Welcome to Sunstone

Writers: Eimi, Chelle
Date Posted: 4th August 2011

Characters: Syren, Venrys, Ioven, Parale
Description: Parale and Ioven come within sight of her new home.
Location: Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 11, day 20 of Turn 5

"Daddy! Parale! Look! I see them! I see the Sun Stones!" Syren
cried, trying to hold onto the rail while she pointed so as not to loose
her footing and thus her vantage point.

"I saw it first," Venrys reminded her as she reached for Parale's hand.
"Do you see them?"

Parale looked off into the distance. If it was true, she might be able
to get off this blasted boat. The holder was ready to get back to solid
ground. Her other hand came up to shield her eyes as she tried to see.
"Yes...is that it?" She pointed, wondering if what they were calling sun
stones
were those big rocks in the water.

"Those are the Sun Stones," Ioven confirmed as he pulled Syren from the
rail and lifted her up so she could see properly without climbing. They
heard the captain barking orders behind them and the crew set to work.
"Looks like we're putting anchor down here. We'll probably dock in the
morning."

"But why?" Venrys asked with a whine. "It's right there!"

"Yes, but we have to wait our turn." The docks could get crowded with
all the boats coming and going, Ioven knew. "Besides, the tide might
not be right. There are lots of reasons to wait."

"If they set anchor here, couldn't we get a smaller boat to take us in?"
she asked hopefully. As antsy as the girls to get settled in, Parale was
hopeful. She'd seen many ships do that at River Bluff.

"It's just one more night, Parale. Surely we can wait that long."
Though he did blush slightly, realizing that his statement could, and
probably did mean, more than just waiting to go ashore. "It's better
to wait until everyone disembarks. We have a lot of stuff in the ship's
hold and I would rather not leave that behind."

She sighed, looking up at the sky above them, trying not to show her
displeasure to the girls who would probably insist on going once they
realized it. "Fine, but no longer. My legs were made for land, not
water."

Ioven suppressed an inward sigh. While his girls might not pick up on
her impatience, he certainly had. "I'm sure everyone on board feels as
anxious as you, Parale. We must just wait our turn." He set Syren's
feet back on the deck. "Girls, why don't you make sure your stuff is
all packed downstairs? Check under the bunks and make sure there are no
toys left there. We'll probably be getting off this boat first thing in
the morning."

She would have to check them over once they said they were finished.
Little people were bound to leave things behind. And Faranth help them
if it was a stuffie that someone had to have. "It's just...I'm ready to
be home." Parale frowned, trying not to pout.

He leaned against the rail to hide the roll of his eyes. As if they
_all_ weren't ready to be home! Just what was he supposed to do about
it? Mutiny and captain the ship himself!? But, he reminded himself,
she had given up her home to follow them across the continent. She had
a right to be anxious, and it really wasn't worth fighting over. There
was one way, he was pretty sure he could stop her whining, and it wasn't
wholly unpleasant to himself. He turned enough to reach an arm around
her waist and pull her up against the rail with him. "We'll be home
soon. I promise," he whispered into her ear, his arms curling around
her middle.

"You're trying to distract me." Perhaps she was wising up.

"Of course I am," he said, nuzzling her neck. "What else would you have
me do? Steal a boat in broad daylight and row you to shore myself?"

"If we didn't have the girls to think about, yes. Then again that probably
wouldn't look good to our new Lord Holder, whoever he is." She frowned,
taking her traditions seriously. "Who is he again?"

"Morin." Well, obviously she wasn't in the mood to be distracted. It
was too bad, he was starting to get excited about the thought that the
next day they could be together again. Maybe she wasn't looking forward
to it as much as he had hoped. He dropped his arms from her waist and
leaned back against the rail once more. "He's not a Lord Holder, yet.
But it's only a matter of time until the Conclave meets and approves
him, I'm sure."

"Ahh..not of Blood or a family then. A reacher." The South had been started
with those, though a majority of them had perhaps been second sons out
to stake their land. "What do you think of him?" she asked curiously.

"It's rumored that he's of the Blood. No one really knows for sure. It
will come out at the Conclave, I guess," he said with a shrug, not
really caring one way or the other. "He's fair. He's forward thinking.
He's ambitious. He's everything you can ask for in a Lord Holder."

"Mmm indeed. Married?" If he already had an heir, it would help in his
confirmation.

"No, not yet."

"Hhmm.." That meant no Lady to protect the women. Once Briata had left
Garnet Valley, it had been the same, which had contributed to Parale's
need to marry. She reminded herself that she didn't have to worry now,
since Ioven would take care of her and she would watch over the girls.

He wasn't sure if that sound was thoughtful or displeased. "Well,
there's nothing more to be done except make sure that we're all packed
and ready. I'll go check on the girls."

"No, I'll do that. I'll get them packed up and then work on our things.
You need to make sure that we've taken care of everything with the
Captain. I hate surprises at the last minute." She turned and let her
hand slide over his chest. Tomorrow, she would be in her new home.

Ioven felt a flash of annoyance at being told what to do as if he were
one of the girls. He was an adult, for Faranth's sake! He didn't need
to be told what needed to be done! He was old enough to figure it out
for himself!

But the fingers tracing across his shirt melted away his frustration in
an instant, and instead of storming off in a huff, he turned his
body so he could follow her with his eyes, much more interested in the
way her hips swayed than in being angry. It was a far more pleasant
way to occupy his mind, after all.

"Maybe I can get the girls done by evening meal," she mused, already
thinking about what could happen _after_ the meal.

"They should go to bed early. There's going to be a lot of excitement
tomorrow," he muttered, his eyes wandering up to the hint of cleavage
peeking out from her dress.

She heard and recognized the tone in his voice and understood their
thoughts were going down the same roads. "Oh yes."

There were all sorts of dark corners on a boat, they had discovered.
Not dark enough or solitary enough that they could get more than a bit
of kissing and heavy petting before the sound of footsteps broke them
apart. A morsel was better than nothing to a starving man, but Ioven
was getting pretty hungry, and his eyes betrayed that thought as they
met hers. Leaning in closer, his hand wrapped around her hip as he gave
her neck a gentle peck. "I'll go talk to the captain now." He let his
hand slide across her body, dipping teasingly low below the waist as he
walked past her.

She watched him go, then headed in the other direction to see about the
girls and get them organized. Parale was determined to be in her own bed
on solid ground tomorrow and Faranth help anyone who would try to stop
her.

Last updated on the January 9th 2012

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