Dinner (Smara

[Marnark]

Listen. Well, that made sense, he supposed. "Okay." He eyed his food, not really terribly interested in eating. But ... dinner was the whole reason why they were there. Not for him to feed her ... but to have dinner together. Nevermind that had failed miserably in that he had failed to eat while she was.

But she wanted him to ... and he probably should. He had plenty of work to do and not eating hardly would help him get it done. Though he was distracted all over again by her final comment. For a moment he just looked at her in silence, trying to figure out why ... why that didn't strike him as a normal comment. Was she upset?

"I'll eat." He answered, before dutifully seeing to the meal he'd picked up. He didn't scarf it down, but he didn't hardly take his time with it either. Eating ... was not of interest. Not right now.

[Lady Smara]

While it had taken a moment for him to actually begin eating, Prontin could barely contain her mirth at his sudden rampage of his plate. He was not ridiculous about the amount of vigor he put into eating, but she got the sense that it was done dutifully and quickly to the point. Letting her chin rest in her palm again, she curled her fingers up over her lips that did little to hide the smile the spread quickly across them.

Listening to him finish, she could not help the soft giggle that escaped through her nose as her lips were sealed shut in that smile. Letting her hand fall again, she held it palm up over the table, waiting for him to take it. “Finished?” She asked.

Hearing his reply, she smiled. “Good. Then we can go. May I ask a second request of you tonight, R’gar, beyond dinner together?”

[Marnark]

"I am." He answered simply, reaching over to accept the hand she extended. Though it struck him as awkward and just a bit vaguely wrong to just up and leave without clearing the table first. Nevermind that was a side effect of growing up in a hold with a large family ... rather than as a Rider in a Weyr where there was a whole staff expressly for maintaining the hall.

"Absolutely. Anything you wish." He answered, curious all over again. Clearly she was in a hurry with something in mind. But he didn't know if she wanted to leave the hall before or after her new request, so he didn't move her along too quickly. "Anytime you need anything, Prontin. All you need to do is let me know. It doesn't matter when, why, or how." He assured her.

[Lady Smara]

“I’m sure there would be bad times to make requests.” Prontin said, stepping closer to him before pausing and adjusting her sightless gaze to his voice. Opening her mouth, she hesitated and closed it again before chewing slightly on her lower lip. “Can we walk a bit first?” she asked, honestly wanting out of the hall first.

It wasn’t that her request was an improper one, far from it. The request was perfectly innocent in her own mind, but she had the feeling that should someone over hear the request they might think she had gone crazy. She was, after all, blind. But even the blind heard stories, be it through word of mouth or even through song. Why couldn’t she live a story as well?

[Marnark]

"Yes ma'am." Though now he was even more curious. Right now it was pretty simple though. Out of the hall was out of the hall. Where to after that? He had no idea. But that was a hurdle he'd surmount when he got there. Maybe to her, where had little meaning. The halls were all the same ... he remembered that when he'd first met her she'd been lost in them, after all.

Rounding the table, he guided her away from her seat carefully before leading her across to the entrance and out into the hall. From there it was a random guess and an even more random direction that he took, merely walking with her. Which he did enjoy in its own right, but his mind was awhirl. What was she going to want? He couldn't imagine it being anything too complex.

But for the moment he held his silence, and just walked with her, enjoying the opportunity to hold her hand. Even if only to guide her through the halls.

[Lady Smara]

Once they were out of the hall, Prontin slowed her pace, squeezing his hand slightly to let him know she wanted her attention. Her eyes were dancing again, despite the clouded appearance of them. Stopping all together, she felt his arm with her free hand, letting it wander over to his chest so that she could step up to him without stepping on him or into him. Once a little closer, she tilted her face upwards with a look of sincerety upon her face.

“R’gar.” She began carefully. “This may seem like a strange request, but… And I do not know if the time is right or not, so it may need to be saved for another time…” She began, hesitating and pausing as she realized how silly she sounded, a blind woman making such a request. Wincing slightly, she let her sightless gaze fall to her hand upon his chest before continuing.

“Will you take me outside to see the stars?” she finally asked, blurting it out quickly to get the awkward feeling out of the way. Lifting her chin once more, she looked over his shoulder. “I know I can’t see them, but… but you can describe them to me.”

[Marnark]

R'gar slowed and then stopped as she requested, getting somewhat used to the way she communicated some things. He held still, breath almost held as she stepped up before him, looking so very sincere. It was certainly a test of willpower to actually hear what she was saying and to not get lost in a world all his own all over again. This time, there was no table to space them.

Somehow, he managed it. But once she finally said what she meant to say, it took R'gar's breath away totally and completely. That ... certainly wasn't what he'd been expecting. It also put him in a very awkward spot. How to describe something to someone who could not see, an item that could not be experienced in any other sense?

Oh, buddy.

"Of course." He was an idiot. A complete and total idiot. But this idiot would try his best for her. She asked, he would deliver ... somehow. "I am not sure if they are out yet or not, but we can go find out." Though where best to go see stars? Probably the weyrbowl ... it would be the most familiar to her. Find a place there.

R'gar touched her chin lightly, and smiled. "Come. We will find you stars." He took her hand once more, and led her onward. This time with a destination. Through the halls, and out into the weyrbowl, he located a bench for her to sit on. Making sure she made it down safely, he walked around and took a seat on her other side. Crossing his ankles, he breathed a sigh.

It wasn't dark enough for stars yet. But it would be soon. "The sun is still setting. Once it's finished, there will be stars."

[Lady Smara]

Hearing his acceptance of her request as he touched her chin so lightly, she felt her stomach flutter. He would do it! So many love songs and stories involved the stars and moon at night, but it was something she was not able to experience – at least not alone. But it was okay, R’gar was going to help her.

Following him with light steps, Prontin could barely contain her own excitement. When she felt the subtle warmth of the sun’s rays upon her skin, however, her steps grew a little heavier and she felt her spirits sink slightly. She could not tell the time, or that the sun was actually setting, but she could tell it was still there and from her understanding, if the sun was out the stars were not. They took turns in the sky, or so her mother explained.

Even so, R’gar guided her to a seat upon one of the stone benches of the Weyr and she waited as he joined her. Finding his hand again, she held it, sitting so that she actually faced more toward him than looking up at where the sky or the sunset would have been. Hearing that the sun was setting, she paused in her disappointment. Perhaps it would not be a terrible thing to wait for.

“How long does the sunset take?” she asked, finding her curiosity peaked. It was something she had never thought to ask before, but then again when one could not admire the sunset, one did not think about it as more than an idea.

[Marnark]

"How long? Well, that depends on the time of year, where you are, and who's definition of sunset you go by." R'gar answered, gladly accepting her hand and wrapping it in his own. Unable to resist, especially with her so near and so very companionable, he leaned over and left a light kiss on her temple. Which promptly led him to wonder what she used to wash her hair, because that was a very interesting scent.

"This time of year, right here, and from what I see ... about ten minutes. The sun actually moves pretty fast, even if it doesn't look like it when it is at its zenith." R'gar told her quietly. It wasn't necessary to speak up when this close to someone, after all ... especially not to someone with such acute hearing as a blind person. "It takes a bit longer for the sky to actually get dark enough for stars to show, and they will start to show first in the east, farthest from the sunset." He offered. "First, you'll get the brightest of stars, here and there, twinkling like little beacons. And then the medium bright stars will start to show between those, but less brightly, less big. Once the sky is completely dark, all the small stars and the duster stars show up, and there isn't an empty place in the sky. It's really pretty ..." He told her.

He knew what the night sky looked like ... he'd seen it plenty after all. And it didn't have to be dark for him to tell her all about it.

"The duster stars and some of the dim ones won't show if the moons are up, though. They make the night too bright to see them." He added. And then it occurred to him that maybe she wanted to know about the moons too. But that could wait until he had satisfied her curiosity on stars. And of course he was more than willing to sit here with her until her curiosity was completely sated ... tell her everything she wanted to know as the day cooled off into evening.

[Lady Smara]

Feeling his lips press against her temple made her remember the way his kiss upon her lips had felt. The memory brought a hunger to her stomach and she found herself licking her lips unconsciously as she turned her face toward the warmth of the setting sun as he spoke. Listening to him, however, brought on more questions.

“Zenith?” she asked as she found herself stumbling over the meaning of that particular word. She liked to think she held a good vocabulary, but some words were often used more than others while describing things to her.

As he began to talk about the stars and how they would appear in the sky, she found herself with another question even as she folded her calves to the side of her and underneath her skirt, allowing her to lean comfortably closer to R’gar. “Are the stars afraid of the sun?” she asked, also taking to speaking softly. Despite being in the open of the Weyrbowl, Prontin felt as if she had R’gar all to herself and in her dark world they may have been alone, but she was comfortable in his presence.

Hearing his comment about the moons of Pern also chasing away the stars she frowned and turned back to his voice, her face closer to his after her adjusting. “Are the stars afraid of the moons too? Or is it the light they fear?”

[Marnark]

"Zenith. Highest point in an arc." R'gar answered quite seriously. He didn't think it was funny that she didn't know ... he'd already found too much that she didn't know to find it even remotely funny anymore. Just vaguely sad that she'd been sheltered that much. He wasn't adverse to fixing that, either. He'd show her the world, one step at a time. Only to keep from scaring her with it all at once.

He found himself unashamedly happy when she curled up to lean against him. R'gar released her hand and wrapped his arm around behind her instead, resting his hand instead on the far side of her waist gently, holding her secure but comfortable. And close, yes that was always good. Almost a hug. He instead took the hand he had been holding with his other hand, enjoying this idea even more as it went along.

"Afraid?" He couldn't help but laugh a little at her phraseology. "No, not really. Though I can see why it might look that way. The theory I have heard is that the sun is simply brighter than the star light is. So it drowns it out. Like ... uhhh. Like a lake drowns out the appearance of water drops. Orrr... an oil lantern can drown out the appearance of glows behind it." All of those were useless to her, he realized, all relying on a reference to sight. "Or, a deep carpet hiding the downy layer beneath it. There's more of it, simply, so the rest is not noticed." Maybe that would work for her?

"The same goes for the moons. They aren't nearly as bright as the sun, but they are still bright enough to effect the dimmer stars. They're all still there, we just can't see them is all."

[Lady Smara]

Prontin had been listening to his attempt of a comparison with a slight frown upon her lips as her brows furrowed as she failed to comprehend many of the examples. Hearing the last one, however, she sat thoughtful for a moment before nodding, thinking she understood a little better. “The way a whisper on the far side of the room is lost to a closer conversation.” She said slowly, pulling in her own world’s descriptions and putting them to play. Sound was something she could relate to.

“Or the way a single note is lost within a cord.” The frown was replaced with a smile as she returned her head to its rested position upon his shoulder. “Are the stars out now?” she asked after a moment, remembering that he had said the sun had to set first. Unable to tell if the sun was still in the sky, she relied on his assistance.

[Marnark]

"Yes! Exactly." R'gar agreed to her assessment of what he was trying to tell her. It was a likeness that he hadn't thought of to give her, but she was certainly smart enough to pick it up quick and translate it to her own understanding. "That's it precisely." He smiled as her head came to rest against his shoulder again.

At her question, he found his own gaze wandering upward toward the darkening sky. "A few are showing their sparkling faces, yes. Not many are out yet, but as time goes by more and more will show until the sky is filled from end to end with their beauty and interminable endlessness." Soon the evening would begin to be more chilly as well, a sensation that often went with stargazing. But it just made things more complete ... and certainly better suited for snuggling. Which he was certainly not against, especially since she seemed so inclined. Lifting the hand that he was holding, he set a gentle kiss upon the back of it before returning it down to its original resting place.

[Lady Smara]

Prontin found herself smiling as she rested her head upon his shoulder, her sightless eyes were starring forward rather than up, but it was the idea behind the action that really meant something to her. She had always wanted to watch the stars and now she had someone there who was willing to help her do so. “Mmmmm.” She replied with a happy hum as she settled in to wait a while longer, imagining the scene he had painted to her. She imagined the stars almost like little bells, chiming off with only a few at first and then slowly more and more in a beautiful arrangement of music. But not in the deafening way rain fell heavy upon the bowl floor, but rather something soft – a little whisper that could be drowned out by the heavy boom of a drum that she imagined the moons to be.

Feeling him pick up her hand, she felt his lips brush against it and her sightless gaze tilted as she tilted her head toward him. A smile played upon her lips, though it was hard for her to tell if she should be smiling about the movement or if there was something she was suppose to do in return. She had a few men kiss her hands before as a way of greeting, but there was something different about the way R’gar did it now…

[Marnark]

R'gar smiled at her, even though she couldn't see. And then for a moment returned his gaze to the stars overhead, trying to think of something else to tell her, something else she would want to know about things she couldn't see. "Some people draw pictures in the sky. Something akin to connect the dots, only on a stellar scale. Some of it is silly ... some of it really does look like a picture. Some people name stars after people who are important to them." He offered, though she probably knew all that already. It was seeing that she couldn't do ... she'd probably heard about all the rest already.

But in glancing over at her again when he felt her head shift against his shoulder, he saw the expression that flitted across her features and it drew yet another smile from him. R'gar took a moment to be a daring soul, helped greatly by the fact that it was rapidly getting darker, especially since her rather protective folks knew she was out with him. But even that faded out of importance as he leaned over toward her and kissed her again, just as gently as the first time. This time upon her lips rather than upon her hand.

He just couldn't help himself. It was entirely too mesmerizing and beautiful to see the starlight and faint moonlight playing across her already pale skin, making her appear as if she were veritably glowing. As if she hadn't already been an incredibly attractive woman ...

Wow! He needed to find something else to think about fast.