Best Behaved

Writers: Devin, Yvonne
Date Posted: 11th August 2017

Characters: Alina, Cosani
Description: Alina has a very flighty dragon.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 13, day 1 of Turn 8
Notes: Mentioned: Meledei, J'ackt

Alina

Cosani

Alina signed and looked at her little pot of oil for Imarith's skin-- which was empty. It was after drills and she was already tired from throwing firestone and scrubbing her green, and the thought of trudging all the way back to the Headwoman's stores to get more oil was unbearable. **Can I only oil half of you?**

}:No! All of me! I want to be _shiny_!:{ Imarith stretched her wings toward the sky. }:You promised.:{

**I did, didn't I.** The greenrider dropped her oily rag and was just about to head back toward the cliff when a shadow crossed over her. She looked up and recognized Shalith. Alina waved. **Maybe Cosani has oil. Can you ask Shalith, Imarith?**

}:Alina is neglecting me. I need oil. Does your rider have some?:{ Imarith dutifully asked.

Shalith landed in the lake with a satisfying splash. }:Mine has oil. Your rider should not neglect you.:{

Cosani made a smaller splash as she slipped down from her dragon's neck carrying a small bundle of cleaning supplies. "Imarith is complaining that you're neglecting her, but I see that's not true." Cosani glanced at the oil pot in Alina's hand. "I'm guessing that means you ran out?"

"Very clever of you. You'd think Pern had ended." Alina rolled her eyes as she waded toward Cosani. "Thanks for rescuing me."

Cosani laughed. "No problem." She dug out her oil pot and handed it to Alina. "Dragons can be so dramatic."

}:I am not dramatic.:{ Shalith said as she moved into deeper water.

**I didn't say you were.**

}:But you _thought_ it.:{

"Thank you _so_ much. I was really not looking forward to going all the way back to the cliff just for some oil." Alina held the pot up so that Imarith could see it.

}:I think I will swim now,:{ her fickle dragon announced. }:You may oil me after.:{

**Are you kidding me!** Alina sighed as Imarith waded deeper into the water. "I'm not following you in there!"

"Didn't you just give her a bath?" Cosani asked as she lifted a handful of sweetsand.

"Yes." The greenrider shook her head at the oil that was beginning to wash off her dragon's hide and shimmer on the surface of the lake. "I guess I could have gone back to the cliff after all. Sorry."

"You could help me wash Shalith and then I could help you oil Imarith. If she decides she wants that again." Cosani snorted.

"Sure." It was the least she could do, and Alina was already wet from scrubbing Imarith down. She gestured to a bucket on the shore that was neatly filled with brushes. "I even brought my own supplies."

"Nice." Cosani thought Alina was too much of a hidebound holder, but otherwise she wasn't too bad. "Hopefully we'll get done faster this way." Cosani set her own brush against Shalith's side and started scrubbing.

Alina went back to her own bucket and found her brushes. She could feel Imarith watching her from the water as she approached Shalith. "I don't usually wash someone else's dragon. Shalith, please let me know if I'm doing it wrong," she said politely, before picking up a handful of sweetsand and applying sand to the green dragon's hide. Shalith was a lovely, even colour that glimmered in the sun. "Did you Impress here, Cosani?"

"Yeah. Same clutch as Meledei." She winced, thinking of how her friend had gone North.

Alina wondered why Cosani had made the face. "That must have been interesting. Being in Weyrling classes with a goldrider, I mean."

"It was. She got _a lot_ of attention." Cosani rolled her eyes, but she had a little smile too.

"I'll bet." Alina shook her head. J'ackt had attracted a lot of attention in their weyrling class as well, but nothing like the fawning that would happen over a goldrider. "At least she didn't seem terribly stuck up about it. I mean, I only ran into her once or twice... that was just the impression I had."

"Yeah. I wanted be jealous of her at first but she was so sharding _nice_." Cosani patted Shalith's wet hide. "And of course I wouldn't trade this big green pest for anything."

"I highly doubt Shalith is a pest. Not like Imarith." Alina nodded to where her dragon swam, and Imarith sent a wave heading in her rider's direction in the hopes of bowling her over.

"I'd say Imarith is more of a pest, but for one thing I don't want to insult your dragon. And for another, Shalith is competitive and I don't want her getting ideas." Cosani looked up into her dragon's whirling eyes. "I'll just have to make sure she competes for _best_ behaved dragon."

Alina smiled at that. "I'd say she's already winning."

Shalith crooned her appreciation at the compliment. "Look, you even get an impartial judge." Cosani smiled.

"Totally impartial." Alina grinned as she scrubbed. It was a novelty to wash someone else's dragon. Before she'd Impressed, many of the other Candidates had sought out the chore, but she'd only helped scrub a dragon's hide when it was required of her. And it was much different now that she'd Impressed her own dragon. The greenrider peeked over her shoulder to where her dragon was swimming in circles, chasing her tail, and she smiled. Imarith might have been a pest, but she was _her_ pest.

Shalith was soon clean and Alina tossed her brushes back into her bucket. **Feel like being oiled?** she asked Imarith.

The green dragon climbed out of the water to join her rider on the shore. }:No. My hide is fine.:{

**Suit yourself.** Alina turned back to Cosani. "Perhaps I'll take you up on that offer of help oiling Imarith later. She decided she didn't want oiled after all. A long swim was apparently good enough."

Cosani shook her head. "All that fuss for nothing. Sure, I can help you oil her next time." Shalith moved deeper into the water to rinse herself, eyes whirling blue-green with contentment. "Thanks."

"You're welcome." The greenrider picked up her bucket. "I'll see you tomorrow at drills, then?"

Cosani nodded. "Tomorrow."

Last updated on the September 2nd 2017

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Best Behaved