Line in the Sand (Shayna) [21.12.1164]

[sorra]

Shayna knew her face was probably beat red. Of course now she couldn't get the image out of her mind that he had conjured up and she knew the blush wouldn't go away. Oh well. Nothing to be embarrassed about. She hurried away though so that they could get going sooner. Josiath kept her head down and worked with M'riel to get her straps on. When she was younger no one but Shayna could touch her, but she was mellowing out some and didn't mind M'riel helping while Shayna was busy. The gold shook her head, her eyes whirling in contentment. No, at the moment she didn't want anyone else flying her. Unless Oreath couldn't prove himself a second time then she was happy. The dragon crooned softly at the head rub.

Shayna pulled on a pair of gloves as she shivered a bit. She flipped the hood up on her jacket, leaving it so all you could see was her sparkling eyes in the dim light. She hated being cold and she had been that a lot lately. "Where are we going?" she asked as M'riel finished packing everything. He sure moved fast. Of course she knew she had been with Sanyara for a bit as the baby had been quite hungry. "Well, that is true. I personally don't want to trip over everything," she chuckled as M'riel gave her a hand onto her dragon.

Shayna gasped softly as she carefully got adjusted on her dragon. Ow, no wonder she hadn't tried riding sooner. It hurt quite a bit as her body wasn't used to be in this position. Well, she'd survive. It felt good to be back on her dragon and it was better then walking as she knew she had done too much walking today anyhow. Josiath didn't argue as she followed Oreath. She didn't know where she was going after all.

[kendrall]

"Coastline," M'riel answered Shayna's question as he finished securing the cargo. "Maybe a half a candlemark, probably no more than one. If the winds are calm, it should be a smooth flight." After getting everything ready, he gave Shayna a boost, and he winced as she gasped. Shards, but he didn't think that the Weyrwoman's body would protest at riding on the back of dragon this soon, especially after the difficult birth she'd just been through barely a sevenday ago. But he had to silently warn Oreath to stay quiet when he gave the Bronze his orders: Up and over the ridge, then descend to a safe distance above the waters before heading to the shoreline of the continent.

M'riel made sure to pull the gloves over his hands and lifted his hood up, then gave the riding strap a good twitch. Follow me, my queen, let us slip away quietly with Ours,[/color] the Bronze silently encouraged his gold mate before rising to his feet and getting a running start on the ledge, leaping into the air and stretching out his wings. Oreath would circle silently just above the Weyr to wait for Josiath, then he would lead her up and over the ridge as his Rider instructed, then a slow descent towards the water.

The winds were indeed calm on this moonlit night; thankfully they were in between the winter storms that encircled the Weyr. M'riel tried not to take in a deep breath through his nostrils, but couldn't help to marvel at the clear night sky. The waters were still frozen for the most part around the Weyr, but there were a few places here and there en route to the shoreline where the moons' reflections were visible. He spared a glance over his shoulder to make sure Shayna and Josiath were still there, just off to his right, then looked ahead to see if there was indeed a cavern large enough for all four of them.

Oreath was the first to spot one. Mine, there's a cavern just down and to our left inside one of the cliffs, just above the shoreline. It looks big enough.[/color] M'riel leaned over a little to get a closer look. The frost-covered shoreline was sparkling in the moonlight, but the Bronze was right; there was indeed a cavern that appeared to be big enough to accommodate the dragons and their Riders. Take us down, Oreath; if it's big enough we should be able to land just inside the entrance. The Bronze didn't say anything, but instead shot a silent message to his gold mate to follow him as he started his descent, a circular pattern that allowed him to come level with the entrance to the cavern. M'riel smiled as his Bronze came to a landing. There was indeed enough room for both dragons to be side-by-side, but the Weyrleader couldn't help but notice the cavern seemed to be much deeper than he first noticed. Just how far did this go, anyway?

The Bronze laid down for his Rider to dismount, and M'riel waited for Shayna and Josiath to land before he would help the Weyrwoman down to the ground.

[sorra]

"The coastline?" Shayna asked. Well, that sounded interesting. She closed her eyes briefly though as she let her body get adjusted to riding again. Well, apparently she wasn't going to be able to do much riding for a while. Are you okay, Shayna? You seem in pain, her gold asked worriedly. She patted her gold's shoulder. I am alright, Jo. Just a bit sore still. No worries, she assured her dragon. She would make do and enjoy this evening. she had been too happy earlier to let anything get her down.

Josiath was careful as she got to her feet to follow Oreath. She sent a silent word to the watch pair to keep quiet. There was no reason to alert the Weyr. They would be back soon. Nothing would happen. Just some time away for their riders. Josiath glided behind Oreath, watching everything.

Shayna finally started to relax despite the cold and the ride didn't hurt quite as badly. She knew she was going to need a couple days to recoop though. Shards, she had wanted to be able to get out of bed. Eodira wasn't going to be very happy with her. She sighed softly. A nice long soak when they got back would be good and hopefully help her. She looked around their surroundings though and smiled. It was pretty. Now if only they didn't have the storms to worry about. she knew the Weyr was getting antsy as they were all confined indoors. She cringed a bit. Well, so much for the Weyrleaders following that.

I am right behind you, Josiath told Oreath as she angled her wings in to land. she was careful on her landing so she didn't jostle her rider around too much.

Shayna undid her straps as soon as her dragon landed. Wow! That was quite a cavern for the dragons to be able to fit in it. She wondered how M'riel and Oreath had known to come here. She would have to ask later. She carefully swung her leg over Josiath's back and slid down into M'riel's waiting arms. "It's pretty here," she said.

[kendrall]

M'riel halted Shayna's descent to the ground and nodded as she commented on its beauty. "This cavern extends for quite a ways," he said, looking into the black depths. He reached up to extract the lantern from his pack, then lifted up the shade to provide as much lighting as possible. He bit back a curse as the light from the glowstone only penetrated so far, but not far enough to see what lay beyond. Instinctively, M'riel reached for Shayna's hand. "Stay behind me," he suggested. "Oreath, can you see anything back there?"

Oreath gave a mournful croon. No, Mine, it's too dark.[/color]

The Weyrleader sighed as he looked around. There had been signs the winter weather had made its way into the cavern, frost covered the rock walls, roof, and the various boulders and such here and there. He didn't know if anything was hibernating in this place, but something was urging him to explore the depths of the cavern. Lifting the lantern, M'riel slowly made his way further, his eyes studying the loose boulders and stones. Hopefully, Shayna wouldn't be too afraid to go with him, but as he progressed deeper into the cavern he thought he could hear running water...

Oreath, bring Josiath with you. Do you hear that?

It sounds like running water, Mine. A river, perhaps?[/color]

He squinted his eyes as he thought he detected some light near the back. The noise only grew louder as he continued forward. Suddenly, M'riel came to a halt as his eyes took in the sight, and he let out a low whistle. A large cavern with various stone formations; stalagmites, stalactites, and columns were spread out in the chamber. The formations and the rock walls seemed to faintly sparkle and reflect the light, slightly amplifying the illumination. Towards the back was the source of the noise; a waterfall was pouring in through one of the formations near the rock ceiling, spilling water into a pool that steamed invitedly. M'riel released Shayna's hand for a moment, handing her the lantern. "Stay here," he said. "I'll see if there's any driftwood on the shore we can use for a fire. It's warm enough as is, but the fire will give us some more light for us to see by."

[sorra]

Shayna leaned against M'riel briefly to get her balance back. She was really going to have to take things slow for a while. She was feeling pretty exhausted. "How did you ever find a place like this?" she asked, looking around in awe. It was truly amazing. At least what she could see of it. She wished she could see more of it. Shayna gave his hand a quick squeeze as she moved behind him like he asked. She knew she would be safe with him. He wouldn't put their lives at risk after all.

Josiath snorted and stepped up beside Oreath. It was dark, but the gold wasn't too worried yet. Besides, Shayna was still happy and she didn't sense any danger around. The gold quietly followed her mate, having no idea exactly where they were going. The place was at least big enough for them to move around in.

Shayna stopped behind M'riel and gasped. The sight was amazing. She had never seen anything like it. "Now I wish I could draw and get this down on paper," she smiled. The sound of the rushing water was so relaxing and the warmth was actually making her feel all warm and cozy inside. She couldn't keep a smile from her face as she looked around. The rocks and stones were gorgeous. She loved how the faint light from the lantern bounced off the sparkling stones in the walls. Not to mention the water looked inviting. The Weyrwoman took the lantern while still looking around. "It's so amazing here," she said softly, barely catching the fact that he was going to see if he could find some drift wood. She was caught up in the beauty of it all.

[kendrall]

"I didn't," M'riel replied to Shayna's query. "All I did was tell Oreath to look for a cavern that was large enough for us to take shelter from the cold. This was the first one he found, and his instincts paid off." Part of him wondered if this was just one portion of a long-abandoned Weyr, judging from the sheer size of the cavern. The entrance was certainly large enough to accomodate two dragons side by side if they were walking instead of in flight. But once they made their way into the central chamber, the Weyrleader knew his theory was unlikely. While there was plenty of room in between the various rock formations for Oreath and Josiath to wander around, M'riel didn't see any additional passageways leading from their current position. Shayna wished she could draw what they were seeing, and her werymate winced. Kalerai would love to see this, he thought to himself as he handed the lantern to the Weyrwoman.

M'riel took the time to count the number of steps from the central chamber to the entrance. Close to a hundred paces or so. That meant the heat from the natural hot spring was enough to keep the frost from completely permeating the entire cavern, and he shivered as his body came in contact with the cold. Luckily, there was enough ambient light from the two moons for him to see, and M'riel gathered some driftwood to bring inside. He made two more trips until he thought he had enough for a fire, then took some of the smaller and medium-sized stones to form a firepit. Taking a few of the smaller branches and twigs, he formed a small pile. He then untied the cargo straps from his Guardsman's pack, setting it down near a column before he untied the other pack from Josiath's cargo straps. M'riel shrugged off his jacket. It was warm in this central chamber.

The Weyrleader extracted his flint from his pack, and with his belt knife struck the stone a few times until it created a spark, catching the small branches on fire. He carefully added some of the larger branches until there was a good sized fire going. The light of the flames started to reflect off of the rock formations and walls, and suddenly M'riel knew why. He let out an appreciative whistle. "Shay," he said, catching his weyrmate's attention. "Look."

Embedded in the walls and rock formations were various crystals and what appeared to be gems of various colors. M'riel was no gemcrafter or miner, but it wouldn't surprise him of some of those gems were actually semi-precious and precious stones. Walking up to one stalagmite in particular, M'riel took a closer look and decided to see if any of the stones were loose. Taking his belt knife, he carefully took the tip and tried to wedge it into one small crevice, and after a few pries, managed to pop the stone free. It appeared to be colorless, and he held it up to try and figure it out. He grumbled. "I know I've said before how my father and I didn't get along," he said, unsure if Shayna was even paying attention, "but if he were here, he'd be able to identify this stone. I think it's a raw diamond, but I can't be sure."

M'riel took the stone and placed it into a small pocket in his pack, then walked a bit further until he found what appeared to be a whitish-gray rock with a sheen to it. Again, carefully placing the tip of his belt knife into the crevice, he wiggled the blade until he was able to free the stone. It certainly looked interesting to him, but he wasn't sure what it was. Shrugging, he went back to the campsite and placed the stone next to the other, then sheathed his belt knife.

Oreath wandered around for a bit, then decided to rest near the campsite but in between that and the natural hot spring. He crooned at his mate to come join him, then watched his Rider pry a couple of the stones loose for further investigation. M'riel extracted the furs from both packs, and laid them down on the stone floor of the chamber close to the fire, but far enough where a stray spark wouldn't reach them. "I only brought dried foodstuffs and herbs, Shay," he apologized. "There's also a couple of small wineskins of water in here that I always keep filled. It may be a little brackish, but it'll do." M'riel set everything down on the furs, then took out a small piece of dark wood that he had found the other day and, taking out one of his smaller knives, leaned against one of the columns and started to whittle away.

[sorra]

The Weyrwoman nearly laughed as she shook her head. "You and your dragon sure have good gut feelings," she smiled. She wasn't so sure that she would ever be able to trust her gut like that. "Well, no matter how you found this place it's gorgeous and I'm glad we're here." It would be nice to just relax for a bit and not have to think about Sanyara as she knew her infant daughter was safe with her parents. It wasn't like her parents hadn't raised three children of their own after all. She didn't notice M'riel's disappointment at her words as she continued to look around. It was certainly amazing. She couldn't help but wonder just what had created these caverns. What surprised her more was that the dragons fit without any problem. It wasn't like Oreath and Josiath were exactly tiny after all.

She glanced over at M'riel got the wood together and grabbed a few things out of his pack. She hadn't tried to start a fire on her own in ages and wasn't so sure she would still know how. So thankfully she didn't have to worry about that right now. He seemed to have everything under control so she went back to looking around as it was so pretty and mesmerizing. What a perfect place to spend some time together. She glanced back at the water, wondering how warm it would be. Well, she would experiment with that later. They still had the rest of the night after all.

Shayna looked over quickly when M'riel spoke her name. Her eyes widened. "Shards, that is gorgeous," she whispered as the fire light played on the stones. She had never seen anything like that before. Of course she had seen a few very beautiful rings and necklaces sparkle like that, but it had never been an item she had owned. They had always cost too many marks and there were more practical things that she had needed. She glanced down at the simple band M'riel had given her and smiled. It glittered in the light and she gently touched the smooth surface.

Shayna quickly looked back up when she heard the sound of steel against rock. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously as she watched him chip at the rock. She wasn't quite sure what he was hoping to find. She stared at him in surprise. "You really think it's a diamond?" she asked curiously. Her parents were wavers and tanners, so she didn't know much about the mining craft. But it sounded like M'riel did even if he hadn't gotten along with his father real well. "I'm sure someone at the Weyr would know," she answered as he found another stone that she couldn't even begin to guess what it was. It was an odd color. Something she had never seen.

Josiath had walked over to the water and sniffed at it before blowing into it, causing little ripples. The gold almost seemed to laugh as she acted like a weyrling again. She was enjoying this. The gold looked over at her mate as he settled down and crooned at her. Josiath made her way over to him and curled up against him, her tail wrapped around her back legs and resting against her side. Shayna smiled fondly at her dragon. Apparently everything that had been happening was affecting her poor gold as well and it wouldn't be long before she was egg heavy. Shayna turned back to M'riel and shrugged. "it's fine. We both already had dinner, so no worries," she said. And they would have to be back in the morning so they could always grab more to eat then. She watched as he sat down on the furs he had just put out and pulled his knife back out along with a piece of wood. She was curious just what he was up to, but didn't ask yet. Instead she just sat down the the furs and soon ended up curled up on her side with her head on his legs so she would out of his way while he chipped at the wood. She had shed her gloves and loosened her jacket, but she hadn't taken her jacket off yet as she was still a bit cold.

[kendrall]

M'riel shrugged as Shayna commented on how the Bronze pair had good instincts. "I don't know if it's more him than me," he commented wryly. "But I'm glad you like this place. Maybe I could find something like this after I retire." It was near the sea, and the only thing he'd have to figure out was how to get fresh water in here that would be cold enough to drink. That, and figure out how to get food. The Weyrleader wouldn't mind retiring near a place such as this cavern, but only if he could make sure he could sustain himself somehow. He heard Shayna ask him what he was doing when he tried to free a couple of the stones, and when she asked him if he was sure the first one was a diamond, he nodded when his weyrmate said someone might know. "I'd like to find out who," he said. "I made a wooden pendant of a runner's head for Arda as my way of thanking her for her friendship and the support she's shown ever since I first got here. I think I'll make another, only this time of two dragons entwined with each other. If I'm right and the first stone I extracted is a diamond, probably have that held between their claws. I don't know what the other stone is, but maybe that same person at the Weyr can identify it, make some type of an inlay for the pendant."

He glanced at Shayna. "It'll be for you once it's finished. Might take a while, though. Probably ten days or so."

Oreath nuzzled against his gold mate, his own tail wrapped around the Senior Queen's back legs. He was definitely content.

The Weyrleader nodded and shrugged when Shay mentioned she already had dinner, but M'riel took a bite out of one of the dried pieces of meat and chewed on it thoughtfully. He finished it off, then put the rest away so he could focus for a moment on whittling.

[sorra]

She chuckled a bit. "Well, either way, you both did good on this," she said softly. She looked at him in surprise. "Retire? Well, I hope you're not planning that anytime soon," she said softly. They were both still too young to think about that. She had only become Weyrwoman and him Weyrleader. She looked around at the cave again. She could see how it would be a nice place to retire to. Although she was close to her family, so that might be hard, but it wasn't like he had asked her to join him and hopefully he wasn't planning on retiring anytime soon. She thought for a minute as he put the stones in his pack. "Well, you could ask one of the glass smith boys. Mikan, L'ret, K'lar, and Tia'ar. Even if they can't answer the question they might know how can," she told him. It was worth a try anyway. Otherwise she had no idea. She hadn't heard of anyone mention working with jewelry or stones. She smiled a bit. "Sounds pretty. I bet Arda loves it." She wasn't at all jealous of her friend. She knew how much Arda loved K'ryn and vice a versa. She thought the necklace was a nice gesture on M'riel's part. "That sounds like a lot of work on the other one," she said, looking up at him from her spot by his feet. "It sounds pretty though."

Shayna looked up at him shock. "For me?" she asked, her silvery eyes wide. "But you already gave me this beautiful ring. You don't have to do more," she said gently, not wanting him to think he had to do that.

Josiath crooned softly as she snuggled close to her mate. She was very content where she was.

Shayna glanced back at him while he nibbled on the meat. She smiled and gently ran her fingertips up his leg. Surely he wasn't going to spend the whole time whittling. She was careful of his knife and not making him jump as she shifted so she could reach more of his legs.

[kendrall]

M'riel shook his head emphatically when Shayna gave him a surprised look, her disbelief evident. "I'm thirty-five Turns old, Shay. I've spent nearly thirty Turns total in service to those I've been charged to defend either as a Guardsman or as a Rider. I probably have more combined experience in the smallest toe of my right foot compared to most men my age. Oreath, as strong and faithful of a friend he is, isn't getting any younger. Nor am I, for that matter. As long as Josiath continues to choose him as her mate, and as long as you'll have me as your weyrmate and as your lover, we'll stay and give it our all. But, you're only twenty-eight if I recall correctly. Josiath's what, eleven Turns or so? I know she won't be able to clutch forever, either."

He let out a sigh. "I do have to admit that I'd like for us to step down together when it's time, Shay. When you step down, I'll step down. We started this journey together, we'll end it together. But I still would want you by my side, if you'll still have me by then."

He did nod a little when his weyrmate suggested he ask one of the glass smiths about the two gems he pried loose from the rock formations. It would make sense for them to either identify the stones, or if they could refer him to a more knowledgable subject matter expert. "You should have seen her face light up when I gave her the pendant," he said a little cheerfully. "Seeing her that day with all that hidework she was working on, then I come in and hold my handiwork up for her to see. She was still in awe when she slipped it around her neck. But this one I want to work on, yeah, it'll be a lot more work, but I don't mind. I actually enjoy working with my hands. Working with wood, it actually forces me to relax, to think clearly. And I enjoy it."

M'riel gave Shayna a warm smile when she couldn't believe the dragon pendant was going to be for her, and she protested stating he had already given her his mother's ring. "I want to do more, Shay. For you. For us. The pendant will be a symbol of our union as Weyrleader and Weyrwoman, sharing a love that will hopefully shine forth like a beacon for future generations. I can't think of anything better to symbolize that." But as he continued to whittle away, he couldn't help but notice her shifting slightly and trying to distract him by running her fingertips up his leg. M'riel spared a glance at Shayna, and saw she was giving him a smile that indicated she wanted him to pay attention to her, and not to his whittling. He chuckled softly, then set the knife and the piece of wood down. Managing to evade her teasing for the moment, M'riel shifted his own body until he was on all fours and crawled towards her, grinning as he drew his face to Shayna's. "I didn't think you were still a little chilly, sweetheart," he teased. "What do you say we take a dip in that natural hot spring and really heat things up in here?"

((OOC - Next post for Sorra then break for mature interlude!))

[sorra]

Shayna shook her head, her bangs falling into her eyes. "You are not allowed to retire yet," she told him. "Oreath is still strong and so are you." She nodded a bit. "We're one of the oldest riders at the Weyr," she said softly. That was sad that 11 Turns was old for a dragon right now. So many things had happened. She closed her eyes briefly. "No, but she should be able to clutch for a while yet," she pointed out. She wasn't ready to count either of them out yet.

She looked up at him. "I would like that," she answered softly. "But we don't have to plan that now. Let's live for the moment." thinking about the future could be scary and she just wanted a few moments of happiness. Today had been too nice to let morbid thoughts leak in.

Shayna chuckled softly. "I'm glad Arda liked it. She's been working really hard since Sanyara was born. I feel bad and hope to get back to my duties soon so I can give her and Kolteya a bit of a break." That and she felt like she hadn't been able to really truly step into her new role as Weyrwoman yet. "I bet it was beautiful." She could imagine what the pendant looked like. She just might have to find Arda later and see just how it looked on her friend. The Weyrwoman nodded when he said that working with his hands helped relax him. "That's good. I think we all need something to help us relax," she said. So, if he wanted to carve the pendant then so be it. "That sounds nice," she agreed.

She giggled as she realized that he had figured out that she was trying to distract him. It was a beautiful place and she wanted to spend some time with him. Shayna shook her head as he managed to ignore her for a couple minutes. She raised a brow and propped herself up on an elbow when he moved. "So I still get cold easily," she smiled. Shayna pretended to think for a minute. "Do you really think I would argue with going into the warm water?" she asked, giving him a kiss. She was sure it would help relax her body too.

[kendrall]

((OOC - Resuming from mature interlude))

There was something to be said for training as a Guardsman. One would gradually get used to the idea of waking up in the middle of the night for second watch, or even early in the morning roughly three or four candlemarks before sunrise for third watch. For M'riel, his eyes slowly opened and tried to take in his surroundings. The fire he'd built last night was now down to glowing embers, but there was still enough light for him to make out some details. His arm was wrapped around Shayna; she was hopefully still sound asleep in spite of the late night they shared. And Faranth, was it *ever* a night to remember. What started out as an accusation of his when the Weyrwoman didn't return until late from her visit with R'bao, followed by his threat to step down from his post as Weyrleader due to a perceived lack of support, turned into an overnight getaway for the leadership pair. M'riel had meant for him and Shayna to discuss many topics at length, but when they came across a cavern filled with semi-precious and precious stones embedded within the rock structures, that conversation never took place. Instead, the Weyrwoman found out her weyrmate had a hobby of woodworking, and she managed to get him to divert his attention from a new piece he was working on so they could do a little "reconciling". In his mind, it was well worth it.

It was already warm within the inner chamber of the cavern, thanks in part to the hot springs nearby, so there was no need to crawl under the furs he'd spread out earlier. Instead, M'riel gently nudged Shayna in his effort to get her to wake up. "Shay," he whispered in her ear, kissing her just behind it. "Wake up. We need to get back to Izuko before sunrise. We'll sleep in once we're home." He then turned to look in the direction of Oreath and Josiath, whom were snuggled together. "Oreath, Josiath," he called quietly. "Wake up. We need to start packing so we can get back to the Weyr. It'll be dawn soon."

Oreath opened one eye and fixed it on his bonded and the Weyrwoman wrapped in his arm, then his other eye opened. The Bronze yawned, then gently nudged his golden mate. Lady Josiath, it's time to wake up. Mine says it will be dawn soon, and Ours will need to pack everything up before we can depart.[/color]

[sorra]

Shayna still slept soundly, cuddled in M'riel's arms. It was easy to see that the Weyrwoman was still easily worn out and they had certainly had quite a night. For more then one reason. Normally she wasn't a deep sleeper and would have felt M'riel moving when he woke, but not this time. between the stress of now being Weyrwoman and still recooping from Sanyara the Weyrwoman was out. Not to mention the warmth from the hot springs and the fire were keeping her lulled asleep.

"Mmm?" she moaned when M'riel nudged her. "I'm up," she yawned, shivering at his gentle kiss. She could certainly get used to that. The Weyrwoman reluctantly opened her silvery eyes, sleep still showing in the corners as she was barely awake. She knew that they still needed to talk, but that certainly hadn't happened. Not that she had any complaints. "I'll have to get Sanyara too," she yawned again, reluctantly sitting up.

Josiath was still snuggled close to her mate. The gold had been enjoying the warmth of the hot springs and the ground. Not to mention having Oreath so close. Yes, we will want to get back soon, the gold agreed with a mighty yawn, opening her eyes. The gold had every intention of returning and going back to sleep.

[kendrall]

M'riel managed to sit up, and reached over to lift the shade on the glowlamp so he could see a little better. The Weyrleader rose to his feet, then turned to help Shayna get up before he found their clothes they discarded from earlier. He found the Weyrwoman's clothes first, handing them to her before picking up his trousers and sliding his legs into them. M'riel then pulled his tunic over his head, and finally slid his feet into his boots. Making sure the fire was completely out, he then started gathering their belongings and placed them into the two packs they'd brought with them. Once finished, he took the heavier of the two and secured it to Oreath's cargo straps, and then took the other to secure it to Josiath's.

He didn't comment about Shayna's need to get her daughter, at least not at first. "Try not to wake your sister and your parents," he suggested as he tightened the cargo straps. "As far as anyone knows, you and I are supposed to be asleep." M'riel then made sure Shayna was dressed before helping her with her winter coat and gloves, then he moved to douse the glowing embers with some nearby sand. Once he made sure the fire was completely out, M'riel slid on his own coat and fastened it, pulled on his own gloves and then grabbed the glowlamp. "We'll walk until we're near the entrance," he said, offering his hand for Shayna to take. "If the skies are still clear, there should be plenty of light from the moons for us to see."

The Weyrleader glanced over his shoulder at the two dragons, and jerked his head in a come-along movement. Oreath stood up and waited for his mate to likewise stand on all fours, then would follow the two humans back outside.

[sorra]

Shayna rubbed her arms a bit as she looked around at their cavern. She really didn't want to have to leave yet, but she knew they needed to get back. It would do any good for anyone to realize they were gone after all. The Weyrwoman slowly got to her feet with a stretch. Mmm, Eodira was going to mad at her she thought as her body protested the movement. She accepted her clothing and carefully stepped back into her skirt and shirt before finding her boots to pull back on. She wasn't going to put her jacket and gloves back on until they were out of the nice warm cave. Maybe one day they could come back.

The gold rider thought for a minute. "I guess she'll be okay until morning," she agreed. She didn't want to accidentally wake her family. Once her and M'riel were up again then she would go see how Sanyara had fared the night. It was just the first time she had been away from her daughter. She helped M'riel clean up as much as she could without hurting herself. "Sounds good to me," she agreed. Getting to walk a bit further before having to mount her dragon sounded like a very good idea to her. She smiled and slipped her hand into his.

Josiath stood with a stretch. The gold daintily folded her wings to her back so that they could follow. She nudged her mate's shoulder before following him out of the cavern.