Brotherly Love [open]

[darkaire]

Perhaps they had spent too much time inside, or maybe they had just spent too much time together. It was always possible that neither of them had come to terms with being forced out of their home and were still feeling the keen pain of being seperated from their family and friends. Any way you looked at it, Dyleon and Kaelsah were on edge around each other.

For Dyleon, seeing his brother reminded him of the reason he had been forced to leave somewhere he had grown comfortable in. His time at the Weyr had not been a long one, but it had been miserable. The elder brother had yet to make any friends, due to his own reluctance to settle in. Part of him wanted to believe that his father would relent and let him go back to the Hold.

Kaelsah knew better. He had spent more time around their father and knew that the man wouldn't relent. It had helped him settle in more and meet a few potential friends. He had yet to find anyone to get attached to, but he was looking. The younger boy was getting frustrated with his brother. He'd tried to get Dy to be friendlier, but he'd refused to. And that was what they were currently arguing about.

It had started with an innocent comment from Kael about a pretty man he'd seen wandering the halls, and wondered if he would see him again. Dyleon, who hated the entirely optimisitic approach his brother was taking to the Weyr, had exploded on the comment.

"Where do you get off?" he snarled, turning on Kael. He'd been walking in front of the boy, eager to find a good spot to sulk in. At the blank look he received, he continued. "How can you be so air headed? We've been here two sevendays and already you're looking for someone to sleep with? Do you remember what got us sent here in the first place?"

"Of course I remember," Kael pouted. How could he not? It had been his body that had been abused. He had been the one in the relationship. "If you hadn't gone off and tried to kill him, we wouldn't be here."

Dy glared at him darkly. The submissively gentle tone his brother had used infuriated him. If Kaelsah hadn't been in the relationship, he wouldn't have felt the need to beat the abusive lover senseless. He grabbed his brother's shirt, hand curling into the fabric as he drew him closer. Kael moved willingly, knowing if he didn't his brother's temper would be worse. He'd learned a few things from his last lover. "Don't you dare accuse me of getting us here. It is entirely your fault," he hissed.

Kael tilted his head down, submissive nature taking over in the face of an angry person. "Of course it is. I see that now. Forgive me for saying otherwise," the younger boy murmured, voice heavy with pain and regret. He hadn't agreed with what he'd said, but situations like this made him remember the past.

And that's how they were when someone decided to step in, step by or generally step into the sightlines of the angry eldest brother.

[kayla]

Neory had finished her duties for that day fairly early on in the day. Until there was a gold egg on the sands, she was still technically a drudge, though she did attend some of the basic candidate classes, the ones that dealt with issues particular to Dragons rather than just life in the weyr.

The young woman had her relatively short hair pulled back and was dressed in a simple pair of slacks and a comfortable shirt. Neory tended to dress rather practically for work rather than worrying about her appearance.

She turned a corner and saw a bigger boy grabbing a smaller. That made her stop. She watched the two and listened to hear what it was they were saying. Unfortunately, what she heard did not let her know anything more about what the conflict was. Though it did not really matter what the reason the bigger boy was bullying the smaller was.

"That's enough. Regardless of what is whose fault, you don't get to be a bully here. So let him go." As she spoke she'd approach them, she would get involved physically if she needed to.

[darkaire]

Both heads turned to view the newcomer as the sound of a new voice. Dyleon's neck audibly cracked as it snapped to look at the girl, eyes narrowed in spite. Kael twisted his head slowly, only after he saw that Dy had taken his attention off of him. The elder did not release Kael, and even dared to tug him closer. Kael was not expecting this and stumbled slightly before he regained his footing.

"This is none of your business, women," Dy's voice was as dark as his glare. Her intrusion was not appreciated. She had no idea what they were talking about, and so her opinion didn't matter. "I will do to him as I please. In fact," his voice took on a slight purring quality, an odd sound to hear coming from him, "he doesn't mind. Do you?"

Kael felt his brother's eyes bore into him, waiting the expected answer. He glanced up at the girl momentarily, and his own eyes held nothing. No plea for help, no fear and no joy. Only a dull, patient look. He dropped his gaze from her and smiled softly. "I don't mind."

Dyleon smiled thinly, a note of triumph now underlying his tone. "See? Now be a good girl and leave us alone." What she didn't seem to know was that Kael was his brother. His younger brother. In his mind, that automatically gave him permission to do as he liked. Besides, with such a free spirited, loose living brother as Kael, he had to take a strong hand to him to keep him in line.

Kael shifted his footing and let his mind wander. He really wished Dy would let him go, since his shirt was twisted up against his neck. It was an embarrassing position to be in, and he worried that a potential fling might see him. He tilted his head up to breathe easier, a trick he'd learned before.

[kayla]

"See, I'm not that concerned with whether or not he claims to mind. What is he going to say, 'Oh yes I mind terribly' so that you'll do what next time? Give him a black eye? Break his nose? I don't think so."

Neory stepped in even closer, getting almost right into Dyleon's face. "Let. Him. Go. Now."

There was little that Neory hated quite so much as a bully. People who thought that because they were bigger they had the right to do whatever they wanted to whoever they wanted. "I don't know where you're from, but this kind of behaviour is not acceptable in the weyr. Regardless of what reason you think you have for this."

[darkaire]

Dyleon frowned at the girl. She clearly had no idea that the boy he was hounding was his brother. He cared for Kael, even if he would never admit it. The small, feminine boy had somehow snuck into his heart, something he mourned often. He might bully his brother, but he would never, never physically hurt him.

The elder brother scoffed at the girl as she stepped in closer. Rarely had he met anyone with the audacity to confront him like she was. “You think you can do something to make me let him go?” his question was childish, but his tone was mocking. The idea that someone might put up a decent fight – verbal or otherwise – almost made him giddy.

Kaelsah knew his brother’s time at the Weyr so far had been more than boring for him. He also knew that his brother thrived on confrontation. Had he been any closer, he could have heart Dy’s heart accelerate, rather than know it did. While he appreciated the girl trying to help, he knew it wasn’t going to turn out good. At all.

Dy waited a moment for the girl to respond. When she didn't, he smiled coldly at her and turned his back, tugging on his brother's shirt slightly. Kael obediately moved with Dy, smiling softly at the girl. She was brave to pursue the issue, but it probably wasn't smart to. The eldest slackened his grip slightly, though not where the girl could tell.

[kayla]

Could she do anything to make him let the other boy? Not really. Not without becoming a bully herself. And she had not seen him doing anything that quite warranted any kind of physical response. So while she did not respond, her eyes did narrow at him, not willing to back off or let this go, not while he still bullied the other.

When he turned his back on her she growled lowly, "Oh no you don't!" She did not normally care that much if someone rejected her. She had friends and was confident in herself. And she had already decided that she really did not care what this boy thought of her. However, he had pulled the other boy with him when he did so, and that was simply not acceptable.

"Too much of a coward to face a girl? What are you afraid of? Is it that you're afraid of girls? Or just of people that will stand up to you? Or maybe you're only able to pick on those who are much smaller and younger than you?"

As she spoke she'd walked around him to get back into his face. "So what is it? I'm just taller enough of him to make me a threat to you? Or I'm old enough that you're scared? Or could it be possibly that the big bad bully is afraid of a girl?"

[darkaire]

Only Kaelsah saw the immensely smug look appear on his brother’s face when he heard her growl. He sighed and looked down and away. He just wanted to get about his business. He understood that Dy worried over him, but really, he was old enough to worry over himself. He laced his hand up through his shirt and let his fingers brush over Dyleon’s. It was a soft reminder to keep his cool.

Dy quickly filtered the smug look back to a cold, passionless scowl when he noticed her move back into his sightlines. The boy could have hugged his brother for getting him into this. He listened, appearing calm, but inwardly itching to do something. He had not been this excited over something since he’d been at the Weyr. He didn’t care that it was a girl he was thinking of taking his anger out on.

Ignoring his brother’s reminder, Dy’s scowl darkened. The girl was in his face, and shard it, it was annoying. “Oh yes, you’re absolutely right,” he sneered. “I must be afraid of girls, or else I wouldn’t have turned my back on you, right?” Kaelsah’s sigh was audible as he felt his brother start to lose control.

Because she was on the same side as the hand he was gripping Kael with, Dy let him go without a thought, transferring his grip onto the girl. Her proximity made it impossible for her to avoid his hand as it snared into her shirt. He stepped in, glowering down into her face. “Since you seem so keen on getting me to release my brother,” he clarified his relationship to his ‘victim’ softly, “why not take his place?” He smiled thinly, body tense as he waited for her response, hoping it would be good. He could not stand to be let down again.

[kayla]

Well, that kind of worked. Except now he had her, and she did not so much love that. However, she was not the slightest bit cowed by his grabbing her.

"Oh, so because he's your brother you get to bully him? Guess what, you're wrong. And you sure as shells don't have the right to bully me." And with that she stomped down hard on his instep. She did not want to cause him pain, but she very much wanted him to let her go.

[darkaire]

Dyleon was not about to be let down. However, he had been expecting something other than her to start a fight. Granted, her motivation had been to get him to let go, but to him, any form of phyicality resulted in more of the same. So when she stomped on his instep, his reaction was very natural.

He swore and shifted his weight to his other foot. His hand fisted into her shirt further as he used her for brief balance as he other hand fisted and slammed it into her face. He didn't take much time to aim since the reaction was instinct, but it was somewhere around her left eye and left cheekbone.

Kael had stepped away as soon as he felt his brother let go, and he was glad he did. Had he not, he might have been hit. He did feel bad for the girl, but she had provoked his brother. The small boy adjusted his shirt and looked around for an adult. There had to be one around here. He didn't care if he got hit, but when someone else did...well, his brother needed to learn to stop doing these sorts of things.

[thedreamerlady]

R'net hadn't really been paying attention to his surroundings. Free time had been sharply curtailed since taking on recent responsibilities, and he hadn't been sleeping as well recently. However, even a distracted Triveni wingrider would notice raised, angry voices. Often acting as mediators, the respectable wing practically had a second sense about these things.

Turning slightly, he caught a glance of a good friend of his- Neory- and a boy the Wingsecond had never seen before(probably a new candidate). That, in of itself, was not upsetting. The fact that the two were in each others facing, and there was a boy off to the side, well, that wasn't going good- then when the boy through a punch, R'net just about saw red.

Instincts ingrained when he was little kicked in, and R'net was at Neory's side, pulling off the boy. R'net was ready for any trick the scrap of a boy(ignoring the fact that boy was nearly R'net's height) might try and pull, and his face was twisted into an angry expression reserved just for men who hit women.

[kayla]

Before Neory could react to defend herself, R'net had stepped between them. Freed from the need to defend herself, Neory's hand reached for where she had been punched and very gently probed to access the damage done to her cheek and eye. She grimaced as it was already tender and knew that she was going to end up with a black eye.

After a moment she moved to allow R'net to deal with the bully, moving to the younger/smaller boy. "Are you all right? I don't want him taking any anger for this out on you. We can make it so that he can't attack you again."

[darkaire]

Dyleon was seriously considering another punch when he was suddenly aware of the sound of heavy footfalls. He had no time to look for the source when he felt himself being pulled off the girl roughly. He twisted in the man's grip and glared up at him unrepentingly. The look on the man's face told him he wasn't in for anything good - not that he'd expected for anyone to be happy he'd punched a girl. His glare smoldered at the man, and Dy decided to let him speak first. He was upset, yes, but he wasn't so upset he was going to attack an adult. Even if he could get free from the hold, and probably put up a fair fight.

Kaelsah smiled at the girl when she approached him, quietly glad the older man had stepped in. "I'm fine," his voice was soft, the kind of soft that targeted him for either bullying or other attention. "I appreciate your concern, but there's no need to keep him away from me." His smile was sweet as he reached over to take her hand in both of his, hoping to get his point across. "You see, he's my brother, and I do love him. He's the only family I've got here, and I'd hate to not be able to see him."

Dyleon rolled his eyes and covered the fact that he was actually a bit happy about what his brother had said with a sneer. He twisted slightly, suddenly not wanting whoever this man was to be holding him like he was.

[thedreamerlady]

R'net looked at the boy, and moved his arm slightly. The man didn't loosen his grip- he just made it so the boy could stand in such a way to suggest he wasn't completely at R'net's mercy. He was, of course- R'net had enough clout to guarantee that the boy would pay for his crimes(from the conversation Neory was having with the other boy, R'net doubted the little dimglow had only been fighting with Neory).

"Now." R'net's voice was clipped, and the usually suave man sounded as hostile as he looked. "Would you like to tell your story?" The Wingsecond didn't sound like he'd believe a word of anything that the boy said- after all, he'd been a candidate too- but R'net was willing to listen. At least for a little while. "Or shall I take everything at face value and start listing your punishments now?"

R'net wondered briefly if the boy would try and bluff his way out of punishment. R'net's plain while shirt lacked the identifying shoulder knots of rank, and he wasn't as well known a bronzerider as others. He would probably need to learn the boys name as well. But that could wait until after the boy had shown his way of dealing with R'net.

[darkaire]

Dyleon took what little leeway the man gave him, then shoved his hands into his pockets. He managed to tip his head up to send a defiant glare up at the man, gaze sizzling with heat. "My story?" he repeated with amusement. The man hardly sounded interested. Dy was prideful, and as such, took great pride in what he did. Everything he did.

He straightened up and narrowed his eyes further. "I punched her. What does it look like I did? Picked her some flowers?" he snorted. He would never have done that. And he certainly would never had lied about what he'd done. Dy chanced a glance at the girl and smiled slightly. The bruise would look nice, and he'd love to see it on her later. He always enjoyed admiring his handiwork. He shifted his attention back to the man and waited eagerly, hoping his answer had provoked some sort of fighting response.

[thedreamerlady]

"You just punched her?" R'net was trying to calm down, he really was. But this boy, with his attitude, and his act of not caring, well, it was truly grating at R'net's nerves. There was no attitude attacted to his words- he'd seen the boy punch the girl, and didn't think he'd gotten there after very much had happened. His grip tightened very slightly, and R'net considered all the information he'd received.

"You have threatened, and harmed a candidate," R'net was referring to Neory, but if the small boy was a candidate, then R'net supposed the boy could count too. "You have threatened and hit a valued member of our Weyr, and you have shown no remorse for your actions. Name yourself, your rank, and who you look to. Then, the two of us will take a trip, and see you soundly punished."

R'net was thinking a sound beating, and possibly returning him to whereever he belonged in disgrace, but he'd settled for the beating. Then the man's eyes saw Neory face, and the lad's smirk, and changed his mind. This snake would need a bit more than just a beating for R'net to be satisfied.