Geese on the Lake

Writers: Suzee, Mirren
Date Posted: 5th May 2012

Characters: Cyradis, D'shiel
Description: Cyradis and D'shiel have a chat
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 4 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentioned: K'deren

Cyradis

D'shiel put a hand over his eyes to shield them from the sun shining
off the weyrlake. Padraith was trundling out into deeper water to
rinse himself after a scrub down. The sun shone off his bronze hide,
bringing out the best of his shading, the water making him appear
darker than usual. Even after all these turns, his rider never tired
of the sight. He doubted he ever would.

Cyradis sat atop her lifemate as they floated down to the Weyrlake.
**So that's why you suddenly need a bath when you just had one a
couple of days ago.** She shook her head and chuckled.

Panitath was the most glorious gold on Pern in her rider's eyes but
she did have a vain streak. Added to that she felt the need to meet
every bronze around at no little inconvenience to her rider.

}:Of course! They are all potential mates and you don't like Loseth's
much.:{ The mental sigh that came along with the last bit told her
that Panitath _did_ like Loseth. **Great.**

"Good morning D'shiel," she called as she slid off her lifemate.

"Good morning," D'shiel greeted. Of course he'd noticed them arriving,
but neither he nor Padraith were the flirtatious type. However, the
didn't stop the new wingleader from being complimentary. "Panitath is
looking well this morning."

Cyradis smiled as she gazed up at her lifemate. "She is isn't she."
The gold stepped into the water and brushed the bronze's neck with
the side of her head as she passed. }:What are you up to?:{

}:Having a swim.:{ Padraith said, although that much was obvious.
}:What are you up to?:{

"I saw a set of board game pieces once, carved in the shade of
dragons, bronze and gold. The gold pieces were the exact shade of gold
that she is." he said thoughtfully. "I'd like to say the bronze was
the same shade as Padraith, but he's darker than they were." Not quite
a matched set then.

"Well, there's no doubt she likes him. He's a very handsome bronze."
Panitath's actions spoke louder than thoughts as she swam deeper into
the lake around the big male. She like to get to know her suitors.

She knew, of course, that he was the new Wingleader but she wasn't
familiar with his story yet. "So, how long have you been at Dolphin
Cove D'shiel?"

"Thank you. I agree, but of course I'm biased," D'shiel grinned. He
watched Padraith watching Panitath with amusement.

}:She's big!:{

**Yes, she is!**

"I've been here since Dolphin Cove has been here. And before that, at
Thayan Peak." His demeanor shifted to more somber for a few moments
while he reflected on the past. Then he shrugged it off to ask, "How
are you settling in here?"

"So far so good," she said with a smile. She wasn't going to let the
tension between her and N'vanik bleed over onto other residents of the
Weyr even though the Wingleader seemed a bit reserved. She supposed
that was natural under the circumstances..

He didn't quite believe that, not entirely, but he didn't know her
well enough to call her out on it. "I'm sure it takes a lot of getting
used to. Just going from wing rider to wingleader has been a bigger
transition than I'd expected. Add a transfer to that and I have to
admire that you're so serene." Maybe it was something goldriders had
to learn, but some did it better than others.

She chuckled at that. "More like a goose on the lake. It looks serene
floating across the water but if you could look underneath it's
paddling furiously." She waved a hand toward the water. "It's all for
show."

"I wouldn't have known." he said, "but I know exactly what you mean.
An anxious wingleader would be disastrous, so I have to be calm on the
outside, regardless of what I'm thinking or feeling." He didn't look
like he'd be easily stressed anyway. "At least my riders are familiar.
I imagine you still have a lot of names to learn?" he asked curiously.

It was good he hadn't realized her stress. She'd been working hard at
covering since the evening N'vanik had announced his plans and she'd
reacted so poorly sending Panitath into a rage on the heights. She
shrugged. "I have a fairly good memory for faces so I'm working
through it. It isn't easy though I try to make it to dinner in the
caverns at least half the time rather than holing up in my weyr."
People had a habit of stopping by to introduce themselves to the new
gold rider, if she looked approachable.

He nodded. "Sometimes it's nice to just have some time alone. For a
big place, the Weyr can be really _small_ at times. Everyone knows who
is doing what and with who and they're always looking for someone to
tell about it. It's hard to have your own privacy." He looked
regretful.

She acknowledged his point with a rueful smile. "It is. It really is."

He looked at her for a moment and then laughed at her tone. "We do
have an advantage though," he nodded toward their bathing dragons. "We
can leave for a few candlemarks. I'll wager every rider here has their
own favourite 'private' beach they get away to."

"Yes," she agreed. "That was one of the first things I found when I
got here. Though I did have some help from your 'second." A small
smile curved her lips when she thought about K'deren.

"That didn't take long," he commented, referring to the smile on her
face. He raised an eyebrow, just slightly.

She shook her head slightly. "The kids have the same foster mother."
The man was perceptive, she'd give him that. It was probably part of
the reason N'vanik had made him a Wingleader. "He's a good man." She
wasn't going to go farther than that.

He wasn't fooled, but of course It was none of his business. "Yes he
is," he agreed. "How is the youngster settling in? You have one, don't
you?" He couldn't recall the details, but hardly could be expected to
anyway. It was remarkable that he (as a man) remembered that much.

"Actually I have four," she smiled. "The two boys stayed with their
dad. They're mostly grown anyway. The girls came with me to Dolphin
Cove."

We'll, he was only out by three. He did have the good grace to look
embarrassed though. "Four? I see. So how are the girls settling in
then, do we have more future goldriders to keep our eyes on?" he
smiled.

"You never know," she grinned. "Naradis is getting ready to Stand but
Kielya is quite a ways off. She still has lots of Harper lessons to
finish."

"I'm sure they'll keep the young bronzeriders on their toes." he
commented. "It's never a good thing to get complacent," he gave her a
knowing smile.

"Oh yes they will," she nodded.

Last updated on the May 20th 2012

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Geese on the Lake