Monaco Bay - Waters off Monaco Bay Weyr
The darkling black of the sand merges with the crystal blue of the water, creating a brilliant and playful blend of color that fluctuates by sunlight and moonlight. Gentle rolling waves move ashore, protected against all but the violent sea storms. The cove spreads from the mouth of the river towards the ocean, mixing saltwater with fresh for an invigorating rush that is teeming with life. The weyr dock is located far from the river mouth.
It's late in the evening at Monaco, and the waters off the bay are silent and still. Worse yet, the waters further out on the ocean are still, also, which probably explains why there is a sad little skiff stuck out at sea. Its passengers, Merius and Briari, are cramped together around the tiny boat's now-broken mast. The big seacrafter is trying in vain to serve as a human mast, holding up the old and worn sail, but the lack of wind makes the point moot. "…Sorry." Merry glances sheepishly at the harper and notes gruffly, "A fine sailing teacher I've turned out to be." He would probably do better if they hadn't used the world's crappiest boat.
Sprawled out near the back of the boat, Briari looks amused at the human mast in front of her. "Don't worry about it. To be honest, this is probably the best unofficial date I have had in the last two turns. We got to know each other really well. But, I think that it is getting late. We should probably turn in, huh?" Pulling her bag over to her, she starts to rustle about in it until she pulls out a flare. It helps having both a father and older brother in search and rescue wings. They drill this into your head. Striking the flint at the bottom of it, she holds it outwards as it begins to spark. Soon, there is a loud whooshing noise, followed by a BOOM as the sky is filled with a sparkling firework of red and orange, signaling the need for help. "I am sure someone saw that. If not, at least it will be warm tonight."
There were probably humans that saw the flare go up. Probably. Someone else saw the flare go up too. A bronze dragon slips into the water and using his tail pushes through the water silently, much like a crocodile would. Given the lateness of the hour and quiet way he is moving through the water not much would be visible, with the lone exception of his glowing red eyes as they slowly move toward the damaged boat.
"Date?" Merry frowns. If this is a bad sailing lesson then it's got to be a /terrible/ date, despite Briari's assurances. Big arms droop as he drops the sail, watching the harper produce and light that flare. "…You had a flare?" Not that Merry doesn't enjoy her company, but he is tired and hungry, and his shirt is still on the beach and it hasn't been /that/ warm out. He watches the flare go off and an appreciatvie "Oooh" escapes his lips as he watches the red and orange sparkles. Pretty! Dark eyes search the surrounding waters, watching for anyone who might have seen the flare. Oh look, some of the firework is still burning on top of the water. Two little bits of it. Wait a minute… "Briari!" Formidable as the big seacrafter might look, there is some definite panic in his voice. He points out the approaching red glows.
"Oh Yeah. I just -now- remembered I had a flare. Sorry." Briari says with a devilish grin upon her face that shows she is not that sorry about it. "Besides, this was an adventure. We are true survivors at sea!" Pushing herself up to her feet, she gives a long stretch of her body, then turns about at the panic in his voice. Her eyes narrow as she searches the dark waters until she finds the glowing whirling eyes. Taking a few steps backwards, she finds herself bumping into the large man behind her. Gulp.
Marzoth is completely unaware that he is causing consternation on the boat, and even if he was aware it would probably amuse him. He continues to slip through the water as silently as he is able. It doesn't take too long before reaches the boat. Once nearby he lifts his head from the water to examine the situation more closely. The dark bronze sees better at night than he does during the day, in that respect there must be a bit of wher in him or something, and so he can see that the boat is damaged and that there are two people in it. One of which he recognizes, the other he does not. What to do? It isn't his job to rescue people after all. And they aren't weyrlings to be herded back to the barracks after slipping out illegally either. This would appear to be not his problem.
Merius, ever the gentleman, steadies Briari with one hand on her arm as she bumps into him… …but he's sure to keep her in front of him. He watches the red eyes as they gradually approach, his jaw dropping open as he gapes in ever-increasing horror. Of course, once its head rises out of the water, Merry squints at it and wonders aloud, "Is that a dragon?" Dark eyes flicker around the little boat again. "Where's its rider?"
"Yes, that is as dragon. It is Sid's dragon. He is a friend of mine. We go drinking sometimes. I have to hold his hair back." Briari says with a wry grin on her face as she trudges to the back of the boat to meet the bronze. "Hi Marzoth. Our boat has broken down and we can not get back to land. Will you be a dear and carry us back, please?" She holds out a hand to his snout, fingers wiggling gently to lay upon it if allowed.
His rider, my good man, is probably sleeping…drunk, or both. Who really knows? Marzoth is fond of keeping an eye on everything that goes on around Monaco, especially during the night time hours when he is free of the bright lights that affect his vision during the day. Freed from the constraint of his goggles he's able to be just like everyone else. In response to the question from the man he just snorts. He doesn't need anyone with him anywhere. Unless he is going between, but just flying, walking, or swimming around his home…certainly not. Marzoth will deny Briari her wish of touching him. Never was a touchy feely sort of dragon anyway. Though her request is a different matter. He sees no reason not to push the boat back to shore before continuing his nightly rounds. He slips his head beneath the water once more and vanishes from sight for the moment.
"You have to hold a lot of hair back, it seems." Merry deadpans. Not that the giant seacrafter has ever been out-drunk by the little harper. Certainly not. And he'll deny any rumors to the contrary. He watches the bronze dragon warily and gives a weary, "Well met, Marzoth." When the dragon disappears, he heaves a sigh and brings his hands up to rub his arms briskly. Now that the mast is broken and their rescue seems imminent, the wind has finally returned. Awesome.
Turning around to face the sea crafter, Briari looks amused as she hooks her arms around his large waist, then peeks up at him. "See, this was really fun, right? We got to spend a whole day together lost at sea, did some dancing, talked about stuff. So, what do you want to do with the rest of the night once we get back to shore?" She asks as her big blue eyes stare up at him, brow lifting upwards. "Tavern is still open I am sure."
Marzoth reappears on the opposite side of the ship and pushes his nose against its side as he begins to push through the water with his tail in effect becoming a motor for the ship. THe boat begins to move through the water as he steers it back toward the land. He half listens to the conversation going on inside of the boat and if he could gag he would. Humans. Bleah. Always having emotions and things. Completely unseemly.
Yes, fun. Now that it seems the day won't end with them lost forever at sea, things are looking up. "Drink." Merry agrees gruffly, welcoming the harper's warmth. "But also food. And sleep." He cranes his neck to watch Marzoth at work pushing the boat speedily to shore. Dark eyes turn downcast as he sighs. "Well, it appears that not only am I not a great sailor, but my entire craft is completely unnecessary." The fastest of catamarans could not compare to boats run on dragonpower.
"Boats are still necessary. You can not load heavy cargo on a dragon and fly it back and forth. Also, fruits and most food can not make the journey 'between' because of how cold it is once you pass through their space. That food will get ruined, so, we need seacrafters more than ever to keep us alive and fed." Briari says as she props her chin on his chest as she continues to peek up at him, giving him a firmer hug to ward the chill away. "Why are you always beating yourself up for? I am starting to wonder if you're a fisherman instead.. fishing for compliments." Her voice sing-songs a bit up at him. "This boat did not bring on a drop of water. In my opinion, it's a success. Even if it is tiny and ugly and … the sail broke. We mostly got screwed over by the lack of wind."
Dragonpower continues to bring them closer and closer to land. Eventually the boat runs aground on the beach. The mission is completed. The people have been brought back safely, and there was much rejoicing. Marzoth climbs out of the water onto the beach and gives himself a good shake sending water droplets everywhere as he does so. He never did like the water all that much. The air is far better. He then is able to regard the people and their little boat.
Merius smirks. "Boats yes, sails no." He is way too bad with machinery to collaborate with techcrafters on motors, as some of his fellow crafters have been doing. A loud bark of laughter escapes at Briari's accusation. "I do come from a fishing family, though we set lines for yellowtails more than compliments. It's just that we can't all be as positive as certain harpers of my acquaintance." A big hand rises to pat-pat the top of her blonde head affectionately. As the boat comes ashore, Merry grunts and lurches forward, but he uses the momentum to hop out of the skiff, landing lightly on the beach. He gives Marzoth a polite nod and opens his mouth to thank the dragon — and gets covered in water after the bronze gives a shake. Another sigh escapes the large man as his shivers grow more frequent. "…My thanks to the heroic bronze." He isn't being sarcastic but his voice is definitely deadpan.
Free shower! Briari hops off the boat as well and gives a bow proper to the bronze. "Thank you Marzoth! Tell S'dny I will bring a present to him and you in thanks for your service. You may have saved our lives. Is there any particular gift or treat that you are fond of?" She asks as she finds her blanket and guitar on the beach where it was left and picks them up. She shakes the guitar out a bit once she spies a bit of sand lodged inside. To Merius, she gives him a wry grin, then snaps his backside with the towel. "Smiling increased face value by the way."
Marzoth recieves the thanks from the pair in the same indifferent manner that he recieves most things from the people of the weyr, and most other dragons for that matter. If he could speak to her he would likely tell Briari that he doesn't need anything, and that he takes care of himself just fine, but since he would never lower himself to speak to anyone but S'dny he just gives a flutter of his wings and begins to move off up the beach toward the rest of the weyr. His mission has been completed here, and the source of the flare discovered. There will likely be other interesting things to keep track of this evening. Yes. Marzoth is a snot.