“Um…”
Kaiya looked up from Mabonth’s oiling to see a young, nervous-looking Weyrbrat, holding a stack of sealed envelopes.
“Yes?” Kaiya answered, smiling.
“Are you… um… blue rider T’gala?” the Weyrbrat asked hopefully.
Kaiya shook her head. “Nope!”
The Weyrbrat’s face fell. “Oh… okay. Then are you…” She flipped to the next envelope in the stack. “... Blue rider Kaiya?”
Kaiya sighed. “I'm Kaiya, but Mabonth isn't blue. She's green.”
The Weyrbrat looked confused as she glanced at Mabonth, then at Kaiya, then back to Mabonth. “Um… well…” she murmured, sounding slightly panicked.
Kaiya sighed again and held out her hand. “I’ll take the letter. Don't worry about it!”
The Weyrbrat brightened and handed over the letter, then skipped away.
Kaiya stared at the letter, feeling a slight sense of foreboding. She opened it, and reading through it, she scowled.
“Ugh!”
Is it another preposition? Mabonth asked, her eyes whirling with amusement.
“It's a proposition,” Kaiya answered tightly, “and yes, it is.” She gave Mabonth a resigned look. “You're very popular with the male green riders.”
Because I'm ‘blue’?
Kaiya sighed again. She set the letter aside and resumed her oiling.
“I wonder if this is how T’gala feels all the time,” she muttered. There was also a letter for T’gala in that stack, after all.
Heppeth loves the attention, Mabonth said.
“You better not be talking to him right now,” Kaiya shot back.
Mabonth gave the draconic equivalent of a smirk. His rider just had the same reaction as you!
“Oh, shells!”
There was silence as Kaiya continued to oil Mabonth, then Mabonth spoke up again.
Heppeth says his rider has a mate, so that's why the prepositions upset her.
Kaiya chuckled at Mabonth’s mistake. “And?”
Well, you don't have a mate, so why are you upset? I would love all the attention!
“Because I'm not interested,” Kaiya said sharply.
But I thought you liked boys! Mabonth said petulantly.
“Wait, what- how did we end up talking about this?” Kaiya stammered, her face red.
You can't stop thinking about it, Mabonth replied. You're broadcasting it a mile wide!
“Oh yeah?” Kaiya shot back. She smirked, then suddenly rubbed her oil rag across Mabonth's most ticklish spots.
Mabonth let out a sharp bugle and a load of mental giggles. No fair, she said through her laughter.
“All’s fair in love and war!” Kaiya sang out.