A chance meeting

Writers: Kurt, Mikel
Date Posted: 28th October 2008

Characters: C'pouk, Feydik
Description: C'pouk and Feydik chat by the lake
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 12, day 5 of Turn 4
Notes: Mentor Approved

}:I'm hungry:{ Uitgaandth complained to C'pouk.

**You just ate yesterday, love**

}:Two scrawny wherries, that is not a meal:{

**They were not scrawny, they were both big males. Maybe if you did not
expend so much energy chasing greens, you'd not be so hungry**

The brown's eyes took on the purple tinge of lust as he contemplated the
last time he flew one of the Weyr's green. C'pouk, on the other hand
tried not to think about those episodes, which despite any benefit tend to
be more embarrassing for the brownrider. Uitgaandth snorted at C'pouk,
ruffling the pages of the book he was trying to read.

Getting to his feet, the brownrider looked at his lifemate "You are not
going to let me rest until I feed you I gather."

}:See? You can be perceptive when you wish:{

Sliding his book into the holder on the lightweight flying straps the
dragon wore for day to day use, C'pouk climbed between the neck ridges and
slapped Uitgaandth's back.

**I just don't feel up to arguing with you and that bottomless pit of
your's. Let's go feed you.**

After Uitgaandth dispatched of two more herdbeast, they flew to the
Weyrlake, where there would undoubtedly be many young weyrkids to help
bathe the big brown. Also there, he noticed a resident of the Weyr not
normally seen out and about.

"Feydik, what are you doing out here?"

The tall technician looked up as C'pouk and his dark brown dragon settled
down by the lake. He had met the brownrider on a few occasions before --
usually in the records room while retrieving technical schematics for
something or another.

"Ah, well met, C'pouk and ...Uitgaandth, is it?" Feydik replied, raising a
hand to shield his view of dragon and rider from the sun. He was getting
a little more used to being in close proximity to dragons, but they were
still impressively big up close. "I was just...trying to get out of the
lab for a while...though I must admit that now that I am here, I'm not
exactly sure what I am doing."

"Yes, that is Uitgaandth the child magnet," he said, laughing. Even as
he spoke youngsters wwarmed to the lake to climb on, and help to scrub
clean the big brown. As for you, why not just sit back in the sun and
relax?"

"Ah, well..." The technician rubbed the back of his head. "I don't
know. I am just not good at relaxing on my own. I'll come out
determined to do nothing, and then I will sit and think about equations
or circuitry solutions. And, the next thing you know, I'm looking for
chalk and slate to work out math problems, or running down to the
laboratory to build the circuit in my head. It's rather pathetic, but
that is usually how it goes." Feydik gestured to Uitgaandth. "Were it
not for the thread, I think your brown would make an excellent nursery
worker."

"Wow," C'pouk said. "You need relaxation training. Imagine one of your
machine running constantly without time for rest."

The brownrider settled down, his back against a warm rock. "I must admit I
do take advantage of his popularity with the children to get out of some
cleaning. I still do his main bathings on my own though."

"Sounds like a lot of work," Feydik admitted. "Someday, when we learn to
build better electric motors, perhaps we can develop an electrical powered
dragon-washer. Perhaps gear-driven to spin several heads of soft
bristles?" He chuckled to himself. "I suppose you are right about the
relaxation thing. You have to give me credit though...I made it out of
the workshop on my own. That's _some_ progress at least."

C'pouk laughed at the young technician. "I suppose you are right, that
is some progress. But I can tell you now that an electric dragon-washer
would be a waste of your time."

"Oh?" Feydik looked at C'pouk as if the rider had issued a mild
challenge. "And why would that be? It could save a lot of time."

The dragonrider tried to remember what it was like before he impressed
Uitgaandth, trying to figure out how to explain to Feydik what he was
trying to say. "Bathing your dragon, especially after a fall is not a
chore. It is a bonding, a renewal of the connection between rider and
dragon."

"Oh, I see." Feydik frowned and fingered his chin. "Well, I shall
simply have to think of some better ideas, then. If we had improved
batteries and smaller, sturdier lights, we could make lighted harnesses
for nighttime flying and visibility."

C'pouk looked at the man. "Dragon's don't need lights, they always know
where they are. You want a good use for a small battery? I've love a
reading lamp next to my bed."

"Well, I meant more for people watching the dragons, as opposed to the
dragons themselves," Feydik explained. "But I guess you have a point.
So...a reading light, hm? Do you ever stop reading?"

"Sharding hard to read when fighting Thread," he said with a smile.

The technician responded with a smile of his own. "Sounds like you've
at least tried it, then."

"Well, no, but while flying," he smiled at the tech. "The wind plays
havoc with the pages."

"Ah, yes, I can see how that would be trouble," Feydik said. "Well, I
will tell you what...I'll see what I might be able to come up with for
your nocturnal reading habits, next time I'm in the lab. Might take me a
while though so...in the meantime, you can always go back to a basket of
glows."

"That I shall," he said. "But the light from your electrics is easier to
read by."

"I shall consider it a worthy challenge, then," Feydik answered the
brownrider. "Well, in the meantime, I should probably head back to the
workroom. I have too many ideas spinning in my mind to just let them sit.
Drop by sometime, if you like. You can give me your opinion of some of
our newer lighting setups."

"I'll do that, you have a good day, Feydik."

"And to you, brownrider." The technician gave a wave and started back
towards the inner caverns of the Weyr.

Last updated on the November 1st 2008

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A chance meeting