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 sun is just starting to set idly in the sky, just starting its downward arc into the blue abyss. It's here that Andis can be seen sitting on the beach, his face a rather interesting shade of red as his eyes scan over a paper in front of him. Quickly looking around, he stuffs the paper right where he had found it, his books. A almost paranoid look fills his eyes as he starts to look at the different people scattered about.
Let this be a lesson to all… Do not lay bets on how many eggs Kilaueth will be laying. Especially when the result of said bet is something like what R'in is going through. Spend the day, until sundown, completely stark naked. And no hiding out. Usually fine with embarassing things, this one is going just a smidge far. Especially with all the candidates pouring in. And that's where we find the WeyrlingMaster walking along the beach with a large brown wandering, confused, after her. Completely. Stark. Naked.
If it wasn't bad enough that he found a rather…interesting…letter adressed quite plainly to him, someone walks into the beach. What color was in Andis's cheeks is quickly drained as his eyes take in the horror that is before his eyes. He quickly averts his eyes, staring instead in favor at the ground. Nutty riders. He didn't understand the lot of them.
It's not like R'in is enjoying it either. She stares at the water balefully as she stands /just/ out of range of the waves that lap at the shore. "Mayi… do you HAVE to have a bath now? Can't it wait until tomorrow?" The dragon rumbles and she sighs, shaking her head. "Fine. But you owe me. Or something." And she turns to carefully begin removing supplies that the brown hason his back, as well as the straps.
Andis is very carefully keeping his eyes trained on the ground, his face slowly starts to regain some of the color that had drained out. "Lemme guess." He says finally, running his fingers over the book, "Something happened that you didn't think would?" He doesn't bother looking up, not even sure if she might hear his words.
Laden with straps, R'in almost looks like she's in some burelesque show. Or freaky fashion show. Dragon Wear? The criss-crossing straps draped over her as she removes them from the brown /almost/ cover the naughty bits, but they still leave more than enough revealed. "Weeeell, I took a bet on how many eggs there'd be," she shrugs and lets the straps slide to the ground, picking up the supplies for bathing the brown. "And I lost."
Andis scratches at the side of his head, now wriggling in his spot in a almost uncomfortable manner. "You shouldn't bet things like that." A finger lifts to point in the direction of her voice, his face is still quite red at what he /did/ manage go see when he had looked up in the first place. He's not daring now. "Why not bet things like marks, then you wouldn't be…like that."
A figure, trailed by two girls, trudges in from the shoreline. He is covered by not one, not two, but three different types of mud, and is clearly heading towards the water to clean himself off. He is unable to be identified at a glance because of it. Halting in place upon catching sight of R'in, however, he stares for a minute then hastily averts his eyes. "Y'know….I know a good hole you can fall into to fix that." eyeshift.
Zevida follows behind Arkoss, snickering all the while. "Really, I don't see 'ow you could get so dirty. W'at were you doing? Wrestling a few boys, t'ree on one?" She snickers again before glancing at R'in and Andis with a slight tilt of her head. Her eyes examine the two quietly before she moves to settle herself and the girl onto the ground.
Andis continues to keep his eyes trained to the ground, never looking up, even when unfamiliar voices fill the air. Instead, fingers open the book he had closed earlier, pulling out the piece of paper once more and letting his eyes trail over the words written on the pages. As if trying to convince himself that the words were certainly not aimed at him.
Keziah follows along behind "Don't tell me Adinaeth did something more to you." she states brightly and ponders "Too bad we don't have any feathers, it'd make you look really cute." she states cheerfully. Her eyes go towards R'in and blinks a little and then blinks some more. In fact her cheeks actually go a little pink. Woah.
Naked. That's what R'in is. The young WeyrlingMaster doesn't seem overly bothered by it. At least not on the surface. That is until Arkoss, Zevida, and Keziah show up. The brownrider blinks at them, then scowls a little. "Mayi," she mutters to the large brown, "never let me make a bet like that again." Running a hand through her hair, she squares her shoulders, then picks up the myriad of cleaning supplies. "Okay, you. Get your butt in that water. I want to get this over with." And thus Mayikooth begins for the water itself, following by R'in. Who walks right past Andis.
"No, I got lost and fell in a deep hole that was full of mud, then tripped in more mud and just for a change of pace I stepped on a muddy stick that flew up and hit me in the face." like a rake. Arkoss just sighs, and wades into the water, clothes in all, after taking off his muddy boots.
Zevida snickers softly, bouncing the girl quietly. "You 'aven't got any luck, 'ave you?" She asks, her head tilting again with a laugh. A glance towards the pink-faced Weyrling Master and her brows quirk before she peers at Andis. "Mm? Gone and tortured t'e rider, 'ow awful." Giving a teasing tsk, she glances towards the dragon going into the rider with a curious look before dismissing it.
Andis fingers idly rub at the side of his head, and when R'in passes by, he hurridly sticks the piece of paper back into his book, his cheeks almost a rather amusing shade of red. Yeah, he's clearly had an…interesting…day, needless to say. His eyes venture a look over his shoulder at the people not too far away. The brow only shoots further on his forhead as he eyes the mud-laced figure of Arkoss. Silly people indeed. One person's naked…the other covered in mud. Honestly, what is the world coming to? His eyes widen ever so slightly, snapping his head to Zevida. "I didn't do it!" he's quick to argue, holding up his hands, forgetting that he's clutching his book which topples quickly to the floor.
A clearing of the throat. And a raised voice: "I lost a bet. Let this be a lesson to /all/ of you! Bet only marks. It'll save you in the end." Even if the person you bet with was sexy enough that you wanted to be able to watch them naked. Alas. R'in squeaks as the chilled water hits her and takes a handful of steps back. Scowling. Waitaminute. She zeroes in on the candidates and gets a big grin. "So. You all are hopefuls, wanting your own dragons, right? Well. I want you to help give Mayikooth here a bath. Think of it as lesson one." And she thrusts the cleaning implements out towards the nearest.
Zevida glanes at Andis, looking cute for a moment before she laughs. "I see. But, she seems to be flustered because of you. You w'ere t'e only one 'ere." She winks playfully then gapes at R'in yelling, clutching the girl tighter to herself. "Aa.. I need to go take care of t'is little one.." She trails off, shooting the two boys a grin before she trots to the bowl, shirking the duty of washing the dragon to the others.
"Can I get a bath first?" Arkoss asks R'in plaintively, covered in said mud. "I'd probably get your dragon dirtier if I tried cleaning him as I am now."
Andis will stick out his tongue at the retreating Zevida, "I was here before she even came in!" Andis is quick to call, leaning forward to take the book back into his hand, stuffing the paper back between the folds, almost as if it was some sort of odd bookmark. However, something R'in says catches his attention and he turns towards the female, quickly averting his gaze once more. "Err…there's candidates? Oh, right, the eggs were laid not too long ago…"
"Yes, yes, of course. Mind, if you took off all those clothes, you'd clean up a lot faster." R'in speaks rapidly, a sharp tone to her voice. Maybe she's more flustered than she's letting on. Why couldn't the beach be emptier? At Andis' question, she blinks a few times and points to… well, Arkoss' new knot is probably too dirty to be seen. "How do you live at a Weyr and not notice that there's eggs or candidates?" She scowls a little, dropping the supplies at her feet and folding her arms over her chest. At least she can cover something. "Hurry up, candidate," she says to Arkoss. "We have wing exercises later and Mayikooth wants to be clean." The brown has made it into the water and is swimming around a bit.
Arkoss blinks at R'in in astonishment. She wants him to take his clothes off?! Alarm, and then he looks down at himself and sighs. Wading waist-deep, he pulls his shirt off, thus revealing he is in fact a guy, if there was any confusion, and clean under the dirty shirt. He scrubs most of the mud off it then tosses it to the shore, then ducks under, scrubbing at his hair to get the mud out of that. His face too, for that matter. When he resurfaces, his distinguishable silvery white hair is revealed, and he's now clean enough. The pants stay on, however, although he does scrub the globs of mud off it at least. The stains shall just have to remain though. Splashing back to shore, he walks over to Mayikooth, still averting his gaze from R'in. "Yes ma'am."
A hand reaches up to flick some of his hair out of his face, lips tucking into his mouth. "I was visiting my sisters, I hadn't heard really till I got back." Shoulders lift in a indifferent manner as Andis looks over his shoulder, eyeing Arkoss idly. "What'd you do to end up in that mess, did you make a bet too?"
It's not that she /wants/ him naked. It just seems logical. Nevermind he could just strip down to his underthings. R'in's lips quirk a bit and she looks to Mayikooth out in deeper waters and the brown returns to a more shallow area. "Ever cleaned a dragon before?" A pause and her head cocks, before she shakes her head a bit and looks to Andis. "You. What's your name?" And she snaps her fingers, too. "And look at me when you answer. I'm just a person, okay? Yeesh."
"I fell in a hole, then slipped in mud, and then a muddy stick hit me in the face. I got lost." Arkoss tells Andis. "..Again." he adds, since it's only truth. He gets lost as easily as breathing.
Andis scratches idly at the side of his head, his eyes still trained to the ground. A finger idly pokes at the sand, however, as he hears the voice directed at him, his head slowly lifts, only to look back down in a blush. Yeah. "Andis. I..err…" There's a quiet cough as he tries to pull himself together, lifting his head again. "Sorry. It's just…I don't want to embarass you…"
R'in shrugs her shoulders, rolling them a bit. "Too sharding late for that. Don't worry, I'll live. When you've had a greenrider eye you up like you're just a piece of meat, it becomes a bit less embarassing." She's lying through her teeth, but still. "Andis. Okay. Here." She tosses one of the brushes for dragon scrubbing towards him. "Get out there and begin cleaning that big oaf, okay?" Mayikooth, for all it's worth, looks towards Andis and gives a low, supposedly comforting, rumble.
"Try looking at her eyes and not anything else, it helps." Arkoss murmurs to Andis, leaning close to impart that nugget of wisdom. He grabs another brush and goes to the side of the dragon that's away from R'in. Dibs on that side!
"You can't blame me for trying to be nice." Is the quiet scoff in responce as fingers flail out to try and catch the brush flung at him. "Err…okay." hand place themselves on his knees, standing to his feet before suddenly remembering his clothes. The brush is sat down and he pulls off his shirt, at least he was wearing shorts. Those can stay, clothes dry off anyway. The brush is picked back up as he moves to the water. A wince is easily seen as the cold water splashes around his feet. "I rather not look anywhere at all." Andis murmurs quietly to Arkoss in a retort.
"This is an important thing to learn," R'in says, suddenly falling into WeyrlingMaster mode a bit more. It's easier than focusing on the fact that she's got two shirtless guys washing her dragon for her. While she's naked. "Oiling is the most important thing for a baby dragon, but you'll need to know how to wash them as well. And if you learn it before the day those eggs hatch, your time as a Weyrling will be that much easier." Mayikooth rumbles in agreement, spreading his wings out to make it easier for the two to reach his sides.
Arkoss shrugs at Andis. "Well carry on blushing and looking away like a little kid." not that Arkoss is doing much better, though at least he's not blushing. He listens to R'in and nods, scrubbing the brown carefully. Dragonhide can't be damaged by a person, right? Unless they had, like….a knife or sword or something?
Andis wrinkles his nose ever so slightly, lifting up a finger to point at Arkoss, "I'm not a kid." He'll point out quite defiantly. "Just…you never actually naked people wander around, at least I haven't." Shoulders lift indifferently, not really listening to the words R'in speaks. They're not for him, after all. He doesn't bother to be gentle as he scrubs the brush against the hide, he's been around enough dragons to last him a life time.
"Scrub harder," R'in directs to Arkoss. "Their hides are tough. You have to get in there. I'll let you know if it's too much." Mayikooth seems to be enjoying Andis' scrubbing and croons at the boy. R'in blinks at the brown, then shakes her head, wandering a bit further into the water. She shivers. "Andis.. how much do you know about dragons?"
"Oh? I heard riders walk around naked all the time." Arkoss tells Andis, surprised. "Or maybe that was just in Igen Weyr." or maybe that's just rumors spread by disapproving aunties and uncles. After all, Weyrs were supposed to be 'dens of iniquity' and all that good stuff. He blinks as he's ordered to scrub harder, and he does so.
Andis blinks a little as he hears his name, looking over his shoulder and this time he makes a point to look into her eyes. Right, look there and nowhere else. "My sisters are both riders, my mother is a rider, my stepfather is a rider, my father is a rider, almost all my relitives are riders. I've been around enough dragons to last me a life time." A hand waves dismissively in the air at the question." At Arkoss's statement, he shrugs. "Not in the open, at least. Sure, people can get wierd when they're proddy, but usually they don't walk around /naked/."
"No, we do not walk around naked all the time," R'in says with a scowl towards Arkoss. "At least, not if you spend anytime outside of the hot springs." She nods to Andis' explanation and her features relax. She folds her arm over her chest again. "Well, seems it runs in the family, then." Mayikooth rumbles and shifts head and neck to watch Andis closely with one eye. "Mayikooth here seems to think you're fit for it also. He and I were wondering… would you like to Stand for Kilaueth's clutch?"
"Ah…you don't?" Arkoss replies cleverly, trying to suppress the disappointment he suddenly feels. When R'in invites Ardis to be a candidate he grins at the other boy and continues scrubbing. Right. Nothing to see here!
Andis nods at R'in's words. "Exactly." Andis will agree with a little grin of his own, the brush going back to work at the dragon's eye. "I guess so. I always felt like the odd one out, but it never really bothered me too much." R'in will get a quick grin, but the next set of words catches him by surprise. "Stand…? As a candidate?" A hand rubs at the back of his head, frowning to himself. "Well…I guess. I don't really have a job just yet, might help me decide what to do if I don't find what I'm looking for on the sands."
An eyebrow rises and even before R'in speaks, Mayikooth rumbles with something that may be disappointment, shifting his wings. "You /guess/? I mean, if you don't /want/ to, Mayikooth could find someone else to claim as his own, but he really liked you, so he'd be sad." She's trying, /trying/ not to grin.
Arkoss raises an eyebrow at Andis' lackluster response. "Be glad /you/ didn't have to put on a pink dress." he mutters to the boy. "I'll never live that down."
Wrong choice of words, "I mean, I'd be honored, sorry." Andis quickly mumbles, rubbing at the back of his head once more. "I mean, I wouldn't want to make a dragon sad or anything." He adds hastily. A brow arches, "Pink…dress? I don't see how that's a bad thing? Maybe the dragon thought you looked good in it." There's a quiet snicker.
A few splashes as Mayikooth seems quite happy with this arrangement. Happy enough that he turns — poor Arkoss might be knocked over if he doesn't move! — so that he can… well, extend his tongue and make every attempt to sluuuUUuUuuuurp Andis. "Well. Mayikooth I think has expressed enough happiness for the both of us." R'in places her forehead in her palm, exhaling in a bit of a sigh. She looks up after a moment, once Mayi is back to looking all… not-silly. "Do you wish to see the barracks now, or wait?"
Arkoss dives to the side when the dragon rotates, then comes up spluttering. "Well you can wear the dress next and see how you like it." he informs Andis. "L'alie liked my idea of making misbehaving candidates wear it for a punishment."
Andis pratically squirms when that dragon tongue rolls along his body, perhaps it's a good thing dragons don't have saliva, or he'd be covered in it right about now. A hand runs through his hair, "Err…really, it's fine. Um…I think I know where they are? I might end up getting lost, I'm still kinda getting used to the layout around here. But if you want me to help clean you could always show me later?" There's a quiet snicker and he idly sticks out his tongue at Arkoss, "I don't think it'd bother me too much, clothes are clothes. At least I think so."
"Likely it's best if I show you now," R'in says after musing it over. "Mayikooth says he can wait until tomorrow for his bath if it means things are done proper." She grins, almost impishly. "So, why don't you follow me?" She looks towards Arkoss. "And you… once you're done cleaning up, why don't you join us? You can help Andis settle in." She makes her way back towards shore, with Mayikooth following as he shakes off a bit. She gathers up the straps, "Leave the cleaning stuff here. I'll get it later." With the straps draped over her shoulders again, she's a smidge less indecent.
"I'll make sure and let Weyrsecond L'alie know then." Arkoss replies cheerfully, and then nods in R'in's direction. "Yes ma'am. I should probably dry off and change anyway." now that he's clean, his blue firelizard deigns to approach and alights on his slave's shoulder. Arkoss winces at the sharp claws on his bare shoulder, but otherwise doesn't react.
Andis just shakes his head, frowning. So much for getting wet without much of a reason. He trudges to the beach, fingers bending down to snatch at his shirt, sighing quietly as he tries to flick off the water from his dripping hide. "I shoulda brought a towel." he grumbles to no one in particular, "Well, should we go to the barracks then? I'll need to pack and move my stuff…"
"Let's get you to the barracks so you can pick out a cot and I can give you the rules, then you can go collect your things." R'in decides, fiddling with one of the buckles of the strapes draped around her. "Alrighty. Forward march!" The last is said with a small giggle.
Xanadu Weyr - Candidate Barracks(#7528RA)
A long, low ceiling room opens off the entrance hall to the arena, one wall slightly curved as it is set against the outer wall of the arena itself. Cots are set evenly the length of the room, in two rows, each with its own small press at the foot, for personal belongings. Wide windows are spaced along the outside wall, letting sunlight in, while other lights are available for the night time hours.
And into the barracks, ahead of Andis, steps R'in. She's naked save for Mayikooth's straps which are draped around her body haphazardly. "Welcome to Candidatedom. Pick a cot, any cot." She points to the chore board. "Your chores. Learn to love them. If you're in a Craft, you'll be continuing your work in it as well. You'll be busy, very busy. Just remember… it's all to train you for being a rider, should you impress." She thinks a moment, trying to recall the rest.
"No sex and no fighting?" Arkoss reminds R'in innocently, having just recently heard it said himself. He follows behind the two, dripping wet, with a muddy shirt in his hands and muddy pants being worn. He goes over to his cot and grabs some clothes so he can hurry up and change to clean clothing. He's got his back to the others, and unless there happens to be privacy screens, there's a full moon on the rise.
Andis steps in after R'in, still keeping his eyes focused on the ground not anywhere else. His arms clutch tightly to the book at his chest, his cheeks are noticeably beet red. "Right, my sisters told me about candidacy." He idly mumbles to himself. "They said they didn't get a lot of time."
"No alcohol," R'in adds to what Arkoss said, rolling her shoulders in a bit of a shrug. "Uhm. Yeah, no sex. No kids. No fighting. And don't leave the Weyr unless you'll be with a rider at all times, in case the eggs begin to Hatch." R'in runs a hand through her hair, shifting the straps that barely hide her naughty bits. "Ah… there will be classes. Attend them all, mmkay? Or do your best to." She tilts her head, studying Andis. "And if you want… talk to the other candidates about what they do. Job-wise, craft-wise, whatever. Even if you Impress, you'll want something to do with your time. For example, Mayikooth and I run errands and I'm in training to be a DragonHealer. Now is the perfect time to figure these things out, but to keep in mind that you may have a lifemate to join you."
Ryski really doesn't have to worry about the whole..no sex rule. It just doesn't seem pertinent to someone who's twelve. Although..the fighting thing might wear on him a little. The boy /does/ tend to have issues getting along with others. Still, the boy's settled on his own cot for the moment, glaring at a pile of clothing that's settled right along with him. Maybe if he glares long enough, it'll all just..magically mend itself. Arkoss even gets a faint glare then, before his eyes roll. "Hurry up and put some /clothes/ on! Nobody wants to see that." A piece of that pile of clothing gets promptly tossed in the other candidate's direction. Hey, it's not /his/, after all. With yet another candidate being brought in, however, the boy's attention shifts just a bit, brows lifting slightly.
Andis fingers scratch lazily at the side of his head, brows tightening as he listens to the rules, doing his best to memorize them all. Sex? That doesn't bother him too much, not like he /likes/ anyone enough for that. "I was contemplating becoming a healer or a harper." Andis murmurs quietly to R'in, still keeping his eyes trained on the ground for fear of looking up to see something he doesn't really want to see…he's had enough emotional scarring for today, thank you very much. "But I never decided."
"I'm a stablehand." Arkoss adds, once he's dressed. And he's not deliberately flaunting himself for your benefit, Ryski, so quit staring at his butt. "I can find work anywhere I go with that."
"Well, now is a good time to venture further. You'll be getting some dragonhealing lessons, I believe. At least a lecture." R'in fiddles with a buckle on the straps. "I'll find out if we have any harper or healer candidates and see if they can talk it over with you."
Andis nods his head in responce to R'in's words, still idly rubbing at the back of his head and shifting on his feet. He's still staring at the floor, talking to it as if it were the one that was speaking, instead of R'in. "I'd like that." He says finally, "I can't make up my mind. I was going to be a archivist…I like reading books, but then I don't want to be stuck with them the whole time either."
"How long does it normally take eggs to hatch, anyway?" Arkoss asks curiously, having been present only at a clutching and a hatching so far, not the times in between. And different eggs both times.
"I'll talk to whoever's handling you guys, then. Archivist, huh? That is a lot of time with books. Maybe you could go for historian, too? Writing the stuff as well." R'in shrugs a little, but looks to Arkoss as she purses her lips. "About three months after the clutching, but we can't pin an exact date. The eggs hatch when they hatch, which is why you have to stick close to the Weyr."
Keziah wonders into the barracks holding a small bouquet of wildflowers foliage. She's smiling softly as she inhales the various scents. She also has a small ceramic vase to put them in, which she begins to do once she ges to her bunk. She sets the vase up on the window sill after pouring some water into it.
Andis shrugs his shoulders, idly toying with his hair and paying no mind to those around him. He's still not very comfortable to standing to someone so close who's…not dressed. He shifts from foot to foot. "I'm good with books but I don't want to be stuck with them the whole time. I like other things too."
"Mmm," R'in says softly, shifting the straps draped over her. "Well, you've got some time to figure it out. Don't worry too much about it. I've been a rider for… nearing on 4 Turns now and I'm just beginning to train as a DragonHealer." She shrugs, "You'll find something you enjoy." A pause and she tilts her head a bit, looking around. "Well, Andis. Welcome to being a candidate. Really- enjoy it, despite all the hard work. Uhm. Pick your cot, then go get your belongings and bring them in here." She turns, the buckles and straps that make up the only 'clothing' she wears rattling a bit. "I've got a delivery to make."
Andis nods his head in understanding, "I'm sure I'll find something I like, I'm not too worried about it." He flashes a smile, being careful to look /anywhere/ but down there. Right, keep eye contact at all times. "I'll go pick a cot and move in my stuff. Thanks for showing me here."
Please wait while the system shuffles the drawing pools.
"You don't have to join a Craft either if you don't want." Arkoss suggests. "You could just find something you're good at that you like and do that, whatever it is. Small jobs on the side, if you ever want a few extra marks. It's not like you'd starve if you become a rider."
Keziah hmms a little at Arkoss comment and then glances at R'in "Yeah, especially if you don't bet the clothes off your back." she remarks with a bit of a snicker as she fluffs up her flowers and then flops onto her cot. "Course, maybe that would be better than marks. You might freeze, but you won't starve."