Promises

Writers: Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 6th April 2019

Characters: J'ackt, Alina
Description: Alina makes good on her promise to J'ackt, and he makes one in return
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 15 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Saidrene, Cosani, Cyradis

J'ackt

Alina

It was mid-day, after drills, before she'd eaten but after she'd taken Stumpy for a good romp in the Weyrbowl. Alina led the canine up the stairs back to J'ackt's weyr with a basket over one arm and what felt like an swarm nest of vtols in her belly. She paused to wipe her sweaty palms on her pants before knocking on the door.

There was a long silence and no one answered the door at first. Finally, footsteps approached and a rumpled J'ackt opened the door, eyes bleary with sleep. Clad only in light sleeping trousers, he had forgotten his sling and the fresh, ugly pink scar on his side and the tip of his other over his shoulder gleamed in the low light. "Huh?"

He wasn't prepared for the overjoyed canine. Stumpy, wild at seeing his companion, leaped up, tackling J'ackt and bowling him over. He fell with a grunt and struggled as the massive canine slobbered over his face with ecstatic yips and frantic tail wagging. "Stumpy, shaffit!"

"Stumpy, _sit_!" Alina's voice cracked like a whip as she scrambled to retrieve the lead. Stumpy had pulled it out of her hands-- again. "Shells-- I'm so sorry! Sit, Stumpy!"

And Stumpy immediately sat. Directly on J'ackt's chest. J'ackt heaved out a breath and glared at the canine, his face damp with excited slobber. He wiped at it and grumbling, ruffled the canine's ears before he shoved him off. Stumpy remained sitting, but his tail wagged violently, body vibrating with the urge to leap again. "Shaffing, bloody heavy canine." He exhaled and sat up, peering up at Alina. "He sits."

She held out a hand to help him up, feeling like a moron for letting him get knocked over in the first place. "He's getting pretty good at that one. He's still learning how to walk nicely on a lead and to let go of things in his teeth. Are you all right?"

"I can tell. He's never moved so quick. How'd you get that far with him anyway?" He didn't need her hand, rising slowly to get to his feet. He rubbed his sore shoulder and tried to see if the scar had broken open. He felt a bit of dampness at his back, but couldn't be sure if it was Stumpy's slobber or blood. "I think so." He stared down at his canine and patted his head. "Easier next time, boy." The canine writhed in pleasure at the pets, then eyed J'ackt's bed. He glanced at Alina, and began slowly scooting towards it, but kept on his bottom.

"Stumpy. _Sit_." Alina glared at the canine until he stopped moving. "I had help. My brother told me what to do, which basically boils down to lots of treats."

If a canine could pout, Stumpy would have been doing so. He gave a great sigh and stared at the bed with longing in his big, brown eyes. "I think he missed my bed more than me." J'ackt observed. "Treats huh? I guess you'll have to show me." He shifted his shoulder again and rubbed his eyes, now awake, but still feeling the grit in them. He'd been resting most of the day, snoozing in the day's heat. He frowned. "Your brother? He's here?"

"No. I went to go see him. I don't think my father would let him come, even if he was Searched. And I hope he never is." Alina bent and picked up the basket. She'd tucked a cloth around the edges which had kept the contents in place. "I brought you a..." she bit her lip, nervous again. Yesterday's disastrous conversation replayed itself in her head. "I brought you a gift."

"Course you don't. The Hold is so much better than here, isn't it?" He sighed and sat, resting his elbows on his knees. A thin streak of blood dribbled down the scar, but he didn't notice it, his attention caught by her next words. He looked up, his brow raised. "A gift?" He glanced at the basket, then back up at her, studying her expression. The nervousness on her face stilled any protest against giving him anything and his lip lifted, just a little. "What is it?"

"Don't get too excited. It's not..." She set the basket down beside him, then stilled. "You're bleeding."

He lifted his head to peer in the basket, but was stopped. He blinked, then glanced over his shoulder, unable to see what she was talking about, but now feeling the sliding drips fall down his back. "Yeah. Guess it broke open." He looked at the basket, unconcerned, then twitched back the cover, interested in that more than any injury he had. The band of thick leather made him pause, glancing up at her in questioning surprise before he realized what it really was. "Oh." He picked it up, hefting the heavy leather in his hand before sliding the collar through his fingers to feel the grain. "It's really nice. You didn't have to do this. Thanks, Alina."

"Yes, I did," she said quietly, then frowned. She couldn't take her eyes off the blood on his skin. There would have been so much more when he'd been stabbed, a river where there was only a trickle. "Do you want me to bandage that up for you?"

About to argue with her, he looked up and noticed the odd expression on her face. He frowned, trying to figure out what exactly she was thinking, but was uncertain if he really wanted to know. On the verge of declining, he changed his mind. "If you want to." The last time that he remembered her bandaging anything was him during a weyrling class. He'd ended up feeling like a trussed up sausage. That time, the pretend wound had also been on his back. "There's extra padding on the counter."

"You can't just wander around leaking all over the place. You'll just make a mess." Alina said, returning with a handful of bandages, padding and a bottle of redwort. She doused one of the pads in redwort first, then came to stand behind him. There were so many scars on J'ackt's back, evidence of a hard life and too many close calls. Alina swallowed the lump in her throat. "Ready?"

"Sure." His eyes followed her as she moved around his weyr, but as she moved behind him, he sat up straight. He watched her over his shoulder, seeing her study his back. Thinking she was as nervous as she had been before, he spoke softly. "It's just a back, Alina. I won't bite you."

She scowled and began to wipe away the blood, too aware of every time her fingertips brushed his skin. "Do you have numbweed too?"

When her fingers slid against his skin, immediate goose flesh prickled up, betraying just how much effect she had on him. "Yes, but it doesn't hurt too bad." The redwort had just a bit of sting to it, but nothing that required numbweed. "Everything's just sore."

He was so lucky. It could have been so much worse... the lump in her throat came back as Alina reached for padding and pressed it against the wound on his back. Bandaging was tricky, she fumbled a bit and the end result wasn't much better than what she'd managed as a weyrling, but at least it would stop the bleeding.

The fumbling around the scar was uncomfortable, but as long as she didn't press too hard on the healing muscle, it wasn't overly so. He made no grunt of pain, nor did he stiffen as she applied the bandage, managing to hold completely still. When she was finished, his exhaled, relaxing his shoulders. "Thanks."

The greenrider shrugged. She couldn't stop herself from tracing her finger down one of the white, long-healed scars on his back, this one running across his shoulderblade like a thin streak of lightning. Alina curled her hands into fists. "I think I should keep Stumpy with me for a little while longer. He gets excited and jumps, and your shoulder can't take that yet."

Her touch send jolts right down his spine, making his belly clench, so he shifted slightly at the immediate reaction. "You don't have to. I can handle him. Usually he just sleeps on my bed or with Zith." He glanced towards the canine and smirked. Stumpy had used their distraction and had slid quietly towards J'ackt's bed, hopped up, and laid at the foot, watching them. He would have laughed if his body hadn't been making it plain that it liked her touch; the thin sleep trousers he wore revealed the interest.

"I don't mind." She busied herself putting away the remaining bandages. "He still needs walks, and he pulls on his lead. I'd rather keep him for a few more days until your shoulder's knitted itself together a bit better."

While her back was turned, J'ackt looked down the rebellious part of him that was all too happy to make its presence known. **Get down, you fecking thing. She's not interested. ** He heard Zith give a draconic chortle from his ledge and glowered in that direction, barely paying attention to what Alina was saying. "Yeah, sure. If you want. Thanks."

He exhaled and flexed against the fresh bandage, then half-turned to watch her as she busied herself around his cabinets. His eyes followed her movements. She didn't realize it, but shards, just watching her making herself at home in his weyr was attractive. "You're beautiful."

She paused, then carefully put away the last of the bandages and turned to J'ackt. "Don't feel like you need to do that. You don't."

He hadn't mean to say it out loud. Not yet. But the words were out there and he couldn't bring them back, even if he wanted to. "Maybe not." He studied her, shifting slightly to ease some of his discomfort. "But you are." His eyes flicked over her briefly before coming back to meet her eyes. His lip curled upwards. "Did I ever tell you that you've got a fantastic ass?"

She scowled at him. "I mean it." The greenrider crossed the room and sat down next to J'ackt. The hungry way he was looking at her made her skin prickle, and she was already angry that he'd try saying a bunch of crud in an attempt at flattery. They both knew it was meaningless. Anger made her brave. Her pulse jumped as she leaned forward and kissed him.

"So do I." He fell silent as she moved to sit beside him, pleased that he'd been able to goad her into a spark of temper. He'd missed that about her and quite honestly, he liked her needle-sharp tongue. But he hadn't been expecting the kiss when it came. Her lips were soft and sweet, doing nothing to help him with his restraint. Without thinking, he caught her around the waist with his good arm and dragged her across his lap to get a much better angle for exploring her mouth.

She tangled her fingers in his hair and kissed him back, all too aware of his body against hers. Her hands trembled and her thoughts jumbled, leaving her breathless and tense. She felt a brief brush against her mind -- Imairth, curious -- and grabbed onto her dragon like a lifeline.

Sweet Faranth, she was a fiendishly seductive armful; in the back of his mind there was a part of him that realized that they'd never been this close; she had always been so skittish and hesitant. As his hand slipped upwards over her tunic to slide up her side to cup a full breast, the thought crossed his mind that perhaps she had had a partner in the time they had been distanced. It brought a flash of disappointment; he had wanted to be that person, but could he really blame her? He groaned against her mouth and pulled away, pressing his face against her neck to try to rein himself back in. "Faranth, Alina...we need to stop."

She froze, still tangled in Imairth, to try to piece together what he'd said. Then she closed her eyes. **You fool.** The greenrider let J'ackt go and began to disentangle herself from him to stand. "I-- I should go. Back to drills. I have to go back to afternoon drills. And I need to take Stumpy back to my weyr."

"Shaffit, Alina, wait just a second..." He grunted as she began to stand, then pulled her right back down on his lap, grunting as his shoulder complained against the movement and the force. "Stop, shut up, and hold still just for a minute." He exhaled, swallowing hard as he struggled to master his own needs. "I didn't stop because I didn't want you. Stars and stones, woman, you should be able to _feel_ that at least." He took another breath and grimaced. "You're going to sit and listen to me and you're not going to run away this time. I'm sick of that. "

He caught her chin lightly in his fingers, making her look at him. "When I'm cleared to fly, I want you to introduce me to your father." Cyradis' advice from month's previous came back to him. "Now go to the cabinet by my bed and get the little box from the top drawer. Look in it. When you introduce me, it's yours. If you want it." He let her go and waited, every muscle tense.

Her father? Alina stood, confused, but did as she was asked. There was a little wooden box inside the drawer, just as he's said. Her mind clicked the pieces together. Her father, a box-- they fit, but didn't make sense. Her hand hovered over the box. Never in her life had the greenrider wanted anything so badly. She turned to look at J'ackt, her heart in her throat. "I don't understand?"

He exhaled through his nose. "Just open the bloody thing already." It had been in there for months and he'd not had the willpower to throw it away. So it had lingered in the drawer, ignored until now. "It's not much."

The greenrider's hands were shaking as she thumbed the box open. Inside was a small silvery ring. She couldn't quite hide her smile as she lifted it from the box. A green stone caught the light and twinkled like a little star between her fingers. She looked back at J'ackt, stunned. "I-- are you serious?!"

"Got it months ago." He said quietly. "It's only glass, but it was all I could get." He shrugged just a little, "I didn't figure you'd ever really want it, but I kept it all the same." He studied her face carefully, uncertain if she'd refuse it or laugh at him. "I'm not a holder, Alina. I can't give you anything you really want, the whole
marriage bit that holders do." He decided to be bluntly honest. "Honestly, I don't know if I can even want to stop spending time with Saidrene or Cosani. But I'd rather wake up to you in the morning, when you'll let me. That time you just slept beside me...still think about it. It felt good. It felt right. It felt like you should be there."

Alina looked back down at the box and the ring in her hand. She felt like she did when she was flying with Imarith, at the peak of an arc before they turned and fell, weightless and dizzy, back down toward the ground. His words rushed like wind in her ears. The greenrider closed the box and crossed the room to where J'ackt still sat, and bent and kissed him.

"So is that a y.." he stopped when she kissed him, one hand sliding in to her hair. He gently suckled her lower lip before pulling away. "You better go before I decide kissing isn't enough."

Alina nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She pressed the box into J'ackt's hand, then whistled for the canine. Her head was spinning but drills wouldn't wait.

Stumpy didn't rise immediately, but with a long suffering sigh, rose, jumped off the bed with a stumble and padded towards Alina with a complete lack of grace.

J'ackt held the box in his hand. It could wait, he decided.

Last updated on the April 12th 2019

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Promises