Fun In The Sun? [Srunae]

[Zen]

10th Pass, 5th Turn, 4th Month
A week or two after Hot Water

S'fin :: Green Rusath

Slowing to a stop, S’fin panted lightly from his run along the beach, reaching over to lean against the teal green hide of his dragon as he caught his breath, “Rusy… winter is awful. Let’s never do it again.” The green turned her head slightly toward him, one eye whirling contented colors. Rusath, she corrected, as she always did, Is your memory really that bad? S’fin laughed and slid down against her side to rest in the warm sand, “Do you even remember the winter?” She lowered her head to the sand again, closing her eyes, You should know I do not. He supplied her with his own memories, as exaggerated as they were. He could not understand how anyone lived through winter after winter like that; the weyrs were constantly frigid, nothing but chilly breezes blowing though them from the ledge entrances. He never seemed to have enough blankets on to be warm at night. Getting out of bed was absolutely horrific, placing bare feet on frozen stone every morning only to freeze through drills. He shivered just thinking about it.

I cannot imagine it was all that bad, Rusath spoke and S’fin could hear the eyeroll in her tone. “You have no idea!” He shoved his feet into the sand, enjoying the warmth that enveloped them, “You complained too. You said there were no good spots to sun yourself because the stones were all so cold, and some larger dragon always hogged the good spots.” He rapped his knuckles on her side matter of factly. Did I? She huffed briefly, sending a puff of sand into the air, I am glad I do not remember. I dislike complaining, it solves nothing. Staring at his feet as he wiggled his toes under the sand, he shrugged, “No, but it does sort of make things easier to bear sometimes….” Rusath lifted her head again, turning to look at him straight on, I fail to see how.

“You just… it…,” he threw up his hands, “I don’t know. It gives you something to talk about with people… it’s easier to bear being miserable if you can do it with someone else.” Rusath snorted again and laid her head back down, clearly not convinced. “It’s not my fault you’re an anti-social old wherry.” She did not deign to respond. He gave her side a light slap full of nothing but affection and pushed himself up against her, back to his feet. He headed toward the water and nearly (okay he did) squeaked when a wave rushed up around his feet and the water was rather colder than he expected. He hopped backward, back into the warm, dry sand, and plopped down onto his rump with a sigh, “It’s still too cold….” He let himself fall back against the sand to allow it to heat up his back, having stripped off his shirt before his run, and groaned softly in contentment. It certainly did wonders to loosen up that old shoulder injury.

[Rhush]

Srunae :: Gold Danovelith

Srunae had missed the sky, the sun, and the greenery of spring and summer the entirety of Winter. She had missed the sand, and the surf, running down the beach with the canines chasing after her, the avians and the VTOLs, and those beautiful Istan days full of heat. It never seemed to matter how busy she had been through the winter, or how many blankets she piled on top of herself, or how tightly Danovelith fit herself into the open-air cave mouth that was their part of the weyr, the goldweyrling was always missing that glorious, glorious heat. Danovelith huffed somewhere in the back of Srunae's mind, as if dismissing her rider's train of thought. Honestly Srunae, was it that bad? Srunae rolled her eyes and stared out over the sea, her glittering gold looking down from up on the cliffside. This section of shore was now too small for the quickly growing queen, and so she was impelled to take up residence on the craggy ledges that sprang naturally out of the rocky mountain's face instead of walking along beside her rider. 

Yeeeeeeeesssss, Srunae about whined, deliberately dragging her feet through the sun-warmed sands below her. Danovelith mentally scolded her. Now there is no need for whining. It is unbecoming, you know. Srunae grumbled something unintelligible and shook her head. 

That may be, but it helps me get my point across. Danovelith shifted and settled into a more comfortable position, upsetting a number of small rocks that harmlessly rolled off down the cliff. This is true... The queen shrugged vaguely and cast her gaze down the shore a ways, pausing as whirling pastel facets passed over a green dragon and her male rider. She hummed a bit and glanced back down at her Srunae, who was just going around the bend and into view of them. 

There are others there, you know. The dragon said nonchalantly, an amused smile plastered all over her mindvoice.

There's... What?! Srunae rather ungracefully tripped over a half-jagged rock buried in the sand. She face-planted rather ridiculously and just stayed there, only lifting her head to wipe off the sand that attached itself to her face. Thanks for the warning... She thought, her mindvoice laced with grumpiness and embarrassment. Danovelith's generally placid side of their bond rippled first with concern and then with amusement. You should have looked where you were dragging your feet.

[Zen]

S'fin :: Green Rusath

The day was so nice, the sun pleasantly warm, though lacking the real heat S'fin craved, and the breeze off the sea was still a bit chilly, but it only made the warm sand feel that much better. Still, he wished it was summer already. He wanted to go swimming, and the spring waters around Mavros may as well have been winter waters for how cold they were. He sighed, wistful, missing Southern and completely baffled as to how Az and Rau had managed to settle in here so quickly. All three of them were summer brats, Southern's temperatures rarely dipping into anything that could even be considered chilly, but the cold didn't particularly seem to phase either of them more than the next person.

Rusath lifted her head at the sudden motion of someone tripping just down the beach, eyes whirling curiously as her rider laid in the sand oblivious to the world. Mentally, she prodded him, Someone has fallen, you ought to help them.

“Huh? Who?” S'fin sat up, glancing down the beach both ways until his gaze settled on the vaguely human shape in the sand. He hopped to his feet, not waiting for Rusath's answer as he loped the short distance toward whoever it was, calling ahead of himself, “Hey, you okay!?”

When he reached her, he recognized the girl from the Gemglider hatching, and though he hadn't really interacted with her since, he knew well enough she had Impressed one of the twin Golds, and her name was already well known throughout the Weyr. Along with plenty of other things floating around the rumor mill.

“Here, let me help you up,” he reached down to help her back to her feet and instantly started brushing her off, as she was rather covered in sand, but forced himself to stop, realizing he might be getting a little too hands-on considering they didn't know each other that well. “Ah... sorry...,” he gave her a sheepish grin, forcing his hands back down to his sides instead, hoping he hadn't made her uncomfortable, “Barely know you and can't keep my hands to myself. I've been told it's a bit of a problem, but... heh.”

“Ah, dunno if you remember me, but I'm S'fin, brought those cute little fluffy 'lizards around. Amazing that you knew what they were, the rest of us were just confused as all get out,” he laughed, “Real glad they weren't poisonous, Az woulda killed me.” He looked her over as he talked, seeking out any sign of injury, “So, you're all right, yeah? Hopefully? Oh shards you didn't faint again did you?” He reached out as if to steady her, afraid she might collapse at any moment, being perhaps a little over dramatic. S'fin had an ear for gossip, and that little fact (along with plenty of juicy rumors accompanying it) had spread through the Weyr like wildfire, thanks to some gabby healer apprentices.

[Rhush]

Srunae :: Gold Danovelith

Srunae mentally screamed as one of the persons Danovelith had mentioned called out to her. Fantastic. They had seen her fall like a newborn foal just learning to walk. The gold chuckled darkly in the back of her mind and balked as a string of less than ladylike terms rolled through the weyrling’s brain in response to the entire situation. The man come to a stop in the sand before her and she quietly accepted his assistance in regaining her feet with some modicum of extreme embarrassment. "Thank you," She offered sheepishly, wanting nothing more than to drop back down to the sand and bury herself beneath it as the fellow unconsciously went about brushing sand off of her loose white tunic and soft brown pants. When he stopped and apologized for the gesture she merely waved him off, then proceeded to pick up where he had left off, brushing sand off her arms and shaking out her shirt. "Don’t worry about it, I appreciate the help." Her tone was kind, if a touch tense. She had just tripped and interrupted his time at the beach, and between the embarrassment and irritation at her own actions, Srunae felt poorly for cutting his break short.

He then went about introducing himself, or rather, reintroducing himself, talking about how he had been the person who brought the gemglider eggs to Mavros. "Ah, yes, well met S’fin. I don’t think I had caught your name before." She said warmly, smiling gently up at him before checking her feet for injury. The goldweyrling was keenly aware of a stinging sensation on her left foot, and she had ripped open her feet and toes before by scraping them on rocks like she had moments ago in years past. After a moment's inspection, there proved to be an abrasion across her toes that ran up onto the top of her foot, but it wasn’t anything that a quick wash in the ocean and a bit of coverage to keep the sand out couldn’t fix. Man I am good at this accidental injury game, she thought wryly, and was about to answer S’fin’s questioning of her well-being when he mentioned her fainting.

The goldweyrling instantly frowned and closed her eyes as she took a deep, calming breath. The fellow had only sounded worried, and what she could feel of his person meant well. "I did not faint," She said tersely, doing her best to keep the frustration out of her voice, "I tripped over that rock- there." She pointed at the half-buried black rock in the sand behind her, likely a bit of the cliffside that had been dislodged in a storm. She made a mental note to chew out whomever it was that had leaked the information out that she had fainted. She had no plans of letting the weyr at large know of her empathic talents, and that began with the awareness of the situation that resulted in the beastcrafter's newfound knowledge of her abilities. While most people probably only saw the information around her fainting spell in an isolated hotpool with the weyrleader as some sort of scandalous relationship they could use as fodder against her favorite bronzerider, Srunae saw it as an opening for people to probe into the real reason. It was no secret that the goldweyrling had been immediately thrust into the limelight the moment she impressed her beautiful dragon, and part of that newfound status was the introduction of intensely nosy folk.

People in the caverns would randomly ask her about if she still had family back in Ista, when they had never cared to speak to her before, let alone ask her where she had transferred in from. She dealt with strangers loitering around her and Melana’s weyr, looking to chat with either her or the other goldweyrling about nonsense just to be seen speaking with them. And, since Srunae was the elder of the two new goldriders and Danovelith was the calmer of the twins, she and her gold were often favored as the ones sent to deal with Lords outside of the holdproper, which led to rumors that began outside the weyr that were blown way out of proportion by the time they got to the weyr. Nothing had prepared Srunae for the flood of gossip that came with impressing Danovelith, and even more so when they started going on about her and A’zael. Sure, she liked the bronzer, but the constant rumors about them having shared a bed more than once while she was a weyrling were really starting to grate on her nerves. Yes, he had messed up before; a bluerider in her weyrling class came up pregnant as a result of their… extracurricular activities, but that had been while she was still a candidate. Sure, he and Srunae had toed the line once or twice in their relationship after she had impressed, but that didn’t start until well after Danovelith was old enough to understand, and still hadn’t resulted in anything greater than a kiss or two. Honestly, that weyrfolk would think she would ever let that happen, even if he had a reputation for such things, was an insult. It didn’t matter how much she liked him, Srunae would have never let him put her dragon in danger.

"It goes without saying," The beastcrafter continued, turning her dark green gaze upon the blonde, blue-eyed man, "That it takes a lot more than a walk down the beach to make me faint." The fire in her eyes hid all traces of the typical laughter that lit them, which might startle S’fin as she eyed the half-naked man for a long moment before turning her attention back to her skinned foot and then to the rolling waves across the ocean. She inwardly grappled with herself for a moment, and then conceded, her expression softening. "Sorry," The young woman sighed, keenly aware of Danovelith’s gentle prodding in the back of her mind to pull it back a notch. "It’s… uh… it’s been a rough day. Have you been in the water? Is it very cold?" It struck the weyrling that the man seemingly resembled A’zael, though he had to be older than the Weyrleader by a few turns at least. She looked back over at the man and squinted for a moment, thoughtful. "And... are you related to A’zael, per chance?" He had referred to the man as Az earlier, but R’get tended to do that as well, and the bronzer and the greenrider were brothers by all but blood.

[Zen]

S'fin :: Green Rusath

She got a bit touchy at his mention of her fainting and he mentally scolded himself a moment before Rusath did. The Green huffed where she lay in the sand, her gaze trained on her rider, Have I not warned you against listening to all that gossip and rumor nonsense before? You have. Yet you do not listen. And now you have upset Danovelith's rider. Why must I always be apologizing to other dragons for your behavior with their riders? You don't. Well it seems like it to me. He mentally waved her off and held up his hands slightly in an 'I surrender' gesture as a rather fierce look passed over the goldrider's features.

“No, I apologize, I... well. Your privacy hasn't been very well respected and...,” he cleared his throat slightly, “I normally have a bit more tact than that.” He might be a glutton for gossip but that didn't mean he had go back to the subject of it and toss it in her face. He gave her a soft smile, “You certainly have nothing to apologize for. As Rusy likes to remind me, I am quite an idiot at times.” Rusath. And you are. You cannot even remember my name properly. He cast a quick look back at her.

Srunae asked him if the water was cold and he laughed as he turned back to her, “I'm starting to forget what warmth even feels like. Back at Southern the water is comfortably cool this time of year, a nice contrast to the far warmer air. Here?” He gestured vaguely out at the water, “It's as though the water is still clinging to winter.” He glanced down at her foot briefly, “Suppose it might feel good on a hurt foot though.” He scratched his chin thoughtfully, a habit he shared with his brother, and was about to ask her if she was able to walk well enough on her own when she asked him about his possible relation to A'zael.

He grinned, not without a certain amount of pride, “I am indeed. He's my baby brother.” He laughed, referring to the Weyrleader as your baby brother just seemed a little strange. He sighed, a bit wistful, “He's come quite a long way, little Az. I never thought he'd grow up so fast, what with all the ridiculousness he and Rau used to get into.” He chuckled and shook his head, studying Srunae a moment.

He'd outright asked his brother just what was going on between them a month or two ago. The rumors in the Weyr were plentiful when it came to Srunae and the Weyrleader, and S'fin liked to believe his brother had some sense, especially after word got out about the weyrling he'd already gotten pregnant. It was with a great amount of frustration that A'zael had assured him that he and Srunae had never slept together and that they were JUST friends. Good friends, but JUST friends. That was it. Nothing more. Thank you.

Az wasn't one to deny sleeping with someone if he HAD. And with how frustrated he'd sounded, S'fin was inclined to believe him. And so the continuing rumors were rather starting to frustrate S'fin as well. Especially the most recent ones. The Weyr was certainly slow to forgive Az his mistakes. He was only human, and a far from perfect one. S'fin loved his brother, but he certainly wasn't blind to the younger man's faults.

“He speaks rather highly of you,” he smiled, thinking back to several conversations they'd had. Just friends or not, he could tell his brother cared about Srunae quite a lot. But Az cared deeply about all his close friends, they became more like family to him, case in point: Rau. “You know, so does Rau for that matter. I feel like I'm out of the loop, I don't know you at all. And if those two are adopting you, I'd better change that.” He glanced down at her foot again, remembering that he had yet to ask her about it, “Oh, can you walk all right? Did you want help to the water?”

[Rhush]

Srunae :: Gold Danovelith

Satisfied with the greenrider's response and Danovelith's lapse in prodding, Srunae sighed and offered S'fin a small smile in return. "Ah, well. I'm sorry anyway." Srunae repeated, glancing up to meet the tall greenrider's gaze. "It's… been a difficult shift, going from a beastcrafter everyone ignores to a goldrider everyone can't stop talking about." She chuckled dryly, rubbing her face with her free hand and shaking her head. "I don’t think I'll ever get used to the lack of privacy that comes with the rank Danovelith brings me." The queenlet chuffed in the back of Srunae's mind and vaguely preened at the admission of her position in Mavros' color hierarchy.

S'fin's ensuing explanation of the water temperature left Srunae feeling less than interested in putting her foot in the ocean than she had initially. She made a displeased noise and shook her head. "I miss Ista more and more with each winter that comes around out here," She chuckled wanly and rolled her eyes. Salt water nigh always cured whatever could ail her, but it was obviously not going to be terribly comfortable to partake in this time around. Shards. At least she could delay the inevitable for a little while while the greenrider talked about A'zael, whom apparently was his little brother.

Srunae hadn’t known A'zael had an older brother. Sure, she knew of his similarly aged sort-of-brother (it was hard to avoid interacting with Rau while he was in the Queen's Wing, after all) but A'zael hadn't mentioned any blood relatives - not that she had really asked about them either. Judging by how fondly the greenrider spoke of her favorite bronzer and the wave of pride that rolled off him, however, they had to be pretty close.... Srunae would have to go bother A’zael about it later. "I imagine he was quite wild before he became Weyrleader." She said, an amused smile playing on her lips. It was hard not to imagine so, between his personality and the rumors that clung to his back like feathers loosed from an old pillow.

Srunae’s face instantly turned the color of a redfruit as S’fin mentioned how highly A'zael spoke of her. "Ah, um…" She floundered a bit and could only flounder more as the greenrider continued, mentioning that R’get also spoke highly of her and that S'fin himself felt out of the loop because he didn’t really know her at all. "I… I'm nothing special," Just an idiotic, irritable weyrling that nearly bit his head off over a comment he had only meant well by, even if it wasn't the best of things to mention. "Just your average everyday grouch." She smiled wanly, a chuckle escaping her lips. "I’m usually quite a bit more cheery, honestly." Srunae added, shaking her head and then looking out at the sea. Maybe it was just the cold... coupled with the stress... and the rumors... and the dramatic flair of the weyrfolk... maybe she just needed a vacation. She could go visit her family in Ista for a while after graduation, perhaps, and enjoy the heat for a fleeting moment.

Srunae blinked and returned her gaze back to S’fin’s as he asked if she could walk alright. "Oh no, it’s not that bad," She began, casting her gaze the short distance to the water lapping at the shore. "Mmm… I may need some assistance coming back out, though – I want to keep the sand out of this mess after I've washed it off and my shoes are in Danovelith's bag," She gestured to her foot when she mentioned 'this mess' and then put the limb back on the ground, shifting her weight off of the arm leaning against the cliff face and back onto her legs. So far so good; no bleeding, though there was still a bit of stinging. She looked up and around before her gaze settled upon her dragon’s golden form. The queenlet was perched atop a natural ledge a ways from them due to the tight quarters of this section of beach. She could just walk down the beach at the water's edge until the shoreline opened up enough for Danovelith to land and then half-hop to her dragon's side… "Feel like taking a walk?"