A Meeting of Friends

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 the middle of the day, a day that Mynna thankfully has free from candidate chores. Right now she's sitting at an otherwise empty table with G'len. The rider looks rather depressed, and Mynna has a somewhat lecturing expression on her face and in her tone. "Bronzeriders are so overrated. And Jessamin's hardly the bronzerider type, you know. Have a little self-esteem!"

G'len says "Am I just being jealous, Mynna? I've never cared for anybody like I feel about her. No one has ever been so kind to me."

Vora fairly stumbles out of the kitchens, her temples beaded with a light sweat. She pours herself a mug of klah, finally off-duty. Of course, they /would/ but the Baker candidate to work in the kitchens, and no light work either. Those ovens are HOT! The girl's flits are noticeably absent today, perhaps enjoying the weather in their new home. She pats her shoulder absently, missing the presence there. As she sips at the mug, she hears a familiar name from a familiar voice and whirls about, all sign of exhaustion evaporated. "Mynna!" She trots over, careful of the mug. "Did I hear you say Jessamin?" Then, of course, she notes the melancholy expression on the rider's face, simply not to be missed. A slight frown creases her brows, but then she smiles, getting the gist of the conversation. Gently, "Oh, you're in love with Jessa? Ah, she's quite the character, hm?"

G'len groans and drops his head back into his hands. "Does everybody know?"

"Yes. Yes you are." Mynna answers G'len with a little smile. "Just relax and don't be so worked up about it! That's the key to really enjoying yourself." She glances up and spots Vora's approach, grinning brighter. "Speaking of people who know how to enjoy themselves… Vora! Good to see you. You're looking hot." She giggles and glances at G'len again. "You don't make it hard to figure out, you know."

Vora blushes and stamps her foot, glaring at Mynna. "Don't say that! You make me…" she drops her head, "you make me blush." She folds her arms and pouts, then quite suddenly leans over to flick Mynna in the nose. "Sorry I was gone when you woke up. I have to say that you're quite the comfortable snuggle, and it was hard to leave." She winks at G'len in an attempt to cheer him, hinting that waking up beside Mynna was the result of more than it was. Inwardly, she giggles, and tugs suggestively at her hair, licking her lips at Mynna. When she realizes her behaviour, and starts at her audacity. What happened to the old Vora she'd become so familiar with within herself? Her blush comes back.

Mynna seems to catch on to Vora's little scheme, glancing sideways at G'len before looking back to the other girl with an extra devious wicked smile, edging over close, staring in her eyes. "Don't worry. Next time I'll latch on so tight you won't be able to get away." She says with a wink, barely holding back another burst of giggles.

G'len is just sitting in a chair, leaning over with his head in his hands. sniffing.

Jessamin saunters in from the lower caverns, a deep, wide reed basket in her grasp; she waddles strangely as she carries the thing. It soon becomes apparent why—it's filled right to the top with sand! She sets the basket down right by the fire pit to keep warm, shaking her head sadly. "I hope these will be alright…" She glances up and lets out a sharp whistle, bringing brown Madder winging to her shoulder. "Right here…" She points to her eyes, turning that little wedge-shaped head towards her. "See that? Go on, get my clipboard." And with that, he's off through the Lower Caverns, chittering happily. She turns about as she hears sniffling; when she sees G'len in some distress, she hastens over. "G'len…?" Her voice is soft, gentle. "What's wrong?"

Vora giggles at Mynna, sticking the tip of her tongue out mid-giggle for a quite comic effect. Then, she realizes the ploy isn't working. She sighs and sits next to G'len, rubbing her temples. How hard it is to be cheery with gloomy people about. Hmph, that was quite an un-Vora-like thought! She looks up at a rather obnoxious noise to see… Jessa! She waves her over, in the hopes she can help with this little situation and… oh, she's already here. Vora gives the girl her biggest grin. "It seems I'll be seeing more of you, dear!" But then the caring girl is talking to G'len, and Vora gives a soft smile. Ah, the compassionate heart.

G'len looks up as he hears her voice. His eyes are wet his face windburned across his cheeks and nose, and his eyes are red despite the fact he wears goggles. "Jessie…!" he says softly. He reaches out to stroke her hair, then folds his arms around her and hugs.

Mynna gives G'len a little sigh when her routine fails to cheer him up whatsoever. "No fun at all…" When Jessamin arrives she grins brightly, obviously relieved. "Jess! You need to take this boy out and have a fun time. He's in some terrible sulk about… something." She shrugs and grins back at Vora. "Has she got timing or what?"

Jessamin says "Vora…? Shards, you're actually -here-??" She grins wide and hugs the girl, laughing. "When in Faranth's name did you get Searched? Hey, Mynna!" She releases Vora long enough to wave to the other girl, before pulling over a chair to sit next to G'len. "Hey… what's got you as blue as Dylanth?""

Vora winks over at Mynna. "Timing, she must have. Because I was just thinking about how I need new clothes." She looks ruefully down at her current duds, then looks back up at Jessa with her best pair of big-eyes, whimpering canine-like with hope and want. Then, of course, she laughs. Who can hold a pose for that long? "Yes, yes! I'm here. I was the first and loneliest candidate there for a whole day before this one here," she nudges Mynna, "came along and seduced me. They say no sex for the Candidates but…" She laughs. "No, but really. You do need to take this one out." She gestures at the man, then scratches her head in embarrassment at his rather intimate confession.

Mynna laughs a bit and grins over at Vora. "You'll have to wait. Jess promised me a fancy new outfit, too… I can hardly wait!" She gives the weaver another grin. "You know, somehow, I'm not surprised that you two know each other. You remind me of each other in a lot of ways… but enough of that. Cheer the poor boy up!" She smiles and edges towards Vora, wrapping an arm around her shoulder's and whispering in the other candidate's ear.

Jessamin says "Hold on now… one at a time, ladies." She chuckles softly. "Listen, we're all going to be in the Barracks, right? Why don't you say we all talk shop and get some ideas for new clothes for the both of you? Days off -do- happen, you know. Oh, and Mynna…." She grins impishly at the other girl. "…you won't be able to escape runner duty forever. You ran off to the barracks before I could tell you the other night."

G'len squeaks! "Who said anything about…sex?!" He can hardly get the word out his voice is so tight and high with stress.

Vora looks down at G'len. Is that pity in her eyes, or annoyance? She smiles at him, either way, and chuckles. "I wasn't talking about you, silly. Mynna and I and… oh, nevermind." That damned blush again! She turns her smile back up to the girls and grins amidst the blush. "Um, hm? Er, yes! We do need to talk clothes and… gecher arm off of me, girl!" She edges away from Mynna, glaring. "Cuddling is for alone-time, only!"

Mynna looks rather horrified by Jessamin's warning. "Really? You mean I'm going to have to go back?" She sighs. "That's right… we did have candidates in the stables last time there was a clutch on the sands. I knew it was too good to be true." She gives Vora a sheepish smile as she withdraws her hand. "Sorry, shy girl. I'll try to be careful." She says with mischief in her eyes.

Jessamin rolls her eyes and laughs at the two girls. "What happened to the shy Vora I knew in Xanadu? Must be something about the air here." A stray lock of hair is tucked behind her left ear. "Oh… as you can guess, I didn't come away with a queen on my shoulder at that flit hatching. But I think I found something better." Her voice lowers some, a hint of distress adding a soft quavering note. "One of the eggs was actually left behind by Cachucha. It might have gone wild or worse." Just then, a double trilling grows in volume, echoing down the corridor from the Lower Caverns; Madder and a tiny blue flit burst into the room, with the blue coming to land on Jess' shoulder, and Madder dropping a clipboard full of sketches into Jess' outstretched hands. "Good job, Madder. Special treats for you! Oh… Vora, this is Indigo. He was from the egg that was left behind."
Indigo has arrived.

G'len looks around at all the girls. "So you all know each other?" he asks with a swirling of a roughly downpointed finger. Then he rubs at his eyes. Should he be embarrassed, shamed? He just feels relieved!

Vora shoots Mynna another glare, covering her breasts with one arm and placing her hand over her girly parts. "You can be careful all you like. Way over there." She cuts the glare and chuckles, looking toward Jessamin. "He's a pretty one! It's good you stayed, you compassionate soul." She snorts and chuckles in G'len's direction, "Yes, apparently all too well." A smile and Vora mimics Jessa's movement, tucking her own hair behind her ears and smoothing it, suddenly self-conscious in the presence of other women. The girl mutters, "Oh, trust me, that girl's still here," but then she turns a shy grin up at Jessa, "But you can't serve people of every mannerism and upbringing without gaining some sort of ability to grin and bear it. Not to mention the possibility of constant sexual harassment from fellow candidates," she adds with a sly look at Mynna.

Mynna boggles at the firelizard when Jessamin unveils it. "You impressed /another/ one? Shells, how many does this make, Jess? One of these days I won't actually be able to see you through the swarm." She giggles at the comment about shyness, her eyes trailing back to Vora. "Harassment? You didn't seem to be complaining about it… just you wait, I can see you have a wild side waiting to surface. I have a knack for these things. Right Jess?"

Jessamin turns flame red and coughs lightly. "Ummm… right." She reaches to her left shoulder, looking at the tiny blue; a soft warbling escapes her pursed lips, and she smiles. "Indigo makes the sixth. I had a lot on my mind… was trying to figure out whether to stay at Xanadu, or move here. By the time I got my head on straight, everyone else was gone, except one egg. Anybody could have missed it. If he hadn't started the egg dance, I might have missed it, too. Kind of glad Enka scattered all that meat… washed it off, got Indigo fed, and found him better food in the kitchens."

Vora flaps her hands at Mynna as though trying to fight her away. "No wild side here! Just a sweet little Vora, filling the room with her innocence. But seriously, Jess," she turns to the girl, "You've got too many and, oh wait, what's that you've got?" Vora prods at the clipboard. "Plots for your takeover of Pern and all of its inhabitants?" She hmphs. "Oh, and here's Divine! No, no, Divine, he's your clutchmate. No flirting!" Does the flit listen? Surprisingly, the answer is yes. The beauty of a firelizard instead makes its way over to the blue, looking him over from head to tail from quite an intrusive distance, her nostrils practically misting up his shiny hide. He seems to pass the inspection, and she settles down with him, tail protectively curled about him. Vora shakes her head in wonder. "Whatever am I to do with you, you unpredictable thing?"

Mynna laughs in a delighted and mischievious way at Jessamin's blushing reaction. "That says it all right there." She says with a wink. Vora's denails earn an even more mischevious grin. "We'll see about that. Weren't you agreeing you were going to get tattooed with me? Speaking of, we need to come up with good designs… oh, Jess, you should do it with us!" She eyes the firelizards for a moment, giggling. "Funny little things. Maybe I should find one, someday."

G'len straightens his back and sits up in his chair, but his shoulders still looked slumped a bit. He reaches out to gently place a hand on Jessamin's wrist and watches the firelizards flit about. His own sits on the far side of the room. He looks around for her and the mental nudge is enough for her to stretch her wings and fly over to him. She lands on his outstretched arm…the one where he's not resting a hand on Jessie's wrist…and gives him a warm chirpled trill.

Jessamin says "Too many? Eh…" She shrugs, and smiles. "Family on the wing, what can I say? I'll be quite content with one more, so as it's a gold. Oh, and the clipboard…" She tilts it so the women can see the contents of the top page—sketches of various clothing ideas, ranging from light, airy broomstick style skirts, to capri pants, halter tops to crocheted lace numbers and a few ideas in between. "…you were both asking about new outfits, so I've been putting down some ideas." She smiles over at G'len, chuckling softly as Bette crawls up his arm. "Hello there, pretty one."

Vora gestures at the green. "Mynna, if you want one, you can have her." She glares at Divine who, oddly enough, glares right back. "We have this love-hate thing going. She loves to be fed and we hate each other," she says fondly. At the arrival of the new green, Divine snaps to her wary, half-attentive stance, eyes shooting fireballs at the competition. Her pose is like that of a feline; crouched and tail whipping like one on the hunt. Vora sighs dramatically, and then is, to her relief, distracted by Jessa's display. She puts her finger over a particular skirt. "I like this longer style, but could you make it a bit more… flowy? You know how I like it," she gestures down at her tunic. She then moves over to a top. "I don't know about going this style," her fingers in resting on a halter, "but I think I'd like to try something fitted like that. Just to have one showy outfit in my wardrobe."

Mynna makes a little 'ooh'ing sound when Jessamin reveals the sketches, leaning over the table and eyeing them. "All of these look gorgeous. You really are very talented, you know!" She smiles as she leans back. "But I'll trust your judgment on what'll look best on me. You're the expert, after all." She eyes Divine for a moment, then shrugs. "Well, maybe I won't be in such a hurry to grab one, then. You're not the first I've heard complain."

G'len reaches up to caress Bette and strokes her fondly. "You want a little oiling, Bette?" He reaches into his jacket pockets and finds a small bottle and flips the top. "Hold still…Wait…Here, Jessie, can you pour a little of the oil into my hand please?" He's got one hand on Bette, the other on the bottle.

Jessamin lays her clipboard down in her lap, plucking the small bottle from G'len's hand. "Okay, just hold still a sec…" She waits until his palm is upturned, then pours a small amount of oil onto it. "There." The bottle is closed and set aside for the moment. "Oh… okay, so fitted close to the body for the shirt, but with a flowing skirt… Shards, why bother with two separate pieces, when you could go for a nice dress? That would take in all those points you liked at once." To Mynna, she smiles, and replies, "Still depends on when you plan on wearing this. On you, I'd be tempted to say either a knee length skirt and a tunic, a nice sun dress, maybe capri pants with a halter top… or maybe something a little more daring…."

Vora smiles wryly at Mynna. "No, it's not all bad. She's got her way into hearts, even if she chews her way in." She chuckles, then turns her attentions back to Jessamin and G'len. Is that a smirk tugging at her lips? She strictly reigns her facial expressions back in, sadly something she could never do with the heat in her cheeks. Instead, she grins at Jessa's suggestion. "That's perfect! I can't believe I didn't think of that… but I can't remember the last time I wore a dress." She taps her chin thoughfully, "Maybe something that dips in the back, but isn't very brave in the front? And for you, Mynna," another sly glance, "Well, you seem to like the nude, so why don't you just get something see-through and save us all the bother of having to use our imaginations?"
Mynna's eyes light up a little at Jessamin, her lips curling into an even more devious smile. "Jess, you know me. You know that if you mention a more daring option, that's the one I'm going to take. Push it to the limit, okay?" She giggles at Vora's suggestion, rolling her eyes and giving her a playful smile. "You'd like that, wouldn't you?"

G'len's ears redden when one of the girls says something about 'nude'. He just keeps rubbing the oil into his green's hide as she moves around, not wanting to hold sill. Too much action in the room! Her humanpet's heart is still thumping hard.

Vora snorts at Mynna, flicking her in the nose. Divine finally decides that the other green fool is no threat, and settles back down with her brother. She gestures over to G'len. "Look! I'm not the only one with a blushing problem!"

G'len looks up, feeling eyes on him, and smiles when he sees the other girls looking at him. Now his cheeks turn redder, too!

Mynna giggles at the flick to her nose, then rises up from her seat and stretches a little. "Well, speaking of nudity, I think I'm about due for a nice long soak in the hot springs." She flutters her eyelashes at Vora, grinning teasingly. "Feel free to join me later, okay?" She glances sideways at G'len's reaction, giggling more at his blush.

Jessamin can't help grinning at G'len's blush, leaning over to whisper to him as he oils his little green firelizard…

Vora bats her eyes at Mynna, chuckling. "I might just, if I don't pass out as soon as I take Divine back to the Dorm." She smiles at Jess, a tick in her temple jumping at the whisper but… meh, it can't be helped. She intrudes for a moment, "Speaking of which, I should probably go pass out. It's been a long day."

G'len starts to giggle a little but he's also giggling a little, too.

Jessamin sets her clipboard on a table to one side and gets up, hugging Vora and Mynna each in turn. She smiles warmly to both, and waggles one finger. "Behave. I'll catch up with you both in the Dorms later on, m'kay, and we'll talk more about those outfits." With that, she makes for the serving tables, as the earliest of the dinner offerings are brought out one by one.

Vora smiles and gathers up a protesting Divine, then makes her exit, waving with the hug still warm through her clothes.

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