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.
It is a fine day at the Xanadu beach. Clouds drift across the afternoon sky and the water is calm. The sun has just begun to descend towards the horizon, and Cenlia has made her way out of the garden for a stroll along the sand. Three of her firelizards are winging their way in a large circle around her as she walks, their soft chittering carried on the breeze. The gardener girl is barefoot, with her pantlegs rolled up and her boots left further up the beach, where a very grumpy-looking brown Trouble is chewing at the laces. Every now and then, she bends down to examine something or other in the sand.
Zevida is walking down the beach, looking quite content. Her feet are bare and she's without her lifemate for once as she's wandering aimlessly.
Thea is enjoying a break from the office and caring for Seryth's hide this afternoon. Or rather she's just finishing up. The uncomfortably pumpkin-like gold is crouched in the shallow water while Thea, dressed in a pair of shorts and a tattered old shirt, stands on the queen's forearm to scrub her shoulder. Suds dribble down and pile on the water lapping around her form. Seryth warbles as Kinseth glides over, causing Thea to look up, then around behind her. She can't help but grin wickedly and salute X'hil with the soapy brush. she hasn't spotted the other two women yet.
Cenlia looks up from her examination of the sand when the bronze dragon lands. The girl calls out a polite, "Hello, Sir Kinseth." She sees Seryth and looks around for their riders. The girl waves a greeting as she spots the weyrwomen and the bronzer, grinning a bit at X'hil's odd shambling, "Hey." She is about to wander closer to the riders, but a loud, "WHOA!" from the direction of the meadow causes her to turn and peer in that direction. Visible hurtling down towards the beach is a dappled gray runner. Clinging to the saddle is a young stablehand, whose expression is anything but relaxed. No peaceful ride on the beach for him, apparently, as the runner bucks and stumbles in the sand, sending the stablehand tumbling over its neck. The runner continues to whinny and prance, nearly stomping on the young man before its making a headlong dash towards the water.
Kinseth splashes straight out to join Seryth when his rider finally catches up, crooning affectionately at the pumpkin-like gold. X'hil rolls his eyes. "Oh, sure, /now/ you're fine. Sharding /bronzes/." he shakes his head, wading out to join Thea and the dragons in the water. His wound seems to be mostly healed now, though he does have a slight limp. Thea's salute gets a grimace, and he mutters, "At ease." glancing absently to Kinseth, /sure/ the bronze has been bragging. Does seem like something he'd do. The knot on his shoulder isn't even considered, because, not awake yet. Though his eyes are certainly … wide. "'S 'at a /runner/?" he says, unable to believe it, apparently. He blinks and peers over at Cenlia, as if she'd know something he doesn't, being closer to, well, wherever the runner came from.
Zevida glances at Kinseth and Seryth and rolls her eyes at the attachment the bronze seems to have for the egg heavy gold. Her toes go into the sands for a moment before she's looking towards the meadow and, the runner is given a startled look before she's moving /out/ of the way. "Shells and shards. What the /heck/?" That peaceful mood is gone.
Seryth perks at the sound of running hoofbeats and her maw opens hopefully as she rises from her crouch just a bit. Thea wasn't expecting this and after scrabbling in vain, she slides off to land in thigh-deep water with a splish. She rises sopping wet and suds-covered, peels her hair off her face to see. "Oh, hi Cenlia." No surprise there. Rampaging animal, gardener not far behind. Or vice-versa. She wisely moves aside as Kinseth dances over to greet Seryth. Her eyes are merry as she nods at X'hil, managing not to laugh as she asks, "So… how did they manage to pin ya with it? Tuber ale again?"
The stablehand is on his feet quickly. He bolts after the runner, yelling a frustrated, "Get back here!" It's rather futile, though, as the runner gallops towards the water, narrowly speeding past Zevida and stumbling again on the shifting sand. Cenlia just blinks and stares, but the stablehand doesn't let her stand there for long, barking out a, "Grab its halter, shardit!" as the runner zooms past the girl. Cenlia makes a grabfor it, and by the sudden jerk of the animal's head, she actually manages to get hold of the lead. Unfortunately, girl vs. runner is a somewhat hopeless battle, as the animal crashes into the water and keeps going, slowing only when its splashing becomes a desperate swim. Cenlia acks as she gets pulled right along with it, and ends up sputtering in the water.
X'hil snorts, and shakes his head. "Weyrleader R'sul cornered me when I was half-asleep and looking for a distraction." Well, that's how /he/ sees it, anyway. And it's partly the truth… Kinseth glances Zevida's way, then snorts, crooning again at Seryth, utterly infatuated perhaps, or just wanting to stick close to the upcoming clutch that he's half responsible for. It really is near impossible to tell the difference. The half-asleep man blinks as Cenlia is pulled out to sea with the runner, and glances to Kinseth. There's something he should be /doing/ right now… Something to do with his old wing? Well, he doesn't see how /sweeps/ would help, there's no need to /search/ because Cenlia and the runner are /right there/. What else did search and rescue work involve again?
Zevida watches Kinseth snort at her before laughing with amusement. She's watching the runner and Cenlia go by with a quirk of her brow, and then a cough. "Be careful, Cenlia!" She calls after the girl and then taking off in a light jog to perhaps, assist.
"So another thing to avoid besides the tuber ale. Sleep." Or lack thereof. "Congratulations?" Thea adds wryly in X'hil's direction. Seryth gives Kinseth an affectionate nuzzle. Back to the runner her eyes go and she watches the chase hopefully. A snack… She watches the runner pound on by and her jaw closes slowly in a disappointed snap when she sees a stablehand chasing the runner. Can't eat the ones for riding. Nope. The injured ones, now… Thea just watches Cenlia towed out for a swim. She can swim, right? Right? No sense asking the gardener, she's busy at the moment. "Can she swim?" The weyrwoman asks X'hil mildly. Zevida jogs into her field of vision, "That your runner, then Zevida?" Oh yes, she's amused by all this.
The stablehand plows into the water after runner and girl, this time yelling, "Don't let go!" In response, Cenlia sputters as she's dragged further, while the runner rolls its eyes back and tries to rear in water deep enough to cover its back and then some. Exactly what the animal is trying to escape from is questionable, though it's a good bet its spotted those two big dragons over there. And can Cenlia swim? That's a good question, as her head disappears under the water. The girl's firelizards, who'd been flying about watching, take this as a sign to start diving at the animal, which only panics the runner even more. "Shoo! Shardit, get lost!" the stablehand swats the air, treading water to try to reach the runner's head before it drowns itself.
X'hil shakes his head slowly. "Would've gotten away if Kinseth'd just let me sleep. Now I've got a new knot, a pile of paperwork, and a dragon who - until just now - was /demanding/ I bathe him." the man trudges a little way back towards the shore, with a frown. Kinseth 'helpfully' bellows to try and scare the firelizards off, nevermind what that might do to the runner, and X'hil winces. Once the ringing in his ears subsides, he calls out, "Need a hand?" Understatement of the turn, /easily/. His brain is slowly chugging into action, picking up speed very slowly today.
Zevida glances at Thea, shaking her head. "Knowing Avaeth, she would've eaten my runner by now. If I had one." Then Cenlia's head is going under the water and she frowns, no longer amused. "Cen might get hurt, we want to get her out of the water and.. I don't care what happens to the runner, let Seryth eat it." Her shoulders shrug before she's rushing into the water to help Cenlia. At least Zevi isn't snapping orders at X'hil anymore.
"Why doesn't she shardin' let go of the silly thing?" Thea mutters in disbelief to X'hil with a snicker at the bathing demands from his dragon. No sense everyone trying to plunge through the water to catch the thing. Is there? Hmm. She places both hands to her mouth and calls out to the stablehand, "I could have Seryth play fetch, if you want!" She lowers her voice to mutter, "but you won't get it back." She claps her hands over her ears as Kinseth bellows - he is right above her head - and so she misses Cenlia getting dragged under. Zevida's words reach her and she starts swimming out as well. Lot of good that will do. At least there's no loaded needles around this time.
The runner tries to rear again as the dragon bellows, but the noise certainly does the trick, as all the firelizards disperse immediately, giving the scared animal one less thing to worry about. Of course, it would be worrying a whole lot less if its head weren't suddenly jerked downwards into the water. Cenlia surfaces just as the stablehand scrambles for the animal's saddle. The girl manages to cling to the runner's neck, and with two people weighing it down the animal is struggling to stay afloat. "You can let go!" the stablehand snaps at Cenlia, but the girl raises an arm with an irritated, "I can-" and then ends up sputtering as the runner bucks and flings her off. But the girl doesn't go far, as her hand snags on something. The tangled lead has tightened around her wrist, and both she and the stablehand struggle for a moment to loosen it, before the man is grabbing the halter itself in an attempt to turn the animal's head around towards the shore. Zevida's approach is greeted with a look of first relief, and then embarrassment as the man seems to realize who she is. He hasn't noticed Thea yet, but he does look around, saying, "Need to herd him back to shore."
X'hil outranks Zevida now anyway, most likely. Not that he wouldn't hop to on reflex, he seems to respond well to being ordered about. But this? Just sort of standing around? He racks his foggy brain trying to think… "/QUIET/!" he roars at Kinseth. Okay, step one, shut up the dragon. Step two, ??? Step three, profit! No, wait, that's another plan entirely. He mutters, and charges towards the runner, though he really has no plan beyond that. Herd him back to shore? That makes it through, it's almost an order after all, and X'hil tries to get between the runner and the open sea, making shooing motions. Oh, /real/ effective.
Zevida furrows her brow at the stablehand, "this is your fault. You'll be gettin' punishment for this." She snaps, then is attempting to reach Cenlia if only to wrench her away from the runner, if anything. She shoots a look towards X'hil. "You're not helping. Help me get Cenlia before she drowns."
Thea manages to swim closer to the struggling group, but before she can reach the bridle a bronze streak shoots over her head and lands on the runner's haunch. This has the flavor of chaos and potential doom, so of course he's got to get in on it. He buries his teeth in the animal's behind. Not trying to help, more likely hoping someone gets kicked. Thea is an arm's length away and cannot stop him, but she grits out between breaths, "Ruin- I- am- going- to- -kill- you!" She continues swimming out behind the animal. As the bronzer swims by, "D'you have a knife, X'hil?" She's getting fairly worried now.
Cenlia is still attempting to learn to swim while trying to loosen the tangled leather from around her wrist, and her splashing is making the animal shy away. Its confusion as to who its supposed to follow, the stablehand or flailing girl, isn't helped by the fact that every time Cenlia dips under, the animal's head is dragged down as well. Luckily, Cenlia finds herself grabbed by Zevida, and the girl sputters gratefully. The stablehand pales considerably at the weyrwoman's words, but grabs the halter and manages to swing the runner more or less in the direction of the shore. His efforts are hindered by the depth of the water, but there's progress at least. However, when the firelizard bites the runner on the rear, the man is quite violently swung aside. The runner neighs loudly in alarm and frantically surges shoreward, gardener girl still attached by that tangled lead.
X'hil seems to be waking up fast now that he's in action, and the water is helping somewhat. Zevida is saying something about Cenlia? Cenlia! He suddenly looks alarmed, and a little sheepish. Thea's knife suggestion gets a frown from the man, and a fumble where his belt would normally be. But he came dressed for swimming, dragon-bathing, so there's no belt, and no knife… He sees his opening after the firelizard bites the runner, with the stablehand swung out of the way, and tries to jump up on the runner's back, to undo the strap from there. May do more harm than good though, because at least the runner was heading to shore before the bronzerider leapt into action.
Zevida is relieved as she gets Cenlia out of the water, but the relief is only temporary as the runner begins to take off and Cenlia slips from her grasp. The woman lets out a loud hiss as no one seems to have a knife and she's attempting to run /after/ the runner again, but isn't doing so well getting out of the water quickly. The woman continues in a string of swears.
Oh, great! Now that Cenlia's no longer in danger of being drowned by the runner, she's in danger of being dragged to death when it gets -out- of the water. Thea mutters under her breath and lunges for the halter at the same time X'hil jumps on its back. Ruin chitters irritably at the bronze rider who has displaced him and launches for the runner's head, sharp teeth latch onto one ear. And still not meaning to help, noo. He's just spiteful that way.
As the panicked runner makes for the shore, Cenlia tugs frantically at the loop of leather around her wrist, but submerges again as she's dragged away from Zevida. The runner's response to suddenly acquiring a rider has the frightened animal bucking madly, and the stablehand tries but is unable to grab the halter again. He swears, too, and treads after it. The animal's halter would be a simple thing to unbuckle and slip off, but the water and the creature's bucking makes it somewhat tricky. The runner doesn't slow in the slightest when Thea also adds her weight to the lead, but Ruin's ear-bite causes the animal to fling its head madly and buck even harder. And kick. That stablehand is /extremely/ lucky, as the animal's flailing hind hooves just narrowly miss his head!
X'hil grabs onto the runner's mane, gritting his teeth and alternating between tugging at the halter and swiping at that blasted firelizard with his free hand. He tries to think back to all the times he visited his runner-breeding aunt, and frowns. He was just a kid then, he doesn't really remember much. As the runner starts to fling its head around, he tightens his grip on its mane, clenching his knees in close to the beast's sides, in a desperate attempt to not be thrown off. He seems to be making headway with the halter, but it's not exactly the easiest thing he's ever done.
Seryth warbles alarm, catching Thea's mood and lumbers down the beach to head the crazed animal off. Her yellow eyes and open jaws indicate she'll gladly snap up the snack-on-legs if given the go-ahead. Unfortunately, there's a person on the critter's back that might leave a bad taste in her mouth. Thea finally manages to barely grasp the halter with two fingers, but the buckle is on the other side of the runner's head. Ruin, eyes closed in ecstasy, is flipping this way and that on the end of the poor runner's ear and humming with pleasure at all the destruction around him. Is there any other way to live?
Zevida is chasing after the stupid runner, and Cenlia, as she's draggin' across the ground. At least Thea seems to have a grop on it and she's about ready to turn on the stablehand and bitch him out. But, she's still chasing that runner, Thea, Cenlia and the firelizard.
As the runner hits shallower water, it suddenly finds firm footing and surges shoreward at speed, leaving a sputtering stablehand in its wake. The man churns after it, yelling near-incoherently in frustration. But the sight of a gold dragon headed its way has the animal rearing and doing an abrupt turn, nearly bowling the poor stablehand over as it tries to double back. Though it doesn't quite head back into deeper water, as Thea's hold on the halter has it doing more of a nervous two-legged circle while it strikes out with its forefeet at - who else, the stablehand who's also making a grab for the halter. This is unfortunate, as the runner is still dragging the gardener, and Cenlia cries out as she's flung sideways into the stablehand, and then both of them get a mouthful of water when the animal plunges back down again. The runner tries to fling its head, to get the firelizard off.
X'hil's grip on the runner's mane is slipping now, and he's thrown clear off at the beast's next toss of the head. He lands with a splash not far off, staggering to his feet and rubbing his sore behind absently. He takes one look at the runner, and backs away. But hey, at least he /loosened/ the harness? "I'm, er, gonna go get a knife." Right. He wobbles off to shore, picking up speed the steadier he gets on his feet. He'll be back, right? Kinseth doesn't seem concerned, though the bronze does move to back Seryth up, trying to herd the creature back to shore by not giving it any other /options/.
Zevida hisses again as the runner, yet again, shifts directions and is curning as well to try and catch Cenlia again as they're going into the water. The stablehand is all but ignored as he's not attached to the runner and she goes and attempt to help Cenlia get free. "You do that." She calls to X'hil.
Thea's grip on the halter tightens, but alas! Ruin's grip on the ear does not. what with the head flinging and all, the hapless firelizard is finally shaken (but not stirred) free and the arc of his trajectory is beautiful to behold - at least until he pops *between*. Too bad Thea can't enjoy his unglorious exit. Thea flops this way and that along with the satellites in the runner's orbit. X'hil runs by and - wait! X'hil is no longer on the runner's back?? "Seryth, eat it!" Thea bellows as she lets go the halter.
Chaise ambles along the beach, her hair hanging damply and her cheeks pink with a recent scrubbing. She pauses to sweep a shell up from the sand, but then the commotion down the way makes itself known. She pauses in mid-crouch, eyes widening as the shell falls from her fingers. "What the…" it's mumbled and she takes a step back even though she's not really all that close to firelizard projectiles and… hungry runner-eating gold dragons?
Rei is heading down to the beach in a bikini and a wrap around skirt. She hasn't been at Xanadu too long and this is her first real trip to the beach for recreation. She's not used to the warm weather anymore, having been at reaches for over two turns, but she's enjoying herself. At least… she might be, depending on how crazy things are at the beach. Her bronze flit Geo is leading the way, and her green Dalriath is sauntering behind them, getting herself used to the sand at a proper beach. Rei stops to stare as one of the weyrwoman is yelling for her gold to eat… something?
The bronze dragon's attempt at herding works fairly well, as the runner darts sideways, suddenly finding itself free of Thea, and makes a lunge for the shore, splashing and neighing as it goes. Cenlia is almost caught by Zevida, but as the animal takes off again, the gardener yelps and is wrenched along with it, being dragged by that tangled lead. However, it's all a little anticlimatic, as the quickly-tiring runner slows when its hooves reach dry sand. Cenlia is dragged right to the shore, and a little ways up, but suddenly finds the lead on her arm go slack as the runner shakes its head and the halter loosens just a smidge more. The girl rolls to her knees and coughs hard, groaning, her hair and clothes plastered to her skin. From further up along the beach, where her boots are, the girl's four flits croon at her in concern, but they're staying put, for fear of that big bronze dragon over there. The runner is panting hard, its sides shivering. But it snorts and stamps its hooves, even lowering its head to nip at Cenlia. The gardener eyes the animal warily and scoots away, sitting in the sand and coughing some more, muttering an, "Uugh." The stablehand finally gets to shore and scowls at the runner, but the animal is more concerned with the dragons, and after a moment's hesitation, the animal suddenly bolts again, away from the gold dragon, straight towards the meadow. Cenlia cries out as she's suddenly being dragged across the sand. The girl starts swearing, and flails as the sand-churning hooves beat down beside her head.
Zevida releases a string of swears as Cenlia is missed, now the goldrider is just getting pissed. There's even a frustrated bugle coming from a certain gold dragon in the Weyr. The stablehand gets a look, "I'm having your hide for this." She growls before she's taking off after Cenlia and attempting once more, to free the girl from the grasp of the runner. "Shells, at least her arm hasn't been dislocated from her being jostled around so much." She mutters.
X'hil makes his way back with a scowl on his face and a knife in his hand… And a Nosken in tow. Hence the scowl. "Don't you have /feeding grounds/ to clean?" the bronzerider snaps at the man, but Nosken just gives a cheery, "Nope, done for the day! Whatcha doooin'?" /Fully/ aware of how irritating he's being. But, X'hil /ignores/ him? What? Seems the man's got more important things on his mind, as he approaches the runner, knife in hand. When he gets closer, he lunges at the loosened halter, aiming to cut Cenlia free. Nosken can't help it, he's impressed, stunned speechless.
Seryth doesn't need to be asked twice. It's chow time! With a half-flap and a lunge, she chomps down on the runner mid-stride, raises her head and tosses it slightly, then gulps it down halter and all, slurping the lead along with it like a piece of old-Earth spaghetti. The runner could still be neighing on the way down. Thea rises from the water to pad dripping to the sand and peer at her friend to check if she's alive. With a half-smile and a frustrated head-shake, she asks her, "Shells, Cenlia. What is it with you and animals?! Faranth save us should you ever Impress a dragon. We may not survive it."
Chaise slowly straightens up, shell entirely forgotten at her feet. She swallows, slowly tucks a chunk of wet hair behind her ear. "Where on Pern have I ended up?" It's a murmur, but now that the runner has been munched she strides over to the gathering. "Everything alright over here?" She peers down at the nearly trampled Cenlia, offers a hand.
Rei blinks a bit at the runner and… it's captive Cenlia. "Oooh." She finally says, turning to Chaise. "Looks like a runner's gotten loose, and is dragging someone." Then it's X'hil, to the rescue! "Cut her free! Cut her free!" Rei cheers. Some help she's being. But at least she knows not to go tearing off to help, or she might frighten the beast more. But then a gold swoops down to make a tasty snack of the runner. "Aw. I guess we missed all the excitement." She heads over towards Cenlia as well. "Should we call for a healer?"
Zevida laughs at Thea's comment. "Well, at least if she Impresses.. When her dragon gets big enough it'll just eat all the animals after her." She's finally caught up, out of breath and settling down on the ground. Avaeth's there a moment later, landing not too far from the group and rumbling her irritation. "Yea, fine Avaeth…" She murmurs, looking to examine Cenlia from afar and Chaise is given a wave in greeting though the woman doesn't say anything more, catching her breath.
Cenlia has both hands clasped around that lead, so her arm doesn't get wrenched off. But the sight of X'hil lunging at her with a knife has her eyes going wide. She yells a very panicked something, but it comes out sounding like a strangled bleat, which turns into an all-out shriek as Seryth EATS the runner. X'hil, however, is either /very/ skilled with a knife or is incredibly lucky, because the blade snaps the halter just as the dragon slurps it up. It is rather impressive, actually. Of course, lunging bronzer has to land somewhere. Cenlia, meanwhile, is groaning and trying to scoot away from both dragon and bronzerider, and she spies Chaise and Rei and lets out something that sounds like a, "gawp," but might have been a word. Maybe.
X'hil just sort of sprawls there in the sand once the runner is chomped up by Seryth, and the halter is cut, eyes closing and shoulders slumping just slightly. Crisis over. /Relax/. Nosken actually… applauds? You have to respect a man who'll get that close to a rampaging runner and then soon-to-be dragon snack, and still manage to cut the strap. Doesn't mean the bar regular isn't going to still put that ovine in the bronzerider's weyr, or /whatever/ it is he's planning, just means he might wait a little while longer before doing so. X'hil's earned it.
That poor stablehand is just sort of standing and staring, having watched the runner be eaten, he doesn't seem to know what to do now. The man gulps and runs a hand through his hair, and slowly walks over to make sure the girl is alright, though the glare Cenlia gives him is anything but friendly.
Thea just sinks to the sand to rest after all that excitement, finally spotting Chaise and Rei. She gives them a wave, managing to hear their questions. "Oh, don't bother the Healers, no. Cenlia's a lost cause I think." She giggles just a bit, adding, "Just a normal day at Xanadu, Trust me. At least no one got shot This time." She eyes X'hil with a bit of a grin, before heading up the beach to collect the brush and bucket of sweetsand. Best of all, they don't have to go to the Feeding Grounds for awhile.
Chaise lets her extended hand drop awkwardly back to her side. She slides it into a pocket and rocks back on her heels. "So… nice weather this evening, huh?" She eyes the clapping Nosken skeptically, then lets the look shift to the departing runner-filled gold. "Do they eat runners? Often?"
Rei giggles and applauds with Nosken. "That was quite amazing. Are you in the habit of rescuing girls from runaway runners then?" Rei squats down next to X'hil. "Should we call a healer for him, then?" She pats the bronzer a bit. "Oh.. a normal day? Perhaps they ought to mend the runner stables, then?" The greenrider scratches her head a bit. "Dalri doesn't make it a habit, no. But maybe that gold likes the taste of runner?"
Zevida slowly rises up, taking a breath and rubbing her hands together a moment before eyeing Cenlia. "Seriously girl, whatever you're washin' yourself with.. Might want to change it." There's a grumbled. "Maybe it'd keep the shardin' animals away from you." Though, she's not mad at the girl, no. She's looking towards the stablehand with an evil eye. "You, my office. /Now/." The gold is even giving the poor stablehand the evil eye before they're both heading back towards the Weyr.
Cenlia groans and manages to roll to her side, hand massaging the shoulder that got wrenched so much. She still has the other end of that lead around her wrist, and it's leaving a large, ugly red welt. But the girl manages to sit up and groans a, "Guuuh, oowww." And then she tugs the cut lead off her arm and flings it aside, muttering, "Shardin' thing, no wonder my ma hates 'em." The girl huffs, and then coughs, sputtering up some water. When she catches her breath, she warily eyes the departing Thea and Seryth. Cenlia glances at X'hil, grinning a bit and mumbling, "Thanks," and then flops back onto the ground, staring up at the sky saying, "I ain't never gettin' near anything with hooves again. Ever." This of course, includes ovines too. The poor stablehand pales under Zevida and Avaeth's looks, but follows the weyrwoman meekly.
Nosken stops his applause, with a sideways glance and a shrug at Chaise, then wanders on down to put a hand on the bronzerider's shoulder, sort of a supporting gesture. See, they're friends! X'hil smirks up at Nosken's previously-broken nose - there's a story there - then stands up, and brushes himself off, pretending like he's okay, with a sheepish shake of his head to Rei, on his other side, at her healer suggestion. "I'm just tired, I'll be fine," and, it's the truth, more or less. "And if I never see the inside of that infirmary again, I can die happy." Yep. Spent a good deal of time in there recently, clearly. "Dragons don't eat runners often…" There's a pause, and the man frowns, quickly glancing around until he spots Cenlia. "You okay?" he asks, with a frown. He'd gladly see the inside of the infirmary so long as he wasn't the /patient/, apparently.
Chaise steps back out of Zevida's path, giving the stablehand a faintly sympathetic smile. She arches a brow at Cenlia, then gives her head a shake. "Sounds like you've got some problems there, girl. It must run in your family, eh?" That with a flick of her eyes to X'hil, who she has heard has born the brunt of Cenlia's brother's tendencies toward chaos. "Remind me to keep my runner away from Cenlia /and/ hungry dragons… if I ever get one."
Rei gives X'hil a pat and a nod. "If you say so." She gives him a look over, and he doesn't seem to have any injuries, so it's back to Cenlia. "Are you sure you don't want to see a healer? I think you've gotten the wind knocked out of you." She looks down at the girl, blocking her view of the sky for a moment. "Runners aren't so bad, if you get a nice one that you can keep control of. Though I don't think that one will be bothering anyone else again." She watches as Zevida takes the stablehand back to her office to straighten him out.
"'M fine," Cenlia mumbles, smiling weakly at Rei and X;hil and rubbing her wrist. She sits up again slowly and grimaces, adding, "Got sand in places it should /never/ get." She makes a face, muttering, "Almost worsen' the trundlebugs." The gardener girl eyes her flits suspiciously as all four of them fly over to nuzzle at her, crooning sweetly. "Hunh," is all she says in response to this, glancing over at the others with a, "Hey." And then, realizing she's never met Rei, she adds somewhat lamely, "I'm Cenlia. The gardener." At Chaise's mention of family, Cenlia groans again and mutters, "My da's a beastcrafter. Ain't never had no trouble till I got /here/." There's a moment's pause, and the girl tacks on, "Well, 'least no trouble 'cept with the chickens." She makes a rather expressive face, which almost sums up her opinion of poultry.
X'hil has indeed experienced Cenlia's brother's chaotic tendencies, first hand! He got /shot/! Stuck in the infirmary for /way/ too long, laying on his stomach because it hurt to lay on his back… "Kinseth's never eaten a runner." Yet. Kinseth's not eaten a runner /yet/. "Not in over twelve turns, not since I impressed." he says, glancing out at the bronze. Nosken seems to realise that he's not going to be able to get up to any mischief here, as he fades away into the background, heading off to some other part of the Weyr. Blink blink, tired blink. Introductions? Well, if that's what they're doing now? The man shrugs. "X'hil, Kinseth's rider." Weyrsecond. But he doesn't /say/ it. The fancy knot speaks for itself, really.
Rei smiles back at Cenlia, then blinks at all the firelizards. "Oh! Heh, hello. I'm Rei, Dalriath's rider." She points to the green who is sunning herself now further down the beach. "I've just transferred from High Reaches. My brothers are also beastcrafters. I like them, but I'm not a crafter myself." She nods a bit to X'hil. "Ah, hello. Weyrsecond, then?" She points to his knot. "Dalri isn't quite that old, but she's never eaten one either. I'm not sure they taste very good, though I've never eaten one myself."
Cenlia grins a bit, now that the excitement with the runner is over and she's still in one piece. The girl glances at X'hil when he introduces himself, and she catches sight of the knot. Raising a brow, Cenlia says, "Congrats, by the way. Didja get weyrwoman Niva drunk again?" That last part is said jokingly, but she does eye the bronzer curiously. Considering how he acquired the knot the /last/ time… At Rei's introduction, the gardener girl offers a, "Well met, Rei and Dalriath," even politely nodding in the direction of the green dragon. Cenlia does have manners, occasionally. On the other hand, having just witnessed Seryth gobble down a runner up close, well, it's always a good idea to be polite to dragons, isn't it?
X'hil nods at Rei's observation of his obvious knot, and seems about to say something, but Kinseth bugles with pride. That's /his/ rider, the weyrsecond! The man raises an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards slightly for a few moments, and then just /laughs/. "And that's Kinseth." he says when he's able to compose himself again, jerking a thumb in the dragon's direction, with a lingering chuckle. He needed that… At Cenlia's question about the acquisition of his knot, he seems to sober up a little - in a figure of speech kind of way. He hasn't actually had a drink in a while. He should do that, celebrate. "I, er. Kinseth wouldn't let me /sleep/. I needed a distraction, would've done /anything/ this morning. Weyrleader R'sul handed me some paperwork, and then a knot, and here I am." he grimaces. He's slept since, though.
Rei blinks, then chuckles a bit at Cenlia's suggestion about getting the weyrwoman drunk for a knot. She does appreciate the politeness, but Dalri isn't in the habit of eating people, either. The green gives a warble to both Cenlia and X'hil, then turns to look as Kinseth bugles about his rider's knot. Rei just chuckles. "Hello, Kinseth! At least he's excited about it? Did you not want the job? I've been with the weyrlings basically since I graduated. I like to teach the new riders and Dalri likes to show off what she knows." The perfect job for Rei really. Considering how much she likes to talk, lectures come easy for her.
Cenlia snickers and says to X'hil, "Wouldn't let ya sleep? Guess Sir Kinseth's partly responsible fer it, then." And Cenlia grins wider, calling over to the bronze dragon, "I think he deserves the knot." Especially after that knife-lunge. But her eyes are twinkling mischievously. Deserves it. Yuup. "Coulda come help in the garden if ya needed a distraction, too," she adds, "Still got a big pile of branches to haul." But she sounds more amused, than anything, and she certainly wasn't hauling any branches here on the beach, so it can't be that big a job.
X'hil frowns a little, and actually seems to be taking a moment to consider it. "Well, it's not that I don't /want/ the job. It's flattering to be considered, especially a /second/ time, and it /does/ come with a tidy sum of marks, and… Hmm." he blinks. It /doesn't/ sound that bad, actually. "It's just… a little more high profile than I'd like. Not /all/ bronzeriders are leadership types." he frowns, then has to admit, "At least this time it didn't come with a hangover!" Wait, they really /did/ get the Weyrwoman drunk for a knot? Not on purpose, but still… He grimaces, and nods, looking even more guilty each time he remembers that he'd promised to help Cenlia. "Tomorrow, gardens, for /sure/." he promises. If he fails /this/ one, the guilt may just make him implode. He just has to hope Seryth wasn't /quite/ as egg-heavy as she looked. That was runner bulk, surely. Cough.
Rei chuckles. "I don't know him well, but he seems to be a protector of the weyrfolk. And that's part of being a weyrsecond… isn't it? I'm not sure, really. There always seemed to be lots of paperwork involved with that, too." And leadership. And responsibility. Not that Rei didn't have those things as a weyrlingmaster. "I'm sure you'll do fine though. At least you're not weyrleader?" She offers as a bit of consolation, then blinks about getting the weyrwoman drunk.
Cenlia is still grinning at X'hil, and says almost without thinking, "Might make a decent leader, long as ya ain't runnin' from ovines." She's joking, right? The girl snickers a bit at the mention of a hangover, saying, "Still got a shot of that tuber ale left. Should celebrate good and proper." She giggles, and then nods in agreement with Rei about not being the weyrleader. Cenlia's flits are done with being all sweet and concerned about her, and the two blues curl up on Cenlia's shoulders while brown Trouble wanders off to go bother some crawly things further along the beach. Bronze charmer, however, is noticing somebody he hasn't yet tried to charm, and while he croons cheekily at X'hil, the little firelizard is soon edging towards Rei and waggling his tail, spreading his wings and posing to better show off that goldeny-bronze hide of his. The flit's antics cause Cenlia to roll her eyes, and she pokes her firelizard with a finger, muttering, "Stop that, you." To X'hil, she says, "I got a couple bottles of ale and wine, too. Dun suppose Izzy's gonna make any of them meatrolls anytime soon?" And there's definitely mischief in her eyes.
X'hil snorts, a short burst of almost-laughter. "Thank Faranth for that." The not being Weyrleader bit. "Me, /Weyrleader/!" Kinseth gets an odd look in his eyes, and the man groans, eyes unfocusing for a few minutes as he tries to talk the dragon out of … whatever he was planning. There's no outward reaction from the bronze, but the man does sigh and relax after a few moments, plopping himself down on the sand. "It's actually not that crazy. My mother's cousin was Weyrleader over at Fort, for a time." he admits, with a frown. But that won't happen to him. Or at least, he /hopes/ not. He suspects Niva is less than pleased with him, and he /really/ doesn't want to move. Cenlia's mention of ovines gets a full /shudder/ from the man. Ovines. Rearrange the letters, maybe add in an L, take out the N, and you get 'so evil'. There's a raised eyebrow and a smirk at the meatroll suggestion. "I'm sure I can persuade her to make a couple more." There's a pause then, and a frown. "Er… /Why/?" Aw man, he's trying to be a /responsible/ Weyrsecond? That's no fun! Kinseth /did/ sulk terribly after the man lost the knot the first time, though.
Rei chuckles a bit. "Running from ovines, too, hm?" Rei's own bronze, hardy Geo, swoops in once another flit gets close to his person. He sort of peers at the other bronze after settling in on her shoulder. "Oh stop that, Geo." She squats down to offer the other bronze a headrub. "Hi there, little guy. You should make friends, Geo. Inouva is getting sick of you, I think." Then she chuckles at X'hil. "I've heard the weyrwoman here is quite tough on her staff. Though maybe you do have it in your blood." She looks back at Kinseth. "He seems to think so."
"Never got to try one," Cenlia says innocently. Plus, it isn't a proper celebration without boozed meatrolls, is it? She grins at Rei, snickering, "When that mad ovine got in the infirmary, he hid under a cot. Let Thea wrestle it on her own." The girl giggles and then eyes Charmer suspiciously, but since he doesn't seem to be bothering Rei, she lets him croon and pose. Charmer even croons sweetly at Geo. Why /hello/ there. Yay a headrub! Charmer tries to nuzzle Rei's fingers, doing his best 'charming flit' croon. "Weyrwoman Niva is kinda scary," Cenlia mumbles, shaking her head. Having only actually seen the woman up close when the goldie was dead drunk or raging mad, Cenlia's opinion might not be all that well informed. The gardener girl tilts her head and raises a brow at X'hil, asking curiously, "What'd she say about you gettin' the knot back?"
X'hil snorts a little, and eyes Kinseth. "What does he know? He's the spawn of his dam and his dam's sire. If /he/ bred with /her/, who knows what'd happen." His dam is Kilaueth, then? "Shards, if Kinseth /does/ chase her, I'll /leave/." he says, though surely he's just exaggerating? As for ovines… "I don't want to talk about it. Evil woolly monsters." he mutters the last under his breath. "Sharding… An /ovine/ fell on me! /Fell/! On me! They're not all soft and fluffy like they look. Not at /all/." he scowls. "Also, Kinseth was coughing up wool for /days/ afterwards." He looks a little shifty-eyed when Cenlia asks about Niva's opinion of his position, finally admitting, "Haven't run into her yet." /Probably/ on purpose.
Rei blinks, then chuckles at Cenlia, eyeing X'hil. "Oh? Not a fan of ovines, I take it? Did you have a bad experience or something?" Clearly not! "Poor X'hil." Rei is fine with giving Charmer some attention. Then her own bronze hops down and starts demanding pets as well, so she has to give him some, too. "I think a lot of times the weyrstaff is misunderstood. They have a lot of responsibility, I guess. They tend to get stressed out." Then she blinks at X'hil. "It fell on you? From where?" She eyes the sky. Flying ovines?
Cenlia's eyebrows go up as she stares at X'hil, "She even know ya got the knot back?" And then the girl shakes her head, muttering, "Good luck." Cenlia snickers a bit as she spots Rei eyeing the sky. The gardener girl says, "Medani's dragon threw it at him after it fell on her rider. Then Sir Kinseth tried to get in the garden to eat the shardin' thing." Cenlia makes a face, "Is a good thing he didn't hurt the trees too much when he got himself unstuck. Got enough messes to clear up after the third time the ovines got in there, dun need any more work. Not like the candidates are gonna get up in a tree an' trim the branches." That does kind of explain the rope and handsaw the gardener has been seen wandering around with lately. And there's only a slight grumpiness in her voice. Cenlia /likes/ trees, after all. They don't try to bite or trample anyone.
X'hil shakes his head, glancing out to sea, at Kinseth. "Another dragon /threw/ it." he seconds Cenlia's explanation. "No, I /don't/ know why she threw it at /me/." Probably by accident, really. "One minute I'm trying to go my own way, with a sprained ankle I might add, and the next I'm being flattened by a dead and half-mauled sheep." Well, at least it was /dead/? "Kinseth snatched the thing right off of me and ate it, but it was /not/ a pleasant experience." And he's not been able to watch dragons hunting the same way since. "I… I assume Weyrleader R'sul told her…" Though, he was headed to sleep shortly afterwards too… Hrm… "I hope…" Yeah, /he's/ not going to be the one to tell her. Not after she took his first one away.
Rei blinks at Cenlia. "She threw it at him? That's not very nice…" And it was dangerous! She chuckles a bit. "Well yes… dragons don't deal with the trees very well, especially not big dragons like bronzes." Dalriath was quite a bit smaller, so she could sometimes do the trees. "It does stink that you have to clean up after all of that. You should no candidates will help? At least they should be able to clean the refuse…" She nods to him. "If he gave it to you I'm sure he told her…" Right? "Anyways, Dalriath wants to walk up to the weyrling beach and check things out, so I'll see you guys later!" She gives them both a wave, then goes running after her green, who is already on her way down the beach.
Cenlia grins at X'hil, saying, "Was your idea to haul it up in the air. Wouldn't have fallen on Medani if you'd just let her dragon eat it in the first place." She smirks a bit, adding, "An' you were runnin' away from it, before it got thrown." Cenlia waves to Rei as the rider and dragon head up the beach, saying, "Was nice to meet you!" Charmer, seeing the nice human depart, croons a sad goodbye, but then clambers into Cenlia's lap and nuzzles her hand until she scritches under his chin.
X'hil scowls at Cenlia. "Wouldn't have fallen on /anyone/ if we'd lifted together. I got Eledri down safely from the loft, didn't I?" He /does/ know what he's doing, he rode search and rescue for near a decade. There's a wave for Rei, but the man seems a little quieter now. "I was not /running/. I was going for help." Nope, he was running… At least this time he actually /did/ come back, with the knife even. "Ah, are you /sure/ you're okay? You, er, didn't swallow too much water, or anything?" he asks, with a frown.
"Ya told me to let go of the rope when it was free of the shrub," Cenlia points out. She was just following directions, after all. But she has to admit, "Ya did get him down," and then the girl makes a face, "Hope he ain't gettin' out of the infirmary anytime soon. He's gonna throw a fit when he finds out about the runner." Cenlia rubs her wrist, the skin still a bit red, showing clearly where the leather was tight around her wrist. But the girl shrugs off the question, mumbling, "Yeah, 'm fine. Just got knocked a bit." And she gets to her feet, dusting sand off her still-damp clothes and making a face, "Guess I better learn to swim sometime. Never had a reason in the orchards."
X'hil raises an eyebrow, then waves a hand over the beach. "I can teach you, if you'd like. Once you get confident in the water, you can even help me bathe Kinseth." That's a /reward/? Well, Kinseth certainly thinks it is, crooning happily. "That reminds me…" he grunts as he stands, and glances over at Kinseth. "Only came out here to give him a scrub." And that's probably also the only reason the dragon stayed, rather than following Seryth off.
Cenlia makes a face as she eyes the water, "Can only kinda swim, an' only underwater. It's stayin' up that's hard." But she shrugs, glancing at Kinseth with little enthusiasm. Giving something that big a bath is not her idea of fun, even if he is the best getaway dragon on Pern. She does look curious, however, as she asks, "How often do ya have to scrub him?"
X'hil glances at Kinseth, ginormous bronze Kinseth. It'd be difficult for the man to /have/ a larger dragon, Kinseth is one of the largest bronzes. "About once a week. It varies, depending on how much time we spend between, or how his hide is looking. Usually we don't do an oiling unless he's got patchy hide, or there's a special event, like a gather. Been about once a week since he stopped growing. Weyrlings have to be completely bathed and oiled /daily/, at least while they're growing so rapidly." That's a lot of oiling! It does tend to leave a rider with very soft hands, all that oil.
Cenlia shakes her head, "Sounds like a lotta work." But she does eye the water speculatively, "Can teach me to swim?" If helping him bathe the dragon is the price of learning, well, it's probably a fair deal, considering she nearly drowned earlier. "When I ain't feelin' like a drowned wherry," she adds as she makes a face, "Bet I need a bath almost as much as he does," she indicates Kinseth and grins, "Got sand in places I rather forget." The gardener begins heading up the beach to collect her boots, saying, "Still got the booze. Should celebrate yer knot good an' proper later."
X'hil adds, "We /like/ bathing time. It's a brief lull in the workload just to spend time together." He may complain about Kinseth, a lot, but there's no doubt that the man does love his dragon. It's not his fault Kinseth's mind voice is set to headache-inducing. "Yeah, celebrate later. You bring the booze, I'll bring the booze-rolls." Booze + meatrolls = booze-rolls, naturally. So, that's celebrate, teach Cenlia to swim, and, if he has time, help out in the gardens… Cough. Probably should do the garden thing /first/.
Cenlia grins broadly at the mention of booze-rolls, grabbing her boots and waving as she heads off.