Was she nuts? Susan offered to stay up, after 4 glasses of wine, and watch Marcus sleep?! 'Hoo, boy, Susan... you are... desperate? Not very becoming. You should be stronger than that. Her own internal argument held everything... the fact that normally, she'd be in bed by 10, 11 o'clock and wake with the blaring of her alarm. Waking up in the dark was one of the things she just couldn't do, no matter how hard she tried. And, she'd hoped to get a full night tonight as she didn't last night. They'd been up most of the night, then the blue ball fell out of the heavens at the crack of dawn. Oddly enough, the unfairness of it all, at least in her mind, was comforting. Meant the universe was still... right.
"Okay." Now, Susan was stuck. She couldn't admit to wanting to curl up and go to sleep with the man, sharing the warmth... and--
"But first, there's one other.. ritual. Nafak'cha, it's called. A pledging of one to another."
That took Susan aback, and she stared... not entirely sure how to react. Particularly after the... pledge, and he hadn't mentionned it before just now. Hardly fair, really... something like this, a girl should be ready for, shouldn't she? Or was it all part of the fact that the Minbari always liked to keep people off-balance for their next 'thing'? "Nafak'cha..." She tried the word out, and, in pretty typical Susan fashion, didn't get it quite right... She could probably blame it on his pronounciation, as his Earth 'English accent' had a tendency to both get in the way, and make everything sound so much... more gentle than would normally be.
The words; they sounded promising, though... a harbour in stormy weather, his lilting accent taking the sting off most of them. The only thing asked, well, the two, as far as she was concerned, was to leave everything behind... and... believe that the Ranger would never leave her. She'd like to believe that, she really would. His return to her this evening meant a lot, and he probably knew it; thus, the lack of real desire to go back and finish his duty. Trying to do both... could get them both killed one day. She couldn't help the thought... but maybe, maybe, this would be different somehow? And, if it failed, there'd be no chance ever again... and he had to know that.
And, if it was a pledge to one another, that meant that she actually had to pay attention, but thankfully, she had a good head for remembering things. Of course, in some cases, that wasn't a good quality to possess, but beggars--?
While her consideration might have seemed an eternity, it really was only a heartbeat, two at most-- a hesitation as she considered the import of the words. She wasn't someone who entered into pacts lightly... and if this was the way Minbari proposed? Somehow, she was sure that Marcus could understand if she wasn't as giddy as he'd described Ami when Scott had proposed. No.... this was... an assurance as well as a request to leave everything behind and start fresh... with him. Nothing there to make her jump up and down and squeal with delight...
"Okay." Now, Susan was stuck. She couldn't admit to wanting to curl up and go to sleep with the man, sharing the warmth... and--
"But first, there's one other.. ritual. Nafak'cha, it's called. A pledging of one to another."
That took Susan aback, and she stared... not entirely sure how to react. Particularly after the... pledge, and he hadn't mentionned it before just now. Hardly fair, really... something like this, a girl should be ready for, shouldn't she? Or was it all part of the fact that the Minbari always liked to keep people off-balance for their next 'thing'? "Nafak'cha..." She tried the word out, and, in pretty typical Susan fashion, didn't get it quite right... She could probably blame it on his pronounciation, as his Earth 'English accent' had a tendency to both get in the way, and make everything sound so much... more gentle than would normally be.
The words; they sounded promising, though... a harbour in stormy weather, his lilting accent taking the sting off most of them. The only thing asked, well, the two, as far as she was concerned, was to leave everything behind... and... believe that the Ranger would never leave her. She'd like to believe that, she really would. His return to her this evening meant a lot, and he probably knew it; thus, the lack of real desire to go back and finish his duty. Trying to do both... could get them both killed one day. She couldn't help the thought... but maybe, maybe, this would be different somehow? And, if it failed, there'd be no chance ever again... and he had to know that.
And, if it was a pledge to one another, that meant that she actually had to pay attention, but thankfully, she had a good head for remembering things. Of course, in some cases, that wasn't a good quality to possess, but beggars--?
While her consideration might have seemed an eternity, it really was only a heartbeat, two at most-- a hesitation as she considered the import of the words. She wasn't someone who entered into pacts lightly... and if this was the way Minbari proposed? Somehow, she was sure that Marcus could understand if she wasn't as giddy as he'd described Ami when Scott had proposed. No.... this was... an assurance as well as a request to leave everything behind and start fresh... with him. Nothing there to make her jump up and down and squeal with delight...
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