Xanadu Weyr - Shore of Lake Caspian
The cliffs that run along the shore come and go, various weyrs nestled along the tops of them or dug into the walls, but eventually they recede enough to expose a beach. The white sand echoes the rise and fall of the cliffs with a multitude of sandy dunes, endlessly creating tiny valleys that are constantly demolished and rebuilt by the frequent arrival or departure of dragons. The dunes smooth out as the gentle slope approaches the edge of the deep blue water. The sand darkens, and a shell here and there stands out for children to collect.
The beach narrows to the southwest, leaving a path barely wide enough for dragons in single file before cutting in to a smaller, more sheltered cove. The sands are the same white, the waters the same blue, but they're calmer and more tranquil, more protected from the winds that ruffle Lake Caspian and the currents that tug beneath the surface.
Rough, wide stairs lead up to the meadow above and the road that runs along the top of the cliffs, passing through the fields and heading for the river mouth that can be just barely seen from here. The largest of the staircases up the cliff is located near the docks that jut out onto the peaceful blue waters.
Not quite dinner time, but not really afternoon either, and Rukbat has started to drift lower in the sky, though it is still visible over the tops of the cliffs along the lakeshore. Some members of the Weyr are enjoying the quiet before dinner, strolling this way or that, while a few dragons float in the water. Meanwhile, it seems that candidates have been relieved from their duties - or at least some of them have decided to relieve themselves from duties - for a young woman is settled on the beach, eye closed as her face is turned up towards the fading sun, her redwort stained hands partially visible where she has dug them into the cool underlayers of sand.
On optional duties today, Kelani of course to spend at least half of it in the infirmary. Catching up on a few candidate physicals and checking in with the local healers. But for a change she didn't stay the whole day either and appears now at the beach in her bathing suit and a sarong wrapped around her hips. Sandles are kicked off as she reaches the sand and she lets the sarong drop next to them. As she walks to the beach she notices the redworted canidate and gives a sympathetic smile, "It will come off I promise." She offers her to give her some hope she won't forever remain red handed.
A voice, and Ricki jumps a little, blinking her eyes open and looking around for the source, eyes resting on Kelani for a moment, a puzzled expression on her face. As she lifts a hand from the sand to brush a loose wisp of hair form her face, the red-toned fingers come into view and understanding appears on her face, even as she wrinkles her nose. "I hope so.. I'm just glad I didn't give in and scratch my nose or anything." Her hands are rubbed rather pointlessly together before she shrugs. "If not, it is a stunning contrast to our robes, I bet." She offers, trying to be cheerful. "And either way, is better than any other sort of red stuff."
"Sorry to startle you." Kelani says with an apologetic look upon her face. "They probably should have warned you to wear gloves…it is the kind of prank pulled on fresh apprentices." She says with a little shake of her head, "At least its harmless…just red." She offers oh so helpfully. "Sometimes they get people to get numbweed instead." She says and kneels in the sand next to her and extends a hand, "I have seen you in the barracks but haven't had the chance to introduce myself, Kelani."
Hand is rubbed against her thigh to remove any lingering sand before she is taking Kelani's offered one, and giving it a shake, and offering her a smile. "Ricki.." She replies, before she is glancing at her hands again. "They had me sterilizing well.. Pretty sure it was everything." Biting her lip, she shrugs a little. "Apparently, the journeywoman was… distressed and distracted.. when she gave me the task, and found out that uh.." A pause and her voice gets really quiet. "I don't like blood." So infirmary - perfect place to be!
Kelani shakes Ricki's hand briefly and smiles, "Well its a good easy task and useful to. I wouldn't worry so much about that. We even get a few apprentices faint in their first turn. Things can get a bit closed in and then there is the smell of the iron, the trauma and all else going on. Not everyone is able to get used it. Don't you worry, there are plenty non-bloody things to do in the infimary if you get stuck on duties again." She offers helpfully if a little to descriptively. Clearly she is one of those dreaded healers. "What do you normally do?" She asks coversationally.
There is a definite green-tinge that appears on Ricki's face as Kelani gets a little too descriptive about the environment of the infirmary - though thankfully she doesn't go beyond the generic mention of 'trauma'. Shifting to sit up a bit more, Ricki loops her arms around her knees, one hand holding her other wrist loosely as she take a moment to compose herself, a soft oh! escaping her as she realizes she was asked a question. "Usually help my ma and dad with their projects.. or if they don't have anything, I'm stuck on grandmother errand duty." The worst days. "Obviously you're a healer?" She asks, though a brief glance at Kelani seems to show her worried she assumed wrong.
Sephany is not a candidate, though she may be a familiar enough face to some of them. Should she be doing something? Probably. But perhaps it's break time or she's been set free for the day. The apprentice weaver comes from down the beach, walking in the surf with her sandals in her hand, bare toes squishing between the moist sand as the waves lap at her feet. Above her, a pair of firelizards twirl and play; blue and green hides catching the light in turn. Grey eyes turn from her pair of pets to the faces of the crowd, glancing over those who have retreated to the beach with mild interest before settling on Kelani with some definity. Steps alter and she moves with more purpose, heading for the pair of candidates, gaze flickering to Ricki with considerably less recognition but no less friendliness, one hand lifted in a greeting that is soon echoed with a cheerful, "Hello!" extended to the pair once she's close enough to converse without effort.
Kelani wrinkles her nose as she notes the effect of her words, "Sorry, I sometimes forget..and keep going on and on. Yeah, I am a journeyman. Spent at least half my life in the infirmary for one reason or another." She says with a half smile, "Just take a deep breath and let it out slowly and should settle your senses." There is a curious tilt to her head at the answer, "Oh what kind of projects?" She asks in a bright voice before she hears the familiar voice of Sephany. She rises to her feet and lifts a hand to wave to the weaver, "Hey Sephany, have you met Ricki? She is another of the candidates." She says in a note of long knowledge of that name even though she has only just been formally introduced herself.
"Oh, they have a news paper letter… thing." Ricki almost stumbles over the explanation of her parents' 'work' before the new voice is drawing her attention and she is offering a smile, looking at least as if she has mostly recovered from the moment of feeling green, shifting forward to her knees, rather than standing all the way. A redwort stained hand is offered to Sephany, before she tilts her head slightly. "You.. You were with Risali, at the gather? With the.." the other hand is waved around as she picks a word - 'herd' probably not being appropriate . "Toddlers?"
"No, I have not," answers Kelani's inquiry about the weaver's knowledge of Ricki. "Pleasure to meet you," extended toward the unfamiliar of the pair, Sephany accepting the offered red-hand with a gentle but firm grip of her own. "Sephany, apprentice weaver. And yes, I was," she confirms with some surprised. "I didn't realize…" that she had been recognized? Whatever she thinks of it, she doesn't say, and there's a smile on her face all the same. A gesture of her hand toward the sand, though she's already moving to sit when she asks, "Do you mind if I join you?"
"That sounds interesting, what kind of news? Like a local variation of the Harper's drum?" Kelani starts then wrinkles her nose again, "I am sorry, if I am being too nosy just tell me to leave off. I just find things like that interesting, see my Da is a Harper." Kelani gives a shake of her head, "Of course not, I was about to go for a swim but I would gladly put that on hold for good company. Did you need me in for another fitting soon?" She asks of the weaver and looks up to the cavorting firelizards to see another green joining the group, her Chlora. Her little proddy Chlora. There is a grimace from the Healer before looking back to the pair, "So how are you both today?"
"No, no.. You're fine. But yeah, basically.. Bits and pieces and whatever is interesting." Ricki offers in explanation, with a little shrug. "Its hard to explain." As Sephany moves to settle, Ricki offers a shake of her head, motioning for her to settle down. "With all the little ones, I.. paid a little attention to you." Hopefully that doesn't sound creepy. As Ricki settles back down on the beach, she shrugs a little at Kelani. "I.. Fine, really. Just.. needed a bit of air. Ya know?"
Does that sound creepy? Sephany seems to consider the confession briefly before figuratively shrugging it off and moving right along. "None of them were mine," is offered as an afterthought, as though this point was important. "No, I think you're fine, but I have been a bit lax about getting the other candidates," such as Ricki, "in for measurements." Cue gaze side-eyeing said candidate, and then an all too innocent smile. "What are you doing tomorrow, Ricki?" Beam. Flutter. "Do you want to get measured for your robe?" No needles required. As Chlora joins the fray, she certainly gets the attention of the little blue Harper, who is only too happy to trill and sing at her, even if Thimble (the green) has decided to retreat back to Sephany and just… sulk in her hair. "I am well," is the answer to Kelani's inquiry. "Busy, but enjoying it. You?"
Kelani nods with interest at the explanation of her parent's trade. "My dad teaches poetry at the hall..he had hoped I would follow him but the healers won me over." She offers of her own experience with 'harpering'. "It sounds like I missed a good gather…but we had such an interesting case in the infirmary. Some hunters came in from being out for awhile and one of them had some parasites under their skin. It was quite the case. Never seen quite so many, but we think we got them all removed." Parasites over a gather and again that moment that she forgets not everyone finds it 'polite conversation'. She nods to Ricki, "Yeah, I get that…especially after some of those eggs. I couldn't handle more than one or two at a time. How about you?" Then a glance to Sephany and nods at the affirmation about the robe. "Oh good." Then a tilt of her head and a moment of pondering, "I am alright..they..well they gave me stuff to think over. The eggs I mean.. It wasn't how I expected it would be." Chlora trills softly to Harper flying around the blue in a display of aerial acrobatics. Who is trying to woo who here?
And there is that lovely shade of green returning to Ricki's face, and she is shifting rather uncomfortably where she sits on the sands. Thankful for the distraction from Sephany she latches on to the question, nodding firmly. "Sure, just.. when and where you need me." A moment of hesitation, and she tacks on a "Miss?" as if questioning the appropriateness of the word. Eyes linger on the flittering firelizards, nodding absently at Kelani as she talks about the eggs. "I.. Well.." A blush and she shakes her head a little. "It wasn't what I thought. And.. I.. I don't know if I liked it." No mention of the crying, of course.
At least Ricki is not alone in that subtle green-tinge. The mention of parasites beneath the skin has Sephany looking slightly less comfortable; grey eyes fixed on Kelani briefly in a 'really?!' kind of expression that does not become a vocalization. Just… no. Acceptance. It is what it is. "Well. There is that, then," ahem. Cough-cough. Moving right along. "Um… I'm a morning person, so I am in the weaver's area bright and early. But I don't expect everyone to be up with the dawn! How about mid-morning? And the weavers area is best; I have all my stuff there." And if the grimace and nose-wrinkle is any indication, that 'miss' is certainly not necessary. "Just 'Sephany'. I only wear an apprentice knot, so I don't think anything more than my name is required for now." Thank Faranth. Of eggs, she cannot speak, though there's curiosity in her gaze as the pair of candidates discuss them. One hand lifts to idly rub at Thimble's head, soothing the disgruntled green who is left ignored while Harper flirts with the fluttering Chlora. He'll take those acrobatics and add a few of his own, though it's clear that his claim to fame is his vocal talents, rather than his aerial skills. 'singing' a song and hitting all of those notes on point. 'Harper' was clearly a good name for him.
There is a duck of Kelani's head at the look Sephany shoots her and she wrinkles her nose again, "Sorry….but it really was interesting. Like…a new um fabric might be for you?" She says trying to extend what little knowledge she has of weavering. There is almost a look of relief on Kelani's face at Ricki's admission, "Yeah, me neither. A couple were mostly nice…but….one scared me so much weyrwoman Risali had to pull me off the egg I was so frozen. Some of the others were talking about it as well. They really are testing us I think." There is a shrug of her shoulders, "Maybe helping us face stuff will make us better riders if we impress." A soft sigh and she sags a little, "Still it was a lot to take." Chlora starts to fly a little hire perhaps enticing the little blue to follow her with high toned trills of her own but not quite so melodic as Harper. Kelani gives a little shiver of her shoulders and glances up at them and then to Sephany, "Um.." A mix of a questioning and apologetic look mixed right in.
Dolth comes flying over head and he dips down to fly over the beach. He goes over the water and banks hard. His rider is holding on tightly as the dolphin cradle is under the dragon and it's pulling tightly against the dragon. The dragon flies fast over the water before suddenly backwinging to a stop and hovering over the water. It slowly lower the dolphin cradle down to the water before doing a water landing next to it. The rider pulls off his helmet and jacket before he gets into the water and starts to swim to shore pulling the dolphin cradle with him. He spots the others and waves to them as Dolth is happy to stay in the water. "Hello." He pulls the dolphin cradle behind him and ughs as he gets it onto shore. Inside of it is a large wooden facsimile dolphin.
"Sounds good, I'll see you mid-morning tomorrow, Sephany.." Ricki offers, even as she is shifting to get to her feet, slowly brushing off any sand that lingers, frowning briefly at her hands once more. Pausing, she glances at Kelani with a tilt of her head. "Was it the brown one? I just.. I.." A shake of her head and she straightens up, apparently determined to avoid actually facing the fears that the eggs awakened in her. "I have a few things I need to take care of before dinner, but I hope you both have a good evening.." And then she is bobbing her head again and picking her way across the beach and back towards the main Weyr.