Summer may not have gotten the message that it's autumn in Southern now. The weather is still sweltering this afternoon, especially in the heart of the kitchens. The ovens might not be on at the moment, but that doesn't mean there isn't work to be done. While most of the kitchen workers are occupied with either dishes or making some form of salad or other, Elonoora's claimed a stool and a bowl of strawberries that she's in the process of cutting up oh so carefully until each one manages to look like a flower.

Xanthee will take the warmer weather with no complaints. Her and Liowyth have made the trip south on their rest day to do everything but rest. She'd gone first to her fitting with the Journeyman weaver who is making her dress, talked to one of the gardners about the possibility of flowers and now she's winding her way towards the Kitchens for her next item on the to-do list. Peeking around the entrance, emerald eyes scan the busy space until they fall on her half-sister. With a smile, and trying not to startle Elonoora when she has a knife in her hand, she calls out from the door before making her way over. "Elonoora! Are ya busy?" she asks making her away over to the older woman.

Appropriate concentration should always be used when working with knives and Elonoora is doing her best, complete with sticking her tongue out of the corner of her mouth. Finishing touches are placed on the latest massive strawberry rose and she places it on the small pile of completed ones right as Xanthee arrives and she sets the knife down before grabbing a towel to wipe her hands off. "Xan! I would give you a hug but…" She holds out one of her berry stained hands. "Just a moment." A few more swipes of the towel and then clean hands are reaching out for a hug. "How's Liowyth? How are you?"

"Oh, I'm sure I've been hugged with worse," Xanthee replies with a giggle, but waits patiently before accepting a sisterly hug with a bit of a squeeze before letting go. "We are fantastic! And yourself? Those look sooo good…but must take forever," she comments while flicking a gesture in the direction of the pile of strawberry roses. "Are you busy right now? Or do you have a second to talk about my weyrmating cake maybe?" She looks hopeful, but also knows that as a journeyman baker, her sister is a busy lady and she did just drop in on her.

Elonoora gives a dismissive wave of the hand towards the roses. "Well, you know. Might be too hot for baking right now, but doesn't mean we just have to eat salad." She wrinkles her nose in a bit of distaste at the thought of just boring vegetables and then gives a shrug. "So I'll make do. But I can always make time for a bit of a chat. Pull up a stool! Hope you don't mind if I keep on with this? I promise I'm listening." Her head tilts to indicate where a corner where a couple of unused stools have been abandoned for the moment even as she picks up her next berry. This one is a bit on the smaller side and so instead of being cut up, she pops it into her mouth quickly before moving on to the next.

"I like the way you think sis," Xanthee grins as she pulls up a stool and settles upon it. "Not at all, I'm a fan of multi-tasking myself," the greenrider replies with a tilt of her head as she tries to order her thoughts, "Well we've finally get a date. It's going to be in the middle of next month, I hope that's not too much of a short notice for you. It's been a pain to try and arrange something when Threadfall is a factor as well as making sure everyone can make it. You'll be there right?" She asks with a pleading look and a batting of her eyelashes. "Pa's even said he will make it, but I will believe that when I see it." There a little less biterness when she talks of their father now, but there's still some uncertainty there about the bronzerider.

A bit of mischief sparkles in Elonoora's eyes as she grins. "Got a spare knife if you want to try your hand? It's not as hard as it looks." Probably, although she's not exactly letting onto her secrets of the mysterious fruit flowers. "So about six sevens from now? That's plenty of time. And plus, we should eventually get one of those first autumn showers before then so the weather might break and I can bake, but not bake!" Because alas her plan of having apprentices running around fanning all the journeymen wasn't met with any amount of seriousness. As for their father's attendance, she nods. "He'll be there. Kaisylaith wouldn't have it any other way."

"Hey, I was one of the best brats for peeling tubers back in my day," Xanthee replies with a giggle and takes up the extra knife and then grabs a strawberry. Looking at the others for reference, she starts to make a shalow cut but ends up taking off a chunk instead. "Whoops!" She'll just pop that piece into her mouth and go back to trying her hand at the rest of the strawberry rose. "Yeah, just six sevens left…wow." That realization hits Xan with a touch of nervousness, but she's able to smile it away pretty easily. "Yeah, I bet you all will be happy when this heat finally break, I swear the heat is worse here than Igen. And yeah, Kaisylaith assured me through Liowyth that he would be there. Not that he's thrilled that I impressed, and his first meeting with Mal was…frosty. But at least he'll be there!" Nervous laughter time.

Elonoora giggles as the first attempt predictably isn't perfect. "And plus side, these are much tastier to nibble on if you happen to make a 'mistake'." She's not judging even if she's mostly just eating the really small berries. She adds another complete rose to the stack. "I'll be happy, for sure. But seeing you're at Igen, you probably know how much everybody seems to complain if Farnath forbid they should have to put on a sweater." She continues to cut into her next berry even as she gives another half shrug about their father. "Don't take it too personally. And you don't need his approval anyway. You're a grown woman! And a full grown dragonrider on your own and everything."

"That they are," Xanthee finishes and hold up her first 'rose', which doesn't look anything at all like Elonoora's. Hoping to get rid of the evidence, she pops her not-quite-a-masterpiece in her mouth and chews thoughtfully. Putting down the knife, she smiles at Elonoora, "I'll leave it to the professionals." Grabbing a nearby cloth, she wipes the juices off her fingers with another chuckle, "Ain't that the truth, one thing folks can always find to complain about is the weather it seems." Shaking her head a bit, she tries to take Elonoora's last to heart, "I know I don't need his approval. Though he did tell me he was sure mom would be proud of me, so I guess that's something. I just wanted….I don't know." She gives up trying to put words to the difficult feelings that are brought up by Ha'ze. "But I can't change him, I'm learning this…slowly. He's a pessimistic, bitter old man who has probably seen way too many people lost to between, so I'm trying to cut him some slack." with a sudden clap of her hands, Xanthee decides it's time to change topics, "So! Do you have any ideas what you are going to do? Or are you keeping it a surprise?"

"At least you tried," Elonoora won't hold her sister's inexpert fruit-rose making skills against her even as she pushes a small pile of 'rejects' towards her in case she's feeling peckish still. There's way too many of the strawberries for them all to be made into works of art after all. And a snort for the weather. "It's like they make a hobby out of it." She'd much rather talk about people than weather. As for their father, she sighs and sets her hands on the table. "That's one way to put it, if you're being generous. Hidebound old stick in the mud is another way to put it. Plus, it's not like he actual fathering aside from the whole…" She waves a hand a lets out a whistle. Xan can fill in the blank for that particular deed. "If he isn't going to be happy for you, then just focus on the people that will be." As for the change of topic, she'll grin. "Well, I'm not going to give away all the secrets but… it'll definitely be green. And I'll have a ton of sugar decorations on it. Tie into your Malosim being a miner as well. And… I'm thinking a lemon cake with some berry filling? but as for the rest…" She winks. "You'll see it in six sevens."

Xanthee will gladly take a couple of those rejects and pop them into her mouth before continuing. She just nods along emphatically in agreement with all that Elonoora adds about their father, laughing loudly at the other woman's whistled insinuation, catching on to her meaning, no problem. Her last is given a thoughtful hum as she tilts her head to one side, "You're completely right." When the baker goes on to vaguely talk about what she has planned, Xan's eyes grow wider by the second and she has to bite down on her lower lip to keep from breaking out into a goofy grin. "I have no doubt it will floor me and probably bring tears on the day, although I'm sure there will be plenty of those anyway." Her eyes brighten briefly in a surge of emotion, that she quikcly gets under control with a deep breath, "I swear Liowyth must be close to flying again, I'm all over the place." She mutters to herself. "So now that business is done, any good gossip from Southern to share? Or in your own life maybe… you getting yourself out there?" She waggles eyebrows suggestively in her half sister's direction.

Elonoora reaches out to pat her sister on the forearm. "Of course it will. Bringing tears to eyes is practically my second specialty, but only the good tears." She's a journeyman now after all and she refuses to talk about those apprentice experiments that may have ended up with some not so happy tears. Mostly on her own part. As the conversation turns to actual gossip, the baker abandons any pretense at working and prompts herself up on her arms. "Well, I hear a Lady never kisses and tells but… I'm not really a Lady now, am I?" Wagging eyebrows are met with a giggle and a wink.

"I really can't wait to see it then. Although I have so much to do between now and the day that I'm sure I'll hardly notice the time passing," Xanthee confesses before popping another rose reject into her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. Her smile broadens as Elonoora seems amiable to a sharing the gossip, "Oh? Well anyone in particular, or are you playing the field as it were?" There's no judgement from Xan either way as she munches on the rejects happily.

"It'll be MARVELOUS," Elonoora beams as she grabs one of her completed roses and noms that one. Quality control, really. "And it'll be here before you know it. And then you can be an old weyrmated woman." She gives a wink to her sister. As for her own gossip, she gives another smile. "Just one, although it's nothing serious at the moment. If I were to say… invite him to my half-sister's weyrmating, he'd probably run all the way to High Reaches screaming." So a long, long way away from any potential double dates.

"If I ever start acting like a old weyrmated woman, you have my permission to snap me out of it," Xanthee replies with a giggle before her eyes widen as Elonoora goes on to elaborate on her romantic escapades. "Well yeah, I could see that being rather a daunting place to take someone when things aren't serious. But I hope you will come and have fun anyway, it's shaping up to be the party of the season," well if Xan has anything to say about it, it will certainly will be. With a glance at the marked candle, she sighs heavily. "Alas, I wish I could stay for more details, but I have a few errands to run still before meeting up with some people for drinks. We'll be at the kitten if you get bored later." Hopping off the stool, she goes in for another attempt at a hug, "Thanks again Elonoora. If nothing else, at least Pa gave me you as a sister, and that I'm thankful for." Not to mention all the other half-siblings she has yet to meet. With a wave of farewell, the greenrider heads back out towards the Living Caverns, a skip in her step and a whistle on her lips.