Who Sephany, Leuka
What Sephany "teaches" Leuka how to Ice Skate.
When Winter - Month 12 of Turn 2714
Where Lake Shore, Fort Weyr

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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.


Leuka has the rest of the day off to himself, so what better way to spend it than with Sephany. So he sent her a message to meet him at the lake is she was able. Hopefully she will and won't leave him freezing his…toes off for nothing. Seated on one of the benches, he's tugging on a skate and working to lace it up nice and snug. Every so often he'll glance up and around before turning his attention back to the skates. One might think he was a tad on the impatient side as he shoves a foot into the second skate. He thought ahead and brought a small basket with an assortment of baby lizard foor, a couple of bubblies and several thermos of hot cocoa just waiting to be sipped. He eyes the basket as if considering cracking on open now. As another minute ticks by he mutters to himself and reaches for one of the containers. The Harper wraps his hands around it, not that it warms very much through his gloves nd takes a few cautious sips. Inside his bundled up coat, is a tiny little baby flitter, all snug and asleep in a cozy litlte pouch Leuka made for her.

By some sort of miracle, Sephany has afternoon off. It could be that the pale-haired weaver is just that lucky. Or it could be that she sweet-talked her Journeyman who is, in fact, an actual man and is not immune to her charms when she really turns it up. And so, there is a rather smug looking blond heading for the lake, bundled warmly in her black scarf, thick gloves, and navy blue cloak with the hood pulled up. And pulled up for good reason, too, given that she's now playing host to two winter-weather-hating firelizards. Thimble is the easiest to see; her jade green hide a bright smudge against the black of the scarf, tail curled tightly around her chosen pet. The tiny little blue curled up in a fold of the fabric is less apparent, though he's most certainly there. Sephany has her skates tied and draped over her shoulder, and she makes short work of closing the distance between herself and the lake, grey eyes bright and cheeks already rose from the cold. "Hello, Leuka," she offers once she is close enough to not need to shout to be heard. "Are you skipping out of chores already?" she teases, pulling out his note from her pocket. "Not so sure I believe you when you say you're 'free'."

Leuka has finished lacing up the skates as best he can and alternates pushing each foot forward and back as he sips the hot cocoa. Merely doing quality control, would not owrk in his favor to give Sephany substandard cocoa. Just when he's considering practing standing on the knives strapped to boots Sephany's greeting jerks his head around. A quick grin for the Weaver, normally he'd stand, but he might embarrass himself if he did right now. That would go down well, stand, bust his ass, and send her into a fit of laughter, but not in a good way. "Hi Sephany." Her comment has him feigning hurt feeling. "Ya know, that would really hurt my feelings, if it didn't sound exactly like something I would do." He shrugs though "But it's true. I finished up with the cavern slave duty a little bit ago."

Quality assurance only works as an excuse if there's actually cocoa left for Sephany to consume; an empty thermos will likely be met with raised eyebrows and pointed looks. But alas, she has arrived with enough time to save Leuka the shame of explaining how her treat is gone before she arrived. She favors him with a true smile, a flash of white teeth and rosy cheeks, pink nose and bright eyes. She settles gracefully into the spot beside him, hand reaching up to remove her skates from her shoulder and settle them to the ground at her feet. "Hmm… I will believe you this time," she offers, but there is a twitch to the corner of her mouth and a glimmer of mischief in her grey eyes that says 'next time' will be a decidedly different story. "Have you been sitting here the whole time?" she wonders, leaning forward to start unbuckling her boots to replace them with her skates. A gloved hand reaches out to touch the laces of Leuka's skates, as though to test or appraise them. "You've not stood up yet?" given there are no skate-tracks in the snow, she sounds pretty confident in her statement. "Just walk like a duck," and she turns to the task of lacing her skates, "and you'll be fine. And don't lock up your knees."

Leuka can only chuckle at her quip. He's never so much as told her a fib, yet she seems to expect the worst from him at every turn. What's a Harper to do when the deck is so clearly stacked against him. He offers her the thermos of cocoa, this one still have full, but he's got three more waiting in the basket. "Um.." He squints around as if trying to gauge the passage of time, then shrugs "Bout twenty minutes there abouts." Time enough for his backside to get chilled throug evidently." Head shake when questioned about stanidng "Not yet, was sorta hesitant about falling so soon." Leuka laughs a bit and cants his head to peer that green muzzle peek out of Sephany's coat. "Did the egg crack yet? I was surprised when mine started twtiching last night….Probably means Hauser's did as well." He looks to his skates, and tries to picture what she means by duckwalking. "So, do an extreme waddle?"

Perhaps it isn't Leuka that she is suspicious of; maybe it is just Harper's in general. But there's a cant of her head, a flash of grey eyes and a grin given to Leuka, difficult to see since Sephany is leaning forward and her hood is still lifted. But she makes fast work of the boots, laced and secure in record time, and pushes herself back to an upright position. "Mm, thank you," for the thermos, accepting it eagerly. A quick, appreciative sip of cocoa is taken before she answers his question. One hand lifts to touch Thimble at her neck, before moving to a small lump in the fold of her scarf. "It did," and she wiggles her fingers just a little, just enough to pull the black fabric away and reveal the tiny blue beneath. "Sleeping. And I'd rather not wake him just yet," she explains, quickly covering her new pet. She takes another sip of cocoa before handing back the thermos. "Being afraid of falling, or thinking too much about it, is how you end up falling," she says, very 'zen' like. "I know it sounds weird but… you will do better if you don't think about things. Just do them." A small frown of consideration and a thoughtful glance his direction and she offers, "It's like… when you're playing an instrument. If you think too hard about what your fingers are doing, you will screw up. But if you just relax and let it go, you play flawlessly. Does that make sense?" And without further ado, she is on her feet and heading for the ice. "Not necessarily extreme, just keep your toes pointed slightly outward for stability when you are on solid ground, and then forward once you're on the ice…" and she demonstrates in a slow step or two before she's at the crystalline surface of the lake and pushing off into a slow glide.

Leuka smiles as she seems to appreciate the cocoa "Have more if you like, I brought several more bottles." He leans forward to peer at the flitters, green and blue, once Sephany tugs the fabric away. Grinning when she sees the sleeper, he lifts a hand to his own chest whre a sleeping lump is curled up all snug and nods "If they do wake later, I brought some little flitter bits for them to eat." Taking a sip of the cocoa he'll close it up and set it aside if Sephany doesn't want anymore. Nodding as he listens to her explantion, her example hits a bit close to his cello, causing him to grin. "I suppose that makes sense." He's going back over what she says, murmuring softly "okie, toes out on ground, ahead on ice." He would say someting else, but she's already off and floating about on the ice. Gritting his teeth he lets out the breath he was holding and pushes up from the bench. A moment or two of deciding which way he should fall before he manages to actually stand up straight. We'll just ignore the arm flailing he had goin on. "Toes out." he mutters to himself and takes some out pointing baby steps. Getting to the edge of the lake, he eyes it warily, then peers up to watch Sephany a few long seconds. "Here goes nothing." With a not quite kamikaze step, he is on the ice and doing his fair share of balancing techniques, a little crouching, arms weaving about, but he hasn't fallen, yet.

No more cocoa for now; Sephany wants to skate! But she does not go far, turning lazily to swing back toward where Leuka is making his way to the ice. "You'll be fine," she reassures him, smiling brightly. She proceeds with slow, careful movements, catching his eyes on her and wanting to demonstrate in a way that he can follow. But when he actually meets the ice, glides over and stops near enough to assist but not to touch; no need to run into him! "Good! OK… keep your knees slightly bent. Not overly bent," she admonishes, "just not locked up. If you're going to fall, try to fall backwards," onto his rear. "To push off, do this…" and she places her feet in a vaguely 'T' like shape, right foot pointed straight, left foot at a perpendicular angle. "Push off," and she slowly demonstrates pushing off of her left leg, then lifting the blade away from the ice to glide forward on her straight-facing right foot. "It's like… hm. It's hard to describe, but eventually you're just… moving like this." And rather than try to describe it, she simply demonstrates by gliding forward, then pushing off with the next, gliding, pushing. All of it as slow as she can manage without falling down, so that Leuka can easily track her movements. "Stopping… well you can either continue to glide until you run out of momentum, or make a little wedge with your skates…" And back around, she glides to a stop beside him once more, grinning. "Ready?"

Leuka watches Sephany as she moves lightly across the ice, and he does little bounces in place. Knees aren't locked at all, he's keeping them loose, but to overly so. Just enough to keep his center of balance. Eyes remain focused on her feet mainly, sometimes even trying to mimic her actions in place. When she glides over to where he's hesitantly working up his nerve to step out, he can't help but smile when she stops "I guess. Let's make this interesting. If I manage to not fall, I get another kiss?" He then cants his head a bit, eyeing her as if already seeing the loophole he left wide open and clarifies "From you." He could use waiting for an answer to stall for another moment, but instead he simply nods and steps onto the ice. Success! He's still up, granted, he looks rather foolish, sorta almost crouching with his arms windmilling little circles. But he pushes off just like Sephany said, til he creeps to a stop and does it again.

"Hmmm…" for 'making it interesting', and Sephany counters with, "How long? How long do you have to stay upright before you 'win'?" she wonders, a far too innocent look written across her pale features. "And yes, from me," she agrees. A kiss. "I think… just staying upright may not be enough of a challenge. You must stay upright while moving and gliding. No just standing there triumphantly not fallen," she teases, pushing off to glide as slowly as she can beside him. "Well done!" for his slow-as-sludge glide, though the weaver looks pleased enough. "Again?" only this time, as she glides back toward him, she slips up behind him and trails her fingers across the back of his neck in an oh-so-innocent little brush. It's not meant to throw him off balance, but perhaps distract just a little bit, giggles trailing in her wake as she continues on. "No falling, now!" she chides, casting a playful glance over her shoulder.

Leuka chances a look over to Sephany and pouts, arms in motion and he's creeping, sorta across the ice "But I am in motion." Cue arms sorta flapping "See?" He gives a cheeky grin and tries to relax some, only to end up teetering and nearly busting his butt, but not quite. Going still in a sorta crouch, he grins "Ha! Still standing." He even chances a couple more little pushes, trying to keep moving as Sephany stated for the kiss. "How about every coupleof minutes I'm up, I earn another kiss?" Feeling the fingers trace over the back of his neck, he gives an accusing glare. "Now that's soo not fair. You can't cheat your way out of kisses like that. That should be an automatic win for me." He flashes a pleased grin "I'll collect my winnings when we get back over there though." He gestures towards the benches behind them and is starting to move a little faster with less arm flailing. Still doing the little bounces when he feels his balance shifting off kilter though."

"It is most certainly not cheating," declares the triumphant blond, grinning far too brightly in Leuka's direction. "You laid no ground rules other than it had to be a kiss from me," she points out. "Those are the conditions. Stay up, get a kiss…" She glides in an easy circle, out of reach but close enough to speak easily. "Hmm. How about… you stay up and you get a kiss on the cheek. Stay in motion and you get a kiss on the mouth. Catch me and you can do whatever you want." And yes. She is supremely confident that he will not be catching her on the ice. "And no more teasing," she decides, apparently taking pity on him. "But no hand-holding either. You can do this," she assures him, sounding a bit less playful and a bit more reassuring as she swings around to skate backwards in front of him. The better to converse. Really. She's not trying to show off so much as carry on a conversation face to face. "Just relax. Breathe. Go slowly and you will get the hang of it."

"Is too." Leuka mutters about Sephany cheating. He nods, conceding that he did only specify the kiss had to be from her. Lowering his head a bit, he concentrates mainly on staying up and moving ahead. Smiling as she restates the rules, he cants his head towards the Weaver. "Awww. What if a little hand holding would help me skate better." A few seconds later, he snatches at sealing the deal. "Agreed!" No take backsies from her now! He continues on, at times looking as if he's about to all, and other times he seems to be starting to relax and get the hang of it. He knows it's pointless, but he's actually trying to get closer to the golden haired weaver, as if he's got a chance to catch her or something. He knows he doesn't yet, but that won't stop him from trying.

One step ahead; just out of reach. Sephany has enough control of her body and her skates to be able to deny Leuka a true chance to catch her while staying close enough to at least inspire an effort to try. And she's certainly enjoying herself in the process, a wide grin on her face. Delighted laughter when he moves after her, when he tries to chase her, an encouraging, "That's it!" for his forward progress and lack of crash-and-burn falls to the ice. "Stop thinking about it and just do it," she tells him, whirling away from his reach and taking off at a much faster pace, putting distance between them as she skates in a straight line across the lake.

Leuka grumbles when he keeps just barely missing her whenever he tries making a grab. "Oh haha. Laugh it up blondie." He's grinning though, He keeps moving, trying to go faster but probably looks mor like he's running in place than anything else. Every so often he reaches to place ahand over the bundle udner his coat, perhaps feeling it move or shift before drifting back off. Sephany moves faster, and further away from him. "Get back here ya show off." How can he catch her waaaaaaayyyy over there. Grumbling, he tries to pick up the pace and head across the ice after the Weaver. So far, he's not fallen and keep moving….not to just close the gap between them.

More laughter, bright and enthusiastic, follows on the wake of his complaint, Sephany's smile wide and easily discerned even from across the ice. But the effort is showing; she's panting a bit and looking winded, one hand pressed to her stomach as she stops moving and simply lets momentum carry her across the surface of the lake. Far enough away, she tips her head up toward the sky and closes her eyes, reveling in the breeze created by her movement despite the sharp bite of the cold wind against her cheeks and nose. Perhaps it is his demand for her to return, though more likely she has simply taken pity on him, that has her turning back around to close the distance once more. There's a deeply contented look about her, as though she had no care in the world, when she comes up and slides to a stop near enough to reach out and take his arm. "Come on," she says, tugging gently toward the shore. "I think you've suffered enough for one day."

Leuka grins when he's at least amusing her, and continues his efforts to narrow that gap bit by bit. Oh! He's actually starting to catch up , or she's slowing down. Then she's turning and coming back across the ice. Surprised when she takes his arm and gets him turned around, he seems more interested her in watching than his feet right now. And oddly enough, he skating better now. But soon they are heading back to the shoreline. Thank the First Shell for that! "Suffering? Nah, so for I'm not got a bruise or broken bones." Perhaps that's what he had been expecting. "Oh, I hope that cocoa still hot." Leuka flashes a grin as they get closer to the solid ground. "I got a couple of bubblies too, probably cold, but they'll go well enough with the hot drink." Just a couple more feet and he can get to relative safety.

"Hmm, there are other ways a man can suffer," supplies Sephany, smiling far too sweetly as she glances his direction. "But I am glad you didn't fall." And for that, he earns a kiss on the cheek; one she happily bestows to him even as they are still skating for the safety of solid ground. But once they reach the shore, her attention turns to ensuring the trip from lake to bench is met without incident. "See? Not so difficult, hm?" she praises, smiling brightly. "You did very well. Better, when you stopped thinking about how to skate and just… moved your feet." But now they must walk, and sit. And lunch is offered. "Ohh… hm… "Maybe something a bit less… um. Sweet and a little more savory?" she wonders hopefully.

Leuka chuckles and nods agreeably "You and me both. Wouldn't that have been humiliating." To bust his ass all over the ice. Maybe that's what she was hoping for, or at least expecting. He bends his head for the cheek kiss, grinning. "Maybe it'll be easier next time. Thanks, I guess you'r right about not thinkingabout it." And then he's moving a little awkwardly over the ground and settling on the bench. After they both sit, he slinks an arm around her waist, pulling her closer with a pleased grin. "Caught ya!" His eyebrows waggle a bit. "You didn't specify where I cold catch you." Chuckling at his win, he reaches over to grab a fresh thermos and offers it over "Well…" eye gaze drifts to the basket with a tiny headshake, peering back to Sephany, still hugging her to his side. "I only brought a little snack, figured anything else would be too cold to eat by the time were were ready to eat anything." He gives an appologetic shrugs "We can get anything you want though in the caverns. Afterwards, we can discuss what you owe for me catching you." With a grin, he leans head down for a little kiss to tide him over for a little while.

There would certainly have been no enjoyment on the weavers part, should Leuka have taken a tumble. Amusement, perhaps, that would have been short lived and only gained after ascertaining that he was unharmed. She is not a cruel woman despite previous comments, and his success at skating is cause for a bit of pride; she was his teacher after all. "It will be," easier next time, delivered with confidence in the truth of her statement. She has just started shifting, in preparation of leaning forward to unlace her skates, when his arm slides around her and his claim is staked. A slide of grey eyes to the side, a curl to one corner of her mouth, and an innocent, "So you have." Her lack of specificity, so ardently pointed out, is met with a lift of eyebrows and a far too innocent blink of wide-grey eyes. The suspiciously sweet "Oh, did I? How silly of me," that answers him may say that, perhaps, Sephany omitted those details on purpose. Blink-blink. Smile. And then a turn away as she bends down to unlace her skates and remove them, favoring her comfortable boots. "Oh… well. A bubbly should be fine, then," she decides, sitting back up once her boots are one and her skates are set aside. "Hmm. I suppose we can," for the discussion, though she follows it with a quick, "Careful you don't get caught doing something scandalous, Candidate."

Leuka only removes his arm after she admits he he caught her and won. A little chuckle for her innocent act. He's not sure if he's buying that or not. Either way, he won. Grinning he'll start switching out his skates for boots, cringing at how cold they got in the time they were on the ice. Tying them both off, he starts fumbling through the basket and plucks out a pretty cold bubbly, eyeing it skeptically as he hands it over "I'll bring something better next time." Grabbing a thermos for himself, after passing one to Sephany, he grins ad edges closer to her ont he bench. He makes a show of glancing about as he goes on "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were worried about me." He peers down and checks on the tiny flitter still sleeping, all's well with her so his attention goes back to the weaver. "Ready to head back where it's warm? Or would you like to discuss my win here?" He's got a cheesey grin and lifts his eyebrows suggestively a few times. Yea, like he's gonna be wanting to do anything in these extreme artic temps.

"Hm, next time," decides Sephany. She accepts the thermos easily enough, but one glance at that bubbly has her looking a little green around the gills. "On second thought, I think I shall wait," on the food. Nope. Cold bubbly is just not doing it for her. But the cocoa is sipped at eagerly, if for the warmth rather than the taste. Her own new pet, snuggled deep within the folds of her scarf, sleeps soundly still; and the young weaver seems not at all concerned for him at this moment. "Doubt they will wake up until we go inside," she murmurs, having caught the little check he made of his green. "Thimble would sleep for hours and hours and then wake up in a screech just when I would sit down for dinner," she remembers. "Oh, silly," says the weaver, grinning Leuka's direction, "I'm not concerned with you; I know you will get into trouble. But think of the scandal if I am implicated in such things! I have a reputation, you know." Lies. And she's clearly teasing, as she leans into his side as he scoots closer, turning to place a quick kiss on his cheek before she moves to gather her skates. "Let's go in, where there's a hearth and warm food," she decides, pushing herself up from the bench with careful movements.

Leuka laughs easily "Sorry to be the one to tell ya this blondie, but that dragon's already flown. You had plenty of time to consider your reputation before we starting dating." He gives an amused wink and starts gathering up the skates, which are slung across a shoulder, and basket of stuff he brought. He helps Sephany with his free arm when she seems a little unsteady on her feet. "You alright? Don't be too stubborn to admit you hurt yourself with some of those show-off moves you were doing." He's half joking but he does keep a little eye on her for the time being as they start walking a back to the warm caverns. After a few steps he slips his free arm around her waist. "Now, about my winning the bet." He smirks and pretends to consider long and hard "I think I know what I want." With an amused grin Leuka starts filling her in. "I think you need to learn how to play an instrument." That's right folks, drag your minds up out of the gutters! "So that means I'll have to teach you how to read music and then we'll go from there."

There comes a moment of hesitation, a brief pause and stilling of Sephany's form, at that 'dating' word. Blond head cants, grey eyes slide toward Leuka, and for a moment her expression is rather unreadable. "We're dating?" The word are a bit too tense; carefully chosen, and his expression is watched carefully from the corner of her eye. But a moment later, she is moving away from this thought, either distracted or deliberately changing the subject. With a shake of her head, she assures him she's fine with a quick, "Yes," and deliberately moving forward with a steady stride. "I'm fine. No injuries sustained." There is a bit of tension when his arm slides around her, and a flash of a smile that's almost a little forced. "Oh?" and she glances forward as he considers what it is wants as a prize for catching her. When the answer comes, there is definitely surprise to be had by the weaver, and she rocks back on her heels and tips her head up to eye him speculatively. "You want to teach me to plan an instrument," she repeats, disbelieving. "Why ever would you want to do that? I'll sound terrible," she determines, already wincing at the thought. A wrinkled nose as he just continues on with that thought, grey eyes forward as they walk back to the weyr's lower caverns. "Are you sure about this? It sounds like a lot of work for you…" not to mention her. "Reading music? Oh dear…" This cannot end well.

Leuka 's little half grin at Sephany's question accompanies what could be considered a nod "How many dates to two people go on.." he gestures to the skates and back to the lake as he finishes "..before they are considered to be dating each other?" He leaves it at that for her to think about as they walk along in comfortable silence a moment. He flashes amusement at her surprise of what he wants for winning their bet. "Yea." He shakes his head at her resposne "See, there you go again, not giving yourself enough credit. I think you'll pick up things very easily actually." He chuckles and bends to kiss her cheek "How could you not, I'll be your teacher." He shrugs slightly "Once you have the basics down, you can spend a litlte time with differant instruments and figure out which one, or ones you might have talent at."

"I don't know…" and pale eyebrows pull into a frown that might be consideration for the question posed. But Sephany does not pursue what could easily become a debate, or devolve into an argument, regarding dates and dating. Instead, she will focus her attention on the path her feet are taking through the snow, and the knowledge that she is going to be expected to learn a new skill. "That is not reassuring," that he will be her teacher. "It will be all the more embarrassing when I screw up," she decides, a stubborn set to her jaw that says she is not about to change her mind anytime soon. But she does acknowledge that an attempt must be made, a little exhale preceding her mumbled, "Fine, but not the drums," for instruments. "I already have one craft," she half-complains, "I can't be expected to take up a second."

Leuka gives his head a little shake. "I'm not saying you should consider cross crafting. Unless you want to later. Just that if it turns out you enjoy it, you could take it up as a hobby. Like Riohra seems to enjoy playing his guitar as a hobby." He offers a little smile "And don't worry about messing up, evryone messes up. I even mess up. The trick is to play it off as you meant to do it that way on purpose." He flashes a grin. "It's all in the delivery. If you go on as if nothing is amiss, people will think that's how the tune goes." Leuka snickers a bit "Unless you're told to play one thing, and everyone else starts something completely differant as a joke on ya. Kinda hard to play that off." He laughs at that for some reason. Soon they are aprpoaching the weyr and their steps might even quicken in pace as the promise of heat and hot food reels them in.


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