Endless Appetites (Kali, etc.)

[Requiem]

Being held was nice. Safe. Kalierre needed to feel safe sometimes, even if it was just a feeling and probably not very factual. She didn't mention anything to K'von, because there were certain things you just didn't talk about, but she knew he couldn't protect her from everything. Couldn't protect her, in fact, from most things that she couldn't protect herself from. Not without getting hurt of killed himself, and she was selfish enough not to want that. She'd like to be cuddling with him, just like this, several turns from now, after all. The greenrider couldn't resist a chuckle, nuzzling at his neck. Her K'von. He cared about her so much, and he wasn't like the men who couldn't admit that they ever felt fear. Kalierre's only real regret was that he put too much stock in her moods, tried to please her too much. His happiness did mean something to her, and she doubted catering to her every whim and frown was going to make him happy. Too dependent, the man was.

But oh, his arms were nice.

She shook her head in silent protest, though she kept the movement slight because she liked the fingers in her hair. "Not braver," she murmured. "You're not afraid to show your fear." And Kalierre most definitely was. Softness, fear, all had to be ignored. It was why her emotional reaction to most things was anger. Anger was safe. Not weak like those other emotions. She hated weakness, because that just invited predators, and...well, the north touched everyone in different ways. His words surprised her, though. Kalierre wasn't sure what exactly she'd expected, but open admission that he couldn't help wasn't it. Perhaps she was just too used to northern men to predict K'von's reactions accurately. "I'll tell you," she stated. For once...she realized that it was true. She would. "For now, just hold me?"

The green circled in fair imitation of one of the birds, just soaring on the air, her wings barely moving. She watched the brown coming out on the ledge with interest. Dohulth. Sometimes Phremath wondered what it would be like to clutch herself, especially considering how much Hers wanted a little one. Phremath loved weyrlings. Probably better that she couldn't, though, considering Dohulth rarely Chased her when she Flew. Once, actually. Once. Yes, she remembered, because he'd been upset with her afterward and she didn't like it when he was upset. He usually wasn't. She remembered he'd been upset, and knew it was because he'd Chased but hadn't Flown - or something like that. Phremath didn't want a hatchling with a different dragon, though, so best she couldn't clutch. Yes, best.

Her wings folded. Dipping into a dive, she buzzed their ledge, coiling upwards on another thermal and skipping into a slipstream that took her over the river. You'll let me borrow your wings? she asked him quietly, the eagerness muted in case she'd misinterpreted. Oh, how she longed to fly with him. Phremath could fly, yes, but it was a queer sort of flight, not the free flight that so many dragons enjoyed. If the winds didn't favor that direction, if the thermals weren't there, she couldn't go there. The green was getting better at using winds and thermals to do as she wished, to get where she wished, but it wasn't the same freedom. She could fly, but she couldn't really fly.

[kysseh]

Her chuckle amused him, for some reason, and K’von felt himself humming in quiet contentment at the feel of her nuzzling at his neck. She was enjoying the closeness, it appeared, and he felt relieved that she seemed less frightened than before. His own nerves were gnawing at him. Questions raced through his head. Would Kalierre be all right, carrying the child? Would the child be all right? What if another attack should be launched on the weyr? What if she became ill? So many questions with so many frightening answers as to make him sick if he thought of it too long. Instead, he pointed cleared his mind and pressed his hand firmly into the skin at the small of her back, focusing on the skin-to-skin contact. This was real and was happening. He didn’t want the questions. He just wanted her, for the moment.

“You’re much braver,” he argued with her quietly, though his face, pressed against her head, betrayed him with a smile. She liked arguing with him at times, and he greatly enjoyed a good tussle with her. It usually ended happily, even if he couldn’t do that for her at the moment. “It’s not about showing fear, Kali. It’s about dealing with it. I don’t deal with mine very well. I hover over you, remember?” And did he ever, at times. Still, he was gratified to hear that she would tell him if she needed him, a fact that he still intended to back up with a careful watch of her. Just to be safe, of course. “As you wish, love,” he added softly, his fingers working gently through her hair to untangle the snarls. He would hold her forever and be perfectly happy, except for-

A sudden thought and feeling crossed his mind, and he felt a sheepish expression come unbidden to his face. Oh, yes. That might prove a small interruption. “Errr, Kali?” He was embarrassed, but there was nothing he could do about the fact that his stomach then protested quite loudly that it was still fairly empty. He was forgetting to feed it, and it disliked him for this offense. “I’m… umm… mind if I eat? I’m still starving.” One arm could remain holding her, of course. He craved that contact with her. “Pleeeeease?” Maybe giving her a pathetic pouting sort of look would work, hmm? He pulled his head back a bit and tried it, his fingers still massaging gently at the flesh of her lower back. Sad face meant food, right? Not even Kali could resist his poor undernourished stomach…

Phremath soared elegantly, Dohulth thought, tilting his head up a bit higher to watch her move. When she suddenly folded her wings to drop by the ledge, he recoiled in surprise, recovering only when he saw her rise again. She was teasing him, wasn’t she? He crooned and opened his wings to their fullest extent, falling almost lazily off the ledge and letting the air catch beneath his sails. I promised you, did I not? he responded kindly, eyes whirling with amusement as he finally began to beat his wings for altitude, easily soaring up past her. It will be a challenge, but I will see what I can do. Keep your wings still if you can. I do not want to hit them.

The brown folded his wings ever so slightly, angling his body for a shallow dive over top of the green. He grasped her very carefully with all four limbs, tucking her back close in to his underside as his wings flared out again, producing more than enough lift to keep both bodies aloft for the moment. Are you all right? I am not hurting you?

[Requiem]

"You promised to back off if I ask you to, so I think that's no longer a problem, yes?" Because Kalierre wasn't the sort to back down from an argument, now was she? Oh no. Not the dragonhealer. The woman never backed down if she could help it. Mildly amused at herself, but mostly just enjoying the contact, Kalierre basked in the warmth radiating off her weyrmate for the time being. She hadn't expected him to protest her request, after all, but it was still nice to hear the acquiescence.

Her eyes closed and she threaded an arm around his shoulder, resting her head against his neck. Kalierre was strangely tired right now. His questioning tone drew her gaze, though she only moved her head enough to get a look at his profile. "Yes?" Oh, for the love of little dragons. She snorted softly, nipping his neck in retaliation. "Are you really asking my permission to eat?" she questioned incredulously. Yes, she'd asked him to hold her, but he didn't need both arms for that. Crazy man. Why would she tell him no? Moreover, why would it matter if she told him no?

Straightening, she glanced back at the tray, plucking up the nearest bit of food without noting what it was and presenting it to him, biting at the underside of his jaw at the same time sharply. "Eat when you're hungry, eh? Silly man." Her silly man, though, as evidenced by the possessive way she still leaned against him. So strange that he was this docile. However had he managed at Benden without getting rolled over, stepped on, and generally ridiculed? She had no clue.

Dohulth. She brushed his mind happily, words abandoned entirely in the face of her excitement. Yes, he'd promised, but it had been so long ago. She only remembered because she wanted it so much - and he kept on promising, off and on, but apparently forgetting. Phremath leveled out into a glide, carefully keeping her wings still. They weren't much, but they were all she had, and the thought of messing them up enough that she couldn't fly at all was terrifying.

Oh! Weeee! she trilled playfully, softly. His dive had made her go suddenly faster, her eyes shifting even more toward blue as she felt the strength of his wings in just that one downstroke. There was a touch of jealousy, yes, but mostly she just admired the power. Her wings had never been capable of that...of getting her lift at all without help. No, no. She shifted slightly, not wanting to throw him off but determined to nestle herself more securely. Better. Can we fly fast? Can we?