You'll Become a Man Yet [Iski]

[Shiny]

The skies were blindingly bright for overcast and cold. Shading his eyes with a hand, J'ash scanned the skies and field before him, looking for any sign of life. The Weyrlingmaster had ordered him here for a special lesson. She hadn't said what for, but he had a vague idea of what it might be, given the recent events that had caused her to give this one-on-one.

The firelizard Hatching had been a disaster, sans Tux. K'lir had put the firelizard clutch in more danger in two ways; lying on their safety blanket, and not stopping his salamandyr from climbing into their basket. The Greenrider also heavily insulted J'ash and Craivaruth. Freak blue-green-gender confused rider. The crystal-clear memory of what K'lir had said still made him extremely furious - neither he nor Craivaruth had calmed down since the Hatching - and he raised his hand to his mouth. Teeth sinking into his flesh, he bit down around his thumb knuckle, trying to vent his anger somehow. The act of inflicting pain would slightly sate the anger, and the pain itself would act like a slap in the face to calm down.

Chirping at His as if to say 'stop that!', Tux started playing with the dark blonde hair he sat on, winding the golden strands around his gold-laced tail, trying to placate the Blueweyrling. The Brown sat on J'ash's head, chatting nonsensically at him to keep him company. His was still very, very upset, and it made Tux sad that His was sad. The firelizard was trying everything to show him how much he loved him, trying to make him feel better. Tux was glad to see that J'ash was wearing the gift he'd brought him - a wherry feather, twined into his hair X'rx-style. The gift had a lot of thought put into it - the feather represented His well. Beautiful, soft, light. Fragile. The Brown chirruped at J'ash sweetly as the weyrling stopped biting his own hand, and nuzzled the teeth marks as it reached up to stroke him.

Tux held a cherry in his guiltless claws, excited to give his next gift to the Weyrlingmaster for making His go to the Infirmary. (It ended up not being a long visit; J'ash's eye was mostly healed now, as small eye incisions tend to heal quickly, and the scratch marks were just that... scratch marks.) The cherry was dark and looked delicious. He claimed it looked good because Iskierka looked good (at least, Tux thought so). The soft flesh of the fruit represented how responsible and - dare he say it - caring she had been at the Hatching. The pit of the cherry represented her strong, independent personality.

The Blueweyrling slowed down and stopped once he'd gotten closer to the middle of the vast expanse of cold, flat ground. All he had to do now was wait for the Bluerider. If Iskierka had asked him to meet her alone where his screams would probably not be heard at any other time, he would have been scared. But not now... He was still too upset to really give a damn.

If Ioth's rider hurts you... Craivaruth growled protectively in J'ash's head, though he was nowhere to be seen. The blue-green was far from the Weyr. J'ash had ordered him to take a trip to calm down. He'd been gone for a few days, and was still just as angry as His was.

Don't worry, Craivaruth.

J'ash sighed, throbbing hand leaving the Brown on his head to scratch the Brown perched on his left shoulder. Vomit wiggled into the touch, chirping in his ear pleasantly. Tux was still playing with his hair, knowing that J'ash liked having his hair played with, and leaned forward, placing a lick on J'ash's old forehead scar. His must be happy again! J'ash was thankful that his two firelizards were trying to cheer him up, but he simply just felt... defeated.

[Ember]

Iskierka had opted to walk from the weyrling barracks to the field where she was to meet J'ash. it was actually closer to a jog than a walk. She wanted to warm up, as much against the cold as because she was going to be doing some physical activity soon enough. Her hair was in the usual two runner tails that rested against her chest and she was dressed in what could only be called work clothes. They were loose without getting in the way and that would assist with hiding her motions somewhat. Not a whole lot but it was still slightly advantageous.

Any who had run into Iskierka before might have found it strange that she was giving a one on one lesson to a weyrling of her own volition but she didn't find it so. She may not show them much and they may be supressed most of the time, but the bluerider did have emotions. Her anger of late had gone above what she was able to easily get rid of. Beating on a weyrling under the pretense of training could almost be deemed therapeutic. There was also the fact that disciplining one of her students for truly stupid behaviour wouldn't look so bad. Looking like a useful tool was always in her mind.

When she got there J'ash was already present. Good. She approached him slowly and her eyes flicked to both firelizards. "I do believe I told you to come alone. Or do you need someone to hold your hand all the time?" She asked with a hint of mockery. Her own brown pet was absent, chasing after some beauty no doubt. She almost felt sympathy for Shard, the brown's sweet little mate. Key word there being almost. At the same time it was Shard's fault for picking him in the first place.

"I want those two gone. Or at least not near you," Iskierka informed J'ash. The last part of what she said was a concession, though whether or not he recognized it as such was irrelevant. She had no time for arguments from him or his winged brats. She didn't go on to inform him that his firelizards might get injured if they hung around. If either of them got in her way she wouldn't think twice about batting them away without caring about the consequences. Firelizard bonds were not as important as a dragon bond. Or a salamandyr bond, as she was painfully learning.

Her hands hung loosely at her sides, no sign of tension though she was ready as ever to draw her blades. The sheathes were belted on at her thighs as usual. It was the easiest place for her to draw them from that she had discovered. At the waist just wasn't practical for her. Iskierka eyed J'ash for a moment longer before saying, "So, little girly-boy. Do you know why you're here? I should hope so, but then again you're not the smartest wherry in the flock." She shook her head though her eyes never left the weyrling. She was deliberately trying to goad him into attacking. "Lovely markings on your face, by the way."

Ioth shuddered as he flew, dipping low over the forest and slashing at the tree tops. He didn't like what His was doing one bit. He understood why she was doing it but that didn't make it any better. He reached out for Craivaruth's mind. He was mildly surprised to find the blue so far from the weyr but perhaps that was for the best. Dragons could not go between without Theirs, and he and J'ash were too inexperienced to attempt it while separate. His weyrling could do Iskierka no harm so far away. May I speak with you, Craivaruth?

[Shiny]

Seeing movement in his peripherals, J'ash turned his head to watch the Weyrlingmaster jog-walk towards him. A pit settled at the bottom of his stomach as she got closer. Scary Iskierka was scary. Hand balling into a fist, he watched her unblinkingly as she came to a stop in his vicinity. His stare turned into a glare as she simultaneously ordered his firelizards away and mocked him. The bottom lid of one eye lifted slightly in his agitation, and he scowled. Not that he was willing to admit it, but he didn't feel comfortable going anywhere without at least one pet. Call him paranoid, but he kind of was - and with good reason, for he practically had an "attack me" sign plastered to his back.

After a moment of glowering at the Weyrlingmaster, J'ash threw looks at his two firelizards, brushing their minds. Please get out of here.

Vomit growled at Iskierka, sitting on J'ash's shoulder like a stone gargoyle. He would not move one inch until His was out of potential danger. The woman looked like she was up to something, and he didn't like it one bit. Tux chirped happily at the woman, ignoring J'ash's command. The pretty lady wouldn't hurt His, she'd tried to help him at the Hatching! Jumping from his perch on J'ash's head, his gold-laced wings unfurled. The Brown glided out of reach of the hand that came up to grab him, towards Iskierka. Tux circled the woman's head, chittering excitedly. He'd been waiting to give this to her for a long time! Slowing slightly, he dropped to hover at a height that was easily reachable for Iskierka, and offered her the cherry clutched in his claws. She liked his gift, yes yes?

His voice carried a little farther with its slightly increased volume. "I said scram!" Vomit gave J'ash an orange-eyed look before hesitantly fluttering from his shoulder. He wanted to protect His so badly - the foreshadowing in the air was like heavy smoke - but he was also too loyal to not listen to His' wishes. Vomit croaked worriedly at J'ash, flying a few laps around the blonde before disappearing between.

One down, one to go. He hesitantly took a half-step forward, wanting to pull Tux away, but his foot quickly backtracked to its original position. This was as close to Iskierka as he wanted to get. He willed the firelizard to come back. J'ash had a feeling Tux wasn't safe where he was.

Clenching his jaws, he crossed his arms; a subconscious action to protect himself from the oncoming onslaught. It was also to keep himself from attacking the Bluerider. His Hatching rage was starting to bubble up again as she called him girly-boy and insulted his intelligence. She's a teacher. I can't attack her. He tried to convince himself into dimming his rage, which only somewhat worked. Hints of a cold smirk quirked a corner of his mouth. "Thank you." Of course he hadn't taken it as a compliment, but he was going to act like it didn't bother him in the least. Which it didn't. Kind of. Not really. Yeah. "I'm here because you missed me so much and just had to see my pretty face, obviously." Was he taking his own life into his hands? Possibly.

A colourful fish veered out of the blue-green dragon's path as he propelled himself forward with six limbs. The surface not too far above filtered sunbeams that highlighted his matte hide. He made a big loop, scraping the lake floor with his claws. His had wanted him to relax, so he'd decided to try something new to take his mind off of his intense dragonrage. Going for a swim in Blossom Lake had been interesting enough, but he still found himself fuming. Large bubbles erupted from his nostrils at the growing emotions of his mindmate. Pushing off the bottom powerfully, Craivaruth burst from the water, droplets of water flying everywhere as he unfurled his wings. Dark tones of orange and red began to blend into his yellow eyes as he picked up speed, skimming the surface of the lake. The beginnings of a furious roar was starting to rumble in the Blue's throat. Of course, this had to happen while he wasn't there to protect His. If yours hurts Mine, Ioth, Faranth help you, he hissed. There was no excuse for this. Ascending sharply in the air, Craivaruth sped in the directions of the Weyr. Even if it would take him a while to get back, he would get there as quickly as possible. And if there was even ONE hair missing from J'ash's head, so help the Bluerider and Hers.

[Ember]

Iskierka rolled her eyes as the firelizard growled at her. Nuisances, pets. Good for nothing but fetch and carry and spying. Even then, not all of them could do that. See: Rhino. Damn disobedient little troublemaker. The other brown was suddenly flying around her and she narrowed her eyes ever so slightly. The thing was too happy to be deliberately trying to stop her from doing anything to J'ash. When he slowed down and offered her the cherry she blinked in slight confusion before taking the gift. Meh. Why not. If it was poisoned she had some tolerance. Before putting it in her mouth she murmured softly, "Such things are wasted on me."

She spat out the pit of the cherry on the groun and waved a shooing hand at the brown. There. Was it happy now? She'd eaten it to get it to leave and hopefully it worked. The bluerider got no amusement from hurting firelizards, contrary to whatever people might think. The small draconids had yet to do her any harm, unlike people. She looked back at J'ash when he spoke and she snorted softly. So that's how he wanted to play this game? She would only get nastier if he responded back like that.

Iskierka didn't respond right away though. Instead she took a moment to look over the usual spots to wear a blade. he had...none? This kid was stupid enough to glare at Elysia of all people when he had no weapon at all. Blind rage indeed. She leaned down to pull out the knife she kept in her boot and kicked it over to J'ash. She'd see if she could get him to use it. Iskierka wasn't even slightly concerned he could actually touch her with it. With that out of the way she was finally ready to respond. It wasn't exactly a nice response either.

"You wish someone actually likes you enough to call you someplace," she told him sharply. "You have to go to them, don't you? That's because you're not all that you think you are. Pretty? Enjoyable company? Bratty salamandyrs are better company. Smarter, too." It was true enough. She much preferred Rhino's company to some idiot who couldn't keep himself from making a fool of himself at every turn. She waited to see if that would spark his blind rage...or just make him cry.

The anger in Craivaruth's mindvoice made the blue falter for a moment before he recovered. Well, the other blue hadn't said no to talking.... He was also too far away to actually hurt His or himself. Calm yourself, Craivaruth. What do you think you can accomplish by attacking me? I could easily ground you for some time and then who would protect Yours? The blue wasn't trying to be boastful. It was simple fact that he was far more skilled in the air than Craivaruth was. He could also be completely ruthless under the right conidtions. He'd killed dragons and riders begging for mercy before without a second though. Any harm that may come to Yours from Mine is for his benefit.

[Shiny]

Tux chirped excitedly as Iskierka took the cherry from him and put it in her mouth, fluttering up to get a closer look at her face. He zoomed around restlessly, waiting for her reaction. He watched as she spat out the pit and chirruped happily at her, assuming what she said was something about how much she'd loved his gift. Everyone loves Tux gifts! He crooned at her blank expression and quickly darted to the side to lick her cheek gently. His' Blueriderfriend needed to smile more!
"Tux!" J'ash called sternly, watching with a grimace as his firelizard licked - licked?! - Iskierka's face. Ugh... He was going to have to wash the Brown's tongue when he got back to his weyr later on tonight. "I said go!" Tux was really pushing his luck with the Weyrlingmaster. He would be crushed if Iskierka hurt the hatchling. Sensing J'ash's upset, Tux circled back to briefly perch on his shoulder, licking the side of his face before betweening, as His had wished. The blonde resisted the urge to wipe at the wet feeling, forcing himself to think of it as a kiss from Tux and not Iskierka-tainted drool.

J'ash eyed the woman as she seemed to look him over. The urge to say "I may be something of a manho but I don't do everyone, especially if they're twice my age and a complete bitch, sorry" arose, but he bit it back. He didn't like Iskierka but he wouldn't be rude to her, especially considering she was his teacher and all. Her response would probably be to make sure he'd never fly again anyway, and he definitely didn't want that happening. His eyes followed her movements with growing suspicion as she pulled out a weapon and kicked it towards him. The Blueweyrling stared at the blade for a moment in complete confusion before hesitantly stooping to pick it up. Why was she giving him a weapon? The blade tilted this way and that so he could inspect it curiously. The sneaking suspicion he had that someone was going to get hurt there and then turned into a near certainty in J'ash's mind, and he raised his eyes to look wearily at the older woman as she spoke.

Although he tried to hide the fact that Iskierka's words stung like pure acid, his expression betrayed him. A scowl sat firmly on his lips and his eyebrows were furrowed angrily, but just about anyone who had a mental capacity higher than that of a rock could read the sorrow in those gray eyes. "You're wrong," the deadpan sentence came through cold, still lips, and he stared hard at the woman, trying to look convincing. "Lots of people like me." Perhaps he was trying to convince himself as much as Iskierka. "I get invited places all the time..." He paused to swallow a lump, voice getting slightly muddled. "...I'm great company..."

He didn't quite realize why Iskierka was getting so blurry until he felt his eyelashes dampen in the process of blinking. Dark blonde bangs fell to hide most of his face as he tilted his head down to look at the ground. The last thing he wanted the Weyrlingmaster to see was that. He didn't want her to know that she'd hit the bullseye of his sensitivity. His grip on the knife tightened as the back of his free hand quickly came up to swipe at tears that threatened to spill over.

J'ashmine, don't listen to Iskierka, she's trying to get a rise out of you, Craivaruth said. Please get out of there, J'ashmine - Ioth's is going to hurt you.

Craivaruth...

The blue-green roared and swiped at the air, enraged by His' sadness and refusal to flee from harm. Why wouldn't J'ash move? He was going to get hurt! Completely ignoring Ioth's threat, he roared. How is this for Mine's benefit?! He already feels bad enough for listening to my emotions and lashing out at the hatching! He doesn't need any punishment!

The blade started to shake as his grip turned into a deathgrip, his sadness evolving into a rage that set his blood to boil. How dare she talk like she knew him? She knew NOTHING. His head flew up, eyes so sharp with anger, he almost didn't need the knife in his hand. A few hot tears spilled down his face, breathing quickly becoming rapid.

Don't you dare attack her, she'll kill you, Craivaruth's voice growled in his head.

I don't care.

"You know nothing about me," J'ash snarled as his shoulders started to shake with built-up rage. "NOTHING!"

And he flew at her, screaming a death cry with the blade raised above his head. He wanted her dead.

[Ember]

The firelizard's lick was met with a very faint flicker of distaste While J'ash was thinking he'd have to wash the brown's tongue, Iskierka was thinking she had to wash her face. Not even Ioth got away with licking her. She wiped her cheek with the back of her hand. What was it with her and attracting nice creatures? Ioth, Tux, even Rhino was something of a nice salamandyr. Sort of. Under the right circumstances. Okay, so calling her brown was a bit of a stretch but the brown's mate was nice from what she'd seen. At least thanks to the nature of the brown she didn't constantly want to see T'ke. Just any female or female's bonded that happened to be near her brown at any given moment.

J'ash's reaction to the blade confirmed the bluerider's thoughts. He had no weapons at all, not even in his weyr. What kind of weapon user would look at a blade like that instead of testing how it felt? Evidentally Sel'n had been too lax on their fighting training. She'd keep it in mind for the next class. Oh yes, she knew there would be more. M'kai couldn't handle both classes and she was Weyrlingmaster for however long the bronzeriding nuisances decided to keep her in the position. When J'ash responded to her words Iskierka focused on him again instead of her thoughts.

Oh, hurt him bad there. She hadn't intended to go after such a weak point, if only because that was more likely to make him cry than attack her. She didn't care to make people cry when she was forced to spend time near them. It was far too taxing dealing with crying people she didn't care for. The only ones she did care for were herself, Ioth, and Rhino. Basically things attached to her mind. J'ash most definitely was not one of them. Thank Faranth he wasn't. She'd go crazy if she had to put up with a J'ash-like personality invading her mind. Cue mental shudder.

Iskierka didn't understand J'ash's need to lower his head to hide tears. She knew he was crying anyways, especially given the hand that was raised to wipe them away. She ssighed softly and decided to retrieve her blade and just leave. It was not her intention to beat up an idiot while he was crying. "Seems like K'lir beat the tiny bit of manhood out of you already," she commented, though it was at a level that J'ash might easily ignore in his upset. When he looked up there was not sadness in his eyes, but anger. Perhaps even hatred. Oh? Well, whatever worked then.

As he screamed at her she just stood there waiting for him to charge at her. He didn't disappoint her on that account. As he came at her Iskierka smiled brutally and moved into the attack, slipping into his personal space. One hand moved towards the knife-arm's elbow while she fisted the other one and aimed a punch to his stomach. It was considerably lighter than she could do - she didn't want him to puke or pass out yet - and she twisted towards the side to get out of the way. "Is that all you've got, little girl?"

Ioth winced again at Craivaruth's tone but explained anyways. If Yours angers so easily he will be in more danger against an opponent who genuinely means to kill him. Rushing into conflict, no matter how angry people or dragons may be, is never a good idea. Again, I ask that you please calm yourself. You are putting Yours into danger every time you lose control of your anger. Everytime that I know of Yours flying into a rage is when you are angry as well. It was perhaps a bit cruel to tell Craivaruth that he was a liability to his rider but Ioth and Iskierka saw it as the truth.

((Sorry for the powerplaying. I meant for it to be more fair but Iski said no. XP if you want me to change it just let me know. <3))

[Shiny]

((Go ahead and powerplay ^^ if you think something's a little much, just ask me about it first, is all. No worries. Fighting threads are hard to do without powerplay. XD))

Practically drunk with rage and breathing rapidly, J'ash threw all of his weight at Iskierka, intending to thrust the blade into her. His mind was too shrouded by his overwhelming anger to comprehend the brutality of Iskierka's new expression. He snarled as his attacking hand was deferred by her grabbing his elbow. Air was forced out of him sharply as the Bluerider's fist sunk into his stomach, and he stumbled forward, through the space Iskierka had just twisted from. He managed to stop himself short of falling over and pivoted sharply, panting. His midsection was pained from Iskierka's punch, but he'd been beaten harder before, and just braced it until it slowly started to lessen. J'ash's entire form seemed to be shaking. His ire was not decreasing as he went about on this rampage - on the contrary, it was increasing. Her words hit him like a dozen throwing knives, and he grabbed his head roughly with his free hand, borderline crazy with psychotic rage, screaming again.

As the man shrieked, veins visibly pulsed in his neck and temple. He charged at the slightly shorter woman a second time. The need to injure her, maim her was strong, and intense frustration was building up at not even being able to touch her. J'ash's determination and stubbornness would not have let him give up this fight, even if he hadn't been so far gone off the deep end.

As he got close to the woman, he raised his arm and flung it forward hard, releasing his intense grip on the knife, hurtling the blade towards the Weyrlingmaster. If that didn't hit her, it might give him an opening to attack her while she was distracted. He had no use for the blade anyway - the way Iskierka had treated his stab attempt in the first round made that clear. He'd rather beat her with his fists anyway, maybe claw out an eye.

Craivaruth shot through the air silently for a moment after Ioth finished speaking. The sudden spike of psychotic rage was starting to make him worried. The Blue had witnessed His' rage at the Hatching before, but this... This was scarier. He'd never seen his Bonded so crazed with anger before. What had Ioth's said to get that kind of reaction? LOOK AT WHAT YOURS HAS DONE, Craivaruth shrieked, J'ash's overwhelming ire influencing the Blue this time, rather than the other way around. Yes, the colour-bisected dragon was angry, but he knew J'ash's rage was not healthy, and tried to block it from causing his own to grow. It was hard, though. Struggling to keep control of his emotions, the Blue slashed the air, trying to release some of it. It was too much to handle sanely. Perhaps Ioth was right, as much as he hated to admit it. It was his fault for influencing His negatively. He would have to calm down if he wanted J'ash to snap out of it. I'm trying,[/b][/i] Craivaruth hissed, not sure what to do to calm down. And would it calm down His? He had to try...

Looking around, the Blue had an idea. He folded his wings close to his body and turned so that his head was pointing towards the ground below, and let gravity start to accelerate his falling body. The northern shore and shallows of Blossom Lake lay far below him - maybe the shock of diving into such cold water from such a height would snap him out of it. J'ashmine, calm down, please, Craivaruth begged, Mine wouldn't want to kill Ioth's.

[Ember]

He was...entertaining. Iskierka hadn't been at the hatching when J'ash had initially gone berserk and it was quite interesting to see it from the start. All the rage in the world wouldn't make it possible for him to beat her though. At least, not rage alone. Without the skill to back it up the emotion was worthless. She had faced opponents who had gone berserk before and some of them actually were...frighteningly strong. The bluerider didn't dwell on her thoughts as the boy charged at her again.

Really? He didn't have any other moves in his repetoire? Oh, oh wait! Nope, still the same. She watched unconcerned as he rose the blade, prepared to block it again in a similar way until he threw it at her. Hmm. It was worse than her sad attempts at knife throwing. The handle bounced off her chest and fell to the ground where she glanced at it briefly. Out of a rather odd curiousty the bluerider let J'ash get close to her to see what kind of attack he could dish out. She kicked the blade off to the side so that it wouldn't tempt the guy again and placed her arms in a defensive position in front of her. Her palms were close to each other, facing towards her attacker. Mostly she was preparing to grab his wrists. She was thinking out her next moves.

Ioth withdrew from Craivaruth silently. He had no more advice to give. He couldn't force the other blue to calm down and he certainly didn't want to go about picking a fight. He was anything but cruel when he was in his normal state. Beating on a weyrling wasn't his idea of fun. Tag was so much better, right? His was a different story though. While not actually bloodthirsty, her humour (what was left of it) was dark. The blue frequently wished he'd known His as a younger child. She was quite different the blue gleaned from her mind.

Ioth needed no more human burdens than his own, thanks very much. His was hard enough to handle even though he adored her. Deep down the blue understood His but for the most part her actions only served to confuse him. If she loved something why did she show the opposite? If she wanted (secretly) to be liked and accepted why did she actively push everyone away? It was Ioth's lifelong mission to get her to open up but...it wasn't going very well at all.

[Shiny]

--End of thread--

Outcome: J'ash got the crap beaten out of him by Iski and didn't manage to lay a scratch on her. He got several good bruises and was told that he needs to learn to control his anger.