Quest for Eggs![Casa]

It was a beautiful day, a perfect day to go exploring with a new friend. O'wain was quite eager to go find firelizard eggs as he will not back down from a challenge once he rose to it. The more he thought about it the more likely it wouldn't be all that difficult. He raised Nishkath from egg to adulthood so he certainly doubted a couple little firelizards would be hard to take care of.

He already sent word to Casa to come meet him at his hut today which was a restday. He made sure any chore detail she may have been assigned was nulled, requesting her specifically for special chores. Not that helping him find firelizards was likely to be a chore for either of them but he couldn't just take her away from the weyr without letting those responsible for her know.

Tightening the last of the fighting straps, he gave Nishkath a friendly slap on the shoulder. Not wanting anything bad to happen to Casa, O'wain made sure he set up straps for his passenger. As she had ridden with her father once or twice before he expected she wasn't completely unfamiliar with flying. He also dug up a set of riding leathers he was certain would fit her. She might as well be comfortable while they fly. Later they both could remove their riding leathers once they were on the ground. His own jacket was drapped over a rock nearby.

Lastly O'wain secured the padded sack which he secured a couple jars with lids, suitable for holding firelizard eggs. Each one was individually wrapped in furs to keep them from knocking into each other and if it proved necessary, to protect their contents from the cold of Between if they needed to get back in a hurry. To balance the jars and to make it easier to dig for clutches, he included a couple of shovels. Lastly he packed the lunch and wineskin for a midday meal. Everything packed he dropped down from Nishkath's back and took a few steps back.

"How does that feel Nishy?" O'wain asked. The brown dragon rose up on all fours and shook himself to make sure the straps and sacks wouldn't work lose. He turned bright blue eyes towards his rider.

It lies well,  I am ready to go.

"Excellent, now we just wait for Casa to show and we can take to the air," O'wain ran his hand through his hair and flipped back his bangs the winced. He still had bruised ribs from his time with Z'jan. It wasn't all that often he came away from flightlust bruised but it happened. O'wain didn't blame Z'jan, not one bit. Compared to what some blue and greenriders got up to during mating flights, he counted himself lucky to have only a few bruises now and then.

Once Casa had gotten notice that her chores that afternoon were assigned to a rider, she knew the adventure was finally at hand. She had waited as patiently as she could for O'wain to arrange a day where they could go out and adventure to look for the eggs; however, they'd had to work around the Weyr gearing up for Hatchings and the various Wing exercises that occurred regularly.

As she got dressed for the morning, the horde popped in and out of the air around her, chittering their excitement at the whole affair. Edge and Kaylee couldn't seem to keep still, dancing all around the room and pulling at her hair, her shirt, her laces. Knack seemed to know the drill, and remained curled tightly into her hair for now, his little head peeking out to watch the preparations. When at last she was ready, she pranced out the door, scurrying excitedly towards O'wain's hut.

It didn't take long to get there, and she seemed to have arrived at just the right time. Nishkath gave a great shudder as he tested his straps, his eyes whirling in a cheerful bright blue. Beaming, she bounded over to the pair, her three in tow.

"Hi, O'wain!" And Nishkath. Hello to you too! "Are you ready for our adventure? I can't wait to get started!" She noted that O'wain seemed to have done all the prepwork for their little outing; he had bags firmly attached to the great brown, and all the straps seemed snug and ready. She also felt a little thrill of delight at seeing riding leathers in her size. Riding leathers...just for her. If she ever DID Impress, she'd be all set!

Peeking her head into the bags, she nodded her approval of the glass jars. "Those are perfect for what we need, should we find eggs...I can't wait to go poking around. Neither can they..." Edge and Kaylee had wheeled through the air to attach themselves to O'wain, poking around at the brownrider in greeting. Knack turned and crooned at Nishkath before settling onto the riding straps, crouched patiently while everyone settled in. "Are we all ready to go?"

"Good morning Casa, glad you could make it," O'wain beamed at the young candidate. "I am definitely all ready, I even scrounged up some leathers for you to wear, I do hope they fit."

I am ready as well, it will be good to fly with you, Casa, The brown nudged the girl gently then lowered himself down to make it easier for the girl to climb up once she was ready.

"I also packed a lunch so we don't have to worry about going hungry and can take our time searching." O'wain assured her, grinning. He was quite eager to go on this trip with Casa, one of the very few things he did outside of wing practice and patrols that wasn't centered around getting laid.  The challenge of finding firelizard eggs and raising up one of the little guys certainly made it worth the trip all by itself.

Once Casa was ready to go, he helped her up onto Nishkath's back, finding the girl had no problem getting up and settling down properly between neckridges. O'wain helped secured the fighting straps and took his own seat. Once he was secure he looked over his shoulder. "Tell your fair to hang on, we are taking off."

Nishkath crouched and spread his wings and with a powerful thrust of his muscular hind legs and a heavy beat of his wings, he lunged into the air. O'wain loved the feel of power in Nishkath's frame during those first few seconds of leaving the ground and climbing into the air. To escape the clutches of gravity was a full bodied effort for a dragon and the freedom gained once airborne was like nothing else O'wain ever experienced outside of sex.

Giving a whoop of pure delight, O'wain looked over his shoulder at Casa, grinning madly. "Flying, the best thing ever to happen to man," he shouted loudly.

Soon Nishkath leveled off, his broad wings beating slowly to keep him level, more gliding now than climbing. They were high enough the lower thermals made it easier for the dragon to stay aloft but not so high the humans couldn't see details of the land below them. Right now it was mostly jungle and mountains till O'wain directed them more to the north where they had better chance to find beaches and other suitable habitat for firelizards to lay eggs.

After about an hour or so of flying he noticed a sandy spot that looked idea. With a silent command he had Nishkath descent and find a good spot to land near the beach. Once fully on the ground,  Nishkath sank down to the ground to make it easier for his riders to dismount. O'wain removed the fighting straps off himself and Casa and slid down to the ground.

"Lets take a look around here, see if we find any sign of nests," he suggested.

Casa scrambled up with ease, doing most of the work of tightening the straps that would keep her secured to Nishkath's back while in flight. Trembling in delight, she gazed around before they took off. To think, on dragon back to go exploring for firelizard eggs...and on a brown! She had the absolute faith that Nishkath would take of them and get them there safely.

She vaguely wondered where it was O'wain had decided on taking them to look. When she had been out with Ryvian, they had gone to the river and poked around in the dirt until they happened to stumble over it purely by accident. But she had the feeling this would be more methodical, less random happenstance.

Once they leapt into the air, Casa had the firelizards snap to. They rose into the air, using the currents to keep the best pace they could with Nishkath and enjoying the freedom to just fly freely. She couldn't disagree with their enthusiasm...being in the air was magical. She lifted her arms as they began to soar, laughing in delight at the rushing feeling all around her.

As they flew, O'wain turned and yelled something in her direction...something about flying and best things. All she could do was grin back like an idiot, nodding back fervently. It didn't matter what he had said. Flying was wonderful, and they both knew it.

She was surprised to see them fly for over an hour to get out towards the beaches. Blinking, her grin split even wider, a shriek of joy escaping her before they set down. The firelizards worked to keep pacing, finally settling down onto the beach. Casa didn't think she'd ever seen them so well worn; Kaylee and Edge were actually calm.

She nodded at O'wain's suggestion to start looking around. She wriggled out of the coat, her feet reveling in the feeling of sand and the sharp, salty smell to the air. She pranced forward, eyes huge as she took in everything around her. The ocean! She rarely came this way. "Look at the waves, Nishkath!" A giggle escaped her mouth as she pounced forward to begin to look near rocks and plants.

Hearing his passenger's laughter brought a smile to O'wain's lips. See, she adores flying, any person with half a brain enjoys flying.

Not everybody does but I am glad she is happy. We will fly as long as you like, it is a nice day for flying.

After landing, he removed his riding jacket, smiling at the obvious joy in Casa's face and the eagerness of their firelizards. He was actually surprised they flew with them instead of taking perches upon him and Casa or just simply winked Between to join them as soon as they arrived. No matter, he was certain the firelizards will rest when they are tired and the return trip will be more certain. The firelizards could always go home ahead of them once they are ready to leave.

Taking a deep breath he enjoyed the scent of salt in the air. Perhaps they should get a few other riders another day and go hunting for the big fish. A different taste for the dinner table than the smaller yellow fins and the blubber would make great oils and creams to sooth new hatchling hides.

"We can swim in the ocean later and then take a break and shelter in the shade once the sun is high. I brought something for us to eat later, speaking of which I am going to move it to the shade." O'wain climbed back up Nishkath just long enough to free the large sacks, including the one with the jug for any firelizard eggs they find. He looked up at Nishkath who was looking rather longingly at the water.

"Go, frolic in the waves then, just don't stomp over any firelizard nests on the way to the beach." O'wain slapped Nishkath's shoulder with a free hand before moving away to place the bags in the shade.

I would never harm the nests of the little ones. the brown assured him then bounded towards the water, eyes whirling a cheerful blue. He paused just long enough to glance at Casa as he spoke to her. The waves look very fine, I am going to go into them. Perhaps later you both can join me.

"I am sure we will, just don't wear yourself out Nishkath, we will want to fly back home before dark." O'wain reminded the brown, striding across the beach to join Casa. He had no idea what a firelizard nest would look like. Unless newly laid he didn't think there would be much surface indication.

"I haven't looked for firelizard clutches before, any hints on what I should be looking for?" O'wain inquired, smiling at the young woman.

Casa watched the brown carefully lumber towards the water, his delight evident in the way he splashed eagerly among the salty waves. Another giggle escaped her lips, and she couldn't help but wriggle a little at the thought of playing among the cold waves just past the sand barriers.

The firelizards seemed to think joining Nishkath was the best thing they could, interest in finding clutches lost for the moment. Edge arrowed towards Nishkath with single minded determination, dive bombing the brown before rolling himself under a wave. Kaylee, not to be left behind, rode the thermals up to circle lazily above Nishkath, swooping down and splashing through the crests.

Knack seemed to be more interested in the pursuits of his human. Chirping softly, he slowly uncurled himself from her neck, gliding to the ground. Once on the soft sand, he awkwardly hopped about, his wings half-folded as he began to poke around. Casa shook her head, offering O'wain another chuckle.

"There he goes...Knack was named because he seems to have a talent for....things." She shrugged, blinking and beginning to glance around the vast amount of sand in front of her, eyes slowly training to look for the tell-tale signs. "So, let's see...when Ryvian and I went looking, he said to look for small dips or divets. They likely will be in a spot where they is sun, and not too much risk from waves...and there will probably be sand over the eggs, to help retain the heat. Just move slow and poke at any small depressions with lumps."

"Oh yes, go cool yourself in the ocean and leave us to slave under the sun!" O'wain called out to Nishkath when the dark brown splashed into the waves, Casa's firelizards diving in to join him.

Nobody is stopping you from joining us. Nishkath replied, amused. Besides, I do not think I can be of much help looking for tiny firelizard eggs. I may squish them under the sand and that would be terrible. I will keep an eye out for other dangers so you two can look around.

"Well you do have a point," O'wain shock his head and turned his full attention to Casa. "Nishkath said he will keep an eye out for wild whers or felines..how he will do that underwater I am not sure but he assures me he'll keep us safe."

"Knack definitely is willing to help out...so small dips or divets...above the hide tide marks, got it." O'wain grinned and strolled further up the sands and started to scan the white sands for any dips or divets. At least none that weren't obviously made from wind motion. He did notice a few old wherry tracks, most likely the variety that preferred to hunt more on shores than deeper in the jungle. The tracks were old enough he hoped they were looking more for crustaceans and stranded sea life when the tide receded and not a sign all firelizard clutches were eaten by the predatory birds.

As he moved further up the beach, closer to where the treeline met the beach line he did notice an odd dip. Walking over he brushed the sand aside carefully for about half a foot but didn't see any sign of eggs. Looking over his shoulder he checked to see how Casa was doing. "How deep would the eggs be? More than half a foot?"

Casa begin to poke around herself, carefully stepping in odd little hopping motions from one patch of sand to the next. Occasionally, she'd pause, sifting her slender fingers through a patch of sand, head cocked to the side like some of the tiny birds that lived in the forest. She'd shake her head, stand again, and begin her odd hopping once more, trying to notice the signs she'd seen when she had (drunkenly) done this before.

When O'wain called over, she perked up, carefully picking her through the sand to his side. She crouched down, once again sifting her fingers through the sand gently. She didn't feel any eggs here...but this was what they should be looking for. Stuff just like this.

"I don't think it'd be deeper than this - they need to be near the surface, so that the suns can help harden them." She spoke softly, almost shyly; it was a little bit of a weird feeling to be telling a RIDER what to look for. She was no authority on firelizard eggs, but she certainly felt odd giving directions like this. She bit her lip, and smiled sympathetically. "But this is the right sort of thing to look for!"

Knack meanwhile continued to softly hop and crawl over the sands, his wings awkwardly bent behind him. Nosing through the soft sand, he moved just-so past the rocks and washed up, rotting greens. Chirping to himself, he pawed through sand, then moved away. He slowly made his way closer to the rider and His human, pausing 15 feet from them. He raised his head then, creeling in a high and eerie note.

Wincing, Casa glanced in confusion between O'wain and the firelizard, raising an eyebrow. Shrugging, she slowly made her way over, tilting her head to the side. The little brown hopped up on a rock, spreading his wings to sun himself. "What is this, little thing?" she teased, looking around. It appeared there were four dips, sitting in the sun. None of them looked significant, but she glanced at O'wain. "So now what?"

"Finding dragon eggs is easier," O'wain amused, noting the nearly shy tone of Casa's voice. "I expect wherries and tunnelsnakes would eat the eggs if they were lying out in the open like dragons have their eggs. Of course given the size of a dragon's egg I don't think anything other than whers would eat them. Not that any gold would let such a creature that close to her eggs."

O'wain never heard of any dragon eggs being damaged by wild whers or other predators. Nothing around big enough to get through the tough leather shell before it hardened, was his guess. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the high creeling note from the firelizard.

"Knack seems to have found something...never heard a firelizard make that noise before." O'wain stood up, peering at the firelizard curiously. The sound was almost like the sound dragons made when morning the death of one of their own. Yet the eyes of the firelizard weren't whirling in the colors associated with grief and mourning.

He walked over and looked at the four dips. "Lets check them out, wouldn't hurt and his guess is likely better than ours." Crouching down he started to uncover one of the dips. He brushed small layers away, not wanting to accidentally damage any eggs should there be some. The first dip he didn't find anything so he moved to the next one. He only moved about two inches of sand when his fingers rushed something oval. O'wain stopped, eyes widening in excitement.

"Probably just a stone...," he murmured then moved a little more sand more carefully and saw the distinct outline of an egg. O'wain let out an excited shout even as he carefully uncovered several more eggs. "I found some!"

Casa bent down, careful to keep her knees back from the four little dips in the ground. There would be nothing worse than accidentally crushing eggs! She stroked Knack's eye ridges before turning and beginning to work on the others. As O'wain took two of the divets, she went for the other two. She continued to gently work her fingers through the sand, like she would if she was dipping her hands into water: slow, gentle, back and forth.

The first dip seemed wanting to surprise and excited Casa. She felt the sharp edges of shells, and begin to dust the sand off gently. Sadly, the nest seemed to have only shells remaining. Her heart thumped, and she realized these seemed to have been cracked early. "Oh, poor things," she mused, covering them after making sure there were no more. "Probably a tunnelsnake..."

As she moved to the other, O'wain gave a yelp. She glanced up, a wry grin on her face. That was one of the most adorable sounds she'd ever heard a grown man make. This rider, she liked a lot. She glanced over, peering into the nest. "Oh, eggs! That's lovely. I'm so excited. Let me check the last nest!"

Returning to the fourth hole, she sifted through until her hands made contact with the warm, hard shells she was used to feeling. She beamed, uncovering hers as well. "We found some after all! How many are there between us? 4? 5?"

O'wain was thrilled to see Casa found some eggs too. Between the two nests there weren't many eggs but what would he do with a huge clutch? Sure he could give some away but most people he knew already had a flit or two and they may not want more. A shame they wouldn't stay eggs for months and could be divided out in small amounts over the next half turn. Even dragon eggs didn't take that long to hatch.

At Casa's question, O'wain carefully checked to see how many eggs he had in his nest then glanced at hers. "We have five eggs!" He grinned at her.

"Wait here, I will get the pots so we can move them," O'wain backed up carefully from the uncovered nests before standing up.

"Eggs Nishy! We found some eggs!" O'wain shouted at the dark brown dragon who's eyes whirled blue in amusement.

You would think you are the father of these eggs, Nishkath commented, sending it to both his rider and the girl. He figured the young woman would be amused too.

O'wain laughed, loving his dragon more than ever. He really was the only thing in the world O'wain loved.

Bending down he picked up the bag with the ceramic jugs and added sun warmed sands into each, filling it about half way to the top. If he needed more he could add the sand near the eggs. This done he headed back to where the nests were. Kneeling he handed one jar to Casa.

"I am not sure how much sand should be in the jars first so I only filled them half way. How many would you like to have? I know I definitely would like two or three for me if possible. I have a few people in mind to give firelizard eggs to. But I can always find more and just keep a couple for me and me alone."

Casa laughed as O'wain eagerly counted the little eggs, all but vibrating in excitement. Really, it was pretty much the most adorable thing a grown man had ever done in the history of grown men doing cute things. At least she thought so. She'd never seen someone so excited before, but she supposed firelizard eggs really were something to get all worked up about.

She watched as he carefully ran back for the jars, scooping them full of sand to the halfway mark and carefully carrying them back. She gladly took two of the jars, setting them down and uncovering the eggs the rest of the way.

She gingerly cradled her fingers under the egg, carefully lifting it up and setting it just so in the warm beach sand. It was almost soft still - it would need a little time to harden up. She repeated the process for the other one, eyeing them cautiously.

"Let's put enough to pack them on the sides of the egg, and some to cover the top. If we can fly home instead of go sideways, then we'll be fine." She wondered if he'd understand what she'd said; some riders used the term "stepping sideways" for between, others didn't. She topped her two with sand, showing him what she meant.

"And as for taking any..." She glanced slyly at her three, shaking her head. "If I can have these two for a friend, I think that would be lovely. But I already have mine! If you want all of them, then that is just fine by me. I seem to have some luck at finding the little eggs." She chuckled and sighed contently.

"Does this mean lunch and swimming now?!"

"Huh, haven't heard 'stepping sideways' for awhile," O'wain was far more used to just saying going Between than stepping sideways. "Really a silly way to describe it given there's no stepping involved at all, nor do the dragons bank to the left nor right, they just wink out and wink back at their destination. Not that it really matters. Lets fly straight, gives Nishkath much needed exercise and we can enjoy flying all the longer."

As he talked O'wain carefully lifted his eggs into the jar, noticing the shells were no where near hatching harness. In fact he wouldn't be surprised if they were only about a week old. "These eggs are still very delicate, a long way from hardening if they are like dragon eggs. I don't think it would be safe to go Between with these eggs any way."

Adding the warm sand over the top of the eggs he carefully closed the jar then looked up at Casa, smiling brightly. "Two for you then, I am sure your friend will appreciate the gift. I can't wait till these hatch....at least I have some time to decide on who I can share one or two with."

"Knack did his job well, good boy." O'wain slowly reached over and scratched the little eye ridge.

"What would you like to do first, swim or eat," O'wain asked, standing straight and gathering up the jars and returning them to near where he has lunch keeping cool in the shade. He placed the jars so the sun will still shine on them and keep the eggs nice and warm. They were close enough to everything else it will be easy to keep an eye on them so no curious wherry didn't come too close.

Casa grinned at the agreement to fly back. It would be a longer flight, but she loved being in the air so much. Between had its time and place, but it didn't lend itself to a very long trip in the air. However, the eggs seemed to have won her over the chance to enjoy the open air and the freedom of dragonback. This trip was very much a win-win situation all around.

Standing and dusting herself off, she moved her jars to join O'wain's in the sun, where they would stay nice and warm. They were still very soft, so the more sun they got, the better! As she moved, Knack carefully hopped up O'wain's sleeve, crooning cheerfully at the rider's praise.

As they moved back towards the waves, Casa's stomach rumbled, reminding her it was time for food. "I think lunch first - feed us and the smalls, and then time to play." Her stomach growled more audibly this time, and she looked sheepishly at O'wain. Maybe it had been longer than she'd thought since she had eaten; she'd been rather in a rush once she'd seen her chore assignment. A trip to the beach was much better than breakfast!

As soon as she came to sit beside the man and his pack, two gleaming wet bodies popped into the air above them, abandoning their revels with Nishkath in favor of food. She shook her head, laughing. "Gluttons, the pair of you!" She couldn't really blame them, though, as she turned her eager gaze upon O'wain and the bag.

"From the amount of growling I hear I say it's been quite awhile since you ate. Did you have breakfast?" O'wain laid out the blanket for them to set up lunch upon. He barely had a chance to start getting the food out when two firelizards, wet from their swimming appeared and it didn't take long for O'wain to learn what they wanted.

"I brought plenty of good, more than enough to share with some hungry firelizards." O'wain chuckled.

Did you bring enough for me? Seeing the humans weren't coming to join him in the water and being abandoned by the firelizards, Nishkath strolled out out of the water and plopped down on the sun warmed sand. He aligned himself so he could easily watch the two.

"Did you notice a herdbeast strapped to your back, Nishy?" O'wain laughed. "If you are hungry I am sure there are plenty of fish for you to chase."

They are not worth the effort of chasing, too small.

O'wain shook his head. "Don't mind me, Nishkath is wondering if I brought him food so I told him he should catch fish if he's hungry. He isn't really, it wasn't all that long ago he fed. If it's one thing I don't miss about weyrlinghood it was having to feed Nishkath several times a day."

As he took out the meatrolls and fresh bread, butter and cheese O'wain noticed how attentive Casa's firelizards were to each item he placed on the blanket. "I shouldn't complain, I will have a couple of those little things to stuff several times a day soon enough."

She shrugged off the breakfast question with an easy smile, her attention entirely on the spread he was now lying out before her and the beasts. It looked amazing - she couldn't help but stare as he pulled item after item out of the bag, lying it about in front of her. He really knew how to pack! This was way better than cinnamon rolls, or leftover meat, or...anything she would have grabbed in her excited rush towards his meeting place. Thank goodness he was a thinker.

As he mentioned Nishkath wanting to join them, she found another giggle escape her. The image of the large brown dragon curling up and delicately nibbling at the meatrolls and cheese was too much, and she began to laugh in earnest, sharing the image with the flitts. They shot back confusion, projecting the image to everyone around them and trying to make sense of it, which somehow made her laugh even harder, until she was gasping and holding her sides.

Finally able to get herself under control (though the image was not far from her mind, threatening to cause her to begin laughing once more), she tore off a small chunk of bread, offering tiny bits to all three of the firelizards before nibbling at it herself in small bites. It was fresh, probably having been baked that morning, and she couldn't help but to devour the chunk before glancing guiltily at the cheese, taking a tiny piece for herself but leaving most of it for the rider.

"So what are you gonna do with yours? Ready to have firelizards?" She glanced lovingly at her fair. "I mean...you have a dragon...but dragons can't really fetch your clothing. If you train them, they are deviously crafty creatures who can be taught to do such creative and unusual things." Especially with the things adult riders got up to, but she made a note not to say anything.

Her sudden fit of laughter confused O'wain but he grinned anyway. She was very adorable when she laughed so forcefully. Definitely no holder girl giggling behind her hand type of girl but one who O'wain enjoyed.

"Well, something set you off laughing, care to share?" O'wain asked once Casa calmed. He watched as she tore off a chunk of bread and fed some to her firelizards then devoured the rest of it. When she looked so guilty about taking some cheese he chuckled and used his belt knife to cut a large chunk and handed it towards her.

"Eat all you want Casa, I brought more than enough to satisfy a couple very hungry riders. Or did you spot the pies underneath and hope to have more room for them?" He gave her a wink. Cutting a piece of cheese for himself he added it to some bread and ate it.

"I am thinking of given one of the eggs to a friend of mind, he doesn't have any firelizards and I think he would get a kick out of it. The other two I probably keep for myself, unless I decide to gift somebody with it. It is hard to find people who don't already have a firelizard. Even our Weyrleader has one. I don't know if she has one but I am not going to inflict a firelizard on her, I am not a cruel man." O'wain was sure Casa would figure out who 'she' is without naming the woman, if she doesn't know which she he meant probably for the better.

When Casa mentioned how dragons weren't too good at fetching clothing he laughed. "Oh no, they aren't good at it at all, especially when they are too busy sleeping after catching a pretty green." O'wain was thinking of being stranded on a ledge out in the mountains, half their clothing having been knocked off the ledge in their passion. He didn't care about being nude but it was a bit chilly on that ledge. "Sending messages would be useful too, never know when you are stuck out on a ledge and need a lift down."

"Once they are old enough to train I will really appreciate it if you give me a hand. I didn't have to train Nishkath too much, we both took weyrling lessons together so he picked up most of what he needed to during those lessons. I expect training a firelizard will be more challenging."

"What did you have in mind for your own eggs, Casa?" O'wain selected a meatroll and bit into it. Once he finished swallowing he continued. "I think you mentioned something about wanting to give them to a friend? Will this be Quenym? Or have you decided to pursue another young fellow?"

Casa paused, taking the slice of cheese and offering him a sunny smile as she promptly shoved it into her face. She liked that she didn't have to censor herself around him - it was nice, just being herself! Too often lately had she been plague by the thoughts of being a girl and what that meant. Even the physical demands of being a woman had started to plague her. It was awful.

She swallowed around the chunk of cheese, tongue darting over her lips in enjoyment before she continued. "I imagined Nishkath trying to eat all delicately and fragile among our picnic...it was perhaps the most ridiculous thing I've ever thought of. Amusing isn't a strong enough for it!"

When he mentioned pies, her eyes got wide, and she perked up immediately, her attention shifting to glance casually at the bag. She liked pies! Picking up two meatrolls, she tossed chunks of it into the air, making each of the firelizards actually work for their lunch. None of them seemed to mind too terribly much, and it brought her idly amusement to watch them dive and wing about, chasing the little tidbits.

When he mentioned training them, she nodded agreeably. "As long as I am given time to help you, I will gladly do so!" She had a lot of extra time on her hands these days, with the little beasts helping her to get chores done. "I can show you what I did, most of them are smart enough to pick up simple things - retrieval, simple messages, things like that. But in turn, you have to give me tips if I Impress! Gotta know the best ways to handle my dragonet."

When he mentioned being interested in someone else, she frowned and shook her head, waving dismissively. "Nah. Don't really have much interest in most folks. Quenym's my wing second, but he's already got his two." Her thoughts glazed over Z'ia, but she shooed them away. "They are for a lady friend of mine, whose been right helpful addressing adult issues. She deserves some friends, I think."

When Casa explained what made her laugh, O'wain laughed quite openly himself. The image of Nishkath sitting on his haunches drinking with a finger up in the air like ladies at a tea party definitely was funny.

I do not see how that can be funny, I would never eat nor drink like that. The dark brown dragon sat back on his haunches and shifted about as though he was trying to sit to match the image in O'wain's head. With a mighty snort the brown gave up and stretched out on the sand instead. Completely ridiculous.

The whole attempt had O'wain roaring with laughter, so much so he fell back onto the blanket. It took him a moment regain his wits enough to talk. "Yes, amusing definitely isn't a strong enough word for it."

He watched as she fed the firelizards, tossing food up in the air for them to chase. "I am sure we can work out time to get together even if I have to request you specifically for chore duty. Helping you out with tips on handling a dragonet is a fair trade."

"Adult issues? I certainly hope you aren't too eager to be all responsible adult on me, a good sense of fun is very much needed. we have too many stick in the muds lurking about already." O'wain teased. "I am sure your lady friend will be thrilled getting a couple firelizard eggs."

O'wain sat up and dug out the pies from the pack he brought. "Lets eat the pies now, we can always fill up with meatrolls later."

Casa was just FINE with eating the pies now - like O'wain said, meatrolls made for good filler any time, especially after, saying, swimming in the ocean! Taking hers gleefully, she dug into it without a second glance, no remorse to be found as she got to work busy staining her fingers and mouth. Kaylee took a particular interest in this endeavor, leaning over to nibble gracefully at the bits around the edge, dipping her maw into the filling and enjoying her fill.

The boys seemed content enough with the meatrolls they'd been given, and circled lazily to sit by Nishkath. Knack peered up at the bigger version of himself, still trying to figure out what the dragon had been doing when shifting around all uncomfortably; Edge, far less concerned with silly dragon antics, was content to flop down and sprawl out, the sun warming his wings as his belly digested the snacks he'd consumed.

Once Casa was done, she took a moment to lick her fingers clean one by one, not a person willing to waste any of the best part of the pie. Finally, she wiped her face off, stretching her arms lazily and falling back onto an unoccupied chunk of the blanket to stare up at the sky while she, too, attempted to digest a bit before they went out to play in the water.

"This has been the best day of chores ever," she mused with an almost sleepy grin, glancing up at O'wain before reverting her gaze to the bright sky above her. It was odd, looking up at the sky from this angle; she realized she had been in a position to be exactly above where she was now, and it made her lips twitch in amusement. Being around dragons was one of the best parts of living in a Weyr! What wasn't there to love?