Can't Shake It (Neory?)

[darkaire]

Yes, D'leon had snuck onto the Sands, whether or not he was supposed to be there or not. That had never stopped him from doing other things, so why should it stop him from creeping into the unused Sands to steal away from Weyr life for a moment in time? For once in a very, very long time, the young bronzer was shying away from conflict. He wanted nothing more than to hide in the place no one would think to come. When the Sands weren't being used, they were rather deserted.

He sucked in a breath as the heat burned into his sandals, and he skittered quickly over to the stands. It was an odd thing to see him do, but no one was watching so he didn't care. Placing his hands on the low wall seperating the Sands and the stands, D'leon hefted his bulk up and swung his legs over. He shifted uncomfortably a moment longer until his feet stopped burning. Breathing lightly, he settled onto the first row and stretched out on his back, propping his feet up on the wall. It should have been an uncomfortable angle for his spine, but he enjoyed a bit of pain now and then.

His back arched off the row as he stretched again and threw his arm over his eyes. D'leon just wanted to sleep, as he had found it hard to do so lately. His thoughts had been too bothersome to sleep. It had started innocently enough - he'd wanted to make sure his brother was safe, and so had taken great pains to control certain aspects of the new greenrider's life. From there it had gone to bullying others, and escalated into an almost obsession of figuring out new ways to pick on others. He refused to put less than his full effort into his activities now. For some people it was easy to come up with ways to get to them; for others it took candlemarks of deliberation.

For a certain 'Goldie', it had taken days. And he still couldn't think of anything that would get under her skin. D'leon sighed out a growl and pressed his forefinger and thumb into his eyes, rubbing them. His planning had become an obsession. He had to find a way to make her vividly upset. He couldn't sleep until he did. And so far he'd gone three days on cat naps and klah. All he thought about was her. Why couldn't he get her out of his head? Why was he always thinking about her? It felt wrong, but he couldn't shake it.

---

It had been a full two days since K'sah had seen his brother, and while that first day had been nice, he was starting to get worried. He'd asked around, but none of the bronzer's normal victims had been paid a visit. The greenrider pursed his lips - something he'd picked up from D'leon when things weren't equalling out - and found it very odd that the other hadn't shown.

Plucking at his lower lip, he wandered into the common room of the Barracks. He wasn't looking for someone in particular, and so he approached the first person he saw. "Neory!" K'sah moved to sit next to her, fidgeting with worry. "Um, I know this is going to sound strange...but um..." he swallowed, looking down. "I can't find D'leon and I'm worried about him and I thought you might be able to help me look for him?" K'sah said it quickly, as if he didn't say it soon, he wouldn't say it at all.

[kayla]

Neory smiled warmly seeing K'sah. She had not gotten to spend much time with the Green Rider, but he seemed like a really good guy and she hoped they could become friends. "Hi, K'sah." Before she could ask how he was doing, the younger weyrling expressed concern for his bigger brother.

If Neory was completely honest with herself, and she tried to be, then her first response was to think that D'leon being missing was not an entirely bad thing. Though she did not say anything, knowing that K'sah did love his big brother, even if he was a bully. She nodded, "Of course, I'll help you look for him K'sah. I'm sure he's fine though. He seems to be the kind of guy who can take care of himself."

She smiled warmly to him and stood. "You know D'leon better than anyone else, K'sah. Any idea where he might go if he wanted to be alone? And have you tried having your Nariath bespeak his Myeth? Unless he has told his Myeth that he doesnt want to be found, that'd probably be the best way to find him. Though even if Myeth answers, I'll go with you to find him."

You want to go looking for Myeth's? Why?

Because K'sah is worried about him, Sheluth. And Myeth is your clutchmate. That means that we should be concerned about him, as much as anyone else in our clutch.

He will be mean to you, try to make you angry.

Probably. But that doesn't mean I have to let him get to me. And better me than K'sah.

She smiled to K'sah, "I think your brother's dragon would probably answer Nariath more freely than Sheluth. Why don't you see if you can locate him that and then we'll go either to him or try to find him."

[darkaire]

The little greenrider was infintely glad that the other didn't immediately scoff at him for his request. He tilted his chin up and kept back the sniffle he'd prepared in case she did reject him. Even if the sniffle was gone, he had to rub at his eyes. Apparently he really was worried. Even if the absence of the Weyr bully was welcome to most, K'sah didn't find it healthy for him to be gone. "H-he'd be somewhere no one else would be, else I would have found him," he stammered lightly, completely aware that he was asking someone who had felt his brother's temper. He ducked hsi head and blushed lightly, feeling bad over it. But he didn't know who else to ask. Anyone else would have refused. "And Nariath says that Myeth is sleeping, so he can't answer."

"I-I'm sorry to put you in this position," he mumbled, fingers twisting into his pants just so she wouldn't see them shaking. Here he was, a mere greenrider asking a goldrider to help locate the one person that no one would miss. In fact, there would probably be some sort of celebration if D'leon went missing. The thought made his lip quiver, and he felt hopeless over the whole situation. Neory probably didn't even want to help him. She just agreed because it was something she had to do as a junior Weyrwoman.

[kayla]

Neory frowned slightly and took a moment to hug the younger boy. "K'sah, I know we've not gotten to spend much time together. But I think of you as a friend. Yes, I'm a GoldRider and so I have a duty to my clutchmates. But I'm not agreeing to help you just because of that. You're my friend, and you're quite obviously worried about your big brother. So no apologies. You should always feel free to ask a friend for help." She smiled to him.

"All right, so... where would D'leon go where no one else would be." She kept a friendly hand on his shoulder. "Where would people be forbidden to go? Knowing your brother, that'd be the first place he'd go. Even if he wasn't in danger of getting in trouble, I bet that's where he'd go." She bit her lip slightly, trying to think of such places.

"You know, really, the only off limits place he could go where he would not get into some fight and wake up Myeth... is the Sands, though I'm not sure its forbidden now so much as... just not gone to. What do you think? Would he go to the Sands?"

[darkaire]

He stiffened into the hug, but after a moment relaxed. He wasn't used to being touched, as V'nes was always denying him the physical contact he wanted. With that thought, he impulsively hugged her back, clinging perhaps a little too much. That was due to the fact that he buried his face into the girl's shoulder and drew a shuddery breath, a prelude to thankful tears. She thought of him as a friend? "Thank you," he whispered mutely, softer than a normal whisper and drew away when he realized he had kept the contact longer than decent. He scrubbed at his eyes, ignoring that sinking feeling that he was more girlish than the Goldrider. Also far more pitiful and a lot less confidence in himself.

K'sah listened to her think aloud, nodding and still rubbing at his eyes. He always felt weak when he hit the verge of tears, and was more than a little ashamed of it. When Neory offered her idea, he bobbed his head in agreement. "That sounds like a place he'd go. I guess I just didn't think of it because it seems so absurd that he'd go there. He never wanted to Impress, you know, so the Sands might hold bad memories for him," he revealed softly, eyes hovering just away from her face to avoid making eye contact. It always made him feel akward when he looked at people in the eye. "Why don't you check the Sands and I'll go look down one of the halls he likes to hide in?" He blinked and clapped a hand over his mouth. "Oh! I'm sorry. I didn't mean to...tell you what to do..."

[kayla]

Neory smiled a bit as she felt K'sah relax into the hug, and she didn't care that he held the hug a bit longer than some might consider decent. She had a little brother and was a little sister herself. And one of the most expressive members of her family except for her little brother, so the hug did not in the least bother her. She did not hear the barely spoken thank you as his face had been buried in her shoulder, but she felt the sentiment.

When he apologized for telling her what to do, she chuckled warmly. "K'sah. Stop it. You don't have to be all apologizing to me. You're worried about your brother and I said I'd help. So, I think I gave you permission to tell me what to do." She grinned to him.

"I'll have Sheluth let you know if I find him, and you have Nariath let me know? Deal? And K'sah... if you find him, and he... gets upset. Let me know. I know you love him, and I do understand that, but that doesn't mean he gets to bully you." She smiled to him and then turned to head to the Sands.

She had taken a couple of steps when something he said stopped her, "K'sah... would he still feel that way? Like Impressing was a bad thing? Even with Myeth?" He'd been a bully before he'd impressed, but if he resented his dragon... she really didn't want to think about that.

[darkaire]

"Deal," he smiled slightly at her, catching her eyes a moment before looking down again. He was trying, but it was hard. He'd let her know if he started to harp on him again, but only in this situation. If he was forced to be honest, he didn't mind the attention. It meant that someone was paying attention to him, and though K'sah was painfully shy, he was also vain. Odd combination, yes.

K'sah stayed perched on the couch and had to twist around to face her at her last question. "I don't know," he answered honestly. "I can't tell when he thinks of Myeth, other than a way to..." he trailed off and flailed a hand for a moment as he searched for the best wording. "As a new medium for his activities. But I don't think he resents him."

Not liking this conversation, the greenrider shifted off the couch and moved past her into the hallway. He bit back a comment about how odd it must be to look for someone that no one wanted around in the first place, and just smiled lightly. "Thanks," he repeated, and disappeared into the next hall over.

[kayla]

"Welcome." Neory frowned slightly watching K'sah head off to look for his big brother. He needed more friends, and he definitely needed more confidence in himself. She wondered what he had been through to make him so unsure of himself, but right now she had agreed to look for D'leon.

Yes, she did not like spending time around D'leon, but the fact that his brother cared for him, and maybe that meant that D'leon was not a lost case. She had to admit, the idea was kind of disturbing - but if they were brothers... no, Neory was not ready to excuse D'leon's behavior at this point.

She shook her head and jogged down towards the Sands. At the very least, it might be warmer down there, with the heat coming off the Sands. Reaching the Sands, she looked around for him. He was not on the Sands, but she would not give K'sah short-shrift by just barely checking. She walked around the stands and found him in what appeared, to her, to be a very uncomfortable position.

"Your brother's worried about you." Sheluth, let Nariath know.

Nariath, Mine found him. He is at the Sands.

Neory moved to sit near, but not too near him, "So I'm guessing you came here to think and get away from something, or everything. What's going on?"

[darkaire]

K'sah hadn't gotten very far when Nariath relayed the message to him. Mine, Sheluth says Hers found that idiot, the green uttered her rider's brother's 'title' with little fondness. Like most others in the Weyr, she claimed no affection for the bronzer, but more particuarly his bronze. Her rider sighed and leaned against the wall, slumping down to sit and wonder what was happening on the Sands. Perhaps he should run over there now to ensure D'leon didn't do anything stupid, but he had turned down the hall to a certain brownrider's weyr, and the pull to drop by for a quick chat seemed more important than his brother's mood. Neory could handle it - she was strong.

---

D'leon had drifted off into a restless doze and so had missed the Goldrider's approach. When she spoke, he didn't startle. Nor did he freak out and try to attack her. He merely opened his eyes and waited until they agreed to focus on Neory's face. His gaze was different today, holding definate traces of tiredness and an odd softness. Not to say he didn't look as ornery as ever, but those were there, too.

"If you thought I came here to get away, why would you bother me?" he grumbled, narrowing his eyes at her. Well really, one eye narrowed before the other, as his control over his more basic motor functions were starting to slip a bit after days of no sleep. "And I don't care what that flower-" referring to his brother, "is worried about. Also, if I wanted to talk to someone about what was going on, don't you think I would have already done so?"

He slid his feet off the wall and sat up, leaning closer. "And do you honestly think I'd tell you?"

[kayla]

Neory sighed and shook her head slightly. She had to wonder if this person was ever anything other than disagreeable. "Well, I'd say I already answered your first question, D'leon. I'm came to find you, to 'bother you' as you put it, because your brother, my friend, is worried about you." Which was the entire reason.

"No. Because to talk to someone, no matter how much you want to or need to would probably expressing weakness. And Faranth forbid you ever do anything to demonstrate that you are human or have any soft spots at all."

She looked at him for a moment, even as he leaned close and laughed at the question, "D'leon, I don't really care who you talk to. And to be honest, I'm finding it sharding hard to care about whatever is going on with you when you're so cruel. I think eventually you're going to find yourself all alone and miserable, and people will completely avoid you so you won't even find release in torturing anyone - your life, your choice. But take some advice: try to be nice to the one person who does care before you push him so far away you don't have anyone."

[darkaire]

It was his turn to laugh next, though it was a strained one. "His friend? Are you serious? You'd want to be friends with a greenrider that bursts into tears if you touch him? Wait, wait- did you tell him you were friends? Oh Faranth!" he laughed again, leaning forward more to rest his weight into the hand placed between them on the row. "I bet he cried at that and then ran off to tell that old man," he meant V'nes. Of course he knew how his brother felt about the brownrider - he knew just about everything about the greenrider. He didn't even have to be told, that's how closely he kept an eye on him.

With an extravagant roll of his eyes, he leaned in more, always one to exploit the uncomfortable feeling most people got from the intrusion of space. D'leon himself had little problem with invading people's personal bubbles - so long as it wasn't the other way around. He wouldn't know what to do if someone tried his own tactics on him. "Exactly," he commented on the whole weakness and soft spot idea. The last thing he wanted to do was show someone what was under the hard shell. He didn't want people to know it was hard all the way through, that there was little hope for redemption. And what hope there was involved a long road and a person with the patience of a saint. As long as someone out there thought there might be something underneath it all, that was enough. It also made it easier to prey on them.

The young bronzer smirked a bit sleepily at her, shifting close enough to run his fingertips over her cheek lightly. The normally tender gesture was anything but tender coming from him. "The one person who does care wont ever be pushed away. Know why, little Goldie? Because he likes it. He may not say so, but the way his face lights up when I corner him is more than enough of a sign. For a friend, you're doing an awfully bad job at making sure he's got friendly company. Poor boy cares so much about attention that he'll take whatever he can get. And if all he can get is what I give him, what does that say about you, Goldie?" He smirked and curled his fingers around her wrist, just in case she had the bright idea of running away. Whatever distance there had been was mostly closed now, and he used it to lean in and brush his lips near her cheek, moving up towards her ear. "And who says I get my release from torturing people?"

[kayla]

Neory definitely had not quite caught onto how K'sah felt about V'nes. And as long as it was healthy and they were not breaking the rules for Weyrlings, she really wouldn't care and would probably be happy for them. So she slightly arched an eyebrow at the comment, but let it go. Whowever "the old man" was, it was good to know that K'sah had someone to confide in.

Neory didn't like the closeness, but she had seen enough of D'leon to know that if she did anything to react, he'd get a thrill out of it. However, when he "caressed" her cheek, he would find his wrist grabbed and pulled down. There was no "Don't touch me" or any threatening comments, only a slight narrowing of her eyes. There was a limit of what she would let him get away with and familiar touch was definitely over the line.

"Your ignorance, D'leon, is quite astounding. Its not my job to make sure he has friendly company, but as a friend to be there when I can and to let him know that someone cares and that he has value. I might not be able to give him as much attention as you, but at least he will learn that being treated like runner droppings isn't the only attention he can get." She shook her head, not raising to the bait of "what does that say about you, Goldie."

To be honest, D'leon is probably the one person who could phrase such a question, one that might would have lead the overly self-demanding queenrider down a road of guilt, in such a way that it did not make her feel the least bit guilty. When he asked it, instead of feeling like she'd been a poor friend and failed, the reality that she was already stretched pretty well with classes and chores rose to the fore of her mind. It was not a justification, but rather the simple truth.

"I don't care how you get your release, D'leon. Just don't expect me to allow you to continue tormenting our clutchmates." She did not struggle to make him release her wrist. It was not an overly familiar touch, and when she was ready to leave, she would extract herself and do so.

[darkaire]

"Well, being there 'when you can' for him doesn't seem to be enough, now does it?" he murmured, not at all put off by how she'd snatched his fingers away from her face moments before. He'd moved on to bigger and better things. Mainly, he had an idea now, but he'd hold off on that for a while longer. "And listen to yourself, Goldie. Calling it a job. Isn't friendship supposed to be something you enjoy? Well, you certainly aren't doing your job very well, as the thing," he really tried not to refer to his brother by name, "still thinks he has no value. He creeps around like he'll be hit any moment, and no one who has any confidence does that."

Despite what Neory thought, despite what everyone else thought, D'leon very rarely hit his brother. It was all verbal, all of it meant to better the boy emotionally and mentally. He did very little to remind K'sah of his last long lover in the physical realm. And if she even insinuated that he did, he'd make sure she never would again.

Since his lips were already so close, he merely finished the space and pressed a kiss just under her ear, whispering faintly to her. "Oh, but you should care, Neory," he used her name. D'leon only used names when he was planning something the other person wouldn't like. Not that she would have liked the kiss, but it was about to get worse and she couldn't run. Not with him holding her wrist still.

[kayla]

"Oh, so impressive how you twist words, D'leon. There's a skill to be proud of." She rolled her eyes. "K'sah's not a thing, and confidence isn't built overnight. And you know full well that I did not mean job as obligation." The man could be a politician - which could help the weyr if he wasn't so horribly selfish and cruel. He could be a good leader, a good bronze rider, if he wasn't such a creep.

"D'leon, I would very strongly recommend that you let go of me and that you very quickly learn to keep your lips to yourself when they're not wanted." Neory was not overly worried. Should D'leon attempt to follow that very unwanted kiss with anymore unwanted gestures, Sheluth would very quickly have the entire Weyr coming to her help - ok, maybe not the entire weyr, but enough of it.

Even more so, Neory would not simply wait for someone else to come to rescue her. She had an older brother and knew how to take care of herself, and she would not allow anyone to take advantage of her. "Don't be a bigger fool than you already are, D'leon."

[darkaire]

"Why...if I didn't know that you had no fond feelings for me, I'd say you just complimented me," he chuckled. And indeed her comment had been received as a compliment. While she had not meant it as such, D'leon was incredibly proud of his abilty to make sentences twist ino what he wanted them to be. In all honestly, the bronzer had never thought of being a leader, and if he'd been asked to be one he would have laughed over it, thought it a joke. Because he knew what people thought of him. Of course he knew. He wasn't stupid - far from it. Again in honestly, D'leon liked it, liked how the others thought of him. It meant that they knew who he was, that he'd made enough of an impression on them that they all had a strong opinion about him - even if it was a bad one. After all these Turns, he was still well known, and he liked it. He didn't know how else to achieve that, and so had started out being the person the Weyr knew him as. Now, though...now he just kept doing it because it was what was expected of him, and he didn't know anything different.

And so he laughed again at her last words and merely pressed his lips to her ear. It wasn't a kiss, but it was definately just as unwanted as if it had been. No, not a kiss, just a movement to make the situation all the more uncomfortable. "Say my name again, Neory...I like it when you do that," he was still whispering, not at all squeamish over what he was doing. D'leon was utterly shameless, and had done this to quite a few women already. And a few men, but only when he'd really wanted something. He definately didn't swing that way. He didn't swing any way, really. He just took what he wanted. And the longer he was as close to the Goldrider as he was, the more he was starting to decide that he might just...Food, Myeth's sleepy mumble interrupted that thought, though it didn't help at all. D'leon's mind replaced whatever it had been thinking of with the word supplied by the bronze.

So reviewing, the longer D'leon was as close to Neory as he was, the more he was starting to think of her like food. Not something to be eaten, per say, but something that was his. Something he deserved. And his mind was just sleep-deprived enough that he went along with it, looping his free arm around her waist with a lazy, tired smile. Even if he was still good at twisting words, he wasn't up to his normal level of bullying.