Row, Row, Row Your Boat (1)

Writers: AL, Kastaka
Date Posted: 16th March 2009

Characters: K'sen, Ri'len
Description: K'sen and Ri'len are partnered up and K'sen has a bit of difficulty.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 12 of Turn 5

K'sen always hated the exercises that happened on the water. He approached the selection of little boats with consternation, wondering which unfortunate weyrling would get stuck with him in the boat this time. Sarath was meant to be sleeping, but took the time to affectionately call him a silly boy before setting down into slumber again. He wavered on the shore, trying not to look too nervous.

Ri'len approached K'sen and offered a pleasant smile to the other young man along with a polite nod. He then turned his attention to the boat, uncertain. He'd been on a boat once before but he hadn't been the one trying to steer it. He got the basic idea, of course, but was very glad that he knew how to swim. "So...we're supposed to row this?"

"Looks like it," replied K'sen, his heart sinking, but trying to keep it out of his face. He didn't want to look bad in front of the bronze weyrling. "You want to go in front?" he offered, as close to casually as he could muster, hoping that the boy would take the opportunity and not turn out to be polite and demurr.

"Sure." Ri'len studied the boat then gingerly got into it. They had showed the weyrlings what to do, but seeing and doing were two completely different things. "Did you catch on how to steer?"

"I think you..." began K'sen, but he knew it was hopeless. "No. No idea," he admitted, watching the swaying boat to try and figure out a correct moment to get into it, but mostly just becoming mesmerised by its movement on the water.

Ri'len took up his oar then looked back at K'sen. "Are you going to get in?"

"I can't seem to..." K'sen started to whine. Then he shook himself out of it. "Can you maybe hold it still a bit?" he asked sheepishly, putting his hands on the boat and trying to work out how he was going to lever himself in.

"Uh..I can try." Ri'len certainly didn't want to rock the boat. He set the oar so that it was perpendicular to the line of the boat and lowered his center of gravity, hoping to help steady the vehicle. "You're going to have to step into the water, then climb in." There was really no way _not_ to get wet.

K'sen stepped gingerly into the water, and pressed down cautiously on the boat. Naturally it angled dangerously towards the water and he let it up again nervously. "Ready?" he asked, and not trusting himself to wait for a reply, pushed down more firmly, lifting himself out of the water and into the craft in a chaos of ungainly splashing. The water that poured in with him sloshed unpleasantly down the middle of the boat.

Ri'len put his arm up as if to protect himself from the splashing, though it was in vain. He leaned in the opposite direction as K'sen's weight unsteadied the boat, then righted himself once the other dragonrider was in it. "You all right?" The bronzerider asked, easing the second oar out from under K'sen.

"I'll live," muttered K'sen, gingerly taking the oar and trying to work out how to balance it on the side of the boat and stick it in the water without being dragged back out of the craft again.

Ri'len kept an eye on K'sen until he was certain that the other rider was balanced and then turned toward the front of the boat. He stuck his oar into the water and helped K'sen push off. They had made it look so easy - he hoped the lessons would stick. "Maybe we should count so we're sure we're together when we paddle?"

"Okay," replied K'sen, waving his paddle vaguely in the direction of the water. Being suspended above the water in a little boat was already making him nervous and the very slight swaying made him feel unpleasantly nauseous.

"You'll need to put your paddle on the opposite side of mine." The bronzerider stated patiently and gave K'sen a small smile. "Otherwise we'll just go around in circles."

"Oh," said K'sen somewhat dispiritedly. "Right." He inverted the paddle and poked gingerly at the water on the other side instead, certain that the other boy considered him a total dimglow by now.

Ri'len gave K'sen a small smile of encouragement. "Now, if we coordinate our strokes, we'll move faster. Do you want to count or shall I?"

"Um..." K'sen looked conflicted. He didn't want to appear a complete wuss, but he knew if he tried to count strokes they would do nothing but go around in circles. All of the other boats seemed to have already raced off towards their target and he felt miserable for holding the bronzerider back like this.

}: You're wonderful, :{ mentioned Sarath sleepily, roused by her rider's distress.

**Sssh, you're meant to be sleeping,** he reminded her, as soothingly as he could muster up.

"I'll count." Ri'len stated in response to K'sen's lack of an answer. He smiled genially, then turned forward to begin to count out the strokes. "One..."

K'sen flailed with his paddle in a panic, woefully out of time with the other boy's calls and not applying much power to the water anyway.

**Get a grip, K'sen,** he scolded himself as he deliberately missed one count so that he could get it together on the next one, trying to recall exactly how he was meant to be digging the paddle into the water.

Last updated on the March 16th 2009

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Row, Row, Row Your Boat (1)