Ho! brave hearts that went down in the seas!
Ye are at peace in the troubled stream;
Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Beach
With a gentler slope to the water from the main beach and the way it is cut in like a cove, this is the most sheltered spot for bathing. The sand is the same white hue, there are just as many — or perhaps more — scattered shells. From here, one has a beautiful view across the lake, a scene more often tranquil than not.
Seryth is getting a bath and seems to be enjoying it mightily, too. She's belly-deep in the lake with gentle waves occasionally splishing against her side. Thea's standing beside her waist-deep in the water, scrubbing with a brush at her neck.
Arinith is paddling and paddling way way down the beach. The bronze loves to swim, that's for sure. His poor lifemate is getting tired, unfortunately. But thankfully the bronze spots a baby dragon in the water and is instantly distracted. This was one of his! Right? Right. He heads over to squat down in the water near the tiny gold, his snout half covered. Then he starts blowing bubbles. R'miel is trudging through the water panting, dressed in just his swim trunks and his glasses. "Shards Arin, ya trying to kill me? Oh I see, weyrlings, heh."
Aradir - no, A'dar now (it's still hard for him to believe) - exits the barracks, his lifemate with him. He tends to walk next to Zeituth when possible rather than in front of or behind him. Mainly for situations like this. Looking to the blue, he notes, "I can't. The sand would clog up the gears." He's speaking better, too. Still slightly slower than normal, but mostly without the odd pauses. "Gears and sand don't mix - remember the one I had to fix? The dust?" He smirks. "Luckily…you don't hate the smell of clock oils." A snicker. He looks up then, and grins at seeing the two in the water. He doesn't call attention to himself or Zei just yet, though.
Seryth does see her clutchdaddy swimming her way and stretches her wings and neck out greeting with a tinklingly clear mini-bugle. As he draws near, she snakes her neck to look up… and up… and up. The bubbles start and she's instantly distracted. What's this? Frothy white stuff? Must have a look! Her muzzle dips towards the turbulence and she sneezes. Must be all the soap. Thea laughs and is slowly disappearing in the resulting foam, "How about that, Seryth, your first bubble bath." One arm lifts to give R'miel a wave. And A'dar, if he sees her do so.
Arinith is about as friendly as clutchmomma Ella is, only he likes dragon company a bit better. When the small gold sneezes he jumps a bit, lifting his (comparatively) mighty muzzle out of the water and making some waves. He's spotted another of his little ones now, giving a rumble to the blue, trying to coax a cute mini-bugle out of him as well. R'miel gives a wave back to Thea, and one to A'dar as well. "Nice to see the weyrlings out. Is it bath time already? No, Arin, I'm not giving you a bath right now." He sighs. "Alright, a small one in a second. How are you guys enjoying the weyrling life?"
A'dar does indeed see the wave, and raises his arm to offer one in return. Zei offers the hoped for mini-bugle in greeting as well, echoed almost in trilling tandem by two firelizards seated on his back. A'dar chuckles at the display. "Like three chorus singers," he notes, with a grin. He notes R'miel's question and chuckles. If R'miel has been checking on the progress of the weyrlings, he would have noted that A'dar was one of those weyrlings that didn't complain about shoveling poop! The auburn-haired boy replies, "I…don't think it's quite sunk in…yet. Still getting used to having him up here." He taps the side of his head. Then he looks to Zei, a little startled, as if the blue had spoken and he hadn't been expecting it. "No, not at all…just takes some…getting used to," he assures the blue, giving a reassuring smile.
Seryth likes this game! She tries it, too. Into the froth her muzzle dips…and the water's not where she thinks it will be so she winds up almost standing on her head to find it. A high-pitched burbling might possibly be heard if the day is tranquil enough for it. She pops her head back up, much like one of old Terra's periscopes. Her head is now covered in suds, which drizzle down her neck. She opens her maw to inhale a huge lungful of air before plunging it gleefully back down. The waves sway her and her head pops back up. Thea's hair is plastered to her face and with one hand, she sweeps it out of her eyes, curling the other arm about Seryth's neck and just floats while the young dragon plays. "How to put it into words?" She muses with a blaffled smile in response to R'miel's question. "It's like being another—no, like two persons at once and yet not a person at all."
Yay, poop shoveling! Hopefully A'dar is helping Thea shovel her poop as well, since the gold is likely to generate more. The bronzer snickers to the bluerider. "Mmm, it is." He nods a bit. "It takes a while to get used to, I know. But soon it'll be second nature to you, I promise." Arin seems to like the bubbles as well. He's a little sad that he can't disappear inside of the froth as well, but he's more than happy making it. One bubble happens to escape, and he reaches his mouth up to snap at it. R'miel is just trying to steer clear of all those suds for the time being. His hair is all matted to his head. "It'll be even stranger for you, when Seryth decides she wants to get pregnant. Though you have a while before that happens." He grins and chuckles. "When the time does come though you should watch out for Arin. He's caught all the junior golds here since we first moved."
A'dar's been helping the others whenever he has a free moment; though that first few days, by the time he had a free moment, he was collapsing on his bedding! Though as he's getting more used to the frenetic pace of weyrling life, he's finding he has a bit more energy. He nods to R'miel's assessment. "Zei is really curious, and sometimes it's hard to distinguish…his feelings from mine," he notes. A chuckle, and a pat to the side of Zei's neck. "And he really…really likes my clocks…." He gives a grin.
Thea considers R'miel's words, turning to give Arinith a mild look before returning her attention to the Bronzerider. She drawls, "And the weyr can afford to risk its peace by incurring the wrath of Ysa with yet another resident?" She quirks a brow, "Don't suppose I could bribe Ysa to talk him," a thumb points over her shoulder at Arinith, "into an outing far, far away when the time comes? say… to… Benden?" She nods at the shoveling comment, "Weavers aren't noted for lots of arm muscles, so I'm a bit sore." She flashes A'dar a grateful look as she's one of those he's been helping.
R'miel nods a bit to Aradir. "It'll be easier to separate your feelings out as you get more accustomed to the bond you share with Zei. But the closeness there will be pretty helpful later on when you're sharing images of betweening destinations and everything." He chuckles. "Well, I hope you mean he likes to look at them and not eat them or anything." Then he laughs at Thea. "I see, I guess you heard about that from Neferennu, hm? I'm uh… taking a break from flights for a while because of that." He coughs a bit. "Aw, you want Arin to leave? Well.. Ysa is usually more understandable if Arin uh… catches. And we don't hightail it back to our weyr. Yeah… the shoveling thankfully doesn't last too too long. But it's always a good idea to keep nice and trim. Arin and I swim every morning to keep my pastry weight off." Except when Ysa was pregnant, and the bronzer was busy putting on sympathy weight.
A'dar has no clue what the incident with Neferennu and Ysa was, and he's not about to stick his nose into it. Zei is given a look. "Nono…that's none of our business," he notes to the blue quietly. "People get…embarrassed when lots of people know their secrets…." A pause. Blink. "…I dunno, really…." He looks to R'miel and nods. "I'm told. But yes…Zei likes the sound the clocks make." He gives a smile, and runs a hand down the blue's neck.
Seryth is busily snorting puffs of foam into the air and seems unaware of the topic of conversation. Thea snickers silently at R'miel's cough. "Catch as catch can," she quips, "I've heard of her temper and I don't want to be on the receiving end." She doesn't say anything about Rennu. She absently scrubs Seryth's back, causing the young gold to hum with pleasure. "Besides…he's her Sire. Hope they'd watch the genetics a bit." Though it's not a question per se, there's a bit of doubt in her voice.
Arinith suddenly starts slinking backwards into the water a bit. Then he flops over onto his back and starts wriggling around, the displaced water running up the beach in a nice little wave. R'miel grunts a bit. "Shards Arin, it can't be /that/ itchy. Turn back over, you're embarrassing yourself." The bronze does so, and R'miel moves over to scoop up some sand and rub it over Arinith's itchy neck. "That's good that he's interested in your craft though, A'dar. A lot of people end up putting their craft off once they impress." Then he grins to Thea. "Ella and Arinith are clutchmates. They uh… don't really care too much about genetics. Arinith will have forgotten Seryth was his baby in a few months probably. Even now I have to remind him which are his." He doesn't go into details of Ysa's temper, he's been at the receiving end of that plenty of times!
A'dar chuckles at the proceedings, content for the time being to watch. He and Zei sit down - well…in Zeituth's case, it's more like lays down - on the beach almost as one. He leans against the blue's side and listens. It's an interesting conversation. "Oh…so it doesn't…cause birth defects to do that?" he inquires curiously.
Thea hmms at R'meil's explanation with a shrug. "No kidding. Conveniently short memory if ya ask me." She wields her bush to the underpart of Seryth's right wing-pit. She nods at A'dar's comment as if to say, 'yeah, what he said.' She's objective about the subject, if nothing else. Arinith's back flop does merit a bit of a laugh, then a sputter as his wave overwashes her. Thankfully she's been clinging to Seryth as they both get washed onto the beach. Not that they were ever very far out.
R'miel pauses in his scrubbing to rub his chin a bit. "Well, not all dragons are born without defects… and there is the case of the dud egg once in a while… Though they say most of the defective eggs never develop far enough to be laid. I know a couple of dragons that have some strange birth defects. And a couple of golds that haven't had any successful clutches. So they're not totally free, I guess." He chuckles at Thea a bit. "The dragon family tree is more like… a circle. It sounds great in theory, to be picky about who your Seryth will choose, but it's rarely that simple. Faranth, Niva still yells for C'ian and his bronze, and they haven't caught in turns." He turns to grin at A'dar. "Stay away from S'ya when she's proddy."
A'dar nods to Thea's statement of the short memories. "Tell me about it." He chuckles, reaching up to pat Zei. "Means you'll probably be chasing…one of your clutchmates…when you get older." He notes. A pause. "Um. No." Clearly he's speaking to Zei again. He seems a little embarrassed. "Actually…I don't know. Good question…." He thinks a moment. "Oh dear," A'dar notes when R'miel warns him about S'ya. "Well, thankfully…Zei isn't going to be able to chase for a while. I think. I hope." He chuckles.
Thea steps back from Seryth now that they're out of the water; she knows what's coming! She's totally soaked but… Seryth shakes herself like a canine, flapping her wings and the resultant shower is, well, colder than the bath. Thea does hear the birth defects mentioned, but she tilts her head as if puzzled. "Picky? Who's picky?" She grins, "I just want to live in peace." Apparently she is starting to get questions too, for she just pats Seryth's muzzle and comments firmly, "I'll tell you when you're older." She gives R'miel the not-in-front-of-the-kids look.
On any normal day the Comet Wingleader would have better things to do then walk down the beach. Today though, for whatever reason she is. Meandering down the beach with her eldest daughter and Dulacth. The 11 turn old that is with Senkyou is jumping in and out of the waves while Senk tiredly sticks to just walking, not reacting to the water touching her. Spotting R'miel and the newest weyrlings she smiles, speeding up to a jog and giving a wave. "How's the water?" She yells out to Thea, looking all the weyrlings up and down like she might put them up for sale.
R'miel chuckles a bit. "Well, you both have time before you need to worry about flights. But they're just another part of a rider's life." He slides down off his bronze and starts moving out of the water, grinning to Thea. "They'll learn soon enough." The bronzer gives Senkyou a wave as Arinith paddles out to swim a bit more and maybe snack on some fishies. "Shards, my towel is all the way down the beach. Ah well, guess I'll just sunbathe for a while until it's time to pick up Lyram and Illi."
A'dar snickers when Thea gets showered. Then he hears Senkyou and her daughter, and waves. "Hello!" he calls out from his seat on the sand, with Zeituth as a backrest. The blue raises his head and looks in the direction the voice came from. Aloysius and Oihana, his two firelizards are playing hide and seek around Zeituth's tail. Nodding to R'miel's statement, A'dar notes, "Yes…I was asking about that before the hatching. 'Rennu seemed embarrassed telling me about it…." What's really sad is…he's SERIOUS! He has no clue why Neferennu would be embarrassed about telling him what happens with the riders during a flight.
Thea gives Senkyou a wave and, "It was…bubbly." Seryth pads off to snuffle at the little ones coming down the beach, while Ruin zips in to reclaim his perch on her neckridge. No affection there, just… she's a perch worth of him. Thea rolls her eyes at R'miel's comment with a bit of a sassy 'so-not-worrying' look and another snicker to boot. She walks over to nearby A'dar and sinks to the sand. "Ought to be common-hat by now you'd think," She says tartly. "Been the way it is for thousands of years. Y'd think y'all would be yawning 'bout the subject by now." Bravado or brass? She's not telling.
Senkyou glances at Dulacth, rolling her eyes and pointing to the water she says to the brown "GO.. I ain't got all day." Taking off her pants to reveal short-shorts, and her shirt to reveal a tank top she wades into the waves and splashes at Dulacth. The brown flinches away from the water, but after a moment of indecesion he wades in. Careful as to not bother the weyrlings, Senk on the other hand is listening and getting involved. Her daughter serenity is being good and quiet, off to scrub at the unhappy Dulacth. Senk pipes up at Thea's comment, smiling mischieviously and looking cocky, "I like yur attitude, it's just sex after all. With a bunch of different people, who you may never see again. First few times it's excitin' yu finally get to do that. But afterwards even if yu lose and hook up with a few people afterwards, you're just goin' to do what yu gotta do."
R'miel chuckles at the two weyrlings. "Hm. Well usually this talk is saved for quite a bit later in the weyrling training. But it doesn't bother me to talk about… riders are just people you know. Some don't like their sexual history being an open book so to speak. What exactly did you want to know, anyways? Riders can generally keep their dragons from chasing, but not from rising. But most people don't like the fact that the rider has little control of themselves afterwards, even if they don't catch. You might end up sleeping with some old crusty rider… you might end up in bed with a girl, Thea, or you a boy, A'dar. Sometimes it's fun, and sometimes you come home and your weyrmate throws things at you…"
A'dar is staying out of the conversation himself, but he's listening. He does, however, have his head tilted slightly to the side, almost like a curious canine. R'miel's comment causes him to snicker, though. But he blinks a moment, as R'miel notes Thea possibly in bed with a girl, or himself with a boy. "…Doesn't work like that, does it?" he inquires. "I mean…not the feelings. The physical…" He pauses, interlocking his fingers together. "You know. Wrong equipment and all? Or am I missing something…?" Zeituth raises his head as well, echoing A'dar's tilted head, seeming to be curious of the answer as well.
Thea snorts. "If it's one thing I've learned since my first trip to the bathing caverns there's no such thing as privacy in a Weyr." She shrugs at R'miel's comment, "Yeah, and…?" A bit of an exasperated sigh escapes her lips, and she waves a hand in the general direction of the Weyr, "And if it's sooo uncomfortable, why worsen it all by agonizing aloud about it and… then having long-drawn-out spats and grudges, bottle-throwing, what-have-you, about it afterwards?" She just raises an eyebrow at Senkyou's use of the word 'exciting'. "I'm going to go and get Seryth settled. I've already had this talk at length and in private with both the Healers and Dragonhealers when I decided to Stand." She rises, turns on her heel and heads towards the gold. Both head towards the Weyrling Barracks.