Worrying About You
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: Avery
Date Posted: 30th October 2017
Characters: Riveenata, R'kehr
Description: R'kehr checks on Riveenata after a tough day at drills.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 23 of Turn 9
Notes: Mentioned: Kapera
After being scolded, Riveenata didn't feel like eating dinner with her
wingmates, or even like seeing anyone at all. She accepted Savith's lift
to their weyr and then flopped down onto her bed. She pulled off her
riding jacket and pants but left the tunic tunic on, too emotionally tired
to go find a full set of replacement clothes. She was just going to lie
here, face buried in her pillow, anyway.
Maybe she just lay there trying to clear her mind for long enough that she
got disconnected from her sense of time, or maybe she fell asleep. Either
way, she was startled when Savith nudged at her mind.
}:Thadath is here. His rider wants to see you.:{
**Don't let him land,** Riven thought quickly. **I don't want to see
anyone right now.**
But it was too late. R'kehr was stepping from the dragon couch side into
her weyr.
"I brought you dinner," the bronzerider said, lifting the tray he carried
in his hands. She noticed that as he spoke, looked around to the two
chairs before spotting her lying on her bed. He clearly hadn't been
expecting that.
The greenrider flushed in embarrassment. She hadn't expected anyone to
drop by her weyr, and didn't like him catching her half-clad like this
when she wasn't expecting it. It was a bit mortifying - and a bit
annoying. She hadn't said she wanted company!
Fortunately, the bronzerider seemed to realize her discomfort at his in
coming in. "Savith said we could drop in," he said in a quieter tone, a
little more muted then his usual confidence and cheer. "I thought that
meant she'd checked it with you."
"No, she didn't," Riven said sharply. She was still irritated by the
unexpected visit, but she couldn't blame him when it was her dragon's
fault and not him intending to impose on her.
"She's pretty brightly colored and Thadath says she's snuggly. Did she
have ulterior motives for saying yes, maybe?" R'kehr asked. He didn't step
any farther in than he already was, and was still holding the tray out in
front of him almost like a shield.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you," Riven said with a sigh.
"Can I set this down, at least? I can peel Thadath away from her and
leave," he offered. He looked sheepish.
"Sure, set it down," she said. And because he was here already, and he was
being really nice to her, and because she was more mad at her dragon as
well as herself, she added, "Go ahead and take a seat."
R'kehr settled the tray onto her tiny end table and pulled up a chair.
Riven sat up, one hand automatically reaching for her sheet to pull it
over her waist - then she realized she couldn't get up to take the food if
she did that. And anyway, she and R'kehr had dallied - he'd seen her naked
so seeing her in just a tunic wasn't a big deal. And it was warm enough
she didn't really want to put on pants. So she let go of the sheet and
stood up and walked over to the chair.
"So what did you bring?" she asked.
"They had roasted wherry sandwiches and some wilted greens in a sauce. I
remembered you eating a lot of those, so I grabbed extra," he explained.
R'kehr might be an inveterate flirt and socially confident, but he also
seemed to care about people around him. It was nice of him to remember.
"Oh, well...thanks," she said, taking the cover off and starting to eat.
He let her get halfway through the sandwich before bringing up the topic
she knew was coming. "You had a rough drill today, I hear."
They had, it was why she was sulking here. Kapera had made her and S'grel
stay after the drills, and then interrogated them both as to what had
happened. S'grel had been defensive and insisting that nothing was wrong
with his position. She'd stayed silent as the goldrider talked, and then
when pressed admitted it was her and Savith's fault. Kapera had ordered
her to study the formation charts again.
"One minute we were chasing the practice Threads. And then Riyanth called
for swapping formations and the greens were moving from the back of the V
to forward, and suddenly Arritath was right there and we nearly hit him."
"What happened?" he asked.
She knew. The queen's wing had been drilling out over the beach for a
change of place, and she'd been distracted by thinking about how different
the sand here was.
"We must have missed the cue," she admitted with a sigh.
"That's not like you. Are you two doing okay?"
"You think I'm too busy being proddy to pay attention?" Riven snapped,
looking down at her plate to hide the tears that began to sting her eyes.
What a rude _bronzerider_ thing to say!
"I didn't say proddy," he protested. "It's just that you haven't been
interested in spending time around anyone lately. You eat at weird
candlemarks, you don't come out for cards, you were going to miss both the
recent parties. I bet you forgot you said we were going to spend the night
together."
The greenrider looked up from the plate. "I...did."
"That's why I brought dinner up. Not because I wanted to pressure you into
sleeping with me if you don't want to," he said, holding a hand up to
forestall the argument. "But because I was worried when I didn't see you
get food. I can go."
She knew he would. He'd head on out of her weyr, having salved his
conscience by checking on her. And then she'd be up here alone and
brooding about being called out for her drills performance and about how
down she felt. That had been what she planned before he showed up. But now
that he was here...
"Or you could stay," she said, sliding the chair back and standing up.
Riven reached down to the hem of her tunic and slowly began to lift it up
to expose her midriff, providing a clear invitation.
"I can stay," R'kehr agreed, pushing back his own chair and kissing her as
soon as she'd pulled off the tunic.
Under the ministrations of the bronzerider's enthusiastic and skilled
tongue, Riveenata forgot her troubles for the night.
Last updated on the November 2nd 2017