Play Ball

Writers: AL, Halyonix
Date Posted: 5th November 2025

Characters: Meledei, B'nell
Description: B'nell re-introduces himself to a returning Meledei
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 5, day 1 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: N'vanik, Cyradis

Notes:
~*~

It was late in the afternoon when Vorath spotted Elleth. }: Greetings, :{ he said politely to the small gold.

One eye slowly opened at the greeting, then Elleth’s delicate head rose as she regarded the brown. A soft, welcoming croon emanated from deep within her throat, underscoring the gentle lap of the water against the shore and contrasting with the high, sharp call of people shouting to one another. }:Greetings.:{

Eliciting a long yawn, Elleth stretched out, her tail unwrapping from around her, legs reaching forward, and claws extending. With the unfurling of her body and tail, a ball drifted away, but as soon as she finished, her tail quickly caught the escapee and drew it close once more. }: It is a fine day. :{ She offered, even as the sun beat down from the sky. With drills over for the day, she had taken advantage of the heat to settle next to the water.

Vorath cocked his head to the side curiously. }: Is that…a ball? :{ he asked. He had intended for the conversation to begin with introductions, but now he was inquisitive.

}:It is my ball.:{ Elleth affirmed and lightly tapped the round object with the tip of her tail, then flicked it so the ball shot toward the brown and bounced against his leg. }:However, you are welcome to play with me if you wish.:{

The brown dragon looked down at the ball at his feet. Experimentally, he knocked it back towards her with his paw. Most queens didn’t want to play at all. And Vorath wasn’t really ever one to play either, but this was different and interesting. }: I’m Vorath, :{ he introduced himself, hoping that she would continue this little interesting game.

As the ball bounced lightly toward her, Elleth caught it with her own paw, held it for just a second, then sent it right back to the brown. }:I am Elleth.:{ She crooned, happy to have a partner to play with. }:Has yours met mine?:{

}: I would hope so, :{ Vorath replied as he batted the ball into place and then tossed it back. }: It’s our duty to assist gold dragons. But my rider can be very easily distracted with music, so please don’t take it personally if he hasn’t just yet. Sometimes he hears a melody, and then I spend hours trying to find him. :{

Elleth dipped her nose, catching the ball on her snout in a movement that showed long practice. Turning her neck, it rolled to the side, and just before it could fall to the ground, she whipped her head lightly to send it back over to the brown. }:My rider is not one to get easily offended. She likes music, though she only sings for pleasure. }:We have only recently returned. There are many she recognises and many she does not.:{

}: We have always been here. But B’nell is very shy. He might have met yours? :{ Vorath couldn’t remember who B’nell knew or not. He also couldn’t remember how long they had been in the Queens’ Wing. It was just their duty. They did it. }: Would you like for him to come over to yours? :{

}:If he would like. My rider is on her way here. If you would like to call your rider, he can meet her, and she him.:{ After all, why not? Although Meledei remembered many people, Elleth could not discern if she had met the brown’s rider or not. She didn’t even think to question whether she had met Vorath or not. He was a dragon, and as such, they simply were there and would always be who they were.

“Who?” B’nell asked when Vorath relayed the basics of the conversation. His brow furrowed. “Oh! Meledei! She’s…here?” Hadn’t she been up North somewhere?

}: She’s back, :{ Vorath replied. }: I’m playing ball with Elleth. :{

The dragon couldn’t see his rider’s confused face. “You’re playing ball with a queen?”

}: Yes. It’s fun. We’re talking. :{

B’nell muttered something about the whimsies of dragons as he went to find Meledei.

As luck would have it, he ran into her just as she stepped outside onto the bowl and into the sunlight that shined brilliantly down from above. Pausing a moment, Meledei threw up a hand to shield her eyes and help them adjust from the difference in illumination before she set off on a course for her dragon. That was when someone arrived, a rather short man, though still a couple of inches taller than she. He didn’t look familiar, but also had a face that could have easily been someone she’d met. He wasn’t ugly, but he wasn’t striking either - just pleasantly average. Smiling, Meledei nodded and continued on her trek until she realised they were headed in the same direction. “Joining your dragon?” She asked to make pleasant conversation.

B’nell stopped short, blinking at her as recognition flit across his face. He remembered her, but he hadn’t been working with the golds when she had Impressed, so it was a distant memory. “Looking for you, I think,” he answered with some uncertainty. “Are you Meledei?”

“I am.” The goldrider answered cheerfully. Turning back to the dragons, she chuckled at the sight of the two dragons. While the brown wasn’t the largest out there, Elleth wasn’t any larger than he was. If anything, she was about the same size, if not ever so slightly smaller. “It looks like Elleth has invited your dragon to play ball.”

“Vorath. That’s his name,” B’nell answered. She wasn’t too much younger than him, now that he got a good look at her. And she was cute. “I’m B’nell. I…I’m in your Wing, but I wasn’t in the Wing when you were. I joined after you left.”

“I see, well, that explains it. If you had been, I would have definitely remembered.” Meledei wondered why B’nell was in the gold’s wing. She had returned just that day and hadn’t had time yet to participate in drills. All she managed to accomplish was saying hello to N’vanik and Cyradis, as well as a few other friends. “And I guess that means we’ll be working together. I have been at Dolphin Cove since its founding, and we’ve just managed to miss each other?”

“I was a harper,” B’nell explained. “I only Stood once and…” He shrugged. Meledei could guess what had happened with that one time. “I thought I was going to be back at the Hall the next day, but you can’t take a dragon back to your Harper classes. Well, maybe a baby one but definitely not one the size of Vorath.”

Meledei nodded, trying to imagine what it might be like to take a dragon to craft classes. The thought manifested itself in her mind, and a smile tickled the edges of her lips upward. While Elleth was tiny for her colour, she still would have been quite awkward to get into the beastcrafter lessons - not to mention the panic such close contact with a dragon, even a baby one, could cause! “Do you still practise your Harper skills?” She hadn’t seen him, but Meledei also wasn’t in the Dining Cavern every night, not to mention, not all Harpers played music. Some focused on documenting history in other ways, diplomatic skills, and other areas.

“I do!” B’nell answered animatedly. And just like that, at the mention of music, the bespectacled brownrider became something alive. He started snapping his fingers to a rhythm as he said, “Let me know if you’ve heard this one.” With ease, he burst into song, his voice leaping across notes like he had been born to sing to, but instead got stuck being a dragonrider.

Surprised at the sudden melody that burst forth joyously from the brownrider’s mouth, the goldrider couldn’t help but laugh out of delight. Her own voice died quickly, though, so she could listen to the tune, then canted her head to the side. “It sounds familiar. Like something I may have heard once a while ago and not since. What’s it called?”

“‘Seven Drunken Seacrafters’,” he answered with a big grin. “It started as a drinking song in Seacraft Hall, but with a little musical modification, it got turned into a dancing jig.”

“I bet I’ve heard it, but without the words.” Meledei did enjoy dancing, though she wasn’t nearly as good as some. As a goldrider, she was expected to have a certain level of skill. She could never get a clear answer on whether that was officially or simply a societal expectation that had been crafted by others, probably holdbred, over the turns, but she found that she enjoyed it, and so engaged in the activity when the opportunity presented itself. “What was your specialty as a Harper?”

“Composition,” B’nell answered. “Well, drums first. I really loved drums. Different types of drums, different rhythms. Time signatures. All that. I didn’t mind being on tower duty when I was there.” He didn’t mind any duty that had let him compose or practice without people interrupting him when he was an apprentice. “Did you…did you ever do a craft?”

“I did, actually. I was a Beastcrafter.” Since she had Impressed Elleth, Meledei hadn’t time to dabble in her craft at all, but that was the life of a dragonrider. She wouldn’ have it any other way. Turning, she noted the way Elleth smacked the ball and sent it skittering across the lake, barely missing a green who jerked away in surprise.

**Careful, now.**

}:She can play too, if she wishes.:{ As it was, either Elleth or Vorath would have to get themselves wet if they wished to retrieve the ball, and since Elleth took it all as a bit of a challenge, she had no problem doing so. Immediately, the gold flung herself into the water, sending a mighty splash.

“Oh no,” B’nell said just as Vorath’s butt wiggled a little and the brown followed with a mighty leap. “Try not to -- oh, never mind. He’s going to get wet. I hope he just doesn’t hit Elleth in the process.”

“Elleth is already wet.” Meledei shook her head at her dragon’s antics. For a gold, Elleth wasn’t picky and was pretty down to earth. She never did outgrow her love for playing ball. “She’ll do that for hours, especially if someone plays with her.”

“Don’t let him hear you,” B’nell muttered with a cringe. “He might just do that.”

“If it keeps them occupied, what’s the harm?” Not that Meledei didn’t adore spending time with her lifemate, but there were moments where the gold wanted to play and she couldn’t. At times, the rider wondered if the dragon would ever truly grow up. “She’ll stop when it’s time to get serious.”

Something flickered in his brain. A memory of a thing he had to do. “Shells, speaking of,” he mentioned. “I have a meeting I need to be getting to soon. Do you…mind if Vorath keeps playing ball with Elleth? I don’t want him to intrude.”

“I don’t mind at all. I should probably get going as well.” Meledei’s eyes shifted over to her dragon who didn’t pay any attention to either of the riders. Instead, she splashed at Vorath as he drew near, spraying him with water. Grabbing the ball, she ducked beneath the surface, only to emerge behind him. “They’re having fun.” She grinned.

A stickler would have pointed out that a brown shouldn’t be playing with a gold, much less two adult dragons indulging themselves like weyrlings, but B’nell looked over at the two dragons and exhaled contentedly. “Yeah, they are. Good for them.” He looked back at Meledei. “It was good to catch back up with you. If…if you need anything, let me know? I’m sure we’ll be stuck in meetings together pretty soon though.”

Meledei laughed softly and nodded. “Well, hopefully they’ll be a little less boring with friendly company.” Her smile turned into a grin, and with a friendly wave, she turned to trek back toward the Weyr. Her break was over - it was time to get back to work.

Last updated on the November 14th 2025

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Play Ball