A Soak and a Secret {Derek}

[Zirin]

Are you sure you’re okay NymMine? What are you hiding from me…? The amethyst crooned, his eyes whirling in mild distress as he watched his rider disrobe. Nymari shot her amethyst a guilty look before replying. “It’s nothing Iye… just stress related okay? I’ll be fine in a few day’s time, I promise.” Though her voice held a clear tone of stubborn confidence, the emotion was not at all portrayed through her body. To anyone who knew Nym well, it would be clear there was something weighing heavily on her mind, something bothering her in every waking moment.

She gave a quiet little moan of pleasure as she stepped into the hotspring, enjoying the soothing warmth of the waters. Despite the heat of the island, she still enjoyed the naturally hot water; her muscles certainly enjoyed it anyways. She relaxed back against the edge, so intent on forgetting her woes that she outright forgot to remind Iyiath to keep an eye out for anyone coming.

“This is exactly what the healer ordered Iye,” She relaxed against the wall of the spring and closed her eyes, willing her body to relax. Certainly this was all she needed to relax and return to normal; a nice hot bath and a moment of peace and quiet.

[Elessar]

The hot springs, Mine.[/color] Myth's voice echoed in K'dri's mind as the rider walked through the main camp. He had been looking for Nymari and Iyiath for awhile now. They had both been avoiding him, and K'dri wasn't a man that liked to be avoided. He had sent Myth into the air to search for them, and his luck was with him.

Well, his luck was with him in more ways that one, too. Myth had found Nymari for him... and she would be naked. Grinning, he headed for the hot springs, whistling a soft tune as he walked, clearly relaxed and ready to corner the Weyrling again, as he so often did. Ever since Kinurninth's flight, however, she had been skipping lessons, avoiding him at every possible turn. Now, he had her cornered.

His luck was in again, as it seems Nymari had forgotten to post Iyiath as a look out. When he approached, he found Nymari with her eyes closed. Moving as quietly as possible, he slipped off his tunic, boots, and breeches, and slipped into the water. "Hello, Nymari," he said slyly, hoping to startle the girl out of her wits. "You've been avoiding me, and skipping lessons. Are you well?"

[Zirin]

She was warm, comfy… so much so that she was almost ready to drift off to sleep when a voice much too close for comfort spoke up. Her eyes shot open and, with a jolt of surprise, she instinctively reached to her waist for a knife, remembering too late that her tools were sitting away from the edge of the hot springs so as not to get wet. Instead she was left clutching her heart and staring warily at K’dri. Shard it all… of all the people she could have run into it had to be the one she was actively avoiding? Who had she pissed off to deserve this!

She remembered a tad too late that she was in the bath and very much naked, and with a grimace and a blush she tried to cover herself as best she could with her arms. At least the steamy waster would help hide her a little bit. If she was naked then he must also… She couldn’t stop herself from staring over his body, what she could see of it anyways, though she caught herself after a moment and turned away to yell angrily at the nearby trees.

“Iyiath you worthless pink dragon!” With a confused warble, the dragon broke from the treeline, a wherry dangling in his mouth and the biggest ‘what did I do?’ expression on his face. Upon seeing just what it was that was causing His to panic though, he ducked back into the trees, knowing he needed to put some distance between them if he wanted to survive. Well, he would be no help here.

“I’m not avoiding you. I’ve just got better things to do with my time then be harassed by you.” It was weak, he would probably know it was weak, but she had nothing better to say. She had been doing everything in her power to avoid him, moreso in the last few weeks. “It’s none of your business! You stay away and let me have my bath in peace.” She certainly couldn’t run without him seeing everything after all.

[Elessar]

K'dri almost laughed when she reached for a knife. Obviously, they were farther away, so they wouldn't get wet, so she had nothing to grab. He grinned, and held up one of his own knives that he had placed within grabbing distance. He twirled it inbetween his fingers, grinning, before setting it back down. She should know better than to leave her weapons far away.

When she blushed, K'dri let his eyes take in her feminine form. Nothing he hadn't seen before, but it didn't matter. He enjoyed looking all the same... and she seemed to be staring, too, until she turned to yell at her dragon, who was apparently in the nearby trees

Iyiath appeared, looking extremely confused, a wherry dangling from his mouth. He disappeared equally as fast. Myth dropped down beside him, however, and crooned. Share?[/color] He asked, inclining his head at the wherry. And I don't think you are worthless.[/color] The dragon settled down, crossing his paws, and folding his wings.

K'dri nodded his head, and then shook it. "You are avoiding me. You have nothing better than to learn your lessons, and guess what? I'm your teacher. Any problem you have with that you can take up with the Head Teacher, not me. So quit skipping lessons. And it is my business, you sharding Weyrling, so tell me what's wrong.."

[Zirin]

She watched him twirl his own knife, suddenly feeling stupid for having put her own so far away. Being bonded was leaving her lazy when it came to her habits it seemed. Yet… somehow the knife display, while likely meant to intimidate her or tease her for her mistake, had a rather different result. She was interested, in a way. Sure, K’dri had shown her aerial combat and betweening, firestone and wing formations… but she had never seen him actually put his knives to use. It was… intruging she supposed. Was he as good as she was? Better? Would his movement be fluid, or sharp… She shook her head; now wasn’t the time to be distracted with his pointy toy.

“So what. It’s your fault!” She hissed, angry with herself for being cornered. It really was his fault, more than he would hopefully ever know. He wouldn’t let her go until she spilled, but she really didn’t want him to know anything about the things on her mind. In fact, she’d rather scream it to the world than let him know. “I’m just… sick… I guess. Okay? No big deal.” Okay so it was more than just some common flu, but maybe he’d buy it and let it drop. She tried to shuffle away, to put a bit more distance between them, as if that would somehow make her problems go away. “I’ll come to the next lesson okay?” Maybe somewhat agreeing with him would help her case.

Iyiath crooned and held out the wherry for Myth to take a bit of. She’s just angry. Mine loves me, I know she does! He nodded his head, as if agreeing with his own words and thumps Myth’s side with his tail, a silent thank you for the support.

[Elessar]

His fault? How was it his fault? K'dri cocked his head to the side, eyes narrowing. Nymari was more flighty and scared than usual... something was definitely up. Sick? She didn't look sick. She looked... radiant. "You're not sick, Nymari. I'm not stupid." Shaking his head, he looked her up and down. "And agreeing to show up to the next lesson isn't going to placate me."

Leaning back against the edge of the bathing pool, his entire chest visible for her viewing pleasure, he watched her carefully. She was definitely on edge, and he couldn't put his finger on why. She hadn't even mentioned the flight, which was why he figured she had been... Suddenly, everything clicked into place in his brain, and he felt his heart skip a beat or eight. "Nym..." He said slowly. "Are you... pregnant?!"

Myth crooned in returned and took a bite of the wherry. Why is yours angry, Iyiath? Mine is usually the angry one. But yes, Ours both love us.[/color] He agreed, nodding his own head. He crooned again as the Amethyst's tail thunked against his side.

[Zirin]

Stupid bluerider! She could probably be truly sick and he’d still try to call her on it. Why couldn’t he just drop it and leave her alone to wallow in her self pity! It was an odd thing really. She had spent a fair bit of time dwelling on the flight, but then when her suspicions had begun… well all thoughts of that night had been wiped from her mind as she focused entirely on betweening everywhere as often as possible. Despite it though, she still felt off and she still hadn’t bled. Her eyes shot open as he hit the nail right on the head.

“How…?” Was all she could say before her instinct to flee took over and she turned to pull herself out of the spring. She stopped though, the water lapping at her lower back as she held herself there. With a a sigh, her shoulders drooped and she slide back in the water, avoiding his eyes by staring at the chest he had so conveniently put on display. Stupid, attractive blueirder….

“I don’t… know.” She finally half-admitted. The healers had told her that was what it was, but it was just impossible! She had too many things to do, so much training to partake in still. She couldn’t be… but it had been over two months since she had last bled… “It’s just late is all. It’s been late before…” She added stubbornly, her voice showing hints of the fear and panic she was trying so desperately to hide.

Iyiath cocked his head to the side, surprised at the defeat he was suddenly feeling from his normally strong-willed rider. I was supposed to make sure no one came… especially Yours. She didn’t want to see him yet… He snapped up the remainder of the wherry with a satisfied crunch before looking back to the hotsprings. Maybe this would somehow help her?

[Elessar]

She moved to run, but then fell back into the water, shoulders drooping. She avidly avoided his eyes by staring at his chest. K'dri would certainly admit that he had eyed her form hungrily when she had pulled herself from the water. How? He'd been a rider for more years than Nymari had even been alive, almost. He wasn't stupid.

And then she admitted to it. Kind of. K'dri's heart truly stopped, then, and his breath caught in his throat. She... couldn't be! His wife, his son...! He couldn't risk having another child, risk falling in love again and then losing them both.

At her next statement, he gritted his teeth. Late... right, right, it was just late. Of course! There was no way she was pregnant. Just late. He nodded, but couldn't stop his fool brain from doing the math. "Two months." His voice was quiet, and there was a subtle anger to it, just as there was fear in hers. Under the anger, however, there was... he didn't know.

He was angry, but again he could not stop his fool brain from imaginging a life with her and a child. As much as he was scared of it, the thought thrilled and excited him. "Two months..." He repeated. "Have... have you seen the healers?"

Myth turned his head toward the pools. Neither of Theirs were acting as they should be. The blue did not respond to Iyiath, but instead lowered himself to the ground, tail lashing. His was not acting right...

[Zirin]

She grimaced, withdrawing as he called her on the length of time. Of course he wouldn’t be stupid enough to miss that. There had been a moment, a brief moment, when she though K’dri wouldn’t catch it, but he had exceeded her expectations yet again and proven her wrong.

“Of course I saw the healers… they’ve been wrong before…” Finally, finally she looked up to meet his eyes, and for once he would see the scared child she really was instead of the stubborn, confident girl she tried to be. She had grown up believing she would one day meet a man who would romance her and steal her heart, wed her and love her, and they would have children. Now though… now she might be carrying the child of a man who was always keeping her on her toes and stealing kisses and in no way was her husband! Well he had moments where he was almost sweet, but he certainly was no prince charming!

“I don’t know what to do.” She admitted, forcing herself to keep eye contact now. “I keep going between, and the healers gave me a drink that was supposed to help but…” She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and took a deep breath before crossing her arms stubbornly. There was nothing she could do now; K’dri knew, and she couldn’t help but feel he wouldn’t let her leave until he had gotten every last detail. “Well, teach. What do I do?”

[Elessar]

The healers have been wrong before. What a pathetic excuse. K'dri shook his head. If it had been two months, and the healers had confirmed... she was really going to have a child. His child. At that thought, his brain nearly exploded. Nymari was almost half his age! It was insane! His eyes closed, and he took a deep breath.

When he opened his eyes, he nearly jumped twenty feet into the air. Nymari was scared. He could see it in her eyes, her posture, everything about her. The fact that she was so plainly terrified... well, it terrified him. She wasn't playing as the confident, head-strong woman she tried to be. Was this who she really was? Was he seeing... the real Nymari? He knew she had grown up Hold-Born, believing a man would romance her and woo her and wed her, but... she was a rider now. Surely she knew better.

And then she demanded he teach her. Unfortunately... she had already covered everything. Going between, drinking whatever mess the healers gave her... A deep sadness filled K'dri's eyes, and he closed his eyes. "I... I don't know." It hurt, that she wanted to rid himself of their child so badly, but he could understand. He wasn't sure he was ready to be a father again, if ever again.

Taking a deep breath, he opened his cold, calculating blue eyes. "You grew up in a hold. I know I'm not perfect, and that more than half of the time you hate me, but... I can be there for you. I can be... yours. If you'll take me. I can give you flowers, or pretty shiny daggers-- whatever you want. You're not alone, and the life you bear inside of you... it's half mine."

[Zirin]

Nymari had become strong to prove she was better than just another girl; to prove she could do more than spend all day in the kitchens cooking or in the common room sewing and chittering with the other ladies. She had wanted much more for herself than that. She had always had to teach herself, she had rarely confided in her parents and was used to simply sucking it up and facing something head on. This though… this was something huge. It tore her apart, wondering what the right path was, what she should do. It was understandable to be scared! Her gaze had never left his, it was the only strength she had right now and she wasn’t going to give it up. The sorrow that she saw, caught her by surprise though. Was it because of the family he had lost, or because of the child?

“It doesn’t matter where I grew up anymore… does it. I’m a rider now. I have to live the way riders live… you proved that to me that morning.” Her voice was quiet, wavering slightly as she shuffled the tiniest bit closer, inch by inch as if she didn’t want to speak any louder. An image passed through her head then, one of a suave, dressed up K’dri holding a bouquet of daggers and she couldn’t stop herself from giggling. The idea of him being anything but the rough, ‘take what you want’ man was mildly unnerving, to be sure. Go figure all it took to get a bit of softness from him was the chance of a baby! It was endearing though. Did he… want her to keep it? Was that why he was acting so nice? She felt a blush creep up her cheeks. No, she had to straighten things out!

“Even if I… Even if I was ready to keep it.. look around you K’dri. You know as well as I do that this is no place for a kid. As it is I can’t believe First Knight Zi’axe has that loud brat of his here. We’re under threat of attack every day! Even if I could go back to a Weyr… Iyiath is twice the mutant of most of the dragons here… A male amethyst? We won’t be accepted anywhere we go…” It was the baby she was concerned for, more than herself. She was no mother, no doubt she’d be terrible at it… the least she could do was make sure that, when the time came to have a baby, she could at least give it a safe place to live. She sighed and glanced back at K’dri.

“You know… I think you’re scarier when you’re being nice than any other time,” She teased before moving the final bit to wrap her arms around him. “Thanks.. you know, for making this easier than I thought it would be.” She trailed off for a moment before speaking again. “And don’t get any funny ideas old man…”

[Elessar]

"No... I suppose it doesn't matter any more." So, she did understand. Good for her. It proved to him that she was strong... stronger than he had imagined. Not that he had ever imagined her as weak, of course, but still. She had told him time and time again that she would prove herself... and here she was. Proving herself. It was almost frightening to see her words come true, and yet he still feared for her... had the strange urge to protect her, comfort her.

As she inched closer, he watched her. Fear was still etched in every line of her body, but she was dealing with it. She blushed, and he could guess the reason. Her giggle almost made K'dri smile, but he held his mask, watching her inch closer and closer, clearly wanting to be comforted. He felt oddly trapped. He wanted to comfort her, protect her, ravish her delightfully sinful body night after night, but he didn't want to scare her away. So as she moved, he remained still as stone.

At her words, he looked around him. Ramshackle buildings for weyrs, and carved out holes in caves. It wasn't right. At the mention of Zi'axe, K'dri snarled. "First Knight Zi'axe... don't make me laugh. He's no more a Wingleader than I am a wherry. That man should be put down." Shaking his head, he turned to look at Nymari. Really look at her. He could see in her eyes that she was concerned more for the child than herself. Touching. Even if she didn't want to keep it.

"Trelis Weyr has mutants. Plenty of them. And Myth would protect him with his life, as I would protect you." As she wrapped his arms around him, he let one hard, calloused hand slide to her stomach. "And our child," he whispered, gently kissing her hair. "And if Trelis wouldn't take us... Thread be damned, we could live in the wild. With Myth and Iyiath to protect us... Nymari, come away with me. Have the child. Have the family, the dream you always wanted. There's no reason you can't be both rider and woman."

[Zirin]

“He reminds me of home.” She replied, her expression darkening slightly in distaste. “Status because of something out your control….” There was a disgust in her voice, though she hadn’t meant for it to slip out. She had nothing against Zi’axe of course; he was probably a nice young man. What she hated was the way bronzers were handed ranks just because of their hide colour; just as her brother had been handed a knife because of his gender. She had to work for the right to learn to fight, the leaders should have had to do the same! She couldn’t dwell on it for long, as K’dri seemed to be intent on messing with her mind in a new way today.

He was being so gentle! It was… it was unnerving! On the one hand, Nymari wanted nothing more than to pull away, to put space back between them so she could try to figure out why he was being so strange. Not to mention the proximity of their naked bodies was making her blush even deeper, feeling uncomfortable because of it. On the other hand, how could she pull away when he was clearly trying to comfort her?! She shifted slightly, uncomfortably, as a hand made its way to her still flat stomach, but remained where she was for a moment until his little speech had her both blushing and terribly annoyed.

“Hold the flit there old man. Who says you would be protecting me? Is it because I’m a girl you think I can’t protect myself? Let me tell you bub, I could take you on any day!” Firey Nym had resurfaced, if only out of annoyance. Oh he had struck a big nerve! If there was something Nymari hated above all else it was being babied and protected! She pulled out of the hug to cross her arms indignantly, though she was still within his reach.

“And might I remind you, mister, that Trelis is our ‘big bad foe’? The Weyr we’ve been fighting with strongest? Besides!” At that her voice started to mellow out again as she looked to the forest, Iyiath’s pink hide obvious against the dark trees. “Besides K’dri… He’s my world. I couldn’t live with myself if I stopped fighting for him now. You can be sure some silly kid isn’t going to stop me from fighting anyone who would dare oppress him.” She leaned back against the edge once more and pressed her fingers together sheepishly, her cheeks a delightfully rosy colour. “And anyways… don’t think you can turn on the charm and woo me just like that… it won’t work. You’re almost freaking me out. What happened to the nasty bluerider I thought I knew?” Even so, as she stared down into the water, a smile crept into her features.

[Elessar]

Zi'axe reminded K'dri of home, too. Reminded him of the cold blooded murders he had comitted. He would like nothing more than to slip a knife between the bronze rider's ribs. Nymari was exactly right. It was sick the way he was handed a high ranking position without first earning it. Maybe some poison in his evening wine? But no. Poison was a woman's weapon. K'dri would rather take the man head on, and drive Zi'axe's head onto a spike as a warning for the rest of them.

His mind dwelled on other ways to possibly murder the bronze rider, but was quickly distracted by Nymari, obviously. At his touch, she became distinctly uncomfortable, and her blush deepened even further. He expected that was due to their nakedness, and his rather exposed (and hard) body.

"Hold the flit?" He laughed. Looking around, he shrugged. "Doesn't look like I have any to hold, m'dear." At Nymari's outburst, he grinned outright. Moving through the water, he reached for one of his knives. One of his best knives. It was a beautiful thing, made from the best tempered blue steel that marks could buy, with a ruby studded into the hilt in the center of a carved rose pommel. "Here," He said, holding out the dagger to her. "I know full well you can protect yourself. So take it. As a promise."

At her words, he turned away. "Maybe Trelis isn't as bad as it's made out to be. After all... D'tri went back... And no one really knows what we're fighting each other for, anyway. In my opinion, Noita's just a power hungry bitch that started this whole thing over nothing. I'm only here to fight... and if what I have to fight for is you, the Rebellion means nothing to me. So take the knife as a promise, girl. A promise that no matter what happens, whether we stay or go, fight or flee, that Myth and I will fight beside you and for you and Iyiath with our very lives."

From the trees, a bloodcurdling roar broke the silence. Myth flared his wings, screaming his defiance to the sky. Normally mild-mannered, it was almost terrifying to see the blue with eyes swirling a bloody red, his maw open, roaring furiously. FOR DEATH AND FOR HONOR, OUR LIVES ARE YOURS.[/color]

[Zirin]

“I could always call Hullu if you desperately want to hold one,” She grinned. She’d never introduced K’dri to her pet. The ebony flit wasn’t one to normally hang around her, and she had done a terrible job of training the little thing. Sometimes she was surprised he was still bonded to her. She loved her little ebony though, and his presence, rare as it was, always made her smile. She watched K’dri move, confused as to what he was doing, until he held out a dragger, offering it to her. She shook her head in surprise.

“I couldn’t!” She replied, though a hand reached out to take it, her eyes trailing over its form in awe. It was a good blade, far above what she had the marks to by, and it was beautiful! “This is the girliest blade I have ever seen…” She couldn’t stop herself from saying, though from the sparkle in her eyes it was clear she was horribly taken with it. She gave it an experimental flip, testing the balance of the blade. “I really… I can’t accept this K’dri, its worth more than my entire collection…” She eyes sparkled mischievously as he continued speaking, voicing opinions that she actually somewhat shared.

“So we change the chain of command…” She said before she could stop herself, twirling the tip of the dagger against her finger. Her eyes widened. What had she just implied?! Was she really so foolish as to have said that out loud!? She shook her head, trying to think of something to say to cover up her blunder. “Don’t you dare put your life on the line for me! I wouldn’t forgive myself if you died because of chivalry!” She spoke loudly, and with her classic stubborn attitude.

Her expression a mask of seriousness, Nym turned and pulled herself far enough out of the water to place the blade at a safe distance of splashing, though it would still be in reach if she needed it. However, her serious expression crumbled into a laughing fit at Myth’s outburst and she fell back into the water. Surfacing, she stood a little taller than she meant to as she tried to wring some of the water from her hair, giving K’dri a clear view of herself before she sunk back into the water, too busy chuckling to have even noticed her mistake.