Another Morning After

Half Moon Bay Weyr - Samiryth's Weyr
The weyr is of a typical sort. It's been hewn out of the rock of the cliffs like so many others that dot the landscape. The ledge is big enough for a pair of dragons to rest and bask in the sunlight, or socialize with the many others that live nearby. Upon entering the weyr you see a living space that is splashed in colors. On the walls are hung various colorful strips of fabric to hide the drab and dull rock behind. The weyr is mostly encompassed in one room. The living space is closest to the front of the weyr. It consists of a comfortable couch and a large coffee table. The couch has many pillows that are squishy and comfortable. The table is mostly bare except for a few glasses and various swaths of fabric. Off to one side of the living space is the kitchen, with a stove and counterspace with pots and pans, plates and other kitchen type items. There is a small table that could fit two or there people there. Beyond the living room at the far end of the space on a raised daius is the bed. It's a queen sized bed with a soft quilt covering it. The only room separate from the common space is the bathroom. In there is a sink, toilet and a carved tub.


Another day has dawned at Half Moon Weyr, and this one brings… Garouth. The night was a wild flight at the Emerald Isle, a race in the sky from the race-track at the resort, and now? Well. Kith and Marzoth are most likely curled together still, others are waking up around their homes, and Garouth… is here. As Rukbat shines down its light, his shadowed wings carry him to Samiryth's ledge, and his thoughts brush inward like clouds tinged with the scent of rain. He carries D'lei, and they both look… a bit worse for the wear; scrapes from claws on Garouth's hide, scuff-marks and dirt on D'lei's riding leathers. That, and tired. They both definitely look tired, Garouth landing with a touch of claws that's just a bit louder and less graceful than his usual.

Samiryth is there waiting on the ledge. The previous evening had been a torrent of emotions as well. Not to the level of Garouth most likely, but real feelings nonetheless. She had known he was chasing. Not just chasing any old green or even gold, but the one he loves. There were times last evening where she hoped that he won, just so he'd be happy. Even if it might mean that once he caught the green he really wanted, he'd forget about the green he already had. What if Kith was prettier than she was? Or pleased him more? Uncooth thoughts to be sure, but there. There were other times. Selfish times. Times where she hoped he would lose and then come to her and ravish her with affection and care. Though in general the better angels of her nature won out and she did wish for his happiness. Though this time it wasn't to be. She'll look at him with sadness shining in her eyes and from her heart as well, « Oh my poor Garouth. » She'll say as she stands and moves toward him, though not reaching out to touch him. Respect is a thing. Serena had been aware of all that was happening from Sami's comments. She'd hoped that D'lei would catch her and that the two would have a wonderful flight together. Her sleep had been fitful due to Sami's intrusions into her mind, but she did get some. Since it's early she's still dressed in her nightgown with a robe wrapped around her and tied off at her waist. Though it might be difficult to see with what she is wearing she is showing now. Just barely, but someone who knew her would notice. She'll come down from her bedroom area and move toward the front. She'll frown as she sees D'lei, not in anger but in frustration on his behalf. She'll cross the room and move to stand in front of him, reaching her arms around him to hug if he'll allow it, "I'm so sorry D'lei."

Halfway across Pern! Through the air, over land and sky, the chase and twist and turn and…! Garouth flew his best, aware of nothing beyond his own pursuit. Samiryth may have tracked his progress through the storm of his thoughts, but he had no mind for her. Not then, at least. Now? Well… he's here, at least. His mind is a cauldron of shadows, the clouds and fog moving around the forest even as he settles on the stone. Fatigue lowers his head as he stands, wings no longer needed to keep him from falling over, and then he lifts it again to look to Samiryth, his eyes a ruddy amber and moving with a slow whirl as they focus on her. « …poor, indeed. » He turns, his head and then the rest of his body following it, and flops down with his head curled out to look over the bowl instead. « A poor flier. » There's a bitterness there, though it's not directed at Samiryth. At Garouth himself? …perhaps. D'lei… tries to put on a smile, but it's pretty clear he's not exactly at his cheerfullest. "Hey. I hope we're not… you know…" A vague gesture to the surroundings that ends up including her nightgown and robe. "Intruding too much. I just… yeah." He lifts his shoulders, a shrug of lack-of-words, and then.. he lets out his breath in a long whoompf as he reaches to accept and return the hug.

Samiryth understands full well his frustration. She's felt the minds of males who lost flights before and some are particularly hard on themselves, but Garouth has good reason to be. « No. » she'll say firmly to him, accompanied by a shower of rubies, « You are not a poor flier. I love how you fly. It's so strong and handsome. » She was following along every twist and turn. She wouldn't have not been there for him at least in thought, « I know you really wanted this. I'm sorry. » The green will gingerly step toward him and lay her cheek against his shoulder. She wants him to feel that she is there, more than just her mind. She is there for him in person. Real. Serena will press herself tightly against him, hugging the living daylights out of him, "You are the father of our child. You can come anytime you want." The invitation is open. She'll pull her head back from being pressed to his shoulder to look up to him, "Are you ok?" Duh. The answer is no, but the question is obligatory.

Garouth snorts, his head sinking just a little further against the ground in a sprawl like he's going to turn himself into a puddle. « …not good enough. » And that's the rub of it, really; it's not just a matter of having his own flight be good, it's a matter of having to be better than every other male… and what's more, he has to do it in the eyes of whoever he's chasing, not just his own view or the following mind of an observer. He grumbles faintly, silent for a moment as Samiryth sets her head on his shoulder, the contact… not immediately responded to, as he just stares out at the bowl and his thoughts shift through the shadows, a faint drip in the distance like water running down from leaves. D'lei relaxes a little against Serena, his own grip not as tight but still warm enough. Mostly, though? He leans in against her, letting her be the one to support his weight instead of muscles that ache from being tensed in sympathy with Garouth as he flew. "Okay." He's not, but he's at least glad that she's not upset with him for showing up on her doorstep! And there's nobody else here for him to discover by awkward interruption! Which… okay, he might be happy about it in general if that were the case? But for right now, he's glad for the lack. But then, about that question of how he actually is, and his mouth shifts with a quirk one way, then the other, and then… he laughs, the sort that's a bit too breathy and comes into a quaver before he lowers his head and closes his eyes as he takes a deep breath and… steadies. Kind of. "Not really? But… nothing's… broken or anything. " Except maybe his heart, but…. "I'll get used to it." He hopes.

Samiryth is a patient girl. She won't move, she'll just stay there with her shoulder to his cheek. She's listening very closely to his mind, her own mind is quiet as a mouse. This is about him, not about her. « Garouth dear.» she begins, « You are young. Younger than me and you haven't flown many flights yet. You will get better. » She is sure of that, which hurts her own heart, « If you want after you have rested, you may practice trying to catch me. Practicing by yourself is not as good as having a partner. » It won't help with this flight loss, but it will help him in the future. No there is no one here, Serena is a proper lady. Doesn't D'lei know that if you let men spend the night you could get pre….oh wait, that already happened. She'll support him as best as she is able, not letting him go, "I don't think you will D'lei." The man loves his girlfriend and she's with someone else. Though given their odd relationship style that isn't new. She can't use the whole 'flight is flight is flight' speech on him, "I'm sure she loves you D'lei. I'm sure of it."

Garouth does listen, for all he stares out at the bowl… at least, until his eyes unfocus from fatigue and he's just staring at nothing in particular as the shadows take over his sight as well as his mind. « How many moons can there be in the sky? » he says quietly, almost to himself, and then… his mind shifts, a part of the shadows becoming a creature that moves from one tree to another before it stops again and once more seems to disappear against the darkness. « Do you think it pleases her? To be chased by those whom… will not win her. » A huff from among the trees, as his neck lifts in a slight arch with head tucked down. « To be the one and only for two bronzes… must seem to be far better than for only one. » The shadows deepen, and then he leans his head forward again, letting a wind stir a fragment of them up to trace against the sky. « What do my skills matter, if she will fly to the claws of another? » His eyes close most of the way, his breath let out in a long exhale… so at least in that, he's matched to his rider at the moment. "Mmh," D'lei agrees, and sighs. "Can… we sit down?" Not that he's objecting to the hug, or the talking, but…. "I must have fallen five feet, Garouth was in such a hurry…" So yeah, about that couch. Which he's going to get some dirt on, sorry but not sorry enough to actually not sit there, leaning back and closing his eyes. "She… yeah." A curl of his hands, fingers tightening before he pushes them relaxed. "She must. Right?"

Samiryth will move her cheek from his shoulder as she glances upwards into the sky. « Two. » she says out of a sense of practicality, but also there may be a subtle metaphor slipping into that, though that is secondary. To have two bronzes drooling over you would seem to be a good thing to some, though Sami voices reservations, « It would be hard for me. I would rather have one. » Just one. *ahem* Garouth *ahem* She'll do her best to add glitter to the creature, because what creature doesn't want to be bedazzled? « I don't think she will always Garouth. Perhaps she is comfortable with him. » She won't mention the name. He who must not be named. Serena will motion quickly to the couch. It can be cleaned later. People are more important! She'll sit beside him, her hands in her lap, "Yes." she says certainly. She reasons this because if she was upset about the pregnancy it must mean she loves him right?

Garouth's clouds shift, coming lower in over the trees even as Samiryth provides the factual answer. He provides a vague assent, a yes-but that acknowledges the truth of it but leaves his real question still present, lurking in his mind. « For you, then. » But he's not thinking of Samiryth, for all… his thoughts do drift that way, the creature in the shadows regarding her as the glitter… shimmers into dew-drops and mist, then soaks into fur and becomes shadows once more. Not so bedazzled. « He does not seem a comfortable creature… » Garouth muses, then rumbles with something akin to a laugh, a coyote's yips of ha. « …to me. Perhaps she finds him so. » A snort, and Garouth closes his eyes. « She told me she desired me, before. I wonder if she does so only when she does not fly. » Even if Samiryth does seem quite confident that it won't always be this way! Garouth has two data points, and they both say Not Him. D'lei… sighs again, rolling his head back against the couch. "Yeah, I guess… we just need to talk again." A half smile, not the happy sort. "Once she's… done, anyhow."

Garouth is delightfully out of touch with the fact that there is a green right here next to him that would love to be the object of his desire, and if he were to pay close attention he would notice her own very subtle desire for him even in this moment. Though he's probably so tired and sad he wouldn't even give it an extra thought. But Samiryth does give thought to these in the quiet of her heart. « Every female is different Garouth. Every female looks for something different. I don't know what she wants. » She can't figure out why anyone wouldn't want Garouth above all but Kith is a mysterious creature. Moreso since she hasn't met her. « I desire you Garouth…» she says though she realizes her error and quickly, « to be happy. » Nice save Sami. « I wish I could do more to help you. » Serena will reach a hand out to lay on his arm in support, "At least you know she's safe. Some scumball didn't get her. " Which probably belies a little of Serena's own terror at the thought.

All the attention that Samiryth would love it if Garouth paid to her! So many kinds he could give her, starting with just… the attention to notice all the others. Garouth exhales, from his muzzle and with a swirl of wind that brushes back against Samiryth's mind. « I know. » He lifts his head up a little. « You are not her, and she is not you. You are each your own selves. » Another swirl of that wind, a stir of air with a sprinkle of sparkling rain-drops in return for her desire for his … happiness, that's it. His happiness. « You have more desires than that. » He's gentle enough in his words, the winds a soft breeze. « But you are kind. » Garouth lowers his muzzle again, and closes his eyes… though he's not yet sleeping, just… resting. D'lei frowns, a tug at the corner of his mouth. "Yeah. It could have been worse." He reaches over, resting his hand over hers on his arm. "At least it's just… more or less what she would have been doing anyway."

Samiryth will accept those raindrops for what they are. She takes them as a sign of hope. Hope that Garouth will be ok, and hope that he might just know how she feels, even if he might not feel the same way. If dragons could blush she would. Though with Garouth she feels safe enough to not deny it. And by not denying it she confirms it. She'll lower herself to her belly in front of him just watching him rest. It's not stalking if they come to visit you! Serena's hand is officially captured. She doesn't mind in the slightest. Her face will become more serious as she says, "Sounds like you aren't as good with your ummm…" she pauses trying to find a word to use that will be kind, "…arrangement with her as you might have been before."

What isn't said can sometimes say just as much as what is. Garouth doesn't say anything to that lack of denial that is its own confirmation, his shadows shifting a bit as Samiryth does, acknowledging her change of position even if he doesn't open his eyes again. He is tired. It was a hard flight, after all, made all the harder by the loss… and now that nothing is forcing him to keep awake he'll likely sleep, soon enough. D'lei… frowns. His touch to Serena's hand is gentle, just resting there. "Shards, I don't even know. It's like… if we are sleeping around on each other, how does she get to be upset about you?" Not that they are, except the once! Well, technically, twice, but still. "When she… she told me that if she ever had a kid it might be mine, or Syd's, or someone else entirely. So why does she get to be upset with me?"

Samiryth will continue to just stare at Garouth. She'll wrap his mind in the soft velvet once more. He can rest here as long as he needs and he will be safe and loved. She'll let her mind mingle with his, but say nothing to him. Just being here is enough for her right now and it seems since he is readying for sleep for him as well. A very slight blush will come into Serena's cheeks. It could be the topic it could be the touch, or just pregnancy hormones for all she knows, but she feels it. "I don't see how she can. If you want to have a kid with someone else you should be able too." Whats good for the goose is for the gander "At least according to her rules anyway." she's quick to add. She doesn't feel that it's /ok/ to be doing this. Before she can stop herself though she asks, "Are you sleeping with someone else?" As soon as the words leave her mouth the redness deepens by leaps and bounds. She wants to say he doesn't have to answer but her mouth and voice no longer work from embarassment.

The velvet of darkness! Or… well, velvet. Garouth lets that soft fabric drape around his mind, a restful place for him to… well, rest. Like a tent, except this is far more stylish than those drapes of canvas over poles. Maybe more like a big poster bed, the curtains drawn up close to him… and he sleeps, here with Samiryth. D'lei nods, with a tug of his mouth to the side as Serena expresses her own opinion of those rules. It matches his, but… well. Serena may agree with his interpretation, but ultimately the discussion he needs to have about is with Quinn - and he knows it. "Yeah. But she was upset." True facts! Even if they don't mingle with the rules as stated. His lips quirk at the question that follows, and D'lei turns his head to look at Serena - so red - before he answers. "No." It's just a simple truthful answer, given because… well, she asked. And so he might as well tell her.

Small victories! Samiryth has Garouth here with her on the ledge. She'll just rest here. She's far too excited to sleep, so she'll just keep watch over the big lug. Though she will send a thought Serena's way which causes Serena to breathe in so fast that she snorts. D'lei does need to have this conversation with Quinn. It will be far more illuminating and useful for D'lei. Though she does have to find the courage to speak again. After a few deep breathes she will open her mouth, "D'lei. I think you are a good man. I don't think it would make you happy to have another woman." Everything D'lei has ever done or said in her presence has been kind and noble.

D'lei tilts his head to Serena, with a slight frown and then… he looks away, leaning his head back a bit to look up over the ceiling of her weyr. "Yeah… I dunno. Like… mmh. I don't think it's a matter of good or bad. It's… if everyone is okay with it… it's not like people don't have more than one friend. But…" The frown deepens. "I don't know. Are we looking for the same things here? How's… it going to work, if we're not?" He looks back to Serena, who… he could also be asking these same questions about his own interaction with, and he almost-smiles before ducking his head.

Serena can't help but stare intently at the mans face here. He does ask some difficult questions. Ostensibly about Quinn but about…other things as well. She'll wiggle herself so that she can sit next to him, her hand still ensnared in his. She doesn't have an answer to his questions. She can't answer for Quinn, but in regards to them she'll look intently at him, "Are we?" she asks softly to him. She's not sure he'll answer but she is going to ask.

D'lei hehs, his gaze slowly creeping over to Serena again with a look to… her hand, on his arm and under his own, and then up until he sees her face and gets to take in her expression. His eyes meet hers, steady as he looks… and thinks. "I don't know." A small shrug. "I think… we're probably not?" One corner of his mouth tugs upward, just a bit. "Not completely. But… they might be close enough we can make it work."

Serena moves her fingers gently against his arm beneath that hand of his, "I'd like to say the same." The connection that she feels for this man is not inconsequetial. He covers alot of firsts for her. And not least of all the first child she is going to have. She already loves the baby with a firey love and that can't be entirely displaced away from the father, "Why did you come here?" she asks, there is a firmness in her tone, she does want an answer but it's not an accusation. Just a question.

D'lei's own fingers shift in response to Serena's, the motions that draw more attention to the physical contact they're in, the soft touches that mean… what, exactly? He nods, just a slight smile with the motion as she agrees to at least the desire, and then… "Honestly?" he says with a wry smile. "I didn't feel safe to go between. I haven't slept since yesterday, neither has Garouth, and… I thought you wouldn't mind if I borrowed your couch." And, implied beneath it, he trusts her and is willing to see her even when he's raw and worn and not nearly at his best.

What do those touches mean? Serena herself probably doesn't even know. She doesn't know how she feels about things half the time. Hormones keep her mood bouncing up and down and every which way. She'll chance to lean her head against his shoulder. Her fingers still moving in gentle circular motions, "You can stay D'lei." she agrees. She wouldn't let any other man stay here, but D'lei is safe and they have already slept together so whats the worst that could happen?

"Thank you," D'lei says softly. For getting to stay? Yeah, but… for more than that; there's the understanding, the patience with him… and he tilts his own head a little, letting his cheek rest lightly agains the top of her head as she leans it against his shouler. Which is like not minding it, but one step better! Probably. Unless it's one step more confusing! "I know… well." A small smile, felt in the shift of cheek. "I think that you'd rather have a relationship with someone who's just about you. And that's not what I am. Even…" The smile fades a bit as he pauses, but then he continues. "No matter what, there's going to be flights." As Garouth chases… various females. "But I am still glad I know you… and for our child." Another smile. "Even if it's not something that's quite what either of us were looking for."

Serena closes her eyes with a quiet hmmmm. It's not a purr exactly, she's not a feline, but it is a sound of enjoyment for sure. D'lei isn't entirely right, nor is he entirely wrong, "I'm not happy about flights D'lei. Mine most of all. If she's going to rise I want you there." He's safe and kind, "But I have to live with them. So do you." She isn't saying she's good with them, but they are a part of life, "Samiryth knows Garouth is going to chase." And thus she did as well. Her eyes remain closed. She is glad too, very glad, "We do have a relationship we can't get away from D'lei. All we have to decide is how it looks."

"We do," D'lei agrees. Which could be a we in the sense of them together, but it's also just as meaningful (if not more so) when it's about the one and the one, or the whole set of all dragonriders who do have to deal with this thing called flights. "At least I'm not some sleazeball." He smiles wryly, repeating her words from before… but he seems somewhere between amused and understanding as he does. "It's going to need a name," he adds with a smile. "The kid, I mean. And… maybe the relationship, too. I mean, mother-of-my-child seems a bit long for everyday use."

No. D'lei is not a sleazeball. He's the opposite of that. "You were kind and gentle." She'll scrunch up her legs taking up the other side of the couch staying leaning against him, "Yeah. The baby will need a name." She'll remove her hand from his arm and try to drag his hand to her belly to rest upon it, "You partial to any names?" He's got to have some thoughts on it. About her 'relationship' he doesn't know what to call it, "What do you want to call it?"

D'lei lets his hand be dragged over to Serena's belly, spreading fingers slightly to settle over it. There's just a hint more of curve to it now, the change in contour from the baby as it grows inside, and he smiles as he feels it even if… there's a great deal yet to happen. But that's probably for the best, because they've got a great deal to figure out! Like names… for babies, and for relationships. Or not-relationships? Depending on whether you mean the capital-R sort of the kind that any two people with a connection have. "I don't know," he answers. Which could be either, but. "I don't think it's wrong to call us friends… but I don't think that's complete, either." He smiles, his hand moving slowly against her belly, almost a pet as he thinks. "…I suppose it's traditional to use our own names, right? Combine them somehow…"

It's different when he touches her belly this time. Not just in the way he's doing it but the certainty behind it. He's comfortable and so is she. There is a great deal to figure out. Time is the only thing that can solve many of those questions, "Not complete." she echoes his words. Isn't that the truth about nearly everything that they have going on for themselves? Good but incomplete. She'll shift slightly to make it easier for him to 'pet' her belly. It just feels so nice, "Yeah. Are you into traditional names? I'm ok with it I guess."

D'lei nods. They are agreed, it is incomplete! Which doesn't actually give them any idea what to complete it with, but… they have time to figure it out. It's not like there's anything breathing down their necks. There is a baby growing, but they still have months on that one before they have to actually come to any solid conclusions. He hehs at the question. "I… don't really mind either way, I think? Traditional or not. I mean, I feel like I want to have a reason for it… but there are a lot of potential reasons."

Serena shifts slightly to undo the belt of her robe and tugs it open. She's still modest enough underneath, but she wants as much contact with D'lei's hand as she can get. He's right of course, there is nothing breathing down there necks, no one is putting pressure on them, the only ones that can do that are the pair of them, "We'll have more of a reason later." Maybe even have an inkling of the babies personality. As much as you can before they arrive at least.

Will it be a kicker or a squirmer? Just what foods will it make Serena crave? So much they can potentially learn, if only they can figure out how to interpret the results! …and therein lies the rub. D'lei's hand shifts aside, resuming its place over the nightie without the robe in the way. Maybe he can learn something by feel! But if not… that's okay. "Yeah," he agrees with a smile, then hehs. "My family's got a lot of names that end in -iel. Maybe that's something." He shifts the shoulder she's not leaning on, not committed but at least… wondering about possiblities. There is much thought to be had!

There is no way of knowing those things. Not yet. Not for several months. Serena will just be happy when she's no longer throwing up in the mornings and at other special fun times of the day. The small bump isn't much yet, but it will grow bigger. Like so many things in the future. What he is likely learning right now is that Serena likes tummy rubs. She lets out a rather unseamly groan of pleasure, "That feels good." thoughts of names momentarily driven from her mind.

Not throwing up is an excellent thing to look forward to. Though there may be only a narrow window between when that ends and the back pain and frequent potty trips start! D'lei grins, turning his head a bit to look at Serena's expression, "Mmh. Good," he says as he continues to apply those pettings, smoothing over the belly where skin is being stretched and muscles and internal organs are changing their shapes and positions to accommodate that growing baby.

Serena has a choice to make. She could let him continue doing that and just possibly lose all access to rational thought or she could ask him to stop. If he only knew what he was doing. In the end though she knows if she doesn't ask him to stop it will complicate his life further and possibly ruin things. What things she isn't sure, but /things/. She'll shift a bit to move away though still not off the couch just yet, "I'm keeping you around." she'll say. Though for now she will get up off the couch, "You need to sleep though. And I should get some more sleep too. We'll talk later."

Those nebulous things! That are there for the future to be thought about. D'lei hasn't got any ulterior motives in these bellyrubs, which… really, may be part of what makes it so dangerous and potentially complicating! He pauses at the shift, with a laugh for her comment. "Good. It's a long drop from here." Because clearly the options are her couch, or being pushed off the ledge without even the benefit of a dragon. The mention of sleep makes him yawn even before she's finished talking, with a nod. "Yeah. Good… morning, I guess." He grins, and resists another yawn just long enough to add, "Sleep well." And then? He at least takes his boots off before sprawling out on the couch and falling asleep, but that's about it. Later, there can be more talking. For now? They both sleep! …but not together.


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