Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
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Post by Requiem on Sept 24, 2011 12:14:14 GMT -5
Eveyth stroked his mind with a mental purr, in the midst of tearing into her meal. It was the third wherry she'd caught and the green was quite nearly sated. She welcomed him to return to her in the silent language of a dragonpair too close to find words remotely necessary. What had first sent him into the trees was yet another manifestation of a bond that was, in all honesty, probably too close; her hunger before these hunts always set within him the nearly overwhelming urge to hunt, to kill and to sink his teeth into something bloody and fresh. He'd found that submitting to at least the first of those urges was better than resisting. After finding himself tearing into a small rodent that was still alive one time when his control snapped, he took to hunting until the urge diminished naturally when Eveyth's hunger was satisfied. That was just unpleasant.
Even so, he thought he might finish this hunt. This Eveyth accepted with relative grace as she curled up along the river bank, soaking in Rukbat's rays and letting one set of lids slide closed. A nap might be nice. X'rx was in a rare unsocial mood, and it had little enough to do with the fact that his Eve had been slowly moving toward a shine that was more than just good health. He should be glad to be here, glad that the war that had been looming over their heads seemed to be behind them. But the greenrider found that he felt little but disrupted and, yes, even depressed. With mother and baby sister dead in the earthquake, his home of all his life collapsed in a heap of rubble, he was finding it difficult to identify an upside.
And, just perhaps, Eve's personality had slowly begun to change his; X'rx was beginning to think that this world would never leave him alone just because he wanted peace. If he was going to have to struggle, he meant to win. Simple as that. And here they were, hiding again, waiting to be found out and attacked and...It didn't sit well. He missed his family.
Movement. It was one of those things that crept up on a person, this feeling that something was not only right on the edge of his senses, but also that it had been for quite some time. The bow that he'd been holding that was already strung, ready for the first sign of something to kill and take back to the kitchens, came up before him. It was held with the surety of a hunter, not vertically before him like he was taking shots at practice dummies or forming up to shoot down into an army of people. He held it horizontal, before him, slinking along as his dark eyes searched his surroundings for the source of the nearly inaudible sounds. The hair on the back of his neck was standing up.
Something snapped behind him and X'rx whirled. Then he straightened, the string easing as he lowered the bow. "Iskierka?" The greenrider was a man who took good care of himself for the most part, even when he had very little. He found himself embarrassed at how much he'd let himself go. His usual shell and feather adornments in his hair were absent, the greenrider's face drawn from nights of poor sleep and a lack of appetite that had gone on long enough to also be reflected in a certain thinness. His clothing was too big, too, and he'd taken no pains to tailor them as he normally would have. X'rx pushed tangled dark curls behind one ear, a slight flush darkening skin already naturally dark. X'rx's eyes slid down and off to one side in front of his old weyrlingmaster. "I...didn't know anyone else was out here," he stated in a small voice. Iskierka was one of the last people he wanted to see him so...not him. She'd notice. Or, worse, she wouldn't. He'd missed Darya and Iskierka both terribly, but any connection he might have with this particular woman was probably imagined. A half-remembered conversation on a riverbank after junior weyrlings disappeared between forever.
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Ember
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Post by Ember on Oct 4, 2011 20:24:50 GMT -5
May I ask what you hope to find out here? Ioth asked Iskierka as he struggled to slither through the jungle around him. It was a do-able task, just not necessarily one he preferred. He did so love the sky but it just wasn't an option if Iskierka wanted her whereabouts to be kept quiet. Yes, the bluerider replied, a hint of amusement in her answer. There was a pause as the blue digested his rider's answer before snorting softly and asking, What do you hope to find out here?
With an actually audible sigh in the quiet of the jungle, Iskierka answered, "Some quiet, Ioth. I forgot how difficult it would be to get used to a full weyr again." Not used to having His being so open the blue blinked in surprise and the moment passed without further adieu. The bluepair moved on, keeping the quiet with them as much as was possible for a fully grown blue weaving in and out of trees and underbrush. They stumbled upon a clearing and, tired of stumbling about so much, Ioth elected to stay back. "I thought you liked being active, hmm?" Only so long as I can move properly, Iskierka. "Suit yourself."
It was, Iskierka reflected, quieter without the blue even though he was a restless presence in the back of her mind. She didn't dare guess one way or the other if the blue had figured that out or if he really was tired of the jungle. She'd send him back later to do as he liked. She'd long since discovered that he was at no risk of harm among the Selenites. While she didn't trust the Wasteland part of their population, she trusted in the community mind of the natives. They wouldn't allow the senseless slaughter of a dragon, not anymore. Distracted as she was by her thoughts, Iskierka didn't notice X'rx until her misstep had him aiming his weapon at her.
The action had her hands flashing to her blades, though recognition (and the lack of a genuine threat once he lowered his bow) had her pausing with her hands wrapped around the hilts. "X'rx," she commented in confirmation, hands falling away from her weapons. She rose a critical brow at his appearance though she didn't comment. Had it been someone else she probably would have. As it was, the greenrider had been through quite a lot if his state was anything to tell by and she'd feel perhaps a little guilty rubbing salt in the wounds.
The young man's comment had Iskierka smirk slightly. "So I can see. Better to know, then to be caught off guard," she said in response. She realized belatedly, as she often did those days, that she'd slipped into a teaching role again automatically. The bluerider let it slide without berating herself for it too much. Instead she added, "And what brings the little huntsman out so far? Hardly necessary considering there's plenty of wildlife even closer to the weyr."
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Oct 6, 2011 7:29:30 GMT -5
The greenrider shifted from one foot to the other, hand going back behind his neck to rub at it as he smiled a little awkwardly. "Yes, I suppose so." He wanted to argue that he couldn't possibly have known about her, but...eh. Really should be more vigilant considering he was out here on his own with all of these wild, dangerous things that had yet to develop a fear of the seemingly weak, pink-skinned two-leggeds with their pointy objects. It could have been something much more dangerous (to him) than Iskierka.
X'rx's eyes flicked toward the Weyr, which also helped conceal the flicker of irritation behind them. He wasn't all that little. Larger than Iskierka, anyway, even if you had to look really closely between the two to discover that. Just a touch taller and broader (though that had more to do with how thin she was than any real broadness on X'rx's part). He supposed, though, that compared to those men who she was used to, he was small indeed. And young. Twenty-two would still seem like a child to her.
Slinging his bow, his hands slipped into his pockets before they could get too busy picking at imaginary lint or smoothing out wrinkles that were barely there. "It's too loud there. Too many people around closer to the Weyr itself. All the dragons hunt..." He tilted his head slightly. "Maybe your reasons aren't that much different from mine." Yes, it hadn't escaped him that she was out here, too, and with plenty of wildlife closer to the Weyr as she'd said.
"Anyway, what with the baby dragons who can't hunt, there's never too much meat it seems." It was something to do other than just twiddle his thumbs between drills, bed and mealtimes. He could barely stand to be in the kitchens for more than a couple minutes at a time, so baking was out. So was the creche. Most of the time he just took his meals by himself in his own weyr. It might not be healthy, but he didn't like the reminders.
Everything about this new Weyr was a reminder that he'd left his childhood and his family buried somewhere in the rubble of the old one.
Right now he really wanted little more than to embrace the woman who had been his weyrlingmaster, just to feel someone who he knew and trusted and made him feel safe. But if his memory served she'd find that awkward. He didn't want to bother Darya...councilwoman that she was. No doubt she had no time for former students. Instead X'rx settled for fidgeting. "So, um...were you out hunting, too?"
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Ember
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Post by Ember on Oct 9, 2011 13:44:45 GMT -5
Iskierka found herself vaguely annoyed with X'rx's awkwardness. Well...no. That wasn't quite true. She was annoyed with the passage of time that had changed arguably her favourite student (not that being a 'favourite' meant much, just that he was slightly less of a burden than the others) into a fidgety, awkward person. He hadn't been like that before and she had appreciated his forwardness, if nothing else. She kept her annoyance under lock and key though. How exactly could she justify being angry at him when he hadn't done anything?
Just when had she needed a reason behind any of her actions? Time changed everyone apparently. Iskierka didn't much like to think of any changes on her part, though. X'rx provided the perfect distraction and she smiled thinly in amusement. Not only were they both out there for the same reason, but he'd recognized that fact too. "Perhaps not," she admitted, tone lacking the amusement that reflected on her face, however minutely.
She inclined her head in agreement with his next statement. "Baby dragons do so need a lot of meat. There's no lack of it now, not with so many people to help, but it's still appreciated all the same." Not that she'd know, really, considering she wasn't involved with weyrlings any longer. Hadn't been in some time. She was surprised that she missed it at all. She knew Ioth missed it too...or would have had she let him remember it at all. He was just that type of dragon and he'd liked his previous students.
At the greenrider's question, Iskierka shook her head. "Not really," she replied, "Unless you count looking for some peace and quiet 'hunting.'" The bluerider flicked her gaze into the trees around them before returning them to X'rx. "Considering I found what I was 'hunting' for, we might as well finish your hunt," she added, watching him carefully for a reaction. She did not offer her company often but if it was unwanted she would not press it.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Oct 10, 2011 11:32:43 GMT -5
His embarrassment at the woman seeing him this way was fading. Beyond the single lift of an eyebrow she hadn't reacted to it, and the familiar micro-expressions that were so easy to overlook were playing over her face as they always had. Hintings of a smile not reflected in her words. X'rx's almost-fond smile was a good deal more open and clear. "You miss it." He didn't define the 'it'. She was talking about the weyrlings like they were still hers, and he knew she'd understand what he meant.
The greenrider watched her almost curiously, as her eyes turned toward the trees above. When she spoke again, he smiled, then glanced at the arrow he still had in his fingers. "Hm. I don't know that it wasn't more of an excuse to be away from the Weyr than anything else...but you are more than welcome. I enjoy your company." The arrow returned to his quiver and he slipped his hands into his pockets, walking forward and waiting for Iskierka to pace him before speaking again.
"My mother and sisters died in the earthquake. I...don't really like it here," he commented, after a time. A belated answer to the questioning expression she'd greeted him with. "It's nice enough, I suppose. Just not home." And he didn't like how he'd come to be here, either. This new Selenitas was different and strange and eerie. "Does it ever bother you that there's stone above your head, even in the Weyrbowl? Light comes down through the tunnels but it's always gloomy, and at night it's black as pitch unless the moonlight hits just the right angle. It's depressing."
He stopped himself before he could continue pouring out a litany of complaints. That probably was not exactly what Iskierka was looking for when she said she was in search of peace and quiet. Thought it had not escaped him...that she didn't seem to think of him as an obstacle to her peace and quiet. Of course she might reconsider now. He switched topics. "Dy'shi's doing well? Doesn't seem quite so young anymore. And Erilena's joined now. To that wherhandler. The tall one whose face is half burnt? She's pregnant." Old class. Maybe Iskierka would be interested. Maybe she wouldn't want anyone to know she was interested, so he could tell her without her having to ask.
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Ember
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Post by Ember on Oct 10, 2011 12:38:33 GMT -5
Iskierka surprised herself by averting her eyes from X'rx at his comment. She scowled faintly at the ground underneath her, neither admitting nor denying what he'd said. It was one thing to know she missed it and quite another to know that someone else also knew she did. She really, really didn't like being embarrassed. Yet there she was, caught out by a kid she used to teach. If she was close enough she just might have smacked him lightly upside the head just to prove a point. Not that she'd know what point that would prove but...
She found herself snorting at both his smile and his admission. Saying she'd accompany him really couldn't make him all that happy...could it? She wasn't exactly pleasant company so she didn't really understand how he enjoyed it. She moved forward to join him anyways. She didn't consider herself good company but she knew it in others when she saw it. It kind of amused her that she probably couldn't kill X'rx without incurring some kind of emotional wound herself. That it was a morbid way of looking at relationships didn't even cross her mind.
Iskierka hadn't actually expected an answer to her silent question. She found herself pleased that the greenrider would actually share what had him looking and acting so...un-X'rx like. She couldn't honestly say she understood what he'd been through, other than the feeling of loss over Selenitas itself. She'd grown rather found of that weyr. Burimyu had beauty in some places but it was a fair bit gloomier than Selenitas had been. She shrugged slightly and said, "I've had longer to get used to it...but it is a little off-putting." She didn't know how to comfort him, though, so she awkwardly reached up and ruffled his hair roughly. Comforting was supposed to be his thing.
The bluerider's interest was, admittedly, more piqued when X'rx began to mention her old class. She chuckled quietly at the mention of Dy'shi seeming older. "What is he now? Fifteen? Sixteen? I should hope so." She made a non-commital hum about Erilena being joined and pregnant though. She'd expected a mother out of that greenrider at some point anyways. Just seemed like one of those types. With Elysia's ex...that hadn't been expected.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Oct 10, 2011 23:35:46 GMT -5
He'd definitely gotten that right. Still...he hadn't meant to embarrass her, as he clearly had. Just the fact that Iskierka was studying the ground like she couldn't meet his eyes was indication enough of that. X'rx let it go. They both knew the truth, and it always made him happy to see that there were people who meant something to Iskierka, that she'd enjoyed teaching the weyrlings enough to miss it. The greenrider didn't need verbal confirmation to validate what he already knew. Didn't need to discomfit her further.
He glanced over at Iskierka as she spoke, suppressing the small smile that came to his lips so as not to embarrass her again. She was trying to comfort him; he could tell. It was actually working, too, but that probably had more to do with the fact that it was clear she was trying rather than any special affinity for it. The hand ruffling his hair, though, caught him by surprise and he stopped dead in his tracks.
"You're me-" He'd half-reached up to salvage the mess she was making of his hair when he realized that it was already worse than a little hair ruffling could possibly make it. X'rx colored slightly and dropped his hands. "Nevermind." Then he glanced over at her hair, though, seriously contemplating returning the favor. In the end he decided against it, if only because he didn't want to annoy the bluerider enough to send her off in a huff. The company was...nice.
"Sixteen, I think," the greenrider responded easily. "And in something of a spat with one of the healers as far as I can tell. I think he may have a crush." This was punctuated with a grin. It was nice to see the friend that he thought of much as a little brother was showing some interest in people. He'd begun to wonder. It had also occurred to him that Dy'shi might actually have a small crush on him, and it was nice to see that proven wrong. He had absolutely no clue how he would go about handling that.
"They seem happy? Erilena was in a bad way after the thing with R'ven fell through. Suicidal, even. I found her jumping off cliffs one night and Feyrianth struggling to catch her near her turnday..." X'rx trailed off. He'd made bowls for her turnday, with Ximera's help. The memory unexpectedly leading him back to his sister had caught him a little flatfooted. "Anyway, she's very happy now. So that's good."
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Ember
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Post by Ember on Oct 11, 2011 23:31:41 GMT -5
Iskierka rose another critical brow when X'rx started to complain about her...well she assumed it was about her messing up his hair. Since he didn't finish she could never really be sure. Considering who he had been when she knew him and that she'd just ruffled his hair she figured it was a pretty safe guess. The bluerider caught the greenrider looking at her own hair and she couldn't honestly decide if him trying to do the same to her own hair would be annoying or amusing.
It seemed she wouldn't get to find out. Not that she minded. Hearing about her old class was more interesting anyways. Her face worked a bit as she digested X'rx's statement about Dy'shi's love life. "Crushes, huh..." She commented almost wistfully. "His first? First crushes rarely turn out well, for anyone. Most later ones don't turn out well either, really, but firsts of anything are..." Iskierka trailed off with the smallest of shrugs. "Good luck to the brat, though."
The bluerider surpressed her initial reaction to hearing Erilena had been suicidal. While she understood why some people would commit suicide, she didn't understand the greenrider's reasoning and so found it disappointing of the girl. She'd figured Erilena was a bit stronger than that. "Whatever makes others happy, then. Kind of odd seeing Elysia's ex with a former student though," Iskierka admitted. Of course, Elysia had the wherhandler's father so she probably didn't care much.
Iskierka hadn't missed X'rx's hitch in his storytelling and she glanced at him as they walked. What exactly did she have to offer the greenrider in return? Iskierka didn't much like feeling like she owed people even if she really didn't. Oh, right. "Darya, as you know, was made councilwoman. About the time we...well, shortly after we lost Meira," she said, deliberately avoiding any mention of how the goldrider had died. There were plenty of rumours about it going around without saying the even more horrifying truth. "I get the feeling she doesn't really have much free time."
She realized she didn't have much else to offer the greenrider. If any of his friends had been at Burimyu when it was called Burimyu she didn't know of anyone other than Darya. She liked her students but she'd never been quite that invested in them to find out who their network consisted of.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Oct 12, 2011 8:31:00 GMT -5
"I think so?" Dy'shi really was one of those quiet boys who wasn't likely to tell anyone about his crushes, even if that person happened to be X'rx and a close friend. Not that the greenrider blamed him at all. He cocked his head slightly to one side as Iskierka went on, then tried to think back to his first crush. It took him a moment to realize that he'd never really had one. The man had childhood friends that he'd started messing around with at the normal age, and it hadn't changed their friendship afterwards. Hm. Did that make him odd?
The thought was followed by a pulse of amusement from Eveyth. Of course he was odd. Though she preferred the term 'unique' for Hers. Normal was so boring. He wrinkled his nose at the mental presence. Well, fine then. "I don't think he'll need luck. He's sweet and cute and if that healer kid can't figure that out..." X'rx shrugged a shoulder. (Granted, he was a bit overprotective of Dy'shi. It wasn't likely to get any better, either, now that his attention wasn't split by his true younger siblings.)
Now that was something he hadn't known. Possibly because he hadn't really kept up with the wherhandler gossip until Ximera Impressed Ximesk, and because Elysia wasn't really his generation or a true Selenitan. He knew who she was, of course. He thought. "You mean he used to go with the woman who carries that whip everywhere?" A pause. "Isn't she nearly thirty or something?" Not that he really had room to talk. X'rx wasn't with anybody, though, he just appreciated older women. Appreciated them a lot. It was a little different to be like weyrmates or whatever with one, and Dmitri was younger than him he was pretty sure. Maybe even still a teenager now, so he must have been really young when he and Elysia were dating. Interesting...
His cheeks colored slightly when she started talking about Darya. Rumors must have gotten 'round, he couldn't help but think, if she was mentioning the other bluerider to X'rx. Of course it occurred to him that she was only mentioning Darya because she had been their weyrlingmaster at one point, too, but then, why not Sel'n. Twisting his fingers through his hair absently, combing out the snarls, he focused his eyes ahead.
"Well...I figured she'd be busy and all," he stated in his quiet way. There was a touch of sadness behind the words that hinted at the greenrider's loneliness. "Did you know anything about Cr'oph? I thought for sure I'd see him around..." He'd saved the man's life when they were both candidates.
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Ember
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Post by Ember on Oct 12, 2011 18:58:09 GMT -5
The corner of Iski's lip lifted up in a half smile at the obvious protectiveness X'rx felt of Dy'shi. She'd noticed the two's closeness throughout their weyrlinghood under her and subconsciously thought them brothers. They didn't look like each other, of course, but the relationship between them mirrored that familial bond. "And this 'healer kid?'" She probed for information. The greenrider hadn't yet identified the other party. Not that she was even likely to know him considering they had to be from old Selenitas.
X'rx's description of Elysia actually had the bluerider let out a dry bark of laughter that was very quickly stifled. "She'd likely be pleased if she was remembered for her whip," she said, dry amusement present in her tone. She shook her head slightly before answering his second question. "Yes, she's in her thirties. Not that she's probably pleased about that. Oddly enough she's stuck herself to the wherhandler's father now." She almost felt sorry for S'rei. Couldn't be easy being in a comitted relationship with Elysia.
Iskierka hummed quietly as her suspicion was confirmed by X'rx's reaction to her mentioning Darya. There had been rumours, of course. What weyr didn't have rumours about everything? She hadn't thought they were true, though. Or true-ish. The bluerider, hearing his words, offered, "Everyone has to eat. I'm sure an old weyrlingmaster wouldn't mind sharing a meal with a former student." There was a certain ring of truth to that statement, considering their situation was much the same.
"Cr'oph?" She'd almost forgotten the bronzerider had been in that class. Largely because he'd been under another's tutelage towards the end of that class' weyrlinghood. That and they'd been 'equals' in exilation for a while. "Got himself a steady girl, actually. Jazheera, I think her name was. We'll see how long that lasts now that there are more girls for him to pick from though." She made it quite clear that she didn't think the bronzerider was capable of staying with someone for so long unless there were special circumstances.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Oct 13, 2011 17:45:58 GMT -5
"Kyr'n I think? He's a new greenweyrling, a healer. I'm not sure of the rank. Dy'shi just describes him as very irritating. If he'd said it just once or twice, that would be one thing, but this irritating Kyr'n keeps coming up," X'rx concluded with an amused smile. "Nothing may come of it. Certainly nothing right now. It's nice to see him interested in someone, though." Dy'shi was growing up. The greenrider was strangely proud of that fact, just as he was strangely proud of how well the bluerider was doing. That was his little buddy, after all. The younger rider blinked in surprise at Iskierka. She was with the wherhandler's father? Wasn't she with...S'rei? "That has to be amazingly awkward." Thinking about it now, though, they really did have some genetic resemblance. Height. Eye color. Some of the facial structure. Hm. "From the son to the father." Clearly he didn't mean that as a question or a comment to be responded to. It was more of a musing statement. X'rx didn't know Elysia, but he knew that Iskierka did. A steady girl? Cr'oph? X'rx's expression reflected Iskierka's tone quite well at that news. Jazheera, Jazheera...If she was that small girl who had Impressed a blue and left Selenitas while she was still a weyrling, she was rather attractive. Small, of course. But small for X'rx could be a good thing, considering he wasn't very big himself. Not that he had any intention of cutting in on Cr'oph's...fun? Right now he wasn't much interested in that sort of thing, anyway. His furs had been empty since coming to this 'new' Selenitas. That didn't really explain why he had yet to see Cr'oph around but...oh well. The bronzerider wouldn't be the first friend lost.
Anyway, he was rather more interested in what the woman had said before mentioning Cr'oph and this Jazheera. Even in a rather depressed mood, X'rx really couldn't help the casual flirting. It was part of his nature. (It also helped that he did like Iskierka a good deal. And most people he liked on a personal level he wouldn't mind mingling with on a physical one. X'rx was very free in his relationships like that.) "Is that your way of asking me out to dinner?" he responded, only half-teasing. His second comment was completely serious. "Because I wouldn't decline."
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Ember
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Post by Ember on Oct 14, 2011 19:22:13 GMT -5
Kyr'n...yup, she didn't know the name. Just as she'd suspected. Greenweyrling, though? Heh. No helping hand from the dragons, then. Well, most of the time that referred to physical relationships only anyways. She figured the bluerider deserved a bit more than that. "Not much he can do now that Kyr'n or whatever has a baby dragon. Well, other than work at the other aspect of relationships." The bluerider shrugged, clearly done with that topic. All caught up, in her opinion.
"I'm not sure Elysia cares about the father-son thing," Iskierka commented. She wouldn't want to bet one way or the other what S'rei thought about it. Elysia she knew. S'rei not so much. Maybe she should fix that if she considered Elysia anything like a friend but...but she still just didn't care to get to know the man in a friendly way. Respecting him from afar (especially since he was on the Council) worked well enough for her.
X'rx's expression when he digested her news regarding the bronzerider was met with a small laugh. "So I'm not the only one who thinks it strange." She was prodding him, but only a little bit. "He might want to be careful, though. Jazheera is M'ta's little sister. I don't think he'd take too well to his precious sister getting hurt." Between Cr'oph and M'ta...well, she was willing to bet that M'ta would hand Cr'oph's ass to him on a silver platter. Ex-Legatus and all.
Iskierka's eyes widened and nearly froze on spot when X'rx rather interestingly misinterpreted her words. She considered his words for probably a bit too long before finally responding, "Well, I was referring to Darya, but..." Iskierka trailed off, not really comitting one way or another. She couldn't come up with any concrete reasons not to have dinner with him. Not really.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Oct 15, 2011 21:03:58 GMT -5
Yes, well...X'rx didn't know how much Dy'shi wanted to work on a relationship with Kyr'n, but either way they had a long way to go before it could be called a relationship. That much at least the greenrider was certain of. At any rate, that was about all he knew on that anyway, and it wasn't likely to produce much more of an interesting conversation than it already had, so he let the matter drop.
He also didn't comment on how much Elysia did or didn't care about the father-son relationship between her current lover and her ex. It kind of went without saying, didn't it? Even if it had bothered her, it clearly didn't enough to prevent her from being with the father in the first place, no? Jazheera's relationship to Cr'oph and the revelation that her brother was the weyrlingmaster was of more interest to X'rx. Yay, gossip. "Yeeeaaahh, the knife guy." The greenrider winced sympathetically. "I heard he's a bit...unstable sometimes, too. Definitely wouldn't want to be caught fooling around with his sister." His eyes flicked toward her, clearly inviting more details, but he didn't ask for them directly.
Had he shocked her? X'rx kept the mild dismay from his expression. In fact, he didn't even look at her directly, waiting for her to recover out of the corner of his eye. It had been mostly teasing. (He'd known she was talking about Darya, of course, and part of his response was simply a knee-jerk reaction. He was something of a flirt. The other part, though, was he liked her more than well enough to spend time with her like that. So it was true enough, too.)
But. X'rx smiled softly at her, genuine relief behind the expression. But could be a very good word in certain contexts. "But you wouldn't mind," he finished for her cheerfully. Continue as you started. Best rule of thumb he could think of for awkward conversations. "Excellent. I might even cook a little." For the first time since he'd come to new Selenitas, in fact. Maybe. The kitchens still made him rather...sad.
Then, because he wasn't sure that she'd want to keep on that topic if it made her as uncomfortable as it seemed to, X'rx switched topics again. "So...you all still train with E'rro, at least until the new wings get posted? What sort of things do the legendary Legatus riders do? I've heard all kinds of rumors...some of which don't sound at all credible."
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Ember
Administrator
T'san Iskierka Dy'shi Jazheera Ae'on Nephele Qaena K'dem Eikane
FLAME GURU OF THE UNDERWORLD
Posts: 1,832
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Post by Ember on Oct 23, 2011 13:57:27 GMT -5
Iskierka was oh so amused by X'rx's opinions of Legatus people. They did seem like a bit of a crazy bunch sometimes, didn't they? Unstable, though? "Maybe a bit. I've never bothered to ask why, though. He's a good fighter and that was all that really mattered," she said, shrugging lightly. "Do you think all of Ka'rys' little special wing crazy?" It was actually an entirely neutral question, born out of sheer curiosity.
The bluerider didn't comment on X'rx finishing her sentence for her. Wasn't her that said it so she was good to go. The corner of her mouth turned up slightly at the idea of X'rx cooking for her. She couldn't resist saying something about that. "Should I be worried for my health?" She knew well enough that the greenrider could cook though. She'd heard that more through the grape vine than seen it herself but gossip in the weyr tended to be fairly accurate.
She nodded in response to the next question. "Yes, Legatus still trains together." They had actually made up the core of the fighting forces before the weyrs had merged once again. "For the most part we don't do anything all that unusual. Mostly just advanced maneouvers. We have learned a few kind of more odd things, though. We're all pretty resistant to common poisons. And we can get out of some of the most tricky knots."
Most of the odd things had been learned when Ka'rys had still been alive. "Probably our most important thing was learning to between mid-combat." That she was even revealing Legatus secrets at all meant she trusted X'rx. Despite that, though, she would never teach it to him. "What kind of rumours have there been about Legatus?" Of that she was almost unbearably curious.
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Requiem
Weyrleader S'rei WM M?ta Rider A'nd Harper/Handler Dmitri Weyrbrat Miguel
Posts: 2,861
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Post by Requiem on Oct 25, 2011 1:30:20 GMT -5
"All of you?" X'rx paused, clearly having to think on that one a bit. He hadn't really had much contact with most of them, come to think of it. "No, not really. I know E'rro doesn't like to be touched. Like, neurotic level doesn't like to be touched. And Elysia can't have all her marbles, even if a woman with a whip is totally hot. Ka'rys was supposed to be terribly paranoid... But I haven't really met any of them. M'ta has a reputation, though, for being...volatile? Dangerous because he's unpredictable, not just good with a blade. And...there were some whispers about him and Z'ves, you know. I don't think anyone willingly spending time with Z'ves could be considered sane." Not that Iskierka knew who that was. Or...maybe she did. They were both from Benden, weren't they?
Well, she'd asked for his opinion. Not his fault if it was all based on speculation and rumors.
"So Ka'rys really did poison all of you?" X'rx's eyes had widened a touch as they focused on the bluerider. That sounded absolutely crazy. Why would anyone want to willingly poison themselves? Even if it made them resistant to it down the road? "What, did he expect assassins to try to kill his entire wing? He really was paranoid." Suddenly some of the other things he'd heard didn't sound quite so farfetched after all.
"Oh, all kinds of rumors. If you believed all of them, all the Legatus members are gods who can walk on water, catch arrows midair and walk through fire unscathed. They're escape artists and able to move without being noticed and strike without being seen." He laughed outright at the description. "I've thought once or twice that maybe Ka'rys was spreading these rumors just to scare any potential spies." He wrinkled his nose at the thought.
Though he hadn't really been in the mood for his usual flirtations and midnight excursions, the truth was he would have very much welcomed Darya's company however she chose to give it to him. And he would welcome Iskierka's just as much. Darya was much safer, though, because he already knew that she enjoyed spending time with him and saw him like that. Expressing the fact that he found this second of his former weyrlingmasters equally attractive may not be received so well; not every weyrlingmaster would take up with a former weyrling, after all. And he didn't want to drive her off. He was enjoying her presence too much.
Dinner. They'd just...go from there. "Come by tonight? I'll have something semi-edible cooked, at least," he added with a grin. Testing. So far she'd been half-teasing him the whole time. Now she'd have to commit, and he'd know for sure if there was the remotest chance that this could lead somewhere.
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