[G] [C] 732.04.25 | Woe is Me [Valerian]

'You know what, just kill me.'

I might have if the sight of Valerian hadn't been so distracting when I first hatched.

'...Thanks.'

You are welcome! Charath chirped, sounding just condescending enough for Erisi to get the hint that she was tired of listening to him do nothing but moan about. A Weyrling life was definitely not the life for Erisi, though Charath was getting old enough that if Erisi wanted to continue his usual... explosion of sexual activity, he'd get away with a little of it. Charath wasn't really the problem here. Erisi was tired from classes, Erisi still hated half of the Weyr, Erisi hadn't worked on getting a booty call system set up so he could have what he wanted when he wanted... The problems were numerous.

What irritated him now was that everyone else was getting decent tail. Jada got tail, disgusting tail, but still tail. Veeth had chased a few times, so Erisi knew Valerian had to get something out of it. He was stuck with a girl dragon who wouldn't get off her lazy flat dragon ass and fly so he could finally get some. He wanted a boy dragon, those sounded more fun right now. I am what you deserve, and I am pretty awesome, so you should count yourself lucky. Charath decided now would be a good time to caution her bonded, since he seemed intent on ruining every friendship he had. Don't mope to Valerian about this. It's petty. You whine more than a newborn squiggling human. You are going to ruin my chances of making him mine.

'I am pretty sure Veeth stands in your way.'

He poses no threat.

Erisi happened to make it back to Valerian's barrack before Valerian, and Charath had to intervene and convince Erisi that Valerian was not out having fun without him. The Weyrling shoved off his boots, kicking them into a corner of Valerian's room before he invited himself to lounge on Valerian's bed. Yes, he would help himself to whatever he sharding pleased. This was what friends were for, and if Valerian wasn't going to be here than Erisi was going to wait.

Are you bored yet? I hope you know this is a little rude.

'Shove it'.

You shove it!

'I CAN'T BECAUSE OF YOU. THIS IS THE POINT, CHARATH.'

...You're crying, aren't you.

'No, I'm miserable.' Erisi rolled onto his stomach, burying his face into Valerian's pillow. He was not crying, but he was definitely moping. Erisi hadn't wanted to be a dragonrider in the first place, and now that he was one, it sucked.

While Valerian usually liked to head right to his room, with the occasional dinner stop first, to avoid chatting with classmates, Veeth sometimes got his way and managed to make them both stay and talk to what Valerian sometimes thought was the entire weyr. His dragon was so sharding sociable though Valerian usually managed to avoid getting sucked into long conversations. It was almost amazing how Veeth knew so many dragons outside of their class but Valerian didn’t know the riders. He really didn’t talk to many riders, truth be told. B’jin was more or less the only one, sometimes R’nd got a conversation when they both found their way to B’jin at the same time. He should probably look into fixing that sometime.

You really should! Veeth added as they worked their way closer to their room. I’ve heard tales about some of them and you would have a lot of fun. Valerian doubted that given how borderline insane some riders seemed to be, like Par’a, or overly violent and angry, like S’kef. Still…

I promise I won’t completely ignore the next pair we come across that you want to socialise with. How’s that? Veeth seemed satisfied with that reply and Valerian patted the dragon on his head before entering his room, and coming up short when he saw someone occupying his bed. It wasn’t really that odd of a sight since both Erisi and Jada took to stealing his bed whenever they could and Valerian just shook his head at the sight.

“I’m not sure if I hope you’re eating my pillow or trying to suffocate yourself with it. Either way, you better not be drooling.” It was his way of greeting Erisi as he came in, toeing off his boots and shoving them aside to rest with the pair his visitor had kindly removed.

He could hear Charath's voice rumbling softly through his head, but he really couldn't make out what she was saying. It was more like he didn't really care what she was saying right now, as dozing off was a far more preferable option. This wasn't entirely unusual, though. Erisi had come to Valerian's side more than enough times when Charath was still little, simply so his friend could help him manage the monstrous Green. Erisi had fallen asleep in his friend's more times than he could count, so if Valerian decided he was going to be late to bed tonight he'd discover that he didn't have a bed at all.

Valerian could always take Erisi's bed, but the sheets were being clean and the pillow was lost somewhere in the room (he had thrown it angrily at a friend - he hadn't intended to hurt them, which is why he threw a sharding pillow). Whatever, this was completely Valerian's loss if he didn't get his act together and show up.

Unsurprisingly, Erisi was still irritated when Valerian finally did arrive. He had been lulled into the state of semi-awareness and sleep, and given a few more minutes would have been completely passed out if left uninterrupted. He grumbled softly at his friend and rolled over onto his side, placing his back pointedly to the future bluerider. "You're gonna have to deal with it if I did," he finally articulated, and giving up on falling asleep rolled onto his back.

"Charath says hi."

There, he beat her to the sharding punch. The words had just been forming in his mind, and he'd rather not be plagued by his Green's constant need of attention and adoration from Valerian. She was like a puppy when around the other Harper. When Valerian was around, he was her world, not Erisi. There was always a little bit of jealousy with that relationship, but that was likely what made their friendship more interesting. "How is it going in the land of I-Get-to-Chase-After-Everything?" Ah, there was nothing sweeter than the sound of Erisi's rampant jealousy. He wasn't mad at Valerian, rather he was pouty.

Very pouty.

He was probably pouting right now.

Stop it, you're embarrassing me.

"Are you going to come sit with me already, or not?" At least he still wanted Valerian's attention, otherwise he would not have nearly passed out in his friend's bed. He liked Valerian, and the other Harper was probably his closest friend, but he was in the mood to be pissy and irritable. It was fairly clear that Erisi was grumpy for the sake of being grumpy, and the worst part was that he couldn't even blame Charath being proddy for his behavior.

Valerian didn’t mind Erisi’s pouting since that comment sent him into pouting as well. He really did not want to think about chasing or anything that happened afterward but he his friend well enough to know that wouldn’t matter. If he put on a show of not wanting to talk about that subject, Erisi would latch onto it and never let go until he was bored. It was purely easier to give answers of some degree that might satisfy or distract Erisi in another direction.

“We won’t be chasing after everything if I get a say in it,” Valerian stated in a tone that was more exhausted than angry as he took up residence on his bed near the greenrider. “Veeth and I have been working on negotiations in that area for some time now.” It didn’t help that his little blue apparently found every female dragon quite pretty and he wanted to show his appreciation. There also seemed to be a bit of determination to win some that issued challenges which Valerian worried about. Would that always be the deal-breaker that sent Veeth chasing outside of their agreed upon limit?

“At least he’s losing so I don’t have to worry about awkward wins.” He stretched out on the bed with a yawn, far more interested in the sleep he was lacking in lately with class, chores, and flights than he was in talking but he’d never turn down time with a friend since he saw them so little.

I won’t always lose, you know. I want to be the best blue for you and the best simply do not settle for last, not even second.

Valerian groaned.

Tell Valerian that if he had picked me, I would not chase after everything.

'You flirt with everything! And then get mad at me for doing the same, don't you see there's no difference there?'

I am not constantly joining flights.

'Because you start them.'

So, that means I do not participate in all of them like Veeth. The name was positively venomous on her tongue. Erisi was convinced not to relay her side of the conversation to Valerian. He could feel her anxiety as she went for a more direct approach. She tried to reach out to Valerian's mind, the very gesture hesitant, and then thinking better of it, pulled back from her attempt to talk to him.

'If you actually liked him, you would pester me instead of him.'

You should feel lucky that I talk to you!

With a roll of his eyes, Erisi's attention returned to Valerian. "Negotiations?" Erisi snorted with barely restrained laughter, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He had rolled back onto his stomach, head turned to face Valerian so his friend could see just how amused he was by him. "What negotiations? I figure you wouldn't have to. Just make sure whatever Green Veeth chases after, the rider is attractive, and you'll be fine." The notion of working out a deal with Veeth sounded ridiculous to him. But, he supposed there was some merit to the thought. Erisi couldn't control Charath rising, but Valerian technically could influence Veeth's decision to chase. Why hadn't Charath been Blue? Would have made things so much easier.

"Technically, Charath can't lose, and that's going to suck in the future. Knowing how vindictive she is, I'll end up with someone I hate every time." Okay, that thought didn't sit well with him. He sighed, deciding it was better to focus on Valerian's predicament rather than his own. "Y'know, Veeth won't lose all the time," he teased.

“Veeth has been showing me how much he likes the company of females and I worry for where this will lead us,” Valerian didn’t have any desire to sleep with the entire weyr like a grand portion of the blueriders seemed to have. Yet on the other hand, he also didn’t want to suppress Veeth’s needs. They would find a happy medium, he was sure of it, but for now they were both still testing the waters and Valerian was just going to have to suck it up and deal with it. I love you for being so understanding. His little dragon knew how to work him.

Valerian groaned again at the reminder that Veeth wouldn’t lose. Was his dragon speaking with Erisi and sharing ways to torment him? “I know but like you said, hopefully the flights he wins will be with greens that have riders I can tolerate.” A sly glance was given to Erisi though he knew before he spoke how ridiculous his idea was before he spoke since their dragons didn’t like each other, “maybe Veeth will win Charath’s flights. That would help us both out.” Although with his luck lately everyone would think they were weyrmated like B’jin and R’nd – though those two most certainly were even without the help of the flights – and that would only add to Erisi’s misery.

"Somewhere good. As a bluerider, flights can't be all that bad. I'm sure Veeth will respect your wishes too if you don't want to join in on one." While Charath's nature as a female dragon suited Erisi's sexual tendencies... it was not ideal. Erisi liked to deliberately pick who he slept with, and as was shown with Charath's first flight, he didn't have much say in the matter. He would have enjoyed it if Valerian had won, but M'bal had been the victor before the flight had begun. While satisfying and amusing at the same time, the flight was a fine example to Erisi of how he was forced to rely on Charath's less-than satisfying integrity in picking partners. The Weyrling suspected that Charath's picks would be far from favorable. It was practically in her nature to make him miserable.

Valerian's idea was far more favorable, but Erisi had the sudden fear that it would never happen because Charath hated him that much. He would like the comfort of knowing who would win Charath's flights, but Charath had never liked Veeth that much. It wasn't so much that she hated him, but that she was insanely jealous of his bond with Valerian. She felt jaded, because Veeth had stolen what she considered to be her's. No matter how many times Erisi insisted that she had picked him over Valerian, she fawned over the other Harper and deeply wished that she could just have Erisi and Valerian both.

He wasn't much of a hopeful individual, but no one could blame him for putting some stake in Valerian's suggestion. "That would be far too much for Charath to give me," he answered with a tired smile. "But, she does like you. Maybe we can try and bargain with her. Can you bargain with a proddy green?"

No.

'If Veeth wins you, I win Valerian, and if I win Valerian, then you win Valerian.' Erisi explained to her carefully.

Veeth does not deserve me.

'Valerian does, besides hate sex is fairly enjoyable too.'

You just want Valerian for yourself. But, maybe she was considering it, underneath her pseudo hate for Erisi and her somewhat more valid hate for Veeth.

'I'd be winning him for you.'

And you. Charath did not seem impressed with the idea, but she rarely was with anything Erisi had to say. I do like Valerian... she finally relented, but Erisi suspected she wasn't really taking to the idea.

"You may have to talk to her too, she loves you more than she loves me." There was a little hope, and Erisi was eager to try for it. He'd much rather end up in bed with Valerian over half of the entire Weyr. He could pick those at his pleasure. Valerian, however, was a much more sensible pick for Charath's flights. Erisi may have been thinking on the assumption that he had some say. "I'll work on her, and maybe we'll both get lucky. You won't sleep around with half the Weyr to sate Veeth's lust, and I won't end up with more dicks shoved up my ass than I can count."

Valerian watched his friend in silent amusement. It was obvious Erisi was having another argument with Charath but he couldn’t tell who was winning. From what he knew about those two, the dragon was, as always, in the lead. As he waited for Erisi to hopefully fill him in, Valerian wondered if he would one day be included in the actual conversations, especially the ones about him. He liked being in the know about things thanks to his natural curiosity but when a conversation about you was taking place around you, it was sort of nice to know all the details instead of just second hand knowledge. Not that he thought either end was slamming him. He was proven correct once Erisi spoke aloud about the green’s love.

“I will. I’m kind of fond of her myself,” Charath might not speak to him but Valerian still adored the playful and affectionate dragon. It was a little disappointing that she didn’t like Veeth as much but both parts of the bluepair were willing to work with or around that grumpiness since they both liked Erisi. Veeth seemed to worry about his fellow Harper more often than not, saying something about the man being lonely or simply needing someone there to show him kindness. Veeth was so adorable and sweet that Valerian wondered how he handled on a constant basis. How did he manage to win over the most precious blue ever was baffling but he was grateful all the same.

“Anyway, you wouldn’t be complaining about the number of dicks if you got to select them. But I’m sure we’ll get something sorted out that all four of us are comfortable with.” He hoped, anyway. In the end, Valerian knew he was just going to have to accept the fact that he was going to be sleeping with people he didn’t really care for and get over it. It was all part of being a dragonrider and he had to admit that between him and Erisi, he definitely had the better deal when it came to some level of control.

"I really should be smart enough to avoid fostering her obsession with you, but at this point I don't think she's willing to drop it." He had hope, in the beginning. Erisi thought it was something that Charath would grow out of, but of course Valerian had to be charming, and of course Charath had to swoon over him. It probably didn't help that his Green silently enjoyed the competition with Veeth for Valerian's attention. Erisi had no idea why she hadn't caught on to the fact that Valerian would always adore Veeth a great deal more than her. Since Charath displayed no signs of giving up, Erisi was slowly starting to learn how to put up with it. He was a jealous individual by nature, and well, he didn't like sharing his sharding dragon. It ruffled his feathers a little whenever Charath doted on Valerian. He didn't necessarily fault the other Harper for it - no one could control Charath, after all.

He was just going to be the Greenrider she didn't really have because she was too busy obsessing over a Bluerider.

You always find something to complain about, Charath pointed out. Erisi was capable of hearing the smugness in his voice, and it made him grimace.

"I wouldn't," Erisi admitted with a casual shrug of his shoulders. There was no point in playing coy with Valerian and pretending he didn't get around as much as he did. Erisi enjoyed sex, and who could really blame him? If Valerian didn't look so sharding exhausted, Erisi would have made multiple moves on him now. In fact, he'd probably still flirt with Valerian anyways, put a little investment in his friend. Don't you dare. You'll embarrass me... again. Oh yeah, he definitely had to get around to flirting before Valerian passed out. Charath deserved some payback.

"I like having the power to choose who I sleep with, and I happen to think I make very good choices," he purred, which seemed to be his usual way of speaking when he wanted something, or when he was feeling particularly self-satisfied. He was probably feeling a little bit of both at the moment, which likely made him insufferable.

Valerian snorted softly at Erisi’s hope that he’d have any power over Charath and her apparent obsession. The little green was virtually unstoppable and even he didn’t always get her to behave as Erisi wanted but he also knew he wasn’t helping the situation. He doted on Charath and encouraged her with affection and the promise of bathing her before sharing an afternoon nap. Valerian liked her and wasn’t about to start ignoring her for Erisi’s ego’s sake. Although he’d try to tone it down if he could but that promise wasn’t made aloud in case it ended up falling flat within days.

I’m not sure why you like her so much. She’s rather mean …and doesn’t like me. Veeth was sulking over the attention Charath was getting but Valerian knew the mood started because of his own confusion over the flights and who he ended up in bed with. I’m sorry, Veeth. None of it is your fault; the flights, my sex life, or even Charath. I like her but I love you. There was a pause of silence that lasted several breaths and finally a reply, I know but she’s just so unpleasant and not at all lady-like. Valerian chuckled inwardly and shook his head. Veeth was adorable and far too sweet.

“I think we all like having the power to choose, Eri,” Valerian was starting to notice that while blueriders did have a lot more freedom given they could usually decide whether they wanted to chase or not, they weren’t all that different from greenriders when it came down to it thanks to being flight drunk. He lost a lot of choice in that matter but he would figure that all out soon enough like he always did. “But I’d say for the most part you’ve been doing well with your choices.” He had almost missed the flirty tone of the comment but even he wasn’t that dense and gave a small crooked smile to go with his words. It was amazing how that one comment lifted his mood. This was familiar; something they had before Impressing and before flights and the drama of going through everything to become a full-fledged dragonrider.

It was because of that familiarity and the friendship he had with Erisi that Valerian pushed aside all of head case issues and mimicked his friend from about a turn before, “wanna make out?” He didn’t think much more than that would happen that night with sulking dragons and their own fatigue creeping up on them but he wanted something enjoyable and Valerian knew Erisi wouldn’t find something to complain about if he had a tongue down his throat.

"She's only risen once, and it wasn't so bad. I can only hope she makes as good of choices as I do." Knowing his own dragon, Charath likely wouldn't. She'd only think about herself, about what male dragon was the most attractive to her in that moment. Erisi hoped that she didn't take to letting Bronzes fly her all the time. He'd been in one unusual situation already - there was no need to let himself be thrust into more. If his dragon had the capacity to be considerate to him during her flight lust, she'd pick Veeth. Perhaps it was a dick move on his part to want his dragon to end up with one she didn't particularly favor. Either way, one of them was going to end up slighted, and the sickening feeling in the pit of his stomach let him know that he had drawn the short stick in their relationship.

Valerian likely witnessed for just a few seconds a genuine smile appearing on Erisi's face. There was a certain flood of nostalgia that came from such a simple question. The Harper had to once again question why it took him so long to realize that Valerian was someone he much preferred to see without clothes on. He supposed it was because he had valued their friendship so much, but then again, he had valued Talian's friendship as well and he had taken full advantage of him. Erisi attributed his error to a long period of blindness induced from not getting laid. It was not a mistake with Valerian that he made since then.

"I wanna do a lot more than make out," he teased, "but I take what I can get." He could feel Charath's annoyance, much like a gnat flitting around his head. But, she was always annoyed with him when he started pursuing someone else's attention. Her love for Valerian made her unusually tolerable of her bonded's physical desire for the Blue Weyrling. I just want to let you know that the moment you get carried away is the moment I decide I will let Gugaroth fly me every time I'm in the mood. Gugaroth's can call you His Queen. It will be adoraaabblllee.

He mentally tried to swat her words away, and only listened just enough to appease his Green before turning against Valerian. A little make out session was certain to life his mood, and it was the best way he could think of to let Valerian know that the man's friendship was valued, but physical gratification was doubly desirable. He didn't wait long to engage his friend in a kiss, a hand moving to rest on Valerian's side while his lips locked to his friend's. Ah, yes, he liked to think that this was how every night should end, or begin.