Logs:Shame and embarrassment
| |
|---|
| |
| RL Date: 27 April, 2013 |
| Who: Telavi, K'zin, Rasavyth |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: K'zin goes to the baths after a rough night, and gets sympathy from Telavi. When she tries to comfort him, however, things get embarrassing all around. |
| Where: Bathing Pools, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 13, Month 8, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: N'ky/Mentions, Sabella/Mentions, Mave/Mentions |
| OOC Notes: Follows Logs: Confrontation. |
   |
| Bathing Pools, High Reaches Weyr Omnipresent clouds of steam slink across the tops of three naturally warm pools, set into the floor of this kidney-shaped cavern. Near the entrance the ceiling is high and polished, gleaming with little mineral specks as it sweeps downward into increasingly ragged, uneven steps. The foremost of the pools is squared off with wide steps leading down into the water and has faucets for bringing in cooler water from a rain-catching cistern. Primarily used for laundry, there's an almost constant film of suds along its surface until the circulating current clears it at the end of the day. Four sinks line the nearest wall and various tubs stored beneath allow for the washing of delicates. Laundry bags can be dropped off in the bins near the door and clean, folded laundry is stacked in rows of tall cubbies for easy pickup. The bend in the cavern leads to a rougher-hewn part of the chamber where the two circular bathing pools welcome those in need of a wash. Towels and washcloths are kept in neat stacks on shelves along the wall, along with sacks of sweetsand and a few bars of precious soap. Stone benches provide a place for sitting to remove shoes and clothing, while a row of gleaming brass hooks stand above, ready to hold clothes and robes.
K'zin really is trying to be a good weyrling. He sent word via a now calmed Rasavyth to the Weyrlingmaster's dragons that K'zin needed to go to the infirmary, that he had been too close to Cailluneth's mouth when she bellowed, that his ears were ringing, and then again when he left the healers, to say K'zin needed a bath before bed. He's checking in, since curfew has no doubt passed by the time he gets to the Bathing Caverns. He's not surprised to find the cavern so empty and in his hand is a small bucket with what looks to be chunks of ice like the healers make some compresses out of for various physical aches and woes. He'd used a pretext; he was sore from working out that day, and could he please have some ice for a compress? It would help him sleep. Evidently his request was fulfilled because there he is with it. He moves to the cubbies, not paying much heed to his surroundings as he moves. Only giving a cursory glance to see that he's alone. With the steam in the cavern and no sound of sloshing, it's a fair assumption. Boots and socks come off first. He then strips off his shirt to reveal an angry looking circular bruise in the making on his muscled midsection. The rest of his stomach is pinkened, irritated looking, but not overly bad. That's as far as he goes in removing his clothes. He takes a towel and his ice toward the edge of the pool. He bends at the waist to set down bucket and the towel on top of it, then tugs up the legs of his loose-fitting pants, to sit on the edge, calves sliding into the water. The compress is made deftly and it's placed on his middle as he lies back, resting his weight on his elbows, creating enough of a slow slope to keep the compress from rolling. And that's when the sea monster surfaces out of the depths and drags him down the gurgling drain. No, not really, but close. It had taken a while for the sounds to not only reach Telavi's ears, drifting as she'd been, but for her to recognize their significance. Even then she'd stayed silent and unmoving beyond a turn of her head, because this may be a Weyr and the baths are supposed to be the next thing to sacrosanct, but still there are people of all kinds and she is, had been, alone. The arrival's by what light there is, and she isn't, and no doubt she could stay right there indefinitely and not be found out. But it isn't a weyrlingmaster sent to collar her for being out too late, and it isn't some random stranger with a bad attitude, and it is K'zin. Even then she doesn't make her presence known, but she watches from beneath half-lidded eyes that widen only when they notice shadows that might be something. Something not good. And he's here, after all, when he shouldn't be just like she shouldn't be. So it's after he leans back that there's a slow additional ripple in the water, Telavi staying unobtrusively low as she moves... followed by the grasp of a strong if slightly water-wrinkled hand around each ankle. Don't kick her. "What happened to you?" Muscles do abruptly flex under what, to him, is a sudden touch, but he doesn't kick. It registers quickly enough that the things latching onto his ankles is hands, and hands that are not trying to yank him into the water. The startlement translates through his body, though and he's sitting upright, spilling the compress and half it's ice into his crotch as he sits up. Funny that this is the second time he's had ice just there when Telavi's around. His face contorts in discomfort. Unlike last time when the ice was helping quell an undesirable physical reaction, this time it's just cold and not where he needs it. K'zin doesn't answer Telavi's query immediately as a result, he's too busy bailing the ice back into the bucket making some sounds that might be amusing, hisses and huffs and even a "Shit, that's cold!" Though the words are kept quiet; the emptiness of the echo-y cavern encourages that. Once the ice is mostly back in the bucket, K'zin looks to Telavi, no surprise anymore since at some point it hit him that it was Telavi who had a hold of his ankles and who was asking him. "Nothing I didn't deserve or ask for." The words are measured. Now that he's sitting up and there's no compress, she can see the extent of it. There are even a few more marks than might initially be noticed, they look older by days, the yellowing of healed bruises in much smaller circles on his sides, and even, it looks like, a bigger yellowing one under part of the big new blossom of bruise. Bruise on top of bruise. Good times. She's not grinning, exactly, as she waits for him to recover his ice and his composure, but perhaps that's by using up more than a few of her willpower points. But Tela is keeping an eye on K'zin, and once he answers... if he'll let her slide her hands up to his knees and swing them shut, she can then rise up behind their concealment and take a better look. And she whistles, but it's nothing like the piercing summons or warning she's sometimes let loose out in the Bowl. It's very quiet, there in the quiet cavern. K'zin's knees slide together easily, the man not seeming to mind much as she pulls herself up to look. If she hadn't already seen, already noticed, already had enough of an eyeful to ask the questions, he might have attempted to hide it, there's a slight tensing of his body that seems to indicate he might, but then he doesn't. "So, I think it's starting to be the story of my life that I do one thing, thinking it's the right thing, and then it turns out I'm lower than the scum on boot-bottoms ten turns old, and then I do another thing, thinking to correct the first, and then I'm scum at least twenty turns old." His sigh is heavy, and while not resigned, it does sound a little helpless. He considers Telavi with a silent look, "At this rate, since you're as yet untouched by my bad luck, in a few months I'll probably be thirty turn old boot-scum for whatever I'll accidentally do to you. You might want to quit while your ahead." He's not exactly wallowing in self-pity, but his tone does imply that he's feeling pretty low. Tela listens, moisture beading on her skin, her eyes patient and darker than usual. More patient, too, for that matter. After a little while she folds her arms on his knees, rests her chin atop, and listens some more. In the end, she exhales in a way that's close cousin to a wordless Oh, K'zin. "I'm sorry." The water circulates, mixing old water with fresh. Still soft-spoken, ever so slightly lighter, "I think I'd better hold out for at least fifty, though." Eventually all the old water will be gone, replaced, or else mixed enough that even an expert mightn't tell the difference. "Are you sure? Sabs sure doesn't seem to like having been a victim of the twenty-turn old stuff. I can't imagine what the fifty-turn old stuff will be like." It seems that K'zin might just stop there, but after watching her face another moment, he takes a chance that she might listen as he tries to sort it all out for himself. "So I broke the rules, before Sabs, and then with Sabs, and then Mave got me to understand that following the rules sort of somehow means I respect the people who made the rules and by not following them I was betraying my home and everyone I'd ever known and cared about. So I turned myself in, and tried to stay away from temptation so I wouldn't break the rules again. Only then it turns out that in doing that, I pretty much abandoned all of the people I care about and especially two that I really care about, after getting scared myself and asking both of them not to abandon me. So I'm not sure if my choice is to disrespect everyone I know by breaking the rules they've set forth for me through all this weyrling crap." It's not crap; really, he doesn't think it is, but in this moment it frustrates him. "Or I can be a total ass and ignore everyone I care about because I don't know how to say no to a temptation." He stops there, though the sudden tenseness in his frame, under her arms and in the flexing muscles of his torso says that either he's got more to say, is worried about how she'll react, or both. "I wish I wasn't such a sharding dimglow." He breathes after a second, exasperation, frustration, and upset making the words a heavy lob as he flings the sentiment away from himself. If those words were a sack of firestone, it would fly over Telavi's head, but only literally. Not that she seems as though she's been struck figuratively either, only that she listens and she doesn't interrupt and she does seem to hear, stroking his knee briefly with one hand at that tenseness. "Do you want," she asks, "sympathy? Suggestions? Just for me not to run off? Or, you know, to run off." The water swirls and swirls, the only movement beyond this small place in the large cavern. "If you don't know, yet, what you want. That's all right." "Well, the way I feel right now, it would fit with the rest of my day to have you run off." K'zin says after considering, tone now rueful. "But," He says, reaching to touch her elbow lightly with a hand, "If you don't mind surprising my expectations, I'd like it if you'd stay. Maybe just tell me everyone makes mistakes and the only thing I can do now is try to make up for it and move forward?" He takes ad deep breath, "And if you're feeling particularly generous, you could tell me I'm not as bad as I think I am." She smiles up at that touch. "You're not so bad," Tela obligingly allows. "I won't run off right away." And in a less deliberately offhanded tone, "I think you mean well, and that goes a long way. Yes, people make mistakes. Yes, making up for it and what was the rest, moving forward? is good. So is not falling for people convincing you of wildly dramatic 'If you do this then you betray the entire universe and deserve to be squashed like a vtol'," wait, was that advice? Caught, she can't help but smile all over again. Her words are met with his continued serious look, gaze not wandering from her own. Then, at the end, the advice she gives... it coaxes a small smile from the young man. "I guess I can be a little-- easy when it comes to suggestion. Maybe if I was more sure of myself-- of what I thought and wanted and stuff, maybe--" K'zin trails off with a little shrug, then the smile gets a little bigger, still not fully arrived but closer. It's an appreciative smile, thankful for her generosity in this moment, of not being one who'll just take him down a peg lower. "You're pretty smart, you know?" In case she didn't. Tela gets this look like she wants to interrupt, but though her mouth parts, she waits until the end, until she can laugh. "Shh." She pulls herself up just enough that she can more visibly cast a glance over her shoulder. "Don't tell." Once she's looking back, "Of course, if you get too sure of yourself too soon, you run the risk of digging yourself a nice big hole just so you can fall into it without your shovel. Being sure doesn't make you right, does it, even about yourself? Or maybe it does by definition, but then plenty of people think they want something, like a dress with lace trim, and then they realize that what they really want is not to have to trade so much for it and make do with a dress without the trim. Of course then they wind up seeing the first dress in their dreams sometimes," but here Telavi rolls her eyes at herself, so he has space to laugh too if he likes. Her fingers tap against his knees. "What, K'zin, are some things you think you want? Don't worry, I won't run off and make them happen," even if she could. "Do you want the Mastersmith to come up and beg you to return? Do you want people to invent boots that never have to be relaced but always fit right? Berries for breakfast and dessert?" Maybe that's just her. He can't help the amusement that starts to seep into his countenance as she goes on... and then on... and when she rolls her eyes, K'zin does chuckle. He leans in swiftly for a moment of conspiratorial whispering, entirely unnecessary given the emptiness of the room, "Maybe even too smart for your own good?" He suggests due to the winding nature of her words, "But your secret is safe with me." She must have cheered him, since his expression turns briefly playful as a wink is directed to her before he's sitting back, hands going to the ground at either side of his hips. There he flattens them, briefly looking down at his fingertips before looking back to her. "I don't know. I never really planned before Hatching. I didn't on purpose, because I always ended up--" He frowns slightly, but pairs it with a shrug to try to make it seem not as heavy, "-disappointed. Ras plans a lot." A definite difference between the two. "The things I think I want are simple. They're things I know I'll get eventually one way or another. I-- I want to see Ras' dreams come true. He dreams so much-- bigger than I do. He wants us to be leaders. To serve our Weyr. To make the world we're part of a better place." He believes it. There's a touch of a shadow that might hint, but only briefly, that there's more to the bronze's overall dream schemes, but that's a truthful overview; even if the key component, power for the bronze, is left out entirely. "Berries for breakfast and dessert sounds pretty good though. But that's what I mean. Those are the kinds of things I want. To eat good food, have good times, laugh a lot, sleep with a girl. Maybe more than once or maybe more than one. Be a part of things. Do good for my home; this place. I don't have grand dreams." His tone suggests that he's uncertain if he should; if there's something that he's missing out on and his gaze strays as he considers this. "What kinds of things do you want?" He questions after a moment, curious. Apparently that was a license for him to go on... and on... and on... so idly Telavi plucks at the scrunched-up cloth he'd tugged so conveniently past her fingers, by way of listening with interest and keeping herself occupied at the very same time. She has to say, "His sound grand," without particular pressure, shades of Solith the other day. Except that Tela's more opinionated, adding, "I want people who want to 'lead' this place, or the wing or whatever, to figure out how they're going to make it better and how they're going to make that happen. First." She glances up at him out of the corner of her eye, then focuses on smoothing the material. "If it's one thing I've seen in the wingleader meetings, is that most of them have concrete ideas about things, the people who get paid attention to anyway... even if they don't agree whether they could or should happen." Back to plucking. "What else, what else. Good food, good times, sleep with a girl," her dimples go into action here, "or a boy, some more. I'd like to figure out what I should do with Solith and then do it. I'd like to not ever, ever, ever hem a full skirt and then realize I want it deeper or, worse, shallower after all. I'd like no more tangles, and if you'd asked me this morning, I would have said my own private bath because, you know, dream big, right?" K'zin listens carefully, his eyes having eventually found their way back to hers about the time that she says 'sleep with a girl'. Her words are recorded with a small, but distinguishable interested pop of his eyes a little wider, and she goes on. The effort is clear on his face as he moves one hand from beside him to join hers, though not touching, picking at the clumped together fabric just above his knees. He's trying to pay attention and not get caught up by thoughts of girls with girls that way. To his credit, he seems to succeed fairly well, for he doesn't interrupt and seems about to say something that from his non-goofy look seems like it might be of substance and not only fluff and nonsense, but then she finishes up with her dream of a private bath. "Oh, shit. Sorry. Did I screw that up to?" His face darkens so quickly. It's a hazard of youth especially but people in general that even if the misery of a bad day, or sevenday, is driven away by humor, it doesn't take much to bring it back into sharp focus. "I can go." He starts to move, but her arms are on him, and not wanting to dislodge her if she doesn't want dislodging, his face turns apologetic as he looks at her. Oh, K'zin. Tela's head has lifted, her fingers stilled, and another bather could be forgiven for thinking she's rolled her eyes... but surely since he's seated significantly higher and so that's the way she's going to have to look if she's going to check his expression, that must be pure coincidence. And also, he's seen a variety of versions of her looking exasperated, and this is somewhat less like that than most. "If you'd asked me this morning, I said." And probably also if he asks her next sevenday, but for right now, "I think that if you 'run off', you'll be missing out." There's sudden mischief in her smile. "Wouldn't you like to ask me if I'd like to get a better look at your bruises?" "Oh." Well, he did say he wished he was less of a dimglow. If he were less of one on occasion, he might think to look sheepish now, but as he genuinely didn't catch that important piece of what she'd said, he just looks... informed. "Missing out?" K'zin looks confused. Apparently, he hasn't got all that dim glowing out of his system. His brows furrow and lips purse momentarily before he asks dumbly, "Why? Would you like to get a better look at my bruises?" He leans back on his hands then in silent invitation so she can see them better. "You're-- You're not going to poke at them, are you?" His tone is laced with mild concern, watching Tela's face for signs of malicious intent. It has been one of those days; and with the older bruises and the newer ones there on display, can you blame a guy for being a little suspicious? Telavi could get out of this pool right now and go search out some very bright glows indeed, but for some reason... she doesn't. It might have something to do with that look on her face, which has more to do with the aforementioned mischievous intent. Mostly. "Of course I would," Tela tells K'zin, then waits a beat before clarifying. "Look, not poke. It would be easier if you spread your knees, though," in the interests of Science, or something. Accommodatingly, she even raises her arms enough to make it easier, simultaneously descending just enough into the warm water. "Alright, if you like." K'zin agrees readily. For some, this would be an answer that might indicate he's engaging in a coy game of cat and mouse; but this man is without guile, at least for now. The fact that she's in the bathes and the possible implications of that is the kind of thing that a helpful, supportive, friendly lifemate would clue a guy in on. Given K'zin's wholly oblivious, innocent and non-nervous response however, clearly Rasavyth is either asleep or choosing to be amused instead of helpful. He obligingly parts his knees to provide her space for her hands, "Want me to move back?" He asks helpfully as he does so. To K'zin, Rasavyth was unable to sleep after the discomforting events of the evening, and perhaps to make up for his lacking presence earlier, the dragon is now sticking close to the nearest entry point. Logically, he knows that at his size, he couldn't get in to help if he was needed, but proximity sets him more at ease. He disagreed with the choices made up to this point; disagreed with K'zin making himself a human punching bag for N'ky. It felt so very wrong to let his K'zin choose to let himself get hurt. What if he'd died? If push comes to shove, Rasavyth knows agreement or no agreement, he will not be silent next time. There is at least some relief from this state of worry that he's not enjoying. He pays attention to the discussion with Telavi. His perception is so different than K'zin's with his greater knowledge and clever critical thinking skills. And often, especially since the infirmary months ago, Rasavyth willingly shares all his perceptions with his rider. But, tonight, he's kept much hidden from his shared thoughts because his love for K'zin is so fierce that he would not wish him to know that it makes Rasavyth weak. That it makes him feel. And so, too, he watches with a flutter of eagerness that he cannot hide for the punch line to come. He can practically feel its coming. The implications having to do with getting clean? "No," Telavi tells him brightly, easing forward and then upward as he gives way, keeping the angle just right. "That would rather ruin the point." And once she's more comfortably settled between his thighs, comfortably oblivious of that eavesdropper out in the Bowl there, she settles one arm back across his lap so she can examine the bruises and point, here and there, with the other. "Don't worry, I'm trying not to flash you." And she actually is looking at the bruises, not that it's the easiest to see even from this vantage in the glowlight, nothing like the healers' level cots and bright lights. Fresh bruise. Old bruises. Where they overlap. Their patterns. "Hmm. It sounded like you had ice for those?" K'zin's nodding along to her rejection of his scooting back idea, just like this is a normal, everyday happenstance and conversation. His brain practically seizes. The thoughts are spelled out on his face. 'There's a girl between my legs.' At first it's just a taking in of the situation. Then, 'There's a girl between my legs.' Then, 'There's a girl between my legs?!' Each of his trinity of realization comes separately but swiftly to overwhelm the last. His breath catches and he stays very, very still. "I-- er, it's what I've done with bruises before." This is evasive. "The healers gave me the ice." Still not a direct answer to the question. "Not much worse than when sparring practice goes wrong." He manages, though his voice breaks a little and his cheeks touch with color. He starts to lean forward to remake his compress, but immediately stops as he realizes the lean brings the girl between his legs that much closer to his body and she mightn't want that, so he leans right back again, staring at her expression attempting to 'be cool' but definitely overlaid by a little shock and uncertainty. There it is! Rasavyth's amusement swells over his carefully arranged partition enough to clue K'zin in that Ras was 'in' on what was about to happen, or at least guessed well enough. But amusement isn't the only thing that's there. There's disappointment, too. It wasn't as good as he'd hoped for. (Rasavyth to K'zin) « What the--?! Not as good as you'd hoped for?! » K'zin catches the sentiment and the shock in his expression shows through his attempt to stay calm. « What the shell were you hoping she would do?! » He demands, a touch of confusion and annoyance that he was out of the loop, not for the first time. (K'zin to Rasavyth) The purr of Rasavyth's tenor is sultry. « If I tell you, you will be in an awkward position. Don't mind me, my K'zin, you're missing the best bit. » And with a forceful shove, K'zin's focus is thrust back upon the situation at hand as though Rasavyth wasn't even there. (Rasavyth to K'zin) Maybe, sometime, he'll realize that there's Telavi between his legs. While she's still there, though? That's the question. At the moment she's not looking at his expression particularly, beyond flickered glances here and there, being far more focused on the livid marks on his skin. Possibly even the play of muscles beneath them, though she's quick enough to lift her head when he first moves, relaxing when he stops. Not going to crush her skull? Good. Given that, Tela uses that pointing hand to reach for that bucket, to steal some of its contents. Sure, some of it's melted, but with the rest... "Are you glad," she says easily as she begins to very gently touch one lump to the nearest bruise, "that I'm not dropping this down your pants?" And if Rasavyth really demands punching in a line, maybe she can take care of that too. "Yee-ees?" K'zin's answer is drawn out, brows dipping even further as he looks down his torso to the girl between his legs. The way that it's said makes him sound uncertain, "I heard this brownrider say--" He starts and then swallows and thinks better of it. Instead, he asks an intelligent question: "Tela... do you know you're-- between my legs and-- really close?" So evidently he does know its Tela there. Points for K'zin! His muscles flex when the ice touches the bruise and the man's face flinches very slightly, likely because it's still tender. What fascinating muscles. Perhaps he might flinch less, or differently, if she were to take ice-cooled fingertips and touch them to a bruise instead, just as gently? At least they wouldn't be quite as cold, and certainly they would be more sensitive. "I... don't think you know any brownriders who would have said that to me," Telavi murmurs like she's wholly distracted, almost like she's not smiling, and starts up her little experiment. It's been so long since anything like this, too long, months and months and the very air is warm with it, the better to distract from... from things she'd, maybe they'd rather not think of or deal with and now they don't have to, not just now. "No, you're right, of course," K'zin flusters quietly, cheeks rosy and eyes blinking. "He was saying something about the various-- uh-- pleasant uses for snow or ice in areas that are--" Gulp. "Well, normally covered by pants." He finishes the explanation and then falls silent, eyes following her cold fingers. The muscles do see, to calm their twitching, though perhaps more because they're becoming used to the touch of something on the tender skin than because of what is touching them. "Um, Vi?" His baritone lifts in question, "You know you don't have to-- I mean, not that I don't like it, but-- I just-- you know you don't have to, right?" His body shifts as he leans his weight on one hand so the other can gesture to her manipulations of the flesh of his abdomen before returning to the ground to better support his torso as he leans back. It may have been months since for her, but it's been turns of following the rules for him and this qualifies as a first for him. He's uncertain of what to do just now, so he shuts up and watches her fingers and face, eyes switching every so often between the two. "Mmm." So helpful, Telavi, especially with that particular smile in her voice. "Yes. Though the classic version was more fun to tease you about," and she might have said more, but falls silent as he'd done in favor of re-cooling her fingertips, her eyes on her canvas. She doesn't restrict herself to bruises, now, but explores more widely, along his ribs and wherever his muscles seem to play, her eyes rising to meet his and take in that too. Her dimples aren't showing now. "I know." He doesn't ask if it has even a little to do with pity, or even sympathy, and she doesn't answer, or even allude. "You don't have to, either. If it's not-don't-like instead of," here she lifts her shoulders slightly with a small, curved smile, and it's not like she'd measure his breathing or his heartrate as a healer might, but the flow of her touch does half-consciously slow and then still. He can escape. The sea monster can let him go. K'zin's eyes slide briefly closed when her fingers slide across a particular spot between two ribs. She may not be a healer taking his pulse, but surely with her hand moving across his chest she can tell that his breath has grown shallower and the steady thumping in his ribcage is running a little fast. "I know." His voice comes softly in answer, his eyes back on her face. His cheeks hold a blush visible in the dim light because of their proximity. "Vi-- I--" He swallows hard, glancing briefly to her fingers before silently swearing, an action that requires a roll of his eyes up to the ceiling, "I like it. I don't want you to stop. But." There's always a but. "Before I messed up with Sabs so bad, I was kissing her-- sometimes. And I know you're her friend and--" He leans a hand to gesture helplessly in the air. "I don't want to make trouble for anyone." He's definitely not asking her to stop, but he is, much to his own annoyance to be sure, making sure the potentially relevant facts are known, in case it matters to anyone here. Telavi's brows hike up, and then she's all patient again and everything, or at least mostly patient, sliding just enough up against him so she can interlace her fingers and rest her chin on them. Not too high for comfort: mustn't hurt the bruises. Not quite too low, either, arguably. There's a long moment where she must resist the temptation to look aghast, and there go more of those willpower points, but instead she says simply, and with finality, "I don't think she wants to kiss you again." So yes, she knew. "Does that break your heart?" There's silence for a moment as K'zin takes in her words, then simply, "No." He shifts slightly, not so much as to suggest he'd like her to move, just enough to make things she's not quite too close to a little more comfortable. Boys. "My heart doesn't much have to do with anything other than my friendships." Hopefully that translates clearly enough. "And after being scum on the bottom of twenty turn old boots, I wouldn't expect her to want to." His brows lower as he looks down at Telavi, thoughtful. He looks as though he might want to ask a question, but seems to think better of it. Tela just nods to that first negation, as though that's simple enough, listening agreeably-- if with an ambiguous curve to her mouth-- as he continues, only to give a look of distinct warning when he gets back with that boots comparison again. Her fingers rattle and tap, which no doubt should help with that comfort thing immensely, and which seems to improve her own humor, for she cocks a brow at him. "Well?" It's not completely wicked. "Well, what?" K'zin asks, expression turning confused. At least he's off the boots comparison. He gazes down at her uncertainly, "I-- I figured it was up to you if you wanted to-- you know, keep doing that." He nods down towards his stomach. "Is it-- up to me?" His brows rise now in question, staying veeeery still beneath her. Well, at least those parts of himself which he has say over. He can't be held accountable for certain shifts not all together far away from those tapping fingers. "You looked like you were going to say something, ask something," and there's that questioning glance, was that it? But really, Tela doesn't spend much time on pinning that down because she's gotten this intrigued look ever since he continued. Only what she says is, "Yes, we need to write everything out and have you sign it in blood," and then her fingers curl and does he remember that slow slide of her thumb back in the infirmary? This is considerably less patient. Or subtle. "In blood." K'zin repeats, as though he's taken her quite seriously. Given that he's not proven himself to be the brightest tonight already, it would be a fair assumption, were it not for the slight tug at the corner of his lips. He whistles low, like she did in observing his bruises. "You sure take a little belly rubbing seriously where you come from." Where is that? He's not exactly sure. Did she tell him once? Maybe. His brain is trying to help him out, but there's those very distracting fingers, moving. His look turns a little anxious. It's not overwhelmingly so, but there's a mix of it in with the confused excitement that comes when his eyes fall to her fingers. "I was going to ask if you wanted to kiss me. But I thought it might-- mess up the-- moment?" One might wonder why he says it now; why he brings it up (even though she did comment on his previous self-silencing), if it might ruin it. Perhaps some part of him wants it ruined; the anxious part. The part that is all too keenly aware that her hands are somewhere few other hands have been before, innocent or not, thusfar. "That's just the beginning," Telavi claims, more dramatic than deadpan, only while his look turns more anxious, hers... well, hers softens. "Hey," she says. She's quiet for a moment, thinking, and if she'd earlier planned something in particular if something like this ever happened, if he ever moved for it or brought it up... what she does now is rest her cheek against his leg, this time not nearly as close at all. Her eyes still on K'zin's, she tilts her head and kisses him, right there. It's through the fabric, and it's soft, and then she lifts her head and reaches out with one hand. It's the one the ice had melted in. "Give me your hand," she says. It'll mean he has one less to brace with, though, to hold himself up in case of a fall. Some people get chatty when they get nervous or anxious, and in some situations K'zin is one of them. This, however, is different. There are too many thoughts for his attention to chase them all down, especially when 99% of his attention is directed to the woman. His breath catches as she tilts her head and delivers the kiss. His brown eyes widen slightly and stay that way. If there is hesitation, it doesn't even last the length of a breath and he's shifting. He makes sure to have the hand remaining on the ground in a stable position, then his right is offered to her. And so Tela accepts it, head lifting, and sets a smaller, lighter kiss on each smith-trained knuckle. One by one, light as Solith. The last, she sets into his palm and closes his fingers around it. It might have been easier not to do so, considering that she then seeks to steal her fingers right back into that grasp so his hand might curl about the back of hers, but either she hadn't been thinking ahead, or she has other reasons. If he still follows her lead, his hand will float with hers, down to his waistband and come to rest there. "All you have to do," she says, and her voice is soft and warm and pleased with him, "is show me what you already like." Not that they're limited to that, as Telavi has ideas. "Remember that I've gotten accustomed to breathing... and not mess up the bathwater." An imperative, as N'ky has already heard, though under very different circumstances. "But I'll help with that." And if her voice is to be believed, he'll be just fine. He'll be good. The kisses to his fingers do what they were no doubt intended to do. They heighten his excitement and anticipation. His hand is malleable in hers. He'll follow her lead, but once the pair of hands are poised together, and her instructions are delivered, there's a flicker of panic behind his eyes, the flicker is quickly extinguished, in a few long blinks as he slowly draws breath. There's certainly a part of his brain occupied with asking himself 'is this really happening?' Instead of leading her hand further south, his hand slips off hers and he leans forward, hands sliding under her arms and muscles flexing to pulls her, dripping out of the water and onto his lap, arms encircling her waist lightly. K'zin won't trap her if she pulls away hard, but he wants her to at least stay long enough to listen to him. "Vi, you're a dream come true." His baritone is quiet, and there's regret in his words. That's the calmest he's able to be in this moment, because then the anxiety starts to show on his face, "I don't want to disappoint you, but I-- can't... do that yet. I've never even kissed with tongue." And there's the rules to be considered, but he doesn't bring those up just now. Though Rasavyth is keeping to himself, letting K'zin have this experience on his own, as soon as the panic starts, he's blanketing it with his own extreme calm. « Hush. » His tenor purrs softly. « Be mindful. » Of the rules. Of Telavi's ego. Or everything. Those are his only words of advice, but they are delivered sincerely before he withdraws again, except for the current of calm he offers, should his rider need it. (Rasavyth to K'zin) No more supple Telavi: she's gone rigid as K'zin lifts her, which oddly might have made that lifting easier, for all that she couldn't have known his ultimate intentions. Perhaps she'd guessed, perhaps she'd guessed something different, something maybe even worse. In any case, she brings her knees up so she can tuck tightly about them, unwilling to let him see much more of her than he has, and when he begins to speak and she can hear that regret in that very first syllable that he's made out of her name... now Tela's looking at him, now she stares, like he's some doppelganger of that other young man who'd wanted this and this and that. "Well," she says, too brightly. "That's embarrassing." "Yes, it is." K'zin admits, "For me." Just in case she thought it might be something embarrassing about her. He's actually being remarkably respectful, no wandering eyes. It's not without effort, of course, but he manages. "You have no idea how much I wish I was--" He struggles to find a non-girly description, but fails, settling for: "-ready to go there. But-- I don't think I am. And I promised Ras I wouldn't break the rules again. I know they're looking the other way with some things, but-- from what I heard, that's a bit farther than they'll let slide... if they found out. Which they wouldn't have, but I'd know and--" He takes a deep breath because his words are starting to pick up pace as he begins down a tangent that won't do him any good. "If you don't hate me now, we could... do something else? Something-- like that?" Like what she suggested. For him. One eyebrow cocks upward, dubious, and that's even before K'zin starts in on the rules. "Then why did you," but then Tela shakes her head, abruptly enough to make her damp braids swing. And if it makes her shift on his lap a fraction more than strictly necessary, in the next moment it's with a touch more intent, just because she can. Or because it's difficult to get revved up and then run into a spike strip. WIth all the arguing she's sharpened over the last sevendays, here she doesn't, not over the rules, not over this. "'Something.' What exactly did you have in mind?" He opens his mouth to answer; but answering when he knows it's just going to sound stupid has gotten him in trouble before and left him tasting feet. K'zin shifts a little under her, arms keeping fast around her waist so as not to dump her back into the water by accident. His cheeks are bright with a blush, but he's already just about as embarrassed as he can get, so he might as well go for broke. He clears his throat, "Well, I'd say, first we should both get into the water in case someone happens to come along." That part is easy to say. Then comes the request: "And-- then you mentioned to me in the infirmary something about tongues and--" His brown gaze flicks down and immediately back up again, touched now with apology as though he couldn't help looking but realizes he wasn't given permission to do so, "--and tits. Maybe you could-- tell me how you like it? And maybe show me with my-your hands? I've never-- touched-- er, or seen up close, really-- um." He trails off, chewing on his lower lip. "And we could kiss, if you wanted. I've never done it with tongue either..." Basically, he's offering whatever she wants that gets him closer to where he might feel comfortable to take her up on her offer should he ever be so lucky as to get a do-over. All that shifting he does, poor Telavi just has to squirm a little more so she doesn't fall off, even if his arms are around her. At least he won't have seen too much, with her knees drawn up like that. And then as he talks, as he describes, she has to adjust her position once again, so she's particularly comfortable. She looks thoughtful. Considering, even. Perhaps he's convincing her! What does it matter of she's also a little wiggly, here and there? It's not as though his lap is completely flat. Entirely ignoring his suggestion of getting back into the water, she puts a finger to her completely un-chewed lip as though in contemplation. "So... just to make sure we're clear," she wonders just hesitatingly enough, as though poised on some verge of belief, "I stick my tongue in your mouth, or maybe it's the other way around," and she peeks at him inquiringly, which way is it supposed to be? Enlighten her! "And the day the restrictions are lifted, you come to me and say, 'Yes, Telavi,'" not Vi, "'I do want that blowjob after all?'" Through K'zin, Rasavyth has sensed her putting on a show back in the storerooms, something made the more entertaining for its transparency... but this, this must sound so real. "Telavi." K'zin repeats, in a way that suggests he's once and for all dropped the proposed nickname he'd selected. The shifting on his lap does ensure that he is not, in fact, flat-lapped and it does create a vicious cycle of her needing to reposition to be comfortable, and that just changing the topography of his body further. "You make it sound so technical." He responds, tone a touch disappointed. Talk about getting one's motor running and hitting a spike strip; the key difference being that she can probably feel his disappointment, physically. He gets those words out before it hits him what else she said. He blinks at her in surprise, "You wanted to--? I didn't think girls liked--?" Poor, sweet, ignorant K'zin. It doesn't answer the question. He's trying to wrap his innocent mind around it and the boggling is clear on his face. Technical? Is a problem? Tela blinks long lashes at K'zin as though the phrasing and its effect were purely accidental, and never mind that all that talking seems to have been what halted things before and surely is what got him into trouble, if not literal hot water, with those other girls. And yes, she had to underscore just what he missed out on, but so meekly, even... shyly. "A lot of us don't," she admits, "But I thought it would be fun." And she was so wrong! So, so wrong. How could she possibly have been so mistaken? It's tragic. "But you never answered, about those," a little sigh, "restrictions." "I'm sure it would have been fun," K'zin tries to reassure quickly, swallowing down his nervousness over the whole topic in favor of trying undo whatever damage he'd done, "The timing just isn't right for that." But not for other things! "If-- If that's what you want? I-- sure?" It's not like he has other plans. Really, he just sounds confused. "Telavi, this is going to sound really stupid, but just-- humor me for a second?" This is delivered with a certain amount of vulnerability. He's trying to make sense of it all but one key piece of information is missing. "Do-- do you want me?" The idea that someone might just sounds so silly when he says it out loud that he's immediately ducking his head and shaking it all at once, "Sorry. That was a dumb question. Sorry." And another little, "Sorry," much softer as his cheeks flare and his pulse races in his embarrassment. Tela musters a fragile, hopeful smile for K'zin, quite as though they have a deal. "I'll look forward to it," she even murmurs, though possibly not for the reasons he may think. And then... and then... humor him? With that? She glances over, and then down, the blush staining her cheeks all too sincere. It's so much harder to plot someone's comeuppance when they look so... so... when they sound so... she settles for twisting enough to curl one arm about his neck, the better to hide her face and its expression in his collarbone. "You want me to admit it out loud, after that? I thought you could tell." And it's not as though it's not true. It's just not the only factor at work. "I wouldn't have been so embarrassed if..." One hand slithers up to nudge two curled fingers under her chin, tipping her chin so he can catch her gaze. His is oh-so-vulnerable. "No, I couldn't tell." The words may be laughable, but his tone is so sincere that it must be true. "But I probably should've been able to." It's just that he's an idiot and the idea of someone actually wanting him is still so foreign that it's hard for him to wrap his head around. "Sorry." He apologizes again. On the heels of it however, he goes for a kiss. That is also the exact moment that the sound of boots intrude on K'zin's awareness, all too close. Intimate moment decidedly quashed. |
Leave A Comment