Askin' the sea not to have waves
Who: Rhodya, T'rev, Balkaiv, and Mecaith
When: Afternoon on day 7, month 1, turn 19 of Interval 10.
Where: Leaking Cavern, Fort Weyr; Hillside, Northwestern Boll
What: Rhodya's spending her free day skulking in a bar when T'rev comes along, and suggests a trip and a good talk instead. They pick up Balkaiv along the way, and Rhodya recruits him to the used robes mission. Later, she and T'rev talk about everything from Impression fears to the innate weakness of Istans, and Rhodya becomes closer to Mecaith. A lot happens!
A day off has given Rhodya all too much time to herself, and from the looks of the near-empty pretzel bowl sitting in front of her, she's spent a wholly unhealthy amount of that time here in the bar. At least she's got one of those fruity drinks in her hand, nothing hard, and either she or Al has taken the initiative to load it up liberally with ice. She's got a red cap tipped down low to cover her eyes, sparing her from accidental eye contact with the other patrons while she sips away at that fruit thing.
T'rev saunters on into the bar, hands in pockets, jacket undone and cheeks pink, scarf loose around his neck. The wingleader's just back from somewhere it would seem. He scans the place briefly and then that red cap of Rhodya's is catching his eye and the familiar slant of her shoulders. He hesitates for a moment, maybe something about her body language speaking a warning, but he forges ahead anyway, hitches himself onto the next stool down. "Ale, if y'would, Al," the bronzerider orders and tips his head a little, glancing sidelong at pretzels-and-fruity-thing.
But T'rev turns out to be one of the people who's welcome to intrude on her fruity silence, as Rhodya's face is suffused with pleasure at the sight of him. "T'rev!" she exclaims, pushing up her hat so her vision won't be so obscured. "My gosh, it's been... feels like a lifetime. I ain't seen you since Mecaith." She waggles a hand. He knows what Mecaith did. "How you been?" Far from the morose image she presented just a second ago, she seems incredibly eager, almost desperate, to talk right now.
T'rev laughs a little, shakes his head. "Seen you around Rhodya, just lots of too busy to stop n' chat, I guess," the bronzerider says with a little grin and nods as his mug of ale arrives, curls a hand around it and slides some change across the bar for it. "Pretty good here. Harin' off most evenings after duties to go see my daughter. You?"
"Ohhh, that's right!" Rhodya says, her eyes widening and hand going over her startled mouth. "She'd be born by now. Well, I know it's late, but congratulations! I'd buy you a drink, but," she gives his newly-arrived ale an accusing look. "I'll catch your next one. What's her name, then? What's she like? Got your nose or anything?" Nevermind what she's been up to, she's all about quizzing him on the kid.
"Yep. Born on the 9th of last month, so she'll be a month old in a couple of days," T'rev says with a broad smile. "Cedrilla, named for my grandmother. Cedri though, we call her," he elaborates and tilts his mug towards her glass for a little clink. "S'allright. Dependin' on how things go, we can drink up after the hatching, or after a while if you wind up a weyrling," T'rev answers with a little smile. "As for what she's like, seems t'me she's got her mama's eyes n' rounder face, but yeah, bit of a longer nose like me n' my Da. You wanna meet her sometime?"
Rhodya's smile flickers somewhere in there, but she pushes it back into place. She tips her glass back against his mug. "Sure would. I gotta warn you that I ain't no good with kids, though." She chuckles. "Learned that all too well when it was my turn to do a nursery stint, and I had all them little ones screamin' at me till I didn't know which way was up. Cedri, though, what a pretty name."
T'rev's gaze lingers on Rhodya's face, a slight narrowing of his eyes marking his notice of that flicker. The bronzerider reaches over to give her cap a little tweak. "This is cute, by the by, fashionable accessory. And it ain't a problem. Plenty of aunts and so on in the caravan to fuss over her. Don't gotta be an expert to meet her," T'rev claims. "Shells, I'm still gettin' used to it with one of m'own, though of course I helped my mama when I was a kid and there were my wingleader's twins at Telgar, and Vrys' Jaivery." His face creases with sympathy for her description about nursery duty. "Tell 'em a story, s'how I usually got by." He beams though with the compliment. "Thanks. Thought it'd make for a nice unique nickname, since there's another cousin of mine called Cedrilla in the wagons, but she goes by Cece."
"Cedri's the best," Rhodya confirms stoutly. "I've got a fondness for girls' names that end in I, or O for that matter, 'cause you don't see much of 'em but they sound good. So maybe I'll drop by sometime, tell her what a pretty name she has and compliment her momma while I'm at it. Assume she's doin' well, too." Rhodya smiles. She takes a sip from her fruity drink, though she has to sift through several ice cubes to get at the liquid hiding between them. "I'm no good at telling stories. Just can't think of 'em on the fly, and the ones my Papa used to tell me, well, I don't want to mess 'em up misrememberin' the details."
"Serina's pretty well now. Had a bit of a rough time with all of it, was real tired. But we all did our best t'make sure she got taken care of n' plenty of rest. S'a good thing I think though, that the caravan was dossed down to camp for the winter." T'rev looks over at that poor drink of hers, then up at the candidate. "Could get more fruit juice, even if it ain't got no kick," he points out. "And how 'bout readin' from books?"
Rhodya grins wryly at her drink. "I might, soon. Don't want to end up on latrine duty with Sooz. Er, she's a fellow candidate," Rhodya adds, as it occurs to her that not everybody knows the candidate class by name. Her grin brightens, at any rate. "I didn't even think about books. You know me, not really the book type. Tried lookin' up some stuff about my mother, and would've fallen asleep if it weren't for Winston poppin' by to wake me up. That's how I got this hat." She points at the thing, but her grin soon turns into a thoughtful frown. "Or, no, that was earlier. It all gets messed up," she admits, whirling her finger around her temples. Crazy-like.
"Yep, met Suizen. Innerestin' girl. Potter. Good skill t'have, that. Poor girl's not handlin' the cold so well though. I sympathize," T'rev says with a laugh. "But ... what happened to Sooz?" The bronzerider takes a swig from his mug, nods at mention of falling asleep. "Lemme know if you want some help with that. The lookin' things up. You know me. I like t'read." And he winks over at her, then chuckles. "Yeah? Time movin' all different while you're waitin'?"
"Somethin' like that," Rhodya agrees with a chuckle. She takes her hat off and plays with it, twisting it around in her hands. Her drink's nearly dead anyway, may as well wait for the ice to melt. "Don't know what exactly happened to Sooz, as I ain't hardly seen her since whatever it was, but the rumors fly." She, of course, has heard them all, and starts to tick them off one by one. "Some old friend from Ista made her homesick. Or she was in love with the girl and got turned down. Or the girl stole somebody she loved. Or it's an enemy trying to sabotage her candidacy. Anyway, they found her drunk as a skunk one morning, so she's got latrine duty. I hope she's got herself some better shoes, she was complainin' about 'em, but you don't want to bring bad shoes to diggin' dookie pits, no sir." Rhodya sticks her tongue out expressively.
"Huh. In love with a girl? Sooz didn't strike me as leanin' that direction, but hey, whatever floats a girl's boat," T'rev says, easy-going. "That's sure one heck of a pack of rumors though. Whatever the truth of it, hope her head's all nicely recovered," the bronzerider says sincerely. "And yeah, boots required for that sort of thing." He takes another pull from his mug. "If you're feelin' restless, could go for a bit of a fly."
After looking into her hat for a few moments, Rhodya shrugs. "'Fraid I ain't up to my usual standard right now, else I would. Don't think I could keep up with Mecaith," she explains with a weak chuckle. She stuffs her hat back on her head, smiling at him. "Wouldn't mind buggin' off here, though, if you know of a quiet space with some fresh air. I've been eatin' my bedsheets lately, I get so wound up, it'd drive ya crazy." She barrels through that last sentence and has a grin prepared for the end of it.
Brown eyes stay on Rhodya's face through that shrug and the inspection of her hat's insides. "S'alright, don't have to can just lean back, relax n' enjoy the ride," T'rev says quietly, something like empathy on is face. "And I do know of several spots like that, dependin' on how far you want to go," the bronzerider offers. "Lookin' to get away from the cold too?" He lifts his mug and sinks the rest of his ale, tilts his head towards the exit and holds a hand out. "C'mon. You give the orders, we'll sort you out."
Pressing her lips together to vanish her grin, Rhodya thinks about it for a moment. Then she tips a hand: so-so. "I could go for a /bit/ less cold," she admits. "But only a bit. You know some place that's brisk but not chilly, quite?" If that makes sense. She's not done being picky about locations, though, so she thinks about it a little more. "A hill, maybe. With a view." She sails her hand out in front of her, smiling. "Any kind of view. I ain't picky." She winks at him, because obviously, with all these requests, she is just a bit picky. Just a /bit/.
Listening, T'rev's smile slowly grows as Rhodya adds detail after detail. "A hill with a view and brisk, but not cold like here, you got it," the bronzerider says and slides off the stool, does his jacket up. "I've got a spot in mind," he replies with a nod and a winning smile.
With a grin, Rhodya gets up and whips a jacket off the back of her chair. "Excellent, glad you've been scoutin' out the right places for me." She removes her cap one more time, stuffing it inside her jacket for safety. "Can't have it fallin' off when Mecaith takes off," she explains. "Winston'd be heartbroke." She smirks secretively.
"We scout out a lotta places, go explorin'," T'rev says with a bright laugh as he tugs his scarf tight and rummages in his pocket for his own cap. "Yeah you don't want to be losin' somethin' that pretty," the bronzerider agrees from his spot just shy of a bar stool and apparently about to head out of the bar with Rhodya. "And breakin' Winston's heart, well that wouldn't be good for him. Seein' as how often the ladies 'round here break it." He winks at her broadly and gestures for her to precede him, gentlemanly-like.
Two people enter, one person leaves! Or in this case, two people prepare to leave and one person - namely, Kai - ducks into the bar, looking either hunted or haunted. A quick look 'round and though he waves to a burly pair of men tucked into a corner, it's T'rev and Rhodya he heads for. "You're still here. Good." He glances at the bronzerider long enough to say, "Evenin', T'rev," but then it's back to Rhodya. "Somebody said I'm s'posed t' talk t' you about something?" Wasn't that helpful.
"Oh, he's gettin' it pretty broke all right, these days," Rhodya says mysteriously. She practically bounces towards the exit, only to run into Kai on the way - and she's clearly surprised that it's her he's looking for, not T'rev. She figures out why after only a second. "Oh, right! Right nice of you to come so prompt. See, some of us candidates, we're thinking - with all the shortages going on around here - that we'd better see to it everybody's got a used robe ready for Hatching Day. So we're gathering what old cloth we can, and then we'll have ourselves a nice old sewing party, fixing it all up so everybody's got one. And nobody buys a new one. You in for that?" She raises her brows.
That answer from Rhodya makes T'rev's brows all kinds of quirky and he shoots her a quizzical look, but then there's Kai and he grins. "Hey Kai," he returns the greeting and shoves his hands in his pockets for the exchange between candidates. Faint amusement seems to lurk in the corners of his mouth when he hears what's being planned and the bronzerider's gaze shifts from candidate to candidate and back again, waiting on Kai's reaction no doubt.
Whatever the 'something' Kai was expecting, it wasn't this outpouring from the tall girl. "Uh," he starts cleverly, looking over to T'rev for some sort of help. Which he doesn't get. The burly man shoves his hands in his pockets, shoulders shifting uncomfortably, and takes a stab on his own: "Sure?" Though it's clearly only a guess.
Rhodya's truly flipped the switch over from bummed-out to borderline-hyper, so she reaches out and gives Balkaiv an approving slap on the shoulder. "Good man," she says. Apparently he guessed the right thing! "You don't need to know sewing or nothin'. Sulisah said she doesn't, so she's gonna help with the laundering. Stuff like that anybody can do." Tucking her thumbs in her pockets, she pauses to analyze the other candidate. She heard T'rev say his name, and it's a name she's heard elsewhere. "I've seen you around, but I ain't run into you before. You're really trouble, huh?"
"Rhodya, this is Balkaiv, Balkaiv, Rhodya," T'rev makes introductions and he's got a slow smile for Rhodya's last. "Nah, not really," the bronzerider adds. "And that sounds like a good idea for the robes. Bein' all economical and whatnot."
Balkaiv barely shifts under the blow, though he sends T'rev another quick look. "You can call me Kai," he puts on the heels of the bronzerider's introduction, adding, "'M tryin' not t' be. Trouble, I mean. Who said I was? -I can't sew either." This added as an afterthought. "But I can get 'em out of stores, no problem."
"People," Rhodya answers vaguely, still considering Balkaiv. Then she waves a hand. "Don't matter anyhow, long as you ain't bein' trouble to /me/." She looks over at T'rev, who's given the man his support (well, he said 'not really!') and smiles. "I just figured it'd be rude to the Weyr, while everybody's struggling to get warm clothes for the winter, if we show up in pearly whites. Anyway, I ain't forgotten about that ride you promised me. We're goin' out someplace quiet," she explains to Kai, "talk over some things. I figure, you're a candidate too, you can come along if you like."
"Me neither, well at least, not when I was a candidate," T'rev says with a laugh and lifts a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing there for a second. "Learned to stitch on leather though as a weyrling," he continues and looks back over at Rhodya for a second, then Kai's way. "Yep. Hilly spot, where it ain't too cold."
"I ain't knocked up anybody today," Kai offers to T'rev, like this will win him points. Or maybe just a laugh. At Rhodya's invitation he looks between the pair of them, shrugs, and pulls his hands out of his pockets. "Sure. Ain't gonna turn down an invitation t' go flying. Lemme go grab my coat and things - meet you out in th' bowl?"
"Sure," Rhodya says, raring to go once again. She bounces a little on the balls of her feet. "I call the comfortable seat, though, wherever it is." She looks at T'rev, tugging the sleeve of her jacket pointedly. "I'm ready, so I'll follow you out where Mecaith is."
T'rev does indeed duck his head, chuckling at Kai's quip. "Me neither, win for the day?" the bronzerider winks across at Kai and shoots Rhodya a grin. "That'd be in front," he tells her, mischief dancing in his eyes. "Bowl in a few," he agrees with Kai and heads on out through the caverns. "He's just outside, ain't far," is offered over to Rhodya.
"Win for the day," Kai agrees in a rumble like a well-fed and amused grizzly. "I'll be right out." He breaks off from the others out in the tunnels, heading for the candidate barracks at a jog, and it's not long at all - less than five minutes, perhaps - before he emerges into the bowl, tugging down a knit cap and pulling on his gloves.
During the few minutes that they're waiting for Kai, Rhodya greets Mecaith with a friendly pat. "You don't mind, do ya?" she asks him and his rider, glancing between them. "Didn't exactly ask you before I invited that guy along. Kinda like the time I just hopped on Mecaith without say-so, ain't it?" She grins up at the bronze, patting him again, then turns her gaze out to scan the bowl for Kai. Ah, there he is - giving poor T'rev just a few seconds to answer.
It's an easy walk out and T'rev shrugs just once in answer to Rhodya's question. "Nah. Just means it'll be different questions maybe. Maybe not /quite/ as laid-back," the bronzerider adds and rubs a hand along Mecaith's jaw. The dragon drops his head down within range of Rhodya too, eyes whirling placid blue-green. "All set?"
Balkaiv might be entirely unaware of the byplay involving him as he joins the trio, grunting his greeting to Mecaith. "Yeah, all set. Anybody need a boost?" 'Anybody' presumably means Rhodya, since T'rev probably doesn't need one. We hope.
"I'm all right. I just wanna hurry up and get outta here," Rhodya says, turning to Mecaith. She's ridden him before, so she gets up just fine without the boost, and - taking T'rev's earlier suggestion very much at face value - she clambers up in front. She twists down to look at the other two with one brow cocked. "Ain't y'all coming?" she asks, for all the world as though she'd been waiting up there for an hour, instead of about ten seconds.
There's a moment where T'rev's mouth opens to answer Kai and then Rhodya's taking matters into her own hands and he just laughs, winks at Kai and reaches for a strap to haul up and onto Mecaith's back with, then he leans down to offer the other man a hand. "You heard the lady," he says, still laughing a little.
Balkaiv grumbles again, though still good-naturedly, and despite his words, he needs T'rev's help to navigate the straps. The safeties, too. Finally he pulls his scarf tighter and folds his arms like he -isn't- clutching the harness, mutters, "Ready t' go."
With Balkaiv in place and all safeties checked, T'rev settles down and keeps his own hands in polite places while Mecaith lifts off. It's a quick spiral upward into the sky and beyond the Bowl's rim, then the bronzerider utters a brief warning of "Jumpin'," and there's Between. Snap. Cold. Dark. One, two, three, four, five ... and out into slightly warmer air and a long glide downward. "Northwestern Boll," T'rev announces over the rush of the wind as Mecaith glides over a high ridge. The mountains are behind them, the sea before them and on the way to it a lot of rolling hilly land.
Hillside, Northwestern Boll
A nice little spot overlooking the ocean in the foothils of the mountains on the western side of the Boll peninsula. There's not much out here, just a lot of trees, grassy hilltops and an incomparable view of the sea.
"Brr!" Rhodya exclaims, as soon as they reemerge. She stops hanging onto the straps for a moment so she can rub her shoulders, trying to stir warmth back into them. "I swear, the jackets do absolutely nothing." Fixing her grip once again, she hangs on to Mecaith while she looks around, her eyes lingering particularly on the wide stretch of the sea. "Boll, was it? Ain't never been this far before. Looks a good place, though, I like it." She pats Mecaith as he winds his way down to a landing.
There's short sound of question and surprise from Balkaiv at that warning but it cuts off sharp when darkness swallows them. Then they're through and he's busily trying to catch his breath back. "Boll?" he echoes, like the word's a lifeline, and the straps creak faintly as the man leans over, looking about.
And then they're down, Mecaith bringing them right to the top of a tall hill fronting the sea. Rhodya gives the bronze a pat of thanks, then slips down - first on, and first off. She glances over her shoulder, and seeing that T'rev's busy with Mecaith, she just grins at Balkaiv and waves at him to come with as she jogs towards the sea. It's carved a steep cliff into the side of this hill, but the tall woman doesn't seem to mind. In fact, she tiptoes dangerously close, but while she appears to be examining the drop-off, she has at least some attention to spare for Kai. "So how is it for you, the candidate thing?" she asks. She speaks loudly, in case he doesn't dare come as close to the cliff as she has, so that her voice will carry back over the sound of the surf.
"Yeah, Between ain't so much physical cold as ... well y'know it's nothing. Just ... nothin'," T'rev says. He takes a moment or two while the other two walk away a bit to loosen up straps and give Mecaith another rub under the jaw, then reaches into the carisak on the bronze for a blanket and follows after. "That's the western sea," the bronzerider announces as he gets within conversational distance again.
Kai's slower down the straps (waits for Mecaith to crouch this time), and though he sends a glance over his shoulder to the bronzerider, he follows Rhodya's lead willingly enough. "It's all right," he says, crouching to pick up a handful of pebbles. He doesn't go -right- up to the cliff edge, but he's only a step or so behind her. "Been thinking about it," he continues, right before he huzzes a stone as hard as he can into the distance. It's gone from sight long before they can make out its target. T'rev identifies the haze and Kai looks back at him again, surprised, then at it. "Yeah? Ain't never seen it before."
"Huh," is how Rhodya processes the identity of the sea they're looking at. She spends a few more moments poking about at the edge, then retreats, bending to pick up a stone on her way back. Though her throw's not nearly as strong as Kai's, she doesn't throw /completely/ like a girl, and it goes a respectable distance. "There, now. Made my mark on it." She smiles back at T'rev.
"Yep, ain't nothin' between that water there and t'other side of Pern," T'rev says with a sweep of his arm. "Just some islands out yonder, way far out." The bronzerider shakes the blanket out and spreads it on the ground in case either wants to have a seat and then lifts hands to loosen his jacket. It's warmer here by quite a bit: no snow on the ground, though there's still a hint of coolness in the breeze that blows. "Just far enough south t'be warmer, no snow, but it ain't all tropical like it is down right at the Weaverhall." He grins at Rhodya for her statement and stretches his arms up over his head. "S'a good spot for thinkin'."
It's a good word, so Kai uses it now: "Huh." He flashes a grin at Rhodya's rock-throwing and splits his own handful before offering the remaining to the other candidate. "Been thinking about it," he says again, expanding that with, "'Cept I keep coming round to 'sure, why not?' 'Cause, see, following orders is what I wanna do anyway. Ain't gonna be like it's hard."
Grinning, Rhodya takes the stones Kai offers with a nod of thanks. She pops one up in her palm, getting the feel of it, then throws again. It's as mediocre as her last throw. After watching it go, she shakes her head. "It ain't the following orders that gets me. It's the... I dunno. The permanence of it. That's a whole lot of life decisions, made for you. Lot of other things you can't go back to." She bites her lip.
Hands in pockets, T'rev stands nearby, rocking back and forth a little, heel-to-toe. "S'why I ask, or give time t'think when Mecaith and me're Searchin'," the bronzerider notes with a little wry smile. "Because it is a whole lotta big. Basically, your chance at makin' it your choice, is when you're sayin' yes or no to Search. Otherwise, you step on those Sands, yeah, if there's a dragon there for you, life ain't never gonna be the same again."
"Don't see any riders trying t' shove the dragons back int' eggs," Kai points out, with a jerk of his head Mecaith-ward. His eyes, however, stay on the horizon, and he flings another wee missile into the abyss. "But yeah, 'fyou say sure, and there's a dragon...." A thought strikes him. "What happens, if, say, Rhodya changes her mind, only her dragon don't? I heard songs about dragons going int' the stands and all."
Rhodya's eyes widen, and she shoots T'rev a nervous glance. "We're talkin' theory here," she reminds them all, fidgeting with the rocks in her hand so they clank together. "Understand, I'm lettin' things out, I'm not /backing/ out." But she looks down, drops a rock in front of her, and nudges it over the edge with her foot. It skitters down the cliff face, bouncing from rock to rock.
"Heh, no, most don't, happens sometimes that a pairin' ain't what either expected and there's bumpy times, I guess," T'rev answers, voice slow, the words thoughtfully spoken. "Mm. Ain't never seen it m'self in five turns of bein' a rider, but I've heard tell of that happenin'. Not so much from someone changin' their mind, but dragon feels someone they want out there and goes for it." He looks over at Rhodya and makes his voice and expression gentle. "Hey, didn't say you were, though if you did, wouldn't be no shame in it. Best t'know your limits n' all before you wind up goin' down a path if you ain't sure it's what you want for yourself."
Balkaiv shrugs easily, neither agreeing with nor protesting. "A'right." Huzz goes the last of his pebbles before he brushes his hands clean on the seat of his trous. He considers the bronzerider - his words, his face - for a long moment, his jaw working. "Think I'm gonna stretch my legs. Give a holler when you want me back." An arm waves vaguely in the direction he intends to go, and Kai waits for T'rev's nod before he heads off, ambling across the unfamiliar countryside.
Rhodya looks after Kai, rolling the last of her own pebble collection around in her hand. "He ain't so bad," she judges. "Not like I heard." Clenching her fist around the pebble, she mimes a punching motion, then twists up a grin. "Anyway, T'rev, you gotta promise me you won't say any more about it's okay to back out. I hear it one or two more times, I'm gonna head for the hills, take up a feral life never to be seen again. That's how bad I want to run." She thinks for a moment, then holds the last pebble out to him. Care to throw?
"He's got a temper. Builds up," T'rev notes mildly. "But he keeps an eye on it. Asked me to help blow off some steam t'other day, so yeah. Consider my opinion revised," the bronzerider says with a ready smile in answer for her grin. He nods long, holds up a hand. "Got my word then, Rhodya. Won't mention it again. Just had t'put it out there. Tell you what though, I think you'll do fine, either way," the bronzerider states confidently and holds his hand out, palm upward for that pebble. Sure.
"Easy for you to say," Rhodya chuckles, handing over that pebble. "You already took the plunge. Me, I thought I had a different life in front of me." She tucks her hands away in the pockets of her jacket. She's still wearing it because, though it may be warmer here than Fort, it's still cool out for an Igenite. "I don't suppose Mecaith can tell you what it is he wanted me for. I mean, he's the only one that has, and I've been around dragons all my life."
T'rev tosses the pebble up, catches it neatly, tosses it again, though his eyes are on Rhodya's face. "You've got plenty of spirit, know who you are, I think in th'end, that's what can make a big difference, between havin' an easy or a hard time either impressin' or bein' left on the Sands. If you know who you are and what you want out of life, dragon or no dragon, y'always got a direction, see?" While T'rev's loosened his jacket, it's still on. Igen. Nerat. Thin blood all around for more northerly weather. The bronzerider cocks a look over at Mecaith and his mouth pulls to the side a little, amused. His arm draws back and the pebble is launched, sailing far out over the water and vanishing somewhere in the waves. "You fit the pattern, s'what he says. But ... he's like that Mecaith." The bronze sits up a little, looks over towards Rhodya intently.
Rhodya looks back at Mecaith, a silly grin slowly appearing on her face. "So I'm in the pattern of folks like Kai over there, and Winston, and Sooz.... Well, sure." She tilts her face up, looking at the sky. "I'm all right with that pattern. It's gonna be a hard thing, though, if it happens. Which - hope you and Mecaith don't take offense - might be why I can't believe it will. Like, I'm scared to heck of being left out there, but the same time, I can't see it happenin' any other way, and that makes me feel better and worse at the same time. Shoot, T'rev," she sends him a wan smile, "I just wish it was over, so I'd know and could get on with living."
T'rev shakes his head. "No, don't mean you're like them or like each other, means he can see how you fit into life at the Weyr. He sees it all like one big pattern, pieces fittin' together in so many ways. I can't wrap my head around it half the time," the bronzerider tries to explain. "Shells, he's in my head all the time and I barely get it, hard t'explain to someone who can't see what he sees atall." T'rev's hands slip into his pockets again and he looks out over the water thoughtfully, listening to Rhodya. "Yeah. Waitin' with the question loomin' over your head. S'a hard thing." He tilts a look over at her, smiles back encouragingly. "S'just a different kind of livin' in between."
She grins at him. "Maybe I should stick my fingers in my ears, pretend it ain't happenin' at all until it does. At least I wouldn't have nothing to freak out about." Rhodya chuckles, following his gaze out over the water. "I'm really thinking I shouldn't have said yes right away when you Searched me. Just make it wait until the eggs got really hard, then I wouldn't be stuck with all these candidates' chores while I got shoes to work on."
"Heh. S'one way to deal," T'rev says with a chuckle. "Though, I'd say too, try not to freak out. Maybe try to kind of think it through and settle it in your mind," the bronzerider suggests, though he also slants a grin over at her. "Sure, could've. Ain't nothin' wrong with takin' some time to work it out. 'Course my neck would've been itchin' the whole time from Mecaith askin' if you were gonna say yes or not, so I do thank you for that," he notes with a wink.
Rhodya laughs and pats him on the shoulder. "You're welcome. Always happy to save your neck, T'rev." She winks. "Don't know that I can /not/ freak out, though; it's like asking the sea not to have waves. I get that way." She holds a hand a few inches over her belly, and makes a scrunching motion. "Nerves. I never was good at waitin', 's why I try to make all my decisions fast if I can. Don't have time to doubt or change your mind if it's done."
Grinning, T'rev nods. "Well thanks, much obliged about the neck savin'," the bronzerider states, then laughs outright. "Hmm. Askin' the sea not to have waves ..." he looks over at Mecaith who's now staring at the ocean fixedly. "He's turnin' that idea over in his head," he notes about the bronze and it's his turn to offer a light squeeze for Rhodya's shoulder. "That must be a pretty awful feeling. I'm used to Mecaith takin' his own sweet time these days."
Rhodya gives the comforting hand a pat of thanks, smiling at him. "It is a fair nasty one. But if candidate chores do just one thing for me, it's keeping me too busy to think about that stuff, so it's only at night that it really settles in to eat at me. Working with your hands, I find, is a cure for a lot of things." As she speaks, she rolls her head back so she can look at Mecaith for a while. A beat later, she chuckles at him. "You ain't takin' me too seriously, I hope, Mecaith. Sea's gotta have waves just like you've gotta have wings." She faces forward again, but her hand stretches back and she quirks a finger at him, a sneaky come-here sort of sign. A scratch is on offer, she indicates with a little motion from her fingers.
"Yeah, not wrong there," T'rev agrees about keeping busy. "Still, how much have you been not-sleepin' because of it?" he asks next. Mecaith he's watching the sea intently still. "He says everything has its pattern and he's still thinking about it," the dragon's rider announces with a little amused grin. It takes a moment for Mecaith to respon but ultimately, he does, moving with his usual casual dignity, while T'rev ducks his head, maybe laughing a little.
Rhodya's ready to give up and leave him alone when Mecaith doesn't answer immediately, so the rustle of movement from behind surprises her a bit. A good surprise, evidently, from the smile she shoots the bronze. "Awful nice of ya," she tells him, as if she were the one being treated instead of him. As promised, though, she starts to scratch. "There's been a fair amount of not sleepin' going on. 'Course, some of that's to be expected when you put a bunch of young folks in one room together. There's jokes," she explains, winking at T'rev. "But I don't feel like it's caught up to me yet. I ain't fallin' asleep during the day or nothing."
"He's got his own version of time too," T'rev informs on Mecaith who just settles down and leans into Rhodya's hand. The bronzerider scoots over a step or two, to get the dragon's other side. "Yeah. I remember that. It was pretty fun times actually, the barracks. Was a lot crazier after I Impressed. People runnin' around in a daze y'know. Tryin' to stay on top of feedings n' oilings and big dragon messes on the floor. But there were good times like that in the weyrling barracks too. Jokes. Late night talks. Figuring it all out together."
Shooting Mecaith a fond smile, Rhodya moves her hand along his muzzle, trying to remember his favorite spots. There? How 'bout there? She watches his head, stopping to pay more attention to any spot that seems get a rise out of him. "Yeah, I'm enjoying that. And I'm really gunning for some of them not-from-the-Weyr folks to Impress, so I get to keep them around. You know? Bein' friends with 'em now, I don't want to give 'em up."
There. And there. And there. Mecaith's head tilts just slightly, but it's guidance and T'rev is holding onto laughter again as he runs his fingers along the mirror image of spots on the opposide of the bronze dragon's head. "Yeah. S'hard after when everyone ... doesn't," he says thoughtfully. "Happened with Phara. She didn't. I did. Then she did later, but ..." he trails off, eyes on the water.
"Did she go home?" Rhodya asks, after giving T'rev a few moments of silence to consider the water. "After she didn't Impress, I mean. I figure I would, if I'd been Searched some place that I didn't call home," she admits, looking down at Mecaith. "Luckily Fort /is/ home to me now. Freezin' though it may be."
"She ... went wandering," T'rev says slowly. "Phara's never really been one to hold still much," the bronzerider says with a slight quirk of his mouth. "She wasn't too keen on goin' home." The bronzerider's hands dig in under Mecaith's chin a little and the dragon hums softly. "I wasn't goin' to be headin' home either."
Rhodya's surprised by the hum, lifting her fingers away for a second to determine that the sound is indeed actually coming from Mecaith. Then she laughs. "The two of you really have ants in your pants, ain't ya? Lucky you got Mecaith to go explorin' with. I don't know Phara's blue, but I'd wager he's the same way. So where'd she go? When she kicked up her heels and went travelin' Pern."
"Well that's a happy dragon," T'rev says with a chuckle. "And don't worry, that ain't for the eggs," he notes and shifts his hand back behind a headknob. "Yeah, we do. Go lookin' around everywhere. And yeah, Bennath's a right dare-devil adventurer, he is," the bronzerider affirms. He's quiet again for a moment or two. "Bit of everywhere she could get to. Ista."
Ista. Rhodya sticks her tongue out and blows a raspberry. "Why'd she waste time there?" she asks, but her tone is light - amused. She follows T'rev's lead and scratches Mecaith's other headknob, so they're double-teaming him. "There's a spare few Istans in this candidate class, but I ain't said nothing to 'em about their home and don't you go repeating it. They make such wimps, though, out in the cold." She grins mischievously. "Had myself a think, one or two times, about getting 'em in a snowball fight. Just 'cause."
"Her brother Impressed there," T'rev says with a chuckle. "But I gather she didn't stay there the whole time. She went ... all over. Came back to Telgar." The bronzerider laughs though about the appellation of wimp. "Yeah well, shoulda seen me my first winter at Telgar. Nerat born 'n raised as I am, I had six sweaters on t'get through X'ndar's outside classes," he says with a little chuckle. "I've built up a better tolerance over the turns. And ha! Ain't you just mischief incarnate."
"Snowballs never hurt anybody!" Rhodya exclaims, but she's grinning. "I'd've called you a wimp, too, and chucked snowballs at you for sure. Six sweaters is just askin' for it." She puffs herself up, holding her arms out to imitate a person who's bulked up with six sweaters. "Now, I ain't sayin' I don't freeze my butt off, neither, being Igen-born and all. I just don't believe in letting a bit of weather beat you at anything."
"Sure don't, well mostly. Not nice when there's ice in 'em, but I like a good snowball fight," the bronzerider agrees. "Yeah, I looked pretty darned silly," T'rev says with a laugh and smooths his hand down over the soft hide behind that headknob of Mecaith's. "I took it down, little by little. These days, I dress like a normal person come winter. Helps that Fort ain't nearly so bitter as Telgar too."
"Yeah, that's unlucky, getting hauled all the way to a place as cold as Telgar." Giving Mecaith a pat and murmuring, "'Scuse me a second, fella," she hunkers down and finally takes a seat on that blanket T'rev brought out. "Legs're getting tired," she admits, leaning forward so she can grin at T'rev around Mecaith's nose. "Hey, you know those sandals everybody's supposed to wear on the sands? You think they'd mind if I wear my own kind of shoe? With a thick heel and all. --That's random, I know." Her grin turns sheepish, then vanishes from sight as she leans back behind Mecaith's head again. Her next scratch traces the line of his cheek, since it's now so conveniently close.
"Unlucky for me it was so cold, but very lucky because he was there," T'rev notes of Mecaith and slides his arm around the dragon's neck, turns his cheek in against the bronze for a moment. He smiles as Rhodya settles, but stays put for a bit longer. "Mm, don't see why not. Better not to burn your feet, you know. Just, not too high, because being able to dodge is good and high heels and dodging in sand don't match up." The bronze hunkers down, stretching out and lets his head rest on the edge of the blanket. T'rev moves away then, settling down cross-legged on the blanket, hands on knees.
Rhodya wrinkles her nose. "Well, I'm used to the big heel, and probably move better in 'em than I would in the ordinary sort. I suppose the sand would suck 'em down a bit, though." She turns to look at Mecaith, a look of playful accusation on her face. "Why's your kind got to put us to so much trouble?" she demands. Swiftly relenting, though, she gives his nose a gentle pat.
"Yeah, it'd pull a lot, maybe run in between, even get stuck and if you're trying to get out of the way, that'd be kind of bad," T'rev says straightforwardly. Mecaith just whuffs once and T'rev starts laughing. "He claims that dragons are no more trouble than humans and that we often make things more complicated than they need to be when the answers to everything can be plainly deduced by enough time spent in quiet reflection." Deep breath.
Rhodya's eyebrows go up higher and higher the longer Mecaith's (transmitted) explanation goes on. "My, you are a talker," she tells him at last, laughing. Bumping her hip affectionately against his nose, she points out at the ocean. "So you've had some time to reflect, have you figured out whatever it was you were going to do to the sea?" She pauses, then, and looks at T'rev again. "I mean, you and him don't mind if I chatter a bit? 'Cause you've got to relay all them words he says, and I don't know how annoying that is." Her faint smile has an aplogetic tinge to it.
"Shells yeah he is. Got good words and everything. Not that I don't talk a fair piece m'self, but I'm more of a plain-talker. We share stories though. I learn 'em from people, tell 'em to him, and he listens too, makes 'em come alive in pictures." T'rev smiles fondly for his dragon. Mecaith nudges gently with his nose, then subsides. T'rev is silent, apparently listening and his face is moving in all sorts of funny ways as he does. "Hm? Nope, don't mind, and if he wants to ... he could show you a thing or two." T'rev is still a moment or two longer before he relays. "He says he has found the rightful place for both patterns and that it all fits together perfectly. The sea can't be the sea without waves, /sometimes/ but they can come and go and the water can still, become like glass when there's no wind. It's all just a shifting matter of states, depending on how the world is moving at any given moment and so, it all fits together into the greater whole." Another deep breath. "He -- I did warn you he was a philosopher, right?" Apologetic tone on T'rev's end now.
Mecaith show her a thing or two? Rhodya blushes at the very thought. "Feel like I was intruding," she murmurs, with a quick shake of her head. She listens closely to his explanation, though. Closely, and without a hint of comprehension. Finally, she has to shake her head again, this time laughing. "I don't remember if you did, but I sure had no idea how much you meant it. Sorry, Mecaith, but I don't follow you. My mind don't go that deep." She gives him a pat, apologizing for her denseness, and shoots T'rev a grin over the dragon's head. "I'm a plain talker /and/ a plain thinker, I guess."
"Nah, wouldn't be. More him ... sharing a little," T'rev explains with a little wave of one hand. "And to be honest, I don't get it half the time neither. Though sometimes, I get a glimmer. It's just that ... yeah, he goes deep." The bronzerider grins, shifts his weight to rest back on his hands and he looks out over the water where the light is steadily growing dimmer as the sun drops. For Rhodya, it might feel strange all of a sudden, that sense of sand grains shifting and shifting, whispering, rustling at the edges of her mind. It's so very soft, so very quiet and then offered up like a gift, an image of water holding still, sunlight glinting off its glassy surface. There's no words, just that sense of presence, the image and then a silent retreat.
For Rhodya, those first few moments induce a sort of vertigo, and she physically reaches back to clutch the grass and make sure the ground's not actually moving away from her. Deciding it's best not to have her external senses get confused with Mecaith's image anymore, she squeezes her eyes shut and sees only the water. A few seconds later, when it fades, she lets out a heavy sigh. "So that's what it's like bein' you, huh?" Since her eyes are still closed and she's not looking anywhere, she could be talking to either of them. One of her hands lets go of the grass and finds its way back to Mecaith, patting blindly at his cheekbone again.
T'rev reaches over a gentle hand towards Rhodya's, perhaps meaning to help ground her back in the world. "Sorry, he didn't warn me," the bronzerider says quietly. "Can be a little disorientin'. And yeah, s'what it's like with him anyway. Only with words. Lots of words. Lots of pictures and ... that feeling ... that ... ah, it's so hard to describe," T'rev says with a laugh.
Rhodya squeaks an eye open, looking around to make sure it's safe. Yep, the world is still here. "Well, lucky you don't have to," she tells T'rev, with a grin that suggests she's getting back to herself already. In fact, she's a little more herself than she was before: any polite barriers between her and Mecaith are now gone, since he invaded her head after all, and she quite brazenly leans her arms and chin on his poll while looking across at his rider. "Since I know what you mean now. It's all right. Felt weird as heck, but it was sorta pretty, in fact." She gives the bronze another small pat.
T'rev gives the back of Rhodya's handa little pat then draws it away. "Mm. He makes nice pictures for sure." Mecaith just turns his head a little, nudges at Rhodya again. "Just ... imagine something like that. All the time. He's usually pretty polite though. Asks first."
Rhodya smiles after T'rev's retreating hand- her appreciation for the support. "Well, I've taken so much license with him I can't blame him for barging ahead. I probably owe him several surprises, so he can go ahead and - I don't know. Kick some snow at me next." She flops her cheek onto the dragon, so she can peer down at his nudging nose. Making her best guess at his intention, she scratches him there.
Back to leaning on his hands, T'rev casts Mecaith a little look. "He's got a crush, you know," he tells Rhodya with a slow smirk. "And he won't kick no snow at you. Ain't his way. He might try to find a special story for you though."
A crush? Rhodya's eyebrows go up, and she looks straight at Mecaith. "He's teasin' you!" she whispers at the bronze, perfectly loud enough for his rider to hear. The whisper drops lower, then, and she leans in so that only Mecaith will hear: "You ever want a snowball thrown at him, it bein' beneath you and all, just give me the word." Leaning back again, she puts a finger to her lips and winks at the bronze. It's their secret agreement. Then she flops back over his neck, smiling just as sweetly as you please at T'rev. "Well, I've got a crush on him, too. He's sweet. And right handsome, too." She chuckles, dribbling her fingers on the tip of the bronze's nose.
"Ain't," T'rev says straughtforwardly and sincerely, though he /is/ grinning. Mecaith just snorts once, lightly and tucks his head back against Rhodya where it's comfortable. "Crazy bronze," his rider says fondly. "There you go, I'll just duck out of the way here, let you two have your moment," he teases further.
Rhodya bounces her eyebrows at him, her grin so wide it threatens to split her face. "Well, I think the dragon has spoken," she drawls, welcoming Mecaith's move further to her side of the blanket with a long rub. "Right nice of you, findin' us this romantic old place out here, view of the ocean and everything, but seems like your job's done, T'rev. Now, if you wouldn't mind just lettin' him re-Impress to a female, I'd say you'll solve all my worries."
Laughter, starts low, builds up to riotous and T'rev's head tips back with it. "Shells, you two," the bronzerider says and shakes his head a bunch. "Yeah well, that'd be the day, right?" He winks across at Rhodya then shades his eyes, looking in the direction Kai went. "Think he's lost?"
As soon as T'rev starts to laugh, quiet though it is starting out, Rhodya can't hold hers in anymore. Laughter bursts out of her, and she leans low to hug Mecaith so he's included. And, maybe, because she needs an anchor or she'd shake herself to pieces. She wipes a tear out from under her eye when she quiets down again, going "Hoo!" to let out her last breath of amusement. "Well," she says, sobering up slowly, "he did say holler him back when we're ready to leave. And I'd say he's had enough time by himself, whatever he's wandered off to think about." She, too, looks off after the vanished Kai.
Mecaith's low rumble could be meant to simulate laughter. Certainly the rainbow of blues and greens in his eyes make him seem amused. There's still a grin on T'rev's face as he drops his hand back down to the ground. "Yeah, you ready to go, or want to hang out a little more? Oherwise, I'll start hollerin'," the bronzerider says, looking in no particular hurry himself.
Rhodya bites her lower lip, holding back a smile, and shakes her head. She looks sort of childlike doing it. "I don't want to stretch it out. Thanks to you two - and Kai," she adds belatedly, with a more adult twist to her smile, "I'm havin' myself the perfect evening. So I want to go back all glowy, and yeah, anyway. Let's start hollerin'." Unfolding her legs so she can get up, she pauses to plant a kiss on the top of Mecaith's head, then goes around him to do the same to his rider's cheek once T'rev gets up. "Feel much better," she tells him, and she certainly looks it.
"You got it." T'rev is characteristically easy-going. "Go home on the high note," he says and pushes up to his feet. He's just stepped towards Mecaith when Rhodya's kiss lands on his cheek and he grins down at her, reaches for her hand again for a light squeeze. "Good. Whole point of fresh air and a good talk." The bronzerider moves along Mecaith's side then, tightens a strap and pauses a few feet away, facing the direction Balkaiv went. "KAI!" he calls out, once, twice. He waits, calls again and a moment later the big guy hoves into view. Back-stepping then, T'rev crouches to fold the blanket back up and tucks it into the carrying sack. "M'lady," he teases Rhodya a little, offering her a hand up onto Mecaith's back, eyes twinkling.
"Right gentlemanly of ya," Rhodya says, dipping a little curtsy for him and beaming as she takes the hand up. See, it's different from the boost that Balkaiv offered earlier. This is about good manners. Bold once again, she retakes her seat up front with a friendly pat for Mecaith, then turns to wait for T'rev and Kai to catch up. She doesn't needle them for being slow (or, more accurately, for not being adragonback within ten seconds of her) this time, but she raises an eyebrow the same way, so she doesn't really need to say anything. Slowpokes!
T'rev waits politely for Kai, but climbs up first, leans down for the hand up for the other candidate again, makes sure they're both clipped in safely. As the light fades from the sky, Mecaith lifts off and heads up for the growing indigo of the higher sky. This time, T'rev provides more warning for the jump back into Fort's chilly night. On the other side, there's more polite helping down and assurances to hang out again soon along with a salute and a smiling "Good night."
"Absolutely," Rhodya answers those promises of future hang-outs. "Gotta see your girl, after all. And touch in with my fellah." This one's for Mecaith, who receives the last of Rhodya's smiles for the evening before she turns to head back to the barracks with Kai. "Good night!" she calls to the dragonpair, sending them a jaunty wave as she walks off.
When: Afternoon on day 7, month 1, turn 19 of Interval 10.
Where: Leaking Cavern, Fort Weyr; Hillside, Northwestern Boll
What: Rhodya's spending her free day skulking in a bar when T'rev comes along, and suggests a trip and a good talk instead. They pick up Balkaiv along the way, and Rhodya recruits him to the used robes mission. Later, she and T'rev talk about everything from Impression fears to the innate weakness of Istans, and Rhodya becomes closer to Mecaith. A lot happens!
A day off has given Rhodya all too much time to herself, and from the looks of the near-empty pretzel bowl sitting in front of her, she's spent a wholly unhealthy amount of that time here in the bar. At least she's got one of those fruity drinks in her hand, nothing hard, and either she or Al has taken the initiative to load it up liberally with ice. She's got a red cap tipped down low to cover her eyes, sparing her from accidental eye contact with the other patrons while she sips away at that fruit thing.
T'rev saunters on into the bar, hands in pockets, jacket undone and cheeks pink, scarf loose around his neck. The wingleader's just back from somewhere it would seem. He scans the place briefly and then that red cap of Rhodya's is catching his eye and the familiar slant of her shoulders. He hesitates for a moment, maybe something about her body language speaking a warning, but he forges ahead anyway, hitches himself onto the next stool down. "Ale, if y'would, Al," the bronzerider orders and tips his head a little, glancing sidelong at pretzels-and-fruity-thing.
But T'rev turns out to be one of the people who's welcome to intrude on her fruity silence, as Rhodya's face is suffused with pleasure at the sight of him. "T'rev!" she exclaims, pushing up her hat so her vision won't be so obscured. "My gosh, it's been... feels like a lifetime. I ain't seen you since Mecaith." She waggles a hand. He knows what Mecaith did. "How you been?" Far from the morose image she presented just a second ago, she seems incredibly eager, almost desperate, to talk right now.
T'rev laughs a little, shakes his head. "Seen you around Rhodya, just lots of too busy to stop n' chat, I guess," the bronzerider says with a little grin and nods as his mug of ale arrives, curls a hand around it and slides some change across the bar for it. "Pretty good here. Harin' off most evenings after duties to go see my daughter. You?"
"Ohhh, that's right!" Rhodya says, her eyes widening and hand going over her startled mouth. "She'd be born by now. Well, I know it's late, but congratulations! I'd buy you a drink, but," she gives his newly-arrived ale an accusing look. "I'll catch your next one. What's her name, then? What's she like? Got your nose or anything?" Nevermind what she's been up to, she's all about quizzing him on the kid.
"Yep. Born on the 9th of last month, so she'll be a month old in a couple of days," T'rev says with a broad smile. "Cedrilla, named for my grandmother. Cedri though, we call her," he elaborates and tilts his mug towards her glass for a little clink. "S'allright. Dependin' on how things go, we can drink up after the hatching, or after a while if you wind up a weyrling," T'rev answers with a little smile. "As for what she's like, seems t'me she's got her mama's eyes n' rounder face, but yeah, bit of a longer nose like me n' my Da. You wanna meet her sometime?"
Rhodya's smile flickers somewhere in there, but she pushes it back into place. She tips her glass back against his mug. "Sure would. I gotta warn you that I ain't no good with kids, though." She chuckles. "Learned that all too well when it was my turn to do a nursery stint, and I had all them little ones screamin' at me till I didn't know which way was up. Cedri, though, what a pretty name."
T'rev's gaze lingers on Rhodya's face, a slight narrowing of his eyes marking his notice of that flicker. The bronzerider reaches over to give her cap a little tweak. "This is cute, by the by, fashionable accessory. And it ain't a problem. Plenty of aunts and so on in the caravan to fuss over her. Don't gotta be an expert to meet her," T'rev claims. "Shells, I'm still gettin' used to it with one of m'own, though of course I helped my mama when I was a kid and there were my wingleader's twins at Telgar, and Vrys' Jaivery." His face creases with sympathy for her description about nursery duty. "Tell 'em a story, s'how I usually got by." He beams though with the compliment. "Thanks. Thought it'd make for a nice unique nickname, since there's another cousin of mine called Cedrilla in the wagons, but she goes by Cece."
"Cedri's the best," Rhodya confirms stoutly. "I've got a fondness for girls' names that end in I, or O for that matter, 'cause you don't see much of 'em but they sound good. So maybe I'll drop by sometime, tell her what a pretty name she has and compliment her momma while I'm at it. Assume she's doin' well, too." Rhodya smiles. She takes a sip from her fruity drink, though she has to sift through several ice cubes to get at the liquid hiding between them. "I'm no good at telling stories. Just can't think of 'em on the fly, and the ones my Papa used to tell me, well, I don't want to mess 'em up misrememberin' the details."
"Serina's pretty well now. Had a bit of a rough time with all of it, was real tired. But we all did our best t'make sure she got taken care of n' plenty of rest. S'a good thing I think though, that the caravan was dossed down to camp for the winter." T'rev looks over at that poor drink of hers, then up at the candidate. "Could get more fruit juice, even if it ain't got no kick," he points out. "And how 'bout readin' from books?"
Rhodya grins wryly at her drink. "I might, soon. Don't want to end up on latrine duty with Sooz. Er, she's a fellow candidate," Rhodya adds, as it occurs to her that not everybody knows the candidate class by name. Her grin brightens, at any rate. "I didn't even think about books. You know me, not really the book type. Tried lookin' up some stuff about my mother, and would've fallen asleep if it weren't for Winston poppin' by to wake me up. That's how I got this hat." She points at the thing, but her grin soon turns into a thoughtful frown. "Or, no, that was earlier. It all gets messed up," she admits, whirling her finger around her temples. Crazy-like.
"Yep, met Suizen. Innerestin' girl. Potter. Good skill t'have, that. Poor girl's not handlin' the cold so well though. I sympathize," T'rev says with a laugh. "But ... what happened to Sooz?" The bronzerider takes a swig from his mug, nods at mention of falling asleep. "Lemme know if you want some help with that. The lookin' things up. You know me. I like t'read." And he winks over at her, then chuckles. "Yeah? Time movin' all different while you're waitin'?"
"Somethin' like that," Rhodya agrees with a chuckle. She takes her hat off and plays with it, twisting it around in her hands. Her drink's nearly dead anyway, may as well wait for the ice to melt. "Don't know what exactly happened to Sooz, as I ain't hardly seen her since whatever it was, but the rumors fly." She, of course, has heard them all, and starts to tick them off one by one. "Some old friend from Ista made her homesick. Or she was in love with the girl and got turned down. Or the girl stole somebody she loved. Or it's an enemy trying to sabotage her candidacy. Anyway, they found her drunk as a skunk one morning, so she's got latrine duty. I hope she's got herself some better shoes, she was complainin' about 'em, but you don't want to bring bad shoes to diggin' dookie pits, no sir." Rhodya sticks her tongue out expressively.
"Huh. In love with a girl? Sooz didn't strike me as leanin' that direction, but hey, whatever floats a girl's boat," T'rev says, easy-going. "That's sure one heck of a pack of rumors though. Whatever the truth of it, hope her head's all nicely recovered," the bronzerider says sincerely. "And yeah, boots required for that sort of thing." He takes another pull from his mug. "If you're feelin' restless, could go for a bit of a fly."
After looking into her hat for a few moments, Rhodya shrugs. "'Fraid I ain't up to my usual standard right now, else I would. Don't think I could keep up with Mecaith," she explains with a weak chuckle. She stuffs her hat back on her head, smiling at him. "Wouldn't mind buggin' off here, though, if you know of a quiet space with some fresh air. I've been eatin' my bedsheets lately, I get so wound up, it'd drive ya crazy." She barrels through that last sentence and has a grin prepared for the end of it.
Brown eyes stay on Rhodya's face through that shrug and the inspection of her hat's insides. "S'alright, don't have to can just lean back, relax n' enjoy the ride," T'rev says quietly, something like empathy on is face. "And I do know of several spots like that, dependin' on how far you want to go," the bronzerider offers. "Lookin' to get away from the cold too?" He lifts his mug and sinks the rest of his ale, tilts his head towards the exit and holds a hand out. "C'mon. You give the orders, we'll sort you out."
Pressing her lips together to vanish her grin, Rhodya thinks about it for a moment. Then she tips a hand: so-so. "I could go for a /bit/ less cold," she admits. "But only a bit. You know some place that's brisk but not chilly, quite?" If that makes sense. She's not done being picky about locations, though, so she thinks about it a little more. "A hill, maybe. With a view." She sails her hand out in front of her, smiling. "Any kind of view. I ain't picky." She winks at him, because obviously, with all these requests, she is just a bit picky. Just a /bit/.
Listening, T'rev's smile slowly grows as Rhodya adds detail after detail. "A hill with a view and brisk, but not cold like here, you got it," the bronzerider says and slides off the stool, does his jacket up. "I've got a spot in mind," he replies with a nod and a winning smile.
With a grin, Rhodya gets up and whips a jacket off the back of her chair. "Excellent, glad you've been scoutin' out the right places for me." She removes her cap one more time, stuffing it inside her jacket for safety. "Can't have it fallin' off when Mecaith takes off," she explains. "Winston'd be heartbroke." She smirks secretively.
"We scout out a lotta places, go explorin'," T'rev says with a bright laugh as he tugs his scarf tight and rummages in his pocket for his own cap. "Yeah you don't want to be losin' somethin' that pretty," the bronzerider agrees from his spot just shy of a bar stool and apparently about to head out of the bar with Rhodya. "And breakin' Winston's heart, well that wouldn't be good for him. Seein' as how often the ladies 'round here break it." He winks at her broadly and gestures for her to precede him, gentlemanly-like.
Two people enter, one person leaves! Or in this case, two people prepare to leave and one person - namely, Kai - ducks into the bar, looking either hunted or haunted. A quick look 'round and though he waves to a burly pair of men tucked into a corner, it's T'rev and Rhodya he heads for. "You're still here. Good." He glances at the bronzerider long enough to say, "Evenin', T'rev," but then it's back to Rhodya. "Somebody said I'm s'posed t' talk t' you about something?" Wasn't that helpful.
"Oh, he's gettin' it pretty broke all right, these days," Rhodya says mysteriously. She practically bounces towards the exit, only to run into Kai on the way - and she's clearly surprised that it's her he's looking for, not T'rev. She figures out why after only a second. "Oh, right! Right nice of you to come so prompt. See, some of us candidates, we're thinking - with all the shortages going on around here - that we'd better see to it everybody's got a used robe ready for Hatching Day. So we're gathering what old cloth we can, and then we'll have ourselves a nice old sewing party, fixing it all up so everybody's got one. And nobody buys a new one. You in for that?" She raises her brows.
That answer from Rhodya makes T'rev's brows all kinds of quirky and he shoots her a quizzical look, but then there's Kai and he grins. "Hey Kai," he returns the greeting and shoves his hands in his pockets for the exchange between candidates. Faint amusement seems to lurk in the corners of his mouth when he hears what's being planned and the bronzerider's gaze shifts from candidate to candidate and back again, waiting on Kai's reaction no doubt.
Whatever the 'something' Kai was expecting, it wasn't this outpouring from the tall girl. "Uh," he starts cleverly, looking over to T'rev for some sort of help. Which he doesn't get. The burly man shoves his hands in his pockets, shoulders shifting uncomfortably, and takes a stab on his own: "Sure?" Though it's clearly only a guess.
Rhodya's truly flipped the switch over from bummed-out to borderline-hyper, so she reaches out and gives Balkaiv an approving slap on the shoulder. "Good man," she says. Apparently he guessed the right thing! "You don't need to know sewing or nothin'. Sulisah said she doesn't, so she's gonna help with the laundering. Stuff like that anybody can do." Tucking her thumbs in her pockets, she pauses to analyze the other candidate. She heard T'rev say his name, and it's a name she's heard elsewhere. "I've seen you around, but I ain't run into you before. You're really trouble, huh?"
"Rhodya, this is Balkaiv, Balkaiv, Rhodya," T'rev makes introductions and he's got a slow smile for Rhodya's last. "Nah, not really," the bronzerider adds. "And that sounds like a good idea for the robes. Bein' all economical and whatnot."
Balkaiv barely shifts under the blow, though he sends T'rev another quick look. "You can call me Kai," he puts on the heels of the bronzerider's introduction, adding, "'M tryin' not t' be. Trouble, I mean. Who said I was? -I can't sew either." This added as an afterthought. "But I can get 'em out of stores, no problem."
"People," Rhodya answers vaguely, still considering Balkaiv. Then she waves a hand. "Don't matter anyhow, long as you ain't bein' trouble to /me/." She looks over at T'rev, who's given the man his support (well, he said 'not really!') and smiles. "I just figured it'd be rude to the Weyr, while everybody's struggling to get warm clothes for the winter, if we show up in pearly whites. Anyway, I ain't forgotten about that ride you promised me. We're goin' out someplace quiet," she explains to Kai, "talk over some things. I figure, you're a candidate too, you can come along if you like."
"Me neither, well at least, not when I was a candidate," T'rev says with a laugh and lifts a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing there for a second. "Learned to stitch on leather though as a weyrling," he continues and looks back over at Rhodya for a second, then Kai's way. "Yep. Hilly spot, where it ain't too cold."
"I ain't knocked up anybody today," Kai offers to T'rev, like this will win him points. Or maybe just a laugh. At Rhodya's invitation he looks between the pair of them, shrugs, and pulls his hands out of his pockets. "Sure. Ain't gonna turn down an invitation t' go flying. Lemme go grab my coat and things - meet you out in th' bowl?"
"Sure," Rhodya says, raring to go once again. She bounces a little on the balls of her feet. "I call the comfortable seat, though, wherever it is." She looks at T'rev, tugging the sleeve of her jacket pointedly. "I'm ready, so I'll follow you out where Mecaith is."
T'rev does indeed duck his head, chuckling at Kai's quip. "Me neither, win for the day?" the bronzerider winks across at Kai and shoots Rhodya a grin. "That'd be in front," he tells her, mischief dancing in his eyes. "Bowl in a few," he agrees with Kai and heads on out through the caverns. "He's just outside, ain't far," is offered over to Rhodya.
"Win for the day," Kai agrees in a rumble like a well-fed and amused grizzly. "I'll be right out." He breaks off from the others out in the tunnels, heading for the candidate barracks at a jog, and it's not long at all - less than five minutes, perhaps - before he emerges into the bowl, tugging down a knit cap and pulling on his gloves.
During the few minutes that they're waiting for Kai, Rhodya greets Mecaith with a friendly pat. "You don't mind, do ya?" she asks him and his rider, glancing between them. "Didn't exactly ask you before I invited that guy along. Kinda like the time I just hopped on Mecaith without say-so, ain't it?" She grins up at the bronze, patting him again, then turns her gaze out to scan the bowl for Kai. Ah, there he is - giving poor T'rev just a few seconds to answer.
It's an easy walk out and T'rev shrugs just once in answer to Rhodya's question. "Nah. Just means it'll be different questions maybe. Maybe not /quite/ as laid-back," the bronzerider adds and rubs a hand along Mecaith's jaw. The dragon drops his head down within range of Rhodya too, eyes whirling placid blue-green. "All set?"
Balkaiv might be entirely unaware of the byplay involving him as he joins the trio, grunting his greeting to Mecaith. "Yeah, all set. Anybody need a boost?" 'Anybody' presumably means Rhodya, since T'rev probably doesn't need one. We hope.
"I'm all right. I just wanna hurry up and get outta here," Rhodya says, turning to Mecaith. She's ridden him before, so she gets up just fine without the boost, and - taking T'rev's earlier suggestion very much at face value - she clambers up in front. She twists down to look at the other two with one brow cocked. "Ain't y'all coming?" she asks, for all the world as though she'd been waiting up there for an hour, instead of about ten seconds.
There's a moment where T'rev's mouth opens to answer Kai and then Rhodya's taking matters into her own hands and he just laughs, winks at Kai and reaches for a strap to haul up and onto Mecaith's back with, then he leans down to offer the other man a hand. "You heard the lady," he says, still laughing a little.
Balkaiv grumbles again, though still good-naturedly, and despite his words, he needs T'rev's help to navigate the straps. The safeties, too. Finally he pulls his scarf tighter and folds his arms like he -isn't- clutching the harness, mutters, "Ready t' go."
With Balkaiv in place and all safeties checked, T'rev settles down and keeps his own hands in polite places while Mecaith lifts off. It's a quick spiral upward into the sky and beyond the Bowl's rim, then the bronzerider utters a brief warning of "Jumpin'," and there's Between. Snap. Cold. Dark. One, two, three, four, five ... and out into slightly warmer air and a long glide downward. "Northwestern Boll," T'rev announces over the rush of the wind as Mecaith glides over a high ridge. The mountains are behind them, the sea before them and on the way to it a lot of rolling hilly land.
Hillside, Northwestern Boll
A nice little spot overlooking the ocean in the foothils of the mountains on the western side of the Boll peninsula. There's not much out here, just a lot of trees, grassy hilltops and an incomparable view of the sea.
"Brr!" Rhodya exclaims, as soon as they reemerge. She stops hanging onto the straps for a moment so she can rub her shoulders, trying to stir warmth back into them. "I swear, the jackets do absolutely nothing." Fixing her grip once again, she hangs on to Mecaith while she looks around, her eyes lingering particularly on the wide stretch of the sea. "Boll, was it? Ain't never been this far before. Looks a good place, though, I like it." She pats Mecaith as he winds his way down to a landing.
There's short sound of question and surprise from Balkaiv at that warning but it cuts off sharp when darkness swallows them. Then they're through and he's busily trying to catch his breath back. "Boll?" he echoes, like the word's a lifeline, and the straps creak faintly as the man leans over, looking about.
And then they're down, Mecaith bringing them right to the top of a tall hill fronting the sea. Rhodya gives the bronze a pat of thanks, then slips down - first on, and first off. She glances over her shoulder, and seeing that T'rev's busy with Mecaith, she just grins at Balkaiv and waves at him to come with as she jogs towards the sea. It's carved a steep cliff into the side of this hill, but the tall woman doesn't seem to mind. In fact, she tiptoes dangerously close, but while she appears to be examining the drop-off, she has at least some attention to spare for Kai. "So how is it for you, the candidate thing?" she asks. She speaks loudly, in case he doesn't dare come as close to the cliff as she has, so that her voice will carry back over the sound of the surf.
"Yeah, Between ain't so much physical cold as ... well y'know it's nothing. Just ... nothin'," T'rev says. He takes a moment or two while the other two walk away a bit to loosen up straps and give Mecaith another rub under the jaw, then reaches into the carisak on the bronze for a blanket and follows after. "That's the western sea," the bronzerider announces as he gets within conversational distance again.
Kai's slower down the straps (waits for Mecaith to crouch this time), and though he sends a glance over his shoulder to the bronzerider, he follows Rhodya's lead willingly enough. "It's all right," he says, crouching to pick up a handful of pebbles. He doesn't go -right- up to the cliff edge, but he's only a step or so behind her. "Been thinking about it," he continues, right before he huzzes a stone as hard as he can into the distance. It's gone from sight long before they can make out its target. T'rev identifies the haze and Kai looks back at him again, surprised, then at it. "Yeah? Ain't never seen it before."
"Huh," is how Rhodya processes the identity of the sea they're looking at. She spends a few more moments poking about at the edge, then retreats, bending to pick up a stone on her way back. Though her throw's not nearly as strong as Kai's, she doesn't throw /completely/ like a girl, and it goes a respectable distance. "There, now. Made my mark on it." She smiles back at T'rev.
"Yep, ain't nothin' between that water there and t'other side of Pern," T'rev says with a sweep of his arm. "Just some islands out yonder, way far out." The bronzerider shakes the blanket out and spreads it on the ground in case either wants to have a seat and then lifts hands to loosen his jacket. It's warmer here by quite a bit: no snow on the ground, though there's still a hint of coolness in the breeze that blows. "Just far enough south t'be warmer, no snow, but it ain't all tropical like it is down right at the Weaverhall." He grins at Rhodya for her statement and stretches his arms up over his head. "S'a good spot for thinkin'."
It's a good word, so Kai uses it now: "Huh." He flashes a grin at Rhodya's rock-throwing and splits his own handful before offering the remaining to the other candidate. "Been thinking about it," he says again, expanding that with, "'Cept I keep coming round to 'sure, why not?' 'Cause, see, following orders is what I wanna do anyway. Ain't gonna be like it's hard."
Grinning, Rhodya takes the stones Kai offers with a nod of thanks. She pops one up in her palm, getting the feel of it, then throws again. It's as mediocre as her last throw. After watching it go, she shakes her head. "It ain't the following orders that gets me. It's the... I dunno. The permanence of it. That's a whole lot of life decisions, made for you. Lot of other things you can't go back to." She bites her lip.
Hands in pockets, T'rev stands nearby, rocking back and forth a little, heel-to-toe. "S'why I ask, or give time t'think when Mecaith and me're Searchin'," the bronzerider notes with a little wry smile. "Because it is a whole lotta big. Basically, your chance at makin' it your choice, is when you're sayin' yes or no to Search. Otherwise, you step on those Sands, yeah, if there's a dragon there for you, life ain't never gonna be the same again."
"Don't see any riders trying t' shove the dragons back int' eggs," Kai points out, with a jerk of his head Mecaith-ward. His eyes, however, stay on the horizon, and he flings another wee missile into the abyss. "But yeah, 'fyou say sure, and there's a dragon...." A thought strikes him. "What happens, if, say, Rhodya changes her mind, only her dragon don't? I heard songs about dragons going int' the stands and all."
Rhodya's eyes widen, and she shoots T'rev a nervous glance. "We're talkin' theory here," she reminds them all, fidgeting with the rocks in her hand so they clank together. "Understand, I'm lettin' things out, I'm not /backing/ out." But she looks down, drops a rock in front of her, and nudges it over the edge with her foot. It skitters down the cliff face, bouncing from rock to rock.
"Heh, no, most don't, happens sometimes that a pairin' ain't what either expected and there's bumpy times, I guess," T'rev answers, voice slow, the words thoughtfully spoken. "Mm. Ain't never seen it m'self in five turns of bein' a rider, but I've heard tell of that happenin'. Not so much from someone changin' their mind, but dragon feels someone they want out there and goes for it." He looks over at Rhodya and makes his voice and expression gentle. "Hey, didn't say you were, though if you did, wouldn't be no shame in it. Best t'know your limits n' all before you wind up goin' down a path if you ain't sure it's what you want for yourself."
Balkaiv shrugs easily, neither agreeing with nor protesting. "A'right." Huzz goes the last of his pebbles before he brushes his hands clean on the seat of his trous. He considers the bronzerider - his words, his face - for a long moment, his jaw working. "Think I'm gonna stretch my legs. Give a holler when you want me back." An arm waves vaguely in the direction he intends to go, and Kai waits for T'rev's nod before he heads off, ambling across the unfamiliar countryside.
Rhodya looks after Kai, rolling the last of her own pebble collection around in her hand. "He ain't so bad," she judges. "Not like I heard." Clenching her fist around the pebble, she mimes a punching motion, then twists up a grin. "Anyway, T'rev, you gotta promise me you won't say any more about it's okay to back out. I hear it one or two more times, I'm gonna head for the hills, take up a feral life never to be seen again. That's how bad I want to run." She thinks for a moment, then holds the last pebble out to him. Care to throw?
"He's got a temper. Builds up," T'rev notes mildly. "But he keeps an eye on it. Asked me to help blow off some steam t'other day, so yeah. Consider my opinion revised," the bronzerider says with a ready smile in answer for her grin. He nods long, holds up a hand. "Got my word then, Rhodya. Won't mention it again. Just had t'put it out there. Tell you what though, I think you'll do fine, either way," the bronzerider states confidently and holds his hand out, palm upward for that pebble. Sure.
"Easy for you to say," Rhodya chuckles, handing over that pebble. "You already took the plunge. Me, I thought I had a different life in front of me." She tucks her hands away in the pockets of her jacket. She's still wearing it because, though it may be warmer here than Fort, it's still cool out for an Igenite. "I don't suppose Mecaith can tell you what it is he wanted me for. I mean, he's the only one that has, and I've been around dragons all my life."
T'rev tosses the pebble up, catches it neatly, tosses it again, though his eyes are on Rhodya's face. "You've got plenty of spirit, know who you are, I think in th'end, that's what can make a big difference, between havin' an easy or a hard time either impressin' or bein' left on the Sands. If you know who you are and what you want out of life, dragon or no dragon, y'always got a direction, see?" While T'rev's loosened his jacket, it's still on. Igen. Nerat. Thin blood all around for more northerly weather. The bronzerider cocks a look over at Mecaith and his mouth pulls to the side a little, amused. His arm draws back and the pebble is launched, sailing far out over the water and vanishing somewhere in the waves. "You fit the pattern, s'what he says. But ... he's like that Mecaith." The bronze sits up a little, looks over towards Rhodya intently.
Rhodya looks back at Mecaith, a silly grin slowly appearing on her face. "So I'm in the pattern of folks like Kai over there, and Winston, and Sooz.... Well, sure." She tilts her face up, looking at the sky. "I'm all right with that pattern. It's gonna be a hard thing, though, if it happens. Which - hope you and Mecaith don't take offense - might be why I can't believe it will. Like, I'm scared to heck of being left out there, but the same time, I can't see it happenin' any other way, and that makes me feel better and worse at the same time. Shoot, T'rev," she sends him a wan smile, "I just wish it was over, so I'd know and could get on with living."
T'rev shakes his head. "No, don't mean you're like them or like each other, means he can see how you fit into life at the Weyr. He sees it all like one big pattern, pieces fittin' together in so many ways. I can't wrap my head around it half the time," the bronzerider tries to explain. "Shells, he's in my head all the time and I barely get it, hard t'explain to someone who can't see what he sees atall." T'rev's hands slip into his pockets again and he looks out over the water thoughtfully, listening to Rhodya. "Yeah. Waitin' with the question loomin' over your head. S'a hard thing." He tilts a look over at her, smiles back encouragingly. "S'just a different kind of livin' in between."
She grins at him. "Maybe I should stick my fingers in my ears, pretend it ain't happenin' at all until it does. At least I wouldn't have nothing to freak out about." Rhodya chuckles, following his gaze out over the water. "I'm really thinking I shouldn't have said yes right away when you Searched me. Just make it wait until the eggs got really hard, then I wouldn't be stuck with all these candidates' chores while I got shoes to work on."
"Heh. S'one way to deal," T'rev says with a chuckle. "Though, I'd say too, try not to freak out. Maybe try to kind of think it through and settle it in your mind," the bronzerider suggests, though he also slants a grin over at her. "Sure, could've. Ain't nothin' wrong with takin' some time to work it out. 'Course my neck would've been itchin' the whole time from Mecaith askin' if you were gonna say yes or not, so I do thank you for that," he notes with a wink.
Rhodya laughs and pats him on the shoulder. "You're welcome. Always happy to save your neck, T'rev." She winks. "Don't know that I can /not/ freak out, though; it's like asking the sea not to have waves. I get that way." She holds a hand a few inches over her belly, and makes a scrunching motion. "Nerves. I never was good at waitin', 's why I try to make all my decisions fast if I can. Don't have time to doubt or change your mind if it's done."
Grinning, T'rev nods. "Well thanks, much obliged about the neck savin'," the bronzerider states, then laughs outright. "Hmm. Askin' the sea not to have waves ..." he looks over at Mecaith who's now staring at the ocean fixedly. "He's turnin' that idea over in his head," he notes about the bronze and it's his turn to offer a light squeeze for Rhodya's shoulder. "That must be a pretty awful feeling. I'm used to Mecaith takin' his own sweet time these days."
Rhodya gives the comforting hand a pat of thanks, smiling at him. "It is a fair nasty one. But if candidate chores do just one thing for me, it's keeping me too busy to think about that stuff, so it's only at night that it really settles in to eat at me. Working with your hands, I find, is a cure for a lot of things." As she speaks, she rolls her head back so she can look at Mecaith for a while. A beat later, she chuckles at him. "You ain't takin' me too seriously, I hope, Mecaith. Sea's gotta have waves just like you've gotta have wings." She faces forward again, but her hand stretches back and she quirks a finger at him, a sneaky come-here sort of sign. A scratch is on offer, she indicates with a little motion from her fingers.
"Yeah, not wrong there," T'rev agrees about keeping busy. "Still, how much have you been not-sleepin' because of it?" he asks next. Mecaith he's watching the sea intently still. "He says everything has its pattern and he's still thinking about it," the dragon's rider announces with a little amused grin. It takes a moment for Mecaith to respon but ultimately, he does, moving with his usual casual dignity, while T'rev ducks his head, maybe laughing a little.
Rhodya's ready to give up and leave him alone when Mecaith doesn't answer immediately, so the rustle of movement from behind surprises her a bit. A good surprise, evidently, from the smile she shoots the bronze. "Awful nice of ya," she tells him, as if she were the one being treated instead of him. As promised, though, she starts to scratch. "There's been a fair amount of not sleepin' going on. 'Course, some of that's to be expected when you put a bunch of young folks in one room together. There's jokes," she explains, winking at T'rev. "But I don't feel like it's caught up to me yet. I ain't fallin' asleep during the day or nothing."
"He's got his own version of time too," T'rev informs on Mecaith who just settles down and leans into Rhodya's hand. The bronzerider scoots over a step or two, to get the dragon's other side. "Yeah. I remember that. It was pretty fun times actually, the barracks. Was a lot crazier after I Impressed. People runnin' around in a daze y'know. Tryin' to stay on top of feedings n' oilings and big dragon messes on the floor. But there were good times like that in the weyrling barracks too. Jokes. Late night talks. Figuring it all out together."
Shooting Mecaith a fond smile, Rhodya moves her hand along his muzzle, trying to remember his favorite spots. There? How 'bout there? She watches his head, stopping to pay more attention to any spot that seems get a rise out of him. "Yeah, I'm enjoying that. And I'm really gunning for some of them not-from-the-Weyr folks to Impress, so I get to keep them around. You know? Bein' friends with 'em now, I don't want to give 'em up."
There. And there. And there. Mecaith's head tilts just slightly, but it's guidance and T'rev is holding onto laughter again as he runs his fingers along the mirror image of spots on the opposide of the bronze dragon's head. "Yeah. S'hard after when everyone ... doesn't," he says thoughtfully. "Happened with Phara. She didn't. I did. Then she did later, but ..." he trails off, eyes on the water.
"Did she go home?" Rhodya asks, after giving T'rev a few moments of silence to consider the water. "After she didn't Impress, I mean. I figure I would, if I'd been Searched some place that I didn't call home," she admits, looking down at Mecaith. "Luckily Fort /is/ home to me now. Freezin' though it may be."
"She ... went wandering," T'rev says slowly. "Phara's never really been one to hold still much," the bronzerider says with a slight quirk of his mouth. "She wasn't too keen on goin' home." The bronzerider's hands dig in under Mecaith's chin a little and the dragon hums softly. "I wasn't goin' to be headin' home either."
Rhodya's surprised by the hum, lifting her fingers away for a second to determine that the sound is indeed actually coming from Mecaith. Then she laughs. "The two of you really have ants in your pants, ain't ya? Lucky you got Mecaith to go explorin' with. I don't know Phara's blue, but I'd wager he's the same way. So where'd she go? When she kicked up her heels and went travelin' Pern."
"Well that's a happy dragon," T'rev says with a chuckle. "And don't worry, that ain't for the eggs," he notes and shifts his hand back behind a headknob. "Yeah, we do. Go lookin' around everywhere. And yeah, Bennath's a right dare-devil adventurer, he is," the bronzerider affirms. He's quiet again for a moment or two. "Bit of everywhere she could get to. Ista."
Ista. Rhodya sticks her tongue out and blows a raspberry. "Why'd she waste time there?" she asks, but her tone is light - amused. She follows T'rev's lead and scratches Mecaith's other headknob, so they're double-teaming him. "There's a spare few Istans in this candidate class, but I ain't said nothing to 'em about their home and don't you go repeating it. They make such wimps, though, out in the cold." She grins mischievously. "Had myself a think, one or two times, about getting 'em in a snowball fight. Just 'cause."
"Her brother Impressed there," T'rev says with a chuckle. "But I gather she didn't stay there the whole time. She went ... all over. Came back to Telgar." The bronzerider laughs though about the appellation of wimp. "Yeah well, shoulda seen me my first winter at Telgar. Nerat born 'n raised as I am, I had six sweaters on t'get through X'ndar's outside classes," he says with a little chuckle. "I've built up a better tolerance over the turns. And ha! Ain't you just mischief incarnate."
"Snowballs never hurt anybody!" Rhodya exclaims, but she's grinning. "I'd've called you a wimp, too, and chucked snowballs at you for sure. Six sweaters is just askin' for it." She puffs herself up, holding her arms out to imitate a person who's bulked up with six sweaters. "Now, I ain't sayin' I don't freeze my butt off, neither, being Igen-born and all. I just don't believe in letting a bit of weather beat you at anything."
"Sure don't, well mostly. Not nice when there's ice in 'em, but I like a good snowball fight," the bronzerider agrees. "Yeah, I looked pretty darned silly," T'rev says with a laugh and smooths his hand down over the soft hide behind that headknob of Mecaith's. "I took it down, little by little. These days, I dress like a normal person come winter. Helps that Fort ain't nearly so bitter as Telgar too."
"Yeah, that's unlucky, getting hauled all the way to a place as cold as Telgar." Giving Mecaith a pat and murmuring, "'Scuse me a second, fella," she hunkers down and finally takes a seat on that blanket T'rev brought out. "Legs're getting tired," she admits, leaning forward so she can grin at T'rev around Mecaith's nose. "Hey, you know those sandals everybody's supposed to wear on the sands? You think they'd mind if I wear my own kind of shoe? With a thick heel and all. --That's random, I know." Her grin turns sheepish, then vanishes from sight as she leans back behind Mecaith's head again. Her next scratch traces the line of his cheek, since it's now so conveniently close.
"Unlucky for me it was so cold, but very lucky because he was there," T'rev notes of Mecaith and slides his arm around the dragon's neck, turns his cheek in against the bronze for a moment. He smiles as Rhodya settles, but stays put for a bit longer. "Mm, don't see why not. Better not to burn your feet, you know. Just, not too high, because being able to dodge is good and high heels and dodging in sand don't match up." The bronze hunkers down, stretching out and lets his head rest on the edge of the blanket. T'rev moves away then, settling down cross-legged on the blanket, hands on knees.
Rhodya wrinkles her nose. "Well, I'm used to the big heel, and probably move better in 'em than I would in the ordinary sort. I suppose the sand would suck 'em down a bit, though." She turns to look at Mecaith, a look of playful accusation on her face. "Why's your kind got to put us to so much trouble?" she demands. Swiftly relenting, though, she gives his nose a gentle pat.
"Yeah, it'd pull a lot, maybe run in between, even get stuck and if you're trying to get out of the way, that'd be kind of bad," T'rev says straightforwardly. Mecaith just whuffs once and T'rev starts laughing. "He claims that dragons are no more trouble than humans and that we often make things more complicated than they need to be when the answers to everything can be plainly deduced by enough time spent in quiet reflection." Deep breath.
Rhodya's eyebrows go up higher and higher the longer Mecaith's (transmitted) explanation goes on. "My, you are a talker," she tells him at last, laughing. Bumping her hip affectionately against his nose, she points out at the ocean. "So you've had some time to reflect, have you figured out whatever it was you were going to do to the sea?" She pauses, then, and looks at T'rev again. "I mean, you and him don't mind if I chatter a bit? 'Cause you've got to relay all them words he says, and I don't know how annoying that is." Her faint smile has an aplogetic tinge to it.
"Shells yeah he is. Got good words and everything. Not that I don't talk a fair piece m'self, but I'm more of a plain-talker. We share stories though. I learn 'em from people, tell 'em to him, and he listens too, makes 'em come alive in pictures." T'rev smiles fondly for his dragon. Mecaith nudges gently with his nose, then subsides. T'rev is silent, apparently listening and his face is moving in all sorts of funny ways as he does. "Hm? Nope, don't mind, and if he wants to ... he could show you a thing or two." T'rev is still a moment or two longer before he relays. "He says he has found the rightful place for both patterns and that it all fits together perfectly. The sea can't be the sea without waves, /sometimes/ but they can come and go and the water can still, become like glass when there's no wind. It's all just a shifting matter of states, depending on how the world is moving at any given moment and so, it all fits together into the greater whole." Another deep breath. "He -- I did warn you he was a philosopher, right?" Apologetic tone on T'rev's end now.
Mecaith show her a thing or two? Rhodya blushes at the very thought. "Feel like I was intruding," she murmurs, with a quick shake of her head. She listens closely to his explanation, though. Closely, and without a hint of comprehension. Finally, she has to shake her head again, this time laughing. "I don't remember if you did, but I sure had no idea how much you meant it. Sorry, Mecaith, but I don't follow you. My mind don't go that deep." She gives him a pat, apologizing for her denseness, and shoots T'rev a grin over the dragon's head. "I'm a plain talker /and/ a plain thinker, I guess."
"Nah, wouldn't be. More him ... sharing a little," T'rev explains with a little wave of one hand. "And to be honest, I don't get it half the time neither. Though sometimes, I get a glimmer. It's just that ... yeah, he goes deep." The bronzerider grins, shifts his weight to rest back on his hands and he looks out over the water where the light is steadily growing dimmer as the sun drops. For Rhodya, it might feel strange all of a sudden, that sense of sand grains shifting and shifting, whispering, rustling at the edges of her mind. It's so very soft, so very quiet and then offered up like a gift, an image of water holding still, sunlight glinting off its glassy surface. There's no words, just that sense of presence, the image and then a silent retreat.
For Rhodya, those first few moments induce a sort of vertigo, and she physically reaches back to clutch the grass and make sure the ground's not actually moving away from her. Deciding it's best not to have her external senses get confused with Mecaith's image anymore, she squeezes her eyes shut and sees only the water. A few seconds later, when it fades, she lets out a heavy sigh. "So that's what it's like bein' you, huh?" Since her eyes are still closed and she's not looking anywhere, she could be talking to either of them. One of her hands lets go of the grass and finds its way back to Mecaith, patting blindly at his cheekbone again.
T'rev reaches over a gentle hand towards Rhodya's, perhaps meaning to help ground her back in the world. "Sorry, he didn't warn me," the bronzerider says quietly. "Can be a little disorientin'. And yeah, s'what it's like with him anyway. Only with words. Lots of words. Lots of pictures and ... that feeling ... that ... ah, it's so hard to describe," T'rev says with a laugh.
Rhodya squeaks an eye open, looking around to make sure it's safe. Yep, the world is still here. "Well, lucky you don't have to," she tells T'rev, with a grin that suggests she's getting back to herself already. In fact, she's a little more herself than she was before: any polite barriers between her and Mecaith are now gone, since he invaded her head after all, and she quite brazenly leans her arms and chin on his poll while looking across at his rider. "Since I know what you mean now. It's all right. Felt weird as heck, but it was sorta pretty, in fact." She gives the bronze another small pat.
T'rev gives the back of Rhodya's handa little pat then draws it away. "Mm. He makes nice pictures for sure." Mecaith just turns his head a little, nudges at Rhodya again. "Just ... imagine something like that. All the time. He's usually pretty polite though. Asks first."
Rhodya smiles after T'rev's retreating hand- her appreciation for the support. "Well, I've taken so much license with him I can't blame him for barging ahead. I probably owe him several surprises, so he can go ahead and - I don't know. Kick some snow at me next." She flops her cheek onto the dragon, so she can peer down at his nudging nose. Making her best guess at his intention, she scratches him there.
Back to leaning on his hands, T'rev casts Mecaith a little look. "He's got a crush, you know," he tells Rhodya with a slow smirk. "And he won't kick no snow at you. Ain't his way. He might try to find a special story for you though."
A crush? Rhodya's eyebrows go up, and she looks straight at Mecaith. "He's teasin' you!" she whispers at the bronze, perfectly loud enough for his rider to hear. The whisper drops lower, then, and she leans in so that only Mecaith will hear: "You ever want a snowball thrown at him, it bein' beneath you and all, just give me the word." Leaning back again, she puts a finger to her lips and winks at the bronze. It's their secret agreement. Then she flops back over his neck, smiling just as sweetly as you please at T'rev. "Well, I've got a crush on him, too. He's sweet. And right handsome, too." She chuckles, dribbling her fingers on the tip of the bronze's nose.
"Ain't," T'rev says straughtforwardly and sincerely, though he /is/ grinning. Mecaith just snorts once, lightly and tucks his head back against Rhodya where it's comfortable. "Crazy bronze," his rider says fondly. "There you go, I'll just duck out of the way here, let you two have your moment," he teases further.
Rhodya bounces her eyebrows at him, her grin so wide it threatens to split her face. "Well, I think the dragon has spoken," she drawls, welcoming Mecaith's move further to her side of the blanket with a long rub. "Right nice of you, findin' us this romantic old place out here, view of the ocean and everything, but seems like your job's done, T'rev. Now, if you wouldn't mind just lettin' him re-Impress to a female, I'd say you'll solve all my worries."
Laughter, starts low, builds up to riotous and T'rev's head tips back with it. "Shells, you two," the bronzerider says and shakes his head a bunch. "Yeah well, that'd be the day, right?" He winks across at Rhodya then shades his eyes, looking in the direction Kai went. "Think he's lost?"
As soon as T'rev starts to laugh, quiet though it is starting out, Rhodya can't hold hers in anymore. Laughter bursts out of her, and she leans low to hug Mecaith so he's included. And, maybe, because she needs an anchor or she'd shake herself to pieces. She wipes a tear out from under her eye when she quiets down again, going "Hoo!" to let out her last breath of amusement. "Well," she says, sobering up slowly, "he did say holler him back when we're ready to leave. And I'd say he's had enough time by himself, whatever he's wandered off to think about." She, too, looks off after the vanished Kai.
Mecaith's low rumble could be meant to simulate laughter. Certainly the rainbow of blues and greens in his eyes make him seem amused. There's still a grin on T'rev's face as he drops his hand back down to the ground. "Yeah, you ready to go, or want to hang out a little more? Oherwise, I'll start hollerin'," the bronzerider says, looking in no particular hurry himself.
Rhodya bites her lower lip, holding back a smile, and shakes her head. She looks sort of childlike doing it. "I don't want to stretch it out. Thanks to you two - and Kai," she adds belatedly, with a more adult twist to her smile, "I'm havin' myself the perfect evening. So I want to go back all glowy, and yeah, anyway. Let's start hollerin'." Unfolding her legs so she can get up, she pauses to plant a kiss on the top of Mecaith's head, then goes around him to do the same to his rider's cheek once T'rev gets up. "Feel much better," she tells him, and she certainly looks it.
"You got it." T'rev is characteristically easy-going. "Go home on the high note," he says and pushes up to his feet. He's just stepped towards Mecaith when Rhodya's kiss lands on his cheek and he grins down at her, reaches for her hand again for a light squeeze. "Good. Whole point of fresh air and a good talk." The bronzerider moves along Mecaith's side then, tightens a strap and pauses a few feet away, facing the direction Balkaiv went. "KAI!" he calls out, once, twice. He waits, calls again and a moment later the big guy hoves into view. Back-stepping then, T'rev crouches to fold the blanket back up and tucks it into the carrying sack. "M'lady," he teases Rhodya a little, offering her a hand up onto Mecaith's back, eyes twinkling.
"Right gentlemanly of ya," Rhodya says, dipping a little curtsy for him and beaming as she takes the hand up. See, it's different from the boost that Balkaiv offered earlier. This is about good manners. Bold once again, she retakes her seat up front with a friendly pat for Mecaith, then turns to wait for T'rev and Kai to catch up. She doesn't needle them for being slow (or, more accurately, for not being adragonback within ten seconds of her) this time, but she raises an eyebrow the same way, so she doesn't really need to say anything. Slowpokes!
T'rev waits politely for Kai, but climbs up first, leans down for the hand up for the other candidate again, makes sure they're both clipped in safely. As the light fades from the sky, Mecaith lifts off and heads up for the growing indigo of the higher sky. This time, T'rev provides more warning for the jump back into Fort's chilly night. On the other side, there's more polite helping down and assurances to hang out again soon along with a salute and a smiling "Good night."
"Absolutely," Rhodya answers those promises of future hang-outs. "Gotta see your girl, after all. And touch in with my fellah." This one's for Mecaith, who receives the last of Rhodya's smiles for the evening before she turns to head back to the barracks with Kai. "Good night!" she calls to the dragonpair, sending them a jaunty wave as she walks off.