Wings and flames

Chapter 11

"Samuel, are you...?"

"Suggesting you dance with me? I certainly am." Sam said adjusting General Green's collar. His neck felt warm, good.

"Are you flirting with your senior officer?"

"Would you rather have me act coy?" Sam winked and let his smile touch his eyes.

That encouraged the general plenty. Thankfully for Sam, just as he was going to be subject to a rather peculiar display of affection, a guard came to the general. He left Sam with a quick glance that promised a quick return.

As Sam waited, Viri walked down to the grounds. He was glad that the general wasn't around because he wouldn't have been able to hide his awe. Viri usually looked lovely. The way she'd carried herself was always Sam's favourite. But this evening, she'd dressed immaculate. She wore a deep red dress. The dress hung to her closely, it showed an elegant hint of her chest and the slit from a little below her waist showed her leg.

Viri felt the warmth in the room. She felt the eyes on her, they were all carefully on her face and off the rest of her. She didn't want to scare people today. There was other business to tend to.

Viri was glad for Sam's fair hair. You could spot him in a crowd. He had meant every bit of 'we dress sexy'. She could sense the tension around him, she was sure some folks were drooling. She smiled towards him and Sam sent a mind message through his eyes. She decided to get some wine.

Sam couldn't wait to bond with Viri. He'd tried to tell her to come to him in exactly 5 minutes. He was certain she could read minds. The general appeared again and Sam decided to speed things up.

"Sorry about that. Had to take some orders. Where were we?"

"Right....here." said Sam as he guided the general's hands to where they had been on him before he left. The meaningless making out began. Sam wasn't holding back. As soon as the general decided to leave his lips alone, he slid in his questions. People revealed the oddest things when they were turned on. Sam was very glad. Thank the old gods, Viri plopped behind them just in time.

"Sam?"

Both general green and Sam looked at Viri. While Sam was pleased to see her, general green didn't seem to share the same feelings. Sam buttoned his shirt back up and kissed goodbye. The air had gone cold around him again, he felt the goosebumps rise, Viri did her thing. The general seemed to sober right up at that. He nodded at Viri and left.

"I know what dragon you are now!" Sam said. Viri's eyes widened.
"You're a mind reader, aren't you!" Sam said.

Viri burst out laughing. She'd loved the way Sam thought.

"You didn't tell me you were curious"

"Oh I'm not. That was excellent team work."

"Do you have something?" Viri asked eagerly.

"Viri, you know what's suspicious?"

"All of it I think, but what?"

"Two really good looking people not dancing together. May I?" Sam offered his hand.

This kid was the first person to ask Viri to a dance. Viri took the offer to dance. Sam guided her to the center and people made space. He pulled her towards him.

"Should we be graceful or silly?"

"Silly. Always silly."

Sam smiled and they broke into what looked like a lot of fun but was really a tiring dance routine. The songs helped. Dragon people took music seriously. They were sensitive to sounds, so they made sure everybody was kept on their toes. At one point there were jazz hands, shuffles and failed attempts at disco. Viri hadn't ever had a good time at a social gathering before, she felt light! After a long time when their feet started to hurt Viri and Sam decided to head back.

Sam was still shaking a little about it all. Dancing with Viri, playing around, dancing funny, giggling all along, felt like a dream. But he knew, somewhere deep down that the old gods had given them a day off before everything changed.