Quiet after the Storm (R'gar)

[Marnark]

She felt of her face ... it took R'gar a moment of thought to figure out why she was doing that, and then he felt like something of an idiot. Oh, duh. Wow. His mannerisms and comments were so very geared toward sight that he hadn't even realized. It made talking to someone who couldn't see ... rather interesting. But then, that was part of why he liked her. She was thought provoking, and she was so very adaptable. Finding ways around obstacles that sighted people did not have.

"Not noticed me. Noticed that you spent the night here in my weyr." R'gar corrected. "People notice me, just not in that fashion. I tend to ... ah. Well. I don't go out of my way to garner personal attention most of the time. On top of that, when I first came here I was an outsider, a stranger. After that, I was a weyrling for two years. Weyrlings are not allowed relationships, due to something with the young dragons mentality. I'm not entirely sure exactly." R'gar shrugged, and then stopped himself mid-gesture. Shards, he was bad at that.

"And you were there when I graduated. It wasn't that long ago." He added as Imp rolled over onto his back, filling up the plate that still sat in her lap. Hanging onto her forearm with all four feet, he licked all over her hand making sure every last scrap of sweetness was washed from her fingers.

[Lady Smara]

As Prontin listened she attempted to grasp the ideas and concepts that R’gar was telling her about. It made sense, she supposed, that some people would turn a cold shoulder to the men and women from the North, though she herself had been fascinated with J’zen – and had her and R’gar met under different circumstances that first time, she would believe that she would have been equally fascinated with him.

Finding the little Imp flipped over on his back, she scratched idly at his stomach though her attention remained on R’gar. She remembered that graduation, and the dance with J’zen that had ended with R’gar very upset with the pair. Pulling at her lower lip with her teeth, she hesitated before finally speaking what was on her mind.

“I’m sorry about that night. I hadn’t thought of my ankle when J’zen asked me to dance…” To be honest, she was having a difficult time telling if R’gar was mad at J’zen or at her for it. He had directed everything at J’zen, but she had felt the lash of his words that evening. She had been careful to continue to baby her ankle since then.

[Marnark]

R'gar winced when she spoke, and held his silence for just a moment. "You have nothing to be sorry for, Prontin. I understood your desire to dance, and I also understood that you thought it would be okay. I am really sorry that went down the way it did, but J'zen ... I wish he'd listened instead of tangling it into something it wasn't and arguing with me. It could have gone so much better than it did. I just didn't want you to get hurt." He sighed, and scrubbed his face with one hand. "Next dance, you should be able to dance with him all night if you want."

Truth be told, he just didn't like J'zen period, and he hoped the bluerider-harper stayed far away from Prontin. For Prontin's sake. She had enough difficulties in life without being used like that.

Imp crooned, the sound coming out warbled for all the licking he was doing. But then he apparently decided he was done, and she was done, rolling back over and leaping out of her lap into the air. Winging around the weyr really fast for one circuit, he chirped and flew out the opening into the morning sky. Where to, was anyone's guess. But that was normal for him.

R'gar watched him go, and then looked at Apollath for a moment before returning his gaze to where Prontin was seated. "Do you like J'zen?"

[Lady Smara]

While Prontin could not see the wince that crossed R’gar’s face at her words, she did hear the change in his voice when he next spoke. Listening to his words, Prontin was quiet this time, allowing the silence to stretch before Imp let out a croon and took off. Ducking slightly, she considered what R’gar had said as much as what his tone said behind the words. It was hard to tell if it was the healer R’gar speaking when he spoke of her getting hurt, or if it was the rider R’gar.

His question came, his voice almost distant and braced, as if he knew a hit was about to come his way. Unsure about both the question and his tone, she hesitated a moment as she thought of her answer. She didn’t know what he was looking for, so it was the truth she put forward – not that she would have shared anything less than the truth.

“J’zen… Captivates me. He has a silver tongue and he speaks words smooth as silk. I’ve never heard anyone talk like him and given my… limitations… I find joy in just listening to him. He has never been hurtful toward me, but before that night dancing, I would not have considered him warm toward me either. J’zen would make a great harper and friend. I am not sure I would say that I ‘like’ him if you are meaning the same ‘like’ Apollath used last night.”

Hesitating, she wished she could know what his reaction to her words were. Wished her hands were upon his face to feel his expression, or that he would say something so she could hear the emotion in his voice. Then again, she wasn’t sure she wanted him to interrupt her either before she lost the courage to continue.

“No, I do not ‘like’ J’zen the same way I ‘like’ you… R’gar.”

[Marnark]

She didn't say anything for a very long time. That was an eternity for someone who relied so heavily on sound for information, and R'gar was aware of it. He'd apparently hit a nerve with that question, and it made him regret asking it of her. It was personal, and none of his sharding business anyway. He was her Healer, not her father.

But then she did speak, slowly as if chewing every word she said. Almost as if she wasn't sure what her words would create. But what she did say did concern him greatly. Silver tongue, captivating. Smooth as silk. For someone who relied so heavily on touch, that was quite a statement, with more weight than if someone who could see had said it. He was very sad to hear what she said, knowing that J'zen was going to talk her into trouble eventually. The very last sentence did give him some hope though. She wasn't interested in him ... if he was reading her right for as what Apollath had said. Which he still had no idea. She didn't like like him.

But she hesitated. Something else was coming, the other shoe was dropping. R'gar held his silence as he waited for her to say. At first it was only a reiteration of what she'd already said, but the last part hit like a ton of bricks. She liked him? Really? More, she more than just liked him, if anything else she said made any sense at all. Somehow, R'gar suspected she was messing up 'like' and another word altogether. But it was hard to discern what word exactly.

That revelation sucked all the wind out of his sails so far as the warning he had been about to give her about people with silver tongues. The mention dropped by the way side as he tried to figure out what to say now. Finally, what he said was very awkward and somewhat shocked. "You like me?"

Well duh. She'd kissed him back. But that had been brushed off to the side as merely reaction to the circumstance. Not because it was ... well ... him.

Shards, but sometimes he felt so stupid.

[Lady Smara]

She heard the awkward and shocked tone in his voice as he asked her exactly what she had just stated. Chewing on her lower lip, she let her face fall down even as she brought a thumb to her lips. Maybe… Maybe she shouldn’t have said that after all. She couldn’t tell if that mixture of shock and awkwardness was a good thing to hear in the tone of his voice or a bad thing. Feeling the flutter-bugs turn her stomach with sudden unease, she stood up from the chair she had been sitting in.

“That… That was out of place for me to say, I’m sorry R’gar.” She said, her ears turning red with her face. “Per… Perhaps I should be going back now…” Her own voice was a little flustered and almost rushed. What was she thinking, the dragon Apollath had said that R’gar had thought her pretty and had liked her… but he had not acted upon it until last night… Did he act last night because she had somehow pushed him?

Suddenly very confused with the turn of events and her own emotions, Prontin was at a loss. Should she have even said that? Should she even be here this morning? What should she be doing?

[Marnark]

Oh, things were just all topsy-turvy today. Awkward, feeling like he'd overstepped some unwritten rules, and then finding out different, only to be shocked at what she really thought, and now she was the one in the awkward overstepped boat. When would it end?! Clearly, there was too much unsaid, sequestered away in the shadowy corners. The little glimpses seen in flickers painting a very confusing picture of what was really there.

"No! No. I mean ... uh. Wait. Don't go." R'gar answered, starting to his own feet suddenly. Yes, she really did need to be going. A long time ago! But not like this. Not ... like this. And she'd waited this long to leave, what was a few more moments? "Prontin ..." he started, uncertainly, even as he moved almost without volition. Stepping toward her, he took her arm in an unconscious gesture to keep her safe and guide her in the unfamiliar territory. Though he really had no desire for her to go. If she insisted, he'd make sure she got there safely.

"Prontin, don't think that. I just ... I didn't know. I ... I wouldn't have guessed so. I mean ... oh sharditall." He sighed, and tried to find words to say. Good words. Unlike some other people who just happened to be Harpers ... he was not that good with words. "I didn't know." It was a very lame, flat thing to offer. But really? What would he have done differently if he had? Probably stayed further away, truth be told. Last night never would have happened. No kiss. All because ... because she was his charge.

But she'd asked him to look past that. Now he understood. Or, at least, he thought he did. A lot more of what she did, the little things, they made more sense now. Sortof. If he wasn't just reading too much into it. Heaving another frustrated sigh, he reeled her in for a brief hug, a hug he couldn't resist. "Prontin. I like you too. If you really want to go, I'll take you. Make sure you get there safe. But I don't want you to go. I really don't."

Regardless what he wanted, she had to. Her folks were probably tearing down the Weyr walls looking for her, by now. And that frustrated him as well. For now, instead of feeling rushed to get her back to them lest what he might think in her presence ... or worse, do ... now he wanted to stay with her. Near her. Just what kind of insanity was he living, anyway?!

[Lady Smara]

Hearing the sudden and surprisingly sharp ‘no’ that escaped R’gar’s lips in a hurry, Prontin paused in her movement. At first she had thought she had made him angry, but as the words spilled from him in no apparent pattern, she realized he was simply struggling to find the right combination. He said her name and she could hear his unspoken request for her to wait. She made no movement to step forward, bringing her arms back to her sides rather than searching for a point of origin. It was when she felt his hand on her arm that she turned toward him, lifting her sightless, cloudy eyes.

’Prontin, don’t think that…’Those were the words he started with and she wondered briefly if he meant that she shouldn’t think her words were out of place, or if she should be going. The string of words that fell from his mouth to her ears, however, again lost sense as he stumbled over them. Before she could even begin to try putting those new pieces together she found herself pulled into a hug. Warm… Firm… Safe. His strong arms wrapped around her, she let out a soft sigh of her own.

’Prontin. I like you too. If you really want to go, I'll take you. Make sure you get there safe. But I don't want you to go. I really don't.’ Leaning into him, she closed her eyes and rested her face against his broad chest for a moment as she let those words sink in. ’Prontin. I like you to.’ Those were the words he had said. Once he had finally pieced everything together, once he had finally stopped stumbling, those were the words he had offered her.

Letting her hands brush lightly up his chest to find his chin, she let three fingers find his lips and covered them. “Shhh…” She shushed him softly. He was stumbling so much, she wanted to save him some form of confidence. “R’gar… You have such a kind heart. Walk me home? And then promise me to come back? Maybe dinner? Or just a walk? Because I don’t want this to end. Not here, not now.”

Using her fingers on his lips as a guide and her free hand to steady her upon his shoulder, she rose to the tips of her toes carefully. Moving her fingers, she let her lips brush his again softly, almost feather light. She had liked the kiss last night – the new, strange feeling it had brought. No, that was an understatement. She had loved the kiss last night – and she loved the kiss now. She wanted just one more, to remember and hold while she waited to see if he would, in fact, come back for her. She wasn’t going to push him, he would obviously have the choice to come back later that night… maybe later that sevenday. But she would wait. She would let him decide. Just one more kiss for the wait…

[Marnark]

At first, all she did was lean against him in silence. Which was both disconcerting in that again he didn't know what she was thinking. But it was also a relief. She wasn't shoving him away, or worse. Spitting out things not nice to be said. So ... while uncertain, things were still good. At least, he hoped so. Finally, she moved and spoke, urging him to be still and quiet. Without even really thinking about it he complied, just watching her, highly aware of her fingers on his lips.

What she had to say practically made his heart glow. "Absolutely." He agreed. It would be a first really. A meeting between them that would have absolutely nothing to do with anything any of the previous ones had. Mostly, her needing his craft. A date it was! "I'll be there." He promised.

Even a blind person could see where she was going next, and R'gar was certainly not blind. More than willing to accommodate her, he met her half way and returned the kiss. Though his was considerably firmer than her initial contact.He kissed her passionately, enjoying every split moment of the contact, enjoying the taste of her, holding her tight against him. R'gar certainly didn't want it to end. Unfortunately, he had promised to take her back. Right now, even. If nothing else, he was good for his promises. Unfortunately.

Yes, he liked her. He liked her a lot. The more time he spent with her, the more he fancied that he more than liked her. She turned his world upside down like no other did. Not even Apollath could mess with his sense of reality the way she did. But he liked it ... he loved her company, and craved more of it.

Quite reluctantly he let her go again, watching her face for a moment before remembering what he was supposed to be about right now. Taking her back. Taking her home. Now. "Wait here." He said softly, before leaving her to go gather her clothes again. Walking over to where Apollath was sleeping, he nudged the brown's snout with his foot. "Wake up."

I'm awake. the brown answered, eyes sliding open as the facets slowly swirled.

"Good." He set the bundle of damp clothes between Apollath's earknobs and then walked back to Prontin. It was a long, winding way down many flights of stairs to get down from the Weyr to her level if they were to take the halls. Doable - if a person could see to know the floor dropped away to stairs randomly. Apollath would be a much safer way down in his estimation.

"We're going to fly down to the bowl, instead of take the stairs." R'gar said, walking back to Prontin. Of course, he realized that she had probably only ever flown before when Apollath had snatched her up the night before during the storm. That hardly counted, given the state she'd been in at the time. R'gar seriously doubted she remembered it at all. "I'll keep you safe." He promised, stooping slightly to wrap one strong arm around her waist and scoop her up off the floor with his other.

Carefully, he carried her back to Apollath. Climbing the dragon's shoulder he took a seat on his neck, setting her down before him. Given she was wearing a dress, she couldn't sit traditional rider-style. But he never let go of her waist, holding her secure. "Are you ready?" He asked.

Apollath resisted the temptation to roll his head to the side to see them. For her clothing was still sitting in a knot between his knobs. Turning his head so would dislodge it for sure.

[Lady Smara]

Finding herself swept off her feet and told that they would be flying, she wrapped her arms around his neck a little more tightly as she leaned even more against him. “Fly down?” she asked, her voice a little nervous though it was not out right terrified as it had been when he invited her to the jungle several days before. Her trust in the man was growing greatly and while it was true, she did not fully remember or comprehend that she had been swept up from the bowl to get to his weyr, she did know that flying would mean she would not be on the ground. Neither would R’gar.

She felt R’gar climb upon his dragon’s shoulder and sit down, pulling her closer and holding her firmly even as he let her weight sit upon the dragon. The warmth of the dragon beneath her reminded Prontin of the day R’gar had put her upon the runner. It was the same sort of feeling, but there was far more power within the dragon. Glad to have his arm around her waist, she continued to hold on, unsure of what to expect.

“I am ready…” She said, a little more quietly than she had meant to. Her arms held onto him a little more tightly as she answered, her blind eyes staring off at the stone wall rather than forward.

[Marnark]

"I've got you." R'gar reassured her, not letting his grip on her slip even a little as Apollath rose to his feet and walked out onto his ledge with his rolling dragon-gait. Instead of jumping off as if he were aiming for true flight, he merely slid off into the air, spreading his wings. Merely gliding on spread wings all the way to the bowl floor, he landed as easily as he could. Despite his best efforts the landing still jarred her bundle from his head and it landed with a damp plop on the ground. Once Apollath was settled, R'gar took Prontin and slid to the ground.

Setting her on her feet again, he didn't quite let go of her. "How are you faring?" He asked, not even able to imagine what that had been like with no vision to orient the inner ear. Or to abate the fear. Not that vision helped with that all the time ... some people couldn't handle flying even when they could see!

But now she was on ground level again, safe from falling off of ledges or stairs. Now, he would have her back to her folks soon enough. She would be safe and back to her regular routine ... whatever all that entailed. But he would come back for her. He'd promised, he would be there. She'd asked, he'd make sure it came to pass. Even if it took extreme measures!

But first he had to make sure she wasn't too rattled from the glide down, where gravity was defied.

[Lady Smara]

In truth, Prontin was not sure if that unbalanced glide down or the slide and freefall in R’gar’s arms as he slid off his dragon was more unnerving. The glide had been supported and while even the gentle turn to glide down and the rush of wind past her had her holding tighter to R’gar as her heart pounded, it was the short fall afterwards that left her unsteady on her feet now. Her hands holding firmly onto his forearms, Prontin took a moment to find her own balance once more.

“I’m… I’m alright.” She said, a little breathlessly though her hold did not slacken for several more moments. Finally she lifted her face toward the sound of his voice and gave the eternal blackness she saw there a faint smile. “I fear I’ll never make a good rider.” She said jokingly. She had never had the chance to stand when her sight was taken from her at such a young age, but even so she was not bitter about it.

Loosening her grip, she turned to listen to the bowl, open and outside as it was. Listen as she might, she was unable to determine which way she might need to travel in order to find the familiar walls of the lower caverns. No, she would need to wait to be guided there.



((you can take this as far as you need to, don't worry about god modding. We'll either do the next thread as their 'date' or toss Tschermak randomly at one of your characters.))

[Marnark]

R'gar wouldn't argue with her, she said she was alright. She didn't look it though. R'gar held onto her until she became steady on her feet again. When she started searching around the place with her sightless gaze trying to learn about her new location, he decided she was balanced enough to move again. "This way." He prompted gently, releasing her enough for her to walk on her own, but keeping a hold of her to guide her at the same time.

Moving at her pace, he got her out of the bowl and into the lower caverns. Thankfully, he had made the journey to her quarters often enough to know just where they were. When he got there, he knocked on the door first, even though she was at his side. When there was no answer from within, he simply opened the door and guided Prontin through to inside.

"Here you go. Be careful, be safe. I'll be back." Her folks were probably out looking for her, since last night. Surely they would have noticed when a blind daughter failed to show up in the evening, during a storm. Some part of him was very glad to not have run into any of her family ... they might have some rather difficult questions for him that he would really rather not answer. R'gar lingered long enough to cup her face in his hand for a moment before leaving and closing the door behind him as he left.

It was a new day, and a full one at that. There were duties to perform, work to do, and such and sundry things to see to. But he would be back. When, he wasn't sure. But as soon as he could manage, that was for sure.