Preparations and Reports

Dom walked around the corner of the corridor and leaned against the wall, feigning relaxation. He would wait for a while. He'd been disappointed at being out on patrol when Kel and the Meathead came in from New Hope. It briefly crossed his mind to wonder if she was too. Standing there in the hall his mind dragged him towards the Lady Knight.

He had always had a soft spot for her. It had amused him to no end to see someone stand up to Neal and make him eat vegetables- even if he'd only 'seen' it in letters where Neal complained halfheartedly about her. He'd heard of her exploits every time he came to the palace though he didn't visit with Neal often as he was busy with his studies. Then when she'd become a squire he'd befriended her and enjoyed teasing her almost as much as he enjoyed tormenting the Meathead.

At some point, though, he'd realized he didn't flirt with her anymore. That he didn't want to give her ideas. He kept telling him that she reminded him so much of Lord Raoul, partially in an attempt to make him forget she was female. Partially because it was true, also-he respected her as he would a great commander and enjoyed teasing her, just as he did milord. Despite himself he'd become gentle with her, protective.

'I've always been protective of her though. Her reputation at any rate…Neal would have killed me otherwise. And I'd have felt guilty. She traveled with us, a better fighter than most of us, and…' Dom admitted to himself that he liked her more than he should, that he was attracted to her. It had taken ages for him to realize it, his inability to abide being near Cleon, the smile that always broke out when he touched her and the itch to touch her…

Seeing her become a hero had broken his doubts. He was so proud of her! His Kel, 'Mother', taking care of everyone. Sighing he realized that he'd been waiting for a while. Had he missed her coming out? He'd thought she'd come this way but…what if she went down the corridor in the other direction?

A recklessness seized him and before he could really think of consequences, because aside from battles he really was a bit happy-go-lucky, he strode up to the Knight Commanders chambers, looked both ways, then put his eye to the keyhole in the door, stared for a moment, then backed away quietly, turned and ran.

A hot blush was on his face as he ran to his bed in the barracks. The King's Own slept in barracks at the palace too, but as a sergeant he had a small room off of the barracks there; here he did not since it was a fort not a palace. The other men were all out, since it was still early but Dom lay down on his bed and tried not to dwell on Kel, and what he had seen. Since he was not a Yamani, or any good at 'meditation' he had no luck. Plus he was not in the practice of trying to get a girl out of his head.

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Inside the room with Buri she was amazed to see the pale blue dress that Lalasa had made for her. It light her face up with a grin for a moment, but it fell to pieces. She'd thought that it would attract Dom's attentions for a moment but then shoved that thought away. Her crush on him was not going to do any good. He'd always been powerfully attractive to her but she'd learned to shove that away and be friends with him.

Buri remained silent for a moment, watching Kel's face. In the past years of traveling with the Own her Yamani mask had fallen to nearly shreds. Most wouldn't notice it, but despite the fact that normally she was serene under strong emotion Keladry had much less success than she used to. Partially it was her choice, Buri suspected, that Kel reveal more of herself to others. Also as people grew older and learned new emotions, things got harder.

"Kel? Are you going to try it on or do you want to talk first?"

Kel nodded and slipped out of her breeches and tunic, leaving her in loincloth and breastband. Then she gently picked up the light blue concoction. It was only when it was on and she was looking in a mirror that she noticed that the hems were decorated with blue of a deeper shade, twinkling.

A sigh escaped her. Lalasa had decorated the hems with ribbons (but no bows) of the exact shade as Dom's eyes. The seamstress made a few stitches at the back to accommodate for the mild weight loss Kel had experienced. As commander of the refugee camp she had lost a bit of weight, since there were lots of people to feet and food was not plentiful enough for people to get fat. (Plus she'd done a lot of exercise, training up the younglings with the spear.)

The seamstress left moments discretely not opening the door too far, as Kel climbed back into her clothes. She didn't' pay any heed to the retreating figure in blue and silver as she left. What was there to be surprised about in a Fort about seeing the King's Own uniform?

"Buri, did you…ever feel lonely before Raoul?"

Buri looked sharply, but gently at Kel. "Sometimes." The two women shared a silent moment. "I was glad when you brought the note to me that day Kel. A chance to be with Raoul was always welcome to me. Everybody deserves somebody. Raoul agrees with me."

A hand was placed on Kel's shoulder and she smiled a bit. "Maybe someday then," she whispered back to Buri before slipping her mask on and slipping out the door. "See you tomorrow. Oh my hair?"

Buri sighed. Kel's hair had grown some, but was still only down to her chin. "Just sweep it back if you can. We're not going to get fussy-the war isn't over yet."

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Dom's blush hadn't faded yet when he fell asleep, still remembering seeing Kel peeling the dress off. He really shouldn't have looked, shouldn't have been so feckless. Now how would he face her in the morrow?