|
Post by kysseh on Jun 13, 2008 0:43:56 GMT -5
Dohulth let out a rumble that could have passed for a deep-toned human laugh, obviously amused by Aorath's statement. The brown kept turning his head to see her better, admiring her unabashedly. She was a lovely weyrling, to his eyes, and she would grow into a fine green, he thought. When Theirs were not paying attention, he would make sure to tell her such. //I have been frequently reminded that we are easy prey. I don't mind. Who would mind being fought over?// he inquired, flicking his tail around to keep it away from their bondeds, who were obviously deep in discussion. The fact that K'von's mind was in such a turmoil bothered the brown, but he reasoned that K'von was sensible enough to handle it. He would not intervene further unless it seemed things were turning out badly.
Looking at his bonded intently, Dohulth had only a brief glimpse of a yellow-orange amongst the greenery they were wallowing in. Startled, the male turned toward Aorath, moving quietly closer so as not to disturb the humans. Was she upset? Was something bothering her? He did not think he had said anything so offensive, though he could not remember socializing like this in a very, very long time, longer than his memory could stretch. //Have I offended you?//
K'von felt his heart rate increase at the bit of color that came to her cheeks, and he grinned, despite his own nervousness. He was getting through to the stony-eyed girl, then. She had not moved her hand a bit off him, even tightening her grip enough to garner his undivided attention. He wanted to kiss one of those lightly rosy cheeks of hers but held off, glad for it when he saw her meeting his eyes. "It's all right. I don't mind," he said honestly, shifting his weight a bit as she moved in closer. Did she want him? Was she interested in him?! His mind was awhirl with questions, not the least of which was the question of whether or not she would smack him if he made a move.
Keeping his gaze on hers, K'von shook his head. "No... I don't," he said softly, lifting his other hand to very gently stroke the back of his fingers against her jawline. The touch sent a jolt through him, and he knew this was fast approaching the point of no return. "Do you want me to?" he asked, his fingers lightly touching the hair that lingered near her ear. She seemed so hesitant, and it made him wonder why. He did not want to scare her off, nor did he want to force her, but what was he supposed to do?!
|
|
|
Post by randi on Jun 13, 2008 2:03:53 GMT -5
Males were easy prey, at least from her experiences. For all she had seen of Benden's cruelty and male-centric reign, the boy weyrlings had always been the easiest to trick into staying away from Alaid. Browns had always given her the worst time of it, though she wasn't going to tell Dohulth that. The male mind leaves itself open to attack too often. You guys need us females to keep you safe. Males were too easy to trick, and she had no doubt in her mind that these boys needed her special brand of protection, trap finding.
Aorath's head shook quickly at the brown's question, crooning very softly so as to not disturb the pair not far away. No. I've just never felt Alaidmine like this. It takes a moment to adjust. I didn't mean to make you think that you'd angered me. Maybe he was a bit more perceptive than she gave him credit for. Then again, browns were the troublemakers. Not cocky enough like bronzes and not as dull as blues.
K'von remained calm. There was no yelling, no anger, no anything bad. Nothing bad was new, very different. What had she been apologizing for again? Everything seemed so lazy, so... weird. Like everything was happening in a slowed time for her. Everything felt heated, comfortably warm, though the feeling intensified at the point of their meeting. She wondered if the feeling was going to stay or vanish like a dream.
She wasn't dreaming. Alaid had almost been sure of it, sure that there had never been a dragonrider named K'von, sure that she was in her weyr, asleep, bound to wake up, more afraid of everything now that she really didn't know what to expect. But then his hand touched her face gently, shooting more of the warm feeling through her system, and the idea of being without it was suddenly more alarming in her mind than anything else.
"No," she leaned her head into his hand, aching for the feeling that seemed to have vanished as the hand touched her hair, "please." Her unoccupied hand reached up for his, her eyes never leaving his. They were warm and dark, so unlike hers that she had seen in reflections so many times, cold, light, like ice. She wondered if she made him cold like he made her warm, if their points of contact felt pleasantly chilled where her veins seemed to catch fire.
|
|
|
Post by kysseh on Jun 13, 2008 10:50:49 GMT -5
//To keep us safe from the other females, too...// Dohulth added plainly, his eyes whirling with amusement. Yes, females often had much more control over the males than the other way around. Why this was, he did not know. He just knew that it was. Golds were far more tricky than greens, though greens could be exceedingly sly on occasion. He made a mental note to keep a cautious eye on this particular weyrling. She bore close watching in the future.
At her croon, Dohulth's caution was relieved somewhat, and he answered with a soft croon of his own, keeping one whirling eye on the weyrling and the other on Theirs. He reached out his neck and tentatively nosed at Aorath's shoulder in an attempt to reassurance. //You are young. When you are like me, it is normal. It is... enjoyable too, though, I must admit that Mine is very nervous right now. He is not his usual confident self.// the brown added, wondering why his bonded was so nervous about this female. K'von had not been this on-edge about females since his very first. Then brownrider took a certain pride in his charm, Dohulth knew. Why the hesitation now?
K'von felt a thrill at her acquiescence, enjoying running his fingers through her hair until he felt her hand touch his, warmth radiating from that contact. It was a warmth he had not felt in a very long time, so he released her hair to gently encircle her smaller hand with his callused one, stroking his thumb lightly across the back of it. Her eyes refused to leave his, which gave him a certain thrill and at the same time made him all that much more nervous. Could she see right through him, he wondered, to be staring at him for this long? Or was she just making sure he did nothing inappropriate?
After a moment's hesitation and debate, weighing the pros and cons of making a further move, K'von tentatively moved the arm on which her hand rested, gently circling it around to rest his hand on her back. He left her an escape route to move to, conscious of the fact that his people-reading skills were rather rusty from lack of use over a long Turn of isolation. He kept his eyes on her and leaned in, encourage by Flightlust, breaking the eye contact only when his lips gently touched her cheek. He hoped beyond hope that she would not bolt on him. She felt so warm and there!
|
|
|
Post by randi on Jun 13, 2008 23:19:41 GMT -5
Thinking about another female tricking her newfound friend brought a flash of distaste in her mind. Strutting golds and greens, distracting boys with pretty words, thinking that they were the owners of the world just for getting attention made her angry. Indeed. Females can be more devious than males, certainly. Even with that in mind, she didn't think that anyone in the world was going to put the phrase devious to the girl nearby. There was no plotting to Alaid; the here and now was the only thing that existed for the girl.
Dohulth's reassurance helped ease her mind further. Everything was fine. Alaid was, for one of the first times in their acquaintences, unafraid, occupied with another emotion and while that unknown feeling did take a bit getting used to, Aorath felt better knowing that, as she aged, she would get better about feeling the girl slip. That is odd. Why is she making him nervous?
His fingers running through her hair felt so lovely. Just the gentlest tug made her roots spread the warmth, serving to further cloud her mind. When he stopped to take her hand in his, she almost regretted touching it, wishing it would go back to its previous activity, though the feel of her hand in his worn by work felt just fine too.
As he moved closer to her, encircling her with the arm she had captured, her hand released him, skimming up his arm, shoulder, and resting behind his neck. Alaid's eyes remained on his until he broke the contact on her own, kissing her cheek. Her eyes fluttered closed, the arm behind his neck pulling her to where she pressed against him, a quiet, pleading noise sounding from her. While the Flightlust played a huge role in her actions, some part of her had wanted human contact, a hug, a friend, and Aslath's Rise had intensified the emotions a hundred fold. Some concious part of her was nagging in a fading voice that she was doing something intensely odd, but it was no more that a whisper. It could have its own reign later.
|
|
|
Post by kysseh on Jun 13, 2008 23:50:18 GMT -5
//I wish sometimes that females were not so devious. But, in your case, I can't complain about the results.// Dohulth replied honestly, his eyes whirling more rapidly as he watched her. No, he could not argue with the fact that she had brought His and Hers into contact. From the thrill radiating from K'von's mind, it was obvious that the brownrider had no protests. He was nervous, for sure, but that was about his own insecurities now that the young woman was responding to his touch.
Aorath's query made him snort softly and duck his head, shuffling his great wings. This was something a female could not understand. //Because... he has not been with any female in a long time. He is not sure how she will respond to him.// the brown explained as best he could, tail flicking back and forth lightly. He did keep a cautious eye on the pair to make sure there was no disaster in the making, though all seemed well to him. This was good, very good, in fact!
K'von barely contained a groan of delight as he felt a hand moving to the back of his neck. She was pulling him closer, and he had no objections, tightening his arm around her waist and letting her snug up against him. He moved his lips from her cheek closer to her mouth, unable to resist the temptation it offered. He knew, on some level, that he should at least get to know her better first, but between Flightlust and the natural attraction he felt, he simply couldn't resist one little kiss...
-Fade-out-
K'von was not sure what he was conscious of first: the feel of scratchy ferns beneath his back, the feel of a warm body against him, or the feel of Dohulth's contented amusement in the back of his mind. The rider gradually came to full realization, aware that he was rather tired. He must have dozed off, and he could tell by the emotions floating through his head that Aslath's mating flight was long-since done. He squirmed a bit, settling his hand against a bit of warm skin. Warm... skin... oh!
He popped open both eyes, seeing his dragon lounging nearby. Dohulth seemed relaxed and content, and K'von felt similarly for the first time in several Turns, even if his body was fatigued. He glanced around for Aorath and then turned his gaze toward the weyrling that he had-- oh, this would be awkward. He hoped she was not angry with him. He certainly had no complaints to make, of any sort. All that was left to do now was wait to see what happened, though he took the opportunity to stroke his hand along her arm, simply for the sake of human contact. Shards, but he had missed this.
|
|
|
Post by randi on Jun 15, 2008 23:31:16 GMT -5
Aware that K'von had awoken, Aorath was almost certain that Hers would not be far behind. With a small amused rumble, she looked over the pair. Mine is a bit slow after sleeping. It will take her a bit to fully waken, she informed the males quietly, thinking ahead lest K'von think he had somehow harmed her.
It wasn't long until Alaid began to stir, brought out of her state of sleep by the feel of a hand touching her arm. Her mind dully felt the leaves beneath her, the warmth beside her, and the feeling inside that hurt the smallest bit. However, that small bit of pain was overridden easily by contentment.
An eye flickered open lazily, seeing K'von beside her. In the back of her mind, some memory stirred of the events that had happened, though it only inspired a slow notion that, with the current state of her clothing, she should, perhaps, get dressed again, even if that meant leaving the person she was snuggled up to.
Though it was true that she liked where she was at, she felt no human connection for the moment to what had occurred. She might as well have just been without personality, just existing. Leaning up slightly, Alaid peered at him, her other eye opening. Inside her mind, she stirred, though it wasn't enough to be afraid of him, what happened, or the fact that she was completely vulnerable, only enough to softly utter "Are you a hunter?"
Aorath felt like saving K'von his confusion, though she did love watching males be befuddled. She felt like she had caused enough trouble for the day. Helpfully, she chimed in,Mine means if you are one of the Benden 'riders who like to hurt people. Alaid nodded, not entirely sure if that was what she had meant, but who was she argue with a dragon?
|
|
|
Post by kysseh on Jun 16, 2008 0:54:50 GMT -5
Dohulth had been lounging lazily in a large pile of leaves, enjoying the warm softness until Aorath's statement interrupted his rest. He shifted, flicking his wings a bit. //She means that if you want to escape, now is a good time.// the brown drawled sarcastically to his rider, letting Aorath hear the scorn in his tone. He knew His well enough to know that this interaction was far from over. K'von was unlikely to run from anything.
K'von could not help but feel nervous when he felt the girl beside him stirring. This was the moment where he could be kicked, slapped, or welcomed with open arms. Or... stared at, in this case. He was surprised at her lack of response, tilting his head to one side to regard her more cautiously. He was fairly sure this would end with violence, right up until the point where she asked if he was a-
"... hunter?" he asked in confusion just before Aorath generously offered up an explanation. The brownrider's eyes went wide with surprise, and then he shook his head vigorously. "No... I'm not a hunter. I was from Benden, and I left a long time ago," he said quickly, lifting his hand from her arm to lightly brush at her hair in a pathetic attempt at comfort. "I don't like to hurt people, no." There were people that did that? K'von was completely confused by her response. This was not normally how women responded, was it? Then again, he was slightly rusty, though the feel of warm skin reassured him that he was not.
|
|
|
Post by randi on Jun 21, 2008 0:56:48 GMT -5
Aorath rumbled quietly, watching Hers intently. There was no instantaneous waking moment for Alaid, no snapping second of revelation where she'd instantly shut down and hide. It would come slowly, first probably being the realization of their situation, which she'd deal with calmly, followed by dressing, then inching towards Aorath, and then waiting for some opportunity to sit down beside her, then the getting quieter, letting the conversation drop, and finally remembering some menial thing that they could be doing back in their weyr and insist that, no, she didn't need his help and then Aorath would have to say goodbye and take her back to their room where she would proceed to flip out, probably beg to go back to Benden, and eventually cry, or try to. In the end, it would be better for her. Aorath knew it. Even if she had to crack Alaid's protective shell, as she had now, she was certain, it would end up better for the girl.
Unalarmed at him, Alaid sank into a brief thinking process, or what could be capable of being called thought in her warming up process. Her eyes drifted to Aorath and Dohulth. He wasn't a hunter? She didn't hurt, but a large part of her doubted it. Only when he mentioned Benden did she turn her head back at him, peering intensely at him. His face was familiar, but only in the passing sense. She couldn't recall specifically seeing K'von around her old home before, but she was fairly certain she had. As he brushed at her hair, her eyes followed his hand, waiting for the jerk, the slap, the proclamation that she was a dimglow of a woman. The idea of his face contorted into the mask of cruelty made her almost whimper, but the image faded with the gentleness he was continuing to show her. Shards, she was confused.
"You aren't? Don't?" Her eyes flickered between his arm, searching for the muscles spasm and his face, waiting for the tell-tale sign of a hunter playing with its prey, but she saw no lies. Oh-ho, he was good. She wasn't going to believe him, nope; he was just one of those that liked to play games before they pounced. That was it. He was toying with her. Even with that knowledge, either false or no, she couldn't exactly object to how she felt right now. Her body felt wonderful, but she was sure that this was just a game for him.
Even so, he was the most confusing hunter she'd ever seen.
|
|
|
Post by kysseh on Jun 21, 2008 1:46:53 GMT -5
Dohulth watched Aorath for a moment, watching her intent focus on Hers. She seemed slightly troubled to him, and he stretched out his neck to nose her shoulder very lightly. //Mine will not hurt Yours. I promise you that.// he said urgently, privately to her. She needed to know this, that the brownrider meant no harm to Hers. He did not want His to be injured by a confused weyrling, and he did not want to anger either of the females. Peace was a desirable situation.
K'von did not react as she looked over at the dragons, smiling faintly as she looked back at him. Her gaze was intent, focused, and she seemed to follow along his every move. She had asked if he was a hunter, and he wondered if she had been abused before, by someone. He lowered his hand to run it gently along her arm, just the barest touch of fingertips on skin. He remembered Benden all too well, and he watched her face as he stroked her arm in gentle and sure movements to soothe her. The last thing he wanted was to startle or harm her.
"No," he said simply, having no other words to use to comfort her, to tell her of his distress at seeing what Benden did to its own riders and the riders of other weyrs. There were just no words for it. "If you doubt me, ask Dohulth. Ask Aorath to ask Dohulth. We left Benden. We've had enough of it," he said, lowering his head back down to rest it on his free arm, sighing softly. The very thought of it took the energy out of him. He had spent a Turn trying to forget it, and here it was, looking him in the face again.
|
|
|
Post by randi on Jun 21, 2008 2:22:26 GMT -5
Aorath nosed lightly back at him in appreciation for the comfort. I know he will not. I trust you two. I just fear that she will take the incident hard. It will be good for her in the end, but she is likely to be upset with me for a short while. She would have assured him that Alaid would not harm K'von, but the young green took that as a given. The girl was not physically strong, nor did she have a sharp tongue. All she might do was confuse the man a little, which was a fair trade in exchange for the fact that his comforting of her was waking Alaid faster than anything else by forcing her mind to work overtime.
He moved again, but not fast, not jerky, not with an intent to harm. K'von's continual gentleness made her mind crank out excuses, though the main focus was that this was a game for him. He was just waiting for her to let down her guard, and then he'd pounce and harm and all the things Benden 'riders did. Her eyes fell towards the ground, her face taking on a passive look as she thought. What if... no, it wasn't possible.
No? She glanced back up at him, the slightest hint of a frown tugging at her lips. Part of Alaid wanted to believe him, to believe that people could be different, but there were only so many miracles in the world, and she was, for the moment, willing to settle with the fact that she was not hurt.
She sat up all the way, turning her head away from him, exposing her back as she glared at the ground. "Benden never has enough. It'll keep coming, keep hurting, keep waiting. No one can escape. It'll just keep coming, repeated nightmares, stirring up the hate inside, bringing out the worst it everyone." Her words were soft, desperate, growing harder to say as her throat closed up, tears rolling down her face before plopping. He had his shot. She had no defense. He would take it now. She could feel it, waiting, purring contentedly and drawing so close. "Everyone is Benden, deep down. Everybody hates, hurts. An-and even when the light's almost bright enough to see, the hate surfaces and hurts and feeds off the hate and grows and causes more fear, more hate and it'll just keep growing and growing and growing." Her head was tilted down to protect her face, staring down, shoulders shaking as she fought back sobs. She would never be free. Never.
|
|
|
Post by kysseh on Jun 21, 2008 9:57:48 GMT -5
Crooning very softly as she nosed him back, Dohulth settled down into the leaves, lazily half-closing his slowly-whirling eyes. His mind was focused more on His now, since the brownrider was in obvious distress over the memories of Benden. Sending a soothing thought of //I'm here...// over to His, the dragon turned his head to regard Aorath again. //Mine will do his best by her. He does not want her to be upset.// he told the green, tucking his wings in tightly to his sides to avoid smacking them on the dense foliage by accident.
K'von could see that she was indecisive, saw the faint hint of a frown on her face as she watched him. She did not trust him; she thought that he was going to hurt her. He was suddenly angry at the thought of some rider pawing her over, mishandling her to the point where she got so skittish of human contact that she feared it. The anger passed into unhappiness as she sat up and looked away from him. Almost all of what he could see now was the smooth skin of her back, and his fingers just itched to reach out and stroke it, heedless of consequences.
He could hear the sobs being contained in her voice, which was what alerted him to the emotional meltdown in the making. Her panicked ramblings struck a chord, and he slowly, carefully sat up to sit beside her and looked over at her to see her looking down, intent on avoiding him. His hand groped around off to the side of him until it landed on his open, unbuttoned shirt. Picking it up an carefully brushing the leaves off it, he moved to drape it around her shoulders, giving her some measure of privacy and protection. "I'm not like that. I left that a long time ago," he murmured softly, as much to convince himself as to convince her. He could still feel the raw wounds on his heart, but he was well-practiced at ignoring them. This was here and now... a peaceful weyr, for the most part. There was little use in dwelling on what he could not fix. "You're away from it too... here."
|
|
|
Post by randi on Jun 22, 2008 2:59:30 GMT -5
Feeling Alaid degenerate into her waking fear was painful for Aorath, each tear falling from the girl seemed to be accompanied by forceful waves of despair targeted at everything, as though the trees themelves would suddenly lash out at her with their branches. Aorath tried to calm her, but the feelings of love and comfort were almost completely lost on the girl, only serving to keep her from panicking to a point where she no longer resembled anything human emotionally. She gets upset no matter what any of us do. Trying to convince her that everything will be all right so soon is almost wasted energy. She admitted, putting emphasis on almost. Every small thing K'von could do would help. If Alaid could trust one person other than her mother and her bonded, just one, then she could rest easy. However, she wasn't sure if K'von would be that savior. She had no intent of tying down the brownrider. If he chose to stay the course, it would be his own choice. She'd probably done enough damage as it was.
Alaid felt him moving beside her, causing the muscles in her back to bunch, bracing for the impact. She was so ready, that the moments of hearing him shift, dragging something towards them seemed almost painful. The feel of cloth being draped across her back made her jump slightly, though she didn't dare reject the offering. Both hands reached up to clutch at the shirt, clinging to it as though it were a security blanket, as though it could protect her from anything.
"Leave? But it follows... It follows and hurts the people who try to leave. Always told us that. Didn't have to. Everyone just knew." Her body trembled with fear. He said he left, said they were here, away from it all, but she'd heard, heard the stories. Benden didn't want to leave Selenitas alone. That's why they had been here in the first place, been here, supposed to hurt... supposed to kill.
"It won't leave. It won't leave until everyone here is like everyone up there. It won't. It'll just keep coming. There's no place safe. Everywhere will be controlled, everywhere dead as between." She glanced towards him, her head still tilted down. "I'm here because they won't give up. It's no safer here than there, only the pain's less there. It'll come. It always comes. I did something bad and he promised he would hurt me if I didn't do it right and I didn't and he'll get me back because I messed it up, even if it takes a few more Turns, he'll bide his time, it will come." She sounded so sure, so positive that Benden would be what ended her terror as well as everything else with a final scream.
|
|
|
Post by kysseh on Jun 22, 2008 13:29:41 GMT -5
Dohulth rumbled softly in amusement. His was not the kind of man to give up without a good effort. He knew that His was suffering somewhere on the inside, but K'von had long-learned how to handle it. The brown would not push unless the distress became overwhelming. //At least she speaks about her upset. Mine will not. It hurts him very deeply in his mind, where even I can not reach it sometimes. the brown replied, tilting his head to one side to regard the pair of humans //Do not worry about him. He has much energy to waste.//
Watching her cling to his shirt like it was a safety net twisted something in his heart. The normally cheerful and confident brownrider felt overwhelmed by his ability to do exactly nothing to better this. He certainly was no comfort, being formerly of Benden. Would it be better if he left, he wondered? Would that make it easier? He somehow doubted it. She seemed so... fragile, despite the surety of the fear and coming of the disaster that she foresaw. Knowing Benden's tactics, he doubted the northern weyr would give up without a fight. But by the same token, neither would Selenitas.
"I wouldn't give up on this weyr just yet," he said quietly, letting her keep his shirt while he glanced around for his clothes. Perhaps being more clothed in front of her would make her more comfortable. He found his pants without much difficulty and managed to pull them on without getting up off the rather comfy bed of ferns. He would need a bath later, but that could wait. The boots were harder to manage, so he had to struggle with them a bit, glancing sideways at her and flicking her a smile more reminiscent of his usual cheer. "This weyr has a lot of former Benden riders, and all of us know how to fight. We're not letting our peace go without fighting back. Not by a longshot," he said a little more confidently, finally managing to get both boots yanked on. He glanced around for his shirt and then belatedly remembered that she held it. Hmmm.... maybe he should let her keep it for the moment. "I wouldn't let them hurt you here. Neither would Dohulth. He's a lot better in the air than he is on the ground," he said, aiming a look at his dragon and earning a prim snort in response.
//Of course I am. I was made to fly!//
|
|
|
Post by randi on Jun 22, 2008 18:07:45 GMT -5
Anger began to bubble, anger at those responsible for putting Hers into this state, for draining her of trust, replacing every happy emotion with fear, giving her a logic that defied anything decent in her life as a trap. Aorath had a right to be mad, and she often felt it, but seeing the males' attempts to calm her having almost no effect seemed to just fan the flames. Hers had a right to be happy, deserved to be free now that she was seperated from the cause of her horror, and yet nothing had changed. She didn't know how she would, wasn't sure about much of anything, but she'd get them back for hurting her like this.
Poor Ours. Their hearts hurt and for what? She continued to attempt to comfort Alaid, but the anger continued to singe at the green, but she did not let Alaid feel it, or hoped she didn't. Hers would misinterpret it, and that would be bad.
Alaid heard him continue to shift, her limited viewpoint revealing him getting dressed. Was he going to leave her for the other hunters? She was still not thinking clearly enough to glean the fact that she had a weyr she could return to from her mind. All she saw was the hunter who didn't seem like he was going to hurt her today, probably intent on dragging out the game, even though prolonged mental agony was less Benden-style, was going to leave her, and the next hunter who came along might be less into the game and more into the pain.
"But there's more Benden 'riders there than here. There's always so many more." Alaid whimpered. No matter the size they could amass, there'd always be more who would die for Benden, for pride, for fear. His assurance, however, caused her head to snap up, her eyes focusing on him. He was offering protection. Skeptical, her eyes narrowed. "And what do you want from me?" There was always a catch. If he was claiming her, he would want things in return. But then again, this hadn't been all bad... Hmph. He had just been nice, laying the bait for the trap. She wasn't stupid.
|
|
|
Post by kysseh on Jun 23, 2008 0:22:49 GMT -5
Dohulth felt the anger emanating off the green and was momentarily startled by the depth of it, shifting slightly in his growing unease. Was the anger directed at him? He was not trying to incite her wrath. //For what can not be and for what Benden took from them and from us. That is what they hurt for. They won't hurt forever, though. We will not let them.// the brown said firmly, tossing his head lightly and giving the green a look demonstrated his resolve in doing just that. It had been a work in progress since they left Benden, but coming here, to this weyr where peace was so prized, had only fuelled his efforts. Thus far, the brown was counting any progress as good progress.
She had a point there, but K'von had seen the resolve on the faces of the Benden riders who chose to leave that life. "They've got better numbers, but we've got spirit. They were driven off before, weren't they?" He twitched a faint grin and touched the still-healing scar across the back of his left shoulder. That scar constantly reminded him of how much he hated Benden and its policies. "We can drive them off again. Our dragons aren't drugged to improve clutches."
He saw her head snap up out of the corner of his eye, and he looked over at her, tilting his head to one side and idly running a hand through his unruly thatch of hair. She looked... suspicious. He mentally cursed himself for his ineptitude. Of course, she thought he wanted something in return. Something like physical attention... obedience... the usual Benden favorites. Deciding the lighten the mood, he made a show of thinking deeply about the issue and then brightened, raising two fingers on his right hand. "Two things," he said, giving her a cheerful grin. "One, I'd like a smile. A real smile. You don't smile nearly enough, and it makes you look sad." There, that was the easy one. "And two... I want you to let me give you something."
|
|