Did You Think? {Post-Flight}

[Admin]

You know I can't be like everybody,
Cause I can't tell you what you want to hear,
I don't know if I can make it better.

Fajra woke up and snuggled closer to the warm object that occupied the space beside her in her bed without opening her eyes. One of her arms rested gently over the object, impending it from moving and keeping it close her. Her mind felt groggy and her thinking felt as if she were slogging through mud. She felt tired, and a bit sore. Perhaps she'd just sleep in today. The Weyr wouldn't die if she didn't wake up till noon and run everything one day. There were people who could handle things - W'al or F'del, their purpleriders, could probably keep everything under control just with themselves and they had plenty of competent riders. Yes, sleeping a bit more sounded good, at least until Kalith woke up and the Queen seemed to be deep in sleep. A soft, smile touched at her lips, a sign of fondness for her lifemate. Her own eyes remained gently closed, as she had no interest in greeting the world quite yet. A few more moment, a few more, just a few more moments . . .

Wait a second, why was there a warm object next to her? More specifically, why was it soft, smooth, and humanoid? Why was it a man? And had she really just thought about sleeping in? She was a Weyrwoman; she didn't have the time to sleep in! Everyone who could handle half the affairs she did were all good and well, but she had to make special arrangements about finding candidates now! She'd have to talk to the candidatemaster. Oh, Faranth, the candidatemaster! O'sho. Last night came back in sharp clarity - Kalith's flight, her stupid uselessness during it, the maimings that had happened, her copper's choice in Daidoroth, and . . . all the things that had happened after that she did not what to think about and were not appropriate for children. If it was a morning, she'd already been sleeping enough as it was too, she realized.

Fajra's eyes snapped open and she stared straight ahead, stared right at the broad shoulder just inches in front of her face. Very delicately, since he seemed to be a sleep and she didn't want him to wake up, she withdrew her arm, tucking it up against her chest with her other one. Moving with more care than she normally did, she slid herself so she was farther away from O'sho, till she could feel that she was on the edge of the cot. Then, very gingerly, she sat up, letting the furs that had been over her fall away. Her knees ended up tucked under her, which wasn't going to work for her plan, and the Weyrwoman always had plan, in case you weren't aware of that. She slipped them out from under her, so that they stretched out in front her. She scooted slightly closer to O'sho, gently placing her feet on his back at its center. Then she gave him a hard shove with them. She was strong so she was hoping she would get the desired effect of having him topple out of HER bed.

"OUT! OUT OUT!" She figured that adding in the shouts would get the point across, along with showing things she was less interested in showing, such as the fact she was furious, but not in a way that was actually angry at anyone in particular. Busy ordering the Weyrleader out of her weyr, she didn't hear the click of claws on stone outside of her sleeping chamber, nor the rustling of wings. Kalith stirred, slowly roused by the fact her rider was upset and the noises, but she was tired and just curled herself tighter against Daidoroth. She, unlike her rider, quite liked her new mate.

Yeah,
When you come undone,
When you come undone.

[Kila]

Though the flight and its outcomes were over, the old pair of steadfast Bronze and warm-hearted rider still mirrored one another. Over on Kalith’s massive ledge, Daidoroth lay sleeping- absolutely content. He was curled comfortingly and protectively around Kalith, his beautiful Queen. Had he admittedly been smitten with her before, it was surely the fact now. His entire body was wrapped around her as they lay curled together, their tails still endearingly entwined. The warmth that exuded from their bodies from the comfort of their touch was soothing and pleasant and seemed to warm the entire Weyr. Nowhere else in Pern was there a creature as happy as he.

Ever the mirror of his life mate, O’sho too lay in a state of serene content. He and Fajra were snuggled close against one another, their bodies fitting together pleasantly and in a way that would have showed anyone who dared look in that they were utterly content to lie together. Indeed, even in its unconscious state, O’sho’s body loathed the idea of separation from hers. All the strain that had been ever present in he and Fajra’s relationship had melted away and been forgotten last night, and considering the amount of tension that had always been present between them, they had had their work cut out for them. It was because of this that they lay sleeping so late into the day- an unusual occurrence for both of them. But with Fajra next to him, her arm resting delicately across him and with she cradled loosely but lovingly in his arms, there was no need to be up early.

This pretense, as O’sho had feared it would be when considering this scenario, was abruptly shattered along with his sleep. Fajra’s alarmed but crafty movements away from him had not served as enough to wake him completely, but the powerful kick to the back with both of her feet was sufficient to do so. With and involuntary ‘oof’ as the wind was knocked out of him, O’sho. “OUT, OUT, OUT!” she shouted as he successfully toppled from her bed, landing, fortunately, entangled in the furs. Realizing his position and what had happened, he groaned softly and began to untangle himself. After he had calmly sorted himself out, he stood and sat back down on the edge of the bed. ”And a good morning to you too,” he said with a wry, feeble smile. He did not need to look at her face to know she was not in a talking mood. ”Fajra,” he began again gently, ”Are you alright? We should talk about this.”

[Admin]

What could be so wonderful about this,
What could be so wonderful?
The half light wakes you up the morning after,
Fall down with me.

Perhaps if she hadn't been utterly furious, Fajra would have felt a sense of success as he toppled out of the bed, groaning and entangled in the furs. However, she was more preoccupied with raging, which was not typical for her, and then trying to ignore the fact he'd stolen the only thing even partially covering naked body. Angry, red and hot, not cool and seething as it normal was for her, boiled in her mind with the indignation towards this entire thing. Oh, her mom had said that a first flight could be romantic and charming, even if a bit interesting and awkward. Why had she, nor anyone else, failed to inform her that the morning after made you feel just a tiny bit crazy when you woke up next to an irritating, nosy, good for nothing bronzerider? Of course, her mother would find this entire this amusing. She gritted her teeth together.

Fiery blue eyes trained on him, the Weyrwoman silently, scathingly, watched as he untangled himself. She shifted away from him as he sat on the bed, having no interest towards being anywhere close to him anymore, and her expression turned into a glower. Hadn't she just requested that he get out very clearly? She wanted him gone! 'And a good morning to you too.' She found no amusement in the comment and did not return his feeble, wry, little, stupid smile. It was not a good morning; it was horrid, bad, infuriating morning, just to start. 'Fajra, are you alright? We should talk about this.' Knowing she had to say something back, she closed her eyes for a moment, forcing herself to relax and take a deep breath. She felt nothing towards him, nothing at all. This would be dealt with rationally, as long as he obeyed her requests and listened to her.

"I'll be fine;" she said, with forced evenness in her voice. "I'm the Sr. Weyrwoman. You're the new Sr. Weyrleader. Congratulations. I don't see what we need to discuss right now. You should probably return to your own Weyr and be ready to address everyone. It's quite simple." Done talking to him, done dealing with him, she slipped off the bed and grabbed a robe to wrap around herself. Being objective, she turned her mind towards thoughts of clothes and getting ready for the day, blocking him out of her mind. Click, click, click. Then Afzal was skittering, awkwardly and sheepishly, across the floor towards her with a message tied to his neck. Ignoring O'sho, she scooped him up and broke the cord that held the piece of parchment to him so she could unroll it and read it. Engrossed in it, a faint smile quirked at her expression.

Outside, Kalith enjoyed her new squishy, comfy bronze companion and slept, letting her rider deal with things like she was so good at.

Girl is cold but so is he,
But he's still warm she's way too kind,
When you walked in the morning after,
Looking good and you know it.

[Kila]

She was trying to calm herself down, he could see that. How is it that this had caused her this much anxiety? It had been out of their hands, of course, more so in the hearts of their dragons, and had been unintentional, but it still did not change the facts that she was glowering at him scathingly from her defensive, curled-up position on the bed. The far side of the bed. She wanted him out.

"Fajra... Thank you. But I don't need your congratulations. He did not move from his place as she surely hoped, but she was done. She had washed her hands of the event. Well, if that's what she wanted. Rising again, he grabbed his clothes and dressed as she began to read a message Afzal had brought to her. He finished and waited until she completed reading the parchment.

"This can be very simple," he said, putting things into a logical fashion for her. He disliked this stand-offish attitude, but he was not one to try to force her to change. "I obviously do not have to be your Weyrmate in this way. You don't have to share that much of your life with me if you don't want to. Know that what happened-"

Was wonderful; Daidoroth rumbled from the ledge.

"-was Kalith and Daidoroth's choice. Do not hold it against me or yourself. I have some of the Weyr's responsibility now. I know you can handle it without me, because you have quite well," he said as he drew to an end of his lame speech, "But work with me. Let me help you willingly, because I want to." Finished, he turned to leave her in peace.

Daidoroth was aware of and mildly concerned by his rider's feelings, but not nearly enough to stir from Kalith's side. Theirs may be unhappy, but they were not.

[Admin]

May angels lead you in.
Hear you me my friends.
On sleepless roads the sleepless go.
May angels lead you in.

Fajra looked up at him when she was done reading and allowed him to speak. A moments distraction was all that required for her to return to being logical and detached. The passion and fire left. It wasn't exactly anything that could be viewed as satisfying for anyone. Her being cold and distant wasn't exactly much of an improvement. Each word that was spoken was taken logically and analyzed thus. She considered what he was asking for, simply taking it on the value it was given and not considering her dislike for him. Carefully, she formulated her response, bringing up what needed to be addressed. But he was leaving! She pursed her lips. "O'sho;" she called to stop him.

Pausing to allow him to turn around, she glanced down at the letter she had in her hands. "Talk to U'ar about looking for possible candidate- and weyrlingmasters and please make sure that B'rak and Shoth are alright. We also have a renegade problem I'll need to speak to you about later;" she told him simply. That was her way of saying that she would work with him. There was no dancing around it by going saying that she would. She got straight to the point and asked him to fulfill the responsibilities he said he had.

There were some less direct issue that had to be address though. "I don't like you." Right, right, Fajra, the sarcastic, lilting voice in her head that reminded her a rather lot of her mother cut in. "But that doesn't change anything. Now, I have to attend to this." She waved the letter, then explained. "My brothers Impressed. At the same hatching. Poor weyrlingmaster. Worse yet, Maher, the older, only Impressed a black while Majar, the younger, got a bronze. I suppose it's M'her and M'jar now." She stopped herself, realizing she was rambling a bit.

"My mother also apparently already knows about Kalith's flight. She wants to meet you. Thought she'd know by now she succeeded in getting the romantic out of me when she slept around for seven turns before getting back together with my father;" she said a bit sourly. Then she looked puzzled. Why was she saying any of this at all? Why was she talking to him? Flee! Flee! Do something useful!

"This is such an odd morning. I need to just deal with this;" she finally concluded, turning and gliding towards her bathing chamber with a very distant expression on her face. She had to get ready. Awakened by her rider actually talking, Kalith opened an eye to look lazily at O'sho without moving. Hers was so silly sometimes. She snuggled closer to Daidoroth, as he was hers now, and enjoyed simply lording over her domain from her lovely weyr. She'd made a good choice; it was time to bask in the glory of that. Her rider would come around.

And if you were with me tonight,
I'd sing to you just one more time.
A song for a heart so big,
god wouldn't let it live.

[Kila]

O'sho halted as the Weyrwoman called his name, turning around slowly to face her when she began to speech. "Talk to U'ar about looking for possible candidate- and weyrlingmasters and please make sure that B'rak and Shoth are alright. We also have a renegade problem I'll need to speak to you about later;" she told him simply. It wasn't much, but it was a share of responsibility- a concession of sorts. It meant that, despite how she felt, she would work with him. "I don't like you." Yes, he had figured that.

But, surprisingly, the conversation did not abruptly stop at business. Waving the letter she held, she began to explain to him its contents. Her two brothers, she told him, had impressed at a recent hatching. A Bronze and a Black. "Congratulations," he said warmly, genuinely thrilled despite their relation to her. Pern always needed Riders.

"My mother also apparently already knows about Kalith's flight. She wants to meet you." This was surprising, and also the thought that Fajra could ever have been a romantic. It seemed far-fetched. "I will gladly meet her whenever you see fit to schedule a meeting," he said, but with little show of emotion in his voice. If her mother as expecting to see a happy couple she would be sorely disappointed. O'sho would not her be disappointed, however, and be as charming and gentile as always.

Fajra was beginning to become flustered. She seemed upset that she had said so much to him, and no doubt was. It certainly was an odd morning. "Good day, then Fajra," he said softly, bowing again and leaving. It was a bumpy road ahead of him.

Daidoroth, however, would not be stirring for some time. He rumbled happily as Kalith snuggled closer to him, wrapping himself even tighter around her. It was sad his rider was not content, but he was. He would take care of His later, but now he had eyes only for his lovely Kalith, his one and only Copper Queen.