Continued from Another Kitchen Explosion
Xanadu Weyr - Hatching Arena
Large outer doors can be thrown open to allow massive amounts of people into the foyer with ease, the well-lit space both having many thick-paned windows as well as spaced lights along the walls. Smooth tile has carefully been laid on the floor, a variety of orange hues reflecting the pale tan of the walls. Wide areas have been left unadorned - perhaps for future artistic endeavors - on either side of a pair of low, bronze doors which remained closed the majority of the time, as they lead to the sands themselves. Off to the sides are doors to the candidates barracks and the Dragonhealer's annex, and a pair of wide staircases on either side lead upwards to the observation level.
Enkavir dashes after Thea, and by the time they reach the hatching sands he's actually running. "Thea. Thea!" The bowl is empty so he dumps Spark into his hand and sets the bowl down, then tucks Spark into the crook of his arm. "Shells, woman, don't just run away from me. Talk to me."
Thea is almost to the Hatching arena walking with a rapid, and for her, a ground eating stride. Hearing her name called, she stops, but doesn't turn around. Her head is bent enough so that her hair sweeps forward - her sanctuary.
Enkavir comes up behind her, and finally just plunks Spark down in the sand. "Just… stay there." He makes little 'please stay' motions, and the firelizards is so full and drowsy he just curls up in the sand, content. "Thank Faranth," Enkavir breathes, then he comes up behind Thea. "I'm… sorry." His words are hardly more than a breath, the air stirring her hair as he stands close enough for his shadow to meld with hers. "I didn't know what to say or how to fix it." She can't see him, but he's frowning, intense, his hands hovering beside her arms unsure whether or not to touch her.
Thea turns to face Enkavir, keeping the rolled quilt and table between them, almost as a shield. It's not a conscious move, but rather reflexive and it may show in her eyes. They aren't shuttered or hard, rather the shadowed green has gone to wide liquid pools. She doesn't say a word, just regards the man for a long-drawn measure. The rest of her face is still, calm but open for him to see a deep hurt, something that is not, perhaps, rooted in today. Finally she softly answers, but yet with a guarded tone, "What are you apologizing for exactly?"
Enkavir 's gaze is broken by the barrier, unconscious or not. He looks down at the table and quilt and then lifts eyes gone to nearly brown that are pained, his doors as open as hers. "I'm sorry I…" he trails off, mulling it over, and shoves his hands roughly into his pockets as he finishes with, "touched you when I shouldn't have. I'm sorry I didn't know what to say to shut her up." It makes the muscles in his jaw clench, his lips pressed together, but the moment passes and when he lets out a rough breath his features are soft again. "I'm sorry I can't stop looking at you. I'm sorry someone thinking we might be together made you-" he takes another deep breath, lifts his gaze back to hers, searching. "Made you cry." It's a statement but in his eyes are only questions.
Thea blinks as Enakavir starts speaking. By the look on her face, this is clearly not the answer she was expecting to hear, surprises chases total confusion over her features. Her lips part but no sound comes out. Perhaps the oddest thing that finally escapes them is a short, dry laugh. Yes, it's obviously a laugh of disbelief, soft though it is. "I don't… know where to start!" Her searching look meets his questioning one. But she has one of her own! "What is this-" and she quotes him- "'touched you when I shouldn't have' supposed to mean?" For all that she is incredulous, her face and the tone of her voice tender. She's genuinely mystified. She's totally forgotten the table between them.
Enkavir flings a vague hand behind himself, in the general direction of the kitchens. "Back there. I touched your arm, that's what set Zevida off. I should be more respectful of your boundaries." He's not about to make the same mistake again, so instead of touching her arms he just runs his fingers across the edge of the table. "I don't mean to be overly… familiar with you." Consternation plays in his eyes, his teeth brush his lower lip and his eyes are on the movements of his own fingers. He's offering what he thinks he should say but he's confused too about the whole situation. She cried. She ran.
Thea's eyes follow those fingers as they trace the table's edge. With a small growl of frustration she yanks it out of his reach and sets it down with a short thunk. Turning back to Enkavir she has a bit of fire in her eyes now. "Boundaries," flatly. "You don't mean-" she's repeating him now. There's fury in her quiet voice, "So the other night, when you talked with me and… and…" She simply can't go on. "What was that? An accident then?" She tosses it out, turns and sprints out towards the beach on swift feet.
Enkavir's hands fall to his side when Thea takes the table away. Then she's yelling and there's fire in his eyes and all he can do is blink and splutter. "It wasn't an accident for me, was it for-" And off she dashes again. He curses low and harsh and shoves a hand through his hair. There's a moment's hesitation as if he may just let her go, but then he lets out a little growl of frustration of his own and he takes off after her, his longer legs eating the ground.
Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Beach
With a gentler slope to the water from the main beach and the way it is cut in like a cove, this is the most sheltered spot for bathing. The sand is the same white hue, there are just as many — or perhaps more — scattered shells. From here, one has a beautiful view across the lake, a scene more often tranquil than not.
Thea runs flat out up the narrow band of hard sand by the water's edge as fast as the weyrling training and conditioning will allow her. Fury lends her speed, but the ragged cadence of her breathing isn't doing anything to help. She's still wearing her hide boots and they aren't helping her flee faster either. For all that, she is doing her best, hands clenched in fists as her arms move in rhythm with her stride.
She's fast, and Enkavir hasn't slept well, and she knows where she's going while he's trying to keep sight of her in the fading light. "Thea!" His legs are longer and he's in good shape, so he gains but not quickly as he would like to. "Please stop running from me and /talk/ to me." He calls out to her, his breath coming in a pant now too, his face dropping into a scowl. "Please!"
Even a dragon can't fly forever, though Thea may have a dragon-sized temper right now, she doesn't have wings. Her steps slow and she comes to a stop, her hands on her knees as she inhales gulps of air for a few minutes. As Enkavir draws near, she straightens her back, and turns to face him, flipping her hair off of her face and leaving it mussed, not caring that what little breeze there is will make it worse. She's still winded as she watches him, but she is more relaxed. Perhaps the run did her some good?
Enkavir shuffles to a halt a single pace from Thea, running the back of his hand across his mouth as he too takes long breaths. "What… is wrong with you?" It's an angry gasp - if the run did her good it had the opposite affect on him. His hair, as usual is even messier than hers with tangles falling into his eyes as he tips his head back to catch what little breeze he can. "I can not believe I just chased you half way across the weyr." As his head tips back down and his eyes come open they hold a glint of fire, irritation or determination it's hard to say. "Do. Not. Run. Again." He squeezes out each word, and to help make sure she listens, he takes that final stride and grabs hold of her wrist, leaving them face to face. "Now talk to me." Not so much a request.
Thea doesn't try to run or evade, or wrest away from Enkavir's grip. She's still breathing hard, so she doesn't speak, but those eyes so near to hers hold her more surely than the hand upon her wrist. Hers are wide, almost stunned, but there is no fear in them. He does have her attention, there's no denying that, but she is speechless and remains so for long moments. Finally she says the only thing she is able. "I had to."
"You had to." Enkavir repeats her only words dully, tipping his head to the side and dropping it to better see the cool green of her eyes. "Because of me? Why do you need to run from me?" His eyes show confusion and maybe a tinge of hurt but there's still frustration in the sharp lines of jaw and mouth as well. He tugs at her wrist, pulling her closer until his still-ragged breath is warm on her face.
Thea allows herself to be pulled closer, her eyes remain on his, taking in the hurt, the confusion as she is drawn she towards Enkavir. She rests one hand on his chest lightly until she can feel the beat of his heart. "I-" There's a catch to her voice, "had to." Her eyes beg him to understand as she adds, "Because of me. Not you." Her eyes flicker across his features, taking note of the line of his mouth and jaw, fully aware of his ire before she raises them back to his eyes. Her body begins to tremble slightly as she begins, "I- Why does it make you so angry that I ran anyway?"
Enkavir's heart beats quickly beneath the gentle pressure of Thea's hand, and though his breath is slowing somewhat it still lifts her palm with each inhalation. His frown begins to fade, though his eyes remain shadowed, even as he hesitantly lays his hand over hers. "I'm not angry, I'm frustrated and I don't understand." The growl has left his voice, leaving it soft and nearly pleading. "If you had to leave the kitchen that's fine, but then you ran away from /me/." Important distinction. "Instead of talking you ran off and that's… not okay with me. I didn't expect that to be your reaction, I suppose." His eyes slip over the fall of her hair, the curve of her cheek and he lets out a sigh, shaking his head.
Low-voiced barely audible, "Yes, I did. I ran from you." She doesn't deny it as she continues to watch him closely, with eyes that have shadows of their own in them, differing emotions shift therein, although fear is not among them. A small bit of confusion colors her voice, "I don't know if I can explain why I ran. Maybe it was because… I could." Her breathing is returning to normal gradually, the rise and fall of her chest slows, "I was angry and disappointed. I didn't want to say something I might regret, I guess." Her head drops then, her eyes focus on her wrist and the fingers clamped around it. With her head still lowered, from within the tumble of hair that hides her, "I won't run again."
Enkavir's lips press together, and while she watches him he meets her eyes levelly however hard it may be. "Disappointed, why?" He clings to what seems to be important, and when she looks down at her own wrist, though his grip is not tight, he quickly loosens it. Hesitating, teeth biting his lower lip, he slides his fingers down the back of her hand then turns it so he can lace them through hers. "I came after you, what more did you want me to do, Thea?"
"I wanted…" her voice trembles slightly and her words trail to silence, and her head remains lowered, even when his fingers lace with hers. She becomes completely still for a long moment, finally drawing a deep shuddering breath, "I am glad you came after me, Enkavir. I imagine another would have shrugged and walked away, never given it another thought. But you didn't. And yet," her head raises and through the tangle of hair feathering across her forehead her eyes are wounded, "You said you -didn't mean-" she swallows, "to be overly familiar with me." Her teeth grit together for a moment, perhaps giving evidence to how hard it is to admit it, the words come out in a rush, "I thought you did." And her head drops once more to hide as she winces.
Enkavir leans toward Thea, bending his head down to better catch her words, to meet her eyes more fully. His expression is serious, his eyes keen on hers as he slowly nods. "I'm not the sort to give up so-" he breaks off then as she finishes explaining, and in the middle of this very tense moment, he laughs. It's not a mirthful or amused sound, just a dry bark, and his free hand scrubs over his hair. "Faranth. Is that what has you all upset? What I meant was… if you didn't want me to be so familiar I am sorry that I-" he breaks off then, shaking his head and reaching out to place a single finger under her chin which he uses to tip her face up toward his. "Thea." His voice is gentle now, a low purr as the thumb of the same hand strokes down a cheek, leaving him cupping her face. "I don't want to be familiar in public if that makes you uncomfortable. I don't want to hurt you, that's all I meant."
Thea remains unmoving, listening as Enkavir speaks, flinching at the sound of his laugh, but then he is speaking and she's nodding, her muttered answer follows, a bit of the rebellious in her tone, unwilling as the answer is dragged out of her, "Only in part." Her lips clamp shut. She allows him to tilt her head up, a shiver travels her frame as his thumb strokes her cheek, but she keeps her eyes on his, reading, or attempting to, the expression in them. "Why didn't you just say that, then instead of," she hesitates, "The other, then?" Her lips twitch, forming a tiny smile as her eyes take on a hint of humor, "Nevermind, you're a man. It comes with the territory I guess. And it doesn't make me uncomfortable, Enkavir." She takes a quick breath, "Zevida was't upset, either. She was being… nosy."
Enkavir leans in again to catch those muttered words, his lips slowly curving into the faintest of smiles. "I was out of breath because someone ran half way across the world to get away with me. I had no idea what upset you and I was /trying/ to explain myself without scaring you off again. Which didn't work." As he relaxes he talks more, slips back into his more verbose self. The humor in her eyes is echoed in his as he gives her chin a little squeeze. "I am a man, so give me a little grace, eh?" The mention of Zevida is ignored entirely in favor of the far more positive little comment squeezed in before it. "It doesn't make you uncomfortable?" One brow lifts quizzically though his light smirk lingers. The hand on her face slides upward, leaving chin and cheek behind to tangle gently into her hair. He watches her, eyes glinting.
"I WASN'T scared!" Indignant yes and likely in denial too, although she isn't aware of it. "Not much scares me." She adds in a calmer voice. And this is true. As his fingers move through her hair, the fingers still entwined in his tighten a tiny bit and a quick, indrawn breath moves her chest slightly. Her eyes remain fixed on his, and she doesn't, perhaps she cannot hide the wistful expression in them, "No, why should it? I live in a Weyr." For all his tenderness, that smirk seems to discomfit her; she can't quite interpret it, apparently. "Don't… laugh, please!"
Enkavir just nods dubiously at Thea's assertion that she wasn't scared. "I agree that not much scares you." It's cryptic - he's not saying anything about whether or not she was scared a few moments ago. Her indrawn breath pulls an echoing one from him, and he returns the pressure on his fingers with a soft squeeze. But then that brow goes up again, and he cants his head. "You live in a Weyr, that's why? You'd be comfortable with any other man running his hands through your hair?" Her plea for him to not laugh wipes the smirk from his face and he takes a long slow breath. "I'm not laughing." The words are rough, and followed by him dropping his mouth to hers. At the last moment he hesitates, lips a bare breath from hers, waiting for her to close the gap if she will.
If a person could drown in someone's eyes, Thea is in way over her head, whether she knows it or not. If the man behind them is at all perceptive, he'll see it. A tiny frown of irritation clouds her brow, "No one has ever tried." She shrugs, her voice sounding oddly detached as she says it, though, as if the realization of that fact does't bother her at all. "And, no I wouldn't. Likely I'd punch anyone else for trying." His growled words, the nearness of him - it is all too much and she surrenders to it, leaning to close the last bit of distance between them, her eyes never leaving his until they are too close to focus upon. Her lips tremble as they meet his, perhaps the wordless message will convey what she has been unable to say.
At the look in Thea's eyes, Enkavir's smile slowly returns but it's far from amused. It's the softest of barely-there curve, echoed in the growing fire in the eyes she drowns in. "Likely /I'd/ punch anyone else for trying," he mumbles. But then she's leaning in and his eyes slide closed even before hers do. The kiss is a gentle press of lips, the hand in her hair holding her to him for the few moments that both stretch and pass too quickly. If there was not so much feeling behind it, the gesture might almost be chaste, brief and soft and sweet. When Enkavir lifts his mouth from hers he lingers near her, tipping his forehead to rest against hers as he watches her eyes, inhaling the scent of her.
A soft breeze eddies wisps of Thea's hair, the tips brushing lightly across the face of the man before her, dancing over both of them with soft wind-driven tickles as their foreheads touch. There is a dazed wonder there in her pale eyes held by the hazel of his. Captured, entranced, she can't look away, so she doesn't really even try. "You… would?" Her lips curve up at the corners. This statement appears to please her no end. "I can't say anyone has ever cared enough to punch someone over me." She doesn't question further, perhaps not wanting to break the magic of the moment. She just sighs, her body relaxes and her guard crumbles, "You didn't make me cry, you know. Back there in the kitchen." It comes easily to her lips, and the words tumble forth as a waterfall encased in ice might give way during spring thaw, "The thought of others thinking we might be together didn't either."
Enkavir lets a soft little chuckle, tipping his face just enough to let those dark strands play over his cheeks with eyes closed. He's drowning, far past the point of saving, and when his eyes flicker back open their golden hue nearly glows. "I would," he affirms, running his fingers through her hair and curling the ends of a strand around them. "I care enough, and though it means the men in your life are insane, I'm honored to be the first to offer to knock someone out for you." There's a hint of amusement but it can't quite reach the surface, pushed under by almost dazed happiness. "I'm glad to know it," he whispers. "I'd hate to make you cry."
Thea laughs softly, a musical lilt to the sound, "You must think me an awful crybaby, I seem to do it whenever I'm around you." Her arm lifts, the fingertips of her free hand trace his cheekbone gently, "I guess I was waiting for you to just tell Zevida to shove it." Ah. A confession! Her eyes dance as she adds, "Not like she wants the Weyr talking about how she's with a nonrider, too." A tiny frown mars the curve of her lips, "You, know, no one has ever kissed me before." That isn't what causes the frown, although he may not know it. There's something forming in her thoughts and her words tumble out before she can stop them, "Seryth will rise again, you know."
Enkavir shakes his head, the motion causing their foreheads to rub together. "Not at all, sweetheart. I take it as a compliment that you can allow yourself to cry with me." The hand in her hair disentangles itself and he runs a knuckle down her cheek as if tracing a nonexistent tear. "Or I feel bad for causing it." Her confession makes him chuckle and he straightens up. "I growled at her a bit before I came after you but I don't think she cared. I'm not as intimidating as I'd like to be." He stays close, sighing and gently looping his arms around her waist, but then she offers her second confession and this has his eyes widening a touch. "Really? No one? How is that even possible?" If anything his smile deepens, and he pulls her lightly against him. "Your first kiss. If I had known I would have done candles and flowers or somethin-" he breaks off, it's like whiplash this back and forth, a frown creeping toward his brow. "Yes, that's what dragons do." And then it dawns on him, and the frown deepens. "Kinseth. Kinseth won Seryth's flight. X'hil." It's all he says, and he doesn't move to let her go, concern welling in his eyes. "Were you okay?"
"Don't be. You didn't cause it all," Thea assures him. "I think the tears were all in there for a long time, over things nobody else cared to draw out of me." She tilts her head back, keeping her eyes on his face and he straightens, sways as his arms come round her waist. She shakes her head wordlessly, at his question as he pulls her to him, her hands sliding up to rest lightly against his chest. Finding herself a little breathless, she manages to shrug, "I guess no one ever wanted to before you came along." Her eyes take on a bit of a twinkle at his pleasure over that admission, before she's objecting. "Candles-? No! This was perfect. I wouldn't change a thing." His reaction to her mention of Seryth's flight doesn't surprise her, perhaps she had anticipated such, or worse, for she looks a bit relieved, "I was in the infirmary…" She looks away for a moment, then hastily back to him, adding "Not because of-" Her cheeks tinge pink just a bit as she explains, "Got clonked on the head by a falling limb and was in there when Seryth rose." Her eyes travel to a far-off point somewhere over his shoulder as her voice trails off and she is lost in thought for a moment. Brows lower in a small frown as she tries to answer, "I don't remember much, the feelings, mental, emotional and physical are so mixed up with Seryth's." She continues, "I… couldn't get out of there (the Infirmary) when it all went down. They put screens 'round my cot, but… Yeah, not really private." Her eyes, harden for a moment, lips twist with disgust, "I do remember the morning after, X'ihl didn't have the decency to ask me the question you just did, the ninny!"
"Then know I am here to dry your eyes until they are all drawn out." Enkavir smiles gently down at her, his breath catching in his throat as she touches his chest. There's a hint of amusement for her self-deprecation and he shakes his head, tsking softly. "I am sure someone wanted to. Between your intelligence and now your dragon's hide, maybe they were just intimidated." Her acceptance of the setting for her first kiss, he simply nods to and then she's talking about the flight. He has nothing to compare it to, no source of reference, but what she says brings his frown back. "Ninny is a vast understatement. If I thought he would have any clue what he did wrong I'd go knock his head in, but I'm afraid it wouldn't do any good." He pulls her closer, up against his chest, and wraps her up in a hug. "I'm sorry your first experience with that was so unpleasant."
Thea does't argue the point with him, she just shrugs, "Might be also there was never anyone I cared to have kissing me, either." As to the Flight, she shakes her head, an irritated look crosses her face, scorn ripples in her tone, neither of which are directed at him as her lips curl for a moment, "I was more angry and disgusted with him - and the Healer in the Infirmary than traumatized. Seriously, for all that goes on here and the training we get during Weyrlinghood, you'd think Riders would get a grip on what they've gotten themselves into. But noooo, they must angst and whine, worry and dither." Again that shrug, her hand lifts and dismisses the mess with a flip of her hand, "It was… unpleasant. And some people overreacted." Her arms slide round him as he pulls her close, she must tilt her neck to see him now. "X'hil," she hesitates, then making a decision continues, "is an incompetent, lying, self-preserving, coward." For all the negativity of the words, there is no hate or bitterness there. It is simply fact. One eyebrow raises as if to say, what do you make of that?
Enkavir's lips tilt into his crooked little grin and he makes a soft mmm sound, dipping his head to nudge her nose with his before he straightens back up. "I like that version." As she speaks of the flight one of his hands swirls slow easly circles over her back and he listens in silence. "It's hard for me to judge, it's so foreign to me. But it seems like anything else that comes with a job. It should be dealt with somewhat objectively but… politely. Professionally. Don't angst and whine but do check on the other person." He shrugs, frowning. "I have no idea." But about X'hil he does have an opinion, one that involves the return of his grin. "That sounds about right. Though I've never known him to lie per se. I don't… get him."
Thea simply links her hands behind the small of Enkavir's back, the searching look that has been growing in her eyes as she has been speaking intensifies as she finishes. "It goes totally against the grain of Holder life." Measuring his reaction, nodding in agreement to his sentiments, "It is how I chose to look at it, many cannot. Can you, do you think?" Whether she is referring to their relationship or the possibility of him impressing, she doesn't say. His noserub brings a smile to her face, then eyes take on a somber expression at the mention of the Weyrsecond, "He lies when he thinks he'll get in trouble for speaking the truth. No integrity." Her voice does take on a tinge of disgust, "So juvenile, really and someday something disastrous will happen because of it when we are most depending on him."
Enkavir exhales through his nose, lips pressed together in thought. "Against Holder life, against Craft life, but it is /your/ life." He settles back against the hands now looped around him, and he slowly rolls his shoulders in a shrug. "It's hard for me to say. In my head, obviously, it's how I think it should be viewed. When it comes to the moment itself though? It's hard to say." He wets his lips, leaves one palm pressed to her back but the other sneaks between them to brush her cheek. "When some juvenile man treats you as less than you deserve? I don't know. But I'd like to think so." A grunt for X'hil and her opinion of him, and he shakes his head. "I know the dragon chooses and the one that chose his has metallic hide, but if he's such a concern why is he-" he breaks off, brows drawing down as he glances toward the Weyr proper. "But then, that's not your decision either, is it?"
Thea shakes hear head, not commenting on the other things he has said but she does address his question regarding X'hil, her tone so dry it is devoid of emotion, "It isn't decided by vote, no. R'sul and Niva decide. And the juniors aren't asked to contribute to the decisions they make." Again her lips close, pressed together in a flat line, her eyes cast out over the ruffled waters of the lake. After a moment of hesitation, she adds in that same carefully neutral tone, "I can't say I understand the whys of many of the decisions made by them, I am duty-bound to abide." Missing are important words he may catch the lack of: approve, endorse, participate in. Her hands tighten where they are clasped around the small of Enkavir's back as his hand caresses her cheek, her gaze returns to him, sorrow shadows her eyes perhaps indicating she's left something unsaid. She abruptly changes the subject with a question of her own. "Why were you so grouchy this morning if you got sleep enough?"
Enkavir's brows dip into a frown and he shakes his head. "I suppose it's that way Weyr, Hold and Craft. At least in this situation a person is making the decision rather than the luck of blood. It could be worse." A little anyway. He nods his slow understanding of her words, his eyes glinting with the knowledge of those unspoken words. "Duty can be a heavy load to bear, I know. One reason I'm just a lowly non-rider record keeper." He winks to lighten his words, then her question leaves him chuckling lightly. "Oh, that." The hand that has been on her cheek moves to muss through his hair. "I didn't sleep a wink. I went out on the beach and the wind woke me up when Spark was asleep. I was just responding to that adorably infuriating little smirk of yours." Then he blinks. "Oh, shells! Spark! I left him back at the hatching cavern.
Thea doesn't comment on the topic of leadership, her attention is no longer on it. She hears his explanation, eyes that have suddenly become icy narrow just a tiny bit. Her voice is hot as she spits out, "You ly-" Abruptly she cuts herself off, her eyes slowly warm as she just stands there pinning him with a keen scrutiny. "I… did needle you, didn't I?" See she's totally forgotten already! Her voice ripples with something, call it self-amusement, whatever. "Might have to do that more often, then, if this is how it turns out!" The mention of Spark has her smirking once more, but she is wise enough not to say a word.
Enkavir just nods, his own mouth smirking and eyes glinting a bit. "You did needle me indeed. I won't make a habit of untruths though, I would have explained better and sooner if… everything hadn't happened right after that." His grin deepens and he dips his head to plant a tiny kiss on her brow. "I promise we can have this outcome without the needling, whenever you want." He catches the smirk and lifts a warning hand, then just turns, looping his arm over her shoulder to walk with her back to the sands.