Nefarious Intentions

Writers: Eimi, Vanessa T Sommerfeld
Date Posted: 7th January 2008

Characters: Supaka, V'lorn
Description: Supaka meets V'lorn
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 7, day 28 of Turn 4

The bluerider watched the woman as she grabbed the dorsal fin of one of the dolphin's swimming around her and rode it through the waves. A slight smile spread across his face. She was lovely in the water. A swimmer's body -
lean, muscular, tanned... She would be a joy to get out of her bathing suit.

**Do me a favor, will you? Move further down the beach and ignore everything I say?**

}:Why, what are you going to do?:{ his lifemate asked curiously.

**I'm just going to try to meet her is all. It's part of a game.**

The blue sighed, loath to give up his sunning spot, but understanding that games were fun for his lifemate, therefore enjoyable for him too.
}:All right.:{ He watched as the blue launched himself into the air, turned on a wing tip and beat his way up the beach. Now for the fun part. The bluerider unhooked his knots and shoved them into a pocket before slipping out of his clothes, all of them, and plunged into the waves. She hadn't seemed to notice him yet being engrossed in play with the dolphins. He took time to paddle well past her, but definitely in earshot. Turning towards her he took a deep breath and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Help! Help!" He began splashing around frantically, careful to take deep breaths before allowing himself to sink under the waves and then quickly pop back up and scream some more. "Please! Someone! Help me!"

Supaka's consciousness shifted instantly and automatically from her playful frolic with the pod to an efficient and disciplined rescue team. Her years of training took over and her mind cleared and focused on the victim. The dolphins didn't need the signal she gave for _rescue_. Two of them nearest the drowning man, Pim and Fess, made straight for him, while Pal offered Supaka his dorsal. Almost as quick as a dragon goes /between/, the team reached the panicked swimmer and began rescue procedures. As the dolphins positioned themselves under the man's arms to lift him toward the surface, Supaka took her place behind them to help the victim hold on if necessary. He continued to thrash his arms and cry for help, fighting against the dolphins. After all, he wasn't going through all this just to meet a bunch of stupid fish.

Something was wrong. He was fighting hard- too hard. She had been taught in her apprenticeship that drowning victims sometimes fought their rescuers in their panic for survival. However, in her long experience since then, those that were conscious usually calmed enough to realize they were being helped once they had a good lungful of air. This one seemed to not want to allow the dolphins to help him. She quickly scanned the area to see if there could be another source for the man's fear. Finding none, she resorted to the trick she had been trained to use in such cases, but thus far had never needed. She grabbed a generous handful of the man's long, thick hair and held tight while Pim pulled them to shallower water. Once Supaka was able to comfortably touch bottom, she released the fin and continued to pull the man by the hair toward shore. When she was hip-deep, she let go and turned breathlessly to face him. "Are you alright?" She began to look for injuries and noticed for the first time that the man was naked.

V'lorn's first reaction was to scream right in the woman's face! Was he all right?! He had just been drug through the water at high speeds by his_hair_ choking on salt water and being slapped in the leg by the sharding dolphin's tail every stroke! She was lucky she hadn't ripped his scalp right off his head and he was sure his leg would have a nice dark bruise by morning. As he reached up to rub at his smarting head he wondered if she might not have left a bald spot! But then he reminded himself that he had played this whole charade for a purpose. Though he was starting to wonder if it was at all worth it. Calming himself he tried to pass his reddened face as shame. "Shards, I don't know what happened out there," he said in a carefully crafted embarrassed tone.
"I thought I could swim out further than that, but then I got tired...And... Well, if you and your... friends... hadn't been there..."

"You're not hurt?" She was still trying to determine the cause of his distress, while still keeping her eyes on his face.

He noticed how hard she was staring at his eyes. Well, if she wasn't allowing her to look, he'd give her a reason to feast her eyes. "I don't know, I might have a bruise. One of those dolphins nosed me hard right here," he said reaching down to touch a spot on his upper thigh.
"It was rather close, if you know what I mean." Supaka took a deep breath and glanced quickly at the _injury_. "Yes, well, you may want to keep it submerged under the cool water to keep it from swelling." She suppressed a smile at the double meaning. "I'd say a bruise is a small price to pay compared to drowning."

"Oh, most definitely," he agreed. "And speaking of prices needing to be paid, I owe you my life."

"Oh, the dolphins and I were just doing our jobs. Actually, they do most of the work." She smiled and reached out to pat them as they swam around the pair, curious about the new human. She realized she knew nothing about him either. "I'm Supaka, Senior Journeywoman Dolphineer. And you are.?"

"My name is V'lorn." He drew out his name so it was not obviously elided.
"I live around here. But really, Supaka, I feel I do owe you _something_.
Dinner perhaps?"

Supaka smiled at the stranger. It had been a very long time since anyone had made a pass at her. The crew of the _True Runner_ was very much aware of her loyalty to Kessel, and word that she was spoken for spread quickly at each port. Still, it was nice to know that someone besides her husband considered her an attractive woman-especially such a handsome man. "Thank you, Valorn, I'm flattered. But I'll have to decline. I am a married woman." "Oh, I see." A complication, but only a minor one. "Well, I could meet him, if you like, and assure him that I have no nefarious intentions..."

"I'm quite sure that you have only the noblest intentions, but I'm afraid that won't be possible. My husband is at sea and not scheduled to return for some time." Besides, the thought of a naked man flirting with his wife just might rattle even the unflappable Captain Kessel. Perfect. "It's been a long time, has it?"

She cleared her throat. "Yes, it has. But I assure you, he is well worth waiting for."

"Oh of course," V'lorn nodded, acting very contrite and shocked that she would think he had assumed otherwise. "I am not suggesting that I want to try to move into his place in _any_ way. I was just trying to be sympathetic, that's all."

"I do appreciate your sympathy. It's a difficult living arrangement, but a necessary one for now." Feeling embarrassed at having possibly misinterpreted the direction he was taking, she added. "And I apologize if I've offended you. I'm a bit out of practice when it comes to dinner invitations from strangers."

"Well, you're probably even less accustomed to accepting invitations from _naked_ strangers," V'lorn smiled, reminding her of the fact that he wasn't wearing a stitch of clothing. "But I assure you, I'm not looking to steal your heart away from your husband. I just want to thank you, as I was raised was proper in circumstances such as these."

"As long as there is no misunderstanding as to where my loyalties lie, I would be delighted to have dinner with you." **And just to make sure there would be no question in anyone's mind...** "My daughter and I usually eat in the Dolphin Hall dining room at about the eighteenth candlemark. You can join us any time."

The brat he could work, but in the Hall besides? Time to play the dragon card... "I have a better idea. Why don't you and your daughter come for a picnic? On the Northern continent?"

"You know a dragonrider?" Her eyes sparkled. She had never ridden a dragon, but she'd always heard that it was a thrilling experience. Her trepidation at having a private picnic with this particular stranger might just have been outweighed by her curiosity about the beautiful beasts that protected Pern. V'lorn shrugged a shoulder humbly. "I am in fact a dragonrider myself."

Before she could stop herself, Supaka had slapped him so hard that her palm stung.

That was certainly not the reaction V'lorn had been expecting, or hoping for. "Shards! What was that for?"

"Let me ask you a question, Dragonman, how would the weyr feel about someone who faked threadscore?" Her blood was pounding in her ears and her heart was about to beat out of her chest. She stepped closer to him and forced between clenched teeth. "I don't know what game you're playing at, but you and I both know your dragon would have been here if you had truly been in trouble. Don't _ever_ think that kind of trick is funny or charming. Now, if you'll excuse me, you've wasted enough of my time." She knew that she would not be able to get away from him fast enough if she had to wade to the beach, so she grabbed the nearest dorsal fin and signaled _Dolphin Hall Harbor_.

"Sharding bitch," he muttered, rubbing his stinging cheek as he watched her cut through the water. "Slap _me_ will you." V'lorn might have played nice before. He might have taken her for a little tumble and then let that be that. But slap _him_?! Never. The wherry would pay.

Last updated on the January 12th 2008

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Nefarious Intentions