Idle Hands ... (Req

[Requiem]

There was really only one thing that could be said about Emoyan’s reaction, when all was said and done. It was surpassingly strange.

Glancing down at the finger prodding him in the chest, his eyes rose back to the man’s face quizzically. What was he even doing? A push would have made sense. X’rx wouldn’t find it odd if he’d frozen in surprise, either. This ‘I’m going to push you back with a finger’ stuff, though? Definitely weird. It was also just a touch…offensive. He couldn’t really pinpoint what it was exactly. The gesture just had the same sort of feeling to it as when you picked up a dirty pair of undergarments with thumb and forefinger to avoid getting soiled by the clothing any more than absolutely necessary.

The greenrider’s chin dipped in slightly toward his chest. Emoyan’s words didn’t help make anything clearer. The young man’s eyes turned toward his own hands, mulling over the oddity of such a statement. Surely the harper wasn’t simply being a prejudiced fool. It took a particular sort of blind ignorance to assume that male greenriders were the only male riders who preferred men with the homosexual couples all around the weyr. (Also a little crazy to assume male greenriders preferred men at all. X’rx was hardly picky when it came to gender, and it could even be said that he leaned more toward the female persuasion.)

The younger of the two elected to give Emoyan the benefit of the doubt, in the end. “Selling yourself a bit short there,” he commented. There was just enough irritation behind his voice, though, to make it more than clear that he most definitely wasn’t coming onto Emoyan. “Though it wouldn’t be a lie to say that I don’t share your interest in drums. Women are much more interesting.” Or, rather, what you could do with a woman. The dramatics he didn’t much care for if they got too out of hand. His dark eyes slid over Emoyan’s face lingeringly. He probably should just leave it alone, but the man had quite effectively awakened his curiosity by such an out-of-place statement.

“I do remember that you were a bluerider.” X’rx hadn’t been born yesterday, after all. He’d lost his father the same day Emoyan lost his dragon. “Though I don’t see what it has to do with anything. I’m very flexible. While I wasn’t really being serious, I’m not a tease. If you had responded favorably I would have seen it through however you liked it.” He cocked his head slightly to one side. There was a definite puzzled note to his voice.

Bubbles faltered in the air, confused by the sudden disfavor he found himself in. What was going on? He landed near her and fluted an apology. Even if he didn’t know what it was he’d done, he’d clearly been wrong. Why else would she be so irate?

[dragon]

The extremely puzzled expressions flickering across the lad's face was almost worth having suffered through a kiss. Quite amusing, to be sure. In a strange sort of way. But then it went from mildly amusing, to something totally else. Sigh.

"It was a euphemism being used in a facetious manner, X'rx. Don't get your panties in a wad." Emoyan clarified. "I can't contest the comparison between drums and women, though. I am just ... somewhat picky, I guess you could say." He shrugged slightly. "But no, I'm not interested. I never swung that way." Thankfully he'd never been forced that way either. It was something he'd never had to 'get used to', all thanks to Kindrith's inept chasing abilities.

Skink chirred agreeably again as the flitter landed not far away. Now that was a good steed! She scampered along the railing in a fashion that closely mimiced that of a squirrel, before scurrying around him and up onto his back. Squinching down along his dorsal ridges, she held on expertly. Yes, flitter-riding was something she was very good at! Fly! Fly! she urged, happily.

[Requiem]

Panties in a wad. Really? A euphemism for what, exactly? "You probably should work on those jokes," he murmured under his breath. They weren't very funny. In fact, X'rx was actually finding that Emoyan was someone he actually...had trouble talking to. How unusual. Used as he was to people looking down on him, this approach was a bit new.

"Picky. Well, all right then. I guess I would prefer drums to some people." Not going to name who those might be. That would have been rather mean. Still, not everyone was altogether attractive, and X'rx generally didn't bother with people whose personalities weren't appealing to him as well as their looks. At least Emoyan wouldn't have to worry about any more casual teasing?

Bubbles was ever so relieved that the little green apparenly had forgiven him. He puffed out his chest really far in a demonstration of how big and proud he was. Yes, yes. Now little Skinklet, he would take her higher than she'd ever been. Yes. The blue leapt into the air and started flying nearly straight up. Would she like to see the sun? He could take her there...

[dragon]

Emoyan thought about that for a split moment, and then quirked his mouth off to one side a bit and nodded. "Probably." He agreed, before shrugging and grinning. "I never was a joker, obviously. Things like that take practice that I haven't given it." He had known a few Harpers, when he'd been an apprentice, that were just as good at all the different styles of humor as they were at any of the regular Harpering skills. Emoyan ... wasn't one of them. He could sing and play everyone to the moons, but crack a joke, or try to shroud something more serious in humor? That, he couldn't do. Not very well anyway. Occasionally he accidentally made a good one, but oh well. He'd really been trying to tell X'rx 'no' in a way that wouldn't offend him. It had backfired, obviously.

He pointed a finger at X'rx again, but this time it was a whole other expression. "Exactly." He agreed. "Only in my case, I prefer instruments to most people, rather than some. Nothing against them of course, they're just not my ... type ... I guess." He certainly didn't have a thing for guys, and that ruled out fully half the human population. And as for the women ... some of them were attractive, some weren't. This was probably part of why, even after all these turns, he was still more or less single. No weyrmate, no girlfriend, nothing. He was too picky. But he was okay with that. He had liked to think that he'd found something special in Darya, but now he'd likely never know. She was gone, or dead, he didn't know which.

Skink shrilled in her best, highest voice, making quite the racket as her mighty steed sped up into the sky toward Rukbat. Higher! Higher! Best bestest! Shinylove! [/i][/color] she bounced up and down on his back a few times, flexing her legs but never actually letting go of him; she knew better than to let go. She couldn't even glide, after all. Falling would be bad.

[Requiem]

Trust a harper to have good enough ears to pick up on X'rx's rudeness. He'd have to be more careful about mutterings beneath his breath in the future. Particularly when he was around Emoyan. Oh well. There really wasn't much that could be done for that, now was there?

He couldn't resist mentally adding, however, that Emoyan probably didn't have much of a sense of humor anyway, if all he could come up with were offensive jokes. Didn't the harper know that you made things as blatantly stereotypical and stupid as possible when you were stating a prejudice like that? Otherwise people assumed you shared in it. Not really his place to instruct the older man in how to tell jokes, though. No doubt Emoyan would already know how if he actually cared at all.

"No doubt." It was more likely that Emoyan simply didn't like people all that much. It was really easy to get along with them, otherwise, and the vast majority of the population tended to like people who liked them. Particularly the ones who flirted with them. Humans naturally wanted to be liked. "Anyway, good luck on your drum. And thanks. Skink is distracting Bubbles from his current 'fix it' project." Which made this whole situation moderately tolerable.

X'rx threw Emoyan a wave and turned to go back to his weyr and Eveyth. Better company. A glance was spared Bubbles, the flit swiftly disappearing into the sky far above. Silly flit.