(M) Draconian Bonds: Bound by the Dragon {Bee x Jeremor}

Crossed between a laugh and a grunt, a harrumph that meant both 'yeah right' and 'cut that out', was the only reply she got to talk of coming over there and warming her up. Part of him wished Orhmur was here, though, as he normally didn't have to worry at all about being cold. The desert wind did sort of cut across the tops of these stones. Just how in the world was she able to be stark naked like that and not show a sign of it? Was it all that lust making her all... hot and bothered? She'd looked pretty hot.

Oh no, that was exactly what she wanted. To make him think about her and exactly what she was doing. Maybe it was also a mistake to try and fight back like he had, too. There was the old saying about never grabbing a dragon by the tail, though apparently Tine wasn't aware of it. From now on it was going to be all cold shoulder and no reactions. That's what he needed to do. The big problem was, though, that Gerrick Hitzig was to concealing emotions like Orhmur was to petting kittens... even cute ones that turned their head this-way-and-that when you spoke to them like 'Huuuuh? What's that?'

An involuntary shutter ran through him when she said his name. Then, a fear followed it. Would she really get up in the middle of the night and try something so brazen as that? Was that really how low she'd sink? Gerrick got up on his elbows and turned to look at her. "Don't fucking try it. Seriously, I'm giving you a warning." He held up one of his fingers again. "If I wake up with you doing something weird on top of me, I'm going to toss you into the desert. By the hair." Part of him wondered if she'd like that.

"Grrr." He growled menacingly, and frustratedly, as he gave up trying to scare her off from whatever she had planned. Falling in a great heap, he rolled over again away from her and her lovely breasts bare to the sky. Ugh. Damn that woman. "Sleep well, Bliiii-THHHuuh."

Blithe turned her head just enough to watch Gerrick as he gave her his stern warning. In the poor light she doubted he'd see her grin, but she covered her mouth with a hand anyway. Now wasn't the time to aggravate him further. She didn't want to keep him out of his sleep for the entire night, after all. Just some of it. What she had planned may even have been dangerous, considering his rising stress levels, but she fully intended to go through with it anyway. Besides, he didn't strike her as the kind of man who would hurt a woman outside of a battle, anyway, especially if all she wanted was a little lovin'.

"Whatever you say, honey," she purred and snugged down a little deeper into her makeshift, rather uncomfortable bed. She even went so far as to pull the blanket up underneath her chin to show she was calling a truce. "I won't try anything funny." In a slightly lower tone she added; "On purpose ..."

Then she let her eyes fall closed. "I like it when you say my name, by the way. It sounds so nice." Her voice was dripping with acidic sarcasm, a throwback to her usual self and the way she'd been behaving for most of the trip. Then she sighed, shifted so a certain rock wasn't digging into her back, and tried to go to sleep. Far off in the distance Tine was already snoring deep, dragon-y snores. What Blithe liked to do when her purple fell asleep before her was to time her own breathing to hers using their mental link. That was what she used to let herself relax and eventually drift off to into a world of dreams.

"Yeah, yeah..." He grumbled a little bit and wrapped himself a little tighter in his blanket. Just maybe she was telling the truth, that she wouldn't try anything on purpose, but of course every word was dripping with an other meaning. No, one could never trust the enemy. This was total war and he had to be ready for exactly that. The only question was, how did you prepare for an attack that came in the night? What could he do to resist something she did to him while he slept? Truly, it was a cowardly tactic, in his opinion.

Trying his hardest to drift off wasn't really working, since sleep was definitely a thing you couldn't really force out. Gerrick was used to things he could force. Problems he could pound into oblivion. In that respect he matched his dragon for stubbornness. Unfortunately he couldn't pound Blithe into oblivion... er, wait, that came out all wrong. Or very right? It's not like he'd mind so much. Especially in the dark of night when she might not be able to see anything... but that'd be defeat. It wasn't possible.

Tossing and turning a bit more, Gerrick held onto his more unflattering thoughts of Blithe in order to help sway him toward sleep. At the very least, they took his mind off of the concern about an attack of midnight lovin'. What really got him to sleep, though, was his dragon. Just the same as Blithe. Away in the distance was Orhmur, sleeping in a curled-up little ball of heat and anger. Again, a red dragon's sleep wasn't peaceful nor happy. But what they were was satisfying, and that was something Gerrick craved at the moment. He imagined the heat in his lungs as he blew flame over a village and watched the townsfolk scurry away in fear.

Unfortunately, the dream turned into something much more dangerous about midway through. Parting from Orhmur's dragon dream, he found himself in a place full of feathery pillows and one naked purple dragonknight. It wasn't losing if it happened in his dreams.

The night passed surprisingly quickly for Blithe. Maybe it was her sense of victory over Gerrick that had her sleeping so peacefully, despite a slight bite to the air. Or perhaps she was simply tired after a long day of travelling. She dealt with the cold by wrapping herself up tightly in her blankets and letting Tine's dreams of thunderstorms soothe her. It worked until the purple woke up mere minutes before sunrise, just as Blithe knew she would.

The dragon stretched her wings and yawned widely, then sought out Blithe's position with her mind as she did every morning. That alone was enough to rouse the knight from her slumber. She rolled, hummed sleepily and regretfully tossed the blanket off of her. She was moving automatically, half asleep still while she carried out a plan she'd formulated just before she drifted off the evening before. Some faint tendrils of colour were staining the horizon, lighting their little camp just enough for her to find where Gerrick was stretched out on his bedroll. She suppressed a shiver and carefully moved onto it next to him, turned on her side so she could face into his body. She even went so far as to steal and edge of his blanket and snuggle underneath it, then hooked a leg over both of his.

His body heat and the feel of his skin against hers was enough to make her sigh with contentment, and it wasn't two minutes later that she drifted off to sleep again, peaceful, safe and totally at ease.

There mayyyy have also been a hint of mischief in the smile that rested on her lips, knowing what Gerrick would wake up to.

The morning was hot, despite how cool the night was. Especially cold to Gerrick because of how use he was to being next to a sweltering dragon all day long. For this reason he didn't notice Blithe's unwelcome entrance to his sheets. Probably because it wasn't unwelcome, and his unconscious body certainly didn't react in an unwelcoming way. Rolling over in the night, his powerful arms curled around her and pulled her closer. The press of her everything against him was lovely. Groggy half-asleep Gerrick apparently didn't give a whit about all these contests and embarrassments.

It wasn't for some time later, being a later sleeper, that he also felt Orhmur stir from her own slumber. A red dragon was naturally more... heavy of a sleeper than a purple. After a particularly exhausting day of holocaust, a dragon like Orhmur could go into hibernation for days at a time. The strain of a day of flying was only enough to cause a bit of a late morning. Luckily, there was not an adage about the early dragon catching the worm, because a dragon could wake up pretty well any time they felt like it and do just fine. When the bond clicked off of the dream world and back to real thoughts, it jarred Gerrick awake like it had Blithe.

"hhrrrmmm..." He made groggy sounds as he woke up and let awareness slap him around a bit. First things first, he looked over to Blithe's pile of blankets and bed roll. It was curious to find them empty. The mystery was solved when he looked down and realized exactly where she was. Nestled beautifully right beside him, and as naked as the day was long. "You... Youuuuu..."

Anger wasn't what welled up inside of him, as anyone who has made use of the fabled many-u's Youuuuu knows. Instead he felt a mix of emotions, most good and some troublesome. "You're too much." He sighed and fought against his mind's attempts at focusing on every piece of skin against his own. She really was like a kid with a toy, single-minded in focus, with that mischievous smile on her lips.

Rather than picking her up and tossing her somewhere, like he'd threatened, he just laid there looking at her. It was to pinch her, but he didn't trust his fingers to only stop at pinching. He settled on just sliding out away from her enough so that he could stand up. When he'd done that, though, he noticed that she was laying mostly on his clothes. Then he noticed that the blanket wasn't covering all of her. Her rump was sticking part ways out. Without thinking, which is how he did most of his worst ideas, he acted.

Gerrick gave her a nice spank right on the bum. The harsh awakening was exactly what she deserved... and, well, maybe Gerrick liked the sound, too.

... warmth ... floating on warmth ... it was heavenly ... like flying into a heated cloud ... no worries, no stress ... everything around her existed only to make her feel good ... she could stay like that forever, lost in her own dreams ... content ... happy ... perfect ...

SLAP.

Blithe was ripped violently out of sleep by the hard smack on her rump - startled not only by the feel of flesh hitting flesh, but also the sound. She had never in her entire life been spanked quite like that, and her very first instinct - apparently - was to do some kind of horizontal hop/snakelike writhing thing on the ground which eventually got her loose of the tangled blanket. "What?" she yelled, turned onto her back like a turtle, all semblances of grace gone from her demeanor. Wildly, she looked around then up to see Gerrick poised over her.

He ... spanked me ...?

He sure did! Tine laughed. She was flying high up above, nearly in the clouds, and had been watching the entire affair with her sharp black eyes. She hadn't seen anything quite as funny since yesterday with the whole Gerrick's Cock Area incident. Now she couldn't stop laughing, both mentally and physically.

"What's the matter with you?" Blithe all but screamed, speaking to both Tine and Gerrick. She plucked the blanket up over her chest and sat upright, her face redder than Orhmur's scales. With hard, angry yanks she pulled it up around her, being extra careful to cover her bottom, then stood up and scurried towards her clothes without turning her back on the red knight. "You bastard ..." she glowered. "I was feeling so good ... don't tell me you didn't like it too! Now turn the fuck around so I can get dressed!"

I didn't know your voice could go that high, Tine snickered.

He stood there shaking his hand out and grinning at her like a fool. That was the hardest spank Blithe had ever received and definitely the most rewarding one Gerrick had ever doled out. Just watching her squirm on the ground was payment enough for all the frustration she had put him through in the past two nights. It didn't completely erase his desire for her, nothing except for the act itself could do that, but it sure diluted it with some other pleasing things. Finally he felt like he had the upperhand in this little contest.

"I'm really sorry about that." Sarcasm was painted all over his words like a stinky cologne. "I thought I saw a scorpion." He lied with the biggest grin he'd had in quite a while. Despite all of their competition and embarrassment and anger, she made him smile. That grin, though, was turned away from her when she yelled at him to. "Of course, I'll respect your privacy..." He snickered at his own joke, which he considered very clever.

What is all that racket? There came Orhmur's gravely voice over his mind, doing it's best to squash out all of his mirth. In she came thundering shortly after the thought glanced over his mind, pausing near the rocks Gerrick and Blithe stood upon. Oh. Human things. Disgust was the chief emotion he felt.

Yeah, human things. He replied, laughing in his own mind. Glad you're finally awake.

The dragon grumbled and Gerrick laughed out loud, this time, as he picked up his clothes and armor. He slipped them all on with no haste. Victory made for a lovely breakfast. "Hope you can sit in the saddle alright..." He tossed over his shoulder, glancing at her reaction. Part of him, a dangerous part to this contest, rather liked the idea of her ass being sore because of him.

Blithe was seeing red. The red mist had descended. Red dots swam before her vision. Code red had been activated.

Although she didn't know most of those metaphors, they were very appropriate under the current circumstances. Anger and humiliation made her body burn. It wasn't the kind of all-consuming heat she wanted, but she would damn well use it. Holy flaming lizard butts, she would use it.

She'd never gotten dressed so quickly in her life. As soon as Gerrick turned his back on her, she dropped the blanket and yanked on item of clothing after item of clothing. It took her a little while to figure out that she was trying to pull on her tunic like a pair of pants, but after that she was decent in no time.

And looking for payback.

"I'll sit in the saddle just fine," she bit out, valiantly ignoring the way her left butt cheek throbbed. Still barefoot, she stormed towards Gerrick like a raging bull and didn't stop until she was right up in his face. She stood on her toes and poked him hard in the chest with each of her words; "How would you feel if I tried something like that with you? Huh?" Whether consciously or unconsciously, she kept advancing to try and intimidate him. "I could beat you to a pulp, hogtie you and leave you in the middle of the capital for everyone to see if I wanted!"

Her poking had turned into shoving. "Touch my bottom again and that's what'll happen, do you hear me?" she yelled. In the back of her mind, almost drowned out by her own agitation, she still heard Tine laughing hysterically.

I thought you wanted him to touch it ...

"Not like that!" she snapped out loud.

Oh dear. She really did seem angry, huh? Like he'd struck a nerve, maybe. A butt-nerve. A single spank had reversed their positions entirely. It made the red dragonknight feel filled with some new sort of power, the power to solve problems with brute spanking power. Every time Blithe acted up, maybe he should just give her a nice one on the rump and see how that changes her tune. But, then, she'd probably start getting butt-armor to protect herself... no, he'd need a new defense. It really was nice though.

"Oh, I hear you." He replied with a grin, not even trying to hide exactly how totally utterly super cutes he found this whole thing. Standing on her tip-toes, poking him in the chest, trying to be all scary... but all he could think of was how she'd squirmed across the ground moments ago. "No need to shout."

Are you done yet? Orhmur didn't see any mirth in the situation, unlike Tine. Gerrick could just about hear the dragon clicking her claws on a rock, in boredom and annoyance.

So, as much fun as it was to hear Blithe tell him how she'd kick his ass and hog tie him or whatever, it really was about time to get the move on. Again, the sooner they got to Fafneria, the sooner Blithe could lose interest and they could part ways. He didn't have any notion that she'd remain interested in him the second she could split ways and find some other guy to screw with. Like, literally, screw with. Ha ha.

"I don't want to touch any part of you, remember?" He said, trying to be gruff now that his laughter was fading away. "Are you sure you don't want to give up and quit this contest, huh? Lost interest in me, maybe? Now would be a pretty good time to admit defeat and let us forget all about it..."

He proposed all of this as casually as he could while he gathered all his things up and made ready to ride for the day. The feel of her skin on his palm wouldn't go away.

Once again Gerrick turned his back on Blithe while all she could do was stand there with her mouth gaping open, shock - or more precisely, outrage - written clearly on her face. Having him dismiss her like that was like being rejected all over again. Strangely enough, most of her anger faded in that moment to be replaced by an icy cool resolve. Slowly, she closed her mouth and narrowed her eyes.

Watching him get ready to leave, she thought about what she wanted to do. She'd have to make a big impression on him if it was going to last the entire day while they rode the skies on their winged steeds. She didn't want him to forget about her for a second, just like she would be remembering the hand-shaped red mark on her ass. A muscle twitched irritably below her right eye.

"Are you sure you want me to give up?" she asked. "Forget about you?"

She stepped forward and waited for the moment when Gerrick bent down to pick something up from the ground before she leaned in over his back and pressed her lips up against his ear. Huskily, she whispered to him exactly what she would do if he just gave in.

Once finished, she backed up again and crossed her arms, one eyebrow cocked. "Well?"

Bending down to retrieve his swordbelt, of all things, he received Blithe's lovely... filthy message in his ear. Every syllable did things to him that he couldn't quite explain. Far from straightening up immediately, though one part of him was doing that, he very slowly stood again while she finished. Over everything that was rushing through him at that moment, every bit of burning desire and whatever else, he felt a sense of dread. He'd done it. He'd poked the sleeping beast. There had been a chance that she really would've just lost interest in him if he'd only responded meekly. Blithe had a thing for fighters, that was all there was to it... the worst thing of all? It was impossible for him to be anything but a fighter. And he loved it.

"Ahem." He ahem'd, clearing his throat, and then swallowed hard. Now he was straightened up again, and turned round to look at her. She looked smug already. "Nah, uh, I mean..."

Suddenly he felt very distracted. It was very difficult to keep his thoughts in order when he was this wound up... how was he ever going to win this contest or talk or write a reply or ride a dragon when he was this horny? It just wasn't natural. When a human wanted something this badly, they either had it or they died. There was no third option. Like everything was just going to snap inside of him and rupture. Blithe, that naughty girl, had him right where she wanted him yet again. His victory had lasted for, oh, maybe a few minutes. That was disappointing.

"Right, well," Without really answering, he hopped down and sort of scurried off toward Orhmur's chain ladder. Not that Gerrick Hitzig scurried anywhere, that is, being a proud manly warrior man and all. "See ya!" He yelled over his shoulder as he hastily climbed his ladder. No, he was not running away.

Disgusting. The dragon said into his mind, once he'd climbed back into the saddle. I can feel your... urges. If get any of it on me, I'm going to eat you.

Gerrick didn't get any of it on her, but the bouncy ride was much more uncomfortable that day.

Blithe didn't laugh this time - although the urge was certainly there. She watched Gerrick scurry away with keen interest and the solid, unshakable knowledge that she'd won. He was hers. She'd almost heard the exact moment that his will to fight snapped in two.

Languidly, lazily she went around the camp collecting her supplies and finishing getting dressed. Tine circled up above like a vulture, trying to engage her in conversation and failing miserably. Blithe was in an oddly quiet, reflective mood, and smugness rolled off her in waves.

Some time later when she was finally ready to leave and called Tine down to her so she could climb aboard, Gerrick and Orhmur were miles ahead. They caught up in mere minutes, though, zipping through the sky as they did.


It was a long day. Blithe remained in a distracted, untalkative mood and that in turn made Tine grumpy. Not getting enough attention tended to do that to her. When darkness started to creep into the sky and their landscape once again started to change, this time turning into a lush - compared to the wasteland they left behind, anyway - scene filled with trees, green grass and thick undergrowth. Farmland appeared, and in the distance Blithe saw the twinkling lights of a tiny town.

Whether Gerrick wanted to or not, she was going to go find herself a bed for the night. Her body - not to mention her poor abused ass - ached from the rough night spent on the rocky ground.

Try not to scare them too much, she sighed when Tine swooped in for a landing.

Orhmur was certainly hard to miss, and the townsfolk definitely hadn't. They were now in the grey border area between Palmedan and Fafneria, that which technically belonged to Palmedan but could be Fafneria's at the slightest whim. There weren't even any outposts or forts or garrisons out this way, not that they would've helped if even one dragon such as Orhmur wanted to attack. As it stood, this defenseless little place very well could've been conquered by Gerrick himself. Of course Orhmur wanted to burn it to the ground, for being so weak.

I hate this place. The red dragon said bitterly, as she said about every place. The humans aren't even fattened up. Skin and bone.

I know, it's terrible. Gerrick agreed off-handedly, still distracted from the business that morning. If Blithe had a bond with him, she'd be pleased to know that her wish had come true, he was thinking about everything she'd said for the entire day. I'll let you eat the next village, promise.

You always say that.

The children of the town had come out to gawk at the giant crimson dragon sitting there outside. For her part, Orhmur looked menacing and occasionally puffed out a snort of flame and smoke. That was what she did when she was showing off, whether she admitted it or not. Gerrick knew precisely how much she enjoyed being feared, even if it was by children. But, hey, whatever, at that moment the human climbing down from her neck was far too tired to care. As long as she didn't burn anybody alive or start a forest fire, she was free to do whatever pleased her. Unfortunately, those were the two things that pleased her the most.

"Whatever." He spoke to himself, grumbling, as he look to the sky and spotted the purple dragon. "I'm going to find myself a bed for the night, whether she wants to or not..."

Tine came down just a little behind Orhmur. Blithe slid down her smooth flank and gave it a brief pat. I'll give you a good oiling tomorrow, she said. Go find a nice big field to sleep in, would you?

You just want to get rid of me so you can have your boyfriend all to yourself, Tine harrumphed. She nuzzled at her rider's waist like a dog begging for a scratch behind the ear. Blithe obliged by rubbing all along her horns.

And you're unhappy about that?

Of course not, Tine snorted, her eyes closed in bliss. Just stating a fact. Whatever. Have fun, I guess.

Thought so. Night, you.

They parted ways and Blithe went off carrying some supplies for the night. She walked right past Gerrick without giving him so much as a glance, although she did stiffen her posture somewhat and adopted a smug look on her face. So he'd had much the same idea as her. Interesting. Looking around at the minuscule town - if it could even be called that - she somehow doubted it had more than one inn.

She asked the nearest peasant about accommodation, and he fearfully confirmed her suspicion. Seemed it was a one horse town, the horse being the Brown Stallion Inn, situated on their main - and only - road. The onlookers parted in front of her as she set off towards and and set about buying herself a room for the night.

Only to find out that there was only one left - a double. Ha. It couldn't have gone better if she planned it.

She waited at the bar for Gerrick with a key in hand and sipped on a drink. She couldn't wait to see his reaction at the news.

With Orhmur left to curl up outside the city gates, since she relished the idea of striking fear into the hearts of townsfolk far too much to walk out of sight, Gerrick followed after Blithe. He was only a little bit fuming at how she'd simply walked right past him. Was she really still sore about the whole spanking thing? Hah, sore... get it? It was so very tempting to give her a pinch on that sore ass of hers. Maybe it'd make him at least get a bit more than a smug look the next time she passed him by. Yeah. So her last whisper had gotten him, but she still needed to remember how he'd been on top for a while there.

Unnecessarily, he went out and had to learn the exact same knowledge that Blithe did mere minutes before him. These small towns like this were so tedious, in his opinion, but a clean bed made up for any hassle. When they were out on the usual patrolling missions, Gerrick normally slept on Orhmur's back... it kept him warm, safe, and those were the only two things that mattered. Many red dragonknights did the same. It was a sort of wartime ability, which was no longer needed but still cherished by the warlike reds so that they might hold on to some shred of... well, usefulness. They could fly at a moment's notice no matter where the battlefield was.

"WHAT!" He shouted loud enough to make the entire inn rattle. The patrons all ducked down into their own shirts like their necks were retractable. "A DOUBLE ROOM! You son of a bitch!"

Grabbing the innkeeper, who was an elderly man, by the front of the shirt, Gerrick cocked an arm back and sneered like a wild animal... the fist wavered there ready to pound the old man's face into a pulp. But, instead, it lowered. The dragonknight let out a breath as he set the innkeeper back on the ground and then smoothed down his cheap tunic. Taking a few more steady breaths, he composed himself. That was almost really bad there, who knows where that might've ended if he'd snapped?

He turned around to find Blithe standing there with the key. Of course he did. "Of course I would." Of course he... ah, right. Well. Looking up the staircase and then back down to her, he held out one arm and plastered on a fake smile. "Lady's first, I guess."

"Indeed," Blithe stepped forward with a cocky, self-satisfied grin on her face and took Gerrick's proffered arm. It was the smile a cat would have if it had just been given an entire bowl full of warmed milk - or perhaps more accurately, the smile of a crocodile which knew the buffalo eventually had to come to the water's edge to drink.

There wasn't any need for talking, really. She simply strolled upwards with the red knight, gently steering him in the right direction until they eventually arrived at their double room. She opened it with her key and peeked inside. It was tiny, of course. And primitive. Two single beds took up most of the floor-space, with a tiny table squeezed in between them. It would be a cramped night, whichever way it went.

Blithe dropped her bag on the bed to the left and rummaged inside for a moment. Eventually she found some items of clothing which she bundled up under an arm and then turned to leave again. "You don't mind if I take the left side, do you?" she asked politely, still wearing the same arrogant smile. She felt extremely relaxed. Perhaps because she knew she wouldn't need to try and conquer him any more - not after her final and most daring trick.

"I shall just go freshen up a little," she continued and wandered out of the room to find the bath she'd ordered moments ago downstairs. "I'll try not to wake you if you're asleep before I return."

With a lame expression of malcontent, aided somewhat by Orhmur still sneering at kids that were surely up past their bedtime, the dragonknight walked up to the room with Blithe. The universe was surely pitting against him and his quest, there was no other explanation for it. Even though Gerrick didn't actually believe in the stories of the Great Half-Dragon Man In The Heavens, he did think there was something supernatural about the way the world conspired against him. Either that or Blithe had somehow arranged this entire thing in some master plan. If the latter theory was true, he really had to give it to her. Well, not 'give' 'it' to 'her', necessarily, but...

"You really don't need to smile like that. Honestly." He told her when she claimed the left bed. Growling, he undid his swordbelt and tossed it on the right-hand bed. "It's making me want to break something."

Seriously, if that table between them survived the night then it should count it's lucky splinters. A blind ape could tell that something was going to happen tonight. Whether by chance or design, Blithe couldn't let this opportunity go to waste. She had her enemy up against a wall, surrounded, and outnumbered. Every tactical advantage in the whole damn book, a book which Gerrick had set on fire, was hers. At the very least, this was a learning experience for future battles. But, no matter what happened tonight... he wouldn't surrender. That was in that big book too.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever..." He muttered and flapped his hand at her when she left, unpacking his things and taking off his armor with something like resignation. The armor wouldn't save him tonight. With all of his things placed to the side of the bed(and his sword menacingly propped up against it), Gerrick climbed in and stared at the ceiling. What was the name of this town, anyway? He'd have to let Orhmur burn it down someday.

Thinking thoughts of vengeance, the red dragonknight struggled to stay awake. He lost that fight, too.

Despite what she'd said before leaving for her bath, Blithe didn't put a great deal of effort into being quiet when she returned almost an hour later. Carrying her dirty clothing and a candle, dressed in a soft, rather modest nightgown, she entered the room with a bang. She also let the door slam closed behind her. A short pause, then she whispered with no hint of regret; "Oops."

Carefully she placed the candle down on the tiny bedside table and put her clothes away. She nearly stubbed her toe on Gerrick's sword, which was a shame, so she tried again. This time her foot 'accidentally' clipped it, and with a great big clatter it hit the ground. "Oops," she repeated, this time with a snicker.

She slid into her bed with a loud sigh of pleasure as her tired body was finally allowed some rest. The bed wasn't as fluffy as she would have liked, but it was certainly better than sleeping on the ground. With a puff of breath she extinguished the candle, allowing complete darkness to settle over them. It was only a few moments later when Blithe's eyes adjusted somewhat to the lack of illumination that she saw a sliver light seeping in from under the crack of the door. It was just enough for her to make out the lump that was Gerrick on the bed next to her.

"Sweet dreams," she said softly and allowed herself to fall back onto her pillows.

It was morning.

Awaking to the light of day, not just morning but day, was a slight shock to the red dragonknight Gerrick. The far larger shock was finding Blithe laying next to him in his tiny bed, wrapped about him like, one might say, a very friendly octopus. Oh, and she was naked. For that matter, so was he. It all came flooding back to him about then, in a dreamlike haze that he still didn't quite believe. Had they really done all of that last night? She'd broken him, hadn't she? The contest was over. One point to Blithe and zero to Gerrick. Somehow that didn't upset him whatsoever.

He looked over at her face, sleeping so peaceful nestled under his own head. Then he rearranged his hand on her breast and marveled at how well it fit to his hand. Had he made a bad joke about these once? What a fool he'd been, apparently, even if it had been made in panic to 'get even'. Every bad thing he'd ever said or thought about Blithe made him feel quite rotten now. What was this sudden shift in his mind? Like a purging of all inconsiderate thoughts, where she was concerned? What had changed last night?

Oh. You're awake. Wonderful. Orhmur sounded extra-grumpy this afternoon, and he couldn't really blame her. They were far past time to have left this little town. Gerrick no longer had any desire to burn it to the ground, though.

Right, yeah, sorry. He replied groggily, even in his own mind. Had a long night.

You disgust me.

As much as he wanted to lay here all night, he was suddenly very conscious of the need to move... and also the fact he didn't have any pants on. Last night had been dark. Even though Blithe had seen all of him, she hadn't seen it in broad daylight. That was one border he wasn't quite ready for. Very very slowly, like a kitten trying to pretend it's an invisible stalker, he removed his hand from her chest and set about the careful art of removing a beautiful woman's limbs from around you. Not something a man should be proud of mastering. After a great deal of effort, Gerrick managed to slip out of the bed and get his clothes on.

Silently buckling his sword belt and carrying his shoes for maximum sneakiness, he turned and looked to Blithe in the bed. "Sweet dreams, beautiful." This was whispered, of course, and then he tiptoed out of the room. It was shameful in every manner and he felt awful about it, but he wasn't sure why.