Lyrianna - Friday, July 26, 2002, 1:45 PM

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Living Cavern

The smooth, rounded walls cavern sweep upward from an oval base, two dragonlengths long and one wide, large enough to seat every member of the Weyr at mealtimes. The soft blackness of the lava which forms these caverns swallows glowlight, so shelves for glowbaskets abound, dotting the walls every three or four paces and casting gentle greenish light toward the sparkles of gold volcanic glass embedded in the ceiling. Ancient, lustrous tables run along the axis of the cavern, and at the far end rests the raised dais and high table, where Weyrleaders and honored guests eat during formal occasions. Behind the high table, the Weyr's symbol is embedded into stone: a smoking mountain in black on an orange shield, trimmed in gold.

Perched near the food are fourteen firelizards.

Nadine comes in from the bowl, carrying one sandal in her hand. The foot missing the sandal has a piece of bark with a leaf strapped to it with a belt. Her free hand is pinching her nose, and with good reason--the sandal she holds reeks of trundlebug juices. She passes through the living cavern and disappears into the northeast caverns.

Brid slips out from the kitchen.. disheveled and frankly, not looking her ebst, rumpled clothing and a few new stains picked up while scrubbing the pots that one held the red sauces for last night's wherry. But.. Fresh hot klah is in hand and she carries a platter of hot rolls, some good does come from kitchen work.

Lyrianna trips her way into the living caverns, pausing long enough to get a bowl of oatmeal before continuing on to a table, blinking sleep from her eyes and giving the occasional yawn. "Hi Nadine," mumbles Lyri as she throws herself into a chair,"Bye Nadine." After a couple moments of absorbing what she's said she blinks after Nadi. Interesting. "Mornin' Brid," says Lyri as she eyes the rolls,"Come sit with me," the younger girl invites the one-with-klah.

Jash comes in from the direction of the barracks, having just finished oiling his lizards, he is still wiping his hands off on a cloth. The cloth is deposited on a table as he passes it on his way to the food. Nadine is given a strange look as she passes through and nose is wrinkled in disgust as the scent drifts his way. Nothing can ruin his appetite though and he loads up a plate with as much as it can carry and grabs a cup of juice. Placing his juice on a table he snags a roll from Brid's tray as she passes by, taking his drink and continuing on to a table to sit a few seats down from Lyrianna.

Nadine eventually returns to the Cavern, her sandal now smelling pleasantly of scented sweetsand and dripping wet. She waves to those she recognizes as she clunks out to the bowl, disappearing yet again outside with her wet sandal, dry sandal, and bark sandal.

Brid settles next to Lyri, holding out klah and platter in mute offer. Her eyes flick back and forth as Nadine enters and exits.. A grin is sent Jash-ward at his snare and she sighs, the only sound to have yet escaped her tired mouth as she finally get's off her feet. "I am exhausted." is aoffered to the room in general

Eveanna saunters non-challantly into the living cavern, ducking off to a darkened corner, pausing by a drudge momentarilly and asking her to bring back a pitcher of klah and a couple of meatrolls for a light snack. Jade eyes drag about the room and rest on the others for a second before returning to drift about the place, taking the new sights about her.

Lyrianna watches Nadine reappear and disappear again, automatically noting,"Hi Nadine. Bye Nadine." Pause. Blinkblink. A mall smile and a nod to Brid as she takes the klah, pouring herself some. "You're not the only one." Lyri hasn't even been able to sit in a chair and mock all of the late-wakers lately. Besides, there aren't any good spots to do that. She's beginning to miss the Vault. With a small shake of her head Lyri leans over her bowl of oatmeal, shoveling a few bites into her mouth before, with a yawn, looking around. "Hi Jash." Empty chair is gestured to,"Come sit."

Jash looks apologetically in Brid's direction as he shoves food in his mouth. Swallowing he says "Sorry I couldn't do more last night. I had to get up early to feed and water the horses." And then go back to bed apparently. Not paying attention to anything but food and fellow candies at the table he misses Eveanna's entrance and exit as well as Nadine's next pass through.

Nadine reappears yet again, her bark-leaf sandal gone and both real sandals in one hand. One still drips. She beams and waves again, snatches a meatroll from the food table, and breezily trots down into the southern caverns. Drip, drip, drip. Will she ever come into the Living Cavern and stay there? Will her sandal stop dripping? Will Lyri stop saying hi, bye? Find out next time on...wait.

Brid says, "No problem Jash, I appreciate any help I get." It was funny to see the bronzeriding fisherman in the kitchen, though. Funny what happens when you see stuff you /don't/ expect. "I had enough struggle with that sauce, the stuff hardens to glue, I swear." Now she finally reaches for one of the rolls as well; klah, food and finally her eyes catch the shift of light that preceeds the newcomer as she walks about. Directing herself to Eveanna she smiles sleepily. "Hello.""

Eveanna should have the courage to go up to the people that are present and at least strike up a convorsation, but she holds back, mind telling her to avoid people. The drudge that she stopped before stops by her shadowed table with a small plate of steaming meatrolls and semi-chilled klah, Eve nodding to her appreciatevely, "Thank you.." She says meekly in a husky voice, clearing it out loudly as it cracks. Then her eyes jerk up toward Brid and she nods, letting a releaved smile let through, "Hullo." A greeting and a nod to her, filling an empty mug from the pitcher.

Lyrianna sets her spoon down to pick at a roll. "Hi Nadine, Bye Nadi- Waaait..." The girl, awake enough to think properly, stops herself in mid-sentence, simply blinking then decisively calling towards the southern caverns,"Would you just stay put?" Lyri gathers up her bowl of oatmeal in one hand and leans back into her chair, pulling her legs up into a crosslegged position. "Hi," is nodded quietly to Eveanna.

Nodding to Brid once more as he is not able to speak with a mouth full of meatroll, Jash notices Nadine's next trip through the caverns. "Wait, wasn't she?" His mouth full of food forgotten as confusion takes over, this comes out muffled and with perhaps a few food particles as well. Eveanna is glanced at before turning back to his food.

Nadine appears for the fourth time, now wearing her flip-flops. This fact is made apparent not by them being quite obvious, but by their tell-tale flip-flop sound every time she takes a step. Thwap, thwap, thwap on the floor, as it were. Still beaming widely, she throws out her arms and cries, "Brid! Lyri! Jash! Iapelmak! And...you!" She points her finger around randomly to someone she doesn't know and it comes to rest on the girl with the strawberry-blonde hair. She plucks up a bowl, idly dumps some grain in it, and carelessly splashes milk into the bowl. A spoon is found and used to stir up the cereal before Nadine plunks herself down by the last person she pointed at. "Hi!" She smiles brightly. "Who're you?" Something must be wrong, Nadine is being far too cheery.

Eveanna's head turns then toward Lyrianna, nodding again and another greeting but then startled by Nadine's comment. "I-I'm.. um.. Eveanna, but you may call me Eve if you wish." A sideways smile and she siddles over to make some more room for the other girl, "And you are..?" A spinning motion of her hand as she idly tries to find something to do with them as she awaits an answer, slightly nervous.

Brid flinches at Nadine's way-too-cherry greeting this early, or in her case, this late in the day. "What is she up to?" is murmured to Lyri. "She's not being normal." At least as Brid sees the world. Maybe this /is/ normal for younger candidate? The nanni-date takes some comfort that at least all the cheer and energy is not directed at her. "Jash, don't be such a stranger, come join Lyri and I." And watch Nadine with the newcomer. Let's take bets on how long she lasts.

Lyrianna stares at Nadine in wonderment. Her flipflops, actually. Then Nadine herself. A slow shake of her head as she turns towards Nadine,"I don't know," is muttered back to Brid. Eve is given a small forgiving smile - sorry to inflict such a cheerful Nadine upon her so early in the morning. No longer than ten minutes.

Jash eyes the few seats between Brid and Lyrianna. In his mind he was being downright social. Perhaps not as social as Nadine, who is eyed as she acts perky and happy. *shudder* The whole bet vibe is missed by Jash as his stomach rumbles loud enough to be heard across the room and his food regains all his attention.

"Well met, Eve! Where d'you hail from? What brings you to this desolate wherry rock? Enjoying your stay? Would you like to help smuggle me out? Here, have a sweetroll." Nadine snatches a roll from a passing drudge and literally flips it at the younger girl. "I'm Nadine, Ista Weyr Prisoner and Servant. I've got an hour to talk before it's time for 'snake hunting." Her upper torso twists around to face the others and gives them the a-ok sign and a wink. See? She's perfectly normal! Really! Don't you believe her?

Eveanna glances to the others and sees odd looks, as if something were wrong with this girl next to her, "I came from Nerat, originally, but I've been practicing as a runner to deliver messages. Not official though." A warm smile and a nervous glance to the others as she extends a hand to Nadine, "Well then.. Nadine.. Nice to meet you?" She brushes a stray bang from her face, allowing her eyes to take in the rest of the form. No, she's -not- checking her out.

Brid considers rescuing the newly announced Eveanna, but really isn't awake enough to move, never mind consider just how she would pull it off. A frown is shot Jash-ward at his obvious refusal to become yet more social with she and the other non-normal candiate sitting with her. (Well, if Nadine is normal, they would be the odd ones). A yawns escapes.. "Ohh, sorry.. Hey eve, welcome to the weyr.. what sort of running?"

Lyrianna would go on a rescue mission, but is having far to much fun watching this. Chair is pulled around so that she can better see Nadine and Eve while still slurping at the oatmeal held in her lap. A smirk colours her lips as she watches - hm. Been a couple minutes already and she still looks to be going strong. Commendable determination.

Jash doesn't think of rescuing anyone if it will put him at risk with being social with a person he doesn't know. He watches the scene surreptitiously (gotta love the big words) as he eats a sweetroll in two bites. Noticing Brid's frown he moves over one seat. See? Closer...

Nadine nods cheerfully. "Nerat's good. You should meet up with D'baji, he likes running. Maybe he'll train you, or you can train him, or something. I like swimming myself." Beam. "Well met, Eve," she cries, taking her hand and shaking vigorously. "Hope you don't get roped into chores with us. You could stick around and help smuggle me out, though!" There's that smuggling again. She twists around again. "Brid! Lyri! Jash! Come join us!" As if it'll be less trouble for the three to move to the two instead of vice versa.

Eveanna nods, "Nerat's wonderful, though my love for running brought me here." She winces at the handshake and nods, echoing a well met. "I wouldn't mind at least a few chores, since I've really nothing to do until people order me to run something to a nearby cothold or whatever." She watches the others as Nadine calls to them, glad that perhaps she'd make some friends at the least. A raise of her mug to her face and she drinks a good drought of her klah, frowning, "Durn, I can see the bottom of the friggin' mug already."

Brid sleep finally appears to be winning with this poor nanni-date. Standing she shakes her ehad at Nadine and offers Eve a sympathetic smile. "It's been great, but if you are all out here, that means the dorm may be quiet and I can get some sleep." even a few hours maybe... And she heads deeper into the caverns, to her own little cot with her own blankies.. Nigh-night.

Lyrianna stays put in her seat, simply watching the other two with a small shake of her head, eating her oatmeal. Eyebrow is raised at Eve's view of chores and the former starlet is out of her seat and over to them within seconds. "Hi there, Eveanna. My name's Lyri. How nice to meet you." Charm is turned on. "Running, hm? That's terribly interesting. Never been to good at it myself. Say, I bet we could get together over...say...some gardening sometime." Hee. Can't hurt to talk with someone /volunteering/ to help with chores.

Jash finishes up his meal alone. Not that he minds being abandoned, he is rather used to it. Gathering his plate and cup he take them to the kitchen to rinse them off before heading out to do his own chores.

Nadine doesn't notice Brid or Jash leaving--like Lyrianna, her attention has been fully caught by this chore volunteer. "Oooh, really?" She attempts to elbow Lyrianna away. /Her/ chore slave! "You could join me in tunnelsnake hunting. It's much more fun than gardening, I assure you!" She leans over down the table, snags the pitcher of klah, and starts tipping it to refill Eve's mug. Anything for someone who will help.

Lyrianna sighs slightly as Eve dissappears and drops into a chair. "You scared her away," is said accusingly to Nadine.

Nadine glares. "I did not! You did! I was just gaining her trust!" She sniffs loudly and pours some klah for herself. "Well...what chore d'you have now?" She swivels on her seat and peers up at Lyrianna. "I've got snake hunting." As she's mentioned many times before. The woman suddenly stands up and stretches, spilling a bit of klah out of her mug.

Lyrianna sighs as she scoops up the last of her oatmeal, motioning towards the door. "Gardening."

Nadine grins. "Well, if I had stable duty I'd trade you, but I like hunting better than gardening. Tough luck." She finishes her breakfast grains and her sweetroll and straightens. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you then. Remember to put on your sunblock lotion," she adds as she starts for the kitchens with her dishes.