Logs:Tillek Tryst
| |
|---|
| |
| RL Date: 15 July, 2013 |
| Who: Ilicaeth, Alida, Jaecar "Farsights", U'by, Ekoth |
| Type: Log |
| What: Farsights sends word that he's in port at Tillek. The two spend an interesting evening together. But trysts always end with a dose of reality. |
| Where: High Reaches Weyr and Tillek Hold area |
| When: Day 1, Month 4, Turn 32 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Edeline/Mentions, N'ky/Mentions, Quinlys/Mentions |
| OOC Notes: Nudity, dirty jokes, vague references, etc. Backdated significantly. |
     |
| It's been a little over a month. Long enough that maybe Alida had reason to think Jaecar's words of meeting again were only talk, a thing to say to escape the militant blonde without a bloody lip or broken nose. In truth, he'd tried to send a message only a seven later when they arrived in port at Ista, but the confused lizard returned to the boat just before they made sail with the message still attached. So much for the bronze of the fair. He tried the brown next with the Captain's recommendation. That one found its mark, arriving in the High Reaches Living Cavern one day. The message was removed by a redheaded greenrider curious enough about parchments of all varieties that he'd coax the brown with a scrap and take the message. It was addressed to the rider of Ilicaeth so it was that dragon that received Ekoth's very direct touch. « Are you Ilicaeth? Is your rider Alida Boat-Born? » Her alto is firm, mission-oriented. It's the evening of the day after graduation and Alida's finally pulling herself out of bed, sluicing water over her face, and rambling about, given that she's slept off almost all of her giant hangover. Once done with her usual morning ablutions, the woman's about ready to mount up on Ilicaeth to wing down to the living cavern for a much needed meal. As for Ilicaeth, who did NOT drink, and was clear headed enough to get them home on his recognizance... « Mrhm? Huh? » Someone's only just waking up from a major nap, himself. Yawn, stretch he goes while his rider's putting on his gear, golden grains of sand puffing along Ekoth's trail. « Yeah, that's us. » That boat-born sounds familiar, but he doesn't quite remember. « U'by » A flash of the redheaded man, « is waiting for her in the Living Cavern. He has a message for her. » It's as simple as that. The touch retreats. When Alida arrives to the cavern, U'by is sitting at a table, head bent over a notebook, scribbling on the open page, a small scrap of paper rolled on the table in front of him. « Mhm. Okay. Thanks... » Ilicaeth swirls around a small, multi-toned puff of dust which passes for a yawn, the blue then smacking his chops, stretching wings, and passing this on to Alida. And soon after is when the dragon is 'reminded' who calls his rider that, the blonde looking a little surprised and irked/pleased by turns at word of a message from Jaecar. Hurrying, but not foolishly fast, the lifemates are in the air, then on the ground crisply, 'lida soon striding purposefully into the cavern. Wouldn't do to be seen jogging, or being noted as 'overly eager.' Finding the proper redhead, the newly-made full rider foregoes the whole weyrling-needed salute crap thingie, and clips off to U'by, "Yer green said ya' found a 'lizard note fer me?" Her tone is casual, the Glacier rider looking around, then towards the area the night hearth lies...her stomach rumbling softly. After a few moments, Pyrite zips inside, too, looking for more food for her growing self. Blue eyes pull away from the notebook. Surely U'by knew he was summoning a female rider, but it doesn't save him the fumble of speech and hand as he makes a number of little sounds before getting out, "Yes, a note." The note is eventually grasped and offered up to the blonde. "Here." The note is simple, and unopened from the wax seal still intact. On the outside is scratched in very girlish script, 'Alida Boat-Born'. Then on the inside in that same script, 'Guiding Star in port at Tillek Hold docks', dated with yesterday's date. Blink. What's he fumbling over? No matter; Alida accepts the littke scrap of hide in deft fingers, then clips off to U'by, "Thanks; I owe ya a drink." And like the wind, she's off towards the night hearth with Pyrite on one shoulder, in search of food to sustain them before heading off. But when she reads that date... "Fuck it!" Forget the food for both of them... there might be no time, given how 'old' the note is. Around the blonde pivots upon a boot-toe - 'lida groaning internally as her still-recovering head isn't quite up to that move - her feet then striding her quickly right back out to Ilicaeth. With a few low groans as she climbs her way back up to his neck, fastening herself in securely, it's soon up and away, Tillek's coordinates set firm into both minds, the pair Betweening over the Hold skies, then setting off for the nearby harbor. U'by looks downright shocked at Alida's words of a drink, but who is he to argue? Some more unintelligible precursory sounds later, "Okay!" Toward the bluerider's back. Then he's back to work with his notebook. The beach is quite near the docks and is probably the best landing site for a dragon save for outside the Hold, though that's more of a distance away. As it happens, Farsights is on the docks, exchanging words with a man whose dress suggests he's from the Hold, not one who travels shipside. Farsights' garb is-- well, the same. But she's lucky, it's been washed since they've arrived. The time difference between 'Reaches and Tillek isn't so much, just a touch earlier in Tillek than back at the Weyr. What a strange person. No matter, there's a beach for Ilicaeth to settle down upon, the grey-toned blue soon backwinging, and alighting firmly upon rock and sands. They're hard to miss as the blue's shadow passes above the pair on the docks, and especially since he warbles to Jaecar. If Alida's happy, he's happy, right now. A sound and happy thump upon her blue's neck is part of her own thanks for his crisp delivery before she unhooks and climbs down only a tad lightheadedly to the ground, Pyrite whirling about her human's head as the blonde strides without haste towards said docks. Image must be maintained, and all. Docks, Tillek Hold Tillek's docks are impressive in size, weaving around the coastline for some distance via an occasionally convoluted collection of swaying wooden walkways that reach out into the natural harbor. There are berths here for ships of all kinds, from merchant vessels to fishing boats, and even the pleasure ships of Tillek's elite. A narrow expanse of shale beach separates the Hold's docks from those of the Seacraft, off into the distance. Surrounding the actual docks, a collection of grey stone buildings with wide eaves are built close around narrow alleys. Away from the road that leads back towards the Hold itself, some parts of the docks area are dubious indeed. Although there are a few clear, sunny, windy days along the Tillekian coastline, the usual weather is damp and wet. Rain is the most common winter weather, with hard storms blowing in a couple of times a month.
Good gods; in public?!?! That's the look on Alida's face as she's surprised a little off her feet when Jaecar grabs her up in that hug and twirling smooch...but for once, she's not violently reactionary to unexpected contact. There is a strange little sound emitted from the often touchy woman's lungs - vaguely akin to an avian's squawk - but she simply boggles, then starts laughing breezily, liplocking him back passionately for some moments, then swatting at his shoulders almost playfully. "Put me down, ya fuckin' oaf." Snicker. She looks just a hint green under the gills. Perched nearby on the dock itself, Pyrite trills her pleasure...and then, quickly enough, creels hungrily, her eyes flickering from blue to red. Pern has no gods. There's no hope for Alida. Jaecar's laughing when she start's swatting him. After one more 'so glad to see you' squeeze, he does put her down. But she hasn't said 'let go' so his hands stay at her waist. "I tried to send word when we were in Ista, but the firelizard got turned around and I didn't know until it was too late to try again. Glad this one found its way." All softly spoken, but his smile for her is warm. "Are you well?" It's been a sharding month after all, he's looking her over as though she were precious cargo that might've been damaged in a long transit. The creel from Pyrite prompts something else to happen. Perhaps not immediately noticeable, but a brown tail pokes out of a cargo pocket, joined a moment later by a muddy-colored maw, which yaaaawns. Tinier by far than Pyrite to be sure. "Jerk..." the guard lips off around a smirk for his laughing, Alida not appearing to mind one bit those hands at her waist. She's quickly noting, "When I saw the date on yer note was yesterday... I half-way figured I might've missed ya. Was out partyin' all night." She does look a bit less than fresh, even with her quick washup. But for Jaecar's word of an earlier flit-message coming back 'returned to sender,' the blonde makes a grumpy face. "Damned unreliable flits. Was wonderin'..." No, never mind that, he's here, now, and that's all that counts. Another tornadic kiss is all his, and soon enough her gaze is distracted by those movements at Farsights' pocket...'lida smirking wryly at first, then using a forefinger - carefully - to try and pet the squirt. "Took it inta yer head ta make the same stupid mistake I did, eh?" Green eyes flick over to Pyrite, who's launching her red-eyed self back over to Alida's shoulder so she can peer at the even younger brown, and the woman murmurs, "I need somethin' ta' eat in a big way... Pyrite, too." One arm - dressed in very new, medium brown riding jacket - is looped casually about the man's waist. "What's 'is name?" "You like it." Jaecar claims with a grin. Maybe he's not completely confident, but he pretends it anyway, before the sheepish smile. "Tillek's our turn 'round point, so we get a seven here while everything's refitted and repairs are made. Then another long haul." Her words have caught his interest though, "Partying? Have I got myself a 'party girl' on my hands?" He wonders, since they really don't know each other well. "Was there an occasion?" And then that kiss. It's returned with all the fervor of a man a month at sea (and more). Then she's pulling away and for what? For his new companion and he's sighing. "Timing, Anchor." Which should answer the name question as well. "We get the hospitality of the Hold while we're here. There's sure to be something spread out for breakfast. If you had more patience, I'd say we could go fish and cook up what we catch, but..." He offers the blonde his arm. "And no, actually. I bartered for the egg at Ista. Figured better if I had one of my own to send my messages. Don't want to bother the Captain over-much." "Only a little..." Alida ripostes in her typical fashion, greedily claiming Jaecar's waist as her own. "Party woman. Not every freakin' day, but I work hard... So when I finally enjoy myself, I do it well." As for the occasion, she seems to hesitate, then shrugging her outside shoulder before noting crisply, "Graduation. Full rider, now." And then the smooch, followed by a light slap of her free hand towards her shiny new Glacier Wing patch at arm, accompanied by quiet pride and determination upon the woman. A quick rub of the little brown Anchor's chin seguays into Alida prodding both of them lightly into motion for said food, the woman smirking softly, then noting low, "Guess I ought'ta take off my jacket 'n hide its identifiers, then. Bet Lady Edeline's still pissed at 'Reaches fer darin' ta let a blue Impress 'r nephew." As for word of acquiring Anchor, "I think ya made a good trade, then. If ya train the buggers well, get a reliable one, they seem ta make decent messengers, herders, little game catchers. And they c'n flame." Grin. "Woman, right. Sorry." It's corrected with a rueful grin, but a genuine look of apology for the mix-up. "Habit." Jaecar notes as he walks along beside the bluerider. Her answer about the occasion has him confused. "A full rider? And... you weren't before?" At least he can put that much together. "What's that then?" He nods to the patch. He wears no insignia, just his clothes to mark him for what he is. Anchor's reaction is to yawn again, though he doesn't seem to object to the touch. "I don't so much care about the flaming and the hunting and stuff, just that he can get a message to you when it matters. Maybe even back to my Aunt." The latter's an after-thought. "Is she?" Of the Lady Holder and High Reaches Weyr. "The ship-- we end up pretty out of touch." With everything. He walks all the while toward the Hold and the promise of food. "I'll fergive ya...once," Alida notes dryly, then nodding to Farsights. "It was a change pretty much only in name: I could do all the things a month ago that I'm doin' now...just no force uv law behind it." A sudden softly secretive smirk touches her lips a moment at her guard-ish turn of phrase, the blonde then murmuring, "Teach 'im, anyway. One day, y'may need more uv' Anchor's talents, besides messagin'. Who knows; he might've even be able ta' save yer life sometimes if 'e knows more." She cares? And then the bluie's smirk-chortle comes at Jaecar's simple question of Edeline, Alida feeling inclined enough to edify her beau with, "Ya know how fuckin' touchy those Blooded folk are about their precious spawn." Snerk. "People without borders - like ship's folk - those with no set home can't afford ta take stupid tiffs too much ta heart, 'r they'd never get business done." Along the way to the Hold, the woman divests herself of her riding jacket, drapes it just-so over her free arm so that patches and such are hidden. And her shiny-new knot at one shoulder is also removed, stuffed into a pants pocket, rendering her a confident someone dressed in rider gear. Jaecar's shoulder gets a lazy touch of her head to it now and then, his presence making the woman relax, even smile. To the young man's asking about her patch, Alida replies, "Glacier Wing; my newly assigned wing." Hrm. "A small bunch uv dragons formed t'gether ta work in tandem." There's a simple nod of acquiescence to Alida's insistence that he train the brown. Then there's an uncertain, "Um." Then embarrassed, "Not... really? I've never met anyone Blooded before. I don't spend much time on land when I'm in port, usually." Usually. Making this time spent with her an exception. Apparently, wherever Alida came from, Jaecar came from somewhere more remote. "I'm sure it'll work out alright. We won't cause any trouble here. Just get something to eat and maybe even take it outside somewhere? Or inside somewhere. I've not explored the Hold much." Then he's thoughtful a moment, "So I suppose congratulations are in order, hm? And a gift would be appropriate, right?" "Believe me, yer not missin' anything. Most Blooded people got a pole up their asses 10 feet long," Alida quips, her voice kept lower as they approach the Hold. A small grin for Jaecar's words of trouble and eating earn him a sudden, urgent kiss - which makes Pyrite squawk and take off in flight - and a quick, "No reason fer trouble. I don' care. Never been ta Tillek, either."As for the sailor's second round of words... another, if more brief kiss. "This is gift enough." This time with him, away from everyone and everything she knows. Jaecar's smiling for what she says of Blooded people and not missing much, for the things about Tillek, and especially for the urgent kiss that's so readily returned. His voice has a little rasp and he warns, "Might want to save that for after food. Otherwise, we might not get so far. And you said you were hungry." He leaves go the idea of gifts for the moment, because they've arrived at the Hold doors. Then things are mostly goal-oriented. Jaecar wheedles and convinces Alida's hungry tummy of the wisdom of taking their meal to go. Between Tillek politics and the promise of a hidden cove nearby to explore in the mild spring weather of Tillek, with Rukbat having warmed the day, and even eventually a sunset to watch, he makes a convincing argument. The pair collects food into napkins, mostly meat and cheese rolls, fruit, and raw fingerroots and other portable vittles enough to soothe rumbling bellies. Two skins of refreshment (lady--er... Alida's choice) is procured along with a single mug that's filled with strips of wherry and bacon instead of liquid, food more palatable to their small companions. Then they're heading back the way they came. "I spotted this place from the crow's tower a few trips back. It's pretty and not huge. Hard to get to by sea, not too bad by foot." He eats as they walk, "Your dragon might fit there. Dunno. Haven't seen him up close." "As you wish..." the blonde replies with a mix of frustration and humor. She was still rather uncertain about being around him too long in their current 'state' in a public venue, so Jaecar's about-face of plans settles even better with Alida. With a picnic meal of dinner in hand via those stowed napkins within pockets, the two walking where he leads, the bluie finally has to inquire, though rather gently, "Y'know... someday, yer likely gonna have ta fly with us." If they're still going out, anyway. As far as 'in your face' dragons go... well, soon enough, Ilicaeth's taking off from his wallow in sands nearby, and executing a fly-over about 150 feet overhead the pair, his passage making their hair ruffle heavily. "Show off..." the woman smirks overhead, then noting to Jaecar, "He's about 27 feet long...but 'e c'n curl up, too." Does that help? inquire her eyes. One of her hands is back in his, by now, holding light, but firm. "I'll make you a deal," Jaecar's smile is smooth, close-lipped and naturally a little mix of charming and smirking. "The day you want to take me home with you is the day I'll try out that whole crazy flying thing." The look he gives Alida is a cheeky one, squeezing her hand before he relinquishes it to pull out a napkin, untying it carefully before offering her the contents, meat and cheese rolls. A snack for along the way. His eyes turn upward to find the blue, listening, at the same time, to Alida's specifications for the dragon. "He probably can fit. Guess we'll find out. He can probably see it up ahead - if he's keen of eye." It is a little hard to see even from the air, but only about a mile or two from where they started. It was a bit of a test by Ilicaeth, the blue seeing if his passage overhead intimidated Jaecar. Pleased at the sailor's reaction, the dragon cups his massive wingsails to catch an updraft, and lofts higher in a short time, flying around while the man leads Alida wherever he intends to take her. Between nips of her meatroll snack, the woman grins back at Farsights, his 'cheeky' earning him a smirk and a clipped, "Heard 'n witnessed. No backin' out." That squeeze of hand is echoed with her return of such, and another cast of greens up to the spring sky, their squint just able to locate Ilicaeth beyond them. After a few moments, she drops her gaze again, nods around a bit of a prideful smile. "Dragon vision's excellent." At this point, she starts to note to him, in general, the various things her lifemate can see below, and transmit into her own, inner eye. There's a grand difference between seeing something one has seen before: a dragon in the sky, and meeting one up close and personal. Jaecar may not have made a visible reaction, but one test does not equal those to come. He listens as she regales him with the things in Ilicaeth's vision. "Sounds impressive," He compliments after a moment, reaching for a roll of his own and starts to munch on it as they walk. Soon enough they're winding through the trees and coming out on a silty beach. Hidden Cove, Tillek Hold Just up the coast from Tillek Hold by a mile or two, this little pocket cove is almost invisible to anyone sailing by in a boat, due to the way arms of rock fold around it. The folds of the rocky hills partly mask it from view from above as well, but a dragonrider flying at the right angle would spot it pretty well. It's a bit of a tricky sail to get in, with sharp shoals threatening to take out all but the smallest vessels, unless one knows how to approach the current. Inside, the water is almost smooth and unruffled, the bottom dropping out into dark invisibility below the waves. The silty beach is a narrow sliver of land cupping the water in its palm, quickly swallowed up by trees and thick underbrush. A low-mouthed cavern gapes blackly in the cliff-face halfway around the curve from the beach and looks large enough to hold a chromatic dragon.
"Looks impressive..." Alida notes mutedly between flashes of what her blue sees and what her own eyes make out ahead. While Jaecar's munching and they keep walking, she sneaks a quick kiss to his near jaw, pulling away with a slightly triumphant grin...then giving a more honest smile when the little cove opens up into clearer view. "Now this is much more handy - and pretty - than a Hall, in my opinion." Maybe she's more of the 'natural beauty' appreciation type. And then he's disengaging and running, a laugh issuing from the blonde's throat as she soon joins him in that faster pace. "Better keep goin', 'r risk dastardly horrors when I catch ya!" Ilicaeth too has reached the area, backwinging upon that silty beach, and coming to an abrupt, yet graceful-enough landing. "Dastardly horrors?" Jaecar questions, chancing a glance back at the blonde with raised brow before he's turning his head back to run. Then there's a dragon. Landing between him and his destination. The run turns into a slide that kicks up silt, though it doesn't go far. Apparently he'll take Alida's dastardly horrors before a dragon. He does, indeed, look frightened. It's a dragon! "I think I'mma' gonna hold ya down and feed ya!" Alida calls out, the woman giving Jaecar a grin and one of her habitual eyerolls, which he likely cannot make out. Snork. And then there's an only moderate-sized blue landing, then looking inquisitively at the sailor for the first time - with his own eyes, anyway - Ilicaeth quirking his head just as suddenly as the sailor slides to a halt. « Seriously? » he inquires of Alida at her beau's apparent fright, the blue then readying himself to go on a small spree of 'poking fun' at the mundane. 'Knock it off...' is all Alida has to mentally 'say' to her lifemate to get him to cease and desist even before he starts in on Jaecar, the blue internally muttering, « Don't cozen 'im. » Wimp. To which the now halted blonde responds to with a faint glare to the green-eyed dragon, and a silent, 'Even the bravest c'n get freaked out by a dragon their first up-close meetin'. Cut 'im some slack.' She's assuming that this is Farsights' first experience. Laying a hand along the man's arm for tactile reassurance, 'lida soon notes factually, "He's perfectly genial unless ya hurt either one uv' us." A point to the now slightly huffy blue's eyes as he turns away, steps off, and starts digging himself a shallow wallow in the silt presages her low, "Green eyes mean restful, calm pleasure." Nevermind those faint bits of orange that stipple the blue's gaze. Farsights' slate eyes are widened, pupils dilated, breath a touch on the shallows side, and muscles tensed. All signs that he is, indeed, afraid. He stares at the dragon. At least he's not gaping. His Adam's apple bobs more noticeably than most times and he straightens up at the touch of Alida's hand to his arm. His eyes flick away from Ilicaeth only momentarily to the dragon's rider before going back to the blue. "And you can hear each other's thoughts, right? And they don't eat people, right?" It might sound far-fetched, and there's surely basic knowledge, but living his life mostly at sea, the occasional rumor does sometimes worry the ignorant. "You can tell him I'm not going to hurt him, or you. I'd add that that might be different if you were into that kind of stuff, but I think we've established that you like to do the hurting. And be on top." The cheeky humor is thin, but there. He's trying. She's very adept at noting signs of things on a person, like inclinations towards a motion...or one of fear. "Mhm. He hears mine, I hear his...but we can block it whenever we really really want ta'. It's tough, though." And it never lasts long. As for that eating humans comment, the woman can't help but grin softly, and squeeze Jaecar's arm reassuringly. "Only after I've shish-kebabed 'em." Smirk. Onward... "He pretty much knows ya won't, already. He's a pretty good judge uv character...but I'm sure Ilicaeth appreciates yer reassurance." « Bullshit. » 'Sour grapes.' And then, for some reason, the blonde looks both vaguely hurt, along with a tad smirky at Farsights' commentary, though she banishes the odd expression quickly enough with a low, "Gotta gimme good reason ta be on the bottom, toots." Grin, wink. She won't decry the 'like to do the hurting' bit. "There might--" Jaecar starts softly, now turning his head to look at Alida, expression serious, "--be an unavoidable but small amount of pain if you want there to be." Does she see what he's getting at? They did work out with the kissing the last time that this was her first experience. "Unless you've had some other male attention since I was ashore in southern," He adds a single brow rising questioningly. There's a touch of jealousy to the edge of his inquiry, but he tries hard to make it sound casual. Then he's looking back to the blue. "Can I--" The look is embarrassed when it turns back to the blonde, "Would he mind if I touched him?" She looks rather confused for a few moments, Alida almost ready to inquire of Jaecar just what he's getting at...and then it hits her, the woman's features erupting into a grand cascade of flaming pink and muted crimson. She steps away from the sailor, but not far at all, 'lida unable to look at him while she tries to regain control of herself, and when she can find her voice again, it sounds a hint thin, more rough. "No." She hasn't been with another anyone, much less a guy. As far as hearing his faint jealousy goes, she's pretty much clueless...and too wrapped up in her embarrassment to really care, in the first place. Only a little over her shoulder is murmured, "Yeah, go ahead. Just approach 'im from the front, so 'e knows yer there." Mumble. « More like so I don' 'accidentally' crush 'im like a rotten grape? » Hehehe. He does want to touch Ilicaeth. Except there's something more pressing. The step away and the blushing has him confused for a moment and then Jaecar steps to Alida's side, gently reaching to place a hand on her shoulder, fingertips positioned so they can just barely graze the skin above her collar. "Alida," His accented baritone comes softly, touched with the same confusion that shows on his face, "You know... I'm not meaning to pressure you." Does he mistake her embarrassment? "I know..." the blonde murmurs in mixed left-over embarrassment and huff over being embarrassed in the first place, her chin duckin in slightly, then lifting back out defiantly. Such extremes! After a few more moments, she's turning back towards the sailor, and leaning into his taller form, pillowing her cheek on his upper chest. Sigh. At some point, her arms finally lifts to loosely cinch about his waist, lower back, though her hold isn't tight. She can't find the right words, so she doesn't bother with them. Within one of her belt pouches, the hungry Pyrite makes a rather pitiable sound, wanting some of that food the humans were earlier waving about. When she turns to him, Farsights' arms respond instinctively, wrapping around her slender form. His arms don't tighten around her at first, though, simply holding her. At the sigh, his hands flatten against her back and one slides up to gently rub across her shoulders, the other staying curled around her waist. "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do," He adds, "And none of this is anything to be embarrassed about. Not that you are." The last is added hastily, his tone implying that he feels he might see those promised 'dastardly horrors' too soon if he doesn't qualify the comment. Human contact: so good, so uncommon for the touchy guard. Alida nuzzles her nose a little into Jaecar's chest, inhaling his clean scent as his rubbing along her strong, shapely shoulders slowly relaxes her again. "Just... slow," is all the blonde can call up right now in this rather vulnerable moment, the sailor's last, quick addendum almost making her laugh, though she only smiles some against his shirt. And then that peeping from her beltpouch is heard this time, the woman giving another sigh, and then slowly disengaging herself just enough from Farsights so that she can tend to her hungry flit. Fingers dip into a different pouch, soon find a stubby strip of jerky, then offer it to the forepaws of Pyrite, whose head is peeking out from her artificial 'cave' of sorts. Immediately, she disappears back inside her own traveling case, the small sounds of gnawing heard within. "I'm hungry, too..." is noted quietly, Alida trying to deflect talk away from her own uneasiness about intimacy. Before Alida disentangles herself, Jaecar tilts his head down to press a kiss to the top of her head. "As slowly as you like." As she's pulling back, he adds, "And you know, we can talk about things, if you want to talk about things." The option to not is there, too. No pressure on that score either. The sailor follows the blonde's lead, hand dipping into the same pocket to snag a piece of jerky for the brown head lolling out of another pocket. "There are some crates in the cave. Fishing traps and the like that we can sit on." He nods. But there's still that dragon in the way. His gaze lingers on Ilicaeth and then he squares his shoulders, glancing once at Alida and then he approaches, from the front, as instructed. "Is there somewhere in particular he'd prefer I touch? Anchor likes to be rubbed along his back, but-" He glances up up up and then looks back to the face of the dragon. The look suggests he's not about to climb for that spot. Her arms squeeze him for that kiss to her pale head before they part. And then...It's hesitant, but heartfelt: "Thanks..." The woman's voice is low, but the feeling within it is honestly grateful for the sailor's patience...a rather strange, almost shy bit of a smile offered to him, her nod following. A vaguely humored crinkle of eyes is offered for the sailor feeding his own 'baby,' Alida's greens finally lifting to note first Jaecar and then that cave beyond them...with Ilicaeth plopped down squarely between them. A somewhat more typical, though gentler smirk-smile expression finds its home upon the woman's features, her alto then noting, "Anywhere but 'is flank, tail, 'r eyes." The rest is up to the blue and Farsights, the former's neck and head stretched out upon the silty beach, his blue eyes trained upon the pair of humans...watching. Jaecar's nod to the rider is swift, a single bob to acknowledge her words. Then he looks back to Ilicaeth. "Hi." He starts, looking awkward. "You're the first dragon I've ever met." As if it weren't obvious. He offers out a hand. "Would you mind?" Even if Alida's already said it's alright. It seems the wise thing to do when a thing is large enough to swallow you in a bite. There's a soft chuff from the blue as his eyes whirl, adjusting their focus to take in Jaecar better as the sailor approaches him with that 'Hi.' There's a look at that hand that likely only Alida can sense, and the dragon soon sends to his lifemate, « What the crap does 'e want me ta' do; shake hands with 'im? » His inner, slightly sour humor comes out as a soft snort that likely ruffles the man's hair some, the scent of meat upon Ilicaeth's breath, though not overwhelmingly. And though he knows Jaecar can't hear him, the blue rasps off a baritone, gritty, « And you're the first sea dog I ever met. » Cue his image to Alida of Jaecar's body with a dog head attached, the internal sight of such causing the woman to clap one hand over her mouth to stifle the snickers that come. « Mind what? I'm not a dog. » Swirl. 'Will you just fucking let him touch you?' « Sigh, I'd rather... » Instantly, the woman blurts out a slightly panicked, mostly irritated, "Don'chu' dare..." to Ilicaeth, who was readying himself to either open his mouth in a very toothy 'grin' or warble a loud hello back to the poor guy. Immediately, to explain to Farsights: "It's fine. Go ahead." The snorting, soft though it was, had Jaecar's hand pulling back a touch, his brow furrowing with concern. At the blurt from Alida, the hand is down and he's stepping away from the dragon, hands shoving into his pockets. Despite the immediate explanation, the man shakes his head, shoulders slightly hunched. "Nah, nevermind. Don't want to bother him." But at least being in front of the dragon now, he can turn and head for the cave, unimpeded by dragon bulk. "Let's go eat. You said you were hungry." His baritone comes from over his shoulder as he doesn't look back at the rider. « Fuckitall, Ilicaeth! » is Alida's silent rounding on her lifemate for his 'ways,' the blue giving her a mental shrug of sands, then quieting as he watches first Jaecar, then Alida retreat towards that cave. For the first time in her adult life, the blonde's trying to urgently explain something to someone to stop them from feeling bad. "He's a smartalek, Jaecar; he acts like that ta me, everybody." She's almost apologizing for Ilicaeth, but it never quite gets that far. The look on her face is somewhat chastised, though, concern hovering behind green eyes. Jaecar's pace is even. He's not hurrying to get away from the blue or his rider. His expression is impassable, his shoulders shrug at the explanation. "Nothing to worry about. It was a silly idea anyway. They probably get that thing all the time." He brushes the whole thing off as though it were nothing. The crates are there just inside the cave, strung with ropes, as promised, traps for fish and the like. He settles down on one and starts pulling napkin after napkin out of his pockets, placing them in his lap. "I don' wantcha' ta be..." Afraid of Ilicaeth, and the blue's sometimes rough ways...so much like her own. Quietly, Alida murmurs, "I know how much that likely took fer ya' ta approach 'im." The woman remembers how she too felt that first time a dragon got really up close and personal with her...Olveraeth's Searching her mellowing the impact of his prodigious bulk a little. A shake of her pale head to the sailor's words presage her own settling down beside him atop her own crate, then a murmured, "Nobody else besides me, N'ky, 'n the weyrlingmasters've ever bothered touchin' 'im." She fidgets a little, looking over out of the corners of her eyes to the sailor as he seems to prestidigitate those napkins out of pockets, 'lida awaiting his answers, and maybe a napkin of her own as she observes Farsights. "It's no big deal." Jaecar's words are meant to be reassuring, but they're hollow. "Dragons don't much play into a life at sea." He adds, "And I'm not taking back my agreement. I'll fly if you ever want to take me home." But that's not for now. Now is for food, he offers over a roll to the blonde while his other hand is occupied putting something edible into the brown's reach so there's no tragic food accident. He gestures briefly with the roll to everything spread on his lap. "Help yourself. Whatever you like." "I'll leave it alone after this... but it sounds like a big deal ta my ears, Alida murmurs pointedly, if softly to the sailor, his next words inspiring her to note, "About a handfulla' months ago, we 'n some other weyrling pairs helped ta' rescue a boatload uv' sailors that were scuttled by pirates near High Reaches Hold." With his words of accompanying her in their hopeful future, no matter what, the woman simply nods, then accepting that roll and tearing off a small piece to offer to her own, still hungry 'lizard. With Jaecar's words and gesture comes her sudden press of a kiss to his cheek, then a grabbing of whatever food it upon his lap, Alida eating with clean alacrity. "I think you'd have to agree," Jaecar answers, his tone forced toward droll, "That's a bit of an unusual circumstance." He bypasses her first words entirely. He's glancing down at the food she picks, but not paying it much mind. He lapses into thoughtful silence as the brown slips from his pocket and onto his thigh where Farsights busies himself offering the growing beastie bits of the remaining meat. She wants to keep at him, find out why the sailor's so touchy about this whole dragon subject, but she said she'd lay off...and so Alida does so, though not happily. Even her kiss doesn't cheer him, which, for some reason, bugs the blonde. Instead, the woman simply clams up, and keeps feeding herself and her own firelizard from what she plucked up off his lap. The bluie appears much as she often does when feeling 'apart' from others, even in a crowd: flat-featured, withdrawn. The silence doesn't last too long. "So," Farsights starts as his long fingers tear the food into bite-size pieces for the firelizard, "I don't know much about you, really. What did you do before you Impressed?" His slate eyes stray after another moment or so to find her face. She's not as engaged as she was before, and when Alida answers, it's without her usual animation...more like when she very first met him. "Informally apprenticed Beastcrafter, then Guard." Eating to stoke her hummingbird metabolism - feeding Pyrite to keep the gold's growing body supplied with decent nutrients - the blonde falls silent again, not looking over at Jaecar. Jaecar's observation of the bluerider's expression and her words is keen. He takes a moment to gather the napkins and firelizard and swaps the contents of his lap with where his rump was resting, leaving all things there to the mercy of his brown while he takes a knee in front of the blonde. His arms rest atop that knee as he looks up at her. "What is it?" She peers at him with some odd intensity, Alida looking even more remote in those moments, almost mechanical, even. But when Jaecar takes that knee before her, the blonde seems a little surprised, one of her slender brows twitching up a little as she stops feeding herself. After a moment, her alto delivers a casual-sounding, "Nothin.'" She so utterly used to dealing with things on her own, with keeping her inner reactions under wraps, that her hip-shot answer sounds legitimate. Her answer does sound legitimate; but the manner change is as equally abrupt as his own was; in this, they are too much alike for him to buy what she's selling. "Are you going to make me call you a liar?" His brows rise up, brow wrinkling. His tone is gentle. He's not calling her a liar, just posing the question. "Something tells me," Jaecar goes on, letting two fingertips come to rest on Alida's knee, "That'd have you jumping me and not in the way I dream about." There's that scowl of hers, given for Farsights' words of her maybe lying. But when he speaks of 'jumping,' the blonde suddenly snaps her trap shut around what would've been a somewhat irritated answer, and looks down at the food in her hand while trying not to blush. After controlling herself, greens dart back up and look deeply, levelly into slat-blues for a long moment before she finds a way to answer him more decently. "I... I'm used ta'...keepin' it all close ta home." A lift of one empty hand in a loose fist soon meeting with her chest might show what the woman means: inside. It's a big admission from her, and - given her stance on information exchanges - she wants something of the same from him. Point-blank: "Why are ya' so tense about me bein' a rider? About dragons?" "So am I." Jaecar answers. "You know what makes a good sailor? A quiet man. You can't afford to disagree with the other fellows you're sharing a bunk with; which is virtually the whole crew, so there's a whole lot of people in a space that keep things to themselves. Anything important, anyway." This might explain why there's some hesitation before he answers. It's not hesitation that withdraws though, because his fingers start to lightly caress across that knee and a little higher on the top of her thigh, but not too high - just above the knee. He's gathering his thoughts, finding the right words. "Did I say I was raised by my uncle and aunt?" It's the start, his eyes looking up to her face for an answer before he goes on. In a perhaps fickle change of moods, the woman winds up curling one side of her lips in a small smirk-smile when Jaecar admits that, Alida then nodding a couple of times before she starts eating again. Her gaze rarely leaves his, and then only to pluck some food up and offer it to Pyrite's greedy maw. "I...like that abou'cha'. Not a blabbermouth." His easy, light motions upon her thigh have greens peering at such for a few moments - almost like the guard's feeling a little outside of her own body for some seconds - then flicking up to meet blues again. "Yes..." is finally murmured, 'lida starting to lean just a little forward to hear him. There's a half-smile for her words, and his fingers continue, the motion a touch idle. "My papa was away at sea, most of the time. My brother too. He's a lot older." Jaecar's eyes follow the slow swirling finger on the woman's knee. "But growing up with my aunt and uncle, I had a cousin, who was about five turns older than I was. He was about fourteen when he left. My uncle and he were out working and a dragonrider happened by, took him to stand at Fort Weyr. He didn't get a dragon, but he didn't come home either. Don't know what happened to him. Never heard from him again. Broke my aunt's heart." He gives a slight shrug to his shoulders. Whenever dragons would come 'round, my aunt told me to stay in the house. They sent me to sea as soon as I was old enough. Guess I just-- never've had a reason to know a rider or dragon before. And yours didn't exactly inspire confidence." He looks uneasy now, his hand sliding away from her knee, and he sits back on the single boot tucked under him, one knee still up. The motion is not only slightly titillating, but hypnotic after a fashion, the pressure and lightness of it upon her thigh seeming to quiet some of Alida's former upset. Or perhaps it's his words, the woman not used to hearing much of self-revelation from Farsights, much less anyone else. As he talks, she eats in silence, giving him most of her attention, Pyrite's nibbling only heard if and when the flit encounters something crunchy to eat. And when Jaecar's tale it finished, the blonde thins her lips some, and finally has to nod once. "They...they didn' wanna lose you, too. So they kept 'cha away... And I guess y'learned ta' not trust anything 'rider.'" Setting her food down on her lap, both hands reach out to try and hold at least one of the man's hands in her own, if possible, not letting him withdraw from her so much, her greens getting a hint distant for a moment. A light, yet firm squeeze is soon given to his mitt(s), Alida intoning rather seriously, "Ilicaeth...he's a hard-ass, like me." Cue one of her smaller smirks. "I guess 'e just want ya' ta'...measure up, since I'm his 'rider." Sigh. "We both want the best we c'n get, I guess." "I don't have a problem with you being a rider, Alida," Jaecar clarifies quietly. "I trust you. Your dragon's just a little bit of a different matter. He's not exactly-- beginner friendly? It seems. From the way you reacted out there." His hand was caught, and so it stays, his grip loose, the other staying on his own knee where it began. But then he's pushing back up onto his feet. His hand tugs on hers, "C'mon." He nods toward the beach where the blue remains. "Need to talk with him then." She does listen to him, the woman not trying to re-interpret...Alida simply accepting what Jaecar has to say as his truth. Still... "Yeah. Neither uv' us 'r beginner friendly." And how. A small roll of eyes show some of her small, dark humor, the guard then slowly standing after moving her own leftover food aside from her lap to his crate. Checking on Pyrite, and finding the little queen riding along contently in her belt pouch, the bluerider simply following the man's lead, then pacing smoothly beside him back out towards Ilicaeth, who's now wallowed soundly into those silty-sandy grains out beyond them...the blue looking out to sea. Yes, yes, everybody leave! Don't mind the little brown starting to sweep the remaining food into a small horde on top of the napkin on top of the crate where he was left. Pyrite can ride along as much as she wants, Anchor will take the advantage where he can get it. Nothing to see here! Farsights certainly doesn't seem to be paying any heed to the brown. He doesn't speak again until they're standing in front of the blue, shoulders squared. "Hey, dragon, we need to talk." He calls him by race instead of name, probably to get his attention. He looks to Alida, "You'll translate? Without holding back?" Alida could care less about food anymore, though she's still a bit peckish. Let Anchor have it, since Pyrite is finally full. And now that the pair of humans has reached the blue dragon, he's slowly lifting his head some, and turning it lazily towards Jaecar...until the sailor addresses him in that way. If the heavily-eye-ridged blue could raise an eyebrow, he would. Instead...Ilicaeth chuffs heavily, sets his head back down on the silt beach rather near the man. And stares. His nearest eye is easily as big as Farsights' head...and it's looking down on him. From Alida, who holds the man's hand, while also reaching out to touch her lifemate's chin, "I will. He's pretty no-nonsense, I'll warn ya'." Like her. « Yeah, human? » is offered through the path of Alida's mind, though directed squarely at the sailor. It's a little snarky, mostly flippant...and the blonde woman translates every nuance, except the baritone of his mindvoice, though she unthinking pitches her own voice lower than normal. "You and me have something in common." Jaecar gestures to the blonde, "And someday, she might want to take me home. Someday later than that, she might want to do it again. And even if she never does, I'm going to want you to bring her to me. All over Pern." Or close enough. "So, seems to me that we'd best get along. Maybe even like each other." He glances to Alida, there's a slight raise of his brow as if to ask if he's going about this right. Then back to Ilicaeth, "I can tell you all about my intentions toward her if you want, but you're not exactly her father or brother, so I'm not sure that you care so much about that. So. You want to know anything about me, ask. Otherwise, I'm planning on being a part of her life, so, I'd have your blessing, if you'll give it." Strange? Maybe. But, well. This is Ilicaeth. And this is Alida. And this is Jaecar "Farsights". So. Apparently Ilicaeth remains silent for a bit, since Alida has nothing to say, the woman looking both concerned and oddly proud, by turns, as she glances between man and 'beast.' Only the blue's near-ever-twitching tail moves as he takes in what Farsights has to say; that, and his moderately-whirling, blue eyes. And when Jaecar's finally had his say...Alida's eyes go a little distant, though her expressions and voice translate every nuance of her lifemate's words and inner demeanor. « She's mine. I'm hers. We are together inna' way you c'n barely even begin ta understand. » The translated voice - through Alida - sounds a hint like father/brother, but so much more just like her, if somewhat more humored. « Wha'cha' do with her, ya do with us. So best treat 'er decently...'cause we don't put up with bullshit...'r leftovers. » Chuff. « Ya' seem mostly decent, human, so I'll share summa' my life... » And with a sudden gesture, Alida jerks her dragon-touching hand to her own upper chest to coincide with that 'my life' she utters via Ilicaeth « ...with ya. » His life is her. And suddenly, there's a few small sparks of red in that gulf of dragon-blue eyes. « But if ya'...disappoint us too far, Jaecar Farsights, I promise ya' we - and especially I - will fuck up yer ass so bad, y'll wish ya'd died, instead. » Alida's tone of voice is almost casual, up until that very last half of his final sentence, when her lifemate's soft growl accompanies the translation. After she's done being intermediary...the guard looks both love-stricken and chagrined by turns, her hand dropping from Jaecar's for a long moment so she can turn herself to fully face the blue, and fiercely hug his muzzle. Nothing happens for a moment, but then comes a low, thrumming croon, and a change of red-peppered blue eyes to heady teal, Ilicaeth then slipping his vast tongue out to touch his rider's midsection before she withdraws, slowly looks back at the sailor. Jaecar listens, too, his expression just as impassive and serious as the blue's before him. He watches the rider hug the dragon and then waits until she's finished. Once she's withdrawn, he steps closer and without asking this time puts a hand on the blue's muzzle in a caress - a flirtatious movement, "So you're sayin', if I take her to bed, I should give you a tickle first?" His baritone is lifted in humor. Hopefully he strikes the right chord with the dragon, the hand lifts away so as not to be taken 'wrong'. It was a joke; something to show they're on the same page. "Mind now, I'll do my best, but if I can't get her off the first time, you'll have to give me a few more tries before you decide I'm a miserable disappointment and eat me instead of me eating her." Bawdy jokes. He is a sailor, after all. Then he's blushing a touch as he glances to Alida, hoping that his choice of jokes haven't run her off. Though Ilicaeth feels what his lifemates does - Alida blushing a bright pink with Jaecar's first words, then looking away quickly - the blue is of a like, humorous sentiment with Jaecar. He's dealt with his rider's neuroses and quirks so much, that sometimes they manage to tax even him...and this is why the dragon suddenly emits a rumbling roll of rich, textured sound only one's other half might recognize as humor...that tickle from Farsights making him lift his tail, and guide it around so that the tips hover in front of the blue's suddenly lowered eyelids. One wing opens some, curls and bends and then slowly moves in a fashion reminiscent of some poofy Lady fanning herself. And finally, Alida can't take the mix of humor and deep embarrassment any more, and winds up thumping both her dragon and Jaecar soundly: the former on his nose, the latter, his shoulder. If Ilicaeth was smaller, it might leave a slight bruise. "KNOCK it OFF, you two!" Gheeeeze. She still can't quite fully look at the sailor. Though the sound might not be immediately interpretable to a non-dragonman, the gestures are and it has Jaecar grinning wide, even more after he's thumped. "Nope. You're in trouble now." Clearly, there's a kindred spirit in Ilicaeth where humor's concerned and it's brazenly then that the man's arm sweeps around the blonde's waist, pulling her roughly against him and claiming a deep kiss that promises to make good on his jokes, time permitting and lady willing. Ilicaeth knows when things are honestly decent again, and with his basic blessing given to the humans, the blue noses Alida once more before resettling his limbs, tail, wings, and head back into the silt...the blue giving a lazy sigh of relief at a job well done. "Fuckin' jerks, both'u ya..." Alida mutters in leftover embarrassment after her thumping of Jaecar, the woman making a weird noise of both surprise and delight when the sailor grabs her up and plants his heated kiss upon her lips. For just a second, there's hesitation and stiffness, and then sudden heat to answer his own, her fingers curling up in his thick hair and dragging a little roughly through it while her second hand curls and presses into his back...green eyes closing in the process. The kiss doesn't last too long, just long enough to break through her hesitation and stiffness. So brief, it's likely to leave her wanting more. His next move is abrupt, too, this time sweeping down to lift her up into his arms, one arm under her knees. "Just because what I do with her I'm doing with you doesn't mean you need a front row seat, right?" He asks of the blue. Jaecar grins at the blonde though, "Unless you really object, we're about to get naked and do some exploring. It's up to you if you want to get naked and go in the water or get naked and go in the cave." There's a third option, where she says no, and he says 'alright' and that's all there is, of course, it's implicit in everything he's told her, and in his preface. But there are his intentions, at least the intentions of the moment. She's swept up? It's a good thing Alida's in the mood she's currently in, or Jaecar might have a wildcat in his arms, and the blood on his body to prove such. Instead, the once again surprised - and yes, wanting more - woman is staring a little round-eyed at the sailor, then laughing aloud in bright, almost carefree fashion. Those who know her better might boggle at how the guard's acting right now...but Ilicaeth knows much better than anyone, including his rider. Her arms latch about the back of his neck to secure her more...and then he's saying that. Instantly, her laughter cuts off, and the blonde appears torn...and somewhat embarrassed, of course. And worse: vulnerable. As smooth as sisal, subtle as a sledgehammer, « Yer' the one in control. Why not at least try? » Ilicaeth pauses for a significant moment. « Unless yer wherry-scared. » Bawk bawk! To which the woman sudden lifts her chin, and nods stiffly to Jaecar, then noting boldly, "Water." His grin had gentled, waiting for an answer, watching her face. Once she's answered, it's naught more than a soft smile as he dips his head to press a kiss to her lips. He carries her only a few feet toward the water before setting her down. "Probably want to doff our stuff here. Don't want it getting wet." He says as he sets her on her feet. Then Jaecar's making the bold first move to pull his vest off, then his shirt. That's nothing she hasn't seen before. But then his hands are on his belt. He's got a touch of blush to his cheeks as he carefully and purposefully pulls the belt open. "You're not going to run away once my pants are down, right?" He has to ask, though he's respectfully not looking in her direction. She wants more of that kiss of his, but alas, she's made her own bed, and he has to set her down, finally. Only a shy nod greets Farsights' words of their clothing, Alida unable to keep herself from watching the man remove his vest and shirt, unable to not enjoy the sight of his honest musculature. As soon as his hands hit his belt, though, those greens are heavily occluded by long, pale eyelashes, the bluerider finally having to look away at his words, her cheeks pink again. How odd her usually firm, certain voice sounds now...so tentative and breathy. "A guard doesn't run away. We...regroup." Is that a faint giggle from the blonde? Who knows, since she's turning away and slowly starting to pull off her riding jacket to set it down, then working at the buttons of her simple, sage-green shirt. "Well, try to keep your shit together." Jaecar advises with a shy grin, not able to help one side-long glance before his eyes return to the smooth inviting waters of the cove. He pauses before taking care of the belt and pants to pull his boots and socks off. Then his belt buckle is popped and the leather slid out of place and soon enough his cargo shorts are hitting the ground. He's bared, and simply stands, reaching out a hand to the side in invitation to the bluerider for when she's ready. It takes her much longer to completely disrobe, enough of Alida's former braggadocio fading under the duress of reality. The closest anyone's seen of her in the buff are a few of her clutchmates getting to view the guard in a bikini. Daring enough. But, given Ilicaeth's backing, and her own stubbornness, finally her bra and cotton underwear are slid off into the pile, the woman steadfastly refusing to look over at Jaecar as she pads over, takes his hand up in tense fashion...and tries to maintain a hint of dignity while mincing towards those warm waters. Though her head isn't held high, like normal, she's forcing herself not to curl inward to try and disguise her nudity. It's fucking tough, though. Only, it's not Jaecar's plan to actually head into the waters just yet. So when she starts to move, she feels resistance on the hand. The hand that holds hers firmly, yet not so tightly that she couldn't pull free if she desired, and he steps toward her, keeping his eyes high as he tries to gently maneuver her into an embrace, skin to skin. She's as stiff as a plank right now, and when he resists moving, Alida halts immediately, the motion harsh and bobbling, nothing like her usual, fluid gait. Still not able to meet the sailor's gaze, the blonde simply allows him to move her into his arms, though her own remain stiffly at her sides, her head hanging almost guiltily, cheeks a torrid pink. "If you want out of my arms, you say the word," Jaecar murmurs, bending his head to rest his cheek on her noggin. "Otherwise, we're gonna stay hugging for as long as it takes for us to stop freaking out that we're naked and not alone." He says this in a way that suggests he knows something about that feeling, and may even be having it now. His embrace is gentle, one hand stroking across her back. A low, "Okay..." finally greets the man's words, the sound of it tight and uneasy, Alida swallowing heavily after speaking. She stays in Jaecar's arms, for now, unwilling to back down from this 'dare' of sorts, as such might compromise her reputation of standing up to everything. More nodding of the wooden variety is offered to his next set of words, the 'rider simply remaining still and rigid while Farsights caresses her back. Upon the otherwise smooth skin, the man will feel the slight ridge of scar that runs lengthwise and somewhat diagonally across her back...as well as some goosing of the flesh there. Her heart hammers a triple time, the woman breathing quickly, shallowly, her eyes almost closed. Jaecar is patient. His hand continues to flutter across her back, keeping his body close to hers. He's actually doing amazingly at not being physically awkward or excited in a way that might cause her to shy. He's putting genuine effort in getting her comfortable. "Put your arms around me?" He asks softly. "There's no one here but us. Us and your dragon." His fingers note the scar but don't fixate, continuing across her back, his breathing carefully controlled, though his heartbeat might be felt as quickened against her chest. She hears him, but in a peripheral fashion, Alida having stepped a bit to the right in her consciousness, right now. As always Ilicaeth notes every reaction, keeping tabs on his rider, though this time, he doesn't take control of her mind in any fashion. This is much too critical, too sensitive a juncture to utilize his force, the blue unwilling to risk even a chance of his lifemate buckling under the pressure. The woman's arms twitch heavily, and slowly, jerkily rise, finally settling like two curved prow planks at his sides and back. Her head is still down, her cheeks still bright pink, the woman unmoving except for her breathing. It's with a deep breath that Jaecar recognizes the continued stiffness in Alida's form. "Do you want to stop this?" He asks quietly, his body not showing willingness to relinquish her though his words are. "We can go into the water. Whatever you want." A pause, "Would it help if I kiss you? Or make it worse?" A very gentle nudge from Ilicaeth renders Alida able to answer Jaecar, though softly. "The water..." Her arms fall like limp hawsers from around him, fingers fumbling for the sailor's own hand as she barely lifts her chin enough to see the silt and sand just ahead of her as the guard unevenly leads her would-be lover into the ocean. Of kissing she doesn't speak. He follows her lead now, nodding and letting his arms fall away from her. Jaecar lapses into silence, and follows her into the waters. Whatever she wants or needs is what he'll now provide. His plan failed, so it's all on her terms now. She's a tough nut to crack, alright; Ilicaeth the only being to ever have done such on the planet. As her pale feet hit the water, Alida suddenly latches onto Jaecar's hand like a moray eel would a baitfish, and she all but drags him along at a lurching run into the salty, balmy surf with her. The strength of her grip is such that it might cause not only discomfort, but actual pain. If he remains hand in hand with her, Farsights finds that the blonde only stops when she's neck deep into the water, where she suddenly halts and just...stands there. If it wasn't for the buoyancy of the sea around her, her hidden, wobbling knees might just collapse out from under her...the blonde's features suddenly unscrewing from their tense blandness to leave her gasping for breath that she didn't even know she'd been holding. The sailor braves the grip of her hook, drawing him further into the waters. He does wince at one point, but she's likely not looking back to see. His fingers wiggle in hers, adjusting his grip trying for something a little less uncomfortable. And when she stops, he does too. In silence, he waits, watching her. The waters aren't the warmest, but they're not overly chilly with the afternoon sun having warmed them in the protected cove. The fresh surf and the buoyant balm of the waters slowly ease the woman along into something starting to resemble normalcy, and after about a minute, she's thankfully releasing poor Jaecar's hand, after she realizes she's holding it with too much force. Her other hand reaches up, clapping to her forehead with a soft, wet smack, then dropping to rub at her face some, as if the woman's waking from some somnambulistic fugue state. A little weak shivering - not from chill - comes over her, but it's hidden by the waters, Alida just standing there, letting everything from her insides out reassert their hold of reality upon her. Another thirty seconds passes in that time, followed by her throaty, slightly weak, "Couldn' blame ya if y'walked away." She knows she's fractured goods. "Does it look like I'm walking away?" Jaecar asks softly, reaching out that recently relinquished hand (which did some invisible finger wiggling to encourage feeling back into the limbs) to touch her back lightly, tentatively. "Alida, you're not like most girls. That's what I like about you. So. Whatever you need. I just-- don't know what that is." Still weak-kneed, though slowly gaining stable ground with time and Ilicaeth's silent reinforcement, Alida can only shake her head, then slowly let her pale, damp head slip to the side, to rest rather heavily upon Jaecar's shoulder. She's starting to breathe more normally. His touch doesn't seem quite as intense beneath the water, but she still twitches softly at the sudden contact. "You like crazy?" is finally noted low and soft, rather firmly, to which the blue dragon on the beach grumbles aloud, his voice carrying quite well out to them, orange-flecked blue eyes whirling slowly as they watch the pair of humans. Instantly, the guard is mumbling, "Sorry..." Trying to catch herself up to speed again, the woman finally allows herself to grasp at the man's side, her touch still somewhat stiff, but nothing as bad as before. "I...I'm not sure, either." The twitch is noted, and instead he simply reaches his arm around her shoulders, a light contact, no pressure to pull her in any direction just there. "You're not crazy." Jaecar's answer comes without hesitation. "I don't know what you've been through in your life. But you're not crazy. Dragons don't pick crazy. Or at least, that's what little I know about them." There's a pause then as he looks at her, expression sincere, thoughtful. "Want to sort it out together?" He needs some kind of reassurance before he tries something else again. "So say you..." Alida mumbles, shaking her head just a fraction upon Jaecar's shoulder, the woman seeming to take strength from his solidity. "Yer tryin' ta woo a crazy bitch...so yer crazy by default." Snert. Ilicaeth's not protesting her use of that word this time, the dragon also snorting, and allowing his eyes to half-lid again, their color all blue, now. "He's crazy, too." A small lift of chin out at the blue indicates just who, the blonde finally giving a loud sigh full of frustration and tiredness. "I sick uv' havin' ta try 'n sort it out at all." Beat. "Yes." There's no room for naysaying to his offer. "Yer m... The best hope I got." "I never said I was sane. I'm not the one with a dragon." Farsights answers with a lop-sided grin for the blonde. "Well, I'd say we could just go for it and see what happens, but the last time you sort of froze when I tried to touch you breast." So it wasn't so conducive to moving along. "Have you ever-- touched a man? Been touched by one? One that you wanted to touch, that you wanted to have touch you, I mean." He's not moving yet, just staying there, letting them just be. "That's a fuckin' relief..." Alida sighs out in something approaching her usual fashion, the sound of her typical dark humor hopefully showing that she's on her way back to 'normal.' Whatever the hell that is. 'Going for it' makes the bluie duck her chin in just a shade, while Jaecar's first question elicits another blush, and finally a shaking of her head in the negative. Another shake for inquiry number two, the woman very softly admitting after such, "I was...told all men 'r filth that only ruin women." "Well, I'm usually pretty filthy," Jaecar concedes, taking the words and making it 'funny' instead of so serious. "But luckily for you I've recently bathed and we're in the water now, so that's not so much a concern." A pause, "As for ruining women... Well, I might ruin you for other men, but who can blame me for wanting you to prefer my touch to all others?" His tone is teasing though, so perhaps he's not so serious about that either. "You seemed to be more comfortable when you were in control before," Before, the last time they were trying new things together. "So how about I stand here and you can touch me or not, and you can put my hands where you want me touch you, if anywhere and we'll go from there?" It sounds logical, at any rate. He seems to have parsed what works decently with her, and Jaecar's rewarded with a soft snicker and a low, "I hate stinky...and ungroomed." Lucky for him he either shaves scrupulously, or is one of those Pernese guys without facial hair. As for his next words, Alida merely gives his chest a light swat of fingers through the water, the woman then rolling her greens. And then things get more serious again, and she's nodding a few times, again not meeting his blue gaze, finally murmuring, "Okay..." to the patient sailor. And perhaps oddly, she's not much hesitant at all in lifting her farther hand, and slipping it up against the man's chest, where it lightly caresses his skin, cupping gently to feel the musculature beneath. "I'll keep that in mind. Though, understand, if you get to me too quick after we reach port, I might not smell to your standards." The sailor doesn't get into what shipside smells like because that would hardly set the mood. He does look surprised when she's so quick to touch him, but its surprise with a small smile. After long minutes spent paying fascinated, rapt, breathy attentions to Jaecar's delightful body, Alida finds herself thinking something. After a moment to get her breath evened out, she murmurs just loud enough to be heard over the sound of the sea and sky all about them, "I'm... I feel...a little guilty." Pause. "But only a little." Some caresses of those hips by cupped hands soon evolves into more warm words. "I know... I mean I understand tha'cah..." SIIIIGH. "I can't... I'm not ready fer...sex. Not right now." Squeeze. "But I c'n figure out this... what I'm doin' must be rough on ya." "You mean you understand that you make me want to jump you?" He chooses the term because of their earlier joking. The words come in a throaty murmur. His head pulls up straight after a moment and Jaecar has to clear his throat, which somehow also seems to help clear his head. "Do I want you? Yes. Of course. I'd be stupid not to. Do I have a problem with what you're doing? Not a one. It feels good. Worst case, I'm stuck whacking off in a bush later," There's humor there, though there might be truth. "I'm not in a rush, Alida Boat-Born. There's a lot of things that are nice and fun that aren't having sex. I do wish you'd touch me down there, of course. But not til you want to. Not til you're ready. And I wish I could touch you, but I'll wait until you want me to." She's in total control here. A soft giggle spills from Alida behind Jaecar, her cheek pressed to his back at his first, the blonde then murmuring, "I understand that what I'm doin' is likely not fair ta' ya'." But, for her, it's vital. "Good..." is noted warmly to the sailor's words of her making him feel good, though the masturbation comment makes her cheeks pinken again...the reaction spilling some extra heat against his skin. After listening to him speak, and further realizing how patient, judicious, and downright kind the man's being to her - FOR her - the bluie sighs deeply, and suddenly wraps her arms about his hips and belly, squeezing firmly while enjoying the feel of him, the scent of his skin. After some drawn-out moments... "Thank you." It's slightly throaty, and utterly heartfelt. The gratitude makes Jaecar momentarily awkward. Thankfully, he's faced away so, she can't see his face to know it. It's easy to interpret the flex of his muscles under her embrace as response to her closeness, and probably part of it is. "Don't thank me." He mumbles, "Just-- don't stop. Keep-- doing what you want to. Or need to." All the better to get to get to a time when he can actually touch her or do more than just stand in waters. He blinks down at the waters; it's shallower here. Had they moved? Yes, must have. They've moved shoreward, leaving the pre-sunset Rukbat to start roasting their pale skin, but that's hardly what's on their minds just now. She continues to ply the sailor's body with slow, cautious, but animated affections. After a time, the woman uses her hands - one at Jaecar's back, one on his shoulder - to slowly turn him around to face her. While she's doing such, the blonde's moving into him, though it's from an angle that abuts the outside of one of her hips to the outside of one of his, 'lida then pressing her torso into his to hide most of the curves of her breasts from plain sight. But he can see her cleavage...and he can feel her silky skin against his...though not her eyes, which can't meet his own right now. It might be a somewhat awkward position, but it's what she can muster up, right now. He has to shut his eyes as her skin slides into contact with his, as he doubtlessly can't help but feel every tiny contact. He groans. "Shells." He swears softly then. Jaecar's arm muscles twitch, the physical evidence of his desire to move, but he stays oh-so-still. His eyes flutter open, gazing down at her, slate eyes hazy, a little lost in the pleasure of the feel of her there. Does he need to say out loud how badly he wants to hold her? Touch her? Make love to her? Surely not, he stays silent. Silence has gotten him this far. So he just looks at her with those eyes that can't help but be intense. Her hands remain still upon his shoulder and at one hip, right now, Alida finally leaning her forehead against Jaecar's sternum. Her breath perhaps tickles his skin as she sighs out heavily upon it, then murmurs, "Please hold me." So swift his arms encircle her. It's practically a swoop of his arms to squeeze her to him. He's careful not to change the angle of her stance, not to press her to him in a way she's not chosen, but he hugs as close and as tightly as he's able. His head drops to rest atop hers. It's not a gesture of covering or controlling though, it's more like he's curling his way into her now that he's been given permission to at least show this much of his affection. It feels so good - beyond good - to have someone both trusted and desired this close to her. For a few moments, Alida feels the somewhat disturbing urge to cry, but pushes it aside, as it would not only complicated things, but make her foolish and weak-looking... at least in her own eyes. Though the swiftness of his arms about her makes the blonde stiffen some in guard-honed reaction, she quickly calms herself, then lifting her head some to begin gently kissing that collarbone before her. So very slowly, her body begins to adapt itself to tucking itself into his own...fraction by fraction. Softly, hesitantly during that process... "Touch me..." He winces almost imperceptibly at how his speed unnerved her reactions, and so when she asks him to touch her, he doesn't move quite so swiftly, though his eagerness is barely constrained. With her having one hip slightly angled away from him, he lets the his arm that has to have greater stretch to embrace her start stroking down her arm, moving from arm after a few repetitions to side, while the other hand slides to her back and starts stroking gently. "Guide my hands?" He murmurs the request softly. "I want to touch you everywhere, but nowhere you don't want me to touch." Then he's dipping his head, trying to catch her lips for a kiss. True, she didn't specifically allow kissing, but... he can't resist anymore, and it's only an attempt at any rate. She can always evade. Their kissing, affections - intense and yet restrained - are a kind of tribute to how devoted the two are to making this a good experience for the busted woman, patience and care taken at each and every junction. Tens of minutes for certain, perhaps even most of an hour amble by in the sun and surf with Alida gently moving an eager, yet restrained sailor just where she wants him, the blonde having moved her form closer and closer to his until she's almost thigh to thigh with him, her chest pressed deeply into his own. But with Rukbat nearing its setting point - bloated and red upon the western horizon - and her own balance starting to be suspect after all this relatively immobile action, the woman slowly moves them towards the beach. It's at this point that a drowsing Pyrite emerges from her belt pouch, and tries to fly out and land upon her human's shoulder. With a sudden wince and jerking away of said shoulder - and a fluttering away of the gold flit to bask in the sea, instead - the pale woman squints at one of her arms, touches it, and discovers... "Fuck." Ow. She's sunburned a bright pink, though not lobster red... and, given their shifting about during that hour or so, the burn stretches from the back of her neck and arms down to her lower back. In her urgency to get to Jaecar and court him, as well, she's forgotten one of her old mantras of self-protection: always sunscreen for long bouts outside. "I need ta'..." Grumble. "Crap... I'm sorry, Jaecar." She sounds embarrassed and irritated at turns. "I need my sun cream..." He's sympathetic; even empathetic for his skin, too, is fair, though not as fair as her own. He still has the beginnings of a touch of pink in the most exposed places. "Well, I did offer we could get naked in the cave," He points out, voice teasing gently. He closes his eyes to take a step away from her and turn, striding toward the silty beach. He precedes her out of the water. After all she's already seen his rear assets. Once on the beach he crouches to pick up his clothes, not bothering to dry before he's stepping into his pants at least and securing them. A little frustrated, more embarrassed and irritated at this turn of events, Alida waits for Jaecar to get ahead of her - the woman unable to stop watching his ass the whole time - then following him once he crouches to start donning his pants. She'd don her own, but it's still muggy and very warm out...and so it's just her cotton hip panties that are drawn over her hips. The bra is right out, given the pinkness of her back, of course. Feeling exposed, the woman finally just lifts one arm to cover as much of her breasts as possible, and then fishes around in one belt pouch for her smaller, lidded jar of sunscreen. Sigh, mutter, chin-tuck. "Didn' think ta' bring numbweed." Her tone says it all: stupid. She thinks about trying to apply the salve herself, but quickly bows to reality, though with a slight grimace, and asks her beau, "If ya' wanna'...would..." then holding out the jar to him while she steps carefully over to Ilicaeth. "Alida," Jaecar's stance is awkward, his eyes not having slid toward her since they arrived on the beach. As a result, he's not sure what she's offering him to apply, "Think it would be alright if I look at you?" She wasn't even thinking about him looking at her, about seeing her this way, for once, and when Jaecar says so, Alida can't help but dropping her eyes to the silt for a moment, then finally lifting them to him in full. It's at this point that she notices that tenting of his pants, and once more jerks her gaze away, trying not to flush the color of her sunburn. After a few moments, the 'rider steps into motion again, and finally murmuring, "Yeah." When she reaches her languid but awake blue, the woman settles her ass atop one of his broad forearms, and hunches over some, apparently awaiting her horny knight in sailor's disguise. Now it's Jaecar's turn to act like a blanched blade of grass on the first day of rain in a drought. His eyes lift slowly and by degrees, catching the woman in motion and then as she's seated. His head tilts just slightly as the slate eyes wander along her form. His expression is unreadable and he doesn't spend too long looking at her. He probably guesses well enough that to do so would make her more uncomfortable than not. He moves toward her then, seeing the jar in hand. He comes alongside, plucking the jar up and opening the lid. He wastes no time, though he remains silent as he starts to spread the sunscreen carefully and gently. There's wincing and hissing every so often when an especially tender spot is stroked by creme-covered fingers, Alida still cupping one arm and hand over her chest, her toes hanging just above the silt. Ilicaeth's eyes are heavily lidded, the slit of his visible gaze whirling a very slow green at he watches the humans, only the tips of his tail give the occasional twitch. During the process, Alida remains mostly silent and thoughtful, finding herself almost partially turning to address Farsights at one point, then stopping herself. He almost makes her forget her woes...and this is a good thing, Ilicaeth silently supplies. Sigh. "I...don't know how long it'll take me ta'..." her shrug makes the woman wince. "Thaw." His movements are methodic, rhythmic and gentle. Jaecar coats her pale skin carefully. He listens, and makes a small "Mm," sound. His expression is serious, but not frowning. "Guess it's good that I'm patient then. If you can be patient for when I'm in port. Though, we might think about finding better places to do our exploring. Places where you won't end up sore from anything but any exploring we do." The corner of his mouth pulls into a cheeky half-smile. She must be getting more used to his way of expressing himself where sex between them is concerned, for Alida doesn't pinken - at her cheeks, anyway - when the sailor whips that one off. A faint duck of head and a nod presage her low, "And I don' have any choice in the matter uv you bein' out ta' sea." She doesn't sound terribly happy about it, but that's reality for you. "I think if we...when we get that far..." Her toes are of much interest to her eyes, right now. "...it's gonna' be inside...at my place." A small hug of herself occurs at this juncture, though she's careful to keep away from her burned flesh. "I don' want anything gettin' in the way...distractin', interruptin'." At High Reaches Weyr? She's certainly hoping for the best, then. "Alright. But for the record, I'm not thinking that far ahead," Comedic pause. "I'm just looking forward to touching your boobs." Jaecar leans in to teasingly murmur in the blonde's ear. "Well, you know, when you're not going to clobber me for doing so." Then he's laughing, so at least he's in good spirits about the whole thing. She'll have to ask him to be serious this time if what she's looking for is a solid heart to heart on the subject. What greets Jaecar's murmur is a pair of reactions: Ilicaeth's soft rolling rumble of laughter, and Alida's sudden, small jerk of her head aside that conks it into the man's temple. "Asshole..." is muttered out, though she sounds more humored than upset. "You boys 'n yer utter fascination with breasts. I..." Well, no; she can't really say she doesn't get it, because once in awhile...the bluerider does...when her own greens find themselves affixed to a rarer, certain type of woman. Head-duck. "Gonna' clobber ya' fer bein' a smartass..." is voiced instead, the woman vaulting down from her blue's arm, then shaking one strong fist back at Jaecar before she moves to grab up her light shirt, and don it oh-so carefully. On occasion, her side is offered to the sailor as she does so...a dusk-touched flash of pale curves noticeable now and again. Is she teasing him? "Ow!" He complains, though its more whine than actual sound of injury from the bonk of head to head. "Hey now. It's not just breasts." Jaecar protests then, apparently a glutton for punishment. "After the breasts, there's your ass, and let's not forget your delicate flower!" He practically sing-songs the term at her back as she moves toward her shirt. The little teasing show he's given results in a growl of, "You're lucky you're sunburned, or I might do something about the first of those fascinations!" Would he? No, probably not, not as he casually leans on the dragon of the woman who's so touchy about such things. The dragon to whom he's murmuring some things that might just turn her face lobster red if he cares to repeat them to his rider. There's one of those rolling rumbles from Ilicaeth again upon hearing Jaecar, a little less animated this time, the blue then actually bringing his head to the ground to more easily allow him to lift one paw and try to hide one of his eyes behind it. This is no 'sight' for such youngins as him. Snort. As for Alida, she's in motion quite suddenly, scooping up a handful of very damp silt-sand, compacting it in a hand, and then hurling it with solid force at the sailor. "Asshole!" is again called at him, the woman's cheeks blazing pink, her features a mask of embarrassment and a bit of outrage. Yeah, okay; there's some humor in there, too. Thankfully, Jaecar hasn't reclaimed his shirt, otherwise the SLOP-SQUELCH of the silt ball slamming into his chest, and then sliiiiding down towards his stomach would decidedly necessitate another trip to the laundry. It doesn't just hit, of course. The silt has bits fly off in all directions on impact, some bits landing on arms, on stomach, and on face. One bit even pops across his lip and into his open mouth where he was about to say something more to the blue, but instead has a moment of shock, followed by spitting. He doesn't seem horribly put out, however, but the look in his face is one of promised retribution. Not with a silt ball, oh no. "Now you've done it!" He declares in playful challenge as he charges the blonde. SCORE! That's the look of triumph upon Alida's face, her teeth bared in a broad grin, her fists placed upon hips...as she stands there in shirt and panties. Yes, quite the heroic figure. Ahem. And then he's pre-warning her about his intentions, and the blue rider barks out, "Not the back!!!" as she's reminded about her sunburn. Still, the blonde goes down into a wide-stanced bit of a wrestler's crouch, her arms cast wide - much like her legs - the blonde's muscular form readied for anything Jaecar might throw at her. There's even a hint of (mock) battle lust in her green eyes. Ilicaeth drops his paw at this sight, too, watching both humans with rapidly-spinning blue eyes. BATTLE! Nope, nope. The sunburn defense was forfeit the moment that she threw the first volley. Still, his chivalrously ducks down low as he comes into range, intending to put shoulder to her belly, wrapping his arms low around her waist. If he can successfully make contact it's up, up, up he intends to take her. Not exactly a traditional battle tactic, but the point of this battle isn't violence, is it. Hrm. She expected him to go 'down down down' to try and take her to the sand. This miscalculation leads to a feint upwards by Alida...which only helps when Jaecar applies that lift...the blonde having grappled his shoulders for a toss as he was supposed to go down and by her. Instead, all she gets is dropped upon his shoulder, bent over in half over it. "Asshole!" is again called out in ire at her miscalculation and in dark humor over the whole day of pleasure itself. "Ahahahahaha!" Jaecar's laugher is triumphant as he takes her words as a sign that he got a one-up on her, even if he has trouble lifting her. The tussle goes on. Longer, certainly, that most would-be lovebirds might play-fight, but since they're not doing something else to exhaustion, this will have to do, and eventually, they're dragging themselves over to Ilicaeth as the non-silty-spot-of-choice to slide in alongside each other and get comfortable to watch the sunset through the mouth of the cove. Once it's dark, well... they can't exactly stay there all night. Jaecar has night watch, and it's time to get back. He does remind the pair before they take wing that he has a few more days in port here, and they're (hint!) welcome (hint!) to spend as much (hint!) of that time in the area as possible (hint hint!). Alida obliges by returning the next day and Jaecar swaps shifts to spend more of the day with her, but then nightwatch has come again, and with Alida starting duties with Glacier the next day, their time together will be shorter, but she tells him she will come. One more evening together, and then the following day, they knew, would be cutting it close, for Alida to come before evening tide. In fact, it ends up their final parting must be a wave from far below as the ship sails on and the blue briefly glides high above. But surely after such lovely days together, they'll see each other again, right? |
Leave A Comment