Well, this is a welcome respite from the heat that had been so prevalent of late. So welcome, in fact, that Rielle is out for a little wander in the drizzle. Actually, it isn't doing much right now. And the Serval wingleader actually seems to be looking for something, slow though her passage through the garden terrace may be. She's leaned over the edge of a planter full of reeds at the moment, carefully holding the stiff stalks aside as she peers beneath the slightly dripping fronds of the ferns beyond them.

Really, she makes it too easy! Far too easy to setup a sneak attack and it’s the Weyrleader who is on the prowl this time. No one else is really around to notice or make witness, so why waste an opportune time? Maybe he’d been wandering the terrace or maybe he caught sight of a familiar brown riding Wingleader headed that way… the reason isn’t the point! Va’os is there and quietly sneaking up behind her to lean oh-so carefully forward. Peering at those very reeds, his gaze then darts to her as he speaks clear as day (no need to shout, after all!): “Looking for something?”

Even the tell-tale prickle on the back of her neck doesn't come in time to save Rielle from being startled. The surprised noise she emits isn't exactly a squeak, but it doesn't matter; the arm that flails back behind her to catch at Va'os is bound to arrest more attention. Whatever she can grab - his arm, his leg, his ass, whatever comes in reach - is used to keep her from pitching forward before she attempts to say anything. "You're going down with me one of these days, boyo!" she grumbles, waiting until she's steady to remember that she's been asked something.

So long as she doesn’t grab at something terribly important and likely deservedly painful, Va’os is going to laugh heartily; her hand has grasped nothing more than his arm and he is quick to counterbalance and keep her from escaping. Retaliation is still possible though! She’s welcomed to get in a good hit or jab for his shenanigans. “Uh huh,” he teases. “You keep saying that! And until it happens… You just gotta stop setting up the perfect moments!” It’s totally Rielle’s fault and not his being a complete brat.

Retaliation comes in the form of a short jab in the stomach once Rielle turns around, though she immediately follows it up with a quick kiss. She's all about balance! "Gorm," she says, the name of her blue firelizard drawled rather crossly, "has turned into a little thief and has decided he likes to hide things from me. This time he took something I'd…well." She frowns a bit, a brow quirking as she peers up at Va'os. "It's something I'd gotten for…you. So if I tell you what it is, it'll ruin the surprise." Which puts her in a conundrum if she's thinking of asking for his help, of course. "All I know is that the images he was teasing to me are almost definitely from up here."

Oof! Va’os hams it up a bit when Rielle jabs him in the stomach, but he smirks all the same in good humour. “… I deserved that.” he mutters, just before he meets her for that kiss. He’s about to continue teasing and jesting, but when she explains what she’s doing and the missing item… well. She’s got his attention now! “You got something for me? What’s the occasion?” He’s probably spoiled her a few times and in his own little, somewhat strange, ways but a gift for him? Oddly, his mood is still bemused but he’s sobered much of his goofiness. “Want me to sic Filly on him? Or the whole gang?” he offers, while trying NOT to give into the temptation to press her for **what* the item is.

Rielle's smirk seems to indicate Va'os deserves a whole lot more than that, usually on a regular basis. His questions just deepen the expression. "Do I need an occasion?" she counters, a hint of color rising to her cheeks before she turns away to keep looking for a moment. Totally not hiding a blush. "Mmmm…" is her initial response to having the bronzerider send his flits after her blue. "I don't know if that would help matters or make him even worse." Abruptly, she pauses, letting her eyes fall shut a moment in realization. "He wouldn't bury it. Or drop it in the middle of something. He was showing me trees." Teal eyes flicker upward, now scanning carefully over branches both bare and holding the last vestiges of autumn foliage. "Let me know if you spot anything…shiny." Surely it won't be too obvious, if it's really hanging somewhere.

“Well, noooo…?” Va’os drags out the last word playfully, showing that he’d really only been half-joking before; that and he rarely wastes a chance to poke fun at her blushing. It’s probably a weakness in him, that she gets flustered as she does (and trying to hide it). “Is he always like that?” he asks, not at all disappointed by her rebuffing his offer of using his firelizards. He only trusts Filly and Colt half the time, anyhow. Bad Boy is named appropriately and Zoinks just promises added tom foolery and shenanigans! “Shiny, huh? … anything else I should know?” Oh yeah, he’s fishing a bit and grinning wryly to show her that it’s just him being him again and she can ignore it. Lifting his head, he’ll scan the foliage above, even shifting to move a few paces away from her as he does.

"Lately, yes," Rielle answers about her little blue, rolling her eyes a bit and deciding to hop up on the edge of one planter that has a handful of slender young trees of varying species in its midst. "He's decided to feel neglected when I'm dedicating attention to anyone else but him and he's not otherwise occupied." A spoiled brat flit! Apparently she's going to have to do some retraining. "Shiny…and small. On a chain," she tells Va'os, eying him slyly before balancing her way along the planter's edge. Still not too specific. Pausing, she visibly sifts through her thoughts again. "He likes the eucalyptus trees. Those might be a safe bet."

Va’os snorts and comes to a similar conclusion, “He sounds like a bratty child!” he remarks, while giving her a look for using the edge of a planter as a platform of her searching. He doesn’t wander far, but rather circles back around to hover nearby to her; acting ‘cool’ of course. It’s totally not because he’s concerned she’s going to slip and crack her head on something all over a not-lost but temporarily displaced gift. “You sure you just don’t want to tell me and save having to search this whole garden…?” he tries to barter again. “I mean, we could be at it for a long time! And it’ll still be a surprise to see it, even if I’m expecting it.”

If Va'os is concerned about Rielle on the edge of a planter, Faranth forbid he should see her on the obstacle course! She just grins down at him, ruffling his hair before peering back up at the next tree…which happens to be a baby eucalyptus. "That's half the fun…hah!" A glint of silver catches her eye, and she immediately springs up to snag it, barely hooking a finger into the silver chain before she comes down. The tree gives it up with scrape to her knuckles in retaliation, but she ignores it. "So." She hops down from the planter with the thing in her closed palm, which she opens between them when she comes to stand before him. There's a silver pendant on a thin chain, hollow and shaped like a diamond with rounded points and carefully wrought in bold knotwork. Upon closer inspection, the eye might unravel it into the image of a runner's head. There's a tiny hinge and clasp that lets it open in half, and inside it a nondescript black pebble, porous like a lava stone…and it smells rather like klah spices. "It just made me think of you," she explains. "And there's klah bark oil on the stone. It's good for clear-headedness, easy breathing…" She smirks up at him, coloring slightly again. "Or I just like the smell."

Given his attempts at the obstacle course? Fair enough! Va’os attempts to duck out of her way when she ruffles his hair but is only moderately successful. “Hey!” he protests with a scoffed breath, only to grin when the search finally yields its prize. “Guess you were right about those plants.” So much for taking so much time? Remaining where he stands, he’ll watch her curiously as she approaches and offers him the gift. Holding out his hand, he’ll carefully take the pendant and his surprise is obvious enough. Fingers work to gently turn it over, admiring the craftsmanship in it. “This is beautiful work,” he murmurs and his tone, though soft, is genuine. That it’s runner-theme isn’t lost on him either! Lifting it up, he sniffs at it and seems to agree with her taste in that department too. “Who doesn’t like the smell of klah?” he teases lightly, just to clear the air a bit (and maybe he’s flustered now). Undoing the clasp, he’ll offer the chain back to her. “… a little help?” Or maybe he just wants to see if she’ll actually do it and slip the chain around his neck.

"At least he's kind enough to give me clues about what he lifts," Rielle scoffs before taking in Va'os reception of her gift. Quietly pleased that she's been able to fluster him a little in turn, she grins at his last, taking the pendant and feigning long-suffering with a shake of her head. "Your head's not that big. Surprisingly," she teases. Not that she minds lending a hand in the least. Coming toe to toe with him, she lifts her arms and loops the chain over his head, letting it settle around his neck, the pendant coming to rest just past the juncture of his collarbones. "There," she murmurs, pressing her fingers over it against his chest and letting her other hand rest upon his shoulder. "I think…it suits you." Which she's quietly relieved to note.

Va’os chuckles for her teasing, a wry smirk curving his mouth at one corner. “You sure? I tend to hear it is, at least several times a day.” Okay, maybe not but he has been told before that his ego is a problem; or was. He’ll remain still as she slips the pendant around his neck, his head tilted to observe where it rests. It’s also a trap too, of course and once she’s given her verdict, he’ll give his own… by physical means. Drawing her into a lingering kiss, when he finally breaks away, he is grinning as broadly as before. “I agree. You have impeccable taste in jewelry! Men… well. Some might beg to differ.” Yeah, he’s taking a jab at himself and at their previous discussions on how he’s not the best example of partners.

"Bronzeriders have nothing on some Craft Masters," Rielle notes ruefully before being drawn into Va'os' little trap - one that she falls into quite willingly. She sighs into the kiss, relaxing against him now that it's been established that her gift is a success, lips curved in a warm smile when they part. His last earns a little roll of her eyes and a shake of her head. "'Some' don't seem to believe that I'm quite content with my taste in men…and the current result of that," she counters with quiet firmness, punctuating her assertion with another quick kiss.

Va’os will chuckle through that second quick kiss and is content to keep her pressed against his side. “I’ll always keep it close,” he murmurs, concerning her gift. It’s as much of a ‘thank you, this is awesome!’ that she’ll get from him! He probably doesn’t feel it necessary to state the obvious. Another quiet laugh and he glances down at her. “Oh? Is that what the gossips are saying, of late? I’m surprised they moved on from ‘did you hear the Weyrleader is sleeping with one of his Wingleaders!?’ “ He even effects an affronted voice, slightly higher in pitch for comedic effect.

Rielle reads the implied thanks well enough, Va'os' words sufficing quite satisfactorily. "I might be able to tell you, if I gave a damn what the gossips say," she answers with a chuckle. "Anyway. Have you eaten yet, or do you feel like going down to the Living Cavern? Or," she adds, tilting her head to look up at him more fully, "maybe snagging food from elsewhere and having a quiet dinner?" Yes, she's trying to drag him off again, though not insisting on it this time. Right now, she's happy with whatever is decided.

“That’s the right answer!” Va’os mutters with a wry grin and hugs her close for a moment. Her offer has him mulling over it, even though he’s made his mind up almost immediately. “Y’know, as much as I’d love to go flaunting off this gift?” he muses with a chuckled breath, “I’m kind of sorely tempted to just grab some food to go and tuck in somewhere private. While we have the chance to do it!” Because he’s no fool to tempt fate and openly scoff that his evening will remain free! He’s a Weyrleader and there’s always something that comes along if he jinxes himself. “Let’s hurry… before someone finds us and ruins the fun!” He’ll be happily lead away by her, if she chooses to take the lead; otherwise he’ll be the one to step up and leave the gardens far behind with Rielle in tow.