Live A Little, Even If Just For A While

[Akki]

A stress reliever.

That’s what this was all about. At least, that’s what Exarin was trying to convince himself in order to feel a little bit better about what he was going to do. He carefully laid down his walking stick, tucking it up against a wall so he could locate it later on. He whistled softly, two tunnelcats appearing from behind him – chirping at one and another. “Tiano, Lirea. I need you two to hide, just for a moment.” The man smiled before snapping his fingers.

He listened carefully, hearing the soft tapping of nails against the ground as the tunnelcats made themselves scarce. He turned the corner into the dining hall, immediately walking right into some chairs and tables – causing some of the furniture to tip over and fall to the ground. Quickly some drudges rushed up, trying to untangle the blind man from the wooden chairs. “Oh, sorry!” Exarin grinned sheepishly, his milky blue eyes staring out in front of him. “I’m afraid I lost my walking stick, could some of you help lead me?”. Sure enough the drudges hooked their arms with his, carefully leading him to his destination.

If you watched closely enough, you could see two tunnelcats darting in and out of shadows as they followed their owner.

-----

Akki would admit it, using the blind man as a distraction was probably a low point in her life. She didn’t want to think about it for too long though, what if she start feeling guilty? She didn’t want that!

She watched as drudges swarmed Exarin, all eager to help out the apparent ‘pitiful, helpless man’. She gave him credit, he was good at pretending to be that helpless little canine. Soon as the drudges disappeared around the corner, Akki was slipping through the kitchens and heading into the lower caverns. She knew what she was looking for, of course. She had been spending the past two days planning for this. She turned a corner and entered a storeroom, a wide grin as she stared at what was in front of her.

Alcohol. Lots of it.

It was a treasure of wine. The bluerider knew she could easily get in trouble for this, but it was all for a good cause – just like Exarin thought. She slid the pack off of her back and quickly began placing bottles into it. After a few minutes, she lifted the pack onto her; a small grunt escaping as she took notice of its new weight. She left the storeroom, expertly dodging drudges and others as she made her way to the Lake. Soon G’han would join her and they could really get this started. She laid the pack carefully onto the ground and stared up at the stars, her infamous crooked grin playing on her lips.

There was a sound of flapping wings and a breeze as Ebbeth flew over head, landing close to the shore. Akki turned to her blue and grinned, “Did it go okay?”

Of course. I convinced the cooks to cook a small feast. They rarely say no when it’s a dragon asking. Ebbeth said, looking quite pleased with himself. They said it will be here in a half a candlemark. And I believe that is your sightless partner in crime coming down the path now.

She looked up and grinned. There was Exarin, moving slowly as he tapped his walking stick in front of him. She could hear the squeaks of tunnelcats as they walked in front of him, doing their best to lead him to the lake in the dark of the night. “Now we just need G’han to make us a fire.”

[Dragon]

Oh G'han had played his part quite well. While Akki was doing her part, G'han had managed to build up quite a significant bonfire at the lake. With a little added help, he had tables and places to sit set up. Just when the weyr was so tense from the discovery of timing and the closing in of thread, a lake party seemed like a good way to relieve a bit of stress. There was a time to be serious, but there was also a time to relax.

Akki had managed her part well with the feast and drinks. With G'han having set up the lake party itself, all that was needed was the people of the weyr to start flocking down to the lake. Oh this was quite a grand idea he had to get that part done. He had managed to get together with some of the wingleaders to make it sound like serious business was going down at the lake, maybe drills or some sort of thing like that. Whatever it took to get the people of the weyr to come out and attend.

It looked like his plan was coming together quite swimmingly. He walked towards Akki and laid down next to her looking up at the same stars. "Quite the idea. The tension in the air has been so thick that the kitchen knives are going dull", G'han spoke to her in his usual joking manner as he continued to stare at the sky.

[Akki]

I see your friend. Ebbeth told His, using his head to point in the direction where there was a flicker of light before a fire jumped to life. She laughed loudly, the simple fact that it was finally all coming together was simply delightful. She watched as the man approached, probably quite proud that he had managed to set up a decent fire. “We just have to remind people that it’ll take a lot more than this to take down Dark Moon.” The bluerider responded with her cocky little grin.

“Ebbeth got the food situation all set up. Cooks will be coming down here in about half a candlemark to deliver it. I have a pack filled with bottles of wine, all eagerly awaiting to be drunk tonight.” Wine and fire? How could this go wrong? It just couldn’t! She took a few steps forward and rested a hand on the tip of Ebbeth’s snout, who silently blew air at her. The pair cast a look at G’han, “Shall we call everyone down then? It’s not a real party unless there’s at least five people here, you know.”

-----

It had taken a bit of time for him to find his walking stick again after playing the ‘distraction’ for Akki’s and G’han’s plan. He walked carefully down the path, his fingers wrapped tightly around the gnarled wood. Dark and light didn’t mean much to him considering he was always trapped in the dark. However, his tunnelcats had a harder time when it was dark. They could see well but it was hard to identify every little bump and rock that could pose a hazard to Exarin.

After a few moments of careful navigation, Exarin reached the others with a smile on his face. Tiano pressed himself to the ground and slowly inched towards Ebbeth, curious about the dragon but not wanting to be eaten. Lirea, however, stayed faithfully by Exarin’s side. He placed a hand on Akki’s shoulder and smiled, “Did my distraction work?”

Akki nodded a reply before realizing that the man couldn’t exactly see that nod. She shot G’han a sheepish grin and then cleared her throat, “It sure did. Thanks for helping me out.”

Exarin shrugged. This was an opportunity for him to meet more people in the Weyr, he was willing to join the crime for that. “How does the fire look?” He asked, not directing the question at anyone specific.

[Dragon]

G'han shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly. "I had some help from the other wingleaders. They should be helping to round them up. But if you want to get involved, go ahead", G'han stated to her in quite the relaxed tone. He was pretty comfortable where he was laying. Why should he move now?

He looked up at the blindman that had helped them distract others to make this all possible. When he looked over to Akki for her to respond to him she...nodded her head. G'han let his head hang as his face smacked into sand. Oh Akki, always such a class act. "You deserve the classiest lady award. Here", G'han stated to her and handed her the nearest thing he could find. It happened to be a shiney rock. Which was pretty decent for finding something on the fly as an award. Plus it was shiney. Akki liked shiney things.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

K'dan came running to the lake but skidded to a halt infront of Akki and G'han. "I heard there was an emergency or something and I saw smoke coming from the lake where we were suppose to go and...", K'dan started speaking in a very alarmed tone before he started to look around then gave a pointed look at G'han and Akki.

"What in the name of the first egg? What's the emergency? You need able bodied dragonriders who can decorate? This reeks of you two. What'd you do?", K'dan suddenly went from alarmed to fussy. He had been had! He suspected he wasn't the only one, but he certainly was one of the first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

G'han grinned widely up at the young bluerider. "Get your undergarments out of a bunch. That's exactly why we've set all this up. Relax and...", G'han reached over to Akki's side where she had a bottle of wine and tossed it to K'dan. The bluerider caught it quickly out of reflex. "...drink up. Loosen up. You of all people need to loosen up. Your head's going to pop off if you're wound any tighter", G'han stated to his young bluerider friend before turning to his other bluerider friend.

"Sorry dear. I think he needs that liquir more than you", G'han stated softly and patted Akki on the head.

[Akki]

Akki glanced up at Ebbeth, grinning. “What do you say, old boy? Wanna help round up some kiddos?”

The blue made a mental snorting sound, staring at the people before him before stating out loud. With what? My almighty bugle? He lifted his head into the air, mouth open wide. No sound came out, of course. Sound had never been able to come out of his mouth and it never would. You seem to like reminding me that I am a mute. He said this all in good nature, he didn’t mind being mute. He thought it simply added to his character, his charm.

“Oh, be quiet Ebbeth.” Akki short back, unaware of the slight pun she had made. She let her fingers clasp around the rock G’han passed to her, with a “Ohh, shiny!” slip out of her mouth quietly. She had to admit, she did like being one classy lady. She turned away from the bronzerider to pay attention to Exarin. Poor boy, he didn’t really know anyone here. “The fire’s perfect. It’s large and has the most perfect mixture of red and orange.” It was a poor description but she wasn’t quite sure how one would explain what a fire looked like.

Akki cracked up when she spotted K’dan, running down the path to the lake like some sort of mad man. With the nice, cozy fire and the set up of chairs it was clear that this was no type of emergency. “Oh stop being such a drama queen, K’dan.” Akki moaned loudly, rolling her eyes. She pouted a little bit when G’han threw a bottle of wine to the bluerider but shrugged, grabbing one for herself. “This one is mine, though. And Exarin’s. I’m sharing with him because he’s better looking than you two.”

-----

Exarin stiffened slightly when Ebbeth’s voice entered his head, never having a dragon speak to him before. It was an odd feeling. He expected it to feel almost violating but it didn’t, instead he just cracked a smile at the blue’s comments. Lirea hunched her back slightly, hissing at the dragon when she felt her owner tense.

He could hear the crackle of the fire and then heard the sound of heavy footsteps coming towards them. Another male joined the group, accusing Akki and G’han of setting this up – which was correct. He turned his head to where he assumed the two dragonriders were, “Reeks of you two? Do you pull these things often?” Akki grinned sheepishly, choosing to avoid that question. Exarin grinned once again, allowing the girl’s silence to be an answer. He took the bottle that Akki pressed into his hand, carefully taking a small sip of it before handing it back.

“I’m supposed to be making friends tonight. I think you ruined it by saying I’m better looking.”

[Dragon]

G'han shrugged his shoulders to Exarin's statement that he probably wasn't making any friends with Akki's comment of the guy being better looking than him and K'dan. "No skin off my back kiddo. She says that now, but I'll just wake up one morning to find she needed a cuddle buddy because her and Ebbeth had a fight or she heard a weird noise or something", G'han stated rather simply.

He looked over to K'dan. "K'dan, however, is a bit more sensative. Akki probably hurt his feelings", G'han shifted his attention to K'dan as he spoke. He looked at the bottle still in the bluerider's hands. "Well drink up kid. We're trying to loosen people up with this, and we might as well start with you", G'han said simply as he looked around. More people were starting to pour in.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

K'dan looked over to Exarin as he asked Akki what he meant by what he had said to G'han and Akki. "You'll figure it out soon enough. Akki and G'han are quite the devious duo. They are the center of most shennanigans in the weyr, and consequently a number of the rumors and gossip as well", K'dan said to him.

He looked down at the bottle of wine as G'han demanded him to drink. "Blah. I guess you can't be wrong. I'll pour a glass though. I don't want to get too loose", K'dan said, finally giving into G'han and walking off to one of the tables to pour himself a glass of wine and begin drinking. As he did so, the feast that Ebbeth ordered was making it's way to the lake as well. The party was really starting to come together.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If there was one weyring that knew of secret parties being held at the weyr, it was Kira. Miss Socialite had come back to her usual tricks and ways after a period of time in her shell. She had Jil and others to thank really. Now when Kira spotted G'han setting up at the lake, she knew what was going on. She told the other weyrlings about the party and demanded they go with her to the lake.

"Come on guys! We can't be left out!", she exclaimed as she tried to rush the weyrlings into action.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

One weyrling in particular was in the guy's barracks when one of them came barging in and demanded that everyone vacate the barracks and head to the lake. D'car groaned but he had made his way out the barracks. Unfortunantly, when he did, he could hear Kira rushing everyone to the lake for a party. He didn't want to go to a party! Well, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Tanwen was there. She made the hatching feast alot easier for him and she was the first girl he really considered a friend.

But as soon as he began to protest and started stomping off back to the barracks, Kira grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him off to the lake. D'car grumbled to himself and decided not to fight it. It was too late now. So he righted himself and walked normally. However, Kira was not letting go of his arm. She was attached to it rather...fondly, it seemed. D'car had managed to avoid Kira for the most part and the two usually ignored each other. But now poor D'car was experiencing what a flirt the girl really was.

D'car knew enough of the girl's ways. It was the usual buzz of the guys' barracks. The flirt Kira and what antics she pulled with what guy that day. D'car tried to tune it out for the most part. But now, here they were. Kira holding D'car's arm and leading the weyrling charge to the lake party.

When they arrived, D'car wedged his arm loose from the girl's grip and seperated himself to a chair at one of the tables while Kira went off to the lake's edge to hang out with whoever would talk to her.

[Kino]

[I'm only throwing two of my weyrlings in on this post; anybody is welcome to drag in any of the others afterwards. If you want to and you need a reason or a place to drag from, you can just say they're mulling about...wherever xD; ]

K'ris had been in the boy's barracks settled in just as well as any of the others when Kira came bounding through and shouting at everyone to head to the lake for a party or something. The entire Weyr had been quiet and serious ever since the big announcement from the Weyrwoman and even if he was still getting used to the crowds of a populated Weyr K'ris thought the lake-side get-together sounded like it could be fun. The blond looked over to where his bonded lay in his own bed. The young dragon had been getting settled for the night himself, and the get-together was likely to be crowded already without everyone's dragons coming along, though he doubted there wouldn't at least be a few.

"I'll be back?" he said to the Hawk's Eye, stepping over to where Queroth was and running his fingers over the dragon's eye ridges. Queroth gave a quick croon and nudged at his bonded's hand; K'ris turned and headed out to follow the crowd afterwards.

By the time he got to the lake there was already a fair amount of people there, and he was starting to wonder what had given him the idea to go along in the first place. The last real party he'd been to - hatching feasts aside - had been the surprise party that Kira had thrown together for him when his Turnday had come around; though at least this time he wouldn't be so centered in on for attention. Not quite sure what else to do, K'ris made his way over to where the fire was and figured he'd stand by it and listen for awhile.

- - -

J'kiran had heard the commotion being thrown throughout the barracks just as well as anyone, and he recognized the sound of Kira's voice gathering everyone together right away. The red-head was glad to see that she was getting back to her old self. He made his way out into the hall to catch up with her, but by then she'd already run off in the excitement towards the lake. She'd likely be running around all night, if he'd gotten to know her at all since he'd met her.

The bronze weyrling followed along with the crowd anyway. After all the somber feelings that had been spreading throughout the Weyr recently, a laid-back get-together sounded like a great way to relieve some of the Weyr-wide stress.

- - -

Naret hadn't been a part of the huge commotion that Kira had worked to spread through the weyrling barracks, but he could hear a bit of it from the candidate's. Ikarit had picked up on it first; the feline was staring intently out the barrack's window when Naret came back from the wash room. When he went over to see what the feline was so interested in he saw the group heading towards the lake where, from here, he could see the flicker of a big fire. From the window he could hear snippets of talk from the group coming from the weyrling barracks and he gave a smile. There hadn't been much chance for him to go to any large get-togethers since he'd come to the Weyr, aside from the feast for the previous hatching, and it certainly sounded fun.

The youth looked back to Ikarit who was still staring intently out the window. He stepped over to the table beside his bed, grabbed up the harness for the feline, and scooped up his furry companion to buckle it on before Ikarit could try and wriggle away. He'd been trying to make a habit of keeping the feline in a harness when he was going somewhere crowded and it seemed to be working. Ikarit was getting accustomed to the harness, and was growing more comfortable in the larger groups, which was great considering most of the groups had at least a few dragons in it - he thought the feline's encounter with one of the youngest queens might have helped his fear of the great creatures though.

Naret had gone out of the barracks to merge with the group heading towards the beach, and by now he'd reached the area with the bonfire and table and such. Ikarit had settled himself to perch on Naret's shoulders to get the best vantage point, and though he stared at the few dragons along the edge of the group he seemed to accept their presence.

[Minajerie]

V'dann started as a female voice shouted through the barracks, "C'mon guys! We can't be left out!" Something about a... party? Oh YEAH! The young blue rider blew off the shaving from the bit of carving he had been working on before setting both it and his carving tools aside.

Do I have to go mine? I'm tired, and all the people will just squish me. I don't like getting squished!

Yes, Funornth, you should stay. Sleep. It will do you good. I know your growing pains have been particularly bad as of late. Do you want me to stay? V'dann dearly wanted to go, bt he would stay with his dragon if the blue so wished it. After all, parties came and went, but he only had one dragon.

Nono, I'll just be sleeping anyways. Boring. Tell me about it tomorrow. Funornth cracked open his maw for a big yawn before situating himself for a good sleep.

Will do. Now, to drag S'yer off as well....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

S'yer was just finishing up oiling a few patches on Perilth's side when V'dann barged into his personal space.

"C'mon! There's a party, time for you to mingle and get yourself some girls. You know, all you have to do is smile and say two kind words and you'd have a throng of women at your back and call. Unlike me, I got to be charming and debonair. You know, the gentlemanly stuff. You got that down pact, so you are the catch of the day just waiting to happen, my man."

S'yer sighed as he rubbed the last little bit of oil into his dragon's hide, giving the bronze a fond pat on the side as he finished. "You know I don't like gatherings. And I definitely don't need a throng of women."

Mine, you should go. Take the little one too. Bronze riders go to parties. They are the driving force of the weyr, they go to such things. You shall mingle and improve your reputation as a Bronze Rider! Perilth gave a swift nod as he nudged the little yellow flitter from her pillow, giving her an order to stick to theirs for the night. That order, at least, the newborn had little problem with.

S'yer sighed again as His yellow- which he had yet to name yet. She seemed sunny but flowery and sweet and so many different things that he just couldn't choose. Perhaps he would ask some of the other weyrlings what they thought... at the party. "Alright, alright, I'm going. But I'm not dancing."

"Spoilsport."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Andilay was brushing out her hair in preparation for sleep, she slept early so that she could get up early, see the sun rise and run laps around the lake before the heat set in. She had been rather amused this morning when Veritath demanded to run with her. The little silver had some stamina, but not as much as her bonded, nor the length of leg- not yet. So after a lap, or was it two? The little dragon had to plead tiredness and simply sat sunbathing as she watched her mine finish her morning workout. Afterwords, of course, they both got a bath. Andilay wasn't surprised when Veritath conked out a bit earlier than usual with all she had done this day.

She perked up though, when she heard a commotion out in the halls. She threw on a new shirt before padding out to see what all the hubbub was about, her hair still unbound, swaying lazily behind her.

She was lucky to see Rayn out and talking to a few of the other weyrlings. "Hey Rayn! What's the news?"

"Party! C'mon Andy, it's been a while since the last one. We should go and enjoy a few drinks and joyous talking. I bet you anything Aki is behind it, if not G'han too."

Andilay snorted. "Sounds like them. Alright, lets go. Veritath is comatose, so I don't think she'd know if I was gone, but I'll take Mistress." Going to a party, little one, sleep tight. All she got back was mumbled acknowledgment. She sent Mistress a picture of where she was and the idea of much fun and laughter soon, and the flit popped out of between rather excited.

She convinced the flitter to drape over her neck as she joined Rayn, who had left both flitter and dragon to sleep.

It didn't take them long to get down to the lake, but they did get themselves volunteered to bring down a few dishes of food. Not that they minded, they were going to the same place, and would likely eat some of whatever it was that they brought.

There was much joy though when Rayn set down her dish and secretly stalked over to K'dan to spook the bluerider.

Andilay smiled as she looked about and her eyes fell upon Akki. "YO! AKKI!" She trotted over to her. "Rayn thought It would be your idea to throw a party. I agreed and here you are. Coincidence? I think not." She grinned at the other woman, glancing briefly over at G'han. "Food's here. I know because I helped bring it. That is, if you didn't see me coming."

((If anyone wants Blissy or R'khol to join, just drag them along. Blissy is.... sleeping, and R'khol would be nose deep in ledgers and wing formation sheets, just FYI ))

[Dragon]

Kira looked over to see Jil at the lake party as well. She grinned widely and ran up to him, draping her arms over his shoulders. "I'm so glad you're here. It wouldn't be a party without my favorite boy", Kira grinned at Jil and then led him over to the food. It was certainly clear that Kira was back to her old self again.

She took a plate and loaded it with whatever food she could find after handing Jil a plate as well. "I think a lake party is a fabulous idea, don't you?", she asked Jil. When they were done loading up on food, Kira grabbed a drink for herself and waited for Jil to follow suit. She then led the both of them towards the lake's edge to settle down, eat, drink, and chat.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

K'dan jumped, a bit startled, when Rayn stalked over to him. He hadn't really expected to see her here. Heck, he didn't expect himself over here. The lake party was a total surprise to him. Now here he was, glass of wine in hand, in what he considered the most suitable company. "Hello Rayn. Care to join me?", K'dan asked and raised the glass of wine to put emphasis on what he meant.

Without an answer, and really just on pure instinct on K'dan's part, he very gentlemanly like reached over to fetch a glass and poured some wine into it. He then offered it to her. Not that she had to drink, but simply the fact that in K'dan's mind it was just a kind task to pour a glass of wine for a lady. If she didn't take it, he'd simply set it back down on the table. Whether she took it or he set it back down, he stood up and pulled out a chair for Rayn to sit in.

"You can sit here, if you'd like", he stated simply to her in a kind tone. K'dan gave a momentary look around. More people were pouring in and now the weyrlings were involved. He had to wonder just how this would go down with the entire weyr seeming to mingle. It could spell both good and bad things. K'dan refocused his attention back on Rayn with a smile.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

G'han looked up at Andilay with a slight grin. "I noticed", he said simply. Things seemed to be a bit edgey between them lately. G'han had to notice it, and he couldn't blame her. G'han just wasn't the best at relationships. Infact, relationships seemed to ruin G'han in some aspects. There was that whole misunderstanding with Rhia after they had been together for quite awhile and even had kids together. Then just when he thought he could like someone again, she left so suddenly.

Now there was Andilay, and G'han was a mess. Maybe one day he'd be able to work things out. But all he could do now was play the part he knew best, himself. The young wingleader had no problem being himself either. He looked off to the food, the food Andilay had mentioned. "Looks delish. Too delish. My taste buds need some exercise", G'han said and sat up. He looked between Andilay and Akki. Would awkward conversations pop up with him gone? Well, awkward for him maybe. G'han tried his best to avoid girl talk. Thankfully his best friend, Akki, wasn't such a girly girl and it was fairly easy to avoid around her.

G'han walked off and took up a plate for himself, adding a little bit of this and a little bit of that to eat. Of course wine would be the liquid of choice. When he was done, he walked past K'dan and Rayn, past D'car, and even walked past Kira and Jil. He settled over in another spot by the lake's edge and began chowing down. Perhaps a nice swim would be in order after eating.

[Kino]

J'kiran hadn't arrived at the party for more than a few minutes before Kira ran over to him. "Hello Miss Kira," he said with a smile, still glad to see his good friend back to her chipper self. "I wouldn't miss it." He had been one of the quieter ones when he'd first arrived, but J'kiran had never been one to shy away from socializing, and he'd always been all for the occasional party. Good food and good company always made for a good time.

He let himself be led by Kira over to the table of food and nodded in agreement. "I certainly do," he answered her. "Everyone here deserves a well-earned break for enjoyment." He went behind her in the line for food, gathering a few sorts of meats and veggies along with a pasta side. He grabbed up a good sized glass of fruit juice and followed after his friend towards the lake.