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.
Along the beach where the waves lap against the sand is where Mickal can be found. He's walking up and down the waterline, head down and clearly looking for something. Occasionally he bends down to pick something up. The item will be examined and if he dislikes it it gets tossed into the waters but if it's likable it goes into one of the pouches attached to his belt.
On the same stretch of beach is a teenage girl, dressed in a black tunic underneath a somewhat simple blue dress. Her leather shoes are off her feet and on the side as she sits there, watching the waves roll in and out. Her hair is tossed by the occasional breeze, being untied as it is, and some of it is across her face. It is not clear what she is doing aside from sightseeing, but her presence may not be deliberate at all, either.
Early winter. Not really the best time to walk on the beach unless you like the brisk breezes that blow off the lake. Thankfully Thea does, although she's wearing her jacket, it's unbuttoned as the season is early enough that it's not yet really cold, merely cool today. The junior and Seryth walk the beach together, free of the sands these past few weeks, the pair still snags time outside whenever they can. They're down by the waters edge as they stroll, the young queen is actually in the shallow water wading. As they approach the boy, Thea calls out, "Hey there. Find anything good?" She casts her eyes across the beach, noting the girl tosses her a casual wave.
Mickal glances up at the sound of the voice, his eyes cutting towards the queen wading near by. A crooked smile lights up his expression as he holds out a flat shell with multiple colors adorning it. "Looking for shells."explains the weyrbrat. "To draw. And keeping my eye out for anything else." what the anything else might be is anyone's guess. The other girl hadn't been noticed yet until the wave is tossed, causing him to cast a glance over his shoulder and add his own wave in her direction.
Thea takes the final few steps to the boy, tilting her head to admire the shell he's showing her. "Pretty," she says with a grin, withdrawing her one hand hand from her pocket to show him a curled yellow shell with a pearly pink inside. "You may have this one if you'd like."
The girl, who had to now been minding her own business, was snapped out of her reverie upon the sound of talking. To her surprise, company seemed to have come—not just a boy, but also a member of the Queen's Wing, with her dragon to boot. This causes a bit of a surprise, perhaps she wasn't supposed to be out here and now trouble had followed her? Either way she collects herself, metaphorically AND literally as she stands up and grabs her shoes.
Mickal's eyes widen as he reaches out to accept the offered shell. "Ooh, yes please. That's very nice." he gives his opinion as a professional shell appraiser. "Now to find the right things to make the pink…" this last is murmured to himself. Movement out of the corner of his eye catches his oh so short attention span and he watches The Girl curiously. "Whatsa matter wid her?" he asks.
Thea grins at the boy, "Welcome. I don't collect them, but it was too pretty to leave lie and be buried or crushed." Another glance towards the girl finds her rising and maybe it's something about the way the girl is grabbing her shoes that has the junior calling causally, "Hey there! Nice day isn't it?" Cheerfully warm, she blinks back to the boy, she shrugs. She obviously has no clue. Off to one side Seryth whuffs a friendly breath at the boy, since he's close enough for her to do so. She likes people!
The girl freezes in her steps as she's called to, following which she turns around and faces the woman, boy, and gold dragon again. "Hello, m'lady," she says with a notable tinge of shyness. "Um…yes, m'lady, the weather is rather fair for winter." The slight shivering underneath her clothes clearly hints otherwise.
Mickal decides to echo Thea's movement with a wave of his own. "Hiya!! Want to come see my shell?" he calls out. The whuff of warm air washes over him, drawing a lopsided smile and a turn of his head to face the gold. "You are sooo pretty." he compliments. Unafraid he steps towards the queen to offer… "Scritch? I am pretty good at scritching itchy spots. My ma's blue likes it."
Thea's eyes shift back to the girl when she speaks, noting that shiver. She sends a glance towards the sun, "It was a bit warmer earlier, um…" She pauses, not knowing the girl's name, "miss? And you may call me Thea." Likely the lad already knows the junior's disinclination to stand on formality and her name. A grin is sent the boy's way at his offer of a scritch. "Go ahead," giving him permission to do just that. Seryth's head lowers even more as she angles her head just so to give the boy a better chance to reach.
Well…that was a little bit unusual, at least for this girl. "Very well, Miss Thea," she states with a little bit of formality clinging. Some people just seem to need it! "I, um, thought that it must have been…it comes that way, doesn't it?" She smiles very slightly as she approaches. "Your dragon is beautiful. What is her name?"
Mickal does know the Junior's name, as he has a whole catalog of people he knows. Some more than others and Thea is known more in passing as he's never much had opportunity to sit and discuss life, liberty and the pursuit of warm tarts with her. As notes before though he is completly at ease before the young queen and he proceeds to give scritches as promised once permission is granted. "That girl seems very nervous about something." notes Mickal casually as he stands on tiptoes to scritch the golden headknobs. "I hope she is not nervous because of you." he states to the queen. "Cause that would just be silly." oh to be 8 and say whatever is on your mind with no worries.
Easily, laughing just a little, "Nono, just Thea, please." Though she's not going to insist by the look on her face. "And what do I call you?" Pleasant and relaxed is she today, a chuckle for the boy's comment precedes her answer, "This is Seryth and thanks, I think so too." A pleased purring rumble issues from the gold as Mickal scritches her. "She says thanks and a little to the left," the junior tells him, a question forms on her lips a she studies his face but she hesitates at ask it. Finally, "I give up. I've seen you running around here, with the others, but I have no idea. Which one are you?" That hand she'd held out with the shell reaches to tuck her dark hair back behind her ear before her hand is inserted back into her pocket.
"It's Lindear, M—Thea. My name is Lindear, Apprentice to the Dolphin Hall." She smiles sweetly, though shyly, and admires Serynth from up close. From the look of her behavior she comes from humble origins. She approaches gingerly, not wanting to seem offensive in the slightest bit, and watches Mickal and the gold closely as such.
Mickal dutifully shifts his hand to the left. "Niceta meetcha Seryth." he says pleasantly. "I'm Mickal." he names off two older riders as his parents, a green and blue rider, both in their 50's. "I'm the youngest of all their kids. Easy to miss." he says cheerfully. "Hiya Lindear. Well met. This is Seryth, gold mate to Thea here." he takes liberties to do the introduction. "Hey! Have either one of you seen any clutches around here? I'm looking for one. I want to Impresse a Bronze and train him."
"Lindear, well-met," Thea reaches out her hand to cross palms. Her interest is caught suddenly, "Dolphin Hall? I've only seen Shipf- er dolphins, we always called them that growing up, when flying over the water. Do you swim with them too?" She steps aside so the girl can approach Seryth if she so chooses, likely knowing that behind her the queen is shifting her near eye to peer with interest at the girl. "Firelizards, Mickal?" She shakes her head, "But you know they're everywhere, right? Hard to tell what'll take to you though."
"Well…not really. I've only just arrived a month or two ago, so I'm rather late in experiencing what it's like to really be with the dolphins." She blushes softly, a sign of embarrassment. "But I hope to soon," she follows up as she approaches. "May I touch Seryth, Thea?" she asks with a sense of wonder.
"Of course you ma…" Mickal cuts himself short with a sheepish grin and decides Thea would be best suited to answer that. So he remarks about the firelizards instead. "Of course they are /everywhere/ but I still dont' have one and my sister tells me she Impressed a green when she was only 7 and I'm 8 and I have not Impressed one so I would like to Impress one to train /and/ to prove to my older sister that I can cuz she says I can't." the flow of words stops only for his need to breath.
"Oh, well, Lindear, I've never swum with them, myself." Thea's attempt to put the girl at ease. "Maybe one of these days I'll pop over to see them myself. I've always wanted to but, never got around to it." She coughs a laugh at Mickal's remark, amusement dancing in her clear green eyes, "Sure you may," she tells Lindear. "She likes to be scritched right here," she slides a hand underneath that angled jawline to show her just where, then steps further back to lean against one of Seryth's forelegs. Her lips quirk as Mickal rattles on. "That so?" When he stops. "Well… I'll keep an ear out and let you know if I hear of one?" Best she can do, apparently.
Well, this is quite a treat for Lindear! Her entire countenance brightens and she even ceases to shiver as she looks at the Junior with a sense of joy. "Oh, thank you!" she responds as she slowly reaches to the gold dragon's maw and begins to scritch and scratch where she was directed. "My parents often told me stories of the dragons. We'd never seen any ourselves…" She sort of trails off as she becomes entranced with her interaction with Seryth.
Mickal nods his head at Thea's words. "Really? Okay, cool. Let me know the second you hear of one okay?" No, really. The very second. Like drop everything and come and tell him. that's what his eager expression says. He keeps up the scriching a moment as the other girl comes closer.
Seryth continues her rumbling purr - she's getting all this attention don't you know. Her lids slide shut in bliss as her warm breath whuffs out around the pair. Perhaps this also aids to ward off the chill? Curios now Thea asks Lindear, "Where are you from then? Because you know what? Neither did we in my home hold." She can't help but grin back at Mickal, "how about I send Shep here to tell you?" A small brown head pokes out from underneath the junior's hair with a tiny questioning cheep at the mention of his name. "I avoid them like the plague." There's no mistaking her shudder. "Two is one too many for me." And since the other is not around, it's likely the one she's talking about.
"I come from the Black Rock Hold, out in the grassland farms. I'm sure there were dragons flying over…just never over us." She continues giving Seryth attention, a longing in her eyes that Thea would be able to see quite plainly if she looked. "But that's where I encountered the dolphins, and they've always been kind."
Mickal giggles and nods, giving Shep a look. "Agreed!" he is all smiles. "I think they are very useful. Not as much as a Dragon of course. But almost!"
At the mention of Black Rock Hold there's a fleetingly haunted look that flickers in Thea's eyes, but she says nothing other than, "Had a friend from there." Ah that look on Lindear's face! She's seen it many times and likely had it in her eyes once upon a time as well. She doesn't comment on it, however. Instead she says, "I'd love to swim with them once if they'd allow it." Shep mrrs when there's no attention for him and Thea pulls her hand from her pocket to give him an absent rub with one fingertip. "Well, Mickal, they are helpful inside where dragons cannot go, say, in the baths for splashing folks or stealing cookies from the kitchens." Brightly helpful, isn't she?
Mickal perks up at the at idea as the wheels revolve in his head. "Ooh, yes. Very helpful indeed, I'd imagine." he scuffs his feet a little in the sand. He tilts his head to the side a moment as if listening. "Gotta go! Ma's looking for me!" he gives a wave and scampers off.
Thea waves as Mickal heads off, calling after the boy, "Remember you didn't hear that from me!" Her hand is cold enough that she lowers it, stuffs it back in her pocket whereupon Shep mutters a disgruntled complaint and withdraws back under the dark cloak of hair at the back of Thea's neck. "Time for us to be heading off too," she tells Lindear regretfully. "We'll pop into the 'Hall one day. Nice meeting you." The pair head turn and head off down the beach back the way they came.