Yeah This Was A Bad Idea

Writers: Halyonix, Yvonne
Date Posted: 8th April 2025

Characters: Reyela, R'vkal
Description: Rey and Ryv have the worst date ever
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 12 of Turn 12

Notes:

~*~

He was ready to go long before eleven. Honestly, since dawn. Maybe before. Excited for the day, Ryvankal had tossed and turned most of the night. Should he find some flowers for her? Or maybe pack some extra berry tarts? Was his favorite blue shirt clean? He'd be sure to take a good bath before they left. He should ask the herders for that pretty mare runner with the white socks. She was a good, calm runner.

And now it was nearly time and he knew he was early but the runners were saddled and now all he had to do was wait for a pretty greenrider to join him.

Reyela was late. She breezed into the stables with a small bag over one shoulder and wandered over to where Ryvankel was, stopping to pet the runners who stuck their heads out of their stalls to watch her pass. When she got to where Ryvankel waited she greeted him with a giant grin. "I miss the smell of the stables. Hopefully you weren't waiting too long for me?"

Ryv wasn't much a fan of people being late but it was Reyela so he forgave her immediately. "Not long at all," he lied easily. "Got you a nice runner already saddled. Her name is Breeze."

"I know Breeze." She was a plodder and great for beginners, but Reyela forgave Ryvankel for not knowing who her favourite runner was and besides, Breeze was sweet natured and much less likely to try to bite her. The greenrider stepped up to the runner to scratch beneath her chinstrap and the mare closed her eyes and leaned into the touch. "Thanks for tacking her up for me. All ready to go?"

More than ready. "Do you need help mounting?" he asked and then belatedly realized how stupid that sounded, asking a dragonrider if they needed help getting into a saddle. "Sorry, dumb of me. Probably know how to ride better than me at this point."

"Probably!" The greenrider grinned as she mounted without help from the stirrup. Getting onto Breeze was much easier than Brandith, and Breeze was a placid, sweet girl who wasn't going to move at the worst possible moment just to watch her face plant. She settled herself and looked over at Ryvankel. "Want to race to the first bend in the road?"

When she said that, for a moment, he thought about his late fiancee. Amina had always liked to race on her runner. Not fast, not reckless, but it had been a runner that had killed her and... Well, Ryvankal reminded himself that Reyela was not Amina. "Sure," he agreed. While he made a show of being into the race, he definitely hung back a little, watching her, trying not to think too much on another time, another place, another girl.

Breeze was a slowpoke so it was a bit of a disappointment when Reyela arrived at the bend first. She shrugged and kept heading toward the beach, although the disappointment of being cheated out of a challenge was hard to shake. "So. Ryvankel. Tell me a story."

Caught unawares, Ryvankal sputtered a minute. "About?"

"I don't know. Tell me something about you." Perhaps he'd have an exciting story up his sleeve to make the ride a little shorter.

Ryvankal fished through his history and couldn't come up with anything he felt was interesting enough for a _dragonrider_. Lamely, he answered, "Nothing really big to say. Born at a Hold, lived at a Hold, came to the Weyr, haven't Impressed. Make weapons when time allows." It sounded so..._boring_ when he said it like that. But it had been his life and he hadn't thought of it any other way. Simple lives weren't for everyone but he liked his life being simple.

It was too simple a story for Reyela, who prefered conversation that didn't feel like pulling teeth. "What kind of weapons?"

"Daggers mostly. Some swords for guards."

"Oh." She debated asking him what kind of daggers or if he had a favourite dagger to make, but decided against it since he hadn't asked her anything in return. Conversation was supposed to be a give and take. **Maybe I should ask him about his dead fiance.** But she didn't.

A silence carried on between them all the way to the beach. Ryvankal hated every second of it but he couldn't figure out just _what_ to talk about! He was beginning to think that his life really was just boring, even at the Weyr. By the time they arrived, Ryvankal was ready for something to talk about. "Pretty little place," he remarked. "What do you think?"

"It's nice." Reyela dismounted and tethered Breeze to a tree with enough of a lead that she could graze a bit, if she wanted. "You should see some of the beaches down the coast a bit. They are _really_ something. Sand like powder, water so clear you can see down a dragonlength to watch the fishes..."

Maybe he should have brought her to one of those.

"How far down the coast are they?" he asked.

"Pretty far. You need to fly there," she said offhandedly. "Feel like going swimming?"

Flying was another thing that he couldn't do. But swimming? "Sure," he answered. "Not the strongest of swimmers but I like it." He nodded his chin towards the sandbar further out. "Race there?"

That earned him a bright smile, just before Reyela dropped her things in the sand and promptly peeled her pants off her thighs. She stepped out of them and bent to shake the sand out before laying them on her small pack. Her shirt came next. What she wore underneath was there only because there was no way she was going to ride a runner without underthings. "You're on. Just don't expect me to save you if you drown."

As she stripped, he rapidly averted his gaze. Shells, weyrfolk had no modesty! It was still something he was trying to get used but the ease at which weyrfolk got naked (or nearly so in this case) was still startling. "Uhm..." he stammered, looking at the sky, the clouds. "S-Sure." That was supposed to be his cue to lose his boots and clothes, a process that took him more time than it had her. And he was still wearing a pretty modest shorts as he joined her in the water.

Reyela rolled over in the water, almost as at home in the ocean as she was in the air. "You sure you want to wear those?" she asked with a wink. "That great flapping thing you're wearing is only going to slow you down!"

"I'll be fine," he assured her with a grim self-conscious set to his tone. Truth was, he wasn't getting nearly as naked as she almost was. Not in a big public place like this. No way! Ryvankal had already given up on winning the race -- he was going to let her win anyway -- but now he was doubly determined. He ducked into the water, realizing keenly as his shorts ballooned around him that she was right, but still said, "Ready?"

"Go!" Reyela started to swim... but held back, curious to see if Ryvankel _could_ actually swim. And if she was lucky, maybe he'd lose the shorts and his inhibitions in the warm ocean water.

Sure enough, his pants ballooned around him awkwardly. He tried to stuff the air out of them without looking comical about it but failed.

"You sure you can swim?" Reyela called.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Ryvankal snapped back, "Yes!"

The greenrider laughed. "If you say so!" Slippery as a dolphin she dove back into the waves.

Ryvankal growled. His embarrassment flared. This was stupid. A stupid idea! He wasn't taking off his pants just to catch up with her. And she was just going to swim to the sandbar and laugh at him for this and why should he even try at this point? Why did he think he even had a chance with her? She was a dragonrider! He was some Holder that made it to Candidate.

Still growling, Ryvankal stomped back towards the shore, giving up.

Reyela didn't notice that he was gone until she was at the sandbar and looked back. For a moment she panicked and thought that he'd drowned-- but then she saw him on the beach with hunched shoulders and a posture that radiated displeasure. She shaded her eyes against the sun and squinted in disbelief. **He just gave up?! Seriously?**

It must be because she was a better swimmer. She made a face and flopped onto her back to float beneath the hot sun. Holder egos were so frail, and she had no desire to cater to them.

Last updated on the April 22nd 2025

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Yeah This Was A Bad Idea