Log: Dockside Fun
Who: A'nas, Palia, NPCs: Curdie and other Istan weyr/dock kids.
When: 18:02 D7 M7 T25
Where: Docks, Ista Weyr
What: Kids have fun jumping off the dock on a hot summer's day. A'nas too.
Docks, Ista Weyr(#450RJ)
Like fingers stretching out to sea, Ista's dockyards provide plenty of room to berth the ships that ply their trade here. Stone pilings support the wooden planking, the whole sturdy and well-worn from the constant traffic of the sailors and dockworkers that come and go with the tide. Thick posts march along both sides of the docks, rising half a man-height; from a few of them dangle salt-swollen and sun-bleached ropes. The ocean murmurs and slops at the pilings, rarely stretching itself to make the planks more than damp. A short distance to the east lies the Sandbar and out across the water distant shapes outline the small islands that dot Ista's famous black sand coastline.
>---< Local Weather for ISW >------------------------------------------------<
Current Temp: 83 F Today's Lo/Hi: 80 F / 89 F
Belior: waxing crescent Timor: waning gibbous
Weather: Shower
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day begins hazy but the sun burns that away as afternoon approaches.
However just past lunch a long shower soaks all of Ista, doing little to
take away the oppressive humidity that clings to everything. As the day
drags on the ocean winds cool the area down, making it more bearable.
>------------------------------------< 18:02 D7 M7 T25, summer afternoon >---<
It's supper time. The Beach House chimney off in the distance is sending up clouds of smoke as the sous-chef cranks out tonight's fancy meals and the Sandbar is already doing a brisk business. Given the season, the sun's still above the horizon, but starting to set gloriously orange and red into the ocean. It's been grossly humid and hot today, the rain around lunch time only adding to the oppressive humidity, but now the evening breeze is cooling things off, which could be why there's a cluster of kids hanging out around the end of the docks, most with their shoes off and legs dangling over the edges of the boards to catch the sea spray. Some of the more daring are doing cannonballs off one side where an empty slip speaks of a boat still out on the blue, for fishing or other pursuits. Wearing a fine coating of sand, hair done up in about half a dozen braids today, Palia goes flying off the docks and tucks up into a neat ball that sends up a huge splash in that empty space. Hoots and hollers and whoops greet her as well as a scattering of applause from the gaggle of mostly-ten-and-ups and young teens that's hanging around. Grinning ear to ear, Palia swims back to the dock and reaches upward to haul herself back onto its sun-warmed planks while the next kid goes careening off into the waves.
A'nas was put to work all through the late afternoon after the somnolent lunchtime hours, and now rather than join the dinner crowd back at the Weyr, he seeks out refreshment first and food later. His bare feet slap along the wood planks as he sets down the docks at a jog, slowing to exchange half-hearted greetings with a couple dockhands he knows who are headed the opposite direction. Continuing on, Anil approaches the kids towards the end, watching the kid after Palia throw himself into the water, and greets the lot in the tones of an easygoing challenge. "Bet I could make a bigger splash than that."
Head appearing over the edge of the dock, Palia's heaves herself upward and shoots an assessing glance at Anil. "Well, sure you're bigger'n most of us," she tells him and swings a leg up onto the planks. Shortly she's straightened up and sweeps dripping braids back over her shoulders, arms folded across her chest, while her cut-offs continue to make a puddle of sea-water on the dock. "Can you do a flip though?" she challenges him, bright-eyed.
"True," A'nas allows, acknowledging that Palia's right with a grin. The smile widens when she puts the question to him. "Sure I can," he says with an uncomplicated juvenile bravado, and is already pulling off his shirt before the words are out. He lets the tunic drop the docks where it'll likely soak up puddles and checks to make sure that the kid before him has swum out of the way. Then he backs up a couple steps for a running start, setting off with a whoop. He manages to get the flip in before hitting the water.
Some of the cheekier members of the group of kids wolf-whistle as the greenrider disrobes. Palia only rolls her eyes at their antics and leans against one of the tie-ups that are commonly used for looping ropes to secure smaller vessels to watch A'nas' leap. "Go on then, let's see it," she says with a 'bring it' gesture of one hand.
A'nas sticks his tongue out at the kids (at least he refrains from a ruder gesture) before taking off and after the flip resurfaces grinning, perfectly pleased with himself. He spits out a mouthful of saltwater and swims back towards the docks. "Good enough for you?" he calls back to Palia, treading water a foot off with no immediate intention of climbing back up. "Can you do it too?"
"Not bad," Palia says airily. "You could probably tuck a /little/ tighter," she decides and pushes away from the post. "You bet I can!" she says and waits a moment for one of the smaller kids to go flying off the end in disorganized fashion, just jumping for the fun of jumping. Palia gets back into line and another kids goes before her, then she's lining up and pelting off the edge of the dock, chin tucked down, knees pulled in quickly and over she goes, slicing into the water pretty neatly for a kid her age.
"I was just warming up," Anil declares, making excuses out of habit. He swims out a bit further for a better view of the kids going off the dock, where he treads water one-handed while wiping water out of his eyes with the back of his forearm. "Not bad," he calls encouragement to Palia after she goes in with the selfsame words she had used prior.
Palia bobs to the surface and claws water out of her eyes and gives A'nas a /look/. "I went in super straight!" she declares, giving him a big-eyed look worthy of her aunt if A'nas knew her aunt at all. "Are you going to do another one?" she challenges him again. "Or maybe you've got some better tricks. Back flip?" While she treads.
"Yeah, not much of a splash either," A'nas adds another attribute, since she couldn't see that part. "Back flip's easy," he says, upping the game with the sounds of a scoff. He swims back towards the docks and pulls himself up, shaking himself out over one of the kids sitting at the edge who had whistled earlier. To retaliate for being dripped on, the boy gives A'nas a shove and the greenrider makes a show of overbalancing gracelessly back into the water. A backflip's still on the agenda, once he manages to climb back up a second time.
"You're not /supposed/ to splash when you're flipping," Palia informs with all the superiority an 11-and-a-half turn old can muster. Again: "Let's see it!" And Palia swims out of the way so he has plenty of room, one hand catching at the gunwale of the next boat over for balance and to lift herself partly out of the water. The tussling at the edge of the dock has Palia sticking her fingers into her mouth and letting out a loud whistle. "Hey c'mon, Curdie, let 'im do his back flip!"
"I know!" A'nas calls back somewhere in between in and out the first time. The second time he pulls himself back onto the docks, he playfully threatens Curdie, "Good thing she's already got me lined up for this back flip, else you'd be going in too." He waits his turn among the kids, and when the coast is clear walks right to the edge and turns around, balances with his heels in the air, and springs up and back, pulling his knees towards his chest so that the momentum carries him through the rotation before going into the water.
That makes Palia laugh out loud as A'nas' threat echoes off the water. "We should go out to the little rock island and play lord and lady of the island!" she sing songs out next. When A'nas comes back up from his back flip, even she looks impressed and she mimics some adult in her life with the slow-mo appaluse.
"Thank you, thank you," A'nas playacts, oh so serious and gracious when he comes up to applause. He swims back with his head above water so he can say, "I used to practice off the side of ships. More height helps so you don't smack the water. Maybe if you ask nice one of them'll let you have a go at it sometime."
"Ooooooh that's an idea!" Palia says with an eager nod. "The rock island works pretty well though. I mean, it really is just a rock poking up out of the water. Though you kind of have to be careful on that one side." Pause. "What we really need is a good /raft/," she says, eyes narrowing thoughtfully and then she drops off that gunwale to stroke back to the dock's edge. "Will you come with us sometime if we can pull it off? The boat thing."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to split your head open if you jump wrong," A'nas agrees for the statement on taking care, something he wouldn't bother with were it not for the age of the kids gathered, Palia included. "Plenty of driftwood," he suggests for a raft, heaving himself out of the water once more and this time collecting his shirt. He uses it to mop the water off his face. "Sure," he agrees readily, sounding pleased even if the invitation's from a girl who's eleven. "P'draig's your dad, right?" He seems to remember her around the Beach House, which helps place her. "I'm Anil - A'nas," he corrects into the full name for clarity.
"Hell no," Palia agrees then shoots A'nas a sidelong look to see how he reacts to her using a big cuss word. "Would you help us build one? A driftwood raft?" Doesn't miss much of a beat this kid. She hauls herself up out of the water too and perches on the dock's edge. A quick-flashed smile answers his question about her parentage and Palia nods a few times. "Yes. That's my Papa." Her hand is stuck out his way, still wet of course. "Palia. I've seen you around. You're Ihrulith's right?"
A'nas used a whole lot bigger at her age; he doesn't even blink. He shrugs agreement to the request for raft-buiding assistance. "Sure, why not. I'm down at the beach most evenings anyway." He slings his damp shirt round his neck rather than put it back on, nodding when Palia places him in turn and giving her wet hand a firm shake. "Yeah. I'd say you could back flip off her but she'd never go for it. Probably give you a kick on the way down or something." He's joking, probably. "Better get going," he judges, giving the height of the sun a look. "Just enough time for a bath before all the good stuff from dinner's gone. See you around, okay?" And he sets off with a quick wave.
Pleased that A'nas doesn't lecture, Palia lets a little smirk cross her face. "Yeah?" Real enthusiasm for raft-building. "Awesome! Guys we're going to have a /raft/!" she announces, thereby putting him squarely on the hook. "Oh Jekzith lets me all the time," Palia is blase about jumping off dragons. "He's a real sweetheart." Squint for a moment. "Has he ever caught Ihrulith?" Without missing a beat. She gives her hair an impatient twist back behind her and then her expressin falls a bit. "Oh, okay. Come by the restaurant sometime if you want /really/ good eats," she claims. "Even if Papa's not there right now." She waves back as A'nas heads off and shortly childish voices calling out and punctuated by splashes announce the resumption of fun-on-the-docks.
"Yeah well you guys'll still have to do the hard work," A'nas claims, easy enough to reel in but a little more difficult once caught. As for catching less metaphorically, the young greenrider is unprepared for the question and not quite so offhand. "Uh, no." He moves quickly on, making a brisk decision. "Maybe tomorrow - save me some dessert!" Walking away backwards with the promise of food, he turns around and leaves the kids to their evening.
When: 18:02 D7 M7 T25
Where: Docks, Ista Weyr
What: Kids have fun jumping off the dock on a hot summer's day. A'nas too.
Docks, Ista Weyr(#450RJ)
Like fingers stretching out to sea, Ista's dockyards provide plenty of room to berth the ships that ply their trade here. Stone pilings support the wooden planking, the whole sturdy and well-worn from the constant traffic of the sailors and dockworkers that come and go with the tide. Thick posts march along both sides of the docks, rising half a man-height; from a few of them dangle salt-swollen and sun-bleached ropes. The ocean murmurs and slops at the pilings, rarely stretching itself to make the planks more than damp. A short distance to the east lies the Sandbar and out across the water distant shapes outline the small islands that dot Ista's famous black sand coastline.
>---< Local Weather for ISW >------------------------------------------------<
Current Temp: 83 F Today's Lo/Hi: 80 F / 89 F
Belior: waxing crescent Timor: waning gibbous
Weather: Shower
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
The day begins hazy but the sun burns that away as afternoon approaches.
However just past lunch a long shower soaks all of Ista, doing little to
take away the oppressive humidity that clings to everything. As the day
drags on the ocean winds cool the area down, making it more bearable.
>------------------------------------< 18:02 D7 M7 T25, summer afternoon >---<
It's supper time. The Beach House chimney off in the distance is sending up clouds of smoke as the sous-chef cranks out tonight's fancy meals and the Sandbar is already doing a brisk business. Given the season, the sun's still above the horizon, but starting to set gloriously orange and red into the ocean. It's been grossly humid and hot today, the rain around lunch time only adding to the oppressive humidity, but now the evening breeze is cooling things off, which could be why there's a cluster of kids hanging out around the end of the docks, most with their shoes off and legs dangling over the edges of the boards to catch the sea spray. Some of the more daring are doing cannonballs off one side where an empty slip speaks of a boat still out on the blue, for fishing or other pursuits. Wearing a fine coating of sand, hair done up in about half a dozen braids today, Palia goes flying off the docks and tucks up into a neat ball that sends up a huge splash in that empty space. Hoots and hollers and whoops greet her as well as a scattering of applause from the gaggle of mostly-ten-and-ups and young teens that's hanging around. Grinning ear to ear, Palia swims back to the dock and reaches upward to haul herself back onto its sun-warmed planks while the next kid goes careening off into the waves.
A'nas was put to work all through the late afternoon after the somnolent lunchtime hours, and now rather than join the dinner crowd back at the Weyr, he seeks out refreshment first and food later. His bare feet slap along the wood planks as he sets down the docks at a jog, slowing to exchange half-hearted greetings with a couple dockhands he knows who are headed the opposite direction. Continuing on, Anil approaches the kids towards the end, watching the kid after Palia throw himself into the water, and greets the lot in the tones of an easygoing challenge. "Bet I could make a bigger splash than that."
Head appearing over the edge of the dock, Palia's heaves herself upward and shoots an assessing glance at Anil. "Well, sure you're bigger'n most of us," she tells him and swings a leg up onto the planks. Shortly she's straightened up and sweeps dripping braids back over her shoulders, arms folded across her chest, while her cut-offs continue to make a puddle of sea-water on the dock. "Can you do a flip though?" she challenges him, bright-eyed.
"True," A'nas allows, acknowledging that Palia's right with a grin. The smile widens when she puts the question to him. "Sure I can," he says with an uncomplicated juvenile bravado, and is already pulling off his shirt before the words are out. He lets the tunic drop the docks where it'll likely soak up puddles and checks to make sure that the kid before him has swum out of the way. Then he backs up a couple steps for a running start, setting off with a whoop. He manages to get the flip in before hitting the water.
Some of the cheekier members of the group of kids wolf-whistle as the greenrider disrobes. Palia only rolls her eyes at their antics and leans against one of the tie-ups that are commonly used for looping ropes to secure smaller vessels to watch A'nas' leap. "Go on then, let's see it," she says with a 'bring it' gesture of one hand.
A'nas sticks his tongue out at the kids (at least he refrains from a ruder gesture) before taking off and after the flip resurfaces grinning, perfectly pleased with himself. He spits out a mouthful of saltwater and swims back towards the docks. "Good enough for you?" he calls back to Palia, treading water a foot off with no immediate intention of climbing back up. "Can you do it too?"
"Not bad," Palia says airily. "You could probably tuck a /little/ tighter," she decides and pushes away from the post. "You bet I can!" she says and waits a moment for one of the smaller kids to go flying off the end in disorganized fashion, just jumping for the fun of jumping. Palia gets back into line and another kids goes before her, then she's lining up and pelting off the edge of the dock, chin tucked down, knees pulled in quickly and over she goes, slicing into the water pretty neatly for a kid her age.
"I was just warming up," Anil declares, making excuses out of habit. He swims out a bit further for a better view of the kids going off the dock, where he treads water one-handed while wiping water out of his eyes with the back of his forearm. "Not bad," he calls encouragement to Palia after she goes in with the selfsame words she had used prior.
Palia bobs to the surface and claws water out of her eyes and gives A'nas a /look/. "I went in super straight!" she declares, giving him a big-eyed look worthy of her aunt if A'nas knew her aunt at all. "Are you going to do another one?" she challenges him again. "Or maybe you've got some better tricks. Back flip?" While she treads.
"Yeah, not much of a splash either," A'nas adds another attribute, since she couldn't see that part. "Back flip's easy," he says, upping the game with the sounds of a scoff. He swims back towards the docks and pulls himself up, shaking himself out over one of the kids sitting at the edge who had whistled earlier. To retaliate for being dripped on, the boy gives A'nas a shove and the greenrider makes a show of overbalancing gracelessly back into the water. A backflip's still on the agenda, once he manages to climb back up a second time.
"You're not /supposed/ to splash when you're flipping," Palia informs with all the superiority an 11-and-a-half turn old can muster. Again: "Let's see it!" And Palia swims out of the way so he has plenty of room, one hand catching at the gunwale of the next boat over for balance and to lift herself partly out of the water. The tussling at the edge of the dock has Palia sticking her fingers into her mouth and letting out a loud whistle. "Hey c'mon, Curdie, let 'im do his back flip!"
"I know!" A'nas calls back somewhere in between in and out the first time. The second time he pulls himself back onto the docks, he playfully threatens Curdie, "Good thing she's already got me lined up for this back flip, else you'd be going in too." He waits his turn among the kids, and when the coast is clear walks right to the edge and turns around, balances with his heels in the air, and springs up and back, pulling his knees towards his chest so that the momentum carries him through the rotation before going into the water.
That makes Palia laugh out loud as A'nas' threat echoes off the water. "We should go out to the little rock island and play lord and lady of the island!" she sing songs out next. When A'nas comes back up from his back flip, even she looks impressed and she mimics some adult in her life with the slow-mo appaluse.
"Thank you, thank you," A'nas playacts, oh so serious and gracious when he comes up to applause. He swims back with his head above water so he can say, "I used to practice off the side of ships. More height helps so you don't smack the water. Maybe if you ask nice one of them'll let you have a go at it sometime."
"Ooooooh that's an idea!" Palia says with an eager nod. "The rock island works pretty well though. I mean, it really is just a rock poking up out of the water. Though you kind of have to be careful on that one side." Pause. "What we really need is a good /raft/," she says, eyes narrowing thoughtfully and then she drops off that gunwale to stroke back to the dock's edge. "Will you come with us sometime if we can pull it off? The boat thing."
"Yeah, wouldn't want to split your head open if you jump wrong," A'nas agrees for the statement on taking care, something he wouldn't bother with were it not for the age of the kids gathered, Palia included. "Plenty of driftwood," he suggests for a raft, heaving himself out of the water once more and this time collecting his shirt. He uses it to mop the water off his face. "Sure," he agrees readily, sounding pleased even if the invitation's from a girl who's eleven. "P'draig's your dad, right?" He seems to remember her around the Beach House, which helps place her. "I'm Anil - A'nas," he corrects into the full name for clarity.
"Hell no," Palia agrees then shoots A'nas a sidelong look to see how he reacts to her using a big cuss word. "Would you help us build one? A driftwood raft?" Doesn't miss much of a beat this kid. She hauls herself up out of the water too and perches on the dock's edge. A quick-flashed smile answers his question about her parentage and Palia nods a few times. "Yes. That's my Papa." Her hand is stuck out his way, still wet of course. "Palia. I've seen you around. You're Ihrulith's right?"
A'nas used a whole lot bigger at her age; he doesn't even blink. He shrugs agreement to the request for raft-buiding assistance. "Sure, why not. I'm down at the beach most evenings anyway." He slings his damp shirt round his neck rather than put it back on, nodding when Palia places him in turn and giving her wet hand a firm shake. "Yeah. I'd say you could back flip off her but she'd never go for it. Probably give you a kick on the way down or something." He's joking, probably. "Better get going," he judges, giving the height of the sun a look. "Just enough time for a bath before all the good stuff from dinner's gone. See you around, okay?" And he sets off with a quick wave.
Pleased that A'nas doesn't lecture, Palia lets a little smirk cross her face. "Yeah?" Real enthusiasm for raft-building. "Awesome! Guys we're going to have a /raft/!" she announces, thereby putting him squarely on the hook. "Oh Jekzith lets me all the time," Palia is blase about jumping off dragons. "He's a real sweetheart." Squint for a moment. "Has he ever caught Ihrulith?" Without missing a beat. She gives her hair an impatient twist back behind her and then her expressin falls a bit. "Oh, okay. Come by the restaurant sometime if you want /really/ good eats," she claims. "Even if Papa's not there right now." She waves back as A'nas heads off and shortly childish voices calling out and punctuated by splashes announce the resumption of fun-on-the-docks.
"Yeah well you guys'll still have to do the hard work," A'nas claims, easy enough to reel in but a little more difficult once caught. As for catching less metaphorically, the young greenrider is unprepared for the question and not quite so offhand. "Uh, no." He moves quickly on, making a brisk decision. "Maybe tomorrow - save me some dessert!" Walking away backwards with the promise of food, he turns around and leaves the kids to their evening.