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.
Rain may have fallen in the early morning hours, but with noon just past the skies have now completely cleared and the sun is out and brightly shining. Spring has arrived at last! While for some the waters still remain too cold and the breeze to cool for swimming, it doesn't keep some weyrfolk away from at least strolling along the sandy shoreline. It's too beautiful a day to spend it cooped up! Be it rain or shine though, there is one bluerider who would have spent the day in the sweltering heat of the forges if she could. As it stands, the only reason Kiena is out on the beach with ever faithful Ujinath trailing behind her is because she was made to. "Can't believe they kicked me out!" she mutters under her breath, temper still bubbling through her control. Ujinath rumbles behind her and whuffles softly as he lowers his head to nuzzle-bump his rider from behind. Carefully, mind you! "… yeah, I know. Mean well and whatever but…still! There was work…!" Never mind she'd been at it nonstop as early as she could that morning!
With a few free candlemarks to herself, before late evening duties in the infirmary begin, Kera is plopped down on the sand, sandals kicked off and tossed a few feet away from the water. The waves washing onto the shore just manage to reach her feet when the heavier surges send the small waves just a little further. A well oiled Minimur alternates between chasing the foamy waves off the beach, then giving up sandy ground quickly as the surge comes rolling back towards the shoreline. The apprentice chuckles occasionally at her lizard's antics, she wasn't the only one going stir crazy inside during the winter it seems. Every so often, she turns her face from the sun, and peers along the shoreline on either side of her. Spotting a blue dragon, it takes her a moment to recognize the rider, mostly due to the glaring brightness off of the water. A few mutterings drift towards her ears, but not much that makes any sense. When the bluepair come closer, Kera lifts a wave towards Kiena. "G'afternoon."
Kiena is still dressed in her usual attire when she works the forges and her sturdy, heavy and steel toed work boots are no doubt out of place on a beach. She hasn't bothered to take them off yet, though she has rolled up the sleeves of her sturdy woven tunic. Her hair is tied back but refuses to stay put, many of the strands slipping free in a chaotic mess that is further tangled anytime the breeze picks up. Her hands are constantly lifting to tuck an errant strand or two back behind her ear and out of her eyes. Despite that distraction and the one of her brooding temper of being booted from the forges, Kiena spots Kera's wave and after a brief moment of hesitation, she returns it tentatively. It takes her mind a little longer to switch tracks and dig through her memory to place the girl. "Afternoon!" she calls back as she approaches, while Ujinath peers curiously at the apprentice for a moment before deeming her acceptable (and non-threatening) company for his rider before he is lumbering into the shallows and stretching out for a soak. "Getting in as much sun now too, huh? Seems it's gone to everyone's head." Kiena mumbles and mutters, stopping to stand a few steps away from Kera with her weight shifted to one side and half looking out over the waters.
Kera dips her head a little in greeting to Kiena and then again to Ujinath even if she doesn't voice a greeting to the dragon himself, probably cause she can't remember how to pronounce the blue's name. After the rider's greeting, she turns her attention back to her lizard, the brown now distracted from his wave hunting. The dragon's arrival causing a chitter of excitement and the lizard flutters up, winging over to zip about the blue in aerial loops and dives. Kiena's quiry causes a curious brow to lift, along with a shoulder. "I wouldn't say I'm working on getting sun so much as glad to finally be able to get out of the Weyr for a bit." A few seconds go by "How about yourself?" She eyes the heavy apron and boots. "Taking a break from work?"
Ujinath doesn't seem to be bothered at all with the lack of greeting by name, the blue too absorbed in making himself comfortable and then lifting his head up to watch the antics of the brown firelizard with curious interest. A whuffle is sent to Minimur, both greeting and encouragement. Kiena snorts, looking down at Kera with a curious quirk of one brow. "Ain't that the same thing? Getting out of the Weyr to get some sun and fresh air and all…" she says and then chuckles dryly. Noticing the look given to her work clothes, the bluerider looks down at herself and then shrugs before crouching to begin unlacing her boots. "Shards, no. I got kicked out of the forges by the Journeyman on duty. Said I'd been working too hard! Can you imagine? There was good work to be done, good practice! But no, he insisted I take the afternoon off." Cue a roll of her eyes as she pulls one boot off after the other, along with her socks before setting them aside. "So you're out here to shake off the winter blues, huh?"
Kera grins agreeably with Kiena. "Well then more so for the warm fresh air than actually getting sun. How's that for a comprimise?" When the bluerider crouches down, Keracants her head a bit, her expression looking a bit surprised by Kiena's words until she finally just starts laughing. Nodding quickly "I can imagine that quite well actually. I hear that often myself" Shifting a bit, she pulls her legs in to sit indian style, sitting with elbows on her knees. "I guess ya could say that. I've late duties this evening so…" She trails off with a good natured shrug. "Water's still a bit cool, but the air's warmer." She gestures towards Minimur diving and arching over the water, claws grasping at droplets. "The cold water doesn't seem to bother him though." A curious little frown slips across her features "Do dragons like cool or warm waters better?"
"Fair enough compromise," Kiena agrees only to then peer at Kera when the girl begins to laugh but rather than bristle, the bluerider only smiles crookedly before lowering herself down slowly to sit on the sand. She'll stretch her legs out in front of her, using her hands to prop herself up as she leans back comfortably. "Yeah, I hear it often enough too but I usually ignore it." she says with a snort. "But I can't very well pick a fight with my own Journeyman. Good way to have my knot and rank in Smithcrafting revoked. So you've been kicked off your studies and work too then?" she drawls curiously and her brows knit. "Evening duties…? Oh. Right, you're Healercraft. That'd make sense." No evening shifts for Smithcrafters? "Mhm. Water won't be good for swimming for sometime yet. Kind of a shock to me. I come from the Emerald Isles, where Western Weyr is situated. Never gets cold enough for snow and ice. Maybe a bit cool for swimming but never freezing." Following Kera's gesture, Kiena chuckles dryly and shakes her head. "Cold doesn't bother dragons or fire lizards at all. Though I believe they prefer warmer waters, cold doesn't quite affect them in the same way it does us."
Kera nods slowly as she tucks away the new information about dragons. Peering back towards where the firelizard cavorts with the water around the blue dragon. "I wasn't kicked out, since my duties don't start til tonight. But to be honest, you can only read the same pages over and over before ya have to put down the book. Even without the books, I can still see the pages. A sure sign of studying tooooo much." Kera flashes an amused wink to the blue rider at that. Reaching down to traces little patterns in the sand with her fingers, a couple of glances are given to the rider. Not knowing the woman very well, she nibbles on her bottom lip while considering something. Finally she peers back to the woman with a curious smile "Are your daughters glad the weather has warmed up? Or do they miss playing in the snow already?"
Kiena mulls that over for a moment. "Right. Studying isn't quite like working though. Reading from books does get dull fast but… my work is learned mostly through hands-on stuff. Guess I was doing too much of both? I don't sharding know. But I don't want to be an Apprentice forever… Takes so much longer for a rider to go up in rank." she mutters, watching Kera for a moment as the girl traces patterns in the sand. If she had known Kiena better, she may not have asked her that question. Her expression twists, falling and looking both awkward and a little sad. "My daughters do not live here in the Weyr with me. They live with their foster family in Western Weyr, where their father is too. I had brought them to visit… I'm not even sure if they remember much of the snow." Has she not seen them since? It's possible!
Kera sighs quietly and turns her gaze back to the little random patterns she makes. Of coarse, out of anything to say, she chooses the one thing to say that she shouldn't. "Oh, sorry." A appologetic smile is given to the bluerider. "They seemed to be having alot of fun when I met them a few sevendays ago." Or was it longer? Who knows. Days of studying and infirmary shifts blend into the next easily, til a day is missed or unaccounted for here or there. Her smile slips into a smirk as she nods agreeably. "I get plenty of hands on during shifts. Even if it's by observation of the Journeymen dealing with patients." Smoothing out the sand with her palm, she begins new patterns. "There are lots of days when being an aprentice isn't very…'fun'…days."
How could Kera know? For that reason, Kiena does not bristle defensively or erupt on the poor apprentice. Instead she shrugs her shoulders and waves off the apology. "Don't worry about it. I'm not exactly very open about my private life. And they did, but they're young. Any trip away from home is a grand adventure." she murmurs with a faint smile as her eyes drift out over the water and to where Ujinath is still soaking in the shallow waters. "Do you get to observe, uh… patients often? Or I guess it'd be the procedures?" Somehow that doesn't sound any more pleasant or correct to the bluerider. Blinking, she is quiet for a moment while she studies Kera and though her smile is crooked it seems a little more genuine. "Yeah, tell me about it. Which is why I'd like to move up, you know? I feel ready but it isn't me who makes that call. What'd not be a 'fun' day for you?"
Kera chuckles softly over the children having a 'grand adventure'. Nodding to Kiena's question and giving it a bit of thought "Quite a bit actually. I've noticed a little…I guess you could say a transition in my duties since I was posted to Xanadu. At first I mainly observed and assisted as needed when the Journeyman was doing certain procedures. But since my Sr. App. promotion, I've been doing more hands on work with the patients while the Journeyman observes and instructs." Dabbing her fingers here and there on the sand, a chaotic little image of random shapes emerges. "Hmm, not fun days are days where one thing after another seems to go wrong. I'm sure everyone has days like that though." Glancing around the beach briefly, her attention drifts back to Kiena. "So, your Journeyman kicked you out of the smithy hmm? Maybe ya could see about making a personal forge at your weyr? Bronzerider Ka'el has one at his weyr, he could maybe help."
Kiena listens attentively and at the mention of her attaining her senior apprenticeship, she lifts her brows again. "You've been promoted? Congratulations then. Suppose that helps make the days a little more interesting?" she murmurs, shifting her gaze from Kera and back over the shore. Her nose wrinkles a bit. "And you don't find it unsettling to be doing these procedures? Squicked out at all?" Is she teasing the girl now? Most likely. Kiena knows full well she'd not be a Healer otherwise. A day to go wrong for a Healer can usually mean a few things and her expression twists, unreadable but almost sorry she asked. "Ahh, right. Those days would be the hardest. It does happen to all but probably not quite in the same context." A personal forge? Kiena laughs, "My weyr is not built for that. I know Ka'el has one, he told me but his weyr was specifically designed to house it… or so I figure. My weyr? Has a trampoline, a slide, a rope swing and a water bed. Not exactly smithy material. Though…" She falls silent for a moment before smirking. "Guess it'd be just one more oddity to add?"
Kera nods with a smile "Thanks. Promoted a few months back." Maybe more than that, but who can really keep track when the days fly by when you aren't paying attention. Her head shakes slightly "Not anymore. I admit, the first few months at the Hall, I had a few problems with some of my lessons. Some days I spent looking mostly a shade of green, and not a pretty one either. But not anymore." A shrug lifts her shoulders briefly. The list of oddities at Kiena's weyr makes her chuckle. "With all that, A forge would hardly be noticed." Peering back towards the water where Kiena's dragonmate is being entertained by whatever exciting tales Minimur is chittering to the blue in an excited manner. Watching them a few moments "If you took all the safety precaution you can, and have several water buckets at hand…" She shakes her head,m scrubbing her eyes briefly "Meh, what do I know about making forges…nothin that's what." The young healer smirks over to Kiena.
Time does certainly fly by! Imagine Kiena's shock when she learned it had been close, if not over, a Turn that she's been in Xanadu. "I don't think I want to even know what it was that made you queasy. I'm pretty good with blood and minor wounds but anything beyond that?" She checks out. The bluerider has her limits! "Had to learn a few basics when I was an S&R rider in Western. To each their own though. You enjoy it?" she asks and then laughs. "True. Guess a forge would just blend in with all the rest. Mind you, it'd have to be placed far away from the trampoline or the swing…" Kiena snickers a little at that. "Otherwise I think I'd be keeping you and the other Healers rather busy." Ujinath does enjoy a good tale and tolerates Minimur's excited chittering with a surprising amount of patiences. "Shells, I'm an Apprentice Smith and even I don't know the nitty gritty details on making a proper permanent forge! I do know you'd need more than just a few buckets of water though to douse one!" she muses.
Kera chuckles "Oh, I know it would take more than a few. But it would at least help stop a fire from spreading." One would hope. "Thankfully, there haven't been any fire related injuries checked into the infirmary in a good while now." Kiena's question isn't one she expected, but she nods agreeably after a little consideration. "Most days I do. Then there are days when one of the ole aunties or uncles pass away." Her smile slips a bit before she clears her throat some and continues "But then little ones are coming along, or someone that was too sick to walk into the infirmary on their own get well and carry on with themselves.." Shoulders lift and fall gently "It all evens out in the long run I suppose." Minimur's tale of excitement in the apprentice dorms winds down to it's conclusion and the little brown stands when he lands on the very wet sand and seems rather proud of his heroic tale. Kera grins at her lizard a few seconds before turning back to Kiena "We've had a few exercises with Galaxy Wing. Practicing field emergency situations. Those are always eye openers. Things ya don't expect to happen. Unlike in the infirmary when most conditions can be controlled."
Kiena chuckles dryly, "I'll try not to be your first fire or smithing relating patient then. What can go wrong with our Craft does not yield often pretty results. Which is why most of my beginnings of my Apprenticeship was just learning safety and respect. Took forever it seemed before they actually let me work with most of the tools! Let alone the forge and even then I can't unless a Journeyman is there." she goes on to explain before falling silent again and listening to Kera. Even she will flinch when the girl mentions a passing, her expression turning grim and reflective. "I'm sorry. That must be incredibly difficult… but it shows a certain strength you know? That you can keep pace with your work despite the bad." Which is nothing at all like the 'bad' Kiena faces. The bluerider may never complain about a 'bad' day again, knowing what Kera faces. Nodding her head in agreement, she mulls that over for a few moments. "Good that it's balanced at least. Positive and negative. And oh yes, that's the trick with emergency situations. Chaotic and unpredictable." she murmurs, lifting a hand up to tuck an errant strand of hair back behind her ear and then grimacing when she realizes her fingers are coated in wet sand. Ugh!
Kera grins at Kiena wet sandy finger predicament while she thinks about Kiena's comments. "It's tough sometimes, but what can ya do but keep going right?" A smile slips over her features as she nods, hearing about the bluerider's first turns as a smithy apprentice. "Very similar to the Healercraft that way. It was a full turn before I was trusted to prepare simple wraps, so they would be ready when needed, without supervision. And several months of practicing making incisions on orange fruits, then stitching them back up." She smirks suddenly and flashes a quick wink "Took me a whole sevenday just tryin to make incisions that weren't tooo deep. Sticky orange fruits were fails every time." Canting her head to the bluerider "So, how long before they let you work the forge by yourself?"
"Exactly. Just gotta grit your teeth and forge on!" Kiena grins, only to grimace. "No pun intended." Hah! "Orange fruits? Really…? Not like spare hides or something more skin-like?" she asks, curious as she peers down at the skin of her arm and pokes at it. Definitely not citrus-peel like! She does get more sand though where she doesn't want it and with a sigh, she pushes to her feet and begins to dust herself off as best she can. "Could you at least eat the orange fruit? Take some good out of the failure…" she muses, smiling crookedly at the quick wink. Tilting her head up, she does a quick calculation in her head before looking down at Kera again as her arms fold loosely across her front. "I'd say almost as long as you had to. Almost a full Turn and even now most of the time I'm only given the most basic of things to forge. Nothing fancy." Nothing that can explode!
Kera blinks back to Kiena and cant stifle the giggle that slips out at Kiena unintended joke, but nods in partial response. "Really." She contemplates the best way to explain as she peers down to her own arm. "We used softened hides scraps too. But the orange fruits are good substitute for a fleshy limb. The skin may be textured differantly, but it serves the same purpose as our skin. It protects the soft 'muscle'. Cut too deep, and you can do serious damage. Thus why sticky orange fruits were always graded poorly." Wiggling her fingers and shrugs "I'm probably not explaining it very well, but that's nothing new eithe." Kera chuckles at herself over that "And yes, orange fruits were most always served up after lessons were done. At least they didn't explode." She snaps her fingers suddenly "There was one time at the Hall we did observe a bad smithy accident patient." She frowns as if trying to recall a nearly forgotten detail "I'm not certain, but I think he used improper procedures when….tempering something he was working on. I think that's what it was…." She trails off still looking as if she's trying to recall the exact facts before shaking her head "I can't really remember the details."
Kiena has to grin and snicker a bit too when Kera begins to giggle. No pun intended but it was a fitting one? As the explanation is given on the logic behind using fruit, the bluerider listens but soon wrinkles her nose. Now she's thinking too far into it and she gives a slight shiver. "I can bring myself to do stitching if I have to and probably poorly at that but the idea of practicing to use a knife on skin…" Nope. She just can't wrap her mind around it. "Which is why I've some respect for what you must have to go through for study. I may not be one to frequent Healers often but shards if your training isn't in-depth." Obviously! Brushing more sand from her pants, she gives Kera a lingering look. "Nah, you explained just fine! And I'd sure as hope no fruit exploded…" She likes fruit and would not want to worry about that ever happening! When the unfortunate smith patient comes into discussion, Kiena's brows knit in a heavy frown. "Sounds like he was working with chemicals. Not all a smith's work is just with metals though we can specialize in it. Some go on to deal more with the chemical aspect… and that can be risky." Judging by her tone, it is not something that overly interests her as a field of study within her Craft. Just then Ujinath is rumbling and rising from the shallow waters to stretch and Kiena smirks. "That's my cue. He wishes to be oiled and all my supplies are in his wallow. Sorry to cut our chat short…" she murmurs with a hurried and apologetic smile. "Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!"
Kera nods in understanding, grinning with a headshake "No, a few may have been turned inside out, but no orange fruits have exploded in my presance." Canting her head up to the rider, Kera gets to her feet, brushing sand from her legs, but only succeeds in leaving sandy finger tracks. Flicking her fingers out to dislodge some of the grainy clumps, she leans to grab her sandals before standing fully. "Are those chemicals heated? That couldn't be very pleasant to breathe in." She gives a cringing little shover at that thought before the dragon's movemeonts draw her attention that way. A little whistle has Minimur winging his way back to her, a flappy landing on her shoulder. "Hey careful, that's my ear ya tryin to smack off there." She grins to he little brown and rubs his side gently. "It was nice chatting with you. I should go get me a few candlemarks sleep before evening duties begin anyway." Wiggling her fingers to the blue pair. "You both have a nice evening."