choking on your alibies [k'thay]

[Avu]

“Daaaarling, you look too stunning~”

No response. Not even a flicker of a glance in his direction. But neither did the ‘darling’ in question outright reject him, either, so A’emi decided to take it as encouragement as he walked backwards. His gaze was focused on the object of his praises before him, the female following him and looking…straight over his head. The greenrider’s head tilted playfully to one side, a strand of blonde hair that had been carefully slicked back daring to venture into his eyes. A’emi instantly swatted it away, leaning forward as he continued his awkward backwards stride.

“Really. The way the sun glitters in your eyes, the beauuuuutiful way you waaaalk…please, gorgeous.” Down he went on one knee, solemnity suddenly radiating. “Please, please, say you’ll be mine for ever and ever and e – ”

Swat.

A’emi sprawled onto his back, stared up at the sky, which was muggy and overcast again, and a loud hysterical laugh burst from his throat. He hated this weather, hated the South, hated every drop of rain and hated every single miserable moment he spent in the sun, hated it hated it hated it, but he would cope for Kyrahth. Anything for Kyrahth, who had just knocked him clean off of his knees with one ‘accidentally’ placed forward step. The small green continued on her way, walking over her fallen Rider and moving on towards the river with head held deliberately high, haughty.

You are already mine, more’s the pity, she condescended to comment at last, flaring her painfully tight wing again. The scarring was apparent even in the dim half-light, the stitching outlined in black, but Kyrahth ignored it in favor of moving a little more rapidly towards the river. It didn’t look inviting by any stretch of the imagination, but a bath was a bath. As to my being beautiful and gorgeous and stunning, I would imagine you are delirious. Being unable to fly for long distances is /hardly/ becoming.

Her tail flipped backwards negligently, and A’emi grabbed the tip to pull himself to his feet, bouncing forward gracefully to leap back to Kyrahth’s side again, leaning affectionately against the green as she ignored him, pacing forward steadily.

“Your rejection, it pains me, really – ” He wasn’t bothering to keep his voice quiet, and the sing-song playfulness to it was definitely A’emi. The greenrider would have gone on, probably getting more and more dramatic as he went, had Kyrahth not stopped dead in her track, sending A’emi tumbling again. This time, it really was an accident, though, and she ignored A’emi’s spiteful little hiss as he sat upright and smoothed down the front of his decidedly rumpled shirt, crinkling his nose indignantly at the green. “Kyrahth, really! I’m trying to be affectionate he – ”

I believe, the green stated, in tones of dead calm, tones that silenced A’emi instantly, that we were told that Castidenloth and His died in battle? At the greenrider’s silent nod, Kyrahth gave a soft hiss. We were misinformed, clearly. And then A’emi turned around entirely, pulling himself to his feet at the same time, and the emotion that swelled at the sight of the bluepair at the river was decidedly not positive.

Traitors. Sharding –
It would be hypocritical for us to proclaim any such thing.
See if that stops me!

The cold flash of fury, the ranting in his own mind, cowards stupid traitor cowards, were not outwardly expressed. Instead, A’emi bounced on the balls of his feet and then sped directly at the bluerider from behind, as silently as he could. One finger pressed to his lips in Castidenloth’s direction; he hoped that the playful grin on his face was enough to deter the blue from announcing his presence, but just in case, his mind brushed against Kyrahth’s. Distract.

Castidenloth, the green commented silkily, pacing towards the blue and the river, Your presence is unexpected. We had thought you and Yours to be dead.

And then A’emi threw himself at K’thay, arms winding around to grab the other man’s wrists to prevent any instinctive stabbing, and actively nuzzled his neck. “Darling, I’ve missed you!” Never mind that he’d never actually known K’thay that well, did it matter? Nope. “Why didn’t you come and find me sooner, I was so bored without any company, do you know how ugly the weyrs here are…?” Of course he did. Of course he did. He’d been here longer, living in the comfort of the south. Brat. How comfortable was this weather, hmm, hmm, K’thay?

[Tashe]

They touched down in a flurry of sand, the wind from Castidenloth's wings made everything beneath him stir. It was starting to get hot and for a Northerner it was borderline uncomfortable. He hadn't lived in the South long enough to get used to it's whether, and recently he had found himself pining for the colder Northern weather. Snow. Oh how he missed snow! He loved winters at Fort and if given the choice, he'd tough it through horrible cold rather than sit through a summer of hot weather. But alas, it seems as though he was doomed to suffer at Selenitas. Had leaving Fort really been worth the climate exchange? Stop thinking about how humid it is. You are making me even hotter. Get these straps off of me, they're itchy. Moving to unbuckle the first of the straps, K'thay scratched his own face, his stubble was finally returning. The Bluerider had shaved a few days ago in a fit of cleanliness, but had immediately regretted his decision. He liked his goatee, and was happy that it was growing back. Yes, yes. Your itching doesn't concern me. Mine does. Faster Kanmine.

A few minutes later, the battle scarred Blue was freed from his leathers and harness allowing him to reach back and rub to his heart's content. Much better. Here, let me see your face. In the attack, Castidenloth had gotten a new set of claw marks on his face. They started on the middle of his head and ran down over his eye, ending near the middle of his right cheek. Slowly running his fingers along the scabs, K'thay sighed. He got you good. What is a few scratches in exchange for being victorious? Yeah... victorious... Unlike his Dragon the Rider still carried a small sense of guilt, having to go up against Fort so soon after leaving it had been incredibly hard on him. K'thay still felt a small sense of loyalty toward his original Weyr, even though it was now run by a tyrant. Mine. The Blue's mindvoice was threaded with warning. He felt uncomfortable when his Human thought about their past life, preferring to look now toward the future and their career here at Selenitas. Sorry Cass. Lets get in that water, hey?

Locating a near by tree, K'thay strung up Castidenloth's leathers and removed his own safety belt in the process. As he organized things, the Blue had withdrawn in favor of something far more interesting. Lifting his head, the male watched as a human began to sneak up on his Rider. He was about to warn K'thay but a sudden realization stopped him. Well, that and a familiar voice. Kyrahth. He stood as she approached, ignoring the surprised noises coming from his human. Speaking of being unexpected... It is surprising to see you here. His gaze shifted to her human for a moment. He and the Green were only one Turn apart. Yes well, I bet half of Fort knows that we are not dead by now. R'anatar was not our- how do the humans say it? Not our cup of tea. After D'loro was killed, shamefully our loyalty toward Fort started to waver. Fort had attacked only a month after they had Betweened near the boarder, and he was pretty sure that he had recognized one of the Dragons he had dueled with. Did the battle Ground you? That, was his nicest way of asking whether she was here by choice or if she had been forced. And if she had been forced -aka a hostage- shouldn't there be a guard around?

He had just removed his shirt when a pair of hands grabbed his arms from behind. He resisted the urge to remove the unknown attacker for two reasons. First, Casti would have warned him if the person was unknown to them and secondly, the man's voice rang a bell. There was only one man he knew that had ever called him 'Darling' and coupled with that nuzzle? He knew who it was. "A'emi?" Removing one of the Greenrider's hands so he could turn around, K'thay was startled. "What in the name of little Green Dragons are you doing here?" A pause. "Not that I'm entirely unhappy to see a familiar face..." Another pause. "Excuse my surprise, and forgive me for not finding you." Removing two of his signature metal cases from his belt, more or less to keep them out of A'emi's reach, K'thay glanced over at Kyrahth. "Truth be told, I do prefer the Personal Weyrs at Fort much better. But I do have a nice view of the waterfall... so its not that bad." He deposited the needles into his harness bag. "You, bored? It seems hard to imagine." Although he was acting friendly, the Bluerider was still wary. There had always been something about the shorter man that he couldn't quite place, a fact which bugged him minutely. At Fort he hadn't needed to worry, but here was quite different. By reasoning, they were the Greenpair that had been left behind after the attack. So it was very possible that they hadn't defected.

[Avu]

I would imagine more than half, was Kyrahth’s smooth response; she was only paying half attention to Castidenloth. She was much more concerned about her Rider’s antics than she was about some silly blue she only half-remembered from Fort. He was nothing more than a name and a lie to her. Not that she was truly worried about A’emi; A’emi could take care of himself – it was K’thay she was anxious about. A’emi was truly angry at him, and for the greenrider, anger showed in unnecessary displays of affection. In a strange, backwards, twisted way, it made sense; he liked being able to feel how fragile people were, how much he wanted to break them and – Calm, dearest.

Calm. He was calm. Perhaps a little more touchy than he generally was, but A’emi was calm. Enough. The greenrider’s head tilted with interest as he released K’thay to allow the man to turn, tucking his thumbs into his belt as he bounced a step back. Pale blue eyes lingered on the cases that were being tucked out of his reach, and he fought back the impulse to reach out and grab them just to be contrary. Instead, he brushed his fingers against the smooth reed pipes in his pocket, gaze flashing instantly back up to the bluerider’s face at the words. A playful half-smile crossed his face as he responded, “I like surprising people. I’m good at it.”

Never mind that, most of the time, said surprises were not of the pleasant, surprise-party-it’s-your-Turnday-have-some-cake variety. That was beside the point. “But yeah, I can be bored.” He sniffed before he brushed past K’thay, towards Castidenloth and Kyrahth and the swollen river. “Selenitas doesn’t really like Fort right about now, and Kyrahth’s kinda stuck on the ground for right now, and you wouldn’t believe how much she complains. Has Casti ever been grounded? Can I call him that?” His gaze flicked towards the blue curiously, before he went on, not waiting for a response, “Come on, I was gonna bathe Kyr, you and Casti aren’t gonna ditch me, are you?”

Not really a choice, but there was definitely no threat in the words, either. Part of A’emi wanted to make K’thay hurt for being so – so stupid, such a coward, running away – he hadn’t run, had he? He would’ve fought and he would’ve died for Fort if Selenitas hadn’t been so bloody merciful, and if it hadn’t been for not wanting to hurt Kyrahth. But another part of him wanted a plaything very badly. He was fairly certain K’thay didn’t go for other men, but hell if he wasn’t going to play with him anyway. Besides, so much easier to make someone hurt if they were wrapped around his little finger.

The Weyrleader does not control the Weyr, Kyrahth yawned; the green curled next to the river, glancing patiently at A’emi. She wanted her bath. Hmph. You did not wish to follow Illumiath’s to Benden? Definite approval, there; Benden was The Enemy. Just because the idiot that ran their Weyr was oblivious and she didn’t like him didn’t mean she would run off to The Enemy with her tail between her legs. At least Castidenloth had that in his favor, though Kyrahth was fairly certain A’emi would be less than appeased. His question, however, had her gaze focused sharply upon him, and the blue received an even stare before Kyrahth responded. It certainly was not A’emi that was hurt.

Unspoken: We did not choose.

[Tashe]

"I can tell..." Casti touched his mind with the answer to their shared question. So they had been been left behind. Unfortunate really, it would have been nice to interact with other Fort defects. Not that Rayne wasn't interesting to talk to and he had yet to really interact with either Katar or F'ur... but that was not the point. Rubbing at his head, he ruffled his hair and sighed mentally. "I don't think Selenitas ever actually liked Fort. Just despised us... them less." The Bluerider corrected his speech. "I was grilled like a fish when I suddenly appeared out of no where." He often caught himself slipping back into the old, us verses them. Part of K'thay still thought himself as a Fortian, while the other part knew that his loyalties now lay with Selenitas. He needed to get what words he used under control.

"I don't think he will mind." He met the Blue's gaze before folding and putting away the shirt he had dropped on the sand and grass mixed ground. "Recently? A two and a half months ago he was grounded for two sevendays. Took a hit to the side of his neck in battle, lost a lot of ichor before he was patched up. Before that I can't recall how many times he was grounded. Fort tended to send us on do-or-die missions." Grabbing a small pack of supplies, in case Castidenloth decided he actually wanted to be given a bath, K'thay slowly made his way toward the river. Since he wasn't one to be rude until he had to, the Bluerider was trapped. He couldn't leave without an excuse, because Kyrahth had probably seen them land only moments ago. So yes, he really didn't have a choice. Come on Cass. If I'm stuck here, so are you. Lets soak in the river like we came here to do, but we get to... have companions to speak with. You are not comfortable. Am I ever with people? Especially those who are, by recent events, our enemy? Shards it feels so wrong to be calling Fort the enemy. Aye. I know.

We were not aware of their departure until it happened. He paused and stretched his neck before continuing, using that time to analyze the emotion that had been behind the Green's question. Even if we had, defecting to Benden would never had been an option. Almost the truth, but not really. Both Castidenloth and his rider believed in loyalty, and they were still loyal to D'loro's memory, but J'lorin was not their old Weyrleader. He might have been the next best thing, and a trip to Benden might have been considered if offered to them... but in the end, Casti reasoned that the decision would have favored staying. At least, if it was up to him. He had developed a odd liking for Selenitas, but it was akin to the feeling one got when on leave to a Hold. Of course. His tail drew a line in the sand as it swept to the side. I should have noticed your injuries sooner. Looking over at his Human when K'thay contacted him, Castidenloth padded toward the river and snaked into it. Standing in the shallows he looked down at his Rider when he approached, jar of medicine in his hand. I dislike that stuff.

[Avu]

“You were? You were?” A’emi flicked his hands expressively into the air as he bounced back to glance at K’thay. “I wasn’t. It’s – I don’t even get it. Like, what, really? We just invaded Selenitas airspace, took out some of their dragons and Weyrfolk, get taken down, and they just kind of…set me free? I don’t get it. What’d they ask you?” What was unspoken was, what did you tell them? Clearly, if he was here, trusted, part of Selenitas, the Weyr, then he’d spilled his guts out upon being grilled. Silly K’thay. He probably hadn’t even thought to make up a bunch of complex lies and throw them out. If you can’t stun them with superiority, then baffle them with a bunch of bullshit. A’emi loved that – though he somewhat doubted K’thay did.

Actually, A’emi wasn’t really sure what K’thay did and didn’t. And it was frustrating, but that was okay. It’d be fixed, all in due time. His description of Castidenloth’s injury made A’emi quirk his lips in a sympathetic half-smile before he pulled off shirt and boots, pulling the knife that hung at his belt out of the sheath and dropping them into a pile on the ground before he threw himself into the river, mindless of any river rocks in his path. It was probably pure dumb luck that stopped him from ramming straight into the rock that instead the greenrider caught onto with his palms, pushing himself half out of the water so he could sit on the rock in question and raise one hand to crook his finger at Kyrahth. Bath, darling, c’mon. To K’thay, he spit out a playful stream of water, and then said, around the sour taste of the river, “That’s the one that everyone thought you’d died ‘cause of, right?”

Whatever you say, Castidenloth. The words were simple, not friendly, but not, strictly speaking, unfriendly, either, but it displayed perfectly her distrust of the blue. Kyrahth uncurled from her spot next to the river at A’emi’s gesture, sliding silently into the river. Her claws curled around the river rocks at the bottom, wings flaring again, stretching to their fullest extent. The green’s gaze remained focused on Castidenloth, though, even as A’emi stood upright on a nearby rock, ignoring the slippery moss underfoot to tug at the left wing, pulling it down to examine the scarring.

That hurts, the green reported, sharpness edging her tone, as A’emi brushed his fingers against the stitched membrane.
I know, dearest, I know, he replied, soothing, a sympathetic hum sounding in his throat before he glanced at K’thay. “What’s that? Am I allowed to ask that?” One hand flicked, indicating the jar in the bluerider’s hand before he squatted on the stone, pulling Kyrahth’s wing down with him and pressing a playful kiss to it. “Do you, on the off chance, carry a portable Infirmary with you? Kyr really needs like – dragon lotion or something, only the Healers I think maybe hate me, so I don’t wanna ask them…”

Which was, disappointedly, actually the truth. Either hated him, or were afraid of him. One or the other, and there didn’t seem to be many (at least, not that he’d met) that fell in any other category.

[Tashe]

"Mainly questions about why and how I got here. What my intentions were, excetera, excetera." Twisting the top of the jar off, he tucked the lid into his pocket and stuck his fingers in the blue tinted goo. "I was honestly surprised that they did not ask many questions about Fortian battle information." He paused and tilted his head up. "Two I think was the total. They were more concerned with making sure I wasn't a decoy for a bigger attack than gathering information." He shook his head and motioned for Castidenloth to lower his. "I think that one point soon they will swoop down to question you. I don't think they believe you are a flight risk when you are grounded." He began applying the ointment. "So it gives them time to focus on more, for lack of a better word, important things. Whatever that might be."

As his Blue submerged his head so that the water line hit under his nose, K'thay balanced on his toes so he could reach higher up on the scabs. "And yes. Those were the injures." He glanced around Casti's head eying the newest of his scars. "Being grounded was annoying to say the least." To Casti; "Down farther please." The Blue drew in breath before submerging a little farther, so that K'thay could get at the top of his head. Massaging the ointment onto the scabbing, the Bluerider made sure that his body didn't brush up against Castidenloth's eye. "Hmm?" He peeked at A'emi from behind the Blue's head. "Oh this? It is scab salve. Casti tends to crack his scabs, this gives the skin around them a little more flexibility so they don't break and then Ichor as often."

Pulling the lid out of his pants, the ex-Fortian wiped the rest of the goo on his fingers onto the Blue's head before capping the jar. "Actually I do. Sort of. I have my battle patch-n-go kit with me." He tended to take it with him everywhere, if only because he often forgot to remove it from his riding harness. It contained small jars of the essentials. Aloe gel for burns, numbweed, redwort, sutures, and needles for other injuries. And of course scab and scar salves. "You are welcome to a scab or a scar salve. Otherwise I only have aloe gel, though I don't know how effective that will be."

Lifting his head out of the water when K'thay finished, he blinked a few times. The goo always felt gross on his eyelid, he hated how it felt but put up with it only because it allowed him to blink without pain. Shaking his head Castidenloth splattered his Rider with the runoff from his muzzle. "Thank you Cass." You're welcome. Nudging His with his nose, the Blue readjusted his hold on the river bed. He tried to ignore the fact Kyrahth was watching him, he wasn't much one for staring contests.

[Avu]

Why. How. Intentions. Hmm, they’d already gotten that mostly covered, hadn’t they? A’emi crinkled his nose mindlessly, torn between disapproval and amusement as the bluerider went on. Hmm. Not a flight risk, no, but he sure as hell could pass coordinates for between – as well as information. More important? That’d probably be Ar’ren, though. Being Wingsecond and a hostage had to suck, he mused absently. He hummed quietly in a noncommittal response to K’thay, head tilting thoughtfully towards Kyrahth, automatically brushing against her mind questioningly for her opinion – but the green made no immediate answer; her attention was still focused silently upon Castidenloth.

That looks disgusting, she commented derisively (albeit privately) to A’emi, before she snorted delicately. I shouldn’t fret, my love; we can hardly expect not to be interrogated. No use meeting them halfway. Her words were accompanied by a low sigh as she sank lower in the water, allowing A’emi to tip her wing membrane from one side to the other, narrowly inspecting the threading. Stitches; he hated them and by proxy, Kyrahth did, too – it made A’emi twitchy to see the black knots dark against the green’s hide, and ironically, if it weren’t for his upset over the sight, Kyrahth wouldn’t have minded at all. As it was…both of them were counting down the days till they could be removed.

“Looks like it hurts,” the greenrider commented sympathetically, nodding at Castidenloth’s scars; Kyrahth had none. Or she’d had none, prior to these. “Or hurt, anyway. Probably doesn’t anymore…?” His head tipped to one side curiously, A’emi setting down Kyrahth’s wing after brushing his lips affectionately across the membrane one last time. “That’d be great. Scar salve, that is. She’s not sunburned, I don’t think.” Surprisingly, neither was he; A’emi was obsessive about things like that, probably the only reason his skin was still pale and not lobster-red. “Mind getting it for me, darling? Doubt you’d want me going through your things and I’d probably end up getting the wrong thing anyhow.”

Not that he’d mind going through K’thay’s things, but he really, really doubted it would be approved of. And his burst of fury had been relatively short-lived; it had settled to a very manageable level and he just kind of wanted company for the moment. It sounded sad and it sounded lonely even in his head, but he did; A’emi liked human contact in any form and being deprived of it was absolutely mind-numbing, Kyrahth or not. Speaking of human contact…“If you’re free,” A’emi added (if he was aware of making such a huge leap in conversation, he gave no indication, but then, he rarely did), “would you spar with me? I’m bored to death and I don’t wanna ask anyone who might decide that stopping at first blood’s not good enough, y’know?”

Technically, he could ask Ar’ren, too, but he hadn’t seen the brownrider for a while and he wasn’t really sure he wanted to – besides which, he was fairly certain Ar’ren was already aware of how he preferred to fight. Which would make it very, very boring.

“I don’t mean now, obviously, can’t really fight dripping wet, but y’know…later. Whenever.”

[Tashe]

"Casti says it still itches sometimes, but the pain is all but gone." He waded back to the shore but because of the tugging current K'thay ended up coming out a foot or more from the point he had been aiming for. The water ran in rivulets down his legs and marked his path up to his riding leathers. It was true, he would have been very unhappy if A'emi had gone through the wrong harness bag in search of the salve. Switching the scab salve for the scar salve, the Bluerider made sure to cinch both harness packs closed before leaving them behind. He needed to replace Castidenloth's neck plate, it was scored so deeply from so many sets of claws that he wasn't sure it would hold up to much more. But as of today, he had only a scant amount of marks to his name. At Fort you could requisition new parts for your harness, at Selenitas he had yet to discover whether or not it was the same old routine or you had to get your own. Sinking into the water, he pushed through the swollen river. Be careful mine, it gets faster the farther you go in. Thanks.

Although the jar was water tight, he tried his best to keep it out of it. Using his free arm the Bluerider shuffled diagonally through the river until he reached the rock upon which A'emi was perched on. "Here." K'thay pushed himself up so he could hand off the salve. Once he was free of the white goo, he let go of the rock and swam away with the current. Grabbing Casti's upheld claw, he swung around so that he rested against the Blue's shoulder. Crossing his arms, the Bluerider kept himself above the surface by pumping his legs. Spar? Well, he could see where the other man was coming from, before he was assigned to a wing he had been of the same mind set. Not knowing or trusting any of the Selenitas riders enough to let them get near him with an open blade. Rayne had been some help, but she hadn't been on a fighting wing and he had yet to speak with Inocenth's... he shook his head slightly with amusement. Technically, he was still a hostage, but that was by Selenitas standards. "Why not. The terms of your hostage status seem to be very lax anyways."