Weyrledge Picnic (1/3)

Writers: Aaron, Avery
Date Posted: 7th February 2019

Characters: A'vel, Brennault
Description: A'vel and Brennault have a weyrledge picnic.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 4, day 13 of Turn 9

Brennault

Having gotten himself cleaned up and made good on his idea to dress a
bit more sharply than was strictly necessary for an ordinary evening
meal, Brennault swaggered across to the dining hall. He gazed across
the tables and the serving line to see whether A'vel had arrived
first. Perhaps he might prevail on the man to find a place to eat with
a bit more privacy once they found one another.

A'vel had also cleaned himself up, after reporting the results of the
sweep back to the Weyrsecond and then going and taking a bath. He
pulled on a nice shirt in a light green close to Tsogath's hide color,
one he'd commissioned from V'con, and soft pants, then trekked down to
the Dining Cavern. His hair curled around his neck, still wet from the
pools. He was late and not the first one there.

Brennault sat waiting where he could see the entrance, and once he
spotted A'vel come in, he stood and cheerfully joined him. If he had
been bothered by the wait, it was not at all apparent on his face.

"It's the perfect color!" he said. It seemed obvious that he had
chosen it on purpose to match Tsogath, and it was very well matched,
indeed. Brennault wondered if he had a dragon what color his shirt
might be. "How did your report go?" he asked.

"It went well. I didn't see any sign of major problems or the kinds of
things I report," A'vel said. "What about your letter delivery?"

"Everybody's got their letters, for better or worse!" Brennault
pronounced. Not all news was good news, of course. "I'm glad it's
dinner time. Say. Do you think there's anywhere, once we've got our
food, we could go where it's not so loud?"

A'vel thought for a moment. "We could go to one of the classrooms
maybe?" There were a few nearby. "Or picnic outside in the Weyrbowl."

"That sounds delightful," Brennault chuckled. "I can go fetch a
blanket so we don't get our pants dusty. Or we can just use the
classroom. Assuming no teachers are going to get angry at us for
getting their desks dirty. If we do eat outside, maybe Tsogath could
join us? What do you think?" he wondered.

A'vel said, "I'm pretty sure we could use a classroom if we cleaned it
up, but..." He paused for a moment, half-closed his eyes.

"Tsogath would love to join us if we ate outside. She suggests our
weyrledge," he added.

"Your weyrledge it is." Brennault grinned. Well! Perhaps this would
move a little faster than he expected. Of course, he was not going to
push it, but starting off that close to the privacy of A'vel's weyr
boded well to him about where they might end up.

As they approached the serving line, Brennault began to collect up
foods that would travel well.

A'vel did big blue eyes and cute face to get them some cookies, and
some sandwiches, and flasks of juice and wine. Those collected, he
thought to Tsogath, who landed in the Weyrbowl to wait for them both.

Brennault nearly forgot what he was about as he stood by for a moment
to admire A'vel's big eyes and cute face. He smiled a silly smile and
followed happily after A'vel back to Tsogath.

"Thank you again, Tsogath. You're a dear." He smiled at her and added,
"I'll have more scratchies for you when we can set dinner down."

Tsogath had very helpfully even gathered her own straps. A'vel hung
them on a hook inside the dragoncouch section and so she'd grabbed
them with her muzzle and carried them. A'vel took the bag of food
they'd got from the Dining Caverns, and said, "You hold this and I'll
hold you?" as he quickly rigged the simplest around-the-neck harness.

Brennault nodded, grinning happily as he took the food bundle. This
could not be going more smoothly, and he was thrilled. Dragons made
for a very convenient excuse to be close. And now that he was not so
sweaty, he could lean into A'vel without feeling guilty or gross.

"Yes, please," he said, waiting eagerly for the instructions to climb up.

"All right, can you make it up on your own?" A'vel asked, taking the
bundle back so Brennault could have two free hands.

"I got it," Brennault assured A'vel. As long as he always had a foot
hold, he would be more than fine. And without too much fuss, he was
up, having managed not to kick A'vel throwing his leg over to the
other side.

Once he was seated, he took the bundle back and then leaned into A'vel.

"Ready when you two are!" he said.

"You're getting good at this," A'vel said, running the rider strap
around Brennault's waist and then clipping it to his belt so they were
both attached. He wouldn't fly like this for a long flight but it was
enough for a short flight.

Tsogath took off carefully and made her way to A'vel's mid-level weyr.
The greenrider unclipped them both and slipped off Tsogath and held
out his hands for either the bundle or Brennault.

"Oh, us earthbound folks can never get too much practice when it comes
to flying," said Brennault. He grinned and slid down, letting A'vel
steady him as he still held the bundle. Brennault was not exceedingly
tall, but he was tall enough to smile down warmly at A'vel as he ended
up in his arms. He stood there for a moment, letting the contact
linger before he stepped back and started spreading out the bundle on
the ledge.

Brennault stood a healthy distance back from the ledge, but still
close enough that he could look down a bit. Oh, what it would be like
to live up in the sky...

"It seems like you've been getting enough rides to figure out mounting
and dismounting gracefully. But if you'd like some more flights, we'd
be happy to oblige," he said.

"Tsogath offers to put her tail along the rim of the ledge if you
want," A'vel relayed, after a moment.

"Aw, thank you, Tsogath – that's very sweet. Would you, please?"
Brennault asked. He was not terribly worried about falling, but how
could he refuse such an offer.

To A'vel, he said, "I've been lucky to make a friends with a fair few
dragons and their riders." He smiled, but he made a note to watch for
any signs of jealousy. He would have to talk about potentially
uncomfortable subjects sooner than later if A'vel was jealous. "But
I'd never turn down a flight with you."

A'vel's brain definitely took that somewhere else for a moment and his
face pinked a little. To cover for it, he looked down at the ledge and
said, "Hold on, we need a blanket."

Two minutes later he was out of his weyr and spreading one out.
Tsogath had moved herself so she was lying half-blocking the weyr's
opening, with her tail along the rim, and her head and neck along one
side, perfectly presented for scratches. A'vel set out the blanket for
him and Brennault to sit on, arranging it by the food. "It's a proper
feast up here, it is."

Brennault helped to arrange the meal onto the blanket, and once he
finished, he happily followed through on his promise to give scratches
to Tsogath. He leaned in for a bit of a hug if she would allow it,
too.

"Thanks again, beautiful," he said to her before sitting down with A'vel.

"It really is," Brennault agreed. "I'm happy you suggested it." He
noticed the bit of a blush, but he had not been at the weyr long
enough to properly appreciate the second meaning of 'a flight with
you' without the context. If he had been, he likely would have said it
anyway and meant it.

"Cheers," he said, lifting his drink to A'vel.

Last updated on the February 26th 2019

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Weyrledge Picnic (1/3)