Xanadu Weyr - Shore of Lake Caspian
The cliffs that run along the shore come and go, various weyrs nestled along the tops of them or dug into the walls, but eventually they recede enough to expose a beach. The white sand echoes the rise and fall of the cliffs with a multitude of sandy dunes, endlessly creating tiny valleys that are constantly demolished and rebuilt by the frequent arrival or departure of dragons. The dunes smooth out as the gentle slope approaches the edge of the deep blue water. The sand darkens, and a shell here and there stands out for children to collect.
The beach narrows to the southwest, leaving a path barely wide enough for dragons in single file before cutting in to a smaller, more sheltered cove. The sands are the same white, the waters the same blue, but they're calmer and more tranquil, more protected from the winds that ruffle Lake Caspian and the currents that tug beneath the surface.
Rough, wide stairs lead up to the meadow above and the road that runs along the top of the cliffs, passing through the fields and heading for the river mouth that can be just barely seen from here. The largest of the staircases up the cliff is located near the docks that jut out onto the peaceful blue waters.
It's one of those gorgeous mid-fall afternoons that still manages to retain its heat, a gentle, balmy breeze blowing up the beach where one of Xanadu's goldriders has laid out against her lifemate to soak up as much warmth as she can before winter sets in. Heavily tanned, Esiae has clearly spent quite a lot of time elsewhere recently, but seems content to have come to rest here, now. Though seemingly engrossed in a small clipboard full of paperwork, it's safe to say she would happily take a distraction - any distraction - from work on a day like this.
Idrissa has busy days, and slow days, this seems to be one of her slower days. While she is a rider with a green, she still enjoys a ride off with one of her runners. Right now Rissa is settled upon a large red runner, no saddle and only a set of reins the pair make their way down the beach. Tahryth is settled off near her weyr, the green settled and seems to be relaxed enough that she dozed off sometime ago.
Trading one beach for another is Zan'ri — or more specifically Rymrth, who falls out of the sky like a stone, landing with a tremendous thunder of wing-snaps and limb-thuds. Hopefully, Rissa's runner is used to the commotion of Weyr life; the bronze does try to avoid the handsome thing by several 'lengths. "Oh, shard off, you're not *that* impressive." Zan'ri is griping, of course, dismounting down Ry's outstretched wing like it's some sort of slide. Without missing a beat, the rider grabs Esiae's clipboard — and uses it to wave lazily to the runner-rider. "Sorry! Likes to make an entrance." The rider smiles, sheepish; it turns, benign, on Esi only after a minute. Oh, look! Esiae. "Is this yours?"
Sonyxaeth's head raises before Esi's does, faceted eyes focusing on the runner approaching from down the beach. Whuffling, the gold makes a low noise of greeting. The weyrwoman's head raises, but she doesn't move to issue any greeting to Idrissa - not yet. She's seen that dark blur of dragon streaking down from overhead, and she doesn't need to make any guesses to know who /that/ is. "Here we go," she mutters under her breath, amused cynicism proven right when, mere moments later, the clipboard is tugged from her hands. Sighing, the goldrider gets to her feet, likewise giving Idrissa an apologetic look while Sony bugles a louder greeting to Rymrth. "Hi. Sorry, he's… incorrigible," the woman mutters, playfully glaring up at the bronzer while yanking her clipboard back out of his hands. "It is, and you know it," she drawls, jutting one leg out to hip-check Zan'ri. Honestly!
Luck is with tem all at this moment, especially for Idrissa being on that runner. The runner doens't bolt, rear or well freak out so all is good! Rissa pulls back lightly on the reins which gets the runner to slow to a slight walk as the rider takes in the sight of the ones well here. She blinks a bit and nods after a moment. "That's alright.." Is offered once she is near enough for the talking bit. Tahryth lifts her head, the green warbling out a greeting to both gold and bronze.
Rymrth has a friendly trumpet-bellow for Sony and Tahryth, the bellowed greeting not quite extended to the runner — that, he backs politely away from, tail twitching in the sand. "Your runner's a nice one." Zan smiled beatifically at Drissa, then waves the clipboard airily. "Zan'ri, and Rymrth." That's mostly a greeting, anyways. He lets the clipboard go — for a second, then snatches it back and holds it up in the air. Real nice. "This one? Really?" The rider hums, like he's less than half his shardin' age, smiling benignly for the green and her rider. "You a neighbor of Esi's?" He raises both eyebrows in question, jostling the rider at her check-ing and failing miserably at not grinning.
Esiae relaxes when, thank Faranth, Idrissa's mount doesn't startle. Not that she expected it to really, but the worry was apparently there in the back of her mind. "Long time no see," she says towards Idrissa as a sort of greeting. "I hope you and yours are well," she adds, nodding towards Tahryth even as Sony offers the pretty green a pleasant warble back. To Zan, she offers a low noise of protest, hands reaching up to try and grab her clipboard back, which is… exactly what he wants, she realizes. "C'mon, Zan, act your age!," she chides with a laugh. When leaping and hipchecking doesn't work, well, it's time for desperate measures. Clever fingers aim a tickle for his sides. Take that!
Idrissa glances towards Tahryth slightly and then back towads the pair. She doesn't take to talk to many, not unless she needs to, she's gotten rather quiet over the last few turns and even now she feels a bit out of place. "Ah… Thanks." Rissa offers after a moment a fain smile seen while she nods and gives the runner's mane a slight ruffling. "His a good one. Nice to meet you, Idrissa and Tahryth is mine." She slightly points towards the green that is settled on the sandy dunes of near the weyr. As for the question she ahs once mores. "Yeah I think so." No, she isn't fully sure honestly. She does give Esiae a smile though. "Yeah it has been a while… I heard you was back, it is good to see you." Someone she sorta knows at least. Tahryth is normally a rather talkative green, but she seems a bit reserved even at the moment.
Zan'ri seems content to act like a ten-turn-old, rocking the beach hobo look and generally confirming his air of over-all vagrancy. Idrissa might be unfamiliar to him, but not Esiae which is — not really surprising, considering, but the man smiles for their catching-up like some kind of benign old uncle. "Never, Esiae. Acting your age is giving in, isn't it, Idrissa?" That's his acknowledgement of the returned introduction, and Zan still has on his uncle face. Which crumples, of course, just as soon as Esiae gives up hopping adorable and goes for tickling. Maybe predictably, Zan'ri squeals like a stuck porcine, and the clipboard — the poor clipboard goes flying, missing Drissa and her runner by less than a meter. "Aw! Shells." His whole face crinkles with another apologetic smile, although it might just be a little bit assessing for the patient runnerbeast. Rymrth just snorts, scootching closer to the other dragons and settling in in an easy sprawl.
Esiae nods when Idrissa is unsure, gesturing just a little further down the beach, where the beached ship renovated to be a weyr perches. "Perhaps not direct neighbors, but we're close," the goldrider says amicably. "And likewise, it's good to see you, too. Have you been well?," Esi asks, perhaps attempting to draw the quiet rider out. As for Zan'ri, well, he gets what he deserves. Even with the clipboard gone, jutting out of the sand at a comical angle, she continues the bronzer's torture before giving him a final, hard poke in his side. "You're terrible," the goldrider huffs, but it's with fond affection for the man she's known for most of her life, now. "Who invited you here, anyways." Sonyxaeth, meanwhile, croons pleasantly when Rymrth settles down, reaching her long neck out to nuzzle him before dropping her head back to rest upon the sand.
Idrissa looks a bit amused as she watches the pair play over the clipboard in question, well up until it goes flying past her and she blinks while glancing over to it curiously. "It's aright." Is offered as she looks back to the pair. "I've been well. Busy…" Yeah she isn't falling for that it seems. There is a moment where she scratches across her scared arm a bit, oh sure it may be a little on the cool side but she still has shortsleeves on it seems. "Nothing wrong with a bit of not acting your age." Or something along them lines! Tahryth is soon up and warbling a bit as she is moving towards Sonyxath and Rymrth.
Tickles might just be the scruffy beach hobo's weak spot — he sharding near trips over his own feet, not even thinking to turn the tables back around until she finally lets up. "Busy, busy, with your clipboards and your runners." With grand dignity, the rider elbows Esi in the side, managing a straight face all the same until Idrissa agrees with him. Then he beams, megawatt and cheerful, and ruffles Esiae's hair merrily. "See, Esi? Idrissa agrees with me. Thank you." He's got a lot of pomp for a guy whose shirt is entirely more stained than any rider's ought to be. A moment passes, though, and Zan's eyes widen. "…home. Mom and dad. Dinner. I'm helping, you're expected. Idrissa, feel free to join us. If I'm late this time, they'll shardin' kill me." And that's all she wrote; Zan'ri is bolting down the beach like his legs won't go fast enough. Rymrth? Well, he's not moving, with two lovely ladies to talk to. Not yet anyways.
It's a lovely mid-fall day, warmth still clinging to Xanadu's shores. Three dragons - a gold, a bronze, and a green - occupy the beach along with their riders, though Idrissa is seated upon a runner. Idrissa's response was good enough for Esiae, who grins widely for the answer. "That's good," she says when Idrissa expresses that she's been well. "I'm glad to hear it. And heh, shells, I know a thing or two about busy," she adds with a sigh, flicking Zan'ri a playfully dirty look before stomping over and finally fetching that clipboard, one finger raised to ward him off of stealing it again. "Don't encourage him," the goldrider mutters good-naturedly when the greenrider agrees with Zan. Of all people, he needs the least help in acting childish, but, well… It seems she likes that about him or something. When the invite - or, well, demand - for dinner is given, Esi brightens nods fervently. Homecooked meal? Duh, of course she's there. "You bet. See you later, then, Zan." Glad to see he's staying, Sony finally stands and crawls over to curl up next to Rymrth, the better to keep him company.
Idrissa blinks as she is offered over to dinner? There is a slight pause and she glances around almost nervous like at the idea. "Um… Alright…" Is offered softly before she peeks over to Esiae and shrugs a bit while smiling. "He seems harmless? No harm in encourage him a bit." This said with an amused tone. "I don't think I've seen him around here before?" Or who knows, as much time she spends hiding away there could be a whole weyr full of new people and she wouldn't know. Tahryth is content to hang out with the other dragons, and keep up that conversation rather eagerly even.
"You really should come, if you feel up to it," Esiae says with a grin. "His parents are great cooks. I lived with them before I impressed. They have their own garden behind the house," she adds, as though that is the living definition of making good food, having a garden. As for Zan'ri being harmless, the weyrwoman snorts, a most unladylike noise. "He /is/ harmless," she concedes. "And pretty sort of wonderful. But encouragement… No, he doesn't need that. He has the ego to match his bronze," she says, winking over at the enormous beast, even if Rymrth is busy in conversation with the ladies. "Hmm. You might've met him. He lived here for some time, but it has been at least six or seven turns since he's been gone," she says, so the lack of recognition would definitely be understandable.
Idrissa most likely never really met him, she doesn't go out of her way to do that sort of thing. "Well… Maybe. It was very nice of him to offer." A soft chuckle is head once more before she moves and hops down to the side. "I'll have to remember that then." Perhaps, perhaps not. "Are you happy to be back in Xanadu?" This questioned while she peeks over to Esiae.
And 'lo over the horizon doth fly a brown. He backwings nearby and drops to the sand with an unsteady wobble. He looks as though he has a burden he would like to get rid of. Idrissa knows this particular brown, it's Rinxyth, Ashwin's. There is something incredibly familliar in the way that he holds his head low and sways. Well, not familliar as in helping someone recognize him but familliar like it's something *people* do. Now, that particular burden unstraps himself from Rinxyth's neck and …. promptly falls off the dragon on his face in the sand with a *bamf* sound where he doesn't move for a few seconds. Ah-ha. So that's it. Rider is so bloody drunk that he is affecting his dragon mentally. Poor Rinxyth, he probably has a headache to beat hell. Slowly, Ashwin picks himself up muttering "Owww." And dusts his clothes off. If it wasn't for the fall and that he's covered in sand and he neglected to button his pants, he would actually be maintaining incredibly well because he begins immediatly to stride towards Idrissa like nothing ever happened. Until he trips over some driftwood and goes down on his face again.
Seeming content with a 'maybe,' Esiae nods enthusiastically before taking a moment to shake the sand out of her paperwork. Sigh. Zan is half the reason she can't have nice things. "I am, more or less. I didn't miss this at all," she says, ruffling the sheafs of paper that require her perusal, "But I missed the place, the people. I visited lots of places, but nowhere's quite like Xanadu," she said fondly. And then, an unfamiliar-to-her brown is winging down to a landing on the beach, Esiae staring with amusement and faint alarm when Rinxyth's rider promptly faceplants the sand. "Oh… my," Esi says with a giggle as Sonyxaeth rumbles quietly, peering towards the booze-addled brown, faintly concerned. "Are you— ooh." Well, she was about to ask if he was okay, but then a piece of driftwood took Ashwin out, and suddenly the question is moot!
Idrissa chuckles softly and nods to the that talk of paperwork. "It never is easy to deal wth. Rather glad ther arn't any Weyrlings for a short bit to give me time to get over all the papercuts that I tend to get." There is a pause and she blinks while looking to the approaching dragon, and then the rider. As Ashwin falls, and then gets up only to fall again she is a bit quiet. "I think his alright. That's my friend, Ashwin and his dragon Rinxyth." A soft smile is offered to Esiae before she moves on over to Ashwin and crouches down to peer at him. Her hand moving to touch his shoulder. "Hey… Ash?" Is questioned softly.
Ashwin has fantastic hearing! It's one of the things that helps him in situations like this. He's evolved it (not really) to deal with being face down in the sand and unable to see. "It's okay!" He calls, only slightly muffled. "I'm fine! This is just something I do — Pffblb! Blaaaat! Mmbblfah! Pffmmblt! Spittoooo!" Someone got a mouthful of sand. When Idrissa touches his shoulder he rolls over slowly and lounges on his back in the sand. "Hi, Ris. This is Xanadu, right? I'm not really sure. Who's your friend? Wanna tell her that I'm harmless and not as dumb as I look and this is just something I do because I've got to do it?" He begins to make himself a sand pillow. Maybe lying there is a good idea and trying to move is a bad one? Rinxyth just curls up and puts his head on his forelimb to sleep this off.
Esiae has to laugh for that, head nodding as she appraises Idrissa sympathetically. "True. You guys have it rough from the second we get candidates," she says with a bit of a shudder. "I'm grateful you guys handle that." When the greenrider pauses, Esi does too, one slim brow raiiising just a tad bit higher when Idrissa recognizes them. When that muffled reassurance echoes from over Ashwin's way, the goldrider actually laughs, shoulders relaxing when he rolls over and makes himself a sand pillow. She might ordinarily have asked Ashwin himself, but when the brownrider puts the responsibility on Idrissa, well… Bright brown, curious eyes turn to the assistant weyrlingmaster, clearly waiting.
Idrissa chuckles a bit and smiles while nodding to Esiae. "Indeed, so much paperwork… I feel sorry for anyone having to make all those scrolls and the like." This said with an amused tone at the idea. Her attention is soon back on Ashwin whom does get a slight smile. "Yeah you are. A few to much to drink then?" Is questioned while offering a hand to the brownrider in case he wants to stand it seems. "He is harmless, just to much to drink." This said with a shake of her head and a glance over to Esiae. "I think I'll need to skip dinner. Thanks for the invite.. Perhaps next time?"
"Have you ever known me when I haven't had too much to drink?" Ashwin prompts Idrissa and begins to rise. Slowly. He's using her for support if she'll let him. He takes her hand first, then is clinging to her left arm with both hands until he gets to his knees, then one hand on her shoulder and one on the top of her head until he gets to his feet. Something like a AWLM ladder. "Hi, Idrissa's friend!" He waves to Esiae. Then he sits down. Hard, with another *blumf* beside Idrissa. "Just going to stay here I think." Yeah, Ashwin. You totally meant to do that. Yup. "Anyway, hello to you both." The amazing thing about all of this is that he isn't even slurring. Only a real practiced alchoholic can do that.
"Me too," Esiae says in the tone of voice that implies she never thought of it that way. "Shells. Well, we definitely keep them in business," she adds with a chuckle, eyes twinkling as she glances between Idrissa and Ashwin. "Just a few, perhaps," the goldrider trills when Idrissa 'explains,' but there's no judgment in her tone, just amusement. "Esiae, gold Sonyxaeth's," she says instead when the brownrider refers to her Idrissa's friend again. The gold is gestured to, but just then, Rymrth and Sony both glance unerringly in the same direction, eventually drawing Esi's glance further down the beach, to where a very stern green is staring at them. "Okay, no problem," she says to Idrissa, offering the greenie a wink. "I'll let you know next time. Nice to meet you, Ashwin," she adds before plodding off after the large bronze and gold already prowling down the shore.
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