Splish Splash, I Was Takin' A Bath... (Zeph)

[Kiran]

Imber was rather pleased with how things were going with Hikkikoth. The black was still clingy, still needing to be distracted, but... He was better. He knew that at least one dragon and rider out there didn't think him silly or stupid for his stutter. That was worth a million marks, in her opinion. After all, if she could convince him of one, she could convince him of others! But... But that would take time and being around more dragons and riders.

Lessons weren't the best place for it. Their class was so large that real one on one time with others was out of the question. And besides, the large crowd made Hikkikoth even more hostile towards the others than usual. He would even refuse to talk to her sometimes from the pressure of it! She sighed. Imber finally faced up to it. She would have to purposely make some friends.

Hikkikoth snorted at that thought. ImberMine, there is-s-s n-no need f-for an-ny-yone else! It is-s just you an-n-nd me. Why-y is-sn't that enough? The black felt hurt that somehow he wasn't enough. Was it his stutter? Was he not good enough?

Imber stopped right there in the middle of bathing him, letting the soapsand fall into the lake. "Don't think that for a second, dear heart. You are my dragon, my dearest Hikkikoth. I love you. But friends are just as important." She snuggled him for a minute or two, even though he was stiff in her arms. Eventually the dragonet relaxed and lifted himself so that his forepaws were on his shoulders, nuzzling her face. As I l-lov-ve y-you, My Im-mber.

His words were the signal that she could begin to wash him again, his eyes swirling gently with blues as he relaxed into her touch. Things were a touch tricky between them, but Imber felt that she was getting more confidant with navigating the black's tender feelings. She reached into the waters to gather the space bits of sand there, spotting her pink pillie Lovely on the shore, darting towards something that had caught her attention. No, it was someone. Two someones. The pink was happily dancing her way with fluttery motions towards one of her classmates, who seemed to be coming towards the lake with his blue. Probably also to bathe his dragonet.

Imber hesitated, then decided to wait for them to come by. She could go to them in a bit. Especially since Hikkikoth had wrapped his tail around her wrist, his eyes swirling orange and yellow as he caught that she wanted to talk to him. He didn't want that! Not at all!

[Zephyr]

You can’t bathe me in here. Sekaith said plainly while R’hia was debating his ability to wash his dragon and not leave his room. He hadn’t really felt up to socializing since he’d impressed. It was probably the fact that a baby dragon had invaded his mind and put all the thoughts he’d kept bottled up front and center in his mind. That and he didn’t trust Sekaith to keep his thoughts to himself. The dragonet was so open with everyone and so in tune with R’hia’s thoughts that he didn’t trust the blue wouldn’t tell someone else what he was thinking.

“I know, I know.” He grumbled, throwing on a jacket. “Well, c’mon, Sekaith…I don’t have all turn.” The blue brightened up and bounded off of his couch towards the door R’hia was leading him to, tail swishing back and forth. Then after, you can oil me! We’ll have so much fun, R’hiaMine! The boy doubted that. The dragonet was still a chubby little thing, and with how much he ate once he got over the horror of the fact that he was eating meat, R’hia was constantly having to oil him. He didn’t have the heart to tell the dragonet that he was fat, though it’d probably make his life easier if he could get Sekaith not to eat so much.

At least food was the last thing on the dragon’s mind as he bounced past R’hia on their way to the lake and caught sight of one of his siblings. Hikkikoth! The blue trilled, doubling back to bounce a circle around R’hia’s feet when the boy stopped dead. He wasn’t so sure about this now that he knew there was someone else here, but Sekaith was more encouragement to the boy than he knew and R’hia plastered on a giant grin. The good thing about being in a class so big was that no one knew you. “Hey!” He said to Imber once he’d started moving again and approached the girl, the overexcited blue at his feet bursting forth to go greet his brother.

Hikkioth! Hiiiii. How are you? You’re looking so clean! Then his words trailed off and he stopped short of tackleglomping his black brother with a giant hug, tilting his head and letting out a little peep of confusion. Hikkioth! Are you okay? You look sad. What’s wrong? Can I hug you? I want to hug you; make it better. His tail fluttered behind him in his alarm and R’hia snorted, tugging lightly on his tail. “C’mon Sekaith. You’re making him nervous.” But I want to hug him! “I’m sure you do, but you can’t hug everyone you see.” The blue looked affronted. Only the sad ones “That’s not true, get over here.”

With a sad rumble, Sekaith glanced at Hikkioth again before slinking back to R’hia, flopping down in the shallows near him as the young man stripped off his shirt and grabbed some of the soapsand he’d brought. “So.” He finally spoke, trying to ignore the puppy eyes Sekaith was giving his brother. “How’re you getting along…Imber, was it?” His smile was massive and warm, nothing like the doubt he’d been feeling moments before. “Hikkioth, you’re looking quite handsome.” It’s true! Sekaith piped up before surrendering to the gentle scratching of the soapsand with a low thrum.

[Kiran]

Imber had leaned down to touch Hikkikoth, to reassure him that she was here and he didn't need to panic when the blue started to bound towards them. She had actually been a touch frightened that her black would lash out at his clutchmate. The black dragonet was feeling more volatile these days, more disturbed since the offer of friendship from the other weyrling. It went against his whole grain to believe something like that. But at the same time, between the blue and the yellow, he was discovering that not everyone was terrible to him.

At least, not in front of him.

But he never got a glimmer of anything but love from Imber either. It made him think. And wonder. And loathe them even more for confusing him. They were supposed to hate him and this was all wrong!

Hikkikoth was pulled from these thoughts as Imber smiled at the other weyrling. He huffed grumpily, still sending daggers to the blue that was looking ever so longingly at him. "I'm doing well... R'hia, isn't it? Yes, I remember. You were the one who took the girl to the Healers, the one who Impressed a Burgundy." Imber's gaze went distant for a moment as she recalled the Hatching and what had happened with whom. Then her focus went back to its normal slow flitter around her classmate, never quite meeting his eyes. "I'm glad to see you well."

Hikkikoth had missed most of the events of the hatching, but had seen the blood on the sands. Hs temper cooled a bit as he considered how lucky he was that his Imber hadn't been killed. The images in her mind made him shiver as she scrubbed the soapsand over his hide. For a second Imber hesitated, then blocked those thoughts from her mind. It was a skill she was good with. She had lots of practice not thinking about the deaths of her family members. The black couldn't make them leave his mind exactly, and calmed down quite a bit as he soberly turned them over in his mind.

"We are getting along well. As you can see, Hikkikoth is rather possessive, and not quite open to others. But we are working on it. We're both making friends." Imber scratched her dragonet between the headknobs, eliciting a croon from the black in that unguarded moment. It only lasted a few seconds before Hikkikoth cut it off and went back to his normal silence, but it wasn't the hostile silence of before, even though it wasn't a happy one either. Imber let him do so before quietly talking agin to R'hia. "It's okay to let Sekaith hug him. Hikkikoth needs that contact. Needs friends. He's been unhappy since he hatched, and I don't think it's good for him."

With that she tilted her head and smiled at the blue weyrling pair. "So how have the two of you been getting along? Just as well?" It seemed like they did. R'hia seemed friendly enough, and his blue seemed to adore him as well.