Can't Shake It (Neory?)

[kayla]

"I said, keep your lips to yourself." The words were measured and careful. Quite frankly, at this moment she was well beyond caring about what had twisted D'leon into a sick selfish prick. He needed to learn that he would not be allowed to just take what he wanted.

Mine? Are you all right.

I am at the moment, if this gets beyond what I can handle, I want you to reach every dragon you can and tell their Rider to come to me in the Sands. But not yet. I'll let you know.

I do not like this, Neory.

Neither do I, Sheluth, just wait for my signal.

She might not be able to free her wrist simply from his grasp, but she would twist away from him so that the only part of her body remotely close to him was the wrist he held. After this, the Weyrling Master was going to just have to accept that she would be attending the self-defense classes whether she was excused or not. And no one would say her otherwise.

"Let go of me, Bronze Rider." He wanted to hear her say his name, then she would avoid using it. Neory had been in a position of authority among the Drudges before the Queen Egg had been clutched. She knew how to imbue her voice with that authority, and she did so now.

[darkaire]

"Tch," he sighed, upset over the fact that he still couldn't get a rise out of her. Was this girl made of steel or something? It was aggravating, as was the way she twisted her body away from him. He tightened his grip on her wrist and jerked, intending to pull her back to him. Why should he have to go to her when he could make her come to him? Neory might not have thought of this yet, but a self defense class meant she'd learn to retaliate against unwanted attention, like now. But that's just what D'leon wanted her to do. He wanted a reaction, not just carefully bland words. It was almost enough to make him lose interest eventually. Even if her defense was detatched, it would still be physical and he'd feel that pride over having gotten her to react.

But the way she said his rank, it was enough to keep his interest. He shuddered slight, staring at her for a moment and doing nothing else. The way she'd said it, all that authority and meaning...she'd made it sound good. Like being a bronze rider was a good thing. D'leon breahed lightly, mind trying to work with that idea. It was true that he'd never wanted to Impress, and he'd simply been living with Myeth's presence. He couldn't get rid of the bronze, so had tried to use him as a tool. But like everyone else, he didn't view the bronze as an individual that deserved his respect or love. If he even knew how to love.

"No," he breathed the word, giving her a smile that bordered on odd. She hadn't said his name, no, but what she had said was almost as good. It'd planted the idea that being a bronze rider was important, though he was still thinking along the lines of rank. "I'd rather hold you, actually." It was said as simply as if he had stated something everyone knew, something that wasn't as weird as it really was.

[kayla]

"I don't think so." Neory pulled away from again when he pulled her closely. She realized that she was really running out of choice. Trying to free her wrist would probably result in a fight which would upset Sheluth, and letting him have his way with her was entirely and completely unacceptable. He'd probably also love the fact that she was going to call for help, but she did not see an out here that would not make him happy. Gah, he was weird.

Sheluth, call for help. I might could get out of this, but not easily and not without a fight.

Sheluth had been paying attention to her Rider's mind, and the very moment that Neory gave her the signal. She called out to all the waking dragons whose minds she could reach, MINE NEEDS YOUR HELP!! She's in trouble at the Sands! Help her, please!

"You need to learn, you do not just get what you want because you want it. Say what you want. Think what you want. But I'm not yours." She jerked the wrist he was holding, trying to get it free of his grasp. "Let me go."

[darkaire]

D'leon pouted. Yes, of all the things Neory probably thought she'd never see him do, pouting had to be one of them. But pout he did. His head hurt, and his thought process was sluggish. It was hard to think, so it was hard to come up with comments that held on his normal level. He clung to her wrist a moment longer, hiding his confusion well. The confusion wasn't so much over anything she had said or done, but rather over the fact that he couldn't come up with anything to say. With a blink, he let go of her and sat properly, back almost straight, curved slightly into his normal slouching pose.

Hey dimglow, Sheluth just called for help. What the shard do you think you're doing? Nariath's voice hit him, and more confusion filtered in. Since when did Greens have such dirty mouths? In all actuality, the Green hadn't phrased it like that, but he was too tired to really make sense of her usual high-handed wording. D'leon rubbed at his head, wondering why Myeth hadn't told him that. "Wait...you called for help?" he peered at her, as if not really believing it.

"I've done worse things to you, and you choose now to alert the Weyr that I'm holding your wrist?" this was said with only a faint trace of scorn, as his grip on his personality was slipping.

[kayla]

"You weren't just holding my wrist. You were..." Could he really have been so out of it he didn't know what he was about to do. "Look. We both know what you were about to do, and since I don't feel like being a rape victim; yes, I called for help. Figured it was better than trying to fight you off me."

"I warned you to let me go. I told you not to touch your lips to me anymore. What in your behavior was supposed to make me think that you were going to stop when already weren't?" She shook her head and started to walk away.

Sheluth, let everyone know that he's backed down. I'm coming back to the barracks.

Mine says he has let go of her. She is safe now.

[hrsegrl]

MINE NEEDS YOUR HELP!! She's in trouble at the Sands! Help her, please!Sheluth's call was recieved by a concerned Ortath. His had told him to inform him if Sheluth's ever needed. They were close and he needed to be around when she needed him. Ortath quickly relayed Sheluth's message to K'dyn.

"Ortath we must get to the Sands. Quickly." K'dyn didn't bother with straps. They couldn't Between and few people would be about right now. Dragons had trouble seeing in the dark, but they had been to the sands recently and both knew the way with their eyes closed. Within moments they were there. Ortath landed his rider on the ground, not feet from his sister and the young man who looked to be fighting with her.

Ortath flew up to where the Bronzes usually stood during Hatchings. "WHAT IN FARANTH'S NAME ARE YOU DOING TO MY SISTER?!!!" The deep voice reverberated off of the cavern walls. K'dyn was by no means a small man, not in muscle mass. He certainly wasn't stupid either. Neory would never call for help unless she really needed it. Mine can't be stopped now.Ortath informed the young Gold.

Ortath's words were an understatement. "Let go of her immediately. " The Brownrider could care less if this boy rode a Bronze. His behavior reflected nothing befitting of a rank like that. He moved in close enough that if he had to he could simply punch the boy to make him let go.... he really didn't want to get into a brawl but his sister's honor was at stake and she was the only person who had ever looked up to him.

[brimstone81]

Adeloth, who was really more interested in other things than her children now that they were Impressed, heard her golden daughter's call. Of course Sheluth was important, Hers made that very clear. Hers was very insistent that Sheluth and her rider would be well cared for and educated. Adeloth knew all of this. She also knew that any call for help from her Weyr needed to be relayed to Hers. This was apart of her duty, to help Elisha run the Weyr smoothly. So it wasn't so much of maternal instinct as it was her duty to tell Hers about such a desperate plea.

Mine! Sheluth demands help for Hers on the sands. It is very important. She is in trouble. Adeltoh told Elisha with force. It was Sheluth, afterall, and so it must be VERY important. The gold was clearly upset that some one would cause the younger gold such raw emotion, and that some one would be in danger in her Weyr.

Elisha bolted to the door, not bothering to ask for any more details. If there was some kind of trouble, well, she didn't want to think about the worst outcomes. Elisha just couldn't loose a gold dragon. She found herself hicking up her skirts and running to the sands, and just as she was getting close, Adeloth added, Sheluth says that Hers is safe. Well, Elisha was not about just turn around now. She wanted to know what was going on.

She got there after most of the commotion caused by a clearly upset K'dyn. She knew this brownrider, and recognised D'leon as a new bronzerider. Elisha frowned at this commotion which got at least two queens upset, and she hadn't even talked to Marisol, so Beynath might have intercepted the message too. K'dyn of Ortath, D'leon of Myeth, and- Yes, Neory of Sheluth. Elisha was not happy, but forced herself to say calmly, yet forcefully, "All riders stand down. I want some one to explain all of this, right now." She looked at Neory, figuring she should speak, but not wanting to seem biased.

[kayla]

Neory made a note to next time be more particular in who Sheluth calls, but she had not really stopped to think about that in the moment. Her big brother coming to her rescue had been kind of nice. The Weyrwoman... well, she did appreciate that Elisha cared. The issue was more one of embarassment, of having to acknowledge that she had not been able to handle the situation on her own.

She glanced at D'leon and then to her big brother. Him hearing why she'd call would probably not bode well for D'leon, but she could not and would not lie to the Weyrwoman. She took a deep breath and looked to Elisha, "I had every reason to believe that D'leon was going to attempt to take unwanted advantage of me." Such as him intimating as much with his words, his lips on her ear, and the not letting go of her wrist. "I was afraid that attempting to fight him would have distressed both of our dragonets, so I had Sheluth call for help. I assume that when his dragon heard that I'd called for help, he told D'leon and he let me go."

The whole truth was, that Neory well knew that while she could take care of herself, D'leon was bigger and stronger than her, and she really did not want to risk being a rape victim because her own pride prevented her from calling for help.

[brimstone81]

Elisha folded her arms and pursed her lips, waiting for some one to speak up, and as she had thought, Neory tried to explain. She was repulsed that a bronzerider would act so distastefully, especially on a goldrider. That was no way to catch her queen, it made it pretty impossible, really. For a second she asked how such a character could Impress, and a bronze at that, but then she thought of the riders who caught Adeloth. K'mor of bronze Sventh was in love with the drink and the looking glass. Arrogant, haughty, and not the nicest man. There was also J'kart of Galneth. He was the worse of the two evils. He believed that women had no right to rule a Weyr. He was oppressive, and treated her like won property. J'kart was cruel, and old fashioned, and she remembered once he had hit her, though never again. Elisha had stood up for herself and Galneth never won Adeloth again. It was possible to have such ungentlemanly riders, and so she didn't think of how he was a rider so much as what he was going to do about it. Or how she was going to deal with it. She reminded herself that every one had faults, even D'ian whom she had thought was perfect. Fortunately or unfortunately she had yet to find fault with V'rak.

After listening to Neory, she felt some of the pain she had with her experience with J'kart resurface. She felt an almost motherly pull to protect her. She said softly, "Thank you, Neory, Do you want to go tend to your Sheluth? And K'dyn, why don't you escort young D'leon to the Weyrling Barraks? I'll be having a word with the Weyrling Master. Is there anything you want to say for yourself, D'leon?"

[hrsegrl]

K'dyn was respectful of the Weyrwoman. He moved away from D'leon though in his opinion the boy was learning nothing from their ways of discipline. One day he'd like to see that boy get beat down by a girl without a heart. Oh yeah... that would be something to see. He took on a blank expression when Neory spoke of what had happened. He could throttle D'leon. No one so mucuh as thought about messing with his sister. NO ONE! Sheluth is an important dragon, so her rider should be accorded with the same respect. Yes?Exactly.

Trust Elisha to keep her head in a strangely twisted situation. He didn't much care for his next task. He would do it though. Marisol had told him that Goldriders respond most favorably to chivalrous behavior and obedience. "It will be done, Weyrwoman." He bowed slightly and then walked over to the boy. K'dyn waited to hear any last words from the young man.

I will return to our weyr. I will be up shortly. Also if you could inform Beynath of the occurences of tonight. You know how she likes to know whats going on.I have done so. She says, Marisol will probably have a talk with this young man, soon. Good. At least he wasn't going to get off with some chores and things, while continuing to be a Bronzeriding asshole. Oh if he ever found that that boy hurt his sister or any other female in the Weyr, he might have to ahve his friends restrain him. D'leon was a bad egg, as far as he was concerned. This walk to the Barracks had better go quickly.

[darkaire]

D'leon was, at best, confused about everything that had just happened. His mind didn't seem to want to work properly. Thoughts moved sluggishly in attempt to fit together, but even that was too much of a task for the extremely fatigued young man to handle. The matter was dropped from his mind, but was immediately resurfaced by the situation. He couldn't make it go away. He wanted it to go away, but it wouldn't. Almost not daring to move, he inhaled lightly, not even paying attention to the yelling brother of the woman he had only intended to unsettle. Apparently he'd done that well enough.

It was a shame he couldn't find the strength to take pride in it. The yelling detracted from that, and he had to press a hand to his temple, both to keep the Sands from blaring so forcefully in temperature and vision, as well as stop the dull throbbing contained within. His next breathed was sucked in, no longer having the motivation to restrain himself. He'd never meant to do anything to her...shards, he wouldn't want to do anything to her. She drove him crazy, and not in a good way. Why would he want to...force her? Even for him, forcing a girl wasn't as enjoyable as you'd think it would be. Only to a certain point was it fun, but after that point it lost its appeal. Not that Neory had any appeal, he reminded himself.

His eyes snapped open when he heard a new voice - the Weyrwoman - but the glare of the heat in the area was too much. D'leon hissed softly and tipped his head down, finding the stone of the stands cooler. The heat wouldn't burn his eyes if he wasn't looking at it. It must have been an odd position to see the boy in; he was nearly hunched over, one hand around his waist, the other pressing fingers into his temple, and eyes on the floor. No defiance. His breathing was labored, and only the little bronze back in the Barracks knew what was happening to His. Not that he understood it. Mine? Do you humans always get so hot, or is it just the Sands? I remember it being hot there... Meth rambled slightly, but trailed off, not knowing what to say. The poor thing was a little slow, though it was possibly entirely due to D'leon's neglect of him.

The bronzerider hadn't been paying attention, and jerked slightly when he noticed that the brownrider...he couldn't recall his name. Even when Myeth provided it, D'leon couldn't hold onto the words for more than a few seconds. Had he tried to say it, he would have gotten the first syllable and stuttered over it. Swallowing with some difficulty, he tried to focus on Elisha, but she was standing right in the middle of all the heat. The hand on his temple jumped to his mouth, as if holding something back, words or otherwise. After a moment, it slid down to his neck, revealing flushed cheeks and eyes that drooped a little too much.

"I never..."
Mine?
"...never intended to..."

He tried to shift his glance to Neory, as if to formulate some sort of derogatory claim, or list a reason why he wouldn't have wanted to force her to do anything. But before his eyes reached her, they rolled back into his head and he fell forward into the stone. If no one was fast enough to catch him, or if no one believed this was real, they would hear a rather nasty crack as his head hit the floor.

MINE!

[kayla]

Neory was kind of confused. What she had told the Weyrwoman was true, but when D'leon had learned that she had had Sheluth call out in help, he'd seemed confused as to why she would do that. She supposed it was possible that he was just being his blustering self again, but she had really believed he would try something.

She nodded as Elisha told her to go tend to Sheluth and had started to turn around when she heard D'leon. She turned back around, just in time to see D'leon fall to the ground. Her eyes widened and she immediately felt a sense of guilt. If he was this weak, he really could not have forced her to do anything.

She would hang around to make sure that he was taken care of and gotten to the Healers, and even to make sure that he was all right, before going back to take care of her own Sheluth. Neory hoped that K'sah didn't blame her for what happened to her brother, but she could not help but blame herself. Had there been any indication that he was sick? Had she missed something?

[hrsegrl]

K'dyn was too far away to catch the boy as he fell but he had made an effort. He rolled the boy over onto his back and had Ortath contact Daevon. Hopefully he Dragonhealer would know of some Weyr healers. K'dyn didn't think a man with a head injury should be moved. While Ortath was contacting Daevon, K'dyn checked to make sure D'leon was breathing normally. It seemed he was.

Daevon... The dragon reached out to the only other person who could pick up his voice without much effort. Someone fell on the Hatching Sands. We need a human healer. Mine says the boy is unconcious.There was concern in the brown's mental tone but not as much as there could have been. The dragon didn't much care for people who were mean to Sheluth's.

The brownrider felt bad suddenly for threatening him. Maybe the younger man was under too much strain? He looked up at the Weyrwoman and then his sister. "Ortath is informing Master Daevon of this situation as he is in open communication with him. Has anyone contacted Myeth?" The brownrider, though not in a position to give orders with two Goldriders standing above him, seemed to be handling the situation well enough without being given an order. "I think he just passed out, but that sound his head made...well, its better to have the healers look at him first. Maybe he's been under too much pressure?"

[kayla]

"I'll have Sheluth contact him, but last I heard he was asleep." She looked to D'leon and how hard he'd hit the ground, "Though I would imagine he's awake now."

Sheluth? Let Myeth know that his passed out. He hit his head pretty hard. The healers are coming. He probably should come too if he can.

Sheluth passed the information on to Myeth, reporting it verbatim as she did not really want to talk to the dragon of the one who had tried to hurt Hers, even if Hers was confused at the moment.

***

Meanwhile, Daevon heard the call of the brown and sprinted to healers. As soon as he got there, he began briefing the first person he found wearing healers knots. "We've got a Weyrling down on the stands to the sands. He passed out and is unconscious. He's a Weyrling, so I'll be keeping the dragon calm. I need at least one healer who can focus on the boy."

He would wait for a healer to come with him, but if they were taking long at all, he'd start to grow visibly impatient. It was clear that he had been relaxing when the call came. His shirt was untucked and his hair slightly untidy. However, his expression made it clear that he was completely focused.

[darkaire]

Myeth didn't need to be told to come to the Sands. He had started to move the moment he felt something go black in his rider's mind. It wasn't that he wasn't thinking - though the bronze would have been confused about that - and it wasn't that he was sleeping - Myeth knew about that. It was just...nothing. It scared the bronze.

He exploded into the Sands in a flurry of coppery-bronze and wings, still awkward as he had yet to grow into them. Mine? he was still repeating it, hoping to get some sort of answer. It wasn't like His was dead - he was right there. Myeth could see him. Tucking his wings in as best he could, he wobbled over to the boy and plopped down next to him, pushing anyone else out of the way if he needed to. The little bronze shoved his muzzle up against the boy and stared at him, waiting.