The Vault

Cress is lying on a couch, resting his head on the armrest. On his belly a brown lizard is slumpering right along with him.

Linora drags in looking beat, but manages a smile when she sees Cress. Quietly, so as not to wake him up, she lowers herself into a chair and just looks at him.

Cress
Standing at only 5'5 this young man's size is not impressive. His blond hair, which has been allowed to grow almost to his shoulders, is bleached by the Istan sun, which has also darkened his skin to a bronze color. Narrow gray eyes are framed by light-colored lashes and brows, and his cheekbones are angular as is his chin. His muscles are hardened, from long hours of hard work, done in his previous life as a trader. A scar runs along the right side of his neck and his most obvious feature is a missing inch of his right little finger.
His legs are covered by coal-coloured trousers, which are well worn and patched in many placed. A broad leather belt keeps the trousers from falling down around his ankles. A darkgreen shirt covers his upper body, also showing signs of beeing old, having rips along a number of seams. His dark boots, which come up to the ankles, are scuffed but are well-polished with a shine. Perched on Cress's shoulder is Dixie. Cress' Pack hangs heavily from Cress's shoulder.
Red and silver in a double cord and single loop appoints him as apprentice to the Star Craft.
Cress is 18 Turns, 11 months, and 1 day old.

Cress strecthes his legs out, and puts them on the other armrest. More or less in his sleep, his hands seek out the firelizard on his belly and he moves it a little, to make himself more comfortable. "Don't put those talons in my bellyskin," he mumbles.

Linora shifts a bit in the chair, sprawling comfortably if not terribly gracefully. Not often she gets to take a good long look at Cress without making him uncomfortable, so she's making the most of the opportunity... her eyes taking in every detail, saving it up for later.

Cress' head turns toward the wall, and his hand comes up to scratch the back of his head. His longish hair seems to need both a wash and a cut.

Linora's still looking, her eyes following the movement of Cress's hand, noticing for the first time that his hair is getting really long. Mostly when he's awake... well, she's not really paying attention to his hair. Now she's trying to decide if she likes it or not. He oughtta wash it maybe...

Cress sighs deeply, and one hand scratches the brown on his stomach, in slowmotion, as the apprentice if definately not awake. His other hand is still at the back of his head, but has stopped straching, and is just resting there.

Linora shifts again. Even tired, it's hard for her to sit still for very long. She could go to bed, but... Her eyes fix on Cress's hand, barely moving as he caresses the brown lizard on his belly... She shifts again.

"Auw," Cress almost yells, as he sits up, eyes firmly on the lizard. "I told you to watch those talons. They're sharp, y'know, Dixie!"

Linora blinks and quickly moves her eyes, fixing a wide grin on Cress. "I thought you slept in the dorms," she teases. Still sprawled lazily across her chair.

Cress fairly jumps as a voice makes him aware that someone else is here, and a voice he recognizes. His head comes around to look at Linora, "err, hello, Lin..." His face turns slightly red, at being caught sleeping in the Vault. "Well, I do, I just thought I'd take a nap..."

Linora's smile widens, lighting her eyes. "I don't mind." She wouldn't have missed seeing that for anything. "Working late on your project?"

"Well, I'm done, actually," Cress says slowly. "I just haven't turned it in yet..." Not quite ready yet, as he's not sure it's quite right yet.

Eyes big, Linora sits forward a bit, forgetting that she's tired. "Really? Can I see it?"

"Of course you can see it. Then you can tell me if there's any mistakes... Or spelling errors," Cress says and hands Linora the scroll.

Upon the scroll is written: 'Some time ago, a band of travellers were crossing the plains of Telgar in the dead of winter. Halfway through their journey, they ran out of firewood, and as their fire burnt down they were left with only glowing embers. As they started to freeze, most bundled up in blankets, but three men went out to find something - anything - to burn, but could find nothing on the empty, snowcovered plain. By morning, when the three men returned, a cheery fire burned in the middle of the camp, and when the men asked how this had come to be, they were told that the firelizards in the band had brought wood, by going between. That night the constellation of 'the Campfire' had been in the sky, and the travellers had named it so, because it reminded them of their dying fire, and how it had been re-kindled.'

Linora takes her time reading the scroll, trying hard to imagine a snow-covered anything, or being cold enough to freeze. At length she looks back up at Cress. "Wow. Those travelers were lucky their flits were so smart," she says quietly, not knowing if the story is real or legend. "An' it took a long time to find all this stuff out?" Wondering where to start looking... and how...

Cress shrugs, "well, it's hard to find some of the records, y'know. And the archives are not my favourite place to be..." He shudders visibly at the thought of those musty, dark archives. "But you like it then. No horrible mistakes or spelling errors?"

Linora nods earnestly. "Not at all... I mean, I wouldn't know about the research and stuff... but the story makes sense." She hands the scroll back, careful not to damage it. Privately agreeing with his assessment of the archives, she avoids them herself. Now the observatory... "Thanks for letting me see it." Feeling a lot more awake now, she adds, "Wanna go get something to eat or anything?" Trying not to look /too/ hopeful...

Cress smiles crookedly at her appraisement, "you think? I thought it was a little colored, y'know. My lizards never brought me anything, but then they're not very well trained. But I like the story because it's about travellers," he says, rolling the scroll up and tying a string around it. Putting it in his pack he stands, "yeah, I could do with something to eat."

Linora gets to her feet as well, wondering what Cress meant by colored... and shrugs. "Must be almost time for breakfast." She pauses at the door to wait, looking up at him with a little smile, unable to hide an appraising glance. Yeah, he could definitely do with a haircut.

Cress nods, "must be," he says, missing her look, and just walks to the exit waiting for her there.

Linora catches up and follows Cress out.

Dining Hall
Coming from the other rooms, the Dining Hall seems a little dimmer, Which it is. Positioned throughout the room are about a dozen tables suited for up to eight people each. It is far more than the Hall needs, but it is always nice to be safe than sorry. A table is set up off to the side. On it is a collection of cooled juices and fruits which are kept fresh from the nearby Orchards. With the constant state of furor created by recent events there few drudges not busy elsewhere, So please serve and clean up after yourself. A fire burns merrily along the west wall, and overstuffed, cushioned couches and chairs have been placed in front of it.

It's late for breakfast, but there's still a bit left. It is: Cinnamon-apple bread with sweet syrup or sweet butter toppings.

Cress licks his lips as he sees the menu of the day. "Delicious," he mumbles and fills a plate with bread and syrup, then pours his usual mug of klah.

Linora grins widely, watching Cress fill a plate. She goes and helps herself to some as well, and a mug of orangefruit juice.

Cress grins at Linora as he goes to a table to take a seat. "This is a wonderful breakfast," he says, and shoves a piece of bread into his mouth. Yes, it's true. Cress likes sweet things!

Linora slips into a chair opposite Cress, her eyes twinkling as she watches his obvious enjoyment of his breakfast. She breaks off a piece of the sweet bread and pops it in her mouth, and she sits back in her chair a bit. Then she washes that bite down with a swallow of juice and gives Cress a thoughtful look. "So once you turn that scroll in, and it gets approved, you'll get promoted?" Another bite of sweetbread.

Cress nods, mouth still half-full. He chews quickly and swallows hard to answer her, "if it gets approved I should get promoted, yes," he says with a glint in his eyes. "How 'bout you, have you decided on a specialty yet?" He hopes he's not pressing the issue, he's just curious.

Linora shrugs. "I dunno what it is with me and specialties." She drops her chin on her hand. "Maybe I really /did/ come ta the wrong place." Not exactly hopeless, but not exactly happy, either. Another bite of sweetbread is popped into her mouth with her free hand, and she chews slowly, thoughtfully.

Cress shakes his head, slowly, "I don't think you came to the wrong place," he says, then takes a sip of his klah. "I'm glad you came..."

Linora stops midchew, lifting her head a bit to look up at him. Sighs and swallows. "I'm glad I came, too. I don't wanna leave. I really don't." She looks down at the tabletop again.