The Morning After

[Xinnai]

K'houry rolled in bed, groaning quietly as he felt consciousness nudging away sleep and demanding to be let in. He snuggled within the furs for a few moments more, feeling a vague indistinct shape just on the edges of touch beside him. A small smile of remembered triumph flickered across the old greenrider's face.

Ah, the flight. How could he have forgotten? It had been one of Finneth's best and they'd had a long time to compare them. He laid there for a few moments more, recollecting the vague flickers he remembered of the night. Powerful stuff, for him. He knew that a greenflight nowhere matched the feelings that a goldflight initiated, but it was enough to please him.

He could feel Finneth's mind against his and touched at it briefly, smug pride radiated to the other bonded of each pair on either side.

You did well, love. Definitely one of the betters.
Finneth preened at the praise, sinuous neck untwisting from her new mate's to touch her shoulder and bow as she struck a pose, still remaining close to the male beside her.
Yes, it was. Good contenders. Of course, I got the best.
But of course. You always do.

K'houry shifted within the bed, loathe to wake after such a very active night. But the day had come and with it duties and other activities that must be accomplished. He rolled to his right side to face companion on his left. When eyes opened, he was jumping and falling out of bed, the furs tangling around his legs and sending him sprawling on his backside. Head swung to see his green with her brown, watching him calmly. "FINNETH!" he roared, face a violent shade of magenta in his fury. The green just ducked her head beneath Daisulyth's, not at all concerned that her rider was thinking about killing her.

K'houry turned to look back at I'dalyn. I'dayln and the flight and...shards. No. No no no. Eyes were beyond angry and the slightest bit disgusted. "How did this happen?" he demanded. How could he have let this happen? Daisulyth and I'dalyn. In his weyr. In his bed! He groaned, head sinking into his hands and slowly shaking back and forth. This could not be happening.

[anhydrous]

Still clinging to the wonderful vestiges of sleep, I’dalyn was unaware of what horrible things were conspiring around him. Pure contentment radiating from his dragon had replaced any dream or thought he might have, the emotion as calming as a lullaby. He was turned on one side with his chest to the man whose bed he had intruded upon, one arm curled tenderly in the greenrider’s direction. With the furs drawn up over one shoulder, he looked the picture of innocence in his blissful unconsciousness.

This, of course, could never last.

K’houry’s floundering and shouts quickly woke his bedmate, who sought to be as far away from the offending noise as possible in his half-aware daze. The daylight blinded him as he rolled out of the bed and struggled backward, one hand attempting to cover his squinting eyes and fend off whatever chaos was rampaging through the weyr.

As I’dalyn’s back hit the cold stone of the far wall, everything came rushing back to him. The flight, Finneth, and of course, K’houry.

Flashes of memory that presented their undesired escapades intruded into his mind, whatever passion that had gripped them now long gone. Attempting to cover himself as best as he could with the furs that he had been tangled in, I’dalyn fought back waves of repulsion and embarrassment. Mostly repulsion.

His eyes darted around the room while K’houry spat his disbelief, looking desperately for his clothes, which he couldn’t see anywhere. What, had he thrown them off the ledge in his enthusiasm? That thought sent another wave of aversion over the brownrider. K’houry was old! Perhaps an immature reflection, but I’dalyn decided that he deserved to be able to dwell on such a thing.

His lips moved soundlessly in an attempt to answer the greenrider, but he had absolutely no response. What was he supposed to say? Hey, I had fun last night!

I’dalyn bit back a gag.

Daisulyth, in the meanwhile, refused to lend his awareness to whatever was occurring within the weyr. He had everything he could want right there in his embrace, his tender twine with Finneth unspeakably intoxicating. His rider’s furious disbelief was the buzzing of an annoying insect in comparison.

Whatever despondency he felt as her neck left his was soon forgotten as she tucked her head in next to his again, content to be allowed to snuggle with her. It wouldn't be a lie to say that Daisulyth doted on his prize, and Finneth would soon find him to be quite a loving ledge-mate, as he doubted their riders would agree to anything more.

[Xinnai]

K'houry glared at I'dayln as he stood there, trying to cover himself and struggling for words like some dimglow who didn't know how to spell the word 'cat.' He scrubbed at his face with callused hands, fingers running over the thick scar that marred the right side of his face. Shards. How had this happened? His seething was gone unnoticed by Finneth, who was so utterly and completely content with Daisulyth.

The greenrider stood stiffly and grabbed at a robe he had draped across a chair. He pulled it on and belted it without even looking at his new weyrmate. He almost gagged at the word, which had previously been such a source of entertainment and pleasure. Now the connotations were reversed and he couldn't bear to put the title to the boy Weyrlingmaster.

The older man turned to pin I'dayln with another brief glare. However much he wanted to go sprinting into a bath to scrub at his skin and say, "ew ew ew" over and over again, he couldn't. They had to figure it out. He felt his rage towards the man diminishing, fading away. He sighed, hand running through gray-streaked brown hair, sweeping it away from his face. This wasn't the man's fault; it was their harebrained, stupid dragons'.

"We need to figure this out," he murmured. "We need to figure out what to do." He couldn't hurt Finneth by refusing to see the rider or his brown. Not when he could feel her happiness rising, a bubble that could only be popped by him or the brown she was entwined with. And guessing from the way he looked, that wasn't going to happen soon.

Finneth pressed closer to her brown, neck twining with his as her jaw brushed with his. She was absolutely enamored of Daisulyth and it showed in every movement of her dainty green body and the whirring of content eyes. Yes, definitely taken. And there was no way K'houry could damage that.

[anhydrous]

Figuring that modesty was vaguely irrelevant at this point, I’dalyn rose from his mortified sprawl and located his pants. All the while he was bombarding his dragon with silent reprimands, every one ignored by the placid brown. Daisulyth had found what he needed. He was more than content, proud to be his lady's desire.

Although I’dalyn’s shirt and jacket were still missing in action he could live without them for the moment. Pulling on his pants as K’houry’s second glare was fired his way, the brownrider matched the older man’s distaste with a scowl of his own. This loathing was certainly not a one-way road. The weyrlingmaster wanted as little to do as possible with this particular staff member, one that he had only chosen because he had to.

“What do you mean, figure this out?” I’dalyn countered. “You can’t be considering letting them…” He trailed off, Daisulyth’s contentedness lapping at his rider’s consciousness like waves. A pained expression crossed I’dalyn’s face, eyes screwed tight against reality. “Shards,” he offered uselessly. He wanted to find his jacket and leave. No thought was more comforting than that one, except maybe to kill Daisulyth and eat him.

Of course, that was purely frustration speaking. Neither of the men could fault their dragons, not enough to drive a wedge between them. It would end up hurting more than if they just sucked it up and tolerated each other, no matter how painful that suggestion sounded. “What are we going to do?” I’dalyn asked at length, his bare chest still itching to be covered so that he might hide the uncomfortable spasms that were creeping across his torso.

Perhaps they would loose interest. A dragon’s memory wasn’t something limitless. Maybe another male would claim Finneth in her next flight. That thought was a welcome one, but the odds weren’t good. I’dalyn groaned inwardly, knowing that if K’houry’s green had promised Daisulyth anything, he would never ever forget it. Of all the things I’den had gifted to the anxiety-ridden brown, his memory of promises was one that his son met with the greatest contempt.

[Xinnai]

K'houry watched in vague disinterest as I'dayln hauled on his pants. There was the flicker of memory that teased across his brain, flashing across his eyes and making him wince. He didn't want to remember. He didn't want to remember anything at all. Ever. They could put it down to dragon-induced but it still didn't make it better.

Arms crossed over the man's thick chest as he heaved a sigh, flicking a glance at the green and brown pair. Shard them. Shard them to hell and back. This was the most uncomfortable situation he'd ever been forced into in his life and there'd been plenty. But they had to figure it out.

K'houry watched I'dalyn after his exclamation of denial wore off. Brows were raised as he watched the brownrider's face. Yes, he realized it too. His short curse was enough to assure the greenrider of that. He leaned back against the chair, tongue in cheek, watching the Weyrlingmaster still.

"There's nothing we can do," he murmured quietly. He realized it was the first time he'd never been angry within I'dalyn's presence-excluding last night, of course. Not that he counted that at all. And he was finding himself actually able to speak. A good sign. "I won't do anything to damage my dragon and I doubt you will either. For the time, they are happy with each other's company. We must deal with it. There's a time when a man must submit to his dragon and this is it." Lips quirked sardonically as he crossed one bare foot over the other, attention wandering over to the pair once more.

He could only hope that they lost interest, but he doubted it. He doubted it very much. He'd never seen Finneth like this, not since G'bral and Tiath. Even though turns had passed, the thought of the two still made his heart ache. But Finneth was getting all moon-eyed over Daisulyth. And K'houry just didn't have the heart to stop it.

[anhydrous]

Mostly because he didn't like the expectant way that K'houry was staring at him, I'dalyn sat down on the bed with his back to the other man. He couldn't believe that this was happening. It seemed like a bad dream, punctuated with an even worse nightmare as little snippets of their overnight aerobatics came drifting back into his mind's eye. The brownrider smothered every one with denial, his hands at his temples with his elbows propped on his knees.

At least K'houry wasn't screaming. Or blaming him. Or punching him. That was the only solace I'dalyn could glean from the situation, silent while he considered the greenrider's uncharacteristically calm words. He was right. There was nothing they could do about it. "But we're not weyrmates," I'dalyn replied solidly, more so that he could assure himself rather than inform K'houry, "and next time, I will chain myself to my bed." Again his words were more for his own good than for the other man to comment on, so I'dalyn wasn't really expecting a reply. He was, however, growing increasingly agitated that he couldn't find the rest of his clothes.

Much happier out on the ledge, Daisulyth hefted his consciousness out of the foggy pleasure still lingering from the flight and purred purred belatedly at Finneth's slight brush past his jaw. You're pretty[/color], he said guilelessly, wings drawn up around his new mate as if to protect her from the dissension that was being directed at them.

After a moment of thoughtful cuddling, he offered another compliment that might please the one who had offered him such boundless ecstasy. And you fly far better than any queen.[/color] That was certainly something to be said, regardless of the fact that Daisulyth had never risen to chase one. He wouldn't have remembered if he had, but winning Finneth was definitely going to linger in his mind.

[Xinnai]

K'houry raked a hand through gray-streaked oak hair, head swinging back and forth, eyes alighting on the furniture in his weyr, each of them separate and disjointed snapshots of the night before. An overturned chair. A jarred table. A scatter of records. Head shook mechanically, denying each image.

"No," he murmured, lips barely moving over the words they formed, "we're not. But they are. And they will be." He groaned, falling back to the floor right there. There was undeniable truth in his words. "Chaining yourself to your bed won't help. None of it will help. Can't you feel it? This isn't dalliance; it's not some passing fancy. It's going to happen again and again."

His entire frame was an example of dejection, his good humor gone like smoke. His head sagged, his entire body hung limp. He could only see the horrible future that would quite possibly be the rest of his life. Stuck with a man he couldn't stand. How was this fair? How did Faranth justify this?

Finneth crooned softly, her small little body humming with the pleasure that was rolling over her like soft waves. The flight didn't diminish it. She doubted nothing would. She snuggled closer to the side of her brown, croon hardly diminishing. And you're handsome. And strong. Her croon rose to a very smug note as she shifted, wings overlapping his. You must have been better than a king then to have caught me.

[anhydrous]

Watching as K’houry sunk to the floor I’dalyn lost whatever hope he had left. If this stubborn greenrider was giving up, then he was definitely going to be stuck with him. The thought of spending another night wrapped in the greenrider’s embrace was making him twitch, so he hunted around for his shirt to distract himself.

“Maybe it won’t help,” I’dalyn admitted while he lifted the furs, “But it hardly seems fair that either of us should be subjected to this.” In all honesty, the brownrider was mostly speaking for himself. Even with all the unpleasantness of the other man’s personality aside, K’houry was still an old man. I’dalyn was in his prime. He hardly wanted to be tied to some sullen greenrider, even if it was only for a night once or twice a turn.

His frown decreased at the discovery of his shirt, and he wasted no time snatching it roughly from a tangle of linens. The encroaching daylight was blocked out when he pulled it over his head, allowing another thought to make its debut. “Faranth help us, the weyrlings are going to have a sharding field day over this.” The sudden realization caused another pained expression. I’dalyn of all people knew how the young dragonriders talked.

Daisulyth, still oblivious, reveled in his lady’s croons; savoring each tender sound that she uttered for him. Her compliments sent his mind reeling, the second one venturing waywardly into incoherent territory and striking an unpleasant nerve.

What if a different male claimed his Finneth in her next flight? The very thought of it worried him to no end, and he couldn’t help but tighten his grip on her possessively. Not even a king is worthy[/color], he retorted sweetly, trying to keep the persistent anxiety from ringing true in his voice. The nagging thoughts and suspicions were always there, always trying to break down his carefully minded defenses and drive him mad.

With his jaw neatly touching hers, Daisulyth sought to bury such anxious notions with reassurance. I will never let them catch you[/color], he rumbled, his tone a mix between plead and promise.

[Xinnai]

K'houry glanced up, watching the weyrlingmaster as he spoke. An eyebrow cocked and he snorted, some of his ill humor returning. The man wasn't speaking for the two of them. They both knew that they both loathed each other. It was no secret.

But it wasn't fair. Why should he be saddled with some little punk just because Finneth was...was attached to his brown? Who in Faranth's name would allow it? The two men didn't get along. They took swings at each other. They very openly hated everything about each other. So...why? Why?

K'houry's head twisted, resting on his knees as he sent I'dalyn a deplorable look. His laugh was mirthless as he pushed it from his lungs. "The weyrlings? Why give a shard about them?" He groaned, hands rubbing over his face. "All they're going to do is snicker and gossip over it. There's much, much worse things to think of." He just couldn't think of them.

Finneth snuggled alongside Daisulyth, unaware of where his thoughts were headed. She just rubbed alongside him, content in this little sphere of her world even when her rider's was crashing down on his head. You are sweet.[/color] Jaw brushed his again, much as her grassy body did. You better not,[/color] she scolded playfully. Because I am your's and you are mine. None other shall have that.[/color]

[anhydrous]

Daisulyth struggled to contain his joy at Finneth’s words. His chest rumbled, a swallowed bugle humming against his prize. Any anxieties were gone, thrown out into the wind above the bowl. We are perfect[/color], he finally managed. Apparently Daisulyth didn’t bother to factor his rider into the perfection equation. Dragons weren’t the best at math.

I’dalyn rose and shrugged off K’houry’s words as best as he could, finding his jacket between the side of the desk and the wall. “I’d rather not be laughed at,” he said quietly with a scowl, the rest muttered under his breath. “This is embarrassing enough without it.” The brownrider didn’t know exactly what K’houry would do if he had heard that last sentence, but shards, anything was better than what had been forced upon him the night before. A punch in the gut would have been a bubbly pie in comparison.

As he was pushing his arms through the sleeves of his jacket, Daisulyth happily bubbled into his rider’s consciousness with an elated announcement. Finneth claims me as her’s![/color] He said excitedly, the urge to share such news irresistible. I’dalyn paled instantly, dropping both arms to his sides in a gesture of helplessness. His dragon’s contentedness was pressing on him like a blanket, but instead of being comforted, he felt like he was being smothered.

He turned and shot Finneth a glare, the following one sent to K’houry. “Your dragon just promised herself to him,” I’dalyn all but shouted, one hand scrubbing at his face irritably. “He’ll never sharding forget it either! You’d better get used to my face, greenrider. You’re going to be seeing a lot of it!” At that he stalked out to the ledge, glowering at Daisulyth’s happy embrace.

Take me home, he commanded. The brown just looked at him, blinking once or twice, and suggested that he find his own way home. You’ve got legs[/color], he pointed out hopefully. I’dalyn wanted to scream.

[Xinnai]

Perfect[/color], Finneth crooned. I would contest to that. What she felt was perfect. The green felt safe under the mantle of wings, she felt protected by the press of brown body to hers, she felt absolutely head over tail for Daisulyth. A dangerous thing to the two men who were their riders, but absolutely wonderful to her.

K'houry ignored the other man in his weyr, instead sinking steadily into his own narrow-minded dejection. Finneth would normally have lifted him out of it, but she was too focused on her new mate for him. He pouted like a child. So he'd lost her to the brown. How was that fair?

He was snapped out of that dejection though at the man's words. Eyes widened and he shot to his feet, surprisingly spry. "What?" He hissed. "WHAT?" He darted out to the ledge to see the brown and green, looking snug as they could be in their little lovenest. Eyes narrowed as he pointed an accusing finger at his green. "How could you? I-him-but-FINNETH!"

The green turned to look at her rider, eyes bland, loathe as she was to remove herself from her brown. She stretched neck towards the irate rider, nudging at him gently. All is well, K'houry. He promised me too. Isn't it fabulous! With that she was turning back to Daisulyth, head nuzzling with his. She tightened her hold on him. Don't leave me... She didn't want him to go, not even for a minute, not right now. Not so soon. She wasn't conent with the idea of being without him, not right now.

[anhydrous]

I'dalyn sidestepped away from K'houry, unwilling to maintain any sort of proximity to the other man. What bothered him more than the greenrider was Daisulyth's indifference. The brown had never acted in such a way, although, perhaps he had just never found a green willing to settle with him. I'dalyn could care less of the reason, his stomach turning to stone as his pleas were ignored. His knitted brows relaxed, frown fading into a much more somber expression. You aren't going home with me? He asked quietly, his thoughts barely registering in Daisulyth's mind.

The dragon was torn, the green in his arms offering a new source of unbridled satisfaction. His rider had been busy with his weyrlingmaster duties, leaving him alone for vast stretches of time while he tended to the younglings. Every moment alone hurt, and yet he had been ignored. As Finneth tightened her grip he chose her to soothe, offering reassurances. I won't leave,[/color] he said openly, so that both the green and I'dalyn might hear. I will stay here.[/color] Daisulyth found a comfort with Finneth that his rider had been neglecting to provide him, and he was not about to loose her just to escort I'dalyn home.

All such thoughts were forwarded to the man, hints of the anxiety-ridden emotions he had experienced over the past two months passed on as well. With a disheartened sigh the brownrider turned, more disappointed with himself than anything else. He hadn't realized. Taking hurried steps away from the ledge, I'dalyn left his dragon in the arms of his prize without another word.

Daisulyth felt a part of himself being pulled away, a shudder passing through his body while he extended a tendril of comfort out to I'dalyn. He wouldn't leave his green physically, but he could lend a part of his mind. It might not be the best substitute, but the brownrider accepted it. He couldn't believe that he had let his new knots come between him and his dragon. It made him feel sick, choking back personal disgust while he stalked the twisting corridors of the Weyr. I love you, he offered uselessly, the word meaningless when applied to the bond that only a dragonrider could understand. The brown, clutching still at his lovely Finneth, nuzzled into her chest to hide his face. I know,[/color] was his response, paired with such feelings of intense satisfaction that I'dalyn couldn't help but be relieved.

The flights that were sure to follow this one didn't matter. Being forced to sleep with K'houry didn't matter. Daisulyth was his only concern, and he would do anything in his power to make sure that he stayed content. The brown, who had been sharing the space of his rider's mind, retreated at such devotion. Nothing could come between him and his Mine, but the dragon wasn't about to let anything come between himself and his Finneth either.

[Xinnai]

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