Nesryn clenched her teeth as a dull pain drilled into the base of her spine. Balling her hand into a fist, she pressed it against the skin of her back in an attempt to knead the sensation away. Salkhi was waiting for her though, and she'd put her poor ruk off three times already this week. Sighing, she breathed through the minor pain and continued on.
Blowing some loose strands of hair out of her face, Nesryn found herself wishing many things at that moment. For one, she wished that her back didn't hurt so much. She wished that Borte were here, to properly braid her hair-Nesryn did her best, and she'd gotten better at it over the years, but she never managed to tie it all back properly. And finally, she wished that the ruks didn't live atop a godsdamned, thousand mile high tower!
Huffing out several shallow breaths, Nesryn found she had to sit down once she reached the top landing. Salkhi, seeing her from atop his nest, clicked his beak at her in excitement. Smiling at her ruk, Nesryn tucked the loose hair behind her ears and prepared herself for the final few yards to Salkhi.
She had almost finished saddling Salkhi up when a frustrated sigh sounded from behind her.
"Nesryn," Sartaq stood on the other end of the aerie, his arms crossed against his chest and one dark brow raised with exasperation. "You can't keep doing this."
He quickly crossed the distance separating them and began to undo all Nesryn's work with the saddle. "It's too dangerous for you."
Lips pursing, Nesryn squared her shoulders, "I know what I can and cannot do, Sartaq," she pushed him away from her ruk and once again began to prepare Salkhi for flight. "I've flown with Salkhi a hundred times," she raised her brows at him, "it's hardly dangerous."
"Not normally," Sartaq challenged, then reached forward and placed his hand over Nesryn's very swollen belly. "But you're pregnant, Nesryn."
The child growing in her belly, as if taking sides with its father, kicked. Feeling his child's kick, Sartaq smiled softly at her stomach. His dark eyes found hers as he admitted, "I worry."
Sighing and knowing he won this round-she never could say no when his voice turned soft like that-Nesryn grumbled, "Fine. I won't ride Salkhi until after the birth."
Smiling broadly, Sartaq kissed her brow twice, "Thank you."
"But," Nesryn trapped his chin between her pointer finger and thumb, bringing their faces close together, "you're going to carry me back down." She didn't think she'd be able to make it back down those stairs.
Sartaq hummed, "As my wife commands."
Smiling, Nesryn pulled her husband in for a kiss. It was brief and sweet and held the promise of more to come. Breaking away, Nesryn released Sartaq's chin and smiled, "Good."
A/N: Big shout out to trilogiesrule for requesting this ficlet! I hope I did a good job. I've never written Sartaq or Nesryn before so their voices don't come to me as immediately as others but they were fun to daydream about!