A Long Courtship

Writers: Bree, Nici
Date Posted: 4th August 2005

Characters: Yannis, N'klos
Description: N'klos and Yannis finally run into each other for the first time since his return to Dolphin Cove
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 7, day 14 of Turn 3

Yannis had not been avoiding N'klos. The fact that she wasn't avoiding him, however, did not mean that she'd gone out of her way to find him. She had plenty of duties to keep her busy--everyone did after the disaster that had changed the Weyr so much. She figured eventually she'd come across him.

Eventually was sooner than she'd imagined. She was finishing up a session with the healer--who had spent the last quarter candlemark marveling at some length over the progress she'd made--when she heard his voice drifting back from one of the curtained off areas.

She'd turned to walk back towards the sound of his voice, but one of the mindhealers intercepted her with a plea to visit some of the more severely injured patients to give them a little hope about how much mobility could be regained after severe Threadfall. Yannis let him talk to her, nodding occasionally and glancing from time to time towards the curtained off area where N'klos' voice had come from. When the bronzerider finally appeared, she gave him a challenging look over the healer's shoulder, daring him to stay and talk to her.

N'klos never turned down a dare, even if it came in the form of tall, lean, greenrider with sparks in her eyes--and rightfully so. "Yannis, greetings."

Once the healer had excused himself, Yannis turned to N'klos and looked him over from the top of his head to his boots and back. Then she smiled, though that hint of challenge wasn't gone from her eyes. "So, you answered our cry for help? Welcome back."

"It wasn't exactly a cry, more like a well written letter," N'klos said, leaning against a nearby wall so he could do a bit of looking himself. "Am I welcome back?"

"I'm sure the weyr is glad to welcome back such an able bronzerider," Yannis replied, letting him look. She couldn't deny the fact that it felt nice that he wanted to--but he was going to have to work a little if he wanted to get to more than looking this time. "As for me... you'd be welcome to come and get a mug of klah with me. I'm sure you have some... interesting stories to tell."

"I'd love to..." He moved away from the wall and waited for her to lead. "And I wasn't gone long enough to find anything interesting to retell, I'm afraid. My company might be boring."

She took them in the direction of the dining hall. "So you didn't do _anything_ exciting at all the entire time you were gone? No wonder you came back... Vista Point must be a boring place."

"Like I said, I wasn't gone that long..." He was tempted to tangle his fingers in the short curls at her nape and thought better of it. He wasn't in the mood to start the evening out with a punching match. Although the last time she'd punched him, they'd spent all night together...

"Well, we had plenty of time for excitement here." Yannis quirked an eyebrow at him. "From the sounds of it you were talking to O'dan. How's he doing?"

"He's...mending." N'klos shrugged. "It's a heavy weight he's got to bear right now. And having serious injuries and knowing your dragon is no better doesn't help." At her look he smiled. "What, don't you think I have a sense of empathy?"

"Oh, I'm sure you do," she replied tartly. Pausing in the empty hallway, she turned to him and smiled. "So let's see you use it, bronzerider... what am _I_ feeling right now?" It would be interesting to see if he understood her as well as she understood him.

He tucked his thumbs into his waistband and looked directly into her eyes. He appreciated a tall woman. "What are you feeling? You're glad I'm back because you missed me but you're not going to give in simply because you know me enough to know I'd prefer the challenge of making you _want_ to come back to my bed. Am I close?"

Yannis laughed and started down the hallway again. "Aren't you a self-assured one? You're lucky I like my men... cocky. If not you'd have more of a challenge ahead of you than you were up to meeting."

He followed her. "Ah, but I also know you like me because I'm so...cocky. Otherwise, I'd be a yawner and life is hard enough without being bored in your free time. Sappy men just don't do it for you."

"Lots of men just don't do it for me." Which was true enough... life might have been easier after N'klos' sudden departure if she weren't so picky.

He gave in and let his fingers brush her nape before pulling away. "I'm glad to hear it..."

"I'm sure you are," she replied, ignoring his hand. For now. The next time he touched her she'd considering stomping his foot and bruising a couple toes.

"So, how long are you going to be mad at me? I'd like to mark in on my calendar so I can count the days..." He grinned, knowing he was risking at least a thrown punch. Still, he'd _missed_ her--even if he refused to admit she was one of the reasons he'd returned.

"You think you can count that high?" she retorted, pondering stepping on his toes in any case. It was a pity she actually _liked_ his arrogance--it made it hard to stay grumpy with him. Not that she wouldn't hurt him when she wasn't grumpy with him... but that would lead rather quickly to somewhere she wasn't sure she was ready to go yet.

"I'm cocky, not stupid, Yannis. We'll discuss it more over klah."

"Oh, you're not stupid," she replied, grinning at him. "And I'm not mad. But you like a challenge and so do I. We'll see who breaks first. Klah is a nice start."

He followed her into the dining cavern and let her get the mugs while he got a fresh pitcher of klah. He was feeling so magnanimous--and hopeful of his chances--that he even let her pick the table.

She picked one that was tucked out of the way into a corner and set the mugs down on the table. Her arm was still feeling sore from her work with the healers, so she let him pour the klah while she rubbed at her shoulder. "You've got a half a candlemark to be charming before I have appointments to attend to."

"Yannis, I've never been that quick in my life and you know it. I think this is going to be a looooong courtship back to my bed." He poured her klah. "Want some sweetener?"

Last updated on the August 30th 2005

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A Long Courtship