Trampling Toes

Writers: Bree, Eimi
Date Posted: 17th January 2006

Characters: Karaleigh, Dantial
Description: Karaleigh and Dantial find a dance partner at last
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 28 of Turn 3

Dantial had agreed to go to the Harper Hall welcome party in order to report to O'dan all of the exciting things that had transpired. While he secretely suspected that his brother was trying to get him out of the infirmary for an evening so he could try to sneak a woman in, Dantial had decided that he might as well attend. Of course, he had no idea what he would _do_ at such a gathering. He'd found himself a secluded corner to hide in and had spent most of the evening there, hoping he would be able to gracefully sneak back to the infirmary once the dancing started.

"Dantial," a familiar femanine voice whispered in his ear, "please _save_
me!"

He turned and met Karaleigh's eyes with a relieved smile. "Save you from what? Are there weyrlings on the rampage again?"

"I wish it were just them," she frowned. "There is a harper who I've already turned down and his brownrider friend staring at me for starters. I knew I shouldn't have worn this dress. A skirt and frumpy tunic would have been much safer."

Dantial thought she looked beautiful in her dress, but obviously she'd heard enough of _that_ opinion for the evening. "Well, I can't save you for long... I was starting to consider running for my life." "You would truly leave me?" she asked piteously. "The only alternative I see is dancing," Dantial replied dryly. "And believe me, Karaleigh... your feet would _never_ survive it!"

"Well, let me teach you then. I _am_ a teacher, you know." She grabbed his hand and started pulling him deeper into the shadows. "This will end badly," Dantial predicted dourly, but he let himself be dragged. It was better than sitting in the corner, in any case. At least, he hoped it would be. "All right now, think positively," she chided gently as they came to a stop.
"Go ahead and put your hands on me."

Dantial's eyebrow shot up, but he obeyed without any of the commentary she would have been graced with from any other man. "I know how _this_ part works. The problem is that I have no sense of rhythm."

"Well, I'll you what," she said as her hand rested lightly on his shoulder.
"I'll tap it out for you with my fingers. All you have to do is count."

Doubting but willing to trust her, Dantial let his hand settle at her waist.
"And when I end up with you in the infirmary because I've broken all of your toes?"

"Well, luckily I already know that you can handle yourself around my toes,"
she said with a grin as she remembered that day she had come into the infirmary after trying to move furniture on her own.

"Yes," Dantial admitted with a wry smile. "I can fix any bones I happen to break. That is true." "That is a great convenience I should think," she said lightly as she began taping his shoulder with her fingers, "since it would save me the trouble of explaining to the healer on duty just what had happened. It would save us both a world of embarrassment."

"Me more than you," Dantial replied dryly. "So. Now what do we do? Move, I suppose..." "Yes," she chuckled, "that would be the next step. We can start with gently swaying if that would help."

"Sounds safe enough..." He followed her lead, trying not to imagine the expression that would be on his brother's face if he could see him.
Obviously _all_ of the family charm had been used up on the eldest son.
Dantial felt awkward and completely out of place.

She grinned at the way he kept looking down at his feet. "All right, journeyman, I think you have graduated to the point were you might be able to look up every once in a while."

He did so, smiling at her nervously. "And what am I going to get in return for this, Karaleigh? I'm hoping it's something amazing."

Karaleigh chuckled. "Well, if you would actually look at me for more than a brief moment you would see that you are being graciously rewarded with my beautiful smile."

"O'dan will be terribly jealous," Dantial replied dryly, glancing back down at his feet. His feet _were_ really quite a bit larger than hers... and he didn't much like the idea of trampling her toes.

"And so he should be," she laughed. "He never gets this kind of smile. He usually just gets a 'I-can't-believe-you-just-said-that-but-for-some-reason-I'm-laughing-anyway' kind of a smile."

"Sounds about right." Dantial looked up from his feet and gave her a shy smile. "Maybe this isn't as hard as I thought... though I'm still terrified that I'm going to break your toes."

"Will you stop thinking about my toes and start thinking about the _rest_ of me?" Karaleigh chuckled.

Dantial finally relaxed enough to laugh. "Well, with an invitation like that, how could I refuse?"

Last updated on the January 17th 2006

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Trampling Toes