A very pleasant ride

When Vel had announced his plans to go for a ride with Dina at breakfast, no one had batted an eye. It made sense that he’d want to spend some time with the one that had most recently been brought into the fold. Besides, he was Vel. He decided and they obeyed. That was as it should be. Dina herself had been happy and excited but had barely let it show outwardly. Vel could tell she had been a bit worried about upsetting Adi, as if the most senior member of his harem might get jealous or resentful. That of course would never happen, but Dina would need time to fully understand Adi. They would have time, plenty of it.

Not long after breakfast Vel found himself atop Glaweder, enjoying the sunshine and gentle breeze. Dina rode next to him on one of her own horses, a beautiful dapple grey courser about the same size as Glaweder. Even more beautiful than the horse was her rider of course, her dark black hair fluttering a little in the mild wind. She felt his gaze on her and blushed a little, then met his eyes and smiled. “You know, I never would have admitted it, not even to myself, but I was always a bit jealous when you and some of the others went off on rides together. Especially recently, when it was all of you and I was the only sibling left out. I know why of course, but still. That’s part of why I was so excited about this.” Vel returned her smile, appreciating her willingness to share. “It wasn’t the only reason, then?” She blushed a bit deeper. “Well, any opportunity to spend time with you is welcome, really.” He let her feel his approval mentally with a little pulse.

Vel wasn’t sure how much Dina had figured out about the rides her siblings had been going on. He had access to her mind now of course, but it wasn’t a completely open book like Adi’s was. So far, that was still only the case with his twin. In her he could see everything with ease if he wanted. With the others he mostly saw what was going on in their minds right at that moment, with the option to look deeper, which still required some effort. That did allow him to glean that Dina was aroused by his very presence, and he was fairly certain she was hoping to get some brotherly dick along the way. There was a very good chance of that.

The two of them did not lack for conversational topics, which wasn’t exactly a surprise. Out of all their siblings, they probably had the most interests in common. And as they hadn’t talked to each other more than was absolutely necessary for years, those topics were completely unexplored so far. “Honestly, I never really cared for Celarro.” Dina looked a bit surprised by Vel’s words. “Really? But his manual is such a masterpiece, his extensive dueling experience gave him such a fascinating perspective on sword fighting.” Vel nodded. “All true, and I am not denigrating the quality of his work. But like you say, Celarro was a duelist. That pervades his work, meaning his manual is heavily focused on footwork. As such, a lot of it wasn’t overly useful to me.” He could tell Dina was embarrassed to not have considered that. “Oh.” She looked down, and even with him not currently looking at her mind Vel could tell an apology was coming. “Vel, I’m so-“ He held up a hand to cut her off. “No apology needed, Sister. You did nothing wrong. I do not mind people forgetting my disability. My former disability, I suppose.” Dina’s relief was palpable, and the talk had given Vel an idea.

“I suppose I have cause to revisit Celarro’s manual now. And I want you to teach me how to fight on foot, Dina.” His sister looked thoughtful for a moment. “I will be happy to, of course. It will be interesting, no doubt. You’re an expert swordsman, but you’ve never fought on your own two feet. I am not sure any instructor has been in this exact situation before.” Vel chuckled as he nodded. “Quite, you might want to take some notes. It could be useful for when you pen your own manual someday.” Dina smiled. “I appreciate your confidence in me, Brother.” The topic of fighting kept them animatedly talking for another while, until Vel eventually spotted a familiar little track leading away from the main road. It led to a lovely little stream where he’d spent some time with Adi not too long ago. But, if one rode past that spot, the stream eventually joined a slightly larger river. It would be a decently secluded spot to share one’s first ever two-legged swim with one’s naked older sister.