It's Beautiful and So Are You (Part 2 of 2)

Writers: Ames, AL
Date Posted: 17th February 2013

Characters: T'nom, Meledei
Description: Meledei and T'nom go out seeking some adventure, and T'nom feels things for Meledei
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 12, day 7 of Turn 6

T'nom

T'nom chuckled a bit as he watched her slide. Waiting for her to land
safely and move to the side, he followed her lead. In a matter of seconds
he landed with a bit of an 'umpf' on a small landing. The noise was nearly
deafening now. _That_ was when he noticed the scent in the air. "Water?" He
questioned, looking to her with raised brows. Bending down, he peered into
the opening before crawling through.

"Maybe singed hair. That torch came awfully close." But Meledei did pause
to sniff at the air and her gaze, dark in the shadows of the cave and
flickering torchlight turned toward the sound. "It does smell like water."

What T'nom found on the other side of the opening was breath-taking. "You
_have_ to see this," he called back into the opening.

"I'm coming!" Meledei wriggled through and then breathed out a surprised
'oh!'. Sunlight glittered and danced as water fell through the rays. A
rainbow stretched across the wide opening of a cave that sat behind a
waterfall. The hush which had gotten louder as they had gotten closer was
a constant roar with water falling into water. "It's...it's beautiful!"

He enjoyed watching the look that came over her face the instant she
realized where they were. "It really is beautiful," he responded. "And so
are you," the words were out before he could take them back. Realizing what
he'd said, T'nom quickly looked away towards the waterfall. He could feel
his heart hammering in his chest. **Stupid. That was so stupid,** he chided
himself.

Meledei gave T'nom a sidelong glance, surprise evident in her
features. "Boy are you blind." She murmured. Now why had he said
that? She shifted from foot to foot, the silence between them
uncomfortable. The falls were the only ones talking. She strode
forward, the spray from the water washing over her. "I wonder how far
up it goes..."

T'nom wanted to rebuke her comment, but he'd already stuck his foot in
his mouth once. The silence that settled was not a good one. He had no
idea what to say now. When she finally broke the quiet, T'nom was
glad. **Yes, talk about something else.**

"I don't know," he replied, moving forward to stand with her as the
water began to spray him as well. "We could fly above them later and
see." Why did he have a strange urge to hold her hand right then and
there? He swallowed uncomfortably He'd tried to hide his feelings for
her for some time, but now for whatever reason he was having a harder
time silencing them inside himself.

"Do you think we could walk through the water to the other side?" It
looked to lead out to a nice large lake of some kind. "Or would the
water push us down and we not be able to get out? It's not a huge
water fall..."

"I think we could," he answered her. Sticking his hand under the spray
of water, he felt it's pressure. It was strong, but not so strong they
wouldn't be able to get though. Shaking off the water that had
splashed him as he tested it he turned to her. "Ready?"

"Feet first." No point in diving in head first when they had no way
of knowing how deep the water went. She peered further down. The
drop wasn't very far and Meledei certainly wasn't afraid. "Ready!"

He reached for her hand then, unable to resist. "Together. Ready. One.
Two. Three...."

"Whee!" Meledei's grasp was tight as the two plunged through the
curtain of the falls and into the water. It wasn't too far of a drop,
but there was still a thrill that danced down her spine. The water
was cold and after they dipped below the surface, she had to let go of
T'nom so she could swim. She came up with a whoop. "That was fun!"

He jumped with her and for an instant he felt as though he'd left his
stomach on top of the landing. Then, the thrill of the short fall had
T'nom letting out a whoop as they splashed into the water. Thankfully
the water was deep so T'nom landed without a hitch. Bursting through
the surface he called out, "Now _that_ was amazing!" He turned looking
for Meledei, a huge grin on his face.

"We should do that again. Anyway to get back up there?" She peered
up to the ledge which, even close up, was difficult to see through the
water. "I never realised how hard it was to swim with shoes and
clothes. Maybe we should get to the shore." Her mind made up,
Meledei glided through the water toward the edge. "We should build a
fire to dry our clothes!" Going /between/ while wet wouldn't be good.

T'nom followed her to the shore. Pulling himself out of the water, he
grinned happily. "That was fun, Meledei." The sight of her in her wet
clothes, looking so beautiful, he wanted nothing more than to pull her
into his arms and kiss her.

"I'll...I'll go get some wood for a fire," he hurriedly stated,
turning and moving as quickly as his wet feet would allow. **Shardit
you idiot, she's your best _friend_
. You can't ruin that.** T'nom used
the time gathering wood to try and pull himself together so he
wouldn't do something stupid once he saw her again.

"Elleth said she's on her way. She's got the flint." Rather, it was
in a pack on her straps where Meledei had tucked it away before they
had gone into the cave. "Don't forget to get kindling."

He came back with an armful of sturdy wood and smaller pieces for
kindling. He glanced up just as the golden dragon was coming towards
them. **She really is an amazing sight to behold,** T'nom thought as
he watched her fly through the air.

}:Yes, she is,:{ Taldeth answered his rider. His own voice showing his
admiration for Elleth.

"I have the wood and kindling," he told Meledei, dropping his armload
on the ground.

Elleth dropped down and shook as if trying to get out of the straps
herself. That must have been her intent for Meledei obliged, slipping
the leather off of her dragon who then proceeded to slide into the
water. Meledei pulled the flint out and then set about arranging the
pile of wood. "Once we get the fire going that will be the perfect
time to eat, don't you think?"

"Sounds like a great plan," T'nom replied, reaching down to help her
arrange the wood. "I'm curious as to what you packed for us to eat on
this little picnic of ours." With the wood arranged, T'nom stepped
back to allow Meledei to strike the flint. His clothes were literally
sticking to his body as he dripped puddles down around his feet. He
would be glad for a warm fire to try and dry off.

"Mostly some meatrolls, raw but peeled fingerroots, redfruit. I would
have brought bubblies, but they probably wouldn't have survived the
trip very well. Not in my pack anyway." Maybe if she had thought to
bring a basket...ah well. Hindsight was eyeopening. "Stuff that
would hold up and be easy to eat."

It took a few moments, but the kindling caught and Meledei carefully
coaxed the tiny flames into larger ones. When it got a good start,
she added more wood and finally the fire blazed in earnest. Meledei
pulled bundles out of her pack and opened the clothes that had
protected the food. "oh, a couple of buns too." She plucked one bun
from the cloth and offered it. "Come, sit, warm up." It wasn't that
cold, but there was a breeze that made one feel colder when one was
soaking wet.

T'nom watched her as she unpacked her bags, a smile forming on his
lips. She was so thoughtful and kind. His heart ached for a moment at
the sight of her, holding the wrappings, her hair and clothes soaking
wet. **She would have made a lovely wife,** the thought struck him
before he could stop it. If things were different and they'd lived in
a Hold together, he knew he would have pursued those thoughts. Yet,
with life in the Weyr, things just seemed different. Meledei had
already had other connections. She'd looked on him as a friend, and
nothing more. There was no need to embarrass himself by declaring
feelings that he knew she wouldn't return.

Nodding he moved closer to her and the flames. His own clothes so damp
he felt each brush of the wind. "Shardit," he murmured, tugging on his
shirt and pulling it off. "At least this way it will dry faster and I
won't be so wet!" He declared before she could even ask.

Meledei laughed and nodded. "Of course. Our clothes dry faster when
they aren't on us." She shrugged and motioned to the food. "We're
going to be here a while though. Here." She picked up a meatroll and
tossed it over to him. "We can explore a bit more after we get some
sustenance."

He caught the roll in mid flight, then took a seat beside her.
"Explore more, eh? What else would you like to explore?"

"Well, there are woods around here we can walk through. We might as
well kill time while we dry. There's no way I'm going /between/ while
wet." That was a good way to get Firehead or some other illness.

"Sounds like a plan," T'nom replied, not wanting to return any sooner
either, though not for the same reason as Meledei. "But, first let's
finish eating. I'm glad you packed some food, else we just might
_starve_ to death," he exaggerated.

"And we wouldn't want that now would we?" Meledei grinned and then
tore into her own meatroll.

Time passed quickly as they talked. When T'nom rose to help Meledei
pack up, their hands brushed. He wanted nothing more than to reach
over and kiss her. His lips began the slow descent towards hers when
suddenly Taldeth bugled from up above.

}:It is time!:{ Blinking T'nom pulled back suddenly, realizing then
that the hatching must be beginning.

"Good thing we're dried off now. We'd best hurry," he stated, as their
day of adventure came to an end.

Last updated on the March 7th 2013

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It's Beautiful and So Are You (Part 2 of 2)