Little Talks

Writers: Jelena, Leigh M-F.
Date Posted: 11th April 2015

Characters: A'kua, Genna
Description: A bath becomes kind of philosophical.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 8 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Ninaine.

Genna

Genna was bundled up tightly in layers upon layers of clothing as she
waddled towards the heated bathing cavern, sniffling heavily. She had
noticed some relief since drinking Taren's tea's, but she was still far
from fit. It had taken a very long discussion with Lissath, before the gold
had agreed, but finally she had gotten approval to just sit by the lake in
her warm cocoon as another washed her. It had taken equally long for them
to decide which candidate would be up to the task, but finally they had
decided upon Aluka, the candidate who's singing had amused the young gold
so much.

As Genna settled in as comfortable a position as she could manage, Lissath
smugly contacted her 'chosen'.

}: Candidate, this is Gold Lissath speaking to you. You are requested to
report to the bathing cavern and bathe me, because my Genna is ill. :{

The response wasn't prompt, but there turned out to be a good reason for
it. When Aluka finally arrived in the bathing cavern, he was carrying a
bucket of cleaning supplies and a thermos. "I'm sorry I'm late, Lady
Lissath," Aluka apologized with a respectful bow. He put down the bucket
and unscrewed the top from the thermos. A soothing and delectable scent
wafted out. "I wanted to get this for your rider; it's mint tea. Very
medicinal."

"Hmmm," Genna reached out for the tea like a starved hatchling went after a
piece of herdbeast. "Thank you so much, Aluka, that's very thoughtful of
you."

Lissath observed the exchange quietly. This candidate was getting better
the more she saw of him. Pleased for her choice to have been so profitable
already, she waddled into the water and waited for Aluka to join her.

}: You can start on my wings. :{ she instructed him.

"Hold it in your mouth for a moment if your nose is stuffy," Aluka advised
even as he made his way to the bucket. "Mint clears it all up." He brought
out a scrubbing brush on a long handle, wet it down, and added soapsand.
"All right, I'm set, Lady Lissath," he said, and got to work, scrubbing
gently. Yes, wings were tougher than they looked, but it never hurt to at
least start off carefully.

"Hmm, I got medicinal teas from Weyrhealer Taren, but I'm sure this won't
interfere with them, right?" It didn't seem to her that something like mint
could really do any harm.

}: I'm not made of glass. :{ the gold gave Aluka a mental nudge when he'd
started.

"She likes it a bit more rough," Genna called out, before realizing how
that sounded and a giggle escaped her.

"Never heard of mint doin' anythin' bad," Aluka said, remembering all the
times he had made mint tea for his mother to settle her stomach and rinse
out her mouth. If there was no time to wait for the water to boil, just
crushing the leaves in cold water seemed to help too. As such, he missed
Genna's joke and simply scrubbed more firmly.

As Aluka continued working, Genna kept sipping at her tea, sniffing at it
in between sips. It gave some relief at least. Lissath seemed to relax a
little under the scrubbing, but she kept eyeing Aluka closely.

}: Will you sing again? :{ she said, making it sound more like a command
than a question,

"If ya want me to," Aluka said quickly, obviously delighted to be spoken to
again. "All right, I'm done with the top side. Would ya mind spreadin' your
wing, please, so I can get the underside?"

}: Yes, :{ Lissath answered quickly, while spreading both wings for
balance. }: And I know something you can sing about too, that would make
the most awesome song of all. :{ she paused a moment for dramatic effect,
before adding proudly }: Me! :{

At the waterline, a gigglesnort escaped Genna and she almost choked on her
tea. She really should have seen that coming.

Aluka hesitated. Much as he wished to please the queen, he didn't have any
songs about dragons despite two Turns in a Weyr, and if he tried to
improvise, he would more than likely sound terrible. He had to be very
lucky for an improvisation to turn out well. "I'm not that talented," he
finally said, and started on the underside of a wing.

Lissath considered this for a moment. Songs about her should be sung
marvellously, that much was obvious. She could imagine why Aluka would not
feel up to the task. But maybe if she took him under her wing - so to
speak, she marvelled at the coincidence of actually having him under her
wing for a moment - but maybe if she did, she could raise him to greatness!
And he'd sing her praise for all the Weyr...

}: Of course, you need much practise first. Will you sing me another song,
then? :{

Had he just gotten roped into writing a song about Lissath? Fewmits. It
might be worth a try, but the redhead really, _really_ hoped Ninaine would
never find _that_ one out. But he had to let the idea percolate first and
see if it went anywhere anyway, so he put it aside for now and took a
couple of deep breaths to prepare his lungs. "What kinda song would ya like
to hear?"

}: Anything worth hearing. :{ Lissath replied, making herself comfortable.
}: Something about a good person, like the song you sang last time. :{

A good person, huh? He didn't have a lot of songs about people like that.
But maybe.... Hm. Okay, that might work. Another breath, and he began. "I
used to travel in the shadows, and I never had the courage to just walk up
to you,
But now I have a plan, and there's no time to waste
Because there's too much to lose.
Just say anything at all, you know that you can call
And I'll be right there for you.
First love, heartbreak, tough luck, big mistake, what else can I do?

I'll say anything you want to hear,
I'll see everything through;
I'll do anything I have to do,
Just to win the love of a girl like you!
A girl like you!" He scrubbed in time to the gitar in his mind, losing
himself as he sang and worked.

As Lissath listened, for once her always busy mind calmed and slowed down
as she just became engrossed in the tune and the words. The sudden wave of
calmness surprised Genna and she sat up a little straighter to observe the
little miracle happening at the shore.

Not being dragon-bonded himself, Aluka didn't notice anything strange. He
just kept singing and washing, finishing one wing the same time the song
ended, and walked around to the other, quickly taking up another tune.
"Roaming in between the worlds of sleep and awake,
Seem so far away from where I've been, and unsure, but not afraid.
In trusting my soul, I know I must be taken to see the world that is
Not so far from now.

Imaginations come and sweep the shores of my mind,
In letting it be, visions pass, and emotions arise.
By letting them go, I find beyond are doors I've never seen, open one by
one."

}: I like him. :{ Lissath practically hummed to her rider with satisfaction
as Aluka continued his singing and scrubbing. }: Can we keep him? :{

And then, to Aluka }: You sing well. And you pick good songs, I like the
words. :{

Genna giggle-snorted as she put down the now empty thermos. She absolutely
had to tell Aluka how well he'd done when he was finished.

It was a good thing Aluka was on Lissath's far side now. If Genna had seen
how deeply he blushed in delight, he would have been mildly embarrassed.
"I'm flattered ya enjoy such an unconventional style," he mumbled so only
the gold could hear.

}: I guess I enjoy those who aren't afraid to be themselves. :{ Lissath
replied after a moment of thought. }: Though how are you... unconventional?
:{ The gold wasn't familiar with music or singing, but she was eager to
learn. Maybe she could get Genna to start singing too.

"Well, I don' compose things in the ways people expect." Blushing again,
this time from the compliment, Aluka sang snatches of the Duty Song and a
couple other traditional compositions as he kept working. "Most harpers do
stuff like that. I could do that, but it's borin', so I go in other
directions. Drove the first harper who taught me mad."

}: Sometimes I drive my teachers mad, I guess. :{ Well, mostly she drove
Genna mad, she had to admit, but this fit better into the conversation,
Lissath figured. }: But one must always be as they are supposed to be, not
as people want them to be. :{

Suddenly the young gold wiggled a bit and turned her head towards where
Aluka was scrubbing. }: If you could just scrub here :{ her nose gestured
at the spot }: a liiiiitle harder. I have a terrible itch.:{

Before he did, Aluka briefly leaned his forehead against the gold's side.
"Thank ya," he whispered, and then scrubbed harder. "Is that better?"

}: Yes, much :{ the gold said with a satisfied croon. }: Can you now finish
the rest of me? :{

"Of course."

Last updated on the April 11th 2015

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Little Talks