Gleep! (Or, Scavenger Hunt Plot Twist)

Garden Patio Ledge, High Reaches Weyr
This ledge is a good size, allowing two large dragons on it at the most, however the furniture and decorations do very little to allow dragons to land. The stone has, through time, become smooth with the sting of High Reaches' biting winter winds. Lacking are the telling talon marks of an occupant at any time within the past decade and the ledge has been weeded and cleared of greenery. Situated along the western bowl, this ledge offers a view of the lake in the distance and has a set of wide steps curving along the bowl wall to the ground.

A stone half-arc shelters half of the ledge from the extreme weathers, where a iron-wrought bench and two patio-like tables have been set up. Little niches, carved out of the stone in a rustic fashion hold glow baskets to provide light at night. The very edge has been decorated with wooden boxes of potted flowers that blossom beautifully in the spring and summer.

The afternoon is clear, and the sun shines with a few small clouds floating past. It is completely still, no winds blow and the summer air feels stiflingly hot.
It's a hot summer day that finds Satiet lounging at a patio table on the Snowasis' ledge, a pitcher of something iced resting on her umbrella'd table, collecting condensation along the sides. It's pink with a sprig of mint floating along the top to accompany the slice of lemon hooked in artfully along the glass's rim. Alone, the loosely-dressed weyrwoman indulges, a singular bound hide held with one hand curled over the top and the bottom braced by the bend of her elbow.

Niena heads out from the Snowasis holding a glass of wine as well as something which appears to be far more precious to her -- a coaster from the august institution. Setting the coaster on the other table, she appears not to notice Satiet as she takes her seat and begins sipping the wine tentatively.

Used to the distractions of being in such a public place, the movement of people around her and the sounds and noises of just another one of those days at the Reaches, Satiet isn't immediately drawn away from her text, the grip on the bound set of hides tightening fractionally before a page is turned. Dark lashes finally lift, pale eyes blinking a few times as take a rest from reading before refocusing onto the sights around her. A couple standing by the Snowasis entrance catches her gaze briefly, but it's Niena where the scrutinizing eyes finally lands. The weyrwoman's lips purse, thoughtful, but other than being blatant in her study, says nothing as she reaches for her glass.

Something causes Niena to turn around, possibly the emerging couple. At any rate, she notices Satiet and lets out a small squeak with a herdbeast-in-the-dragonsights expression. She seems about to get up, but in the end remains still, no longer sampling the wine.

There's a pause, a stilness to Satiet's features and stance as she regards Niena's seemingly-frightened halt. Then, a dry smile hooks her mouth up crookedly, her head tilting in the other direction so a few curls, free of her bun, fall to frame her face. "Getting drunk?" asks the raven-haired woman pleasantly enough, a glance cast towards the wine Niena no longer samples.

Niena blushes, then answers "No ma'am. just trying to steel myself for the afternoon's cleanup duty in the pens. It will probably be a bit disconcerting to see the blooded beasts after that green rises."

A tsking sound of sympathy sounds from the weyrwoman, the glass she holds untouched but hovering around her face. "Greens rise almost daily." It's nothing new, adds the shrug of Satiet's delicate shoulders, but the sympathy remains in the pale, expressive eyes. "Don't eat anything before you do it," she advises, lifting the glass in a silent toast to the other girl. The gesture then turns to encompass her table, inviting Niena over to take one of the three empty chairs around her own table. "You're a candidate now."

Niena picks up her glass and coaster, leaving the couple to smooch in private at her former table. She sits across from Satiet, then goes rather pale at the Weyrwoman's advice. "Eating... I think I'll pass. Greens may rise every day, but fortunately I don't have feeding pen cleanup quite that often." She offers a tentative smile.

"Do you ever wonder why we have you on that duty, when surely there are butchers galore at the Weyr to handle the mess?" Satiet poses the question idly, the tall glass set back on the table without a sip. When the smooching couple takes Niena's table, the weyrwoman's lips thin briefly, annoyance flaring her nostrils unbecomingly, before a the pressed lips shape into an awkward smirk. "I wish they'd keep that kind of behavior in their rooms."

Niena says, "My guess is to get us used to the... less glamorous aspects of riding. Sort of like firestone sacking; show us that there's real work involved. And the other chores to make up for so many people coming into the Weyr all of the sudden -- helping to keep it running?" The answers are inflected more as if they're questions. She looks over at the kissing couple, then nods at the statement from Satiet.

"Partly. It would be better, in my opinion," Satiet begins, an idle finger playing about the rim of her glass of berry lemonade, "If we could allow you to retain your prior jobs. It's something that's weighed in my mind off and on. But things such as cleaning up the feeding grounds after a flight will prepare you for having to cut up meat for your dragonet should you Impress." Conversationally amiable, the slight woman leans back in her chair, looking to Niena for briefly until a flicker of lashes casts her gaze back to the bound hide she no longer reads. "It'd be a rude awakening otherwise, to have to learn those skills or get an iron stomach after the fact while trying to adjust to a new mind in your head."

Niena nods somberly. "Some of the other candidates had asked about that. Now I'll know the answer." Screwing up her courage, she asks a question of her own, "Have you heard about the scavenger hunt? I think it's to help people learn their way around the Weyr better -- at least I've noticed the pairs seem to be long-timers here with the newer ones brought in."

Satiet skips a beat, the fingers that play along the glass's rim pausing as she looks to Niena. "Scavenger hunt?" Utter askance fills the inquiry, the slight woman's porcelain features knit into thought. "/Scavenger hunt/?"

Niena takes a sip of her long-forgotten wine, then nods. "Some of the things are relatively easy to get, like blocks from the nursery," says the former nanny. "Some are more difficult." Taking a deep breath, she says "One of the things we need to get is a sample of your perfume."

"I hope the children aren't being deprived of their blocks," notes the weyrwoman aloud, the frozen askance melting somewhat as Niena explains herself. The text resting on her arm is captured in her free hand and shut, placed on the table before her to punctuate the candidate's statement. "Oh? And I'm sure this was considered a highly amusing joke by someone, somewhere, hmmm?" Clearly, not about to make this any easier for Niena and offer her perfume.

Niena smiles, this one for real. "Oh, you can't turn around in the nursery but trip over one of them. If anything, the other nannies will be relieved if a dozen or so disappear over the next few days." Pondering the Weyrwoman's question, she says "Maybe not so much for amusement but to thin our ranks. One of the other things we need to get is a bead from Milani's abacus."

What Niena says elicits a dry laughter from the weyrwoman, Satiet's ivory cheeks coloring with the amusement. "Thin your ranks. You're the first I've heard of this from, and I imagine not the last. Perhaps you've caught me on a good day." Whereas the others might not. A calculating glint in her eye matches the purse of her lips. "Unless-." Calculation spreads into a slow smile, curving crooked across her features to impress the dimple in her right cheek. "I can give you a vial of my perfume for you to dole out as you see fit midst your candidates and perhaps keep their interruptions of my time at bay." A silent beat takes in the candidate's reaction, watchful and waiting.

Niena looks distinctly hopeful when Satiet mentions a "good day", then mortified when she hears the offer. "I'm not sure if that would be allowed. I mean, it is your perfume, so that would be fine." She thinks aloud "But maybe the people who did the hunt want us to approach you. Then again, you are busy, and even if only one person per team asks, that would take a long time." She trails off.

Satiet's smile shifts, taking on a slightly condescending, but very much so: 'be a good girl' expression. It's likely the weyrwoman would even reach out to pat Niena's head if she were inclined to. But she remains safely on her side of the table, wrapping two hands around her glass. "I like this idea. And you can tell me, later, how it goes over. I'll have my errand girl deliver the vial to you sometime later today." The decision, at least on the goldrider's part, is made, and self-satisfied with herself, she flashes the candidate a charming, winsome sort of smile. "I've some work to finish, but it was such a pleasure to run into you again."

Niena nods dubiously, but doesn't contradict. "Thank you, ma'am" she manages, then picks up her glass and that omnipresent coaster. "I imagine the blooding is done by now -- I should go help with the carcasses."