Who

Beris, R'ku

What

Beris is enjoying a sunrise bath as a storm passes by. R'ku and Kabelkath have been out in said storm, and R'ku needs to get clean.

Excessive cuteness

When

It is sunrise of the twenty-eighth day of the fifth month of the twelfth turn of the 12th pass.

Where

Public Baths, Igen

OOC Date 08 Nov 2017 00:00

 

beris_1.jpg r-ku_default.jpg

igenpublicbaths.jpg

Public Baths

Stout walls have been erected around several naturally formed pools, serving to provide a semblance of privacy and protection from the harsh wind and sand. Above the pools, well cleaned walkways criss-cross beneath tiled arches and descend with a stairway or two leading down to each pool to provide one means of slip-free access through the area. Surrounding the pools there are benches, receptacles to put used clothing and towels in, and areas to get sweetsand and towels from - if you didn't bring your own.


The sun is just peeking over the horizon, though one would hardly realise thanks to the heavy layer of dark clouds scuffing ominously across the sky. The storm gives the occasional flash of lightning, followed up by a rumble of thunder. Fortunately, these lightning strikes have moved further on, and the rain over Igen Weyr has eased enough for Beris to venture out to the public baths. There she rests in the water, hair full of suds, eyes closed as she relaxes against the edge of one of the smaller pools and listens to the boom-clap of the thunder as the storm moves on. It's warm already here in Igen on this spring morning, but the pools still steam even in the warm air. The humidity has cleared at least, thanks to the storm.

When there are storms, rest assured that R'ku was out somewhere taking advantage of the rain to drill his wing. It's no different this morning, though the continual lightning forced an early end to the drill to prevent anyone from getting struck. There /is/ a limit to the danger that R'ku will force his wing to go into for the want of being prepared. So, when the bronzerider makes his way into the baths, he's already pretty well soaked, but with cold water instead of warm. Not to mention he's pretty well splattered with mud and dirt and grime. He looks fairly disreputable, come to think of it. He even has a shadow of stubble on his cheeks and chin to go with his shaggy, messy helmet-hair. At least he starts to strip out of his muddy gear off in the alcove - he'll probably have to rinse the things before putting them back on, but he's more interested in getting them /off/ currently.

There's the sound of someone approaching with wet-sounding footsteps, and Beris's eyes slowly open. She's looking the wrong way, so she has to sit up a bit and turn, trying to be subtle about it and just failing. There's no subtle way to look behind you. "R'ku!" She says, surprised but definitely pleased to see him, in spite of his current state. "Let me guess," her voice becomes more teasing as she watches him strip, smiling cheekily. "Out in the storm?" She knows by now if there's bad weather near Igen, her boyfriend or his Wing are likely to be doing something in it.

R'ku has that whole squeaky leather thing going on as he works at removing his riding leathers - enjoy the noise, as there's no way to be subtle and sneaky with wet leather. He pauses with one muddy boot in his hand at the sound of Beris' voice, a toothy grin of happiness spreading over his face, "Beris! I was going to try to find you after I cleaned up." Because why would he go visit his girlfriend all muddy and sweaty. "One less step to do now," he muses with a rumble of a laugh, dropping the muddy boot and moving to the next one, "And yes - out in the storm, as usual, defying my mother's advice on not playing in the rain." His grin is cheeky, as well, "You'll be happy to know that none of us were struck by lightning." As though to punctuate this statement, there's another distant fork of lightning followed by a low rumble of thunder a good time later. "I'm surprised this place isn't crowded - guess the rain scared everyone off," he glances around at the fairly empty baths.

Beris's eye twitches, despite herself, at that unpleasant wet leather sound. No, she's not used to it, still. She'll overlook it for R'ku though, her smile getting shyer when R'ku flashes that grin at her that was one of the things that attracted her to him in the first place. "Two birds with one stone," she comments about him finding her here. As to the storm, her grin becomes more teasing now. "Well, mothers do say you'll catch a cold in the rain." Like that's an issue in Igen, which is hot 95% of the time. Still, old wives' tales and all that! She pushes back her hair from her face, dipping the now soapy hand back into the water. "Their loss," she says of the baths' empty state. "It's nicer like this, anyway."

R'ku shucks the last bit of riding gear with a sigh of relief. Beris ought to know by now how involved the whole riding gear can be, especially when it's wet, muddy and altogether not pleasant. R'ku casts a scowl at the pile of gear at his feet, "I'll have to rinse this out before heading back - we landed in a giant puddle of mud on the way back … you should see Kabelkath." He heaves a sigh and, after pausing to grab some sweetsand, he picks his way around the various pools until he reaches the pool Beris is already in, "Hopefully there's room?" He flashes another one of his wide grins, though the question is likely rhetorical as he's coming in no matter what. He does let out a sigh of happiness as he settles down into the warm water, eyes half lidding with bliss, "Shards - I think I'll stay in here until I'm all wrinkly - or at least until the rain stops."

"Just as long as you don't expect me to help wash him!" Beris laughs, though truth be told she enjoys spending time with the bronze. As R'ku approaches the pool she turns back round so she can lean back against the edge again, sinking down into the hot water some more. It's far too relaxing to just soak. She simply grins at his rhetorical question, unable not to watch him as he joins her. That grin softens as it becomes clear just how much he needed the relief of the hot water. "They'll have to come and fish you out if you stay in too long," she warns jokingly, as she starts scooping up handfuls of water to rinse her hair. "Kabelkath is in the lake, is he?" Or has R'ku left a muddy dragon somewhere in the bazaar??

R'ku settles down in the hot water, resting his head on the lip of the pool. "They'll have to drag me out," he retorts with a snort, miming a fighting stance before breaking out into an amused laugh, "I think I won't be missed until the afternoon, at least. Though at that point I might be just one big wrinkle. You wouldn't like the look of me." The mention of washing his dragon has him suddenly remembering that he's supposed to be washing, not just soaking. He scoops up some sweetsand and starts to lather up his hair, "Kabelkath's letting the rain rinse him off a bit, then he's going to go into the lake on his own. The worst of it should wash off easily enough with a swim in the lake, thankfully. I'll have to oil him after, though, as he keeps reminding me." He gives Beris a sly grin, "You didn't say anything about not helping /oil/ Kabelkath." His voice is obviously teasing, as light as the deep tones can get.

"They have nets for that, don't they?" Beris laughs, pretending to peer around for the mentioned item. Her attention returns to R'ku, as she continues sluicing the suds from the length of her hair. "I don't know if I signed up to date a big wrinkle," she laughs, looking fondly at him though. She glances in the vague direction of the lake as he talks about Kabelkath, even though she knows it's not physically possible to see him from here. Reflex. A laugh bubbles up at his slyness. "I suppose I didn't. Well, I suppose oiling him won't get me too dirty after this bath. Anything for a big handsome bronze," she adds, fluttering her eyelashes at R'ku.

R'ku snorts a laugh, "I guess that means we're over once I get old enough to wrinkle outside of water?" He flashes another one of his quick grins, teeth white against his coppery skin, "I promise I won't be one of those saggy, ugly older men. At least I'm fairly sure I won't be." He glances down at himself thoughtfully before shrugging his shoulders, sending out a ripple of water. "And the oil is not only good for dragon hide - it's good for human skin, too." he adds, further incentive to help with oiling. Now that his hair is thoroughly sudded, R'ku flashes Beris another grin before taking a deep breath and then slipping underneath the water. When he surfaces, he's a lot closer to Beris than he was before - he resettles himself next to her, his shaggy hair plastered to his face, "Unless you have to work after? I'm not sure being oily at work is the best unless you're going to actually be in the pit fights." He pauses to push the sopping hair out of his eyes.

Beris hasn't thought that far into the future, so she'll take amoment to do so now, trying to imagine R'ku - and herself - in their 60s. 70s. 80s….she can hardly imagine what she'll be like at 30, so that many decades is damn near impossible. "I'll hold you to that promise," she teases, though she's stroking her hair thoughtfully, running fingers down it from roots to tips. "Oh?" He's giving her a compelling argument for helping with the necessary dragon-oiling. Then he's gone below the water and emerged next to her, and she shifts to lean up against him, moving her hair to the opposite side so it doesn't tangle wetly all over him. "No, no work today. I just seem to always wake up early even when it's a restday." There's an exaggerated sigh of suffering to accompany that.

R'ku settles comfortably next to Beris, one arm automatically sneaking around her to pull her a bit closer. "I'd commiserate, but …. " He trails off, craning his neck so he can grin down at Beris, "I rather like having you around when /I/ have to get up early. So … bonus on my end." He can't help but run his own hand down her hair in one quick movement, "Besides - you can have a nap later on. We /do/ have those nice feline furs now. Very cozy. Lots of extra bonuses for being up early on a rest day." He pauses and frowns before heaving a sigh, "And I am definitely not going to repeat what Kabelkath just added in, but .. rest assured. Extra bonuses." He's probably so used to such input from his bronze that he doesn't even squirm. Thankfully he's the only one privy to them.

Beris considers that for a moment, trying to look serious. She can't keep it up though, giggling. "Okay, okay. You definitely win the 'getting up early' competition." She's looking flushed from more than just the heat of the water as he talks about what they could do for the rest of the day. "We do," she agrees slyly, despite her pink cheeks. Then she quirks a curious look up at him, an eyebrow lifting, when he sighs. The look dissolves into another giggle, at Kabelkath and R'ku's reaction to him. "Extra bonuses," she agrees, eyes bright as she snuggles up closer. "That does mean we have to get out of the bath at some point, though," she muses.

R'ku makes a noise of complaint at the mention of getting out of the bath, "You sure we can't just live here for the rest of the week? It's /way/ too comfortable." He makes a face, "I suppose responsibility has to win out. And, you know, eating and drinking and actually wearing clothes." He cocks his head to one side, listening asa very faint rumble of thunder echoes throughout the baths, "The rain's nearly passed, though. So we still have an excuse to stay here a bit longer." He eyes Beris' hair critically for a moment, one hand sweeping over it, "Will your hair handle being on dragonback so soon after a bath? I don't want to be the cause of a million tangles." Then he snorts a laugh, "Maybe the oil will help if we're really are going to oil Kabelkath after this."

"I think your Wing would probably come looking for you if you went missing for a week," Beris teases. She goes very still when R'ku cocks his head - she can just barely hear the thunder now, especially in comparison to R'ku's much keener weather senses. "Hm?" Oh, her hair! "It'll be fine. I can wrap it in a towel, anyway." She's pretty blase about it. His laughter gets her grinning. "Oil does help with tangles. Wait, is it going to make me smell like a dragon?" Because she's worried about getting comments from people about how she smells? She doesn't exactly sound worried about it, more intrigued.

R'ku raises an eyebrow, his voice completely serious, "Do you get many people smelling you that smelling like a dragon would be an issue?" He can't seem to keep his serious look, though, and rumbles a laugh, "You'll just smell like some of the spices I put into the oil to be sure that Kabelkath smells nice. In fact, I probably smell like that oil more often than not, so you'd probably just smell like me in roundabout kind of way." He seems to remember that - hey, he's supposed to be washing. He reaches out for some more sweetsand and starts to lather up his arms, though he unfortunately has to pull a little away from Beris to do this. "Might have to wait a bit for the rain to completely clear before doing the oiling. With two people, though, it'll take less time. Then we can have the entire afternoon to ourselves."

"Errr," Beris is actually fooled by the serious look, until R'ku can't keep it up any more, at which point she gives him a playful smack on the chest for winding her up. "Hmm. That doesn't sound so bad." Why does she like the idea of smelling like R'ku so much? He pulls away to start washing, and Beris uses the opportunity to wring some water out of her hair and twist it up onto the top of her head, reaching for one of the towels at the side of the pool to wrap it up. "That sounds like a perfect plan," she says, with a fond smile. "I suppose food will factor in at some point, too." Thinking with her stomach, of course!

R'ku scrubs at his bare chest and neck, "Food, drink … the works. We can even be lazy and eat in if you like." He twists slightly, lathering up his shoulder as he peers back at Beris, one eyebrow raised, "What do you feel like? I'm open to all levels of laziness today." He flashes a quick grin, still with a bit of lingering mischief from his earlier joke. Once he's all lathered up, he works at rinsing away the accumulated lather, trying his best /not/ to splash Beris in the process. He's gentlemanly and all.

Is Beris ever going to turn down the opportunity to eat in and just chill out with R'ku? If she ever is, it's not today that she's saying no. "The less I have to get up and do, the better. Those furs are comfortable." There's a grin flashed right back at him. The sun's light is starting to crawl over the bazaar now, and the beginnings of the day's activities are getting louder outside the baths. "Ugh. Sounds like people'll be disturbing us soon." Literally the worst.

R'ku makes a face at reality intruding in on them, "Shard it all. I suppose I'll have to get out of the baths then." He grumbles a little at this, but his riding gear /does/ need to be rinsed before they can go anywhere. "Don't mind me … " he drifts past Beris in the pool, pausing only to sneak a quick kiss from her before he climbs out of the water. Beris'll just get to watch a naked R'ku for a bit longer as he moves to his riding gear and starts to rinse some of the worst mud from the leather. "Oh!" he suddenly remembers something, "We can even have tea up on my weyr now - I purchased a tea set, as odd as that sounds." Once certain bits of his gear are rinsed, he works at patting the leather dry.

Beris suppresses a giggle, but that big, almost predatory smile? She can't hide that as she kisses R'ku back, then watches him get out of the pool. She's more lazy in getting out - she doesn't have muddy clothes to deal with, after all - but she will climb out soon enough, grabbing her second towel to dry off. "Oh? Good thing your girlfriend knows tea, then. We can have a whole afternoon tea." Yes, this plan is sounding better and better! "I'll have to get us some teas. You could have a collection." R'ku can also have a show, as Beris gets herself dry enough to start dressing.

R'ku slowly starts to get re-dressed once his riding gear is free of mud, though the process is taking a lot longer than normal. Beris getting out of the pool seems to momentarily distract him to the point of forgetting briefly how to lace up his boots. He somehow manages to get his brain to focus on more mundane things, though, but the momentary lapse of concentration probably is super noticeable. "You'll have to teach me how to make tea - all I know is how to boil water," he admits with one of his rumbling laughs, "I did get some basic tea leaves with the set, but … honestly … I have no clue what else we'll need. I just tried to copy what I remembered from when you used to work at the Tea Room." Because R'ku probably shamelessly went there a lot more often when Beris worked there. R'ku straightens up and peers towards the exit, "Seems the rain is gone - it's helped a bit with the heat, too. Doesn't seem to be as hot out."

Beris is definitely sneaking looks at R'ku, so she totally notices when he gets distracted by her. Sorry R'ku! Grinning to herself, she focuses on getting her trousers settled on her hips, and pushes her feet into her sandals. "That I can do," Beris is more than happy to pass on the skills she picked up during her time at the Tea Room. She may also be thinking back to all those times R'ku visited. Still, the Tea Room didn't give away all its secrets to its customers, but she's a former worker so she can pass on a bit of knowledge, as far as she's concerned. "Don't jinx it. It'll be roasting by midday, I'm sure." She sidles up to R'ku, looking up and sideways at him as she goes to take his arm.

R'ku tugs at his riding leathers, readjusting the gear slightly. "At least up in my weyr there's a bit of a breeze," he reasons, grinning, "Might make any lingering heat a bit bearable." Tucking his helmet under one arm, he loops his other arm through Beris', "Let's get going, then. Kabelkath's been bugging me for the past half hour on how slow and lazy we are and how terribly his hide itches." He rolls his eyes, "He's so sharding dramatic sometimes." With one last glance back at the bathing pools, he starts to head out and back to the responsibilities of the day.

Add a New Comment