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Writers: Jane, Kaysea
Date Posted: 27th May 2008

Characters: Lineal, Nico
Description: Lineal grumbles about Nico's interest in one particular resident at the waypoint.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 9, day 27 of Turn 4

Lineal enjoyed the view from the pilothouse because there wasn't a better view to be had anywhere on the Sungazer - and that made sense, since the pilot did need that to steer a safe course up and down the river. Other crewmembers came and went through the glassed-fronted room, sometimes stopping to admire the view, but mostly they were familiar with it and busy. They spoke to him or Tyno, the pilot, and then carried on through.

Except Nico, today, who was back again.

"Did you forget something?" Lineal demanded as he caught sight of the young man, a twin to the pilot whose eyes seldom left the view ahead of them.

"No, um..." he looked around the wheelhouse, "I er, was looking for Fog, have you seen him?" he hated to look like a tardy worker, but he desperately needed to speak to his cousin before they docked.

"Usually hangs around the engines, like an engineer should," Lineal suggested. "But no, I haven't seen him today. He's been resisting the temptation to check on how close we are to the waypoint."

"He has?" Lineal's words gave him pause for thought, "Any idea why?"

"Because he doesn't want me to know that he's interested in the pregnant girl we left there? And other people are too dumb to hide it?"

"He is?" Nico's eyebrows rose so high they almost disappeared into his hairline. "I... I didn't know." he stammered. Why hadn't he noticed Fog's interest - had he been so consumed with his own fascination for the woman he hadn't seen his cousins. "Has he told you - or anyone else? I thought he liked Rahona's friend?" he shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, but they became more muddled.

"I think every single man on the crew is interested," Lineal grumbled.
"Seems like it, some days. Rush, rush, rush toward the waypoint; dawdle, dawdle, dawdle away."

Nico felt the heat flooding his face, he hadn't thought his actions had been noticed, but obviously Lineal was as observant as Jesten had been.
Lineal's words also gave rise for concern, there were more single men aboard than married, were they _all_ interested in Ellina? He glanced over to his brother Tyno, who grinned back at him. "Every man?" he asked, feeling his throat tighten.

"Not Uncle Barr," Lineal said after a pause long enough to make his cousin sweat.

"Oh? Oh..." for a moment Nico's spirit had risen, then he had taken in Lineal's words fully, and he had to struggle to hold in his disappointment. "Well, we're away now, or soon will be, so you won't have to worry." He knew his comment was lame, but right then and there, he couldn't say much more, he felt wretched. It was bad enough that Ellina wasn't showing him any encouragement, but to hear that others were feeling the same as he was.... just made him feel worse. Added to that was the quilt he had seen Ellina give to Fog. He loved his cousin dearly but ... this was love and he wasn't about to step aside lightly.

"You - none of you - can force her to return your interest, you know,"
Lineal said, feeling foolish and hypocritical even as he spoke. He wasn't much older than Nico, too close in age to attempting to give advice, and he had happily ignored Rahona's apparent disinterest in him at the start of their relationship.

"Who said I was interested?" he asked, looking from Lineal to his brother. Tyno appeared to be busy, but Nico knew better, he had known his brother too long and too well to think he wasn't listening. "It's not me you have to worry about," he reaffirmed.

"No? Well if the sudden interest in the waypoint gets any more prevalent I'm going to sail right on by next time."

"That's fine with me." Nico nodded, looking hard from one man to the other, all but daring them to contradict him. After all, what did he have left to worry about at the waypoint? Ellina - no _Eliste_ - that was her real name. Eliste had made her choice, Fog. There wasn't much he could do about it now. But why did it still rile him?

"Then it's fine with me too," Lineal said, wondering if his father and Uncle Barr had squabbled like children no matter how old they got. It wasn't something that had happened during his time as a seacrafter but the family ties on the riverboat made it easy to fall back into the behaviours of childhood. He cleared his throat. "I mean, it's good that nobody's distracted from their jobs." That sounded like a ridiculous end to something that had started off as a bit of light-hearted teasing. "Oh, go away Nico. You're making me sound like an idiot."

Tyno stifled a snort of amusement, trying to appear as if he had stifled a sneeze. He didn't fool his brother, and Nico suspected he hadn't fooled their cousin either - neither of them had. "That..... that's a bait I'm not taking..." he replied with a grin.

"That'll be the first time, then," Lineal grumbled. "Now, everybody, back to work."

Last updated on the June 1st 2008

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