Dinner Date (Tags Piden)

[neeuqtar]

It wasn't been Tira who found the note. It was little green Tiny, sent to deliver the shed feathers of a hunting darter of some kind which Tiramnet had found while out running the river path. The heavy, ridged feathers would take well to fletching, and Tiramnet was fond of making her own arrows. The green firelizard came back to her mistress -- lounging on a beach just past the old Weyr and watching the river lazily flow past -- and chirped, circling overhead.

"Hmm? What's that?" Tira asked, holding up her arm for the green to alight on. The firelizard landed, the scrap of paper clenched in her forefeet. She took the crinkled piece of paper and smoothed it gently, reading the laboriously scrawled words. "Seventh candlemark?" Why, that was hardly half a candlemark away! She hadn't been in her weyr for most of the day; she rarely was. Tiramnet spent most of her time practicing, flying sweeps, and making/maintaining her equipment.

Nike love, are you willing to come get me? Tiny brought me a note from Piden, and I'll have no time to change if I go by foot. Nikeath, who was enjoying the thermals over the jungle, altered her course to take her sweeping across the canyon. Tira was already up on her feet, returning the note to her fire-lizard, who took off to return it to her room. The woman stretched briefly before starting to jog along the canyon's edge, broadening her stride to the ground-eating stride of a runner.

I expect special treatment, Nikeath drawled as she came up behind Tira, dropping into the canyon.

Of course, her rider averred. Shall we go hunting on the plains? Nikeath replied with a roar. With a glance over her shoulder to check positioning, Tira sped up into a sprint before vaulting off a ledge and into the canyon. Her green adjusted, coming up behind her and dropping slightly to keep Hers from splatting against her neck. The woman hit her dragon, skidding backwards slightly before slowing herself with knees and palms.

Tiramnet whooped with delight at the success (usually she fell off into the river after smacking into Nikeath) as the green powered upwards, soaring along the river and over the waterfall before dropping into the canyon and turning towards their weyr, backwinging powerfully to land.

Lazy, she teased. Nikeath snorted disdainfully before taking off again. Tira didn't ask where the dragon was going; the green was an independent sort and had never taken kindly to being leashed and controlled. Instead, she strolled into her room quite as if she had not just been flying, stripping off her clothing and chucking it into a corner (which already contained a small pile of similarly filthy clothing). As rapidly as possible, she rinsed herself off, using a bucket of water she always kept in her room. At least her hair would be damp with water, not sweat, and she wouldn't smell like something horrible and dead dragged in by a mouse-catcher.

"What should I wear?" she asked Tiny. The green firelizard appeared to consider, before chirping quite gravely. Tiramnet laughed, toweling off before opening her clothes-chest. She didn't own any girlish things; even her Gather clothing had been borrowed. But still, she had nice clothing... and it wasn't like she wanted to impress Piden. Nikeath's amusement made Tira smile wryly. "He is attractive," she said to the air, putting on a clean breastband.

Pants were easy: she had three choices, and clearly she wasn't going to wear riding breeches to dinner, or running pants. Which left her with slacks. Brown pants went well with her few nice blouses; she picked one with leaf embroidery. Without any actual jewelry, Tira had been making quick-and-easy ones. She had a pair of wires for dangling earrings; a quick foray up the hill and to the trees found her a pair of leaves to hook on them. And she was ready.

Tiny appeared over her head as she walked towards the Main Hall, a gauzy scarf fouling her wings. Laughing, Tiramnet offered her arm for a landing place, which the green took gratefully. The woman loosely wrapped the scarf around her neck, and Tiny slipped inside, the lines of her slim body outlined against the red-and-violet cloth. At the door of the Main Hall, Tira resisted messing with her hair -- it was pulled back and french-braided loosely, with a few strands pulling loose. Instead, she leaned non-chalantly against the wall and waited for Piden to make his appearance.

[Ruby]

Piden had gotten up 'early' today, meaning he'd actually left the apartments while the sun was still up. He'd returned about an hour later with a large wicker basket, covered in a plaid blanket. Pidesk had lifted a head and then an eyebrow as his Handler explained what he was planning for the day, and why he was spending so long fixing his hair and picking out his clothes. Skeptical, the Bronze just snorted at Piden's carefully laid out clothing, blowing the shirt off the bed and on to the floor. "Hey!" the handler snapped, swooping on the shirt and carefully shaking the dust off, examining it for lint or stains. "That is the only white shirt I've got left, Desk! Red's destroyed all the rest of them!"

At her name, the green Mandyr perked up, then shoved herself back even further into the corner she had claimed as her own. Shells had just come in through the hole Piden had cut in the bottom of the door, big enough for Mandyrs but small enough to keep firelizards and other pests out. As if mandyrs weren't pests. As if to prove him right, Shells scampered up to Piden's shoulder, pulled his hair, and shouted over at Red Ohhai fugly greensie! How Denden nightnight? Nice and skarelet? Hair redding lighter this days? With a terrified glance at Piden's hair, Red retched, frilling and shoving herself even farther into the corner.

Piden rolled his eyes and headed for Red with one of the many stained dishtowels he kept next to his bed. Shells went to his box, muttering about sesxing and mooches, things that Piden apparently enjoyed. Luckily, Piden found it easy to ignore the Bronze, as long as they weren't in public. With a skillfully aimed shot at the hamper, Piden relieved himself of the now vomit-soaked rag, then unshielded the glows without a warning for Pidesk (not that it mattered, the big beast was already back asleep).

He spent a good half-hour getting his hair to fall just the right way, as if he hadn't even touched it since getting out of bed. That took some talent, but he'd perfected it over the years, using various oils and creams to get it to fall just so. Hair was one of Piden's favorite features, so he spent an unnecessary amount of time on his own.

Clothes were easier, although he'd been thinking about what to wear for a few days, now. Luckily his wardrobe consisted mostly of dark work clothes, leaving him with only a few gather outfits and the occasional casual shirt. It made choosing easy. He'd gone with the white shirt, which buttoned up the front (although he left the collar open, showing off just the hollow of his throat) and sandy brown pants the color of Pidesk. The outfit set off his coloring very nicely, accentuating his deep red hair and forest green eyes. Perfect.

All he needed now was Tira. He wasn't quite on time, but Piden didn't mind - he didn't even know if she'd show, and he'd rather show up late and find her not there than show up early and wait alone for an hour. Red scrambled into the basket when he went to lift it, and Piden let her stay, curled just under the blanket's edge. He'd purposefully gone for a blue-checked pattern.

Piden glanced up at the setting sun as he rounded the final turn to the Main Hall, calculating the time left before it went totally below the horizon. Just enough, it looked like. And... perfect, she was here. Shifting the basket to his other arm, Piden waved and smiled, looking her up and down. Was that... effort that had gone into her outfit? He allowed himself to think so, a little hint of arrogance creeping into the smile. Not bad, for having jumped her in the middle of the day last time he'd seen her. Not bad at all.

As soon as he was close enough, Piden reached out with his free hand, taking her by the elbow and kissing her cheek before releasing her. People sometimes had boundaries? Never. "Mind a bit of a walk?" he asked, gesturing at the basket. "I am completely tired of eating in the Main Hall every night, especially when it's been so beautiful and warm out. I thought we could do something a little more... interesting." Not waiting for a yes or no, he reached for her elbow again, steering her out into the jungle, following paths that most people didn't even notice were there. Did he mention that after only meeting once or twice, she'd flightmothed for him? No, of course not. He was glad (relieved?) that she'd showed at all, but in Piden's experience, it was best to ignore that sort of feeling. It only bred uncertainty and awkwardness, and Piden was pretty sure he'd never experienced either of those emotions. He had no intention of changing that tonight.

[neeuqtar]

Tira basked in the last rays of the sun as she leaned against the cliff wall next to the entrance to the Main Hall. She had been a little early, and closed her eyes, letting her mind drift to Nikeath's. It was a skill she hadn't known she'd acquired while drugged at High Reaches, the ability to forget the senses of her own body and, well... remember Nikeath's. It took a few moments, but then she was slipping into the skin of the dragon. Sunlight warmed her gray-green hide slightly, but the heat of her body came from within.

She adjusted her wingsails, catching a dying thermal before forcing her way above the scanty cloud cover and into the bright sun of the high sky. Above her, thin wisps of ice skidded through the air, tugged by powerful winds. She drifted lower, gliding over the clouds and jungle. The river was to her right; she wheeled in the air and it was to her left. Far ahead, the horizon blued. Out there, she knew, was the ocean, salt spray and powerful waves. Her voice rumbled in her throat, and she tilted her wings, letting air spill so that she could drop dizzyingly from the sky, heading for nowhere in particular--

The woman was jerked back to her own consciousness as Tiny shifted, trilling in welcome to the approaching wherhandler. Tira waved in return, watching him approach without shifting. A basket? Perhaps he intended an evening picnic outside. It was certainly nice enough for such a thing. He was there in a moment, and Piden laid his hand on her elbow and leaned forward to kiss his cheek. Apparently he had no awkwardness from the Run -- good. Tiramnet had never held sex to be all that important, but she knew others could get... strange... afterwards.

Smiling (with just a hint of a smirk), Tiramnet admired Piden covertly, flicking her eyes from his toes to his eyes. He'd clearly put effort into looking good -- white shirt, tan pants, and perfectly coiffed hair. Before she could assent to a picnic dinner, he had his hand on her elbow once more, and was steering her into the jungle.

"Dinner in the jungle, hmm?" she asked, a teasing lilt to her voice as she glanced at him sidelong. Tiny had snuggled back down into the scarf, the tip of her emerald tail just dangling down to curl in the hollow of Tira's throat like some sort of necklace. At least the fire-lizard matched, unlike the brilliant red-and-violet scarf. But Piden didn't seem to mind. Tiramnet had no trouble making her way through the darkening forest. She had grown up in the wilds of Pern, and though the mountain forests and the valley paths were certainly not the jungle, the idea was the same.

"I heard that Pidesk Caught Eikask," she said after a moment. "You will have to convey my congratulations to him. Rumor has it that there was quite the competition for Selenitas' lady gold." Tira wasn't sure what, if any, position went to the handler who's wher sired a gold Clutch. Certainly nothing important was given to the handlers who had been in that position while she was at Southern and Keroon. But who knew? Selenitas was very different from the rest of the world...

[Ruby]

Red cringed in his mind as Tiny trilled, and Piden had to hide a flinch. Luckily, Red had never had too heavy of a influence on him (much less than Pidesk), and Piden was excellent at hiding things. He didn't look forward to introducing Red to Tiny, but if he had any luck, she wouldn't come out. Considering the way she crawled further in, though, he didn't think he had to worry for a while, yet. His eyes touched just barely on Tira's red and violet scarf and he blinked, but shoved the unreasoned terror out of his mind. He'd just have to get it off, somehow.

That brought a smile to his face, matching her smirk for smirk. She didn't pull away from his peck, though, and the ironic twist that seemed to be a permanent fixture on Piden's mouth smoothed, leaving just a smile in its place. He didn't notice at all, but rather continued into the jungle, shooting a glance and a smile at Tira while he thought she wasn't looking. Their eyes met, and Piden couldn't help responding to her question with a relaxed laugh. "Kind of," he said, leaving the subject with a cryptic grin. "You'll see when we get there."

Impressed with her ability to find her way through the deep undergrowth, Piden slid ahead of Tira on the path, picking up the pace a little bit. If she'd been struggling, he would have held back and catered to her, but this was a refreshing change, and he wanted to reach their destination as early as possible; the earlier the better. So he settled for checking over his shoulder every once in a while, enjoying the view.

"Ah yes, Pidesk, King of the Whers. He's been panicky ever since, and I can't say I blame him," he replied, falling back to her side as the path widened again. "Three Whers got injured in the chase, I think. Maybe more - it was hard to tell what was happening with the wild ones in the run, and Pidesk is pretty fast. He didn't know what was happening until Eikask was heading him off into the forest." Shifting his basket to the other hand, he freed up the hand nearest to Tira's, letting it casually bump hers. He wasn't going to hold it (that was unbearably childish), but a little physical contact wasn't going to hurt. "But reasonably, he's a little worried about his position. Not that it is anything, but... well. It's there. I'll pass on the congratulations, he'll love to hear it. Vain beast."

The opposite of the truth, of course - Pidesk was not even half as vain as his handler, a fact Piden proved by fiddling with his hair for at least a minute as he slowed the pace again, this time ambling to a stop. "We're here," he said, gesturing to the vista before busying himself with the blanket, spreading it on the ground.

They'd reached a small meadow that stretched about 50 yards before dropping off in a steep fall. The jungle continued below, rolling off to the horizon. Rukbat's lower rim was still above the tree line, but was setting fast. Quite the view. With the blanket set up, Piden waved Tira over and started unpacking plates and utensils, followed by the food. Red had scurried up into his collar, but he ignored her for now, unpacking the slices of cold wherry, bread, cheese, and leafy greens he'd brought. Last was a bottle of good Benden white and some sweet red fruits for the end of the meal.

"Dig in," he offered, shooting her one of those real smiles again. Once they were done eating, he'd make conversation, but for now Rukbat was setting, painting the sky beautiful reds and golds. He was happy to sit in silence if she was, enjoying the sunset he almost never got to see (and chomping down his sandwich without abandon).

[neeuqtar]

Tiramnet kept pace easily with Piden as he pulled ahead, stepping out into the jungle. She was quite happy to feel her way through the forest, relying on subtle differences in shadows to tell her what was underfoot. Carefully, the greenrider placed her feet, toes first, then heels, to keep from turning her ankles. In the forests of home, she could run at night, but not so in the jungle. She did have to focus on her movements here, but with time she would regain her ease in the jungle as well. It had just been so long since she had picked paths through the thick vegetation...

As Piden fell back to pace with her as the path widened, she let her face betray worry for the injured whers. Three hurt -- that was a high cost for a Flight... though this had been a wher's Run, and perhaps it was less serious to be injured on the ground than in the air. Though your Flights have been brutal of late, Tira commented to Nikeath wryly, trying to gauge from the dragon's reaction how the green felt. She got a derisive snort and no words. Well, Flights were when they were. No reason to try and pin down Nikeath.

"I hadn't heard about the injuries," Tira admitted as Piden's hand brushed against hers. Then they were at their destination, and Piden had pulled away again, laying a blanket on the ground. She walked to the cliff's edge, rather in awe of the scenery. Of course, she had seen the jungle laying out in a leafy green panorama many times before, with the bright darters rising from the trees, or dragons wheeling overhead. But always from dragonback, or from the Weyr itself. Not from a place that seemed completely separate from the war-torn world she knew. It was almost possible to forget that drills and practice awaited her when she returned to the Weyr.

"It's gorgeous!" she said with true delight, turning back towards Piden. Tiramnet laughed, almost girlishly, and strolled over to the food, sinking gracefully to the blanket on the other side of the basket. She picked up a sandwich as Tiny unfurled from around her neck, poking her nose out before hopping off of her human's shoulder into the tall grass, wending through the blades as she chased down bugs, sending a few moths floating upwards before hopping up and snapping them out of the air. Tira laughed again, tugging her scarf off and letting it drift to the ground near her leg as she started to eat the sandwich. Let no one say that Tiramnet was shy about her food: she was quite capable and willing to tuck into food at every meal. She worked out enough to need it.

[Ruby]

Tira's delight made Piden smile, a touch smugly. He didn't usually waste time trying to impress, but when he did, he went all the way. "The company's not bad either, or so I hear," he added, tone falsely off-hand. If she'd been sitting near enough, he'd have nudged her, but no such luck. That would have to be fixed, eventually, but for now he was content to sit where he was. Rukbat continued to set, and as darkness rolled in to the glade, night-blooming flowers began to open. Some gave off a faint luminescence, and everything smelled amazing, perfuming the night air. This was why Piden had brought her to this particular area - Nautsk and Nautic's idea to begin with, but Pidesk had paid attention to the flowers, and the Bronzepair had found their own hideaway on watch. Done with his sandwich, Piden reached for the wineskin and glasses, hiding a devious grin. Of course, he couldn't resist asking "Like it?" as he poured the wine, glancing up and to the side, trying to catch a glimpse of Tiramnet's face.

Piden handed over a glass of wine and leaned back on one hand, gesturing in Tira's direction with his glass. "To Hatchings, and Hepaticath's latest abominations," he toasted, warmly sarcastic. "And to the good sense of a certain Greenrider, who decided to sit next to the future King of the Wherhandlers." Cheesy? As far as Piden was concerned, it was not possible for cheesy things to come out of his mouth. Silly, maybe, but only on purpose and in a sexy way, obviously. Clinking the edge of his glass against Tira's, Piden sipped and pretended to consider, staring off towards the forest. Really, he knew nothing about wine, but he could look like he did, right? "So where are you from? I'm sure I would have noticed you before if you came from Selenitas," he asked, actively considering how he could slide over next to her without seeming sleezy. For some reason, he found himself wanting her approval and continued company, not just her body.

It was Red peeking her nose out to get a whiff of leftover sandwich that gave Piden an idea. Red? he asked, rolling a shoulder to get his Green's attention. I think you might like Tiny. She's very small, and green like you, and... well, on the other side of Tira. It'll really help me out. Wanna go say hi? Red considered this, sticking her nose out again. Wich? she asked, peeking out a touch further. All the sandwich you want off my plate, as long as you share. But you have to go say hi to Tiny first.

"And you're a beastcrafter?" he asked, fitting himself smoothly back in to the conversation. He took another sip of wine, then transferred his glass to the other hand, reaching for one of the fruits he'd brought. I'll let you know when, ok, Red? he asked, nibbling on a fruit before finishing his glass of wine and re-filling both his and Tira's. No reason to rush things just yet - plus, he was honestly enjoying listening to Tira. Weird.

[neeuqtar]

Tiramnet finished her sandwich as twilight fell. The wildflowers in the field slowly began to opening, offering pale petals to the darkening sky. Some actually glowed, and Tira took her time in watching the flowers bloom. So rarely did she slow and appreciate the world around her, as she had been able to do as a small child. Her determination -- her's and Nikeath's -- had driven them to become the excellent riders that they were now, but many of the smaller pleasures of life had fallen by the wayside in endless cycles of training and learning. But if High Reaches had taught her anything, it was to slow down and think, rather than leap into things with headstrong blindness. Little Tiny bounded through the flowers, hopping up Tira's leg to sit on her lap. The green fire-lizard was speckled with luminescent pollen and gleamed in the dim light.

"Somebody has been spreading awful rumors about me, haven't they," she accused teasingly at the insinuation of good company. "Though I'm enjoying my company," she added with a sidelong glance at the wherhandler, in answer to his query about liking it. Tira took the glass and clinked it against Piden's, letting her fingertips brush against his. Tiramnet had never held with keeping long nails, as they were unwieldy and prone to break, but for a moment she had a flash of regret at not having such a feminine trait. Well... Piden seemed interested enough in her without the traditional trappings of femininity. She wasn't about to start conforming to the Northern ideal of womanhood now, of all times. How would that ever convince people that she was equal too, even better than, other dragonriders she fought and bled alongside?

"Hmm," she said, flicking the tip of her tongue out at Piden at his toast. "And to the cooperation of Fate, who gave me a fire-lizard who loves Hatchings and delivering messages." After all, without Tiny and her initiative, Tira would only just be arriving back at her weyr to head to the baths before practicing some hand-to-hand fighting in the privacy of her room. Tiramnet swirled the wine near her nose, closing her eyes and inhaling deeply, lips parted as she focused on the pungent scent of wine. Ah, the simple pleasures of life. She sipped at her wine, eyes still closed. Blossom rose -- one of her favorites, and a nice wine to drink in a field full of night-blossoming wildflowers.

"I was born in the North, but Nikeath is Selenitas born-and-bred," the dragonrider replied to Piden's question, letting her mind drift to memories of other places for a moment. "But we followed the kidnapped weyrlings to High Reaches back in 3010, and, well... we only managed to escape back home in May." She flashed a wry smile at Piden, unaware that he was spending more attention enlisting his salamandyr's aid than in paying attention to her (very) brief history. "But even if I had been at Selenitas, I spend most of my time in the daylight," Tiramnet added teasingly. She sipped from her glass again, running her left hand through the grasses. Tiny trailed her, hoping for a snack or perhaps petting.

"Yes, with draconids," the greenrider answered smoothly, holding out her glass to be refilled halfway. "I trained at Keroon as a boy, and did my thesis work at Southern Hold. A fair bit of training in wher-healing, as well." Tiramnet leaned back, resting on her elbows, staring off into the distance, for a moment lost in memory. Then she freed herself from such thoughts and redirected her attention to Piden. "How about yourself? Did you ever train for a Craft besides wherhandling?"

[Ruby]

Rise? Red asked, cocking her head at Tiny. Normally firelizards scared Red - they were so big, and she was so small. Auran was the one exception, but he was only accepted because he had tried to protect her from Shells, who was also big and scary, and he was red. Tiny, though... Tiny had to be smaller than Shells himself, much closer to Red's size. She was also a pleasing shade of green, although the red and purple scarf Tira had removed was eyed with obvious distrust as Red slunk out of the basket further, perched meerkat-like on the edge. Anyway, Tiny appeared to be glowing, but not the way Red had when she'd Run - then again, the tiny salamandyr's hide had barely looked more than freshly oiled. She didn't really know what Firelizards looked like when they were going to Rise. Maybe the flecked glow was it?

"Oh yes, dreadful. Especially if you ever want to be left alone," Piden agreed, puffing up a little when she claimed to be enjoying his company as well. As someone who rarely went out of his way be likable (unless it was for his own gain, of course), many people found the Bronzehandler insufferable if he didn't at least make an attempt at pleasantry; Tira volunteering that she was having fun when Piden didn't have to try was pretty cool. He liked not having to try to make her happy. Another smile, and it only stretched further when she brushed his fingers with her own. Piden knew an intentional touch when he saw it. Very good.

"To Tiny as well, then, and fate. Not sure how much I believe in the Lady of Chance myself, but she does seem to be a good one to drink to, tonight," Piden conceded, lifting his glass again to sip appropriately. He settled back one one elbow, torso rotated in Tira's direction as she began explaining herself, offering noncommittal noises at appropriate points. "I notice the dayfolk occasionally," he drawled when she paused after teasing him for being a night-person. "We must have just missed each other, though," he went on, doing a brief mental calculation. "I first came to Selenitas in... winter of '08-'09, and impressed Pidesk in Spring. I was here until Fall, when I was passed out of Wherling training and... well, I took off pretty soon after that. I was gone for a few years; in High Reaches for a while, actually, but I spent an extraordinary amount of time skulking in the dark with their Whers, avoiding the daylight people and the food. Pidesk said it smelled funny," he added with a twist of his mouth. From what he'd seen, it had more than smelled funny.

Tira got a quizzical look when she mentioned training as a boy - "Surely no one believed that, did they?" he asked, no irony or implied insult there, just a question. He couldn't imagine mistaking her for a boy, but then again, gender didn't matter all that much to the Handler. It was the mention of her work in healing that snagged more of his attention, though. With a quick, throw away explanation of his early years: "No crafts for me, I'm Cothold-born and bred; my family farmed, but I never showed much of an aptitude for anything besides... Whers," he got back to the subject at hand. "Wher healing, though?" he asked, sitting up again. "How are you in the late nights, or early morning? One of the Sentinel's biggest problems is that we don't have any healers among us, Wher or otherwise. A few of us know basic first aid, but if we get more than a scratch, we're sunk. I'm sure Eikane would love it if you wouldn't mind giving a few of us a crash course..." An impudent smile preceded the next line, and Piden leaned in, one hand placed on the ground between Tira's arm and her side. "Anything I can do to help convince you?"

His planned ploy with Red was long forgotten, but the Salamandyr hadn't forgotten his promise. with a delicate brush against her bonded's free hand (the one resting the cup on Piden's knee), the tiny green mandyr hopped over to Tira's lap then off her knee, stretching out one forepaw and her nose to touch Tiny's. She was nice, not scary, yes?