Logs:A Not-Date Date
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| RL Date: 13 June, 2013 |
| Who: Alida, N'ky |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Alida and N'ky explore Fort Weyr, and have a talk over a not-date fancy dinner. |
| Where: The Glass Fountain (and other locations leading there), Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 16, Month 13, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Clear as a bell, the sun shines in pale winter skies, though an occasional sharp breeze blows. |
| Mentions: K'zin/Mentions, Meara/Mentions, J'madri/Mentions |
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| Southern Bowl, Fort Weyr This end of the bowl is grassy and serene with the pretty blue of the lake nearby as a draw for residents, riders and dragons alike. Since the earthslide collapsed in the spring of turn 23, a dramatic view of the mountain slopes that circle the Weyr has opened up beyond the lake, where a faint misty haze often shimmers above the small waterfall. The feeding grounds are fenced off to on the northeastern end of the lake, just a short walk from the weyrling barracks, the Weyrleader's complex, the hatching complex, living cavern, and infirmary. They need to put their lessons to practical application, and so, after getting their coordinates double-checked by Meara, the pair of weyrlings shift *Between*, and emerge over the caldera of Fort Weyr just after the sun has set. A low whoop of success from Alida translates into Ilicaeth's bugel to the watchdragon, the blue letting the Fortian green know his name and Weyr, and then angling his wings to drifts them down towards the southern Bowl. No hurry for anyone here, and the view's GREAT, especially with the clear day all around them. Coming out into such a clear day as a massive difference from the foggy High Reaches that they left behind. Cailluneth echoes Ilicaeth's conversation with the watchddragon though in a much quieter fashion, then follows her blue brother's descent down into the Weyr below. She lands lightly despite the bulk caused by her lingering baby fat, and N'ky's quick enough in sliding down her back and landing on the Fortian ground, before sending Cai off to go sun herself. He waits for Alida with his hands in his pockets, shoulders slightly hunched, attention shifting between his wingsecond, and the new world around them. Once they've landed, Ilicaeth sets off with Cailluneth to sun himself and oggle the new Weyr while keeping out of the touchy and egg-guarding Fortian dragons' 'hair.' And Alida? She just peers over at N'ky, shrugs, and puts her boots into action, her path set towards the cavern area, since there's not time to look around outside, given the time of day. Murmured to her companion, "Y'heard about not buggin' their junior queenie, right?" N'ky falls in beside Alida, matching his stride to hers. "N-no? But, um... I'm gonna let you do all the talking." He winks down at the bluerider, giving her a gentle nudge in the arm with his elbow. His wandering gaze is cast over the bowl as the pass through it, fingers reaching out to Alida to try and slow her a little, while he points to the view beyond the lake. "Look. You can see so much!" It's a view the greenrider clearly appreciates. "Are we just going to, um, explore inside?" "Then we'll likely never meet with anybody..." Alida smirks softly, shaking her helmeted head at N'ky. She's not given to being sociable, after all. The blonde slows at the greenie's bidding, nodding and peering in appreciation at the sight he points out in the growing dark. "Not gonna be able ta much out here in a few minutes. Got any better ideas?" "We don't need to meet anybody," N'ky shrugs, looking from the view back to Alida. "How about we have dinner? There's, um... I mean, I heard there's a place here somewhere, and... well, I'm hungry." Teenage boy, and all. "C-can I buy you dinner, 'Lida? If we find somewhere nice?" "No skin off my teeth..." Alida comments about not meeting people, the blonde then quirking her head at N'ky. "Like a bar with chow? How'd ya hear about it?" is inquired in the woman's typical, mile a minute, clipped and hard alto. Shrug. "Sure. Was gonna wait until we got back, but..." Grin. N'ky shrugs. "Overhead s-someone in the Snowasis, I guess? But I, er, I dunno where it is. Or wh-what it's called." Which could be a flaw in the plan! N'ky bites on his lip, looking around them to try and spot - well, anything. A sign. A person. An anything! "Maybe we'll have to ask someone a-after all?" Because he's clueless, though he does, at least, start walking towards the living caverns again. If there's a guaranteed spot to meet people... "Oh greeaat..." Alida sighs out at N'ky's admission, her feet taking her in the direction of the cevern again, by default. "How 'bout gettin' Cai ta ask some local dragon?" is offered as a hopeful way to find this place, the bluerider not waiting around in the meantime. Must be 'that' time of the night, since nobody's showing up on their walk. Living Cavern, Fort Weyr Fort's enormous living cavern is a vast, echoing space, with deep set windows carved into the outer wall to let in light and fresh air. Large enough to house the entire human population of the Weyr with plenty of room to spare, the most common use of the living cavern is as a communal eating and gathering space. Long tables with benches usually line the main part of the cavern with a four-seater table set aside for the Weyrleaders as well as other smaller tables set along the walls for quieter dining. Tapestries depicting historic moments in the Weyr's history and scenery from the coverage area decorate the walls and lend the space a warmer feel than bare stone. To the east, a large doorway leads out to the bowl, with a sturdy metal door that can be closed during inclement weather or Threadfall. The nighthearth is tucked away in a little alcove near the door. The large main hearth is used for cooking and for heat, sharing a wall with the kitchen's big hearths and banks of ovens. Chairs are often pulled up by the hearth for the Weyr's elderly to enjoy the heat. A swinging door allows easy passage back and forth between the caverns and the kitchen. To the west, a passage opens up into the Weyr's inner caverns. "Cailluneth wouldn't know who to ask," N'ky says with a soft shake of his head. "She doesn't like speaking to the dragons she knows, let alone the ones she doesn't. B-but it's ok, I'll ask. When we find someone." And so, after a person-less walk across the bowl, N'ky precedes Alida into the lower caverns - where, lo and behold, there are people! The greenrider catches the attention of a passing server, and quickly finds out what he needs to know. "The... the Glass Fountain," he confirms to Alida, nodding his head and reaching his hand out to her, fingers wiggling to invite hers into a hold. "It's though the, um, b-back." "Crap...fergot that, the bluie mumbles, leaving the asking up to a much more personable N'ky. And once he's gotten the name and location off one of the folks populating the living area, she's setting off in the proper direction, not reaching out to take that proffered hand. "We're not a pair uv' kids, Nick." Gheesh. "As long as they got good food 'n spirits, we're ahead uv' the curve." More looking around in the quickly waning daylight is accompanied by a murmured, "Bigger 'n 'Reaches...better laid out 'n executed. Not quite as defensible, but..." Shrug. Even now, in a new place, she can't help but being a Guard. N'ky withdraws his hand, slipping it into his pocket, instead. "I know we're not," he says with soft sulkiness. "Are you going to drink, 'Lida? As well as have dinner? I thought, um, s-since we're going between and all... but that's your decision. I-if you want to..." He knows he can't stop her. Her guard-like comment washes over him. "Y-yeah, it's... bigger. And better laid out, too, but, um, I don't know about the last bit. Um... we need to go this way, I think?" The greenrider leads off toward the inner caverns. The Glass Fountain, Fort Weyr Despite its subterranean locale, the creamy wall paint, pale woods, and frosted glass give the cavern a light, airy feel. Oil lamps reflect softly in the polished wood of high-backed booths, glimmering through the opaque glass dividers that help lend intimacy to the seating arrangements; round-backed seats with deep, terra-cotta colored padding and the addition of strategic, lyric shapes painted in a subtle red shade at regular intervals around the walls add a little depth to the color palette. The sweeping, half-circle shaped bar with its top of smooth stone, backed by cut-glass-fronted cabinetry flows gracefully into the soft lines and mellow colors that dominate the Glass Fountain. All the atmosphere aside, the main attractions of the room are clearly the massive, multi-pronged chandelier that hangs from multiple chains from the ceiling and the re-worked leak - which no longer resembles a leak at all, having been channeled through glass to become a beautiful piece of art. A curving wave and a series of glass bubbles guide the water past a bank of glows, allowing the light to shine through the water and turn it into a sparkling fountain. From its dark, dim, shabby history, the Glass Fountain has become - frankly - a swanky place with lattice-stands to hold the menus with their selection ranging from typical 'bar food' to high-end dishes and fancy desserts. Let him sulk; she has her dignity in public to preserve. "Gonna drink...but not get buzzed. Just something' nice with dinner..." Alida notes to her weyrling companion. As they step farther into the heart of the Weyr, the blonde notes almost companionably, "'Reaches is set higher up, narrower, with potentially more dangerous means uv' egress... not ta' mention the fuckin' shitty weather." Grin. "Why would anyone want to attack a Weyr, though? We have dragons, and firestone - w-wouldn't that be enough to put people off?" N'ky's being observant as they walk and talk, and he spots the Glass Fountain, steering them gently over toward it. "Ooh. It's nice." Maybe nicer than he'd been expecting, as he sounds surprised. "I b-bet they have ice cream here. Where do you want to sit?" "Ask that Ninth Pass raiding party who wanted ta' take Benden ta' task..." Alida grins like a shark over to N'ky, the blonde then taking a cue from the greenrider's expression and following words, and looking around slowly at the place they've barely entered. For just a moment, she too is gawping like a tourist, and then habitual sense evens out the woman's expression, though her eyes still enjoy what she's looking at. "Mhm... swanky nice," is cooed out low, the bluie then noting almost playfully to her companion, "Don' be a cad; offer me yer arm. Gotta behave a little decent in here." Smirk. "Not much like my usual haunts." Dive bars. "Y'think so?" Those greens of her glint at the mention of ice cream. "I had a bowl once at the Snowasis, in the summer. So frickin' *good*." Grin. "At the back, in a booth." "B-but you just turned my hand down." N'ky looks confused, though he does step up into the role of a gentleman; he escorts Alida to an empty booth at the back - arms linked, if she'll allow it. "I can't pull your s-seat out for you here, 'Lida. But, um... I c-could sit next to you? If that's alright?" And if not, then he'll just slip into a chair on the opposite side. His brown eyes are big as he takes it all in, teeth pressing into his bottom lip, smile gradually growing until he looks back at the bluerider with a full-on grin. "W-we're on a date." She doesn't say that this is much more decorious and dignified, Alida simply wrinkling her nose at N'ky's protest as she lays her hand within the crook of his arm, then stepping deeper into the place. "Y'just stand beside my part uv' the booth while I seat myself, then take yer own seat..." the blonde replies rather helpfully, even as she undoes her coat, scarf. "Please sit across from me..." is murmured, the woman then settling into the booth, and laying her things out beside her, on the inside. A quick look up and over to the greenie ends up in a clipped, low, "Depends on yer definition uv' a 'date.' If it has anything smackin' uv' romance about it, then we are *not* on a date." N'ky makes a gentle scoffing noise across the table. "L-look where we are, 'Lida. It's... it's p-posh, and it's just you and me, and there are nice menus and everything, and we're going to have d-dinner, outside of the living caverns and weyrling practices and stuff, and... it's a d-date. Totally a date." He picks up one of the menus on the table, holding it up to almost cover his face. Peeping over the top, eyes sparkling mischievously, he adds, "I'll k-kiss you goodnight when we're back home too, if you'll let me." "Friends c'n go out t'gether ta nice places," the blonde scoffs back equally. "Like *we* are. No friggin' 'date.'" And that's that, according to her. Her own menu is opened up, and all the delights available within are perused, some even very-softly cooed over appreciatively. When she feels eyes on her, greens lift over the top of her own menu as well, and glare for a moment into browns. "I'll fuckin' kiss ya... with my fist." It's low, soft, and only half-meant. A quick glance all around ends up in her returning eyes to her menu, a few soft sighs let off as she has to mentally cross off the best-sounding stuff in it. Too expensive. Sinking back below his menu at that very clear sign to desist, N'ky does much the same as Alida - only he's a little more panicked since he offered to pay. The weyrling mulls over what's on offer, setting the card down when he's decided what he wants. "Would you really p-punch me for trying to be friendly, Alida? That doesn't seem fair." He steeples his fingers over the menu card, looking down at the list on it through his pressed-together fingers. "I, um, know what I want. H-have you decided?" She's not a freeloader or gold-digger, and so doesn't order the more expensive stuff she *really* wants, therefor not crimping N'ky's bank account. "If ya did something I disagreed with, I would... given the circumstances." Let him chew on that. "*Your* friendly and *mine* 'r likely two different beasts, overall." After a few more moments to peruse, the woman settles her own card down upon tabletop, too, then nodding her pale head to her tablemate. Murmured softly: "Gettin' sick uv' Tillek fish - though *that* might run out too, if Edeline gets as pissed off as Devaki - so I'm goin' fer the breaded, rolled wherry breast with piggie 'n two cheeses inside." She's almost salivating, already. "I'll h-have to, um, n-not say anything you disagree with, then," is all N'ky can come back to that with, looking sheepishly over the table at the bluerider. Her choice of dish has him nodding approvingly; food is a much more pleasant topic than possible punches! "That sounds good. I was g-going to have the, um..." He picks the menu up again to read off the dish; "Roasted herdbeast with vegetables and gravy," possibly one of the simplest dishes on the menu, "but, um.. I th-think I'll have the same as you. With... um... water. Just water. Sh-shall we order?" "Or *do*," Alida adds helpfully, then listening to N'ky's order. Immediately the blonde notes, "I'll chip in some if it's hurtin' ya. I know we don't get much ta' exist on." Their stipend. "You have exactly whacha' want 'n c'n afford, toots." A quick nab of the drink menu has greens soon perusing it, 'lida quickly enough noting, "Gonna get the house white wine. White goes with wherry." How'd she pick up that little thing, being what she is? "I'll pay fer it, no worries." N'ky's cheeks blush deep red, and he looks in embarrassment down at the table top. "I just want water. I-it, um, goes with wherry, too." He shrugs his shoulders softly. "B-better than klah does, anyway." He looks up at Alida with a shy, slightly awkward smile. "I'll pay, 'Lida. It's ok. Um... I've got n-nothing else to spend my marks on, so, um, I'd like to spend them on you." The waitress comes over then, and N'ky orders their food, leaving the drinks to Alida. She knows best! She catches that, and leans in a little towards her tablemate, murmuring, "Don't be embarrassed about bein' shy uv' money. We *all* are, given we're weyrlings. Once we're graduated, we c'n start makin' extra money with our talents, skills." Alida has plans already, and plans after plans. With the arrival of the waitress, the guard simply nods...not appearing to mind her companion's ordering for them, in this setting. And after she points the nicely-dressed femme to what she wants but can't quite pronounce in wines, the guard adds on, "Chilled water, with a light twist uv' lemon 'n lime." "Lemon and lime would be n-nice, um, th-that was a good idea." N'ky gives Alida a gently-canted smile when the server's gone, and he sits fiddling with his napkin while they wait. "Um... I d-don't think I've got a skill that'll earn me many marks, 'Lida. I'm... I mean, there's l-lots of farriers. Lots of Smiths, lots of Beastcrafters. And, um, I thought I might, well, m-maybe, if I'm good enough for it, I thought I could p-perhaps study dragonhealing. Th-that won't earn many marks either, I d-don't think." "I *do* drink water only, on occasion," Alida notes wryly, in riposte to N'ky's words. "Addin' a little zing ta it makes it more palatable." Grin. A small loft of one brow to what the greenrider has to say prompts the guard to murmur, "Y'know how ta make runner shoes, right?" Pause. "Dragonhealin's a great thing ta know, even if it's low 'r no pay. Never go wrong with that...'specially since you *got* a dragon." Wink. "Well, *she* got you, I mean." "Any Smith can make runnershoes, though. It's, um, n-not that hard. They just mighn't know things like, um, h-how to deal with hoof injuries and... stuff. But then a Beasthealer can do that, so..." N'ky shrugs, leaning back in the chair and exhaling softly. "I'd m-maybe like to be an assistant weyrlingmaster, too. When there's a c-clutch to look after, I mean. That's what I wanted to do from real early on." He nods, fiddling more with his napkin. "But what about you? H-how will you earn your marks?" "But y'know how ta work metal, basically, right? So why not learn a few more ways uv' formin', bendin' it...maybe make some nifty decorations 'r furniture. Shells, maybe even learn ta do a bit uv basic Smithin' from Waki. Gotta think outta' the box, Nick." A smooth nods from Alida presages more listening, the arrival of their drinks, and her bob of head in silent thanks to the waitress. Back to the greenie, "Now *that* I c'n see ya' doin' well." Being an assistant weyrlingmaster. Gotta be firm, as calm as possible a lot uv' times." Beat. "Bet Meara'd be a good role model fer yer type uv' approach. Talk with 'er about it in private." Blink. Moi? "Mrf...mebee' take up canine handlin' again. Teach people how ta' deal with problem ones; teach doggies how ta hunt 'n search, guard accordin' t'their talents." Her main plan is not something N'ky would ever want to hear about. "I was in all of his metalworking c-classes, Alida, there's n-nothing he can teach me that I, um, d-don't already know." Whether that's entirely true or not is to be determined, but N'ky seems a little offended by the suggestion that his friend knows more than him. "I, um, w-want to learn more under Meara, if she'll let me." The greenrider's fondness for the woman has never been a secret throughout their weyrlinghood. Alida's talk of canines surprises him, though he doesn't look disapproving. "I d-didn't know you worked with canines. We had, um, h-herding ones, back in Far Reach-" notice how it's no longer 'home'- "but I never got into t-training them. I d-don't really have any special talents, or anything." Shrugging again, he curls his fingers around his water glass, drawing it towards him. "I, um, really liked that idea you came up with in the living cavern. The... um," he leans in, voice dropping, "farming one. I think I'd like to do s-something like that... it'd make me feel useful." "Didn' know that..." Alida notes mellowly to N'ky's bit of outrage, the woman lifting her wine and sipping from it in a testing fashion. A cock of head, a small nod, and she sets it down again, directing herself to her fellow weyrling again. "Don't see why not. Y'll have ta' step outside uv' yer safe zone, learn things that might not come easy at all...but it'll all be worth it, in the end. Almost anything worth havin' doesn't come easy." Yes, she did peripherally notice that shift of home to just a name. Been there, done that. Another scant sip of wine winds up in a faint grin and bob of head for Nicky's surprise at her admission. "I did that before I became a guard. They don't take people before they're 15...too immature, 'n not enough growth before then." There's a hint of pleasure and some small pride in her voice, on features as she speaks. "I got totally informal trainin' from the former kennel keeper at Pars." A look over towards the door into the place, then back to more present company presages, "He'd retired, but still loved ta' work with the dogs, anyway. I was like...6, I think. He saw me playin' with one uv' the new litters, directin' the momma...and 'e just sorta took me under 'is wing." A faint quirk of head allows her to better hear what he's now speaking of, and the bluie finds herself shrugging her shoulders a little. "If y'd wanna do somethin' like that on yer own, don't see why ya' couldn't. Y'd just have ta take yer time, be careful, learn the tricks uv the trade." "We started working early, too. Soon's we could stick on a runner, pretty much, um, more hands were better to r-round up the flocks and herds. I used to like herding the ovines, but the woollies - the llamas? Eurgh." N'ky shakes his head. "If I, um, learn how to do stuff with, the, um, soil and plants and stuff, w-would you, um, like to help me find somewhere to do it? I... I want to grow fingerroots, or maybe some fruit, or something, but, um, trees take time to grow, don't they?" He's interrupted when the food comes, a steaming plate slid onto the table in front of each of them. The greenrider smiles warmly at the server, then picks up his knife and fork. "M-maybe some chickens. I c-could raise chickens - I like chickens. We could, um, m-maybe borrow an empty weyr and turn it into a chicken coop, um, thing." She listens with honest interest, Alida much more a fan of animals than humans, and when N'ky mentions the llamas, she can't help but chuckling softly. "I've seen 'em spit, charge humans 'n even other animals. No thanks." Snerk. "Not all fruit grows on trees...but yeah, I think they take a good amount uv' time ta grow up. My da' said the place 'e lived in the south grew lotsa' fruit 'n berries. Those grow on bushes, I think." And then their food comes, and Alida's goggling at her first honest gourmet meal, and trying not to salivate as she gets her cloth napkin arranged upon her lap, her utensils in each hand. "Ya get inta' animal raising, it gets more complicated. But a few...who knows?" Blink. Empty weyr? "I thought y'meant down in the South..." "Um, well, plants in the South, but chickens I think would need to be nearby, so I could, um, care for them. They're k-kinda stupid, so they need to be looked after?" N'ky mimics Alida in draping his napkin over his lap. He starts cutting into the wherry, portioning it off into bite-sized chunks. "Maybe chickens in High Reaches, and, um, p-perhaps we -" there's the we again, rather than I "- can find a plot of full-grown, um, fruit thingies, trees or whatever, in Southern. And then we'd have both?" "Uh... I'm no chicken person," Alida notes matter-of-factly to N'ky, perhaps bursting his bubble. He's on his own in that one. As for farming fruit, "I'd tend t'the fences 'n shit like that, the diggin'. Imagine the money one could make offa year 'round harvests uv' various stuff...'specially up here, where the growin' season's really short." And fresh fruit is more a luxury than a staple. She too slices her 'roll' into neat sections, then dividing those in half again...and lifting a piece to her lips to blow on it. Snerk. "Not much luck unless ya search 'n search somemore. The original Southerners had ta ship in most uv' their staples as starters. Who knows, though. Mebee' a few rogue seeds might've scattered farther inta' the south." Shrug. Omnomnom! N'ky chews as he listens to Alida, washing down his last mouthful with some of the citrus-spiked water. "I like chickens," he says with a soft shrug. "They'd be for eggs though, n-not so much for eating. You get more eggs from a chicken than you do roast dinners." He shrugs again, smirking a little as he raises another piece of the yum-stuffed wherry to his lips. "I, um, bet that we could f-find somewhere awesome, if we looked. And m-maybe we would have to take in our own seeds, but, um, it'll be worth it. Even if it's j-just a little plot, just big enough for us." "Long term outlook..." Alida notes agreeably about the chickens, nodding her head after sipping her chilled wine. "This is...delicious," the blonde adds in, the meal reason for her to give one of her rarer, true smiles. As for the fruit, "I found out I gotta' thing fer fresh fruit since I came ta the Weyr. Think I'd be willin' ta' bust a little hump ta' insure I had a steady supply." More food, then, "More than a couple'a acres'd be foolish, down there. Can't protect it well enough, insure proper waterin', yadda-yadda. But yeah, seeds 'n maybe strong, young plants that could survive one trip *between* 'n a change uv climates." Sip. "Oh sweet Faranth, this cheesy wherry-pig's *good*!" Far less vocal in his appreciation of the food, though clearly no less impressed by it, N'ky just grins at Alida's much stronger reaction. "It's good," he agrees with a nod of his head, spearing more on the end of his fork and chowing down on it. "So, um, j-just a little bit of land, and a couple of maybe trees, if we can find them - maybe we use the land around the trees, if we find the right ones? Or, um, m-maybe we could just stake out a couple that we like, and then let them grow naturally so we just, um, go back and take fruit when it's there?" "I'm willin' ta look around some fer prime land, 'r stuff that already has fruit trees on it. Just gotta be near a steady source uv water, 'n well away from human habitation... reachable only by dragonback." Alida's apparently been thinking more about this farming thing. "Seeds'd still be good...just not harvestable fer turns 'n turns." Shrug, sip. "Guess we could try growin' some tougher, staple grains fer a kick, aside from berry bushes. That shit takes more tendin', though, and I dunno if you alone'd be enough ta handle it, even if ya' got training." A peer at the youth's naivetee over the practicals has 'lida shaking her pale head firmly to his last inquiry. "Nope. All crops need tending through the year, in some way 'r another...unless yer growin' one season uv' stuff like wheat." N'ky shakes his head. "N-no, I meant, um, there have to be some wild plants that, um, do it on their own, right? So if we could find a couple of the wild ones, maybe we could just, y'know, take advantage of them?" He's speculating, since he's no Farmcrafter. "Wh-what if we found an island somewhere? Then there'd be even less likely to be people, and, um, we'd know the co-ordinates but no-one else would, and -- oh, Alida, J'madri's a Farmcrafter. What if we got him involved, too? M-maybe he could help us?" "Key word there is 'if,'" Alida notes around a mouthful of yum. Sure, mebee' a fertile island, though those'd be reachable by ship, less remote." Sip. "There's a *lotta'* brain 'n footwork involved in even trackin' down a likely place, much less settin' it up, gettin' it ready, then tryin' ta make it work." Peer. "He'd have ta' be receptive ta' the idea, ready ta' do a lot uv hard work without whinin', AND know how ta' keep his mouth tightly shut about shit. And never ferget *trustworthy*." A pointed stare is offered into her fellow weyrling's browns for that last issue. "I trust him." But, then again, N'ky's been fooling around with him too, if rumours are to be believed. "If you want, I'll ask him? The w-worst he can say is, um, no. Right? And I'll ask without letting him know we're plan-- thinking about doing something ourselves." The greenrider finishes off his wherry, and starts tucking into the vegetable accompaniments. "So, um, we could start looking at maps? Maybe there's some islands that boats can't get to, or, um, that no-one's charted yet? We should pick one of those ones, and then it'll be ours." She's shifting back and forth between wherry roll and veggies, Alida enjoying each and every bite as if it might be her last. One never knows. "Don't ask directly. Start a conversation casually about the limited foodstuffs here, work up ta' talk uv' farmin', then get pointed about how y've been dreamin on 'n off fer awhile about having yer own plot, yer own bit uv food." She a careful one when it comes to planning, given the details 'lida's paying attention to. Seeing C'wlin and N'hax languishing in the barracks probably helps. "But yeah; don't mention anything about what we've been talkin' about. It's still way up in the air, anyway." A deep sip of her wine and a pause to let a bit more food settle leads to more of the two weyrling's pointed conversation, with: "Mhm, while there's not too many others around. Nothin' ta hide, *but* it's nothin' ta wanna show off, either. Somebody inquires about what we're lookin' at Southern maps for, we c'n claim references from hides about various weyrling crap, like coordinates, 'r whatever." A soft burp is hidden behind a hand. "None uv' their damned business." As for islands, "Y'know, islands're prone ta' sufferin' sea storm damage often enough down there. And we'd not be lookin' fer a big one that'd make it any easier..." N'ky chases his last mouthful around his plate, making sure he's got every possible last scrap on his fork before raising it to his lips. Once it's swallowed, he chases it down with his water, responding as appropriate to Alida's talking. "Once we've found the right s-sorta spot on the map anyway, we'll have to fly straight to get there, um, once we've gone down to Southern. I-I'll start looking tomorrow, maybe? And then, um, maybe we can go to Southern on our next free day, to, um, scout the place out? We'll find somewhere that way, I know we will - it just might take t-time." His plate's as clean as it's going to get, and so he sets down his cutlery to show it's ready to be cleared. "And even if we don't find anywhere, then we've, um, had a whole day learning new jump spots. Right?" She's finishing up, too, Alida having restrained her normal eating habits so she could take her time and savor this special meal. And then... "Whoa, whoa there, greenling." Smirk. "We c'n *between* down ta known places in the South once we hopefullyget ta go down there as weyrlings. Until then, we should wait, 'specially since we're still pretty new ta' this whole instant travelin' thing." Nod, wine sip. "We do stuff all sudden-like, there's easy reasons fer people ta' start lookin' fer us ta' be up to somethin'. Gotta ease inta it." Grin. "And when in new territory, ya' take a buddy 'r three whenever possible. No solo missions until we're damned sure." Disappointment colours N'ky's face, and he slumps a little, enthusiasm draining. "It wouldn't be solo if there's you and me, and J'madri, too. Or maybe we could, um, do a weyrling c-campout, or something? And use that as an excuse to learn more places, and, um... I dunno, 'Lida. I just wanna do it now, I'm e-excited for it now, and we've got free time between drills and shadowing and stuff, s-so, um... I'll start looking at maps, anyway." He shrugs, nudging his plate away from him now that Alida's done as well, so that the server can come collect them. He asks for the bill, too, keeping it to himself when it comes. "Um... I'll p-pay, 'Lida, um, if you can pay for the wine, though?" "Maps 'r good, so's memorizing likely areas, sketchin' those maps," Alida agrees fully. "If it works out, we'll get there, toots. All good things take some time." And now that the bill's come, and N'ky's insisting, all the bluerider can do is sigh, and acquiesce...finally passing over a small bit of a wooden coin for her wine. "I think we trashed most uv' this evenin', and we ain't even had dessert. Feel like grabbin' a few uv' those bubblies I smelled leftovers uv in Fort's cavern?" Grin. "Um... dessert was expensive, and they didn't have ice cream listed," N'ky says with a shrug of his shoulders, setting out the right marks and enough for a tip, before he slips out of the booth and goes to offer Alida his arm. If they came in that way, they can leave that way, too! "But, um, free bubblies sound good, and we can eat them while exploring somewhere else, right?" He's got a cheery, toothy smile for the bluerider, before taking the lead and directing them towards the living caverns - and hopefully bubbly pies for the road. |
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