Logs:Bronzeriders Reformed
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| RL Date: 13 April, 2014 |
| Who: K'del, Lilah, R'hin |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr, Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Lilah of Fort totally tries to seduce two High Reaches bronzeriders. Totally. |
| Where: Southern Boll Beach and Docks |
| When: Day 4, Month 7, Turn 34 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Ali/Mentions, Elise/Mentions, Hattie/Mentions |
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| Southern Boll Beach and Docks A path leading from the hold proper down toward the docks sojurns along the sparkling white sands of Southern Boll's ocean beach. A constant wind is relentless, providing little relief from the abject humidity that fills the air. Salt spray catches in the wind from time to time, offering a refreshing splash of cool along the beach. Wide enough for recreation, spacious enough to host a full-sized Gather, and serene enough to invite a balmy sunbath, the beaches of Boll are a beautiful sight. At the modest docks nearby, toilers in the fishercraft are joined by those out for a pleasure sail in the windy waters. Waves crash against the shoreline, propelled onward by the changing peninsula drafts, making secure tie-up of ocean craft a requirement. Residents lounge along the wooden docks, feet dangling in the tropical waters while life at an unhurried pace continues around them. The path travels along the beach or up through the jungle in its return to Southern Boll Hold. Savannah has been a presence at the gather throughout most of the day -- to probably the surprise of few. The lure of warm beaches and cold drinks reminiscent of Monaco draws the wingmembers, singly and as a group. Most seem to have no more agenda than enjoying the weather and the crowds, though R'hin and a few others are dressed down a little more than is usual for a gather celebration, spending more time nearer the docks than the dance square. It's heading towards evening when the cold wind of Leiventh's thoughts stretch out towards Cadejoth, with a flash of the bar by the dancing square, and: « Drink? » It's clearly more R'hin's sentiment than the bronzes; the dragon is settled on the still-warm beach with a handful of other High Reaches dragons. It's been a long time since K'del made an appearance at Boll, most likely, which is probably not surprising given the complications that ensued from one particular visit, way back when. But he's been here, this afternoon: perhaps it's considered politic to do so, given this is the first gather of a new regime. Cadejoth's spent much of his time aloft, playing chasing games with a handful of young dragons from Telgar (such dignity!), but clearly he relays Leiventh's suggestion without pause; « He'll be with you shortly, » he reports, with a rush of warm air and dying sunshine. Indeed, it's only a few minutes later when the younger bronzerider, without his jacket (and thus his knot) and with the sleeves of his fine shirt rolled up, meanders towards the bar. No doubt he's not fooling anyone, but - well. Why not? R'hin's own shirt is slightly more rough-hewn, but likewise rolled up to affect casualness. He's leaning against the bar, watching the dancers with a distracted air, his gaze not staying still. It's as he catches sight of K'del -- with a twitch of lips -- that he turns to the bartender: "Two of your best wines. On my friend here," he says magnanimously, a glint in pale eyes as he reaches to clap K'del companionably on the back. "It's good to see Cadejoth so happy," he adds in a lower voice, slanting glance upwards for a moment. "Have your eye on Telgar, hm? I noticed one of her juniors up there." "Good thing I didn't spend all my marks on my kids," retorts K'del, though he's pulling out a few wooden marks from the pouch at his belt even as he says it, and turning an amused grin across at the other rider. It's heading towards evening and he and R'hin are standing by the bar, near the dancing square. K'del's not wearing his knot, though he's probably recognisable nonetheless-- and so is his dragon, cavorting with a group of young dragons high in the sky above. "On Telgar? Well, obviously. Figuring if I play my cards right, I can get myself an in with all the weyrs. High Reaches, Telgar, Southern... take it all, you know? He's enjoying himself." "You do have a lot of them," R'hin replies in turn, amused. He's leaning sideways against the bar, his clothing markedly less fancy than K'del's -- rough spun clothing marking his position significantly lower than his companion's. Perhaps that's why K'del's paying for the pair of glasses the bartender sets down in front of them. "Benden was a near miss," the bronzerider chortles. "But Southern, now there's something that everyone's been betting on. How long before you abandon ship and go there." He lifts his glass, but seems content to let the other rider make the toast -- and possibly answer his not-so-sly speculation, too. Lilah is wearing her knot, that thread of gold drawing stares even if there isn't many people who would recognize her without it. At the moment, she currenty seems to be dodging an invitation to dance from a man that she doesn't know, and when her first refusal is met with a laugh and persistence, she snaps with temper into a sudden silence that carries the words, "I do not dance, and even if I did, it wouldn't be with you." The redhead, though, flinches at the outburst and is quick to duck away, towards the bar and the promise of alcohol there, even if she can't get drunk. She lays the necessary marks on the bar, murmuring quietly as if to make up for before, "Wine, please." It's as his gaze sweeps out over the crowd that Lilah's snapped remark catches K'del's attention, drawing enough of it that he's slow to pick up his glass - and slow, too, to answer R'hin, though he laughs as he does so. "Shells, can you imagine the uproar? Bad enough, to some minds, that they have a new weyrwoman from outside the fold, but worse with a foreign weyrleader to go with it. Rather think I've challenges enough at home, don't you think?" That is when he raises his glass and says, "To not being in any more trouble than we can possibly help, mm?" And, because there's Lilah and now his interest has been piqued: "Do you need company for a moment or two, to keep strange men at bay?" He's glancing at her as he says it, his voice low, but still pitched to carry as far as the weyrling. While the altercation at the edge of the dance square draws a few gazes, R'hin's is not amongst them -- he's watching everyone else until the moment passes, and his attention shifts back to K'del. "Oh, I don't know. I almost think you're the sort that thrives on challenge, as much as you might publicly decry it," he says, with a dark, knowing chuckle. His brow flickers upwards at the toast, and with a half-shrug, drinks to it. His gaze follows K'del's towards the redhead near them, and after a beat, he adds, "I think we're strange men, too," with a chortle. "I'd hope," his glances flickers towards the weyrling's knot, significantly, "If you're going to waste what few drinks you are probably allowed, you are not going to waste it on generic wine?" Lilah's dark gaze lifts from the bartender to seek out the person to match to the words, landing first on K'del and then flicking to R'hin when the other rider speaks. "As long as you aren't going to ask me to dance," she counters, only remembering a moment later to salute both riders with the proper courtesy. "I will forgive the 'strange' part, if I don't have to deal with propositions." She glances back to the bartender who is fetching her wine at R'hin's question, returning to study the bronzerider with a challengingly little tilt of her head. "What should I be drinking, then?" "Except when we choose to be in said trouble," concludes K'del, probably rather belatedly, but it seems to occur to him only after he's taken a sip from his glass. "We're not strange me. I'm a public figure, thank you very much, and you probably still count as one at least in some circles. Don't worry, weyrling, we won't ask you to dance. We're drinking. And," with a nod of his head towards the other bronzerider, "he means you should be getting better wine. Can I offer you one? I'm K'del," though something in his tone suggests he doesn't expect that to be news, "and this is R'hin." The snort from R'hin -- for K'del's claiming he's a public figure -- is fairly evident. He doesn't wait for Lilah's response to K'del's question, leaning across the bar to get the bartender's attention: "Stev, get her another glass of the same as ours, would you? K'del's feeling overly generous." And so is R'hin, since it's not his marks. That done, he asks with a surprised grin, "I remember when pretty young girls loved to dance. Has time changed that much? Or only at Fort?" He makes a little face when K'del introduces him, but it doesn't linger -- not when he can take another sip of that wine. "I am not sure what Hattie would say is the proper protocol, but turning down the Weyrleader's offer of wine seems rude to me," Lilah determines of K'del's offer, the hint of a smile catching in the small corners of her lips that only twitches wider at R'hin's reaction. She introduces herself simply, "Lilah, and thank you." A brow sketches upwards at R'hin's question, and she points out, "Well, I am only a weyrling. We are under restrictions." Because obviously dancing is just like being intimate. The snort from R'hin -- for K'del's claiming he's a public figure -- is fairly evident. He doesn't wait for Lilah's response to K'del's question, leaning across the bar to get the bartender's attention: "Stev, get her another glass of the same as ours, would you? K'del's feeling overly generous." And so is R'hin, since it's not his marks. That done, he asks with a surprised grin, "I remember when pretty young girls loved to dance. Has time changed that much? Or only at Fort?" He makes a little face when K'del introduces him, but it doesn't linger -- not when he can take another sip of that wine. "I am not sure what Hattie would say is the proper protocol, but turning down the Weyrleader's offer of wine seems rude to me," Lilah determines of K'del's offer, the hint of a smile catching in the small corners of her lips that only twitches wider at R'hin's reaction. She introduces herself simply, "Lilah, and thank you." A brow sketches upwards at R'hin's question, and she points out, "Well, I am only a weyrling. We are under restrictions." Because obviously dancing is just like being intimate. More of K'del's marks are set down upon the bar, but the (Acting) Weyrleader doesn't seem too bothered about it - indeed, he's grinning quite cheerfully, and only some of that is due to R'hin's snort and the face he makes. "Well met, Lilah," he says, genuinely. "You'll probably have to learn to dance, sooner or later. It's pretty much a given at these things. But-- we'll let you off the hook today. You Impressed from Elaruth's clutch, didn't you? Not Isyath's." R'hin's eyes widen. "Dancing restrictions? Dear Faranth, no wonder your girl left," that to K'del, accompanied by a horrified expression that is certainly, and deliberately, overacted. "Highlighting the tyranny of today's weyrling restrictions is clearly a cause I should get behind, lest future generations end up locked up in a tower for the interim." He nods approvingly as Stev delivers Lilah her glass of wine, then lifts his own glass, "To people ambitious and independent enough to break the rules." He takes a generous gulp of the liquid, before watching Lilah thoughtfully at K'del's question. A laugh slips past Lilah's lips at R'hin's reaction, though she is quick to shake her head. She corrects, as if it needed correcting, "Not against dancing, really, but I'd rather not lead anyone on and pretend I am interested." She pauses, glancing towards K'del at his theory that she'll have to learn. "I will have to learn to dodge them better, then. So I do not have to learn." She reaches for that glass, lifting it in a mirror of R'hin's for a small, testing sip of the good stuff. "I did. Elise Impressed the gold from Isyath's clutch, Aedrielth." K'del presses his lips together, biting back his own laugh for R'hin's horrified expression, though not ultimately all that successfully. "To knowing when to break the rules," he suggests, as he lifts his own glass, though he's grinning now, too, even when he takes another careful sip. "Oh, you'll have to learn. Well - at High Reaches you definitely would. It's part of the curriculum. Public figures and all." His quick nod confirms the answer to his question, giving away nothing of what he thinks of the answer, if anything in particular. "And how's it all going?" With an exaggerated sigh, R'hin lifts his eyes skyward. "Ah, the little avian, battering against her cage and pretending there aren't bars there. I remember being that young and naive -- or, no. Actually, I don't." He shakes his head, as if in abject disappointment. After a beat of thought, he leans to clap K'del companionably on the shoulder, using the opportunity to murmur to the other bronzerider, "She's not related in any way to Cadejoth. Best step carefully, my friend," louder, he adds speculatively to Lilah, "Two young queens being raised together -- that rarely ends well. Both are bred to rule, not to share." "I am not exactly young, and I am not naive," Lilah replies firmly, her gaze drawing over R'hin slowly, dropping down the length of him before lifting challenging to meet his gaze. "It is fine." But then, in the next breath, she admits, "The queens get along better than we do, actually. They are family, and Eliyaveith cares a lot about famiily." That clap on his shoulder has K'del turning his attention towards R'hin, though the other bronzerider's remark earns an expression that ultimately results in raised eyebrows and a long, hard look: really? Really? Rather blander is the expression he turns back on Lilah, nonetheless, as he transfers his glass from one hand to the other. "Mm," he says. "Our two got along fine, as weyrlings. It was later-- but that's a whole different story. As long as they don't grow up and-- well. Have you been enjoying the gather?" R'hin's pale gaze holds more amusement at Lilah's assertion than impressed by her challenging look. "The dragons have it easy by comparison. They forget. Their riders do not. Not easily, anyway," he adds, lifting his glass and taking a deep drought. In fact, the Savannah rider seems just as amused by K'del's reaction as the Fortian's, giving a marginal shrug of shoulders. He nods -- presumably agreeably -- at K'del's assessment of High Reaches' queens, and grins at the change of topic, easing its passage by adding, "This would be, what, the first time you've been allowed out of the cage since you Impressed, no?" Lilah's dark gaze flicks between K'del and R'hin at the former's reaction and the latter's amusement, for all that she does not know exactly what caused it--. "It is, until we're allowed to actually ride our dragons and escape," she answers lightly. "I would be enjoying it a lot more if I didn't have to wear my knot and if I did not have to be a weyrling." A bland smile offered to R'hin, K'del seems amused, but without obvious reason. "It's difficult, being a weyrling," he allows, after another sip from his glass, which, afterwards, he turns idly in his hand. "Worse, I imagine, being a gold weyrling. Don't envy you, that's for certain. Empathise, definitely." His shoulders laze back as, with his free hand, he tidies his short-cropped curls. "Later, once you've graduated, you can take off your knot and go to smaller gathers where your face's less likely to be noticed. Ali and I do that, sometimes." While the Acting Weyrleader might play the sympathetic, R'hin plays the antagonist: "Until then, you must wear the yoke of your masters," the Wingleader gestures towards her knot, "And endure the endless stares, speculation, and rumors that will inevitably swirl around you. Disappearing," he adds, with a dry look at K'del, "Does get a lot harder, and requires you to roam further afield. If you ever need an escort..." a laden pause, "...I'm sure K'del knows all the good spots." Lilah's response to R'hin is a dry, "Yes, sir. Of course. Though I doubt, at least, I have very many rumors swirling around me, yet." Though, after snapping at an innocent man asking for a dance and hanging out at a bar with two bronzeriders, drinking, that may not last long for her. There is a hint of a blush that touches at pale skin for that laden pause, but the goldrider is quick to instead ask, "How is Ali, since her transfer to Southern? Is she settling in well?" "Yet," says K'del, with a laugh and a glance that is aimed squarely at R'hin, if without obvious message: just a twitch of his mouth and a good natured roll of his eyes. He ignores the way the other bronzerider has offered him up, and says, instead, "There's always a way to do it, if you're determined. Ali's doing well." It's entirely possible he would say this regardless of the actual answer, but there's no suggestion of a falsehood in his expression. "Shall I tell her you asked after her?" R'hin's expression at being called sir is fairly significant, somewhat pained and uncomfortable, chased away by the last of the expensive wine in his glass. "Mmhm," he murmurs, disbelievingly, as he gestures for the bartender to provide them all with a refill. The slight blush on the weyrling's part earns a knowing sort of chuckle, though he significantly stays quiet while K'del answers the girl's question, watching his fellow bronzerider. "No, it's fine. I doubt she'd care; we weren't really close, other than the fact that I worked for her," Lilah answers, shaking her head simply before lifting the glass of wine back to her lips for a deeper swallow. She glances sharply at R'hin's chuckle, and she adds, "No rumors yet, and I'd like it to stay that way." The way her gaze lingers on R'hin, she may already assume he's the type to spread some. The wine bottle distracts K'del from answer for a few moments, but not long enough for him to lose the train of conversation. It's as he turns back, glass refilled, that he acknowledges Lilah's comment on Ali with a nod, and then, abruptly, laughs. "It won't," he says, tone trending towards blunt. "Doesn't matter what you do, or how hard you try, there'll always be rumors. Shells, it's entirely possible there'll be rumors that I'm trying to poach you for High Reaches after our conversation today; sorry about that. I'm not, though, for the record." R'hin gives the Stev a satisfactory nod when his glass is full enough, taking a generous gulp. When Lilah looks at him, the older bronzerider spreads his hands, affecting his most innocent expression. That doesn't last overly long, however, dissolving into a low-throated chuckle at K'del's words, as he snaps his fingers, "Poaching, yes. And the redhead who pushed a poor innocent farmboy over when he asked for an innocent dance; who drank her way through an entire bottle of wine; who attempted to seduce two handsome bronzeriders. I'm sure it's already making the rounds. On the upside," to K'del, "At least you needn't step around Hattie and N'muir so carefully, now that your girl is at Southern." "Will you take me if Hattie follows through on her threats to get rid of me?" Lilah questions with light humor, her lips quirking up into a smile. She glances to R'hin, countering with a quick, "No, I am sure they will talk about how you both tried to seduce me. It fits better, doesn't it?" She laughs, again, at R'hin's innocent expression, warmer now as she works her way through the glass of the good wine. K'del's mouth twitches, turning into a smile that suggests thorough amusement, as R'hin continues. "Mm," he agrees. "All of these things. Sorry, Lilah, but your reputation is probably ruined, now." He's definitely joking, even if his, "Mm. Much easier," is more serious, and clearly directed towards the other bronzerider. "If Hattie gets rid of you, you'd better come to High Reaches, come to think of it. Might as well try and group all the people she doesn't like into a single location. Anyway, I think you seducing us is much more interesting." R'hin directs a sharp look at his fellow bronzerider at Lilah's question, phrased lightly or not. With a twist of lips, he continues: "Oh, ho. No. When it's a redhead, she is the seducer," the Wingleader corrects, quickly, with an agreeable nod to K'del. "After all, they might well believe it of me, but K'del is a reformed bronzerider." A brow curves upwards at the insistence that she be the seducer, but a smile has long since tucked into the corner of Lilah's lips as well. She muses, with exaggerated thoughtfulness, "And I suppose you two only resisted because I am a weyrling? Or rather, that will be why my wiles did not work on you, and K'del is truly reformed, then." In answer to R'hin's sharp look, K'del has only an easy smile, no different to the one he's already been wearing: amused, certainly. "Reformed, quite right," he confirms. "Once upon a time, I had a reputation for chasing all the goldriders, but there's only one I'm after now-- and I should sigh dreamily and remind you of how beautiful she is any moment now." Well then. "You're probably just out of practice, given the whole weyrlinghood thing. Never mind, you'll get there, Lilah, I promise." "Mm. No, rules have rarely stopped me when there was something I... wanted," R'hin corrects, an unashamed admission in front of his Weyrleader, accompanied by a dark chortle. His gaze flickers past though, to catch sight of a certain blonde, which prompts him to down his glass in one, smooth shot. "But I do have some promises to keep, and unlike some -- I enjoy nothing more than a good, vigorous dance. Thanks for the drink," is directed with a grin at K'del, while Lilah is afforded what might be a slightly mocking bow -- though it might be hard to tell whether the bronzerider is making fun of her status, or it's just his usual way. With a flicker of fingers, he departs to seeks out the brilliantly-dressed blonde and pull her out onto the dance square with him. Lilah salutes R'hin, despite his bow, and her gaze follows after him for a moment with curiosity. She urns back to K'del and the bar, however, with a polite smile. She adds easily, "I think that you have protected me from strange men long enough, if you wanted to go find your partner for dancing as well. I do appreciate it." K'del is clearly quite used to R'hin, and merely laughs-- for what the bronzerider says, certainly, and for the way he takes his leave. "Enjoy yourself," he says, easily, turning up his glass to take another sip from it. "If you're sure. Wouldn't want you to feel abandoned. Regardless-- it was a pleasure to meet you." "I am sure my weyrlingmasters will be taking me back soon enough before I can feel abandoned," Lilah offers reassuringly, though she slides her glass across the bar again with a tip of her chin to the bartender. Refill, please. "It was a pleasure to meet you as well, Weyrleader. Fort's duties to you." "And High Reaches to you," returns K'del smiling. He's got a few more marks to slide across to the bartender - there were refills for everyone, after all, and he's obviously in a generous mood - and then he takes his leave, meandering off into the crowd to... find a partner? Return home? Who knows. |
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