Last Friday Night (Tags Cainith)

[Rei]

So okay. Maybe it was a just a little immature. Scratch that. Really immature. But well to be frank Er’ani was pissed and when he was pissed he tended to do things without thinking. Often. It was only a couple of days since the mandyr hatching but still the albinoweyrling was pretty ticked at not only Dmitri but that huge guy who had tried to smash his head with one hand. It hadn’t taken long to find out some things about the large guy from the drudges. Mainly that he was a candidate and also came from Wasteland. In reality that was all Er’ani needed to know. One he ranked Cainith, and two he came from the very place the teenager despised. So in his mind his revenge was justified. Completely. Those wastelanders had murdered Lketh’s siblings and had tried to kill the albino himself. Yeah totally down with revenge.

Revenge on scar face could wait. That had to be planned out better then this was. In the end it Er’ani ended up dressed in all black complete with war paint and camped out in a bush near the weyr, lying in wait for the large man with about a half dozen rotten eggs. (Yeah did I mention immature yet?) It was evening and the large man often took his path on his way back to the weyr for dinner. Yeah that was right, the albinoweyrling had been having his firelizard Snowdrop stalk the older man to find out the best way to get this done.

As Cainith finally came into sight Er’ani pulled back and flung one of the rotten eggs straight at the man’s chest. As it exploded spectacularly he quickly started pelting the man with the remainder of them before he simply leapt from the brush and ran as if his life depended on it.

Yeah no staying around to gloat, no glorious speech, and the disguise was supposed to hopefully save him from being recognized. Now all Er’ani had to do was escape. Thank you morning runs before weyrling lessons.

[Aftershock]

Cainith was walking to dinner, looking forward to a couple dozen meatrolls and maybe a bowl of mashed potatoes, when suddenly something wet and slimy struck him in the middle of the chest. Stopping in surprise, the acrid smell of the rotten egg had just begun to tickle his nose when the other eggs rained down upon him, splattering his shirt severly and even fouling his beard, before the final one struck him in the eyes, temporarily blinding him.

Growling in anger, Cainith finally cleared the rotten goop from his eyes just in time to spot a quickly-running figure in black cresting the hill. Rollhead, his crest extended fully and leaning forward on Cainith's shoulder like a knight on a charger, screamed out in mindspeak, "DEFILER!!! IT SHALL PAY FOR SUCH INSULT TO THE GODDESS!!! YOU CANNOT ESCAPE RECKONING!!!" as loud as it's developing mind could send, as Cainith simultaneously began hollering after the figure, "Come back here, whoever you are! I'll bend you in half so you can suck your own..." Luckily for the possibly sensitive ears of Cainith's assailant, the pounding blood in his ears combined with a sudden gust of wind drowned out the last part of Cainith's oath.

[Rei]

The sound of the eggs splattering on Cainith and the resulting bellow and insult was like music. Obviously enough of the missiles had hit the man to cause him discomfort. Enough discomfort to have the bear like older candidate severely pissed off. Well both the giant and his diminutive worshiper from hell apparently, since the blue mandyr was shouting too. Escape reckoning huh? Er’ani was pretty sure he could. The darkly clad albinorider slowed down to a smooth jog as he gained the top of the hill before he finally risked a glance back to see if he was still being pursued. Endurance the teenager had in spades, speed not so much. He was definitely more of a distance sort of guy. Not much speed but he could go for hours once he got his stride right.

The glance back had Er’ani giving a yelp and he turned on what bit of speed he did possess. Oh shit. Oh shit. The guy was much closer then he had any right to be. How did someone that big move that fast? Shouldn’t that be impossible? The weyrling wound his way around a few trees and leapt a log before finding his stride and coasting, much like a deer, through a clear part of the path before he veered off and trotted alongside the river bank. Snowdrop appeared with a pop from between to alight on his shoulder and trill encouragement in his ear. Oh were they playing a running game it looked like so much fun! Could she play too? Oh! Oh! Don’t look now but Er’ani was about to be it. She chirped cheerfully before crooning a greeting to the quickly gaining Cainith.

This isn’t a game Snowdrop. Er’ani mentally pressed to his pet before he glanced back at his pursuer. Fuck. Way too close. He couldn’t out run this guy. Now what? In a moment of pure desperation the albinorider sprinted for the nearest tree and, leaping at a low branch, began to quickly scale the small tree. No way that monster could climb something like this. The branches wouldn’t be able to bear his weight.

Unfortunately in his desperation to get away Er’ani hadn’t realized that he had just effectively cornered himself up a tree. Cainith was now like a hunting canine treeing some type of fleeing animal. Pausing in his upwards climb the teenager glanced down. Had Cainith seen him climb? Maybe if he got lucky the big idiot would just keep running past the tree? One could hope.

[Aftershock]

As the boy slowed down as he began to crest the hill, Cainith took advantage of it and put forth a burst of speed, his long legs eating up the distance. The look of panic on the face-painted child was very satisfying, and Cainith thought he knew that face from somewhere, but he couldn't place him.

Cainith kept good pace with the boy, who didn't seem to realize that despite Cainith's size, he was also incredibly strong and in good shape, and his stride length easily made up for any lack of speed from his size. He also was able to bull rush through many of the thickets and leap many of the gullies that the boy had to veer around, allowing him to catch up yet more with the boy. As he saw the youth leap a log in his path, recognition suddenly hit home... this was the same boy who leapt the clutch of Dementia's hatching, and nearly crushed Rollhead in the process, scaring him half to death as he was emerging from his shell. "ER'ANI, YOU LITTLE SHIT!" yelled Cainith, "I knew you were a dimglow when you leapt my Rollhead's clutch, cub, but I didn't realize you were deadglow enough to try anything with me after our encounter! Well, it's time for a lesson, boy!" Hearing their quarry identified, Rollhead chimed in with a, "You almost make Rollhead die from fright! You almost deny Goddess best servant! Er'ani boy must pay!"

As the boy suddenly jumped to scale a small tree, Cainith smiled. He'd cornered himself now, though Cainith realized the tree was too small to bear his weight. While Cainith circled the tree for a few moments, catching his breath from the run, Rollhead leapt off his perch on Cainith's head and began scampering up the tree, his frill extended fully and his eyes glowing red with anger as he mindyelled threats and doom at the cowering boy. Cainith, meanwhile, decided if he couldn't come up, he'd make the boy come down. Stepping back from the tree about 15 feet, he suddenly charged forward, slamming shoulder-first into the trunk of the small tree and causing the whole thing to shake and rock violently. This he did again and again, while yelling up, "You can't stay up there forever, boy! Once you drop, the fall will be the least of your worries. I wouldn't kill ya, but the weyrhealers might have trouble figuring out which part of your face is which when I'm done with you!"

[Rei]

Well then this wasn’t going well at all. Not only had Er’ani been recognized but he was also quite effectively trapped. Should have done a better job with the war paint maybe. Having scaled high enough that the albinorider was in no danger of being grabbed from below he wrapped his arms around the trunk of the tree and settled himself on a branch, his legs wrapping around it for stability as he looked down at his chaser. Apparently according to Cainith was a little shit as well as a dim glow. Was it wrong that the part of the teenager that wasn’t a little worried was ridiculously amused at this whole scenario? “Lesson huh? He finally called down to the quite large candidate. “I’m pretty sure I’ve learned about everything I have to learn.” Okay maybe not even close but he was almost done with weyrling lessons at least. All this taught him was that next time he had to plan a better escape route. That or pick a slower target.

An irritated look was shot at Rollhead as the little mandyr began to scale the tree after him. Cainith was still circling the tree like a hungry feline or something at this point. Er’ani wracked his brains for possible ways out. Maybe he could just wait out the guy and he’d get bored and hungry and go away? Or maybe he could talk his way out of this? Call Lketh for a rescue? Hope some handler would come upon the scene and take pity on him? Send Snowdrop for a rescuer?

Yeah the weyrling had a lot of options. All he knew for sure was he was so not going back down there right now. Snowdrop chirped in question to Rollhead as the little mandyr started to climb for hers. The green firelizard landed on a branch close to the mandyr and gave a little hiss before blocking his path with her considerably larger and bulky form. That was hers thank you very much. What was he doing?

Er’ani was still trying to figure out what in the heck he was going to do when Cainith started ramming into the tree with his shoulder. With a yelp the weyrling clung to the shaking foliage. Yeah getting his face rearranged by this guy was not on his top ten list of things to do before he died. Nor was falling out of a damn tree. Something told him that if he went to the infirmary with his face smashed up at this time of night he wasn’t going to get much sympathy. So Er’ani decided that he would rather avoid that if at all possible.

Tightening his grip on the tree he called down to the large man. “Whoa, Whoa! Stop it. Can’t we discuss this reasonably like normal people? You know without the snapping of bones and crushing of skulls?” Surely Cainith had at least a tiny brain in that large head of his? It could be possible to reason with him. Maybe he could even bribe him with food?

[Aftershock]

Stopping his ramming of the tree, Cainith looked up at the panicked albinorider clutching the tree for dear life. This was expected, honestly. People with no chance of defeating Cainith physically often tried the pleading or begging trick when they realized they couldn't escape him, and it never worked... but he'd let the boy stew a little bit more before he finished flushing him out of that tree. Plus, he was hungry.

Fishing a large redfruit from his snatchel, he said, "Fine, you want to try to talk your way out of this, go ahead and try. I'm going to have something to tide me over from the dinner you prevented me from having yet, which is another strike against you by the way." Taking a large bite from the redfruit, nearly devouring half of it in one chomp, he continued, "You've got from now until I'm done eating, or else I continue getting you out of that tree and performing an attitude adjustment on you. I'd hurry if I were you."

Meanwhile, Rollhead flashed his eyes orange in confusion at the green flit as it blocked his path. "Blasphemer yours? I sorry to hear. I let you follow Goddess, though, Goddess much better. You see how much better, when Goddess smite blasphemer boy." Satifisfied he would soon have a new follower for his Goddess, Rollhead shifted over to settle on a nearby branch and waited for Cainith to retrieve the boy from the tree.

[Rei]

When Cainith finally stopped ramming the tree Er’ani was damn thankful. Was the huge guy really that determined to flush him out of the tree? Obviously the answer was a yes. Loosening his grip momentarily the albinorider peered down at the large man and raised an eyebrow. Was that a redfruit? How could he eat at a time like this? Especially when he was still covered in rotten egg goop. Ugh. That would be enough to put anyone off of food you would think. Apparently though the candidate wasn’t all that bothered by his own smell. Glancing around him Er’ani sent an affectionate pulse to Snowdrop before readjusting his position. Wouldn’t do to cramp up now. He might have a very long night ahead of him. Seriously where was a wherhandler when you needed one?

When Cainith finally spoke Er’ani wrinkled his nose, though the large man trying to assault him wouldn’t be able to see the gesture. “Well dang with the way you eat that gives me what? Seconds to come up with something? That’s a little unfair don’t you think?” Casting his eyes about for a more sturdy branch the weyrling grabbed onto that. “Violence solves nothing you know.” Yes diplomacy was really his only way out of this wasn’t it? Unless he wanted to start screaming for help or something. Feeling this helpless kinda sucked. The teenager just hoped that the older man was a reasonable sort.

“I mean you don’t want to be a Wastelander do you? They use violence to get what they want, terrify and control. It's disgusting. You don’t want to be like them do you? I’m sure we can come to some type of peaceful agreement. Why start a war? To be honest the only reason I egged you was because you tried to crush my head. I think that’s a perfectly reasonable reaction don’t you?” As he waited for a response Er’ani prodded Lketh’s mind. Hey buddy you mind giving me a little help? The response the rider got from his pale mindmate contained only curiosity. What did you do this time?

Snowdrop titled her head at the little blue mandyr in confusion. Whatever the creature was babbling she hadn’t a clue. But then the green had long since noticed that mandyrs were a rather odd sort in general. The firelizard didn’t much understand them about eighty percent of the time and this one seemed to make less sense then most. All she really cared about was that the little creature had stopped his pursuit of hers though. Satisfied for the moment Snowdrop considered before chirping a question. What was a Goddess?

[Aftershock]

As Cainith chewed, he listened to the boy talk, then said, through a mouthful of half-chewed redfruit, "You're the one who kept me from dinner, boy, so it's your fault I'm hungry. Though the smell of these eggs is lowering my appetite, so I might finish faster than I would otherwise... though that will be your fault as well." As the boy argued that violence solved nothing, Cainith laughed as he finished his redfruit, saying, "Violence has served me pretty well these 30 turns. You Southerners don't understand that in the North, you learn the power of violence, or you're a victim."

Fishing two meatrolls out of his snatchel and taking a bite of each with a single chomp, his brow furrowed and he frowned as Er'ani spoke against Wasteland. Chewing and swallowing quickly, he gestured up at the albinoweryling as he said, "I was born in the North, cub, and went to Benden Weyr. After I found the opportunity to leave after aging out of Impressing a dragon, I came down here with H'nes. I can no more stop being a Wastelander than you can stop being a Selenite." Obviously agitated, he began stalking back and forth beneath the tree, though he kept his eyes on Er'ani, his expression twisted with irritation. "Don't think to judge me by the other Wastelanders, boy. We may all come from the North, but I've heard of the things they've done..." As he finished his sentence, his voice lowered a bit, as if he was worried about being overheard, and his eyes flashed back and forth at the surrounding greenery, as if watching for observers.

Seemingly satisfied, though obviously still guarded, he continued, "Think me a stupid Wasteland brute if you wish, cub, I've lived too many turns to care about the opinion of some child barely weaned from his mommy's tit, but don't you for a second think I would do what the others did. I like my violence clean and fair... if I did not, do you think we would be speaking now? I gave you the chance to leave cleanly after your antics at the hatching... I was a bit overzealous due to my new mindlink to Rollhead, but you also caused quite a few problems, so we were even. Now I'm just making it even again, since you seemed to think yourself clever." Finishing off the two meatrolls, he cracked his heavy, scarred knuckles loudly, and concluded with, "As I said, boy, I won't kill you, only teach you a lesson. And I think I'm done talking."

While the two humans spoke, Rollhead excitedly began chattering at the green flit before him, happy to have found a new possible convert to enlighten to the joy and service of the Goddess.

[Rei]

Er’ani cringed as Cainith spoke of finishing his small snack so quickly. Well shit he was so running out of options. Damn. Damn. Damn. Buddy where are you? A simple reply greeted that thought. I will be there shortly. If only to watch and see for himself what was going on. His bonded wasn’t being hurt after all. Although Lketh could no doubt be extremely possessive he also was more curious then anything else. Very much a watcher instead of a speaker.

When the large bear like man made the comment of ‘you southerners’ Er’ani started. “Huh what?” Did Cainith just call him a southerner? Could he not tell from the heavy accent that Er’ani was very much of northern stock? Apparently not. But before the weyrling could get a word in edgewise the man had swallowed his meatrolls and was speaking again. This time it seemed that he was becoming quite agitated as well. Born in the north. Aged out of candidacy in Benden. (How the hell had Er’ani missed this man being born in Benden Weyr himself?) Came here with H’nes. Wastelander. Really that was all Er’ani needed to know to be biased against him. That he was a wastelander. Selenite? Oh sheesh. Was this some huge mess or what? Still the teenager stayed silent to let the man finish. One eyebrow raised when Cainith admitted to not liking the actions of Wasteland. Well then…

Er’ani’s brow furrowed then and he bit his bottom lip. Okay so maybe the brute was being kind of fair. Even if he did throw in a few insults. Just weaned from Mommy’s tit? As if. The momentary flare of anger was doused in panic though when the huge man started cracking his knuckles and hinting that he was done talking. In slight panic the albinorider flailed his arms. “Wait! Wait! You’ve got it all wrong! Listen to me speak. Hear the accent? It’s the same as your own. I’m not from Selenitas. I was born and raised Benden. I was brought from Benden weyr itself as a candidate. Taken in the dead of the night with a few of my buddies by a Wasteland rider. I hated J’lorin just as much as you all… I thought I was going to a new weyr. I ended up here and at that hatching. I stood there and watched them all lose their lives. I watched them kill Lketh’s brothers and sisters and I had to defend my own dragon as well. They wanted him dead. There’s still a good chance they do…” Er’ani fell quiet for a moment before speaking in a more level tone.

“So I understand too and I probably hate them more then you do.” His tone was deadpan and serious as he spoke of Wasteland. With an underlying venom which normally didn’t show much. “So know this. If you don’t like their actions either I certainly don’t see you as a wasteland brute. Nor do I have any ties to Selenitas besides impressing a dragon from their Senior Queen and the few friends I’ve made. My entire family line are all rider’s from Benden. You might recognize some of their names. My brother's E’rro of Brown Ismaroth, my father Er’ian of Brown Cristandrith, my mother, rest her soul, Roniani of Green Quicoteth.” He really wasn’t sure if this would get him out of this, but keeping the man talking was better then getting his face beat in. Plus it would give Lketh a bit more time to get here so Cainith could see for himself that he was not lying.

Snowdrop simply started in confusion at Rollhead. The green firelizard was far to polite to interrupt or brush the little mandyr off. So she just perched their politely and occasionally chirped a confused question. This little creature was making such little sense…

[Aftershock]

Cainith smirked a bit as the boy started jabbering in fear... he really was a soft thing. As the boy spoke, he did start noticing the Northern accent, though it wasn't as strong as his own... younglings usually adapted faster to new languages than old bears like himself. He continued to listen as the boy spewed out information, though he did not just stand there, instead moving up to the tree once more and putting his massive paws on the trunk, easily climbing the first six or seven feet of the trunk, where it was still thick enough to easily support even his weight, and pausing there to let the boy finish speaking.

Locking steel-like fingers around a low branch, Cainith clung to the tree easily, his every shift sending shivers through the trunk up to Er'ani's perch. "I heard of your parents," he said, "though I didn't know them. They were riders, I was just a Candidate, and unlike some others, they apparently didn't need me for anything, so ignored me. I believe your brother became a Candidate just as I was aging out, so never got to know him either. Either way, Benden was just another place to live, just like Selenitas is... though I've been surprised at some of the people I've met here..." Cainith seemed to get a distant look in his eye for a moment, and a smile played across his lips beneath his bushy beard, but he recovered quickly enough, and frowned a bit as he continued, "Oh, and I feel you in terms of losing your mother, though I never even got to meet mine, rest her soul."

Cainith then began to climb higher, and the tree began to sag with his weight as he reached the middle branches. As it sagged over, Cainith eventually let go with his legs and let his feet dangle as he was slowly lowered to the ground, the trunk creaking and groaning as it bent over, the tree's relative youth the only thing keeping it from simply snapping in half from the strain. While he slowly drooped towards the ground, he said to the now clinging-for-life Er'ani, "Seems we have more in common than either of us thought, cub, though that doesn't change much in regards to our current situation. You still made me miss my dinner, and that's unforgivable. Oh, and I do hope that if something snaps between Wasteland and Selenitas, and sides are drawn up, that you show more backbone for the fight that will occur than you're showing right now." As his feet finally touched the ground, the tree bent over nearly at a 90 degree angle, Cainith looked up at the now nearly sideways Er'ani and said, "I'd suggest you climb down now and accept what you've got coming, 'cause if my hands get tired, and I let go of this tree, it might go even worse for you." With his last words, he smirked a bit, as his iron grip obviously seemed little in danger of tiring any time soon, so it was apparent that it was more a case of when he got tired of waiting.

Seeing the situation escalate, Rollhead quickly climbed back onto Cainith's shoulder as he climbed up the tree, thinking back at Snowdrop, "You lucky, you get see Goddess smite heathen. Should come down with Goddess, though, or you fly with heathen. Lucky you has wings, though."

[Rei]

Now he was climbing the tree. Seriously? Lketh where are you? I told you I was coming and I am. Yeah well if you want me in one piece you might want to speed up. You are in danger? Umm. Kind of. I think? Breaking off contact with his dragon Er’ani wrinkled his nose at Cainith. Really? And here he was thinking he was safe from the huge lug as long as he stayed up here. Looked like he was quite wrong in that thinking. Shit. Well he was out of ammo, didn’t have his knife on him, and talking didn’t look like it was going to work. So all he had to rely on now was Lketh’s rescuing him. Or maybe Snowdrop could help. Though asking the fragile firelizard to do something like that would be too much of a risk to her. Blast.

Blinking as the large man spoke the rider stayed mostly silent. Just thinking on what he said. Heard of his parents, E’rro became a candidate close to when Cainith aged out. Supposed that made sense. As to the part about meeting the people who resides at this weyr… Well Er’ani could agree with that. He’d met some people here who had surprising facets to them. All his life he was raised to think that the southerners where silly, weak, soft. In reality they had a tenaciousness that was surprising at times. Even though Wasteland had been occupying them for near two years their spirits were not yet broken. In fact they seemed to be rather resilient for weak southerners. Funny what you found out when you gave things a chance. Speaking of chances. It seemed the young man himself was running out of them. So much for the resident wherhandlers actually doing their jobs.

As the tree sagged over Er’ani clung to it with desperation, reciting a string of curses in his head. Damn. He was so screwed. So screwed. Again the large man’s booming voice caught his attention. Dark eyes met Cainith’s and the albinorider snorted. “If that happens I will fight for who and what I believe in with a fury you have never seen. You better hope you choose the right side when that happens.” Despite the anxiety hidden deep within his eyes his voice was steady and full of resolve. Er’ani was no coward. Regardless of whether or not he had run from a man nearly five times his size. Who in their right mind would stand there and let Cainith pummel them anyway? He should be used to the sight of people running from him. Which in hindsight seemed rather sad. Glancing at the ground and hearing the large man’s words the young man sighed. Their really was no hope for it now. He was really honestly trapped. Though he really didn’t fancy an infirmary visit this late at night. It was bound to draw questions from people.

Dropping from the tree Er’ani hit the ground with a grunt and straightened up eyes fixing themselves on Cainith even as Snowdrop gave a chirp to Rollhead and blinked between. A flash of pale hide caught the corner of rider’s eye then. Lketh was almost there. In all honestly the young man wasn’t sure that was a good thing. Lketh had a tendency to be rather….unemotional.

[Aftershock]

Cainith caught the young man's eyes as he spoke of his resolve come a possible Selenitas/Wasteland fallout... though he didn't specify which side he would take. Cainith grunted and nodded at the boy finally showing backbone, though. As the boy finally dropped to the ground and stared up at Cainith, the giant man released the tree and dropped the couple feet to the ground, the sound of his impact overwhelmed by the gigantic SLAM of the tree, released from it's bent position, shooting back straight again, and then over to the other side to slam into the ground loudly before standing upright again, still swaying, the crash reverberating through the quiet jungle as the youth and the man faced off.

Crossing his arms and standing up straight, Cainith locked eyes with the albinoweyrling, testing the boy's resolve. Finally, he smirked, and letting loose a grunt of acceptance, he said, "Well, boy, seems that backbone finally grew in. I had to force it, but you finally came down, and you didn't try any tricks or even run away again. I can respect that." Opening his arms wide, he said, "In respect for your guts, I'll make this a little more fair for you. Come on, you get the first attack. Make the most of it." With that, he stood, arms wide, feet planted, staring down at the boy with a steely look in his eye. Rollhead, confused but not wanting to second-guess his Goddess, was surprisingly silent, observing the blasphemer from Cainith's shoulder and waiting for a reaction.

[Rei]

Okay so he was not going to lie Er’ani actually did flinch and jump when the tree flung upwards and smacked into the ground before shuddering to it’s roots and filling the night with noise. In the wake of the loud crash there was complete silence. Most of the creatures of the night scared away or startled into momentarily silence. The albinorider raised his dark eyes and fixed them upon Cainith in the intervening silence.

It reminded him vaguely of some of the dueling showdowns he had witnessed in Benden. Some of those had ended in death. Not that C’leon had ever been concerned when the night or day was interrupted by the single keen of a dying dragon. It had been almost common at Benden for a time. So common that most of the dragons simply failed to give tribute to their fallen brethren. Nothing at Benden had sounded like the keening that had rocked the entire weyr at Lketh’s hatching. That symphony of terrible sound had reverberated though his bones as ichor and blood seeped into the sands. But that was then and this was now. Shaking his head to dispel his wandering thoughts the teenager debated just how to do what Cainith expected. He had no weapons and the man was solid as a wall. How did you fight something like that?

Finally submitting to the truth Er’ani smiled. “I’m not much of a fighter I’m afraid, despite turns of training at Benden and over a turn here. Too twiggy, a bit uncoordinated. I tend to use my brain and other skills rather then my rather unimpressive brawn. Fighting you without a long range weapon is quite futile for someone like me. Not unless I use dirty tricks and that puts a bad taste in my mouth to tell you the truth. I suppose all is fair if survival is the name of the game but I rather doubt you’re planning on killing me.” With a shrug he shook his head. “So I’m not going to attack you. It would be akin to a kitten trying to take down a fighting canine.”

Just then a serpentine and pale ghostly white shape wound it’s way though the trees in the distance, Lketh making no noise simply regarding the figures he was approaching with whirling pale red eyes. The albino dragon looked more like ghost then anything of the realm of the living in truth. The young dragon paused to assess the situation before moving to further approach the two.

[Aftershock]

Cainith dropped his arms down to his sides at Er'ani's response, and shook his head ruefully. "So you're not even going to try, boy? Let me tell you something... I don't have an undefeated record for all the fights I've been in through my 30 turns of life. Since I haven't met anyone near my size in those 30 turns, that means those who bested me were smaller than me... some much smaller. When two combatants are equally skilled, it usually comes down not to who's larger or stronger, but who WANTS to win more." Tapping the side of his head, he continued, "If you think you'll lose, of course you'll lose. As the saying goes, it's not the size of the canine in the fight, but the size of the fight in the canine."

Stepping closer to Er'ani, he said, "There's a storm brewin', boy, you and I both know it. No matter what side you choose, I can't in good conscience leave you as you are. If you want to learn how to fight hand-to-hand from the top combatant in Benden Weyr 8 turns running, come find me, and I'll teach you all I know." Stopping in front of the albinoweyrling, he poked him in the chest with a meaty finger, and added, "You'll have to bring the will to fight from within yourself, though. A battle you don't fight in is a battle you're guaranteed to lose."

Stepping back a step, he started, "It's getting dark, and I need to get back to the Candidate Barracks before that harpy Elisabeta has my ass. So, let's finish this. The option to fight back is still on the table, just so you know. It always is." Balling up a massive, scarred fist, he cocked it back, though he paused when he noticed Lketh's arrival. Glancing at the albino dragon, then back at Er'ani, he said, "I hope you've told your pale friend that I gave you the opportunity to have the first attack, and that I'm not going to kill you, just teach you a lesson. You said yourself dirty fighting leaves a bad taste in your mouth, so let's leave this between you and me like it's always been, and I'll hope I don't end up on the wrong end of a set of claws, fangs, or a face full of flame." With that, he let loose his punch, and Er'ani view was suddenly filled with huge, calloused knuckles coming in at high speed.

[Rei]

His head tilted only slightly as he listened to Cainith speak. It made sense in a way he supposed. But in at the same time it was also untrue. For example. He could pit himself up against M’ta over and over and the result would still be the same. He’d lose. No matter how much you wanted to win if someone was way better then you, you were still going to get your ass handed to you. Maybe that was pessimistic thinking in a way but it was no less true even if he was negative. Saying that out loud however was not only pointless but impossible as the large candidate was already speaking again. The albinorider may have been a troublemaker with a rebel streak but he could at the very least be polite. Well sometimes.

Wide eyes regarded Cainith as the man stepped closer. Only now could he see how truly large his man really was. How did a human even get that big? It was curious and at the same time certainly intimidating. So much so in fact that Er’ani almost forgot to listen to what the man was actually saying. Almost. As he was prodded in the chest the teenager grunted. Hand to hand combat lessons? What could this guy teach him that none of his teachers nor even M’ta could? Would it even be worth it? The weyrling debated this fact for a few moments before deciding to think on it in length later. He could always find Cainith if he decided to accept. A man of that stature couldn’t have an easy time blending in.

When he mentioned Elisabeta Er’ani made a face. That greenrider was one of the wastelanders he detested a lot. In fact he didn’t know many that did like her. But thoughts of the old crone where pushed aside as the massive candidate spoke of finishing it and pulled back his fist. The weyrling simply changed his stance and prepared himself, but the punch was delayed by Cainith’s glimpse of Lketh. When the man returned his gaze to him Er’ani might have spoken. Probably went on at length about how he didn’t control Lketh. The dragon was his own entity not something like a dog or pet he could order around and expect to be obeyed. He had no idea what Lketh would do. But the fist coming at his face made words impossible and the weyrling quickly moved to be able to weather the punch better. It would shatter his nose if he took it straight to the face and maybe bust his jaw if it solidly connected and so the boy shifted so the stroke glanced across his cheek bone and the side of his face instead, the force still sending him sprawling.

Hitting the ground Er’ani winced and then stilled though he was still conscious. Hopefully the large man would just go away for now. A low hiss from Lketh announced his displeasure as the albino picked up his pace and weaved through trees to get to his rider. The teenager just hoped that Cainith had enough sense to run, even as mentally he tried to soothe his pale dragon. In the end the albino placed himself over the boy talons unsheathed and lips pulled back in a vicious snarl at the retreating giant. I’m okay Buddy. Let him go. You are mine. Was the only reply Er’ani got, the tone both possessive and fierce. I know Lketh. I know.

(End Thread)