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.
The atmosphere in the Living Cavern as the evening falls is a cheery carnival one. Drudges wander about with trays of punch and lemonade, children, parents, and foster children play games, draw, try to bite apples off of hanging strings, and other such parlor games. Some are dressed in their finery, and some are dressed in 'homemade' finery with bits of colored paper here and there and child-made masks. There's body paints and plenty of food. Now and then, children cast wistful glances at the tree, looking to see if there might be anything new… and who might have left it.
Kimmila enters the Living Caverns with her daughter in her arms. Holding the smiling infant against her shoulder, the bluerider walks with a bounce in her step that makes the little girl squeal and wave her arms with delight. Blowing stray hair out of her face, Ziani sees the waving strands as something interesting, and reaches up to grab it. Kimmila walks the next few steps in the classic 'mommy ow' posture, bent to one side. "Ow, Zi, ow, that's Mommy's hair, please let go."
There's a great deal of excited laughter bubbling from the brown haired toddler in the Weyrwoman's arms as Enka strides into the living caverns, her daughter perched atop her hip, with a flat, rectangular-shaped wrapped package tucked under one arm. Little Emalia's arms are waving about excitedly, caught up in the excitement of the party. "Whee!" comes her excited giggle, small feet kicking about wildly as she wiggles, trying to see everything. Enka of course, can't help but laugh, steering in Kimmila's direction. "They do so have little grabby hands," she remarks to the bluerider, eyes merry. "But all the more reason to love them, hmm?"
Kyldar comes in from an inner cavern and greets those already here. "Hello, all," she says, waving here and there. An eyebrow goes up at Kimila's predicament, and she stifles a giggle. "Kid being a pain, eh?" she says, teasing gently. "Anyway, how is everyone?"
Ze'an has no kid, isn't a kid, so it's rather surprising that Ze'an can be seen walking into the living caverns. His eyes flicker about as he looks over the various people scattered about. "Noisy." He decides thoughtfully.
A'ven walks in just behind. "I'm sure as soon as we start opening presents and things it'll quiet down.", he remarks, smiling and greeting everyone with a nod. Indeed as he makes his remarks a few children start to look hopeful, "It's not quite time to open presents yet…", he cautions, crossing over to Kimmila and offering her a kiss, with a kiss for Zia as well, "Yikes Zia..", he tries to untangle Kimm's hair from the little one's grasp. "If you have gifts… they go by the tree there… seems as good a place as any."
K'ael heads into the living caverns at Western. Holding the bronzer's hand is a miniature version of himself, the bronzer's four turn old eldest son Milo. Tucked under Milo's arm is a somewhat worn but recently cleaned brown dragon plushie wearing a big red bow. Milo's eyes look a bit red, likely from crying. He's also got a frown on that could shatter glass. Clearly -someone- isn't too happy about the party. His father though is grinning at all the little ones, and offering those he recognizes a wave. Then he heads in Enka's direction. "Sorry I'm late, love. We had a little incident earlier about our gift."
Kimmila gets her hair free from Ziani's grasp with A'ven's help, and laughs a little at Enka. "If you say so," she says with a quick, fleeting smile. The bluerider certainly did not inherit her own mother's mothering instincts, and she is quick to pass Ziani off to her father, brushing her hands on her pants.
Ze'an places a wrapped box with the rest of the presents and moves off to find himself a seat, wrapping his arms behind his head in slight amusement. "Quieter? Weyrleader, I think you're kidding yourself, this is nothing once they start unwrapping things. THen all chaos will break loose."
Kyldar reaches into a duffel bag and places a box in among the rest of the prezzies, and then goes to help herself to a mug of klah. To Ze'an she says, "Quieter? Meh. Well, maybe. But there's hardly ever a quiet moment here, you know that. Especially with intransigent little bratlings running around."
"On the other hand," Enka comments, managing another wry grin at Kimmila, "they don't seem to be so grabby when they're around firelizards. A couple of scratches tend to do them well." Enka's version of motherhood seems well … lacksy-daisy in a way. "Emalia and I brought somethin' for Ziani, didn't want it to get mixed up with the others," the wrapped present is offered first towards the bluerider. "A copy of The Very Hungry Trundlebug. Emalia loves to read it." A nod in the direction of a drudge carrying in two more packages is made. Kyldar and Ze'an both get a wave, and then the goldrider is turning around at the sound of a voice, her smile getting wider. "Oh dear," Enka shifts Emalia a trifle on her hip, perhaps giving her a moment to compose herself a little, particularly at the look on poor Milo's face. "Milo, dear," Enka bends close, "Baby Laky would be very happy sittin' in the tree, he'll be able to see everything happenin'," Emalia takes that moment to reach out and pat the older boy's cheek. Enka glances up at K'ael, motioning towards the tree.
"You miss the tiny grabby fingers when they're gone. And starting to grab at other things." K'ael musses up his son's hair a bit. Poor Milo. "The Very Hungry Trundlebug, you like that book too, don't you Milo? Say hello, Squirt." Milo however is not having any of this. He just holds onto his dragon with his brow furrowed. "How's the turnday gal doing?" Milo just pouts at Enka and looks up at the tree. He's not saying no, but he's not really saying anything at all, either. The bronzer looks down at his son. "Give Ema a hug, then we'll go put baby Laky up in the tree, how about?" The boy relents, giving Ema a pat. Then his father lifts him up so he can put the dragon on the tree. There's no crying, but it could start at any moment.
A'ven gladly takes his daughter, spinning her just a little so that she'll giggle. "Look Zia.. you got another present.", he points to the present that's being handed to Kimmila. "What do you think, is it time for cake yet?", he asks her. She of course, just looks at him wide-eyed and points at an apple on a string. "You wanna try that?" He holds her close so that she can try, but alas, she fails, but has a good time in the attempt. He looks with curiosity towards Enka's daughter and starts over that way, thinking the children might want to say hello to each other before cake… and the mayhem really starts.
Ze'an waves a hand to the presents, "See? It's just things like these that make me happy that I'm single." He grins at the thought, "no pitter-patter of little feet, and certainly no screaming mouths wanting presents." He wraps his arms behind his head, simply content to watch the chaos unfold.
Kimmila grins at Enka, shaking her head. "No," she agrees, "they learn pretty quick after the first few times. Instant behavior correction." She smiles and reaches for the gift. "Aww, that's so sweet," she says graciously, "Thank you very much. I'm sure she'll love it." She turns to focus on Ze'an, with a small frown. "Then why are you here?" she asks, rather bluntly.
Chaos, it might be added, that only promises to grow greater with the addition of one more screaming mouth—and who knows how many maws, led by a china-doll gold. Yes, the Weyr's resident quilter, Jessa, has joined the festivities, insofar as she is staying near the entrance. In one arm is bundled her little daughter, and in the other, a package wrapped up in brown paper, tied with colorful bands of fabric stitched together with care. The little gold lands on Jessa's left shoulder, curling her talons into her shirt as possessively as ever. MINE!
Enka's smile is quite happy as Emalia giggles softly at Milo, her little hands waving giddily about before she settles her head against her mother's shoulder, watching wide-eyed. "You miss other things," Enka comments to Ze'an, "their little arms hugging you, or their first words and steps." Kimmila gets a smile and a nod. "Yep, exactly. I suppose a kitten would do the same thing, except by the time Emalia got Kiki, she already knew not to grab 'em." The goldrider waits for K'ael's return before she's leaning in close to wrap her free arm around his waist. "I think it's time for cake," she comments to A'ven, taking a quick look at Milo's face. "Would you like some lemonade and cake, Milo?" Enka glances at her daughter, Emalia lifting her head at the sound of the word. Clearly the goldrider's offspring has a sweet tooth too. "Say hello to Ziani, Emalia." "'Ello." comes the toddler's voice. And then Enka's smiling over at Jessa. "Heard you have a little one, Jessa. Congratulations." Ah, noise. And a very happy goldrider.
Ze'an turns his head to Kimmila, "What, I can't watch the chaos and enjoy myelf just because I'm not a very baby-happy guy?" He shrugs a little wrapping his arms behind his head, "I brought a present, doesn't that matter?" He turns to Enka and grins, "I'm sure, Weyrwoman. But I'm happy at the moment, thanks."
Lis is running late but does finally make it with one little one in her arms and a sweet little blonde in tow, holding her hand. Elli, said blonde, carries a present in her hands and she lights up to see all the kids then runs to put the present with the others before turning back to find Lissi in the crowd. She looks a little frightened for a moment as she starts to weave back through all the grownups, seeking out her momma and her littl brother. "Here, Elli," the greenrider said and leans to be seen better then she waves to those she knows and a few she doesn't.
A'ven can be seen comforting one of the foster children by the tree who doesn't seem to have any presents. A'ven finds one with his name on it and he beams and then starts to cry. Yes, it's here. I did get one. Even if it's only one, it's mine! He clutches it to his chest and starts to try to figure out what it is.
Kimmila shrugs at Ze'an. "You can do whatever you want," she says with another small frown. "I can't ask a question?" She turns back to A'ven, smiling at Enka. "Just about anything would do the same. Only people try to use words instead of scratches or bites."
"This one's arms still look pretty little to me." K'ael notes, motioning towards Emalia. He grins at the girl. Milo's been set down, and he stands there with his father even if he is mad at K'ael right now. Milo's blue eyes look up at Enka and he doesn't say anything for a moment at her offer. Finally he nods his head. "Okay…" Is his response. K'ael squats down a bit to talk to his son. "It's Ziani's turnday Milo, remember what to say?" Milo heads over to Zia and waves. "Hello Ziani and HAPPY TURNDAY!" It's a little on the loud side for such a small boy, but at least he's not pouting anymore and seems a bit more excited.
Jessa smiles at Enka, nodding as she sidles over. Said little one is looking around, baby-blue eyes open as wide as dinner plates, and her lower lip is trembling. Lots of people, yes, too many. What to do, what to do! "Looks like you do, too, I guess we've been out of touch way too long since Ista. Might be one of the last free days I have, soon as the Healers clear me to return to duty. Ninka's missed flying like you wouldn't believe." Shifting the little bundle on her hip, she gets a starry-eyed look one might have seen on her face following Impression. "This is Jaissa. Getting her out and about in the Weyr, getting used to other people." She turns then to A'ven and smiles, inclining her head. "Congratulations to you, and happy Turnday to Ziani. Time flies, doesn't it?"
Elli toddles toward Lissi and tugs at the bag on the greenrider's shoulder, "Pwessint foah Ssssianni.." she says, having just a little trouble with the name. Lissi smiles and nods her head, "Yes you can get it.." and she finds a table to set down her bag, letting the litle girl fish a pink-wrapped present out of it. She turns and scans the area for A'ven and Kimmila and thusly Ziani, "There.. you take it to her.." she says then she turns Zallon around to face outward on her hip so he can look around while he chews his fist and drools. Elli finds Ziani and looks up A'ven, now reaching to tug /his/ shirt, "Mistuh Weuhleaduh..this foah Sssianni.." and she holds up the little pink box. Inside is a long ribbon tied in a loop with a suncatcher hanging on the end of it. The oval is a mosaic of a brightly colored butterfly with a few prismatic stones set in the wings so that they seem to flutter when it turns and moves. The card reads "Happy Turnday from L'ton, Lissi, Elli and Zallon". Meanwhile, Lissi is heading their direction finally, having reduced her load to just the infant, the bag left on the table. "Evenin," she says to all and sundry who are near.
A'ven agress, "Time flies faster than blue chases green." "I remember when you gave her her first plushy, which she still has, by the way.", he smiles. "I just hope the drudges forgive us when they see the size of the cake… and the mess.", he looks a little nervous about that but hey, a party like this only happens once a Turn. He nods gratefully at Lissi's present first to Lissi and then to little Elli, "I'm sure she'll love it… and that's Elli? Shells you're getting so big Elli, such a big helper… carrying that present all by yourself." K'ael's boy gets a smile too, "Watch out for him, he's going to have a whole collection of ladies after him when he gets older."
"It'll be a long time before she won't be able to hug me." Enka's smile is steady as she regards her daughter, the little girl now watching K'ael again before the goldrider offers her over to the bronzerider. "Want to hold her? I'll go get Milo some lemonade and cake, and then there's a couple of presents I want to make sure get to the right children." She waits long enough of course for K'ael to take the child before she's headed over towards one of the drudges for some cake and a cup of juice. That done, she returns, setting it down at a table so Milo could enjoy it. "Afterwards," she says softly to him, "I've got a surprise for you." Something to replace Baby Laky, but she isn't going to say just what. "We'll have to talk," Enka promises to Jessa. "I'll tell you all about what happened after you left."
Ze'an's eyes flicker about the crowd, grinning as he watches the children wih obvious amusement. Though, he mostly keeps to himself and stays out of the way.
Kimmila smiles warmly at Lissi, "Thank you so much. That's so sweet of you." And she includes Elli in that thanks as well. As A'ven gets busy with other things, the bluerider reaches out to take Ziani back into her arms, grinning at Milo. "Thank you," she says, resting her daughter on her hip.
Little Jaissa, oddly enough, seems to fix her eyes right on Ze'an. Burbling and cooing, she starts flailing her little arms about, giving her mother a bit of a time holding on to her. "Now what's gotten into you, hmmm?" Jessa shakes her head and chuckles softly, following her little one's gaze. "Oh-ho, that's not daddy. No, definitely not." Kimmila gets a warm smile from her then, and, despite her daughter's protestations, she moves towards her with the brown package. "Something for Ziani, might keep her warm when it gets cool at night."
K'ael gives a nod to Lissi. The bronzer chuckles to A'ven. "Shards I hope not. His father's gone and done enough of that over the turns." He chuckles to Enka then. "Hopefully she'll never be too old to give her ma a hug." He takes Emalia from the goldrider. "That sounds good, Enka. Milo, go help Enka while she gets you something to eat." Milo follows Enka with interest, climbing up at the place she sets for him to get his fill of cake and lemonade. He looks at Enka curiously. "Is it a tunnelsnake?!" The boy asks her. He's soon forgotten the notion though. Cake! Meanwhile is father pokes at Ema tiny nose. "Hey there Ema. I haven't seen you in a while. Did you miss me?"
A'ven says to Lissi, "I may just have to borrow Elli for a while, she's so cute.. when did she start talking? I'm waiting for Ziani to get interested but she just.. well she hasn't said anything useful yet.. babbles a lot but.." He does things as he talks too, handing out, yes, little toothbrushes to the kids nearby. Healers have to watch out for those nasty cavities, you know… most of the younger kids take the gift, because hey, it's a gift.. but the older ones look at him funny.
Ze'an wiggles his fingers and sticks out his tongue at Jaissa, laughing quietly in amusement. "No, I definitely don't think I'm daddy." He laughs quietly at that, seeming amused. "C'mon Jess, I'm not /that/ bad."
Kimmila turns her attention to Jessa, smiling as she reaches for the package. "Thank you very much. Happy that you could make it. Hello, Jaissa," she greets the baby with a finger-wiggle.
Empress stomps about on Jessa's shoulder, rumbling in an odd little soprano. MINE!
Lissi has to grin to watch Elli then she smiles at Kimmila, "Oh aye, yer welcome, both o'ya.." she says then she looks at the suncatcher, "I put tha date on tha back.." she notes then waves in return to K'ael. She turns to look at A'ven and smiles, "A few months ago..lil words..she still talks in broken sentences, which is likely my fault.. ain't ever got over my accent an' I talk fast sometimes.." she says with a smile as Elli first tickles at Ziani's toes then turns help take a present to one of the fosterlings. "She's a good girl.." she says with a proud smile and as if on cue Zallon kicks his feet and gurgles. Lissi bends to kiss the top of his head, "Yer good ta, aye.." she says with a grin. Jessa and Enka get a wave as well as Ze'an, as Lis looks around then she shifts the baby to the other hip.
Jessa smiles at Kimmila, passing the package over to her. The paper crinkles softly around the squishy contents, which, when the ties are loosed and the paper peeled away, reveal this:
In your hands, rests a small quilt, well suited in size for a young child or a lap quilt for an adult. It is crafted from fabrics in myriad hues of pink on a cream background, in a simple three-part latticework pattern. In another day and age, it might have been called a Triple Irish Chain. A simple border of three different shades of pink, shading from lightest to darkest, inside to outside, completes the piece. Quilting has been executed with care, stylized renditions of the Weyr's device stitched in the cream setting squares, and the lines of the latticework followed overall for the rest.
Bahrain warbles quite happily as he soars into the living caverns, searching out the nearest human perch. Ah yes, target acquired… bombs away! Inside of a minute or so, A'ven finds himself with a new hat.
A'ven finds Lelia in the crowd, one of the 15 Turn old foster children. He takes her to the tree and she gasps as she finds a present that clearly says, "From Enka." on it. "From the Werywoman herself?" "Wow!" The girl is beside herself, laughing too as the firelizard lands. She has to be reminded to open the present. When she does, this is revealed:
Dyed a gentle tropical blue the hem of this lightweight dress falls to mid-calf The skirts are fairly full no doubt perfect for swishing about while the bodice tapers to a neat narrow waist with wide shoulder straps. The scoop-shaped neckline dips just enough to make a girl feel flattered and grown up without raising the ire of the aunties.
Kimmila opens the quilt and smiles, her expression soft as she runs her fingers over the stitching. "Thank you," she says to Jessa, wrapping the quilt loosely around Ziani. She smiles as the little girl takes the edges in her hands and then starts gnawing on it. NOM NOM NOM.
Enka's soft chuckle is full of amusement as she casts a side glance at K'ael. "His father's settin' a better example these days, isn't he?" she comments drolly, grinning cheekily at the bronzerider as Emalia giggles at him and bounces up and down happily. "Miss, miss!" she squeals, waving her hands. "Miss you." "Evidently," Enka comments, "she misses you." The quilt gets a sudden look from Enka, and the goldrider's letting out a soft whistle. "It's lovely, Jessa." she remarks, admiring it from where she stands. "You must've put lots of work into it." The wave from Lissi is noted, and returned with some enthusiasm. "Hullo Lissi." the goldrider calls over before she's glancing in Milo's direction. "No, it ain't no tunnelsnake." As Leila's present is open, the goldrider looks quite smug indeed. "Perfect," she declares. "Every gal needs somethin' to wear to make her feel pretty."
Leila runs up to the Weyrwoman, looking a bit tear-smuged and breathes a 'thank you' and /then/ remembers that she should curtsey… and then remembers that she should wipe her eyes, and then remembers that she should have said 'thank you' louder and so just turns red and stands there, awestruck.
Ze'an turns his head as he watches the presents are opened, "That's nice," He tells Jessa, pointing ot the quit, "And I'm sure the dress will look good on her." He smiles as he watches, nodding to Enka, "All girls look good in dresses."
The drudges have arrived with two cakes. One is huge. How huge? Wedding cake huge. It's enough to feed half the Weyr and then some, it seems. It's decorated in Western's colors with gold trim icing. Ziani also has a cake, but it's much smaller, just for her. It's got a great big 'First Turnday' on it.
K'ael looks around at all the gifts. "Wow. This was a good idea." The bronzer chuckles at Enka. "He is indeed. You missed me, did you Ema? Well, I promise I won't stay away that long again, okay? I'll bring Milo with me more often, too." Milo meanwhile has gotten more cake on his pudgy cheeks than in his stomach probably. Though he's still going, finishing up every sip of lemonade with an "Ahh." As Leila opens her gift and tries to thank the weyrwoman he smiles. "Very pretty dress. It'll look terrific on a pretty gal like you."
Jessa nods, and smiles. "First turndays are like that first hour or so after Impression. They only happen once, make the most of it. The work was well worth it." Here, her smile widens, into something more like a mischievous grin. "It makes room for more new fabric in my stash." To Ze'an, she smiles warmly, a pink tint staining her cheeks. "Thank you. I tried." Ziani's appreciation of the gift has her laughing merrily, eyes a-twinkle like twin stars. "Sorry, kiddo, it's not meant to taste good."
Kimmila walks Ziani over to the cakes, smiling. "This is your cake, kiddo," she says happily to her daughter, pointing to the smaller one. "Can you read that? It says 'First Turnday'. That's how old you are! One! Can you say 'one'?" Ziani just tries to grab at the cake, leeeeaning out of her mother's arms. With a laugh, Kimmila pulls her back and asks the drudge to cut her a small slice. Holding the plate in front of the infant, Kimmila watches with an amused grin as Ziani mashes it with her hands, playing as if it were the coolest toy ever. The rest of the cake is left to share.
Lissi eyes the quilt and smiles, "Oh thas lovely," she notes to both Kimmila and Jessa then she beams as the cakes arrive. Elli is distracted as well, after passing off the gift they brought for one of the little fosterlings, her eyes catch sight of the cakes and she follows wordlessly, the sugary goodness calling to her like the pied piper.
Bahrain turns about three times on A'ven's head, before curling up into his new nest and… snoring? Why, the little stinker's gone to sleep on his head!
Ze'an shakes his head over at Jessa and laughs, "It came out good, I wish I could do something like that. The most I do is break things half the time, 'cept when I'm working with glass." He turns to watch the presents for a moment, "I had a hard time figureing out what to bring for a present that would be appropriate for a kid. Then I got to thinking and I managed to make a little something for their room. I thought it might help to light it up a little bit and it's not easily breakable. I would know." He laughs loudly, rubbing at the back of his head. "course, not sure how happy they'd be about it."
A'ven finds Tanvir, another one of the foster children, a boy of about Ten turns. He leads Tanvir to the tree. The boy won't suffer any further help from the Weyrleader and insists on digging through the gifts to find his. It says "From G'len" in bright letters on the package He opens it to reveal:
This is a large flattish wooden box fixed with partisions to hold various game pieces and card decks and place counters. The pieces are for a variety of games including checkers and chess and other games as well. In the lid there are slots to hold the gameboards. One is a checkerboard with alternating squares in black and red. Another board is decorated with various dragon pictures all dragons in flight and looking inward towards the center of the board where there is a maze. There is even a spinner included.
"Leila, dear," Enka replies, reaching out to pull the foster girl into a one-armed hug, "I wasn't much older than you not so long ago, and I didn't have much to my name, I know what it means to have somethin' pretty to wear." She smiles. "You have a great party all right," With that, and a cheerful pat on the girl's shoulder, she steps back towards K'ael, grinning. "That is good," she remarks, standing on tip-toes to kiss his cheek softly, turning her head to watch Emalia, the toddler twisting in K'ael's arms to pat his other cheek, and giggle. "Stay." Maybe she's echoing him. "Milo." Yeah, definitely echoing, but she's learning. "Enjoyin' that cake, Milo?" Enka looks at the boy for a moment. "Need more lemonade?" A laugh then, as she catches sight of A'ven. "You got a nice hat," she calls out teasingly to her Weyrleader.
Lissi smiles at Enka then inclines her head in a respectful manner, she is the Weyrwoman after all but perhaps too far away to yell out a greeting over all the other noise and littles and presents. She keeps an eye on Elli but is far too amused with the little girl's starry eyed gaze at the cakes to stop her, for now. Blond curls bounce and her wide green eyes and open-mouthed stare give her the unmistakable look of a cake-zombie, one little hand reaching, reaching, fingers curling, if she could JUST get her hands on one little glob of icing! Zallon gnaws his fist, it's better than cake.
Leila blushes some more and smiles. A little bit of affection goes a long way, to someone who's had very little. The girl looks around the room at all the people, and she says quietly, "I do have a family after all… and it's soooo big." A huge smile breaks onto her face then, and she goes to find … CAKE!
K'ael looks at Leila, then at Enka. "What do you think, we got a future weyrwoman here, or what?" He winks to the girl. She looked old enough perhaps to impress. He smiles to Enka as she heads over to him. K'ael chuckles at Ema. "Stay? Well, I'll try as often as I can." Imitation was good for the little ones to learn, and the bronzer doesn't seem to mind. He leans over to give Ema eskimo kisses. Milo's finishes up his cake by now. The boy gives Enka an enthusiastic nod. He looks down into his cup of lemonade then. "No, I got enough!" He says to her. "Milo," K'ael says to his son. "Use your napkin, okay buddy?" K'ael motions to Elli then. "We got a little rascal trying to help herself there."
Tanvir saddles up to Ze'an to ask him quietly, "You wanna play?" He extends his new game set, pointing out that some of the games are really simple. He reaches for the dice, in particular. "Dragon's Dice?"
Ze'an blinks as he leans forward, "Oh, I know how to play that," His finger points at the game set. He moves to stand to his feet and plops to the floor, not really seeming to care if he gets dirty. "Sure, I can play, not like I'm doing anything else at the moment." He flashes a smile. See? He can play nice.
A'ven looks around the cavern with a satisfied smile and finally, after serving a few more of the foster kids himself, gets some cake.
Jessa smiles with satisfaction, as presents are handed out and everyone she cares for seems to be happy. Could life possibly get any better than this? She stays quiet, taking up her usual seat at the fire pit to rock Jaissa gently, shushing and cooing to her softly. "There, calm down now… see, it's okay, these are all friends here…"
Tanvir attempts to look sophisticated as he rolls the dice, just like he's seen the older riders do when they play for money. He has no money, he has nothing to offer of value really. Someone cares enough to spend time with him, and that's what matters. He smiles as
Ze'an accepts his offer, simple though it was. His first roll is doubles. Perhaps he's got a bit of luck in him after all.
Lissi sees Elli reaching and she makes that 'eeek' face, lips flattening outward, brows quirking, "Elli, love..let me get ya a bit.." she calls out, walking quickly toward her. Zallon giggles at the 'ride' he gets as his momma beats a quick path, though sadly, not in time to stop the little girl from grasping a wad of cake and icing and giggling as it smishes between her fingers. Lissi reaches for her hand and shakes her head, "No love, we'll get some on a plate.." she says though with her attention turned toward Elli, Zallon is facing the cake and a little hand dives in, then the iced fist goes quickly to his mouth. His feet kick in delight and he drools and nomomoms, yeah, he has a sweet tooth..err..gum.
Empress warbles, peering at everyone converging on the cake. In particular, one fifteen-Turn-old young lady. It is to this one, Leila, she flies, leaving her human's shoulder in a show of childlike capriciousness. She lands on the table right near the cake, folding in her wings carefully and singing most prettily.
Ze'an leans forward and claps his hands, a grin pulling his lips, "There you go, it's a good roll." He tells the younging, scooping up the dice and grinning suddenly. "Hey, I tell you what, you win and I'll let you have my slice of cake." He says, nodding to the cake where everyone's converging. He tosses the die across the floor frowning at the numbers he gets. "Your turn."
A'ven reaches up to give his 'hat' a scritch. Laughing softly and enjoying the cake!
Bahrain just snores louder at the scritches, settling down quite firmly. Nope, nobody's moving him!
There's a flutter of giggles from Emalia, the nearly two turn-old toddler wiggling about happily in K'ael's arms. "You never know," Enka remarks drolly to the bronzerider, "I was just about sixteen when I Impressed Mir. Could be that she's got the potential herself." There's a sudden, very calculating look at the girl, and Enka seems thoughtful for a long moment, before she grins at Milo. "Good to hear, could use a little cake myself. And maybe some for Emalia," who has clearly inherited a certain goldrider's taste for sweets. Off she goes, returning with a slice of cake, offering a bite to Emalia first. Enka takes a glance at Milo and smiles, leaning close to K'ael to whisper, "Found somethin' for him," she says softly. "It's up in my weyr. We'll have to bring him up there later. Mir /loves/ it."
Vana, a strikingly beautiful 12 Turn old girl, who is made even moreso because she doesn't believe she's beautiful finds a present near the tree for HER.. for HER. "I never get anything!", she remarks with the surprise of a child who always gets picked last to play games… the one who is grudgingly, unwillingly taken onto teams, and yet has more attention from boys than she really wants, preferring to play with boats, and sticks, and watch them dance down streams and moving water. Preferring to sit quietly in the out of doors and listen to the seagulls. The package says, "From Enka" and when she opens it she gets:
Pale woven straw forms a wide-brimmed hat with a shallow crown. The rounded brim of the hat provides ample shade for the face of the wearer and there is a cheerful yellow bow with trailing ribbons that wraps gently around the seam where crown and brim meet.
The girl squeeees in delight. "This is perfect for my next out-of-doors picnic!" she exclaims, looking round for the Weyrwoman.
K'ael grins at Ema. The bronzer has a thing for this tiny cute little one, that was for sure. "Mm. I was seventeen when I impressed Az. Or was it eighteen? Hm…" The bronzer holds Emalia so she can easily get some cake from her mother. Milo is busy trying to clean himself up a bit. He does a fairly decent job for a 4 turn old. K'ael looks to Enka then. "Oh? I'm sure he'll be thrilled. He'll probably forget all about his other plushies." He chuckles. "Did you get one for Mir, too?"
Tanvir rolls his dice again. He gets a five and a one. "Is that good?", he whispers to Ze'an, unwilling to admit he hasn't had much experience with this game. Ze'an though, he's warming too, liking the man who was so nice to notice him. "Sure is better doing this than what I would be doing, running from the older boys who just want to catch me and take my clothes." "Make me walk back and fetch em…"
"Love," Enka remarks grinning as Emalia opens her mouth, succeeds in getting half the cake in between her lips but leaves a smear of frosting across her face, "he's gonna be surprised." she smiles wryly, holding up a napkin to wipe at her daughter's face. "No, Mir didn't get one too, she just likes lookin' at the thing." she winks, pokes the fork into the cake, eyes closing in delight as she takes the bite. "This is good, Try some?" The next forkful is offered to K'ael, before Enka turns her head slightly. "Oh good," she exclaims, quite satisfied, "Vana got her hat." Emalia's resting her head against K'aels shoulder, chortling happily.
Vana finds the Weyrwoman by her voice, and with commendable poise says simply, "Why thank you, Weyrwoman. What a kind gift." "Perhaps we can have tea later… or talk?", she offes politely, a courtesy and a warm smile and she's off, dashing out the door in happy delight, her hair trailing behind her, hat in hand, ready for her next adventure!
Ze'an's eyes light up in surprise, "Much better than what I got, I think you just won." So who cares if it's not actually a winning dice? Ze'an certainly doesn't. Though a frown pulls at his lips, "They do that to you? Next time they do that you come to me and I'll get Orykoth to scare 'em off, alright." He grins and pushes himself to his feet, offering out a hand, "C'mon, let's get cake. I'll give you my piece."
Tanvir looks shocked. A dragonrider offering HIM his hand… like an equal. He takes it, gladly and scampers off to cake.
K'ael blinks at Enka. "Oh?" He helps her with the napkining of Emalia's face. "Heh. She's not going to be sad when Milo takes it home then, is she?" The bronzer opens up his mouth for cake. Maybe he can do it more cleanly than Ema. Unless the goldrider has other ideas for him. Milo comes running over when he's all finished. He's still got his cup though. "Enka Enka!" He says, then pauses to take a breath. "C'n I get more lemons-aid?" Then, after a stern look from his father. "Oh. Uh. Peeeeeeeeeeeas?" K'ael smiles as Vana heads over to thank Enka. Once she's gone he looks over to Enka. "Shards, she's gonna be a boy killer. Did you get something for everyone?" He chuckles.
Lissi is busy wiping off Elli's hand then the little one is pointing and giggling and the greenrider looks to Zallon, two fists full of icing crammed at his mouth. She blinks and then laughs, "Oh Zallon!" she yips and tugs Elli over to a table to sit her down for a moment before settling Zallon atop it to wipe off his hands too. "Elli.. if ya wanna get a piece of cake.. go get a little plate with one on it.. then soon as ya eat we'll go get baths.." she says and waits. Sure enough as soon as Elli is done with her cake the trio is making to leave and Lis smiles, looking around, "Sa'good party.." she murmurs to herself then lifts a hand to wave in parting and heads out.
Enka's grin is very satisfied indeed, Enka laughing and waving in acknowledgment to Vana's words. "Now she's a gal with a smart little head on her shoulders," the goldrider remarks, watching her run off. "And with a nice hat like that, she'll be very happy out in the sunshine like she usually is." at K'ael's question, the weyrwoman laughs. "No, no, I didn't get a present for /everyone/. Just the two older girls. She's a dear though, isn't she?" Enka glances after the retreating Vana. "They'll love her for sure. Manners." Luckily for K'ael, the cake doesn't make much of a mess, but the goldrider leans in give him another quick kiss. Milo gets a wry grin then, a drudge waved over with a pitcher of lemonade to pour some into the boy's cup. "Why don't we sit down," Enka suggests, finding a chair and settling onto it, patting the one next to her in an invitation to Milo. The departures of various members of the Weyr are noted, the goldrider waving in farewell.
Ze'an smiles a little and walks Tanvir to the cake, looking quite happy with himself for helping the kid. After assuring himself that he's taken care of, Ze'an makes his way out of the living caverns, a thoughtful look on his face.
K'ael nods to Enka. "That she is. Polite, too." He grins to her. "No? Ah. Just the gals near and dear, hm? That one there? Yeah, she is." The bronzer doesn't really get a good chance to get his cake down the hatch, so that kiss is probably very sweet for Enka. He nods to Enka. Milo thanks the drudge with the lemonade and then heads over to the chairs, handing his cup over to Enka for a moment while he climbs up and gets himself situated. K'ael too is waving farewell, though he recognizes far less people than Enka does. Once they're seated he strokes Ema's hair a bit. Was she tuckered out already?
Enka licks at the frosting across her lips, smiling. It looks like the party is starting to die down, the foster children have all been given their gifts and guests are starting to leave — most with extra plates of cake in their hands. The goldrider's gaze settles onto her daughter, Emalia starting to yawn and rest her head against K'ael's shoulder. "We ought to get goin' ourselves," she suggests, "Kids are gonna get sleepy, and we've got Milo's surprise." So off they go, a happy little 'family' quartet, leaving the living caverns and headed for Enka's weyr.