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Can We Say 'Role Reversal'?


Date:  August 30, 2003
Place:  Telgar Weyr Workroom
Game:  PernMUSH
Copyright Info:  The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey 
l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright.

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Kassi's Note:  Now, this was entertaining. ;)  Yselle's concerns 
about flights are soon to come to an end, because her Dianneth is 
finally glowing--and proddiness has brought a change to her way of
thinking that Kassi finds as hilarious as T'van finds it disturbing.
Then again, maybe it's more T'van's reaction to Yselle's new behavior 
that inspires her mirth. ;)

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The Log:

Yselle comes into the workroom from the bowl.

Kassima has appropriated the hearthside seat of the Work Room again, but
not to work on either reports or strap-mending for a change; no, instead
she's oiling fire-lizards. This is doubtless going to thrill whoever has
the task of cleaning up this room every day. Fresh-oiled 'lizards are
lounging on their backs and bellies all over the table, soaking in the heat
with the occasional sleepy, contented chirrup of comment; a handful still
wait their turns, while a blue's obediantly spreading a wing so that Kassi
can rub oil into the sails. The task seems to have all her attention, and
she sings softly under her breath as she tends to it.


Yselle:
	Scrawny, and rather sallow-looking, this girl will at best be 
described as having 'a good personality'. Nature has been particularly 
cruel to her. There's that skin of hers, dotted with a a multitude of red 
spots -- the reminants of a particularly nasty case of acne, as evidenced 
by the heavy scarring from healed lesions. Her eyebrows, dark and thick, 
seem at least to have been the subject of /some/ training -- on the odd 
occasion, tiny red dots underneath them attest to her efforts at grooming, 
as does her upper lip. A rather large mole sits just in front of her left 
ear, a bulgy thing that could never be described as a beauty mark. The one 
real beauty is her eyes, liquid brown and large, framed with thick lashes, 
readily crinkling into a smile. In seeming defiance of all this ugliness, 
her hair has been cut very stylishly: cropped at about chin-level, it hangs 
in straight, blunt-ended lines, which always seem to fall neatly back into
place. Her body is bony, almost boyish in shape, and her joints knobbly.
She appears to be about 20 turns of age.
	Soft, silky sisal slides over Yselle's form, the vibrant scarlet 
fabric hugging and emphasizing all her curves. The dress is rather skimpy: 
narrow straps over her shoulders lead into a neckline which plunges low at 
both the front and back, and the skirt ends rather high on her thigh. A 
long fringe of fabric overlays the skirt, its knee-length imparting some
semblance of modesty; but it sways and separates easily as she moves,
allowing frequent, tantalizing glimpses of skin. Another fringe hangs in a
v-shape below her breasts, and as this is also in near-constant movement,
no doubt it draws attention there as well. Dainty slippers, covered in
matching fabric, complete the ensemble. Her knot indicates her rank as
wingrider in the Telgar Weyr colours of black and white, entwined with a
kelly green thread for her lifemate.


"In here right now!" T'van's voice can be heard just outside the workroom,
and for once he sounds aggrieved and really upset. Yselle enters with the
suddenness of someone who's been pushed with him right behind her, blocking
the exit. She's wearing a long black coat out from under which red slippers
and red fringes peek. She's also wearing a rather baffled smile. "But Tel,
he was just being friendly. He was /so/ gorgeous..." T'van's teeth grind.
"You'll thank me later," he mutters through gritted teeth.

Kassima looks over her shoulder at the sound of voices, hands temporarily
stilling on Korreo's wing. The blue chirps an indignant protest. "Do you
think we should be hiding?" the greenrider turns to murmur to the 'lizard,
wry. "I can't tell whether this has 'trouble' or 'potential entertainment'
written all over it. And I suppose all of you are slightly conspicuous."
Korreo plainly doesn't care. He nudges at Kassi's fingers. Get back to the
*important* stuff, woman!

"Hey Kass!" Yselle grins brightly at the other greenrider, and surveys the
lay of the room. "Wow, are all of these yours?" T'van is /glowering/. "Oh
don't be such a wher-head," she tells him. "Come here. I'll make it all
better." She waggles her fingers at him enticingly. He rolls his eyes. "The
sooner she goes up..." he mutters under his breath, firmly putting space
between them. "Go talk to Kassima."

"Mmm-hmm. T'my occasional regret and chagrin--" Kassi can't have been too
concerned about hiding, since she answers amiably enough rather than
yelping and diving under the table for cover. "Sometimes methinks they
reproduce themselves when I'm nay looking. Wait a moment, wait a moment...
do mine eyes and ears deceive me? Did you just *proposition T'van*, Yselle,
and T'van, did you just *turn her down*? Bright stars in dark skies.
Mayhaps I'm nay really having this conversation. Mayhaps I fell asleep
while oiling the 'lizards and I'm now having a most odd dream."

Yselle pouts at T'van, a cute little-girl pout. "You're no fun at all,
Tel," she says. "He's rather cute though, don't you think Kass?" she
appraises him in a /very/ interested fashion. "You should see him when he's
not wearing anything. /Very/ nice." T'van /glares/ at Kassima. "Just me and
every other malerider in this sharding weyr. If you weren't on green she'd
be after /you/."

The look Kassi gives T'van is more amused than genuinely appraising. "I
*suppose* I can understand why some would be thinking so... but if'n 'tis
all the same t'you both, I'll forego witnessing him clothesless. The list
of men I'm inclined to admire thus is very short. Ah, like that, is it?
Could be worse, T'van. Even being a greenrider hasn't stopped *some* of
them. At least this way, even though you must suffer--if'n suffer's what
you'd call it--I can be enjoying the show. D'you tell people about what he
looks like naked often, Ys?"

Yselle seems to be the only person unaware of what's wrong with this
picture. "Yes, Tel, let's see it," she says. "Come on," her voice drops to
wheedling. "Then I won't have to /tell/ you Kass, you can see for
yourself." Her look to the bluerider could be described as nothing but
predatory. He glares and says "I'm not doing it, Ys." She rolls her eyes
and says "Well not /often/, I suppose Kass, see," she plops herself down
nearby, smiling at the assembled firelizards and continues "It just
occurred to me how cute he /is/, which I hadn't really taken a /lot/ of
notice of before. How could I have missed it?" she gazes up at him
adoringly. His face takes on a slightly sickly hue.

Kassima holds up her oiled hands quickly. Poor Korreo at this point is
rustling his wings in agitation at his abandonment. "Nay, nay, I said I
*don't* want t'be seeing! And there's nay need t'describe, either! Really.
Truly. *Pierron's* the one you should be telling. Then he can make sure
everyone in the Weyr knows." She's so cheerful about this suggestion. "But
don't worry, T'van. There's certes nay need t'strip *here*. I promise you.
I'm, ah, nay certain how you missed it, Ys... what I find odd is how all of
a sudden he seems so *shy*. Why, he's certes seemed inclined enough t'keep
company with you a'fore!" She loads all sorts of innocent bewilderment into
that statement. Clearly, she's in one of her more wickedly mischievous moods.

"You can show me later, Tel," Yselle winks at the bluerider. "Hey, I've got
an idea, why don't you come up to my weyr and show me?" Poor T'van looks
harried. "Faranth, her dragon is glowing," he tells Kassima. He doesn't
move from his post at the door. "Seen that dress she's got on?" he looks
/livid/. "I had to /pry/ her off F'gar." Yselle's response to this is to
gaze at him under her lashes and say "F'gar looks /wonderful/. He was going
to show me his carvings. I wanted to see them too, you're so /mean/ Tel."

"I thought it might be a better idea nay t'look too closely," Kassi drawls,
finally reaching back for her poor beleaguered 'lizard and coaxing him onto
her left hand so that she can finish the oiling with her right. "Lest she
turn out like Aladis or Alessandra after all and start getting ideas. I
guessed about the proddiness, though. So which of these is true: are you
trying t'be a good friend and just nay take advantage of her when she's nay
entirely herself, or are you scared of aggressive women?" At least her
teasing's light, and lighthearted, with a certain sympathy beneath it.
"Show you his... carvings? *That's* a new phrase for it. It does make one
wonder what he's been carving."

T'van positions himself in front of the door. "Don't be ridiculous Kass,"
he grumbles. "I'm not scared of anyone. I just don't think she'll feel the
same way about when Dianneth stops glowing." He folds his arms, in high
sulk, glaring at the topic of conversation who is once again brightening
"Hey, yes, you haven't seen my dress, have you Kass? I have to wear this
coat over it because it's so /cold/ outside. I would have shown F'gan when
I went to see his carvings, but Tel dragged me away." She stands up again,
unbuttoning the coat. "Everyone likes it," she tells her. "Well except for
Tel. He's being awful about it." "It's sharding disgusting," Tel mutters
under his breath.

Kassima has to admit, "That certainly seems likely. 'Tis an interesting
form that it's taken--I hope she doesn't do aught she regrets later."
There's definitely sympathy there, and in the glance she flicks towards the
greenrider in question out of the corner of her eye. "Ah, nay, Ys, I
haven't. I take it 'tis rather something? You'll have t'forgive me if'n I
don't like it in quite the same *way* that I'm guessing F'gan did.
*Disgusting*? Wait; tell me this doesn't have, err, transparency in
unfortunate places or aught?"

Instead of telling, Yselle /shows/ the befringed dress, unbuttoning the
jacket ever-so-slowly, and allowing it to slide to the floor. She grins
right /at/ T'van and puts her foot up on the chair, allowing the fringes to
part around, and reveal most of her thigh. "Isn't it /great/? F'gan said
he'd heard /all/ about it, and he /wanted/ to see. Tel, you really are
/mean/." T'van's trying very hard /not/ to look. "Shards I don't /know/
what she's done," he mutters. "I know what she was about to do."

True to her word, Kassi doesn't look quite as appreciative as a man
probably would. If anything, she seems a combination of disturbed and
amused. "The material of it's very fine," she settles upon as a tactful
sort of comment. "How odd that T'van doesn't like it. Has F'gan been the
only one t'be appreciating your new mode of dress, Ys?"

"He didn't see it," Yselle replies. "He was /going/ to though until..." she
/glares/ at T'van, who glares right back, catches a glimpse of all that
skin and fixes his eyes on Kassima. "Until Tel dragged me away. I bet he'd
still like to see it." "I bet," T'van mutters. "No way, no how Ys."

Despite the fun she was having teasing T'van, Kassi must side with him on
this one: "He might well, Ys, but 'tis likely as well he didn't. Would you
really be pleased later if'n you'd found yourself waking up with him?"

"Well that depends," Yselle turns with a flourish, the skirt riding up, and
says "on if he were any fun. Tel here isn't any fun at all." She plops down
on a chair again, allowing the fringes to settle around her.

"'Tis probably fair t'say," Kassima suggests, eyes automatically flicking
away from the skirt as it rises, "that if'n you've never thought of bedding
him a'fore this, there's probably a reason why. But you shouldn't malign
poor Tel, saying he isn't any fun. After all, if'n he isn't, why did you
want him t'be stripping?" Good behavior only goes so far.

"I didn't notice how cute he was before," Yselle points out, drawing on the
table with her finger, getting some oil on them. "Well he /didn't/ strip
did he?" T'van looks a little aggrieved. "IF once she stops glowing you
want me to strip, I will," he mutters, teeth grinding. "Until then, no." He
glances up at Kassima with gratitude. "Faranth," he mutters. "Her rising
couldn't be worse than this."

Kassima manages not to laugh outright, but there's definitely laughter in
her voice all the same as she quips to T'van, "And I'm sure we're all aware
that once Dianneth *does* stop glowing, you'll never, ever let Ys forget
she asked you t'strip, whether she wants you to then or nay. 'Twouldn't be
so sure about the nay being worse part, though. Proddiness can *always* get
worse." Isn't she just a bright little ray of sunshine? "But you heard what
he said, Ys? You should hold him t'that if'n you still think he's cute
later. The promise t'strip when Dianneth's risen, I mean."

"You're no help," T'van mutters grumpily. Meanwhile, Yselle cups her face
in her hands, elbows on the table, trains her eyes on the bluerider and
blows him a little kiss. She says "Ooooor you could just do it /now/. C'mon
Tel, remember all those times you tried to kiss me? I bet he's got heaps
better since I last kissed him Kass, you should see all the practice he's
got! You could kiss me if you don't want to strip."

Kassima is all serenity as she points out, "I'm a greenrider, T'van. Being
helpful t'maleriders isn't usually a part of m'job description. Methinks I
could live without *seeing* all the practice he's got, Ys, but I still
won't take that bet--well, assuming he's even up t'kissing you. Mayhaps you
intimidate him."

"She doesn't," T'van interjects rudely. "I'm just not like /some/
brownriders," most likely the oft-referred-to F'gan "who have to wait until
a girl or a guy isn't in their own mind and take advantage of it. If Ys
kisses me I don't want her regretting it." So there. Yselle rolls her eyes
and busies herself with playing with her slippers. "Boring," she says. "You
have a lot of firelizards, Kass. What are their names?" she steals a few
speculative glances at T'van.

Kassima again abandons her needling long enough to flash a wry grin T'van's
way. "You're a good friend, then; and with more reservations than I'd have
thought. All credit t'you there. Do try and remember this later, Ys--he
might actually deserve a kiss for good behavior." Right, like that's
probably much of a consideration for her now. "Names? Well, this testy
one's Korreo--there's Kyril, and Rhiannon; Darvan, Koreyn, and Kevazyr;
Kitrine, Kimrel, Vanyel, Kismet," she rattles off, indicating each
fire-lizard with a nod in their direction. "Zabreneva and Kazander,
Kayedris, Inquil, Mesmer, Kirilan, Kirkarik, Zhailene, Komet, Kifrit,
Kayvist, Quixote, Khazarai, Kiryne, Kinte, Killarny, Kasylum, Kamasut,
Kriston... that second bronze there isn't actually mine; he's Kisai's
Random, mooching an oiling off of me."

Yselle assumes a haughty expression, somehow maintaining it whilst flashing
a good deal of thigh in T'van's direction. "He doesn't deserve a kiss at
all," she says, pouting. Still, her eyes widen at the names. "How many
firelizards do you /have/?" T'van even lightens up to ask "Hey if you get
any eggs can I have one?"

"You might change your mind later," Kassi murmurs. "At least on that point.
But then again, mayhaps nay. Tell you what, T'van--if'n you keep her out of
trouble, and she won't kiss you for it, I might, if'n only on the cheek.
Poor consolation prize though I'm sure that is." She sounds amused by the
entire subject. "Twenty and nine's the current tally, I believe. What,
T'van, you don't have any? I suppose you could, though Kim and Ky have made
me promise them first dibs--don't hold your breath, though. The greens
always hide theirs, and even Zabre's been more prone t'laying them on some
beach somewhere than nay. Oh, shells, but I've gotten distracted--I need
t'get out of here, meet up with V'dan. If'n 'twill excuse?"

[Editor's Note:  I had to run here, so the log ends. :) ]