Sharing a Room

Writers: Francesca, Jane
Date Posted: 28th October 2009

Characters: Kellin, Coril
Description: Newly-weds Kellin and Coril find a little time to talk.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 5, day 10 of Turn 5
Notes: Riverboat Sungazer

Kellin opened the door of the room she shared and couldn't help but peek around the edge of the light wooden-framed door before she went inside. All her life she had shared rooms; it was the riverboat way of life, but not since her childhood had she shared a room with a male.

And never before with a husband.

Coril grunted in surprise at the sound of the door closing, quickly reaching for his shirt and slipping it over his head. He had been thinking of going for a swim and that had turned into a half-dream in which he was swimming alongside the riverboat, easily keeping up with it. It had been pleasant, especially because his swimming dreams generally involved him struggling to move but going very slowly. There might even have been a dolphin in this dream but the memory was already fading away.

He hadn't meant to fall asleep but he must have because there she was, back from her shift. He ran his hands through his short hair, then rubbed his eyes, trying to fully wake up.

"You don't have to wake up for me, Coril. You've been busy with the cargo most the day. If you want a nap you have one."

Even if he had wanted to, he didn't think he could sleep again. The surprise of her entry meant he was wide awake. Besides, the evening meal would be soon and a nap would make it even more difficult for him to sleep that night. He was grateful they didn't share a bed. He had warned her the first night that he snored and she hadn't seemed disappointed, or annoyed, but he tried not to fall asleep too quickly to give her a chance to sleep before his snores started.

Rather than explaining everything, Coril shook his head and swung his legs around so they were hanging off the edge of the bed. "Do you want a nap?"

"No. I think I'll just go and have a bath and maybe head down to the crew room for a while." She still felt as if she needed to work at integrating herself into the Sungazer crew. "Show myself to be sociable."

Luckily, he had spent practically his entire life on the Sungazer and therefore did not need to force himself to sociable. He couldn't even imagine moving to a different place, needing to make friends... small talk. With his new wife, however, he was trying his best to speak up more than he normally did. "How has the transition been?" he asked as he slipped his left foot into his boot and began lacing it up.

"The time we spent aboard before I transferred -" she grinned at him and corrected herself, "- before we married had sorted most things out." She nodded, more to herself than to her 'husband'. "It's working out. And I'm the third new 'bride' in quick succession after Rahona and Eliste."

"Hmm." It was strange to think of it in that way. Rahona had been a member of the family even before coming to the Sungazer and Eliste, well, she and Fog had fallen in love. He supposed the influx of new crew members would make it easier on Kellin however. "And you're already used to life on the riverboat."

"Unlike the other two, yes." She smiled at the man she had married when it had proved difficult to trace her family back in such a way that she came up with a plausible connection to the Sungazer's crew. "It helps that you're well respected, Coril."

A smile crossed his face and he was glad his tan covered the reddening of his cheeks. He didn't consider himself to be well respected. He was just family. "Glad to help."

He wasn't a big talker, her husband and she suspected that he'd more than used up his quota of words for the day. "I'll get along for my bath now," she said. "But perhaps I'll see you down at the dining room a little later. For the meal?"

Living as closely as riverboat people did there was no doubt that people understood their relationship wasn't the usual one of man and wife but that didn't mean she was going to flaunt that their marriage was nothing more than a convenience. Making sure they were seen together was not only part of that but plain courtesy to the man who had enabled her to join the Sungazer's crew.

Coril nodded. "I'll be there." Even if he wasn't in love with his wife, in would be nice if they could become friends. Dinner was a good opportunity to get to know her without feeling pressure to talk.

"Thanks, Coril," the Sungazer's pilot said, meaning more than just his willingness to meet later in the dining room. "I appreciate it."

Last updated on the November 3rd 2009

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Sharing a Room