Race for the Bubbly
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Duskdog, Yvonne
Date Posted: 31st May 2024
Characters: G'zan, Harki
Description: G'zan and Harki go skiing, and somehow nobody breaks a leg.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 13, day 7 of Turn 11
The wind whistled through Harki's jacket and chilled her teeth as she grinned. Cerillith's shadow raced up the mountainside with Panghuth's close behind. At the top, the plan was to release their riding straps and race down the snowy mountain.
The worst part was flying while wearing skis. She and G'zan had waxed up and strapped themselves in at the bottom of the mountain where the snow was shallow enough for their dragons to land without engulfing them. She turned her head to look back at G'zan as the sun glinted off his goggles.
Then they were nearing the top. Harki released her straps and fell the dragonlength into the soft snow near the top. The powder went up to her knees and she balanced precariously for a moment before falling over sideways, laughing.
G'zan released his straps only a heartbeat behind her, whooping excitedly on his way down to the snow. The stomach drop that accompanied the brief freefall was a feeling he lived for -- something that was really only equalled by the very first time that he'd flown on Panghuth's back, as short and unremarkable as that had been to everyone but the two of them.
He managed to land on his skis and keep his balance, but only because he managed to dig his poles in to support himself before falling. "Well, that's not the landing I was expecting! You need a hand?"
"No way!" The reply was muffled, but after a moment Harki was able to haul herself upright using a ski pole as a lever. She was laughing as she brushed snow out of her collar before it could touch her skin. "Not my best landing but at least I didn't start an avalanche this time."
"Well, there's still time for that," G'zan replied with a wink. "Hope the mountain's ready for us to kick up some snow!" He turned a little to get in a good position to start his way down the mountain. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Panghuth grumbled something about avoiding trees, but he didn't answer her with words -- just an emotional burst of his enthusiasm, which probably did nothing to convince her that he was particularly concerned about the potential impact of trees on his body at high speeds. "You ready?"
"Last one down owes the other a hand delivered hot bubbly pie!" Harki pushed off and tucked in, the wind picking up speed as she flew down the mountainside. Her heart pounded and the world narrowed to the line she'd picked through the glittering snow. They were well above the treeline here, near the peak of the mountain, and the biggest challenges now were unexpected drops and making their way through the small canyons between craggy outcrops. G'zan was bigger so he'd be faster, but there was still a good chance that she'd beat him down the mountain.
"You're on!" G'zan pushed off, too, eagerly seeking his own path down the mountain. He didn't doubt his own skill, but he knew she was likely more experienced than he was and that might give her a solid advantage -- but it didn't matter. It never mattered, so long as he was moving, rushing, _doing_ something, regardless of whether he'd done it a thousand times or was entirely new. This... this was almost like flying on dragonback for the first time, and he laughed into the wind, unmindful of the burning cold and the way it stole his breath away.
He kept a safe distance from Harki, at least, because he didn't want to collide, but he glanced at her every so often out of the corner of his eye, just to make sure he knew where she was.
Harki didn't return the favour. The powder was good and her skiis carved perfect shallow arcs into the snow, until they caught air and she was flying-- an unexpected jump that sent her soaring past G'zan. Cerillith soared overhead and her shadow carved Harki's path.
"WHOOOO!" G'zan cheered as she flew past him, airborne, genuinely impressed and enthusiastic. Anything, so long as it got his blood pumping. "Gettin' fancy on me over there!"
His words may have gotten lost on the wind, but he'd have still said them anyway.
Panghuth flew along, too, far more concerned for her rider than she was for herself, but unable to entirely ignore the happy feeling that _his_ happiness sparked inside her.
Cerillith used her wings to send a sparkling cloud of powder around the two skiers. }:Don't worry!:{ she called to Panghuth, }:My rider has skied steeper cliffs, they will reach the bottom in no time!:{
And they did, G'zan a hairsbreath faster than Harki-- mostly because the latter took a second jump that she didn't land quite as cleanly as the first. Harki stopped next to G'zan, her cheeks bright red as she grinned ear-to-ear. "Guess I owe you a bubbly, buddy!"
"Looks like you do! Don't forget: hand-delivered!" G'zan laughed breathlessly. "You gotta teach me how to jump like that sometime, though. Might be nice to fly without wings sometimes!"
}:Please don't,:{ said Panghuth.
Cerillith made a noise that sounded suspiciously like laughter.
"For sure. Ever been down Greenback Mountain? The north side's got some nice smaller jumps and mougles as long as the snowpack is fine and doesn't look like it'll avalanche." She wrinkled her nose and looked back up the slope. "Want to go again?"
"You want a rematch, huh?" he asked, grinning. "Alright, you're on! And maybe next sevenday, Greenback Mountain, too!"
"Best two out of three!" Harki called as Cerillith landed beside her in a flurry of snow. "That bubbly is mine!"
Last updated on the June 1st 2024