born for this [tags raylin]

[Rei]

Raylin’s heart sped up a bit as T’rid returned the kiss. Honestly she hadn’t expected him to. The fact that he did was, very pleasantly surprising. As the bronze rider flopped down on the river bank the weyrling settled down next to him. With quite a bit more grace than he just displayed. Enthusiastic? Raylin smiled and raised an eyebrow. “Should I not be? Truth be told I am very grateful and happy for this second chance.” She replied seriously, stretching her legs out in front of her and leaning back on her hands. “You’re still wet you know. How do you stand it? I can’t stand the way wet clothing clings.” Tilting her head Raylin waited for an answer taking note her own damp shirt in the process. The weyrling hadn’t minded hugging T'rid at all. However, wet clothing usually bothered her. At least she was only damp. She would dry soon.

“It’s a shame that Stupid is asleep. He will be extremely jealous when he learns you all saw Ebolath without him.” Raylin remarked with a glance in her dragon’s direction. “I wasn’t aware mandyrs where nocturnal. Then again I heard a lot of wher handlers have them. Maybe they can live both ways. I can’t see a flitter being all too comfortable in the dark. Maybe mandyrs have better night vision.” Raylin looked out over the river and fell silent. This was nice. Peaceful, slow, and nice. In fact, the whole meeting had gone better than she had feared it would. The green rider, for one, was quite content.

Ebolath rumbled happily as Corinth’s head settled on her back and she nuzzled him gently. Oh yes, irritable indeed. It is funny how easy it is to set him off sometimes. Then other times things don’t bother him. Mine calls him moody. The green huffed and flopped her tail over Corinth’s. Let him sleep. I do not mind. I am sure I will see him soon. Yawning she basked in the bronze’s attention. Happy she was. I am glad to hear the little one is feeling better about Calistoth. I do hope if he decides to chase again he will not get injured. I was worried about him I was. He sounded so upset. Not wanting to remind herself of that horrible evening she rubbed her head against her cuddle partner again. You look very shiny today. Did yours oil you not long ago?

[Avu]

Grateful and happy, hmm. She was determined to be open, wasn’t she? T’rid tilted his head sideways at the greenrider – she’d sat down too, albeit with much, much more grace than he’d flopped down – and then shrugged. It just proved how much opposites attracted, didn’t it? – he and Corinth couldn’t be more different, save for the fact that they could both be ridiculously stubborn (making for some spectacular arguments) – and now this? Amusing, how Raylin always apologized to him – and T’rid’s pride kept him from apologizing to almost anyone, especially for something that was actually serious. He bit his tongue; it wasn’t something he could comment on – and then scrunched his nose at her defiantly. She just had to go and point out that he was wet, didn’t she? He’d almost forgotten, too! Petulantly, the bronzerider plucked at his shirt, and then glanced slyly at her; she’d be wet too, wouldn’t she? – ha: She was. “I wasn’t bothered about it until you pointed it out,” he sniffed, the petulance in his tone distinctly childish. “And now I can’t stand it.” He hated being wet. Ironically, it wasn’t actually being wet that bothered him; it was how long it took to dry off, and how uncomfortable it was waiting to dry off.

Hmm. Would he be upset? Stupid probably would be agitated, but that was okay: Served him right for deciding to keep ungodly hours and annoying T’rid to death. He crinkled his nose slightly at the idea of Salamandyrs being nocturnal, and then bowed his head to look at Conspiracy, who had slid into his lap and curled up contentedly, peeping quietly up at him. “They’re not nocturnal. They’re little monsters, aren’t they?” The question was directed at Conspiracy, and the brown firelizard warbled an instant agreement. T’rid grinned slightly; likely that Conspiracy would agree with him no matter what he said. “He likes to get swatted off my chest in the middle of the night, clearly…? I don’t know. He’s weird.” He rolled his eyes for emphasis, and then smirked slightly. “I’ll have to describe to him exactly how lovely Ebolath looked – see how jealous he gets.” If the brown Salamandyr still insisted on being…ridiculously hyper come nightfall, he’d just have Conspiracy sleep sprawled on top of him or something.

Moody. Corinth rumbled, distinctly amused as he turned his head to lay it along Ebolath’s back, eyes half-lidded contentedly. He had missed the green, and he hadn’t been at all upset with her – indeed, the bronze would have contacted her, but it felt…unfair, to talk to her as if nothing was wrong between Theirs, and he couldn’t do that. It would be different if His and Ebolath’s had never gotten along, or something, but – it would have compromised everything. And he wouldn’t do that – he refused to. But he’d missed her nonetheless; he was content to curl up next to the green for time being as long as His was content – some part of the bronze didn’t even want to talk; he just wanted to curl up and sun himself. It was a very warm day, considering the proximity to winter, after all – they wouldn’t get much of a chance afterwards. But he could sun and talk at the same time. Multi-talented!

I am sure you will, he assured the green, nuzzling her slightly. He will be very jealous, apparently, according to both Yours and Mine, that he did not get to see you – be warned that he may come to your weyr in the middle of the night; he seems to like waking up around then. His was distressed by the Salamandyr’s sleeping habits, but Corinth wasn’t: Stupid was just as coherent as he usually was, ate just as much, and obsessed about greens just as much: What could possibly be wrong? Maybe he’d just hit…a phrase, or something. His emotions are very intense, but they do not last very long, I don’t think, Corinth offered thoughtfully to Ebolath. He is not like a human – they can have very intense and long emotions, but Stupid is never angry for a very long time. The green’s question made Corinth croon, amused, and he nuzzled her side again. Mine spoils me when he has nothing else to do, he explained, the amusement lacing his tone. You look quite well too, Ebolath – has Yours spoiled you of late?

[Rei]

Raylin actually laughed at T’rid’s tone. Scooting closer, she tugged on the rim of his shirt. “You could take your shirt off you know. Then you’d only have wet pants. It’s not like I haven’t seen you shirtless before and it is warm enough.” After speaking The weyrling immediately flopped down on her back to lay in the grass next to him. Looking up at the sky she listened to him speak to Conspiracy and closed her eyes. If she didn’t have this sharding damp clothing bothering her, she’d be quite comfortable. As it was, Raylin was happier than she had been. Now she was a bit tired. Strange how those things work. Now that she was slightly relaxed, her body was yelling at her to sleep. Not with wet clothes thank you very much.

Raylin opened her eyes to comment as she watched the clouds float past. “Maybe Stupid just likes to be a pain. Or perhaps he’s bored and needs to be given a job in the daytime. You should set him to chasing Arrogance down. That would keep him busy all day. I really can’t count the number of socks that show up in my weyr because of my new monster. I don’t know what his fetish with them is, or who’s socks they are but I have quite a collection. I suppose I should gather them all and leave them in the main hall. The idiot doesn’t even take pairs of socks. Nope he just takes one.” Groaning in irritation the weyrling moved an arm over her face to block some of the sun. “I suppose it would be funny if he wasn’t bonded to me.” Comments about her dragon caused Raylin to smile. “Ebolath does look lovely doesn’t she. It’s hard to believe she’s pretty much full grown now. A whole turn old. It hardly feels that long. I oiled her two days ago but I probably need to again. Stupid will be so jealous when you tell him how shiny she was.”

Ebolath shifted to sprawl out more effectively. She was careful not to jostle Corinth to much, and she let her first lid drop over her blue whirling eyes. She was extremely content, and now she was a bit tired. The warm sun and good company was lulling her to sleep but she was loathe to stop speaking to her bronze friend. How she had missed his voice. Funny what you take for granted until it is no longer there. Rumbling softly the green’s eyes whirled faster. Oh he could come if he wanted. Neither I nor mine would mind. We both like him. Stupid is the only mandyr mine can stand. She dislikes Freckle, and Baby is annoying with his constant singing. Raymine puts up with them because they are Saeo’s but she actually likes Stupid. Not that she would ever want one.

Ebolath turned slightly to view hers and T’rid then, and she crooned happily to them. Hers was happy and T’rid seemed to be to. See, this was how things where supposed to go. Everyone was happy weren’t they? I wonder if mandyrs are more intense than flitters? You have both. I only have one. Do our little cousins compare? When Corinth nuzzled her Ebolath returned the sediment immediately. Why thank you. Raymine has been spoiling me too. She likes to do so. Besides lessons and chores she hasn’t had much to do either. The young green sighed then and curled her tail around herself before settling her head onto the ground and half lidding her eyes. The young green had almost completely forgotten the time when hers had neglected her. It had been upsetting, so she forget it, you see. It was over, and so bared no thinking on anymore. Past was past.

[Avu]

Her fingers tugging on the hem of his shirt made T’rid tilt his head sideways to glance at Raylin, almost quizzically; at her comment, the bronzerider couldn’t help smirking. Nobody could say he wasn’t intelligent: He chose to forget things that bothered him, but he remembered distinctly his amusement (at Raylin’s expense, but that didn’t bear mentioning) at being found, completely nude, in the River before. “Hmm, so you have,” he conceded dryly, quirking one eyebrow at her – it could possibly be described as suggestive; he couldn’t quite help it – T’rid had never thought he’d hear Raylin suggesting he take his shirt off. Since she’d flopped back so abruptly, chances were she wouldn’t notice it, but her suggestion was taken nonetheless; now that his attention had been drawn to it, he wanted to squirm – he wanted to be dry; the petulance in his mind was so great that Corinth touched his mind in amused query. His response made the bronze dragon’s tail flick in his amusement as T’rid peeled the shirt off of himself after plucking Conspiracy from his shoulder to place the brown firelizard in his lap, and he dropped the fabric into a pile next to him, crinkling his nose at it.

So wet.

He stayed sitting up, legs crossed, Conspiracy curled up contentedly in his lap, propping himself up by the heels of his palms, and glanced sideways at Raylin. Stalk down Arrogance, hmm. Considering Stupid couldn’t go between, he’d probably loose the blue firelizard in no time, and he couldn’t even rely on Conspiracy for between transportation anymore. “That sounds like a nice hobby,” he observed absently, eyes focused on the water a few feet away from his feet; he recoiled slightly away from it – so weeeeeet. “How many people have come demanding their sock back…?” Well, look at it this way: Better than underwear – was what he wanted to say, but T’rid decided against it; he had a feeling that Raylin would positively die if Arrogance managed to pick up on such an idea. Better hope that Arrogance never met Showoff…? He shrugged, and then smirked slightly. “It’s funny to me,” he offered sweetly, and then added, “You’ll be on a wing soon…what, four more months…?” Probably the queen’s wing, though; that was where most of the newly-graduated weyrlings went.

Corinth’s eyes were, like his Rider’s, focused absently on the River, but unlike His, the bronze was quite fond of the water – and he was endlessly amused by T’rid’s dislike of it, was Corinth. That Ebolath’s liked Stupid amused him, though. He supposed he really was a nice Salamandyr – but then, Ebolath’s wasn’t the one who had to live with his lusting after green dragons. It was…actually rather frightening, though Corinth had come to accept it; he’d always had His very, very close to him, and having His feel like something completely alien when he was Stupid – was confusing – positively terrifying; they still hadn’t figured out what would happen if both bronze and Salamandyr Chased at the same time; they didn’t want to find out. I suppose I should tell him if you want to see him very badly. I’m glad Yours likes him; he tries to be especially nice to her, I think, because she’s Yours. Did that amuse him? – yes. Yes, it did. And Mine would be happy if he didn’t bother him for a night, too. And then – This ‘Baby’ – he sings? I would have thought it would be amusing…? Is he…/good/?

The green’s question made him flick his tail thoughtfully before he spoke again, turning his head to rub it against Ebolath’s back affectionately. I don’t think I can really compare Conspiracy and Stupid; their personalities are…very different. Stupid’s emotions affect Mine more than Conspiracy’s, but then – Conspiracy typically feels whatever Mine does; he adores T’ridMine and will do absolutely anything he asks – so it’s hard to figure out what’s actually his own emotions. Stupid’s are more easily identified, but…Conspiracy’s could be just as intense. I’m not quite sure. They’re both intelligent enough, in any case. Corinth curled his body loosely around Ebolath; he was small, but still much bigger than she, and half-closed his eyes again. It’s good Yours is spoiling you, though, and I wouldn’t worry about lessons or chores; you’ll be completely done with them in a few months. He wasn’t really sure how long a few months would feel, but…surely if Ebolath thought the days would progress rapidly, they would…?

[Rei]

Raylin sighed before shaking her head. “No, no one has come looking for their socks. Arrogance is very careful about it. He doesn’t take them when people are looking. The sneak gets most of them from the bathing room actually. It’s a favorite haunt of his. He waits until they submerge or something and then swipes them and betweens. He gets a kick out of annoying people I think. Let’s just hope his clothes theft stays at socks. I don’t want random articles of clothing showing up in my weyr. Socks are bad enough.” Closing her eyes again the weyrling basked in the sun for a moment before answering his next question. “Four months? Yes that sounds about right. I can’t wait until it’s over. It’s not that I mind lessons at all. I just don’t like the barracks anymore. The place brings up too many bad memories.” She sat up then to wrap her arms around her legs and stare out over the water. “It’s a nice day at least.”

Ebolath rumbled softly at Corinth’s words and flicked her tail in thought. Yes they do both seem very intelligent. I do not see why they would not be. Even whers seem intelligent. I have talked to a few. A bronze recently, and a blue, I think. They where different, but the bronze seemed very smart. He did not speak with words though. Not like Stupid. He spoke more like Arrogance and Conspiracy. I have not met many whers for mine says they sleep as we wake. I find that a bit odd. The green leaned into Corinth as he curled around her. Sure it wasn't like they where talking about anything particularly exciting, but that didn't matter to her. She just wanted to hear his voice. Yes in a few months mine and I will be done with lessons. It is exciting it is. Mine says we will then get to be part of a wing other than our weyrling one. Morendoth says we will fly with Hepaticath and Millieth. Thoughts of the great gold reminded her of a different topic. Oh! Did you know Hepaticath’s is having a hatchling? Ciceroth told me his is the sire. I like hatchlings they are cute. Yawning the dragon allowed her first lid to fall. The sun is nice. It is making me sleepy.

Raylin turned her head to watch the dragons and Ebolath’s yawn caused her to yawn as well. “They seem to be happy. That’s good. Ebolath has missed Corinth. I’m glad they can talk together again. I’m glad we can talk together again.” The weyrling turned to appraise the bronze rider, noting the fact that he had taken her suggestion and lost the shirt. “If you spread the shirt out it will dry faster you know.” She remarked quietly while examining T’rid in a way she hoped was subtle. He still looked the same. Just as handsome as she remembered. Blushing Raylin turned away. His bare chest made her think of things she’d rather not speak of. Not because the weyrling hadn’t enjoyed it, because she had enjoyed it. More than she had expected she would have, especially it being the first time she had had that particular experience. She just always felt awkward speaking of such things. One didn’t speak of them in conversation normally. At least not unless you where Saeo. Poor T’ke.

[Avu]

Oh dear, bathing rooms? On the upside, at least he would never get a sock stolen by Arrogance: T’rid had his own private bathing room and he didn’t plan on actually changing his routine and toddling down to the communal bathing rooms anytime soon. Ha. Sucked to be those people who needed to go to the communal ones…hmm. “Irritating people can be fun,” he pointed out, shrugging. It made sense to him. And then – “Hnn. I hope for your sake that nobody who’s lost a sock shows up in your weyr, then. Have you ditched them somewhere safe yet…?” Like, a trash can. Or in the middle of the Dining Hall; he doubted people would mind their socks adorning the furniture after a certain Salamandyr had taken it upon himself to oh-so-proudly display underwear. Socks were definitely an improvement. “Maybe you can teach him how to steal necklaces and things – like, actually worth money…?” It was just an idle thought, and the teasing tone made it clear he wasn’t serious. T’rid had never actually considering stealing anything – he already had the marks to buy just about anything he could possibly want anyway. “Don’t think the single-sock market’s doing so well right about now…or, uh, ever.”

He crinkled his nose slightly at the idea of Weyrlinghood; it had been – what, five Turns now? – since he’d graduated, and he only vaguely remembered the lessons. What T’rid could remember, though, was that they’d been miserable. “Mm. I thought you’d have moved out of the Barracks by now,” he commented absently. It wasn’t really a mind-challenging conversation, this, and usually it might have bored him. Right now? He was fine. Fine, but wet. Wet, and somehow still fine. Hmm. He exhaled, wearily, one hand rising to brush over his abdomen, flicking away stray droplets of water before he actually squirmed, shifting slightly on the grass. It was so…wet and – and wet and nice day did not go together; didn’t Raylin know that? T’rid squinted at her for a moment, and then shrugged one shoulder. “Maybe,” he allowed. Thank you, water…?

Whers. Hmm. Corinth didn’t not like whers, but the bronze was arrogant – even if it didn’t show as much as his Rider’s did, and he didn’t like to talk to the creatures unless it was necessary. Nevertheless, he nuzzled Ebolath. Whers are nocturnal, he explained gently. They are photophobic – like the blue dragon Adith. The light hurts them; they see heat, not colors – that is how they ‘see’ people at night when we cannot, which makes them good for the Night Watch, guarding the Holds at night – you see? Most of the information had been taken from T’ridHis; the bronzerider might pretend not to know anything, but he wasn’t completely stupid – he remembered things. And just because Corinth didn’t chat to whers (ironically, he had no problem talking to Salamandyrs and firelizards) didn’t mean he didn’t know anything about them either. The sudden change in topic – from Weyrlinghood to Hepaticath’s – made Corinth flick his tail; the bronze rumbled thoughtfully. No, I was not aware of that, he commented. Unsurprising; she /is/ a gold…you may sleep, if you wish, Ebolath, he added, possessively resting his head on the green’s back. He wouldn’t be going anywhere till she woke, anyway…

I should have counted the seconds till you forgot you were mad, T’rid observed dryly; Corinth twitched his tail minutely at him, but otherwise made no other gesture; the bronzerider eyed the two dragons a second longer before he turned to glance at Raylin again. “Hmm, yeah…” His nose crinkled, however, at her statement, and the same childish note of petulance entered his tone again. “That would require touching it, though…” he answered, his hand closest to the shirt twitching slightly, almost imperceptibly, with the urge to push it away. T’rid looked away from the fabric in time to catch the greenweyrling’s blush, though fortunately for her, he’d missed her looking. Not that it counted for much as he quirked one eyebrow questioningly at her, mouth twisting into a half-smirk; it actually amused him when she blushed. Hmm.

[Rei]

Socks where good conversation? Sure why not. Turning toward T’rid Raylin rolled her eyes in mock annoyance. “You would find it fun.” She teased, raising an eyebrow at his next comment. “I put them all in a drawer out of sight when he brings them home. I haven’t “ditched” them anywhere yet. Although I should soon. He almost has a drawer full.” The weyrling almost laughed at his next comment. “Steal jewelry? Why T’rid I’m not a common thief.” She replied in a mock offended tone. “Besides he only steals the best socks. Surely someone is looking for socks that smell like dirty feet.” Raylin smirked slightly before continuing in a more serious manner. “Seriously though I hope it doesn’t escalate to something valuable. He takes whatever gets him the best reaction. I bet he would steal anything as long as it got him what he was looking for. He tries not to get caught too. He likes to see their annoyance without being the source of it. He practically preens in pride when he gets away with things.” She sighed. “I really have no idea how to teach him proper manners. Although, Ebolath informs me that your darling bronze came up with a good idea. I think it might actually work to.” Stretching out her legs the weyrling leaned back to look up at the sky again.

Raylin turned her attention back to T'rid when he spoke of her living quarters. “Oh I have moved out. Awhile ago actually. I’ve been living in the rider weyrs since I recovered from the siege. We still have to go back to the barracks for class. That’s where the classrooms are. Unfortunately that means I have to enter that place again. There are still bloodstains on the wall believe it or not. They are perfectly clean just stained and the place has a weird odor. I hate it.” The weyrling fell silent. It wasn’t really surprising. Clean up hadn’t began until things where sorted out, and by then the liquid had set in. Really they should tear it down the place and build a new one. Still she wasn’t the one who had to decide those things. So why bother thinking about it for long. The new weyrlings hadn’t complained yet. Raylin for one certainly would have. Especially since it was depressing and macabre.

Ebolath listened to Corinth’s information about whers and idly flicked her tail. It made sense it did. Why hadn’t she thought of it before? It was good information to know. Honestly the green didn’t mind whers. They never bothered her in the least so why should she bother with them. They where just another part of her home, an unseen part, but a part nonetheless. Yes I see. I must say I prefer the way I see. Seeing without colors would be hard I think. Not only that but not very interesting. Snuggling against the bronze she sighed contentedly. Yes Hepaticath’s is a gold. I wonder if she will have a large clutch. Yawning once more, Ebolath crooned affectionately as Corinth’s head rested on her back. I think I will nap for a bit. Lidding her eyes, the green soon slipped into sleep.

Raylin looked over as she sensed Ebolath fade into slumber. Lucky her. After the weyrling was sure her blush had faded she got up and stepped over T’rid to pick up his shirt. After spreading the fabric over a nearby rock to dry, Raylin returned to stand in front of him. “There I fixed it for you.” She replied with a wink. “Anything else you need me to fix while your busy sitting there.” She teased reaching out to ruffle T’rid’s damp hair playfully. Stepping back she admired her work. “Aww your hair looks cute like that. Really you should try to do something with it more often. You might get more attention that way.” Tilting her head Raylin adopted an innocent expression. Was she trying to bait him? Maybe…

[Avu]

Whaaaaat? What was that supposed to mean? T’rid sniffed pointedly to make his opinion on Raylin’s comment clear without saying anything: Sometimes actions really did speak louder than words, after all, and that one noise made his hauteur very, very clear. Yes, he did find it fun. So what? Crossing his legs and propping one elbow on each knee, the bronzerider interlaced his fingers and rested his chin on his hand thoughtfully, smirking as Raylin went on about her firelizard’s odd habits. Thank Faranth Conspiracy was absolutely nothing like that…the brown firelizard crooned emphatically from his lap. Of course he wasn’t that bad; he’d leave that to the stupid flits who thought it was actually worth their time. Apparently their time was not as valuable as his was, hmph. “Try ignoring him,” he offered sweetly. “That’s the whole point of it, isn’t it? Getting attention?” He shrugged one shoulder. “Or you could do whatever Corinth said, but…yeah.” Conspiracy fluted pleasantly at Raylin, and preened slightly as T’rid stroked him again; he bet that silly didn’t get this kind of positive attention~~

T’rid settled to scratching Conspiracy’s eye ridges, the brown firelizard positively wriggling in delight under the bronzerider’s touch, even if most of his actual attention was on Raylin, not him. T’rid tilted his head curiously to one side, and then clicked his tongue disparagingly, crinkling his nose thoughtfully. “Bloodstains – ugh. Does it smell…like blood?” He gave Conspiracy one last rub and then propped his hands up together again, chin coming to a rest on top of his interlaced fingers as they had before. “I’d stalk down K’roi about it, but they’re busy with the Infirmary right now.” They’d finished the Wherhandlers’ Apartments, or so he’d heard, but T’rid didn’t really know for sure; he didn’t go near the place. He had nothing against Wherhandlers, but they were in no part of his everyday life, and he didn’t have anyone he actually wanted to see among them – and Corinth was more or less apathetic about whers – so he didn’t really concern himself with their affairs. “Hmm. They should just build actual buildings, instead of treehouses…”

But then, nobody listened to him, so…meh, whatever.

The green’s comment drew a rumble that was half-amusement and half-agreement from the bronze; he very much liked being able to see colors, thank you very much. His had apparently seen colorblind people – but that couldn’t be any fun. And there had been completely blind dragons – Fath’s clutch had had a blind dragon, he was pretty sure, though he couldn’t really remember: If there had been one, it had probably been forced between in the Weyrling Massacre. They do not know our way of seeing, the bronze pointed out reasonably. He couldn’t imagine only being able to see heat; it was probably the same for whers; could they imagine seeing colors on their own, without their Bonded…? The bronze drew his tail tighter around Ebolath, deciding that now was not the best time to point out that humans were very strange; they typically only clutched a single hatchling at a time – and half-lidded his own eyes; if Ebolath was going to nap, he might as well relax…

She hadn’t answered his (admittedly not vocalized) query. T’rid’s eyebrow rose even further at that, a half-smirk playing across his face again. Hmm. Before he could call her out on it, though, Raylin had already gotten up, and Conspiracy fluted curiously; what was she doing…? Picking up his shirt, apparently. T’rid crinkled his nose, amused; she was so neat, wasn’t she? It didn’t bother him if his shirt dried crumpled and with grass clinging to it; he’d have to get it washed anyway. “Well, if you really want to, you could wash and iron it, too,” he replied, eyes widening in mock seriousness. He didn’t actually expect anything, but hey: If she asked, he’d retort. The bronzerider very nearly ducked away when she ruffled his hair – and barely managed not to; as soon as she pulled away, he shook his head as hard as he could, almost canine-like. Wait, what – cute? Like this? He crinkled his nose slightly, tempted to run both hands through it to push it back just to spite her. “That’s okay; I’m a wallflower,” he retorted, chin lifting in something akin to defiance, one eyebrow rising. “’M not that lonely.”

[Rei]

Raylin almost laughed as T’rid shook his head. It reminded her of the way her old herding canine used to shake. “Hmm. I don’t think I need to be washing your clothes. I’m your friend not your drudge.” She said in a light mocking tone before resting her hands on her hips and staring down at him. Her expression changed when T’rid commented on his social status. The weyrling looked at the bronze rider thoughtfully before responding. “That’s ok. I prefer you the way you are. Social butterflies can be pretty annoying.” Folding her legs she sat down in front of him and reached out to scratch under Conspiracy’s chin. If only Arrogance could be as sweet. She hadn't even wanted another flit, and now she was stuck with a monster. Thanks to R'wign's dinning hall hatching.

Raylin was silent for a moment before deciding to pick up the conversation where it left off. “So they have finished the handler apartments. Are they actually building more tree houses?” The weyrling had never liked the fact that all the buildings where in trees, wasn’t that a bit unsound structurally? “If you ask me they should just tear down the barracks and rebuild them as well. They smell, but not exactly like blood. It smells weird, like stale blood maybe, it doesn’t really have a metallic scent, just a musty odor. I find it stomach turning.” Falling silent she continued to stroke Conspiracy. With a final pat she drew her hand away from the brown fire lizard and covered her mouth to yawn.

Now that Ebolath was actually asleep Raylin wanted to sleep as well. To bad she would have to wake Ebolath in order to do so. Sleeping outside while her dragon was also slumbering was not smart, and who knew how long T’rid and Corinth planned to stay. Arrogance could be asked to watch but knowing him he would be sidetracked by something "fun" and besides he never really obeyed anyway. The weyrling didn’t want to leave without Ebolath and waking her would just be cruel. The dragon tended to wake when Raylin herself couldn’t sleep at night, and the girl felt guilty about it. Just because she couldn’t sleep didn’t mean Ebolath should lose sleep as well. The green never complained however, she just napped when Raylin was doing chores. Blinking tiredly, Raylin searched for another topic to keep her mind busy.

[Avu]

No? Well, he hadn’t really expected her to answer any other way than an instant no, but that was okay. It was tempting to mock-whine at her until she agreed to, and then tell her it was okay, but he didn’t have the money to pay for her services (which would be a blatant lie, and one she probably could see through, which was kind of the point), or something, but he didn’t want to make the effort. T’rid was lazy normally, but when he was wet, he was even less inclined to do anything other than get dry. Her expression change drew a slight blink from the bronzerider; T’rid hadn’t really meant the comment seriously – even if it was true; it was more of a simple retort to her comment than anything else: The kind of banter he and Corinth usually were caught in (not to be mistaken for their actual arguments: Much, much different). “Yeah, well. The reason I don’t like to talk to people is because they annoy me, so I guess I’ve met a lot of social butterflies and not enough wallflowers, hnn?” Somehow, he doubted he’d be any more inspired either way, but he didn’t really care, either.

Conspiracy was positively vibrating in delight at the attention he was receiving; shamelessly, he rubbed his head against Raylin’s hand, crooning as he nuzzled her – keep on petting; keep on petting – he loved to be petted – His often did, too, but one could never have to much of a good thing~ T’rid glanced down at the brown firelizard, amusement prominent on his features, before he looked back up at Raylin. He almost commented about spoiling Conspiracy and not Arrogance, and decided to shut up before he came off as completely hypocritical. He was, on more than one count – but he spoiled Conspiracy completely. Corinth found it amusing, and Stupid fretted whenever Conspiracy got extra attention – which was quite often, really. But the brown firelizard rarely had a petulant moment, so T’rid was okay with it. As it was, the brown firelizard was still rubbing his head against Raylin’s hand, licking her palm happily.

“No trees left,” the bronzerider pointed out, crinkling his nose slightly. “Not in the River, anyway. They can’t rebuild on the same one as last time – for the Infirmary, I mean – it more or less completely blew up.” One hand waved, almost dismissively; as far as he was concerned, having to cross the river while severely injured was not a good idea; the temporary Infirmary was much better as far as location went, and it wasn’t like anyone was using the third queen weyr for anything else anyway. “They probably would,” he added, shrugging, “But since the Weyr depends primarily on tithes and I really doubt people would take well to being told to chop down the rainforest for wood, I don’t think we get enough wood to start rebuilding just because we want to…we’d have to badger the Holds for bigger t – ”

And then he caught her yawn, and cut off his rambling about tithes to glare at Raylin, quirking one eyebrow at her. “You’re going to sleep now – like, right now. Corinth and I’ll stay with Ebolath if you want to go indoors, or you can stay outside – we aren’t in any hurry – but you’re going to sleep. You look absolutely exhausted, and in case you were wondering, yes, I am pulling rank. Don’t make me sedate you; I will.” So much for keeping that idea a secret. Oh well; if the threat got her to go to sleep, T’rid didn’t really need it to remain a secret – and in any case, he wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon; he’d been planning on just staying and lounging around with Corinth (getting thrown into the river had not been part of his plans; big surprise!) and avoiding work in general anyway.

I’m sure she’s terrified of you, Mine. Sitting flat on your rear, dripping wet, with your shift off and a firelizard crooning and purring capsized in your lap: Scary. Watch out; you’ll give her nightmares if you’re not nicer~

[Rei]

As Conspiracy licked her palm Raylin smiled. Little brown was darn adorable. Why couldn’t she have impressed a sweet caring flitter. No she had to go and impress that little demon Arrogance. To bad. The weyrling doubted her blue would ever be affectionate towards her. Maybe she should try her luck with another? Then again what if they clashed horribly? Maybe she should just forget the whole thing. Raylin tried to listen to what T’rid was saying. Really she did, but the topic was boring and she was tired. Oh so tired. Obviously boring conversation and fatigue did not mix well.

Raylin almost flinched when T’rid glared at her but relaxed at his words. “You’ll stay? I don’t fancy walking all the way back to the weyr and I’m not the type to sleep anywhere else unless I feel secure. If you leave me I’ll freak.” The green rider decided to ignore his comment about sedation for the moment. She could be properly outraged later. Instead she leaned forward and kissed him before pulling away to find suitable spot to sleep. Although Raylin desired to sleep close to T'rid, sleeping in direct sunlight was not an option. The weyrling got sunburn all to easily and it was annoying and uncomfortable. Finding a suitable spot a few feet away under the shade of a largish tree she made herself comfortable and stared up at the sun dappled leaves for a minute. Slowly Raylin let her eyelids fall shut and all to soon she was asleep. How long she would remain so was up for debate however.

Arrogance burst from between, a sock clenched tightly in his teeth. Winging over to T’rid he dropped it on the bronzer’s head before landing on a branch and twittering to him. Take that! He had stolen that sock from S’rei he had. The man had very large socks and they where stinky. Giving a flute the blue stared down at the man, eyes whirling in happy colors. Did he see the sock? It was going to drive that rider nuts it was. Preening his wings Arrogance eyed his sleeping bonded and twitched. Giving a yawn the blue leapt from his branch and winged over to the dragons. Dropping suddenly, he landed on Ebolath’s back and eyed Corinth fearlessly. Chirping a greeting he made his way up the green’s neck to her head. Once there he yawned again and curled up in between the green’s eyes. If they where napping he would to. Maybe hisslave would oil him when she woke up? That would be nice it would.

[Avu]

Instantaneous acceptance.

So not what he’d expected. T’rid tilted his head to one side, eyebrow rising curiously, and then half-smirked at the greenrider, though his eyes remained grave. He wouldn’t leave; the bronzerider didn’t want to leave, and even if he did, in all likelihood Corinth would stop him. The bronze dragon was still curled around Ebolath; T’rid couldn’t decide if the bronze was being protective or possessive – possibly both. Whichever it was, it was seeping through their bond, and at the moment, he was very much loathe to leave Raylin. If he waited a bit longer, the sun would even dry him off…“I won’t leave,” he assured Raylin, bowing his head slightly even as Conspiracy fluted reassuringly to Raylin. Did she hear? His said he wouldn’t go, so obviously he wouldn’t – because T’rid was honesty incarnate, clearly. Crinkling his nose at the firelizard, T’rid almost smirked, though said smirk faded very quickly when Raylin kissed him again, the bronzerider leaning forward to prolong the contact without thinking before Corinth’s mental amusement made him pull back again, propping himself up on his palms again and smiling playfully at Raylin.

He only half paid attention as she lay down under the shade of a tree, T’rid’s eyes half-lidded against the sun as the greenrider closed her own eyes and…seemed to fall asleep almost immediately. So quick to sleep was she that T’rid half-wondered how much longer she could have gone without sleep before she completely collapsed and fell asleep still walking and talking. Mm. She owed him one – if her luck was anything at all like his, she’d have fallen asleep halfway through dinner and done a spectacular face-plant onto her plate, or something equally embarrassing. But then, his luck had never been good, nor did T’rid think it ever would be good, so…meh. Her luck would probably be exponentially better. Whatever. She still needed to go to sleep; she’d looked absolutely drop-dead exhausted.

Hnn. Maybe he’d –
Sock, Corinth commented unexpectedly, sounding almost amused, and then T’rid ducked instinctively, throwing one arm up above his head – and then felt something soft, fabric-like, smack his arm. I said sock, Corinth said plaintively, as T’rid blinked at the sock draped over his forearm, stroking Conspiracy to soothe the brown’s fierce protest; it was relatively quiet, for Raylin’s sake, but the physical motions were undeniably distressed; the firelizard flapped both wings, his broken wing crooked but wielded enthusiastically nonetheless, and hissed sibilantly, glaring at Arrogance. He’d see – wait and see, wait and see! Someday when he could be loud without waking up his minepet’s favorite greenrider, he could proceed to tell that mean blue what’s what, and see how he liked it, and – T’rid clicked his tongue once, keeping a deliberately unimpressed look on his face as he quirked one eyebrow at Arrogance, and wordlessly tossed the sock into the river. He didn’t like to litter, but shells and shards if he was going to carry a sock around.

Did you spontaneously decide that fish like to eat socks, Mine? Corinth questioned, watching as the sock drifted downriver, snagging on rocks along the way. The bronze dragon had hummed a polite greeting to Arrogance – just because Conspiracy didn’t like the blue didn’t mean Corinth automatically hated him – and had raised his head from Ebolath’s back, eyes whirling in rapid amusement. Are you going to sleep, too…? You’ll get sunburned. Even if you don’t sleep, you will… T’rid considered, and then sighed and scooted back unceremoniously, without getting up, till he was more or less sitting right beside Raylin: He’d borrow her tree for shade. No. Not sleeping. I kind of want to think…hnn. Are you thinking with me…? As always, Mine. It’s not like you’d actually get anywhere without me anyway… Arrogant brat. I love you too, Mine.

((Closed?))