Mutual Attractions

Writers: Ames, Heather
Date Posted: 11th July 2013

Characters: Aslvor, Thayde
Description: Aslvor is attracted to a new arrival to the Dolphin Hall
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 1, day 8 of Turn 7

Thayde

"Come on, Cec," Aslvor called to her dolphin partner. "We've been
asked to meet the returning dolphineers."

The gray dolphin chirped happily and tossed the ball she was playing
with in the air once again. Cec was still young and loved to play.
Aslvor laughed and shook her head. Truthfully, dolphins of all ages
loved to play.

Swimming over to her partner she patted her head. "I promise we'll
play more later, okay?"

"Yesss, Play. Laa-ter." Cec replied and followed Aslvor.

Moving to the ladder, Aslvor pulled herself up. "I'll meet you by the
docks where they are arriving. I don't even think I have time to dry
off. Come on or we'll be late." She motioned for Cec to swim around
while she took off at a run. She'd hoped to change and dry off, but
the best she could do was grab a towel and hope she didn't look a
mess. She'd been on greeting duty before. Checking in with returning
pods and dolphineers, but today was different. A group was returning
that had been stationed elsewhere for quite some time. Many of the
other dolphineers were eager to greet them as well.

She looked towards the pier and saw the ship already heading to dock.
She picked up her pace and arrived in time to watch them pull in.
**Here we go,** she thought. Most of the dolphineers onboard she
hardly knew. Some she hadn't even met as they had been traveling most
of the time she'd been studying.

The sight of the Dolphin Hall was a welcome one for Thayde, and he
hoped that it would be a while before he was asked to travel again.
Not that the Journeyman hadn't enjoyed the trip, it had been
interesting and informational certainly, and he had gotten plenty of
opportunities to use his medical skills as well. Thayde stood along
the ship's rail, watching as it came abreast of the pier, sailors
casting down the ropes that would moor them in place. Without worry,
Thayde knew that his own dolphin partner would be traveling safely
with the others back to their home pod at the Dolphin Hall. He would
check on her later once he had settled his things in.

Once the plank had been extended down to the pier, Thayde slung his
bag over his shoulder, and strode down the plank, smiling at the
familiar faces that he saw. At thirty-five Turns of age, Thayde was
still working towards becoming a Master, and this had not been his
first trip out to the neighboring pods.

Aslvor first greeted one of her closer friends who came off the ship
before it had even fully docked.

"Mira!" Aslvor cried happily, embracing the slightly older girl. They
had become close during their studies and while Mira had advanced and
moved on, Aslvor was still working towards her Senior Journeyman
knots. The two exchanged a few words before Aslvor turned to greet the
others.

"Welcome home," she said to each as they disembarked. "We are glad to
have you back." She nodded to them. Many of them were simply faces she
knew and very few of the older ones even acknowledged her with all the
others around, but she at least was doing her duty. Offering to help
if they needed it.

She smiled up at the man who was next off the ship. She recognized his
face, but had to search her brain for a name. Thayde? Maybe? She
didn't recall one single time the'd ever spoken. He'd always been much
older than her and working on far different skills than she was, and
she knew he'd done alot more traveling to the outlying pods.

"Welcome home," she greeted him and the few others who were still
making their way off the ship.

Thayde had almost walked past the girl when he heard her speak to him.
Turning to look at her he wondered why he hadn't immediately noticed
the woman standing on the pier. She was certainly pretty enough to
stick out from amongst the crowd of other dolphineers. It only took
Thayde a couple of seconds to determine that he had never met the
journeywoman before, he was sure that he would remember her face if he
had.

"Thank you," Thayde inclined his head to her before extending his
hand, "I don't think we have met before. I am Thayde."

Aslvor smiled and took his hand. "I remember you, sort of," she
replied, "but it's been a long time and I was just a new apprentice
then." She was babbling, and suddenly realized she hadn't given her
name.

"Oh I'm sorry, I'm Aslvor," she said finally introducing herself. She
blushed slightly at forgetting something so important. She couldn't
help but notice how good looking he was. "We're glad you've all come
home. They've set up quarters for you in the Hall. I can show you
where they are if you need some assistance?"

She glanced over his shoulder and noticed that everyone was off the
ship. The crew was already starting their own finishing up work. Most
of the other dolphineers had already started toward the Hall.

"Oh, they've set out a nice buffet for you all as well. Instead of a
large feast, the Hallmaster felt it would be better if everyone could
enjoy the delicious choices on their own time."

Thayde noticed the light blush riding on Aslvor's cheeks and found
himself further enticed by the girl. If the girl had been an
apprentice the last time he left the Hall than she was quite a bit
younger than he had previously anticipated. No matter, the journeyman
decided. Looking at the rest of the dolphineers, who was filtering
inside, Thayde looked back down at Aslvor.

"Lead the way then, Aslvor, I have been gone so long that I am sure
you can probably get us there faster." And the sound of food didn't
sound bad either. They had sailed quite a ways to get back to the
Dolphin Hall and the idea of real food was an enticing one. Especially
if Aslvor was going to be keeping him company.

She smiled and made her way to the main Hall, a bounce in her step.
Aslvor was always full of energy and excitement. She loved her life
and it clearly showed in her actions each and every day.

"So, where were you stationed at?" She queried. "I've wondered if
Hallmaster Famell will send me out at some time. I love the Hall so
much, and being with the others, it would be hard to be gone for so
long?" She looked towards him, the question clearly evident in her
eyes. Many of the dolphineers went out on short stints, but Thayde had
been gone a rather long time. There were other dolphineers who had
settled into lives other places. They hardly ever returned as well.
She wondered if he had a life somewhere else, and if so, what it was
like.

Thayde smiled at the girl's excitement, "I was stationed at Jade
Harbor, with my specialty in healing I was able to supplement my
dolphin studies there and apply some new methods."

"If you don't want to be gone so long from the Hall I am sure that
Master Famell could set you up on a shorter trip. I had the
opportunity to come back sooner but I was enjoying my studies at Jade
Harbor. Traveling with other pods and dolphineers was a great
experience, I encourage it, but I am ready to be stationary for a
while."

"I've not really had any permanent postings away from the Hall. I few
short stints here or there, mostly close. Master Famell seems to
prefer sending the senior journeymen out to study and work elsewhere,
so I imagine that will be coming for me in the near future." She also
assumed that her connection with Cec who'd needed extra time to heal
had kept them close to the Hall as well.

Leading him inside, they entered the large gathering room. Tables had
been set up for sitting and there was a large buffet of food items
near the front of the room. "Hungry?" She asked with a grin.

"Starving." Thayde said with a nod of his head as they headed toward
the buffet tables. The smell of the food made his mouth water, and
Thayde's stomach twisted in hunger. After days on a ship the idea of
real food was tantalizing.

"Have you decided on a specialization?" He asked the journeywoman as
they waited behind others who were serving themselves.

She led the way up to the buffet area so they could get some food. "Oh
yes, I've chosen healing as my specialty. I've been working mostly on
dolphin healing, rather than using dolphins to heal humans. I had
begun the study of this specialty, but hadn't made up my mind, until I
met Cec. She's my partner. When she came here she was badly hurt. As I
nursed her back to health I knew that that was what I wanted to spent
my Turns doing." She smiled at him as their turn to get food came. She
made quick work of filling her plate and waited for him so they could
head to a table together.

Thayde put generous helpings of foods rich in carbs on his plate.
Being a swimmer meant that the journeyman spent a lot of calories and
energy in the water. His tall, and leanly muscled form clearly marked
him as a dolphineer, even without his rank knots. Following Aslvor to
a table, he put down his plate, smiling as he sat, "Well then, perhaps
we will be working together some. I started out in my healing studies
working just on healing dolphins," he explained as he forked some food
into his mouth, "but then these past few Turns at Jade Harbor, I have
studied more closely on how to heal humans using dolphins. It's
fascinating."

She was hanging on his every word. "I would love to learn more of what
you learned there. I haven't dwelt on the topic of human healing much
at all. I know I need to learn more about it." She dug into her own
plate of food, eager to fill her empty stomach.

"You must be close to being able to pursue Master. Am I right? Have
you thought about it or do you plan to stay at Journeyman? I'm not
sure I'll have it in me to go all the way to Master, but I've yet to
make senior journeyman. I've been trying hard though to prove myself,
though." Aslvor wanted to excel, but she also didn't want to spend all
her time stuck in books and not out swimming with the dolphins
themselves. She'd seen far to many Masters spend less and less time in
the water and that bothered her.

"Being a Master is my goal." Thayde admitted, ever since he had joined
the craft as an apprentice he had known that he would strive for the
coveted title of 'Master.' Spearing some leafy greens onto his fork,
the man studied Aslvor as he spoke, "After my stay at Jade Harbor, I
think I have everything I need to truly pursue the Master rank. You
should see the portfolio I kept. It is pretty impressive, as immodest
as that sounds." He only hoped that the Hallmaster felt the same way.

"I'd love to see it," Aslvor replied excitedly. "Maybe once you get
settled in and have time to settle into your new duties here, whatever
they might be, you could show it to me." She liked Thayde. She didn't
know what it was about him that struck her. He was certainly good
looking, but so were many of the other dolphineers. Perhaps it was the
ease with which he spoke and carried himself. Though they'd just met,
she already felt like they were old friends.

Thayde's lips curled into an easy smile, "I always enjoy sharing my
work with someone who wants to learn." It annoyed the man when he met
those dolphineers who seemed to only be in the craft because they got
to spend their days swimming around with a dolphin partner. There was
much more to the craft than playing in the water. Just as dragonriders
were duty bound to protect the skies of Pern, the dolphineers were
duty bound to protect the seas.

She beamed a smile at him. "I look forward to it then! I'm afraid I
don't have the same, but I can help you get re-acquainted with the
Hall and the other dolphineers." She was glad Thayde had returned to
the Hall. Working with new dolphineers was always exciting, and she
found she _really_ wanted to work with him in particular.

Last updated on the July 19th 2013

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Mutual Attractions