Stretch our Legs [Isori]

[dragon]

Isori jumped visibly when M'kai suddenly shouted. It took her a moment to realize he was yelling at his dragon. Why in Faranth's name was he yelling at his dragon? Daring to breathe again, she sidled sideways to see past M'kai's shoulders at what was going on. "I take it that's a good thing." It wasn't a question, but it could have been. Her eyes did grow slightly at the sight of the burly creature fighting for its life on the slope of the river, though.

"It's beautiful." She breathed, more to herself than anything else. Of course, for the moment ignoring the fact that it was quickly working on strangling itself to death. "Um ... me?" Isori asked, blinking once at his question. "I ... not really? I've ridden some, sure. But ... well ... no, not really." She admitted. "But I do know that when anything gets strangled like that, it'll eventually get tired and calm down. Or ... yeah. Something like that? Then we can cut it loose maybe?" she suggested.

At the retreating of the dragon, the runner did stop thrashing quite so much, but it didn't stop hauling on the vine either. Each breath rasped in a low rumbling gasp through the constricted airway, and soon it was liable to start losing some of its spunk and energy. There was only one problem with that; once it went down, even more pressure would be applied to his throat from the vine hanging from above, cutting off the last of his wind entirely. Standing there half in the river, the stallion's flanks quivered continually, taut and ready to start bucking and thrashing again if Futh drew near again before he ran out of air entirely.

[Ruby]

M'kai let out a lungful of air, smiling again. "A very good thing. I thought it might be someone from Selenitas - a Wastelander at the worst - but it looks like it's just a Runner," he explained. "Futh's scaring it, I think. I asked him to back off..." But it didn't seem to be helping, and this was one part of the day M'kai wasn't sure he could save. He was sure he smelled of dragon, more than Isori did anyway, and the Runner did not seem happy about having a dragon around. Didn't want the thing to snap it's neck, it really was a beautiful creature.

"Well, if you've ridden at all, you've ridden more than me," M'kai admitted, still eying the beast skeptically. "Not much use for Runners at - erm, where I come from, except for traders." Yeah, admitting that he was from Benden probably wasn't the best idea right now. Regardless, he and Cr'oph had considered purchasing Runners when they left Blossom, but couldn't afford to waste the Marks at the time. And... that was about all the experience he had with the animals. "That one's... kind of big, isn't it?" he asked, conveniently forgetting the dragon attached to his mind. Sure, Futh dwarfed the creature, but... well, M'kai always knew what Futh was going to do. He was intelligent.

As the runner began to tire himself, M'kai unsheathed his belt knife, flipping it so he could hand it hilt-first to Isori. "Looks like you had the right of it, he doesn't look like he'll last on his feet much longer. Think you can cut him down? I'd try, but I'm sure I reek of dragon, and the runner won't appreciate that much, I'm sure. He looks like a healthy creature, I'd hate to see him go just cause Futh spooked him into a vine," M'kai said, glancing through the trees in Futh's direction. He couldn't see the blue, but of course he knew where he was. Stay where you are, Fuffle. Maybe it'll forget you're back there?

[dragon]

A rider from Selenitas ... a Wastelander ... Isori's skin went cold and her hair stood on end with just the thought. Only then did she quite fully grasp why it was dangerous to wander so far from their new home. It wasn't so much the wildlife, but increasing their chances of getting found. Why hadn't that occurred to her sooner? Or, maybe it had. She just hadn't fully realized it. Now, there was no fog in her notion.

He'd never ridden a runner? Isori glanced at him. The poor man! She couldn't imagine launching straight into riding a dragon without having ever ridden anything else. It must have been terrifying. She didn't miss his hesitation and break in his speech, though, and stored that broken tidbit away for later perusal. She'd figure out where he was from eventually, not that it really mattered to her. More of a curiosity point than anything else. Moreso in that he was reluctant to state it. Why be ashamed of one's home? Unless that home was Wasteland, but she would wager a polished mark he wasn't from there! "Yeah ... he's big. He's a stallion, he's going to be big. Not only does he have to fight off predators and other stallions to be successful, he also has to keep a tight rein on any band of mares he might get lucky enough to win." Isori mentioned off hand. She was no expert in runners, but she knew the basics. The basics that came with growing up in a Hold.

She blinked in shock when he handed her his knife, and merely looked up at him as she dumbly accepted it in mere reaction to being handed something. Wait... he wanted her to go cut it loose? Her mouth started to form a protest at the absurdity of the idea, but then she heard his reasoning. Yeah ... he probably had a point with that. Though, she'd just had said dragon's head in her lap. She couldn't possibly smell much better.

But ... there were ways around that.

"I'll ... I'll try. Don't let him trample me, okay?" Isori asked, as she turned and headed toward the river she was going to have to cross first. Though what M'kai could possibly do to stop such an event was anyone's guess. She didn't really expect him to do anything, but it had sounded good to say. When she reached the edge of the river, she paused long enough to strip out of her dress. Dropping it on the ground far enough from the water to keep it dry, she stepped into the river and proceeded to swim across. Between leaving the garment behind and the swim, she hoped to shed as much dragon-scent as she could. Wading out on the other side, she didn't bother to try and exit the river clean. The mud that clung to her ankles would only help to alter her scent, after all. Slowly she edged through the brush that lined the river, wishing she had her dress now. Those branches were more than a little scratchy!! Slowly, slowly she eased forward. Everytime the runner twitched or thrashed, she stopped, waiting for it to calm down again. When it was still she would ease forward again, never making eye contact. Instead she watched everything around the animal, using her peripherals to keep tabs on the animal itself.

Slowly and carefully, she reached out for the vine that dangled from the beast's neck, the solid bottom half. If she could slide the knife under the vine around its neck and give a solid yank, she was pretty sure she could cut through it ... but the trick would be in getting that close, and getting the knife in there without cutting the runner itself. So ... not a good idea. Slowly and carefully she leaned forward, fingers stretched out for that dangling vine. The whole time the strangled gasping of the runner sawed forth, the whites of his eyes showing prominently. Thankfully most of the fight was strangled out of him and he just stood there, legs braced like treetrunks in the mud, haunches all gnarled up in tight bunches of burly muscle, hauling on that vine with all his strength.

Working her fingers tentatively and not daring to breathe, Isori managed to get a hold of the dangling end of the vine. Wrapping her hands around it, she allowed it to slide back out of her grasp some as she eased back way from the animal. Glancing around, she looked for a place to secure it. It wasn't a very good rope, but it was the best she had. And if she could secure that loose end, the chances of the stallion trampling her into oblivion would go way down.

She almost jumped when the runner suddenly collapsed to his knees, harsh breath runking from his body. Soon, he would be unconscious, she could tell. Hurrying as fast as she dared to move, she slid over to a sturdy looking bush, and tied the best knot she could with the stump end of the vine. It wasn't much of a knot, since the thing didn't want to bend even a little. But it was the best she could do. Sliding one hand back up the vine and to the stallion's head, she slowly eased her hand across his face and up the twisted portion of vine that went over his head. It was thick ... very thick.

"Hold still, I'll get you down." She whispered soothingly, daring to step closer and tentatively reach over the animal's head. Would he understand she was only trying to help? Or would he murder her just as soon as he was free? Her heart hammered in her chest like it was going to punch a hole out of the front. But she did her best to keep her breathing steady and her hand steadier still.

Hoping that M'kai kept his blade sharp, she started to saw it across the vine over head. Working quickly, she knew that if she didn't, the poor thing was going to go down anyway. All she had to do was get one cut, she was sure. It could be untwisted and he would be free.

Or so she assumed. The first one finally snapped. But it wouldn't untwist. The runner had done too good a job twining the thing, and it had been hard to bend to begin with. She tugged and pulled on it, but couldn't get it undone. Isori dared not struggle with it too much; it might startle the beast into a new bout of bucking and flailing. She well knew she was within striking and killing range of those powerful front legs. Even if he was currently on his knees. It wouldn't take but a moment and a flash for him to be up and moving. If he had the air for it.

Gritting her teeth, she started sawing on the other side. "Please don't kill me. Please don't kill me."

[Ruby]

"Sounds like you know about double what I do," M'kai said, trying not to make a face. Runners had never attracted him like dragons had, but then again dragons had always been his life. Without thinking, he sent a pulse of love in Futh's direction - it had taken so long for Futh to find him, but thank Faranth he had. That didn't matter now, though, Isori facing off against a beast easily three times her weight did. M'kai wanted to say I'll try, because that was more accurate, but he was a man, and men didn't try. "I'll make sure you're not hurt," he assured her, smiling. "Good thing I brought you, I'd probably just have had to watch him strangle himself to death."

After that, M'kai just had to focus on not staring. His brain seemed to stop, and he actually gaped - she'd just taken off her dress, just like that, like it was nothing. Was it his lucky day or what? Once she gained the opposite bank, though, he snapped out of it (somewhat) and strode over to her dress, snatching it up off the ground and shrugging out of his jacket and shirt. He stood poised at the edge of the water, ready to drop everything and swim across if she needed him, but if she didn't he'd have his shirt for a towel, then clean, dry clothes for her to put back on. Not that he wanted her too, really, but of course he couldn't tell her that.

Watching Isori working with the runner was... entrancing. And not only because she was wearing nothing but her underclothes. Sure, he and Futh could work together that well, that smoothly - but they could talk to each other with their minds, sharing feelings, thoughts, and ideas with each other as they went along. The runner was just a dumb animal. Dragons were bigger, but this took much more skill. How she got the thing to do anything was totally beyond M'kai, but somehow she managed, getting him to hold still long enough to release one of the vines. That wasn't enough, though, she'd have to cut through the other side, too.

All M'kai wanted to do was pace, or swim the river and... help, somehow, but he had a feeling neither one would be good. Pacing was sure to catch the animal's attention and set him off, just as crossing the river would. Isori might have been hanging out with Futh today, but M'kai lived with the Blue; the scent of predators had almost certainly soaked into his very being. Ugh, this sucked. Why wasn't there anything he could do?

[dragon]

Her world had shrunk to just what she was doing. It was her, the runner, that vine, and the knife. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, making the whole world seem startlingly sharp and slow at the same time. It took an eternity for that second vine to slice through. But finally it did. The vine fell, releasing the choke hold on the runner's throat. The animal and the vine fell together, the sturdy stallion's head dropping almost to the ground as he wheezed for breath. A spark seemed to return to his gaze that had been quickly dimming for lack of air. But he stayed where and how he was. Haunches up to his tail in the muck of the river, and on his knees on the bank, nose almost resting on the ground. The vine dangled around his neck, the trailing end secured to a bush.

Big, powerful, and released from the choke, the great beast seemed to have had all the fight sapped right out of him. At least for the moment. It might change at any moment, with little to no warning. Exhausted or not, he was still a wild creature. Lowering the knife, Isori gradually eased away from the animal, walking backward one careful barefoot step at a time. When there was about twenty paces between her and him, she turned around and walked up the river's edge back toward where M'kai was standing ....

... Shirtless.

Isori stopped for a moment and just stared at him, surprised. That had certainly not been what she had expected to find, in the least. She'd only thought he was hot before. Now?

... she blinked, and smirked slightly, getting her wits back about her. It had to be the adrenaline high she was on. Or maybe not. But that was a topic for musing at another time. "I don't suppose you have any rope or anything in your magic bag?" She asked, even though he was on the other side of the river. If he did have some, she'd just wade back across to get it. She cast a quick glance toward the stallion, but he still hadn't moved a single twitch, tail being washed out downstream by the water.

"I know this is probably very stupid ... but maybe I can bring him back. I am sure that if someone could train him, he'd be useful. Help us do a lot of stuff." Isori mused, loud enough for M'kai to hear. Whether that might be helping to plow a garden plot under the canopy ... or hauling wood around, or merely just packing supplies (like meat) back from a foot-hunt where dragons might have difficulty getting. Or ... well. She was thinking like a holder, clearly. A lot of that could be accomplished with dragons. But hey. He was a beautiful animal. She was pushing her luck she was sure ... she should just turn him loose and leave it at that. But she wanted to see if it was possible to tame him. Or ... maybe not tame him, but ... maybe befriend the animal? Was he smart enough to realize she had saved his life? Surely he was.

Would M'kai understand that? Or would he be like she imagined her father would be? Tell her to leave it well enough alone?

[Ruby]

It was when the horse was finally freed that M'kai took a step forward, ready to leap in the water and swim to pull Isori to safety. He didn't expect the beast to wait half a second before flinging himself back into the forest, but no, the runner waited. Letting out the breath he'd been holding, the Bluerider's eyes tracked back to Isori, catching her just as she blinked and smiled. He returned it, although it had been a very private smile, like she was laughing at some joke he wasn't in on. Or maybe she was just happy to be alive.

Finally, though, he could contribute. "No rope, but if you give me a second I can get you a big long piece of leather," he said, gesturing back at where Futh had been. "You'll just have to trust me to get home safely," he added, "As I'll be cannibalizing the restraint system. Luckily Futh's a pretty steady flier?" He didn't actually wait for a response before calling the Blue back, making sure Futh flew wide and upwind so the runner wouldn't catch his scent or spot his shadow. It was easy enough to have the Blue land in the opposite corner of the clearing, screened from the stallion by a tree-filled bend in the river. The runner might be nervous, but he wouldn't be able to see or smell the predator just upriver.

Dumping the clothes on their sun-warmed lunch rock, M'kai started off up the bank at a fast trot, quickly passing out of sight. Just a minute or two later - he wasn't kidding when he said he'd made the straps himself, and knew them inside and out - he returned with a long strip of padded leather, the one that ran around Futh's chest and behind his forearms. M'kai found he had to replace this particular piece so often due to Futh's endlessly increasing size that he'd simply added buckles on either end, which made it very simple to extract. Pulling up across from Isori, the Bluerider wrapped the strap into a ball, then took a step back. "We'll get him back to the weyr, if possible. Ready? Catch!" he shouted, heaving the straps across the rushing water.

He had a strong arm, and years of tossing firestone sacks meant his aim was good as well. The river was wide, but not that huge, and the straps almost made it. If Isori didn't catch them, they'd fall into the shallows, but that was fine. Once she'd gotten a hold of them, M'kai grabbed the clothes and the remains of their food, then headed back up the stream - Futh could cross him over higher up, so their clothes didn't get wet, and then they could figure how to get a terrified runner on a dragon. M'kai suspected a blindfold might be useful.

Within minutes, the Bluerider was trekking back down the bank on Isori's side, wading in the shallows with his pants rolled up above the knee to avoid struggling through the tree-choked bank. "How's it going?"

[dragon]

Isori nodded when M'kai said something about a leather strap. That would do. She carefully shifted her weight from on foot to the other, hoping that everything was going to go okay. For now, the runner just stayed put, thank Faranth. But he was still recovering, too. Who knew what he'd be like once he had his wits back about him? Luckily, Futh seemed to know what he was about when it came to not being seen. Amazing how such a large creature could go unseen. But then, maybe it was a natural instinct for predators of all types? Felines were good at it too. Patiently Isori waited, though she felt like her heart was going to hammer its way out the front of her chest.

Soon enough, he was back, and tossing the strap across the water to her. She was about to protest that action, but it was too late. Wincing, she stepped forward into the water in an effort to catch it lest it splash down and freak the runner out again. She was pretty sure her vine knot would not hold if it did. That was if just having something pitched across the river didn't cause the self same reaction. The bundle landed safely in her arms and she froze, turning to look at the stallion.

His head was up now, staring in her direction. The toss had gotten his attention and possibly spooked him a bit, but apparently not badly enough to make the tired animal go into fits again. Breathing a sigh of relief, she started unwinding the leather slowly as she ever so slowly approached the runner again. "Easy big guy. Easy fella." Moving slow and murmuring to him quietly the whole time, she carefully snaked one end of the leather around his neck right behind his jaw, right where the vine was twisted about it. Slowly pulling it around, she quickly slipped it into a secure knot that wouldn't come undone easily, but also wouldn't slip and choke him. Easing back away from him again and allowing the leather to play out through her fingers, she followed the vine back to the bush. Crouching slowly while watching the runner, she tugged on the vine in an effort to get it untied from the bush.

When M'kai appeared again, wading down the riverbank, the runner jerked back to all four feet and scrambled back up the bank again, nostrils blowing wide in a wet snort. Isori squeaked and tumbled back on her rump in surprise, hoping the animal didn't stomp or kick her in the process. But he headed off the other way instead, until he hit the end of the vine tether. It jerked his head back around again and brought him to a slamming halt, miraculously. For in that impact, the vine had also come free of the bush. There was nothing holding him down now ... nothing except Isori hanging onto the other end of the longer, limp leather. But apparently the stallion thought that yank had meant he was still snugged to a tree like before. Not a stupid creature, he remembered the strangling he'd gotten for resisting before.

Gasping a breath, Isori reached for the bush again, and snubbed the leather around it instead, now that the vine was free, dangling at the stallion's feet. Once that was secure, she hazarded a look in M'kai's direction. "Hi." she greeted quietly with a smile. "I am not sure what to do now, actually. I have no idea how far from home we are, and even if walking back is plausible. Much less possible. I am not sure the both of us could stop him if he decided to take off. Do you think we could tie him to Futh, and have Futh lead him back?" She asked. It might not work, considering Futh was a dragon, and the Stallion wouldn't want to go anywhere with a dragon. But he was also, well, a dragon. And lots bigger and stronger. He could drag the animal anywhere. Soon enough the already tired animal would give up and walk along, right?

It never crossed her mind that M'kai was thinking of putting the stallion on the dragon. Nor did it occur to her to think that maybe Futh could carry the runner in his front feet.

[Ruby]

Yeah, M'kai wasn't surprised that he'd startled the runner. He'd said he knew nothing about these creatures, didn't he? He could toss things at Futh all day, and no matter how close he got to the dragon, the Blue would know they were coming, and could get out of the way. There was no way the Bluerider could surprise him, no matter what he smelled like, or where he came from. It was just the nature of their bond.

Still, even if he wasn't surprised that he'd scared the beast, he was still startled himself when the stallion knocked Isori back, bolting for freedom. Freezing in the water, he held both of his hands out, as he might to a small child or something. He didn't move even when Isori had the runner tied up again, not even dropping his hands until she'd secured him again. Runners could be spooked, yeah, but humans could too, and the Bluerider was way out of his league.

When Isori did greet him, though, he relaxed a little, adjusting his stance in the river mud. Sliding an arm around her waist while she was talking, he pulled her close, leaning down to plant a kiss in her windswept hair. "I take it you're fine?" he quipped, letting her go again. "You have no idea how scary that was to watch. Don't do it again, hmm?" Taking a step back (visibly reluctantly, he rather liked the feel of her sun-warmed skin on his own), he turned to regard the runner. "It's walkable, back to the Weyr, but it would unquestionably take the rest of the day, and then some. It'd be dark by the time we got back, and both of us'd be in trouble, not to mention that I have no idea how Futh could come with us, so we'd be easy prey for felines and wild whers."

Stepping back, he glanced to either side of the runner, then back towards the trees that hid Futh. "I think it would be easiest to have Futh carry him, assuming it doesn't drive the thing mad. We'll still have to have Futh drop you and him somewhere outside Buri, because we'll have to fly straight. I don't think anything not prepared for between would survive it, after all. I think if we blindfold him, though, and maybe stop up his nostrils, it might work? Futh can be very careful of his claws, he worked with Weyrlings for a while."

[dragon]

Isori smiled when M'kai wrapped arm around her. It was not what she had expected him to do at all, but she certainly wasn't going to protest! A grin split her features and she leaned against him when he pulled her near, pleased for the contact. Even with that, she didn't see that kiss coming, and it surprised her. Isori looked up at him, but didn't even get to think about how to answer that; he was talking already. She grinned again, and nodded. "Indeed I am. A bit muddy, but nothing that water won't cure." Isori answered, getting warm tinglies for it all. He cared! Even more, he cared enough to say so. Guys were so strange sometimes. But she nodded vigorously if briefly. "I don't plan to do that again, nope." She agreed, pouting somewhat when he stepped away again. She looked at the tether still in her hands, and her eyebrows peaked in the middle. He was right, of course. This was no time or place to go swooning. Such a pity! She would have liked to have seen how far she could have carried that brief moment.

Isori looked at the runner, and then at M'kai as he spoke, before her gaze wandered to the canopy itself. "I suppose so." She agreed. She had no idea how far from the Weyr they were; he undoubtedly would know exactly how far they were. She also didn't like the idea of being snarly critter fodder. But? Really? She hadn't known that things not prepared for between wouldn't survive it. How did people move their pets around then? Oh well ... it was not her area but his, and this was hardly the time for questions. She'd trust his judgment. "Okay. I think I can get a blindfold on him." Just to be sure, she knotted the tether around the next bush, too. Just in case the first one got uprooted. "I don't suppose you brought anything I could cover his eyes with?" She asked, glancing around. Not only was he shirtless, but she didn't see any sign of her dress either. Pity; either one would have done as a blindfold. She wasn't sure how well it would go over if she stripped out of her undergarments to use as a blindfold. "I don't think we need to stop up his nostrils. He's not a Weyr stock animal. I'm not sure he knows what dragonscent means ... not to mention you smell like dragon anyway. I think he'll be okay if we can just blindfold him." She looked around again, and shrugged. "I guess I'll go fetch my dress. Will you be okay here?" Isori asked, looking to M'kai again. "Just don't make any sudden movements and you should be okay..."

[Ruby]

((I was going to reply to this again but that seems like a good end point? Futh'll fly the runner back to Buri, plus M'kai wants to visit Isori before the hatching >>))