Touchy Subjects
wbeach.jpg

Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Beach

With a gentler slope to the water from the main beach and the way it is cut in like a cove, this is the most sheltered spot for bathing. The sand is the same white hue, there are just as many — or perhaps more — scattered shells. From here, one has a beautiful view across the lake, a scene more often tranquil than not.


A brief storm through the area has just blown past, leaving everything wet and clean and new-seeming. Or, perhaps, that might just be the way of it for some of the weyrlings, particularly those that are daring a venture outside in the foul weather's wake. Above, the sky appears fresh and scrubbed, the bare beginnings of full night being laid out in deep blues with just a bare edge of purple still gleaming in the distance. Stars are just starting to be scattered across night's broad cloak and the moons alone suffice as lumination out here. R'shed and Lonarith are among those leaving the barracks, though not for feeding or bathing or … well, anything /necessary/, that's for sure. Either the lad can't sleep or the dragon can't, so both are heading out for a bit of fresh air after some silent conversation.

Stormy weather or not, Jessa is determined to get out and about as much as she can. Ever the curious sort, Ninkasith follows in her wake, all but charging towards the water with a loud bugle of joy at the prospect of a swim. Jessa, however, is not dressed for a swim this time, though she does have a large basket of goodies gleaned from the kitchen. Most of her faire is not present, with the exception of Empress, who rarely strays far. All she can do at her lifemate's exuberance is laugh, reveling in the simple joys each passing day brings.

In the foul weather's wake? Hardly. Phylicia and Fauikith were out IN the brief storm, much to the young woman's dislike. But the dark foliage-patterned green would apparently hear nothing of her partner going back inside, even for her coat to protect herself. Poor Phylicia looks more (rather than less) drenched, her hair dripping. And that tiny green is frolicing down the beach, splashing in the shallower water. As Ninkasith comes charging towards her general direction the smaller green rumbles in a welcome fashion, the sound of a flute trilling through local dragonminds. « Wasn't the rain wonderful? The waves are nice too! Aren't they? » It seems she's not yet learned that babble is not always appealing. And Phy is just standing off to the side looking … wet.

Ninkasith 's mental chatter bears a much warmer, silkier feel, amber and sparkles and the faint tang of fruit all wrapped into a cozy patchwork quilt. She warbles quite happily at Fauikith, joining her clutchsibling in aquatic playtime. «I slept. But the waves are nice. I love to swim, so does mine. Maybe we can all swim together!»

The blue's eyes are purely for the skies, wide and slow-whirling with a strange sense of satisfaction. The greeting offered to his siblings is the same as is always offered, mental rather than audible — an unfathomably deep and golden-sounding resonance, as of some vast bell being struck and allowed to vibrate for the span of a breath. It fades into the ether, leaving darkness behind … but it's a star-studded darkness, mirroring the heavens above. Thus is Lonarith enraptured. R'shed, for his part, is oblivious to most everything, but his eyes are compelled to study the skies as well after a called, "Hey," to the other weyrlings as they seem to have gathered — inadvertently or otherwise.

Phylicia scrubs a hand at the side of her face, belatedly finally pulling a few stray stands of hair off of her face as it seems like the rain really has stopped now. The former-healer just seems to be mildly happy that Fauikith's romping in the shallows seems to be taking most of the mud off the green's belly. Both R'shed and Jessa get a look from Phy, before she looks up to the sky herself. Looking upwards takes a lot less effort than trying to coral her dragon. "Hi." She calls back. She may look miserable, but at least she sounds relatively happy. Fauikith's mental flute titters merrily in laughter, a small breeze stirring the faint sound of leaves. « Why were you sleeping? It's so much better out here. » There's a brief pause as the leaves rustle again. « I don't think mine wants to swim. She's already wet. She's wishing she was back in a cave, where there's a fire and a- » "FAUI!" Phylicia bellows, her lung capacity quite astonishing, as her cheeks redden.

Jessa bites her lip to stifle a laugh at Phylicia's predicament, plodding through the sand after her lifemate and stopping just next to the other girl. Without a word, she reaches into her basket, and pulls out a thermos which she passes over. "You need this more than I do. I would've shared anyways." To R'shed, she calls out a greeting, lifting up her basket. "Hey there, R'shed. Hungry? Didn't know when any of us would get much of a chance to get out of the barracks, so I brought this out with me."

As it turns out, whatever Fauikith is sending very likely winds up in the strange void of Lonarith's thoughts after a brief consideration of it. His interest is wholly consumed with those stars, though it seems he holds R'shed in mute communion over it. Eventually, the lad breaks free enough to shake his head and mumble, "No, I don't … know. I'll find someone to ask, okay?" He winces at Phylicia's yelling, his hand coming up automatically to rub at an ear — it's not /that/ loud, but when one has a terribly loud dragon … it's just habit. His gaze shifts to Jessa, then, and he offers a slight smile and a shake of his head. "I'm fine now, I think … just fed him and that seemed to take care of my stomach. For now, uh, anyway."

Ninkasith whuffles in her equivalent of laughter, her tail swishing back and forth to create serpentine patterns in the sand. Fizzy amber sparkles dance through local dragonminds as she replies. «So I could swim longer.» Golden warmth spills over, warm honey mead trickling over each mind it touches. «Yours wishes for what? A cave? But why caves, when there's water and waves and so many places to see?»

"Sorry." Phylicia mumbles as Rished rubs at his ear, her hands thankfully wrapping around the thermos Jessa offers. "Thank you." She says to the other, uncapping it and taking a cautious sip at first to make sure it won't scald anything before she's taking a slightly longer pull, offering it back. "She insisted on catching the storm, and playing in whatever she could find…" A shudder works through Phy's form at that. Though she had enjoyed the rain, the thunder and momentary lightening was more than she cared for, apparently. Fauikith has taken to batting at incoming waves, breaking them and splitting their paths. « Because there's a fire. And a warm man. » That pauses the merry trill of the flute, insects buzzing quietly instead in curiousity. « She likes to- » By this point in time, Phy's face is hiding in one - or both - of her hands. « -I should stop talking. I'm distressing her. » And a sorry-sounding warble issues from the tiny green as she stops her wave-batting.

Perhaps it's lucky that R'io had missed most of that. Because if he had caught it, he'd probably have never left Phylicia live it down! Or he might have offered to keep her warm, one of the two. Either probably would have embarrassed her. And possibly gotten him slapped. Either way, he's managed to come out in the middle of something. "Shards, I hate storms," he sighs as he comes out onto the beach with Neroth. The brown grumbles, and he shakes his head. "Oh no. I'm glad I could hide under your wing during it all." He frowns. Then he looks up, seeing the others. "Oh!" He offers a wave, and calls out, "Hello!" He and Neroth head towards the beach to greet the others.

"No. It, uh. It's not that," he's quick to explain to Phylicia, shaking his head. "It's just kind of a habit now. He's … loud." It's a poor descriptor of how the dragon's tone works, but it's close enough. Lonarith settles to his haunches and cranes his head to the heavens, the closest emulation to the void of his mind as there ever was. R'shed just looks at him, bewildered, and then glances at Phylicia with a slight knitting of his brow. "Do you, uh. I can get a towel or something, if you want. There should be some clean ones in the barracks." R'io's arrival earns him a wave and a friendly, "Heya," before he's looking to Phy to confirm or deny the need for a towel.

Phylicia is not the only one turning rather red in the face, as Ninkasith continues to chatter away with Fauikith. «Mine has a man she thinks of much. And hiding from storms with him, and….» Poor Jessa. She's coughing, trying to cover her embarrassment and hopefully stop her all too vocal lifemate in her tracks. "Ummmm… okay, Ninka, that's enough." Which only gets her a curious warble, and the tilt of a lichen-kissed head. But at least that train of conversational thought is stopped—for now. She offers a sympathetic look to Phylicia, shaking her head as the other girl offers back the thermos. "I've one more in there, thought I'd bring enough klah and goodies for us all." She glances over at R'io as he joins everyone on the beach, trying to cover over her lifemate's near faux-pas with a smile. "Hello there… got food, if you're hungry."

Phylicia is indeed /very/ happy that R'io seems to have missed Fauikith's over-sharing, by the look of momentary horror on her face as she realizes he and his are making their way towards them. Leaves rustle and a few branches snap back and forth in a curious, testing wind. « Apparently there are some things humans don't share. It seems like mating is apparently a touchy subj-eee-oooh! I'm sorry! » Phylicia had been in the process of nodding to Rished for that towel, when her head snaps in a lovingly-angry glare towards Fauikith. "That is… /quite/ enough, Fauikith." She manages to say around her tight throat, sidling a few steps away from the other Weyrlings in obvious embarrassment. The others might catch the whiff of wet pavement and fresh falling rain, like a new downpour is taking place just now, though the evening sky remains clear. Phy likely isn't going to be able to cover nearly as well as Jessa seems to be, her face truely a nice shade of red.

R'io blinks. THAT he heard. "Oh? What's this about mating?" he inquires, looking to the only one who really seems embarrassed — Phylicia. "We're not supposed to do that, Phy…have you been naughty?" he teases, offering a wink. Neroth mrfs and gives R'io a look, and the weyrling ducks a little, but just grins innocently.

There's a moment of confusion from R'shed when Phylicia's nod is turned into a look aimed to her lifemate. Lonarith, helpfully, just whuffs once and turns a slow, scrutinizing look to the young man as if to ask why he's still standing there like a lump. "I'll, uh. I'll be back," the lad reassures and then he's off at a lope to the barracks, leaving the blue temporarily unattended. Not that he needs being attended, apparently, for as unmoving a lump of living night's sky as he is. R'shed's not gone long, though, maybe a minute or two at the most before he's returning with a couple of towels in tow.

Ninkasith's look of confusion at the flustered women is priceless, and she huffs lightly. An odd, rich, loamy sort of flavor lingers in the dragonminds, teasing at the edges of those humans perhaps sensitive enough to catch a hint of her thoughts. «Mating is a touchy subject. I wonder why?» Jessa just turns away from the gathering, the only way she can hide her chagrin now. «But we should not distress ours. They are dear, aren't they?» Jessa's basket suddenly becomes a lot more interesting, as she examines the contents with more fascination than she should have. The scents of bubblies, fresh roasted porcine kabobs, fruits and fresh bread waft through the air. "Alright, if none of you are hungry, that's more for me. But the offer stands."

That loving-angry look that was aimed at Fauikith, turns into a withering gaze from Phylicia, now directed at R'io. Someone is not amused at all. "You'd only care if I have, because you haven't been so lucky lately." She snipes. Right. Did someone forget to put the warning label on Phy again? However, Phy's snipe makes Faui's head jerk up, and the whispers of a gust of harsh wind enough to knock a person over can be felt. « That was uncalled for. » Is the flat remark from the shadowed green. For a moment the two bonded seem to lock gazes and it takes R'shed returning with the towels. There's a mood swing here commonly associated with Weyrlings as personalities balance out, and Phylicia looks to R'io. "Sorry. Fauikith just has me… unbalanced still." And with the apology said she turns to R'shed with an extremely faint and slightly forced smile. "Thank you…" And her hands latch on to the towels, one immediately going to rub at dripping hair. That basket though… might be tempting. Later, that is.

R'io draws back from Phylicia's sudden vehemence, blinking. It didn't occur to him that things might still be odd for the rest of his fellow weyrlings. He seems to have adjusted relatively well to it all. He stands there, a little confused at the snipe, However, as Phylicia offers her apology, he smiles again. "Not a problem," he returns easily. But he stands back for the time being, fading into the background for now. As brash and talkative as he is, he can let himself be unnoticed, too.

And it's about now that Lonarith finally deigns to speak, his words resonating with silver-sweet mirth over a deeper, resolute tone of iron: «Mine has not experienced mating yet. It seems to distress him. I tell him that it is not time to think of it. We have much work to do.» Obliviousness, thy name is R'shed. The blue doesn't see fit to share that snippet with him, having clearly learned the knack of keeping some people in the loop … and others out of it. "Sure," he replies to Phylicia, then withdraws after she's taken the towels. His hands lace behind his neck and his head tips back, eyes for the stars that his lifemate had been so intently studying. Now, of course, Lonarith is observing the others, but in a distant, almost abstract way. "Is there any water in there?" Rishy abruptly asks, glancing at Jessa. All the sniping of the others doesn't escape him, but he'll just … keep his nose out of it. Over here.

Jessa shakes her head in answer to R'shed's inquiry. "No, just klah. Thought something hot to drink would make a nice treat. A few sandwiches, some fruit, some bread and cheese… roasted porcine kabobs…" Meat. Glorious meat. Empress now takes more of an interest in the doings of her human perch, peering with unholy interest at that basket, and ruffling her wings. With all the embarrassment, it's time for a quick change of subject. "Ummm… has anybody else been having more vivid dreams since Impressing?"

For a few moments after Phylicia finishes rubbing her hair, she merely holds the towel over her face, taking in steadying breaths though it's broken by a small huff of amusement for Lonarith's chosen words. Indeed, the transition to having another life bound to yours isn't always a quick and neat thing. The only thing to indicate she might be having some sort of conversation with Fauikith are small noises that occasionally come from the green dragonet, as she extracts herself from the water. It borders on a few minutes before she finally extracts her face from the towel, looking much calmer than she did previously. She takes the necessary steps to put her by Rio, looking slightly shame-faced. "I really am sorry." She says again. His acceptance came just a little too readily for her to feel good about it.

R'io grins as Phylicia repeats her apology. He pats her on a shoulder. "Really…it's all right," he states. "In retrospect, maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. I'm just still happy, and I wasn't thinking about how what I say would affect others. I'm sorry." He offers an honest smile. He is still conscious of the others around, and he's not ignoring them, but they're not speaking to him, and Phylicia needs comforting, so….

"Oh," R'shed replies with a slight frown, nose wrinkling just a little before he shrugs it off. "Klah works, I guess. I'm just, uh, a little thirsty." So, don't mind him as he wanders over to the basket to poke around … and maybe get a little more than the klah after all. "Huh? Oh. I do, sometimes. His dreams … they kind of scare me a little, sometimes. I don't know why, because I don't, uh. Don't remember them." Lonarith just chuffs, once, and shifts his attention from the others to the water, with methodical precision. Or, perhaps, he's looking for something there that he just own't find with the rest of them. With him, it's hard to say.

"It's hard sometimes, telling which dreams are your own and which are your lifemate's. Especially when both of you dream of being in the air." Jessa passes the basket to R'shed, more than happy to let him nose around and see what goodies he might find. After all, that was the whole point of bringing the food back to the Weyrling area, right? Ninkasith, for her part, loses interest in the talk of mating, and returns to frolicking in the water, fascinated with the rippling patterns she makes in the surf.

Phylicia almost starts at R'io pats her shoulder, though now she watches him instead of looking elsewhere. Comforting may not be exactly what she needs, but assurances seem to work perfectly well. Her own stomach isn't rumbling, though a hunger pain along her spine is the warning that Fauikith seems to have worked off her earlier meal. And that green is sitting almost as sedately as Lonarith for the moment, though her tail twitches in the sand, digging a small furrow. "It's alright." She assures him herself, offering a soft smile. "It seems we both have a habit of not always thinking before we speak." Right. Because that hasn't gotten her into trouble AT ALL.

"Yeah. No, I … wake up with the smell of smoke, sometimes." Yes, this puzzles R'shed greatly. After all, that's not what Lonarith 'speaks' with. In either case, he digs a few things out of the basket with a mumbled "Thank you," to Jessa around a bit of bread and cheese. It's the smell of the meat that draws Lonarith's gaze and then the blue is rousing himself, shadowed paws carrying him off sure-footedly toward the barracks. It'll be on R'shed's shoulders to keep up with him, now. He can eat while he walks and he'd better be done by the time he sits his blue self down in front of a meat bin.

Meat. The universal call to growing dragons. Fauikith isn't far behind Lonarith, and a simple look over her shoulder, is beckoning Phylicia to her. Tonight, maybe, the green will be able to fall asleep without a glow basket next to her, since she'll have a proper meal in her stomach.

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