The Vault
No more than a hideaway amidst the gothic grandeur of the StarHall, this cozy lounge is a place of laughter if not greatness, warmth if not splendour. The close stone walls are insulated with tapestries of all shapes and sizes, most a little worn, several faded and a good many depicting scenes from childhood stories. The mismatched chairs and sofas are in a similar state, rescued from cellars and rubbish-heaps but perhaps more softer and more comfortable for that, scattered in a rouch circle on a hardwood floor. A low round table in the centre of the room holds cards, discarded hides, mugs, and a pot that holds klah as long as someone remembers to fill it. The one window at the back wall lets light and air into the warm, cozy room.
Scattered troughout the rooms are numerous glowbaskets. Thin hides, that would be transparant if they weren't coloured in light shades of red green and blue cast a colourfull and happy athmostphere troughout the room. Small bells and sticks, hung near the window, create soft, eerie yet comfortablly soft sounds,
Naomi is here.

Linora finds a comfy chair and flops. "Hey, Nao."

Naomi is propped up against the wall by a pile of cushions and pillows, a couple hides on her lap to look at. "Huh? Me?" Blink. The girl removes the pillow from in front of her face and grins a little at Linora. "Oh... hey."

Linora sprawls comfortably on her chair, dropping her head to one side to take a closer look at Naomi and her pillows and her hides. "Whatcha doin'?" One hand moves to idly scritch the sleeping blue on her shoulder.

"Studying," Naomi replies, shifting under the weight of a few cushions on her lap. "See the hides? They're notes for me." How incredibly exciting. "What 'bout you?"

Linora grins. Oh, of course. "Nothing, really." She shrugs. "I been working on my project an' stuff. So I guess I'm takin' a break." She lifts Spray off her shoulder and arranges him on her lap, easier to scritch that way. "Take all your classes and stuff already?"

Naomi nods, slowly, squinting for a moment. "I've been around here for ages. But they all keep tellin' me I'm not supposed to forget it all..." Sigh. The joys of being an eternal appy. "You?" Conversation is good. A few cushions are rearranged as she sits up and looks at the other apprentice.

Linora shrugs lightly. Her eyes are on the firelizard, and a smile lights her face. "Yeah... the last one was optics, an' I got Carise t'teach me that one." She looks up again. "So what's your specialty?" Nao must have one, right? If she's been around for ages?

Naomi purses her lips, flipping over a hide and tracing patterns with her fingers on it. "Astronomy," she replies, head canting to one side. "Y'have a mentor yet?"

Linora nods. "Yeah, just." She can't hide her delight at having /finally/ made a decision. "I'm gonna study charting, with Keris." Spray stirs a bit on her lap, rolling over onto his back with a soft creel, limbs spread in all directions. She automatically moves her hand to rub his belly, and the creel becomes a satisfied croon.

Naomi chuckles softly, leaning over to rest her head on a cushion. "Sounds good. If you like charting..." Which, the girl obviously does. Nao crawls out of her cushion-pile on hands and knees, and makes her way to sit at the center of the room.

Linora giggles. Yeah, she'd thought it was gonna be boring, too... until she looked a little closer. "I guess it's kinda not for everyone, huh?" Obviously not for Nao.

"It's for people who like charting. It's not for people who don't." Naomi's logic is, indeed, astounding. She sprawls out on the floor, looking ceilingwards and lying on her back, comfortably. "Astronomy's good for me. It's... a broad topic."

Linora blinks a bit, then shrugs... "Oh." Then she notices Nao looking at the ceiling. "Um... it's just a ceiling, right? Not pictures and stuff?" She's still not sure, not after spending a whole afternoon with Cassia.

Naomi purses her lips, chuckling a little. "Yeah... it's just a ceiling. But I have a new appreciation of ceilings after everything with Kaz's room. That was far too much work..." She remains staring at the ceiling, but squints at it a bit.

Linora shifts a bit to make herself more comfortable. Even sprawled, she doesn't really like to be in one position for very long. Relief crosses her face at Naomi's assurance, then confusion at the rest of her words. "Kaz's room?"

Naomi nods quickly, propping herself up on her elbows. "Yup. I painted his ceiling with a chart of the skies. Some o' the constellations, y'know? Well, that turned out to be far more classwork than I'd expected." She shudders a little, letting her eyes close.

Linora ohs and nods, wondering which appies painted the constellations in /her/ mentor's room. She hadn't thought of that before, but of course /someone/ had to have done it. "All by yourself?" Then another thought. "So Kaz is your mentor?"

"I did the ceiling, an' other appies did the walls," Naomi explains, letting her hands rest on her stomach. "And yeah... he's my mentor." Or tormented slave. Either works for her.

Linora shifts again, slouching further in her chair and scooting Spray up to rest on her stomach. "Oh." She bites her lip, thinking hard. "He give you lotsa chores ta do and stuff?" Starting to rethink this mentor thing? No going back now.

Naomi covers her mouth to hide a not-quite-so-innocent grin. "Oh... he gives me chores. Not that I do them all, but he gives 'em to me..." Gulp. Don't say -too- much there. "Of course, all the other Journeymen give me chores, as well, so it's not like I've an incredible amount of free time."

Keris wanders casually in from the Main Hall Balcony.

Linora giggles at Naomi's confession. "I been really busy with classes and studying and stuff," she admits. "So I haven't got tagged for chores much yet." 'Course, she's only been at the Hall a short time...

And in enters the evil journeyman on clue - with a lot of dusty..... something in his hand. "Ah! Linora! I've been looking for you." Uh oh - always run in fear when you hear that from your mentor. Keris beams down at his latest mentee. "I need your help." A nice way of saying: Do this or you're demoted. "Do you have time?" Of course, this is a rhetorical question. She'll have time, or else..... mwaha. "Oh, h'llo, Naomi."

Cue Naomi's glare. "That'll change," she warns, almost ominously, as she fumbles around with a cushion still on the floor. Keris's entrance gets a little salute from Naomi, as well as a behind-the-hand smirk. "'Lo, Journeyman. And she has plenty of time!" Yes, answer for the girl. Shuffling over towards the couch and out of the area where it seems chores and/or work will be assigned, she proceeds to look innocently at her own feet.

Linora gets to her feet quickly, cradling the sleeping blue in the crook of her arm, eyes huge. Oooh, speak of the devil. "Um... sure." Trying to figure out what he's carrying... trying to guess what he might be asking her to do. A quick glance at the retreating Naomi. Thanks a lot...

Keris is no devil, even though he might look like one in disguise at times. Beam goes out to Naomi, and then it's directed towards Linora. "I thought that since you're so interested in Charts, it'd do you good to fix these. Here." The bundle of dust and alledged Charts is held out towards the apprentice. "They're gettin' old. Need to be straightened up a little, so it's possible to actually read the lines." Yes, in his line of practice you read the lines.

Linora barely manages to get her firelizard back onto her shoulder, and is rewarded with a shrill squawk at having disturbed him, before the bundle of dusty charts lands in her arms. Coughing slightly, she looks up at Keris. "Y'mean copy 'em over, and stuff?" She really has only the vaguest idea of what he means by 'straighten up', and she's feeling pretty clueless.

Naomi snorts once, hiding her face behind... anything and everything that could possibly cover her face. But it's clear that she's finding it all very amusing, as she peeks out from behind the shield of cushions, hides, and etc. with a wicked grin on her face. "Naturally," is whispered under her breath, before she goes back to giggling.

"Sure, sure," Keris shrugs, apparently keen on leaving it up to her how to 'fix them'. "They're probably too old and moldy to draw up, so you'll have to make new ones, probably. If you need materials for them," and who has materials just lying around, besides himself, "just find me somewhere and I'll be sure to get you some. We don't let just about anyone get'm." See, she should feel special - then again, if she messes up she'll probably wish she was never born. "Careful with 'em, though - some of them are unique since we lost the copies or the original. But don't worry 'bout it," journeyman offers to his mentee, sending her a bright smile. Mwaha.

Linora's eyes just keep getting bigger until they threaten to bug out completely. So /this/ is how she's going to learn how to make charts, huh? "Um... okay..." She arranges the charts a little more carefully in her arms. "I guess I better... um... get started and stuff." Looks like it'll be a long time before she has any more free time, yup.

Naomi just amuses herself by sending glances out from behind the cushions held in front of her, snickering some. She doesn't enjoy other people's pain, really... It's just nice to see one learning and growing in the StarCraft. Honest. "Well, Linora, I hate to say 'I told you so'..." Buuut. "I told you so." Snicker.

"What'd you tell her?" Keris demands to know, grinning at Naomi. "How evil we all are, making you work and all that nastiness?" Blue eyes close surreptiously in a wink at the older apprentice, and then he sends his mentee a smile. "Don't worry. And oh, if you have questions feel free to ask me, or one of my older mentees. They ought to know, those laziboned wherries." He loves his mentees, really.

Naomi clears her throat, peeking out behind the cushion to return the wink. "Not much... just lettin' her know how the craft works. Or somethin'." Naturally. "And no... Journeyman, I'd never say that any of y'all are evil. I admire you far too much, y'know." Can't hurt to suck up a little... or can it? Hm. Apprentice scoots from the couch and finds her way to the center of the room again, looking somewhat curiously at the charts. "Better get workin'."

Linora shifts a bit under her new burden, beginning to wheeze a little as the mildew is making it hard for her to breathe. She giggles at Naomi's attempt to suck up, but it kind of turns into a cough, and she backs toward the door. "I'll just... go to the archives or something." Maybe if she spreads them out, the dust will bother her less, yeah. "Um... I'll see what I can figure out, but I'll prolly look for ya later... or someone else, if you're busy and stuff." Another cough, a halfhearted smile, and she turns to go.

"Alright, good luck," Keris calls after Linora, sending Naomi a sly grin. "You think that, eh? Well, we appreciate it." Yes, he can speak for everyone else, didn't you know? "Oh, shells, I think I have a lesson now!" A panicked look spreads on his face, and the journeyman turns around on a booted heel and half-runs out. "See you later!"

After several hours in the Archives...

The Vault
No more than a hideaway amidst the gothic grandeur of the StarHall, this cozy lounge is a place of laughter if not greatness, warmth if not splendour. The close stone walls are insulated with tapestries of all shapes and sizes, most a little worn, several faded and a good many depicting scenes from childhood stories. The mismatched chairs and sofas are in a similar state, rescued from cellars and rubbish-heaps but perhaps more softer and more comfortable for that, scattered in a rouch circle on a hardwood floor. A low round table in the centre of the room holds cards, discarded hides, mugs, and a pot that holds klah as long as someone remembers to fill it. The one window at the back wall lets light and air into the warm, cozy room.
Scattered troughout the rooms are numerous glowbaskets. Thin hides, that would be transparant if they weren't coloured in light shades of red green and blue cast a colourfull and happy athmostphere troughout the room. Small bells and sticks, hung near the window, create soft, eerie yet comfortablly soft sounds, Caelestis, Cress, Beyla, Nyota, and Diena are here.

Linora stumbles in with an armful of dusty hides and a glazed expression. And coughs. She carefully sets the bundle down on a cleanish table and lowers herself into an empty chair, only then noticing there are others in the vault. "Hey," she says in a kind of numb greeting, only half looking.

"Hey, Lin," Cress says looking. "Where've you been?" He closes the book he'd been reading and puts it off to the side on the couch.

Beyla seems to have been trying to balance her pencil, point end downwards, on the tip of her finger. With limited to no success, it should be added. "Oh shard it." is muttered in an undertone as the implement once again clatters to the floor, forcing Beyla to move from her comfy position on her chair to pick it up. "Oh! Linora!!" she beams at the girl. "Hello!"

Linora blinks and looks again. Oh, not just /people/. People she /knows/. "Hi... I been in the archives, working and stuff." She curls up in the chair, trying to put a little distance between herself and the hides without actually losing sight of them. Wouldn't want anything to happen to them... maybe Keris'll let her burn 'em when they're all copied over. Cough.

Diena grins "I know how that is.. I feel like I must just sleep in the observatory.. maybe I can get the drudges to bring my food there" she giggles.

"So, you've already been set to work, huh?" Cress says and peers down at the book he's reading. "All I still do is study, study, study." He taps the book with his fingertips in time with the words.

Beyla looks up guiltily from her pencil-balancing attempts. "Study? Oh yes... ah... study. Don't do anything but that myself. Right." S'yeah. Right. But must seem good people with better knots than her.

Linora coughs again, nodding a little weakly. "Those old charts," she points vaguely at the stack, "gotta be copied over an' stuff." By her. Who has no clue about how to make a chart. Wrong place, wrong time. Or maybe she just picked the wrong mentor, who knows? She drops her head to one side to regard Diena, the observatory's newest resident. "Had that optics class yet?"

Cress hmms, nodding to himself, "all Riina has me doing right now, is read all these books on the red star," he says, and picks the book up to put it in his lap again.

Diena frowns "Unfortunately no. I think the journeymen dislike teaching it. Or perhaps its because I haven't finished this darned class on planetary physics. Luthin said he would help me with it." she adds "But I haven't seen him since I got out of the infirmary"

Linora grins at Diena. Luthin, huh? A sidelong glance at Cress across the room... better not to comment, she decides. "Aw, someone'll prolly teach it soon. Just gotta hit 'em at the right time." Lin got the optics class twice in a sevenday, after all. Nevermind how long she waited for it, though. Now that she's out of the archives, she seems to be finding it a /bit/ easier to breathe.

"Hit them?" Beyla looks bewildered for a moment, before comprehension leaps across her features. "Oh! You don't mean literally. Sorry." Shaking her head, she goes and starts examining her fingernails. Tut. Hang nail.

Diena pouts "I hope so...Of course, I guess I should finish this other class first. It's just terrible.. and so complicated"

Cress decides that this is as good a time as any to resume his reading, and opens the book. Glancing down at the page, it's obvious though, that he is /not/ reading, but keeping an ear on the conversation.

Linora giggles at Beyla until a coughing fit makes her stop. "Course not!" Although she's just as quick to take things literally, usually. She slides over in her chair a bit, still not venturing too far from the precious hides, but does she /really/ have to inhale them?

Diena sits down in a chair, opening her notebook on her lap "It just seems like there is so much to do.. I haven't even the time for hobbies anymore" she whines like a child.

Linora's hands fly of their own accord to cover her ears, even as she winces at Diena's tone. "Please, Die... I got a headache and stuff." She's been hunched over musty scrolls in the archives since before dawn!

Diena frowns "I'm sorry. I suppose I've got one too.. Seems every time I start studying something happens in the observatory. My little Dart has been horrid" she looks to the flit.

"What kinda stuff?" Linora's at a loss, really, she's never seen more than a couple folks in there at a time. She looks at Dart, too, as if the answer might be there.

Diena grins "Like today two apprentices raun through there arguing with each other. Or Dart starts games with the other flits. I think he gets jealous of all my studying" she firelizard cheeps in seeming agreement.

Cress knew all about noisy lizards. He had three of them, after all. And when one started, the other two usual did too.

Linora shrugs. Her Spray never seems to be any problem at all, specially now that he's a little older. "Mostly Spray just sleeps and stuff," she remarks, although she's wondering why /anyone/ would be running in the observatory. "Wouldn't it be kinda dangerous t'run in there, with the big DV and stuff?"

Beyla falls asleep.

Diena grins "Well, perhaps im exaggerating. I don't know if they were running. But they sure were arguing.. about Faranth knows what!" she says "I completely forgot what I was writing."

Linora sighs, coughing a little. "Y'oughta try the archives," she suggests weakly. "Nobody ever goes in there."

Linora sighs and gets to her feet, carefully gathering the charts into her arms. She's wasted enough time... and she certainly doesn't want to take a chance that Keris might walk in again and find her, well, not working. Sigh. Cough. "See ya, Cress." Maybe. If he's still listening, that is.

Cress looks up from the book, and smiles, "see ya, Lin," he says, and notes to himself that he should actually be studying himself. Not just pretend that he was.

So, Lin heads back to the Archives. Some time later...

The Vault

Linora stumbles in looking worse than before, but the stack of musty hides seems a bit smaller now.

Cress's eyes grow wide, as he sees Lin comes in, looking worse for wear. "Are you alright, Lin?" he asks and puts his book away. "You look terrible..." So he wasn't much of a gentleman, but he worried about her.

Linora sighs, and coughs... and puts the hides carefully on the same table as before. Then she slumps into a chair and nods. "I think so." Well, she prolly will be. Not to make him worry, or anything.

"Guess it's kinda dusty down there in the archives, huh?" Cress says and looks at her. Not moving any closer at the moment. Better if they stayed apart, at least for the time being. Right?

Linora nods. "Yeah... the hides are kinda musty, too," she croaks, trying to get her breath. "An' it's hard t'read 'em." Especially when she has no idea how, really.

Cress nods slowly, "s'pose that's why they need to be copied, eh?" Just stating facts is all. He gets up and goes to her table. "You can't take 'em somewhere, where it's not so dusty?"

Linora shrugs. Just being around them makes her wheeze. "Where?" she says helplessly. "Been outside t'day?"

Cress shakes his head, "no. Why?" He looks out to the balcony, but can't of course see the outside from here, anyways.

Linora flops. "There's a storm an' stuff." Sigh. "An' I promised Keris I'd do this... I dunno when he wants it done by." Hopes it's not too soon, yup.

"A storm?" Cress says, looking like one big question-mark. Had he really been that hard at work studying that he hadn't noticed that. "When did that start?"

"This morning, I think." Lin's really not all that sure. "I looked outside just after dawn, t'see if it was a good day for a swim." Definitely not. "Looked like it was gonna get bad an' stuff, so I stayed in."

Cress ohs, and suddenly hears his stomach rumble. When was the last time he'd eaten anyway? Trying to ignore that rumble he opens the book and looks at the pages.

Linora can hear Cress' stomach all the way across the room, and is suddenly reminded that she can't remember when she last ate either. She gets to her feet and gathers up the dreaded charts, looking uncertainly around as she debates whether to trust leaving them under her cot or take them with her. As if she could eat with those musty things around. She finally decides on her cot, and heads toward the girls' dorm.

Cress looks up as Lin dissapears and comes back, emptyhanded, and then leans back in his chair pondering whether to go get something to eat, or stay here and study.

Linora stops on her way across the vault, and turns to look at Cress. Not sure if she ought to ask him to come with her or not... she finally shrugs. It's just dinner. "Wanna get something to eat?"

Well, since she was asking... Cress nods and comes out of his chair. "I guess, I am kinda hungry," he says, and takes his book with him under the arm. "Been a while since I ate. I think."

"Me, too." Linora nods solemnly, trying not to feel sorry for herself. But she's had a bad day. She does manage a small smile, though, happy he'll at least come with her. Even if he prolly won't talk to her much. It's just not the same. Sigh. "C'mon, then."