Cheer Up (Tags Saeo, open)

[Rei]

Raylin hummed happily as she tided their room. She ignored Freckle’s hurled insults, determined to be in a good mood despite her injury. Leaning heavily on her crutch she turned towards Saeo. The normally upbeat girl had been gloomy for days and she was getting tired of the moping. “Saeo what’s wrong? You want to talk about it?” Ebolath was currently sleeping, stretched out on the dragon couch, twitching every once and awhile. It was a wonder the green could sleep with the mandyr’s shrill screaming.

The dark haired girl sat on the bed close to her friend. “If it’s about C’oar they said he would be ok. Are you going to visit him? I think you should. Leave Freckle with me I promise she will still be here when you get back. Dragon rider honor.” Vega chirped an agreement from his curled position on the shelf. His’s friend should go.

[nightingale]

Saeo shifted her foot slightly as Raylin came to sit beside her, but offered her little else in the way of greeting. She snuggled closer against her pillow, crushing it to her chest with the same wordless dependancy that child might clutch their favourite stuffed toy.

“No. I don’t want to talk about it.”

She answered curtly, feeling the mattress shift slightly as Beau hopped up onto the foot of her bed. While she couldn’t see the kitten, the deep rumble of his purring carried easily as he snuggled himself up to Raylin. The girl bristled when her roommate brought C’oar into the conversation. Why did she always have to be pressing him as a discussion topic? She didn’t want to talk about him. In fact, she didn’t even want to think about him right now. She’d spent enough time upset already.

“He’ll get along fine without my constant hovering...and in any case I’d never trust you with my salamandyr. You're likely to turn her into a cat toy. ”

Pest! Greenpest! Freckle agreed from her vantage point atop a sleeping Elle’s head. Saeo wanted to go. She really did...and she couldn’t think up a proper excuse not to. But then, there had to be something keeping her there. You should go to him Mine. Cherilith offered gently, brushing against her mind with a comforting wave of emotion. The little blue had been keeping Frosstyth company for the last few days, and so was not in the room with them. Saeo huffed quietly. I thought you were on my side.

[Rei]

Raylin gave an exasperated sigh. “Saeo I would most certainly not turn her into a cat toy.” She frowned at the girl beside her and stretched out her wrapped ankle. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it? You might feel better.” The weyrling contented herself with stroking Beau, as she again waited for an answer. The cats purring rose to a fevered pitch in response, and he rubbed his head affectionately against the girl. Baiting Saeo was like playing with a untrained runner. You never knew what would set it off. Perhaps an explosion was what Saeo needed as loathe as Raylin was to set one off.

Vega winged from the shelf to land on Saeo’s shoulder. He curled his tail around her throat and peeped cocking his head to the side. The pale flit kept his wings partially unfurled in case Freckle decided to launch an offensive. At least the brown frilly never attacked him. Well unless he tried to claim Ebolath in his presence. Even then the brown frilly only attacked with noise. Freckle was not adverse to using teeth and claw.

[nightingale]

“I don’t have anything to talk about Raylin.”

The girl’s voice was slightly muffled as she pressed her face into her pillow, but even surrounded by feathers one could tell that it was sharper than it had been a moment ago. She flinched as Vega landed on her shoulder, not because the pale blue flitter was rough about it, but because Freckle immidiately started screaming the most vicious threats she could think of, both audibly and telepathicly.

Pest! Badpest mine Saeomine badpest bad dunghead bad!

Her ranting was cut off abruptly as Elle woke from her slumber with a pained yowl, and pawed the tiny green from her head. Freckle wasn’t hurt, but her deep offense showed as she righted herself and frilled noisily at the kitten. Elle seemed unfazed by this show of aggression and hovered playfully overtop of her. She seemed to see the tiny green as a naughty play-thing that needed to be roughed up.
Saeo caught a few flashes of the ensuing tousle through her pet’s eyes, but for the most part she was able to keep up just by listening. There were a few thuds, hisses and one very loud mew, but eventually Freckle clawed her way onto the bed.

MINEMINEMINEMINEMINEMINE!

She shreiked, leaping at Vega with what might have been predetory grace had it been...well, graceful. It was probably to her benefit that Vega chose that moment to relocate himself atop Raylin’s shoulder, for he could have easily snapped her our of the air had he a more aggressive temperment to his name. Freckle snorted smugly, snuggling her faintly glowing green form against the girl’s neck, certain that Hers would offer her protection from all the badpests. She wasn’t disappointed. A moment later, Elle attempted to hop onto the bed in pursuit of her toy.
She was unceremoniously shoved to the ground.

[Rei]

Raylin quirked an eyebrow at Saeo’s shoving of the kitten. That was new. “If you don’t tell me I am going to keep pestering you until you open up. Keeping everything locked inside isn’t good for you.” She stopped speaking and stared at the girl, wanting to comfort her but not willing to get bitten by an enraged Freckle. Vega lashed his tail back and forth his eyes whirling a deep yellow. He did not like confrontation. The little blue gave a nuzzle and chirp to his before winging back to the shelf. Curling up he watched the two females with worried eyes.

Ebolath snorted in her sleep and shifted position. Raylin eyed the green and forced herself to calm. Waking Ebolath would not be a good thing. She tapped her crutch against the floor and pursed her lips. “Ok Saeo lets compromise. You tell me what’s wrong and I will tell you anything you want to know. Fair trade?” The weyrling eyed the girl hopefully. There had to be something Saeo wanted to know. She wanted to help but she couldn’t if the younger girl wouldn’t open up. It had to be about C’oar since whenever he was brought up the subject was quickly changed or dropped.

[nightingale]

The blueweyrling growled somewhere deep in her throat, her irritation obvious in the way that Freckle turned a flaming orange pair of bug-eyes in Raylin’s direction. She didn’t want to talk about it. She didn’t need to talk about it. She just wanted to be left alone, and was that really so much to ask for when her friends were collapsing all around her?

Still, she did have a question.

“What were you doing in weyrleader T’rid’s bedchambers two nights ago?”

The girl tilted her head slightly, regarding her roommate with little accusation, but even less apology.

“Don’t try to deny it either. All of the drudges know about it by now. C’vin heard from his mother and asked me what I knew about it, and really, what could I tell him? I just said that I was proud of you for aiming high.”

Losing one’s virginity to the Weyrleader...well, T’rid certainly wouldn’t have been her first choice, but she had to admit that the feat did have a ring of championship to it. Raylin certainly did deserve him if she wanted him.

[Rei]

Raylin’s mouth fell open in shock and she sputtered. “What??!” She groaned and fell back on the bed to look at the ceiling. “Sharding Faranth, now I am going to be the talk to the weyr. Honest truth is nothing happened. I got stuck there because of the storm. Ebolath was insistent on giving Stupid and Corinth a present. He slept, I slept, we woke up and went our separate ways. I would never harm Ebolath. I mean come on, seriously Saeo, you think he would have any interest in a girl like me?” She gave a bitter laugh.

“He has higher tastes I’m sure. We are little more than passing acquaintances. I would like to call him a friend but I doubt he would use that word to describe our… Shards I don’t even know how to put it. Relationship I guess.” The green weyrling looked her friend right in the eye. “That is the whole truth. I have never lied to you and I don’t plan to start now. Your turn. I opened up, not fair if you don’t, and don’t you dare try to make this conversation all about me.” Raylin stared pointedly back at the girl. No way in heck she was going to let her off the hook.

[nightingale]

But she was dodging that hook for as long as she could.

“I’d have to call him a sharding twit if we wasn’t interested. You’re not exactly a wher among women Ray, and goodness knows the man is lucky to have any friends at all with that attitude of his.”

Unlike some, Saeo didn’t have any personal vendetta against their Weyrleader. While she hadn’t had much chance to make friends with him before he was promoted she certainly wouldn’t be opposed to trying if the opportunity came up. Still, the thought that he might consider rejecting one of her friends wasn’t one she enjoyed.

“So you have a little crush then?”

She teased gently, a small smile tweaking the corner of her mouth upward as she was breifly destraced from her own world of misery.

“Really, I always thought that you’d take a fancy one of the blueriders...well not me of course, but Neiko, T’ke and C’vin certainly aren’t too hard on the eyes.”

She toyed absently with the corner of her pillow, running her thumb along the seam.

“You really do get a move on losing that virginity though. What if Cherilith was to catch Ebolath when she rose in her maiden flight? I’m certain that’s not the way you’d like to lose it~”

[Rei]

Raylin sat up. “Your not being fair you know. If I go around answering all your questions you better answer at least one of mine.” She arched her eyebrow as Saeo continued to speak. “Well thank you for telling me I’m easy on the eyes. I didn’t mean that he may not find me physically attractive I meant that personality wise I am most certainly not his cup of tea. I bet her prefers someone he can bait and fight with. I think he’s kind of masochistic that way. I mean he is always arguing with something. Perhaps I am reading to much into it.” The weyrling fell back onto the bed. “Even if I did have a crush on him I wouldn’t pursue it. I like his friendship. I wouldn’t want to toss it away for some kind of one night stand.”

Saeo’s comments about the blue riders made her laugh and she propped herself up to look at the blue rider. “Are you kidding me Neiko? I think you are forgetting about Kyssith. Even if I did like Neiko I doubt anyone is getting close to him with that monster of his. T’ke is to depressive and quiet. C’vin I have only talked to a couple of times. Besides why are you now so interested in my love life. I don’t hassle you about yours.” Well not aloud she amended to herself.

Mention of Ebolath’s maiden flight caused her to look at her peacefully slumbering green. “We have a long time before her maiden flight and I do not want to scar her permanently. Besides you know we are forbidden from intimacy. Plus you are one to talk. You’re a virgin yourself. Unless there’s something about our candidacy you aren’t telling me?” She smiled and poked the girl with a finger. “Spill it Saeo. Come on, this is all between friends right?”

[nightingale]

“Pfffft, says the girl with the temper of a brooding gold.”

The girl couldn't quite keep a snort of laughter from escaping, and gave her roommate a little nudge with her foot.

“As much as I hate to melt your sugar darling, you’re quite easy to bait. If anything he’ll have to be careful you don’t take a bite out of him.”

Tossing her pillow over one shoulder so that it landed next to Raylin on the bed, Saeo crawled a few inches and flopped down on top of it so that they could talk more easily. She regarded the greenweyrling with a mischievous gleam in her eye for a short moment, then took it upon herself to place one hand on either side of the older girl’s head and lower her face to that their noses were almost touching.

“And do you know why you never harass me about my love life? Because I am not a twenty year old lip virgin!”

She then licked the girl’s forehead, snatched up her pillow and draged it over to the far side of the bed to escape retaliation.

“You’re too much of a prude for your own good you know. At least I’ve made the attempt. You’ve just been sitting around hoping that a handsome man on a white dragon will find you and whisk you off to a world of bubbly pies and camomile blossoms. Believe me, the first time isn't anything special and you'll want to get good at it before you try it on someone you're really interested in anyway.”

She sighed, her teasing smile softening slightly as she settled herself back down.

“Now -you get to ask three questions. No more and no less.”

She extended the appropriate number of fingers to make her point clear.

[Rei]

Temper of a brooding gold? Well that was one way of putting it. She watched Saeo as she leaned over her and promptly licked her forehead. “Shard it all Saeo. Can’t you show affection without licking someone? You act like a wild canine half the time.” She wiped the girl’s slobber off her forehead and rubbed it on Beau’s fur. The kitten in question rolled over on his back and batted at the green riders fingers.

Ignoring the kitten, Raylin grabbed her pillow and flung it at the other girl. “I know I’m hopeless you don’t have to rub it in. I freeze up, and act stupid, and shards maybe there is something wrong with me. It’s not really like I’m waiting for someone to sweep me off my feet. I’m just too skittish. Kind of like an wild runner. I never let anyone get that close. Maybe I’m afraid I’ll get hurt.” Raylin trailed off and continued to stare at the ceiling. Was that it? It had to be.

“Enough about me. We could talk of my shortcomings all night. If I get three questions I might as well ask one now. Promise me you’ll be truthful.” She sat up abruptly and stared hard at the girl. “Do you have feelings for brown rider C’oar of brown Frosstyth?” Might as well go for the most obvious question first. “If you aren’t truthful I swear I will never speak to you again Saeo.”

[nightingale]

Saeo winced slightly as the pillow connected with the side of her head, but quickly snatched it up and added to what was quickly becoming a feathery wad of snuggle-substitutes.

“Why do all of your metaphors have to include runners? And in any case, being scared is no excuse -life hurts and that’s a plain and simple fact, so you just have to slap on the numbweed and try to forget about it.”

At the question of her honesty was brought into the conversation, Saeo offered the girl one of her very best ‘how ever could you accuse me of that’ faces. She then grinned, throwing up her hand in a brief salute.

“I swear to you on the shards of my salamandyr’s egg, to tell the truth unless I feel otherwise inclined.”

It wasn’t much of a promise, but it was the best she was going to get.
Raylin’s sudden adoption of a serious expression immediately put her on edge, wiping all traces of amusement from her face. For a long moment, she just stared at the older girl, wondering not what the answer to her question was, but how best to express her dislike of it's phrasing.

“Why no Raylin."

She responded plainly.

"Heartless tunnelsnake that I am, I have absolutely no feelings for any of my friends whatsoever. I also like to steal toys from small children and spit on people from the roof of the infirmary.”

[Rei]

Raylin rolled her eyes at Saeo’s answer. “Faranth Saeo. I guess I deserve it for my wording. Well forget it I already know the answer anyway. No need for you to confirm what I already know.” Her voice held an exasperated edge to it. The girl had to be so sharding difficult. It was almost like back home. Her brothers were the same way, obstinate little creatures.

The green weyrling paused and listened to Ebolath’s quiet snores for a minute. What to ask next? Oh the possibilities. “Fine next question. Why do you insist on not visiting C‘oar? I am sure he would appreciate a visit. I know I would if I were him.” Why indeed. This puzzled her. She was surprised the blue rider wasn’t hovering over his bedside. Saeo had been there for that other brown rider. So why not C’oar? Perhaps her friend liked them both? Raylin quickly discarded that idea. She couldn’t see Saeo liking G’tor. Then again she could be wrong.

[nightingale]

Saeo offered her roommate a small huff by way of ending the discussion of her first question. If she could read other people’s minds, then they obviously had nothing more to talk about. However, Raylin's next question she could not answer so readily. For a long moment she only stared at the bedspread, unconsciously kneading her pillows against her chest.

“I don’t know.” She said at last, her words slow and dismal. “I...I’ve tried...shells, I got all the way to the infirmary doors this morning. I just...” She bit down hard on her lower lip, obviously trying very hard to phrase her thoughts properly. “It was different when you and G’tor were sick. I mean...I knew that you two were going to be alright, but with C’oar...Raylin he’s really hurt.”

Her voice was beginning to crack as she pressed her face into the downy surface of the pillows in a vain attempt at masking something that would not go unseen. “I don’t....I can’t see him like that...and having a great bawling dimglow like me hovering over him is not going to speed the healing process in the slightest. It’s just...it’s better if I stay away for now. Just until he wakes up.”

[Rei]

Raylin waited as Saeo gathered her thoughts. Really she should go visit him. No one said she had to fall all over the boy and make a scene just being their spoke volumes and C’oar would definitely appreciate it. Of that she was sure. As Saeo began to speak Raylin frowned suddenly feeling like some kind of monster.

“Shards Saeo I never meant to make you cry. You don’t have to visit him if you don’t want to. I just wanted to know why you wouldn’t and now I do. Guess it should have been obvious.” She sighed and moved over to the girl to pull her into a hug. If Freckle bit her oh well. It wasn’t like she hadn’t felt the little demon’s teeth before. “I just thought that you might want to be there. If you were in the infirmary I would sure visit you but I guess with C’oar it is a bit more complicated than that.”

She searched for a way to lighten the conversation and bit her lip. “Well I guess my next question is… Who did you kiss? In my defense I never really had many opportunities to lock lips with someone growing up. I was surrounded by males, but they were all my brothers. Add an overprotective father to the mix and yeah, you would be in my shoes.”