For The Love of Men.. And Grapes!

Writers: Heather, Heather K
Date Posted: 3rd February 2012

Characters: S'yei, Blayre, Magnuse
Description: Go on their first excursion
Location: Elsewhere on Pern, River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 6, day 1 of Turn 6

S'yei wasn't normally the type of man that primped. He was good
looking, he knew it, and he took it in stride. However, a man hadn't
caught his attention in quite some time the way Blayre had. Not only
that but he?d gotten lucky enough to have Blayre agree to come away
with him for the day. Normally S'yei spent his Restday relaxing in his
weyr, taking care of personal errands and, of course, tasting new
vintages. Today, however, he had it planned for him and Blayre to take
a flight out to a nearby vineyard where he knew some excellent grapes
grew. Not only that, but it was ran by a knowledgeable mix of vintners
and farmers that he was sure Blayre would like to meet.

They could eat at the vineyard and if S'yei were lucky- oh how he
hoped he was!- they would return back to the Weyr for dessert.

}:If you would spend half as much time on my hide as you do your hair
I'd have more greens on my ledge.:{ Yalith broke into the man's
daydreams.

S'yei grinned as he walked out to the blue's ledge and cast an
admiring glance at the dragon's gleaming hide, "If you looked any
better I'd have greenriders in my weyr all the time... and that's the
_last_ thing I need."

Vaulting to the blue's neckridge, S'yei checked to make sure that he
had a spare riding jacket for Blayre and then he grabbed hold of
Yalith's riding straps to keep himself in place as his lifemate
dropped off of the ledge and glided smoothly to the Weyrbowl.

Blayre fussed with his shirt some more. He couldn't decide whether to
button one more button or leave it open just a little bit. Why did he
even care? He was normally so confident in himself that his appearance
rarely became an issue. He was sure he could charm the pants
off...well, now that was just the thing. Who was he charming the pants
off nowadays? Men or women. Blayre was open minded and was actually
excited about his date with S'yei. He waved up when he spotted the man
and his blue dragon.

S'yei felt his insides squirm a little. He couldn't believe at his age
that he was feeling _nervous_. What was it about Blayre that made him
nervous? Possibly, S'yei concluded, that Blayre was commitment
material and S'yei hadn?t looked for a commitment for Turns.

"Hey there." S'yei hopped down from Yalith's neckridge after the
blue's talons touched the Weyrbowl, spare riding jacket in hand.

A large grin on his face Blayre replied with enthusiasm, "Hi. There
you are." Taking the offered jacket he added, "Thanks. Can't wait to
see where we're going. I don't think we've been introduced." He
indicated towards the blue dragon, realizing that he didn't even know
the dragon's name.

"Well, we can't have that." S'yei turned and gestured to the dragon,
"This is Yalith, and Yalith, this," he turned back to the vintner, "is
Blayre." The blue dragon politely brought his head closer to Blayre to
inspect the man.

After getting the nod of approval from S'yei, Blayre extended his hand
and scratched the blue's eyeridge. He didn't have that much experience
with dragons but he wasn't afraid and perceived them to be much like
people as far as emotions went so why not be nice? "It's a pleasure to
finally meet you, Yalith. Thanks for the lift tonight." Looking at the
rider he added, "Wherever that lift may take us."

"And that, my dear vintner, you'll find out shortly." S'yei said as he
quickly turned and vaulted to Yalith's neckridge. Reaching down, S'yei
offered the crafter a hand up so that they could get settled and be
off to their destination.

Taking the offered hand, Blayre came aboard and sat behind S'yei. "I
suppose I should mention this is my first time flying. It's been
runners and ships up to this point. Yalith seems taller from up here."
his head swiveled around as he took in the sights from his new vantage
point. He was a little nervous about the flight, most of all
/between/.

S'yei peered at Blayre over his shoulder, "Would you rather sit in
front of me then?" He asked as he simultaneously checked the riding
straps to make sure everything was in place- he didn't want any
accidents on Blayre's first flight.

"No, no, this is fine. I'm sure I'll manage. Just apologies in advance
if I squeeze too hard. I can be a little jumpy. Oh but not literally.
I won't fall," Blayre rambled. He wanted to sound confident but he
wasn't really sure what to expect. As long as he held on and stayed
sitting upright, he was sure he would be fine.

The bluerider chuckled a bit as he finished checking Blayre's riding
straps, gave them one last tug, and then winked at the vintner before
turning around, "Alright then, Yalith, let's go." S'yei gave the
blue's flank a thump. Yalith crouched, his powerful hind legs bunching
before springing him forward and straight into the skies.

"We're going to go /between/ now." S'yei told Blayre over his shoulder
so that the man could brace himself. And then, after confirming the
coordinates, the blue took them /between/.

If S'yei hadn't gotten his attention, Blayre never would have
remembered about /between/. He was busy looking all around him at the
world below, his head on a swivel. Without thinking his arms tightened
around the bluerider's waist. As quickly as the darkness came it
seemed as if it had gone. Blayre had shut his eyes part way through
and compared that darkness to the emptiness of /between/. When they
popped out once again into the blue sky Blayre simply asked, "That was
it?"

S'yei chuckled a bit at the man's question, "Indeed, that was it. Not
as bad as some make it out to be, hm?" Although there was truth to the
fact that short trips were much easier than some of the long trips
/between/ that S'yei had experienced before.

"No, not at all. I've heard some real doosies about /between/ but that
was nothing close." Again, Blayre's eyes were scanning the ground
below. He could now put any fear of heights he could've had previously
to rest. As Yalith circled closer to the ground Blayre could make out
more details and determined they were at some sort of Hold. "So where
are we exactly?"

"It's a vineyard," S'yei told him with a smile, "It's one of the ones
I was telling you about the other day while we were taste-tasting the
Weyr wine. This place has the best grapes and I think you'll really
enjoy tasting some of their wine." As the bluerider spoke, Yalith
lowered them to a soft landing just outside of the gates to the Hold
where the vineyard was safely nestled.

Blayre of course had known it was a vineyard but had been hoping for a
more geographically minded answer. Shrugging it off, Blayre dismounted
with help from S'yei. Taking a deep breath in he smelled the familiar
fermented smell of the grapes. "Yep, we're definitely in wine
country," he commented as he folded his arms and grinned happily.

"A welcome smell, right?" S'yei asked with a grin as he watched Blayre
inhale the air. Before the bluerider had time to say much else they
were interrupted by the presence of an elderly man.

"Why hello!" The old man crooned.

S'yei turned at the sound of the voice and had to suppress a laugh.
Old was not even the proper definition for the age of the man before
them. He had a somewhat humped back, a shock of white hair that defied
gravity, and he supported himself with the use of a cane.

"Welcome to the vineyard!" The old man crooned again, this time
hobbling closer to the young pair of men.

Upon closer inspection S'yei noticed that the man did wear a pair of
old, ratty shoulder knots that denoted him as a Master Vintner. **He's
probably had those shoulder knots since the day he turned Master... 30
Turns ago.**

Blayre grinned behind his hand as he took in the sight of the old
Master. How quaint he was with his white hair and cane. The man's
welcome demeanor did not surprise him at all. Clearing his throat and
putting his mature face back on he spoke up. "Hello there, sir. My
friend and I here are just visiting from the Weyr. Mind if we poke
around a bit in your fields and such?"

"Ohhh!" The man clapped his hands together in delight- losing his cane
in the process, "Why that would be lovely! My name is Magnuse so if
you need anything I'd be delighted to help out!"

The corner of S'yei's mouth dipped into a grin as he bent and
retrieved the old man's cane and held it out to him, "Here you are,
Master Magnuse. Thank you for letting us peruse your vineyard. We'll
be certain to seek you out should we have any questions."

Turning to Blayre, S'yei tilted his eyebrows at the man with a smile
and led the way forward, past Magnuse who was still beaming happily at
the couple.

Blayre's eyes smiled as he followed the bluerider down the path. "What
a way to be welcomed. Can?t say I had been expecting anything else but
that was certainly entertaining." As they neared the vines, Blayre
inhaled again. "Well, before we inevitably got lost in our wine later
let me just thank you for bringing me out here S'yei. What do you
know? It is nice to get out of the cellar every once in a while. I've
been told I should do it more often."

S'yei studied Blayre, admiring the man, and as always, feeling that
physical pull of attraction. "It's been my pleasure, Blayre," he
assured the vintner as he began leading the way down a row of vines.
"Any time you feel like getting away from the cellar you know where to
find me."

He felt comforted by the bluerider's words. "Thank you, S'yei. That is
most kind. And of course I will try to be on my best behavior when I
come to call on you," he blurted out. Then, catching the gleam in the
other man?s eye, added, "I...I mean to say so I don't bore you by talking
about work or something."

S'yei laughed a little, "Trust me, Blayre, you could never be boring."

Last updated on the February 4th 2012

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For The Love of Men.. And Grapes!