Fort Weyr - Shenanigan's Lounge
The natural walls of this cavern haven been completely covered and replaced by straight and sometimes curving walls of brickwork. There's method to the madness of covering stone with stone. It's as simple as the electric buzz in the room. New grade electric lights dot the fancy brick worked walls, with wires cleverly hidden behind, allowing more focus to be centered on the rest of the room rather than the numerous strings of wire needed to operate the lighting. Each bulb roosts in a bronzed metal flowering fixture, giving the room a rich atmosphere. Still, the walls are not the only place which has stone on stone appeal. The floor has been run smooth, the surface now slate rock, creating an imperial cast.
Beyond the actual foundations of the lounge, the luxury continues. High backed wooden chairs with padded white seats have been stationed all around the room. Between the individual chairs are benches fashioned out of the same rich wood with pillows made to flatter the cushions. There are low lying coffee tables or end tables near the individual chairs, while there's larger dinning room sized tables with chairs to match scattered as well, giving much variety to those who find themselves in the room. Decorative hangings and framed artwork has been neatly hung around the room, but to offset the meticulous method of the room, there's some pieces that give a sporty feeling to the room - such as a fishing rod or a snow shoe.
Of course, the final appeal of the room comes in the form of it's purpose; athletic competition. There are several games of darts lining the walls, various decks of dragon poker cards available, a large velvet lined pool table centered to one side of the lounge, a mat area surrounded by ropes, and an area that keeps track of all the runner races around the world via radio signal, giving constant updates on the status of the runners. Lastly, there's a bar here, small and built with brick as well. There's usually a bartender on duty willing to mix drinks during the evening hours.
Karona enters from the pool room, still looking a little surprised. In her hand, she has a long thin glass, about a quarter filled, of brightly coloured juice. She takes a seat at the bar, and turns around so that her back is to the bar, to eye the lounge. "That was possibly the luckiest streak I've ever had." she notes aloud to herself, blinking and shaking her head.
Joseph comes in from the living caverns, stretching. For once, he is only minorly touseled, with no evidence of miscreant activities on him- there's no flour in his hair, no paint on his hands, nothing. Yet. He does smell strongly of laundry, however, and of the sweet soap that's used to clean the clothes. He makes his way to the bar, speaking in undertone to the tender for a moment, keeping his order quiet. Karona's voice catches his ears, and he looks up, taking a second to find her and grinning when he des. "Lucky streak? Playing more pool?" he asks, making his way over to her.
Karona looks up, and grins at Joseph, nodding. "Ah, yes, bit of one. Somehow managed to sink all seven balls, one right after another." Take that, stubborn refusing-to-be-sunk balls from the other day! "I, uh." she looks Joseph up and down, forgetting whatever it was she was about to say. "Laundry chore today?" she guesses, with a wrinkle of her nose. "I've got caverns… But there was a lull." So she snuck over here for a bit. She'll be back in plenty of time for the next meal rush.
Joseph nods, making a face. "Gotta admit Laundry isn't my favorite chore in the world," he says, with a sigh. "Caverns is nice when there's lulls; it's like extended days off." Especially if you decide there's a lull and there really isn't one. The bartender returns with his drink, which Jo takes with a grateful look and a nod, sipping. "Seven balls at once, eh? Grats, that's a pretty good streak. Who were you playing?"
Karona chuckles, and leans back a bit against the bar. "Caverns is also a very hectic chore when there isn't a lull, though. All the hustle and bustle." But she's not complaining, not /exactly/. Chores are chores, and someone has to do them. "But the lulls /are/ very nice." she has to note, with a glance to the caverns exit, and then a shake of her head. "I was playing against Wingleader B'ky. He searched me too, well, Avideth searched me." There's a brief pause, and then she slaps her forehead. "I keep forgetting! I'm supposed to tell him what eggs I like, I promised."
Joseph nods, sipping his drink. "Hustle and bustle is what the caverns do best," he admits, "Weyrfolk never seem to relax." he shrugs, "I like relaxing, personally. I don't get the rush most of the time." The southern boy's just being honest, here. "D'mos searched me, I haven't seen him much since then. Which eggs DO you like?"
Karona takes a drink of her juice, and then nods. "Mmm. Takes some getting used to. I don't know that I ever quite will. The Smith Hall was busy too, though, people always always working." After all, that was why they were there. "And that wasn't so bad, I suppose." she realises, with a shrug. As Joseph asks about the eggs, she chuckles. "Well, suppose that is the shorter list. That… red and white one. Red with the white stripe?" she's describing the Assortment of Clues Egg, "I quite liked that one. And the, er, blue and gold one?" Not Truly a Misfit Egg. "That one was… interesting."
"Landing was.. Well, it was busy, especially if you were staff in the hold or involved with things. It had it's frequent lazy moments, though." He grins, "We had a lot of scholary sorts, so there wasn't quite as much running around." The egg descriptions get a head tilt, "Those ones were pretty cool. That red and white one was too smart for me, I think." He shrugs, "I touched one and got this fun buzzing. I liked that one."
Karona swirls the last of the juice around in the glass idly. "Ierne was nice, Ierne Weyrhold. Nice and quiet. Trading hub, naturally, but that was the /marketplace/. The beaches were nice." she murmurs, softly. Fondly. But she shakes her head firmyl. She's at Fort now, she's a candidate at Fort. "Buzzing? I'm not sure I touched that one. Perhaps I did. Doesn't sound very … pleasant. I did like the really cloudy looking one," the On a Wing and a Prayer Egg, "It had nice soft touches. Very gentle, very relaxing."
Joseph nods at Karona's statement, looking wistful. "Beaches anywhere in southern are nice. Or almost anywhere." He sighs, "Those I miss. Fort's got things to it, but nothing like those beaches." He thinks for a moment, and then adds. "Yeah, I don't expect many people would find it too pleasant. I dunno why I liked it." The mention of the cloudy egg makes him perk up. "Oh, I touched that one! I liked it too. I wonder what it'll hatch into."
Karona chuckles softly, and shakes her head. "Beaches. Boy, what I wouldn't give to be on a nice warm southern beach right now. Sand between my toes, all wet and squishy at the shore. Mmm." she murmurs, raising what little she has left in her glass as a sort of toast, almost. "To beaches the likes of which Fort has never seen." she 'toasts', then drains the last of her drink, placing the empty glass on the bar. "Mm, I wonder. Could be anything. I think, I think it'll be a green." she guesses. "Or a blue. Could be a blue."
Joseph returns her toast, drinking half of his drink with relish afterwards. "We went to Ista to wash dragons, recently." He mentions, "We didn't get a chance to do any surfing, but it was nice enough to be somewhere tropical." He ponders, and then shrugs. "I've never even been to a hatching before. I was guessing based on size. There's a lot of big eggs in that clutch." then he thinks, shrugging. "I think." He doesn't have much to compare it with.
Karona grimaces just briefly at mention of Ista, but she does have to concede, "Ista's beaches are alright, I suppose. Better than Fort's lake shore." But then, most every body of water is. "But washing dragons at Ista, that's nice." she does note, with an almost amused snort for the idea of washing dragons /here/, at Fort. "It's hard to tell, really. Dragons seem to be much closer in size at hatching then they are full grown, from what I've seen, anyway. I've only seen a couple of hatchings, from the galleries, at Ista. Turns ago." she shakes her head. "Unlikely that the smallest egg would have a bronze in it, but the largest might still have a green in it. A green with… lots of room."
"It's warmer." Joseph admits, and then shudders. "I had to wash a dragon here, in the winter. It was punishment for something." That was not a fun chore. The explination of dragon sizes gets some interest from the southern boy, however, and he nods. "Oh, I didn't know that. All the weyrfolk tell me is that the bigger eggs're probably bronzes or something." he shrugs, "I guess I'll see first hand, soon."
Karona shudders at the thought of washing a dragon at Fort, in the winter, and yet, isn't that what all the 'lucky' candidates who impress will have to do, anyway? "Punishment… Shards, man, what did you do to deserve that?" she asks, eyes wide, almost pleading. Yes, please tell her, so she can be sure to not do that. She shrugs a little about the eggs, and does point out, "I'm no rider my self, never seen a hatching closer than from the galleries, so, take my theories with a grain of salt, I suppose." She is, after all, just a candidate. And a first time candidate, at that. "We'll see when they hatch."
"I was shirking chores." Joseph admits, looking a bit sheepish. "Well, not really. I got kicked out of the kitchen for throwing flour, and then hit the AWLM with a snowball. But, it's easier to say shirking chores." He takes a moment to finish his drink, shrugging at her disclaimer. "Well, that's more'n I've seen. I've just heard stories." He then stands, sighing. "I ought to get back to chores. I don't want to have to wash dragons in teh snow again." A grin to Karona, and a salute. "I'll see you around.
