Well Suited

Writers: Dana, Yvonne
Date Posted: 6th January 2006

Characters: Desirae, K'nure
Description: Desirae's friend Penala brings her to a party hosted by K'nure
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 9, day 6 of Turn 3

**Maybe this isn't been such a good idea...** Desirae thought as she looked around the weyr set up for a fun game of dragonpoker...and, from the looks of it, some good drinking too. But she couldn't've said no to her dragonrider friend whose whole expression had been so imploring when she'd asked her... And besides, she hadn't seen her - or the few others -
in a long while anyhow! It would be fun.

Just as long as the men she didn't recognize kept their hands to themselves...

"Penala! Over here!" K'nure waved his arm at the greenrider, who grinned and headed over toward him, towing Desirae in her wake. "I saved you a spot."

Penala grinned back and tugged the dolphineer over. "Hopefully _two_
spots, K'nure? I convinced my friend Desirae here that we're really all very harmless...it's the only way I knew she'd come and play!" She nudged Des teasingly.

"Harmless or not, I'm sure that we can squish and make room for two." He scooted down the couch, then changed his mind and sat on the floor at the end of the low table they were playing cards on. There was an assortment of wine bottles in front of him, which he tucked beneath the table.

"Do you want wine? Some of these still have something left in them."
Penala saw her friend's slight hesitation. "Oh, go on, Des! It's not gonna hurt you. K'nure, pour her a glass." Then, to her friend, she hissed, "Don't be so shy, Des."

Taking the hint, the dolphineer smiled at the bluerider as Penala pulled her down onto the couch. "Thanks," she said as he handed the glass to her.

"Of course." He nodded to the greenrider across from them, who was shuffling the cards. "So do dolphineers play poker when they drink wine?
Should we deal you in?"

"Of course we do! We're similar to Weyrfolk in that regard," Des grinned, inclining her head to the wine bottle.

"Just checking," said the bluerider. He topped up his own glass before setting the bottle aside. "Although technically, I think you _are_
Weyrfolk now."

The dolphineer blushed a little at that. "Yeah... I suppose we are."

"Sharding straight you are," Penala chirped with an impish grin as she took a sip from her glass. "But it's certainly not a _bad_ thing - and it's not something to blush over, Des! Honestly."

"I don't know about that... I've heard some stories, Penala." K'nure grinned wickedly and waggled his eyebrows at her over the rim of his wineglass. "Maybe she _should_ be blushing. And a little flush in the cheeks never hurt a woman's appearance."

"Ah yes. I've heard stories too, K'nure..." Penala glanced over at Desirae, who was staring at the bluerider. Apparently the dolphineer still wasn't sure quite what to think of him! An evil gleam flickered in the greenrider's eyes. "But I don't remember them _well_. Care to refresh my memory?"

"What, and corrupt a young lady who still has the grace to blush? Never."
K'nure shook his head, and then brushed an errant black curl out of his eyes. "Besides, I'd never stoop to soiling your reputation repeating errant gossip about your exploits. It _was_ you that you were talking about, right?"

The greenrider glared at him - but it was good-natured, in a way. Sort of. "Well, no, actually. I was talking _generally_." Now Des had her eyes fixed on _her_. Great. Penala smiled at her. "Don't look so shocked, Des."

"I'm not...shocked..." she mumbled, glancing from her friend to K'nure. Of course she'd heard of...stories...but Penala in a _scandal_? She could see this bluerider being part of a scandal though. He had the eyes for it. And the attitude... "You know, I don't live a _completely_ sheltered life," she told him, her tone just a little tart.

"Oh? So what have _you_ been up to?" he asked innocently.

Her flush deepened. "I haven't been _up_ to anything. But I do hear...things." **I may still have 'the grace to blush' but I still _know_ things...**

The dolphineer looked cute when she was blushing, K'nure decided. "Such as?"

Penala laughed at the look Desirae gave him. "Oh leave her alone, K'nure!
Don't expect her to _say_ what she knows - isn't it enough that she has at least _some_ knowledge?"

The bluerider grinned and relented. "I'm just teasing you - you know that, right?" He held out his hand, palm up, to make peace.

Penala bit her lip against a grin as she saw the way Des eyed that hand of his. **He's not gonna bite!**

Desirae smiled a little as she placed her hand in his. "Now I know." When her face tilted down to look at him, she was grinning.

"Good!" K'nure glanced over at the greenrider who had been shuffling the cards. He'd stopped to watch the exchange, but gave K'nure an arch look when the focus shifted back to him. "So are you going to deal?"

"Since you ask so _nicely_, K'nure..." the greenrider said, and began to shuffle again. "But I'm tired of poker. Let's play something else."

K'nure rolled his eyes. "That's just because you're losing. What about you, Des? What do dolphineers play when there's no more poker?"

"Mmm...depends. Sometimes we play chase-the-ace."

K'nure wrinkled his nose. "There's not enough people."

"So?" The greenrider across from him bridged the cards in his hands with a snap, tapped the edges together, and set them on the table. "It's not like it's hard to get more people. And someone can take my spot. I'm bored of cards." He blew Penala a kiss, unfolded his long limbs, and stepped over the back of the chair he was sitting on, leaving them alone.

K'nure watched him go with an unreadable expression on his face, then shrugged. "Okay, so it's down to us three. I guess K'ravil decided that he didn't want to share the spotlight. So what else do dolphineers do for fun?"

Desirae tried to school her expression, and thought she succeeded pretty well. Or so she thought. Focusing on K'nure's question, she replied, "Well...we usually tend to spend our free time outdoors. On the beach, in the water, with the dolphins..." She shrugged a shoulder and offered him a small smile. "Which is pretty predictable, huh?"

"Perhaps a little," K'nure agreed. "But that's why you're a Crafter, and we," he made a gesture to include both Penala and himself, "are dagonriders."

One brow rose and she lifted her chin slightly, trying not to glare at her host. "We may be predictable, dragonrider, but we're certainly not _boring_." Which his tone implied! Arrogant.

"I didn't say that. But you swim, and swim with dolphins even on your time off, which implies that you enjoy what you do." The bluerider grinned. "I, personally, would find it a little boring. I found my old Craft a little boring too, to be honest. But I enjoy being a dragonrider, which means that we're both well suited to our paths in life."

That brought a smile to her lips, and the irritation she'd felt briefly was gone. "Maybe you should try swimming with the dolphins sometime -
bring your dragon along - and then you can honestly tell me if you still think it's a little boring or not."

"Deal." The bluerider grinned and leaned forward to rest his elbows on the table, and met Des's eyes squarely. "But on one condition: I get to take you flying."

She didn't hesitate. "Deal."

Last updated on the January 7th 2006

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Well Suited