Say it once, tell me twice (K'ian)

[Ember]

"Khiiiir, where're we goin'?" Qaena asked giddily. The dragon snorted in good natured amusement at her rider. She had not quite anticipated such a result from her plotting with a fellow dragon friend. A small suggestion to both riders to try something new had led to the girls deciding to try wine. Why, Khiraeth was unsure, but she knew the results might actually come in handy for her Nana. The girl was thankfully not sick-drunk but she was definitely drunk all the same. Why to Rommy's, of course! "But Khir!" You want to see him, the green crooned, not even in the least bit teasing in her tone.

Qaena grinned then where she normally would have objected - not because she hadn't accepted the fact but because it still embarrassed her. She had realized relatively recently that she was in love with someone who was probably her best friend and probably had been in love with him for a while. That he spanned several of her first milestones seemed like more than a coincidence when Khiraeth got on the subject. She was enamored of the idea that maybe things were supposed to progress for her with K'ian. Maybe. Hopefully. All that just made her own hesitation more frustrating though. "Fine, fine. You just wanna cuddle with Rommy, don'tcha?"

Khiraeth couldn't outright deny that she wanted to cuddle with her friend but it certainly wasn't her main goal. Rommy would understand - he was frequently one of her plotting companions. Qaena had asked for her help and even if she hadn't, Khiraeth could see, could feel the girl's affections for her friend's rider. She would have helped even without her Nana's plea, oh yes. That Qaena was cooperating was only a bonus that would make her job easier. K'ian...now he was the wild factor in the metaphorical love equation. She knew where Qaena's interests rested but she could not read K'ian and it was too invasive to ask Rommy.

The green settled on the bronze's ledge with a pleasant greeting croon, crouching as low as she could to let her slightly uncoordinated rider off. Look, look! A gift of funnies! Khiraeth told the bronze, though her tone was devoid of genuine mocking for Hers. Khiraeth would never laugh at Hers in seriousness. Qaena remained blissfully unaware of the dragons' conversation as she called out, "K'ian! Hiiii!" And yeah, okay, she'd regret that when she woke up the next day because that just wasn't Qaena behaviour.

Qaena unbuckled her flight straps - why Khiraeth had insisted so strongly on them, she had no idea - and basically fell gracefully from the green's back. A graceful fall in the sense that it was definitely unplanned but it really didn't hurt much and it looked perhaps a tiny bit like she had intended to do it. The little hysterical giggle she gave when she came out of the fall-induced daze might have been a little worrying though. "K'iaaan," the young woman drawled as she got to her feet. She wanted a hug, damnit.

[Zephyr]

Ranthian was…somewhere. K’ian supposed that part of being a good dad meant knowing where your kid was at all times. Unfortunately, he didn’t realize how hard it would be to keep track of a pre-teenage boy who didn’t want to spend time in your weyr in the first plane. Inanae was easy. She actually adored him, and wasn’t much into running around quite yet. K’ian sighed and thought about getting Romeoth to look for him, but the dragon reminded him that the boy wouldn’t want to come back if he found out his father had his dragon spying on him. Which probably wasn’t great advice to begin with, but oh well.

It gave him time to shower.

His hair was still wet and he was shirtless when Khiraeth landed on Rom’s ledge. K’ian was busy sitting at his desk, half asleep when the sound of wings jerked him into full wakefulness. Eyes darted around anxiously for a moment before they settled on the green and her passenger…who didn’t seem quite so steady on her feet. “Qaena?” He asked after a moment. He thought about berating Rom for not telling him that the pair was coming, but he knew that the bronze would just brush it off anyway.
Instead of being berated, he crept closer to Qaena, sticking his big nose near her and nudging her lightly. What’s wrong with her? Is she okay? he crooned to Khiraeth, looking to her for a moment as Qaena stumbled over to K’ian.

The man finally decided to rise from his seat as she fell and was at her side quickly, holding the girl steady by her shoulders and kneeling down to look at her. “Are you alright?” Concern was thick in his voice and he looked up to Khiraeth as if looking for some sort of an explanation.

Unfortunately for K’ian, the green would soon have her paws full as Romeoth casually flicked his wing towards her, wrapping it around her body before he pulled her to his side for a proper cuddle. The big bronze leaned his head gingerly over the green’s back, twirling his tail around her’s as he looked down. I think she’s drunk. Romeoth said hopefully to all involved, because yeah, he’d seen K’ian shit faced enough times to know what it was like when people were drunk. But he was just a dragon, not and expert on human drinking habits.

K’ian ignored Romeoth’s suggested and continued to stare at Qaena like that would let him know what was wrong. It was probably pretty creepy, actually.

[Ember]

Ooh, shirtless. Qaena hadn't anticipated that but maybe she should have. It seemed to happen often enough...and it's not like she ought to be shy about seeing just his chest, really. Not when she remembered all the post-flight shenanigans in full detail when she woke up. It wasn't like Romeoth hadn't caught Khiraeth or Gneiss hadn't caught Mouse throughout the Turns either. So yes she had seen far more than that - meaning the flush on her cheeks was only a combination of drunkenness and arousal. Thankfully when she was drunk she didn't have that shyness that usually permeated everything she did.

"That's meeee!" The young woman responded to K'ian's questioning tone. She would have said something else too if gravity hadn't decided then to shift directions abruptly. As it was, Khiraeth was saying She's a-ok! Well...okay, maybe not a-ok but definitely okay. to Romeoth at about the same time that the girl gave Romeoth's snout a hug and laughed at his nosing. "Well helloooo to you too, Romeoth!" She got up then and indeed wandered towards the bronze's rider. Qaena was rather pleased that the man met her part way because walking while drunk? A wee bit difficult. The concern in his voice made her tilt her head a bit, a wave of curly hair falling almost across her face in the process.

"If I wasn't before, I am noooow. I was, though. Alright, that is. Y'know, before. You mmmmkay?" Qaena asked, leaning a considerable amount into the grip on her shoulders. She couldn't very well hug him the way he was holding her right now but that was okay. It kind of, sort of achieved the same thing, right? Contact at the very least. She hummed softly in contentment and very nearly missed Romeoth's statement. Khiraeth would have given her answer to the bronzerider sooner if not for the unexpected grab from Romeoth. She rumbled in amusement and shifted slightly in his full body cuddle to make herself comfortable tucked against his side. As a result of drunk head fuzz and distracting bronzes the answer came simultaneously from both Qaena and Khiraeth.

"Bingo!" Bingo! And cue a tinkling laughter from Qaena that was so very rarely heard and another amused rumble from the green. The greenrider bent her elbows and placed her hand on the uppermost part of K'ian's arm that she could reach like that. "Hey. Hey, so, I think I miiiight not fall over if you leggo of meh for a couple seconds, 'kay? 'Cause I havnuh seen you since..." She paused, wrinkling her nose and trying to think. "Uh...couple days, yeah? So I'd like to give you a hug. S'okay with thaaat?" Qaena said, voice slow and measured so that she'd get it out roughly correct.

[Zephyr]

“I’m fine…” K’ian answered the girl’s question, looking a little dubious about her current state of mind. He lifted a hand to brush some hair out of her face and looked once more up to Khiraeth with a questioning glance. This was definitely not normal Qaena. Then their answer came, almost at the same time and K’ian sighed heavily. Of course she was drunk. It was a relieved sigh…he was glad that she wasn’t injured or hurt in the head or something.

He eyed the girl when she spoke, a grin quirking the corners of his mouth as he looked down at her. “You sure about that?” He asked her a bit dubiously. She looked like she might fall over at the slightest breeze from outside. Obligingly though, she let go of the girl, but keeping himself ready in case she did fall. “Okay. You can give me a hug.” He said, grinning broadly at her, still ready to catch the girl if he had to.

Romeoth let up his grip on Khiraeth, loosening his wing so that she could escape if she wanted to. He still nuzzled her side though, looking curiously down at the humans. They are very silly, aren’t they? He mused aloud, flicking his tail lightly, and with it, Khir’s tail as well.

If Qaena hugged him, K’ian would hug her back, careful not to squeeze too tight. Then he stood up slowly, one hand still on her shoulder to guide her to the couch. “Qaena, hey. Can you sit here for a second? I’m going to go get you some water.” He walked over to the basin on the counter, poured her a glass and brought it back, perching on the couch next to her and handing her the water. “Here, drink this. It should help.”

He hovered anxiously over her, glancing sharply up at Khir. Rom rumbled lightly. He’s upset that you let her drink. But he seems to forget that your girl is plenty old enough.”

[Ember]

Qaena almost leaned into the hand that brushed her hair out of the way. Instead she simply savoured the light brush of his fingers against the skin he had to touch in order to do so. Also, him being fine made the girl smile warmly, the corner of her eyes crinkling happily as her near-black eyes danced. The most surprising thing about Qaena while she was drunk was how open and fearless she became. Even with K'ian, whom she considered the closest to her besides Khiraeth and Gneiss, she never quite let go of all her bountiful shyness to such a degree. Still, she had changed enough since her Impression to Khiraeth that she felt a little silly for missing out on so much when she was a bit younger.

Her grin was downright mischievous when he asked her if she really thoguht she would be okay standing on her own. "Not really," was Qaena's answer, delivered with a playful wink to indicate that she was joking. Mostly. When he let go of her the woman made use of the more equal height he provided by being crouched to throw her arms around his neck - and slightly fall into him, if she was being honest, which she was - holding on tightly while still being sure he could breathe. When she was sober hugs were a fleeting thing from Qaena towards anyone but Khiraeth. As a result of her shyness she wasn't a particularly tactile girl naturally though she didn't mind if others initiated.

Khiraeth made no move to escape her bronze friend's draconic embrace. Instead she butted his neck gently in response to the nuzzle, letting her tail be manipulated with little care for it. Yep, sillies. Absolute sillies, the green commented fondly. Not just for her Nana but for Rommy's rider as well. She was almost as fond of the rider who had Hers' affections so strongly as she was the dragon she was cuddling with at that moment. What're we if we love such sillies? Khiraeth asked brightly, shrugging her shoulder upward to nudge at the bronze, just as a human would elbow their friend.

The green watched K'ian look after her Nana with amused fascination before he pinned her with such a look. A look Rommy translated for her. Aww, no need to be upset! My Nana's a big girl and it's not like I let her do it aloooone. 'Sides, lookie, she's havin' fun! Well, maybe not so much after she was guided to a couch and given water. "S'not like I'm sick," Qaena complained rather cheerfully as she sat on the couch. "Or thirsty, had plenty to drink!" Still, she drank it obediently, not one to turn down a request from a friend. "Oh, riiiigh', my friend said you're 'sposed to play games like twenny questions while drunk. Wanna pretend you are and so I can play?"

[Zephyr]

K’ian didn’t really care if Qaena thought much of the water he gave her. He knew that water was good for sobering up, or at least replenishing vital fluids, and all things considered, he really didn’t like Qaena drunk. Sure, she was adorable as fuck sober, and that was amplified at least twenty times – if not more…and probably more – drunk. Still…Qaena drunk just wasn’t Qaena,at least in his mind. He had trouble seeing her as an adult, honestly. Mainly because she was so adorable. It probably also had something to do with her perpetual shyness.

It was a pretty sad thing, but K’ian still had trouble seeing Qaena as an adult. Not that the age difference between them helped much.

It was just the thought never actually crossed his mind that she was an adult. And you’d think it would, especially after his mindmates had caught her’s so many times. He still couldn’t wrap his mind around the idea of Qaena as a sexual creature.

“Don’t complain.” K’ian said absently, after she’d taken the water from him. “Water’s good for you.” Even if his response as to why she should take the water was lame and kinda a cop out. He didn’t think she’d mind much really…though, she seemed to mind more drunk than she did sober, anyway.

I think it’s pity love. The dragon’s voice was amused after he’d yawned, parting his jaws in a massive yawn that revealed his teeth. He was just so comfortable to lounge all over Khiraeth, as long as he didn’t crush her…which would be easy if he wasn’t paying attention. But turns of being with the green had taught him to always pay attention around her. No one else wanted them because they were /too/ silly. Good thing we came along.

[/i][/color] He answered Khiraeth, nudging her companionably as he did.

K’ian’s eyes shifted from the green dragon back to Qaena. He had to admit that she was right. Qaena did look like she was having more fun that he’d ever actually seen her have before. And he should have known that Khiraeth would never actually let the girl get hurt. He gave the dragon an apologetic look before returning his attention to Qaena.

And yeah…she really just asked him to pretend he was drunk. He did not feel comfortable with that. He hovered over her for a moment, debating what to do until the thought came to him that she was pretty drunk. How would she know if he was really playing drunk or not? He thought that humoring her right now would be a really good idea, especially since she was drunk, and not playing with her seemed almost criminal at the moment.

“Okay then.” He said to her at last, his face breaking out in a massive, genuine grin. “We’ll play. You start.” Because he was totally not admitting to not knowing how to play twenty questions.[/font][/blockquote]

[Ember]

Qaena's only response to K'ian telling her not to complain, other than drinking the water, was to stick her tongue out at him briefly. She knew it was good for her but that didn't mean she had to want it just then! The greenrider was a bit busy, then, taking huge gulps of the water to speak so she nudged K'ian's foot with hers playfully. While drunk there was really no such thing as a comfortable silence, apparently. A game of footsies would satisfy while she couldn't speak. She pouted a little into the glass when he didn't really respond to footsies and finished chugging the water quickly. She spluttered a little at one point when she had a bit too much water in her mouth but she smiled when she finished. "There, done!"

The greenrider blinked over at Khiraeth at the green's sharp amusement but her attention quickly returned to the bronzerider. Indeed, Khiraeth's quiet, amused rumblings went on for quite a bit at Romeoth's words. Pity love! We're bad, bad dragons then. Good for them to have us, or is it? Rommy, do you still like me if I'm bad? The green asked with the amusement still shining through her mindvoice. She nosed his neck affectionately, catching K'ian's apologetic look. D'you think he's forgiven me, then? Khiraeth was a good read of human emotion even if she wasn't bonded so it was more of a rhetorical question than not.

To say Qaena bounced happily when K'ian decided to play along with her would be all too accurate. "Hee, okay!" She exclaimed in her quiet way, smile lit up with a bright smile. Playing twenty questions with K'ian would undoubtedly be fun! Or, if not fun, then at least it would be interesting. There was a fair amount she knew about the bronzerider but there was equally as much she still didn't know about him. She wondered where to start when Khiraeth suggested, What about that...er, sorry, can't remember her name, my Nana. But you're curious about that one greenrider, riiight? That greenrider?

Oh! That one, yes. It felt a bit like cheating - although there weren't really any rules for the game that she knew of - but she decided to take Khiraeth's suggestion for her first question. Smiling a little slyly, the greenrider leaned forward as if they were in a less private setting and she didn't want others to overhear as she asked, "Do you still like Elysia?" The emphasis on the word like clearly indicated that the younger greenrider knew exactly how the bronzerider had or still did like Elysia in a romantic sense rather than in the way he liked her.