[PRP] Is it always like this? (Nicara & Roana)

[Sinders Path]

Nicara's joke might have failed to land but her stumbling stuttered words got the reaction she had previously been seeking and laughter bubbled up from the redhead in a sound that was almost a giggle. Though Roana would always deny she was even capable of making such a 'girly' sound. But she decided not to speak up and reassure Nicara on her joke ability.

But Diesteth was talking to her then and that always took more focus than simply speaking verbally with another so her laughter faded and she fell silent to listen to the blue. Roana considered the blue to be very wise, though he was younger than her it was his manner and calm nature which gave off the scholarly calm demeanor. "Well seeing all she did was stuff herself and fall asleep I am not sure there is all that much to pick up on just yet," she told the dragon half teasing.

When Diesteth sniffed at her, battering her with the warmth of his breath Roana laughted lightly again and pushed some hair back out of her eyes before she turned to him, wrapped her arms around his head and kissed his nose, giving him a scratch in the process with warm sandy hands. She also manged to do so by just twisting her upper half, keeping her legs and lap still so the gold flitt remained undisturbed.

"Thanks for your help today big guy, you know you can both go back now if you want. Its not far from the weyr from here. I can easily walk back."  

[Hattaki]

With her head still on her arms and knees it was easy to hide her soft chuckling that rumbled up in response to the absolutely adorable noise Roana had just made. Rather than look at her and acknowledge that she'd heard such a noise she turned her head to look in the opposite direction, watching the surf crest and crash against the soft sands. It always calmed her down no matter how she felt and often she could think straight after she spent enough time near the water, it was almost as good as playing her violin. Maybe she would play would that violin when she got back to her Weyr, or so she thought until a certain set of words came from Roana's mouth that had her whole body tense up.

Reaching into a pocket she pulled out a rolled up list she had been keeping track of and scanned down it to the section that she needed. No, there was absolutely no way that walking back was going to work today given their current location.

Diesteth...

Rumbling deeply in his large chest, the blue dragon tilted his head into the scratch that Roana offered him. While she was not his rider and so not bonded so deeply into his hearts that he felt her every emotion perfectly, he was as fond of the redhead as he could be for any other human. Diesteth's eyes swirled a soft blue color with purple shot through at the hug but he brushed one of his wings down Nicara's back to acknowledge his rider's current worries.

It is not a good idea to walk back when Thread is due to fall over the stretch between here and the Weyr. Dragons don't catch all of it, though we do our best, and neither of us will allow you to risk your safety to walk back. Nicara might have no sense of humor anyone understands, but she does care about you and I won't let you be harmed either.

"Diesteth!" Nicara's face was almost as red as the star above them in the sky at her dragon's words but that didn't make them any less true. Taking a deep breath she tried to pull some calm into her as her dragon simply sent a laugh in her direction. "He's right, I keep as good a record of Thread falls as I can and one is due this afternoon. It's quite the walk back to the Weyr, I can't guarantee that you'll be safe with how long it takes to walk back."

This was not the time for her to be stubborn, this was not the time for an argument. Sure Thread was not due over this particular stretch of beach but she would never forgive herself if something happened to Roana. Nicara's heart pounded in concern.

Sinders Path

 

[Sinders Path]

Roana would have enjoyed the walk back, even if it was a long one. Being back by the sea, hearing the waves and enjoying the soft warm sand around her all brought back old and fondly held memories of her time among the pirates and her life running riot in games with her siblings. But there were other memories that dominated them more strongly now, memories of a sinking ship and boiling sea which came screaming to the front of her mind when the Blue gave name to pern's ancient enemy.

She cast a fearful look at the sky at the mere mention of it, even though she knew the pair would never have brought her to the beach if there was any imminent danger. "Don't worry, you don't have to try and talk me round. I'll take the lift. I still remember when thread fell on the holds and my ship." She shuddered and gathered a sleepy golden flitt up into the cradle of her arms. Nyeh grumbled lightly, protesting the movement but she was too full and tired to do more than vocalize.

The stab of fear in memory had stopped her enjoying Nicara's initial red faced reaction but it didn't last long.

"And Nicara I don't know how you can scold Diesteth for stating the obvious." She grinned impishly. Still holding the newly minted gold in her arms she stood, walked over to the blue rider and leaned down close before offering a conspiratorial whisper. "But honestly, it's okay." she leaned closer and then pressed a brief chaste kiss on her lips. "I care about you as well, and not just because you're attached to Diesteth."

Satisfied that the kiss would be enough to fluster the blue rider further Roana stood up and turned to the blue. "And now, since I can't really relax any more with the mental image of thread falling on my head. ~I think we should probably get back, I have afternoon candidate classes as well."

Hattaki

 

[Hattaki]

If it were possible for her face to become an even brighter shade of red then only a dragon's sensitive faceted eyes might catch the shift; Nicara had never once in her life shared a kiss with anyone and certainly wasn't sure what to do when she received one. Hands finding their way up to cover the lower half of her face as it burned a brilliant color that even managed to bleed to her ears and neck, the rider attempted to utter out something close to a response and came up with a squeaking noise that caused her large blue bugle in laughter for her predicament. It came from a place of kindness in him, though it was somewhere deeper than he dared admit at the moment, it had been a long time since he'd first met her and never in any of their turns had she showed even an inkling of interest in anyone until... well, he wasn't going to let the opportunity go to waste when it involved such a wonderful human. As far as Diesteth was concerned she needed many more interactions that got her closer to her fellow humans and away from just dragons and music where she'd spent many a turn, not that there was anything wrong with it, but she couldn't grow if she just mired herself in those two interests alone.

It would appear that you've broken my rider. It might take a moment for her to regain her bearings in order to return us to the Weyr.

Turning his swirling blue eyes to Nicara, the dragon sent a mental jab in her direction with the intent of rousting the woman from the stupor that had settled over her. Blinking her blue eyes into her dragon's own she came back to herself at his prodding, unsure of how to deal with anything but knowing full well that quiet and un-moving was not at all how to go about it. Rallying her thoughts to deal with something other than her confusion for the kiss, the rider cleared her throat and stood quickly. Of course she'd caught the look that Roana had cast up towards the sky, really it was unsurprising given how she'd come to be ship-less and living in Rivercrest not so very long ago. Thread had the potential to destroy lives and families, it was only reasonable that one would be afraid and even respectful of it when it came to wandering around outside in a fall. Not for the first time she cursed it's return and narrowed her eyes towards the Red Star hovering in view with disgust.

Unable to keep the casualties to a minimum in the early days it was getting easier and for certain she would never allow Roana to become one. Taking in a deep breath to steel herself against her inner torrent of unchecked feelings, Nicara managed to affect a certain level of calm even if it was superficial. Certainly her reaction had given the answer to any statement that the redhead had made, true or otherwise.

"Master A'ral would be within his rites to have words with me if I had you return late to your classes, fire lizard or otherwise." Nicara offered a smile for the little gold sleeping in Roana's arms, "I'm glad there's no need to convince you of the ride in lieu of that. Let's head back to the Weyr then, you can let the little one sleep in my quarters for the time being, it might even be easier on her given how crowded the Candidate barracks can get."

At her words Diesteth rose from the sands and stretched his wings out, neck arching as he peered out towards the ocean somewhat wistfully. Certainly there would be time for a swim later, but for the time being he was content to see the two women back to the Weyr with the newborn lizard in tow, it would be unpleasant to have her wake up and become famished when there was barely any food remaining.

To Western Weyr we go then.

Sinders Path

 

[Sinders Path]

For her part, Roana looked very pleased with herself, the cat that got the cream. Roana was much more experienced than poor Nicara. Being the Captains Niece aboard The ghost she had grown up without fear of the other pirates unwanted advances. They had always wanted to keep their hands and their heads. But that hadn't stopped some playful flirting. It had also not stopped Ro from doing the chasing. Port was filled with even more temptations. And the drinking holes that the pirates frequented were full of worldly and well traveled reprobates that had only been too happy to help Roana explore her budding sexuality. The point was, Ro was hardly the vestile virgin.
What had held her back, kept her in check and even now held her back from jumping the smaller women was Nicara's clear innocence in the matter. She didn't want to go in all guns blazing and scare her off. The frozen red faced statue of the dragon Harper just confirmed her suspicions.

"I didn't mean to." She admittedly to the Blue with a sheepish grin before whispering for the blue alone. "If I wanted to do damage I would have used tongue."

Roana was about to reach out and give the dazed rider a shake when she managed to rouse herself. Ro let out a sigh of relief glancing at Diesteth. She knew his steadying influence must have helped. Letting the situation slide by without further comment she let Nicara change the subject with a groan. "Master A'ral has his sights on me anyway after that touching. Don't wanna give him a reason to give me even more chores." she grouched before clambering up on Dieseteth behind Nicara.

She put one arm round her waist and held Nyeh between them with the other rather firmly. She didn't want her falling during the extended flight and as going between was still too risky with the baby flit.

Unfortunately the hatching had taken longer than Roana realized and by the time Diesteth circled the weyr bowl to land Ro could see a line of her fellow candidates hurrying in twos and threes too the classroom. With a squeak of alarm Ro bundled Nyeh into Nicaras arms. "Here, take her back to your weyr for me. Don't want her startling in a busy classroom." she blurted out hurriedly. She was off the blue then before he had even come to a complete stop. Hitting the ground with practiced grace, rolling into the fall before she sprang up and raced after the other vanishing candidates.  

[Hattaki]

Diesteth's relaxed glide brought them to the ground just as Roana leapt from his back, causing him no end of distress even if she hit the ground running much faster than he would have thought. Of course the blue's amusement at her words and actions made him bugle even as she went barreling towards her fellow Candidates, for he knew that Nicara wouldn't have a problem with it. In fact the only problem that his rider had at all was that she had never once had anything to do with fire lizards and had no idea what to do with them outside of what she'd already done. This made the blue laugh harder as the bundle of gold began to squirm about and cause the slim woman to become flustered and confused.

Certainly Roana needed time to bond with her new fire lizard and Nicara felt all but helpless when it came to taking care of one. It had been seven full turns since she'd even so much as dealt with a baby anything and Diesteth had been incredibly needy, so much so that everything she had focused on had been about him. For turns and turns. And for turns and turns he had been softly trying to get her to reach out to others than himself and just Onasta.

With that kiss she felt odd, felt as though there was a warm spot somewhere deep inside her chest, it was what had flustered her so much. Because she'd never once felt anything like it, never once believed that she would. It had been explained to her of course, by her mother and some of the other women in the Hall when they had all come of age. As if they could explain to her how this would feel when the time came! Heart pounding even thinking about it, Nicara let her years of training take over and asked Diesteth to take the three of them back up to their weyr, maybe she could play the violin for the squirmy little thing and calm her down. Wrapping her up a little tighter so she couldn't escape other than to pop quickly Between, the trio of those left behind took off on the icy blue's wings towards the stone weyr they'd be sharing for a few hours with Diesteth's laughter still ringing in Nicara's head.

Sinders Path

Fin~