The hustle and bustle of the kitchens waned as the evening grew later. The teams that had prepared and placed on trays all the many items for the coming breakfast were finished with their work. Many had gone to finish their days in their weyrs, with their families, elsewhere. A few remained to staff the kitchens overnight. Libby had fallen into the tween shift several nights back when her own sleep difficulties prodded her schedule thus. So she babysat the ovens, much to the delight of her firelizard Anchor. Being a northern born flitt he had a certain affinity for the heat and the humidity of the southern Weyr and its giant kitchen ovens. Libby was finding a moment of reprieve from them taking a large tray to cool. She placed it and shuffled a cooler one over. She began to move the sweets to free the tray to be used over. The warm and sweet smells filled the cavern, certainly a treat for anyone who happened to be about at this evening hour.
Shri tried to work out a knot in her shoulder as she headed toward the kitchens. She just had an entirely too long conversation with one of her clients regarding a recent purchase. She'd gotten what she had wanted out of it, but that could have been half the time. Analis crooned into her ear, offering encouragement. Selt and Dea were absent, but Panero was curled around her leg, which made walking, slightly troublesome. Still, he was being 'good' which was enough for Shri to let it go. Besides, she mostly just wanted to get something to soothe away the stress before her new Aerie shift.
Fortune smiled, the air was full of warm sweet baked goods. Shri was quietly delighted. She stepped a little more quickly, before finding her target, who were currently being taken up with a changing of the guard, so to speak.
"May I grab a few of those?" The other girl was still working with the trays, she didn't want to just grab. A flicker of recognition pasted through her eyes, but honestly, short of a actual source of combat, she wasn't going to be focused on anything but a desperately needed sweet at the moment
Libby looked up as someone entered her quiet space. Anchor perked up with her and raised his head to gaze at the luminous Gold that had entered his domain. Libby switched her tray down to pick up a pastry. She considered offering it. "Reformed now, are we?" it slipped out as she offered Shri the sweet. It was the Weyr's kitchen, for everyone to enjoy. Most for tomorrow, but some for this time. "S'better with a hot drink," she prompted. Maybe a suggestion, maybe an invitation.
Shri's reaction was slow in coming. Not because she hadn't heard it. She had. However, Shri was sort of considering how to respond. A very small smile, nothing more then a whisper flitting over her face. "An interesting question." That was all. It was perhaps as close to a joke as she might arrive, but it was a brief and honest statement all the same. Regardless she took the sweet roll.
"That is true. I'd like some if there is anything handy." She absently pushed Panero down as he tried to crawl within range of sweet roll theft. He chittered, sounding amused as he skittered back to his place. "Staying up late today?" Shri nibbled on her new desert. The fresh baked smell intensified as she took a bite. She was feeling better just having it in her hands.
Anchor left his curled spot near the ovens to come puff himself up for the Gold flitt, and to try and look intimidating to Panero as a sweet roll guard. Libby acknowledged him directly as she did Shri's expressions, she couldn't miss much when she was alert. But she felt safe in her kitchens. This was her domain after all.
"Always," Libby shrugged without commitment. Her sleep schedule did what it wanted. She had help in Anchor, hence his namesake, but she'd still toss and turn through life's storms. She swept up a pair of mugs and moved to fill them with the oversized ladle used in the back for the huge kettles that kept stored the drinks later moved to the dining hall. The mugs looked comically small next to it. She slid one over to Shri and took her own roll to enjoy, leaning into the counter near Shri.
Analis shifted her gaze slightly at the Iron coming to get into her good graces. She playfully encouraged him just enough, like the flirt she was. Shri let it be. She was hardly going to stop her Gold from flirting if it wasn't getting in the way. Panero glanced at the other firelizard before trilling his delight and vanishing. Shri looked down briefly at that. He'd gone to do something. She was going to have to be prepared for THAT.
"Thank you." She accepted the other drink and spent a moment letting the smells of warm sweet roll mix with her drink for a rich, comfortable smell. She felt to the sweet roll, and it vanished almost as quickly as her firelizard had. "My complements to the chef." She took a deep drink, before letting her eyes focus on the other girl again, now perhaps in a fine enough mood to attempt proper conversation.
"I always love the Weyr's sweet rolls." It was was a statement that could be a door for further conversation, or merely a statement. Either way, it was a a fine enough subject for Shri.