[G] [P] 744.01.16 | Sandy Meetings

Tala was grateful that Benden Weyr wasn’t significantly colder than Telgar was. Still a far cry from Katila and Ista, but she’d gotten used to Telgar in the turns she’d lived there, so the adjustment period between Telgar and Benden was much smoother than the adjustment from Ista to Telgar. Admittedly, it helped that she didn’t have a baby dragon to deal with this time, too.

Still, it was her first Benden winter, which felt significant enough to make note of. Not that it being winter significantly changed the routine inside the Weyr all that much. She and Niath still went down to the lake so Niath could swim and roll in the sand when they had the time, as they did now. Niath wriggled a tad ungracefully for a dragon of her size, and Tala laughed at her as she determinedly stuck all her limbs as far into the sand as she could get them. She often let whichever group of weyrlings they were currently assisting bury her almost completely in the sand. It had just meant Tala had needed to get good at making sure Niath didn’t bring buckets of sand into their weyr on her hide, especially now that she shared the space with a gold dragon.

Sand is exfoliating, Niath reminded her, as she often did, despite knowing Tala knew the fact well. She’d had to explain it to enough weyrlings for it to be burned into her memory, but Niath liked to say it anyway. Factoid given, Niath settled more comfortably in the sand and gave a contended hum, eyes half closed in contentment. Tala watched her with a smile, always enjoying the moments she got to just watch her dragon. She had yet to tire of it in the turns since Impressing, and she doubted she ever would.

Suddenly, Niath’s contented hum stopped, and she opened her eyes and tilted her head upwards to watch the sky.

Cimbreth is here, she said. Tala followed her line of sight to see the green approaching, and squinted to confirm her rider was with her. She recognized the dragon’s name, and could match it to the rider’s: Johar. Tala made it her business to know who her fellow green ladies were, few of them as they were.

“I hope you weren’t planning to nap, dear, it looks like it’s time to be social,” Tala said, watching as the dragon and rider got closer.

Oh, I am _ready_ for a soak! said to her rider as she beelined for the shore. All of that crisscrossing over that insect-ridden forest -- they were eating at my hide!

"They were not," Johar replied. "Quit being so dramatic." But there was a big smile on her face as she listened to her dragon -- _her_ dragon -- complain about the events, or lack thereof, of their latest sweepride. They were less than five Turns together yet and it still felt like a dream Johar didn't want to wake from. To have her own dragon! Not that she had ever really dreamed of being a dragonrider but now that she was it was like discovering a part of herself she had never known was lacking.

They were and -- oh. Hello, Niath! The abrupt change in tone alerted Johar to what had caught Cimbreth's attention. Niath was practically buried as far as she could go in the sand, which seemed silly for a dragon but dragons sometimes did silly things and Cimbreth was no exception to that! She just did _other_ silly things. But if Niath was on the shore, that meant Tala was nearby and that made Johar happy. There were so few women dragonriders -- they should stick together! Well, most of them, Johar thought. Some of them were more drama than Cimbreth was being at that moment.

"Hi, Tala!" Johar called, waving as Cimbreth backwinged neatly so as not to disturb the sand near Niath. As Johar jumped off, she asked, "Is Niath taking a sand bath today? I've tried to convince Cimbreth that playing in the sand is fun but she is still not a fan."

Nope, the green commented with a flick of her tail and a longing glance towards the water. I still have no idea why you think building those 'sandholds' are fun but okay. Can I go swim now?

In a loud whisper that Cimbreth could obviously still hear, Johar said, "She's being extra today." But the grin on her face would tell Tala that Johar didn't mind it at all.

Niath chirped a greeting back to Cimbreth as she watched her land, excited to have another green to talk to.

Sand is exfoliating,, she informed the newcomers while Tala attempted to stifle a giggle.

“She teaches all the weyrlings how sand can help them itch their hides,” Tala added in an attempt to add context. Not that Johar wasn’t aware she was Weyrlingmaster T’cai’s assistant, but they might not have realized the fact was relevant to the current moment.

“Here, you’re welcome to come sit with me while Cimbreth enjoys herself.” Tala shifted to make more space on the blanket she’d brought and patted the space. “We haven’t had a chance to chat in a while, so you have to give me any news.” Personal news, gossip, questions for Tala—she wasn’t particular about what they talked about. It could be the weather for all she cared, it would just be nice to get to know Johar a little better. And Tala was pretty well positioned to get any good Weyr news and gossip—between her job as Weyrlingmaster Assistant and living with the Weyrwoman—and she was happy to share most of what she’d heard. Nothing she shouldn’t be sharing around, obviously, Tala knew better than that (Helyna would be displeased, which Tala preferred to avoid), but there was plenty that was open knowledge that just hadn’t widely disseminated yet. And that Tala could happily tell people about.

When Tala explained Niath's comment about sand, Johar grinned and called out to Cimbreth, "You see? There _are_ good reasons to play in the sand!" But Cimbreth only disappeared under the waves she made, blowing bubbles for added effect. "Brat," Johar muttered though she was laughing a little.

She plopped down on the blanket next to Tala, draping her arms over her knees. News? What sort of news did she have? Hm. "Well, there's this new bluerider I think. But I don't know his name, or his dragon's name, but he's cute. Who knows if he's taken though. You know how blueriders can be, right? Always with someone or everyone. Usually the everyone. I mean, there's nothing wrong with that! Just...um...a lifestyle choice." One that Johar was still trying to wrap her head around and something she definitely struggled with every time Cimbreth rose to mate. Not that Johar was a prude! She just...wanted something more than sex. And sex was all that blueriders seemed to be into. Ugh, maybe one day she'd find a nice one, just one, to settle down with.

To deflect, she looked at Tala and said, "I feel like you'd have more interesting things to talk about than I would! With the weyrlings and all! Oh, weyrlings are so cute. I hope we get more soon. I just love watching those little chubby baby dragons waddle their way around. I remember when Cimbreth was so tiny I could pick her up! Not that I can anymore, but that's fine. She can fly me around now and that's way more fun."

“Ooh, cute bluerider? What kind of ‘new’ is he? I can likely help with the name if he’s a recent graduate, but if he moved as part of the recent Weyr openings I might not know him.” Tala only knew one class of recent Benden weyrling graduates particularly well, but T’cai had told her plenty of stories about the classes he’d had previously, so she had a basic grasp on a few of the others as well. Updating the lists of who lived where had been more one of Helyna’s tasks, and not one Tala had assisted with.

She decided not to draw attention to Johar’s comments on blueriders, since she seemed embarrassed. Not that Tala thought she had anything to be embarrassed about—that was how a lot of blueriders were, and many of them wanted to be perceived that way. Still, Tala felt it would be better to just ignore it instead of trying to reassure Johar. That would most likely make her even more embarrassed.

“Well, your wish for chubby dragonets will be granted, because there’s a Touching this week, so the Hatching will be pretty soon. Hopefully it’s at a decent time of day, because then you can enjoy all the cute babies properly!” It would be Tala’s first weyrling class at Benden that she’d be with from Hatching to Graduation, so she was pretty excited about it. She was, however, making sure to get all her relaxation in now, because once the eggs hatched she would be insanely busy for the first few months.

"Oh, I think he came from another Weyr," Johar said. "But he has blonde, blonde hair, and blue, blue eyes, and this voice that's really good at enunciation so I bet he has harper training!" That seemed exciting to her because she came from a harper background but this rider seemed older than her so he hadn't been at the Hall with her (or maybe he _wasn't_ a harper and now she _really_ wanted to know more about him) so that was a mystery. "I'll remember his name eventually, I'm sure. I'm terrible with names!"

Who are we talking about? Cimbreth asked, surfacing from the water, but only her head, making her look like some menacing beast from the depths.

No one, Johar lied. Honestly, she purposefully hadn't caught the bluerider's name, or his dragon, because she was shy. But she didn't want Cimbreth poking around and finding out! Yet.

At the mention of a Touching, Johar's eyes lit up. "Is this...this is your first Hatching as Weyrlingmaster staff, right? Oh, this'll be so exciting! You're going to be up to your ears in cuddling dragons. And I bet they'll just love playing in the sand with Niath. Are you excited? Nervous?"

While she waited for Tala to respond, Johar tugged at a strand of her hair, wrapping it around her index fingers repeatedly, an excited grin on her face.