Xanadu Weyr - Main Docks
Jutting out from the land are the platforms that make up the main dock of Xanadu Weyr. The extruded plastic makes an odd sound when footsteps echo across it. From this dock, two others protrude taking opposite directions, each for a special purpose.
Broken Sailboat
This sleek sailing craft has been made by a craftsman who took loving pride in his creations. Though small and narrow in width, it does have a small inside cabin and an area outside to seat a couple of people. The wood has been left unpainted, its natural color under the finish is a rich reddish gold, the grains adding depth to its luster. Right now, however, it looks as though it has seen better days. The mast has been snapped off near the bottom, the sails and lines are tangled. Unseen under the waterline there is a long, though now-mended crack running the length of the keel.
It's a lovely summer afternoon, pity anyone would have to be inside in the offices with such fine weather to be had. There's a nice breeze ruffling the waters of the lake, while overhead fluffy clouds scud across a sky of pale blue. The day had that lazy quality only summer can bring. The docks are popular this time of year with a few folks trying to fish - though it's likely all in vain, for there are quite a few laughing children jumping into the water from nearer to shore, most likely scaring off any would-be caught fish. Thea is there sitting on the dock, back leaned against a piling near a moored sailcraft, just enjoying some time away from the squalling of babes, having finished office work early for once.
Shorts-clad, with his shirt tossed carelessly over one shoulder, D'son pads down the docks barefoot, head tilted up towards the sky's warmth. Looks like he's been spending a lot of time in the sun, swarthy skin darkened to a deep tan. He looks over as some of the kids out there shriek in delight at an incoming wave and this brings his gaze to Thea. "Hey," he says with warmth in his tone and heads over towards the goldrider, smiling.
Thea blinks up from her half-there contemplation of sun dancing on water, squints at D'son and then raises a hand to shield her eyes to see who it is. A smile lights her face, "Oh hey, D'son. How's life treating you lately?" Sea green eyes, still hazy with relaxation note his tanned skin, "Someone's been out in the sun. Whatcha been up to?"
"Pretty good," D'son ansers promptly and nods to the spot beside Thea. "Mind if I join you?" he laughs a little, nods. "Yeah. Don't have to sit in an office most of the day anymore, so you know. I'm either out and about talking to holders, or working on my projects and I've been sailing and fishing again a bunch. You?"
Thea moves her leg that is stretched out in front of her, allowing it to dangle over the side with the other one, pats the dock beside her with an easy laugh, "Of course not!" She listens, head tilted to one side as she measures his mood, "Not minding being back in the wings then?" There's a nod about the sailing, her toe prods the craft tugging at it's mooring just below her. "You go in this?"
D'son drops down into the vacated space smoothly and puts his shirt down in an untidy pile beside him, lets his own feet drop over the side of the dock. "Nope, not minding at all. Glad even. I mean, I did start to really get the hang of things and I didn't dislike the job, but shells, it did eat up a lotta time. It's good to just … be me again. You know?" Dels eyeballs the boat for a moment or two. "That still needs some work."
The craft drifts away with that little foot-push Thea gives it, a little nod of agreement is given, "Yeah, I can imagine it did." As for being himself again, she shakes her head with a half-smile, "I guess I can't relate to the idea since my job stays constant." Her shoulders rise and fall, "I'm always just me." Still eyeing the skiff, "Looks like you fixed the hull, anyway. Thanks for that." Or likely it wouldn't be in the water, isn't she brilliant? She grins then, turns with eyes full of merriment, "Get D'had out sailing or something once in awhile? He's tearing his hair out."
"Yeah, I know, once a goldrider, always a goldrider, with a lot of eyes on you and a lot of expectations," D'son says sympathetically. "It's a juggling act, being on top of the leader heap," he adds thoughtfully and after a moment, shifts his hand over, aiming to rest it atop hers for a moment. "Yeah, it'd be in the bottom of the lake right now if the keel weren't sealed up properly," Dels says with a laugh and nods. "Sure, can do that, fishing is great for relaxing."
"Aw, I'm used to it though and with six of us to share the load…" Well that could be both good and bad. With an impish little grin, Thea adds, "Besides, you never know when something like a stint in jail will come along to change things up." She turns her hand over, curls her fingers 'round D'son's hand and gives it a little squeeze before releasing it. "Thanks for working on it." She eyes the craft critically, "So what's left to fix beside the mast?" Which is obviously still missing. She whooshes a soft breath out, adding, "Ya might have to coax him a bit, though he does love sailing. He's been in a terrible mood lately."
"That must be nice, yeah, being able to share it out that way, more balanced, less to worry about, not like when Inimeth first flew Kilaueth and we were hurting for a headwoman," D'son says with a little chuckle then snorts at mention of jail. "Shells. Don't remind me." The turn of her hand seems to surprise him a little, but that squeeze is returned in kind, then his palm settles on the dock's surface. "Mast and some minor bits here and there," he describes, "the last time I looked anyway. I can check her over completely if you like and get started again?' What she says about D'had though pulls his mouth to the side. "Huh. Well when isn't D'had a little cranky?" he asks, teasingly.
"Those were some good times, huh?" Thea says with a little laugh and a lot of sarcasm. If she notes his surprise, there's no indication of it. She slides a look sidelong at him, a glint of teasing in her eyes, "I was going to offer my condolences on missing that flight, but it seems you don't need them." As for that sailboat, "Yeah, would you?" She has a wide, appreciative grin for that, "I'd like to get it working again so I can learn how to sail it." She flexes her feet until her toes just drag in the water, idly swinging her feet, deciding on whether she's going to answer that last one. A secretive smile quirks her lips, "Oh, he's got his moments." Then she shakes her head, still amused, "But he's not a little cranky. He's a lot cranky. Not used to babes I guess." For all that she says it lightly, there's a little catch in her voice.
"Something like that," D'son says dubiously and kicks his feet out over the water a little. That teasing brings a hint of color to his cheeks and Dels clears his throat. "I wouldn't — hm. I wouldn't have been unhappy if he'd won," Dels says slowly, carefully and tilts a look over at Thea in turn, through his bangs. "But it's not — not a big deal when he loses either." Breath. Grin. Because boats are safer topics. "Sure, here, let's haul it in, huh?" That last of hers though as he reaches for the line to draw the boat closer draws his gaze to her face. "Gotcha. Well then y'know, a break, some uh, grownup time, all good, right?"
That throat-clearing draws Thea's eyes from the water to D'son's face and she notes the color of his cheeks. Sea green eyes blink as she stares for a beat. "Ha! D'son, I meant Kilaueth's, not Seryth's." A vague handwave to her shoulder, "No more shiny knot and all. But you're doing alright without it." She's quick to turn her attention to the boat, a flush rising in her cheeks as well, and although she's laughing it off, it is there her eyes remain fixed. "They're with the nannies most of the time, but yeah, you know. Anything to work off some stress would be good for him."
And that brings more color to D'son's cheeks. "Oh … shells, well Kilaueth's was pretty long ago now," Dels says with a laugh. "I don't really think about it much. But no, no more big knot unless Inimeth decides he's going to knock Nyunath out of the sky next time around." He grins wryly and hauls on the line some more, nods. "I guess twins make a lot of noise," he says thoughtfully and as the boat swings closer, pulls his legs up out of the way. "Here she comes. Hold on while I step over?"
Thea grins, "Yeah, well. You've been scarce and I've been… busy?" She watches as that skiff is towed nearer. "They do cry some, but not every minute." A tiny frown flits across her face, and she adds shortly, "He's always upset after Seryth rises." She shrugs that away though and leans over to hang onto the gunwale with both hands, steadying it for him. Running footsteps sound on the planks behind her several young voices pipe up asking if they're sailing. "It's broken," she tells them with an apology in her tone. Back to D'son she watches what he's doing, "Think it'll take a long time to fix?"
"Not so much scarce … just taking it easy, lying low," D'son amends slightly. "And yeah, of course. Babies," Dels says with a chuckle, then nods seriously. "He's jealous?" the bronzerider asks quietly, tilting another look her way as he gets to his feet to step across into the boat carefully. "Sorry kids, going over it to fix it," he says with a little wave and then hunkers down to check out the seal from the inside, just making sure. "Still need to fix the minor interior damage," Dels notes, fingers running over some nicks and gouges here and there. "The mast … hm. Not sure, maybe a week? Depends. If I spend most of the next couple of days on it could be fine, otherwise, you know, it might not be a bad idea to just /replace/ it."
Thea rolls her eyes, "Scarce, absent, lying low. Whatever." Easy and relaxed, perhaps more so than she's ever been around him prior to this, she adds, "Not that I blame you one bit." She flickers an amused glance his way, "He thinks they're made of glass or something." All the levity fades then and she drops her eyes to where she's hanging onto that skiff. She waits until those kids moan and groan then patter away. She shrugs uneasily, a tremor of pain flickers across her face, "I… guess. He acts angry with me." She listens to his assessment. Replace it? "Oh, no. I can't part with it." She has a fond smile for that battered skiff. "But if it's a very involved fix, I'll pay someone to do it. You don't have to bother with all that."
"Yeah, down time is good," D'son says from inside the boat, running his hand along the side, then leans out carefully, balancing to look down to where the keel meets the water. "She's sitting well in the water. So … yeah, new — oh no no, the /mast/ just the mast, Thea," D'son says with a wry grin and then moves over to take her hand up in his, gentle. "I'm sorry he gets his panties in a twist about it," Dels says quietly.
Thea's lips curve into a quirky grin as she nods agreement about the downtime, "So I've learned." Thanks to his order to take some herself. She too, eyes the way the craft sits, although her gaze is not a trained one. She'll take his word for it, it seems. "Oh, just the mast? Well, that's do-able." There's relief in every line of her posture as she tilts her head, re-examining the boat, "Though, if worse came to worse, I suppose I could have made it into a planter for flowers or something." Her hand is lifted from where it's gripping the side of the boat and it's her turn to look surprised. A bit of a smile chases her somber expression away at his phrasing in spite of the topic. "Thanks, D'son. It's just confusing is all. Not like I can control Seryth. I'd think he'd know that by now." Deliberately cheerful then, "At least it doesn't happen all that often."
"Just the mast and it shouldn't be hard to find a replacement. Do you have the marks to replace it?" Dels' fingers give hers another squeeze and then depart as he climbs back out of the boat, using one of the jetty posts on the dock for leverage and folds back down to sit beside the goldrider. "Well there's knowing it and internalizing it I guess. I mean, come on, he's been a rider for a long time and he wasn't exactly the settling kind, right?"
"Hmm, I've some marks, yes. Though I've no idea what they cost or how to go about procuring one." Thea grins, amused, allowing his fingers to slip from hers. "Never thought I'd be buying one of those." She busies herself steadying the skiff as he climbs out, leaning back to release it once he's on the dock. "Yeeees, for nearly twenty turns" she agrees, her confusion still evident. "He wins flights and I don't mind. See, it's just the way things are." She shakes her head, not following his reasoning. "They mean nothing."
"That's okay, I know who to ask at least, even if I'm not, you know, an expert on mast-making," Dels explains, then listens as Thea goes on. "Yeah, exactly. It's just flights. It's how it is." There's a little pause though as he takes in her last. "I wouldn't say that they mean /nothing/ but they don't … they don't have to impact what you do have outside of them."
The sounds in the background of children playing, splashing in the waves and calling to one another don't seem to distract Thea's thoughts as she nods absently, "If you'll ask and let me know, I'll get those marks handy." A tiny wrinkle forms on her brow as D'son speaks, there's a murmur of agreement, "However you define it, to me it's not like there has to be anything to be jealous of, because he knows that too. There's nothing outside of them." She lifts a hand to rub at her face in frustration. "Flights aren't easy for me," she admits quietly, "and he doesn't make them any easier. I wish I could understand."
"Will do," D'son promises about the mast. "Mm. I guess I just think that even when there's no … romantic relationship outside of the flight, they do still carry a little bit of weight. A little bit of something, if only because it becomes a shared experience between you and the other rider. That doesn't mean that they have to be built up as this … thing either, but I think it's kind of taking away from the experience to say that it's nothing. It's something, just not cheating. Not taking away from a person's main relationship." She rubs at her face and D'son hesitates for a moment, then slowly moves his arm like he'd curl it around Thea's shoulders. "That sounds … rough."
Thea nods once more. "I'd appreciate that, D'son. And if you want, when you're finished working on the boat, I'll pay you. Or you can have free use of it. Or something." She drops her hand from her face as he speaks. "I didn't mean- oh shells. It's hard to put it into words. I honestly just try to put them out of my mind once they're over with." She shrugs muttering, "Holdbred, so yeah." She flicks a glance at his arm-movement, then back to his face, letting what he's said sink in. "He knows he's the only one for me, but if that's how a man would look at it…" She looks away across the water and into the Turns to come with a bleak expression.
"Oh shells no, don't have to pay me," D'son disclaims with a shake of his head. "I'd be glad to get the sailing in though, that'd be a good enough trade for me." Since she's not leaning away, Dels lets his arm complete that curl, squeezes lightly. Comfort offered. "I don't know if that's how a /man/ sees it, but uh, it's how I see them. And well, I'm weyrbred. So … that's part of it I bet."
"Consider it half yours then," Thea replies with a firm nod turning back just as he squeezes her shoulders. Comfort accepted, she ducks her head nevertheless, suddenly shy. "Perhaps. Might be my inner nature to be this way, I don't know." She weaves her fingers together in her lap and there is where she puts her attention. "I don't like not being in control, but I have learned to accept that it is part and parcel of being Seryth's. I don't fight her." She looks up with a little laugh, "You should have seen me in Weyrling class. I refused to discuss flights. Told 'em to have their say and leave me be." She chuckles softly at the recollection.
"Deal," D'son says with a little nod and studies his knees as Thea's head ducks. "I guess I'm just saying, that of course there's /something/ to sharing a flight with someone else. It's intense and you're with your dragon and the person whose dragon wins shares in that too. The same level of intensity and all that," Dels says slowly, thoughtfully. "Sometimes that does create a bond, even if it's only a friendly one, after. But that kind of bond doesn't … replace or take precedence over other bonds. So it's all relative and you know, it's kind of like having friends, see. Friends and the things friends do together can sometimes take /time/ away from your weyrmate or however a relationship gets called. But spending time with friends doesn't take away from the love you'd share with a weyrmate and neither do flights." He pauses to take a breath, gives her shoulders another light squeeze then drops his hand back down to the dock. "So y'know, I'd think that that's something that D'had would get. Especially ridin' a blue. I mean, really blues and browns catch and chase a lot more than bronzes do, when you get down to it." His smile is sympathetic for her weyrling experience of flight lectures.
Thea listens to all this and it's not helping her, no. If anything, her dismay grows. "Well if that's what he gets," she flashes a look at D'son that is as full of confusion as he's likely (hopefully) ever seen on her face, "-and I can tell you that I feel no sort of bond whatsoever with X'hil or K'ael or L'ton- then he can't deal with it." She draws her legs up from where they're swinging over the water, loops her arms around them and rests her chin on her knees. "And it will always be like this afterwards." Really that last bit is said to herself softly.
D'son shakes his head a few times. "I'm not talking about D'had, Thea," the bronzerider explains. "More … just … how things are. Even if you don't feel a bond there, the truth of the matter is, that there's a shared time between you. But it was you know, left where it should be. A moment in time that happened and is gone," Dels struggles to try to explain further. She draws up her legs and he reaches over to rub at her back lightly. "Maybe, maybe not. I mean, in the end, you guys haven't been together that long. He might get used to it eventually. Logically, he faces this a lot more than you do, so there's that at least. But beyond that, it's a feelings thing. And sometimes it just takes time." Breath blown out. "I'll try to take his mind off of it though."
Thea ohs softly, and gets it finally, or at least she thinks she does, "Left where it should be." She studies the water as he finishes speaking, "That makes sense, yeah. See, that's how it is for me. Those riders… are alright." And there's certainly no rancor in her tone for them. When she feels his hand on her back, she turns her head towards him, resting her cheek against them instead of her chin. For a long moment she considers his words somberly at first, then the sparkle slowly comes back to her eyes, "Two turns sometimes seems like forever, but it's not. And yeah, it probably is a bigger adjustment for him." She sits up, her smile returning, "Try to take his mind off of it and I would appreciate that forever. Just as long as it's fishing or whiskey and not women."
"Exactly," D'son says with an encouraging smile and leans over a little to hug her properly. His smile widens all the more when hers appears and that sparkle in her eyes. "Aha! Now here's the Thea I wanna see," he says with a laugh and his hands drop back behind him, supporting his weight. "Sure. Running around screwing isn't … my thing. Well I mean chasing a lot of women," he hastily amends. "So whiskey and fishing works out just fine."
Thea returns that hug, perhaps a little surprised by it, but pleased to nonetheless. With an earnest look into his eyes, her smile grows, "Thanks for everything, D'son." She can't help but laugh in return, especially at his change of words there. "Then I'll trust you two not to get into trouble." Or cause her any. Still chuckling, she says, "I'd better get back and check on things." She pushes herself up from the dock to stand saying, "Catch something nice and we'll have you over to dinner to eat it, how's that? And I promise I'll have the babes in the nursery." With that, she heads off, her steps obviously lighter.
"We won't, you got my word on that," D'son says with a smile and nods. "Okay, I'll come by," he says, lifts a hand to wave. "See you soon, Thea." He watches her go, grin still caught on his face, then he pushes to his feet, stretches and goes to dive off the dock for a swim.