Wooden Flowers and Silent Apologies

Writers: Clancey, Heather
Date Posted: 25th March 2013

Characters: Devyn, J'darin
Description: After J'darin's revelation about Devyn, he seeks her out purposefully... and gets a surprise.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 13 of Turn 6

Devyn

J'darin

He had stayed up late the evening before and finished the carving for
Devyn. He also wanted to ask her "formally" to be his date for
Turnover celebrations, although it was really informal at the Weyr.
But perhaps she would want to visit her family...

He took the small wooden flower he had carved for her and placed it in
his pocket.

He really hadn't sought her out nearly as much as he would have liked,
and he wondered, a little, if she was having any second thoughts about
him. The good news was: the wondering was not accompanied by the
plunging self-esteem that had gone along with it during prior moments
of introspection. No, this time, it was merely curiousity based on
how busy he had been of late.

**Hasaarth please send my request politely on to Ellyth, to see if her
rider is free.... **

--

It wasn't that they had completely stopped seeing each other, but
Devyn got the feeling that J'darin was slowly trying to pull away from
her. He came around less and less, and didn't call her over to his
weyr nearly as often. If he wanted to see someone else the least he
could do was tell her, Devyn decided. So Devyn had stopped spending
her evenings moping around in her weyr in the hopes of seeing the
Weyrlingmaster, and was instead spending the evening with her friends
in a corner of the Dining Cavern sharing drinks.

}:Hasaarth's rider wishes to know if you are free?:{ Ellyth dutifully
relayed.

Devyn's eyebrows rose, a cup of wine hovering near her lips, **No,
tell him I already have plans this evening.** Oh, her body wanted to
defy her, after all, she could recall in _vivid_ detail what it was
like being with J'darin, but she had her own self-respect to think of!
The man couldn't just decide to pop into her life whenever he wanted
and expect that she drop everything for him.

And just like that, all his good work the evening before teetered on
the edge of becoming undone.

It was as he'd feared, then. He'd been unable to see her as much
with all the things he'd been tied up with lately, and he had not done
a good enough job reminding her that he still wanted to see her, but
time was not permitting. He certainly had not made it clear he wasn't
seeing anyone else, or that he didn't _want_ anyone else. Just her.
Just time.

He sighed and turned his head down, flinching a little from the response.

Many things crashed through his mind then, many emotions tore through
his heart. He just didn't know what to "do" with them.

He leaned closer to his dragon, and time passed. Finally, he came to
a sort of conclusion. Fighting his own self-loathing, he nodded and
whistled for Oak.

With one last pat for Hasaarth, he went to the table and wrapped up
the little wooden flower he'd carved for her - it was actually about
as long as his middle finger - in some plain paper with a twist of string
around it.

He took a scrap of hide and jotted a note on it.

"I'll always be here. Yours, J'darin."

He tied the note to Oak's leg, and handed the wrapped package to his
flit to grasp in his talons. **Take this to Devyn** His mind
pictured the lovely greenrider in detail, and Oak chirped in response.
He knew that one well. His person often sent him to her. Or he
used to. The reliable brown disappeared /between/ and J'darin made his
way to his bed, intending to sleep, if he could, without spending
candlemarks in self-hate.

And definitely definitely, without seeking out Devyn in person. Right.

When Oak arrived in the Dining Cavern, Devyn recognized the flit
immediately, and she had to admit that the fluttering of her heart
matched the brown's wings as he dropped down onto the table in front
of her. The sounds of her friends' laughter died in her eyes as she
stroked Oak's headknob and untied the note from his leg.

Opening the scrap piece of parchment, tears blurred her eyes as she
saw the simple, but sweet message from J'darin. Opening up the small
parcel, she smiled as she turned over the wood carved flower in her
fingers. The craftsmanship was excellent, as usual. She'd seen J'darin
whittle things before but nothing as beautiful as the flower.

That was when she knew she had to go to him.

**Tell Hasaarth we're coming up, but don't let J'darin know. I want it
to be a surprise.**

--

Devyn slipped quietly into J'darin's weyr from Hasaarth's couch, her
long flowing skirt cascading around her legs as she moved. When she
didn't find him in the main quarters she made her way to his bedroom,
her eyes making out his still form on the bed, even in the dark.

"J'darin." She spoke his name softly, wondering if he was awake.

Hasaarth was somewhere between asleep and awake, but he sensed her
entering. His eyes opened and began to whirl in the dim light,
mostly blue. He liked Ellyth's rider, and he especially liked that
his own rider was so much happier when she was near. He showed a
rare sign of independent thought and almost welcomed her to their weyr
mentally, but instead, he sent to his rider. }:She is here.:{

J'darin manfully contained the shout of happiness, and instead began
to move a little beneath the covers. He had been curled up under his
furs in a sleeveless, loose tunic and loose pants against the chill
which never seemed to quite go out of the air, sometimes. It was
warm enough, but a little extra never hurt in the cold Dragonsfall
winters.

Her soft call came shortly after Hasaarth's sending and he raised
himself up on an elbow, peering toward her. Had she really come?

"Devyn? You came? But... you... plans...." He was stammering a
little, torn between surprise, happiness, and a vague worry that he'd
pulled her away from something much more fun. He had not _meant_ for
her to come! His smile flashed white in the darkness above the bed.

Devyn crossed over to his bed, kneeling onto the foot of it before
crawling her way up to where he was laying, her arms on either side of
his waist as she greeted him with a warm kiss. It had been too long
since they'd been alone, and the greenrider wasn't interested in
conversation, not when the man she'd been pining after for months
_finally_ had sent her some sort of sign. Her fingers went to the
front of the tunic that he was sleeping in, working on the buttons
that held the shirt together.

J'darin had no time for reaction, or even a word. She moved right into bed
with him and kissed him into insensibility.

His body went on ahead without his mind, though, and he wrapped her up in
his arms, pulling her close for another kiss. He slipped one hand around
in between them, to help with his buttons, and soon had shucked out of his
shirt.

He wasn't sure what had prompted this reaction, but it seemed she had no
interest in talking just now.. And he was happy enough to comply with her
warm, willing wishes.

But he must tell her. He must ...

Against her lips, he whispered softly, "Devyn... I'm so glad to see you...
and I'm sorry it took so long..." But then he, too, lost interest in
speaking.

Last updated on the April 1st 2013

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Wooden Flowers and Silent Apologies