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Post by Kandarra on Jul 4, 2006 17:54:34 GMT -5
After Jess had secured herself behind him, Valkoran gave a light touch of his heels to Dancer, noting how he moved quickly to comply, but smoothly. He shortened the reins to a proper length and felt Jessa squeeze tighter, at which he smiled and blushed a little, glad she couldn't see.
He guided Dancer along the heightened aisle to the outside, where one of the regular stableworkers saw him and Jess and winked. Valkoran gave a mock-stern look and turned the stallion, who was behaving very well, towards the nearest empty paddock.
A dragon flew overhead, spooking the runner a bit and causing him to sidle under them, but Valkoran murmured words to him and he calmed. Valkoran nodded to the worker at the gate and she opened it, letting the three of them in. "I'm going to pick it up now," he warned Jess, deciding not to catch her by surprise this time. Valkoran grinned. He'd done it before, going straight into a gallop without so much as a shift in saddle. He figured that she had just arrived and just gotten clean, so she didn't need to be dumped off her own runner so soon. Besides, it wouldn't be something a courteous host would do.
He nudged Dancer into a trot, weaving a few tight figure eights before transitioning into a canter. As he broke into the canter, Dancer snorted and tossed his head, glad to be moving. Dancer's stride seemed smoother and more controlled, where before he'd just wanted to take on speed with no concern for who was riding him. Valkoran approved, and called behind him to Jessa. "He feels great. Ready to go full speed now?"
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Post by maira on Jul 5, 2006 14:10:03 GMT -5
With her chin resting on his shoulder, and lost in her memories, Jessa didn't see the stableworker wink at Valkoran. She did notice though when Dancer's easy gait was interrupted as he shied away from something. Coming out of her memories she looked up just in time to see a dragon flying not too far above them. She gave a little shiver at the sight but not because the great beast frightened her. She shivered because aside from a runner in motion, seeing a dragon flying was the most beautiful sight she'd ever seen and she'd never been so close in her life.
Valkoran had directed Dancer toward one of the nearby paddocks and Jessa had planned on dismounting but apparently Valkoran had other plans. He let her know as he was urging Dancer to a quicker pace and she adjusted her grip on both the runner and the man sitting in front of her. Valkoran had been known to not give her notice and she'd wound up on her backside in the dirt. She certainly wasn't in the mood to slip off Dancer's rump today.
After a few tight figure eights, Valkoran urged Dancer from a trot into a canter and she couldn't help but smile at how much different this gait, out of all of them, was compared to when Valkoran had last ridden Dancer. Before he would have pulled on the reigns, chomped on his bit and just plain fought to go faster. Now it was just controlled and patient, he was ready to go faster but not fighting for it.
When Valkoran asked if she were ready to go faster again, Jessa couldn't help but laugh and say, "Of course!" She loved to feel Dancer run and having Valkoran to experience it with her would be wonderful.
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Post by Kandarra on Jul 5, 2006 23:33:10 GMT -5
Valkoran nudged Dancer on the moment he heard Jessa's approval. Dancer broke into a full gallop and Valkoran gave him his head. However, they would soon reach the end of the field and the fence was looming. "Hold on!" he called back to Jessa, holding onto her arm with one hand, and he turned Dancer abruptly but smoothly with hardly a nudge or rein-pull. They galloped full-tilt across the pasture, the resulting wind blowing Valkoran's rather long hair straight back.
"I hope he can jump," Valkoran said, for now they approached the paddock gate where they'd come in. They came closer and closer, until finally the fence was just a few runnerlengths from them. Valkoran acted as if he was going into a jumping seat, but turned Dancer at the last second and halted him suddenly. He grinned. Jessa had gasped a couple of times. He waited for the mandatory punch on the shoulder that he usually got for playing such tricks.
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Post by maira on Jul 7, 2006 1:05:12 GMT -5
Jessa laughed with excitement as Valkoran urged Dancer to a gallop. The faster the runner moved the tighter Jessa's grip became around Valkoran's waist. When she saw the fence to the paddock approaching, she shifted her seat preparing for the leap she knew Dancer was going to take. She hadn't had much opportunity to take him over fences travelling with the caravan but she had taken him off the roads from time to time just to ride in the forests and there they had cleared many downed trees.
She felt Valkoran shift his seat on the runner as well and she braced herself. When she felt Dancer prepare for the fence ahead of him as well, Jessa tightened her grip on Valkoran even more, only to be nearly thrown from Dancer's back as he was hauled around and stopped at the last moment before the fence.
She gave a screech as she started to slip sideways but she was able to catch herself once Dancer was completely still. Once she was re-seated and she had caught her breath and made sure her heart was still beating, Jessa unclasped her arms from about Valkoran's waist and smacked not his shoulder but the back of his head. "You sharding idiot!" she growled at him before giving into a fit of laughter.
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Post by Kandarra on Jul 7, 2006 1:17:16 GMT -5
Valkoran heard a shriek and hunched his shoulders when he felt Jessa's hand make firm contact with the back of his head. Luckily, she laughed after that, and he felt free to join in. He grinned. It was just like it had been, the two of them playing tricks on one another. He grinned at the woman at the gate, and she let them out of the pasture, shaking her head.
As they made their way back to the stable, Valkoran said, "He's really doing great... and while he's improved, I see he hasn't forgotten how to nearly make you fall off." He grinned and glanced over his shoulder at Jessa, who was glaring rather unconvincingly. "Maybe next time you'll actually fall off, like you used to." He chuckled.
They trotted back to the high aisle, and Valkoran waited for Jess to dismount. When she had, he grinned down at her for a moment before joining her on the ground. He gave her a one-armed hug before leading Dancer off to his stall next to Halo and Shif. "No hard feelings?" he asked, knowing the answer.
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Post by maira on Jul 7, 2006 1:39:32 GMT -5
Jessa was indeed glaring at Valkoran when he teased her about falling off but she knew it wasn't at all convincing. She continued to glare at the back of his head even as they rode past the woman at the gate and back into the stable. Once they were back inside, Valkoran directed dancer to the same part of the stable they'd mounted up in. Once they were there, Jessa slid off over Dancer's rump, patted the stallion to thank him for the ride, and then stepped away from him waiting for Valkoran to dismount as well.
When her friend was back on the ground with her and they led Dancer to his stall, Jessa was a bit surprised to have Valkoran sling an arm around her shoulder and give it a squeeze but she smiled warmly up at him. When he asked if she had any hard feelings she laughed. "You know there aren't!"
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Post by Kandarra on Jul 7, 2006 1:53:49 GMT -5
Valkoran grinned at Jess as he led Dancer into his stall and started taking off his saddle. He trusted Jess would block the way out, so he didn't bother to close the stall door. He unbuckled a few straps and asked, "You want to get his bridle?" He slipped off the saddle, which was slightly damp underneath, and carried it out of the stall and to the tack room, where he placed it on its log. He grabbed his personal grooming kit and a halter and made his way back to the stall.
He slid in the door and latched it behind him, taking the few steps to where Jess stood at Dancer's head. He handed her the halter and waited for her to put it on the stallion before hanging the kit on the side of the stall and pulling out a brush. He took one out for her as well and went to the other side of Dancer, trailing a hand over the stallion's rump so he knew where Valkoran was. He handed the brush over to Jess and began grooming Dancer where he was sweatiest. "I've missed this," he said aloud, pausing in his strokes. "We haven't ridden together in a long time."
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Post by maira on Jul 7, 2006 2:11:25 GMT -5
Jessa gave a yawn just as Valkoran asked her a question but she caught his hand gesture and moved to Dancer's head to remove his bridle. She had it off and was waiting for Valkoran to return from the tack room with Dancer's halter when she suddenly realized how tired she was. Travelling for so long was finally catching up with her.
Trading the bridle for the halter, and taking up the offered brush, Jessa quietly went to work on Dancer. Only when Valkoran spoke did she realize she'd been in a bit of a daze. Looking over Dancer's back at her friend she smiled sleepily and answered, "I have too Valkoran, why else do you think I came this far?" And she had missed it. The camraderie, the companionship, and the sheer comfort of being around him. Nobody in her daily life had ever made her feel even half as significant as he had. With him gone from the hold, Jessa had once again become a nobody. At least around him she was 'allowed' to be herself instead of what everybody expected her to be.
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Post by Kandarra on Jul 7, 2006 14:54:12 GMT -5
Valkoran smiled as he recognized the signs of extreme fatigue in his friend. He checked Dancer over one more time and put the brushes in the grooming kit. He made sure Dancer was going to hold Jessa up and walked quickly back to the tack room to put them away. When he returned, Jess was looking even more sleepy, so without saying anything he picked her up gently, her long frame fitting easily in his lengthy arms. Dancer looked at the two of them curiously but didn't move.
She started to protest, but Valkoran stared her down. "You need to rest. It's a long walk to your room." He grinned. If she'd been more awake, she'd be kicking and yelling at him to put her down. As he carried her back across the land to the Weyr, he half expected her to.
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Post by maira on Jul 7, 2006 15:14:39 GMT -5
Jessa couldn't believe how suddenly the desire to sleep had come over her, all she knew was that one moment, she and Valkoran had been racing across a paddock on Dancer and now here she was leaning against the stallion hoping her sleepy body wouldn't betray her and dump her at his feet. She was just starting to doze when she felt strong arms at her back and then down by her knees lifting her off the ground.
Even Jessa knew that she must be exhausted because normally she would have been kicking and squirming trying to get down. Not to mention she likely would have been giving whoever had picked her up the sharp side of her tongue. When she turned to look at the culprit she just blinked and started to say something. Valkoran cut her off just saying it was a long walk to her room.
Not even having the energy to argue, she just leaned her head against his chest and let her eyes drift closed. It wasn't long before she was sleeping, a smile dancing at the corners of her mouth. So far away from the Hold she'd been born in and Jessa felt so completely at home...
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Post by Kandarra on Jul 7, 2006 15:23:00 GMT -5
As Valkoran reached Jessa's room, he realized that she was asleep and she had the key. He hoped she didn't wake up just then and searched her pockets, finally finding it tangled with a leather thong. He put the key in the lock and opened the door quietly, closing it behind him.
Placing Jessa carefully on an uncluttered part of her bed, Valkoran cleared her packs and things from the bed and set them carefully on the floor underneath. He then took the furs hanging over the frame and covered her with them, smiling down at her for a moment. His cheeks grew warm, and it was then he realized that he'd left the key in the lock. He opened the door carefully and retrieved it, placing it on the table. He stood there for a moment more before preparing to leave.
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Post by maira on Jul 7, 2006 15:36:46 GMT -5
Jessa woke with a start. She had just had the craziest dream! Or at least she thought she had until she saw Valkoran standing over her smiling. She smiled sleepily back up at him and asked, "How long have I been sleeping?" She hoped it hadn't been long. Last thing she wanted was for Valkoran to have felt like he had to stay with her while she slept.
Once he answered, Jessa gave in to her sleepiness a little bit more and gave a big stretch and a yawn. She couldn't help but squeek as she stretched and when she looked back at Valkoran her sleepy mind completely missed the color in his cheeks. "I missed you so much Valkoran. I'm so glad I found you." With that, she smiled at him again closed her eyes and rolled over so she was facing the wall. She didn't intentionally turn her back on Valkoran, she was asleep again before she did it.
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Post by Kandarra on Jul 7, 2006 15:42:40 GMT -5
"Just a few minutes," he replied. Jess murmured something about how she had missed him, and Valkoran barely had time to say, "I've missed you too" before she had fallen asleep again and rolled over. He smiled and shook his head, and made his way out of the room, closing the door behind him, and down to his barracks, where he started reading one of his new scrolls.
OOC: The End! lol
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