Getting away for some water fun

Writers: AL, Ang
Date Posted: 11th April 2012

Characters: Meledei, Zahren
Description: Run in on the beach
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 10 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: Mnoranth

It was a gorgeous day and with Mnoranth in the hatching cavern and her
work done for the time being, Meledei took advantage and headed out to
run down to the beach and across it. She'd been running a lot more
since being grounded, the workouts she normally got with drills and
fighting Thread nonexistent while Elleth stayed with her clutch. So
Meledei made up for it by running, and the sand was just perfect to run
on.

She made it quite a ways down before she turned back to head toward the
Weyr once more, her feet leaving prints in the wet, packed sand, only
to have them washed away as the water licked at them, destroying their
imprint. She slowed down when she drew closer, run turning into a cool
down walk - and spied a figure that became a little more familiar when
she drew closer. "Well hello Zahren!"

There were times he simply had to get out of the Weyr and the best way
to do that was to head to the beach. The waves helped drown out his
thoughts, gave him clarity in a way that the chattering candidates
couldn't give him. Shards, he missed the quietness of home.

So entranced with the crashing waves, he didn't notice the young
goldrider approaching until she spoke. Turning to look up, he broke
into a grin and met her on her walk. "Meledei! Nice to bump into you
here ... Sneaking off for a quick run, eh?" he asked, the sweat and
dirty feet a dead giveaway.

"Finished my quick run." Meledei laughed with a shake of her head.
"Done and over. What are you doing? Playing music for the sea?" Not
that he had an instrument. "Or rather singing for it?"

Zahren laughed at the thought that the sea may just appreciate his
musical talent. "Hardly! It's kind of intimidating belting something
out that can't be heard over the waves crashing. That would certainly
ruin my voice if I forced it too much," he said with a twitch of his
lips.

"No, I come out here to collect my thoughts. There are so many
candidates now that the chattering gets on my nerves." He couldn't
bear the thought of having a permanent chattering in his head if he
Impressed.

"I can understand that. I had to get away sometimes too." Though
Meledei was usually a pretty social creature, she could understand
Zahren's need well enough. "So it's free time. Enjoy it. If you
Impress, you'll have even less of it."

"Don't remind me! I'm having a hard enough time … nevermind," he
answered with a blush and looked out over the water. Zahren wasn't
about to air his concerns out to the one who would be most affected if
things didn't work out well. Bending to pick up a shell, he tossed it
into the water before asking, "So why run out here and not in the
bowl? Elleth doesn't mind you leaving?"

"Not of Mnoranth is there." Meledei shook her head. Really, for a
gold, Elleth was pretty laid back and it made things a lot easier at
times. "She prefers to have me there, but if I need to do something,
as long as I promise to come back she's fine with it. Have you seen
the eggs yet?"

"You are one lucky rider," he said with a nod. "I've heard plenty of
stories of golds becoming impossible once they've laid eggs. And yes,
I have seen them, they're beautiful as is only to be expected from
such a lovely mother."

Zahren felt something within him relax as the thought of being a rider
settled more comfortably around his shoulders. As much as he wanted
to be a Harper, knowing there was a possibility to permanently bond
with someone else was incredibly securing. He'd never be alone again.
"Since you are done with your run, would you like to swim for a bit
or perhaps I could walk you back to the Hatching Cavern?"

"Actually, a swim sounds like a really nice way to cool off." Meledei
agreed as she eyed the water. "Are you a good swimmer?"

Zahren chuckled and lifted his left eyebrow. "I grew up not far from
here so yes, I'm a really good swimmer," he answered with a twinkle in
his eye. Without giving her a chance to answer, he sprinted into the
water and yelled, "Race ya!"

Meledei had already done her running and wasn't really inclined to do
more. So she let Zahren go on ahead while she stripped of her
clothing, then moved into the water, chuckling softly to herself before
calling out, "You win!"

Chest deep in water, Zahren turned when she called out that he won and
grinned. He felt like a five-turn-old and blushed lightly but it
cleared before she got any closer. "Sorry, bad habit I shared with my
sister," he said as his hands skimmed across the surface of the water.
"She's so competitive."

Not that he wasn't. He was as fiercely competitive as her but he
wasn't about to admit it. Sinking into the water to dunk his head, he
popped up before her and wiped water out of his eyes. "I didn't even
ask but are you a good swimmer or will you need rescuing?" The
twinkle was back in his eyes but he was more than willing to save her
if she ever needed it.

"I'm competitive, but I choose my battles." Meledei stated with a grin
and slapped her hands over the surface of the water to splash the
candidate. "And I'm a _very_ good swimmer. More than likely, I'd be
the one who would have to rescue you."

Wiping the water out of his eyes, Zahren grinned. "Ha, are all
goldriders as full of it as you are?" he asked with an answering wave
of water headed her way. Of course, he knew plenty of men who'd fake
their skill just to have her rescue them. Such was not his way … "I'm
pretty heavy, you know. I'd test your skill but I really want to be
around for the Hatching."

"Well, I think that depends on who you talk to." Meledei dove beneath
the water and slid through it like a dolphin. She playful tapped his
knee, then resurfaced, grinning. "You're lighter in the water."

Zahren wondered which goldrider or riders she was referring to but he
didn't get a chance to think about it long. He jumped when she
touched his knee and was eternally grateful that he was still wearing
his shorts. Open-minded he might be but he was still a bit skittish
around women. When she popped up again and commented, he grinned.
"True enough but you just had a nice long run so would be too tired.
Remind me to test your theory another time," he said as he leaned back
to float on the water.

"It is beautiful here, isn't it? Having grown up close to here, I
never knew about this particular beach. Say, have you ever found any
flit eggs around here?" He would really like to find one to give to
his sister since she decided not to Stand. Wouldn't she be surprised?

"It is beautiful yes. I love it here." Meledei honestly didn't see
herself at any other Weyr. Dolphin Cove was her home and she didn't
want that to ever change. "I haven't, but I've heard someone found
some once - though it was just a green's clutch. You should check with
the Headwoman or around the Weyr, sometimes people give away eggs from
their own firelizard clutches."

With his hands wandering over the surface of the water, Zahren thought
about approaching the Headwoman. He'd never spoken to her before but
that certainly wouldn't deter him. "I'll have to check with her then.
I'd love to give one to my sister since she turned down Standing to
stay at the Harper Hall. Did you grow up here, Meledei?"

"Sort of. I grew up at Thayan Peak until it was destroyed, then here.
So yes and no." Meledei shrugged a little. "Technically yes? It's
kind of an odd situation. She lay on her back and lazily began to
swim, circling around the young man. "So your sister is a Harper too?
Do you two have specialties you'd like to do?"

He remembered his classes with his stepfather so knew exactly what she
was talking about. Zahren stood up and watched her swim around him,
the urge to ask about whether she lost anyone on the tip of his tongue
but he bit it, not wanting to make her sad if she had. Smiling
softly, he said, "Yes, she is and she loves it. She's the smarter of
us so she'll do well. I'm just good with instruments, she's a great
singer and is very good with ... politics. I always thought she'd
make a great Weyrwoman."

"Maybe she'll be one some day. Who knows, she might change her mind."
Or Impress from the Stands. That didn't happen often at all, but it
did happen. "I'm assuming she's going to come watch you Stand?"

"I hope so. We're very close and I miss her," he said as he splashed
water over his shoulders since they were getting a bit hot. "Oh yes,
she'll be there along with my parents. Should be an interesting day."

"It will be." Meledei agreed, then turned over. "Want to race?" She
asked, pointing out to a rock that jutted out over the water further
down the beach.

Grinning at the challenge, Zahren sized up the competition. A rider,
even a goldrider, would be incredibly fit but she did just go for a
run which could have tired her out. But then, did he really want to
win? Would it curry favor by letting her win? Nah, if he were to
accept, he needed it to be real, to be true and to try as hard as he
could. "Absolutely," he said and waited for her to stand beside him.
"Ready ... set ... go!"

Last updated on the April 11th 2012

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Getting away for some water fun