Is this Karma? [Ryvian]

Indivara’s general mood had, surprisingly, been improving as the months slowly toddled along. Her baby now almost four months old, and well on the way to being weaned despite the various midwives desire for her to keep the infant for longer, Indivara was quite prepared to dump the child on Jada and be done with it, and had been anticipating Jada actually wanting the dratted little brat. Of course, no one had actually expected Jada to finally fall pregnant, and the way the girl seemed to totally forget about her desire to take on Indivara’s baby was not missed by the younger girl, who ruffled worse than a cornered wher.

A particularly spectacular screaming match had ensured, mostly with Indivara being the screamer and Jada being the silent starrer, until Indivara had kicked her friend in the shin and stormed off the Hatching sands caught somewhere between puffing with outrage and crying in frustration. She’d been so close – so close – to finally getting rid of the little imp officially, and now Jada was so wrapped up in her own impending morning sickness she was too busy for the child. It was disgusting and Indivara was furious!

The stalking furious walk Indivara took part in to cross the Weyr grounds until she reached her friend’s hut was scary enough that most people gave her a wide space, and Indivara slammed into the door of Ryvian’s hut with a harsh shouldering, kicking the base at the same time she twisted the handle so she could storm in, flinging the door shut behind her with as much power as she could, hearing it slam but not paying it much mind. “Ry!” the demanding shout came out hoarse and more whispery than shouted and Indivara scowled, expression many levels of furious as she stalked through the hut and then barged into the bedroom without a single care as to if he might have company or not.

“The stupid fucking whore is pregnant!”

Ryvian was sure he jumped several feet off the bed from the shock of the door slamming about. It was no surprise when he heard his name angrily whispered in a familiar voice though it made him panic slightly. Was he supposed to meet Indivara that morning? Did he miss something he had promised to help with? Maybe she was simply making sure he wasn’t about to sleep through the day again. He didn’t do it quite as often since his friend had called his depression and decision not to Stand anymore silly. It still happened but sometimes it was due to old habits of partying all night long but there were still times that were brought on because he wasn’t up to seeing the reality in a brightly lit day.

To prove everything was still okay with, Ryvian was jumping out of his very much empty bed to toss on clothes and pretend he hadn’t still been sleeping. Naturally that meant Indivara timed her entry perfectly to see a naked Ryvian standing but with a sheet still tangled around one leg that he had been trying to unwrap. “Which one?” He asked without blinking or looking up at Indivara as he continued wrestling with the sheet. There wasn’t a point in pretending he had been up for a while now! He also wasn’t the modest type and didn’t see a need to cover up, especially not after they had had a little fun in a bath tub not too far back in the history together. If anything, Ryvian hoped it helped inspire her sex drive again but if nothing else, there was a chance Indivara would learn to knock from now on.

Who was he kidding? She would never knock and he’d never mind that she didn’t.

Finally free of the sheet, Ryvian looked up at his friend and frowned. She was seriously worked up over whoever was pregnant. He couldn’t figure out why it would bother her so much unless it was her mother but that didn’t seem likely. Waiting for the answer seemed like the better idea; as did sitting back down on his bed. He had a feeling sitting during her ranting relay of the breaking news was going to make things better and he hoped the patting he gave the bed would encourage Indivara to follow suit and leave behind some of the steam that was powering her.

“Honestly!” Indivara snapped, though whether it was in answer to Ryvian’s question, or the girl’s response to his nakedness, was undetermined. She continued to glare at him as he fussed with the sheet, her hands on her hips and her face a storm of angry emotions. When he sat down, she began pacing the length of the small room, huffing and puffing and snarling under her breath as she tried to find the right words to express her dissatisfaction with life in general, but most notably, the ‘stupid whore’ who had gone and gotten herself pregnant.

“Jada!” Indivara snapped, spinning around and facing Ryvian where he was sitting on the bed, throwing her arms out and glaring at him angrily. “The stupid slut thinks she’s pregnant,” the implied ‘finally’ was there, but Indivara didn’t actually say it, “and now she doesn’t want Varlea! Who the fuck am I supposed to dump the little bitch on now?” Indivara sure as hell didn’t want to be stuck raising the child, and with the infant almost entirely weaned, she was more than eager to pawn the baby off onto whomever wanted it. Up until that morning, Indivara had been convinced that was Jada. Apparently the golden whore considered her own potential child more interesting than the one Indivara had just about gifted her on a silver platter. If the girl had cared to think about anything but herself, she likely would have wondered about where Tsereni would stand within a few days. Jada had practically raised that toddler.

The thrown out arms withdrew to be crossed over Indivara’s chest, and she stomped over to the bed to slump beside Ryvian on it, kicking her heels backwards, glaring down at the space between the bottom of her feet and the floor. She hated being short, and all that did was spike her mood that little bit more so she scuttled backwards and pulled her legs up onto the bed, curling up into a furious little ball of anger. “I am not getting stuck with her!” It was bad enough she’d been forced into carrying the child for however long she’d been stuck being pregnant… and then giving birth! And now the healers were on her case all the time about weaning the child so early and all Indivara wanted was her Faranth be damned life back to herself so she could Impress a dragon and be a rider and all the things she knew she was meant to be.

Indivara huffed viciously, and glared at Ryvian like it was all his fault.

“Finally,” Ryvian supplied the implied word with a voice as he stared at his right thigh. Was that dirt or a bruise? He continued to glance over at Indivara, more to make sure he wasn’t about to have a boot flung at his head for seeming to not pay attention to her ranting. He didn’t see what the issue was, other than Jada obviously forgetting to sneak a trip between after her last flight. That girl should have been pregnant several times over by now with the amount of times her dragon rose and not to mention whatever she got up to on every other night.

Ryvian rubbed at the mark on his leg, licked a finger, and rubbed again. The mark remained and he frowned at what was obviously a bruise. Apparently he had bumped into something recently and he couldn’t recall what it was. Likely a table but it still seemed odd. Finally, his attention was fully on Indivara as he copied her by pulling his legs up and sitting cross-legged, facing her and not at all affected by the glare levelled on him. “Di, what’s the problem? Toss Varlea in the crèche like nearly everyone else does and she’ll be raised by the workers.” Really, what was so hard about coming up with that idea? It seemed like an easy enough fix to him. It actually seemed like the better option in general since Indivara was friends with Jada. “And if Jada raised Varlea, you’d still see her regularly and not actually be getting away from her.”

He had already been a teenager when both of his parents died so the crèche wasn’t the place for him but he recalled many friends without true parents that had been raised by the general population. It was a system that worked and it would continue to do so long after Varlea grew up. Ryvian knew what was truly wrong with his friend though. Indivara was a woman that liked a plan, liked being in control, and knowing what was happening. Jada had destroyed all of that and it threw Indivara off kilter and left her floundering and angry. The anger would fade soon enough like it always did and Ryvian knew he’d have to put up with it for a bit longer, even continue receiving the glares that implied he was all at fault. If it helped out a friend, then he was fine with it.

Indivara's features twisted into a sneer, and she flicked her head, tossing her long hair over her shoulder and glaring at Ryvian has he spoke. Of course she could just throw the brat in the Creche and be done with her; but the fact was Indivara didn't trust the creche workers as far as she could throw them, and considering both her limited height and even more limited strength, that would never be very far. "I was raised in the creche," she pointed out, words reasonable though her tone was clipped and irritable. It wasn't a bad place to be raised, and Indivara considered herself rather well turned out, all things considered, but it also wasn't something she had thoroughly enjoyed; the girl was someone that needed constant attention and getting it was not easy when you were in a creche. She wasn't sure how well Varlea would do. Then again, she was Valerain's brat too, so... Indivara shrugged. "Whatever." They could figure it out then. It was a pity the weyr wasn't bigger, too many people knew Varlea belonged to her.

"The stupid bitch could have kept her promise." That came out far more sulky than angry, and Indivara picked at her broken nails, grumbling under her breath as she dug dirt out, and then flicked it across the room without thought. The girl was a long way from being a lady, and that alone was something that irked many people. Really though, Indivara wondered what they expected. She was literally born intothe  middle of the wilds, with no one around but her mother, her dragon, and a non-rider father (who quickly dropped dead after the creation of Katila). How anyone - especially her mother - could expect her to be a 'proper woman' with that Indivara didn't know. Idiots.

Looking up, Indivara fixed Ryvian with a solid stare, frowning slightly so her eyebrows furrowed together above her eyes and she chewed her bottom lip for a few moments before speaking. "Krypth will clutch soon." It was a statement, but there was a clear question in the girl's serious blue eyes, as she refused to let Ryvian look away.

Ryvian was trying to understand and be sympathetic but he was still a bit too sleepy for such things, not to mention he was genuinely confused by how Indivara viewed the crèche. He could have sworn it sounded like his friend didn’t want her daughter to grow up in there. He knew she had been miserable being raised in such a way but it wasn’t like she was fond of the kid she was told she had to carry to term so why would it matter where the brat was raised in the end? Then again, while it wasn’t really seen, Ryvian knew Indivara was still a kind person and the idea of purposely putting someone in such a position likely wasn’t sitting well with her. He could respect that and that was why he ended up not saying anything else on the matter of tossing Varlea in the crèche.

“Yeah, she could have,” Ryvian agreed, not overly fond of people who didn’t follow through with such big promises. He wasn’t entirely innocent of such things since he had skipped out on chore duties in the past but they weren’t massive responsibilities or something only he could do. If that were the case, he’d be sure to lend a hand and not back out on it. “But you also know Jada’s a bit self-centred and everything revolves around her needs and wants in the here and now.” He thought Jada was kind of fun when she first arrived and tried to settle into the Weyr life but she had slowly changed. Perhaps she had settled in too well or having a gold dragon at her side did it. It was hard to say and Ryvian felt bad for speculating on it at all. It wasn’t like he hung out with her enough to really say if she had changed or how much or why. It was just the view he had from afar.

The statement Indivara followed with that veered the conversation into a place Ryvian didn’t want to visit caught him off guard. He should have expected it since the horny gold had risen yet again but he hadn’t wanted to think about it. It also tied in nicely to promises and whether or not they were kept. Indivara had made him promise to Stand with her even though he wasn’t too keen on the idea anymore. It was hard to bring down Ryvian’s mood but ever since his twin Impressed without him, Ryvian didn’t want to keep trying and failing. “Yeah, she will,” he didn’t break eye contact as he replied but he also wasn’t sure what else to say on it.

He’d go if she told him to. There was a promise between them but also a friendship. He wouldn’t make her Stand alone, especially since there was a chance another bronze would hatch thanks to bronze Gugaroth winning again. Ryvian didn’t like the idea of Indivara alone on the Sands with a dragonet that might attack or make her remember the night Hoth attacked her. He wasn’t sure if he was ready to try again but he’d attempt it for his friend.

Indivara pursed her lips slightly, but with the subject of her daughter dropped so effectively - by herself, no less - there was little reason to remain snippy with elder weyrbrat before her. He put up with her and her moods remarkably well; he had put up with her for months stomping in at odd hours (even if they were, really, normal hours) and opening windows or closing curtains or pushing his lazy arse out of bed, and sometimes directing it back when he had clearly been drinking too much. It didn't help the rumours that were buzzing around the circle of weyrbrats about them, but Indivara had always been prone to hitting people that spoke about her too loudly around her. It didn't stop them talking when she wasn't there, though.

The girl was the first to look away after Ryvian spoke, her expression relaxing only long enough to emphasise the re-pursing of lips and the irritible huff she gave a moment later. When her gaze lifted, her eyes were hard as she glared at him, expression clearly irritated. The problem with Ryvian being so good to her - and Indivara knew he was, when he put up with her stomping and her hitting and her screaming at him, and especially putting up wtih ehr when she blamed him for hte world not doing what she wanted it to, when she wanted it to, how she wanted it to as if it were all his fault - was that sometimes it had the effect of making her feel guilty, and guilt was an emotion that Indivara automatically channeled straight into heated outrage. How dare he make her feel guilty for something? For anything?

Blue eyes flashed angrily, and Indivara leaned forward slightly, glaring into Ryvian's lackluster expression with tightly pursed lips, almost not breathing as she stared at him for several moments. "And?!" It was almost barked, a heated demand for a true answer from the young man. What did he plan to do about Krypth clutching? Was he going to man up and Stand like she knew he really wanted to (even though he would deny it, naturally!) or was he going to be a child and run in fear of not being found worthy by 'yet another' dragonet? Did he think that his dragon would find him if he was moping in his bed? What if he was so busy moping in his bed, a dragonet lost itself between or died on the sands, alone and feeling unwanted, because he was too selfish to be there to greet it?

Ever an open book to those who knew her, every thought was clearly visible, even if no more words made it past the girl's lips.

For someone so relaxed, it was amazing how little outbursts and anger directed towards him didn’t bother him or stress him out on some level. Perhaps he was simply used to dealing with Indivara for far too long that he’d be more worried if she didn’t snap once in a while. It was rare for him to raise his voice and after some failed attempts at yelling back, Ryvian really didn’t even attempt it anymore. A shrug and a crooked smile usually accompanied his replies but right then it was only the shrug. “I said I would Stand with you, so I will.” It only hurt for a moment that it sounded like Indivara doubted the word he had given. That was just her nature though. Indivara liked to have everything said loud and clearly and verified at least once to make sure nothing would go wrong. It was why Jada backing out was bothering the girl so much, even if Indivara didn’t know it.

Ryvian suddenly stood up and walked away from the bed to hunt for clothes. He was fine lounging around all day in the nude but he also knew he’d have to leave the hut at some point, especially when his stomach gave a small growl. “Krypth clutching is becoming as common as having bubbly pie for dessert on my rest day. Standing for them is just another weekly routine now,” again there was a shrug but it was lost in the motion of bending over to pick up a pair of pants left on the floor. A discreet sniff was given to them and with a wrinkling of his nose, they were dropped again. Laundry would have to become a priority soon but Nyvian usually did the actual scrubbing and tending to the chore; Ryvian simply hung it all up.

“Stop worrying so much,” Ryvian found his bathing shorts and put those on instead of checking for more pants. He knew the shorts at least were clean. “With every clutch that passes, our odds increase.” A little laugh came with the statement and while Ryvian made it sound like he fully believed what he said, he also knew the reality of each passing clutch meant he was growing older and one day even the last dragon to ever hatch wouldn’t want him.

Indivara pursed her lips once more, the flat line becoming far more regular since she'd joined Ryvian in his room than their natural shape. The irritation didn't clear from her eyes, but a sly, thoughtful light was slowly gaining more weight there as she studied her friend's bland expression. She wasn't immediately sure how to respond to his acknowledgement of his promise. While Indivara was very much pleased he hadn't forgotten it, she was also aware of her own restricted ability to stand. Besides her rather outstanding tallent with getting kicked off the sands and out of candidacy at regular intervals for being a little bitch, she also knew girls that were angling for fighter dragons were heavily discouraged and moderated. She wasn't allowed to stand whenever she wanted, and certainly wasn't allowed to stand for every clutch that made an apperance.

Speaking of apperances. Ryvian's words mostly echoed through empty brain space as Indivara watched him move across the room, clearly searching for clothing. Her expression would have been entierly blank, if not for the taint of colour rising up her cheeks as the view brought up memories of a bath taken not so long ago, and the things that had occurred in it. Indivara did not enjoy the way thinking about that made her feel wriggly and wide eyed and wanting and her bland expression slowly alterd into an irritable frown as she watched Ryvian slide into a pair of shorts. Taking away her eye candy in the process did not help aleviate the grumpy glare she levelled on the elder weyrbrat.

"I'm not worried," Indivara snapped, which would have come out a lot more truthful if she'd been saying it in response to her belief that she'd Impress (she was convinced without a doubt that she would, someday soon, Impress), instead of sounding slightly cracked because the image of Ryvian saundering around his room in all his naked glory was burned into her brain and the things that image made her feel were definitely worthy of her worry. The heat in her cheeks was not helping matters, and Indivara resorted to glowered at Ryvian, an unconsious act to distract them both from her blush and to kill off her train of thoughts.

"Krypth has tiny clutches," Indivara pointed out. Her intent was to sound reasonable, but all she came across as was childish and snippy. "Skip hers, and stand for the big ones." Whenever they clutched again. Knowing her luck, they'd all end up flying as irregularly as Nirinath. Hopefully the other golds would be more prone to decent sized clutches though, and she could convince Ryvian it was worth standing; Indivara adored Krypth, but she just wasn't willing to gamble her one-in-too-few-clutches option to Stand on five or six eggs. If she could convince Ryvian that it was a decent exchange, maybe he'd be more willing to stand without her, too. Though Indivara was not any more keen on the idea of him Impressing without her, than he was on seeing her walk off the sands without him.

The girl shifted unhappily, crossing her legs and smoothing the short length of skirt over her thighs with antsy movements. Why did Ryvian have to make life so difficult? She took to glaring balefully at him from under her lashes. Stupid boys!

Ryvian nearly let out a large sigh of relief when Indivara said what he had been thinking. Krypth did indeed have tiny clutches and if he had to Stand for each and every little clutch she produced, it’d be a regular stab at the heart for him when he was denied. There was always a chance one egg would be gold and a large chance the rest of the eggs would be green and while Ryvian wasn’t a colourist and thought green was perfect for Kerrin and some of their other friends, the pretty little girls just weren’t for him. Why risk the rejection?

“Sounds like a good plan,” Ryvian kicked the pair of smelly pants toward a shirt to start a pile. He continued adding to it in the same way as he moved around the bedroom. “Given the ridiculous hours they hatch at anyway, I’m usually more inclined to stay in bed.” The last time he wanted to stay in bed because he was nursing a hangover from the celebrations of the night before. Ryvian still couldn’t decide if he should have stayed in bed or not. If he had, he would have missed seeing his twin Impress while he was left behind. Was it better to know he had been overlooked again or would it have been better to wonder if he could have had a dragon as well but missed the chance because he couldn’t wake up?

With the last sock found and given a kick to the pile of laundry, Ryvian returned to his bed and flopped down onto his back, his head catching the pillow perfectly. It was obvious he did that move regularly. A hand wandered over to the skirt Indivara seemed to keep toying with and Ryvian gave it a light flick. It wasn’t done in order to see up her skirt, but simply to ruffle what had obviously been smoothed out recently. “So what did they serve for morning meal?” He was starting to get hungry now that he was fully awake but his hut was sadly lacking in even a bowl of fruit. He’d have to stalk up on the essentials today at some point but a trip to the kitchen to see if there were any leftovers he could snag seemed like a much more important. If nothing else, he’d just have to wait until midday meal, which, maybe they were closer to? “Or should I be asking when are we heading to midday meal?” He was still afraid to peek outside and check on the time of day properly.

Indivara let out a grumbly 'hrumph' as she continued to stare at Ryvian from under her lashes, watching without comment as he wandered around the room kicking his clothing. Vivid blue eyes were trained on just about every part of the young man, except his face, though the glower didn't fade. His comment about remaining in bed called a narrowing of Indivara's eyes before she rolled them with another huff, arms folding over her chest and fingers of one hand tapping an impatient tattoo on the other arm. Ryvian spent far too much time in bed, and the fact that he was inclined to spend it there with company was not something Indivara particularly enjoyed the thought of. Her lips pursed again.

A disgruntled squeak was stolen from the girl when her friend flopped back on the bed, jostling it enough that Indivara had to unfold her arms so as not to lose her balance too spectacularly. Her glare returned as she gave Ryvian a dirty look, then turned to frown at the far wall. Looking at him was distracting, and her inability to decide if she'd prefer to kiss him or hit him made her even more grumpy. It was all his fault, of course. He was the one that had turned what was supposed to be her making sure he bathed himself into something else and Indivara had no idea how to deal with it. He hadn't done anything since then the way she expected him to, either. He didn't hit on her as much, which she altered between aligning to him having already gotten what he wanted from her, and him being too distressed over Nyvian Impressing to express continued interest. Neither of which were particularly flattering!

Then there were the little things he did, like flicking the edge of her skirt, that made Indivara flush and wriggle, which in turn made her angry as she leveled another heated glare on Ryvian and smoothed the edge of her skirt back down, pretending her stomach hadn't come alive with creepy crawlies and things that fly from the half hearted touch. "Food," Indivara snapped coarsely, still fussing with her skirt intently, absently wishing her long hair wasn't tugged back messily so she could have hidden in it. That made her angry, too. Since when did she hide from anything. Another vicious look was thrown at Ryvian. She didn't know what had been served at breakfast, anyway. She'd been too busy screaming at Jada on the Sands. Puffing out a deep sigh, Indivara forced her expression to soften, and her shoulders to relax. It resulted in the girl slumping where she sat.

"After you've given that to one of the girls working laundry," she pointed absently at the pile of dirty clothing Ryvian had gathered together. "And bathed, because you stink." A playful smile was flashed, but it faded away fairly quickly, a frown taking its place as she returned to staring across the room, fiddling with a bit of stitching on the hem of her dress, and unaware that she'd pulled it free and was unwravelling it as she mumbled. "Then we can eat."

“What!” Ryvian’s voice went up an octave from his shock as he sat up to stare at Indivara. Nothing else she said or did was as important as one key sentence. “There are people willing to do my laundry?” Nyvian had always made it seem like he was doing their clothes for them. Perhaps he took them down to these mystical girls that would wash clothes and then pretended he did all the hard work but Ryvian was more inclined to believe his brother actually sat down with those working that day and scrubbed along beside them. He was such a good guy. A frown stole away some of his shock.

A laugh came soon after the frown. Indivara was obsessed with baths and while Ryvian could appreciate a woman smelling nice and enjoy the time in the water with her, he was starting to hate how regularly she pointed out he stunk and it not be just a light jab. She spoke the truth yet again, calling him out on missing a few appointments with a body of water and Ryvian nodded in agreement. “I’ll bathe as well. Can I expect you to join me again this time?” He didn’t know that Indivara missed his flirting and only did it then out of habit when a good opening presented itself. For the most part, Ryvian was convinced she had slept with him out of pity and he had attempted to tone down his advances so he didn’t scare her away. Indivara was the only friend he had left that knew a bit of what he was going through while everyone else played with their new dragon. If she wanted their normal friendship with the occasional random advances, then that was what she’d get.

Indivara was startled into laughing by the high pitched exclaimation from Ryvian, the girl's expression brightening with the sound and she shook her head, rolling bright blue eyes. "I doubt they're willing," she laughed, emphasising Ryvian's word of choice. She shook her head again, giving Ryvian an arch look. "Have you been washing it yourself?" The girl couldn't even get the whole sentence out without over flowing it with random bursts of giggling, all of it at Ryvian's expense - naturally. The idea of Ryvian running around and slaving over his own clothing was somewhat magnificent, however, and it certainly explained why he had hoarded such an outrageous pile of laundry to be washed. "You're an idiot," there was affection in the teasing words, Indivara shaking her head again.

Indivara froze at Ryvian's casually thrown out question, the girl subconsiously battling with the desire to flee or not as her face heated up spectacularly. The red bloomed from her neck up through her face in a curtain of crimson that left her scars stark white against the hot colour. Blue eyes were huge in her face, before she narrowed them as if that would detract from the heavy blushing. The desire to say yes, to take Ryvian up on such an offer (or even to have simply invited herself) was strong, and that frightened the girl. She'd never had any particularly interest in either twin, before that day, and had never thought about them actively. She'd always known they were attractive, and she'd been putting up with Ryvian's hitting on her for years, but she'd never actually thought about -

Indivara shook her head strongly, though even she wasn't sure if it was in answer to Ryvian's question, or the thoughts she was attempting to dispell, or both of them. Antsy, uncomfortable, and completely unsure of how to handle the situation, Indivara slipped off the bed with accidental grace more than anything else, and put several paces between herself and her friend. "N-no," her voice betrayed her, as did her face. She'd never managed to gain control over either, and a combination of memories adn desire flickered to life under the blush that rebooted at full strength. "I'll see you at lunch..." Turning, Indivara bolted out of the bedroom.

“Di?” Ryvian was beyond confused as he watched Indivara struggle with something internally. The one tiny word that shook so much threw him off as well. Indivara was always easy to read but she was also good at putting on a show of confidence and not letting herself seem too vulnerable. The twin was having trouble processing everything happening before him when she suddenly shot off the bed and bolted from the room. “Indivara!” Ryvian pushed free from the bed and found himself chasing after the girl.

He caught her just as she was reaching for the handle of the main door, his hand wrapping around the wrist of her available hand. Ryvian wasn’t quite sure why he was stopping her or what he wanted to say although he was ready to dodge any swinging fists to his head his brazenness provoked. “I am an idiot,” Ryvian agreed with a smile as he jumped back a conversation he had been happy to leave behind when Indivara pointed out the truth of how laundry worked. He remembered his mother washing all of their clothing and Nyvian saying he’d take care of it when she passed away. How was he to know Nyvian didn’t follow suit but actually had others do it? “I take a small pile of clothes to the river with me. The tree that’s half in the water and half on the bank in our favourite area? I sit near it and wash everything and then leave them on the large rock to dry while I nap under the tree.”

The confession came as a way to show how clueless he really was about a lot of things but also in an attempt to make Indivara laugh again. She seemed frazzled and Ryvian knew he was the cause of that. Of course Indivara would be fine by the time they met for lunch but he needed her happy again right then and now. Perhaps it was a tad selfish to want her happy again but even months later, Ryvian still had moments where he couldn’t shake the belief he would be abandoned by everyone. His parents had died practically at the same time, his brother and some of their friends had Impressed, and now Indivara was acting weird around him. Everything was changing and Ryvian still felt like he was the only one that wasn’t and he was getting left behind because of it.

Realizing he was still holding her wrist, Ryvian slowly let it go and frowned at the arm that was so soft under his touch. Flirting with her was something normal and Ryvian felt normal was exactly what was needed then since he didn’t know what had caused Indivara to run like she had and he needed to shake off his blues. A sly grin was given as he glanced from the cute dress up to Indivara’s face. “I’m also an idiot for asking you to take a bath when you already look and smell wonderful.”

She hadn't expected him to chase her, she hadn't expected to run! She was Indivara, and she didn't run from anything - and yet, there she was, one trembling hand resting on the door handle while the other arm's wrist was held by Ryvian. Indivara's head dropped, her chin tucked under and her shoulders slumped. She had no idea how to answer the questions she was sure to be drowning in in a moment, and her mind was working over time to come up with reasons, answers, exuses - anything! - but preferably something she could see as being true. Nothing came to her, but neither did the questions she had expected.

Eyebrows knitting into a frown, Indivara turned slightly to peer up at Ryvian over her shoulder, not quite willing to release the handle she had gripped tightly in her fingers. She wasn't qite sure she wouldn't need the escape, and it made her feel better to leave her hand there. So she did. "Really?" The girl tone was incredulous, as even with her teasing Indivara hadn't actually believed Ryvian was quite so dense as to take to washing his own clothes, instead of figuring that - like everything else! - there were those rationed to do it as chores. Sure, some people still felt hte need to do their own clothing, but this was Ryvian and Indivara knew he'd come up with about a million and one things to do before rendering himself to washing his clothes. An opinion that was clearly backed up by the pile sitting in his bedroom.

Indivara's nose crinkled. "You wash your underwear in my favourite spot for swimming?" Since her friend was clearly prepared for her to hit him, Indivara swung her foot out and kicked him in the shin, likely doing more damage to her toes in the process than she would Ryvian's leg, since the shoes she was wearing were particularly feminine little slippers, and had very little in the way of functional use. Indivara unabashedly preferred the heavier making of dragonrider boots, but Kerrin had just about had a heart attack when she'd walked out with those on with the dress. When she'd shrugged at him and said she liked the look, she'd been tackled and forcibly had her shoes exchanged. Kerrin might have a black eye for tickling her toes, but he was at least happy she was wearing the right shoes now. Indivara was going to black the young greenrider's other eye if her toe was broken from Ryvian's stupid shin.

Taking her wrist back almost gingerly, Indivara let go of the door handle, fingers moving to play lightly over the spot Ryvian had been holding. He hadn't hurt her, she'd barely even realised he was still gripping her, but the chances of bruises blooming was likely. She bruised easily, and frequently, and almost always as a result of something stupid she'd done - like falling out of trees, or getting into fights. Glancing up at Ryvian, the sly grin took her by surprise and Indivara's eyes narrowed suspiciously. The words he spoke still made her blush, but Indivara managed to fall more into the expected area as she gave the young man a haughty look and tilted her chin arrogantly. "I always smell wonderful." She wasn't going to touch the comment about her appearance with a fifty foot dragon, but she could play with smells without getting too upset! Her eyebrow arched smugly. "Unlike some," and her lips twitched, though the smile didn't quite make it out in full force.

“You’re assuming I wear underwear to begin with,” Ryvian’s grin was playful but his words were the truth. Who needed underwear? They just got in a man’s way. They bunched in all the wrong places while under pants and they slowed him down when it was time to strip down. Underwear was a thing of the past and Ryvian certainly didn’t miss it. If there happened to be a pair in his laundry pile now, they were either forgotten by a lover or they fell out of Nyvian’s handful when he grabbed most of his belongings to move into his temporary home thanks to being a weyrling.

“And I get it. I’m close to turning into D’gul. I’ll bathe regularly again, I promise.” Indivara may not have made the comparison – yet – but Ryvian knew he truly was on his way to being pegged as gross and an outcast by most people with a working nose. That young greenrider was not someone he wanted to end up in a flight with so why would he want to turn into him? It was his own comparison but it was enough to shock the twin into making sure he bathed once a day once again – even if he wouldn’t have Indivara in the water with him.

Pursing his lips together to keep from grinning again, Ryvian thought about the order of what he had to get done and settled on what Indivara had gone with. “I’ll bathe and meet you for lunch after that. First, I’ll find these magical women that will wash my clothes for me. Unless you want to show me where they are?” The attempt to stop grinning was quickly forgotten in exchange for giving a hopeful look. Indivara knew where everything was located. Now that he thought about it, it was odd that he had never come across her working in the laundry area on all of the attempts to get her to ditch chores early. How had he managed to completely overlook such an important function of the Weyr for so long? He was truly an idiot or at least blind.

Ryvian's smart comment about underwear got a grumbled 'ugh' from Indivara, and a generally placed scowl as she rolled her eyes. Typical! That just made washing all his other clothing in the area that much worse! Indivara's nose crinkled up and she flicked her head slightly, managing to throw back some of the loose strands that had been floating around her face. "Good!" She certainly wasn't going to sugar coat that! She was getting rather tired of telling him it was time to bathe, especially when he waved off one of her demands because he 'bathed yesterday' - and yesterday wasn't always typical, either! Sometimes Ryvian's 'yesterday' could have been three or four days prior. He wasn't a particualrly potent guy, but everyone started to get fragrant after a few days without bathing!

Smirking suddenly, Indivara gave Ryvian a slow and lingering look, before she leaned forward slightly in a conspiring manner. "Grow your hair some, and you could start looking like him, too." Smiling sweetly, Indivara leaned back against the door to watch the expressions that was bound to bring about. Dogul wasn't a terrible looking creature, if one could get past the watering eyes long enough to see what he looked like. Indivara didn't know how the greenrider could breathe in his own presence, but she would have put moeny on him cleaning up pretty nice if someone (not her, never her! Ugh!) invested the time. Ryvian didn't need to know that, though. Her devious smirk returned. "He's kinda pretty, once you get past the stink." Her seriousness didn't last long, and Indivara spluttered out a laugh.

The sudden hopeful look Indivara found herself the focus of made her stomach flutter, and Indivara pressed back against the door, though she managed to tilt her head and lift an eyebrow in what felt like an almost normal manner. A smirk tilted her lips and the familiar expression helped her ignore the shortening of breath. "Not likely, bucko. You can find them on your own," there was a hint of laughter in the words. "Or wash them yourself!" That was full of laughter, and Indivara's smirk warped into a bright smile. "See you at lunch!" Deciding to fuck with him as much as he was fucking with her (it never occurred to Indivara that he wasn't doing it on purpose) the girl bounced forward, internally cursed Ryvian for not having a shirt on, and leaned up without some small amount of effort to peck him lightly on the lips.

A wicked giggle, and Indivara vanished out the door.