While dragons play...
Good caucus students should probably be inside right now, filling up on a nutritious lunch. Unfortunately, the caucus schedule doesn't exactly seem to have taken the needs of dragons into consideration. That's why Amerigo is outside, wrapped up in thick woollen shawls and chewing on a meatpie while Zotzilath crouches in the pool, her wings spread out over the pool.
The Caucus can be so inconsiderate at times. But luckily for the greenrider and her dragon, just now coming into a hover over the pool clearing, they don't have quite as strict a schedule to adhere to. Their descent is lazy, heavy, though that may have something to do with the bloody smudges marring the bright color of the green's muzzle and talons. Lunchtime for someone else, it seems. The pair settles onto one of the lower natural stone terraces on the same level as Amerigo, and the effort to keep out of the cool mist thrown up by the waterfall keeps them close. The rider who steps down shouldn't be an unfamiliar one; anyone who's seen the grumpy math instructor walking with his family would be able to pin her as Issa, even though she's bundled up in her winter riding gear with her hair pinned down under a close-fitting cap. "You don't happen to have an extra, do you?" she calls across to the woman out of the blue, nodding to the meatpie in her hand as she gives Oshisyth a parting pat. The green holds back though, casually grooming a talon while she deferentially eyes the gold already in the pool.
Amerigo shakes her head. "Sorry!" She calls back, "If you'd been here ten minutes ago?" She shrugs and then picks a little bit of tuber out of the meatpie and drops it in the mud, before taking another bite. "You're Issa, right?" The goldrider hauls herself off the rock she's been sitting on to close the difference between them, but gives a look to her gold.
Zotzilath folds her wings up and then steps over, making space for the green, rumbling a non-verbal greeting. Then she goes back to crouching in the water.
Issa mirrors the goldrider's shrug over the lack of meatpie as she watches the discarded tuber with idle curiosity. "I am," she answers with a smile, returning her gaze to Amerigo after a quick glance at the water. But then she gives the girl a short wave. "Sit, eat. I don't mind." Indeed, she's already stepping closer, closing the distance herself so that the other woman won't have to. "And you're Igen's girl, hm?" she comments without even a flicked look towards the normally knotted shoulder. If she knows that much she must know Amerigo's name, but she doesn't reveal as much.
Behind her, Oshisyth drops the talon charade as soon as the greeting sounds. She trills an answer, high and light, then spends another hesitant moment surveying the water space left open before hopping down, spreading her wings to catch herself before she lands in the shallows with a muted splash.
When you become attached to a big gold dragon, don't you stop noticing when people can pick you out of the crowd? "Yes," Amerigo says, in between more bites of meatpie. There isn't much left, and Amerigo finds herself a new stone to sit on as she finishes the last. Her eyes flick to the greenrider as she chews and swallows the last, and she wipes her hands of crumbs before tucking them back in her pocket. "Move over more, Zotz." She calls out, eyeing her gold.
Zotzilath snorts in her rider's direction, then turns her wedge-head to look at the pool. She sloshes over more, watching her legs, then estimating the distance between her and the green, then sloshing over a touch more. She does this three times, exactingly, before she decides there is now equal room and settles back down.
Issa settles into a lean against a bulge of the wall within casual conversation range which, considering the noise from the waterfall, is closer than usual. "How is G'mal doing?" the greenrider asks, so casual now that she doesn't even bother to look over at Amerigo. Instead, she watches the bathing dragons.
Oshisyth wades out deeper as the gold begins to slosh over, but hardly takes up as much room as she's left. For a moment, she enjoys it, ducking under, splaying out her wings, splashing at the water with her bloodied muzzle. But when she settles into a section where she can lounge with the water level at shoulder height, she politely sends an invitation for the gold to retake the space. She doesn't need it.
Zotzilath raises her wings again and looks particularly sassily toward her rider before she retakes some of that space. The appreciation that Zotzilath sends comes in fuzzy light bubbles, that resemble the sun covered by clouds, rather grey and downcast. Zotzilath lowers herself back into the water, so that her head is mostly submerged, save for her nostrils and eyes.
Amerigo thinks about the question, and then says, "He's G'mal. They're both in good health. Why?" She asks, looking in the greenrider's direction speculatively.
Oshisyth answers with bubbles of her own, far more physical. Her nose, washed free of much of the signs of her feeding by now, is stuck deep into the water and she playfully huffs out a breath, shooting out a stream of little bubbles that rush to pop on the surface. Meanwhile she blinks across at the gold who shares the pool, her eyes whirling a serene but curious green.
"Just curious," Issa answers as she turns to return the goldrider's look, a smooth smile rising to her lips. "I met him a few turns ago. Was just wondering how he was doing." Her eyes flick side to side a bit as she studies the goldrider's expression and the sides of her smile lift a bit higher. "Surely a Caucus student like yourself gets curious from time to time."
"About my Weyrleader?" Amerigo asks, raised eyebrows lumping together. "Listen, I don't even really /want/ to be here. I think you assume too much." Her eyes flick from the greenrider to her dragon.
Zotzilath continues to serenely (or perhaps sulkily) hide herself in the water for a long moment after the green makes her bubbles. Until a great sweep of her tail sends a wave in the directon of the green's side. Zotzilath snorts a few bubbles herself from underwater in self-satisfaction.
Oshisyth lifts her head, dripping big, fat droplets, a second after that wave hits her, interest piqued. With a bright little hum to herself she settles again. But slyly she begins to sneak into deeper water; with a sigh, she rolls and, with a stretch, she slinks further towards the gold, edging her way closer. When she deems it to be close enough, she stretches out her neck, lowers her head, and shoots an underwater stream of bubbles right at Zotzilath's flank. When they reach her, though, they're little more than a flurry of tiny ones.
Issa lifts her eyebrows sharply at the reply she gets for her comment, but the smile she has on her lips doesn't waver. "I was just speaking in general," she responds calmly. "So, if you don't mind my saying, I don't think I'm the only one doing the assuming."
Zotzilath 's attention has been momentarily distracted by Amerigo and she whuffles at her rider, glittering eyes agitating into yellow on her behalf. That's why it takes a moment for her to notice the tickling of bubbles against her flank, and when she does, her head pops out of the water and she bounces to her feet. Another tail slap in the green's directon, but the gold seems to good-naturedly realize she got outplayed.
Amerigo presses her lips together and her arms go to her hips. "If you say so." The heavy layers of sweater fall down and hide her hands. It takes a moment but she looks from her gold to the greenrider and then asks, "Do you know him? We can pass on your well-wishes if you like."
Oshisyth lets out an uncharacteristically deep honk as the gold rises and she quickly paddles back to her spot, playfully ducking her head in and out of the water as she goes. She curls around in the water to view the gold again, settling down into an easy crouch and pulling her tail in. But not without using it to send a tiny splash towards the gold first.
"Not really," Issa replies, keeping her hands firmly rooted in her pockets as she leans. Her eyes turn away from Amerigo as the moodiness seems to subside and keeps talking as she surveys the moss patterns on the rock before her feet. "Can't say I really wish him well, either. I was just curious, don't worry about it." In the last bit there's a subtle reminder in her tone; you're the one who keeps talking about him.
Zotzilath lets out a war-warble as she spreads her wings and then charges the green's curled up form. She stops just short of hitting her, letting all the momentum rush the waves toward her.
Amerigo has her attention on Zotzilath's charge, and then says, "Okay." But she's the one who brought him up! "I'm going to be late for class."
Eep! That's almost the exact sound Oshisyth makes when she finds a big gold charging at her. She doesn't move, but simply hunkers down in deeper into the water to await what's coming. This only makes the wave sweep over her entirely and leaves her sputtering when she comes up, shaking her head to clear her nose. She looks up at the gold and trills again, still good natured and playful despite the soaking. Then she dips her nose into the water and sends a couple of drops back, almost an admission of defeat in the wake of the rush of water she was treated to.
Issa nods, casually sliding her gaze back to the goldrider. "Don't keep the instructors waiting," she advises, her tone gaining the warmth of a tease. "I hear they don't like that." And she would know.
Zotzilath looks inordinately pleased with herself, but sends a wave of good sport feelings to the green before turning around and bounding towards Amerigo. Amerigo gives a skeptical look to her soaking dragon and then says, "No, you can stay and soak yourself. It's ah, okay." She then turns her head to Issa and says, "I'm discovering that to be true." With a little wave to the rider, she heads down the path. Zotzilath shakes off a bit and then follows her rider with a croon.
The Caucus can be so inconsiderate at times. But luckily for the greenrider and her dragon, just now coming into a hover over the pool clearing, they don't have quite as strict a schedule to adhere to. Their descent is lazy, heavy, though that may have something to do with the bloody smudges marring the bright color of the green's muzzle and talons. Lunchtime for someone else, it seems. The pair settles onto one of the lower natural stone terraces on the same level as Amerigo, and the effort to keep out of the cool mist thrown up by the waterfall keeps them close. The rider who steps down shouldn't be an unfamiliar one; anyone who's seen the grumpy math instructor walking with his family would be able to pin her as Issa, even though she's bundled up in her winter riding gear with her hair pinned down under a close-fitting cap. "You don't happen to have an extra, do you?" she calls across to the woman out of the blue, nodding to the meatpie in her hand as she gives Oshisyth a parting pat. The green holds back though, casually grooming a talon while she deferentially eyes the gold already in the pool.
Amerigo shakes her head. "Sorry!" She calls back, "If you'd been here ten minutes ago?" She shrugs and then picks a little bit of tuber out of the meatpie and drops it in the mud, before taking another bite. "You're Issa, right?" The goldrider hauls herself off the rock she's been sitting on to close the difference between them, but gives a look to her gold.
Zotzilath folds her wings up and then steps over, making space for the green, rumbling a non-verbal greeting. Then she goes back to crouching in the water.
Issa mirrors the goldrider's shrug over the lack of meatpie as she watches the discarded tuber with idle curiosity. "I am," she answers with a smile, returning her gaze to Amerigo after a quick glance at the water. But then she gives the girl a short wave. "Sit, eat. I don't mind." Indeed, she's already stepping closer, closing the distance herself so that the other woman won't have to. "And you're Igen's girl, hm?" she comments without even a flicked look towards the normally knotted shoulder. If she knows that much she must know Amerigo's name, but she doesn't reveal as much.
Behind her, Oshisyth drops the talon charade as soon as the greeting sounds. She trills an answer, high and light, then spends another hesitant moment surveying the water space left open before hopping down, spreading her wings to catch herself before she lands in the shallows with a muted splash.
When you become attached to a big gold dragon, don't you stop noticing when people can pick you out of the crowd? "Yes," Amerigo says, in between more bites of meatpie. There isn't much left, and Amerigo finds herself a new stone to sit on as she finishes the last. Her eyes flick to the greenrider as she chews and swallows the last, and she wipes her hands of crumbs before tucking them back in her pocket. "Move over more, Zotz." She calls out, eyeing her gold.
Zotzilath snorts in her rider's direction, then turns her wedge-head to look at the pool. She sloshes over more, watching her legs, then estimating the distance between her and the green, then sloshing over a touch more. She does this three times, exactingly, before she decides there is now equal room and settles back down.
Issa settles into a lean against a bulge of the wall within casual conversation range which, considering the noise from the waterfall, is closer than usual. "How is G'mal doing?" the greenrider asks, so casual now that she doesn't even bother to look over at Amerigo. Instead, she watches the bathing dragons.
Oshisyth wades out deeper as the gold begins to slosh over, but hardly takes up as much room as she's left. For a moment, she enjoys it, ducking under, splaying out her wings, splashing at the water with her bloodied muzzle. But when she settles into a section where she can lounge with the water level at shoulder height, she politely sends an invitation for the gold to retake the space. She doesn't need it.
Zotzilath raises her wings again and looks particularly sassily toward her rider before she retakes some of that space. The appreciation that Zotzilath sends comes in fuzzy light bubbles, that resemble the sun covered by clouds, rather grey and downcast. Zotzilath lowers herself back into the water, so that her head is mostly submerged, save for her nostrils and eyes.
Amerigo thinks about the question, and then says, "He's G'mal. They're both in good health. Why?" She asks, looking in the greenrider's direction speculatively.
Oshisyth answers with bubbles of her own, far more physical. Her nose, washed free of much of the signs of her feeding by now, is stuck deep into the water and she playfully huffs out a breath, shooting out a stream of little bubbles that rush to pop on the surface. Meanwhile she blinks across at the gold who shares the pool, her eyes whirling a serene but curious green.
"Just curious," Issa answers as she turns to return the goldrider's look, a smooth smile rising to her lips. "I met him a few turns ago. Was just wondering how he was doing." Her eyes flick side to side a bit as she studies the goldrider's expression and the sides of her smile lift a bit higher. "Surely a Caucus student like yourself gets curious from time to time."
"About my Weyrleader?" Amerigo asks, raised eyebrows lumping together. "Listen, I don't even really /want/ to be here. I think you assume too much." Her eyes flick from the greenrider to her dragon.
Zotzilath continues to serenely (or perhaps sulkily) hide herself in the water for a long moment after the green makes her bubbles. Until a great sweep of her tail sends a wave in the directon of the green's side. Zotzilath snorts a few bubbles herself from underwater in self-satisfaction.
Oshisyth lifts her head, dripping big, fat droplets, a second after that wave hits her, interest piqued. With a bright little hum to herself she settles again. But slyly she begins to sneak into deeper water; with a sigh, she rolls and, with a stretch, she slinks further towards the gold, edging her way closer. When she deems it to be close enough, she stretches out her neck, lowers her head, and shoots an underwater stream of bubbles right at Zotzilath's flank. When they reach her, though, they're little more than a flurry of tiny ones.
Issa lifts her eyebrows sharply at the reply she gets for her comment, but the smile she has on her lips doesn't waver. "I was just speaking in general," she responds calmly. "So, if you don't mind my saying, I don't think I'm the only one doing the assuming."
Zotzilath 's attention has been momentarily distracted by Amerigo and she whuffles at her rider, glittering eyes agitating into yellow on her behalf. That's why it takes a moment for her to notice the tickling of bubbles against her flank, and when she does, her head pops out of the water and she bounces to her feet. Another tail slap in the green's directon, but the gold seems to good-naturedly realize she got outplayed.
Amerigo presses her lips together and her arms go to her hips. "If you say so." The heavy layers of sweater fall down and hide her hands. It takes a moment but she looks from her gold to the greenrider and then asks, "Do you know him? We can pass on your well-wishes if you like."
Oshisyth lets out an uncharacteristically deep honk as the gold rises and she quickly paddles back to her spot, playfully ducking her head in and out of the water as she goes. She curls around in the water to view the gold again, settling down into an easy crouch and pulling her tail in. But not without using it to send a tiny splash towards the gold first.
"Not really," Issa replies, keeping her hands firmly rooted in her pockets as she leans. Her eyes turn away from Amerigo as the moodiness seems to subside and keeps talking as she surveys the moss patterns on the rock before her feet. "Can't say I really wish him well, either. I was just curious, don't worry about it." In the last bit there's a subtle reminder in her tone; you're the one who keeps talking about him.
Zotzilath lets out a war-warble as she spreads her wings and then charges the green's curled up form. She stops just short of hitting her, letting all the momentum rush the waves toward her.
Amerigo has her attention on Zotzilath's charge, and then says, "Okay." But she's the one who brought him up! "I'm going to be late for class."
Eep! That's almost the exact sound Oshisyth makes when she finds a big gold charging at her. She doesn't move, but simply hunkers down in deeper into the water to await what's coming. This only makes the wave sweep over her entirely and leaves her sputtering when she comes up, shaking her head to clear her nose. She looks up at the gold and trills again, still good natured and playful despite the soaking. Then she dips her nose into the water and sends a couple of drops back, almost an admission of defeat in the wake of the rush of water she was treated to.
Issa nods, casually sliding her gaze back to the goldrider. "Don't keep the instructors waiting," she advises, her tone gaining the warmth of a tease. "I hear they don't like that." And she would know.
Zotzilath looks inordinately pleased with herself, but sends a wave of good sport feelings to the green before turning around and bounding towards Amerigo. Amerigo gives a skeptical look to her soaking dragon and then says, "No, you can stay and soak yourself. It's ah, okay." She then turns her head to Issa and says, "I'm discovering that to be true." With a little wave to the rider, she heads down the path. Zotzilath shakes off a bit and then follows her rider with a croon.