Ista Weyr Beach - Leona - December 11th, 2006

Ista Weyr: Main Beach

The famous black sands of Ista spread out about the great cove upon which the weyr has been built, gleaming under the rays of both sun and moon, like diamonds in their own pristine beauty. Caught between the brilliance of the deep, verdant greens of the forest, and the crystalline blues of the shallows, gradually deepening their colour deeper into the great ocean, the beach is no less striking, truly beautiful in its own way.

The hot, heavy rays of the sun reach deep into these sands, forever blazing underfoot, although the water remains cool and refreshing even upon the hottest of days, never quite reaching the point of being tepid. Off to one side, coming from the plateau, a small, thin waterfall, emptiesinto a catching pool that runs off into the water through dark sand and pebbles.

Leona is taking a stroll on the beach with her daughter, Karona. Lakareth is here, also, wallowing in the water. "See, 'Rona, it's nice here." Leona says, in an encouraging tone. Still, Karona appears to be pouting pretty seriously. "I didn' wanna move!" the girl complains.

Moyrel comes onto the beach, with an approximately ten turn old child in tow, daughter by appearances. The kid points at the dragon. "I don't think I've seen that one," she says. The harper looks down at the kid and ruffles her hair lightly. She spreads out a beach blanket and sets a picnic basket on a corner of it, and then looks to observe the others giving a smile toward Karona. "Hey," she says to her own kid, "maybe you can make friends?"

Varryn bounces onto the beach, carrying a blanket under his arm and humming cheerfully to himself. He doesn't seem to have plans for swimming, instead, the kidlett flops onto the blanket, just happy to bask under the sun.

Leona glances over to Lakareth, then laughs, before turning around and spotting Moyrel and Kylar. "See, Karona, you can make friends here. Honestly, I don't get why you're complaining. I don't see your brother complaining, do you?" Leona says, while leading Karona over to join Moyrel and Kylar. Karona's response is, "That's cause he's just a baby." Leona just rolls her eyes. Once the pair are closer to Moyrel and Kylar, Leona calls out, "Lakareth says he hasn't seen you before either." before she says to herself, "Not that he'd remember." because, you know, dragon. Karona frowns at Leona, then shakes her head. Leona wants her to go over to Moyrel and Kylar? Nope, she breaks away and runs over to say "Hi," to Varryn instead.

Moyrel unpacks a few sandwiches and some fresh fruit from the picnic basket, and Kylar takes a sandwich and begins to eat, waving friendlily to the other family. "Greetings," she greets; she stands up, extending a hand, and then raises an eyebrow as she watches Karona run toward Varryn. "I'm Masterharper Moyrel," she introduces, "and this little bundle of joy here is Kylar."

Varryn blinks as he notes the girl moving over towards him, tilting his head to the side, "Hi…? You are? I don't think I've seen you around here, are you new?" He questions, looking over at Moyrel and her kid. Eww, icky girls.

Leona rolls her eyes as Karona runs off, then shrugs. Leona first shakes Moyrel's hand, introducing herself as "Leona. Mother to Karona, turned tanner, turned rider to big brown Lakareth over there." and plops herself down in the sand where she can still see her daughter. "And I'm not even going to begin to list where I've lived." she adds, with a laugh, before finishing with "Most recently Ierne Weyrhold, though." Meanwhile, Karona is finally not pouting, although she's not really overly happy either. "Yeah, we're new here. I don' wanna be here." Well, at least the girl is honest. "I'm 'Rona. That's my mum over there, it's her fault." and she shoots a pout at Leona.

Moyrel looks toward the dragon and smiles. "I spend most of my time back at the crafthall myself," she says, turrning her attention back to the rider, "though I do come out here when I have a chance. I was a sort of part-time Weyrharper here, turns ago; and probably still am, considering they've never gotten around to replacing me when I was promoted. Though if there's any place where I have Weyr connections, it's Western." She looks again at the dragon, then at Kylar, then at Leona again. "I always wanted to be a rider myself, though fate had other plans for me I guess. Kylar might take that mantle sometime, though. She's really in awe of dragons. Aren't you, Kylar?" Kylar nods emphatically. "Ah-hah," she says after swallowing a mouthful of sandwich. "Absolutely."

Varryn wrinkles up his nose but flops right back onto his stomach. Nothing's gonna bug him from enjoying his day, not even icky girls. "I'm Varryn, you're lucky. I wish I could leave the weyr, my mum never lets me go anywhere."

Leona shrugs. "My parents were riders, my brothers are all riders now, but I wasn't even searched until I was almost too old. Seems my timing was impeccable though, because that was the clutch Lakareth came from. It was certainly interesting, though. I already had a mate, and a child, and I'd made journeyman. I've been so busy since, practically non-stop. And Karell is hung up on making Master, but, truth be told, I think it's too much for him." she frowns slightly, then shrugs, and turns to watch Karona and Varryn for a moment. Karona is still pouting, when she tells Varryn, "No, you're lucky. I don' wanna have to make new friends an' stuff. I already *have* friends."

Moyrel arches an eyebrow. "Really? That sounds like my mate's family, actually. Riders, that is. His parents, his siblings, his cousins, mostly dragonriders, and mostly at Western. I usually don't have much problem if I need someone to fly me somewhere." Kylar, meanwhile, picks up a pitcher of juice, and pours a mugful for herself, and stands up and makes her way toward the other children. "Hi," she greets cheerily.

Varryn lets out a quiet whine as he wraps his arms over his head to drown out the other children. Goooo awaaayyyy! "I only have one friend, Rhalin. I wanna leave the weyr, my mom won't let me. It's so /boring/ here, you can only do things so many times before it becomes boring." He sniffs quietly.

Leona nods at Moyrel. "Lakareth is a real help when it comes to travel. I just don't seem able to stay in one place for very long, I get restless. I ran away with Karell when I was just fifteen, because he was travelling. I've never regretted it, although his family never really approved. I think they'd have been happier if we'd been married. Karell certainly asked enough." she shrugs. Karona pouts at Varryn. "I don' wanna be here." she says again, perhaps for Kylar's benefit. "I wanna go back to Ierne. An' I will. I got friends there." This last bit of speech is delivered in a conspiratorial whisper.

Moyrel nods and smiles. "I'm from Southern, myself. I was admitted to the Craft academy when I was thirteen, but always took any opportunity to travel, especially to Western or Highreaches. I came from a trader family, so I guess traveling is sort of in the blood—mine at least." Kylar smiles brightly at the other children. "I've never been to Ierne. But can still make friends anywhere." The smile brightens. "I'm Kylar."

Varryn shrugs his shoulders, "I can't do anything about it, go talk to your mom. Stop complaining to me." Kylar gets a peek, arching a brow, "Hi, I'm Varryn, nice to meet you." Can't sun in peace anymore.

Leona nods, then smiles. "I'm originally from Telgar Weyr, myself. Oddly enough, after all the places I'd lived in afterwards, it was Telgar where I impressed." she chuckles, "It's a small world. Personally, I never felt the urge to do more than the work required in travelling and general chorse. Until I had Karona over there. I guess I was worried about what she'd think of me." and she mimics Karona's voice briefly, "'This is my dad, he's a harper! And this is my mum, she… does… stuff.'" then Leona shakes her head, "Fat lot of good that did, she hates me now." Karona, meanwhile, frowns at Varryn. "Fine." she says, then turns to Kylar pointedly, "I'm Karona. I don' wanna be here." Groan.

Moyrel tilts her head a little. "So you got searched to stand at your own home Weyr, eh?" A pause, then: "I always hoped I'd have that opportunity. It never came to me, though. Everyone said it was my destiny to rise to the top of my craft. I never believed them." She laughs lightly at that. "Kylar, was named after her grandmother, her father's mother, who was a rider at Western. She might be a rider herself, though otherwise she might be a harper like her mother or a starcrafter like her father before he Impressed Daoth." Kylar, meanwhile, frowns mightily at Varryn. "You don't know anything about me. Don't be such a sharding snob." To Karona: "Good to meet ya. No chance to leave? Come see us at the hall if ya get a chance."

Varryn rolls his eyes and pushes himself to his feet, "Fine, maybe I'll go bug Rhalin, he's more fun anyway!" He sticks out his tongue, pulling down his eyelid before grabbing at his towel.

Leona shrugs slightly, "Lakareth is a big old grump, he hatched a big old grump, and he'll be a big old grump the day he dies. You're really not missing out on much." she shakes her head. Lakareth moves out of the water at last, limping over to nudge Karona. Apparently, Varryn wasn't the only one tired of her complaining. At least Varryn didn't have to live with the girl. Karona jumps at the touch, then grimaces. "You're all wet, Lakareth" Karona says, before turning to Varryn, "You don't have to go." she says, with a shrug. "I can be fun too."

Moyrel looks up at the dragon. "Hey, he looks like he has a good heart, though,, if he wants to." Kylar looks up at the dragon and beams brightly. "His name is Lakareth?" she says to Karona, and waves to the dragon. "Hi, Lakareth." To Varryn: "I can be a ton of fun if I wanna."

Varryn shrugs, "I'll let you…girls…have fun. See ya later." He offers a wave before sneaking out. Now to go stalk Rhalin, yay.

Leona shrugs. "Lakareth isn't too bad. I'm lucky, I guess. He doesn't really chase often, even though I've always managed to wind up with Karell when he does." she smiles fondly, probably for the mention of her mate, although she doesn't seem to smile about him like that usually. "And I know it's not really his fault he's grumpy, he's just frustrated." she nods to the brown dragon. "See his front legs? See how one is smaller? Yeah. I've grown accustomed to the smell of numbweed, but even that doesn't always help, so he's grumpy a lot." she sighs, and shakes her head. Karona meanwhile, pouts at Varryn's exit, before shrugging it off and turning to Kylar, "Yep, that's Lakareth. I was three when he hatched." she adds, oddly proud to be born first.

Moyrel nods. "Yeah, well, K'urk's Daoth doesn't fly often either, though I'm sure I'd be understanding of the situation if it comes to that." She looks at the dragon, and particularly his mismatched legs. "Ah, well, all the more so, then. His good nature when he can show it, that is. He knows frustration." Kylar looks at Lakareth, and if allowed reaches to pat the dragon on the nose. No, she has no fear of the great beasts, apparently, even though she's craftbred herself. "Wow," she says. "He's awesome. All dragons are."

Leona shrugs. "Really, he's a very private dragon. I think I'm the only one who knows what he's really like. And really, he's an old grump." she snickers as Lakareth turns towards her and snorts. "He doesn't like it when I call him that. But, no, really, he's not always grumpy. Just mostly." Karona, meanwhile, is warning Kylar not to get too close. "Careful, Lakareth doesn't like to be touched." she warns, looking up at Lakareth warily.

Moyrel nods. "Mm. I know having a dragon isn't all prestige and glory, though; I mean, I know the responsibility is enormous. Still, sometimes I wonder how my life would be different. I guess it comes from having known so many dragonriders when I was younger, and later having so many rider in-laws." Kylar, heeding Karona's warning, withdraws. "Okay. Ya gotta respect them I know. But if you can go by dragon maybe you can talk your ma into taking you to /visit/ your old friends on him?"

Leona nods, glancing over at Lakareth. "Well, not everyone can be riders, dragons don't reproduce nearly as much as people." she snickers, then adds, "Look at me, I've got two kids - the youngest was still asleep when we came to the beach - and Lakareth here? Despite his one and only attempt, he has none. And he probably won't have any either, as a brown who doesn't like to chase often. My sister has seven kids of her own, and she's fostered three more over the turns. So, there're more people than there are dragons, by a lot. But, Pern needs the crafters, and the holders, more so than the riders, in this day and age." Karona, meanwhile is pouting up at Lakareth. "I don' wanna go on him, he's a grump." she says, then shrugs. "Uncle L'ren is a meanie, but uncle N'mar might take me."

Moyrel nods agreeably. "Pern does need crafters. It's why I make sure all the apprentices back at the hall are keeping up with their training. They'll be responsible for imparting education and wisdom on future generations, y'know—and society needs everyone, each according to their talents." A pause then: "Kylar is my only child, and there probably won't be any more. I'm older than I look. Forty-one." She sighs, making it sound as if it might as well be a century. Kylar looks up at the dragon, and tilts her head quizzically. "Lakareth looks like he cares about you though." Then: "So ask them?"

Leona shrugs slightly. "I've got a turn old you can have, if you really want?" she offers, with a grin. "I'm thirty four myself." then, quietly so that the girls don't overhear, "I never intended to have any children, to be honest. I'd have gone between with the second, if Lakareth had let me. Somehow he managed to warn off all the other dragons I tried to get to take me, as well." Mother-of-the-turn she is not. But, she shrugs. "Karell makes a good father." Well, at least someone is. Karona frowns, and shakes her head. "I could, and *she* wouldn't miss me, but dad would." 'She' is of course Leona in this instance.

Moyrel nods, now looking more solemn. "Mm. I never intended children either, but I have Kylar. She's a good kid, though. She has a sweet, sunny personality and a good heart, though being the only child she's becoming so independent it's scary." Kylar looks at Leona and then at Karona, her smile fading a little. "So make sure your dad knows, then, if you do go. Don't they ever want to see /their/ old friends?"

Leona shrugs slightly, then shakes her head. "It's not like I regret having children, really. I just… Well, Karell is a mature adult, so he doesn't mind so much when I decide to pack up and move. He tries to talk me out of it, of course, and a couple of times he's succeeded, but he never throws a tantrum when he loses either. Karona has barely spoken to me since the move. I'm thinking about sending her back to be fostered at Ierne." she sighs, and shakes her head. "I'm really not cut out for this. Dragons are easier to raise than children." Leona says, going quiet now. Karona shrugs, "He'd try an' stop me. I don't know if he has any friends of his own, he never goes anywhere unless *she* is going. An' she is always off visiting some place or other."

Moyrel is here, talking with Leona, and Kylar is here with a mug of juice, talking with Karona. A beach blanket and picnic basket lie apparently forgotten nearby. "Children can be a real hassle sometimes, yes, but I don't think I'd have it any other way, now that I have Kylar. She keeps me from getting to cynical, for one thing." Her smile reasserts itself on her face. "I guess she takes after her father's side more in that area." Kylar gives another look at Leona before talking to Karona. "Well, we live at Harper Hall, but dad is always doing something somewhere." The bright smile fades. "I wish I could see him more."

Leona nods, glancing over at Karona and Kylar, and Lakareth, who is now limping back to the water. It's nice there, the water supports him and takes the weight off of his bad leg. "I wouldn't change a thing. Even though I know I'm not the best mother." she shrugs, then glances back in the general direction of the Weyr, smiling slightly at something. That something? Karell, coming towards her, holding a screaming turn old boy. "Plus, for some reason I can't understand, Leonell only behaves for me." she shrugs, and gets up to meet her mate. On the way, she passes Karona and Kylar. Karona looks up to see her father, and grins, running to meet him with obvious enthusiasm. Lakareth stays wallowing in the water.

Moyrel waves to the departing family. "It was good to make your acquaintance, then, Leona, Karona. Goodbye for now." Kylar waves also. "Byebye."

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