Different From The Norm

Writers: Emma, Victoria Voss
Date Posted: 1st August 2005

Characters: K'sedel, Arima
Description: K'sedel goes to see Arima, to get a really special wine.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 7, day 7 of Turn 3
Notes: This takes place early in the day, before K'sedel has dinner with Ciara (See 'Setting Things in Motion')

K'sedel

The one thing K'sedel really needed to make sure that the coming evening would go well was a really excellent wine. Something a little different from the norm if possible. And that meant only one thing, a visit to Arima, to see what she had in her stores.

He reached her storeroom, and knocked on the door.

Arima looked up from the wines she was inspecting at the sound of the knock. "Come in!"

"Might I have a moment of your time?" asked the Weyrleader.

Arima nodded and gestured to a chair that was placed against the wall near the table she used when she needed one. "Certainly Weyrleader. How can I help you today?"

"I'm looking for a wine, something a little different from the norm."

"Different in what way?"

"Something memorable, something for a special evening," he said. Thinking of his evening to come made the thoughts all the more pleasant.

"A special evening, huh?" Arima smiled and moved towards the back of her wine stores, "And would the lady prefer dry or sweet? white or red? sparkling?" The master vintner's voice drifted out from the racks of bottles and wine sacks.

"I never mentioned a lady," he said, but from his tone, and choice of words it must have been obvious. "Sparkling sounds good."

"You didn't have to." Arima smiled to herself as she moved towards the racks of sparkling wines. They were kept in closets away from the other wines ... just in case. It didn't happen often, but occasionally if it got hot enough one of the wines would explode and there was no sense in affecting the other wines too. "What will you be having with the wine?"

"A meat dish, and salads. Sweet pastries for dessert." He thought a moment. "Nothing too dry, or too sweet. A nice medium wine I think."

"Meat and salad," Arima mumbled to herself as she ran a hand over the bottles of wine, "meat and salad . . ." Her hand stopped on one particular bottle, "Ah!"

Arima made her way through the shelves of wine and presented the Weyrleader with a slightly dusty bottle. "This should do it. It's a nice light bodied, medium sweet wine that was laid up well before the pass. It should be quite mellow by now."

K'sedel took the bottle, and wiped off some of the dust, before studying it closely. "This does look good," he said nodding. "Is it Amethyst Cliff?" he asked, "Or further afield?"

Arima nodded, "It's from Amethyst Cliff, but not from the main vineyards. I found a small cothold that grows some fantastic fruit."

"Just grapes, or something more?"

"There's just a touch of citrus in it ... it helps to mellow out the grapes even more. It's a little more than your ordinary wine."

"That sounds good to me. Mind if I try a little."

"Well, don't open that bottle. I've got a taster sized bottle back here." Arima vanished between the shelves for a few moments and returned with a small bottle that held enough wine for 3 or 4 glasses. She retreived 2 small glasses from a cabinet and placed them on the table. She handed the taster bottle to the Weyrleader, "Shall you do the honors?"

"Of course," he said, accepting the bottle, and gently decanting a little into the proffered glasses.

Arima smiled and took one of the glasses after K'sedel had filled them and raised it to him in toast. "To a fruitful evening . . . " she grinned, "whatever you have planned."

"A fruitful evening," he replied.

Last updated on the August 20th 2005

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Different From The Norm