The World of Pern(tm) is copyright to Anne McCaffrey (c) l967.
The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright.

This is a log of roleplay on PernMUSH, available online by permission of
Anne McCaffrey, author of the Pern novels, and recorded by A.S. Korra'ti
(piper@murkworks.net), player of Mehlani of Telgar Weyr on PernMUSH.
This log may be distributed freely as long as this header remains intact.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Log Date:
	5/22/98

Log Cast:
	(People) Mehlani, Jorenan, Ofira, Chilhowee, Asher, Erdrick, Sandar,
Kharty, Ptodek, Berylle, R'val

	(Firelizards) Brodi, Lightning, Firestone

Log Intro:
	Between Candidate chores, Candidate training, and Candidate pranks,
Mehlani's life has continued to be very busy over the last few months.
Busy enough, in fact, that she's hardly had any time to see either of the
two young men who have grown near and dear to her -- Jorenan and K'star.
She's tried to assure herself that this is due to their having their duties,
and her having her own -- not to mention that it would be improper for a
Candidate to be fraternizing with a rider. Still, though, conscientious
attention to Candidate protocol does not under any circumstances mean that
the two young men haven't been on her mind, a situation all the more 
emphasized when Jorenan returns from his business in Southern... and reveals
to Mehlani that their last interactions, especially those of the kissing
variety, have been on his mind as well...

----------
Your location's current time: 13:20 on day 26, month 12, Turn 22, of the Tenth 
  Pass. It is a winter afternoon.

Mehlani comes slipping quietly past, headed for the living cavern.

You walk through the large entrance to the Living Cavern.
Telgar Weyr's Living Cavern(#750RJM$)
This huge cavern is sufficently roomy to hold a large portion of the Weyr's 
  population without feeling cramped. There's always a bustle of activity 
  here. Fragrant dishes are constantly in prepartion for mealtimes: currently 
  for the mid-day meal. Drudges are always present, either cleaning under 
  Pierron's watchful eye, or helping fetch and carry. A myriad of glowbaskets 
  and many ever-lit hearths make the cavern warm and inviting despite its 
  size. The scents of cooking meats, baking breads and pastries, and the 
  pungent aroma of spices hang mouthwateringly in the air. It is little wonder 
  that those seeking to relax nearly always find their way here to do it. 
  Branches of evergreens and glistening winter berries are ornaments of the 
  season.
A short tunnel jaunts northward out to the bowl and the merry sounds of 
  cooking, chores, and laughter echo from the kitchen at the southeast end of 
  the cavern near the easterly passage to the rest of the lower caverns. 
  Within the lower caverns is an entrance to the infirmary weyr to care for 
  injured dragons and riders.
Contents:
Berylle
Jorenan
Ofira
Pierron
Obvious exits:
Lower Caverns  Kitchen  Bowl  

Jorenan considers for a long moment, and then grins thoughtfully. "It'd be 
  cool to slurp crawler-shaped noodles," he says. His voice is, as always, 
  that quiet voice that seems so calm. An odd mix, to hear that voice talk 
  about osmething so intnsely boyish. But yet he does it fairly often.

Mehlani comes making her quiet way into the living cavern, bound for the 
  kitchens. Shoulder duty today appears to be the province of blue Brodi, 
  riding sedately on his perch and meeting the world with lightly whirling 
  eyes.

Ofira raises her eyebrows, "Ah. Yes. I'm sure. Well, the project is yours if 
  you'd like it. Hello Mehlani."

Jorenan nods and says, "I'll have Girad consult with me, if you don't mind, 
  ma'am." Yes, even a slurpy crawler (shaped) soup desires serious 
  consideration by its target customers. He nods to Mehlani offhandedly, and 
  then takes a closer look at her.

Ofira laughs, "Of course. If it will sway my son towards the kitchen, anything 
  at all."

Mehlani slows a little, then stops and bobs her behatted head politely to 
  Ofira, even as she glances sidelong towards Jorenan, out from under her hat. 
  On her shoulder, Brodi makes a bemused little chirrup of a noise.

Ofira fills a mug of klah for herself. "How've you been Mehlani? I haven't 
  seen you for a while. I was away the past sevenday."

"I've been alright, ma'am," the girl in the hat murmurs, as Brodi leans his 
  blue head forward and peers as if nearsighted at the Masterbaker. "I'm, um, 
  supposed to wash dishes today..."

Ofira nods, "I think we can accomodate you. We always have dishes," she laughs.

Mehlani bobs her head again, then turns and slips off into the kitchen, in 
  search of some of the dishes in question. Brodi's blue tail is curled around 
  her otherwise bare neck, and the little fellow flutters his wings as she 
  goes.

You walk off towards the kitchen.
Kitchen
Contents:
The Baker's Guide to Pernese Cuisine
Obvious exits:
Storeroom Passageway  Living Cavern  

From the living cavern, Jorenan's eyes followed Mehlani for a long moment. 
  Then he looks back at Ofira and asks, quietly, "What happened to her hair?"

From the living cavern, Ofira glances after Mehlani and then says quietly, 
  "Well, you know how candidates can be..."

Mehlani enters into the general bustle of the kitchens, finds a place among 
  the young people currently slated to help with the cleaning, and after 
  acquiring an apron and a few towels, gets to work. Brodi remains stoically 
  clinging to her shoulder, occasionally cooing to the others in the kitchen, 
  watching with benignly puzzled interest as his human chips in with the 
  dish-washing.

From the living cavern, Jorenan blinks a couple of times. "Aye," he says, 
  though he still seems somewhat mystified. "No one cut their hair when I..." 
  he trails off, and then says, "Ah, never mind."

From the living cavern, Ofira nods, "And no one painted any of the dragons 
  either, though I remember one class that did that."

From the living cavern, Jorenan nods slowly. "True. We were quiet, in some 
  ways. Then again, there were the firelizard flights in the living cavern. 
  Those were... different. Err, not that the lizards themselves were in the 
  cavern. Just the people got a little carried away."

From the living cavern, Ofira nods, "Sure, It's something different every 
  time, but always something. I'm sure that was the case at Ista too."

From the living cavern, Jorenan grimaces. "Aye," is all he says about that. 
  Then he changes the subject and says, "Master Garlin at Southern sent a 
  hello, ma'am. He says you should come and visit when it gets particularly 
  cold up here in the frozen wastes."

From the living cavern, Ofira smiles at that. "How nice of him. Perhaps I 
  will, but I doubt I'll have time. That sevenday, catering at the woodcraft 
  set me way behind, particularly since you were away at the same time."

From the living cavern, Chilhowee walks in from the bowl.

From the living cavern, Pierron adjusts his apron and tugs on his moustache.

Mehlani leans quietly over the sink to which she's been assigned for the 
  moment, scrubbing away at the next platter in her stack of dirty dishes. 
  Blue Brodi flutters down to perch on the edge of the sink, lowering his nose 
  investigatively into the suds.

From the living cavern, Ofira gets up, "Speaking of which, I have some 
  hidework to attend to, if you'll excuse me."
From the living cavern, Ofira walks towards the inner cavern.

From the living cavern, Chilhowee looks around before wandering down towards 
  the lower caverns
From the living cavern, Chilhowee walks towards the inner cavern.

From the living cavern, Jorenan finishes his snack and heads back to the 
  kitchens.
From the living cavern, Jorenan walks off towards the kitchen.
Jorenan enters the kitchen from the living cavern.
Jorenan has arrived.

'Lani's stack of dishes has quietly, steadily shifted positions, as she passes 
  the ones she's rinsed off to the youngster on detail for drying them.

Jorenan goes over and begins the simple process of turning small whiteroots 
  into a roasted paste for spreading on bread. He nods to 'Lani and her helper 
  and says a quiet, "Hullo."

'Lani glances up. The lad doing the drying scurries off to relay the clean 
  plate to the shelf it needs to be on, while Mehlani herself murmurs to 
  Jorenan, "Hello..."

Jorenan takes a closer look at the haircut, considers for a moment, and then 
  says, "I like it. It ... makes your face look different or something." Then 
  he turns back to the whiteroots, which he's dipped in oil and is putting in 
  a clay pot.

Mehlani blinks, looking quite taken aback at the young Baker's observation, 
  her hand flying self-consciously up to her neck -- and dripping little drops 
  of soapy water on her shoulders en route. "Oh," she murmurs, turning pink, 
  "thank you..."

Jorenan glances at Mehlani, just a flicker of a look, and nods once. "You're 
  welcome," he says. He sounds satisfied at her response. Then he changes the 
  subject and says, "How're the other Candidates treating you?"

Still blushing a little, Mehlani murmurs after a slight pause, "Mostly 
  alright..."

"Mostly all right?" His emphasis on the first word suggests that Jorenan 
  doesn't think mostly is quite good enough. "You tell 'em I'll punch anybody 
  who's mean."

'Lani's blush holds, as she dips her attention for a moment to the next plate 
  that needs scrubbing. "Mostly," she confirms timidly. "But I'm alright... 
  really..."

From the living cavern, Asher walks here from the Inner Cavern.
From the living cavern, Asher rubs his eyes as he wanders through, wrinkled 
  and whitened fingers wiping soap off of his face.
From the living cavern, Asher walks down the short tunnel and out into the 
  bowl.

Jorenan quirks his mouth. "If you say so," he says. Not that he believes it, 
  but he's not about to make it worse. "Your firelizards know where to find 
  me, though, if you need a hand."

"Thank you," Mehlani murmurs earnestly, peeking back over at Jorenan. "I've... 
  been having them stay with dragons... mostly... but I'll remember." Brodi, 
  still perched on the sink's edge and currently dipping his tail into the 
  water, coos.

Jorenan grins at the blue. "Your tail's wet," he says unecessarily. "So tell 
  me about what you've been doing as a Candidate? Any interesting adventures?"

Mehlani's mouth crinkles into something like a smile, though it's a very small 
  one. She just shakes her head, not bothering to observe that she's hardly 
  the adventuresome type; Brodi, in the meantime, burbles pleasantly at 
  Jorenan.

Jorenan gives Mehlani a slant-eyed look. "Oh, sure. You try to look innocent, 
  but I know better. I saw you throw that snowball." Which snowball is he 
  referring to? Well, who knows. It might be one from that snowball fight on 
  the ice rink more than a Turn ago.

"You're being silly," Mehlani murmurs, not at all unkindly, and the smile 
  peeking at the edges of her mouth grows a little more apparent.

From the living cavern, Erdrick walks here from the Inner Cavern.
From the living cavern, Erdrick walks in, Records in hand as usual, heading 
  for the klah pot.

Jorenan laughs quietly. "Well, that's true," he admits. "But I still believ 
  you're having some interesting times."

From the living cavern, Erdrick blinks slightly, hearing people in the 
  kitchen, shrugs and pours himself a mug of klah, settling down in his usual 
  chair.

Jorenan nods to Erdrick, who's taken a close enough seat to the kitchen that 
  he can hear the conversation, and goes back to making his roasted whiteroot 
  paste while he waits for Mehlani to answer.

"Well... yes," the girl answers shyly, scrubbing a plate.

From the living cavern, Erdrick nods back at Jorenan, only then noticing Lani, 
  "Hello."

Mehlani glances out and bobs her head gravely to Erdrick, by way of greeting.

From the living cavern, Erdrick grins back at Lani, looks thoughtful for a 
  second then goes back to reading his Record hides.

And this is why Mehlani and Jorenan would drive anyone else insane with their 
  odd little conversations. Anyone else would likely think they were both 
  mentally fit only for drudgery, what with a simple comment like that from 
  either of them taking ten minutes or better sometimes. But Jorenan seems 
  entirely satisfied, and nods. "Well," he says after similar thought, "tell 
  me about them." He gives Erdrick a grin and adds, "Unless he," meaning 
  Erdrick, "would be embarassed by them or something."

"Well, we all had to cut our hair," Mehlani murmurs sheepishly, her behatted 
  head dipped towards her plate.

From the living cavern, Someone sneezes in the back of the room.

From the living cavern, Erdrick sips his klah quietly.
From the living cavern, Erdrick yawns a bit as he reads his hides.

Jorenan nods, his grin broadening somewhat. "Well, that much was apparent, 
  yes. What else?"

From the living cavern, Erdrick finishes his klah and stands up, handing the 
  mug to a passing drudge.

"Well, it was because of the prank, you see," Mehlani murmurs timidly, her 
  blush deepening. And she bites her lip for a moment.

From the living cavern, Erdrick waves to Lani and Jorenan and quickly walks 
  out.
From the living cavern, Erdrick walks down the short tunnel and out into the 
  bowl.

"Prank?" asks Jorenan. He gives Erdrick a wave, albeit a tad late. "What prank 
  was that? Was it your prank?"

"I wouldn't do _pranks_," Mehlani blurts, plaintively. Then, blushing again, 
  she shakes her head.

He grins, knowing that to be entirely, painfully true. "Well, there is that," 
  Jorenan says. "Maybe you should. So if you didn't do it, were you the victim?"

Mehlani shrinks down a little, her head still bowed, and she murmurs tinily, 
  "A.. Aurian and... I, yes..."

Jorenan slides past Mehlani's sink on his way to get one of the small bowls to 
  continue his concoction, now that the tubers are roasted. He gives Mehlani's 
  arm a squeeze and says, "That must not have been fun. But your hair still 
  looks neat. What happened?"

Once more peeking up out from under her hat, 'Lani murmurs, "Um... well... 
  Aurian and I...." Her gaze drops again. "Our... hair was messed up... so we 
  had to have it cut, and M'kla... ordered that everyone in the Barracks would 
  have to... since nobody confessed before our hair was cut..." Her blush 
  keeps deepening, vivid and red now.

"Messed up?" asks Jorenan. "Messed up how?" He peels and mashes the small 
  whiteroot bulbs (not tubers, nope) as he speaks. When he glances up, he 
  quirks an eyebrow at the color of Mehlani's face. "Did you do it to your own 
  hair?"

Mehlani shakes her head, her mouth tightening up into an odd small line -- she 
  looks almost peeved at the question. On the other hand, she doesn't say 
  anything else either, as she passes off the next plate to be dried. Her 
  helper pauses, eyes the girl and then the young Baker, and puts in dryly, 
  "Asher did it to her and Aurian, he confessed after it all happened." The 
  lad then scurries off again.

Jorenan nods slowly. "Ahh," is all he says. He gives Mehlani a close look and 
  then considers his next words carefully. After several starts and stops, he 
  sticks to something fairly safe. "What exactly did he do?"

Mehlani doesn't answer the question. The boy who's been helping her with the 
  dishes returns, catches the query, and pipes up helpfully, "You should've 
  seen it -- all tangled up in knots and braids. And bows too. Aurian had a 
  brush stuck in her hair." Then the lad is off again with more plates to be 
  shelved, while 'Lani stands there, blushing crimson.

Jorenan's eyes follow the lad for a moment, and then return to Mehlani. He 
  says to her, just as if she'd said it all herself, "You must've been awfully 
  upset." Then he grins very slightly and says, "And now you're awfully bright 
  red. Are you embarassed, angry, or something else entirely?"

"I don't know," Mehlani murmurs.

The whitebulbs are thoroughly mashed now, and Jorenan adds salt, olive oil, 
  and various herbs to the mix. He lets Mehlani be for a while, perhaps to let 
  her calm down. Finally, he says, "You weren't that color when I kissed you." 
  Hmmm. Perhaps not the best way to keep Mehlani calm, there, Jorenan. Too 
  late, now, though, y'big lout.

Mehlani's head jerks up, and then down again, and indeed, there doesn't seem 
  to be much of an impact on the hue of her blush.

Jorenan plows onward. What the heck, it can't get much worse, right? "Well," 
  says he, "I hope that was nicer than getting your hair all mucked up." He 
  sniffs the pungent paste that he's made, blinks as his eyes start watering, 
  and sets it aside. "That's done," he gasps, and moves on to preparing 
  cheeses for whatever fancy platter some rider or another has requested.

"Um... yes," Mehlani manages to blurt, barely audibly. There isn't much of a 
  contest between being kissed and having one's hair hopelessly snarled; even 
  'Lani, inexperienced in matters of kissing as she is, can make _that_ 
  particular judgement call.

Jorenan blinks. He hadn't actually expected a response to that somewhat 
  rhetorical coment. But nonetheless, he grins slowly. "Good," says he. "We'll 
  have to do it again someday."

"I... I... well... maybe," Mehlani murmurs, horribly flustered, now. Brodi, 
  peering bemusedly up at her, flaps into the air and claims her shoulder once 
  more, nuzzling at her cheek with the side of his little nose.

Jorenan nods. "Good," he says. Somewhere or another, there is a very shy 
  person in the back of his head. And that shy person is tapping Jorenan on 
  the shoulder and saying, 'Excuse me, you've invaded my body. What exactly 
  are you doing?' But apparently whomever's taken over isn't listening, and 
  Jorenan asks, "Kissed anyone else lately? Like since we did?"

If anything, Mehlani turns even more vivid of hue, her blush approaching 
  fuschia. She shakes her head vigorously.

Jorenan looks surprised at that. But he nods slowly. "That's..." he can't help 
  it, he grins. "Well. I like that." The shy person in the back of his head 
  has given up and is now muttering to himself quietly. Jorenan's ears turn a 
  faint shade of pink. Either from the conversation or the quality of the 
  internal muttering.

He _likes_ that? Mehlani, startled, looks up at the young Baker again, 
  entirely confounded.

Jorenan hrrms, and finds that he feels the need to explain. "See. You haven't 
  kissed anybody else. That's good, 'cause, well. Hmm. It's good 'cause it 
  means you... well. It means you didn't hate so much you had to go kiss 
  someone else right away to get rid of the taste. Or something." THere now, 
  -that- was incoherent. The shy person in the back makes sure Jorenan's aware 
  of it, too.

"I don't think I-I could have... done that," Mehlani mumbles.

The knife Jorenan's using to slice wedges of cheese pauses for a moment, and 
  he looks up in real surprise. "Really?" His looks is bemused and holds a 
  small portion of delight.

From the living cavern, Sandar walks towards the inner cavern.
From the living cavern, Sandar walks here from the Inner Cavern.
From the living cavern, Sandar walks off towards the kitchen.
Sandar enters the kitchen from the living cavern.
Sandar has arrived.
Sandar wanders in. "Ooh. Hope I'm not interrupting something," he asks.

A distinctly flustered-looking Mehlani might be spotted near a sink full of 
  dirty dishes, near a rather surprised-looking Jorenan. Mehlani, her blue 
  Brodi perched on her shoulder and baffledly attempting to croon to her, 
  shoots a wide-eyed glance at Sandar, opens her mouth, and closes it again.

Sandar notices Mehlani's expression. "Uh... I'll talk to you both later," he 
  smiles, figuring this expression means that his guess was correct. "See you 
  both later!"

Jorenan closes his mouth and goes back to slicing cheese. He didn't look 
  surprised there for a moment, no he didn't.

Sandar walks into the Living Cavern.
Sandar has left.
From the living cavern, Sandar walks in from the kitchen.
From the living cavern, Sandar mumbles something to Pierron, then starts 
  giggling a bit, looking back at Jorenan and Mehlani.

Mehlani just manages to shake her head unsteadily, struggling to focus her 
  attention on the dishes she _still_ needs to finish.

From the living cavern, Sandar walks down the short tunnel and out into the 
  bowl.

Jorenan works for a while, and then risks a glance at Mehlani. He's trying to 
  force down a grin, but he's not succeeding.

Jorenan
He's a sandy-haired young man in his early twenties, fairly tall and broad of 
  shoulder. His demeanor is simply quiet. He doesn't appear shy, but is rather 
  quietly interested in everything that goes on. Brownish eyes round out the 
  face, and a generally good-humoured smile is his expression much of the 
  time. He's wearing the solid clothing of a young Crafter who is doing well 
  by the Craft but who doesn't yet have the marks or the time for style. 
  Besides, they are still always a bit floury. He wears a small red and white 
  knot on his shoulder.

Jorenan finishes arranging the cheese wedges and puts the pungent dip in the 
  middle of it. Then he begins tearing up chunks of bread to go with it. 
  "Kisses," he says, "are more fun than chores."

"I don't think I'm supposed to be kissing anybody while I'm a Candidate," 
  Mehlani murmurs, gaze pointed squarely at the dish she hands off to the lad 
  who's been helping her. The boy, by now, is unabashedly eavesdropping, 
  though he does a fine job of looking entirely bland and neutral of 
  expression every time anyone actually looks at him.

Jorenan hmms. "I don't remember that being a rule while I was a Candidate. In 
  fact, I'm sure it wasn't a rule." Or half the class would've been in a -lot- 
  more trouble than they already were.

"Oh," mumbles Mehlani. She hasn't noticed her companion's eager eyes and big 
  wicked grin; the boy is apparently soaking up this fascinating conversation 
  for sharing later, though he keeps a discreet distance away from the girl in 
  the hat and the young Baker.

Jorenan notices the boy with the large ears and the grin. He frowns, and then 
  says, "You. Time for you to go collect dirty dishes from the living cavern. 
  Now." He's considerably taller and broader than the boy, and doesn't seem to 
  have any problem looming a bit.

The lad, all of fourteen Turns and just barely old enough to have been 
  Searched in the first place, blinks and then slinks sulkily off. Sharded if 
  he's not going to tell _somebody_ about what he's heard, though...

Jorenan looks after the boy with a narrow-eyed expression that bodes ill 
  should anyhting bad happen to Mehlani. Then he goes back to tearing up 
  bread. To Mehlani he says, quietly, "Too bad you thought the rule was no 
  kissing. You could have been having all kinds of fun the last several weeks."

Mehlani shakes her head again, vigorously.

"No?" asks Jorenan. "Why not?"

"Nobody to kiss," the girl mumbles, the blush still suffusing her face, and it 
  can be seen to reach clear around to the back of her neck, without a braid 
  obscuring the view. Brodi's tail is an inadequtaely substitute, as the 
  little guy tries to imitate Mehlani, by holding his head down.

Jorenan considers that for a long moment. "Oh," he finally says. "Well, I'm 
  back from the South, so you can kiss me if you want." Such confidence, the 
  young sometimes have. "Where's K'star?"

"I haven't seen him," is Mehlani's extremely tiny reply. Is that a dejected 
  tone creeping into her voice?

Ah ha. He knew life wasn't that simple, deep down. She's not going to leap 
  into his arms. Ah, well. Jorenan hms. "You haven't seen him? Where's he been 
  hiding?"

Scrub, scrub, scrub. The plate is spotless by now, and Mehlani hastily takes 
  up another, murmuring slowly, "I-I don't know... they, they keep us very 
  busy, and we have an early curfew so I don't have time to go to the Records 
  Room much, o-or ride Nightsong..." That's all she says.

After a long moment, Jorenan says, "Well, where does he usually spend his 
  time? And can't he find you? It's not like the kitchens are out of the way."

"I-I..." Mehlani swallows hard, her dainty features reflecting hints of 
  internal struggle. "I think... it's probably better if he leaves me alone 
  right now... because I'm a Candidate... and he is a rider, it wouldn't be 
  proper...!"

Jorenan considers that for a long, long moment. "He's not interested in you?" 
  he finally surmises.

From the living cavern, Kharty walks here from the Inner Cavern.
From the living cavern, Kharty pops into the cavern, waving quickly to 
  Berylle, then grabs a few cloths, and makes for the door, yelling over her 
  shoulder, "On another errand.. see you in a while, Berylle!"
From the living cavern, Kharty walks down the short tunnel and out into the 
  bowl.

This, it would seem, is becoming an alarmingly painful subject for Mehlani; 
  the girl's blue eyes start growing damp around the lashes, and her voice 
  comes out strained and hoarse as she whispers, "Riders are always very busy, 
  a-and so are Candidates, and that's alright, I understand it completely...!" 
  She tears her gaze away from Jorenan, and, plate in hand, hastens with it 
  over to the shelves to which her helper had been previously ferrying dishes.

Jorenan watches Mehlani walk away. He shakes his head and mutters, "She ... 
  him, I ... her. What .... mess." Then he goes back to his platter of tasty 
  things. After garnishing it, he covers it and sets in one of the cool 
  cupboards.

Brodi croons uncertainly to his young human, his eyes having picked up a bit 
  of a brighter whirl at the mention of K'star, but dimmed down again as 
  Mehlani's own eyes grow teary. The girl pauses by the shelves a moment, dabs 
  at her eyes with one shirt sleeve, then reaches up to -- surreptitiously, or 
  so she's probably hoping -- adjust her hat. Her hand lingers on it for 
  rather longer than necessary, though.

From the living cavern, Ptodek walks here from the Inner Cavern.
From the living cavern, Ptodek grins. "Hi there, Berylle!"
From the living cavern, Ptodek asks Pierron for a few things.

From the living cavern, Pierron humphs. "Too many firelizards around here as 
  is, ." Even so, he fishes around until he comes up with 5 big scraps of 
  spiderclaw.

From the living cavern, Berylle smiles, "Ptodek, hi!"

From the living cavern, Nestled in Ptodek's arms, Lightning cheeps and 
  squeals, reaching for the food.
From the living cavern, Ptodek grins. "This little guy keeps getting hungry," 
  he complains but with a smile as he feeds the firelizard.
From the living cavern, From Ptodek's shoulder, Firestone reaches down to grab 
  a scrap of meat, too.

Kharty walks out of the passageway that leads down to the storerooms.
Kharty has arrived.

From the living cavern, R'val walks in from the bowl.

By the time Mehlani turns around again from the shelves, her hat's as neatly 
  adjusted as it's going to get. Her eyes are still liquid, but her features 
  have arranged themselves into a plaintively stoic expression; never mind 
  that Jorenan has inadvertantly reminded her how keenly she's missing a 
  certain brown rider, the shape of his grin, the lilt of his brogue, and the 
  general comfort of his presence. She's fine! She crosses the kitchen, back 
  to the dishes.

Kharty bustles into the kitchen, dropping a few clean cloths on one of the 
  tables. "Heyla, Jorenan, Heyla, Mehlani!"

From the living cavern, R'val wanders into the cavern, "Evening, folks...."

From the living cavern, Ptodek grins at R'val. "Hi," he says.
From the living cavern, Ptodek is just finishing up feeding a little bronze 
  firelizard. "Wanna see my new flit?" he asks R'val. "He's getting really big 
  already!"

From the living cavern, R'val fills a mug with klah, and finds a seat 
  unhurriedly," Ah, hello there Ptodek. How go the chores?"

Blue Brodi cheeples to Kharty from his place on 'Lani's shoulder; mutely, 
  Mehlani bobs her behatted head at the other girl, as she resumes her post at 
  the sink, to finish off the last of this day's share of dishes.

From the living cavern, Ptodek nods. "They're fine! I had bagging firestone 
  again today."

Jorenan grins at Kharty and says a quiet "Hullo there." He gives Mehlani a 
  look that might, or might not, mean anything at all. To Kharty he says, 
  "You've got kitchen duty dtoday?"

Kharty steps lightly toward the one table where there's a nice, freshly baked 
  bubbly on the top. "Mmmmm!", she grins at the pair, "What a good way to end 
  this chore of distributing clean cloths!" Her fingertips break off a small 
  piece of the edge of the pie, and she quickly pops it into her mouth. 
  Delight floods her face as she smiles. "MMMM!"

From the living cavern, Ptodek peers over toward the kitchen, fresh bubbly pie 
  catching his eye and nose. With a whoop of delight, he heads in that 
  direction.
From the living cavern, Ptodek walks off towards the kitchen.
Ptodek enters the kitchen from the living cavern.
Ptodek has arrived.

Kharty looks at Jorenan and, with a quick shake of her head, she explains, 
  "Not today, just delivering these cloths.. There sure was a bundle of them!" 
  Her fingers reach to break off another piece of the bubbly's edge.

Mehlani manages to call up a flicker of a smile for Kharty's enthusiasm; the 
  corners of her mouth curl up for a moment. But just for a moment. She 
  determinedly focuses her attention on the dishes, taking up the task of 
  scrubbing again, keeping her gaze pointed firmly down at the remaining 
  plates.

Ptodek grins at the other candidates with a brief "hi" before grabbing a pie.
Ptodek walks into the Living Cavern.
Ptodek has left.
From the living cavern, Ptodek walks in from the kitchen.

Jorenan frowns. "Hey," he says. "Leave the pies alone."

From the living cavern, Ptodeksinks his teeth into the steaming hot pie with a 
  grin. "Mmmmmmmmm."

Kharty yanks back her fingers and gives Jorenan an innocent look. "Were you 
  talking to /me/?" Couldn't be one with such an innocent look could it?

From the living cavern, Ptodek gobbles the pie down quickly before anyone can 
  emerge from the kitchen to confiscate it.

From the living cavern, R'val looks up, eyes aglint, and calls out, "Did I 
  hear the word bubbly??"

Jorenan's scowl deepens, and he says, "You and your compatriot, there," he 
  says, and nods to Ptodek's back. "Those are for Gelia's Turnday party. There 
  -were- enough of them. You can explain it to J'lian why there aren't 
  anymore."

From the living cavern, Ptodek nods. "They got some in the kitchen," he 
  informs R'val.

Kharty hears R'val's call and leans out the door a little to answer him. "Yes, 
  sir! Sure is some here.. well, there's one minus an edge or two. Would you 
  like a piece?" She ignores Jorenan's information, hoping to give a good 
  reason for the missing edges.

Mehlani, apparently either oblivious to or uninterested in the presence of 
  fresh-baked bubbly pies, studiously and silently scrubs and dries her way 
  through the last few plates in her share of the dirty dishes. Once she's 
  done, she dries off her hands, and moves to slip away, preferably as quietly 
  as possible.

From the living cavern, R'val calls out to Khart, "I'd simply LOVE a piece, 
  Kharty, if you could be so kind as to bring one!"

You walk into the Living Cavern.
Telgar Weyr's Living Cavern(#750RJM$)
Contents:
Ptodek
R'val
Berylle
Pierron
Obvious exits:
Lower Caverns  Kitchen  Bowl  

Ptodek grins. "Hey, Lani," he says. "Done with chores?"

Her face still set in the plaintive and stoic expression she's had for the 
  last several minutes, her blue eyes liquid, Mehlani comes creeping out of 
  the kitchens, en route for the inner caverns. She bobs her head wordlessly 
  to Ptodek, in passing.

From the kitchen, Face set, Jorenan simply gathers up the rest of the pies and 
  puts them away.

From the kitchen, Kharty pulls back into the kitchen and turns soft beseeching 
  eyes toward Jorenan. "Could I take this bubbly to R'val?", she smiles 
  sweetly at him, "It's a little, well, broken.."

Mehlani vanishes off into the inner caverns without a word.

You walk towards the inner cavern.
Inner Cavern(#1272RJL$)
Obvious exits:
Steam Baths  INFirmary  Candidate Barracks  Corridor  Weyrfolk Quarters  
  Living Cavern  

You part the curtain and step into the Candidate Barracks.
Candidate Barracks(#258RAHJ$)
Contents:
Harper
Flutterby
Candidate Supervisor Roster
Obvious exits:
Lower Caverns  

Mehlani comes silently into the cavern, eyes liquid, and heads straight for 
  her cot. Once there, she curls up on it, and burrows down under her blanket, 
  closing her eyes.

[End log.]