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 Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:21 am
It was soon, there was no doubt about that anymore. Those eggs would be hatching and dozens of Candidates would be walking away disappointed, a select few finding the connection they'd been looking for. Avery, herself, waffled between extreme confidence and anxiety, but currently she was feeling the former.
The curly-haired young woman was reclining on her bed, as the hour was late, reading a scroll by the light of a glow and finding herself once again happy with her roommate, a relatively dull girl who, more importantly, was dead to the world once she hit her bedroll.
Contemplating a trip to the baths, Avery sighed, hazel eyes moving quickly across the words before her. It'd been an odd few weeks, yet she couldn't find it in her to dislike High Reaches. The people here were alright, open and accepting, and there were eggs on the sands. The Weyrwoman was young and supportive and there was room to breath.
Still, why did she feel so lonely? It was an odd, uncomfortable feeling for the Beastcrafter, and wished it would go away soon.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:28 am
Uuni would have provided Avery with the simplest and most obvious of answers: She was in a room with a snoring fellow candidate and therefore might have been alone. Alone and lonely sounded very similar, so the easy solution would be, make herself less alone!
Unfortunately, Uuni could not read minds, so it was not at all the reason she pulled open Avery's door and stalked in. Without asking for permission, she fell onto the cot, her back rudely bumping into Avery's as she was trying to read.
"I. am. so. bored," she muttered, clicking her nails together and draping her head over Avery's shoulder.
"I can't sleep. I can't ********, I'm sick of reading, and there is nothing to do!" It was Avery's job to fix the situation.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:34 am
Despite her back turned to Uuni, as well as the way she calmly finished the portion of the scroll she was in the middle of, one could assume, quite fairly, that Uuni was well aware of the completely deadpan expression on the younger Candidate's face. In general, she was much more capable of entertaining herself than her fellow brunette, and therefore, much more irritated by the interruption that Uuni might've been, had their situations been reversed.
Of course, the interruption wasn't entirely unwelcome, and after another solid minute of Uuni staring expectantly over her shoulder, fidgeting, and making distracting breathing noises, Avery sighed and set the scroll aside, sitting up to toss the former-Holder a pointed stare.
"And that is my concern?" Apparently it was, since she shifted until she could swing her feet over the side of the cot, shaking her head slowly. "I was thinking of going to the baths, then seeing what kind of trouble I could get into, if you'd like to come."
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:43 am
Uuni grinned as Avery gave her a scolding, but knew nothing would come of it when the girl made to gt up.
"This late?" Uuni chided but her voice was still a laugh. "I think you were going to be stuck in here reading all day until I came to rescue you, right?" She leaned her forehead on Avery's shoulder and took in a deep breath.
"You know, Kesslan transferred here. Have you run into her yet?" And just like that, it was what she really wanted to talk about.
She needed someone else to agree with her side, and what better person than Avery?
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:49 am
"Sure, something like that." Avery's tone was wry, and she was about to continue when she found herself quieted by the physical contact and deep inhale. That usually meant Uuni wanted to get something off her chest. Generally they didn't discuss things, persay, usually one of them just made a statement, and it went back and forth like that.
Tone light, she kept things casual as one of her hands found Uuni's hair, the motion familiar now. "No, I haven't seen her yet. I was out at the stables all day today, helping those arriving for the hatching on runners."
It was unclear what Avery was thinking and feeling, not just to Uuni, but also to herself.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 11:59 am
There was quiet. It sounded as though Avery didn't want to talk about it.
Uuni untucked her legs from underneath herself and put her bare feet to the floor next to Avery's. There were all sorts of things she could be doing right now, but wasn't.
Avery's hands in her hair certainly relaxed her, but at the same time, they left her feeling uneasy. It had been a while, and one night wouldn't hurt. Even as her mind was forming the idea, and she'd moved so her breath was hot on Avery's neck, her subconscious was pooling with guilt and remorse.
No. Not tonight.
Maybe tomorrow. Maybe. Probably not. Definitely not.
"I thought you'd be happier to know she was here." She took in a deep breath and pulled away completely, breaking the idea of temptation. "You know, Condoroth was in my head today. Sounds funny, but that's what it was. . . like something. . . you ever had a dragon speak to you before?" Uuni had thought for the longest time that they only did to their Impressed, or, to someone's rider who they trusted above all. That's what she'd been told most of her young years.
Were they all lying, was it different here? Or. . . did it mean that other thing that she didn't really want to focus on?
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:06 pm
It felt good, so good. Hazel eyes shut, and it was so easy, so brilliantly easy to lean toward Uuni's hot mouth a quiet noise stifled in her throat as she felt those lips just barely brush her skin before she'd pulled away. The disappointment tasted bitter on her tongue and it was another moment before she looked at Uuni again, finding the conversation quickly becoming of more interest.
"No, not personally, but it isn't unheard of. I mean, I hear that there's very few reasons for it, but," A shrug and Avery continued, addressing Uuni's first statement. "I am. Surprised of course, aren't you? I'm not at all surprised she's here for the hatching, but to stay?"
Avery had definitely missed Kess, they both had. It both complicated and simplified things to have her with them again. Still, why hadn't she sought Avery out? Why Uuni and not her?
"You ran into each other?"
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:14 pm
They were both thinking the same thing, then. Those very few reasons for it. Neither of them really knew, which was a problem for Uuni. And she was running out of places to run away to.
"I am. I mean, I was." Because she wasn't as surprised now as she had been initially. Initially she had been more scared.
"Yeah. I was on my way back from some chores, and she was with some other rider. She came to say hello." There were words that were not added to the rest of the sentence that lingered there in the air.
And Uuni was wondering the same thing as Avery. Why hadn't K'lan gone to see her best friend? It wasn't as though Avery would be hard to find. High Reaches was not that large, and Avery was relatively new and so fresh on people's mind.
"But. . . she's trying to ask me for a relationship, Avery. And I just don't want to. Not with her, and not now." That would, hopefully, answer all the previous questions and ails, but it would bring out so many more.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:25 pm
"Mmmhm."
Perhaps Avery, better than anyone else around, could understand why Uuni wasn't interested in a relationship right now [hadn't she, after all, been non-verbally dumped, despite the fact they hadn't technically been in an admitted relationship?], but she felt her loyalties tugged.
In the past, it had been Avery that ended things with Kess, and many days she regretted it. Not in the 'let me go confess my feelings and beg to be taken back' sort of they, they were both, after all, aware of mutual feelings between themselves, but in a 'I wish it hadn't ended that way' sort of sadness one has for things that have happened in the past and have been accepted.
At this point, the choice was to either do things as they had been always done between Uuni and Avery, or to instead examine the situation and feelings involved and counsel her accordingly. It seemed like Uuni was asking for the first response.
Avery, of course, was well aware of Kesslan's affections for Uuni, and in fact, they didn't bother her. Nor did the concept of sharing. What did bother her was the idea that she would be left out and alone, Kess and Uuni pairing up and discarding her. While she never expected something like that from Kess... Well, Uuni was the type of girl to discard people despite her personal feelings, out of fear or anxiety, and Avery was well aware.
"Is there something wrong with her, or is it just bad timing?" A casual, quiet question that was surprisingly unloaded, and the curly-haired young woman looked introspective. "Is she willing to wait?" It seemed like Kess to say something like that, though lately the blonde had been throwing curveballs, her usually hidden backbone coming out more and more.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:36 pm
It didn't matter how much of her own ammo Avery stored in her words as Uuni had her own to load and shoot herself in the foot with.
"No." After a brief silence this changed to, "Yes." A long heavy sigh followed and she spent the time looking at her feet and flexing her toes. Out of everything, they were definitely her least attractive aspect. Shoes that had high heels and pointed ends did nothing but ruin them despite her age.
It was part of the reason she'd made an effort of going barefoot lately, at least until she could get a new type of shoes.
"I'm sure she is willing to wait. She's stubborn. I could probably drop a rock on her head and crush half her body and she'd still claim she'd wait for me." Another deep breath and she leaned back to lay on her back, draped over Avery's cot.
"There's something wrong with her because she's Kess. Not you, not the rest of the world. I don't like the idea of . . . it feels tainted. Wrong. You don't do that to your friends. You just don't." She took her fingers and circled them around in the air, watching the shadows stretch out on the ceiling behind.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 12:44 pm
"Well, she'd have to wait there, being pinned down by a rock and all." Turning to press her cool face against Uuni's neck, the beastcrafter was surprisingly relaxed.
"So, it's because you love her, too." Avery's tone was wry, one of her hands working it's way down Uuni's back in a motion that was both comforting and stimulating to herself. She didn't sound upset, though she was quickly realizing that Uuni was. Interestingly enough, this wasn't an urgent problem, specifically because of the factor that Uuni had put so elegantly. Kess was patient, which mean they had time to work this one out before coming to any conclusions.
When she spoke again, Avery let her dry lips brush against skin, tone soothing. "You don't need to worry about it right now. Maybe that's why she didn't deliberately seek either of us out."
It was completely like Kesslan to plan to put herself aside to avoid distracting or stressing out Avery and Uuni before they had to Stand.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 1:24 pm
Uuni thought over it for a moment, but decided not to answer. It wasn't that sort of love.
She further let Avery try her luck, closing her eyes when she felt the contact that she convinced herself was only there for comfort. "I hope so. I am glad she's here. Just wish she hadn't come with luggage." She quieted, letting her breathing steady out, and for a moment, she lost consciousness and came back with open eyes to find Avery was still there and barely any time had passed.
Hesitant at first, but then decided and confident, she sat up just enough to kiss the girl's jaw and cheek. It was affectionate, though very lacking in sexual additions, and she abandoned the contact so she could crawl her way across the rest of Avery's cot and lift a corner of the bedroll up to climb inside.
"I'm sleeping here tonight," was her answer. "Don't try anything."
Maybe it was the idea of not being in her own bed made it easy to sleep, or maybe the stress had finally shut down the excitement and terror of her last hatching, and maybe it was just the fact that it was Avery. Let the world think whatever they wanted. Uuni was just glad to finally be getting some sleep.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 2:11 pm
"I find you insufferable," was Avery's haughty retort in response, but the younger woman quietly allowed Uuni to crawl beneath her blankets, not minding losing a sexual connection for the emotional one. Considering Uuni's reluctance to sleep in Avery's [or anybody's] bed when they'd first met, this was quite a difference, and not one the brunette minded.
Sliding into the bed herself, Avery mumbled a goodnight, watching Uuni drift off for only a moment before reaching for the scroll she'd previously abandoned. She'd been getting a lot of reading done as of late.
--------------
The next morning, Uuni would find herself woken by a pinch to her ribs and a mug of klah. Avery's always honeyed voice greeting her with a, "Get up and get out of my sheets, I hear you've got work to do in the Latrines." She didn't say anything about Uuni's tears the night before, wet against her skin as she lay breathing deep in silence, as she thought they would both prefer it that way.
There was a beautiful smile and a flaky pastry, as well. Avery'd been pleased to find that the food was much better at High Reaches. She had a goal for the day that didn't involve Uuni, and that was to find Kesslan.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 2:43 pm
It was about halfway through the night that Uuni rolled over and put her arm around Avery's waist. The whole night was too much of a pleasant reminder of other things, and halfway inbetween a half awake and half dream state, she let her frustrations cry out at the back of the girl's neck.
Most of it had nothing to do with Kesslan, though Uuni supposed she was the turning point in her mind. It was simply not healthy to sleep with a woman who looked so much like her past lover, but the feeling in the morning was much more easy.
---
The pain, although not great, made her squirm to the side and groan aloud. She opened one eye and squinted in Avery's direction.
She was still in her clothes, and she felt like s**t. Rubbing her eyes with her fingers, she slowly pulled herself from bed and stumbled onto her feet.
Taking the cup of klah with barely more than a grunt, she went to lean against the wall and take a first sip. "Shards," she muttered, her cursewords surprisingly light, especially for the time of the day.
"You look good this morning. Who cooked you breakfast?" She took the pasty and nibbled on it with a bit of apprehension. The pain in her gut was clearly hunger, however, and she quickly set to wolfing it down.
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Posted: Thu Oct 08, 2009 2:52 pm
"I always look good, darling." There wasn't an iota of doubt in that statement and brushing off her fingers, Avery reached for the blankets, getting her bed back into order and smoothing down the sheets until it looked perfect. Uuni's disorder and chaos would, frankly, drive the bet-taker up a wall if they shared quarters, as she preferred things to be in order.
Leaning over her trunk of belongings to take a look in a reflective surface, she briefly fussed with a curl or two, speaking over her shoulder to Uuni. "Hm? A lovely girl I met in the kitchens, isn't it marvelous? Mountain folk aren't as good at anything as those from the runner's fields, but it's certainly a dragon's length better than the wherry fodder they tried to shovel down our throats back at Ista."
Turning back to Uuni she made a disapproving noise with a click of her tongue before moving close, brush in hand, to begin giving the girl a once over. "You really need to stop sleeping in your clothing." Brow creasing as she gave one flyaway wisp of hair a petrifying glare, she continued to murmur, off-handedly. "Oh, that reminds me, I have something for you."
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