Monaco Bay Weyr - Cove Beach
Sparkling black sands are gently washed over with crystal blue waters, creating a playful blend of colors that twist and meld under the alternating rays of sun and moon. The cove stretches out from the mouth of the river towards the ocean, mixing saltwater with fresh for an invigorating rush that teems with life.
The coast curves eastward, the waters growing more quiet along the broad expanse of beach before finally meeting a large cove. Here there are few waves, the ocean’s movement reduced to little more than slight swells. What might have been an idyllic and peaceful area however, is interrupted by a brilliantly gleaming structure that stands on the edge of the sands.
Large steel poles soar upwards, supporting a staircase that leads to a pair of water slides. The height of the structure is remarkable, standing at a height comparable to that of a small gold dragon. Pipes pump water upward, creating small pools at the entrance of both plastic blue slides. The rush of water moves with the slides, following their twisting course downwards while easing their passenger’s journey. Parts of the slides are open and others covered, creating a thrill for each voyager before unceremoniously dumping them into the still waters below. For the safety of all patrons, a large net has been drawn across the mouth of the cove to prevent any accidental drifting away.
Not far from the slides is a small stand that also seems to have been built just recently. A menu is posted on its side and displays a variety of drinks and snacks for beach goers.
When Rhody might have been begging rides to anywhere to escape the Sands for a moment, a place with more summer and more sand probably wasn't top of the list, but beggars can't be choosers and so here she is! No not of dragon to be seen, as she walks down the path from the weyr proper to the beach, towel draped over her shoulders as she stares. "Decisions… decisions…" A hand shields her eyes from the sun as she glances between the ocean waves and the dangerous monstrosity that passes for a water slide.
Finding prime real estate is tricky on the beach, especially here in Monaco with way too many possible things to experience and try in the resort weyr. The best spot, however, is dead center so anything is possible if one chooses. If not? One such visitor to the beach is already set up to recline in the sand under the shade of a large beach umbrella. Arden is propped up against a mound of sand with a towel draped on top, eyes scanning from side to side while he skims over notes in hand. He pauses for a moment, taking a bite of his redfruit and then placing it back into a bowl to keep it sand free. Sleepy brown eyes peer over at the newcomer and he grins, "If you wait too long, all of the good spots are going to be taken. You gotta come early before the crowds."
The good spots had been taken and so when the stranger points that out, Rhodelia just meanders over towards Arden's umbrella and starts spreading her own towel out. Not even asking if he minds sharing. "I tried to get out earlier. Really I did but well… there was always one thing or another and before you know it, it's nearly noon and you're risking heat stroke." Cue a dramatic sigh. "But, I'm here now. At least for the moment and that's what counts! Have you tried that?" Her head tilts towards mega-slide.
Arden doesn't show any sort of minding of his umbrella being used, it is an unsually large one for just one person… He leans forward and glances towards the slide, then glances back at Rhodelia and shrugs. "I have but it gets old when it's the only thing out here. Great for tourists because you get it in small batches, not so much when you live here. Besides, I'm my own attraction!" He runs his fingers through red hair and as soon as the errant strands are out of his face, he simple reclines back, feet crossing at the angles. "Heat injuries are definitely not a fun thing to endure out here. Healers deal with it so much that they make you miserable to deter you from doing it again. I speak from experience." This is why a large jug sits in the shade with him. Water is life!
"Your own attraction?" Rhodelia pauses from unpacking her own little sack on her towel to look over at the local. "What sort of attraction might that be? Fire juggling? Think last time I was on the beach, me and some friends tried to do that and we just barely survived not burning ourselves down. Harder than it looks." Rhody nods in agreement about heat injuries even as she pulls out a jar and begins slathering it on her pale skin. "Yeah, was more worried about heat injuries back home. But best avoid a sunburn while I can. No the type of souvenir anybody would be happy with me bringing back."
"I'm a Starcrafter, so after hours, I bring my equipment out when the beach isn't so crowded and I watch the stars. I'm more of a night person than a day one, entertainment wise." There may or may not be booze and food involved, the skies are filled with things to look out for. "I think if I tried fire anything, either half the weyr would burn down or I'd be bald." There's a visible frown on Ardens face, and a grim shake of the head. Nope, his hair is too pretty to go up in flames. "Sun burn also makes sleep miserable, can't have that disrupting mandatory nap time."
"Kinda hard to watch stars right now, yeah?" Rhodelia grins a bit as it is indeed nowhere close to evening. "I worked as bartender for a while, but when I had a shift working with some starcrafters as a weryling… the whole work while it's super dark thing just go to me. Sometimes think folks aren't supposed to work past typical last call hours!" In fact, most the time. At the frown, her grin just grows. "I mean… probably not your head first. Eyebrows normally get burned off well before all your hair goes." Not like she's speaking from experience or anything…
"Yeah, but there's a calendar I go by. I can see the stars any night but there's certain things that happen during certain times of the year. I can only catch those events Monaco side, though. I don't travel much to see more." Kind of hard to watch meteor showers in High Reaches or Igen when they're a long ways away. "During the day, all I can do is study so I break up my work so I get the best of both worlds. If you don't keep one foot in each, I think you lose touch with things. Besides, who wouldn't watch daybreak with a nice cold drink when you're wide awake anyway." As for the eyebrows, Arden reaches up, feeling his before smoothing them back down. There's a brief frown when he pictures his own face with out him and then that thought is dismissed. "Yeah, I think I'll keep the eyebrows. I'll leave the fire to the professionals."
Rhodelia pauses again in her healer-approved sun lotioning. "Only certain events you can catch in Monaco? Is it cause of Landing being so close? Or does just every area have certain star stuff to look out for that can't be seen anywhere else?" She probably should know more about the stars than she does but well… weyrlinghood was a while ago! And things got busy! "Being wide awake at daybreak is the miserable sounding part. Not the drinks. I'll take cold drink any day. Probably gonna grab one with the umbrellas before I leave…"
"Definitely get the ones with the umbrellas, those are my favorite. Followed by a nice long nap during the weyrs busiest hours." Except right now when water needs to be Arden's favorite. No one wants to be a heat casualty! "So, as we're spinning, we can only see certain parts of the sky during certain parts of the turn, and when these events happen, it's only in specific places since they start and stop in such a short period of time. If you're not lucky to be in one of those places, you tend to miss quite a bit. There was a comet not too long ago, but it was only close enough for the otherside of the world to see it."
"Oh, or the ones with the citrus juice and a pop of cherry red in them are always fun. That's one type of sunrise I can get behind," Rhodelia can definitely support boozy sunrises if not the actual time of dawn. As he goes on about the technicalities of orbits and celestial bodies, she nods along. "Other side of the world meaning Northern Continent or say… Xanadu?" It always helps to clarify such things.
"Xanadu is another prime location. With the fields out there, there's plenty of good places to set up and it's never crowded. Since it's not a major tourist hub, the noise and light polution is at a minimum. I've only been there a couple of times but each time was well worth it." Arden pushes himself to an upright position, sitting crossed legged to help keep his balance as he speaks with this stranger. "I'd like to go again, but many people I know head that way often enough to take advantage, though." Boozy sunrises are the best kind!
Rhodelia closes the jar of lotion and tosses back in her bag, stretching out. "If you'd like to go, anything stopping you from hopping on a dragon and going? I mean… this is a Weyr. And that's a Weyr. So plenty of dragons around each place." Like it's just that easy to hop a ride across a continent, but sometimes it is! At least in her own world anyways.
"Sounds easy if you think about if but finding people willing to take a hitchhiker is the other issue. Most riders traveling are out on business or pleasure. If their schedule doesn't line up with yours, then you can forget it." Arden sighs, letting his shoulders sag a little bit. While it's technically nap time, it's not everyday that he gets to have a decent conversation with anyone.
"That's how I got here," Rhodelia admits with a shameless grin. "Just ran into the meadow and flagged down the first rider I saw and begged." Although it wasn't so much as begging as shamelessly offering to alter schedules if said rider would be willing to give her a ride. "Do you wanna go to Xanadu? Think I could probably swing you a ride. An official one even, no hitchhiking required."
"If I could, I definitely would. The only thing stopping me today is a ride. I'm all caught up on craft work so I have nothing to do for the next month. Spending any amount of time in Xanadu would be great. Hopefully the weather is faring well." Arden takes a brief moment to peer out across the weyr proper. There's nothing new, everything has been lived and experienced for turns. All of the good postings gone in a heartbeat so he's had to make due with what Monaco had to offer.
"It's hot as all get out," Rhodelia blurts out for the weather. Hence why she's here on the beach instead of back at home watching eggs bake while trying not to bake herself. "Could probably be a bit longer than a month though. At least… if you wanna be a candidate? Your craft masters shouldn't mind that, right? We got some eggs and well… my dragon's expecting a whole crowd of candidates for her babies."
"Hot means clearish skies, at least." Arden offers a crooked smile over to Rhodelia… Slowly her words finally begin to take hold. "W-wait. Candidate? I could be a Candidate again?" He places a hand over his mouth, glancing from side to side. Quickly calculating. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind at all, not much of a choice when it comes to Candidacy and technically they have nothing for me until another posting opens up. Your dragon… Eggs. That's why you hitchhiked up here! Ha! It all makes sense. Y-yeah, I'll do it. I'll definitely stand for her eggs!"
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Rhodelia gives a fairly dismissive wave of the hand for the whole posting thing. "I'm sure Xanadu starcrafters can find something for you to do while you're with us. Don't want crafter skills going to waste just waiting for some eggs to hatch after all." And once he puts two and two together, she gives a nod. "Yep, lucky enough that while Inasyth might not want to leave her eggs herself, she lets me escape from time to time. Especially when it feels like it's boiling. I'm Rhody. And you are???" Introductions probably are important if she's gonna be arranging a ride back for him!
"I'm Arden, it's a pleasure to make your acquiantance Rhody." Right, names. Who wouldn't thought those silly things are important! "I'm looking forward to it, on many levels!" Not just the Candidacy, but the change in scenery, the change in routine. The change in SKIES! The day suddenly got a lot more interesting! There's a shrill litany of chirps coming from Arden's bag but he just reaches over and pats it gently. "Don't worry, Artie. I'm not going anywhere without you, silly!"
"My schedule's a bit unpredictable at the moment, so no telling how soon I might get called back. And I'm pretty sure that water slide is calling my name before I go!" Rhodelia flashes a smile even as she's getting up off her towel. "Can give you a couple hours to get whatever things you might need packed and notify whoever you might need to notify and then I'll have a dragon waiting for you out in the main clearing?" She can guarantee to be there herself but well… SOMEONE will be available to steal him away to the new adventure!
"Sounds like a plan to me! Just uh, make sure when you're going down that slide? Keep your legs crossed and if it's below the waist, you might want to clench it tight or you're gonna have a bad time." Cue Arden's sheepish grin. Nothing makes vacation complete than an epic water slide enduced enema! It's not a pretty sight to see and then the slide gets shut down for cleaning, then suddenly you're that guy. Totes not speaking from experience here.
"I'll keep that in mind," Rhodelia gives a little tip of two fingers as a salute before she rushes off to claim that slide ride before getting called back to Xanadu… and maybe give herself enough time to dry off a bit before betweening. And in a few hours, a little blue will certainly be waiting for Arden cause it was indeed a plan!