Midnight Swim Madness

[Akki]

She had been wanting to do this for a while actually. She wasn’t quite sure why but it simply seemed like one of those things that you needed to try at least once in your life.

That was why Akki was standing at the edge of the Lake in the middle of the night. Despite the fact the sky was pitch black and there was a slight wind, it was really quite nice out. It was humid and warm but the breeze kept you at the perfect temperature. She couldn’t have picked a better night.

“Don’t look.” She said to her blue, who was currently sliding into the water. The beast slipped under the surface with just a few ripples with a promise of I won’t. Akki looked up at the sky, watching the stars for a few seconds before grabbing her shirt and shirking it off. Her pants followed soon after, the clothes thrown in a pile away from the water. She made sure to toss them away far enough so they wouldn’t get wet if any splashing occurred.

Was this extremely unladylike? Yeah, probably. But Akki was not a lady and whoever considered her one was a fool. Plus she had her underthings on so it wasn’t like she was stark naked or anything. She slowly walked into the water, which was surprisingly warm. She went deep enough until the water was up around her shoulders and just stood there as Ebbeth poked his head above the water.

You’re a strange girl But the beast was used to his riders weird antics.

[Ranuu]

"Lookin' good out there, sexy," T'ran said from the shore after Akki had progressed a certain distance into the water. He didn't really want to scare her-- well, he would get a chuckle out of a scream, but that wasn't the reason he was here- but he didn't want to hide in the shadows, either.

The truth is, T'ran had been out here admiring the sky. He had been coming out the last few nights, when the full moon was in effect. He couldn't help but be mystified by the endless heavens above. It was as if a master painter had taken his tools to the sky, creating beauty wherever he wished. And it gave T'ran some actual downtime when he could reflect on some things that had been going on.

And now his only friend at the Weyr had come and interrupted such a night. Oh well, at least she wasn't wearing much in the way of clothing. "If you want to take anything else off, make sure to warn me this time, alright?"

[Akki]

“Hurk!” That was the strange noise that flew out of Akki’s mouth when a voice called out to her. A voice that wasn’t hers or Ebbeth’s.

She turned around with slightly large eyes, staring into the darkness. Shard it, she couldn’t make out the face! She waited a second so her eyes could adjust before letting a hand flutter to her heart. “You can’t do that to me T’ran! You scared me half to death!” She scolded loudly as she let her hand drop to the water.

Ah. Oops. Was I supposed to tell you that we were not alone? Ebbeth asked, sounding genuinely concerned. As if that was really a question he had to ask.

She shot the blue a scathing look before turning her attention back to T’ran. “You’re lucky we’re friends otherwise I’d skin you.” She sniffed, lowering herself into the water a bit more so her chin touched the surface. “And nope, that’s all you get to see for tonight. Sorry to disappoint.”

She wiped some wet hair out of her face and stared at T’ran. “You’re not just gonna sit there all night, are you?”

[Ranuu]

A strange sound indeed, the 'hurk' that escaped from Akki upon being frightened. And the sound itself was something that T'ran wasn't expecting, even if he was braced for a scream. The utter effect was for a beaming smile to escape. He was very proud of himself for scaring her. After all, she'd been teasing him since he'd touched down at Dark Moon... it was only fair that she be compensated for such things.

For a second, he thought he was in major trouble, considering how she was glaring at him. But she was just trying to identify him. At her comment, he sat down on the grass, sitting back and making himself comfortable. "I really didn't mean to scare you. I thought Ebbeth would warn you that I was here before I said anything. I guess he has a sense of humor even more wicked than mine."

"Haha, I suppose I am lucky that I'm friends with you," he replied. "I'm afraid that my skin wouldn't fetch much on the market these days, though. You see, T'ran isn't in high demand this fall. Not very stylish. But if you waited a few months, I'm sure it'd swing back in." The slight smile on his face showed the joking nature of the commentary, and just how laid-back he was. It was almost as if he was tired, with the uncharacteristic lack of energy in his speech. It was almost monotone.

"Actually, dear," he said, laying back against the grass and looking up at the stars, "I was planning on it before you came out and interrupted. I was stargazing. It's one of the few times I get to just relax, y'know?"

[Akki]

She could see him beaming in the dark, his white teeth practically gleaming. It was as if he was a feline, preening himself. Of course the image of T’ran being a feline made Akki beam in amusement. T’ranfelines. Ha!

She sighed, casting another look at her dragon. Ebbeth sent waves of amusement in her direction. “I thought he’d warn me too. Is it sad that I think he’s gotten used to me stripping in front of people?” She asked with a slight grimace. No wonder some of the drudges were going around with such raunchy tales of the female bluerider. She had inadvertently created the tales that needed just a little bit of embellishment to create a scandal. Her poor brother, what things had he heard about his beloved sister?

She laughed and snapped her fingers. “Dear T’ran, if I turned you into pants and wore them then I would bring you back into style. Everything I wear is stylish.” This seemed almost ironic considering her lack of clothes right now. Few would consider her stylish, that was for sure. She had to admit that she was vaguely caught offguard. T’ran was normally loud and boisterous, yet there he was acting all calm and collected. Was something going on?

She looked up at the stars, a slight grin on her face. “Nights like these are the best for stargazing. Warm with no clouds.” She laughed softly before looking around the lake. The stars from the sky were being reflected in the water, only slight ripples from her treading water were disturbing them. It almost seemed like she was swimming in the sky. “At my Hold, there were clouds practically every night. It was wretched.”

[Ranuu]

"Actually, that is kind of sad." But probably not as sad as the fact that the girl who rejected T'ran at every turn was the one who had the biggest reputation as 'fun loving' in the Weyr. And by fun-loving, the rumors meant 'loose' and even 'nymphomaniacal'. But those words weren't needed. For some reason, T'ran, who usually gave up on the first rejection, kept coming back to this one. "But I don't have a problem with it. It's nothing I haven't seen before. The only difference is that I know your name."

"Everything, you say?" T'ran couldn't help but pull out some clever play-on-the-situation moves at that comment. "Then why don't you walk around the other ladies like that for a day. I would be a happy man if that style caught on, and you would officially be my best friend of all time. Hands down." His slight laugh wasn't the raucous one from the gatherings, but almost under his breath. "Yup, that would be a good day."

"You stargaze, too?" he said with moderate interest, raising his head slightly from the grass to look at her for a moment. "I had no idea. I've been doing it since I was just a kid at the Harperhall. Of course, we had to learn the stories surrounding every constellation. It was cloudy almost all the time there, too. Most of what we had to go off of were drawings. But I know most of them now, so it's all good."

"You know," he commented randomly, closing his eyes for a moment, "you haven't really told me that much about yourself, but I feel like I talk nonstop when I'm around you. You really should tell me more about yourself."

[Akki]

Akki laughed for a second and then sighed in agreement. “Isn’t it? To be fair though, I just lack common sense as to when is an appropriate and inappropriate time to change clothes.” She said as if trying to salvage her reputation. If there was a guy in her weyr for a chat? She’d change into different clothes right in front of them. She wouldn’t think anything of it either – if she needed to change clothes, then she would change clothes. She sent the man a crooked grin, “Now T’ran, you should know that learning a girl’s name is the first thing you should do.”

Not that she could say much. A few times when she went to visit other Weyrs, Ebbeth found himself caught up in a green flight that just occurred. When he won, the two riders would get together and she would leave while they were still sleeping. She was a hypocrite.

“I’ve already walked around in this in front of G’han.” She admitted with a sheepish grin, recalling the prank she pulled the other day. “I think Christae would beat me silly though if I pranced around like this though.” She snorted with amusement. A half naked women waltzing around the Weyr? Probably wouldn’t give Dark Moon the best publicity. “And what’s this? I thought we were best friends already!” She huffed loudly.

She shrugged even though the man probably wouldn’t even notice the action. “Stargaze is too professional of a word for me. I just like to lay on the ground and look up really.” She confessed with a laugh. She wouldn’t call stargazing a hobby really. “I forgot you were a Harper kiddywink. You must be a smartypants then.” She grinned.

She frowned at his last comment, “That’s how I keep my mysterious charm though.” She patted Ebbeth on the nose as the beast slinked his head over. “What should I tell about myself even?”

[Ranuu]

"Oh, yes, yes, of course," he said, grinning. "I think we've all been there. Sometimes, you just need to change clothes, and someone won't leave. Not that it matters in our line of work. Everyone sees each other naked at some point, so there's not really much room for, you know, modesty."

"Haha, don't lecture me on knowing someone's name, Akki. I'm sure you've been in the situation, too, where you just want to get what you want from someone and their name isn't really as important. There's no need to act innocent and coy around me. I know that we're more alike than you let on. If we weren't, we wouldn't be such good friends. We've both been in the situation, it's best just to admit it and get it over with."

"G'han, you say? Well, that's no problem. He's gay, isn't he? Not that I have a problem with him, but it seems that he wouldn't care to see you dressed like that as much as I do." Wait. "Er... haha, not that I care one way or the other to see you with less clothing on." Great save. Sounded totally desperate for lovin'.

"Anyway, that's not the point. If you were to walk around the Weyr, our bronze and brown-rider population would increase tenfold in a day. It'd be great for publicity. But that's just if you were to walk around like that. We'll see what happens when it really catches on. It's a grand idea."

"Yes, haha, I was a Harper kid. I wouldn't say I'm smart, really," he grimaced in a rare moment of self-deprecation. "Far from it, to be honest. I just like listening to and repeating the stories, to be honest. And singing is my favorite part of the job. The old songs are fantastic. What can I say? I'm just an artistic soul," he laughed again, this time more of a sincere one. That line always sounded totally dumb.

"Mysterious charm? Please, darlin, I'm sure you have much more charm to you than any mystery could cover up." Oh yes, now that was a good line. "Just tell me about yourself. Your dreams, aspirations, where you're from, your favorite story, your fears and loves. Things like that. What makes you you. That's what I'm interested in."

[Akki]

“If I want to change clothes, then I’m doing so.” She laughed with a slight shrug. Besides, at this point quite a few people in the Weyr had seen a half naked Akki so it wasn’t like it was some big surprise or anything. She knew about the rumors going around about her but she didn’t particularly care. Rumors were interesting, even if they did make her sound like some giant tease. “Modesty,” She began “Is for shy people.”

She floated on her back, eyes closed slightly. “I need to at least pretend that I’m somewhat innocent right? Besides, I have trouble remembering names so it’s not like they can expect me to listen to it if I am never going to see them again.” Such was the life of a rider. Flights were normally one night stands with faceless and nameless people. Actually it was one of the reasons Akki was rather glad that she didn’t ride a female dragon – she didn’t have to deal with a proddy beast and then get stuck in a flight. At least her and Ebbeth could cop out of a flight if wanted.

She snorted loudly at his comment. Actually her snort caused her to inhale water and soon she found herself coughing and choking. She could hear Ebbeth laugh loudly in her head, his mouth open but nothing coming out of it. “I’m pretty sure he’s not into other guys.” She laughed, wiping a tear from her eye. At least she hoped not since he fathered Rhia’s children! Plus Z’ayr had tried to hook up with the man with no success and she liked to believe that no gay male would turn down Z’ayr. “Also, I’m pretty sure you’re seeing me with less clothing right now.” She pointed out, motioned to the pile of fabric she had stripped of.

“I’d rather have a bunch of male green riders pop up though.” Akki sniffed, nodding towards her blue. Sure bronzes and browns were nice but they didn’t really do anything for her when Ebbeth was caught in a green flight. “Artistic souls are often the smart ones. You can’t be creative without intelligence.” She pointed out with a wink. She wasn’t particularly creative herself – which explained a few things about her.

“I better have more charm.” She murmured. “I don’t have any dreams really, never did. Grew up in a small Hold, a rather crummy place to be honest. Don’t have a favorite story because my dad never told us any. I fear growing old, gray hair, wrinkles and awkward pauses. I like wine, canines and Ebbeth.”

The blue silently rumbled, his eyes churning green with content. “Your turn.”

[Ranuu]

"Modesty is for shy people," T'ran repeated quietly to himself. He shook his head in amazement. That was Akki, though, through and through. She was the least shy girl he'd ever met, and he liked that about her.

"Well, you can pretend all you want around the others, my dear," he said, smiling to himself, his eyes closed, "but when it's just you and me, and Ebbeth and/or Fallieth, you don't have to worry about it. I'm not going to tell anyone. Besides, who do I really have to tell? Haha, you're probably the only friend I've got here so far. After Tanwen tried to kill me the thirteenth time, people started avoiding me."

"I didn't really think he was," T'ran responded, laughing under his breath again. "To be honest, I think G'han's a pretty stand up guy, though he strikes me as a bit stiff for my tastes. Then again, most people would probably think of me as over-the-top in my own theatrics."

"If I'm seeing you with less clothes, then consider me honored," he said, grinning. "I feel like it's a rarity to see you in such lack of dress, and I appreciate the gift." Sarcasm. Delicious.

"Yes, I found it a bit odd that you had a blue. Poor girl. I'm sure those straight male green riders are few and far between, aren't they? You and Ebbeth may just have to settle sometime. And I disagree with you about the artistic soul comment, but I'm flattered by the compliment. Thank you very much."

"No dreams, no stories, crummy Hold, fears are aging and awkward social situations. You like fun things, and Ebbeth. Alright, I guess I've learned a bit more about you there. But you really haven't heard any stories of the olden times? Well, if you'd like to come up here and lie with me, I'd be more than happy to recite something to you. Besides, I think I owe you a serenade. We'll call a story even, yes?"

[Akki]

“Yeah I’m not entirely sure who I am trying to fool.” She admitted with her infamous crooked grin. No one would think of her as the picture of innocence, that was for sure. “We’ll make new friends just for you T’ran, don’t you worry about it.” She laughed. There were a few new bronzeriders so maybe T’ran could meet and greet them one day. Or she could just go get her brother and make V’ian chat with the lad.

She swam a bit closer to the shoreline so her feet could touch the rough bottom of the lake. Treading water was hard work. “I’m pretty sure no one at Dark Moon could be considered normal. It’s like a necessity – if you want in, you must have some weird habits.” She laughed. She had her own weird habits, Hasima did too. Her head churned as she went through the people at Dark Moon, trying to figure out who could be considered normal. “I guess Christae and Rhia could be normal though.”

She waved his words away and replaced them with her own, “I know, I know. I am a half naked gift that is given everyday. Not my fault though, people should close their eyes when I’m changing.” She stretched her arms over her head, her shoulders popping before she let them drop.

“I wouldn’t change Ebbeth for the world though. I’m too manly for a green so a blue is probably the only thing that could handle me.” She laughed, affectionately thumping her blue on the nose when he drew near to her. She couldn’t picture her with another dragon – Ebbeth was like perfection for her and quite a few people knew that. “And you’re not allowed to disagree with my artistic soul comment, so suck it up.”

She shook her head. “My Mom tried to tell us a story one day but ended up not being able to finish it because she had to get back to work.” Akki laughed slightly. It felt weird to mention her mother, not even V’ian and her talked about the blonde haired woman. She debated going up there and then shrugged, “Fine but I’m not putting clothes back on.I’m wet and they’re dry so I’d like them to stay that way.”

She walked out of the lake, wrapping her arms around herself as the breeze hit her. “Brrrrrr.” Even though it was nice out, it was still cold coming out from that lake. She flopped down beside T’ran, “Story time?”

[Ranuu]

"Hon," T'ran said, smiling to himself from the shoreline, "If you think that I'm going to be offended by what you like to do in your spare time, you're sorely mistaken. I'm sure you and I share some favorite hobbies, to be honest with you. And I'm not much for making friends, really. I usually find one or two, and everyone else just sees crazy T'ran and his hilarious antics of hilarity."

Her voice was closer, he noticed. T'ran found it funny that he wasn't ogling her, as she had probably expected him to do. Instead, he was visually tracing his own star sign. It corresponded with the precise day and Turn he was born, having floated directly above the building in which he was born at the precise time he was born. It was Tercith, the sign of good fortune. Lame, but he followed it. "Well, I have my fair share of odd vices, such as drinking, playing games, and general tomfoolery."

"Well, just so you know," he replied, again grinning to himself at the idea of the upcoming conversation, "a half-naked gift is something that everyone likes, whether or not they are open to admitting it. So you're doing the world a favor, getting others to join in. And don't you worry; if you're ever changing, I will not close my eyes."

"Haha, I can't blame you for not wanting to switch out Ebbeth. I can't say I've ever known a rider who wanted to get a different dragon. Fallieth is a mirror of my own ambition, and he's my best friend in the world. I couldn't imagine living without him anymore. Not really. They reflect our friendship pretty well, except that Fallieth isn't really much for flirting with Ebbeth." The silent 'pa dum tish' was audible only to anyone within earshot of the joke. It was loud.

When she hit the ground next to him, shivering with the cold, T'ran laughed out loud. "Well, if you're cold, you need only ask for my jacket. Underneath this rough and battle-worn exterior, I actually am a gentleman, you know." He had taken off his fancy and gaudy jacket to lie down on the grass, and it was beside him. Sitting up, he grabbed it and switched direction to hand it to her. "I don't mind if it gets wet, and I can't have you cold during story time."

[Akki]

“I’m one of those friends right? If not, can I least pretend to be so I can make myself feel better?” She asked with a slight frown. While she knew you couldn’t go through life without a few people who didn’t like you, she wasn’t a fan of that. She didn’t want people to dislike her! “And I know what you mean about the hilarious antics of hilarity.” Her antics were never on purpose unfortunately, she was just clumsy and loud. A bad combination that she would be stuck with her entire life.

She clapped her hands together once, “General tomfoolery? That’s my favorite kind of foolery.” She drummed her fingers against her chin, her thoughts churning. She wondered if she had weird habits. Okay, she knew she had bad habits but she wasn’t sure if she could single any of them out. She was…quirky, boisterous and had the tendency to lose clothes over the course of the day in front of people. There we go, those were her vices.

“I think I might know of someone who had wanted a different dragon.” She murmured. It was odd how her thoughts kept flashing back to Nike. Okay, maybe the girl didn’t want a different dragon but Akki often wondered. Her green had disappeared and a white suddenly replaced her. The bluerider was often curious as to what Nike’s thoughts were about that – was she happy? Did she prefer one dragon over the other? It was all so confusing. “Yeah I don’t think Ebbeth will be flirting with Fallieth anytime soon. Which is a shame, he’s a looker.” She snickered, her famous crooked grin playing on her lips.

She was actually pretty surprised that T’ran had offered his jacket to her – it was a gentlemanly move that caught her off guard. Most of the guys she knew would probably just laugh and tell her that was what she gets for stripping off most of her clothes. She took the jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders before lying back down. “Fine, but you can’t change your mind and complain about it getting wet.” She warned with a sniff, pulling the jacket tighter. The breeze that once felt nice was now just chilling. “You’re much nicer than the other T’ran I knew. I hooked up with him but he was no gentleman.” She grinned before turning her head to face the bronzerider, “Story time now?”

[Ranuu]

"Why of course you're one of those friends," T'ran said, a slight smile playing across his face. "I liked you from the moment I hopped off Fallieth at the bowl, however long ago that was. You're one of the few people here I can really relate to, after all."

"Wait a second," T'ran said, caught off guard. "Did you just say another T'ran? And you hooked up with him? But you turn me down at every corner. That's inconceivable and terribly heartbreaking for me, I hope you realize. I'm a much better T'ran than this T'ran could ever be."

"Yes, yes," he said. "Story time. Let's see....

"Long ago, in the times preceding written history, the Weyrs of Pern were much different than they are today. They charred Thread, the same as we do now, but everything else, from living arrangements to the type of people allowed to become Candidates was restricted. There were many more hatchlings going between back then.

"There is a phenomenon that shows itself rarely, only happening once or twice in any given generation, where a hatchling is born with such a will to survive that he or she will leave the sands and travel through the expanse of the Weyr, searching until he finds any unbonded human that he likes. It's these dragons that usually make history in some way or another. The first instance that we know of where this happened was that day, at Fort Weyr. The hatchling-- a brown named Tercith- bonded the son of a drudge. The little, dirty boy, named Ezra, was fatherless, and his mother scraped by cleaning the Weyr.

"Ezra was not accepted into the Weyr, and was actually kicked out, along with Tercith, because of the type of Impression. It was against the rules to bond like that, and anyone who did so was bound to screw everything up. That's what they believed was going to happen with Tercith and Ezra. So Ezra, his mother, and his baby dragon were left at Fort Hold, where they were further alienated by the population there. If the Weyrs, with their out-of-marriage fornication and wildly flamboyant male green-riders wouldn't accept the boy, there must have been something totally wrong with him.

"The three fled to Southern Boll Hold, a small holding on the southern portion of Fort Weyr's reach. Southern Boll wasn't really a hold, but a collection of farmers and a town center. It counted, though, since they fed the surrounding area. Ezra's mother used some... eh... questionable methods to get enough money to buy a small farm. They began a new life, working for their food, and hiding the baby dragon. They had a herd of wild beasts, which they would slay to keep young Tercith full. But they all knew it would not be long before Tercith would be too big to hide in the house. In fact, by this time, he was already very large.

"Ezra and his large, yet still young, bonded left that night with a large pack of food, hoping to find some place to hide the ever-growing Tercith.

"Eventually, some of the surrounding farmers figured it out... especially when their cattle started going missing. Yeah, Tercith wasn't much for subtlety. They took it much better than Ezra and his mother thought they would, and gave him gifts for 'protecting them' as a dragon rider, where he had been expecting to get kicked out of the area.

"The first family gave him a small iron ringlet. "We made this from materials we found in the earth, and it will protect you from disasters of the earth."

"The second family gave him a shard of rock. "This fell out of the sky while we were working in the field one day. It will protect you from things in the sky."

"A third family gave him a gift that day. It was a necklace with an odd charm on the end. "My grandfather made this," the old man said, "since we've had it, it has always given us luck. I want you to have it, dragon rider. Bless you."

"Ezra didn't know what to say. These people so blindly followed him because he had a dragon. It was ridiculous. But he was flattered as well, and simply thanked them. It was all he could think of to do.

"Over the years, Ezra and Tercith became closer and closer, and trained on their own. Tercith eventually became proficient at flying, and was soon large enough for Ezra to ride him as he flew. Ezra's mother stayed at the farm, earning more money than she had ever hoped to earn as a drudge. She married a local man, and together they started getting even more return.

"Every year, the ground produced large portions of food, and the sky gave ample amounts of rain, and overall, the family had an astounding amount of luck. It was as if the charms were working.

"And then a Bronzerider came from Fort Weyr. They took Ezra and Tercith back, saying it was too dangerous to leave a dragon loose in the wilderness. They'd expected him to die. Tercith was obviously special, and Ezra obviously knew what he was doing as a potential rider.

"For the rest of his career, Ezra was at the forefront of the dragonriders. He fought thread. Every day that he carried the space rock, his entire wing would come back undamaged. Every time he held the iron ring, no Thread would burrow into the ground. And he always wore the necklace that the old farmer gave him. By the time he and Tercith died, they were the most famous pair in all of Pern. And Weyrleader. All thanks to the three charms of Southern Boll."