No More Spies

Writers: Kaysea, Rochelle
Date Posted: 13th January 2008

Characters: Tatitem, Turoar, Susha
Description: Turoar braves Tatitem for a chance to date Susha without Tatitem's flit in tow.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 7, day 5 of Turn 4

Combing his fingers through his hair one last time, Turoar leaned forward and knocked on the door to the Headwoman's private accommodation, more than prepared for the dour look he might receive if Tatitem answered the door.

Tatitem was sorting the laundry that had been delivered a few candlemarks earlier while she'd been in the dining cavern when she heard the knock, and sighed. There were times she missed being merely an assistant, rather than the Headwoman. If nothing else, there had been fewer people knocking on her door in the evenings. Setting a towel down, she had started toward the door when Susha raced out of the next room, ducking under her arm to reach the door. "I'll get it, mum." Susha said hastily, turning the knob and turning back to the door.

"Hi!" Turoar smiled widely as Susha appeared in the doorway, "-You ready?" he asked. His eyes glimpsed quickly over her shoulder and into the room behind and could see the shadow of someone working, just out of sight.

"Ready for what?" Tatitem asked, her eyes narrowing as she stepped closer to the door. She'd known as soon as she heard the voice. Turoar again. What in the name of Faranth did Susha see in him?

"A walk, ma'am. Just a walk, and then some klah." he could feel his palms moistening, and rubbed them repeatedly down his trous. Why did he always feel this way when faced by the Headwoman? He'd kept out of trouble for months now, but still he felt as if he was a needlethorn in her side.

"A walk." Tatitem repeated with a frown. He and Susha were always going on walks. They never stayed where she could keep an eye on them... but she knew better than that. There was nothing that killed romance faster than having your mother hanging over your shoulder. Even if that was precisely what she wanted to do...

Susha rolled her eyes, starting to slip out the door. She was feeling daring, excited tonight. "Oh mum. It's just a walk. You can send Thief with us if you're worried."

"Thief?" Turoar glanced around, expecting a fierce canine to appear in the doorway. He looked with concern at Susha, then Tatitem.

"Mum's flit." Susha said quickly. "That green one that's always hanging around us, remember?"

Tatitem was taken aback. She hadn't been sending Thief after them that often, had she? She would have sworn it was only when Susha was gone long enough for her to get worried. She had raised five other children, and was not fool enough to do _that_. Unless... Thief didn't always come when she was called, or go where she was told, the infuriating creature.
She could be hanging around Susha. Or Susha could be exaggerating.

"Oh that one?" Turoar nodded in agreement, "I thought she was yours, actually." He shrugged and gave a lopsided grin. "I just thought _she_
didn't like me either." He said, glancing at Tatitem, "but that explains it." The laugh he gave turned into a cough, very quickly.

Tatitem glowered at the smothered laugh, and sent a stern mental summons to Thief, who appeared in the room with a squawk of complaint -and claws full of a stolen sticky roll that she promptly stuffed into her mouth before Tatitem could reprimand her. Tatitem eyed the flit as Thief tried valiantly to chew the massive glob of food she'd stuffed in her snout.
Obviously no answers there. "Very well, go on." She told the teenagers grumpily. "But I want you back by your curfew, Susha."

The apprehension Susha always felt when Turoar picked her up at her weyr dissolved. Despite her bravado, she was very aware that until she moved out, Tatitem dictated her relationships. If she decided to, so could issue an order and the entire weyrstaff would be on the alert to prevent her from meeting with Turoar. "Thanks mum." She said quickly, leaning around the door to flash her fostermother a bright smile. "I'll be back before then."

"Wow!" Turoar shook his head in amazement, as Susha closed the door behind them. "She was pretty good about that, wasn't she? Do you really think she didn't know about her flit?" he asked, tentatively slipping her hand into his.

"I don't know." Susha said thoughtfully, tugging him gently away from the door and down the hall. She didn't want to squander a moment of her stolen time with Turoar by dallying in the hallway where Tatitem could watch her. "I know that mum doesn't usually send Thief immediately. She waits a quarter candlemark first so that we don't notice as much and can get into trouble. But Thief doesn't always come or go when she's told, and she likes mischief, so it could just be Thief being nosy." Susha shrugged.

"Well your mum looked genuinely surprised. But I'm likely to give her the benefit of the doubt - I'm trying to stay on her good side, if you hadn't noticed." he grinned, and squeezed her hand, happy to be able to spend some alone time with her without the flit in tow.

"I know." Susha grinned back at him, and impulsively gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. "And you're doing really well too."

Last updated on the January 19th 2008

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No More Spies