For The Lady

Writers: Avery, Yvonne
Date Posted: 23rd August 2014

Characters: J'nus, Kapera
Description: J'nus brings the promised fan to Kapera.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 18 of Turn 7

Kapera

J'nus whistled quietly as he walked through the halls to Kapera's weyr.
Unlike the seaside weyrs, the weyrs with a view of the plateau also had interior
hallways, which made delivering surprises fairly easy. He set his gift down on stone
floor and knocked, hoping she was in. If she wasn't, he planned to break in, set up
the fan, and leave it as a surprise for when she got back.

Kapera was bathing the smell of agenothree off. At the knock, she stood
and wrapped a towel around herself and shuffled to the door, droplets of water
trailing behind her. "Come on in," she said as she opened it.

J'nus looked her up and down, eyebrows raised. "I feel like I'm interrupting
something."

"Only me getting agenothree smell away. It's not as bad as firestone, but
it's still not pretty. Uh...let me get a robe." And she ducked back into the sleeping
area before he could say a word.

She emerged in a long cotton shift. "To what do I owe the honor of this?"

"I brought you a present." Grinning, the bronzerider ducked back into the
hall and re-entered with a large contraption on a tripod and a canvas bag over one
shoulder. A series of gears had been attached to the top, but what the mechanism did
was unclear.

She tilted her head at it. "You've got me."

"Just wait." From the bag he withdrew three blades, which he threaded over
a point at the top of the tripod, and suddenly the contraption became a fan.

She stared, fascinated, reaching a finger out and stroking it in the air
above the item. "Wow. You did it."

"I said I would, didn't I?" J'nus found a nut in his pocket and slipped it
on the screw that held the fan blades. He tightened it with his fingers, then
withdrew a small wrench from the bag. "Never let it be said that I don't keep my
promises."

She watched him work, fascinated by his hands and the mechanism. "You're
brilliant. Remind me to ask you for more promises."

"Your wish is my commant, m'lady goldrider." And it was half true. Mostly
true. If Kapera asked, J'nus knew that he would have a scorching hard
time saying no.

Her eyes widened at his words and she licked at her lips. "Be honest with
me," she said after a moment. "None of the dragonhealers at Windswept rode bronze.
Kopth might have a good guess - will she rise?"

J'nus paused. The dragonhealers hadn't known... and perhaps the answer
wasn't the one that Kapera was looking for. But she'd asked. His eyes unfocussed a
little while he conferred with his dragon. "Kopth says... he says he is waiting. I
can't get him to say anything other than that. I don't know if he knows either. I'm sorry."

Hurt flashed in her eyes, but was quickly replaced by a spark of fire.
She'd just started _flying_ again, for Faranth's sake. "You'll tell me if
he notices?" she asked, trying to keep her tone stable. She didn't want to
be caught
unawares.

"I will." He felt badly for her. Not knowing whether Riyanth could rise or
not must be a huge source of worry, and it was unfortunate that it was a problem
only time would fix. With a final twist he finished attaching the fan blades.
"There. Take this." He handed her a small socket wrench. "You use this to wind the
weight up here," he said, touching the socket with a forefinger. From the bag he
pulled a lead weight, which he attached to a hook on a thin waxed cord. The cord was
wrapped around a small drum, and as soon as he let go of the weight, the fan
blades started to move. "Ta da!"

Her eyes widened as the breeze started. "Whoa, there!" She watched the
weight, then the fan blades, then watched the way it started to go.

"It's marvelous. You're a genius." She summoned up a large smile for him.

The bronzerider shrugged. "I don't know about genius, but I will accept
'above
average'."

She chuckled. "That's definitely a true comment. Shall I sing it from the
high stones?"

"If you would be so kind." The bronzerider swept a bow. "I'm new here, and
I'm not so sure that everyone knows of my above average-ness yet."

"Well, I'll have to give you all kinds of praise to my good friends then.
Anything else special I should brag about?" She took a half-step closer.

"Well..." J'nus pretended to think. "You could tell them about my
excellent taste in art. Or my skill at pole fishing."

"Your taste in art is certainly eclectic." She wrinkled her nose, recalling a
long-ago discussion about art, and not being sure she was convinced all of
what he picked out actually counted.

"Ecclectic, perhaps. But still excellent." He paused, unsure of how to
proceed. The fan was working and the day coming to an end, and Kapera probably had
plans. His gaze travelled down from the neck of her tunic to where the fabric met her
thighs, and he wished for a dizzying moment that she didn't. "Well," he said,
wrenching his gaze away and hoping she hadn't noticed, "I should go."

"Sure, we'll go with that," she said lightly, frustrated at herself even
as she spoke. He was so, so...hard to read! She couldn't tell if she could
make an invitation or not. They were just building a rapport back up,
shardit - she trusted him. Was she going to ruin it by asking for
something more when everyone knew she just slept and left?

"You could stay for a drink. Tea or klah," she added quickly.

J'nus hesitated. "It's a little hot for klah," he said, which meant
nothing but would buy him a little time.

"Juice?" Now, perhaps, she sounded a bit wheedling.

"If you've got some," he said, relenting. In spite of the best of intentions.

She gave him a grin. "Somehow I always wind up with the best of it..."

Last updated on the September 6th 2014

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For The Lady