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.
Sand. Sand. Sand. And what does one do when on the sand? Layout? Build sandholds? Play a game of beach gameball? Absolutely. But Flandynn isn't doing a single one of those things. In fact, the lad is back to fishing. With trousers rolled up about his calves, he stands where the water laps at his feet before retreating back to the sea. He frowns down at the hook in his hand, working to spear a struggling grub upon the thing, but it protests! Oh, that bug protests.
Yay for freetime! Chores are over and craft lessons finished, so Lorelai skips down the steps from the clearing to visit the beach. With the fine, though autumn cool, weather, the girl has plans to spend a little time in the sun. She pauses for a moment when she sees the older candidate standing in the water and makes her way over to stand out of reach of the water not quite completely behind him, the soft sound of sand shifting around her feet the only indication of her arrival for several long minutes before she finally speaks, "I thought Lan was the only seacrafter."
Flandynn finally causes that grub to meet its doom, sliding it's mottled silver body down the length of the hook. At the sound of a voice, possibly directed towards him, the teen's chin lifts. His eyes search before him, and then behind him and about before finally locking onto Lorelai. "Oh. Hi." A blink later and he offers her up a quick grin, "Oh? Who is Lan?"
Poor little grub… Though: Ew! Grub! Lorelai's nose wrinkles as the bug is skewered, giggling a little when the boy has to look around to find where she is and giving a friendly little wave. When he asks who Lan is, she blushes faintly, "Landers. He's one of the older candidates." She reaches up to tuck her hair back behind one ear, "We were Searched at the same time." She pauses for a moment, "He's really nice! He offered to taste a recipe I'm trying to get right for me."
Flandynn nearly mimics her, brushing his own dark hair back behind an ear as well. He checks to make sure she is clear before he flicks his pole and casts out into the seawaters to try his luck at catching somefish or another. "Ah. Landers. I'll have to talk fishing with him." The name is marked and filed away. "I'm Flandynn. And no, not a 'crafter. Not at all." His grin flashes, but the teen is looking back out to the water, eyes squinting while looking to where his line is. "What recipe is that?"
Lorelai nods happily, "He's really easy to talk to." She giggles, her faint blush deepening, "Even if he is older." The introduction has her grinning and giving another little wave, staying well back from the reaching tide, "Well met, Flandynn. I'm Lorelai." She shrugs at the question, "Just something I found in a cookbook. It looked interesting and I thought I might could change it a little to give everybody a little more variety with what we're stuck eating right now." She lists off ingredients on her fingers for a fish dish, "I know it's still fish, but it'd be something different, anyway." Her gaze drifts out to follow his line, "What're you hoping to catch?"
"And here I am… fishing." Flandynn glances over his shoulder at her, his smile hitching enough at the corners to deepen those accursed dimples upon his cheeks. Shoulders lift and fall with a bit of a shrug as well, and then he is frowning towards his untouched line. He gives it a bit of a *twitch-twitch* as a bit of temptation to the fish below. "I hear silverfins can be found this far south, and I thought I'd see if any are lurking in the waters. Have any recipes for silverfin fillets?" Oh, how he looks hopeful.
The girl can't help the little giggle at that and nods, "Yep! Here you are fishing." Lorelai grins in return, watching him as he tries to lure in a good catch. She shrugs at the mention of silverfin, "I don't know for sure… I know that we have it in the kitchens, but I don't know where it comes from." Then he's asking about what recipes she knows and she giggles, nodding quickly, "Yes. I know a couple of good recipes and some that could substitute silverfin." She grins, her eyes dancing, "I could cook something for you if you catch one."
Flandynn sighs and brings in his line… to find a very unmolested grub on the end of it. This breaks out a wry smirk along with yet another sigh at his poor look. The dusky teen shoots that very same glance back at Lorelai, appearing much aggrieved at the untouched bait. But back it goes out to sea, just as quickly cast out and beyond to go *kerplop* in the water. Try, try again! "So you'd cook for me? I'd clean."
Lorelai giggles again at the expression on the older candidate's face for finding that he hadn't managed to attract the attention of a fish with his baited hook. She watches as the hook gets tosses back out to sea and shrugs one shoulder, nodding, "Sure!" It's an offer easily made, "I work in the kitchen—well… I did work in the kitchen before I was Searched. I like to cook." She beams proudly, bouncing on the balls of her feet a little, "Master Denna asked me to join the bakercraft not all that long ago." And if Denna asked her to join…
Of course, first he has to actually catch a fish. So far, Flandyn is pretty fail, but lets just keep that between friends now, shall we? "You do? Well, I like to eat. So, already, we are getting along famously. Before long, we will be besties and sharing secrets about all of the other candidates and gossiping long into the night about the underwear we wash." He flicks his head to the side to clear his eyes from his own dark hair.
The girl nods happily, "Yep. It's fun!" It's fun and it's something that she can do to pull her weight around the Weyr. Lorelai giggles, "I think most people like to eat." She looks like she survives on little bites here and there from dishes she's fixing, she's such a tiny little thing… Then he's talking about washing underwear together and she blushes furiously, wrapping her arms around herself and reachng up to tuck her hair more firmly back behind her ear, "Well… Yeah, I guess we'll be friends." Beat, "Not sure about sharing secrets about the others or washing underwear, though…" That would just be embarassing to wash her underwear with a BOY.
Flandynn is, unfortunately, a boy. Alas. "Oh, well, I suppose that might be a little uncomfortable, especially over some old auntie's britches." He'll give her points for that one, even if they are mental points. "I really do like to eat, especially things specially made for me." His mouth opens as if to speak further, only that end of his pole tugs, and tugs again. "Oh… well, shards and shells, all doesn't seem to be lost yet."
Lorelai wrinkles her nose at the thought of being assigned to wash laundry with a guy and having to wash an old auntie's underwear. She nods, "Yeah… That's my least favorite chore." Beat, "That and grooming runners…" She gives an overdramatic little shudder, "They're pretty to look at and all, but I got bit the last time I had to do anything with them." She giggles when he says he like things made specially for him, grinning a little, "Yeah, I think everyone does." Then he's got a bite on the line and she bounces a little, still staying back out of the waves, "Oh! You got a bite." As though that weren't obvious.
"I do!" And, then the rod really seems to wobble, and shake and it seems as though Flandynn's arms are shaking under the strain. He plants his feet in the wet sands and looks as though he is puuuuullllllllllling has hard as he can. "Shells, this is a big one. I…" He blinks, jerking his head to the side and glancing back at Lorelai. "Hey. Hey, can -can you help me here? Just… I've a net, back there, on the beach. Can you get it?" And, indeed, there is a set of shoes, a small pack, and a handled net right there.
The baker-candidate's eyes are wide as her new friend works to pull in his catch. When he looks back at her, Lorelai blinks a couple of times and nods at the request for help, "Um… Sure." She glances back at the shoes, net, and pack, and nods, running over to fetch the net as quickly as she can before running back. She pauses at the edge of the water, hesitating for just a moment before kicking off her own shoes and pulling her pant legs up so that they won't get as wet. She wades out towards him, her hair falling in her face a little as a very ugly young bronze firelizard and slightly older green appear in the air above her, chirupping gleefully, "Go away, you two. You don't know anything about fishing like people."
Flandynn pulls and pulls and pulls and pulls some more, really putting his back into it, dark hair flopping here and there, obscuring his vision only to fall away to leave visible eyes squinted in strain. "Good. Just bring -just bring it a little closer." His feet splash in the surf, scampering backwards a pair of paces as he gives a good tug… and out of the water pops a rather small sized redfin. Apparently someone was overacting, deliberately. But it is a fish! It flops in the air, flapping from side to side, struggling. "The net!"
That poor redfin wobbles about in the air, made to move around even more wildly if only by Flandynn's attempts to make things seem all the more dramatic. And then, just like that, the fish lands right in that net Lorelai holds. The teen stills, "It could be a silverfin that is really embarrassed about being caught? But I won't argue with a redfin landing on the hook. Good catch there…"
The girl giggles at the joke and shakes her head, "I think it's just a redfin." Lorelai does find his joke amusing, nodding in agreement with the the comment about it being a good catch, "It is a good catch." She pauses for a moment, "And I will make something for you if you go ahead and clean it." Beat, "I've never actually cooked a whole recipe by myself before, though…"
Flandynn reaches over to take the net's handle from her, moving to remove the hook from the mouth of the landed fish. Spotted with saltwater, the teen flashes a grin at her, "I have faith. After all, there are always more fish in the sea -but I have faith." He taps a finger towards her in addition before heading back to the beach. His voice lifts in nearly a sing-song, "Yumyums for my tumtums~… soooon~."
Lorelai willingly gives the net to him and wades back onto the sand, shivering a little now that she's got wet feet and grinning, "I think I can do it. Really!" She giggles at his little song and stops long enough to grab her discarded shoes, "As soon as you've got it cleaned." She's not going to complain about the chance to cook something for someone, that's for sure.