Turnday Dinner Date

Western Weyr - Tiki Lounge Patio
As one walks onto the wood panelled flooring, they are greeted with the scent of burning oil, the likely source the various torches burning along the perimeter of the flooring. The flooring is littered with tables shaded with umbrellas, matching chairs tucked beneath when not in use. People of all sorts gather in clusters to talk or people watch. One can easily see into the tavern, its large windows usually open to the outside. Music flows in from inside, carried by the sea breeze, encouraging some people to dance, or even sing along.


Someone was having a Turnday. Happy Happy Turnday! With no firelizard of his own to send a message, T'vas had to resort to the tried and true method of bribing a Weyrbrat to leave a note pinned to Elsia's door telling her where and when to meet him. Tiki Lounge, after the sun goes down! Well, at least he was more specific about the time, that is, and the bronzerider spent a good portion of time fretting and fussing to get himself ready. Would she show? Table for two, overlooking the lagoon, let it not be said that rank has its privileges, and as an assistant Weyrlingmaster, Tae sure takes advantage. He's even got wine, chilling on ice, and is waiting, looking hopefully towards the entrance to the patio, waiting.

Fish out of water? Oh, so much. Wait til Elsia sees what he's got for her. At least she wore her one nice dress, the purple strapless one she had to buy so she wouldn't look like a flour sack monster at weddings and Gathers. Someone helpfully points her in the right direction and she turns to spot T'vas…and goes rather pale around the edges. "Oh, what is this?" she exclaims, somewhere between delight, dismay, and mortification.

T'vas happened to be wearing a nice white shirt with loose sleeves, a little cravat tie, and a bottle green overcoat that Jraireth absolutely insists looks positively /dashing/. Add in fawn-colored trousers and shiny black boots, and the man is no doubt dressed for the occasion. Catching sight of Elsia as she comes towards him with that pretty purple dress and his face just lights up. Happy man! She came! Standing, the bronzerider gestures her to her seat, he'll even scoot the chair in for her, all gentlemanly. "I promised you a drink." he says. "After the other night. I figured we'd start with this," this said, as he reaches for the bottle of wine, and uncorks it with a little pop, tipping the bottle opening towards her glass. "And go from there."

Elsia looks distinctly uncomfortable, but sits down anyway. "Oh, I, well…" unable to decide on exactly what to say she folds her hands in her lap and examines them much too closely, cheeks pink. "The strangest things always happen to me in this bar," she murmurs and then laughs, finally tipping her head up enough at least that she can reach out for the stem of her wine glass once it's filled, swirling it idly. "I suspect I've found the only civilized man in the Weyr."

"Fancy that," T'vas chuckles, taking his seat after pouring himself a glass, swirling the glass for a moment before sipping decorously at it. "strange things always happen to me in this bar too. Which is probably due to the fact that I'm not exactly a regular here." He grins at Elsia across the table. "Well, you can thank Jraireth for the civility. He's quite peculiar about that kind of thing, reading to him as a youngster probably had that effect on him. And well, he does like his meals cooked." What a strange rider and dragon pair they are."

"Rou'x told me they give you free drinks if you make out topless with another girl. My…opinion has been generally low, ever since." Elsia has that pinched mouth look about her as she glances about. She smooths it into a more pleasant expression and smiles at him. "Then I shall thank Jraireth for producing a gentleman. And you for the wine." The glass is lifted in toast to him before she sips at it. "Cooked, eh? I imagine it's hard to cook several large beasts for him to eat."

T'vas's brows quirk upwards at Elsia's words. "Topless. Another girl? Just for saving a bit of a mark on something to drink. Shells, it sounds like some people are desperate and would do /anything/ for some booze." Not Tae though, apparently. "I may be Weyrbred, but I'm not sure if I'd do that far." He shakes his head a bit, tipping the glass towards his lips for a brief sip. "I'll pass your regards on to Jraireth. He'll be most happy to hear them." the bronzerider smiles warmly, lifting his glass to toast her in return. "It's exceedingly difficult," comes his wry reply, so full of amusement. "Sometimes, when we were back at Ierne WeyrHold, I'd dig a sand pit, and roast a herdbeast or two. He does seem to eat more often than other dragons, I suppose, since he only eats a few at a time as a result." There's a merry little smirk on his face. "Whatever you do, don't get drawn into a discussion of herbs and cooking spices, if you can help it."

Elsia shakes her head in disapproval. "People can be desperate." And the silent addedendum there is that she is not. "Hmm… perhaps if you did two a day that would be sufficient? I don't know much about the eating habits of dragons…" she trails off thoughtfully. "Perhaps the meat being cooked as well makes it digest faster? Again, though, I don't know." To his suggestion about conversation her eyebrows lift. "But that sounds like a perfectly lovely conversation to have," she protests. "Well, I guess except then you'd be caught in the middle of it, and probably dreadfully bored." She twirls her wine glass on the table. "So, ah, you're weyrbred, then? What did you do before you Impressed?"

T'vas offers a careless shrug. "People do crazy things when they're desperate," he admits, "luckily, I'm not one of them, and wouldn't do anything like that. Ever." He's got his morals and scruples after all, kindred spirits maybe — at least, on the non-desperate level. "Yes," the man agrees, "I think two a day would be sufficient, although on occasion he's willing to add a wherry to that meal. I know that most dragons tend to eat every few days, and tend to eat more at once." Another careful sip of wine is taken, savored and enjoyed, rather than being guzzled down like a sodden drunkard. "It could be that the cooked meat makes it easier to digest. Jraireth has said in the past, it makes him feel better than trying to eat a raw cold meal. And I do notice it makes him less inclined to sleep a lot of the meal off. He's very inquisitive about that sort of thing." The man pauses, and tips his chin in a nod. "Weyrbred. Up High Reaches way. Can't imagine going back now, got to used to the nice sunny weather. I was a stablehand, helping my father with the beasts." Not runners, that's obvious in the way he says it.

Elsia experiences a moment of wickedness and teases, "Not the type to make out shirtless, hm?" After that she simply chuckles to herself, enjoying her own joke. "I suppose sleeping less is a benefit. More time in the day, right? Get things done?" She too, sips her wine, watching him thoughtfully across the table. She is, admittedly, more of a gulper than a sipper, but she's playing along for him. "Beasts, hm? Burdenbeasts? Or the pen herds?" Her hand fidgets with the hem of her dress. "Is it a lot different, being a rider?"

"Not in public, no," T'vas returns unashamedly. "Nor just for the sake of getting a drink." The bronzerider's lips twitch into a humorous smile. "I certainly think that sleeping less is a benefit. Doesn't have to doze half the day to burn off the lump of meat sitting in his gut, and Jraireth certainly can get things done, when he want's 'em too. The man's wineglass is still quite full, occasional sips having reduced it to little more than a quarter empty. Wine just wasn't meant to be swilled down, not like harder (and more absent) liquor. "Dragon fodder," he answers her question, grinning. "Making sure they were in good shape, couldn't have dragons eating poor beasts. Makes for a poor dragon." He watches her a moment, watching her fidget. "It's very different, riding. Almost the opposite perspective from being someone who made sure the riders and their dragons were cared for." A pause. "Are you hungry? We could order something?"

"Well that's a relief," assures Elsia. "I was beginning to think this whole weyr was populated by …scrupulous heathens." THE HORROR!! A deep breath and she laughs. "I can imagine… it's always strange to let others cook for me, especially desserts. It's not that I don't enjoy them, as much as I always want to offer suggestions or compliments…but that is awkward, if you know what I mean?" She's taken maybe three sips out of her glass so far. "Er, oh…If you want to? Um… I don't know." She swallows. "I've never, um…sat down like this, with anyone… Alone. I'm not really sure what's expected."

T'vas's laugh is definitely amused. "I can't say anything for anyone else being a scrupulous heathen." he remarks, "but I can say I'm not. Jraireth wouldn't let me." He nods in understanding. "It's very … awkward." he agrees, grinning a little, waving the waiter over. Appetizers are ordered, the bronzerider seeming to know just what might be appropriate for a night like tonight. It's a Turnday after all! "And here I thought your ma would have told you all about what to do and what not to do," he comments teasingly.

Elsia smiles shyly at her lap while he's ordering, maybe enjoying it just a little. She's not all stiff back all the time, after all. "My adoptive mother was very thorough on a few issues," she agrees. "But handsome men buying you dinner wasn't exactly a topic I think she felt she had to cover. If you want to know about the best positions to birth a baby…" she spreads her hands and smiles crookedly, "I could recite you a few books."

"Well," Tae remarks rather wryly once the order is placed and the waiter's whisked off to deliver his selections to the kitchens, "I don't suppose she had a lot of handsome men buying her dinner, did she? Perhaps it was just a minor issue that slipped her mind in the grand scheme of things." He does manage to /look/ positively fascinated at Elsia's next remark. "No doubt that's all very important information," he comments. "But I'm not sure if it's anything that could be useful to me, personally. I'm all for making things up as we go along."

Elsia grins, nose wrinkling with the size of it. "She was rather old… I'm sure when she was young though…" she shrugs. "Well, who knows. She never did marry." Idly, she reaches up to curl a lock of hair around her finger. "You know? I'm a bit of a wing-it type myself." Another sip of wine and she sits forward in her chair, leaning her arms onto the table. "I'm curious to find out what you're going to…make up as we go here."

T'vas nods, fingers loosely twined around the stem of the nearly-full wineglass, the man having taken his time to savor and enjoy such largesse. "There's always the chance," he agrees, grinning. "We never really think of our parents as young once, or how they might have acted then. My dear old da never seemed the type to enjoy a lady's company, though clearly he had when my ma was still alive." The bronzerider shrugs lightly, catching a glimpse of the waiter returning with laden tray of finger foods and delectable desserts. Perfect timing! "Well," Tae steeples his fingers for a moment. "We'll eat. I'll buy you another drink. And maybe another. And then we can sit out by the lagoon and watch those stars you talked about while we have another drink. After that, I'll walk you home. And play it by ear." Civilized this bronzerider might be, but at least he's got confidence in himself.

Elsia looks up when the food arrives, delight on her face. "Oh," she sighs happily, and wastes no time selecting something crunchy to bite into. Humming in satisfaction, she lifts her eyes to look at him again and her mouth quirks. "I've always enjoyed eating under the stars…" she agrees, and lifts her chin a bit just to look upwards. "Sounds like a lovely plan to me. I hope you're moving on to something stronger than wine though. It makes me feel… far too hoighty-toighty."

Crunchy, now that's good. T'vas wiggles his fingers thoughtfully over the select course of appetizers spread before them on the table, chooses and pops some kind of fried cheesey roll into his mouth, chewing thoughtfully. "That's not too bad," he comments to Elsia, nudging the plate a little closer towards her. "Try it anyway, if you want." He gives her a well-humored grin, tilting his head to observe the night sky for a long moment before he glances back at her. "Mmm, I should think so," he answers her, "wine's good to start, but we'll find something a little more to your tastes eventually."

Elsia takes one of the offered cheesy roll things, chewing while he speaks. She swallows before answering with a shy, but definitely teasing, smile, "And if I am not sure what my tastes might be yet?" She laughs at herself, moving her hand over the various things until she finds something shaped like a ring and tries that.

"Well, that's where we can sample to your heart's content." T'vas quips cheerfully, beckoning the waiter over again to place an order for a few drinks. Either they'll sample to the baker's heart's content, or they're going to end up raging drunk, either way, it'll be fun. He snags another one of those fried cheesy rolls, and nibbles at it. "That any good?" the ring shaped appetitzer is nodded at.

A slow, wicked smile is afforded the bronzerider as he orders a drink sampling. "Onion rings," she supplies, nudging the plate thataway. "Try one." She seems pleased with hers at least. "I feel I should be better at small talk. Let's see…so I know what you did before you Impressed… I know what your dragon likes…" She hunts for something else to talk about and gives him a pained, embarrassed look. "Well…I think I warned you I'd be an awful date."

Here comes the waiter with some drinks, which are set down on the table, Tae grinning a bit as he oversees the selection with careful scrutiny before he reaches for the offered plate, fingers curling around an onion ring, and popping it into his mouth to chew with gusto. "Tastes good," he says, having swallowed down the mouthful, chasing it down with a sip of wine. "What about you?" he offers. "I know your ma gave you a lecture of some kind about cute boys like me." he does grin unashamedly at that. "But what brings you to Western Weyr?" Awful date? Surely not! "Here, try some of this rum." he nudges the small glass towards her.

Elsia takes up another cheesy thing, holding the small glass of rum in her fingers where it dangles in a way that looks dangerous. "Hmm… me. Well, I'm a Baker Journeyman. I was sent here for my first posting." She chews her lower lip. "I go back and forth on whether I like it here or not." A little bit of a smile breaks through. "Good company usually helps." The glass is raised to her lips, drinking the raw liquor easily.

T'vas finishes off the onion ring, rubbing his fingers together for a moment before he reaches for his own glass of rum, tipping the glass back and swallowing, making a bit of a face. "That's very fascinating," he remarks to her. "But why a Baker? Although I can see why, you seem awfully sweet." Very funny! "How was that? I tend to prefer a bit of brandy myself."

Elsia snorts at his flattery. "Bakers because… there's less blood, being a baker." She presses her lips together and her eyes skim sideways. "It's complicated. But I like baking, and I'm good at it, so…baking." She smiles. "My mother is a midwife, though. She wanted me to be a Healer, too. She eventually forgave me for being a traitor." Wink. She eyes the little glasses with interest. "I like rum…I like whiskey…I like anything with alcohol."

Flattery … it might get him nowhere, or it might get him somewhere. But at least T'vas will follow the predictable enough pattern of using it on a pretty girl. "I don't imagine," he puts in, "that there's very much blood in baking at all, unless you manage to nick yourself with a knife." He does grin at his rather weak attempt at being witty, and jerks his chin in a slight nod. "Well, at least you struck out on your own in life, I just followed my old man until I ended up on the sands, and Jraireth found me. Not that I really minded, but sometimes youngsters need to grow up away from their parents, eh?" Her admission has him grinning again. "Well, there's plenty of alcohol here, and I can sure can get more."

"Well…I'm 23, and I've never been Searched, so I doubt being a dragonrider is in my future." Elsia grins at him, no regrets there. "I'm going to open a bakery…eventually. I, ah…am still a fair sum away from it though, so it'll be awhile." She looks around, as if just being informed that they are in a bar. She looks amazed. "There's alcohol here?" she gasps. "And you can /get it/?" she cups her cheeks, mouth wide open. So shocked!

"Still time," T'vas reaches for a glass of brandy, dangling it lazily between his fingers before taking a quick sip, smiling at the taste. "Never know, the dragons just might not have had the chance to sniff you out yet." he shrugs. "But even if dragonriding is not going to be your fate," he chuckles, "you seem to have your life laid out for you in turn. A bakery, you say? Western can certainly use one of those. Ever thought of getting a partner?" the thought's tossed out, terribly casual before her expression does make him laugh. "Oh, you noticed, did you?"

Elsia snorts and shrugs. "Who knows," she agrees lightly. "I… like knowing where my life is going. I've left a few gaps, just…for the what ifs in life. But for the most part, it's a comfort to have a plan." She chews the inside of her cheek, selects another drink, and formulates what she wants to say. "I've thought of it," she admits. "I'm not sure who I would trust for it though. There

Elsia snorts and shrugs. "Who knows," she agrees lightly. "I… like knowing where my life is going. I've left a few gaps, just…for the what ifs in life. But for the most part, it's a comfort to have a plan." She chews the inside of her cheek, selects another drink, and formulates what she wants to say. "I've thought of it," she admits. "I'm not sure who I would trust for it though. There's not a long of confectioners to begin with." A hand is flapped. "Now you've got me talking business. That's not a good subject at all. And you know, I did notice indeed. Funny, that. I can be oblivious, I'm glad you clued me in."

T'vas nods briefly. "I don't think anyone really knows just what happens with their lives," he muses thoughtfully. "I know I expected to work with the beasts my whole life, even had my eye on Stablemaster, great pay there. At least trying to plan your life and decide where you want it to take you is something admirable." the bronzerider dangles the empty glass of brandy for a moment, setting it down decisively on the table. "At least you're prepared." There's a brief pause, the man watching the baker with a quirked smile of amusement. "You could always just get a business partner, someone who'd be willing to front the money for the shop and then just take a share of the profits rather than doing the work. Ever talk to the Weyrleaders about it? Extra revenue for the Weyr." The subject of business could get terribly dry, and her words warning against it make him chuckle. "So what are you drinking now then?" He'll steer the subject along elsewhere.

Elsia makes a face. "That feels like cheating, not earning it all myself," she admits. A tuber straw is nibbled on while she looks over the table at him. "Dunno," she admits, looking at it. "All tastes like fire, don't you think?" She motions a lazy hand. "Pick the next round…and then let's take that walk?"

"Less of a risk for you that way though," Tae points out matter-of-factly. "That way if say, the shop burns down, you aren't spending all your hard earned marks and having them go up in a puff of smoke. Something to think on anyway," he shrugs idly. "I've never really had to plan anything like that, businesses that is. When we were down at Ierne WeyrHold, it was easier to just run transport for someone else." He picks up a handful of tuber straws, chewing on them in considerable thought as he regards the remaining choices of drink. "Here," he says at last, nudging a mug over. "Ale. Dink that down like a good girl, and we'll go walk on the beach." he grins at her, reaching for the second mug.

"All that hard liquor and he finishes me off with ale!" proclaims Elsia good naturedly, but she downs it anyway in just a handful of gulps. She thumbs the corner of her mouth and sets the mug down. "Hadn't considered that," she admits with a frown. "I guess there was just that fire down Ierne way, wasn't there?" She glances at him curiously. "Wait. You used to run transport at Ierne?"

Thunk. Down goes T'vas's mug, and he pushes his chair back, offering a hand to Elsia to assist her in standing. "I don't suppose you'd smack me if I carried you, now would you?" he replies wryly. "Any more of that hard liquor and I probably would have to." Unless of course, she's a lass who can hold her drink well. "And it's more fun to walk along the lagoon shore line than to stagger around." There's a nod. "Mmmhmm. I suppose it couldn't happen here, maybe in the market place if there's enough to burn, but Ierne's a likely place for fires sometimes." He grins. "Well, for a little while. It was after Jraireth healed up. Spent so much marks on his cooked food, we needed to find a job. If only for a little while."

Elsia reaches up and takes his hand, hers smooth and soft, and rises easily to her feet. "I won't hit you," she murmurs with a little grin. "And I can hold my liquor quite well, thank you very much." See, she can even walk straight! "Jraireth was hurt?" she prompts.

"Just after weyrlinghood," T'vas picks up the thread of the conversation easily. "Wrenched wing, thought he'd do better down south than the cold of High Reaches," he explains this cheerfully enough, crooking out his elbow to offer her his arm, gentleman that he is. That is, if the baker was so inclined to take it. "He's all better now, though for a while there, it meant having to feed him almost like a weyrling again. At least he was big enough to eat meals whole." there's a rueful grin on the bronzerider's face. "Although he started to like them cooked."

"I hear it's common for dragons to spend time down south to recouperate their health," agrees Elsia easily, and just as easily lays her hand gently into the fold of his elbow, smiling shyly up at him. "How did he even get ahold of cooked meat to know he liked it better?" Her free hand reaches up to tuck a curl behind her ear. "I can't imagine anyone saying 'I think I'll cook this herdbeast today for you, does that sound pleasant?'"

T'vas nods fervently at that, leading the way down the stairs and thence onto the lagoon shoreline, tilting his head just so to regard Elsia carefully. "Yes, yes it is. And riders too, if any of them are sick. The WeyrHold seems popular because one never knows if they'd be going home or not." He chuckles softly, and then has the good grace to look sheepish. "He ah…" the bronzerider gives a polite cough, "stole it. Someone on the beach was having a cookout, with a whole roast herdbeast, and went inside to get something. Next thing I know, I hear yelling, and there's Jraireth making off with the herdbeast. Cost me a lot to make up for that."

Elsia's eyebrows lift and then she starts laughing, delighted. "He stole it? OH, poor Jraireth, thief dragon of the WeyrHold." She cants her head and winks up at him. "Has he grown up at all since then, or do you still live perpetually broke and trying to make up for him?" She grins broadly.

T'vas laughs as well, a good hearty chuckle, as he then gives Elsia a lopsided smile. "He said it smelled so good, so tempting … well, he made off with it and left me to the ire of an irate cook." the man shakes his head at the memory and then smiles broader. "Well, I can't say that he's given up on cooked food, but my funds are a little better now, and we've got an arrangement with a stall owner at the marketplace. We just bring what would be Jraireth's rations from the Weyr, and he cooks it up for a price. It doesn't solve all of our problems, but it makes it easier."

"Beware a cook and his wrath," she teases. "You should see me when one of the 'brats steals something I'm baking. I've been told I'm scarier than a venemous tunnelsnake, and twice a vicious." She stops abruptly and pulls her arm away, but only so she can lean down and slip her shoes off. "The sand is getting in them," she explains, hooking her fingeers into the pair and then returning her hand to his arm with a sigh. "Much better. The sand's still even a little warm."

"Remind me never to snitch a sweet from you without asking," T'vas replies wryly, "Would hate to draw your vicious venom." the bronzerider lets her go readily enough, hand outstretched to offer support and stability should Elsia need it while removing her shoes, but then once her hand is returned to place, he draws her just a bit closer. "Mmm, you could evenb try and wiggle your toes in the sand." he suggests, "though I think my choice of footwear," — low boots, with laces — might be a bit of an impediment for me doing so."

"Wise decision," says Elsia approvingly, and leans a bit to make chomp-chompy teeth at him teasingly. "You could take them off?" she suggests of his boots, looking down at them. "Or, you know, all of it, that would be alright too," she adds mischeviously, perhaps feeling a bit of that alcohol. She'd never say something like that completely sober.

Teasing chompy-chomp teeth from Elsia make T'vas laugh again, the pleasantries of the evening and no small share of alcohol making the bronzerider feel very comfortably relaxed indeed. "I'd wager," he winks teasingly in turn, "that you're a lady with a bite worse than your bark." His eyebrows quirk up at her words, and the man chuckles again. "Well, I'd say boots and socks for certain," he admits, pausing in the walk to withdraw his arm from hers. He doesn't do anything so uncouth as to hop around on one foot to remove his boots, but rather drops neatly down onto the sand to unlace them, wiggling his socks off before he stands again, laces tied together, the boots settled on the sand before he pulls off his jacket as well. "Too warm for it," he comments, dropping it over the shoes. "Want to leave yours?" Shoes, he means.

"I don't have any idea what you're talking about," replies Elsia with a grin, in such a manner to indicate that she knows exactly what he means. When he leaves his boots and jacket behind she nods and sets her sandles down. "You weren't going flying any time soon anyway, were you?" An eyebrow lifts, just double checking. "I am surprised you lasted this long with it on. So, I bet it was a big change, getting used to Ierne after High Reaches, hm?"

"Oh, I'm sure you don't," T'vas teases the baker again with a tone of voice that seems to mirror her own, as he offers Elsia his arm again, being sure to draw her in nice and close, as they stroll along the lagoon shoreline. "No, not planning to go flying any time soon, Jraireth just prefers me with the jacket on. Makes me look dashing and proper he says." Although dashing and proper could be hung when it's warm enough by the water's edge. "Yes," he answers, lips quirked into a wry smile. "It was a big change. I was used to snow, and then there we were in place where you could sunbathe with practically nothing on."

Elsia lets her hip and shoulder bump T'vas's as they walk, fingers wrapped securely around his arm, especially now that there's one less bulky jacket between them. "It does make you look dashing and proper," she agrees. "I like dashing and proper." In the dark she looks up at him and then her eyes flick downward and she laughs. "Well, at least you wouldn't have to worry about tan lines? I suppose if you found a remote enough beach you wouldn't even have to worry about the 'practically' part."

T'vas casts a long thoughtful look at Elsia, grinning a bit at the closeness of contact between them. "I like to be dashing and proper," he admits easily, his smile very white in the night's darkness. "Indeed," he responds with a chuckle, his eyes studying her, drinking her in. "I daresay that Jraireth and I went exploring, and we didn't exactly have to worry about the practically part, having found a remote enough beach for the day." he grins. "Of course, I'd gone for a dunking and had to dry my clothes in the sun anyway."

"Ah, a dunking? Is that what it takes to make you not so dashing and proper?" Elsia bumps him cheerfully with her hip, more firmly than the normal stroll warrants. She looks up again, perhaps catching him studying her, and then ducks her head again, blushing and grinning beneath a curtain of curls. "Fort's much colder than here..It was warm enough in the summer to swim, if you were young and stupid and bold. Being able to swim daily though… must have been something."

"That dratted bronze pushed me in," T'vas replies with a rather hearty laugh. "Seems he didn't want to wait for me to start scrubbing his back." there's nothing but good humor and adoration in the man's tone, clearly he loves his dragon — how could be not? — and gets along well with him. "It made me right unproper and undashing. Looked more like a soaking wet feline on a bad day." he grins at that rather firm bump, and tugs her closer, moving his arm away from hers to snug it around Elsia's waist. "I didn't /dare/ swim in the 'Reaches," comes his remark. "No matter how young and stupid and bold… there always was tales about someone getting their arse frozen right off after jumping in the lake, no matter what the season." He nods out towards the lagoon. "Could go swimming here daily."

Elsia laughs in return and her breath does a funny hitch when his arm moves around her. She licks her lips and sobers her mirth a little, blushing all the more. "Yeah, there was always that group of boys who'd go out in the dead of winter daring each other to jump in the lake and egg each other on. It isn't funny when one of them gets trapped under the ice." But that's another subject she doesn't think is befitting the mood and so she turns to curl an arm around his waist in return, steering subtly towards the edge of the surf so their toes might get wet in water that ISN'T freezing cold.

T'vas totally notices that funny hitch in Elsia's breathing, really he does. And he grins, just a little. Because he's a bronzerider. "There was also that same group of daring 'brats back where I was growing up too," Tae puts in, tilting his head to look down at her, and watch her as she talks. "Can't say that it was the smartest thing most of 'em ever did, but to a lad, they all seemed to have been skipped by the dragons whenever it came time to Search. Guess they weren't too bright at that." he'll let the conversation slide though, allowing Elsia to steer him right down towards the waterline, the surging tide washing seafoam over their feet, and dampening the hems of the bronzerider's trousers.

"I think they're a staple of every Hold and Hall and Weyr the world around," Elsia agrees. She catches her bottom lip in her teeth and nudges sand towards his foot with her toes. "Your pants are going to get wet," she points out as the water laps upwards.

T'vas laughs. "You might be right. /Someone/ has to be the dimglow somewhere along the line. Maybe it's a family or something, spreading across Pern." the bronzerider swirls his foot through the breakers, grinning a bit at her. "Sopping wet, I'm afraid," he takes the news about his pants so easily, it seems. "What's a little seawater, not like I have to wear wet pants all the time."

"At least they're thinning the gene pool?" replies Elsia with a large grin. His easy going manner about his pants draws a small shrug from her and she steps into him and back at the same time, putting her back to the water and also backing into it a step. "And then you find yourself with heavy, wet pants and regret saying that."

"So they are," T'vas remarks, "and leaving it the better for the rest of us." the bronzerider's other hand slides around, coming to rest against Elsia's hip, water swirling and tugging at the cuffs of his trousers, ignored for the moment as he grins down at the baker woman. "So I take them off," he replies, grinning teasingly. "Like I said, I don't /have/ to wear them all the time."

Elsia continues to look up at his face, a strange expression on her own. Her hand moves to rest against his forearm, not discouraging the addition of his hand on her hip, the other raised up on his shoulder. They could almost be dancing, this way. There's something more subtle than that happening though. "Well then…" she begins and then laughs shyly, looking amused for her own lacking.

Indeed, it almost could be dancing, were there music to dance to, and if the dance floor was anything but the shallows of the lagoon, water lapping against legs and clothing. "Well then…" T'vas leans against Elsia, comfortable at the proximity to the young woman and the contact of their bodies. While she might be lacking, the bronzerider isn't nearly so, and he shifts, tugging her through the water to brush a quick kiss across her lips, bold presumption on his part. "Here's to tonight. And to the stars." Which they haven't really looked at anyway. Not for a while, at least.

Elsia closes her eyes briefly for that gentle kiss and then smiles shyly up at him before tilting her chin back all the more to look past him at the stars. "Hmm, indeed. They're there too. Fancy that." She sounds a bit breathless, a little giddy. "Cheers," she adds with a heady laugh, leaning into his chest when a particularly big wave shoves against her ankles.

T'vas's smile is cheery, the bronzerider quite happy to have kissed Elsia, however fleetingly it might have been. "They won't be going anywhere." The large wave swirls around Tae, he standing quite firm despite the tugging tide, arms supporting the baker. "Cheers," he replies back. "Ought to walk you home," comes his next comment. "We can snag a bottle of booze from the caverns on the way."

Elsia nods her head and smiles. "Okay, yah… thank you for dinner, or…well, snacks, too." Glancing back at the waves she moves, hand drifting down his forearm to take his hand if he lets her, stepping away from the surf.
T'vas's fingers curl around Elsia's hand, his other arm still snugged around her waist as he sloshes through the shallows onto the shore. "And thank you for your company," Tae remarks, leaning closer to her. He'll guide her back towards the place where they left the jacket and the shoes, and then it's to the caverns they'll go.

Caverns, away! Elsia doesn't bother trying to put her wet and sandy feet back into her shoes, she caries them and picks her way across the bowl carefully — it's something she's done before. "The company was… my pleasure," she assures him, smiling. She'll let him take her back to her room, and if he comes in for small talk that's up to him, otherwise she'll leave him at her door with a soft, shy good night kiss.

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