Can't resist poisoning the message. (Tags M'ta)

[Rei]

Dark eyes examined the darkened forest path before her. The Burimyu spy had been there only weeks ago, asking the one man left behind on her wing for help. Burimyu now was without a Queen. Not a position that could be counted as good by any stretch of the imagination. Only two paths to acquire a queen laid open to them. Both not without their risks. They could attempt to steal a queen egg, which would be nearly impossible. Or they could attempt to take an actually existing queen. Their choice? Nitrath of Caden. The young gold pair was one of M’ta’s weyrling class. The same class that had been forced to stand and watch Wasteland murder their siblings. It was this hatred of Wasteland that made the class viable for manipulation perhaps. Anything could be done with the right incentive.

Elysia had made Burimyu’s plea to M’ta weeks ago. Asked the man to defect from Selenitas with the entire Desert class. The goal was ultimately to acquire Nitrath for Burimyu. The Weyrlingmaster had declined her offer at first. Even when she added incentive in the form of Riaren. You would think that that would have been the end of the pursuit. But no. Elysia was nothing if not a stubborn creature and Burimyu in time would only grow more desperate. They could do nothing with Jingth’s final clutch mere weeks old. But eventually they would have no choice but to look at all the options available to them. Perhaps in the time since she had left him the brownrider would have changed his decision. He had seemed slightly uncertain the last time they had spoke. At any rate here she was perched above the path with only thin slivers of light from the moon above to break the darkness.

Patiently Elysia waited until she heard the sound of footfalls. Baron perched silently in a tree a ways away flashed her the image. It was indeed the human she wanted to speak to. The greenrider waited until the brownrider had passed beneath the tree she was in before she spoke. “It always surprises me how much ground you eat up with such short little legs.” Her tone was cheerful enough and she made sure her voice was loud enough for M'ta to hear but low enough not to carry too far. During her speech the Benden woman had slipped from her branch perch to a swing to a lower one and then finally to the ground. A surprised M’ta could be a dangerous thing. But normally his voice recognition abilities were good enough to keep those he knew from being harmed unintentionally.

Straightening up from her crouch Elysia offered her old wingmate a small smile. “No worries M’ta. I have but one question for you. I won’t keep you from your run long.” Dark eyes examined the shorter man in front of her. “Your decision. Does it remain the same?”

[Requiem]

A few weeks already. M'ta was highly imaginative, and in that time his mind was able to produce all manner of things. The weyrlingmaster was certain to run each evening, as that had been how she'd found him in the first place. But as this one was drawing to a close...he was beginning to think she may not be back. A favorable thing, certainly. Or not so favorable. He doubted she'd let it go. It had crossed his mind that he needed to approach the weyrlings directly. Yes, even use that influence that the greenrider had thought to take advantage of to bias them against any approach from either Elysia or someone else. Perhaps he needed to do that regardless...

The voice startled him just as thoroughly as it had last time, and the subsequent actions revealed - as they too were exactly the same - how much of M'ta's behavior was instinct and habit. The lengthened stride of his near-sprint was arrested in a crouch, the plunge of his utilitarian belt knife (no weapon) into the earth, swinging himself around, his dirk already in his other hand and held out defensively. But he snorted even before his feet set or eyes made her out. Yanked the belt knife from the ground and straightened, sheathing his weapon with enough force to indicate irritation. "Why everyone finds the height jokes so clever, I don't know." Eyes narrowed as her boots struck ground. "Or why people think it's a good idea to surprise me."

A brow rose in silent acknowledgment of her statement regarding the question. (The darkness hid the general stoniness of his face, which was perhaps good...she'd hurt him more than she thought, trying to leverage Riaren against what she wanted out of him. The stoniness was a sure sign that he was hiding behind the lack of expression.) Behruth brushed Ekarth's mind with the silent sense that the time they'd been waiting for...was finally here. Indication if nothing else that the gentle brown was no less culpable than the more unpredictable rider he was bonded to. M'ta stepped forward, as if to keep the conversation soft enough that it could not possibly be overheard. Something he'd done before, as well, and vintage M'ta considering his level of paranoia.

"I told you before, Elysia. Though I sympathize with you, I can't in good conscience take the children in my charge and put them in a Weyr of fugitives and mysterious predators you refuse to elaborate on." The blade swung for her head with blinding speed. Speed and accuracy...things that made up greatly for the power and mass M'ta lacked. The hilt of the belt knife he hadn't sheathed - yes, apparently there was enough drama and deceit in him to emphasize the sheathing of the dirk to draw attention away from it - slammed into her skull just above her ear. The man caught her as she stumbled and didn't wait to see how effective the strike was; his arm looped around her neck while she was stunned and choked off her air.

After a moment his hold on her loosened, the man lowering her gently to the ground. Didn't need to check for breathing, though his fingers did explore the spot above her head, finding a little blood but no gash that would need seeing to. He was quick to start removing her clothes, knowing that she hid poisoned needles on her. Knowing that she was a much better little peon than he had ever been, and would use them if captured. His touch was clinical as he made sure she had no place left to hide them. If Ba'sun remembered he'd soon have the bag with a change of clothes for her and these could go in there. M'ta bound her swiftly after the strip search. They could all escape from binds such as these, despite his using some of the more difficult knots to squirm out of...but it would take her time. And the delay was what he was looking for if she happened to come to early.

Now he just needed Ba'sun...M'ta was too small to move her alone, especially without being noticed.

[Rei]

M’ta’s sudden change in direction didn’t fail to amuse nor gain a reaction. Elysia’s feet shifted as she adopted a defensive posture the movement completing even as the brownrider yanked the blade from the ground and sheathed it with force. His voice betrayed his irritation with her chosen greeting and the greenrider couldn’t help giving the man a smile. “Perhaps not so clever as feeling it is normal to comment on your height.” She replied in a conversational tone eyes flitting to his face. “Besides sometimes you’re easy to surprise. Especially if you're involved with your own thoughts.” Trailing off the woman waited for the answer to her question. In truth she expected it to still be a no. But that was okay. There were always ways around a no. And if not. Well then at the very least she had done her duty to the weyr she was now bound to.

When M’ta stepped towards her Elysia held her ground. No they were not all that far away, and there was nobody around, but that was no reason to speak across the distance she supposed. The greenrider’s head tilted as her dark eyes focused on the approaching figure in front of her. The flash of steel as the brownrider spoke was her only warning. The small moment of surprise as the blade rushed for her head slowed Elysia’s reaction time, her mind having time for one thought. Traitorous bastard. But it wasn’t the blade that she sought to block that stuck her. No.

It was something else that slammed into the side of the greenrider’s skull, sending her stumbling forward only for her fall to be arrested by her old wingmate’s arm choking off her airway. Hazy and dazed as her thoughts were Elysia was barely able to send the one word command that her flits knew by heart now. Both blinked between with nary a cry as the greenrider’s vision blurred and the darkness began to edge in. Nails that had previously been digging into the brownrider’s arm began to loosen.

As she finally lost consciousness the last conscious feeling Elysia had was the hidden Onyth’s anger. The green knew better than to move, but that didn’t make the female one lick happy with the situation.

~~~

Amour popped out of between in a familiar weyr, the small brown flitter shrieking in alarm as he literally crashed into S’rei’s chest. Claws digging into the fabric of the man’s shirt the firelizard assaulted the large human’s mind with images of his bonded’s plight. Information. His gold’s command completed the little creature trembled, eyes whirling in subdued shades as he simply hung on the bronzer’s shirt. Knew the man didn’t like him much but Amour didn’t know what else to do. He wasn’t allowed to go back to her. That much he still remembered.

Baron was marginally more calm but no less subdued as he to emerged from between to settle on the back of a chair. Only then did the older brown resend the images in a slower and calmer procession. Folding his wings, the male quietly chirped once to his more excitable brother. Mission accomplished.

[rii]

Idiot.

There was just something wrong when people came to him to ask for help with how to go about being a traitor. Ba'sun grabbed the pack off his table, slinging it over his shoulder and following the motion with the leather quiver and bow. A folded blanket was tucked under an arm as he left the weyr - whistling to himself as he mounted Ekarth. The blue slid over the edge, winding along Selenitas river. He twirled out over the trees as they traced the path M'ta took to run. Ekarth double back to settle in the nearest clearing, springing back up into the air once Ba'sun had dismounted. The small blue then skimmed the jungle, a slight hiss escaping him as he sought out the dark green. How far away was she hiding?

It didn't take long for Ba'sun to join M'ta, an eyebrow lifting at the sight of Elysia already stripped and bound. Huh, imagine that, and here he thought the brownrider wouldn't be able to do it. He didn't know whether to be amused by it, or sad. Not saying a word, Ba'sun unraveled the blanket as he threw it over her motionless form. They'd already discussed what they would do with the harpy woman. The bluerider wrapped the blanket around her form, then propped her over one shoulder before standing back up. Elysia wasn't a heavy woman and Ba'sun wasn't sure why M'ta had asked for his help.

Or, rather, just didn't care.

His gaze swept over the ground - no signs of a struggle. M'ta must have been able to knock her out with one blow. A flicker of a glance went to the brownrider before Ba'sun turned and headed back the way he'd come under the cover of the trees. They could dress her once they got her to her 'cell', it wasn't smart to linger out in the open with the risk of her coming to. He waited just under the trees as Ekarth circle around, checking for any watchful eyes before dropping down. Elysia was thrown over the blue as little more than cargo - just a rolled up blanket and/or bedroll at a glance.

It was slightly amusing to note that Selenitas did not have a place to keep prisoners. At least no formal place, there were plenty of nooks and crannies out and about to serve the purpose for a temporarily amount of time. Nothing close, though, and since they'd have to keep a watch on Elysia it became something of a big problem. Lucky for them the recent earthquake had solved the dilemma. Back in the old second of the weyr further down the river. Selnitas use to be stationed in the trees (God, Ba'sun would have loved to see that insanity) before an attach on Fort had forced them to make home closer to the falls. It was there that some of the old weyrs had collapsed because of the earthquake. Ba'sun had found a nice one with it's dragon ledge gone and the only door in and out able to be barred. The hallway was damaged as well..

.. it was here that two people were needed to get Elysia through and over the piles of rubble and narrow openings. Dangerous grounds, maybe, but they didn't have other options available to them. Ekarth landed near the far opening, slinging Elysia once again over his shoulder and quickly disappearing behind his blue to enter the cavernous opening. Ekarth left at once.

Nothing to see here, folks.

[Requiem]

The brownrider was just as silent as Ba'sun, fading back to lean against a tree as the bluerider went about his business. M'ta ignored the look and waited for the older man to mount his dragon before the younger resumed his run through the jungles having lost little time. Nothing strange going on. One goes in, one goes out. Yes, M'ta was paranoid, but it served him on occasion.

The weyrlingmaster slipped in through one of the empty ground-level weyrs, meeting back up with Ba'sun just where the rubble started becoming a problem. He was quick to take up her legs, and the two conveyed her over rock and around piles, going further and further back into the half-collapsed tunnels. It was an inherently inelegant solution. There was no one to watch Elysia constantly, and no way to keep her confined indefinitely with the training Ka'rys had given them. Picking locks and escaping bindings...a convenient thing when you weren't trying to incarcerate a person with such skills. Short of permanently crippling hands or killing her, they would have to be creative.

And, anyway, he'd rather not chain her up, even if she probably couldn't escape with all her tools taken. He'd rather not keep her here at all. But he liked the idea of the weyrlings slipping off to bring shit down on their heads and the rest at Burimyu alike even less. So there was really nothing for it. Nothing but to make the attempt to keep her here until he could figure out a more permanent solution. Only...none was really coming to mind.

Abandoning such thoughts as Behruth spoke to Onyth, seeking to compel her to leave - as much to prevent accidents that led back to Ruth and Ekarth as to protect the green and their prisoner - M'ta backed through the door to the weyr they'd chosen. It was dark with the massive landslide that blocked the ledge. The entire dragon part of the weyr had collapsed in on itself, such that not a single bit of light shone through.

Elysia was placed on the bed there, M'ta moving to dress her in the simple, loose clothing he'd been able to find on short notice without really knowing her size. She might come to at any moment...or in several hours. It was hard to tell. Neither he nor Ba'sun would be waiting for it. He glanced at the bluerider. "Did you bring it?" The first words spoken to the other man since the start.