Ista Hold Main Courtyard

From Sejith's neck, T'rell breaks into a smile as he pulls off his flying helmet. "Hey, down there," he calls to Kaeryn. "Wanna go for a ride, baby?"

Kaeryn grins and lifts her hand into a wave, Brencia doing the same, and the mother-daughter pair nod together as one. "Where to?" the harper calls out, glancing back towards her room, "I'm afraid I left my jacket in my room, so if I need it I'll just run back up..?

Sejith whuffles close to Kaeryn and the toddler, blowing warm dragon-breath over them in a wash as his rider laughs. "Just back to the weyr, how 'bout it? I'll lend you mine until we get back into the sun."

A giggle and a nod accompany the affectionate greeting Kae and 'cia are offered by the large bronze, and the journeywoman moves over to Sejith's side, holding the squirming toddler up so her father can take her. "I promise, I think she loves to fly even more than she loves to swim."

From Sejith's neck, T'rell leans down to hoist the small passenger up with a grin. "Hang on tight," he instructs, tucking her into the fighting straps while he unshoulders his jacket. "Here, Kae, wrap the two of you up in this." Keeping a watchful eye on Brencia (who at the moment has decided that the dragon's neckridge needs pounding on), he leans over again to reach for the harper's hand.

Kaeryn first quickly slips the offered jacket onto her own smaller frame and then reaches up, grasping T'rell's hand and scrambles up Sejith's foreleg and onto the bronze's neck. Once she's settled, arms are lifted to take the smaller passenger into them so she can wrap her up in the already warm jacket. As she leans forward to take her, the harper plants a quick kiss on T'rell's cheek. Sneaky, she is.

T'rell turns into the kiss, getting it full on the lips instead. Sneaky, he is, and he grins as he hands back the extra flying straps as he extricates Brencia from the ones she was playing with. "All set?"

Once their daughter is comfortably added into the warmth of the jacket and the straps are attached, Kae gives him a nod, "We're ready." Brencia mimicks her mother as well as she can, giving the straps a good tug as she does, "'edy!"

T'rell salutes his young daughter. "Then off we go." He winks to Kaeryn, then turns and signals the bronze to fly, which he accomplishes with a graceful leap into the air and an unfurling of great wings.

Sky High Over Northeastern Bowl

Brencia squeals happily the moment they reappear from ::Between::, reaching tiny fingers forward to tug on the back of her father's shirt. Kae laughs and grabs her daughter's little arm and pulls it back toward her, "Daddy's busy, love, just a minute and he'll play. I promise."

T'rell reaches one arm stealthily back to poke lightly at Brencia's stomach as the dragon soars through the air toward the beach, the turquoise waters in constant motion beyond the shimmering black sands.

Sky High Over Plateau

T'rell calls aloud, as if contemplating and requesting his dragon's opinion. "Wha'dy' think, wanna dive from here or land first?... Dive, you say?"

Sky Above Weyr Beach

Brencia squeals with delight, reaching forward once again to grab at T'rell's shirt, her dark little eyes spotting the water nearby, which, of course, to her means it's time for a swim. "I think she wants the water," Kae calls out from behind them both, her voice tinted with amusement.

T'rell chuckles aloud. "Then the water it is," he agrees, reaching back to steady the girl while he leans forward into the bronze's dive, the wind suddenly starting to rush past the passengers as they plummet, gliding toward the ocean.

Kaeryn laughs aloud as they begin their decent, but she squeezes her eyes closed against the rushing air, squeaking out, "Don't *I* have any say in whether I get wet or not?"

Sejith streaks toward the water, wings half-folded as he meteors from the heights. Grinning all the way, his rider lets out a gleeful whoop as the dragon and passengers just barely skim the waves, ocean spray dusting the sunshine around them. The bronze banks, dragging one wingtip in the water as he turns back toward the beach to finally lang very gently on the sand. "Of course you have a say," T'rell belatedly responds, turning to give Kaeryn a very innocent smile.

Main Beach

Kaeryn laughs, shaking her head so that her curls not only float around her face in the wind, but cover her eyes, causing her to have to push them away. "Thank you for not drenching us all. I'm afraid I haven't a swimming suit with me at the moment, and I'm not keen on swimming in a skirt."

T'rell unclips the fighting straps, tickling a squirming Brencia in the process. "Who needs a suit?" he challenges Kae, glancing up at her with a gleam in his eye.

"*I* do," Kae replies with a wrinkle of her nose, letting her daughter squirm free of the jacket and crawl into her father's arms. "She, on the other hand, could swim in anything, or nothing, so the two of *you* can swim, and I'll watch."

T'rell looks disappointed, but lifts the toddler up against his chest as he swings a wherhide-clad leg over a neckridge and proceeds to slide down the dragon's sloped shoulder to the accompaniment of Brencia's delighted laughter.

Kaeryn drops to the ground behind the pair, shaking her head and smiling with amusement. "I think she's more and more like you every day, did you know that?" the harper shares this little bit of personal thought as she lands on the sand beneath Sejith's feet. "Why the beach today?"

"Seemed like a beach day." T'rell shrugs as he sets Brencia down on the sand, holding her hands as she steadies herself. "Like me, eh? Is that a compliment or not?" he jokes.

"I love you, don't I?" Kae counters, giving the bronzerider a wink and a bright smile. "So how could her being like you not be a compliment?" Just a couple steps forward and she reaches his side, reaching a hand up to rest against his forearm while his hands steady the toddler.

T'rell encompasses Kaeryn's waist with a sturdy arm, pulling her in while his other hand is quite occupied by a curious child. "Well, in that case..." Just as he's about to say and/or do something, the girl tugs. "Wass-at?" She suddenly squats close to the sand without letting go, forcing her father to lean over as well or risk dislocating something, which somewhat interrupts his plans. "Uh.." He glances at the thing in the sand. "That's a stick, Bren."

Kaeryn's pulled closer just to be pulled away from, thanks to the little one partially dangling from T'rell's other arm. Once again, Kae shakes her head, but the smile that touches her lips is echoed in her eyes, a bright sparkle dancing within. "One day, eventually, we'll be able to return the 'what's that' favor and interrupt her," she promises.

T'rell chuckles, grinning at the thought of it. "Won't we just get her back," he predicts mischievously. "How 'bout," he lets Brencia go, following her wanderings with a closely watchful eye, "we get her wet, let Sejith soak, then go for a walk?"

"It would be a nice change," Kae agrees softly, though if she just to the talking or not is undeterminable. As the little one wanders across the sand, she watches in silence, now accustomed to let her out of arms' reach without too much trouble.

T'rell begins to strip off trousers and shirt in preparation for a swim. "How's the studying going?"

Sejith meanwhile explores the water's edge, letting incoming waves wash over his nose enough that, tickled, he lifts his head suddenly and snorts.

Kaeryn can't help but grin at the bronze's antics, which delays her response to T'rell's question for a moment longer. "It's coming along well enough, though no where near as quick as I could hope. I'm just ready to be here again, in all honesty." Choosing to not join the others for a swim, she settles down on the sand to watch.

T'rell drops his clothes in an unordered pile on the sand near Kaeryn, herding Brencia back toward her mother while he proceeds on to Sejith, tugging at buckles to loosen the well-fitted straps. "We're about ready for you to be back here, too," he agrees. "But however long it takes, that's how long it takes." Not that he wants it that way.

"Yeah, I know, but that doesn't make it any easier, does it?" Kae replies as she claims the squirming little one, trying to hold her still long enough to get the girl's clothes off so she can swim. "It makes me want to work more, but on the other hand, I know that if I do, I'll just wind up overdoing it. You know me."

"Don't you dare overdo it," T'rell shoulders the tremendous lot of fighting straps as it slips down from Sejith's neckridges, and the bronze ventures into the waves with a satisfied grunt. "Seems to me I've heard you've been known to work yourself sick if nobody stops you."

"I never do it intentionally," Kae replies, standing up on her own behalf and giving him a small shrug, releasing the toddler so she can run water-wards. "It's hard to do, though, with being a harper, and learning the skills of a dolphineer and trying to be a good mom and a good..." there she's stuck, unable to think of a word to use to describe what she is to him.

T'rell dumps the straps and strides after the toddling child, catching up to her in plenty of time to scoop her up by the armpits and let an incoming breaker wash over her without swamping her, not finishing Kaeryn's thought for her. "The weyrlings have all got their own weyrs now," he calls back conversationally, setting Brencia down again with himself as wave-barrier. "Ali's planning a garden in hers."

Staring out at the rolling waves, Kae misses his comment, or it's just delayed in its journeym to her mind, because her reponse is a long time in coming. Quietly, she watches as T'rell plays in the water with their daughter, a thoughtful, or wistful, glimmer appearing in her eyes. "Ali? Oh, really? That's good, I guess, though it means that her dragon will be old enough to chase now. Not sure how she feels about that."

T'rell raises an eyebrow at Kaeryn's apparently thoughtful expression, though simply responds with a chuckle. "Aye, she's very holdbred, too, ain't she? With luck, she'll find someone other than C'ran for her first flight," he jokes lightly, ducking as Brencia splashes him enthusiastically. "You done yet?" he wonders to the girl.

"No." Brencia tells her father stubbornly, splashing him again with more force than one might expect from such a small person. "More swim."

"Rumor has it, or so she's written, that she's practically weyrmated already. Practically because she says it's just a friend, but he's there every night now, and is apparently helping her decorate, or something." There's a look of amusement on Kae's face, but it isn't reflected in her eyes, showing there's a thought much deeper than that still occuring in the harpers head.

"Every night?" T'rell grins curiously. "Who does this bloke think he is? More swimming, is that it?" he turns his attention to the splashing toddler, supporting her around the waist. "Now hold your breath," he tells her, illustrating by taking a big breath and puffing out his cheeks dramatically until she does the same, encouraging, "Now paddle. Great, look at you go!"

"A friend, she says, but it sounds like he's a little more than that. Looks like she's at least left that other fellow behind, right?" Kae's head is shaken again and the train of thought is left behind as she concentrates on watching the swimming lesson.

Brencia paddles along in the shallows, propelled by crawling feet and hands while supported by her naturally buoyant personality and her father's grasp. "That crafter?" T'rell asks.

Kae nods as she pulls her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them, "It was hard for her, but she's apparently told him that it wasn't going to work. It's a greenrider, her friend. P'kar? do you know him?"

T'rell shakes his head, lifting the girl out of the water as she sputters, having swallowed a small mouthful of brine and very unhappy about the whole situation. "Hey, hey, I told you to hold your breath, didn't I?" He pats her back gently, making sure -- though her wailing could have told him anyway -- that her windpipe is, indeed, clear. "It's okay, you're fine." Standing her up belly-deep, he wipes away a last tear and smiles encouragingly to her. "See?" Slowly, Brencia nods, not quite convinced. "Hmm. P'kar? Not more than in passing." Crisis passed, more mundane conversation may now continue.

Kaeryn's fingers trail along in the sand beside her as they speak, creating small spirals and pictures, since the artist, as usual, can't keep her hands still at any given time. "I'm going to bring her to the nanny for a few candlemarks a day, so I can work," she announces quietly, the decision being one that obviously required much thought and consideration.

T'rell looks up. "Good," he immediately assesses, nodding. The child in question stretches forth her hands, requesting, "Up, Da. Up, Da." And with a smile, he complies, hoisting her up to carry her back to the sand. "She'll be fine and it'll give you less to worry about."

"Less to worry about? You think so?" Kae gives T'rell a 'brave smile' and shakes her head, "I'm not so sure that I'd agree with you on that part. Instead of keeping up with her, I'll be worrying whether or not someone else is."

T'rell sits down beside Kaeryn, allowing their daughter to clamber back, wet, to her mother's lap. "Someone who has a sharding lot more experience than either of us," he points out, having forgotten a towel such that he's forced to sun-dry instead, droplets of seawater running in small rivulets to drip to the dark sands.

Kaeryn winces, lifting the todder from her lap and plopping her back into her father's lap. "True, but she's still my daughter, so letting someone else take care of her is just, well, a hard thing for me to do. You know that."

T'rell bounces the girl on his knees, holding her hands to steady her at the same time. "Yeah, and I let someone else take care of her most of the time," he points out ruefully. "It's a wonder I don't complain more."

Kae nods, "And she doesnt like that she has to leave you for someone else to take care of either, you know." A mischevious grin forms and her eyes twinkle, "Even knowing that Sejith has been taking care of you longer than /she/ has been alive."

T'rell laughs softly, watching the floating bronze form soaking lazily in the rolling waves. "So how about that walk?" He bounces Brencia up into the air, standing up while keeping her suspended. "Hey, look, you're flying!" he tells her, much to her delight.

Kaeryn scrambles to her feet, T'rell's jacket in her arms, and nods her head in several directions. "Where to?"

T'rell turns around, seemingly deciding at random. "How about up there?" He gestures to the path up the hillside, away from the main weyr bowl, then dusts sand from his swimming shorts.

Kaeryn motions for him to take the lead, pausing to gather his things from the sand, since his arms are full of squirming toddler. "Sejith going to waste the day away in the water?"

T'rell smiles broadly. "Yep," he answers. "Don't worry about that stuff, we'll come back for it," he adds, lifting the toddler up over his head to sit her on his shoulders for the climb. "After you."

Kaeryn shrugs and grabs the last of the things, shoving Bren's clothes into the bag dangling from her shoulder, and wanders off in the direction she's pointed in.

Hillside Path (#11400)

T'rell climbs the path slowly, one hand resting on Brencia's ankles and the other catching the sea grasses as he passes them by. "It's kinda nice back here, eh? Bit different from the bowl."

"It is, very. And soothing, with the water and all," Kae has to agree, glancing to the side to give T'rell and Brencia a grin. "Of course, I am partial to the water."

T'rell hmms agreeably, reaching the top of the first rise. "And the view's pretty good once you get up here." He turns back toward the water, overlooking the beach and ocean where Sejith still soaks.

Kaeryn pauses at the top, looking out across the water and nods appreciatively. "I could probably sit here and do some nice land and seascapes, don't you think?"

T'rell nods thoughtfully, then grimaces, removing a small, clutching fist from his hair. "Ow, 'Cia. Not so tight." The girl squirms, impatient to keep moving, and he turns toward the overshadowing hillside where a cave yawns quietly. "Ever explored any of these caves?" he wonders of Kaeryn.

"And when have I had time to do that?" Kae remarks with a soft laugh. "No, I haven't, unfortunately. Or not so unfortunately. Not sure I'd want to go into one of them in the dark alone."

"Well, here's your chance to go into the dark with me," suggests T'rell, grinning with the proffered challenge while Brencia peers curiously from her perch on his shoulders into the shadowed darkness.

"But see, that's alright, because I won't be going in alone, right?" Kae replies, but she does drop the arm load of clothes and move just a little closer to T'rell. "You first."

T'rell grins, reaching out to take Kaeryn's hand and lead her. "You might even like it," he suggests softly while Brencia reaches out a hand to catch her mother's ear.

Sejith's Weyr
     The black, glassy rock of the mountain opens into a wide, dark cave. The entrance is large enough to admit a sizeable dragon, but is not spacious in itself; in comparison, the rear of the cave is immense, emerging into a labyrinth of light and shadows and myriad reflections of glowlight on the faceted obsidian walls. Amid the rough rooms, large floes of granite and marble break up the otherwise unrelenting black, streaks of white and speckled grey to lend cheer and light. Near the mouth, shelves, hooks and a worn cabinet have been scrubbed and filled with riding equipment; a dark, closet-like formation glints with a tangle of unassembled copper tubing. A grey-walled room, up a small flight of natural steps, has been carved to shape, the floor swept and a wide, blanket-covered mattress spread upon the smoothed stone floor. At the back of the main cavern, a small stream flows silently through the darkness.
     The south area, a low, sheltered study where the cave doubles back toward the surface, actually boasts a window which has been hewn large enough to hold the bronze shutters which, at the moment, rest unmounted on the floor. Surrounded by mica-veined marble, the roughly hexagonal nook is bright and sunny; a ray of hope that this place is once more livable.

Kaeryn squeezes T'rell's hand as they walk into the cave together, after gently tugging her ear away from their daughter's grasp. As they step into the cave, she looks around waits for her eyes to adjust to the small amount of light that fills the room. T'rell is given a confused look and she squeezes his hand again. "Looks like there're a few holes into the side or something, there's light coming in up there."

T'rell grunts affirmatively. "This one turns back around once you get inside. But there's something in here you should see -- " with a quick pressure on Kaeryn's hand, he steps further into the cave, approaching the stream with only the barest glint of moving water and a light burbling noise to betray its location. "It's a pretty big cave. Used to be someone's weyr."

"So you've been here before?" Kae asks softly in an effort to keep her voice from echoing off the walls since she doesn't know exactly how big it is. "I didn't know there are ever weyrs on the ground level, except for the weyrleader. I thought they had to be up high, or something." As they get nearer to the water, she pauses, "Is that water?"

T'rell nods, features shadowed in the dimly filtered light. "Yeah, I've explored a lot of the Weyr," he tells Kaeryn, stooping to cup water from the stream while balancing Brencia on his shoulders. "But I'd mostly forgotten about this section of the caves until just recently. Ah, take a look up here," he dribbles the water out of his fingers back into the stream, stepping across the open area to the raised room. "Watch your step," he cautions, leading up the stairs into the darkness.

Kaeryn follows closely behind, not wanting to stumble over some unseen rock or item. The stairs are taken slowly, one step at a time, reaching out to touch the wall in case she needs the extra balance. "What's up here, then?"

"Stay right here," T'rell's grin is evident in his tone as he leads Kaeryn to a spot, then releases her hand and steps away. Suddenly, light streams from an opened glowbasket across the chamber, matress and clothes press evident against the smooth grey stone. "Well?"

Grey, granite walls are fraught with rivulets of crystalline quartz and hung with bright tapestries and paintings. Into the silica, glowbaskets have been artfully carved, sending the light seeping through the translucent stone in a glowing aurora of imitation sunshine. An old trunk hunkers self-consciously against the wall nearby. The near corner, just the other side of the separating wall from Sejith's couch, fits a low, wide bed with a rush mattress and a light quilt.

Kaeryn's eyes open wide. "Used to be someone's weyr?" she mocks softly as she steps the rest of the way into the room. "But why did you decide to come here and give up your old weyr? I know you loved it there..." The harper moves slowly around the room, looking at the walls and the glows. "It's lovely, though."

T'rell lifts a squirmy toddler off his shoulders, letting her down to the floor before he answers. "This is better," he summarizes. "Besides, where would Ali sleep if I were still living in her weyr?" He jokes playfully, smiling as he watches Brencia explore the exterior of his old trunk in its new location.

"So you thought you'd give away your old weyr and now you needed a new home?" Kae questions the bronzerider thoroughly, not seeming to believe that's all there is to his story. "What does Sejith think about it?"

"Now that it's cleaned out," T'rell grins, "He approves. It'll take awhile to get used to, sure," he shrugs, seating himself on the edge of the low bed. "But," his gaze travels from Brencia to Kaeryn's face, reaching a hand up for hers as he nods, confirming his inner thoughts, "it'll be worth it."

Kaeryn moves to stand beside the bed and slips her hand into T'rell's, squeezing it lightly. "It's nice, and quiet as well. And Bren seems to like it.." Leaning forward, she plants a kiss on his forehead, "I'd say I approve as well, and I'm sure Ali appreciates your old weyr, with her and her plants."

T'rell springs back up to his feet, smiling expectantly as he tosses an arm around Kaeryn's shoulders. "And you haven't even seen your study yet," he points out, steering her back toward the small flight of stairs.

Kae opens her eyes, widely, and comes to a stop at the top of the stairs, "Did you say *my* study?" Unblinking blue gaze is turned to study T'rell's face. "Are you saying what I think you're saying?" the harper may be stunned, but she refuses to jump to conclusions, even if they are nice.

T'rell is likewise momentarily stunned. "What?" He halts, one step down. "You don't want a study?" Innocence and confusion are illuminated by the crystalline glowlight from the bedroom.

"That isn't what I meant," Kae's voice is soft, but even as she speaks, stepping a little closer to T'rell, which means taking a step down as well. "I mean, you have a room here for me to use, to work in. Does that mean you want me, us," she motions toward the toddler wandering about the room, "to live here with you, or am I jumping /way/ ahead of you here?"

T'rell opens his mouth to speak, and when no sound comes out, he clears his throat and hurriedly answers. "Of course. Why do you think I asked for this place?" He reaches up to caress Kaeryn's cheek with rough, calloused fingers, pushing hair behind her ear.

Kaeryn lifts her hand to touch the larger one near her cheek, her own words not coming now, though mostly due to the tears that are quickly forming in her eyes. Blinking quickly, she tries to force them away. "I didn't ask because I didn't want to pressure you, but I hoped that maybe..." she pauses, looking around again, unable to put into words what she's thinking. "But you asked, or you are, or... here we are?"

Brencia, marching from end to end of the room for no comprehensible reason other than to release excess energy and practice walking, stumbles on her own toes and tumbles to the floor, landing on her knees with a sudden wail of protest and pain. "Maaaa!" Piteous, her cries echo through the cavern.

T'rell's attention is torn from what he was about to say to Kaeryn to the girl who is busy dissolving in tears on the floor. "Oops," he mutters softly, reaching the top of the stairs in a single step, hand once again, or still, holding Kaeryn's.

Kaeryn moves quickly to the little one's side, releasing T'rell's hand before dropping to the floor beside her and scooping Brencia into her arms. "Let me see," she whispers softly, her voice smooth and even in an effort to sooth her daughter's cries. Kisses are lightly planted on each of the little one's knees before T'rell is given an apologetic frown.

T'rell smiles ruefully if tolerantly, ruffling Brencia's hair gently to distract her from her sore knees. "Hey, kid, what's all the fuss about?" he murmurs lightly. "Kaeryn," he continues; even if the moment has been interrupted, he wouldn't have it any other way, "I was really hoping you two would live here, anyway. I guess I just assumed that you would..." Not having checked with them, moving into a whole new weyr... that's a sharding big assumption, and now he's experiencing a moment of panicked doubt even as Brencia's sobs begin to dissipate.

Kaeryn and Brencia lift both their chins to look at T'rell, both pairs of eyes teary, though for different reasons. "Of course we will," she replies softly, a single tear slipping down her cheek before she can brush it away, causing her to give him a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry, it's just that I'd hoped that you'd ask one day, and am so happy that you have." Bren's sore little knees are patted one more time before the little one scampers off, her aches forgotten, leaving her mother seated on the floor. "Would you mind horribly if we moved some of the things from my old room in? Like the rugs for instance. She does that alot.."

T'rell sinks to the floor next to Kaeryn with a sudden sigh of relief, and laughs. "Sounds like a good idea to me," he agrees, smile alight.

Kae scoots over to wrap her arms around him in a gentle hug, and as she leans back, she can't help but laugh, "Of couse, if I brought all of my things here, it would seem like it was a girl's room, so we can compromise. I don't mind not bringing it all. I'm sure Ali wouldn't mind having some of my things.."

T'rell catches Kaeryn in her hug for a brief but intense moment. "We'll figure it out," he tells her softly, near a whisper that is yet echoed and magnified out into the darkness with the murmuring of the stream below. "Sometimes it just takes a while," he adds, his tone almost apologetic.

"I know we will, after all, she's turning out alright, isn't she?" Kae leans into T'rell's arms for a light embrace while they watch their daughter, who chooses the moment of example to shove her little fingers under the lid of the trunk and try to pry it open. "I don't know if you realize how much this means to me, but thank you."

"I don't know if you realize how much you mean to me," T'rell responds softly. He smiles quietly, adding, "You surprised me."

Kaeryn smiles softly to herself, her voice soft as she replies, "I think we surprised each other, didn't we? The question is, how much is *she* going to surprise us?" With a light laugh, she rests her shoulder into the crook of T'rell's, letting the conversation fall to silence so they can watch their daughter explore her new home.

With Kaeryn's comfortable warmth against his bare shoulder, T'rell grins quietly as he watches their daughter's eager explorations and bright, curious spirit.

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