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.
The heat doesn't even bear mentioning now if one is at Xanadu. It's just there. The sun is now in the process of setting over the Weyr proper, casting a reddish-orange light over the beach. There's just enough cloud coverage for the rays of the setting sun to catch on them, lighting the clouds a-flame.
Phylicia is seated upon the beach with a large blanket spread underneath her, and a lighter one within easy grasp as she stares off into the distance, watching. Instead of one of her normal outfits, she has on a long yet light weight skirt paired with one of her non-descript t-shirts.
"Do you know," Tenebrous calls quietly, padding across the sands somewhat awkwardly in his boots, "…what the worst part about the damn beach is?" As he gets closer, the scowl on his face becomes clearly visible. "The sand. The sand is -the- worst part." In the early evening sunlight, he's taken his coat off, and it's folded over his arm. The sun almost looks natural on his face at this point in time. "I've spent the last sixteen turns learning how to walk in the woods, on the land, on stable ground…" He absently kicks a bit of the sand beneath him.
Phylicia manages not to start as her mentor's voice comes from somewhere behind and to the side of her. "Oh lighten up, Ten." She calls, finally twisting enough to look over her shoulder at him and grin a little bit. This coming from the person who was trying to take his head off a day or two ago? Right. Lets not mention some of the comments to the other Healers when they asked about the bruise, either. "The sand is also part of its charm." She tch's softly as some of the kicked sand skids onto the blanket, though thankfully not into her shoes. Her left leg is completely extended, leaving it to be as limp as it can be while her right is propped up, giving her something to lean against as well as wrap her arms around. "It's not that bad." The ground just gives a little bit, is all. Like mud, but not as slippery.
Tenebrous waves a hand irritably. "It's not like the mud. I know mud, I understand it, I can still move almost completely silently on it." He sighs, stopping at the foot of her blanket. "All of that aside…how are you doing?"
Phylicia shakes her head slightly, though there's still a little bit of a smile on her face as she pats the open area of the blanket next to her in an invitation to sit. On her right side. "Ah, I see. You don't like sand because you can't mask your passing." Well, there's likely a little truth to that, though her tone suggests she's teasing. But as he asks, her face drops slightly and her shoulders lift in a shrug. "I'm hobbling around on a numb hip. Stairs hurt, and sometimes it just decides to throb because it can." Did she mention she's going minorly stir crazy at not being able to move freely, which reflects a little bit from her fidgeting with the hem of her skirt.
Which makes what Tenebrous is about to do that much harder. "Phylicia, there's a very real chance that I'll be devoting a fair amount of time to tracking the movements of the felines. I've…had several intereting conversations today with people of varying importance…" He shakes his head. "It's going to be fast, the days are going to be long…and it's going to be dangerous."
Even Phylicia's fidgeting pauses as she looks up at Tenebrous. She's a bit of an open book and disappointment, worry and a trace of fear are likely what he see's before she lowers her eyes, resting her chin on her propped knee as she also tightens the grip around her leg. "It's just as well I can't go with you." Though her tone is laden with disappointment, contradicting her words. "As much as you say I'm trained, I'm not trained to deal with felines." And then she falls silent for a few moments, definitely not projecting happiness or even a serene calm anymore. "Just… promise to be careful? No heroics? No silly things?" And by silly she means stupid, which falls under the same category as 'heroics'.
Tenebrous sighs quietly. "No, Phylicia, nothing…stupid." He looks out over the water then, his eyes veiled. "YOu're the second person to remind me not to do something stupid. The second person that knows that, while I take calculated risks, I am almost never stupid…and am almost always prepared." He's still for several more moments before he turns back to her. "Phylicia, you're…not like me. And I think that's a good thing. I don't…want you getting hurt while you pursue your studies." He gestures to her hips. "And…if that little hickey that the rock gave you down in The Clutch is any indicator, you don't want you getting hurt either. Not only that, it's not something that your mind is in a place to deal with…"
"I wasn't saying you were stupid…" Phylicia interjects a bit tartly, looking up at him for a brief moment before she turns her gaze back to the water. "Who likes getting hurt, Ten? It hurts." Hello, department of redundancy department. "This," she motions to her 'hickey', "Drives me crazy because I can't move normally." Or, she could but it doesn't feel good in the slightest. And then she exhales quietly, shifting as if she's thinking of standing up.
Tenebrous murmurs, "How long until it's not a leg, Phylicia?" He almost looks like he's going to say something else, but instead, he sighs and rubs the side of his face. "I'm…going to speak with the Master about her taking over your instruction for awhile…"
Those words are enough to pull Phylicia from what could have turned into a new round of sulking. "Don't. You. Dare." She clearly punctuates each word, her tone bordering on angry. "I signed up for lessons with you, not her." And apparently he's forgotten that Fraille said she wouldn't have her. There's the rustling of skirts, and finally a grunt as she manages to put herself in a standing position, stubbornness written into her posture. "So I'm not like you. Maybe I'm not meant to become guardian of Xanadu's forests as well as a Healer. What of it?" Though you can bet she'd try to guard Stormhaven with tooth and nail.
"I just want to make sure that, at the end of the day, you can still -be- a healer, Phylicia. I know that no one in their wholly right mind spends their time in the trees as much as I do." He pauses a moment. "The Adonis was one thing, and something easily remedied had it gone wrong…But your hip is something else entirely, Phylicia. I have no right to drag you all over the forest, especially when you don't know what you're getting into." He shifts his coat to his other arm. "The Master is wise, far more so than I am, and you'll learn all that you need to under her. I can take over for the hands-on stuff, but…there's no reason for you to come into the deep woods for the time being. Especially now…"
If Phylicia were a kettle, you might be able to hear the starting of that high-pitched whistle when the water starts to boil. She's trying to find a hole in that agruement to poke at, but for the most part - until her hip heals - there isn't much of one. "You still don't trust me to know my own limits?" Her voice is flat and it gives way to a somewhat wary sigh as she starts to bend over, picking up the blankets and stuffing her feet back into her shoes.
Tenebrous closes his eyes. "There is nothing with breasts on the surface of this planet that I can successfully talk to today…" Then he sighs. "Phylicia, it hs nothing to do with you knowing your limits, despite fact that you'd disregard them if you thought a friend was in danger. And that's not even the point." He holds up a hand. "The point is…you're gonna get hurt. It's not a question of 'If', Phy. It's a question of 'When'. You've seen my body, I know you have. I've caught you looking several times." He reaches out for one of her shoulders, trying to rest a hand on it. "If you're not going down the path that I did, I'd rather you not gather a body full of scars trying to figure that out…You've been angrier over the last 36 hours than I think I've ever seen you. Surlier. And it's because of your hip, or at least in large part. I … don't want to be the one that helps you into something worse."
Phylicia doesn't pull away from his hand on her shoulder, though she finishes 'folding' the blanket she was sitting on and holds it close to her chest as she varies between looking at him, and looking at his feet. Though after commenting that he noticed her glances, her cheeks redden and her eyes stay on the ground. "Just what is your path, Tenebrous? Why is it so … severe?" And then he mentions her recent surliness and her arms tighten on the blanket. "I don't like being in pain." But what human does. "And it's just as well that I'm virtually bound to the Weyr for the next week anyhow." Her eyes lift slightly before they look sideways. She's not a fan of eye contact tonight. "You wouldn't want me in the forest with you, even if I hadn't hurt my hip." And if he pauses to think about it, the days are just about lining up correctly for the few days a month she's constrained to the Weyr.
"Oh, Phy…" Tenebrous steps in front of her more fully, bringing his other hand up to her unoccupied shoulder. "There's…no one that I'd rather have with me in the forest right now, and I think you know that. I think you know that I have faith in you, that I trust in your abilities as a healer and as a botanist, regardless of your skill level. Hasha's a sailor, someone that belongs by the water and in the kitchen where her passions lay. Janelle's … too shy, bless her heart, and she doesn't have the steel for the work that I do. And Thea…" He makes a face. "Thea can't take two steps into the woods without running off like some damn farm-girl. You have to know that this isn't about what I want…It's about…pain." He steps in just a little closer to her, and one hand slips in to try and urge her chin up, to meet her eyes with his own. "I don't…know what my path is, Phylicia, I have no plan…but there's pain involved. I don't know if it's some bizzare kind of repentence that I feel I need to serve or if I really am just that…careless. But it's part of me. There are a dozen little places on my body right now that ache a little, and they're all comfortable. It's not right…but I don't know how to change it…" He gives her shoulders a squeeze. "Think about it while you're off-duty…we can talk about this again when you think your leg has healed."
Phylicia still isn't pulling away, even as he closes in on her, giving her no other place to direct her current attitude issues than at him, or sideways. Her cheeks flush a little deeper and then flares as his hand urges her to look at him and she lets him do it. Her eyes take a few moments longer to track back to his face, and there's more confusion written in her eyes, over the surliness and over the faint point of pleasure from the compliment paid to her. "I'll think about it." She says slowly after a few extremely long moments. "I'm not really sure what you just said makes any sense, but I'll think about it." And without much of a warning she tucks her head in, and wraps one arm around him to give him a tight hug. "I'll send one of my boys to you after the leg is healed and the bleeding is past." She murmurs with a small sigh to her tone. There's no way around it, so she might as well start sucking it up.
Tenebrous blinks. Her comment about it being a bad week anyway finally registers on him, and it's probably a good thing that she's not looking at the slightly awkward expression on his face. It's one thing to ask a woman to tell you when she's on her period, but it's another to have one admit it, even after the fact. Still, the moment passes almost instantly, and he wraps his arms around her in turn. "You do that," he murmurs, his voice level and quiet. "You do just that…"