Just another day of drills (Tag: Sh'nar!)

Usually it was the case that rumours spread more quickly amoungst the candidate and weyrling crowd than amoungst mature riders -due to their difference in age. And thus far, S'jiro hadn't heard anything amoungst the rest of his Wing about what had happened between he and Veyani. Though, he also hadn't had a chance to meet up with any of the other riders in he and Sh'nar's small group of friends that usually hung out together. Typically, because they had to make certain that all the new riders and candidates to the Weyr knew their hierarchy, they kept track of such important pieces of gossip.

Since they'd all arrived at Fort Weyr and come together as the betters of the Weyr, seeing that they were all from some highborn family, that had been their practice. They demanded the respects of the highborn they were. And usually, simply because they all happened to be Bronzeriders, and all very attractive, people naturally treated them with due respect; and likewise the group treated others with respect. It was just in those infrequent times, when some lowborn decided to assert themselves unnecessarily, that things got messy.


Feeling rather pleased with himself that morning, after he and Veyani's little romp in the sack, S'jiro must have seemed more energetic about getting to Wing practice. He had come to realize that he hadn't even asked the girl for her name before screwing her, and vice versa on her part, but then that wasn't really important. The important thing was that he'd been given a chance to severely mar her reputation. Which he fully intended on doing, for being one of those stubborn people who was far beneath him, but insisted on trying to be his equal.

She'd revealed that she was a virgin, too. She certainly had the body of one. And the girl ended up willingly giving it to him -something that he had not initially anticipated happening. But all the better for him.

S'jiro's feeling must have been been strong enough that it leaked to Zemarith without him even saying anything, because as he secured saddle straps against the Bronze's side, the Bronze was speaking into his mind of it.

Why did you show her so much affection if you don't like her?

Affection? S'jiro's head snapped up to meet the Bronze's big eyes, clearly surprised.

Human mating doesn't have to be any different than that of dragons. The necessity was there. That's all. But still, S'jiro couldn't hide the fact that previous lovers he'd had, he did not dislike. He had used them for temporary companionship which included sex, but it wasn't anything like what had happened between he and the girl last night. Zemarith knew that.

The Bronze seemed to think about that, and knew his rider's habits, so allowed that S'jiro's response could satisfy the question.

The Bronze crooned then, while S'jiro smoothed a hand affectionately over his hide. No matter what kind of mood he was in, it was impossible for S'jiro's feeling not to overflow with love for the dragon -especially while they were together. Zemarith felt that intensity of emotion from him more strongly than any other emotion, and so his eyes closed, crooning affectionately in return.

I'm going to have to put some more oil on your hide later today. Maybe right after practice. How does that sound? Maybe we could go for a short swim in the lake first.

Zemarith seemed pleased by that idea, bringing his head to look back in his rider's direction as S"jiro finished getting them ready for flight practice.

Cymrioth waited as Sh’nar tightened the riding straps. You’re quiet. Just thinking about why S’jiro skipped out on poker night… The dragon’s eyes whirled in amusement. Well I know why. Its all over the Weyr. He dragged some young Candidate girl to his weyr. Rumor is that she is a farm girl and completely illiterate. The whole thing was completely ridiculous. He skipped out on poker night for a farm girl? Come on Cymrioth you know better than to listen to idle gossip.

Sh’nar was in a sort of shock for a moment. It couldn’t be true. First of all no one ever missed poker night and second S’jiro would never bed a commoner out of choice. Maybe because of a flight but those greenriders were practice for Goldflights. Although it was kind of interesting how adept his frined was with the greens. Still rumors like that didn’t get started on their own. No matter how good a story, there had to be witnesses, multiple witnesses for the dragons to have caught wind of it.

He would know the truth of it all from his friend. Not that his dragon was lying but this was all gossip. So most likely more than 85% of it was wrong. She was probably beautiful and from a wealthy family… but then the scandalous rumor would say he shamed her family in some  way. Hmmm, well he would have to wait to talk to S’jiro.

Arriving at Drills, he participated with that gossip on his mind. When they were over he had a few things he wanted to talk to S'jiro about. Zemarith, Sh'nar would like to have a word or to with S'jiro...

Arriving to the Weyr bowl shortly after Sh'nar had, S'jiro got word from Zemarith, who got word from Cymiroth, that his friend wanted to talk to him. S'jiro immediately assumed it was about missing out on their game night without any mention he wouldn't be there. Zemarith had told him later on, that Cymiroth and the other Bronzes had been inquiring after his whereabouts, but Zemarith had kept pretty quiet about whatever was going on. S'jiro had seemed like he didn't want to be disturbed.

Alright. I'm coming.

Zemarith informed him where the other pair had parked themselves at, and so S'jiro started that way.

"Hey, Sh'nar. Sorry to miss last night." The Bronzerider seemed unconcerned about anything else, hardly giving another thought to the girl he'd been with.

Meeting S'jiro where he specified he grumbled, "We lost a wad of cash to those blueriders. UGh. I don't even want to think about it." Pouting because he hated to lose, he said, "You could have told me you had company. Then I could've cancelled, graciously. Now it seems they think you were more interested in defiling innocent sixteen turn old farm girls..."

He rolled his eyes, "Was it really that important? I mean she probably can't even hold a decent conversation." And he knew S'jiro would never bed someone who was dumb. He enjoyed the intelligent ones. "So tell me, was she worth it?" Owing those assholes all that money. She better damn well have been.

Sh'nar was already in an irritable mood and this just topped it off. Besides it would have been nice if his best friend let him in on his private life before the rest of the weyr knew.

S'jiro paused, considering Sh'nar's words briefly. Funny. Word must have gotten around faster than usual. And he'd assumed right: she was a commoner.

Although the Bronzerider had not even taken the time to consider her age, he'd just offhandedly figured she were a little older than that. But 16? He almost laughed. She had been brave for a girl of only 16 turns, the way he'd treated her. S'jiro could have even felt bad for her. But he didn't. He was still set on a path of ruining her life.

Anyway, now he felt somewhat responsible for the fact that Sh'nar'd lost out on the money. S'jiro shared in the feeling of being upset that they'd lost to mere Blueriders, but he wasn't all that concerned about the loss of marks. Marks were easy to come by.


"Was it really that important? I mean she probably can't even hold a decent conversation."

Heh. He was right about that. Nervous talker. He couldn't even get a word in edgewise if he'd tried.

"So tell me, was she worth it?" Owing those assholes all that money. She better damn well have been.

Fixing Sh'nar with a wry expression, he seemed to be disbelieving that the other Bronzerider even had to ask. "Are you serious? She's a commoner." And they both knew that commoners were only worth as much as the little wealth they had. None of them would ever measure up to the same standards that the two of them had.

From there, he could tell that his answer probably wasn't just what Sh'nar wanted to hear, but it was the truth. "Flat chested and dresses like a boy. What else do you expect? All I intend to do was scare her; make her run away. She wouldn't leave me alone. But now I am going to make sure she's humiliated. Everyone will see how dumb she is for letting herself be used." And now hopefully, he'd be able to have peace and quiet again, while rumours ran their course. Otherwise he'd have to resort to alternate methods of making her understand where she stood in the hierarchy of the weyr.

"Do you know her name?" S'jiro met him with the question in a tone of voice that showed he genuinely had no idea. And that previously he'd hardly cared. Even now, it was an after thought.

This was all coming from the guy who had a freak out when his holdbred sister had slept with his best friend. He seemed completely okay with ruining young virgin holdbred girls who were not his sister. Well then S’jiro was always so classist. Sh’nar having been a harper didn’t care quite as much about what someone was born. It was much more important what they became later on.

“Do you really think she is feeling humiliation?” He said, thinking that most of the girls there would be happy to have had some time with one of them. “What happens if she impresses a Gold?” Had S’jiro thought that through at all he wondered. Wouldn’t it then be better just to let things be as they were? Not that he thought a commoner like that worthy of a Queen but still stranger things had happened.

Sh’nar was not surprised his friend didn’t know the girl’s name but he was surprised that he wanted to know it. Generally S’jiro was more hands off when it came to teasing his victims so the name would be irrelevant. “I found her name rather pretty. When I had Cymrioth dig it up for me. Veyani. Most of the Candidates call her Veya.”

He looked at S’jiro’s face, fully trying to understand the man’s emotions but being unable to comprehend how cool he was playing this all. It was one thing to chase greens, it was quite another to coerce candidates who were very young into having intimate relations. He half wondered if S’jiro didn’t have some feeling for her. “It doesn’t feel right somehow. Are you sure you don’t have any feeling for her? I mean if she weren’t a commoner, you’d find her interesting and attractive…” This was all hypothetical. If she were of a higher class S’jiro would probably have been more gentlemanly.

Sh'nar never went out of his way for women except for goldriders and they deserved his every attention. He certainly wouldn't have done in his weyr what he could easily have done in a more humiliating fashion in a corridor or stairwell.

“Do you really think she is feeling humiliation?”

What was Sh'nar getting at? He knew how it worked. S'jiro had marked their target and now, at whatever cost, they would find some way of humiliating her and making her the laughing stock of all the candidates and weyrlings alike. If plan A didn't work, then there was always a plan B and so on. Their little game wasn't over yet.

Nevertheless, girls would always find something to be jealous about. If some envied her for letting herself be used, then those girls were just as stupid. That's why S'jiro would never let Veyani close to them...unless...That got the gears to turning in his mind with a new plan.

Anyway, all S'jiro had known was that she wasn't from the Weyr, and that she wasn't from stock of notable social status. S'jiro didn't care what she impressed. It didn't change the fact that right now, she needed to learn how to respect the hierarchy within the Weyr. She would have even more need to understand that hierarchy if she ever Impressed a Queen. Faranth forbid such a thing from ever happening.


“It doesn’t feel right somehow. Are you sure you don’t have any feeling for her? I mean if she weren’t a commoner, you’d find her interesting and attractive…” This was all hypothetical.

S'jiro smirked in bemused fashion at what Sh'nar hinted at. "For being holdbred she's rather disobedient for a girl. She displays a complete lack of respect. And since when have you ever blamed me for taking corrective actions, even if they are extreme?" The Bronzerider eyed his friend somewhat skeptically. This Veyani girl had gone out of her way to try to make herself out as his equal. When necessary, they always took corrective actions until said respect was displayed. And S'jiro'd been more upset at Veyani than he'd been at anyone in quite a while. Extreme measures were perfectly necessary. And he'd taken an extreme measure out of impulse. That was all.

"I find it interesting that she's the first person of ignoble birth to ever purposely provoke me. She has a lot of nerve."

The Bronzerider was smirking still, folding arms over his chest thoughtfully for a moment, "Veyani, huh? Well...Now I know who to send our guys after to go throw eggs at." All in a little good 'fun'. Of course, after that, he would trying something different. He wasn't done with their game until she came crying to him with newly realized remorse for having such misplaced pride.

It seemed a bit extreme. No matter how S'jiro justified these acts and no matter how many people's lives were made miserable before. Sh'nar just had a strange feeling about it all. He would let it go though as his friend was in such vehement denial of any feeling toward the poor girl. He really did hope she was strong enough to endure what was likely to come now. Bedding her had only been the beginning.

"Normally I would agree. But it does seem a but over the top and impulsive, especially for you. I am not defending her but I do have to wonder. Have you ever even been to a cothold?" Sh'nar asked because he had. They were sometimes only filled with blood relatives. They could be extremely small. It was no wonder the girl didn't know about hierarchies. She was probably some dreamy little teenager plucked of a family farm and into the strangeness of the Weyr.

Sh'nar didn't really care for her own sake but he didn't like when S'jiro got too caught up in torturing other people. He became brooding. Normal S'jiro could be broody enough. Last thing he needed was a project of this magnitude.

Sh'nar shrugged, he never used women in that way, at least not on purpose. He didn't like when men tried to boss him around and he certainly butted heads with Weyrwoman Karene but the innocent beauties of the Weyr were there to entertain riders. He didn't see any reason to be brutal, even if there was some disrespect. Surely talking to the Candidate Master about etiquette would be all that was needed.

Why was this girl causing him so much grief? Uhg.

Well, they had Wing practice starting soon, and S'jiro didn't want to have to think about her while they were flying. He wanted to drop the subject. Why did it matter what he did to her anyway? It was no different than any of the others they'd tormented in the past.


"Normally I would agree. But it does seem a but over the top and impulsive, especially for you. I am not defending her but I do have to wonder. Have you ever even been to a cothold?"

"Sh'nar. Are you saying I should forget about it?" A little joking in manner, he went on, still unsure as to why all of a sudden, it was a problem that he was playing this game. "She already declared war on me, and there's no way I could back down from the challenge." That would mean she'd won. He wasn't about to allow for that to happen. This game would go on as long as it had to for him to win. He would not back down in the face of such a stubborn girl. This girl wasn't like most of the others. Sh'nar just didn't understand that yet.

And just like he wasn't about to give up, he had a feeling that Veyani would also not be giving up easily.

Whatever Sh'nar was worried about, S'jiro didn't see it. S'jiro saw this as a chance to have fun out of the ordinary.