why cant two girls be friends without it being gay or lesbo

[who_is_she]

Skur was really starting to enjoy her time on Andi's ship, though she was still recovering from her injuries and not back to her usual self. After only a few days in the medic tent she'd become antsy, and she'd eventually pestered Traenan into releasing her into Andi's custody, who had continued her visits and become a close friend of Skur's. Traenan had arranged for her to have a levitating chair, so she wouldn't be stuck in her quarters and could help around the ship with small, menial tasks. Skur wasn't happy about it, but it was better than bedrest, and she had to admit that her legs and arms weren't back to their usual strength, though all her surface injuries had healed.

She'd become comfortable here, on this ship and with Andi's crew. Andi herself was a delight, though still baffling at times. Skur had made her interest obvious, or so she thought, and still Andi responded with friendship in her words, but then she would touch Skur gently on her arm or back or leg, touches that lingered a little too long to be purely casual. It was confusing, and Skur had just about given up on ever bedding Andi, though she had quickly become a delightful and valued friend. Skur had never easily made close friends, and part of her didn't want to jeopardize that friendship with a night of passion. But then on the other hand, Andi was so fucking cute and Skur was driven to distraction thinking about what the night of passion might be like.

Skur was enjoying herself with the crew, relaxing after a tough day with some alcohol, some of Skur's favorite ale. At the urging of the others she upended her skein, swallowing down every last drop of ale and then slamming down the cup, belching loudly and breaking into loud, uproarious laughter that was echoed (to a lesser degree) by the others.

"More!" she cried, holding up her skein as if expecting someone to fill it for her.

Comments

[gayniac5]

"You've had quite enough," Andi says, giggling quietly in spite of her horror as she pries the flask out of Skur's hand, "You're injured, Skur, and if you get drunk enough there's no telling what you'll get yourself into, and I won't be able to do a thing about it. We shouldn't be encouraging this, anyway --" she gives the others a meaningful look, not quite a glare but almost, as she lowers Skur's arm back down onto the table, "-- not even under normal circumstances."

The others take this as their queue to disperse, with Vorgga grumbling about it significantly louder than the others.

"Honestly, Skur, where are your manners?" she scolds, "What with the belching and shouting and slamming your fists on the table. It isn't ladylike at all! You're acting like -- like a ruffian, behavior like that will drive away any decent gentleman who looks your way, and it's such a shame for a beautiful girl like you to -- oh for goodness sake, you aren't even wearing any pants!"

She covers her mouth and takes a step back at the realization that Skur was in her underwear, then pointedly looks away, but can't help but glance back again for a moment, noting that her thighs were thick and her calves were very well-defined before pushing the thought to the back of her mind as fast as she could.

"This is ridiculous, Skur!" she huffs, pulling the cloth from the table and throwing it over Skur's lap before shielding her eyes with one hand, "Go...make yourself decent and then...come back here. I'm going to give you a sorely needed lesson in proper etiquette."

[who_is_she]

Honestly, Skur doesn't pay much attention to Andi's fretting, more concerned with the removal of her alcohol. She struggles for a moment to get the flask back, then looks down when Andi exclaims about her pants. They'd been too hot so she'd tossed them away, but caring about her own nudity.

"Don't need a gentleman anyway," Skur mumbles, getting up and leaving anyways, leaving the tablecloth behind and giving the whole room a nice view of her muscled ass as she left the room. She pulled on a pair of tight shorts in her room, something light and cool, then she strips off the jacket she'd been wearing, revealing a tight-fitting shirt that exposed her abs and cleavage.

She returned to Andi, smiling easily, not really drunk but not quite sober, either.

"So what's this about etiquette?" She says, turning a chair around to sit in it backwards, her thighs spread wide, "I'm plenty polite."

[gayniac5]

Andi's face burns hot, and she gapes at Skur incredulously before turning her face away.

"That's not decent, Skur!" she exclaims, her face now beet red, "You're wearing even less than you were before!"

She stands up, walking briskly past Skur and making a point to keep her distance as she does.

"Come with me. We're going to look through your wardrobe."

She heads to the quarters where Skur has been staying, and bends over the chest holding Skur's belongings to rifle through it. She finds several shirts and vests, none of which cover an appropriate amount of skin, and tosses them aside.

"Honestly, you need to think about the message you're sending!" she says, echoing almost word for word what her noble father had taught her, "What with your...breasts, so...exposed. What kind of men is an outfit like this going to attract to you, do you think?" She holds up a scandalously low-necked shirt and huffs.

"Not the kind you want, nor the kind you deserve," she says before Skur can get a word in edgewise, "Here, this is much better, though it isn't much to look at."

She pulls out a long brown coat and a pair of pants, and tosses them to Skur.

"This is much more appropriate," she says with a nod, still pointedly averting her eyes from Skur's body.

[who_is_she]

Skur watches Andi blankly, raising an eyebrow when Andi throws more clothes at her.

"I don't care what men think of my body," she says slowly, confused about what Andi is trying to tell her, "It's my body, not theirs, and I like this." She gestures to her body, setting the thick leather clothes aside, "And besides," she goes on, her tone lighter, "I grew up in the Shiverpeaks. This is the desert. I'll bake in those clothes."

[gayniac5]

"But -- you're practically flashing everyone in the room!" Andi protests, "At least put the shirt on. Even if you think you don't care what men think of you, you'll leave everyone with a better impression of you if you dress a bit more modestly, and if a man you like does come along, you're going to wish you had taken my advice! Now please, just, put it on."

[who_is_she]

Skur's expression turns from light to a frown, something about Andi's insistence not sitting right with her. She'd always assumed Andi's prudish nature was a human thing she didn't understand, but she got the feeling that this was deeper than that.

"I don't care what people think of me. If anyone judges me so harshly based on my clothes, that isn't someone I would consider a romantic entanglement with anyways." She crosses her arms over her chest, communicating her refusal succinctly.

"And I cannot imagine myself regretting not snaring a man. I've already had more than my share of proposals from one and I have not been tempted by one of them."

[gayniac5]

"Well you can't -- just give up on finding one just because you haven't met one you like yet!" Andi flusters, huffing quietly, "I-I mean, look at me! I haven't met a man I like yet, but that doesn't mean I'm going to stop presenting myself well, and that certainly doesn't mean there isn't one out there who is...suitable for me. Just because the idea doesn't appeal to me now doesn't mean I should give up, and you shouldn't either. You really are a beautiful girl, Skur, you just need to find the right man!"

[who_is_she]

Skur's expression turns to baffled disbelief, nothing in Andi's argument making the tiniest bit of sense to her. It seemed to Skur that if the idea of marriage to man was unappealing, you should look at other options, but she managed to reign herself in before she voiced that opinion, unsure how Andi would react to that.

"Andi..." she says instead, shaking her head a little and sighing, knowing she'd going to have to spell it out for Andi, "It's not a matter of finding the right one. I don't want to find the right man, or any man, because I prefer to spend my time with women. In a... romantic way. I have no interest in men romantically," she says bluntly, frowning slightly.

[gayniac5]

Andi's mouth hangs open, and she feels her stomach do a flip inside her. Her whole life, she'd never met any woman who openly admitted her attraction to other women.

"You...can't be," she fumbles, half-laughing in disbelief, "You're --"

A good person, she thinks to herself, you have good values and morals, you're kind, you're brave, you put other people before yourself. You don't fit the lecherous, self-serving, amoral profile I've constructed in my mind for women who acted upon these urges, rather than suppressing them.

She doesn't realize until it's too late that she's been gaping as these thoughts race through her mind, and she closes her mouth so quickly that her teeth clack together.

"I'm..." she says, her eyes wide as she stares at her, blushing furiously.

"I'm...so sorry," she says, "Please...forgive me, I've been...thoughtless, it's just -- there's a lot -- I...I should go. I'm so sorry."

She turns and rushes out of the room, with none of her usual grace, and for reasons she doesn't quite understand she finds hot tears blurring her vision and spilling down her cheeks as she rounds the corner to her own quarters and shuts the door.

[who_is_she]

"Andi, wait!" Skur calls after her, but by the time she makes it to the door Andi's gone. She stares after her, confused and alarmed by her reaction, and trying to figure out if she really had seen tears welling in Andi's eyes just before she left. Skur has no idea what to make of Andi's reaction, her denial and her shocked gaping. Skur had always thought she was open with her sexuality, and most people knew her preferences, and she had nothing to go on regarding an explanation for this. She was upset as well, because it almost seemed like Andi didn't approve of her lifestyle, and Skur had become inordinately attached to Andi's approval.

She'd left the ship, feeling out of place and upset, and gone to see Traenan and Bjorn instead, who had almost instantly known something was wrong. She'd explained what had happened, and instead of confusion understanding lit up on Traenan's face. He'd gently explained the hierarchy in human society, and how some of the higher-up rich families placed great importance on pairing up men and women, in order to produce an heir for the family. Some families took this to the extreme, shaming anyone who pursued romance outside of this man-and-woman pairing, and instilling this shame and fear in their children.

The explanation fit with Andi's actions, and explained quite a bit about her mannerisms that had always seemed baffling to Skur. Skur's heart hurt for Andi, for the freedom that she lacked, and as she headed back to Andi's ship she decided to give her whatever space she desired, and approach her with a gentler hand. Even if Skur disagreed with the human principles, it wasn't her place to decide what was right for Andi, and whatever that was, Andi seemed to be struggling with it, and more than anything else Skur wanted to help her, maybe give her an outlet she hadn't ever had before. That feeling trumped whatever attraction she'd been feeling, Andi's delicate feelings mattered more, now.