Light in the Darkness [Kelinale, Eselda]

[Ruby]

M'kai picked up the papers in front of him, dropped them on the desk to line them up, and laid them back down. With Isori's baby to be born any day, he was considering resigning (before an extremely redheaded baby showed up and he got fired, anyway). His papers were all in order... but he hadn't turned them in yet. Why? Because what else was he supposed to be doing with his life, if he wasn't a Candidatemaster? No chance Futh would every be good enough to be on anything but the lowest level wings, and frankly, M'kai was too talented for that. Boooooring.

Well, that wasn't the subject today. Mae had sent Kelinale and Eselda back to him with instructions that there were plenty of bodies in the kitchens already, thanks, no need for two more. So now what? The rest of the chores for the day were covered, but M'kai couldn't very well give them the day off. Luckily, he had a job for them. Pulling a scrap of paper out from under the pile, he consulted it, then looked back up at the Candidates. "So, Mae's got plenty of help today?" Waiting for some affirmative, he reached up to scratch Kami's neck. "Well, I can't just let you off chores. The Headwoman told me we're running low on glows, though. Would you guys be up for getting some?" More waiting, more affirmatives. If they said no... too bad.

"It's not hard. Report to the storerooms, grab some baskets, then follow this map from the Weyr's ground entrance." He handed the map to Kelinale. "It's about half an hour up the mountain, not so bad. Futh'll check in on you two regularly, but the cave's been scouted, and the route is so often flown over by dragons that felines and wild whers and... whatever the night creatures are know to stay away. It's, what, 3pm? Should be a fairly quick trip, maybe two hours. If you're not back by five, me and Futh will come check on you. Kelinale, you have a dog, right? Take it with you, just for extra protection, but really, you guys shouldn't run into any trouble at all. If you don't have any questions, you can go ahead and get going."

[Sebz]

Eselda was fairly certain that part of the reason that she and Kelinale had been sent away from the kitchens was because of her inability to shut her mouth and follow Mae's directions. For that reason, she was uncharacteristically subdued when she and her fellow candidate reported back to M'kai, shooting apologetic glances in the other boy's direction from time to time. She avoided eye contact with the candidate master, frankly because she didn't feel like being reprimanded at the moment, but looked up incredulously at M'kai's statement. Too full? Well perhaps Mae was being kind. "It was a bit crowded in there," she allowed quickly, adding a vigorous nod for emphasis.

Eselda bit back a retort as the candidate master informed them that they could not infact have the day off. Not that she had been thinking that that had been an option, but for M'kai to even bring it up, only to snatch the possibility was totally... uncool. Yea, that was the word. However, the alternative he offered seemed fun enough, so she gave a quick, "Sure," in response.

An outdoor adventure in the caves? That seemed liked quite the fun way to waste away the rest of the afternoon, much better than helping out in the kitchens at any rate. In all honesty, she was only half listening to the candidate master as he issued his instructions. She could ask Kelinale what he said later, right? Right now Eselda was preocuppied with figuring out a way to turn this task into something much more fun. Eselda glanced to where the other candidate was standing. Hopefully, he wouldn't be a stickler, but Eselda didn't really think he would be. Guys always seemed to be more open to goofing off than other girls, which is why Eslada sought their company more often than not. "You have a dog?" she exclaimed, before quickly following up with an "Oops, sorry," for M'kai. This trip kept seeming to get better and better! "I'm ready if you are," Eslelda said, eyes dancing with excitement. She was ready to go!