Delightful Opportunities [R'nd]

Indivara ran a hand back through her hair as she slipped out of the bed that had been confiscated for use by herself and the young bluerider she’d nabbed when his dragon had been outflown. Most riders knew her, now, since the young woman first began dabbling in flight mothing about a turn prior. Not all of them were always happy to see her as they became one with themselves, of course, but Indivara was welcomed happily as often as not. Her partnering choices ranged as a result, from those she knew would be pleased to see her, to those with whom she hadn’t slept. They were usually the most fun, for their reactions were generally extreme.

The blue whose shirt she slipped on grumbled as she left him, and Indivara laughed softly under her breath as she gathered her clothes up. She hadn’t been wearing much to start with; having been made aware Grith was going to fly moments before the green took to the skies, Indivara had removed the nice pants Kerrin had given her at some event or another, so as to avoid damaging them. It wasn’t really that uncommon, to see Indivara trotting across the Weyr in an oversized shirt, it was even less common when Grith was in the sky. She was loud, that green, and Indivara enjoyed getting wrapped up in her flights. It probably helped that Grith liked her, and wasn’t against including her if she was reminded that Indivara wanted to be included.

Clothing shoved under her arm, Indivara slipped out of the room and closed the door behind her, tugging the back of the young man’s shirt down self-consciously – it was a little shorter than she’d have liked – and looked up to see another bluerider leaving a room a few doors down. Indivara’s eyebrows arched curiously as she slipped down toward the door, Blood Sucker popping out of between to land silently on her shoulder, dark tail twining around her neck. Indivara raised her empty hand to pet him, silently quizzing the little fellow on Shit Head’s location; the reply (with Jada) didn’t surprise the girl, though she expected she’d probably get scolded either by the older woman or her dragon for involving herself in a green flight. Eyes rolling, Indivara peered in the half closed door.

The sight of R’nd, sprawled on the bed and not looking in her direction, sparked a devious smirk on the girl’s lips, and she crept inside, slipping by the door without touching it and tossing her clothes aside. A quick glance around had her spotting R’nd’s own shirt, and within moments a swap had been made and Indivara smoothed down the neat fabric even as the other bluerider’s shirt was kicked silently under the bed. Her smirk back in place, and blue firelizard once more on her shoulder, Indivara crept over to the bed, and lightly climbed onto it, crawling closer to R’nd and brushing light fingers over the man’s shoulder blade. Then she sat back, contorting her face into one of mild shock, and waited.

R’nd felt the bed shift and for a moment he thought B’jin was trying to sneak off to either make them some klah or to get ready for one of his classes. Neither seemed all that appealing since it made for a bluerider alone in his bed when he wanted to curl up with his greenrider a bit longer. A pout was given to his pillow but a moment later the bed shifted again and he was the recipient of a gentle touch. Grey eyes bleary blinked open, ready to turn and catch B’jin in a kiss but R’nd realised something was a bit off. For one thing, Ayyonth was snickering in the back of his mind – which wasn’t all that unusual but there was usually a more obvious reason than simply waking up. For another, the wall he stared at wasn’t in the right position as it seemed much further away than his own.

Sudden realisation hit him and sent R’nd back into a clear mind devoid of the flight lust. Grith had flown and Ayyonth thought it was hilarious to give chase again. No doubt he had asked Larrikith first this time given the results of the last time they ended up on her trail and almost winning. R’nd still felt sorry for I’shan but at the same time he was glad his friend won that flight and saved him from having to wake up beside Par’a. Oh. Oh no. Was he in Par’a’s bed? R’nd tensed as he was suddenly aware there was a very high chance that Ayyonth was laughing because they had won and Par’a was the one petting him.

Please don’t be Par’a, please don’t be Par’a…

The mantra was chanted as R’nd gathered up all of his courage and rolled over to see who he had landed in bed with. “Oh, fuck me! Indivara?” R’nd’s shock sent him not only swearing but also scrambling to sit up and get out of the bed only to get tangled up and nearly fall out. He righted himself just in time to keep himself from going for an inelegant dive though he didn’t save himself from flashing his goods to Indivara before quickly covering up again. He wasn’t one to care about nudity or modesty but this was Indivara! She was like a little sister to him. And he had slept with her. Was the room spinning? It seemed a bit fuzzier than it had been thirty seconds ago.

A deep breath didn’t do much but it did help steady the room again and that was about all R’nd could hope for. He knew it wouldn’t remove Indivara from the bed or erase the fact that they had clearly slept together. And she had stolen his shirt. Was that some new trend? Kerrin used to take one here and there, B’jin loved adding his own mark to some while acquiring a collection of clothes, and now Indivara was in his shirt which she was swimming in. He loved seeing B’jin in his shirt, he’d confess to that, even confess to enjoying past lovers borrowing the shirt for a little bit before finding their own clothes but Indivara in his shirt was filled with mixed emotions. It looked good on her but it was Indivara and he knew she was going to swipe it and not just borrow it for a few minutes.

Wait, hold on. Why was she staring at him in shock like that? What had he done to her? He knew she followed flights in the hopes of catching a loser so she was here willingly but perhaps he had been rough or took more than was offered? There was a chance she was simply shocked at being grabbed by him after months of making sure they never crossed paths in the few flights Ayyonth still wanted to enter. Regardless of the why, was an apology enough? Could he even form a sentence? It didn’t look likely right then with how he just sat there in shock, mouth hanging slightly open in his own obvious shock.

Congratulations R'nd, you found a clue!

Clue 16:

This room, unoccupied except for chance encounters such as these, contains little aside from the well-used bed and a single box.

The box, like many others stashed randomly throughout the hall, is filled with paperwork, notes, and personal belongings relocated from the Weyrleader's hut. This one appears to be a spill-over, since most of the material is locked away in some of the other rooms in this corridor.

The piece of paper on the top catches your attention. A packet of papers with the Weyrleader's unmistakable signature is sitting on the top. Should you choose to investigate it, either now or before leaving, you will find a list of riders that D'ren considered suspicious and worthy of careful observation.  Many of them were involved in the burning of Tsuen's hut, but not all. Some of them haven't even gotten in trouble on-record, but were known to hold extremely negative views towards Tsuen or D'ren.

The following riders' names appear on the list with the following notes. It is arranged by color.

M'bal: Hut burning
S'kef: Conspiracy against rivals
D'hys:  Threats towards the Weyrleader, extreme hostility towards certain announcements, unruly outbursts
A'liran: Hut burning, threats towards the Weyrleader, unruly outbursts
J'ver: Conspiracy against rivals

The notes don't go in-depth, or even define what a 'threat' is, but it seems that D'ren had little or no trust for any of these men.

Indivara’s expression contorted as R’nd turned and recognised her, the girl bursting into a peal of giggles at his word choice, watching with sparkling eyes as the man scrabbled away from her. An appreciative smirk followed shortly after, and the girl settled back on the bed, folding her hands in her lap but looking highly amused. No wonder R’nd was so highly spoken of! She giggled again, devious and girly. No wonder B’jin had done such a good job of snagging the bluerider! Another devious giggle and Indivara’s sparkling blue eyes lifted to gaze at the man’s face.

Noting he was examining her state of dress, Indivara tilted her head and did a terrible impression of a girly pose, before giggling again and shrugging the sleeve of one shoulder back up to cover more of herself. Her tiny figure was, indeed, swimming in the large shirt – which was much better than the almost-butt-baring shirt she’d stolen from the bluerider she’d actually slept with. The girl was pretty sure R’nd would prefer her in his shirt to the other, if he were aware that a choice actually existed. She had no plans on making that known, however, and instead adjusted the hem over her knees.

“Do you always look like that after a flight?” Indivara asked with surgery innocence. “I imagine that’s why you’re so well liked, if you keep your mouth open like that all the time.” The girl blinked, charming in her lack of innocence, and smothered another giggle. He was far too much fun, and she’d barely said anything at all! She hadn’t said anything before and he was climbing walls! This was far too much fun! Indivara smiled winningly at R’nd, sweeping her fingers back through her sex mussed hair and attempting to straighten the locks while also getting them out of her face.

“Was that an invite, before, or a statement?” Sugary innocence coated every word as the girl leaned forward, not completely oblivious to the way it caused the shirt she was wearing to gape at the chest. “You really want to be more careful with such phrasing, you know.” Her voice was a conspiring whisper, as if she were informing R’nd of something new and unknown. For all she knew, it probably was for him. R’nd was way too much sugar compared to most of the men at Katila. Even she knew to be careful about around whom she threw the word ‘fuck’. A lot of riders took it as an invitation! Something she’d learned not so much from experience so much as being the daughter of a greenrider. That didn’t stop her filthy mouth, of course, but it did help that she spent most of her time around goldriders. The chance of them taking her up on her bad phrasing was almost  hysterical.

Indivara leaned backwards to sit up properly, one hand lifting to draw the shoulder of her borrowed shirt back up while she smirked deviously. Really, R’nd made it all far too easy! “Well?” sugary sweet, and filled with the promise of amazing things, Indivara wiggled her eyebrows slightly at R’nd.

She was teasing him. Of course she was teasing him! This was Indivara and regardless of what happened after the flight, the girl was tough enough to shake it off – at least for now, R’nd suspected her armour shattered when no one was around and that was something he wished he could help her with. Not that he was willing to offer a comforting hug ever again after this! He could barely look at her, shamed as he was for what he had done to her let alone consider an innocent hug. At least he managed to close his mouth with a slight whimper since words still weren’t agreeing with his tongue. In a way, he appreciated her flattering comments hidden in the teasing but he already knew how amazing he was in bed and how much his partners loved being with him so they weren’t needed. In fact, R’nd felt this was one person he didn’t want to hear it from either. He didn’t need further reminders!

As Indivara leaned in close, the shirt gapping enough to draw a gaze that wasn’t ashamed to appreciate a woman’s figure when she wanted it to be looked over, R’nd nearly fainted at his reaction. His gaze quickly snapped away to stare at his hands which were a nice safe area to stare at. He wouldn’t violate the young woman further by leering! Wait, what did she just say? “Neither,” he finally managed to reply when Indivara waggled her brows at him and suggested he had meant his comment as something to follow up on. In fact, he had barely recalled saying it and it took far too long to replay the horrendous scene of waking up next to his little sister figure. He would definitely have to re-school himself on how to keep from cursing and to guard what word was said around certain people! “I didn’t mean to imply that. I’m sorry.”

He was sorry for quite a few things and while he hoped that apology covered it all, he doubted it would. He needed to apologise for grabbing her to begin with but there was something else that bothered R’nd. Had he hurt her? Risking another glance at the girl, the bluerider was thankful she had sat back and righted the shirt that covered her properly again. Unfortunately with how much it did cover, he couldn’t see if any bruising was starting to show on limbs or torso. It wasn’t that he was an outlandishly mean and rough lover but he was much larger than her petite form and everyone always ended up with a few bruises during flight lust. He didn’t see anything on her face, though, and that helped ease some of his fears. Indivara thought herself ugly with the scarring but R’nd still saw the pretty young girl underneath it and if he had done anything to her face, she would surely think it was done intentionally and as some counter measure to all of his compliments.

Again he looked away from the young woman and fiddled with the thin sheet that covered him. He really needed to get dressed but Indivara had his shirt and his pants weren’t anywhere within sight which meant they were out of reach and he’d have to move. It was strange being modest and trying to find a way to move without exposing himself to Indivara. Maybe he could get the girl to grab them for him or wrap up in the sheet to move around the room? Did it really matter after what they had done, though? She wouldn’t have been affected with lust like he had been and would have remembered all the details of what they did and his body.

Or maybe he’d just lie in bed a bit longer and hope he was having a vivid nightmare. That seemed nice. R’nd flopped back with a sigh, careful to straighten the sheet as he moved to keep himself covered from the waist down despite her bickering with himself moments earlier.

Indivara grinned impishly at the expression of horror on R’nd’s face when he turned to staring at his hands, though the reaction did very little to reassure Indivara to R’nd’s constant assurances that she was pretty; after all, if she were so pretty, he would not look so horrified at glimpsing parts of her, would he? Blood Sucker crooned softly in Indivara’s ear, his eyes swirling gently with concern and adoration for his human. The girl’s expression didn’t alter; however, as R’nd spoke lowly and she gave a snort of amusement.

“Pft,” Indivara snorted, waving it away with an air of entertainment. She tilted her head and arched an eyebrow as R’nd examined her, curious but not unused to such a look. That was the search for damage look, and while the depth of concern varied from partner to partner, Indi could tell (and genuinely knew) that R’nd’s was real. R’nd had a good reputation, though it was often accompanied by grumbling now that he was more or less tied up with B’jin. Indivara’s lips twitched with her amusement.

“Sulking, R’nd?” The girl’s voice contained a giggle as she carefully crept up the bed; Indivara crossed her legs and placed her hands in her lap, placing the shirt as strategically to keep herself covered as R’nd had done with the bed sheet. “’could be worse, you know.” She was smirking wickedly now, peering down at R’nd with an arched eyebrow. “Ayyonth could have won – then you’d be tangled with Par’a.” Indivara laughed delightedly. “Y’know, they say she and B’jin were lovers.” Indivara had never been able to figure out the truth in that, despite being on good terms with her oft-times baby sister. The woman had never denied it, but she’d never confirmed either; Indivara had no idea why they were being so closed mouth about it.

Then again, didn’t she do exactly the same things with the Twins? With that thought, Indivara’s eyes widened slightly, and she gave a soft laugh. If that were the case, chances were they were playing the same game she was. Then again, B’jin was such a prude he may simply want people to shut up and leave him alone. He would be the type to deny all access; Indivara had seen him play dumb when questioned about sexual relationship with R’nd in order to get out of answering questions that made him uncomfortable. Greenriders!

R’nd carefully watched Indivara settle herself down and like any proper bluerider his eyes tracked her hands and the way they covered everything. He didn’t mean to look! It was something so natural that he did it, like flirting, as easily as he breathed without thinking about it. Of course that only made his pouting sulk intensify just in time to further be called out by the girl that was currently making his life miserable. Some days were made to lose the moment you got out of bed and others were lost the moment you woke back up in someone else’s.

At the mentioning of Par’a and winning, R’nd recoiled slightly against his pillow but he thankfully managed to keep from rolling away from the woman that would speak such evil things as he had no desire to land on the floor. He may have slept with Indivara but that didn’t mean he wanted to give her free access to teasing him endlessly by being ungraceful while trying to get out of the sheets. After the last attempt on Grith and the drama-filled outcome, R’nd was pretty sure Ayyonth only chased Grith now to pick on him. His dragon was happy with Larrikith but he did love harassing R’nd and no doubt watching the panic over the possibility of winding up in bed with Par’a was enough for Ayyonth. Well, R’nd hoped anyway.

“I’ve heard the rumour but I don’t believe it,” he didn’t really mean to voice an opinion on the subject but he had and there wasn’t a point in retracting it. It was easy to see when and how they could have hooked up with the way B’jin stayed with Par’a during the post-N’mall era but R’nd didn’t fully buy it. B’jin wasn’t really the sort to return favours or show gratitude through sex and the friendship he still had with Par’a wasn’t the same as what B’jin had with other people. Then again, R’nd was certain that could be said about anyone that had a friendship with Par’a – that woman was weird. On the other hand, with enough wine in anyone, they could be willing to experiment with a close friend. No, he didn’t believe the rumours but why was he thinking about that given his current situation?

Likely because it was easier to deal with.

Going with a thought he had earlier, R’nd threw away any hints of modesty the same time he threw back the sheets. If they had slept together, then the clear-minded young woman would have seen and remembered everything away so what was the point in sulking in bed under the covers like a broken-hearted or shy girl? R’nd got to his feet, surprisingly still in his usual comfort zone while being naked despite the present company, and wandered around the room to find his pants. He really needed to work on his self-control during flight lust and keep his clothes in a neat pile somewhere visible.

The pants were scooped up once they were found but they didn’t even make it up one leg before Rell was popping into existence in front of his face, chattering away at him. Startled, R’nd bounced back a few steps and bumped into the pile of boxes off to the side of the room. Rell was still worried over R’nd’s up and down mood and took up his nattering as he got up in the bluerider’s face again. R’nd patted his shoulder which sent the firelizard to obeying and happily perching on the bare skin while the little head nuzzled at R’nd’s cheek. He may have been horrified at Impressing the little fellow and still didn’t know entirely what he thought about the situation but R’nd was still attached to Rell and hated seeing the blue upset.

Thanks to his nudging, some of the papers on the top of the stack within the boxes shifted and a couple of words caught R’nd’s eye and he frowned. Names of fellow riders in D’ren’s writing. It was obviously an evaluation of some sort and as curious as he was, R’nd wasn’t sure he should go snooping through someone’s paperwork, especially while that someone was sick in bed. Besides, it wasn’t really appropriate reading for his state of undress. Still, it was tempting.

But trying to get his shirt back was currently the bigger priority. “Will I get my shirt back later, Indivara?” he questioned as the pants finally made their way back up long legs.

If Indivara were any other young woman, she would have been preening under the attention R’nd was unintentionally bestowing upon her every moment. The fact that Indivara was not, in fact, preening, was not a testament of the lack of delight she was taking out of the whole situation. She was quite enjoying herself, and more than a little thrilled by the way R’nd kept fighting himself as he did something, realised he shouldn’t have for whatever reason he had, and had a mild panic attack. It was hilarious, and mostly, she was focusing on the hilarity because it was also slightly insulting. Indivara was quite aware of the fact that she wasn’t a particularly attractive young woman; but R’nd always went out of his way to tell her how pretty she was, even when she hit him, and now he was making lies of it all! Men!

“Really?” Indivara asked, none of her irritability showing as her voice was laced instead with amusement and blue eyes sparkled mischievously as she watched R’nd. “Why not? You know he lived with her for several weeks at one point, right?” Everyone knew how into getting laid Par’a was! She made the worse of them look like they had the sex drive of someone like R’nya – which was saying a lot, when one took into consideration how slutty some of the green and blueriders truly were, and how extremely little action R’nya ever seemed to get. He was probably doing all the gold candidates on the side, at any rate, and they were just keeping their mouths shut. She’d have to look into that!

Indivara’s smirk was devious as she teased R’nd about B’jin and Par’a, but it faltered for a moment in surprise when R’nd finally threw off the sheets and started strutting around the room. It didn’t last long, however, before Indivara’s grin was in full swing, laughter brightening curious blue eyes as she watched R’nd unabashedly collecting up what clothing she wasn’t already wearing. So long as the bluerider didn’t find the other shirts she’d stashed under the bed, she’d be fine. That would probably be a little difficult to explain, since it was clearly not one of Indivara’s own… Not that the young woman had much of a personal style beyond stealing other people’s clothing, anyway, two shirts not his own would likely pull the plug on her little charade.

“You have a rather nice bite mark on your shoulder.” Indivara pointed out helpfully, grinning as innocently as she could while her own firelizards took to following Rell’s lead, and appeared from between. Psh gave an indignant scolding as she landed lightly on the bed, the little gold scrabbling across it to crawl into Indivara’s lap, while Blood Sucker landed in his usual routine upon her shoulder, wriggling through the messy strands of the girl’s hair. Indivara pet Shit Head casually as she tilted her head at R’nd playfully.

“You can have it now, if you want,” Indivara purred, fingers leaving the gold firelizard to move dramatically toward the hem of the shirt, the girl watching R’nd deviously from the corner of her eye. She was betting on his stopping her before she’d actually have to play through her bluff. Indivara honestly had very little desire to let R’nd see exactly how extensive the scarring across her chest and shoulders really was. Par’a, and a handful of Healers were the only ones with conscious knowledge of their patterns, and Indivara was inclined to keep it that way. It was why she slept with lust driven dragonriders, and not her friends.

R’nd frowned as he glanced over his unoccupied shoulder and saw the bite mark Indivara was referring to. He sighed and pouted at it the marring of his skin though it would fade in a day or two with no further evidence to show it was ever there. Still, he tried his best not to mark his lovers, couldn’t they do the same? To be fair though, it was harder to control actions while caught up in flight lust so even he could be blamed for a bruise from time to time. Indivara though, had no excuse except that she was a brat that always liked picking on him. “You did a nice job with it.” He ended up saying instead of chiding her for simply getting caught up in the heat of the moment.

Curiosity was strong and R’nd had gone back to the stack of papers as soon as the pants were pulled up and his question asked. He skimmed a couple of notes, grey eyes widening as he realized what he was reading and quickly shuffled everything back into a neat stack, pretending he hadn’t seen anything. He could understand why D’ren would keep track of such behaviours but two ideas hit him as well. Was he on that list somewhere on a sheet he didn’t see? R’nd had tried to stay out of trouble but he had refused to tell the Weyrleader information once and he was a bit protective of friends, especially B’jin which had landed him in bad situations. The other idea was that someone on there could be seen as the person that went after D’ren and be persecuted. That was a terrifying thought and R’nd wondered if he should take the list and hide it or leave it be.

Indivara’s purr pulled R’nd away from the papers before a decision was made as he turned back to her with a nod. “I’ll take it now if you don’t want—Indivara!” R’nd nearly shrieked the girl’s name in scandal as she started to undress. He didn’t want to see her nude! He had slept with her, yes, but that was blissfully foggy in his mind and he didn’t want to actually see someone he viewed as a sister nude! “At least let me find your own shirt for you if you’re that insistent on giving me back mine. I’m not going to let you leave this room wrapped in a sheet.” If he knew his kindness and fear of seeing her exposed were being twisted to counter every single compliment he had ever given, R’nd would have been devastated. R’nd knew without the scarring, she would have a hard time keeping men of any age off of her but with the scars, she was still pretty but with a unique feature. He knew for a fact that Kerrin still looked at her with interest and at least one of the twins seemed to be attracted to Indivara as well. It was a shame the girl never believed in herself despite all of the confidence she could put on for every other aspect of life.

R’nd crouched down and then dropped down to his knees, preparing to look under the bed for any kicked clothing when he stopped and leaned forward onto the mattress, arms crossing over the plush surface and chin dropping to rest atop them. Rell hopped down from his perch after licking R’nd’s cheek and inched a bit closer to Psh to greet her. “I’m sorry, Indivara. If I did or said anything…” R’nd trailed off to frown at what he was trying to say. He knew she would bolt soon, or as soon as she was done teasing him, but R’nd still felt bad for grabbing her and not remembering anything and she deserved an apology. “I don’t know what I’m like in flights but I hope I didn’t scare or harm you.” B’jin had interesting reactions to him a couple of times in the past though it hadn’t been after a flight together but when R’nd sought B’jin out soon after a loss. He wasn’t sure why it seemed to startle or even frighten his lover but something he saw wasn’t normal and R’nd had always been afraid to ask for details.

“I’m sorry I don’t remember our time either.” He felt bad for not remembering more than a fuzzy detail here and a moan there but at the same time, R’nd was glad as well. With a shake of his head to dismiss his strange thoughts and the sombre mood that he was dragging into the room, R’nd gave his young friend an easy smile and pushed back from the bed. “I can at least find a lady her clothing!”

“Thank you,” Indivara replied cheerfully, a lingering tone of laughter woven under the tone as she watched R’nd with dancing blue eyes as he tottered around the room. She wasn’t quite sure where he got the connection between a definitely man-sized bite-mark on his shoulder being appointed to her small mouth. Oh, the words that came out of it were certainly big, but Indivara was pretty sure she couldn’t possibly stretch her jaw to cover that much skin! The girl giggled deviously, lips curling upward into a quirky smirk as R’nd fiddled around in the pile of papers.

Indivara burst into joyful laughter at R’nd’s screech – oh, it was definitely a screech! – and she flicked the shirt back down to cover her thighs once more; it had barely made it an inch up her legs, never mind exposing what was hidden beyond! She would, without a doubt, over think every word and action at a later date – perhaps even rant at Par’a about it – but for now she took the humour in every action, every word and the way the blueriders eyes look at intervals as if they might pop out of his very face. “Don’t you want to trade?” Indivara asked sweetly, grinning impishly when R’nd looked at her. The idea of seeing the proud bluerider trying to squish into her shirt was more than slightly amusing. He’d never do it, of course, but that was okay. Indivara had a good imagination!

“Oh!” Indivara crooned, flopping forward herself to fall onto her tummy, flicking her legs up so her feet flicked back and forward above her arse, and she crossed her arms before R’nd’s, resting her chin upon her own wrists as she peered at him from under her lashes. “Aren’t you sweet!” Darting forward, Indivara pressed a fluttering kiss to R’nd’s nose, pulling back with a wicked cackle so she could admire his response. The girl sniggered at R’nd’s apology for not remembering ‘their time together’, the girl putting on a mocking expression of heartbreak while a hand rose to fall mockingly against her forehead.

“I’m distraught!” She exclaimed, sounding nothing of the sort, before using that same hand to tug down the back of R’nd’s shirt to make sure it did cover her arse after moving around so much. She really wasn’t interested in him getting ideas! Or at least, not ones she was unwilling to indulge him in… Wait, a second. Indivara laughed cheerfully, highly amused as she tilted her head at the bluerider, looking both startled and delighted. “What lady?” Bright blue eyes peered past R’nd’s shoulder mockingly and then then returned to the man’s grey, laughter still bright on the girl’s face. Lady indeed!

Psh gave a gentle chirp, nudging her nose against Rell’s cheek and chittering happily as she curled her tail around herself, sitting primly before the blue firelizard and chattering in a light, lyrical voice that Indivara often bemoaned about being incredibly annoying (of course, most of Psh’s time was spent scolding Indivara.) while Blood Sucker chirped questioningly, and landing on Indivara’s lower back, doing a circle before curling up contentedly and watching the other two firelizards with his mightier-than-thou expression that was clearly inherited from Indivara.

R’nd only blinked at the kiss to his nose, the surprise move being too much for him to compute right away. When it did sink in seconds later he was proud of himself for not shrieking her name again or even gawking at what she did. That was likely in part due to all of her comments and the tone they came in now. She was far too casual about everything and seemed to be delighting in teasing him over everything he said. “You, Indivara,” R’nd responded with a frown to only the question about what lady he had been referring to. He knew she didn’t see herself as one and some days it seemed like she thought of herself as one of the boys, which was fine to the bluerider that had his Holder beliefs and reservations coaxed out of him during exile, but R’nd still clung to hope that one day Indivara would see herself as something more than that; something more than the scarred girl.

Another look was given to the space around him from his new view of sitting on the floor but her clothes were well and truly missing. Did they grow legs and walk off like his own clothing liked to do? That caused a slight quirk of lips into a small grin as R’nd finally bent over to look under the bed. He had found clothing in stranger locations after flights than this and this spot at least made some sort of sense since they could have kicked the items in their frenzied efforts to get horizontal. Oh Faranth! R’nd still couldn’t believe he had slept with Indivara! She was an adoptive little sister of sorts and special to Kerrin; how could he let dragon lust get in the way of his determination to not bed her?

The ball of clothing was spotted and R’nd sprawled out flat on his stomach so he could reach under and pull it out. He didn’t examine the contents, assuming they were Indivara’s shirt and pants and sat up so he could set the clothing on the bed for her. “I think these must be yours.” He hoped, anyway! R’nd also hoped if they weren’t that she would tell him. The idea of Indivara leaving in some random rider’s clothing that had been left there since a previous flight of unknown timing didn’t sit well with him. He’d rather give his friend his shirt which would cover her enough to be an extremely short dress.

Wanting to give her some privacy to change, R’nd turned around and leaned back against the bed, staring at the wall. “You really don’t mind me grabbing you, do you?” His mind, while still a bit groggy from the flight and stunned from the reveal of his partner, had finally made its way back to analysing how Indivara had been acting since he woke up. He knew Indivara could cover up her pain and rejection with a smile but that was usually days after going into seclusion and cursing the existence of whatever had upset her. This seemed different. The girl was either genuinely okay or something else was going on that he hadn’t quite put together yet. With his luck, he was suddenly a part of a bet Indivara had made and won.

Rell gave Psh a quick lick to her cheek in apology for leaving her side and quickly padded across the bed to nuzzle at R’nd’s shoulders and neck in an attempt to cheer him up. R’nd smiled as he felt the blue and he reached back to run his fingers over the long tail but didn’t scoop Rell up as the firelizard curled up on the bed, pressed against R’nd.

Indivara watched with great delight the play of emotions on R’nd’s face, and the way his shoulders would relax, and then tense up suddenly as he apparently thought of something he didn’t like, before managing to side-track his brain again. It was really quite fascinating and Indivara found she was rather enjoying herself. She couldn’t believe it had taken her this long to ‘fly’ with R’nd. If she’d known he’d be this much fun, Indivara was quite sure she would have played this game some time ago!

A little snigger rippled past her lips as R’nd ended up on his tummy, and squirming under the bed to collect her clothes, no doubt, and the ones she had stolen from her real flight partner. Indivara waited with an expectant smirk as he reappeared, looking slightly dusty. Laughing, Indivara leaned forward to swipe at his left cheek, and the dust on it. Sitting back, she turned an expectant look upon the clothing he had tossed to her, and she grinned. “Likely,” she agreed, chirping cheerfully as she fished out her pants and scrambled off the bed. She laughed again when R’nd turned away so she could pull them on, and took the opportunity to exchange his shirt for the one she’d stolen earlier.

While keeping it would prove hilarious by provoking Kerrin, Indivara found she was less inclined to do so; she opted not to think on the ‘whys’ of that, and instead threw the shirt at the back of R’nd’s head. She laughed again, when it caught there and hung. A moment later, the small girl was stepping lightly into R’nd’s space, and curling around him and getting right in his personal space, hands light as they slid up his sides to rest on his chest, she pressed close against him. Indivara smiled sweet up at R’nd, and paused for a moment.

Lowering her lashes, Indivara did her best to pull off a sultry look; it was an expression she obviously hadn’t managed to perfect, and the air of mischief was impossible to miss as she suddenly rose up onto her tip-toes, and whispered as sweetly as she possibly could, “That would require you to actually grab me, now, wouldn’t it?” Dropping to the flats of her feet, stepping back, and removing herself from R’nd’s personal space all in one flowing movement, Indivara grinned brilliantly at the bluerider. She was sorely tempted to flee, and it showed in the way she had rocked onto the balls of her feet and was quite obviously poised to bolt. However, she also desperately wanted to see his reaction!

Brilliant blue eyes sparkled with delighted amusement. Her firelizards, picking up on her desire to flee the room, even if it was laughing wickedly, took to the air, Blood hovering around Indivara’s head as he eyed R’nd off grumpily, while Psh fluttered around anxiously, waiting to see what was expected of her and anxiously fretting over it.

Rell squeaked in surprise when the shirt came flying at R’nd and he took off to perch somewhere a bit safer. R’nd chuckled softly before tugging it from his head and staring at the fabric. He didn’t have time to put it on nor did he even have a chance to wonder if he should offer to take Indivara on a trip between as precaution though it would be an awkward conversation – not like the entire time since waking hadn’t been! But Indivara was in his space and stealing his attention perfectly by pressing close and resting her hands on his chest. He was about to protest the contact when he caught the not quite sultry but far more mischievous look and then tensed when Indivara got on her tip toes to whisper words that nearly had his eyes popping out of his head.

“I… you… wha?” R’nd once again proved how articulate he could be when thrown into something he wasn’t expecting and stood frozen as Indivara bounced away as if she had been taking lessons from Z’ia. He stared at her, that grin that said she was up to something, and the blue eyes alive with devious intent and still it didn’t click together. Had Indivara just admitted to wanting to be with him? Had he been about to find B’jin like he sometimes did after losing but she grabbed him instead? It seemed to be he hadn’t meant to whisk her off to bed with the way she said he hadn’t grabbed her so that had to be the only conclusion, right?

R’nd frowned, about the only thing he was currently able to do as he worked out the latest mystery of his life. Flights could be such a pain sometimes with how much he was left in the dark! Should he apologize again but this time for seeing her as a little sister and while he found her pretty, he didn’t want a physical relationship with her? The girl would likely kill him as soon as the words made it passed his lips but R’nd didn’t know what else to say or do. It was only when he had stared at that innocently evil smile long enough with the words playing over for roughly the fortieth time that R’nd came to a new conclusion.

“Indivara!” Grey eyes were wide with shock and his mouth hung open slightly as he just stared at the girl that had pulled one over on him. She had set it all up, hadn’t she? He had definitely slept with someone, that much was clear but his partner must have hated the post-flight routine and snuck out as soon as he had awoken and Indivara, likely doing the same, saw a prime target still asleep in bed. He should have known better; Indivara, Kerrin, and he all liked to play pranks on each other and teased the others quite a bit so this was a perfect set up the girl couldn’t ignore. How could he be so gullible?

Groaning, R’nd sank down onto the bed and essentially face palmed, holding it for several seconds. He glanced up at Indivara through splayed fingers, almost as if ashamed to face her properly. “I was nude… my apologies…” he felt a bit foolish in truth and he knew Indivara would never let him live it down. He flopped back to lay down on the bed and placed the shirt he still clung to over his face. “Well played, Indivara.”

Rell crooned from across the room and was soon at R’nd’s side once more. He seemed to check his human out for a physical reason he was acting strangely and not finding one, eyed Indivara and Blood Sucker to see if they were the cause. Cautiously he curled up beside R’nd’s head and kept a careful eye on the two that seemed to have such interest in R’nd. Why did so many people always leave R’nd so confused? Rell didn’t understand why friends caused so many strange thoughts.

Indivara watched, and waited, without so much as changing stance or expression – she could practically see the clogs turning ever so slowly over in R’nd’s mind as he tried to put the pieces together. Then, jackpot! Indivara let loose a wicked cackle of laughter as the man finally caught on, the way he yelped her name was far more satisfying than she would have put money on it being, and the girl bowed mockingly.

With all the games they so often played, Indivara was surprised it took R’nd quite so long to put the pieces together! Didn’t dragonriders remember anything from during flightlust? Couldn’t he recall if his partner had been male, or female? If they’d been a fellow dragonrider or not? Questions Indivara was unlikely to receive answers to until the day following her own dragon’s flight, but questions none the less. Those she had prodded for answers had hardly been satisfying and at that point, Indivara was rather sure it was all quite individual. Still! Indivara liked to think herself quite memorable! That, however, left her unsure if she was being complimented or insulted by R’nd believing he had slept with her and so the girl shook it all off.

Blood Sucker chirped in delighted amusement as R’nd collapsed on the bed once more, and Indivara wandered back over towards him, though she kept a carefully safe distance that would allow her to rabbit out of there if he decided to try to pay her back with a sudden flying tackle or some such action. She wouldn’t put it past him! More laughter was the only response R’nd got for his apology, the girl sniggering as she, once more, gave a mocking bow. “My pleasure,” she teased, still smirking like the cat with the cream as she radiated smug.

A hand was waved, brushing away the apologises for the nakedness. She’d practically seen him naked before; actually seeing him naked hadn’t been that much of a shock. Besides, she’d been the one to walk in on him after a flight. Though it would hardly have been outside of Indivara’s personality to throw a tantrum over R’nd’s reaction to a situation that she had put them in, Indivara was in far too good a mood to be unreasonable. Besides, playing sweet was confusing the poor man far more thoroughly!

“I’ve seen worse,” she smirked, the expression manipulating her face as it grew. “Might have seen better, too…” Her eyebrows wiggled slightly, expression devious.

OMG. I left this topic for a month! I AM SO SORRY <33

Indivara’s teasing comment finally earned a reaction out of R’nd more than the laughter had. The shirt was slowly pulled away from his face and his head turned to the side so he could properly glare at the girl. “You most certainly have not,” he stated point blank before an arrogant smirk crept into place. He had seen a large portion of the male dragonriders naked either from bathing or sex or other odd situations life with a dragon tossed them into and R’nd knew he could safely brag about his physique and size. B’jin didn’t seem to have any complaints either but the bluerider wisely didn’t point that out.

He almost didn’t want to get up. R’nd was exhausted from the mental ride Indivara had given him and the sex his mystery partner had given him. Besides, the bed was pretty comfortable. Unfortunately, reality waited outside the door and while he may not have remembered whether he slept with Indivara or not, R’nd did remember his responsibilities he still had to tend to that day and delaying more than needed wouldn’t be appreciated. It was a risk to continue staying prone and vulnerable with Indivara around as well. The girl had already proved the mood she was in and R’nd wasn’t sure if she had any other evil tricks up her sleeves to harass him with.

Rell chirped in surprise when R’nd finally sat up and got to his feet in one quick motion. There was no attempt to go after his tormenter as tossing his shirt on seemed the better option. Indivara would be expecting it now, anyway. It was best to wait a few days to strike back in revenge when it wouldn’t look like that was exactly what he was doing until it was too late. Kerrin was typically easier to fool but he still managed to get Indivara when he tried.

With his shirt on and boots found and grabbed, R’nd finally turned his full attention back onto his young friend. “Would you like a lift home?” He may not have been the rider she had been in bed with and he had never been approached before by Indivara for the trip between many women liked after sex, but R’nd felt it only polite to offer it now, as vague as it was. They were friends and R’nd could only imagine the sigh and look Indivara would receive from mother and dragon alike if she asked for another ride. This would save everyone time but either way, R’nd stood at the door and gestured for Indivara to leave before him. It was best to keep an eye on her a little longer!

Indivara laughed outright at R’nd’s arrogance, delighted as much by the indignant glare as she was by the pointed remark and the tailing smirk that positively oozed self-worth. Blue eyes sparkled even as Indivara rolled them skyward, dramatic and playful in both expression and the sigh she puffed out. “If you insist,” she allowed, throwing R’nd a wink as he began struggling around the room. It looked like the poor dear was tired! Indivara’s grin widened, the smirk wicked in its devious nature though she didn’t utter a single word.

“Please,” Indivara answered R’nd’s question, probably one of the rare times she’d ever said the word around him, and moved across the room, wishing she had a towel in hand to flick at the bluerider’s rear as she passed him by. She hadn’t honestly thought about the trip between when she and her partner had went their separate ways; a lot of riders had stopped offering women trips between as part of doing their due to D’ren’s requirement for babies to begin being born in higher quantity.

It wasn’t that Indivara was ever short of someone to ask for a quick trip, since she had at least a handful of riders she knew she could call on if she were desperate, but tended not to. The fact that most of them would want something in return often put her off. It wasn’t even the threat that they might ask for a tumble – she was sure several of them would love to throw her through the loop by asking for something completely random – but it wasn’t a risk Indivara was particularly keen to take. She rather enjoyed being fairly unobtainable!

“Mother is starting to get D’ren-y,” Indivara added as she looked back over her shoulder to see where R’nd was at, her simple statement making it clear the greenrider was of the opinion that if Indivara wanted a dragon, she’d have to do her part to earn it like all the other women. In reality, her mother was far more eager for Indivara to hang up any ideas of Impressing and be the proper young lady she’d tried so hard to raise – and quite obviously failed miserably at. Indivara was quite sure she would be Impressing a dragon without so much as a vague shadow of a baby.

Indivara was a long way from mother material, and she was quite sure at least everyone in the Weyr would agree, except the people who thought it would be far more entertaining to seriously damage an entire generation. Indivara-spwan. The girl grinned, and shuddered theatrically, quite sure R’nd would know what she was mocking.