Warm Fuzzies (Teddy; Open)

[Requiem]

"So, wait here for the welcome wagon, or just attack the hall until I find someone? What do you think?" the man asked his bonded half-jokingly. "I bet that if I start throwing things from that compost heap against the wall, someone will come out. No one likes a stinky Main Hall." He paused. "Why do they even have a compost heap so close to the door? It must be to ruin people's appetites before they get in. Save marks where you can!"

The tip of Inocenth's tail flicked in annoyance. His head snaked down, catching F'ur by the shoulder lightly between his jaws. No throwing garbage until after we're sure they're going to let us stay. The watch dragon said wait. You know, wait? That thing you're so bad at? Let's practice. It means 'do not move.' The bluerider flashed an innocent smile at his dragon. Inocenth, of course, couldn't really see the expression from this angle, which was unfortunate. Then he would have known F'ur was up to something, rather than just suspected it.

In the next moment Inocenth had a fist shoved up his nostril. The blue jerked back and released F'ur with a growl that was only half playfulness, swatting at the man just slow enough for the bluerider to duck beneath before he was decapitated. Which he did. The man shook out his hand and pulled a face. "Groooossss. Do you have a cold? Come here." When Inocenth didn't move, F'ur stepped closer and wiped off his hand on the dragon's dark hide. If dragons could roll their eyes, the blue would have.

You know that means you're going to have to bathe me now. "Only after I wash my hands with sweetsand and redwort." This is why we don't stick fists up my nose. "That isn't fair. You were trying to eat me. It's the only thing I could reach." You have a strange idea of what it means to be eaten. F'ur suddenly broke into a broad grin. Inocenth let out a huff. Don't you say it. That's it. You're not Mine. I disown you. Inocenth turned his back on His and coiled up on the landing platform, sticking his head beneath a wing and pointedly ignoring F'ur when the bluerider aimed a hefty kick at his backside.

"Such a grumpy guss. That, my midnight blue, is what we call a cold prickly. Now how are statements like that going to improve our longterm relationship? You should be giving me warm fuzzies." You'll have to settle with the warm gooey all over your hand. F'ur laughed.

[dragon]

"Stop tugging on his tail, Voy, he's not going to chase you today, in case you missed that part." E'yan remarked. He had a flitter on each shoulder. And they were starting to get heavy, too. Voyager was backwards, leaning around behind his shoulders to try and pull Rascal's tail. He wanted to get the brown to chase him, but after spending all night with Lamb and trying to teach thier goose-offspring how to climb like a flitter, the brown was dead tired. The young bronze, however, didn't seem to get the idea.

Kindrith was pacing along behind them, rather amused at the whole sight of the two flitters on his' shoulders as they approached the main hall. That one will never grow up completely, I don't think. Kindrith commented, amiably.

"What? Like you?" E'yan asked. He rounded the corner of the main hall, and paused when he spotted a dark midnight blue curled up there, and a rider he'd never seen before apparently kicking him and saying something about warm fuzzies. One eyebrow crept upwards on the harper's face, as he started forward again.

"Hello?" E'yan asked. He was pretty sure this particular pair weren't from around here. He hadn't seen them about. But as he drew closer, he knew they weren't part of Selenitas. He knew who this was!!

"F'ur?!" He asked, flabbergasted. "What are you doing here?" He asked, rather suspiciously of the other Fort rider.

Kindrith walked along with him, right up to the other blue. He poked the darker blue with a talon on the shoulder, to see if he was awake or not. Helllooooooooo? He stuffed his muzzle under that wing, too, in a rather playful mood lately, himself.

Voyager let out a startled cry, and took wing, concequently waking Rascal up, who flew away after him. The brown and bronze soon were no where to be seen, having zipped inside the hall's open door.

[Requiem]

F'ur whirled at the hello, his unzipped jacket flaring around him at the move and very briefly allowing the narrow, lean figure beneath to show before both ends of the jacket fell back in place. Sweat glistened near the base of his thick, dark hair, but apparently he didn't mind it enough to remove the jacket, which very clearly showed Fort colors. F'ur didn't believe in being sneaky. At least not when you were joining another Weyr, he didn't. See. Someone came along. The bluerider ignored Inocenth, his broad smile wavering for a moment, warmly dark eyes fastened on the approaching man. Really?!

Of course, E'yan's exclamation amused F'ur no end, and he couldn't help imitating it. "E'yan?!" Although his version managed to add a touch of the romantic to it. Indeed, he flung himself forward and embraced E'yan heartily, bringing his forehead to rest against the other man's. They were practically of a height, although F'ur was by far the more slender. Not to mention older. His voice dropped to a near murmur. "Looking better than ever. Looks like the rumors about the southern climate are true. I hope they've benefitted Kindrith as much?"

The wiry bluerider pulled back before E'yan could recover enough to punch or stab him, and flashed his trademark grin at the man, sliding his hands deep into his pockets. (Part of him wondered how long it would take E'yan to realize just what it was smeared all over his back.) What luck! Stumbling on a Fort rider so soon after arriving. Now his identity as one from D'loro's old wing could be verified right away! And, even if no one else realized the implications, he knew Ka'rys was one of the wingleaders here and would know what it meant, to be one of D'loro's now that R'anatar had taken the helm. Shouldn't be too difficult to convince these people that he had every reason for coming here and nothing at all to gain as far as feeding Fort information was concerned. Hopefully. Unless they were just too stupid to realize this...which was possible, given how ridiculously idiotic they'd been handling things thus far.

"Why am I here? You wound me, E'yan," he stated, the dramatically hurt expression offset by the laughter behind his dark eyes. "Don't you know I came searching for you?" He lifted a hand. "Now, I know, I know. You insist men aren't to your tastes. But why not give it a try? Just for me? I did come all this way to see you, after all."

Once again, F'ur didn't leave the other much time to respond, instead plowing on. "Actually, things were getting hot at Fort. Now that R'anatar's leading, all of D'loro's old wing was under suspicion." His tone was serious, for once. "After one of the brownriders who spoke out against R'anatar died in a mysterious 'accident,' Inocenth and I skipped out during a Sweep run. I'm afraid it was no official transfer for us. You wouldn't mind vouching for us, would you? I don't know how open Selenitas is to illegal transfers..."

Inocenth would have been very, very interested in this conversation...had he not been assaulted by an over-eager light-colored brute. The blue resisted a draconic sigh as Kindrith's head appeared beneath his wing. Why did they always have to bother him? His was bad enough. Nevertheless, the older of the dragons let his wing fall back into place, his head again revealed to daylight. Hello Kindrith.

[dragon]

E'yan jerked back reflexively when he was practically assaulted in a rather forward hug. Shards. Somehow, he'd managed to forget what F'ur was like, in his time here, and had forgotten to stay well out of arm's reach of the crazy man. Thankfully the embrace didn't last long. "Uh ... yeah. Glad to see you, too." E'yan remarked, his tone entirely devoid of enthusiasm. He rubbed his forehead, as if he perceived it to be covered in cooties now. Looking at his fingers, he rubbed his thumb over them briskly as he looked at the other blue rider again. "Kindrith has improved nicely." He replied, remember to keep up appearances why he was at Selenitas. It would be no good to blow his own cover.

"Runnerfruit, F'ur. I know sharding well you didn't come for me, and you know sharding well that I'd never take you up on that offer as long as I was possessed of my wits." E'yan replied. And though the words were a rebuke, E'yan was not using an unfriendly tone with the man. He had no reason to. He knew he was being deliberately baited and teased. And while, yes, he was playing into it, he wasn't going to do it in a way to rub the wrong way. He thought of saying something more, a return jab, but F'ur was off and gone talking again. So the harper held his tongue and just listened.

He snorted softly. "F'ur, most of the transfer riders here are not here legaly." He mentioned. "If you're sincere in wanting to be here, and part of this place, I see no reason why they wouldn't readily incorporate you." He gestured loosely at the area around them. "I think all the senior riders are busy at the moment, however. There's been some hum drum lately about one of the Queens rising. So some are here, some are hiding, all that." He heard a chirp from the hall, and glanced that direction.

He heaved a slow sigh, aware he was liable to greatly regret what he was about to say. "I was headed over to get something to eat ... you can come along, until someone is free. And yeah, I'll vouch for you. BUT-" And he leveled a finger at the other bluerider with a serious expression. "... you have to stop hugging me like that."

Kindrith sat back on his haunches, pulling away from the darker blue. It's a nice day for napping, isn't it? He asked, before looking breifly at his. And then he looked again. Mine ... you've something ... gooey ... all over your back. he mentioned, squinting down at the back of his' shirt.

E'yan listened to that, and heaved a slow sigh again. Bunching his brows together for a moment, he checked to see if there was residue of something similar on F'ur's hands. ... but it was impossible to tell. The man had his hands jammed suspiciously quite deep into his pockets. "You snot." He grumped, before turning and walking into the mainhall itself.

[Requiem]

Tunnelsnake. If he's glad to see me, I'll eat my foot. That would make it difficult to move...not to mention probably throw off your stomach. A joke, my midnight blue. I'm not interested in digesting human feet. I don't blame you. Although runner feet would be worse, I should think. Lovely mental image, Ino. Your welcome. You think they're hiding something then? He's awfully twitchy if he's not. I might have said he probably still has ties to Fort, but no one does now that the leadership has changed. And we wouldn't be here. True. I will watch for anything strange, Mine. F'ur shot Inocenth a glance filled with gratitude. His eyes and ears, the watchful blue.

Despite the rather serious conversation passing between the bluepair, F'ur's outward demeanor remained much the same as he watched E'yan in apparent amusement. He let out a dramatic sigh, gazing at the other bluerider as if he longed to sweep the slightly larger man off his feet and find a secluded corner somewhere. Actually, E'yan wasn't F'ur's type, but that never kept him from flirting...especially when it flustered the other party.

The playful cast faded from F'ur's face with E'yan's next words, however. Subconsciously the Fort dragonrider of eighteen turns straightened, his shoulders squaring, the smile shifting feral as his eyes chilled. A brow had lifted mockingly. "And Selenitas is so lax as to take a rider's word as sincerity? It's a wonder the Weyr still stands." Yes, a complete shift from his usual behavior, but then, F'ur was very much a martial man. Fort was his home weyr, and he would have never, ever left it if Fort - the Fort he knew as home - hadn't essentially died with D'loro and Kamerai. The thought of being part of a place that was becoming more and more like Benden with each tenday made him physically ill.

But he was still northern, still Fort, and clearly E'yan had lost sight of his own heritage if his own words didn't disturb him. Security at Selenitas couldn't be this...loose...could it? And what were the higher ups hiding for? Forcing his face and body to relax back into easy lines, F'ur shrugged one shoulder and flashed a grin at E'yan. "Although I guess that makes it easier for Inocenth and I, doesn't it?"

F'ur regarded the pointing finger innocently, his grin broadening even more. Uh oh. "Sure thing!" The older of the two blueriders suddenly darted forward and planted a kiss on E'yan's cheek, striding happily past E'yan and toward the Main Hall. "No hugs!" So mean, Mine, Inocenth commented affectionately. He was through the door when he heard E'yan's grumping. F'ur just chuckled. "You have no idea."

A nice day, yes, Inocenth agreed, forcing himself to be more social. He had a...task...of sorts. The sun here is good for you, Kindrith? Not that said task convinced him to uncurl. Inocenth was quite comfortable where he was, thank you much.

Meanwhile, F'ur had 'accidentally' clipped shoulders with a drudge, catching some of her pots before they could crash to the ground. He drew her into his side. "My fault, little lady. It looks like I might have bruised you! Come, let's get these pots where they were going and get you seated." Taking the pots from her, he pushed them into E'yan's hands and bent over to whisper something decidedly ungentlemanly into the woman's ear. She flushed and slapped his shoulder, but couldn't hide the giggle.

F'ur glanced at E'yan and waggled his brows. Then he frowned slightly. "Now don't you be falling behind there. The lady will get in trouble if those dishes aren't delivered properly! You wouldn't want that, now would you?"

[dragon]

E'yan jerked away from F'ur again when that kiss came his direction, and frowned at the man. Smudging at his face with a hand again, he scowled for a moment. Gross. "I never said my word would carry any kind of weight around here. I merely said I'd give it. Heck, they may string you up and gut you just cause I said something. One never knows, these days." He remarked.

He blinked, and barely got a hold on the pots in time before they could fall and smash. "Shards, F'ur! You're insane, you know that?" He protested. Now what was he supposed to do with the pots? "And stop groping the staff. You'll get elastrated, you keep that up." Shards. Not here ten minutes and he was already causing waves in the normal operations about the place.

Voyager swooped down from on high, and perched on E'yan's shoulder, followed shortly by Rascal, who started peering down into the bowls with interest. "No, that's not for you." E'yan said, sternly. He set the bowls down on the nearest table, and more or less abandoned F'ur to his games. Going across the room, he moved to a basin and started washing his hands off. Meanwhile, Voyager leaned down his back, and inspected the gooey streak there. He patted at it, and then stared at the weird strings that formed between his paw and E'yan's back. Chirping in curiosity, the young bronze looked to Rascal for answers. Who took a look, and then refused to get anywhere near it ... or Voyager for that matter.

Hands clean, E'yan obtained his own meal and a few fruits, before carrying it over to an unoccupied spot at a table. Sitting down, he cast a look after F'ur, wondering what kind of mischeif the man was going to create. And also wondering why in the world he had turned up here of all places. Surely a leadership change hadn't affected Fort that much.

Kindrith sat up properly, and canted his wings slightly, making for a slightly larger appearance than he really was ... and he was no small blue, either. He was feeling good, feeling like somebody, and it was reflected in his stance. The sun is always good for everyone. Except ... riders with no wrappings on ... The blue ducked his head for a moment, before sticking it up again. Sun is always good. He reiterated, just for fun. Why are you and yours here? Mine was surprised to see you. Is there no sun at Fort? The last quip was a joke, as Kindrith knew quite well what Fort was like.

[Requiem]

"Who said anything about groping? Was I groping you, miss?" The woman shook her head, still attempting to suppress a giggle. "You wound me, E'yan. Quite." A heavy sigh, but then he turned his attention to the comely piece of flesh at his side. Pretty wench. He'd bet she had a trail of men constantly fawning on her, that he did. Allowing - and actually a bit relieved by it - E'yan his distance, F'ur continued to speak with the drudge in low tones, flirting shamelessly as he plied her for information. It was an art, this game, and of course she had to be completely ignorant. Apparently her job was ever so much harder these days because Selenitas had stopped accepting tithes. The Weyrleader believed them to be the source of the poison. He'd heard of the poison, but nothing distinctive - just enough to know that this was what had killed the Weyrwoman. To hear this girl tell it, however, the issue was more widespread than he'd thought. Interesting.

And as for the hiding higher-ups? One was the boy Weyrleader, who apparently wanted the position just as much as everyone else wanted him there. One was Ka'rys. That was understandable. In fact, F'ur was a little surprised the man was maintaining such a high profile. It was bound to be dangerous. One was the Weyrwoman's former weyrmate...not technically a ranking dragonrider, but he was a bronzerider and he was S'rei. F'ur had to keep his expression schooled when the name came up...there were few Fort riders hated more. Well...that was definitely productive. Everyone hiding.

The woman got him his food as they talked, F'ur sending her off with a light slap on the rump and turning aside her offer to swing by later that night with a joke. Slipping back in E'yan's direction, he noted the firelizards and the strings of snot and was trying really, really hard not to dissolve into laughter. It didn't entirely work. Placing his tray down, F'ur perched on the edge of the table, swinging his legs like a weyrbrat as he snatched a meatroll from E'yan's tray and juggled it between his fingers (having already washed up during his conversation with the drudge.)

"Everyone's gorgeous around here. Have you noticed? Must be something in the water. If there's one thing I can say for the south, it's that the women are far more beautiful here." Taking a bite of E'yan's meatroll, he winked at the man. "Don't worry, though. None can hold a candle to you." Glancing around, then, he frowned. "Don't tell me you always sit off by yourself like this. Doesn't that get boring after awhile? I thought harpers were supposed to be more social."

Inocenth regarded Kindrith soberly. Such a flighty mind this one had. At least his rider's flightiness was mostly a front; Inocenth very much doubted the same could be said for Kindrith. Yes, sunlight is good, he agreed carefully, as if he were having a conversation with a weyrling as opposed to a full-grown adult dragon. There is, the smaller blue stated patiently. He didn't speak of F'ur's Flying. Though he thought it was silly, he knew that people thought stupid things of people with F'ur's preferences. And since that brownrider had been F'ur's, that made the topic of their departure off-limits. It is dangerous, Kindrith. The new Weyrleader wants to make Fort into another Benden. Disgust and hate coiled around that name.

[dragon]

E'yan more or less ignored F'ur as he chattered and flirted with the staff. He knew sharding well what F'ur was doing ... and knew that F'ur was going to do it one way or another. And he was quite glad it wasn't him that F'ur was trying to do it to. Though ... E'yan thought he would have to have a talk with the headwoman about teaching her staff to not fall into such predicaments. F'ur had never been here before. He wasn't of Selenitas ... at least not yet. And there was no way the woman could know if he wasn't just probing around for information before returning to wherever he came from. This was a nasty security leak ... and after speaking to the headwoman about it, he fully intended to take it to Keagan. Taking the matter to T'rid would be pointless. The lad was still wet behind the ears and would likely blow him off ... or worse, not see the problem for what it really was.

"I am afeared you just broke her heart." E'yan commented, as F'ur returned to his general vicinity, even as he noted the twitching that was going on across the other bluerider's face. "You look like your face is trying to crawl off." He commented, even though he well knew why he looked that way. The bits and images flitting between one firelizard and the next had him well informed of what it was that was all over his back ... and was now on Voyager's paw. He was going to have to change his shirt, once he made it back to his weyr. But, it didn't really bother him beyond that. He'd been covered in dragonsnot before. And if one minded dragon bodily functions, they wouldn't be a dragonrider. Now would they?

He didn't seem to care in the slightest, either, when F'ur stole that meatroll. In fact, E'yan's face pulled into an amused grin. F'ur had no idea what he'd just bitten into, and E'yan wasn't going to inform him, either. He'd find out soon enough, anyway. Besides ... He had just gotten through informing Rascal that that particular roll was his, and had told the flitter to wait until he was done eating to get it. That normally made the voracious brown all the hungrier, staring at what he knew was going to be his. Which meant, he was more likely to eat it all. And since E'yan had spiked it with something to make the flitter sleep? He was tired of Rascal staying up all hours of the day, and then all night, too, flitting around with Lamb and that goose. The flitter was burning the candle at both ends and was starting to lose condition for it.

Rascal, on the other hand, was more than miffed when his roll was stolen ... and bitten into!! Chirping indignantly, he jumped from E'yan's shoulder to F'ur's, sinking his claws into the rider's shoulder to stay upright on the unfamiliar frame. Leaning forward, he took a decidely big bite of the roll, too, even as F'ur held it. Chewing industriously, the brown swallowed before he should have, and reached for the roll again with a wide maw, intending to take a second huge bite.

Voyager sat still where he was, watching this, between bouts of inspecting the goopy stuff all over his paw. He flexed his toes in and out, almost like a human feeling something all over thier fingers. Not yet comprehending what was all over him, he was quite curious, and seemed fascinated by the tendrils and strings it made every time he opened his paw.

"Yes, these southern people are a different stock from the northern ones. And a certain amount of freedom to live as they want seems to help thier outlook on life, too. They're more motivated, and get more done. Not to mention the far better climate." E'yan commented, conversationally, even as he took another bite of his fruit and chewed thoughtfully. "Actually?" He asked, after swallowing. "I do tend to sit by myself. People are a tad stressed out of late, as I am quite sure you just learned about." He nodded pointedly in the direction of the lass F'ur had worked over. "And don't tend to take being bothered all that well. While they're more attractive, here, they also have a temper about them. Regardless of rank. And they will bite." He gave F'ur a pointed look. The bluerider had best not be planning trouble, or he'd find out first hand how much biting and slashing Selenitas folk could do. "And after all that's been happening? Boring is a positive change of pace, I asure you. You'll come to find this out soon enough."

Between the feline attacks, poisoned food, and dying people? Not to mention the maulings going around? Yes, boring was a good thing. Excitement, in Selenitas, tended to be a rather malicious entity.

Kindrith regarded Inocenth with a sober look, seeming to lose all the frisky happiness he'd had just a moment before. The sun had just vanished behind a mountain, and didn't look to be coming back. Benden. Kindrith stated, sourly. That is decidedly not good. Are we certain that the new leadership is not in cahoots with Benden, thus the change? Kindrith asked. He didn't like Benden at all ... and yes, despite the time he'd spent in Selentias, he still remembered Benden and all it implied. He also remembered Fort ... and while Fort hadn't been as bad as Benden, it had still been bad enough for him to take his and craft a way to flee the place. Even if they took pains to do it legally. Kindrith rather liked Selenitas, and would defend it. But hearing that Fort was getting worse did not please him. Has nothing been done to correct this track? Are none of the bronzes capable of deflecting this path of destruction? He asked, soberly, almost sadly.

[Requiem]

F'ur gave E'yan a lingering look, one mostly devoid of expression, before he shrugged eloquently. "You overestimate my charm, my friend, if you think I can capture and break a woman's heart in a matter of moments." Selenitas had not so softened E'yan, it seemed, that he wasn't at least a trifle observant. More, he had the advantage of knowing F'ur's history, much as F'ur knew E'yan's. E'yan and his Kindrith were not...precisely common fare for Fort Weyr. They fought well enough. But from shadow, and seemed more inclined to let the others fight for them. Perhaps Kindrith's joint problem had much to do with that. Perhaps Kindrith's joint problem was no more than a fantasy.

What certainly was true? Much as F'ur had a reputation for silliness on his own time, he was still one of D'loro's, and a long-time veteran of the northern wars. Inocenth was vicious. The bluepair never hesitated, never gave quarter, and here they were nearly two decades later when many of their ilk were long dead. E'yan was hardly fool enough not to notice the obvious. F'ur was hardly fool enough to attempt to find out what he needed to know from someone who likely saw him as a danger, and rightly saw him as a trained killer. The handpicked of D'loro were not to be trifled with. Unfortunately, under R'anatar and his cronies, that number was dwindling swiftly.

Nor could F'ur say he held much respect for E'yan. He had fled, abandoned his home weyr to the war. Unlike Benden and its power shuffles, where every man stood alone and fought like a beast for his place at the table, Fort promoted loyalty above all else. F'ur would have died for D'loro, his only regret being that he could not live again to give his life for the man once more. For someone to willingly leave Fort and all the men he'd trained and fought with was cowardly. Depraved. Even more so if Kindrith's mysterious illness was faked. And if a man could do so? Then he must think those like F'ur were monsters. No, the bluerider was not so much a fool as to trust E'yan at all, even if he'd been predisposed to like the man.

The older bluerider suddenly grinned. Ah, but he and Inocenth had abandoned Fort as well, hadn't they? Out of self-preservation...essentially the same reason as the other bluepair whether their story was true or not. F'ur didn't consider it abandoning Fort, seeing as how the Weyr bore no resemblance to the Fort he'd fought for all these turns, but it was still essentially the same decision for much the same reasons. He packed the judgmental attitude tightly and stored it deep inside to be taken out and analyzed later.

At the boldness of the firelizard (he'd rarely seen them up north and found them quite interesting, truth be told) F'ur found himself chuckling. "I believe I stole your food, didn't I?" He switched the meatroll to his other hand. "Don't worry, now. It isn't at all fair that you only have part of one. I meant to steal E'yan's food, you see, not yours." Casting a glance toward the other bluerider, he dropped his voice as he picked up a meatroll from his own tray and offered the entire thing to the brown flitter. "Don't tell him, but your bonded has gained a bit of weight, he has, since last I saw him. I do believe he's taken a turn toward gluttony. Shh, though. Don't want to hurt his feelings."

Glancing at what remained of E'yan's meatroll, he shrugged and tossed it in his mouth, licking delicately at his fingers in a manner that was suspiciously suggestive. Of course, the effects of whatever it had been laced with wouldn't kick in right away; F'ur merely thought the difference in taste had something to do with its being southern fare. He watched E'yan with a small smile, which grew at the other's nod toward the drudge. F'ur was right, then. The other was definitely watching him closely, closely enough to have an idea what he was up to. You shouldn't show your hand like that, E'yan. Now I know to be wary. F'ur's smile had a self-satisfied edge to it.

Oh, oh! Was that a warning?! F'ur laughed outright, winking at E'yan. "Nothing wrong with a little biting. I'm not big on being bound, though, handsome. Just so we know where the line is." Tempers, huh? How...unprofessional. This was to be his Weyr, now, and he'd have to keep that in mind so that he could step in and cool things off if need be. No man fought well in the throes of passion, and it was doubtful Selenitas would be 'bored' for long. "My, E'yan. You seem to forget that it is hardly tranquil in the north. I suspect your ennui will be shattered shortly, if our lovely drudge is correct about the poisonings."

Ah. So there was intelligent life. Mine believes someone had to let Morsrath and the rest into Fort. Probably the present leadership. But...if you think there is any love between them, I can't say I agree. They wanted power, and neither Benden nor Fort will hand it over to the other Weyr without a fight. Kindrith's next question seemed more rhetorical than anything else. Still, Inocenth responded. He was finding this conversation quite informative. Many of the strongest supporters of Grenostith died in the fighting after the Flight. Some may make a move...but it is risky. We will see.

Yes, Inocenth's memory was good, but the main reason he spoke of these events so familiarly was that they rarely left the mind of His.

[dragon]

E'yan resisted the urge to sigh, again. Trust F'ur to miss a joke when it slapped him in the face. He played at being so silly and frivolous, but plainly was not actually. Otherwise he would have caught that a good half of what E'yan said was not in sincerity, but rather in obvious not-truth meant as a joke. They both knew it took a great deal more than some flirting to break a lass' heart.

Rascal hopped up and down happily, making grabby motions with his front feet until that marvelous intact meat roll was in his grasp. And then he flew away with it to the rafters of the building. Perching there, he started ravenously eating. E'yan watched the brown go, and frowned slightly. So much for the little dual-ended candle getting his meds. He cast F'ur a glance. It would be mildly hilarious, if the flirt fell dead asleep in the middle of talking to the Leadership! Too funny.

"Enjoying your food?" E'yan asked, with a smirk. "They have it good, here." He wondered breifly for a moment if the man even noticed that it tasted a little funny. Probably not, considering that the flavor of the foods from north to south were vastly different. "That was Rascal, by the way. And now that you've rewarded him for stealing? He'll try it again. Especially with you." E'yan chuckled lightly, and shook his head for a moment, before stabbing at some of the food on his platter.

"You know ... benches are for sitting on, at the table." He prodded, good-naturedly, at F'ur's seat on the table itself. "People will think you're an uncouth barbarian, you keep that up. Especially since they won't know when the last time you farted was." He grinned at F'ur for a moment, before stuffing a bite of vegetable into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully.

"You're going to completely ruin my hard-earned reputation, you know that?" E'yan quipped, eventaully, eyeing F'ur's blatant attempts to be flirty. All that mess was definitely not a turn on for the Harper, even if it had been a pretty lass doing it. "And no, I haven't forgotten a thing about my home contentient, actually." he replied. "Wine?" E'yan offered.

Outside, Kindrith regarded the other, darker blue in silent. The intensity of his gaze, though, plainly said that he wasn't ignoring him, however. No, Kindrith was thinking, hard and fast. Incorporating everything that Inocenth had supplied. Trying to fit it into the puzzle that more or less resided in his' mind. His own didn't remember things long enough to hang onto such a complez puzzle. So he worked with what he had.

The blue was somewhat sad, to have to set aside his previously happy state of mind to do this, however. He had been feeling so good! But now was a time for thinking, for figuring things that were quite deadly serious - in the litteral sense. Not for general gaity. He sat back on his haunches, sitting low against the ground, furling his wings tight to his back as he watched Inocenth. There had to be more peices to this puzzle.

[Requiem]

F'ur raised a brow at E'yan. Okay, he'd been perpetually smirking since he'd taken the meatroll. "What? Did you spit on it or something?" The man laughed dismissively. If the meatroll was meant for the firelizard, he had no reason to be concerned. Whatever it was the younger man was smirking about.

"He's welcome. Much as I don't mind a little meat on the bones of all the lovelies running around, I'd like to keep my figure." F'ur winked. He really had no figure. Sure, he was fit, but he wasn't what you'd call muscular, and even if his silhoutte could be called an inverted triangle it was still an exceedingly narrow one. But the man did pride himself on his hard, battle-trained physique. It definitely wouldn't hurt him if Rascal made a habit of stealing his food. Besides, they didn't exactly ration food, now did they?

Shifting his weight to arch his back and peer upside down at the tables across from them, F'ur made a show of studying the other people dining in the Main Hall. "You know, that's rather crass, my friend. Ladies are within earshot, and you know how they like to deny that there are such things as human bodily functions." He straightened with a dramatic sigh. "I'm afraid I will always be little more than an uncouth barbarian to your fine, refined southerners. I might as well give up, find the nearest bottle of wine and dance on the tabletops, singing tawdry songs that would make a sailor blush. At least then they'd have good reason to pin me with the label."

Nevertheless, he did actually slide onto the bench opposite E'yan, if only because it gave him a better place to eat his food. F'ur was rather hungry, truth be told. The man snorted at E'yan's comment, though. "Hard-earned reputation? You're hiding your true self? I thought Selenitas was supposed to be more...liberal...about such things," he stated, loudly enough that people at nearby tables could hear. Oh, he was cruel at times. F'ur grinned. "And no thanks. I think I'll save my table-dancing for another time. When things are dull."

Inocenth merely stared right back at Kindrith. What more did the blue want? Inocenth was finished. To demonstrate such, he readjusted the fall of his wings and coiled even tighter, resting his head over his back. Forgive me. Such talk must bore you, the older blue drawled. Kindrith couldn't even remember their home weyr without drawing on the memory of His anymore, now could he? Probably not interesting to him at all.

[dragon]

E'yan chuckled. "No, I didn't spit on it, actually. It was just flitterfood, not people food." He mentioned, shaking his head slightly. "You have no idea." He cleaned off the last of his platter, and picked up his mug. "Keep you guessing, that's all." He grinned.

He was in the middle of taking a drink when F'ur mentioned his figure, and it made E'yan breathe and then choke on his drink. Setting the cup down hard, he coughed, before giving the other bluerider a strange look. "Riight." He drawled, before coughing again.

"That's funny ... I thought it was the Northerners that were thinking the Southerners were the uncouth barbarians." E'yan quipped, before clearing his throat. Ouch. That hurt. Note to self: don't breathe klah. It burns. "Or is that how it always is? The grass always dead on the other side of the lake?" He asked, with a crooked grin. "I betcha you'd get more attention than you want, if you started dancing on the tables. Especially since no one knows who you are. You'd have two distinct groups; those joining you, and those wanting to hang you." E'yan laughed. "Purple skirts included." He added, under his breath.

"Of course I'm being myself!" E'yan retorted, feigning to be shocked and offended. "What else could I be? Besides ... any self respecting Harper knows his wine ... sadly there hasn't been any wine around in awhile. Not that I'd drink it if there was..." E'yan shrugged. "The thing is, reputations are awfully hard to build, and too sharding easy to smash. You know that." he gave F'ur a pointed look.

Outside, Kindrith tilted his head at Inocenth's lackadasical approach to things. I don't find any such talk boring. I find it most concerning. he replied, quietly, while he tried to add Inocenth's actions into the puzzle. How did it fit in? There must be a reason a dragon so fresh from the warzone was so ... ... what was that? Was he acting drugged? This was a little alarming.

Are you feeling well? I can call for Phremath and hers. Kindrith offered. Surely the dark blue wasn't going to just sit there ... and ... expire. He sure wasn't showing much will to be living, at the moment. He was very lackluster.

[Requiem]

F'ur regarded E'yan curiously. "There's such a thing as flitterfood? Oh well. I'm not picky." He found the other bluerider a bit amusing. If E'yan thought he was going to really spend any time wondering about what had been done to the meatroll...He really didn't have that little flitting around in his head that a meatroll would merit much consideration.

What was that? The man just shook his head with a half-smile tugging at his lips. The northerners? Think southerners to be uncouth barbarians? Maybe E'yan did when he first got here, but that would put him in the minority. The general attitude toward southerners was that they were spineless, naive people who had generally gone soft over the turns. Of course, the younger man might simply be joking, but if he was it was a joke that fell...rather flat.

"Do I need to call a healer?" he questioned teasingly as E'yan's coughing continued. "Really, bluerider, I'm quite hurt. If I didn't know any better I'd say you didn't find me attractive. And what a shame that would be. What a shame." He tossed his head with just a hint of attitude. It didn't really have the same effect as it would if he wore his hair long, but there was no denying that it was a distinctly feminine move. F'ur was...anything but feminine. He just loved to make people uneasy. A hobby, you might call it.

Gnawing at his food, the older of the blueriders found that E'yan wasn't making the most sense. Almost as if he was only responding to part of the conversation. Regarding the man from beneath his lashes, F'ur wondered if maybe the man's klah wasn't spiked or something. He'd have to find whoever did that and congratulate them, if it proved true. F'ur was all for spiking drinks if it would provide some amusement.

Another odd comment, but this one without any trace of humor. The Fort dragonrider calmly tucked his feet beneath him and took a sip of water; klah really wasn't something he indulged in during this time of day. Well, if E'yan truly wanted to dispense with the friendly masks..."Reputations, E'yan, or cover stories?" He set down the water and regarded the man directly. "Fort has far too many problems now to worry about a transfer under false pretenses. I don't know if you've noticed, but they don't tend to put much weight on us blueriders, either. I'm not here to drag anyone back north, so relax your sphincter." A cold disdain had crept into his voice, but now it vanished with a broad smile. "The food's pretty good here. Have to give the southern butterballs that."

Inocenth's tail flicked. Worry never fixes anything, the blue commented, with just a hint of confusion in his words. What was Kindrith so concerned about? You prepared for what you could and trusted everyone around you to do so, too, and things usually worked out. Right? A small huff escaped him, then. Perfectly fine, Kindrith. He glanced at himself just to be sure, but no. His hide still maintained its glossy, near-ebon sheen. What was Kindrith talking about.

You don't need to disturb this Phremath.

[dragon]

"I'm fine." E'yan said, clearing his throat. "And, F'ur, only your fostermother would find you nice to look at." He remarked, just to be mean. But it was also said with a slightly teasing tone ... a very slight tone that might get missed. For a moment he considered possibly the need to duck.

And then he frowned slightly at F'ur's next string of comments. Where had that come from? And it was most disconcerting that the man was fishing ... and hitting so close to home, too. He didn't aim to let that out, though. That was a secret he wasn't going to let go. "I never said anything about cover stories. Nor do I carry a slew of them around with me. What you see is what you get. As for my sphincter ... I'd really rather you stayed away from it." he quipped, to turn the tide of the conversation. As weird as F'ur pretending to flirt was, it was better than him nosing into top secret events of the past. "It's mine, and you can't have it. Besides ... I don't think anyone puts overly great amounts of stock in the lesser colors. There's too many of them to really have just one be noticed any which way."

"The food is good." E'yan agreed, heartily. "It's hard to not eat more than my share, sometimes... Rascal doesn't have any such inhibitions, though. He'll eat anything that he can get away with. But I guess he burns it all off with all his traveling he does. He sired a goose, can you beleive? Soon as you finish up, there I'll take you to see someone who can officialize your arrival. Prepare to be interrogated."

Kindrith tilted his head to one side. Alright. I guess if you think you're okay. Why are you grouchy? Is the change in climate affecting you that badly? the blue asked. He rather liked it here at Selenitas ... the weather was much nicer, and all around enjoyable. And then off on a tangent again: Maybe yours will get you a pet.

[Requiem]

After a brief hurt look that vanished the next moment in a chuckle, F'ur simply regarded E'yan silently. A brow rose in what looked suspiciously like amused disbelief. In truth, that was definitely what it was. Did the younger man truly think him stupid? He wasn't exactly an expert on human behavior, but E'yan was acting a bit too defensive for his claims to be easily believed. No. Definitely hiding something. And, for his sake, F'ur hoped it did have something to do with his leaving Fort and E'yan wasn't acting as a contact and spy for their home Weyr. The older bluerider wasn't above cold-blooded murder if it would protect Inocenth. And he'd spent too many turns riding for Fort not to know what would happen if they got their hands on him now.

Was it really just a coincidence that E'yan and Kindrith had been first on the scene?

He didn't pursue the conversation. Short of drugging E'yan and dragging him off somewhere to - persuade - him to be a bit more truthful, there wasn't much he could do. Making a mental note to watch the man closely, F'ur laughed. "No worries, E'yan. Even if I did swing that way," he began, drawing a long military dagger from his boot, "you wouldn't top my list of interests. No, it wouldn't be that pert little rump that I'd worry about." He winked, bringing the blade up in salute before peeling the skin off the fruit on his tray. Just the slightest touch of chill behind his voice. Whether E'yan was a threat or not, it couldn't hurt for the man to be a little frightened of him.

Spearing a slice of the fruit on the blade tip, he popped it into his mouth, chewing delicately. "Goose you say? That doesn't seem natural," he commented curiously, not responding to E'yan's comment about interrogations. A southern interrogation didn't hold a candle to Fort; they'd written the book on it.

Inocenth merely stared at Kindrith. I am not grouchy, he stated, a touch of amusement behind his tone. I am always this way. Poor blue couldn't keep his mind on topic. His was interested in this bluepair because some things didn't feel right to him, but Inocenth doubted he could find out much from Kindrith. The male didn't seem at all likely to know anything of interest. Mine is interested in a pet, yes, but I'm afraid it's the human kind, the older blue responded wryly.