Difference between revisions of "Logs:Emotions Run High"

Lake Shore, High Reaches Weyr The rest of the bowl may be barren, grass barely surviving at best, but here by the lake, it's brilliantly green in the warmer months: thickening and thriving in the silty, boulder-dotted soil just before it transitions to soft sand and thence to the cool, clear water itself.

A large freshwater lake fed by a low waterfall, it not only provides warm-weather bathing space for humans and dragons, but has one end fenced off as a watering hole for the livestock in the feeding grounds. The water there is often muddier than the rest of the clear lake, whose shallows drop off abruptly several yards out into deep water, and whose edge undulates against the coarse-hewn bowl wall: here close enough to just be bramble-covered rocks, there far enough away that a narrow land bridge divides the main lake from a smallish pond. Between are several rocky outcroppings that form excellent makeshift diving points, though only one -- across the bridge -- has a set of narrow, slippery, quite possibly tempting stairs.

The setting sun casts long shadows across the Bowl, the warmth of the day lingering only upon stony ground...and within Ilicaeth's hide. Having sunned himself for hours after feeding, then bathing, the growing blue is still curled up near the lakeshore, taking a nap. Within the curl of his torso, a certain blonde woman is settled, her back propped up at his rib section, her jacket tossed open to the heat radiating off her beast. Protected and protecting, the two seem to back each other up in their own fashion, the awake Alida's greens currently looking up at the indigo sky and the stars within. On occasion, Ilicaeth's tailtips twitch.

The summer brings enough warmth to the Reaches that people take advantage as much as possible, even as the sun goes down... especially as the sun goes down for the couples that take advantage of the benches on the far side of the lake for their romantic assignations. Aishani is definitely not one of those, though she is walking with a woman who appears to be a kitchen or caverns worker, by her apron and clothing stains; they laugh together briefly before the other woman moves on and the Weyrwoman spots the weyrling and her blue. After a pause, her long-legged stride takes her over toward them, her low voice calling, "How goes the evening, bluerider?" Not weyrling, not tonight.

A summer's evening is not something to be wasted. N'ky and Cailluneth are enjoying the lingering sunlight, the pudgy little green's hide glistening with water droplets as they walk along the shore from the direction of the feeding pens. There's a smear of something distinctly blood-like across the front of N'ky's tunic, though it doesn't seem to bother either boy or dragon. The sight of their clutchmate and Weyrwoman makes both of the pair perk up, N'ky standing up a little taller and Cailluneth holding her head just so as they approach the two women and Ilicaeth. "Ma'am," the teen greets Aishani first, with a crooked smile. "Alida... I-Ilicaeth."

At the sound of the new voice, the napping blue's coppery claws flex a little, scrabbling against rock for a moment before relaxing, Ilicaeth's outer eyelids fluttering once. As for Alida, well, the ex-holder simply looks up at the Weyrwoman and gives a small half-smile for a moment, her alto a little less clipped than usual as she answers, "Decent...and I'll take that 'rider' with a big grain uv' salt." A vaguely thoughtful look crosses the weyrling's features, and after a moment, she curls a lazily-lifted hand's finger while lifting brows in silent invitation for Aishani to join her, if she wants. "How 'bout you?" To the approaching N'ky and Cailluneth, a lift of hand is offered.

With a nod to both green and her lifemate, a brief smile, "Cailluneth. Evening, N'ky." Aishani's wearing a rather impractical and rather short white shift, so Alida's invitation is waved off with a slender hand, another faint curve of lips. "Not a full rider, neither of you, but you are a bluerider, a greenrider. 'Blue weyrling' is ridiculous and awkward." Idly kicking her sandal on and off, "Well enough. I think I'd like to go away for a few days though. How are you - and yours?" From the way she looks between them, she means them both.

"I, um, th-think it's nice to c-call us rider already, ma'am," N'ky chips in quietly, resting his hand on Cailluneth's neck and leaning slightly against her damp side. "S-some called me a greenling. That, um... I d-didn't like it so much." He shakes his head, then runs a hand through his short curls to ruffle them up. "Wh-where would you go away to, ma'am? W-wouldn't the, um, Weyr need you?" Cailluneth wufflesnorts at Ilicaeth, flexing her wings before stretching her neck out towards the Weyrwoman, muzzle aiming for a gentle hip-bump.

"Yeah..." Alida smirks a bit at Aishani's comment of awkward adjectives/nouns, the pale-haired female then nodding once, and finally commenting, "Think? Shells, I *know I'd* like to...but someone's got awhile before 'is wings 'n /between/ c'n take us anywhere decent." With the new chorus of sounds, the once-napping blue's outermost pair of eyelids lift slightly, showing peaceful greens slowly whirling behind them, the thinnest veil of his innermost lid just visible as he peers at both Cailluneth and Aishani. With that whufflesnort from his clutchsib comes a low chuff from Ilicaeth, and one of his wonderous, large wings opens up fully, extended and held there upon the air, as if awaiting something. Meanwhile, Alida shifts about to rebalance herself, while murmuring almost glibly to N'ky, "Weyr would know where she is; all they gotta do is have their dragons ask Iesaryth." Beat. "If she'd tell 'em." Smirk.

Sedentary sands of pearl and gold barely stir upon a desert floor, whispering upon dry winds, « Join me? » (Ilicaeth to Cailluneth)

"Perhaps nice, perhaps simplicity. But as long as you're aware you're weyrlings... which I'm sure every you are at some point every single day... why belabor the point?" Aishani is also not, despite her manner and the way she speaks, not all that much older than some of the weyrlings. There's a few that might be older than the Weyrwoman - E'sren, likely, for one. She lifts out a hand for Calliuneth, easy with dragons unlike she is with people (beyond one notable exception), and she tells N'ky wryly, "That's why I haven't gone anywhere yet. Beyond Fort for a night now and then." She lifts her chin Alida's way for her explanation, agreeing, "They could tell Iesaryth if anything was needed. But timing is everything." With a flicker of her dark gaze to the blue, "Where would you like to go, when you can?"

N'ky looks down at Cailluneth as the green growls happily at Aishani's touch with one brow raised curiously, then to Ilicaeth - then back to his green. Reluctant as they may be to break their physical contact, the pudgy, damp green breaks free of Aishani's touch to go settle herself under the blue's outstretched wing, curling tight against his sun-warmed hide. N'ky slips his hands into his pockets, looking a little... lost without his lifemate by his side. "I s-suppose everyone needs a break f-from their life s-sometimes, W-Weyrwomen included," he concedes with a nod of his head, and a canted smile. "A-and weyrwoman Azaylia c-can always fill in." A little shrug of his shoulders now, and he looks to Alida. "Um... th-there's nowhere really that I'd l-like to go. H-High Reaches is home, um... n-nowhere else really appeals to me."

Pearl and gold are picked up on, whirling with the unique blue-sand that Cailluneth has assigned to her blue clutchbrother. Colours shift and change into a warm wallow, comfort's lilac making itself known on the very edges of her thoughts. She's pleased, and happy to curl in tight. (Cailluneth to Ilicaeth)

Finally answering Aishani with a casual, "Oiling a little less, nowadays, thank Faranth. Not too shabby..." Alida extends one arm and rubs at Ilicaeth's hide, the drowsy blue giving a low croon and a small wiggle of tail, his gaze still mostly lidded, shifting to the goldrider for a long moment as she speaks. With the other female's inquiry comes the bluie's instant, "Ista. Fuck, even Igen." Unspoken: *WARM*. A sudden slight disfocus of gaze presages the weyrling's eyeroll, and a quickly addended, "*He* wants ta' go t'someplace *flat* first. Telgar, probably." With Ilicaeth now joining him, that large wing of the blue's drapes companionably over her somewhat smaller form, 'caeth's leftover heat radiating pleasantly upon Cailluneth. "I used ta' dream uv' other places..." the guard notes to N'ky after the greenie's done speaking, raising one white-gold brow at him. "What about Cai?"

With a warmer smile for the green than she has for most people, Aishani watches her move off to curl under Ilcaeth's wing with a tightening to her expression; she glances away. "It's nice," she tells N'ky simply, "To spend some time somewhere quiet. Iesaryth likes beaches. And I..." There's a moment where she's about to say more, but she seems abashed, and she just shakes her head. With a blink, "Really? Nowhere you'd like to see? There's so much to see." The gold rider's faintly amazed at the idea that anyone wouldn't want to travel if they could, and it takes her a moment to turn her attention to Alida with a blink. "I usually go for warm. Why flat, though?"

Warmth leftover from hours of sunbathing are transfered quickly from his hide to the green's, that very large wing cupping lightly over Cai's back and keeping the faint hint of a lake breeze off her form. A little drowsily, those lilacs and other colors whirl together into a light eddy of finest dust - almost faerie-like - dancing and whirling across the desert...the sky painted like a Johnson scene out of the old West. No words are needed. (Ilicaeth to Cailluneth)

"W-well, there is Ista... um, S-Sabs was talking g-going there when we could. B-but I c-can't think of anywhere being as beautiful as High Reaches, ma'am." N'ky shrugs his shoulders, biting down on his lip as he turns to Alida to reply to her. "She w-wants to be wherever I am, so, um... I g-guess she's not looking at going too far, either?" He shifts his weight, teeth digging in deeper as he looks down to his toes. "E-everyone talks about wanting to, um, g-go off somewhere, and I... I just like home. Here. But m-maybe, um, s-somewhere will sound better when we're c-closer to graduation?"

She's not a guard for naught: that tightening of Aishani's is noticed, filed away for later thought, Alida not touching it with a ten foot pole, otherwise. "And you like 'em too, probably..." the blue weyrling murmurs, her thoughts going to another place, though briefly, as she thinks ahead. "Hmm? Oh, him. Flat, 'cause he'd like t'see vast, open places...sunsets 'n sunrises on the horizon." Now that she thinks about it, she'd enjoy that, too. With N'ky speaking - and stuttering - Alida tries for a more casual approach to try and unwind him some, her gaze lifting to the stars coming out above them. "I figured that'd be her tack...nothin' wrong with wantin' ta' stay close ta home, if it makes y'happy." Chill out, dude. As for word of Ista... "I rarely go swimming." Up here? Hell no! "Maybe'd learn t'do more than simply tread water if I had someplace with *warm* water."

To Ilicaeth, Cailluneth likes no words. She so rarely has a need for them, for what can express emotion better than colours and symbolism? The faerie-like dust is coloured an appreciative copper-pink, a soft breath of spring green causing the tiny motes to dance on its fresh current. Gentle play for a sleepy, post-feed mind. His warmth against her lake-damp hide shows as a deep purple overcoming cool blue; a blanket of night that she draws over both of them to nudge his sunset scene into star-studded darkness.

A little emphatically, "Oh, you need to go South, N'ky. You need to see that, at least." Aishani's dark eyes are widened, she seems quite serious about this, as much as it's just about... wandering. But then, perhaps that's in her blood. There's a moment where she considers the greenrider, then notes, "Not that there's anything wrong with home, no. It's just... if you're together, there's nowhere that you can't be. And nothing that says you can't take people with you. I tend to." There's a ghost of a grin, nearly wicked. "And I can understand that." She'll even tell Ilicaeth that directly before informing his rider, "Ista's lovely for swimming. And drinking and gambling. So sometimes fighting. I'm sure you'll get along famously there."

N'ky scratches at his nose thoughtfully. "That d-does sound nice," he says of Ilicaeth's desire for sunrises and sunsets. The blue weyrling's attempts to ease him don't really go noticed - perhaps because he's just too nervous around certain company. Aishani gets a thoughtful look, and he nods. "Yes, m-ma'am, I th-think, um, I sh-should at least see it. I think I sh-should see all of the places, eventually, I just... I mean, it's n-not something I'm -- we're --" a look to Cailluneth, "-- so d-desperate to do. N-not right now." To Alida, he cants his head and looks surprised. "Y-you can't swim, 'Lida? Or d-do you just not like to here? It is kinda cold, I guess."

Listening to Aishani talk in a fashion she's rarely heard the goldrider speak in, Alida allows herself a rare indulgence: the blonde transported by sounds and the scenes she's picking up from Ilicaeth's mind into a different place... where sand and mountain, red sky and warmth meet and welcome all kinds of life. A long, if soft sigh ooze through the young woman's lungs, and only reluctantly does she force herself into the 'now' once more, pale head nodding absently in agreement with the weyrwoman. Ilicaeth, with only one eye now slitted open, offers a low and very lazy croon to 'Shani as he's addressed, that green gaze then disappearing as his outer lids finally drift shut again. The way the blue languildly curls his often-quivering tail about Cailluneth's haunches might suggest a protective kind of brotherly affection. N'ky's inquiry garners a blink from slightly far away green eyes, Alida rubbing at one of them while answering her clutchmate, "Oh, I can... just not good enough ta call it truly capable. I c'n float, do a choppy crawl - y'know, enough ta' make some headway 'n stay alive - but otherwise..." Shrug, liptwist. "Somethin' I should fix sooner, rather th'n later." After all, it's a 'weakness.' As for Aishani's noting of a few of what might be her favorite 'hobbies,' Alida only flashes a low little grin, commenting almost casually, "Am I so transparent?"

"That's fair," Aishani can allow, giving N'ky a little nod. "There's no rush. It does go fast, this time. And the summer here should be enjoyed. The good weather is so rare, and it is lovely." She looks out over the lake in the darkening twilight, the shore verdant instead of muddy. "I suppose I just remember how Iesaryth was. Impatient. Nothing was fast enough. She knew how so that should have been enough for us to just go ahead and do it. She might have tried to between when she figured it out if I wasn't able to stop her." And though that's mildly terrifying, she just shakes her head a little. To Alida, "I'm sure someone would be happy to help you learn. I'm not the strongest swimmer myself." Apparently she hasn't seen fit to correct it. And flashing a grin, "You just seem the sort. You, Jo. Taikrin. I go for the drinking and the gambling, but I tend to duck out if the fighting starts."

"Um, I-I could maybe teach you? If y-you'd, um, like that. I d-don't mind." But N'ky's clearly shy about offering his services. His hands dig deeper into his pockets, twitching fingers pressing agains the fabric of his trousers. "Cailluneth was only anxious to g-get to hunt, ma'am. Now she's d-doing it," and bearing the bruises for it too, like proudly-earned medals of her triumph, "she's just h-happy to know she can go to the p-pens twice a day and eat." And it's that simple for the pair of them. The talk of the bars, drinking and so on intrigues him just a little; enough for him to try and engage. "I've, um, n-never gone to a bar or anything. M-maybe we c-could trade swimming f-for... t-time in a bar? Um, wh-when we're graduated... i-if you'd like? W-would you come too, Weyrwoman Aishani?"

Listening is something she was taught to do well, and as such, Alida simply shuts off her mouth for some long moments as she listens to the interplay between Aishani and N'ky, the bluie's gaze turning inward a little, though not to converse with a very lightly drowsing Ilicaeth. Funny how Impression can amplify some things while lessening others. With the goldrider's direct addressing of her comes 'lida's returning of focus, her pale head nodding once to show that she'd indeed heard the other woman. For the latter, however... "Someday soon, gotta get all'uv' us t'gether for a nice long game uv' dragon poker 'n shots." Cue a crisp, thin smirk for words of fighting, and the blonde murmurs, "Contrary t'popular opinion, I mostly fight only when I *have* ta'." Mostly...if she's not angry. N'ky gets a measuring look, the bluerider assessing him for some moments, the former holder then shrugging her shoulders and nodding to her clutchsib. "Might just do that." For Cailluneth's bruised and happily-hunting self, the seated weyrling notes, "Ilicaeth thinks she's the best hunter uv' all the youngins'. Uv' course, *he's* the best warrior." Grin. "And thank the stars fer *them* hunting their own food, now." Eyeroll. When the greenie seeks to engage the womenfolk in talk of boozing and gambling, 'lida simply peers up at him with some humor in her gaze, then asking the gangling youth, "How the shell would I be able ta offer anything in repayment by takin' you inta' a bar? I mean, I could teach ya how t'bar*fight* 'n maybe drink..." Shrug, grin.

Flashing a quick smile, "It's good that it's easy enough to make her happy. It'll make things simpler. Less... arguments. And I remember being quite relieved that Iesaryth could hunt." Aishani arches fine brows for N'ky's suggestion, then glances to Alida, considering. "Perhaps he's not accustomed to bars and would like the company. Though really," she looks back to the greenrider. "The bar on the beach is quite nice. It's the one back in the jungle that you might have to worry about. And if time allows, I would be happy to join you for a drink. I'd suggest that you keep the drinking lessons to home. No one needs to send any fuzzy images." Looking back toward the bowl, "I've some work to do, so I think I'd best be off. I'm glad to see you're all doing well."

"Cailluneth is the best hunter," N'ky says without hesitation. "We d-don't argue about... well, anything, r-really, ma'am. Only s-sometimes I've gotta rein her back a b-bit when she's all eager to go k-kill and stuff, but she's p-pretty good. I've j-just gotta k-keep her thinking straight, sometimes, cos... she g-gets all hot and b-blood-wanting." He flaps a hand by his head, indicating that it's all up in there. Aishani hits the nail on the head with her explanation of N'ky's association - or lack thereof - with bars. "I d-don't need to know how to brawl, b-but, um... I'd like your c-company. Yes." He gives the Weyrwoman a warm, gappy-toothed smile, and nods his head. "It's b-been a pleasure speaking to you, ma'am. Have a g-good evening?" It's a question because of the mention of work.

At Aishani's words of dragons finally hunting for themselves, Alida bobs her head quite obviously, though the goldie's following words have the blonde quieting, looking a tad pensive for a few moments. Though she's somewhat more open than BI (before Ilicaeth), the guard's still not necessarily the most chummy of folk. "Mm, maybe..." is temporized to that thought, 'lida twisty-purshing her lips a hint at word of other bars in other places, finally nodding to Aishani's thoughts of boozing it up at home. "Caution's the word with /between/, so I've heard..." Indeed, the bluie's sober-seeming about *that* particular lesson, though it'll be later for the weyrlings. A quirk of pale head for the Weyrwoman follows her words of leavetaking, the guard nodding a few times, and murmuring to the other woman, "Fer all it's worth... take a fuckin' day away from here... and soon." Apparently - even though she's barely in her twenties - *someone* knows what too much stress can feel like. "G'd'eve, Aishani." Not 'weyrwoman.' A look over to N'ky's farewell to the goldrider has the bluie studying him silently with that sometimes compelling green gaze.

"I'll try." It's a bit wry - and it's to both of them likely, before Aishani starts off with a little wave behind her, nothing near the salute that Meara might like her to give, to set an example. It's hard, on a soft summer night, when it seems like a great time to run away. "Good evening, Alida. N'ky." And maybe later that evening, Iesaryth can be spotted by sharp-eyed weyrlings, up into the skies above the bowl - then gone. Somewhere else.

Left alone with Alida for the first time since their dance, N'ky's awkwardness is palpable. "S-so," he ventures shyly, giving the bluerider a quirky little smile. "Um... I-I can help you with s-swimming, but, um... i-it's still going to be cold. I-in the water, I mean... f-for, um... well, I'm g-guessing a while, yet, but I d-don't really know s-since this is my first s-summer here, a-and..." And he's got a bad case of Not Knowing When to Shut Up. If it wasn't for a soft snort from Cailluneth, the weyrling may have continued his burbling - but she manages to put a halt to it. "S-sorry. Um... I-I mean... I'll h-help, if you'd like."

Apparently N'ky's the only one left standing in the group of four, Alida still settled nice and close to the drowsing Ilicaeth's side, his breathing a warm and reassuring balm to her often intense self. All she does is listen to the greenie's babbling, watch his features to check his attitude and bearing...until Cailluneth snorts. The action has Ilicaeth grumbling a little as she pulls him from the cusp of dreamy-time land, the blue's reaction bringing a smirk to his lifemate's face. Finally, she notes with a hint of dry humor, "I ain't the only one who needs help..." 'lida then shrugging and nodding. "Gonna wait until it's high summer, though. Need that fucking lake ta' warm up enough so it doesn't feel like /between/." It's a good thing she's so warm in her present circumstance, or she might shudder.

And standing he stays, even if he's shifting his weight awkwardly through not knowing exactly what to do with himself. "I, um, g-grew up swimming in l-lakes that cold," he says with a shrug, looking out over the water thoughtfully. "It's c-colder where I'm from.The winter's longer, the w-water gets colder, um... w-we have a glacier, too." He rocks back on his heels, then forward on his toes. "So, um...h-how was Ilicaeth's first hunt?"

"Mountainside, then?" Alida inquires in her usual, clipped tone, the pale-blonde absently reaching out to soothe the huffy Ilicaeth with one rubbing hand. "I'm a valley resident. Still cold enough, but..." Shrug. Not as crazy cold as Nicky's home. Ahh...and then it's the twenty questions thing, 'lida sighing inwardly to herself, even as she answers laconically, "Not bad. He learns fast." Let us not speak of the blue's first hunt technically occuring just *before* Quinlys and staff gave the okay.

"Mmhrm, w-way up in the 'Reaches range. It g-gets pretty cold up there, but it's ok. You get used to it... a-and we trade in, um, wool. Mostly wool. So we've got lots of warm clothing." And N'ky might have been on the verge of going off on another babbling spree, but he manages to pull himself back by biting down on his lip. Cailluneth stirs gently, tucking herselef more tightly under Ilicaeth's wing and closer to his side. "Um... 'Lida? C-can I... can I ask you something? I-it's a bit... um... r-random."

"Makes me really effin' wish for Igen, right now..." Alida mumbles at N'ky's words of his home, the young woman subconsciously pushing a little deeper into Ilicaeth's side, which earns her a rumble from the blue. Cailluneth's snuggling is reason for the drowsy blue to slew his head around and place it cheek-to-cheek with her, if possible, the two unconcerned young dragons likely quite the sight, as they're too damned cute for words. If Alida could see them right now, she might cringe or puke...or both. "Ask away. Can't promise I'll answer..."

Cailluneth presses cheek to cheek, adjusting her position to make it easier to do so. She exhales a warm breath, and is then still. N'ky is far less peaceful; he looks like he's just opened a whole can of worms that he wishes he could shove back in by backpedalling through time a bit. "I-I, um, wanted to a-ask, um... d-do you have any opinion on, um, r-relationships? L-like... h-how they're different, from the W-Weyr to, um, h-how things are done in the H-Hold?"

With that inquiry, Alida's less than peaceful, too, though she'd not as obvious about it as N'ky...the blonde simply lifting her head a little and staring up at the stars. Thiiiiink think think. Somewhere in between the small upset and the thinking... "Holds'r usually pretty...uptight. Controlled about it, I guess. Blood 'n all." A slow chuffing exhale from Ilicaeth presages more, with the guard's alto, "As I guess we've all seen ta' some extent 'r another, Weyrs'r more...uhm...open." Keep looking at the stars, Alida. "Gotta be, since dragons don't give a crap about Bloodlines 'n monogamy 'n such." Still looking at the sky, check. "Crafts 'r much like Holds, I guess. Not sure." Wait, those aren't an opinion. Cue a rub at her brow and a faint frown, the blonde now looking cautious back down, over at the greenie. "I think...that each person's different...gotta take what works best for 'em... make it their own. Bein' riders, now... Well, we all have ta'..." A gesture with two hands upon the air before her means not much. "...Be more open ta certain... experiences." Is that the tiniest wince from the stalwart woman? Nah.

"I th-think s-someone, um, assumes I'm..." N'ky bites his lip, looking oh-so-awkward, and trying his very best to look anywhere but Alida. "I th-think someone th-thinks I'mgay, because... b-because I Impressed Cailluneth." He blushes deeply, the colour flushing from his cheeks to his ears. "B-but I'm not, a-and it's... it's h-hard to try and work out wh-what I feel about... e-everyone. Anyone. I...um... i-it feels like p-pressure I sh-shouldn't be worrying about now, b-but... but I do. I d-don't know how to m-make everyone h-happy." Himself included, perhaps.

Oh, thank the *stars!* This isn't about bumping and grinding, per sey, but more of orientation...and that fact - though not quite straight, since it's stuttered - from N'ky's lips makes Alida suck in a breath of utter relief, the blonde turning her now frank gaze upon her clutchsib. Firmly, without a shadow of a doubt, the guard notes low, "You are who you *are*. I've heard uv' greenriders as straight as new arrows, and uv' bronzers with male preferences." She's so intent, the young woman's actually leaning away from Ilicaeth just a hint. "*That's* one thing I'm glad I didn't carry over from my Hold upbringing." Snert. "*Nobody's* supposed ta be able ta' make everybody happy, N'ky. Trying t'do so makes a person...kinda crazed." Maybe she has some experience with such? "Concentrate on yerself' and Cai right now. That's the right thing ta' do. And do what feels good, what you don't hesitate over... Well, except for the damned weyrling rules, uv' course." Eyeroll, snort. "*Any* hesitation means somethin's not quite on the level in whatever way. In *this* kinda' case, hesitation can save you."

Alida's reactions calms him somewhat, and N'ky sinks to his knees on the shore beside her. "I'm trying to k-keep to the rules, but, um... th-there are times when it's not so easy. And s-someone kissed me when I w-wasn't expecting it - and I d-didn't know what to do. I've only ever k-kissed Mave before... well, and Julie, a-and this kiss was...I j-just didn't see it coming. And now it's w-worrying me, because I d-don't think I reacted h-how they expected me to, and, um, I th-think they're m-maybe upset with me, and... it's t-too much pressure, 'Lida."

It might seem quite odd, even ironic to have Alida giving this kind of advice to someone, but damnit, she's gonna try! The fire within the often cool guard is easily seen at this juncture, heard in the small thruymb behind her voice, in green eyes. Listening intently to N'ky, the palest-blonde notes firmly, "Y'see... yer' gut's telling you that it's too much right now. That's what the no sex and no big emotional entanglements rule is likely about: not only confusin' our baby dragons, but ourselves." She's in the zone now; listen to the often quiet woman blather in a good cause! "We gotta concentrate on *us* right now. Like I said, you 'n Cailluneth, first 'n foremost. Any weyrling with a brain in their skull'd understand the reasons." At this point, the bluie's slowly pressing to a squat, then a slow stand, though she hovers by her lifemate's warm side, unwilling to literally chill out in the cold evening. "Take it one step atta' time...nobody c'n predict where a first kiss'll lead. Don't bother tryin'," is opined to the tall young man, 'lida's form inclined a bit towards N'ky, her expression intense, focused. After a few moments for thought, she notes evenly, "It *isn't* a crime ta' dance with...'r kiss a member uv' yer' own gender."

"No, n-no, that's -- that's not wh-what I meant." N'ky gets to his feet again, dusting off his knees. "I-I've, um, I've c-come to terms wi-with the whole, um... g-guy thing. It's... it's still weird, b-but, um, it's... it's ok. I'm n-not gay, but, um... there a-are a f-few... I mean, th-there's... I'm n-not gay. B-but I w-would be, w-with, um... c-certain... Faranth, I don't know wh-what I'm saying." He knots his fingers in his hair, shaking his head. "I like... s-someone. S-someone other than M-Mave. She... she's s-special, but, um... th-there's someone who k-kinda... k-kinda makes my heart s-skip a beat when it shouldn't, and that's too m-much to deal with now... 's-specially since they've... they kissed me. N-now it's all conf-fusing, and I c-can't say anything because I d-don't want to make things more awkward, and... why's it so h-hard?"

Again, the intense blonde listens to N'ky, even at times when she'd like to impulsively interrupt. Patience, grasshopper. Finally, though she too is slightly confused by what the greenie has to say, Alida murmurs over to him, "So this one guy...makes ya' feel like no other guy has. Like only gals have, before." A small filing of lower teeth to upper lip occurs, the bluie then sighing, shrugging. "Again, I'd say 'go with yer' gut.' Go...uhm...gently, slow, with thought. Don't get so involved right now that it hurts you or Cai. But it ain't necessarily wrong, either." A look out to the lake allows the guard time to think over various, unspoken things, her gaze then shifting to the mellow pair of blue and green...though she can really see only bits of Cailluneth beyond Ilicaeth. "You said y'feel they're 'special' to you. Special kinda feels...seems like it should take time. Like they are to us." Cue a lift of chin at 'caeth and Cai.

N'ky frowns down at his toes, then shrugs his shoulders. "I d-didn't say it was a guy," he says sheepishly. "Cailluneth... d-doesn't mind. N-not too much. So long as sh-she, um, knows I'm here... b-but she makes it difficult bec-cause I...I-I... I mean she... she's everything and m-more, and how can that, um, l-leave me with anything f-for anyone else?" He tugs on his curls, shaking his head. "I feel like I'm b-being emotionally t-torn apart. I w-want to be wh-who they w-want me to be b-but I can't do that and be wh-who I am, b-but who I am is s-someone who wants to make them h-happy and I don't know what to do."

For the first time since they've danced, Alida's actually moving to step towards N'ky, and applying a firmly grasping hand to the top of one of his shoulders if allowed, though she has to reach up to do so. Green eyes try to get the young man's browns to meet hers when she speaks. "Cailluneth's relaxed about this most of the time, right? Let her help you with this a little. She's your rock, you're hers. She's not as fragile as you think, likely." A quick squeeze of the greenie's shoulder presages her hand gliding away to her side again, and a low, "Look at all the other full riders. Enough uv' 'em have enough room for human relationships, right? Just *be yer'self*."

N'ky looks up at Alida when she touches him, biting anxiously down on his lip. "N-no other rider has Cailluneth," he says softly, shaking his head. "'Lida... I... I th-think myself is what's c-causing the problem. She loves me f-for whoever I am or who I'll be, b-but, um... I'm j-just confused. So confused. I wish I could s-switch it off." He looks hopefully to the bluerider, biting on his lip. "I w-wish I could be m-more like you. You're... y-you're so... strong. N-nothing bothers you, 'Lida."

"Okay, so you're confused..." Alida notes dryly, the woman offering N'ky a small smirk before she pads back over to Ilicaeth's warm side. From that toasty vantage, the weyrling leans over his back to face the other human again, and notes to him, "That's right. And apparently *she's* not much confused. Borrow some uv' her sureity, let it bolster you. I mean, this Impression thing *is* a two-way relationship, yeah?" With the youth responding to her in that way, 'lida can't help but feel a bit of modest pride at her own accomplishments in her relatively short life...until Nicky says nothing bothers her. Only then does her easy expression twist just a bit into something a little bitter, maybe a tad concerned...but then a quick contact of one hand to Ilicaeth's rocky-blue hide has her recovering. Not alone.

"Cailluneth confuses me more. She...sh-she's fine witih l-loving everyone, so long as she's f-first - of course she's first. Always." The steely look on Alida's face confuses N'ky, and he realises he's said something wrong but, for once, he's taking the selfish route. "I w-wish she'd m-maybe be jealous, or that she w-wouldn't like someone, or anything to make it a little, um, easier..." But this is N'ky talking, and he can't not address someone else's clear discomfort. "D-did I say something wrong again, 'Lida? I'm s-sorry - I'm j-just blurting out about m-myself and... are you ok?"

She's listening, given how the now-silent guard looks at N'ky as he speaks, but this time, only a firm shake of Alida's head in the negative answers the greenie when he asks if he said something wrong. A look at the half-awake, half-asleep dragon under her hand finally has the blonde dredging something up in answer to her clutchsib's former words, "It *will* always be our dragons first, for all riders. S'natural...right."

N'ky moves in closer, nodding his head. "Y-yeah. Dragons first. Always." He reaches out hesitantly towards Ilicaeth's shoulder, waiting for permission to touch him. Cailluneth wakes up when he draws near, slowly opening her eyes and lifting her head to look at him sleepily. N'ky smiles fondly down at her, a warm, adoring look that even those people who're tearing his heart apart haven't seen - at least, that they haven't seen for them. "They will always be first. Always."

With a look that's more wry than indulgent, Alida peers at her groggy blue's still-shut eyes for a few moments, the woman soon softly chortling. "Go ahead..." is murmured in aside to N'ky, even as the woman allows him to witness her own extremely rare PDF towards Ilicaeth: the guard striding around to her dragon's head as he slowly lifts it from the ground, and finally winding her strong arms about and behind the dragon's jaws. It's at that moment that the blue's eyes open slowly, and look deeply into his lifemate's greens, reaffirming their tight bond...the moment taking the young woman's breath away for a few seconds before she nods quietly and presses a kiss to Ilicaeth's nose. "Always..." is murmured out, the former holder slowly pushing away from that proud nose so she can both give him room to climb to his feet *and* move over towards Cailluneth...looking over towards N'ky, then to the green herself for silent permission.

Cailluneth gets to her feet with sleepy clumsiness, bumping gently against Ilicaeth's side as she does so. N'ky watches Alida's display with her blue out of the corner of his eye, as if he knows it's not a moment to be interrupted, with a soft smile tugging at his lips. He says nothing, cradling Cailluneth's head to him in a similar way, and nodding his head to give permission for the bluerider to touch his lifemate. "You s-suit each other, Alida." Spoken softly, the greenrider strokes his hand over his lifemate's headknobs.

A deep, almost thrumming croon eminates from the deepest recesses of Ilicaeth's body, his own stalwart form standing like bedrock to offer his green sister something firm to balance herself on. That one wing of his once over her body is carefully retracted, brushing lightly upon Cailluneth's hide, even as his 'rider' is moving to rub Cai right where shoulders meet spine. "You two, too..." the guard notes with brusque intensity, her voice carefully controlled as she flicks eyes from the tubby green to N'ky, then back down again. If the young man is too slow about it, Ilicaeth *demands* that touch due to him by pushing whatever body part is closest to Nicky into one of his hands, his neck craning proudly. And when the moment's passed all too quickly, the blonde is removing herself from the little green, looping her arm over 'caeth's shoulders, and murmuring to the other weyrling, "Common sense, N'ky. It's a bastard t'apply half the time, but it serves well if we heed it." As the blue pair saunter away towards the barracks, the woman calls over her shoulder, "Comin'?" Hopefully they are, since Ilicaeth's creeling at his sibling to get a move on.

Common sense. Such a simple principle, and yet so difficult to apply, as noted by the bluerider. Taking a cue from her lead, N'ky and Cailluneth fall in line behind them, the little green trotting along with her weyrling's longer steps as he lengthens them to catch up to Alida. "You're p-pretty much perfect to t-talk to, 'Lida." He accompanies his words with a light tap of his knuckles to her shoulder, and a warm grin. "You make sense, you're not confusing, you're... y-you're a good friend. Thank you." Cailluneth croons raspily, reaching out to rub her head along Ilicaeth's shoulder as they walk alongside the other pair.

"Like I told Waki, friend's a big leap fer me. Don't be pushin' that boundary so soon..." Alida clips off over her shoulder in the only answer N'ky will get as they rank and file back to the barracks, like good little weyrlings.