Who: X'lar, D'kai
What: Deke and X'lar finally manage to sit down and have a chat just between the two of them.
Where: The Sandbar, Ista Weyr

It's pretty late and for once X'lar doesn't seem to have any candidates around him. In fact, he's alone for once, enjoying a half-full pint of a reddish ale. He's seated at a table closest to see the outside area, looking out to the beach and the sea beyond. The bronze rider's even looking pretty relaxed too. But perhaps that's just the effects of the booze.

That tall, lanky figure that comes slouching along wooden platform leading into the Sandbar doesn't seem in any hurry, and he lingers over the ocean view for a long moment before he makes his way to the bar, leaning against it and nodding a cheerful greeting to the bartender. D'kai offers those around him a wide grin, too, and then he's sliding his marks across the smooth black bartop and collecting his drink, and turning to lean against the obsidian to observe those seated about at various tables.

X'lar takes a sip of his pint before returning the glass to the table, staring at it for a moment. It's not like he's got much going on for him at the moment, reclining in his chair. In fact, he might not even see D'kai until he's taken a few more sips of his drink. Finally, from the corner of his eye, the Istan rider spots the Fortian one and grins briefly. "Going to just stand there or take a seat with me, D'kai?" Xie asks the much taller bronzerider.

Nor does D'kai seem like he's got much on his plate, but he turns, brightening - and straighening - at his name. Ah! X'lar! The other bronze rider recieves yet another flash of a smile from the man, who nods earnestly and moves to a seat across from him. "X'lar, hey! How goes, man?" The blond laces his fingers around his drink - something fruity-looking - and takes a quick drink before the cup's back on the table, condensation slowly rolling down the sides.

X'lar grins briefly at D'kai, before saying, "I'm thinking it goes. I love the candidates, but shells, they wear me out some days." The Istan teen runs a hand through his curly hair before grabbing his glass of ale with the same hand later. "I think you'd probably have a good time of doing the candidate coordinator gig too, when there's another clutch of eggs in Fort." He pauses briefly, looking at the other man curiously, studying him. Then finally: "How're things, really? Are you staying here at Ista, now that the eggs are on the sands, or you been going back and forth? It seems like everyone has their own ideas what riders of clutchsires should do, you know."

D'kai pulls an expression of sympathy, though he chuckles slightly. "'Least you've got Balinne to keep them in line too, eh?" He leans back, stretching his legs out and draping an arm over the back of his chair while his other hand brings his drink close, all the while nodding. "Yeah, it'd be hard work, but good, I think. Plus, I get to watch from the sidelines here: good practise, beforehand, you know?" Deke replaces his glass on the talbe to mime taking notes, observing X'lar with a slow nod, and then his expression turns to one slightly thoughful. "Staying here, for the most part. Mikhuth won't leave the sands, which means," he spreads his hands, "I'm pretty much stuck, you know?"

"It's nice," X'lar admits. "To have Balinne around too. But even then, I'm a lot less busy than a Wingleader, so I get hit with the brunt of the work. Like staying in the infirmary overnight with Arambis." He winces and opts to explain further: "He banged himself up pretty badly. Not bad enough to leave candidacy, but you know, a sprained ankle, skinned knees and a bruised elbow. But I figured being younger and not from this Weyr, he would probably be less worried if someone was there with him. So I jaunted to the infirmary with some of that porcine from the other night and I spent the rest of the night telling him a few of Malsaeth's stories." He smiles briefly before admitting, "It's good work. My kind of work. Being a coordinator." He chuckles softly before telling D'kai, "For Mal and I it was the other way around. I wanted to stay, he wanted to leave. Even with the eggs on the sands. So I told him if he ever got too restless to tell stories to the eggs."

Light eyebrows drift higher, and then D'kai's cringing, wagging his head: "What'd he do, exactly? I'd heard he'd got jostled around, a bit, but...? Did the right thing, though. Staying with him." Not like X'lar needs telling that, but the bronze rider says it anyway, with an approving incline of his head. He pulls again at his drink for a moment, asks, "So you'll keep on doing it, you think? Was this your first go at being a coordinator?" Wiping some of that condensation on his hand off on his trousers, Deke laughs, too, in response to X'lar's laughter. "I couldn't tear Mickey away if I tried. He's a family man at heart, through and through." Then: "Stories?" The single word is spoken slow, like the man can't tell if they'd previously discussed that particular topic.

"Stupid, stupid kid," X'lar says. "He'd been bragging so much about being a great hunter in Telgar." He rolls his eyes and goes on to continue with the story, "So what does he end up doing? He /trips/ over a rock as soon as we start on the hunt for the porcine. I think his pride's hurt worse than his actual body, to be honest." He thumbs toward the exit and asks, "Had Mikhuth won a flight before, or was that his first time catching?" He nods once before admitting, "My first time coordinating, yeah." He returns his attention back to D'kai and offers: "Oh, Malsaeth tells stories. Mostly scary ones. I still say the dragons ended up as twisted as they are because of the stories he told the eggs on the sands." He chuckles in amusement before then asking the Fortian further: "And you're okay? I mean, people are treating you alright here?"

X'lar's words earn a roll of D'kai's eyes to match the other man's own. "Did he? Might've done him some good, then, in the long run." At the thought, however, the Fortian can't but chuckle - just a bit - answering as he does, "Yeah, well - a green here and there, but this is - was - his first gold. I'm trying real hard not to let him know he got pretty lucky early on. Still pretty young, you know?" Then, with a soft 'ohh' and another arching of his brows: "Stories, really?" Curious and curiouser! With a shake of his head, he's on to reassure, quite happily, "Oh, yeah, absolutely. Everyone here's just lovely. I can't fault the weather, nor," here he lifts his drink high in an unspoken toast to the beach and the babes. "And I know Paddy - my old Weyrlingmaster, yeah? - so having him around, even just to see once in a while, it's great."

X'lar nods again to D'kai, replying back, "Yeah, I'd have to agree with you there. He just wanted to prove himself, show off to the girls." He rolls his eyes before admitting, "I never felt the need to do that. The need to impress girls. I am who I am and honestly you can take me or leave me as I am. I'm not going to make myself out to be anyone other than me." He grins briefly before going on to add, "The first flight Malsaeth ever won was Rielsath's. But ever since we've been back, he's managed to catch four greens already." There's a brief snort before he admits, "Somehow that makes sense in as much as he flies the ladies a /lot/." He pauses before asking, "And Fayre? Are you and she getting along fine? Do you have anyone in Fort that you're... close to? Intimate?" The teen looks vaguely smirky at the questions, but asks them anyways. "And yeah, he's been telling stories ever since he was a hatchling." He grins briefly before telling D'kai, "I'm glad you're having a good time here then, D'kai."

D'kai lifts his shoulder in a half-hearted shrug. "Nah, me neither, really." On the topic of impressing girls and such. "But - grew up with loads of brothers, so I think I probably rattled my brain enough doing stupid things when I was a kid - not even trying to prove anything - that I've done my fair share of it." And there's another agreeable nod, a wide, beaming grin: "Yeah, Fayre'n I are getting along. She's great, really fun, you know? And Mickey and Lieryth, they get along too. You knew," beat, as D'kai searches for the name, "Lujayn beforehand, or...?" For the next question, Deke pauses a beat, pressing his lips together, hesitant for a moment before he flashes a quick smile, finally tossing his head dismissively. "Nah, not really." Here's a faint chuckle. "Certainly not intimate."

"Oh, yeah, Lu and I definitely knew each other, as did Mal and Rielsath," Xie explains to D'kai. "They'd been sharing stories with one another since Malsaeth was about a month or two old." He chuckles softly before going on to say, "Fayre's great, yeah. She's like an older sister to me. Always has been, really, even before candidacy." He grins once and then admits, "Malsaeth can't stand Lieryth. He has better relationships with Beliath and Riuth, even though they always argue with one another." He nods once before saying, "So you're not feeling homesick or anything by not having anyone you're /that/ close to?"

D'kai hazards, "They're... clutchsiblings?" Pauses with a slight wrinkle to his nose, lips twitching, and then says, "Wait, do dragons even do that?" Then he's shaking his head. Nevermind that. A moment's spent draining the last of his drink, but the man makes no move for the bar, instead lounging back in his chair and crossing his hands behind his head. "She's - yeah, great. Really on the ball, I think." The bronze rider's smile widens; "Really? That's funny." Referring to that animosity in an odd way, perhaps, but he shrugs as though to say: ahh, dragons, huh? before he's answering, "Not at all! I'm enjoying the vacation, really. The weather's just like home - Boll -" just for elaboration, "- and who could say no to sandy beaches and babes? And a great bar, to boot! S'better than Fort's winter, any day."

"Do what?" X'lar asks for clarification from the other bronze rider, grinning. "Yeah, Fayre's been always there for me. Though, to be honest, we've had our difficulties. She and I had a few arguments when we were younger. She makes a great junior though, doesn't she?" Pride there, in the teen's voice, for his friend and clutchmate. "Riuth and Beliath? Yeah, clutchsiblings of Mal's. Riuth is An'dren's bronze and Beliath is Lia's green." He chuckles softly before going on to admit, "The bar's better these days than before. Lots of work was done to make it better. /Lots/ of money and /lots/ of work. But it got done in great time, I have to say." He smiles fondly toward the obsidian bar itself and looks back to D'kai, nodding happily to the other man. "I'm glad you're having a good time then, D'kai. My experience wasn't fantastic, but it did teach me a thing or two about myself."

Cough; D'kai twirls one finger idly in the air, pursing his lips. "You know - that." Eloquent, he, and he continues, vaguely: "You know. Malsaeth and Rielsath, if they were clutchsiblings...? That's all I was asking." There's a chuckle from the lad even though he pinks slightly, and he shakes his head sharply, sending blond hair tumbling, and then it's on to less awkward topics! Hoorah. "She does, she really does!" Fayre, of course. "Not afraid to speak her mind, or anything, and I think that's pretty important, as a leader." A sage nod from a man who knows not-very-much about it. And, at X'lar's words, D'kai turns to observes the Sandbar with a new intensity, as though seeing it for the first time. "Oh, yeah? So this is - a new renovations sort of deal? It's a fine looking bar." His gaze draws back to X'lar, however, and the taller man inquires, "Wasn't fantastic...? Oh?"

X'lar blinks once before laughing, shaking his head, "No, I think they're cousins though. Teonath and Wyaeth are Rielsath's parents whereas Aerianth and Nikoth are Malsaeth's parents. Wyaeth and Nikoth are brothers, which makes Mal and Rielsath draconic cousins or something." He grins in amusement before saying, "Besides, Rielsath's in High Reaches and Mal's in Ista. I doubt they could be clutchsiblings. Too much... geography between them." He smiles warmly at the praise for Fayre, nodding in agreement before snagging his pint of ale and taking another sip. "Oh, yeah. From what I know, there's a few more things in store. This was just the start." He points past the bar to the room where the semi-functional kitchen is housed, saying, "In fact, I helped finance part of it with the winnings I got from a runner race I bet on and the leadership funded the rest."

Blue eyes lifting to the ceiling as his finger twitch back and forth - figuring out those bloodlines, no doubt - D'kai finally 'ahhs' softly and nods, that grin widening, now shameless. "Or something." He repeats, and spreads his hands, palm up. "Just, since you mentioned - Malsaeth telling her stories from a young age. I thought maybe." There's a laughing defense of his own incorrect assumption: "Distance is no proper judge of those types of things. People transfer all the time." On to the subject of the Sandbar, D'kai's leaning out just a bit to peer into the indicated kitchen. "Oh, yeah? You did?" There's a surprised appraisal of the other man as Deke sinks back into his seat, glancing him over quickly. "That's fantastic! Must've been some runner, to get enough marks for that shiny new bartop."

"Oooooh," Xie begins. "No, no, Malsaeth reached out to dragons all over the world at a really young age. Rielsath was just one of the few he's kept in contact with, mostly because she and he get along so well. Two peas in a pod, really." There's a brief grin before he admits, "No one seemed to believe in the jockey. She was young. 15 or 16 turns old. But I bet on youth because no one ever gives us younger people enough benefit of the doubt. So because no one bet on her except me and maybe a few others, the payout was so huge I had to put all the marks I won in a bucket." He boasts, yes, but he's quick to dismiss it in the face of the Sandbar, smiling happily at the bar again. "Like I said, it wasn't just me, it was the Weyr's coffers too."

Surprise, now, writes itself faintly across D'kai's features, quickly displaced by a sort of admiration. "That's - huh. That's something else. See, Mickey's always just been really... happy to be at home, to settle himself in with the Weyr. Just a content little homebody, I guess. Don't think he's ever really - reached out like that. But then again," here's a wide smile, "If it wasn't just like that, they wouldn't be our dragons, and we wouldn't love 'em quite like we do, eh?" Then he's laughingly, regally lifting his chin, sniffing in jest, "Us younger people? Just how young do you think I am?" But at the words 'marks in a bucket', Deke can't hold on to that pose for too long and then he's just shaking his head, laughing. "No way, no way. That's too funny."

X'lar laughs aloud, saying, "Yeah, that's the complete opposite of Malsaeth. He's a restless guy, always wanting to go to the next Weyr or Hold, expecting to get things there, you know? /Definitely/ not a homebody." He chuckles softly and nods again, "He's also pretty darn sociable when it comes down to it. There's a few dragons he's stopped talking to completely as well, like Vrianth and Miswrith." He grins once more at the topic of age and Xie replies, "You know what I mean. Most people around here are so much older, like in their 30s and 40s and such. I meant us in our teens and twenties, D'kai." At the laughter from the Fortian, Xie grins and nods, telling him: "Yeah. It was one of the best days of my life. Suvain even kissed me that day."

Those dragons, huh? D'kai just shrugs, reaching out to catch up his glance and roll it between his palms, though he's nodding as he does it, listening to X'lar with a cock of his head. One name catches his attention so that he looks up: "Vrianth? Little green?" He squints in thought. "L-Lova? Leove, something like that? Had a run-in with her, once. Freaked Mikhuth right out." He puffs out his cheeks at the memory, breathes out and shakes his head. "Man, she sure knew how to get inside his head. Wouldn't blame Malsaeth one bit, for that." Not talking to her, that is. That mock expression of haughtiness long vanished, the Fortian just chuckles a low chuckle, wags his head around a bit. "Yeah, loads of old fogies around. It's the weather, you know. Good for their joints - we have the same type down in Boll." Then, delight on the behalf of another: "Did she! Good on you, man!"

"Leova," X'lar tells D'kai, smirking. "First real crush. Ballbuster." He snickers at the description before shaking his head, saying, "I'm sure she's a great person and all, but shells, she's just not my type at all." He smirks once more and adds, "Not that it stopped me from wanting to be with her. I couldn't help being led by my attraction to her." He chuckles once before saying, "Vrianth's like Leova in that way. Just not the type of dragon he's willing to share information with, tell stories to. Not any more, anyways. But part of that I think is that he knows I don't feel the same way about the green's rider. You know T'rev? Her and him are a thing." He laughs at D'kai's reaction, saying, "At that time Lu and I were just friends. I think, had things gone differently, it'd be Suvain that I was closer to, you know? I once saw Suvain put her fingers in a pasta salad to test the sauce." He laughs and admits further, "I... well, it was pretty easy to be attracted to someone who does that."

"Leova," now bent forward to spin his cup on it's edge on the table, D'kai repeats the name softly, as though committing it to memory for once and for all. When the glass teeters, he catches it up, and as if becoming suddenly aware of the unneccesary movement, sits back in his seat and crosses his arms instead to listen to X'lar. "Puppy love?" He offers, eyes bright. "I don't think anyone really has much of a choice when it comes to /that/. I mean, Sunni and me -" here Deke pauses again, laughs, and one hand twitches as though he were to cover his own to stop any futher words from spilling out, but it's still with that cheerfulness so it's with good humour that instead he says, after a beat: "... pasta sauce? Because of that, you might've like her? X'lar," he pronounces frankly, "You're weird."

"I'm weird?" X'lar asks, laughing, very nearly banging his hand against the table in amusement. "So I've been told. Have you met Andy yet? You and he would get along famously, I'm thinking." He pauses before nodding again, saying, "Yeah puppy love. She was good about it and all, of course, even with me salivating over her." He snickers once before stopping suddenly, asking curiously: "You and /Sunniva/?"

Mm-hmm. Even though X'lar's laughter, D'kai manages a solemn nod: yes, very weird. But he grins, anyway. "At least you accept it?" It's pointed out in all helpfulness, with a lifted finger. "That's the first step, I'm told." To rehabilitation, presumably, and then Deke's shaking his head: "Andy? Nah, doesn't ring a bell. Might know him to see him, though." And - "blech," for that taken-literally mental image. "At least she let you down easy, man. My first - hah - she - oh, Bollian girls, there's nothing like 'em." With this so explained, he just shakes his head. "Yeah," for that final question, "Sunniva and me. Well. Kind of. I don't even - I'm not sure - it's kinda weird. She's a sweetheart, X'lar, she really is." This is said earnestly, as if the other man needed convincing of it.

"Like I said, I know who I am, and I don't really care now who doesn't like me," Xie admits. "Which I guess is what High Reaches taught me." He pauses before clarifying, "His name is An'dren, I guess, but I've called him Andy since candidacy." There's a pause before chuckling at hearing D'kai's comments on Bollian girls, telling him in return: "Careful now, my mom's Bollian. And I suppose I am too, considering I was born there." He pauses before asking curiously, "Weird how? And trust me, you really don't need to tell me she's a sweetheart. I'm pretty much well aware by now." He rubs at his forehead and takes a long swig of his ale, finishing it off at the same time as he signals Kip the bartender with his free hand for another pint.

D'kai's assured: "And that's a damn fine thing, X'lar." This, accompanied by a firm dip of his chin, before the Fortian's thoughtfully drumming his fingers against the tabletop. "No, I don't think I can say I know him. I'll keep an eye out for'm, though." His smile is suddenly brilliant in the darkness as the man answers, sensibly: "Well, sure, my ma's Bollian, too, and you may've been born there but that doesn't make you a Bollian /girl/, does it?" Then his eyes drift ceiling-ward and he's collecting his thoughts before offering for the Istan's consideration: "I think it started out like that - a puppy love sort of thing. Attraction. Mutual liking, and all that. And then her sister got involved - on my part, at least - and then she," Sunniva, not Berit, "- went to the Reaches, and then I was here, and now /she's/ here and... I just don't know where we're standing at, the two of us, you know?"

X'lar snickers again, thanking Kip in the process as he drops another pint down onto the table. "No, I'm definitely not a Bollian girl," he replies back to D'kai. As he listens to D'kai, Xie nods once more and begins drinking his second pint. When the Fortian bronzerider's finished speaking, Xie nods once more. After a few beats the Istan finally speaks up: "I guess the question is then, whether or not you're willing to wait if she happens to Impress. Does she mean that much to you to wait it out and really establish something with her." He pauses before admitting, "It can't be a great position to be in, with her a candidate and you the rider of the clutch sire. There's too many variables. Too many unknowns." He grimaces at a thought before drowning it with that reddish ale. "I'm thinking you should talk to her about it sometime. Communication's important. I mean, I don't have to tell you that, considering the number of drills we do as riders."

D'kai knows all that, really he does! He nods earnestly to prove it, too, while X'lar speaks, after he's flashed another smile for the other man's reply. "Oh, I know - I know." This comes after X'lar's advice, after the taller man's made all the appropriate noises and movements to show that he's listening. "And it is mostly that we're waiting on the hatching - for the most part, there's not much we /can/ do. And we talked about that even before the Reaches hatching. What happens after, if she Impresses, if she doesn't. If she does, are we willing to do the things we'd have to while her dragon grows, keep the distance, all that? If she doesn't, where does she go, what does she do?" Palms lift, helplessly, skyward. "So all we can do is wait. It's pretty much the same situation as - just a matter of months ago. We've talked, really, and there's not much more to say, so - that's why things are weird." Here he quirks his mouth. "You see?"

X'lar considers D'kai's words, his explanation quietly, drinking further without replying back. He does look like he's listening in any case. Finally, however, he tells him with a grin, "I see. Should make for an interesting time then, for you both. Just no breaking the rules. Malsaeth would hate to hear she had to leave because she broke a rule or something." He pauses, his free hand rubbing his forehead again. "Waiting is hard," Xie finally tells the Fortian bronze rider. "But really admirable. Good luck with that."

D'kai just shrugs. "Well - I appreciate the listening ear, anyway. It is tough. But we're good friends, too, which makes everything just that much easier." That pull to his mouth turns into a beaming grin: "Oh, c'mon, like I need reminding of the rules. Barely outta Weyrlinghood myself. I'm a brick wall, man." This is offered with laughter, with a shake of Deke's head, as he kicks his feet against the floor and moves as though to push himself from his chair. "Thanks, in any case. Things'll work themselves out, eventually. But, hey -" the Fortian offers another smile across the table. "I think I'm going to head out. Thanks for the chat, X'lar."

X'lar grins back at D'kai easily, nodding once more in return, "Have a good night, D'kai." After a moment he adds, "T'was good to finally speak to you without some party or clutching going on at the same time, too." He salutes the bronzerider lazily, leaning back in his chair. "You'll probably see her before I do, so when you see Fayre tell her I said hello, yeah?" And with that said, he returns his attention to the sea just outside and taking smaller sips of his beer.

Neatly tucking his chair until the table as he stands, D'kai inclines his head as he collects his long-empty glass to deposit on the bar on his way out. "Yeah - you too, eh? Little bit quieter in here. I will, for sure." And he chuckles, returning the salute with one no less languid, then he's out the door, stifling a yawn behind the back of his hand as he goes.