Swim or Sleep; A Clash of Wills [OPEN]

[Avu]

“Good.” The young Bronzer lost interest in the subject of laughing versus giggling abruptly, almost startlingly so. His gaze flashed briefly over the landscape, thoughtfully judging how far away from the Weyr they were and whether or not they could walk if Corinth, for some reason, as he was apt to randomly do, refused to fly them. Probably so; they hadn’t gone that far…or at least, not that he knew of. T’rid rubbed the bronze hide affectionately, eliciting a pleased rumble. She is thoughtful, the bronze commented, and T’rid glanced up at Liassa, who indeed had a very thoughtful expression on her face. He grinned broadly; did it really take that much thought? Stop giggling; laugh instead. Four simple words even a deadglow would understand.

At her condescending tone that reminded T’rid of his own at times (although he wasn’t quite sure if he liked or disliked the connection), the Bronzerider grinned even wider. “And if the Lady is pushed in the river, what would the Lady do?” he teased, shaking his head and sending droplets of water cascading to the ground. “Well, at least my way I don’t have to look like I’m a girl,” he replied dryly. “Besides, how the Shards’re you going to fit a riding helmet over that? It’d be Scorching uncomfortable.” Or at least, he thought it would be…“Besides, at least I get a moment of unhindered view, right?”

Corinth turned a calmly indignant look on Liassa at her comment about her dragon. Please report that what that green could do to my pride is not a joking matter, he said irritably to T’rid, who had given a snort of laughter at the mental image. Said image was one of a huge bronze squealing as he lashed his tail around, which had a small green Weyrling attached to it, squeaking at him through her teeth clenched around his tail. Said image made Corinth huff even more irately. Lighten up, love. I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you. T’rid turned to Liassa anyway, reporting solemnly, “Corinth asks me to tell you that what your green could do to him is not a joking matter. How would you feel if your actions and uncontrolled emotions lost one of the Weyr’s best riders?”

Then he rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I need help getting onto my own dragon,” he said sarcastically, and Corinth, obediently, offered a foreleg. Well, this time Liassa could sit back and Shards to her if she complained. T’rid vaulted from foreleg to back and shifted into a more secure position, beckoning to her. “Come on, Lady, or does her Ladyship require help getting onto the big, scary bronze dragon?”

[ryanne]

Lia rolled her eyes at his suggestion of the river again. "I think you just like seeing me wet," she commented without thinking before blushing bright red and looking away. Trying to distract herself, she pushed herself a bit further from the shore and grabbed her tunic, snagging it with the very tips of her fingers. She hadn't realized that she had said something so blatantly sexual...and she didn't even mean it that way. But after the words left her mouth, she quickly saw how they could be taken. She didn't know T'rid very well, but she knew him well enough to know he would understand the double meaning that she hadn't meant to put in her words. It was sharding embarrassing!

He was still talking, though, so she had to respond. Taking a deep breath, that she hoped he didn't notice, she forced a smile back onto her face. "I suppose I'll have to shear it all off eventually, but I'm going to enjoy my long hair while I still can." Her embarrassment was at least under control now, though her cheeks were still flushed a bright red. "Is a moment worth it when it takes a moment to brush the hair out of your eyes? It'd be much easier just to shorten your hair in the front." She was definitely a fan of longer hair on guys, and T'rid's rugged cut was definitely attractive, but Lia was a very practical soul. If it was bothersome and hindering her vision, her hair would be cut short. As it was, she already resolved herself to having to cut it when it came time to ride for real.

Pulling her tunic over her head, she tried to force her blush away completely so that she could gather her things and get ready to go back to Tiaeth. At his denial of her help, which was quite sarcastically given, she just shook her hair out of her face (and no, it didn't just fall back in front of her eyes) and located her shoes. Pulling them on, she made her way back over to the dragon. "I'd feel awful, but my green's anger would have to be focused on one of the best riders. Right now, her anger is focused on you." She grinned a bit mischeviously, the blush fading finally. At least the bronze recognized the degree of danger he was in. The little green could be very vicious and unmerciful. And she had a feeling, Corinth would adopt her wrath instead of T'rid, where it actually belonged. She was a bit protective over Hers and a bit possessive. Corinth was a dragon infringing on Hers and, if Tiaeth was fully conscious, she would be quite irritated with the larger bronze.

When she looked back over at the dragon, T'rid was comfortably mounted on the front position. She resisted the urge to sigh. Now she would have to cling him if she lost her seat. But at least this time she didn't have to pretend to lose her seat or push herself sideways off Corinth's back. She could enjoy her ride and ride well. Even if it was behind him...

[Avu]

Shards, he’d forgotten his tunic and his boots…the thought only came to T’rid when he saw the girl tug at her own. “Hmm?” he murmured distantly, wondering if he should get off and get his clothes or just ask Corinth to get it. The bronze fixed this problem by leaning over and delicately lifting tunic and boots, and promptly hurling them at His. The shirt was caught deftly enough; T’rid had to lean precariously for a moment in order to snag one falling boot. Thanks, Cor. Only then did he register what Liassa had said. The Bronzer raised his eyebrows, grinning at the shade of her face, by which he judged that she hadn’t meant what she said in the way it came out. Well, it happened to the best of talkers, himself included. T’rid’s grin widened. “Is that really what you think, Lady?” he teased, making his voice mockingly hurt.

Shear it off. Well, then…he hadn’t meant it that way; to be honest the idea of a girl willingly loosing her hair was startling. Barely managing to keep the surprise from his face, T’rid shrugged. “Sure,” he said affably, “although I’ve seen some Greenriders—females, I mean—with long enough hair. Come to that, I’ve seen some males with incredibly long hair, too. Don’t kill yourself over it.” At her suggestion to cut his hair—cut it!—T’rid all but flinched. “Yes, of course, why don’t you just cut off the forelock of a runner? It’s better like this,” he said defensively, reaching up to touch said hair as if to make sure it was still there. It was, thanks be to Faranth. “I’ll cut it when I’m ready, but for now it’s just fine.” His hair was definitely a tender place in his ego.

He studied the tunic still draped in his arms, along with the boots. His tunic was reasonably dry; his boots were still soaked. T’rid sighed. Even if he did put on his tunic and not his boots, he’d have to have at least one hand free in order to keep his boots from falling…whereas, if he wore his boots and not his tunic, he’d be Sharding uncomfortable, but he could probably hang onto his tunic. With a muttered curse, he pulled on his boots, biting his lip at the squelching of water inside of them. Ugh…how disgustingly wet and annoying. He pulled on his tunic, too; he didn’t trust Corinth not to dive unexpectedly, and if he did, he’d much rather not have to hang onto a piece of cloth and try to cling on at once.

“All right, Lady, hop on.” He watched as she approached Corinth, who snorted softly at her. If Hers attacked me—or you—there would soon be a dragon in the Dragonhealer’s care, and believe you me, Ridermine, it would not be me. There was a finality in his mental thought that made T’rid grin again. “Corinth says that if your Tiaeth attacked either of us, she’d soon be the one the Dragonhealer would be taking care of. Corinth’d just defend himself or me, that’s all. Now, c’mon.” He would have offered her his hand to pull her up, but seeing what she’d already done in the air (i.e. tricked him, been perfectly all right during diving, etc.), he figured she could mount on her own.

[ryanne]

She was just about to pull herself onto the dragon when the bronze began to shift, throwing items up to his rider. Liassa laughed, pausing to watch the feat. She was impressed! Corinth was quite the adept dragon. It was hard to toss things with such accuracy when you had opposable thumbs, she couldn’t imagine trying it with her teeth. She began to clap softly with a joking manner before letting her hands fall back to her side. Now she just had to swing up onto the bronze.

Sure, she knew how to mount. But usually she’d mounted blue or green dragons. Not many bronzeriders let measly candidates jump on the back of their dragons. She began to nibble on her bottom lip before placing her hands securely on Corinth’s side and using his foreleg to vault herself up. With her hands to balance and direct her, she made it securely on his back, directly behind T’rid. “That’s true. I dunno. I suppose I’ll just see how it goes.” She ran her fingers through her hair possessively. She loved her hair and she would hate to lose it, but she would do what she needed to do.

At his obvious hurt at her suggestion, she grinned, running her fingers through his hair from behind him. “I like it longer, but I would hate for your visibility to be impaired,” she joked. She had always been one to go for longer hair, not that she was going for T’rid. He wasn’t her type… Not that she had a type. Lia was not fond of the thoughts running through her mind right now. It was confusing. So she ignored herself and just settled into her seat, removing her fingers from the bronzerider’s hair.

Lia rolled her eyes, “You hurt my dragon, it better be in self defense, elsewise you’d be joining her in the healers, not your dragon. And I won’t hit you… I have connections in the kitchens.” She smirked even though he couldn’t see her face. She liked her connections, they gave her leverage.

[Avu]

Corinth huffed in surprise at the sardonic applause, turning one whirling eye to study the girl. Why is it that everyone we bump into is either sarcastic or stupid or annoying or arrogant? the bronze asked resignedly. Sorry, Corinth, I’ll try to pick my random company better next time, T’rid replied, grinning as the bronze rolled his eyes back at him before uttering another sour huff of breath. He started to turn back to Liassa again, but before he could, the girl was already on his neck. And you thought she didn’t know how to ride, the bronze jeered happily at His. T’rid didn’t bother replying. There was nothing worth saying and Liassa was talking again anyway.

Twisting in his seat in a very uncomfortable position, T’rid watched as she ran her fingers through her hair. Shards, but she had a lot of hair. Not just the short little mop that most Dragonrider women sported, but a lot. Although he couldn’t see how that was a bad thing, now while she was still not flying Thread. She’ll be in the Weyrling wing soon enough, Corinth pointed out mildly. Until then… T’rid murmured to the dragon mentally, the thought that he was being rude never so much as brushing across his mind. He’d had Corinth for as long as he could recall, and communicating mentally to him took so much less concentration, not to mention movement of jaw muscles.

He’d already turned back, mumbling a vague, “Hmm, I guess you’d be able to fly Thread with long hair.” It never seemed to hinder the others, but T’rid had a notion that it’d probably tickle or itch where it fell in the stifling wher-hide they had to wear. Mostly because he’d been thinking about Thread, he jumped when Liassa ran her fingers through his hair. The bronzerider swore automatically, a string of beautifully colorful language that would have made even the most sour-mouthed Miner look on in envy. “Oh…” he finished, after relieving his feelings. “Didn’t expect that,” he admitted bluntly. “Besides, my visibility’s not so important when I’ve Corinth’s as well.” He touched his hair again. “Glad you like it, Lady, because I wouldn’t cut it for anything, not even my Lady’s command.”

Corinth rumbled in low amusement at Liassa’s statement. Inform the young Greenrider that I have no interest in permanently crippling young dragons barely out of the Shell unless they attack me, and if they do, I can show her the full extent of my abilities. There was an undercurrent of boastful pride in the bronze’s voice as he raised his wings. By the way, are we ready to go? T’rid patted the bronze neck. In a minute, Cor. Hang on. Turning to Liassa again in that same precarious way, the Bronzerider reported, “Cor—er, Corinth,” he corrected himself (he’d never used the bronze’s nickname to anybody before, only to the dragon), “says that he’s got no interest in crippling a dragonet unless they attack him, and if Tiaeth does, he’ll show off how wonderful his abilities are.” Turning back to the front, he added, “Are you ready to go?”

[ryanne]

Liassa ignored the pair as they obviously held a mental conversation. T'rid had been too silent for too long for him to just be thinking about something. The gleam in his eyes and Corinth's obviously said that they were communicating. She just sat on the bronze's back, waiting for them to decide to speak with her again. She understood the need and ease of private conversations between bondeds so she wasn't offended. She just wondered what they could be talking about. Surely it wasn't her? In the back of her mind, though, she realized it most likely was.

She nodded, "I suppose." She wasn't going to think on it too much. The thought of losing her hair wasn't a pleasant one, but she refused to get her hopes up.

Liassa was shocked at his reaction to her casual gesture. His language was definitely...interesting. Learning a few new uses for her favorite words, she began to laugh almost uncontrollably. Wow. That was...entertaining. Stilling her laughter, she almost broke out again at his comment. It was more than slightly obvious that he didn't expect that. She just wondered now if it had been a good thing or a bad thing that she'd done it. Refusing to muse on it, she just lifted one eyebrow, "Really? I thought you were perfectly prepared for that one." She deicded that it was a good thing. Surprising him out of his calm demeanor was rather fun.

She nodded at his comment about Corinth's sight. There was no real need for both of them to see. Corinth's instincts should be more than enough in the air. During Threadfall, she knew that most riders just provided the firestone and held on, making sure to keep their dragon in formation. Other than that, it was up to the dragons. "I suppose you're right and I don't think I'd order you to cut it anyway. As a lady, I wouldn't wish to cause any complications or disension among my followers." She finished up in a playful air. She couldn't stand being serious for too long with T'rid. It got stifling.

She nodded at his dragon's comment, well aware of the damage he could do. "Then let's not give my Tiaeth a reason to get angry. I, personally, like her in one piece." At his question, she nodded, "Let's fly." She tightened her legs a bit in anticipation for the take-off. She'd proven she could fly, but she didn't want to get caught off guard and then make a fool out of herself.

[Avu]

“Mm,” T’rid commented, just about as articulate as Liassa on the topic of her hair. Hey, if she wasn’t going to say more than “I suppose”, why should he bother? Lazy, Corinth challenged, as he twisted his neck to view his riders briefly. Good, both looking like they were ready. Except T’rid, who wasn’t yet hanging on, because he was tugging impatiently at one boot, biting his lip as the water squelched annoyingly again. Shards… Why hadn’t he just tied the laces together or something, and strung them over his shoulder? But he didn’t feel like taking them off again. That would be a waste of energy!

He blinked at her laughter, and then grinned himself. Obviously most people didn’t break out swearing when their hair was touched, especially since there was no chance of it being messed up, being basically messed up already. “Yeah, well, I guess you need to poke me before you do random stuff,” T’rid answered, his grin widening. Laughing, by the most domineering Lord Holder or by the lowest Drudge, was always infectious. “Besides, thinking about Thread seems to be dangerous when there’s a girl riding behind you who has a habit for doing things at the most random of times.”

I am so important, Corinth commented smugly, shifting restlessly as he raised his wings and brought them down slowly, not lifting them into the air but just creating a small wave that licked against the ground as he waited for T’rid to hang on. As he failed to do so, the bronze murmured, You may wish to hang on? Ah, yes, T’rid said, suddenly realizing his hands were still resting on his legs. He took a light hold of the bronze’s neck ridges, tightening his legs as he grinned to himself. “Your loyal followers would be very upset if their Lady demanded their hair to be cut, as I’m glad you realize.”

When she agreed to go, T’rid clicked his tongue as he shook his head wryly at her humor, a signal to Corinth, who exhaled softly and then pushed off the ground, humming happily. The air was very nice after a bath, after all, even if T’rid hadn’t scrubbed or oiled him. His could do that later, but now was the time for flying. The bronze ascended for a few moments, eyes whirling pleasant shades of green and blue. Where do we land, T’ridmine? he queried. The river bank, T’rid replied, gently emphasizing the ‘bank’ part. I don’t think we need Tiaeth waking up just as you toss yourself, along with Liassa, into the lake. The green could definitely take a chunk out of you, even before you got out of the lake, if she had a mind for it. Corinth grumbled audibly as he soared towards the Weyr again.