Anger management (Open)

[Rei]

Kaaoloth swung towards the feeding grounds and banked sharply to circle them. Sel’n noted his brown’s agitation. It had been two days since Aslath’s flight and the beast was still irked at the bronze who had won her favor. Sel’n had never understood his beast’s preference for queens. He rarely chased greens unless they were beyond lovely or for some other odd reason appealed to him. The rider lamented Kaaoloth’s choice, although he hid this fact from his beast as best he could, for it had cost them both dearly.

I am hungry Selmine, the dragon intoned and Sel’n could feel the pangs of hunger radiating from the beast. Sel’n scanned the feeding grounds and seeing the grounds empty acquiesced to his beast’s request. Go on Kaao. No one is feeding right now. The brown rumbled and swiftly glided to the ground. Back winging and landing on his hind feet he slowly lowered his single foreleg to the ground keeping his wings pumping until he had sufficiently balanced himself.

Sel’n waited until Kaaoloth was sufficiently balanced, and had lowered himself as well as he could given his deformity, before dismounting. He backed up as the brown rose once more into the air and gained altitude before circling and passing a critical eye over his prey. The rider stood and scanned the grounds. Empty, good he would not have to make pointless small talk today.

[Avu]

You're hungry.
/You're/ dodging work.

The response came arrow-quick, T'rid glaring at Corinth, whose head was on his forelimbs, eyes idly watching the herdbeasts in the distance. I am not! I've got your precious records, haven't I? The bronzerider waved said record irritably at the dragon, wrinkling his nose at the musty scent that accompanied it. You're not studying them. If I keep feeling your hunger, I'm not going to. Corinth's eyes narrowed slightly. Fine. But we're coming back /directly/ so you can /work/. You'll need to redo the wings. A sadistic gleefulness rose in T'rid at the thought. Ahahaha, good-bye K'lir...that was the thought that had gotten him through the first two days. Surely he didn't need to work this hard. Corinth was just being stupid. Nevertheless, the Weyrleader wrinkled his nose as he pushed the chair away from his desk, sliding onto the Weyrledge and vaulting onto Corinth's neck.

Go. With a rumble of assent, Corinth threw himself from the Weyrledge, the air whipping past until he caught himself, heading on a roundabout path to the Feeding Grounds. They veered around the Rider Weyrs once, T'rid's eyes watering as the wind whipped by, blinking and keeping his eyes narrowed until Corinth winged towards the Feeding Grounds again, backwinging to land. I /am/ hungry, the bronze admitted. You haven't eaten for over a sevenday. Not surprising. I bl - Blood doesn't count. Go.

Throwing a quick glance at the brown, Corinth let T'rid slip off of him and lean against the fence. The bronze dragon leapt into the air, playing on the currents for awhile, watching in puzzled amusement as the herdbeast below panicked and then swooping low, catching a herdbeast in his foreclaws and carrying the shrilling creature a distance away, dropping on his hind legs and pinning the herdbeast delicately to the ground, leaning down and ignoring the creature's frantic struggling as he began to feed, blood damping the ground and his muzzle and foreclaws, sating the hunger. His tongue flicked out, tasting the blood as he finished, leaving the less desirable parts of the carcass for wherries and other scavengers and eyeing the beasts almost indolently.

And - hadn't that brown been in his Aslath's Flight? Yes. Yes, he had; he'd hissed at that silly blue. He was mutated - or had been injured, very badly - and still he'd thought that a perfect queen like Aslath would have chosen him? Well, bravery must be granted, Corinth supposed, a flash of wry amusement flickering through the bronze as he huffed in a soft greeting to the brown, plucking another young, fat herdbeast from the Grounds - a young male who had left himself undefended in guarding one of the females - and settled to eat that as well. You should say hello. Who? What? T'rid answered vaguely, and then shot a glare at Corinth when he realized what he'd been doing - digging a wing formation into the gritty ground with his foot. With a rumble of amusement, Corinth nudged the young bronzerider mentally in Sel'n's direction and recieved a sniff. I'd rather not.

Well, I certainly will, /Weyrleader/. Another glare. Corinth only used rank when he wanted to irritate T'rid, and in the case of this rank, it only accomplished that tenfold. Fair flying, Kaaoloth? the bronze queried politely, snagging another herdbeast at his leisure to settle down with. Well, he couldn't be expected to talk without eating at the Feeding Grounds when he was hungry, could he? At least the edge had been taken off of his hunger. Mm. Perhaps one more after this one, he thought vaguely, eyeing the herd. They had no lack of herdbeasts, from his point of view.

[Rei]

Sel’n caught an anxious emotion from his brown that made him snap his eyes open I worry. He saw a bronze descending towards the grounds. Who was it? Ah bronze Corinth and the new Weyrleader T’rid. Sel’n turned toward his brown and put a soothing tone to his message Kaao it is just our new Weyrleader no cause for alarm my friend. He knew his beasts dislike for the bronze ones well.

Kaaoloth struck a large herdbeast on the wing, effectively snapping its neck, and circled around for another. The brown heard the bronze huff in greeting and rumbled back. His eyes whirled blue only slightly tinged with the yellow tones of anxiousness. He was still not used to the bronzes of this weyr. This was the one who had won golden Aslath. That fact weighted heavily on the brown.

Sel’n caught sight of T’rid seemingly scuffing his boot in the dirt a few feet away. It seemed the man had no desire to approach the brown rider. Well that suited Sel’n just fine. He would rather not converse anyway, no point in it really. He settled for watching Kaaoloth dispatch another beast with more ferocity than usual. The browns claws had effectively disemboweled the creature sending its innards across the ground.

Kaaoloth descended from his lofty height, and awkwardly landed next to his first kill. Fastening his large maw around it he carried it to the second and settled to feed raising his head as the bronze addressed him. Yes Corinth the flying is quite good today. His reply was underplayed with a tone of nervous politeness. Not as much wind to contend with as yesterday. Kaaoloth cocked his bloodied head to regard the bronze warily. Fort bronzes were not so polite; they were rude brutes who often demanded immediate compliancy. Kaaoloth ripped the innards from the first beast and swallowed the more desirable parts without ceremony. His wings were slightly unfurled, both to help his balance and stake a claim on his kill.

Sel’n cringed Kaaoloth was not a tidy eater at the best of times and his as of late foul mood made his already appalling feeding habits worse. The brown rider made a mental note to encourage him to participate in the next flight. If he won it would most certainly improve the beast’s sour mood.

[Avu]

He was not blind in any sense of the word. The brown's eyes' tinge of yellow wariness, barely perceptible, was caught, though the bronze dismissed it. Nervousness? Why so? Simply because of his color? rank? He rumbled in agreement to Kaaoloth's comment, his eyes whirling idle, pleased shades, only a touch of red hunger remaining as he sank his teeth into the tender stomach region of the herdbeast, oblivious of the red currents that splattered his bronze muzzle, standing out sharply against the orange-bronze as his tongue flicked out again, eyes examining the herdbeasts for another likely meal.

Dry conditions, the bronze stated mildly. Dry and hot. Normal conditions? Perhaps not, but the lake, the river, the ocean - none were notably depleted. And there were more important things, things that they could control, to worry about anyways. Have you and Yours been at Selenitas long? he added curiously. He hadn't seen them previously, much to his knowledge, since the Flight, and of course, today, and Corinth, having lived his full five Turns at Selenitas, would have thought that he'd at least seen most of the dragons in passing before. Right? It made sense.

The wary look given to him by Kaaoloth didn't escape Corinth's notice either, and it showed in the slight flash of surprise in his eyes before the bronze turned, taking to wing again, the tips almost brushing the ground on takeoff and then hovering, regarding the panicked herdbeasts wistfully. Hmm...let's see. That one looked positively stringy. Not worth it trying to chew. A slightly disdainful sniff as the skinny old herdbeast tottered away, bleating in a full-out panic. No need to be frightened. No self-respecting dragon would want it anyways. Huff. Now then, which? That one! The decision came quickly and Corinth dropped, claws digging into the herdbeast's flesh and dragging it a distance away as he began to eat again, stretching his wings to gather the sun's warmth.

Mmmph...You really ought to socialize more, Corinth commented. T'rid shot the bronze another nasty glare, his mouth turned downwards into a half-snarl. No. /You/ were the one who was all for rushing back to the Weyr. Finish eating. Besides, the other Rider hardly showed much interest in talking, did he? He spoke first, or T'rid would ignore him until absolutely necessary. Which, hopefully, wouldn't come for a long time.

[Rei]

Kaaoloth raised his head from his meal and swallowed a large chunk of flesh before replying his tongue darting out to scrub his muzzle. No Selmine and I have recently come to this weyr. We used to hail from Fort The brown’s voice contained less wariness. He began to relax his muscles no longer tense and the yellow tinge leaving his eyes, this bronze was friendly. Kaaoloth paused in his meal to watch the bronze descend on another beast. He rumbled in amusement at the stringy one, he would survive many days more.

Have you and yours always resided here? The brown asked in a conversational tone, in an aside to his rider he added, Selmine this bronze is very polite perhaps his rider is as well? You should speak with him Sel’n rolled his eyes at his dragon. Kaaoloth was always pressuring him to speak to other riders. Sel’n wanted nothing to do with it. He had Kaaoloth’s company and that was more than enough. Still the brown insisted that Sel’n needed other friends. Why he should feel that way was beyond the rider.

To humor his beast ,and perhaps keep his better mood for awhile, Sel’n strode to T’rid and leaned upon the fence a few feet from the rider. “Your Corinth looks well. How fair you Weyrleader?” He kept his query polite yet short. Sel’n always was one to respect rank even if he wasn’t one for idle chatter.

[Avu]

Ah, was he relaxing now? An odd pride flicked through the bronze as he gnawed absently at the herdbeast's carcass, still pinned into place between his claws. Good; he didn't want to frighten the dragons of the Weyr simply by precense. No. Hopefully none of the dragons he was already acquainted with would change their behavior towards him? That thought hadn't passed through Corinth's mind previously, and he dismissed it on the grounds of foolish as he paused from his gnawing to nod at Kaaoloth. I hadn't thought I'd seen you before, he agreed. From Fort...well, innocent until proven guilty. Lots of transfers were made to Selenitas, and why not? It was a lovely place, was it not? (And yes, he thought the latter with an almost possessive pride. It was his Weyr now, wasn't it?)

The bronze flicked his tail lightly against his haunches, nodding as he licked the blood from his muzzle, his forked tongue leaving fine marks in the dripping crimson liquid. Dragon eating - horribly messy, but much more satisfying than picking restlessly at whatever meal it was like humans did. (And they cooked their food, too; very pointless. A waste, truly.) Mine hails from Selenitas Hold, but I have always lived here, yes. No need to mention his youth, he expected; it was clear enough if anybody wanted to look at T'rid to know that the bronzepair was a young one. Definitely no need to draw unnecessary attention to that fact. How are you and Yours settling in down here? I'm sure it's quite different; T'ridmine has never been north before, though, so I'm not positive?

His foot was still in motion. Stupid Corinth. Stupid records. Stupid rank. A forward V, as was normal for wing formation. Himself, naturally, at the head. Balance. Balance was essential. Equal numbers, colors that balanced, on either side, front and back. Maybe a dragon in the center to catch what was missed, there, if he had one to spare. And - and he was being spoke to. T'rid raised his eyes, clearly startled, a displeased look flashing into his face as his rank was mentioned; he blinked, deliberately shrugging as he kicked dirt over the wing formations. For shards, he didn't even know what wing he'd be leading, nor the Riders of said wing, and already he was planning for it. Ugh. That was just - stupid.

A pause before he answered, and then, T'rid spoke with deliberate indolence. "I'm fine. As fine as someone can be when they're adjusting to a new rank, with a dragon bugging them about it all the time, a 'mandyr and a fire lizard waging constant war - nice, peaceful life." A sarcastic smirk started to curl the side of his mouth as he shrugged again, pulling himself into a seated position on top of the fence that enclosed the Feeding Grounds, tapping his heels absently against the rough woodwork. "Hope you're doing as well as I am?" he added innocently. He paused, watching as Corinth ate, and added with a slight sniff, "Messy eaters, aren't they?"

[Rei]

Kaaoloth was swinging his head over the dismembered runners searching out the most desirable pieces. Selmine and I are setting in well. We like it here. Fort is much more rigid than this place. The bronzes there are not polite they are rude and pushy. Kaaoloth’s eyes took on a slightly red hue with that comment but the color faded quickly back to blue. Selmine used to be a wingleader, he used to have friends. I am hoping he will make friends here but he does not socialize well. He finds it tiresome. I have to keep pushing him to speak to others. The brown grabbed a haunch and stripped it swallowing with a loud gulp.

Sel’n listened to T’rid’s rant silently his eyes scanning the landscape he noted the wing formations sketched in the dirt and regarded them with mild curiosity. He kneeled by them and with his good arm began drawing different positions and arrangements. “Ah you have a mander and a flitter? Hard luck. I find neither useful, just a waste of brain matter as far as I am concerned. Kaaoloth seems to find the manders charming. I find them unbearable.” He spoke in an even tone conveying no emotion. The brown rider finished scratching another pattern and straightened up wiping the dust onto his flight gear. “Kaaoloth is one of the messiest eaters I have even known. Your bronze seems to be threatening that perception.”

[Avu]

The bronze dragon settled back on his haunches, wiping his muzzle on the fur of one of the carcasses where no blood had stained - and now did, thanks to Corinth's deft motion. His jeweled eyes spun, clearly interested in what the brown had to say as he glanced at His, and then back at the brown. That's one of the rumors circulating Selenitas about Benden and Fort, he agreed. Stiff, with the bronzes ruling completely. A slight sigh. Surely the queens were the ones that should rule? The largest, not to mention the ones that held a position that would never be taken away from them simply due to the outcome of a mere Flight - but then, they had that idea about males - human males - being stronger, didn't they?

Ah! His had been a Wingleader previously? The bronze, who had been stretched on the ground a distance from the carcasses, done with his feeding, sated for the next sevenday, opened his eyes, which had slipped into a relaxed, content position, the first lid covering the opaque, shifting jewel. Was he? There was an undercurrent of hopefulness in Corinth's tones as he glanced at Sel'n and T'rid. Do you think he would mind telling T'ridmine about flying Threadfall, then? He was only a Wingsecond previously, and...left most of the work to Salenth's. But he might want to skip the lecture about the shape of the formation being a forward V, and about having the colors balanced, or he's liable to be snapped at. That is, if he wasn't already being snapped at. Mostly techniques on the actual leading?

...he wasn't leaving. Or even vaguely irritated. A brief, slightly amused smirk flickered across the Bronzerider's mouth as he watched Sel'n crouch and start drawing out wing patterns. He was going to have fun pushing this one over the edge. The young man drummed his heels against the fence post again, gazing down at the patterns with a look that bordered on disdain, though behind those hazel eyes, a flicker of interest rose. Who knew? Perhaps he could put this to good use. Those musty old records - they didn't quite cut it, after all, and they only bored him. Not to mention the lack of movement involved in studying them. No, T'rid needed freedom of movement, and those restricting records room - it just didn't work for him.

In a flash of defensiveness, he sniffed at the Brownrider's comments. "Hardly unintelligent," he reproved, his voice edging towards cold. "My Mir can certainly carry notes and follow instructions, and while I'm afraid the same can't be said for my Stupid, it's not for lack of intelligence so much as for lack of desire to please." He crossed his arms across his chest. Only he was allowed to publicly insult either Stupid or Mir - especially Mir, for he got along better with the blue than he'd dared hope. They were his pets, and it was true - they weren't unintelligent. The older man's comments were hardly appreciated. As for Corinth's eating habits...? "He's hungry. He hasn't eaten for well over a sevenday, and blooding hardly sustains him for long. He's not normally."

[Rei]

Kaaoloth regarded the bronze thoughtfully. Perhaps I might be able to persuade mine to tutor yours. That is if yours has no qualms about it. The large brown rustled his wings and scanned his dismembered carcasses once more, finding nothing else worth salvaging he yawned and fastened his whirling eyes on the distant men. Selmine is growing irritated. Kaaoloth stopped talking to Corinth and swung his head over towards his rider crooning worriedly his eyes taking on a yellow twinge.

Sel’n snorted at the Weyrleader’s comments and rose from his position, marring his sketches with a few kicks of his booted foot. If the young man sought a rise out of him he had better find a better candidate. The brown rider was not about to lower himself by starting an argument. When Kaaoloth’s croon echoed across the feeding grounds he sent a quick thought to the brown. It’s alright Kaao he is just testing my nerves a bit. Are you quite finished?

Sel’n had heard the note of irritation in T’rid’s voice and decided it was about time to take his leave. The brown rider turned and gripped T’rid’s arm in a friendly gesture. “Good day to you Weyrleader” Without waiting for an affirmative from his dragon, the man started to stride quickly across the grounds towards his dragon his boots raising small puffs of dirt from the dry ground. Sel’n skirted the bloodied patches of ground and bits of animal carefully so as not to dirty his boots or flight gear further.

Kaaoloth turned toward Corinth and lowered his head. Mine wishes us to leave. If you can persuade yours to listen to mine we will help you. It will be good for mine to get out. Good flying noble bronze Corinth. His eyes whirled a contented blue as Kaaoloth trotted, or rather awkwardly hopped, towards his bonded. He crouched and spread his wings to maintain balance as Sel’n mounted rather gracefully for a man with the use of only one arm. After his rider was secure Kaaoloth gave a farewell croon and leapt into the air his large wings pushing at the air sending dust swirling through the grounds. They circled the feeding grounds once and leveled off to glide in the direction of the weyrs.