In Working Order

Writers: Heather, Miriah
Date Posted: 3rd February 2020

Characters: R'axe, Ninaine, T'kev
Description: T'kev shows R'axes that some things are in good working order.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 2, day 14 of Turn 10

R'axe

Ninaine

T'kev

"I don't want to go to the bathing pools." R'axe said through gritted teeth, even though he could hear the sounds of T'kev continuing to move around his weyr.

"R'axe, you cannot continue to take baths in your weyr. Do you know how much trouble it is to haul in a tub and water each time you want to bathe?" T'kev pointed out as he grabbed some of R'axe's fresh clothes and stuffed them into a drawstring sack.

R'axe's hands clenched and unclenched by his sides. He did not want to go to the bathing pools where other people would be there to gawk at him.

As if knowing R'axe's thoughts, T'kev said, "It's so late at night that I doubt there will be anyone there anyway. You need practice in finding the way to the pools."

"I don't want to get in alone," R'axe said, a shivering running through him as he remembered falling into the Weyrlake and being unable to find his way out.

"You won't be, I'm getting in too," T'kev assured him.

R'axe stood there, chin lifted, a stubborn expression on his face. "Fine," he sighed, let's go.

Ninaine liked the smaller bathing pool, especially at night. Most preferred the larger, especially for socialization and meeting with friends, so rarely was this one occupied, especially in the evenings. And it wasn't as well lit, allowing for much more privacy. She could afford to stay up later for its use too. It wasn't as if she had drills early in the morning.

She stood, hip deep in the water with her back facing the pool entrance and hummed softly to herself as she moistened a handful of sweet sand and began lathering herself.

T'kev kept a hand on R'axe's elbow, directing him as they entered the bathing pool so that there was no possibility of him making a misstep and taking an unexpected plunge. The bathing pool that T'kev had been thinking would be the best and most private, already had an occupant, but he thought little of it as he led R'axe in.

"Here we go," he said to the bluerider, who automatically began disrobing.

T'kev did the same, tossing his clothes aside and entering the pool first so that he could be there in case R'axe had any trouble. R'axe didn't, he'd bathed in the bathing pools enough over the course of his life to be able to remember with a mental picture what it looked like. Keeping both hands on the ledge of the pool, R'axe lowered himself in carefully, not feeling comfortable until his feet were firmly on the bottom.

"Not so bad, huh?" T'kev said, making himself comfortable and seating himself on the lower lip inside the pool.

"I guess," R'axe admitted, thinking the warm, swirling water did feel good compared to the tiny baths he'd been taking in a tin tub.

T'kev glanced through the foggy mists, grinning a little as he leaned in to R'axe's ear. "There's another person in the bathing pools. A woman. I can't make out her face yet but she has smooth skin, it's gleaming from the water...."

As he spoke R'axe conjured up the image he was painting in his brain. R'axe remembered meeting more than one bed partner in the bathing pools. He remembered vividly what a woman's silky hair looked like in the water.

"She's nicely rounded, but fit, a dragonrider I'm sure. She has the kind of hips you could hold on to you while you," his voice dropped as he finished the thought in R'axe's ear.

The slight splash behind her, evidence of another person entering the pool, made Ninaine pause, hands going still as she began to lather her hair. There was a murmur of voices, deep enough to be obviously male, but low enough to be indistinct. She sighed, mildly annoyed that her privacy had been disturbed, but not enough to immediately leave. The heat from the water into the cooler air at least allowed for a bit of concealing mist.

She decided to ignore them at least until she was finished and focused on scrubbing her hair. She dunked down beneath the water, rinsing it as she held her breath and when she emerged, she was facing the newcomers, pushing her hair from her face and wiping the water from her eyes.

T'kev merely blinked, masterfully hiding the surprise he felt. **Ninaine!** The greenrider always hid her body beneath her baggy clothing, and now the bluerider could only wonder _why_? She had so many good things to show off, he thought.

"Evenin' Ninaine," T'kev said, now that they were face-to-face it would have been awkward not to address her.

R'axe who had been surprised by his body's natural reaction to the descriptions T'kev was painting, was completely thrown-off when T'kev said hello to Ninaine. He quickly conjured up a mental image of the greenrider, as he remembered her, and he could not equate what he remembered and what T'kev had described. "Ninaine," he greeted, although it felt awkward to do so since he could not even see where she was.

Ninaine jerked in surprise at the sound of the greeting, instinctively lowering herself into the water to cover herself. She wiped her eyes again to clear them, then blinked. Her eyes flicked between the two men. One she recognized easily, even with the scarf around his eyes. R'axe, the painfully handsome bluerider that had had appeared at Luneth's first flight. She'd heard about his injury and felt a jolt of sympathy for him now that she saw him. It must have been so hard for him. He was grounded just like she, a crippled pair but for different reasons. To be blinded and scarred as handsome as he'd been... Her face surprisingly gentled with empathy for your man. "Uhm, hello R'axe. And..." She had to search her mind, "T'kev, isn't it?"

"That's right," T'kev said, noting her expression. "We apologize on intruding, I didn't think anyone else would be in this pool the time of the night." Beside him R'axe remained silent. Conversation with people he did not know was still difficult for the blind bluerider because he was sure that all they could see was his disability. How did one carry on normal conversation when you could not look into their eyes or see the corners of their mouth as it lifted or twisted into a grin or frown.

A sense of understanding showed in her expression. Ninaine wasn't surprised that R'axe might desire a place away from prying eyes to bathe. "That's why I was down here. I prefer privacy as well." She glanced towards her towel. She would have preferred to soak longer, but she was finished and they'd just arrived. "It's usually unoccupied at this time of the night." She added, "so this is the better place to bathe if you want that." She sighed softly. They're was no help for it. **Weyr ways. Nakedness is nothing here. You know that.** "I'm finished, so it's alright." Taking a breath, she began wading out of the pool.

R'axe listened as the water splashed, then came the sound of scuffing as shoes were slipped on, and then finally the gentle footfalls that indicated that Ninaine had walked off. He instinctively swung his hand, smacking T'kev right in the middle of the chest. "You could have told me you were describing Ninaine!"

T'kev laughed and winced at the same time as he put a hand to the smarting sting on his chest. "I didn't know, man, honestly. She was turned around when we first got in, all I could see was hair, skin, and butt, okay? Besides, you didn't seem to mind what was being described."

R'axe huffed, finally moving his hands along the ledge to find the bathing sand. "Next time don't bother."

"Why not?" T'kev asked, watching as R'axe set about lathering the sand between his hands and then rubbing it along his arms and a chest. Arms and chest that were still trim and toned from R'axe's days as an active rider. T'kev certainly saw nothing wrong with what he'd seen of R'axe naked.

"It can't go anywhere, that's why not. There's no point in getting all hot and bothered."

"Why can't it go anywhere? As a healer I've seen all parts of you, you know, and as another bluerider let me assure you, all of those parts seem to be in working order." T'kev slid around behind R'axe, lathered his hands as well, and began scrubbing them over the other man's shoulders and back.

"All parts except my eyes." R'axe shot back, despite the warm tingles that T'kev's backwashing was sending over his skin.

"True, but these seem to be working," T'kev ran his hands down the sides of R'axe's arms, "and these," his hands traced a slippery slope down the bluerider's sides and over his hips, "and this," his voice grew huskier as one hand slipped down between R'axe's lips. "Yes, this also seems to be working."

An uncontrollable shudder raced down R'axe's spine. "You've made your point, T'kev," he said between gritted teeth, annoyed at how quickly his body had betrayed him.

T'kev chuckled a little and withdrew his hands. "Just think about it R'axe. You're blind, not dead. A roll in the furs might be just what you need to get back in the swing of things."

"Maybe," R'axe muttered, still unsure on the inside. The thought of physical intimacy again was scary. He had been such a confident, self-assured lover prior to going blind, and his reputation as a rewarding bed partner was well known. What if sex couldn't be like that anymore? He scrubbed vigorously at his scalp, even as he tried to forget the mental image of Ninaine that T'kev had so deftly drawn.

Last updated on the February 15th 2020

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