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FREE HUGS

There is a small booth set up on the beach, coupled with a hastily written sign and a young girl sitting beneath it, smiling from ear to ear. She is clearly the one offering, but who would take her up on it?

Why was she even offering?

Were those small jars of aloe for sunburn treatment?

When she set up the booth the teen honestly didn't expect anyone to come out. There was a lot of focusing going on, what with Thread and trying to get the newest Weyrlings situated, so it was no surprise she was startled to feel something on her legs and hear a voice in her head. The bubbles were a new touch, and she glanced down into the bluest eyes she'd ever seen.

Instantly her heart jumped with excitement and recognition. "Oh, I know you! I remember you!" She'd been running after his egg when it'd hatched, and she was so happy to see a dragonet this close. "I'm here offering hugs, so not much of a game unless someone wants it to be. I mostly just wanted to make sure everyone was okay after the hatching." A lot of the candidates had to have been burned quite badly, as Soui'd learned shade hadn't been provided until a good while into everything. It would taste all kinds of impossible to think people walked away without being at least one or two shades of sea lobster. "You found yours at the hatching, right? Are you two doing okay?"

Hopefully all this talking wouldn't turn the baby away - Soui did want to play but she was also concerned.

It probably should have occurred to Soui that there was something strange about a dragonet not being with their bonded, but he was speaking clearly to her and didn't seem distressed and so she pushed the thoughts away. The dragonet was little and friendly and certainly healthy, as his thudding (mildly painfully) into her shins showed, and the teen tried hard to think of a game they could play. It was clear Baihath really wanted to play and Soui was certainly not going to deny a game. It was a hug, but it'd work the same.

"Of course I remember you - you were the first baby I got to see hatch up close! I'll never forget you, no matter what happens." The healer moved to get up from where she'd been sitting, rubbing the tenderness in her shins. "So your name is Baihath, and your rider.....who I don't see....is named Miss Alya?" It was hitting now that she probably needed to see a rider here. Probably. "As for games....do you like tag?"

He'd probably never heard of tag, or maybe he had and she was being rude in assuming. "Tag is what people call the game where you chase one another. It lets you run a lot, and it's fun!"

Soui gave a proper bow of respect to the rider as she appeared, halting her conversation with the little white. She was going to say that she'd love to be friends forever (if his rider allowed) and that she'd love to chase him (only because there was less risk of him getting hurt if she could watch him), but instead she swallowed it all to greet Alya properly. She was deeply pleased, and more than a little embarrassed, that the other girl remembered her weird attempt at saving them from nothing, and she did her best to press back the fluster that threatened her cheeks.

"I thought I was doing what was best, but I'm really glad it all worked out in the end and no one was hurt. Also, that you were able to meet your lifemate, so congratulations on that." Hopefully in a few Turns everyone would forget that blunder; Soui was proud of trying to help but not at her actions that had been completely unnecessary. "Baihath wanted...to play tag with me, but if you're here now we can perhaps play later? I don't want to keep you if you have something to do."

There was disappointment and hope in her voice that she couldn't mask despite trying.

Soui had to stop herself from jumping with joy at being told she could continue to play with Baihath, though for sure it radiated from her in her smile and in her mood. "You did really good at being quiet Baihath, you're amazing!" She really wanted to reach out and stroke him, just as she often did to Yudueth, but this dragonet did not belong to her and likely it would be so rude to do so. Maybe...maybe later she could ask if she could pet him? Maybe.

"Okay, you better get a head start Baihath, because I'm going to catch you! I may not look it, but I'm pretty fast!" The teen bent down and pulled her shoes off her feet, allowing her to get better traction on the sand. If she was going to be chasing an energetic dragonet she certainly needed all the help she could get. The sand was warm and inviting beneath her toes, and she flexed them a bit before sending a grin to the white baby. "Ready?"

Oh no, he was going to be a lot faster than she thought despite him being so small. When Baihath took off running Soui moved after him, careful to keep her balance even as her feet threatened to slide out from underneath. Seeing as the small white reminded her a lot of a canine, she wondered if there were certain tactics she ought to use, like jumping in front of him or trying to herd him towards his rider in an effort to block off his path.

Of course she would be naive in thinking so, as Baihath wasn't a canine and was probably smarter than half the people she knew in her life. Still she had to try, and just running after him all willy-nilly wasn't going to land with her tagging him. So, plan in mind, she dashed to make him move towards Alya in hopes he'd pause before running a different direction.

There wasn't really a chance on all of Pern for Soui to catch the little white, as she was coming to understand, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try! Her breathing was coming in happy pants as she continued to try and chase him, diving at the little white before taking a nice face-plant into the sand. Thankfully it hadn't hurt and she was quickly back on her feet, trying again to get him.

"I'm going to catch yoooooou!!!" Soui was more determined than ever to lay even a single fingertip on the dragon and claim that she'd managed to best one in a game of tag.

There was no denying that Soui was also in an absolute panic as she watched the little dragonet suddenly stop moving, and instantly her need to help kicked in just as strongly as her terror that she'd hurt the poor baby. His rider was right there as well, on her feet and rushing over, and the little healer immediately started thinking of ways to apologize. She hadn't meant to cause any harm!

"I'm so sorry I just - " He....wait. That was. ".. . . and he's asleep." The sound of surprise and relief in her voice could have easily moved a mountain. "I think I might have actually made him run out of energy." To be fair, Soui was exhausted too from running on the sands. Her legs were screaming just as loudly as her lungs, but still she'd managed to stay upright. It was no small feat to outlast a dragonet, not one with half as much energy as Baihath.