Don't Bother Me Today {Assaila}

[Zirin]

J’degar snorted as she hit him in the chest, hoping she hadn’t hurt herself doing it. He felt a little bad about this now, he hadn’t thought she would be so terrified of being dropped outside; not that kicking her out had ever been his intention. He just wanted to bother her. He twisted around and placed her gently on the ground despite her struggling.

“Assaila, listen to me. You’ve spent more time this morning asking if I want you gone than you have over the last four Turns.“ He cupped her chin in the hopes of keeping her looking at him; his voice automatically switching into his teaching tone. “If you stay, you stay. If you leave, you leave. You’re a grown woman, I’m positive you can make that decision on your own. I don’t mind your company and unless you do something to piss me off I’m not going to tell you to leave. Understand?” Maybe he had been wrong in thinking she was a smart girl; sometimes she just didn’t seem to show it. He gave an amused grin, “I don’t know about you, but I think that about equals the Turns of torture you’ve given me hmm? “

With that he placed a chaste kiss on her forehead and moved to return to the bed. Perhaps those old wives tales were right after all… he mused to himself.

[Bellatora]

Assaila took a deep breath to calm herself as he set her down, frowning and crossing her arms... but... then he started to speak. She turned a shade of pink and tried to look down at her feet. It was true... But he cupped her chin and she looked up at him and listened. She sighed, still pink. "Well... I just... thought... you didn't like me very much... so you might not want me here..." she said very softly, very hesitantly. "I guess it does..." she gave him a weak smile, still feel a bit shaken.

And then her eyes went wide as he kissed her forehead. Had he... really just done that. She felt butterflies in her stomach and felt like they were flying around her head. She stood there, stock still for a long moment. She wondered if this was a dream... but... no... it wasn't... her hand hurt. It had been real. All of it. He had just... teased her to toss her outside... then given her a lecture and... given her a kiss on her forehead. Brief... chaste... but... She considered it rather sweet. She slowly walked behind him, her brain moving in slow motion for a moment. Why...? What...? She could feel her cheeks burning and she wasn't very happy with that. But... he had her thinking. She was very very quiet for the moment even as she picked up a discarded blanket from the floor and wrapped it around herself before crawling into bed after him. She had a soft smile on her face, but her face was still burning and she still looked... rather surprised.

[Zirin]

“You look like you’ve never been kissed before.” He said bluntly, his eyes following her as she covered herself and made her way back to the bed. He couldn’t remember ever seeing her as red as she was now… had it really been that much of a shock? It’s not like he had truly kissed her or anything, it was just supposed to be a comforting… thing. Perhaps he had gone too far? Well, she deserved it regardless and that was that.

He stretched back out, looking rather pleased with himself overall. It was a rare opportunity to see Assaila being the flustered one after all. It was… it was rather cute, though it was definitely weird to see her being anything other than her straightforward, blunt, harassing self. With a relaxed sigh he looked over at her. “Perhaps you should start working out girl. I’ve had trundlebugs hit me harder.”

[Bellatora]

She frowned. "You and I both know that isn't true." She stretched out beside him, keeping the blanket pulled around her. She was facing him and her face was slowly returning to its original color. She frowned. "That was plain mean, J'degar," she told him, but she smiled when she said it. It was hard to keep a straight face... Even if it was only meant to be comforting... to have him kiss her in any form was a shock to her. Any kind of.... affection, she supposed you could call it, was a shock coming from him.

She frowned. "Hmph. I'm not that weak. Though... I'm not trained." She sighed. "Maybe. I don't know about that though." She was still frowning thinking. Then she grinned. "Trundlebugs, huh... and where did you come across these trundlebugs that can hit harder than me? Even though I'm a wimp. Especially compared to a big strong rider like yourself." Now she was being playful again. She was teasing again. But her cheeks were still just ever so pink.

She brushed hair out of her face with the same hand she had hit him with. It was turning a slight shade of red and purple. "I guess you're right. I should work out. as much as to me that doesn't sound all that fun." She gave him a half smile. The way she was raised and had lived... well... she didn't really ever work out. In fact... they probably had wanted her weak. Maybe if Gar would help her... and maybe if it would throw it back in all the faces of so many people...

[Zirin]

“Doesn’t change the fact you look like it.” He shrugged. He couldn’t even count how many times she had stolen kisses from him over the Turns, not to mention he had no doubt there had been a lot of it last night. He scratched his chin in thought, still trying to get his mind to remember it. He had flashes now and then, but it was more a tease than a memory.

“Girl. You’re weak. If I wanted I could take advantage of you and there’s little you could do to stop me. Not that I would, Faranth forbid I’m not that horrible a man.” He chuckled deeply, “Of course you’re a wimp compared to me. I train on a daily basis. Top physical fitness is an important aspect of being a rider.” Not everyone thought so, but J’degar was adamant that he would never be the rider to bring down the wing. He took pride in his stamina and strength. He looked back at her and frowned, his brows furrowing as he noticed the colour her hand was becoming. He sat up, and reached over into the nearby drawer, pulling out a small jar of numbweed; he had jars everywhere.

“Give me your hand idiot.” He help out his own to hold it after unscrewing the jar’s lid. It wouldn’t do much, and it seemed like her hand was just bruising, but he would feel particularly guilty for causing her actual pain over something silly. If she gave him her hand he would gently massage the numbweed in. “Once you do it often enough, you tend to forget it isn’t fun. It becomes no different than sleeping or eating really.” Not to mention, it made you feel powerful and independent.

[Bellatora]

"Yeah... I guess..." She smiled softly at him. If he would only let her... she would have reached over and touched his face... but she didn't know how much he would appreciate that. She really wanted to. She really wanted to touch him... Oh... it was torture.

"Why do you say you would condemn me if you threw me out... Hmm...?" she asked him, her tone half serious, half teasing. She moved just a little bit closer to him. "No... you aren't THAT horrible a man." She grinned. "So I've noticed. Annaliese is always up early and she always wants to talk to you or Syphraelth..." She gave him an admiring look. "You are a strong man, even compared to your fellow riders." And she was just a weakling...

"Gar! Don't call me an idiot!" was her first response as she gave him a stubborn glare. But then she gave him her hand. "Maybe I should give it a try," she said with a slight huff. She really didn't think she would ever just get used to it like he was saying.... but she supposed she could try. It just didn't seem very lady-like...

[Zirin]

‘Hmph,” J’degar huffed, noticing the way she inched closer, “She’s always there right in the middle of my work out. She must have learned how to annoy me by watching you.” They both had a knack for interrupting him right in the middle of important business, though at least Annaliese seemed to be easily distracted by Syphraelth. Then again, what child wouldn’t be distracted by a dragon that spoke to them? “Anyway, I see nothing wrong with a child learning to be up early. Faranth forbid kids stop being so lazy these days… lounging in bed all day.” He gave a joking glance at the bed the two of them were occupying.

“Only an idiot would injure her hand punching someone.” He gave her a glance that clearly showed he thought she was pathetically weak. With a slight chuckle, he took her hand, likely with a touch gentler than she may have expected, and began massaging in the numbweed. He was concentrating on her hand, trying to figure out the extent of the injury, though it seemed to be no more than a bruise as far as he could tell.

“If you don’t want to be strong, you won’t ever accomplish it.” He shrugged “Though watching you attempt pushups would be quite entertaining.” His eyes never left her hand as he continued to gently massage it. His attention on everything had dimmed, though he listened to her speak. Even his defenses seemed to be down as he concentrated. After all, a rider’s hands were important, so he tended to throw his all into treating even minor wounds.

[Bellatora]

"At least she is more interested in Syphraelth more than she is in bothering you. And quite possibly..." She smiled slightly. She was very proud of her daughter. She grinned at him. "Like we are doing right now...?" she said to him with a teasing expression.

"It's not like anyone has ever taught me how to punch someone in a way as to not hurt myself." She gave him a serious look. He was so... Gentle. She had never expected that. She looked at him in surprise, watching him as he put all his focus into massaging the numbweed into her hand. She found herself entirely... engrossed in his features, his expression... the way his fingers moved on her hand. It didn't hurt. Not that badly anyways... or at least her focus on him made it so that it didn't hurt as bad.


"Well... that could be a problem, I suppose... since I can't say that is the kind of strength I want... but maybe it is the kind I need." She sighed. It felt nice. She moved a bit closer to him. Just a little bit and looked at his face, studying each feature. He was a ruggedly handsome man... that was for sure.

[Zirin]

"She should be spending her time learning and socializing with other people." He replied with a shrug, not entirely pleased that a young girl was showing so much interest in dragons. Hopefully she would grow out of it in time. "At least Syphraelth seems to be good with children." He'd have to find someway to keep Syphraelth from filling her head with dragons. He chuckled at her teasing expression. "I wouldn't call this lounging, persay." Dealing with Assaila could never equal lounging.

"A good first rule of punching is to not punch someone muscular." He gave her a deadpanned look. Perhaps he would have to teach her self defense of some sort, though the idea of playing the role of teacher wasn't entirely pleasing. "Well, you managed this long without being physically strong." He glanced at her as she moved closer before returning his gaze to her hand. The numbweed would probably be settling in now and the injury didn't seem to be too bad, so he couldn't imagine it hurting for too long. He ran his fingers over the injury once more before finally giving her a look that said she could take her hand back.

"Might be sore for a couple days. I can give you numbweed for it if you'd like." He looked at her almost warily down that he noticed just how close she had gotten.

[Bellatora]

"She is... but she still loves that dragon of yours. Maybe a bit too much." She bit her lip slightly and let it go. It was very red... and a bit swollen. She was looking at him, studying him. "There is that. I suppose that makes him good at teaching the young dragons." She smirked. "Oh... because you're here with me...? Hmm...?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"Or to be strong enough to punch that someone muscular?" She smirked at him and gave him a look over. Oh... he had such a wonderful muscular chest. She wanted to run her hands over his chest then. She nearly did, but she stopped herself.

Assaila slowly took her hand back and looked up at him. "Thanks... I would appreciate that, Gar," she said softly, her voice slightly breathy. She didn't dare move. She hardly dared to breathe... but she was close to him again. Close enough to feel the heat from his body. She could smell him. She gave a soft sigh, taking it in. Why did he have to not like her...

It was kind of.... painful.... to be denied by the person that you had fallen head over heals for. She sighed again and just tried to let it go.... She wasn't going to try to seduce him... She had been enjoying their joking and having true and real fun.

[Zirin]

“Of course. You’re too troublesome to lounge with,” He replied, his expression serious as he watched just how close she was getting. He didn’t miss the way her eyes raked over him. “Trying to annoy me, giving me nicknames… getting in my personal space…” On the one hand, he wanted to push her away and return to his mediocre, loveless life. On the other hand, he couldn’t deny that he had a sort of… fondness… for her. Not to mention, teasing her was growing to be too much fun… he swore he’d never do this with anyone else and yet, why wasn’t he able to stop it? To just kick her out and be done with it?

“What do you hope to achieve by moving so close woman?” He looked down at her, watching the way she seemed to hold her breath and lean ever closer still. It was a strange sight, to be sure. How long ago was it that she would have gone out of her way to cling to him, to run her hands over him and steal a kiss? Whoa, no! That train of thought needed to stop now! Images of last night had finally begun resurfacing, though luckily J’degar wasn’t the type to blush at memories. Assaila’s sigh brought him back to the present and he couldn’t help but feel it was sad. Not that it would be shocking, she had made it rather clear that she liked him.

“Are you hoping by moving closer,” He leaned forward to speak quietly in her ear, wondering if it would mess with her enough to break her sudden seemingly-unhappy state, “That you’ll somehow trick me again? Or…” At that he pulled his head away and leaned over, pulling them both down into a laying position, his voice louder now that he wasn’t right by her ear. “We’re you hoping to get some real lounging done?”

[Bellatora]

"But am I right now, J'degar....?" she asked him, her voice like silk. She looked at him, her eyes large, innocent, warm, and deep. She wanted to kiss him right then and there. BUt of course... she wasn't going to be stealing any more kisses now... She didn't want to.

J'degar was entirely amazing. "N-n-nothing..." She smiled and blinked in surprise. As he leaned closer and whispered in her ear... her breath caught and her eyes closed. He was so close. She could feel his breath on her ear. It was enough to mess with her... Quite honestly....

"I wouldn't dream of tricking you, Gar... Not right now..." she said to him in a soft voice, so confused by his sudden change of behavior. What was it that had him doing this... What made him decide to get closer... or not to get closer to her.

The moment he touched her, pulling her down with him... she had to say she was rather shocked. Though rather delighted. "That would be wonderful...." she said, her voice so soft... She blinked and looked at him seriously. She blinked. She relished his touch... It was something special... Something that she hadn't really felt... she would have him voluntarily do any time in the near future... he was so adamant...

[Zirin]

“Ha. Not right now you say. So you plan on tricking me later?” He sighed deeply, “This is why women can’t be trusted.” He rolled onto his back, though it seemed one arm was pinned beneath Assaila, so for the time being he left it there and closed his eyes with a smug smile, feeling pleased with the results he had achieved.

“You know, for a ‘Pillow Girl’ you are horribly easy to fluster.” He hadn’t missed the way she had stuttered. His eyes remained closed as he allowed himself to relax. This wasn’t bad at all, he supposed. With Assaila keeping her distance, he didn’t have to worry about keeping his guard up as much and that in itself was more relaxing than anything else. “You had me fooled, stealing all those kisses. Who would have guessed you were so innocent.”

[Bellatora]

"Maybe a little bit... if it means I can have another kiss..." she said innocently. Feeling rather happy to have him still have at least one arm touching her. It was surely something. "But... maybe I won't... it all depends." She grinned and laughed slightly. "I hope that I don't have to trick you... for any reason..." She grinned teasingly as she laid on her back over top his arm. She turned to look at him.

"Innocent...?" she asked her, raising her eyebrows, though she didn't make a move to be closer to him... she did keep her distance... for now... She wished that he would hold her, though... That would make hear heart stop. "It's really just... with you... No one else has ever made me flustered like you do..." she admitted begrudgingly.

[Zirin]

“Oh really. What does that depend on?” Innocent his ass. There’ wasn’t an innocent bone in her body and he knew it, even if he had joked about it previously. “First you play the evil seductress and now you’re trying to look innocent?” He scoffed, amused overall. His arm was starting to fall asleep because of the position however, so he shifted, trying to wiggle into a more comfortable position. He noticed, rather grudgingly, that the only way to be more comfortable was to get close to her. The price he had to pay sometimes.

“I suppose we should get up soon,” He mused, eyeing the stack of paperwork once more. He was loath to actually do work though; he hadn’t had a real break in Turns, not since coming to Trelis really. “A bath would be nice as well.” His voice was quiet, and it was obviously he was simply thinking out loud as he got comfortable.