Scrub-a-dub-dub [V'than/Muze]

[tovaana]

Weyrling V’than :: Brown Saruth

An enthusiastic student? He imagined how it might be on their trip – there was a boat he liked to borrow from a local fisherman – something small… but they’d both fit easily. He imagined being behind her, showing how to flick a fishing pole, maybe sitting behind her while they waited for a fish to bite. There would be time to just talk – quietly of course, so to not scare the fish. He thought about this, glancing at Saruth when she spoke to him. The other candidates he had worked with hadn’t been so verbal with Saruth – because he gave nothing back. He liked that she kept him in the conversation, even if he was quiet.

She took his hand, and he felt unprepared the sudden desire to be close to her – she had seemed flirtatious, but she had been the one to slow them down. He searched her eyes as she came closer to him, closer into him, and she fit like a glove. His heart was loud, and he was still searching her eyes, for any more clues – because as much as he wanted to respect her wishes, but her body language was contradictory now. He blinked down at her, absorbing the words and message she was saying to him. It registered after a moment and he smiled, leaning into her – and feeling the need to pull her into him and wrap his arms around her so she would indeed let him finish their kiss… but both hands were occupied. He bent his head slowly at first, pausing – in case he was wrong, but when she didn’t pull away he closed the last fraction of space between them a little quicker and let his lips land on hers.

It was almost better – having felt like he had worked for this moment. His arm with the oiling supplies went limp for a moment as they dropped their cargo. Now free, his unoccupied hand wrapped around her waist and pulled her closer – if possible. His lips moved with hers for those moments in which the world around him dropped away and he had only the woman in his arms to think about. This was what he had meant, the simplicity of being close, expressing how he’d been feeling. There was something deeper slowly seeping into the moment, something he recognized as something he wouldn’t be able to reel in if he didn’t stop.

With tense arms he slowly pulled his lips away from Riasu, stifling a groan with tightened jaws. He was slightly out of breath, looking down into the beautiful dark face, his eyes tracing the details of its curves for a silent moment. Finally he loosened his vice like grip, but one arm still settled loosely on the small of her back, the other hand gently untangled from her hand and he gently brushed a little sand from her jawline. His heart rate seemed to jump when he followed the jawline to her neck and he had to force his eyes back to her face. He wasn’t sure what to say, it felt silly – but he wanted to thank her.

“You are beautiful.” He whispered with a small smile, forcing himself to not look away, in case the sudden swell of nerves took over. She was also so different, but he supposed telling her that, wouldn’t sound as nice as complimenting her beauty. “You’re okay with this?” The hand around her waist tugged gently to emphasize their closeness. He supposed it was just as silly a question, but he wanted to hear it. "And... with our boat trip?" He added on - so she'd know he was also talking about them getting to know each other... so it wouldn't be so reckless. 

[kevna]

Riasu – Candidate

It only took him a moment for her message to dawn on him, his responsive smile and reciprocating lean seemed to spur her heart on. His lips delved closer, and she drew in a breath; but then he paused for a moment, as if to give her a chance to pull away. Time stood still in the brief moment, as her eyes studied his, and then flicked to his lips. She wouldn’t pull away. His body against hers felt right. Inexplicably right. The last of the distance was closed quickly, and her lips received his, moving in concert with his. Thought fell away as the spark they had had on the sandy beach floor repeated itself. But this time it was better, deeper, richer. It made more sense, and none whatsoever. She got up on her toes to better reciprocate the craving of him. She heard the satchel fall, but only registered the sound for what it was after his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her more securely into him. A small appreciative sound emitted from her and she let her own supplies drop, winding her now free arm around his neck, straining for less space between them.

She was acutely aware of every breath, every muscle tensing, every inch of him pressed against her. His lips were soft, inviting, but insistent, and she responded in kind. He arms seemed to tense and then he pulled slowly away, and she tried to clear her head. Her eyes opened to see him, and his intense gaze as he… Admired her face. His hand untangled from hers and her own came to rest on his chest. She leaned into his hand as brushed her face. Would he kiss her again? She should step away. Remove the temptation of it. But she didn’t.

His comment to her resulted in a sweet smile. He was so… tender. His arm holding her to him tightened with his question and her breath caught. She lifted her free hand and gently traced his hair line from forehead to ear, and then around his ear, as if tucking a piece of hair behind it, and then her arm wrapped around his neck, mirroring her other. “Yes.” Her voice was as soft as her hand had been, and she smiled again, then slowly let her arms drop so her hands rested on his upper arms. She knew they couldn’t stand like this forever, but she didn’t want to be the one pushing away. His next question set her heart off anew, and her smile widened. Riasu nodded, “I wouldn’t miss it.” She kissed his jaw softly and then pulled away regretfully, her hands tracing down his arms. She stepped away, but one hand grabbing for his.

“But we should get back… I have a shift in the infirmary later, and…” She looked down at herself and then looked him over with a humorous eyebrow lift. “I should probably clean up. I don’t want to get sand on everything.”

[tovaana]

Weyrling V’than :: Brown Saruth

He swallowed as her finger traced along his face and tucked the hair around his ear. He kept his eyes on her as he waited her answer. The gesture itself should have been the answer, along with her arms wrapped around his neck, but for some reason it wasn’t as comforting as her 'yes'. Her excited answer accompanied with her kiss left a tingly feeling where her lips had brushed. Then suddenly she was slipping away and it was too reminiscent of her first teasing kiss that he had turned into a real kiss. However, her hand reached out for his and it grounded him – as if to remind him that it wasn't the same as that first teasing kiss where she had been unsure, this touch communicated her excitement he supposed.

V’than’s arms ached where she had run her arms down them, he wasn’t sure if he’d ever get tired of holding her in his arms. He glanced at the rest of her sandy body and then down at himself with a wry grin. “I suppose we can blame Saruth for most of that.” He also supposed he’d need to clean up too… he brushed himself off, thinking that if she was going to be making a visit to the bathing caverns, perhaps he should wait…this thought set of a series of other thoughts and he felt his skin burn with a different desire. He turned away, as if he could turn the feeling away, picking up the things they had dropped and, putting the riding gear back on the brown, and getting the buckets and cleaning supplies hitched on Saruth.

He climbed up and waited for Riasu to climb up, offering a hand to help her behind him. Even the simplicity of the dragon ride with her behind him, felt comfortable. When Saruth landed on the beach near the lower caverns enterance, he felt a wave of disappointment. He glanced back at Riasu with a smile. “Thanks again for… everything.” He almost said that it had been nice to meet her, but it had been more than nice and made light of what had happened between them. “I’ll see you tomorrow morning, maybe at my weyr again? We can fly to the hold part of the Weyr to find you a bubbly pie.”

[kevna]

Riasu - Candidate

“Thank goodness for Saruth then.” She said in response to his remark on blame. Indeed she was grateful for the large quiet brown. His actions and perceptions of his rider had led them to this moment. He turned away from her quickly and started gathering his things. Right back to work. Riasu grinned at his actions, he was very focused, she could give him that. She did what she could to help, but mainly just watched as he loaded Saruth up, and then mounted up. Staying true to himself, he offered his hand.

She climbed aboard the dragon, taking the unnecessary, but kind hand. The flight back was quiet and peaceful, and she reflected on how different it felt then the flight to that small beach had been. She sat closer to him, felt peaceful, and so much happier. When they landed she hesitated. She wasn’t ready to leave yet. He glanced back at her and thanked her… She gave a small smile, and leaned into his back, his hands resting on his waist for a minute.

She nodded. “Your weyr is good, I can’t wait. And thank you, V’than. I had a great time.” She let go of him and had to remind herself that the morning wasn’t too far away. She climbed off Saruth, and leaned into the brown, giving him an affectionate pat. “Thanks handsome for… everything.” She chuckled, it was directed toward the dragon, but she glanced up at V’than. “See you tomorrow.” She had almost spoke to the large brown using her mind speak but thought it more polite to say it out loud, and glanced up once more at the brownrider. The tall woman pushed off the brown and moved toward the door. She wasn’t one to look back, and she didn’t, but boy was she looking forward to tomorrow.

[tovaana]

Weyrling V’than :: Brown Saruth

He smiled at the idea that his brown had spurred on that had happened. His brown was so quiet, that he wasn’t at all certain what all he was aware of. He knew the brown cared, and now he knew that he cared at a level that he wasn’t sure he himself was actually conscious of.

Her words confirmed what he’d hoped and he spent a few moments wondering if he should slide off after her or not. He still needed to go back to his weyr and unload Saruth of the cleaning gear… but even with tomorrow’s trip, this… thing was too new to him and he wanted more. Just one more…

Saruth leaned into her touch and looked at her with a whirling gaze of understanding. When Saruth did that, V’than finally made up his mind, and slid off the brown rather quickly. He couldn’t let himself think too much about what he wanted, he knew he’d stop himself, and he didn’t want to stop himself. He took a few long strides, “wait.” He called and reached out to grab one of her hands as it swung back. He tugged, trying to be gentle, but he knew he couldn’t slow himself or he’d double guess himself. The man hadn’t been in a real relationship, not apart from boyhood, but he felt the best was to go with his gut – or heart, in this instance, that was beating against his chest in anticipation. He tugged her into him, pulling and wrapping his hands around her hips and waist, leaning in for one last kiss… at least until tomorrow. All he had to do was think about Riasu and her smile, trying not to think about the possibility that she’d want to pull away.

[kevna]

Riasu - Candidate

She had barely heard his call when his hand grabbed hers, turning her around with a quick pull. She gave a breathless laugh, utterly surprised by his actions as he pulled her into his arms. Her hands came to rest on his chest as his lips found hers, and then with enthusiasm her hands traced upward. One arm hooked around his neck, the other hand wound into his hair, disrupting his newly made bun. Her lips responded to his fervently as she leaned into him. She hadn’t meant to respond to him so earnestly, she had always been more passionate than others, but he had started this kiss by taking her by surprise. She felt overly warm, almost feverish pressed against him. He was driving her flitter-brained.

Riasu groaned and pulled away quickly with a gasp. She was breathing heavily, but she managed a laugh. “You are making this goodbye next to impossible.” She teased, resting her forehead against his, and untangled her hand from his hair. She kept her arms tightly secured around his neck; her body pressed up against his. Shards, she didn’t want to let go. Why was she always the one pulling away? He was doing this on purpose she was sure. Without much thought her lips sought his again, mentally trying to be gentle this time. If he wanted to pull away and let go of her, of this moment, it was his turn. She was done being the responsible one.

[tovaana]

Weyrling V’than :: Brown Saruth

He hadn’t expected her to react so fervently to the kiss. He felt like he was getting lost in her lips, like he was trying to find something, but it kept slipping away. The longer their lips moved and brushed, the more he wanted. It was a desire that seemed to take rather than give. And then it happened again, the overwhelming need, but he didn’t stop himself – he let his hands start to explore her back and side, as if he’d find what he was looking for there. Something about the way his hair came undone, slowly untwisting, made the moment seem less formal – more intimate. 

Her gasp interrupted as she pushed away, but he stayed close to her face, not done…but would he ever be done? Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew the answer to that, but he ignored it, a ragged breath and chuckle at her words. He let out a little groan when she reached up for his lips again and with on hand he held her head in place for a long simple kiss and then released both his hand and lips, leaning away and straightening out of her reach. He smiled down at her, making up his mind.

‘Hey buddy, I’m gonna have to take all the stuff off you later… Do you mind waiting in the weyr?’ Not at all. The brown moved and started to turn, walking a bit away to give his wings room so that he could lift into the air. V’than didn’t look away from Riasu. “Well…we don’t have to say goodbye yet.” He let his hands slide from her back to her lower waist, hanging off her hips loosely. He also took the smallest step away from her, because he was sure he wasn’t thinking straight with the woman up against him. He glanced down at himself to indicate his sandy state – but she was so close that his eyes wandered to her sandy clothes that hugged her thin form, his eyes tearing away and looking up with his heart in his ears. He let out a breath, and gave a crooked smile, taking another step away and a hand crossing in front of him to unwrap a hand from his neck. He squeezed it momentarily and then tugged on it, then remembered he needed his extra pair of clothes he had packed incase he had soaked through while washing Saruth. His eyes widened as he realized this and let go of her hand, 'wait!' and he jogged over to his brown who had been close to taking off. He unclipped his satchel and then patted his brown on the side. 'Thanks buddy.' And then turned and jogged back, completely unaware of much other than Riasu as he approached her, even with the rush of wind from his dragon taking off without him. "I should probably clean off anyways, before the betweening lesson this afternoon."

[kevna]

Riasu - Candidate

The second kiss didn’t help calm her down at all. Instead of fire it was a slow, gentle smolder that spread through her body. She was grateful it was brief, because any longer and she wasn’t sure how it would have progressed. He pulled away, out of reach, and the smile he gave her sent a ripple through her. So very different. Was this moving too fast? Was she just trying to get D’min out of her system? She didn’t think so, but it felt strange being with one man for so long, only to have another one come along so very quickly. Her eyes traced V’than’s face, and she almost missed Saruth’s gentle voice. She understood better when V’than informed her that they didn’t have to say goodbye just yet.

His hands moving down her back to her waist kept her tongue silent, the burn his hands left in their wake keeping her from speaking. He stepped away and glanced down at himself, as if to convey what he meant. He… was definitely in need of a good clean himself. Was he suggesting what she thought he was suggesting? When she had decided D’min was more then a casual interest things had progressed quickly, but V’than hadn’t seemed the type to jump rashly into anything… Then again, he had kissed her first. Pressed her into the sand.

He continued his retreat, and her arms began slipping downward, regretfully. It was so much colder, and just with those few steps he was too far now. He grabbed one of her hands as she was forced to loosen her last remaining grip on him, and squeezed her hand, then tugged on it. She was stepping toward him when a brief flash of panic crossed his face, and without any other warning he dropped her hand and dashed away. Her mouth fell open, surprised, and then realizing he was grabbing something from the departing Saruth, she threw her head back and laughed.

“I suppose you should.” She gave another small laugh, reaching out with her hand for his and then tugging him after her. “Here I thought you had changed your mind and was making your escape.” She tsked twice and shook her head. “I just need to grab a few things first.” She led him to the candidate quarters, and stopped before the door, realizing she couldn’t very well take him into the women’s quarters. Or could she? It was the middle of the day… No, better to leave him here for the moment. She didn’t need to be so close to him and a bed at the same time just yet. She really needed to get cleaned up first. “I’ll be right back.” She almost left but turned back and quickly got on her toes and planted a quick kiss, and then backed away quickly, gave him a wink, and entered through the doors.

She ran to her cot, scrambled for a clean pair of clothes and other oddities she would need. Folded neatly she tucked it under one arm, and then emerged from the candidate quarters with a smile. She reached for his hand. “So brownrider,” A sudden curiosity interrupted her initial question, “What was your name before Suruth?” Then without missing a beat and before he could answer her, back to the initial, “and when will I get to meet your sister? I want to know everything about you, but I have a feeling she is one of the most important aspects in your life…” She started moving toward the bathing caverns, but walked closely to him so her arm would be pressed up against his.

[tovaana]

Weyrling V’than :: Brown Saruth

He chuckled and shook his head at her tease, but he liked the feeling of her pull him after her. Change his mind? Shards, only if he could but change this rush of feelings. And the intrigue he felt about her. He wanted to believe that it wasn’t all physical, but… he couldn’t be sure, he’d never felt like this. As a boy with Pearl, everything paled in comparison. It was a dangerous path, since he felt like he was going down it blind – but it felt right, so what more was there? No need to complicate it, right? No, he didn’t want to change his mind. Perhaps it would have been better to just drop her off, rinse off later – his actions felt irrational… it reminded him of men in general and how they acted like fools around women. He’d never really been interested enough, or perhaps he’d always been too distracted or focused on his work, to have time for something like this?

V’than’s thoughts were muddied by desire as he followed after her, letting her guide him – even if he knew exactly where he was. A slow smile formed at her kiss as she left him there standing, his chest aching from the teasing kiss. Perhaps it had been more endearing than teasing – or a promise? To return? Or perhaps something to leave with him while he waited those long moments thinking of the whirlwind of events that had led to him standing waiting for her. The memory of the second kiss was still fresh and he played it over in his mind, the way her body felt against his…

Her hand announced her arrival before he otherwise realized she was there and his jaw tightened, his hand squeezing hers a little roughly for a moment as he focused on her in that moment. Her words brought him back to Pern, thinking about her questions with a small smile. “You’re not wrong.” Though, for being important, he hadn’t seen her in a while… perhaps he should see her and tell her about Riasu, introducing the idea of her, before surprising her with his new… friend…

There was also the idea of introducing family he had thought about when she had said she wanted to see his boat, but now she was talking about meeting family... how was he supposed to introduce her? He’d only known Riasu a day. Perhaps, like he was courting her? Was he? Shards he’d only known her a day… “Vavithan… my sister calls me Vavi still sometimes.” He shook his head with a shrug, then remembered that she'd probably know dragons before people. “She rides a speckly green named Rylath.” Then realized… not there was a reason for Muze to be in the bathing caverns, but… what if she was? Shells he hoped whenever it was, it wasn't now. "We actually haven't spoken in a bit... ever since she impressed, our relationship has been changing and I've been trying to... I dunno, give her space or something." He said this in a quieter tone, his stomach squirmed at the idea that Muze could be right around the corner, but he wasn't going to let go of her hand just because something could happen. 

His anticipation dissipated as they entered the bathing caverns, the echoes of occasional water being disturbed or chatter became a background noise… Muze was probably not here. Now, what? He’d been so intent on just not being separated from her and wanting to be close and he had tried not to think hard about this moment, but now it was here. “Do you think you or your future dragon will elide your name? There’s a blue rider in my class that did that, I hadn’t known it was a thing.” He decided to just converse, delaying the actual moment of bathing. It’s not like she hadn’t seen him shirtless…His eyes took turns glancing at her conversationally, and glancing around to see if there was a good spot where he could rinse off quickly.

[kevna]

Riasu - Candidate

He had seemed distracted when she had returned to him, but the way his hand had roughly tightened on her own comforted her. She watched him carefully as they began moving toward the bathing caverns, a smile of her own reflecting his. She couldn’t help it, his smiles were infectious. For how quiet he seemed, at least he was free with his smiles, and they were genuine. Vavithan. She chuckled at his nickname his sister, V’than fit the man much better then Vavi, but she wondered at the kind of boy he had been.

Ah, the speckly one! “Rylath, yes, I’ve seen her in the air a few times. Her hide is beautiful.” She had recently seen the green in the air when the green had risen, but she thought bringing up that with the brother of the rider wouldn’t be tactful. Her eyebrows rose as she heard him discuss their changing relationship. Was it the dragons? Did impressing dragons affect relationships so much. Riasu had to mentally remind herself that both V’than and Muze were new to the weyr life, not just dragonrider life-but she wondered… How important was she in her own family members life in comparison to their dragons?

“You must miss her.” She gave him a comforting squeeze of the hand as they walked into the caverns. She looked around for a suitable empty area for them, though she had an idea of a semi separated area that her feet automatically took her to. It was empty! And a little more private, but not much. She led him to the side of the pool, giving a long ‘Hmmm’ as if thinking about his question. She had never considered her name being elided. Ever. She liked her name the way it was. “Well…” She said slowly, putting her stuff down and taking off her shirt without much thought to the specific action, her mind was distracted by the question. She turned to him with a shrug. “I like my name. I’ve never considered it being elided by my dragon. I have wondered at the significance of the names changing, but…” She went to work on her pants, unbuttoning them. “I don’t think it would feel right… What is it like having your name change in one moment? Did it feel… Right?”

[tovaana]

Weyrling V’than :: Brown Saruth

He nodded, thinking of Muze’s speckled green and how she almost glittered in the sunlight when oiled. She was definitely a beautiful creature, perfect for Muze... flights and all... He wasn’t sure why he felt so uncomfortable with the idea of Muze with random men when Rylath rose - besides the fact that they were random men. It was perfectly normal in the Weyr, but it just seemed… wrong. In any hold it would be considered promiscuous and frowned upon, but suddenly it was okay in the Weyr? His mind was having a hard wrapping his mind around that one… which, then, it would make sense that if he chose to court Riasu, he shouldn’t court anyone else, right? Or, did Riasu see it that way? She grew up in a Weyr, perhaps he was one of many, though the way she had pulled away from his first kiss told him otherwise… He was overthinking things. 

He glanced down at the hand she squeezed and gave a small smile, but he was too distracted by his thoughts to appreciate her concern. His glancing around seemed unneeded, Riasu seemed to have found a spot and was leading them to it. It was more secluded – but what surprised him was he had assumed that they’d separate, clean, then reunite at the end… but that wouldn’t make sense, would it? Since they had separate activities to do after they cleaned up. The whole point of his was to spend more time with her…

Then suddenly she was taking her shirt off. He didn’t step away from her, but he did look away toward the water. He supposed… if they were to get clean… that was the next thing to do. He felt a little wherry-brained, as if he hadn’t known she was going to take her clothes off. Distractedly he took his own shirt off, listening to her own distracted words, and tossed his shirt off to the side. As he did so he glanced at her, his heart caught at the sight of her lithe dark form – she was beautiful. Her fingers started to unbutton her pants, and he looked away, trying desperately to think about her question and not that more of her clothes were coming off.

He started walking toward the water with his pants still on, he half considered entering with them on and taking them off in the water. It wasn’t like he hadn’t bathed in the busy caverns before… but he’d never glanced around; he’d gone in, gotten clean, and was out before he recognized anyone. Shards, this was different, right? “I dunno… I think it felt strange at first. I guess it kinda feels like V’than is a different person than Vavithan – or that V’than is changing into a different person… Weyr life is a tad different than life in a hold.”

He’d forgotten his bathing sands in his satchel, where he’d tossed his shirt to. Shards and shells. He turned, but glazed over her form, focusing on his bag as he moved toward his satchel. He shrugged as he dug through the bag and found the pouch of bathing sands and pulled them out. “It feels right now, though. Especially coming from Saruth. I think the weird part is going back home, half the town is still getting used to my elided name.” Maybe if they kept talking, they could have a... normal conversation while cleaning off, he stood up, not quite turning back yet, listening to see if Riasu had gotten into the water yet.

[kevna]

Riasu - Candidate

He had walked toward the bathing cavern with his pants on, and her eyebrow raised as she wondered if he would get into the water with them on… Surely not? He hadn’t looked at her directly since she had started undressing, and she gave a small smile. A gentleman indeed. Riasu squirmed out of her pants, but left her undergarments on. She could slip them off once she was fully emerged. Bath sands in hand and a towel for when she got out over her arm, she passed him as he moved back towards his back. She got another look at his broad chest and swallowed the desire that coursed through her. They would have to be fast, and she would need to stay focused on actually cleaning up. His words were a good reminder of how foreign weyr life must be for him, and she wondered briefly if he was uncomfortable. Had he never bathed with a woman before? Just how different was hold life?

She placed her sands and towel beside the bathing pool, and slipped in, crouching down so she was more or less covered from her breasts down. She slipped her undergarments off as she listened to V’than speak, amused as how his back was still to her… She decided to be compassionate, grabbing a handful of sand and turning so he could undress and slip in. She waded further out and dipped her head back to get her black hair wet, scrubbing the handful of sweetsand into the tresses. “Hmm, your name sounds right to me… I’m sure they’ll get it eventually…” She submerged herself completely and shook her hair out, running her hands over it to try and cleanse it from the sweetsand. She emerged and shook out her hair out again, which had gained five to six inches getting wet, and now hung below her shoulder blades. It always felt so much heavier when soaked.

She turned to face V’than, crouching low again so not to embarrass him, her jaw just touching the water. “How exactly is Hold life in comparison to the Weyr? Other then dragons of course.” She tilted her head with a large grin, “I’ve never really been to a small hold, only to Ierne Hold, and few others for gathers, like Jask.” She needed more sweet sand if she was going to finish bathing, and she gave a mischievous grin as she approached him, though she gave him a wide enough berth when she felt like she was close enough to make him slightly uncomfortable. Grabbing another fistful of sand, she considered how to scrub her body, realizing it would be easier to emerge enough to do it. Shards, men had it so much easier.

[tovaana]

Weyrling V’than :: Brown Saruth

He heard the water ripple as it made way for her body. His head half turned as she told him that his name sounded right to her. It was another strange compliment, like she had said his voice had been nice, and now his name sounded right. He quickly slipped his pants off, deciding it was better to just… not think too hard about anything. He couldn’t very well pretend she was one of the coarse fishing men the would bathe at the same time back at the hold – since there were certain times for women and men to bathe separately. V’than decided it was better to just rinse off, he knew that he hadn’t thought through the situation enough… or he had, and was realizing he shouldn’t have followed that desire.

Once the pants were off, he grabbed a hand full of salts, deciding he’d just clean parts of him and be done. With the way he was acting around Riasu, he didn’t trust himself around her with no clothes on.

The caverns were dimly lit, which was good he convinced himself, as he slid into the warm waters. He still didn’t look up at her, nor did he take his undershorts off. He’d be quick. Very quick. He dunked under and came up, blinking away water and seeing her face just above the water. Even with not being able to see anything, just knowing she was there and with his imagination – it was the final realization that he’d been a fool. This was not something one would do in a Hold when courting a woman.

He flashed a brief smile and glanced at her when she asked her question about hold life. He decided to leave out the detail about men and women bathing at separate times. What else could he say about it, other than the blaring difference that he couldn’t stop thinking about? The ache to be close to her was now torn with the propriety of doing so in this situation. “Well, dragons are the difference though.” He said with a shrug. He glanced up again, but took his hand full of wet cleaning sands and rubbed his chest and underarms. He’d have to full on bathe another time when he didn’t have a pretty lady befuddling his thoughts. “I mean… there are women on fighting dragons.” He shrugged again, as if that spoke for itself. “It’s just the culture… if boats were to holds, like dragons are to Weyrs, you’ll find far fewer women on boats…” He glanced up again, this time trying to hold her gaze without thinking about anything lower than her neck. He was done scrubbing, so he crouched to submerge himself to rinse, still thinking about her question. “And… I’m not sure if it’s because of the way people react to green and gold flights… but I don’t know.” He frowned in thought, thinking of his sister and his uncomfortable feelings on that subject. “It’s just different. Maybe you'll see it when we visit my family's hold.”

[kevna]

Riasu - Candidate

Riasu noticed how his eyes avoided her, and she didn’t miss the fact that he hadn’t stripped fully. She took her new handful of sand and moved farther out, farther away from him. She really didn’t want to make him uncomfortable. She caught his smile before she turned away from him, emerging enough to get her upper body scrubbed, listening as he admitted the main difference was dragons. She glanced over her shoulder to let him know she was listening as he described boats as the dragons of Holds and ducked under the water just to her neck. She ran the left-over sand over her legs under the water, then turned back to face V’than keeping her body submerged, catching his gaze just in time.

She waited for his musing on the differences to finish, considering his words. Women on fighting dragons. Not many women on boats… What did the women do then? Have babies and feed their family? It seemed like a dull life for women-she would not have thrived in a Hold from the sounds of it, and thanked Faranth for her good fortune. She gave a wry smile and shook her head, moving back to where her clothes were, ready to get out… “It is near impossible to deflect the feelings flights arise. Especially gold flights.” She wondered if he preferred the Hold traditionalist style, his women more docile. “But I wouldn’t live anywhere else… I don’t think I would fit in well with Holder women. I prefer… a little adventure.” She also knew she tended to be a bit rebellious, one to avoid following every rule strictly.

She reached for her towel, waiting to give him the opportunity to look away, and then pulled herself out and wrapped it around her. Quickly dabbing herself dry and grabbing her underclothes, which she struggled into while still wrapped in her towel. Shards, modesty was so inconvenient. Once she had her underclothes securely on, her towel dropped and she began getting dressed. “So, then did Muze not join you on the boat… expeditions? Is that what you call your outings?” She chuckled, showing off her obvious lack of knowledge. “Does she know how to fish?” Or was she more of a house chores woman? Shards, no wonder Muze had been so quick to up and leave.

[tovaana]

Weyrling V’than :: Brown Saruth

He glanced in the direction of Saruth, even with him not present, at the mention of flights. His dragon had not shown any interest in chasing the greens, even with browns his age starting to chase. Perhaps he was slower in that regard? Or…V'than had heard there were dragons just not interested. Perhaps that was Saruth. “Unless you have a dragon like Saruth, he hasn’t shown much interest in chasing." He wasn't sure if he was bitter about that or not, he kept thinking he was glad he hadn't woken up in a strange woman's bed... but also, was he missing out on something? And he’d only had the one gold flight so far- he’d been alone, and grateful for it, at least... he thought he was. He was still struggling with that part of Weyr culture. 

He chuckled, moving toward the edge of the pool, when she mentioned adventure. He shrugged. “Different adventures. Muze always found ways to make adventures.” And then get in trouble, most of the time – but they had gotten smarter and got caught less the older they got. V’than turned away from the edge of the pool as Riasu made motion to get out, waiting as she spoke – letting his mind focus on her words rather than her actions. His hands swirled in the pool, smiling down at the water at her effort of talking about fishing.

He glanced over his shoulder as she was putting on her clothes and moved to get out of the pool, feeling the tension roll from him as they reclothed. He shook his head with a chuckle, thinking about her last question again. “Probably better than I do. She didn’t go out on fishing trips, but she spent time fishing from shore.” He then realized he was feeling a little defensive of his hold town, though it didn’t leak into his feelings too much, so his words remained conversational. “Women do a lot of taking care of the fish when we come back with our loads… though, that’s usually a team effort with young to old when loads come in.” He realized that he didn’t know exactly what they did do… except from the complaining that Muze did. “I’d take Muze out and teach her all I knew, though.” He tacked on, thinking of how Muze tried so desperately to prove she was as good as any man and to try and convince their father to let her go out.

Before he knew it, V’than was clothed and they were done. He was disappointed that it was over, and at the same time relieved. He was getting tired of his split feelings. “Could I escort you to your next destination? I should go unpack Saruth, after I drop you off of course.” He flashed a half grin at the thought of his sweet dragon waiting for him.