A Cure for the Wild Animal (Althesia)

[dragon]

J'rad rose unceremoniously from his chair and walked clumsily to her, leaning himself against the arm of her chair. "Then you'll...learn more than games", J'rad's slurred words came about slowly. He was so desperate to cling to clear thought to relate his words to her. He wanted to tell her that they could learn from one another, but the words were just so hard to get out. J'rad was being consumed and uninhibated. His core remained, but his emotions would now show.

There was some long pause between them as J'rad grew frustrated with words. "Can't you grasp that someone can be more than a bed mate to you?!", J'rad's frustrated words swelled and exploded into the one excited question. "I want depth! I want to see the sweeter side of humanity! Not sex or games!", J'rad shouted as though he were giving some speech, pacing clumsily until he finally just gave up and fell flat on his rear, taking away much of the depth those drunken words may have held. But rather than get right back up, J'rad lay back and stared at the ceiling.

"Can't you see that I feel something that I'm not use to? Can't you see how confused you make me?", the sounds went from frustrated, righteous rage, to a surrendering, calm, and quiet tone, though each word having to be concentrated on to understand as some tended to run into one another while others were more drawn out. By now the wine had taken him and with such a swirl of emotion to begin with, J'rad was bouncing around the emotional spectrum. But for now, he seemed stable and quiet as he lay on the floor, staring at the ceiling.

[anhydrous]

There was little else Althesia could do besides watch as J’rad paced and shouted, struggling to follow him with her eyes. When he fell she giggled, eyes wide and ears intent to hear what small portion of his feelings he was willing to share.

It was as his talk grew quiet and personal that the artist couldn’t help to blush, feeling very much like a teenager trapped in the awkward bumbling of a young relationship. Endearing and frightening, some odd mix of the two somehow just perfect.

“Depth..,” Althesia repeated coyly, all too happy to cling to what had already been said rather than to think of her own words. Her gaze followed his up to the ceiling, and after a moment she mimicked softly another of his shouts, “Games.” Letting her voice die gracelessly on the air, she tipped back her head and poured the rest of her wine down her throat before unceremoniously joining J’rad on the floor.

Her skirts were doing little else than tangling in her legs, so it was a good thing he hadn’t dropped too far away from the table. Crawling, quite ridiculously, Althesia lay next to him and focused on the soft way their sides were touching. He was much easier to talk to when drunk, she decided inwardly, laughing at the ironic fact that she couldn’t really speak, seeing as how she could barely manage to string a sentence together.

“I can see it...” she replied after a long silent pause where the two just laid, Althesia’s hand searching out his and twining with it innocently. “But I want both,” she laughed, the words harsh and vague, a giggle rolling around in her mouth before she bothered to clarify. “Depth and games. I want both.” Turning to look at the rough contours of J’rad’s face, Althesia smiled silently at how familiar his heavy brow had already become. It was a comforting scowl, each wrinkle enforcing whatever odd drunken pleasure she took in the sight of his confusion.

Lifting herself so that she might block J’rad’s view of the ceiling, Althesia propped herself up on both hands, caging around her bronzer’s shoulders with her thin arms. She slowly fit her lips to his, a tender kiss stolen while her hair brushed absently at his neck.

[dragon]

J'rad was so intent on his stare at the ceiling that he hadn't really notice her crawl to him, however the shouting of games made him cringe a bit. Either she wanted to combine the two thoughts or she ignored his completely, but at this point J'rad didn't care. If she didn't understand him, it was her fault. If she chose not to pay attention to his words, then in the end this all meant nothing.

He seemed, however, to enjoy her touch. The way she lay next to him and reached for his hand, he found these things sweet enough. He allowed his hand to fit into hers, enjoying the feeling. However, what ever sweet feelings he was having or what ever moment he was caught in was quickly interrupted by her kiss. At first J'rad wanted to resist, but he quickly resolved this and kissed back. He removed his arms from what ever posture they were in and wrapped them around her.

J'rad was caught up in the moment, rather than worrying about every move and every word. For now, and perhaps the first real time, he was enjoying himself. This easy cure was certainly a road he wanted to take. Hands found themselves at the woman's waist as he held her gently as the two kissed on the floor. If Arcaith weren't fast asleep, he may have approved and noted to himself that his rider was finally going through some changes, albeit only thanks to a quick fix for the time being. But still, it was an opened door that was previously locked shut.

[anhydrous]

At first there was something undoubtedly hesitant in J’rad’s kiss, but his quick abandon of such uncertainty earned a satisfied sound from the young woman sharing his lips. She was not entirely surprised that he had given in to her, but the gentle way in which he cradled her spine earned another soft murmur of appreciation.

She had expected her bronzer to be rough and bold, personality echoed in action. It was pleasant to be wrong.

Letting her elbows unlock and hands shift along the floor, Althesia lowered her chest to J’rad’s, the slight awkwardness of her skewed positioning ignored for the moment. Still her lips expertly engaged his, teeth tenderly catching at his bottom lip as she pulled away ever so slightly. Looking past her half-closed lashes, the harper waited for a protest.

Was this a fluke? Was it just another drunken mistake, memories of which would be as haunting as the hangover? Althesia didn’t know. The wine was muddling any judgment, thoughts and reason struggling to break out of the fog. More than anything she wanted reassurance, lips barely parted while she withdrew herself from J’rad’s obliging arms.

[dragon]

J'rad's arms hung loosely around the woman as she lowered herself, chest pressed against chest. He was thoroughly enjoying this experience. For all J'rad's complaints, the woman was good at what she did. The woman seemed expert in the craft, but J'rad wasn't really wanting to venture much further.

However, J'rad wasn't liking the way she withdrew from his arms. He wasn't ready to let her go. He pulled her gently back down on him, though the kiss was now broken. His arms were wrapped around her again as J'rad tried to guide her to simply laying atop him. But one hand broke from it's resting spot around her waist and began stroking gently through her hair. Such a gentle move seemed odd coming from such a gruff man. But Arcaith seemed right all along, in that tough shell beat a warm core of a man. A wild animal giving in to natural care-taking instinct.

He didn't want what other men got so easily, but he wanted what she didn't give so readily. While drunk, it was easy to show her these positive emotions, to give in to them. The only question is would he do so when he wasn't under influence? If nothing that decision would just be made easier. "You said you would stay", he whispered in her ear. "Don't worry", he continued, in the same, gentle whisper. He was trying to reassure her he didn't want what all the other men got.

[anhydrous]

Althesia took her cues without hesitation, allowing herself to be reclaimed and positioned. J’rad wanted her, after all. Perhaps not how everyone else did, but he didn’t want her to leave. Feeling wanted was an incredible thing, no matter the drunken uncertainties. Closing her eyes in temporary relief, the harper tucked her head to one side and allowed herself a single moment of resting there on his chest. He was warm; the steady beat of his heart rattling against his ribcage.

As his hand found its way into her hair she nuzzled deeper into his chest, head turned suddenly to offer the sting of lips at his neck. She didn’t ignore his words or his gentleness, and offered her reply in a tone offset by unavoidable anxiety. “I will stay,” she assured, abruptly very quiet and unnaturally pitiful, “but I’m afraid you won’t want me in the morning.” At that her lips met his again, one hand cradling the tilt of his jaw as she gave in to whatever the lingering abandon of their inhibitions would bring.

[fades out]

[dragon]

Morning was quick to come and the light of it disturbed Arcaith's slumber. The beast shifted and turned, trying to keep as much of it away from him but it was a near impossible task. The dragon was now awake and J'rad too was starting to stir. He had found a deep sleep after a night of drinking, but thoughts were far from him right now. He was desperate to hold on to it but it was just too slippery.

J'rad cracked an eye open and looked around a bit. He was in his bed, on the edge, and facing a wall. Not much to see then. He lazily rolled over and stumbled upon something. No, someone. Thoughts barely registering, J'rad did realize she was a female though and a familiar one at that. Thoughts then started to flood a little more and he realized just who it was. He muttered and grumbled to himself, thoughts of what happened in his drunken state still forgotten to him in this half asleep phase.

Arcaith would grin if he could, knowing what his mine did not at this moment. Try to think on what happened, ridermine. I think you'll find yourself less irritable. The dragon conveyed his words to his rider but to J'rad, the bold and brave voice of his dragon hurt his head. Ugh. Not so loud Arcaith. The dragon only wanted to snicker at his response, but instead snorted in amusement.

J'rad did manage to catch a few glimpses of what transpired that night, and he did remember that kiss. He had allowed it, he had given this woman many clues on how he felt as well. He also remembered their talk of change. But wait, J'rad had to check something first. He slung a lazy arm up that was under the covers to see. Well, his shirt was missing but he didn't sleep with one anyway. However, his pants were still there and as though they had never been removed. Had to be, since his belt was still on. Obviously J'rad didn't make entirely wise decisions when drunk. He'd lowered his hand, leaving Althesia to her privacy.

Instead, the rider leaned closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. The frown that always stayed on J'rad's face stayed there, but the feeling behind it was different. He was certainly glad he didn't have much to do so early in the morning. Perhaps he could squeeze in some more sleep. Arms wrapped around Althesia, he shifted even closer to her and closed his eyes, wanting to find sleep again.

[anhydrous]

The black dregs of unconsciousness still had Althesia in their clutches, her addled mind obliging by offering a completely dreamless sleep. Whatever had happened during the night, it wasn’t likely that the harper was going to remember very much of it when she woke. For now she was content, the steady rise and fall of her chest signaling just how far away from reality she was drifting.

As her bronzer might have already discovered, Althesia was much more amiable when she was conscious. Her sleeping body was unresponsive and quick to shrug off any attempts of nuzzling or cuddling. While she very well might fall asleep pleasantly in someone’s arms, throughout the night she always turned away. Something about the warmth of their breath became smothering in her comatose state, and she always woke with her back to whomever she had slept with.

J’rad would have full view of such a back when he lifted the furs, the subtle knots of her spine visible along that natural curve. Whatever had happened to her shirt, it wasn’t on her now. Her skirt was just as uselessly hiked up around her waist, the protruding whiteness of her legs bent at the knee.

At her bronzer’s touch Althesia stirred, one eye cracked against the brightness of the morning. She felt herself drawn out of solitude, fitting her body to her bedmate’s so that they might lay wrapped like spoons. The hand that had been curled by her face sought out the calloused one that now rested on her waist, fingers twining as memories of the previous night came struggling back to her.

J’rad. The name came quickly, other details less readily available. They had kissed, but what else? Surely she could remember his tenderness, the uncharacteristic whispers and admittances that had taken so much wine to unlock.

Turning so that she might face her bronzer, Althesia smiled slightly as the pleasant memories were dragged out of the drunken fog. Unabashedly nude, the harper curled into the offering of his chest, half conscious and dazed. The wine hadn’t gifted her a headache, but she was certainly still a little muddled. With a soft murmur that might signal her questionable state, Althesia opened her eyes just enough to see the strong features of her bronzer. He frowned even in his sleep.

[dragon]

J'rad was at war with himself. He continued to fight off the oncoming wake that he'd have to eventually give in to. However, for the moment he seemed to be winning, in a state barely awake and alert to the world around him. However the stirring of bare flesh against his jostled him and he had lost the fight. Cracking one eye open, he noticed Althesia was looking at him. The other eye followed suit so now his eyes were both fully open and he was becoming alert to the world around him. Now that the realization of being awake had hit him, so did a splitting headache.

"Ugh", was the first thing he let out, uncomfortable in such a state. He removed a hand from Althesia to rub his eyes and squinted as he lifted his head slightly so he could do so. "I'm not even going to ask right now", he muttered in groggy annoyance. He then let his head fall back to the pillow, which was a foolish thing to do as he let out another grunt.

To be honest, there were many things he wished to ask Althesia, but the headache and grogginess of sleep prevented this and he was much more satisfied to lay in bed for a bit and allow some of it to ware off. He turned to his side once again to meet Althesia and wrap the arm back around her. Not saying a word, though keeping the usual angry look about him, he leaned into her and rested his head on her. J'rad was obviously not use to hangovers, rarely drinking enough to allow such a state.

[anhydrous]

Althesia's vacant expression shifted towards pleased when J'rad woke enough to return her stare, a content smile tugging at one corner of her mouth. She was satisfied with what had come of the night, not that she remembered it all, but some leeway had been undoubtedly made. That much was clear in the fact that he hadn't pushed her out of the bed, something that she would have previously expected. Perhaps she wasn't a shoddy catalyst after all.

That hope was quickly dashed to bits when J'rad spoke, his irritation and thoughtless words stinging far more than Althesia cared to admit. Her satisfied expression vanished instantly, and she struggled to blink back disappointment. Clearly her own absence of a hangover was causing the the misunderstanding, clueless as she was.

Outwardly nothing about his tone signaled that he wanted her to stay, especially the way he disengaged his hand from hers. The harper struggled to save face, the flash of hurt replaced with neutrality. He didn't want her. "I understand," she murmured. And honestly, she did. She might not have wanted to, and it certainly didn't stop the inexplainable ache that such mutterings had inspired, but Althesia refused to believe that she was so weak that she couldn't recover.

Preparing to untangle herself from J'rad's furs and leave, the woman was quite surprised at his seemingly sudden change of heart. She frowned, confused, yet hopeful. Inhaling deeply against J'rad's cuddling, her scowl nearly matched his. "Make up your mind," she demanded, definitely too loud for a person who was suffering from a hangover.

Every moment she spent with her eyes open was quickly erasing the haze from the night before, no headache or grogginess still lingering from the wine. She drank more on an almost daily basis than she had the previous night, and although she had been quite drunk, it hadn't followed her into the morning.

[dragon]

"Uh?", was all J'rad could blurt out when she muttered to herself, not understanding what she said. No matter, he was far too busy trying to rid himself of this bloody hangover. He felt like clutching his head and crushing it to bits so the pain would just stop. He could hear a soft grunt, almost a laugh, from his dragon, entertaining himself with his rider's problem. "Not funny Arcaith", was what he muttered to himself.

However, the poor bronzerider would not be left in peace as Althesia shouted at him, causing the rider to bolt up and sit in bed. An honest baffled look crossed his face, though was quickly taken over by the pain her voice gave him. He was irritated more with the pain than he was the woman who caused it. His voice was soft, but still held that gruff irritable tone, though with strong hints of pain. "What is your problem woman? My head is killing me and you choose to cause further pain? Why don't I just crush my head now and save me the trouble?", he was clearly irritated and more distracted with the pain as he spoke, clutching his head and squinting his eyes.

He paused and slumped back into bed, giving a sigh. Quietly he spoke to her as he stared off at the wall before him. "I made my decision. You're in my bed aren't you? I had my arms around you didn't I? I'm not so quick to change my mind". He was trying, but he wasn't perfect and he was still J'rad. Perhaps even trying he wasn't good enough for her. Well that would be her own problem. He never made an effort or care to change who he was up until now. She should feel privaliged for him to accept such a thing. He quickly discarded these thoughts however, or atleast until the headache would go away. His hands were quick to find his face as he rubbed it so roughly it seemed. Why all this? Couldn't it atleast wait until his head wasn't wanting to explode?

[anhydrous]

At J'rad's reaction Althesia felt not only guilty for doubting him, but also very stupid. Of course his head hurt. She almost wanted to laugh at how obvious it had been, but decided against it. Hope was bubbling somewhere deep in her chest at his pained admittance, still feeling like a bloody youngling caught kissing in a linen closet. Althesia kept her blush hidden. Jus look where her emotions had gotten her the first time. She couldn't help but smile as he laid back down, placing the tenderest of kisses on his forehead apologetically before slipping out from under the furs. If J'rad expected a spoken apology, he obviously didn't know her very well yet.

As her toes touched the stone of the floor she recoiled, placing them back down more gingerly as she picked her way past J'rad's modest decorations to find what she was looking for. It was doubtful that he could have been in better hands, the harper having overindulged far more than a time or two over the past few turns. Drawing a large cup of cool water from his bath, she returned to the table where they had eaten their dinner and threw what was left of the fruit into the glass. Smashing and mixing the concoction with a spoon, she returned quickly to the bed and slipped back under the covers.

Most people might have thought to grab their clothes when completing such a chore, but Althesia was exactly the opposite. Her skirt had tangled in the furs and slipped off when she had first gotten out the bed, so she returned more naked than she had left. This didn't seem to faze her in the slightest, and she quietly offered J'rad the glass. "Drink this. You're dehydrated and the sugars in the fruit will clear the grogginess. I promise you'll feel better when it's gone." She was sitting up, the covers drawn halfassedly over her midsection while she encouraged him to take a similar posture. It would be a pity to spill fruitwater in his bed.

[dragon]

Her cool lips on his forehead certainly made J'rad feel a bit better. Oh if he weren't so ridden with this hangover he might have thought to give a thanking smile. As the kisses stopped, J'rad had to admit he felt a bit disappointed, they had felt so cool after all.

However, disappointment didn't last long as he watched Althesia remove herself from the covers to do something, her skirt seemingly slipped off. He couldn't help but raise an intrigued eyebrow and give a cocky smirk as he looked over the woman's finer features.

Such feelings, J'rad. They don't become you. His dragon was quick to tease. J'rad would allow such a thing from his dragon. I may be a bit gruff, but even I have to admit that this woman, viewed upon in this way, looks good. It wasn't cut off after all. The dragon simply huffed. A little. The dragon was quick to repeat his rider's words, though in a decidedly different tone, as if doubting that was the right way to put it.

When she slipped back under the covers, J'rad had to admit he was a bit disappointed again. He was enjoying the view, after all. However, he gave a thankful nod as he sat up and took the drink. He sipped on it lightly, as noises would suggest otherwise. I believe a thank you is reasonable, dear rider. The bronze was quick to coach his rider.

"Thank you", he spoke, honest but gruff. The frown had faded a bit to give J'rad a simple, serious look. After speaking, he took another sip. However, J'rad seemed more conflicted. It was true that he didn't want to be like every other guy, but he just couldn't get the image out of his head now. After some time, the drink's magic did take affect. J'rad found it easier to concentrate. He leaned over the woman to put the glass on an end table, then leaned back to his spot and up against the back of the bed.

He still rubbed his face, and ran a hand through his hair. However this quickly turned to stretching and yawning as he slumped back down in the bed. He clearly wasn't wanting to move from it any time soon, wanting to cling to any bit of rest while he could.

[anhydrous]

Althesia wasn't about to point out that her finer features weren't perfect. While men were lost to her curves, in actuality she weighed more than what was average for her height. Only a woman would dwell on such things, but Althesia only thought of it when she was alone with nothing better to do. She didn't usually flaunt her body on purpose, and now was no exception.

It was more apathy and a general disregard than anything else, and she leaned back into the crook between J'rad's arm and his torso as if it were the most natural thing in the world to be sitting naked in someone else's bed.

"You're welcome," she had replied simply, knowing that his headache would be fading soon enough. When he offered no other words while combatting the consequences of the previous night's actions, Althesia was more than happy to simply sit in silence.

Not forever though. When she had decided that he'd been given enough time for the fruit and water to run its course, the harper turned her face up towards his and nuzzled his neck expectantly. "Don't go back to sleep," she demanded hopefully, mind recalling an insignificant detail from the night before. "You wanted to ask me questions," she prompted, as if that desire might still hold true in the morning.

More prevalent desires seemed to be gripping him now, but Althesia stubbornly ignored his wayward glances. He had ample time to pursue such things the night before, and had unwisely chosen not to. She wasn't about to just give it up now without a fight... or some clever persuasion. Or something.

[dragon]

J'rad instincly wrapped an arm around her as she lay into him. He had to admit this feeling was nice. A man's natural instinct was protector, and J'rad had to admit he felt such a thing as she was leaning against him with an arm wrapped around her.

"Questions?", he asked a bit confused, then took time to ponder and sort through last night. "Oh, yes. I remember now. I just need to recall what questions", J'rad finally spoke up. After some time and silence he found such a question. "I do remember one thing while I was in my less-than-sober state. You said you were afraid I wouldn't want you in the morning. Well I wanted to ask you something vaguely similiar", he spoke up, then gave another pause, longer than it should have been. "Would I be just some other bed partner when you woke up. Just another man on your list? I wanted to ask this, but I wasn't in the right frame of mind to", J'rad finally asked. It was what had been worrying him the night before, why he wasn't so easy to give in and why he still wasn't going to give in so easily. He wasn't going to be satisfied by just being another one night stand and he wouldn't allow her, especially, to make him such.

His words were still blunt, but lacked any anger behind them. Instead, they were placed with definent honesty. She had to see now that J'rad would still refuse to be like any other man, even after accepting that he would change and perhaps he expected some change on her part as well. Well, he had told her she could learn more than just games after all. Though what he really wanted to say, and may bring up later, was that they could learn from one another.