Wendra

Date/Time: Oops, forgot. A few days before day 17, month 3, turn 2, at about 8pm.
Players: Calleigh, Dulcieth, Kitsth, Wendra
Summary: Calleigh and Wendra chat about dragon care.


Southern Bowl Early Spring. Cloudy. 41F / 5C.

The primary feature of this end of the mile-long bowl is the Weyr's lake, which takes up nearly a quarter of the bowl's capacity by itself. About two dragonlengths deep at the deepest part - which is safely nestled along the wall of the bowl, far from the shore - the water is fairly clear for all that it's warm. Even in the winter, the water never really dips below "chilly," heated as it is by the Weyr's internal thermals. Occupying the southwestern corner, the southeastern finger of the lake puddles around the fence to the feeding grounds.
The tunnel to the weyrling barracks opens on the eastern side of the bowl, just north of the patio-like overhang that serves as the Weyr's stables. Almost directly across from this on the western wall is the tunnel leading in to the lower caverns, meeting up with the road out of the Weyr.

It's evening on a spring day which can only be considered warm by virtue of how cold the winters get at Benden. Wendra and Dulcieth are outside, though not bathing in either case. They are watching a few of the Weyrlings who put off bathing earlier in the day and who are now regretting it.

Calleigh and Kitsth are one of those such pairs, though the cold doesn't seem to be bothering the more greenish of the two. Whilst Kitsth splashes about merrily, Calleigh watches from about half a metre away from the lake's edge; she has found a pair of gumboots somewhere to keep her feet from freezing solid in the cold, cold, water. Kitsth spreads her wings and shimmies, sending a spray of droplets onto her lifemate. "I wish you wouldn't, you know?!!" Calleigh's voice is shrill, as she shrinks back.

Wendra notices Calleigh and heads over to watch Kitsth. "How are you and she doing?" she asks, quietly.

Kitsth dips and lifts a wing to splash a puddle at Calleigh, who simply scowls back. "Huh?" Calleigh's got her hands huddled in her armpits for warmth. Her scowl gives way to a puzzled smile as she switches her glance to Wendra; she tilts her head, brows lifting. "Sorry? I," a hand slips briefly from its hidey-hole to wave a finger in the air, "Missed what you said. Bit loud out here with all the splashing."

Wendra nods and smiles. "Dulci can be very distracting at times. I was wondering how you and Kitsth are doing?"

"Oh!" Calleigh nods back, her hands tucked away again. "We're, uh, we're ok. A bit hungry, and she's filthy, and I'm cold, and thinking I shoulda bathed her earlier, but we're ok." Beat. "You guys?"

Wendra smiles at the stream of chatte3r. "Doing as well as can be expected, I guess. I've found that bathing her directly after she eats helps a lot."

"Oh." Calleigh slowly starts to nod, then abruptly stops. "What about the whole tired thing? Doesn't Dulcieth get super tired right after she eats? Kitsth does. It's a right pain. If she didn't make me so hungry myself, I'd probably not feed her to avoid the whole tired thing." Pause. Wait. "Oh, hang on. That came out wrong - I wouldn't starve her, you know? I'm not like that. Promise." And the babbling continues...

Wendra giggles. "Water wakes her up like you wouldn't believe. She often forgets that she wanted a nap in the first place once she's out there. I know what you mean about them being a handful, though."

"Well, water is cold..." Calleigh points out. "I'll have to try that next time!" She resolves, ducking from another splash Kitsth sends up. Calleigh rolls her eyes. "Oh, tell me about it. Surely it gets easier the older they get, right?"

Wendra says, "I hope so. I don't even want to think that it gets even more difficult. I have enough problems with sharding A'ren and people like him to have to worry about constant grief from my dragon." Dulcieth looks up and warbles amusedly at that. For her part, Wendra smiles and says "Yes, you, dear."

Calleigh's lips purse, and she wrinkles her nose. "Ugh. It better get easier. I just wanna know what's me and what's her, you know? I was almost sick the other day coz I ate too much, just coz Kitsth was hungry. She's always shardin' hungry. I swear I'm gonna end up fatter than a runner with foal if we keep going like this! Haha!"

Wendra ponders. "I guess I was lucky that way -- I can usually tell, especially now that she's getting older. Perhaps Wingleader S'dric can help you. He's willing to give lessons above and beyond what the Weyrlingmasters do, and I think I've heard him helping L'ten with something similar."

"Really?" Calleigh sounds a bit surprised. "Huh. That's kind of good, to hear that someone else is the same. Not in a nasty way, though. You know... uh... nevermind." Now about as clean as she'll get this evening, Kitsth is starting to drag herself out of the water. Seeing her out of the corner of her eye, Calliegh warns, "Don't you come near us all sopping wet like that... I know what you're like!"

Wendra says, "Oh, is she a shaker?" She seems more amused than anything by the concept. "I'm not sure what problems L'ten is having exactly, I've just overheard others talking about what they overheard. But it's something about the bond between him and Sevuuth."

"Is she ever," replies Calleigh, keeping a wary eye on Kitsth. The rotund little green lifts her wings, droplets clinging from the tips. Shake, shake... softly though, and the drops fall to the ground. "Don't test me, Kitsth!" Calleigh's gaze wanders back to Wendra. "Yeah right, I hope they're ok? Isn't the gossip around here just dreadful." She makes a face. "Interesting, though." Chuckle.

Wendra says, "I don't know that it's any worse here than at the Hold I came from -- in fact, given how much larger the Weyr is, I'm surprised the gossip isn't worse. I just wish there were an easy way to tell what's fact and what's not."