A Kiss with a Fist (S'jiro)

Veya might be right about it being silly to have to worry about whom one's heart decided to love. That kind of thing couldn't really be helped. But that didn't mean that lovers were meant to be together. At least not in the world she'd been raised in. What Veyani spoke of was much more ideal.

However, Tsuki did suddenly feel a little sheepish, wondering if Veyani had a point -if you loved someone, what did it matter giving up nice things to be with them? Then again, Tsuki had never felt like that for anyone before, that had put her in that position. The only person she could say she remotely felt that way for now, was Sh'nar. But he was acceptable to her family.

But who was Tsuki to break family tradition? How could she dishonour her parents by disregarding their dedicated care for her and her siblings? Didn't all parents want the best for their children? They wanted their children to have more than what they had, and to have a better life than they'd had. Every parent should want the best for their offspring. So how was it wrong, doing what her parents were doing, if they believed that it was in the best interest of their children.

Most children didn't realize those things until they were old enough to regret disregarding their parent's good advice; once it was too late. But Tsuki didn't get a chance to say any of that in defense of her parent's position before S'jiro joined them. Even if they might be wrong sometimes, Tsuki didn't think that they were doing any of it to bring their family more misery. It was meant for their good -even if it was a little misguided. They couldn't be faulted for that.

Tsuki wanted to frown at that, feeling at least a little defensive about it all. But she didn't. She supposed it may be impossible for any person to think or feel exactly the same way as anyone else. Each person was individual for a reason.




“We were mostly talking about you.” She said sweetly. “You know, about saving my life and such…”

"Talking about me, huh?" Raising a brow with some skepticism, he was looking between the two girls. But he couldn't keep that expression of displeasure for long in Tsuki's presence; before long, he had a hand set gently on the top of Tsuki's head and had planted a kiss on her forehead.


When Veyani ran over to the table he was rolling his eyes at her antic. S'jiro's hands were back in his pockets then, and he sauntered over to the table where Veyani now stood, making great presentation of the food.

She about got him to laugh, but the Bronzerider was quick to smother much of it behind the wary smirk that graced his lips. "Oh, so you were at least thinking about poisoning it, then? Well that's good to know. Now I'll know to be more careful in the future about who serves my food."

As the Bronzerider sat down to eat, decidedly having the need to do so since he'd need the energy soon, he tried to show some reluctance in his expression. His voice drolled with as much sarcasm as he could, granted their temporary truce. "Thank you, dearheart. You shouldn't have gone to all the trouble!"


Tsuki was laughing quietly again from across the room where she still sat. She did rise though, after watching after the two of them for a moment, waving a hand a bit dismissively. "Well I only came to check up on the two of you -per the healer's orders. Sooo...since my job here is done, I'll just leave you two. Have fun at work, S'jiro! It was good to meet you, Veyani. We'll have to visit again sometime."

And before either of them could say anything more to stop her from leaving, Tsuki waved cheerily and pranced back out the door.


Realizing he wasn't going to be able to stop his sister from going, he figured maybe it was best. He'd have to attend patrols soon anyway. So, S'jiro let his attention drift back to Veyani, taking a bite of the stew in front of him and breaking some bread to eat with it.

Since he was still waking up, eyelids feeling heavy, he decided to simply keep his thoughts to himself for a while. Eating in peace didn't seem like a bad idea.

But somehow, Veyani's mere presence tempted him too much, so it wasn't long before he inquired. "You didn't poison Tsuki's mind with all kinds of nonsensical ideas, did you?" Tsuki was gullible enough as it was. The last thing he needed was the two of them together in cahoots. And it would be just like Tsuki to fall into Veya's trap.

“What else would your adoring sister talk to me about?” She twirled her hair around her finger, looking at it as she did so. Their talk would’ve been uncomfortable if he was part of it. Especially now that she knew she wasn’t the only girl to be swept off by a handsome Bronzerider. It was oddly comforting to have that knowledge.

Veya was used to being teased, she had several siblings, more than Tsuki and S’jiro had. Six sisters and six brothers, over half of them were older than she was. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to be on kitchen or dining chores again.” She didn’t have to say why, let him assume she burned something.

“I’ll be on outdoor chores for a while and cleaning quiet places. That’s if I remember them.” She shrugged. Someone else always picked up the slack when she got distracted. Veya wasn’t too concerned about not making it to her chores. If she already missed them then there was nothing she could do about it. “Anyway I wouldn’t want to poison you. You’re much more entertaining alive.”

Laughing at his sarcasm she said, “Anything for you darling.” If he wanted to play games, she could play too. Truce or not, he was still emotionally manipulative. His teasing her wasn’t going to bother her though. She wasn’t expecting to be left alone with him then. Tsuki’s leaving seemed to shock S’jiro a little too. She opened her mouth to stop the other girl but it was too late. “Lovely to meet you too, Tsuki. We’ll chat again soon.”

Veya thought about sitting at the table with him but didn’t until she had poured herself a glass of water. The silence of the Bronzerider was unexpected. What was S’jiro going to do now, she wondered but was glad he seemed content to eat in silence for a little while. That little while stopping as soon as he decided she must have corrupted his sister. Veyani was obviously the evil one here. She rolled her eyes. “Tsuki has her own opinions. She wouldn’t be corrupted by mine no matter what I said.”

“She spoke a great deal about your family and upbringing. I told her my feelings on some of it, that’s all. I think we could be friends but then you’d object of course.” She sighed. She liked most people. They got along with her, even if she was just a little on the odd side for most people to get close to her. Switching subjects to one less provocative, “Did you sleep alright? We tried to be quiet but we did laugh a couple of times.”

Falling silent long enough for him to answer, she sipped at her water. He could do anything now. He could ignore her the rest of the time, which might not be so bad. At the same time, she wasn’t sure she liked the idea of being ignored. She’d almost rather he bullied her.


(PS. JQ... don't reply tonight. Chris says you need rest and since you stayed up really late last night... sleep. I have plenty more to respond to tomorrow.)

“Don’t worry, I’m not going to be on kitchen or dining chores again.” She didn’t have to say why, let him assume she burned something.

She probably did burn something. Anyway, S'jiro didn't neeeed to know what chores she had. He had his own to keep up with. And yes, the farm girl waaas the evil one here. No matter what Veyani said about Tsuki's beliefs, she was more vulnerable to being manipulated than Veyani seemed to want to believe. Otherwise, why would she have let herself get pulled into bed with Sh'nar? Whatever was said, Tsuki was probably already doubting her own thoughts and wondering if Veyani was correct. Tsuki might be a bright girl, but she could still be wishy washy. If Veyani argued the point much, Tsuki would probably change her mind -if not just to be agreeable for the sake of being nice to her new friend.


“Did you sleep alright? We tried to be quiet but we did laugh a couple of times.”

S'jiro tried to ignore most of what Veyani was saying, he focused on not falling asleep in his breakfast.. or dinner -whichever it was for him. But he had to look up when she asked asked about his nap. Ehhhh, why would she be so concerned? Finding himself skeptical, wondering what would prompt her to care, he hesitated to answer. Not to mention, it unnerved him when she acted even remotely civil towards him. It was harder to be mad at her for what she'd done to insult him in days prior. Being as tired as he was at the moment, it made being upset even harder. That frustrated him. He couldn't NOT be mad at her! That's just not how their relationship worked out.

Uhg! This girl! The more S'jiro thought about her now, the more insufferable she grew to be. He just didn't know what to do with her. And he was too sleep deprived to try to figure it out right now.

Giving up on it for now, the Bronzerider finished up his meal in silence. When he was done, he sent his empty dishes on their tray down the service shaft. He was very clean about his room and made sure the table was left spotless from crumbs and the like.

Getting up from the table, he went to an armoire where his flight uniforms were hung, retrieving a set to change into. S'jiro went to lay the clothes across his bed, taking off everything else he had on but his under shirt and boxers. The Bronzerider put on the layers of his uniform, except his jacket for now.

Pausing then, he had to stop and think about where his shoes had gone, not having remembered taking them off. Turning a circle to look around the room for them, he went to the chaise lounge where Veyani had placed them. Seeing that they were placed neatly beside where he had slept, he wondered which of the girls had removed them... then there was the blanket. Surely it had been Tsuki. He highly doubted that Veyani would have had the concern for him enough to bring a blanket to cover him.

He sat on the lounge then, putting his boots back on, and as he laced them up, finally said something to Veyani. "I'll be outside getting ready to go back on patrol."

She continued to drink her water while he kept his thoughts to himself. He seemed irritated again, for no reason. Apparently he liked it even less when she was nice to him. Not making a big deal of his attitude, she left the tabled and allowed herself to move about the room freely as he prepared to go to his shift.

Veya sat back down on the bed and continued to read. Or at least she was attempting to when he began to change. From her where she was sitting, she had a very good view of his entire body. She could feel a pang of desire for him and immediately looked away. Veya should have known better than to watch him.  Her eyes would have told him more than she wanted him to know. Not that he needed affirmation of his attractiveness.

As he searched for his shoes, she felt guilty. Apologizing softly she said with a slight flush in her cheeks, “Sorry I thought you’d be more comfortable without them on…” If this was how he treated people who were kind to him, then she was better off being argumentative. And now he would figure out she had set the blanket on him as well. So she could expect him to further ignore her presence. It was a good thing then that he couldn’t guess at everything she had done while he was sleeping.

Ugh, she couldn’t stand all this silence. It was one thing when someone was sleeping but now he was just being plain rude. Unlike him though, she showed no outward signs of being unhappy. Turning her attention to the book, she tried not to pay attention as he prepared to leave for outside. In fact she decided to pretend she hadn’t heard him at all which took more self-control than he could possibly know.  

There was nothing she could do if he didn’t want company. He seemed to like not being bothered. She laid down on her stomach, still on the bed, her legs were crossed in the air behind her and she was propped on one elbow while her other hand turned a page in the book. Honestly she was only a few pages in because it was not easy for her to read. She expected to learn enough soon that she would be able to read better. Some of the stories could be quite fascinating.

S'jiro could have sworn he saw Veyani looking at him as he changed into his uniform, just out of his periphery. Well, he wasn't really paying attention because he didn't care if she saw him change clothes or not. He wasn't getting completely naked and she'd seen him naked before.

That thought of them having been together that night nearly sent a shiver down his spine, and he had to take a deep breath, forcibly altering his train of thought so that thinking about her bare body under his touch didn't make him hard. Anyway, she was the one looking at him and he wasn't about to let her have what she wanted.

Unfortunately for him, Veyani was very attractive to him. Most of the girls outside of his Wing that he occupied his time with, were divine beauties who only knew how to use their bodies to get what they wanted. So, he was used to that. He might not admit it now, but girls like that didn't really hold his interest. Veyani on the other hand, had yet to do anything that he'd expected of her initially. She was completely insufferable. She didn't whine and wasn't high maintenance like most other girls; she was stubborn and insolent; she was not lady-like whatsoever. But somehow, he was beginning to...miss when she wasn't around. And S'jiro was not about to admit to any of it.

Aside from all of that however, Veyani was a blossoming young woman, and she was laying on his bed. He would have liked to have taken that opportunity...
Only, pride didn't let him.



When Veyani told him that she'd been the one to remove his shoes, he looked back down at the blanket as well. It actually kind of shocked him to hear her say such a thing. But hearing that admission from her only challenged his sense of pride even more.

As S'jiro rose from the chaise lounge, he was perfectly set on trying to ignore her the rest of the time that she was here. But...still being a man of some common courtesy, before he left the room, he stopped beside the bed to thank her. The thanks was obviously difficult for him, seeing as he struggled to speak it very loudly, and he didn't manage to look at her as he did so.

Well, it was only appropriate that he should thank her for being considerate -even if she was doing it out of spite somehow. That irritated him even more. So, as the Bronzerider hurried through the door, it was closed behind him not softly, so that he could get some fresh air and clear his head. Being in the close quarters with Veyani was driving him crazy.


Once he was outside, the Bronzerider breathed a sigh of relief. He went to grab his riding harness so that he could inspect the leather straps as he did before every ride.

Her mind was set to reading, she didn’t hear what he had said before he walked out, closing the door rather loudly and obnoxiously behind him. As the Bronzerider left the inside part of his weyr, she realized he had thanked her. Why would he do something like that? As much as she wanted to believe her “nice” side was rubbing off, she was rather doubtful.

Was his intent to confuse her even more? Or maybe he didn’t appreciate that she was no longer focused on him and what he was doing. Of course she was probably reading too much into it but she had never heard him thank her before for anything, not that she was particularly good at being helpful to him. He seemed to be the one whom deserved some form of gratitude for not only saving her now but for allowing her to stay in his weyr when it obviously made him uncomfortable.

However could one really consider it true gratitude, she could barely hear it and he didn’t really address her. It would have been better if he hadn’t even attempted if he couldn’t do it correctly. Rolling out of the bed, she walked out of the weyr behind him.

“Was that a thank you?” She looked up at him. “That had to be the worst thank you ever. It was barely audible. And you really should get the other person’s attention when you want to express gratitude.” She paused, “Honestly, I thought you studied etiquette as a child…”

Could be that she had gotten worked up over it because she didn’t want him to leave just yet. Maybe she wanted his attention more than she realized. They were still under the truce but only until tomorrow. Tomorrow he would go back to trying to make her life miserable. She didn’t think she would see him again before that happened since he would be working all evening.

Veya kind of liked being in his weyr. It was more private than the Barracks and it was comfortable. No, she wasn’t completely infatuated with him but she did sort of like having him around and now he wanted to leave her with that half-assed thank you.

She was prepared for whatever stinging remarks would come after her own words. If he didn’t take kindness well, he wouldn’t take teasing any better. It was fun to mess with his mind, since he seemed so keen on messing with hers.

The fresh evening air had about had its chance to cool him off and clear his head when Veyani appeared through the door, coming to stand directly before him.

Unbelievable! Why did this girl have to complain now, of all times? At least she'd gotten her thanks. He didn't really owe her anything. She should be more appreciative of what gratitude she'd received.

The Bronzerider was rolling his eyes, giving an inaudible sigh as she pressed the point further. "Seriously. You should be glad to have even heard those two words coming out of my mouth considering who they were meant for. After earlier, I'd say we're pretty even. I don't owe you anything. If anything you should be groveling at my feet right now, knowing what could have happened."

Not taking that thought any further, he stopped there, a bit abruptly shoving the riding harness into her hands. "Hold this." S'jiro went to where the rest of Zemarith's tack was kept and after inspecting it once over, he took the saddle-blanket, going to throw it over the dragon's neck.

Back and arms flexing under the thin undershirt he wore, the Bronzerider hoisted the saddle, placing it over the blanket that protected the dragon's hide. The Bronze sat still, keeping his neck lowered and foreleg lifted in case his bonded should need a step up to finish gearing him -which S'jiro did, once. But the Bronzerider was quickly jumping down, having secured the leather straps on one side of him, ducking under the Bronze's neck to make sure everything looked good on the other side.

In that time, S'jiro seemed to have gone quiet again, possibly having resorted back to ignoring Veyani as it were. The truth of the matter though, being more along the lines that Zemarith was talking to him.


Personally, Zemarith didn't think that Veyani seemed to be as repulsive as his rider made her out to be. While S'jiro geared him for their flight, the Bronze set one large, curious eye upon the girl, but did so without turning his head to regard her fully. He was trying to make his observation of her a little more subtle seeing as how S'jiro didn't seem to like her much. It was amusing to him that ever time the Rider let her get under his skin, it made his own hide twitch. The Bronzerider might often be quiet around others, not one to share his thoughts too openly unless something reeeaaallllly bothered him, but he wasn't all that reserved about sharing thoughts with Zemarith.

In Zemarith's mind, that only indicated that there was a deeper side to his bonded than that which wanted to put everyone outside of his close, inner circle of friends at a distance. That was something he'd been raised to believe was only appropriate, but the reality was what lie between the two of them. S'jiro needed people in his life he could freely share his heart with. The way he was living now, limited him. But...S'jiro had yet to find the courage to admit that the way he was living now could be wrong -even if just in part. He had yet to find the courage to challenge those habits he'd been taught growing up.

Why don't you like her? Haven't you two been getting along better today? You even saved her. Surely that will promote your friendship?

Where he stood on the other side of the Bronze, S'jiro gritted his teeth in irritation. How is it that this girl could put him so on edge? What was it about her? Did she have to be so insufferable? And now Zemarith was thinking they should just be friends? Aw, come on, Zem. You see how unbearable her behaviour is. The only reason I have to put up with it today is because of our truce. And I didn't really have any choice but to save her. If she acted more like a lady or understood respect around here, I might be more willing to be friends with her.

Really? He was going to add in to his whole you are lesser attitude that she was undeserving of thanks because she was not a Lord’s daughter. One day this elitist attitude of his was going to get him into trouble. Not everyone was willing to try and convince people like him they were wrong. Let him learn this lesson the hard way, she thought to herself and rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say, your High and Mightyness.” And yes, she was mocking him, just a little.

As he suddenly shoved the riding harness into her arms, she held on to it. Maybe throwing it on the ground would have made her feel better but it wouldn’t do anyone any good to send him off that angry. Besides she had simply wanted him to see, to understand that she was just as worthy as anyone else, her birth rank mattered very little. She was strong, she was intelligent and he was ignoring it because he didn’t like commoners.
The real issue was that his eyes didn’t tell her the same thing his mouth did. She didn’t trust what he said to her on its face value.

Maybe she should. Let him be happy in his ignorance and stupidity. Veyani didn’t think she could help herself when it came to people like him. When they treated people the way they did, it made her want to scream. She didn’t approve of it and she could not continue to forgive such acts against her. But the next moment he could be kind and gentle and considerate, he just didn’t know which side of S’jiro was going to come out on top and she couldn’t allow herself to continue down a path that would only lead to disappointment.

Her mind caught up to the what was happening in front of her. For a moment she was completely distracted by how amazing Zemarith was. The Bronze was intimidating and watching S’jiro strap everything on him, made her realize just how large the dragon was. Even blue dragons were huge to her so Zemarith was humungous. He didn’t seem to be as curious about her as the N’kai’s Kaisoth was, but then not all dragons were interested in people besides their riders.

“Anyway, I came out here for another purpose. I wanted to say, it is a pity.” She paused, looking directly at the Bronzerider, “It is a pity we can never be friends.”

The Bronzerider having tried to ignored her mocking words, decided that he would just take that as a hint that Veyani was finally beginning to understand where she ranked in the scheme of things.

After that, he himself being distracted by the Bronze at first didn't realize she'd begun speaking to him again, but then quickly caught up to what she'd said. From the other side of Zemarith, as he tightened up and judged the tension on the riding straps, a whit of a grimace came over him. A pity, huh? S'jiro nearly snorted.

"A pity? Why is that?" Seriously. What was so great about farm girls that he was missing out on? He didn't see any reason to need to be friends with her.

But maybe that was his whole problem. He seemed to think that relationships only needed to be formed out of necessity.

S'jiro walked back under Zemarith's neck, tracing a hand along the Bronze's hide as he did. Though he must have been upset at Veyani, it seemed that possibly in the presence of his dragon, it was offset a bit. It was certainly undeniable that even if he felt the need to show her an outward face of disbelief and indignance, that his heart was filled with something else at the same time -that loving attachment to the Bronze that sustained him.

So, approaching Veyani then, he reached to take the riding harness from her hands.

Veyani wasn't going to push the idea of friendship on him, but she didn't see why he wouldn't want to be her friend. Aside from the one, obviously fatal flaw of being born to farmers instead of Masters or Lords. "I don't know why exactly. I just have a feeling, when you are around that we could be good friends. If you weren't caught up in being an elitist and I didn't hate you for it."

He would find a way to twist all of it to his own benefit, of that she had no doubt. Unlike what he might think she had not been stalking him since she met him, she was just drawn to the same places. And having similar interests and liking the same places to go, wouldn't that be something friends would share?

As he reached for the harness she lifted it it up so he could grasp it more easily. She'd held harnesses before but not for dragons. Dragon harnesses were infinitely heavier. A green would be so much less effort than a Gold when it came to size, or so she hoped.

"When will you be back?" She asked not because she wanted him to come back, but because she needed to be out of his weyr before then. Their truce would be over tomorrow. Veya wished he could have seen during the time that being a commoner didn't make her a lesser person.

Taking the harness from Veya's hands, S'jiro stopped short of doing anything else with it so that he could stare into her eyes -and it wasn't one of those stary-eyed romantic gazes either. It was the kind of stare where his jaw should have dropped, like the girl had just grown two heads.

Averting his eyes then, the Bronzerider shifted his weight to rock back onto his heels, contorting his expression into one that was most dubious. With an upraised brow, and apppparrrently some minor consideration of her words, it was only after that briefest pause that he spoke, "So. You want to be friends, yet you have no idea why we should be friends. And to top it all off, you hate my attitude; even more reason, I'm sure, for us to be friends?"

While rocking back again, S'jiro chuckled. After a moment, he took his riding harness into just one arm and leaned over to match her height so that they were seeing eye to eye. If he'd been any close, their foreheads might have touched, or maybe it seemed as though he were about to kiss her. But instead he had to open his mouth to address her earlier contemplations, "Are you an idiot? What kind of argument to be friends with someone is that?"

S'jiro was sooo not convinced. Standing upright again, the Bronzerider slung the harness he held over that left shoulder so that it was easier to hang onto for the time being. "Don't friends generally go places together, do things together, respect one another, have things in common? There is no such thing between the two of us." And he was absolutely committed to that idea. He saw no similarities between the two of them, and therefore, his argument was sound. Why should they be friends?

Then again, sharing that same line of thought as she momentarily, he did see that they allllways ended up at the same place at the same time -well, rather more frequently than he'd have liked. Why did she have to steal his reading spot?

For the first time perhaps, since they had met, S'jiro seemed to regard her with some seriousness. "Must you be friends with everyone? That's an obnoxious trait you seem to have."

And speaking of obnoxious traits, that brought him back to her comment about despising his attitude of elitism. "Which, by the way... in case no one has told you before, you do have this strange involuntary talent of being critical of other people. Do you realize that?"

He turned from her go back to where he hung his riding harness, replacing it on its hook. There wasn't really any particular reason he'd had her hold it earlier. Perhaps just to see if she would.



"When will you be back?"

Calling back to her then, "What, are you afraid of what will happen when our little truce is over?" the Bronzerider smirked and then went back inside to grab his riding jacket, leaving the door open behind him.

“Yes, exactly.” She answered, as he seemed to find her reasoning amusing. He didn’t know her very well yet. Reason was rarely used when she made decisions. If he wanted a logical answer as to why they should be friends he was unlikely to get one from her. “There is a difference between hating your attitude and hating when you are being elitist. You are not always the same…” Which again she wasn’t going to be any good at explaining because it wasn’t something that needed to be explained; in her mind it all made sense.

As soon as he leaned in close to her she felt her breath get caught in her throat. He shouldn’t stand so close. It was distracting. And now he found it amusing to call her an idiot. Ergh. She just wanted so badly to smack him in the face but she was a non-violent person unless she had to be. Besides she had already been beat up once that day.

Lifting her eyes defiantly, she said with a hint of sarcasm, “Obviously an idiot for thinking we could be friends perhaps in spite of our differences." She didn't particularly enjoy being called names but she was used to it. "If we were exactly the same it wouldn’t make things interesting at all.”

He went on about how friends went places and did things together. So she shrugged, “Why couldn’t we? We have things in common, you refuse to see that but it would explain why we run into eachother so often.” If he would ever be swayed into listening to her it wouldn’t be now. S’jiro didn’t like that she had made friends with his sister.

“Because there is no reason not to be friends with everyone…. Why don’t you ever want to befriend anyone?” She retorted, mostly because she knew he didn’t think he needed friends. He especially didn’t want to be friends with her for whatever reason. She doubted it was only because of her class, though maybe that was all it took to discourage him.

Laughing she said, “Oh S’jiro,” She stopped laughing and smiled mischievously, “that talent only comes out when I’m around you.” Because no one needed her guidance more than he did… or maybe he was the only person she wanted to correct. It was rather fun to get a rise out of him.

She sobered up when he mentioned her being afraid. Following him into the weyr she said, “No. Well yes. But it is not what you think.” Veya was completely honest with him as usual, “I’m not afraid of you or what you might do.” And perhaps she should be. “I’m afraid of me.”

“Because there is no reason not to be friends with everyone…. Why don’t you ever want to befriend anyone?” She retorted, mostly because she knew he didn’t think he needed friends.

Exactly. There was no need to. And wasn't he just lucky that such adoring involuntary talents happened to shine the most when he was around. That was just great. Even more reason for then not to be around one another. But no. The farm girl insisted! Then she had to go play friends with his sister! Uhg, this girl!


“Oh S’jiro,” She stopped laughing and smiled mischievously, “that talent only comes out when I’m around you.”

"Oh! Ooohh! ha! hah! What a coincidence! Isn't it funny that MY little talent of being elitist only seems to come out when I'm around commoners like you." Indeed! Of course around everyone above them, he was more or less an equal. See how that works out?

He was doubly exasperated over the fact that she seemed to think that their running into eachother at his reading spot should constitute as their being meant to be together. How many more silly notions was Veyani's head filled with? They were seemingly endless!


As S'jiro walked inside, listening to her come after him, he was rolling his eyes. What was coming out of Veyani's mouth was just more nonsense.

“No. Well yes. But it is not what you think.” Veya was completely honest with him as usual, “I’m not afraid of you or what you might do.” And perhaps she should be. “I’m afraid of me.”

Grabbing his riding jacket, he put his arms through the sleeves and pulled it on. Shoving his riding gloves into the coat pocket, he looped a white scarf around his neck  before making any reply. And didn't those last words of hers just sound like a good break up story? 'Oh, it's nothing you did, it's me!'

S'jiro met Veya's eyes again, "Not what I think?"  His expression went back to being rather dubious, "How about this. if you think we're just cut out to be friends with someone like me -since all you do is insist- why don't we put it to the test? Who knows? You might end up surprising me and having a good time hanging out with a bunch of Bronzeriders." Those words perhaps even shocked himself, but he was willing to put her to a challenge. Maybe it would be a greater challenge than the ones he'd put her to before.

Since Veyani insisted that she was ever so worthy of taking on that challenge, he would give her that chance; and he would prove to her that she was nowhere near cut out for that task. Once she was put into the situation of filling the shoes of a highborn, she'd realize that. So, there were similarities between them? He would make certain that that narrow margin of similarities turned into a new knowledge of vast differences instead.

"I'll be back just before sunrise." Leaving her with no more insight than that, there was no telling what he was thinking to do next. But maybe on the flight he'd have a little time to decide on his next move. Or rather, next plot of humiliation.[/i]

She was growing more tired and irritable as he mocked her. Why did he have to be so mean? Veya didn't know if he was irritated or amused, or just plain angry underneath his cold exterior. And no it wouldn't be what he would think, he would be cruel to her and then she would be nice. It would be better for her not to be here when he got in.

After he continued to find some mild albeit mocking amusement at her idea of their being friends, he said something rather shocking. Which she thought might be a trick of some kind. "Really? I thought I was unsuitable for such company." She grimaced. "Will Tsuki be around too? And are you sure Sh'nar, Z'rim and L'mar are going to be okay with this idea of yours? How do I know you're not doing this so that you can humiliate me further for your own amusement?"

If she was able to be around them without issue then what? She would have proven herself to be worthy? It almost disgusted her in a way. He would only be friends with her if she was accepted by his clique. It was almost worse than being elitist to have your potential friends go through a screening process. And what if she did do well but didn't want to hang out with them?

She didn't know if she really wanted to be stuck with all of them around. Veya just wanted to be friends with S'jiro because he was who he was and he was entertaining and interesting. The others might not be as interesting or easy to tease. None of them were as attractive to her as S'jiro was either though she very much doubted he cared.

Still she better leave things where they were. At least she might be able to meet the girls he spent so much time with. If they were air-headed, pretty hold girls, she might have to vomit in her mouth. Tsuki made them sound very dull. Veya hoped she wasn't correct but doubted Tsuki was anything but the honest sort.

"I'll try to be out of your weyr before you get here then..." she yawned, and went to rub her eye but grimaced in pain. With a much softer, kinder expression on her face, her arm reached out as if of a mind of its own and reached for his arm, to get his attention before he left, "Are you sure you don't mind me sleeping here tonight? I can go back to the barracks if you want."

"Really? I thought I was unsuitable for such company." She grimaced. "Will Tsuki be around too? And are you sure Sh'nar, Z'rim and L'mar are going to be okay with this idea of yours? How do I know you're not doing this so that you can humiliate me further for your own amusement?"


The Bronzerider was grimacing, "I'm telling you this is your chance. To prove you're so similar to me. If I was wrong, then I'll have to admit it, and can see about being friends." Questioning him about the approval of the other Bronzers was a little pointless. They'd all four been friends for turns and were supportive and respective of eachother's decisions most of the time, even if they ended up talking it over and agreed to disagree later. For the most part though, they had the same tastes and so could agree on many of the same things.

Anyway, though S'jiro was probably the most quiet of the four of them (outside of his ridiculous relationship with Veyani, since he was usually just reading), he was the one who came up with many of the elite Bronzer group's ideas for revenge -or hazing or whatever one might call it. Were his mind filled with more constructive things, his ideas might be really great. Maybe.

"And have no fear, your suspicions are 100% correct. It is all for my amusement. Why wouldn't it be amusing to watch you try to fit in to such a crowd when you obviously don't? But it's your own fault for insisting we have more similarities than differences. If you're right," the Bronzerider held his hands out to the side in a gesture of defeat, "then you should have nothing to worry about."

S'jiro leaned over again to be at eye-level with her, stuffing his hands into his jacket pockets. "It seems like you might be regretting ever suggesting we be friends, after all. I won't blame you if you back out now and admit defeat."

Straightening himself then, he sauntered toward the door, offering a comment dismissive of her concern for having to hurry to leave or perhaps not even stay the night here. "Don't bother. I told the healer you'd stay here. It'll be better for you that way. No one will bother you here."

Veyani was a little nervous about what he had planned at these get-togethers. Maybe it would be better for her if he laid low for a bit. Smiling she said, "Indeed, my humiliation is so important and vital to your existence." Veya didn't care what he thought, she could fit in if she wanted to. Not that she really wanted to have much in common with a bunch of elitist snobs but if it meant helping S'jiro to see that she wasn't just a commoner, she was an individual who could change her fate if she wanted, be whom she wanted to be and do what she wanted to do. She wasn't going to be bound by her station in life. Nor should he be bound by his.

"Admit defeat? Never. What are you trying to back out now that you made an offer you'll regret later?" She wouldn't give up anyore than he would if he were in her shoes. Maybe he would be in her shoes one day. The idea that one day he might want her attention and she would be too busy with less tiresome people than to give it to him, made her want to laugh. Even if his little circle of friends didn't like her there would be plenty of time to get S'jiro to come around and see things her way.

After all her defiance she was tired. Sleep seemed a much better thing than arguing or conversing,whatever one would call what they were doing was. Before he exited the weyr completely, "Goodnight S'jiro. Thank you. I could seriously die in this bed..." She giggled and went to change into a shirt to sleep in. Dresses were not comfortable.

S'jiro was rolling his eyes again. Veyani could seriously be laughing after all of this? Maybe she was an idiot.

Uhg! That idiot.

"Please don't do that. If you died in my bed, the healers would never forgive me." With that, S'jiro was leaving, shutting the door behind him. When he'd taken up his harness, climbing atop Zemarith to strap it to himself for launch, he took a deep breath, filling his lungs with the cool night air. He was going to have a hard time staying awake for this shift. He felt drained still, with so little sleep.

---

S'jiro's shift seemed to drag on forever. He felt as though the night would never end, and many times had to make the most random, idle conversations with Zemarith or Sh'nar (through Cymiroth), just to keep his eyes open. He didn't tell anyone about what had happened earlier in the day though, concerning Veyani. S'jiro might be cruel when it came to humiliating her, but he wasn't completely inhuman. He understood that there were just certain lines one did not cross where humiliation was concerned.

After their patrol ride was done and the next Flight took off, S'jiro was more than ready to be on his way back to his weyr. The Bronzerider bade goodnight -or goodmorning- to Sh'nar and the rest of the wing, heading straight there to catch some Z's.


It always took a few minutes to undress his dragon, removing all of the riding gear and get it hung back up, so by the time he was shuffling inside to shuck off his riding leathers in the pitch black of his inner weyr, he was tired enough to completely overlook the fact that there might be someone else still there. Of course, he'd also nearly forgotten that Veya was supposed to be there, and either way, hadn't she said she wanted to be gone before he returned?

In the darkness, S'jiro managed to make his way to the bath, closing the door behind him where no light leaked into the other room. Washing up quickly, he dried and barely pulled a fresh pair of night clothes (a white tshirt and thin pajama pants) on before dragging himself into bed. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell to sleep.

Veyani waved off his comment, thinking he was being just as silly for acknowledging her remark as she was for saying it. After changing she made sure to put the dress in the laundry. Dresses were not as comfortable as shirts and pants but for sleeping she would just wear a shirt. Before she scrambled into bed, she put the book back where she had retrieved it from earlier. It took no time at all before she was in bed, pulling the covers over her shoulders and huddling in the cold sheets before they finally became warm. She was almost invisible in the large bed, being so slight a person. She figured going to sleep so early she would be up fairly early as well. She would then be gone before S’jiro got back.

Better than being rudely awakened by some prank or other.


The bed was so comfortable and her injuries were being repaired by her body while she slept so she could not have anticipated sleeping past dawn.  Quite a while past dawn. She groaned slightly as the light from outside streamed into the weyr. She felt very snug and warm, so she didn’t feel like waking. Wait, light was coming into the weyr! Crap! She was supposed to be out of here. S’jiro would be sooo mad.

And that was the least of her worries, she thought as she opened her eyes slowly to confirm what she thought was happening at this moment. They were a jumble of limbs and covers and she had no idea how they could possibly be comfortable like that. S’jiro’s body next to hers was creating all kinds of sensations she would rather ignore. Veya wasn’t sure if it would be wise to wake him. Also if she tried to extricate herself from the position she was in, that might wake him.

She calmed herself down, being reasonable. HE had told her not to worry about getting out of here. He was the one who got into bed, knowing she was there. After all this wasn’t the first time she was put in this position with him. So she closed her eyes again, and allowed herself to enjoy the comfort of his body, no matter how strange a position they were in. Besides if she pretended to be sleeping, he wouldn’t get angry with her right away. She would have time to get herself gone before he became livid.

Veyani was right. S'jiro's arms and legs were sprawled in an impossible manner which could not rightly have been comfortable, but that didn't keep him from continuing to sleep.

The Bronzerider snored softly and mouth hung open gracelessly, limbs on one side thrown across Veyani's own. There was no order about the covers that had previously been cozied about them both, because apparently his sleep had become a little restless at one point or another. The whole bed must have been in disarray.

With a deep breath that settled into a deeper sleep, rolling over onto his side, the opposite arm now reached across Veyani, coming to rest around her. Maybe it was a reaction to something in his dream, but subconsciously, holding someone beside him in bed didn't register as being quite.. normal. Still, it wasn't enough to wake him; he was much too tired still.

Either way, S'jiro was getting snuggly now, and wrapped one leg around her as well. And...while he was at it, S'jiro's head rolled over onto her own pillow, sharing it, too.

While S'jiro slumbered peacefully she tried to get the nerve up to move. There was an inner battle waging and she wasn't sure exactly which part of herself would win out. On one hand if she had any self respect she would be getting out of his weyr as quickly as possible. Even if that meant waking him up. On the other, she felt...good, laying there entwined with him. Even as she thought so, his arm came around her, soon followed by a leg.

As he took over her pillow as his own, she nestled her own closer. What was she thinking? She nearly screamed at herself, Oh she wasn't. Thats right, she was falling into the whole, S'jiro could be nice, he could be wonderful to her when he wanted to be or when he wanted something.

Thinking was overrated, she decided. Enjoying this time, no matter how fleeting and how...well unconscious of it S'jiro was, didn't make it any less nice. Besides, she fit in nicely against him. Her head was below his chin, and she allowed her body to touch him wherever it would. She knew it was wrong to enjoy cuddling with a sleeping man who didn't know what he was doing. But she might not have a chance to do so with anyone for a long time and what was wrong with having a little fun?

While she enjoyed his smell, the feel of his skin against hers, the way his body moved around her own as if to protect her from the world, she found herself becoming overly relaxed. Relaxed to the point where she was drifting back into sleep.

Having fallen into such a deep sleep, S'jiro didn't move from that spot for several hours. It wasn't until a good eight hours rest had been achieved, that he started to rouse. And sensing that change of consciousness, Zemarith assisted in the process, speaking into his mind.

S'jiro.

There came a pause.

S'jiro, the healer Mona came by to check on Veyani, but I told her that you were both still asleep.

Those words took a few seconds to register in the Bronzerider's mind as consciousness more fully returned to him.

What was Zem talking about? Veyani?

The previous day's events recapped in his mind before he began to wonder again at the dragon's words. What was he saying? Veyani should have gone back to her own barracks by now. Why would Zemarith say something like that?

Just as those thoughts were passing through his mind, S'jiro started to realize the warmth beside him which he was cozied up against. And with that realization, that same earlier, subconscious sense that something wasn't quite right, returned to him.

S'jiro's eyes opened abruptly, turning down to confirm just who was beside him.

"WHAAAA!" Total shock got the better of him, so S'jiro shot up from the bed, scrambling backward, putting some distance between the two of them. "WHAAA! What are you doing here?!"  

That look of complete surprise extant, S'jiro tried to retrace events after he returned home after his shift, wondering if they'd done anything together again.. y'kno, like the first time? But he didn't think so, because he didn't remember, and had told himself he wouldn't do that kind of thing with her again. So, for a moment, while he thought, some confusion passed through his eyes.

After drifting off she slept soundly until suddenly warmth moved away and someone said something loudly. Her eyes opened slowly. "Why are you shouting?" Veya asked, groggily. Unlike him she was in no hurry to get out of the warm bed and used the covers he had left behind to wrap herself in.

"Don't you remember anything about last night?" Veya sighed and covered her head with the covers for a moment. She thought he would recall that he had allowed her to spend the night. Of course she didn't know what he might interpret her question as. She couldn't really guess what he was thinking most of the time.

"I fell asleep here." She pulled the overs back down and turned her head to look at him, "You did say I could sleep here." She added and continued, "I must have been sleeping when you came in. So why exactly is it a surprise that I'm here?" She yawned, and stretched in the bed, like an indolent feline. Laying on her side then she propped her head up with one arm, elbow on her pillow.

"You were very snuggly this morning. I couldn't extricate myself without waking you. Thought it would be better if I let you sleep." Honestly what was the problem? They'd done things together before. It wasn't like they hadn't seen one another naked. And if he was about to blame her for his body's attraction to her own, well, he could try. She didn't care.

Remember last night? Of course he remembered last night! But she wasn't still supposed to be here! Had she really slept until now?

The Bronzerider waited until she finished talking to make his response, but it all started off in stutters. "W-wh-whyyyyy am I surprised? Why would I not be surprised! You were supposed to be gone hours ago! Is it not daylight?"

S'jiro had to stop and double check, glancing up and through the room to confirm that daylight did indeed stream in. "I said you could spend the night! Not all day!"

Clearly exasperated, S'jiro must have inwardly huffed at the fact that she started rolling herself back up in the comforter and sheets, because he quickly reached across the bed to wrestle the blankets from her. He pulled at them, gathering them into his arms as best he could, even going so far as to pry her fingers from them if she tried to hang on.

Peering over the pile in his arms then, his eyes were wide again. "My shirt!" She was supposed to be wearing Tsuki's dress.

"Is it?" She said with another yawn. "Mmm well I must have been tired." Veya didn't allow herself to get upset back at him. He was irritated more by the fact that he was comfortable before he realized who was there. Let him rail at her, it wasn't like she meant to sleep that long.

"Stoooop. They are warm...." She said as she clung to the covers. After fighting to hang on to the covers, she had to give in to his much greater strength though he practically had to carry her off with the bedding. Ugh, now it was cold. "Fine. Take them." She said crossing her arms irritably.

She rolled off the bed and stood on the opposite side from him. As soon as she was standing she heard his accusatory tone. "Dresses aren't for sleeping in. Besides your shirt is far more comfortable." Laughing, "I cannot help it if it looks better on me."

Her smile changed to one of her more mischievous smirks. "I'll take it off if you want."

Still with that astonished look, S'jiro watched her as she got up from the other side of the bed. After a moment, S'jiro got up, too. Only, after another pause, he threw the blankets back onto the bed, deciding that instead of running off to the couch with them that he would make the bed -now that he was wide awake!

Well at least he'd seemed to have gotten enough sleep. He didn't feel quite as exhausted, though night shifts were always a chore getting used to.

Anyway, Veyani was clearly taunting him now, but he paid little attention to it. He started to flatten out the sheets and spread the comforter back out over the bed. "You could just put Tsuki's dress back on. Anyway, you don't have any pants on. And that shirt is short." Almost too short. If he looked her way, he could easily catch glimpses of her soft upper thighs, offering a teasing image of what was just beneath the shirt.

S'jiro didn't notice at first, but as he'd glanced her way again, even as he was still spreading up the bed, the usual morning hard-on probably started to show through the night-pants he wore. He'd been too surprised earlier for something like that to happen, but now that he was over the shock...