[PRP] A Needed Talk [G'ran/Ichta]

[demon_pachabel]

Another gold flight, another night of thoughts. Ichta had curled up on her ledge with Aurinkoth this time, though she had fortunately been very undisturbed in her weyr. No, nobody wanted the plain looking bluerider enough to seek her out during a flight, even if the much prettier goldriders were gone, far and away elsewhere. At least that much was nice. There would be plenty of babies for them all to ogle within a few weeks.

And probably in about a year. Oh boy.

Aurinkoth was contently dozing with his head in her lap, stirring only when his rider ran a hand over one of his eye ridges. With a small chirp, like he’d simply just booted up, he looked at her curiously. Was this better for you, myIchta? he asked. She’d made the gross feelings fermenting inside of her known quite clearly to him, and the solution had felt rather clear.

But no, she’d still not spoken with Elzebuth’s about it.

“This sleeping arrangement? Yes,” she leaned her forehead against the blue’s, feeling love radiating thru their tether. Ichta was, without a doubt, the luckiest girl in all of Pern. And the worries from the other night? he dug up the worries she’d tried to bury down to hopefully let them dry out in his sunshine. The young woman frowned. Oh. Those. “No. Those….haven’t changed,” she admitted. It had barely been a few days.

In fact, she’d been trying to not think about it. Maybe if she just ignored it, it would go away. But, no. It stayed, and clearly Aurinkoth wasn’t about to leave those alone. “I still don’t know what….” she cut herself off to lean her face against the blue’s side, sighing frustratedly into his hide. What do I say? How do I even bring that up?

As far as Aurinkoth was concerned, his dearest beloved was thinking far too hard about it all, which meant clearly, he needed to just drop her off on Elzebuth’s ledge and let it happen. He didn’t spend much time setting things up - checking with his brother to see if G’ran was settled in and actually in a position to see anybody (hey, if G’ran had a stranger in his bed, better for him to NOT drop Ichta off to see that) before he nudged his rider up to her feet. Elzebuth’s wants to see you. Get dressed.

It wasn’t technically a lie. When would G’ran not want to see Ichta?

The timing was too convenient for Ichta to not doubt that it was exactly as Aurinkoth said, but she still bustled off to make herself more presentable than simply ‘wrapped in a bed fur’, returning in short order as she pulled her hair back into a very simple braid. Her mind ran a mile a minute as her sweet blue rushed her decisions along, climbing into his straps without a word to him. Aurinkoth shook himself out as he rose to his feet and moved to push off from his ledge.

By now, he could have landed on Elzebuth’s ledge even if he was blind, visits between the two fairly common. He was quick to bump his head up against his brother’s in cheerful greeting as his rider practically tumbled out of her straps, pausing to thump a hand gently against Aurinkoth’s side to still him for a moment.

Once safely on the ground, she took a deep breath and put on her best, not totally frazzled (but she obviously was) smile. “Good morning!”

Heck.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Elzebuth had eagerly gone to chase when not one but two queens had risen practically back to back, and there had been nothing in the world that G'ran could have done to stop him. Should he have? He didn't know. It always seemed as though bronze only should catch golds... but Rhianth certainly hadn't cared about that. G'ran did not (thank Faranth) end up with anyone special, nor had Elzebuth been successful in his pursuits. However, the big brown was anything but disappointed. He seemed quite pleased with his performance, and G'ran had to agree that for a Turn old dragon, he'd performed quite admirably against older, more flight experienced dragons.

Aurinkoth and His are coming. The brown yawned, and G'ran paused to turn back to glance at him. Ichta? Well, that was just fine with him. Only minutes later, the cheerful blue alighted upon the ledge, and the former miner turned his attention onto the small woman upon his back.

Rumbling deep in his throat, Elzebuth contentedly nudged at his smaller blue brother, one eye fixed with amusement as Ichta all but leapt free of her straps. Why, brother, you are becoming almost as devious as I. How proud he was!

"Mornin'." He grunted in turn, easily stepping closer to close the distance between them. Something was off. Her smile was strained, and his thick brows furrowed with concern. Well. If she wanted to talk about it, she would...

And if not, you can gently ask. Elzebuth reminded him, huffing a soft breath.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Well it certainly didn't look as though she had been dropped off in the middle of anything. Though for all she knew, any company he could have had could have been....sent away. She could have been the company sent away too, if he had been busy.

"How was your night?" Ichta asked, voice tightening involuntarily as she spoke, causing her to frown and cough. "Sorry, how was your night?" she repeated the question with what hopefully sounded like a less dying tone this time. Now she simply sounded like she was fumbling. Which, internally, she was. "It's been...eventful at the Weyr this week, for certain," she wanted to slap herself in the forehead as she again, bumbled over her words, barely managing to not frown, and instead getting an entirely un-Ichta-like look of frustration on her face.

You're only going to worry him if you don't just say something. Aurinkoth said soothingly, settling in next to Elzebuth and sending the brown his own wave of amusement. Well, nobody had ever said the blue was entirely innocent. And if he had to massage the truth a bit to make Ichta - or anybody else, really - happy, it would be fine with him.

I will be some time yet before I can manage anything quite as grand as you do, Elzebuth. And I am certainly happy with what I can manage. Of course, the brown was simply much better at it all.

Aurinkoth's advice was weighed for a moment. Certainly, it would...be less weird if she just said something. Finally, she managed to get out one of her completely brilliantly worded statements, that were never confusing in any which way, nor could they be misconstrued to mean something else and cause a lot of trouble; "Is there something wrong with me?"

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

His night... It was the hitch in her voice that made his cheeks color faintly, suddenly understanding what she was implying. "fine." G'ran said so roughly, then paused to rub the back of his neck. "Uh. Private." He'd had enough time to get to his weyr and stay there, though he'd paced and snarled like a wild thing all the while. Even now, he could remember the almost feral desire to seek out the goldriders-- He shuddered quietly to himself before he made his body still. It was over now. That was all that mattered.

"Means lots of eggs on the sands." He said ruefully, tilting his head as he considered it. "Think they'll be okay, laying near each other?" He wasn't sure if they'd grow possessive or territorial...

I think, with some more Turns, we'll make quite the schemer out of you. Elzebuth all but purred, his eyes half-lidded as he settled.

Ichta's sudden, blunt question was enough to make him stare, his eyes wide. Something wrong with her? He stared at her, then looked to the dragons as though seeking answers. "...What are you talking about?" He finally asked her, looking a little hopeless. He had... no idea what she meant. "Nothing's wrong with you. You're wonderful."

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

I'm already scheming everybody's happiness right now. Aurinkoth answered innocently with a flick of his tail. Though there were certainly some who would need a little more work than others. Maybe Elzebuth's influence on him would actually help with that in some way. It was an amusing thought, to say the least.

When G'ran looked their way, Aurinkoth tilted his head slightly, offering what looked to be a shrug. He couldn't say he understood much of why Ichta was fussing either.

"Well something has to be wrong with me," Ichta said softly, turning her attention more towards G'ran's feet than his face. "These two goldflights have more than proved that. I thought maybe it was just because of Aurinkoth, but......" she crinkled her nose and looked back up at his face with a frown. "It's me." Ichta took a deep breath, as if anything she was saying was making any sense. "And it's okay if you....don't want me because of it."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Elzebuth paused at that unexpected response, his eyes whirling thoughtfully as he leaned in to better observe his blue brother. Already scheming, was he? Well, now, that was something that he would need to keep an eye on... and, dare the Devil say it, he was quite proud to think he might have influenced Aurinkoth, even a little!

The dragons were not helping him understand Ichta any better. G'ran looked blankly back at her even as she stared at his... feet? She was talking about the goldflights--what had they proven? And what did Aurinkoth have to do with anything?

That made him bristle, suddenly putting two and two together. "Did someone say something because he's a blue?" His words were almost a growl, low and furious. "You could have Impressed a sharding wher and that wouldn't have made a lick of difference."

Why wouldn't he want her? G'ran absolutely did not understand.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

"What?"

Ichta's thought processes screeched to a halt for the first time, and Aurinkoth took the opportunity to lean into her mentally, offering sweet, bright, calm. He would steady her panicked outbursts enough for her to gather up both what G'ran was saying - and what had been coming out of her own mouth.

Her hands opened and closed as he made his, honestly rather sweet, declaration. She hadn't been worried about the color of Aurinkoth's hide at all, but if it was a worry to be had in the future, she could put the sentiment aside. Instead, she needed to sort out her actual thoughts a little better.

"Oh, oh no. It's nothing like that," she assured softly. While a tone like that from anybody else would have frightened Ichta away, from G'ran it was comforting in a way. There was no human she felt safer around.

Ichta reached out to take his hands, squeezing them tightly and taking a deep breath. "Ever since Neiveth's flight, I've been thinking about how it effected Nadry.....and how these flights have been effecting me and they're...not alike at all. Despite my feelings, I know that I would hide from even you for a flight," not that they'd done much more than hold hands. Though that didn't keep her heart from pitter-pattering all over the place.

"I can't do it. They make me feel wrong and I don't want to hurt you by telling you that I don't want you......that way."

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

No one had said anything to her. The tension in his broad shoulders relaxed a fraction, but the wariness was still present in his eyes. He reached out to accept her hands without hesitation, searching her face even as she steadied herself with a breath. Neiveth's flight? Faint hints of color came to his cheeks when Nadry was mentioned--G'ran had very much been trying to forget all of that. Not that he cared, per say, or thought it any of his business. Just... the concept of being with a person in a flight, and all it would lead to? Awkward.

His thick brows furrowed even further at her confession, slowly trying to wrap his head around what she was trying to tell him. "But you don't have to," He finally said. "If they make you feel bad, then that's all there is to it." He would never want Ichta to be put in a position where she felt forced to do something she didn't want to. Maybe he should have felt hurt or offended when she said she would hide... except, honestly, he felt something similar.

Caught up in Elzebuth's lust was something he couldn't help, but it was his dragon's impulses. Not his own. He wasn't ready to jump into bed with anyone-- and maybe he never would be.

Whatever this was... this thing between him and Ichta? It was all he wanted. He was content with it, giving her hands a gentle squeeze even as he stared at her with a serious expression. "It's okay."

And it was.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Ichta's heart threatened to swell right out of her mouth at G'ran's easy answer. never was one to say much - and really it never bothered her. Yet even with simple and frankly uneloquent word choices, it felt like the worry she'd been letting fester was shoved from her shoulders. Visibly relaxing, Ichta squeezed G'ran's hands again, leaning in so the top of her head rested squarely against his chest.

"Okay."

It was as simple as that. She should have expected it would be so simple, and yet a worry to be better on his behalf had stirred inside the bluerider more than once. One that on many occasions her life mate had swept away with a simple You are enough and need not be more. Really, there with him, it felt very true.

Tsunake

 

[Tsunake]

Slowly, he released her hands so that he could wrap his arms around her, gently settling his chin on top of her soft hair. Ichta's acceptance was enough to earn a grunt of contentment from him, and it felt as though things (still) were all right in the world. "You eaten breakfast yet?" He questioned. If not, they could go grab a bite to eat before heading out to their respective wings to practice.

Shards. A wingrider. Him. Still bizarre to think about.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

The way G'ran held her felt very different from the way her mother had ever held her - to the point where the woman didn't even come to mind as she buried her face in his chest. Right there, Ichta was safe and beloved and all was right in the world.

She didn't stir from her determined safe-spot to answer his question, simply murmuring her answer into his chest where he'd hopefully be able to hear it - though it seemed likely he would; "Not yet. We probably should - might have time to enjoy it since I get a feeling everybody is going to have late starts this morning."

But she'd also not mind just sitting and enjoying this for a few more minutes - breakfast would be waiting for them. And really, was waiting such a bad thing?

Tsunake

A wrap unless you have anything more to add ;P?