Laying Traps

Writers: Cali, AL
Date Posted: 15th October 2008

Characters: Sorsha, Ri'len
Description: Sorsha and Railen lay out traps.
Location: Elsewhere on Pern
Date: month 12, day 1 of Turn 4

"Sorry I'm late." Sorsha said with a rueful grin as she walked up to Railen saddling her runner for their afternoon lesson. She'd seen a sweeprider off to the west, and had waited to see if was coming towards the hold. She knew she shouldn't keep looking for I'lan, he wasn't coming, but still... "I made these traps this morning and thought we could lay them out."

"Traps?" Railen pulled the cinch under the belly of the runner and secured it firmly before turning to smile at the girl who had suddenly become one of his best friends.

"Fish traps silly, like the ones I showed you at Green Bend." She held them up for inspection. She'd made them smaller than normal to account for the differences in fish sizes, but other than that they were about the same. "I thought if we rode out by the river today we could drop them and see what we catch."

"Oh!" Railen was used to a different sort of trap, one that caught furry creatures as opposed to scaly ones. "That sounds like a good idea. Maybe we'll catch a decent amount with them."

Sorsha handed them over so he could secure them to the runners, "Don't get your hopes up the first time. We'll have to find a good spot and I might have to tweak the traps a bit. But we'll work it out, I've got a whole turn here." she added with a grin.

"Yes." A whole turn. Though if their parents had their way it would be more. Railen took the traps from Sorsha and returned her smile. Strange how she had been there such a short time, but he had become so accustomed to her so quickly. He'd been shy at first. He'd always been shy around strange females, but she wasn't strange anymore. No, she had become a friend within a couple of sevendays.

A turn. Yes, only a turn if their parents decided that they would not wed their children. A rather sudden pang tightened in his chest, causing Railen to pause and his lips to turn down into a frown.

"You okay?" Sorsha asked when she saw the frown. "We don't have to put them out today if you don't want to."

"Oh, no, it's fine." Railen immediately let his smile return. "I just let my mind wander, that's all." He finished securing the traps, then patted the runner. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." She hefted herself up on the runner and waited for Railen to do the same. "Maybe south? The river's deeper that way."

"Sure." Railen patted her boot then moved over to his own runner, mounting easily. "Perhaps that means we'll have better luck, if we stay in the deeper water."

"Perhaps." Sorsha agreed.

~ ~ ~

"I like the look of that one," Sorsha explained as she pointed to the branches of a large tree that curved over and dipped into the water, "It's shady so maybe they like to hide there."

"I guess fish do like cooler water, eh?" Railen urged his runner forward a bit more after giving Sorsha a side long glance. He stopped just before the tree and dismounted, tying the runner to a branch before moving forward to help his companion down. "And it's nicer for us too."

Sorsha took his hand as she dismounted and began undoing the traps. "I was hoping for a rocky outcropping or some such to secure the traps but I haven't seen anything, so I was thinking we could attach them to those limbs. I'm sure it won't hold our weight, would you mind wading in to attach them?"

"It's a warm day and a little water never did me any harm." Railen grinned as he took one of the traps. "Just tie them with this rope? Is there anything else I need to do?"

As she looked over the branches and then at Railen she realized it would be too confusing for him if she tried to describe placement and knots and whatnot. "Here, I'll just come with you, it'll be easier if I show you and then you can do it on your own next time." she explained as she sat down on the grass and removed her boots.

Railen took off his own boots though he didn't sit down to do it. When he was done, he offered her his hand to help her up. "So are you going to teach me something this time?"

"It's only fair." she replied before loosening the laces of her overdress. It was big on her so she didn't have to undo anything completely before pulling it over her head. "Or are you afraid to learn from a girl?"

"I think women can teach men a thing or two." Railen stated, then, suddenly, seemed to realize what she was doing. His cheeks turned flaming red and he turned away. "Ah...I didn't realize..."

Sorsha was already wading in into the water with her traps when she realized she was alone. She turned around and saw Railen still on the bank with his back to her. "Railen, what's wrong?"

"Ah...I wasn't expecting you to uh..." Railen took a glance back toward Sorsha. Truly she hadn't revealed _that_ much. Yes, the under dress was lower cut but... "Um, never mind." He did his best to avoid looking at her in too forward a manner as he made his way into the water.

She made sure her bloomers were hiked up high enough so as to not get wet, and pressed the trap down into the water. The current wasn't very strong, but stiff enough to make her focus on her balance as she started to tie the rope to the branch. "See how I'm doing this one, double loop, through, around, double, and there. You try." she instructed Railen with a smile.

"All right." Railen had watched her hands intently, trying not to look elsewhere. Despite the bloomers, the chemise helped to accent her figure and the swell of her bust was more pronounced than before. As he stood up to take a second trap, he couldn't stop his gaze from grazing across her body. He turned away quickly and took up the trap to tie it a bit away from the first. "Like this?" He asked, his eyes upon his own hands.

Why was this bothering him? Had it been other women, or even his sisters he wouldn't have been so bothered by it. So why was _this_ bothering him?

"Looks good." Sorsha said with a grin as she looked up at him. "You're a born seaman. When my turn's up here, maybe you could foster a turn at Green Bend."

"Me?" Railen looked up in surprise and then quickly looked away as if he were afraid the knot might have come undone. "I don't know. I tend to have a lot of work to do around here." He was the eldest, after all.

"I guess you do, don't you." She said a bit sadly. He was set to inherit after all, and she wondered if he felt trapped here at Willet Grove. When she returned to Green Bend she probably wouldn't see him for turns if ever again. With that thought, she reached over and impulsively started hugging him. "I'll miss you when I go back home."

Railen stiffened in surprise. There they were, standing knee deep in the water and she had thrown her arms around her. Slowly, he returned the gesture, his own arms gliding around her and holding her close. She felt good, her body soft, pliable. She _smelled_ good. Railen frowned, his heart doing another strange twist. She didn't really have anything to worry about, nor did he. They were going to be married. Weren't they?

What if his parents decided no? What if they said she wasn't a good match? That strange twist again. Railen leaned forward to rest his chin gently upon the top of her head. "Hey...it's too early to worry about stuff like that."

Sorsha pulled back from the hug and smiled sheepishly, "You're right, but promise me that we'll always be friends, even if it's only through letters."

"Always." Railen stated without hesitation as his lips slid easily into a smile. "I would hate to not be friends."

Last updated on the October 17th 2008

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Laying Traps