Fresh Fish and Fast Friends

Xanadu Weyr - Meadow
A large, slightly rolling meadow is set high enough above the riverbank on both sides to avoid suffering from flooding, healthy ground cover and grass spreading out from either side of the dividing river. Scattered amongst the meadow are a variety of weyrs, each with a narrow path leading up to it from a main, winding road. Some are set under a few trees, while others sit by themselves. The meadow continues with gentle rolls and dips, grass tall and short waving in the slightest of breezes, and eventually those hills grow higher and steeper, ending in a large ridge that provides a fine view of that meadow and the rest of the Weyr, gazing out over the multicolored roofs of the houses and the cliff that holds the caverns.
Runner stables with the paddock beyond are to the south beyond the meadow weyrs, and a smithy and a woodcraft shop are settled closer in towards the path to the clearing. Trees border the northern side of the meadow, and more of those low, rolling hills can be seen to the northwest. A road passes through the meadow, coming from the east and used by traders and crafters alike. Wagons laden with felled trees from the forests or ore from the mountains are hauled by burden beast up the road through the meadow, over the bridge spanning the river to be processed in the appropriate workshops.


Summer in Xanadu can be a bit much, hot, sticky, humid, and buggy. All of the insects ganging up and attempting a hostile take over of the Weyr, and if they could all agree on a single target, it might actually succeed. Outdoorsy is something Evi is not; it's clear by her near floor-length lime green pleated skirt, white long-sleeved shirt button at neck and wrists, and the way she moves about. This afternoon she's easily spotted cavorting through the meadow, through the bugs and swim worthy humidity, the young greenrider seems bent on getting to the river with a heavy bucket containing at least water as it sloshes out on her shoes with each step. Settled IN the river is Neifeth, who is perfectly happy with the minor flooding her large body creates as she diverts the water from its path.

Summer at Xanadu: it's not great. But, for those that have lived there forever, it's a familiar kind of hot and sticky and buggy and that's okay. Lyubomir is one of those sorts, a longtime resident of the oft-nondescript category. At the moment, he's dressed as he so often is this time of year: tank top, pants, boots, and toolbelt. His hair is tied back out of necessity and he's the proud wearer of whatever Pern's equivalent of bug repellent is. A pair of firelizards have their own special pockets on that belt; a blue and a green are just bouncing along, chattering nonsense at one another with delight. He's on his way somewhere, but the greenrider with her bucket and the green in the water is enough to stall his steps. He lifts a hand in a semi-salute; a greeting more than anything formal. "Need any help over there?"

Bound and determined to get to the water, Evi stalls and places the bucket down with an exasperated sigh. If one were to look inside the bucket, they'd see it is full of small fish, all swimming frantically around with a select few daring to breach the surface of the water in panic. The voice garners attention, and she swings around, looking up and down and side to side before spotting the young man with a wiggle of all 5 fingers and a blush for his salute. "Uh, maybe, I mean, well. I have to get this bucket to… where that thing is." Pointing towards Neifeth, who has nearly gotten the river to crest OVER portions of her body, the force building up enough to facilitate that much. The firelizards get a second and third finger wiggle, squishing her face up with delight. "But, I can do it, sir. No need to be troubled."

He ambles a little closer, picking his way along cautiously. The rider's blushing elicits a blink and a responsive reddening at his own cheeks. Or maybe it's a sunburn. Proably a sunburn. As Lyu's salute falters, he mirrors that finger-wiggle-wave before his hand drops lamely to rest on the green firelizard's head. To their credit, the firelizards cheerfully return the greeting with chirps and warbles, utterly delighted at being recognized. "She looks comfortable," he observes; surely, if she didn't like it, she wouldn't be there… right? "Ah. What is it? Are those fish?" He can't really see from his angle, but he's suspicious. "Trouble? Nah, no trouble at all greenrider. I mean. If you want the help."

Staring firmly at the ground, Evi extends one leg and traces the toe around in a dance type move that she repeats. Her irrational attempt to go invisible falters, and she glances up to make eye contact with this new person but manages to only look at the green firelizard, "Hello cutey pie, yesh, you're so cute, hello, yes hi." Speaking to the firelizards, at least hopefully as that's what she's staring at while wagging her index finger back and forth before glancing at the man, "Yes, I um, found them." Lost fish is a widespread problem, and there's a loving roll of her eyes as a tiny sigh escapes her lips when attention is brought to Neifeth. "She is, she's making a dreadful mess, but it's making her happy. I need to get those guys into the river, they don't like it in there." Grimacing as one fish nearly flops out of the container.

Kludge is definitely not cute. She's pretty much every possible flavor of unpleasant green that could ever been cobbled together, but she basks in the praise, with her gaped maw and hooded gaze aimed at Evi. Lyubomir looks down, as if to see what Evi's actually crooning at. "Kludge says hi." He assumes, anyway. "This one's Patch," is added, with a tap of fingers to the blue. "Uh. Oh. Well, it's good that you found them. Fish don't like being out of-" wait, they're in water? "-… their water." Nice save. Good job, Lyu. "I don't think she's making that much of a mess," says he of the dragon, his hand lifting to rub the back of his neck. It's hot. Of course he's sweating and red. "Seriously, here, let me help." He closes the distance and holds out a hand, offering to properly take the bucket. He's a strong lad, at least; he has to be to do what he does.

The firelizards have her full attention, preventing her from any proper manners for another full minute before she stands up straighter and curtsies, "Terribly sorry, I got um. Well distracted, they're so cute. I am Evi, and the green is Nei." Purposefully leaving out the end of her name. "Hello, kludge, hello patch, you're doing so well, yess." It's a ridiculous baby voice, but it's pretty easy to see that the young woman, while a full-blown rider wearing a Comet wing knot, is a teenager. Willing to relinquish the bucket, there's suddenly an idea crashing through her thoughts, and she nearly bounces with her own pent up excitement. "DO you have a name? I mean, of course, you do, everyone has a name, or at least most people do but, yes." Babbling for a moment and stopping herself with a hmm. "Nei did it, we have a stream near our weyr, and she trapped them by creating her own waterfall. They didn't have enough room, the streams narrow and not fit for fish that will get so very large. If we can get them to the river, they might stand a chance." Of not dying a terrible death, maybe.

Not that he minds, really; he's too busy either looking at the bucket or, hey, are those some trundlebugs? Nice. Lyubomir straightens responsively, though, reacting more to her movements than on his own. Awkward? Yes. "Ah, no, don't worry. They're very distracting," he admits with a soft laugh. "Kludge, especially. She likes getting into things." Kludge protests with a chirp; Patch practically trill-purrs at Evi, though. Once he has the bucket, he starts moving toward Neifeth in her basking place, with all the water overflowing everything and making a muddy mess. "Well met, Evi, Nei." He grins, a grin that widens a little more at her excited bouncing. "Ah! Yeah. Lyubomir. Or just Lyu, I guess. Or Mir. Whatever you want to call me is, uh, fine. Names are pretty flexible like that." There's a soft 'huh' for the explanation of the fish situation, thoughtful more than anything. "I'd have to look, but-" he makes a soft, contemplative sound "-does she maybe want a fish pond?"

"I have four of them, firelizards, they tend to only follow Tulle nowadays. You either have all four or none at all." Evi is dancing with a twist of joy at her newfound freedom, arms bouncing up and down at her sides. Prancing several steps away with a quick glance to ensure a clear perimeter before dizzily throwing her body forward in spirals, " Lyu! I've never met you before." Laughing with abandon before stopping hard, gathering the skirt in her hands, and blushing. "Well, um.. she might not want one, but I would love it." There's a hint of wild euphoric play, that feral happiness that comes with a fantastic idea before it flattens back to awkwardness. "I do not know where I would begin on such a project." Neifeth splashes loudly, the smacking sound of her tail exaggerated as it hits the water. "Do you know anyone in the pond business?" Meandering closer to the bathing green despite the water rising in the tall grasses.

"Yeah? Is Tulle gold? Because I think they really like following golds around, I've noticed." While Evi prances and twirls, Lyu is a thing of the earth, ambling to where the green is lounging. He ducks his head to Neifeth respectfully, then lowers the bucket into the water, tilting it to allow the fish to flow out and downstream. "Ha. I'm around a lot, but people don't really notice the handyman, you know?" He shrugs, easy with his lot in life. Fortunately, kneeling by the water, he doesn't see all the blushing and brightness of her. Perhaps for the best, really. Also, he's now soaked, his trousers rapidly wicking up water. His boots are in real danger of being waterlogged. "Ah- well, I mean." He glances over his shoulder at her, a slow smile forming. "I can help with that. I have a few plans for similar projects, but never had much reason to try them." He glances at Neifeth, then, watching her tail slap on the water. "I mena. If you want me to. I can- there's a lot of stuff I can do. I'm good with my hands."

Neifeth has flooded enough that getting near the river will mean wet boots and possibly pits of water where the dirt below can suck you into a muddy hole that would be clearly visible otherwise. For a scant moment, Lyubomir has her highnesses attention, the striped, dark green twisting with dangerous elegance. Each movement made seems to flow not unlike the water, she's far too feline to feel particularly safe around. Her mind presses forward towards the new person with fast streaks of vibrant green, blue, purple, giant trees grow high above and the crashing sound of an enormous creature peering through the forest before it's all snapped backward with a wet splash of front forelimbs. Evi watches the interaction, inhaling sharply and opening her mouth in puzzlement at the odd dragon. "She is, um, Tulle is green. Nei says she's never noticed you before, and she knows everything." A giggle of an unspoken joke before Evi is squealing with excitement for released fishes, "Be freee little swimmers, go home now. Goodbye." After giving them a proper send off response is managed, "Tulle is gold, but Nei manages them too." At the offer of the help building the pond, she attempts to jump, shoes slightly stuck in the much. "You would? You're serious? YES. Totally, absolutely, yes. I um, live over.. that way." Pointing to where the ridge meets the forest, there's no visible weyr, but it's probably back there somewhere. Maybe.

Such a mind, all green and twisting and full of trees, will meet with the solid earth of Lyubomir's own; he's all rocks and mountains and crags, dark loam and stones alike. Welcoming. Warm. But there's not a lot to see on the surface; she'd have to dig a bit to get anything really useful. And he seems untroubled by the intrusion; he's no stranger to the touch, though it's more often his brother's dragon that does it. Lyu's sure-footed, at least, and he's not too worried about getting sucked into the muck and mud. Once the fish are released, he rises and squelch-steps his way to relative safety. "Ah, well, I'm not- I don't know? I guess I'm not that interesting to dragons, normally? And I'm not around that many, so." Maybe that's why? he's not entirely sure. "Off you go, fishy-fishes. Bye." He waves at them in farewell, as if they could see it. "Ah- See? Yeah, that's what I figured," he replies, restating the obvious. "And, yeah, I would! If you want fish, I can give you fish. Pretty fish, even." His grin is warm and lopsided and boyish, making him look like a teenaged ald for just a moment. "Over there? Sure. Okay. Just, uh. Just let me know when you want to give it a try? I'm just kind of-" he gestures vaguely "-all over, so. It's not hard to find me."

Poking forward with tendrils of purple into the rocks, Nei attempts to roll them away and press them inside. Burrowing in like the bugs would do if they had half a chance. «Do you have purple fishes?» Sassy, demanding, forward, and the total opposite of the sweet girl standing next to her, the dragon is a force in a petite green body. Neifeth snorts water towards Evi, a silent message that has her rolling her eyes before scooting around in a tight circle due to not being able to move her feet. Covering her mouth with one hand, clasping all four fingers around her face, thumb gently grasping her nose, it's obvious she's squelching a thought. "NeiNei is not all dragons." Offering the explanation before reaching up, the dragon lowers her head to allow the girl to bow over the muzzle and hold onto headknobs. No effort needed as a smooth upward motion drags the greenrider from the mud, and she's deposited safely near Lyubomir. Leaning forward when feet are firmly planted on the ground, there's a sweet kiss planted between whirling dragon eyes. "We can find you now, she knows who you are now. How is um, not tomorrow we have a wing meeting before actual duties. Day after?"

More dirt. More rocks. Some shiny insects are unearthed, glistening in a rainbow of colors before they scatter and burrow again. "Not on me, no," is answered aloud to the green's query, uttered without a thought. But, if she digs into that mental dirt deeply enough? She'll find some glittering, purple stones, carved into stylized fish shapes. "No, no she is not," Lyubomir replies, an eyebrow lifting slightly at Evi's expression and the particular sense that she's hiding something. "Nor is she most. She's just her and that," he adds firmly, "is a good thing." Whatever transpires between ridera nd dragon is a mystery to the likes of him, but he also knows better than to pry. Instead, his attention shifts to Evi properly once she's neatly moved into position. The kiss to that green forehead gets a grin. "Ah. Well. That's good, then. Yeah. Uh- the day after tomorrow should be good, unless they need me to do anything urgent." But, that's wildly unlikely. And there are others that can handle those tasks, too. He extends a hand to Evi, callused and scarred from turns of work. "The day after tomorrow."

Long ago Evi forbid Neifeth from using her cutthroat talents to delve into the minds of people she could like. Lyubomir was saved the potential headache by the fact that the greenrider's thrilled with how this all went down, what a glorious surprise in a boring day. With a flick of each foot, a bit of mud is removed, a hand remaining on the toothy green muzzle, "It's a date, um I mean a deal. I mean. You know what, it's a fish pond building thing. Yes!" Blushing and ambling around to her mounts shoulder, "Kludge, Patch, it was a pleasure. Lyu, mir, I will see you // so soon// expect Tulle to bring you a map, the path is long. The way's not clear." The lights not good; you have no fear for no one should. The woods are just trees the trees are just woods… But I digress, with a second blushing glance at her new friend, the girl steps from foreleg to shoulder and is on top of her dragon who is not wearing safety straps speaking to a level of trust.

Not that Lyubomir's the type to really fight, in truth; the young man doesn't have enough life experience to have a whole lot of secrets (or, at least, none that would be especially interesting). He makes no effort to kick the mud off just yet; he has a lot more walking to do and that would just be silly. "A date, yeah." Pause. "Deal. I said deal, right?" Oh no. Oh, oh no. Now he's all red again and he looks away, blowing out a breath. "It was nice to meet you, Evi, Nei. I need to get some water and go- uh. There." Cue generic gesturing in some random direction that probably isn't related to where he was actually headed. "I, uh. I'll keep an eye out. And if anything changes, I'll send Patch with a note." He smiles, one of those slow, ponderous kinds of smiles. "I'm not afraid of long walks in the woods, though. I mean. If you thought that would scare me. Or. Uh. You're worried." He has no idea. He lifts a hand in a salute to her again, fingers wiggling after. "Clear skies, Evi, Nei." And then he's off, venturing to do whatever he was out here to do. Kludge and Patch just share a look of the sort that only firelizards can share.


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