Late, for a Very Important Date (A'nd)

[Aftershock]

Cairenn's face fell a bit as A'nd admitted his own ignorance of what they were supposed to do... here she was, thinking the man was supposed to know how these things went, and he was just as clueless as her.

She was about to think about it further, when suddenly A'nd smirked and suggested resuming the "striptease" she had incidentally started earlier. Immediately, her face went beet-red once more, but this time, a little bit of steel went into her backbone as the part of her brain that pushed her ahead without thinking just to prove others wrong became active, and she thought to herself, "You started this because you wanted to be ready next time Nildath Flew, since it was always Xinatenth who would Catch her. You wanted to be with A'nd, get to know him, so that you could be with him next time he was afflicted with Flightlust without causing a problem. Well, now it's time to step up or shut up."

Reaching down with shaking hands, Cairenn said, "All right... I guess it's my turn, then," and quickly pulled her loose shirt up and over her head, leaving her wearing nothing but her necklace from the waist up. The extent of her blush was fully visible now, her heart almost visibly beating beneath her pert breasts as she sat across from A'nd topless, her skin burning but her mindset not letting her back down now. Her deep brown eyes stared defiantly at the bluerider, challenging him to do... something... as her arms sat rigid next to her torso, her fists balled up as her entire body sat tensed, waiting for a reaction.

[Requiem]

Whoa.

A'nd lifted his hands in an attempt to stop the girl before it was too late, but since she really hadn't given him much warning there was nothing he could do. He hadn't even been referring to her at all. The striptease was what he was calling her suggestion that he undress in front of her...obviously her clothing mishaps were related to salamandyrs and wearing shirts that were for whatever reason too large for her. Apparently she didn't get that seemingly obvious reference, however.

The bluerider really couldn't help himself. She didn't exactly look like a woman per se, but he definitely couldn't argue that she was a kid as he might have been inclined to before. (To a third party, anyway.) It was hard not to stare at the bare chest that had so suddenly sprung up in front of him. His eyes flicked to her face questioningly, the confusion only growing at the clear defiance in her eyes. Hm. A'nd sighed and rubbed at his jaw. Was this another play to get him to sleep with her?

He still really didn't understand why she couldn't just...wait...until Nildath Rose again. Or go find any other guy in the Weyr, for that matter. It didn't have to be him just because their dragons were cozy. Not that she wasn't pretty, but she was too...young. Too naïve. He didn't see this ending well. Of course, he was beginning to care less and less as his eyes kept straying to the small, tight breasts staring at him from across the table. Bah.

"I was referring to you wanting me to undress in front of you," A'nd stated quietly, rising from his chair and coming around the table. "Unless you were deliberately wearing shirts that wouldn't cover your breasts...I didn't see what happened before as something you did on purpose." He frowned down at her slightly. Really, really hard not to get distracted right now. Rather than reaching for the cloth in her lap, he turned and grabbed a blanket, draping it around her shoulders. "If you just want to lose your virginity, go find a guy who knows what he's doing. The point is to lose it before your dragon Rises again, not to who. I don't want to leave a bad taste in your mouth."

Perhaps that was too serious but...well, if A'nd didn't get it all out now, he probably wouldn't have the discipline to later. The bluerider slipped out to the ledge and began removing the half-cured leather from its drying frame, suppressing a sigh when he found it had already gotten too stiff to be of any real quality.

[Aftershock]

It was too late for Cairenn... or at least, what he did wasn't enough to break her out of her current full-speed-ahead mindset. She sat shivering quietly under the blanket he draped her with, tears stinging her cheeks as he seemed to reject her, seemed uninterested in her body. Then, the steel entered her once more, and she stood up suddenly, her chair falling backwards to strike the ground with a clatter, the blanket he'd draped over her shoulders soon falling to drape over the fallen furniture.

Topless once more, she stalked over the the weyrledge where A'nd was pulling the leather from the drying frame, placing her small hands on his shoulders and spinning him around without warning before pressing herself against him, her hands fumbling at the buttons of his shirt as her mouth moved up to attempt to give him yet another strong, yet unskilled kiss. From sheer surprise alone combined with her forward momentum, A'nd might end up backpedalling until his back hit the wall, trapping him between the groping greenrider and the hard stone, though once he recovered his bearings pulling her away from him with how small she is would be simple if he chose to.

Whether he broke the kiss, or she did after about 30 seconds, her hands still fumbling to remove his shirt unless he stopped her, she would say, "Did that leave a foul taste in your mouth? Because it didn't leave a foul taste in mine." The girl's face was still flushed red, though now it was a combination of embarrassment and arousal, and her eyes retained the defiant steel that dared A'nd to tell her no, to deny her.

[Requiem]

He didn't look. Probably should have, but he didn't really want to have a conversation about this. Hadn't he made it clear from the beginning that he wasn't interested in forcing anything? That he wasn't comfortable with this? She'd seemed relieved to hear it then, but now all of a sudden...

A'nd half-turned on instinct at the feel of a hand on his shoulder, which perhaps was why she was able to pull him around so suddenly. Shock kept him from reacting before his back hit the wall. The bluerider didn't respond to the kiss immediately, either, but when he did it wasn't to return it. He pushed her back. It wasn't a thrust, of course, just pressure to put distance between them, one of his hands going to the ones fumbling at his shirt and holding them there before they could travel anywhere else.

"Shard it, Cairenn. You're not listening. I don't want to screw you." Harsh words, but he was beginning to think that was necessary to get his point across to her. He softened slightly after the first sting of the initial words. "I tried to tell you the first time you asked. If not for the drudge I sharding well raped in flightlust, I'd be a virgin, too. I'm not the right person. So just...stop. Stop." He released her hands, hesitating, then made for the door. "Get yourself together and go home. I'll see you around." A'nd had every intention of leaving her here until she left then going to bed.

[Aftershock]

The words seemed to strike Cairenn with physical force, causing her to step back and bring her hands up to her chest as if she'd just been stabbed in the heart. She stood there for a moment, silent, her lip quivering and tears welling in her eyes, until suddenly the dam broke, and she burst into hysterical sobs.

"Y-y-you don't want me? W-w-why aren't I good enough f-f-for you? Am I n-n-not pretty enough? N-n-n-not exp-p-perienced enough?" She cupped her demure breasts in her hands and squeezed for emphasis as she added, "A-a-am I not b-b-big enough?"

Her remaining words lost in sobs and hysterical crying, she retreated to the table, grabbing her shirt and pulling it over her head roughly before screaming, "I-I-I won't see you a-r-r-round! I don't ever want to s-s-see you EVER AGAIN." Her last words were delivered in a screech of rage, and she turned and ran out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Fun, forcibly detaching himself from Cootie if necessary, dropped to the floor and gave A'nd a look that was a combination of judgmental disappointment and a clear desire that A'nd had abused Fun instead of Cairenn, then slipped beneath the door in pursuit of His.

[Requiem]

What...the...fuck?

He'd nearly managed to get out the door before she suddenly exploded on him and turned into a hysterical harpy. A'nd just stood frozen to the spot rather dumbly as she waved her small breasts at him, pulled the shirt over her head and fled out the door he'd been standing next to. The door slamming jolted him out of his stunned state and the teenager flinched.

A significant portion of him was upset enough to be happy that she was gone and probably for good. Not that he'd admit it, but this whole night left him feeling very...trampled. Getting dinner. Waiting candlemarks. Her never showing up until several candlemarks later without an explanation until then. The freeze, going bright red, forcing a smile and a brief touch before hastily retreating to the table. Misinterpreting his comment and taking off her shirt, only to sit there stiff and clearly terrified...He'd tried to be good. Partly for his own sake cause he really couldn't handle another episode like with that drudge right now but also cause she really didn't seem like she actually wanted him at all. She kept coming, and though he rejected her he'd tried to explain...which she hadn't listened to or perhaps hadn't cared about. It wasn't easy for him to admit how filthy and inept he felt after that Flight, either. But instead of accepting his attempt to be nice and do what was best for both of them she'd screamed at him.

It wasn't an experience he wanted to repeat and the best way to do that was to not go near her again.

Yet she was his friend, too. They really did have fun together. And how would this effect Xinatenth and Nildath? His dragon would never blame him, obviously, but that didn't mean it wouldn't upset him if Nildath chose to hold this against Xina. Even if only a little.

The thoughts and feelings went through his mind in a short span of time, such that he had the door open not long after it slammed shut and could still see her moving down the hallway. A'nd caught up to her with relative ease just because he was bigger with a longer stride and not blinded by tears or anything. The bluerider reached out and clasped her by the bicep. "Cai!" He really wasn't sure what to say and half expected her to flail at him. "I didn't...I didn't mean anything like what you said." Even if she did flail at him and hit him or something, he wouldn't let her go. Too determined. "I don't want you to sleep with me and regret it later. That's all." It was his last attempt. If she couldn't see the upset she was causing him now she was willfully blind and...he only had so high a quota for exposing himself to get kicked.

[Aftershock]

It was reflex, honestly... she was emotionally traumatized, and trying to retreat, and then suddenly a hand was grabbing her, holding her, keeping her from escaping back to her room to nurse her bruised ego and get away from the judgemental eyes she was sure were looking at her while she was in her sobbing, broken-down state. She felt like a trapped animal, and as he tried to explain him actions, she screamed, "LET ME GO! Please, just... let me go! I don't want to see you, I don't want to hear you, I just want to be alone! I don't want to SEE you, not now, maybe not EVER."

Fresh tears streamed down her face as she struggled in the larger rider's grip, her free arm flailing at him to get him to loosen his grip so she could escape his grasp. Finally, in desperation, her anger at the young man flavoring her actions, her flailing hand curled its fingers, just slightly, and the resulting claw came slashing across A'nd's face just as he was finishing his last words towards the greenrider. Possibly having enough force to open shallow gashes with her nails across his face, Cairenn suddenly froze, seeing what she had done, her hand still raised in a defensive posture in case the boy's anger caused her to need to fight him off, hoping he would just leave her and let her escape instead.

[Requiem]

Screaming at him again. A'nd tried to be heard regardless, because he knew if he shut up to listen to that he wouldn't try again. His grip had tightened to keep her there, of course, for similar reasons. She'd stopped. Was still trying to pull away, but at least she wasn't screaming anymore, so he tried again. "I didn't mean you were u-"

He should have moved. Done something. It just didn't seem real. A'nd's grip loosened on her arm, not holding her anymore so much as simply resting there for lack of anything better to do. He brought his other hand to his face, staring at her in silence for a long moment. Like the same spell that seemed to have taken her had frozen him as well. "I just didn't want to hurt you," the bluerider finally said wearily, breaking the spell.

He didn't notice the blood on his face or hand as it dropped to his side. There wasn't much of it, after all. She got just what she wanted. That scared, defensive posture and the lingering sting of the slap...A'nd wasn't schooled enough to keep the hurt from his face. Cairenn wasn't his only friend, of course, but on top of everything else tonight it just...hurt what she seemed to think of him. To see him as.

"I'm sorry," he stated quickly, turning away and heading back for his weyr.

[Aftershock]

The silence of the moment after she inadvertently clawed his face, leaving shallow gashes across his flesh, was deafening, and finally he spoke again, sounding incredibly tired and weary. Pulling away gently as his grip finally loosened, the greenrider sobbed, "I... I've n-never hurt so bad before..."

Then, the bluerider apologized, and retreated to his weyr. Cairenn stood in the hallway for a moment, watching him retreat, then collapsed upon herself, kneeling down with her shoulder sliding down the nearby wall as she moved to hug her knees to her chest, her sobs and wails muffled by her face being pressed against the material of her skirt. Maybe some day, when things had changed, she and A'nd could try again... but today, in this place, she had lost her one and only friend.

[Requiem]

The words he could ignore, to a point. Some part of him had to. They were a type of accusation and the rebellious part of him could only think that this rather proved how little she'd experienced in her life if what little he'd done tonight hurt her worse than anything else. Especially considering the hurtful part had little enough to do with him at all and more with her wild interpretation of it. That rebellious part however was mostly outweighed by this feeling of helplessness and inadequacy. She'd made it more than clear she wanted nothing to do with him, on multiple occasions tonight, and maybe that was best. He certainly didn't know how to deal with a girl terrified of sex but trying to throw herself at him anyway, especially when the girl was a friend of his. Had been.

He probably would have made it to his weyr just fine without noticing but it was hardly more than a few paces away. Even determined not to look back at her, she was within his line of sight as he moved to push open the door. A'nd's forehead came to rest against it. Shouldn't he just leave her? She'd made it more than clear what she wanted. Unfair as the whole thing seemed, he couldn't argue that she'd been unclear. The bluerider was almost angry at himself when he couldn't shake off the compulsion. There was just something inherently wrong about leaving a girl alone out in the hall to cry.

Drawing near her tentatively, he crouched in front of her knees. "Cairenn? Would you...just let me take you to your weyr or something? You're out in the hall..." Wasn't sure she'd hear him but he was almost completely certain if he'd tried to hug her without saying anything he'd scare her. Or she'd hit him again when she found it was him. "I know you hate me right now but...I promise I won't stay. Just take you home and you don't have to see me again." Course it didn't really matter what he said if she couldn't or wouldn't hear him, now did it?

((Sorry, hun xP Know I was asleep when you asked but lol))

[Aftershock]

Upon hearing his voice nearby, Cairenn instinctively pivoted on her wall-touching shoulder, turning to press her back against the wall and avoid facing A'nd. If he persisted, his caring tone of voice would penetrate her embarrassment-fueled defenses, and she would lift her head away from her tear-soaked skirt, her eyes puffy and red as she looked up at the bluerider, searching his face.

Finally, she seemed to reach some kind of limit, and averted her gaze, but slowly nodded, her actions showing how utterly tired she was from the emotional rollercoaster she had put herself on the past hour or so. Reaching out a thin hand, she would allow A'nd to help her to stand, then walk with him wordlessly to her weyr, where she would enter and mostly close the door before giving A'nd a final look, a mixture of sadness, confusion, and exhaustion, then close the door.

[Requiem]

His heart sunk a little when she immediately turned away from him. At that moment he really had felt that she hated him, though whether or not the hurt actually got into his words at all was impossible to say. A'nd...got so tired...of always being unwanted. The pain was there and deep but the weariness tended to be the most obvious part of the whole thing when he interacted with people who were reacting poorly to him. It didn't help that half the time he didn't even understand what he'd done wrong.

Here he did. To a point. He knew he could have been a lot nicer to her but part of him was afraid and another part...angry...when she kept pressing after he'd resisted temptation and tried to be nice. A'nd didn't want to be her de-virgin pill just because she needed someone to be. She was his friend. He wanted...he wanted her to want him, in all honesty. After her reaction to him taking off his shirt he really had a hard time believing she even found him attractive.

He knew why she'd gotten upset. Even why she was trying to get away. But...he just...couldn't she see he hadn't meant to hurt her? Didn't she believe him? Couldn't she tell...that he was nearly as upset as she was? Maybe not. He'd always been quiet about his emotions, even as a young child when his father didn't want him.

Fortunately, even before he fully finished his sentence, she'd turned back to him and taken his hand. The bluerider blinked. The relief wasn't enough to make him smile; he was still way too unsure about...well, everything. Instead he helped her up and continued to hold her hand loosely, testing. She didn't pull it away from him, though. Not until she went to open her door. A'nd stood there dumbly, not sure what to do. The look confused him, and then she was disappearing.

"Cai..." He'd said he'd just leave her off. Thinking even that much she'd barely be able to stand. "Cairenn?" It wasn't loud. A'nd leaned against the closed door then. It was somehow easier to talk to the closed door. Didn't make him feel quite so guilty. "I'm sorry." He wasn't sure if he'd actually said the words, even though he must have expressed the sentiment a half dozen other ways. "You're lovely. I wanted to...honest I did. You didn't seem...sure? I didn't want to hurt you. And I...I don't just want to be the guy you sleep with so you're not a virgin the next time Nildath Rises." It was all spoken softly. Perhaps...too softly if she wasn't still by the door to hear him.