Ruined Evening

Writers: Devin, Bree
Date Posted: 7th November 2006
Series: Saving Each Other

Characters: N'vanik, Talryne, Kavlyn
Description: N'vanik lures Talryne out of his weyr for Turn's End, but her nerves can't take it.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 29 of Turn 3

N'vanik

Talryne

Talryne knew she looked good. She'd lingered over her preparations for as long as she could, drawing out the process of fixing her hair and picking out a dress. Part of her had hoped that if she took long enough, N'vanik would give up on coaxing her out of his weyr to participate in the Turn's End celebrations. An even smaller part of her hoped that he'd get tired of waiting and just leave without her.

When it became obvious that neither of her wishes was going to come true, Talryne emerged from the sleeping area and shifted nervously as she looked at N'vanik. "I suppose I'm ready to go, then..." He looked her over, noticing her in ways he had tried hard not to over the past month. Then he grinned. "Good! Let's go make people jealous." N'vanik offered her his arm. It felt so good to be getting out of the weyr, and he hoped they could have a good time.

Sliding her hand onto his arm, Talryne made an effort to seem relaxed as they made their way from his weyr. "I haven't danced in a long time. That might be fun."

"I was hoping you'd want to dance. I want to impress you with my dancing skills," the bronzerider said. A few of the people they passed in the hall gave them odd looks. Talryne's fingers tightened around N'vanik's arm, but she stared straight ahead and refused to make eye contact with anyone they passed. "I didn't know you liked to dance."

He smiled at her. "I don't do it very often, but I like to dance once in a while. I stay away from group dances though, I'm not good at them."

"Me either," Talryne lied easily. Group dances had been her favorite once, but her nerves felt stretched tight enough as it was. Having to dance with anyone except for N'vanik would be more than she could handle.

As they reached the ground floor the crowd of people increased and the sound of the harpers playing a lively tune drifted in. N'vanik paused before they reached the main doorway. "I'm sure this isn't easy for you," he told her quietly. "But try to have some fun, and if you want to leave, just tell me."

Talryne glanced through to the main celebration, her hand tightening on N'vanik's arm again. She wanted nothing more than to go back to his weyr and hide again, but after all she'd put him through in the last month, N'vanik deserved a _little_ bit of fun. "Maybe we can try one dance and see how it goes?"

He nodded. "Sure." N'vanik led her outside as the band started another tune.
Thankfully, it wasn't a group dance. The dancing square was well populated, but he found them a spot off to the side that was less crowded. With a smile that was almost shy, he took one of her hands and slid an arm around her waist. The song was an energetic one, but he started slowly, not sure how much activity she was up for.

At first she seemed a little uncertain, but some of her natural grace returned as the speed picked up a little. Talryne hadn't realized how much she'd missed _moving_ with all the time she'd spent cooped up in N'vanik's weyr. She'd had plenty of time to recover from her Threadscore, but she hadn't wanted to go outside and get the sort of exercise she was used to. By the time the first song came to an end, she'd almost started smiling.

"Want to stay for another dance, or should we get something to drink?" The bronzerider _was_ smiling. "Maybe another dance, and _then_ something to drink?" she asked, sounding just the slightest bit breathless. Sitting around in N'vanik's weyr had obviously not done much for her stamina. "Ok." N'vanik felt like he could dance all night. It felt so good to be out and doing something fun. He was ready to swing Talryne around to another fast tune, but the band began a slow traditional song. Talryne reached out to place her hand in N'vanik's again, but gave a startled gasp when someone else took hold of her hand and pulled her in the opposite direction. She collided with the culprit, who slid his arm around her waist and twirled her once. "Talryne, gorgeous... you've finally come out of hiding to make the Weyr a beautiful place again!"

"Hey!" N'vanik protested. "She was dancing with _me_!"

Kavlyn glanced back over his shoulder at the bronzerider. "I was just saying hello," he insisted, rolling his eyes as he turned back to Talryne. "I miss you, Talryne!"

Talryne stood stiffly in his arms, her eyes holding the slightest bit of panic. Even her voice sounded slightly strained as she said, "Hello, Kavlyn. I'm not feeling very well, though. N'vanik and I were about to go sit down." "Not even _one_ dance for me?" Kavlyn wheedled. "N'vanik's been greedy, keeping you to himself."

"And I'm going to keep on being greedy," N'vanik said. "So go away." He noticed Talryne's nervousness, and he wanted to get her out of this situation before it got worse.

Finally taking the hint, Kavlyn released Talryne. "Well, I'm just glad to see you out and about! If you get tired of N'vanik, come and find me, eh?"
The tailor turned and winked at N'vanik. "Not that I'd get tired of him!
He's still awfully nice to look at."

N'vanik glared at him before turning back to Talryne. "You ok?"

She had no idea why Kavlyn had unbalanced her so, but she felt like she was on the edge of that terrible cliff again, and that one wrong step would send her tumbling out of control. It took her two tries to clear her throat. "I think I'd like a drink, please."

"Ok." N'vanik took her arm and led her off the dance floor toward one of the refreshment tables. He didn't like the look on her face. Not at all. Loseth rumbled with concern in his head.

Talryne bypassed the juice and cider and even the wine, wanting something strong enough to coat her nerves and make the world feel a little less real.
Numbing herself to the feeling might not help much, but it would be a start.
And then she could stay here with N'vanik and make him happy.

He saw what she was headed for and pulled her away, gently but firmly.
"Nope. None of that for you." **You are such a sharding hypocrite.** A brownrider jostled Talryne a few steps as he tried to inch past her to get to the table, and Talryne's hands clenched on N'vanik's arm as her eyes narrowed. "Everything is too much," she said in a voice that wavered on the edge of panic. "Too bright and too loud and too close... I just need something. Just a little bit..."

This had been a mistake. He should have known it was too soon for her.
"We're going back to my weyr." It came out sounding a little more harsh then he'd meant it to. N'vanik turned and put his other arm around her waist, steering her away from the tables and toward the door.

"No, I can stay..." Her voice rose high enough that several people around them paused to glance at them. "I can stay. Don't be angry, I can stay."

"I'm not angry," he said as he kept moving toward the door. "But we're leaving." She stopped resisting him, turning docile as he led her out into the main hallway. Guilt choked her, though, and by the time they were half way back to his weyr, tears had filled her eyes. "I wanted you to have a good time,"
she whispered finally. "I ruined it."

"We got to have one good dance. That was fun, wasn't it?" he asked. Shards, seeing her cry made him feel so bad. **You pushed her too far again, dimglow.**

Talryne wiped angrily at her cheeks, not wanting him to see her tears. "You can go back if you want. I'm tired, anyway. I can go to sleep."

For just a moment he was tempted, but he knew he would worry about her the whole time. "Nah. Besides, I got something for you."

"You got me something?" That distracted her as they approached his weyr.
"You didn't have to get me anything... you do too much already." Besides, she hadn't left his weyr willingly on her own yet, so she hadn't exactly gotten him anything in return.

"I know I didn't have to." He opened the door and led her inside. "Just wait here and I'll go get it." N'vanik headed for the sleeping room. He felt silly. What had possessed him to get her a gift? Well, maybe it would be a nice distraction for her, so maybe it had been a good idea.

She was seated on the couch when he returned, fiddling nervously with the hem of her dress. She looked up at him and smiled, feeling more steady now that she was back in a place where she felt comfortable.

"I don't really know what you like, so I just got you something . . . well, here." He handed her a soft, wrapped package. Talryne opened the gift slowly, her fingers fumbling a little with the wrapping. Her eyes widened when she finally revealed the gift, a beautiful blue blanket. She unfolded it slowly, not daring to look at N'vanik until she was sure that she wouldn't start crying again. But the thoughtfulness behind the gift was almost more than she could manage. "Thank you," she said finally, her voice quiet. "It's beautiful."

"Glad you like it," he said awkwardly. "You said you liked the ocean, so I thought you might like the blue one." And the green one had been obviously out of the question.

"I do." She pulled the blanket around her shoulders, and glanced up at N'vanik, finally. "Do you want to dance with me?"

A smile spread across his face. "Yeah." N'vanik reached a hand out toward her.

She took his hand, feeling more than a little foolish. But she'd spoiled the evening for him with her panic, and couldn't think of any other way to try to make it up to him. In the past, she might have tried to coax him into bed with her, but somehow that didn't seem right anymore. N'vanik slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close. This time there was no music, the dance was slow, and they were alone. "This isn't such a bad Turn's End afterall," he said as they moved across the floor. He'd held Talryne so many times over the last month, but this felt different.

Last updated on the November 7th 2006

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Ruined Evening