Just like Jigano, Rory swallowed his retort, though some of the reasons differed. Where Jigano's response had been eloquent and very honest, Rory's was .. crude, and very honest. He appreciated Jigano's sentiment, he truly did, for a moment envisioning them racing along towards some distant and exciting future side-by-side (when did that even become a thing to fantasize about?) but the words he swallowed down were radically different: I just wanted to stare unabashedly at your ass.
It was true, and it was crude, but it wasn't the entire truth. The spill of pale hair, the tease of well-defined shoulders beneath clothing, just the shape of him... And besides, Rory wasn't quite ready to commit to brazen ass-staring just yet. That, too, could wait.
So with a smile playing on half of his mouth he walked beside Jigano towards the fencing. On the other side, Ella nosed among her goats, letting them spread out as there was no threat around. Several young kids capered around, or hung close to the sides of their mothers. Bakshi and Talys browsed the ground for the first of the spring grasses, though it had barely broken through. Esaia raised her head and watched them with dark, soft eyes.
"Hey girl," he called fondly to her, before putting down his water bucket and then folding himself down on the goatskin, rawhide and wood still in his arms. He settled himself with a grunt, close by without the risk of errant elbows connecting with fragile instruments or ribs. He began to lay out the first of the wood frames on his crossed legs, listening with the same sense of straying amazement as Jigano began to tune his harp.
Deft fingers began to put the lanterns together, two thin discs joined together by several thin poles. To keep the discs from sliding down the poles he knotted thin strips of leather just below them, head tilting towards Jigano when he spoke.
Something about the wording had him stilling in his work, fingers sweeping across the sanded wood without doing anything. A partner—what kind of partner, he wanted to ask, his tongue moving restlessly behind his teeth. "Well, yes," he ended up responding, sounding thoughtful as he glanced at Jigano. He seemed to have been absorbed by his harp. "There's lots of dancing, too," he added after a moment, wondering if Jigano danced as well as his body seemed to promise it would.
It was true, and it was crude, but it wasn't the entire truth. The spill of pale hair, the tease of well-defined shoulders beneath clothing, just the shape of him... And besides, Rory wasn't quite ready to commit to brazen ass-staring just yet. That, too, could wait.
So with a smile playing on half of his mouth he walked beside Jigano towards the fencing. On the other side, Ella nosed among her goats, letting them spread out as there was no threat around. Several young kids capered around, or hung close to the sides of their mothers. Bakshi and Talys browsed the ground for the first of the spring grasses, though it had barely broken through. Esaia raised her head and watched them with dark, soft eyes.
"Hey girl," he called fondly to her, before putting down his water bucket and then folding himself down on the goatskin, rawhide and wood still in his arms. He settled himself with a grunt, close by without the risk of errant elbows connecting with fragile instruments or ribs. He began to lay out the first of the wood frames on his crossed legs, listening with the same sense of straying amazement as Jigano began to tune his harp.
Deft fingers began to put the lanterns together, two thin discs joined together by several thin poles. To keep the discs from sliding down the poles he knotted thin strips of leather just below them, head tilting towards Jigano when he spoke.
Something about the wording had him stilling in his work, fingers sweeping across the sanded wood without doing anything. A partner—what kind of partner, he wanted to ask, his tongue moving restlessly behind his teeth. "Well, yes," he ended up responding, sounding thoughtful as he glanced at Jigano. He seemed to have been absorbed by his harp. "There's lots of dancing, too," he added after a moment, wondering if Jigano danced as well as his body seemed to promise it would.
