Time By The Fish Pond

Western Weyr - Maze: Fish Pond

A tiny pond edged with reeds and water-lilies graces the side of the path. Tiny silver fish dart to and fro, nipping at insects that scoot about on the water. A soft breeze ripples the surface, making tiny wavelets ripple across the water. A pile of pebbles beside the path are flat and round, perfect for skipping.


Kiley is out by the pond, by herself and considering the fish in the water and the little insects with a slight tilt of her head. And then, she's shifting to pull off her boots and socks before rolling up her pant legs and then quietly slipping her feet into the water. Fish nibble and nip at her toes before eventually drifting off to find something actually edible and the computer crafter chuckles to herself. Obviously, today is a day free of chores and even abandoning craft work for some time alone with the quiet.

Well, it -would- be quiet. If Zi'on wasn't on his way up to pick berries. Apparently he's gotten a little turned around. Why's it not quiet? Because he's singing, that's why. Sort of singing. "I'm going going, back back to Benden Benden. I'm going going back back to Benden Benden. Benden got throwerplay, models on the runway. Scream Zi Zi gimme Harper's dance. I be whippin' on the skyway, the old Western way. On the firelizard with my cousin P'nce…" He blinks then as he spots someone sitting at the pond. A figure he knows! "Kiley?" He moves closer to make sure it's her. "What're you doing out here?"

Kiley hears the singing and tilts her head to look back over her shoulder, chuckling softly as she spots Zi'on before turning her gaze back to the water. No greeting is called, instead, she stretches her legs out and considers her toes as they poke out of the water. It is her name that draws her attention and she looks at him once more before offering a cheerful smile. "Hey Zi'on." She examines him carefully and then gestures for him to sit. "Well, it is my free day and I didn't know what to do. Nik stopped coming by… I was wandering around and then I found this pond and decided it was a nice place to stop and relax. What are you doing?"

Zi'on heads over to sit when Kiley motions. He takes off his sandals and then dips his feet in the water. There's a grunt. "A fish bit me! What the shards!" He makes sure to kick the next fish who gets too close. There's a blink and he looks at Kiley. "What does that mean 'he stopped coming around'? Did you two break up or something?" The bronzer rubs his head a bit. "Picking berries. Gonna get some fresh ones and see if I can con Enka into baking some pies." By claiming he did most of the work already by picking the berries, of course. He waves the basket he's brought to her.

Kiley watches him, or more really, his feet as they enter the water. Laughter spills out for his outburst. "They like to nibble." The computer crafter grins widely at him and wiggles her toes before she shifts full attention back up towards his face, making eye contact. "Mm. Well, he didn't agree with my choice of Standing again. I don't think we broke up, I think he just needs time?" The woman furrows her brows and looks to the water for a moment. "He said a few things that were, I don't know… What one would call loving? Words of someone in love?" A slight shrug and she looks back to him with a smile. "That sounds fun, will she be freed from the sands long enough to bake some?"

Zi'on peers into the water. Maybe Zi'on would do some nibbling! After a nice fire with some citrus sauce. "Why didn't he agree with it? He got something against having a dragon?" There's a bit of a roll of the eyes from Zi'on. "Doesn't seem to mind them when his butt has to go to and from Landing, I bet." The bronzer peers at her. "What kinds of things? Seems strange to say loving things, then just up and not see you because you decided to stand." There's a shrug about Enka. "I don't see why not. Mir ain't making her sleep out there thankfully. She has at least a little time to herself." Much of which the bronzer probably occupies.

Poor fishies don't know what's in store for them. "Well," Kiley frowns, "he said he didn't understand why. Didn't understand what it was like to be without your other half, until recently." She gives him a small look and she shakes her head. "I'm sure he likes dragons, he just… Doesn't understand why I would put my talents for the craft aside and not push towards Master. Because I have skill, but, I learned something Standing at the last clutch." The woman shrugs slightly, "he implied that I was his other half. It made my heart flutter. And then I felt weird, because… Nik has more emotions than I knew he did." Not that she is without her own emotions. "It troubles me a little, and I don't really understand. Love isn't logical and yet…" She leans back and sighs, tilting her head back to consider the sky. "That's good that she has time to herself. I felt bad for Weyrwoman Thea, she was constantly out there."

Zi'on will at least take the fish home with him and eat it. Or give it to Suldith to eat. So it won't get wasted. The bronzer raises a brow at Kiley then. "So… why has he stopped coming around, then? If you're his other half. That seems… counterproductive." He shrugs and nods. "Well, true. I mean, I suppose you could choose not to and push towards master. Maybe that'll work for him, but you wanted to stand…" Then he chuckles a bit. "So now you don't like him that much, because he's not cold and emotionless like a computer?" He shakes his head then. "I'm only teasing… do you love him?" He nods about Enka. "Hm. I think Mir prefers to do her own guarding, I guess. At least at night. She's sort of nocturnal."

"Maybe I heard him wrong? Maybe I didn't really understand what he was getting at. Or, he needs time to understand that… This is important to me." Kiley wrinkles her nose and shakes her head, "if I wanted to push to Master, I would keep working on my project until it was done, even if it took seven Turns straight. I want to do this, Zi'on." Her feet lift from the water and then are set back in after a moment. There's a slight laugh for his statement. "No." Her head tilts and then shakes slowly. "I don't know what love is. I don't understand the concept of love. I don't… Understand." She shakes her head firmly, "I'm not going to think about it until later." She smiles and nods in understanding. "Well, at least that gives Enka some free time away from the Sands and lets her have a proper sleep in the proper bed."

Zi'on blinks. "Well, maybe. Maybe he's just scared that if you impress you'll forget about him and move on. Or maybe he knows that if you impress you can't really be together again for a long time. Or he doesn't want to share you with a dragon or something." The bronzer nods to her. "I know that." He furrows his brow to her then. "Yeah you do. You know what love is. Don't you love your family? I know you love me." He grins to her. "Anyways, if you need to go find him I can take you." The bronzer nods then. "I can't imagine what it would be like sleeping out on those hot sands. Miserable, I suspect."

"I suppose those are possibilities that he considered, but there's no way to determine exactly what would happen because it is still a variable. Maybe he didn't want to share, but he shares with Vera." Kiley insists firmly, before smiling at him, a small little smile. "But those are all the different sorts of love, familial love, friendship love. Not, love-love. Or is it all the same?" She chuckles softly, "yes, Zi'on. I do love you." She finally leans back and settles completely on the ground. "Thank you. I am hoping he'll come around. If not… Then I'll ask." There's a soft sound of agreement. "Muggy, hot, miserable. At least she can wear proper shoes at all times. Can't really imagine what it is like spending every day there until the clutch Hatches."

Zi'on nods to her. "Wait, who is Vera? You got a second boyfriend? Girlfriend?" The bronzer shrugs. "Well I mean yeah. There's love. And then there's being -in- love. But generally you love someone that you're in love with. I mean, there's gotta be something there than just thinking someone is attractive and fun to kiss and cuddle with. Being in love is just… more. I guess. I dunno. It's not like I really understand it either. I mean, I think I love Enka. But I don't think she feels the same way about me that I do about her. It could be the same way with you and Nik." He nods to her, then laughs. "Yeah, though your feet sweat in proper shoes."

"Vera is his laptop." She is totally straight faced as she says this, her hands tucking under her head. "That's true, but, I guess I'm trying too hard avoid getting too emotional to see how I feel. And then there's the fact that I am trying to understand but I don't know what I am looking for. Maybe it is the same, maybe I do love him. I mean, I am sad without him, but I understand why he left the way he did and why he needs time." Her nose wrinkles before she heaves out a sigh. "I am just trying to understand it all, you know?" She gives him a little smile before laughing along. "That's true. Which isn't much better than burning them in sandals."

Zi'on stares at Kiley for a while. "I'm sorry… what? You're sharing time with a laptop?" Zi'on tries not to look enraged about this fact. "Well, how can you even know what you're feeling if you don't get emotional about it? Anyways, love and emotions and all of that. It's all about being honest and communicating. Trust me, that much I know. If you don't say anything, and you don't try to work your feelings out then you can end up going in the wrong direction and end up hurting yourself or the other person. If he needs time that understandable… but when he comes back you should tell him how you feel. Otherwise you may regret it, later." He reaches over to tickle her feet. "Yep."

"More or less? Not entirely, I mean, he loves Vera." Kiley clarifies, peeking at him and then considering. "I suppose I can't know what I'm feeling without being emotional." She rolls her head back and sighs, "I'll be honest with him, then, when he comes back. Maybe he will be more understanding about the situation. Though it is hard to explain to him what it is like, especially when he can't experience what I do." There's a loud squeal as he tickles her feet and she's instantly scrambling away and attempting to position herself to where he can't touch her feet. "Don't /do/ that, Zi'on!" Cheeks flush from the excitement and she laughs. "I can't wait to touch the eggs."

Zi'on stares. "What does that mean, he loves her… it? How do you love something that isn't alive?" The bronzer nods to her. "Maybe he'll get searched… or is he too old?" Kiley was older, maybe Nikolas was even older than she was. He grins as she squeals. "Fine fine… No more tickling." The bronzer lays down perpendicular to the computercrafter, laying his head on her belly. "Yeah? I wonder when they'll be hard enough. I hope there's a gold in one of them. That'll mean less work for Enka. I sort of wish I could remember what Suldith was like before he hatched."

"I think Vera is a girl." Yes, she's giving a gender to her boyfriend's laptop. "Well, it is easy. You're fond of it and never want to be without it? I love my laptop." The computer crafter muses and gives him a look, "no. Nik is younger than I am. He's twenty. Maybe he'll get searched. Maybe not? I don't know why he'd accept, though, he wants to become a Master." When he relents on the tickling, she resumes stretching out once her feet are save. There's a blink as he lays his head on her stomach, but doesn't particularly protest or shove him off, merely closing her eyes. "Mhm. I want to see what they're like. I'm going to write about it and get the details of each of the eggs from everyone else as well." Pause, "people are saying there are. Bets are being taken." There's a soft hum, "that's why I want to ask the others what they felt. That way they can remember later."

That was just strange. He'll… just let the topic of Nikolas' laptop go. His mind is racing into bad places about what Nikolas and his laptop do when they're alone at night. He gives Kiley one last stare, and that's it. "Ah. I guess you like the younger guys, hm?" There's no doubt that Zi'on likes the older gals. Every girl he's ever dated was older than he was, even if it was only half a turn. He blinks. "You're going to write down what other people felt, too? That's weird. I wouldn't want to know what some other candidate felt about my Suldith." That's perversion! What if Suldith had been nicer to someone else?

Kiley blinks, "I suppose I do. Everyone I have kissed is younger than me." She lingers in silence to ponder for a moment or two before peeking at him. "Why not? It isn't as if I'll share if a person asks, I'll just tell them what /they/ felt. Because it is kind've private? But, I suppose if they're telling me, it isn't that private…" Kiley drops her head back down and chuckles softly. "Bad idea? I thought it would be a good way to remember, though I suppose everyone else can write down what they felt on their own. Do you remember what egg he came out of?" The woman chews on her bottom lip and then sighs, "that is something I'd like to remember if my lifemate hatches. What the egg was like and what egg it was."

Zi'on blinks at her. "Well, if they want to tell you I guess it's their business. Just seems… weird to me. Kinda a private thing." He wrinkles his nose. "Uh… Like I said I'm sure it's fine for some people. I guess it just seems private to me after the fact. I guess I don't really care much about what I felt on the other eggs though. Since it doesn't matter." He shakes his head. "Nope. I don't even remember what it looked like in the slightest. Maybe Enka does. That was Mir's last clutch. I should ask. I guess once it hatches the egg doesn't matter so much. I think it would be fun to have a piece of it, but Suldith gets grossed out." He laughs. "I guess it would be like us keeping a big toenail or a big lock of hair."

"Then, I think I won't ask them and just keep it for my own personal records." Kiley stretches out her arms and peeks down at the bronzerider on her belly. "I guess it would be kind've private, I mean, it is in your head." And her head drops back to consider the sky again, listening to him speak. "I want to write all of them down, because you don't know which one your lifemate will be from. If any of them." A soft chuckle, "maybe she does remember. You should ask. I think that saving a part of the shell would be nice." Pause, "though… I guess it could be like a toenail or some hair. That is kind've gross if you put it that way."

"Mm. I dunno. Other people might feel differently that I do. Maybe I'm being over sensitive." Zi'on considers things for a moment. "But it's probably good to write them all down. For you at least. It would be interesting to know." He laughs a bit. "Yeah. I dunno. I kept trying to explain to him that it was more like a baby blanket really." He shrugs a bit. Then suddenly he's turning over and lifting her shirt to give her a raspberry. If she doesn't murder him first.

"No, I think that is a good point. You are receiving something from the egg that is in your mind, where your thoughts are normally your own. So it is a sensitive subject." Kiley peeks towards him, "I still have the ones from Xanadu's clutch. I liked taking the information in and writing my opinions and what it felt like. I wonder what it will be like this time." His explanation of the baby blanket earns a laugh. "I think I'd like to get a shell of my lifemate's egg if it is there and use that baby blanket idea." Anything else that would follow dies instantly as she starts a loud pitch scream as he begins to raspberry her stomach, flailing in protest.

Zi'on nods a bit. "Yeah. Plus what Suldith and I talk about is private, too. It's like what you and me talk about. I wouldn't want other people knowing specifically. But I guess in the shell it's just feelings anyways." He nods to her about getting a piece of shell. He'd hang his up on the wall! But unfortunately… he didn't pick one up. The bronzer cackles as she flails, laughing and sitting up. "I got you! Also I saw your belly!"

Kiley nods firmly in understanding, "right. I wouldn't want people knowing the specifics of what we speak about. Hnn. True, the eggs are feelings." There's a shrug and she relents with that. Her nose wrinkles at him and she quickly pulls her shirt back down to cover her stomach. "You're such a child sometimes." A sigh, "what's important about seeing my belly, Zi'on?" Brows lift as she sits herself up.

Zi'on isn't helpful at all with Kiley's problems. He's wishy-washy! He laughs at her. "I know," he says about being a child. Really, he is. "I dunno. I felt like it was important I do that to you." He rubs his scruffy face a bit. "You look like you needed it. So have any of you candidates pulled any pranks or anything? Oh man… were you in the caverns when I tripped Keely?" He laughs. "That one was great. I haven't seen her since though. I hope she's not mad."

He totally isn't! She's right back where she began. "Then why are you acting like one if you know?" Kiley whines softly, "why was /that/ important?" Her hands come to rest on her stomach, guarding it from the bronzerider as she gives him a small little look. "Why did I need it?" Clearly, she doesn't understand his reasoning. "There haven't been any pranks that I know of. I wouldn't participate in them." The recollection of tripping the other girl earns a gasp, "I was… I don't think she's mad, though. She hasn't brought it up."

Zi'on laughs. "Because it's fun." He looks down at her and grins. "Because you were getting too serious. And you look all upset about your boyfriend. And that's not fun, or fair. He's supposed to be the one keeping you happy. Shards." The bronzer sighs and shakes his head. "Why won't you participate in them?" Then he blinks and nods. He laughs. "Oh right. That's what she called Nik 'booooring'." He does his best Keely impression. It sucks.

"How is that /fun/?" Kiley sighs softly, "I was serious, I am always partially serious about most things. We'll work it out." The computer crafter slowly pushes up to her feet and sighs, "because it is /childish/, Zi'on. That is why. I've never, ever pulled a prank." She grabs her boots and the considers him with a smile. "I am probably one of the most boring people."

Zi'on laughs. "Don't pretend like it didn't tickle, Kiley. And everyone needs a good tickle every so often." He nods. "I know you were. Too serious. You shouldn't be too serious. You'll give yourself a heart condition." He hops up and slides on his sandals, then grabs the basket. "So? It's also boring if you don't do anything unexpected and exciting. Plus candidates are supposed to pull pranks. They -expect- it." He peers at her. "It encourages solidarity in the group. Since you're not supposed to rat out each other. Now, I'm going to go pick some berries. And you're going to go think up a prank."

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