Fort Weyr - Lake Shore
This lake shares many features common to mountain lakes — a brilliant blue jewel nestled amongst the rocks. The waters are crystal clear, and the north shore slopes gently before abruptly falling away into the depths. This lake does have one significant differentiating feature, however. The south shore of the lake is a tumbled mass of rubble, rock and earth of an ancient rockslide smoothed only by the elements in the intervening years. This rubble, as well as the rather sheer east and west faces, makes for the north shore to be the only one easily accessible.

Springs arrival is noted by the disappearing lake ice. As it melts it breaks up into smaller icy bergs. These bob randomly throughout the choppy waters, slowly disappearing as the temperatures rise. They also frequently provide sport and entertainment for the bathing dragons. The emerging shoreline is inviting, though the water remains chilly for their human counterparts. As spring draws nearer to summer, the waters begin to feel quite invigorating with Rukbat's growing shine.


The evening's wearing on, Rukbat having long since set. As folks wind down for the night the atmosphere is pleasant, if a little chilly outdoors as night's cool settles in - a touch more so perhap beside the lake, where the waters lap up against the north shore, swilling around Rhenesath's feet as the gold dragon keeps pace with her weyrling rider. Thys is meandering alongside her dragon, looking lost in thought as she goes.

A short distance up the lake shore K'drozen sits quietly, a small fire burning before him last in though. Not until the form of Rhenesath comes into view does the brown rider look up and smiles, "Evening." he calls out softly.

Snapping out of her train of thought at the sound of someone's voice, Thys looks up, blinks through the dark, and smiles when she sees K'drozen. Rhenesath gives a gentle wuffle of hello, while Thys returns the brownrider's greeting. "Evening, K'drozen! I didn't see you there, sorry; how are you?"

K'drozen smiels and says, "I am doing rather well." he motoins to a place by the fire, "Fell free to join me and warm up if you like..' he looks up to the gold and smiles, "Evening to you as well Rhenesath."

"I'd like that," Thys says with a nod of her head, wrapping her arms around herself as if she's just realised that she's cold; could she have been that deep in thought? Rhenesath finds herself a spot to lie down, while her rider approaches K'drozen and settles beside him. "Much as I love winter, I can't wait for things to warm up properly around here… it'll be nice to be able to soak up some sun! Is it wonderful to be able to disappear between to whichever beach you want to do a bit of sunbathing relaxation?"

K'drozen chuckles and says, "I am from Ista orriginally so yeah you could say that." he smiles, "My favorite beach is over that way." he grins, "But i have been know to spend time in some of the colder waters as well."

"I'm from Crom, and I've never been to Ista… perhaps when I'm cleared for between I could persuade you to show me some of the good beaches there?" Thys holds out her hands to the little fire, wiggling them above its heat to warm them up. "That's if we get to go between. I've been having a little difficulty getting Rhenesath to hold a steady image."

K'drozen nods and says, "I am sure you will get there." he smiles, "Try little mind games with her it helped me and Rhyrith out greatly when he was having issues.

Thys cants her head curiously to one side. "Mind games? What sort of mind games?" She wiggles her fingers over the fire again, before drawing them back in towards her. "See, she thinks… fast. So fast. One moment she'll be on one thing and the next, she'll be a million thoughts along the line. Getting her to hold onto one thought for long is difficult; do you have a game to suggest for that?"

K'drozen nods his head and says, "Well we use obstical cources." he grins, "something that will force her to focus on you and you alone." he grins, "Because you will be blind folded and she will have to focus on what you are doing and relaying the information to you on what you need to do. It helps with focus." he grins, "The other one we used was showing Rhy card and him having to focus on the image on it enough to relay it to me, so I could call out the one he was looking at in another room. because it was a game, a competition he finally started to get it.

"Hrm." Thys taps her finger off her chin as she thinks that over. "We did the obstacle course training in our early weyrling days, and she was quite good at it then - but the thing with that is that she was constantly having to relay different information - how to make the next step, what was in front of me… she'd give me a complete view composed of little flashes of images, if that makes sense? The card thing, though - that sounds good. I wonder if anyone in the barracks has a deck I can borrow…"

K'drozen says, "If they don't send a message to me and I can make sure to get you one." he grins and says, "you will get it, I believe in you." he grins and looks up to the gold and smiles, "She is young yet and you all have alot to learn, that is probably why her mind in going in a million dirrectins at once, all the info they are throwing at you.

Thys wrinkles her nose and shakes her head softly, in gentle disagreement. "She's young, yes, but that's just the way her mind works. Boomboomboomboomboom-" She hits her fist against her palm with each 'boom' to emphasize the speed, "-that's just how she conveys thoughts, how she talks, how she shares things - everything. It's like…" There's a pause as she tries to think of a comparison. "Like corn popping."

K'drozen nods and says, "She will learn to grab onto that last Pop and hold it long enough though, she can do it. Even it it take something like explaining every detail about the image you are focusing on, she will have to focus on it to explain it right?

"Yes… yes she will." From the way Thys seems to grasp at that thought, it's not something that had already occurred to her. "That's… a damned good idea, K'drozen. We're going to have to try that, for sure. It just might work - I suppose it has to work, really. Imagine how embarrassing it would be if a Fort gold couldn't make it through the between stage of her weyrling training!"

K'drozen smiles and says softly "I am glad I could help." he leans back into the and says, "I am with I could help you all out more."

"Do you really? I wouldn't mind being a weyrlingmaster myself someday… though that's never going to happen for me, not really." Thys wrinkles her nose, then shrugs. "That's the limitations of Rhen's colour, I suppose. Though I should at least be able to be involved in some capacity, especially if they're her babies."

K'drozen smiles and says, "I am sure you will be more then welcome to help." he grins a bit and says, "After all the babies will listen to her more then they would another dragon.

Thys cants her head slightly, looking curiously at K'drozen. "Do you think so? Because she's gold though, right - not because she's their dam? I thought I read that it was supposed to be that way, but then… I don't know. I've seen Kayeth interact with Rhenesath in a sort of almost maternal way, but it could just be her acting as senior, couldn't it? I suppose she'd care for all of the dragons equally, whether they're her blood or not."

K'drozen nod and says, "She will likely mother all of the dragons in her area." he smiles, "and I can say your gold can exude command over them if she wishes.

"She can, but that's only for situations that need it. I'd hardly have her using that all the time." Thys sighs softly, holding her fingers out to the little fire again. "Rhen's very mothering, you know. Very maternal. I think she'll happily take anyone under her wing and coddle them."

K'drozen smies and says, "Some will need that to get ahead, others will need her to be firm with them." he smiles, "I know Rhy and I needed that..

"I think we'll leave that to Nyalle's discretion; I wouldn't want to step on her toes at all," Thys replies with a soft smile. "Why did you need it, though? Where you having trouble as a weyrling pair? You know, Rhenesath and I have had it pretty smoothly, apart from her keening every time I disappeared from sight when she was first-hatched; it's hard to imagine that some people might have more trouble adapting. Though… well. I suppose I can see it in one of my classmates."

K'drozen grins a bit sheepishly and says, "Just a bit, and there was the time I got demoted back to weyrlinghood…"

That comment surprises Thys. "I didn't even know that was possible! What in Faranth's name did you do to manage that, of all things? Because… wow. I couldn't even bear to think of that happening."

K'drozen says, "Lets just say I over reacted to something the weyrleader did with my old weyrmate and well made a couple of threats.."

Thys frowns. "That… sounds eerily familiar. Did the experience work to teach you anything, or was it just a waste of time?" She draws her knees up to her chest, curling her arms around them. "I say it sounds familiar because I'm concerned that someone else may end up following a similar path, and if I can provide a cautionary tale, well, it might make a difference, you know?"

K'drozen nods and says, "Oh it helped me quiet a bit."

And that's something that's being filed away in the 'could be useful later' drawer in Thys's mind. "Hrm. Thanks for sharing that, K'drozen. I think it'll come in handy." She smiles, then stretches out her legs once more and sighs. "I ought to get going. There's some reading I need to do before turning in for the night, but it's been great talking with you… you've given me some wonderful ideas."

K'drozen smiles and says, "As I said anything I can do to help, even it if it only the do not do what i did."

"And you've been more helpful than I can let on without breaking a confidence," Thys says with a grin, reaching out to pat K'drozen's arm before she pushes up to her feet and dusts off her behind. Rhenesath gets up too, whirling eyes fixed on her lifemate as she wuffles a warm breath towards the two people. "Thank you for letting me share your fire. Have a good evening, K'drozen, and our best to Rhyrith."