WARNING: I do not have the beginnings of this log! If you have it, please add! <33
Monaco Bay Weyr - Docks
A thin, windy pathway lined with paper lanterns leads to the sturdy docks made of stone and wood that stretch out into the deep azure waters. A large wall of stone curves around the docks, protecting the small docking harbor from the weather. Nestled against the intersection of docks and land, a large hollow has been carved out of the rock, the formation intended for storage of smaller ships during the worst of Monaco's storm season.
Eyes widen in eager anticipation and Kaelik hops up from his work to stand before the Seacraft, 2 feet taller than himself. Accepting the odd bone skull, he looks puzzled. "Wowwww," he says breathlessly at the oddity, "Is it some kind o fish then?" He turns it in his hands, examing it carefully, "Some predetory I would hazard to guess but I've not seen it's like before. Where did ya get it, Sam?"
It's a hot afternoon and the tide is soon to turn. Kealik is repairing a pair of goggles, still wet from a recent swim, and Samuven is kneeling next to him with an open bag in easy reach. The young man has just handed the boy a fish skull and is grinning at the reaction, "I go' it off a beach near Cove Hold last sevenday. Though' a' ye an' our bargen." Sam laughs, "Jus' dinne expect t' see ye here!"
AND WHAT'S THIS? IT'S A BOAT. IT'S A SHIP. IT'S A — help a girl out. What else goes in the water? A raft? IT'S A RAFT. NO. IT'S — "LEIRITH!" Listen, don't question how Xanadu's senior-most queenrider got there, she just did. Now she's throwing out her arms as she throws herself towards TWO KNEELING BOYS THAT SHE DEFINITELY DOESN'T KNOW, so she looks ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS when a massive gold wing flings itself out from the water and sends a spray — no, that's an understatement — a wave of water towards those on the docks. WHOOSH. SPLASH!!!! And just like that, Risali is standing there in her riding leathers with her arms outstretched and too-dang-much black hair loose, dripping water at two very foreign not-her-own-people. « WHAT ARE YOU DOING? » That's… definitely not your imagination. Leirith is, in fact, projecting her mindvoice out, a heady beat of bass and drums as she PLOPS HER BIG, STUPID, MUSTARD YELLOW HEAD right before those boys and their project. « IS IT EDIBLE. DOES MY MINION REQUIRE ONE? BETTER YET: CAN YOU MAKE IT DRAGON SIZED? » It's Risali that issues, "Faranth — I'm sorry. Are you both okay? Is…" a gesture at what they're doing as she asks a more tentative, "Did she ruin it?"
Before he could barrage the Seacrafter with question about the gift, Kaelik sputters and stumbles from the unexpected spray and upon seeing the great goldish dragon head he topples back in surprise.
And sundenly… A WAVE! And… a dragon? Wait. What? Sam winces and puts a hand up to his head as the visiting queen drenches them and yells into his head, "Uh…" He looks over at Leirith mildly intimidated by the dragon's nearness and then over at who he can only assume is the dragon's rider, "Uh…" He blinks water out of his eyes and shakes his head, spraying water around him like a canine, "Is just a fish skull." Unless she's asking about the goggles that are being repaired? The seacrafter scrambles to his feet and offers a bow to both dragon and rider, the attempt at dignity ruined by being drippy wet, "I'm sure I c'n find another if ye want it, m'lady." My lady? Is that how one addresses a gold dragon? He doesn't wait for an answer before he's helping Kaelik back up, checking to make sure the youngster is ok, "Ye a'ight, m'lad?"
« MINION. HE ADDRESSES ME AS M'LADY. AHAHAHAHA. VERY WELL, TINY, SQUISHABLE, PRONE-TO-UNFORTUNATELY-EASY-DEATHS MINION! I REQUIRE ANOTHER!!!! » "Do not get her another," Risali interjects, stepping over and around and THROUGH boys so that she can SMACK that giant golden snout. Leirith just booms more laughter — none of it kept private, all of it relayed back to the poor boys on the beach. « BUT THIS ONE IS SPEECHLESS. DID YOU SEE HIS TOPPLE? 9.5 ON THE BADA — » "Leirith." ANOTHER SMACK, and then the weyrwoman is turning back to both Kaelik and Samuven, forcing a smile that looks painful only because this is a terrible position to find oneself in. "Right. I'm…" You're what, Risali? "Sorry about her," comes a little breathlessly. "Are you okay?" this time those grey eyes jump between both boys, and then she takes one step forward to… sink into a crouch where they just were, motioning that Sam and Kaelik should JOIN HER and lose all those unnecessary formalities. "What were you doing with the fishhead? And… what is that?" At least her tone is gentle, and she's patient while she waits.
"Sure. Sure," Kaelik nodded still getting his bearings as the tall sailor help him to his feet again, "I think the dragon bespoke me just then?" With a sudden rush of understand, the small Dolphineer ads, "she bespoke you as well… and I'm pretty sure she still doing it". when the dragonrider approaches, he suddenly stiffens and elbows Sam. In a quick whisper, easily heard by anyone remotely nearby, he nervously adds, "She's the Weyrwoman, cousin!" Realizing the woman was actually talking to him and asking something about the skull, he recalled the voice in his head and something the Seacrafter was saying a while he was still getting sorted out. "Ah.. the skull!" He abrubtly thrust it before him, as if eager to be rid of it.
Samuven blinks, looking uncertain how to respond to being called 'minion'. He looks over at Risali, his eyes wide with shock. Obviously he's never had much exposure to dragons, much less one as… loud as Leirith. He clears his throat and blinks, "Yes, ma'am." He nods, "Um… I'm ok." Though he looks down at Lik to make sure that the young dolphineer is alright. He clears his throat again, flushing a under his tan and making his freckles stand out a little more, "I was jus' fulfillin' a bargan struck a lil' while back. I promised Lik here somethin' interestin' in r'turn f'r doin' me a favor." He looks down at the youngster and grins, chuckling and nods, his voice a low whisper that Risali can probably hear clearly based on how close she is, "Tha' she is, m'lad." He looks back at the Weyrwoman, raising his voice from the whisper, "Though, I dinne think she's th' Monaco Weyrwoman?" Not that he's actually met any of the Weyrwomen, local or not.
A wince. Risali winces at the whispers of Weyrwoman and breathes out, "A weyrwoman. Around Monaco, though, I'm pretty sure the Weyrwoman is an honor reserved for Reya. My duties, and Leirith's," a gesture for the gold, "belong to Xanadu Weyr." But that skull is thrust out, and Risali is huffing a soft laugh as she leans in to see it, and then holds up her hands as if she means to push it back with a small shake of her head. "Thank you." For showing her, she means. Then her attention is on Samuven and she's making a soft noise in her throat — a sign that she's being attentive to his explanation. "I'm glad you're okay." AND NOW SHE'S JUST GOING TO DRIP AT YOU BOTH. AWKWARDLY. Just kidding; she clears her throat and then pulls all of her hair over one shoulder so that she can start wringing it out while she speaks. "Are you both from Monaco? Do you participate in a craft?" A beat, a long look at Kaelik and then, softer, "Are you old enough?" And then, "What was the deal?" Because she has a lot of questions, okay. Fight her.
Whatever the lad was about to eagerly respond is suddenly lost at the last comment from the Rider. He bristles in reply, "Aye M'lady. I'm old enow fer me knots. Apprentice Dolphin Crafter Kaelik at yer service. And younger souls than I have stood on the Sands and become Riders so surely I can be a Crafter too, yeah." He takes a calming breath, "I know me own Weyrmoman, thanks. You watch over the Rubicon pods." He shrugs a bit embarrassed by his own outburst, he continues more softly, somewhat apologetically, "Me Cousin crafter, Sam..uh.. that's Journeyman Seacrafter Samuven… needed a place to spend off ship. Me Dorm is kinda empty right now. So I hooked him up. The skull was a gift in leu o' marks. And… I've combed the Cove Beach and swam these waters. haven't seen it's like. Pretty sure the pods might know somethin'." Seeming to realize he's rambled, he thrusts it out again, this time in Leirith's direction, "Yer welcome to have it, if ya like? Just an odd bit of bone. Sure where there's one I can find another, now that Sam's got me keen where to look."
Samuven flushes deeper at the correction, "Sorry. I don' spend too much time 'round th' shore." He straightens, running a hand through his wet hair, wincing when his fingers catch in a few curls, "I'm a seacrafter, m'lady. Samuven." He gestures in the direction of a medium sized craft near the end of the docks, "O' th' Silver Shipfish." He shakes his head at the suggestion that he's from the Weyr, "No, ma'am. I guess th' closest I c'n call home ashore is Rubicon River Hold." He shrugs, "I ain't been back in a while, though." He bites his lip for a moment, "I promised t' bring Lik somethin' f'r him showin' me t' somewhere t' sleep f'r a couple days a lil' while back." He tries to rest a calming hand on Lik's shoulder. He shrugs one shoulder, "I'us jus' lucky findin' it."
Risali listens with polite interest, those grey eyes hyper-focused on Kaelik as he speaks, as he offers up that bit of bone to Leirith who BOOMS her delight as she lowers her head and — STILLS. « I WOULD RATHER KEEP YOU INSTEAD. THIS IS A FAIR TRADE. » "I apologize for correcting you," comes softly from Risali, around the hints of a smile. But then here attention is bouncing between both of them — on Sam now, as he explains and Risali tilts her head to look at Leirith. The dragon tilts her maw in turn, as if the golden dam has, just herself, ACTUALLY SPOKEN TO HER RIDER without sharing whatever it is that she is saying. "She meant it. About keeping you, I mean. Not… not forever. Well. Maybe not forever." It's no coincidence, after all, that Risali came to investigate in this direction. "How about this." And there's a shift, as she digs into her jacket and produces two white knots, extending them out for each boy before her. "We'll give you a home for a while, Samuven. A bed, all your own, but in a room full of other people. And you, Kaelik, can keep your odd bit of bone if you stand for Ilyscaeth and Xermiltoth's clutches back at Xanadu Weyr. You can both still pursue your crafts, even. Our rules are a lot more lax than that of most other weyrs." A beat, a pause of breath in her lungs, and then softer, on an exhale, "What do you say? Go get dried off, get your things, tell your craftmasters where you're going, and then come back and find Leirith and I? We'll take you ourselves."
Though calmed by the much tall sailors hand, Kaelik listened politely to the Rider with storm colored eyes. When she finished he tilted his head, apparently confused. "Uh..what?" He reaches up to stick a wiggling finger in his ear and then looks up to the older lad at his side, "Uh…Cousin? Did you understand that? I think I might a had too mech water in me ears? Was we both just invited somewheres?"
Though calmed by the much tall sailors hand, Kaelik listened politely to the Rider with storm colored eyes. When she finished he tilted his head, apparently confused by the offered knots. "Uh..what?" He reaches up to stick a wiggling finger in his ear and then looks up to the older lad at his side, "Uh…Cousin? Did you understand that? I think I might a had too mech water in me ears? Was we both just invited somewheres?"
Samuven blinks again when Leirith says she wants to keep Kaelik and starts grinning, his comforting hand moving into a congratulatory slap on the back, "Ye hear tha', m'lad? Th' QUEEN wants ye t' Stand!" He chuckles, "I dunno tha' I ever heard a' nobody else been Searched by a queen!" Wait… Did..? "Me? I got a hammock 'board ship…" He just doesn't have perminant quarters when he's told he has to go ashore while the Captain is doing business in port. He trails off and looks down at the younger lad, nodding, "We done been Searched, m'lad." He shakes his head in disbelief, his voice full of wonder, "I ain't never…" He barks a laugh and stands, bowing to both Risali and Leirith, "Thank you, m'ladies." He makes an effort to do away with his careless drawl and speak properly (for once in his life), "It'd be an honor." Lik gets a faint smirk, "An' ye c'n promise ye Master tha' I'll keep an eye on ye, if it'll get ye permission t' go!"
Leirith dips her head to Samuven, booming, « I INTEND TO KEEP YOU TOO. » For nefarious purposes. THIS IS NOT AT ALL DANGEROUS. BAD IDEA, WHO? Risali huffs a breath of laughter, rising to her WHOLLY UNIMPRESSIVE HEIGHT so that she can step into Samuven's space and pin that knot on him. Then? Then she's holding out Kaelik's again. "Last chance," comes softly — though that smile hints a playful mischief, as does that wigglewigglewiggle of knot, trying to tempt him to take it.
Kaelik looks to the offered know and swallows, looking tearfully to the Bay. He sniffs and nods. With a soft, appreciately smile his reverently accepts the knot. "Thank ya, Weyrwoman," and he nods respectfully to the Gold, "and you too yer Queenlyness." He looks back up to the sailor with a wry grin. "Good thing I canhandle yer snorin'"
"It's settled then." Moving towards Leirith Risali goes, to pull herself up on her dragon. "We'll be in the clearing. I wouldn't recommend betweening wet, we we are going to get dry. I suggest you do the same before you report back to us. We'll see you there." And JUST LIKE THAT. Gold and goldrider both are gone.