A-Picnic-ing We Go!

Writers: Devin, Avery
Date Posted: 14th January 2021

Characters: A'dryn, T'lin, V'rel, A'vel, Ashelia, Neria
Description: Some young Dolphin Cove riders have a picnic.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 14 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: Panitath

T'lin

A'vel stood next to Tsogath, holding his gitar case in both hands. He
couldn't remember anymore how he got talked into this, but now he was
glad he had been - the idea of going to a picnic with some of the
other young green- and blueriders was going to be a lot of fun. Beside
him, V'rel was securing a basket of goods taken from the kitchens to
Rymeth's straps and impatiently waiting for everyone else to arrive.

Calaroth landed nearby with a happy bugle, his rider waving to the
others. "Ready to go?" He was really looking forward to this.

"Thank you for inviting me," A'dryn told A'vel. He was a little
nervous, but he told himself that some of the people going were his
wingmate. He interacted with them almost daily, had meals with them
sometimes. A picnic wasn't so different.

"It's not a problem. The more the merrier when it comes to food and
music, I say... it means more people to hide behind," he said with a
wink.

A'dryn's cheeks warmed and he gave A'vel a shy smile.

A'vel stood next to Tsogath, holding his gitar case in both hands. He
couldn't remember anymore how he got talked into this, but now he was
glad he had been - the idea of going to a picnic with some of the
other young green- and blueriders was going to be a lot of fun. Beside
him, V'rel was securing a basket of goods taken from the kitchens to
Rymeth's straps and impatiently waiting for everyone else to arrive.

Calaroth landed nearby with a happy bugle, his rider waving to the
others. "Ready to go?" He was really looking forward to this.

"Thank you for inviting me," A'dryn told A'vel. He was a little
nervous, but he told himself that some of the people going were his
wingmates. He interacted with them almost daily, had meals with them

sometimes. A picnic wasn't so different.

"It's not a problem. The more the merrier when it comes to food and
music, I say... it means more people to hide behind," he said with a
wink.

A'dryn's cheeks warmed and he gave A'vel a shy smile.

Ashelia came into view, arm slung around Neria. "Hi boys, how's it
going?" Her eyes lit up when she saw A'vel's gitar. "_Please_ tell me
you're playing for us."

"No, I brought this just to taunt you."

V'rel began to laugh. "I just brought food but I hope that's good
enough to invite me along. T'lin, you want me to come, right?"

T'lin's eyes went wide. "Why wouldn't I?"

"Don't talk about your sex life in public," Neria teased.

"That's not what he meant!" V'rel protested.

The greenrider kept laughing at him.

"Bringing food is a good enough reason to be invited. I brought food
too. A'dryn, do you have anything, or just the pleasure of your
company?" Ashelia asked.

"I brought a few skins of wine. I hope that's appropriate for a picnic."

G'rahi held up a pair of hand drums as he joined them. "I have drums,
A'vel has a gitar. We have food, and wine, and did anyone think to
bring juice?"

"I brought juice from the kitchens," Ashelia said.

"Sounds like that's everything we need and we're good to go," V'rel
said.

"All right." T'lin patted Calaroth's neck. "Everyone got the visual?"

A chorus of, "Aye", and "Yes" joined him, with people mounting their
dragons and heading off.

Once they arrived at the area for the picnic, people began taking down
the items they had. Neria and Ashelia were spreading out their
blankets to set up an area of comfort. V'rel put down his food, and
A'vel carefully rested his gitar.

"This is going to be a real nice day," A'vel said.

T'lin looked up at the sunny blue sky with a grin. "Absolutely
lovely." He knelt down on one of the blankets and started unpacking
the food V'rel had brought. He'd been spending his free time working
on his Craft and this was a perfect way to pull him out of that and
get some desperately needed socialization. "How've you been, Ashelia?"
He was glad V'rel and Ashelia had eventually patched up their
friendship. Things had gotten messy and painful before they all
Impressed.

"Oh, the usual. Drills and then sweeps and then drills and then
sweeps. I can't wait for Panitath to rise again so I can go Searching
just to do something different."

"I love going on Search," T'lin said. "It's like being a character in
a Harper tale, whisking people off to the Weyr for a chance to Impress
a dragon."

Calaroth perked up from where he'd been starting to doze on the beach.
}:Are we Searching soon?:{

**Not soon enough for you, you overgrown hatching,** T'lin said with a
mental chuckle. **After Panitath rises.**

A'dryn kept setting things out, half-listening to the conversation. He
sometimes wished Nalarith was a Search dragon so they'd be able to do
even more for the Weyr. But then again, during a Pass, Search pairs
could rarely have wingrank so maybe his future prospects were better
this way.

A'vel grinned at T'lin. "As a Harper who was Searched, I can tell you
it _felt_ like being in a Harper's tale to be Searched. But there
aren't many songs about Search dragons, mostly about fighting ones."

"Well, clearly you should write one and change that. You and Tsogath
are a Search pair too, right?" V'rel asked.

"Mhm," A'vel said. "I'm not sure I'd be able to write something like
that with the quality it deserves."

"Don't go for quality. Go for something the Search brigade can get
together and sing when drunk. 'For we ride the grand Search dragons,
we cross Pern from far to near, we take all your lads and all your
girls and bring them to the Weyr!'" Ashelia improvised.

T'lin laughed. "Are you secretly a harper?"

"No, but maybe I can inspire our real one?" she asked hopefully.

"I'll _think_ about it," A'vel said.

"Let's give him some wine and see if it works," V'rel declared,
uncorking and pouring. "A'dryn, white or red?"

"Red, please." A'dryn paused a moment. "I hope you don't expect _me_
to start writing any songs."

"No, but I would love to have more songs about Search riders," T'lin
said. He turned to A'vel with a smile. "Maybe you can debut it at our
next picnic."

Last updated on the February 19th 2021

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A-Picnic-ing We Go!