A Gift for Jarshan

[Ise]

D’ero did not get a little star eyed as he watched Jarshan move. He was better at hiding his thoughts then that. But he liked to watch the way the woman moved. She was graceful and didn’t waste any energy on unneeded motions. And after spending so much time around boys who could barely walk without tripping on their own feet it was always nice to see someone who had such control over their own body. He was also a little jealous of such things, he wasn’t clumsy but it would take turns and turns of work to ever be able to move half as well as she did, and Jarshan just made it look so natural.

What little weight she did put on him was easy for him to handle. Though he was rarely dealing with the large animals that he had as a crafter, he was still doing physical labor as much as he could. Once he felt her settle in behind her, he glanced back to make sure she would be safe there before nodding.
“Yes, just like that. And you made it look far better then I do. Now just hold on tight.”

Once he was sure Jarshan was holding on tight enough, he gave the silent command for Horuth to take off. The brown gave a hard push against the ground, launching himself into the air but trying to be as gentle as he could about it. His wings flapped a few times but mostly he just left his wings open and glided in an effort to make the ride smoother.

“You doing ok back there? Won’t be much farther, I promise.”
D’ero looked back again as he spoke, making it so Jarshan would actually be able to hear him with the wind whipping past. The chill of the air didn’t bother the rider much, he had grown up in a cooler environment and he was use to doing this. Hopefully between him being in front and with the coat, Jarshan was fairing well.

While the flight was short, the dragon could travel faster then someone going through the forest on foot could. Horuth flew straight towards the mountains, getting close to them before veering off to the side a little. He came to rest on one of the smaller hills at the foot of the mountain. It was not the prettiest of hills, more rocks the plant growth but the sound of water could be heard.
“We’ll get you down first then I’ll hand you the basket. Just a little bit of a walk and then we’ll be there.”

[Marnark]

"I'm okay." Jarshan replied, though she wasn't sure at all that D'ero could hear her at all for the wind. So she squeezed his ribs once to reassure him. She was indeed okay. Head turned to one side, she watched as the forest zoomed by underneath. It was an interesting perspective on her stomping grounds. Normally, she was below or in that canopy. There was little or nothing that could be seen through it, and she understood why the Shield had been made. What the Shield did, the Riders literally could not do. A dozen felines or whers could be stalking around down there, and never once be seen or tracked by a dragon in flight. Not that whers and dragons crossed paths often what with one being diurnal and the next nocturnal.

She was interested to note that Horuth never went between, like she had expected. She had thought they always did that, to get somewhere. Dragons? Flying straight to get somewhere? It was just odd. But then ... she was wearing his jacket. Going between with no jacket couldn't be healthy. So, she surmised that was what it was.

The area that they were flying toward, she was not terribly familiar with. Not only was it farther from the Weyr in a direction that there weren't a terrible lot of Holds, but it was toward the mountains. An area that even Shield did not take lightly. Once Horuth landed, she sat still for a moment despite D'ero's comments. The first thing she did was look and listen. She heard what she suspected was either a mountain brook, or a small waterfall, she wasn't sure which. There weren't very many animal noises, if any at all. At first this alarmed her, until she reminded herself that she wasn't sneaking along on foot. She was astride a dragon, which had probably terrified the snot out of anything else in the area.

A dragon. Right. Not much was going to mess with a dragon. She shifted her weight to one side, and hooked her leg over the brown's back to slide down his side to the ground. Once her feet were on the rock, she reached back up to take the basket from D'ero. "Have you been here often?" She asked.

[Ise]

Even if D’ero had been dressed for Between, he probably would have had Horuth fly there anyways. He enjoyed the peacefulness that came with flying, you could barely hear anything other then the wind rushing past your ears, the tree tops flying underneath you was the only thing you could see of the forest. There was nothing to distract you from your own thoughts.

Once they landed, D’ero looked back at Jarshan, wondering why she hadn’t gotten off before he realized what she was doing. He let her take her time, knowing that it was just one of those habits that would never be broken. Not that he minded, better to be safe then sorry. But aside from a few bugs, he had never been bothered by anything or seen much of the wildlife that lived near by. Dragons were not the most common sight here, and when they did come by they rarely stopped at this small little clearing, not with the Weyr so close.

Once she was on the ground, he handed her the basket and blanket before hopping off. He took the things back before looking around and nodding.
“Often enough. It’s quiet out here which is nice. And out of the way enough where I don’t get some of the dragon patrols coming by and asking me what’s going on. Nice place to come to when I just want a little time to myself. And it’s safe enough; we’ve never had any problems from the wildlife or the Holdless.”

He started to walk towards the sound of the water, keeping an eye on the ground for anything that might trip him up. Horuth stayed where he was for now, waiting for the two to get a little farther away before he slowly followed after. D'ero didn't want the dragon to be too far away in case something did happen but he also didn't want his dragon to be literally peaking over his shoulder the whole time he was with Jarshan.

They followed a slightly worn path in the ground, probably one that D’ero had made himself on his trips here. It went down the hill a bit, following along side a rocky outcrop before the rocks came to a stop in the form of a mouth of a small cave. A small little stream bubbled out of the cave and flowed down the hill and he followed it to the first bend. The stream was still small, and with the larger rocks that poked up from the middle of it, it was easy to cross it. At some point the stream must have been larger, large enough to cut away the side of the rocky hill making a nice clear area with a rocky over hang. The over hang kept the sun off of them and D’ero spread the blanket out over the smooth ground, setting down the basket and taking a seat.
“Sorry this can’t be something more… romantic. Like a nice waterfall or a field full of blooming wildflowers. But I like it here. Kind of simple but it’s relaxing.”

[Marnark]

Jarshan took the basket and blanket when they were handed to her, stepping back to give him room to hop down. She was fully prepared to carry the items wherever they were going, but he took them back. Jarshan didn't protest, not even saying a single word as he walked off down a faint footpath.

He came here often, yep. It didn't stop her from being slightly tense though, and quite glad she'd had the presence of mind (okay, habit) of packing some blades. Just in case. "They must run things really lax if you were able to run away to a hidey hole like this without anyone following you suspiciously." Jarshan mentioned, placing her feet carefully as she walked. Having her loose pantlegs swirling around her ankles was an odd sensation to her mind, given she was walking through a forest. Normally when she was out, she was glad in her leather outfit. The cave mouth drew her attention for a moment, curiosity piqued. But he didn't go that way, instead heading down the stream's bank. Without a word, she followed him still, senses alert to the surroundings.

Of course, having a dragon crashing about behind her walking through the forest made listening a moot point. She couldn't help but chuckle a little at what he said once they reached the destination. While he spread the blanket out, she looked out at the view that was presented at the location. "You were going for romantic huh?" She asked, glancing over at him with a grin. For whatever reason, she couldn't resist teasing him. But at the same time she wasn't averse to the whole idea either.

"I think you did well enough. Though I seriously would not call this public." Jarshan decided. "You could do anything out here, and no one would notice or care." The closest he'd gotten to public was their getting the basket and then mounting up. Silly boy.

[Ise]

“Well they’ve asked me a few times what I was up to. I told them it was a training thing. They bought it and then just left me alone. I think the riders are just stretched a little too thin. Or they just need someone from the Shield to take charge of things and whip them into shape. They’re also probably cocky and still think that dragons are untouchable and unkillable.”
The lax security had never bothered him much, at least not when it was working to his advantage. And for all he knew they were keeping some sort of eye on him when he came out here. He had never been bothered by anyone and for that he was grateful.

Making himself comfortable on the blanket, D’ero started to pull things out of the basket. He shrugged a little at her comment and managed to only blush a little instead of turning scarlet.
“Well, if I had had time I might have tried to do something more romantic. Probably try to get candles or something pretty to have instead of just rocks. I just thought this would be nice then sitting in the Weyrhall trying to have a conversation while fifty other people are trying to talk as well. But I’m glad you approve. Next time we can do something at the Weyr were it’ll be a little more public. Then you’ll have to explain to the rest of the Shield what you’re doing with some Northern kid.”

He smirked a little as he glanced up at her before pulling out the wine and pouring it into the cups and handing her one of them. He split up the sandwiches and other goodies as well, looking some what proud of the meal before them.
“How about next time you pick a public place for us to have a date at.”

[Marnark]

Wow. Dragonriders really were idiots. But then she already knew that. Must be something about having two minds crammed in one skull preventing them from operating at all. It was all mush in there. Jarshans certainly wouldn't trust the word of someones she considered suspect. Not at all. But well ... Riders would be Riders. She turned and walked over to where the blanket was, and lowered herself to sit on it cross-legged. Tucking her ankles up under her thighs, she watched as he carefully unloaded the basket.

"Candles would blow out up here before you'd get 'em lit." She pointed out, before grinnig a bit at his comment about 'some Northern kid'. Jarshan could well imagine that some of the Shield may not like her consorting with a Northerner, but they could stuff it. It was none of their business what she did in her spare time. If any of them thought they could tell her otherwise, they'd have to prove it. She rather fancied none of them would care to square off with her, not over something so trivial. A Shield duel would be a whole lot messier than a Rider duel, for sure.

But instead of remarking on that, she chose to poke fun at him again. "Already banking on a second date are you? Aren't you getting a little ahead of yourself there?" She teased, with a slight grin as she accepted the cup of wine. She also used it as a dodge to answering his quip about her picking the next place. Lifting the cup, she smelled the wine before taking a sip. "What are your Northern buddies going to think about you wandering around with me?" She asked.

[Ise]

She did make a point about the candles.
“Well flowers then. Something to make it seem like I had things a little planned out instead of doing this by the seat of my pants.”
So far he felt he was doing pretty good. Yes she teased him and poked fun at him but she wasn’t being mean about it. And if she could make fun of his mistakes then that meant she wasn’t too bothered by them.

D’ero chuckled a little and shrugged as he took a sip of the wine.
“Well since you’re not flat out saying no to a second date it means I haven’t messed anything up too badly. And if I think I have a chance at a second date, I won’t be worrying so much about this one.”
Maybe he was getting a little ahead of himself but he was telling her the truth. And well he was really hoping he could get a second date out of her. And then a couple more after that.

He thought about the other Expedition members for a moment, wondering what they would think about this. But, like Jarshan, he ultimately didn’t care what they thought. He had never been that close to any of the others anyways, he had been pleasant and polite to them. But other then Osaris he had couldn’t say that he had spent much time with any single one of them. And he hadn’t seen much of Osaris lately anyways.
“I almost don’t think any of them will even notice. I was not the most social or talkative person there, I was a little busy being seasick on the boat. And if they do care? I’ll tell them to shove it and find something else to worry about.”

[Marnark]

Flowers. Jarshan didn't say so, but she was glad he hadn't. Flowers just weren't her thing, really. All they would really do was make her feel awkward at best. She'd already done the whole flower thing already. Granted she'd done the whole relationship thing already a few times over. So that was an unfair thought. "Doing things on the fly is more fun sometimes." She commented, before sipping her wine again.

Normally she refused to imbibe anything even vaguely alcoholic. Simply on the principle that it dulled the senses and impaired judgment. That didn't mean she didn't like wine though. And she certainly had her favorite kinds. This one wasn't too bad, she supposed. Tasted good enough to drink. Mostly she drank it to be polite. But because she partook of it so rarely, she could already feel the slight effects just those sips were having on her normally insanely sharp senses. Most people, used to blundering through their world, would never have noticed. Resting the cup on her thigh, Jarshan reached over to pick up something else. A sandwich was good ... she didn't even bother to note what it was made of before taking a hearty bite out of the corner.

"Don't count your flitters before they Impress." She cautioned, though she was still teasing at the same time. She had to admit that he hadn't done anything yet to make her deny him another outing. He was certainly gungho enough and not shy at all about what he was about. It was no secret what he wanted from her. It was a little surprising to her, to have a Rider so forthright without any underhanded manipulation going on. But then, the whole reason why she was here at all was because he wasn't a normal Rider.

But sandwiches were dry things, and she ended up drinking more of the wine just to wash it down. Which ... ended up in her finishing off the cup of liquid quite before she'd realized that she had. "Huh." But she covered up that comment by continuing on. "I'd never have taken you for the seasick type. I hope you don't have a problem with heights." More teasing ... probably a little over the top she realized after the words were out. After all ... he'd already been flying for awhile now, and they were right now parked in a spot where there was a massive view out and down.

Then she managed to completely ruin her graceful and in-control image by choking on a bite of sandwich. Coughing for a bit, she managed to hack it back up again and get it down the right pipe. "Ouch." Yeah ... the scary Jarshan was still mortal!

[Ise]

“Since this is working for me so far I’d have to agree. If there’s a next time, maybe I’ll continue to try and keep it random. It won’t be so bad once I learn to not put my foot in my mouth.”
Drinking did not have as much of an affect on D’ero. If he really got into it he would talk to much, which was how he had gotten himself into this whole mess of going south in the first place. But it took a lot of alcohol to do that. His size helped him and he enjoyed a drink once in a while, not enough to get drunk but enough to help him relax a little and be a little more social at times.

He munched on a sandwich, a little half grin on his lips as she gave him the warning. So far he had a good feeling about everything but he wasn’t going to start making plans for a second date until she had agreed to one. He was going to stay confident about it though. Confidence was better then being mousy about things. And she knew what he wanted, if she decided that she didn’t want a second date then she would probably end this one right away.

He frowned a little as he remembered just how sick he had been on the boat. It was a good thing he had never had an interest in the ocean, the ocean hated him.
“I was horrible sick almost the whole time we were at sea. I don’t know what it was about the ocean but if I had to sail back to the North I’d never get there. I’ll stick to land and air now. And no, I’ve always enjoyed heights. I was always the kid volunteering to go help fix a roof just for the chance to be above everything.

D’ero sipped at his wine before sitting up at Jarshan started to cough. He sat forward, his arm hovering near her, not sure if he should try to pat her on the back or what and only relaxing once she seemed to hack up whatever she had been choking on. He sat back again, snickering a little as he took another bite of his sandwich, chewing it slowly and make sure that he could swallow it without choking.
“You ok there? Need a little more to drink to help wash that down?”
He was still grinning a little bit, it was kind of nice to see Jarshan get a little choked up on something. Even if it was just a piece of food.

[Marnark]

Jarshan cleared her throat and used the back of a finger to wipe the choke-tears from the corners of her eyes. "I'm okay." She answered, sounding just a touch hoarse for a moment. Another throat clearing and her voice returned to normal ... or at least fairly close to it. "Yeah, probably." She extended the hand with the cup in it. "I breathed it is all."

She smiled slightly at him, and definitely noticed when he shifted from going to 'when' to 'if' in reference to the next date. She hadn't meant to jade him, but he was apparently listening. Which was refreshing. "Are you saying you can't handle any rocking and rolling?" She teased, unable to help herself. Again, she only thought better of it after she'd done gone and said it. That ... really wasn't going to help matters any, and it would probably only make his ears turn red again.

Or, maybe he wouldn't catch the double statement.

[Ise]

He refilled her cup, and added a little more to his own.
“Ah, yea you’re suppose to swallow your food, not try to breath it in.”
He grinned a bit and took another drink of wine before he almost spat it back out at her question. Now it was his turn to choke a bit. He coughed and smacked his chest with his fist a bit before he finally got control of himself. At least his face was red this time from both the question and the choking.

“Uh no. No, not all rocking and rolling make me ill. Just the ocean. Every other kind is good with me.”
He nodded a bit before distracting himself with draining the rest of his wine and pouring himself another. He wondered if she had done that one on purpose or not. She was going to make it awfully hard not to put his food in his mouth if she said more things like that.

“So uh when was the last time you went rocking and rolling. On the ocean I mean. When was the last time you were on a boat. Or have you even been on one before.”
No, his mind was not stuck in bad places.

[Marnark]

Well ... so much for him not noticing the loaded question. Jarshan couldn't help but grin at the reaction though, taking a sip off her refilled cup to help wash down her own choking session. She had no worries over whether or not he'd be okay though. It was just wine, and he was a healthy lad. It would come back up. Even if he did end up hoarse afterward from it. "You were saying?" She asked, unable to stop herself from poking at him yet again. "Was that supposed to be an example of what not to do? Or how to do it better?"

Jarshan smirked to herself for a moment as he stumbled over answering that comment. He did pretty well, all things considering... what with having been choking and what not. But goodness was he putting away the wine now! "Hey, don't go getting drunk on me. I can't steer your dragon." She warned.

Nothing would stop the titters that came at his return question. "Those are two very different questions, my friend." She pointed out. "Especially since I've never been on the ocean." On a lake, sure. On occasion. But he'd asked about the ocean. "As for the other ... well ... let's just say that you're not quite that privileged to know things of that nature." She winked at him, and then grinned as she buried her nose in her own cup again.

[Ise]

“I didn’t bring enough wine to get drunk on so don’t worry.”
He looked a little sad at that, being able to get drunk and forget some of the stupid stuff he was saying didn’t sound like such a bad idea. At least she seemed to take the question pretty well. And even had fun teasing him with it.

He resisted the urge to finish off another cup of wine and just nodded instead before he snatched up a piece of fruit. If his mouth was full of food he might not say something stupid. At least not for another couple of minutes.
“Well one day you can go out on the ocean and see how much you enjoy that kind of rocking and rolling.”

He bit his tongue as Jarshan informed him he wasn’t privileged enough to know about that. At least not yet. He was a little curious about it but he wasn’t that stupid or drunk to even think about asking. Still, her playful attitude about it was a good sign for him. He grinned a little and pulled his knife off his belt, cutting a slice off the fruit and holding it out to Jarshan.
“Want some or are you just interested in the wine now?”

[Marnark]

"You didn't?" Jarshan asked, taking a second look askance at her own cup ... which somehow was nearly empty again. Hn. Maybe he hadn't filled it all the way. Surely she hadn't drunk that much of it! Faranth ... she hoped she hadn't. That was a lot of wine. For her anyway. She was certainly feeling tipsy already. Faranth ... was she drunk already? Had she really drunk all that wine?

"Maybe." She agreed absently, finishing off what was left in her cup without even thinking about it. Setting the cup down on the blanket, she looked out at the view for a moment before turning her gaze toward D'ero again. There was him and his knife again, carving on something else. He sure liked to carve on things. Leaning over, she reached out to accept the piece he offered her. "There are lots of things more interesting to me than wine." She pointed out. Again she smelled the item before sticking it in her mouth and chewing thoughtfully. For once she didn't prod him or make fun of him, her statement completely benign.

Goodness, she really had had too much wine. The world was a bit ... well ... she giggled. Leaning back, Jarshan for once didn't seem to have a care or worry about the surroundings, instead just laying on the blanket and looking up at the sky and cliff overhead. "Hm!"

[Ise]

D’ero grinned a little as Jarshan seemed to double check her cup. He hadn’t brought enough to get drunk on himself but clearly he had brought enough for her. It hadn’t been his plan for her to get drunk. At least she seemed to be a happy drunk and not one of those angry ones. He did slid the rest of the wine back though, as amusing as it was to see Jarshan like this, he didn’t want to risk her getting sick or have something even worse happen.

He cut himself a piece of fruit, eating it slowly and raising an eyebrow slightly at her.
“And what kind of things to you find interesting?”
He was curious to the sort of things she liked, especially outside of her Shield stuff. The date gave him a chance to learn a little more about her, and in a setting where work might not be the first thing that came to mind for her.

Though she was drunk, she at least seemed pretty happy about everything. He stayed sitting up but did scoot a little closer to her and glance up at the sky and rocks she was peering at while giggling before he cut himself another slice of fruit.
“Enjoying that view hm? It’s better at sunset. And sunrise I’m sure but I’ve never stayed here long enough to see that one.”