"Picture Perfect"

Writers: AL, Heather
Date Posted: 26th May 2014

Characters: Esiah, Meledei
Description: Esiah and Meledei head out to the beach for her portrait, but the weather has other ideas
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 8 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned; Cyradis, Saibra

Esiah

Her fast was broken in her weyr, mainly because she felt oddly
antisocial. Strange, considering that Meledei usually enjoyed
company. However, that morning began with clouds which hung heavy and
cold in the sky above them, though the breeze was warm. Meledei
peered up and wondered if perhaps they would get rained out of their
appointment. Well, they might as well go, see what they could get
done, and then meet again if it required it.

The knock at the door was answered by her with an invitation and she
rose from the seat she had occupied, the story she'd been perusing
placed upon the small table. Unlike last they met, her weyr was more
orderly - not with the fanaticism of someone obsessed with
cleanliness, but certainly by no means tossed or dirty. She rubbed
both hands upon her thighs as Meledei offered a small smile to harper
and hoped her off kilter mood wouldn't affect the portrait. "Hey.
Ready to go?"

Esiah, normally not the type to be nervous, had found himself just
that while he was on his way to the goldrider's weyr. He had already
done portraits for both Cyradis and Saibra, both beautiful women in
their own rights, but there was something about Meledei. Perhaps it
was that she was "his type." Either way, Esiah was a professional and
would be just that as he sketched her in front of the ocean that
day... Well, as long as the weather held. The artist in him actually
liked the idea of the grey skies over the roiling ocean with Meledei
in the foreground.

"I am ready if you are." He smiled back to her, readjusting his
satchel on his shoulder.

"That I am. Hop on." While petite for a gold and dwarfed by even a
few browns, Elleth was still large compared to a human. Meledei
mounted, then offered a hand to help Esiah into the saddle. Straps
were secured and she bave him a warning before the dragon launched
into the air and they arched upward over the bowl.

A quick trip to the freezing nothingness of/between/ and they popped
out above a cove etched with white sands. The normally docile waters
ate hungrily at the shore and the sky held a silver that had nothing
to do with Thread. There was no thunder or lightning, and hopefully
the rain would hold off for a while.

Sand sprayed in a circular pattern around the dragon as she landed.
Meledei helped undo the straps, then dismounted. "Hm. I'm not sure
how long we'll have."

"I will be quick." Esiah promised as he began scoping out the
landscaping with his detail-honed eyes. Sitting his satchel in the
sand, he lightly placed his hands on Meledei's shoulders, "May I?" He
asked, before lightly moving her into the perfect position so that the
lighting would be on her face, with the hint of her gold dragon and
the stormy ocean in the background.

"Perfect." He smiled, and then went back to where he had left his
things. Pulling out his sketch pad, he stood, one arm bracing the pad
and the other making quick sketches.

Standing still was not an easy task. Meledei could do so, of course,
but forced into such a situation with the knowledge that your
stillness was required for someone to do his job made it harder.
Every twitch of a finger, every blink of an eye caused her to inwardly
flinch and hope that she wasn't ruining the picture.

Esiah could see the concentration on Meledei's face and he smiled as
he called, "Just relax, milady. I daresay you could be crossing your
eyes at me and still delivering a beautiful portrait."

"Really?" The comment encouraged a grin on the part of the goldrider
and Meledei proceeded to allow her eyes to do just that. "How's this?
I might be able to hold it for a little while..." Maybe.

The harper tossed back his head and laughed, not expecting Meledei to
actually follow through, "Oh, that is just perfect, milady. I will
probably have to work on this painting in secret then, else I would
have to beat away the men who would be standing in line to look at
it."

"Oh, so you're actually going to make me look better than I realy do?
They'll run away screaming once they see the real me." She was able
to hold the cross eyed look for a moment, but eventually they
complained and she released them. "I could stick out my tongue or
something. That's real attractive, right?"

Esiah smiled, "It would probably be cute on you, although I think not
every woman could pull it off." He continued to sketch, glad that
Meledei seemed to be enjoying herself. He had sensed when he first met
her that morning that she might not have been in the best of moods.

There was a short pause where Meledei simply stood as she had before,
dutifully posing for that portrait. But then she stuck her tongue out
at the harper. It retreated after a brief show and she wrinkled her
nose. "Eh. I'm not sure I wanna go for that sort of look."

The artist opened his mouth to say something, but his brow quickly
furrowed when a dark blot appeared on his sketchpad. Glancing up, he
sighed, "Ah, feck." Esiah managed to shove his sketch pad into the
protecting of his leather satchel before the downpour of rain started.

"Oh." Well, so much for that. Meledei darted toward the gold dragon
who hunkered down to take them upon her back. "So much for that!" She
mounted, then offered a hand to help him up.

Esiah was laughing despite the rain as he took the woman's hand and
climbed up the dragon's side, "Never fret, milady, the way you looked
today is etched in my memory. I am sure I can complete the rest."
Water dripped from his neatly trimmed beard.

"What, like a soaked canine?" Meledei smirked as she made sure he was
in securely before they went into the air and back/between/.

The rain wasn't any better at the Weyr. They went from wet to soaking
as they appeared in the middle of a torrent that fell from the sky.
Thunder rumbled a warning as Elleth arched toward their home and
landed on the ledge. She politely waited for them to dismount before
she shook herself. Fortunately, she didn't have fur to catch on to
quite as much water, but there was a decent enough spray. Not that it
mattered, they were already as wet as they could be. "If you want to
go in, there's a trunk with some towels right by the door in my
bedroom. I need to get these leathers off before I do anything else."

"Yes ma'am." Esiah called, even though they weren't far apart the
sound of the rain pounding against the stone of the Weyr made it sound
more like a roar. He traipsed into the weyr, leaving behind watery
footprints against the stone path as he set his satchel down, and then
found the towels as suggested. He tossed one over his shoulder for
himself and then grabbed another for Meledei.

She appeared a moment later, still dripping and unconcerned about the
water on the floor, she accepted the towel. "Thanks." She proceeded
to pat herself down as best she could. "I hope your supplies didn't
get wet."

"Me too." Esiah said as he scrubbed at his hair with the towel and
then draped it over his shoulders as he went over to his satchel,
flipped it open and pulled out the sketch pad. "Whew, we're safe." He
said with a smile, only one bottom corner had gotten a little wet.

"Good." Cause really, standing for a portrait hadn't been te worst
thing in the world, but it would have stunk to have it ruined after
he'd just barely gotten started. "So I guess I don't get to see it
until it's complete, right?"

"That's right, madam." Esiah looked away from the eye-catching sight
that Meledei's body made as her wet clothes clung to her body.

"Alas and alack. Hopefully I won't look too gruesome." Meledei lay
her towel upon the floor the proceeded to peel her shoes from her
feet. "How long does it normally take you to do a portrait?"

Esiah answered while running the towel over his soaked trousers and
shirt, "Depends on how inspired I am," he answered truthfully, "but on
average a sevenday or two. Probably two for these portraits since I
hope to have them placed in the archives."

Meledei nodded as she wriggled her toes once they were freed from
their damp confines. "All righty, just let me know. Feel free to
take the towel - wouldn't want you to drip all over the place!"

"Thank you, milady." He got the feeling he was being politely
dismissed so he took up his satchel and draped the towel around his
neck, "I will keep you updated on the progress." Esiah pulled open the
door, "Unless it turns out horrible, in which case you'll never see me
again." He winked at her.

"Why? Cause someone's going to pay to have you disappear?" Meledei's
eyes widened and she smirked. "Nah, I'm sure it will be great.
Better than anything I can do."

Esiah dipped his head, "Have a good evening, Meledei."

"You too."

Last updated on the June 2nd 2014

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"Picture Perfect"