Staying Up

Writers: AL, Suzee
Date Posted: 21st April 2011

Characters: R'enh, Meledei
Description: R'ehn and Meledei meet at the lake...rather late.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 14 of Turn 6

R'enh

Meledei hurled the rock and watched it skip across the lake. She
wouldn't normally do that, except there wasn't anyone at the lake.
Except her. And Elleth who lounged on the shore. The rock skipped
six times before plunking beneath the water. The next one only three.
But she hurled them with such intensity, it was as if she were trying
to target something and break it. In the sky, one of the moons shone
brilliantly directly above while the other was lower in the sky. It
was late, probably into the wee hours of the morning, but it didn't
matter. The next day was a rest day, so Meledei didn't have to worry
about being bright and cheerful for drills. Not that she felt bright
and cheerful at the moment. Her moods had been up and down over the last couple of sevendays. Another rock gloated five hops before sinking and the goldrider heaved a sigh.

R'enh was unable to sleep yet the time change had caught him on the
wrong side and he was wide awake. The guest weyr they put him in for
now would have to change once they were established as the Wingsecond
in Hurricane wing. It was funny really, he'd been here only a few days
and already they'd had a hurricane.

"Let's fly" he said to Mnoranth and soon the straps were on and they
were gliding toward the beach. The moon's light glinted on something
gold and Mnoranth's attention was immediately riveted. He chuckled and
they came in low from the sea toward the beach as a stone skipped
underneath them.

"Hello!" he called and waived at the figure on the beach. Mnoranth
back-winged and landed lightly.

If the shout hadn't caught Meledei's attention, the rush of wind from
the bronze's descent surely would have. All dragonriders were used to
so it shouldn't have come as a surprise, but the goldrider hadn't been
expecting anyone. She twisted around, one hand resting behind her as
her gaze fell upon the visitor, eyebrows rising in surprise. "Oh.
Hello." It wasn't anyone she recognised, head tilting to the side.
Bronze rider too. Wait, hadn't there been a recent transfer?

Whirling green/blue eyes luminous in the dusk peered at the woman then
snaked around to spot the golden hide of Elleth. }:They're young but
lovely:{ **Thank you for that fine assessment.** he chuckled. He slid
down from the bronze back and walked toward her. "I'm R'enh and this
is Mnoranth." he said by way of introduction.

Meledei lifted a hand and curled her fingers slantways in a slight
wave. "Hello." So she wasn't the only one awake at such a late hour.
"I'm Meledei of Elleth." That hand then motioned toward the little
gold settled nearby who watched both the new rider and his dragon with
silent, whirling eyes of her own. "Are you just coming off watch
duty?"

"No," he chuckled. "A different timezone. We're transfers and just got
here so I'm not used to this yet." }:Hello lovely one:{ Mnoranth said
to the young gold. He approached her and made himself comfortable
nearby while theirs talked.

}:Hello.:{ Elleth greeted in return and offered no protest as the
rather large bronze settled down near her.

"Ah, so you are the one I heard about. Well. Welcome to Dolphin
Cove." Meledei probably could have been a little more buoyant in her
greeting, but she was in a funny mood. Still, at least she wasn't
being rude either. "How do you like it here?"

"It's warmer than where I was so that's a plus." He smiled "I haven't
had a chance to meet much of anyone yet though." He didn't want to add
that any place was better than Vista Point, or rather some of the
people at Vista Point.

"Yes, it's definitely warmer. That takes some people some time to get
used to." Meledei liked the fact it was so warm and they didn't have
to worry about winter so much. Of course, she still had warm
clothing. She had to go /between/ and then sometimes she attended
Gathers and the like where it was cold, but she much preferred the
warmth of Dolphin Cove. "Have you managed to figure out where
everything is yet?"

"Not quite," he said "but it's getting there. I'm going to have to
find a bigger weyr though. Mnoranth is a bit crowded in his couch."

"We have the opposite experience." Meledei's smile was a little
rueful. "Elleth is so small, everything's big for her. Not that she
minds. I think she likes having the space.

}:Sometimes.:{

Meledei winced. F'gol was often at her weyr, or she at his, and
sometimes the dragons had stayed together even when their riders were
sleeping in separate weyrs. But now...with F'gol avoiding her, Tealth
didn't really hang around much anymore. "Have you talked to the
Headwoman?"

Mnoranth had edged closer to the young gold and R'enh looked over at
them Elleth was small but she was perfectly formed, completely
proportionate. "I haven't had the chance to talk to her yet, but we'll
get to that. What are you doing out here so late?"

Meledei shrugged and turned back to the lake, still glittering happily
in the moonlight. "Couldn't sleep, I guess." She took another stone
and skipped it across the water. "So I came here. Something nice to
look at."

"A bit of exercise can sometimes help that. What about a swim?" The
moons were high in the sky and their light glimmered across the wave.
The warm breeze ruffled her hair. He smiled and began walking toward
the water.

"I suppose a swim wouldn't hurt." Meledei swam a lot. Sometime she
would forgo her run in favour of a swim. Why not? She watched the
man as he slipped into the water, then reached down to pull her tunic
over her head, then slip out of her trousers. She folded her clothes
and set them on the rock, then made her own way into the water.

R'enh's clothes were strewn across the beach while she folded hers
neatly. He watched her as the light played across her body crossing
the sand and entering the water. He smiled. "I think I'm going to
enjoy Dolphin Cove." he said as she got closer.

Meledei slipped beneath the surface then came back up. The water had
helped. Swimming helped. Staying up and just...doing nothing had
helped. Or maybe talking to someone who wasn't involved and didn't
ask questions and just _conversed_ helped. Whatever the reason,
Meledei was feeling better and allowed a smile. "Good."

Last updated on the April 27th 2011

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