A Sunset Swim -- Open

[Mare]

A broad, flat boulder was cheerfully radiating the heat of the day into Mare's backside. The girl, for her part, was lolling like a lazy feline, alone so far as she knew, and wearing not much more than she'd been born with.

More would just get in the way, she'd decided, and leave unfortunate tan lines. She's still not sure which matters more, but the ragged scraps of cloth had been perfect for a day on the beach.

She was supposed to be looking for edible goodies in the tidal pools and shallow waters. At least, that's what she'd been told early in the morning, when the day's chores were assigned. And there was a nice pile of clams and mussels and other shelled things destined for the weyr's tables in a basket in the nearest pool, kept cool and safe from enterprising fish in a nest of Nori. The dark purple grass was apparently tasty, too, but Mare could never bring herself to get over the slimy feel of the water weed.

She would quite happily stick to a nice chunk of red meat, or a bit of fish, she thought to herself, carding her fingers through her long, salt rimed hair.

‘Ugh. It'll look horrible for days now.’

‘I never managed to pull the nice assignments,’ she groused to herself as she began plaiting the mess of damp curls. ‘The ones that didn’t ruin hair or skin or leave her feeling like she was caked in a turn’s worth of grime. Of course, that’s probably why they were "work" and not "fun."

At least I wasn’t stuck inside again.’

The sun was setting in vibrant colors-scarlets oranges and golds-in front of her, and reflecting off the sea like a mirror. The air was thick and hot and delicious and she’d had the day to herself. A bit of company might have been nice-there’d have been more time to look for a firelizard clutch, or watch the shipfish, or anything else besides-but it had been a nice day, really. She didn't have anything to complain about; and perversely it just made her more tetchy.

'One more dip. Just to wash off the sand.' Mare decided. 'Then it's time to head back.' The weyr was already a shadowy smudged shape at her back, constantly reminding her of all the unpleasant things she didn't want to dwell on. It would be full dark by the time she made it back, and with a bit of luck, no one would notice she'd been gone most of the day.

She stretched languidly, cracking her back as she rose from her seat on the rocks and shaking off her bad mood by sheer force of will.

[R'ysk]

It was a great afternoon for the beach.

Striping down completely, R'ysk had left his clothes in a pile near the underbrush on the surrounding dunes and made his way out to the shore. His dragon had told him the beach was empty, and that he wanted to stay in the shade today to doze. The former was the only reason he was in the nude, the subject a little more embarrassing for him than most due to the fact that he was holdborn instead of raised in the more accepting atmosphere of a Weyr. He figured it was safe enough to go out like this, having just returned from a day of hard work.

Stepping foot into the ocean, he thumbed the shiny skin that accompanied the scar on his chest and frowned at the lack of fading. Maybe it was because of all the time he was spending outside? Wading until he was about chest deep, he dipped his head underneath and surfaced, sprinkling droplets of water as he ran his hand through his hair. The scar didn't look too bad, just a bit more prominent than he would have liked, and it had already faded some over the years.

Someone else is there on the beach. His dragon relayed lazily from the thick shade off the beach, large wedge-shaped head raising slightly before plopping back down onto the leafy floor. Well, onto his rider's clothes. He had stolen them from the beach when R'ysk was busy getting farther out in the ocean, coercing the brown firelizard into helping him out when he was sure the bronzerider would turn around and catch him. A Candidate, I think. She has been on the Sands a few times.

In the meantime, Puck's attention had shifted to Mare, crooning and trying to land on her shoulders. A simple creature unlike the dragon, his motives were solely out of curiosity instead of the Bronze's need to tease R'ysk.

"And of course the sharding firelizard's already trying to seek her out." He scowled inwardly, his body dropping like a sandbag so she would hopefully not catch sight of him. He was sure Raecynth had done this on purpose, his dragon's cheery silence when questioned a confirmation of sorts. Shards! Maybe if he just floated here with the water up to his neck she would mistake him for some seaweed or a floating plant, though he was sure his face was so hot it was evaporating the water around him.