Fortes et Liber (F'lix)

[Requiem]

Tranquility. The ring of mountains rose heavenwards on every side, disappearing into the clouds on the best of days. Today wasn't one of those. Autumn was fast approaching, and for this, one of the highest elevations of the northern continent, the end of summer was like winter in other locales. Snow didn't - quite - cover the entirety of the valley, and the lake hadn't yet frozen up, but it dusted the grassy slopes several hundred yards past the base of the mountains. It was not the crisp cool of the place, however, that was dangerous. No, it was the fog that blanketed the mountains, rolling heavily downward and making any sound echo strangely. In a few candlemarks the heat of the suns would burn away most of the fog, at least in the valley, but for now it was a ghostly place. Most would never dare to traverse the region on foot, as there was no landbased access to the valley without climbing the mountains themselves or trying to navigate passes that dead ended more often than not - or mazelike cave systems that were not guaranteed to see you to the other side at all.

In this fog, straight flight was impossible. At this elevation, straight flight was impossible anyway, for most. The air was far too thin to fly over the peaks, and unless you caught it on a good day when no storms raged in the higher elevations and the fog was burned completley clear...attempting a lower flightpath was suicidal. It should not be surprising, then, that few living knew of the place. A forgotten, wild sanctuary left untouched. It was, for the most part, only accessible by Betweening unless you were one lucky s.o.b. Which was why F'ur picked it; with most of the High Reaches riders dead, and most of the Fort riders he'd grown up with likewise no longer living, the chances were slim to none that they'd see anyone else in this valley.

Inocenth popped out of Between with a flare of belched flame, burning away the fog around him as he circled wide around the coordinates given to the second dragonpair. Visibility to land. The small midnight blue settled near the top of the hill, waiting for the second pair and for his rider to dismount. F'ur slid from Inocenth's back, the grass crunching frostily under his boots. Full riding gear, with the addition of an underlayer of cold weather gear. Fortunately, F'lix was formerly of Benden, where that was common issue - so they hadn't needed to acquire clothing for him before coming. The day after Simper's death...F'ur really wouldn't have been pleased by delays. If only because he'd offered to wait until F'lix was ready, the offer met with wordless but clear impatience.

[rii]

One. F'lix's mind clicked through the mental check list, ignoring the little demonness digging sharp claws into his chest. Her concern was endearing, but harsh, and there were still a few flecks of blood on his neck from her attacking his ear in scolding that morning. Two. The coordinates were unfamiliar and F'lix firmed the mental image with Saboth. He leaned in more closely to his pale blue, readjusting his grip on the straps. His gaze shifted to the jungle below, a landscape he knew would change in the matter of seconds. Eyes slipped to a close, F'lix took in a short breath – pulse jumping in a moment of thrill of where he was going. Three.

Haven given Inocenth ample time to move, Saboth appeared above the landing blue. He spiral tightly to touch against the ground. The blue's head turned in a long sweeping arc; the disadvantages of only having one eye. F'lix's own head mirrored the scanning to a lesser degree. A world of green had be replaced with.. gray. His held breath came out slowly, warm air of the Selenitas jungle forming into a visible swirl as it contrasted with the cold morning of the mountains. F'lix drew in a new breath, frigid in comparison and he felt the wave of goosebumps rise underneath his riding gear.

With a dry laugh F'lix dismounted to venture closer to his weyrmate. He brave the man a half-smile before shifting his gaze elsewhere to try and get a better view of the land hidden beneath the low hanging clouds. "It's cold." The words soft, but definitely with a touch of amused at the statement of the obvious. Complain about the heat of the south, pine for the seasons and cool weather of the north – and then shiver when the chill caressed over skin. F'lix body had grown use to the humid warmth, all because humans were adaptive creatures. Not that the change wasn't welcome.. but it wasn't so much of a change as it was welcoming a familiar past.

It was silly.. the little things.. F'lix felt his lips turning in a subtle smile as he shifted his weight just to hear the frozen blades of grass softly crush under his boot. He was curious about where they were.. but at the time F'ur had proposed the idea of going north F'lix didn't dare question it. It had taken him by surprise, and perhaps it was a little too soon after Simper's death. Of course that was a matter he wasn't allowed to dwell on with Lilitu and Saboth around – the latter of which F'lix had been dumbfounded to see on the ledge in the morning. Usually it was only Inocenth there, yet Saboth had stayed there since the incident.

The supplies F'ur packed perked F'lix's curiousity as well, but still the younger rider didn't pry. In a reserved fashion he had just watched the man bounce to and fro about the weyr. He had felt like such a dead weight, little more than a slouching lump to F'ur's more energetic attitude. Didn't want to be.. a burden. Claws dug into his torso along with a hissing thought drawing over his mind. Sorry, sorry. F'lix pressed a hand against his chest where Lilitu resided under the layers. It was hard to keep his mind from being drawn down the freshly ripped hole Simper had left behind.

Another few slow breathes and his lungs were nearly adjusted to the change. F'lix bowed his head slightly, making the stiff collar of his dark jacket to draw away from his neck. The chill brushing across the exposed warm skin was something he savored. Missed this, he did. His weight shifted again, arms crossing over his front as he directed his gaze toward F'ur. Brows lifted in silent curiosity.

[Requiem]

Hold, the blue commanded the younger male, the frigidity of his tone unmitigated. He was, however, being - nice - for him. As in, he hadn't given Saboth a hard time about returning to his ledge for the night, nor greeted him with anything but distant politeness at the dawning. Inocenth wasn't fond of the other blue and probably never would be, but Saboth was off-limits, and...well, he'd shown enough concern, even if his reasons had everything to do with his rider and nothing else, for Inocenth's that the blue was willing to not antagonize him. Now, pick at him when he grew bored...that was a different story. He leapt into the air again, moving in steadily expanding circles to disperse the fog until he could get his bearings, then forged for the mountainside not far ahead. A natural ledge, there, big enough for four dragons, with a large cave mouth that he flamed thoroughly to get rid of any beasties. Inocenth settled on the ledge. Safe enough, if you wish to get your feet out of the snow, he told the other male briskly.

Terror was grumbling mentally...something F'ur had to concentrate on specifically to be certain it was Terror...about the cold. And the fog. Which he couldn't see, being tucked securely into a small cloth bag, drawn tight and draped around the man's neck beneath his riding leathers. F'ur wasn't sure what would happen if Terror decided to freak out or faint during a Between skip, but he was pretty sure he didn't want to find out. "Since you're dead set on putting up a fuss, fussbucket, you can stay there where it's warmer." Cue sulking. F'ur rolled his eyes, glancing up at the soft crunch that marked F'lix's approach.

A soft snort at F'lix's amused comment. "It's summer," he returned, a small smirk touching his lips. Now winter - that was cold. Sure, F'ur might have technically been at Selenitas longer of the pair of them, but he'd lived too many turns in this region and the eastern one...in the chill. This felt good to him. Beyond good. He was much like a snake back at Selenitas, only coming out in the cool and otherwise rather sedate. Invigorated, he plopped flat down on his back. Snow! Shards how he missed the snow. It never snowed back at Selenitas. Rolling onto his stomach, he reveled in it, then slipped the riding helmet and goggles from his head. (Couldn't see too well with snow caked on them anyway.)

Spotting a nice bank not that far away, he boosted himself up and flopped down again, scissoring his arms and legs, then carefully rolled up out of it. Snow angel. Grinning, he shot a glance at F'lix. While packing a nice snowball ever so casually between his hands. "Don't tell me it doesn't make you just a little giddy?" he questioned. Before the snowball found its way to F'lix's front. He cocked his head to one side, grinning shamelessly.

[rii]

"Fall.." He softly countered out of habit more than anything argumentative. At least he thought it was autumn. It became all too easy to lose track of time when in the south the months all blurred together into one long green summer punctuated by weeks of relentless rains. He liked the fall, when the leaves shifted colors.. green forests replaced by bands of gold, reds and oranges. The change of the seasons, the cycle, always held it's own allure. F'lix's gaze swept over the gray fog blanketing the vale. Impatient, almost, for it to lift away.

His gaze ventured to a more interesting sight – in the form of an over thirty turn old, war hardened dragon rider rolling around in the snow. F'lix turned toward his weyrmate, watching the behavior with muted curiosity. Not unusual for F'ur, but F'lix had never.. indulged ..in such behavior. Whatever he had done, the older man looked childishly pleased about his flailing in the snow. F'lix couldn't exactly see the reason why with goggles lightly fogging from his breath, so he undid the strap of his helmet and began to remove it. "So tell—"

Head bowed and helmet half way off, F'lix froze mid-action when the snowball impacted his chest. He remained that way, speechless and rigid, for a long moment. When he did finally finish easing off his helmet, his eyes were downcast on the small mound of white dotting his dark leathers. Retaliation was in order. A gloved hand lifted to casually brush off the snow as F'lix's chin lifted so he could narrowly eye his weyrmate. F'ur's blatantly amused expression and giddy demeanor made F'lix feel.. guilty.

His fingers curled more firmly into the leather helm, eyes retreating back to the snow he continued to flick off his chest. F'ur was obviously in a good mood and F'lix really didn't want to be a stick in the mud – but couldn't for the life of him summon up the energy to counter, or match, his weyrmate's level of enthusiasm. An attempt to do such, with only mind to not spoil F'ur's mood, would be hollow. Empty. A lie. Ruining the whole thing. Shouldn't have so eagerly accepted F'ur's talk of going north. What a bore he must be..

A wave of snow hit both of the riders, the source being from Saboth's sweeping tail. The blue had his wings half arched and he looked at them calmly in feigned innocence. Oops? He stretched his long neck over, snagging the helm from his rider before pushing off into the air, further swirling the snow around the human pair. Whine so much about missing this, excited to come, and now that you are here you just want to go back? You are poorly mistaken to think any of us will just let you hole up somewhere alone. The pale blue lighted on the ledge, laying downing along the edge to be able to keep his eye on the two below.

Dislodging the new snow with a sharp shake of head, F'lix growled incoherently a few choice curses before stripping off a glove. Fingers were used to shovel the cold substance away from his collar. "With friends like you guys.." He flung the small bit of half-melted snow in F'ur's direction. "So are you going to tell me about where we are, or.."

A mild shrug as he bent slightly to brush at the snow on his leg.. scooping up a quick handful, packing it and whipping the half-formed snowball at F'ur.

[Requiem]

Yeah, yeah, maybe it was fall. Either way it was on the crux of the change and not important, not in F'ur's mind. Then again, it didn't seem altogether that important to F'lix, either, which was fine by him. Just as he was perfectly fine with the expression that he could imagine as easily as see, what with the familiar body language of his weyrmate. The almost-questioning stance. You'd think it wasn't normal to make snow angels in the snow, tch. (Well, maybe it wasn't, but who cared, really? He wasn't about to let his age tell him how to behave. Why start now?)

Much, much better. He wasn't fond of face-concealing helmets. The slow brush of snow, the look, promised future retaliation. He slipped one hand into his pocket, shifting his weight mostly to the opposite foot. A brow quirked challengingly. Before sliding back down at the subtle change in F'lix, his hand coming back out of his pocket and accompanied by the barest touch of a frown. F'ur really was just trying to get the kitten to take his mind off things (although he truly did love the northern snows) but maybe he was...

Spluttering, his head whipped toward Saboth, staggering under the wave of snow and growling audibly. Oh ho that little innocent look wasn't going to fly! Unfortunately, the dragon could fly and did just that as F'ur got off another snowball, the packed sphere whipping harmlessly beneath the blue. Hmph. "Friends like us? I'll have you know that using your blue to get back at me is quite underhanded, even by our standards," he responded, playing up the haughtiness in his voice. Which would have been more effective if the snow cloud whipped his way hadn't caught him full in the mouth directly afterward. He shook his head, spitting the slush into the snow at his feet and grumbling something about being turned into an abominable snowman...which immediately resulted in an audible squeal and thrashing from the bag against his chest.

"For Faranth's sake, how in the seven hells could snow turn me into a white-pelted sasquatch?"

Terror whimpered, sending him a myriad of 'reasons' in response, to which F'ur merely rolled his eyes. Honestly. His eyes slid over to snare on F'lix. "Well, I was going to tell you about it, but now I'm thinking about going with the or," he stated smoothly, advancing on his weyrmate in a half crouch, arms held low by his sides in a classic wrestler's stance. Playing still, clearly. He launched himself at F'lix, attempting to hook an arm around his neck.

[rii]

Had to admit, watching F'ur sputter from the unexpected cloud of snow did draw out an amused upward curl at the corners of lips. F'lix's gaze slitted cattishly at his weyrmate – until he realized his own attempt at a snowball had hit the other rider in the face. The playful expression twitched, falling from his features to be replaced with a nervous half smile and apology that didn't quite make it off his tongue. No experience what-so-ever at playing these peculiar games with the snow. Horsing around in general was something a bit foreign to F'lix. He merely took cues and hints from F'ur's demeanor to try and react accordingly. As ever, learning from the older man..

"Saboth acted on his own accord," He quipped with a soft click of tongue against teeth – a feigned expression of annoyance or scolding. F'lix knew better than to take his weyrmate's teasings seriously. Oh, things had be extraordinarily different when they had first gotten together. Too insecure with being in a relationship; taking each tease poorly and looking to duck out the door at every awkward moment. Admittedly, a good bit of his inner confidence had been shaken with Simper's abrupt passing. A brow arched, a purposeful mutter coming out as he pulled his glove back on. "Underhanded wouldn't involve me getting covered in snow as well."

Regardless that his attempts usually ended with him being dragged along anyway. Still. That wasn't usually never planned. A brow quirked upward at the mutters of a seven hells and sasquatch. F'ur always had an interesting choice of wording, and often enough – the moment case in point – left F'lix with a furrowed brow of confusion and thoughtfulness as he tried to figure out exactly what the ex-Fortian was saying. "Wha-uh?" The rather.. eloquent ..response came out as F'ur began advancing. F'lix's mind registering F'ur's stance and words on two separate levels. "F'ur—"

He caught the hooking arm against his own, twisting his body and using the slick quality of the snow to twirl their positions around. Instead of battling against F'ur's forward force, manipulating it, diverting the energy to the side so F'ur only succeeding into dancing them across the hilltop. A twist and turn from F'lix to prevent his weyrmate from obtaining a dominant position. Another slip around with minimal contact or locking of limbs, and F'lix turned them so that he had the higher ground on the slope.

A good thing it was just play, and even better that F'ur was his lover, because F'lix would have never gotten away with what he did next. Lilitu claws pricked along his skin as she moved to a safer spot (not without sending him a disapproving hiss of a thought, she would have left the vicinity of his leathers if it wasn't so cold and she didn't appreciate him wrestling with Terror's when she was forced to stay along for the ride). F'lix threw his weight into F'ur, flush against his weyrmate along with a hooking leg to prevent a pivot. Teeth grazed the older man's jaw in clearly distracting tatic. Willingly sacrificing his advantage completely in a move that wouldn't work in a real fight – but to pair up with gravity and physics to knock F'ur and himself down the snow covered slope? It would work. What? If F'ur wanted to roll around in the snow..

Hunching his shoulders to help protect the back of his neck, F'lix surrendered to the fall. A blur of white, roll of weight, brush of cold across his face. Hn, he commented privately, hoped that it was just a hillside and not a slope before a gorge. Didn't quite look, due to the fog, before he acted on impulse. F'ur was too good at reading moves if there were predictable. Had to keep throwing in the unexpected every now and then to be able to knock the man off his feet.

[Requiem]

"Unless that's just what you meant for me to think, to escape retaliation," F'ur responded with a cheerful grin that meant retaliation had most definitely not been avoided. It was coming. Eventually. (He sometimes waited turns, after all. Usually because he'd forgotten, but details, details.)

F'ur's foot slipped in the stirred slush of the snow, the man arresting it almost immediately, though it allowed F'lix's sidestep another couple seconds to turn into a move to secure the higher ground. He flicked his head back, meeting the golden eyes with a flicker of a grin...and lunged forward half a second after F'lix had, going low and for the waist. Well, he caught the man all right, but F'lix's momentum carried him over onto his back, F'ur managing to slide his body up F'lix's, arms moving up to the younger man's shoulders while they tumbled down the hill. It was fortunate it was snow, for the hill was much steeper than likely what F'lix would have guessed. The older of the blueriders cupped his weyrmate's head and used his arms to protect his shoulders and neck, curling toward him.

All mostly a matter of reflex, really.

They came to a halt in a cloud of white powder, F'ur with a kitten against his chest. He waited a few seconds before pushing the younger man off him, tsking. "Ever heard 'look before you leap,' kit?" The mostly feigned irritation behind his growl helped mask that F'ur hadn't yet caught his breath from the fall. He climbed to his feet, brushing off the snow in great bursts of white.

"The river's not far from here...can hear it if you listen." He cocked his head to one side - almost in demonstration - the man turning away from F'lix. The flicker of pain was fleeting across his face. He slipped his hands into his pockets and began striding purposefully toward the sound of moving water, casting a glance back over his shoulder with the flash of a smile. "Well, are you coming, then? They grow right up on the water's edge, and I want to see if any have come up yet."

He didn't really know how to cheer F'lix up...didn't like seeing him looking so lost. Hurting. Rough housing, playing around, all of that had worked before in getting a smile out of the kitten, getting him to loosen up...but it didn't seem to be working now. Maybe nothing really would work for awhile. Right now, though, F'ur wasn't up to more wrestling. The flowers. Maybe some would have bloomed a little early in the season.

[rii]

It was impossible to judge the grade of the slope covered in snow. The white blanketing fiddling with F'lix's depth perception and perhaps that should of been hint enough to not take the risk. He didn't think they would make that far down the hill, or twirl around through the snow as they did. Despite the snow working down his collar and up his back, F'lix found himself comfortable in that moment. Safe and wanted in the arms of his weyrmate. F'lix was tucking in near F'ur's neck, eyes closing, when a rather strong push dislodged him.

As he rolled to the side, flopping gracelessly against the snow, F'lix expected instant retaliation from F'ur. Nothing came aside from the somewhat sharp quip. F'lix's brow furrowed in confusion as not only did F'ur stand, but the man quickly put a distance between them. A faint stiffness to F'ur's usual smooth posture, a turn of back, and the hands in pockets served as the last detail to firm in F'lix's mind that something was wrong. And, right then, F'lix wanted nothing more than to disappear into the bank of snow at his back. A tightness clawed at his throat and a tell-tale sting welled in his eyes.

The younger reclined, closing his eyes and taking a page out of the ex-Fortian's book by letting his body relax as to not betray his inner turmoil. These surges of emotions need to stop. Just.. stop. So his control over his mood wasn't as strong as it had been a couple of days ago, couldn't really be blamed for that. His fingers flicked lazily at the snow left on his torso. Only after the flare of anguish dimmed did F'lix allow himself to re-open his eyes; raising up on elbows to catch the last of the half-concealed smile tossed his way.

Solemn in expression, F'lix rolled forward to rise back onto his feet and stride after his weyrmate. He didn't bother trying to further brush off the snow. The hand that reached up only did so to undo the front of his jacket. Highly disinclined to speak anymore (or really do anything as for one reason or another he had somehow upset F'ur) F'lix held back on a sigh as he stared straight forward at where F'ur led them. "What grows on the water's edge?"

Genuinely curious at what F'ur was referring to, F'lix's mind still fell back to it's original dark musing in the brief silence that followed. In a softer tone, he inquired a second question while still opting to look at anything but the man at his side. "What did I do, F'ur?"

[Requiem]

A hand naturally slipped out of his pocket (he really didn't notice he did it half the time) at F'lix's question, moving toward the younger man's arm. "The fl-" The second question stopped him, though, a flicker behind his eyes before the hand fell at his side. "Yeah, guess it was silly of me to think I could hide it with you on top of me." He rubbed at his ribs, then, wrinkling his nose at the soreness there. "Didn't think they'd give me any trouble - haven't for over a month - but I guess they're still bruised or something." A glance was shot sidelong at F'lix, appraising his weyrmate for a moment. "Can't take blows to the chest well still. Knocks all the wind out of me. But yeah, you didn't know, and I doubt you knew about the hill either. Didn't want you getting upset."

F'ur laced his fingers together behind his head and continued walking toward the river. For a moment he was clearly lost in thought, but that moment passed with a blink of his eye and a hand slid down to thread around F'lix's waist, tugging the younger man into his side companionably. It wasn't so much a conscious thing anymore, this touching his weyrmate when the other bluerider seemed - distressed. F'lix put a lot of weight on touch. In some cases...too much. F'ur was just as capable of lying with his body language as he was with his words, and a touch that seemed angry - or playful - could be anything but, with the ex-Fortian.

Not true for the more tender touching. That was reserved for only one person, and there was nothing deceptive in that.

"I brought you here to see the flowers...you know, the ones I talked about when you first inked my leg, that only grow in one glade during the early winter months? And sometimes get caught in the ice and preserved throughout the winter? This is that vale. It's a little early, but I'm hoping we'll be lucky," he offered, a flicker of a smile playing across his lips. "Careful where you step...we should be getting close to the part of the river frozen over, and this early...the ice is likely too thin, even for us."

Then, abruptly, F'ur's other hand dipped into his pocket and he pulled out...a carrot. The tuber was offered to F'lix with a smile. "Hungry?"

[rii]

Oh – oh.

F'lix expression livened up from the grave submission he worn a second ago. He blinked rapidly at F'ur, taking in the full extent of the words and fighting down the urge to positively flail at the older man. That emotion quickly expressed itself in the way F'lix narrowed his eyes angrily at his weyrmate. Sudden was the shove he pushed at F'ur side, not enough to topple the ex-Fortian over but certainly enough force to help his point to get across. "Damnit F'ur." Genuine hurt was in the tone, despite his effor to hide it. "Don't hide that shit from me. I had no idea what suddenly set you off. Here I was thinking you're getting annoyed at me for being such a downer and wanting to slip back off to Selenitas to leave you alone when in actuality you're hurt."

It didn't take a genius to figure out which of the two scenarios was better to manage. To think of the unnecessary turmoil he would have put them both through if he hadn't just spit it out and asked what was wrong. Utterly ridiculous. F'lix arms crossed tightly in front of his torso, the grumbling scowl etched sharply on his youthful features. Could hardly be blamed that he had forgotten about F'ur's ribs. The man hide things all too well at times. F'lix certainly wasn't going to treat him as if he was handicapped and baby the man. Still, knowing that ribs were still a bit sore or his knee not strong enough to take his weight was good information to have.

Determined to stay grumpy, F'lix snapped his golden gaze ahead and would have really stayed in that sour state if not for the arm that eventually wove around his waist, tugging him close. F'lix shot a glare at the other man – the look lacking any form of ire to justify the expression. Couldn't stay mad with F'ur. And like so many other temper flares of the young Bendenite, the fiery glow to his eyes faded. This time to be replaced with interest in the spoken words.

"Near High Reaches?" That had been so long ago that F'ur had jested about liking 'that white flower that shades to black at the center and is droopy – among an odd list of cats, dragons, blood, gore and eyes. "How close are we to Fort?" He asked in a near whisper as if the enemy would be near enough to hear them. His gaze wandered to examine the fog that cloaked the steepled mountains. "And how did you ever find this place. It seems pretty much enclosed."

The mention of thin ice made F'lix halt at once, at the same time the offer of a tuber came into play – making it a toss up to which he was reacting to. The image of falling through the ice and being trapped underneath to drown was sobering. His fingers found the jacket sleeve of F'ur's extended arm, F'lix eyes finally falling down to the offered food. A brow rose elegantly, F'lix raising the look of incredulity to his werymate. Not surprising, no, but it was reaching a point where F'lix wanted to try and bar the ex-Fortian from carrying around food in his pockets. Honestly had considered a time or two to insist F'ur empty his pockets (or just take off the pants) before coming into bed. Nothing like trying to entice his weyrmate into being intimate and the man starts munching on some carrot like a late night snack. A little discouraging that..

F'lix took the tuber, just so F'ur would stop holding it out to him. "You'd think they'd spoil after a trip through between." He frowned in distaste as he held up the tuber for inspection.

[Requiem]

F'ur blinked at F'lix, screwing up his face in a clear what, really? expression, though he knew better than to actually say anything. He didn't know how the other bluerider got from pouncing him and causing them both to tumble down a hill to downer, but this was probably not the best time to point out that F'lix's logic didn't...well, really have any logic to it. F'lix was much better with his emotions now than before, but the younger man had a tendency to come up with things other people wouldn't even think of. At any rate, the words let F'ur know something a little more important than any of that; the playfulness probably wasn't helping F'lix like it had in the past. He was worried F'ur would get annoyed at him for not being more cheerful? Hm. Another odd thought, and another thing F'ur didn't intend to argue about.

He'd taken the shove in stride, letting the arm and the change of topic serve as his apology. An apology F'lix seemed to accept, judging by the expression. Which, in the end, was probably better than having a discussion about how off-kilter F'lix's emotions were presently. In F'ur's experience, telling someone they were silly for feeling a certain way, that it made no sense, didn't tend to go over terribly well. He'd just have to be careful about how he acted and adjust it when it needed to be adjusted, was all. No doubt he'd be worse if it was Terror. F'ur wasn't even remotely accustomed to dealing with huge emotional upheavals.

"Not so close that they can hear us," F'ur responded immediately to F'lix's whispered question, the amusement more than clear in his voice. "Couple hundred miles at least." He might have said more, but F'lix had stopped, catching the sleeve of his extended arm and giving that carrot a look that suggested the carrot should probably find it's way to a safe location. Like under the ice. Or into Between.

"They must be special carrots," F'ur responded lightly. Poor little tuber was destined for death. He decided he'd give it a nice sending off, though, and stole a bite off it. "A little crunchy," he admitted, flashing a smile at F'lix. He snugged his weyrmate abruptly closer. Contact was the great frown dispeller, yes? "So, this place, I don't know. Wingleader knew it. Far as I know he was the only one, which means my wing was the only wing to know, and all of us are dead or in hiding so..." He smiled again. "It's all ours, more or less. Could be we're the only two who know about it at all." Yes, that was true...perhaps not entirely probable but it was a definite possibility.

"Come on. You'll get cold if you don't keep the circulation up." He tugged F'lix back into motion, stepping lightly over the ground.

[rii]

Golden eyes locked on the tuber, F'lix's mind was off in the nethers attempting to summon up the last time he had studied a map. It had been turns ago, and at the time he had been more concerned with the territory around Benden. Couldn't rightly recall the — crunch — F'lix eyes flew up to F'ur's face, brows reaching into his hair line a second before lowering in a mock glare. "Greedy bastard." The remainder of the carrot was fisted and curled inward to press protectively against his chest when F'ur pulled him near. All in play. He had no plans to eat the tuber, but the principle still stood that a person didn't offer a person food then eat it right out of their hand.

F'lix's rested his balance against F'ur for a moment, weight swaying into the older man before circling back to his own feet. Contact was nice, and was reassuring the fact that F'ur did want him around. If F'lix had a choice he just wanted to lay in bed curled up with weyrmate. Though, that impulse may have been due to the fact he had gotten little sleep since Simper's death. Spent the majority of the night listening to F'ur breathing and staring out at the dark walls until the dawning morning light crept in over the stone.

"All ours," F'lix echoed quietly, a faint smile showing on his features. Paired with the fact that F'ur was leading him off to show him the peculiar flowers it was sort of.. romantic. Part of F'lix was amused because most people would never pin F'ur as that type. He wasn't, really, at least not in the traditional sense of the word. People associated the word with love too often when it struck F'lix more of a characteristic – a way of viewing a world. An example may as well be a deepened appreciation of the beauty of nature; such as certain black and white flower that stood for much more than just some pretty flower..

It was a little detail in F'ur's life, unimportant from an outside point of view, but to be allowed to be part of that highly personal part of F'ur was a very touching gesture. F'ur kept that part of himself well out sight of the rest of the world. For a long moment F'lix merely smiled lightly at his weyrmate. It was accustom for either of them to make a humorous jab, but for once F'lix kept his silence and took the words for what they were worth.

"I'm sure," He began in a playful tone that expressed itself with a musical flow. "that if I do get cold, you'd be able to find ways to warm me up." He casually brushed at the snow still clinging to his dark leathers; secretly scooping it into his free hand as they walked along. "Is this why you insisted I bring more clothes? Snow is just another form of water, right? Get to dunk the kitten without him even realizing your mischievous ploy."

Cue hand rising and sliding the half-slush down the side of F'ur's face.. and a certain Bendenite quickly hopping forward a step or two with an amused look being cast over his shoulder. He narrowed his eyes, pointing the bitten carrot at the man. "I'm on to your ruse."

[Requiem]

For the time being he ignored the carrot - and the growly words - in favor of keeping the kitten snuggled in close to his side. There would be plenty of time to deal with the carrot hoarder. More than plenty of time, considering the sheer amount F'ur had packed the night before; they could quite comfortably remain here for about a sevenday, if that's what it took. S'rei had approved that much. F'ur suspected it had something to do with a certain green salamandyr that no longer seemed to be found on the Weyrleader's person, though he didn't make it a habit of speculating about things like that, especially when dealing with metallics. (In general he avoided metallics like they were emotionally clingy women bent on roping him into a life of drab and drama.)

The smile and the lilting quality to the words that followed pleased F'ur more than he was likely to let on. He didn't like to see F'lix hurting, and though he knew better than to expect the kitten not to hurt, just being able to help a little made F'ur feel less...helpless in the face of something he really had no control over. It was hard to accept, not being able to protect someone you cared about. "Most likely," he agreed, allowing his eyes to widen slightly in what he hoped came off as a young and earnest expression. "Jumping jacks have always gotten my blood pumping. Or bunny hops." The barest twitch of a smirk at one side of his mouth gave him away - if the 'innocent' expression itself hadn't.

The older of the blueriders never really did get the chance to respond to F'lix's accusation regarding snow as a substitute for more interesting moving bodies of water that the kitten sometimes found himself dropped into at inconvenient times. (F'ur always found the wet, glaring young man to be adorable in a hot and steamy sort of way. What could he say? Dirty old man.) Nope, before he could respond, his face was smeared in lovely snow slush. F'ur's eyes narrowed in a brief flash of irritability, and he was tempted to launch himself at F'lix, to tackle and pin the kitten in the snow and shove it down his collar. Instead, he lunged forward and caught the younger man's wrist, snapping off another bite of the carrot that F'lix had been waving at him.

"If you must know, the extra clothes are for tomorrow and the days following. We've got seven days at the most...and I don't mind staying here the whole time if you prefer it." He released F'lix's wrist, padding along ahead of the other bluerider, his eyes cast downward. Looking. "But no, I'm definitely plotting evilness about getting you all damp. You wound me," he concluded dramatically, clutching at his chest and staggering a few steps before stopping abruptly. F'ur crouched down, gesturing to F'lix to approach and brushing at a mound of snow with a gloved hand until frosted petals emerged. A pleased smile touched his lips. "Not too early in the season after all." The soft white petals darkened to a pale grey that gradually shaded into the deep black at the center. F'ur brushed away a little more of the snow until some of the leaves and the stem could be seen.

"I know it's silly, but I've never seen flowers that still live buried in snow - other than these." He slipped off a glove to brush his finger lightly over the silken, fleshy petal. "You remind me a bit of them, actually. I've always admired survivors that don't go cold and lifeless." His eyes flicked briefly up to F'lix.

[rii]

F'lix's expression hardened for a moment, flickering in his eyes before he grinned. His arm flexed, pulling back against F'ur's grip to try and keep the carrot away from his mouth for a second or two. He leaned forward while pulling back, pointedly snapping his teeth near the lips of his munching weyrmate. "That works too," Mused lightly as F'ur padded along ahead. "Though I was thinking more of building a fire to warm up."

The following words sobered the younger man's demeanor, not for the first time that morning. F'lix was aware that he was being very up and down. Could feel himself cycling between highs and lows, leaving himself somewhat emotionally sick and wanting to just curl up somewhere alone. Just couldn't seem to get a grip on his own mind. Amazing how much of an effect one little salamandyr had on him, and losing that presence was like knocking out a supporting beam; leaving him to teeter and totter off balance. His lips edged downward in a near frown – out of confusion.

It was a decent lead F'ur obtained before F'lix finally jerked into motion, stepping in the prints left to lessen the effort it took to walk through the snow that had been broken by no one else before them. "We can do that?" Just leave the weyr on their own private vacation. Couldn't recall F'ur mentioning the details of their trip beforehand. Too numb at the time, really, with F'lix simply nodding in mindless agreement and latching to the idea of getting away if only for a day.

A faint roll of eyes was F'lix response to F'ur's dramatic flare, and without thinking about it, F'lix instantly came to a dead stop when F'ur did. Alarmed enough to make Saboth lift his head back at the cave, F'lix golden eyes flicked across the white-washed landscape. What - what? Were they on the ice? F'lix bristled, glancing down at his feet and curbing the instinct to back pedal. Didn't know which way was —

F'ur was motioning, then, and digging in the snow. F'lix's chin lifted and he ventured forward to crouch on the opposite side of the flower. With his head down next to F'ur's, F'lix thoughtfully tilted his head away to survey the flower that had captured F'ur's attention well enough turns ago to be remembered. As F'ur's finger caressed the petal, F'lix followed the motion of taking off his own glove to sate his curiosity. Was it really as soft as it looked, or brittle and threatening to shatter under a reckless touch?

It wasn't the flower he touched, however. Instead F'lix's hand changed course, reaching toward his weyrmate to lightly pressed three of his fingers against F'ur's upper lip. Trying to cut the words off, but ending up hearing the last admission to the end despite the move. Damnit. F'lix kept his head bowed. In the back of his thoughts he was silently wishing his bangs were longer. His eyes were stinging and by purposely keeping his lips pressed together, and F'ur momentarily quiet, he was preventing the sensation from escalating to anything further.

In all the time they have been together, F'ur had never been so.. so.. F'lix didn't know how to describe it. Nice, tender, sweet – a number of things even further foreign when they were directed at him; at least without F'lix being instantly suspicious of motives, and feeling people were lying through their teeth. With F'ur, F'lix didn't doubt the other man's feelings – hadn't for a long time. Not silly. Not the flower, or liking it. Silly was the emotional mess he had become. Silly was the feelings it stirred. Silly was him not finding some way to make fun of being compared to a frail flower.

His fingers dropped away to gently run one tip over the petal. "How is it even possible," whispered, he didn't need to talk any louder being so near. "for them not to wither, to freeze up and break.."

[Requiem]

Really? It was odd, considering just months ago - what, six? - he would have found it perfectly natural, but now...it surprised him enough that it probably showed on his face. Not hurt. He knew F'lix trusted him. Concern. The flicker of concern faded almost as quickly as it had appeared at the snap of teeth near his face, and even so he'd continued on as if it never happened. But that didn't keep it from lingering at the back of his mind like a phantom. F'lix had been nothing short of perfectly comfortable with him for a long time, and to have that old look return when F'ur definitely hadn't surprised him - they were looking straight at each other at the time - was worrisome. He didn't see how drawing attention to it would help, though, or even really acknowledging it beyond being a touch less aggressive in his playfulness.

Which would take a decent bit of care, truly, considering F'ur's manner with F'lix was very free. F'ur at his heart, as it were. Playfulness wasn't an act for him. He was naturally energetic, naturally fun-loving, naturally teasing. Not as constant and not as clownish as he often acted with others - not as challenging - but that didn't change that his act wasn't that much different from the truth. Those were the easiest to maintain, after all. Or maybe they'd just bled into each other...over time.

"When the almighty Weyrleader gives permission? Yes," F'ur responded to the question. F'lix had been...unconscious...at the time when F'ur asked. Not specifically to go north, though he'd tagged that on as an afterthought when S'rei approved the hiatus.

Too lost in his own meandering thoughts - and intent on not showing it - F'ur didn't notice F'lix lagging behind or the stiffening. His focus was on the flower. Indeed, F'lix joined him swiftly enough that he didn't even glance up. The older man had gotten out most of what he was saying before F'lix's fingers pressed against his lip, the last of it trailing off in a murmur. His eyes flicked toward the kitten questioningly. Lingered on the shadows that hid his face. He'd said something wrong, clearly, F'ur's body holding still in a loose form of restfulness, not stiff but still wholly unmoving.

Still watching F'lix and not looking at the flower at all, F'ur's response was equally soft. "I've always wondered that myself." His gaze drifted down to the petal F'lix was stroking. "Something strange, though. I took one with me...they struck my fancy so much, you know. But it didn't last even a candlemark, though it was winter. All I can figure is the difference in the air. This is the only place it grows." His eyes flicked back toward F'lix's face, studying him with a lingering solemnity.

Then, he reached out, gently cupping the younger man's chin and brushing his thumb lightly over the corner of his mouth. Guiding the familiar face toward his own, he leaned forward slightly and kissed his weyrmate tenderly, his other hand stroking lightly over his bicep. "Was I wrong to bring you here?" he questioned softly, pulling back only the smallest bit, his hands not shifting from their positions. "I don't mind going back if...it won't offend me." Careful of the flower, he pulled F'lix into a hug, mouth by his ear. "Whatever you need, that's what I want. Just tell me. I'm sorry, kit."