The Walk (Salina)

[Omnia Munda]

Set concurrent to the hatching feast, after J'fel departs Althesia's company.

"I'm so sorry to keep you waiting."

His voice was pitched deep and made rich by the crooked charm of his smile. His eyes, bright and full of endless blue, were lit, and it seemed their light was all made for her.

J'fel lifted a hand so that Salina's fingers might come to rest in his palm. "Our plans are compounded by our social duties, aren't they? Thankfully I'm permitted my duties to you, too."

His voice adored her, each syllable resonant with a focused fascination. Had he been dancing with a pretty harper in a revealing blouse just moments ago? Surely it seemed the young weyrleader had forgotten her. He had eyes only for his newest weyrwoman.

"Shall we?" The gesture of his other hand was fluid and welcoming, accompanied by a little dip of shoulder. If she agreed, they'd escape the feast into the bowl, where its expanse would offer them a chance to walk and talk beneath the night sky.

Until Deoneth stirred, anyway.

[Xinnai]

The goldrider turned at a voice that seemed to come whispering out of nowhere. Nowhere but somewhere-a whirling and sprinting of shapes she'd been studiously ignorning. She knew who it was, knew and felt a brief tingle because of that knowledge. She knew, but had not seen, and then did.

She accepted the invitation of hand coming to hand, slight and delicate fingers resting within J'fel's palm, gray eyes tracing his face as he spoke once more. Her own was solemn, was soft and serious except for eyes that seemed to gleam with smoke.

"Yes, they would be," she murmured in response to the rather rhetorical question, her voice soft and melodious, an impression of intimacy while there was none where they were situated. For the moment. "And it is indeed a rather welcome pleasure that those duties might include me."

If any word were enunciated, whether it be welcome or pleasure, would anyone notice? Would anyone care? Her smile was slight, just a faint curve of lips. She nodded, hair flashing golden fire with movement at his next words, at the action they proposed. "I think we shall."

Eyes slid to his, smile widening by a margin, that miniscule amount completely transforming the girl's face. Salina looked coy in that moment, looked amused by the prospect of this walk before it was gone as head turned.

She was anticipating this walk, the events that could unfold. How long could it be drawn out, she mused idly. How long before one of them was searched out or before her gold awoke?

[Omnia Munda]

Among the gamblers were two that had broken their concentration to glance up from their dice to see the young weyrwoman. Just as she turned her smoky eyes from them up to the Weyrleader, a wicked grin was beginning to break upon the mouth of the man who was winning - but seeing who it was that had won Salina's attention, the grin disappeared.

Behind the goldrider and her suitor-of-sorts, the sound of dice rattled across the table. They punctuated more callously the words that, in Salina's voice, had been only gently emphasized. Perhaps these were no friends of J'fel's, these gamblers.

No matter. The young weyrleader seemed not to see them. Golden hair and grey eyes filled his vision, his thumb sliding sweetly along knuckles held in his hand's palm. "Very good," he replied her, and by her hand he led her.

The rest of the cavern was a blur of faces, smiles and arched brows, quick words - congratulations for Salina and respects paid to J'fel - and through these the bronzerider led his prize ably and without hesitation. Only when they broke through the cavern's mouth into the brisk cool summer night beyond did his pace falter; outside, the weyrleader paused and looked up.

Stars, he thought, as though they'd come out for him. The emotion was approval. It was perfect. He drew a deep breath through a growing smile, and turned to find out whether Salina yet looked coy.

Surely he could not have known what she thought, what she hoped or imagined - such inquisition was the field of dragons and not of men. Nevertheless: "Let's walk past the herb garden on the way," he murmured, a path which would take them the long way east rather than the relatively short route along the bowl's western wall directly to the barracks.

The route would take them also past the caravans by the weyr's entrance and, beyond that, the stables, and surely J'fel could suggest just cause to pass by either place for whatever reason. But it was the herb garden he suggested, sweet-smelling and overgrown by late summer, with chive and sage in blossom. "It's less chilly than the lakeshore," provided the weyrleader, by way of explanation, with a glance down, his gaze taking in the drape and shape of the gown of peacock blue. Then he looked into Salina's eyes and closed his fingers over hers, smirking. "And less popular."

[Xinnai]

Tingle followed the brush of skin against skin as a thumb slid along her hand but the girl ignored it. It'd do no good to her now. She nodded and followed after the dark-haired Weyrleader as he led, head inclining to the thanks she received with a few quiet words after. She was always polite.

As they broke outside, Salina let out a small sigh of pleasure for the feeling of the light breeze against her skin and the fresh air that filled lungs. The goldrider hadn't realized just quite how many people the feast had attracted and free from their presence, she came to the conclusion that the less people, the better. At least for now.

Her sour mood was quickly reverting, as was the desperate loss of hope. The stars, the space and perhaps present company put her at peace. The weyrling met J'fel's look but her face was half-hidden by shadow, just a blur of pale white within the night. If eyes were any darker, if her lips were curved, it could be attributed to lack of light most certainly.

"The herb garden," she murmured, repeating his words. "That sounds lovely and certainly more...hospitable as you say." She nodded by the barest of increments and stepped into the light, meeting the bronzerider's gaze as fingers met and held. Eyes definitely contained more smoke and secrecy than the situation warranted-after all, what was one to think of the Weyrleader? He was just taking care of Pern's future-and her lips tilted at a sensual angle. "Lead the way," she invited, eyes holding his as her smile spread and warmed.

[Omnia Munda]

'Lead the way,' said Salina - so J'fel did. But it was not too many footsteps from the cavern's entrance, not too many moments departed from the boisterous noises of celebration they'd left behind, when the bronzerider slowed his pace to walk beside and not just ahead of his young weyrwoman; when his hand lowered between them, holding hers secure; when his fingers twined long and warm with hers.

The pad of his thumb rubbed her palm, now, and from the corners of his eyes J'fel watched her for her reaction, sparkling.

"I wondered if you'd ever be ready to leave," he purred.

He was no longer walking briskly or even in a businesslike manner. They were out to enjoy the night, and his stride suited their purpose. The glow of Caminar fires, smaller than the great bonfire that had welcomed their gathering days ago, cast the caravans in shadow looming before them, alien yet inviting. The path J'fel was moseying would take them around the gathering of wagons and carts and campsites, and like those things the man and woman would become mere silhouettes, faceless and nameless in the fire- and starlit dark.

"I'd like to think my company at least a little bit desired," added J'fel, his voice full of rich, deep fires of its own.

[Xinnai]

Salina slowed as J'fel did, matching his stride though even in his smaller stature compared to most men, she still had to walk slightly faster to match his pace. It was one of the occupational hazards of being what most would consider a midget.

As thumb brushed over skin, their fingers linked intimately, the goldrider glanced up and over, smile curling catlike on her face and eyes darkening by either the motion or the diminshing light.

"I wondered if you'd hold your word," she countered, voice smooth and low as she watched him, searching for any flicker of emotion across his face. Soon though, she took her eyes from that lovely canvas, sending them out to look about the night and absorb it in.

The faint cooling, the sight of the fires in the distance, the feel of his warm hand encompassing hers. Would it be so wrong if she wished to hold all memories close? She didn't think so and so dwelled not on the issue of ethics that was at play here, but instead upon what she wished to remember.

At his next words, grey eyes were skipping up and over, humor in them. "Perhaps too much so, my good bronzerider. Did you not know? There's those who think me mad in this business, but I don't care. Because your presence might be just the slightest bit too much desired, to some at least." She slowed, fingers curling within his before she turned slightly, angling her body so she walked just slightly ahead of him, facing him. "And you, good sir? Is my company not the littlest bit desired?" Her tone was full of smoke, much like her eyes, as lips quirked slightly at her repetition of his words.

[Omnia Munda]

A flicker of emotion appeared indeed on J'fel's features: wry amusement animated his eyebrows while brilliant wickedness gleamed sharp in deep blue eyes. He was no longer looking at her from their corners, however; he was watching ahead, scouting the path they walked and avoiding eye contact while the possibility that he might have been distracted from walking Salina back to the barracks slid off his back like water.

His gaze returned to her, however, as 'too much desired' came across her lips. He might have intended to answer her; his expression included slight surprise, though that could easily be affected for her benefit.

But her next question was more welcome, and J'fel answered it by slowing his stride so that his hand, twined with hers, tugged at her to slow her down as well. Then he tugged her toward him, to bring her much closer, face to face.

"More than your company," softly said the weyrleader, voice made husky by fires not quite like those that burned among the Caminar caravans.

He'd have kissed her then, had they been farther from the feast, but J'fel could still hear the distant roar of the celebrations. So he settled for lifting his hand to the side of her jaw and daring a brush of his thumb over her lower lip. He held it there for a second, unbreathing, then let his hand fall away and broke the moment with a sideways step.

It was the first step back onto the path that would take them farther from the light and sound of the party, out into the night toward the herb garden.

"A weyrwoman has to make her own choices, not always politic ones," noted J'fel as they walked, passing through the shadows of the caravans, two more shadows amongst them.

[Xinnai]

When J'fel slowed, effectively bringing her to do the same, eyes were caught to his, especially as he tugged her all the closer, bringing them to the closest proximity they'd been all evening. The goldrider kept herself under control, watching him not warily or cautiously but with a quiet intensity that burned within those expressive eyes.

The brush of skin was intimate, was indeed daring and she sighed softly against the thumb against her lip, watching him still. Lips curled slightly as he stepped aside after one agonizing second. "That makes two of us then," she murmured as they were on their way once more.

Salina glanced among the caravans, recognizing no one. It was just a blurring of dark shapes and vague, shadowy outlines of tents and wagons. It felt not as if they were passing through a wholly different section of the Weyr, but almost as if it were a different time, full of intrigue and mystery and old beliefs and traditions.

When she laughed, it was a quiet sound. "Yes, her own choices, but must she not consider the situation from all angles? To include head, heart, well being and the thoughts of others? It's a thin line to walk, but I think it managageable."

As breeze laid flush to her skin, eyes closed for a moment to soak it in. It was a wonder to know this peacefulness existed not even so far from the cavorting and chaotic lower caverns where the festivities continued. It was another dimension and as noise and light continued to fade, she found herself basking in it, in the welcome quiet of it, disturbed only by words between two who should not have been there.

[Omnia Munda]

Oh, Jordeth. The weyrleader's inner voice was a moan, delighted. Salina's eyes, her voice, and the words she'd murmured in her reply to him were just what he'd hoped for. She wants me.

Of course most of J'fel's attention was upon Salina and the path he was guiding them to walk. There was an air of celebration even in the fires and shadows of the caravans they were passing; though those of the Caminar that felt most comfortable joining the Weyr's celebrations were back in the living cavern taking advantage of the feast, there was some amount of sleepless murmuring among those that remained outdoors, under the stars. J'fel thanked them for the atmosphere, trying not to let his mind stray toward the grudges he bore these people for the strain they presented to his fledgling authority.

That Salina perceived the caravans so differently - exotic and timeless, while to J'fel they were scenic yet a terrible threat - was unknown to him.

That she had taken him up on his entré about a weyrwoman's choices was not. "I suppose that being so considerate of the opinions of others is an option she might take," said the young weyrleader, a tweak in the corner of his mouth lending his voice a wry tone. "But some weyrwomen forge their own roads, too."

He still held her hand in his, and his thumb slipped between them to caress her palm again. They were moving past the caravans still, but the end of the Caminar influence was in sight: the rich darkness of the bowl, shadowed by its own wall, stretched toward the stables ahead. One might imagine the soft snort of a runner carried on the wind.

"I think a middle road suits Telgar." His free hand lifted in a slow gesture, expansive, as though welcoming Salina to all that lay ahead: the bowl, yes, but the Weyr, too. Whether such an invitation was meaningful or merely a ploy could not be discerned from his mischievous smile. "To be aware of what every person says, but to follow your own lead."

[Xinnai]

"Mmm." She looked up at him, coming out of her gentle daydreaming to the conversation at hand. As they continued their meandering little walk, she saw the gentle flickering of the fires as they ate at the night with their glowing fingers, trying to reach higher than they possibly could, but greed nonetheless powered them, making them dance in their pursuit.

She took in the gesture that J'fel made, eyes following the sweep of hand to look at the expanse he motioned towards. Head tilted and hair slid down a shoulder in a sweep of soft gold as she nodded, glancing up at him with sly eyes as fingers curled within his, a response to the sweep of thumb across palm that initiated something akin to a ticklish feeling. With his gesture, she'd seen the wall of their home curving away, creating shadowy space within the bowl.

"I do agree. There are just some agendas that have to keep battling through the masses of disapproval and brought to the light." Were her words loaded with meaning or merely an observation? One really couldn't be sure, especially as her face was covered in light and then darkness, flickering shadows that could do nothing to aid in discerning an expression.

[Omnia Munda]

J'fel wondered if she saw what he was offering. (Jordeth, on his ledge, wondered if J'fel knew what he was offering - but the wily bronze held his thoughts in private for now. Better, he knew, not to be drawn into anything that felt like conspiracy against his queen.)

The young weyrleader's thumb slid out from between their hands, letting his palm close tight against the weyrling's. "Which is exactly what I mean," murmured J'fel. They'd come to a pause here, just past the Caminar caravan; he'd stopped walking after his gesture, and though they were not yet far enough that he wished to dally for long, he did dally here for a moment. "Though I might not have used the word 'agenda.'"

There was a smirk in his tone, deep and wry and fond. She was forgiven for using loaded language, it seemed. She might even be invited to explain why she'd used it - if there were a particular 'agenda' (though, of course, J'fel would not have called it that) she wished to explore.

But she'd have to do so on the walk. J'fel lifted her hand between them and bent his head, letting the soft exhale of his breath and the hint of his lips, untouching, substitute for a kiss upon her fingers. Then he began to walk again, to lead her (if she willed it) beside him.

They had farther to go before these promises could be kept.

[Xinnai]

Head turned slightly as Salina regarded the man before her, their hands clasped tight and words that sounded so innocuous drifted between them. Innocuous but they weren't; not to them.

Lips creased at corners in what might have been the beginnings of an amused expression as eyes held at his. Not have used the word agenda then? She was positive he wouldn't have. So what word would he have used? Because clearly, there was some sort of 'agenda' about them and one that was more than likely going to be probed into-though circumstances would have them do so at a later date.

As hand lifted toward lips, her own curved into a slight smile, oh so secretive, as there was the brief suggestion of a kiss to fingers, on which a golden band gleamed in the soft light. It would have to do for now, she was sure, glancing back at the caravans not so far behind and the darkness that was promised not so far ahead. Where other promises might be kept? She thought so as they began to walk again and she twined fingers against his. Yes, most definitely.

[Omnia Munda]

So Salina was not so forthcoming as all that. Not, anyway, about the agendas represented by the caravans that now shrank behind them; not about Aderes, about the Weyr, about her future. J'fel was not disappointed, though, for the slip of her fingers between his and the readiness with which she walked beside him bespoke forwardness enough in other matters.

His blood was zinging with each heartbeat, but still the heartbeats themselves were restive. The young weyrleader could not help but reflect on how good for him it had been to have this knot. It seemed to intimidate some of the girls... and others seemed to have too much sense to dally with him so readily as once they might have. But what luck he had was pure delight.

"Have you got an agenda that wants such treatment?" His voice seemed abrupt in the starlight. The night grew darker around them and quieter, too, as they left celebration and firelight behind. "Battling disapproval. Coming to light."

The fresh scent of hay and somewhat saltier scents belonging to the stables flavored the air now, a not-unpleasant but present reminder of the sources of the rare soft snort or whisper of swishing tail. J'fel kept walking, but cornered a glance sideways at the new weyrwoman, sparkling thoughtfully in the dark. Teasing, possibly. Inviting. "Or do you think I have?"

[Xinnai]

Salina did not want to speak of her uncertain future at Telgar or the Caminar; she was loathe to give the moment over to such non grata subjects, not when she could seek other meetings with J'fel-meetings were he would stand as Weyrleader, not when they were simply Salina and J'fel at the moment.

And that suited her well enough.

"Hmm?" She glanced over and up and then smiled slightly. "Ah, I might." She was hesitant to respond, not quite sure if he was asking after her thoughts on the subjects she did not want to intrude or on events that could transpire tonight, just between they two.

The scent of runner-that musky, pleasant smell so different from dragons-drifted toward her, borne on the air by the soft snort and stampings of one such beast settling down for the night. She was spared from elaborating at the next question he posed and this she was sure of. "Yes. Undoubtedly."

She laughed quietly, head turning and she pressed closer to his side, gaze directed upward now, at the broad expanse of glittering diamonds that were set within the inky velvet sky. "Look at that. I haven't seen them so clear nor so bright in...ages."

[Omnia Munda]

J'fel listened to Salina's words, but he listened to her silence as well. Her silence said: no politics, please. Just us. And to that, the young weyrleader smirked - he even laughed when she did, because of course his agenda was at least somewhat clear.

The press of her beside him made it easy, once he'd gently untangled his hand from hers, to slide that hand across the small of her back. His palm was warm and moved without hesitation across the blue fabric, coming to rest in the tuck of her waist on the far side. This arrangement forced them to walk more slowly, but walking slowly made for better stargazing, anyway. J'fel looked up at her cue.

"The stars always shine more brightly the night of a hatching," he said, while his free hand moved across to offer itself as substitute for the one that had left Salina's hand. "And brightest of all for a new weyrwoman."

He wondered inwardly if reminding her of her rank was impolitic, considering how she seemed unwilling to talk of anything else of more import than what a man and woman might intend while taking a starlit stroll. From the corners of his eyes he gauged her. "The brightest of them all seems to be right here, if you ask me."

Never let it be said he couldn't talk good game.