Under the Moonlight (3/3)

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 3 of 3

She wasn't quite the adrenaline junkie he was. "A little lower, if you can, Nimyth?" The brown obligingly circled back for her to make a similar dive. It was no worse than cliff diving, although leaping off a moving dragon lent it a little something extra. Breaking the surface when she came back up, she looked around. "J'klin?"

J'klin came up from the water underneath Roana, lifting her up on his shoulders. "Glad that you could join me!" Nimyth flew some distance away before executing a neat dive into the water nearby. "Isn't this nice?" J'klin asked, a contented smile forming on his face. He'd been wanting to do this with a woman since he had found the cove.

"Ahhh!" She'd suspected he'd try something of the sort when he hadn't immediately responded to her call. Her short legs curled under his arms, her hands wrapping around his head as she got her balance. It took a moment before she could really look around and admire the surroundings. "It's beautiful. Are we still in River Bluff's territory?"

"Yep," J'klin said. "We're a bit north of where the river meets the ocean. You'll have to come with me during the day once so you can visualize good coordinates for Phiralith if you want to come here in the future. He turned around, and pointed off into the distance. "See, you can just barely see the waterfall over there. Oh, er... do you swim alright?" He asked belatedly.

"Would I have jumped off Nimyth into the ocean if I was unsure of my ability to _not_drown_?!" Roana laughed and swatted at him, peering into the darkness toward the waterfall. "And maybe you should keep those coordinates secret, so I'll have to come pester you any time I want to come here," She grinned. Even though he couldn't see it, he'd certainly hear it in her voice.

"Well, if your so good at swimming, then I don't see any reason to hold you up anymore," J'klin said, twisting out from under Roana, to send her flying into the water. He then decided it prudent to swim as fast as he could towards the waterfall, assuming that she might be slightly mad at being pitched into the water.

She spluttered to the surface, thinking quickly. Clearing her throat, she yelled. "Nimyth! If you ever want to cuddle with Phira again, you'll stop him, right now!"

Nimyth bugled in distress, and leapt from the water, taking to the air in a manner that seemed physically impossible. He flew as quickly as possible to where J'klin was swimming and plucked him lightly out of the water. J'klin flailed for several moments, screaming in annoying at his dragon. "You sharding traitor! You choose snuggling with a green over your own lifemate?"

}:You can't leave me. Phiralith can,:{ Nimyth responded. }:Seemed like an easy enough decision to me.:{

**You're in so much trouble.**

She couldn't hear Nimyth's half of the conversation, but she swam for the pair, smirking at the dismay in the brownrider's voice. It was much easier to get somewhere in the water when there was a dragon in the air to point you in the right direction. "Thanks Nim. I'll make sure to remind Phiralith how wonderful you are when we get back. You can drop him now."

Nimyth dropped his rider the half-dragonlength back down to the water, and J'klin fell with a rather undignified splash. He surfaced a few moments later, pouting piteously. "Fine. I deserved that," he said simply. He wouldn't soon forgive Nimyth though.

Roana's arms crossed over her chest as she treaded water. "And what do you have to say for yourself, sir? Tossing a poor, defenseless greenrider into cold ocean water and leaving her alone?"
She put on a pout of her own, hiding her amusement.

"Awwwwww," J'klin said. The water they were in was now shallow enough for him to stand, so he wrapped his arms about Roana, pulling her close to him. "I'm sorry sweetheart. What can I do to make it better?" He kissed the top of her head affectionately.

"Hmmm, I don't think that's enough of an apology." She grumbled under her breath when her wet clothes stuck to her skin when she tried to wrap her arms around him. "Whose bright idea was it to jump in fully clothed?" Roana leaned up to press a kiss to his cheek and pulled away, headed for the beach. When she was able to stand, the water lapping around her shoulders, she stripped out of her shirt, balling it up and tossing it toward the sand before dealing with her trousers.

J'klin started to follow her, and then paused as she removed her clothing. He fought the initial inclination to hide in waist deep water, and forced himself to continue. "Clothes dry!" He said in response. "Besides, diving off is fun! And... it appears to have succeeded in getting you out of your trousers!" he said, his tone joking. He removed his own shirt, flexing his back to loosen the scars across it, and tossed his shirt to the sands.

She wasn't shy about her body, but she was still a little shy of him. Once her pants had been thrown at the beach, Roana ducked under the water while his back was still turned, headed for the waterfall. She was a decent swimmer and in good enough shape that holding her breath wasn't difficult, so she made it a fair distance before popping back up to stare in wonder at the cliffs and waterfall rising above her. "How'd you find this place?" She called to him. "Just out sweepriding?"

"We were sweepriding, and we ended up getting a bit lost. I heard the roar of the water off in the distance, so we came over to investigate," J'klin said, swimming up beside the greenrider. "I didn't expect it to be anywhere near as gorgeous as it was, and certainly didn't expect it to be so pretty at night. You know, I have wanted someone to show this to for over a turn now, and have never actually found anyone to bring here. So far as I know, you and I are the only ones who know about this place - all the times that I have come here I have never seen a trace of anyone else. No footsteps, no debris, nothing."

"So... you haven't been seeing anyone at all since you've been out here?" She remembered his comment that first night, "Just random one night stands?" Her eyes still admiring the surrounding landscape, she reached out for his arm, pulling herself over to lean back against him.

"Not really even one night stands. I mean, Nimyth has chased a few times, and I have gone on dates with a few girls. Nothing more than that. I didn't sleep with any of the girls I went on dates with and I didn't date any of the girls Nimyth ended up sticking me with." He paused in thought for a moment. "I don't know, after the breakup, I just didn't want to be around anyone for a long time. Once I got past that point, I was too caught up in drinking to really be proactive about finding a woman. How about you? How long have you been single for?"

"Feels like forever," She shrugged, tilting her head back onto his shoulder to look up at him. "There was someone right after you left Dragonsfall, but it was itch-scratching, not a relationship. We'd see each other a couple times a sevenday, screw around, and then go our separate ways. It didn't last long though. Phiralith's flights are one thing, but empty sex is just that - empty. I went back to cuddling up with friends when I wanted company and leaving sex alone."

"Yeah, I really wished I had a cuddle buddy when I first got here. It's surprising how much you miss physical contact with someone you care about. And it's not even just the sex, it's hugs, and backrubs, and all sorts of little affections." J'klin came up behind Roana then, wrapping his arms around her. "It feels really good to have you back around," he murmured softly into her ear.

"Exactly," She nodded in complete agreement. "It's little things that don't take a lot of effort, but showing someone's paying attention. Footrubs, or having dinner sent up when you've been out on sweeprides all day. I remember you used to always wander behind me and ruffle my hair to get me to smile." The memory alone put another smile on her face and she turned in his arms, her voice soft and hesitant. "I want to be that person for you."

"I want to be that person for you, too," J'klin said, pulling Roana close in a tight hug. "Thanks for coming over tonight," he murmured softly, before kissing her once more, lightly on the lips.

When he broke the kiss, she laid her head on his shoulder with a soft sigh. This - just being with him - was more comfortable than she'd ever have guessed before. "You're welcome," She said, barely audible over the sound of the waterfall.

Last updated on the December 16th 2010

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Under the Moonlight (3/3)