like shooting stars [k'thay!]

[Avu]

“Ohhhh my Faranth ffff you do not know how much I haaate aconite,” A’emi announced, upon barging straight into K’thay’s weyr – he hadn’t even bothered knocking this time – and making a beeline for the bathing chambers. It wasn’t private; he was fairly certain the door on the other side meant that the weyr on that side had access to it as well. Oh well. K’thay’s weyr had a K’thay in it and a K’thay could hopefully help him if he was about to do something stupid and overdramatic. Like die. Because dying would really be such a pity. “Like, I feel like I’m about to throw up – and I’m really sorry if I do, seriously, man – and my heartbeat’s going about twice as fast as it usually is shit.”

He gagged, managed not to actually vomit, and promptly sat down right next to the chamberpot, wrapping his legs around it and propping his elbows against the rim, head braced over it. Fortunately it was empty and cleaned. The greenrider stayed like that for a moment, rubbing his temples, and then slumped back when he judged it was safe, frowning and twisting to look for his personal poison specialist. “K’thay? Okay, I’m sorry and all, but I’m just saying, if I pass out or anything dramatic, could you please find the antidote or make me throw up or something? Like, I hate aconite. A lot. At least some poisons get you high, right? This is just freaking – nghhh.”

A’emi coughed, found his pulse with his fingertips to his neck. “I actually read up on it this time, too,” he added, with just a bit of a whine in his voice. “Aconite: used for nerve-related pain and heart palp-somethings, toxic. Did you know the toxicity apparently varies? Do you know how hard it is to get the dosage right when you’re not trying to kill yourself? Very. Er.” He paused in his rant, tilted his head to one side. “I’m not just talking to myself, right? I saw Casti on your ‘ledge. K’thaaaay…don’t make me come out there…”

I told him it was too much, Kyrahth commented to Castidenloth, distinctly ruffled as she glided in to land on the currently unoccupied weyrledge next to the blue’s. It would help if he listened to me on occasion, of course. Please ask Yours not to let him die. A dead Rider is of very little use to me and, all things considered, I really would much rather A’emi remain alive. The green gave a little hop, draped herself over the edge of the weyrledge, and folded her wings neatly along her back. It was tempting to let them droop on either side of her to catch the sun, what little warmth there might be, but – she was far too paranoid for that.

Kyrahth, A’emi moaned at her. Side effect of aconite: Running at the mouth, inability to shut up.
No, love. That’s normal. the green assured him sweetly. Ask Castidenloth’s. I’m sure he’s used to it by now.

[Tashe]

K'thay was completely startled out of his trance like state. In fact he had just been on the verge of meditation when the whirlwind blew through his room. By the time the ill-mannered man had made it halfway to his Bathroom, the Bluerider had maneuvered into a crouch with a dagger in his hand. "Damn it A'emi, one of these days you're going to get a dagger in the shoulder." This was muttered mainly to himself and under his breath since the Greenrider was already preoccupied with groaning about something or other. Returning the dagger to its place under the cushion he'd been sitting on, K'thay sighed before going to fetch his shirt from the end of his bed. A'emi had the unusual knack of catching him at the most inopportune times, most of which included him being half dressed (ie, coming at night, early in the morning or right after he had taken a bath). Despite moving around, he was listening to most of what the other man was saying especially when he heard aconite being thrown about. Pulling on his shirt as A'emi ranted on about the toxicity varying he removed the soft band of leather from around his head and tossed it on his nightstand. By now he had become totally accustomed to the Greenrider's intrusions with, of course, the exception of the completely random entrances. He'd long ago given up trying to drive the other man away or install in him that it wasn't polite to simply burst in on someone, it had been painfully apparent that A'emi either didn't want to listen or had listened and completely disregarded anything K'thay had said.

Padding barefoot over to the door of his bathroom he crossed his arms with a scowl, leaning against the doorway as he eyed the Greenrider. "Faranath no. You stay by that chamberpot. I don't want to clean up vomit off my floor." K'thay shook his head. "As for your questions. "Yes I will help you if you need it. Yes I do know that the toxicity varies and yes I do now how hard to get the dosage right. You don't use poisoned weapons without having to immune yourself to most of them... and even a few poisons you don't use." A pause. "And its heart palpitations." He dropped into a crouch, balancing on the balls of his feet so A'emi didn't have to look so far up. "You should have let me administer a dosage. You might have been a lot more comfortable." The Bluerider arched an eyebrow. "Now why did you... no, no let me guess. There two things that come to mind." K'thay twined his fingers together. "Either you had this bright idea yourself, or the Wingleader of your Wing wants you immune to poisons." The Legatus wing was shrouded in secret, even the Weyrgossip had little to say about it, but it only tickled his curiosity slightly. Since he too was on a Wing that was- well, a mystery. He was endlessly amused by the fact. "Just tell me when you want to throw up, I'll make something for you. Unless you feel like you're going to faint... do you feel like you're going to faint?"

Castidenloth tracked the Green through the air as she dipped down to land turning his body slightly to greet her in a silent gesture. His concentration was split between His's amusement and Kyrahth. K'thay might think Your's can be a pain in the side, but he'll take care of him if he overdosed by any amount. Mine has been in the same situation in the past. More than once if I remember correctly. Twitching his tail, the matte Blue tilted his head to the left by a small increment. If he can't handle it, he'll take him to the infirmary. But since its aconite and not something more, whats the word, exotic? He should be fine here. And I agree, a dead rider is not useful at all. Casti's voice was more matter of fact than edged with sympathy or worry. He didn't see the need for preemptive emotions, plus his wasn't quite at the concerned point yet so there was nothing really to go on. Yes, he wasn't Kyrahth, but personally if the situation was reversed he'd prefer sincerity over empathy.

[Avu]

“Oh, hi, honey,” A’emi replied, blinking at the bluerider. He grabbed the chamberpot and swiveled around awkwardly so he was facing K’thay. Someone looked a little irritated. Probably about his impromptu entrance, but as far as A’emi was concerned, his pet bluerider should’ve gotten used to that a long time ago. That, and he was fairly certain that if he knocked, K’thay would have an aneurysm or something, and then try to figure out who took over his body. And grumpy though his presence apparently made K’thay, A’emi was also pretty sure that if he stopped finding him to bother or spar with or anything, the bluerider would miss him.

Of course, K’thay probably didn’t realize it himself, but that was okay.

“Palpitations, that’s it,” he agreed absently, a vagueness that vanished instantly as the other went on. He answered K’thay’s accusations with a playfully flirty grin, not terribly surprised by the deductions. Never thought of K’thay as stupid before. Good pet, sure, but not slow by any means. “A little of both. Would’ve probably ended up doing something similar even if Ka’rys hadn’t told us to,” he replied, shrugged. “No fainting sensations. Nausea’s not that bad, either, but y’know. The stuff they have on how to know when it’s about to kill you is pretty vague. Guess that’s ‘cause most people who die don’t come back to make sure our records are accurate. Really kind of annoying.”

He tilted his head, wiping the back of his hand across his mouth absently. “I don’t know if you’re still in touch with Ar’ren, but he got moved off Legatus,” he commented. “You should definitely try to get on. Although that would throw off the whole two-of-each-color-plus-a-bronze thing we’ve got going. Hey,” A’emi added, apropos of nothing, “So I have absolutely no idea how soon the next gold’s gonna be Rising, but Kyr says it’ll be pretty soon. You should definitely come to the Hatching Feast with me, ‘cause you totally seem like to type to just skip it, which is pretty rude. But yeah. It’ll be fun, and we don’t even have to call it a date.”

Indeed, Kyrahth replied, cool and mechanical. For this, I will trust Yours. But not for anything else. The words went unspoken, Kyrahth coiling silently on the unfamiliar weyrledge. The green crossed her forelegs at the ‘wrist’ joint, head dropping to rest loosely upon them. Her gaze slid away from Castidenloth, automatically flickering, as wary as ever, around her. The blue she didn’t perceive to be a threat – his Rider was A’emi’s pet, after all. Still didn’t like being somewhere she wasn’t accustomed to, though.

[Tashe]

"At least its only Aconite. One of the better known and used poisons." He himself used the plant extract in various mixtures, never by itself since the symptoms were generally known. "Ka'rys does have a good idea though. Horrible now, worth all of it later." The Bronzer by years of bias talk at Fort was not his favorite Rider in the world but from his reputation here at Selenitas and the fact he had rode on the man's wing for a while, K'thay was inclined to begrudge the man some respect. "No feeling of fainting and the nausea is minimal." He offered his own shrug. "Just sounds like your body just doesn't like it. Which is normal since you know, you're poisoning your body." Pressing his back against the doorway he slid to the floor, tousling his ever unruly hair. "If you were dying of it, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea would be your first clues. Soon after those appear the next symptoms are tingling and numbness in the mouth and face, then burning in the abdomen. Taken orally, they can feed you a mixed charcoal powder to neutralize most of it if taken within the first hour." He paused to roll his head so that he could look at A'emi. "Now injected overdoses... those who've had them, have almost impossible odds of surviving." Another pause. "But I doubt you had anywhere near enough to be cause of worry." He offered the Greenrider a smile.

"Ar'ren? I believe he got moved to the Immunis wing for some Threadfall duty." Waving a hand in the air K'thay matched it with a shake of his head. "No thanks. If Ka'rys transfers me I won't throw a fit, but I'm not going to request one. I'm perfectly happy on my Wing, Castidenloth has even grown accustomed to the other Dragons." Plus, how often do you get to throw someone off of a cliff as part of your training? With the mention of Jingth rising and then the Hatching feast, K'thay rubbed one of his temples. A'emi was right. He didn't normally attend Hatching Feasts. The only times he had were at Fort when he was all but ordered to go and "enjoy himself", or sent to observe the new Weyrlings. They just weren't fascinating enough to catch his attention. "I don't see the need to go. Its just a dinner to congratulate the new brats on impressing." He gave a small shrug of his shoulder. "They're not that interesting."

A trust well placed. Yawn~. Castidenloth on the other hand had little problem with opening his wings slightly to catch some sunlight. The Blue was endlessly amused with the Selenitas Dragons and the complaints he had heard about the frost. If they thought this was cold, maybe a stay up in the snowy North would cure them of their delusions. Casti himself enjoyed the crispness that the colder temperatures brought, especially in light of the excruciating summer they had just gone through. Training was much easier now since there wasn't the sluggish feeling that came with the pounding rays of Rukbat. As he stretched the male let the tip of his tail trail off of the Weyrledge. And although he looked completely relaxed, all of his senses (excluding visual) were acting as sharp as ever. Mmm... the breeze smelled nice.

[Avu]

“Well,” A’emi observed at the end of K’thay’s listing (in detail, hello personal poison specialist, and Kyrahth wondered why he wasn’t worried about taking aconite?) of symptoms and cures and everything. “That’s useful.” He smirked, playfully, added, “It’d be more useful if I could actually remember that stuff.” The nausea was mostly gone now – or, more specifically, K’thay was distracting enough that he didn’t have time to think about it. It had been a lot worse when he’d been focusing on trying not to throw up: Irony of ironies. “Bet the Infirmary’d love to have you,” he commented, absently crinkling his nose. Not that he really approved of that idea, given he avoided the Infirmary like the plague. He’d miss his pet. But still.

His head tilted at K’thay, and the greenrider half-smirked. “Bet you our Drills are a lot more fun. Kyr hates Onyth so much, it’s really kind of funny, and I’m technically not allowed to tell you what we do, but uh. Just. If you ever actually want to keep me out, standard lock’s not gonna cut it.” His grin was definitely playful this time. Picking locks was pretty easy, standard or not – but the fact that K’thay hadn’t made any overt attempts to keep him out (like having a padlock installed or booby-trapping the door): Clear indicator to A’emi that he wasn’t entirely unwelcome. The bluerider’s lack of agreement to attending the Hatching Feast, though…that would not do. Antisocial, much?

It probably wasn’t the best of A’emi’s ideas ever, buuut. Given K’thay’s position on the floor, it was just too tempting.

The greenrider pushed the chamberpot out of the way and literally crawled onto the bluerider, straddling his lap and catching his wrists loosely to prevent being shoved off. He didn’t particularly expect to be. It was K’thay and A’emi was always touchy around people, period. Wouldn’t be the first time he’d flopped on top of K’thay like a blanket. “Hey, I can promise to make it interesting,” he cajoled, teasingly tilting his head. “It’s a Feast. There’ll be food and there’ll be people. I get that you’re not into guys” – which was a pity, because he would totally hit that – “but given how often I kidnap you, I doubt you’ve got a girlfriend or anything either. I could introduce you to someone. Like – I think you should totally meet Els. Or someone. Anyone.”

His eyes were wide, as sincere as A’emi could make them. His pet really did need to socialize more, hmph. And it really was a pity that his current project took so much energy, or he’d be much more into seeing just how flexible K’thay’s sexuality could be. “I know I’m amazing company and all,” he added, letting go of K’thay’s wrists and draping his arms loosely onto the bluerider’s shoulders instead, “but I’m not going to be jealous if you’ve got other plans once in a while.”

Kyrahth crooned, once, short and brief, to Castidenloth, but didn’t actually respond. She liked the blue more than she liked most of the other dragons at Selenitas – which wasn’t saying much, of course, but it was still something. Him and Futh – never let it be said that A’emi’s preferences didn’t affect Kyrahth.

[Tashe]

"Study it for a few years, maybe then you'll get it." He itched an eyebrow. "Ah, no. Infirmaries are something Cass and I have spent far to much time in. Plus, they have their own specialist already. What's his name, R'wing or whatever." The main reason was that he'd really rather not have the whole Weyr know that he was all too familiar with poisons. Yes, I would not like to spend any longer at the infirmary than I have to. K'thay offered the Blue a tendril of emotion, conveying he complete sense of understanding. "Fun? In some senses yes. What we do is far more interesting than Centurio Wing." The subtle confession about standard locks not being able to hold him at bay wasn't surprising. If the Greenrider hadn't learned already at Fort than learning it in the Legatus wing sounded like it was just one of the many standard skills. "I'll keep that in mind when picking out a lock for my door." He smirked, resting his arm on one of his knees while itching the side of his nose with the other.

Really, again? He repressed the urge to sigh. "Unfortunately, I know hanging with you means something is going to happen. Although in what context and how interesting depends on the moment." He rolled his eyes at the short explanation of the occasion. "I know what a Feast is, I have been to some in my short lifetime." Although he wasn't necessarily sure he wanted to meet some of the other people A'emi hung around. Honestly there was no telling what kind of people the Greenrider ran with, a whole spectrum of people was open to the little weasel. "You're right I don't have a girlfriend. Nor am I currently searching for one." If he could he would have crossed his arms, he settled for giving the man a look. "Plus, you introducing me to people would more than likely scare them off." This of course was said with a hint of a jest, although he thought it not entirely wrong.

Hands now freed K'thay plucked A'emi's arms off of his shoulders but instead of letting them go he shifted his grip. Using the door-frame he heaved forward using the momentum to deposit the Greenrider from his lap but also ensure he was above the other. Their positions quite switched (and albeit more parallel to the floor, seeing as the doorway was just wide enough), the Bluerider spoke again. "Amazing as you say your company is, I feel as though I keep telling you I do have other acquaintances." He snorted with a slight shake of his head. "I will think about going. No promises yet." Letting go he quickly flipped himself up into a crouch and stood, stepping out of reach before ruffling his hair. He'd rather not have any possible limbs connecting with his shins thank you. "Do you feel up to drinking anything?" A pause. "This does not include alcohol. You'd just throw-up."

[Avu]

So many objections. A’emi resisted the temptation to wiggle closer to K’thay, as if he wasn’t already close enough, and smirked. “I am always interesting,” he replied, both eyebrows rising playfully, and then snickered, mouthing “Ow” at K’thay, because really. Punch him right in the ego, sure. Good thing his ego was more than large enough to take a few punches. He was about to say as much to K’thay when he caught the tension of the body beneath him and his smirk widened a little – right before their positions were flipped, the greenrider arching just enough to keep his head from smacking against the ground in the maneuver.

“Acquaintances,” he repeated, letting his head flop back lightly against the floor. He grinned, crinkling his nose slightly, when K’thay got off of him. Probably for the better. Full-out wrestling match on the floor of a bathroom was probably not the best of ideas, especially when one of the people in question was still feeling a tad nauseous. He remained sprawled flat on his back on the floor, wriggling his toes to press against the frame of the door, lazily – and then yelped, swatting inefficiently, at the ruffling of his hair. “You monster,” he complained, turning his head so he could watch K’thay. “Nothing to drink. Um. Hey, I was definitely going to say something…”

Only he’d kind of forgotten what it was.

Wow.

“Oh, right – acquaintances,” and he shook one finger emphatically at K’thay from his ever-so-elegant position, sprawled halfway in the bathroom, “are not the same as friends. Furthermore, people you meet on your wing do not count. Well, they do, but not really, because that’s kind of a forced social life. You should really come. Seriously, if you get bored or anything, it’s not like you can’t leave. And if you don’t go to that…” He briefly considered the level of his nausea, decided it was manageable, and rolled onto his stomach, crossing his arms and resting his chin upon them. “…then I’m kidnapping you for the next Gather. Which I’m tempted to do anyway, to be honest.”

Because he may or may not seriously be considering the merits of buying K’thay a collar. He was also wondering just how drunk he’d have to get K’thay in order to convince him that putting it on would be a good idea. But of course, that didn’t need to be mentioned. Not at all. “Don’t even know when the next Gather is either, but I will remember.”

[Tashe]

He shrugged lazily as he drifted back into the main part of his living space, picking up the cushion and the dagger to replace them in their proper areas. No one could say that K'thay wasn't clean. The decorations in his weyr were sparse, that was to be expected from having only lived here for so short a time, but even a room like that could be dirty. His was not. Everything was put away were it was supposed to go, it didn't bother him in the least if they weren't he just preferred it that way. "Yes their different, but my acquaintances might be equal in standing to your friends and my friends to your good friends. Its just a matter of perspective and term usage." He tossed a look back over his shoulder. After the dagger disappeared into its sheath and was hidden again, K'thay padded over to the tunk at the end of his bed and sat down. Wingmates, once a level of trust was built, automatically were filed under acquaintances. Although in all honesty, very seldom did they reach the level of friend if only for the sole reason of not becoming attached. When you were in a fighting wing, any moment could be your last.

"Idle threats." K'thay yawned and covered it with the back of his hand. "I go to these Gathers. So even if you weren't fascinated with kidnapping, I would have gone." He itched his stubble in thought. "The Gathers here are so, whats the word... ah, yes, lighthearted. Its a nice change." Northern Gathers were few and far between, what with the ever constant possibility of attack. He hated going to those and tried his best to avoid them. But here was a little different. Despite being part of the war, the Gathers were still cheery and bright. Well the one he had been to at least. He didn't know of the other Holds and how they felt. He supposed it didn't matter much as long as they put on a good show. "And I already said I'd think about going. Which, " He pointed at A'emi, "is more than flat out refusing to."

"Well you might not be thirsty, but I am. I'd offer you food but I don't think I have anything that would stay down." Pushing off of the edge, the Bluerider went to fetch a glass of water for himself. "Actually I think I may have crackers, if you want them." Personally he wasn't one for cold water on a cold day but he really didn't feel like putting a kettle on the fire unless he had to. Now where were his clean glasses?

[Avu]

A’emi opted not to reply to K’thay’s comment – he didn’t really believe in friends. He believed in pets (K’thay, M’kai) and in allies (under which category K’thay also happened to fall, along with Elysia). Everyone else was split into passing entertainment and enemies. ‘Friends’ tended to imply that it was someone who’d risk their life for you, and A’emi really didn’t trust anyone except Kyrahth to do that for him – much in the same way he wouldn’t do anything suicidal for anyone else. Being friendly with people wasn’t anywhere near the same as being friends with them. The greenrider offered a noncommittal hum instead, pulling himself up into a sitting position against the wall, chamberpot firmly within reach.

“Wouldn’t have necessarily gone with me,” he pointed out, which he figured was reasonable enough. If he was going to kidnap someone for a Gather, he’d do it properly and make sure they stuck with him for at least a little while. A’emi crinkled his nose in the bluerider’s direction, sticking out his tongue childishly. So indecisive. What else was he going to be doing while everyone was at a Feast? Staying in his weyr and rearranging all of his poisons by color, and then alphabetically by common name, and then by toxicity?

“I make it a rule not to eat when I’m in serious danger of throwing up, regardless of how likely the food is to trigger the nausea,” A’emi replied solemnly, and then tilted his head. “Won’t bother me if you eat or anything though. Hey, when’s your Turnday?” Random, who, A’emi? Of course not. Technically, it wasn’t that random – he was determined to make his pet get a social life. If that meant throwing him a surprise Turnday party with a bunch of people he probably didn’t know attending, so be it. A’emi had great confidence in the promise of alcohol and cake.

Not to mention that a Turnday gave him the excuse of buying K’thay a present. The bluerider struck him as the type of person who would turn down presents of any kind, reason be damned, but a Turnday was different. And he was considering buying K’thay a gag gift. Not exactly thoughtful, maybe, but hey. It would be awesome. Besides, given the nature of their relationship, an actual serious present would probably stick out as being really, really weird.

“And what’s your favorite color? Other than blue.”

[Tashe]

"Its up to you. There here if you want them." Ah, there were is glasses. K'thay poured himself some water and grabbed a winter apple from the table. "My Turnday?" Half amused he wondered back over to sit on the closest surface to the bathroom door, not feeling like setting down on the floor again. He never celebrated his Turnday and it was usually Castidenloth that reminded him with a well wishing that that time of year had rolled around again. It wasn't that he forgot when he was born, no he remembered the day and month, K'thay just never thought enough of it to notice unless someone reminded him with a remark. Just another day in the year to him. Although he wasn't past remembering others Turndays and getting them presents if they wanted or expected them. "The 30th of August." The Bluerider would have asked why but decided not to, knowing he'd probably not like the answer. "What about you, whats your Turnday?"

This man was full of random questions today. K'thay assumed that the question about his favorite color was connected to when his Turnday was... you just never really knew with A'emi. "Its Amber." He thought for a moment. "Actually I don't like the color blue all to much. With the exception of Cass's color of course. Even if I really tried, I don't think I could dislike it." Speaking of his Dragon, what was he up to right now? He took a bite of his apple and prodded Castidenloth mentally. Soaking up what little sun I can little brother. Came the response. Sorry to bother you love. I shall leave you to it. His focus returned to the Greenrider on the floor of his bathing-room. "You sir, look like a stranded fish." And with that he ate more of his fruit. K'thay didn't know why A'emi looked like one, maybe the position he was in or the fact he was laying on the floor... either way he just did.

"Anyway, should I be concerned as to why we are playing twenty questions?" It was his experience that sometimes the most simple questions could lead to complicated results. Or completely annoying situations. Hiding a yawn behind the back of his hand, K'thay believed he had the right to be suspicious of everything A'emi said. That man was trouble walking.

[Avu]

30th of August.

A’emi hummed thoughtfully, and then nodded. Not hard to remember. The question being turned back on him earned K’thay a wide-eyed look before A’emi practically whined, “You didn’t know you missed it? I thought – I thought – I don’t even – ” And then his dramatic moment passed and the greenrider settled back, a playful smirk crossing his face. “December, actually. The seventeenth.” He shrugged. “I’m twenty-three and I seem to be older than the majority of people in the Weyr. You know how depressing that is? Very. Like – did you know the Senior Weyrwoman is only a Turn older than me? Fort’s Senior Weyrwoman is younger than me. Er. Not Kamerai, Liosa.” He made a hand gesture that was fairly dismissive, as if swiping his thoughts out of the way.

“Anyway. Amber. Okay.” He left it at that, trying to figure out exactly what came in amber. Fairly gold-shaded color, wasn’t it? Dark-bronzey-gold-ish. A’emi was fairly sure it was pretty enough – it was kind of a pity that dragons had him burnt on any shade of gold or bronze. He crinkled his nose, sniffed disapprovingly, at K’thay’s comment, and then wiggled off of the floor, flopping instead on the floor next to K’thay’s feet, sitting cross-legged. “You could be concerned,” he allowed, and then raised his eyebrows, trying to look innocent. It probably didn’t work. “Being concerned isn’t gonna help you much one way or another, though, so I’d go for no. Too much worrying’s bad for you.”

He didn’t give K’thay another chance to pursue it – he didn’t want to lie to the bluerider, but he would if it came down to that. “So speaking of younger people, turns out the weyrlings need mentors. Some new training program or something. Not the older ones, Millieth’s, but Hepaticath’s latest clutch. They were looking for volunteers. Should be fun, right? They’ll probably hand us a script of exactly what we’re supposed to lecture them about, but I kind of doubt it, or they wouldn’t need mentors, period. You should sign up. Or show up, at least, whenever we have to do the thing. Meet the kids, teach them. You could think of it as your good deed for the…” One hand flipped upwards, searching for a suitable span of time. “Like, I don’t know. Good deed for the decade. Times however many kids they hand us.”

A’emi was already fairly certain of what he was going to do with the kids in question anyway. He’d signed up mostly to irritate Kyrahth, who despised the thought of willfully spending time with weyrlings, but the longer he considered it, the more fun he was sure it’d be. For one, they were M’kai’s weyrling class, and cheerfully spurning whatever instructions M’kai tried to give him would be too much fun. For another, teaching them to fight would be amusing. In that he got to watch them fail, probably.

[Tashe]

"I'm a little older than you by two years so I guess that makes me even older than 'the majority'." He'd be twenty-six this Turn. Boy where did the time go? K'thay nodded when A'emi distinguished who he meant, even though it had been Liosa who had immediately jumped to mind. Either way it didn't matter. Nor did A'emi's innocent face. He raised an eyebrow but didn't say much about the matter, the Bluerider supposed he'd just discover whatever it was in the future anyway. So the took the other's advice and simply let it go, he'd deal with it later if he got the chance. Tapping the back of his heel against the leg of he snorted heavily when A'emi started talking about mentoring. He didn't know that word and fun could even be put into the same sentence when talking about kids. Sure he derived some pleasure from teaching things but he was one of the teachers you loved to hate. Demanding and unforgiving were the best of his teaching qualities, impatience and being verbally abusive were his worst. He was pretty sure they wouldn't want him teaching younger students.

"Me? Teach? Yeah right. I'd have all the younger students afraid of me and all the older ones hating me by the time I even get through a single combat lesson. Plus I hate doing paperwork. Even if its just grading things. Guh." He stopped tapping and shook his head. "I bet half of them probably don't even know the difference between the point of a knife and the handle." K'thay flicked his hand in exasperation. "Let alone have minimal skills in hand to hand combat. I really don't have much patience with beginners, maybe I could handle the ones who don't fail as much. But I'm not Teacher Material unless you want an unmerciful hard-ass that terrorizes them into never wanting to touch another weapon again." He paused to sigh and rub his chin. "Also, they bruise too easily. And kids whine. So, no thanks on the volunteering to be a mentor. I wouldn't mind coming to help now and again if someone or you really need it, but not a permanent mentor position. Uhuh."

"My good deed for the decade can definitely be achieved elsewhere." Castidenloth would have liked teaching a lot more than K'thay, mainly because the Blue had an unlimited amount of patience when it came to certain things. Dealing with younger people and Dragons was one of them. He'd be the person people groaned about having a class with. 'Damn... I have to go work with K'thay in an hour.' 'Oooh. Dude I feel for you. I've got a bruise the size of my fist on my leg...' Yup. Master K'thay would be the teacher from the Between.

[Avu]

Heh. He had an old pet. Fortunately, his brain-to-mouth filter caught that, because no matter how indulgent K’thay might be, A’emi was fairly certain that might border on an actual insult, no matter how playfully he thought it. Of course, now that he actually thought about it, most of the people he knew personally were older than him – K’thay, Elysia, T’san (although whether or not he counted was debatable; A’emi had kind of walked into his weyr on accident once when he’d miscounted the doors to K’thay’s. It had been awkward. But at least he hadn’t been stabbed). M’kai was the exception – the bluerider was around the same age as him. Whether or not that was a good thing…well. He didn’t particularly want to think about that.

A’emi’s smirk widened into an actual grin of absolute amusement at K’thay’s response to the suggestion of being a mentor, and he absently leaned forward, pressing his right forearm across K’thay’s knees and resting his chin on his own arm, peering thoughtfully up at the bluerider. It was a fairly awkward position – but he really did like to be touching. “I think it’d be funny,” he replied, and quirked another playful grin at K’thay. “The idea of you being a mentor, I mean. But yeah. You should definitely come. I don’t think it’ll be hand to hand they’re asking us to teach, but…I mean, regardless. You know.” A shrug, the greenrider’s thumb doodling absentminded circles on K’thay’s knee.

“I was thinking like, set up an obstacle course through the jungle and plant them at the ‘start’, sit somewhere high with bow and arrows – not real arrows, probably some kind of paintball or something on the end, right? – and if they got shot that means they ‘died’. It’d be fun scaring them, anyhow.” He grinned, a little sheepishly, and then went on, “Or Capture the Flag? Kind of depends on how many you get at a time, though. Capture the Flag with two people isn’t all that great…but yeah. You should definitely come, at least. You could be like…an assistant? I don’t know. Something.”

He may or may not also be terribly amused by the idea that if K’thay did come, that meant he could use him to demonstrate. Demonstrate what? A’emi didn’t have the first idea, but he could come up with something suitably embarrassing and amusing, he was sure. How hard could it be?

[Tashe]

"Bah. As I said I'll come if you need help someday." What the Greenrider had in mind for the activities was interesting enough. Very creative in fact. Getting hit with an arrow would still hurt but with a paint sack at the end to cushion it even more, it would just serve to teach the Weyrlings a lesson. When it came to capture the flag, K'thay shook his head slightly with a smile. As long as Mi'rah didn't get word of the Game, everything would be alright. The Bluerider thought that Capture the Flag was something the Bronzerider wouldn't be able to resist especially if he thought it a good idea to challenge the other teams to a contest. "Honestly, I think you just want the chance to shoot me with an arrow without the fear of me retaliating." Dropping the apple core into the empty water glass, K'thay rubbed his hands together before flicking A'emi's doodling hand. He swore the sole purpose of the Greenrider was to either; a) annoy him or b) make him feel awkward.

"Why do you want to be a mentor anyway? You have the attention span of a five turn old. Which can't be very good for teaching." He stretched, depositing the blond's arm off of his knee when he stood. "A passing fancy?" He tossed the apple core into his waste basket and retrieved a towel to wipe down the glass. "Or maybe there's someone there you want to bother more than me." That wouldn't be a surprise. A'emi was a weird person and it was almost impossible to believe that he was the person A'emi messed with the most. K'thay believed the Greenrider was capable of a lot more than what he pulled with him. Teaching would be interesting. Eavesdropping now, eh? Just stating my opinion. Yeahyeah. Go back to sunbathing you green-blooded lizard. Oh, that stung, brother-of-mine.

After putting the glass and the towel back in their respective places, K'thay checked the hour mark on his candle. He still had a few hours before watch duty. Damn, he couldn't use that excuse to escape from the Greenrider. "How is your stomach? Is it doing better now?" Instead of returning back to his seat, the Bluerider wondered over to his bed and began organizing the chaos of sheets and blankets. He had been lazy this morning and hadn't made it.

[Avu]

A smile, eyes widening in mock-innocence. That was entirely a possibility. But hey, it wouldn’t hurt, really. The smile dissolved into a playful pout, A’emi scrunching up his nose, when his hand was flicked away, but he wasn’t pushed away. So that was mostly okay, too, even if he was generally restless enough to need some motion. The bluerider’s next words, though, had him actually laughing, A’emi dipping his head to press his mouth against his arm. “Flatterer,” he responded, and flicked K’thay on the knee – just in defiance for not being allowed to doodle on him anymore. “You sure know how to charm a guy, don’t you?”

There was no ire in the words, though; A’emi knew he was flighty at best and that was okay. Easier to take people by surprise, anyway, if they didn’t take him seriously. “As it happens,” he went on, gaze flickering bright and amused up at K’thay, “You’re actually probably in second place. There is, kind of. He’s not even actually my type” – that was actually K’thay, but he didn’t need to know that – “but it’s fun to bother him, yeah. He’s the Weyrlingmaster, though. ‘mnot exactly into traumatizing baby dragons.”

Nah, that’d be Kyrahth, and her kind of traumatizing was more of a scare-them-between kind. A’emi curled up absently, pressing his back against the furniture K’thay’d been sitting on in absence of the bluerider, watching him. The question drew a blink, A’emi tilting his head to one side contemplatively, one hand moving to massage his abdomen lightly. “You’re a good distraction,” he said after a moment, and then shrugged. “Anyway, I’m not about to throw up anymore, I don’t think. Although it was better when I wasn’t thinking about it.”

It was actually true. A’emi pulled his legs halfway up to his chest, feet flat against the floor, and dropped his elbows loosely around his knees, head tilted in K’thay’s direction. “So,” he added, with a cheeky grin, “kind of a throwback to your social life. How come Casti hasn’t been Chasing? There’ve been like, flocks of greens Rising. Did you break your dragon or something?” Right, because it was automatically K’thay’s fault if Castidenloth didn’t feel like Chasing.