Beautiful and Perfect (2/2)
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 25th January 2007
Characters: Birigundi, Nialyn
Description: Birigundi and Nialyn remember the night their baby was conceived
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 26 of Turn 4
Feeling her daughter shift a little in her arms, Nialyn's eyes flickered open, her hold tightening lovingly as she brought her closer up against her chest. Faranth, she was the most beautiful thing Nialyn had ever seen. And she was hers. Hers and Birigundi's. Gently she traced the tip of her finger carefully down Lyndi's soft, pudgy cheek, smiling when she made a soft, sleepy sound. Nialyn wondered what she was dreaming about. Did babies dream?
After tucking the soft linen around Lyndi's shoulder, Nialyn settled back against Biri, who had his long arms wrapped around her, cheek brushing against her hair. He had stayed with her. Throughout the long candlemarks of pain, he had stayed. And he'd done more than just support her with his presence. He'd held her hand, encouraged her with reassuring words even when she had shouted and screamed and cursed at him--at everyone. He'd held damp cloths to her forehead and neck, and had given her ice to soothe her thirst and sore throat. He had tenderly wiped her tears away with his thumbs when she'd sobbed and cried, aching for release. Nialyn hadn't been too far gone, lost in the red haze, to understand that Birigundi had stayed not only because he had promised he would, but that he had _wanted_ to. She had understood, and an emotion she had never felt for him before had welled inside of her, making her see him in a new light.
Smiling, Nialyn slowly turned her head to nuzzle neck. "Are you awake?"
she asked softly, voice still hoarse from the day's trial.
"Mmmhmm," he hummed, giving her a gentle squeeze. Birigundi knew how much her body had been through that day, and he didn't want to hurt her. "I'm just... looking..."
"She's beautiful." Absolute perfection. If anything could be absolute perfection in this world, a newborn infant was it. "Our Lyndi."
Well, Birigundi wouldn't have gone so far as to say she's _beautiful_. She was pink and wrinkled and puffy. Her face scrunched in weird ways and her eyes didn't really look at anything. They kind of rolled a bit. When they were open, that is. And her dark hair didn't seem to lay right and her head was kind of pointy. No, nothing about her was 'beautiful', but she was... perfect.
"Which one of us do you think she looks like?" he asked curiously.
"Both of us? After all, it took two, Biri," she chuckled.
"Yes," he smiled, turning to kiss her head. "I think I remember that night." How could he forget? Or the second time he met Nialyn. The night she told him she was pregnant. With Lyndi...
"I think I remember it too," she murmured with a small grin, stroking the downy fuzz on Lyndi's head.
"You know, I'm really happy about Lyndi. Not just because of her, but because of you." He wasn't sure if that made much sense. It didn't surprise him. He was exhausted and elated and mystified. But he did want to say _something_ of how he was feeling. While he still had the nerve. "I mean... I didn't know you that night. And I didn't really plan to know you." Now he was just tripping all over himself. "I mean I wanted to know you, but... I mean we only met that once..." And he had so many other ladies he liked getting to know... Face it, she was just one of many. One in a crowd. She would have been lost in it if this hadn't happened. "What I guess I'm trying to say is, I'm glad it was _you_. You're very special, Nia. I didn't know it then, but... well, I know it now."
She was silent for a long moment, caressing Lyndi's downy head. Nialyn wasn't completely naive. She knew that if it hadn't been for her pregnancy with Lyndi, Birigundi would not have given her a second glance. She was a weak, pale shadow next to the beautiful, confident and vibrant women he surrounded himself with. She knew that. She knew it, and a part of her resented it. But she couldn't change the way she was. "Special?"
she asked softly, a tiny smile playing at the corners of her lips as she turned her face up towards his. Compared to the other women who flocked around him, yes, she was. None of those others had made a baby with him. None of those others had a claim on him like she had. Nialyn didn't like knowing that she wasn't the only girl in his life, but as long as there was something to hold her above the rest...she could learn to be content. Little Lyndi would help her with that.
"Yes, Nia," he whispered, kissing the corner of her lips softly. "I think you're very special."
Last updated on the January 29th 2007