Beautiful day for a swim ][ open

[Ayla]

Is this really necessary? Turith asked for what was quite possibly the thousandth time. The amethyst had been complaining ever since the pair left the Weyr. For the last time. The Bowl is too crowded and I want to give you a bath in peace, Keia said, her mindvoice betraying her annoyance. Come on, I can hear the waves! Indeed, there was a faint rhythmic splashing, hidden in part by the dense forest. Keia picked up her pace, but was quickly slowed by Turith's inability to run particularly quickly. The amethyst had encountered a growth spurt that made her awkward on the ground.

Keia burst through the trees onto the white sand beach. The stark contrast between the hot, humid rainforest and the light sea breeze of the beach was surprisingly pleasant. Turith followed close behind, but the dragon failed to stop until she was in the water. The amethyst splashed around while Keia removed the small bag on her back that contained bathing clothes, oil, and a package of sweetsand.

Without a second thought, the young woman stripped down and pulled on her bathing clothes. The water was inviting, never mind Turith's happy sounds drew her closer. Keia dashed across the hot sand, careful not to let the soles of her feet get burned, and dove into the cool water. She surfaced close to Hers, swiped the water out of her eyes, and checked her braid to make sure it had stayed put.

[Faerie Fyre]

"Breuth, we could get into an awful lot of trouble for this."

Weyrling Phaela attempted to reason with her light brown lifemate, to no avail. Her bonded was determined to go for a swim away from the hustle and bustle of the Weyr Bowl. With the addition of Zarinth's clutch, the lake used by most riders to bathe their dragons had become over populated, which meant that it was often hard to find a place big enough to fit even a hatchling to bathe. Normally, Breuth would have been all over the chance to accustom His Phaela to people, but just at the moment, he wanted to be clean.

Phaela followed Breuth, letting the precocious brown forge his own path. She carried two of the large towels used after bathing, a bag of sweetsand, and an ewer of oil. Eventually, Breuth would demand his bathing, but if they were sneaking out of the weyr to visit the water, Phaela certainly intended to enjoy the water!

There was a place, probably about two miles away from the Weyr proper, where the dense Skysong foliage met the water without giving way to sparkling white sand. It was here Phaela shed her protective brown vest, concealing, stained shirt, and practical black trousers. Beneath, she wore her hip and breast wraps. The cloth in these were in scarcely better condition than her outer clothing, though none of the rips were placed awkwardly...yet. When Phaela was more comfortable with interacting with others, Breuth would convince her to request new clothes. As things stood, though, it was adequate.

Besides, it wasn't as though anyone besides Breuth would see her today.

PhaeMine, please don't think like that. You wanted to enjoy a swim, didn't you?

"Yes, Breuth."

Perhaps the first sign that Phaela might join the ranks of Riders as a functioning being was the change in her voice. She no longer spoke in a hoarse, barely discernible whisper, but was not yet utilizing the full-throated brassy tones that had characterized her time in the fields. That would come, in time. Time is the one thing reputed to heal all wounds, and if Breuth had his way, it would heal His back to the confident, life-loving person she had once been.

Phaela stepped into the water, smiling in relief as the cool water instantly ended the oppressive, wet heat that characterized the southern continent. She walked into the water as far as her thick calves, and turned back to the shore, intending to beckon Breuth in. However, Breuth had plans of his own, the big lizard!

He waded in, and smacked his tail against the water, sending a wave towards the still mostly dry Phaela. The water splashed against a rock-hard magenta midsection, prompting an immediate uproar, and a retaliatory splash attack.

After the ensuing splash battle, Phaela found herself far enough away from the shore that she could no longer touch the bottom. The current let her drift, unknowingly bringing her closer to a fellow Beastcrafter-turned-weyrling.

[Astarte]

As the other two girls trooped into the water, another pair walked down, accompanied by a vibrant blue creature who swooped around them, chittering with amusement and annoyance as he alternately commended and scolded the pair for their work. He was jealous of the dragon, somewhat, but mostly just protective of the girl, who was carrying a jar of oil and another of sweetsand in a sling over her back, with a towel wrapped around her waist. Other than the towel, she was wearing very little; Toska had no shame, and a swim and bath with her dragon wasn't worth getting dressed for. After all, she wasn't going to the lake. That was one of the reasons she had decided to take Cavith to the beach.

The other was that walking on sand and swimming in current would be good ways to condition the young Iridescent and hopefully build up her strength.

...Toska....my Toska, I tire.

Toska looked down at the dragonet pacing at her side and sighed softly, reaching down to stroke one of the delicate eyeridges proffered by the elegant young dragonet pacing at her side. In the days since the terrible Hatching, Cavith had been gaining strength, but the young dragonet had nearly no stamina, and bits of her seemed to be growing at different speeds from the rest of her. It concerned Toska, but other than her frequent fatigue, she seemed to be physically capable. More or less.

"I know, darling, but we're almost there."

Though the fatigue did worry Toska. Was she ever going to be able to fly with a dragonet who could barely last a dragonlength walking before she needed to rest?

I am getting stronger though, Toska... Cavith looked up at Toska with such a pained, adoring expression that the young woman choked on her nervous thoughts and bent down to cuddle Cavith gently.

"I know you are," she answered, and straightening up, she held out an arm for Fiki, who perched and trumpeted to announce his arrival on the beach to any eligible wild females. Finding none, he huffed with annoyance and briefly blinked between, only to appear above Phaela with a cheerful trill. Toska, meanwhile, caught sight of a vibrant amethyst hide and considered her potential courses of action. She knew nothing about the girl other than that she had Impressed a Queen. She would reserve judgment.

Although she felt rather silly for showing up topless now...

[Ayla]

Both dragon and girl were enjoying themselves immensely. It seemed that no one but them had thought to come out to the beach today. The splash war was just beginning, and both were dripping seawater by the time Keia noticed that they were not alone in their revelry.

It appeared that one - no, two - other pairs had shown up; a brown whose rider was obscured by the water, and an iridescent. Keia couldn't tell, exactly, but it looked like the same girl who had told her off during chores. Had it really been such a short time ago that she had been scrubbing tables and trying to keep the peace?

Turith interrupted her line of thought with a reminder to be polite. The brown is Breuth, and the iridescent is Cavith, she supplied helpfully. At nearly the same moment, Keia noticed the girl floating toward her. Is she... pink? Must be the light... Must be a mutation, Mine. Since when does the sun turn people colors? Keia had to admit, that made quite a bit more sense.

As the girl floated closer, Keia couldn't help but stare at the mostly-exposed body. This girl's skin was a color that could best be described as magenta, and bumpy all over. What kind of mutation was this that transformed someone into a... freak, for lack of a better word? Fort exiled my mother and Hers for being different. Don't you dare do the same to Breuth's. Turith said, although the amethyst was already swimming toward shore to see her iridescent sister.

Keia waited a few more seconds before saying something to the girl. This was awkward, to say the least. "Sorry! I didn't see you..." she said once the brownrider was nearly on top of her. "Er, I'm Keia, of amethyst Turith. Nice day, hmm?" she continued, trying to not appear too stunned by Phaela's appearance.

Turith, on the other hand, was nearly out of the water. She was unwilling to give up the coolness of the ocean, but didn't want to be rude about addressing Cavith from so far away. Good afternoon, Cavith. I trust you and Yours are well? she said, projecting her mild alto mindvoice toward the iridescent and Hers.

[Faerie Fyre]

Phaela had been contemplating a sea bird flying overhead, and wondering how well it fished when Breuth addressed her.

PhaeMine, you are about to crash into Turith's. Perhaps you should change your course, dear.

Truly, the current had delivered her to a fellow weyrling - exactly the person she couldn't deal with at the moment. When she realized that she was about to bump into the girl, Phaela freaked out, for lack of better terms. She flailed wildly, sending a vast amount of salty water into the air as she tried to maneuver herself away from the young woman who had Impressed Amethyst. Her eyes widened as her too-large pupils contracted in fear. What had she done?

Phaela!

Breuth's plea curbed her blind panic, but only barely. The former beast herder quit flailing, though she did move away from her fellow weyrling quickly. The splashing had sent water into her lungs, and Phaela hacked violently as she waved her arms as if warding something off.

"I'm so sorry," she told the other in between coughs, voice gone hoarse from both the coughing and the salt in the water she had swallowed.

PhaeMine, please breathe!

Breuth conveniently placed himself close enough for Phaela to grab hold of him. While his young wings were unable to support him in flight, they provided adequate surface area to give the brown enough buoyancy to support himself and his helplessly coughing rider.

Please ask Yours to forgive Mine, Turith. My Phaela did not mean to cause trouble.

The light brown addressed his higher-ranked sister with the same amount of candor he would use to address his twin, without regard for rank at the moment. Rank meant nothing to a dragon whose rider was in danger, unless he received a direct order from his queen. Breuth had not received any such thing, so he felt free to treat the amethyst like a fellow weyrling instead of his future WeyrQueen.

[Astarte]

Toska's attention was immediately attracted by the enormous scene Phaela made, though her expression was completely mild as the girl all but drowned herself in her haste to...do whatever it was she was trying to do. She didn't stop her progress down to the water except briefly, to unwind the towel from her waist and untie the sling on her back, folding both and setting them down and then picking up her jar of sweetsand. She tilted her head as Cavith's eyes whirled a startled yellow-green and she ducked behind her rider.

Sweet?

I am all right, Toskamine... Curiously, Cavith peered out from behind Toska's legs, eventually moving back to her side and pressing against her as she looked at Turith and answered the amethyst's query with a light warble and a soprano mindvoice to match. I am well, Turith... She paused, not entirely sure how to continue to the young queen dragonet, but then pressed on lightly. And Toska is well also. I hope you and Yours are well? And that done, she ducked back behind Toska, who sighed softly.

Her dragonet was darling, there was no denying that, and she was larger, but nonetheless, the shyness was going to be a problem. Toska didn't understand shy, and wouldn't if her life depended on it. With a soft sigh, she stroked the dragonet's head and started the walk down to the water's edge a little ways away from the other two girls. She all but ignored them for the time-being, whatever was going on ought to be sorted out before Toska butted in. Nonetheless, she gave a courteous nod to Turith as she started into the water, and Cavith followed suit.

She stumbled a bit in the sand, but righted herself and again put Toska between herself and company as she hid herself in something resembling embarrassment. Toska moved slightly out of the way to provide a path to Cavith for anyone who wanted to approach, but for the moment she stayed fairly silent.

[Ayla]

Keia assumed nothing really would happen if she spoke to Phaela. She had thought, quite unconsciously, that the other girl had come to terms with her mutation. If she had Impressed a brown, she must at least be able to accept it. Despite her... odd appearance, Keia thought that at Skysong people would be a little more accepting. At the very least, she never expected a full-blown panic attack.

She was stunned by the outburst, so stunned she didn't bother to shield her eyes from the flying salt water. Even after Phaela had stopped flailing, Keia was scrubbing at her eyes, trying to get rid of the burning. The water was out of them in moments, but the salt lingered; Keia opened her eyes experimentally, and closed them quickly at the lingering burn. Apparently, she was going to have to live with it for a few minutes.

Breuth says to forgive His. Although I'm sure you were already going to do that, Turith said from her place in the shallow water. Her voice was laced with a tone of warning, something that could be described as "do what I tell you or you'll be sorry, shardit."

"No, no! There's nothing to be sorry about! You're fine, it's my fault anyways," Keia said. Clearly there was something wrong, and it took her a minute to figure it out. Either she had legitimately surprised Phaela, or there was something she hadn't known about. The first option was out of the question, as people generally didn't respond to small talk with splashing fits.

Her mutation. Do you really think anyone could live normally looking like that? Turith supplied. Keia nearly smacked herself in the head. Of course it was her mutation. Humans didn't like things that were different; wasn't that why Fort had had the mutant dragons exiled? And now it was the source of the intrinsic fear of this girl. Though she tried, Keia couldn't get over just how strange this girl looked.

While Keia tried to make everything better, Turith was still trying to talk to Cavith, although the iridescent clearly did not want to be spoken to. Yes, of course, although Keiamine has not been splashed quite enough yet, she said, hiding the last part of her sentence from Hers. No need to warn anyone of impending doom.

[Faerie Fyre]

Breuth wasn't truly big enough to be an adequate screen for his mortified rider, but he was the only thing available. Phaela had always been a practical girl, and thus had no qualms about placing herself behind her lifemate; effectively using him as a shield. She clutched the brown tightly, magenta fingers leaving indentations. The salt water provided enough buoyancy that neither were in danger of drowning, but Phaela's mutation had turned her bones into something denser than typical bone. It was the reason she suffered few broken limbs now, but also meant that she currently outweighed her hatchling, despite being skeletally thin.

Come along, dear. We have friends to talk to, and you want to hide.

Breuth lightly teased His, pushing at her shoulder his his nose. The gesture was one that Phaela's Shadow had often made, and Breuth had found that it had the wonderful side effect of calming His girl down. True to form, Phaela's shaking slowed until she barely trembled, and she relaxed her death-grip. Slowly, she brought one hand forward to rest against Breuth's neck, and she followed the mostly-smooth hide until she came around to the brown head. She stroked Breuth's upper jaw until even her trembles had subsided, and she was calm. No one could deny that Phaela needed Breuth, possibly more than Breuth needed Phaela. For the first time since Acid had destroyed the life of a plain, working girl, she had someone she could depend on.

I'm going to try again.

Breuth nudged her shoulder with his head again, once more mimicking the stallion that had once been His Phaela's most constant companion.

Then show yourself. We're going to be working with these girls. It would be good to make them friends.

Phaela did so, easing herself around her Impressed so become visible. And what a sight she was, too. Salt water weighed her fly-away hair down enough so that it meremly appeared that she had very thick, Very tangled white hair instead of the usual hair-standing-on-its-end look she had. The right half of her face sported heavy bruising, and a thick scab on her lower lip showed where she had bitten her lip hard enough to draw blood. Though she was calmer, her huge pupils were still partially retracted, showing more of her light brown irises than what could typically be seen. The undyed gray cottom material that covered the important parts sported many rents, rips, and other tears, and some of those frayed edges bore a faint hint of dark brown - old, dried blood.

Phaela tried to smile sheepishly, though the most she could muster was a half-grimace that still pulled a little too much at her bruised skin.

"Sorry 'bout that," she told the amethyst weyrling quietly. While not precisely whispering, neither was she able to utilize even the range she had been using before. Every little setback just drew out her recovery.

"Ya'll done caught me with my guard down."

Her manner of speech betrayed her as a holder of the working variety, the broad vowel and slight twang on the consonants placed her among those who worked with herdbeasts in the fields.