Tranquility

[Max452]

The splattering of water echoed into Ian's ears as he sat underneath the waterfall. He could feel the cold water pound merciless against his half-naked body as he concentrated on meditating. It was a new training exercise he had created for himself. He had such a difficult time meditating in the woods, that he decided to try a new location with a new method. He had hoped that this tactic would help him become more aware of his surroundings if he learned to do it with the thundering waterfall beating against him.

He heard a loud splash, and received a mental image of Castial swimming in the pool before him. The two month old hatchling was having a blast playing in the water as his bond concentrated on stilling his mind and exposing it to the wonders of the lush foliage around him. Ian's nose picked up the smell of moss and algea. He really hoped this training worked, otherwise, he would risk getting a cold for no good reason.

He heard Castiel gurgling in the water, probably making bubbles of some sort; the dragon loved doing that. The young Rider couldn't help but smile at his dragon's antics.
Stop paying attention to me and start meditating. Castiel reprimanded his Rider.
You're making too much noise.
Isn't that the point of all this? Cas retorted and resumed his swimming while his rider pointedly returned to meditating. It was thus like this when Ian sensed a familiar presence hiking up the path that led to this medium sized waterfall.

[Tismri]

Gloriann carefully walked the path upward to the waterfall, knowing it was a rather peaceful place. When she needed to be alone, she often went up there and just stared at the water for hours. Sundavar flew overhead, circling around.
Someone is there already, she informed Glory. The girl paused in her walk, momentarily reconsidering.
Who? she finally asked.
It looks like Ian, and little Castial is with him. Glory smiled at the information. She hadn't spent much time with her cousin, to be honest. He was spending a good portion of his time with Maude, it seemed. However, they both were pretty busy now with training as new Riders.
As she curved around past several trees, she saw her cousin sitting beneath the waterfall, while his bond played around in the water. Truth be told, Castial wasn't quite so little anymore, but compared to Sundavar, he was quite tiny still.
Hello, Ian, hello Castial, Sundavar greeted them as she gracefully landed next to the water.
"We're not disturbing you, are we?" Gloriann asked a bit shyly.

[Max452]

Ian opened his eyes at the sound of Sundavar's voice, letting in splashes of water when he did. He got up from his perched rock, allowing the water to pound onto his body harder. He hopped off the rock and onto the others that led to the shoreline. "Hey Sundavar, hey Glory. Nah, you're not bothering us." Ian replied, water dripping from his bare torso as Castiel swam by.
He was trying to meditate. Castiel explained. He wasn't doing very well anyway. The white dragon informed them, earning a glare from Ian. It's a good thing you came! Now I have someone to play with. Cas hummed. Sundavar! The water is deep enough for you! Ian's been too busy with training that he's forgotten how to play.

"I need to master mediation, Cas, so be quiet." Ian retorted as he grabbed a towel he had laid out earlier to dry himself. "How's it going with you two? I feel like we haven't spent much time together since the exam." Ian sat down on a rock, towel wrapped around him. "After all, you spend a good amount of time with Seth, eh?" Ian teased his cousin.

[Tismri]

Glory sat down next to Ian as he made his way over to the shore. She gazed for a moment at the tattoo on the back of his shoulder; Zee was a great artist. The dragons looked almost lifelike, and were nearly perfect representations of Gladia and Stigandr.
Sundavar slithered gracefully into the water with Castial, swimming alongside the younger dragon, and soon started having fun diving in and out, spinning and swirling much like she did in the air.
How many spins can you do underwater before coming back up for air? she challenged him. She was always competative and loved to push the younger dragons to perform to the best of their ablities.

Glory had to stop herself from saying the words, "Meditation is simple." She had to continually remind herself that meditation and magic did not come as easily to others as they did to her. Instead, she encouraged, "You'll get it," with a smile. Her face reddened slightly when Ian brought up Seth.
"Just friends," she assured him, "Seth and I have only been spending time together as friends." He was right, though. She had been spending the bulk of her time with him. He was her best friend, and often a great comfort. Sundavar accused her of liking him, but Glory would always deny it, saying it wasn't anything like that. Glory then gave Ian a slight smile. "And you've been spending a lot of time with Maude, I noticed," she said, just a little teasingly.

[Max452]

"Yeah, I hope so." Ian truly did hope he got the hang of meditating. It was just infuriating that he couldn't get it. He grinned when Glory blushed at the mention of Seth. "Right. So the fact that you're blushing doesn't mean anything." He teased her, but it was his turn to blush when she turned the conversation on him and Maude. "Uh, I, well," He stumbled with his words, having been caught off guard from the mention of Maude. "she's great company and we have a lot in common. She's a great friend too." He ran a wet hand through his wet hair. "Um, but yeah, I like her...a lot." He admitted to his cousin. "But, I don't think she feels the same about me; i'm okay with being her friend though." He glanced over to Castiel and Sundavar. The white dragon was chattering with his friend.
Oh! I can do a lot of them! Watch! Castiel dived under water and began to swirl and turn, using his tail as a rudder. He was gone for a good two minutes before popping up for air. Haha! I love it! He lowered his snout and gurgled more bubbles.
"Hey, Glory, I was wondering..." He glanced back at his cousin. "Do you know what Creeping Bellflowers are and if they grow here?" He asked her, knowing she loved tending to flowers, especially roses.

[Tismri]

Glory looked away from Ian as he mentioned that she was blushing. She wondered if she often blushed when she was actually around Seth. She was so used to not being seen that she found it a little disorienting when someone pointed out a visual characteristic of her. However, she listened with interest as Ian describe his relationship with Maude.
"Being friends is a good start," she encouraged him. "As time goes on, you'll have to see where it goes." She thought about his question on flowers. She racked her brain for several moments.
"Mother would be a better person to ask," she admitted to her cousin. "She knows just about every variety that exists. But...I'm pretty sure most flowers that creep grow naturally on the forest floor, or cling to walls and tree trunks. I think the Woods would be a good place to look for them. I don't think they would be out in the open because flowers there have more room to grow upright." She shrugged as she thought about it. "But as I said, Mom would likely know for certain."
Sundavar was impressed with the young dragon's ability. Castial was able to stay under water for two minutes already.
You're going to be a great swimmer, she told him. Keep practicing; before too long, you may even be able to stay under water for a whole hour.

[Max452]

Ian nodded to Glory's advice; it sounded very similar to Eva and Eos' advice too. Well, he was going to follow it - he didn't want to harm any relationship he had with Maude. He hated the feeling of her being angry with him, or even at all. He silently recalled the first time she yelled at him. He really thought their friendship was over then. He was glad when it wasn't.

Ian glanced up when Glory mentioned his aunt. "Oh, yes, Aunt Marola is really good at plants! I will, Glory, ask her, I mean and then maybe I could try looking for the flower." He scratched his head. "Um, although, can I ask you a favor?" He blushed again at his thought. "Can I get some white roses?" He asked his cousin sheepishly, hoping that Maude would like them.

[Tismri]

Glory smiled at how Ian started babbling to her about the flowers. She could pretty well guess who they were meant for. She giggled slightly when he asked her for white roses.
"You really like her, don't you?" she asked him. "I should be able to come up wiith a few for you. Although..." She thought carefully for a few moments, remembering what she had learned of ancient lore. "Different color roses are supposed to mean different things when you give them as gifts. Red says 'I love you,' white says 'I am worthy of you,' and yellow means 'You are my friend.'" She shrugged and let him ponder that for a while.

[Max452]

Ian's blush only darkened at Glory's astute question. He gave her a smile that seemed like he was caught stealing. He mutely nodded. "It seems everyone knows but Maude." He seemed a little sad about that, but it was okay, maybe one day Maude would notice him like that. "I'm all right with it; I've learned you can't force Maude into feeling something or doing something - it has to be her terms or she won't understand or would fight it." He told Glory. "Thank you, Glory, I would appreciate it." He smiled at his cousin's willingness to help him. He gave her a blank look when she told him the meaning of the roses' color. "Colors mean something?" He blinked. "Uh, well, I was kinda hoping to give it to her anonymously...you know, like a secret admirer thing...just to see if she's open to it..." He scratched his head nervously, wondering if his plan was a good idea. He was briefly distracted by Castiel's conversation with Sundavar.

I can't wait! I love swimming! It reminds me of flying! I'm going to be the best water-flying dragon! I'll hold my breath longer than an hour! Its a promise! Castiel chirped out to Sundavar. Come on! Let's see how long we can hold our breaths! He challenged her playfully before diving under water again.

[Tismri]

Glory shrugged again at Ian's confused look. Boys really couldn't be expected to know much about flowers, she supposed.
"I just thought you might like to know what you were saying with the gift," she told him with a smile. "You really want to send them to her anonymously? What if she thinks they're from someone else? Or she'll be going out of her mind trying to find out who it is...or her dad will come after you." She gave her cousin an impish sort of grin then. She knew Ian really admired Master Kyler as a teacher.

Sundavar was happy with Castial's thrilled chattering. She ducked under the water at his challenge, knowing she would likely be able to hold her breath much longer because she was older. However, if he kept practicing, she was sure he would be able to catch up in no time.
I'll keep in mind to never challenge you to any water activities, she told him. Since you are going to be the greatest swimmer-flier among dragons before even a year is out.

[Max452]

Ian paled at each possibility that Glory stated. He then shook his head. "No no! I don't want that! Especially for her to think someone else gave her roses! I didn't think about that! And her Father! I don't want to anger Master Kyler! He already gives me a strange look whenever he sees me with Maude." Ian exclaimed. "Okay, so what do you suggest I do? I don't know how she feels about me...and and...I want to give her all those colors...but, what if she doesn't feel the same?" He asked Glory, completely out of his element.

The very best! Castiel confirmed as he twirled and twirled underwater, holding his breath. Finally after 10 minutes, the young dragon couldn't hold his breath anymore and popped out to breath in air. Ah! I wanted to try for 15... He grumbled.

[Tismri]

Glory giggled lightly, having never seen Ian so flustered before. He really liked Maude, that much was obvious. She shook her head as he panicked.
"Here," she told him, "How about I put together a safe bouquet for you. It won't say anything too strongly." She considered for a few moments, wondering if Maude even knew the meaning of rose colors. She considered carefully...she might send the girl a little paper with an explanation, or perhaps include it in the bouquet.

Sundavar was rather impressed with Castial's ability. Ten minutes was a long time for a hatchling of his size. However, she was rather unsurprised by his resolution.
You'll get there, I promise, she told him. She stayed underwater the entire time, showing him how long she could hold it. You'll be under water for over an hour before you know it.

[Max452]

Ian gave a frantic nod. "Would you, Glory? That would help me so much!" He smiled at Glory. "I've never felt this way about anyone before, but at the same time, I don't want to make it awkward for me and Maude if she doesn't like me that way...you know...just something to say, 'Hey! I'm open for possibilites!'. Would that work?" He asked her, pondering on the matter. "But...I still want to get her those Creeping Bellflowers...she said she thought them beautiful." Ian added, glancing at his cousin. He fidgeted with the towel around him, just to calm his nerves. "Why are girls complicated?" He asked his cousin with a serious tone.

Castiel was really impressed the Sundavar was still under water. He poked his head back underwater to see how Sundavar was doing it; anything to help him in the future. Yup, but with practice! He added gleefully before diving in completely, swirling and twirling around Sundavar. I'm hungry...when is Ian and Glory done talking? We need to meet Maude soon. Castiel complained as he danced around his Shadow friend.

[Tismri]

Glory shook her head as Ian explained his fears to her. She still felt like laughing at the whole thing.
"Girls are complicated?" she asked him. "I think it's the other way around. Boys are so confusing all the time. Well, except for Seth. He always makes perfect sense to me." She smiled as she thought of her friend--a smile that she often had around him because she knew he wouldn't notice. "Girls are very simple. We like certain things and don't like others. The best way to figure her out is to talk to her." She stood and stretched, still smiling. "I'll work on that bouquet for her. Let me know when you want to give it to her." She glanced at the sky, noting the time. "I wonder if Seth is back from his mission yet," she said rather forlornly. She was probably going to stop by the courtyard they'd agreed to meet at whenever he returned. Then she would go to the Woods and find her rose garden.

[Max452]

Ian rolled his eyes. "Whatever, Glory. I still think girls are complicated." He smirked then. "Seth is perfect, eh?" He eyed her suspiciously. "Are you sure that you don't like him?" A sinister smile played on his lips. "Come on, I shared my crush! You could at least admit yours!" He challenged her. Maybe he would talk to Seth later...just to see how he felt about a little rosey cousin of his.