Living Caverns
The rough-hewn majesty of this cavern far outpaces any delight in the multitudes of curves that form its enclosure. The glabrous grey granite is shot through with translucent obsidian, lending subtly-veined sparkle to the walls and the foot-trodden smoothness of the floor that shows centuries-old placements of the scarred trestle tables; carven hollows give homes for the glow baskets and the coat-pegs that line the walls. No mosaics, no painting, no tiles: just a few well-done tapestries mark the pathway that lead to the kitchen to the north and the inner caverns to the west, and frame the nighthearth's stew and snacks, while a heavier strip of oiled canvas shields the unwary from the wind in the bowl.
Scattered about in various perches and niches are fifty-five firelizards.
You see OOC NOTICE (look sign), White Clay Egg Pot, Thief, Slink, and Bandit here.
Auryn is here.

Auryn
Eyes of the deepest blue peer innocently out at what the world has to offer, set as they are above fairly prominent cheekbones for one so young. The barest snub of a nose leads down to her small, pouty mouth, and a strong chin completes the shape of her head. Tresses of auburn hair have grown as long as possible and curl their way almost to the small of her back. She stands a bit short for her age, with thin arms and frail legs - one may suspect she's taking after her father's height. However, there is a quiet strength in her that is not to be forgotten, despite her vulnerable appearance.
Her dress hangs loosely on her thin frame, the color being a practical shade of dirty-brown - it makes it harder to notice all the mud-stains and grass-marks. Sturdy boots are tied securely to her feet, to protect them against the ground. Her mane of hair is tied up with a single black ribbon, and hangs like a llama-tail down her back.
On her shoulder sits the knot of a High Reaches Weyrbrat, dirty-black and faded blue witnessing the row of previous owners.
She is awake and looks alert.
Auryn is 7 Turns, 4 months, and 24 days old.

Auryn is sitting for herself at one of the tables, a bowl of breakfast pushed aside as she entertains herself with a seemingly endless supply of stuffed dragons. Currently, it's a green and a brown.

Linora clomps rather heavily, for one so small, down the stairs from the crafting area. Maybe it's the still-unfamiliar shoes. Or maybe it's her mood. She spots the little girl on her way across the caverns to the hearth, and gives her a curious look. As in, why would anyone so young be up before dawn and sitting in the caverns alone? "Hey," she greets pleasantly, pasting on a friendly smile. And then it's over to the hearth to fill a dish with steaming porridge.

Auryn barely looks up from her toys. "Hello," is replied, blue eyes looking at Linora for a moment. "This is Druseth," she explains, shaking the brown dragon in the air. "He's chasing Alymath." Who is, obviously, the green plush toy. The girl's face is serious as she tries to tangle the animals' necks, but they're not that easy to handle.

For a minute, Linora assumes the child is playing some make-believe game, but she recognizes one of the dragon names and flushes deeply. And swallows quickly. Wow, Weyr-kids sure are different. "Is he, now?" she asks, hoping she sounds a little more composed than she feels. She knows it's silly to overreact, it's a perfectly natural process. Ahem. She brings her dish over to the little girl's table and takes a seat nearby. "I'm Linora," she adds, not sure whether to watch the plushies 'mating' or just to focus on her breakfast.

Auryn purses her lips and tosses the dragons onto the table as they refuse to budge. "I'm Auryn," she offers, grabbing her bowl of cereal. "Well met, Li-no-ra." She pronounces the name carefully, making sure she has it right. "Are you a Smith?" she asks, frowning at the woman's knot.

Linora looks up with a little grin as the plushies go scooting across the table and the child finally identifies herself. "Starcrafter," she corrects automatically. "An' you can just call me Lin, if it's easier." She takes another bite, then pushes the bowl aside in favor of conversation. She's not that big of a porridge fan, especially without sweetener or even fruit. Forgetful. "Nice t'meet you. You're up early," she observes without rancor.

Auryn scowls a bit as she doesn't get it right. "Oh. I haven't met many Starcrafters," she says in defense, determined to remember the craft colors for next time, though. "I'm learning all the colors of all the Holds and Crafts on Pern," she adds with pride in her voice, bristling visibly. "And I can almost get them all right." A shrug is given in reply to the reference to time. "I couldn't sleep. So I sneaked out. The nannies were all sleeping. Mother won't be happy 'bout that," she says, a malicious smile echoing her words. She'll be sure to let word slip that the nannies aren't doing their job. It's so much fun watching people get in trouble.

Chelle walks in from the Central Bowl.

Chelle saunters into the caverns, yawning behind a hand and shivering slightly. It's warmer than usual, but that's still chilly for this rider! She nods towards the people she sees, whether they see her or not, and heads for the klah pot. After pouring herself a mugfull and adding her usual sweetener, she looks around again, deciding where to sit.

Linora grins. "Sneaked out, huh? I won't tell." In case she was worried. "Well, there aren't many StarCrafters at the weyr, anyhow," she says, quite sure that'll make everything all right. "And we keep kinda odd hours, compared to most folks... at least, when we're watching the night sky." Obviously. She does take another look at the little girl, though, apparently impressed at the project. "Wow, all of 'em? I only know the ones I've seen." Maybe there's only room for so much information in her head.

Auryn nods solemnly. "/All/ of them. And everyone says I'm real good at it," she repeats, for the benefit of those who'd be interested. And it'd better be everyone in the cavern! "Stars are really pretty! Do you just watch them all night?" Hm, maybe she should give up becoming a dragonrider and instead be a StarCrafter. Then again... they can be combined. Chelle gets a quick look, but nothing else, as the girl doesnt' recognize her. There are, however, several empty seats at the table.

Chelle's eyes are drawn to the youngster, of course. After all, ,she's still a nanny at heart! A good one, at that! She meanders towards them, skirting this table, passing this chair, until she reaches them. "Hi there....Chelle, rider of blue Rhajath." she introduces, "Mind if I sit with you two?"

Linora shrugs a little. "Well, depends on what I'm doing," she explains to Auryn. "Right now I'm making charts, so I'm out most of the night making notes and stuff. Except tonight was overcast." She sighs at the lost time, but manages a little grin. "Yeah, they're real pretty. It's cold up on the Star Stones, though... oh, hey," she greets, looking up with a more friendly smile as Chelle approaches. "I'm Linora, Starcraft apprentice." Senior, actually, not that it matters much outside the Hall. "And sure."

"What're charts?" Auryn wants to know, gawking at Linora. Chelle isn't noticed until she's standing right there, and at the word 'rider,, she perks up. Though 'blue' puts a little dampener on her excitement. "If you want," is the reply the bluerider gets to her query, the girl moving her cereal bowl closer towards herself. And don't mind the two plush dragons that're scattered on the table.

Chelle nods at the introduction from the Starcrafter, "Well met." she says as she takes a seat, smiling at the dragon toys that litter the table. She places her mug on the table and yawns again. "And what's your name?" she asks the little girl. "Charts? Good luck trying to get charts made from now on!" she says with a shrug, "It's getting /cold/ out there, you know. Winter is /not/ a good time to be outside in any weather, no matter how clear it is."

Linora looks surprised at first--but why should a Weyrbred child have any notion about craft matters? Her head's full of mating flights and Faranth knows what else. "They're like maps," she explains patiently, her smile returning. "Only of the sky. Where the stars and planets are, and stuff." She gives up on her porridge completely now, and nods to Chelle with a barely suppressed sigh. "I know it," she says earnestly. "I was out all /last/ winter. But I'm done after this season." And with that she pushes her chair back to stand. "Anyhow, I prolly oughtta start copying my notes over, or I might not even be done then. Nice t'meet you and stuff." Rider and weyrbrat are beamed a friendly smile, and the starcrafter slips back up the stairs to her work.

So many tunnels, so little time; you opt to head across the cavern and up the long broad stairs into the rooms above the lower caverns. Working rooms, these, filled with busy little crafters.

Mellow> Linora opts for broad stairs that lead up to the Crafting rooms above the inner caverns.

Mellow> Auryn grins as she gets a satisfactory answer out of Linora. "Oh, like that. Oh, bye," is called after the 'crafter as she leaves, and instead she turns to Chelle. "I'm Auryn. And that's Druseth and Alymath," she explains, pointing at the two plush toys. "They're resting. They're tired 'cause they just flew." Yes, flew in that sense.

Mellow> Chelle waves as the Starcrafter leaves, ,then turns her attention to the child, "Well, Auryn, it's nice to meet you." she tells the girl, smiling as she hears the names of the dragons, ,"Ohhh...I see...." she says when she understands what the child's getting at. On to the next subject, eh? "And what are you doing up so early? Usually children are still sleeping at this time of the morning."

Mellow> Auryn reaches across the table to grab the dragons again, making their muzzles rub against each other. How cute. "I couldn't sleep so I came here," she answers with a child's logic, glancing up at Chelle with her big, blue eyes. "Is that bad?"