not quite a kidnapping [r'wign~]

[Avu]

LoveMine look! The brown Salamandyr’s exultant exclamation made Meira pause for the third time in as many steps, indulgently turning in the direction that Mimic’s head was turned; the brown Salamandyr had taken up residence on her shoulder and was actually spinning around in his excitement; there was so much to see at the Gather and he was absolutely delighted with everything at present moment. Both wings flared and he snaked around to her other shoulder, tail winding securely around the hand Meira raised automatically to keep him from falling off of her completely and getting potentially squashed (he didn’t seem to realize the danger in being as small as he was and among so many feet, but it made Meira’s stomach twist in knots at the thought) so he could coo in fascination in the direction of one of the stalls. This time, it was one of the bone masks that had caught his attention. So pretty~

“Very,” Meira agreed indulgently, though her gaze lingered only for a moment before she glanced around at the people again. She was looking for someone, namely because that someone had Riaren and Meira wanted to see if she could steal her son back for a while. Progress was slow, both because of the fact that it seemed most of the people had decided to wear costumes and because of the fact that Mimic kept getting distracted and she’d stopped almost every time he’d cried out for her to look. Maybe she shouldn’t, but he was adorable and –

Make him stop. Well, not adorable to everyone. Jingth’s message was private; she knew well enough by now that to directly tell Mimic to ‘stop’ made him upset, like he’d done something wrong – but the vaguely irritated tone in the dragon’s voice was unmistakable. He’s distracting you and at this rate you’ll never find Checkoth’s /or/ the hatchling. Maybe this would work better if everyone was standing completely still and you could go around and look under all of the masks, hnn… A pause before the gold added, this time determinedly ignoring Mimic’s sudden surge of delight as someone manipulated one of the bone marionettes, I could make that happen… The silky note to her voice was undeniable now.

Meira blinked twice before she reached up to lift Mimic off of her shoulder absently, shaking her head in a physical response to Jingth’s offer. She was sure that to make everyone stop completely what they were doing would involve something very loud – like shrieking. Or, more likely, getting one of the other dragons to shriek for her. No…thanks, but no; I’m going… Her gaze dropped to Mimic for a moment as the brown Salamandyr curled around her fingers, peering avidly after the dragon marionette; so fascinating, the clink of bones as the shopkeeper made it dance like that…he wanted to see. But on the other hand, he also wanted to see the babylove and maybe the babylove wanted to see the marionettes too, so it made sense to get the babylove first, yes? Yes, of course.

They – Meira, and Mimic on her shoulder or on her wrist or wherever he happened to be – had been looking for R’wign for awhile. Not incredibly long a time, but still long enough that Jingth was getting slightly frustrated, especially given that Mimic got distracted so often. The gold was still at Blossom, loathe to take the long straight flight back to the Weyr without Hers, sprawled inelegantly by the famous lake with all of the dolphins in it. Watching them had provided an idle amusement for a time, but that had passed all too quickly; in the end they were just fish, and so she’d gone back to examining the Gather very intently through Meira’s eyes.

Meira had taken perhaps ten steps forward when Mimic squeaked in delight again. Look! he exclaimed, and Jingth grumbled audibly and attempted to burrow into the sand; must the Salamandyr be so excitable? However, when the word was followed by Mimic actively leaping off of Meira’s palm to streak fearlessly through feet and past ankles (earning a few bewildered looks and one shriek from an unsuspecting woman), the gold’s head came up in alarm and she turned to look anxiously towards the Gather, where Meira had paled visibly and scrambled after the Salamandyr. Dignified? No, but she was afraid for him – so many feet. So many people not looking at the ground. She wasn’t sure why Mimic had gone – but when she found him, she certainly hadn’t expected him to be sitting on R’wign’s foot, cooing up at the brownrider and (more importantly, to Mimic) to the baby that he held.

Love love babylove hiiiii~ The greeting to R’wign rode on a loud croon. Found babylove, LoveMine!

“Um, yes…thanks, Mimic.” Her nose crinkled slightly before Meira smiled at both brownrider and baby, wiggling her fingers in a wave at Riaren, though her gaze lingered curiously on the rainbow star that her son held; had they been selling those at the Toy Stall…? “Hi – I’ve been looking for you.” The words were for R’wign, though she didn’t actually look away from Riaren for another moment. “I wanted to see if I could steal Riaren for a while…? That’s really cute…” she added, nodding at the rainbow star.

[glamourie]

“Hi Mimic.”

The salamandyr’s presence was not, for once, something that R’wign wanted to see. In fact, half of him wanted very badly to run away from Mimic and dive into one of the nearby tents until the creature lost sight of him. It was silly and petty – but R’wign knew that wherever Mimic went, Meira wasn’t far behind, and while R’wign liked Meira very much, he did not want to see her. Because if she was hunting him down, it was for Riaren, and he wanted to keep Riaren with him. He felt like he didn’t spend enough time with his son, and he was having a lot of fun at the Gather with the baby… a ridiculous amount of fun, actually. Probably more than he would have with most adults. Riaren laughed at his jokes and just generally seemed to like being around him. It was a baffling idea; until the Gather, he always felt awkward with the baby, like he was constantly making mistakes, but Riaren seemed happy that day, contentedly clinging to him and grinning ear-to-ear and he seemed to really like the star too. So R’wign didn’t want to give Riaren back to Meira yet. He wanted to savor the non-awkward moments while they were there… and R’wign was pretty sure that the only reason Mimic would be hunting him down was so that Riaren could go back to Meira. Cue sulking.

The healer shifted the baby in his arms, and Riaren looked down at Mimic with a smile, still holding the star up toward his mouth. His other hand moved over to open and close in a little wave at the salamandyr, mostly oblivious to his father’s discontent and the slight disapproval on his voice. He was happy – the little Mimic worm was there and so was his papa and that was good.

The pair looked… absolutely hysterical together. After his visit to the jewelry stall, R’wign had added the painting of a skeleton to his face, on the left jaw around his eyepatch. It matched his skeleton costume, which in turn matched Riaren’s skeleton one-piece. They were complimented by the gold perched on R’wign’s shoulder, who was painted to have white ribs and wingbones. The father/son pair really did match. R’wign however had some new additions: two piercings at the top of the cartilage of his left ear, with a metal bar connecting the two of them. The right ear had three small studs right at the very middle on the outside, and all of the piercings were silver. He also was not done but the ones on his face he was waiting until the end of the Gather to get – just because he knew it would be difficult to speak and he wanted to be able to talk just fine for the contests. He was determined to win. Not that he needed marks or anything but R’wign was… R’wign.

Sure enough, moments later Meira appeared and R’wign forced a pleasant smile to his face to disguise the fact that he was already sulking. He’d have to hunt down M’ta to keep himself occupied… or maybe look for some kind of gift to give his weyrmate, though it was hard to find anything that he thought M’ta would like. He glanced down at Riaren in his arms, nodding to Meira as she spoke.

“You hear that, ‘Ren? Your mommy wants to steal you. And we were having such fun, weren’t we? We talked to the apprentice girl, and we wandered around a lot, and we got you your new staaaar… Show it to your mommy, Riaren, please?” He looked up at Meira and crinkled his nose. “For what I paid for it, I hope it’s cute. He won’t suck on the red corner though. He keeps offering it to me, and it’s like, thanks Riaren, I’ll happily take your leftovers, who cares if you’ve drooled all over the rest.” His head cocked to the side and he shifted the baby, not quite holding him out. “I was hoping to have him sit with me for the Storytelling contest. He’s my favorite audience… and I could use the good luck charm. Right Riaren? You can tell me if my stories are bad. You’re always very honest with me. If you fall asleep that means they’re too boring. Right?”

[Avu]

Hiii~ the brown repeated; the temptation to actually crawl up the Healer’s leg so he could get to Riaren was quashed due to the fact that, somehow, Mimic doubted that R’wign would approve very much and he wanted to make people happy. The note of disapproval in R’wign’s voice went unnoticed, since Riaren had just waved at him and the Salamandyr actively cooed at the baby, spinning on R’wign’s foot to look up at His and chirp pleasantly. Off of the brownrider’s foot he skittered and right in front of Meira, Mimic reared up, crooning; just because he didn’t realize how dangerous it was for a creature as small as he to be scampering around on his own didn’t mean he didn’t feel Meira’s anxiety about him – and Jingth’s, though the gold’s was partly irritation as well. The latter was ignored, though; His wasn’t upset at him and even though it made him sad that the gold was, she wasn’t as important as His was. And he was too happy to be sad. Pretty star, so pretty.

The smile that flickered across Meira’s face was one that refused to be repressed. Seeing Riaren always, without fail, drew a smile from her; she adored her son – but this time it was more because of the costumes that baby and brownrider wore. Her own attire was much simpler: Just a black, knee-length dress with sleeves that draped loosely around her arms (the effort it took to resist pulling the sleeves up to her shoulders where it felt like they belonged was extraordinary). Relatively loose skirts, more girlish than actually womanly, but it felt more comfortable than any tight or extremely elegant dress could. She leaned down to pick up Mimic before she lifted him up, the Salamandyr springing to her shoulder and turning around to coo at Riaren adoringly.

The brownrider’s words made Meira tilt her head slightly to one side, gaze flickering momentarily down to Riaren again. She was glad they’d had fun, and the comment about the star made her actually grin, amused; Riaren seemed to like to suck on the stuffed firelizard back at the Weyr, too, and until a while ago he’d tried to suck on Mimic’s tail. The Salamandyr hadn’t minded in the least, but Meira still hadn’t allowed it; most Salamandyrs would mind and given that the general species did not seem to be half as amiable as Mimic was, it wasn’t a habit that Meira wanted Riaren to have. “The Storytelling – you’re entering? When is it?” A pause, and then she added, crinkling her nose slightly, “Where is it…? I mean, I’ll bring Riaren back by then…” And she kind of wanted to watch. She’d heard about such a competition, but the time and location hadn’t been outright said and she lacked the courage to interrupt people she didn’t know to ask.

“Do I have permission to kidnap my son, then…?” The words were slightly hesitant; R’wign had shifted Riaren, but it wasn’t quite obvious and she didn’t want to just grab Riaren and bolt. That would be rude and she liked that R’wign wanted Riaren with him – she did. No sooner had the words left her mouth, though, did Mimic leap down from her shoulder to her forearm.

Ear shinies! Yes, he’d just seen them and the first thought to cross the Salamandyr’s mind was that ooh, wouldn’t Doppelganger love such shiny pretties? Manners kept him from actually leaping onto R’wign’s free shoulder and examining them, though Mimic did rear onto his hind legs to get a few inches closer to the shinies in question. When shinies come? Because one did not just find a shiny anywhere; shinies came to you. Meira glanced up automatically as well, though she didn’t actually ask; Mimic had said it all for her (albeit not quite in the words she would have chosen). She was curious, too, but Meira also didn’t want to get distracted from Riaren. Not that Jingth would let her get distracted; the gold dragon wasn’t speaking but the gentle brush of her mind was enough.

[glamourie]

He really was happiest when he had his mama and papa both there at once – as evidenced by Riaren’s bright grin and happy shove of the star toward Meira, almost as though he understood exactly what his father was saying. She needed to seeee, see the pretty, it was very colorful and it tasted okay though not that good. It was good for sucking on though, because his papa didn’t mind if he kept it in his mouth. The talking made him squirm, not uncomfortably, but out of sheer happiness and he leaned his head back to be touching R’wign’s chest. One hand came up to grasp the black shirt in his little fist as he watched Meira, Mimic temporarily forgotten. He liked the salamandyr plenty, yes, but his mommy and daddy were both there and he didn’t see them together for very long all that often. It made him very happy to have them both with him at once. His little arms flailed as Meira and R’wign spoke to one another and all at once he burst into a series of ‘babababababa!’ sounds – baby babbling as he doubtlessly tried to participate in the adult conversation. He agreed… with both of them, of course.

Shifting Riaren again, R’wign resisted the urge to snicker. He turned back to Meira and shrugged slightly, “I’m not really sure. I think it’s in a couple candlemarks but they haven’t announced the exact time, which makes it difficult… and of course I’m participating. It’s me. Haven’t you learned by now that I can’t resist any chance to make a fool of myself? It should be taking place near where the Dancing Square will be, probably before the music starts. I don’t know. I’ve never been to a Gather like this one before. The ones in Nerat aren’t quite like this and most of the ones here have been pretty traditional. Oh, you wanted him…” He glanced down at Riaren and crinkled his nose. “For my ego’s sake, I’m going to pretend that babbling of yours is Riarenish for ‘But mommy, daddy really wants to keep me today’ even though it probably translates more to ‘Heeeey I got a star.’” His head cocked to the side and he smiled before passing the baby (reluctantly) off to his mother.

The salamandyr’s inquiry made R’wign turn back to him and Ellie shifted on her mindmate’s shoulder. The gold gave a slight twitch of her wing before she peeped quietly and leaned forward, her eyes whirling. R’wign’s twitchiness showed through more to her, and the gold shifted her weight on his shoulder, bouncing back and forth. Her tail snaked over to wrap firmly around the healer’s neck. She didn’t want the little hatchling to go away…

Bringing one hand to his still very sore ears, R’wign nodded to the salamandyr. “Piercings, and about half a candlemark ago,” he explained. Since they were so fresh, his ears were hyper sensitive and Ellie made that more obvious by neatly avoiding touching them at all. R’wign had a ridiculously high pain threshold so he probably wouldn’t have squawked or anything odd, but it would hurt and Ellie hated to see Hers hurting. “I’m getting more too, after the Gather is over – two in my lip.” He brought his now-free hand up to his bottom lip, index and middle finger pointing to where the two piercings would go for Mimic to see. “But they’ll make talking difficult and I don’t want to sabotage myself for the Storyteller Contest. I have to win so that Riaren can come back in ten turns and be ashamed of being related to me.” His head bobbed and he grinned widely, unable to help himself. He had a hard time imagining Riaren as a preteen. He wanted the baby to stay small forever.

R’wign turned back to Meira and gestured vaguely before an eyebrow rose curiously. “I want to paint skeletons onto your dress, Meira. Then you will match us. Do you know where my weyrmate ran off to? If you’re filching the baby, I have to find someone new to entertain me…”

[Avu]

Blink. Riaren’s input made Meira smile, head tilting to one side to regard her son; the babbling was what came before actually talking, wasn’t it…? She wasn’t sure when exactly babies usually said their first word but Riaren was over six months by now. The weyrlingrider would have worried about it had Riaren not obviously been making an effort to talk, as demonstrated by his outburst, and the fact that he seemed, though she knew she was biased, quite intelligent. Anyway, it didn’t bear fretting over now – not at the Gather. Both hands lifted, not to take the star but to tug at it without actually pulling hard enough to take it from Riaren; the gesture was a very playful one. That it was actually damp from the baby sucking on it (all except for one point, of course) didn’t bother her; she’d gotten used to having baby drool on a lot of things. “It’s a beautiful star~” she said softly, seriously, before she dropped her hands again and looked back up at R’wign.

Time and place was rather…lacking on specifics, wasn’t it? Her nose crinkled slightly and the goldrider laughed slightly. “Well – yeah, I’ll bring Riaren back, I don’t plan on kidnapping him entirely…” And if she was late for whatever reason (she wouldn’t be; she wanted to watch the competition, after all), Checkoth could always bespeak Jingth about it and she could all out run for the Dance Square, surely? She stepped forward to take Riaren as he was offered to her, his weight settling against her abdomen; Meira tilted her head to look down at the baby, kissing his forehead lightly before she shifted his weight into a position more comfortable for both Riaren and for herself, more secure. His head leaned against her shoulder, dark green eyes meeting hers for a moment before he turned to look back at R’wign, smiling widely at his father. The star was still clutched in his hands.

Mimic almost went straight for Riaren at that moment, but R’wign was talking to him and the Salamandyr crooned pleasantly, winding around Meira’s neck and tilting his head at the brownrider. Piercings! What were piercings? The Salamandyr’s wings flared and he crooned again. Stay how? he inquired, quite fascinated by the idea of piercings. Could he get one? Doppelganger should get one; his brother would just love that, yes? But how did they not just…fall off, the shinies…? That they could actually go through skin did not occur to Mimic. It just didn’t, because that would hurt. Shamed not babylove; love you~

“I would’ve let you paint them on at the Weyr…” The words were absentminded; it didn’t really matter now. Meira was pretty sure R’wign didn’t carry white paint around with him, and even if he did, it wasn’t like they could just spontaneously decide to start painting all over her dress. Her cheek rested gently against Riaren’s, her gaze obviously adoring as Riaren raised one of his hands in an imitation of his father to press his fingers, splayed apart, across his jaw; was that right…? His other hand (with the stuffed star resting on his chest where it was safe) had curled comfortably around his mother’s sleeve. The baby gave a questioning coo, squirming slightly; this was how it went, yes, yes, he was doing it right? Meira had to grin at Riaren, but she did look up at R’wign to shake her head. “I haven’t seen him, actually – sorry…I could help you hunt him down, if you wanted, though?”

On a more random note, given that it had been primarily Mimic interested before, one hand rose briefly to tug on one ear lobe absently to indicate the ear piercings before she inquired, “Piercings – do they hurt…?”

She probably wouldn’t get hers pierced anyway, but she’d wanted to once upon a time when she was younger; the idea of the potential pain had been enough to put her off for time being, though. Riaren was turning his head back and forth between them by now; solemn eyes appraised his mother for a moment before he raised his hand from his jaw to his ear too, though it was his whole ear that the baby cupped one palm over. His mother’d tugged on her lower ear but his father’s new ear-things were on the middle and the top…so he’d just cover all his bases, yes?

[glamourie]

R’wign casually lifted one hand to poke Riaren on the nose as the baby turned to smile at him. Playfully, the healer cocked his head to the side and made a little face – lips stuck out in a decidedly fish-like expression. It lasted only a second before he looked back up at Meira with a curious expression. Laughing at him, she was. He was tempted to needle her about it – Meira was so shy that it might actually get him an interesting response. It wasn’t often that she seemed willing to speak up on anything though that was changing (he credited Jingth with that) some. He remembered her making a facetious comment to him about the infirmary once, too – and him accusing her of sass. So it was getting a little better, though he was really determined to make Meira talk more even if just around him. That in mind, he feigned an indignant sniff and said to Riaren, rather than his mother, “You hear that, she doesn’t plan on kidnapping you entirely. So she claims. Do we believe her? I don’t think we believe her, handsome. I think she’s plotting to steal you away and use you to get marks from people like that bronzerider who Impressed Mimic’s brother.” Because R’wign would never, ever plot to swindle marks out of Mi’rah. Of course not. He was far too nice to do anything like that. Really. (He also didn’t like pie. Anyone who said otherwise was a liar.)

And on the subject of the salamandyr, he was inquiring after the earrings. R’wign leaned over to give Mimic a closer look (practically touching Meira as a result, but that honestly didn’t occur to him). He lifted one hand to his ear with the industrial piercing, and gently pushed the top of his ear over. It stung horribly but R’wign’s only outward response was a slight wince; the movement showed where the bar went completely through his ear, with the fastenings on either side. After a second he let his ear go, the skin turning red from the movement; it was irritated from being messed with so soon after the piercing. R’wign had a fairly high tolerance for pain, so he didn’t complain.

“See how it works?” he explained with a slight cock of his head. “It goes completely through my ear, then fastens behind it. The ones on the other ear work the same way. That’s what a piercing is. It means putting something through something else. In this case, metal through my ear. Do you understand?” It never dawned on him to find it unusual that he was talking so frankly with a salamandyr. Just because he didn’t like most of them did not mean R’wign found the creatures unintelligent; far from. Of course, he also found firelizards disgustingly intelligent; having so many made him biased. He tended to treat them like little humans for a reason.

His head tilted up toward Meira, ignoring the salamandyr’s attempt at… reassurance? He arched an eyebrow and replied, “If I’d known you were wearing a black dress, I would’ve. I just assumed you were going to wear something more fancy.” He leaned down to kiss Riaren’s forehead lightly (yes he was being awkward, no he didn’t care) before shrugging. “It’s up to you – I mean, I’m sure I can find him easily. Checkoth is probably laying on Behruth somewhere anyway.” He stepped back slightly so as not to crowd Meira and he shrugged somewhat, one hand coming up to mess with the lobe of his left ear agitatedly. “They’re brand new, so yes, they sting a bit. They’ll get better though. I plan to do my lip, too, and that one’ll hurt more.” He brought one hand down so that Riaren could take it if he wanted; he really was reluctant to let the baby go, as evidenced by the blatant affection. “The key to them really is to keep them clean, ‘cause there’s a chance of infection and that would hurt. But in terms of pain, it’s not lingering or anything weird. Promise I’m not going to faint awkwardly or anything.”

R’wign was oblivious to Meira tugging on her ear, namely because he’d looked back down on Riaren. The baby was good at distracting him. He lightly tugged on the star and crinkled his nose back at the infant, obviously amused. He didn’t speak. Mentally, he prodded Checkoth to ask his clutchbrother where M’ta ran off to – he wanted the other brownrider to accompany him on the boats anyway. And to the leather stall. There were a few things he wanted to ask M’ta’s opinion on…

[Avu]

The poke made Riaren smile widely, crinkling his nose in the same expression. It was comical, but Riaren neither noticed nor cared. One fist waved in the air at being addressed. He couldn’t possibly understand what his father was saying but it didn’t stop him from pretending to. Eyes brightened before he said in a way that clearly signaled his agreement, “Aguh.” Elegant? Not quite. Comprehensible? Not really. But it pleased him nonetheless; Riaren squirmed slightly in his mother’s arms and smiled brightly again. His stuffed star was dropped carefully between his body and his mother’s where it would stay and, both hands now freed, Riaren latched onto a lock of Meira’s hair with one hand, the other reaching for R’wign. Hold them both, he would, and then neither of them could go. Good idea, yes yes?

Meira’s smile was clearly amused. One hand reached up to wrap loosely around Riaren’s hand to make sure he didn’t pull – he didn’t often but she’d rather not let him – before she scrunched her mouth slightly to one side. “Riaren likes Doppelganger, don’t you?” she inquired of the baby, whose smile widened at being addressed. “I wasn’t planning on stealing marks from Mi’rah…” A pause; she tilted her head slightly to look up at the brownrider. “I think I’ll leave things like that to you.” Because clearly he’d thought about it and it hadn’t ever occurred to her to use Riaren to get money, not to mention she wouldn’t have the first idea how to go about it. Her hand dropped from Riaren’s to shift her son upwards, his tiny hand still clutching her hair. Not pulling, just holding on. He liked just holding on, clearly. His other hand had dropped back to his star, possessive, but he didn’t suck on it; his gaze was still focused on R’wign, adoring. Loved his father so much, he did.

Ow. was Mimic’s only comment. Riaren’s weight was shifted primarily onto one arm and Meira lifted her other hand so the Salamandyr could actually see without R’wign doubling over. The Salamandyr leaned forward precariously, tail winding around her wrist to keep from toppling right off again, before he crooned. R’wign was a fixer, so he’d know how to make it not hurt; that was what Healers did. Right? Right. Of course. Understand, thaaank you~ So nice of him, yes. Mimic didn’t linger though; he turned and scurried back up to Riaren so he could take up one of his favorite spots ever: Curled around the baby’s wrist. He’d chosen the hand that was clutching Meira’s hair, to be closer to LoveHis.

“You didn’t have to – show him…oh, and sorry.” Because – bending his ear like that had hurt, hadn’t it, fainting or not? The apology mainly for not informing the brownrider what she’d be wearing to the Gather; Meira had assumed that he wouldn’t be interested and so – she hadn’t. But – he was very affectionate towards Riaren, wasn’t he? Meira lifted Riaren up and towards R’wign slightly to accommodate the kiss to the baby’s forehead, which earned a pleased smile from Riaren. Attention was so nice. The hand coming towards him made Riaren grab at his father’s fingers. He had no intentions of letting go, either. Meira crinkled her nose playfully at the baby as he looked up at her, wrapping his fingers as tightly as he could around R’wign’s thumb and pulling it towards his mouth, almost automatically; his other hand still stayed firmly curled around her hair, even as Meira nodded to the brownrider’s explanation before she tilted her head slightly, looking back to R’wign again. “I don’t want to just steal Riaren and leave or anything – not that I can unless he lets go…”

Riaren cooed in response, perhaps recognizing his name and perhaps because he was just happy, and squirmed slightly again, crinkling his nose adoringly at both of his parents. Haaaappy, see, see? He was.

[glamourie]

Doppelganger was the other salamandyr’s name? That was odd; Mimic and Doppelganger. R’wign crinkled his nose again (seemingly not noticing that Riaren was trying to duplicate his expressions). Then again, he had some ‘interesting’ names for his pets, so he was not entirely sure that he had a right to comment. Most of his pets had names that related to their personalities in some way – Empress, Elegance, Grouch – or the way that he Impressed them – Crash, Hazard, Stumpy – with Roxie as the exception to the rule: her name was runoff from when he was barely grown, if seventeen could qualify as grown. It was picked as a ‘pretty’ name and in the end, he still thought it fit her well, though when he was annoyed at the green, she frequently became ‘Bigmouth.’ The nickname was not one that the firelizard approved of at all, but as if that would stop R’wign. The more annoying that she was, the more he used it – heh.

The grasp on his hand made R’wign wiggle his fingers. He wasn’t trying to escape – he was just playing with Riaren. “You make it sound like I’m a thief,” R’wign said with a very distinct pout that probably would’ve been cute if not for the slightly evil look in his eyes. Yeah, evil. “I’d never actually steal but if he believes me… well…” R’wign gave an indignant sniff. He’d been plotting against Mi’rah for some time. His name was so similar to Meira’s that it was just asking for mocking and from what he heard, the bronzerider was somewhat (okay extremely) naïve and gullible. R’wign wasn’t someone who was usually malicious but he did love messing with people. Odds were, if Mi’rah tried to spend too much, he’d stop him… well, possibly. The truth was, R’wign loved to spoil his son and if Mi’rah was going to help with that, he might… accidentally… possibly… mislead the other man. Maybe. Perhaps. (Cue shifty eyes.)

“I know I didn’t have to show him, but I was okay with it,” R’wign explained with a slight shrug. “He’s more likely to understand if he sees, at any rate, and the last thing I want is a curious salamandyr climbing on my face while I sleep. I’m pretty sure that wouldn’t go over well.” Did Meira know that he and M’ta were… seeing each other, for lack of a better word? The thought just occurred to him and it made him slightly nervous. She was northern; would she disapprove? Would she want to keep Riaren away from him because of it? The thoughts made him feel skittish and uncomfortable. Part of him wondered if it wouldn’t just be smarter to keep it from Meira indefinitely – at least then she wouldn’t be able to take the baby away. It was almost certainly paranoia on his part, but even Kalierre seemed uncomfortable… R’wign fidgeted slightly, pushing that thought from his mind. Problems for another time.

Dropping his gaze to the infant, R’wign wiggled his finger again. “I’m kind of nervous,” he admitted, trying to disguise the sudden and unbelievable anxiety he felt about Meira. “Riaren’s really been my only story audience; I don’t really know how adults will take to them. I’ve never performed in front of groups and part of me worries that I’m going to lose spectacularly. I don’t even know who I’m up against.” He fidgeted slightly and then tilted his head. “We can check for M’ta, though. Do you prefer to ask the dragons or just look around…? What were you planning on doing anyway?” It sounded nosy, but it wasn’t – R’wign was more curious for Riaren’s sake than Meira’s; he wanted to make sure they did different things with the baby so that he didn’t grow bored. “You should go on a boat ride with him. I didn’t get a chance to take him to see the dolphins and I think he’ll like them a lot. That is, if you’re looking for something entertaining to do. I don’t know if you are…?”

Of course, it was also entirely possible that Meira didn’t like boats, in which case he would show Riaren the dolphins. But it seemed unlikely. He was sure the baby would find them terribly interesting: fish that talked! Although they were technically not fish at all, but those details were frequently lost on children and R’wign saw no reason to change that…

[Avu]

More nose-crinkling. Riaren screwed up his face, trying to copy his father’s expression so enthusiastically that his eyes almost squeezed shut entirely. But it was apparent when he relaxed that Riaren was very pleased with his attempts; he broke into a smile that had a touch of the smug about it and his hands were pulled together carefully so he could press his knuckles together like he was clapping. He couldn’t let go of either of his parents but he wanted to express how pleased he was – this would do. Meira didn’t notice save for noticing that her hair was being tugged on very lightly and she didn’t correct him for that. Mimic, however, did notice, and the Salamandyr responded by living up to his name quite deftly and attempting to crinkle his muzzle. Tiny needlepoint teeth showed briefly before Mimic sneezed, eyes flushing with embarrassed surprise, though the sound earned a giggle from Riaren.

The two sounds did make Meira look down and she smiled at Riaren and Mimic, slightly puzzled, before she looked up at R’wign again and shook her head, mock-disapproving – mostly because she didn’t think R’wign would actually do what he was clearly plotting, and even if he did, she didn’t expect Mi’rah to go along with it. Maybe she was being overly optimistic because she had noticed that the man was exceptionally timid but Mimic adored him and his Salamandyr and it was actually difficult to think of anything bad about him without Mimic’s affection for his eggbrother overruling it. “Well – um. Would ‘good luck’ be appropriate or…?”

Good luck! Mimic offered. Did the fact that he didn’t know what R’wign was planning stop him from being enthusiastic about it? Nope. It was probably actually fortunate; there was no way Mimic would ever approve of trying to swindle his beloved eggbrother’s human out of marks, regardless of the fact that he didn’t see the point in little pieces of white wood, and even his favorite hatchling’s father would not be exempt from an upset Salamandyr clinging to him.

“Thanks, Mimic. And say ‘thank you’…”
Thank you~ No, neither did the Salamandyr understand that it hurt for R’wign to pull his ear forward to let him see, but if His said to say ‘thank you’, he would. A pleasant croon was added to emphasize his gratitude before Riaren’s gurgle of amusement as he clutched his father’s finger tighter distracted him again and the Salamandyr went back to crooning adoringly at the baby as Meira ran one finger down his back, approving; she did adore the Salamandyr, even if Jingth put up with him only because he provided an opportunity to bespeak Kierjaarth and made quite a satisfactory little slave for what little he could do. Being small enough to fit into a person’s palm didn’t leave much for strength, but Jingth had, apparently, found other uses for the Salamandyr – or at least, she was convinced she would with Kierjaarth’s help.

“I don’t – I mean, I’ve never heard them or anything, but – I don’t think you need to worry…” A quick, reassuring smile, but R’wign was already going on, and the weyrlingrider tilted her head, considering. “I didn’t know there were boat rides, but I was planning on taking him down to the beach and the dock, anyway…Jingth’s over there and she’ll get upset if I don’t go see her sometime.” A brush against the dragon’s mind, inquiring, received only a sleepy idleness. Well, once she woke up…“But yeah, I’ll see about the boats…” Kind of depended on how they were operated; she didn’t think she could handle a boat by herself but she’d see. “Um, other than that, I wasn’t really planning…?” A shrug before she looked down at Riaren again, crinkling her nose; she’d just been planning on going wherever – wandering around and seeing what made Riaren happiest. As if he was anything short of deliriously joyful at the moment. “And…if Checkoth’s awake, could you just ask him…?”

[glamourie]

R’wign smiled dazzlingly at Meira – which really was the surest sign that he was being evil. The more innocent the look, the better the advice to run was. It just wasn’t Meira that R’wign was plotting against, so she had nothing to fear. Mi’rah probably should have hit the deck but… he had no way of knowing what wicked deeds the healer was up to. Or that the healer even knew who he was. Tee hee. R’wign bowed his head to look at Riaren again, watching the baby try to mimic his expressions with a wide smile of his own. So cute. It was hard to tell who Riaren more strongly resembled, though. R’wign thought he looked more like Meira – but he supposed it depended on who was asked and which parent he was near. He’d heard comments that Riaren looked just like him. Though, the baby did seem eager to mimic him (note to self: don’t do anything inappropriate). He thought he could see a resemblance, but R’wign wasn’t very good at deciphering who babies looked like. Not usually until they were around four or five turns old. He didn’t know how other people did it either. His nose crinkled again before he stuck his tongue out at Riaren teasingly.

“Excuse you,” R’wign said to Mimic with a slight wag of his free finger. “Oh, and you laugh. Tch. The appropriate response to sneezing isn’t laughter. How would you like it if people laughed at you for sneezing? Hmm? Would you like it? Your nose getting all itchy, then suddenly you sneeze and we go ‘hee hee hee.’ Hnf.” R’wign batted with one finger at Riaren’s nose, ever-so-gently, before turning back to Mimic. “You’re wishing me good luck too, eh?” Smiiiirk. If only the salamandyr realized what he was wishing R’wign good luck in doing! The thought amused him, though R’wign didn’t linger with his gaze on the worm-thing; he didn’t like salamandyrs as a rule even if he tolerated Mimic and PMS. They tended to be annoying.

The subject of boats was a suitable distraction and while Meira was speaking, R’wign brushed Checkoth’s mind, silently requesting for the brown to ask where M’ta was. He shifted his weight on the balls of his feet anxiously before shrugging in response.

“You can rent the boats, yeah, but they’d probably let you have one for free for being a goldrider. Jingth could just wiggle her tail and everyone would frantically obsess over her beauty.” Sucking up to Jingth, who, R’wign? “I think he’ll really like the dolphins. They usually sell little dolphin bells, too, if you wanted to get one to call the dolphins up. I forget the price though. I might get one so that he can see them. Checkoth is perplexed by the talking fish but he likes them. Or, he did – he’s kind of zoning out right now trying to figure out the purpose of so many flowers. I honestly think he has allergies, he keeps sniffing them and sneezing, then sniffing them some more and he doesn’t understand why he’s sneezing, silly beast. Yes, he is silly, isn’t he Riaren? He iiiisssss…” Leaning over to coo at the baby, R’wign squinted slightly.

They don’t make YOU sneeze, so why would they make ME sneeze? the dragon inquired nervously, before tacking on, ShortyYours is at the leather stall. Do you want me to tell Behruth that you and MeiraMi—Jingth’s—are coming?

Not necessary. Thanks, Check.

“M’ta’s apparently at the leather stall. Do you want to come with to go talk to him? It’s up to you; he’s going to fuss, by the way, for you wandering around alone without at least one person to watch your back. You should know by now how paranoid he is. You’ll be lucky if you make it out without getting yelled at, and I’m not sure I can distract him – tell me you’ve got a backup plan for that scenario?” Actually he was sure he could distract M’ta adequately, just not in front of Meira… he was really scared that she wouldn’t want him around Riaren when she realized that he and M’ta were weyrmates in truth, not just joking…

[Avu]

She was debating whether or not, internally, she ought to be nervous on Mi’rah’s behalf, since the bronze rider clearly couldn’t know to be nervous for himself. Probably better not to think about it, though – R’wign was just kidding, wasn’t he? Perhaps it was some of Mimic’s naïveté regarding his clutchbrother rubbing off; Meira knew very well that Mimic believed nobody could possibly want to harm in any way Doppelganger or Mi’rah because they were amazing. Hmm. R’wign’s words to Riaren effectively distracted her, though, and she laughed at both the comment and the look on Riaren’s face: The baby’s nose crinkled faintly and then he smiled widely, apparently not understanding that to most, the words would have been interpreted as scolding. The tap on his nose only served to make him actually giggle again, gaze flickering to Meira’s face, the amusement on his mother’s face actually making him clap his hands together softly.

Mimic sneezed again before he twitched his nose and crooned at R’wign. The Salamandyr clearly assumed his question was rhetorical, though he couldn’t repress that one croon even so. Just to acknowledge his words, it was. Fortunately, he didn’t notice the smirk either; Mimic wasn’t unintelligent – just gullible. Even he knew the difference between a smirk and a smile.

“Well. I can see why Jingth thinks you make a good slave,” Meira commented, torn between amusement and exasperation at the idea. The exasperation was less at R’wign and more because she knew Jingth would approve of it being said. Modesty, thy name was not Jingth, and Meira couldn’t disagree with her because she did think Jingth was beautiful. Biased, yes, but true nonetheless. A slight nod, though, in response to the idea about bells; one would think that with so many visitors they’d already be around the banks and docks; she’d heard the ‘talking fish’ were social enough. Riaren’s delighted giggle at being addressed by his father made her look down before one eyebrow rose slightly. “Weren’t you just telling Riaren how laughing isn’t the appropriate response to sneezing?” she inquired, before she added, more seriously, “Didn’t know dragons could have allergies…”

“L’gee,” Riaren offered helpfully, releasing both pants so he could grab his star and stick it back into his mouth. The sound was obviously an echo of his mother’s last word, and Mimic added, as if to draw attention to Riaren’s input, ’lergie? The Salamandyr nuzzled Riaren’s hand again, but given that one of the stuffed star’s corners had his mouth occupied, the response he received was less than coherent. Love, Mimic commented, sounding more resigned than anything else as he curled around Riaren’s wrist again; the brown Salamandyr had been most confused when he’d discovered that Riaren couldn’t speak in Pernese. He probably still didn’t fully understand, just accepted it.

Riaren received a little bounce before Meira bit her lip awkwardly. Yes, she’d expected a lecture and she probably deserved it, though in all honesty Blossom Hold seemed like one of the safest places to Hold a Gather – assuming no greens were Rising. “Umm. I’ll come, I guess, but I don’t…” …usually try to dodge out of lectures; she generally just took any verbal flailing. “I wasn’t really planning, actually.” And she wasn’t really sure if she wanted to try to worm out of it, either; being yelled at was…very upsetting, but at least it’d be over with; it couldn’t be too terribly bad in the middle of a Gather. Hopefully; Meira didn’t want to be yelled at, not least because it would distress Mimic and possibly Riaren. She bowed her head to look down at the baby, sticking out her tongue at him playfully to distract herself from the flicker of anxiety, and Riaren immediately lowered the star (if only for a moment) to return the gesture. “Leather Stall – that’s that way, isn’t it…?” A tilt of her head indicated the direction in question; she vaguely remembered passing it when she’d first arrived.

[glamourie]

Oblivious to Meira’s expressions, R’wign cooed down to his son, eye half-lidded from pleasure. Both of his hands moved up to mimic his son’s clapping playfully before he grinned. It was an ear-to-ear smile of genuine pleasure; he loved his son, he did. Sometimes he found it ironic; he’d been so terrified of the prospect of a baby but now that he had one, he didn’t want to give him up. A nervous glance was spared up toward Meira for only a second before he ignored the salamandyr and girl once more, focusing his attention instead on the baby and making little, adorable faces at him. He was listening, though, as evidenced by the slight inclination of his head to the right side – obviously in response to her statement about Jingth. Did that mean the gold wasn’t awake then? The tone in her voice made him snicker softly under his breath, and he put one hand against Riaren’s, his fingers wiggling to move the baby’s fist around playfully. So, so cute. He’d never even realized that he was missing someone from his life until Riaren was born and now? Now he couldn’t imagine going a day without seeing him; he’d probably not be able to handle it.

“I’m not laughing, I’m making fun of, quite the difference. Besides, Checkoth looks to me so I can say whatever I want. It’s different. He keeps doing it on purpose too, because they don’t make me sneeze so obviously they shouldn’t make him sneeze either. Dragon logic at its finest,” R’wign explained with a roll of his eye to show his infuriation. “Dragons can have allergies just the same as any human. Same with firelizards and salamandyrs. They’re just not as common, really. I think Checkoth doesn’t do well with the scent of flowers, but most dragons are fine with them. Then again, most don’t go up and sniff them. Check’s kind of special. He issss, Riaren. He’s very special, because he’s the only dragon with two tails.”

Riaren’s input made him coo right back and the healer nodded his agreement. Yes, yes. Allergies. He smiled at the attention the child paid to the star, and he rubbed his son’s head gently before looking up at Meira. And sighing.

“You just let him yell at you constantly, don’t you? Just stand there, take it, agree with whatever you’re told – you’re such a doormat, Meira. You need to learn to defend yourself. That aside, you probably shouldn’t wander around here alone – I actually agree with him on that. You’re a goldrider now, and that puts you in danger. I don’t want you hurt.” He had more than just her to think about; if Meira got hurt, Riaren would lose his mother. Just the same, R’wign cared about Meira too – she was his friend, even if she made him feel awkward sometimes. Like right then. He was sure that he was making himself nervous without necessity, but he was getting worked up. Stupid, stupid. R’wign pushed it from his mind. “But I’m sure M’ta will lecture you enough for the both of us. That being said, yeah, the leather stall is that way. I bought some fun new pants. I’m looking forward for the chance to wear them. Wonder what he’s buying? Probably sheaths. He’s so paranoid. Speaking of which – have you seen any stalls selling weapons?”

As he spoke, R’wign turned and started toward the leather stall accordingly. He turned to walk backwards, watching Meira as he went. He wasn’t sure whether or not M’ta would mind them sneaking up but reasoned that he actually didn’t care – if he didn’t like it then M’ta should’ve kept better tabs on what secrets Behruth was gushing to Checkoth. As for weapons – “I need to pick up some throwing blades of my own, I’ve been using M’ta’s spares to learn and I think I’ve messed them up pretty badly. I’m really bad…”

[Avu]

Riaren laughed out loud, a smile widening across his face as both hands were brought together in a soft clapping again, this time in a mimic of R’wign’s. He already understood that clapping was a show of happiness, and if his daddy was happy, then he was, too. The face-making drew another giggle from the baby and he squirmed before contorting his own face comically, trying to match R’wign’s faces with ones of his own before he gave up and grinned widely instead around the star in his mouth, wrinkling up his nose again – so much that his eyes actually narrowed before his face relaxed again and the baby tilted his head to one side, the star coming along for the ride; his fingers wrapped around R’wign’s hand as much as they could when his father touched his hand. Loved his daddy, Riaren did.

Meira couldn’t help a smile from quirking her lips upwards either. Seeing Riaren so excited was cause to smile; her son never failed yet at making her laugh. R’wign speaking made her roll her eyes, the smile taking the sting out of the gesture, before she shifted Riaren upwards slightly, earning another nonsensical babble from the baby. She nodded slightly in response to the explanation, but given that R’wign’s attention seemed focused back on Riaren again, she didn’t comment, because it was almost cute, the brownrider’s treatment of Riaren, and because Riaren was speaking for her, momentarily removing the star from his mouth to giggle and coo enthusiastically at R’wign before the stuffed toy found its way back into his mouth.

Coo-o-o~ Mimic commented, the Salamandyr coiling around Meira’s free wrist and licking his Bonded’s palm. Back and forth between R’wign and Meira he looked as the brownrider’s attention turned to His. Meira didn’t answer, though; she blinked and looked down at Riaren, awkwardly. Yes, she knew she should defend herself. Jingth had said so before, too, but it was easier said than done. She was too accustomed to staying quiet; speaking up for herself was not her forte and she doubted it ever would be. Perhaps ironically, it was hardest to defend herself against people she actually liked, but…meh. All things considered, the change in topic she was very grateful for.

“I think they had knives in the stall back there – ” A slight tilt of her head to indicate the direction from which she had come as Meira followed R’wign, half-expecting him to run backwards into someone at any moment. At least the general crowd seemed to be going around them. “The one with the masks and bone things…? ‘m not sure, though; Mimic was busy admiring the marionettes…” A pause as she sped up to catch up with the brownrider, tugging at his wrist lightly. “You’re going to run into someone if you keep walking backwards, you know…” Riaren squealed softly, as if on cue to emphasize her words, around the star; the baby had tilted his head around as far as he could so he could see his father. “But yeah – I don’t know if they’re designed for throwing or anything, but they’re still knives…I’m sure you could use them to practice, at least. How long’ve you been trying…?”

Practice shinies can has? Mimic inquired hopefully. No, he wasn’t aware of what knives were used for much, but he did know that they were shiny. And shiny was good; shiny made Doppelganger happy.

[Requiem]

"They're pointy shinies, Mimic. Not for collecting. Even Behruth doesn't collect them," came the voice from behind R'wign. He'd been backpedaling behind the healer for long enough to hear most of the latter portion of the conversation. It was sneaky, yes, but hadn't the healer snuck up on him not so long ago? He stopped, settling his hands on R'wign's waist to keep from being mowed over by the larger man. "She's right, you know. Walking backwards isn't the safest thing to be doing, for you or the people walking normally."

Peering around R'wign at Meira and Riaren, he smiled at his little 'nephew,' wiggling the fingers of one hand in a small wave. "Keeping an eye on these two, were you big guy?" PMS bounced onto R'wign, then jumped over to the babe, landing on his shoulder and rubbing up against his neck enthusiastically.

His eyes narrowed as they focused on Meira, but he settled for gripping his weyrmate's elbow and tugging the man out of the mainstream of traffic, confident the goldrider would follow after. Leaning back against an empty table, he adjusted the strap of a satchel to rest more comfortably over his arm. "They're bone, by the way. Not sure how well they'd fly, but no chance of standing up against a tree. Unless you've moved on to different targets?" Trust M'ta to have already thoroughly scouted the weaponry at the Gather.

"As for being a doormat, she's not that much of one. Just quietly nods her head, then sneaks off at the first opportunity, nevermind that I'm under orders." Or that he'd be most upset if anything happened to her. Meira was a close friend, all other ties aside. At least, that's how M'ta regarded her. His brow lifted as he met her eyes squarely. "I think you must like me yelling at you. Wandering around here all on your own...it's public enough that anything really could happen, and no one the wiser. Selenitas Weyr is safer, and not that safe at that."

He must have been in a forgiving mood, though (or merely waiting for an opportunity where scolding her wouldn't draw that much attention) because M'ta didn't pursue the topic. "Why were you two looking for me, then? Behruth said Checkoth was probing." That was when he noticed the new additions, and couldn't help but smirk slightly. He'd thought R'wign had seemed inordinately interested in his piercings. He met the man's gaze, the amusement clear in his. "Roguish edge. Soon the sailors will kidnap you, mistaking you for a dockhand," he commented dryly, though there was a definite edge of approval in his voice. Ears. That would make them even more fun to play with.

[glamourie]

Tch. She would have an explanation. R’wign rolled his eye at Meira without looking up at her. He lightly tugged at Riaren’s star. “I’ll check the stall and see if any of them suit me. I started throwing a few months ago; I can hit targets mostly now, though exact spot is few-and-far between. Still a vast improvement,” he said with a slight head bob. He wasn’t sure he could tell what knives suited throwing or not, though; he would have to ask M’ta. The shorter man was a much better judge. He could identify the best scalpels with ease, but not throwing blades. “I’m sure I could use something less quality for practice though. Mostly I just want to learn for the sake of being able to protect myself if we get atta—”

R’wign’s words were cut off as hands moved around him and he jumped, head turning toward his good side; he hadn’t caught M’ta’s words and registered them amidst the flurry of the crowd, else he would’ve been less surprised. His face was comical, eyes wide and eyebrows nearly meeting his hairline. His hands went down to rest over top of M’ta’s; the observant might note the obvious affection in his eyes before he wormed free of his weyrmate’s grasp. Meira was temporarily forgotten as he spun around to face M’ta with his nose crinkled in obvious irritation – the very same look that Riaren was continually making. Typically, R’wign made the very same slightly-but-not-really annoyed face. He glanced from Riaren to M’ta and back again before he cocked his head to the side and frowned; bone? Who would make weapons out of bone? How did they expect for those to even be useful? To R’wign, it sounded like a gigantic waste. He shook his head slowly.

“Sneak,” he began with a slight paw at M’ta that showed he was playing. “I didn’t realize you were behind me. And I am still on trees. You’d know that if you were being a better teacher.” The implication in his voice was that M’ta was not paying enough attention to him – a laughable concept if ever there was one. Spoiled, R’wign was; he loved being the center of M’ta’s attention. Pretty much any time they were together. Tch. It was hard to resist kissing him but… Meira didn’t know… and he didn’t want Meira to know... his stomach did a flip and he forced himself to relax. Over-reacting. He had to be over-reacting.

As M’ta’s attention shifted back to Meira, R’wign seized that opportunity to wiggle over and start cooing at Riaren again – because the baby wasn’t involved in the little spat that he’d predicted, see, see, Meira needed to learn to listen to him. Secretively, he whispered, “See, Mama should learn to listen to papa, he’s smarter than anyone gives him credit for. If she listened to papa, she wouldn’t get lectured, see? You remember that when you get older: listening to me keeps you from getting scolded. Well, usually. Sometimes it might make it worse but then you can just blame it on me and then I’ll get in trouble, so really, you should always mind what I say.” He kissed Riaren’s nose lightly before M’ta’s words were addressing him again and he lifted his head curiously.

“Meira is committing an act of baby theft, and I need something or someone to entertain me, since she’s stealing my shopping partner. Riaren is as sad about it as I am. Just look at that face!” He pointed toward Riaren, who… looked entirely too happy; needed to teach the baby to fake sadness on command, tch. The smirk made him raise an eyebrow before he layered on the accent, “Aye, s’my goal, sir, ta get mahself dragged off ta see.” Clearing his throat, he shrugged, “I’m too educated to be a sailor. Most of them can’t read or write and have little desire to change that. That aside, I’m also not done – I plan to get my bottom lip done near the end of the Gather. But I’m glad that you like them.” It was obvious he did, too. R’wign could practically see the little wheels turning in M’ta’s head. Suggestively he tacked on, “What were you buying from the leather stall?”