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It was like any other day at Ista Weyr, with the sun blazing brightly high in the sky, and the temperature hovering around hot and humid, but no totally unbearable. There was an occasional breeze, but for the most part the air remained still and heavy. << I'm going for a swim, >> Kaedrelath announced suddenly, startling his rider out of a near-nap. "Hrmm, what?" M'zaji said, jerking into sitting up straight (he had been slouching). "Oh, a swim. That sounds nice," the bluerider said wistfully and stood, pushing away the chair he had been sitting in. Not bothering to grab a shirt (and already wearing pants), M'zaji simply slipped his feet into his boots and was ready to go! Except for one problem.

Kaedrelath had already left his ledge.

Standing on the weyr ledge, M'zaji stared down at the Weyr Bowl and cursed. "Shards, Kae, couldn't you have waited for me?" He yelled, though he doubted the dragon could physically hear his voice all the way down on the Bowl floor. But the dragon sensed his rider's irritation and sent waves of apology to crash over him like a cool, refreshing ocean wave. It left M'zaji less angry, but still slightly irked at having to take the stairs all the way down from his top-level weyr. But the passageways were cool, the staircases had been carved right into the stone when Ista Weyr was first settled, so all in all, it wasn't an entirely unpleasant trip down.

As Kaedrelath spiraled down from his weyr ledge to the Bowl, and the lake waiting below, he didn't really pay attention to who, if anyone, was around. He tucked his wings close to his body and dropped in without so much as a glance around, and sent a huuuge wave up and out to soak anyone who might be loitering around the shore. As he surfaced, the blue found himself facing a sopping wet young woman. Kaedrelath cocked his head as he looked at her; hadn't she enjoyed the refreshment the cool lake waters offered? << M'zaji... I think she's upset. >> Kaedrelath spoke to his rider, though the bluerider had NO idea what his blue was talking about. Kae, I'm still on my way down. These stairs take forever, he huffed irritatedly, and would have glared at the blue could he see him.

But once M'zaji was out in the Bowl and striding purposefully towards the lake, the rider knew what his dragon had meant. There was a young woman, standing on the edge of the lake, clutching a coat close to her body. She looked soaked head to toe, and M'zaji had to assume that it was Kaedrelath's fault. Of course, the blue did not realize that he had done anything wrong. In his mind, he had helped the girl out! It was hot today, after all.

"I'm sorry," M'zaji said, hoping not to startle the girl with his sudden appearance. She looked like she had endured enough surprises. "Kaedrelath didn't notice that you were so close to the lake," he offered by way of apology, but didn't really know what else to say. "I hope he didn't ruin your laundry," M'zaji said, gesturing to the pile of clothes when he noticed them.

M'zaji was surprised, to say the least, that the young woman was so close to scolding him- but this rider wasn't the type to pull rank on anyone, so it didn't bother him. Kaedrelath left his rider to clean up the situation and was consumed by diving and paddling around the lake. The bluerider sighed and rolled his eyes, frustrated that his dragon had been so careless. "Yes, that's what I said, that I was sorry," M'zaji replied cautiously, not wanting to set off this... seemingly irritable (and tired!) woman. He was socially awkward enough to begin with, throw an angry woman into the mix, and things wouldn't end prettily.

"Forget the fact that the clothes needed washing, and that you might have needed a bath," M'zaji had to pause here and suppress a chuckle. That would have been rude! "Kaedrelath was just eager to get into the lake," he said simply, and looked out over the waters beside them. Kaedrelath was submerged at the moment, so M'zaji couldn't see his blue so much as he could feel his presence. "He's sorry, too," M'zaji offered to the girl, flipping an awkward smile her way.

The bluerider was confused, to say the least, at how quickly this young woman went from seeming irritated, to nearly scolding him, and finally to amused. He furrowed his eyebrows, turning his head to look out for Kaedrelath, hoping that Brynne wouldn't see the confusion play across his face. Sighing, and shrugging, the bluerider turned back to his newest acquaintance. "I'm M'zaji, and he's Kaedrelath," he introduced himself (and his dragon, again). Poor sod, didn't even remember already introducing his dragon.

"Thank you," he accepted the compliment from her, forcing a more easy smile to appear on his face. He didn't want this to get any more awkward, or uncomfortable- though, in all honestly, Brynne looked like she was enjoying herself. Kaedrelath popped his head up from underwater for just a moment, to take another deep breath before diving back under the surface.

"Oh, er.. right," M'zaji said and rubbed the back of his neck, laughing at himself. He'd already introduced Kae; why had he done it again? It was most likely the girl's shifting moods that had caught him off-guard. He'd been paying attention to her more than what he'd been saying. With a shrug, M'zaji smiled and chuckled again. "My mistake," he offered and then turned his head to glance out over the lake.

Kaedrelath wouldn't have minded being called cute. Well, M'zaji didn't think so. But, the blue was as moody as a proddy green so he couldn't accurately call that one. He was called back to reality with Brynne's question. He didn't hesitate in answering. "He's just over ten turns," he supplied the answer quickly, accompanying his words with a grin. His mind wandered again, to the rainy day when Kaedrelath found him on the sands. It had been storming the entire day, and a fog had rolled in over Southern Weyr, enshrouding even the clutch of eggs behind a thick, impenetrable mist. Kaedrelath hadn't been able to find him, at first. But when he had... M'zaji grinned childishly at the recollection of, truly, the happiest moment in his life.