A Special Day (Part 2 of 2)

Writers: AmajoS, Estelle
Date Posted: 12th April 2019

Characters: L'keri, Benna
Description: L'keri surprises Benna with a trip out of the Weyr
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 13 of Turn 9
Notes: Part 2 of 2

L'keri

In a few breaths, the absolute cold and darkness was replaced by bright
sunlight, glittering off the waves far below them where they broke on a
curve of sand, sheltered at the foot of tall cliffs. L'keri felt the
childlike excitement growing as they winged down towards the beach. He
couldn't wait to get into that clear blue water and swim.

Benna whooped with glee as they spiraled down to the beach. It was
beautiful! The water was like blue crystal, glittering with reflected
sunlight. The sand was white and looked completely untouched from this
height. She was really glad L'keri had thought of this!

The dragons landed at the edge of the water and Rhalith barely waited
for his rider to get the straps off before he was splashing into the
waves, crooning in delight. L'keri brushed the spray from his face and
dragged straps, basket and towels up the beach far enough that they
wouldn't get wet. He was already uncomfortably warm in the heavy riding
gear required by the Dragonsfall climate, and lost no time stripping
down to a pair of loose shorts and kicking off his boots to bury his
feet in the hot sand.

Henerath was no less eager and shuffled in the sand impatiently as
Benna removed her straps as well. As soon as she was free, the green
leapt into the air. She flapped her wings a few times, gaining just a
bit of altitude, before folding them completely and letting herself
flop into the ocean with a massive splash.

Benna, who knew what her dragon had planned, had already retreated
over to where L'keri had put their things, safe from the watery antics
of the two huge beasts playing in the waves. She turned her attention
away from the dragons and grinned at L'keri before gesturing at him,
making a spinning motion with her finger "Turn around." He had his
suit on under his clothes, but she needed to change. And, while they'd
done many a thing in bed together, changing clothes on the beach in
front of him was a whole other matter to the hold-bred girl.

"Aww..." L'keri gave her a pleading look, but it was no use and so he
turned around and started laying out the picnic blanket, resisting the
strong urge to peek at what was going on behind his back through his
dragon's eyes. If he did, he told himself, he would lose the pleasure of
anticipation. Instead, he watched as Rhalith ducked under the surface
and emerged in a shower of sparkling droplets near Henerath, inviting
her to join his game of chase.

Benna snorted in amusement as she quickly stripped off her heavy
clothing and pulled on her bathing suit. She watched him laying out
their picnic while she adjusted her straps, making sure everything was
in place. Also, taking a moment to enjoy the view. His diet and their
early morning workouts were definitely netting results. Not that she
hadn't liked the way he looked all the time, but still. He looked
good.

A splashing sound and a happy bugle of challenge from her dragon was a
timely distraction. She just got the swimsuit -on- for Faranth's sake!
Turned toward the water and laughed out loud at the antics of the two
dragons as Henerath began chasing Rhalith through the waves. "That's a
switch," she grinned over at L'keri who, she saw, was watching them
too now.

The brownrider turned and his eyes widened in pleasure. The bathing suit
was modest by Weyr standards and yet it suited her perfectly, the
vibrant colour contrasting with her red curls. Also, it clung to her in
a way that excited his imagination in the most delightful ways, starting
with his fingers undoing that tie at the back of her neck... He did his
best to keep his grin from getting too lascivious.

"He seems to be enjoying it." He didn't just mean Rhalith, but through
their link he could sense the cool water on the dragon's hide and his
glee as he twisted and turned, sending cascades of spray flying as he
tried to keep ahead of the green. He held out a hand. "Ready to join them?"

Benna took his hand and beamed happily as she said, "Yes, lets!"

Of course as soon as her feet touched the water she let out an
involuntary, "Eep!" at how cool it was on her skin. It was always like
that when she first got into the water though. She knew she should
just dive in so she could get used to it, but somehow always tried to
ease in, prolonging the agony.

L'keri took the opposite approach, charging into the water and kicking
up spray before diving and landing with an almighty splash in the deeper
water. He bobbed up, shaking out his wet hair and gasping at the shock
of it after the baking sands of the beach.

"Come on in! It's lovely." A wicked glint appeared in his eye as he
watched her poking a toe into the water. "Or do I have to come and get you?"

Benna's eyes opened wide in alarm and she held her hands up in a
warding off gesture, "Don't you dare!" She knew that look. Her own
brothers wore it often enough when they would go swimming in the river
near the farm.

The brownrider waded up into the shallows with drops of water trickling
down his chest and legs, and approached her with his best attempt at a
roguish leer. "Ha! There's no escape, my lovely greenrider. I'm going to
catch you...and then you're going to get wet!"

She gave a little shriek and ducked away, laughing even as she
squealed. This was more fun than she'd had in days. In fact, everytime
she could think of lately that she had fun, L'keri was at the root of
it.

L'keri lunged towards her, but she dodged away before he could touch her
and he stepped back into a slightly crouched stance, as if he was
marking her in a ball game. He met her gaze with mock intensity, trying
to guess what she'd do next, then pounced again, his fingers just
brushing her arm as she slipped out of his grasp.

}:You have to be faster than that to catch your green,:{ Rhalith told him.

**But then I'd miss the fun of the chase,** the brownrider teased. But
he'd had an idea. Benna might be a better runner than him, but over a
short distance, he thought his longer legs would win out, especially
with the element of surprise. He tensed, then broke into a sprint
towards her, his feet kicking up damp sand from the edge of the breaking
waves.

Benna tried to dodge a third time, but his sudden burst of speed
surprised her and she shrieked with laughter as he caught her. She
knew what was going to happen next. "L'keri!" She tried sounding
stern, but the effect was ruined by the giggles that kept breaking
free.

Undaunted by her protests, L'keri lifted the greenrider in his arms and
marched out into the waves, not stopping until he was waist deep.
"Ahh...the water's perfect here. Cool and refreshing," he said,
grinning. "Ready?"

"Absolutely not!" She protested through another laugh, bracing
herself for the cold water she was about to land in. She could hear
Henerath's amusement in her mind and thought, **Traitor** at the
dragon.

"Too bad. In you go!" Knowing full well that she'd get her revenge
somehow, he tossed her as far as he could into the clear blue water of
the ocean.

She squealed as she flew through the air. She had a moment where it
seemed almost like she hung suspended over the water. But that moment
passed quickly and she landed with a solid plop and a splash. Her entire
body was submerged in the cool water in an instant. She gasped in shock
when her head broke the surface again and she looked around for L'keri.
"Oh, you're going to pay for that, mister," she promised.

"But I'm already wet. What are you going to do?" With an impudent wink,
he sank down into the water and began to paddle lazily on his back
towards the two dragons.

Benna narrowed her eyes at him and then an idea occurred to her. She
quietly took a deep breath and slipped down in the water, submerging
completely. Then she also began swimming towards the dragons. She
looked through Henerath's eyes to make sure she was lined up properly.
Salt water stung her eyes something awful and she didn't want him to
see her coming. She skimmed along the sandy bottom, moving much faster
than the lazily paddling L'keri.

The green dragon, for her part, was pleased to be part of the revenge
and kept her eyes on both the brownrider and her rider. From the
perspective of a human in the water, Benna would not be visible at
all, but the dragon's head was higher up and she could see her rider
fast approaching Rhalith's.

L'keri sighed in pleasure as he moved his arms gently through the water
and felt himself rise and fall with the waves as he propelled himself
out into the bay. Overhead, the sky was a perfect clear blue, and it was
entirely quiet save for the distant cries of seabirds and the crashing
of the surf on the shore.

He wondered where Benna was, and raised his head slightly to look for
her, suddenly concerned. She could swim, couldn't she? **Rhalith?
Where's...**

}:You are right below him,:{ Henerath's voice was full of mischievous
glee and Benna would have grinned if she weren't underwater.

She tucked her body, turning in the water so her head was up and her
feet were on the bottom. She confirmed what her dragon told her,
looking through the green's eyes. She didn't want to miss. Then she
pushed off the bottom and shot up directly below L'keri. Her hands
were above her head and as soon as her searching fingers touched him,
she latched on and yanked down hard, using her momentum to add to the
force of her pull. When her head broke the surface in the next
instant, she opened her eyes to see the results of her stalk and
attack.

The brownrider's yell of surprise turned into a muffled gurgle as his
head disappeared underwater. His pulse shot up as for one horrifying
instant, he imagined himself in the jaws of some underwater predator,
and with a frantic kick of his legs, he shot to the surface, choking and
splashing to drive it away.

It was only when he saw her that he realised what had happened and
mock-glared. "You scared the life out of me!"

"Vengeance is mine!" Benna cried dramatically, before losing herself
in wild giggles. She laughed so hard she actually bobbed under herself
for a moment, her arms and legs losing the rhythm of water treading.
She came up spluttering, but still laughing at the same time.

He growled and lunged for her, but missed and flopped on his face in the
water with a splash. He bobbed up and kicked water, getting his breath
back. "Oh, you're in trouble now. You've just challenged a brownrider to
a water fight. And we - never - lose!"

The splashing and shrieks of laughter that followed didn't go unnoticed,
but it was Rhalith who first spotted the silver-grey shapes in the
water, speeding towards them with clicks and squeals of excitement. He
rumbled to attract Henerath's attention. }:We have company.:{

Feeling her dragon's uninhibited delight, Benna stopped splashing
L'keri and looked over to where the dragons were. She couldn't see
past them, but she could only think of one thing that would make
Henerath broadcast that amount of sheer joy while at the beach. "I
think we've got company!" She unintentionally repeated Rhalith's
words, beaming at the brownrider. She was almost as excited about the
new arrivals as her dragon was.

"Dolphins?" L'keri confirmed with Rhalith, and a delighted grin split
his face. They didn't always come to the cove - perhaps the pod wasn't
always nearby - but it seemed that today they'd been lucky and Benna
would get to see them. "Let's swim out and greet them!" He started to do
just that, powerful strokes taking him out into the deeper water where
the dragons were bathing, and the sunlight glittered on the spray as the
dolphins leapt in and out of the water in their glee.

Benna swam after him and they soon reached the dragons. She reached
out and caught hold of her green's elbow, resting a bit by hanging on,
and watching the aquatic animals frolic. She grew up inland, close to
a river, yes, but that was different. There weren't dolphins in
rivers. Every time she saw one, it felt magical to her. The feeling
was echoed and magnified by her dragon who loved them just as much, if
not more.

She glanced over at L'keri and felt a surge of more than affection. He
had arranged this. Maybe not the dolphins per say, he probably
couldn't have known if they would show up or not for sure, but still.
She wouldn't be here now if he hadn't wanted to surprise her. **I
think I might love him.** Benna said to Henerath, whispering it even
in her mind. She wasn't sure. But it was certainly more than a little
possible.

Last updated on the April 16th 2019

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A Special Day (Part 2 of 2)