In the wake of Obhaeroth’s afternoon victory in Ozriath’s flight (and the ensuing aftermath, of course), Rielle has been relegated to getting most anywhere she wants to go on foot. She’s been fine with it all of course; her lifemate is completely besotted and uninteresting in giving up being ensconced with his pretty patchwork green any time soon, and Z’bor is already intimately familiar to her. They do have a child resulting from this very situation, after all. Even so, the Serval wingleader finds herself preoccupied after earlier events, trying to pick through emotions and thoughts she doesn’t believe she has any real right to be dealing with at the moment. Her feet inevitably steer her toward Va’os’ weyr. Hopefully hearing her knocking and tentatively calling his name won’t come as a startlement. She can’t really get her dragon to respond and pass on a warning to Tsiroth, after all.

Tsiroth will not be found lounging on his ledge or curled in his wallow; the bronze is likewise prowling elsewhere with his tense restlessness. Even knowledge of Ozriath’s time to rise did little to touch the usually hot-blooded bronze. It’s by luck alone that Rielle will find Va’os within his weyr and over the past several days, his mood has been considerably soured by various events; namely the pressing matter of Laevia’s charges and the outcome. All of which hang heavily over his head and some may have noted the gradual change in the young bronzerider. Shorter temper, along with him speaking less and less if it’s not required of him. No matter what black mood he may be in or state of mind, the sound of her familiar voice draws his attention and she’ll soon be greeted by his approach. He’s dressed casually and, as frequent to late, a glass in one hand and no doubt filled with whiskey. “Rielle!” His surprise is mild, but genuine and so is the small smile quirking his mouth upwards. “Hey.”

Rielle has indeed noticed, and it’s very likely that the lessening of the overall cloud of Disaster that’s passed on with the winter contributes to Va’os’ state being more obvious. At least he seems happy to see her. “Hi,” she counters with a little smile of her own as she ventures further in. It’s clear she’s spent most of her time at the beach today, still dressed in a breezy, pale yellow sundress and sandals with her hair left free, though the band around her wrist indicates it may not have been at some point. She’s studying him intently as they cross to one another, taking in his casual look, the whiskey in his hand, his surprise at her arrival. But mostly she lingers on his smile. It’s what she seems to want to focus on. “Is this a bad time? Or can I distract you for a while?”

“Have I ever turned down a distraction?” Bad mood or not, Va’os can still dish out a small teasing remark, while he lifts his drink to his lips. His finger lifts to silently point out another remark. “… or ever had you ask for permission?” His smile broadens to a smirk and he steps back, all while keeping an appreciative eye on that sundress. Eventually he comes to lean against the corner edge of a small (and overly cluttered) desk and his gaze never leaves her. “Not a bad time, so…” His hands spread out, followed by a shrug and another quick sip of his drink. “Distract away! Are you going to make me guess what’s brought you here? Or…” He grins wryly now, followed by a more pointed look levelled at her.

Rielle shakes her head to Va’os’ first, her smile growing as he expands the question further. The fact that he’s so admiring of what she’s wearing definitely helps her decide that coming here was the right choice. And then there’s that damn disarming grin of his, and she just can’t help returning it, a little bit of sway unconsciously added to her last few steps toward him as she answers. “Maybe I don’t have a specific reason,” she teases, “but that would only be half true.” She considers how best to put things, but she’s a little bit distracted now and looks like she might be about to say something a few times. Suddenly, she plucks his drink from his hand, sets it on the desk, and proceeds to ply him with a heated and thorough kiss, fingers curling into his shirt as she leans into him for it.

“Hey!” Va’os’ protest is brief to Rielle plucking that drink from his hand and before he can lean over to snare it back, she’s upon him. If she was aiming to gain his attention, well… it worked! He’ll return the kiss, while his now empty hands will slip over her hips and rest comfortably along the curve of her back. Reluctantly, he’ll break the kiss but only so he can speak, while keeping his forehead resting against hers. “Okay,” he murmurs with an amused hum to his voice. “Alright. You have my full attention now…” Which is pretty much an open invitation for her to do what she wishes; he’ll happily go along with however much or however little physical ‘attention’ she’s seeking from him. It’s likely an unspoken agreement between them by now and he has rarely, if ever, denied her.

“Good.” That’s all she’ll say for the moment, making it quite clear that she is certainly after a good measure of physical attention indeed as she encourages him toward the bed between further captures of his lips. Any lust gained from Obhaeroth’s earlier chase and victory has been well and truly burned off, of course…but Rielle always has plenty enough of her own to spare. In this instance, however, it’s more than just want; she has something to say to him that isn’t manifesting very well as words for the moment, so she aims to at least give him a sense of it by her actions. Though there’s urgency in the way she pulls him toward the bed and in how she strives to take away any barriers between their skins as quickly as she can manage, there is also a certain savoring to it, a need to feel and be felt by him as much as possible. As though she’s trying to confirm something. That’s not to say it’s an entirely serious affair, however; getting to be with Va’os this way is always an amazing time in her book, and despite all the undertones that color this time a bit differently, the enjoyment is undeniably there!

No protest will come from Va’os when Rielle takes the lead and brings them both towards the bed. He will meet her with as much eagerness and desire, though what remains to be seen is if he notes the change beneath it all. That subtle nuance that it’s more than just their usual levels of intimacy; it may register somewhere in the back of his mind but with his focus otherwise preoccupied… Talking will have to wait. Enjoyment is certainly on the forefront and he sees it through that she is completely satisfied by the end. Just the smug air about him and the grin curving his lips says it all, as he turns to collapse on the bed. Several moments will pass in semi-quiet, while he reorients after their little reunion. Could be too that he’s taking some comfort from the calmness between them; a little bubble of peace — at least for now. “Mhm,” he inhales slowly, voice still roughened and slightly slurred. “Awesome as that was, why do I get the feeling there’s more to this? Or is this it? Cause… not complaining.” Not at all~

Rielle drifts in satisfied contentment for a while, the fleeting wish that words weren’t a necessity and all could be conveyed through touch skipping through her mind in a blink. Va’os can be a smug as he likes; he’s certainly earned it, and while she’s fond of him for many other reasons, his skill as a lover does make him rather addictive. The overall package is one she rather hopes to hang on to…and that’s the thought that has her sighing as she resigns herself to needing to speak again. She chuckles at his last, a low, rich thing in her own languor, and turns over to rest her head on his chest, one hand tracing lazy, aimless patterns over a pectoral and shoulder while her chin rests on her other hand, teal eyes settling on his face. “At least it’s good whatever the reason,” she points out with a quick grin before she moves on to said reason.

“Obhaeroth caught Ozriath today,” she begins, and slender shoulders hitch in a small shrug. “Only his second time catching, and he’s only ever caught her, so there’s nothing really bothering me. But after everything was over, even though I wasn’t upset or anything like that…all I could think about was getting back to you. Wishing I’d been tangled up with you in the end, which I know would’ve been damn near impossible and it’s not as though Z’bor is unfamiliar, but…” She huffs out another sigh, gaze dropping for a moment before she lifts a hand and sifts gently at his hair. “I’ve never wanted you to feel pressured or anything with me, Va’os. I hope you haven’t, and still won’t. But I know I can’t just bury the fact that…my feelings for you have gotten stronger and stronger over time. And I need you to know it.” Perhaps still a bit roundabout, but at least she’s actually said it. Even if she hasn’t named her feelings just yet.

Va’os chuckles as he turns to rest his head by hers, content to just lay there with his body curled around her own. His eyes drift closed again while she traces a hand over his skin, leaving her free to speak without his usual penchant for interrupting. “Mhm.” Is literally grunted, half huffed in amusement for her sharing Obhaeroth’s luck with Ozriath and her desire to be with him instead of Z’bor. “Now I know Tsiroth’s mad, if he didn’t even catch on to a proddy green!” One the bronze is fond of, that is. The rest is met with a low exhale from him and a lingering silence that may be worrisome for the amount of time it drags out. Truthfully, it’s not out of shock; he’s not dumb (despite playing at it), he probably expected this moment to come about. He needs the silence in order to organize his thoughts and not end up blundering through this in his usual off-humored way. “You’ve probably been the most patient woman I know,” he murmurs at last, with a faint chuckle. Licking at his lips, he’ll take another moment to process before continuing, seeking out those teal colored eyes of hers. Always a good sign if someone meets your gaze, right? “It’d be pretty shitty of me to ask you to keep those feelings buried too. I — hmm, how do I put this?” Another grin. “You’re not alone? I mean, I care about you too, Rielle. It’s been… how long, now?” Long enough. “And there’s nothing wrong with that. I’m happy with it! It’s just…” Of course there’s a catch, isn’t there? “I still don’t know if I’m really the man you want. Long term, that is.” Propping himself up on one arm, he’ll move to smooth back some of her hair, while smiling down at her in a look that is both fond and troubled. So much for that peacefulness! “I’m not like most men — and maybe it’s time I try to explain why?” He leaves it open for her to choose whether or not she wishes to know or… take a leap of faith.

Rielle chuckles over Tsiroth’s lack of chasing, then settles into the silence the follows with the patience Va’os eventually ends up praising. The length of time it stretches on does worry her in truth, the possibility that she’s made a terrible mistake in letting herself become this vulnerable again, risking heartbreak again, trying to override rational thought. But the heart wants what it wants, and she simply waits with her head upon his shoulder, taking slow measured breaths with closed eyes as she wills herself to stop overthinking and be patient for his reply.

When he finally makes it, she smiles, something that carefully grows and warms as he speaks. Long enough, indeed! A few Turns, at this point, but she doesn’t interject. Of course he questions whether or not he’s really right for her; she’d been halfway expecting that. But his last does intrigue her, and she tilts her head a bit against the pillow as she looks up at him, a gently-angled brow lifting slightly. “Well I always had the sense that you weren’t,” she informs him with a note of passing amusement. “But…aye, I’d like to hear.”

Va’os grins at first for her amusement and then blinks, giving her a brief perplexed look. “Wait, what?” He’s stalling, but making the most of it by turning the teasing on himself. “What made you ‘sense’ that there’s something off about me?” Stalling further by waiting on her answer, he will eventually have to relent and give in to her acceptance to hearing what he has to say. It’s obvious that the whole subject makes him uncomfortable; while he’s known to talk, it’s always just glancing the surface. He jokes, he behaves like an ass and many of his decisions and behaviors are fuelled by impulsiveness. So for him to lay here beside her and actually think before he acts is… unnatural. There’s also the issue of skimming past his memories and not yielding too far into that. Someday, it’ll all unfold but that won’t be today (or the next… or potentially ever). “Right… So, I’ve never done this sort’ve thing, so uh — this might be a mess.” Fair warning? He grins, a touch sheepishly, at her before sighing. His gaze lowers a moment, but only for him to collect himself again before he’s looking up at her once more. “I’m not a one partner sort’ve guy.” There! Bombshell. “Doesn’t mean I won’t be happy just having one! Case in point…” His hand sweeps over her, then down to gently caress over her side; half comfort, half affectionately. “And like I said, I’m happy with you. I’ve a feeling I always will be.” But?

Grimacing, he struggles with the rest. “It’s not like I’m just gonna pounce on the next breathing thing that moves or so much as bats an eye at me, y’know? And I don’t really openly shout it out, either. Folks tend to read it the wrong way and I really dislike being thrown under the same label as cheaters, players and perverts because that’s not what I am. Dunno how to explain what I am? Only that I know it exists…” And that he refuses to change or live otherwise. “So I guess it just really boils down to if you can still love me, knowing that?” He scoffs then, lowering his head to hers. “… I feel like such a bastard asking that. So… know that I’d not hold it against you if it’s too much.”

Rielle just grins mischievously at Va’os’ first but refuses to elaborate for now. She knows he’s stalling, having more or less put him on the spot, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to give him an out! Not to mention it’s a rather intriguing change to watch him think through things rather than automatically face them with levity. A hand reaches up to caress his cheek in encouragement as he starts. Having what’s on his mind put so plainly from the start does feel a bit bracing, but she doesn’t shy away from him, mentally translating that one sentence a few different ways until it slots into place more comfortably in her mind. His elaboration gradually earns a small, tilted smile, and she shakes her head gently at his last. “You can love more than one person,” she sums up softly. “And you’re careful about it.”

Sighing quietly, she relaxes into a long moment of pensiveness, teal eyes hooding as she thinks. “It would probably make for a lot less drama if all dragonriders were naturally predisposed to that. And bisexuality. Much less to get upset about, which would only do them,” the dragons, “good. But that would have to go for all people, since we aren’t dragonriders from birth. And people have always been as varied as the leaves in Lemos and the sands in Igen…” Dark lashes flutter as she gives a rueful bit of a chuckle for waxing poetic. “After trying so hard to get through to Sa’mael, having Zariel with Z’bor…and everything with R’ik…I think I sort of resigned myself to not trying to fit into the mold of relationships I might have had an ideal about.” There’s a flicker of melancholy that momentarily furrows her brow, there and gone - a twinge over something lost before her features relax again, clear and focused. “What ultimately matters more than anything, I’ve realized…is accepting that the heart wants what it wants, and going along with that.”

Her gaze lifts to his again, her hand lifting once more to settle against his cheek. ”What you are, who you are, is who I’ve come to love, Va’os. I’m happy with you, too. If we’re happy with each other, and we think we always could be regardless of what, or who, comes…that’s most important.” She shifts closer to him, fingers slipping back into his hair as her other hand grazes along his stomach. “It would tear me to be without you. If you’ll have me as I am, Va’os, then I want you as you are.”

Va’os softly exhales, relief evident just from that alone and the way his body relaxes against hers again. Without even knowing it, he’d begun to tense up in preparation of… what, he’s not entirely sure. A fight? Rejection? Both in his head would be warranted, if not expected. Her calm acceptance wasn’t on the list of assumed reactions and he’ll be caught off guard enough to stare at her; his expression an almost comical mix of mildly perplexed and bemused. Especially when she skillfully puts to words what he cannot in a simple summary. “Yeah, that about covers it.” Obviously far more complex but still; it’s a start. He chuckles to her observations, “Perfect world, eh? But it’d be a boring one. Variety is the spice of life or… however that saying goes. We’re all different, like you said.” Sobering, he is quiet while she explains her past (and failed) relationships and notes that little twinge of melancholy from her. His brows furrow and he will allow her to finish before he speaks up; her touch is welcomed and not discouraged, even drawing a fleeting smile to his lips. “That’s the thing, Rielle. I don’t want you feeling like you have to change or accept things that aren’t you or won’t make you happy in the end. You already know my answer. If this is what you want… If I am who you want?” He corrects himself. “Then I’m yours.” Not so eloquently put, but that’s Va’os for you. He’ll settle for another kiss, to take the edge off his inability to truly articulate his feelings.

Rielle can feel the way Va’os relaxes and gives him a gentle smile, surmising that his tension might have been due to what he expected from her. His staring and the expression that goes with it does turn it into a little grin and a soft chuckle. “That’s how it goes,” she confirms about the saying he quotes. As for feeling as though she’s having to change or accept things beyond the norm, she shakes her head. “I don’t feel like I’m doing any of that, Va’os. I may have questions along the way, but I just…feel like I’m exploring a different road, that’s all. And I’ve always like exploring. You make me happy. And I do want you.” She takes his kiss with a soft purr of gladness reflexively sounding in her throat, the hand in his hair threading deeper to draw their lips more closely together. The one against his stomach spreads, sliding around to his back, a leg slipping along his as her body answers what he expresses better through action in kind.

Va’os can take a hint when he’s actually paying attention and Rielle’s response doesn’t go unnoticed! He’ll take advantage of that moment, to savor more shared intimacy between them and leaving much unspoken but shared through physical touch. Gradually that will ebb again, with him content once more to stretch out on his back with her curled around and against him. “Honestly,” he murmurs in sobered, gruff tones, picking right back up on their discussion as though they’d never stopped. “I was expecting you to throw questions at me right off, y’know?” He was also expecting a lot worse than this but he’ll take it! And because he can no longer resist (or his guard is down enough), he’ll even crack a small joke concerning his brief concerns. “Or, y’know, you’d storm out of here. Maybe slap me good first, for the trouble?” He quietly laughs.

Rielle rests against Va’os more fully this time, a leg hooked over his, her head on his shoulder and an arm bent and resting upon his chest. Letting her fingers wander seems to be a grounding thing as much as a simple give and take pleasure as she listens. “I could still slap you if it’ll ease your disappointment, love,” she chuckles, lifting her head to look at him. “But really…between my life as a Healer and my life as a dragonrider, dealing with people then, being in the middle of life at the Weyr all this time now…there isn’t too much that surprises me anymore.” She sighs softly, pensively quiet for a few moments. “You want to know the first question that wanted to fly off my tongue, when you said what you did?” She rests her chin on his chest, her hand beneath it. “It was, ‘Does this mean I’m not enough for you?’ I didn’t ask it because I immediately started turning it over in my head, thinking of all the possibilities for why it wouldn’t be a fair question.” A gently-arched brow lifts, somewhat uncertain. “At least…I didn’t think it would be a fair question.” Perhaps he might tell her otherwise.

“Mhm, I’ll pass on the slap but might take you up on it if I ever need to cause some distraction with the gossip mills,” Va’os chuckles throatily and while it sounds like a jest… it probably isn’t. He makes a sound of agreement to her observation of changing over time to adjust to Weyr life. He’s made a few himself, though seemed to adapt fairly well from the start! Not too difficult, really, for a man of his background (and with no Hold to call home). When she rests her chin and hand on his chest, he tilts his head to peer down at her, mouth curved in a half-smile, half-smirk. Her answer yields another chuckle, though it ends with a low exhale this time. “It’s one of those damn tricky questions ‘cause it’s fair and unfair.” he explains. “And I’ll give my answer to it…” Even if she didn’t technically ask it! It’s important enough, in his mind, to warrant some form of response. “What sets things different here, is that you mean enough to me that I’d not go sneaking behind your back. No secrets, no lying, no shady shit and dealing going on. There’s… a good deal of trust here, on both sides and you’re probably gonna know of another and maybe even before I see it coming! Because I’ll share everything with you. You get what I mean?”

Rielle was rather certain he’d give his answer, leading as her statement was. She listens carefully as Va’os explains, processing the nuances of what he’s saying. She nods at his last. “Honesty, if there’s going to be someone else besides me,” she sums up to show she understands. “And it goes both ways, I know. That would be expected.” She’s speaking in terms of flights, of course, even though they’re different from not being monogamous. There might be some curiosity there for herself, actually…but it isn’t something she’s going to examine just now. “It isn’t cheating because everything is made clear and nothing ends.” There goes an arching of her brow again, silently querying as to whether or not she’s got it right.

Va’os’ expression is one of mixed relief and mild surprise that Rielle has caught on so fast and been so readily agreeable to the idea. What tension may have remained in him, is slowly lessening as their conversation continues. His grin should be all the answer she needs, but he’ll add verbal confirmation with it. “Exactly. Open communication, from both of us! It’s… not as easy as it sounds but I think it’s — you’re worth it. Jealousy’ll be the toughest hurdle.” Does he speak from experience? Who knows. He’s never really talked about his life before being arrested and sentenced to work the mines up north. With how comfortable he is with the topic, either he’s done some clever ‘observation and research’, is merely making the terms himself as he goes or… he’s been in this situation before.

Rielle grins back out of the sheer contagiousness of Va’os’ grin. “Well, we’ll just do our best, and learn along the way,” she says of communication, though mention of jealousy turns her expression thoughtful again. “Are you worried that I’ll be jealous of someone else you might get involved with, or that that person would be jealous of me?” she asks. Then, with a curiously quirked brow, she adds, “Would you get jealous if I were to show an interest in someone else?” Unfamiliar topic that jealousy in relationships is for her, she’s interested to know all the angles.

“Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me!” Va’os admits through another chuckled breath. Her sudden interest in jealousy and some of its many forms draws some surprise to his expression. “You’ve never been jealous, before?” he asks, mildly in disbelief. Then he laughs, shaking his head to the barrage of questions. “I’d just say ‘no’ to all of the above but to be honest? Hard to say. That’s why it’s good to just be… open and honest. I should’ve been more from the start, to be fair.” Not that he outright lied to her, but his warnings were vague, at best. “Guess we’ll find out, eh?”

“Well, sure I’ve been jealous. Just…not in this context,” Rielle replies, and then quietly absorbs the rest of his reply, idly carding her fingers through the hair at his temple. “Guess we will,” she agrees, nodding. “And I’m eager to see how the journey goes.” Starting with finishing the night in Va’os’ arms, now that they know where they stand and how to go forward.

Va’os’ expression still retains some of that disbelief even after Rielle’s admittance that she’s never felt jealousy while in a romantic relationship. “Well… Here’s hoping I never give you reason to experience it.” he murmurs, while leaning in for another kiss. One that lingers and is unhurried and from the way he settles himself on the bed, with her still pressed against him, he’s of no mind to let her go for the rest of the night. She’ll have her wish! Even if the need for sleep is now encroaching, he won’t be against her company. It’s not like they won’t be getting up at the same candlemark, anyhow!