Turn up the heat (Hinsero)

[Tashe]

If one said that Ithanna was excited, they would be blatantly underestimating the Greenriders happiness. Between the chaos of moving to Burimyu, getting Iwyrth all healed, her duties and Hinsero's duties there had been little to no time to actually sit down with her boyfriend for anything more than a meal. But by some act of a miracle, they both had nothing to do tonight. Which, being Ithanna, the Greenrider had promptly jumped up and claimed all of the Brownhandler's free time. Its not like she intended to run the man ragged doing things, no, tonight they were going to sit down, relax, and catch up on the time they hadn't been able to see each other. The whole plan was perfect, mainly because it would give them the chance to visit the hot springs. Ever since she'd heard about them the Greenrider had wanted to go having never been to or near a hot spring before. Sure, there were some at hyphen, but really? When did she ever go there except to search candidates?

Leaning back gently into Hinsero as Iwyrth brought them steadily closer to their destination, Ithanna thought back to the earthquake. She had been so worried about her wherhandler, they were the ones who'd had to go in a save people from inside the collapsing weyrs. Anyway, that was in the past and they'd all escaped with only minor injuries much to her relief. Adjusting herself as they started to descend, Ithanna began to scan the ground whirling by beneath them. She turned slightly an signaled enthusiastically at Hinsero, pointing them out as they made their first pass. Circling downward in a lazy spiral, the chubby Green was happy to let the updrafts support her as she focused on touching down. A short, slightly bumpy landing later, they had arrived at the drop off spot.

Within seconds of touch down, Ithanna had managed to unclip herself, untangle her legs from the straps and slide down to the ground. "Come on, come on, come oooon." When it came to the girl and trying new things, she occasionally shared qualities on par with a child. Bouncing, she waited till Hinsero got himself down from her Dragon before grabbing his hand with a smile. "It looks like we're the only ones here tonight." Well except for Iwyrth... and Enki. Who had decided to stow away in her harness bag and chose now to make an appearance, chirping happily before launching himself off the Dragon's back and gliding to His's shoulder. "Enki! You sneak!"

[Ruby]

Hinsero was just about as excited as Ithanna, if not more. He'd been so worried about his Greenrider during the earthquake, but Hinsesk had assured him that she was ok, and Hinsero had, of course, endless confidence in the young woman. Still, not being able to be with her when it happened, then to be so busy for so long, had nearly broken Hinsero. He'd been looking forward to today since they planned it, somewhat naively assuming that every fear he had, every worry, every insecurity would disappear as soon as they had some time to spend alone together...

... and so far, he was right. Tightening his arms around her as she leaned into him, the big Handler couldn't help but smile. Just being able to hold her was enough, he would have accepted just this ride with her, but no - they were going to the hot springs, where they could be alone. Truly together, truly relaxed for the first time in months. More smiles, and if Hinsero had been able to free a hand (not a great idea in flight), he would have run a hand over one of his pockets to make sure it still held what he knew it did. The lump was near-invisible, but it was there.

Soon they touched down, and Ithanna was off Iwyrth before Hinsero could even get a single clip undone. Laughing aloud, the Handler fiddled with the straps. "Hang on, lovely. I'm no rider, nor am I a tumbler, it's gonna take me a second!" Still chuckling, he finally slid clumsily off the Green dragon, slapping Iwyrth on the flank in thanks once he hit the ground. As soon as he was free, he slid an arm around Ithanna's shoulders (she was much too small to thread an arm around her waist unless they were seated) and led her over towards the steaming pools. Enki got a smile and a wave, and Hinsero did a quick mental check on Heart and Soul, who had been told to stay with Hinsesk and were obeying for once.

As soon as they'd reached the water, he hugged Ithanna tight to his side, then let her go so he could start undressing. "It does look like we've got it to ourselves, doesn't it? Ah, I can't wait to get in the water!" Luckily for Hinsero, he'd had the foresight to wear his swim suit under his clothes, so he was ready to go in seconds. Generally, the big Handler was a fairly calm and steady person, but he was in high spirits tonight and feeling quite playful... so he took a running leap, curled himself into a ball, and smashed into the nearest spring with enough force to splash Ithanna (and get his clothes all wet, too. Oh well). Coming up for air, he spit a stream of water at her that landed well short, then brushed his hair off his forehead and beamed. "Get in here already or I'll splash you again!"

[Tashe]

Iwyrth rumbled happily at Hinsero before making herself comfy on the warm rocks, just cause she was playing watchdog didn't mean she couldn't be comfortable! Ithanna, meanwhile, snuggled into the crook of Hinsero's arm as he wrapped it around her shoulders. The warmth of his body stood out against the warm updrafts from the springs, it was different yet similar, and both were relaxing. Stopping a little way away from the edge, she watched as the Wherhandler began to strip down to his swimming things, soon she realized that it probably was a good idea to start getting undressed herself. Ithanna managed to get her head out of her shirt in time to see Hinsero the flying human ball sail through the air. Enki, had enough sense to leap off her wrist and glide through the air until the wave passed, setting down near the edge of the spring to curl up on the rocks. Squeaking as most of her got drenched with water, her exclamation of surprise turned into laughter as she pealed off her now wet (and see through) shirt. "Hey! Look who's the anxious one now!"

Slipping out of her sandals and then her shorts, she laid them out to dry outside the splash zone, she quickly did that with Hinsero's clothing as well before setting. Her entrance into the hot spring was certainly less vigorous than her counterpart's, but still, she jumped in to share in the playfulness. "Hot hot hot!" Was the first thing she said upon surfacing. Swimming in a little circle to get her body used to the temperature, she floated herself over to Hinsero and splashed him with a giggle. "And the water is pretty warm too." Oh she was just so funny! Which is half the reason she tended to laugh at her own jokes. The other half was even if no one else laughed, it showed the world she didn't care. She wasn't above laughing at herself.

Brushing the stray hairs from her face, she clung to the side of the spring with one arm while she used her other hand to trace a pattern down her boyfriend's arm. For Ithanna, flirting (at least physically) came as easy to her as friendliness. But it also made respecting Hinsero's abstinence a very hard thing to do, because flirting went hand in hand with desire. At first it had been a battle for the Greenrider, to not put a teeny weeny bit of pressure on him, but the longer they were together the easier it became to not think about. She was happy with what they had now. "So! What in the world do tha' Council have the Wherhandlers doin'? I know you're patrolling the underground levels and helping retrieve stuff from old Selenitas, but has the Night Sentinel been reestablished?" Settling back against the edge of the pool, Ithanna eyed the shirtless handler with appreciation. "Or would you rather not talk of work?"

[Ruby]

Hinsero chuckled at Ithanna and ducked her splash, shaking his head. He didn't mind her joking, or her flirting - in fact, he quite liked it - but it did make him feel like an incompetent oaf sometimes. He never had clever responses, so he'd stopped trying to muddle through a somewhat uncomfortable dialogue long ago in favor of thanking her and making a note to tell her she was beautiful later. She didn't normally need a response, either, which was something else he loved about Ithanna. So much self-confidence.

Snaking his arm around the one she was using to draw on his bicep, Hinsero captured Ithanna's wrist and pulled her closer. Draping his arm along the edge of the hot spring behind her, he kissed the tip of one of his fingers on his other hand, then placed it on her lips. It would be a familiar gesture to her by now, a subtle little show of affection. After that, though, he dropped his hand back into the water, letting himself slide down in to the water and relax. "Work? Work is fine, easier than at Old Selenitas actually. Mine duty was hard, but right now pretty much everyone is doing watch-type stuff. Patrolling, the whole deal. There's been some talk about picking Night Sentinel back up, but Dmitri's busy with Erilena, and neither Piden nor Roivao want to take the lead... Eikane's too busy with Council, so I'm not sure what'll happen. I've mostly been reassigned to Infirmary and such, since we've needed all of the help we could get lately, no?"

Of course, Ithanna would know that, since she'd gotten to see a lot more of him, even if both of them were endlessly busy while they were in the infirmary. Tilting his head towards Ithanna, Hinsero opened one eye and did his best to keep his voice light and innocent. "And you? They'll put some wings together soon enough, but... have you thought beyond that? Any plans for the future? Planning to, you no, settle down? Start a family? No pressure, of course," he added, leaning over to kiss her above the ear. "I swear I'm just curious."

[Tashe]

Cuddling in closer to Hinsero, she listened to him as he responded to her question. Now that her body had adjusted to the heat, it felt sinfully delightful. Where had hot springs been all her life! If she wasn't sure she'd be cooked like a shellfish, she might have moved right into this very pool. The Greenrider's head rolled into the crook of his arm as she shifted, happily adjusting to his body as he moved. Though when Hinsero asked her about plans, Ithanna's smile dropped a fraction of an inch. They'd talked about this before in varying degrees, but her views hadn't changed. Flicking a bit of water at him as he kissed her above the ear, the Rider answered him. "Plans? Well, to survive is one. Never know how the dice will land. And... I want to reach Journeyman status. I don't think I could even seriously think about settling down or starting any sort of family before that." She sighed slightly. "My craft and my duty as a Dragonrider are kinda my life right now. S0rry hun."

Well wasn't that kind of a damper on their date? At least for her. She hated having to shoot down Hinsero every time he asked her, but honestly, she didn't feel mature enough for any of those responsibilities. She'd known girls younger than her who'd tied the knot and had kids, though they had all been Holderkin (Ruathian at that), they weren't her. She might as well be one of the boys. Wiggling so that her neck rested on his arm, the Greenrider closed her eyes for a moment then opened them, gazing at the stars above them. Nah, she wasn't going to let the question get her down. Tonight was supposed to be happy and relaxing! "Falling star!" Jerking her hand toward the sky, she hoped Hinsero could catch its tail end, they could wish on the same star. She clasped her hands together and shut her eyes, reciting what she wanted in her head, she stayed like that for a few moments before returning to her previous position. "Soo... yeah."

[Ruby]

Well, he knew the subject wouldn't be pretty, but there was a reason Hinsero had brought it up. Generally he steered clear of talking about their future - he'd probed slightly early in their relationship, and hit the same sorts of walls. He'd never let it get him down, though, and he absolutely did not want to fight about it. Hence, avoidance. He'd like to settle down and have a child, preferably sooner rather than later (the current rash of pregnancies had made that desire even more real and urgent than before) but Ithanna was worth waiting for. So he replied, "Of course -"

Only to be distracted by her star. It was plenty obvious, and it made him smile once again as he sent up a small prayer. "My ma told me that falling stars were the spirits of the original Dragons, swooping through the sky and protecting us from stray Thread. She always said that single ones - alone like that - were Faranth herself, watching out for us. It is the best time to thank her if you are content, or ask if you are in need." Another thing he loved about Ithanna - she didn't look at him like a nut when he talked about Faranth. Most people did and it didn't bother the Wherhandler, but Hinsero had been raised a certain way, and Ithanna respected that. He appreciated it more than she would know.

Once the last trail had died away, he pushed himself up and out of the hot spring just far enough to snag his pants from where Ithanna had laid them out. Easing something out of his pocket into his left hand, he draped his right arm around her again. "Well, of course. You don't need to apologize for that. Although I must say, your chances for survival seem to have improved drastically in the last few months." It was a joke, so he nudged her a little, smiling. "That said..." He straightened again (was Hinsero a touch restless, tonight? Perhaps), pulling the little sack out of his other hand and opening it so only he could see in. "I know you're not ready to settle, and I understand, but not being with you and not knowing what had happened to you in the 'quake about killed me. I don't want to lose you. I can't live with you until we're joined, and I know you've still got things you want to do, so... this isn't quite a proposal, but it's a promise. Whenever you are ready to settle, Ithanna, I'll be here for you." Reaching in to the sack, he pulled out a necklace - delicate silver chain with a small glass and silver pendant that suggested the shape of a heart - and held it up for her to examine. "No pressure, of course, I want you to have it either way. I love you, Itha."

[Tashe]

"I think I remember you telling me that once before." Her eyes drifted in and out of focus as she stared at the sky above them. "Its a nice thought..." Ithanna's senses returned when Hinsero nudged her, saying something about survival rates having been improved. Blinking, but with a smile, she set her attention on the little bag that her boyfriend had made appear. She hoped it wasn't a promise-ring, not after the little talk they'd had. Bad wasn't the beginning of how she'd felt if it was. Ithanna knew that Hinsero was serious about their relationship and she also knew that he respected her wants about permanently furthering their status, but still, it didn't feel at all good to tell him not yet. It made her feel guilty, like she was letting him down.

But when he pulled the necklace from the bag all those thoughts were banished, surprise settling in its place. Ithanna didn't wear a lot of jewelry, if only because the ones that would last always cost so much, so getting something like this was exciting. "Ohmygosh. Its so pretty." Reaching over the lip of the pool to dry her hands on the nearest towel, Ithanna lifted up her hair so Hinsero could put it around her neck. Once done, she immediately threw her arms around his own neck and hugged him close, burying her face into his hair. "Thank you. For this, for being patient, and loving me." She stayed there for a few more seconds, enjoying the moment before pulling back and giving him a kiss. "I love you too, hun."

Floating away from him Ithanna smiled and touched the little pendant, tracing it with the tip of her finger. "So, what do you wanna talk about now?"