==== July 12, 2013
==== Kyara, Kanga, Sienna
==== Down by the lake, there is girl time.

Who Kyara, Kanga, Sienna
What Down by the lake, there is girl time.
When There is 1 turn 9 months and 6 days until the 12th pass.
Where Lake Shore

Lake Shore
Sprawled out beyond the Weyr proper's hustling activity and ambling roads, the cool, blue paradise of the Weyr lake promises escape from the oppressive hammer of Igen summer's cruel climes; the asymmetrical, sandy white shores hook delicately around the deceptively still waters running deep and sure, greedy peninsulas reaching white fingers stretching in crooked lines towards its center. A sturdy shack, weather-beaten and brown as cured leather, resides in isolated splendor upon one such finger, screened shelving offering a variety of brushes and fragrant oils housed in colorful tureens. Out beyond a small and dusty paddock ringed by a white fence, a long rocky pier stabs out into the lake, providing a panoramic view of the Weyr itself, while the southern shores provide varied shrubs and grassed for the massed herds in their pens.


It's mid-day, the sun high but the temperature moderate as a few clouds drift past, keeping things a bit cooler. Down on the lake shore Sienna sits, or sprawls, rather, in a loose white tunic and tan trousers. Barefoot, a purple headscarf is wrapped around her hair, keeping her curls at bay, folded up so it just crosses over the top of her head and behind her ears. In the water, Kehemath swims around, burning off excess energy that her rider seems to not have at all. Wiping a hand over her face, Sienna stifles a yawn and picks up a bit of cracker from the bag beside of her to tentatively nibble on.

Long, slightly perturbed strides bring Kyara toward the Lake. In search of a quiet spot to contemplate stupidity, among other things, she's got her favorite spot - a thin finger of sand stretching out into the water at the southern edge - firmly at the front of her mind. However, there's a green dragon swimming around out there…and Sienna lounging nearby, and the sight makes her slow a bit. Perhaps that's a good thing. She doesn't really need to be sitting around brooding by herself, after all. Kyara salutes once she's within distance to do so, then plops down in the sand near the greenrider, taking a moment to arrange her skirt. "Afternoon, Sienna," she greets with a small smile. "I hope I'm not intruding or anything. I just need to be…away from the Caverns for a bit."

And the greenrider is not the only one with a scarf on, today, Kanga has a lemon-yellow print with fringe and sparklies around her hair with some kind of visor/hat thing over that to shield her eyes from the sun. Although she dares a tank top and sarong she's not taking that many chances with the weird sandy Igen weather. Powerwalking, she makes her way towards the lake as her brown decides to do a CANNONBALL from a lower altitude. Thankfully, he's not within striking distance of the lake's other occupant, but there are some waves and splashes going on. Enough so that Kanga's head is /soaked/. "RUEEEEE!" She screeches, shaking her fist, "You totally ruined my manicure!" Rue seems to be in a playful mood and he croons and spits more water in his rider's general direction. "EWWWWW!" Frown, and then look around, "Ohh, hiii, Sienna" And a nod towards the other person in the vicinity who she does not know yet.

Kehemath spots Kyara long before Sienna does, so the greenrider is aware of the girl's approach. "Kyara, hi," Sienna says with a tired looking smile. "No, no. Just me…sitting here, I guess. What's going on in the caverns?" The gossip. Spill it. In the lake, Kehemath watches Rue splash down and she snorts, warbling a dragonic laugh with jaws parted, tongue lolling before she's swimming closer to her wingmate to try and give him a good /tag/ before she's zooming off again. On the shore, Sienna pulls her feet up a bit from the water, even though it's unnecessary, turning to watch Kanga approach. "Hey, Kanga. Do you know Kyara?"

"Nothing's really going on," Kyara replies, wrists turning over with a light shrug. "Other than people seem to be…busier than normal for some reason. Could be my imagination. There's just someone I'd rather not risk running into in there right now." A slight crease forms between her brows, and she glances over at Sienna, troubled. "Have you ever met someone and ended up with this gut feeling that they're not all they seem to be? In a bad way?" She glances up at the approaching brownrider and snaps off another salute. "Good afternoon, rider! Kyara, Candidate, at your service."

Kanga holds up one finger in the 'wait a minute' gesture before saying anything more. In a fell swoop, her hair is wrapped up turban style, her outfit squeezed for moisture, and any makeup that had smeared is taken care of…okay maybe that was a few swoops. From the lake, is that a /challenge/? Well Rue accepts with glee as he finds some kind of vegetation and tosses it in Kehemath's general direction while bugle/snorting about in the water. "Now I do." Towards Kyara, she handflaps and eyelash flutters, "Kanga, rider of brown Ruenalth, Whirlwind wing. Charmed, I'm sure, candidate." And oooh, gossip..with a delicious side of potential DRAMA? She whips out another towel from her satchel, smooths it out on a dry patch near Sienna, and makes herself comfortable,for maximum listening efficiency.

Sienna watches Kyara for a moment and then her eyes twitch. A very slight, subtle response to her question, but a response nonetheless. Plus the, "Yes," she gives firmly after. "Trust your gut. Be cautious around anyone you've got that feeling with." Then there's a pause for a yawn, and another curious look. "Who is it?" Looking back at Kanga, Sienna smiles a little bit, and then turns her attention back to the Candidate once the brownrider has settled. In the lake, Kehemath nimbly catches that vegetation and gnaws on it for a moment before flinging it /away/ from Ruenalth. Fetch?

Kyara rubs her neck, watching the two water-bound dragons idly as she gives a deep sigh. "Donner," she answers, though it's more of a grumble. "He struck me as a nice guy when I first met him - a little goofy, but that isn't such a big deal. The thing with him and the marks that Smith was getting on his case about the other morning just seems too…convenient, to me. Normally I'd be fine just giving him the benefit of the doubt, but he seemed a little too defensive about it, and now I can't help but wonder…" She trails off a bit, then tries to toss the whole thing off with a wave of her hand. "Gah, it's probably nothing. But I've never had something like that nag at me like this is."

Kanga nods as she squeezes her turban'd hair a bit to speed the drying, "Its a good skill to have in poker, too. Trust your gut! Its also totally easy to read when a player is bluffing, too." At least for her. "Wait wait…hold on, dahhling..what marks?" Its the magic word. "If I might ask. And who is this Donner person? I feel like I heard the name around over the last few days." Sadly, she's not as well connected here as she was at Ista. (yet). Ruenalth takes the bait but not before arching his neck out of the water and extending his wings a bit. Posing for a member of the opposite sex? Always.

Sienna ahhs, nodding her head a bit as she peers at the lake. "Seemed a little strange to me too, but…without any other evidence…just because a guy buys some clothes doesn't mean he stole the marks to do it with. But yeah, I know what you mean. I think he thinks you like him though," she adds, pushing a curl away from her face. Glancing at Kanga, the greenrider nods. "Apparently Donner has been accused of stealing someone else's marks…right before Donner bought some new clothes in Webley's shop. And Donner was rather defensive about it. But…again. There's no /actual/ evidence." In the lake, Kehemath peers at Ruenalth for a moment before she's paddling after their 'stick'. If he won't get it…then she will!

"Yeah…" Kyara traces a finger in the sand, comes up against a small rock and tosses it in the lake. "No evidence. Gut feelings don't always make good arguments. I do remember that from the little bit of law I had to take at the Harper Hall." At the suggestion that she might like the Seacrafter, she snaps her gaze back to Sienna, eyes wide. "He thinks I like him? Why in Faranth's name…" She rubs her face with both hands, groaning, coming away a little red. "Why does being nice have to translate to being attracted with some men? Boys?" she corrects. "Or does it not change with age?" She sighs gruffly, concentrating on the dragons again in silence for a few moments. "I guess I'm going to have to go talk to him at some point."

From the lake, Ruenalth isnt going to let the green get away with that and so he swims at breakneck speed towards the stick. Who will get there first? Betting will commence at 1 half mark. Meanwhile, Kanga tsks tsks, "Well /if/ he stole them, he's not a very smart thief, like spending it in the weyr? Talk about a dead giveaway." She shakes her head. "Being super defensive isnt a good sign either," Frown, "You know what they say, you're always the most defensive about stuff when its /true/. Like when Daddy told me my purse didn't match my dress, I was super angry, but deep down I knew it was true. So I had to get a new purse, and that took a while.." Faraway look, but back to the discussion at hand, "I know this is much more super serious than a purse, sounds like to me." Nosewrinkle as she pouts and forlornly rubs her thumb over her former nail job. A snicker, "That's how it /starts/, dahhling," extra emphasis on the 'ahhhling'. "You think they're nice, and you invite them to the weyr..then they sleep with the weyrwoman.." A sputter, "Neevermind."

Sienna shrugs, "Because boys are stupid. Usually," she says with a little smile. "If they're lucky, they grow out of it." And if they're not… Leaning back on her elbows, she takes a deep breath and rubs a hand over her face. "Yeah, most likely. Make it all very clear and all that, so he doesn't get confused. Welcome to being a woman, Kyara," she says with a little crooked grin. Turning her gaze to Kanga, Sienna patiently waits out the fashion tangent, before she nods. And then blinks. "Who was that?" she asks her brownriding semi-wingmate. "Oh, wait…S…it starts with an S…" Kehemath totally gets the stick first. HA! And she's off with it too, paddling away hastily.

Kyara nods, brows raised at Kanga's point about spending the marks. If Donner did it, that should catch up to him sooner or later. The purse things gets a smirk, and Kanga's last gets a laugh. She keeps an ear open to see if either rider can attach a name to the subject, grinning to watch Sienna's dragon playing coy to Kanga's brown with the stick. Another sigh, this time, happier. "Maybe I'll get to have moments like this with a dragon of my own someday," she murmurs. "It'll be a lot better than thinking about how to deal with men at times, I'll bet." She shrugs; maybe she doesn't really know what she's talking about, but that's how things look from her angle, at the moment!

Kanga shrugs at Kyara, "You still have them. But with a dragon, then you have more voices giving you advice. Wanted or /unwanted/" Snort. Lips purse and she mutters to Sienna, "It started with an 'I'." And then gaze goes back over the lake, "I can tell you later. I'm sure you knew him." Oldtime draaaaama! Ruenalth is NOT AMUSED at Kehe having control of the stick so off he goes to try to wrestle it back from her. Maybe grab the other end and pull? Like two puppies and a chew toy? Two giant, fire breathing puppies. Good thing they dont have to be paper trained! "So, Kyara," Kanga peers, "If you could have your pick of any color dragon what would it be, which one's your favorite?"

Sienna studies the girl for a moment and then she chuckles. "Well…dragons can make things like men a lot more complicated…" She would know. "And yeah, advice wanted or not, and…complications." There's a shrug and a yawn, and she frowns a bit at Kanga. "I…." It was so long ago. (Har har har). In the lake, Kehemath play growls at Ruenalth, letting him grab one end of the stick. Tuggies!

"Green, if I could pick," Kyara grins up at Kanga. "Though I wouldn't mind any color, at this point." She thinks back to when she initially became a Candidate, realizing that, in terms of trepidation, she's come a long way. She gazes at both riders curiously. "Was being Searched at all scary for either of you? Was Impressing and becoming a rider what you expected…or more?"

Kanga nods, "FFsh, for one, sometimes dragons don't want to share your affections. Thankfully mine gets a little bit full of himself and distracted by the lady dragons so that helps. " She squeezes her hair a few more times for good measure and unturbans it, fluffing it out in the wind. Some extra curl and kink for her style today, apparently. "Each color has its plus and minus. For me, my Da, and Grandda were both riders, and lots of riders in the family, so like, I was raised with dragons. Everybody expected me to impress. But like," she pauses, "I wasnt…thinking I was a sure thing though," Years of helping K'rru take bets in the gambling circles had taught her that, "But I felt like the odds might be in my favor. Being a candidate had its ups and downs," Enemies, friends, frenemies, and everything in between, "But it taught me more discipline and planning that helped me be a better wingrider and businesswoman. So yeah, it was good. How do you feel like candidacy is going for you, Kyara?" Ruenalth croongurgles in Kehemath's general direction as he tugs on the stick, thrashing his talons and tail around in the water.

Sienna grins, "Greens are great." But she's biased, obviously. At her question, Sienna considers for a moment, listening to Kanga's reply before she speaks up. "For me what was scary was the change. All of a sudden I was moving out of the room I'd shared with my sister, moving away from the only family I had left, at Ista. I was leaving my securities behind. Impressing was…wonderful and scary. She was…" she glances at Kehemath, "a handful. It was really, /really/ hard. Much harder than I'd ever imagined. For us it wasn't magic and everything was happiness and roses. And there aren't any other riders in our family. Crafters and cotholders, far back as we know…" In the water, Kehemath tuuuuugs on it with a growl, and then she pushes a mental *puff* of sagebrush scent, strong and burning, at Ruenalth's mind in an attempt to startle.

"Full of ups and downs, like you said," Kyara replies to Kanga. "But good. I'm glad for it. I knew it wouldn't be easy, opinions of women in certain positions being what they are. I figured it wouldn't be worse than what I faced as a woman Harper when I first got here." She flexes an arm a little. "It's made me stronger, having to work almost all the time. And it's been fun helping some of the younger girl Candidates understand that it's okay for them to be there, no matter what the boys say," she finishes with a grin. She listens to Sienna, nodding, then humming thoughtfully for a moment. "There hadn't been any riders in my family for a couple of generations, before I left." She smiles, a bit sadly. "My brothers used to talk about becoming riders all the time. Maybe they did…after I was gone." She shakes the thought away, chuckling at the play-growling green. "I like the thought of having a green because they're uppity. Well, from what I've observed, anyway. I'm sort of quiet, so I like having more energy around to balance with."

Kanga grins, "Greens are totally great. My Da rides a green- Aukaith!" She speaks lovingly of her former cranky, seaweed-breathed nursemaid. "They all have different personalities though, just like browns. You never know what you're gonna get, when you impress," Like how life is like a box of chocolates? Some are just plain nutty. An appreciative glance at Kyara's muscles, "Ooh, that'll only get better and more toned over time. Being fit is /always/ in." Two thumbs up! "See Sienna, though, it didn't matter that you didn't have any other riders in your family, you made a good rider anyway..and a great Assistant Weyrlingmaster!" She pats the greenrider on the arm, "It's more about personality than being a legacy, cause I've seen dimglows with no empathy who had rider parents not impress at all! ..but I was really comfortable around dragons from an early age. I think that /did/ help." Back to Kyara, "Harper huh. What's your specialty? I had some friends in oldtime that were good musicians." Ruenalth counters the puff of sagebrush scent with a strong cloud of cumin, cinnamon and marketplace spices as he wriggles. Oh. Its on!

Sienna nods, stifling another yawn and closing her eyes for a few moments. "Good for the younger girls to have someone they can look up to," she says quietly. Then she offers her a smile. "Maybe they did." Looking into the lake, the greenrider chuckles. "Uppity? They can be, sure, but there's shy greens too. Quiet ones, softer ones. Have you met K'vvan's Nadeeth? She's quiet, very, very sweet. Sensitive. Hardly uppity." Glancing to Kanga, the greenrider chuckles. "Thanks. And I know your lineage doesn't matter. I was thinking of offering to help the new Weyrlingmasters they've brought in, but…I really doubt they'd take me. Plus," belly pat. And a yawn, before she shrugs.

"I'm a composer, mainly," is the girl's reply as she unfolds her legs, stretching them out before her. "Pipes as my instrument of focus, but guitar and harp were close seconds. I… My music got around, before everything that happened in the past." Kyara thinks a moment before shaking her head at Sienna. "I haven't met K'vvan, or his dragon, as far as I know." Then, in the distance, she hears her name being shouted, and she glances over to see someone from the kitchens waving at her. "Ah, yes, I guess it's about that time," she sighs, standing and brushing sand from her skirt. Lots of scrubbing to do for an hour or two. "I'd better get to work again. Thank you for the talk, both of you. Sienna, Kanga." With a salute, she's off to do what a Candidate must once again.

Kanga visibly /twitches/ at Sienna, "I wouldn't say it doesn't matter /at all/. But I am saying its not the only thing that counts." A proud people, the P'rru spawn and grand spawn tend to be, after all. Towards Kyara, she looks impressed, "I love some good music, maybe you can play some for me sometime?" A disappointed look as the girl runs off, "I /like her/," She murmurs to Sienna, "I dont think she has the same stuffy attitude as some of these other Nowtimers do. We need more new riders of this time like that." A nod, "Yea you should take it easy, don't need more people bringing you drama and stress over being a woman and a pregnant one at that, trying to be weyrlingmaster assistant. I really miss oldtimes sometimes. Especially my lounging spot near the pools that were down from my weyr."

Sienna returns Kyara's salute and smiles, watching her go before she exhales, stretching out on the blanket on her back, an arm draped over her face. "I am so exhausted," she mumbles. Lifting her arm a bit, she peers curiously at Kanga. "I didn't mean to offend," she mutters, before that arm is lowered again. "She's nice. Is she a nowtimer? I thought she was an oldtimer…" They're all blending together now. That's a good thing, right? "Mmmhmm. I don't think I have a choice right now, other than just laying here. Maybe W'rin will come carry me back to my weyr." Snicker. Then she sighs. "I miss the tree." In the lake, Kehemath continues to growl and tug, tug, tug, tuggggg.

Kanga nods, "Apology accepted." Arm pat. "That would like totally explain why she seems to accepting in her attitudes. I don't remember seeing her around Ista back in the day but like, you're right. Memories are blurring," she says, slumping over her bent knee a bit, looking disappointedly over the water. "So you know maybe after you have the baby we can all go to Southern, dont they have nice beaches? Pretend we're back at Ista for a while? Or maybe we can just go over to Ista proper, see if at least the beaches look okay?" Field trip! "Oh," she says, eyes widening, "If you need a lift, Rue's big enough to help you onto yours, I can help.." Rue hears his name and turns his head, loosening his grip for an instant then grabbing back on and splashing water in Kehe's general direction.

Sienna shrugs, "Honestly I have no idea where - or when - she's from. It's all a blur," she agrees. Then she flinches. "I don't want to go back to Ista, is that bad of me?" she murmurs, lifting her arm to peek at Kanga. "Not…not yet. Southern maybe, after this baby is out of me." How maternal. "I'm going to want to get away." Then she's laughing softly, shaking her head. "No, no. I can still fly. I'm just so /tired/. Just…you know how you feel when you're sick? Just…worn out? That's how I feel. Only worse. And not sick. It's the weirdest thing." It's like all of her energy is going into growing a person. Who knew.

Kanga nods, "Yeah, as I was saying /after/ the baby…" Frown as she reaches over to rest the back of her hand on Sienna's forehead, "Sienna, dahhhlin, are you sure you haven't got too much sun?" Lip nibble, "I dont know if that's ok. I have mixed feelings about it. Its not like, well I s'pose I wouldn't be able to resist doing a flyby of my old weyr." In its most awesome of locations, "But like, this place sucks when it comes to good places to take a beach day," DURP. "Mm," she pauses, "I know of this one vendor at the bazaar that sells a vitamin drink. I had it a couple times, helps me on early mornings. You might wanna try it, might help?" Herbal remedies of dubious origins ftw?

Sienna shrugs again. "Maybe? I don't know. It feels good though," she says quietly. "Maybe some day. But not now. It's too soon. Even if I wasn't stuck here I wouldn't want to go yet." Then a laugh. "It does, doesn't it? Vitamin drink? I probably shouldn't. Trying to just…not do anything that could be bad for the baby…"

Kanga pushes herself up to her feet and dusts the sand from her legs, "Ok," she says simply, but still looking concerned as she folds up her towel, "So look, I need to go to the Bazaar and talk to," A pause, "Someone.." Obvious coverup, accompanied by a shifty eyed glance. "But if you need me to help with anything, you just send a firelizard," She looks around, "Er, do you have any of your former beasties around this time?" Pause, "Or have Kehemath bespeak Ruenalth or something. I dont like the look of ya, I think you should have a nap with blankets and not oversun it." Overprotective female friend time. Ruenalth does the equivalent of a dragon wink towards the green and suddenly lets go of the stick, which hopefully creates surprise and amusing splashes on the other end of things. Climbing on a rock, he shakes himself mostly dry and lumbers off to join his rider.

Sienna sighs and pushes herself up to sit, while Kehemath does a little happy wiggle dance that she got the stick. Which she promptly adjusts so she's carrying it proudly in her mouth, paddling to the shore and shaking herself off. "No, you're right," Sienna says quietly, pushing to her feet. "I'll go take a nap." She eyes her friend, but honestly she's too tired to ask about the 'someone'. "My firelizards came with me, yeah, but Kehemath would call if I needed something. Thanks, Kanga."

Add a New Comment