Daybreak [Grayson | Basilin]

[Dragon]

With dawn here, Giana yawned and wandered back from her station to the wherhandler lodges wher she'd so-recently moved in. She wasn't expecting any familiar faces, but suddenly Goranask perked up and picked up speed a little. She was surprised and had to wonder what he saw, but then -

Odalisk!

"Basilin! Odalisk! Fancy seeing you two here!" Gi perked up and hurried up to greet the other bronzehandler and his mindmate as Goranask greeted the other bronze. "It's nice to see a couple of familiar facew!"

[Grayson]

As one wherhandler was arriving, another was leaving, also yawning. Basilin wasn't really looking at much - absently admiring that other wherhandler's figure but not really thinking about anything - when Odalisk's head came up.

Goranask? The surprise in the burly bronze's mindvoice was undeniable, and so was the wordless welcome that followed it a moment later.

Basilin was yanked almost bodily out of his morning half-awake wander by the surprise, but it only took him a moment or two to catch on. "Giana and Goranask! Wasn't expecting to see you down 'ere, and that's for sure," he smiled. "'Ow've you been?"

Basilin I swear by shell of egg that if... Odalisk's private thought to his handler was sharp, jabbing Basilin's brain; Basilin eyed the huge bronze for a moment, then refocused on Giana with a smile.

You can put that thought right out of your 'ead, Odalisk. I knew 'er pa. She's young enough to be my daughter!

Keep think that.

[Dragon]

Goranask was positively grinning at the older wherpair, and Giana's smile was no less small than the wher's toothy expression. She might be young enough to be Basilin's daughter, but besides just being a familiar face Basilin and Odalisk had something else in common with Gi and Goranask - both whers had rebounded. It wasn't a unique thing, but it was something that both she and Basilin understood as being a little different from a first-time bond.

"We've been good, we just decided to leave Crom and find something that suited us better." Crom was fine, but Semaca was new and exciting. With pirates. "Those spotties are surely an interesting challenge."

Nice see friends. Mine want everything new, Goranask groused, sounding more irritated than Gi felt like he actually was. It wasn't like he didn't want adventure ... more like he was more content to have a solid (boring) routine than Giana was. "How about you? How long have you been here?"

[Grayson]

Good see Goranask again. Odalisk's grin was no less large than Goranask's, much as the two bronzes were pretty much of a size and shape, and close enough in hue that they could have been from the same clutch.

"It really is good to see you again," said Basilin, with a grin of his own; his body-language was open, more so than usual, suggesting that if Giana wanted a hug he wouldn't object. "We've been here for, what, a turn or two? Summat like that. Definitely good to see a familiar face again, though."

Semaca good, Odalisk opined. Surface always warm. Mines always cool. Good place.

"Well, good except for the spotties," Basilin agreed with his wher. "They're big enough and dangerous enough to give even Odalisk pause."

[Dragon]

Very good see Odalisk, Goranask agreed. Giana smiled at the two whers ... she was of the (possibly mistaken, depending on who you asked) opinion that whers were adorable. Like warm outside. Like nice cool lodge.

Moving in to give Basilin a hug, the young wherhandler smiled at the older man. "I wasn't expecting to know anybody, so it's doubly exciting to see you two."

The spotties were something to be considered, though. Apparently they were one of the main dangers to the Weyr other than Thread, since the pirates were generally dealt with diplomatically. Not that Giana wasn't very aware of the possibility of being called on one day to fight off rogue pirates who preferred piracy to diplomacy.

Maybe she was being silly. Maybe this whole move was silly. Still, Goranask was willing to follow where she led. [b]"Is there anything I should know about other than the spotties? They did inform me of that danger already ..."{/b]

[Grayson]

Basilin returned Giana's hug, briefly but strongly, and then he pulled away with a smile. "It is good to see familiar faces from 'ome," he agreed. "There's one or two more about as you might recognise, but not lots." Whers and their handlers didn't move around much, as a rule; if the Healers hadn't advised it, Basilin would never have left the Crafthall. That both Giana and he were wherhandlers, though, was the only reason they'd known each other at all, even with them both in the same area for so long.

Warm very nice, Odalisk agreed with Goranask. Warm too much sometimes, but is price. Basilin bones not ache here, so we happy.

"Aye, there's a lot to look out for," replied Basilin to Giana's question, finding somewhere to lean while they talked. "Most of it ain't obvious - you find out after, and you learn from it." He grimaced. "Some of the leaves sting, some of the flowers itch, some bugs bite, and turn the rocks over before yer sit down. An' if you feel a bit strange, see the Healers - better to be safe than sorry." A pause, then, "How're things back at Crom? Going alright?" News from home was always precious, and Craft dispatches never said enough.

[Dragon]

"Even one or two will be exciting." Giana had really expected a completely new start here, but it seemed like there would be some remnants from the past in her new life. That was fine - good even! It would be good for Goranask too. He wasn't quite as onboard for the move as Gi was.

We here because Giana want adventure. Goranask gave a long, self-suffering sigh. That was the price of having a 'younger' handler, not that Goranask was an old man or anything, but a wher his age was usually paired with someone at least in their early forties. Gi was his own age, but they were a good match. He was happy with her. Warm nice, though. Lots of warm in summer?

There might be a lot to look out for, but Gi was still looking forward to life here. "Look out for anything I don't recognize, yes," she said. And obviously, go see a healer if you feel weird ... especially in a strange new world like the Summerlands.

As for Crom, well. "Things are pretty much the same there. Not many changes," she said, sounding just a little bit bored by the prospect. "Crom isn't as prone to drama as some of the Weyrs." Or even some of the bigger Holds.

[Grayson]

"Crom, not prone to drama? Really?" You could have dried the desert, as dry as Basilin's reply was - and yet it was delivered with warmth and amusement. "Strange, that people used to digging holes in the ground aren't looking for drama. And yet..." He shrugged. "Where you get people, you get drama. Odalisk knows what I mean."

Basilin always drama if skirt in sight, the wher replied drily, the tilt of his head slanting a sidelong glance at his handler. And yet the older wher's mindvoice was overlaid with amusement as well, albeit wry amusement at Basilin's expense.

"Ouch." But Basilin didn't deny it. He couldn't, and the gossip that had swirled about Crom in his wake had occasionally been both very juicy and actually true. He could, instead, look to Giana and Goranask again. "It often gets too warm in summer, especially for someone used to Crom. Stay out of the sun, drink lots, and remember to eat. I'm told you get used to it after a few turns, but..." He sounded dubious, but then he and Odalisk themselves hadn't been in Semaca long enough to have acclimatised. "There's plenty of adventure to go at, though. Especially if you join one of the Squads. You aren't stuck with guard duty here unless you want to be."

[Dragon]

Gi was familiar with the sort of rumors that swirled around Basilin, but she didn't really care. He was too old to consider chasing her, or maybe she was too young to start the run. Either way, they had a clearly defined platonic relationship that wasn't affected by Basilin being less than discriminating.

Giana need run more. Too busy with adventures, Goranask offered slyly. He and his had known each other since birth, and Goranask often acted like a big brother as much as a wher partner. Big adventure come here.

Gi nodded at the warning about the summer heat. "Goranask and I are going to have to be careful, definitely. At least it's cooler at night." And during the day they'd be in their nice shady lodge, able to strip down to nothing and relax and sleep through the hottest part of the day.

She was sure that in time they would get used to the difference in weather. People were living here just fine so the heat couldn't be unmanageable. Which meant that they'd find a way to manage! "I take it you two haven't gotten used to summers here yet?"

[Grayson]

"Haven't 'ad the chance," Basilin replied. "Most of the day we spend underground, we well as the nights - it doesn't change much, down there."

Is nice when hot, Odalisk agreed. But not good for getting used to.

"Although, that's th'same across Pern, not just here." And, with the amount of Pern that he and Odalisk had seen, that was probably something he could genuinely speak on. "Means I ache less, though, which is just grand."

"As for running - well, this is a weyr. Folks don't gossip about a run like they do at Crom." Basilin smiled. "Hmm. They do, but not on the same things? Weyrs are strange places to the likes of us holdbred. The tales are a start, but things don't run by hold rules, or hold morals."

[Dragon]

Is nice now, Goranask observed. Pretty nights.

Of course, Gi and Goranask were on guard duty, so they were up in the air. It was beautiful here at night, and Giana was already loving it. But what wasn't to love? The Weyr regularly dealt with pirates!

Gi was maybe more excited by pirates than she should be.

"Aching less is a good thing!" Gi said brightly. As was, in her opinion, 'looser' morals than were found in the holds. Hold people could be a little stuffy about some things, and Giana was definitely not a stuffy person. "It might be fun to ... well, have some fun. Especially since I won't be judged for it here."

Hmm. That might have been a little blunt, especially considering the fact that Basilin had known her pa ...

[Grayson]

Nights here very pretty, Odalisk agreed.

Basilin, meanwhile, was focused on Giana. "Have as much fun as you want," he smiled. "Just remember you're allowed to say 'no', a'right? You're allowed to not want fun, too."

Odalisk made a little sound of amusement, albeit one that tailed off oddly. Basilin looked over at his bondmate, then back to Giana with a firm nod.

"And if anyone pushes past you saying 'no' and Goranask doesn't take 'em apart first, you just come and have a word with us and we'll show 'em what a Minerpair can do."

Right.

[Dragon]

Well, that was nice. It had been a few turns since Gi's pa had died, and it was very nice to have Basilin and Odalisk saying they'd help look out for her.

"Goranask would definitely take apart anyone that didn't want to listen to 'no'," Giana said cheerily, "and I'm tougher than I look, too." Most handlers could take care of themselves, or they wouldn't be able to handle a wher.

Still ... "Thanks for the offer though. I'm glad to have you around." It was good to have a friend down here. A couple of friends, because Odalisk definitely counted too.

[Grayson]

"We weren't trying to suggest that you couldn't 'andle yourselves," said Basilin, "Just that if it comes to it, you don't 'ave to do it on yer own."

Glad have you around too, Odalisk added. Time we all gone; sun coming.

"True, that," grimaced Basilin, before looking to Giana and Goranask again. "You two look after yourselves, a'right? An' you know where we are if yer need us."

[Dragon]

Sun come, sleep time, Goranask agreed ... and frankly, Giana did too. She'd been a wherhandler long enough to be firmly nocturnal.

"We will, and you do the same!" Giana said. She was very happy to have run into Basilin and Odalisk, and she was glad to know they were there. Friends were a good thing. "Have a good sleep!"

With that, she headed into her lodge with Goranask, stifling a yawn as she did so.