A Simple Lunch
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Xanadu Weyr - Beach

The unerring range of subdued white rises and falls in a multitude of sandy dunes, creating an endless amount of tiny valleys constantly demolished and rebuilt by the frequent arrival or departure of a dragon. Smoothing out as it slopes gently to the edge of the deep blue water, the sand darkens and a shell here and there stands out for children to collect. The beach itself is set along a low cliff - the height lessoning as one heads eastwards, blocking a portion of the beach from direct access.
The wide wide stretch of water opens up to the east, the far distant shore way beyond the horizon and the beach curves ever so slowly round to east and west, distant arms of land embracing the wind-ruffled Caspian Lake. East leads up to the mouth of the Rubicon River, where the protecting cliff is merely an arms length higher then the sand, and beyond that, a winding road leading out of Xanadu's territory. Westwards, the beach narrows as the cliff swings out, leaving a path wide enough for dragons in single file before cutting in to the sheltered cove designated the Weyrling Beach. However, cut in the cliff face to the north are a variety of rough, wide staircases, providing access to the clearing and to the meadow.


"WAHOO!"

It's around lunchtime, and there's at least one person having a lovely time swimming! Rio is having a grand time diving into the water off the docks. He may not be supposed to do it, but he surely is. Clad in beige-colored, short pants, he takes a running leap off of the dock, leaping into the water!

And it's the fact that it's lunch time that has Phylicia wandering down onto the beach, out towards the sun. She's dressed in her normal clothing, apparently not looking to swim. Two grown firelizards - a brown and a blue - glide lazily behind her, trailing like chicks while that young gold she acquired a short while ago is perched upon her shoulder, creeling. There is indeed a bowl in her grasp, and a plate with a bit of human-food atop of that. The loud shoutout of joy has the senior healer apprentice starting, her footsteps skittering in the sand for a moment as she looks to where the sound came from. "Right." She half-mumbles to herself, carefully pushing a bit of the wherry back towards the center of her plate before she looks to find a good, sunny spot to enjoy her lunch.

There are a couple other firelizards there, too — three actually, in a group, playing in the sand next to a basket. Two, a blue and a brown, are rather young, while the third, a green, is a little older. She seems to be watching over them. The green is actually quite…well, 'interesting', to be polite. The long-haired fellow who'd jumped off the dock dives under the water a moment, swimming under it like a dolphin might, before surfacing. And then he walks up to the beach. He looks extremely happy. He walks to the basket, and opens it, getting things out for lunch.

Phylicia may have stopped for a moment to re-arrange her plate, but Ciaran and Estevan - the blue and brown - seem to have continued on ahead of her, to the trio of firelizards. The dark blue 'lizard perches darkly a short distance off, while the red-capped brown makes a straight line towards the younger of the two, looking to join in the merry fun they seem to be having. Phylicia notices this, and their proximity to the wet young man. "I'm sorry." She appologizes to him, her voice holding the traces of roughness, left by the damages of a fire a few months back. But there's no point in retracing her steps and being completely anti-social this day. "Do you mind if I join you for lunch, sir?" Because the little gold creeling into her ear cavity is really starting to give her a head. "/Hinae/. Hush." And oddly enough, the gold does quiet down. For a few moments.

Rio looks up, giving a smile at the firelizards. And then at the human that follows them. He smiles broadly. "Oh, sure thing," he replies. If he notices anything amiss with her voice, he doesn't comment on it. "I'd love it, actually; I don't get a chance to eat with many people out here." He takes his own lunch out of the basket, and then takes a blanket out and spreads it on the sand. "Here you go, you can sit on this if you want to keep the sand out of your clothes."

Phylicia stays standing for just a few moments longer as he gets the blanket out, a smile spreading over her face. Oh good. She won't have to sit on sand. "Thank you." She says honestly, sinking onto her knees first, and then placing her bottom next to her calves, keeping her legs tucked up next to her. The bowl and plate are placed on the blanket next, with a fabric 'napkin' produced, since the fresh meat she procured from the kitchens isn't the neatest. Hinae - the small sunset colored gold - glides down to the young woman's legs, where in a much more controlled, dainty, and proud fashion she is fed. Her other two have joined them by now, each taking a piece from the bowl now and then. "You don't get to eat much with others? That's odd." She states, knowing how many people tend to float around the Weyr.

Rio smiles. "Well…not outside," he notes. "Most people want to eat inside. In a warm place like this, with all ocean out here, I don't see why; it's beautiful scenery." He smiles, and looks out over the ocean. As he does, the little brown in his trio looks over to Phylicia's firelizards eating. The little brown stares hard. As if he's looking at something. And then makes to snitch a piece of meat form Phylicia's bowl. Rio looks back just in time to see him preparing to pounce. "Oh no you don't! Riot, don't you dare!" The brown hisses a little, but sits quietly. Rio hands out the food to his trio. "Here. Eat your own food."

Phylicia's lips form a brief, small 'o' as she nods. "Well, most people don't enjoy sand in their food." She offers with a slight chuckle. Which is bound to happen should a stiff breeze blow up. With Hinae momentarily sedated and chewing on a larger piece of meat, Phylicia quickly stuffs a few scraps of her wherry into the roll on her plate and takes a bite, also taking the time to chew and swallow. And thankfully the roll is something she can also hold one-handed, as she reaches for another piece to give to the little 'lizard perched on her leg. The meat in the bowl is dwindling, but so are her own trio's hunger. "It's alright. If they want a piece or two, they can have one."

Rio nods. "Oh…well, that's true," he notes. "But it's so nice out here!" He chuckles. "I'm sorry about that, Riot's just a troublemaker." He smiles, and points to them in turn — the brown, the blue, and then the green. "This is Riot, Jetta, and Pizazz." Despite his words, he looks quite happy and fond as he introduces them.

"I'm not arguing that." Phylicia says after swallowing another bite of her impromptu sandwich. She pays attention as each of his is introduced and nods to them. "Pleased to meet you three." She says, directly to the firelizards. "The blue is Ciaran, the brown Estevan and the little gold is Hinae, and I'm Phylicia." She supplies for her own and herself, one hand holding her sandwich while the other is holding a piece of meat for Hinae, making her unable to gesture. "And you would be…?"

Rio smiles and offers a grin. "Name's Rio. Pleased to meet you, Phylicia," he replies brightly. Well, he's certainly a happy kind of guy. His green, Pizazz, actually seems to bow as the woman speaks to them. The other two? They keep eating. "And it's nice to meet you three, too," he offers, reaching out to offer a scritchie to the three of Phylicia's firelizards.

Ciaran looks at the finger in obvious distain, however refraining from a hiss as he merely arches away from the offering. Estevan however, briefly looks like he found a stash of something good, crooning in delight. And Hinae? She's far too busy paying attention to the meat at hand to pay attention to something she can't eat. Such is the way of the young. The conversation reaches a natural lull, and Phylicia takes the moment to take another few bites of her sandwich before she ventures to ask. "What is it that you do here?" She doesn't recall seeing his face much, though it does nag at her slightly, from the hot springs hatching.

Rio smiles. "I'm a Weaver at Fort, actually," he admits. "I just make frequent visits here. Very frequent. Too cold at Fort to really swim much. So I come here to get the urge to swim out." He grins. "I absolutely love to swim. Nothing better, if you ask me." He chuckles and does not pet the upset firelizard. "They're cute," he comments.

One of Phylicia's eyebrows quirks upwards, suggesting a feeling of mild disbelief. "Really?" That one word echo's the suggested feeling. "So why aren't you a dolphineer then? Instead of a weaver?" At the comment of being 'cute' Ciaran snorts in that distain he holds about him like a cloak, and Estevan seems not to mind at all as he curls up where he is, contented with the few pieces of meat from the bowl.

Rio thinks about that. Really thinks. "Actually, I'm not quite sure," he notes. "But…until I ended up in Fort, I never left the Hold I was born in. And my mother was a Weaver. She was the only person I ever really had as a role model, so…." He offers a bit of a shrug. "So I guess that's all I knew."

Phylicia is a patient person. As Rio takes the time to think, she finishes off her impromptu sandwich, and looks down at Hinae, the lumps of individual pieces of meat starting to become visible against her hide. "Full yet?" She murmurs down to the gold, only to recieve a chirrup of agreement as she coils up on her human's leg, too full to work her way back up to Phy's shoulder. "Well, I suppose that's a good a reason as any." She says after a moment, running a finger down the small ridges of Hinae's spine. "Would you change crafts if you had the chance?"

Rio mulls that over for a moment. "Maybe. I don't know," he replies. "I've always felt close to the water, even though I didn't really grow up next to it. It's hard to say why. Maybe it has something to do with my father. I never knew him. Maybe he was a sailor or something…."

"Or maybe you just have an affinity for water." Phylicia offers with a small chuckle and smile, relocating Hinae back to her shoulder. Her own plate is empty and the bowl is nearly so. But it seems that the healer-girl is unable to stay long, because she's piling the plate back on top of the bowl. Her lips press together a moment later. "I'm sorry you never knew your father…" And she's standing now, bowl in hand while offering him another smile. "And thank you again, for letting me sit with you… but I have to be getting back."

Rio nods. "That's possible too," he agrees. He smiles as she notes her sympathy. "Well…I figure, if he really knew about me — and cared about me — he'd have stayed. So maybe he wasn't that great a fellow anyway." His smile broadens as she stands. "Of course. Thanks for eating with me!" He offers a wave. "If you ever have the need to come out and swim, look me up!"

Phylicia pauses for a moment as she turns to walk away. Apparently she's not much for words today, because what Rio gets in response is a smile and a nod after a few moments, the smile quirking upwards more to a grin as she finishes turning. Some thought, apparently, is very amusing to her. Estevan and Ciaran both extract themselves from where they momentarily settled, taking off after their human, Estevan with a gleeful parting chirrup.

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