Quiet Nights

[Sparrow]

"He was never going to tell me," she said sourly. "I got lucky. But he's all mad at me about it now, like it's all my fault that he had to wait to be with her when he acted for all the world like he wanted to hang around. I was doing absolutely nothing to keep him there."

Kora sighed. "It would have been so much better if he could have just told me at the start. I wouldn't have had to feel so guilty all those months, feeling like I should have been in love with him when I wasn't, and just... I was never romantically interested in him, but I guess maybe you could say I did love him. I trusted him and thought I could rely on him. I felt safe around him. And now it's all up in pieces again."

She had never wanted to hurt him. She had never wanted to hurt anyone, but D'mas seemed to think she had done a lot of damage to a lot of people. It left her feeling like something Nayarath had sat on, utterly crushed, with no idea of how to fix things. If that was what all men were going to do to her, as L’han seemed to be implying, then she was done with them. She was done with having her trust betrayed and every good effort turned inside out.

((Oh Kora and her radical thoughts. ))

[Jenth]

"Forget about him! its only for the best, girlfriend!" Throwing his voice L'han sounded like a flambouent male greenrider, complete with facial impressions. "He's got his little barred rider to support him now, darling little thing she is! You dont need him!"

The strain was too much on his throat and a small coughing fit interupted him, looking up finally with an arkward smile. "Bleh, dont make me do that again. But seriously, is he really worth dwelling on? Are you going to shut yourself off just because a man you didnt love, loves another?"

[Sparrow]

Kora laughed. "Stop, stop." After L'han recovered from his short coughing fit, she shook her head. "That's your body agreeing with me: never do that again."

As for what he had said... she had never said she had needed him. She simply didn't want to have lost him. Not as a lover, but as a friend. She didn't have many.

"No. I just don't like that he's mad at me. Once that's solved, it's not a problem anymore." She worried a lot about people being offended with her, as L'han had seen. Excepting, possibly, him, where she worried more about how he had offended her. She ought to get on that.

[Jenth]

"D'mas can be very proud. I don't know what you said to him, but give him time to cool off and he'll be fine. Never known the man to hold a grudge." Again, it wasn't his concern nor did he want to get involved. L'han had had his own quarrels with Kora and did not want to repeat it.

Crossing his legs he fell into gay act again. "Well, love to stay and chat but someone needs their beauty sleep!" Standing up he stretch out a little before seriously saying, "But seriously, try to get some rest."

[Sparrow]

Kora didn't want the issue forgotten, she wanted it solved. Merely setting things aside had never worked for her, but just how to fix this was currently beyond her. It wasn't like Y'xem, who she had never been able to get back to. D'mas was at the Weyr, and would likely never be entirely out of potential contact.

D'mas hadn't cared what she said to him then, he had been far too focused on getting after her. Men weren't known to hold grudges, but they weren't known to listen either.

Kora drew back a little, not as entertained by L'han's act the second time around. She knew Nayarath would have some sort of snarky reply for her, but Kora ignored those creeping thoughts. She gazed out over the sands. "It's not like I have anything better to do. Night L'han."