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It was going to be messy. The moment N'mol felt Tyeth's fury feed into him and they shared in their moment of agony and rage he knew it was going to be messy. Tyeth had lost the Flight. As it was only his second Flight and his first for a Gold that wasn't surprising, but it did send his Bronze in to a fury and N'mol knew Tyeth would be plotting angrily for days. Underneath his courtly demeanor Tyeth could be ruthless, and the loss of a Gold he had plotted so long to take as his own would bring out the worst of that temperament.

The other trouble came with it being Calanoth whom Suunath had chosen. N'mol and Z'fer had avoided bumping into one another as much as possible with very little to no effort. It was a big weyr and there were always things for Wingleaders to be doing (or at least that's how it was in N'mol's case). However, they were not friends and, as much as N'mol disliked Z'fer's consistently arrogant attitude, he was aware that Z'fer looked down on him for his age alone. He was not a kind man by any stretch of the imagination. As much as he hated Z'fer for a moment when he was still caught in Flightlust, he knew Kindra was going to be in a much fouler mood when they both awoke afterward. Things between Z'fer and N'mol, and between Malvren and Benden, might very well go to the dogs depending on how both Kindra and Z'fer behaved, neither of which were under N'mol's control.

N'mol was weyrborn. Beyond having participated in (and won) a Flight before, he was raised understanding what Flights were and the workings of the weyr. He didn't consider this anything other than dragon hormones sweeping the pair away. In his mind, that was all there was to it, but he had quite some time before he knew Kindra and Z'fer would emerge and he would be able to go and comfort Kindra. While Tyeth was off planning ways to subtly take revenge on Calanoth, N'mol had snagged one of the younger willing women waiting for the losers to seek comfort. He had to relieve his tension somehow after all, and as with Kindra and Z'fer it was nothing but a Flight-induced dalliance.

Once everything had died down and everyone's needs were taken care of, N'mol had patiently waited back at the weyr he shared with D'lin for some sign that Kindra was alone and in control of her faculties. He had no idea what state she would be in after the Flight, but giving her space wasn't guaranteed to help her if she blamed herself. Not for the first time, N'mol wished they hadn't made their feelings known to one another. It had made things much more complicated.

Some time later, Tyeth deigned to come enough out of his own thoughts to speak to his rider. Calanoth's rider is wandering the weyr with no clothing. There was perverse pleasure in his tone and disgust at what he clearly considered a common lack of decency from the Malvren Bronzeriding pair. Apparently his conquests for the day are not enough for him. He has left the Weyrwomen's weyr.

N'mol wouldn't ask Tyeth to go near the weyr or contact Suunath. That would be asking too much of his dragon at this moment. (He hadn't missed Tyeth's avoidance of the Gold's name.) Judging from the news, Kindra's mood had either been more than foul or Z'fer was more of an arrogant man than N'mol had expected. Definitely strained relations in the future either way. Thanks, Ty.

N'mol swung up into a sitting position from where he had been reclining on his cot and staring at the ceiling. Show time.

N'mol was gratified when he finally reached Kindra's temporary weyr and found only Suunath in residence outside. He spared her a glance and then a nod. He had no idea if Calanoth would now become a permanent fixture around the Gold, but he very much doubted Z'fer would ever become a fixture with Kindra -- and that was even assuming his walking about the weyr naked was voluntary and not a result of being kicked out without his clothing. Either way, in a Turn's time there would be another chance to try. And he knew that by then Tyeth would be ready to try without any of the anger and betrayal of this Flight hanging over his head.

N'mol knocked loudly on the door, not wanting to intrude without announcing himself if Kindra was out of sorts or didn't want to see him. ... He rather hoped it wasn't the latter, because he very much doubted he would leave if she asked unless it was his usual stubborn Kindra doing the talking. The last thing he needed was to come across like a jerk, something he very much worried that Z'fer had been to her.

"Kindra. It's N'mol. May I come in?"

Suunath's voice instigated Tyeth into shifting with suppressed emotion, but his voice when he spoke to her was nothing short of polite-- more distant than it had been in the past, certainly, but nothing Suunath could fault. Not that she would care, since she had gotten the old Bronze she had wanted.

Of course, Suunath. Tyeth turned his attention to N'mol. Suunath says that Kindra will not speak, but wishes you to enter.

N'mol frowned, but was already pushing the door open as he considered that. Only instinct pushed him to announce, "I'm coming in, Kindra." As he did so, he wondered: Why would she want him to come in, but not say it herself?

Well, being in a towel was probably part of it.

N'mol averted his gaze politely after a momentary stare. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize you were just getting out of the bath." The Flight had been hours ago, so he wasn't sure why she hadn't bathed before now, but perhaps it was just her habit to take one at night. N'mol certainly wouldn't know if Kindra had those kinds of habits. Normally he would have offered to return later, but something in what he had seen of Kindra's expression when he stepped into the room told him that later might just make things more complicated than they already were. He pushed the door closed entirely and turned around to face it. "I'll turn my back so you can get something on."

N'mol glanced to the side when Kindra said his name, but didn't turn. He didn't want to risk catching her in a further state of undress accidentally and the sounds of sudden movement showed him that's exactly what may have happened. Not that he hadn't seen her naked before, but at this moment things were very tense and it wouldn't help the situation any to be caught in that position.

He didn't have to ask if she was all right. When he turned around at her assurance it was clear to him that she wasn't. Riders couldn't be entirely responsible for Flight lust but if Z'fer had hurt her somehow N'mol wasn't sure he would stand for it.

They stared at each other in silence for far too long. N'mol wasn't sure how to approach the conversation and it was readily apparent that Kindra was not in any state to do so herself. Eventually, N'mol brushed off the cobwebs gathering in his mind and took charge.

"Was it that bad?" he asked, neither judging nor showing sympathy. It was just a simple question born out of her body language and the look on her face.

A smile flickered across N'mol's face as he nodded. "That's certainly true."

He sighed when she said no more and just stood there with her eyes downcast. He really did know Kindra. It had been a good idea not to wait to come. Whatever had happened or whatever she thought of herself now that the Flight was over was plaguing her and if he let it stay it would fester there. He worried most that it had ended up being a repeat of her last experience with a suitor she didn't want, only things this time had ended up going much further.

"Kindra." There really wasn't a delicate way to ask this and he knew how it was going to sound to a Holdborn. He just had to hope she didn't bend completely out of shape before he could soothe her. "You did at least take him willingly once Suunath chose, didn't you?" He didn't want to hear that she had resisted. That she had fought the Flight and come out of it... broke. He'd heard stories of riders like that. Some recovered and had better Flights and lives later, but some... didn't. He hated the twist of fear sitting in his gut. Sitting there for her. It was foreign to him and he didn't like it.

"Kindra, don't cry." N'mol crossed the room, quickly cutting the distance between them. He sat beside her and wrapped his arms around her, though he still tried to get a look at her face. "I told you before the Flight that if Tyeth lost I would still be here for you. I also remember telling you things are easier when you accept them. This is part of being a dragonrider, for all of us. What's wrong?"

He reached out to stop the compulsive rubbing of her wrist and wedged his fingers under hers, pulling her hand away by force. He wanted answers from her, but it was clear that he had to somehow balance delicacy with outright redirection or she was never going to listen. He glanced at the bruises and then sighed, dropping her fingers so that he could reach out and rub them gently himself. "Eventually," he repeated. She had struggled at first then, because Kindra had to fight. That was who she was. "Kindra, look at me. Why are you crying? Are you upset that it was Z'fer? That you didn't keep fighting?"

N'mol could do nothing until he knew where Kindra's mind was. Once he had an idea of what thought had taken her, he could knock it out of the way. She shouldn't feel so badly about this. N'mol was thankful this would only happen with her First Flight-- he hoped.

N'mol sighed and put an arm around her shoulder since her hunching made it difficult to hold her. He rubbed her arm lightly and gave her wrist back into her own keeping. "Kindra. You really don't listen and I clearly didn't explain this well enough. I didn't want you to fight. Are you listening to me?" He pulled back slightly and looked down at her. "I wanted you to have a good experience. I told you, it's positive when you accept it rather than fighting it. I am glad that you wanted it. It wasn't Z'fer you desired. It was the desire for sex, the attraction to someone of the opposite sex that was clearly as interested in sharing a bed as you in a state where, believe me, you would sleep with just about anyone put in front of you. I don't hate you for that. We all go through it. We all do, Kindra."

He kissed the top of her head and rested his forehead against it. "I wanted you to enjoy the experience, regardless of who it was with. What you thought in the morning is all that matters. Do you still want us to be a couple? I'm guessing from Z'fer's strut through the Weyr earlier that you didn't pick him to be your new weyrmate." N'mol pulled back and looked down at her steadily, in the event that she did come out of her tears long enough to want to meet his gaze.

N'mol wasn't sure what part of what he had said had broken her spiral of self-recrimination, but he was glad he'd managed to say something to break through. Now maybe his words would reach her.

"We can always talk to Abigail about it," he replied. He didn't want to say yes and get her hopes up when chances were good that the Senior Weyrwoman might just tell them to buck it up. There was always the option of doing it anyway and getting in trouble later... but that wouldn't reflect very well on either of them. Besides, he was taking a moment to process Kindra's sudden declaration of love. He cared for her, definitely, and beyond her he really didn't care as much about anyone else. Of course, he hadn't considered having a permanent weyrmate as part of the plan, since dragons tended to Chase often and having a Bronze almost necessitated multiple bed-partners unless Tyeth was excellent and caught the dragon he wanted every time... which clearly wasn't happening yet.

"We're weyrmates, then." He kissed her forehead, not wanting to cross a line and set her off in another emotional fit again when he'd just gotten her steady. "No matter who Suunath lets Fly her we'll always be weyrmates. One or two wayward Flights can't change that. And I'll see what we can do to keep you from having to sleep with someone else next time. No matter what happens, though, it shouldn't be this bad next time. Now you know what's going to happen and you have a Turn or more to relax. And you will not feel guilty for enjoying yourself next time." He met her eyes, his own hard. "That's the quickest way to make problems for yourself. I will never judge you for enjoying sex fueled by dragonlust and I won't think you're doing it to betray me either."