On Shakey Legs (River Skating/Open)

[Ivy]

Sitting on the snowy bank of the river, C'vin was leaned forward to do the laces on his rented skates. He owned skates, or had some turns ago but it had been turns since he'd worn them and they no doubt would fail to fit his adult sized feet now. Besides if he wanted them he would have had to go back to the Weyr and he just didn't feel like leaving again - even if it was a short flight.

Lovey-voice, are you sure this is safe? When we passed there was a man in the water, his lips were blue lovey-voice, blue. Lips should not be blue, they should be pink or red should they not? This is a terrible idea, very unsafe. Stay to the shore where you belong. Nymeria gave her two-cents on the manner, despite knowing her bonded would not listen to her logic. The green mandyr flared her frill from where she was curled on a nearby lamp post, having forsaken her spot on her bonded for favor of a more safer local.

You worry too much my dear little green. He replied softly as he finished tying off the lace on his second skate then stood up. From her spot Nymeria huffed, she hated being called 'little'. She was a perfectly acceptable size thank you very much! As her bonded ignored her good advice she decided to keep an eye out for her clutch-sibling Nyx - should she see the other green she'd just have to follow her to see what she was up to, especially to see if there was anything she could outshine the other green in.

Mine. C'vin-mine. I do not think I like all these other dragons. Ohtarth had been eying some of the others who were gathered on the outskirts of the Weyr.

Rolling his eyes C'vin chuckled a bit, he had noticed his bronze acted strangely around other dragons - more so since they moved North. Get over it, and if you get us in trouble I will never forgive you. Came the rider's reply, though he had a teasing edge to his tone so his dragon would know he wasn't entirely serious about being mad forever. Still though, he hoped his bronze would behave.

Ready to skate he brushed the snow off the back of his wool pants - they were warm if not the sleekest and most stylish things. He'd had them dyed black because their natural white-gray color just didn't appeal to him now as much as it had when he'd first purchased them. Eying the skates down on his feet he tugged his coat back into place and smoothed the front of it - it too was black with some patterns along the buttons, which oddly enough matched many of the bronze to coppery-green colors found in Ohtarth's hide. By design of course. He'd left his bronzerider knots back at the Weyr. Those from his weyrling class may recognize him, though it had been a few turns since he'd seen many of them. And perhaps those other riders from Inverness may also take note of his presence but he wasn't one to flaunt his rank (not that he really had one, but sometimes girls would throw themselves at him because of his being a bronzerider). Stepping out onto the ice he let his legs get used to the slick surface - shards it had been turns since he'd last skated!

Then he ventured out further onto the ice. A bit unsteady, he fell more than once as he made his way further out, but overall okay. Chuckling to himself he looked around and saw couples holding hands and skating together - some of them were busy steadying one another or falling together. Despite the cold, despite the hard ice, it seemed as though everyone was having fun. A pang of jealousy hit him as he saw a couple kiss but he pushed it aside quickly and then looked around once more. There were a few single skaters out too, a few men but more of them seemed to be women.

Taking his time he skated out further until one girl in particular caught his eye - she seemed to be having a hard time on the ice and when she fell he made his way to her to offer his hand, "It is a bit slippery out here, isn't it miss?"

[Ruby]

"Shards."

Serissa was not a good skater. Growing up in Selenitas Hold and later the Southern Healer Hall, she hadn't had much reason to be near frozen anything until she moved North as a young teen. By then she'd been in the grips of adolescent self-doubt and hadn't wanted to try after the few desperately bad attempts boys had talked her in to making. Then she'd impressed, and chances to go ice skating had diminished drastically.

So why was she out here now, shivering and squinting in the too-bright sunlight? Well, Serissa had never been good at not being good at things.

That said, skating still did not seem to be her thing. Daniel didn't seem to approve, either - the Brown had given up his perch on her shoulder with a chiding humph when she fell for the fourth time, swearing and rubbing at her hip. She was wearing something between tan Flightleathers and warm-weather clothes, with a fluff of fur around the collar of the jacket. Unlike some of the other Gather-goers, she'd elected to keep her knots - Green Wherhandler and her brand-new Healer Master cords - in hopes that most people would leave her alone. She didn't much want to talk to people she'd known from Selenitas, after all. She was honestly only down at the gather at all because Sesk needed a new harness, and Serissa had time to kill while the Tanner fitted the Wher.

The Greenhandler sighed, reaching out to Sesk momentarily to let the Green know she was ok. Sesk hadn't asked, of course, but Serissa figured she might like to know. She sat on the ice for a moment, waiting for the cold to seep through her pants before she made another attempt to stand.

She was just about to heave herself upright when a hand appeared in her field of vision. She made a surprised little noise, eyes traveling up the arm to find the man's face. Surprise surprise, he actually seemed to be about her age, not one of the endless youngsters that seemed to plague the Weyrs. Serissa decided not to dwell on where all the older riders went. Luckily for C'vin, Serissa was in... well, not a good mood necessarily, those hadn't really existed for six turns or so, but she was in a mood, which was a step in the right direction. Apathy wasn't fun for anyone.

"A bit. I suppose that's the point," she said, her tone laced with gentle sarcasm. After a barely perceptible hesitation, though, she took the offered hand, using C'vin's weight to lever herself upright. When she had regained her footing, she kept the man's hand a bit longer than necessary, squeezing gently. "I'm Serissa. Thank you for your ever so gallant help. Here alone?"

[Ivy]

C'vin offered a warm smile down to the woman, who by her knots was a handler and a Master healer. Interesting. Hazel eyes were bright and warm as he looked her over briefly, she was a good looking young woman around his age - a nice change since he'd been feeling left out. Many of the Gather-goers were older or much younger with very few in-betweeners in his age range. When she took his hand he spread his legs a bit further apart trying to brace himself better. He slid back a bit as he helped her up but managed to stay upright by some miracle. His smile only widened as she offered her name and he nodded a bit, "Aye alone, if you don't count me 'mandyr and dragon. No need for t'e t'anks either miss. Name's C'vin."

His accent came out a bit thicker than normal, it always seemed to when he was talking to women. Glancing back towards land he looked for Nymeria but could not spot her even though he knew she was there. She is pretty lovey-voice.[/color] The salamandyr piped up, adding, Her hair is gold, perhaps she could clutch many young ones for you. While it may have sounded like a not-so-subtle suggestion, it was actually a 'You will mate her'. The green, for whatever reason, was rather obsessed with pairing Hers off - even though she herself had no desire to have a mate.

C'vin rolled his eyes at the masked order from his 'mandyr and then chuckled, "My 'mandyr says t'e ice is dangerous. She won't come out. Says you're pretty t'ough." He grinned and gave a playful wink, "She has good taste."

He turned so he was by her side and slowly started skating forward once more, "I'm not t'e best skater ever but you're welcome ta join me if you'd like. Good company is always welcome."

Before she could turn down the offer though he threw out another question before skating a bit ahead of her, "What's it like being a handler?"

[Ruby]

Serissa's mouth quirked up in a hint of a smile as she and her new skating partner struggled to stay upright. For that was what C'vin was, now - she'd decided he was nice enough, and against all odds she felt like company. Daniel, suspicious of his owner's mood, settled back on her unstable shoulder and flared his wings at C'vin, glaring balefully. Serissa, meanwhile, tried to let go of C'vin and immediately had to windmill her arms and grab on to him again. With that little flash of smile again, she said, "Nice to meet you, C'vin. You're a dragonrider then?"

But his vision was blurred, and Serissa had to keep from just skating off. She dropped his arm. He must have been talking to his dragon and not heard her (Serissa didn't even consider the fact that talking to a salamandyr looked just about exactly the same as talking to a dragon). Luckily though, as soon as he started talking again it was clear that he was talking to a 'mandyr, and Serissa was 100% ok with not talking about him being a Rider. Actually, the moment of distraction seemed to be a boon - Serissa responded without thinking, falling back into patterns she hadn't accessed in... turns. She matched his wink with a coy flip of her hair, making an appreciative noise. "She does indeed, and not just in women." What? Where had that come from?

Successfully hiding her confusion at her own actions, Serissa just decided to take it easy, and not worry to much about how she was acting. She'd been doing that too much for the last few turns. So... she felt like spending time with C'vin and his adorable accent. Fine. Skating along next to him in tacit acceptance of his invitation, she immediately caught a skate on an uneven bit of ice and snaked an arm through C'vin's, stabilizing herself. "A handler? Hm. I know it sounds strange, but I'm not really sure. I only spent about a Turn at Selenitas after Sesk matured, and I was on healing duty the whole time. Then I got transferred to Fort Hold, and I've been finishing up my Mastery there... I never really did much as far as being a 'normal' handler went. Not that any of them are really normal, I swear the nocturnal lifestyle makes you go a little crazy." Apparently Serissa was not immune - she hardly ever chatted like this, any more.

To give herself a moment to think, she smiled again, and asked, "What about having a 'mandyr? They seem to like the Handlers, but I've never owned one."

[Ivy]

An eyebrow was quirked at the seemingly possessive firelizard but no other notice was given to Daniel - his attention was now being shared between keeping on his feet and Serissa. Her question of him being a rider or not had indeed been missed while Nymeria was speaking to him. Her presence in his mind sometimes rivaled that of Ohtarth's and oftentimes he had difficulty being able to compartmentalize her so he didn't black out to the outside world. He had thought he'd heard her voice but since she did not bother to repeat whatever it was she'd said he let it go. Especially when she flipped her hair a bit and complimented his 'mandyr's choice in men as well as women.

C'vin's grin grew wider at that, and when her arm snaked through his he gave no complaints. Stiffening his arm a bit to help offer more stable support he made sure not to go too fast and to mind where his feet were. He'd hate to accidentally trip her up, though ending up piled on top of her would not be the worst thing ever. As she finished explaining her views on being a handler he asked, "How do ye like t'e North? I don't mind it much at Inverness meself, but I came from up here."

Then she was asking him about his 'mandyr, to which end he felt Nymeria's presence in his mind pull to the forefront. She obviously knew when she was being spoken about, and wanted to make sure Hers didn't misspeak about her. "It is... Strange. Such a small body t'ey have, but such large personalities. Talking all t'e time. Very eloquent, me Nymeria is. Smart little girl for as young as she is too." The emotions he felt from Nymeria seemed to relax a bit, apparently she felt he'd done her reputation justice. "I had only meant to watch when I Impressed her, which seems to be a trend as I was just an on-looker when I Impressed me Ohtarth too."

His cheeks were a tinge red, though that was easily dismissed due to the biting chill in the air. He turned them slightly to skate around a small group of giggling children who were busy falling over themselves. "T'ey look like t'ey are having fun, aye?"

[Ruby]

"The North?" Serissa considered her answer for a moment, appreciating C'vin's mostly steady support. The North. It was like time traveling, being back in the hall. Half of her was relieved she wasn't still at Selenitas, or even at Inverness - she'd visited the Northern Weyr once or twice, and couldn't help being reminded of Fort. The other half of her spent all of her time screaming denial, internally fuming that she maybe had the chance to forget Ildyth on rare occasions. She never could or would forget him all the way, but it seemed like even rare moments of forgetfulness should be punished, or something. She didn't deserve to be happy, to be free of his memory.

C'vin needed to know none of that, so Serissa went simple. "Well, I was a Healer before I moved to the Weyr, so it's kind of odd, being back. And cold. I feel miserably pale." She held out the arm she wasn't using to hold herself up, as if she could see how colorless she was through her jacket. "Overall, though, both north and south have their pluses and minuses. I've been moved around so much throughout my life that I'm pretty apathetic about what continent I'm on, as long as I can go visit my family at Selenitas Hold every once in a while. Where're you from, originally?"

Well, they had something else in common, Serissa thought. She sent an unintentional pulse out towards Sesk, who was drowsily being fitted for her harness, remembering the Green's impression. Sesk had nearly gone wild, after all, but decided at the last minute that the Healer would make an acceptable mindmate. "I've been to a few salamandyr hatchings myself, but never managed to bond with one of them," she said, glancing up at Daniel, who was having to flare his enormous wings to keep himself from falling off her shoulder. "I've heard they don't like Firelizards, though, and Daniel's never far away. Sesk was an accidental impression, though - I was the healer on duty, not a Candidate. Why she picked me is beyond me, and apparently her too, but we work well together." Pausing for a second, she asked, "What's Otarth like?"

The giggling children got an odd look from Serissa - part revulsion, part sadness, part resignation. They had no idea what life had in store for them, did they? All of a sudden, she realized she was being really obvious about her discomfort, and she didn't want to make things awkward. "Yes, of course," she said, directing C'vin away from the younglings. "We'd better stay away or we'll be a part of the pile, too!"