Swimming the Mile [Harvests]

[Windra]

F'yore was at the edge of the water. Huffing, puffing, keeled over with her hands on her hips and dripping water everywhere. Clad in just her skivvies to cover sensitive bits, there were goosebumps forming on her skin from where the breeze kissed her waterlogged form. Geminith was walking circles around her.

Why do you need to train on how to swim? Can't humans do it naturally? Can you hold your breath long under the water?

"Too many ... questions ... hold ... one sec ... " Huff huff wheeeeze. She was a harper, not an athlete. And here she was expected to swim this thing how many times??

[nineofswords]

R'yn! Yuelith called, dancing at the edge of the water. R'yn turned to look at his green.

Yuelith, what are you doing on shore? he called silently, the distance too far at this point to comfortably shout his response. You're supposed to be in the water too, strengthening your muscles.'

But R'yyyyyyne, Yuelith called, still dancing. Look at Geminith's! She's not swimming either! She should join us in the water! It's fun! Do you think she's not having fun? You should talk to her, reassure her how fun it is!

R'yn heaved a sigh, but turned and swam back towards shore. He climbed out of the water and approached F'yore. "Uh...you okay?" he asked. He couldn't keep a bit of a blush off his cheeks - they were both barely dressed so they could swim, and anyone would find that embarrassing - but looked her over nonetheless. She wasn't bleeding from anywhere. Her lips were a little blue, but that could've been from the cold (and Geminith's general lack of panic meant she was probably getting at least some air). "Yuelith saw you standing here, and um...she was worried, I guess? Or...confused might be a better word for it. Why you weren't swimming. Do you want help?" He knew there was no hope Yuelith would be willing to get back in the water until everyone in her class did too, which was terribly sweet but good Faranth when the wind blew it was like he'd been dunked in ice. He stood there shivering. His towel wasn't anywhere near here, because like a fool he hadn't thought it was important enough to grab until he'd made sure F'yore was alright.

[Windra]

Aww, R'yn was a cute little sweetheart, but F'yore was a little too stuck catching her breath to really pay mind. She stood there heaving for several more seconds before finally gulping a huge amount of air and leaning backwards, exhaling hard. "Do you know how much time I had to prepare before the Hatching? Not enough time at all!" she barked. Deep breath. Relax. F'yore shook her hands to warm them up. "Candidates before me got in some physical training, at least. And Weyrfolk got the most - lucky sort! The only muscle I worked before coming here was my brain."

She's got the scrolls to prove it! Geminith chimed in. She was wriggling a little spastically next to her rider, seemingly unable to control her twitching long enough to sit still. Rows and rows all lined up on the wall! Crazy detailed stuff. Lots of ballads and bunch of good folktales and historical stuff! You should hear her sing sometime! Apparently lots of harpers sing but not all of them do, and lots don't even play a harp! Isn't that funny?

"Child," F'yore groaned. Geminith was a toddler in dragon's skin. Was this how all children were like? She suddenly felt pity for her parents, having to raise three of them. "Go get in the water, you big chatterbox! You need to work those muscles, too!" The harper rolled her shoulders, stretching big and eyeing R'yn in the process. They really were charming! "Not gonna be much of a rider if I don't toughen up, I guess. 'Specially if I'm going to be teaching them one day. Let's get back to it, huh?"

F'yore gave the garnet dragonling a big shove to the lake. Starlit features plodded happily into the liquid depths, vanishing below the surface. She was almost invisible in the murk.

[nineofswords]

R'yn frowned, confused, not quite following F'yore's line of logic at first, but he caught up fairly quickly when she mentioned other candidates having a chance to get physical conditioning. "Oh...right," he said, feeling a little embarrassed that he hadn't thought of that as a problem. He rubbed the back of his neck a little awkwardly. "I kinda know what you mean," they said. "I mean...I was sick a lot as a kid. I got better, obviously, but, um...yeah."

They turned towards Geminith in surprise, eyes wide, when she began to address him. Yuelith came to sit by R'yn, leaning against him, her eyes rivited on the garnet. Oh wow, that's so many, she gushed excitedly at Geminith. R'yn, why don't you have that many?

"Well, um, I'm not a Harper. And all of those scrolls say different things that she's supposed to remember. I um...I'm not good enough at remembering..." But her attention was back on Geminith so he could trail off awkwardly and not have to figure out how to finish the rest of that sentence.

What? They don't? Then why are they called HarpERS? Yuelith wanted to know. Oh, and yes please! I'd love to hear yours sing sometime! I'll bet it's very very pretty! R'yn, do you sing?

"Only in theory," they admitted, giving F'yore a shy but slightly conspiratorial smile. "I'll, uh, leave it to people like F'yore, though, who sound much better than me."

"You should follow Geminith," R'yn told Yuelith, sounding more confident than he had at any other point in the conversation.

Okies! she chirped, sliding into the water after the garnet and trying to keep pace. So, so so so, what IS a harp? Can F'yore play one? Or is she one of those not not harping Harpers?

R'yn smiled fondly after the green, then turned back towards F'yore. "So, um, you should, er...probably swim slower than you think?" His awkwardness and embarrassment had returned in full force after his green had gone swimming off. "It...it takes longer, but....um...well, you get less out of breath. And...I know it's um...embarrassing to uh...be the last so...if you want, I can...keep pace with you?" He was fidgeting almost as much as Geminith had been earlier. "You...you should set the, um, pace, of course, but...but it sucks less if you're um...at the back with a friend. Or...or even just a classmate." He didn't want to presume that they were friends. He still didn't know much about F'yore, or if he even really liked her enough to think about her as a friend, but he knew how much he hated trailing all alone at the back because you were slower than everyone else, and if he could spare someone else that mortification, he'd do it.

[Windra]

Yuelith was off! Geminith squealed delight, swimming circles around the green and forgetting that she had actual training to do! Mine can! She plays beautifully! Did you know there are so many instruments! Some people even turn tools into them. Singing saws! Although I've never actually seen one sing ... And how can they if they don't have mouths?!

"Focus up, Geminith!" Huff! Huff! She was next ... It was time to gather her nerves! Though she shuddered. "Shards it's so cold when you're out of the water! I get wind shear, and the condensation on your skin opening pores and the like. But this is torture." R'yn was a fidgeting mass of nerves. Man, F'yore felt that to her core. They were shy! And nervous and ... She linked arms with them suddenly, pulling them towards the lake. "Yeah, yeah. Let's go together."

She touched the cold water with her toes and made a face.

"Were you a holder before this? Y'know I only just got here right before the eggs split. I don't think I really got to know anybody."

[nineofswords]

Yuelith let out an appreciative gasp of delight. Oh! Oh that's so exciting! I'd love to hear her play, sometime! I bet she plays the absolute bestest of anyone! She was paddling rapidly, trying to keep up with her garnet sister, her head swiveling to follow her as she went in circles. Are there? I don't know much about instruments. I don't think Ry'n knows anything about them either! I'll tell them about them later! How many instruments are there? Are there other instruments that can sing without mouths? That's so cool, I don't know how they sing without mouths either!

Ry'n was startled when F'yore grabbed his arm and started leading him back towards the lake, but he let her. They weren't sure why she was doing that, but if it made her feel calmer, they weren't going to complain. They watched as she hesitated at the water's edge. "It's um...better to just get it over with all at once." He pulled his arm out of hers and threw himself into the water, submerging himself. He resurfaced, treading water. "Just keep moving, and you'll, um, warm up in no time!" he called up to her on the shore.

"Yeah. I was a holder," Ry'n confirmed. "I, um...I came here with my brothers, but...I was...the only one who impressed." He put his mouth under the water for a moment then pulled it back out. "I've, um...never really...been away from them before. It's...it's weird. Not having them in our weyrling class." He realized he'd been talking a lot, and conversations were supposed to be two ways. "Um...so...you're from a hold too?" ...brilliant. Great job.

[Windra]

Oh I haven't thought about that! But I imagine there's hundreds and ... uh ... what comes after that? Thusssands? Uh ... that! And they're all - Suddenly inspired seeing Yuelith's rider dipping beneath the waves, Geminith was inspired to do the same. Nevermind the fact that she was mid-sentence! Geminith returned with a fish, flapping hard! Lookit! Lookit what I got! It's so slimy - can we eat these?? Or should I just -

It was thrashing so hard that she started to feel some pity for it. Really just trying to stay alive!

Awww ye fishy buddeeh, I gotcha. I'll put you back! It's okay! Dipping her chin under the waves, she opened her teeth long enough to let the little creature swim away. Then she dunked her whole head under, speaking with her mind even while her maw was submerged. Oh there's so much stuff down there! I see shell! Like ... clams, I think! And what the heck is that?!

"Harper Hall," F'yore corrected, as if mistaking her livelihood was an infraction against her honor. "I mean ... yeah, technically ... in a hold but ... " She was sucking in globs of air between splashes hitting her face. One large one took her by surprise and F'yore found herself losing altitude, quickly sinking. She's enough air in her lungs to sustain her, but when it flushed her nose, the garnetrider shot up sputtering and coughing. "Faranth! Water in nose! I hate it!'