It's with more than a little relief that Midra steps into the Pit and out from the lashing winds. Dust coats scarlet headscarf and white dress in equal parts, and she brushes it away unobtrusively as she walks, leaving a trail of fine sand in her wake. Behind her, Kagran follows, as unconcerned with the fine layer of sand he's acquired as his charge was concerned. A pock-marked brown appears from ::between::, coming to perch on her shoulder carefully, swaying with each step. The trio take a deliberate turn from the arena, where the sounds of men fighting may be heard, in lieu of the dimly lit back passages of the place. First stop is the kitchens, but bereft of what she seeks, the young Steen continues on. Winding through this corridor and that, she finally comes to find herself in the administrative offices, where she finds a door slightly ajar. Hesitantly, she pushes it open a few inches, and then the rest of the way. There's a look of relief in her eyes that she doesn't bother hiding when she sees it's Ramita and some other man she doesn't know. But far from her to directly interrupt. She'll stand by patiently as they conclude their business.

One of the advantages of the placement of the desk in this room is that you can see anybody coming in, so Ramita isn't unaware of her cousin's arrival, but business is business. She'll nod so slightly to indicate an out of the way corner where the younger woman can wait. The matter she's discussing is just more family business that she inherited from Herik's departure. That sharding road project. After a few minutes whatever they were discussing comes to an end. The man, another one of the cousins, leaves and shuts the door behind him. The vintner jots down a few notes before rising to greet Midra with a smile. "What brings you out in a sandstorm? And do you need a drink?" Hospitality is her specialty after all.

Midra takes the offered seat, nodding in turn for Kagran to wait outside. She's with family now - no risk of illicit behavior or danger coming to her here. The brown flutters from her shoulder to a nearby shelf, perching on it as he sniffs at the various records stored there. She nods her head at the man as he departs before gently pushing the door closed behind him and crossing over to the chair he'd departed. Sourly: "It started up after I'd left. I thought I would beat it here, but I misjudged. It's a bad one, too." Her gaze slides to the side, thoughtfully resting on the drinks there. "Just water, please. I want to be able to find my way home in the dark." Settled in the chair across from Ramita, a hand rests on either armrest. Thin fingertips tap the end of one as she remains silent for a moment. "I came to say goodbye. The Steens Vitus is sending South? I'm going with them."

Ramita shrugs slightly as if to say suit yourself and goes to pour both a water for Midra and a glass of wine for herself. "I forget just how quickly they can whip up." There's a little dismissive hand gesture at the weather as she reclaims her seat. She's got plenty of business to keep her here until the weather clears, so not really a problem for her. The reason for the visit gets a nod and a small smile. "I had heard about that, but not the roster of who all was going. Congratulations. It will be quite the adventure for you."

"Thank you," is said simply as she picks up the glass and lifts it beneath her veil. It's set back on the desk carefully before raising her gaze to meet her cousin's. "I think it will be," Midra agrees with a nod. "It's strange, to look at the map and think that we'll be all the way over there after just a few breaths." She shakes her head faintly, warmth pooling in blackbrown eyes. "Anything I should keep an eye out for, for you? Exotic peppers for your work, perhaps?" An eyebrow raises, inquiring. "That is, if you ever have time for it anymore with all this work you've been stuck with," Midra says, waving a hand towards the door and the man who had just departed through it.

"It is. Remember it's winter down there," Ramita nods and jots down a few notes before she forgets from her last meeting, although occasionally glancing back up. Her pen does stop at the offer to keep a look out for ingredients and that's a full smile. "The Weyrwoman mentioned that the wildling clans make a sweet sauce with void peppers, mostly during summer. I'd personally be interested in that. And I do have a few contacts for peppers down there as well. I'm loathe to rely solely on the Tlatoani for all my ingredients." There's a sigh as Midra mentions the other duties keeping her away from her craft. "Yes, well, I make time. Somehow." By not sleeping or having a social life, of course.

Her expression wrinkles, speaking of a frown beneath the veil, and she nods once. "The cold might be better than these sandstorms, but not by much." Eyebrows raise in unison at the mention of the clans, and she nods firmly. "You'd be interested in the sauce, or the void peppers, or both?" Either way, she seems unbothered by the prospect. "I'm sure they clans might have interesting teas, too, so I expect I'll be meeting them anyways." There's a sympathetic turn at the mention of the road project, and she glances at the door. "How has that been anyhow? I was relieved to not see Uncle here," Midra admits, voice low. She'd rather not have Vitus know she was avoiding him.

Ramita smiles again at the mention of cold. "But it doesn't get too cold down there. You probably won't be seeing snow." The traces of Benden might be especially strong in that statement as she fondly remembers the white, fluffy snow. Not the end of winter, desperate to see spring but it's still snow type. "Both. And probably whatever other hot peppers you can get. I'll write you a list of some specific ones. And a sample if you find something new will never be amiss." The turn to the road project again has the woman's smile disappear and resignation is just written on her face. "Well, we did better than expected with recruiting men, especially with help from Rigo. But between the heat and sandstorms well…" She shrugs. Clearly not much getting done on a day like today. "And you're not the only one." Also low as even if Vitus isn't present, the walls sometimes have ears.

"Hope not. I don't think I have anything warm enough for snow," she finally admits, gaze going askew. It returns to Ramita. There's a nod, and then: "I can do that. I'll tie a new pepper to him," Midra says, motioning to the brown perched on the shelf. "And you can tell me if you want more, yeah? As for sauces… I'll see if I can't figure something out." Midra picks up the glass, wiping away a ring of water beneath it - old habits and all that - before taking another drink. "The weather has not been kind of late," she agrees. As she sets the glass down, she winces faintly. "He's gotten no better then, has he? It's been some time." There's a thoughtful pause followed by a shift in topic. "How was it for you? Going to Benden, I mean? Leaving for the craft?" Scarlet-clad head tips a bit to the side, marking her curiosity.

"Firelizard will do fine for delivering the peppers. If you find the sauce, just send a note. I'll find my way down. And I'm sure there'd be some Southern traders willing to sell something if there's a freak snow storm," Ramita grins slightly. Igen doesn't have a monopoly on opportunistic merchants after all. Just a really high concentration of them. At the sight of the water ring, there's some brief rummaging around in a desk drawer before she comes up with two coasters, one she uses for her wine glass and the other she passes to Midra. "I don't think he's really dealt with the topic. And everyone's avoiding it." She shrugs. But she's definitely not going to be the one bringing it up. "But I did run into him a few sevens back." She's not going to mention the particular name of the weyrling that shall not be named in the heart of the Pit, but it should be clear enough. "You might want to send him a letter before you leave. Or after." The Benden question has her pausing for a moment, one hand on her wine glass. "It was different. I was much younger than you are now. But I don't regret a minute of leaving."

Midra listens attentively before nodding. In regards to the snow storm, blackbrown eyes take on a mischievous glint. "We can only hope, eh?" Helpfully, she lifts up the glass, placing it on the offered coaster. Her hands move to her lap, smoothing her dress idly. "I've been happy to be over in the Tea Room, but I'd heard rumors that it was bad. He doesn't do well with things not going his way, it seems." The last is said ruefully. "Mother requested that I go, so I'd assume he knows, but I'll let him know just to be safe. I'd rather not be the one to surprise him with bad news right now." Her hands still as Ramita speaks of her experience at Benden, letting her words hang in the air before speaking. "I do think it will be interesting. Something new usually is. I just hope that when I come back, there will still be a place for me." A beat. "I think Mother is sending me because she's upset with me."

Ramita nods slowly at the mention of the rumors. "It was… it was bad enough when he was Searched." And the vintner may have been partially to blame for that by not informing the patriarch right away. The rest will just go into silence. No need to bring up details of Vitus's temper. "If you're going to surprise him with bad news, might as well wait until you're in Southern. Distance can be convenient for that…" She tilts her head to listen to that last confession, eyebrows knitting together in concern. "Was there something you did to upset her? And… if you want to come back, I'll find a place for you."

The young woman doesn't seem to take the hint - or disregards it. "When he was Searched? I had heard that it wouldn't be quite so frowned upon to be Searched. Vasdar was even hoping to be, but I think he was overlooked." A beat. "Was that not the case?" There's a faint chuckle at the advice. "At least if I'm in Southern, I don't think he'd bother to get down there to chastise me, so that's something." Dark eyes drop to the glass of water, studying it at the question. "I kept pushing her to put off a marriage. I wanted to do something before I was wed - not simply be for the sake of having some man's children. I think she was sick of me putting it off." Her gaze slides over to the shelf where the brown has since fallen asleep. "And she's gotten more and more testy since I got these four." A thin-fingered hand motions towards one of said quartet. "She's never been fond of the creatures, but after I got them, she developed a particular hatred. Could be that she just wants me down there solely because I have a taste for teas, but I can't help but wonder if it's a sort of exile."

"At the Dustbowl. And it's more complicated than that. Vastar being Searched wouldn't have been a problem," Ramita's tone is remarkabley flat when she says that and manages to keep any desire to wince at the memory firmly in check. Her expression softens in sympathy with the marriage concerns as she nods and takes a sip of her drink. "That's something I understand all too well." Having pushed off a couple marriage talks herself while in Benden. "You never know. You might find out that Southern suits you. And you find something to do there. It's only an exile if you allow it to be."

Recognition alights at her words, and Midra presses no further. It's replaced by warmth - a sense of camaraderie with her elder cousin. "I thought you might," Midra admits after a moment with a low laugh. "Could be. The sooner we go, the better. Less time to fret over all this." She picks up the glass, draining the last of the water before she stands, hands moving to smooth her dress. "I should leave you to your work. It was good to see you, cousin. And thanks for the advice." She crosses to the shelf, rousing the brown with a soft hand before calling him down to her shoulder. "I do hope you'll come down and visit some time. Maybe I can send a void pepper plant home with you." The last is offered with warmth, and she crosses over behind the desk, ready to give Ramita a hug if she will let her.

Ramita gives a bit of a smile at the laugh and a shrug. Of course she knows. She's an unmarried daughter of the Steen family. "You can always write me you know. I feel like your firelizards will be more reliable than the traders my father used to send letters to Benden." There's a flicker of mischief in her icy blue eyes. Terrible shame all those lost letters about marriage talks. She will rise as her cousin does and the hug is accepted if a little awkward due to height difference and Ramita not being the most used to hugs in the first place. "You can try, but how long I can keep it alive is another matter. There's a very good reason I didn't become a farmer and it's not because Igen's a desert. But I will come down sometime. I might just have some custom orders to fill as well that will require it." She'll see her cousin to the door and once gone, the door is shut and back to hidework she goes. The pile of hides never seems to end.