Jorin didn't need to see Rinya's raised eyebrow to know that she was a bit skeptical about his putting off of the early morning training. It wasn't that Jorin was being lazy - he rather liked the exercise now and it kept him sharp for the rest of the day. But on rare occasions he liked to have his mornings free to spend time with Rinya. Besides this was a special occasion; his wife had just recovered from an illness and he didn't feel right just leaving her side.
And it wasn't as though he couldn't go to the Kendoka in the afternoon. In fact, he fully intended to do just that to make up for the fact that he failed to show this morning, and then go over to the Amphitheater for a bell or two of rehearsals. The fact of the matter was, with the one exception of the Thief of Hearts, Jorin had found himself mostly receiving bit parts again. It wasn't anything surprising; after all while Eric was able to restore his status as an actor he couldn't do anything about his standings among the billings.
But Jorin put his all into his work nonetheless. He rose to second billed fairly quickly and he knew he could do it again. His wife, as usual, was fully supportive of his efforts and that made it all the easier to see his eventual goal of being top billed someday. It was why, even though his bit part had no lines in the act that was being rehearsed that day, he fully intended to at least show up for a few bells. But there was no reason to show up for the entire duration of a rehearsal in which he would not be taking part.
Jorin rather enjoyed mornings like this, when he could simply spend time with his wife and enjoy her company. It was true, not every morning could be like this. In fact most weren't. In most circumstances he rose before her and he rarely saw much of his wife until later in the evening when they both came home. If he had his way he'd see more of her, and every so often they both took days off to spend together, but usually in the morning he was gone before she rose, even though their love sang through the bond all day long to keep them company.
Their evenings were usually filled with soft gentle touches. Except immediately after their marriage, their evenings were not in fact usually filled with passion on the level of last night. But that didn't mean the love faded. On the contrary, the many things they talked about gave him further insight into the woman he loved. Her first bondmate, Nickolas, for example, was a person that Jorin found himself wanting to meet.
Any person his wife would bond to was undoubtedly a good person. He knew she was not likely to bond to a mean-spirited or cruel individual, and it led him to wonder why Nickolas had broken the bond with her. He was sure there had to be a good reason, but there was no helping it now. He wasn't likely to ever meet the man and ask, so he simply had to accept that whatever reason he had was probably a good one, or at least so he hoped.
Regardless, Nickolas' loss was Jorin's gain; regardless of why Nickolas had severed his bond with Rinya, Jorin was absolutely sure he would never let her go. Jorin loved his wife with his entire heart and soul, and he knew she felt the same for him. So long as their love remained strong, he knew their bond would equal to it.
Rinya seemed a bit unhappy remembering her work. Jorin couldn't blame her; on top of what Rhys had done to her, the Warren was dark, damp, and cold. All the things that clearly had caused her condition to begin with, and she noted she'd have to go back tomorrow. At least Rinya agreed that Raistren wouldn't let her wander the Warren alone, and Jorin nodded gratefully.
Then Rinya mentioned getting a new partner, and Jorin wasn't sure what to feel. He supposed he should have felt angry at Rhys for what he did to Rinya, and in some sense he supposed he was. In some sense the man had violated Rinya, taking her clothes off without her permission and against her wishes. Regardless of what his intentions had been, the fact was he had ignored Rinya's choice to force his own onto her, and that was something Jorin was not happy about.
But in the end Jorin found that he simply could not care enough about Rhys to truly hate him. Just as Rinya's body temperature took a dive, Jorin's respect for the Akalak to a similar dip. Not that he particularly loved the man to begin with but he had a certain grudging respect for him. After all, any man who his wife was friends with Jorin would at least try to make a passing attempt to respect if not like.
But Rhys ignoring his wife's choice and wishes meant that Jorin lost all respect for him. That in combination with the fact that he never really liked him, and the fact that he'd all but dismissed him, meant that Jorin was mostly calm when Rinya mentioned she couldn't trust the man any longer. He just made sure to be as calming and soothing to his wife as he could, putting a hand on her shoulder and kissing her on the cheek.
"I understand," he assured her, "And no matter what, I support you. I'm sure you'll do fine with your new partner, whoever he might be." Neither of them mentioned Rhys' name. Like as though the man had become a taboo subject even though he really wasn't. Truthfully Jorin found he had no problems talking about him, probably because after last night he gained new-found security and confidence in his relationship with his wife. She wanted him, and only him, regardless of circumstance.
Still, it was clear Rinya wanted to push those thoughts out of her head as much as possible, and so Jorin decided to help by projecting calmer emotions across the bond while pulling her closer. Rinya agreed rather easily to staying in bed, the familiar fire of desire sneaking through the bond despite their earlier passion.
"I try to be," Jorin sighed as Rinya mentioned him as a good teacher. Really, he felt that she was a better student than she gave herself credit for, but he suspected a great deal of it was probably because she was bonded to him. The bond allowed him to transmit meaning to her in a way he couldn't to, say, another human. In addition, Rinya wanted to learn how to read, so she was a very eager student and that made up for a great deal of any deficiencies in Jorin's own teaching style.
Rinya's reaction to his touch was exactly what he knew it would be, and he could tell she enjoyed it despite the rolling of her eyes. She quipped that she was willing to learn new letters as long as he could 'behave', but they both knew she loved his attentions just as much as he loved giving them to her. Jorin put on a look of mock hurt on his face.
"Oh, my love, you wound me!" he cried in an overly-dramatic fashion, but his face was grinning ear-to-ear as he said it. "When have I not been the absolute paragon of good behavior?" he asked, though he knew she was likely to answer, "last night". Truth was, while Rinya had often commented on Jorin's "good boy" image, he wasn't as protective of it as some people thought.
As far as his wife was concerned, Jorin loved teasing her because she responded so well to it. And they both knew that the teasing often led to pleasure they both greatly enjoyed. But Jorin had over the last three seasons gotten to know his wife very well. He knew when she was in the mood for his teasing and when he should be gentle and loving. It was a skill he intended to hone, because he knew his wife needed him just as much as he needed her.
At that moment, though, he had her all to himself. Sure, they'd probably have to leave the house later in the day. Or at the very least, he would have to leave the house at some point in the day; if only to go to the Kendoka to train. But for now, Rinya was all his. He had half a mind to be a terrible tease to her, just simply drawing nonsense symbols all over her body and nibbling on her neck until she caved and they mated again.
But he had promised to teach her some more letters. So he smiled and gave her body one more squeeze before leaving her side, if only for a moment, to go grab his poetry book. Even the momentary separation with his wife brought a sense of cold that he wasn't used to. It was so strange; a mere two seasons ago it felt so weird to spend so much time pressed against another body. And now it felt weird not to be.
Returning quickly to Rinya's side, he slid back into bed, snuggling up to her as he held out the book for her to see. Fortunately, Syna's light was now much stronger and fell across the page rather conveniently, lighting up the passage and making it easy for him to point out the letters he wished to show her.
"Well, I believe we stopped at 'L'," Jorin mused. "So let's move on to the next letter. The letter 'm' is the next one in the alphabet, and it starts the word 'moon', such as in this poem," he explained, as he pointed to one of his more recent poems.
"Pale moon hangs low in the sky
A starry band his crown
Early twilight owl's cry
In nighttime shadows drown
Akajia's realm now covers all
As Syna's light does fade
Stars will rise as shadows fall
And Leth's due now paid
Nysel's realm now falls upon
In azure midnight bell
Memory of the light now gone
Caught in dreamer's spell
Find the light within the gloom
In fathoms deep therein
Past where darkened shadows loom
To find the answers within..."
Jorin pointed out the second word in the poem, adjusting the book so his wife could see. "The word 'moon' begins with this letter," he explained, and then he read the poem to her. When he finished he sighed slightly. "I'm still not very happy with this one, to be honest," he groused slightly. "It's just not quite right. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get it right one of these days."
The truth was, Jorin was forever tweaking and re-tweaking his poetry. Substituting first one word, then another, then putting the original back, trying to find the right cadence that would give his poems the flow he was looking for. Unfortunately, being his own harshest critic, Jorin was never really happy with his own poems, and he far preferred his mother's creations, which had always flowed much smoother.
Regardless, Jorin decided to take advantage of the canvas his wife's nude body provided him. He shuffled closer and put the book down between them. With a mischievous smile, he reached out with his hand and started drawing the 'm' on her chest, just underneath her right breast. He thoroughly enjoyed the smoothness and warmth of the contact, and he made no secret of his appreciation of the reaction his wife gave to his teasing of the sensitive skin there.
Of course, Jorin knew if he kept this up they weren't likely to get past one or two letters. So after a few ticks, he sighed and kissed Rinya with tender love, then chuckled slightly. "Sorry, sorry," he apologized, though they both knew he was far from sorry. He loved teasing his wife, after all, and that was hardly a secret between them. Still, clearing his throat, Jorin decided to be a bit more serious.
Taking Rinya's hand, he traced the rune on her palm, looking up at her every so often to make sure she got it. After tracing it a few more times he took her hand and placed it flat on his stomach, and smiled at her. "Your turn, my love," he encouraged, presenting his own body as a canvas for her to show him what she had learned.
