Waterfall's Basin (#3408)
     The weyr's fresh-water pool flows clean and clear, almost undisturbed by the river that rests here after crashing down from the heights above. This small bay is neatly surrounded by a series of smooth stone steps and hidden beaches, a haven from the wider lake beyond before the water drops further to the sea below.
     One gnarled, ancient tree has survived the ravages of time and Thread, reaching up towards the cliff above and the water below. A set of cruide boards makes the climb an easy one. The beach stretches, wide and warm, the waterfall quite a swim distant.

Kita is reclining on the black sand of the shore, hands behind her head as her face is turned towards the sky, eyes closed. Her riding jacket is slung over a tree branch not far off, yet the brownrider is still wearing her leather pants. Obviously she has just completed her sweeps. As always, Djarreth is never far: his hide glistens wet in the sun, as though just having had a bath. More alert than his rider, he raises his head to croon a greeting to the Weyrharper.

Kaeryn practically bounces down the path toward the base of the waterfall, her sandals clacking lightly on the rocks beneath them and skirt swirling about her ankles. In one hand, she carries a notebook, in the other a guitar, probably to work on the song she's humming under her breath. "Good day Djarreth! Kita!" she calls out, coming to a stop near them.

"Good day, Kaeryn," Kita greets, not moving nor opening her eyes. Having an awake dragon has it's advantages. "Just too nice a day to spend in the weyr, eh?" Finally Kita opens her eyes, twisting her head to get a look at the harper. Squinting in the bright light, Kita's face develops a grin as she notices the guitar. "Ooh! Are you working on something? Can I hear it?" she asks excitedly, without giving the poor girl a chance to answer. Ever aware of his rider's moods, Djarreth's great eyes begin to whirl faster with anticipation.

Kaeryn nods, stepping closer to the pool before finding a place suitable for playing and writing, as well as enjoying the breeze coming from the waterfall. "A little something that popped into my head yesterday, but it seems to be struggling to stay in my head and not be played. Hopefully I'll win that fight, though." Making herself comfortable, she adjusts the placement of the guitar in her lap and runs her fingers across the strings, checking to make sure they're not in need of another tuning.

Kita pushes herself up upon her elbows, finally making the ascent to a crawling position and settling herself between Djarreth's forelegs. She rolls herself onto her stomach, legs bent at the knees with the ankles crossed, arms folding upon one of Djarreth's legs and her chin placed on top. She faced the Weyrharper, eyes shining as she eagerly awaits this little improptu performance. "Djarreth loves music," Kita grins, having been witness to his reaction before when someone played. "He uh...likes to try and sing along."

"Well, it's a bit rough, so don't say I didn't warn you," is the weyrharper's final statement before beginning to play. Her fingers move slowly across the strings, the many turns of practice allowing her to do it with seeming ease. The general feel of the song unfolds, slow, yet wistful, before she begins to sing. "Funny how I feel, more myself with you, than anybody else that I ever knew. I hear it in your voice, see it in your face, you've become the mem'ry I can't erase."

Kita eyebrows raise dramatically in an expression of 'rough???' Whether Kaeyrn's standards are higher than Kita's, or Kita has just forgotten exactly how harpers perform is anyone's guess. Eventually her eyes close, in remarkable synchrony with her dragon's, and slowly lowers her head to her arms.

Aera is still on her K'el-is-a-dragon game. The little bronze is outstretched in the girl's arms and just now, she's running alongmaking him maneuver rather unrealisitically in the air. The bronze is as limp as limp can be. So far, he's letting her do all of this and not complaining. How long will that last? Ze'ia glides along, the girl's little nanny, crooning her own little song in her own little world. Now /who/ let this little'un out, again? Or is the more pertinent question -- does it matter?

Kaeryn pauses, mid-chord and frowns, trying several different changes where the original was, finally settling on a sound that's pleasing to her ear before staring over at the beginning. This time, that much of the song is performed without vocals so she can listen, pausing just after the point that the offending chord had originally been and giving Kita a grin, "There are portions here and there still in need of tinkering."

Kita opens her eyes and blinks. Obviously she hadn't even noticed. "Really? Shards, has it been that long? I didn't even hear any dissonance..." There! Seems Kita does remember some of her training. "Please, keep going. It sounds wonderful." Djarreth warbles an agreement, the last part of his croon changing timbre. Kita looks to her side, seeing a hyped up Aera running around. A perplexed look first marrs Kita's features- how on Pern did she get here?- before the rider puts a finger to her lips in a gesture of 'quiet.' Then she holds out an arm, inviting the girl to sit with her between Djarreth's forelegs.

Kaeryn offers another grin Kita-wards before turning her attention back to the guitar, her eyelids slowly drooping down to hide her blue eyes. The music begins again, the vocals picking up again just after the newly altered chord, probably the reason it was changed in the first place. "You could have been anyone at all, a stranger falling out of the blue, I'm so glad it was you." There's a pause in the vocals, barely a breath long, before she begins singing again, "It wasn't in the plan, not that I could see, suddenly a miracle came to me."

Aera slows to a hault upon seeing both harper, brownrider, and brown dragon. It's all rather nice, you see. K'el sort of putters out and is actualy dropped, like some sort of toy. Fortunately, the bronze seems rather used to that type of treatment and his wings snap open and a moment goes by in which he's up up up and away. He's not going to stay and be abused, after all. Looking on in a sort of wonderment, the ebon-crowned little girl wanders over toward Kita and Djarreth, ploping down into a seat without even a thought for where that seat is. She's used to dragons, after all. "What's she doin'?" The girl inquires in a 'whisper'. A whisper that's more of a stage-whisper and not at all subtle. Well, she's five. Give her a break.

Kita clamps a hand over the young girl's mouth without taking her eyes off the weyrharper. "She's doing something very special for us," Kita whispers properly, hopefully teaching the noisy girl how to do it. "We're seeing a work in the making- a true harper doing what she does best. Normally solo performances by the Weyrharper are reserved for the Weyrleader, his Weyrwoman and Wingleaders. This is a rare opportunity." Unsaid, but no doubt underlying Kita's tone is a warning of, 'so don't ruin it!' So absorbed is the brownrider, that when she finishes speaking and diverting her attention back to Kaeryn she forgets to remove her hand from Aera's mouth. From above them, Djarreth's throat begins to vibrate, a soft, soft tone coming from within.

Kaeryn's eyes flicker up, glancing at Kita with an...amused...look where another person may have received an angry glare, at the mention of the Weyrleader and his Weyrwoman. The look is accompanied by a faltering in the placement of her fingers, causing a dissonant chord. Wincing, she begins again, backing up a few chords and picking up the vocalized portion where she left off, "Safe within your arms I can say what's true, nothing in the world I would keep from you. You could have been anyone at all, an old friend calling out of the blue, I'm so glad it was you."

Aera does fall rather silent, her lips stilling beneath the brownrider's hand. The girl's green eyes widen, but that's the only indication that she actually understands what Kita's saying. Not that she's awed by Kaeryn's presence, but more by the fact that she's going to get a preformance all to herself. Ze'ia moves to a settling point upon the brown's foreleg, her own high-pitched, soprano-type croon joining the mesh -- quiet-like, though. She's got more grace than Aera. The girl doesn't even struggle beneath Kita's hand.

The fact that Kita is blocking poor Aera's mouth finally sinks through to the music-soaked mind of the brownrider, and she slowly releases her hold. Her eyes stay open now, watching the harper's deft, nimble fingers dance across the strings. The vibrations in Djarreth's throat grow a little heavier, and as a result the noise grows a little louder. Annoyed, Kita elbows her lifemate in the chest, momentairily breaking his sound. The effect doesn't last long however: soon he starts up again, one of his lids over his eyes closing as he thoroughly enjoys himself. At least he's closer to the pitch, however...

Kaeryn's voice takes on a slight edge as the song continues with more surety than the earlier verses and both the accompaniment and vocal parts grow louder, each portion of the verse separated as the words are more clearly prounounced, slowing dramatically near the end of the verse. "Words can pro-mise, words can lie, but your words make me feel like I can fly." Immediately, the music returns to it's original melody to accompany the slightly altered chorus, "You could have been anyone at all, and that's what catches me when I fall, I'm so glad it was you. You could have been anyone at all. An old friend calling out of the blue. I'm so glad it was you." The vocals fade for a moment, only the sound of the guitar is heard over the tumbling of the waterfall, but just as it feels the song is ending, she repeats a little, her voice soft again, "Anyone at all. Anyone at all. Anyone at aaaaall. I'm so glad it was you." The song comes to a close, vocals and guitar both fading away into nothing.

Kaeryn gets to her feet, brushing the sand off her guitar and nods politely, "Forgive me for running so quickly, but I'm afraid it's time for me to gather my children. I'll let you know when I finish the song so you can hear it, if you'd like." With a wave, the weyrharper turns and heads back toward the weyr.

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