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Nasath was sooooo ready! The big bronze stretched, wings fluttering and cupping the air as he let loose a number of little peppy trumpets. When he relaxed out of his stretch he sagged almost to his belly in the shallow pool of water at the edge of the beach. It was bath time! And bath time meant oiling too! He'd glitter and shine and be the most handsome bronze in the weyr! Will it take very long, A'iel-mine? I want it to take long, but not too long, please. The big bronze flopped his huge head towards his rider, rather like a stranded fish would flip and flap, eyes whirling a brilliant blue. A'iel could only shake his head. For such a majestic, proud creature most of the time, baths made him act like a hatchling all over again. He did understand that it was because the bronze was simply too large to be able to scratch most of his own itches, and he also enjoyed the attention and pampering. Still, it was something of a funny sight to see the massive beast wiggle with anticipation.

"Yes, of course. Just one today, but they'll be enough hands, I assume. Between the two of us we should have you polished bright as a belt-buckle by the end of the candlemark, hmm?" He ran a hand along one slender headknob, and down the edge of the bronze's jaw, making Nasath, for all his fierce strength, shiver and kick a hind leg in an almost canine-like manner. "Oh, and here he comes now, our set of spare hands..."

A'iel shucked his rider's jacket and began to roll his sleeves up, bending to scoop the two buckets he'd had along full of water. "Over here!" He called out to the approaching figure, fighting back a grimace when he saw that the candidate was easily taller than himself. Well. That really was something he should be used to now, wasn't it? "We should get started on him, it'll take a while, big as he is." He turned, holding out one bucket and a soft but worn brush. "Is this your only chore assignment today?" He'd need to know how much time they had, and how fast they'd need to be.

Oh. Well. Well! This was...a very nice surprise! A'iel had been bracing for the inevitable scorn, the teasing, the assumptions that had plagued him at Benden. This kid though, he was....nice! Respectful, even, and he didn't seem to miss that A'iel was the rider of the most wonderful bronze around. His serious stare relaxed into a genuinely welcoming, eager one, eyes glittering and lips parting to reveal pearly white teeth in a wide, youthful smile. "Yes I am! A'iel of bronze Nasath, at your service." He pressed the bucket into the boy's—Marinel, he thought he'd been told he was named—hands, tossing in the brush with a splash.

"It's good practice. All dragons get bathed and oiled the same way, but if you're lucky enough to end up on a bronze, or even a bigger brown, it's important to realize how much of your time it'll consume. It's an honor, of course, but more responsibility than a little green you can be done with inside of a candlemark." He hefted his own bucket with practiced ease, mentally willing (though it took almost no effort) Nasath to bring his head around to rest between them on the sandy ground. "We'll start on his head, so be gentle. He's a tough beast, all dragons are, but the eyes and nostrils can still be sensitive. Having the beach here is actually convenient. He likes a bit of a sand-scrub too, though you have to be gentle with that of course. Your dragon, if you impress, might prefer to roll around in it...though of course he'd still need rinsed and oiled after. Nasath just likes being pampered."

Apparently when he felt confident and respected rightly, A'iel could be a little fountain of information. He'd been a highly dedicated student himself, of course, working hard to perfect the care of his dragon in an attempt to make up for his own perceived shortcomings. Are you going to start now? Please, A'iel? The dragon let slip a little whining burble, all but bowling over both of his attendants as he shoved his head against them and their buckets, demanding attention.

The kid certainly seemed eager to get to it. This was either his first dragon or his first bronze, either way. Nasath wasn't at all against such pampering, and had been as eager as any back at Benden to volunteer to receive the attentions of hopeful candidates. A'iel was already scrubbing in practiced motions around his cheeks and snout, so the dragon kept his eyes fixed on the newcomer. One brush was good—two were better. Both sides of his jaw had their rough and itchy spots, and though normally he was far, far above noticing...now that the moment of their alleviation was at hand he didn't want to wait any more at all. He let slip a grunting grumble as he saw 'salvation' literally at hand, long bronze tail swishing through the shallows and kicking spray up in all directions.

"Don't coddle him, please, his head is literally quite large enough already without the additional cosseting," A'iel was firm but light, almost but not quite humorous about it. "Your dragon might be easy, or they might be willful. If you give some an inch they'll walk all over you. Of course it doesn't matter for something like this—you and I've each got to have our own bathing habits too, huh?—but it's good to be mindful of their disposition, and know that some might be better off on a stricter regimen of behavior.

The bronze wailed lowly, but A'iel simply swatted at his cheek with the brush, leaving a sudsy spot. "Oh hush you...he's just worried about looking nice for all the golds and greens."

A'iel was focused more on cleaning the bronze than talking, at least until the bronze's itches were all sated. Better to get those handled, or the big thing'd be thrashing and pouting. "Impressing...hmm." There was a memory he'd not gone back to for a while. "It's hard to describe. Mine wasn't typical, you understand. I was barely of age to stand at all, and I looked much younger. I was...held back, mistakenly, by some who thought I was sneaking onto the sands. By the time Nasath came for me, it was all nearly over, and most of what I could feel was his own distress. He thought they were going to take me away, or not let him come to me."

The bronze whined at that thought, eyes whirling grayish yellow for a moment, until A'iel shushed him and began to fondle his headknobs. "After that though, bliss. It was the best feeling. Knowing he understood me, and was on my side. He'd picked me, that was the best thing. It's the same with every rider, as far's I know."