Rumor has it (Emerene)

Lessons were generally something she enjoyed here although she sometimes got distracted if the Candidate master was long winded. The speech given though was not one she was prepared to hear and felt almost directed solely at her. The Candidate Master warned them of lustful riders and their attempts to get Candidates into their beds. Both boys and girls needed to be careful and wandering around on their own in quiet places or at quiet times of the day were a bad idea.

“Dragonriders, while being very brave and good-looking can also be used to having their way with people. Generally only for the purpose of their own pleasure and not to do any of you andy favors. I know in the Holds, there are certain protocols for wooing a person but here those do not exist. I advise you to err on the side of caution concerning relationships here. I don’t want any of you succumbing to the charms of the riders or event he staff here. If you do have a complaint about a rider or any other person here, please bring it to my attention and I will inform the Weyrwoman.”

Resisting the rider’s charms… hah, yeah that was so much easier said than done. Especially for Holders who didn’t have the experience of people showing a mild interest in them let alone full on desiring them and even as the Candidate Master blamed the riders and inhabitants of the weyr, she did not feel it was something to be ashamed of. Why should it be? Being intimate with other people who you were attracted to was no crime, it was perfectly natural. Although she had a sinking feeling no one in her family would feel that way. She was going to have to avoid her brother for a little while, till the rumors died down.

When the lesson was over she tried to hurry out of the somewhat crowded room to the bowl where there would be fresh air and less people. She had counted on there being rumors; it didn’t surprise her if there were. They didn’t bother her. The way some people were going to stare and whisper did not bother her, she had been through that before. Of course she should have known it wouldn’t be that easy. Not with rumor whizzing around her. So as soon as she had sat down near the lake beneath a large tree. She could feel and hear other people following her.

If they had questions about the rumors she would be honest. She never was a good liar and couldn’t fool anyone as to her nature, even if she wanted to. She had been quiet. Completely quiet all day, so everyone was probably thinking the rumors were getting to her.

Emerene had been kept far too busy by the Headwoman yesterday to hear the rumours that had gotten started by early evening. She'd been unfairly locked away in some cellar taking inventory of supplies that the Weyrlings would be needing as they began learning how to use riding gear in order to prepare for their first flights. Right as all the juicy stuff was happening...

So it was to Emerene's great surprise that such a rumour was being circulated by the time she awoke the next morning.

"When did I miss this?!" Completely shocked, and to be honest, rather disbelieving, Emerene made sure to seek out Veyani later that afternoon. As soon as classes were let out, Emerene followed after Veyani, having caught sight of her heading toward the lake. Rushing after her, she caught up with her fellow candidate, slowing to a jog just before she got there.

"Veya! Hey, Veya!" Of course, it was like Emerene to jump right to the good stuff, rarely hesitating. Though, she couldn't help but feel a little awkward about it this time, since it was in regards to a friend that was new to her, so she wasn't sure how Veyani would react. "Veyani, is it true? Did S'jiro really take you to his weyr? But you said he doesn't like you?" Which made perfect sense, knowing the Bronzerider's reputation. And it didn't make sense at all, that S'jiro would have taken a commoner back to his weyr. Or.... do that with her. Emerene was still in shock over that one.

The apparent shock showed on her face, too. She kept looking at Veyani as though she'd grown a second head. If Veyani only confirmed what rumour said to be true, then that meant... she'd lost her virginity! To a really handsome Bronzerider! Even if he was a jerk.

But he, like Sh'nar and the others of their group, were pretty popular amoungst their age group because of their breeding and the fact that they were Bronzes. It was natural for others to look up to them; again, even if they could be jerks. But that hadn't detoured many girls from seeking their favour, outside of the younger Goldriders who knew they would be participating in flights together at some point. And that group of girls might even include herself, she thought. If they ever looked her way.

The sheer curiosity over what had transpired between the two of them had her giddy with anticipation. "I heard someone say that you did it with him?" Having come to sit beside Veyani, Emerene brought her voice barely above a whisper. "Did you really?!"

Veya looked up to see an almost too happy Emerene approaching. She didn’t know how to respond to the question at first really. S’jiro didn’t like her; he just wanted to say he had had her. Now he had. That was all. Right? Well that wasn’t what Emerene would want to hear.

"Hello Emerene." She began twirling her hair out of habit. “Yes, I went to his weyr. It is lovely. I’ve never seen so many fine furnishings. I can see how easy it would be to get caught up in having things and thinking that is what is important. I’m glad I’m not like that though.” She shrugged. “You would have loved his bed though. It is like being on a cloud.”

Twitching her nose, “He doesn’t like me.” What did liking her have to do with any of it really. She had been under the impression he brought girls to his weyr whenever he wanted. “It’s not as if it’s the first time he has done something like this.” She wasn’t going to get hung up over it. If she did, there would be problems. If she didn’t attach emotion to it, it wasn’t bad.

Her usual mischievious smirk played across her lips, should she leave Emerene waiting? No, she needed Emerene’s advice on what to do now anyway. “Yes. He was very affectionate. Although I would have nothing to compare him to and doubtless he doesn’t even know my name. I assumed this would blow over quickly because he has no trouble getting women to bed him.”

She thought about it though, he didn’t seem to be in any rush last night. He was patient and almost kind and she had trouble combining that persona with the one he presented daily. It wasn’t as if she were any more beautiful than other girls her age. The only thing she could think that would make all of this bigger news than it should be was that she was only a Candidate and very young and perhaps that she was just a farm girl before.

Well then he would be the one dealing with the repercussions of the rumor, not her. She didn’t mind them though. He didn’t seem to realize that bedding him gave her some kind of status among her peers, that they found what happened to be a desirable event. “I was thinking I would continue to do things like I always do. I keep thinking I should be mortified but I find I’m not. I don’t really mind what happened at all. But as a Hold girl I should be condemning myself. I should be angry at my weakness. Is it strange that I am actually kind of…relieved?”

The more that Veyani went on, the more Emerene's eyes widened, looking mortified for the sake her friend, who obviously wasn't. Then Veyani even admitted it. No, no. This wasn't good at all. As Veyani tried to explain herself, Emerene only saw the situation getting worse.

"Veyani, this is huuuuge! How can you be so calm about it?" But then she supposed that the girl had no real previous knowledge of S'jiro or his habits. Emerene's hands came up expressively, ruffling through her own hair at the top of her head to express exasperation. She also started to flush.

"S'jiro and his friends don't invite just anyone to their Weyrs! Unless it's a Wing practice, they don't do anything with just anyone. They only associate with others who come from affluent families... or other Bronze or Goldriders. Not just anyone makes it into their circle." And S'jiro may not have exactly invited Veyani into their circle, but he'd taken her to his weyr of all places. And they did it!

"S'jiro, or any of his friends could have about any girl in the weyr they wanted probably, but they don't." But that's why they were highly sought after, even for being Bronzeriders.. even for being jerks. Sh'nar might be an exception, for what she'd heard about some of the women he'd been with. "There aren't very many girls in the Weyr who are either Goldriders or well-bred enough that they choose to bed them." The group was more exclusive than Veyani must have thought. But Emerene couldn't blame her. The girl had never encountered anyone like those of the small, 'elite' Bronzerider group before.

Emerene's expression still shown her disbelief over the entire scenario. It started becoming clearer to her just what S'jiro meant by it. "You said yourself that he doesn't like you. I doubt he would have taken you to his weyr just for sex." There had to be another purpose behind it. "Whatever he said to lure you there, it was probably a lie. He's probably still upset about the other day when you tripped over him."

And she hated to admit what she was about to, for Veyani's sake, but for Veyani's sake she also wanted to give the girl fair warning about just what she feared would happen. Though she still remained entirely skeptical about the whole situation. "He's probably just trying to humiliate you." She hated to say it like that, but that was the only explanation. "He knows that other people know his reputation, so as soon as they find out he's bed farmer's daughter, they'll know right away that you were used by him. And that people will start to think you're stupid because you willingly let him. It's going to look like he's made you into his toy." And he had, in a way. S'jiro wasn't new to such games.

Emerene paused in her speech for a moment before adding, "Some might be envious that you got to be with him.... Everyone wants to be part of their elite circle; but no one likes them enough to want to be used by them. If people find out that he has no real interest in you -if that's really the case-" Which she suspected it was, "then that's probably just what he's hoping for. You'll be humiliated."

Why did it always have to be he used her? Why couldn’t it be her using him? She didn’t have to worry about being a virgin anymore. There was nothing to really be concerned about, she thought but as Emerene continued she began to realize why this would be a problem for her. He had meant to humiliate her? Then why didn’t she feel horrible? She didn’t feel used. If he had wanted to use her, he would have had her get emotionally attached first, make her think he wanted her to be part of his circle and then done what he had done.

It was almost as if he wouldn’t allow himself to get too caught up in her to bother and that did anger her a little. Still she did go with him willingly and she would probably have done it again if he wanted but Emerene’s freak out was making her concerned that she wasn’t reacting the way she should be.

“So really the best thing to do now is to act normal. As if nothing has happened. Because if I’m unaffected his plan will backfire on him and I will come out of this better than he thought. I never have put much stock in other people’s opinion of me. I’ve always been a bit odd to others around me and no doubt this will make my life a little more difficult for a time but in the end I’ll come out okay. Anyway I wouldn’t worry about what happened. I’m not sorry it happened and nothing he does now will make me regret it.”

Not being emotionally attached to what was going on would help her greatly. In the future she would make certain that she acted unaffected by him. Ignoring him and continuing her routine. “I mean that’s how I intend to handle this. There is no reason to get worked up over it. The important thing is how I feel about what happened. I don’t feel used.”

Considering Veyani with a nearly blank expression, she couldn't believe that the girl was okay with it all.

Well...there was nothing she could do about it. It seemed as though Veyani was set enough in her opinion of the whole matter that she wouldn't be swayed. But then, Emerene thought that perhaps it was better that the girl wasn't freaking out as much as she was. Emerene would have to go straight to her next sources to share what she'd heard and try to find a way to get things turned in Veya's favour.

Emerene leaned closer to Veyani then, seeming very curious then. "So... what was it like?"

Abruptly she sat up and with a wave of her hand dismissed the thought that Veyani would leave out any detail. "And don't tell me with that attitude, that you're too shy to speak of it. I want details."

Leaning over again, just to be more nosy, Emerene grinned, eyes shining under wild, rusty waves of hair. "It was your first time, right? What did he look like naked? Were you scared?

"You said his weyr is reaaally nice, and his bed was super cozy? What did his room look like?"

Veyani smiled, “Details. Huh. Yes it was my first and well I suppose I would be remiss not to say how it began then. I was back at the staircase sometimes I get so overwhelmed by the people and the noise and I need to go somewhere quiet and I don’t know I guess that was the closest place I could think of at the moment when I was panicked. I decided to read and of course I’m learning so I was reading out loud. I refused to leave when he arrived so he put me up against the wall and informed me he always got what he wanted."

" I didn’t doubt that at all. But he then took my hand and informed me he was taking me to another place that would be equally quiet and not busy. I had no idea we were headed for his weyr.” The whole encounter seemed strange even now. She tried not to wonder about what possessed him because it hinted at feelings and she was avoiding attaching any to S’jiro.

“So we he lets me go to enter his weyr which I suppose most girls wouldn’t have done but I was curious. His weyr is pristine with gorgeous furnishings, no doubt paid for by his adoring family. “ the end remark was a bit sarcastic. “So I look around at all the furnishings and end up sitting down on one of the chairs because I assumed he brought me there so I could continue reading. That is not what he assumed.” And this was where most girls were going to leave the room, she figured.

“He took my hand and raised me from the lounge chair and led me to the bed.” she paused to take in a deep breath and went on with the rest of the details of the evening. She didn’t leave any single part out because she knew that Emerene would never allow her to leave anything up to the imagination. Even the shape of his body was described in complete and full detail. It was like she had a picture in her mind.

When she was done with her tell all, she looked at Emerene. “So I guess it’s a good thing there was no emotion involved. Now I can just move forward.”

Emerene continued to stare in disbelief as Veyani told her story, at a number of points nodding or gasping or even squealing.

It was because of her own personal experience that Emerene tended not to blame S'jiro or his friends for their attitudes in part. Being a Weyrwoman's daughter, she knew what it was like being treated special and handed things -even things you didn't want- just because of who your parents were. Even she used it to her advantage a lot; only, she wasn't a complete snob like the particular Bronzeriders in question.

By the time Veyani's description of the whole series of events was reaching its end, a broad smile had made its way across Emerene's expression. She laughed, thinking that she finally understood what was really going on in Veyani's mind. "No emotion? Sounds to me like there was emotion, even if it wasn't completely romantic. Are you sure you don't really like him? We both know he treated you like a jerk, but..." Emerene arced a dark brow, watching her new friend skeptically. "I think you like him. That's why you're not upset about any of this like a normal person."

She couldn't help but giggle again, "Annnyway. At least you enjoyed it, right? I'm of half a mind to be jealous." Of course, Emerene could be jealous. She was the Weyrwoman's daughter, and one day she was going to be a Queenrider, so she felt as though she knew just how to handle dumb Bronzeriders like them. Wait. That was her mother speaking.

Anyway, she would know how to handle boys like that. She wanted her first time to be with a Bronzerider.


Leaning back on her hands, Emerene lengthened her legs out in front of her, though her skirt rode up to a little above her knees as she did so, leaving the rest of her legs bare in the grass. "Say. Do you think you'll talk to him again, ever? I mean...in the near future? I wonder if we could play a trick on them? Beat them at their own game? Or maybe...Maybe I could fetch me a Bronzerider, too." Only half teasing, Emerene winked at Veyani.

Veyani was glad that Emerene didn’t think it was a completely stupid thing to do. The other girl shouldn’t feel jealous though. After all, if Veya liked him (and she wasn’t admitting to that at all), it would be horrible for such feelings to be one sided. "I cannot allow myself to go there, Emerene." She said with an almost wistful smile."I know myself too well. If you feel things as intensely as I do then you understand, its a self preservation thing."

The fact was when Veyani cared about things or people, she cared far too deeply. If she allowed herself to have stronger feelings for S’jiro than she should have then they would grow and she could not stand for him to get the better of her now. She did not want to be someone who gave in to him because of his charm and his other attractions which he had shown her last night. She had also only known him for a very short time, she couldn't trust herself to know what she was feeling. Besides it was better to impress without emotional attachments. Hopefully to a fabulous green dragon who got all the fun and none of the responsibility.

Even if he was still somewhat of a mystery, she could not lower herself to begging him for love. That would be horrible. Much worse than anything he was planning. “I don’t know. I did not think about seeing him again…. I mean not on purpose.” Veya would be happy to let the matter rest for a while. Someday he might be ready to enter her life again in some way but as he was bent on making her a fool from what Emerene had told her, she would have to go about her life as usual. If he happened to be somewhere that she was at, then that was his problem.

“What kind of trick?” Veyani was always up for pranks and practical jokes. She didn’t mind having them played on her. “He does love his things…” And she knew his weyr and could potentially do some damage there. She didn’t want to get into too much trouble. To love things more than ordinary people was just plain silly anyway.

"Hmmmmm..." Emerene was thoughtful quiet for a moment then.

The girl'd been about to say something regarding her ideas for a prank on the Bronze boys when there came the sudden sound of many wings overhead. With a hand upheld to shade her eyes, Emerene looked up to the sky to see four Bronze dragons flying their direction.

Four? If it was four in number, it had to be the Bronzers they'd just been talking about. That very group alone, traveled in such a pack. As they neared, the brilliance of the varied metallic hides was a sight to behold. Something that Emerene never tired of. She never understood why her mother didn't like Bronzes. Their combined power and grace never failed to take her breath away. Bronzes had always inspired a sense of awe in her. They were so glorious to behold.

That being said, she should technically be very upset with S'jiro right now, but seeing as Veyani was not...how could she waste her breath? She'd rather drool over their Bronzerider physiques. Yes. That sounded like a much better way to spend her time.

"Look! I think they're going to land at the lake. They must be taking a swim." Turning her head to glance over at Veya again, she was gauging just how the girl might react to being in S'jiro's presence again, when she'd just said that she wanted to avoid him. Maybe they should leave.





S'jiro's rufous Bronze came to land along the shore, only a couple of wing spans from Sh'nar. The other boys of their circle were also nearby. He hadn't paid much attention to who might be keeping themselves shaded beneath the tree, but as he dismounted from Zemarith's back, the Bronzerider faced them to look, offering the barest acknowledgement that Emerene and Veyani were there.

Great. Sarcasm dripped from the word. He was just waiting for Sh'nar to come give him a hard time again, and he'd just gotten sh'nar off his back about what had happened between he and Veyani.

Are you bothered that she's here?

I can't help it that she shows up everywhere I go. Trying not to be annoyed, at least in appearances, S'jiro tried to ignore the girls' presence. Turning his back to them, facing Zemarith, the Bronzerider shucked off his clothes, stripping down to the swim trunks he'd worn beneath. His clothes were piled neatly and then, apparently with telepathy, communicated with Zemarith, because the bronze took off for the water. It wasn't long before one of the other Bronze who'd come with them, was splashing down into the water, ready for some horseplay. He and Zemarith were mock fighting, becoming the great source of waves that washed up the shore then.

S'jiro met the other men by the water's edge, trying to steer clear of getting in the way of the dragon roughhousing. S'jiro looked like he was laughing, and one of the other riders went after him, trying to tackle him. S'jiro was a little quicker on his feet than he might seem apparently, because he twisted himself just out of reach and then threw a fake punch. The two of them, like their dragons, got to being rambunctious, and eventually one of them ended up climbing up on S'jiro's back. S'jiro ran them to the water and both of them went diving in.

When he came up from the water, wiping a hand over his face to clear the water from his eyes, S'jiro hollered after Sh'nar to join them. "Sh'nar! You're next."

Veyani didn't have much time to worry about how she might feel when she saw him again. She understood he had every intention of trying to make her feel inferior to him. Unlike most people she had an unrealistic view of the world. She was a dreamer and wanted the world to be as she saw it, rather than how it actually was. She had no illusions though about S'jiro, which might seem to go against her normal dreaminess.

She watched as S'jiro played with Zemarith, revealing the other side to him he tried to hide. A side of him she had seen, however brief it may have been. Well at least he loved his dragon.

While he wasn't sure what to make of the girl's already beign there, he decided it was pure coincidence. Not that he really believed in coincidences. Maybe the chance meetings of the two people were something akin to fate. They were going to somehow be part of one another's lives be it in a good way or a bad way but it seemed to him life was pushing them into the same places at the same time.

Sh'nar followed S'jiro and was the next to shuck off his clothes, although he was perfectly aware of the young women watching so he did so as slowly as he could without looking like an idiot. He swam after his friend, enjoying the cool water. Cymrioth met up with Zemarith and S'jiro in the water, creating a huge wave which almost crashed over their heads.

Catching up with his dragon, he began a water fight with S'jiro and Zemarith, taunting him and laughing at the dragon's whose antics were quite amusing.

On land Veyani glanced at Emerene and said quietly, "They left their clothes on shore. How long do you think till they notice they are missing?" Her eyes were alight with mischief. "I think I know just the place..."

S'jiro sprung up from the water high enough to place his hands on the top of Sh'nar's head, trying to push him under the surface as soon as he was near enough. In the mean time, the dragons provided enough splashing and waves to have made a Terran water park envious. The rest of the group were caught up in starting a game of marco polo.


While Emerene did nothing to hide the fact that she was in full admiration, starry eyed over the Bronzeriders as they shucked their clothes off, her eyes in particular, rested on Sh'nar. He was the last in the water, anyway, and had made the biggest show of removing his layers. Emerene enjoyed every moment of it.

The girl's eyes grew wide and shocked when she realized what Veyani was suggesting; but it took only a split second for that expression to transform into one perfectly pleased with the idea. She was giddy at the thought that they should be handling something that the Bronzeriders owned -let alone wore! Right against their hot, naked bodies! What teenage girl wouldn't want to steal their clothes? Of course Emerene saw nothing wrong with that.

"Well. Seeing as they have preoccupied themselves and never invited us to join them, we owe them." If for no other reason. "Even if they see us, it'll take them a while to get out of the water."

Emerene was giggling hysterically and followed Veyani to the water's edge where they both took up two sets of clothes -no shoes or smaller articles.


With all the ruckus going on in the water, none of the boys noticed when their clothes went missing. A dragon or two may have, however. But if so, nothing was yet said. Of course none of the dragons would have anticipated what were about to happen to said clothes.

Grabbing up two sets of the clothes, she sprinted off in the direction of the stables. Laughing, said, "They are going to be sooo pissed. It'll be worth it. Watching them walk around without their clothes on." She slowed down once they were a good distance from the water.

"I hope the dragons didn't notice. They seemed completely engrossed in their game though." She paused her words for a brief moment,"To the manure pile..." She laughed. S'jiro deserved it and so did his friends. No matter how good looking they might be. I think the women at the laundry wouldn't mind the extra work for the chance to see the four of them without clothes.


Sh'nar was laughing and trying to get the better of his Bronze which was nearly impossible. Finally, feeling a bit tired of the game, Cymrioth waded back to shore and went to sun himslef on the shore. "Watch out for our clothes. We left them there so they wouldn't get wet."

Don't be a wherry. Your clothes are gone.
What do you mean they are gone?
The two pretty ones took them.
Does that girl have a death wish?
Pretty ones will have pretty dragons...
Your logic is irritating right now.
I won't tell you where they went then.
Do you have any idea how pissed off S'jiro will be when he finds those girls? He's been completely irrational all morning over that blonde one. And she has gone and gotten Emerene involved. If S'jiro continues to go after this girl and gets Emerene involved, Weyrwoman Karene will not  be pleased.

Sighing he swam to shore, if the clothes were in fact gone...and they were. None of their accessories were gone but shirts and pants were distinctly missing.

"Our clothes are gone!" He called to the other three. "Cymrioth claims two pretty girls took them..." And he knew exactly where that was going to lead. S'jiro wouldn't let her get away with this. Which meant they were all going to be involved. He had a feeling the next thing he did to her would be more than humiliating. If he got into a dangerous mental place, there was no stopping him really, at least not by Sh'nar.

Well,...at least they all had their swim trunks and they weren't completely nekkid. By the time S'jiro, L'kar and Z'mir had caught onto what distraction preoccupied Sh'nar and his dragon, they were all swimming to shore to get a closer look for themselves, that in fact, their clothes had been taken.

Once out of the water, each of the men quickly realized that what they were left with was jacket and boots. S'jiro was looking back toward the tree under which Emerene and Veyani had been sitting under, and realizing they were gone simply confirmed his suspicions of who must have taken their things.

Zemarith! Did you see where they went?

Who?

Our clothes! I mean -the girls! Both! Flustered enough, his words came out wrong and then he had to stop and think about what he was saying before he got confused.  Either way, the girls had probably run back in the direction of the Weyr caverns.

I was playing. Why don't you ask Cymiroth. It seems he may have.

Turning to make his way to where the remainder of Sh'nar's things were piled at, S'jiro didn't bother asking. He jumped right to taking action. "Let's go get our stuff back. If we can."




Before the boys ever started moving, Emerene and Veyani had made their way nearly to the Weyr cavern entrances where they could lose the boys through the corridors, if they decided to give pursuit.

Emerene looked back once or twice to see whether they were being followed, just before they got there, and seeing as at least a couple of the Bronzeriders had started running after them on foot, figuring they could catch up fast enough, the girl screamed. It was all because she was overly excited, but she still laughed, urging Veyani to run faster!

"Hurry! Hurry! Go! They're going to catch up to us!"

Entering into the Weyr once more, headed toward the stables, Emerene was giggling as they went, unable to help herself. She followed Veyani, still clinging to her armload of bronzerider clothes, winding through the passage ways until they reached their destination.

Sh’nar looked at Cymrioth with complete irritation. I’m not telling, its much more fun to watch you sweat this out. For Faranth’s sake, the Bronze was behaving like a child! Grumbling under his breath he waited for the others to come and see exactly what had been taken. S’jiro of course was as seething mad as he had anticipated. Not even bothering to interrogate Cymrioth, he decided they should go after the young women even though they had no indication of which direction they may have headed.

He followed S’jiro somewhat reluctantly. Sh’nar wanted his clothes back, he was upset they had been taken but what concerned him more was in what way S’jiro would be getting back at Veyani. Not only would he be unable to stop his friend from retaliating but he would more than likely feel the need to join in the planning. She had had a chance to let things end where they were and now her life was going to get much much worse. She deserved whatever S’jiro had planned for her.

Unless he started to act obsessed, then perhaps Sh’nar would have to intercede on her behalf. The harper turned dragonrider truly wished it would not come to that. Although it was more likely that neither his friend or the girl would back down now that their war of humiliation and pranks had begun. Running just behind S’jiro he thought he caught a glimpse of the girls running into the Weyr. “Did you see them?!! To the Weyr!” He yelled back at Z’mir and L’mar.

Emerene’s scream got her nervous. Were they coming? She dared not look back and see. Veyani focused on the path ahead, finding her breathing growing more jagged as they went. The caverns of the weyr were fairly empty at this point and the few people they came across, she moved around or almost ran over them. “Sorry!” She said to one person whom she tripped in her efforts to keep ahead of the men following them.

Feeling exhilarated from the run, she found a new energy. Her body was lean, used to hard work but she would not call herself much of a runner. So despite her appearance she found Emerene’s pace hard to keep up with. “I… need… to … breathe…” The young woman felt her cheeks growing hot, almost red now with exertion. She was going to have to get in better shape so she could outrun rider’s better.

She turned down some of the passageways until they came to the latrines. Stopping, she smiled at Emerene. “Ready?” She asked with a wink. They were so dead, but it was worth it! A million times, it was worth it. S’jiro would see that he could be humiliated just as easily as she could be and besides it was fun just thinking that the four most elitist Bronzeriders were walking through the wear in nothing but their undergarments.

Emerene stopped long enough to apologize to every person they nearly accidentally trampled, nearly tripping over her own feet once or twice as she did so.

By the time Veyani stopped to take a breather, Emerene was gasping for breath. "Oh! Oh.. I think they're right behind us." It was then that she realized that Veyani had stopped because they were right next to the latrines. Looking back once more, Emerene followed Veyani down the final corridor to their destination.

"Alright. I'm ready." Meeting Veyani's gaze with a firm and determined nod, Emerene held out her pile of clothes. She pursed her lips together, a little out of nervous habit, and then dropped her armful of clothes into the nearest latrine.

Watching the clothes disappear, the girl spoke almost reverently, but without a hint of remorse. "We're in big trouble now. Ohhhh, I really don't want to be around when they find out...We should run." Nodding matter of factly, she looked to Veyani to follow.  "Hurry!"

Well. Emerene figured she had no reason to be remorseful; these particular Bronzers deserved it. They'd been picking on poor defenseless candidates, weyrlings and riders for turns and no one had ever stood up to them. Not like this anyway. That should make it all the more interesting to watch their surprised reactions.





When the group of Bronzeriders rushed through cavern entrance, careful not to slip and fall, it was obvious that every set of eyes around them had to stop and stare. At least a little. It must have been a spectacle considering they were all still perfectly wet, and what scant garments they'd worn swimming, clung to them. Let it be known that S'jiro certainly did have a greater sense of propriety than to usually run about as he was now, but given the circumstances, it couldn't be helped.

S'jiro was looking back at the others, motioning. "I think I heart them in this direction." He led L'mar, Z'mir and Sh'nar down the passageway the girl's had gone, but still not 100 percent certain it was the right trail they were on. Periodically though, they found someone picking up after themselves, after having been run over by the girls, and so that offered some evidence as to just where the girls were going. Still, S"jiro didn't think that they'd be headed to the latrines.

After dumping the clothes in the latrines, well, Veya hadn't thought that far. "Yeah, lets move! She took Emerene's advice though and got moving quickly. She almost wanted to be caught which was silly but it would mean no more running and the thought of being caught was rather exciting.

Her blouse was floating a bit as she ran, creating a tinkling sensation on her arm. She kept wanting to scratch her arm. Resisting the urge and focusing on what they were doing she came to the realization the Headwoman would probably hear about this if they were caught. Until then, well, innocent until proven otherwise.

"We can't go to the Barracks." She said loud enough for Emerene to hear. They would surely be captured if they did. "Where to now?" She asked breathlessly. Trying to dodge people as best she could. they were leaving a wake of caverns folk behind them. Glancing back as she apologized to one woman, she could swear she saw the four Bronzeriders.


At first he had been unaware of how they were being watched as the four of them ran barefoot and bare chested, legged well everything was bare other than what areas their swim trunks covered. As he realized most people stopped what they were doing to watch them, he felt humiliated. He hated that feeling. Sh'nar would do anything to have the power to be completely in control of that feeling.  

Too many times in his young life was he forced to feel like he was nothing. That wasn't him anymore. "We're being humiliated!" He grumbled. "That girl better run faster..." Cause if they caught up to them, he wasn't going to hold back and neither was S'jiro. She'd messed with the wrong Bronzeriders. He was beginning to understand S'jiro's need to put her in her place.

Now she was influencing Emerene. They couldn't touch Emerene though, not while her mother was taking such interest in teaching her to run the Weyr. They might need to point out that Emerene was actually causing as much trouble as her brothers for once.

"We're catching up." He smiled taking a quick side glance to assess S'jiro's reaction to those words. People seemed to be getting out of their way much better than the girls. He could have sworn he saw Veyani's face, turned around for a brief moment.

"Where to now?"

Emerene paused, not really sure which direction to go. Just not back in the same direction they'd just come from. The riders were surely right on their tail.

"What do you mean? This was you're idea. Didn't you have an escape in mind?"
Emerene almost pouted when she glanced over to the other girl, a little disappointed. But after a moment, she grabbed Veya's hand and pulled her in another direction. "I know! This way!"

Emerene hurried down the next cavern corridor, leading to the lower levels. "There are storage rooms down here that we can hide in for a little while." Ducking into one of the storage rooms, Emerene led them to the back of it, where they could tuck themselves away, out of sight. Hopefully none of the Bronzeriders would expect them to hide there, and no one else would come by and accidentally give them away.




S'jiro couldn't help at being amused that finally Sh'nar was starting to understand that the sweet outward visage of Veyani was just a ruse. Why would S'jiro waste his time trying to humiliate a girl who wasn't perfectly deserving?

Now that they were somewhat more air dried -or at least his feet felt that way- S'jiro dared to try to run faster to catch up to the girls. Rounding the next bend, he realized where they were headed.

The latrines?

Well, ....maybe the girls just happened to run by there.

S'jiro stopped at the door there, but seeing no immediate evidence of anyone there, guessed that they'd ran on. He waved the others to keep on following after. "Come on. I think they're just ahead."

Veyani didn't think they would get as far as they had. The world whizzed by them as they ran, and Veyani began to feel a little light headed. Breathing would be a good idea, she thought as Emerene took her hand. Oh, maybe they wouldn't think to look in the storage area.

"Thank goodness. I can't run anymore..." She said collapsing on the ground, hiding behind some of the storage crates. They probably had to be quiet now. Sweat dripped from her brow and she used the arm of her blouse to mop it off of her face. Her breathing was irregular. She was going to have to do more physical training now that she was here at the Weyr. Mainly so she could run if she got into trouble.

Sitting there, she had an increasing need to pee. The suspense was getting to her. Her breathing was returning to normal and the room began to feel cool almost cold. She heard someone coming down to the storage rooms.

--

Sh'nar wondered what would bring them down this way. It would have made more sense to run to the Barracks if they wanted protection from the Candidate Master. Not that it would have stopped them. They wanted their clothes back almost as much as they wanted to make an example of the girls. Taking THEIR stuff was not acceptable. In any way.

He was a strong runner, because he had trained and did train every day. Looking this good didn't come from nothing. He could see the girls as Emerene rushed to get them into the passage to the storage rooms. Getting to the door, he pushed it open and walked in. There was no way out but through them.

Time for them to pay for what they had done. "You cannot hide forever. Come out and face us or be known as the cowards you must surely be."

Emerene needed time to catch her breath too; if not for all the running, the exhillaration had taken it from her. Squeezing between crates and barrels, Emerene found herself a little cranny to hide in where she called over for Veyani to squeeze in with her.

When the Bronzeriders stormed in, all she could hear was Sh'nar's angry tone. Emerene instinctively clapped a hand over her mouth to stiffle her surprise. How had they found them so fast? The Bronzeriders certainly caught up quickly. And Emerene wasn't sure if she dared trying to peek over the crates to see if they were moving into the room to look for them. Maybe they'd look a little and then leave, assuming they'd walked intot the wrong storage room. She and Veyani could only hope.


S'jiro went into the room behind Sh'nar, glad that he wasn't the only one miffed about their missing clothes. It seemed as though L'mar and Z'mir were upset as well. Each of the riders went in a different direction, looking behind barrels and within overturned or opened crates in hopes of finding either of the girls. S'jiro climbed up on top of some of them to get a better aerial perspective, thinking that might be the best way to spot them if they'd managed to squeeze into some tight places.

She shivered with a kind of fear at the sound of Sh’nar’s voice. There really was nowhere to go to now, they either had to wait to be found, which was likely to happen, or give up their location. Veyani remained quiet, considering if she should give herself up and act as if Emerene wasn’t there. The men would know she was there, no matter what Veya said.

As Sh’nar called them cowards, she grimaced. She wouldn’t allow them to label her a coward and perhaps that was the whole reason behind him saying it. Eyes meeting Emerene’s, Veyani gave a look that said she was going to give herself up. What was coming would be inevitable.

Standing slowly, she moved out from where they had nestled themselves. She could not make out where any of the men were but she spoke in a steady voice. “I’m not a coward. You are.” She walked closer to the entrance, seeing Sh’nar quite clearly now. The look in his eyes suggested that was probably one of the worst things she could have said to him. No one knew of Sh’nar’s childhood. He didn’t talk about it and he didn’t want to. The past shaped him into who he was.

His eyes squinted in anger. “Watch your tongue, or I’ll cut it out. Veyani is it? I don’t know who you think you are but here at the Weyr you treat those of higher rank with the respect and dignity their rank deserves.” He allowed his voice to become quite hateful.

Veyani stood completely unaffected by the Bronzerider’s tone. “I respect those who earn it. I cannot respect men who choose to make examples of people who are clearly never going to achieve the rank they have. Just because someone is lower in station doesn’t make him or her less deserving of respect. Dragonriders will learn one day that tithes don’t come from nowhere. Farmer and people of so-called lesser station are just as important to the survival of Pern and its inhabitants as riders are.”

The handsome man, had no compassion for those lesser people. They were weak. “By lesser you mean weak. Weak people are undeserving of anyone’s respect, only pity and I find I have little to no reason to pity them.” He stopped talking to the blonde idiot, thinking perhaps S’jiro could reason with her, so his broad shoulders, pushed past her. He was obviously looking for Emerene the accomplice.

“Emerene, come out now or I’ll report this to the Weyrwoman.” He had every intention of reporting this to Karene either way but there would be less embellishment if she came out of hiding and confessed to her crimes. Once both girls were there, he would see that neither of them had the clothes they were looking for.

Emerene didn't care about Sh'nar's insults. This was all fun and games for her, even if the rest of them wanted to take it more seriously. The Bronzeriders probably just didn't appreciate the off chance that they may have bruised egos after this, that's all. That's why Sh'nar was acting so tough all of a sudden.

Pft. Threatening to get her mother involved? Weak threats. Of all people, Emerene did not fear her mother. She did hate to be the cause of mother's disappointment though, if that were the case. In any case, that's not why she decided to give herself up just then.

The girl's expression was completely miffed since they had to be found out so soon. She was more disappointed that their game hadn't been able to go on any longer, than anything else. She wanted to groan, rolling her eyes as she moved out into the open where the Bronzeriders were able to see them; as she climbed over the two or three boxes in her way, squeezing back through the narrow places, her hair bounced around her shoulders, having to brush it back from her face with a hand as she appeared infront of Sh'nar.

Emerene met Sh'nar's eyes evenly, having not an ounce of fear about her regarding the consequences of their actions. If Sh'nar felt the need to act tough in front of her, then that was up to him.

The girl's mouth worked into a somewhat comical, yet quizzical face, with a single slender brow arched over dusky blue eyes. "Why are you getting so upset all of a sudden? You act like you're completely unfamiliar with antics like ours."

As she spoke to Sh'nar, she couldn't help but bring her eyes down to admire his bare torso for a moment; she tried realllly hard not to let her eyes go any lower than that. But,she didn't try to hide the fact that she was admiring his looks... though she didn't ogle rudely at him either. "Anyway, our game is no more abhorrent than the one you Bronzeriders participate in rather regularly." And she referred to their habit of bullying or hazing, whether it was a severe case or not. Emerene knew they just didn't appreciate the tables being turned on them.

She was smiling back at Sh'nar then, a bit smugly, though it appeared as though she might be about to laugh. "So don't think you can lecture me about scandalous games. It's all been in good fun. Just as much good fun as S'jiro cornering a poor defenseless candidate in his weyr." And with that, her eyes turned back up to Sh'nar's rather slyly.

The Weyrwoman couldn't regulate everything that everyone did. She didn't have time to care about it all. The only things that got reported to her were important things that threatened the integrity of the Weyr as a whole or the Wings. These kinds of games Sh'nar might like to think would just reflect poorly on Emerene and maybe here mom might give her a scolding or take her out of her opportunity to assist the Headwoman, but that kind of thing didn't scare her. Even if Karene decided to do so, a little 'incident' like getting back at the Bronzeriders for their own mischief wouldn't keep her from being able to stand on the sands later.

Emerene was convinced her mother would never make such a huge deal out of having a little fun with the Bronzeriders -especially since Karene hated them. She hoped that if Sh'nar went to the Weyrwoman about it, that the Weyrwoman laughed in his face! That would show him!

"Veyani owes S'jiro one anyway, Sh'nar, so don't make such a big deal out of it. I think this might just about make them even." The Weyrwoman's daughter was peering back at Veyani then, not able to keep that hint of a mischievous grin from her face.




Well... after all this time, what made Sh'nar think S'jiro was about to be able to reason with the stubborn blonde one? S'jiro was just glad that his friends were finally starting to see things his way and understand why he'd gone to such lengths to try and put her in her place earlier. Maybe now Sh'nar and the others would be more agreeable about it. It seemed that way, anyway. Judging by his tone of voice, Sh'nar was not happy to find his clothes had gone missing -nor very happy to have been made to run around the Weyr with next to no clothes on.

Though he was glad that Sh'nar had cornered Veyani, where he could try to correct her way of thinking that somehow the Weyrs operated just like the outside world, S'jiro had some funny feeling that his words would just roll off of her. So, it didn't surprise him when she started to argue the point.

Jumping from the crates he'd climbed upon, just as Sh'nar started after Emerene, S'jiro's expression was no less pleasant than that of any of the other Bronzers present. He went to where Veyani stood, then. "Sh'nar's right. Whether you want to accept it or not, Dragons themselves are part of the reason for the hierarchy that we adhere to at the Weyr. If you ever hope to Impress, that's something you're going to have to come to terms with. If you should Impress, it's something that your dragon will understand, even if you are too stubborn to. It's a hierarchy that cannot be broken or changed. It doesn't matter if you want to like a Rider or hate them, Dragonrider ranks are to be respected. As long as you live here, you will have to learn to do the same."

Sh’nar stared down at the girl with cold blue eyes. He wasn’t pleased at all by this. Even if his threats had been empty and they couldn’t touch Emerene, he could do things to people she was friends with. He could make anyone who associated with her regret the liaison. She had underestimated his desire for vengeance. Anytime someone tried to dissolve his status, he had to reestablish the fact that he was their better and they would submit to his power if nothing else.

Z’mir and L’mar climbed over some boxes and back down to find where the girls had been hiding, only to see their clothes were not there. “They aren’t here.” One of them called over to Sh’nar. He didn’t care that the young woman was looking at him with desire, it was only natural after all. And if she ever really pissed him off maybe she was hoping he would corner her in his weyr. Girlish fantasies, he sighed inwardly. As if he didn’t have enough woman trouble at the moment.

Instead of arguing with her, he acted like she hadn’t said anything. “Where are our clothes?” His tone was insistent. “And don’t be a fool, Emerene, and lie to me.” It had not occurred to the girls what four men could do to them. Not that Sh’nar was one to use violence against women but they were about to get on his last nerve. Even if Emerene was essentially off-limits, it didn’t mean she couldn’t be forced to watch them hurt her friend.

Sh’nar would never be physically violent to another person who was defenseless but that didn’t mean the others had qualms with it. None of them asked about his problem with physical violence but being used as punching bag for his father as a child and then being bullied, he chose not to be like those people. He had to control his urge to become physical with people who irritated him. He was kind of afraid of what would happen if he was pushed that far.

Veyani shook her head. “Rank is not indicative of respect.” Her brown eyes were steady as she stared at S’jiro. Whatever Sh’nar was saying to Emerene, she didn’t hear it. Emerene was probably right, it wasn’t a good idea for her to be in close proximity to S’jiro. Her indifference to what had happened, however off-putting to Emerene was effective at not becoming overwhelmed by emotion. Her tough skin, as it were, did not protect her as well as she thought it would. Being indifferent didn’t help her at all when he was so close. She had to use her wits to hide her emotions, otherwise S’jiro would know what she was feeling.

Laughing to break the uncomfortable feeling of dealing with him now, “Life is change. Nothing will ever be the same as it is right now. You are so comfortable hiding behind rank and hierarchy aren’t you? Is that why people should respect you? Because you have a higher rank? There is more to you than a title. Maybe you should think about that before trying to force people to do your bidding based on one. People serve those whom they think worthy of serving and that has less to do with a title and more to do with how they are treated.”

And he could do with that what he would. No doubt he would argue that she was not seeing things clearly. Nothing he said would change what she thought. He had been a sheltered Hold boy and now he was a sheltered Bronzerider. When did he ever have to do anything in the real world? Sure she was just the daughter of a cothold farmer but what little she had seen of the world told her that people made what they wanted of their lives. Lords chose to treat their people with respect which was then put back to them. As the old adage went, you reap what you sow.

While Veyani wanted to ramble on and on about her idealistic views of what a Wyer should be like, S'jiro wondered just why he'd said anything in the first place to her about any of it. Of course she wasn't going to listen to anything he said or give his words an ounce of consideration. How ignorant. He suspected it wouldn't do any good to try arguing any sense into such a stubborn-headed girl like her!

Still, he was almost as angry as Sh'nar. That expression shone most through his eyes, though it was starting to bleed more heavily into the rest of his face. His brows furrowed now, as she completed those thoughts to him, and he couldn't help but stare back at her with utter disbelief. He almost wanted to throw his hands up in the air being as exasperated with her as he was.

Uhg! This girl! He couldn't believe her! Could anyone be this stubborn?

"If that's what you think the Weyr is like, then you're going to find yourself in a world full of disappointment from here on out." Glowering down at her a moment longer, he continued those thoughts, "Ranks and Titles are what ensure an order to things in this world. Whether you personally like a Holder or not, would you withhold tithes? Knowing that your decision could effect a greater number of people? Would you choose to defy the order he set in place because you did not think he was the kind of person worthy of your respect? That Holder still protects you with his Guard and he still makes decisions every day that protect your livelihood and interests. Whether he likes you. Whether you like him.

"There are duties there, required of a person holding a rank, and when those duties -that serve you- are performed, it is only rioght that you should bear proper respects to the person who performed them. This Weyr is no different."

S'jiro realized that he himself held no real rank yet, other than Bronzerider, outside of the influence he and his family held based on birthright otherwise, but that didn't mean he wouldn't one day. He could admit that he simply hadn't tried for it yet. He'd left the path of being a Holder or holding some other rank within the holds long ago, but once he was old enough, he would surely amount to something on his own. By his own efforts, he fully intended on becoming worthy of that kind of respect she spoke of now; but within the Weyr, he was too young yet.. and that didn't change the fact that ranks needed to be recognized to keep order. The world couldn't function the way she seemed to think it could.

"If a Queen chooses her mate and makes him Weyrleader, even if you were to despise him, he is still your Weyrleader. He still does everything in his power to preserve you here and protect the Weyr which you reside in -and to protect Pern. As long as he fulfills that duty, you owe it to him to respect him, no matter what you think of him as a person. The same goes for every other rank. That is how the Weyr maintains order. It would fall apart if it didn't have a hierarchy. Hierarchy is written into the very nature of us."





Just as Sh'nar had ignored her words, her eyes turned away, seeming disinterested in answering him. But she did. With a smirk. "We don't have your clothes. We dropped them off a ways back, down the hall."

Watching S'jiro and Veyani in heated debate, she almost wanted to laugh at how intense their conversation seemed to be. This was too much fun. Emerene was really enjoying pushing Bronzeriders' buttons. And none of them seemed to be able to take a joke in the same way they expected others to put up with their own crap. Uhg! Insufferable. Now she could kind of see why her mother tended not to like them.

But... that wasn't about to keep her from being interested.

Emerene's eyes flashed from S'jiro and Veya to L'mar and Z'rim, window shopping as it were. Even if Bronzeriders did have egos to match that of their dragons, they certainly didn't disappoint in other aspects. With a bit of a dreamy sigh, Emerene couldn't help but appreciate the fact that she had been born at the Weyr, with so many good looking men about. And she was practically free to do as she pleased with any of them. No restrictive holdbound rules to suffer. Still, she hadn't had the courage to go as far as that yet. Emerene still had some lady-like sensibilities about her. Or maybe it was self-respect. Or maybe she just wanted to tease them a while longer.

Yes. She would have to just try teasing them a while longer. She couldn't afford to let her focus be taken off the fact that she'd be standing on the sands for a Gold before long. That goal was much more desirable than any Bronze. It was a goal worthy of all her focus.

Sh'nar grimaced, hearing the argument between S'jiro and Veyani. "S'jiro, its not worth explaining to her. She is ignorant. Someone will show her the meaning of hierarchy later on." He looked at Z'rim and L'mar. Then back at Emerene. "That isn't a very good description of where you left them." There were ways to coerce information from women when one wasn't wearing clothes but he wasn't about to give her anything she might want.

"Tell me what I want to know." This was so not amusing. Even the idea that she found it to be a game was irritating. This was no game. All of this was about getting back at S'jiro, so they could at least give him his clothes back. He didn't encourage S'jiro's behavior the other night. And now they had better be even. He had a feeling the girls had done something unforgivable with his clothes. There had to be a reason why they wouldn't tell them so that the Bronzeriders would leave.

Maybe they wanted the attention. Emerene was a known flirt, so that wouldn't surprise him if that was what this was about for her. And that Veyani had some sort of thing for S'jiro and S'jiro was allowing her to get under his skin. Ergh, women. He needed a break from them on the whole. He didn't understand them at all.

AS for Veya, she didn't really appreciate his speech. S'jiro believed what he wanted to believe. "I don't have to agree with you." She said in response to his speech. In fact that was a nice way of saying she saw things very differently than he did. She could agree on disagreeing.

"And I suppose you'll be wanting to be Weyrleader someday." She wouldn't be surprised if he did. Those who had rank always wanted a better one. She wasn't ambitious in that way. She wanted to Impress, but she wasn't about to give up her beliefs. And she certainly would have been more respectful were she doing work or even in drills or something but this was her free time. Free time meant not having to worry about the hierarchy of the weyr and just treating other people decently. It wasn't her fault he didn't have common decency. Guess it really wasn't that common.

"You're going to want to hear this." She said as Sh'nar asked his question about the clothes again. Where were their clothes?