The Room Of Many Wonders(Tags; D'tas, Open)

[DreamerLady]

Sanzia had many rooms at her disposal. She had meeting rooms, and rooms that remained cold year round. There were rooms that were small, and rooms that were large. Some had high ceilings, and natural light. And some rooms were dark and locked from the outside. Some rooms were for storage, and some for sleeping guests, but the point was, she had many rooms in the warren that was the Lower Caverns. Only one, was like the room she was using on that day.

It was large, and full, and connected to several different closet rooms. The room was opened three or five times a year, plus whenever Thread fell. The closets were full of useful things(parts for Flamethrowers, basic medicine, harness cut leather strips, and various other assortments). On days in which things needed to be passed out, and that might end up with injuries afflicting the Weyr population, it was opened.

Today, it was full of bedding, cleaning supplies, and leftover clothes that Sanzia had seen to gather, and enough of clothing wasn't from the dead that no ghastly rumors were attached to the clothing, and everyone who needed something new had gathered.

It was the obvious point for the Headwoman to be, as anyone who needed anything would be directed here, and she, being the Headwoman knew where everything was stored so if it wasn't in here, she'd be able to direct whoever asked towards the other places in which help could be found. At the moment, she was spending time looking over the flamethrower parts to make sure everything was in readiness. Until she heard someone call her name, that was.

[Eisu]

D’tas dragged his feet back into his weyr to fall upon the low, unadorned bed there. Feeling warmth still burning on his skin only warm the material beneath, he groaned and rolled onto the stone floor. “Ahhh…” he said, letting out a sigh as the cool of the stone seeped up through his sweat soaked tunic. People had told him the heat would be bearable because it was a ‘dry’ heat. Well he would make sure to have a flogger in hand next time he seen those people. The heat of the Igen sun made the naturally hot sands of the Hatching Sands feel like the mountain grass in springtime.

Perhaps sheading some layers would help? the bronze offered, attempting to be helpful with his simple dragon logic. Sighing, D’tas rolled back to his feet and walked into the cavern his dragon lay watching him.

“Now see I tried that, took off my shirt for my run today.” As he spoke, he gingerly pulled his shirt over his head and off to show his flame red back to his dragon. “As you can see, it only allowed the sun to cook me faster.” Wincing, he pulled the heavy clothed tunic back over his red skin, growling as the wet material only stuck to his skin.

“Though you do make a good point, perhaps finding some lighter material clothing would be helpful, something that would breathe easier than leathers.” Looking down at his leather clad legs, he didn’t even want to think of what he was chafing with the sweat he knew was soaking the insides of his pants.

The dragons say they are passing out bedding and clothing out in the lower caverns. Perhaps they have something suitable? At least you can find some numbweed for your back. The dragon responded, giving his rider a pointed look. While he didn’t always agree with his rider, he did not like to see his rider in pain either – D’tas was such a strong rider… to be beaten by the sun seemed… wrong.

“Good call. I will look into that.” With that, he made his way to the lower caverns, but not before finding a mug of water in the WeyrHall and proceeding to dump it directly over his head despite the protests of the nearby cleaning women. It didn’t take him long to find the group of people in a large room with many doors and many piles of cloth. Dripping all over the floor, he stood for a moment to attempt to make heads or tails of the room and its hidden organization.

[DreamerLady]

Sanzia looked up at the call of her name, and glanced over in response to head nod towards the opening of the room the blond woman who'd called her name gave. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of a leather clad who, if his face was any indication, was redder than the fruit they sometimes traded for from Ista. Swallowing the instant distaste that came from the thoughts of sunburn and the disgusting feeling of sun burnt skin, she hurried over, glad she had been born in Igen and was basically immune to the sun.

"Rider, what have you done to yourself?" She scolded, looking him over to decide what needed to be done. His clothing was all wrong, for one, and it looked like he hadn't bothered to check into the Healers for the cream they had invented to keep the sun from working it's wrath quite as well. All in all, it looked just like the average foolish rider- from every color but Browns, who tended to be more settled and careful. Deciding that the man was probably a bluerider(the knots in the leather were impossible to read, being both dark from sweat, and mussed- probably from the removal of the shirt, and then having it put back on), she motioned sharply with one hand.

"Stay right here, and that that shirt off. I'll come back and fix you up in a minute." And with that, she hustled off, glad of her pants that made movement easy, and the loose top that, being sleeveless, kept her cool and displayed her Headwoman knots(done in the Igen style) prominently.

After a minute she returned, arms full of clothing and medicine. "Are you ready?" She inquired sweetly, looking him over.

[Eisu]

If D’tas thought he was surprised when a woman hurried over to him from the far end of the room, he was proven wrong when she promptly scolded him making his jaw drop like a fish pulled freshly out of the water. Closing it promptly, he raised his eyebrows and watched as she gave him a calculating look. What is she looking at? You’d think I just climbed out of a coal shaft covered in black soot from head to toe. He thought to himself only to be answered by a dragonic chuckle.

Just as he began to return the offer of scrutiny to the brown haired, dusky skinned woman she spun around and hustled off, telling him to take off his shirt in the process. Jaw dropping again in surprise that a woman would be so straight forward with him, he looked down at himself in attempts to figure out what she had seen. The soaked clothes, both from sweat and water were a mess. On top of that he realized looking at the red arms his rolled up sleeves allowed sight of just what she must have been looking at. He was glad the slight, embarrassed blush that warmed his cheeks further would not be visible in his condition.

Taking the shirt off gingerly, he hooked it in his belt loop and put his hands on his hips, instantly deciding it was a bad idea as he had taken off his shirt for his run as he always did back at High Reaches. His entire upper body was just as bad as his face, neck and arms. Letting his arms hang loosely instead, he found he was not left waiting long as the woman returned quickly with a pile of things in her arms.

Yet again she left him raising his eyebrows as she spoke to him again, but this time in a sweet voice rather than the scolding one she had used just moments before. “Yes Ma’am.” he answered, not sure how much more there was to say when she had taken charge of his situation so quickly and efficiently. Not sure what she had in mind, he stood there awaiting orders. Giving her a quick glance to finish his earlier judgment, he found her knots so pristine on her shoulder he was again glad his face hid his embarrassment for not knowing more of the climate of this foreign Weyr.

[DreamerLady]

"I'm going to rub you down quickly with a numbweed mixture. It's not as strong as numbweed straight, but it'll help sooth that nasty burn quickly, and the pain will start to return right around the time you need to reapply the solution."

As good as her word, she'd already moved to start rubbing the taller man down briskly, clucks of empathy whenever a particular area looked particularly bad- namely this unnamed man's ears and neck.

"Now, don't be applying this on your own, because I doubt you're flexible enough to apply it evenly on your back, but a handsome man like yourself shouldn't have any trouble finding a nice weyrgirl to do it for you, so don't make this harder on yourself." With a final dab or two, she nodded, and turned back to the other parcels she'd brought over. Before touching anything, she wiped her hands roughly on her pant legs trying to erase the feeling of dry, rough sunburnt skin from her fingers. It was not a pleasant sensation, and it made her feel mildly nauseous, but she knew it would pass quickly.

"Now, after you recover from the burn, you're going to need to use this cream for a few months until you end up all bronze like me." She passed him the cream, and then picked up the clothing. It was two lightweight, loose, long sleeve shirts.

"And this is what you'll be wearing until that happens. Leathers are just asking to get burned."

[Eisu]

D’tas jumped as she went straight to rubbing him down even before she finished her explanation of what she was doing. Side-stepping away from her administrations until he realized it was numbweed, he finally held still and let her do her work, wincing a bit as she got to his neck. He could feel the heat rising off his skin and he wondered if it would be cooler in the cooking fires than outside with all of that flaming sand.

Listening to her instructions of finding someone else to put on the solution, he frowned looking down at the jar and then looking back up at her. He did not think it would be so easy to find a woman to show him sympathy. Pity a dragon was not capable of doing it. Sighing, he put the jar in his pocket. “I doubt it will be that easy.” he muttered to himself more than to the woman – a bad habit of his. Taking the next cream, he frowned again, finally looking her in the face and speaking to her rather than under his breath. “And I take it I have to round some woman, who will have much better things to do than dolt on me, to put this one on too?”

Shaking his head before she answered, he put it in his pocket too. He’ll just get the spots he can reach and to flames with the rest. The sight of long sleeve shirts quickly had him putting up a halting hand. No way in threadfall was he walking around in those, they would have him just as warm as leathers.

“Oh shards no.” he said, waving his hand in decline of the offer. “I am not going to roast myself in long sleeves, I’d rather suffer the sun’s wrath than sweat my skin raw in long sleeves. No disrespect meant, Ma’am. But no.”

[DreamerLady]

With practice as both mother, mentor, and lover, her disproving and disbelieving snort at his comments about the likelihood of finding one silly girls to rub his back was loud and assured. If he tried, even a little, he'd find a girl willing to rub his back and more. Or a boy, if that was what he wanted.

"Rider, even if you weren't a nice looking man," Her roving eye attested to the fact that he was a good looking man, "You Ride, and that's more than enough. Weyrfolk aren't overworked, and we always have enough time for helping out a Rider. And don't be a stupidly stoic man. We need all of you playing your best game, and you can't do that with painful burns on your back." Her eyes narrowed, and began to plot out exactly who would be needed to check up on this man to make sure he did as he was told. The humor in the idea of sending Kedri, a highly sexual woman just entering her sixtieth turn to check up on him allowed her to move on. After all, it would just be friendly good fun to do so. She mentally reminded herself to find out who he was before sending him off.

"I was born in Igen." She said seriously. "Raised here. Now, you come from, judging by the thickness of your leathers, a cold place, maybe Telgar or High Reaches. Now, I'm offering you this shirt for a reason. Do you think you can figure out why?" She rested a hand on her hip, and looked at him with mild disbelief. Blueriders were highly illogical.

[Eisu]

D’tas decided this woman had a good nature to her as she managed to raise his eyebrows high into his forehead yet again as she pointed out for a second time his supposedly ‘good looks’. Putting up a decent argument which only made sense due to her rank, he gave into her with a laugh as he relaxed a little now with help of the cream she had put on his burning skin.

“So does that mean you would have time to offer such services to such a nice looking man so obviously out of his element?” Letting out a deep throated, yet quiet laugh, he shook his head at himself as he held out his hand to accept the shirts. He had a feeling that the woman would not let him leave without them. Ah well, being the headwoman of the Weyr and born in this heat, he gave her the benefit of the doubt to know what she was talking about.

“Give them here.” he said as he waited with his calloused hand outstretched. “Your right, Ma’am. I hail from High Reaches and I already miss the snow and ice. My guess, and my hope, is that those shirts are made of a much lighter material than my wool and leather tunics.”

Thinking on the seriousness of her voice as she stood there with her hands on her hips he added, “I’m sorry for offending you, Headwoman. I did not mean to. Teach me how to survive this wretched sun and I’ll be in your debt. I put myself in your merciful hands – hopefully you won’t let me burn for my foolishness.”

[DreamerLady]

"Sensiblity at last!" Sanzia murmured with a smile that eased any censure that could have come from that statement. Then with a quick shake of her head, knowing from the lack of bounce her bun retained that her hair had fallen into it's limp curl stage, she continued.

"And as for your question, it's already been answered, yes? I did just patch you up, give advice sorely needed, that you should have asked for, by the way, and even clothe you properly. If I can do that, any woman, or man, will do the same. And if you find yourself unable to ask one of my girls, you have Wingmates, and if my Weyr upbringing serves me right, Wingmates help each other out in more than just fights." She nodded sharply at that, remembering how close all of the Wings had been before Thread had ripped them apart.

"Apology accepted. And, if we must have debts between us, even it up during the Welcoming Feast we'll be having. I'll willingly accept a dance in exchange for advice." She smiled, handed him his two new shirts and looked him over once more.

"Now, go change, and then go find some juice to drink. And I mean juice. Klah won't provide enough moisture to help you heal." Just as she was about to move away, and go bother a new unsuspecting soul, she paused and looked at him again. "Don't forget to pick up your Igen style bedding if you haven't already, and my name is Sanzia."

[Eisu]

D’tas let out a laugh at her murmer as he was finally handed the shirts. Dropping one on the floor, he gently eased the first over his torso, pleased to find that it was in fact a much lighter material that was surprisingly breathable. Picking up the second shirt again, he put a finger on the side of his nose and winked at her. “Well since that question has been answered I’ll be sure to seek you out again as soon as the pain returns, just to make sure you don’t have too much free time on your hands.”

Laughing again, he offered a hand in both introduction and thanks. “The pleasure is all mine, lovely Sanzia and you have the word of a dragonrider for a dance once the feasting has begun and I can wrest you away from the other men’s arms.” Keeping hold of her hand, he wrinkled his face a little in confusion. “Igen bedding? How different can bedding be between Weyrs, Holds and Halls?”

[DreamerLady]

Sanzia actually laughed when the rider made a comment about her having free time. She didn't have free time after all- she made time, as to not go crazy.

"You do that." She drawled. If he actually had the daring to approach her, she'd help him too. That was what was so nice about Riders. She didn't have to stand on too much formality with them- barring of course, the Rankers with whom she really couldn't be to relaxed, an unfortunate, but not unforeseen reaction.

She clasped the proffered hand, though she considered going for the forearm. Old habits died hard, especially when you didn't want them to die at all. As he continued to hold her hand, she stared at him, glad that his hand wasn't so sunburned it felt strange.

When he asked a question, she relaxed her hand completely so that it was only by his own hand that the hands stayed connected. It was a hint to let her go, as she had spent too much time with the High Reaches Rider already.

"It comes in different weights for the different temperatures of Igen. Which are cold, boiling, and sandy." She winked and continued. "If you need help, find a Caverns girl or boy, and they'll show you how it all works."

[Eisu]

D’tas, while he could be sometimes daft, took the hint to release her hand and listened while she explained how the bedding worked. Already his skin was feeling better and it made him willing to give the bedding a try. Shards and Shells knew he wasn’t exactly looking forward to covering with his usual heavy hides with how hot his body felt.

“Thank you Ma’am. Your kindness has been well noted. Perhaps we will run into each other again and I will not look so roasted next time.” Giving her a friendly smile, he took his things in hand and moved toward where the bedding was being handed out, taking his leave.

[Thread Closed]