A Night at the Beach
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Shawna, Duskdog
Date Posted: 11th October 2024
Characters: N'kevyn, Nidre
Description: N’kevyn pays his respects to the DCW goldrider, and invites a little light gossip
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 13, day 29 of Turn 11
Having been born at a seahold, and spending her entire adult life at a seaside Weyr, Nidre was no stranger to dolphins. But they never ceased to amaze her -- especially in tandem with their dolphineer partners, who were a lot braver in the windswept ocean than she ever cared to be. The Turn’s End dolphin show kept her captivated, and once it was over, she stood and applauded enthusiastically along with the rest of the crowd.
Afterwards, however, she hadn’t yet decided what to do with herself. There were refreshments and dancing -- always nice out on the beach -- but there were plenty of other places hosting Turn’s End festivities, too, and all of them were only a blink away if she cared to leave.
Well. When in doubt, socialize.
The big fellow with bronzerider knots lingering by the refreshment tables was hard to miss. Tall and broad and entirely unfamiliar to her.
“Did you enjoy the show?” she asked conversationally, coming up beside him and fixing a small plate of fruit for herself.
N’kevyn was engaged in the serious task of trying to balance one of every unfamiliar thing onto a single plate, and didn’t notice he had company until she spoke. As he did, however, his face immediately changed from a concentrated frown to a wide smile, “Ah, yes, I did. And I was hoping I’d catch one of Dolphin Cove’s weyrwomen to thank them for the invitation.”
Of course, no one had exactly invited _him_, but he had no issue riding on his weyrmate’s coattails. Especially when she wasn’t around.
“I’m not sure I can take credit for that,” she replied with a wry grin. “But I’ll accept your thanks, anyway. Free indebtedness is free indebtedness. The name’s Nidre, by the way -- if I haven’t already been gossiped on in your earshot. How about you?”
“Ah, yes, you stole my wife’s job and deprived me of this lovely beachy home,” the bronzerider was still smiling when he said that, making it a joke. “I am N’kevyn, and Aydhan sends her regrets that she was too tied up in official duties to accept the invitation, but she hoped you wouldn’t mind if I came with our daughter instead. It was our first dolphin show.”
Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Oh… sorry about that. Well, sorry but not sorry. I’m enjoying this lovely beachy home for myself. You ended up at Barrier Lake, then? A whole family of you? I didn’t realize she had a weyrmate, but I haven’t really gotten around to meeting her properly yet, so I guess that’s fair.”
“Oh, we’ll have to fix that. You should visit. Perhaps for dinner. I can cook, you know, and the wine at Barrier Lake is surprisingly lovely. Aydhan would love to swap stories about your new experiences, I'm sure.”
“A weyrmate who cooks? Where did she find you?” Nidre said with a laugh. “And yes, I’d love to come by sometime. I’ll have to host you both sometime in return. Well, at the Weyr proper for a proper dinner, too. Sorry I can’t provide dolphin shows.”
“High Reaches. We have to pick up hobbies when we’re snowed into our weyrs,” N’kevyn joked. “Tonight’s dolphin show will hold me over for a bit, I think, so no need to provide the entertainment.” The music picked up and he glanced at his carefully balanced plate with just a hint of disappointment before setting it down, “Could I interest you in a dance, Nidre?” He slipped easily into a first name basis.
“Your weyrmate isn’t the jealous type?” she questioned. It wasn’t so unusual -- lots of weyrfolk were more free with their love than holdfolk -- but she felt obligated to ask. Loyalty to a sister-goldrider whom she had never properly met, perhaps. Or just covering her tail, maybe.
N’kevyn chuckled, “Neither of us are. It makes things a lot less complicated.” Leaning closer, he said in a lower voice, “Though she might be a little jealous I got to meet you first.”
“Tell her to consider it your reward for filling in for her diplomatic duties. On Turn’s End, no less.” She took his hand and tugged him towards the sandy dancefloor. He _had_ asked, after all. “So long as I’m not getting myself dragged into a lover’s spat. Or getting stuck with a terrible dancer as a joke.”
“No spat. I should confess that I’m more used to dancing on stone, but I'm sure I’ll figure it out. I’m always excited to try new things.” He let himself be pulled into the dance easily, and his hands on her were steady and confident.
He'd do solidly above average unless the Harpers picked something too regional.
“Not much sand at High Reaches, I imagine,” she replied, taking the lead. “Easier to dance on stone, but so much more fun in the sand under the stars, don’t you think?”
“I've always been more interested in the company than the dance floor, and I certainly can't complain about that,” he said with his best charming grin.
“Flattery will get you everywhere,” she said, smiling. “When I’m in a good mood. And I am.”
And it was true -- there was no shortage of charming (or attempting-to-be-charming) bronzeriders around, but really, so long as she was of a mind to be into it, why deny herself the enjoyment regardless of how sincere the charm was?
“We might end up in some paper’s scandal columns tomorrow, though,” she continued. “This place is probably crawling with printers.”
“Oh, well if we’re going to be in the papers, we should make it a good story,” N’kevyn said easily, pulling her just a little bit closer than was strictly polite.
Last updated on the October 17th 2024