love isn't what you think [open/Kyr's flight]

[Ruby]

Mine...

Futh's quiet, unobtrusive question was totally ignored by his rider, who broke into a fit of laughter at something the girl across the table had to say. He and Cr'oph had gathered up a couple of pretty assorted gather goers, and they were all sharing drinks and dinner near the food stalls. His brother was off somewhere - getting another bottle of wine, most likely, they'd already gone through two between the group of five or so - but that didn't stop M'kai from serving himself another rib before leaning across to feed a forkful of meat to one of the girls.

Mine...

Futh was more insistent this time, but M'kai ignored him again. Glasses needed to be filled, food served, dessert located. Kami, perched next to him on the bench, was snuck a small piece of cheese, something she'd discovered at the Gather. It would never replace her normal diet of Pern's baser creatures, but as a treat she enjoyed it. Mine! Futh said again, forcibly taking his rider's attention this time. Annoyed, M'kai excused himself, letting his expression go blank as he conferred with his dragon. What?

It is Kyrahth. She's not where she was, and she was so shiny... May I go find her?

That question would have struck M'kai as odd any other time; his dragon didn't need permission to go anywhere, and the note of anxiousness in his tone would have gotten the attention of any rider paying more that passing attention to their mindmate. The Bluerider, however, was supremely distracted, not to mention that he'd had just enough wine to fuzz everything slightly, making lights brighter and girls just that much prettier. Not drunk, no, but not exactly sober, either. So instead of asking why, or being at all suspicious, he said, Do whatever you want, Fuffle, just let me alone for the night, ok? I can't interrupt myself every ten seconds to talk to you.

That was all the dragon needed. He took to the air in a lumbering hop - getting off the ground had never been easy for the hefty blue - but as soon as he was there, he found a thermal and took it up, searching for the glow he knew he'd be able to find. Low sweeps over the trees proved fruitless, but - ah. Just when Futh thought he might be mistaken, there she was, exploding from the trees into the sunset. He knew he'd find her. Crooning as he had the first time he chased her, Futh kept it simple, arrowing in her direction. Fancy things could come once he got close enough.

M'kai, sipping his wine, didn't even notice. Lust? Wine. Obviously.

((M'kai'll be here, feel free to torment him))

[dragon]

It had been tentative. But they'd made it. Orena was still not real confident when it came to flying on her own dragon yet. Of course Riavorth didn't do much to help instill any confidence in her flying ability with her random and sudden drops in altitude. Her white knuckled grip never loosened even once on Riavorth's neckridge for the whole ride to the Gather at Hyphen. If she hadn't really really really wanted to go to the shindig, she probably wouldn't have. Simply cause of the trip required to get there.

"We really need to work on your stability, Ria." Orena gulped, as the green started backwinging for a landing. But hey ... at least they were flying! Sort ... of ... They crashed more than landed, but Riavorth recovered herself well enough.

We're down. I'm going to find someplace to curl up, come find me when you need me. Riavorth remarked, only waiting long enough for Orena to get off before she toddled off to a nearby tree to curl around the base of.

Orena straightened, and tried to dust the wrinkles out of her dress. Dresses and flying ... did not mix well, she'd found. The hard way, of course. But she couldn't attend a gather in stuffy old flight leathers! Traipsing away into the milling crowd that swelled the Hold for all the festivities, she was quite happy to spend hours on end browsing the stalls of goodies and on occasion buying a pasty or sausage to munch on as she went. Marks were really hard to come by for her still, so she didn't do much in the way of spending. Clothes she had more than plenty of; she had all of hers and all of Isori's. The thought of her twin twisted her gut in a pang of sorrow for a moment before the Gather distracted her again. Thankfully. Another candlemark was spent twirling around in the dance square, dancing with anyone who'd give her the moment to dance with. Finally getting just a little wore out around the edges from all the excitement and deciding it was time for a drink, she headed over toward the tables where a whole lot of people working on consuming a whole lot of drink with their dinners. She spent what it took for her to get a helping of wine herself, and took a moment to stare off at the sunset that was flaring on the horizon. It would be dark soon, the nearby trees appearing to be on fire for the orange light of it.

Lovely, just lovely! And the fun was only just beginning. Gathers always got more fun after the sun went down, and Orena was looking forward to that. Sipping her wine, Orena licked it off her lip and glanced around to see what else she could get into. She surely wasn't ready to go home. Not until morning, at the earliest! Riding Riavorth was harrowing enough in the daytime.

A glance over the people seated at the tables, and her gaze was snatched back again in disbelief. Was that ... ? No way! That ...! M'kai? Here? Her original Weyrlingmaster? What was he doing here?! She was glad to see he was okay ... she had to blink and look again to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Just where had he been hiding? If he was here ... who else was?!

[Ruby]

Well, she was pretty, M'kai thought, unselfconsciously eying the young woman across the way. And she looked quite familiar - oh, Isori, of course! What an idiot he was. Her hair was down tonight, rather than in her typical bun or braid, but M'kai just thought it made her that much prettier. She'd spotted him too, clearly, although at any other time M'kai might have noticed that she didn't quite act like Isori. She seemed interested but not excited, perhaps a little wary... but his buzzed, flight-twisted mind didn't register a single one of those cues. Didn't spot the Greenweyrling's knot, either, although to be fair he certainly wasn't wearing his own. Maybe she didn't have one on.

Removing the hood that didn't really do much to cover his trademark red hair anyway, M'kai made his excuses to the girls at his table, scooping up his glass as he strolled across the gather square, eyes only for Isori. Made bold by wine and the flight he was still not 100% aware was happening on the other half of his mind, he didn't bother with traditional greetings. Instead, he slid an arm around her waist, using his height to bend her backwards slightly before planting a kiss directly on her lips. Regardless of any struggle, he held the position for a moment before releasing the undoubtedly surprised Greenweyrling.

Stepping back, he took a sip of wine, looking over her for a second before he said, "You know, I've wanted to do that forever. I'll probably get fired for it, but all of a sudden I don't care." That, of course, was cue for him to wave off a suddenly agitated Kami and step in again, leaning down to whisper, "Let's find somewhere a little quieter, just you and me." Cr'oph wouldn't mind - actually, M'kai might need to blame this on his brother, if anyone had seen him. Propositioning your students wasn't a particularly good way to keep your job.

[dragon]

That was definitely M'kai. She wasn't seeing things. What was he doing here? He'd vanished back when ... oh, what was he doing? Orena watched with some interest as he got up and made his way toward her. M'kai was coming in her direction? She glanced around her to see if there was someone beyond her that he might be going to see instead, turning back around to find him right on top of her. In more ways than one. She was more than a little surprised at his introduction.

M'kai had never paid any kind of special attention to her before, when he'd been at the Weyr. So why was he nowwww.... ohhhhhh. Orena was pretty good at going with the flow of things, especially when it came to men ... and certainly with men she had found attractive. She rested on his arm willingly enough and returned the impromptu kiss, hooking one of her own arms around him just for security sake. That and because that was just the right thing to do in a situation like that.

She giggled a bit, and couldn't help but think. Her naughty naughty sister. The only reason he could possibly be acting this familiar with her was because he was mistaking her for Isori. Which did make her happy to know that Isori was alive somewhere ... and doing well. Hitting on M'kai no less! "Oh, have you now?" Orena asked, chuckling again. Fired? From what? Last she'd heard, anyone who had fled Selenitas was a fugitive now. How could he possibly have a job? Or was he actually knowing her as Orena and referring to his weyrlingmaster job? Now this was really confusing. Either way, she was liking it. She had been the one, after all, to mention to Isori just how hot M'kai was.

His invitation was really really tempting ... but she didn't want to answer that without knowing full well and good who it was he thought she was. Either way it didn't really matter. She'd probably do it anyway. But it was still a curiosity. It was still a difficult thing to figure out without busting the whole bubble of actual identity. "You're drunk." She giggled, reaching over to take his wine from him and sniff it. She contemplated tasting it just to see what he'd do. Instead she just threatened to, a grin plastered to her face.

That ... was a strange looking bird. Orena watched it for a moment before returning her gaze to M'kai and grinning at him again as he leaned in. "Where do you have in mind?" she asked, reaching up to fiddle with the collar of his shirt. 'Someplace quieter' rather ruled out the whole Hold, at the moment. Given that the place was busting at the seams with a gather that had drawn people from all over. A bit farther than realized, given that at least one of the exiles was present. There were probably others about, too.

[Ruby]

Didn't quite talk like Isori, either. M'kai briefly entertained the idea that this was her sister (twin? they had to be) but since she didn't seem to be protesting much (at all), M'kai decided to work with the assumption that it didn't matter. If it was Isori, all the better; if it was Orena instead, well, again it wasn't like she was beating him off with a stick. It really, really didn't matter to M'kai either way, as long as she was willing to indulge him for the moment.

And, as it seemed, she was. "I have," he confirmed, willing to say just about anything to keep her happy. He punctuated his sentence with another attempt at a kiss, only to be denied by her sudden, irrational interest in his cup. Distracted by... well, her, he surrendered the wine, frowning a little. "Only a little. Certainly not enough to impair my judgment, if that's what you're implying," he sniffed. Clearly he'd entered the level of drunk where he thought he was a) not drunk and b) awesome at everything. The obnoxious part was he probably would win any of the available games of skill at the moment - at least until he had another cup of wine or two.

But she'd giggled, and threatened a drink of her own, so he waved her on, cracking a smile. Sure, she could have it if she wanted. If she was Isori, he was her Candidatemaster and could choose to bend the rules for a Gather, and if she was Orena her green was plenty old enough. Near old enough to Rise, if he wasn't mistaken. Kami, annoyed and worried, perched on a tall lamp nearby. M'kai ignored her, plucking the near-empty cup of wine from Orena/Isori's hand (whether she'd had a chance to drink or not) and depositing it on a nearby table. "We'll find something," he said, the increasing pace of the flight lending urgency to his tone.

Flight. Shards. M'kai had already slid an arm down around her hips, turning her towards the shadowy recesses of the Gather when he suddenly caught a surge of terror and resolve from Futh. That knocked him out of his own head and in to Futh's for a moment, long enough for him to figure out exactly what had sent him across the Gather and into the arms of a Green, but it was far too late for him do to anything about it. He came back to his own body to find his feet already moving, arm locked to the girl's side, aware now in the flight-lucid way of dragons that this was Riavorth, which of course meant Orena, not Isori. Then again, humans' silly ideas of what was and wasn't appropriate had never made much of a difference to Futh, especially in flight. Greens were Greens, and if he couldn't have one, His might as well.

Struck with a sudden need to protect Orena (as well as other things, but that could come later), M'kai hurried the girl across the square and between two food stalls, into the shadowy labyrinth of carts and supplies and crates the stallkeepers needed to conduct their businesses. The whole time, he was trying to figure out a way to explain what was going on, but his mouth didn't seem to want to form words that weren't sappy blather. Instead, he finally released Orena, casting about for somewhere acceptably private and not full of sharp edges. A nearby wagon looked good enough. He finally managed to get out two words that weren't useless - "Futh- Flight!" - before mashing his mouth against hers again, pushing her back so he could trap her against the wagon's side.

[dragon]

Well! He didn't care if she drank his wine, then? Orena grinned, and moved to do just that instead of only threatening to. Except she never managed to do anything except get a drop of it splashed on her nose as he suddenly took it from her again. Meanie! She pouted at him as he deposited it on a nearby table. "What, you're allowed to be drunk, but not me?" she pulled off an almost genuine whine, though she was still quite amused. Silly M'kai. So indecisive!

Well ... maybe not so indecisive. He sure was decisive about other things, no joke! Orena grinned and leaned on him just a little as he guided her away from the crowds, slipping her own arm around his back. Was she feeling guilty at stealing what was probably supposed to be her sister's first fling with someone? Nope. Not a bit. Giggling just a little bit, she happily helped him navigate his way into what was apparently his definition of someplace quieter. Quieter until one of the stall operators found them, at least. Or ... quieter until they got there, anyway. Either way, it didn't matter to her. She might well have had him on a table had he wanted.

She didn't stray but a step when he finally let go of her, watching him cast about as if he'd lost something. Surely he wasn't getting cold feet now? Orena reached over to his arm, only to get surprised by his sudden statement. Futh - flight? That was a decidedly odd thing to say. Orena didn't give it much thought though, otherwise occupied by a whole new kiss, this one far more needy than the last. She returned it in full, excitement racing through her veins. A grunt escaped her when she encountered the wagon behind her so roughly. But no complaint was issued. Orena arched her back, leaning her shoulders on the wood of the wagon as she pressed herself into M'kai, fingers tugging at his shirt in an effort to get it off of him. There really was no telling if he was going to try this with all the clothes on, but she rather preferred them to not be on. Clothes; such bothersome things!

It really was a shame the sun had set and it was getting darker, almost too dark to see. She really would have liked to be able to see him for this, even if she didn't have to. Counting on the wagon's solidity and stability to support her, she put less attention to holding her own self up and more toward encouraging M'kai. For if he really did have a thing for Isori ... this might well be her only chance with him. At the moment she really didn't care how upset he would be when he found out she wasn't Isori ... or how upset Isori was going to be when she found out she'd been usurped. Right now it was all M'kai and that was all that mattered, as she shifted her weight to one foot. Toeing her shoe off with that foot, she then proceeded to run her leg up his, all while keeping him completely occupied with more than a few kisses.

[Ruby]

M'kai would not have been surprised if he were slapped, or kicked between the legs, or at least shoved off. What little was left of his sane self was appalled (but not displeased) by his behavior. But Orena had allowed him his uncouth advances, even encouraged him with a smile and a laugh. In fact, she hadn't so much as struggled when he abruptly kidnapped her, and that was all the encouragement M'kai needed. Futh had lost the flight, or was losing, or maybe was about to lose, but it looked like the Rider was about to succeed where the Dragon had failed.

He surrendered his shirt quickly, shrugging out of it and tossing it aside with Orena's help. It was a piece of luck that her bodice came undone quickly - M'kai wasn't exactly in the mood to fiddle with tiny clasps and laces, but he was in the mood to do a little dress-ripping. Luckily, nothing was too damaged. As he bared each shoulder, he leaned in to kiss it, pushing her dress further open and leaving a trail of hurried, hungry kisses along her neckline.

And then, all of a sudden, it wasn't enough. It was the foot on his leg, of all things, that made it truly unbearable. Leaning down, he lifted her arms so they encircled his neck, sliding his own hands under her so he could lift her up. It would be easiest if she wrapped her legs around his waist, but he was so focused on where he was taking her that he didn't notice whether she had or not. They weren't going far, anyway; just to the back of the wagon. The hatch at the back was already open, so it was easy enough to lift her in and swing up after her.

The Bluerider lost no time pinning her to the loose straw, fumbling with his belt while he occupied his mouth with hers. The flight was over, now; Futh had well and truly lost. M'kai couldn't wait much longer.

((Fade?))