Coincidence? (T'san)

[Ember]

T'san chuckled lightly. "The truth from me may hurt but its kinder than from a mirror," he said. He really didn't mean anything by it and he was pretty sure S'rei knew that. Either way, the other man had started it so he could hardly complain. The brownrider could and often did judge people but so long as they could tolerate him (and he had a weird definition of tolerate) he was willing to spend time with anyone, Weyrleader's included. One reason he missed having S'rei as his Wingleader was that the man was tolerant of his personality. T'san had yet to see what S'kor thought of him.

"The old geezer might give the young whelp a good run for his money." Two could play that game. The brownrider was a little more out of shape than he probably ought to be. Between running with S'rei and the readjusted wing drills he'd get back to normal. How could he woo the ladies if he wasn't looking his best? At S'rei's question he grinned and reached up to pull his cheeks and stick out his tongue. He let go a moment later and said, "Yup, all stretched out." For a guy who was oddly afraid of small children he sure acted like one sometimes.

Dsoleth rumbled lightly in amusement. That was pretty much his private opinion about some bronzes. Some of the bigger males were just so egotistical that it was just silly. You are not yet that old Salenth. Certainly older than quite a few here though, I'll give you that. Age was not necessarily a bad thing either. The most obvious benefit of being older was having more experience. Oh? I should certainly like to test them out myself.

[Requiem]

S'rei blinked at T'san blankly for a moment, almost as if he either didn't understand what the brownrider meant by what he'd just said, or maybe that he was actually considering getting offended. But then, with a perfectly straight face, he responded, "Mirrors? I've never managed to find one that isn't broken..." Putting aside the 'mystery' of the ever-broken reflective glasses, he smiled at the younger man. "Well, we'll see soon enough," came the neutral response. S'rei hadn't yet had trouble keeping up with younger men on distance runs...sprints, sure, but that wasn't exactly a new development, either, and he tended to attribute that to his size. He didn't really think he'd start having trouble running now.

All S'rei could really do was shake his head with something of an indulgent smile as T'san proceeded to make a face that belonged more on his six-turn-old nephew than a wingsecond. He wrinkled his nose, turned his head away, then looked back to T'san. His expression had turned...completely and utterly blank. Like marble, eyes simply staring straight at T'san unblinkingly. Then, ever so slowly, almost slowly enough to be completely overlooked, his left eyebrow rose. Actually, it tended to be more disconcerting when you were talking to him and that was his only reaction, but not talking was the point, so he didn't explain it.

Come, let me show you. And the dragon S'rei had just been leaning against moved, toppling him into the sand, the flick of the bronze's tail the only outward sign of his great amusement as he felt the glare of His. The bronze took off, flying languidly a short ways further down the beach and lighting on a large pile of rocks which he coiled amongst happily. Perhaps not quite as old as dirt, but definitely close enough, he mused, partially to himself. The smell of the ocean is something I find relaxing, he added lazily, settling so that he could get the most sun possible, though still being careful not to dislodge Worm.

[Ember]

T’san easily ignored the long pause as he drew his own name in the sand idly. When the Weyrleader started speaking again he glanced up at him and smiled at the words. The brown rider liked very much that the man had a sense of humour. Normally authority figures were cold and annoying but S’rei was quite different. Despite past events he couldn’t hate the guy, or even dislike him. Some people at Fort really had to let go of the past. The betrayal still came up among the really loyal Fortians (loyal only to the name and definitely not the current leader) from time to time. T’san thought it was stubbornness rather than loyalty.

The brown rider grinned at S’rei at his reaction. A moment later it faded to be replaced with a thoughtful frown. That was quite some look. He’d even been taken in by it for a few seconds there. T’san studied the expression, sorely tempted to laugh despite the very serious (and creepy) expression. He slowly tried to mimic the expression. He let his face fall into total neutrality. Mid way through trying to blankly stare at S’rei he broke into a grin and shook his head. “That is quite the look. You had me going there for a second and I was expecting it.”

By some odd coincidence, the brown ended up trying to do the same thing Salenth just did. Unfortunately it hadn’t worked so well since the brown rider knew it had been coming. The Wingsecond chuckled at S’rei while his brown took off and flew after Salenth. Dsoleth landed and crooned as he made himself comfortable among the rocks. He went so far as to spread his wings a bit so they’d soak up more of the sun too. Mm, it is quite nice, he said in relaxed tones, eyes sliding mostly closed in pleasure.

[Requiem]

Perhaps it was odd that he was getting along so well with a man at least ten turns his junior, but not quite so odd if you were to consider the ones his own age. Mi'rah. You couldn't joke with that man. Sel'n. Even less so. Beyond that they started getting young enough to notice a difference. F'ur. Ka'rys. Both of whom avoided him. Ka'rys he didn't mind the company of, F'ur he'd never bothered with. Both were too Fort to ever let him in, and maybe that was okay. Apart from them he was pretty sure most everyone else was under thirty. Which was already coming up on the ten turn mark. T'san at least had a sense of humor; that went far. He was game, too, attempting to pull the same expression.

Any response S'rei might have had, however, was truncated by his untimely drop into the sand. He flopped onto his stomach, ignoring the sand caking his bare back, and let his head rest on his arms, spitting out some of the sand that had gotten into his mouth. "Just when you think they can't surprise you anymore," he commented drolly. Smiling at T'san, his lips twisted into the familiar half-smile. "I think you need to work on that a little if you plan on escaping the evil healers. That or figure out how to be annoying enough to get Kalierre to pitch you over the weyrledge." This felt surprisingly good...even though the sand was a touch warm against his chest. He really hadn't taken time to relax much lately. "So then, T'san. You got a woman to nag at you yet?"

Very. I find myself dozing off quite often, the bronze agreed contentedly. He watched a couple of crabs fighting over what looked to be a shiver of driftwood, jousting with each other across the sands, until a wave rolled over them and swept both into the tides. How much do you remember of Fort? Salenth inquired curiously. He found that most dragons didn't remember...the only reason he did was S'rei did. But it was still a matter of curiosity to him, so he asked on occasion...when the inclination took him.

[Ember]

T'san chuckled at S'rei's graceless flop onto his stomach and comment. "It's safer to think that they can surprise you still and then you'd be ready for whatever surprises they did throw at you." Taking his own advice would be good too. Though being surprised by his brown didn't happen too often with their bond the way it was. The brown liked it open and so he kept it open. T'san saw nothing wrong with it and so he left his end open most of the time as well. It made reading the intentions of the brown quite easy unless the brown deliberately clamped down on the bond.

He conceded S'rei's point with a nod and a smile. Yes, if he wanted to creep people out he'd have to work on that stare. His problem was that he could imagine his expression and it just made him laugh. T'san blinked at the bronzerider before her burst out laughing. A woman to nag at him! Hah! If one to say his reaction was a little over the top they were quite right. Embarrassment made the young man overreact. He forced himself to stop laughing and said, "No, no nagging woman." Not to say he wasn't interested in one.

Dsoleth missed the crabs. Instead he rested his head on a rock in such a way that he could still see Salenth with one eye. The striped dragon considered Salenth's question. Unlike his rider he had no problems thinking of the past. Unfortunately that didn't mean he remembered much. I remember very little on my own. I suppose I mostly only remember my mate. Even his memories of her were kind of fuzzy and he regretted it.

[Requiem]

"You've got a point there, brownrider," S'rei agreed readily. Even if he and Salenth really never did surprise each other anymore. But for the occasional fluke. It would certainly keep him from eating sand on the rare occasion that he didn't quite pick up on Salenth's intentions quick enough. T'san's nervous laughter, however, drew an amused smile and knowing glance from the older man. Nor was the answer at all surprising. Hm. Well, not in the sense that the laughter had already answered for him, though S'rei would have thought the brownrider's friendly personality would have hooked someone by now. Then again, just because a man seemed amiable didn't mean he was any good with the ladies. The fair sex could addle a mind quite nicely if you weren't careful, after all.

He grinned slightly. "Well, I wouldn't be in a hurry if I were you. Don't get me wrong; it definitely has its good points. Not having to play the courting game, for one. But there's no need to hand your freedom over before you're ready; Aliscia's better than most in that respect. Take your time, T'san." He should know. S'rei's track record wasn't the best, not in the slightest. To be fair, though, he blamed most of his problems with Shmee on the vast age difference after losing four turns in the past. He'd gotten four turns older while she...hadn't.

I see. Well, no matter...I was really just curious, Salenth responded amiably enough. We haven't been back for many turns. It always interests Mine to hear of them. He likes to know things, does Mine. Easier to guess what someone's next move might be, if you had some knowledge to work with, after all. Stretching out further, he spread his wings slightly to warm them. Mine has noticed that the young gold seems taken with you. Is that so?

[Ember]

The knowing looked almost made the brownrider groan. Oops. It'd take some serious mindreading to figure out who he liked given he flirted equally with just about any woman and even a few men (as S'rei had already experienced). T'san was satisfied that he hadn't given too much away though he doubted the Weyrleader was the meddling type. The brownrider had always been careful with such things. He could just shudder at the idea of a person he liked finding out from another source. In his opinion, friends were better than nothing and he liked to be a little more certain of an interest's feelings before 'making a move.'

He chuckled considerably less nervously now that the feline was out of the bag and it wasn't sprung on him so suddenly. "No gal can take my freedom from me," he said over-dramatically. He was half-joking but that meant he was also half seriously. No point in losing himself entirely to a woman. T'san had never understood the entirely self-sacrificing nature of some people. That kind of relationship seemed a little twisted to him. Or perhaps he just hadn't encountered the kind of thing that made people act like that.

Mine remembers. If Yours was to ask right way he could tell Yours about Fort, Dsoleth informed Salenth lightly. His would have no trouble talking about Fort's leaders but anything about his personal life there was unlikely to be forthcoming. At mention of a young gold, the brown's whirling eyes picked up speed Jingth? She is quite pleasant towards me. I'm not sure if she's taken with me though. The brown personally liked her a great deal. She was smart, pretty, and gold. Gold was pretty much a guarantee the female was dominant and, much to His' chagrin, the brown liked mroe dominant females.