Worth It
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Xanadu Weyr - Shore of Lake Caspian
The cliffs that run along the shore come and go, various weyrs nestled along the tops of them or dug into the walls, but eventually they recede enough to expose a beach. The white sand echoes the rise and fall of the cliffs with a multitude of sandy dunes, endlessly creating tiny valleys that are constantly demolished and rebuilt by the frequent arrival or departure of dragons. The dunes smooth out as the gentle slope approaches the edge of the deep blue water. The sand darkens, and a shell here and there stands out for children to collect.

The beach narrows to the southwest, leaving a path barely wide enough for dragons in single file before cutting in to a smaller, more sheltered cove. The sands are the same white, the waters the same blue, but they're calmer and more tranquil, more protected from the winds that ruffle Lake Caspian and the currents that tug beneath the surface.

Rough, wide stairs lead up to the meadow above and the road that runs along the top of the cliffs, passing through the fields and heading for the river mouth that can be just barely seen from here. The largest of the staircases up the cliff is located near the docks that jut out onto the peaceful blue waters.


Autumn means the air is a little more crisp in the morning than it used to be, but it still arms up well enough coming into afternoon. V'ro is running from one point in the sand to the other, and a young green happens to be in the middle of his path so he has to run around her. Given that she's watching him attentively, she's either cheering him on, counting, or wondering what the heck he's on about with this running business. Apex predators do not run, they fly! Never mind that she can't fly yet, that's not the point. Then again, "Stop throwing out random numbers, you aren't helping!"

Autumn also means that there are shipments to be made. Harvest to be brought in, goods to be transported, people to be moved from one place to another… Samuven has been busy since the hatching, but at least one busy day is coming to an end, So what if it's only afternoon? The tall sailor steps off the dock and takes a deep breath, face tilted back to take in the warmth of the sun. And then there's a voice… He looks down to see one of the newest riders running and can't resist a chuckle at the demand to stop 'helping', "Having a little difficulty, K-" And he corrects himself, "V'ro?"

V'ro probably wishes his day was coming to an end, but it's barely even the middle of keeping up with a shiny new dragon, let alone everything else that comes with the territory. He's so focused on the green that he only snaps to attention, pausing in his sprints, when he hears his name. "Oh!" Pant. "Hey!" Pant. "No, uh… Well, yeah. Nothing I can't get her back for, though. How're you, you know, doing?" Since the hatching.

Samuven chuckles and strides across the sand, "Go easy on her." She's still a baby, after all. And the advice is obviously not intended in a malicious way. He'd give the same advice to someone with a younger sibling or firelizard, "Oh, I'm keepin' busy." Speaking of firelizards and busy… Sam's blue and bronze firelizards choose that moment to swoop in from apparently nowhere and both try perching on the same shoulder, "Oy! Boyos. I got two shoulders!" And the pair are forcibly separated with Ocean on the left and Spook on the right.

The green sits up, flapping sand off of her wings, to look at the stranger with his firelizards. No stranger danger here, though. She warbles a greeting to the three of them, then starts glancing around - at her back, under her front left paw, around V'ro - for her own mini-me 'lizard (okay, V'ro's but same difference), but gives up after her search isn't immediately gratifying. "I don't know where she is, probably tired of you bugging her," the weyrling says before refocusing on Samuven. "Busy is good. I'm glad you had something busy to get back to. This is, uh, Koth, by the way." He says the last after a rumble from the dragon. "Koth, Samuven. He was there when you hatched." There, introductions.

Samuven can't help but chuckle as the young green searches for her firelizard friend, both hands coming up to scritch his own young firelizards. He nods, "Always demand f'r someone t' ferry people 'n stuff from one spot t' th' other." When he is introduced to the young dragon, he bows, earning a squawk of protest from both firelizards as they take flight, the younger bronze somewhat awkwardly, "Well met, Koth." He smiles charmingly, "Ye are ev'n more lovely than I remember."

"I used to travel a lot," offers V'ro, relating readily to that necessary demand. Koth arches her neck at the compliment, flexing her talons into the sand and mantling her marbled wings. « V'ro says I was gross at the hatching, » she says like it's a totally normal thing to say to a random person she's just met. "I did not—" V'ro starts to protest at her, then at Samuven, "I didn't just say that." But he did say it at some point. Just not in response to someone paying her a compliment.

Samuven nods, "I been travelin' my whole life." Well… If you look at it a certain way, anyway. One does tend to 'travel' when one lives aboard ship. Then Koth is speaking and he quickly covers his mouth with one hand as he snorts, "Well, all hatchlin's tend t' be kinda weird lookin' when they first hatch…" He chuckles, "Ye shoulda seen Ocean 'n Spook when they first hatched." For that matter, Spook still looks… odd.

"All babies look weird for awhile," V'ro quickly points out to no one in particular, maybe some sort of future-proofing against the green twisting his words against him. "I'm not sure Nip'll ever grow into her wings," he adds, thoughtful. "But yours are fine," he adds to Koth when hers extend out for her to examine as well as she can. "We didn't have a ship. My family, I mean. But we did get from place to place well enough." As traders do. "I miss it. But I suppose a dragon will do." Koth is too young, or doesn't care enough to be offended. "Are you going to try again?" he wonders at Samuven. "To impress."

Samuven nods, chuckling softly, "That they do." He smirks faintly, "Ye have beautiful wings." There's a nod and another chuckle, "I think ye c'n prob'ly go more places with a dragon." Ships and wagons are confined to water and roads, after all. Then he's being questioned and he falls silent, frowning for a moment, "I dunno." His voice is thoughtful when he does finally answer, "Ma'be? I guess it d'pends on whether 'r not I get Searched again."

Maybe it was an insensitive question, what with the product of his successful impression standing here with him, soaking in the young man's nice words for her benefit. But V'ro listens to Samuven's answer with genuine interest. "I don't see why you wouldn't, if you were once." His logic is flawless. "It's worth it." He probably means that to be… helpful? Inspiring? Comforting? It's hard to say. "Anyway, I should probably get her back to the barracks. You're making my skin crawl." The last is said directly to the dragon before he's offering an apologetic smile to his former peer.


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