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 Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 7:12 pm
Cai hated the kitchens. Like really hated. With a capital H. There was not enough firestone on the planet to burn half as hot as her hatred for the kitchens. She hated the heat, she hated the smells, she hated the noise, she hated the often chaotic hustle and the general disorganized mess that usually reigned. It was hard to find something she honestly liked about the kitchens. Her sustenance came from there... that was about it, and even then she had enough knowledge of plants she was sure she could survive on her own should she have the opportunity.
Much of it probably stemmed from her learned dislike of her baker father and an avoidance of the kitchens her entire youth. She'd never learned to cook and very quickly Benden's lower cavern workers and learned to just avoid slotting her for any chores in the general vicinity of a stove. At the Healer's Hall she tolerated it only long enough to learn the process of cooking numbweed. After she had that down she never went back.
Really Cai had no business being in the kitchens under normal circumstances. Trine however was full of abnormal circumstances. The whole WEYR was an abnormal -and temporary- circumstance in Cai's eyes. As such Cai found herself in the remnants of the kitchens storeroom, sorting through the disorganized mess the revolution had left in it's wake. Compared to many other buildings in the weyr, the solidly built storeroom had survived whole, though it's contents had not. The unfortunate side effect of her passion for plants was that of the apprentices and candidates in the weyr, she was most qualified for the mind numbing chore of identifying, labeling and reorganizing of the weyrs herb and vegetable stores.
Did I mention she hated the people too? The people were by far the worst. Cai was never one to enjoy taking orders or following someone else's method and in a kitchen, that's what's expected. She'd already spent the morning arguing with the cooks about how she was going about her assigned task. You couldn't deny she was making excellent progress, but because she wasn't doing it 'right' every time they passed by the storage room door she got an earful. The freckled redhead was about at her breaking point with the whole deal. It's not like they were efficient at all at their own tasks! Cai had politely tried to point out a quicker method of doing something as she saw it and got snapped at every time.
A shadow darkened her doorway once again. One of the cooks intruded upon Cai's work to poke at the wall of shelves, searching in the darkened cool room for something unknown. Cai tried to ignore her before the woman loomed over her shoulder in a huff. "I don't know WHAT you've been doing in there this whole time Chrysicai but I can't find the basil!"
The aroma of crushed herbs wafted around them as Cai's hands clenched around a bunch of thyme. "I have told you countless times my NAME is CAI." That was another thing she hated... SOMEONE had told the kitchen staff her full name and now they'd call her nothing but. Some did it without thinking, others did it because they knew it made the girl angry.
"Just tell me where you put the basil. It's not where it used to be!"
"That's because it's finally organized!" Cai snapped. Without turning to look at the shelves she went back to sorting out the spoiled thyme. "Second shelf third jar from the left. That's where you can find it from now on." Her hands shook and she focused on the smell of the herbs and reciting in her mind their uses to calm herself. Basil, good for digestion though little other medical use. Thyme, anti-inflammatory, antiseptic, antispasmodic...
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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 7:53 pm
A second shadow darkened the door, but before the cook could turn to find the basil herself she suddenly found a dark gloved hand connected to the wolfishly smiling Meroc offering the jar to her. "Might this be what you were missing Madam?" He purred in that rich harper accent of his placing the jar in the cooks hand and folding her fingers around it lifting the woman's hand to press a kiss to her knuckles. "A lady such as yourself should not be troubled with something as menial as searching~" He murmered with a flashing grin a low croon coming from his enormious wide brimmed hat that shaded his face as a bronze firelizard poked his head over the edge to humm flirtily at the poor woman. An answering scolding chitter from the crimson draped around his neck sending the flirty bronze scurrying back into hiding.
"M-Meroc! You naughty thing sneaking up on me like that! What are you doing here you rogue? Stealing some for kitchenworker's hearts?" The cook teased, but from the way the older woman batted her eyelashes at the dark skinned young man it was clear her heart had been stolen like the rest.
"Why me!? Never!" Meroc gasped a mock apal as he held one hand to his chest miming his bleeding heart at such an accusation. "Why my dear woman you wound me! Completely the opposite! I assure you I am here on official Weyr business." He replied bringing forth the clipboard and the lists stuck to it from the crook of his arm and wrapping it with his knuckles grinning at the cook. "But~" And his tone once more took on it's preditory purr as he flashed the cook a wink. "I certainly wouldn't mind stopping in at another time when I'm not at work and giving you lovely girls down here in the kitchens a visit. However my dear I think that roast you wanted the basil for might be burning." He added stepping aside as the cook cried out in surprise and dashed past him out the door even as Meroc tipped his hat to her.
"Another time then!" He called after her chipperly before turning to face Cai with the friendliest most light hearted flirty grin seen on this side of Pern.
"Ah you must my the Lady Chrysicai or is it Cai? I heard you ask the cook to call you Cai instead." Meroc mused taking a seat beside her. . .well more like lounging in such a manner that it should be criminal beside her as he flipped through the lists on the clipboard.
"I'm to write down and list what all you've sorted and where you've placed it if you wouldn't mind. Not that a lady as lovely as yourself can't manage on your own! Though it is a shame to keep one as gorgious as you all holed up in the back of a storeroom! Why such a crime! Pray we finish this quickly that all of Pern might see your beauty again! I'm sure the sun itself is weeping for lack of your presence." He spoke with a smile the bronze content that the crimson draped around Meroc's neck seemed content to sleep took flight landing on Cai's shoulder and crooning suggestively as he posed and preened.
Look at him! Wasn't he handsome? She should give him all her attention! He did oh so adore the ladies! The bronze seemed to say as Meroc shook his head and grinned. "Why even Havoc is taken by you." He added with a wink.
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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 10:27 pm
Her methods failed her when another presence come too close for comfort. She might have thanked him for getting the cook out of her hair if she hadn't disliked him the moment he opened his mouth. As he charmed the cook she rolled her eyes and made mock gagging faces behind their backs. She hadn't seen seen him except for a shape out of the corner of her eye and already he grated on her nerves. Her shoulder's tensed as she muttered under her breath. "I think madame has some work to be doing." She didn't know if she was heard or not but the cook left just moments later.
Lady. She wasn't a Lady. If he took the time to look he might have noticed the apprentice knots on her shoulder. No Lady Holder would be in Trine's storeroom knee deep in herbs. Her shoulder's tensed as he addressed her. "It's Cai." Was her short reply. Joyous day she got to share her most hated chore with an over talkative dandy. She couldn't even enjoy the little moments of solitude the storeroom allowed her. She sighed and put both hands on the table before her, finally turning to face him. She paused, raising a bold eyebrow and looked him up and down. "What's with the hat? You afraid of getting a sunburn?"
She didn't flinch when the bronze landed on her shoulder though he was treated with the same cold judgmental glare that his owner received. A slightly warmer welcome arose from the pile of unsorted herbs on the table. Gingko crawled out of her nest peeping curiously. Why was there another flit on Hers?
Cai didn't attempt to remove the bronze but she pursed her lips and folded her arms. "Meroc was it?" She looked pointedly at his clipboard. "Well if you were sent here to write Then I assume you can read. The ones I've sorted are on the shelves where you found the basil. They're sorted by common use and labeled clearly. I should HOPE you won't need a map."
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Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 10:37 pm
"Oh no my dear!" And Meroc stood and took off his hat with a flourish to drop into a perfect bow showing off his cleanly shaven head. "I simply prefer it as my fashion statement of choice. It does oh so evoke the dashing tails of old of harper who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. One of my favorites as a harper myself I tell you." He replied with a chuckle as she pointedly pin-pointed his task.
"If that is what the dearest lady wishes I shall happily comply~" He added returning his cap and with all too much rosy cheer undid his clipboard and moved to the shelves humming a little ditty under his breath as he worked.
Havoc tilted his head disappointed that the red-haired woman with the gray eyes wasn't paying any attention to him. However the cheep from Gingko quickly got his attention as he fluttered too the table cooing warmly at her as he spread his wings showing off his color. Harlot, the crimson merely cracked an eye open from where she sat letting out a low hiss at Cai from over her owner's shoulder before nuzzling her little head against his cheek.
Yess! Yesss! The red head had best keep her distance! All the males except the stupid bronze were hers! And with this warning she curled back up and went back to lazing while her owner worked.
"So tell me Lady Cai what might a healer apprentice from Benden be doing out here? I'd have thought you'd have been at the healers hall? Or are you as valiant as you are beautiful to willingly come here to help the injured?" He questioned with a broad warm boyish grin as he scribbled down the placement of the herbs.
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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:15 pm
"Hmmph." Cai went back to her work as he turned to do his. It was hard for her to concentrate with him in the room though. The noise from the flits was bad enough but just knowing that he was looking over her handiwork had her agitated. What if he was listing them improperly? For all his flowery words he seemed rather empty headed. He was probably a poet, some air brained apprentice that thought he would be a great ballad writer because he could string a few decorative words together. Cai figured he was painfully self centered what with the atrociously flamboyant attire and the false praise he heaped upon others. It was all just to draw attention to how marvelous he thought he was.
She dropped her work onto the table when he spoke again, unable to take it anymore. "Just. Cai." She whirled around and walked up beside him. She didn't get close enough to touch but she did place a finger to his list, pressing down till she could see it and check his own progress. She snorted and gave him a skeptical look. "You give me too much credit. I'm supposed to be at Benden now studying under the Weyhealer but noooo." She cast a sideways look at the little crimson Harlot. "I got kidnapped to Malvren and then sent here when their Weyr fell." Her cheeked pinked as she remembered the demonstration. She'd been so excited when the ancientcrafter had wheeled out his device. She'd supported him in his efforts to use the past to improve their future. Cai felt disgusted with herself that she'd been fooled along with the rest of Pern.
Gingko chirped curiously crawling closer to Havoc where he displayed. Hers didn't tell her she couldn't so she raised up on her hind legs trilling pleasantly to the larger bronze. She was still tiny and delicate for a green, barely full grown. She'd been well trained to politeness and as such kept her vocalizations at a respectable indoor volume and her distance non-intrusive.
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Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 4:28 pm
Despite her irritation as she pressed her finger down on the list pushing it down in Meroc's hands to check it she would find everything listed in perfect order in a nice neat elegant script. In fact Meroc had even drawn out a little diagram to make it easier for someone to find certain herbs by sight if the list confused them. "Ah, but a lady as skilled and beautiful as you surely deserves a title Miss Cai." He replied with a bright chipper grin tilting his head head down at her. Now that Cai was standing right in front of him the tall dark skinned man all, but towered over her at his height of 6'1. That didn't stop him from patronizing her a bit and stooping down a little to grin right at her quirking his head and dipping his head as he listened to her rant.
"Oh? A Weyrhealer? Why that just makes you even more remarkable Miss Cai. You shouldn't be so hard on yourself!" He added beaming at her as he turned back to the shelves humming under his breath and he continued writing down where they were organized.
Havoc though was having quite a good time as he stooped folding his wings with a flourish to croon right back at pretty little green Gingko stepping up to her to and chittering warmly inviting her to come closer and be greeted! Really he was such a nice gentle bronze and handsome at that and she was so pretty! perhaps the two could go for a flight together sometime?
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Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2012 8:01 pm
Cai inspected his chart with a pouty frown on her face. She looked back up at the dark skinned harper with suspicion. Fine. She wouldn't comment on his list. He at least had proved he'd been trained in something other than vocabulary.
The pink spread to a full red flush from her hairline down her neck. Her abundant freckles stood out sharply. "You don't even know me. Don't spew that whershit at me. If you need a title it's Apprentice Healer. " Cai wasn't ashamed of being an apprentice. It wasn't like she was going to stay one forever. Once Bereck was better she intended on taking Berath up on her offer. Cai respected the green and HerHealer as she called him. She was loathe to put her studies on hold but if she wanted to learn from him she wanted him to be at his best.
"If you think you can charm me with your pretty little words you've got a big surprise coming Meroc. I'm not so easily fooled and I'd take it kindly if you knock that crap off. It makes me sick." With that she turned her back on him and went back to her own work. Cai glared down as she realized the bronze was posturing for her little girl. "Ugh. You're bronze is as bad as you are." She made little 'shooshing' movements with her hands at the two flits in her way.
Gingko trilled approvingly. She may not be that old but she could appreciate a nice bronze display and feel flattered at his attention. He had a crimson friend after all. Gingko would like to fly with him yes! She chittered and fluttered to Havoc's other side as Her's ushered them away. She didn't get the feeling of Trouble so she paid Hers no more mind than that. Havoc was much more interesting!
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