Grand Theft Flitter [R'nya]

It likely wasn’t proper but Rhaedalyn did it anyway. It was late into the evening and the bathhouse, while usually crowded in the evening had already quieted down and emptied out by the time she made her way in. That was part of the routine she had created for herself. Late night soaks were nice to unwind with before bed and to clean off the day’s grime before slipping beneath clean sheets but she wasn’t too thrilled with the notion of sharing the tub with a handful of other people. She had her modesty to preserve! She giggled at the memory of getting V’zire, soon after their friendship started, to stand guard by the door so no one would sneak in on her. While she still preferred to avoid sharing bath time with someone else, Rhaedalyn wasn’t nearly that skittish anymore.

Still, she was glad to see the empty room since it meant she could give Muffin and Whisper a bath with her as well. Some people still didn’t trust the firelizards but even more people had issue with seeing them splash around in the humans’ bathing water. But it was so much easier to bathe them all at the same time! Muffin especially liked to splash excessively and Rhaedalyn ended up getting as wet as him if she tried to bathe him on his own. This just saved them time!

Whisper was the easier one to wash and after Rhaedalyn had finished cleaning her own skin, she moved to her little gold and gently worked over each area while also checking for any dry patches. She’d oil them both when they returned home but it never hurt to triple check on such things! Once Whisper was finished, the sweet girl took a lap around the tub before getting out to sit on the edge, air drying and waiting for the others to finish up. She was such a patient little thing – if only Muffin could learn a bit from her! The chase for Muffin began. He continuously splashed around the tub, leading Rhaedalyn from one end to the other before taking off to fly out of her reach. She sighed dramatically, a bit too tired to play their usual games. “Muffin! It won’t take that long. You can go back to playing after.” Bargaining usually didn’t get her far and it didn’t this time either.

Sitting back against the edge, deciding to give Muffin a chance to play a little more and tire himself out, Rhaedalyn figured she could enjoy a little extra relaxing soak. As she sank a little lower so the water came up to her chin, Rhaedalyn froze and squinted at a chair off to the side of the room. She hadn’t noticed before since her back was to it but from her current location and level, it looked like something had been forgotten under the chair. That wasn’t too out of the ordinary given how often clothes were left behind for one reason or another but this looked like something else. Too curious to let it be, Rhaedalyn slipped out of the rub, quickly grabbing her towel as she went to wrap around herself. No point in being on display in case someone walked in!

Crouching down she pulled out the object and gasped with her hands covering her mouth soon after. It was a jar but inside was something she was familiar with. A firelizard egg! Who was the owner? Who would forget it here? Was it forgotten? It was hot in the bathhouse so it wasn’t too bad of a place to keep it warm but why would you leave it alone? Rhaedalyn glanced around as if the owner would suddenly return, knowing he had forgotten the egg behind and someone was looking at it. What if he didn’t return? What if it was purposely abandoned? Rhaedalyn worried her lower lip as she thought about all the scenarios. Whisper and even Muffin came over to see what was causing her distress and Muffin nuzzled at a hand while Whisper peered inside the pot and then back at the young woman.

Rhaedalyn knew what was wanted even before Whisper started chittering at her. They couldn’t leave the egg to fate and hope the original owner would come back! Before she second guessed herself, Rhaedalyn was tossing her clothes on and gathering up all of her belongings before staring down at the jar. Muffin was on her shoulder and even he had taken up the urging to help the egg and before she knew what she was doing, Rhaedalyn plucked the egg from the jar and wrapped it in her towel and took off running from the bathhouse.

Oh, what had she done? She should turn around and put it back! Her firelizards wouldn’t let her though and neither would her conscious. The poor thing could die or hatch without anyone around and go feral where it risked so many dangers! She had to tell someone though! V’zire was the first one to her mind, naturally, but her sweet greenrider didn’t overly like flitters  and while he tolerated her little group, Rhaedalyn didn’t want to approach him at a late hour, invading his home and subjecting him to her babbling. Kahleena would gush over it with her and then join in the fretting. Mevrit would tell her to find the real owner and question if she really needed a third firelizard. That left one person she could trust who would also know what to do.

It was a long trek by foot from bathhouse to hut but Rhaedalyn eventually made it though she had stopped her jog a few huts away so her breath could be caught. She also took a moment to keep an eye out for the great bronze that never seemed amused to see her. In fact, she was certain he rolled his eyes at times. Was that even possible? Peeking around a corner she saw Xyreith and gave a little wave as she tip toed to the door. “R’nya!” She whisper-yelled his name through the door she knocked upon. There was a chance he was asleep but she was willing to risk it, just like she was risking her image by showing up at a man’s door at such an hour with her hair still damp from the bath and looking slightly dishevelled.  “R’nya, I need you!”

R’nya’s evening had been neither here nor there, as the young man went about his usual tasks. Eating, required conversations, bathing, and then finally he had made it back to his hut, somewhere in the vicinity of nine in the evening. He was not one to hang around the dining hall and eat or drink or laugh or play betting games, and as a result, R’nya’s habits tended to horrify many of his other dragonrider brethren. Early nights, early mornings, and very little alcohol; such was that very evening.

R’nya was in bed, despite the generally ‘early’ hour – particularly by other dragonriders’ standards – and quite on the edge of sleeping when Xyreith informed him that company was on the way. R’nya was not pleased, and frowned irritably in the direction of his dragon, stormy grey eyes refusing to open. Tell him I’m asleep. It was an irritated thought, and Xyreith snorted at his human’s assumption that the approach was by a man. He could easily tell R’nya figured it was probably S’kef, though the man had no founding reason why the Weyrleader would opt to visit him late at night. The sudden remembrance of the awful story found on the bulletin board had R’nya’s eyes rolling dramatically while Xyreith laughed.

It is one of the idiot girls, Xyreith put in after a moment, still highly amused, and R’nya groaned. Whether it was at Xyreith’s insistence to refer to the various young women by insulting terms and phrases, or the fact that he was being pounced upon by a young woman after dark when they knew he went to bed early, was hard to determine. The bronzerider rubbed the bridge of his nose as he slipped out of bed and stalked irritably across the room, pausing when he got to the door to compose himself before swinging the door open, one eyebrow arched up as he looked questioningly at… Rhaedalyn.

Damn it Xyreith! The dragon just laughed, his eyes sparkling a rare and vibrant blue as he peered up at his shirtless human and the girl who would undoubtedly be all kinds of flustered in less than a heartbeat. The bronzerider was wearing no more than a pair of long, loose and low slung cotton pants. His feet bare, and hair sticking out in a variety of directions as it fluffed up after being washed earlier; the usually incredibly dignified bronzerider looked little more than a harshly woken teen as he tried very hard not to glare sullenly at Rhaedalyn.

“Come in, Rhaedalyn,” R’nya’s voice was as mild as ever as he stood back, one arm sweeping slightly to invite the young woman in. He waited patiently for the girl to collect herself and enter, before quietly closing the door and following her into the main room. “Why do you need me?” He sincerely hoped this wasn’t another attempt to have him sleep with her. She was a lovely young lady, truly, but he really—Xyreith burst into laughter once more, the sound rolling through the back of R’nya’s mind, and the man resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose again.

Retaining his quiet, unruffled air with some effort – he was tired – R’nya walked sedately over to the couch and settled himself on one end, posture as perfect as ever, and waited patiently for Rhaedalyn to explain what had her so worked up – all the while hoping it was something easily dealt with, and trying to ignore Xyreith’s sniggering in the back of his mind. What had he done to deserve this? The bronze dragon’s laughter intensified.

Rhaedalyn gasped when the door opened and not because of the lack of clothing R’nya had on. She had been nearly glued to the door as she knocked and whispered for assistance and the sudden swinging of the door startled her. Eyes normal wide with innocence were now full of fear as she stared up at R’nya’s face, a small part of her acknowledging his rumpled hair but not truly comprehending it. When he offered her a path inside Rhaedalyn only nodded and scurried in with only a quick look about her. Surely someone must be on to her smuggling an egg that wasn’t hers!

“I…” Rhaedalyn hesitated, suddenly afraid R’nya was going to hate her and wouldn’t help her. Why had she come to him? He was a wonderful friend and put up with so much, even helped when he could, but he hadn’t helped her in her biggest time of need before when she had to lose her virginity in order to Stand. Why would R’nya help now that she was a criminal? Still, he was a friend and even a safe haven so surely he would help in this matter, especially since it didn’t require them …being physical. “I…” No, it seemed she still couldn’t say it and nearly threw herself onto his couch.

She didn’t stay there for long as Rhaedalyn nearly melted onto the floor, dropping to her knees and kneeling before a table. “Oh, R’nya! I don’t know what to do!” her lower lip trembled as Rhaedalyn did her best to fight back the tears that wanted to spill. She couldn’t cry! At least, not now. Once R’nya yelled at her and threw her out she could cry but she had to be strong first. Silently she placed her bundle on the table and slowly unwrapped the towel to reveal the egg for R’nya.

Whisper landed on the table and nudged Rhaedalyn’s head, giving her a little head butt of encouragement. Muffin had already grown bored and was off exploring R’nya’s hut, looking for something to play with. “I… I stole it. It was left in the bathhouse and no one was around and I was worried about the little thing and that maybe it might die there or it would hatch and go feral and then it would have to deal with wherries and tunnel snakes and who knows what else so I couldn’t leave, I really couldn’t but now I’m a thief!” Rhaedalyn took a large gasping breath after having rambled too much and looked up helplessly at R’nya. The bronzerider could fix this, she knew he could!

An eyebrow inched up at Rhaedalyn’s first attempt to speak, indicating he was listening and waiting to hear what she had to say. When she repeated the same letter, that single word, R’nya’s eyebrow slid further up. He was using every inch of his usually easily-obtained patience not to demand to know what she was so worked up about and R’nya startled visibly when Rhaedalyn toppled to the floor. What in the sweet name of Faranth had the girl so worked up?!

Xyreith’s constant rolling levels of amusement did little to sooth the grumpy, sleepy bronzerider who was looking forward to a good night’s sleep and was now quite convinced he’d be lucky to get any sleep at all. Why did the girls have to be so demanding of his time? It was sleeping time! He wanted to sleep – and couldn’t stop the dry, childish quip of “obviously” before it had slipped by his lips. It was only after he had spoken the word that R’nya saw how close Rhaedalyn was to tears, and the man frowned visibly, convinced he’d just brought the girl from anxious to distraught with one word. Wonderful. Now he really wouldn’t get to sleep!

The revelation of a firelizard egg was not what R’nya had been expecting, in the slightest, and he stared down at it with a slightly unfocused look for a moment before shifting his tired, irritated, eyes to look at Rhaedalyn’s distraught features. “Rhaedalyn.” The name was spoken on a huffing sigh, and R’nya pushed himself off the couch to sit with only some grace on the floor near the girl. One elbow claimed the table, and he rubbed his face with the other hand. “Silly girl, firelizards do just fine on their own.” Only that wasn’t the right answer – he could tell by the way Xyreith was just about doing cartwheels of glee through the back of his mind, wetting himself laughing the entire time. The deep rumbles coming from outside were hardly subtle.

“You can’t steal what has been put aside,” he added after a moment, trying vainly to fix things while fighting fatigue and wondering how he was supposed to fix the girl’s overactive imagination. She’d clearly decided she was a terrible person even though she was also convinced she’d acted in the best possible manner the situation had to offer. “You should not wrap it in a wet towel,” R’nya murmured suddenly and completely out of the blue. He struggled to his feet and made his way with calm, clear steps to the kitchen.

A moment later, the bronzerider came walking back, looking slightly more alive after subtly washing his face while in the kitchen. A pot was in his hands, small and made of thick ceramic. It would hold as many as three of the small firelizard eggs, but was not so roomy that a single one would become lost in it. He rubbed his temple slightly when he realised he had nothing to put in it. Putting the pot down on the table beside the girl, R’nya strode to the door and opened it. “Go get some sand… Just do it… No, now…” shaking his head, R’nya crossed his arms over his chest before stepping outside a moment later when Xyreith reappeared with his paws cupped together and holding enough sand for at least six of the mugs.

R’nya scooped some into his own hands, then directed Xyreith to drop the rest beside the door, not in the way, and nodded when his dragon did as requested. R’nya slipped back inside, and dumped his handful of sand into the little pot, getting not some small amount on the table and the floor, then brushed his hands together. “Put it in that, Rhae,” he didn’t even notice the rather dramatic slip up as he went to put some water on to boil. How hard was the egg? Was he going to be stuck housing it for the girl? He’d be damned fi he wanted to impress the creature within it.

“Want Klah?”

LOL. That is all.

Silly girl.

Yes, she supposed that was exactly what she was. No, she knew that was what she was. Rhaedalyn, the silly little girl who dreams too big and will never achieve what she wants. She hadn’t been married off at the appropriate age, had failed in the endeavours she had been kidnapped for, and even thought she had a shot of sleeping with a friend to help her qualify for dragon. R’nya hadn’t said it then when he turned her down but she knew he had been thinking it. Silly girl, like a distinguished bronzerider would sleep with someone like you! She didn’t even know that firelizards would be fine on their own in the wild!

So focused on not crying in front of R’nya, Rhaedalyn missed everything else he said after that and startled slightly as he got up and left. She stared at his retreating form with unfocused eyes and then shifted her puzzled gaze to the pot set on the table. As R’nya wandered off again, Rhaedalyn poked at the pot and ran her fingers along its lip, trying to decide what she was supposed to do and what her friend – he was a still a friend, right? – was up to. Vaguely she heard the bronzerider speaking to Xyreith but Rhaedalyn was too upset to even come up with what the conversation was about. Likely it was asking the bronze to escort her home and never allow her back near the hut again.

Whisper sat on the table staring at Rhaedalyn and chirped in surprise when the girl startled once more with R’nya returning to fill the pot with sand. The gold flitter took off to circle around the hut to find Muffin, leaving Rhaedalyn to stare up at R’nya as if he had grown another head. She nodded at the order and carefully arranged the little egg in the dirt. Only when she was done did the nickname uttered from lips always set so seriously sink in. It probably only showed how silly she was but Rhaedalyn smiled softly and relaxed a little, under the belief she wasn’t about to lose a friend. “Oh, no thank you. I’d be up all night if I had klah at this hour.” It was kind of R’nya to offer but she didn’t want to impose so much on the man and to help show her appreciation for his assistance, Rhaedalyn brushed up the spilled dirt with her hands to dump what was collected into the pot and used her damp towel to absorb the bits she couldn’t get. She’d wash the towel tomorrow if the skies were clear enough to hang laundry up outside.

Scrambling up to her feet, Rhaedalyn dusted herself off and relocated to the couch, arranging her skirts in a neat fashion. She needed to thank R’nya but was currently unable to think of a way and she supposed she should ask him if she should put up a sign for a missing egg. Surely someone was looking for it by now, right? Then again, they weren’t all that difficult to find now that people knew where to look and when so it might never be missed.

Rhaedalyn smiled when she saw Whisper go to the kitchen to check on R’nya but it was a gasp that Muffin earned when hazel eyes spotted the daring blue zip into the bronzerider’s bedroom. He shouldn’t be in there! She had to get him out of there but she certainly wasn’t going to go sneaking into the bedroom without permission either. “Muffin, you troublemaker,” so long as he didn’t break or ruin anything, it would be okay, right?

R’nya would probably be up all night if he had klah at this hour, but he was at the point where he was almost asleep on his feet at any rate, face washing and eye scrubbing aside, and was starting to think he would simply drop into a dead sleep on the spot. That would certainly frighten the Faranth out of Rhaedalyn, and as grumpy as R’nya was at that moment, her certainly did not want to give the poor girl a heart attack. Perhaps he’d just breathe the fumes for a few minutes while the stuff boiled. That would probably wake him up a little.

Would you shut up? The thought was ground out irritably between the waves of amusement that were rolling off Xyreith. The great bronze dragon dulled his amusement a little, but was unable to completely be rid of it. Of course, sir. R’nya could hear the multitude of amusement in the simple statement, and bit his tongue to keep from snapping irritably at the beast. Xyreith, naturally, sensed his rider’s thin grasp on restraint and withdrew with a last snicker, curling up in his spot and tucking his head under one wing. Well, he might as well get some sleep, then! R’nya groaned softly under his breath.

A few moments later, R’nya wandered back out towards the living area, a mug of tea in hand, though the liquid would undoubtedly be somewhat stronger than he would enjoy; R’nya did not really enjoy tea to start with. However, it would not keep him up as long as a mug of klah would; at least one of them had brains to realise that. He would hate to be a grumpy bastard on the morrow. Rhaedalyn would undoubtedly blame herself, and then there would be the drama the young woman would go through when she tried to explain that she was the reason R’nya had gotten no sleep. Then, of course, she would realise what people would assume and that would be a whole new level of watching Rhaedalyn flounder around.

Xyreith’s body shook from suppressed laughter at that, the dragon barely refraining from drowning his grumpy rider in it as he threw in a quick quip about the fact that Rhaedalyn had even asked him for his time. Moreover, that he had said no. R’nya shoved him off in irritation; snapping mentally and making Xyreith finally quieten up. R’nya sighed into his tea, masking the action as a gentle breath to cool the liquid before taking a sip. An eyebrow arched up at Rhaedalyn when he processed her comment to Muffin, then he frowned slightly. Whisper’s little feet were clutching at his bare shoulder, the small creature having landed there at some point during his drink preparation. They were sharp little claws, but it was concern about what the little blue was up to that had the bronzerider frowning ever so slightly.

“What did he do?” Rhaedalyn was not fluttering around offering a million and one apologise, so R’nya assumed it could not have been very bad. He did not have all that much in his possession that could be damaged by a firelizard, but he would also rather not issue a challenge for the creature. The bronzerider blinked. “Where is he?”

“Nothing! Nowhere!” Rhaedalyn blurted out quickly when she was put to the question. She was horrible under pressure and R’nya would already know he didn’t need to ask a second time. Her guilt over the action or trying to lie would be enough to send the young woman spiralling into a proper explanation soon enough. It was just a difficult position to be in! Her adorable Muffin was getting into mischief so she wanted to keep him safe but R’nya was one of her precious friends and she didn’t want to be on his bad side. She was still convinced she had lost a lot of points with the bronzerider that night already with her egg and silly behaviour.

“I don’t think he’s done anything… yet…” that much was true. Rhaedalyn hadn’t seen Muffin get into any trouble but she had no way of knowing if he would or if he already had while out of sight. He was so adventurous! She adored that about her little blue but it could be so tiring at times! “And he’s… in your bedroom. I’m sorry!” The apology was rushed out almost on top of the other words as Rhaedalyn did her best to make sure R’nya knew she didn’t mean to cause him any trouble. Sensing Rhaedalyn’s distress, Whisper delicately took off from R’nya’s shoulder to go find Muffin, chide him, and send him back to the main room. Rhaedalyn was positively scandalized that both had gone into the bedroom uninvited now and she jumped to her feet, about to chase after them herself when she realized she’d also be entering the man’s sleeping quarters after sunset.

Flushing furiously, Rhaedalyn turned back to R’nya to issue another apology but something else caught her eye instead. He was barely dressed! Had he removed his shirt while making tea? Had she actually not noticed he was dressed in only pants since arriving? A little squeak of a sound escaped as Rhaedalyn stared wide-eyed for longer than she really should have and finally dropped to the ground to sit by the table and her new egg. She did her best to feign interest in the jar and not pay any mind to the fact that R’nya was nearly nude in her presence. She was so embarrassed!

Oh!

Oh no!

A horrible thought hit her and once again horrified, Rhaedalyn’s gaze darted between bedroom door and R’nya’s chest. “I’m so sorry, R’nya! I didn’t think! You have someone in your bedroom, don’t you? I’m sorry I interrupted! And now Whisper and Muffin are in there.”

R’nya blinked again, a fluttering of lashes as the action was repeated several times at Rhaedalyn’s swift denial of Muffin being anywhere, or doing anything – notably things he should not be doing. The bronzerider’s eyebrows slowly lowered into a frown and he took another sip of his tea, refraining from grimacing at the less than favoured flavour. Rhaedalyn filled the silence with another statement, and R’nya’s eyebrows shot back up his forehead, eyes snapping to meet Rhaedalyn’s. “I see.” Well, at least if he had not ruined anything yet, he might not ruin anything at all. Muffin was not the type of firelizard to wait until you least expected it (at least in R’nya’s experience) and if he were going to break something, he would already be aware of the breakage.

“My bedroom?” If R’nya had ever drawled anything before, it was nothing to the flat, dry tone of voice he used in that moment. Of course the firelizard was in his bedroom. Where else would a little critter like Muffin go? A blue, no less, that had no idea how to mind his manners or keep his nose out of trouble. Like all blues, he never put himself in bad trouble – he was just consistently annoying. R’nya smiled against the lip of his cup, sipping the liquid, watching placidly as Whisper took off to scold her companion and Rhaedalyn began dancing around on the spot.

The girl was blushing again. R’nya lowered his cup slowly, frowning at her in a manner that invited her to state whatever it was that had the flush on her cheeks deepening suddenly and the way she was looking so horrified. Whatever was the silly girl getting excited about now? R’nya blinked, before jerking his head back in surprise at the suddenly scandalised girl’s words. “What?!” Startled, R’nya’s voice was a jarring yelp of a whisper. “Rhaedalyn!” Scandalised, R’nya stared at her. “I most certainly do not!” Great Faranth is that why she was all flushed up!? Was she imagining… R’nya’s face heated up slowly, and he shook his head firmly.

“Why would you think that?” He was not even sure he really wanted to know, but at least if the silly woman told him what had put such a ridiculous notion in her head, he could avoid letting her think it again! Honestly!

Rhaedalyn felt completely foolish but also mortified at the idea that she might be right and there was someone hiding in the bedroom, surrounded now by firelizards. Was she right? Was that just something she made up and it felt possible? “Um, well, you’re…” she couldn’t find any further words to describe how completely lacking in clothing R’nya was and she waved a hand at her friend to indicate his appearance. Her lower lip suddenly became quite tasty as she worried it between teeth, gaze going between shocked bronzerider and bedroom entrance. No one was screaming about a flitter in their face so that was a good start!

Unless the person was sleeping and was now surrounded! That would be a horrifying thing to wake up to if you were expecting it! Rhaedalyn was used to having at least one of her companions sleeping on the pillow with her but the poor person in bed right now might not be! Rhaedalyn suspected that even R’nya was used to it now with how often Whisper disappeared and came back with tales about Xyreith and his rider.

Cautiously she took a few steps toward the bedroom, hands clasped together and a thumb knuckle now being nibbled on as she moved. R’nya would never let her inside ever again and that would be horrible! She’d miss out on so much fun when he hosted some of the girls for an evening and Kahleena would be disappointed with her. “Muffin, Whisper. Oh would you both please come here,” desperation was obvious in her voice and it was enough to send the gold fleeing the darkened room and go to arms that were quickly outstretched to catch and cradle the girl. Muffin, naturally, didn’t come. He wasn’t necessarily a bad flit but he wasn’t one to like listening either.

“Maybe if I collect my things and leave, he’ll come as well and leave you … both?... alone.” She was confused along with worried and it was obvious.

R’nya shook his head slightly, his tired brain trying to comprehend what it was that Rhaedalyn’s apparently far too active one was trying to explain to him. He was what? Grey eyes blinked when she waved her hand vaguely in his direction, and eyebrows arched slightly, questioningly. She’s referring to your lack of clothing, Sir, Xyreith put in with amusement, and R’nya’s raised eyebrows knit into a frown, before smoothing out into a dry expression of amusement. “Interrupted a lot of men at bed time, lady Rhaedalyn?” he teased, catching on with Xyreith’s assistance and more than a little amused by the girl, and more than a little horrified that she might actually have seen her share of rumpled looking men.

“There is no one in there,” R’nya continued, watching as Rhaedalyn crept towards the doorway as subtly as she could, and he stepped closer, lightly placing a hand on the small of her back and encouraging her to walk to the doorway. “See?” Removing his hand, R’nya wrapped it once more around his cup of tea, letting the warmth seep through and into both hands. The taste was less than pleasant, but the gentle warmth was certainly enjoyable! “I hardly think I would manage to keep such a secret, my dear.” The teasing tone was back, “your firelizards have a habit of gossiping.”

Turning away so she wouldn’t see his smile, and not at all worried by the firelizard likely making a mess in his bedroom, R’nya sat down on the couch and eyed the egg sitting in the little jar of sand for a few moments. “Did you want to leave this here?” He tapped the table near the base of the jar, indicating the firelizard egg, before quirking a brow at the girl questioningly. “I do not wish to Impress one, so if you do want to leave it here, you will want to be present when it hatches or I will have Xyreith spook it off.”

Or eat it. R’nya made no effort to hide his eye rolling response to the dragon and shot the wall behind which Xyreith was located a bland look.

“No!” Rhaedalyn squeaked the word out in a high pitched tone, utterly horrified at such a suggestion, even if it was meant to tease her. “I… only once… kind of… I was with him… so not really interrupted but… no!” Her face was burning up and the back of her hands were soon on her cheeks, trying her best to will them back to her pale complexion’s colouring and to take away some of the warmth. In the process, she ended up pushing her lips together to make the so-called ‘fish face’ appearance which only would have embarrassed her further – beyond what her babbling had already done – if she realized it.

A few stumbling steps forward were taken but not so much by choice but more thanks to R’nya’s urging with the nudge that she peek in. Rhaedalyn looked back once at the bronzerider before taking a deep breath to peer within the bedroom. For all she knew there was a lover hiding on the other side of the bed or in the closet but there definitely wasn’t anyone within her line of sight. Besides, R’nya made an excellent point by stating her firelizards liked to gossip. “Yes, I suppose they are good at sharing what they’ve seen.” There had been nights where Muffin came back with images she most certainly didn’t need to see! She was thankful her little blue hadn’t shared with Kahleena yet since that particular friend seemed the sort to faint at such friendly interactions.

As she was turning away, Rhaedalyn heard Muffin chirp before clothing rustled but she left the boy to do as he pleased since R’nya was distracting her now with the reason she was there to begin with. “Oh! No, I couldn’t ask you to keep watch over it! I’ve already taken up so much of your time and imposed as it is. It’d be beyond rude, well more so than what I’ve already done since that’s been pretty rude as well, but no. I’ll bring it back with me but I’ll definitely bring the pot back to you once the egg has hatched!” Rhaedalyn quickly moved around her barely dressed friend to collect her items, flinging the towel over a shoulder, before carefully picking up the pot. Whisper took up residence on her open shoulder and Rhaedalyn stared up at R’nya, confusion evident in hazel eyes as she tried to figure out what else to say.

“I’m really sorry for bothering you so late, Ren… R’nya.” It really didn’t seem appropriate to use casual nicknames given the hour and their current attires. “And um, Muffin might be sleeping on your clothes. I’m sorry!” She was absolutely devastated at how horrible their time together had gone. She was turning into such a bad friend and Rhaedalyn was almost convinced R’nya would never open his door to her again.

Eyebrows arched up in amusement as Rhaedalyn came scrambling back, babbling once more though notably without the odd expression that had resulted of nervous face squishing. That had been a whole new level of adorable, And hilarious, Xyreith added, to which R’nya allowed with a slight nod of his head. The bronzerider shook his head slightly as Rhaedalyn picked up the pot, never stopping in all her anxious babbling. “Relax, Rhaedalyn.” How the girl kept up with her own high-strung emotions, R’nya had no idea. How she managed it at such a late hour he had even less understanding!

“It is okay, Rhaedalyn.” R’nya sighed softly, wondering if the young woman was listening to him at all; she certainly did not look like she was paying a lick of attention as she fussed around, collecting her things – and his things – and random things. She was leaving her firelizards apparently and R’nya shook his head in tired bemusement. The girl made no sense, the bronzerider frowning slightly as another apology was babbled amongst all the other words. A tired hand rubbed lightly at R’nya’s temple as he fought off a headache.

“Rhaedalyn.” R’nya waited until he was sure he had the fretting young woman’s attention, lifting pale blue eyes to stare at her pointedly. “It is fine,” the third word was emphasised with quiet insistence. The last thing he needed was for the poor girl to feel as if she could not come to him when she needed his attention (so long as it was purely platonic!) and she was clearly working herself up as though she would never be welcome near him again. She was truly exhausting! Dunno why you bother, Xyreith put in snidely. R’nya ignored him.

“It is fine.” He repeated, just to make sure she heard.

It was a good thing R’nya continued to stress everything was fine as the first couple of attempts went by unnoticed as Rhaedalyn moved around the living area making sure she didn’t leave something in the way and a firelizard didn’t break anything. Finally, her name that seemed so carefully pronounced for emphasis struck her and Rhaedalyn timidly looked up at R’nya. She was about to be told to leave and never return, she knew it yet she couldn’t beat him to the punch and stood there on the verge of tears. She had ruined his night by waking him up, barging into his house – although was it really still barging when polite knocking was involved and R’nya willingly let her in? R’nya wasn’t even properly dressed! That reminder brought another flush creeping over her cheeks and Rhaedalyn wondered when the ground would open up and swallow her to end the nightmare she brought upon them. Maybe Xyreith would eat her on the way out? He always looked at her like he thought it would be a fun activity.

When her sweet bronzerider stated twice it was fine, Rhaedalyn stared in disbelief for several seconds, eyes shining with unshed tears, and then finally nodded in understanding. It was fine. Muffin sleeping on his clothes was fine. Borrowing a pot was fine. Interrupting his rest was fine. It was all fine. “Thank you, R’nya,” she spoke softly, the energy she had left between bath time and bedtime finally starting to drain away after the flurry of emotions and activity. The pot with the newly acquired egg snugly nestled within was held tight to her chest, the way she used to and sometimes still managed to carry Muffin.

Still, even with everything being okay between them, Rhaedalyn knew she had to leave and not linger. R’nya needed his sleep and she liked the idea of curling up in bed as well – her own bed! As she glanced up at her friend once more, there was the strong urge to tease R’nya about the state of his hair and to even run her fingers through it in an attempt to fix it or even make it worse but she refrained. It was something she’d done before and likely still would in the future but right then, Rhaedalyn wanted to keep her hands to herself and not embarrass herself any further than she already had. “I’m sure Muffin will leave soon and I have Whisper with--” and suddenly she didn’t have either flitter. Whisper took off again for the bedroom and Rhaedalyn wanted to cry all over again. She didn’t but a sigh was given instead.

“They both seem good at listening to you so if it’s okay, can the stay until you ask them to return to me?” Rhaedalyn knew she could have done a better job at training her little blue and gold despite them being far more behaved than some of the firelizards zipping around the Weyr. It was a little embarrassing and sometimes she wondered if her lack of discipline was why a dragonet never chose her but it wasn’t something to dwell on that night. With a faint apologetic smile, a few baby steps were taken as she inched towards the door.

R’nya stood up quietly, watching as Rhaedalyn inched towards the door with her tiny smile. He had seen the glistening tears hiding behind her long lashes, however, and the bronzerider was quite aware of how close the girl had come to falling apart. He was pleased, and very proud, of her for managing to compose herself, but he was also far from fooled. “Of course they can stay.” R’nya spoke softly, a bemused expression brightening tired eyes as he shook his head at Rhaedalyn asking such a silly request.

Walking lightly around the table, the bronzerider followed Rhaedalyn when she took the initiative and made her way to the door, reaching out lightly to touch her elbow before she could turn the handle, blue eyes frowning when she turned to face him. “Please relax, Rhaedalyn.” R’nya stressed, refusing to quit echoing the same words until the girl did so. There was no need to be uptight around him! He was her friend, and she’d have to do a lot worse to piss him off enough to take that away from her. “You are always welcome.” Intense blue eyes studied her face, before nodding slightly and turning his gaze away, fingers leaving her elbow to open the door, unwilling to give the girl any cause to get the wrong idea.

“Let me know when it hatches,” he added lowly, almost managing a smile as his expression brightened and his gaze shifted to the little egg snug in the sandy jar. He lifted his eyes to meet her own, and tipped his head slightly in a nod. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Xyreith is in need of a bath, if you and the other young ladies are interested.” Great. Sarcasm dripped from the dragon’s voice, but the sudden swirl of pleased colours in his eyes displayed his delight in an extended bath, accompanied most likely by a dedicated oiling. The girls were annoying as fuck, but they were careful to cater to his silent demands!

The only thing that saved Rhaedalyn’s mood from dropping into despair was the fact that R’nya seemed incapable of lying even if the reason was to protect someone’s feelings. She believed his words and knew she was always welcomed in his home but she did still feel a bit horrible for disturbing him so much at such an hour. Something would have to be done as a gift of apology but right then, nothing came to mind. She was emotionally drained and exhaustion from a busy day had finally caught up to her, which the walk back to the Candidate Barracks would only highlight and be what she needed to calm down the racing mind and crash into bed.

“Oh, I definitely will!” Rhaedalyn nearly bounced on the balls of her feet when she heard the genuine interest in the hatching of her new egg and saw the bright expression. When they had first met, it was hard to read the man and Rhaedalyn worried he didn’t like her or anyone but after some time together, she started to see the slight differences in expressions and could pick out when he was annoyed, playful, or happy. It was rather impressive how R’nya managed to convey so many emotions through quirking his eyebrows! “Let’s hope it has better timing than I do for making an appearance,” she teased herself with a small giggle. If the egg hatched in the middle of the night, she’d definitely wait to tell R’nya at breakfast!

At the invitation to help bathe Xyreith, Rhaedalyn hesitated. She never minded helping with the task even though the dragon always seemed grumpy until just the right spot was oiled up but with her current idea that he might want to eat her for fun, it was an intimidating idea. Finally she decided she was being ridiculous and the bronze was rather gentle despite his grumpiness. “Of course I’m interested!” She didn’t have her own dragon, after all, so this was the next best thing to feeling useful when it came to the dragon aspect of Katila. Her tailoring skills were improving so she didn’t feel entirely like a waste of space but assisting with the care of dragons made her feel like she was helping a lot more. “I’ll tell the others. I’m sure they’ll love to help as well.”

Once again in high spirits and too sleepy to connect all the dots of the time, her past sexual question, and states of dress, Rhaedalyn leaned up on tippy toes and placed a quick kiss on R’nya’s cheek. “Thank you again for your help and I’ll see you tomorrow!” With the usual bounce back in her step, the young woman headed out the door, waved at Xyreith, and continued on her path back to her room.

R'nya watched with quiet satisfaction as Rhaedalyn's mood improved dramatically when the hatching of her little Firelizard was brought up, the bronzerider privately amused and reassured by the typical attitude of the girl shining through. It pleased him to see his girls happy, and her truly disliked being the cause of their distress - but many of them had lessons to learn, and better by his quiet and gentle hand than the hands of those more inclined to harsher responses!

A slight quirk of one brow was given just before R'nya's own teasing reply left his lips, voice low and vaguely amused. "It could certainly have worse." He teased gently; the girl certainly had questionable timing (Just imagine what the neighbors are thinking! - R'nya just barely refrained refrained from cringing at his dragons snide input.) but it could indeed have been much worse! At least he hadn't actually managed to fall asleep before her knock came!

"That would be good," R'nya confirmed lightly, before pale eyes widened slightly at the gentle kiss to his cheek, trying valiantly to ignore the cackle from Xyreith, and the dragon's pointed comment that almost no Dragonriders went to bed as early as he, and that several had been alerted by gossiping dragons of the young lady's pretense... Xyreith was enjoying himself far too much, R'nya decided with a grumble and a sigh as he watched Rhaedalyn skitter back to her own home. He should accompany her back to the Barracks; there were a lot of huts between his and the main building and Rhaedalyn was barely even dressed!

Xyreith snorted, and quietly launched into the air, winging silently over the huts with lazy sweeps of his great wings as he followed Rhaedalyn without comment, sharing his gaze with R'nya - the bronzerider standing with purses lips in his doorway - before nodding and turning to go back inside when Xyreith saw Rhaedalyn enter the barracks and winked back to their hut.

Locking the door against further interruptions, and ordering Xyreith to shut up the gossiping dragons, R'nya strode purposefully back to bed, pausing to pick up the two drowsy firelizards when he entered the room. Placing them on the spare pillow, R'nya toppled into bed with a gleeful sigh of content and found sleep swiftly. Tomorrow would be an interesting day, with an assortment of giggling women and a grumpy dragon to contend with!

/phone. Stupid Internet is stupid.