Under the Moonlight (2/3)

Writers: Anaria, JR
Date Posted: 24th November 2010

Characters: J'klin, Roana
Description: J'klin hasn't come to see her, so Roana visits him instead.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 11, day 17 of Turn 5
Notes: Part 2 of 3

"I promise I will stop being a stranger," J'klin said. "And yes, when I first transferred here, I swear all the greenriders looked the same. That was a bit awkward on occasion." He loosely draped one arm over Roana's shoulder, pulling her closer to him. "I forgot how well you fit under my arm."

Settling comfortably against him, the juice still cradled in her hands, Roana said, "Well, I'm happy to remind you then. I'd forgotten you always smelled so sharding good until you hugged me a few minutes ago, so I think we're probably even."

"Yes, although I admit, it's hard to maintain with it being so blasted hot down here. You're lucky you didn't see me when I first came down here, I was sweating like a beast for the better part of my first turn, until my body adjusted and I started learning how to keep cool. Were you lucky enough to get a weyr with your own bathing cavern, or did you get one of the new smaller ones?" J'klin asked.

"I have a bathing cavern. I'm assuming that was pure luck and just happened to be what was available, because I'm also two levels down from you. Or did you tick off the Headwoman when you came in to get your assignment?" She wouldn't have put it past him. Sometimes his sense of humor could be... off-putting.

"Hey, there are two people that I never mess with - The Headwoman and the Cook," J'klin protested. He had learned BOTH of those lessons the hard way.

Roana grinned, "That would make sense, but well, you don't always make sense." Her voice was clearly teasing.

J'klin decided that words were inappropriate for the present battle, and snatched the glass away from Roana. Once it was safely set on a nearby table alongside his own, he tickled her. "Yeah, but I do remember where your ticklish spots are! So what do you have to say about that, missy!"

Roana squeaked and squealed, trying to wriggle away from his probing fingers. "J'klin!" She exclaimed breathlessly. "That's not fair!" He had enough muscle on him that she had no chance of getting away, barring kicking him somewhere unpleasant, and being tickled didn't warrant inflicting that level of pain.

"Who said anything about fair!" J'klin countered, but he ceased tickling her, and instead pulled her into his lap. "Besides, I wouldn't tickle you if it wasn't so fun. Can you hold it against me that I want to have fun?"

She playfully poked him in the ribs. "Nope, but you have to at least give me a fair chance at trying to get away! You can pin me too easily!" Her voice was breathless, still half-laughing and her hazel eyes were sparkling with mirth. Shards, she'd missed him and this easy camaraderie.

"I'm sorry, but I have no intention of letting you get away from me, ma'am," J'klin said with a smile. "Not any time soon, at least, that's for certain." He kissed her once more, this time where her neck met her shoulders, before whispering, "I rather like you right here."

"And I rather like _being_ here," She admitted, although the shiver that ran through her at the touch of his lips on her neck probably gave him a clue. Grabbing hold of her shaky confidence, Roana turned and tilted her head to catch his lips with hers.

J'klin moaned softly in agreement, wrapping her up in a tight hug as he returned her embrace. Why was it that they knew each other for so many turns, and yet had never done this? He felt like he had wasted so much of his time, and why? Over Arilanna? He started kicking himself mentally, but that didn't last long. He couldn't be upset, not with Roana in his lap.

Roana had just gotten her breath back when she'd kissed him and he stole it away again. All the time she'd been half in love with him at Dragonsfall... thank goodness she'd never known he had the skill to leave her speechless with just a kiss! She pulled away just enough to separate their lips, her forehead resting against his while her small hands crept up to his shoulders. Her sensitive fingertips spread over the heavy muscles there. "Shards, J'klin, why on Pern did we never try this before?"

"I was just wondering that myself," J'klin said. "So where do you want to go from here? What do you want from this?" he asked, gesturing first to himself, then to Roana. "I don't want to push you, but I don't want you to think I'm disinterested either." He hoped that wasn't possible after the way he'd kissed her...

She stopped for a moment and gave his question the consideration it deserved. "I'm not disinterested either. Obviously. But we are still getting to know each other again, so I'd rather this go slowly." His arms were still around her, her smaller, curvy body settled comfortably into his lap, and she really didn't want to give that up, but those kisses could be trouble so she settled her head on his shoulder instead.

"Fair enough. What do you have planned for tomorrow morning? Your wing drills aren't too early are they? I was thinking perhaps we could grab some pastries from the kitchen, and head out for a nice night swim?" J'klin liked the beach, but the heat at River Bluff could often be somewhat oppressive. He had taken to swimming at midnight, when Belior and Timor provided ample lighting, and the water reflected the stars nicely.

"They're not very early, but I can always use the excuse of still being time-lagged from the move if I'm still tired," Roana grinned. "And swimming sounds wonderful. I'm assuming you've got some private spot you frequent?" At Dragonsfall, there'd been few places in their own territory with water warm enough for swimming, except in mid-summer. At River Bluff, there were likely far more interesting places.

"Certainly. Let me run down and grab those pastries really quickly, and we'll head off." J'klin disappeared to the Dining Caverns momentarily, then reappeared with a small basket, and another skin of redfruit juice. "My dragon or yours, milady?" He asked as he returned. He knew precisely where he would take her - a secluded cove with a waterfall that seemed to sparkle at night, and redfruit trees surrounding it that made the whole area smell wonderfully sweet.

"Yours. I'll send Phiralith back to our ledge so no one questions where I was all night," Roana's nose wrinkled. "Someone's always got an eye on the new girl." Taking the basket and juice from him, she nodded toward the ledge. "Alright, she's gone. Want to go get Nimyth harnessed up?"

"Sure thing," J'klin said, grabbing the straps that he used for transporting other people. He quickly harnessed Nimyth, then assisted Roana atop the brown dragon. While he got his dragon settled, he forced down a wave of jealousy that inexplicably struck him as he considered other people monitoring Roana's comings and goings. He forced the thoughts away, then mounted Nimyth quickly, reaching down with a hand to assist Roana.

Roana was glad for his supporting hand, because she made the leap, but it wasn't quite enough to make it up onto Nimyth. Her feet dug into the brown's side, trying to find purchase in that split-second of falling before J'klin caught her.

J'klin hid a chuckle as he caught Roana and pulled her up to Nimyth's neck ridge. "He's a wee bit larger than what you're used to, eh?" He asked, as he made sure she was settled and buckled in properly. Once they were both safely buckled in, Nimyth vaulted into the air, and circled the weyrbowl a few times.

That had been a rookie mistake; embarrassing. "Sorry, Nimyth," Roana called down to the brown. "And yeah, he's a lot bigger than Phiralith." She wrapped her arms around his waist and hid her face against his spine, blushing furiously.

J'klin smiled, he liked the way Roana clung to his back. He was certainly getting used to having her around. The trio disappeared /between/, and reappeared several dragonlengths above the cove. Rukbat had already set, and the reflection of the sky in the water made it difficult to tell where the sky ended and the ocean began. In the distance, the roar of the waterfall was audible, and Nimyth flew towards that sound. When they got close, Nimyth hovered closer to the water, and J'klin unbuckled himself, and dove from his dragon's back into the ocean.

Last updated on the December 16th 2010

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Under the Moonlight (2/3)