[G] [C] 732.02.15 | Awkward... Friends. [Valerian]

S'kef and Tyrrisath had gone, and Jada had waited until then to cry. Krypth hadn't understood the sorrow, or why her bonded was in so much pain. She could see the bruises, and knew Jada's face was suspiciously sensitive, but there was nothing physically wrong with her. But her girl's heart was heavy, and to the gold dragon, everything had been wonderful today. Her maiden flight had gone well, and she had collected a strong mate. Tyrrisath was a handsome, well-built dragon, and S'kef was handsome and thrillingly competitive. Jada had enjoyed it as much as Krypth herself, so why was she so broken up about it now?!

The gold was not privy to the fantasies that Jada had come to associate with what had happened; the Queen had been too young for those discussions until now, and right now Jada didn't want to talk about what would never be. Sweetness and candles, a love built on mutual respect and affection and desire that had culminated in something beautiful- well, it could still happen. The worst of it was over. More roughly than if Jada had listened as a Candidate and sought someone to take care of that particular problem before the Hatching.

Their room was in shambles, and Jada was in no physical condition to repair the mess. She was tired, and strained, and felt dirty. Not emotionally, even though turns of Hold breeding told her that what had happened was wrong, but physically. Sweaty and sore, she just needed to relax. Her mattress was off-kilter on the cracked bedframe, her sheets were on the floor. Their pillow was wrecked, and while Jada could ask for help in cleaning it up, that would mean admitting just what had come to pass. She wasn't ready for that, truth be told. She was physically tired and hungry, and her mind was in as much of a shamble as her bedroom. If nothing else...

The Harper left her room with Krypth hounding her heels, long body sinuous and twisting. The gold was sated, relaxed, and downright cheerful as they exited, even foregoing sneering at Sunoth as they passed the green in the hallway. Not that she greeted her, but she wasn't rude, and that was infinite relief. The last thing she could have stood right now was a catfight. Not that Krypth ever 'fought'- that was beneath her. But she could sure be snarky!

Jada made her way to the Bathing Houses first, taking the most uninhabited path she could find. She wasn't in the mood to deal with what she imagined were stares and whispers from the people who did see her. Those few who did try and talk to her she shunted off as quickly as possible with the excuse that she was out of sorts. She was in there for half a candlemark, easily, her hair knotted above her head, scrubbing her skin until every part of her, sensitive or not, almost glowed a faint pink. Her hair was scrubbed and moisturized, and then she soaked just a little longer...

Off to the kitchens next, where she snitched a few meat rolls and some fruit pies, enough for her dinner and a cold breakfast, and took a whole small carafe of some 'special' fruit juice that she was offered. Bot special enough to put Krypth out of sorts, they assured her, but enough to take the edge off. They all seemed so happy that it had happened, and Krypth was offered some choice bits of meat herself, which the dragon decided would be rude to reject. She finished her snack neatly, then tilted her head at Jada. Where to?

That was the question, wasn't it? Where to. She was tired, and wanted comfort and silence. If she were home, she could go to her mother, and Szelem would stroke her hair and tell her she was being a silly wherry. It was all part of growing up. She didn't want help cleaning her room, but she didn't want to stay in there either. She could camp in the crafthall, but somehow she thought Krypth would be noticed- especially since she could no longer fit there comfortably. If at all.

She could sit under the trees for a while, and think, but that would only depress her. She could fly out to the lake, and do what? Catch pneumonia? Fall off Krypth from sheer exhaustion? And Faranth knew that she could feel the gold's own desire for genuine rest wearing on her, now that she was... relaxed. This fruit juice really did the trick, and the bath was no small help, she was sure. The night was cold, and so Jada just walked, eating and contemplating. Krypth followed her, resting her large golden nose on Jada's shoulder.

Was Jada mad at her? The woman was closed off to her enough that she couldn't judge how she was feeling. She didn't feel hurt anymore, in some places, but she was pensive? At least that was what Krypth guessed from the array of expressions that crossed her beloved's face. She had chosen Jada because she knew that the girl would be ready, when the time came. They were both still learning. Darling? It was something that she had picked up from Veeth, a special word between the dragon and Hers, because so many others called Theirs simply 'mine'. But Jada was not just Krypth's, just as Krypth was not just Hers. They both belonged to everyone, because of who they were. Why are we sitting outside Valerian's window? It made no sense that they didn't simply go in, same as they always had!

Brazenly, Krypth reached out to the blue dragon that she was so very close to, alerting him to the fact that she and Jada were on the wrong side of the shuttered window. With pies, if Valerian were hungry.

Valerian was doing his best to avoid thinking about what had happened that day, which, of course, wasn’t easily done. It wasn’t like it was a chore that was being ignored or a bad note sang at a Gather, both fairly small and easily forgotten within minutes of choosing to move on. It probably didn’t help that he felt a bit nauseous still as well. It wasn’t entirely over the participants of the event but more still reeling from the strong connection he had shared with Veeth throughout. The double vision and mixing emotions and thoughts was completely unexpected even though Valerian still knew the basic mechanics of what riders went through in flightlust.

After parting ways with his fellow losers and finally having his mind more to himself again, Valerian shuffled wearily back to his own room, curled up on his bed, and barely moved since. He was exhausted but couldn’t sleep. The day’s heat certainly didn’t make the task easier but it was simply he couldn’t shut off his mind that raced with everything done that afternoon. It was almost odd how he took comfort in the worrying about what G’rem would say and do. He didn’t look forward to a lecture or punishment by any means and wondered how long he could dodge the cranky old man but it was simply the easiest thing to think about.

Then of course there was Veeth. His sweet blue worried he had done something wrong though Valerian insisted he hadn’t. He shouldn’t have been surprised that Veeth was spurred into chasing before the typically expected time. Krypth was a friend of his but Veeth was also a quick learner, easily picking up things in a short amount of time. So while Valerian hadn’t wanted to be in that chase, he wasn’t going to blame Veeth for it either.

Veeth still worried and spent most of his time curled up beside the bed, sometimes resting his head on the soft surface to nuzzle Valerian while his bonded in turn petted him. After their talk, they had fallen silent, taking comfort in each other’s company. Valerian was often quiet to begin with so Veeth wasn’t too concerned but he still kept close watch. He knew he was sad about losing and not sharing with Krypth all of his feelings, but his human seemed sad, confused, and even angry about who won which left the little dragon confused and unable to begin trying to help.

So when Krypth’s voice came to him and her presence was sensed nearby, Veeth felt it was the perfect chance to make everything better. Friends always helped! Getting up, Veeth went to the window and nudged it open, a trick he had learned early on to help wake Valerian when he chose to sleep in. He peered out and saw the pair right where Krypth said they would be. Hello, Krypth! Hello, Jada! Why are you sitting out there? We’re inside and it’s a bit cooler in here as well. He eyed the pies that smelled delicious and tossed a quick look at the human that had insisted he wasn’t hungry when Veeth asked if that could be what made him sad. Valerian isn’t hungry right now but a pie would be nice to hold onto for later.

All this had caught Valerian’s attention and green eyes watched his dragon cautiously before figuring out what was going on. He buried his head into the plush pillow, softly groaning over the inevitable. He couldn’t avoid Jada forever but another day would have been nice. “Tell them to use the door. Krypth won’t fit through the window,” there was, as always, the temptation to tease Jada about her curvy figure and mention her hips wouldn’t fit through either but Valerian stayed his tongue. There seemed to be something far more inappropriate than usual about teasing her about her sensual figure.

The window was nudged open, and Jada blinked up at the blue head that peeked out at her and Krypth before blinking as she realized she was sitting outside Valerian's window, wasn't she... Krypth gave a low croon, nudging for her clutchmate. She hadn't forgotten who her choice had been, but there was no guilt, regret or dismay as she briefly checked the smaller creature over for wounds. Jada remembered the fighting, and it would have made her very sad to discover Veeth had been wounded in pursuit of Krypth. Jada was in such a mood right now... Jada is very sad right now. Her voice was for Veeth alone, the clipped tones almost tender as she spoke of the girl who peered up at their heads. She doesn't want to cause problems for anyone, but she needs the love of her friends. And while Jada had several friends she could turn to, who would understand better than someone else equally confused?

Valerian's words made the Gold snort at him, amused. I don't try and climb in windows anymore. She had learned that lesson- well, she didn't remember, but Jada didn't like that idea at all. She braced herself when Jada gripped her side, using her as a balance to help her rise. The girl moved stiffly, but she didn't forget to lean in towards the window and blow a kiss at Veeth on the other side. Habits. Yes, that would be good. A familiar habit of relaxing and cuddling with their beloved friends. She watched Jada as the Harper leaned against the window, peering inside at the dragon and at his Rider, who had his head buried in a pillow.

Jada wished she could do that. "Here," Jada said after a long moment, and set the small pies on the window ledge. "Just so they don't fall while we walk back inside." She would have to face the awkwardness eventually, and better to get it over with now. Not to mention, she could use some physical affection right now, and Krypth and Veeth had that in abundance. Maybe she could even coerce Valerian into braiding her damp hair... As they passed her bedroom, Jada started to slip inside, try to slide some pants on instead of her dress, but decided against it when she saw the mess inside. Nope. she'd fix it in the morning.

They slipped through the halls quietly until they came to the door that they were aiming for. With a brief tap, she pushed it open and slipped inside, holding it for Krypth to scoot inside and croon lovingly to the boy on the bed, then to her clutchmate. Closing the door, Jada watched her dragon slide into the smaller creature affectionately, humming contentedly to her friend. If only things would be so easy with her and her...

It was hard to say brother-figure, when that wasn't what she was seeing when she looked at him right now. It wasn't so simple for her to sort through the myriad emotions that lay there under the surface. "It's a beautiful night." she said instead, sitting down on the side of his bed and holding out her hands to Veeth and Krypth. The Gold didn't budge. She was quite intent on some cuddles, but she'd quite had enough of headknob scratching. Veeth's turn!

Veeth followed Krypth’s lead when the gold didn’t run over to Jada to cuddle with her. He wanted to be with both ladies but he had yet to master being in two places at once and he wasn’t sitting in quite the right place to let them both reach him. Since he was worried about upsetting Krypth now that she was curled up beside him, he stayed where he was, nuzzling his nose against her.

Valerian, however lost and confused he was, wasn’t entirely dense that night and picked up on Veeth’s distraught over not being able to greet both dragon and rider properly and as both seemed to want. Figuring he didn’t have much else to lose anyway, he shifted a little and reached out to take one of Jada’s hands in his and glanced up to catch her gaze. “Is it?” His voice was soft, close to his usual tone, and Valerian was thankful for that as he realised that his question was multilayered. He had meant it to be about the night in question, if the stars were visible and if it cooled down to acceptable temperatures but he knew there was something else hidden in there. How was Jada doing after a flight with S’kef? Did she enjoy herself and found the night to be extra beautiful? He wasn’t sure he could bring himself to ask right then, perhaps ever.

So he left the question between them with their fingers gently entwined. It was probably a poor move considering the day but Valerian was attempting to seem normal and since they always pinched cheeks and curves and had even licked a nose or cheek before, this seemed like something that could be normal.

Normal. He was normal.

If he said it a few more times, perhaps even he would believe it.

The fact that Veeth elected to stay curled up with her and leave the humans to their own devices made Krypth happy. Jada glanced over to the two as Krypth snuggled into her favorite brother, contentment radiating through her bond with that same evening soothing that she had been coming to associate with her friends. Other blues made Krypth happy too, but precious few of the other bluepairs were as willing to sit back and just take the awkward goldpair as they were. So if she showed Veeth just a little more favor than she did her other blue brothers, it wasn't anyone's fault. Krypth would still take any of their company before she'd take a green. (Stupid greens! Oops, Jada was getting used to Krypth's voice, and her mind was filling in the proper responses.) In all fairness, too, maybe the closeness came from the camaraderie on the part of their Bonded? Well, whatever caused the contentment, it was good that it was still there.

Valerian's hand touched hers, and Jada glanced at their joined fingers before meeting the green eyes that were looking up at her. Dim she might be sometimes, but not completely stupid; She wasn't the only one feeling awkward in this, after all.  While she could answer one layer of his question with an easy, eager yes- for the stars were beautiful, shimmering in the summer heat like crystals in the sky- she wasn't sure how to actually answer his question. She hesitated, considering, and licked dry lips. Valerian's hand was soft, warm, and she hadn't realized that while he was just a hair taller than she was, his hand was bigger. Just a little.

If it was a normal night, she would squeeze his hand, and smile, and pinch his cheek. She would lay down next to him and play with his fingers, and just relax into the comfort of another body next to her own, into the contentment that her Bonded was radiating. There would be no awkward hesitation, no noticing how very green his eyes were.

She took the first step, squeezing his hand gently with her own and making no move to let go. If she wanted to touch pinch his cheek it would erode the knife-edge balance they were on.

Valerian stared at their joined hands, taking the squeeze he received as an answer to his question. Jada didn’t need to say anything to go with it; he understood. It had nothing to do with his multilayered question, but the unspoken one between them. Were they okay? Again, multilayered, but the young bluerider went with the easier route. Jada implied she was fine despite having her first flight, and while Valerian was still a bit stunned over the emotions that appeared during the flight and what happened after with those blueriders, he squeezed back to convey he was doing okay as well. As for them as they were right then, together? He didn’t know if they were okay but assumed they had to be if neither bolted from the room to avoid the other. He had said some crazy things and Jada had been so, he wasn’t sure how to describe it but felt ‘sensual’ was the best word for the moment. Yet there they were, still friends.

That didn’t mean he knew what to say. That was such a foreign feeling to the Harper that always had a cutting remark to make about everyone and everything. In truth, Valerian wanted to say ‘congratulations on becoming a woman in the eyes of the riders’ but had a feeling he’d either be punched before or instead of smothered by his pillow. Since he wasn’t a fan of pain and had a few bruises covered beneath his clothing from his own post-flight experience, Valerian decided he didn’t need to tempt fate. So he was left with little else to say. Instead, he turned his gaze to the dragons that had curled up together, Veeth looking extremely content and not at all inclined to move for anything right then. “They seem comfortable.” Lame, but it broke the silence falling over them so it’d have to do.

He squeezed back, and Jada felt her mouth pull into a small smile. Relief, bright and clean, slid through her. Because how could she have answered the question? Her mind had been racing all day, and all she could think of was complication among complication. Krypth had Risen, and with it would come a time, soon, where she would be too egg-heavy to fly, or do much of anything. It had been supposed to happen later that this separation began to occur; not this early on. Eventually, yes, her friends would have gone on to learn to Flame, and fly in formations, and Jada and Krypth would have moved on to learn from Tsuen. Eventually, Jada would have lost her time, until like the Weyrwoman, she was buried behind paperwork. Then again, she had been a teacher- paperwork was not all that exotic.

It wasn't supposed to be looming over the horizon like this!

She watched Val turn his head and followed his gaze. Krypth's eyes were content, her body pressed to the little blue, her eyes whirling a deep shade of blue. I am comfortable. She spoke gently, and reached out to lick Veeth's cheek as a follow-up, sharing the affection she held for him. There was an odd tension in the air tonight, but not for Krypth; She loved Veeth as her close friend and clutchmate, and there was never any harm in showing it. She had never doubted. It was the humans, bringing silly worries and over-thinking into it. Just be. Her voice was firm, privately to Jada. She wanted her Chosen to relax.

The bed was still wide enough for her to lay down next to Valerian, so she did. It was going to be quite the process, since Jada didn't want to relinquish the contact of their hands. Her hair was a mess, so her free hand was trying to gather it all into a little clump so she could refrain from laying on it. And she would eventually have to let him go, even briefly, so that her hand wasn't crossed over her body. Perhaps if her back were to press to his chest it would work, or vice-versa, though the hand would go numb. As she shifted, the time was just right. For her, at least.

Jada reached out, intending to stroke her hand over his cheek. She meant to pinch it, lightly and playfully, but her hand would not close. Uncooperatively, it remained untwitching, open, soft. She bent down, over him, aiming for his nose. She'd meant to give one of those little kisses like those she gave Veeth, but her tongue was in the way, apparently, and she could feel Krypth's amusement.

And then her hair was falling, and with her current luck, that would be why Valerian wound up with a black eye. I should have waited, she thought desperately. Bad timing!

Valerian had thought about tugging on the hand he held to encourage Jada to lie down with him. It was something normal and the dragons had already decided it was time to curl up and do nothing else except bask in each other’s love and presence so it was pointless to try and suggest anything else even if he could think of something. So when Jada beat him to the punch, he willingly shuffled over a bit and moved in accordance to make it a smooth transition since he had caught on from the start her intention to not let go of their physical connection.

Once Jada seemed to be settled in, Valerian was once again left floundering for things to say or do. The silence never bothered him before but that was exactly the point; that was before. But, Jada fixed that by surprising him with more movement and when he saw the hand coming for his cheek he waited for the inevitable since there was no desire to dodge the pinch. In fact, being pinched and going through the routine of complaining and struggling before returning the favour would further help him, or so he assumed. But that relied on the pinch happening. When it didn’t, he almost gave a confused look her way but was instead treated to lips going for his nose, only to be treated to a wet tongue hitting it.

Valerian scrunched his nose at the contact and on reflex alone, jerked his head away from further assault only to be attacked instead by long curly hair. Completely disorientated from the tongue and hair teaming up against him, Valerian shifted just right to knock his forehead against Jada’s. It wasn’t hard enough to do either any sort of damage but enough to cause a jolt and a drawn out, “oww,” before the young bluerider rubbed at his forehead and started laughing softly.

With anyone else everything would have been mortifying but with Jada, it seemed right; normal. Despite how outgoing Jada could be, in the end, she was just as introverted as he was and lacking in any definitive smooth moves. Since he had given his forehead a quick rub to relieve any minor pain, Valerian reached out, carefully, to offer the same treatment for Jada.

How very quicjkly a perfect moment could change to the very wrong moment! From something that would be fun, to something that was very, very... and then hair was falling, and something made contact with her forehead, and it hurt and Jada gave a soft cry and dropped her weight where it was. Right where it was, so that she could feel Valerian partly trapped under her (not that trapped was the right word when he could push or tickle and she could roll right off) and partly not. "You've killed me." she told him earnestly, voice muffled as she tried to spit out her own hair, and as she pressed her forehead to his pillow, making a disgruntled little noise. Her rump was quite in the air, a position which was most ignominious, so she stretched out a bit, feeling the cool air and clean sheets on her bare lower legs as she did. Much better, actually.

And then she laughed- more a giggle, though she would deny it later- and turned her head to the side to give Valerian an impish smile, reaching out to push a lock of her hair off his cheek and onto his pillow. At least they had bumped forehead to forehead, and not his forehead to her nose. That would not have ended bloodlessly, though through no deliberate fault of either of them. Lazily, she didn't move her weight, since even this position was normal after waking up curled into Valerian more than once before. That was what mattered right now. It didn't feel wrong to be this close to him, but instead felt just right for the moment. But alas, he might not feel the same, so she shifted her weight so that they were side by side, still close enough that their heads rested on a single pillow.

His hand reached out to her forehead and she let him rub her forehead, not protesting the contact. "Are you okay?" Only one of her hands was able to touch him, the other quite thoroughly trapped by her own machinations. So she let her free hand roam, reaching up to stroke over his own forehead, tapping lightly at his nose as her fingers danced by. "Did I hurt you? I have a very hard head, after all." And that was the honest truth!

The sigh slipped past her lips before she could even think about it, the soft sound bearing her contentment, relief and satisfaction. Her hair was still damp and moist, and would probably ooze all over Valerian's pillow if she didn't rectify the situation soon. She didn't move to do so, even as it dampened the back of her dress and the sleeve that it was wrapped around. She just lay next to him, stroking her hand over his skin, breathing in the moment.

“I’ll find a way to survive,” Valerian replied, his laughter subsiding along with the sting of foreheads meeting. It was good to see Jada was still a klutz as it added to the night being just any other night where they were bored and wanted to spend time with a friend. The fact that he had nearly begged her for her favour in the chase and that everyone within the weyr knew Jada just had sex didn’t seem to matter anymore; at least for now. Valerian knew he’d go back to thinking on it when he tried to work out the confusion and dizziness of bonding so tightly with Veeth later on when alone once more.

He finally found himself relaxing and was a bit surprised to see how tense he had been holding himself since Veeth and Krypth invited Jada inside. How exhausted he was from the day’s events, however, wasn’t a surprise to Valerian. It had been a crazy emotional ride, had comparisons to being sick at some points, and ended with him caught up in the losers’ consolation. So despite Jada first lying on him and then beside him, Valerian didn’t even scoot over to give them a bit more space.

Are you two done with being weird now? Veeth didn’t understand what the problem was as he nuzzled Krypth. Everyone had fun that day, except for the losing part which took away some of the fun but Veeth was quick to adapt and made some new friends with other and much larger blues, and now they were all curled up together like they should be.

Valerian ignored the question, not willing to believe he was ‘being weird’ but figured the playful complaint he was about to give still answered the question in the affirmative, “I think we’re going to end up sharing our beds again, Veeth.” For a brief moment, he flashed back to the afternoon and the bed he had definitely been sharing in a different way and suddenly wished he had used a different phrase. Since it was too late to correct it, Valerian found the energy to reach over and tap Jada’s nose with a finger and smile softly, “this one looks as lazy and tired as me so how can I kick her out?”

A good knock to the head is all it takes to fix Jada when she is broken. Noted. Krypth hummed, stretching her wings and reshuffling her weight. The day was long, and she could feel Jada's aches beating at her, along with her own. Nosily, Krypth remembered to poke at her clutchmate, a careful eye for any wounds. She would have to remember to look into the well-being of her other suitors as well... Hmm. I am tired now. Can I trust you to behave yourself and not be silly?

"Of course you can." Jada assured her lifemate. There was this. A little different, but still the same. "Valerian, you wouldn't know what to do with a bed to yourself." Air puffed from between her lips in pointed amusement. Of course, she might not either, but that was a different story entirely. After all, she'd been sleeping next to Krypth for months! A finger tapped at her nose, and Jada tried to give it a glare, freeze it in place. Alas, contact was made, and her eyes were crossing. She might have reached out with her tongue to lick it, just to continue the glowing tradition, but his smile stilled her, made her blink her eyes and then smile in return.

"You can't." she told him, and yawned to illustrate her point. "'m all yours. Stuck with me." Bits of the phrase were lost in the gaping yawn, but she thought the point was gotten across quite nicely when her feet went in search of his blankets.

Valerian rolled his eyes at the teasing, finding that to be a better answer than explaining he would ove to have a bed to himself again, like he was used to. When Veeth was smaller, he sometimes slept in the bed as well but usually he curled up on the floor beside it. But he had to admit, since coming to Katila, he did seem to have a collection of people – with or without dragonets – sharing his bed, usually for innocent sleep. It was almost hard to remember the nights in the North where he always slept alone.

When Jada yawned, it made her seem even younger than her already young age and Valerian struggled to keep from declaring that he wanted to keep her safe from violent jerks like S’kef. Being as up close as they had been since lying down, it was easy to see the discolouration starting to show on Jada’s face and he didn’t dare try to examine any other area of skin exposed, not wanting to see any further bruising or having to explain himself when she undoubtedly caught him seeming to sneak a peek. It was a part of dragonrider life, he knew that, even accepted it on some level, but it wasn’t as easy to accept when friends were the ones coming out with the markings now. “Guess I’ll just have to find a way to deal with you then,” he finally settled on a teasing reply before shifting a bit to give Jada more room on the pillow as well as the bed in general. He really didn’t want to have to deal with her rolling off because she was hugging the edge.

Veeth nodded his approval of the humans getting along and more so when Valerian relented and showed more of his kinder side by reaching down and dragging the blanket up over Jada. They get along well. No need to worry, love. Veeth purred to Krypth as he boldly rested his head on one of Krypth’s forepaws. He was content, his bonded was as content as he would allow himself to be after the day, and the girls seemed to be relaxing as well. It was the perfect time for everyone to let go of their cares for a little while and sleep.

Jada gave her bedpartner a sleepy, placid smile. He might be rolling his eyes, but she knew she for one would miss having him so close for quick cuddles when the Weyrlings were finally old enough to leave the Barracks and have their own hut. Somehow, she predicted...

Her eyes drifted shut, dark lashes against pale cheeks, and she pressed her body close to the other Harper, cuddling into their shared pillow. "Ioo." she mumbled to him, and the room in general, as the smell and warmth of a comfortable, trusted body dragged her off to a place where everything was beautiful.

I'm not worried. Krypth's tongue licked affectionately over the Blue's headknobs. yes, Valerian and Jada got along quite well. It pleased her immensely to suspect that regardless of what she got up to in the sky, there was a place for Jada to return to that would make her feel safe and secure. Valerian and Veeth would... never... nope... Her own eyes drifted closed as she rested her head on her blue companion. Best of dreams, darlings. Her voice was the last thing to echo gently through the room.