Returning the Favor (Z'ir)

[kayla]

Rynien had gladly wash the bedding she had bled on in Z'ir's weyr. She had felt bad for staining his bedding when he had taken care of her foot. Instead of taking the bedding down to the lower caverns to be cleaned, she had cleaned them herself - feeling it her responsibility.

She still had a limp, though her foot was healing nicely. She was irked that the still injured foot limited the duties she could as part of her wing, and it was kind of embarrassing to have to let her wing second know she had so carelessly cut open the bottom of her foot. Once she was able to get it wet, she gladly went back to oiling and washing her Irath herself, which had greatly improved her own mood.

She limped, though thankfully it was not as noticeable as it had been previously, to Triveni Wing's weyrs with the bedding neatly folded in her arms. She had had to ask for directions - since she had been flown there previously. When she did reach his door - assuming the directions were right - she would knock on the door.

[darkaire]

Z'ir had already been through a lot that day. He'd been wakened early by an itchy dragon begging to be bathed and oiled. Not the type to enjoy waking early, it had taken too long in Azerith's mind for the rider to wake, bathe, dress and stumble to the Lake. After that had been Wing practice, at the end of which Azerith had asked for yet another bath. The wind chafes my skin, the brown had rumbled. Z'ir hadn't believed a word of it, and had agreed to a second washing only when he was flagged down by a one-time lover had flagged him for a repeat performance. He much preferred the company of his dragon.

Now Azerith perched content in the sun, thrumming happily to himself. Z'ir had been soaking for the past candlemark, enjoying the warmth of this water to the coldness of the lake. The rider had managed to doze off, woken only when the brown alerted him to the presence of another person outside his door. Who? he asked blearily, managing to find the ledge of the small bathing pool to pull himself out. That woman from before, he said simply. Z'ir nodded to himself, snatching at a nearby towel and wrapping it around his waist. As he walked to the door, he twisted it into place. He was really horrible at making towels stay on his waist, so he held it in place with a hand. He shook his head briefly before opening the door, sparing Rynien a shower of water droplets.

Z'ir smiled pleasantly at the greenrider, stepping out of the way to let her move in. He hardly thought about his current attire, not finding it unusual. "Please, come in, Rynien," his voice was warm, a feeling that usually surrounded him while with someone else.

[kayla]

Rynien was dressed simply. She wore a flowing, billowing skirt that swirled about her legs, loose enough that it gave her freedom of movement, a burnt orange color with red trimming at the top and bottom of the skirt - not one of her dressier skirts, but a fun casual one, the type of skirt she frequently changed into after wing duties and bathing Irath. Her top was an off-white blouse, not tight, though the top bottom was undone - not low enough to show any cleavage. Her blonde hair was pushed behind her ears, however a stray lock fell in her face anyway.

When Z'ir opened the door, Rynien's eyes widened and her cheeks colored. "Um... I... didn't mean to interrupt your bath..." He was naked - well, he had a towel on, but he was naked! Yet, she did enter his weyr upon his invitation to do so.

"Um... I just came to return your bedding. I managed to get the blood stain out."

[darkaire]

The moment he saw her cheeks redden he had to fight the urge to hit himself. He’d forgotten the greenrider’s squeamishness over skin. Granted, it was flustering to most women to see him straight from the bath. He shut the door behind her softly. “It was long past time for me to get out,” he assured her, not wanting her to feel any more uncomfortable than she already did. Shards, but why hadn’t he remembered!

The brownrider leaned against his door, looking Rynien over. Some women in the Weyr dressed to catch attention, so to see her in a modest outfit was refreshing to a degree. Z’ir was well rested, so he should have been able to control his own thoughts, but here, in his own weyr he was lax. He quite enjoyed removing clothes, and the more a person wore, the more there was to take off.

Z’ir, ridermine, stop it and get your bedding. Leave the poor woman alone, Azerith craned his head back to shoot his rider a look. Z’ir dipped his head in acknowledgement and moved forward to Rynien. “I can take them if you’d like. Or put on some pants if you’d like to stay for a while.”

Z’ir… the dragon rumbled at his offer. What? the man’s mindvoice was innocent, She did agree to eat with me at some point.

[kayla]

Rynien smiled warmly and nodded, "I can stay for a while. I'd like that. Um... where do you want me to them while you put some pants on." Preferrably somewhere where she would not see him putting his pants on - though she imagined it would probably be pleasant to see him without his pants on.

The color in her cheeks deepened at her own thoughts.

Mine... do not you want to see him without pants?

You are not helping, Irath.

What? I do not understand what the problem is.

She groaned slightly and smiled to Z'ir, "Um... did you need me to make your bed? I can do that while you put on pants."

[darkaire]

“Ah, right on the bed, actually,” he mumbled. Even though he was a wing second, he only had one set of bedding. He’d been sleeping with Azerith since he’d dropped his one set off with Rynien. Dragons weren’t the most comfortable things to sleep with. “If you would make my bed, that would be wonderful.” He touched her shoulder lightly in thanks before slipping back into the bathing area.

Once there, he took his time folding the towel and hanging it up. Now, where are those pants… he looked around for them, spotting them just outside the door. He sighed and walked over to them, slipping them on quickly.

Z’ir walked back, hands in pockets, skin still shiny from his bath. “Pants are on.”

[kayla]

She grinned up to him as he touched her on the shoulder, "I'm glad to." The smile touched her eyes. When he moved off into the bathing area, she moved over to the bed and began to neatly make the bed.

She took the time to smooth the sheets and tuck them in so that the bed would be perfectly made. With each layer, she would make sure that there were no wrinkles or creases, and check the area where she had bled to make sure that the blood was well and truly cleansed off the bedding.

With the last layer neatly arranged, she stepped back to make sure that it was perfect and draped equally on both sides. Satisfied she nodded to herself.

She turned around when she heard him and grinned, "I'm sorry. Silly of me to make you put pants on in your own weyr. Um, your bed is made. I made it with the same care I make my own bed... I'm a bit obsessive when it comes to neatness... so it should be good." She smiled warmly to him.

[darkaire]

The rider grinned loosely, biting back the urge to tell her he was probably just as obsessive when it came to neatness. While it hadn’t bothered him too much to sleep with his dragon, it had been uncomfortable. He’d look over the bed later and remake it several times. For now, he leaned over her shoulder and inspected it with careful eyes.

Satisfied for now, he sat on the edge of the bed, compulsively running a hand over the wrinkles he’d created by doing so. Catching himself, he froze and then patted the spot, as if inviting her to sit down. He had received countless teasing from women who had caught sight of his neurosis.

“Thank you. It looks nice, actually,” it was all he could do not to emphasis ‘actually’. He had rarely seen anyone care so much for neatness. Even if the other rider hadn’t caught his smoothing of the sheet, she could probably guess by the spotless nature of his weyr that he had a problem with dirt.

He sat for a moment, not actually having anything to say. He looked at her, then smiled a bit awkwardly. He’d let himself slip with this woman, and he wasn’t sure how to act.

[kayla]

Rynien had noticed that Z'ir was a very neat person - though she did not realize that he would also be considered obsessive! However, even if he had been somsone who took no concern for the neatness of his quarters, she would have still taken the same care to make his bed.

She smiled a bit as he saw him smooth those wrinkles out and then pat the space beside him. She did move to sit beside him at the invitation, even if it had not been his original intention. "Good. I hope its ok." She was not quite that bad, because she knew that she could not possibly sit on a made bed without making it at least a little imperfect.

She smiled warmly at him as he smiled awkwardly - probably the first time she'd seen him uncertain and Ryn found it rather endearing. "Its ok, you know. There is nothing wrong with being clean or neat. It is a good way to be, actually. Better than living in a mess. I'd rather be obsessively neat than live in cluter and dirt."

[darkaire]

Z’ir had a momentary mental sigh of relief, glad that she hadn’t seemed to notice or make a comment about the wrinkle-smoothing. He really didn’t want to deal with more teasing. But then she did comment, and he winced slightly. Though she didn’t tease, it was bad enough that she’d noticed.

His awkward smile turned even more so, arms struggling to find a comfortable position. He settled on letting them rest on the bed to either side of him. “Well,” he struggled slightly, trying to regain his composure after being found out, “Just don’t mention it around the Weyr, okay?” His look was bordering on pathetic.

Azerith rumbled in amusement. While I don’t think she will, it’d serve you right. You take better care of your weyr than you do of me. Z’ir shot the brown a glare, response said aloud in his haste to deny it, “I do not!” The brown rumbled again, pointing out that he’d said that out loud.

Z’ir blushed slightly, but that faded quickly. “Ah, sorry,” he apologized quietly to Ry. Shards, why couldn’t he seem to control himself around her?

[kayla]

She blinked at him as he seemed to get even more uncomfortable. His pathetic expression was cute though, though she was getting worried that she was making him uncomfortable. She frowned slightly, first man she'd been truly attracted to in a while and he seemed uncomfortable with her - though she'd been uncomfortable with him too at points. "Why would I? Though I still very much think that there is nothing to worry about."

She sighed softly as he apologized again. For some reason, him apologizing to her just seemed wrong. I mean, if he'd really done something to apologize for, that'd be one thing. But... she shook her head. "Its ok. I know how their comments can be." Though she had no idea what Azerith had said that Z'ir was responding to. After all her own Irath had had her blushing just moments ago herself.

She smiled to him for a moment and then sighed, "Um... I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable. If you want me to, I can leave. You shouldn't be uncomfortable in your own Weyr. I mean, I like being here..." and that admission made her blush, "But if I'm making you uncomfortable, I can go."

[darkaire]

Z’ir smiled gratefully at her, reassured that word of his little hang-up would stay within the room he was obsessed over. It wasn’t something he was proud of, treating it as something to live with. She was so much more understanding than other women. Her last comments caught him off-guard, something he was starting to feel more of around her.

“Oh no,” he input quickly, not actually having thought out a response. Words came naturally, so he rarely had to think of them. “If you like it here, by all means stay.” He sighed and twisted his lips. She was right; he was acting like a young boy suddenly forced to dance with the girl he liked. It was odd for him to act this way.

“I like you being here, too,” his words had some of his confidence back. He did not blush from his words, as there was nothing for him to be embarrassed of. “However, maybe we can get a late meal at some point? I don’t remember if I’ve eaten yet.”

You haven’t, the brown intoned, used to having to remind his rider of these things.

[kayla]

Rynien smiled warmly at his invitation to remain in his weyr. She liked it there, though if pressed, she'd admit that it was because she liked his company. While Irath did not have anything to say at the moment, she could feel that her dragon was content, Irath had always thought that her Rider was a little to shy with men.

Her smile widened when Z'ir admited that he liked her being there as well. Both at the words and at the confidence she heard in his voice. While she had found his awkwardness endearing, the confidence was more... right.

"I know I haven't. So, yeah, I could eat." She hadn't really realized she was hungry, though much to her embarrasment after her agreeing to eat her stomach growled audibly. Her eyes grew wide and she grimaced, "Um... obviously."

[darkaire]

Now that he had started to relax and lose the awkwardness that had plagued him, he remembered just how attractive Rynien was. And how adorable it was when she smiled. His eyes closed briefly as he pushed those thoughts away and concentrated on treating her as a friend. He had just met her, there was no need to push her into something more than that.

Azerith grumbled knowingly. He recognized these feelings. His rider had started loosening up and fraternizing with other riders. The man was mistaking enjoyment of company as something more. The brown’s monopoly on his rider was starting to crumble, and he didn’t enjoy it. You were always fine eating with me… his voice was muted, causing Z’ir to frown.

But I can’t seclude myself forever, Az. At some point I have to start making friends again. His eyes drifted away from Ry as he tried to pry into his dragon’s mind. He couldn’t get anywhere else beyond sulking, and so gave up.

Refocusing on Rynien, he stood and automatically smoothed out his pants. “Then I guess we better go now?” While he had been listening to his dragon, he’d caught her words as well. When he was fully alert, he didn’t miss much.

[kayla]

Rynien smiled and stood as he suggested they go eat now, "Yeah, probably a good idea before my stomach gets to be as loud as a dragon!" She grinned a bit at him. She did not need to straighten her skirts, because they were loose flowing skirts and wrinkles tended to fall out themselves.

"Think there's any chance of bubbly pies tonight?" She wrinkled her nose slightly as she answered herself, "Probably not, huh. I mean the Leadership flight was too long ago, maybe when the clutch is laid? Oh well. At least a clutch will mean a hatching which will mean a gather!"