Monaco Bay Weyr-Cove Beach
Sparkling black sands are gently washed over with crystal blue waters, creating a playful blend of colors that twist and meld under the alternating rays of sun and moon. The cove stretches out from the mouth of the river towards the ocean, mixing saltwater with fresh for an invigorating rush that teems with life.
The coast curves eastward, the waters growing more quiet along the broad expanse of beach before finally meeting a large cove. Here there are few waves, the ocean’s movement reduced to little more than slight swells. What might have been an idyllic and peaceful area however, is interrupted by a brilliantly gleaming structure that stands on the edge of the sands.
Large steel poles soar upwards, supporting a staircase that leads to a pair of water slides. The height of the structure is remarkable, standing at a height comparable to that of a small gold dragon. Pipes pump water upward, creating small pools at the entrance of both plastic blue slides. The rush of water moves with the slides, following their twisting course downwards while easing their passenger’s journey. Parts of the slides are open and others covered, creating a thrill for each voyager before unceremoniously dumping them into the still waters below. For the safety of all patrons, a large net has been drawn across the mouth of the cove to prevent any accidental drifting away.
Not far from the slides is a small stand that also seems to have been built just recently. A menu is posted on its side and displays a variety of drinks and snacks for beach goers.
It's still early in the day, breakfast service going on in the common caverns. But not on the beach, which finds the visiting Bakercrafter is taking advantage of a restday. She is dressed in a cute, relatively modest bikini,m carrying a towel over one shoulder.
A rest day! Just in time for Roriandor to have gotten settled then slip away to take Cosmo down to the beach himself. A rucksack filled with goodies slipped over his shoulders for the jaunt down to the very nice beach. For a day of sunning, swimming and firelizard skin oiling.
Crouched, Cinnitha squints and then digs a finger down into the sand. She moves her finger around the hole she made until she brings up a little double shelled mollusk that she drops in the pail next to her. She crab walks along looking down and repeats the motion. Her wide brimmed hat, a little worse for the wear, shades her face. Her sarong lays behind her, it was a choice between modesty and being able to dig for dinner. Modesty went out the window, her bikini, a cerulean blue, covers her lanky curves well enough. Mereda, her firelizard, lays on her towel, eyes closed letting the apprentice go about her business, occasionally opening one lazy eye to check on her whereabouts.
Taeleena notices the two apprentices, and makes her way over toward them. "Mind if I join the two of you," she asks, waiting for permission, idly brushing a stray charcoal black curl from in front of her glasses, a pleasant smile on her pretty features. "So, how are the two of you this morning," she asks, watching the healer as she finds mollusks f. or later
Folding back the brim of her hat, the healer narrows her eyes against the sun and grins a greeting. "Why absolutely!Are you mollusk digger, too?"
Two of you? Roriandor looks up as Taeleena comes his way, and then he turns to catch Cinnitha…doing…something. His rucksack slipped form his shoulders and thuds itself a divot into the sand. "Oh…I don't mind. I sort of wandered down here myself to be honest. Company is nice." Towel is dug from rucksack and blue firelizard is trundling through the sand, digging out a hovel of some sort.
Taeleena nods as she spreads her towel down, then sets up a large umbrella (borrowed from her cousin, a computercrafter posted here. "From time to time. I'm a great believer in knowing as much about what I'm cooking as possible. They're better here than at Dolphincraft hall." She turns to Roriander. "And how about you? I find it a lot of fun, especially when we have other things. They make for good beach cookouts."
"I…what did I bring. I brought some redfruit. Some salted jerky. Some bread. A fishing pole…" Roriandor settles down onto the towel he lays out and digs deeper into his rucksack. And listing what he brought. "Firelizard oil….Did /everyone/ agree that they were going to have the morning off today?" He'll look up from his rucksack towards the two bikini-clad women. He is dressed less fanciful than that. Billowy canvas shorts and a tighter linen shirt.
Head down as she digs out another mollusk, the young woman nods as she flips out another one to put in her bucket. "I like them anyway they come. Steamed open, in white sauce, in green sauce, in deena sauce, over fish." She is silent a moment before continuing her list, "Alone and over these noodles that they make up in Benden Weyr. Course they are imported then."
"Good morning, Roriander! Look at all of us lazykins out before the sun gets too hot." She pulls her hat off and shakes out her curls and stands up to stretch before crouching down again. "Well, you are both welcome to lunch with me if I get enough though we will have to build a fire to do it."
Taeleena smirks. "Oh, I have an idea. I'll be right back." She heads towards the weyr proper, returning a few minutes later with a shovel. "The ancient-timers called them clams. These aren't precisely the same thing, but close enough. But we need to dig for them. How good a fisher are you, Rori?"
"Well. I have fished once or twice before." Roriandor takes the time to set up his 'camp'. A broad tarp staked down into the sand, then hoisted on poles to keep the sun from beating down on him too much. A fishing pole assembled. But Cinni's request for a fire has him gallivanting across the beach looking for suitable stones and hauling them back to a poitn to begin making a firepit. "We'll just see how good I am, won't we?"
"Now, /that/ is an excellent idea, I don't like the sand getting clumped under my nails, it's hard to clean up well for the Infirmary. But clams?" she repeats, trying out the word. "Clams, then, will be happy critters or I will be happy when I am eating them." She takes the shovel and looks for another air hole to try it out, then tips out three at once grinning broadly at the two of them for the results. "Stones and shelter. We may have to invite you more often to our impromptu cooking out on the beach, Roriander."
"Thank you for the shovel, Taeleena."
Taeleena grins. "Oh, thank my cousin and her weyrmate. Zandi just had it laying around the weyr. Why a computer crafter and a painter-turned-bronzerider would need it…" She shrugs. "Also we got a good supply of tubers and maize, so I think a good, old-fashioned 'clambake' is in order, especially with such good company. Plusd whatever you can catch for us, Roriander. I'll eed to run to the kitchens a bit later, to get seasonings , as well as the vegetables, of course…
A circle has been formed! Roriandor's expression is a bit miffed towards Taeleena. "I'm a Smith. I build things, I assemble, I construct. This is perfectly adequate…" Now driftwood is getting plucked up, with no helping from his too small Blue other than acquiring tinder. "I think clams might be enough. We'll get the fire going and let it burn out to coals before we start cooking, hm?"
The sun moves higher in the sky, the lazy blue softness of the morning sky now hard to look up at with the brilliance of the sun. The surf has gone out leaving them on the hard packed sand that has begun to dry out. Even Sunlit has moved to the shade that Roriander has provided for his uninvited guests. A cooking circle has been constructed and filled through the diligence of the young smith. The bucket of 'clams' is heaped high. With a grimace for the weight, Cinnitha picks it up to carry down into the surf to give them a final rinse. A few roll out on the sand and she stoops to pick them up.
"We are getting ready for vegetables, Taeleena. Brace yourselves for some questions. Do you need help bringing them down? Are we are going to put them directly into the pit or line it with leaves first. I will take anyone's advice on this."
Turning to Roriander, "And would you mind giving me a hand Roriander? If you don't mind, I mean." She has put the hat back on but still blinks in the sun after she moves out of the shelter with the heavy pail. "I want to give them a wash before we steam them open."
Taeleena had already gone to the kitchens, and brought a couple of baskets back with the veggies (one carried by a cute little girl with fire red hair, the Baker's step-cousin Serika, to be precise. At the moment, she';s counting out the ears of maize, while Serika grins and cleans the tubers. "On it, beautiful" she says to Cinnitha. "Anything else we want?" She'd also brought a couple chilled skins of redfruit juice, and some sweetrolls left over from breakfast.
Roriandor isn't afraid of hard work. Once that fire is up and riproaring, he helps Cinnitha carry buckets down to rinse sand clear from the clams themselves. "You know, I've never had clams." An idle thought spoken aloud. Now lunch is getting closer and closer to fruition, with three and a youngster working on food. A metal poker wrapped in a leather grip is used to manipulate coals around until embers remain. "I think this is almost too much!"
Taeleena suddenly remembers. "Oh, yes, we do need to line the pit with leaves, then cover the food with them too, before burying it.
Cinnitha walks a few steps out of the surf towards Taeleena, "Do we need to go and get some broadleaves, did you say? Alright, coming right up." A wave hits her rocking her back a step as she turns to Roriandor and crouches down next to him. "We need to line the pit with leaves now. This is going to be so good! You like eating fish, right?"
Taeleena moves over to help steady the healer if she needs it, as she makes her way out of the surf herself. Serika is giggling, as she builds a sandcastle near her Da's Bronze, Xtzaltuth, who is sleeping on the beach as usual when S'ic isn't on his rounds to the various holds. "Anyway, once we bury everything, including the heated stones, and put the embers over the top, we let it cook for a candlemark or so." She grins at both of her friends. "At that point, it's just a matter of waiting. It's the stones that do most of the cooking.
"Well. I brought the fishing pole to get something for the firelizard." Roriandor apparently isn't a seafood man. But the firelizard is poking around enough for the both of them. "Stop that, go get leaves if you want food to be done sooner so you can eat." Roriandor steps off to go pull leaves from trees before returning to the 'camp site'. "And for a candlemark. We can have actual fun. Right?"
The young healer lines the pit with the care she would have changing a bed with patient in it, quick neat gestures weave the leaves together. "Ready to heap? Shall we put layers? Clam, vegetables, clams so the juice gets into the veggies and vice versa?" She fans her face from the heat as she asks the question, her pale skin flushed from bending over and the sun. "Then we can cool off a bit while it cooks!"
Taeleena nods, having carried over most everything, making sure that she's warned Serika off, so that the girl won't burn herself. "That's pretty much it," she says. First something cool to drink, and a soak in the ocean." She glances over at both of her friends, grinning. "A candlemark will be definitely enough to cool down."
Yes! Finally, he has been unleashed from responsibility he wasn't looking for. To soak. And the shirt comes yanked over his head to flutter down onto towel of Rori's. "I did procure….a wineskin. Not enough to make us more than a bit….tossed?" Does that phrase translate to Monaco Bay. Its Benden Hold wine, its stamped right into the leather so it HAS to be good. The stopper pops and he drinks a quick draught before offering it out towards either of the ladies.
A laugh sputters from Cinnitha as she reaches out to take the wineskin. She leans her head back, her loose hair falling past her waist and squirts a decent drink into her open mouth. A line of wine runs down her chin as she hands it back and clears her throat. "I'm not expert but that is easy to drink so good in my book! Thanks."
The laughter still lights her eyes as she gives him another look, "The Bard might not be so disappointed after all. What do you think, Taeleena? Come on," she yells to them both over her shoulder as she turns to run into the surf.
Taeleena takes the wine herself, a decent mouthful, although she swirls it in her mouth for a moment, before swallowing. She's more dainty about it, as befits any baker or vintner. "Mmm, that is good." She glances at the seal. "As I thought. The pressing from five turns ago." She hands the skin back to Roriander, as she follows Cinnitha. "The Bard," she asks, not entirely sure who or what the Healer is talking about…
"She is speaking of the harper, telling me that I was oh so unimpressed." Rori flicks a wink off towards Taeleena, then pats her way too low on her back as the wineskin flop onto the towel. "Apparently she is impressed with my being shirtless. And how about you, miss flour in her hair and dancing beauty in her eyes?" A step or two backwards from Taeleena, before he pivots to chase Cinnitha out into the water.
Out into the water she runs, she pivots to watch the two of them a moment and then flops backwards in the water. A wave immediately lifts her up and she floats feet first to the shore, her hair fanning out behind her like seaweed. She floats eyes closed against the glare of the sun letting the gentle wash of the surf bobble her up and down.
On one upward bobble she feels the flutter of firelizard wings on her bare stomach and then the not so pleasant scratch of claws. Eyes open in an instant, she gently pulls the green off of her as she rights herself. "So, little one, are you going to paddle out here with me?"
Taeleena glances over at the little green settling down onto her friend's belly. "She really is a pretty one," she says. "I never impressed any, at least not yet. But I'd been so busy with my craft." Turning to Roriander, she nods. "Oh, was that the gorgeous redhead we were talking to a few mornings back? I though she looked like a danceharoer." She wades up to near Cinnitha, and lays down in the surf herself, to float as well. "I didn't get to talk to her much, but she certainly seems nice. And quite attractive."
"I think you think a lot of women are quite attractive." Rori tromps down into the sea now and duplicates Cinnitha's motion, to flop backwards into the surf and be raised aloft. Finally getting wet and getting salty water into his hair. "Cinnitha is quite attractive herself. I think I'll enjoy Monaco Bay, if all these women wander around in their bikinis for me."
Water floods her ears, the susurration of the waves block most her new friend's conversation. Redhead drifts to her and then danceharper. Turning her head to watch the two will just get her face full of water so she floats and idly wonders. "Who was nice?" she asks Taeleena.
The wash of a wave from an unexpected direction does get her attention; she sputters as water rushes into her nostrils. "Hey," she yells and pushes a handful of water at the Smith. Sunlit paddles to her like a little cork, wings spead out on the water. "We will oil you when we get in, sweetie," she murmurs to her still glaring at the man.
Taeleena nods in agreement to Roriander. "She is very beautiful." She smirks. "And definitely my type," she adds. Turning to Cinnitha, she speaks a bit louder. "Kaitlyn," she answers the Healer's question," then, when Ci gets a face full of water, she heads over to make sure that her friend is all right.
Roriandor rights himself, placing feet down into the sand, to sink a bit and rock slightly with the press of waves. And to receive the nicest blue hat that anyone could ask for, in the form of a firelizard wrapping talons through his hair and curling atop of his head. "Kaitlyn was….Something. I was saying /you/ were nice."
"Who was nice?" the healer challenges the firelizard-hatted Smith. She gives Taeleena a little one armed hug and then releases her as the surge of the surf moves the sand under her feet. Sunlit inspired by the blue riding Roriandor's head doubles the image of the blue riding his head for her. Cinnitha narrows her eyes at the green but holds out her hand for the firelizard to come to her. She places Sunlit on her head and faces off with the Smith for a moment, a fierce expression turning her mouth down in a frown until something strikes her as funny. A smile steals the glower from her mouth and then she begins to laugh. "Ah, don't we look silly, the two of us?"
Taeleena laughs. "Yes, you both do. And who /was/ nice, Rori," she asks as well. "I mean, you didn't say which one of us, or, as I personally think, the answer is both of us." She melts into the other woman's hug happily. No comment is made on the fact that, for all intents and purposes, she's come out of the closet (not that it's an expression on Pen,) to her friends.
"I think all of you were very nice. Very welcoming of someone who simply stumbled into your presence in dire need of Klah." Cinnitha stands before him though, for the moment, mimicking his very fine choice of head garment. "If I look as silly as you are lovely, I am in trouble." Then a swift press of lips lands upon Cinnitha's forehead's before the man tromps through undertow up out of the deeper waves.
Cinnitha stares after the man in complete disbelief. Mereda sends amusement. Blue. Interest. That doubles the outrage. "You would think you would have better taste, you little hussy," she snaps and then shrugs angrily at Taeleena floating nearby. The healer stomps as well as one can through water and moving sand to the shore and grabs her towel. "You are in trouble," she fumes at him as she dries her hair. Her firelizard flies down to the sand and spreads her wings to dry, one eye is now posted on the blue.
Taeleena moves to stand, and follows Cinnitha up the shore, concerned, and surprised at her friend's response. "Cin, what's wrong," she asks, not even sure WHY the healer is angry, glancing out at Roriander. "I thought he was complementing you/…"
The young woman gives her friend a has-the-world-left-its-senses gape and then shrugs. "He kissed me, it surprised me." Still frowning, she gestures at the fire pit, "I wonder if it is ready?"
Roriandor misses MOST of that reaction. He is tromping up and up, out of the water back towards his towel and his rucksack as his blue is exploding in mirthy happiness. His steps slow a bit though, and he steps at dry sand to look back towards Cinnitha. "I think I may have fallen under…Cosmo's influence there. He is a bit besotted with your green."
Taeleena thinks for a moment. "Lets give it a bit longer. And why wouldn't you want him to kiss you? Honestly, I'm tempted myself, although I don't want to push things. You /ARE/ very beautiful." She looks thoughtfully at the other girl. "And I'm pretty sure that he's just as attracted to you as I am," she says bluntly.
Now, it is Cinnitha's turn to look at the woman as though she has left her senses. "What has gotten into everyone? The queen is not flying she is covering her eggs." She gestures futilely and sputters clearly aware of having been too blunt, perhaps. "It's just." She looks at Roriander. "What has gotten into everyone?"
Roriandor reaches the sand once more and laughs as his blue takes flight, leaping from his hair and catching himself with his wings too close to the ground for comfort, and jetting back towards Cinnitha and her green firelizard. He'll whip around to watch the flight, the blue catching and holding in place a moment or two to try and tempt Mereda off into flight. "What are you two talking about back there?!"
Taeleena glances over at Roriander. "Nothing important," she says to him, then turns back to Cinnitha. "To be honest, the fact that you are a beautiful, sweet woman." She smiles. "Don't worry," she says to the other. "I won't press anything, especially if you're not interested…" She smiles at her friend.
No child of the Holds and Weyrs is innocent of the urges that the Dragons bring on them. None. But a child grown up in the midst of those passions might learn to look the other way. Healing, being a healer, being a help to those around her has preoccupied Cinnitha for most of her adolescence. Blinking, heat flushes her face as she looks at Taeleena. With dawning awareness of the other woman, she says in a low voice, "You are beautiful, too." And stops dead. "I," she smiles wistfully, "let us be friends. Somehow I need that time to get my feet on the ground here."
"You are both beautiful. Is that what you two are talking about down there?" Rori lifts his arms up and laces fingers behind his head as the two of them stand in the water still. "How long do we have before the clams bake and we can wait?" A man listens to few things in the world, but his stomach is definitely one of them.
Taeleena grins to Cinni. "That's all I can ask. What happens will happen." She turns to Roriander. "Why thank you," she says, blushing slightly. "And by now it's done." She pads over to the shovel, picks it up, and goes ver tp start digging out the food. "Ok, let's get this out, then we can eat."
Forcing a little more casual cheerfulness into her voice than can be seen in her expression, the healer hungrily agrees. "Food, yes, food. It's what we need. We will all feel better for it," she babbles, off balance, scarcely looking at the oblivious Roriandor and the more knowing Taeleena.
"I didn't know we weren't feeling good." Blue and Roriandor both turn to head back up the beach towards the pit as Taeleena starts to digging. A towel to wipe salt from his body, at least what he can manage. "Did we bring anything down to drink? The juice?"
Taeleena grins as Roriander rejoins them, and hands him the shovel. "Could you be a dear, and take over the digging for a few?" She motions towards a cool chest, where she'd put the juice skins, the wine skin, and some other foodstuffs that needed to be kept cold. "I need to finish getting stuff ready." She leans in ans whispers something to the smith.
Is it through the firelizards that Cinnitha picks up on the undercurrent? Eyes narrowed and mouth pinched, she wrings the water from her braid looking from one to the other. Merida could use some grooming so she settles next to the firelizard and lets herself be waited on for once. Her concentration is on using the fine sand to smooth the little green's already brilliant hide. Thirst makes her lick her lips but she is too well settled with Merida to get up. The worry disappears into a sweet smile for the little green.
Oh. Of course. Make the /man/ dig up things and do the hard la..oh. She is getting drunks. Rori takes that shovel up to start sifting sand up and out of the way, then get the clams up and out. Work to do, work to doooo. Then he stops and stands up. Something is happening…Cosmo comes flitting back with a squirming and flopping fish grasped within his talons. Barely managing to get back to the towel to place it down. Then CROOOOOON up at Merida.
Taeleena opens up the cold chest, and pulls out one of the juice skins, then gets glasses iout of a basket that the baker has also brought. "Anyone want some juice," she asks, then giggles at the antics of the firelizards. "Ah, young love…
Bewildered and touched Cinnitha's smile wavers and then sweetens as she watches the two raptly. "They are so young," Cinnitha says aloud to no one in particular. Merida preens for the blue, stretching her wings and curving her neck gracefully. She accepts the fish with alacrity but leaves room for the blue to share the gift with her. "I would like some juice," she answers, barely able to tear her eyes away from what looks to be a new courtship.
Roriandor /finally/ extracts all their gains from the pit and settles them upon a towel before plopping down himself. Taeleena gets eyed warily until the juice comes to him. And she gets such a saucy wink. Well. Roguish. "To new friends. And I guess, new loves. Oh wow. Look at them go." Its mayhem over there. Chomping and gnashing of teeth and a poor fish.
Taeleena pours out juice for everyone, then goes and gets the plates. The shellfish, now fully cooked, have opened up, and the maize and tubers are nicely roastes as well. From the cold chest is pulled a wedge of fine cheese, followed by a selection of raw vegetables, including trimmed pieces of cluster stalk, leafhead florettes, and baby fingerroots, with a creamy dipping sauce. Likewise, crusty rolls come from the basket. She grins. "To new friends and young love," she sais, raising her glass of juice as well.
The food is beyond delicious after all the work that they have put into it. Juice in her cup, clams and vegetables on her plate, Cinnitha sits crossed legged, sarong across her lap and tucks in hard on the results of their labors. After a long silence befitting the quality of the food, the healer fixes the young smith with a lopsided grin now that she knows that what the firelizards do will not affect her, "What kind of things are you building of late, Roriandor?"
"I have been making tools in the craft hall mostly. I'm getting myself work laying new piping down in the tunnels. What ones there are." And we all know how THAT turns out. Messy forearm gash and much cleaning. Roriandor talks only after he stuffs his face full of salted jerky and cheese with clams! Messy and difficult they are for him. "And you? Any fun wounds to poke at?" For the moment, he is eyeing the vegetables. Because he should probably eat them. "Are the tubers good?"
Taeleena's first bite was actually from the maize, which she slathered with fressh butter, but she's also eagerly eating some clams and a tuber as well. She swallows, before answering. "They came out well." She grins, then squeaks as a green firelizard, banded in Honsu colors, pops from Between and settles in front of her. She takes off the message from the leg. "Thanks you. Go on back to Ma," she says, and reads the note. "Oh, that's great. Ma's coming here for a few days. And she's bringing her Mentee."
His question makes her do a doubletake to see if he is seriously asking her that. "Erm. A spate of new babies. And, no, nothing seriously grotesque to poke at unless you like goiters." A sly smile lifts the corners of her mouth as she answers him with not quite a straight face.
"Is that fun, Taeleena?" She puts her plate aside having eaten tubers and maize and wipes her hands on the napkin she was provided. The napkin neatly folded she rises to bring the plate back to the hamper. "I will need to be getting back soon. What can I do to get us packed up?"
Roriandor reaches forward to snake a few bits of this and that. To try the veggies now that he has finished what he had taken for himself. "Oh. I don't like to poke at goiters. Sounds very gross." He'll stand though and begin to work to undo his little shelter, untying from the poles and such. "I /should/ take care of a few things today too. Can't spend all my time on the beach eating good food."
Taeleena grins, and pulls out some containers she's gotten from the plasticcraft. "I've got it you two. I'll portion this out, and mark your shares with your names. They'll be in the refrigerator in the kitchen when you decide you want them." She is already busy separating the remaining food. "I wish we didn't all have to go back, but I'm afraid I need to do some things as well. I've got the evening Front of House expediter shifts at the Shoals for the next few nights."