Swimming, Anyone?

[Shikai]

Arms flung out at her sides, Anya spun in circles; testing her booted feet to see how fast she could go. Faster, faster, faster…but then she could keep it up no more, and the candidate toppled over, rolling flat onto her back, grey-blue eyes wide and staring at the sky that seemed to continue to spin and spin, even though she had stopped. When her dizziness subsided, she rose somewhat unsteadily to her feet, holding out a freckled arm for balance as her hand searched for something to hold onto, to steady herself. The rough feeling of tree bark met her fingers, and she latched on eagerly.

Anya laughed, a light, merry sound, emanating from a face split open into a wide, happy smile. Life was good, the weyr was fun. The only problem was…she was bored! She always enjoyed doing her chores, for she was rewarded with satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment after working hard to clean a room, wash dishes, or whatever she may be required to do. But, she thought, the problem was that she applied herself too much, and finished too soon! She couldn’t just not do her best, though, and draw it out! No, Anya wrinkled her nose in distaste at that idea. She never planned ahead, and knew that even if she decided that it would be a good idea to take longer on her chores, to take up more time, she would not follow through. That was her problem, she was always living in the moment. For someone surprisingly good at coming up with plans and schemes, she was rather bad at following them. If it were necessary, she supposed, she would force herself to. But not now, not about chores. They weren’t that important!

Well, at least this break in her day forced her to stop rushing through life at a blinding pace, and stop and…enjoy the scenery. Upon exiting the Lower Caverns, and realizing she had nothing to do until after lunch (a good candlemark or two away) she had found herself face to face with a lake. It was very pretty, she thought with a grin, and looked as though it was just begging someone to go swimming in it! Well, Anya was hardly dressed for swimming…but when had that stopped her before?

[etoile]

Robika grinned, and slid into her swimming clothes. It was such a nice day, and she wanted to swim! "Coming, Kmarath?" she asked her snoozing green. Annoyed her slumber was disturbed, the sea-foam green dragon looked up.

I sleep, she told her rider grumpily. Robika rolled her brown eyes, sliding her sandals onto her feet. "Well, you're no fun," she said, a trace of a whine apparent in her voice. The day was so nice, and she didn't see how her dragon could pass up such a nice opportunity. Quickly sweeping her blonde hair back into two buns at the base of her skull, she looked over her appearance. Tidy, yet fun. Perfect. Grinning, she gave the green an irritated look. "You sure?"

Maybe later, she replied, still obviously grumpy. Sighing, Robika left the weyr, dashing down the hall to the entrance. She was glad that she had managed to snag a weyr on the bottom level, she thought with relief. Or else she would've needed to use stairs, which were not her best friends. She just wasn't built for running up and down stairs.

Rushing into the sunshine, she squinted at the adjustment from the darker Weyr. Smiling to herself, she darted to the lake, eager to take a refreshing dip. Wading out into the water a little, she watched the ripples form around her ankles with an amused expression. It was a bit cold, but it wasn't so bad. Flinging the large top she had worn on the way down back over to the sand, she started going in deeper.

[Shikai]

As she prepared to dash into the water, Anya caught sight of another person nearby. It was a young woman, several turns her elder, her blonde hair done up in twin buns. Anya’s own was too short to do much with, not even reaching her shoulders, although somewhat close. Perhaps the other woman was a dragonrider? It had not been long since Anya arrived at the weyr, so she was hardly familiar with its inhabitants. She was still learning her way around! She got lost with startling frequency, but actually enjoyed it, for finding her way back through the winding tunnels, forests, and fields of the weyr and its surrounding land gave her something to do physically and mentally, and besides, one never knew where they would find oneself!

Like this lake, for instance. She had passed it occasionally, she supposed, but never really looked at it, explored it. Ah, and if the other woman was friendly, perhaps she would have a companion while swimming as well! The day was going quite nicely, if Anya did say so herself, and she usually did. The joys of living an unplanned, unregimented life! Finishing her chores so early, a hindrance just moments prior, was now turning out to be very good indeed. Late morning, a little before noon, when Rukbat was just starting to warm up Pern. Perfect for swimming!

“Heeeey!” Anya called to the young woman, stretching her arm as high above her head as it would go, and waving the entire arm cheerfully. The girl took a few, skip-like steps before breaking into a run, and loped happily and energetically along down the lakeside a bit until she reached the area where the other person was.

“Great day for swimming, huh? You don’t mind if I join you, I hope! Oh yeah, I’m Anya!”

She said, seating herself on a rock and peeling off her boots.

[etoile]

Hearing a voice, Robika turned, and grinned. She waved. "Hello, there!" she called out, giving a wide wave back in her direction, turning around to get a closer look at the girl. She was almost surprised to see another person here, but she shouldn't be. Such a nice day, and Robika certainly didn't mind company, especially with Kmarath being such a pain in the rear today.

"Wonderful day for a dip!" she agreed, nodding, her buns going up and down. "Of course you can join me- my dragon left me all alone down here." She grinned, rolling her brown eyes in amusement. She tilted her head for a moment, trying to see if she recognized Anya's name, but she got nothing. "Are you new here?" she asked curiously. She was usually able to recognize those who had come forward, if not their name, but Robika didn't know an Anya.

She slowly sunk herself lower into the water, managing to submerge all of her body except her head, fighting the cool water. Now that she was mostly in, she could see it was a lot colder than she thought, she realized with slight amusement. She paused, realizing she had forgotten something. Seeing what it was, she laughed. "Oh! I almost forgot to introduce myself!" she said, fighting embarassement. "I'm Robika, rider of green Kmarath," she said cheerfully.

All of a sudden, something small and green flew out of between, shrieking with triumph. Frowning, Robika looked up, and laughed. "Emanor, whatcha got there, sweetie?" she asked, seeing some sort of meet in her claws. The chubby green chirped merrily, landing with surprising daintiness on the beach to eat her prize. She frowned. "I wonder where she got that," she remarked.

[Shikai]

Anya brightened as the young woman said that she didn’t mind company, for that was just what she had been hoping. Anya liked to be around other people, because unless she had something to occupy her mind with, she was easily bored when she was by herself. This person seemed friendly enough, as well!

Ah, so she was a dragonrider! Anya laughed at her statement about being left by her dragon – it was always interesting and fun to see how much the creatures had personalities of their own! Contrary to what a few of the boys had said about them, back at the Smithcraft hall. Dragons aren’t all that special! They’re just like runners, only they can fly. The jealous boys had argued, trying to persuade themselves that they didn’t want a dragon anyway, so it didn’t matter that they hadn’t been Searched! Secretly, they had been just as dragon-crazy as most of Pern’s youth, but were too proud to show it.

“New here? Yup, you could say that! I’m a candidate, just got Searched, oh, I don’t know…a sevenday ago, or so? Give or take a couple days. Pretty new.” She explained, removing her jacket, leaving herself dressed in her pants and tunic. She rolled up her sleeves to the shoulders, and her pant legs to the knee.

Robika. That was her name! Anya nodded in acknowledgement. “I’d like to meet Kmarath sometime!” Anya replied. Greens were fun, she thought! Small and agile, exploding into the sky with a burst of energy, getting their work done as quickly as possible. Just like me, Anya thought. All dragons, of course were fascinating to her, and just being around them was really enough. Anya didn’t care to think ahead about hatchings or impressions, and what would happen to her on the sands. She would be fine, no matter what! She was very confident in that.

Taking a few steps backward, she ran headlong into the lake, and when it was deep enough, she pushed herself forward with her legs and dove under. She emerged, sputtering, and wiped her wet red hair away from her eyes. Laughing, she rubbed at her eyes with a freckled hand.

“It’s cold!” She remarked enthusiastically, but remained in. It was so nice, to be surrounded by cool water, the wind rustling the leaves on the trees, drying her face, the sun beaming down upon her…so very lovely.

Yet she was distracted from her reverie by strange shrieking, and she forced herself upright, gazing with interest upon a tiny green creature. Could it be…a fire lizard? Anya let out a gasp of delight, but restrained herself from making a grab for the thing.

“Wow, a fire lizard! I’ve only seen one of those before, and not this close up!” She cried, her eyes wide with excitement. “You have one? A master at the Smithcraft hall had one, a little blue.” She indicated the size with her hand. “But it was always with him, and I didn’t really get a chance to really see it, you know?”

“Emanor? Is that her name? Can I…can I touch her?” Anya asked, awestruck, her eyes locked on the chubby green.

[etoile]

Ah, so that's why Robika didn't recognize her. She nodded, acknowledging it. She grinned. "Just been Searched, hm?" she asked, draw lines in the water with her finger. Her body was starting to get used to the temperature. "Kmarath never showed much aptitude for Searchriding," she told Anya with a small shrug. It was disappointing that Kmarath had always been more interested in sleeping than potential candidates, but now she didn't mind as much. She would like make something of herself someday, though, she though anxiously. Perhaps a Candidatemaster or a Weyrlingmaster. But now, she was content with what she was doing, which was getting used to this new time period.

"Have you been finding your way around the Weyr pretty well?" she asked curiously. It often took someone a long time to get used to the enormous size of the Weyr. "It can be overwhelming for some candidates," she told Anya, smiling fondly remembering back how in the old time, some kids got lost in the vast place. She had "rescued" a few back in the day. But they were so embarassed that they were caught lost that they ignored her for the longest time.

Robika laughed. "Of course you can meet her sometime!" she said, grinning. "When she's awake, that is. She sleeps so much!" she added, rolling her eyes. "That's where she is right now, instead of enjoying the water. She's off, snoring the day away." She chuckled to herself, sensing the green wasn't listening to her. She was dead asleep.

Following Anya's example, Robika bent over and allowed her entire head to go under, then pushed off the bottom to get her to dive into the water. She kicked her legs and moved her arms in a wide stroke that would bring her farther from shore. Finally out of breath, she lifted her now wet head out of the water, where she grinned. "You'll get used to it," she teased. Her own head had gotten over the initial shock of being forced under, but now it was feeling fine.

Seeing Emanor had caught Anya's attention, Robika chuckled, holding out a short arm. "Hey, Em, c'mere!" she called to the round flitter. The green looked up from her bounty, giving her bonded a confused squawk, as if asking what was more important than eating her food. "Never seen a flitter this close up?" she asked in surprise as the green reluctantly picked her food up. Gliding over, Emanor looked at Anya curiously, finally landing on Robika's outstretched arm. Of course, she had brought her food so no one would steal it.

She held the green out to Anya. "Feel free to pet her... She loves having her eye-ridges scratched. But don't get to near her food, or she will scratch," she warned, giving the food still in her claws a nervous glance. She didn't want Anya's first experience touching a flitter to give her any unneccesary scars. "This is Emanor, probably the fattest green you will ever meet."

[Shikai]

Anya nodded energetically at Robika’s comment about the size of the weyr, and laughed.

“Finding my way? Passably, I suppose, but I’ve gotten lost quite a few times!” She said, with a hearty chuckle. “Fortunately, I always manage to find my way back again. It’s kind of fun, being lost, and having to figure out where you are, and how to get where you’re going. As long as you aren’t in a hurry, that is! And besides, you might be trying to get one place, but find yourself somewhere fun and new!”

That was Anya, always turning every up and down of life into a game. She listened happily as Robika spoke of her dragon. Dragonriders always spoke of their dragons with that special fondness, whether they were praising or criticizing. They clearly had a bond unlike any other, for the flaws and good points of their dragons were spoken of with equal affection. Their rider always accepted their dragon, entirely. Remembering the prejudice she had faced at the Smithcraft Hall, Anya thought about how nice that must be. If only people were as accepting of other people as dragons were of their riders, and riders of their dragons!

But that was behind her now, she was at Araelen, and very happily so!

“Likes to sleep, does she? I wouldn’t worry about it, not every dragon is cut out to be a Search dragon! I bet she’s great at something else, then. Everyone has their talent, you just have to figure out what it is!”

Anya said, with great conviction. Ever the optimist. She had thought, until recently, that her place was in the Smithcraft, but when the prejudice only worsened and it appeared that she had little chance of promotion, despite her best efforts, she had moved on. Anya wasn’t afraid of ‘missing’ something, she preferred to take a chance on something knew. If she had been a dragonrider those many years ago, she bet she would have gone forward, too.

Her body was also becoming accustomed to the temperature, thankfully, although it was still cool, but now in a much nicer, more comfortable way.

“Thanks, I am!” She replied with a grin, but then shivered involuntarily. “Eheh…but I haven’t fully gotten used to it just yet!”

Anya watched, entranced, as the green fire lizard was shifted closer to her, right before her very face!

“Why, she’s just like a tiny dragon!” She exclaimed, exstatic. “And she liked her eye-ridges scratched? Oh yes, the Searchrider I met said the same thing, about his dragon! So they really are just like miniature dragons.” She concluded, beaming fondly at the chubby, greedy green.

“Emanor.” She stated experimentally, reaching her hand out toward the green. She was careful to heed Robika’s advice and keep her hand clear of Emanor’s meat. Tentatively, she placed her hand on the green’s head, and scratched lightly at her eyeridges.

[etoile]

Robika smiled. "I'm glad you don't mind getting lost," she remarked in amusement. This girl was very interesting, she thought. Most candidates hating getting lost, and the bad ones always would blame her for it if she was the one that found them. "Well, if you ever feel like getting to know the Weyr from an actual guide, let me know!" she told Anya, winking.

She leaned back onto the water, but keeping herself afloat. She loved lying around on her back when she went to the beach, loving the feeling of the water against her back, contrasted with the warm caress of the sun on her face. She could feel some of the hair that was too short to be pulled back was flying around in the water, with nothing holding it back. Sighing, she regretfully raised her head to push the hair back, flattening it against her skull.

Hearing Anya, she snorted. "Her one and only talent is sleeping," she told the candidate, rolling her brown eyes. "She is good at calming me down, which is also a talent!" she added with a small chuckle.

Emanor rubbed her head against Anya's hand, enjoying the attention. It was worth leaving the sandy beach for. She made a rumbling noise that sounded kind of like a purr. However, Robika made a tutting noise with her mouth.

"Not so much like a dragon," she told Anya, smiling. "She eats wayyy too much to be a dragon! But she's more like a feline. A very fat feline!" She laughed. "But she does like being scratched in the same places," she had to admit, grinning.

Emanor was like a cat. She liked to snuggle at night, hunt small animals when she had the energy, and play with small toys. And she ate a lot, often sneaking around the kitchen to get the things she wanted. She's been chased with a broom, had soapy water dumped on her, and came back covered in flour once. Emanor also liked this attention a lot, responding to her name and the scratches.

"Would you ever want one?" she asked with a grin. She could see that if Emanor ever laid eggs, and if she found them, she might give one to Anya. She seemed so... eager around Emanor. It was kind of cute, actually.

[Journye]

Hunter stretched and made a face as his shoulders protested to the movement. He had been at the feeding pens checking on the stock. He had patched a spot in the fence and made note of those that were pregnant. He made a mental note to let someone know so that they could tell the Weyrwoman if she wanted to keep the stock here flourishing or just depend on tithes.

Tithes would help, but if the holders were having a hard time feeding their own holds then they wouldn't be too happy to tithe much. It wouldn't be a bad idea to keep a small herd for breeding purposes and he'd volunteer to oversee it if need be if that was a decision that was made by these dragonmen. Wait a minute his feet were getting wet.

He paused as he found that he had wandered to the edge of the lake in his thoughtful mode. He chuckled and shook his head, it was hot enough for a swim. He noted the two already in the water and waved "'Ello! Mind if I join you?" he asked with a smile.

[Shikai]

Anya watched Robika relax in the water, and decided to try it herself. She closed her eyes and reclined in the water, letting her hair billow around her like a red-gold cloud. However, while it was soothing, being carried so by the gentle current, cool water surrounding her. Yet she felt the desire to move, to play, to swim, and she just couldn’t keep still! Anya rolled over, plunging back underwater, lashing out with legs and arms alike to propel herself forward.

The water stung her eyes as she opened them, but she wanted to see what was around her anyhow. Water, and below her, sand. Something green was growing out of the sand a ways away, but she made a mental note to observe it later.

Excitedly rubbing the eyeridges of the little green, Anya smiled so widely that it looked like her face would break. She laughed as Robika compared the little creature to a feline, rather than a dragon. Upon observation, Emanor did act rather like a little feline! She almost seemed to purr as Anya scratched her. Yes, Emanor was reminiscent of a feline, although she did bear a striking resemblance to a dragon, albeit a little one.

“Want one?” She echoes, eyes wide. “Oh, I imagine that would be amazing! To actually, be bonded with such a brilliant little thing…” Anya babbled excitedly. The girl had no idea what Robika might mean by that, but it was an excellent idea!

Anya glanced up as a voice suddenly met her ears. Ah, a new person! And he seemed friendly, too!

“HIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!” Anya called back, waving to the boy on the shore, and temporarily forgetting about the fire lizard she had been petting. “It’s fine with me.” She answered loudly.