"Alright, lets see what they've got for us today, huh?" A shapely woman stepped into the part of the weyr's lower caverns set aside for the people of the Tunnel Hold to pick up the supplies, her light brown eyes scanning the area. It was soon obvious whom she was speaking to as a large wher stepped in behind her. In the darkness, it might have been difficult to tell if this wher's hide was a light golden-bronze or a dark bronzish-gold, were it not for the fact that its wingsails were a pale white-cream shade of gold. "Looks like pretty normal stuff today 'Task" Other handlers were coming in behind her, already starting to move the boxes and sacks into the wher pulled cart outside.

Not usual Ilistask huffed at her handler, earning an unhappy chirp from the green firelizard perched on Ilista's shoulder and a soft creel from the tiny ghost-green startlet curled around the handler's neck. "What's not usual?" The woman sounded confused. Small One "There's a kid in here?" Ilista didn't see anyone. There The wher flicked her nose in the direction the scent of the small one was coming from.

Ilista frowned. Now that Ilistask had pointed it out, that sack like shape in the corner suddenly wasn't so sack like and seemed more human like. "Well who ever they are, their not supposed to be down here" She said moving off to get a better look at this person. The frown deepened as Ilista picked out the form of a very young girl. "Hey" The woman called to the girl as she reahced out to gently shake her "What are you doing down here kid?" her tone was soft but very insistent.

Avani hadn't meant to fall asleep, honestly. She had been sent down to the lower caverns with a delivery, a belt dagger, for someone named Duna. That, of course, was why she was down there. She had been waiting for a weryhandler to give the dagger to so it would get to it's proper owner.

After about an hour of waiting, she had decided to sit down to wait. Another hour, an she was asleep. But she really couldn't help it. Being a candidate was exactly the easiest thing in the world, and she still had her smith apprentice ship to deal with. All that, along with making adjustments, meant she was very tired when she wasn't doing anything. She had tried keeping herself distracted by talking to herself, as usual, but that had just made it easier to fall asleep.

"What are you doing down here kid?" The girl blinked awake as someone shook her, looking up to see a woman standing over her. Hastily she stood up, rubbing her eyes. Looking around, she saw a few other people, and some weyrs. The one near the woman was a gold.

"I-I had to deliver this." She said, holding out the knife. "I guess I fell asleep. I'm sorry, it was an accident." She added hastily, getting a slightly ashamed look, even though it was just an accident and could have happened to anyone. It was clear the girl was very nervous, and she also seemed upset that she had made a mistake.

Ilista stepped back as the girl stood up, the handler almost hitting Ilistask. She hadn't realized the golden wher was quite that close. The woman glared at the wher a moment. Navi let out a sound rathe rlike a squeak, while Auva abandoned them all to try and find a safer perch, one where she wasn't going to be knocking into gold whers all the time. Ilistask just looked calmly back Should pay attention to small one Ilista snorted, but for once did as her wher told her without arguing.

"Eh, happens to the best of us" She dismissed the girl's apology for being asleep with a casual wave of her hand. The woman remembered well falling asleep during the early days of her own apprenticeship, and the tongue lashings from her Master which had followed each incident. She'd learned quickly how to stay awake all night. Now days she was more liekly to be having staying awake during the day if she needed to.

The woman looked down at the knife the girl was holding out and then back at the girl . "Might be a bit more helpful if I knew who it was for." She said, her voice level, with just a trace of Ilista's somewhat strange sense of humor. "By the way, I'm Journeywoman StarSmith Ilista, this is Gold listask" Navi lifted her head, the starlet chirping a soft questioning tone as she looked at the new person. "This is Navi" Ilista petted the littel green with the glowing eyes and spines. She wondered for a moment where Auva had gotten to. The silly green firelizard was probably off terrorizing some poor unsuspecting person by trying to groom their hair. Ilista gave the girl a look which said that she was expecting a name to put to the child's face, now that she'd introduced herself.

Avani blinked in surprise as her mistake was simply waved off, and she looked down once she was asked to tell the woman who the dagger was for. She should have done that when she said she was delivering the dagger! Another dumb mistake.

"I was supposed to bring it for Duna." She said, still awkwardly holding the dagger out. She wasn't sure weather to keep holding it or let her hand drop down next to her. It was kind of awkward, and after another few seconds she just dropped her arm.

As she was introduced to the woman and the two creatures with her, she took a second to gather her wits. After all, she had just woken up from a very strange dream, though she wasn't even supposed to be asleep. After finally getting her thoughts clear, she looked up at the woman.

"I'm Avani." She muttered, answering the woman's look. "I'm a smith apprentice. . ." She said, stating what her shoulder knots should have already said. She had little to no social graces just after waking up it seemed.

"So, umm. . . Here." She said, holding the dagger out again.

"Duna huh? As in Dusk's handler?" Ilista was curious now, peering more closely at the belt knife the girl held. She liked to think she knew the prismatic handler tolerably well, at least as well as anyone knew the anti-social beastcrafter. So she couldn't help but be curious to get a good look at what the prism handler was getting from the weyr's smiths. Though she supposed since she was apparently going to be the one delivering it to its final destination, she would have plenty of time to get a feel for it.

The gold handler smiled at the girl when she introduced herself. "It's good to meet you Avani. Though I have to wonder what a Candidate is doing down here. Surely your master has other apprentices who could do this task, rather than making you do this. I'd always been of the understanding that being a candidate is rather a lot of work. Surely you'd need sleep more than an apprentice who wasn't also a candidate" As she spoke Ilista reached out and took the blade from the girl "Fortunately for you I know Duna. Else you'd likely end up back down here another night waiting for her to be the one on the supply run." The handler smiled "Don't worry, I'll make sure it gets to her"

"Yes, I think so." Avani said, frowning a bit as she thought on that. That did sound right, and she doubted there was another Duna in the weyr, so that should be the right one. At least she hoped so, or that would be yet another stupid mistake.

"It nice to meet you to, Ilista. As for other apprentices. . . I was the only one there at the time, and Ferrer knows interesting things happen to me when I deliver anything." The girl said with a small smile. After all, she had gotten Searched when delivering a butter knife, so what would happen when she delivered a belt knife? She also seemed to have a habit of delivering knives.

Focusing out of the usual rant, she shrugged. "Like I said, i was the only one there, and I haven't been a candidate for very long, so I am not completely drained yet." She muttered softly.

"Thank you." She added. "I'd really hate to come back down here and fall asleep again. That would be even more awkward the second time." She said, rubbing the back of her head. At least this time she had been found by someone who apparently wouldn't scold her, but she probably wouldn't be as lucky next time. Next time, though, she;d make sure to volunteer for one of the easier deliveries before the others did. Then maybe she'd end up somewhere besides the lower caverns, although she couldn't say she regretted going down there.