Wake up call {R'niaan}

[Cait]

While she was a fairly early riser, Korvalia hadn’t slept well and as a result was dozing lightly in her furs as the sun crested the horizon, vaguely aware that Korinath was following the details of some flight as she spoke a word here or there, preventing the woman from fully drifting back to sleep. She was just sinking back into a light sleep after her dragon’s last exclamation when a pounding on the door jerked her fully out of sleep. Groaning, Kor dragged a hand over her face and yawned. Beside her head, Croony chirped and quickly overtook the warm divet left in the pillow by her human’s head when the moonlight rider sat up.

[smear:#000000]Bamath lost. Poor fellow; should I go console him?[/smear:#ffebad:0]

Leave him be, Korinath. I’m sure he’ll find another lady to chase.

[smear:#000000]Maybe. You should answer the door. I think Bamath’s rider found another lady to chase.[/smear:#ffebad:0]

What?

Whatever the moonlight was babbling about, it didn’t make much sense. Something to do with a flight that Bamath had lost. It wasn’t Korinath’s flight so she didn’t particularly care at the moment. At least her directive to answer the door answered the question of the loud noise that had startled her out of her light sleep. The bit about R’niaan wouldn’t make sense until she scurried from the plush carpets to the cold stone floor in front of the door on her bare toes and pulled open the door to be greeted by a rather affected looking crimson rider.

“R’niaan!” The stark cold beneath her feet was forgotten, as was the fact that she was dressed in a knee-length nightgown that wasn’t particularly flattering. Her hair was a mess and there were creases in her cheek formed by the wrinkles in the pillow case. It was doubtful that the man had ever seen her anything less than put together. “Are you al--wait, why are you here?”

Korinath had said something about Bamath not winning a flight...which meant that R’niaan hadn’t won either. He looked like he was either ill or in the grips of flight lust and her tired mind was struggling to determine which. She wasn’t hard enough to close a door in the face of a sick man, but she wasn’t entirely sure she could close the door in his face if it was the other. Their reunion the day before had dredged up feelings that she hadn’t quite realized still lingered.

[shapeshifter]

R'niaan gripped the doorway as Kor opened the door. He smiled up at her, wiping the sweat from his brow and standing up tall to look her up and down, "It's early, I'm sure for this..." he said and would make a step into Kor's apartment to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her close to him. "Confessions sometime's are best left unspoken, especially when I told you I missed you already."

As his hard work was denied, he fell from the sky, gliding lazily down. His wings were aching and his body spent. His ledge sounded very pleasant to reside on. He landed after his spiraling glide. He gripped the stone under his claws in fading frustration and laid himself out to sun in the rising sun.

[Cait]

Staring at the man, still not quite sure how she should be reacting, Korvalia frowned slightly. "Too early for wha--?" Her question stopped abruptly as R'niaan stepped through the door and she found herself pulled up against his chest. In truth he looked just about as disheveled as she was and the pieces were beginning to fall into place. Flight, Bamath losing, R'niaan appearing at her door looking more than a little strained. It wasn't exactly how she'd expected to start her day.

Not entirely sure what to say, Kor's lips remained parted as she stared wide-eyed at the man that held her so close. None of this was making any sense! Why would he seek her out to spend himself after a flight? She wasn't exactly the first choice around the Weyr. Not that a man or two hadn't tried...even a woman had made a valiant effort, but she'd not cared to dally. She wasn't sure she cared to now, but she couldn't seem to make herself move to rebuff him either.

"Confessions? R'niaan, you're not making any sense." Her brow furrowed as she held herself stiffly in his arms. She should be pushing him away; she didn't let anyone just grab her like that. She should rebuke him and scold him and chase him out of her weyr but...his talk of weyrmates and companionship and all that other nonsense the day before had had her mind in overdrive since he'd gone about his business. It had been partly what had kept her up most of the night tossing and turning and arguing with Korinath about stupid things.

[shapeshifter]

R'niaan grumbled something under his breath to himself before saying outloud, "You're bright, Kor, and as beautiful as you are bright.... but right now you're being very dense." he said as he held her tight with one arm, gazing into her eyes with his half grin plastered on his face.

He had feelings brewing for Kor the first time he saw her, though he never chased for her lack of shown interest. He wouldn't chase a woman who didn't want to be chased in some respect, but this time he wasn't going to let his opportunity run him by.

"Korvalia, now's your time. I won't do anything you don't want me to..." he said, trailing off. His body pressed firmly against hers as his strong arms could have nearly lifted her off her feet in ease. He was nearly breathless with Bamath's forced flightlust.

[Cait]

Color blushed across the young woman's cheeks as he called her beautiful for the second time in as many days. Typically he had not been nearly as persistent with his flattery in the past. She'd always written it off as just a character defect of his before, but this felt different. Maybe it was because she was still a little groggy or the fact that her body was pressed so snugly against his, but even with that stupid little grin of his, his words seemed far more genuine that she remembered. As the seconds passed, her heart gradually because to beat faster and faster.

In the past she'd never really responded to his flirtations because she hadn't thought he'd been genuinely interested. He had something of a reputation, at least in her eyes, as a lady's man, and she had no interest in being one of a long line of conquests. Despite her determination, his other charms had caught her interest though she'd not really known how to act on them or if she should. It wasn't until his first disappearance that she'd even considered opening up to his ridiculous flirting...only to have him come back with a pregnant woman in tow. Even thinking of it now made her lips purse in annoyance.

She'd spent all her energy after that making sure she never let on her interest. Then he'd gone away again on one of his impromptu missions and she'd decided that perhaps it was for the best. She'd never been the open and playful type and making true friends was a monumental undertaking for the woman. She always overthought everything she did, especially where feelings were involved. But in that moment, as she was given a choice, she found that it was nearly impossible to think with his body pressed so close and practically vibrating with the needy energy he contained.

She opened her mouth to tell him to leave, that she didn't want anything he had to offer...but nothing came out. Despite all her reservations, a tiny part of her wanted to pretend it wasn't the flightlust talking. That someone like R'niaan found her desirable in spite of her prickly exterior. She wasn't the spontaneous sort, she didn't act on impulse. But for once in her life she wished that she was. Unable to find the words to express herself properly, Kor bit down on the right side of her lower lip. "I'm not...the flight moth sort, R'niaan." She finally articulated, her words lacking the usual hardness of tone that was signature Korvalia.

[shapeshifter]

R'niaan groaned at her words, "Flight moth, really?" he asked, "You're going to do this right now?" he asked and threw his head back and laughed, "Kor, please, flightlust brings out the truths in anyone. I wouldn't have found your weyr if I wanted a one-morning-stand." he said, looking at her with irritation.

R'niaan felt breathless. His chest heaved at the sight of her, his stomach turning. Whether that was from Bamath's aching loss or his own sheer will to bed Korvalia, who knew. However, he did not want his chance to have her slip. He'd do what it'd take to make her his mate.

"Korvalia, you're everything in a woman that I want and need. It helps that Bamath has an affection towards your Moonlight. If you reject me now, then I will encourage Bamath to chase Korinath to the ends of the skies if that's what it takes so you're mine..." he grinned at her and would make a move to connect his lips to hers, the opportune moment for her to accept or decline his advances.

[Cait]

Annoyance flared as the man chastised her and Korvalia would've planted her hands on her hips had they not been trapped between his body and her own. Though just as quickly as her ire had flared, it transformed into wary confusion. He was speaking in riddles as far as she was concerned. His logic made no sense to her. Didn't those influenced by flightlust typically seek out whomever they thought would oblige them? That he seemed to be implying otherwise was both confusing and a bit alarming because she wasn't quite sure what to make of it. As she tried to reason it out in her own mind, she tried to ignore the heat that transferred between them and the way her heart was practically galloping in her chest.

When R'niaan spoke again, all Kor could do was stare dumbfounded at his proclamation. The tender part of her that craved acceptance and attention rejoiced while the skeptical, aloof majority tried to rein in any excitement the words elicited. Why now? After all this time and turns spent apart, why did the man suddenly find himself enamored with her? She was difficult at the best of times; downright ornery at the worst. With his declaration, however, something became very clear to her. What she had thought was a silly infatuation when they'd first met and been partnered in their duties, hadn't died as she'd thought and sometimes even hoped. Her admiration and affection for the infuriating crimson rider had simply been buried and ignored and now given a glimpse of hope, was clamoring to roar to the forefront of her mind despite her apprehension.

Korvalia Castor was not a risk taker. She was a creature of logic and planning and rules. Rules governed everything she did in life and more importantly what she didn't do. Somewhere on that list was a rule about getting involved with a superior; part of the reason she'd kept her feelings so tightly under wraps as to almost smother them. As a force of habit, she immediately began trying to talk herself out of what she really wanted to do in that moment. What if he was just trying to get her to let him into her furs? What if he thought she was what he wanted and she wasn't? It hadn't worked with the aurora rider and they'd had a child together. Their dragons being fond of one another wasn't exactly a strong foundation for anything. Neither was turns of suppressed feelings or absence.

Before she could swing one way or the other, however, R'niaan made his move. As his lips pressed against hers, a shiver went through her. All the logic in the world couldn't reason away the flutter in her stomach. In the span of three heartbeats the warn inside her head shifted. She was still far from being anywhere close to daring, but that affection-seeking part of her was beginning to drown out logic and reason. A heartbeat later, Korvalia shifted ever so slightly, relaxing somewhat in the dragonrider's embrace even as she pulled away just slightly from the kiss, just enough to finally speak, her mind finally made up though it had little to do with her logic. "I'll let you in, but don't say things you don't mean, R'niaan."

[shapeshifter]

R'niaan grinned stupidly, "Korvalia, I don't say things I don't mean..." he said, moving to sweep her off her feet and carry her back to her bed. He ran his lips along her jaw line and whispered in her ear, "Kor, I have kept this bottled up too long and I'm not letting you go anywhere." he said, moving to kiss down her neck.

R'niaan loved the act of making love as any man would. R'niaan craved the attention of a female companion. What R'niaan desired more than anything, was Korvalia in his weyr for the rest of their days. R'niaan was lead by emotion, by his passions. He was smart but his heart spoke much, much louder than his brain.

"Kor, I know I've not been the best, but I made promises to you that I ran in my head many, many times. I have things I want to do and say to you, things I want to do with you. A full time as a rider pair...."

[Cait]

By her expression the young woman was less than convinced at his assertion that he spoke only the truth. As much as she wanted to hear those words spoken by someone like R'niaan, she was wary of them as well. It didn't help that this almost seemed like something out of a frustration fueled dream, right down to the crimsonrider sweeping her off her feet and carrying her to the bed, whispering confessions that made her toes curl. How could any of this be real? It had to be fueled by his dragon's lust. Maybe Bamath's affections for Korinath had confused R'niaan?

For once Korvalia's emotions were clearly visible in her expression. Confusion, a hint of fear and the tiniest bit of hope that somehow this wasn't just some lust induced fluke. With her arms locked around his neck to keep herself steady, her fingers twisted together anxiously behind his neck. Color bloomed across her cheeks as she realized that she wanted to unlock her fingers and bury them in the rider's hair. It was such an enchanting shade of copper and looked oddly soft for a man. But he kept talking and it made her squirm slightly in his arms. "R'niaan, stop. I don't need declarations. I already said you could have me."

If he didn't stop being so ridiculous she'd manage to talk herself out of it and then she'd be left wondering. Even if it was just some weird side-effect from flight lust, what would it be like to be with someone who seemed to think so highly of her? Someone so determined to keep her for his own. It wasn't that she thought she'd never find someone, she was just realistic enough to realize that she had several traits that made her difficult to get a long with. Not exactly faults, but certainly traits that would take a man a bit of getting used to.

[shapeshifter]

R'niaan beamed at her, pressing his lips hard against hers as he laid her down. He kicked his boots off the side of the bed and pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a slightly toned body, nothing like his 20s and more of one showing a bit of age. His ginger tendrils fell in his face as he hovered over her, planting kisses along her body, moving the shoulder of her nightgown to move down her collar bone.

Flightlust was a tricky thing. R'niaan experienced it enough to have bedded plenty. However, he had never used it to declare himself the passion for a woman as he experienced with Korvalia.

[Cait]

As she was settled onto the bed, Kor felt suddenly nervous. She was no inexperienced girl balking at her first encounter with the opposite sex. All the same, the idea of opening herself in such an intimate manner was enough to make her a little anxious. Most of her encounters were induced by flight outcomes and much, much different from what was happening now. Korinath wasn't influencing her, she couldn't hide behind her dragon this time.

As R'niaan's hair fell and covered his face, Korvalia reached up with a tentative hand to brush it back, fingers sliding into the coppery curls as he showered her with kisses. LEtting out a sigh, she surrendered herself to the crimson rider and to herself.


~~~~~~~~~FADE TO BLACK~~~~~~~~~~~

[shapeshifter]

R'niaan awoke, groggy and slightly disoriented. He was curled up tightly next to the blonde who had hours earlier, he confessed himself to. He felt a wave of contentment wash over him. He reached out to Bamath, feeling for his presence.

I'm here mine. If you want to know the time, it seems to be high sun.

Afternoon, makes sense... he spoke back, moving his hand to wipe the sleep from is eyes as he sat up slowly from the furs. He looked down at her sleeping face, angelic he would call it. You wouldn't think she was just a serious spitfire sleeping like this. he chuckled in his mind, careful not to laugh outloud. He felt a little burst of humor from Bamath as his dragon spoke, I would say the same about you, but your age has made you pudgy, R'niaan. R'niaan rolled his eyes, finally sitting upright in the bed and looking towards the exit to the weyr ledge. He rolled his shoulders some to stretch out the post-workout soreness and felt a pang of hunger. Question was, did he dare wake her for food, or let her sleep until she awoke on her own to fetch some?

[Cait]

Between not sleeping well the night before and surrendering to R’niaan’s attentions, it hadn’t taken Korvalia to fall asleep afterward. It had taken even less time after that for her to snuggle into the man’s warmth as she burrowed under the furs. She may have been born and bred in the icy north, but she didn’t necessarily care for the cold. Croony had settled in with the pair as well, curling up beside the young woman’s head on the the pillow.

As R’niaan sat up, the sunlance-black lifted her head to watch him, crooning softly. Korvalia frowned and grumbled softly in her sleep before shifting closer to the crimson rider’s warmth and settling again. It was rare, if ever, that Korvalia was found sleeping past sunrise and naps were almost entirely out of the question unless she was ill. But in that moment it seemed as though she was more than content to stay cocooned in the warmth of her furs, at least for a little while longer.

Poor R’niaan would be left to make the decision of whether or not to wake her. Though if he was polite enough, he might be able to convince the woman’s little black and yellow companion to bring a message to the kitchens. She seemed attentive enough to what he was doing in the moment, at least. Korinath was a lost cause at the moment, sprawled in a shaft of warm sunlight on her ledge looking more like a cat than a dragon.

[shapeshifter]

R'niaan rolled his shoulders forward and he peered down at the firelizard, tilting his head at her. He thought for a moment before feeling Kori's sleepy form wrap around his body. R'niaan snuggled back into the furs and whispered to the flitt.

"Food and klah would wake her up. Can you get the paper and coal?" he asked the firelizard, hoping it was bright enough. "Meatroll?" he asked, hoping it would understand that getting him the commonly used writing utensils that it would get food in return from him. He looked down at Kor and felt a wave of bliss wash over him at the thought of waking up like this more often.

[Cait]

Croony tilted her head as the man spoke to her, blinking slowly as she uncurled herself and stretched. Looking between her sleeping human and the man that was responsible for her current state of restfulness, the sunlance-black chirped and shuffled her wings before crawling down to the end of the bed and leaping into the air to glide to the nearby desk. As far as weyrs went, Korvalia had chosen one on the smaller, cozier side of the spectrum. Large enough for her dragon but not really large enough to accommodate a second dragon or really even a second person entirely. It suited the moonlight pair just fine, however, and was kept quite tidy. Croony shuffled about on the desk, grabbing up a scrap of paper and something to write with before gliding back and landed beside R'niaan.

As the crimson rider had hunkered down under the covers again, Korvalia plastered herself fully against his side, her arm sliding over his stomach and hair spilling across his chest as she used his shoulder as a pillow. For the moment she was blissfully asleep and felt no desire to rise or do much of anything in that moment. She was only partially aware of R'niaan speaking and Croony scampering around. Yawning, Kor nuzzled R'niaan's chest and reached up shove at her hair, a strand or two was tickling her nose.

Out on the ledge, Korinath stretched and shook herself out. Turning around, she slipped into the weyr and with a bit of maneuvering was able to peek into the sleeping quarters. Rumbling happily, the moonlight gave her rump a little wiggle and extracted herself from her contorted position in order to make her way back out to the ledge. With another little wiggle of her backside, Korinath launched herself into the air and rose up above the bowl before circling around and gliding down to hover over a certain crimson's ledge.

[smear:#000000]Bamath! Korvalia told me to leave you alone but that was this morning. I figure it doesn't count anymore. Guess what![/smear:#ffebad:0]