Prove to me why I should trust you [Neph]

[Tashe]

The air stung his lungs as he breathed, it felt refreshing, familiar. For a moment he almost regretted leaving Nuisance behind in his personal weyr, but it would have been cruel to take the little Blue into the cold. Instead the Mandyr was resting comfortably in a bundle of furs in front of the dying embers of the fire E'rro had set a while ago. Ismaroth on the other hand, was acting more chipper than usual because of the taunting frost. The Dragon wanted it to snow, even though the chance was next to impossible.

Shaking out his hair like a wet dog, (it was long and he'd have to cut it come spring) he set out down the trail. In the recent months, the Apprentice had taken to walking the paths that ran through the trees nearest to the Weyr so that it was never really out of sight. The only thing was since Ismaroth could not fit and with Nuisance huddled away, he was left to his silence. He didn't mind all that much, since he usually preferred it that way. In these times were he was left to his thoughts, he usually ran through drills and maneuvers. But there was the rare time or two, when some could hear a softly sung song from among the trees. Those he did sing were often modified into war songs, since he had learned them at Benden. Looking down at the worn path before him, he flipped the collar of his jacket up so that it staved most of the breeze off of his ears.

"Wheel and turn
Fly and burn.
Fly between,
Blue and green..."

Turning onto another path, E'rro plucked a leaf off of a dying shrub and twirled it between his fingers.

"Cut them down,
Bronze and brown
Dragonmen must fly
When enemies are in the sky..."

He crumpled the leaf and smelled the spicy fragrance, finding it interesting that the shrub still maintained its smell even though it was frost bitten.

"Riders are lost or Riders are made
From those Weyrs dragon-braved."

Tossing the leaf back into the foliage, E'rro tucked his hands back into his pockets. The cold, although he had been used to it at one point, was going to take a little acclimatization. As he began to hum the song again, so that he couldn't drift back to thinking about his mother, he watched his breath filter out like smoke in the air. Maybe soon would be the time to break out the scarf laying unused and forgotten in his closet. He stopped as he broke through the tree line and was faced with a large pasture before him. The Dragonrider's wondering had lead him to the feeding grounds and, as if on cue, his large Brown swerved by him as he sped over the ground. The wind off of Ismaroth's wings tossed the young man's hair which earned a frown in return. Could you have buzzed by any closer? I could have, but I didn't want to knock you on your tall ass. He could feel the laughter of his Dragon, the emotions making it very clear the Brown was poking fun at him. I might be tall but at least my ass isn't fat. There wasn't an answer but the surge of amusement was response enough.

Stepping up to the fence, he put one of his feet on the lowest wooden pole and watched as Ismaroth took down a herd-beast. When the Brown was feeding, E'rro did his best to shut out the Dragon from his thoughts. He wasn't particularly fond of the enjoyment Isma got from feeding on something so fresh. Guh. So instead he turned his attention onto the stirring creature tucked into his jacket. Unlike Nuisance who was practically a fifth or fourth of Feather's size, the Flitter had a good solid layer of fat and actually enjoyed these walks. As she wormed her head up past his furred collar to chirp at him, E'rro absent-mindedly itched her eyeridges.

[Ember]

It was too damn cold. It was supposed to be the south! Nephele huffed as she put on a heavy sweater that wasn't initially hers. She had shamelessly charmed it from the winner of Nuoth's last flight since it was super warm. She'd been caught unprepared for the super cold winter Selenitas was experiencing. She had made certain to acquire a few more warmer things since then but she still preferred her new sweater. Hey, he hadn't asked for it back so she considered it hers then. She pulled on her boots, almost tripping at the alarmed emotions coming from on of her bondeds and the rage coming from the other.

Diva was screeching at Sweetheart again. She touched it, she touched it! Evil, evil green! Sweetheart's crime? She'd laid a paw lightly on a trinket Nephele had gotten at the last Gather. The greenrider sighed and moved to pick up the injured green from where she'd been placed. Since Diva couldn't actually fly properly Nephele had taken to putting the injured green in places Diva couldn't reach to avoid a physical fight. When Sweetheart could fend for herself she'd stop separating the two but first her newest green had to heal.

"Diva, enough. Look it's still just as it was. It hasn't been moved or broken." The green's eyes locked on Hers and her tail lashed side to side. Fine. Fine! So it was the same, but it was hers and Sweetheart shouldn't be allowed to touch it. Nephele snorted and headed towards Nuoth while shaking her head. Good grief. As Mother landed on Nephele's shoulder and Diva realized what the human was up to she screeched. Hey! Hey, hey, hey! No! She couldn't steal herself! And her bronze and green? No, they all must stay! Nephele ignored the green firelizard as she climbed onto Nuoth's back and had the dragon leave the ledge.

She rode Nuoth bareback but it wasn't a long flight and the green was careful. Mother crawled along the sweater towards Nephele's stomach, where Sweetheart clung to the material. He carefully drapped himself around her to help keep her in place. No flying babies today. Nuoth landed in the feeding grounds to let hers off. Oddly enough Ismaroth was there. Oh, and so was His. E'rro and Ismaroth are here, she informed Nephele before addressing thr brown politely, if quietly. Greetings Ismaroth.

E'rro? Hnn. Worthy company or not? He'd been helpful at Sweetheart's hatching but they'd be spending enough time together once the splint came off. As Nuoth killed a herdbeast and began to neatly eat it the greenrider made a slightly disgusted face and decided E'rro would provide a good distraction from the feeding. She wasn't particularly squeamish but it still didn't mean she liked watching her green eat fresh meat. She moved towards her wingmate, putting on a pleasant though tentative seeming smile. Sweetheart and Mother had taken up their usual positions upon landing. The green was half buried in her hair and the bronze was perched on her shoulder. "Hello E'rro."

[Tashe]

He had pounced another herd-beast when the Green contacted him. Slashing the sow's throat so it didn't have to suffer as his attentions were drawn away, Ismaroth watched her as she chose and took down her own meal. Nuoth. Greetings to you as well. Shuffling his wings he returned to the carcass in front of him. The fresh meat was both inciting and delicious, so he quickly began to consume the bovine before him in a less delicate way than his fellow Dragon.

Pushing off of the ground E'rro swung up and onto the top of the wooden fence, easily steadying himself with his boots as they caught one of the lower poles. Dragons were interesting creatures, as were most carnivores. They didn't need to eat fruit or plants to get the certain vitamins and nutrients that omnivores needed, no they managed to get all they needed from fresh kills. Physically they were massive, although he doubted a species so huge and not capable of bonding could survive without humans. There wouldn't be enough food for a large population, even with wild Ovines and Felines to supplement the meals. Most of the reason E'rro became a Dragonhealer was to better understand the workings of the creatures who he worked so closely with, even going as far as to share part of himself with one. He knew how his Brown's mind worked, but up until some undefined point in the past, he didn't know how the male's body worked. It was honestly a fascinating subject and one he was actually passionate about.

His musings were interrupted as he caught the faint sounds of footfalls coming toward him. He had seen the Green Dragon join Ismaroth and had identified her from her markings, but he hadn't expected her Rider to have come with her. Nephele of Nuoth. The girl who his Wingleader had announced as their newest Wingrider, in place of A'emi who had been removed for certain reasons. He really shouldn't call her 'girl' because she was around his age, if not a turn or two older, but he couldn't help it. He thought in terms of experience, not age. He had been as skeptical then and he was now. What did this girl have that would contribute to their uniquely qualified Wing? As Wingsecond he could protest the addition, but felt like it would be in vain since Ka'rys was one of a kind. He own reasons for everything and more than half of them were never disclosed to the Brownrider anyways. He had to trust his Wingleader but sometimes his decisions were... befuddling.

Rubbing his face, more particularly subtly running a finger down the long scar, as the footsteps grew nearer the Brownrider let his hands drop down next to him. He sat still on his perch until the Greenrider stopped near to him. When she greeted him E'rro turned his head to look at her over his shoulder. "Nephele... hello." Feather chirped a loud greeting from inside his jacket, although it was more of an inquiry of food and less of a real greeting. The Brownrider leanded forward, clasped his hands together and looked away from the girl. Resting his elbows on his legs and touching his index fingers to his lips he closed his eyes briefly. It was a few moments before he spoke again. "Tell me Nephele. Do you have any skills? Anything that sets you apart from the rest of the average population?"

He wanted to know why. Why she was on Legatus and why Ka'rys picked her from all the others to replace a battle-trained Rider. He was interested. An interested E'rro was never a good thing.

[Ember]

Nuoth wasn't miffed in the least that Ismaroth did little more than greet her. It was fairly obvious what she was doing there so there was no need to ask about that. They also didn't know each other well enough to simply launch into conversation. The green was content to allow the silence to stretch as she pulled flesh from her herdbeast. She was friendly enough but she didn't wish to intrude on Ismaroth if he preferred to eat in silence. She pulled a thick strip of meat off her herdbeast and threw back her head to let it fall into her mouth.

The greenrider blinked as she heard E'rro's firelizard. She smiled and added, "And hello to your firelizard too." Nephele moved right up to the fence a bit to E'rro's left. The side she chose actually mattered for once, since Sweetheart was half buried in Nephele's hair on her left side. Helping the little green to hide certainly never hurt. Happy mindmates made for a happy Nephele. She leaned forward against the fence for a moment, eyes staring unseeingly across the feeding grounds. She wasn't exactly lost in thought but not exactly all there either.

If anything she was focusing on her breathing. Quite a while back there'd been a Gather and a costume contest. A part of the costume made for her had brought in her waist and pushed up her breasts. Suffice it to say that Nephele had liked the effect. So she was trying out a corset underneath all the layers, trying to get accustomed to it. She wouldn't wear it above clothes until she knew it looked good and she didn't struggle for breath when she exerted herself. It was easier than expected but still a bit of an adjustment.

E'rro's question 'caught her by surprise and she looked up at him. Given the odd nature of the question and the special status of the Legatus wing she was fairly sure what he meant underneath the question. She considered several possible answers before saying, "Not a damn thing. Or at least, nothing Legatus would appreciate. Unless you count being a firelizard tamer." At the end she let a hint of amusement enter her voice. Four firelizards...three of which listened to her for the most part. Nephele shook her head. She didn't understand why Ka'rys chose her anymore than E'rro did.

[Tashe]

Well at least she was honest. "Unfortunately we rarely ever ever integrate the use of our pets into Drill, let alone are allowed to have them there at all when they are not needed." He would know. His Salamandyr had this almost unpernly skill with silence and stealth under the cover of night or in the deepest shadows, Nuisance would be a useful spy if they ever needed one. Rubbing the side of his face E'rro frowned minutely. "Have you been issued your poison box yet?" He crossed his arms and turned his head so he could look at Nephele. "You have a months of special instruction you need to catch up on. If you haven't started yet, I suggest either at the next Drill or sooner that you should talk to Ka'rys about beginning catch-up work." It would be bad if the Greenrider came to Drills unprepared for what she was going to find there, if not for her but for the Wing itself. To be honestly blunt, he doubted anyone on the Wing had the patience to babysit a new addition unless they were flat out ordered to (which with Ka'rys was more of a 'Do it').

It was possible that she was a promising up and coming Rider, but then again that meant she had to have some fighting skills. Ones that were at least slightly beyond the basics they now were teaching the Weyrlings. Hmm. Even if she wasn't up to par, it was good to know exactly what her level was. Otherwise the Greenie would be destroyed in Drills if not pared with the right person for combat exercises. Spinning himself around, the Wingsecond hopped down from his perch with a rustle of clothing. It was cold, but he expected to be moving a lot if Nephele cooperated with his curiosity. Unbuttoning his jacket, he shrugged it off and dropped it by a post and placed Feather snuggled in the middle of the fur lined portions. She at least didn't need to be subjected to the cold. Next he took off his thicker gloves and his shirt depositing them next to or on his jacket. He now wore half of his normal training attire. The black skin tight shirt was not only good for fighting but controlling where people could touch him, and the gloves he wore were made specifically for him. Light weight, and thin they too were like a second skin. Normally he'd take them off for Drills but he didn't think he would need to for this. Wasn't he just a vision in all black?

Crossing his arms along his chest as he stepped into the more open area, E'rro looked over at Neph when he planted himself near the middle. "Attack me." He paused. "And take off that corset or whatever silly female contraption you're wearing before you do." Although it probably would be a prudent idea to learn how to fight in one if she meant to wear one often... that was for her to learn later.

Finishing off his meal, Ismaroth checked in with his human. What was His doing now? Reaching out to Nuoth he rumbled softly, his mindvoice traced with amusement. I for one am going to watch this unfold, if you wish to join me. Running for a few paces, the Brown lept into a low glide, touching down a few moments later, dragonlengths away from the place where Their's were. He paced forward and plopped himself down, content to watch the proceedings from within the feeding pen itself. Its not like there wasn't enough room in the massive arena...

[Ember]

Nephele nodded when E’rro spoke. “It’s a bit of a shame. They can be very useful. For more than just spying, too,” she commented. “The larger firelizards could be used for fetch and carry. They could also be used to distract someone…” she trailed off and shrugged. She was in no position to suggest what the wing should or shouldn’t be doing. The newbie and most useless person never had a say. In this case, she happened to be both. Not the best place for her to feel confident but oh well. At mention of the poison box her expression changed into a slight grimace. She didn’t mind letting the brownrider know what she thought about that. “Yeah, I got mine.” Damn unpleasant thing too. It had taken her ages to pick the lock. She couldn’t ask anyone for help, either. Nephele couldn’t go to anyone outside Legatus and she doubted anyone on the wing would actually be helpful. Well, maybe M’ta.

The months that she’d missed would be problematic to catch up on as well. The wing would not pause its training to catch her up. She’d have to ask what she missed and try to make it up on her own as best she could. When she felt like she had the gist of things maybe then she could ask for some help from one of the other wing members to fine tune things. Nephele was probably more confident than she should have been but that’s what happened when someone constantly had two firelizards supporting them. She smiled slightly and nodded. “I’ll get myself caught up,” she assured him, mentally adding, Somehow… If she didn’t then she’d get the boot and return to the silly graduation wing.

Nephele watched E’rro curiously. It was a bit cold for stripping and not exactly compatible with E’rro’s personality. So what was he up to? She carefully hid her surprise at both the stripping and the skin tight shirt underneath. Skin tight anything always brought attention to what it was coverings and she idly looked at E’rro’s chest. Hey, he was attractive and she was only human. Pointless crushes didn’t stop her from admiring other guys. She didn’t bother hiding the fact that she’d been looking at him when he turned his attention to back to her. Up to him whether to be uncomfortable or not.

At his request - order? - her mask dropped and she showed genuine surprise. “Hah…?” In hindsight, it wasn’t that surprising given their conversation but hindsight was never very useful. He wanted her to attack him? She blinked and the mask returned as she smiled. “You could tell, hmm?” It was a rhetorical question and her tone indicated that. She placed her firelizards on the fence and pulled of the large sweater. She gently draped the sweater over the two and Sweetheart licked her fingers. “Be good you two.” Needless to tell the to be good but she did it anyways. She turned back to E’rro and managed a fairly sheepish smile. “Could you help me unlace it? It’s normally no problem but it’s kind of cold out…” That was partly true. Who wanted to strip down completely in such cold? The other part was to get him close and to lower his guard. Nephele didn’t have much skill so she would be relying on some dirty tricks.

Nuoth was unaware of what was going on between Hers and Ismaroth’s but when the brown expressed interest in their doings the green looked over at the humans and reached for Hers’ mind. Oh. Fighting? Yes, this should be interesting, she responded pleasantly, and yes, a touch amused. She knew what Hers was planning with the whole corset thing though she knew better than to tell Ismaroth about it. She leapt gracefully away from the mostly eaten herdbeast and flew the short distance to where the brown had landed. She laid down gracefully, observing the humans even as she licked at her paws to clean them.

[Tashe]

Shifting from side to side to keep his blood flowing, E'rro watched quietly as the Greenrider looked at him in surprise. She recovered a few seconds later. At least she had something to hide behind already set in place, developing a mask was something not quickly done. He reached out to Isma as Neph hopped down to take off her sweater, choosing to focus on him rather than the female. This will be amusing my Ermine. Will you be playing nice, or should I forewarn them? As long as she doesn't play too dirty and kick me between the legs. Ah, yes, indeed that is a fair trade. He made a motion with his hand and cracked a small smile. After this I need to go to the main hall and then get some sleep. Fine with me Mine.

Looking up from his finger exercises at the request, E'rro did little more than raise an eyebrow as he considered. He was more than willing to let Nephele struggle out of the corset on her own, it had been her decision to wear it. Then again he had just randomly asked her to attack him. Despite being merciless in battle, he had developed genuinely nicer than some of his Wingleading counterparts. Crossing the divide between them with a sigh, he gave the woman a good berth before stepping in behind her. The Brownrider was wary and for good reason too, he knew women could be utter bitches in fights. Untying the bow in the middle of the Greenrider's back, E'rro quickly began loosening the bottom set of strings. "Why do some women feel the need to wear these things? They restrict your movement and breathing." The motions his hand was going through was very much like loosening a boot lace. He knew corsets were worn to make women seem slimmer, but he hoped that Nephele had a better reason. Why women needed to seem smaller than they already were was beyond him, most women who wore them looked pleasant enough without one. Bah. Females.

Listing to the right the Brown rolled onto his side with a yawn. Its much easier to be a Dragon. Too bad I can't turn into one. If you could, we would be come obsolete. Yup. I am, unfortunately, stuck with you. Ohho you're a smart one there Mine. Good job. Oh shut up. Ismaroth rumbled in laughter as he flipped back onto his stomach.

[Ember]

Let's see... Nephele thought to herself, though her mind was open to her green as well. What can I go for? Groin, feet, joints, eyes, hair...oh yeah! Nose, ears. Anything else you can think of Nuoth? I don't really want you to fight at all, NepheleMine. But since you must...neck? I don't want to kill him, the rider responded mentally with amusement. True. Then I can't think of anything else. The silent conversation went on while E'rro agreed to help her out of the corset. She was reviewing the tricks she knew about fighting. It wasn't much, really. Just some things she knew hurt like a bitch or helped stop the attacker. One didn't live at Benden Weyr without picking up a little something.

She relaxed a little as she felt the corset loosening slowly though she regretted the fact that her figure wouldn't be like it was earlier. Again, she liked the effect it gave. E'rro apaprently didn't agree with it. Her temper flared briefly but she forced herself not to let it show. Secretly she thought E'rro had no business judging why people wore things to make themselves feel more attractive. "Women wear them to feel more comfortable with themselves," she said, shrugging as if it didn't matter to her. "Also, if it restricts your breathing and movement than isn't it good training..sort of? If you get used to it then won't everything seem easier when you take it off?"

See, there could be some logic behind it too. She didn't want to leave it off at that though. "You may never get why women wear them because you don't need any help looking attractive, now do you?" Nephele said in pleasant tones. Even getting ready for battle she could flirt. Was it really just upbringing that had given her that ability, or was she born with it? Hard to tell really.