Title: Blue Harbor
Rating: K+
Authoress: T-R-Us
Pairings: Numair/Daine, Domitan/Keladry
Time: Post Lady Knight, Pre Trickster's Choice
Summary: With recent reports of mermaid sightings along the Tortallan coast, Daine and Kel set off to investigate - with Numair and Dom tagging along behind. DN, KelDom
Disclaimer: Don't own it.
xxxxx
Chapter One
Daine's finger slid down the length of the map, pausing at each of the brass tacks pinned in place along the illustrated coastline. The smooth motion halted altogether at the small print that labelled one of the tacks as "Pirate's Swoop". The distance from there to Corus did not seem especially great on the heavy parchment, but the paper was incapable of illustrating the pounding waters, ruthless enemies and potential meteorological disasters that could befall a traveler between the two points. Rather than deter the wild mage, however, the dangerous possibilities thrilled her. It had been much too long since she had done anything adventurous – or anything fun.
"Here. You're going to need a more waterproof pack."
Daine turned, her curls tumbling about her shoulders in complement to the action as her eyes met Numair's expressively disapproving ones. He still did not want her to go. "Thank you. I wouldn't have thought of that." Actually, she had and had even gone so far as to purchase a new pack herself, but so long as Numair continued in this new vein of helpfulness, she wouldn't do anything to deter it.
After all, a protective-but-helpful Numair was much better than one who followed her around all day telling her that she couldn't leave.
His dark brows furrowed and as he opened his mouth to add something more, Daine hastened to cut him off. "We've finally decided on an exact route," she gestured to the map, "If we start at Mindelan and then sail south along the coast –"
"Daine."
She ignored him. "We'll be at Blue Harbor fairly quick and we'll rest there for a day or two --"
"Daine." His voice was more impatient sounding now and the creases in his otherwise smooth face deeper.
"—then we'll be in Pirate's Swoop within a fortnight. Assuming, of course, that it doesn't take too long to speak with each colony. Which," she grinned, mischievously, "is assuming that there even are any colonies. Which is what –"
"- You're going to find out," Numair finished for her, plunking his long frame down into a nearby chair. "What I don't understand is why you're going about it like this." By 'this', he meant the plan to travel across the Tortallan coast in nothing more than a single canoe, a means of transportation he found highly unnecessary given that his lover was perfectly capable of flying the distance and performing the same task in less than a third of the time it would take otherwise.
She floored him with a confident stare. "If you were going to find a colony of mermaids, how would you go about it? By boat is the only obvious choice."
He scowled, she had hit the nail on the head. Flying would make it too difficult to see what she was looking for and riding was impossible in the more rocky sections of coastline. "Well, if you're staying so close to shore, why don't you stop in Corus?"
"There aren't any sightings reported near Corus, you know that. We're cutting across the bay. It'll be faster." Between Pirate's Swoop and Blue Harbor the Tortallan coastline dipped in, creating a large, natural bay, which Daine wished to avoid, at the center of which was the home she shared with Numair in the kingdom's capital. "It'll save us at least two or three days to just go straight across." She looked up to meet his gaze, but Numair wasn't looking at her. He was examining the map with a calculating stare which Daine knew meant he was analyzing the distance, the danger.
"There's nowhere to stop and rest," he stated quietly, "The water will be rough in the open sea and you'll tire faster."
She shrugged, having already considered this. "I'll turn into a dolphin," her eyes glittered, "Or a whale and then I'll get out and push."
Numair did not seem to find this as amusing as Daine did. Without answering, he untacked the map from the wall, rolling it carefully and storing it next to the pack he had brought. It was his own, quiet way of giving in. "Whenever I let you out of my sight, something bad happens."
Daine laughed at the utterly wounded expression on his handsome face and bounced into his arms, burying her face in his chest. He held her tightly, bending to put his face to her hair. "Can you at least wait until I can go, too?"
The wild mage took a step back from him, her face brightening. "Aha! The truth comes out! You don't want me to go because you're jealous."
There was no denying the truth of this statement when Numair's face broke into the boyish look she loved so much. Eyes twinkling gaily, he swept her back into his arms. "Well, there is that to consider. You off gallivanting with merfolk and me teaching magic to pages who have little natural aptitude to begin with."
"Gallivanting with merfolk?" Daine laughed in mock outrage, "At least without you there I'll have less to worry about. You and a group of beautiful mermaids can mean only one thing. Trouble. Fish tail or no. Gallivanting with merfolk indeed."
Numair could only chuckle at this and pull her closer. "You know I only worry because I love you. Besides," he added, wryly, "Magelets are hard to come by."
With a laugh, Daine raised herself on her toes to kiss his cheek. "It's not like I'll be alone. Lady Keladry will accompany me." The original plan had been for Alanna to join Daine on the trip, an arrangement Numair had been much happier with, but fighting in the north had called her away. Keladry of Mindelan was a suggested replacement from Alanna herself, however, and Daine was familiar enough with the young knight to happily welcome her along.
"That's all very well," Numair tried one last ditch tactic, "But think of what you're leaving behind. Me. Kitten. Me. Cloud. Me."
His attitude reminded her so much of a sullen child that the wild mage could scarcely take him seriously. "I suppose I'll just have to miss you."
"I'll miss you more," he was quick to interject. "I'll miss the way you smile in the morning and say," he assumed a falsetto which Daine decided was a poor attempt at imitating her voice, "It's all right, darling, you can sleep in and not go off to teach the pages this morning!"
She snorted. "I'll miss the way you whine when you can't find your comb."
"I do not."
"Did so this morning."
xxxxx
Kel was looking towards the upcoming trip with mixed feelings, something that would surely have impressed her friends. (Feelings? From the Yamani Lump? Goddess!) Though she looked forward to the idea of an adventure, spending the time with Veralidaine Sarrasri, Tortall's infamous wild mage, was a little disconcerting. She had always found Daine slightly unnerving.
Pressing her face to Peachblossom's smooth shoulder, Kel hoped that the old gelding would somehow manage to give her some extra strength. In the stall next to his, Hoshi nickered impatiently, clearly wanting attention, too. Kel wondered what they thought of this and even if they understood. Daine would know.
She shuddered.
"Leaving, are you?" The voice had a familiar, lazy tilt to it and the speaker came to lean against the stall door, though he eyed the resident warhorse warily.
"Hello, Neal."
"Hello, Lump," the knight's green eyes glittered playfully.
Kel's own eyes narrowed, but years of Yamani training kept her from giving her best friend the whacking he so clearly deserved.
"So you're off. Tomorrow, is it?"
She nodded.
"You know, there was a time when I would have been green with envy about this. A trip with Veralidaine Sarrasri," he whistled appreciatively, recalling the huge crush he had had on her through his years as a page. "Looks like the horses will miss you, though I guess I can't say much for this brute." He reached out to pat Peachblossom, then seemed to think better of it, dropping his hand back to his side. He'd been bitten one too many times to trust the gelding.
"He's coming with me to Mindelan. I'm riding him there." It would be good to see home again, she thought, even if it wasn't really her home anymore.
"And then you can have a nice goodbye," he patted Hoshi, having apparently deemed this action safer. "Every one will miss you."
"Will you?" She bit her tongue. Now why had she gone and said that?
"Miss you?" He chuckled, "Miss you hovering over me at mealtimes, telling me to eat my greens? Miss you listening to me complain but then telling me to be quiet? Miss you –"
"I guess that means you will."
"Of course I will," he met her eyes levelly with a far too smug look, "But I figure Dom will miss you more."
Kel could have killed him when she realized she was blushing.
He pulled his hand away from Hoshi's head, grinning. "Don't go and get yourself killed. For all our sake's."
Kel rolled her eyes, "I'll try to keep that in mind."
"No, really. Stay alive. Especially for Dom's sake. We don't need any more heartbroken saps in the family."
Neal was laughing, but all Kel could think was that if Dom cared so much, why hadn't he said goodbye?
Closing Comments: La, folks, thanks for reading! Hope to see you up ahead, but believe you me, it's looking like rough waters.
