jayashri_pw

Candidacy isn't all glory and no work, as Ashri is quick to find out. Working in the kitchens today, she runs into her friends just as she finishes up...

Fort Weyr - Living Caverns(#10592RJ$)
This cavern, having been created by bubbles in the volcanic flow of this extinct volcano, has a breathtaking ceiling -- a vast dome that arches high above the heads of the weyrfolk that scurry around beneath it. A hollow echo can be heard from loud enough noises, and the chatterings of various firelizards are consequently multiplied into a chaotic babble. All in all, the living cavern is a loud place.
Tables are scattered around the room, apparently in no particular order. Over to one side near the kitchens, two medium sized serving tables are constantly spread with snacks, klah, and other goodies. The tables look worn, yet perfectly fitted to the atmosphere of the caverns. In the 'corners' of the cavern, smaller two and four place tables are set up for more private talks or just a less chaotic atmosphere in which to eat.

Pralius chuckles, "Yeah, I'm always willing to do some riding." He glances at Ely, then at Noelle, then leans over to Noelle and whispers, "Be careful, she has a heck of a right hook."

Dark eyes shift to the gosling again and she grins then her head turns to watch him weaving in and out and around. Giggle. Wyn's eyes flick to Noelle and then to Ely and she smiles then nods her head, looking back to Pralius' sister, "That'd be me, the girlfriend, it's nice to meet another sister," she says, then takes another sip of klah. She crouches to try to pet the little gosling as he wanders, grinning up at those around, "I can't resist him.." she says, hmmm..does she mean Waldo or Pralius? Hard to tell.

Coming in from the kitchens, Ashri is carting a large, metal salad bowl. It's filled to the brim with fresh greens, sliced fingerroots, chopped redroots, rings of whiteroot, and something that might be chopped, hard boiled eggs. Glistening in the light, it appears to be tossed in a light oil or vinaigrette of some sort. It's heavy, and the CompCrafter is struggling a bit with it. Still, she manages to make it all the way over to the serving table, setting it down and wiping her brow on her sleeve. "Phew." Looking relieved, she snatches up a bowl and helps herself to some of the salad and a cup of chilled juice before wandering over to where Wyndrei and co are seated. "Afternoon," she puffs before sinking into a seat, her Candidate knot hung somewhat askew from her morning exertions.

Moydeo looks up, and waves. "Hey Ashri!" She calls tto the fellow candidate. "They got you helping in the kitchen today?" She asks, eyeeing the bowwl of salad a moment, and chuckles at Wyn. "That little guy is pretty cute." She chuckles, and leans back in her seat, taking a sip from her mug. "Actually Ely, it's probably just the runner reacting to you, and the feelings it's getting off you." She shrugs, and nods to Noelle. "Which runner is that halter for?" She asks the girl.

Wyndrei rises to her feet and her head turns to the huff-n-puff approaching, or Ashri as some call her, and she grins, peering toward the bowl. She glances to Moydeo and nods, "He's a darlin," she says of the gosling, then again, could be Pral. She smiles widely either way. Wyn eyeballs the salad then hmms and rises to her feet to get herself some and rejoins the group, leaning to nudge Ash a little, "Been busy huh?" she asks her then smiles. "Maybe you'll get some dragon infirmary duty with me!"

Elyciana curls her fingers around her mug of klah, pressing them closely to make sure they're warm. With a soft huff, she blows away steam from the mug and lifts the rim to her lips to drink. "He's a bit too cute for his own good," she remarks about Waldo the goose, a smirk alighting her lips, "He needs to bea bit more scary if he's ever going to turn out to be an attack goose of any merit." She tsks a litle at that and eyes the gosling. Waldo cheeps happily and moves to sit on Ely's boot, curling his little legs underneath himself. Yes. He's happy with his 'mommy' of sorts. An eyebrow is arched at Ashri, "Candidate now, yes?" Her mismatched eyes linger on the askew knot before she offers a half-grin, "Congratulations then. Another slave in the crew. You .. had to make a giant salad for your first chore?" She eyes said salad skeptically and looks thoughtful, "Waldo'd probably like some."

Noelle furrows a brow at Wyn and cocks her head, as if mentally debating whether she ment the goose or her brother. Shaking her head she turns back to Ely, watching her slow and diliberate movements. Never being able to leave well enough alone, Noelle prods further, "Obviously the rope is thicker for a runner. You would need a thiner roap for a goat." She casts her brother a sidelong look and wrinkles her nose, "Is she the one that did that to your lip?"

Pralius grins at Wyn, blushing some and giving her that sweet look he reserves only for her, "Oh, right. Noelle, dearest little half-sister of mine, this is Wyndrei, my girlfriend. Sorry, I'd forgotten you two hadn't met yet. Noelle just transferred from Ista to follow me around like a lovesick puppy." Then he nods, "Yes, Ely's the one. I deserved it, though."

"Yeah," Ashri manages around a mouthful of salad. A contented sigh falls from her lips as she swallows. "I make good salad." If she does say so herself. Taking a sip of her juice, she nods to Wyndrei. "Yeah. They keep bouncing me around chore wise. Thankfully, they are still letting me work on my Computer stuff as well. I think Odisyn would be pretty hacked off otherwise." Hazel gaze sliding to Elyciana, she chuckles. "I've done more than just make salad, but yes, that's one of the things I've had to do thanks to this knot." She smirks, just slightly, and then offers her bowl to the Beastcrafter. "He's welcome to try it, though I don't know if he'll care much for the oil. It isn't heavy though." The unfamiliar face gets a glance and a quirked eyebrow. And Pralius is just kind enough to perform introductions. "Oh, from Ista? I bet you must miss the heat then. I'm from Landing myself." Trust Ashri to insert herself into the conversation as she pleases.

Hmm, that salad does look good. Moydeo decides to get up from her seat, and get her own serving of the salad, before sitting down again. "I think you had it easier then me, Ashri, I've been wrangling kids in the nursery all morning." She chuckles, what fun that is, if you don't mind the, you know, smell, ugh. "Ah, Noelle, nice to meet you, I'm Moydeo." She says to her, as introduction, before she digs into her salad. "Wow Ashri, this is good." She says, and clears her throat about Odisyn, but makes no more comment about the computer crafter. "Ista huh? Maybe you should of stayed there, what with us being freezing at the moment." She chuckles, and picks up her mug of klah, and sips from it.

Noelle slings the finished halter over her arm and out of the way. Hey eyes drist towards the goose-guarded, goat-happy, beastcrafter and narrow in a glare. Exhailing in a loud, abrupt sigh, she turns from Ely to the salad tossing candidate. "Actually the cold doesn't bother me at all. I rather like it here, and those snow sculptures out in the bowl are stunning, but I am not from Ista..." She glances at Pralius with a confused look on her face.

Wyndrei beams at Pralius, eyes dancing at that little look exchanged between them then she nods to Noelle, "Oh..so you're going to be staying here, good.." she says of Noelle's transfer. She grins over at Ash, "I'll put in a request me thinks.. we do need the help.. the last impacted tail we had.." and she makes an 'ick' face, mouth stretched out in a non-smile, eyes wide, head shaking.

Elyciana raises her brows even further at Noelle and merely shrugs at her unresponsiveness. Rolling her mug between her fingers for a moment, she tilts the container back and drains the last of the liquid from within. "Speaking of chores," she begins in a grudging voice, "I nearly forgot I had to take a shift at the stables after lunch." A disgusted glance is cast at the doorway where the cold and snow waits, but she sets her empty mug down onto the table anyhow and pushes herself to her feet. "I'll have to try the sald some other time, Ashri," she notes and offers up a slight wave to those gathered. "Try not to miss e too much." Off she goes towardsd the door to collect her winter things and head out into the cold. Waldo, sensing her departure, scrambles to his tiny feet and waddles off after her, but he does give a soft cheep! to Wyn as he passes. Perhaps a farewell?

Pralius chuckles, giving Noelle a friendly pat on the shoulder, "They're confusing you with Enka, my foster sister." He turns back to the others, "My foster sister, Enka, she's at Ista. Noelle's my half-sister, until recently she was with our mother at Telgar Weyr." He glances at Wyn, then chuckles, "Ever been sneezed on by a dragon? Is it worse than 15 kids in 4 hours?" He glances at Ashri and Moydeo, "Salad?"

Ashri pulls the bowl back and begins noshing on her salad again. "Maybe," she nods toward Moydeo. "I'm sure I'll get that duty sooner or later." She reaches for her cup, offering an apologetic smiles toward Noelle. "Ah, my mistake then. I'm glad you liked the sculptures. I did one of them." She's rather proud of this fact, as evidenced by her beam. And then her gaze turns toward Wyndrei in something akin to horror. "Impacted tail? I'm not even sure that's lunch conversation." A wave is given to Elyciana as she departs. "I'll try to save some for you, Ely!" she calls. "Well, Pralius, I'd
think you'd approve of salad. It's healthy and stuff."

Moydeo blinks as she gets ignored by Noelle for about a third time. She shrugs, and digs into her salad, this really was good. She blinks at Wyndrei, and winces. "Impacted tail, ewww." She says, she's not seen it, but she's likely heard about it, andd how they can be. She waves to Ely as she leaves. "Bye Ely, have fun." She says. "We won't." She remarks, about missing her too much. She blinks, and oooohs at Pralius. "Ah, well, alright." She says. "Sorry, I thought she said she was from Ista." She says, or that someone had said it. "Never been sneezed on by a dragon, not sure I want to be." She chuckles, that could be pretty gross. "Yes, thank you about the sculptures, I did one as well." She says. "It's kind of sad though that now they're going to melt at some point." If they hadn't started to already.

Noelle nods, "Your welcome. You could always take pictures of them. I saw someone wandering around the other day with a camera..." Looking back towards the door she wrinkles her nose slightly, "I've got some stuff I need to do, but it was nice meeting y'all." She offers a quick wave before turning to leave. A few steps and she turns back with a grin, "Nice to meet you to Moydeo, and no I don't like heat much, so its a good thinh I aint from Ista! I sort of like the cold, the runners like to swarm around you for heat." With a genuine nod she heads to the door calling out a good bye to everyone as she leaves.

Wyndrei grins some at the comments about the sculpture, "Oh yes, I did one too!" she chirps then looks to Moydeo, giggling. "Mhmm..ewww.." and she flashes a grin to Ash. "It's not but..well..." and she shrugs, blushing some, glancing at her salad before taking a bite. She's a dragonhealer, one must get used to it! "Ewww..yes..well when a dragon sneezes if you're near enough to know it sneezed, you're hit.. so..yes.." and she laughs, shaking her head. She leans over and hugs Ash then smooches Pral on the cheek and hugs him too, "I need to hit the baths then get ready for my shift.." she says softly, "Good salad, candi," and she winks at Ashri, then takes up her dishes to deposit them where they go and head out the door.

Pralius grins, smooching Wyn back with perhaps a tad too much gusto before his gives Ely, Wyn, and Noelle each their own wave before turning back to Moy and Ashri with a grin, "Healthy is good. Still, I can't deny my liking for bovine and tubers when I can get 'em." As if to emphasize his point, he takes a large bite of his own meal, chewing heavily.

"Well, that's an idea," Ashri remarks. "Wonder if that was Odisyn? I could likely borrow the camera from him again. Might be nice to go in someone's memory box." She offers a wave to the departing Noelle before chuckling at Wyndrei. "Glad you liked the salad. Now go get clean and who knows? I just might get duty with you before you know it." So now it's just her, Moydeo, and Pralius of their friendly gaggle. "I rather enjoy salads, Pralius. They don't sit heavily on my stomach like some of the dishes do here. I don't mind it so much for dinner, when I'm done for the day, but when I'm still working or being active I'd rather not feel sluggish from a heavy meal."

Moydeo waves to Noelle, and then Wyndrei as they leave. "Yes, nice meeting you as well Wyndrei." She says. "Have a good day, both of you." She smiles, and finishes up her bit of salad, pushing the plate back, as she leans back in her seat. She nods. "I'm sure we'll all end up doing runs in the infirmary before the eggs hatch." She agrees. "I admit I'm kind of looking forward to it, but, I know it won't be all nice, and stuff." She agrees, and picks up her mug, taking a drink.

Pralius chuckles, "I eat lighter before bed. The more you eat before resting, the more weight you'll gain from it. Besides, it helps me keep my immune system up for working in the sick rooms." He grins mildly evilly when Moy mentions everyone having to pull infirmary shifts, "Be sure to eat beans those days... and drink lots of citron. They'll help you resist disease."

"I know that, Pralius. I tend to eat my supper early anyway, not that I eat much to begin with." Ashri shrugs. "I'm not sure, Moydeo. After the incident with Wyndrei..." The Apprentice trails off, glancing at those around her. It really doesn't need any extra explanation. "It's wonderful to save a life, but it certainly isn't all glory. There's plenty of gorey, too." An intentional pun, perhaps. "I'll keep your advice in mine, Pralius. The last thing I want is to come down with something and be bedridden the day the eggs hatch."

Moydeo nods. "I don't eat too late either." She agrees, and sips at her klah. "I like to sleep." She chuckles, and then nods to Pralius. "Beans and Citron, alright, will do that." She agrees with Ashri, and erks as her names called from the lower caverns. "Well, looks like my break is over." She sighs, and gets up. "Good seeing you again Pralius, and I'll see you later Ashri. Have a good day, both of you." She says, and disappears into the lower caverns.

Pralius sighs, glancing around at the now much emptier cavern, "Stay safe, Moy. Kids can be dangerous." He quirks an eyebrow and gives another brief wave as she leaves. Then his attention turns back to Ashri and smiles, "So, how's candidacy affecting that hatching and clutching database?"

Jayashri waves. "Mine will be before too long, I'm sure." She offers a sympathetic smile. "Have fun with the young'uns." Leaning back in her chair, she turns her attention to Pralius once more, contemplative as she picks at her salad. "Well... I don't have a lot of data to go on just yet. Unfortunately the shell colors doesn't seem to be something worth noting unless it is a gold egg, and even then it isn't always perfect. I'm hoping some photographic evidence in the files will make things more... factual."

Pralius nods, "If... well, if you want I can spend some free time in the archives compiling old data.... Even just numbers and colors would be better than nothing... then we could track reproduction rates and see if certain types of pairings produce better clutches than others..."

Jayashri smiles, nibbling on a leaf. "Well, I certainly won't say not to any help I can get. You might be able to use the system down in the computer room for that. I've been working on transcribing the paper or hide based records to digital when I can, between chores now." She chuckles. "I had no idea being a Candidate was so much work. We're barely above drudges until we Impress!" She's joking, at least marginally.

Pralius grins, "Healers get good at reading cramped and faded text. If you want I can pull in some favors and see if I can get copies of records from other Weyrs, too. Make a truly complete database..." When she mentions impression he can't help but grin, "If you impress, you mean. Still, I think you might have a good chance. Seen stranger choices by the dragons more often than you might think."

Jayashri examines a whiteroot ring, nibbling on it cautiously. "I would certainly be in your debt if you did, Pralius. I'll admit to being used to the clean printouts of a terminal and far less so the tiny, if usually neat handwriting of record keepers." She takes a bigger bite of the vegetable, finding it the sweeter variety. A thoughtful expression crosses her features as he mentions the if part. "Yeah... I hope so. Xaventh had faith in me. I have faith in myself. I just never thought about whether I wanted to ride a Dragon or not. It just never really occurred to me. I was always happy in front of a terminal or with my family. Now that I've been Searched... I don't even know what color I hope to Impress. I hear they are all wonderful. Granted, I'm thinking their riders are biased." She chuckles, smiling lopsidedly.

Pralius shovels in another forkful of meat and tubers, swallowing before he continues, "I'll send the boys out tonight and see what I can manage. A Pernwide database would be great." He grins, then, listening to her explanation of search and dragons and hopes, "Never really cared much myself, but color doesn't matter at all. You'll love any dragon you impress more than anything before."

Jayashri grins. "And very appropriate that it starts as a collaboration of Fort and Landing." She tilts her fork toward Pralius in emphasis before biting the mouthful off, chewing for a moment before washing it down with a swallow from her cup. "They say you don't realize just how alone you are until the moment that new mind touches yours, and then you wonder how you were ever complete without them. They make it sound so romantic, but it must also be a terrible burden, knowing that another life depends on your own so fully."

Pralius grins, nodding, "Yeah, the just post migration records will be the hardest to get." He smiles a bit more broadly, then, "I see you've been talking to riders. Good for you. I hope it goes well for you."

Jayashri nods, spearing another forkful of salad. "No doubt. Hopefully AIVAS might have some of the information to help fill in some gaps. I'm sure they must have left behind some records to say who went where." Her mouth twists in a thoughtful frown. "Or, I hope they did at least. They seemed very good at keeping organized records, but with the eruption of the volcano, who knows how much time they had?" She smiles again, hazel eyes alight with some mix of mirth, thought, and hope. "So do I. I'm quite honored by the request. But... if I don't Impress, it isn't like I don't have my Craft work to return to. I hear they let you stand until you're too old once you've been Searched, even if not Weyrfolk. Is that true?"

Pralius nods, "They were. It was also a disorganized during the move, lots of things were lost." He grins, "That's a good attitude to have. Especially if you have a craft." then he nods, "Usually. Unless something weird happens once you're searched you can always request to stand again."

"It was pretty chaotic, what between fighting Thread, trying to get the new areas established, the eruption... It's no wonder they lost things." Ashri finishes off her salad, setting the bowl down and sipping on her juice thoughtfully, smiling behind her cup at the Healer. "I've been told I can be logical to a fault. But I just can't help it. My whole life and work is based around the functions of logic."

Pralius nods, "Still.... between your contacts in the computer craft and mine in the Weyrs we should be able pull as much together as there is to pull." He chuckles then, "What's wrong with logical? What part of my mind do you think I was using when Wyn fell through the lake. The emotional brain was gibbering like a scared monkey."

"No doubt," Ashri nods. "And, even if we don't manage a complete record it will give us a great base to use for future data. I'm looking forward to having that new data start with the clutch on the sands." She chuckles, amused at the mental image of a gibbering primate. "I'm not sure how clinical I will be with eggs exploding all around me, though. Maybe I should get someone in the galleries to take notes instead." Finishing her juice, she stands. "I think I want some fruit before I call lunch finished. Do you need anything while I'm there?"

Pralius grins, "I'll take notes for you, Ashri. Never really coveted one of the beasts, but hatchings are still amazing experiences." He ponders for a minute, then smiles, "Why don't you bring me some of you salad?"

"I've only been to one. My cousins," the CompCrafter notes as she plucks up a bowl and serves several spoonfuls of the salad before grabbing a redfruit for herself. "That's what I based my sculpture on. I hope that I captured the magic as aptly as possible for someone who has never experienced the joy, only witnessed it." She slides back into her chair, nudging the bowl across the table to the Healer before biting into the fruit. "I'm told one a day of these keeps the Healer away. Wonder why that is?" She grins to Pralius, masticating her mouthful.

Odisyn enters with his laptop under his arm, whistling a cheerful tune. "Aaaashri!" he calls eagerly, greeting his fellow computercrafter, he comes from the direction of the lab. "We got the materials for five monitors, shouldn't take long to put them together." He says cheerfully.

Pralius chuckles, "Because the ancients said it. It's not true, though. Redfruit's a laxative." He cringes visibly when Odisyn enters, then takes a deep breath, turning slowly, "Afternoon, Odi..."

Craning her head around, Ashri offers a wave to her fellow Crafter, though discreetly quirks an eyebrow at Pralius in query before she's all sunshine and flowers for Odisyn. "Oh, that's wonderful, Odisyn! I'm glad to hear the shipments are coming in safely." Taking another bite of her fruit, she rolls it around in her hand thoughtfully. "I could probably help you this afternoon. The kitchen staff doesn't need me anymore today, so I guess I'm free for the rest of the day." She looks up at one of her fair appears -- Ravi, by the looks of it -- and lands on the table, chittering. "Hey, I don't think you'd like what I've got very much. They don't eat fruit, right?" She looks up between Healer and CompCrafter for an answer.

Odisyn nods. "Yes, the materials will be coming in in about the same portions as the materials for the monitors, four or five at a time." He sighs. "But thats fine, with just a few people working on them on and off." He eyes Jayashri. "Why would they have you working in the kitchen? you're a crafter!"

Pralius grins at Ashri, enjoying the salad Ashri had brought him. Ravi's requests have him giggling, "Nope. They can, but it's not nourishing." Odisyn's kitchen comment earns an odd look, "All candidates have morning chores, Odi. She probably has craft time in the evenings."

Jayashri opens her mouth to answer Odisyn, but Pralius beats her to it. "What he said." She taps the knot on her shoulder, no longer the black and brown of a Fort Resident, but the black and white of a Candidate. "Xaventh asked me to stand for Choth's clutch. I didn't see any reason to say no. I thought it would be an enlightening experience." She takes another bite of her redfruit, taking it carefully out of her teeth and offering it to the bronze. He sniffs at it before taking a nibble. There is a pause, and then he chews and swallows it, taking the whole piece from her. She giggles. "I guess he likes fruit then."

Odisyn ohs. "Oh my! I didn't realize. Congratulations!" Odisyn grins hugely. "Good luck, I'll be pulling for you!" He says with a huge grin. "What about you, Pralius right? Did you get searched too?" He asks, cocking his head. "I've been busy fiddling with the antenna system and the new lab for a few days." He offers, "So I wasn't up on who'd been picked and who hadn't."

Pralius shakes his head, "Nope. Not so much as a sniff. I'll stick to healing, anyway." He chuckles softly, "The knot's a dead giveaway, Odi. Or did you not notice that she's now sporting Fort's colors and not the craft's?"

Speaking of candidates, here comes Milo looking hungry, not unusual for a young man his age. His gold firelizard is perched on his shoulder, gleaming tail wrapped around his neck and one tiny paw clutching his ear as he walks, and she croons with every other step. Milo looks to be in a good mood, smiling as he loads up his food and walks over to the table where Pralius, Odisyn, and Jayashri are sitting. "Hey, guys," he says, and sits himself down. "How's it going?"

"Thank you, Odisyn. Maybe you could take pictures from the gallery when they hatch? I'll need the photographic evidence for the new database Pralius and I are working on." She beams at the Healer before Milodann comes up. "Oh, hey Milo!" She looks to the little queen. "Lucy, right?" Ravi chitters at the gold, offering some of his redfruit to the dainty creature. "I'm doing good. Just got done in the kitchen. I made the salad." She's rather proud of that fact.

Odisyn shakes his head. "Not at first." He admits. "I was more interested in the shipment that had come in when I arrived. Congratulations to the both of you. Good luck." He gets a plate of soup, salad, and a mug of klah, takes a seat with the other two, and begins to eat.

Pralius rolls his eyes slightly, then spots Milo, "Oh, hey you! How're you doing?" Ashri gets a grin when she mentions the database, "You should make it a journeyman project or something."
"Thanks, Odi," Milo says, and starts eating. He's got everything but meat on his plate, and he makes a point to take a big bite of the salad. He chews it thoughtfully and then gives Jayashri an approving nod. "This is a good salad, Ash. Watch out, though, those kitchen aunties will talk your ear off." He grins at her. "What's it made of?" He takes another couple of bites, and then shrugs at Pralius. "Oh, I'm okay, Pral. All recovered from the cold, and all." Lucy hops down from Milo's shoulder and sniffs the redfruit daintily. Then she looks at Ravi with what can only be described as disgust, and starts hunting down the table for meat of some kind.

Jayashri taps her chin thoughtfully. "Hadn't thought of that," she admits. "I suppose it is big enough to be worthy of that. Well, no reason not to propose it as my Journeyman project. Worst thing they can say is no, right?" She takes another bite of her redfruit, watching as Ravi begins nibbling away at his piece, offering what seems to be a shrug to the queen as she slinks off. More for me! Chomp! The Apprentice's attention is diverted to Milodann as he asks her about the salad. "Oh, we managed to barter for some nice fresh greenleaf, and I put in some sliced fingerroots, chopped redroot, sliced whiteroots, and chopped some hard boiled eggs and tossed it all in a light dressing of oil, vinegar, and some choice herbs and spices I found. I'm glad you liked it. It was a lot of fun to make. They used to make something similar back at the Hall."

Odisyn blinks. "What sort of a database? Anything I can help with?" He asks, curious. "And sure, as long as the camera is in as good a condition as it was when you borrowed it, I don't care who borrows it, takes the pictures or what. But I'll be real upset if its busted when I'm done with it."

Pralius grins at Ashri, "That's what I'm here for." Reaching out, he offers Lucy a thin scrap of bovine, "How's candidacy treating you two? Any explosions?

"Should you worry about a Journeyman project right now?" Milo asks Jayashri. "You won't have time during Candidacy... and if you Impress, you'll have even less time for a long while. But I guess thinking about it doesn't hurt..." He takes another bite of the salad. "This is really good." Lucy, not having found any meat anyone is willing to give up, wanders back down the table to Milo with that funny, hopping, awkward gait firelizards and dragons share, and then perches on her haunches and creels piteously at him. He eyes her. "I just fed you," he says. She creels more, sounding as if she'll just die, even if her tummy is bulging with food and her well-oiled hide gleams like molten gold. She turns away from him, though as soon as Pralius' offer is seen from the corner of her faceted eye, and she takes it delicately from his fingers, settling down to eat. "She's going to get fat," Milo complains. He snickers when Pralius uses the word 'explosions,' but shakes his head. "No, it's just a lot of hard, boring work, so far. Today was kind of nice because my chore was 'lessons,' so I hunted down A'tien, and he had me study geography. I've been drawing maps all day."

"A database recording Dragon eggs, what hatched from them and who they Impressed to, and where they are or were," Ashri elaborates for Odisyn. "And, I'm mostly looking to do it by myself, Pralius is just helping me data mine." Ah, more tech speak. She takes another bite of her fruit, contemplating Milodann's question. "Well, I have been pretty busy with chores, but I like to plan ahead. Best to have a direction for your life so that no matter what comes at you you're focused. At least, that's how I see it. And, Impression isn't certain. In a few weeks I might still just be Jayashri, Computer Apprentice." She shrugs. "Who can say?" Ravi chirrups as he finishes his piece, looking for more.

Odisyn chuckles. "Milo thats what baby lizards do I swear my three ate four or five times their weight in four days." He nods at Ashri. "Well good luck Ashri. If you need to borrow anything let me know. I've got quite a few things that might be useful."

Fresh and clean from her trip to the baths, Wyn wanders back into the caverns for a bite to eat. A flit is curled at her neck like a little brown scarf, only covering one side, albeit. She gets a plate and the little brown perks up, snuffling toward the wherry, "Yes I'll share.." she murmurs, then heads for the table, yes that's the one. The one she left a bit ago. She flumps down beside Pralius and smiles, exhaling, "Ahhh much better.." and she works at tearing some meat up for the flit who is on it like a jitterbug, chirring happily. She looks over at Ash and grins then around, waving a hand.

Pralius grins as Wyn enters, nodding to Ashri's explanation, "Also a lineage track of dragons. Try to discover ideal mating habits. Though I suppose technically that's Wyn's domain, not mine." He stands, peckign Wyn on the cheek, "Hard day, love?"

"That would be interesting, Ash" Milo says. "At least only the queens and bronzes breed, though, so you could have maybe two databases? One that lists all the dragons and their parents, and one that lists just the queens and their partners, and their parents, and so forth. A less-cluttred way of tracking the geneology, right?" He nods in agreement with her. "Yes, planning ahead is always good. If I don't Impress... then I guess I'll just wait 'til I'm eighteen and then go to Harper Hall." He grins at Odisyn. "Yeah, well. I mean, I just fed her, like, fifteen minutes ago. Look, her stomach is lumpy with the food. I seriously think I might have to put her on a diet. But... I can't think of how to do that to a creature that can just pop between to a beach in Southern and fish for herself any time she wants." He watches his sister approach, sit, feed her flit, and wave. "Heya, Wyn," he says. He glances at Pralius. "How's, uh, the room coming along?" He turns a little pink, and focuses on eating his salad.

Odisyn snorts. "My brother is going to the Harper hall as an apprentice pretty soon. He seems to enjoy performing so who knows, maybe he'll get to be a composer or something. If you're after dragon geneology, you might want to check the records at Xanadu's teaching hospital. Their hatching records are pretty sharding good if I may say so myself."

Wyndrei gazes at Pralius wordlessly for a moment then nods her head, then shakes her head then blushes at herself and bites her lip, "Uhm.. well.. I worked most of the night, snuck back in this morning then right back on shift.. finally got a nap and had a bath.." then she quiets some, feeding the little brown a bit more, looking down to try to let the blush fade. She glances up at Milo and smiles broadly, "Heya.. yeah it's.. really good.." she says of the room...and stuff.

Pralius smiles back down at Wyn with that look Milo so hates, then turns back to the table, "Right now we're just working on data entry. We'll do numbers and stuff later... want to help with it, Wyn? We're working on databasing dragon reproduction records."

"Performing?" Milo asks Odisyn. "Oh, yeah. No. That's not what I'd want to do. I draw. I'd want to go there to learn how to be an Artist." He shrugs a bit. "Eh. I don't really care about the geneology." He smiles uncomfortably at Wyndrei, does a little shfty-eyed glance at Pralius, and turns bright red. "Well," he says, his voice breaking. He clears his throat. "That's good, then. You, uh, lemme know if you need anything. Like, you know, if you need me to get Ely to whip out the ol' right hook." He smirks at Pralius, and can't stop his chuckle.

Ashri gives Ravi the last bite of her redfruit, licking her lips thirstily. Getting up, she goes to refill her cup. "Hey Wyn," she calls as she passes the Dragonhealer by on her way to the serving table. Half filling her mug, she returns to the table, sipping as she nods to Milodann. "Likely it'll actually be several databases working together. There will be different functions to call up certain data and generate charts and graphs for anyone looking for the data." She grins. "Might make betting on those eggs a more certain proposition. I'm sure the Bitrans won't mind." She taps her foot, playing with one of her curls absently. "It should be useful for a number of reasons though. Or at least, that's the hope."

Odisyn nods. "I know, different things but who knows, you might meet him. Vynilian is his name. We just call him Vyni for short." He adds. "Well yeah, you'd need a lot of different sources for such a database to actually be useful. "I can type for an hour or two a day if you need me to Pralius. "Night shifts suck." He agrees with Wyndrei.

Wyndrei reaches up to find Pral's hand with hers then leans her head over a bit against his arm, a casual sort of affection, just enough not to be merely friendly and not so much as to make Milo faint. She nods, "Sure I'll help.." she says with a smile then giggles at the fat little brown who lays down with a burp. Milo's comment makes her smirk a little too though moreso at her brother than her boyfriend, "I prolly have a hook of my own if I ever need it..." she says, then holds up an arm to flex, the muscle is slender, not bulky, but strong enough likely. "Hey Ash," she replies to her techy $friend then smiles at Odisyn, nodding.

Now that most of the rest have finished eating, suddenly Pralius' two browns appear demanding food and hating eachother, as usual. He smiles as Wyn accepts the offer, "Glad to have you aboard..." He smiles even bigger, feeding the browns with something other than the chagrin he usually manages, "That'd be nice, Odisyn. But we're still compiling the records right now. Though there's data entry to be done on Fort's records."

"So what is the betting for the eggs, this time around?" Milo asks everyone in general, since Ashri brought it up. "Does anyone think that great big one is a gold?" Milo nods and smiles at Odi. "I guarantee that I'll forget his name by the time I actually get to Harper Hall, if I ever do get there." He laughs a bit. "Who knows? I only turned seventeen, like, three months ago. Got a ways to my next birthday." A grateful look is given to Wyn for not making him barf. "Well, good. Maye you should take lessons, or something. For fun." Lucy lays down near Milo's elbow and surveys the other nearby firelizards, watching Pralius' two browns with interest. He has nothing to add on the whole data entry subject. He can't even type, except for one key at a time.

Sipping on her juice casually, Ashri chuckles at Odisyn. "Let's not put the wagon before the runner. I've still got a lot of database design and data input from this Weyr alone without worrying about all the rest," she nods toward Pralius to indicate her agreement. "I'm sure you could help us type up the records, however. There are still piles of them." She frowns, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "If we're going to start splitting this work up, however, we need a system to ensure that we don't do work someone else has already done..." She frowns, pondering this dilima. "Oh, I wouldn't know, Milo. You should know I don't bet. Faranth knows I haven't the marks for it. I'm thinking the one that looked all metallic and silver might be a bronze though. I'm just taking wild guesses, though. I've only seen one hatching, so I really haven't the faintest clue what might come out of those eggs. Could be just greens and blues for all I know." She chortles.

Odisyn hears his name called, "Hey Odisyn! that book you wanted came in from the printers!" Jr'di calls. "Along with the new programming textbook! I need to grab you for some labwork anyway so come on!" Odisyn nods, stands. "See you guys later!"

Wyndrei tilts her head, "I haven't seen them yet.." she says of the eggs, getting a thoughtful look on her face. She looks to Ashri and tilts her head, "Well..I can tell you this.. you're right.. you just never know.." and she giggles. "Sometimes you get a goose!" She smiles over at Milo and nods, "My widdle brother..I'm twenty.." she says then sits back to scoop up her little sleeping brown, rubbing his round belly. She draws up her feet to put them on the edge of the chair, relaxing, a hand lifting to wave at the departing Odi, then she pulls a bite of bread from her plate to nibble on a bit.

Pralius grins at Wyn, "Well, we can fix that easily enough. I'm surprised the dragonhealers haven't already been to check the eggs." The goose comment earns a chuckle, then he's nodding to Ashri, "I think a bronze. I just don't get a gold vibe from it." He shrugs, "It's not a hard science yet. Yet" Odi's exit gets a quirked eyebrow and a shrug.

"Well, you don't have to bet marks," Milo says, a grin curling up his lips. "You could bet chores or favors. Or just bet for fun. Like, I bet that the first hatchling will be a blue." He waves to Odisyn. "Bye!" He laughs at Wyndrei's little joke. "I wonder who painted that egg? Ely's goose is so cute. She named him Waldo. But that is such a funny practical joke. I wonder how they got the time right, so that it hatched with the lizards, too? It's... elaborate. And I heard the paint job on the shell was pretty convincing, too." He drinks some of his juice. "Makes you wonder." He nods a couple of times at Pralius. "Bronze, gold. You don't always know. A lot of times the queen will know if she's laid a gold egg, and she'll keep it separate from the others. And sometimes she doesn't." He shrugs. "I can't wait to get out there and touch them for the first time. They're waiting until they've got all the Candidates Searched... and they've got to harden a little bit, I think."

Wyndrei grins at Pralius and nods her head then sits up and stretches, setting the brown in the crook of her neck where he happily curls. "I gotta get moving.." she says as she pushes to her feet. "I wish I'd seen that egg all painted up.." she says with a pout. "Another healer might have checked the new clutch already..hopefully I'll get that task soon.. they fascinate me.." she says with a smile.

Ravi has given up on his search of sweet treats and curls up on the table, watching the going-ons languidly. Ashri smiles at her eldest flit and reaches out to gently stroke him. "I got to see them clutched. I haven't seen them since then. Still waiting for that roll to get finished and then developed. If you haven't seen them before then, Wyn, I'll show you the snapshots." She waves at Odisyn departs hurriedly, unable to say anything thanks to a mouthful of juice. "That little gosling was adorable. I was there when he hatched. Waldo, you say? I guess that fits." She ponders the betting thing. "I can't think of anything I want to bit. I suppose, if I wanted to take a guess... I think the first will be brown. Yeah." She beams. "I don't know why, I guess I'm just deciding arbitrarily. That's kind of fun. A choice or idea with no factual basis. Huh."

Pralius waves a quick goodbye to Wyn with a blown kiss thrown in for good measure, before turning back to Ashri, "Waldo was adorable when he hatched. I want that little one to be a brown, just to show them all."

"Bye, Wyn," Milo says, watching his sister leave. "Now, that's the spirit," Milo says to Jayashri. He turns to Pralius. "The little tiny egg?" he asks. "The bright yellow one?" He shakes his head. "Unlikely. It'll probably be a green or maybe a blue. Though, wouldn't it be funny if it was a brown? Or a bronze?" He stiffles a yawn. "I've still got maps to finish, you guys. A'tien told me to learn Pern's geography, and then the next time I see him I have to correctly point out all the major Holds and Weyrs and Halls and all that." He stretches a bit. "I've been slouched over a table all day, and my shoulders are killing me."

Finishing her juice, Ashri smiles crookedly at Milodann. "Could be anything. What if it were a tiny gold, for instance? We won't ever really know until they start rocking. But it is fun to guess," she admits. She stretches, rolling her shoulders to work out some of her own kinks. "I thought I'd never be done with all those vegetables." Clearly she sympathizes with her fellow Candidate. "It seemed like the minute I got done with one they were bringing another bowl." She laughs. "Wonder if they work the Candidates extra hard."

Pralius grins at Milo, "You'd be surprised what might come out of some eggs. I've seen eggs the size of a 12 or 13 turn old hatch tiny greens. It's all... relative." He ponders the thought for a moment, then nods, "A queen from that small egg would be amazing and unique. Nearly one of a kind." Of course, he hasn't met Miraneith yet.

"A tiny gold?" Milo asks. "No way. I mean... nah. No way!" The idea seems inconcievable to him. "What would be the point of a tiny gold?" He blinks a couple of times, thinking about it, but then shakes his head. He laughs at her wondering. "I bet they do," he says. "The whole point of Candidacy is for them to watch us, make sure we're really worthy to Stand. I mean, a lazy person wouldn't really make a good dragonrider, right? I heard once in High Reaches that they Searched, like, way more than they needed, and then booted out half of the Candidates over something silly. I hear they're pretty strict up there."

Jayashri chuckles. "What would be wrong with a tiny gold, Milo? I mean, the original clutch wasn't much bigger than runners are. They got bigger with each generation. A tiny gold would just be a throw back of sorts, like Ruth." She leans back in her chair, lacing her fingers behind her head and stretching until her back cracks. "Mmm! Well, I can't imagine a lazy Dragonrider. I guess maybe they do test us, make sure we have the mettle to ride a beast way larger than us and are strong enough to handle the responsibility and all. Maybe?" She looks at the pair with questioning eyes. She is just theorizing, after all.

Pralius nods at Ashri's defense of a small gold, then chuckles, "If I recall my youthful conversations with assistant weyrlingmasters correctly, the use chores and such to weed out those who aren't prepared because they'll give up. And it'll make them hardy and more capable of dealing with the stresses of riding."

"Well, Ruth didn't breed," Milo says. "And as far as I know, he never even flew any greens. Golds have to be big because they're the ones that carry and lay the eggs. A small gold wouldn't be good for the dragons, would it?" He looks worried at the thought. "I mean, they're breeding less because Thread's no longer a threat, but we can't have them breed too much less. We need dragons." He looks over at Pralius and nods. "That sounds about right."

"Well, they won't break my spirit, that's for sure!" Ashri declares, though she does keep her tone at least somewhat moderated. "Even if they send me after tunnelsnakes." Gasp! "And, Milo, the original golds bred just fine and laid just fine. Even if a gold hatched as tiny as a green, she'd still be able to be flown by browns and bronzes, though a blue might try for her. She'd likely have normal clutches, just with smaller dragons. Not a drop in the population. And Ruth was white. Size throwbacks don't mean that they can't breed. Look at people. Sometimes people are just short." Not dropping any hints here. "When their parents are taller. Mutations happen. Doesn't make them fatal or harmful."

Pralius nods along with Ashri, "She might lay smaller clutches or clutches of smaller dragons. But one undersized queen won't detriment the entire population."

"Well..." Milo says, sounding uncertain. "It's probably a green or a blue, anyway." He shrugs. "Or maybe it's another white dragon," he says. "Wouldn't that be interesting?"

Jayashri ponders that for a moment. "A white dragon would be interesting. Seeing as they don't usually assist eggs in hatching, though, it's hard to say how many "sports" might have been laid. I don't even think they crack open the shell to examine the Dragon if it doesn't hatch. They might now, with all the advanced technology. But... I'm not a Dragonhealer, so I wouldn't know, honestly. I'll just be happy if they all hatch."

Pralius quirks an eyebrow at Ashri, "They do now, to study them. Just like they..." Nope, not going there in mixed company, "Still, it will be interesting either way. Every egg cracks it's own way."

Milo nods somberly. "Yeah, I heard that they do. To understand what went wrong. But... I don't know. Even if dragonhealers could figure out what went wrong with the little dragonet, so what? What can they do about it? The queens are already given all the care in the world." He shrugs. "Or, maybe they apply the knowledge somehow to other dragons, like with illness, and stuff." He shrugs and picks at the remains of his meal. "Man. This got depressing really quickly." He rolls his shoulders a bit and stands. "I'm going to go back to my map drawing. I'll see you later, Ash, don't be late for the curfew." He waves, and is off, and Lucy launches herself from the table to join him.

"So they do." Ashri nods to Milodann, offering him a smile. "Yeah, I guess our conversation did turn rather... depressing." She runs her fingers through her hair. "I guess that's life, though. And... life can benefit from death, so it's a good thing, right?" She offers a tentative smile. "Well, be sure to let me know how those lessons go. And, I won't be late for curfew. I promise! They probably wouldn't notice me if I was though. I'm so tiny." She chuckles and waves farewell to the artist. "See you later."

Pralius nods, taking a sip of klah and shoving the two sleeping browns together to one side, "Yeah, let's talk about something more uplifting. What candidates have come in from other Weyrs?"

Milo gives a final wave, and he's gone.

Jayashri thinks for a few. "Well, I saw one dark-haired boy -- I didn't catch his name -- but I heard was from Ista. He looked about your age, Pralius. Maybe a transfer or something. I don't really know how this whole system works." She chuckles, shrugging as she begins to twirl her hair in thought. "I think I saw another boy, bit closer to my age, kinda sandy-haired and freckled. I haven't seen him around before, so I guess he's not from the Weyr either."

Pralius quirks a smile, "How are they fitting in? At Telgar the transfers always had the hardest time."

"Okay, I suppose. Don't see much of them except for their coats. The weather has been pretty sharding cold lately, though, so I can't say as I blame them." She chuckles, stretching and reaching out to gently nudge Ravi with her fingertips. "I guess I should go work on that robe some more. They say I'll need it for the hatching."

Pralius grins, "Sewing your hatching robe already? Wow, they move fast here. Still, yeah. those are important to tradition..."

Jayashri chuckles. "Well, since I haven't sewn much I figured I should get started early. Last thing I want it to show up in like... a bit of loose cloth." She giggles. "Like, a towel with cut outs and the sides open or something."

Pralius nods, "Yeah... I'd suggest sewing up the sides, too, or you'll be showing the entire audience your underthings... plush, well, make it long in case you fall..." The blush on his face implies some memory...

Jayashri nods, standing. "Yeah, they gave me more length than I needed to begin with. I'm rather on the short side for a Candidate, apparently." She nudges Ravi again, who stirs and flaps up to her shoulder, settling back in around her neck. "I guess I'm going to go do that for a bit and then maybe if I'm lucky I can catch a nap before supper. I'm bushed!"

Pralius nods, yawning loudly, "I should, too, I think... especially since I have the night shift tonight..." The brown boys and scooped up and deposited one each of his shoulders as he too stands.

Jayashri smiles sympathetically. "Good luck with that. Hopefully it'll be uneventful." Always a good thing for a Healer. "I'll see you around, Pralius!" She tosses a wave his way and trots outside toward the barracks.