After a long day...

Lesera nodded gratefully at Emberlynn when she offered to help braid her hair. She slid through the water to kneel low enough for the other woman to help her and sighed happily as she relaxed in the hot water. It was lovely to be treated to hot baths regularly now. Emberlynn's hand worked expertly through the braiding and Lesera could tell the other woman had done this before. Letting herself fall into the relaxing feeling of hands in her hair, the greenrider sighed, "Not yet, we haven't isolated what she's allergic to and it's so frustrating. I can't stand the Zelenyth is so uncomfortable. This batch we are trying has an antiseptic wash in it replacing the oils from another of the plants that go into it. Dragonhealer Falyn also added oils from the numbweed plant to try and sooth her hide. I'm hoping that it helps her this time. You know she can't stand being touched when her hide is so sensitive? It breaks my heart that I can't comfort her."

Hearing Tey's comment about mating flights she cocked her head, "Mating flights, huh? We were taught in the Hold that it's like a massive orgy for the one whose dragon is flying. Being here now, I don't think that's so true anymore. What are they really like?"

Before long her hair was braided and thunked thickly against her back as she thanked Emberlynn for her help, "Could you show me how to do that sometime? I'd hate to always bother you to do it for me." her smile was sincere, but honestly she wouldn't have minded making a friend of Emberlynn and doing things together, like their hair. "I've never had a sister, and my brother isn't the sort to bathe with the women unless he's invited. I don't really want him doing my hair after a bath." she teased. It didn't occur to her to think that her brother's dragon might rise to chase her green, but she also didn't know much else about greenflights as it was.

Lesera was standing to move to sit by Emberlynn when Draugarth came barreling into the room with a load of clothing in his mouth, Her hands went to her hips as she scolded the brown dragon "Draugarth what are you do--" her words were cut off as she saw Z'ren enter the room behind his dragon, and having her standing stark naked in the water where he could see every bit of her. "Z'ren! GET OUT! I'll deal with your troublemaker." She pointed toward the door, and suddenly remembered that she was bare naked in front of the guy she had a crush oh. Her body flushed with embarrassment and she was scrambling to sit back down in the water so he wouldn't give him too much of a show.

Her mortification grew as she realized how many of them were completely exposed to the young man's eyes and wondered briefly if he liked what he saw in her, or if he preferred the other girls. "Shards…" she mumbled to herself, trying to hide her line of thought and not look around to see which of the pretty ladies he could be staring at.

Z'ren hardly noticed Teylarrin slip back under the water as his eyes caught the movement of the stark naked Veyani, and then darted to the source of the voice raised at him. It was an accident, purely instinctive, that his eyes fixed on Lesera who berated him for running unannounced into the bath, requesting that he let her deal with Draugarth this time. Even as she spoke the words, he stumbled over backward, hitting the floor on his rump, but landing next to his clothes. 

As soon as her words were out, her body flushed, Z'ren's warm complexion did the same for any number of awkward reasons. Not the least of which was because his eyes had been unwilling to avoid at least briefly exploring the girl's delicate figure before finally coming to meet her gaze. He was turning into a young man after all, and given the circumstances of his upbringing, had never laid eyes on a girl's body so bared before him. Were all girls just like Lesera and Veyani? Were they all so different from men, from the bust, to the curve of the waist down to the hips? Their bodies were certainly different than that of males. Of course, he'd known that before, but he had never actually realized how true that was. 

Girls looked so soft and beautiful. He wanted one.


Unable to excuse himself properly from the predicament through all of his fluster, the boy grabbed for his clothes, averting his gaze as quickly as he could. Of course, at that point he could pretend that he hadn't seen anything, but nothing could make him forget the image of Lesera's body now burned into his mind's eye. 

Ashamed and Remorseful, feeling as though he'd done a terrible wrong, Z'ren sputtered an apology as he scrambled back to his feet, never letting his eyes lift from the ground. He turned to hurry back the way he'd come, breathing an audible sigh of relief when he reached the other side of the curtains. And just when the breath escaped him, he fumed at the baby Brown, How come you just ran in there without checking if it was in use already? You know we can't go into the bath when the girls are already using it!

The Brown felt smugly about the whole situation, and like a raptor toying with his prey, his maw opened as he shifted from foot to foot acting as though he might be corralling them, blocking the doorway, his tail curling with anticipation. Draugarth trilled. It was an amused sound that was reflecting of the excitement in his whirling eyes. The chaos that he and his rider had caused in the bathing room was enough to be at least some minor thrill to him. And though he didn't respond to his rider's questions yet, he was equally amused to discover a sense of bashful pleasure on behalf of his rider when the young man had caught sight of Lesera. Maybe it shouldn't have been unexpected, but the depth of those feelings and the curiosity and conflict that it seemed to rouse in his human were definitely intriguing.

Feeding off of his rider's thoughts for Lesera, the little Brown turned in her direction, creeping across the stone of the baths toward her.

When Z'ren left, Lesera turned a baleful gaze on Draugarth. He was creeping toward her and while she wasn't sure of his intention but she stepped out of the water, wrapped a robe around herself and went to him, barely caring that she had been naked and his rider could see it if the dragonet decided to share it with him. Stooping down to be at eye level, she scratched his ridge above his eyes, "I know you know better than this, Draugarth. You came here to cause trouble again." She sighed, knowing that she wasn't likely to get a response. Using her body, she led him to the exit so that the girls wouldn't be peeped at by the dragonet and subsequently his rider by default. "Why don't you go find Zelenyth in my room and try to keep her company. She's not very happy today." the green weyrling commented, pointing toward where he could find her rooms.

The sight of Z'ren looking her over had not been lost on Lesera, but as she gathered her clothes, said her goodbyes and thanked Emberlynn for helping with her hair, she couldn't help but think maybe she should find Z'ren after all, instead of leading his dragonet to her room. Shaking her head she looked down at the brown, "Where's your rider hiding? Why don't you take me there instead."

Thoughts of what she might say to the brown weyrling, one of the few people she knew she could call a friend, flickered through her mind. Zelenyth's happy rumble for her and grumpy growl for the dragonet she was walking beside also echoed in her mind. The green wasn't happy that Draugarth had made her rider uncomfortable, but she herself was in such a snit about being itchy and in pain from the oil that she wasn't about to come out of the weyrling weyr and have words with him about it. I love you too, grumbly butt. Lesera said to her dragon, knowing now that she could speak back in her dragon's mind as well. Remembering that she had had to be told that was possible embarrassed her. But at least it had been Z'ren who had told her.

Ember grinned at Teylarrin.  "We should, indeed," she agreed with the other girl's idea of singing whatever song they made up for the Masterharper.  Humming in amusement, she stretched beneath the water, her hands folded and pushed out in front of her as she leaned forward to stretch out the tight muscles of her back.

When Lesera scooted over, she spent some time finger-combing the other girl's hair, to get as many of the tangles out as she could before she went to work on the actual braiding.  "I'm sure that's frustrating for both you and Zelenyth, and the dragonhealers," the former barmaid sympathized with a little murmur.  "I'll keep my fingers crossed that this batch is the one she can tolerate, then.  You, out of anyone, should at least be able to touch her."

Definitely grateful Nymeriath had no such problems, Emberlynn had to wonder if it wouldn't make treating the other weyrling's green more difficult later, if she ever had an accident that resulted in an injury.  If she was allergic to the usual dragon oil, what else would her hide react to?

With a little snort of laughter at Lesera's description of mating flights, she shook her head in response to the other girl's questions.  "Your guess is as good as mine, since I've only seen the draconic side of things in my time here.  As far as I can tell, only the rider of the male catcher's dragon remains in the room with the green or gold's rider, though, so I doubt it's quite as exciting as an orgy."  Of course, she'd heard plenty of tales about the escapades of several of the riders here from the lower caverns staff and other dragonriders, but she wasn't going to go into too deep a discussion on the topic when other ears could potentially be offended.

Not everyone had grown up like she had.

In more ways than one, she knew.  Smiling warmly as Lesera turned to thank her, she nodded in response to her request to be shown how to braid.  "Of course, though I don't mind helping you with it.  You have lovely hair-- have you ever tried curling it with a heated iron?"  The thick, dark tresses would look beautiful falling around her face in ringlets, Emberlynn guessed.  She'd seen the style on some of the women at the masquerade, though hadn't had much opportunity to try it on herself.

"I'm sure your brother would enjoy bathing with women under the right circumstances," she then grinned at the greenrider.  "But one of said women being his sister is probably not one either of you would prefer."  Then again, she'd heard of families who enjoyed such things in her time at the Wild Green, but no one mentioned them in polite company.

Still chuckling at the thought, Ember glanced over at the entrance just as the blood red dragon from their class came barging through the curtains.  Not anywhere near as bashful as some of the other girls, the weyrling goldrider stood with Lesera, but her attention was immediately drawn away by Teylarrin.

Swiftly, she reached down into the water and grabbed whatever part of the other girl she could reach-- thankfully, her shoulders-- and hauled her up.  Teylarrin's face and most of her upper half were free of the water, and Ember waited to make sure the other girl coughed, just in case she needed to pound on her back to free her of the water in her lungs.

Almost absently, she murmured a 'your welcome' to Lesera when the other girl left, her attention still on making sure their classmate was okay.

"All right?" Ember asked, frowning at Teylarrin's continued distress.  She was definitely glad to see the other girl coughing, as it meant her body was trying to get rid of any water that had made it into her lungs instead of leaving it to replace the air she needed to live.  Patting the greenrider on the back to help her expel any remaining water, she helped steady the smaller girl in the tub.

"Come on, let's get you out of here.  I'll get your things," she weyrling goldrider offered as she started to guide her classmate to the steps that led down into the bathing pool.  Once Teylarrin was steady, she'd help her out and get her bath sheet so the other girl could dry off.  Her own modesty was secondary, though she'd never been much of a prude, anyway, living Holdless first, and then as a barmaid.  In this case, however, it mattered more that her classmate was okay than that she, herself, was saved from embarrassment.

Teylarrin nodded in reply as she could not yet speak. Her coughing fit continued to plague her as Emberlynn added in her own form of aid. It worked to a degree as it did manage to help free some of the clog in her lungs. On the other hand, it also caused her swallow some of the water rather than expunging it. Given where the water had been, it questionable as to whether or not that was an improvement. Well, she did not die, so it had to be at least marginally better.

Teylarrin allowed herself to be lead from the pool. She took the offered towel, pulling it tightly against her small form. "Muh hed herdz," she said as she stood in the doorway. It was more of a comment to herself to prove that she was alive than it was to anyone else. Still, they were the room and could hear it, too, even if her voice was on the quiet side. The strained muscles and the burning in her throat made it difficult to speak. But she could speak and that was what was important.

Spoiler:

OOC: I was finishing the post before I remembered than Teylarrin speaks funny. (>_>)