Logs:Bump
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| RL Date: 28 May, 2013 |
| Who: N'ky, Sabella |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Catch-up between friends. |
| Where: Lake Shore |
| When: Day 27, Month 11, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: A layer of patch clouds covers the sky. The air feels cool and damp, but there is no rainfall today. |
| Mentions: Madilla/Mentions, K'zin/Mentions, E'sren/Mentions, Mave/Mentions, April/Mentions |
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| Lake Shore, High Reaches Weyr The rest of the bowl may be barren, grass barely surviving at best, but here by the lake, it's brilliantly green in the warmer months: thickening and thriving in the silty, boulder-dotted soil just before it transitions to soft sand and thence to the cool, clear water itself. A large freshwater lake fed by a low waterfall, it not only provides warm-weather bathing space for humans and dragons, but has one end fenced off as a watering hole for the livestock in the feeding grounds. The water there is often muddier than the rest of the clear lake, whose shallows drop off abruptly several yards out into deep water, and whose edge undulates against the coarse-hewn bowl wall: here close enough to just be bramble-covered rocks, there far enough away that a narrow land bridge divides the main lake from a smallish pond. Between are several rocky outcroppings that form excellent makeshift diving points, though only one -- across the bridge -- has a set of narrow, slippery, quite possibly tempting stairs. It might be too cold for humans to bathe in, but the lake is still attractive to dragons - to Cailluneth at least, if no others. The tubby green cavorts out in the water in the early morning light, not quite bright enough to be called daylight yet with Rukbat's rays straining to break through the thick cloud overhead. N'ky is on the muddy shore, perched upon a damp rock that's high enough to have even his long legs dangling in mid-air. Not an especially high climb by any means, but high enough to give him a good view of his lifemate when he breaks his attention away from the piece of wood he's whittling away at. It's a chill kind of day too, so Sabella has shrugged into one of her heavier sweaters. Of course it's like all the others, purposely just a little too big as it hangs off her slender frame. She walks along the sand of the lake, her attention drifting to Cailluneth out there in the cold water. Her gaze soon flickers to other spots along the shore, perhaps looking to see if the rider of that particular green is anywhere to be found. She spies N'ky's long, dangling legs off the one tall rock and she sports a quick, dimpled smile as she wanders towards him. It's not a high climb, no. But she's not nearly as tall as he is, or lengthy in the limbs. But Sabs can make due, pulling herself up and dropping down next to him. "Hi." The arrival of Sabella is noted at first with a smile, N'ky shifting his gaze between her and his whittling as she approaches. He waits until she's right up there beside him though before saying anything - and then, it comes with slightly blushed cheeks, a sidelong glance, and a crooked grin that causes a dimple in his own cheek. "Hi." No stutter, either. The greenrider stills his knife, setting it along his leather-clad thigh, then waits a few seconds before coyly leaning over to bump gently off his clutchmate's side. That leads to a goofy grin, half-squashed as he bites on his bottom lip. Sabella pulls the sweater tightly around her before she begins to play with the ends of the sleeves. When the bump comes, she pushes her shoulder back into his and glances at his face. "You've been sounding better." She notes, appearing happy at the changes. Catching that goofy grin, she tips her chin up and gives him a little narrow eyed look, playful. "What?" And then, "What are you working on now?" As she tilts her head in the direction of the wood he's been whittling away on top of the rock. "M-maybe Madilla's lessons are finally working?" Mostly, anyway. N'ky's not quite mastered it yet. Then, with the weight of something of significance, he adds: "And, um, you're Sabs. 'Bella." This time his grin's cheekier when he bumps gently off her again, giving it a bit of a longer lean-in than the last one. When he raises the wood he's working on, it's... well, not very impressive. "Just cutting. It's... it's nothing, really. Just a, um... thing." A thick twig that's been narrowed to a point at one end. "Wood's n-never liked me." "I think that they are." Sabella agrees, seeming to appreciate the amount of difference the lessons have made. She curls her arms around herself and laughs quietly when he says her name, meeting his shoulder again and just staying there comfortably for now. "You know that I like Sabs better." She reminds gently and looks again to the piece of wood that he's trying to whittle into something, maybe. Teasing, "I don't know if wood is capable of liking anyone. It doesn't usually express a preference does it? Maybe you don't like it." The lean is accepted, and returned; though N'ky doesn't lean his whole weight. Not that there's much of him, anyway. "I know. B-but 'Bella is pretty, and pretty suits you." He shrugs his shoulders gently, picking up the knife again to hack away at the wood once more. "I think wood likes s-some people. Waki's better with it than me. I'm, um... farriers don't make wooden r-runnershoes." He snorts at the thought, digging his knife deeper into the twig to shear away a larger chunk. "I don't like it, no." There's not much to her either, really. She's not as solidly built as other people. "How about I get very angry and ugly everytime you use 'Bella?" She suggests, sounding playful still as she looks out over the water to his dragon. She speaks now with just a touch of something serious in her voice, "There was someone that used to call me that, when I lived at Crom. I really didn't like them very much and it just... It brings up a lot of bad memories from being there." It's simple then, the truth. He might feel her shoulder lift up against his and then drop. With a hint of a joke slipped in there, "Maybe K'zin just likes wood better than you. Could be why he's better with it." N'ky's knife stops, and he bites hard on his lip as he looks down into his lap. "I'm s-sorry, Sabs. I th-thought you just didn't like it, um, n-not that you, um... s-sorry. I'll stop." There's a little of his old nervousness there, and he winces apologetically at her when he looks up - though that expression quickly melts away as he blushes furiously at the joke. "Oh! Oh. Oh n-n-no, he d-doesn't... I mean, um... n-not that type." Flustered now, he laughs awkwardly, rubbing his palm roughly against his thigh. "I-I, um... I m-mean we... um... h-he doesn't. For sure." "No, it's okay. Don't be sorry, it's not something that you would have known about." Sabella counters, giving him a little jab with her elbow. "I never told you, so. It's kind of my fault too." She flashes him a quick smile before curling her legs up underneath herself. When he begins to blush and stutter over the choke, she glances over to him and laughs. It's one of those conspiratoral giggles that escapes her as she tucks a piece of hair behind one ear, "I'm just making a joke about him. Seems like you know more about it than me." With his blush darkening still, N'ky reaches up to knot his fingers in his hair, running through those wild curls until he's rubbing anxiously at the back his neck. "M-maybe?" Brown eyes glance sideways at Sabella, his bottom lip bitten sharply into as he shakes his head adamantly. "But he's n-not into that. W-we... we've spoken about it. He's not i-into that. Not at all." Cailluneth looks to be done with her watery frolicking, as she starts paddling back towards the shore, head held high and silvery wings out as stabilisers, until she's shallow enough to catch the bottom. The movement of Cailluneth out in the lake catches her eye and she looks towards her again, attention focused on that at least for now. "I have a hard time imagining that he really would be. Given the way he burns through different girls?" There's still a light tease there, but she's aware that N'ky's getting somewhat uncomfortable maybe. With a quick exhale of air, she shakes her head. "I'm sorry if I'm making you blush, I didn't mean to." "I, um... yeah. Girls." N'ky's nose wrinkles and he pulls a face that suggests he's not overly happy about his bestie's new-developed habits. The apology makes him grin softly, and he bumps playfully back against Sabs. "I-it's ok. It's just... that stuff. It's still k-kinda hard to, um, talk about. Without s-stuttering. It makes me all..." He lifts his hand, waving it about while wiggling his fingers. "Even with April." "Maybe they'll get boring eventually and he'll calm down." Sabs suggests, lifting one hand and giving a little wave of it. "Or he'll run out of girls. Have to start in on the aunties in the caverns." She's the sort that can't really resist finding a joke to make out of something. And while it's happening, it's not exactly said vindictively. He wiggles his fingers in the air and she laughs, ducking her head. "That's alright. I think it's hard for plenty of people to talk about, I know a lot that get all red in the cheeks and nose." One finger pokes at the tip of her own as if through example. "How is April?" N'ky's own nose is the same colour as ever, but his cheeks and ears are certainly burning rosily. He grins, relaxed somewhat by Sabella's easy attitude. "You don't blush," he points out, pressing a fingertip delicately against the greenrider's cheek, not too far from where her dimple shows. "April's... April." Although N'ky shrugs that away, his grin says a little more. "How's E'sren?" "That's not true." Sabs counters with an easy laugh, dimpling against where his finger touches her face. "I just have a much higher blush tolerance. You'd have to say just the right thing to get at me." She reaches over and plays with the tips of her boots, glancing out across the lake again. "Good. She seems to make you happy, I like that about her." It's the genuine type of friend approval there, glad to see him enjoying himself now. "Oh, he's good." She comments with a flash of a smile at him. "Same as always." "I like her," N'ky admits with a little shrug, and a secretive little smile. He's perhaps lacking passion, but there's a little something there, at least. "What's j-just the right thing, Sabs? N-not that I want to say it, but, um, for future reference? So I can avoid saying it." Then, with a little huff of breath as he tosses the sadly little whittling effort down to the ground, N'ky says, "I a-always figured it would be you and K'zin." "I don't know, exactly. I guess it's a combination of factors. How close I am to a person, what they said, context, everything." Sabs shrugs, as if she herself isn't sure what the right thing would be. "But not jokes, at least. Not usually." She watches the stick as it tumbles down to the sand at the bottom of their rock. "K'zin? No, I don't think that I ever thought that. It was fun at first until it stopped being fun, you know? It was never anything so serious." At least to her anyway. N'ky's nose wrinkles again. "I c-can't do what he's doing." He turns to look at Sabella, shrugging hopelessly. "I kiss should mean something. I... I still think very, um, Holder-like. K-kisses and everything more should have some meaning, because they're supposed to be between two people who like each other. Not just -- n-not just whoever's game." His knife is tucked away in a little boot-pocket, and he sighs heavily, shoulders shrugging. "A-and every girl he kisses, I won't kiss. So, um... I hope he leaves m-more than just aunties. B-but you can't tell any of this, Sabs - p-please don't, ok? I... I sh-shouldn't even say it." Sabs considers him, easy amusement shifting with the topic of conversation. "I think... There's more than one way to look at relationships between people. You're certainly entitled to how you feel about them, whatever their origins. But if the girls he kisses or sleeps with feel the same way as him, who are we or anyone else to seriously suggest otherwise. Joking of course is still okay. But then again, I can't stop myself." She bumps her shoulder into his before continuing. "And why wouldn't you kiss someone just because he had? What if it's twenty turns later? Or... you're really in love with them or something else? Is it just because you're friends?" She asks curiously. "It seems like you might lock yourself out of opportunities." As for his pleading she gives him a reassuring smile. "Of course I won't, I wouldn't." Cailluneth comes padding up to them, lowering her head to wuffle warm breath over N'ky, pressing her muzzle up against him so he'll stroke it. "It's too weird. I don't w-want to think about how he's been there before me, or worry about how I'm doing things d-differently... and I d-don't want to be compared to him." When Cai nudges him gently, he curls an arm under her jaw. "He k-kissed Mave. I r-really liked her." The green dragon rumbles in her deep, raspy yet reassuring way, flexing her now-dried wings. "Cailluneth needs oiling, Sabs. I'm going to have to go." "I can understand that. But I think that maybe, at some point. You'll notice a lot of women have had 'other people there before.' I think it would be a shame to let K'zin's actions keep you away from something someday. You're different men, there's nothing similar to compare." Sabs says that with the inflection that the differences are largely good, unique really. When he states his need to exit she nods her head. "I'll see you later, N'ky. I think that I'm just going to stay here awhile." Enjoy the sun breaking through the overcast, maybe. N'ky captures Sabs' hand briefly to squeeze it, while shaking his head. "D-doesn't matter if they've been with someone else. April's not just with me. B-but if she was in his weyr, th-that'd end it." Another quick little squeeze of her hand, and then he loving pushes his dragon's big head out of the way so he can slide down to the ground. "It's h-hard to explain, Sabs. Maybe I'll try some other time." He smiles gently. "M-maybe you can come see my weyr sometime. Come and have tea, or something? And we can talk."A gentle shrug of his shoulders settles the offer as not too big a deal. "See you later, then?" Waggling his fingers at her in farewell, N'ky then turns away from Sabella to walk step-to-dragonstep with his lifemate, towards the bowl proper. |
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