Surprise, surprise!

[dragon]

J'rad raised an eyebrow at her. "Since when have you heard me laugh?", he asked, making the answer to that statement obvious. It was true. J'rad was not someone who laughed, not someone who embodied the word fun at all. Not like some certain other individuals who lived in that kind of state. No. J'rad was a serious man, a hard man, but a tender man. Atleast for Althesia the latter part was true.

"Go to sleep", he urged her as he continued to stroke her hair. However, he did lean down and kiss her on the lips. But was that passion held in that kiss? Nothing sexual about it, really. But there was something deeper about it. He would be content to hold her all night long as she slept, playing with her hair and watching over her as she slept. It was an odd feeling. It was love.

[anhydrous]

Keeping her eyes open was beyond Althesia at this point, but she could tell that an eyebrow had been raised by the tone of her bronzer's voice. She smiled, inching closer and mumbling into his skin, "You laugh when you're drunk." He couldn't argue that, and she knew that he wouldn't bother to. Either way, she wasn't going to be awake long enough to hear his reply.

At his urging Althesia let go of her consciousness, that passionate kiss only encouraging her to assume that she was dreaming. She could return any show of affection with the burning intensity of Rukbat regardless of lucidity, but her lover was not so brazenly inclined.

Light was streaming sideways by the time she woke, furs tangled around her legs while the flesh of her chest prickled in their absence. Mornings were cold this late in the year, only encouraging the weyr's inhabitants to spend more time cocooned in their beds. Clumsily Althesia stole most of the furs, wrapping them around her body to keep from shivering.

Turning to face her bedmate, Althesia's eyelashes fluttered. She had stripped him of his covers as she shifted, tucking the ends under her and out of his grasp. He would wake quickly enough to the cold brush of morning, but Althesia allowed her eyes to wander in the meantime. J'rad's chest was far from smooth, a wicked scar twisting down the length of his torso. She couldn't help but stare, curiosity getting the better of her. It was strange to think that she was used to this striking feature without knowing the cause.

[dragon]

Once he saw that she was asleep, J'rad stayed up a good hour or so after to watch over her as she did. Before falling asleep himself, J'rad stared down at his bedmate and stroked her hair gently. He had to admit she was much more adorable when she was asleep. Perhaps because she was much more silent then. He'd not mulled over or given a second thought to her comment. Perhaps he did, but perhaps not. Either way, now was a good time to go to bed. The other two forms that shared his weyr were already asleep anyway. Slowly J'rad eased his eyelids to close and nestled under the furs with his lover, strong arms wrapped gently around her.

Morning found Arcaith the first to awake. The dragon tended to rise just a bit earlier than his rider. J'rad, at the moment, didn't find himself waking to a cold shock. He was much too deep in sleep to be jolted so easily. But slowly conscious did give way and Arcaith nudged him gently to wake further and find warmth before a sudden surge of cold hit him. J'rad barely acknowledged with a nod of his head and curled up next to Althesia, using her for warmth. It'd have taken him actual effort to take some furs for himself to nestle under, but J'rad was still half asleep. A simple roll to his side found a desired extra few degrees of warmth.

J'rad cocked one eye open and looked at Althesia, who seemed to stare at his chest. "Morning", he said, still not totally awake. He then closed his eye, still clinging to a few more moments of sleep if he could.

[anhydrous]

Althesia watched her bronzer curl under her stare, undoubtedly seeking the warmth that she was hoarding. She had been expecting a scowl, but it must have been too early. Wriggling so that a corner was loosed, she shifted until the furs covered them both. “Mmm,” she mumbled in response, tucking her chin into the blankets so that nothing but her eyes and the tips of her ears were exposed to the elements.

After a second of consideration she ducked her head under the covers as well, rolling J’rad back over and pinning him to his bed with her body. “Wake up, dear heart,” She demanded sweetly, letting her lips trail against the cool skin of his chest. He was still cold. For a moment she felt bad for stealing the blankets, but guilt never troubled her for long. Planting a kiss near his collar bone, she settled down to lay with her head resting against his breastbone to wait for him to finish waking.

[dragon]

J'rad barely heard his lover's beckoning words. They were but a faint whisper, reaching the far side of his mind to touch his conscious state. "No", was the simple, lazy word he let out with more breath than formed word. J'rad found as the days grew colder, the more he wanted to sleep in. Of course, he was never a late sleeper, but he wanted just a few extra moments of sleep. His unconscious state clung to it desperately.

Infact, he found it alot more comforting under the furs with Althesia atop him. One would almost think there was a smile on those lips, as if he found this state of sleep pleasant. Arms roamed lazily over Althesia's back and rested casually on her lower back, practically at the small of her back. No sexual thoughts, more like a combination of wanting to hold Althesia as he slept and stretching his limbs while still trying to find a more awakened state. He was really still straddling the fence on this.

[anhydrous]

Althesia rolled her eyes and wriggled her shirt up over her head, quick to allow her bronzer’s hands to fall on skin instead of cloth. J’rad’s broad palms were curious creatures, fingertips seeming to reach and knead subconsciously. If he wasn’t ready to face the morning, at least she could encourage a backrub in the meantime.

Then again, it was safe to say that a message wasn’t exactly Althesia’s dominating desire. As she laid there sharing the warmth of her chest, one hand toyed with the hair on the back of her bronzer’s neck. Occasionally a fingertip would brush past his earlobe, his wide-eyed lover watching his comfortable smile intently. “Do you have wing-duties to attend to today?” She inquired with a furrow in her brow, one ear pressed to his chest and listening to the strangeness of her own voice as it vibrated in her skull.

[dragon]

J'rad shook his head in a negative response. He didn't have anything to do. Atleast not this morning. Whether that would be tested later in the day was far from J'rad's mind. Right now, he knew he could get some extra sleep and he was clinging to it. However, hands acted on impulse and strong fingers were softly massaging Althesia's bare back as her chest warmed his.

Ah, but sleep was slowly crumbling away from him as a mighty yawn roared past Althesia as he lifted his arms from her fleshy torso and stretched himself, sitting up in bed slightly in the process and only causing Althesia to slide down ever so as he did. One arm clung to Althesia's back as he continued his massage while the other rubbed his eyes. He'd needed sleep, obviously. When J'rad could take in a few extra moments, he would. But he would always avoid sleeping in too late, always rising in the morning eventually.

He looked down at Althesia's form. Even on a cold morning such as this, she was not deterred from removing atleast one item. Whether or not J'rad cared enough was too invisible to tell. He remained silent however, but gave Arcaith a mental nudge. Arcaith, at this time, was already awake and alert. Anything J'rad needed to be prepared for would be covered by his bronze. In the mean time, the hand that was massaging Althesia moved upward to smooth her hair.

[anhydrous]

Smiling as his hands crept across her spine, Althesia’s eyelids drooped. If he didn’t have a reason to leave the weyr, she certainly wasn’t going to. J’fel had been too busy to call the dragons together yesterday, and she doubted that he would have the time to do it today. The time that stretched before her seemed infinite. She could afford to spend a day in bed.

Just as she had made her mind up to leave him alone, J’rad was shifting and stretching. She found her head to be resting more or less on his abdomen now, and glanced up to meet his stare. She looked at him expectantly for a moment as if he might speak, lips pursed as she realized that he wasn’t really awake yet. His eyes were still vacant.

After a few moments Althesia sat up along with J’rad, stealing away his furs to wrap herself in. The morning stillness enveloped Althesia for what seemed to be an eternity, but what couldn't have been more than a minuet. She sighed to pull herself ouf of the stupor, eyes wandering across her bronzer’s chest again. She was about to ask how he had received such a nasty scar when she stopped, words catching in her throat as she regarded him quizzically.

Perhaps it would be better not to discuss it. Sometimes the smallest of things seemed to upset him.

[dragon]

J'rad could only groan in complaint as the furs were taken off him. They were his furs after all and damned it all if she'd hog them for herself. "You're not going to be hogging those", he said emotionless as he scooted her closer to him and nabbed some of the furs for himself to cover up in.

Ah, now that was a bit better. J'rad had to admit it was soon going to be cold enough to where he'd have to start wearing a bit more to bed, a shirt. He felt such things restricted movement and were too hot for summer weather but for the ever approaching colder season he'd need the extra warmth. J'rad certainly enjoyed the warmer weather.

However, thoughts cast aside as he glanced at Althesia, catching her looks. "Spit it out already", he commanded. There was nothing potent or sharp in his words, but there was some irritation that never seemed to stray far from the bronzerider and the command was still there. Either way, Althesia would either speak up or defiantly remain silent. Either course was fine with J'rad, as long as those silent stares would quit. He felt a puppet on display for her entertainment, it was not an amusing feeling.

[anhydrous]

Althesia relinquished the furs with an exhale through her nose, allowing herself to be repositioned and holding onto just enough to shield her naked torso from view. A far cry from modesty, the woman simply found the cold to be unbearable. It was for that reason that she allowed herself to be manhandled and placed in closer proximity to her bronzer, although a frown was already beginning to crease her features.

Out with it? She let her tongue protrude through her scowl, framed on all sides by a pout of lips. A second later that slippery muscles was replaced with a reprimand, as stern as a half-naked woman could manage to sound. “Don’t order me,” She said as her frown flattened and melted away. “I just realized that I don’t know much about your past,” this, by contrast, was a much warmer reply. “For instance,” Her gaze slipped back to his chest for a second, quickly dashing back up to his eyes, “I don’t know how you acquired such a defining feature.” Althesia had a particular fondness for scars, although J’rad probably didn’t realize it. From the look on his face he was not pleased to be ogled, the sentiments attached to such a gaze non-withstanding.

[dragon]

J'rad quirked an eyebrow as she seemed to rise to a challenge, a response to her tongue sticking out at him. J'rad probably would have said something there, if she hadn't continued her chatting. That was one thing about Althesia, she certainly talked more than he did. Most anyone did, really. Eyebrow still raised, he decided to answer her call to know more of his past, but only as much as he was willing to give.

However, he really didn't notice the scar was the focus of her attention. It had been there for so long that J'rad didn't give it much regard. He hadn't given it another thought in turns until now. "This?", he questioned, as if such a feature were so natural. "It happened when I was mauled at the hatching I stood for", he answered her, looking down at his scar. His gaze, his very expression showed he gave little regard for it. But there was something there in the corner of his mind, a glint in his eye. Was it, perhaps, resentment? Oh, it likely was. The same scar, held such aggitating memories for him. It wasn't anger, hatred, or any other strong feeling. It seemed just to be an annoyance to him.

But J'rad didn't see fit to go beyond answering the question given to him of his scar. He simply looked up at her as if he expected her to be satisfied with the answer and move along.

[anhydrous]

Naturally inquisitive, Althesia bit her tongue to quiet it. Her bronzer’s answers were always short, always concise. He never gave away more than he intended to, and something about the set of his features told her not to push the issue. She didn’t know exactly what she would be pushing, but perhaps it would be best to leave it alone.

She let her gaze linger on the twist of off-colored tissue that streaked across his torso for one second longer, then settled back into the bed to let her head rest on the pillows. “I don’t have any scars,” she said with a blink, the ceiling above her snapping into focus. In fact, she had really never been placed in harm’s way. Ever.

Thoughts swirled as they were oft-inclined to do, her hands settling across the expanse of her stomach idly. Was it any bigger than it had been the day before? Would anyone notice yet? Her fingertips pressed the furs to her skin, worries passing through the subtle pressure there. She knew that there were many complications of childbirth. Pain was a given. That was a long way off, but still a lingering thought.

[dragon]

"I've noticed", J'rad said simply, without any tone beyond the affirmation that it was fact. Surely he would have seen any scar on Althesia by now, their given relationship would be cause for such knowledge.

This was J'rad, however. He kept things simple and to the point. Often times talking to him could be like a dance of words. You had to ask, imply, and speak the right things to get all the knowledge you'd want from him and it was never done in one try. Often times you would only get limited access to what you wanted as well. Infact it wasn't often that anyone could get every answer they needed from him and he was certainly intimidating enough so that most would back down.

J'rad, however, was not beyond noticing the expression of another and wasn't beyond understanding when a conversation hung silently in the air waiting to be plucked at. For Althesia, he'd pluck. "What's bothering you this time?", simple words that sounded harsher than they really were.

[anhydrous]

J’rad’s tone rankled. She bristled against it, nose wrinkling. “I’m just thinking,” She countered, eyelids closing against reality. “It takes a lot of concentration. I think in circles; you know that.” This was not really a ploy. She had things to worry about, and couldn’t help it if she were forced to do so in J’rad’s presence.

Even so, she thought she might clue him in. With her eyes still closed she pushed away the furs, her hands slightly interlaced and cradling the stark whiteness of her stomach. “For a moment I forgot,” She mused inwardly, finding that the subject needed no clarification. “It’s strange to think that I could just forget such a thing.” Her abdomen rose with each breath, all this lost to Althesia’s closed eyes.

[dragon]

J'rad barely regarded most of her words. There was something more specific on her mind and something more specific he was pointing at. It was obvious what he was shooting for. Althesia knew the answer and he only needed wait for it.

The answer soon became visible when she pulled the furs back. It was nothing for J'rad to behold his woman uncovered in any fashion. Still, in the back of his mind and perhaps elsewhere that was more obvious, there was still a subconscious reaction. But it was below her chest where his eyes laid focus on, her stomach. Answer given. J'rad really didn't need to dig further. Infact, J'rad spoke no further. He simply laid his head on his pillow. He still wanted rest, even if sleep was beyond him now. But Althesia was still free to speak further if she wished. The air, the feeling he put off spoke that much.