Dragons and Dolphins

Writers: Halyonix, Heather
Date Posted: 23rd February 2025

Characters: Lyani, M'trel
Description: M'trel takes Lyani to visit the dolphins
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 1, day 11 of Turn 12
Notes: Takes place before her accident.

Lyani

He was all smiles by the time practice was over. "Are you ready to go
see the dolphins?" he asked Noruith. The brown dragon grunted,
unenthused, but it made M'trel laugh anyway. "Grump! You love talking
with the dolphins!"

}: I do, :{ Noruith agreed slowly. M'trel guessed his resistance was
because they were spending time with a greenrider when Noruith
preferred to spend his time chatting with bronzes. Both rider and
dragon disliked small talk but for some reason, M'trel had a good
feeling about Lyani.

Noruith privately thought that it might just be wishful thinking.

"Are they ready? Ask Phyllameth," M'trel asked as he thumped Noruith fondly.

}:She's ready.:{ Phyllameth told Noruith.

Lyani wore a button-up shirt over her two-piece swimsuit. As she
approached Phyllameth, she kicked off her leather sandals and tucked
them into her green's riding straps for safe travel. A towel was
wedged under her arm, and she wore a wide-brimmed hat on top of her
head. **Tell them to send us the coordinates and we'll meet them
there,** she told her dragon as she settled into her riding straps,
which she found hot on her practically bare backside.

Noruith sent where they were going and disappeared /between/. He made
a long spiral down, searching sky and sea for the winged green and the
sleek finned gray. When Phyllameth joined them, Noruith angled towards
the beach. M'trel gave a low whistle as he caught sight of Lyani
astride her dragon as they came in for a landing. She was beautiful!
Picturesque! A harper should paint her.

"Welcome to Dolphin Hall!" he greeted with a bright grin as he
dismounted. He unstrapped Noruith and gave him an affecionate thump on
the shoulder. "I don't really remember the call sequence for the
dolphins but Noruith here usually just goes into the water and roars
under the waves. They seem to hear that just fine."

Lyani looked around at the scenery appreciatively. The impressive
building that butted up to the cliff was picturesque with its
balconies and docks. The lighthouse looked new and stood watch above
the cliff

“Maybe when Phyllameth and I retire we’ll become dolphineers,” she
said, smiling at M’trel.

M'trel chuckled. "I don't think there's ever been one of those," he
said, "Not in the histories I've read anyway. Can you imagine being
bonded to both dragon and dolphin? Well, the dolphin bond is more of a
joint pairing from what I understand. Not the same lifebond as a
dragon." Meanwhile, Noruith waded out into the shallows, dipped his
head under the water, and let out a gurgling warble. Squees could be
heard a few moments later, as gray fins began poking through the
waves. "Here they come," M'trel said. He shucked off his shoes and
waded out into the water about hip high.

Lyani kicked off her sandals quickly to follow M’trel through the
powdery sand. The water was warm and welcoming as she waded out beside
of the brownrider. “They’re faster than I thought they’d be,” she
remarked as she watched the dorsal fins slicing through the water
toward them.

"Like dragons are made for flying, dolphins are made for swimming,"
M'trel explained, though it did still amaze him at how fast they were
as well. Noruith moved closer to the shore so that the dolphins had
unobstructed access to the humans. "Hello!" M'trel called to the
incoming forms.

One leaped high to squeal, "Helloooo! Helloooo!"

Phyllameth moved closer, stretching her neck out as long as it would
go as she peered down into the water. }:Can you eat them?:{ she asked
Noruith.

Lyani squealed a little and jumped closer to M'trel, her hands
latching onto his arm as the dolphins swirled around them. She had
never seen _fish_ so big... Was it fair to call them fish? They seemed
much more intelligent and beautiful than a _fish_.

"Doooon't beeee neeeervous!" a gray, bottle-nosed dolphin squeed right
in Lyani's ear.

M'trel laughed. "Nervous?" he asked of Lyani. "They won't hurt you, I
assure you of that. Well, not maliciously anyway. Perhaps in
exuberance." He did like the way she was latched on his arm though. He
patted one of her hands soothingly. "Ask them their name."

"Umm..." L'yani pitched her voice rather loudly, her hands still
clinging to M'trel's arm. "What. Is. Your. _NAME_?"

"Heeeeee!" The dolphin squeed in laughter. "Weeeee understand. Weeeeee
not deaf! Myyyyy name Reeeeeta," Lyani wasn't sure how many e's were
supposed to be in the spelling of that name, "aaaaaand thiiiiiis
Byyyyyynaaaaa!"

"Reeta, Bynna, it's nice to meet you," Lyani said, a bit more normally
now that she had been dolphin-shamed.

"Oh, we've met Reeta before but not Bynna. We know of a Tib too," M'trel said.

"Tib ouuuut," Bynna said. "Fisssshing."

"Well, I hope he catches a lot of fish then," M'trel said as he rubbed
Reeta's bulbous head. "This is Lyani. I'm M'trel." He pointed to her,
then himself, then to the dragons. "That's Noruith and Phyllameth." He
couldn't wait to hear how the dolphins pronounced those names.

The dolphins didn't even try, they simply let loose a trill of excited
sounds as they zoomed toward the dragons.
}:Oh.:{ Phyllameth said with disappointment as she lowered her snout
down to the water. }:They don't look very appetizing at all.:{

**I _told_ you dolphins weren't for eating.**

}:Yeah but... I was hoping you were wrong,:{ the green said with a sigh.

}: Perhaps a good thing that they cannot hear you considering if they
are food, :{ Noruith lightly teased Phyllameth.

"They're always fascinated by the dragons. But sadly the dragons can't
talk to them like we can," M'trel explained.

"Thank you for bringing me," Lyani purred, her hand tracing down
M'trel's bicep and entangling with his hand, which she squeezed.

He liked how she did that. He beamed happily. "Anytime! Is there
anything you want to ask them about? They can be rather chatty.
Thought it's usually about sea-stuff."

"They're beautiful and I've loved meeting them but... I think I'd like
for them to give us some privacy in the water now to _swim_." Her eyes
met his with some heat behind their icy blue orbs.

There was no mistaking the intent behind _that_ look.

M'trel's grin shifted with wicked innocence. "I'm sure we can convince
them to go play with dragons. Or find some fish. _Elsewhere_," he said
as he dropped his tone. **Noruith? Mind getting our gray friends away
for a bit?**

Noruith rumbled as he obliged. }: So long as I get to swim with
Phyllameth alone later. :{

Once the dolphins departed, Lyani's legs wrapped around M'trel's waist
as she looped her arms around his neck. "Thank you for bringing me to
meet them. They're funny little things."

Her boldness was pleasantly surprising. M'trel's hands slipped under
her thighs to support her there. "They are indeed interesting.
Different. I'm glad you liked it." By now, his head had leaned closer,
smiling lips just an inch away, wondering if he should take the
chance. He debated it for just a moment, then decided to do it.

Lyani was pleasantly surprised by the brownrider's kissing skills. His
lips were both velvety soft and firm. He tasted like the sun and sea.
M'trel was just the right kind of 'good' that had been lacking in her
last few relationships. He was a nice guy and while that wasn't
normally the type Lyani found herself attracted to, she felt that he
was exactly what she needed for the moment.

“You know,” M’trel murmured in between kisses. “The dragons are going
to…distract…the dolphins for a bit. And that…swimsuit is _very_
cute…but…” His fingers slid underneath the shoulder strap. And left it
for her to decide.

The greenrider dipped her shoulder in response, letting the strap
slide off. “But it looks even better off?” Lyani smirked.

That it definitely did.

Last updated on the March 5th 2025

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Dragons and Dolphins