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Akaya had been resigned to an evening of 'recovery' from the intense practicing of flight maneuvers, but it came as a pleasant surprise to be invited along to do so with her friend. At least...she was fairly sure they were friends? Honestly, she didn't really know what to call them. And G'brel's teasing of late hadn't helped her in trying to figure it out. She was a little worried to bring the subject up at all with S'koi, for fear of possibly offending him (or, to be honest, offending Laith by proxy). And then there was the fact that their last meeting had been...well. Not only Sleeth-induced, but more touchy-feely-than-usual under Sleeth inducement. Really, that was saying something...

He makes you happy like Lifth makes me happy? Sleeth suggested slyly in private to her rider, eyes whirling contentment as she looked back to Laith. We will come! It will be fun~

Akaya wasn't sure how successful she was in hiding the faint flush produced by her green's teasing. "You and Laith did very well too," she said, returning a shy smile. "And as Sleeth said, that would be very nice." The chance to speak to him without the pressure of their unspoken 'arrangement' might be a wise idea. Besides, S'koi's presence was always calming. If he wanted her along, that could only mean at least he wasn't tired of her. "We'll meet by the lake?"

Akaya and Sleeth arrived a little later, having been distracted on the way by several firelizards with the most beautiful of hide patternings. Even Akaya could still get lost in such simple distractions. But with Sleeth to remind her of the waiting parties, they were on their way once again and before long planting their feet in the warm lake sand. Akaya was grateful to kick off her sandals and dig her toes in for a brief moment, then added her oiling supplies to the pile S'koi's had already started. She waded into the lake water with Sleeth, one hand on her dragon's side until it got too deep for Akaya to stand and Sleeth could paddle forward towards the deeper regions of the water.

"I see you've gotten a good head start on the relaxing," Akaya said, treading water as she made her way towards S'koi. "Thank you for inviting Sleeth and I." To be honest, S'koi was so quiet, and Laith as well, that she wasn't always sure what became of him between their meetings, before they'd become wingriders in the same wing. Even now, seeing rather a lot of him afar in drills, it wasn't quite the same as actually spending time with him. Perhaps she should've made more of an effort...? She knew S'koi was shy. The trouble was, she was shy too, in this. She liked their arrangement, so...why risk it? There was a time I'd've said that's exactly why I should risk it, she thought to herself. But she'd been young then?

Sleeth had decided her bathing time was a good time to be humming - a very distinctly different tone than the one the green employed, as all dragons did, for Hatchings. No, this was a purely entertainment hum, and could only have come from a dragon who also claimed to sing quite well. After so much time spent working on them, the dragon did remember her musical scales...for the most part. So she paddled, and hummed, and amused herself looking for the flash of fishy scales in the freshwater.

Akaya spared a glance back at her green, faintly amused, then it was back to focusing her attention on S'koi. "Sleeth certainly thinks so," she offered, tucking pieces of damp hair back behind her ears. On second thought, this might've been a horrible idea. Being damp hardly improved what little attractiveness she might've had... Being sweaty and tired from drills hadn't exactly been working for her either though. "A good soak feels amazing after that exercise. I'd rather have it than not, of course, but drills are almost as stressful as flying in formation for Threadfall," Akaya added, choosing a fairly neutral topic of conversation. Threadfall these days was small talk, for riders. "There's not as immediate a risk of injury, usually, but the guilt that if it had been real, if you make a mistake..." No, she did not enjoy guilt much at all. "But Sleeth and I are getting better. Experience helps, I'm sure." And it wasn't like any of them would be lacking in that, for the rest of their lives even possibly. Short or long... Perhaps the risk of shortness was why she shouldn't be so reluctant to make a change...?

The steeper prices weren't ones she was remotely looking forward to paying, but she doubted any of them would make it through the years - or perhaps even the coming months - without at least battle scars. A dragonpair could become effectively grounded if wings were too Threadscored, loss of limbs wasn't that uncommon in the records, and of course there was always the chance of death... No, the topic really was quite depressing when she got to musing. There were plenty of good ballads and Teaching Songs about the glory and valor, but at the end of the day, Akaya was sure even the heroes of old had preferred to unwind in as simple a manner as this.

"So far, so good," she agreed, returning the smile if only to try and inject some cheer back in her own mood. "Speaking of things that are good so far..." Well, she wasn't sure this was actually a better place to take the conversation, but she had to at least sort of edge towards it... "Um...I hope Sleeth's...overzealousness wasn't offputting." They'd always tiptoed around the edges of admitting much of anything about the experiences they shared, even if one of them was fully conscious, and a willing participant... Was she being foolish to think that might mean something? S'koi'd said himself, he was Holdborn too. In weyr terms, they'd been downright exclusive for some time now...

Akaya nodded, flushing faintly in return. Even under Sleeth's 'direction', she could still remember what had happened...and of course the visual flashbacks weren't making this much easier to talk about. "Lifth is...something of a dragoncrush for Sleeth, I guess you'd say. We roomed with him and his rider as weyrlings...G'brel's the friend I told you about." Ages and ages ago, it felt like. And while she did still appreciate G'brel's offer to try and make Flights easier...the accidental solution she'd stumbled across with S'koi was rather preferable, to her mind. She'd just have to remember to warn G'brel properly next time. That was, if S'koi felt like speaking to her after she finished bumbling around verbally. "Good's probably an understatement." Whether or not she'd be so enthused in the future...well, this was Sleeth. Enthusiasm came with the dragon.

"I'm glad," Akaya said, reddening blush contrasting with the note of relief in her voice. That was good to know, but the 'problem' was far more than that. It was very tempting to just sink her head under the water now and let the awkward pass by, but she didn't want to kick herself over this later, either. "Um...I know we each have our reasons for...helping each other out. And I don't mind!" she hurried to interject, worried he might think she was trying to break things off otherwise, with her ~oh so eloquent~ meandering to the point. "It's just...I wouldn't mind...seeing each other like this too." People courted weyrmates, didn't they? Not that she was making it very obvious that was what she was leaning towards...

So fast - she'd heard plenty about Laith's temper, of course, but this was the first time it had been so immediately applicable to her personal experience. She couldn't help but shift back, her body turning towards S'koi even as she attempted to put rider in between her and his dragon. She trusted him to hold Laith in check, but that didn't make the red eyes directed at her any more comforting... "Oh, no, I'm sorry for whatever I did to contribute to any misunderstanding," she apologized, feeling quite terrible. She knew she was doing an awful job of this, but her Harper's tongue had quite deserted her. Romantic songs, she decided, were a terrible lie. They'd be harder to sing if they faithfully reproduced all the stuttering and long pauses though.

Even Sleeth had been moved to concern, paddling back over towards Laith with the intent to perhaps try to distract the other green. Do not worry. She will not harm yours, not ever, Sleeth assured Laith, speaking privately to the fellow dragon. She likes him. Sleeth might've as well have said 'She likes singing' for all the lack of emphasis she failed to use in the phrasing.

Akaya was still struggling to gather up the remnants of whatever courage she might still have remaining to her. "Good," she stammered out, torn between fear of provoking Laith and fear of yet being rejected. "I also wouldn't be opposed to...aah...wouldyoumaybepossiblythinkabout...being weyrmates? Outside of just Flights, I mean." Damage done? Oh dear, what had she been thinking? Could she take it back? At least swimming away might make for a somewhat graceful exit when she was rejected for the presumption?