The Morning After

Writers: AL, Cali
Date Posted: 26th August 2009

Characters: Ri'len, Sorsha
Description: Sorsha and Ri'len have an awkward morning after their fight.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 4, day 19 of Turn 5

Ri'len woke up early, perhaps due to the hardness of the floor. Perhaps it was due to the fact he and Sorsha were at odds. Whatever the reason, it was at least a half hour, if not more, before he was _supposed_ to get up. He lay there for a few minutes and stared up at the ceiling. He felt regret. He didn't want to be at odds with Sorsha, but he couldn't deny his feelings either. He was trying to be patient, trying to be understanding, but she was being ridiculous. Sometimes he felt like she wasn't even _trying_. It was frustrating to lie beside her and not be able to touch her - even more so when she had given him permission then drew away as she had done. With a sigh, Ri'len threw his cover off and rose. He might as well take the time to soak in a bath.

Sorsha was already there. She hadn't slept well that night, be it anxiety over the situation or the heat of Roseth's body in the warm night. She'd woken before light and had been soaked in sweat. Unable to go back to sleep, she'd decided getting clean was preferable to just laying on the damp dirty ledge. "Sorry," Sorsha said when Ri'len walked in, "I'll get out."

"No, that's all right." Ri'len waved for her to stay where she was. "You finish, I can wait." He turned to head back through the door. Had things been all right between them, he simply would have stayed. But they weren't, and staying would have been too hard when she was uncomfortable with him, especially when she was there, her beauty unmasked and he was unable to touch her at all.

"Just hand me the towel." Sorsha snapped as she stood up out of the water. She regretted her tone, but it was early and she was tired. Making sure she could speak more evenly she tried again. "I was finished anyway."

Ri'len paused. He took a towel from one of the rungs and handed it to her without a word, then turned and left the bathing room without another word.

She took her time in the bathing room after that. If he wasn't even going to speak to her then he could wait. She dried her body off, then her hair, then proceeded to brush it out. She hadn't brought any clean clothes in with her, so eventually, she wrapped the towel around herself and walked out to her dresser.

There were clean clothes waiting for her on top of the dresser, picked out by Ri'len. The young man himself was sitting on the bed but rose when he saw her. "Done?"

Sorsha smiled to herself as she saw her clothes, then sighed when he spoke as she remembered the strain between them. "Yes. And thank you for the clothes."

"You're welcome." Ri'len wanted to touch her, just to brush her shoulder, caress her neck, something. Touch was one of the ways he expressed how much he loved her and it was almost painful to have to restrain. He nodded, then turned and headed into the bathing room to take his own bath.

After putting Roseth's straps on and securing her riding gear for the days use, Sorsha went back to the bed and sat down. She would just wait until Ri'len came out and was ready to go to breakfast. As much as she knew they were having a difficult time, she didn't doubt his love for her. She just hoped he didn't doubt hers for him.

Ri'len was efficient with his time. He had planned to take longer, but Sorsha was up and he didn't feel like lingering any longer. He bathed quickly and moved back into the room, completely dressed, his hair tousled and damp. "Ready for breakfast?" They were still running a bit early, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"Yes." She said as she rose slowly. As she approached him she went to take his hand, but instead let her hand trail up his arm and then across his chest. She didn't know what to say to make things right between them, but she knew she needed it to be. Her body ached for his acceptance and for once, that overrode her hesitation. She leaned against his chest, at first gently, then with more force as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

Ri'len started at the touch, but he didn't pull away. He was simply surprised. He didn't hesitate too long, however, and his arms eagerly slid around Sorsha and he held her tightly. He buried his face in her hair, inhaling deeply. She smelled of sweetsand and her own delicate scent that was ever present. "I love you." He murmured, his voice muffled but the words still understandable.

"I love you too." Sorsha turned her head so that she could speak more clearly. Her mind was with Roseth, but the green was completely calm. Her weyrmate holding her was good and it didn't bother the green in the slightest. "We'll be okay, right?" She knew the answer, but she still needed to hear him say it.

"Of course." Ri'len was surprised again, that time by the question. "Why do you ask?"

Sorsha shook her head and pulled back to look at him. "I'm just being silly I guess. We've just never really had a fight before."

"Everyone has fights. We're going to get angry at one another, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop loving you." He risked planting a gentle kiss upon her forehead. "We just have to remember to love one another even if we don't feel like it."

She nodded. She'd known it was like that, that he would love her forever no matter what. It was just good to hear. "Things will get back to normal. I promise. I just need a little more time. Please don't get upset with me because of it."

"I'm sorry, Sorsha." His hold tightened on her and Ri'len closed his eyes so he could concentrate on how she felt better. "I'm just frustrated. I couldn't even hold you last night and it was impossible to stay in the bed and not at least touch you. I'll try to do better."

Sorsha sighed, she knew this was hurting him and she hated herself for causing that pain. "I'll try too, I promise. Roseth says this is okay, she says it's nice. I'm sorry I worried last night, but it'll be okay tonight. Please don't sleep on the floor again."

"All right." Ri'len pulled back, but only enough to ease her chin up so she would look at him. "Please don't pull away again. I won't do anything you don't want me to just let me hold you."

She nodded and stepped back, but took his hand so he wouldn't feel like she didn't want him. "You can hold me tonight. I think that will be okay. We should get down to breakfast though, we've got alot to do today before that."

"Yes, we do." Ri'len squeezed her hand and gave her one last peck upon her forehead. He could hold her, it was a start. It wasn't everything he wanted, but it was a start.

Last updated on the August 31st 2009

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The Morning After