Enka with a muffled snicker before he takes another bite of his food.

A'ven clears his throat and goes just a little red, "Oh… you're T'lin's boy aren't you? I'm afraid you might think me older than I am. He's been a rider longer than me.", A'ven confirms. "Just what exactly brought you in here so urgently, with your feet pointed ahead of you and your eyes pointed behind you?" He looks over at T'burk, who he's beginning to suspect knows more about this than he's letting on… and also at Enka, careful not to reveal in his face the full extent of the things he knows about her own pranking exploits. Then, for no reason that can be seen, his eyes flick to the kitchen briefly and out leaks a surprisingly cunning conspiratorial chuckle.

T'burk keeps his sketchbook raised to cover the lower part of his face, like his smiling mouth. Are those snickering sounds coming from the long time rider? Or stifled chuckling sounds, perhaps?

With a rather curious expression on her face, and eyebrows crooked upwards, Enka might resemble a much younger girl for the moment. Clearly, she hasn't caught on entirely to the direction of the joke, but still, she's got enough to seem amused by it. She does meet A'ven's eyes for a moment, a little titter of a laugh escaping her before she reaches for that mug of klah again. "Do enlighten me, if you will," she remarks, the mug hovering briefly by her lips before a sip is taken. "Indulge my curiosity, mayhaps?"

Taiklor bites hard down onto his food to stifle his laughter before he chews and swallows with a semi-straight face! Though there's a gurgling snicker in his klah as he takes that drink. He sets his cup back down as Enka speaks, and he keeps his mouth quiet for now as he lets A'ven be in the spotlight for a bit. The resident though just smiles cheerfully as he takes this time to eat like a teenager. Fast.

A'ven takes a different tact, trying to get the lad talking again, he asks the others, "Just how much of a bounty do you suppose this boy is worth. If we keep him for ourselves, will T'lin offer us …. what, I wonder?"

T'burk says "I think…about 5 marks?" He smiles at the lad. "Hello, Taiklor! How you doing today? Your dad around?"

Enka sizes the teen up, regarding him thoughtfully for a long moment. "Could probably use a little feedin' up," she pauses, makes a sound suspiciously like a snicker at the rather rapid consumption of food, "although given how fast he's inhalin' thatmeal of his, he'd eat us out of hearth and home. So…" the goldrider's voice trails off, leaning back in her chair, a merry glint of amusement on her eyes. "We talkin' marks, or can I get T'lin to carry stuff around for me and help me redecorate my office as a payoff?"

Taiklor coughs, and nearly chokes on his sandwich as he looks over at A'ven with a surprised look. "I don't know about th- Hey!" That last part is sent towards T'burk as he sticks his tongue out before he laughs with a shake of his head. "Alright. Alright. I doubt my dad will give you money, but he might give ya a few free drinks? I don't know what goes on inside of that head of his." He smirks over at the green rider before he says, "I'm perfectly fine. And I think he's trying to arrange moving his bar to this weyr. That's the last I heard from him." He looks over at Enka with a snicker, "I think you'd have to catch me first, without the dragon's help." Challenge?

A'ven laughs now, "Asking a rider to work without his dragon is like asking you to work without your arms, but I guess we could try."

Challenge? Sure sounds like it! "Well," Enka mulls the thought over, nibbling on her lower lip for a time. "I think we could give it a try," she agrees readily enough with A'ven's words. "Got ways of catchin' up with you," this last is a wry look sent in Taiklor's way. "But no tellin', because it's part of bein' a 'brat… figurin' out what they're gonna do before they do it." Does this have anything to do with drunken painted wherries, by any chance? Or is it just the same devious mind behind that particular prank at work here? "We givin' him a head start at all, A'ven?"

Taiklor quirks a brow with a chuckle. "Weyrbrat versus another weyrbrat? This could get interesting." He drinks down his klah before he stands up himself; stretching his arms over his head with a smile. "I've my own little tricks as well." He looks over at A'ven for a moment before he looks back at Enka. "You two double teaming me now?"

A'ven's grin grows a bit, he is thinking the young man is covering some nervousness with that stretch but perhaps not. "Of course. Since when are Weyrleaders /not/ a team. You said we couldn't use our dragons… surely that means we can use ourselves, now doesn't it?" He chuckles and narrows his eyes at the challenge. "Age and trechery usually beats youth and vigor.", he considers. "Yes, I think he needs a head start."

Enka's smile is certainly bright and cheerful. "Weyrbrats versus weyrbrat. Sounds about right," She bobs her head, waving a hand in the Weyrleader's direction. "What he said, of course. If there's anythin' you should know, the 'leadership comes only as a team. It's the way things work." And boy, does it keep things working swell around the Weyr. There's a minute nod, just a little downward jerk of her chin. "Mmm, seems fair then, gettin' a head start and all."

Taiklor lets out a sigh before he slowly starts to head towards the door. "Alright then. Let's see then. How well the leadership can handle lil ol' me." He smiles wide before he looks over at A'ven, then at Enka before he says, "Take as long as ya like." He winks with a quick smirk and a click of his tongue before he's off like a spooked wherry out the door.

Mesquite *pops* out of between with a squeak.

Seti *pops* out of between with a squeak.

Procyon *pops* out of between with a squeak.

A'ven remarks dryly, "He didn't say anything about using firelizards.. did he?" A'ven's faire is out the door after the boy as one multicolored formation. "How many have you got?", he asks Enka with a sly grin.

"Just the three, but Sunshine's a gold, she's good at directin' things." Enka remarks, the sound of a chair scraping back, and three 'lizards come darting in through the room. "One, two, three." the goldrider grins. "I'm thinkin' that'll be enough, and you never know, Sunny might round up a few more in the process."

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