Xanadu Weyr - Garden
An arch woven from the tendrils of a willow tree stretches overhead lightly creeping with ivy as one steps in from the meadow into this sanctuary of green. Cool gray flagstone carefully spaced enables a soft velvety moss to thrive within the cracks, and creates a single wide pathway that fluidly breaks off into two paths of stone once free of the natural arbor. It is a wonder this place, and meticulously tended from the way it seems not a single leaf is out of place. On either side of the main path expansive grassy patches are trimmed short and edged behind with natural tan colored stone selectively chosen to stack just right. Beyond these are a line of fine puffed shrubberies in vibrant green intermingled with flowering bushes of brilliant pinks varying in hue from the very light to the very dark, which causes the occasional snowy white blossoms of other scattered here and there without worry to simply pop out of the scenery.
Directly in the center of the garden is another wall of intricately stacked stone, this of muted grays, creating what from the air would prove to be a perfect circle. It's been set high for safety, but not so much as one would not be able to lean over it to admire what lies beyond, either standing or sitting at the smattering of benches whose backs are set every four feet along it. Flush to the ground inside it's protective stone outcropping, is an enormous twenty foot wide fish pond. Within one can glean the metallic glint of playful goldfish, the unhurried cruise of fat koi, and even a frog or three among pale yellow and white flowering water lilies and their thick green pads.
The trees surrounding the entire garden were planted to give the impression that they had always been here, not only lending to a rustic look, but also eluding to the beauty that can be found among the wilds if only one might just look for it. Species vary from the ordinary Birch and Pine, but the flaming red capsules of the Indian Shot to the robust orange spokes of the Firewheel tree suggest the spice of the exotic. The two paths leading away from the entrance have come full circle, wrapping around to meet each other on the other side, yet still continue on to the far left and right. One path leads off deeper into the surrounding woods, while the other wider; cheerily decorated with brightly colored slabs of painted stones.
It's a nice day, albeit a little cool out under the trees. Here's where D'son sits though as the sun starts to drift downward towards the horizon, a small lap desk propped atop his knees while he works through Yet More Papers.
Sounding out through the evening air comes the sounds of someone running, nothing frantic or panicked just someone out for a run as they wind their way through the forest trails until a long legged woman comes into view. Certainly fit, Vivian is not the kind of person most would suspect enjoys this kind of activity, yet there she is running along at a good steady pace. She's wearing a pair of shorts and a short t-shirt that hugs tightly to her.
Up come the Weyrleader's eyes, curious, not expectant and a moment later D'son's got quite the view. Vivian, running. Vivian in tight clothes and being all of nineteen, his gaze settles on her chest, because a girl running …. well it does nice things to the bosom area. Guiltily, hazel eyes snap back up to her face and Dels adjusts the lap desk a little higher, even as he clears his throat, calls out a simple: "Heya."
If she saw where he was looking it would appear that Vivian didn't mind especially given the broad grin that spreads over her face. "Evening." She replies as she slows and comes to a halt a few paces away from him, bending over, hands on knees to get some breath back. "How you doing?" She asks. "Or should that be what on earth are you doing out here at this time of night?"
"It's not even quite sundown yet," D'son points out with a his pencil indicating the steady progression of the sun downwards. "Finishing up a few things. I needed some air. Even with all those windows, the office gets you know …." he trails off blows out a breath. "Stuffy." And then the little grin. "You run a lot?"
Vivian listens to him as she stands up again, stretching her back, chest sticking out towards him in the process, accidental? "If you insist, I tend to find once the sun gets down a bit further the bugs start to crawl out and that's not quite so pleasant." She replies with a smile as she settles her gaze on him. "Sunbathing, as much as I love it, doesn't do me any favours in regards to keeping my body nice and toned." She tells him. "I enjoy running it lets me forget all the pressures of life." She explains as she starts to stretch out, right there in front of him, giving him quite the view in the process.
"I'm from Ista," D'son reminds with a grin, "bugs're worse there and well, it's a great time to catch them for fishing bait," the Weyrleader points out further with a wicked glint of mischief in his eyes. Except you know, hello chest. And his desk is shifting again. "I like to fish for that. And swim."
Vivian continues her cool down stretches, very flexible. "I'm not sure I want to visit Ista then if the bugs are worse than some of the monsters we've got here." She shakes her head at that. "Swimming I can agree with, but fishing?" She finishes up and takes the last few steps to stand beside him and sits down on the ground next to him, leaning back to look at him with a sigh.
"Yeah. Lots of big crawlers at night," D'son says with the enthusiasm of a boy and tilts a look down at her when she finishes up, sits where she does. "Yeah. Love to fish. Go with my weyrmate all the time. We'd hunt bugs together too." Which might explain a little something about D'son and Aisling's relationship.
Vivian doesn't look all that impressed by the idea of crawlers. "Do you cook as well as catch them?" She asks, casting a considering look towards him. "The bugs are for fishing with I hope?" She double checks.
"Shells no, yuck," D'son says making an expression 'ew' face. "They're for the fish, yeah. Get a good bucket of them and they tend to draw in good eats from the ocean," the Weyrleader explains with a laugh. "So. I uh — I talked to your mother the other day."
Vivian rolls her eyes at him and gives him one of those looks. "Roasted spiderclaw is a delicacy dear, you shouldn't be wasting good food like that!" She pouts though his next comment has her raising her brows at him. "What was mother dearest saying? I have to winder as well if that was before or after I'd spoken to her."
"Spiderclaws aren't bugs," D'son replies then blinks. "OH! Well yes, cook the fish and the spiderclaws, on the beach you know, open fire. Tastes good," the Weyrleader says with a laugh for the misunderstanding then blows out a breath. "After," he says a little pointedly and lifts a hand to his face. "Look … Viv, you're a really great girl, I like you, I really do. But um … could you maybe not tell her things like, I knocked you up? Because it — it makes it harder to work with your mother." His voice is quiet, a touch of pleading in it.
Vivian nods her head and leans forward to tap playfully at his shoulder. "Silly, I wasn't thinking of eating the bugs." She sighs and curls her legs round so she can lean towards him. "I'm not sure where she got that idea from, she gave me some speech about not wanting to be a granny yet." She explains with a faint smile, a delicate roll of her shoulder as she adds. "Initially she didn't believe me when I told her we hadn't slept together, but I did set her straight on that one. She's not bothering if we do or not, so long as you don't end up in her bed again, she's locking herself away with dad the next time Kilaueth rises."
"Oh .. okay, okay," D'son says about the bugs and blows out a breath. "Mm. Well. Well good. Yeah." Quiet for a moment. "Am I doing that bad of a job?" he asks next though, about the next time Kilaueth rises. "I mean … not that — agh. How the hell do I respond to that? Say I'd like to go home and it sounds like I don't want to be here, don't want to do the job. Say I want to win and …" he gestures futilely.
Vivian takes advantage of his flustering to sit up so she can move the desk thing down over the lower part of his legs, moving herself so she pulls her hip up to rest against his thigh, her hand leaning on the ground on his other side as she looks at him, a serious look. "Think of this from her point of view." She explains gently. "You're my age." Is emphasised with a hand placing gently on his chest. "The same age as her daughter. Inimeth can still catch Kilaueth she just doesn't want you in her bed again, you need to find yourself a substitute for when he confirms his place here." The implication of who she reckons that should be should be pretty obvious given how close she is now.
There's a murmur of protest, the desk caught at with a hand, but then it's shifted and Dels just nudges it the rest of the way so she doesn't sit on his careful draft of another letter to another holder. Pink in his ears if she notices … and he swallows hard. "What's that got to do with anything? It's just a flight. Inimeth won my lover's mother's green one time. You — you just … you do it, let yourself go with it and you forget about it after," he says with a little roll of his shoulders and his hand dropping to remove her hand. What she proposes just draws blank puzzlement. "What?"
"Your Lovers mother?" Drawls Vivian slowly. "Not your weyrmate?" She croons and bats her lashes at him. "You kept that one a secret you stud, how many women do you have on the go then?" She asks him brazenly. "Got to remember my mother has generally ended up with guys closer to her own age, not one she could have fathered. And if she does lock herself out of the way, you my dear weyrleader are going to have an awful lot of passion locked up in you that will need released when Inimeth catches."
"T-two," D'son answers, flushing scarlet all of a sudden. "Ais and — well I have permission. From Aisling. And she has permission from me for — her lover." Stumbling over the words and he tries to scoot back a little. "I don't have permission for you or for anyone else and I —" he breaks off and fidgets with the pencil still in his hands. "Can you do that? What will happen to Kilaueth if Niva's not there to … to bring her down?"
Vivian gives another delicate shrug of her shoulder as she watches him fidget, reaching for his hand. "She knows what she's doing, she's not been Senior for this long without knowing what she's doing." She explains, "She'll still have all her faculties, it just means that Dad'll be getting his brains screwed out by her instead of you." She tells him with as sultry a voice as possible coming from her as she watches him, "Do you want permission for me?" She asks him, "Or am I not good enough for you?" That sultry gaze lingering on him. If he lets her take his hand it's being tugged towards her chest.
"But " D'son starts, still looking flummoxed by this idea. "Then why didn't she just —" he gestures vaguely again, clears his throat, " for this one for R'sul? Why doesn't everyone just …." more hand motions and then he's swallowing hard as she goes all sultry seductress on him. "Part of me wants to say yes … but it's complicated, I can't go asking right now. Aisling's all hurting because I left … it's just not — it's not a good idea. Right now." His voice is rising octaves as she draws his hand towards her chest and he starts to draw it back at the last minute. "Viv … please …" Dels pleads lowly.
Vivian shakes her head a little. "I'm not going to pretend to understand, I just know how much you'll be needing it after Inimeth catches Kilaueth." She tells him and the smile continues. "Then don't ask permission, just take me, I promise you'll enjoy it." When he pulls back she lets her hand drop away with a pout. Unfortunately for him, down means it lands lightly in his lap. "Please what?" She asks softly. "Make sure you enjoy it or please stop until later?"
"That's what cold baths are for," D'son answers in squeaky tones and his eyes go wide as her hand drops so. "I don't — doubt, it'd be … great, really, great," he babbles nervously. "But stop. Please. I'm not — I'm not a cheater and I don't want to be … rude to you." He takes a deep breath and drops his hand to hers to remove it from his lap. "You really great, a great person and you're beautiful and if I was available … I'd be all over you. But I'm not. So we can't."
"A cold bath isn't going to help when Your Inimeth has just caught a gold." Vivian assures him, though it's with a narrowing of eyes that she pulls back a bit, she pushes herself up to a kneeling position at his hip. "Rude would be denying a pretty girl a fulfilment to her desires." Her voice acquiring a very dangerous tone as she tugs he t-shirt up over her breasts to give him a full and up close view. "Just think what you're going to be missing out on." Leaning forward till she's within a few breaths of is face her hand drops back into his lap again to squeeze gently. "Bye." She tells him, standing up in one smooth movement before turning on her heel, stepping over him and walking slowly away, flicking her braid back over her shoulder, enticing?
He just looks pained at the prospect of trying to deal with a won flight without a partner. "Could ask Aisling to come," he murmurs lowly, head ducking so that he misses just what she's up to until he's getting a /view/. One hand starts to lift involuntarily, then slams back to the ground as his head tilts backward, eyes wide. "/Viv/ …" her name exhaled as he lets out a low groan and starts to arch up into her hand. She says 'bye' and he just sits there, struggling for breath, chin dropping to chest.
Vivian tugs her t-shirt back down as she strolls further away, a gently mocking call floating back through the evening air towards him. "See you at work in the morning D'son. Sweet dreams!"
No answer. Just D'son burying his face in his hands and taking a lot of deep breaths until it's safe to walk around in public again without the front of his pants bulging out embarrassingly.