I of the Storm

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Her armor was covered in snow. Her helmet had fallen off as they rolled. She laughed with him, blonde hair gone wild and wet from the snow. She didn't care. The snow covering them was like a blanket. She lay on top of him, staring into his eyes as they lay there in that snow pile.

"Pehea Ru'lis Ni sirbur nayc?"

How could I say no?

She grinned, nodding enthusiastically as she wrapped her snow-covered arms around him.

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor smiled at Rawnie, squeezing her in his arms. That was one of the few sentences in Mando'a that he could actually fully understand. He couldn't tell whether she knew that, but he chuckled as he kissed the little bit of her neck that was exposed from the armor.​

​

"Na, vah tuzir viz nor ber nah"​

​

You could've just said no. Lor's tone was very teasing, and helped along by the grin on his face.​

​

"I wonder if kissing you in the snow will magically conjure up somebody to walk in on us."​

​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

His lips on her neck brought on a shiver. Was he trying to tempt fate? If Corrin walked in on them, she had to wonder. Would he shoot first and ask questions later? Or would he just blush a whole lot and walk away. Knowing her brother, blushing seemed a safe bet.

"I don't care who walks in on us. We're going to be married. You can kiss me if you want."

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor smiled and squeezed Rawnie, still staring into her face. It was still sinking in that somebody wanted to marry him, let alone the beautiful (and somewhat violent) woman he'd been sleeping with for the past few months.​

​

"I love you, visahot."​

​

He sat up, with her in his lap, and kissed her. Even as cold as the snow was, he still felt warm as he did.​

​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Another kiss. Another love confession. She still was not used to this. Her Brother was probably not going to be happy about this. Knowing him, he'd say she was doing this too quickly. That she was too young. If she had any other career, she'd probably agree with him. But her job put her in danger every day. The possibility of dying was always there. She didn't want to die without someone to remember her.

"I love you more, cyar'ika."

She pulled away slightly, rising to her feet and holding a hand out to help him up.

"Come on. Let's go before you get sick."

[member="Doctor Azure"] [member="Corrin Tal'verda"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor grinned as he stood up and began walking with Rawnie.

"I could make the obligatory 'you're not my mother' comment, but the actual concern makes that distinction by itself."

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]​

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

She reached down to scoop up her helmet, dusting the snow off of it.

"You really hate her, don't you?" she asked, "your mother, I mean. I wonder what she'd say if you told her about us?"

She could only imagine. Hopefully, she would not have a similar reaction from her brother too.

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor grimaced slightly at the thought of his adopted mother. She'd always been nice to him to his face, but he'd never been able to read her, and that'd bothered him up until the day her husband died.

"It's like... imagine how you feel when you think about either of your parents... and then add on how you'd feel if one of them had gotten the other one into a situation that got them killed. After you warned them that it meant certain death. And then add on the idea that the one who survived was very subtly blaming you for it."

He leaned against a tree, taking off his glasses so he could rub his temples.

"Besides, if she's still alive, I'd kill her just so my sister could take her position in our house."​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

Rawnie was glad she kept her helmet on. He wouldn't see the face she made just then. She didn't understand politics. Not his kind, anyway, Her people kept things simple. But she understood what it felt like to hate a parent. She understood what it was like to want them dead. Of course, she wouldn't ever admit it. Not to him, anyway. He didn't need to be bogged down with her daddy issues.

"When will I meet her?" she asked, trying to change the subject to something less unpleasant for him, "You sister. Do I need to be worried about her hating me?"

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor shrugged at Rawnie as he somewhat tiredly put his glasses back on.

"Serenna won't hate you for being an alien, and she won't hate you for sleeping with me. She'll probably be a little jealous, though. She'd always mope when her relationships didn't work out."​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

"Serena," she repeated, "so that's her name."

She kept walking, then she paused and took off her scarf. She held it out to him.

"Here. It's not much, but it will do you more good than me right now."

She really only wore it due to the sentimental value it had. It was pretty much useless out here with her armor and furs.

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor smiled as he put on the scarf. He didn't really need it, but he remembered the day that Rawnie had used it to bandage his head, just a couple of days after they'd met. It probably meant something to her, if she'd kept it, even with the bloodstains. Whether that had some thing to do with him didn't matter.

"I'm rather sorry I bled all over it. It's a nice scarf."

He took her hand again as they walked through the snow.

"Anyway, yes, my sister's name is Serenna. Technically her whole name, and mine, are long and unpronouncable except in Cheunh... But I changed mine when I moved to Chroma."​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

His name. That actually surprised her. So he never actually told her his full name? She raised an eyebrow, but he wouldn't see that.

"What is your full name? I know I won't be able to pronounce it, but I want to hear it at least. "

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor smiled as he tried to remember the exact pronunciation. He hadn't even heard his own full name in years. Aha!

"Talo'rane'nadono, I think. Wow, I haven't heard that name in a while. Serenna used to call me Talo, but I just used my core name. Kind of an insult to Chiss tradition but... who cares?"​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

She nodded. His name. She heard it once. That was it. All she needed.

"Its beautiful," she said as they walked through the forest, "talorane...na... something."
She shrugged and gave a little laugh at her sad attempt.
"Im easy. I'm just rawnie. "

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor squeezed Rawnie's hand again, smiling at her as footprints began to become noticeable in the snow.

"Well, 'just Rawnie' is excellent, and I like Lor'ika better than saying a whole sentence worth of syllables."​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

A thought occurred to her just then. Her name. The family name.

"...am I expected to take your name when we marry?" She asked, "or would you take mine? Or would we simply keep our own? But then, our children. ..?"

She squeezed his hand back. Honestly, she didn't know how things worked.

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor had been having similar thoughts along the lines of surnames... Azure was an alias, and not a particularly good one. He nuzzled Rawnie's cheek, even though she still had the helmet on.

"Do you even like my last name? I just needed something appropriate for an alias, and that was 'Azure'. I don't remember if I even put a last name on any legal register."​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]

 

[Rawnie Tal'verda]

So his last name was not really his? She was quiet. She was a tal'verda. It was what she'd always been. And...

"I want my children to be a Tal'verda as well. Our family name, it isn't terribly famous, or influential, but it is a source of pride for me. I... would be honored if you would agree to take it for yourself as well."

The snow was falling a little harder now. Not quite blizzard weather, but still something to keep an eye on.

[member="Doctor Azure"]

 

[Doctor Azure]

Lor pulled Rawnie into a hug, again ignoring that she had her armor on.

"Of course I will, visahot."​

[member="Rawnie Tal'verda"]