A Gift for Jarshan

[Ise]

D’ero was use to waking up early in the mornings and this one was no different. Well slightly different. A slight breeze on his bare skin caused him to wake up this morning. A breeze in places that he wasn’t use to. He frowned a little as he sat up, sore and stiff after a night spent sleeping on the rocks. And there had been other things as well hadn’t there? Finally opening his eyes he glanced around, the memory of the night before coming back to him quickly. He wasn’t sure how to feel about what had happened. He had enjoyed himself and he was pretty sure Jarshan had as well.

Standing up a bit he stretched and worked some of the kinks out of his body as he tried to find where his clothing had gone. There was his shirt and a pair of pants that turned out to be Jarshan’s. And a knife, and over there was another knife and he was pretty sure he saw the glint of a third one.

Of course now he had to wonder just where Jarshan was. He wasn’t too worried, it was unlikely that she would have ran away without her knifes. Pants he could almost believe but not without her weapons.
I assume she’s washing up, she went to the stream and I thought it would be rude to continue watching her. I think that’s your job now.
D’ero grins widened a bit, he couldn’t seem to get rid of it. He was just happy with how well things had gone. He thought he had gotten lucky when Jarshan had agreed to join him for dinner. Getting even luckier hadn’t been part of his plan.

He thought of trying to meet Jarshan at the stream but decided to give her a little time to herself. Instead he put on his pants and continued searching for the rest of their scattered clothing, finding it all and bringing it back to the blanket. He made two neat piles of clothing and then went back to trying to stretch out a little more until Jarshan came back.

When she did come back, she went straight to the wine. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad one and decided not to comment on it, instead giving her a moment to have her drink.
“Morning. Hope you didn’t sleep too badly last night.”

[Marnark]

Jarshan flashed him a grin. "Good morning." She answered, putting the stopper back in the bottle and slipping it back into the basket. There was no intention of getting drunk - or even tipsy. Her intention was solely to clear her head. She had long ago discovered that just a little wine in the morning after a night drinking did wonders to make it all go away.

"I slept alright." She agreed. "How about yourself." Picking up one of the sandwiches that had managed to stay inside the basket overnight, she tossed it at him. "Eat up." If he felt half as sore as she did, he was going to need it. Fishing another out, she walked over to where he had laid out their garments, munching on it contentedly.

She had no idea what to say, and for it opted to not say anything. Least said quickest mended, right? Sticking the sandwich in her teeth, she picked up her own pants and slid into them. Quickly the knives that were hers vanished into her clothes as if they had never existed. She picked his up, and offered it to him hilt-first. "Might want to sheathe that." she said after taking the sandwich out of her mouth with her spare hand.

It took a little hunting, but she found the tie she'd had in her hair the night before. Pulling it up again, she restored it to its place holding her hair back out of her face. The tips of some of the curls were wet from her washing, but the majority of it was still dry. She had taken pains to keep it that way, for a ride adragonback would have been absolute misery with a head of waterlogged hair.

What now, she didn't know. She was used to having a plan most of the time, but was capable of winging it as well ... and this felt like a situation that called for winging it. Playing it by ear. D'ero still seemed fairly happy ... if not rather smug. Young stud had gotten exactly what he'd wanted.

[Ise]

“A little stiff this morning but considering I was sleeping on a rock I slept well.”
He tried hard to hide his grin but failed and instead took the sandwich and tried to busy his mouth with something else other then grinning like an idiot. He was glad that she had thought of the food, at the first bite he realized how hungry he was after everything they had done the night before. A few large bites and the sandwich was gone and he felt a little more awake.

He was a bit disappointed that she put the rest of her clothes on but kept that to himself. She looked good in her leathers but far better outside of them. But she did have things to do today while he would be able to spend the rest of his reflecting on the night before. Reflecting in private. D’ero did take his knife back and replaced it in the sheath on his belt.

The young man continued to go around without his shirt on, the cooler morning air felt good now that he had pants on.
“Do I have time to go splash some water on my face and wake up a little more or do I need to get you back to the Weyr right away?”
He didn’t want to make her late for her meeting but he didn’t want to rush getting back to the Weyr either. It was nice to have a little private time with Jarshan, even if some of it was being spent in an awkward silence. He didn’t mind the silence, things had happened a little faster then he had expected them to. But both of them had wanted it and had probably needed that as well.

[Marnark]

"You should practice more often." She commented, though it was hard to tell if she was making fun of him or if she was serious about sleeping on rocks. It didn't take long and she wiped out her sandwich too. "We have time." Jarshan assured him, nodding for him to go ahead and wash up if that's what he wanted to do. "It's cold though." came the afterthought warning.

She twitched the blanket out more flat again, and sat down on it, gathering her ankles up under her thighs as she sat cross legged. As long as she was wearing normal cloth clothing, the blanket would be far more comfortable to sit on than open rock. While he washed up, she might as well spend the time thinking. Whether she had ever intended to actually get involved with him, before, (which she still didn't know) she was certainly involved now. It certainly bore some thinking, and she had better get her thinking on this matter done before she started the Shield's next mission. If she was off her game even a little for being distracted thinking about D'ero, it would tell. Potentially in a dangerous fashion.

Idly she reached down and scratched the sole of her foot, before wondering where her boots had gotten to. They were one item she couldn't accurately remember ever shedding, and as such had no idea where to look to find them. Getting to her feet again she searched the area until she managed to find them heaped up underneath a ground hugging bush. Pulling them out, she upended them and knocked them together to make sure there weren't any unfriendlies living in them.

She needed to talk to him ... but she didn't know about what. The questions in her own mind were not any more clearly defined beyond 'now what'. This was a new position for her ... never before had she gotten involved with anyone before she'd been good and ready for it. Jarshan finally supposed she had to first ask herself some key questions. Like what was it she wanted? Did she want to keep him around? That was the hinge pin, she was sure. If she didn't, it didn't matter now what. If she did, then everything mattered.

[Ise]

“If I get the chance to sleep out on a rock I will. And I’ll be back in a few minutes then.”
He started the walk to the stream, giving her a thumbs up to show that he had caught her warning. Of course he expected it to be cold but that wouldn’t bother him too much. It would help him wake up though and clear his head. He was still in that happy blissful state from the night before and as much as he enjoyed being happy like that, he knew he had to think about things.

Once at the steam, he splashed some cold water onto his face, not bothering to try and keep his hair dry. He made an effort to try and wash some of the dirt off his chest and the back of his neck. Once he got back to the Weyr he’d be able to wash up properly but until then his quick splashings would have to do.

Can you see her?

Of course. I’m not trying to spy on the two of you but I wasn’t going to go anywhere where I couldn’t keep an eye on you.[/i]

Well what’s she doing?

Sitting on the blanket. Oh no now she’s getting up and looking for something. Ah her boots. She’s not doing much of anything. Probably just doing the same thing as you, trying to figure this whole thing out.[/i]

A slight frown touched his face. Yes, the night before had probably lead to more questions then answers. He knew what he wanted, what he had slowly been working towards for a long time. He liked Jarshan, not as just a one night sort of thing. He wanted to be able to have an actual relationship, as hard as that was bound to be. But he had no idea what she wanted. She had yet to even agree to see him after this so far all he knew she was ready to be done with him.

Stop worrying about it. If she doesn’t want to see you again there’s nothing you can do about. Just go back and try to talk to her. She wasn’t in a rush to get out of here so she can’t hate you at least.

Simple and sound advice. He wetted his hands and ran them through his hair as he headed back to Jarshan, trying to fix his hair a little and make it more manageable. All but the back of his head was will to comply. Eh oh well the only person who would see the back of his head would be Jarshan when they flew back to the Weyr.

D’ero made no effort to hide his sounds as he came back and took a seat on the blanket next to the clothing he had yet to put back on. He looked over at Jarshan, a soft little smile on his lips as he watched her, even after sleeping outdoors on rocks and washing in a stream she still looked beautiful to him. What a sap he was turning into after only a night. He realized he probably looked a little silly just sitting there staring at her.
“So. I uh wasn’t expecting what happened last night to happen. I mean that wasn’t what I brought you here for. But I enjoyed what happened. And I hope that you aren’t regretting it now or too disappointed.”

[Marnark]

Jarshan glanced over at D'ero when he turned back up again, looking half way washed and half way sort-of brushed. He still had that smug look on his features, but she could hardly blame him for it. Walking back to the blanket she sat down again. Tucking one foot under the other knee, she stuffed a hand down into one of the boots to check it for leaves as she listened to him haltingly begin to talk.

Well ... at least she wasn't the only one left grasping for straws. "I wasn't expecting it either." She admitted, honestly, with a tone that was neither biting, sarcastic, or teasing. She was capable of civil converse, horrors! "But as we both know, it happened." Facts were facts after all. How exactly they had gotten from a wooden statue of a flit to romping way out in the jungle all night, she wasn't exactly sure. It was a good thing she wasn't going to have to explain how that had happened to anyone. She was pretty sure she couldn't do it.

Regret it? Jarshan snorted but did smile slightly, knocking the boot once more for good measure. "No, I don't regret it." She pulled it onto her foot and wiggled her toes to settle it on her foot before looking at him again. "Nor am I disappointed." She had never expected to react like that to being presented with a fellow. Maybe it had been altogether too long, she'd been alone just a smidge too long. "But neither do I know what to do. I don't normally do such things." At least, not with people she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to hang around with anyway. Those whom she had decided to keep at one time or another she had had no compunctions being romantic with.

But D'ero ... just what was it about him? He was defying everything, and succeeding at it too. He was a foreigner. Someone she ought to suspect and mistrust. He was too young for her. He was a dragonrider ... of an ilk she normally couldn't stand to be around. But here they were. And he'd just shattered her normal mode of operations, too. All in one fell swoop. He persisted, in his pursuit of her. How long had it been, now? Almost two full turns, and he was still tagging after her. Nevermind all the hurdles, never mind she hadn't given him an encouragement at all... she had to admit sometimes she'd been downright cold. Technically weyrlings were not supposed to enter into relationships, but he had certainly used the entirety of his trying to set up for one with her.

Most fellows, in any age group, would have given up long long time ago and gone to find a different mistress to fawn on. One that would be far more receptive to a fellow's advances. But D'ero didn't. Why?

"Why did you bring me here, D'ero?" Jarshan asked. "And I don't mean for a picnic. I know that part. Why me?"

[Ise]

Good she wasn’t upset about the night before which meant things couldn’t be too bad. And she had liked it which brought a little grin to his face. He had been worried that his performance wasn’t up to par after going so long but if she had liked it then he couldn’t be too rusty.
“Yea, I can’t say this is something very common for me either. I’ve never enjoyed the idea of one nighters.”
So he was hoping this wouldn’t be a one time thing.

He blinked a few times as she asked him why he had done this. Oh boy what a loaded question. He let out a breath, thinking about it for a minute before he even tried to answer it.
“Why not you? I mean to start with I first saw you I thought you were incredibly hot. Even when holding us captive and marching us to the Weyr. And then after Impressing and meeting you that one day, actually getting to talk to you… I mean you’re very good looking, you’re smart, you don’t try to sugar coat things and just speak your mind. The fact that you can kick my ass is a plus as well. And yes, I know that’s kind of odd but it’s true. I know that if I ever step outside your bounds you’ll make sure I know one way or another. I like the fact that you’re older then me as well. You know what you want, you aren’t going to flipflop about things”

He let out a little sigh, shaking his head a bit.
“That’s barely even touching why I like you Jarshan. Why you’re the only person I’d want to bring out here. Why I’ve spent two turns slowly testing to see if I even stood a chance. You weren’t always nice but you never told me to just stop talking to you. And I’m the only rider that I’ve ever seen you talk to where you didn’t look like you half wanted to slap them.”

D’ero shrugged a bit and ran his hand through his hair, trying to fix the back of it again. He didn’t think he had given her a very good answer but he didn’t know what else he could tell her. He could barely explain it to himself at times.

[Marnark]

Jarshan listened intently to his fumbling efforts to explain himself as she cleared and donned her other boot. What he said told her alot, but how he said it told her far more. That he was struggling with it and flailing all over the place for the right thing to try and express himself painted a whole other picture than if he'd been self confident, straight up answer.

She liked the answer, and one corner of her mouth quirked upward slightly. That he professed to not care for one night stands only added to it, falling in line with the picture that was showing behind his words.

"Well." She started, staring off into the thick of the jungle for a moment before turning to look at him. "You are the only Rider that doesn't annoy me. Don't ask me why." it was both flattering and somewhat scary to think that he'd been watching her that closely, that often. Was that how most people felt around her? Probably not. Because when she was watching people that closely, it was because they were fixing to die by her hand. D'ero wasn't going to kill her, she was pretty certain.

She did wish he'd put his shirt on or something. Sitting there like that, he was being awfully tempting. Thankfully, this time around, she was better equipped to handle that, and could resist. Mostly. Rolling to her knees in preparation to get to her feet, she leaned toward him and kissed him. "Come on. We have places to be." She reminded afterward, her tone a whole different sound that was her typical dealing-with-the-world. It was an acceptance. Getting to her feet, she smiled down at him before moving the basket off of the blanket. Soon as he got up, she planned on picking the blanket up and folding it back into a manageable bundle.

[Ise]

He couldn’t help the small twitch of his lips as she as even she said he was the only rider who didn’t annoy her. He hadn’t been spying on her or anything like that, but there had been plenty of times in the Weyrhall when he had left her alone but still couldn’t help but watch her. And once in a while a dragon rider had made the mistake of approaching the Shield member. D’ero had always been amused by the interactions and had been glad that Jarshan had never given him such dirty looks.

The kiss froze him for a moment before a large grin broke out on his face. He quickly tried to hide it and look a little more professional as he got up. Boots when on first, after he knocked them together to get any rocks or spinners out of them, then he finally pulled his shirt back on.

He let Jarshan take care of gathering up the rest of the things and went to Horuth. He did a quick check of the dragon’s equipment, making sure it was all still on him properly. He felt a little bad that he hadn’t even thought of taking it off his dragon before the night but Horuth brushed it off.
If it had bothered me I would have told you. You had other things on your mind anyways.[/i]
The brown stretched out his wings and gave them a couple of test flaps before settling down again to wait.

D’ero returned to Jarshan. He did a quick double check of the area to make sure that nothing was getting left behind.
“Ready to go? You might even have time to get a real breakfast in before your Shield meeting.”

[Marnark]

Stuffing the folded blanket into the mostly emptied basket didn't take but a moment. Picking it all up off the ground, she stood still and watched as D'ero came back from checking his dragon and started looking the place over. He was thorough ... she liked that. Despite being young, he wasn't stupid. No matter what she might have said the night before.

"I am." She agreed. "But I doubt there will be time for breakfast. I have to go get changed for the mission after all." She pinched the front of her shirt and snapped it away from herself. "Would be kind of strange for me to show up in this, now wouldn't it?" No, cloth clothing just wouldn't stand up to what she did for a living. She grinned at him, and then turned to walk over to where Horuth was standing. Grabbing a hold of the dragon's cinch, she made sure she had a firm grip on the basket as well before she bounced up the dragon's foreleg and up onto his neck. Settling the basket on the far side against her leg, she looked back down at where D'ero was wandering around. "Ready when you are."

Despite the nonchalant appearance, her mind was still churning away. But on different things now than they had initially been. There were many things to think upon, after all. More pieces to get into position.

[Ise]

“Ah yea, I guess those aren’t very work appropriate clothes. Sorry that you won’t get the chance to enjoy a real meal then.”
Well, at least she had been able to get something in her, even if it was just a sandwich, better then nothing. He followed along behind her as she went to Horuth and easily made it up the dragon.
“You’re already getting on a dragon like a pro. I hope that won’t hurt your credibility with the Shield.”

He teased her a little before he climbed up his own dragon and taking his place. He did one more quick check of everything before he gave Horuth the silent command to take off. The brown crouched and pushed himself off and with a few wing beats he was off the ground and heading towards the Weyr. He flew faster this time, now that D’ero and him were both sure that Jarshan wasn’t going to fall off. Horuth did still keep the flight as smooth as he could but neither dragon nor rider wanted to cause Jarshan to be late to her meeting.

The flight went quickly and Horuth landed in the Weyrbowl. D’ero jumped down first this time and offered help to Jarshan if she needed it before taking the basket and blanket from her.
“So, are you going to continue to deny me that second date? Or will I get to see you when you get back from your mission?”

[Marnark]

Jarshan made sure to stay out of the way while D'ero mounted up. The last thing she wanted was to take a boot to the stomach after all. As big as he was, he probably kicked like an ox even when he wasn't actually kicking. After he settled in, she ooched forward again and wrapped her free arm around his chest. Resting her cheek on the back of his shoulder, she didn't say anything in reply to his quips as the dragon launched. It wouldn't do anything to the Shield other than make them look at her strange. She was the only one that she knew of that had issues with Riders. She wasn't worried or concerned about it though. What she did with her spare time was non of their business, even if they did try to rib her for it.

The ride back was quick ... considerably faster than the ride out. She didn't think about it much, knowing that thoughts about things like that could often lead down the wrong road. Incorrect assumptions and things of that nature. She wasn't looking for drama on any front. She'd already had enough of it, and it wasn't even real drama.

Once they were down in the bowl, she handed the basket down to D'ero before slipping down his shoulder herself. Bouncing lightly on her toes for a landing, she smirked at him. "Nah." She answered, cryptically. It took a moment for her to elaborate, and inform him whether that was a 'nah, no date', nor a 'nah, not denying'. "When I get back, I'll find you. Time you learned to cook." She winked at him, and gripped his forearm for a moment before walking away quickly. Before she quite made it to the nearest entrance, Naraja appeared from it and met her part way. The large spotted feline apparently had figured out how to open her door somehow, to get out. Pausing a moment to give D'ero a stare, the feline then turned and trotted after Jarshan back into the doorway to the tunnels.

[Ise]

D'ero raised an eyebrow slightly at Jarshan's 'nah' but didn't say anything. She had to be teasing him and trying to make him panic. Still, he didn't realize that he had tensed up a little until Jarshan said she would come find him. He grinned a little and nodded.
"Alright. I'll see you when you get back from your mission. Have fun."
He thought of telling her to be careful but though that would be dumb, she was always careful after all and he knew that she could take care of herself.

He watched her head into the Weyr, staring back at the large cat that came to greet Jarshan. Wow that was a big cat. And he hoped the look the cat had given him wasn't a dirty look of dislike but just the normal feline look of boredom. He didn't think it would be too amusing if Jarshan's pet cat didn't like him. D'ero shook his head a little and gave Horuth a pat on the leg.
"Come on big guy. Lets get washed up and then we can both enjoy a nice nap."