Unbelievable. (Chores, Group II, July) (Open)

[Ruby]

Raila could not believe it. She finally got switched off Kitchen Duty to General Weyr Service, which she figured would be more like what she was used to. Sweeping hallways, changing glows, being generally helpful (and mobile), that sort of thing. But no. Of course, that would be far too much fun.

Raila had gotten stuck with the kitchens again.

Granted, she wasn't a little serving drudge this time. No, instead the Headwoman had given her a broom, and bid her cordon off sections of the Kitchen and Main Hall to sweep so someone else could mop them. This way, she was not only confined to the Kitchen and Hall as before, but she also had to incurr the wrath of stressed out kitchen workers and hungry diners by getting in their way, semi-permanantly. People kept demanding what she thought she was doing, under whose authority, etc. It was getting very old.

On top of that, it looked as though neither the kitchen nor the hall had been swept or mopped anytime this Pass. Oh, people did it every week or two, Raila knew. It just looked like it hadn't been done in ages.

With a sigh, the Candidate cordoned off a new patch, moved a table and bench out of the way, and got to work. She would be dusty, tired and sore after this, no doubt. And probably sitcky in the bargain. Raila decided she hated the kitchens.

[Avu]

Chores. Meira didn’t have much of a problem with useful chores, like working with firestone, or even organizing records, which would provide easier access to information. But seriously, what good was this whole sweeping thing? The girl stared incredulously at the broom clasped in her hand—healer’s hands, hands used to clasping around herbs and deftly separating them, and not used to sweeping. Sweeping was what Drudges were for. For a little while, she had hoped that she was going to do something worthwhile for “General Weyr Service,” but nope. A sigh broke from her as she glanced around.

Someone jostled her painfully in the ribs; Meira glanced around, wincing. The Drudge glowered at her. “And what’re you doing here anyway, eh? If you’re going to use that broom, it’d be best to put that end there on the ground and sweep, not hold onto it like a lifeline!” He snorted contemptuously, turning back to the very large pile of tubers he was slicing. Meira turned red, but sighed. Slicing a mountain of tubers could probably make anyone irritable. She couldn’t bias her judgment after just one meeting, however dubious the forecast seemed.

If only, she thought glumly, there was someone to talk to; someone to joke with and laugh with while doing this tedious task. Applying the bristles to the ground, wrinkling her nose at the thick layer of dust and other disgusting things on the ground, Meira began sweeping. But that was nearly impossible; she’d only met Savitri, Virast, and C’lryn so far, and they probably were not in her chore group. Unfortunately. Or rather, fortunately for them; unfortunately for her.

The Candidate jabbed at one crusty leftover and accidentally swatted someone around the ankles. Dodging around their indignantly quivering bulk, she pushed out of the crowd, breathlessly surveying the kitchens with a displeased scowl. Normally she might have laughed it off, but now? How could she? Chore groups were definitely not a very happy way to spend the day. But there was no use scowling about it, she chided herself, sweeping again. After all, she had to do it, and if she Impressed or Bonded, it would be worth it in the end. Hopefully.

[Ruby]

Finishing the patch she had been working on, Raila gave up on the Dining Hall. Lunch was starting, and it was rapidly getting far too busy. Granted, the kitchens would be no better, but at least the people in there would just shoot you a rude look instead of actually upbraiding you and wasting both parties' time. After heaving the table and bench back into place for a crowd of unpleasent looking Weyrfolk, she headed for the door to the kitchen, crossing her fingers that it would be less crazy than it had been earlier.

No luck there. Cooks and drudges, candidates, weyrlings and weyrfolk were running about everywhere, trying to get lunch ready and served. Surveying the tables, Raila made a face. Tubers again. Yay.

She did see something more pleasant in her survey, however. Another Candidate, one Raila only recognized from the Barracks, had been saddled with the same job. The unpleasant face changed to a smile, or at least as much of a smile as Raila could manage in this madness. Holding her broom upright in hopes of not hitting anyone with it, she fought her way over to the other girl, who seemed to have just missed a large woman's wrath. To avoid being mistaken for the one who had swept her, Raila darted around the other side, coming face to face with the other girl. Applying her broom to the space under a table, she shouted "Hi, I'm Raila! Who're you?" over the din of the kitchen in full swing.

[Avu]

Meira stifled a giggle at the large woman’s face, which resembled a cross between a fireball and a tub of wobbling meat. She bit her lip hastily as the woman’s eyes turned on her, but soon they passed and went back to the thing that she was preparing. As it was in a large silver pot, what was in it was hidden to Meira. The girl bit her lip as she twiddled with the broom. No matter what she did with it, it just didn’t feel right to her. Rather, it felt like something she should use to wallop whatever idiot put her in here over the head with. Shards, that would feel good, though!

She sighed deeply, her bored gaze wandering around. Somehow, they never found Raila, so it was a shock when the voice, materializing out of nowhere, it seemed, said, “Hi, I’m Raila! Who’re you?” Meira jumped, her eyes lifting from the mountain of tubers, which she had been admiring. The girl blinked in shock, her large eyes widening a bit. She closed her mouth, which had slipped into a half-open position, and said, stammering, “I—I’m Meira—” She paused, trying to remember if she’d ever seen Raila before. Once or twice, she seemed to recall, around the Weyr; the barracks, mainly, came to mind; but she’d never spoken to Raila before, or, come to that, even known her name.

She swallowed, her broom forgotten. “I—I didn’t notice you,” she managed at last. Well, it seemed at least one other Candidate had been thrown in here with her. She was at a loss for what to say, but luckily, kind of, a Drudge broke her confusion by catching her standing there, doing nothing, and elbowing his way over, grabbing her sleeve and shaking it roughly. “Hey, girl! Brush, can’t you? Don’t stand there looking like a dragon just sat on you, do something!”

Suppressing the urge to ‘do something’ and whack the Drudge with the offending broom, Meira bit her tongue and swept. “So,” she said to Raila, shooting a poisonous look at the Drudge, “You got stuck in here, too, huh?” She poked the broom bristles under a nearby appliance of some sort. “Are you standing for Wher Hatchings, or just dragons, or both?” she asked curiously. It was always interesting to hear another person’s point of view.

[Ruby]

"Nice to meet you, Meira," Raila said with a rare genuine smile. She was... relieved, she supposed, to have someone to share her trials and tribulations with. Meira seemed nice enough, she supposed, if a little disconcerted by Raila's sudden appearance. Well, no matter. "It's fine, I was out in the dining hall until the whole sharding Weyr decided it was lunchtime, and I was in their way. You'd think everyone was starved for days around here," she commented, with a laden look at the heavy Cook Meira had bumped.

Raila almost smacked the drudge who shook her new friend- in Candidate Lessons, it had been made clear that Drudges WERE still below Candidates, although Candidates needed to treat them well. It was only that last that kept Raila in check long enough for him to bustle off. She did yell "How rude!" at his retreating back, however, to make her self feel a little better. He didn't seem to hear her or care, but she turned back to Meira with a triumphant grin, only to find her fellow sweeping again. Ah well. It was worth it simply for Raila's entertainment.

Applying herself to the broom as well, she let out a very exasperated sigh at Meira's first comment. "I was here last rotation too, only working in the kitchen instead of sweeping. I've decided food doesn't matter- I don't think I ever want to see this place again. I cannot wait until I've been assigned something different. When did you show up?" Focusing her attention on a particularly difficult patch of slightly damp leafy greens, she almost missed Meira's next question through the din. "Dragons for me, I think. I'll go to the Wher hatching, but I don't think I'd be a good noctournal. What about you?" After Zolten's strong reaction to her announcement that she would impress a Gold dragon, she'd decided to keep that bit of information under wraps until she was closer with people. Maybe it wasn't the best thing to break out at the very beginning of a friendship.

[Avu]

“It’s lovely to meet you as well,” Meira said, smiling back at Raila. A sudden warmth filled her. At last, someone to talk to, so she wouldn’t feel so stupid and alone. “Well, to be honest? I’m just glad I wasn’t stuck in here alone.” She grinned slightly at the girl’s explanation. “Funny how they all decide at once to go and eat, isn’t it?” she asked, grinning even wider. “Got stampeded?”

Meira watched quietly as she swept as Raila yelled at the Drudge, secretly agreeing with her words, although she bit the inside of her cheek to keep from yelling at him, too. You’d think the Drudges would be made aware that Candidates were above them and should be paid proper respect, but…she sighed deeply, watching nervously as the Drudge disappeared, but a few other heads turned to eye Raila, slightly surprised-looking; a few looked annoyed. Meira ducked her head again, biting back a smile. It would be rude if she smiled, after all, and insulted the Drudge loosely.

“I only came to the weyr a few days back,” Meira replied. “So this is the only place I’ve been in yet for chores, and I already hate it.” She grinned, inclining her head slightly in order to see into a crevice from which a surprising number of chopped tubers were emerging. Meira listened quietly to Raila’s next statement. Dragons were sought after, but whers were the unspoken heroes, the ones who warned people when intruders were coming. They deserved love, too. She was relieved by Raila’s decision to go to the wher hatching. “I think I’ll stand for whers mostly, but if I don’t Bond then I’ll stand for dragons, too.” She sighed. “I probably won’t Impress, but I bet you will…” The girl seemed so confident and friendly; how could she not?

[Ruby]

Raila was shoved into a corner briefly as several young girls ran by, scattering her pile of dust. Normally this could have easily thrown her into a rage, but Meira's presence was putting her in a good mood. Attempting to rectify the totally destroyed pile, she returned to Meira's side, saying, "Apparently it's not much better in here, but yes, stampeded is a good word for it. I swear, some people in this Weyr have wherry eggs for brains."

Raila totally ignored the looks- everywhere from curious to nasty- that she got in response to her shout at the drudge. Lifting her nose at them, she returned to her sweeping, earning an elbow to the ribs for not looking where she was going. That knocked her down a few notches, but clearly not enough to keep a smug look off her face. She did start to pay more attention to her surroundings, though, keeping her eyes on her broom instead of the space the Drudge had dissapeared into.

Raila paused briefly in her sweeping to listen to Meira. It was far too loud in here to make much headway conversation-wise unless she listened carefully to the other girl. Pitching her voice a little louder to compensate, saying, "Oh come on! Are you kidding me? You have more of a chance of impressing than I do. Don't Whers bond to either gender, no matter their color? I only get Green or Gold!" Of course, Raila didn't think about the fact that Whers laid far smaller clutches than Dragons, but whatever. Clearly Meira needed a bit of help in the confidence department, and Raila figured it was practically her duty to help out.

Looking around, Raila figured that the kitchen was only getting more crowded. "I think it's time for a break. No one will even notice we're gone. Want to head outside for a bit?" Snatching two meatrolls from a passing tray, she added, "No one will even notice we're gone, and we can finish after the lunch hour. Want one?"

[Avu]

Meira scowled slightly as the gaggle of girls went by, completely oblivious to the pains that she and Raila were putting to making neat piles. But it wasn’t her way to get angry; she simply sighed and drew the rough bristles of the broom along the ground, gathering the scraps up again. She chuckled at the statement that her companion made, though. “Don’t go telling some of those Riders I said this, but I think that most of those egg-headed people happen to be the Bronzers that think they’re above everyone else. I’ve seen them strutting around like they own the place before…”

It was nice, too, to think for a bit that she had a higher Impression chance. “But that also means the other girls that come to the Wher Hatching have higher Impression chances too, right?” she asked with a slight chuckle at her own pessimism. “Besides, if I was a gold dragon, I’d pick someone confident and there’s no doubt you’re lacking that.” She wasn’t calling Raila arrogant; there was a softly teasing note in her voice to take away from the chance of taking offense, but otherwise she was being honest in what she said. “But thanks, I figure that most people are more interested in Impressing dragons anyway.”

As a few more elbows found Meira’s ribs, she started thinking longingly of the cool emptiness of the Candidates’ barracks, how quiet it was in there compared to their shrillness of the kitchens…she almost sighed, but caught herself. No more pessimism was needed; the place was gloomy enough as it was. At Raila’s suggestion, Meira nodded gratefully. Outside! That would be cool, nice, empty—er, well, emptier than here anyway—and how nice it would be just to sit and chat for a bit, instead of being cooped up, flattened with a body on every side! “All right,” she shouted over the growing noise. “Let’s head out.” She grinned as Raila stole a few meatrolls, although she had half a mind to open the oven and take a few bubbly pies, too. Never mind, though.

Meira had to turn sideways as she squeezed through the crowd, glancing behind her once or twice to make sure Raila was still within sight. Finally, she felt as if the crowd sucked at her and then spat her out; staggering as she exited between two large women, Meira pressed one palm against the doorway, sucking in the cool air thankfully. “Raila?” Turning back, she waited for the other girl.

[Ruby]

Raila laughed with Meira at her pessimism, adding, "I'm not even sure anymore, I've got this so twisted around in my head. But either way, you've got a chance." Marking Raila as a Goldrider, however, cemented Raila's high opinion of Meira forever. Instead of her usual snotty, down-the-nose speech about how she would of course impress gold, she just smiled a giggled a little bit. "You really think so? I've wanted to impress a Gold from the moment I knew what they were, but I've been standing for four years now without any luck. I've just about settled on whatever I can get," she added with a smile. This was, of course, not meant to be derogatory to anything, but it may have come off that way. Raila wasn't super tactful.

But Raila WAS thrilled when Meira agreed that it might be time to head out. Raila followed the other girl towards the door, squeezing and weaving to avoid being clubbed in the face with a pitcher or tray. She had done enough of that on her last stint in the kitchen, no need to repeat it. She wasn't quite deft enough, though, and did get hit on one shoulder. Rubbing that shoulder with her meatroll-free hand, she finally squished herself out the door, taking a deep breath just as Meira had. "Well that's a relief," she said, holding out the meatrolls for Meira to choose. Taking the other one, Raila stuck it in her teeth for a minute while she sat down, sliding her legs over the edge of the balcony they were on, and wrapping her arms through the railing so she could still eat.

She chewed thoughtfully, waiting for Meira to sit beside her. After a moment, Raila lifted her head, swallowing and checking her teeth before smiling over at Meira again. "So where do you come from?" she asked, thinking of their earlier mention of arrivals. It would be interesting to hear where everyone from her Candidate group was from- it seemed that many were from outside of Selenitas. Interesting, she thought. Almost everyone standing at Fort had been from either Fort Weyr or Fort Hold- maybe that was why there always seemed to be a lot of dragons in relation to Candidates. Maybe it would be different here.

[Avu]

Meira smiled slightly at the girl’s—rather degrading—opinion of herself. Perhaps it was just modesty. But either way…“I’m sure you’ll Impress,” she said. “Don’t worry about it. Any upcoming queen flights you know about?” she added, a bit jokingly. Nobody told the Candidates anything, ever. It was just ‘wait and see,’ ‘don’t tease the Drudges,’ ‘do what we say and it’ll pay off.’ But she was all right with that, really. It elicited no bitterness from Meira, only a tiredly amused acceptance. It happened way too often to be bad about it every single time.

As Raila joined her near the door, offering her a meat-roll, Meira took one at random and chewed mechanically, her gaze pausing scornfully on the mass of bodies they had just evaded. After a moment, she slipped down next to the girl, now gazing vaguely at the sky, wondering if they would see a dragon—any dragon. A green, a queen, a bronze, a brown, a blue—any and all were graceful, worth looking at. Her daydreams evaporated when she heard Raila speak again.

Come from…? A slight stiffening tightened the muscles in Meira’s body. “I grew up at Healer Hall,” she replied carefully, trying to keep emotion from her voice. “Then I was…was sent to Benden Weyr, and then I got out from there and came—came here. I would’ve stayed at Healer Hall, but I didn’t want Benden Weyr to make any trouble there.” She sighed slightly, and then shook away the bad thoughts. She didn’t need any of that. “What about you?” Meira added, trying to change the subject.

[Ruby]

"Only the gold Wher run... unfortunately. Aslath probably won't be rising again for quite some time, and I don't know about the Jr. Weyrwoman's. I think I'm out of luck for a while. Shards, even a gold Flit flight would be nice," Raila said, kicking her legs and looking out across the tops of the smaller trees. "You're in luck, though, with the Gold Wher run. Looks like you showed up right on time. I missed Aslath's clutch by days, and I'm still a bit furious," she added, smiling to counter her jokingly angry tone.

Although Raila wasn't too fond of trees, it was nice out here, she decided. Especially after the press of the Kitchens, the air was clear and warm. A green flit darted up through the branches of a nearby tree, breaking the canopy, and dashed off, trailed by some browns and blues. A flight, Raila supposed, although it looked like they were playing tag or something. None of the seriousness of the Dragon flights she had witnessed at Fort. Yes, she decided, it was very pleasent to sit out here in the sun. Even if it was a bit unseasonably hot. Who heard of a day like this in the middle of what should be winter?

Pushing her curly hair off her forehead, Raila finished her roll and sat back, to distracted to notice Meira's discomfort. But, as always, Raila was totally content to talk about herself, and picked up Meira's question without any of her own. "Benden, huh? That's ironic. I'm from Fort, myself. Hold, then Weyr. But after the tragedy... well, my foster mother didn't think it was a good idea for me to stick around, so she sent me here. I don't really want to be anything but a candidate or Rider, so they couldn't send me to a Hall, and they wouldn't send me to Benden. So Selenitas it was."

Raila fell quiet for a moment, thinking. Benden... that seemed like a good topic to stay away from. Of course, she hadn't picked up on Meira's obvious discomfort around the subject, so she didn't think that they might have some of the same ideas about the place after all. The Healer Hall, though... that sparked her interest. "So you were at the Healer Hall? Are you a Healer, or were you just there to help out?"

[Avu]

“Oh.” Well, it seemed she really had chosen a nice time to come…Meira fell silent broodingly, her gaze boring a hole in the opposite tree. “Well, that’s lucky, I guess…” She paused uncertainly, her lips quivering on the verge of speech, but she shrugged silently and just bit into the roll again, which she twisted in her fingers thoughtfully. “Do queen wher Runs affect people…the way, you know, that queen dragon Flights do?” she asked, a slight flush of embarrassment coming into her cheeks. Meira, like most Hold or Craftbred girls, was uncomfortable with the laxness of the Weyr life, especially in matters such as bedding with others, and as of the moment, she really preferred to stay away from such things until she was at least certain of herself—a bit more, in any case, than she was right now. At Raila’s words, though, a small half-smile came onto her lips. It was ironically amusing in a way. “That’s just bad luck, then,” she murmured softly. “But there’s always the next Hatching.” Although Faranth knew how far away that was!

Meira found her gaze latching onto a green shadow that quivered, moving swiftly, although it took a moment to figure out what it was. A fire lizard. They seemed oddly common in Selenitas; she’d thought before that they had been considered nuisances. Apparently not, though. And, of course, there were the ‘mandyrs. She watched, her thoughts distant, as a few more fire lizards gave chase, rollicking on the wind currents, their bodies gleaming in the sun, before they faded away again. A wistful sigh broke involuntarily from her; she shook her head slightly, smiling at herself. She had no need of a fire lizard…“A queen fire lizard Flight would be nice,” Meira found herself admitting. “Just companions, aren’t they?”

She directed her thoughts away from fire lizards, listening quietly as Raila spoke. “Tragedy?” Meira had secluded herself for the past few sevendays, and she struggled briefly to place what ‘tragedy’ Raila spoke of. Oh, right; the death of the Weyrleaders…a soft dismayed murmur broke from her. “Of course…I’m sorry,” she murmured in low tones of regret. What was it with all these murders lately? One couldn’t sleep in peace if one occupied a high ranking position anymore…she shook her head again. Morbid thoughts would not help in the least as she finished her roll and wiped her fingers onto her gown.

“Oh, hmm?” Again Meira found herself forcefully dragging herself away from her thoughts to reply to Raila. There were just so many things to think about. Healer Hall…a golden age for her, with friends and laughter and helping people…a golden age that had long ago withered and died. “I was training to be a Healer,” she admitted softly. “And I guess Healer Hall didn’t want to give anyone extremely good to Benden, but someone who’d pass for a decent Healer, so that’s me.” She bit her lip bitterly.

[Ruby]

Raila waited for Meira to say whatever it was she wanted to say, but the girl seemed to change her mind, and asked about Wher runs instead. "Hm." Raila said, biting her bottom lip now that the meatroll was gone. "I have no idea." She thought back to Fort, wondering if she had ever noticed. "They only run at night, I think, so most of the Weyr would probably be asleep. But I'm not sure how it affects the riders. Why?" Yes, the why was probably stupid, Raila realized. Meira was hold and hall bred, not weyr. Raila herself had been holdbred for a while, but her foster parents had close ties with the Weyr, and she had had very little to do with the Hold's ideas on who could be bedded by whom.

Watching the firelizards duck back out of sight, Raila smiled. "Companions, yes." She gazed at the forest for a minute more, before continuing, "They're useful too, you know. For sending letters and messages, that sort of thing. Much faster than trying to send it with a caravan or something, and safer." To be honest, Raila just wanted to impress something at this point, no matter what it was. Years of failure were begining to take their toll, she realized. But she would never lose hope. Not until she turned 23.

Meira seemed lost in her own world, so Raila let her be, nodding in appropriate places. She dreaded the idea of going back to the kitchens and wasting more time, but honestly, it was getting HOT out here in the noonday sun. Raising her hand to shade her eyes, Raila continued to stare at the forest, willing something interesting to come out of it. She and Meira had clearly reached one of those awkward places in aquaintences, where conversation could continue, but for some reason had ground to a halt, and neither girl new what to say. Asking about the Healer Hall seemed to work for a moment, but Raila finally picked up on Meira's discomfort, and decided to stay away from the subject of the past. Future seemed safe, though. "Are you going to continue training as a healer?" she asked, turning towards Meira in hopes that the sun would be at her back. Not much luck, though, as it was directly overhead.

[Avu]

“Oh.” That was fortunate for her and yet unfortunate, in a way, Meira mused. This way, she’d not know when a gold wher Ran, but on the upside she wouldn’t embarrass herself in any way, right? She slipped unconsciously into thoughts again, but she realized it soon enough not to embarrass herself. Why? Well, she wasn’t entirely sure. “It’d just be…err, well, kind of awkward, I guess?” she asked, glancing up at the girl. Of course, she was Weyr-raised. She wouldn’t think it odd…well, at least Meira didn’t think Weyr-raised people thought it was, but she’d never really asked, so she wouldn’t know for certain. “I don’t really know how to explain it,” she murmured, a bit displeased at her lack of explanation. Gah, Shards to her confusion. “I just don’t really want to find out I’ve done something I’d regret…” She chose the words carefully, but a faint redness stained her cheeks anyway.

She listened quietly to Raila. “Companions…a miniature dragon…” A faint smile curved her lips. “That’s a sweet thought…” How nice it would be to, if one didn’t have the chance to Impress, to be able to have a mindmate (even if the bond was much vaguer) that looked to all causes to be a dragon, proportionally correct but for size…yes, indeed the idea was appealing. And it was nice to know one wouldn’t have to put important letters into the hands of someone who might (or, predictably, might not) deliver it to the right person on time. “They’re reliable?” she queried.

This time, Meira actually kept the invading thoughts out, an accomplishment. “Oh, I don’t think so,” she replied lightly enough. “I just want to concentrate on Bonding or Impressing for now. Maybe I will later…you have any special plans, or are you just going to go wherever the road takes you?” She shielded her eyes from the glare of the sun as she turned to look at Raila, and automatically her eyes went to the shady depths of the kitchens. Meira bit her lip, slightly worried. “You don’t think we ought to be getting back to work?” she asked anxiously. The idea displeased her, but they had to get back sometime…

[Ruby]

Raila smiled kindly at Meira when the girl couldn't come up with a straight answer- although it was clearly Raila's fault for asking a stupid question, in her mind poor Meira was so embarassed she couldn't make herself clear. "Oh, of course," Raila said, still trying to make Meira feel better, "Something you'd regret. Well, I guess if we became Riders we'd just have to give up regrets... It wouldn't bother me much, but I can see where you're coming from. Perhaps if your lucky, your Wher will mate with some pair that you like too..." She trailed off, leaving the conversation there and turning to other matters.

The idea of flits was one Raila had been enchanted with her whole life, although she had never been allowed an egg before. Her foster mother claimed that whether or not it was Raila's bonded, Raila wouldn't be the one caring for and cleaning up after the thing. Although Raila had never agreed with this logic, she had also never managed to get a flit. "I believe they're fairly reliable," she said, flits in her eyes. "Kamerai used to use them to deliver letters all the time, although I'm not sure she had one herself."

Fiddling with a bit of a rough spot on the railing, Raila replied to Meira's question without removing her gaze from the middle distance, "I don't know what I'd do if I didn't impress. GO back to Fort, I guess, and hope my foster mother had something for me to do. I've got no craft skills, so pretty much all I'm good for besides Riding is drudgework." Oo, that sounded exciting, didn't it? It immediately put Raila in a bad mood to think like that. Following Meira's gaze into the kitchens, though, she sighed, feeling the anger replaced by a feeling of uselessness and futility. "Yes, I suppose we'd better. It's getting hot out here anyway." Hopping up, she offered a hand to Meira, then went to retrieve her broom from where she had set it against the wall. "After you," she added, looking rather displeased. "Nice chatting with you, Meira, in case we get seperated," Raila finished, flooowing her new friend back into the fray.