Ele's Spiffy Hole in the Wall
This room is a natural little hole in the wall. Looking out towards the west there is a round, but very small and heavily shuttered window. It looks to have been a crude vent at one time from when the area was still an active volcano but a basic windowpane has since been added along with light purple curtains, giving the room a soft, cozy feeling.
A small bed has been tucked into the corner, covered by a think snowy white quilt. A clothespress stands at the open end of the bed and a few pillows are stacked at the end against the wall a small wooden nightstand set up beside them. A glowbasket sits on top of the stand, and there is a small drawer built in, and just above the nightstand there is also a glowbasket hanging from a hook in the wall. Against the opposite side of the wall there is a small desk with one chair pushed underneath. A matching chair stands off to the side, and a wooden shelf has been built into the wall above the desk with stacks of hides and small vials and jars stacked on top plus yet another glowbasket. A tall but narrow bookshelf stands just beside the door, stacked with still more hides plus some wineskins, bottles and other odds and ends. Between everything else there is a thick wool rug spread on the floor to protect uncovered toes from those cold 'Reaches winters.
Elehu is here.

Perhaps it's the unfamiliar surroundings, or the fact that her lifemate is a bit further away from her than usual, but Reiko rouses much earlier than normal, emerald eyes blinking open with a start and flickering nervously about the little room, picking out unfamiliar objects in the dim half-light of the pre-dawn hour. After a moment, the details of the previous night begin slowly returning to her, and she smiles softly, stretching and shifting to snuggle closer to Elehu.

Elehu takes a deep breath, eyes still closed as she leans in a little closer towards Reiko, a slow, languid smile curving her lips. "Sleep well?" she murmurs, perhaps half-awake, maybe a little less. Legs straighten as she stretches lazily, one hand rising to brush through slightly tousled hair as he eyes finally open, smile only growing as she sees Reiko beside her.

Reiko murmurs a vague affirmative, lifting her chin to nuzzle a lazy kiss at Elehu's throat. "Indeed. Cerdith's not complaining about the ground weyrs either." Of course, the blue is still sound asleep. Not often Reiko rises before her dragon. She stretches again then, letting her eyes close as she settles on her back with a sigh.

Elehu takes a deep breath as she feels Reiko's touch then props herself up a little, head resting in one hand. For a long moment or two she just watches the other woman, eyes soft and half-lidded as she reaches out to gently brush her fingers along Reiko's arm. "That's good," she replies quietly, lips quirking in a smile. Leaning forward, a tiny kiss is placed on the weyrling's cheek before she settles back once again, content to simply look.

Reiko's eyes blink open at the kiss, sliding sidelong to watch Elehu watching her, sparkling with suppressed amusement. "What?" she says at last, her voice little more than a lazy purr. "Afraid I'll disappear?" It might not be clear whether she's teasing or not.

Elehu arches a brow slightly as her smile shifts into a tight grin, free shoulder rolling in a tiny shrug. "I'm just taking my chances as they come," she comments, eyes flashing for an instant as she laughs. Settling back down to her side she bunches up her pillow a little so she can still see Reiko clearly. "I'm glad you stayed." She reaches out to gently caress the weyrling's cheek and sighs with a warm smile. "I'm sorry about what I said though, it never comes out the way I meant."

A twisted halfsmile curls the corners of Reiko's lips. "I'm bad at figuring out what people mean," she admits, maybe a little rueful. "It's enough to figure out what people are /saying/ sometimes." Her eyes close at the caress, though, and her features seem to relax a bit. "I'm glad I stayed, too, though." she murmurs.

Amusement flashes over Elehu's features, eyes crinkling in the corners just a tiny bit. She quietly goes about brushing Reiko's hair from her face before snuggling in a little closer. "Well... I'll try to think a little better before I speak next time," she vows, barely holding back another laugh. "Of course, with as much as I talk, it's rather difficult, but I will try."

Reiko's smile spreads a bit, becoming marginally less twisted. "I guess we'll see," she murmurs, nuzzling into Elehu's neck and closing her eyes. "Mmm... morning really comes too early." She stretches languidly, settling a bit more comfortably into the furs close to the warmth of Ele's body. "I hope the schedules are more flexible when we finally get tapped for a real fighting wing." Sure, that's the important consideration. Not the whole Thread-falling-and-riders-getting-scored-and-possibly-killed thing. Because Reiko's really good at burying things she doesn't feel like thinking about, especially with such a pleasant distraction.

"Now that I really wouldn't know the first thing about," Elehu replies brightly enough, if with a hit of early morning laziness. She stretches out a little more while wrapping her arm loosely around Reiko, a thoughtful and rather quiet look on her face as she just holds the the other woman for a long moment. "Nothing you can really do about the morning though," she muses, bending her head a little to kiss the top of Reiko's head lightly, "except make the most of it I suppose."

Reiko mms softly, a contented little purr. "If that means waking up earlier, I'm probably doomed," she murmurs. But her hands are already wandering over the Healer's soft skin almost of their own accord, gently exploring. Cerdith will remind her when it's time to leave.

Elehu laughs delightedly, wriggling just a little at Reiko's touch as she takes a deep sigh of content, eyes closing. "I would never be so cruel as to do that," she teases, voiced quietly ringing with amusement. "Not intentionally, at least." She scoots down a little farther beneath the covers so she's level with Reiko, a warm smile on her face as she leans in closer.

Reiko closes the distance between them with a slow, gentle kiss, drawing Elehu closer still. "Good," she murmurs, soft kisses continuing down Ele's throat to her shoulder, the gentle roaming of her hands resuming. "I'm not really a morning person." As if that weren't obvious to anyone who's encountered her in the living caverns before that first pot of klah -- but strangely, she doesn't seem at all snappish this morning.

Elehu nuzzles gently at Reiko's neck, a soft sigh escaping her lips. "I'm not complaining," she murmurs, arms closing a little more tightly around the weyrling's shoulders. "Sleeping in can be very nice at times." And if she's teasing at all, it would be hard to tell. "Or... staying in, maybe." She rolls onto her back a little, head turned as she grins at Reiko, brow arched. "Depends on the situation I suppose." Fingers trail along Reiko's forehead, down to her cheek before Ele leans in to kiss her gently.

"Or the company." Reiko's lips curl in a twisted halfsmile as she reluctantly draws back from Ele's kiss, a hand lifting to smooth her goldstreaked hair, tucking a strand behind the Healer's ear. She evidently has no complaints about either situation or company just at the moment. Her fingers trace a trail along Elehu's neck and across her collarbone, continuing gently downward.

Elehu gives a quiet laugh as her eyes all but close, one corner of her smile quirking a little farther in a crooked grin. "Or the company," she repeats, her own fingers making a leisurely trail along Reiko's side. "And I don't think I've had nearly as pleasant company in Turns," she can't help but add, hand moving along to Reiko's back as she pulls close once more.

Reiko arches a brow, a faintly amused sparkle lighting her emerald eyes. "I find that surprising," she murmurs wryly. "Surely you haven't suffered for pleasant company in all that time? An attractive woman like you?" Without waiting for an answer, she nuzzles up to Elehu's ear, gently nibbling at the tender skin there.

Elehu simply smiles, shoulders hunching a fraction as she slides an arm underneath Reiko's waist, her other hand making a slow and gentle path upwards to eventually tilt Reiko's face towards her own, lips caressing the weyrling's for a moment.

Reiko won't ask again. Emerald eyes flutter closed as she relaxes into the kiss, tacitly agreeing to leave some things unspoken. Gentle arms enfold the Healer, hands caressing, exploring, delighting in the warm softness of her skin, the scent of her hair as she nuzzles into Elehu's neck.

Elehu turns in the embrace, facing Reiko once more as she smiles, gentle kiss placed on one temple as her hands caress the woman's back, fingers massaging gently as she explores in a manner very close to those of the bashful young healer Turns before, but more tender, more self-assured.

Reiko relaxes by degrees, giving herself over to the pleasures of the moment just a bit more with each caress, each tender kiss. At length, though, a wistful sigh escapes her, and her touch becomes more apologetic than encouraging. "Cerdith's awake," she says softly, an odd mixture of fondness and regret coloring her tone. "I've got to get ready for drills."

Elehu's eyes close tightly for a moment as she nods, a look of reluctance more than regret on her face as her arms close tightly around Reiko for one last embrace, her lips lingering for a long moment before she pulls back just enough to give the weyrling a warm, tender smile. "Then I'll just have to let you go this time," she replies, amusement flickering softly in her eyes as she winks. "Have a good day, Reiko. And tell Cerdith hello for me..." Then she slowly sits up, sliding out of the bed to wrap a thin robe around herself. You have to make room for another person in a room this small. "I'll talk to you soon, I hope."

Reiko hadn't felt crowded, oddly, but she doesn't speak as she retrieves her uniform and quickly dresses, stamping into her boots and giving sleep-tousled hair a half-hearted fingercomb. Straightening her shoulders, she turns then to smile at Elehu -- only a little twisted, really. "I'll be around," she says, maybe a bit vaguely. "And of course I'll tell him. Thanks." In a fluid gesture, she reaches to take the Healer's hand, leaning in to brush a quick, gentle kiss on her cheek. "Take care," she says softly, not daring to make any promises. And then she's gone, slipping out as quietly as she'd entered the night before.