Who

Evka, Xanthee

What

Evka returns to Igen for the first time since she left for Southern, it's an experience made easier by running into her bestie Xanthee.

When

It is afternoon of the seventh day of the first month of the fifteenth turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Central Bazaar, Caravan Grounds, Igen Weyr

OOC Date 18 Sep 2018 04:00

 

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"Hey there stranger."


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Central Bazaar

All roads in the weyr ultimately lead here, to this center of commerce. Canvas awnings jut out over time worn, sandy cobblestone, sheltering customers and wares alike from the majority of Igen's elements, and funnel scents both mouthwatering and vomit inducing through the thin streets. Almost all store fronts are open air, delineated by sandstone arches with intricately carved facades. The insides of these stone-shingled buildings act as an amplifier for the salesmens' bawled enticements, and are held up by the chipped swirls of marble pillars.

It is the sixty-seventh day of Winter and 32 degrees. It is a bright, sunny day.


It's been a long, long time since Evka has set foot on Igen soil…er… sand. However, it looks just the same as she left it. Evka gazes down at the weyr tucked in the sand as Saetyroith makes a circuit around it. It's as of Igen was frozen in time, waiting for her to return, even the Zingari camp looks the same as it had, busy and full of life. Finally, after she gets her mixed emotions under control, Evka guides Saetyroith to the central bowl, where he lands near the entrance to the bazaar. Evka is visiting, and looking for the last perfect items to furnish her southern weyr. There's a sense of familiarity mixed with unease in her as she slides to the sands and looks around. She'd told no-one she was coming, in an effort to see who she wants to see and then get back home. «Are you alright my dear?» Comes Saetyroith's smooth voice inside her head, the heavy scent of wine following. I'm fine, just nervous. Things here were not left in the best of circumstances. And this is no longer my home, despite it being the home of my people. Evka sighs and lays a hand on Saetyroith's hide, taking strength and courage from her hedonistic brown. «I am your people now Evka, you will always have me.» I know Sae, and I love you all the more for it. Stay out of trouble while I'm gone. Evka begins walking towards the bazaar and is barely within its walls when Saetyroith's voice invades her mind. «Perhaps I shall find a green to chase.» He's teasing, really. Dont you dare.

It's a little ironic that Evka feels that Igen has been frozen in time, because Xathee definitely feels that way. Once again her life is frozen, waiting to see what the Hatching will bring. But right at this moment, a rare moment to herself, and Xan can't help sneaking in a little bit of shopping. Travelling from stall to stall, the raven-haired girl seems to be looking at clothing, winter weather dresses, fleece lined coats, smart boots with a kitten heel. She doesn't seem to be buying much, but she is taking her time and just thoroughly browsing the various wares. She's dressed smartly for the cold weather, her mother's old riding jacket over a pair of hide pants and tucked into some warm boots. On her head, a knit wool hat in forest green and matching gloves over her hands.

Evka begins moving stall to stall, a completely different person than she'd been before. she's dressed in warm riding leathers, her shortened hair grazing her jawline as she looks for this and that. Notnlong after she enters the bazaar, she spots a familiar face and winds her way over to raven haired Xanthee, hoping to surprise her. "Hey there stranger." She says as she walks up, arms crossing under her breasts "Keeping out of trouble?" Because yes, she noticed the white knot.

That familiar voice has Xanthee spinning on her heel with a squeel of surprise that causes several heads to turn in her direction. Flinging herself forward, she grabs Evka up in a squeeze, "Stranger is right! Look at you, full rider and everything. Still digging that hair cut. It's the one thing I think I'll have a problem with if I manage to impress." Her hair now hung almost halfway down her back in thick black waves. Evka's last evokes a soft giggle from Xan as she shakes her head, "When am I ever in trouble?" she asks, playful twinkle in her eyes. "I'm glad you can finally come and visit me, I miss you two like mad," the other being Amani of course. "Amani came the other day. Maybe one day you should try to coordinate and come together."

Evka chuckles and hugs her friend back warmly. "The haircut's not too bad, I'll grow it back out eventually. Maybe. It does keep out of the way this way." Evka grins at Xan's question. "Never. Better behaved than the rest of us I think and I missed you too." Mention of Amani has Evka grinning. "She's got quite a lot on her plate these days, our Amani. I don't see her as often as I'd like to either." Looking around, Evka sighs. "I swear this place never changes." She looks back at Xanthee and flicks her white knot. "So, candidate, want to help me out today?" Code for: Lets go shopping and get lunch. "I have several purchases to make before I return to Southern and it might just be too much." The comedic sarcasm in her voice is all too real, but it provides Xanthee a reason to hang out for the day.

"I don't know, I think I will cry," Xanthee says with a pout, although it's a weak threat, because having the haircut means getting the dragon, and anything would be worth that, even losing a few inches of carefully grown hair. She also looks around now at Evka is doing, wondering what it must look like to someone so long gone, to her it's always the same. "Not really it doesn't. But that's why it's home. To me I mean…" To her next, Xan breaks into a fit of giggles, "That is a gross abuse of the fact that you outrank me," she replies, trying to look offended, but managing nothing less than amused. "But I wear the white knot, so I must abide by everyone above me," her sigh is overly dramatic as she slips an arm through Evka's and strolls along the stalls, "So what do you have in mind first? And how's Saetyroith faring? I bet he's a handsome brute huh?"

Evka laughs too. "Sweety, everyone outranks you right now." As they walk along, Evka grins. "Saetyroith fares well, he's a big boy. I can have him meet us on the Caravan Grounds landing area. But I have an acute craving for some curry, and I want to buy some of the spice to take home. And I'm in desperate need of some of Timo's clothing, the seamstresses out in Southern just don't compare." THe fashionista in her goes on prattling about the lack of proper fashion in Southern whilst her mind accusatorily snips at her for not vocalising the real reason she wants to go the the grounds. Despite hunger being the driving force, it's a need to face her past and let it go that grips her.

"Don't I just know it. Going from Nasrin's assistant to Candidate took a little bit to get used to. I must be a sucker for punishment though, cause I'd do it again," Xanthee replies with conviction. As Evka lists the things she wants to accomplish with her trip, Xan gets a little twinge of suspicion there may be more than shopping to it. "Then to the Grounds it is," the raven-haired girl says, tossing her tumbled waves over one shoulder as she leads in that direction. "Southern fashion is just different I find. I like some of it, like their sun dresses, super cute and useful in summer. Although I do get looks when I wear them in the bazaar, but it doesn't bother me." Keeping an eye out for Saetyroith as they come up to the grounds, Xan leans in and speaks in low tones, "I've never told anyone this, but I kinda hope I get a brown if I impress, like my mom."

True to her word, Evka has Saetyroith meet them in the landing place designated for dragons on the caravan grounds. "I think we all have out preferences on what we'd like to get when we're in candidacy, it's part of the dream, but we tend to forget that the dragon chooses us, not the other way 'round. I think it's a bit of fate that decides it for us." She moves over to where Saetyroith lands and pulls Xanthee with her. The wine stained brown lowers his head to examine Xanthee, eyes whirling a friendly blue.

"Did you have a preference?" Xanthee asks with curiosity before giggling, "Listen to you, imparting sage advice. Southern has been good to you. I'm so glad." She gives Evka's arm a little squeeze for emphasis before being pulled along towards her friend's brown. With a smile, Xan bows her head in Saetyroith's direction respectfully, "A pleasure to see you again, you have really grown since the last time I saw you." Turning back to Evka, her warm smile beams, "He's…stunning. I bet he has the greens flocking to him." Her tease is light though, playful.

Evka shrugs. "I think I hoped for what every girl hopes for when standing on the sands, a beautiful green or gold. But neither would have suited me. Saetyroith is…perfect. Even if he does drive me crazy at times." And Xanthee's last plays right into this. "Ha. He's chased every green that's risen since he figured out those parts work and thank Faranth he's not caught a one yet." There's a discontented rumble from Saetyroith at this and it makes Evka chuckle. Xanthee however, gets a playful nudge from the brown.

"I'm glad he found you, sooo glad," Xanthee emphasizes as she nods a bit, "I think you're right, green or gold wouldn't have suited you." Then at Evka's admission of Saetyroith's unsuccessful attempts at chasing, she can't help but make a sympathetic sound as she gets that nudge from the brown. "Poor boy, you keep practicing though and you'll catch one eventually," she consoles, reaching out and laying a hand on his muzzle and scritching lightly. The girl really does love herself some browns. "I guess it's good fo you though," she says back to Evka, "But he'll catch eventually, you gonna be ready for that?"

Saetyroith will take all of Xanthee's sympathy, because woe is a god of wine that can't get himself some tail! The girl's fondness for browns isn't wasted on Sae either, he'll take all those pets and scritches, a hedonistic rumble of pleasure emitting from the brown. Evka herself gives a nervous chuckle. "No. Not really. But there's not a damn thing I can do about it but let it happen." Despite her lack of interest in such things, she knows it's an eventuality, a 'when' as opposed to an 'if'.

Xanthee is very generous indeed with her scritches and caresses, smiling broadly as she gets a reaction from the brown in the form of his rumble. Back to his rider though, she has a look of sympathy for her bestie. "Indeed. That's one of the things that really kind of makes me hope I impress a male instead of a female, being caught is an inevitable, but catching isn't," it seems Xan's thought alot about this. "But honestly, after 4 times as a Candidate, I just want to impress, I'll be find with whatever dragonet finds me," she confesses with a nervous chuckle, hoping her desperation isn't too apparent.

Evka chuckles. "Well I certainly wish you luck, you've been at this long enough." And really, if the dragons keep searching her, there must be somthing about her. After a few loving scritches to her brown, Evka hooks arms with Xanthee again and sweeps towards the Zingari encampment and the tempting and heavy scent of curry. "How has candidacy been this go round? Anything interesting happen?" Because there's always something in a candidate class, right? As they reach the border of the Zingari camp, Evka slows, anxiety creeping up in her chest. But she breathes deep a few times, pushing down the anxiety so that it doesn't overwhelm her. "I haven't been back here since…since it all happened. This feels strange." She'll stand there for a moment, an outsider looking in to her old world. After that, she steps in, moving amongst a people she had once belonged to and feeling like a stranger. Not many recognize her, but those that do either wave as if nothing ever happened, or disappear behind their hands, whispering.

"Thanks, I'll take all the luck I can get," Xanthee replies with a matching chuckle as she finishes her attentions at the brown. Happy to be lead away towards those tantalizing scents drifting from the Zingari Camp, the younger girl just nods her head, "There was a massive food fight in the kitchens that most of the Candidates got in trouble for. I, thankfully, was elsewhere when it happened, and ended up with the barracks almost to myself for one whole night. I've gotten a bit of a repuation for being, I don't know, almost a veteran at this, some of the first timers seem to look up to me and stuff." she makes a face, feeling strange admitting that. But then Evka slows and finally stops, and Xan squeezes her arm in sympathy, just offering her support as needed. When they start moving again, anyone whispering behind their hands will get a sharp emerald-eyed look from the Candidate, as if daring anyone to say anything.

"That's not a bad thing Xan." Evka notes when she sees her friend's facial reactions to being a role model. "If you do impress, you want to be close with your weyrling class, you have to depend on eachother in order to not die when you finally fly thread. I was nervous about being Weyrling Wingsecond, but the job ended up suiting me well. That may be the path for you if candidacy continues they way it is." Evka smiles at Xanthee, forgetting her own discomfort momentarily. "You're a good person to look up to." Evka side hugs Xanthee just as they arrive around the cook fires.

A friendly cook that recognizes Evka waves at her. "Come! Eat Reveka! Southern's made you far too skinny love."

Evka has to think to remember the man's name….Ollene. He'd always been a kind one. "Thank you Olly, and I'll take some curry but I'm not underfed, I promise you." She laughs and accepts a bowl of curry and one for Xanthee too.

"I guess not, but still, I only feel like it's because I've failed at impressing so many times, so not really anything to look up to about," Xanthee replies with self-effacing modesty and a solemn nod for Evka's next words of wisdom. "You sound like Amani…I wonder if impressing suddenly makes you wise beyond your Turns," Xan teases gently as they make their way to the cook fires. Ollene is nodded to politely as she accepts her bowl of curry and then makes her way to a nearby empty table. "Mmmmmm, this smells delicious."

Evka will give Xanthee a stern look for her self-deprications, despite having plenty of her own that she chooses not to voice. "Oh, dragonshit." She says, "You haven't failed at anything. It just means your lifemate wasn't in any of those clutches, the dragons keep searching you for some reason Xan, they don't just pick willy nilly." This she knows from lessons and from speaking to other riders. "I don't think it necessarily makes us wiser Xan, just…gives us a different perspective, two in fact. Your own changes, and then you have that of your dragon." Evka can't wait to dig into the curry, and does so as soon as she's seated. She can still see some people whispering, and it grates at her, but she tries not to let it show.

Blinking owlishly as she's admonished by her friend, Xanthee shakes her head, "I'm sorry, you're right." And she will look properly contrite even as she takes her first spoonful of curry. Woo boy, she is not used to the spice anymore. Frantically fanning her partially opened mouth, she gestures that she needs a drink and immediately goes to find a pitcher of water, which she uses to fill a glass that she then downs half of. Refilling it, she brings the glass, along with a spare, and the pitcher to their table. "Woah," she finally manages, "I need to get used to the spice you Zingari use all over again. I hardly ever come here anymore you know, not since you left."

Evka savors the spicy tang of the curry when it fills her mouth. She'd missed this. However, it is quite amusing to watch Xanthee run for water and the brownrider chuckles, even as she thanks Xanthee for bringing her a glass. "I plan on buying a good portion of it to take back to Southern so I can cook it at home. I miss the curry." She raises a brow at Xanthee when she mentions not being around the grounds much. "Whyever not? Good shopping, good food. Why would you stay away?" Evka could be asking herself the same thing, but we aren't focused on her right now.

Xanthee must take several more careful gulps of water before she continues her meal, taking smaller bites now, and finding it not as bad. To Evka's question, she shrugs her shoulders, "Time I guess. If I'm shopping, I try to get it done as quickly as possible, the bazaar is closer for that. I've been busy the last turn or so ok? It hasn't been on purpose, but everyone I knew in the Zingari are not anymore, so there really is little point. They were your people, never mine." She reminds the brownrider as delicately as possible before digging back into her curry.

Evka looks properly chastised at that. "That's very true. Sorry." Evka blushes and hides it behind a couple of spoonfuls of curry. "I forget sometimes…" Because Xanthee is very much like family to Evka, certainly more so than some of her own blood relatives. "So how long have the eggs been on the sands? Getting close now?" They may not be able to tell the precise date of a hatching, but nature does have a way with routine and they can guess at it for sure.

Xanthee didn't mean to chastise, which is apparent by the sigh she emits, "Not that I don't think of you and Amani like sisters…" she assures her friend with a sincere look in her eyes. As talk moves away from the emotional, to the more mundane, Xan relaxes a bit as she lifts her gaze briefly while making some internal calculations, "Well it's been just about two months already, I'm suspecting at least another month if not more. I have found though that every clutch is different. These eggs are super sweet though, not at all like some I've touched previously."

Evka shivers. "That was an odd experience I'm sort of glad I never have to repeat. That was even odder than having Saetyroith's mind meld with mine." She sighs. "Not too long then. And now that I'm graduated, I can come watch the hatching." Depending. If thread showed up, she'd be screwed, but barring that, she should be there. She wants to ask after other things, but some topics are best avoided for a candidate. "We'll be getting tapped into wings soon. I've not been yet, but that's ok, it gave me the time to come visit." And then she goes about finishing her lunch, because there's shopping to be done don't ya know?

"Really? Egg touching is the thing I most look forward to each time I've been a candidate," Xanthe relates although the qualifies it with, "Besides the Hatching of course." Speaking of, she sighs heavily, "Amani's promised to come, Mal's going to be there, of course, ready to freak out if a hatchling so much as looks in my direction if I know my Miner." And let's face it, she knows him pretty well. "But I do hope you two make it as well. I can always use friendly faces in the stands, just in case…" Swallowing past the lump rising in her throat, she forces a smile back on her lips as she shakes off the doubt for now. "Do you have a wing you'd like to be tapped in?" she asks as she finishes her own curry, quickly aclimatising to the spice.

Evka smiles. "We'll be here barring thread." It's the only promise she can make. Xan receives a sympathetic look at her mentioning the possibility of not impressing. "Aye, Ocelot looks promising, but I'm really open to whatever wing would like to take me." She chuckles and finishes off the last of her curry, scraping the bowl clean after. She'll stand after a moment, and stretch. "Shall we?" Cause Xanthee is done, right?

"Well, whatever wing gets you will be lucky to have you," Xanthee says, but there's a knowing smirk that plays a little at her lips, maybe someone has some inside info. But she quickly finishes her bowl of curry, mopping up the last of the sauce with a hunk of bread. She looks up when Evka stands, just as she is finishing her last mouthful. Swallowing, she bobs her head in the affirmative, "Yep, where to first?" she asks as she gathers their dirty dishes on the tray before bringing them to whatever dirty dishes are deposited.

Evka will spend the rest of the afternoon on the grounds and in the bazaar with Xanthee, purchasing things for her weyr and reconnecting with a few other people. And well, if Xan and Evka walk out with a few nerw articles of clothing too, that's just what happens on a shopping day. And the day goes without incident, which does much to sooth Evka's feelings towards her former home. By the time Saetyroith is loaded and the pair head back to Southern, it's well after dark and Evka leaves more lighthearted than she'd come.

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