Difference between revisions of "Logs:Good Rider. Great Lover."

Months ago, K'del talked of showing Milani the pond back at home, the one with the rope-swing over it, but autumn arrived before he was able to take her. But today dawned warm for the season, and beautifully clear, and on a whim, the invitation was extended: a trip out there, this very afternoon, if she could take the time. Now, lunch passed and the afternoon spread out in front of them, Cadejoth appears from between above the picturesque little vinehold, a small stone house with attendant work buildings, the rows of vines spread out, in the midst of the harvest, and beyond them, past a grassy patch and a road leading off into the distance, a cluster of trees. "Home," breathes K'del, staring out over the view. "Or. Used-to-be-home, anyway."

It's tithes and it's harder to take the time now, but Milani finally shakes free of that last batch of hides and leaves things to one of the assistants for the afternoon, comes skipping out to the Bowl dressed for the trip. It's a short enough hop and she leans out from behind him, arms loosely wound around his waist, taking in the view. "Oh it's pretty," she tells him with a smile, and leans in to kiss his cheek gently. "Part of your heart is still here, right? So it's still home, even if the Weyr's home too."

With those big blue eyes, and those long, framing lashes, K'del does make himself hard to resist, and he's inordinately pleased with himself, by the time they're in the air. One of his hands curves around her arm as she leans in to kiss him, and his head turns, so that she can see his face properly as he nods. "Of course," he agrees. "It'll always be something of home. Too many memories that made /me/. Plus, the family." Cadejoth obligingly circles, sweeping low, to allow them a better view, then backswings down onto the grassy patch. "And speaking of them, wonder if any of them saw us come in. My sister sometimes seems to have a sixth sense about it, only I'm not sure if she's talking to me, so who knows, this time."

"Mm, family's at the roots isn't it? Weyr or hold," Milani muses thoughtfully and drops her chin down to his shoulder as they circle, gives him a little squeeze. "Why wouldn't your sister be talking to you?" is asked right near his ear as the swing in for that landing. "It'll be interesting to meet them at any rate, from what you've said about them."

"Always," agrees K'del. "Can't escape them. Though... most of the time, wouldn't want to, either." Once Cadejoth is safely upon the ground, he pulls off his straps and swings down to the ground, offering a hand for Milani if she wants it, as, finally, he gets around to answering the question. "Took her to one of the harvest celebrations, and made a hash of it. She went off with some guy she was dancing with. I wasn't... I'm an idiot." Cadejoth turns his head around to huff warm air into his rider's face, a clear enough gesture of 'don't be stupid'.

"Exactly, even when they're driving you crazy," Milani says laughingly and draws her arms away as K'del swings down to the ground, unclips her own straps and takes that hand with a little dimpled smile, slips to the ground. What he says brings her in a step closer and there's a little quirky grin on her face. "So, you got a taste of your own medicine is what you're saying?" she teases him just a little, but lifts a hand to touch his cheek gently. "She'll probably forgive you, if she's had time to cool down. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes, right, Kas?" Then there's that huffed breath from Cadejoth and Millie laughs, looks his way. "I won't ask what /that/ was for," but she does offer the dragon a pat.

K'del looks rueful, and a good bit embarrassed, and nods at her assessment. His hand lifts to touch hers atop his cheek, as he says, "Yeah, probably. Just not used to the idea of her doing that, yet. She's only fourteen - well, nearly fifteen. But. She was only really flirting, nothing more, when I left home. At least." He pauses, frowning, "As far as I know, anyway." His gaze slides towards Cadejoth, then back to Milani, and he laughs. "He's getting tired of me beating myself up. So: I'll try not to." The bronze hums delightedly under Milani's pat, while Kas grins and offers his arm: "Shall we? The pond's not far from here."

Milani does suck in her breath a little. "Fourteen? That is ... a little young," says the girl who was hanging out trying to pick up a certain much older bronzerider when she was only fifteen. "My mother told me to wait until I was at least fifteen or sixteen and then in the end, I didn't find someone I felt really okay about it with until I was seventeen," Reaches' headwoman explains. "Anyway, don't beat yourself up, he's right," as she slips her hand through his arm and smiles up at him warmly. "Let's. It's a nice day and it really is a lovely place, K'del."

"Yes. And it's probably my fault - I was pretty young, too," says K'del, sounding more than a little moody as he does so. "Though it's not as though I encouraged her, and my mother certainly wouldn't've. But. She pretty much followed me from birth, so maybe it's not surprising." But a glance between the bronze and his companion seems to resolve him further, and he nods, returning her smile as he begins to lead the way towards the trees beyond. "True, on both counts. Never particularly thought about how beautiful it was until I came back. As a kid, everything is just... home."

Milani gives K'del's arm a little squeeze. "Well. You know, sometimes things just happen. And if she's all right with it, then what's to worry about? You know, as long as she's taking care." She ambles along, keeping pace with the taller bronzerider, looking this way and that with open curiosity. "And for me it's all fresh and new. I haven't really got anywhere special to take you from my childhood, you've pretty much seen it all." Beat. "Well all right, there might be a few nooks and crannies I haven't taken you to yet." Millie gleams a smile up at him, head tilting a little to the side. "Does anything seem different to you now, coming back though?"

"I think she is. She's not-- stupid, at least," agrees K'del, lifting his hand to rest atop hers as it squeezes his arm, though it departs only moments later so he can point out a particular tree: "Used to climb that one, when I was a kid. Good branches for it." His expression is cheekily amused for her mention of nooks and crannies, as he notes, "Guess you would've found pretty much everything there is to find, in those caverns. /Different/ kind of childhood, I guess." For her last question, he takes his time in responding, and does so after a long, deep breath. "Yes. There's so much green. And the house seems smaller. Even though I haven't really grown. At least, not /taller/."

"No, but you know, not everyone ... knows how," Milani says slowly and peeks over towards the tree in question. "Looks strong enough it could still hold us," she notes about the tree, shoots a mischievous smile up at him. "And yes, it's a point of pride for me, that no one knows those store rooms better than I do," Millie claims with a little flip of now nearly-shoulder-length hair. That deep breath brings her eyes back up to his face and she listens as he describes. "The Weyr's awfully rocky isn't it? Even with the lake and all." She looks around again, then back to him. "I should hope not, Kas, not that I'm complaining mind you. There's few enough men taller than I am."

"I took her Between extra long, on the way back, just in case. Don't know if she knew," says K'del, very casually, while he's looking in another direction - at the tree, in fact, eyes scaling up the branches. He's so intent that he doesn't notice the mischievous smile, though her comment does draw his attention again a moment later. "Want to try? Mm, bet they don't. You could hide anything you wanted in there, and I bet no one would ever find it." He lifts one hand to rest it upon the trunk of the tree, and nods, "It is. And it's much more... closed in, I suppose. Anyway, yeah, I'm glad I'm taller than you, but I'd rather not be any /more/ so. I'd hit my head too often."

That gives Milani some pause and she chews on her lip for a moment. "Without telling her, Kas? Might want to let her know about that little trick, maybe," the headwoman's voice suggests gently. His words about the tree bring back her smile though and she pats his arm again. "Definitely! Bet I can beat you to the top!" So saying Milani shucks off her jacket and hikes up her skirts, tucking the ends into her belt and reaches for a branch to swing up into the tree with. "Mm, but every time you hit your head, it's a reason to come and have me kiss it and make it better," she teases down from her new perch on that branch. "Closed in though ... I suppose it might at that, after being able to fly everywhere."

There's a pause from K'del, too, as he considers this; his eventual nod is so slow that it's pretty obvious he hadn't thought of it in those turns. "Probably should've. Should." His expression is briefly guilty, but her challenge distracts him again, and he darts after her. "Ah, Millie, careful with that. Won't be much use to you if I concuss myself in pursuit of a kiss," he teases, as he joins her in the lower branches, already reaching up for the next. "I imagine you'd find it very strange, living somewhere without weyr walls," he adds, thoughtfully. "Ista's a good compromise, though, in some ways. Having the beach, and the ocean, and everything, beyond."

"Do," Milani says mildly about telling his sister, though her smile for him is warm, not reproachful. "Oh I don't know, just need you alive, right," she teases further and reaches up again, finds a branch, pulls herself up with frightening dexterity. "Maybe, it's true I haven't spent much time outside of a Weyr, though I do /love/ the beach. I like Ista well enough, but Reaches is /home/ it's where I belong." Millie looks back towards him though with a little grin pulling at her mouth. "If you tell me I should've moved to Ista, I'll laugh at you. I'd be weyrmated now if I had, you know."

There's a nod from the bronzerider, unspoken assent writ clear in his features. "Well. I'd be less /fun/," he retorts, pulling himself up onto a branch on the other side of the trunk, grinning across at her. "Not going to tell you that! I'd miss you. Or - actually, I probably wouldn't, because I'd probably barely know you. You'd be too busy being the dutiful weyrmate, probably raising your babies." There's a pause, before he asks, more seriously, "Do you ever regret it? Imagine that life?"

"GOod point, I like you just the way you are, you know, in full possession of all your wits," Milani says quite seriously as she leans around the trunk, aiming to kiss him briefly, before setting off again. "I don't think I'd be at babies yet," is the thoughtful answer, coming from within a little shower of leaves as a few autumnally hued ones shake free. "I miss him," is what she concludes, peers down at him as she settles on that next-up branch. "But what I have is good. I guess I do a little, I regret not ... being more flexible. But we're still good friends, so it's not really bad at all. And I'm headwoman and I wanted that, so, there you go." There's a little pause as she reaches up again, then looks down one more time. "I don't regret that it means I've wound up knowing you the way I do. Everything balances out, I guess."

"I'm relieved to hear that," K'del tells her, returning the kiss, and grinning cheerfully, as he follows her lead and continues the climb. It's a good, tall tree, but the branches are nicely spaced for a challenging but not impossible climb, though it probably would be much harder for the less lengthy limbed. He doesn't comment throughout her conclusions, though he's clearly listening, his head turned in that direction more often than it is focused on the branches above. "I'm glad for that last," he notes, finally, after she's finished. "But. Still wish it'd worked out for you. For your sake."

Milani is typically energetic, but she does pause to kind of, sort of wait for him. "Thanks, Kas," the headwoman replies with a smile for that wish. "So what can you see from all the way up top of this tree? I mean, I know we saw the view coming in, but it still must be pretty nice up near the top."

K'del catches up within a matter of seconds, drawing himself up to a higher branch with his arms holding on to the one above it. He doesn't verbally respond to her thanks, just nods, smiling at her, and pushes aside a few more dead leaves. "The trees sort of slope off, over that side," he explains, indicating with his hand, "So you can see trees and more trees, and then some more, until they fade off into the next vineyard over, and from there, it's open as far as the eye can see. And on the other side, of course, more of the same, really. Used to be able to see my mother calling us in for dinner, from up here."

"So many trees. Did you play hide and seek with your brothers and sisters too?" Milani questions next. "We used to do that in the caverns. Me and the other kids in the children's caverns." She whistles a little. "Nice. Must've felt like the world went on forever back then." Up go her arms, seeking a good hold and she looks up, considering that next branch, scoots around the trunk a little instead to grab another at an angle and sturdier.

"Absolutely!" K'del obviously takes great pleasure in this recollection, his grin threatening to split apart his face. "Between the trees and the vines - though we had to be careful with those, of course - there were plenty of places to hide. Marrin, that's the brother closest in age to me, is four turns older, though, so Kash and I played more often with some of the kids from next door." 'Next door' is pretty relative, though. "Yeah, it did. It was magical, I guess. But childhood's like that, isn't it? Especially in retrospect." He hauls one leg over a branch, then swings the other to join it, hoisting himself into a position to get on his feet again.

"That must have been /so/ much fun," Milani says with a merry laugh, steadying herself on that branch. "What, only four turns and he wouldn't play with you? Pish tosh." There's a grin sent downward and Millie reaches again, lets out a little squawk as she misses narrowly and for a moment swings a little dangerously, winds up hanging upside down, with her legs hooked around that branch ... and her skirt trying to fall over her face. "Well shells, that's what I get for hurrying. And yes, being a kid was a lot of fun. Growing up is overrated sometimes. And to think, I was in such a hurry."

K'del's smile is fond, as he agrees, "Mmm, it was. Well, he would /sometimes/, but he cheated, by being much bigger. And then I started growing, and suddenly I was a head taller. And then he really did stop playing." He manages to get all of that out right before Milani's little accident, at which point he slides across the branch he's on to reach out, just in case she really does fall, though it's with a shout of laughter. "Nice view, though," he teases. "Need a hand? Mmm, maybe it is. Don't wish I was a kid again, though. Just know it was pretty good."

Pushing at her skirts, Milani sticks her tongue out at K'del. "Good thing I wore underwear today," she says though without batting an eyelash, takes that hand for a little leverage then swings back upward, reaches for the same branch her legs are clinging to. "No, me neither. There's other kinds of fun and well, like you were saying the other day, people don't take you seriously when you're a kid."

K'del just laughs at Milani's stuck out tongue, commenting, then, "Dunno. /I/ wouldn't've minded, and there's no one else to see." He braces himself against his own branch to make sure her weight doesn't send him flying, and grins. "Right, exactly. Was good, but it's over, and there's no going back. But doesn't mean we can't still do fun things, sometimes. Like climbing trees." Once she's safely back on her branch, he reaches up to continue his climb - they're not far from the top now, several of the nearby trees already petering out to their tips.

"There's making you wonder and then there's flashing," Milani says with a little shrug as she leans back against the tree trunk for a moment, to recover from that semi-tumble. She pushes up on her feet soon enough though, to try again for that higher branch. "Remind me to wear pants though if we're going to go climbing again," she notes laughingly. "Tree climbing, is good stress relief."

"True, true," allows the weyrling, easily. "But you know me - not terribly fussy." His laughter rings out again at her next comment, after which he notes, "Kash used to tuck her skirts into some of my trousers, if she couldn't get away with taking them off entirely. She /hated/ those things. Seems to have gotten used to them now, though. Can't imagine wearing them, myself. Pants're better. Mm," he adds, of stress relief. "Most physical things are."

"If you'll believe it, I never used to wear skirts. Until I decided I wanted guys to notice me for being a girl. Then I started wearing dresses and skirts more," Milani says laughingly and peeks down at him, eyes dancing. "I was a tomboy. I usually change into pants when I'm off-duty, but I got used to Hayda's standards for dressing for work and that meant skirts." She stretches her arms up above her head, nodding. "Mm. I run too. Around the Bowl. Skate in winter. Swim in the summer."

"Just like Kash," grins K'del, nodding enthusiastically. "Though I can't imagine you like that. No-- wait, maybe I can, a bit. It's a little hard to reconcile the beautiful girl in a very feminine gather-dress with a tomboy in trousers. My mother always thought trousers on girls were inappropriate. Don't think I agree, though." One more branch, and then they're pretty much at the top. K'del curls his legs over the branch, pushing away more of the dying leaves to consider the view. "Never still, that's our Millie. But it's better. Being active, I mean."

Up at the top, Milani leans against the trunk again, feet resting one in front of the other along the branch before her. "Oh she was huh? Well, definitely need to meet her then, never pass up a chance to meet someone I might make friends with," Millie claims and tips a warm grin over at the weyrling. "Mmhm. Ran around with the kids making trouble and stealing cookies," she says with a laugh and lifts both shoulders. "I guess I'm just kind of ... both now. Comfortable. And trousers are good for when you really have to do hard work, or want to run and so on. Thank goodness no one says they're inappropriate in the Weyr." She leans his way a little to pluck a bit of dead leaf out of his hair, then lingers to run her fingers through his hair. "Nope, can't hold still. It's a blessing and a curse."

"Knowing my luck, you two'll hit it off perfectly and she'll fill your head with awful stories of me from when I was little and did embarrassing things," grins K'del, though from his tone, he's not too concerned about this. "You're you. So that means both. Or, really, whatever you want to be. Don't hold much with people having to be one thing or another." He looks her way, as the dead leaf gets pulled away, and her fingers run through, though his eyes half close in contented pleasure. "I'm sure it is. Cadejoth - he's like that, too. Drives me batty. But at least he's never too tired to do things. So much enthusiasm." The bronze can be made out from here, though he hasn't lingered on the ground - he flies, circling, dancing, every so often attempting a barrel roll with varying amounts of success.

"Well, you know, if she does, I'll trade you some back about me, so we're even," Milani says with a little shrug. "And I promise not to laugh /too/ hard." She chuckles lowly about Cadejoth. "Mm. You seem to like enthusiasm for the most part," she teases just a little. "You're not exactly a slouch in the tireless department yourself, either. Except when you really were pushing things too hard for a bit." Fingertips drop through his hair, trace down the back of his neck then retreat as Millie looks out over the panorama. "Seeing this ... I can see why people like a hold life."

"Done deal," laughs K'del, though he sticks his tongue out for her promise not to laugh too hard. Her tease just makes him grin, and raise his hands: guilty as charged. "Like it more in /bed/ than when I'm trying to get some reading done, and a certain someone keeps whining about being bored and wanting us to do something." His nose wrinkles unhappy for the recollection of his overpushing, and he nods. "Dumb of me, wasn't it? Just... too much I wanted to do, and too much in my head, and sleep seemed to come last. It's weird, these days, because I have so much more time. All of that seems a long time ago." He turns to glance at her, thoughtful, as she looks out, and then he grins. "Mmm, I suppose. It's beautiful. But. Guess I'm happy just visiting."

Milani laughs as well and a moment later she shifts a little on her branch so her shoulder bumps against his, takes a breath, lets it out. "I think a lot of weyrlings make that mistake, from having seen more than one class come through. You get so stretched to the limit, you know, it's easier to think that something that wouldn't normally make sense makes all the sense in the world." Her head drops down to his shoulder, resting comfortably. "It's a nice place to visit. But ... yeah. Couldn't put up with the rules I guess."

After that shoulder bump, K'del reaches out to wrap his arm about her shoulder, lightly, as he agrees in a quiet voice, "Probably so. And I-- had to prove myself. So once they finally decided to put me into the leadership program, I had to prove myself even more. That I could catch up, instantly. Stupid." In retrospect, anyway. His fingers reach up to curl through her hair lightly. "Mm, no, can't imagine you could. And you'd get bored. No caverns to run - just a single little hold. Harder to get to gathers, too, and just... fewer /people/."

Milani smiles as his arm comes up around her shoulder and her far hand lifts to play fingers along the edge of his wrist. "Yeah. Sometimes I wish you didn't worry about that so much. The proving yourself part. I mean, you're a great guy and pretty smart, some of that stuff, I bet it just ... it'll come, you know?" She tilts her head a little so she can see his face, even as his fingers curl into her hair. Her turn to let out a little sigh, flutter eyelids closed. "No, I'm exactly where I belong and I hope ... well I hope you feel that way too, now."

K'del makes a non-commital kind of noise, his features setting into a thoughtful frown. "Have to work at things, to make them come. Can't just... coast. Or it won't come, because you'll get keeping passed over by people who're older, more experienced, more-- /something/." There's a brief pause, and then he sighs. "Maybe. I don't know. I like the challenge. And I like being... noticed. I get such a thrill from it." Her reactions draws the corners of his lips into a satisfied smile. "Mm, reckon so. Would've made a terrible holder, long-term. The reaches are... home."

"There's a difference though between working steady and coasting and also pushing too hard," Milani says, head tipping back again as she watches his profile. "Mm. So. You like the attention. Is that why you like so many girls too? For the attention?" she asks, a hint of teasing in her voice as she leans closer, makes like she'd nibble on his ear. "You make a /really/ great bronzerider. Fit the image /perfectly/."

"And you think I'm pushing too hard," surmises K'del, though it's not a hard conclusion to reach. He's thoughtful, pondering this for some time before he responds to it. "Maybe. I-- yes, I like the attention. I'm one of /nine/. But girls? No-- well, only partly." He seems to know she's teasing him, but he answers seriously enough. "I like girls because I like sex. It just doesn't hurt that it gets me attention, too." Beat, his head turning just slightly: "Not sure if I should be taking that as a compliment or not." Teasingly.

"Sometimes, yeah," Milani says thoughtfully. "But not like you were. I think you've got better balance now." Her lips press into his cheek and then her chin perches on his shoulder while she listens. "Mm. We both like to have a good time, so I /do/ get that. Just thought that was interesting about the attention. I mean, sometimes I flirt to get attention. But otherwise, I mostly don't care all that much. I don't really need that. People noticing. I'd rather just have the respect or friendship whichever is appropriate." She laughs softly dips her head to bite playfully at his shoulder through cloth, very lightly. "Oh you should. You definitely should."

K'del opens his mouth, but stops before he says anything, to nod. "Hope so," he concludes, after a few moments more. His hand drops from her hair to play with her sleeve, vaguely, clearly not something he's paying much attention to. "Reckon the mindhealers would call it a defensive thing - my need for attention. Like I'm trying to cover for some deep insecurity. Maybe I am. Don't know, really. Just... don't want to be forgotten. That said, I'd rather it be for good reasons - like respect. And friendship." He lets out a soft sound at her playful bite, amused, and squeezes her shoulder affectionately. "Right. Good, then. K'del, the great bronzerider. Go me, I guess."

"Maybe," Milani says with a little shrug about the defensiveness. "Could just be like you said, down near the bottom of nine siblings. It's easy to get overlooked. Thing is though, Kas, seems like you have the most fun and are the most ... well ... /you/ when you just relax," she tells him sincerely and sneaks her arm around him in turn. "Just K'del. Cadejoth's. Good rider. Great lover."

K'del is silent, cogitating this, his gaze lifting to stare out over the scenery, to watch Cadejoth soar and dive, and see a few people wandering down the road towards the hold looking up at the bronze above. "You're probably right," he says, finally, with a rueful little laugh as he squeezes her shoulder. "I'll try to be more... me. I've got time, right? And it's not as though I haven't already succeeded in so many of the things I wanted." Beat. "Thanks, Millie."

Blue-green eyes follow the shifts of expression on his face, rather than Cadejoth, though she does sneak a peek at what K'del's looking at. She just smiles when he finally speaks and squeezes back. "Plenty of time. Not that you know, you shouldn't follow where things lead and live every day to the fullest either, but ... a little less pushing and I think it'll just ... all work out." She lets out her breath all in a rush and smiles even more widely. "Sure. I believe in honest compliments." The hand that's not behin him reaches for his chin though and the headwoman leans in to kiss him fondly.

"In it's own time, right? Probably won't be the youngest Wingsecond in recent memory, but then," he looks rueful again, but breaks it off with a smile, "Maybe that doesn't matter, anyway. Can't reach the peaks too early, else I'll run out of things to aim for." Openly and earnestly pleased, he breaks off from further comment to enjoy that kiss, and if he tries to make it linger a little longer, intensify it just a little - well, he's sixteen, after all.

"Exactly." Milani gets out right before their lips meet and she's more than a little amenable to lingering, to letting it grow. Her hand slides up along his jaw, hooks around his opposite shoulder. There's an ominous creak of warning from her tree branch though and she breaks away, giggling. "Hmm. I was going to say something wise about not being too hungry and giving an impression of chasing rank, but most of it went clear out of my head."

K'del's own free hand slides across to rest on her arm, lingering there, his fingertips pressed against her with a certain weightiness that subsides, reluctantly, into a light grip as the branch creaks and she draws back. "Never mind, can't have been that important," he teases, though he's probably taken the comment to heart nonetheless. "Though my kisses are mighty distracting."

"/You/ in all of your bronzeriding glory, are terribly distracting," Milani accuses good-naturedly and nudges him with her shoulder. "However, if we're going to try sex-in-a-tree I think maybe a little lower down where the branches are a little thicker would be wise." She dimples an not-so-innocent grin at him. "That or we should head down, go see your family, then find somewhere else to be hopelessly naughty.

K'del is all innocence, and big blue eyes, in response to that, nudge and all - except for the cheeky grin on his face. "Happy to oblige," he tells her, tipping his non-existant hat. There's a pause. "Sex-in-a-tree? Sounds dangerous, thicker branches or no. Tempting, tempting. But potentially uncomfortable?" It's an archly asked question, heavy with the assumption that she will, of course, know the answer to this from experience.

Milani laughs at that expression on his face and gives his cheek a pat. "No idea. Haven't tried it yet," the headwoman says gaily, eyes twinkling. Apparently not.

"Something new! Didn't know that was possible," K'del teases, eyes lighting.

"Of course it's possible!" Milani says wide-eyed. "I'm not even twenty yet, after all," she points out and laughs again, reaches for his hand this time, threads fingers between fingers. "So are we being totally daring, or being good?"

K'del's fingers curve about her hand, fondly, as he laughs. "Good point. One just has to think, sometimes, that your education has been entirely complete. But it's good to be wrong." He hesitates before answering, opening his mouth to do so just as a voice from far below sounds: "K'del? Kasadel? Are you down here somewhere? We saw--" A beat. K'del laughs, softly, beneath his breath. "Guess that'll have to wait until next time. Or later."

"Ohhh no. No no. Plenty of things to try out still," Milani answers and draws his hand over to drop a kiss to a fingertip. And then there's that calling from below and she bursts out into further peals of laughter. "Mmm. Next time." Beat. "Or later." Whispered with mischief in her voice. "Up here!" she calls out though, eyes sparkling all the more. "K'del was just showing me this lovely tree. We'll be right down!" And with a finally squeeze of her fingers to his, Milani pulls away to start making the trek downward.

The laughter, and Milani's voice, seem to draw some confusion from below - there's another call: "... Kasadel?" K'del jumps in, as he begins to follow Milani down: "Up here, Bren. Brought a friend. Coming, coming." The climb down doesn't take too long, and at the bottom, K'del's eldest brother is waiting for them, looking one part amused, the other utterly confused, though he's friendly in his manner as he leads them back towards the hold. So the visit continues - a meal with the family, before they can escape again, for more exploring, and, no doubt, some very naughty fun.

Milani's perfectly comfortable sticking out her hand on the ground to introduce herself, does her level best to charm K'del's family and well, much later, if there's naughtiness, it might just shake that tree.