Drunken Shenanigans

"Everybody counts," Kuminari purred in amusement, looking sideways at Valerian with sparkling eyes. Soft laughter bubbled forth at her fellow Harper's obvious disgust by the miner. She didn't bother bickering, however, at Valerian's dismissal of his being included in their little bet. Disgust flickered around the corner of her eyes as she watched the man dig deep, and examine his prize. Her face blanched slightly, making her pale complexion that much paler while her small array of freckles stood out starkly across her nose.

"Volfetti is going to void our little game," Kuminari murmured, her gaze now resting on the woman in question, as she watched her guzzle several glasses of wine before pouncing on Valerian's friend. Lymsleia followed soon after, and Kuminari's left eyebrow twitched upwards slightly as she watched them interact. The way the dark skinned girl's face screwed up amused her no end, and Kuminari's own lips parted to release a soft, gusty laugh. Whatever the young woman was saying over there, it obviously wasn't pleasant. Publicity, however, was always good, even when it was nasty.

When the young man appeared to be caught by what Lymsleia was saying, Kuminari's lips twitched, a smirk threatening, though it changed into a sweet, timid smile the moment he turned in her direction, and she dropped her eyes to catch Allendris' from under her lashes, the perfect image of the modest daughter. Whatever Lymsleia had told the young man, it had obviously had the opposite effect the Healer intended, and Kuminari found that, alone, to be hilarious, though she refrained from showing it, at least at that point in time. Perhaps she would go and find the healer to tease her later. While Kuminari was pretty sure the young woman wouldn't fill any quota required for 'friendship', she was delightful to tease, and that was always fun.

Lifting her glass delicately, Kuminari sipped from it, murmuring to Valerian from behind the liquid where her lips could not be seen to move; "Lymsleia's poisonous words didn't work." Kuminari's own words were devilish, and completely at odds with the façade of the perfectly delicate little daughter she was wearing. Hazelnut eyes flickered over Volfetti, wide and innocent, as the older woman stumbled off to her next victim after tapping Allendris' on the side of the head. Shifting her wide-eyed gaze back to Allendris, she sent him a fleeting, timid smile and a light blush crept up her cheeks. A moment later, she turned away slightly, as if flustered, and winked at Valerian when she was sure Allendris' wouldn't catch the movement.

She hadn't had so much fun in quite a while. The young men back home had been quite aware of her tendencies, and wouldn't player her games any more. Fresh meat was far too good to pass up!

“Who?” It took a moment for Valerian to connect the name to a face which was in part thanks to the process of elimination; he knew the other woman picking on Allendris after all. He gave a brief thought to wondering why he couldn’t remember the dark-skinned girl’s name, or even her presence for that matter, and gave a simple but blunt reply, “She’s pretty ineffectual.” With a shrug, he took another sip of his cider. It wasn’t too bad though he’d be sure to go easy on how much he consumed that evening. Then again, the way Talian kept tossing back his drinks, maybe getting drunk himself was the only way to save his marks from Kuminari’s greedy hands.

He fell silent again, watching the antics unfolding around him with a casual glance here and there but the main event, to him anyway, was clearly going to be Allendris versus Kuminari. He couldn’t stop staring at her and she had taken up a game of baiting him on. While he barely contained an eye-roll at her little charade of sweet and innocent, Valerian couldn’t deny that it matched well with what was brewing in his head. “Time to remind him how amazing a friend I am,” Valerian waited until Allendris looked back in their direction and catching the man’s eye, beckoned him over to join them with a wave of his hand. If the glass-smith wanted to know more about the gossip-collector, then he would get first-hand knowledge and Valerian would stand by and enjoy the show.

The girl seemed to be enjoying the snacks, which pleased Echelrov imensly. It had taken a lot of work to get those, and he was glad that at least someone was appreicative of them.

"That's good at least." He grinned brightly at her. "Well, you heard correctly. Figured that with how stuffy some of our lessons can be, it might be nice to have a time just to hang out with each other."

He winked at her. "Vintercraft secret you know." He chuckled. "It was actually far harder to get the food than it was the booze.  And as for these guys?" He motioned his hand at the group. "Well, free booze is always a good incentive."

Appreciative wasn't the word. Ravenous would have been more accurate. Breccan wasn't sure how the bubbly pie in her hands had disappeared without making the slightest difference to the growling in her belly, but she knew she'd need another. She didn't want to look like a pig, but she was becoming more and more certain that she hadn't eaten yesterday either. Somehow time just seemed to get away from her.

"It was a good idea," she agreed, privately wondering if the sexuality lesson had had anything to do with it. There were a few here who might be virgins, she reflected, looking over the girls in particular. In her experience, most guys who were virgins by this point had some sort of serious problem. That redhead was putting on a convincing front, all earnest eyes and blushing, but somehow she doubted it. One girl, she knew, had just given birth, so that obviously ruled her out. Lymsleia? She had no idea. The healer had never seemed to have much in the way of a carnal appetite, but perhaps Breccan simply didn't know her that well.

"You're a vintner? From what I hear, no one needs you more than Katila," she laughed, sampling the white wine she'd taken. Blech. Too dry for her; it was so harsh. She hoped he hadn't had a hand in making it. "I'm surprised they don't mind us getting sloppy around one another. Perhaps the idea is that we should, since we won't be able to partake if we Impress," she mused aloud, "What's your outlook on this whole situation?" Her gesture took in the entirety of Katila. "Do you miss your Hall, your home, or are you just tickled to be here?"

She was genuinely curious. Mustering an escape group pretty much depended upon knowing who even wanted to give it a try.

Echlerov finished off his redfruit, and then picked up one of the sweet rolls. They were best eaten while drinking Klah, but he didn't feel like having both his hands full.

He chuckled. "Yeah, the local stuff is a little rough still, but I'm working on it. Most of the wines I've got there are from the north, mostly from Tillek, since Benden wine typically is a bit more expensive, and far more noticable if it were to go missing." He grinned. "I have no idea if this is allowed or not," he admitted. "but I figure that I'll take the blame for it if there is any. I don't think they mind, as long as it doesn't impeed us doing our assigned chores, and things like that."

He looked thoughtful as he ordered his thoughts. "Well, I'll admit, when I first came here, I was a little upset, especially with not impressing, but now, well, Katila's home. It's not perfect, and sometimes I miss the Vinterhall, but msot of the time, there couldn't be a better place to live." He had come a long way since he had first been brought here, to accepting that he wasn't going to leave. Of course, the drama over Volfetti, had helped that. He had no desire to end up punished for trying to escape, not when he was perfectly happy here. "What about you? How are you liking it?"

"Is it a condition of soil or just inexperience? You're certainly the first vintner I've seen since arriving," she asked, curious. Her specialty of herbology meant all plants were interesting, and it would be interesting to develop new strains of fruit to cope with the conditions down here. Perhaps Echlerov would be a working partner in the future. She'd have to ask him where he kept his vines and take a look, some day.

"They have such a strange balance of control and freedom here," she remarked, shaking her head slightly, "We do as we please as long as we do our chores." That was probably more a result of the geographical displacement than anything. Where would someone go? Few here had the knowledge to cross the sea, she guessed, and fewer the balls to try. She would frankly not know where to start, but she wasn't so foolish as to think she'd escape on her own. It would take a group, though hopefully not one too sizable.

"Oh, you've stood once already?" she asked, intrigued, "What was it like, if you don't mind me asking?" She was intensely curious about this facet of Katilan life. Dragons just weren't something she knew much about, for obvious reasons. "I haven't been here long enough to be as content," she admitted with a wry smile, "I would prefer to return. I'm from Healer, I had a great career, people knew me...it's hard to give all of that up. I do like the heat, though."

She took another sip of the wine. The warm burning in her belly that signaled her gulped cider was going to work seemed to make the dry white more bearable. She was almost enjoying it. "What about the others? Are most of them happy here, or would they try to leave if the opportunity presented itself?" she asked, tone deliberately casual. She doubted he'd say anything to anyone even if he knew her intentions, but there was no point in seeming too interested. She didn't have enough in the way of plans for that.

"Inexperience, I suppose." Echlerov responded. "The soil's great here, it's very rich and perfect for growing things, but I haven't had any rider vinters approach me. I don't even know if any of them have been vinter trained." Maybe he needed to make some inquiries. Surely one of the many Riders had a least a little bit of Vinter training, right? And that could be of use when he didn't impress, adn started to form a proper crafthall. He made a note in his head, adn then put it aside.

"Well, almost everyone who's standing is an adult." He responded to her comment about freedom. "And if we can't control ourselves, then we certainly aren't going to be able to handle a dragon." Or at least that was how he felt.

"It was the most exciting, and the most disappointing thing I've ever been through." He had no objection to sharing, not this, and his eyes lit up as he explained. "There's so much emotion in the air, and everyone responds to it, from the candidates, to the already impressed riders." He thought about mentioning how dangerous it could be, but decided against it. He didn't want to scare her off. "Yeah." Some crafts, he supposed were closer nit than others, and it made sense that the girl would have attachments. "Where are you from? Did you leave a relationship behind? Children?"

Hmm. He thought for a moment. "Not everyone is happy being here." he said, "but most of them accept it. Would they leave if they had the chance? Maybe. Especially if they haven't been here that long." That sort of conversation reminded him of Volfetti, and he pondered for a moment, and then lowered his voice, leaning close to her. "If you're thinking of escaping, you should probably talk to Volfetti."

Breccan lifted her eyebrows slightly. Was he the only vintner? She had assumed they'd take equally from all crafts...but they probably considered alcohol more of a luxury item and less than a necessity. Perhaps they only recently had the resources or time to take those from crafts that weren't strictly necessary. From Echlerov's stand-point that wasn't so bad. Being the only one capable of producing an item so many enjoyed meant he'd doubtless have as profitable a career here as he would have in the north. "It sounds like your expertise is going to be lucrative, once your vines are mature. Or whatever it is you need for your craft," she smiled, self-deprecating amusement at her own ignorance clear on her face, "Would you show me your vines some time? I'd like to learn more about Vintnercraft. I suspect some of what you do could be applied to what I do, and maybe even vice versa." She hoped he'd agree. He was pleasant and she was genuinely curious, especially after his comment about the soil. She would have to start a garden of some variety if the soil was so excellent, in order to better study some of the more exotic plants she'd come across.

"That makes sense," she agreed, musing, "What if you are found unsuitable for a dragon once you are here? Do you just have to stay for the rest of your life?" That was an interesting tactic, at least potentially. She could convincingly play the part of a madman. Most women did on a regular basis anyway. But she had no desire to be required to stay here and forbidden from Standing. Her emotions were still heavily mixed on that topic, but it seemed that if she must stay, it would be better to do so Impressed. It was unfortunate that Impressing guaranteed staying.

Breccan listened with avid interest as he described the Hatching in sketchy details. He made it sound like a worthwhile experience. "What sort of dragon were you hoping to Impress? Or were you just hoping in general?" she asked, hoping she wasn't being too nosy. Occasionally she went overboard with questions. "I'm Istan, but I've spent more time at Fort and Journeying than at home. No children, no relationship," as she spoke, she realized her ties to the North were more fragile than she'd first thought, at least out loud. Inwardly, she still wanted to return as badly as ever. "I suppose I'm married to my career. That is where all of my efforts have gone. It's hard to abandon the results of the work I've done my entire life," she explained, hearing how empty that sounded. Some here probably had had children, or a spouse. Wouldn't it be even harder for them to leave? And yet no one tried to escape.

Echlerov was bright; he easily jumped right to her intentions, though it wasn't as if the leap was hard to make. She'd already expressed that she absolutely would leave, and she hadn't been here all that long, not really. That made her a prime target for a potential-escapee. "Which one is Volfetti?" she asked immediately, scanning the nearby faces. It sounded like a girl's name, but Breccan suspected a man would be more daring. Perhaps it was simply a unusual, or a family name.

"Of course, I'd love to show you them." He was very pleased that she was interested in the plants, and possibly the rest of the process. "You know, we might be able to use some the vinter methods to distill medicines." He hadn't every really thought about it before, using his methods to help out the healers, but it was certainly something to look into.

He blinked. An unsuitable candidate? "I don't think that's possible. We aren't just picked at random, the riders that picked us out have dragons that are good at finding good candidates. None of us have been found unsuitable yet, even if we aren't impressed." He thought for a moment. "There's no leaving though. Once you're here, you're kind of stuck."

When he said it like that, he frowned. No wonder so many of the candidates were unhappy here. He was a little surprised that Breccan didn't have someone in the North, no lover, no children, only her work. Hmm. Perhaps she would be able to adjust fairly well after all, once she got over the whole trying to escape thing.

"That's Vol." He pointed out a slender Istan girl, with caramel brown shoulder length hair. Hopefully she wouldn't be too upset at him, for passing the kid off to her. Volfetti was the best person he knew off that would be capable of telling the girl the risks of trying to escape. She had been there after all. "I don't know that I'd bring it up to her now, but it's up to you. This really isn't the place for it, but if you decide to, I'd be more than happy to introduce you to her."

The man's obvious pleasure in her interest warmed her, and she reflected that in her smile. She was just as pleased as he was that he liked the idea, and that he already seemed open to teaching her some vintner methods. She was quite sure she could apply what he knew to what she knew and come up with something interesting. Perhaps not particularly practical or regularly feasible, but interesting, sure.

"I wonder how they know," she frowned, a little bothered by the idea of someone in her head. Again. Of course, that was what Impression was, and it was the part that she was most uncomfortable with, in truth. All those interruptions. She probably should have found it reassuring or complimentary that a dragon had made some sort of sweep of her brain and immediately wanted to bring her along with him back to Katila, but in truth, it just made her vaguely uncomfortable. How could they be so sure she'd be good at all of this? For the most part, she was confident she was good at anything she wanted to be good at, but bonding soul-deep with another creature wasn't something that she necessarily found appealing, much less something she had any interest in. She carefully kept people at arm's length, allowing them to come to a certain depth but no further. Having a dragon just barge in and be inside of everything that she was seemed almost rude.

Breccan studied the girl he pointed out, dark-haired and slim, with enough of a tan that she might have been Istan as well, or perhaps from Nerat or Boll. She ensured she'd remember the stranger's face, and resolved to find time to talk to her, perhaps even tonight. Echlerov provided her with an opening, offering to introduce her. It was tempting, but... "No," she agreed reluctantly, "You're right, this isn't the place for it. I'll find her some other time. Maybe we'll be assigned the same chore." Her eyes registered both amusement and faint frustration. The chores were something else she didn't quite see eye-to-eye with.

"It's been a pleasure, Echlerov. You really will have to take me to your vines some time. I'm holding you to that," she assured him, with a grin, "It's been a long day, though. I think I'll find my bed." She was genuinely tired, despite her earlier intentions to end up drunk and in bed with someone.

He shrugged. It was just something that dragons knew how to do as far as he knew, though perhaps one of the search riders knew more. They were connected with their dragons, so maybe? Might be worth asking anyways.

"Well, even if you don't end up in a chore slot with you, I'm still willing to introduce you to her. Just let me know when." It was very probable that the two women would end up with chores together, with how things were set up, but just in case he wanted to give her another option. He wasn't sure if Breccan was the type to go up to a stranger or not.

"Alright." He couldn't blame her for being tired, nor would he, and he smiled at her. "I'll try to keep this lot's volume down so they don't disturb you." He didn't really think that it would be a problem, so far things had been pretty quiet, but he liked the sound of the reassurance. "I'm glad you came."