A New Friend

Writers: Bree, Dana
Date Posted: 30th March 2007

Characters: J'lai, Shayla
Description: J'lai takes advantage of an opportunity to make friends with Shayla in the hopes that he can make T'voal's life a little more miserable.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 3, day 1 of Turn 4

J'lai propped his head up on his hand and studied the sleeping figure next to him with a smile. **Wasvisath, my friend, you did well.** Very well.
He'd spent enough time trying to decide just how to seek his revenge on T'voal that he recognized the young girl curled up next to him all too easily.

And somewhere else in the Weyr, T'voal was probably stewing in the fact that his sweet little weyrmate was in bed with a _real_ man. **One who won't waste this opportunity to show her just what she's missing while she's with that ignorant little brat...**

Lifting his hand, J'lai slid his fingers gently over her face to brush aside strands of hair stuck to her damp cheek. It had been a passionate flight, so it was no wonder she was tired. He could be patient, though.
He'd woo her oh-so-carefully... and not just today. T'voal was going to regret tattling on him to the Wingleader.

Shayla shifted, a soft, sleepy sigh escaping her as she stretched, eyes opening to blearily blink up at the man whose dragon had flown hers so skillfully--a man who wasn't T'voal. Despite living in the Weyr for a full Turn, she still couldn't quite overcome her modest tendencies, and she blushed, lowering her lashes, curling her legs up self-consciously.

The gesture made him smile, and J'lai tugged the furs up to tuck snugly around her before leaning down to kiss her forehead gently. "This can be an awkward way to meet, can't it? I'm J'lai."

"Shayla." When she glanced back up at him, her smile was a little hesitant.

He smoothed the furs down before lifting a hand to stroke her cheek gently. "It's nice to meet you, Shayla." **Shy and innocent... this shouldn't be difficult.**

"Nice is one way of putting it," she said, her blush deepening. She could feel her body responding to his simple touch, his proximity... Shards, flight lust could be a frustrating thing. And it made her say things that she normally wouldn't say to a stranger, in tones that she never used with anyone else except her weyrmate.

"Mmmmm. It was certainly that." He let his thumb trace along her lower lip, keeping that light, gentle expression on his face. He'd have to go sweet and slow with this one... otherwise he'd risk scaring her away. "I hope you won't be mad if I admit I'm not quite ready to get out of bed."

"Oh..." She bit her lower lip lightly, looking down, her brow furrowing just a little. "I...have a weyrmate." And she should probably get back to him. The last couple times Kiranth had risen and he hadn't won, he'd been at their weyr, waiting for her to return, and when she had... Faranth. She shivered at the intense, passionate memories.

"It's all right..." His fingers drifted down the side of her neck and along her shoulder, gentle and slow. "I understand if you'd rather leave."
His voice was sincere, but his body certainly told a different story.

Her expression was a little startled when she looked up at him. "I--you do?" She'd expected him to try and convince her to stay, like K'mai had. But he wasn't pressuring her. Not at all.

**Got you...** He frowned, his fingers stilling on her shoulder. "Of course I do. Shards, what sort of asses have been winning your flights?"

Shayla flushed. "They weren't asses," she told him defensively. U'val was anything but an ass! And K'mai...well, he was who he was. Horny. But she got the sense that he at least cared about her a little.

"If they wouldn't let you decide what you wanted to do afterwards, they were asses," he said firmly. J'lai tucked a finger under her chin and lifted her face so he could meet her eyes squarely. "You listen to me, little greenrider. Don't be letting weyrbred men convince you to do things you don't want to, just because they tell you that you don't understand the way the Weyr is. Your dragon rose, we shared a marvelous flight, and that's where your responsibility ends. The rest is your choice."

She stared at him. "Are you Weyrborn?"

J'lai shook his head. "I was born at Garnet Valley Hold. I've been in the Weyr for a while, I admit... but I still remember how it felt to have everyone treating me as if I was some sort of fool because I'd been raised differently than they were."

**Here's someone who understands!...** And suddenly her argument with T'voal about this very thing came back all too vividly. It had happened months ago, and they--and their relationship--were doing better, but still... It was hard to forget. And sometimes, despite everything, she wondered if he still saw her as a young girl who "didn't understand."

Shifting slightly, Shayla looked down, gaze lingering on his bare chest. "It's frustrating to be treated like that," she murmured. "I hate being talked down to like I'm five Turns old. I hate that condescending tone."

The bronzerider let his fingers smooth another piece of hair back from her forehead. "Well, you're not five. You're a beautiful grown woman who can make her own decisions, and no one should tell you differently." He lifted her face again and gave her a stern look. "No one, my girl." **Especially T'voal, that sharding idiot.**

She offered him a shy smile. "Thank you, J'lai."

Leaning down, J'lai kissed Shayla carefully. It was a calculated kiss--soft and gentle enough to be friendly, but just lingering enough to remind her of exactly how much they'd enjoyed each other. Even if she didn't decide she wanted to stay, he wanted her to remember how nice he could make her feel.

And he did feel nice. Shards... But she couldn't stay. And it unnerved her to realize that she felt reluctant as she gently eased her lips away from his. Shayla glanced up into his eyes, and seeing the heat in them, she quickly looked away before her own lust would flare and answer his. Taking in a steadying breath, she sat up. "I think I should go," she told him softly.

"Mmmmm, I think so, too." He propped a hand behind his head and smiled up at her, letting the other hand trace over her shoulder and down her arm.
"I'd like to see you again, though. Perhaps some time when we won't be quite so tempted to do more than talk." **And won't T'voal simply _love_
that!**

Shayla looked down at him as she shivered slightly from his touch, wondering. A man hadn't asked her that before, and she had to admit that her vanity was flattered. He was pleasant, and quite courteous to her. And he wasn't Weyrbred, so already they had that understanding between them.... She had plenty of male friends besides T'voal, and she could see J'lai being another one. The young greenrider returned his smile. "I'd like that, J'lai."

Last updated on the March 31st 2007

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