Erin had been at the weyr for roughly a turn now, in fact, it was the day after her 17th birthday and her mother and father were busy doing dragonrider stuff. She herself was working on trying out some new craft that the headwoman had suggested, still convinced that the woman had lost her mind on this decision. For one, Erin didn't know the first thing about animals and now she was trying to help the herder with one. At least they didn't send her into the kitchen... ever. After her injury the last time, and the mess she had made, the kitchen staff wouldn't allow it.

After a half hour of trying to figure out how to get the animal to move, she grumbled her frustration and left the barn. Clearly she was not happy with how things were going with the trying of different crafts, but she had agreed to continually rotate them until she decided which she would stick with.

As Erin was leaving the barns, A'dam was just leaving the infirmary after tracking down a healer for something to ease his headache. Isith had risen in the small hours of the morning and Dranith, despite A'dam's protests, had gone after her. Dragon flights often left the young rider with a severe headache which he either sought a healer to help ease or spent half the day lying down while his head threatened to explode. But he'd made plans to spend some time with Erin and he wasn't about to screw up the rest of their day, even though he'd all but stood her up at breakfast thanks to the dragons.

It was getting toward lunchtime and so the bluerider headed for the dining hall where he was sure Erin would eventually show up and grabbed a redfruit to nibble on while he waited. If he was lucky, Erin wouldn't be too annoyed with him and maybe they could still have lunch together if nothing else. He caught Laeric glowing at him from across the room and merely saluted the candidate with his half-eaten fruit. He knew Laeric didn't like him because, the way A'dam had heard it, Laeric and Erin had had plans for the day A'dam had transferred to Fort from Benden. Erin had completely done a 180 on Laeric, foregoing their plans in favor of welcoming her childhood friend back to his home Weyr instead.

At any rate, A'dam did his best to ignore Laeric and not antagonize him (at least when Erin was around or when he knew she might catch him at it) and so he turned away from the candidate and watched the entrance, hoping to catch sight of Erin and flag her down before Laeric did.

Erin walked from the barns and was about to head towards the lower caverns for food... when she realized just how gross she felt. Sighing to herself, she headed off to get cleaned up quickly before heading towards the lower caverns. She gotten most of the grossness off of her, although she had missed a piece of straw that was currently sticking out of her hair.

Naturally, she still had it there as she walked into the lower caverns to get her lunch. She was curious to see if A'dam was there. After all, he had stood her up that morning, and she was ready to find out just why... as she hadn't really heard about the flight. To be completely honest, sometimes she was able to sleep like the dead... and the previous night had been one of those times.

As he spotted her, Laeric started towards his friend. He was hoping to reach her before A'dam did... though he was further away from her than the bluerider was.

If Laeric thought he could beat A'dam in catching Erin's attention he was dead wrong. A'dam had something that Laeric didn't. And that something appeared from between not far from Erin and flitted around her before heading to A'dam and perching on his shoulder as the Bluerider approached. A'dam gave the little Brown a strip of wherry meat he'd snagged and Tahi chirped his appreciation before gulping it down and winging back to Erin to see if he could bribe a treat out of her as well.

"Hey uh...Sorry...about this morning." A'dam greeted his friend when he was within earshot and smirked at the bit of straw in her hair. He did managed to still look embarrassed though as he finally caught up to her and sighed, rubbing his temples a bit at the headaches that was quickly receding (a fact for which he was quite grateful). "That little Green Dran's had his eye on decided today would be a good time to rise. Naturally Dranith took off after her. So yeah....I'm really sorry I missed breakfast and most of the morning." His smirk faded as he spoke and he shrugged. "Maybe we can still have lunch if you can forgive me for not showing up this morning." He looked a little hopeful, trying to ignore the fact that she might have decided to spend the afternoon with Laeric since he hadn't shown up like he'd promised.

Erin blinked at Tahi before a smile touched her features for a moment. She really did like her friend, even if she was a little upset that he had stood her up! Luckily for A'dam, the trick had worked as she started towards her friend and ignored Laeric. All in all she hadn't made any plans with her fellow candidate. At least not for that particular day... they WERE talking about going over some notes and helping Laeric with a few of his letters, but that would be a different day.

When Tahi returned, she chuckled at the little fiend and held up a piece of wherry for him, having snagged it along the way. "How much trouble should he be in?" she asked the flit, and she schooled her face to look upset with the bluerider.

When he was within earshot and started speaking, she gave him an odd look until he explained what had happened. "Ah, I don't know if it's overly nice to be blaming your dragon," she teased him, a smile coming forth (she really sucked at the whole 'being upset with A'dam' thing). "And sure, we can have lunch. Someone's gotta make up for me being in those stables this morning! Ugh!" she groaned.

A'dam chose to ignore the less-than-friendly look Laeric shot his way when Erin started toward him and instead focused on trying to look apologetic. Tahi, for his part, accepted the treat offered to him and canted his head at the question. He shuffled his wings and gave a light chirp before taking wing again to see what trouble he could cause elsewhere. Clearly whatever troubles the humans were having were none of his concern.

A'dam made a face when she told him it wasn't nice to blame Dranith and shrugged. "When it really is his fault I don't see the harm in it. I tried to stop him, not that he listened." He replied, smiling now that he knew he wasn't in trouble. "Oh so that's what this is from? I was wondering..." He teased, trailing off as he plucked the bit of straw from her hair and held it up for her. "Were you leaving this there as a fashion statement? I can put it back if you want." He added, unable to resist the opportunity to have a bit of fun at Erin's expense. She'd know he didn't mean a word of it and would probably come back with some smart remark anyway.

"So lunch, if you haven't made any other plans for the rest of your day I was thinking maybe we could take a trip out of the weyr. Maybe have a picnic lunch down by the coast? We could make a trip to Southern. It'd be nice to get away from all this snow and cold for a bit." Of course, a trip to the Southern continent meant she'd have to fly on Dranith and he held up a hand to stop and protests she might have had against that. "Before you say no, you'll be perfectly safe. My riding straps are in perfect condition and I would never let you fall and neither would Dranith." She was far too important to him and he cared about her too much for him to let anything happen to her.

Erin chuckled at his words before she blinked at his comment and the straw that he pulled from her hair. At least until he asked if it was a fashion statement, then she just grinned. "You don't think it looked good?" she asked him teasingly. Of course, she didn't really want to have it as a fashion statement, and he would know it. If only because of the confused look he'd gotten originally.

She listened to his suggestion for lunch before she frowned and fidgeted. She didn't know about this particular part... despite being a candidate and knowing that one day she WOULD have to get used to flying on a dragon... she was still terrified of heights. But, then again, this was A'dam and Dranith they were talking about. Perhaps she COULD convince herself to make it through the flight... if she couldn't see how far up they were. "Okay... I guess we can try it... but I don't want to be able to see anything!" she announced to him, clearly nervous at this point.

She just had to ask didn't she? And really, he couldn't be blamed for what he said next. Erin was just inviting him to say something. Especially since she knew him as well as she did. So, with the opportunity to open in front of him, A'dam put on his most charming smile and gave Erin a gentle poke in the side. "I think you look beautiful no matter what. I asked if you wanted to put it back." He told her, even as he dropped the bit of straw into a waste bin since he knew she didn't really want it in her hair.

He knew by the look on her face she was worried about flying on Dranith but he kept quiet until she spoke up. "I think we can manage that. You'll be safe. I promise." He told her, placing a hand on her shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. He already had a couple ideas in mind that would help Erin not have to look where they were going. A blindfold perhaps. And she could always sit behind him (though generally non-rider passengers were placed in front of the rider for safety). "Alright, let's get the food we want to take and get ready to go. We should probably leave soon before someone finds something they want us to do and we can't get away." He suggested, already mentally poking Dranith to be ready to get his flying gear on.

Erin really should have expected that answer. To be completely honest, she should have expected it, especially considering who she was talking to. Regardless, she laughed at his words and shook her head. She most certainly did NOT want that piece of straw in her hair. Not that she hadn't noticed her friend tossing it in the garbage along the way.

She smiled at his reassurance, although she was still rather nervous about flying. It terrified her. Of course, she knew she could trust A'dam and if it had been anyone else she likely would have adamantly refused. As he suggested finding food, she smiled at him. "Okay," she agreed.

When they were done, and A'dam was done getting Dranith ready, Erin had chosen to sit behind him. After all, it wasn't like the death grip she applied around his waist was going to cause her to fall from the dragon... least of all with her face burried rather solidly against his back. If she hadn't thought it would look funny to those on the ground... she prolly would have wrapped her legs around her longtime friend as well...

When they arrived, she was more than eager to get down... and she was nicely shaking from the flight. Despite the lack of issues, she really was freaked out about heights.

It hadn't taken them long to get ready and get settled on Dranith's back. And, though he knew she was doing it out of fear, he couldn't help but think that the way she was clinging to him was strangely...not intimate, really but he couldn't think of a better word just then either. He mentally shook the thought off and once he was sure they were all ready and secure, had Dranith take off.

The flight and subsequent trip between weren't all that long and they were soon landing on a quiet strip of sunny Southern coastline. Once on the ground, he pulled off his riding helmet and pulled the shaking Erin into a comforting hug. "Relax. We're safely on the ground. Deep breath. That wasn't so bad was it? I told you I wouldn't let you fall." He assured her, letting her snuggle into him (if she desired to) until she was calm enough that they could get their picnic set up and enjoy the rest of their day in peace, away from the weyr and all of it's daily bustle.

Erin had been more than happy to snuggle into his embrace as he held her. She hadn't really been meaning to end up shaking, and she had known (deep down) that A'dam would never willingly let anything happen to her. After all, they had been friends for far to long for either one to wish harm upon the other.

After a couple minutes she finally felt calm enough to slowly pull away from his comforting embrace. It had made it easier to handle the trip with him there, although she wasn't admitting that. "I don't think I'd have gotten on Dranith at all if I thought you would let me fall," she responded with a teasing smile before she turned to start setting up their picnic. Of course, she knew tha thte teasing would help show that she was finally feeling better. Although... she wouldn't have objected (too much) to the idea of him holding her again... she had kind of enjoyed that and had stayed a second or two longer because of it. Not that she would readily admit that to many, being as she was supposed to be more focused on her candidate lessons and prepping for when she would get her own dragon... and really have to work past her fears.

When Erin moved away, A'dam found himself reluctant to let her go (though he didn't actually try to stop her) and frowned briefly, though hid it before Erin could see. He rolled his eyes at her teasing and moved to help her set up. "Sure you would have, you'd have just been a lot more scared than you actually were." He teased back, leaving Erin to set up the picnic with their food and such briefly when Dranith asked to have his riding straps removed so he could swim.

That done, A'dam pulled off his riding jacket, vaguely wondering why he hadn't done so sooner. Southern was a lot warmer than the cold winter of Fort and his riding gear was simply too heavy to be at all comfortable in the heat. He set the jacket down on the blanket they'd bought with them and settled down next to Erin (who had, by that time, finished unpacking their picnic). "This is a lot better than being stuck in the snow back at the Weyr isn't it?" He questioned, leaning back on his hands and closing his eyes to soak up the warmth of the day. "And even better, at least for me, there are no dragons around." A soft snort from the shallows made him open one eye and turn his head to look at Dranith. "Except you, of course Dran. Why would I want to get away from you?" He questioned which seemed to placate the Blue who went back to lounging in the shallows with a happy rumble.

The bluerider turned back to his friend with a smile. "I'm really glad you came out here with me. I was worried you'd be angry that I didn't meet up with you this morning like I promised and I'd have to figure out some way to win my way back into your good graces." He admitted, stopping himself before he could decide to hug her again or something of the sort. She was a candidate. He didn't want to screw up her chances of impressing, after all.

Erin laughed at his comment as she worked at setting up their food on the blanket. She didn't mind unpacking it on her own, least of all since she knew her friend had to take care of his dragon. Of course, she did strip off her jacket and set it aside once she had the blanket down, before moving on to unpacking the food. Once that was all set up, she sat down on the blanket, but didn't worry about the food just yet. She was still hungry, but not quite to eat as she waited until A'dam joined her before falling into their conversation once more.

She did have to agree with his statement, chuckling slightly as he paused to placate his beast. "It is much better than being stuck in the snow," she agreed with him before she watched him as he commented on being happy that she had come with him. QUite honestly, she had been mildly annoyed at him... but that was until she learned the reason... or rather, since she'd seen him earlier. She did have to be SOMEWHAT honest, with herself at least, and admit that she was really bad at staying mad at the man.

"I was a little annoyed at the time, specially when it resulted in me spending my morning working in the stables. Sharding beast crafter caught me before I could get away," she grumbled over that before she looked at him, "And maybe you still do have to win your way back into my good graces," she teased him with a grin that clearly said he'd never left. But that didn't mean she wouldn't tease him as she poked his stomach with her pointer finger before turning towards the food they'd brought and deciding it must be eaten! As such, she grabbed a piece of food (completely at random) and started munching.

She sat munching on the food for a moment before glancing at him. Her mind had wondered to the reason he had stood her up. "So, how was the flight? Did Dranith win?" she asked, not entirely certain that she wanted the answer to that. Of course, the fact that he was there with her and not in some random rider's bed was probably proof enough he had lost... but she hadn't really paid any attention to flights or what happened in the aftermath (past the knowledge that the humans ended up having sex).

If A'dam was honest with himself, he couldn't have asked for a better day. Especially since he could just imagine Laeric stuck back in wintery Fort Weyr doing chores and being pissy because Erin was off with A'dam. At her admission, he gave her a curious look but it turned into a smirk when she told how she'd been roped into helping in the barns since she wasn't doing anything else. He placed a hand over the spot where she'd poked him and pretended it had hurt. "Well now, if you're going to abuse me like that maybe I don't want to be in your good graces anymore. Maybe I'll just leave you stranded here on this lonely beach and be done with it." He teased back, a mock stern look on his face.

Dranith, for his part, rumbled his amusement and decided to join the fun. I would never leave without her. You'd be stuck here too, same as her. So there. The Blue responded, siding with Erin and speaking so that she could hear him as well. A'dam frowned at the Blue and playfully tossed a meatroll at him which he happily snatched up ans swallowed. He snagged a second roll for himself and nibbled on it, happy with the temporary silence for the time being.

Of course, then Erin had to bring up the flight and he nearly choked on a bite as a red tinge touched his cheeks at her questioning. "It was fine as far as flights go I guess, least for the Dragons. And no. Dranith didn't win." He told her, pretending to be very interested in s bit of sand as he spoke. Why in Faranth's name did Erin care about the flight? And why did he care that she cared? He quickly finished off his roll and tried to figure out some way to change the subject or distract her. And the sound of the ocean presented him with an idea. "Not that I'm complaining but it sure is warm out here. Maybe after we eat we could go for a swim?" He suggested, fanning himself with his shirt before just giving in and peeling it off to deposit it on top of his discarded riding jacket.

Erin laughed lightly at the teasing, and smiled at Dranith as the blue sided with her. For all the fear she'd had while in the air with him, she really did like the beast... and she wondered what sort of dragons he might impress one day. However, she knew that even with the upcoming hatching... she would have to wait and see what happened.

She enjoyed the silence that followed their jeering at one another as well, using the time to eat before waiting for his response to her question about the flight. Hearing that Dran had lost, she was quite pleased and a look of relief temporarily appeared in her eyes. That meant that he didn't have a mate. Although, to cover it up she told Dranith that maybe next time he would win.

A moment later she turned to A'dam as he spoke before watching as his shirt was discarded. She had to admit to liking him without his shirt, and although it was a sight she rarely seen... she had seen his threadscores before. And she still hated them just as much... although she liked them as well. It was an odd situation, really... Regardless, she knew she needed to distract things a bit and thus she groaned.

"Ugh! That's not fair! I can't take my shirt off here!" she protested to him. Clearly it wasn't a fair trade that HE got to shed more clothing while she was stuck dressed for winter.