Not Quite Proper

Writers: Suzee, Heather
Date Posted: 6th July 2015

Characters: Reven, Arippa
Description: Memories if an uncomfortable talk.
Location: Green Valley Hold
Date: month 13, day 29 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Felyna, Qorri, Faldrimme, Relea

Reven

Arippa

Arippa stared into the mirror. She couldn't believe how far they'd
come in the past Turn. Now here they were in the midst of Turn Over at
Emerald Falls. It wasn't as if it had all been easy. Not by half.

~*~

"There's my girls." Reven smiled as he opened the door to Arippa's
parlor. The drapes had been pulled back and sunlight was streaming
into the room. As he entered, the maid who had been quietly cleaning
excused herself and exited the room.

Arippa looked up with a welcoming smile, the baby at her breast
feeding and drowsing. "Welcome home," she said warmly. "How was your
day?"

"Uneventful. Just making some preparations for our trip to Emerald
Falls next month. Pippa should be old enough to travel by then if you
would like to take her with us and show her off. I am sure Felyna
would be quite pleased to have her there." Reven crossed the room and
pressed a kiss to the top of Arippa's head as he reached down and
trailed a finger over his daughter's silken cheek.

"Oh that sounds wonderful," she sighed. She'd lived at a major hold
her whole life so Green Valley, while beautiful, was small. She'd
enjoy the celebrations of Emerald Falls so much last Turn that she
couldn't wait for the next one. "Do you think the Harper Hall will put
on another show this Turn Over?"

Reven had not heard for sure what was on the agenda for the
celebration at Emerald Falls. "I don't know, but I hope so, they were
quite entertaining last Turn. But, if I am honest, I am more excited
about the prospect of showing off my wife. She's the most beautiful
woman in the territory, you know." He bent to murmur the words, his
lips brushing her ear.

"Well I don't know about that," she grinned up at him and leaned into
his warm breath. "Faldrimme is at Emerald Falls now so..."

"Please," Reven scoffed, "you're even more beautiful than your
identical twin sister." He winked playfully, and then turned his
attention to Pippa, who had finished feeding.

"Would you like a break?" He hadn't anticipated how much he would
enjoy holding his daughter, or the peace and contentment that it would
bring him when he watched her sleep.

"Of course," she said and handed Pippa to her father. "She still needs
to be burped." She put herself back together and watched them for a
moment. Her conversation with Qorri still bothered her. "Someone told
me today you were seen alone with your sister-in-law again." She kept
her voice mild and not accusatory.

The word "again" hit Reven like a kick to the teeth. Even though there
was no vehemence behind his wife's tone, Reven felt like the use of
the word "again" made her statement a rebuke. "She is my
sister-in-law, I suppose it would be inevitable to never have
conversation with her. My office is an open door to the residents."
Reven tried not to feel angry that someone was apparently "watching"
him in his own home. Ever since being kidnapped the feeling of being
'watched' made Reven feel defensive and irritated. Looking down at
Pippa, the sleeping face of his daughter helped sooth some of the
emotions warring inside.

"What little birdy told you this?" He asked, pinning his wife with his
blue gaze as he arched an eyebrow.

"Relea went to Qorri to ask about... intimate garments." She strove
not to jump to the wrong conclusions with the obvious reaction her
husband was having.

The tension eased from Reven's shoulders as he laughed and shook his
head, "Oh, _that_." He decided to file away the tidbit that his
Headwoman apparently didn't trust him or respect him enough to address
the issue with him directly. Did she pride herself on spying on him to
report it back to Arippa? **Hm, I'll have to watch that one.** He
didn't need any sneaks in Green Valley, he'd had enough of those to
last a life time.

"I suppose Relea had to go to _someone_ to ask about them, all she had
growing up mostly was her brother. She came to me asking about ideas
for what to get Coran for his birthingday. I suggested a new leather
satchel for his medical supplies, but she shot that one down." Reven
had ended up getting his brother a new bootknife instead. "Anyway, it
sort of came around to what kind of gift _I_ would like from _my_
wife... and I blurted out lingerie because, clearly," he ran his eyes
over Arippa as if that explained why he would want such a gift. "Of
course that embarrassed both myself and Relea and we concluded that
I'm probably an idiot who shouldn't give gift-giving advice and she
left."

"Reven," she said with every bit of love she had in her. "One of the
things we were taught growing up at Amber Hills is that someone is
always watching leaders. Always." She smiled sadly knowing this would
be difficult. "You're not just a poor relative now. You're the Holder
and as much as I love you and it is a pain, you just have to accept
the limitations placed on us by our society."

"I understand that, but I should be able to talk freely with my family
without fear of my Headwoman, of all people, running around talking
about it." As far as Reven saw it, once Relea had married Coran that
had cemented her as another sister to him, the same as Renette or
Rayell. "If it had been Renette who went to Qorri, would something
have been said about that?" Of course Renette would have laughed in
his face if he'd mentioned lingerie in a conversation to her. As a
harpercrafter who had done her fair share of traveling, Renette was
considerably less conservative than the Hold women.

"I know," she nodded. "I agree with you. But sometimes we don't have a
choice in the way people perceive us." Felyna had been very explicit
on that point. Thinking of Emerald Falls' Lady Holder turned her mind
back to the upcoming Turns End festivities. "I hear there will be some
special entertainment this season at Emerald Falls. I can hardly
wait," she said to change the subject.

Reven was glad for the subject change, and he saw it for the boon that
it was. The Green Valley holder raised an eyebrow, "Special
entertainment?" He wondered what on Pern that could be. Corowal
already had the harpers performing plays, and then there were the
typical dances and contests.

"A masked ball at the Harper Hall," she exclaimed with eyes shining.
"Won't that be fun?"

"A masked ball, hm? That does sound rather intriguing. As long as no
one gets any ideas about my wife." He shot her a possessively handsome
grin.

~*~
Arippa looked up at Reven in the mirror of her dressing table. The
maid had put the finishing touches on her hair and she handed him her
mask by lifting it over her head. "Can you help me with this?"

"My pleasure, milady." Reven purred. The Green Valley holder was
dressed in all black, from his recently shined boots, to the finely
tailored shirt he wore. His own obsidian mask was already tied to his
face, highlighting his bright blue eyes and gleaming blonde hair.

They were a study in contrasts and for that she was actually grateful.
They'd make a striking pair. Him in his black and her in a creamy
white while her dark hair fell down her back in waves. "I think we're
ready," she smiled and turned to take his arm. "This is going to be
fun."

Last updated on the July 8th 2015

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Not Quite Proper