A Private Retreat (1/2)

Writers: Devin, Dana
Date Posted: 9th February 2006

Characters: N'vanik, Traelyn
Description: N'vanik comes to whisk Trae away
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 27 of Turn 3

N'vanik

Even though Traelyn was in her office, she could hear the soft thunder rolling in the clouds high above the Weyr. There was no doubt that this day's showers would turn into thunderstorms tomorrow. The perfect weather to fit her sharding mood. Scowling, she looked back down at the hide in front of her, studying it for a moment before tallying up the marks.

Shards. All she wanted to do was to curl up in her warm, comfortable bed, be lulled by the sound of the light rain, and sleep the rest of the afternoon away. But she couldn't afford to waste valuable time. She had _no right_ to waste time like that.

But that didn't stop her from wanting to escape this sharding office that _still_ seemed to reflect his presence.

Not for the first time that day, her eyes drifted back over towards the couch, and her jaw tightened. Scortching brownrider. Her eyes closed briefly of their own volition. Bastard.

**Well, it sure isn't sunny today,** N'vanik thought as he dismounted.

}:Nyith says hers is in her office,:{ Loseth supplied. }:And she is upset,:{ the bronze added.

N'vanik hurried to the door and knocked. "Trae?" What was she upset about?

Hearing the knock, she shook herself and looked towards the door. "Come in," she called, sitting up straighter, wondering if it was J'darin.

The bronzerider opened the door and stepped in. "Hey."

She rose to her feet, her surprise in seeing him very apparent in her eyes. "Hey." The tension that had been building inside of her eased a little as she looked up at him. "Technically, shouldn't you be asleep right now?"

"How often do I do what I'm supposed to?" He tossed his head to flick wet hair out of his eyes.

Her dark eyes flickered as she watched him. "Good question."

N'vanik hesitated a moment. "Nyith said you were upset."

"She told you that, did she?" Her voice was tight as she sank back down into her chair, resting her forearms on the desk.

He moved closer to her. "Something was bothering you last time I was here.
Either I have really good timing, or you've been upset a lot lately."

"I have a lot on my mind..." she muttered, looking down at the hides piled on her desk.

Shards, she was acting like _him_. "Would you like to get out of here for a while?"

When she looked up at him, a faint smile could be seen slightly curving at her lips. "There's nothing I want more than to get out of this office, N'vanik." Then her expression darkened a little. "But I have so much sharding hidework to do..."

"Scorch the hidework. You need a break." N'vanik leaned against the side of her desk. "Come on."

Traelyn glanced up into his eyes before looking back down at the hides, her sense of duty warring with her desire to follow him. Tomorrow was a restday... She'd just have to work twice as hard if she left with him now. And Nyith...

}:I will be fine. Hasaarth will stay with me. You can go with Loseth's rider. My eggs are not yet ready, Trae,:{ the queen told her before she could inquire.

She rose to her feet slowly, and a hint of her usual grin was back. "But where will we go? It's kind of raining...." she murmured, lightly touching the wet ends of his hair.

"As long as your queen is okay with it, I can take you somewhere." He was surprised that he was making such an offer. The place he had in mind was one of his private retreats.

"She's okay with it." Trae shoved her guilty thoughts aside. She would make up for lost time tomorrow. Not that it was really _lost_ time...

"Come on then." He led Trae out and helped her onto Loseth's neck. "Let's hope it's not raining there too," he said as he settled himself in front of her. N'vanik gave Loseth the familiar picture and the bronze launched himself into the dreary sky. Moments later they popped out of /between/ into bright, warm sunlight. Below them was a thick expanse of trees, cut by a winding stream. Loseth set down in a small clearing beside the stream.

Taking off her helmet, she swiped tendrils of damp hair back from her eyes and looked about curiously, taking in the sunlit greenery all around them.
"Where are we?"

"Around Coral Bay territory," he said, giving Loseth a pat as the dragon went off to lay in the warm grass.

"I'm glad it isn't raining here." She shucked off her gloves and laid them off to the side with her helmet.

N'vanik sat down, stretching out his legs. "Yep. Nice and sunny." Having someone else with him here felt odd.

Traelyn knelt by his knees, facing him. "You come here often?"

"When I need to get away. Thought it might be a good place to take you."

That brought a small, genuine smile to her lips. Shards, but it felt good to be with him. It was familiar. And she didn't have to sharding pretend when she was around him. "You do realize that this is your third trip to see me, and we haven't once yelled at each other?"

"Scary, isn't it?" he smiled. Beneath the smile, he _was_ afraid. He was following her around like a canine, and now he had taken her here. Why?

"Oh, I don't know. I think it's kind of nice for a change."

N'vanik studied her for a moment. "What's going on at Dolphin Cove, Trae?
I'm . . . worried about you."

She gazed at him, unable to tear her eyes from his for a long moment. Then, as the breeze picked up, she looked away, torn between conflicting feelings. "You don't need to be worried," she finally told him quietly. And he shouldn't be worried for her. This sharding mess was between her and the sharding brownrider. But Traelyn found that even as she said the words, she couldn't quite look at him.

"Of course I don't," he said, irritated. "Why should I bother?"

Within, she flinched, and her dark eyes flashed when they finally rose to meet his. "There're a lot of things. Sometimes one thing is more predominate over the others."

N'vanik cracked a smile. "Are you collecting problems so you can catch up with me?"

"Believe me, it's unintentional," she grinned slightly, but there was a hint of seriousness in her eyes as she looked at him.

"I suppose I can't expect you to talk to me when I don't talk to you."

Her grin faded to a small half-smile. "You've talked to me before, N'vanik."

"Well, yeah," he said uncomfortably. "I've told you a few things."
Sometimes he thought he'd told her too much. Other times he thought he'd told her too little.

Traelyn moved closer. "Yeah...you have."

He shrugged a shoulder. "If you don't want to talk, that's fine. I brought you here to relax."

She met his eyes and gave him a soft smile, brushing her fingers in silent thanks over his arm before reclining into the tall grasses next to him, gazing at first up into the blue sky before her eyes flickered to him.

N'vanik bent to kiss her. This was easier than talking anyway.

Last updated on the February 9th 2006

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A Private Retreat (1/2)