Hard Won Trust

Writers: Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 26th April 2019

Characters: J'ackt, Alina
Description: Hard earned trust is finally given, allowing J'ackt and Alina to move forward
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 10, day 25 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentions: Urlene, Elana

J'ackt

Alina

The sky was full of scattered clouds and drills were done through
showers. By the time they were over, Alina was soaked through and
Imairth had decided that she didn't need a bath anymore. Alina did,
though, and she made a very quick stop at the bathing pools before
going back to her weyr and pulling out the pink dress she usually wore
to gathers. **Too much?** She bit her lip, then pulled it on anyway.
It was the nicest thing she owned, and she felt like looking... nice.
It didn't take long to pin up her hair, and then she was ready.

But the plan had been to meet by the Weyrlake, and it was... wet out
there. **Imairth, can you ask Zith where I should meet his rider?**

}: Mine has a place ready. :{ Zith sent an image of a stone overhang
near the lake, with a small dry and remarkably private alcove set
within the stone. }:He is there. :{

Not cleared yet for drills, J'ackt had most of the day to prepare,
despite the rain. A fire was built and crackling merrily and a
blanket set over the sand that provided the floor of the alcove. Zith
had provided the fat fish that lay sizzling, and the kitchens the
tubers that were roasting and a skin of mild wine. The spot was
private and sheltered enough to allow a sense that they were alone,
despite their surroundings.

Alina arrived on Imarith a little while later, wrapped in a cloak from
her candidate days to keep the drizzles off. She slid off her dragon's
back, then followed her nose through the brush to the little alcove.
The greenrider hesitated at the entrance. "Knock knock?"

Crouched in front of the fire, J'ackt looked up, his posture and the
way the fire's glow played over his features making him appear almost
feral. Then he rose, a half-smile lifting his lip corner. "Come on
in." He gestured to the blanket. "Have a seat."

Alina arrived on Imarith a little while later, wrapped in a
cloak from her candidate days to keep the drizzles off. She
slid off her dragon's back, then followed her nose
through the brush to the little alcove. The greenrider
hesitated at the entrance. "Knock knock?"

Crouched in front of the fire, J'ackt looked up, his posture and the
way the fire's glow played over his features making him appear almost
feral. Then he rose, a half-smile lifting his lip corner. "Come on
in." He gestured to the blanket. "Have a seat."

The greenrider pushed back her hood and stepped inside. The blanket,
the fire, the plates and what looked like tubers in the ashes. It was
all very thoughtful. She smiled. "Not many men can cook. I thought
you'd get something from the kitchens."

He snorted softly, then grinned. "How do you think I ate before I came
here? Didn't eat it raw... well, not all of the time anyway.
Sometimes I had to." He shrugged. "Necessary skill and all that. I can
even sew when I have to. Just not that stuff that you do with yarn.
That just makes my mind boggle."

"Knit, darn or crochet?" Alina asked, raising an eyebrow. "I can do
them all. So, ha."

"Well, you're talented at that stuff. I'd end up tangled and in a
mess." He eyed her cloak and a glint appeared in his gaze. "I guess
it's too much to hope that you're naked under there, right?"

"Entirely," she said dryly. A faint blush crept across her cheeks as
she pulled the cloak off and folded it into a neat square. "Did you
catch the fish, too?"

His eyes flicked over her dress and his eyes softened, surprised, but
pleased that she had made the effort. "You look really nice. Very
beautiful. " He took the cloak from her and put it on the ledge. "No,
Zith complains that it takes too long when I do it. He provided it for
today." He laid his hands lightly on her waist and bent to brush his
lips over hers.

The kiss, though gentle, made her nerves spark and fizz. She was
acutely aware of exactly where his hands were. "Well," she said, a bit
breathless, "thank you to Zith, then."

A deep rumble answered her as J'ackt lifted his head. "He says you're
welcome." Hand light on her back, he led her to the blanket. "Sit.
It's nearly done and we can eat." He crouched on the sand to stoke the
fire, but near the blanket, giving her the space he figured she'd
want. He checked the tubers, nodded to himself at their tenderness,
then set out the plates. "Do you want any wine?"

"Yes please." She didn't want the space, and felt awkward sitting with
nothing to do. The wine would help, or at the very least give her
something to do with her hands. "So what do you do all day now that
you're not doing drills?"

"Urlene has me exercising my shoulder. Bastard cut the muscle pretty
deep and she says it may not heal all the way if I don't, but have to
start a little at a time." He poured her a small glass and handed it
to her, then gave a wide wicked grin. "As for what else I do to
occupy my time, well..." He waited for her to take a sip, "I work on
my sword grip."

Alina might have been Holdbred, but she'd been a dragonrider long
enough to know exactly what she heard. Her sip of wine became
something a little more than she wanted as she desperately hoped she
wasn't blushing. "Probably wise, if you're going to continue with all
this sword fighting," Alina finally said as she set the glass aside.
It was half empty.

Thoroughly enjoying the pink in her cheeks, J'ackt's grin never
wavered, even as he carefully transferred hot tubers on to th he
plates. "There's a lot to sword fighting. Proper grip,
stances...flexibility." With his knife, he scooped up a slice of fish
and set in on her plate. "I bet you'd be great at it. You just have to
know how to work the blade."

The greenrider picked up her wine again. "Like you do."

He handed her the plate, face completely straight, but eyes sparkling
with humor as he handed her the plate he had prepared. "No, not like
me. You'd have a softer, smoother grip than I do." He fixed his own
plate, biting the inside of his cheek as he piled the food on his own.
"I could bring out my sword, if you want. You could practice all you
like."

"Not at dinner," Alina said, adopting the tone her mother used when
her brother tried to bring insects and baby canines to the table. She
settled the plate on her lap and picked up her fork, grateful for
something else to turn her attention to.

He burned the tips of his fingers as he finished, then settled beside
her on the blanket. "So after?" His face was completely innocent, but
the smile hovering around his mouth was not. Finally, he chuckled,
shook his head and popped a piece of hot tuber in his mouth, chewing
carefully. "You're so easy to tease, Alina."

She glared at him. "You're an ass. But... you _can_ cook."

Her glare didn't phase him for one instant, mirth still in his eyes.
"Aye, I am and I can." He gestured to her with his fork. " You should
be used to it by now." He popped another bite in his mouth, never
looking away from her. He swallowed again and bumped her gently with
his side. "You should expect it."

"You're also very bossy," she said tartly. The fish was really quite
good. It had been a rarity at home and still felt like a treat. She
turned her gaze on the plate. The way J'ackt was looking at her made
her feel... she wasn't sure what she felt. "I'd be mad at you if
dinner wasn't so good."

He looked at her and slowly arched a brow. "You're calling me bossy?
There's a phrase for that." He paused, thinking, "That's like a piece
of firestone calling rotten eggs stinky." He looked down at her plate
and settled more firmly right by her side; he enjoyed the sharpness of
her tongue. He remembered when it annoyed him, but it was so much a
part of her character, that he missed it when she didn't display it.
"I'm glad you like it. I don't have to cook for myself much any more.
Sometimes I almost miss it. I used to hunt and fish almost daily." He
glanced at her, "When I wasn't stealing, but honestly, I preferred to
hunt. Miss that too sometimes."

"Do you ever watch through Zith's eyes when he hunts?" Alina asked.

He nodded. "Sure. But it's not the same." He looked over at her.
"Didn't your dad or other family ever hunt?

"A little. Mostly to protect our herds and the fields from wherries.
My brother likes to fish, a little, when he has the time, but it's
mostly for something to do." Alina shrugged. "We were all sent out
with clubs in the fall to go after the tunnelsnakes in the fields
going after the grain. Whoever got the most won a prize. I know it's
not the same."

"No, not really. I had to hunt and fish. There's no such thing as free
time when you're Holdless. You've always got to do something to keep
yourself alive and fed." He continued eating, his mind lost in thought
and memories for long moments, but quickly came back to the present
and to her. "What's your parents and brother like?" Privately, he
asked Zith to query Imarith for visuals of Alina's home, an idea
rolling around in his head.

"They're good people," she said quietly. "My parents met when my
mother was fostering at Emerald Falls Hold. She didn't mean to marry a
farmer, but... they fell in love and she moved to Nadol Cothold with
him. My brother is of age to Craft, and my father is currently
arranging for him to go to the Farmer Hall. But it's hard.... there
were five of us Searched, including me, and that's a lot of labour
lost. And now Elana's been fostered to Emerald Falls Hold. I doubt
that my brother will be allowed to go until after the fall harvest,
and even then..." The greenrider shrugged. "We'll see what happens."

"Sounds like it might be rough on them." No wonder she sounded so
resentful of the Weyr at times. "So, Elana's at the Hold, huh? Let me
guess, looking for a husband, that sort of thing?"

Alina wrinkled her nose at him. "Of course. Her other options would be
to stay at Nadol and either be everyone else's babysitter for the rest
of her life, marry the old guy down the road and babysit _his_
children, or try to marry into a different situation. I hope she does
well..." she sighed, then smiled wryly. "But I'll be the _last_ to
know. She's not letting me visit her until she's secured her place."

"Why the blazes not? She can't keep you from going to the Hold and..."
His eyes narrowed as he studied her and his lips thinned. "You've got
to be kidding me. What is her problem? She should be shaffing well
proud of you. That fecking selfish, stupid, inconsiderate..."

Alina sighed. "No, it's not. I was pretty mad about it at first, but
we're twins, and greenriders have a... reputation." She was quiet a
moment. "If the first thing people know about Elana is that her twin
sister is a greenrider, they'll might make the same assumptions about
her and it'll be that much harder for her to find a husband. It's not
like she's of the Blood or our family is rich enough for someone to
overlook it."

His face reddened even further. "That's fecking well stupid, Alina.
And she's selfish, I don't care that she's your twin." He cupped her
cheek in his hand, turning her face. "You are shaffing intelligent,
brave, and fecking well gorgeous. If she's to stupid to see that, it's
her loss, not yours."

"I wasn't fishing for complements." His hand was hot against her
cheek, and Alina absently noted how blue J'ackt's eyes were.

His thumb stroked her cheek. "I know. Just saying what I think."

Maybe it was what he thought, but Elana was still her sister. Alina
nibbled her bottom lip, trying to think of something to say that would
make him understand, but J'ackt was very close. His eyes were very
blue, and the way he looked at her made her thoughts tumble like
leaves in the wind. She found herself leaning forward to brush her
lips against his.

He sighed against her mouth, drawing her closer to him. He kept the
kiss light at first, but the scent and feel of her drew him to deepen
it, wrapping his good arm around her to pull her close. Absently, he
moved the plates off both of their laps, putting them aside. The
taste of her utterly intoxicated him, hints of sharp sweetness that
pulled at his gut, demanding more of her.

She tangled her fingers in his hair. Kissed him back. J'ackt's words
hummed in her head the way Imarith's did, a pleasant beat beneath the
heat of his hands and lips against her body. Alina leaned into him,
her appetite for dinner suddenly replaced by an altogether different
desire.

He could taste her desire in the way she responded to him, the
alteration of her kiss; it took everything he had not to press her
back and take full advantage. But he had to be sure of her. He pulled
away slowly, one hand purposefully stealing to her back to pull slowly
at the laces of her gown. He watched her face and spoke softly, his
eyes soft, gentle, and filled with the firelight as it played on her
face. "I love you, Alina." He pulled one lace, then another. "Tell me
to stop and I will. But I want to see you, touch you. Let me show you
how much."

Her heart did a summersault beneath her breastbone. **I love you...**
The words felt like arrows. Her breath hitched. "I-- I love you. I
trust you," she said. Her hands, still in his hair, tugged him to meet
her as the rain fell around their little shelter like a curtain.

At a silent request, Zith moved to completely block the entrance of
the alcove, giving them total and complete privacy, only the fire
illuminating the darkness. A deep, nearly silent, but resonant hum
from the bronze vibrated the stones, providing a soft, ambient
counterpoint to the patter of raindrops that hit the stones.

As J'ackt tenderly pulled her gown away from her and laid her back on
the blanket, he pulled away long enough to look at her for the first
time. His breath exploded from him. "Sweet Faranth, you're beautiful."
He swallowed hard; that statement of trust and love, so hard-won,
thrilled J'ackt and warmed him to the core of his inner being. He'd
fought hard for her to say those words and knew that he had to live up
to them. She'd only known the near-violence of flight lust and by the
First Egg, he was going to give her the first time that she should
have had.

Last updated on the May 3rd 2019

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Hard Won Trust