So take a chance and don’t ever look back. (Caden)

[Rei]

She had been avoiding him and damn if it wasn’t bothering the shit out of him. It wasn’t like her. Not at all. Er’ani was laying on the bed in his room at some inn in Blossom. It was actually pretty cool that M’ta had gotten permission for an overnight trip. But the albinoweyrling couldn’t sleep. Not at all. Frustrated he rolled over and sighed before getting up and pulling just his pants over his sleeping shorts. The night wasn’t really cold enough to warrant a shirt and Er’ani only planned to take a short walk anyway. Making his over to the mirror the rider ran a hand through his dark hair and then strode to the door. Pulling it open he quickly checked the hallway before tiptoeing down it and out the front door. Well past the ‘supposed’ curfew for them and the weyrling doubted that M’ta would be all too happy with him sneaking out of the inn at night but...bah. Screw it.

The dragons were all sleeping peacefully on the beaches surrounding Blossom’s lake as Er’ani made his way to the beach. Even Lketh who was more comfortable at night rather then day was dozing. The long distance flights were hard on some of them. His albino did well enough, even if he had to fly in Nitrath’s shadow for the majority of the journey. Both halves of the pair were grateful to the goldpair for that offer.

Which only made Caden’s avoidance of him more bothersome. The albinorider hadn’t even gotten time to properly thank her. It was doubly bothersome because Er’ani was rather attached to all his classmates and he didn’t like this sudden distance that had sprung up between them. A wingleader should not have to feel distance from his wingsecond right? Although by all accounts it should be her leading and him following. She was the one with the gold.

Movement on the beach ahead of him drew Er’ani from his thoughts and he paused. The moon was almost full and the lighting was particularly good so it didn’t take the weyrling long to figure out who or what was on the beach ahead of him. He was mildly surprised to see her out this late. Caden was always so dutiful. Followed the rules. Huh. Regardless he wasn’t going to let this chance slip by. He finally had her alone. No Mo’rya, no M’ta, no T’san, no anyone else for the goldrider to talk to in an attempt to avoid talking to him. He was bound and determined to get to the bottom of why he was suddenly a ghost to her.

Bending over he picked a flattened rock from the sand and approached her as quietly as he could. Finally when he was just feet away Er’ani chuckled and then tossed the rock to skip it over the smooth surface of the small lake. “So you have insomnia too?”

[Ruby]

Anyone else would have jumped; Er'ani approached silently enough, especially barefoot on soft sand. But if Caden made a habit of letting people sneak up on her, she would have been dead many times over. Some old habits died hard, but that was one she was happy to keep around. So the chuckle followed by the splash didn't startle her, just interested her. Lifting her eyes from the small crock of paste which she cradled between her knees, the Goldweyrling met the Albinoweyrling's eyes for one fleeting moment before her own eyes skipped out towards the lake. "Insomnia? Not exactly." Settling the squat little jar onto the sand in front of her Caden leaned back on one hand so her angle, looking up at Er'ani, wasn't so bad. The albinoweyrling was tall, near as tall as she was. Maybe as tall as she was.

A glance, down the beach towards Nitrath, betrayed her real purpose. "It's for her... patches," Caden said, tapping the jar. "Healers want me to apply it every four hours, which includes the middle of the night. Doesn't seem to be doing much, really, but the healers don't know what's causing it so I don't expect much. Was trying to decide if I should wake Nitrath or just try to put it on while she's asleep." Speaking of her dragon brought a smile to Caden's face, as it always did, but it was a smile quickly replaced by tightness and stress. "I just worry..."

But about what? Worried that Nitrath had more of a mutation than her spikes seemed to show, one that might prove as difficult as Lketh's, or as fatal as Kerpth, Chipth, Lipeth and Jipth's? She couldn't survive the loss of another mindmate, that she knew deep in her bones. Worried that it would affect her growth, her maturity; make her fly early, maybe? Or maybe it would be that her clutches came out all wrong, not just half wrong like Millieth's. She knew what had happened to Rimeath, after all, and her clutches had been wrong as well. Or maybe the Bronzes wouldn't want her with her funny colored skin, afraid it would spread. Maybe they wouldn't chase her, and Nitrath really would be left to fly forever. With a gold it all came back to flight, Caden thought, that thought making her inadvertently glance at Er'ani again. Everything seemed to come back to sex, these days, whether she wanted it to or not.

In a rare attempt to be anything but post-like in her conversation style (she'd started taking lessons with Kaegan and the Weyrwoman seemed to think that the ability to produce small talk on command was nearly as important as the ability to stab someone in a place that would kill them), Caden asked "How come you're up?"

[Rei]

Dark eyes caught his fellow classmates for a moment and Er’ani gave Caden a smile before she turned back towards the lake. Ah so it wasn’t that she couldn’t sleep. What then? With interest he looked at the jar she set down and then waited for her to explain. His gaze then followed hers to where Nitrath rested. The goldweyrling’s explanation caused him to frown mildly before Er’ani chased the expression away with a small smile. With a soft snort he folded his legs to sit in the sand beside her. “We flew a lot today. I know she’s got more strength then the others but she has to be tired too. I’d let her sleep.” Reaching over the albinoweyrling picked up the jar of paste and examined it. His eyes then flicked to Caden’s and he smiled.

“You know. If I worried about everything Lketh had wrong with him I might not get out of bed in the morning? His eyes, his skin, even his insides all need careful maintenance and if I even mess up once? That could spell doom for us. But if I thought about all that constantly I’d never sleep and he’d never get to live any sort of normal life. He’d worry about worrying me and feel terrible that he is the way he is. Which is pointless cause it’s not his fault. So we get up every morning. We do out best, and try and make life count. I’m not saying you upset Nitrath. I’m sure you don’t. But what I am saying is that her spots don’t seem to be affecting her in anyway. She’s strong, huge, happy, and healthy. Take comfort in that. I don’t know much about it but maybe what she has is purely cosmetic like her spines. If not I’d think by now with her being almost a turn old you would have noticed some type of health effect. If the paste isn’t really helping why use it?” Shrugging Er’ani set the jar back down. “You don’t have to take my word for it but I think she looks lovely even with her patches.” With a soft smile for the woman beside him he wrapped his arms around one leg and pulled it towards his chest before looking up at the sky.

“The dragonhealers would be more worried if it was something serious being as she’s a gold. You should ask Kalierre directly about it if you get too worried. The woman is amazing.” Trailing off he picked up another stone as Caden asked her question. The silence stretched on for a little bit before Er’ani tossed the rock into the water and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess…I….” He paused again and snorted. “I couldn’t sleep cause I was thinking about you actually. It’s been bothering me that you’ve been so distant lately.” Rubbing at his neck the weyrling gave a nervous chuckle. “Figured I must have offended you somehow or with something and if I did I’m sorry. I know I’ve got this dumb habit of running my mouth sometimes. Especially when things get awkward in class or I’m fronted on something. Bad habit ya know.” With that he turned to offer her a light smile. “Lketh and I really appreciate you and Nitrath allowing us to use her shadow too. Been meaning to tell you that.”

[Ruby]

Caden looked at Er'ani skeptically at first - he thought Nitrath's spots were lovely? That was like saying she looked lovely in a dress (patently false). But slowly, the eyebrow fell, and the side of her mouth pulled out into a kind of sideways smile, and she tucked the paste under the jacket she'd discarded next to her on the beach. Er'ani... she trusted Er'ani, despite his silliness and inability to focus, despite the fact that her dragon outranked his by a longshot. The Healers were the Healers, and of course in matters of health they had the final word, but in a world that made sense Caden was Bluerider C'den. She was used to obeying her betters to the letter, but as a Goldrider, she'd have to listen only to Kaegan, or find other people she trusted. Of the two, having more than one person giving her advice sounded like a good idea. So Er'ani could be her wingleader, here. She'd listen and stop with the paste, and see how things went. Anyway, if anyone was an expert on sensitive dragon skin, wouldn't it be Er'ani?

With that topic closed, she started making a little pile of sand with one hand, using the other to prop herself up as she listened to Er'ani explain his own insomnia. The cause was.... her?

"Me?"

There was that skeptical eyebrow again, but after the one squeaked syllable, she was quiet, furrowing her brows instead. Oh, that was the problem. She had been distant, she supposed, but not at all for the reason he thought. Of course, now that she knew the problem, Caden felt compelled to solve it, something she was nowhere near equipped to do. Observe: "Distant - me? Uh, I guess, it's not cause... not cause of you. Well, I guess it is kind of, but not you, really, just..."

A sleepy thought probed her mind, stretched out from the slumbering gold nearby. Girl, your thoughts are so loud,[/i] the gold murmured, potentially harsh words tempered by her eternally loving tone. Tell him what the problem is; he will understand. You trust him, after all. Simply get the words out and don't turn all churlish, he will not take that well. You can do it, my love. Here, I'll get you started. You're welcome, Er'ani, Nitrath is very big and Lketh is small...[/i]

Blinking to clear the telltale glaze of dragon communication from her eyes - not that Er'ani would have seen it unless he turned to look at her full on - she tried again. "Sorry. I mean, you're welcome. About the flying thing. Nitrath's big, she's got shadow to spare." Much better, girl. You can take it from here?[/i] As Nitrath drifted back to sleep, Caden attempted to explain one more time. "'snot anything you did that put me off, Er'ani. You... you're..." She left off, unable to find an adjective. "It's that sharding 'go have sex' lesson. I'm old enough, 'suppose, and given the options my first flight's not like to be pleasant, so I'd better do whatever I can to make it easier on Nitrath. Who'm I supposed to do that with? Mo'rya? M'ta? T'san?" She grimaced; those were all ridiculous options, after all (with the exception of maybe T'san, except Caden would swear he'd looked at her funny. And who didn't, when it came to sex?) And then suddenly, she turned that wonderful Caden red, where her whole head and neck went scarlet in patches, "You?"

[Rei]

To say that he was entirely comfortable would be false. But that was less Caden’s fault then his. Er’ani wasn’t always the best at reassurances but at least he was truthful in his opinion. He really didn’t think that Nitrath needed the paste at all. The goldweyrling’s sideways smile was met with a warm one from him before she stuck the paste under her jacket. Good.

Settling himself more comfortably the albinorider gazed out over the water of the lake. Really Er’ani was pretty comfortable with talking to Caden and really it wasn’t really all that awkward. Maybe talking about her avoidance of him made him a little nervous because of her possible reactions but really that was it. She didn’t seem all that nerve wracked either really, despite the fact that his classmate was making a little pile of sand next to him as he spoke. Better they get this all out in the open anyway right? He missed talking to her.

Er’ani fell silent finally his dark eyes moving to Caden as the woman spoke. The one word answer got a nod of confirmation. Yes her. He regarded her with something akin to slight confusion as she began to stammer on. Him but not him. Okay. That didn’t really clear much up. But then the goldrider beside him went silent the weyrling fell quiet his eyes briefly traveling to where Nitrath and the others were sprawled. Maybe she just didn’t have words for what was wrong? It was possible. Maybe he should leave? But before the albinorider could put thought to action Caden was speaking again and Er’ani tilted his head to listen.

He nodded once at her ‘you’re welcome’ and then just listened as she spoke. His thoughts spiraling in all different directions as the woman beside him spoke. Ah that made complete sense. They’d all been acting so awkward since that stupid lesson. Er’ani could sympathize with her plight and it was doubly worse for Caden cause she was a girl and not just any girl. The newest goldrider. A mild frown touched his features as she continued going on about choices and the like. The expression was chased away though when the woman blushed and then again spoke just one word.

Er’ani’s eyes widened and then it was his turn to flush. “Me?” The albinorider regarded his companion for a long moment his brain warring between something silly to break the tension and more seriousness. “Bah all that talk of sex has everyone all weird now. Bunch of tension and awkwardness over something that’s supposed to be so simple but doesn’t seem like it.”

Snorting Er’ani reached out to brush Caden’s hair behind her ear. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say you were coming onto me.” He teased before dropping his hand and offering her a lighter smile. “In all honestly if you are I’m kind of flattered.” Rubbing the back of his neck he chuckled. “I wouldn’t mind taking you up on the offer either if you asked to be honest. I mean I like you and I’d be glad to know you trusted me that much.” Giving her a goofy grin to try and soothe her a bit the weyrling put up his hands.

“I’m not saying you have to jump me or anything. But yeah. I wouldn’t complain. I just have one question. You know since you’re my friend and all.” Struggling to keep his face serious Er’ani regarded Caden with a bit of amusement, his voice cluing her into the fact that he was just trying to lighten the mood by being ridiculous. “Can I touch your boobs?”

[Ruby]

Simple? When had the idea of sex ever been simple? Maybe for Er'ani, who'd always been a boy, but for half-boy half-girl Caden it had been an endless question. Did her upbringing mean she should like girls? She'd never had any feelings for other girls, not the kind of feelings that would lead to sex, anyway. So if she liked boys, did that make her... homosexual? Normal? What? At Benden she would have been considered a freak; here she was... something. Fine, she supposed.

Her train of thought was absolutely stalled, however, by the gentle brush of a finger against her cheekbone. Suddenly even more awkward than usual, she hunched her shoulders a little and pulled her knees up so they rested loosely in the circle of her arms, looking sideways at Er'ani. "I wouldn't know how to come on to you if I wanted to," she growled, but if Caden had wanted to say 'no' she just would have said it. Er'ani would know that about her, by now. Cocking her head at him, she considered his 'offer', if that's what it was. It certainly sounded like an offer, but did she want to go there? Would it be better, or worse? She'd heard it hurt the first time, so... yes. Probably better. But Caden was much better at saying no than yes.

And then, Er'ani asked if he could touch her boobs. Caden let out a bark of laughter, something she did so rarely that the sound surprised even her. "Uh," she said, still laughing a little bit, before she dropped her legs and spread her arms in a shrug. "I guess? What's so special about, uh, boobs, anyway? Boys always seem to like 'em, but honestly they get in the way awfully, even little ones like mine. Actually..."

Caden reached up to rub the back of her neck in momentary embarrassment, then reached down and pulled her shirt off over her head. If she hadn't done it fast, she knew she'd have lost her nerve, but something had her feeling all bold tonight. Maybe it was something to do with Nitrath - the gold wasn't all the way asleep, as much as she was trying to hide it from Caden - but she wasn't worried about that. Her breastband was a heavy leather affair, laced up the front, obviously meant to flatten instead of support. Utilitarian, not sexy. Even less sexy was the tendrils of scarred, burned flesh that striped her left side, peeking a few inches above her waistline. Although she was as awkward and self-conscious as ever, Caden stared Er'ani down with a kind of odd bravery, daring him to take it back now.

Reaching up to loosen the tie (which didn't do a lot to make her breasts look bigger, they were pretty tiny, but at least now they weren't mushed flat), she sat back, that daring look still on her face. Now that she'd started, Caden wasn't planning on backing out. It could be awkward, it could be painful, it could be downright weird; Caden was going to go through with this. She'd follow her orders.

[Rei]

Er’ani was obviously completely unaware of the thoughts plaguing Caden’s mind. To him sex seemed sort of simple if you didn’t let yourself get emotionally involved. Well simple in the fact that it took two people. The albinorider was sure that he’d eventually develop a preference probably, and if he had to hazard a guess he was going to like girls better. They were more...how did he put it? Physically attractive, had better personalities, and to be honest he really did like boobs. Call him shallow but he did. Right now however the teenager was focusing on the fact that the goldrider had gone really, really, quiet. The silence wasn’t too awkward though because he wasn’t letting himself think pessimistic thoughts. To be honest Caden was special to him. One of his best friends and despite her quirks and attempts to make herself appear less feminine he really did love it when she let the little things show.

When the goldweyrling finally spoke Er’ani chuckled, the sound soft and slightly amused. “I’m not asking you to come onto me.” Dark eyes reflecting his amusement he leaned back on his hands and winked at her. “Besides it’s my job to come onto you not the other way around.” A goofy grin punctuated that statement as the albinorider strove to put his classmate at ease. Just another conversation between them. Nothing to feel awkward about here. Nothing at all.

Her laughter only had Er’ani smiling wider. Getting her to laugh had been the goal anyway. Score one Er’ani. When Caden dropped her legs and spread her arms a brief look of surprise ran across his face before he to began to laugh. Not only because she said yes but because of her question. Finally when his laughter subsided to light chuckles he answered her. “First off I really didn’t expect you to say yes. I always expected that if I actually ever voiced that question I’d be getting offended and disgusted looks or slapped.” Shifting to sit more upright he considered the goldrider's other question. “You know I’m not sure what’s so great about em? I mean I’ve never touched anyone’s boobs before. Maybe it’s cause they bounce in some cases and look squishy? I can’t really explain it? I just like to look at them and I’ve always wanted to test the squishy thing.” With a wink he made grabby hands at the air and laughed again.

With all his comedy however Er’ani still couldn’t help the way he looked at Caden as she took off her shirt in one swift motion. His eyes traveled her form with something like appreciation and he totally fought the urge to wolf whistle at her, instead offering her what he hoped was a reassuring smile. Dark eyes met hers when she stared him down rather boldly for someone who had never done this before. But then this was Caden. Bold and strong were definitely words he would attribute to his goldrider classmate. As she began to loosen the tie the albinorider leaned forward towards her and when Caden leaned further back he only leaned further forward into her space.

Despite the sudden knots in his stomach Er’ani claimed Caden’s lips in a gentle yet encouraging kiss even as his hands moved to finish the job hers had started. Breaking off the kiss with a light chuckle he spoke in a soft murmur. “Yeah they are kinda squishy aren’t they?” Yep he was totally ignoring the faint blush coloring his cheeks in favor of uttering something stupid. Problem was now that he had touched the goldrider he didn’t want to stop. Didn’t plan to either unless she objected. So winding his arms about his friend the albinorider sought her lips again even as he tugged her closer to him and uttered something probably even more stupid.

“So there anything you want to touch?”

[Ruby]

Caden opened her mouth, wishing she was ready with some clever retort, wishing she had something funny to say to make Er'ani laugh (he was one of the few able to make her laugh, after all) but nothing came. Luckily, it didn't really matter, because before Caden could let out whatever stumbling nonsense she was about to say, Er'ani was kissing her. Kissing her. It was like the Rider's kiss, back at the Gather, but better, because she knew Er'ani. Not like X'rx's at all, but from what she'd gathered, X'rx had been motivated by spite, not desire. Now that she thought about it, the Rider at the gather had been motivated by money, so, in a way, this was her first real kiss. Not that it mattered.

Actually, nothing much seemed to matter, as butterflies started in her stomach and her cheeks flushed (not the kind of patchy flush that meant embarrassment, this time). It was heady, this kissing stuff, and all of a sudden she understood why people felt the need to do it all the time. Instead of feeling like she'd lost herself in a bad way, like she had last time, this was all good. Maybe because they weren't in the middle of a claustrophobic gather. Whatever the difference, she really didn't want to stop. When he tried to pull away, she kept her mouth pressed to his for a second more, leaning over into his space briefly before letting him go.

Now that they weren't actively kissing anymore, though, the spell was broken, and Caden flushed all over. Had she really just let Er'ani do that? Dropping her eyes, she had to very strongly resist crossing her arms in front of her. A bit of wind came up; it was never truly cold at Blossom, even in the middle of winter, but the breeze made her suddenly very aware that she wasn't wearing a shirt, and that her breastband was mostly off, caught at her waist by a trailing tie. She was about ten seconds away from fleeing back to the hold and not looking at Er'ani for the rest of her life, but something clicked inside of her before she could get up. That's what a coward would do, someone who was scared and weak. She prided herself in being courageous and strong. A silly little thing like a kiss wasn't about to send running with her tail between her legs, just because it was different.

So, with a swallow that would be more in place moments before threadfall than moments before... whatever was about to happen here, she met Er'ani's eyes again, smiling a little sideways. "A little. Imagine girls with bigger ones are squishier." And then Er'ani was trying to kiss her again, and all Caden could think was Thank Faranth I didn't run away, and then he was tugging her close, and... asking a question? Once her brain computed exactly what had been asked, she pulled back a little, not sure if she should be embarrassed or giggle. "Well... I've always, I mean, I started being... private about everything when I was 12, so I've only ever, um." A pointed look at Er'ani's lap cleared up exactly what she was trying to say. Instead of saying it, though, she leaned in for another kiss, then asked, "Maybe? I'm just... curious, I guess. About a man's, rather than a boy's."

[Rei]

So kissing Caden turned out to be the best idea he’d had in a long time. She was responsive which was exciting in it’s own way. That meant that Er’ani wasn’t wrong right? Not if she liked it too. The added pressure as he pulled away only made him feel bolder. He almost just went back for another round of kissing right then, but in the end he simply eased a bit back and watched her. Her flush only tempted him more. She was more attractive in red the weyrling decided. Quietly he watched her. It was almost curious to him to watch her change from the bold girl who had just taken her shirt off for him to this almost shy looking creature. Not that he could blame her. Girls seemed to be sometimes weird about things. And certainly even the boldest of them seemed self conscious at times. Had to be a female thing.

As the wind picked up and swept over Er’ani’s bare chest a slight shiver ran over his frame. But it was more in response to the situation then any chill on his part. Dark eyes flicked over Caden, lingering on exposed skin, before flicking back up towards her face. The expression in them was hard to read. Was that fear? In the next moment however her expression shifted again and the albinorider was left to wonder if he’d only imagined it. His hand moved towards her face so he could trail fingertips lightly down her face as she spoke. He words caused him to grin and he chuckled. “Oh I don’t know. I’ve seen girls with bigger yeah but I think I like your brand of squishy.” A wink was given before the woman in his arms pulled back a little and he offered her a curious look.

Ah she had pulled back because of his question. Er’ani’s eyebrow rose before he smiled and examined Caden his expression amused. Her question and gesture to his lap though caused him to laugh. Better to make light of embarrassing things right? Well it put some people at ease he had noticed. “So it was more of a little kid I’ll show you mine if you show me yours kind of thing? I think almost everyone lets curiosity get the better of them at that age.” Leaning in towards her to sneak in a quick kiss he grinned. “So then lets fix your curiosity shall we? Caden… I’ll show you mine if you show me yours.” Claiming her lips again he let this kiss become a bit more passionate.

(Fade out? We can end here if you want xD)

[Ruby]

((works for me <3 we can end here, or pick it up after?))

[Ruby]

Caden was missing her pants.

This was the first thing she remembered consciously thinking, at least in the last hour or so. Honestly, she had no idea how long she and Er'ani had been at it - it could have been five minutes or three hours. She could look at the moon and figure it out, but that sounded hard. Rolling over onto her back, she became increasingly aware that sex (hehe, sex! The euphoria hadn't quite faded yet) on the beach really, really wasn't all it was cracked up to be. She was fairly certain she had sand in places she didn't know she had. She had also, until very recently, been snuggled up under Er'ani's arm in a sort of cuddly position she'd never thought she'd be in, ever, which embarrassed her to no end. What on Pern had just happened?

Well, sex, and the idea of that made her smile, even as she flushed a little. Not looking at Er'ani, who was presumably still recovering himself, she stretched to reach her underwear and pants, which had been removed at some point. Caden found she could remember little besides Er'ani, the feel of his lips against hers, his body against hers... no, she was done with that train of thought. It just made her grin like an idiot again. Once she'd shimmied back into her pants, she started work on her breastband, doing her best not to let her eyes wander over to the albinorider sprawled next to her.

But she couldn't really stop. Eventually, she jabbed him with a toe, just for an excuse to touch him. She was aware that this was stupid, that this was girly and brainless and idiotic, but she figured this night was special, somehow. Until morning they were safe, and she was allowed to be brainless and idiotic. They'd see when the sun came up. Until then, she finished lacing her breastband but didn't go for her shirt quite yet, tilting her head sideways so she could look at Er'ani full on. "So."

[Rei]

Okay sand kinda sucked. That was Er’ani’s first completely conscious thought as he lay sprawled out on his back with Caden snuggled under his arm and tucked into his side. It was a good feeling and he was almost blissfully content as his half lidded eyes gazed unseeingly at the stars above. When the goldrider started to move and shift away from him the albinorider made a small noise of protest in his throat. He didn’t move to snatch her back though. Didn’t want to scare her. That was the last thing Er’ani wanted. He liked Caden a good deal. Not only as person but as a friend. If he played his cards right this might not be the only time he got to have her to himself. That thought was carefully pushed to a private place however. Again. Didn’t want to scare her.

Shifting to prop himself up on his elbows Er’ani took the liberty of subtly watching the goldrider get dressed. She looked much better without clothes in his opinion but he didn’t mind clothed Caden either. Almost lazily he reached for his own pants and quickly slipped them on. For a moment he left his mind drift back to previous moments and a happy grin flashed across his face as he ran his and through his hair to dislodge the sand from it. A quick look at his bare torso also revealed clinging sand and he really had to fight to keep from making a face. Bah sand. Note to self. Next time this happened it was going to be in a more comfortable location. That was right, next time. Dark eyes flitted back to Caden then when she broke his train of thought with a nudge from her toe.

Before she could pull the offending foot away Er’ani gently seized it and sat up, gently rubbing it as Caden finished her breastband and turned to him. The one word she spoke momentarily threw him off guard. So? Hmm there were many things the goldrider could mean by that. He decided to take a chance and paused in the rubbing of her foot to respond. “So. That was really nice. My only complaint is the sand. Whiiiich could be fixed by a quick swim in the lake. You game?” As he asked her the albinorider leaned forward to brush his lips over her jaw. “I think it would be beyond nice to get some of this sand cleaned away don’t you think?” With that he released her foot and placed his hand over hers in a coaxing gesture. Didn’t she want to swim with hiiiiim?

[Ruby]

When Er'ani grabbed her foot, Caden jerked it back out of habit - she really wasn't that used to being touched - but before she wrenched it out of his hands, she forced herself to relax. It felt good, after all, which wasn't something she was used to either. So strange, after so many years of hiding, to be letting a man touch her, to not be afraid. It was Selenitas that gave her that, Selenitas and Nitrath. She'd never forget it... even if it was weird.

That said, when he stopped, she pulled her foot back, crossing her legs. She'd had just about as much newness as she could handle today. Still, she wasn't about to run away, which was a fairly major triumph for Er'ani. "A swim...?" The little peck stopped the whatever else she was going to say as the Goldrider blushed, then stuck her chin out in a slightly defiant gesture. She would not turn in to a silly girl every time he touched her. Glancing out at the lake, she wrinkled her nose, eyebrows pulling together. "But I don't have a swimsuit with me," she started, then realized exactly how ridiculous it was to worry about what she was going to wear into a lake when she had basically just stripped for anyone that might want a late-night stroll.

"Well. It would be nice not to be quite so sandy." And that was all Caden really felt the need to say. She still wasn't wearing her shirt; it was easy enough to strip off her pants again, although she left her breastband and underwear on this time. She wasn't shy, exactly, it just felt so much more scandalous to be swimming fully naked. Reaching down to haul Er'ani to his feet, she gave him a sort of funny look (half trying to suppress laughter, half trying to figure out what on Pern she was doing) she cocked her head at him and said, "Race ya?"

[Rei]

When Caden reclaimed her foot Er’ani almost idly brushed his palms against his legs to remove any clinging sand from them. Urg, sand. It was literally everywhere. In his hair, clinging to his body, in his clothes. Yuck just yuck. It was an annoyance to be sure. Not that this dampened his happiness any. Nope the albinorider was still extremely happy. In his opinion this little venture couldn’t have gone better. Patiently the weyrling waited for his fellow classmate to consider his suggestion. Er’ani was about ninety percent sure she’d say yes. The lake water was going to feel amazing after all this sand. He was twitchy and almost impatient just thinking about rinsing it all off. His head tilted as his goldrider companion glanced out at the lake.

Really he couldn’t help it when Caden admitted to not having a swimsuit. Chuckling Er’ani grinned at her. “Hey there is nothing wrong with a little skinny dipping in my opinion. Especially considering….” Trailing off he let his eyes roam shamelessly over her body and then grinned again. Didn’t really need to finish that sentence. He had already seen her completely naked and it was a rather pleasant image if he did say so himself. But if she wanted to keep some clothing on for a sense of false modesty? Far be it from him to stop her. When his classmate agreed that it would be nice not to be quite so sandy his smile only widened and he quickly removed his sandy pants again. Shaking both them and his shirt out, as best as he could, he just simply dropped them in a haphazard pile beside him and took her hands.

Allowing her to help him to his feet the albinorider stepped forward into her space and let his lips hover just a couple inches from the goldrider’s own. Dark eyes reflecting clear amusement he answered her. “You my dear are on.” With that he gave her a chaste kiss and then let go of her hands to sprint for the lake, diving into the cooler water with an excited whoop. Surfacing he turned back to his friend and grinned pushing wet hair out of his face. This night couldn’t have gone any better if he had planned it.

(I figure you can do an end post if you want Ruby <3 Think this one is pretty much over ^^)