A New Voyage (Part 2 of 3)

Writers: Suzee, Anaria
Date Posted: 4th August 2011

Characters: Jylanya, K'hetah
Description: K'hetah takes Jylanya for a little excursion that ends up being more than either expected.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 1 of Turn 6

Jylanya

K'hetah waited just a hair before he gave Loeth the command to jump.
The great bronze leapt into the air, careful not to jump so hard that
he knocked his passengers around. He slowly increased his altitude
until he was a few dragonlengths off of the ground. Meanwhile, K'hetah
put his hand over the arm that Jylanya put around his waist. "How are
you holding up back there?" He asked. he didn't want her to do
anything that she wasn't comfortable with, and he wasn't going to
direct Loeth/between/ until she was absolutely ready.

"I'm ok," she shouted into the wind then hid her face behind his
shoulder. Her arms tightened around him. Her eyes were mesmerized by
the slow strong strokes of the giant wings. **I'm ok, I'm ok, I'm ok**
she kept repeating in her head. Somehow his arm around hers helped.

K'hetah reached behind him with his other arm, and gave her a gentle
squeeze on the upper arm. "We'll go in three. 1...2...3..." In his
mind, K'hetah imagined their destination - a small, secluded cove
about a candlemark's flight from the Weyr. He imagined the redfruit
trees that hung lazily over the area, and the clean white beach. And
then, they disappeared/between/.

She welcomed the squeeze and leaned tightly against his back drawing
strength from his simple confidence and reassurance. Black nothing
engulfed them and cold that seemed to sink into her bones. She
couldn't feel anything but somehow she knew they were still there.
Then the broke into sunlight again and she looked down to shade her
sun dazzled eyes. The little cove below them was beautiful and she
said so. "Beautiful," she breathed.

"See, there are definite advantages to dragonriding, K'hetah said. He
directed Loeth to circle around once more before landing in the sand.
"I found this place when I was sweepriding not too long ago. I come
here when I need to get away from it all."

When they landed she stroked the patch of bronze hide she could reach.
"Thank you" she said to them both. She was all smiles as they
descended onto the beach. She pulled off the helmet
and shook her hair free. She turned to try and stow it where she'd
seen him pull it from but she couldn't quite reach it.

K'hetah took the helmet, and affixed placed it in one of the pouches
on Loeth's side, before assisting Jylanya from the riding straps. he
slid off Loeth's back, reaching up with one hand to assist her down.
"So how was it? Was it better than the first time you'd went/between/
I hope?"

"Yes," she smiled up at him when she landed at his feet. "I don't know
how you can do it all the time but I can survive it." **as long as I'm
holding on to you real tight.**

She shrugged out of the jacket. "This really is a beautiful spot."

"Yes, yes it is. It's one of the nicest places that I could think of
that wasn't terribly far away. And there are rarely other visitors to
this particular cove, so it would provide us with a bit of privacy."
K'hetah took the jacket from Jylanya, then began setting up a picnic
lunch.

She followed him to where he'd started setting up and pulled the
blanket straight. Then clearing her skirts she knelt on the blanket to
help with the arrangement. Her hand touched his and it was like a
small electric shock to her system. She looked around the cove
realizing they were utterly alone and her predicament would be dire
indeed if he were any whit less than the man she knew him to be. She
swallowed her fears, she was going to keep on being brave today. She
liked the feeling.

She sat next to him and looked out at the waves. It really was an
amazing spot. He had made some wonderful arrangements. "Thank you for
showing this to me," she smiled.

"It's my pleasure," K'hetah said, settling out the foods and drinks
that he had brought along with him. "I'm just happy that you seem to
be enjoying yourself today." He assembled a plate for himself, took a
bite, and chewed it thoughtfully. "So what was it like for you before
you came to Dolphin Cove?"

She wasn't quite sure how deeply she could talk about what all life
had been like for her. She knew his question was simple interest in
her not prying. The last thing she wanted to do was lie to him. "I was
a caretaker," she said without looking at him. "First I took care of
my elderly parents and then an elderly husband. I worked hard and in
the end it was all taken by the rightful heir. So, I came to the Weyr
and now the Hall." It was quite simplified but it had the virtue of
also being the truth.

"I'm sorry to hear that," K'hetah said, scooting closer to Jylanya on
the blanket. "So I assume that you did not love your husband? If
that's not too personal a question to ask of you." He didn't want to
pursue her if she was genuinely mourning.

She threaded her fingers together trying to find the best way to
phrase it. "He was kind." She didn't like to speak ill of people but
then again... "When he wanted something from me. But then he was quite
a bit older." She shrugged and looked up "His sons had children older
than me. Not really a young woman's dream of a husband, someone old
enough to be her granddad." She lifted her chin before continuing.
"But I did my duty, and I cared for him... in a way."

K'hetah shook his head. "It's sad to hear stories like yours where
women are married because of duty instead of because they care for
someone." He put an arm over Jylanya's shoulders, trying to comfort
the woman, who seemed to be a bit anxious. "But you're in a better
place now, you can make up for all the time you spent with a man
closer to your own age, who will care for your needs as well as you
care for his."

His arm surprised her a little but after a second she leaned into it.
Somehow it really seemed to do a lot to settle down. "Don't be sad,"
she said. "It's what I was raised for. I did my job for my parents and
for the husband they found me." She smiled up at him. "After he
passed, I left. Now I get to live for me."

Last updated on the September 2nd 2011

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A New Voyage (Part 2 of 3)