A Roll in the Mud

Ista Weyr - Gather Meadow
Rough and amorphous, this clearing has been constructed to give optimum space while still keeping it relatively sheltered from the plateau and weyr beyond. The treeline has been trimmed back to give a clear view of the skies above, but daintily-cared-for saplings have been planted here and there throughout, one day promising plenty of shade. Pebble pathways wind amongst them from the forest's edge and have been formed betwixt skeletal stalls that are almost completely occupied on market and gather days.
Each path eventually leads to a huge, circular patch of gravel. Tables and food carts ring its edge, wine and alcohol predictably given a few of the choice spots. A large, recently-erected stage has replaced the gazebo at the far end, for the duration of the Summer Games. Tables are situated nearby, and a large wooden platform seems perfect for dancing. Otherwise, grassy meadowland prevails.
The area has been recently renovated, with wood and weaver crafts working together to setup arches and pillars along the entire perimeter of the clearing - they are flying the colors of Ista Weyr, as well as those of all its beholden areas. One of the most prominent is the device of Ista Hold, set proudly beside the smoking mountain insignia of its weyr. An inner ring of poles bear the standards of all the attending weyrs, and their holds, amongst them most notably are the colors of Fort, Telgar, and High Reaches.


The gather meadow has been cleared somewhat, with an enormous wooden construction on one side, well away from the main paths. Indeed, low wood and stone walls lead up to a gigantic pit in the ground, much wider than it is deep, and filled almost to overflowing with… mud. A LOT of mud. A small dragon could wallow in there, if it weren't so shallow. It is to this the weyrwoman heads, having left her flamethrower somewhere safe, and joining the growing crowd. Already, a few weyrbrats have managed to start a mud-slinging fight, but they're soon scolded into behaving by a few of the nannies. It's to this event a lot of weyrfolk have come, as well as some holders. There's already another headwoman's assistant going around with sign-up forms, for the men's and women's events - and strict rules for just how dirst the fighting can get. The threat of disqualification should, hopefully, keep things from getting too out of hand, but from the consistency of the mud, it's possible water isn't the only thing in there. Maybe someone's taken the liberty of getting the stuff extra-slippery, for it smells almost of dragon oil.

Gerazal is here and he's all ready signed up. He's stretching out and he's wearing just a pair of shorts. He looks around to see who might be his competion and he has a big smile on his face. This is going to be fun. He nods politely to the Weyrwoman as he sees he coming up before he continues to stretch out.

Mur'dah walks towards the mud pit with Kiena, grinning crookedly. "I'm going to go for it," he says, turning to flag down an assistant to sign up. "You?" he asks his companion, looking around to size up the competition. "Want something to drink, too…before /and/ after."

Kiena blinks as she watches Cenlia head towards… a pit? And then it all clicks and the Xanadian Weyrsecond clues in to what it is and promptly begins to laugh. "Are you? You're brave, Mur'dah! Especially if there's Fortian riders in there. You've heard the gossip about the festivals they hold, huh?" she drawls, offering him one of the two glasses she nabbed on the fly (and paid for!) from Alyane before they all fled to the meadow. "Here. My treat. And you're going to need more than just a drink after," she informs him with a wink. Sipping at the rum, she'll eye the pit and shrug. "Why not?" Grinning, she'll look around to see who else is gathering and her expression blanches a bit. "Uh. Mur'dah…?" she mutters under her breath, trying to get his attention and look that way…

Because there is a Fortian rider signing up! None other than Fort's Weyrleader too. That should be a given, since Th'ero never missed out on joining the mud wrestling on his own turf and it appears that he's not going to miss out in Ista either! Though at the moment, he is engaged in conversation with some of the other riders from all Weyrs and when he catches sight of Cenlia, his mouth quirks into a bemused grin as he nods towards her. "Good day for it, isn't it?" he calls out to the Weyrwoman.

Here comes! Tyr trots down the path after the rest of the group, hurrying himself along with a bit of a grin. His dragon? Probably off puking up firestone ash. The brownrider, however, is busy peeling off his tunic as he goes to sign up for the event, tossing a broad grin at Cenlia as he goes. "Did I /mention/ what a genius you are before?"

Alyane finishes getting her stand relocated to the side of the mud pit. The pit in question is eyed with a sort of forlorn frown by the trader, who sighs heavily. "Why did I sign up for this…?" She wonders to nobody in particular. Somehow, her name has ended up on the signup sheet.
Gerazal smiles as he sees Alyane, "Hey Alyane how are you doing? Ready to get muddy?" He asks with a laugh as he's in high spirits for this mud wrestling. He rolls out his shoulders, "This is going to be great."

Mur'dah grins as he takes the drink from Kiena, looking around…"Oh hey, that's your brother." Wait. That's her brother. He coughs. "Too late now?" he mutters, watching the sign up sheet move /away/ from him. "Well, odds are I won't have to go against him, right?" Sipping the drink,he looks around for Alyane and grins, lifting the mug in a 'this is great!' gesture. As people begin stripping down…"Hold my drink." And he'll peel off his tunic and his shoes and socks, preparing to wrestle in his light pants.

V'lad is here, either of his own free will, or (more likely) having been ordered to uphold Ista's honor in the games. By mud wrestling. Clearly, someone of higher rank really doesn't like him. Or maybe just wants to see the usually neat and meticulous rider covered in slimy mud. Oh joy. Suppressing a sigh, the bronzerider nevertheless puts his name down, giving the others a considering look, although he'll stand well away from the pit and whoever's going first - perhaps to better consider his possible opponents.

"Definitely a good day for it," Cenlia will grin hugely, plopping down in a seat a good distance away, but with a decent view of the upcoming matches. Her grin widens at Tyr's words, the weyrwoman telling the brownrider, "Hah! Wasn't actually /all/ my idea, but good luck, yeah? We can't let them lot take another win without a fight!" Oooh, with Fort winning the flaming competition, maybe this is payback time? Dun dunduuun. And even if not, they still get to throw mud at them, right? All in good fun, of course! Getting a drink for herself, Cen will grin at the competitors, wishing luck and such, while the headwoman's assistant continues to sign folk up, pairing them off for each round. The first to be called to battle - dun dundun duuuN! - are Mur'dah and Th'ero! "Show 'em what yer made of," Cen grins at the both of them.

Alyane returns Mur'dah's smile, giving him a thumbs up in return. Still, a little bit of nerves are definitely visible in her expression. She looks to Gerazal, answering his question with a little bit of a shrug. "I… guess? I honestly didn't realize this was an actual event."

Gerazal smiles at the first two competitors, "Good luck to both of you." He chuckles, "Yah I'm surprised it is too, but it seems to be a big hit so far. We'll see who wins."

Kiena grunts and mutters something under her breath that almost sounds like 'don't say that out loud…' to Mur'dah. She smirks, "Too late now. And well, I'm not so sure… But if you do… it was nice knowing you?" She's teasing him. Kind of? She'll nudge him again and grin around the rim of her glass as she signs her name down for the women's competition. Taking Mur'dah's drink, she'll quirk a brow when he begins to strip and shamelessly stares. "You do know you could technically keep your tunic on, hmm?" she drawls. But thanks for that! To Alyane, Kiena only laughs. "Because it's fun?" To some! And things are already progressing and as the first names are called, Kiena blinks, gapes a bit and then breaks into laughter. "Oh… you are so lucky!" she tells him through her chuckled breaths.

Th'ero meanwhile is also preparing to enter the ring, removing his boots and slipping off his tunic though he wears a sleeveless under tunic beneath. Maybe it will be payback time! For now though, the Weyrleader is going to be taking on… a Xanadian Wingrider? Surprised to be called first and frowning a bit when the name sounds familiar, Th'ero will scan the gathered groups, only to spot his sister. That has him raising his brows up in silent question, but he's already stepping into the ring, eyeing Mur'dah as he does. Ahh… him? Ha! This should be interesting. "You entering later, Cenlia?" he calls back to the Weyrwoman and then smirks, settling into stance while he waits on his opponent.

Well so much for /that/. Mur'dah winces, casting a nervous look at Kiena as he approaches the pit, and Fort's formidable Weyrleader. Wish him luck? "Loser buys drinks? Sir?" he asks as he approaches Th'ero to shake his hand. "I'm Mur'dah." I'm dating your sister. Does he know that?

"Mebbe I'll fight the winner," Cenlia calls over to Th'ero, grin tilting crookedly as she tacks on, "I fight kinda dirty." And not in the mud-wrestling sense. It's possible the woman doesn't even know how to properly wrestle. Either way, she'll settle back to watch the match, with definite interest. Meanwhile, the headwoman's assitant gives the go-ahead: the match is on!

Kiena will at least hold on to Mur'dah's drink and watch his clothes for him? Otherwise the only thing she can do is mouth 'good luck' to him. No words of advice! He's on his own. The match is on! In the ring, Th'ero will watch as Mur'dah approaches, shifting his weight a bit both to take the brown rider's hand and to also test the footing in this mud. Modified! He can tell and that inwardly has him wondering who's brilliant idea it was to put oil in there too. Clever, clever. "Well met, Mur'dah. I'm Th'ero." He doesn't have a clue. Though the brown rider's first lesson will be to always be on guard. Because his grip on his hand doesn't lessen, it tightens and the Fortian Weyrleader will start things off by literally attempting to haul the poor brownrider off balance and down. HA! Let the wrestling begin! Which it begins in earnest once he allows Mur'dah to get back to his feet, not looking to win quite yet. Time to have some fun! They'll grapple and struggle and for a moment they seem decently matched with both taking tumbles into the slick mud.

Mur'dah grunts when Th'ero plays dirty (har har har?). Grappling with the Fortian Weyrleader, Mur'dah throws his all into it, hands grasping, feel slipping, grunting and laughing. He pushes against the Weyrleader, and for a moment the two of them are locked in a stalemate, feet planted in the mud as they /lean/ into each other. And then…"I'm dating your sister."

Gerazal looks over at Alyane, "So who do you think will win? Fort's Weyrleader or Xanadu? I bet the Fort's Weyrleader is going to win."

Inri doesn't know how to wrestle at all, and yet — here she is. Representing Fort's goldriders, because Nyalle made her. Told her to. Voluntold her nicely. Something like that. Nobody can trust Jajen with anything diplomatic, and nobody can imagine Nyalle mud wrestling — so that left it down to Inri, who is at least relatively quick physically. Whoever ends up paired with her is in some degree of trouble, though, since she doesn't know the rules. She is watching this round, though, intrigued in a non-leery kind of way: and it is really too bad she can't hear the brownrider, because otherwise her smile would've been a choked cackle.

When one wrestles in mud, why bother staying entirely clean? So long as it doesn't fall under the 'things to get you disqualified' it's all in good fun, right? Th'ero is taking this competition in stride, half serious and half in play and when he can he will laugh too. When he's not focused on trying to keep Mur'dah from winning! Slipping, stumbling, he'll struggle through that stalemate and then the brownrider is playing dirty too! That little trick has Th'ero caught off guard. "What?" he exclaims, just before he slips and goes down, allowing Mur'dah his chance to pin him. Which will last all of a few seconds before the Fortian Weyrleader is tossing him off and then the real wrestling begins as both of them grapple and struggle and Th'ero will use his strength to pin the brownrider down and keep him down! Even if he has to practically sit on top of Mur'dah to do it! And likely mutter something at him while he's at it, until the official call is given and Th'ero wins. Only then will the Weyrleader get up and offer his hand (no tricks!) to Mur'dah. "Good match." he murmurs, not seeming to mind at all that he's… covered close to head to foot in mud now.
Th'ero whispers: "We'll talk later, you and I. Kiena as well. Nicely played, I'll give you that." to Mur'dah.

V'lad hmms to himself as he watches the two competitors, frowning faintly at the handshake-trick there, though he's intently studying the moves each opponent makes. He might also be looking slightly nervous as the match goes on, gaze briefly taking note of the other competitors and perhaps attempting to size up the likelihood of him coming out of this with at least one win, though given the man's expression, it's possible he's already attempting to think of ways out of this. Like Intri, the bronzerider probably was voluntold into this. At least /he/ won't have to fight her!

It was effective - briefly. Mur'dah was briefly victorious. Briefly. In the end though, he's squished beneath his girlfriend's brother in the mud, and he's lost. Woe. Taking Th'ero's hand, his blush is invisible beneath his coating of mud, and he can only nod. "Yes sir." Cough. Then he's slipping his way out of the pool to get himself rinsed off.

Kiena heard that, even while she cheered along with the rest! She looks… mortified? No, not quite. Angry? Nah, not even that. Shocked would be a good term and then she's just placing the palm of her hand against her face. "Mur'dah…" she grumbles into it and likely he'll get a look for that when he returns after rinsing off. She's got his drink waiting and hers is all but gone by now, but as she waits her eyes scan the gathering riders again and spot Inri there. Another Fortian rider! Goldrider. It takes a moment for Kiena to remember she's Xanadu's Weyrsecond and she'll flash Inri a crooked smile. "Come just to watch or have you signed up too?" she asks, only to clear her throat. Uh, right. Formalities. "Xanadu's duties to Fort and her queens." She'll tip her glass a bit in a toast.

"I have absolutely no idea." Is Alyane's answer to Gerazal as she watches the contest. She has her arms crossed and is chewing on her lower lip a little, clearly nervous about her turn in the contest. When it comes to a conclusion, she joins in those applauding the competitors.

Gerazal claps his hands as the fort Weyrleader comes out on top and he laughs, "Good show. I wonder who I'll go up against." The apprentices looks up and down the line of contestants and smiles at Alyane, "Good luck with whoever you get."

Mur'dah rinses off with buckets provided, and trudges back to Kiena with a sheepish grin. "It worked though. For a second. Sorry, was that bad?" He takes his drink and looks apologetic, and dips his head to Inri when he sees her. Gulping the rest of his drink, he looks around. "I'm going to buy more drinks, you want one? Where's that lady?" Alyane. He'll learn her name by the end of the night.

Now there's excited whistling going on for Th'ero, at least coming from Inri — though she only gets a moment to cheer before she's distracted by oncoming Kiena. "And Fort's in return," she says politely, and then her smile widens a bit: "Oh, I — sort of signed up. Nyalle wanted to be sure that Fort's goldriders were represented, so." Let's just say she was signed up, whether or not it was her who did the actual signing. "Hey, you did good, brownrider whose name I can't remember," Inri tells Mur'dah as he joins the gang. It's honest!

Some /very/ helpful drudges have brought water troughs and buckets out, setting them nearby away from the crowd, for those that end up in the pit. The water's even lukewarm! So no freezing afterward, though with the Istan sun shining above, it's probably there are those who might not mind something colder. Still, Cenlia will cheer on the contestants, even if it /is/ the Fort weyrleader who wins. "Shells, would be trouble fer whoever else goes up against ya," is called to Th'ero, though the weyrwoman will offer a grinned, "Was a good fight," to Mur'dah. Nobody got bloodied or beaten too badly - so she's calling it a success! And hey, the first girls' match is up next - with Inri against Alyane! "Shells, they puttin' all the Fortians first?" Cenlia has to snicker a bit, though she does give the assistant headwoman over there a bit of a suspicious look.

Mur'dah dips his head to Inri and Cenlia both. "Thanks," he chuckles. "Mur'dah," he adds. "Kalsuoth's of Xanadu." Since he's not wearing his knot. "Best of luck to you, ma'am," he adds when her name is called. "Aww, that's my booze supplier." Pout. He keeps darting nervous glances to Th'ero.

"I'm not going to make it easy!" Th'ero fires back to Cenlia, grinning and stepping out of the ring to rinse off the worst of the mud as he waits for the next rounds to progress. When he hears Inri's name, his head lifts up and turns back to the ring, startled. Inri? "Shards!" he swears and while amused he almost feels bad for the junior goldrider. That wasn't nice of Nyalle! "Good luck, Inri!" he calls out, trying to give her an encouraging and reassuring gesture. You can DO it! And he'll totally buy her a drink (or three) after it's all said and done. As for Mur'dah? He'll just get a look, which shifts to Kiena, but the Fortian Weyrleader is being good. For now.

Maybe Ista's just trying to get rid of the Fortians. But at least one of them's won, so Inri — who is now whipping her hair up into a bun — has some good cheer on her side. "Thanks so much," she tells Mur'dah with a bow of her head, Kiena also getting a wave, and off she goes to get herself covered in mud. (Cheap clothes. Nice ones, but cheap.) Th'ero gets a grin that does not look like the message behind it is actually 'kill me now.' Good spirits! … Because she promised Nyalle.

"First up. Of course." Alyane grumbles a little bit, sighing heavily and glancing sideways to Gerazal. "… Watch my things and make sure nobody messes with them. Okay?" She glances around for a second before removing her dress, slipping out of it and carefully stashing it with her booze supplies. Fortunately she's planned ahead, and has a bright red swimsuit on underneath. Hopefully it'll wash clean. She approaches the mud pit, eyeing Inri for a moment. She might be trying to look intimidating, but she just ends up looking more uncertain and confused than anything.

N'talya makes hher way slowly to the gather field looking ab out slowly at the activity going on. she smiles just a bit as she sees the wrestling going on and goes to join the spectators..

Gerazal nods to Alyane, "Sure thing. Good luck." He give her a thumbs up and a smile as he goes to stand near Alyane's stuff so no one messes with them.

Kiena grimaces, "Represented in mud wrestling?" she mutters, quirking a brow up and likely matching her brother in familiar expressions. That seems to be the only thing that ties them as siblings, along with similar accents. "Odd event to be represented in but…" And then Inri is being called in and Kiena can only give a crooked smile of support. "Good luck!" There's a snicker for the way the goldrider opens greetings between her and Mur'dah. "Ahh, so that's the woman's name? Alyane? So, Mur'dah… what's your wager?" Kiena drawls, eying him and then belatedly elbowing him in the sides. It's gentle though and then she snorts. "You were gutsy saying that." she mutters to him. "And shardin' lucky he didn't just clock you one in the jaw." She's teasing, right? She IS laughing! It must be a joke. Ha, ha? "Nah, not bad. And sure, I'm up for another drink. Better hurry though or you'll miss this round!"

Mur'dah shakes his head, gesturing to the pit. "Have to wait until our supplier is done. Oof," he mutters to her elbow, rocking a bit. "I'm torn. Maintain good relations with Fort? Or good relations with the lady who sells us alcohol? I'm going to sit betting out on this one." He darts a glance at her. "He said we'd talk later." Should he be scared? He /does/ wince when she says he was lucky.

"Will hafta make sure ya end up against an Istan," Cen grins to Th'ero, but since she's not the one with the names list, it's possible that might just be in jest. Then again, who knows. In either case, Cen will still cheer on Alyane and Inri both, grinning at them and maybe leaning over to one of the nearby spectators to make sure she gets her own bets in. There's no /way/ Cenlia's missing out on a chance to toss some marks down in this kind of competition. She's totally missing the other stuff going on between Kiena, Mur'dah, and Th'ero - hopefully someone will overhear them and be around to gossip later! Ahem. For now, the weyrwoman turns to watch the next match, as the assistant headwoman gives the go-head to begin.

Gerazal spots N'talya and he waves to her, "Hey N'talya, you gonna wrestle too?" He calls out to her as he's waiting for his match as he's still clean.

So, standing in a mud pit ready to playfully beat each other up, that's a great way to meet new people! Inri offers her hand to Alyane, smiling in a way that's more genuine young woman smiling than weyrwomanly cordial. "Hi," she says. "I'm Inri, of Fort, gold Kouzevelth's. I think now is where we throw mud at each other and roll around it in and stuff, while trying not to kill anyone." She looks amused, at least. It's more of a show than anything else, right? And fun? She at least resists the urge to pick mud up and toss it at her opponent before they've gotten the introductions down.

"Throw your best at me!" Th'ero fires right back to Cenlia and grins a broad, wide grin. That… hopefully won't spook those Istan riders? Honestly, he doesn't bite! He'll wrestle anyone paired to him, rider or not. All's fair in the ring! He's content to linger where he is on the sidelines, dark eyes watching as Inri goes in to meet Alyane. Who will win? Goldrider or trader?

Kiena chuckles, "There are other suppliers?" she teases him. Plenty, but they're all away from the ring! So she doesn't push it further. Drinks will be for after the match! "Cheer for 'em both! Since I think they're both in a bit over their heads… This may be quite interesting to watch." she muses and then seeing that her teasing does backfire, she sighs softly and reaches out to place her hand reassuringly against his arm and squeeze. She'll lean in to talk to him quietly and then the match is starting as she grins at him. "Here we go?"

Kiena whispers: "You've nothing to fear of him, really. He's a total push over and just acts all tough and aggressive. Notice he hasn't stormed over here? You're fine. Relax, please? And if he does try to start shit, I'll kick his ass. Weyrsecond versus Weyrleader." to Mur'dah.

N'talya bites her lips and says softly, "If they still have spots open I might, it looks like it could be fun. Depends on who I am up against really." as she steps up beside Gerazal.

"Alyane. I'm supposed to be representing the trading folk." Alyane offers her own nervous introduction to Inri. She has to squint slightly, having left her glasses back with her other things. This is going to be tough. "… That's the idea, I think." She catches the signal from the headwoman, sighs a bit, then looks to the goldrider again. She shrugs, then abruptly launches herself at Inri. She scrambles across the mud with an absolute lack of grace or agility, nearly faceplanting right away.

Mur'dah shakes his head, flashing Kiena a smile. "I want to buy from /her/." He's a loyal patron if a bit thick-headed elsewhere in his life. Tilting a bit, he listens to what she has to say, and snorts a laugh. "Can I get that in writing?" he murmurs, before he's cupping a hand to his lips and cheering for both sides in the ring.

"Supposed to be?" Inri laughs again, because it seems like she isn't sure — though the laughter isn't at Alyane. She's also tackled, and seems to be still finding the whole thing funny as she tries to roll over and pin Alyane once they've both been knocked over by the trader. "I can't see," she gasps, but it still doesn't seem to be getting to her in a bad way. There's more agility to Inri, maybe, but how exactly can you be graceful in a big pit of mud? At least it's good for the skin.

There are probably still spots open, and even if someone absent misses the main event, it isn't like the mud pit will be going anywhere anytime soon! "Will do!" Cen promises the Fort weyrleader, grinning at Th'ero and then turning her attention to the match. There is, admittedly, a tiiny bit of a snicker as poor Alyane scrambles acros the mud like that, but Cen will still cheer her and Inri on, calling a, "Ya got 'er now!" Though who exactly has got who, isn't likely clear, the weyrwoman more amused by the spectacle than anything. Nothing beats seeing folk getting covered in mud, really, right?

"Alright, alright." Kiena laughs when Mur'dah proves to be a loyal patron. And just from one drink! "Rum wasn't bad, huh?" she muses, snickering when he asks for some terms in writing. "Sure, you've something to write with?" she drawls, only to grin when he cheers and she's leaning up against the railing to add her own. For both side! Though she'll flinch when Alyane almost face plants right off. "Yeesh. That was close. Mud looks slick… Slicker than mud ought to be." Hmm. Not that she has time to peer closely at it, since now the match is truly on! Now both Inri and Alyane are down in the mud and… it's anyone's match! Kiena shouts out more encouragement, not seeming to favour either one. Nope, nothing quite like mud wrestling for entertainment!

"They put oil in it or something," Mur'dah says confidently. He calls out more encouragement, enjoying himself despite his empty rum cup.
The slipperiness does seem to make it difficult to pin anyone down. So does having a total lack of technique. Alyane makes a sort of 'eeee!' sound as she flails about, wildly thrashing in the mud beneath the goldrider. She rocks to one side, rolling over on top. Then she rolls again and is on her back again. And so on and so forth. She's covered in mud by now and clearly has no clue what she's doing.

Gerazal nods, "Yah all ready I might have to go up against the Weyrleader from Fort." He laughs as he watches Irni and Alyane go at it. "Go Alyane you can pin her!" He cheers out.

No doubt she can, and Inri can pin Alyane, too; it seems like they're both repeatedly managing to pin each other, and not for very long — but it also looks like they're both cluelessly enjoying themselves? Inri's hair is going to be somewhat ruined and she's going to complain, later. "Have to buy some of your wine later," she squeaks, before getting a face full of mud.

N'talya giggles and says, "I don't envy you that one." she glances about the crowd, "I would bet the weyrleader is probably pretty good at this…" her attention is on her friend out in the mud though.

Alyane eventually realizes that pinning in any proper way in this slippery pit is going to be pretty much impossible. She just doesn't have the muscle mass to pull that off. So she rolls to one side, ruining her hear and caking even more mud upon herself. Finally, she gets to the edge of the pit, still clinging to the goldrider. She attempts to wedge her opponent against the wall to accomplish a pin. It's her best shot.

All that flailing about, and squeaking and 'eee's has Cenlia totally cracking up - though she tries valiantly to not look too amused, for the longest time. In the end, she has to laugh, though it's a good-natured sort, calling further encouragement each tome one of the girls manages to get the other pinned - even it it's not lasting too long. "Shells, mebbe we added too much oil," she will confirm with a snicker, just shaking her head and grinning, but totally not sorry. It's definitely entertaining, though possibly only because she isn't signed up for a mud-flailing match herself. Or /is/ she? Either way, it's still terribly entertaining to watch, given the cheering going on.

Kiena snorts, eyeing Mur'dah. "Oil? Are you sure?" she mutters. Yet he seems confident and has already gone into the ring, so she's unlikely to argue. She'll find out soon enough! Woe to the empty glass of rum. "They're really going at it, aren't they?" she remarks in an aside to Mur'dah, just before she shouts out again with a few more cheers and calls. Go Inri! Go Alyane! Though there's a snickering for the flailing and 'sees' coming from that ring. Oh boy.

Gerazal nods, "Yah he didn't take too long to pin the other Weyrleader. I'll have to use some strategy." He watches the two women rolling around. "Wow yah it does look rather slick down there."

"And that's why you don't usually mix 'em!" Th'ero calls out to Cenlia with a laugh, unable to help himself much either as Inri and Alyane flail about. Sorry girls! He's highly amused and he will still cheer along with the rest of them. Not very proper Weyrleader behaviour but… Nyalle isn't around, right? Right. And this is mudwrestling!

Mur'dah holds out his arm for Kiena to touch if she wants to. "Yes, oil." Smirk. "Good for the skin, or so I'm told."

Well, Fort's got one win, so the traders can have the other — it's not clear if Inri has outright given up or is too busy laughing to effectively fight back (that, or Alyane is just stronger) but the trader gets the clear however-many-seconds to win. Once Inri's free again, she straightens, grinning and wiping mud from her face to offer another handshape — excellent 'fight,' the crowds really loved them!
Tsk tsk. How improper to /lose/. Nyalle will be displeased.

Alyane is not used to this much exercise. She's sort of stunned when this ends and seems slightly out of breath. "I… won?" She seems utterly shocked by this. Once she has the mud off her eyes she accepts the handshake. "Uhm… good match?" She has no idea how one judges these things as 'good' or not. In any case, she's now scrambling to get out of the slippery mud.

Gerazal cheers, "All right Alyane! You won!" He claps his hands and he looks to N'talya, "You can still sign up." He says as he claps for Inri as well, 'Good show."

Mur'dah applauds and whoops, lifting his empty cup enticingly to the trader.

Kiena quirks a brow when Mur'dah holds out his arm and she will touch her fingers to his skin, only to snicker. "Oh, they do say that about mud and oil, but I've never heard of it combined before. So there ARE benefits to a mud wrestling, then? Guess that's the other draw, aside from the entertainment?" she teases and her hand will squeeze playfully before it's lifting to clap and then cup her mouth as she shouts out congratulations for Alyane. "Way to go! Good match, you two!" Inri may have lost, but it was still a good round!

"Looks like it. Hopefully my Weyrwoman will forgive me for not being an expert wrestler — she did say represent, not win, and Th'ero won —" Inri doesn't seem to mind coming in the place that is both second and last; at least it was fun, and her skin is going to look great. Hair, maybe, too! "It was an interesting way of getting to know you, Alyane. See you around!" She's going to scramble back to Th'ero now, so Fort's leadership can be in muddy solidarity.

Of course Nyalle will forgive! Th'ero's forgiven Inri, not that he was pushing her to win from the start. It's all for fun and the fact that the junior goldrider went with it at all is a favourable mark (or ten) in his book. "Wasn't so bad, was it?" he'll drawl as she approaches, smirking crookedly.

Cenlia is totally still snickering there, though she will laugh a, "Nah, wouldn't be half as fun to watch, otherwise!" to Th'ero. And hey, didn't she promise mud wrestling Istan style? At least there's no booze in that mess! … Hopefully. "Good fight, that one!" Cenlia will call to the girls, offering her congratulations to Alyane, and a grinned, "Shells, was pretty clever at the end there." She does tell Inri, "Was a definite close one tho'!" She can't help but giggle at the muddy solidarity there, though next up appears to be bronzerider V'lad and Gerazal! Cen will give V'lad the 'Fort Ista's HONOR!' look, there.

"My hair," Inri laments at Th'ero, though her melodrama is obviously intentional. Cenlia's feedback is taken well and with another grin and, "Yeah, that was smart of her. I had no idea what I was doing. Total blast, though, in its own way." She does do a few more wipes at her hair, though; and taking the bun she put it up in out, there are a bunch of funny dry parts in the middle. Classy good look.

"It was, uhm, very nice to meet you!" Alyane replies to Inri with a muddy grin, still a little shellshocked by the whole experience. She wobbled over to the water buckets and grabs one to pour a good bit on herself, washing at least most of the mud and oil off herself. Only then does she wobble back to her belongings, where Mur'dah is already waiting with glass in hand. "… Sorry for the wait." She deadpans. "You wanted rum?"

N'talya cheers at Alyane wins and smiles and calls out, "Way to go Alyane!" jumping up and down a bit excitedly as she watches her friend exit the mud and grins looking to Gerazal and smiles, "Good luck out there when you go…"

Mur'dah grins crookedly at Alyane, holding out his cup. "Nicely done, thank you. No worries on the wait, was a good show to watch."

Gerazal smiles at N'talya, 'Thanks" He nods to V'lad before he jumps into the mud pit and he grabs some mud to start to slather himself up with mud so he'll be extra slippery. He is a skinny wiry mud covered apprentice against a bronze rider. He gets ready in stance as he's ready to wrestle. He keeps himself loose and sorta bounces around as much as one can in the mud.

Mur'dah nudges Kiena. "You want another drink too?" When she touches his arm he smirks. "Hey now, don't let your brother see you touching me like that…"

Classy good look for anyone fresh out of a mud pit! Th'ero rolls his eyes a little for Inri's melodrama and smirks at her. "Your hair will be fine. You know what they say about mud." And oil. Can't all be bad? "And usually that's how it works. No real idea of what's to happen. Just… go with it." He waves his hand. Free for all! "Not at all like sparring. Much more fun." And less deadly. He chuckles dryly, "Glad you had some fun from it. There's buckets over there to rinse off, if you wanted to try to clean the worst of the mud away."

If there's one thing V'lad was dreading, it would be this, the bronzerider nevertheless letting out a breath and moving over to the mud pit. He gives the goopy stuff a dubious look, before turning to shoot a glare Cenlia's way. This is most certainly the weyrwoman's payback for all the elbowing and propriety lessons he's attempted over the turns, although it really /should/ be T'eo stepping into the ring. Not him! He's just a flunky! Sigh. With some resignation, he does indeed lean on the side so he can enter the pit, attempting to land solidly with both feet. This happens, and then his two feet quite promptly slide out from under him. And in a second, the bronzerider is landing on his backside, in the mud. The look on his face might be fairly priceless, really. "Oh for crying out loud.." he grumbles, attempting, none to elegantly, to return to his feet. All muddy, and the match has yet to begin! A nod is for Gerazal, though the other's already-mud-coating himself earns another dubious look. Right, time to take this seriously. Or as seriously as he can manage under the circumstances. V'lad doesn't waste any time trying to take down the other guy, once the signal to begin is called, but.. it's probably with some shock that the bronzerider fings that whole mud-covering technique actually works!

Kiena starts a bit at the nudge, having watched the next competitors stepping into the ring and unaware of how quick Alyane was to rejoin them. "Of course I do, if drinks are being offered!" she drawls, grinning to both Mur'dah and then Alyane. "Good match, by the way. Now you've bragging rights." She's kidding! Or is she? It's difficult to tell with this bluerider, but her laugh at Mur'dah's warning is definitely her joking around, especially as she mock gasps as if scandalized. "Oh no! How improper of me, to rest my hand against your arm." she says with obvious sarcasm and then gives him a good bump to the shoulder with hers. And her hand? Well, it moves, because she will attempt to slip her arm around Mur'dah's side with a crooked smirk. Her brother is distracted anyways! Especially when V'lad enters so… gracefully. Even Kiena has to cover her mouth to stifle her laugher as she beings to crack up, shoulders shaking. "Oh shards… the poor guy." Bruised pride, anyone?

Cen bobs her head to Inri, "Ya did good anyhow - used to wrastle m' cousins back in Boll. Shells, them were the days. Dun get much chance to get inna right proper mess now. Figure folks'd enjoy this," the weurwoman certainly looking like she's having fun just watching. Noticing Alyane going right back to the rum-selling there, Cenlia has to grin a bit more, maybe approving of that kind of mindset. The goldrider herself has a glass of booze already, but she's almost too distracted watching the matches to remember to sip it! Alas. At least she'll have a good laugh at V'lad's expense when the poor man ends up on his behind like that. It might be debatable whether she's actually rooting for her fellow Istan there.

Alyane does seem to go right back to her trader self pretty quickly. No reason she can't be doing a little business while still somewhat muddy and clad in her swimsuit, right? Right. She finds a bottle and pours Mur'dah a refill, then finds a cup to pour full for Kiena. "Rum for you and rum for you. Local stuff. Enjoy." She takes a glance back towards the pit, keeping one eye on the next contest.

Mur'dah laughs at Kiena, slinging his arm around her shoulders and even going so far as to kiss her cheek, sweet and chaste for public. "Ow," he winces in sympathy. "Thank you, Alyane! Cheers," he says, paying her and then turning back to the mud pit to watch. "Is it true they shipped this mud from Fort? Does Ista not have mud?"

Gerazal is slippery and he avoids letting the bronzerider getting a grip on him. He dodges and slides around in the mud as he's slippery and wiggly like an eel. Gerazal keeps himself muddy so that he's hard to get a grip on. He goes after V'lad's legs trying to trip him up and keep him off balance. He goes to give V'lad's leg a pull, not hard, but enough to get V'lad into the mud with him. Gerazal pounces and tries to pin V'lad down for the required time.

Poor V'lad, he /really/ looks like a shipfish out of water. There are some things bronzeriders are trained for, especially those in Ista. Physical fitness, first aide.. even armed combat. But this? He looks about as unprepared for this as Inri and Alyane had been - only V'lad isn't half as capable! He doesn't even /get/ the chance to pin down his opponent, caught completely off guard by the slipperyness, and then when his leg is tugged out from under him. Down he goes! There is, admittedly, a rather large SPLAT as the man lands in the mud (again). And is totally unable to get himself up again, although the mad helpless flailing does have many of the spectators cracking up some more. And as the time is called, he realizes he totally lost. At least.. it was in marginally spectacular fashion?

Poor, poor V'lad. Inri's not laughing, really! As she comes back from having rinsed off, she's rejoining Th'ero and company — wet, now, instead of super muddy, but he's right, her hair is fine! And her skin's so /smooth/. "Is that how funny I looked?" she asks — either Cenlia or Th'ero, or perhaps anyone nearby.

It might take Kiena a moment to realize that Alyane is in a swimsuit and serving rum, but she'll wait until she has her rum glass in hand and toasting it to the trader before she comments. "Nice choice of suit, by the way. Though I'll figure you were likely hoping to swim in that?" she muses, sipping at the drink and giving it an approving nod and smile. "Not bad! Haven't had much rum before this, but… shells if it isn't growing on me." She'll grin at Mur'dah when he laughs and lean against him when he wraps his arm around her shoulders, smiling at the chaste kiss, which she returns swiftly. Just in case Th'ero IS watching. "I'm sure Ista has mud but… wasn't Fort just in their spring season? Heard they had a bad winter and then a very wet start into spring. Could be… they just shipped it here? Though seems an awful lot of trouble…" If only they knew! "Heh! Looks like the bronzerider lost. Dunno if I caught their names. You know either of 'em, Alyane?" At least she remembered her name! From… hearing it called. Oops?

Gerazal smiles as he wins and he offers V'lad a hand up to help him up. "It was a good match friend." He says as he helps V'lad up and back with the others. G'erazal goes to get up and he smiles as he moves over to N'talya and Alyane, "Well that was fun." He says with a bright smile.
Cenlia is most definitely one of those cracking up, although when the Istan bronzerider actually /loses/, the weyrwoman will laughingly facepalm. "Oh shells, owe ya a bottle of brandy fer this one," is at least called over to V'lad, as consolation, even as the weyrwoman is snickering and then calling a cheerful, "Congrats!" to Gerazal. "Can't look anything but funny inna mud pit," Cen will say to Inri, giving the other goldrider a grin, "'Least it was fun, yeah? An' can always ask fer a re-match before the games're out. Might not be all 'official-'like, but definitely worth it." For entertainment!

Ahh, the benefits! Th'ero likely won't comment on how soft and silky his skin feels or his hair (which at the moment is crusting over with drying mud) because that would be… not very manly. Cough. "Mhm, almost? Though you and the other girl were a bit more heavy on the flailing… Plus neither of you fell flat on your arse." he teases and then seems to sober a bit as the round ends. He calls out his congratulations to the winner and even a 'good match' to V'lad! Hey, he gave it a shot?

Mur'dah smiles at Kiena's kiss, nodding his head as he sips his rum happily. "Shipping mud? What a pain…"

V'lad will accept the hand up - he probably wouldn't be able to get up otherwise! Poor guy, he's so not able to keep his balance in the extra-slick mud. Inclining his head to Gerazal, he does offer a formally polite, "Well fought," to his opponent, before making it out of the ring - with maybe some help from a few other Tiger's Eye riders, who are taking pity on their humiliated comrade. Hearing the 'flat on your arse' comment from the Fort weyrleader has V'lad turning a rather.. bright shade of red there, though he will nod to the other bronzerider, before leaning down to grab a handful of mud. That? That is for Cenlia, whose fault this is - before one of the other riders can stop him, V'lad FLINGS that mudball at his weyrwoman! And then storms off to dump a bucker of water over his head with a muttered, "Ugh.."

Alyane watches the end of the contest as she answers Kiena. "The non-rider's name is Gerazal. He's a local. Not exactly sure what it is he does." When the match comes to a conclusion she looks down at herself, pondering for a moment. "It's odd, but… it does actually seem to have some sort of beneficial qualities for the skin." Pause. "… I wonder if I can sell this stuff."

As the next names are called - N'talya versus Kiena! - Cenlia cheers a more enthusiastic, "Go get 'er! Fer Ista!" to the greenrider. Though she will offer an equally cheerful, "Good luck!" to Kiena too! She might actually have said more, but just as she turns to watch the next match, there is another SPLAT. That of a thrown clump of mud hitting her square in the side of the head! "Oy, ya drowned wherry!" she yells at the retreating V'lad, "Got dirt in m' drink!" Yup. That's pretty much all she's mad about. To her credit, the goldrider /doesn't/ go after the man with a shovel, though she will grumble a, "Sharding need more booze," vaguely attempting to wipe the mud off as she calsl to Alyane, "Ya till got that bottle?" pausing only a second before she tacks on, half jokingly, "Will trade ya a bucket of this stuff fer the rest of that rum." She probably has marks too, ahem.

N'talya looks and and bites her lip as her name is called looks to Gerazal and Alyane and says, "Wish me luck." before the young dolphineer turned green rider makes her way down into the muddy pit and looks about and over to Kiena and smiles, "Good luck."

Kiena sips at her rum as well and then looks up at Mur'dah again. "Would it be a pain? You just shove the mud into barrels and ship 'em off, I'd think." Simple and done! Or not. Glancing sidelong to Alyane, she smiles and quickly tucks that name away for reference. At the pause and mention of selling it, the Weyrsecond grins. "You probably could!" she admits. "Maybe it'd be the 'new hit' of the Turn?" Two things happen then to pull Kiena's attention away. Her name being called and then Cenlia being pegged by mud thrown by V'lad. Cracking up, Kiena exclaims. "As IF he had the shardin' spine to do that!" she sputters, only to rapidly sober when she realizes… she's next. "Damn. Well… here goes. Here, hold this." She says to Mur'dah, offering her glass to him with a smirk. His turn to watch over the rum and her clothes! Because she's shedding her boots and then her knee length dress and overdress. Underneath she's wearing… a suit as well but in blue, not red. She'll hastily try to gather most of her hair up into a bun and then she turns to both Mur'dah and Alyane. "Wish me luck!" And into the ring she goes! Cursing, since her feet slide out and she has to stumble to recover herself. Which she does with dignity. NO ONE saw that! "Good luck to you too… N'talya, was it?" Kiena greets and offers her hand. Unlike her brother though, she won't trick the greenrider and the moment introductions are done, she's dropping into a ready stance. "Your move!" she taunts, complete with grin and a little hand gesture. BRING it!

"We tried." If Inri overhears anything about shipping mud, well, she's keeping perfectly mum. Had nothing to do with it. She's definitely got more booze for herself, now, though it's still — classy booze, champagne, nothing too hard. And she's not dressed nicely, which is weird and uncomfortable for Inri, but — at the very least, she is watching and cheering. "That's your sister, yeah?" she clarifies to Th'ero, just in case.

Mur'dah takes Kiena's drink and grins, shamelessly watching her undress. He whistles after her as she goes. "For Xanadu!" he hollers, moving closer so he can watch.

Gerazal smiles, "Good luck N'talya you can do it." He cheers for N'talya, "Go for Ista!" He looks around and he grabs a waterskin to take a drink from it.

"Good luck." Alyane offers N'talya with a little smile and a nod. She settles in to watch the contest, leaning against her stall. She glances down at the nice dress she wore to the event, but she's not about to put it back on while she's still oily, muddy, and wet.

N'talya smiles over to Kiena and says softly, "It is nice to meet you Kiena… Good luck to you as well." she steps back slightly bending lower as she looks to her oppoent. She has has hand training but is not the most skilled. As Kiena call 'your move to her, she lunges forward and attempts to do a quick take down on her.

Th'ero's expression should say it all as he just stares into that ring with an expression too complicated to read. "Yeah, that's my sister," he manages to choke out to Inri and then glares at a group of men who get a bit too frisky with their calls. YOU! He'll continue to glare them down until they shuffle away and he snorts, only to clear his throat and feign innocence when he glances back to Inri. "Kiena." He supplies the name belatedly and probably unnecessarily.

Cenlia, having acquired replacement booze from somewhere - likely via a helpful drudge - as well as a small towel, will grin at the next two to wrestle, totally putting down more marks on who might win. "Fer Ista!" is called again, the weyrwoman wiping mud off the side of her head, not inclined to get up and miss the next match just for little goop. Or rather, she manages to smear the mud in her hair. But Cen's not the squeamish type, not appearing to mind the stuff in the least. Her weyrleader would probably be facepalming at her, really. She will wrinkle her nose at that group of men and their calls, but Th'ero manages to stare them all quiet, which has the weyrwoman grinning again, and turning her attention back to the match.

Kiena's grin stays firmly in place, blue eyes watching N'talya closely and waiting for the subtle changes that will hint that the greenrider is about to go on the attack (or not). Luckily for them, she does go in for the first move and the bluerider will lunge towards her, only to attempt to slip around her at the last second. Only the mud IS very slick and she forgets this, her feet slipping more than catching and she has to twist awkwardly. It's not enough to evade all of N'talya's grab to take her down and down they go, with Kiena trying to roll and slip away to regain her footing and tackle the greenrider from behind. Can't wrestle if one's arms are pinned, right? But oil and mud mean slippery everything and Kiena swears out loud and laughs when she can't hold her grip for too long.

Mur'dah watches, drinks his rum (whoops, that was Kiena's rum - he'll buy her another) and calls out cheers for his girlfriend.

Gerazal watches N'talya go to take down Kiena and he cheers for her, "Go N'talya! You can pin her. For Ista's Pride!"

Slips in the mud as Kiena slips about her lossing her footing slighlty she slips though Kiena graps but tumbles down into the mud for a moment before regaining her footin quicking and turns and trying to grab Kiena about the waist, her hands slipping up and down along her

Kiena will put up a good fight! She's a feisty fighter, not above calling taunts between laughter and not afraid to get right into it. Tumbling, rolling, grappling, for a moment she and the greenrider look evenly matched but someone's got to give in the end. And it won't be N'talya! It'll be Kiena who goes down, once again miscalculating how slippery that mud can be and she goes down again and hard on her hip and side. Before she can counter, N'talya will have her chance to pin her down until the match is called and Kiena can only shake her head. Defeated again! But she takes it all in stride, still grinning and laughing in good spirits as she attempts to stand up again and shake some of the excess mud from her skin. "Good match," she'll call to N'talya, offering her hand again to shake. "And nice to meet you." That brings another round of chuckling. Some introduction! Then it's time to walk (slide?) out of that ring and maybe she's favouring that one side a bit. Bruised side or… bruise pride? Probably both.

N'talya laughs with the mud dripping off her her face and chin, she offer a hand to help Kiena up and smiles, "That was great, I have never done that before." she appears to have been having a reallly good time. Returning the handshake before moving off towads the water buckets to try to rinse a bit off.

Mur'dah frowns when Kiena loses, but that favoring of one side has him more concerned. "You okay?" he asks as he walks with her to the cleaning water, and then gives her her rum back.

"I'm fine. Just jarred a bit on that last fall." Kiena mutters to Mur'dah, rubbing at her side a bit with a grimace and then she's laughing softly. "Shells, we didn't do so well, huh? Think they'll forgive us or do you think we should try some rematches?" She'll take that rum and drain most of it in a few gulps before handing it back to Mur'dah. She needs to rinse down! And luckily she'll be able to and before Th'ero can make his way over. Because he tries! But he's foiled when someone calls for his attention and he has to turn and go through the whole greeting process, allowing Kiena to escape again, along with Mur'dah, to another part of the ring to continue to watch and cheer on the next rounds!

And so the mud wrestling will continue! With competitors called, and more than a few late entrants, getting a chance to wrestle in the slippery stuff. And maybe someone will start offering buckets of the goop in the Function Room's spa, because that oil really does seem to work wonders on the skin. Surely, Ista's next trend. As for the Weyrgames - with mud and fire bringing in visitors for continued rounds of battle, it seems the competition is just heating up!


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