A Kiss with a Fist (S'jiro)

Well, the bronzerider didn't fall right away, but as soon as he tried to back out of her hold his foot slipped. He'd been too busy trying to disengage her arms from their wrap around him.

The bucket clattered to the floor, and with it the both of them did, too. S'jiro's arms failed instinctively, wanting to catch himself, but it was awkward with Veya now clinging to him. It wasn't a graceful fall, since they both would have likely tried to keep from falling, so the two of them could be awkward together in their tumble.

It was a kind of sideways turn in his step that took him down, S'jiro hitting his left hip and elbow first. Wincing at the pain, the stone beneath them scraped into his elbow, seeing as he wore short sleeves. Having barely managed not to hit his head, he'd engaged his torso quickly enough to escape that much, but with Veyani following after him, he couldn't do much else to avoid the fall. With Veyani's weight landing on top of him, the Bronzerider set his head back against the floor, casting a side glance away from her with miffed regard.

Honestly, he wanted to tell her she could let go and get off of him now -since mission: tackle S'jiro was obviously accomplished, but now that they were both fairly well oil-slicked and she was.. well.. on top of him, he at the same time didn't want her to get up at all. Even if he hated to admit it, he was still a man, so he couldn't help but become at least moderately aroused by the whole circumstance.

There was nothing she could do when they began to fall. All she could do was hold on for dear life and limb. He was stronger and didn't have a previous head injury. So as guilty as she might feel for landing on top of him, she also felt relieved that he was there to land on. She had every intention of releasing him sooner than she did. At least she was going to as soon as she felt it safe but then again she see how the oil had made their sexual tension a little more pronounced.

"S'jiro." She said breathlessly, "Are you hurt?" She slid off of him to lay down beside him, eyes facing the sky. Veyani could feel certain desires rising in her so she did her best not to look at him. Allowing her breathing to calm her body down, she made sure not a single body part was touching him. She wondered how bad it would be if she gave in to her desires right now? She didn't often worry about consequences but dealing with S'jiro had taught her that with him there would always be one. And not necessarily one she wanted to live with.

To top off the fact she was aroused, she had found their little oil game fun.This was awful. She didn't want to like someone who despised her and everything she stood for. It was awful because she needed to Impress and he was... he was exactly the kind of distraction that would keep her from achieving her dream. And it was awful because she was helpless.

Finding himself in the same position, S'jiro found himself unable to fill the awkward silence that followed. All he could hear was his own heartbeat thrumming. Maybe he simply didn't need to respond to her words, because he did seem to be uninjured beyond the elbow scrape and the bruise that would surely appear there later.

When she rolled over to lay next to him he thought loudly in his head -not to his dragon, but to Veya, as if he could penetrate her mind with his own thoughts like he could with Zem. No, don't do that. You silly girl. Always doing what I don't want you to do! It's not safe being close to me like that. Get up! Just walk away. Go back to your candidate barracks!

Thinking those things, S'jiro grew very quiet, struggling with the hormones that plagued him with unwanted responses to her near vicinity. His left arm even rose to rest over his eyes, partially covering his face, where he could block out the sight of her. That must have revealed to her the cut there, and caused her to believe that perhaps he wasn't alright. Perhaps he had been hurt in their fall.

Taking a measured, deep breath, the Bronzerider lay there, calmly, unspeaking. Normally he would never have justified his time with someone like Veyani. In this instance though, he had a reason to be stuck with her.. for now. Either way, S'jiro was the type to find a way of getting what he wanted, and if he wanted to enjoy Veyani's intimate company, he figured there was no reason to have to justify it to anyone. Though, he had promised himself he wouldn't get involved with her that way -but the draw he felt toward her was much too strong. He could even feel his mouth watering for her. He desired her.

Of course, that upset him to some degree. He hated to think that he desired her in any way. That draw toward her was undeniable though. He didn't want to resist her. At least not this. Not when he could use it to torture her even more. That was his excuse anyway.

Before Veya could get up or say much else, he reacted on that instinct, rolling over to prop himself up with one arm where he could hover over her, meeting her eyes with a lustful intensity that matched his masculine desire. "Why do you have to do all the wrong things? Even this. Without fail, every time I see you, you manage to do something so insufferable!" Did she not realize how much she irritated him?

Though those words were spoken with some amount of fervor, S'jiro slid his hand up her stomach, between her breasts, reaching his hand around her throat. Applying only the lightest pressure, he held his hand there while kissing her. Perhaps a kiss would confuse her while he tried to get what he wanted.

He might as well have asked her why the sun rose and fell. She didn’t have any idea why she did the things she did. She just did whatever she felt she should do. Oh she knew the difference between right and wrong alright but she hardly ever acted according to what the consequence might be. Instead she acted on what she wanted to do. It was never really something she put much thought into. Either you wanted to do something or you didn’t and damn the consequences.

While he ranted about how she never did anything right, she read more into his body posture. S’jiro looked like he was nothing close to being upset. All she could read in his intense gaze was an unspoken desire for her. Her body immediately reacted to his touch. What was wrong with her? Ugh. She shouldn’t let him have what he wanted. And she wouldn’t. Except she wanted what he wanted at this moment and since she didn’t care about what happened or how he twisted things later she supposed there was no reason why she shouldn’t.
Promising herself this would be the last time they did this… until he was ready to admit he liked her. After that, well then they might be able to have some fun together. At the moment though, he was determined to dislike her despite his body’s obvious attraction for hers. She allowed him to kiss her and as he was doing so she pushed him back albeit gently. His hand was on her neck still s she did not break the kiss but rather tried to reposition herself while kissing him. Her body directing his so that she could sit on top of him.

Coming up for air and knowing she was about to lose her sanity she made sure he understood. He wasn’t fooling her, or tricking her. She knew what he wanted, she wanted him to be aware that it was okay that she wanted it as well. “There is no need to hurry.” Now on top of him, her mouth brushed against his and then she pulled away. She said her words as airy and breathless as before. “I want you too."

Even if he was the most frustrating and emotionally constipated person on the planet. He was also the most attractive man she had ever met and the only man she had been with in this way. She didn’t think it would do any damage to her to lie with him again. After all, people were always talking and going on about something, no reason their tongues would rest even if she didn’t lie with him. Rumors were so very rarely based in fact.

How insane and intense her desire for him was, well it was hard for her to describe. She felt on fire wherever he touched her. Every thing he did only increased her desire for him. The barest of touches left her breathless. He could not possibly understand how he made her feel and she could never tell him.

Letting himself be rolled back onto his back, S'jiro reached up with his hand at the back of her neck, drawing her in for the next kiss. But that was when Zemarith interrupted him.

I am sure you'll argue otherwise, but how is it that you don't like her? And with that, the Bronze flashed an image through S'jiro's mind that was of the two of them rolling around on the oil-slicked floor kissing as though they were about to mate. Which, for dragons, wasn't such a big deal, particularly 'being in love' didn't necessarily determine the outcome of a flight, but with humans, Zem understood things as being a little different... Thereby explaining his confused state.

The Bronzerider's lips paused in their osculation and his body froze for a moment. Zem! Not noooow.

If you don't like her, are you trying to make a clutch?

S'jiro couldn't believe it. Why was Zemarith asking these kinds of questions now? It was almost like he was trying to push his rider's buttons.

The Bronzerider sighed laying his head back on the floor, closing his eyes. He thought he might have to close that mental channel with his dragon for a while, if he wanted Zem to drop the subject. Can you ask me these things after? No, I'm not trying to create a clutch.

When he opened his eyes, S'jiro looked up at Veyani and suggested they go to the inner sanctum of his weyr, where they were away from prying draconic eyes. Though it would have been incredibly fun to have a romp in a puddle of oil. "Would you join me for a bath?"

Kissing him led to wanting more kisses. But more kisses didn't come as she insisted on them. Unfortunately he seemed to be having some issues at the moment. She had a feeling he was speaking with his dragon. No doubt he had confused the poor creature as much as he had confused her. Not that she cared at this moment what he had done to her in the past.

What mattered to her right now was completely in the moment. After his brief pause she wondered why the dragon would be interrupting? Wasn’t he used to S’jiro’s many women coming and going? Veya would prefer not to be lumped in with them all but she wasn’t much different. Having fallen for his charms as well as his vices.

Veyani couldn’t say he never offered her an out though. A bath? Well she had never had a bath with another person before. Perhaps it would be just as fun. “I would.” She said, still feeling a little like this might all be her imagination. Please don’t let this all be a dream, she thought to herself. Slow and steady, she rose to her feet. The last thing she wanted was to fall over.

She waited, allowing him to lead the way into his own weyr. Whatever was going on with Zemarith, it was clear that S’jiro didn’t want to be around the Bronze at the moment. Veya wouldn’t pry right now though. There was a time for talking and a time for allowing one’s actions to speak. And right at this moment her body was going to be doing more of the talking.

So long as he didn’t change his mind between there and the bath. Who knew with S’jiro really? Ugh that would totally suck, feeling completely unfulfilled all day long. Yeah he better not change his mind. She was set on having her desires met whether he cared or not. Sometimes other people deserved to get what they wanted from time to time as well.

Being new to exploring sexual needs, S'jiro could imagine that Veyani's mind and body were dizzy with desire. It would have been an incredible show of willpower to turn him down -especially after having already shared a bed with him once.

The Bronzerider stood cautiously, figuring he'd have time before wing practice started, to still have a little while to meet with the guys; of course that was after he finished Zem's oiling.

Carving a cautious path across the floor to the door of his inner weyr. Behind them, Zemarith seemed to be smiling in his toothy draconic way. He must have been amused by it all, used to his rider's temperaments.

When they were inside, S'jiro took his boots off before shucking his shirt off and then reaching for Veyani's waist, pulled her to him so that he could lift the hems of the dress she wore up over her head, pulling it off. A trail of clothing was left behind them as they made their way to the bathing room, at which point he was glad that being a Bronzerider came with some perks, as the tub was larger than in many private weyrs.

With all of his clothes left behind, Veyani's too, S'jiro closed all the doors behind them so that as they enjoyed their time together, the steam rising off warm bath water could fill the cooler inner-room lit only by a couple of candles. Taking Veyani by the waist again, the Bronzerider lifted her up so that she sat on the counter beside the wash basin and mirror. There, S'jiro spread her legs so that he stood between them, lifting one hand to gently guide the tip of her head so that as he leaned in more closely, he could kiss along the side of her neck and throat. The other hand rested at her hip, gently stroking with his thumb.

Thinking she decided there was nothing for her to do but follow him. Even were she not covered in oil, Veyani would have chosen to go with him. He pulled the dress over her head but it wasn’t long before he made physical contact with her once more. For the briefest of moments when he wasn’t touching her in some way she felt bereft. She not only wanted his touch now, she needed it. She needed this whole experience. One day she might look back on decisions like this and feel like an utter fool.

She didn’t pay any attention to the things around them. And in all honesty she wouldn’t care if he had a modest bath as long as he kept doing what he was doing. Obviously his charms worked well enough on her that she could believe women were helpless against them. There was a very good reason why fathers did not want their daughters moving to the Weyr. In the hold society, she would be ruined but she didn’t feel ruined at all. Even knowing what she knew from bedding him once before, she felt the opposite of ruined. She felt liberated.

Now she was free to do whatever she wanted with her body without feeling guilty later. She had already “ruined” herself so she could have fun. And she fully intended on having fun, she thought as a tiny moan escaped her lips. While he was kissing her neck, her hands were exploring him. She could feel his muscles beneath the skin. He felt as hot for her as she was for him in that moment.
In her mind she had determined that this would not happen again with him. She said it last time, she only wanted the experience.

Now she was becoming a regular strumpet. A very happy one at that, she thought as her desire grew. Her one hand now reaching to stop his kisses on her neck line so she could kiss him in return on the lips at first but moving down his neck to then trace his collar bone. She was exploring, not really sure of what he might like or want. Veyani didn’t care if she was inexperienced, she would act on what felt good and what did not. This was about pleasure after all, nothing more, nothing less.

Indeed. It was all about pleasure. And what pleasured him.

S'jiro knew he'd find a way to give Veyani a hard time about all this later, but for now, that is not what was on his mind. The Bronzerider could only act on that most sensual instinct. There was no thought involved; and he wasn't even going to try finding reason to justify his taking to her. But at a time like this, who cared about justifying anything? They'd thrown off their inhibition with their clothing.

While Veyani's lips were on his throat moving down, goosebumps rose on his skin like with a chill that ran along his spine pleasurably. Both of the rider's own hands were on her naked form then, happy to caress her under fingers that would usually care not for her. Everything seemed backwards.

Everything was backwards. That made him upset; S'jiro couldn't help but be upset to admit to himself that whenever she was around, nothing seemed right. Nothing seemed to make sense. Not even truths about himself.

He'd never met a girl so impossible to get along with. Nor one so stubborn.

How did the saying go again? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em? Maybe that was the best tactic for now. S'jiro could enjoy himself with a girl as 'liberated' as she seemed to be, not having to worry about any attachments or anything of that nature. So...until they'd had their fun...


Since Veyani had been through quite an ordeal the previous day, S'jiro didn't want to overload her with male aggression so favoured a gentler approach to their coupling. But he was still exploratory, letting his lips and hands wander where he pleased. Surely several minutes had passed by the time he picked the girl up so that they could enter the bath.

Setting her down just outside of it, S'jiro stepped into the bath first, offering a hand to help her in, in case her foot slipped. He didn't seem to be in too much of a rush, though his member stood at full attention, ready to take action. He would have to be patient though. They could stand to take a little time to enjoy themselves.

Bruises from the previous day were all but ignored which perhaps was a good thing because she barely felt any pain when he touched them. It was simply the initial shock of feeling the hurt which made her realize she even had the bruises but the Bronzerider was once again being exceedingly gentle with her. Despite his almost aggressive exuberance earlier, he seemed determined to be a gentle lover now. Helplessly lost in her lust for him, she had no way of knowing how any of this might affect her later on.

Being lifted up and placed on the ground, she tried not to be a klutz and fall over. He seemed prepared though for her clumsiness, which was probably for the best. She couldn’t trust herself to balance quickly, she had no doubt he had even less of an opinion of her ability not to fall over than she did. After all, she seemed to constantly be falling over around him.

Her brown eyes surveyed his body as he got into the bath. Flushing slightly as she noticed the current state of his penis, she decided it was better if she focused on getting into the water. Taking his assistance to get into the tub after him, she wondered what it would feel like. Water being involved, it might be a completely different experience. Once again she could blame her curiosity for her current situation. The water enveloped her, warming the air-cooled skin.

Veyani was back to kissing him before she even realized what she was doing. She obviously underestimated her own desire, feeling her arms wrap around him. The water was sublime. Mmmm, yes this had been a very good idea.

Sinking gradually into the water with her, the two were entangled in each other's arms again. The Bronzerider's lips met those of Veyani with renewed fervidness now that they were here. And as they kissed, he had her pressed back against one wall of the tub, one hand left steadying them against the surface behind her while the other started at her stomach, roaming back up to her breasts; he'd taken that route just so that he could appreciate her smooth skin.

S'jiro had stopped thinking about the time that passed, not wanting to rush fulfilling their physical desires, so it was frequently that he restrained himself to draw out their teasing pleasures. However, too much time in a heated bath could cause a person to lose consciousness, so they couldn't linger for too long.

When the moment was right, and both of them were probably starting to get dizzy from both the desire and the heat, the Bronzerider encouraged her legs to wrap around his hips as he thrust himself between her thighs. S'jiro made himself slow and gentle with her throughout their coupling, for some reason, not finding it in himself to treat her in the same way the men earlier had tried to, by ravaging her, though he time and time again, had to restrain himself from wanting to do so. He had to remember that the girl in his arm was just 16, and inexperienced; she had to be fragile emotionally if nothing else. Every girl was fragile at that age -especially in the face of sexuality. Now that they'd had sex, she was probably convinced that she had feelings for him. The heart of a young girl could be so easily swayed and entertained.

The more time that passed the more she wanted him so that by the time her legs wrapped around him she would have begged him to come into her. Each thrust made her quiver with more pleasure until he fully released into her. When they were finished she clung for a couple moments, catching her breath, allowing him time to remove himself from her. When he was ready she slowly extricated herself from him. She didn’t go anywhere though, seeing as she was the one up against the wall.

Life was going to be harder for her now. Because she was determined to wait to do anything like this again until she had a dragon and she was even more determined not to give in to S’jiro again. He might think she was a romantically minded teenager and she wouldn’t say she had no emotional attachment to him now but she would be able to get over him just as easily as he would get over her. All it would take was time and focusing on Impressing a dragon.

Veyani had no regrets though, even if she knew he was about to become an elitist jerk again. Surely he would allow her a moment or two before requesting her departure but probably not much longer. Slowly she got out of the water and found a nearby towel. Wrapping her body up in the towel, she went in search of something to wear. Maybe her clothes had been brought up.

They had. She smiled, walking over to where they were laid on a chair. She finished drying her body off with the towel, completely ignoring S’jiro while she got dressed. When she was finished though, she looked around for the Bronzerider. “Can we go Between now?” She asked, although it was more like a demand. She wasn’t going to screw around with a Bronzerider and not get rid of the possible evil elitist spawn in her womb. If he wouldn’t take her though, she would find someone who would.

She hoped she was acting how someone should act who didn't want emotional attachments. It was difficult, she was used to talking about things but being quiet would surely suit the situation best. Being quiet and cold. Especially cold, because if she put any feeling into any of this she might explode. Turning her feelings off and just acting like a someone who didn't care about anything, that was all she could do at the moment. Later, when she was alone, she could deal with things like feelings.

Leaving the bath behind her, S'jiro first dried his hair with it before smothign the towel over the rest of his body and then wrapping it around his hips to retrieve his clothes in the other room.

As they both dressed, he was quick to dismiss Veyani's request, "I don't have time now. I need to finish oiling Zem and when that's done it'll be about time for drills. You'll have to wait."

The Bronzerider was finished dressing before she was, grabbing his riding jacket before turning back to the door; on the way, he rather smartly waved a hand back at her offering a sarcastic grin before exiting the room.


Back outside, S'jiro draped his jacket over Zem's saddle and went back to oiling the Bronze dragon. The striking reddish hue of his hide was becoming even more vibrant with the application of warming oil. And since Veyani and S'jiro had been working on him for some time prior to their second romp together, so it wouldn't take him too much longer to finish up.

Her eyes narrowed, just a little. He had no intention of taking her Between. She could tell by his demeanor. Fuming a little she watched his sarcastic smirk. In what world did he think this was going to be acceptable. Obviously he assumed she would drop the matter there. He should have known by now that she was not going to allow him to treat her like dirt.

Following him outside to where Zemarith was patiently waiting, she countered his statement about not having time with, "Take me Between before practice and I'll help you finish oiling Zemarith..." She tried to make him have the time. He had time, he definitely had time, he was just trying to get away with being an asshole to her.

Obviously he didn't care. Well he should. He should care a lot. If she had his child she was taking it to the farm to live, far far away from his father's elitism, in the mud and dirt without a proper education. And she was writing to his mother and father for marks to support the child. He should damn well have time to take her Between when he had the time to screw around!

"It'll take me as long to get him saddled and Between and unsaddled again as it would just to finish the oiling myself. Don't woooorry. I'll take you Between when I get back."
The Bronzerider faced her long enough to offer her a rather reassuring grin -which was probably rather unassuring if anything.

When he went back to oiling Zemarith, he went on, "Anyway, you should go visit the healers again and make sure they know I took really good care of you while you were here. After drills, I'll come find you."

He seemed to want to leave it at that, as though that should be prompting Zem next, Did you happen to tell Cym I'm sorry for not making it earlier to meet up with everyone? We'll be on our way shortly.


Of course, Zem had let the other bronze know as soon as S'jiro disappeared into his inner weyr with this new girl he found rather curious. Veyani was quite the discussion between the two dragons. Humans could be so amusing.

She didn't know if she should believe him. However he had kept his word, for the most part and as far as she knew he would likely not want his child to be dirtied by having farm girl blood in its veins. Her eyes remained stern, "I'll see you later then." She took this whole not wanting to be pregnant thing very seriously.

Like a light switched on, she caught the hint of humor in his remark, giggling a little, "Yes, extremely good care. Not to worry, they'll know how wonderful a host and caregiver you can be." And they will all think I'm a silly little Candidate for being taken in by you while at the same time wishing it was them. Why she thought the Weyr would be less complicated when it came to sexual relations she wasn't sure but it had not become less complicated for her. Not at all.

Rumor would follow her around again. If she could only figure out whether it was a good or bad thing to be talked about in this way. She had to believe it was both. She didn't really care what other people thought about her but she did not want people to care so much about what she was doing with S'jiro. She wasn't sure what she had been doing herself, so how could she answer people who had questions.

This would all make more sense later. She reassured herself and headed to the infirmary.

Having gone to meet up with the other Bronzeriders and eventually his entire Wing, practice went off without a hitch -and beforehand, they'd still had a little time to braid together enough 'thread' strands to make it through the next week's Threadfall drill. By the time they got back to the Weyr, it was past breakfast and the kitchen crew were all busy making preparations for lunch. Of course, the riders coming in from the night shift would be hungry and ready to eat soon. They typically ate 'dinner' before the candidates took their lunch and then while everyone else was eating, they could wind down and crawl into bed for some well deserved rest. 'Breakfast' would be everyone else's dinner time.

So, in that case, S'jiro would have to hurry and grab Veyani for a quick trip Between before time to eat. Now was the perfect time for that anyway, because S'jiro would have plenty of opportunity to embarrass, if not completely shame Veyani, by going to pick her up from her class just before they were dismissed to go to their second class right before lunch. Even if there weren't already rumours about the two of them being circulated, any candidate or weyrling being accompanied by a full fledged Bronzerider became a topic for gossip. Even if he wasn't a gossipy person (or a girl) himself, S'jiro knew well enough how those things worked. And he tried to use it to his advantage.


Just before Veyani's second hour class ended, the Bronzerider thus showed up at the classroom door, knocking twice before he opened it to let himself in. The tall rider was obviously fresh off duty since he still wore his uniform riding leathers and flight jacket, though it was now left open, the light, salt and pepper fur that lined its collar thick about the lapel. His face was probably a little streaked with dirt and sweat.

Addressing the Instructor present, S'jiro bowed his head with some apology. "I'm sorry, I've a need to pull Veyani out of class a little early." Whether it was really 'allowed' or not, it was at the end of the class and so S'jiro didn't feel guilty for making her miss any of it; and the Candidate Master nor his assistants could really complain that he'd interrupted the whole lesson. And for all they knew, Veyani would be attending her next class. But S'jiro knew otherwise.

Without waiting for full approval from the Instructor, the Bronzerdier walked down the line of desks and closed Veyani's books, taking them under his arm, at which point, he took her by the arm and with another of his sarcastic smiles, helped her to her feet. "I told you I'd come find you 'tomorrow'. Don't look so surprised."

She had gone to the Healers, who gave her more than one awkward glance at the mention of being well taken care of by S’jiro. They had every reason to think more had happened because it had. She was very young looking to them as well, because she was so skinny. She had to promise the Healers she would eat more before they would let her leave.

She changed before going to class into another pair of her pants and a loose blouse, with tall boots. Her hair was braided into two French braids that framed her face, by her sister while both her siblings interrogated her as to what had happened. By the time class started she was glad the inquisition was over. Silence would be so welcome now.

Veyani had a hard time focusing by the end of the second class. The information was interesting but she had never had to sit in a classroom before not for this long and be expected to pay close attention. So while other people may have heard the knock on the door and turned to see who might be coming in, Veya was off in her own little dream world. Shock would have been an apt word to describe the look on her face when S’jiro showed up.

Briefly her mind slipped to wondering if he realized what he might be doing? He might think he was shaming her and perhaps she would be if he wasn’t showing her extra attention after rumors of them being together had begun to circulate. Now people were going to think there was more going on between them. She wasn’t just a one night fling, like everyone originally thought and that would help her reputation significantly. She also recalled him saying tomorrow, which was supposed to mean more time for her to decipher her feelings.

Now he was here, she was bored out of her mind in class and she would have gone with him even if it were an hour after he had been rude or mean to her. Looking up at him, her brown eyes taking in his appearance, she realized he had just come from drills. Explaining her shock with a comment that was less than kind, “I expected tomorrow to actually follow today.” Standing and allowing him to take her by the arm she followed with, “But you are right the sooner we take care of this the better.” Veya didn’t like the possibility she might get pregnant. She was only sixteen and she had prospects still!

Ignoring the stares of the other Candidates, she acted like it was perfectly normal for a Bronzerider to interrupt class and come and take her away. Oh dear, yes this was bad. He knew it was bad too. Most people would probably like this sort of gossip but she had no idea what to do with gossip the bolstered one’s status. She would have been happier being seen as a sad little Candidate who had been taken advantage of. Now people would believe she had feelings for the Bronzerider and she couldn’t allow that. Mostly because they were probably right. Even if he might reciprocate some feelings toward her, he would never admit it.

Better to ignore it all, push it aside. At the moment they were going to deal with the whole Between matter, as S’jiro promised. When they were out of the classroom, “Oh thank you for that!” she laughed, “I cannot focus that long. Fresh air and freedom!” She smiled. “Now where to?”

Having had a little time to consider his next actions during some down time in drills, S'jiro remembered that his next scheme to beat Veyani was to make her one of 'them'. And she had to live up to it and even exceed expectations to prove she was just as 'worthy' as the Bronze club. That being the case, since the time he was given to worry her pretty little country bumpkin head over possible pregnancy wasn't enough to satiate his gross appetite for emotionally torturing the girl, the Bronzerider took the next best option.

While she was just getting to her feet, talking back at him smartly, S'jiro's smirk grew more amused -in a bad way. "You must still not be feeling well after what happened the other day." Just to add to her confusion then, suddenly, right in the middle of the class while all eyes were on them, the Bronzerider embraced Veyani with his free arm, holding her against his chest for a long enough moment to be sure just about every jaw in the classroom had dropped.

"Didn't we already talk about this? I told you, there's no need to worry. We'll have you back to full healthy in no time. But for that to happen, you have to eat. To get your energy back up, I'm stealing you away to have lunch with the Halcyon Wing. I did promise the healers I'd look after you." He'd been gazing dreamily into her eyes as he spoke, those words obviously -between the two of them- full of half-truths; or half lies, however one wanted to view it.

S'jiro's hand slid back down to take her own, smiling with such an ease of expression, there would be no question that the Bronzerider had come because the Healers had suggested he do so. Though he could have simply waited until class was over. Nevertheless, he was walking out the door with Veyani in tow, and didn't speak another word until they made it into the hall.

If he wanted to be an actor, she could be a little actress. There were a few things she couldn’t pretend. One, the fluttering of her heart when he drew her near, that was completely natural. The warmth in her eyes, while she tried to pretend was acting was heartfelt. Letting her arms wrap around his neck, she said softly, “I wish you wouldn’t worry, darling.” Looking up into his loving gaze, she didn’t know what to feel. Other than trapped in an inescapable situation with him, where he came out on top and she was left alone and sad. Well he might find one day the tables were turned.

Still acting was fun and she did like the idea of eating with his wing, “I will eat, I said I would. But you know; the Weyrhall gets so crowded.” She shivered which was the third thing she did out of her control. Shelet go of him when he let go of her. As his hand found its way into hers, she tried not to think about how that made her feel. She now knew why people liked it. She hated him. She really hated him, so much so that she could kiss him as soon as kill him.

“Yes the healers were very interested in just how well you took care of me yesterday…” Let him think about what that might mean. She couldn’t wait to get out of that classroom so he could stop pretending to like her. Veyani did not understand why he bothered. Some of them probably saw right through him right? Or was she the only one who could see it? She needed to have a talk with some of the others. The only person who looked upset was her brother, her sister was doing her best to keep him sitting in a chair and calm.

Maybe she should be as quiet as he was to the Weyrhall but she really couldn’t help herself. “S’jiro, why do you want me to be more miserable than I’m already going to be?” Had she done so much to disturb his small little life? He didn’t understand her at all. She wasn’t upset that everyone had seen that display. She was upset with her reactions to what he did. She was trying not to fall in love with him and then he had to go and act like a lover. Even if she knew it wasn’t the truth, it felt like it. He could’ve been a Harper with that acting.

“You know I wasn’t kidding when I said the Weyrhall gets crowded. So many people, so loud…” Veyani did not like it at all. “Anyway I thought we were making a trip first…” Anything to stall actually going into the Weyrhall and being around his wing members who would no doubt treat her as bad or worse than S’jiro did.

When they were walking in the hall side by side, S'jiro had dropped her hand and rolled his eyes incredulously. " 'Darling?' " Shooting her a side glance that spoke of how overblown he thought her usage of the term to be. In any case, he said no more on it, and would have been incredibly pleased to know that she felt even more confused about her own feelings by that point. A job well done on his part. He would surely be giving himself many pats on the back for that little scene later on.

"I have no doubts the healers are wondering about your special treatment." S'jiro couldn't help but grin and start to chuckle at that. He knew a 'Bronzeriders' reputation. With honest curiosity, seeming at least a little impressed, if not wholly amused by the fact he inquired after Veya's conversation with them, "Did you really tell them what I told you to?" And if that was the case, he could once more garner some sense of victory, as she'd actually listened to him. But...thinking about it now, that seemed more and more to be the case.

Veyani was falling for him. No doubt about it. Especially after their lovey dovey scene just now.


“S’jiro, why do you want me to be more miserable than I’m already going to be?”

Arching a single brow, the Bronzerider shot Veyani another one of his incredulous side glances. "Because that's better than leading you on to believe that you're my equal. Remember, you're going to have to prove it, if you so stubbornly insist." And if the girl didn't get it already that she was being set up for failure by him, then she was still as naive as he anticipated for her to be. He would let others see them together for now. He would make a point of the Bronze clique including her, and then let her fall as hard as possible when she was unable to keep up. And when everyone saw him publicly 'break up' with her.


Anyway, first thing first. He'd almost forgotten about the trip Between through all of that. With a bit of a sigh, S'jiro closed his jacket up and led Veyani to where Zem had parked himself. Tossing an extra flight jacket at her, the Bronzerider helped her onto the dragon's back when she was ready.


And when their little trip between was done, they could be on their way to the dining hall for lunch. Well,...it would be dinner for him. S'jiro was exhausted taking the night shift, and was more than ready to crawl into bed.

For some reason though,...S'jiro kept imagining the time when Veyani was sleeping beside him. And somehow, that thought made him feel warm inside.

She ignored the look and the disdain dripping out of his mouth. Well he insisted on being charming and sweet, so she had to cheapen it somehow. He should be glad she didn’t start kissing him in front of all those people. Then she was sure his little act of concern would have seemed more like springing her out of class so that he could be pleasured.

“Oh yes. They seemed even more concerned about the bruising as soon as I mentioned your tender care of my life…” She put a little more space between them so that it would be difficult for her to accidentally touch him. “Apparently they think you are responsible for my injuries.” She shrugged. And she didn’t like what he was thinking or where he was going with all of this. He really did want her to feel so much lesser but she wasn’t the one coming out on bottom in the end.

“Really? I’m sure it’s not that hard to be your equal. After all, it’s more like a step down…far easier to be cruel and conceited than to care about people and be kind.” She said irritably. He had to act like she was someone lesser again. Why couldn’t they just go for a quick trip and she go have lunch alone? Especially if he was going to be an emotional see-saw, then she didn’t want any part of it.

“I do insist on being treated with respect, no matter my rank.” Let him take that and think about it because she didn’t care what she had to do to show him that she might be a farm girl but it didn’t mean she was meant to be treated as dirt.

She put the jacket on as it was thrown to her. As he helped her up she felt that weird fluttering again. That needed to stop. It should never have started. She wrapped her arms around him for the trip. “I’m ready.” Veyani said softly into his ear. Again she began to feel strangely excited. Maybe it would be better if she let the whole equals thing go? Spending time with him was obviously creating issues, which she had not foreseen.

When they landed she let go of him, waiting for him to dismount to help her down. “Thank you.” She said, then asked, “Who are we meeting for lunch?”

Well, if Veyani had it in mind to let the whole Equals thing go, there wouldn't be any issues between them at all as far as S'jiro was concerned.

The Bronzerider was trying to ignore her previous smart ellick [sp?] comments. He had to bite his tongue not to retort that she was the one born on a farm in the veritable dirt, not he. Thinking it was taking a step down to get to his position was preposterous. But there was no reason to argue with her over any of it. They were set on disagreeing, and that was fine with him. She would see soon enough...


After their quick jaunt Between, S'jiro helped Veya down from Zemarith's back and returned her flight jacket to where it had previously been hung, then leading them from the arena to where the Bronzerider's club table where they could eat in peace. "We're eating with my Wing."

That was all the explanation she was going to get. When they arrived to the Weyrhall, they were greeted with curious stares by all, but no one seemed to really stop what they were doing long enough to really question a candidate's arrival -and her joining them at their table. S'jiro figured Veyani would sit wherever she pleased, so he took his usual seat across from Z'rim. "Yo."

As they took their seats, the food was just being served to them at their table, so the riders went right to eating; though, their manner was indeed more refined. Each of them at their particular table ate from fine plates with multiple sets of silver in varying sizes set about for each their own use. The tea cups they drank from were even rimmed in gold tone and their water glasses crafted of crystal.The very way they handled their dishware and cut or chewed their food spoke of refinement. It was obvious by that, that the group of Bronzers were likely all highborn -as suspected.

Veyani did not much care for the short answer. Back to not talking were they? Walking into the Weyrhall she felt her chest tighten and her breathing become more rapid. She didn’t have time to focus on the fine things on the table or the men seated there. Without giving where she sat much thought, she simply sat next to S’jiro which seemed like the right thing to do considering he had been the one to invite her. Watching the others at the table eat like they were performing an art of some kind, she held back her amusement. It was only food after all.

She took her cues as to what she should do from watching S’jiro and the others. Eating slowly, although her manners were not so refined, it wasn’t as if she didn’t know how to use a fork. Though some at the table may have been surprised to learn that growing up on a farm did not mean one had to eat as if one were an animal. All the show and propriety though was a bit amusing to her. Who were they trying to impress here? The only people who would notice or care were sitting at the table with them.

The amusement must have shown in her eyes when Sh’nar sat down next to Z’rim, directly across from her, “Is something here entertaining to you, Veyani?” He asked, obviously curious as to why she was there even more so than as to why she seemed so amused. Watching the men seemed to have taken away or set her mind at ease for once in the large cavern.

Sh’nar arrived just after S’jiro and Veyani had. He opted to get cleaned up before a meal, whereas S’jiro still looked weathered and worn from practice. The Bronzerider seemed rather eager to hear her response, as he took a sip of wine.

Veyani realized her answer was probably not going to be amusing to them. “You all eat…well as if you were performing the steps in a dance. The way you eat is beautiful and funny at the same time. I mean its only food…” She said watching the Bronzerider’s expression.

He wouldn’t say she was wrong, in that other people might not find it amusing. However, he did think that present company would find she was the one lacking manners and would take offense to her determination. “You must think it a very odd thing indeed, considering where you come from.” Sh’nar’s words were meant to insult as much as to be conversational. He gathered the young woman was not easily dissuaded by words, if she were, S’jiro would have been rid of her a while ago. Which was another thing that concerned Sh’nar. Why in the name of Faranth’s Golden Egg was she still hanging around his friend?

The young woman took the opportunity to respond, “Yes well, no one would have time to learn to use utensils the way you do. There are more important things to do on a farm.” Then she changed the subject. “Well you aren’t from the Hold either are you Sh’nar? Your father is a Harper correct?”

Small talk was something the wealthy and privileged used to interact with people without ever getting to know them. Veyani was awful at it, Sh’nar decided. “Yes, my father is a Master Harper and I am a Bronzerider and prefer to be known for my own rank and deeds.” Unlike perhaps some of the others but then most of them were not only born well off but also were well Impressed.
“Does that mean S’jiro outranks you as well?”

S'jiro would have taken time to clean and change clothes before the meal had he not had to hunt Veyani down and make another trip Between for her. She was always so troublesome.

And it was no wonder the girl was so uncouth. Did she mean to say that on the farm there were more important things to do that learn to be a respectable human being? Refining one's self was important to cultivating character. So, it was at her words that S'jiro refrained from becoming too exasperated at her for the sake of maintaining some composure around the rest of his Wing -even if only three of them were at this particular table. It must have seemed at that point as though he was ignoring her, because he made no response to anything she said for the longest time, opting only to listen in on her conversation with Sh'nar.

And why was Sh'nar so chatty with her all of a sudden? He supposed he should get used to it. He was still troubling himself over the whole idea of how to treat her now that Tsuki had kindly invited her to be part of the Bronzer group.

Shortly, he was making a face over at her while she tried to set himself and Sh'nar apart in rank. If anything, S'jiro seemed disgusted by it. "Maybe I rank him in Birthright, but every one of us at this table has been friends for turns -since we were very young. The only one who is not an Equal here, is the farm girl."

And if anything, S'jiro was defensive when it came to his friends. Any of his Wingmates, to be honest. But especially these three. But that attitude subsided, his mood shifting, when he let the rest of them in on the latest secret, "Tsuki was kind enough to invite Veyani to join our group. Not just for dinner." It was likely that every one of them could have thought that Tsuki had overextended her hospitatlity, but it was likely that none of the men there would speak against it for the time being, granted Tsuki's 'little sister' relationship to all of them.

By Z'rim's expression, it seemed he might be the only one that seemed even moderately pleased about the prospect of a new group member, though having a female amoungst them might change the whole dynamic of their elite male-dominated club.

L'mar seemed impartial, yet skeptical.


About that time, Tsuki made haste to cross the floor to them, sliding into the chair beside Veyani. "Veya! I hope you're done eating. You don't look like you're having any fun at all. So, I've made us some tea, which I hoped that you'd enjoy with me. It's a tea made of flowers, and they blossom in the water! It's magnificent to see!" Obviously she was hopeful that Veyani would leave the boys behind and have some girl time the rest of the evening.

Tsuki cast a wholly suspicious glare from behind her veiled face over at her brother. "I hope you haven't been too mean to her, Jiro. You must remember she's my new friend."

The Bronzerider must have been grumbling to himself, but unwilling to argue with her, he finished chewing, sighing to himself. After a drink of wine to wash it all down, S'jiro seemed to have completely calmed himself and recovered all semblance of the more gentlemanly side of himself -especially as he peered over at his sister, regarding her with a most affectionate tone, "Tsuuuuuki. You're always doing what you want, even if it troubles me, you silly girl."

He was chuckling then, under his breath, continuing about his eating as if he'd found some whit of acceptance over the fact that as long as Tsuki willed it, it was likely that Veya would 'remain'. That is, so long as Veya could stand being in their presence. Of course it was completely up to her if she wanted to 'give up' their game, and be the first to throw in the white towel.