A Kindness Repaid [V'riy]

As he stretched, Arddra ducked a little, more out of reflex than any fear he was going to harm her. When he reluctantly agreed to let her cook for him once, Arddra felt it was more to appease her than any really desire to have somebody cook for him. He certainly was different from the men she knew back home.

"You don't seem to like the idea of somebody cooking for you here, or doing any task for you outside of the occasionally badly torn shirts." Arddra ventured a guess. "I was raised to handle household duties like cooking and cleaning for a husband...not that I am assuming nor implying anything given we are just friends. It just seems a nice thing to do for a friend, is cook a meal for him. If you prefer, I can cook a meal and give it to you in a pot so you can heat up on your own?"

"The breeze is nice and I agree, the humidity isn't something I would miss if I ever leave here. I have to admit I don't miss the cold of Fort in the winter." Arddra wondered if she will ever leave this place or once she Impressed a gold, would she want to leave or just go North to visit her family?

"Oh, well, if it's like that and you really want to cook for me," V'riy teased, grinning mischievously. He tempered his joke with a winning smile. "Really, I'd love for you to cook something if you have the time. I… prefer not to eat in the communal kitchens."

V'riy left it at that. He wasn't about to go into all the things that were going through his head. Explaining everything to Arddra would take much longer than the time left on their walk. The bronzerider considered it a far wiser course to let their relationship develop further before he started elaborating on the political scheming that went on at Katila and his barely-hatched plans. Frankly, he admitted privately to himself, he wasn't sure he understood it completely yet anyway.

"No, I don't miss the cold at Benden either," the man confided in a wistful tone with a slight emphasis on the word cold. "That's one of the reasons I can cook stew," he chuckled. "Oh, here we are," he stated, gesturing to the Weyrfolk Hall and the Candidate Barracks. He thought she would probably be living in the Barracks, but he wasn't sure, since some of them did move into the Hall when there wasn't an imminent Hatching.

The bronzerider turned his body toward Arddra as Morith landed neatly in the clearing behind them and folded his wings. In the evening moonlight it was harder to see the rich bronze coloring of his hide. He approached the pair and paused behind V'riy, poking his head around his rider's side. Without ever looking behind him, V'riy reached up to rub Morith behind his head knobs.

"So, when you're up for your first lesson about dragons, let me know," the older man said, smiling at her. He paused, unsure of how to see her off, and waited for her response.

Figured I'd let Arddra decide how she wants to say goodbye :)

"Then sometime in the future I will cook a meal for you, maybe I can find something special to cook like the fine beef you found somewhere," Arddra could see herself really getting to like this man. He certainly wasn't dangerous like others but one good time with V'riy didn't mean he wasn't up to something.

As they continued walking, Arddra glanced at V'riy, finding nothing deceptive in his features. She was certain there were many things about who and what he was she didn't know but one can't get to know everything there was about a person over a single meal. Arddra had a feeling in her gut she could trust him, in all possible ways. Perhaps she will tell him more about why she distrusted Dragonriders so much and why it had been so very hard for her to accept she was living here now.  Tonight wasn't the time yet.

Once they arrived near the building Arddra knew she should be fine heading to the barracks from here. Turning she smiled at V'riy and Morith.

"How about next Restday? I will have some chores to take care of in the morning which shouldn't take me past 10am. I can meet you here when I am done." Arddra stepped forward and touched Morith's snout, smiling into his beautiful eyes. Once V'riy responded to her suggested time, Arddra turned to him.

"I look forward to our first lesson, and thank you very much V'riy for the meal and walking me here. Good night," Arddra moved her hand from Morith's snout and touched V'riy's arm briefly. The longing for physical contact surged in her but Arddra pushed it own. She didn't want to ruin this new friendship by reacting on her loneliness alone. Without another word, Arddra turned and hurried towards the Candidate barracks, happier at that moment than she had been for a long time.


<<Fin>>