==== September, 16, 2013
==== Kultir, Kalea, Safra
==== Kultir and Kalea deal with his Candidacy; Safra gets and gives tips.

Who Kultir, Kalea, Safra
What Kultir and Kalea deal with his Candidacy; Safra gets and gives tips.
When There is 1 turn 2 months and 18 days until the 12th pass.
Where Training Grounds, Southern Weyr

kalea2.jpg Kultir safra.jpg


training_grounds.jpg

Training Grounds
A broad and sheltered swoop of bowl lies bare for the talons and tread of countless weyrlings that-will-be, encased by stone scoured and scarred by those-that-were. Dirt lies as neatly as dirt can lie, swept and raked daily, at the mouth of the caverns that must indubitably be the weyrling barracks. Devoid of decoration, the place stands strangely absent of pressence when empty, the everpresent wind of Southern giving strange acoustics to those under the shelter of the towering bowl-wall.

It is Spring and 81 degrees. It is slightly overcast.


Kultir has been strolling … well, pacing … for a while, rather unsure what to do with himself on the rare day when he wasn't assigned a chore for the morning. Apparently he's got a restday and doesn't know what to do with it, since he can't do what he wants. He spends some time watching the weyrlings practice in the distance and then returns to restless pacing, arms crossed over his chest.

Kalea is bored out of her mind. With her ankle still sore she isn't able to report for her usual duties. And so she and Ryadranth have been cruising around looking for something useful to do. An inspection of the training grounds seemed like a good idea at the time. What exactly she's inspecting she has no clue. In all honesty Ryadranth spotted Kultir pacing and suggested that they stop by and figure out what he's doing out here. So once her green is settled and Kalea is positive no sneezing is about to happen, she slides down Ryadranth's hide and lands gingerly on the ground.

Safra and Saevasanth are doing exercises in the yard. This is the month where the weyrlings will fly for the first time and the excitement - at least from Safra and Saevasanth - is nearly palpable. The two are practicing launching, a comical sight with Safra perched on the blue's back, he's standing on his hindlegs and hopping. Safra is trying not to get whiplash.

Kultir spent some time between pacings watching the blue weyrling practice his takeoffs and feels a bit bad for the poor girl on his back, that can't be comfortable. He glances up as the green lands and grins as he waves his greeting. Once Kalea is on the ground, he moves toward them still smiling and feeling much better about the day. "Morning, Ryadranth!" he says by way of greeting to the dragon and then he's facing the rider and smiling down at the petite woman. "Morning, love." is almost purred, a hand stretching out for her to clasp.

Kalea turns when Kultir greets them and grins. Slipping her hand into his. "Morning. What are you doing out here?" She isn't sure what chores he would have out here. Except maybe raking and cleaning up the grounds. Perhaps that's why he's out here.. Ryadranth drops her head to wuffle at Kultir in greeting. Glad to see the man-child. Her attention though is quickly captured by the main attraction for her. The practicing blue and 'rider. Kalea's attention shifts in that direction for a quick look and chuckle. Though her main focus is on Kultir right this second.

Safra spies the rider and signals Saevasanth to stop the exercise. She slides down from his back and thumps to the ground. The dragonet shakes himself all over, sails slithering and ambles after Safra. There are new people to see. Safra nods a greeting at the Candidate, mentally greets Rydranth, before saluting Kalea, "Morning, ma'am. Have you come to inspect the grounds?"

Kultir grins down at her and squeezes her hand gently as he watches her and the green turn toward the little blue. "Apparently I get at least this morning off." he says quietly. He nods a polite greeting to the weyrling when she moves toward them and glances back to see Kalea's answer, his hand loosening in case she needs to withdraw hers from his clasp.

Kalea looks at Safra as the weyrling approaches with a greeting. "G'morning. I suppose that I did stop by to see how things are looking around here. Mostly I'm trying to find something to ease my boredom." She grins and waves the hand that isn't held by Kultir at her wrapped ankle. "Sprained my ankle and can't report for duty til' it's better." She's so used to holding Kultir's hand that it slips her mind to remove it. Oops. "I'm Kalea and this is Ryadranth, Lynx wing." Her attention is split by Kultir's words and she grins up at him with a nod of acceptance. "I see. Well you shouldn't be lurking around where someone can snatch you up and put you to work if you have the morning off." Anyone with a unwanted chore to do could put him to work after all.

"I'm Safra, this is Saevasanth, Weyrling Wing." Saevasanth looms awkwardly over her shoulder, knobby elbows and knees and spars. He eyes the two folk, head swinging down over her shoulder to snuffle in their faces and to, finally, touch their linked hands. Safra's face goes red and her eyes glaze a moment and the dragonet he whips his head back, eyes whirling with sparks of yellow. "Uh, I'll show you what we've been up to, ma'am." Almost as an afterthought, she looks at the Candidate and sticks out her hand, "Safra. Welcome to the Barracks."

Kultir blushes slighty at the comment he shouldn't hang around where folks can find him and shrugs. "Maybe I was hoping you'd show up, love." he murmurs, eyes sparkling with mischief. He pulls back a little though when the small but still rather large blue snuffles toward his face and then touches his hand clasping Kalea's. He doesn't jump or cringe, proving that he's gotten used to dragons but … what the blue does makes his heart race, wondering just what's going on. "Ummm, I'm Kultir … " he stammers, reaching out his right hand to shake Safra's. "Well met."

Kalea laughs outright and the antics of Saevasanth. Ryadranth makes a chortling sound of amusement as well. This draws a wry glance from Kalea, no doubt mentally wondering why her green hadn't reminded her. Which of course does nothing to change the smug tilt of Rya's head. Kalea sighs and slips her hand free of Kultir's while he is busy greeting Safra. "Well you got lucky. Here I am," she quips at Kultir and chuckles. Turning to Safra she nods her head and waves her now free hand, "I'd love to see what you've been up to." Anything to banish the blush spreading across her cheeks for being called out by a weyrling blue.

Kultir glances down as he feels Kalea's hand slip from his and sighs softly. He has /got/ to be more careful about that. He tucks his fingers up under his belt selfconsciously since if allowed to dangle, they'll start reaching toward Kalea again. He tries his best to look interested in the blue's antics but he's just not sure what good it could be to let your dragon hop up and down like that.

Safra shows the two around the grounds, describing the grueling schedule - something Kalea is likely to remember all too well - and the exercises the weyrlings are going through. "This month we're going to take our first flight." She is practically vibrating with excitement, "They're practicing launching," she points at riders and dragons hopping as she has been, "They're practicing flying," she points at dragonets lifting themselves off the ground under wing power alone. "Watch out for that, the dust flies something fierce."

Kultir follows the two women around the grounds, watching with more interest now that he can understand the reasons behind it. He chuckles softly at the warning that dust flies when dragons are practicing flying, that would be self-evident apparently from the clouds billowing up with each sweep of the wings.

Kalea strolls around the grounds just behind Safra. Listening intently and nodding when one is necessary. "Boy the schedule brings back memories," she admits with a wry chuckle. "The training grounds back home looked so different and yet so similar." And of course they would. Same purpose just different place. And, er-time. Kalea chuckles softly and grins at Safra, "I take it you were practicing launching then?" At least she hopes that's what they'd been attempting to do. She glances over her shoulder at Kultir to flash him a quick smile. Then it's back to the business at hand. Hobbling around after Safra.

Safra glances at Kalea's bound foot. A little blue head peeks up from Safra's shoulder. CHEEP. "Why don't we sit while I feed this little guy." She fishes some meat out of a pouch at her side and feeds the little blue hatchling firelizard curled on her shoulder. She strokes its head as it eats. "I forgot, this is Lazlo." The little 'lizard chirrs, HUNGRY. She looks at Kultir, "I've seen you around, when did you get your knot?" She looks at Kalea, "Yes ma'am, launching," she rubs at her neck, wincing "Any tips?"

Kultir smiles as he finally notices the little blue when he peeks up from the weyrling rider's shoulder and barely catches himself from uttering an entirely unmasculine 'Awww'. He clears his throat and says, "Maybe a sevenday ago." He shrugs slightly, it could have been a bit longer since he spent the first few days after getting shanghied by Nika in an emotionally charged fog. He simply listens turning toward Kalea to hear this answer, he might need all the tips he can get if he ends up in Safra's place one day.

Kalea is beyond thrilled at Safra's mention of sitting down for a moment. She wasn't about to say a word. But her ankle is throbbing in time with her heartbeat. "That would be very nice," she says in total agreement. "He's cute," Kalea acknowledges the little firelizard that Safra introduces. "Haven't had one since before the Jump." It isn't as if she'd been looking for them either. She looks up at Kultir when Safra asks him a question. In short order though she finds them both looking at /her/. Oh joy. So she chuckles and nods her head. "Aye. I think I could spare a couple pointers. When we're seated I'll have Rya find a spot to show you how she used to do it. She had more of a hop going on."

Lazlo purrs what with all the food and admirement going on. Safra looks at Ryadranth, nodding, "That would be great." She turns to Kultir, "Who Searched you?"

Kultir gestures toward one of the few boulders that mars the ground of the training area just a few steps away that seems to be short enough for Kalea to reach without help. "That looks like a good spot." he says, trying to be helpful. He heads that direction himself and simply stands and waits for the women to settle themselves. He glances back to Safra and says, "Nika … she rides a blue too." He smiles as if to take the sting of his almost-anger out of his voice. Yes, he's still rather irritated at Nika for dragging him off to the Barracks but … he understands now that this is the way it has to be.

Kalea chuckles and follows Kultir to the stones he'd suggested. She settles onto one and sits there quietly for a few minutes. Content to listen to Safra and Kultir converse.

Safra chuckles knowingly as she sits. "Yeah, Nika." The freight of that phrase is a dragonweight. Her eyes grow wide, having forgotten Kalea, "I mean, yes, I'm acquainted with Serval's Wingleader." She feeds another morsel to Lazlo.

Kultir laughs softly as he settles crosslegged on the ground at Kalea's feet. He lifts her sprained ankle gently onto his knee and carefully massages the calf muscle and strokes the tendons at the sides of her leg carefully to allow it to relax. His fingers are gentle and he hopes he can sooth away some of the pain she must be feeling. He glances up and frowns slightly. "You need more numbweed on this …" he mutters before returning to his self-appointed task. He turns toward Safra with a lopsided grin. "She's somethin' else, an't she? Accused me o' tryin' t' drown Kalea, here and decided to teach me t' 'mend my ways' … which doesn't make any sense at all." He shrugs and keeps working his fingers up from the ankle toward the knee.

Safra looks shocked and splutters, "She… you… what?!" She flushes a little at Kultir's ministrations to Kalea's leg, Was he a healer? and focuses on the story, "I think that bears more explaining."

Kultir returns Kalea's grin and carefully sets her foot back on the ground so he can rise and go find the numbweed. He gently strokes the green before he clambers up the straps to stick his hand in the pack and rummage for the pot of salve. Rya gets another stroke as he jumps down and returns to his seat at Kalea's feet. This time he loosens the boot and strips off the bindings so he can massage in the numbing salve. He chuckles softly at Safra's confusion and shrugs. "Kalea's my weyrmate, Safra." he says softly. "No matter what Nika says." He winks up at the greenrider before returning his attention to tenderly soothing her injured ankle.

Safra nods, relaxing. "I don't know why it's a rule," she shrugs. "Well, I do." Her face screws up. "I think the focus of Candidacy and weyrlinghood is to develop the lifebond." She nods, liking the direction of her thoughts as she thinks-speaks them, "And weyrmating can interfere with that." She shrugs, looking up, Oh. Umm… maybe that wasn't the thing to say. She blinks. "But I don't know. It could just be, uh, cruel for cruel's sake."

Kalea seems entirely nonplussed when Kultir gets up and clambers around on her dragon to dig in her pack. Ryadranth's reaction is to simply turn her head and watch the man-child. Making sure he get what he needs and is safely away again before she goes back to snoozing. The entire scene probably is beyond strange. After all someone not paying attention to the knot would have to do a double take to be sure he isn't a 'rider. Kalea on the other hand already knows how comfortable her ex-'mate is with her lifemate and looks entirely relaxed when the teenager returns and starts his ministrations on her leg again. Get 'em young and train 'em how ya want 'em!! Kalea chuckles at Safra's grumbling about the rule. "It /is/ to help with the pair bonding. But it's also to allow 'riders to explore their options within the Weyr. After all most 'riders never take a 'mate preferring to date amongst one another rather than make a commitment."

Kultir is well into the applying of salve to the bruised flesh of her ankle but when the conversation turns to the /one/ subject he has difficulty comprehending his own feelings on, he has to bite his lip to keep his hands from tightening against a surge of despair. He sighs softly and tilts his head slightly more downward and simply listens. He's been in this relationship since nearly his first day in the Weyr and he certainly doesn't want to give it up. Though it's sounding that he's expected to … even by his 'mate.

Safra busies herself with the firelizard, Saevasanth becomes absorbed in an itch. "Could Ryadranth show us that launch technique?"

Kalea has already discussed all of this with Kultir. And simply assumes that he will have remembered the conversation and not get offended by her words. "Besides," she comments lastly and with a chuckle, "such emotions can be confusing to your lifemate at first." No need to distress dragonets with their 'riders adult behavior after all. Kalea nods her head in agreement with Safra, "Why don't you take care of his itch and then I'll be glad to have Ryadranth demonstrate." She eyes the obviously itching little blue and chuckles. While she's waiting for Safra she tilts her head to grin at the back of Kultir's. He's got his head dropped so far down she isn't sure that he isn't breathing numbweed. "Thank you honey. It's feeling a lot better now."

Kultir has worked his fingers up past the bruising on her ankle hoping the numbweed will help her calf to not keep tensing up and causing more pain when she walks as it heals. When she speaks to him though, he tilts his head back to smile up at her. His eyes seem a little dull, but that could be from breathing the fumes, right? "I'm glad of that, love." he says softly, his tone a bit difficult to determine. "I'll get the wrap back on it and help you with your boot. Maybe it'll last till you can put more on it later today." There's an icy lump sitting right next to his heart, the last time he felt like this … he ran away.

Kalea takes a moment to wriggle her toes and flex her ankle. Yup, definitely feeling a lot better. "Thank you love," she tells him with a warm smile. Truly grateful for his help. "I'm sure it will be fine." She can always prop it back up when she gets home later. For right now she's content to enjoy his company. And Safra's as soon as the weyrling rider gets her young charges in order of course. "I've been making attempts to go easy on it." Translation-she hasn't been doing her more rigorous workouts or reporting for duty. Everything else appears to be up in the air at the moment. "You don't have to sit around and spoil me, honey. If there's something you'd prefer to do with your time off. I don't want you to think I'm trying to monopolize you."

Kultir chuckles softly as he finishes up re-wrapping Kalea's foot and tucking the ends of the bandage in so that they won't rub and cause more discomfort. "I have nothing left to do, love. Before I came out here I did all my laundry, got a bath, straightened my clothes chest, made my bed and got breakfast." he says, slipping her boot back on and lacing it up carefully. "There, all done. Good enough?" He sets her foot back down on the ground and pushes himself upright to settle on one of the rocks nearby.

Safra stepped away from Kalea and Kultir to give them a moment. She sees to Saevasanth's itch, relaxing even as her dragonet does. The big blue rumbles appreciation and looks with happily lidded eyes at Ryadranth. The little firelizard CHEEPS. ME TOO. Safra obliges the little 'lizard with a scritching of his own. She watches Ryadranth with interest, trying to assess the green's health, age, size at a glance.

Kalea laughs softly and shakes her head at Kultir's description of his morning. "Well you can always take Ryadranth down and bathe her for me," she teases with a wink. "I'd be /happy/ to wander inside and put my foot up after all." She is sure that he'll grumble and refuse as he usually does. Teasing her back no doubt. When her boot is once again in place she slips off her rock and gingerly stands. "Yeah that feels really good. Thanks again love." She takes a couple hesitant steps forward and then returns to claim her seat again. She watches Safra go about her business of taking care of her lifemate and small 'lizard. Chuckling a bit because she remembers those days.

Kultir actually grins and shrugs slightly. "If she wants me to bathe her without you there, I can do that. Maybe get some of the other Candidates to help me out if she'll allow it." he says, actually pleased that Kalea had asked. He glances from Rya to the blue, wondering if the green can actually teach the little one how to do this trick.

Ryadranth rouses herself from her nap and stretches. Time to get her show on the road -er- hop as it turns out. She keeps her wings folded tight against her sides and chirrs at the blue Saevasanth. Then she gently pushes off with her front and back feet in unison, her upper body lifting skyward until her hind legs are extended into the jump and hops a few yards forward. It's an almost rabbit-like contortion of a dragon's body. Quite funny to watch, but it is how she practiced all those turns ago. After a couple of well-placed hops, she turns round and unfurls her wings. Actually launching into the sky and gliding in a circle before landing again. See? The hop works.

Kalea laughs at the sight her beloved makes hopping around and showing clearly how to launch. She delights in her lifemate always. When Kultir actually takes her up on the offer she blinks at him in surprise. "Of course she'd go with you. Just don't try to look cute by disappearing behind any trees and you'll fare just fine." She winks at Kultir and laughs. "Everything you'll need is already in the pack where you got the numbweed."

Safra doesn't see anything funny and watches Ryadranth keenly. Her neck is sore, anything to help that is serious business in her eyes. She stores the motion away, imagining it, what it looks like, what it would feel like. Saevasanth quorks at Ryadranth, « Thank you. » Safra quails at the thought of washing a dragon so large. Then blinks, because soon enough she'll have one larger. Stay little? she thinks at her lifemate who turns to look at her, head cocked, « How? » She straightens, "Uh, I'll help. And I can show you some tricky spots," her brow furrows, "If they're the same on her."

Kultir laughs softly and nods. "She'd take my hide off in strips if I did that to her again." he says, blushing slightly at the wink. He notes the information with a nod and sighs. "I'll do my best not to mess up her straps, love." That's the one thing he's still not positive about dealing with, anything else he can deal with … straps, not so much.

Kalea chuckles at Safra's offer to help him and shrugs her shoulders. "He can show you Ryadranth's particular areas of wear. Kultir knows quite a bit about bathing and oiling dragons by now." She wouldn't have asked him to take her by himself if it was his first rodeo so to speak. "I really appreciate the help. Hopefully in a few days I'll be able to do it myself again." Turning to Kultir, she laughs happily at his blushing comment. "I have no doubt at all that she would. And she's really looking forward to spending time with you, honey. So be prepared for her to be playful." Gingerly she rises from her seat and puts weight on her ankle. "I'm going to see if the Healer's will let me lie down and prop this up while you help me out." She starts to hobble away and risks a brief brush of her fingertips on Kultir's shoulder. "Thanks again. Both of you."

Safra looks at the large dragon and to Kultir. "Shall we?"

Kultir smiles tenderly at Kalea as she heads toward the caverns and then sighs softly as he turns back to Safra. "Guess I know what I'll be doing for the next candlemark or so." he says with a shrug. He glances toward the green who has turned to watch her lifemate disappear but soon turns a whirling eye on the man-child. A soft chuckle escapes as the green almost dances with delight at the thought of spending time with the boy. "I think she's ready. Just hope I remember how to do this …" he sighs as he climbs the straps and settles into the spot Kalea usually takes and clips himself onto the straps. "Okay, Rya, let's go to the beach." The green shoves off and flies off in that direction.

Safra's shoulder slump as she mounts Saevasanth and walks to the beach.

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