Home Beckons (Rilora)

[Moo]

Before Dawn | Heights/Kitchen/Dining Hall

One.
Two.
Three.
Four.

Dragon and Rider emerged from Between and sailed into a brisk current of air. With a surreptitious yawn, the Tiger thrust his wings down and soared toward his favorite spot on the Fire Heights. Though the stone was cold, and would remain so until the sun rose, it was quiet and unoccupied. Just what he needed.

Mosiliath called softly to the closest watchwher, who noted their arrival with a bark of acknowledgement. The large dragon landed on the Heights and settled himself down, bone-tired from the constant barrage of attention back at Fort. The sky was still cloaked with stars, but the slow bustle of the Weyr told him that dawn was not far off. A good time to return.

Home, he rumbled. [smear:ff7f24]I am glad [/smear:ff6600][smear:ff6600]to be back. I could [/smear:292421]not smell the salt air in Fort.

D'gan sat back in his saddle and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Nine months. It had been nine long, difficult months, but they had done it. He had ordered the other Riders to return home two days ago, while he and Mosiliath had remained to tie up any loose ends. And it had been a good thing, too, or else they would never have heard the rumor about Fort's Queen.

What will you do now that we're back? asked D'gan, hands busy working to unbuckle his riding straps. You'll have to come to our weyr if you want your saddle removed, you know.

[smear:ff7f24]Before [/smear:ff6600][smear:ff6600] or after[/smear:000000] I sleep? the Tiger responded playfully, then quieted in thought. [smear:ff7f24]After we settle [/smear:ff6600][smear:ff6600]in, I would like to see how Archith is doing. [/smear:000000]I remember she had been distressed[smear:292421] about many things around the time we had left. [/smear:292421]I hope she is in better spirits.

His eyes spun a soft green. [smear:ff7f24]And do not worry, [/smear:ff6600][smear:ff6600]Rider Mine, I will not scuff up the saddle. [/smear:000000]I will sleep as still and quiet as this stone. You?

The same plan as yours, more or less. I'm going to stop by the kitchens and see if there's anything to eat...and then, depending on the time, see if Rilora is awake...or try to sleep some before briefing her.


[smear:ff7f24]If you do [/smear:ff6600][smear:ff6600]decide to sleep, I will inform you if [/smear:292421]I hear Rilora is looking for you. After another yawn, Mosiliath curled up in a semi-circle and draped a wing over his body.

A quiet wave of content washed over him from Mosiliath, and he rest a hand on Mosiliath's neck. Thank you. Sleep well.

Turning from his dragon, D'gan unbuttoned his riding jacket and made his way down the steps that led from the Heights, to the individual weyrs, and down to the Bowl. He passed very few people on the way down, which in truth was just fine by him. He really did not feel up to a conversation with anyone before he ate something.

As he entered the dim corridor that led to the kitchens, he removed his jacket and draped it over his arm. He also tried to smooth back his wind-ruffled, silvery hair in an attempt to appear presentable, but without a mirror of some kind it might as well have been a lost cause. The bustling sounds and smells of baking food emanating from the kitchen, however, quickly banished any other thought in his mind.

And with a quiet knock to announce himself, he opened the door and stepped inside.

[Kaya]

Rilora had a vague awareness of sleepy warmth. Then she felt what had awoken her in the first place. A paw batted at her check and a demanding mew caused her to sink back further into her sleeping furs. It did not work to stop the determined feline.

"No, Bel. You can wait," Rilora mumbled, pushing the silvery bundle of fur away. That did not work either. With a leap, Bel Lin landed with an oomph onto Rilora's stomach. "Bel!" the woman protested, sitting up in bed as the furs and the feline dropped down onto the bed.

'Mew?' she inquired, green eyes pleading.

"Fine. I'm awake now...sort of," Rilora relented, getting out of bed.

Archith, would you send for some klah from the kitchen?

I suppose... How did you know I was up?

If you weren't, nothing could have woken me.

The two had a good chuckle at that. In a fairly agreeable mood, to Rilora's surprise, Archith sent for the klah. The Weyrwoman was up and had her hair straightened from its night time frizz when a knock came at the door. "Just leave it on the desk!" she called from the other room. She heard the door open, and then close. She went to retrieve the drink, took a full sip letting the still quite hot drink pull her towards alertness for the day. She set it down and finished dressing. Then she scooped Bel up in her arms, grabbed the drink, and set off for the kitchens. She made it in good time, deposited Bel by her food bowl. The feline protested less but continued to stare at her every move as she went about getting the two of them some food. The kitchen staff had already taken her mug to refill it, but being the doting type for pets, Rilora wanted to feed her own feline. It was the sure way to keep their loyalty. With Bel content to nibble at the offerings provided, Rilora slipped further into the organized and chaotic kitchen, swerving around a few quickly carried trays. Finding food that wasn't moving at high speeds, she put some fresh bread slices on a plate and set about finding something to top them with. That was when she found herself about to duck out of the way, only to realize that said person did not belong to the kitchen staff.

"D'gan?" she nearly dropped the plate. She hadn't been expecting him. But it instantly occurred to her then that today was his return day. The others had returned a few days ago with preliminary reports, mostly good, of Fort's support. Still determined to get a good breakfast before dealing with work she asked, "I don't suppose you know where they keep the good spreads?"

[Moo]

D'gan hovered between the threshold of the kitchen and the dining hall with his own small plate of bread, out of the way of moving trays and bustling cooks, while he waited patiently for one of the kitchen staff to return with a mug of klah. The warmth of the kitchen and relative quiet of dining hall behind him was just enough to coax his thoughts toward sleep. He glanced briefly down at his plate, and half-questioned his decision to be here when he would, frankly, rather be in bed.

That is, until he heard his name.

Snapping out of his reverie, D'gan straightened up as soon as he realized who was addressing him.

He smiled warmly. "Surprise."

When she asked him her next question, he chuckled to himself. "You would think so, but I haven't a clue where they are. Little mishap I had when I first arrived at this Weyr has since banned me from the kitchen." He acknowledged the morning staff with a slight nod of his head. "Though I'm sure these lovely ladies in here would be willing to help you find what you're looking for."

"Flattery might help you with the GreenRiders, but it won't help you here, D'gan," came the good-natured response from one of the older cooks. "You're still on my list."

He grinned. "As long as I'm at the top of that list."

She laughed. "Keep toeing that line, TigerRider, and you will be," she responded, moving across the kitchen and depositing a small mug of klah on the counter beside him. "Remember to bring your plate and mug back here before you leave, hmm?"

"Yes, ma'am," he nodded curtly, as he reached out and picked up the steaming cup by the handle as she sauntered back towards the ovens. With a slight grin, D'gan shook his head and turned back to Rilora.

"So, uh...if you don't have plans to eat with anyone else this morning, would you like to join me? It feels a bit early to discuss business, but I'd like to catch up with you all the same. I've been...well, Mosiliath and I have been wondering how you've been. I know we did not leave at exactly the most opportune time."

[Kaya]

Rilora followed with a smile on her face while D'gan bantered with the kitchen staff. She was exceptionally pleased with the turn this morning had taken, which she hadn't expected from herself. She did manage to get in her request for jam to the staff before D'gan was shooed from the warm heart of the kitchens towards the tables.

"Yes, let's eat," she accepted, moving to drop off her plate and mug at the table and gesturing for D'gan to do the same. She could hear the shadow over the topic of the days before D'gan had left. Yes, things had been and were still tense on a regular basis. The world and its weather had been merciless this Turn. She chose to ignore these unpleasant topics for the present, they didn't need to dive into them first. Formal reports later. Breakfast for friends first.

"I'm glad you're back."

Rilora. The amused voice.

Archith.

Seeing he no longer had a dangerous, hot mug of klah in hand she gave him a hug. And then with an excited light in her expression requested, "Tell me about your trip. The good parts. Was it cold? Did you see familiar faces? Oh, and no work talk until the food's gone and we're out of the kitchen. At least." she added with a stern face.

[Moo]

Pleased that she had accepted his offer, D'gan followed willingly as she selected a table for the two of them. His mind began to race for some kind of summary for his trip, but nine months and some odd days away were proving difficult to compress into a few sentences. Especially after all he and his Riders had been through.

"I'm glad you're back."

Despite his exhaustion, which he hoped wasn't too apparent at the moment, he brightened considerably at the welcome back. He set his dishes down opposite Rilora's seat and turned around to reply when he felt arms wrap around his torso.
Warmth flooded his chest as he returned her hug. When she pulled away to ask her other questions, he sat down, took a careful sip of klah, and took a moment to think on how he should answer them. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her sudden sternness.

"Take heart, Rilora! After nine months of straight work, it's the last thing I'd care to talk about. At least this early in the morning. So, the good parts of the trip..." He raised his mug to his lips (bread could go cold, but this was a proper Southern klah, and he dare not let it go cold) and continued his answer. "Well, you'd be right asking if it was cold in Fort. I had forgotten how much the temperature changes in the northern Weyrs! Mosiliath and I were all too keen to return to the south. It was strange though, seeing Fort again. After I had put in a transfer here, those handful of turns ago, I never thought I'd see it again."

He looked thoughtfully down into his mug. "No real need to, you know?"

D'gan returned his gaze to Rilora. "It was...surprisingly, smaller than I remembered. But perhaps that was because I remembered all of our old haunts -- mine and Mosiliath's. It was cold in more ways than one, though." He shook his head in thought. "Rainbow Mists is my home now, and I'm glad of that, but it was strange feeling...well, like a stranger in Fort. The entire atmosphere has changed."

He shrugged the thought away with a smirk. "There were a few familiar faces, though of course we're all older than we remember each other." He laughed. "Strange how that happens. It was nice to catch up with old friends, though. I'm glad I got that opportunity, in the rare hour or two outside of work."

At this point, D'gan paused in the conversation and picked at a slice of bread before popping a piece in his mouth. He sighed pleasurably and finished eating that bite before continuing. "The quality of the food has definitely gone up since we've returned," he said, and then nodded toward Rilora herself. "As has the company."

"Mosiliath was a bit distressed, though, at the lack of other Tigers. Lots of other colors, including talk of our Azure Queen but..." He shrugged again, but this time his eyes twinkled with mischief. "Been enjoying yourself here, Rilora?" He had heard the news from Fort, and knew it had been anything but fun at Rainbow Mists, but he couldn't resist an ironic comment between friends.

[Kaya]

She listened thoughtfully to his social account of the Weyr. It sounded a bit lonely, though he'd had some time to spend with old friends. They certainly put him to work over at Fort, and with his list of things to do for Rainbow Mists his workload sounded atrocious. She was glad she was hearing about it after the fact. She wondered what the people of Fort had been mulling over about her Weyr's Azure. Zabrielth and Sunvoiath had been very, almost suspiciously quiet lately. Rilora kept meaning to check in with them, but good intentions didn't produce reliable results. She shoved down the frustrated feeling at her own administrative failures. The Weyr was still running, at least she could keep that much managed.

"You don't say? I'm sure the cooks will be pleased to hear your continued flattery," Rilora said sarcastically. She made a note to herself to consider bringing a bite along with her should she ever be stuck at Fort through meetings. Now that her delegates were back she herself might be the one requested.

"But I forget about that, you know, that the colors are different at the other Weyrs." She fought with herself how to express the idea well, but felt she would only ramble on. In short she was used to her Weyr, and familiarity would equate itself with normalcy, whether that was accurate or not. She wondered what they could have been saying about her Azure, her Weyr, the dragons that differed, but that was work. After breakfast.

"Oh I'm sure you're caught up to date on the latest south-north strife. It's really not the best breakfast conversation. So afterwards then..." she didn't comment on the raiding party that had left two Riders, one of them hers, dead. Not to mention the injuries and destruction and theft. Shards, couldn't she and D'gan find a topic that wasn't work? Surely they did other things with their time.

She looked down at her plate to see that she had worked her way through all but a bite of her toasted bread through D'gan's part of the conversation. She stuffed the last bit into her mouth and choked it down. She coughed. She took a large swallow of klah. "Ahm," she coughed again. "Finished?" she asked. She searched for a topic beyond work but didn't find any. She hadn't been home to visit her family in ages, it was going on a Turn now, she hadn't been out much. Just a few little things with her sister, with R'le. Lunches mostly. And one particularly unflattering evening. She tried to hide her discomfort at having remembered it at that particular moment. She had no conversation worthy news and criticized her life with the sort of harshness that persons reserve for themselves, saving the kind words for others. "I'm afraid I don't have much to report. Not on the spot, like this." This breakfast had started well, she hated how she was finishing it. Shard her lack of morning conversational skills.

You really are cute when you swear at your perceived inadequacies, you know. Archith laughed. You are in good company who considers you good company. Is that no all human interactions like this require? In your in sentiments, fardles, Rilora, it'll be your own sharding fault if you keep sulking through the ends of conversations like this. Archith prodded to get a rise out of her.

You and your shelling advice.

It's shelling good advice. Stop thinking so much and just talk to the man, for Faranth's sake.

Rilora exhaled. "Archith," she explained. "So...what were we talking about?" she asked with a sweet smile that asked him to abandon the old topics and bring up something pleasant.