A Budding Interest

Writers: Ames, Heather
Date Posted: 19th July 2013

Characters: Aslvor, Thayde
Description: Aslvor and Thayde work together to teach some of the new apprentices
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 1, day 26 of Turn 7

Thayde

"Alright, over here is Hak. He was hurt during last month's
hurricane." Aslvor pointed it out to the apprentices who had come by
for a rotation in the healing rooms. "If you look closely you'll see
that half of his dorsal fin is missing. It has taken us some time to
clean and heal the wound. We're now working with him on improved
swimming techniques so he can return to the sea and his own pod."

"Over here is Nara. She is one of the older dolphins of the pod and
hasn't been feeling well of late. She's been staying with us for some
time so we can help heal the congestion and other breathing ailments
she is suffering from."

Aslvor looked up and smiled.

"This is Thayde," she told the apprentices in her group. "He will be
working with us today." Her cheeks flushed just slightly at seeing
him. Even though they'd been working together now a few weeks, she
found her reaction to him just as strong each time. She even heard a
few of the young apprentices behind her twittering over his dashing
good looks.

Thayde, who had been working in the water with some of the dolphins
just moments before, was still in his swimming bottoms, his bare chest
barely concealed by the open tunic his wore. The appraising eyes, and
Aslvor's blush, were hard to ignore but he shot an easy smile to the
group and tipped his head.

"Nice to meet you all." He murmured, his dark hair still gleaming with
dampness from the water.

She smiled. She couldn't help herself. She always felt warm and happy
when Thayde was around. They'd worked together a few times since his
arrival, but not often enough to suit her.

Clearing her throat _and_ her mind, she turned back to the apprentices.

"Today, it's going to be your job to walk some of the injured dolphins
around the walking pools. Since most of them can't swim on their own
due to their injuries, we have to support them so they can still move
and exercise. One of the _worst_ things we can do for a dolphin is
leave them idle for too long." She watched as a few of the other
dolphineers came up. She introduced them to the apprentices, then
divided them into two groups.

"You all," she pointed to one group, will be working with Kamar and
Larala. The rest of you will be working with Thayde and myself."
Aslvor indicated the one group should go get prepared. Then she turned
back to Thayde while the apprentices checked their suits and started
to slip into the water.

"I haven't seen much of you the past few days," she remarked with a
smile. "Master Famell has had me taking the new apprentices around to
the different locations to get them acquainted with the various tasks.
It's a bit tedious at times." She knew it might seem odd that she was
giving the orders at times, since she wasn't a senior journeymen, but
she'd been at the Hall a long time and knew the ropes well. She was
often given the task of acquainting the new apprentices with
Hall-life.

"Luckily Master Famell pretty much leaves me alone to my studies here
with the dolphins." Thayde grinned, he had spent so many Turns away
from the Dolphin Hall studying that he felt he'd earned his quiet time
in the infirmary. Uncharacteristic for the journeyman, as he tended to
be a loner, he had noticed Aslvor's absence.

Glancing down into the pools, Thayde shrugged out of his shirt, "I
guess we had better join them." He winked at Aslvor as he chucked the
shirt aside, and eased himself effortlessly over the lip of the pool.

She allowed herself a moment to admire his fine physique before she
yanked off the shirt she'd been wearing to guide the apprentices up,
slipped out of her bottoms and slide into the warm waters of the pool.

"Alright, we're going to demonstrate how to properly hold the
dolphins. Then we'll have you work in small groups to assist one of
the dolphins around the water." Aslvor informed the group of
apprentices. A few of them looked uncertain. Others a bit eager.

"Come here Hak." Thayde had been working personally with the dolphin
who had lost half of his dorsal fin. "As I am sure you are learning in
class, the dorsal fin serves to help the dolphins remain upright in
the water. It also serves as a thermostat of sorts, regulating body
temperature as necessary. Hak is still learning how to compensate with
the new condition of his dorsal fin."

Thayde ran a hand reassuringly along the bottlenose's back as he
spoke, "Walking Hak means that you will need to have a hand braced to
his side as well as under his belly. You would never put your hand to
the belly of a wild dolphin without precaution." He demonstrated,
walking beside of Hak as the dolphin swam slowly about the pool.

Aslvor watched and smiled. Thayde had a good way with the new
apprentices. He was easy to talk with, calm and gave clear
explanations.

After some time the apprentices began to take their turns, helping to
support the dolphins. After checking on a group that was guiding one
dolphin around, Aslvor bumped into Thayde who was working with the
other half.

"You're very good with the apprentices," she remarked. "And Hak has
shown so much improvement in the last sevenday. I'm sure it's from all
you've been doing with him." She smiled at him.

Thayde grinned a little, "I _have_ been doing this a while." He
admitted, he had instructed more than his fair share of classes. It
was Thayde who was impressed by Aslvor, she was a natural with people
and dolphins.

"Hak has made great progress. I am going to take him out with Ada's
help tomorrow back out into the waters. Not far, just enough to see
how he's fairing in real water conditions." Thayde watched as one of
the apprentices worked with Hak, "You should come."

Her eyes opened at his words. "Oh, I would love to be there. Hak has
been handling things so well. He will relish the chance to be out in
the real waters again even if it _is_ just a short time. I wish there
was more we could do for him," she frowned. So many dolphins came in
with issues with their dorsal fin. They did as much as they could for
them, but those with severe injuries, like Hak and some others she'd
met over the years, had much more difficult and often never returned
to living completely free. The idea gave her some thoughts. Perhaps
when her time came to work towards mastery, she could make helping
dolphins like Hak her goal.

Realizing she hadn't answered the last part of his suggestion, she
beamed a smile and replied, "I'd love to come tomorrow."

Once again that easy grin came to Thayde's face, "Good. I am sure Ada
would enjoy meeting you." His dolphin partner was one of the oldest in
the dolphin hall pod.

"Um, Journeyman?" A blonde apprentice fluttered her eyelashes in
Thayde's direction. "Could you come show me exactly where to put my
hands?" There was no missing the innuendo.

Thayde turned from his conversation with Aslvor and looked over his
shoulder at the girl, "I will be right there."

Turning back to Aslvor he winked, "This is why I stopped working with
apprentices long ago." He told her before he waded through the pool to
the girl and her giggling group of friends.

Aslvor hated to admit it but she was _jealous_ of the young apprentice
that had just stolen Thayde's attention. _She'd_ like him to be
pressed up to her, showing _her_ things. Shaking herself, she told
herself she was being foolish. She _hardly_ knew him. Moving over to
the other group, Aslvor found herself being a bit more abrupt with the
group than she intended. She found herself glancing towards Thayde's
group every time she could.

Last updated on the July 23rd 2013

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A Budding Interest