Slice of Life

Western Bowl, High Reaches Weyr
Standing on the western side of the bowl, the high crownlike spires of the Seven Spindles on the north wall tower majestically above the roughly ovoid bowl floor. Near you, a large boulder stands, placed almost exactly in the center of the bowl. This side of the bowl is busy with the constant flow of residents and visitors around the entrance to the living cavern to the southwest and the lower caverns to the west. To the north, the large opening on the upper wall leading into the hatching grounds catches your eye. Directly below it, the ground entrance to the same area seems almost tiny. To the northwest, the weyrs belonging to the junior queens of High Reaches are accessible from a short set of stairs and a path of carefully laid black marble leads from them to the entrance to the living cavern. To the south, a few ground weyrs remain unoccupied, in case any visiting or injured dragons need them.

The night is clear, not a cloud to be seen, giving you a perfect view of the stars. The smaller Belior is a nearly full waxing gibbous while Timor shines brightly as a full moon. There seems to be a light breeze and the summer air is pleasantly warm.

Derindrel
This is a boy whose growth has been moving along smoothly. Along with the twang added to his rather strained and formal voice, his age is beginning to show. Now 16 Turns, 5 months, and 24 days, he's still a touch delicate, perhaps from blood. His stiffness has stayed his posture, though it seems much quicker to droop from exhaustion these days.
His dark hair grows completely freely, a messy bush of dark waves gathered loosely at his neck to keep clear slowly broadening shoulders. Slinky eyes are a shade of grey so pale that they reflect his clothes, and above his right is an eye-catching +detail.
Deri's too-gentle features (long eyelashes, button nose, sharp chin) and longish face are slowly beginning to mature, baby fat disappearing gradually every couple of months or so. The apprentice knot of Harper Hall sits perched upon his shoulder at all times.
Derindrel is draped comfortably in a tunic of warm, deep burgundy, which infects the color of his eyes to a deep bloodred. A ring of stunning yellow on the inside of the hood speaks of a lining of goldenrod. Deep klah brown slacks are well-fitted to his slim legs. Comfortable looking brown loafers and a knitted yellow scarf in the hood's goldenrod finish the outfit.

Calliosae wanders over from the eastern side of the bowl.

Calliosae
A young girl with brown hair to her mid-back, limp hanging and nothing interesting to it. Pulled back or worn down often, she's got a rather boring style for her hair. Her eyes clash with the dark brown of her hair, a shade of blue but simply matching the color of her skin. Her eyes are wide and full of childish innocence, constantly exploring the world around her. She stands at about 4'8" and is still growing as she's rather short for her age. She wears clothing traditional of a young girl from a Hold, dresses and skirts mostly when she can. Occasionally she will dawn herself in pants and a simple top when needed.
This girl appears to be 13 Turns, 2 months, and 28 days old.

Fraya walks over from the eastern side of the bowl.

Amongst the evening traffic of the Weyr, a large blue swoops down into the bowl and deposits three harpers onto the ground. The largest, clearly a burly journeyman, turns to two younger apprentices and hands the taller one a case, the younger a parcel. After some stern instructions, he strides purposefully off into the lower caverns, bearing a rather large case of his own. Derindrel casts a single look about the bowl as he straps the case over his shoulder, frowning slightly as they land on his companion. "Look sharp, Calliosae," He demands formally. "You may goggle about /after/ we've delivered these."

Niena is just arriving bearing what looks like a message hide of her own. Noticing the two apprentices she detours and asks politely "Do you need any help finding anything?"

Calliosae stands, like a little Lady. Staring at the surroundings with wide blue eyes, the parcel is barely noticed in her arms. Her nose wrinkles slightly as her examination comes to a halt and Derindrel demands she 'look sharp'. Her face contorts into one of discomfort. "B-But... B-But..." She stutters softly, sniffling. "I-I am s-sorry sir." Is all she murmurs, her cheeks flushing red and only growing a shade darker as she notices Niena enter. Her form shifts and she attempts to hide behind the older apprentice.

Fraya comes in from the living caverns, looking quite distressed. Her eyes are wide and she takes a breath. "Shells.." A glance around and she /slides/ over towards Niena with a grin. "Nieaniea.. If anyone asks.. I was /not/ spying. Nope. Not at all." A wider grin forms on her lips and then she notices the two apprentices and she laughs, with delight. "Oh! They're delivering love packages! I wonder who it's for!" She lets out a happy little squeal, clapping her hands together.

Derindrel seems satisfied with the younger apprentice's reply when he is approached by a girl bearing a message. Her offer of help is received with a tight excuse for a smile and the barest of nods. "Duties," He mentions to the candidate. She's soon joined by another, who gets an odd look indeed. "Love packages?" He queries, far too curious, bringing the case a bit tighter to his body. "From where do you deduce /that/?"

Calliosae scoots behind Derindrel more, scared of him but obviously more scared of the candidate. She peers at the knots on their arms and gently attempts to tug on Derindrel's arm. "T-They are c-candidates.. D-Does that mean the.. Dragons will /eat/ them?" She asks tearfully, peering at the two uneasily. "S-Someone s-said..." That's all she offers, trailing off once more but not continuing.

Niena glances over at Fraya and smiles. "So, you've found the secret room for the hunt, then? Who were you not spying on?" She then turns her attention back to the apprentices, trying to look friendly and harmless and not like a nanny.

Fraya almost seems to bounce, grinning pleasantly at Derindrel. "/Well/.. Just because it sounds most fun. Don't you worry. It's more interesting if you're giving a love package. It's like a love letter, only bigger. Lucky person, getting one of those.. Delivered from apprentices. /I/ remember when I delivered my letter.. Didn't really deliver it, but I sure did try. I wanted to read it, mind you. Don't you peek." She gives the pair a scolding look and a waggle of her finger. "Naaah. I already found it before yooou did." Snicker. "/That's/ what I was trying to tell you and that's why Leova called me Tease!"

Derindrel glares down at the girl in annoyance, biting his lip thin in anger. /You're-making-us-look-bad!/ "Of course not!" He says quietly, offside, a bit angrily. "How ludicrous. Dragons do not /eat/ people!" Turning back to the candidates, his attention seems piqued. "A secret room? A hunt? This sounds like harper business to me." Never mind the love package. He shifts it out of the way, strapped across his back. "I can peek at this one, I think. I made it, after all."

Calliosae looks quite lost at the conversation, the candidate's speculations, spying, and the candidates in general. She frowns, shifting herself behind Derindrel more. Mumbling softly, but saying nothing anyone can hear. As Derindrel glares, she sniffles with tears forming in her eyes. "I-I didn't /know/!" She yells, her voice finally louder than a whisper and she begins to cry. "I-I-I'm gonna t-t-tell Emmi w-when we get back! You're so /mean/!"

Niena giggles at this. "Fraya, unless you were at the weyr when I was about ten, you didn't find it before I did. The secret room is sort of a rite of passage in the nurseries, and I grew up in them before beginning to work there." She turns to the harpers. "Anyway, I'm sorry for our lack of hospitality. Come into the living caverns for something cool to drink? Or I can point you in a direction if you need help finding someone."

Fraya peers at Derindrel, shaking her head. "You're too young." She offers with a grin, shrugging her shoulders with a giggle. "Nah.. But, you got work to do?" She's one to talk. "Weeeellllll, Niea... You cheated." There's a bright grin nonetheless and she giggles happily before tilting her head towards the crying apprentice. "Oh, shards! Niea! I think I made 'er cry. Or he did!" An accusing finger at Derindrel and the candidate flees behind the nanny-candidate.

Derindrel might as well have been struck, absolute shock crossing his face for a split second before being replaced by simple disbelief. "Don't cry." He instructs, gravely. "This is no way for a harper to behave." A stern reprimand is followed by a nod to Niena. "Not at all. Allow me to apologize for my companion. She is still in her probationary period. For how much longer, I cannot be sure." The last is tacked on, coldly, before he nods in the direction of the Living Cavern. "Let's get something for her." He takes a few steps in that direction, to get the group moving, trying to slip behind the girl behind him. "Pull yourself together." He murmurs gently downwards. "I won't mention this to Journeyman Talm if you stop this instant."

Calliosae almost stops at the command, sniffling as she rubs at her eyes. Nothing more comes from the sniffling girl other than a few hiccups and a few squeaks. She gives Derindrel a look, helpless and the tears well up in her eyes again. "Y-You're s-s-still mean..." She murmurs, "A-A-And... And... I'm still t-t-telling E-Emmi..." A small sniffle and she brushes the tears from her eyes. "Meanie." But, she follows him nonetheless with her lips pursing into a thin line. A glance towards the candidates and she gives an apologetic look before watching Derindrel's back as if it's more interesting than their surroundings.

The young girl may not notice it, but Niena smiles encouragingly toward her. "Come on, then", she says, now in nanny-mode. "I imagine the place is huge compared to the Harper Hall since dragons need room to move around here, but it's not that scary." She heads toward the living cavern as well.

Fraya peers between the apprentices, then glances towards Niena with a look of despair but the girl has stopped crying so Fray relaxes. "Let us move... I hope I didn't mess up too badly helping with dishes." She muses, shrugging her shoulders. She slowly leans over towards Niena, her lips forming in a grin. "You know, Niea..." She starts but Niena starts after the apprentices. Grumbling softly, she skips into the living caverns.

Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr
The impressive living cavern is seemingly as large as the bowl that cradles the hatching sands. Rivers of polished wood tables and benches arrow towards a raised platform crowned with a compact version of their sturdy design. Neatly crafted pegs, some fancifully carved, are tapped into holes in the wall and support clothing dangling like lazy sleepers. Woven baskets, both useful and decorative, hang along another wall. Piles of summer fruit give off a shimmer of color and a waft of sweet aromas from their cradling bowls. Hanging sheaves of herbs and spices rustle in the breeze, adding their fragrance as well. Banners worked with the designs of Holds and Halls beholden to the weyr cascade down the walls high above, interspersed with several brilliantly colored tapestries. The cheerful banter of weyrfolk mingles with the soft notes of gitars and flutes as people gather in small groups, relaxing.

Niena turns to the youngster while her escort is delayed. "Do you want to know a secret?"

Calliosae tilts her head at Niena, blinking a bit as she looks towards the candidate. A glance towards Derindrel and then towards the candidate again. "A secret?" She asks curiously, her blue eyes focusing only on the candidate now.

Niena nods solemnly. "Remember how your friends told you that dragons eat candidates?"

Calliosae blinks her eyes once more, peeking about before nodding. "Yes.. T-That's what the older kids said at the Hold before I left.. That I should watch out for them..." She murmurs, glancing about the caverns with uneasy eyes. Her brows raise and she peeks at Niena. "W-Why? T-They were lying.. R-Right?"

Fraya noticing the harper is no longer with them, the older one at least she frowns. "He's looking for the spying room." She notes to the pair, and she skips out in an attempt to beat the harper boy with only that assumption.

Niena smiles and pours two glasses of juice, offering one to Calliosae and sitting at a table. "Come on and sit by me if you want." She pauses, then says "Here's the thing. If a dragon was supposed to make me its dinner, I wouldn't make it any easier. I definitely wouldn't walk around wearing a knot which said "Eat me". So Fraya and I are safe. I've been watching hatchings all my life, and I've never seen a dragon eat a candidate. But don't tell the older kids that. Let them be scared of dragons while you know that dragons are nice."

Calliosae smiles shyly, moving over towards Niena and taking the glass. Then, when offered a seat she happily takes it. "Hm.. I guess.. That makes sense.. I wouldn't agree to something if I knew something was going to eat me in the end." She murmurs, letting out a shy giggle. "Oh.. Okay. I won't.. I might not see them for a little. I'm in the Harper Hall now..." Her tone is still almost a whisper as she speaks. "C-Can I come back and visit...? If you get a dragon.. I want to meet it.. You're really nice..." And with that soft whisper, she takes a sip from her juice and shyly watches the nanny. "I-I'm Calliosae..."

Niena smiles. "Of course you can. And if I don't impress you can come visit as well -- I work in the nurseries when I'm not a candidate. Oh, I forgot to introduce myself! I'm Niena. Calliosae is a very pretty name."

Calliosae smiles happily, nodding her head. "I.. I would like that.. Maybe.. If I can.. Get more permission..." She murmurs before sipping from her juice. A soft giggle slips forth. "Niena is pretty, too.. I like my name... Mother and Father got it from Uncle.. I think it runs in our family..." Shrugging her shoulders, the juice is sipped at again.

Niena nods. "Once you've delivered your parcel I could maybe take you to see the dragon eggs. They're as big as you are! Of course we would watch from the galleries, so you wouldn't burn your feet. And maybe we will meet Ozriadasoth. She's a very pretty green here -- or Verenth, the blue dragon who told his rider I could be a candidate."

Calliosae frowns a bit, shaking her head. "I think... Journeyman Talem wanted to leave right after..." She mumbles, "I'll.. Maybe see them later.. Someone may draw a picture of them.. We do have a lot of artists..." She smiles though, tilting her head. "O-One day.. I-I'll meet dragons.. A-And.. I-I'll make songs for them..."

Niena nods approvingly. "That would be lovely. Now, who is that parcel for? I don't want you to get in trouble for talking to me!"

Calliosae smiles shyly, nodding her head. "I.. I want to make lovely songs..." She trails off, noticing the Journeyman off in the corner and her cheeks turn red. "Ah.. I'll find them." She whispers, taking a final sip from her juice before bolting from the cavern to avoid putting herself into trouble.