Xanadu Weyr - O'ric's Cottage
If this fairly plain cottage were lacking in one thing, that would be furniture. If there was something it was overflowing with, that would be clutter. Almost every inch of floor, and the few pieces of actual furniture, are covered in plates, cups, writing things, and discarded clothes in various states of cleanliness. Against one wall of the bedroom is a large trunk fitted with a sturdy looking padlock, this appears to be the only part of the cottage without junk tossed at it.
After a few days of careful checkups, Nicca was given the all clear - at least when it came to her head - though with her leg still wrapped, she was still hobbling around a little, though for the most part the only outward sign of her fall is the still purply bruise that is over her cheekbone. However, despite being cleared, the young woman has made no move to head back to the stables, instead lurking around her mother's office at those points in time when O'ric is otherwise occupied. This afternoon, it seems to have paid off, for she's running back to the brownrider's cottage, showing no concern for her leg, looking about as if she's going to explode as she comes in, holding herself up on the door frame as she catches her breath.
Were this a movie this would be the point where Nicca burst in unannounced to find O'ric in the arms of another woman, sadly this isn't a movie so instead she finds the brownrider working hard - and of course by working what is meant is snoozing, a hide over his face as if he'd been reading at some point, and a cold mug of something lying to his left hand side. His feet are propped up on a pile of clothes at the end of the couch, his pillow appears to be a jacket.
Thankfully it isn't a movie! Nicca catches her breath, scanning the room, before she spots the snoozing O'ric, a roll of her eyes as she moves across the room, shaking her head as she moves to settle down on the couch next to him and lift the hide off his face in the same smooth motion. Leaning to give him a long kiss, she giggles as she whispers. "Wake up, sleeping beauty. I've got news."
O'ric isn't the type to spring completely awake, though he does respond fairly quickly. "Think you've got the wrong cottage. Sleeping beauty's the next one over." The way he reaches for her makes it fairly certain he's looking to go straight back to sleep, but with company this time.
Nicca giggles softly, shifting the hide to the ground next to the couch as she shifts to stretch out with him. "Hmmm, are you sure? I think this is the right place.." And while she settles down, she's hardly being quiet, even as her fingers tap gently against his chest. "Mother got a note, today.." She begins slowly, as she rests her head against his shoulder.
That has O'ric jerking up right almost immediately, though his first comment is not about the note it's about the fact that his foot had gone to sleep and the sudden movement managed to get the blood flowing properly again. To be fair, it's less comment more stream of expletives, bt after it dies and he manages to uncross his eyes from the pain he wounds worried, "From… from who?"
Nicca is hurriedly shifting to get out of the way as O'ric jerks upright, the movement dropping her off the edge of the couch and onto the floor with a little thump. Looking rather silly, she blinks up at him a few times, though she stays where she is, waiting for him to ask. "Lady Ryeira. She was asking if Mother knew what Toban's reasons were, for asking after her daughter's marriage status." Nicca says softly, leaning against the couch, arms on the seat.
O'ric looks rather silly himself, what with one leg straight out like a flagpole, but it's relief that floods his expression when she says the name. "Oh." A moment later, louder, "Oh! Shaffing hell, we hadn't though of her at all! She was on the list but… has she replied? Do you know?"
Nicca giggles at him as he sits there, leg sticking out, shaking her head a little as she slowly moves to climb back up on the couch. And at his reaction, she shrugs a little, giving him a little nudge. "She went, I think. She read it, and then said she'd be back, and went off looking for a courier. She left the note so.. I took a peek." Nicca shrugs. "That was over an hour ago, and I haven't seen her since."
O'ric turns a little to give Nicca some more space, wrapping an arm around her the instant she's settled, "Okay so we know your mother's away, which would tempt me to go through her things. I could get Leth to… no, then she'd know we know, or come wondering what we wanted." She stop, ponders, "Do you think Kilaueth would recognise Cad?"
Nicca leans against him, hmming softly as she thinks. "Kilaueth's so wrapped up with her eggs, I'm not sure she'd recognize any of them, not with how hard the clutch is right now." She contemplates, glancing up at him awkwardly, her hand shifting to rest on his leg. "What are you looking for?" She asks slowly
"Spying." O'ric replies with a grin, "Or at the very least seeing what sort of a mood she's in when she comes back. Wish we could listen in. Shame firelizards can't blink in, listen for a bit, then come back and tell us. Would make our job a lot easier."
"I wouldn't be surprised if we can tell what sort of mood she's in just by whether the whole Weyr shakes from Kilaueth or not." Nicca says with a little giggle, hskaing her head. "Were you here, the other night when she grounded Seryth? I thought it was an earthquake!" Nicca says softly at the comment, nodding with a sigh. "That would make it easier… Can always see if she shoos Destiny right off, and we'd have some idea."
O'ric shakes his head, "Healer." One word of answer, but a whole world of explanation for why he missed it. "If she saw destiny wouldn't sh ejust come looking for you as soon as she got back? You'd need to think of a reason for having sent her to find out where your mother was."
Nicca nods slowly, patting his leg as he mentions Healer, a soft humm and she leans back. "It.. I guess it depends what sort of mood she's in. She might not even pay attention to who it was, if she was upset enough." She glances back up at him, grinning a little. "Of course, I'm not sure if she would think to look here, if she did notice."
"I hope not, I doubt I could hide you anywhere." O'ric tries to make it sound like a joke, but there's a hint of seriousness in his voice. He quickly counters with, "Want to try anyway? The sending, not the hiding."
"Don't worry so much." She says with a little shake of his leg, shaking her head too. "You're the least of her worries, I think." Nicca grins up at him, trying to give him a kiss to lighten his mood. "I suppose if she asked, I would just tell her that I was worried, with how she took off."
"Would she believe you?" O'ric asks, returning the kiss but trying to brush aside the complaint about his worries. "Mind you I wouldn't So worried you went roudn to a strange brownrider's cottage and took all your clothes off." He doesnt' give much time to digest the comment before asksing, "Anything you could say you needed to ask her? Something weyr related?"
Nicca blinks at him a few times, opening her mouth and closing it before she's smirking at him. "But my clothes are still on." She counters lightly before slightly hmming and leaning back to watch him. "I'm not sure." Nicca finally admits, biting her lip as she looks away, thinking.
"Shush, this is my fantasy here." O'ric teases, reaching a hand towards her though he doesn't make a move towards any clothing removal. "Any birthdays coming up? There's got to be something. Unless you say you wanted to ask her about a vacation or something. She'd believe that."
"But it doesn't have to be a fantasy." She teases him right back, her hand taking his and giving it a little squeeze. "Vivian's is in a few sevendays." She thinks slowly, before catching the thought of a vacation. "I suppose I could ask her if she'd mind if I.." And she spares a little glance at him. "We?" And she swallows, looking back down, "Took a few days off."
O'ric nods, "You could always say you want to get Vivian something for her birthday?" He's all ready to agree to the vacation till she switches to the we and then there's a little bit of worry creeps in, a little uncertainty, "Might be better if it's just you, after all you're th eone that got injured and things. I'm out and about enough people wouldn't notice if I crept away for a couple of hours now and then."
"Maybe she'll want that runner.." Nicca says thoughtfully, still attempting to think of various ways to get rid of the offending creature, having been unsuccessful so far. And then at his dismissal of the vacation, she sighs softly and nods. "If she would mind if I went somewhere, for a few days." And finally gives in.
"Hey." O'ric's voice is quiet as he reaches for her to draw her close, "I'll come join you, I promise. We're still in don't annoy Niva mode remember, last thing I want is her jumping to conclusions or something."
Nicca turns a little, tucking herself against his side, and resting her head against his chest. "You'd better." She says softly, giving him a poke in the side. "What type of conclusions?" She asks softly, even as she's hurriedly shaking the subject off. "I could always suggest going to Black Rock.. see her reaction. But I'd rather go somewhere warm."
O'ric smiles, wrapping his arms around her, "The right kind. If she comes round I want her to be able to look at the table not wonder if we… you know." Black Rock gets a nod, though there's little enthusiasm in it. "Western's got a new senior, could go drag a story out of there. If you just happen to be heading that way for some reason I could drop you off."
"Oz.." She protests for a moment, even as she leans, though she does nod with a little sigh. "I'll think of something.. I'm sure she'll have her own input too." And Nicca shifts to stretch out on the couch, her hands stretching over her head. "I'll worry about it later. Hopefully Destiny won't get bored, waiting in the office like that." She mutters.
"What? You don't like the table?" O'ric replies trying his best to not grin despite the thought. As she stretches out he curls around her, hooking one leg over hers partially to stop a mound of junk from sliding off. "I'm sure she'll find something to do, Might build a nest on your mother's desk or something, that would be fun to come back to."
"I never said that, did I?" She pokes at him as he settles down with her, shaking her head. "As long as she doesn't.. destroy anything, we'll be okay." She says with a grin, leaning to kiss him. "Though, now we have plenty of time to kill, until she's likely to get back, knowing Lady Ryeira." Nicca looks at him suggestively, arching an eyebrow.
O'ric considers sleeping again, but when she mentions time and then gives him that look his plans change almost immediately. Leaning forwards a little he gives her a long kiss, a kiss with a promise is in, breaking off to kiss his way to her ear and whisper. "Table." Once an idea is impanted it doesn't generally take long for him to think up some sort of plan, and really a few torn bits of clothing can be forgiven if the aftermath in enjoyable - though perhaps not if you're a table.
Later
It turns out that the table really wasn't all that bad of an idea, in the end, though thankfully for the furniture, at some point they ended back up on the couch, completely ignoring the passing of time and the lack of any gold firelizard returning from being shooed off. Of course, also unnoticed most likely is the fact that said gold firelizard took off, enjoying a certain amount of her own fun, thanks to a particular jealous brown. Oops. Either way, to say Nicca is anything less than completely wrapped up in O'ric - both literally and not - would be a lie.
O'ric should, perhaps, have realised that something was amiss - after all he's supposed to be the sensible type. But there are times when the last thing you want to pay attention to is the clock, and this turned out to be one of them. Whether there was anything added to the passion thanks to the firelizard flight is anyone's guess, but it certainly seems to have been enjoyable, O'ric all but collapsing on Nicca at the end, legs hooked around hers trying to maintain the fullest contact for as long as possible. When he eventually finds his voice it's simply to whisper, "Table." But this time it's followed by a rough chuckle and a kiss just below her ear.
Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, isn't it? Nicca loops her ankle with his, holding him there with her even as she nuzzles a little, dissolving into giggles at the whisper, wiggling a little bit. "Again?" She teases him, still giggling as she buries her face in his neck. With Destiny equally distracted, their plan has dissolved into disarray - a problem which becomes painfully obvious as there's a sharp rap on the door before he's being pushed open without preamble - none other than the Weyrwoman standing there in the doorway. "O'ri-" She begins in a sharp voice, as if she's about to deliver some sort of order, that is until her eyes end up on the couch.
If there's one thing you never want to be caught doing it's… well anything that involves naked in front of your girlfriend's mother. "You're trying to kill me aren't you." O'ric laughs, pressing another kiss to Nicca's neck before freezing at the sound of the door. There's no mistaking the word, or the panic, that flows from O'ric's mouth, after all there's no mistaking that voice behind him either. For a second he considers pulling some towels or something over on top of Nicca, anything that might make the situation go away. Nightmare… realised.
"Kill you? Never.. then what good wo-" And the soft murmur into O'ric's ear stops just as hurriedly as the movement of Nicca's hands on his back, hurriedly pulling her hand away from his lower back. Blushing darkly, she tries to sink into the sofa, squeezing her eyes shut, beore she finally pipes up a soft, "Good evening, Mother.." Sounding sheepish as she shifts a little, trying to hide behind the brownrider. Niva, for her part, is still standing there quite speechless, jaw dropped a little, before she recovers, arms folding over her chest. "When you've quite finished interviewing my daughter, I have actual work. For you both. And don't think you can count this as 'work hours'." And, just to make it even more uncomfortable, she lingers there, waiting for some acknowledgement.
O'ric's head drops down to Nicca's shoulder, and for a moment there's an extremely awkward silence during which, by right, it should be possible to hear his brain screaming at him - it's loud enough in his head after all. "Yes ma'am." He tries to move slowly, but that just serves to remind him they're both naked and he pauses, one hand searching for something that he can drag over them, or over one of them, or even just over his head so he can pretend the world did actually open up and swallow him. Slowly moving, pulling everything and anything he can from his piles of discarded clothes (see they did come in useful for more than pillows) he manages to make a very rough, many itemed, covering for the bits of Nicca he unveils, eventually lucking out and finding a towel that he can use to cover himself.
Nicca's response isn't much better than O'ric's, merely managing a little squeaking 'yes ma'am', still flushed dark red as she pulls the pieces of clothing up and over her, even as her hand is still moving to rest protectively on O'ric's shoulder, fingers curling gently around his arm. "Mother I.. I can.." Nicca starts finally, before she's being waved off by Niva, the Weyrwoman snorting a little, cutting her off hurriedly. "And I -do- expect it to be tonight." She says, and without another word turns and departs, slamming the door behind her, a slam that reverberates for a long moment before Nicca is shivering a little, sinking back onto the couch as she tightens her hold once more.
O'ric's brain has gone too far into panic mode for it to even register that Niva left somwhere in the middle of 'towel, good, damp patch on the couch, no, panic, sit on it!' So now he finds himself sitting on the couch, wrapped in a towel, staring at his closed front door and utterly unable to say anything that would be broadcastable to the general public. After a moment his head drop to his hands, fingers running deep into his hair and squeezing into fists for a second until the pain is enough to break through the panic and rational thoughts surface once more. "Least the door's shut now." Despite the lame joke, he can't quite bring himself to look at anything other than the floor.
Nicca blinks at the door once more, as if worried its going to reopen at any point, but as it remains thankfully shut, she exhales deeply even as she's scooting to curl up next to O'ric, a piece of clothing awkwardly dropped across her body as she tries to pull his hands from his hair, to fold her fingers through them instead. "That… That went well." She whispers softly, even as she rubs his back with her other hand, trying to soothe him. "Oz.." She starts slowly.
O'ric appears frozen, though his hands do eventually give to Nicca's tugging and at least stop trying to pull his hair out. His gaze stays firmly fixed on the floor. "That…" He begins echoing Nicca's comment initally, then changing to, "Was possibly the worst thing that could have happened right now. What happened to Destiny?" If in doubt, blame the firelizard. "When did she get back!" The panic's rising again, brain filling in a hundred different scenarios for how this could end and most of them resulting in the loss of one of his favourite appendages.
Nicca gives his hand a little shake as she works herself against his side, leaning to peek up at him, cutting into his view of the floor. "It.. It was embarrassing but. But.." But what she's not sure, even as he's busy blaming the firelizard, careful examination would likely reveal the presence of the two offending creatures curled up outside in a corner of Oceleth's wallow. As he begins to panic again, she shakes her head, sliding off the sofa to kneel on the floor infront of him, harder to ignore that way, leaning to try and kiss him, and distract him long enough to get a word into his panicked mind.
"Embarassing?" The slight squeak in O'ric's voice suggests something more than that. "That was your mo… your mo…." He can't say the word, thoughs of gelding still running rampant even as she kisses him. It takes a moment for him to react, kiss first and then hands against skin to drag her hear. This at least registers in his mind, though as he breaks the kiss he manages to get her name and the word naked mixed into "Nicced." Closely followd by. "Clothes."
Nicca giggles a little bit at him as he squeaks and stutters, her hands resting on his shoulders as she's dragged near, squeezing gently. Her eyes open as he speaks, nodding slowly, sneaking one more kiss before she's slowly getting to her feet, and setting about retrieving the clothes that were hastily abandoned earlier. "Maybe.. Maybe she'll let you on leave with me, now." Nicca replies, trying to make light of the situation despite her still racing heart.
O'ric shakes his head slightly, not wanting to move too much in case she suddenly comes back. "I'm I'm lucky she might just have my eyes put out so I can't look at you again." Slowly, reluctantly, he gets to his feet to find something slightly better than a towel, but there's only one thing on his mind, "Shells Nic, what're we going to do. Can't exactly say it's not how it looked, because it pretty obviously was. This wasn't…" part of the deal? The thought isn't completed, instead he pulls on the first pair of trousers he finds and sits back down on the couch. "Kill me now."
Nicca is half way through the process of getting dressed, her skirt still in her hands as she meanders back to the couch to sit next to him as he talks, and worries, slowly shaking her head, reaching for his hand again. "It.. It'll be okay." She offers softly, trying to keep her voice positive and upbeat, swallowing noisily though as he trails off. "Wasn't what?" She dares ask, gaze flicking back up to him with a tilt of her head, even as she's nudging him with her shoulder, trying to get him out of his funk.
O'ric doesn't pull his hand away, though there's a definite twitch as if he'd thought about it. "This wasn't part of the plan." Once again he can't quite look at her, turning his head so that for a second he faces her, but keeping his eyes down low. "It… we weren't… She's going to assume things!" Says the one that's assuming all over the place.
"Oh, the shardin' plan. Forget the plan." Nicca says with a little huff, shaking his hand as she holds onto it. As he avoids looking at her, she leans to kiss his cheek softly, whispering in his ear. "Oz… If D'son is still… intact… I wouldn't worry too much." She jokes, leaning back a little, giving him a crooked smile. "Besides.. she's probably thinking its about time." Of course, that may be the assumption that causes all the problems.
O'ric sighs, unable to dismiss the plan and not quite able to dismiss the problem either. "Vivian was different. She threw herself at him for months, you're the good one remember. You're not supposed to go and sleep with… oh shells she's gonna murder me." Another sigh, then the far too serious, "Think it's too late to just run away?"
Nicca shakes his hand then, as he sighs, shifting to nuzzle up gently against his neck, resting her head on his shoulder lightly. "Go and sleep with who? Because I'm fairly sure there's nothing wrong with you, Oz.." She offers, looking hurriedly at him, trying to hurriedly judge the sincereity of his question. "Only if you take me with you."
"She hates me." O'ric replies, trying his best to not respond to the nuzzling, but fighting a losing battle from the second it starts - he can't help but lean towards her. Another sigh follows as he contemplates actually running, but the rational thoughts are starting to seep through again and he's left with only one option, "Can't run, she'd just ground him." Hi seyes close, head shaking for a moment before he speaks again, "Nic, I… in case this all goes wrong I just… You need to know… it's been fun."
"She doesn't hate you, Oz.. It'll be okay…" And as he begins to lean against her, she wraps her arms around him, squeezing gently as she kisses his neck, turning to peek at him. "It will still be fun.. don't worry." And she leans to give him another kiss. "Give me fifteen minutes with her, and then come over.. Okay?" She says, in a tone that scarily imitates her own mother's at time, reluctantly pulling away to finish getting dressed, grabbing shoes on her way out. A pause at the door, and she waggles her fingers at him - and as if there's not enough panic already, her parting words, "Remember, 15 minutes… Love you.." can only cause more, because then she's gone, hoping to soothe ruffled feathers.
O'ric just sits there, when usually he would watch her getting dressed and pout that it meant less view for him to enjoy. Kisses are returned absently, his brain back off wandering down a tangent that will no doubt end up with him trying to consider ways of protecting one of his… no definitely his favourite appendage… from damage. As she runs away he opens his mouth to say something, to stop her, but his voice fails him. It's onyl when she's gone, complete with her parting comment, that he meneges to say anything at all. "I know."
This scene continues in A Task.