Famous Last Words (S'rei)

[Zephyr]

Noooooooooooo!

Came the plaintive wail of K'ian's salamandyr baby as he tried to unwind her from his neck. She seemed intent on not leaving his shoulder. He was trying to get through to her that it was possible to get around without getting dirty, but she was having none of it. He didn't know if she was stupid, or if she just refused to listen to him. According to Romeoth, it was a little of both. Speaking of the big bronze, he was really no help. Once K'ian asked him to try and get something through to her, but he replied with a snorted quip, You got yourself into this mess. You can get yourself out alone. K'ian knew he wasn't jealous. What dragon in their right mind was jealous of a salamandyr? He just thought that the bronze was a little put off at having to share his rider's mind after all their years together.

That didn't make the man feel any better.

Finally resigning himself to the fact that he wasn't going to get Mouse off anytime soon, he let her stay where she was, buried in his hair near the back of his neck, tail wrapped tightly around his neck. Her tail seemed odd to him. It was super long compared to the rest of her body and seemed out of place. She might grow into it, but judging by a few of the adult mandyrs around, he doubted it.

His thoughts were diverted from mandyrs soon enough though, when he thought of the reason he had left his weyr in the first place. He had wanted to find this...S'rei who had come on the day after the earthquakes. K'ian was anxious to know about the Burimyu council. He had never seen anything like it and the mechanics of it were quite foreign to him. He wanted to know how it worked, and how they could operate without a weyrleader. When H'nes had died, he hadn't thought about it much then, but he had wondered what they would do without a weyrleader and a queen who was extremely egg heavy.

It didn't take him long to realize that he was lost. Sighing heavily, he just decided to give up on finding S'rei himself and going to the dining hall, the only place in the weyr he knew the location of with any semblance of sureness. Can you reach Salenth and ask him to have S'rei meet me there, Rom? Must I? Romeoth whined. I don't think I like him very much. K'ian scoffed on his way to the dining hall. This was a very different matter than getting a stubborn salamandyr to obey. He knew that Rom would do what he asked, as long as he didn't ask in an unreasonable tone. You don't know him well enough to say if you like him or not. Grumbling something to himself, Rom reached out to find Salenth. Salenth? Mine has asked me to see if yours is available to meet with him. He'll be in the dining hall if this is an acceptable time.

Sitting down at one of the tables, K'ian leaned back and waited. This might not be the most ideal meeting spot, but it was neutral enough for the wastelander, if anything in the exile weyr could be considered neutral.

[Requiem]

More than available, Salenth returned, the amusement behind his mindvoice quite palpable. He pretends to work while mentally grumbling about how unfair it is for a cryptkeeper his age to have to be chaste when he has a hot little se- Really? Weyrmate, Salenth recovered, without an ounce of remorse or shame. I will send him along. Of course you will.

S'rei stretched, glancing around at the scattered papers over his desk, most of them dealing with the logistics of a new, large population to settle in and feed and supply again. The Weyrwomen of course covered a good portion of this, but not all. They just didn't have the knowledge required to outfit wings and they weren't longterm thinkers. Goldriders never seemed to plan longterm. Not that he was getting anywhere, anyway. What Salenth had said was more or less unfortunately true. The man had gotten used to having a weyrmate to take care of his hungers, and though she was still here he had to be good. So hard to be good.

Where go? the little culprit inquired of His. The blue's head was lifted, half-frilling in curiosity. Mhir come? "Of course. We're going to the dining hall." Mhir leapt from the table and flew up to perch on S'rei's shoulder, something the bronzerider was still getting used to. Most salamandyrs couldn't fly. What dining hall? "The place where we eat." ...eat here, Mhir commented, confused. "The other place." The blue just pulsed questioningly, and S'rei chuckled. The 'mandyr of neverending questions, Mhir. "You'll see."

Picking up his gitar as he left the room, he slipped into the dining hall with Mhir crooning at the prospect of more music, and, catching sight of Ki'an, waved to him. Hi, Mhir greeted both man and green 'mandyr warmly when they approached. S'rei settled himself on the edge of the table near Ki'an and shot the young man a half-smile. "So, how are you settling in, then?" His fingers sought out a pattern of chords, an absent backdrop to the intensity of the gaze turned on the other bronzerider.

[Zephyr]

Romeoth chuckled at Salenth's words, though when he returned to K'ian, the bronze screened out most of what the other told him. He comes, mine. K'ian was leaning back in his chair, arms crossed over his chest. Thanks, Rom. Anytime, K'ianmine. Just not anytime soon. I'm starving. The tall man chuckled lightly, telling by the stretching of their bond that his dragon had gone off to hunt. Rom was adapting to Burimyu well. He had always been a good hunter, and having to scour the jungle for anything to eat was exhilarating for the bronze dragon.

The only indication K'ian had that S'rei was coming was the slight stirring of the green 'mandyr on the back of his neck. Mouse popped her head out from the back of her bonded's hair, cheeping lightly. The man's eyes slid to the entrance of the dining hall, watching as S'rei strode in, brandishing a guitar in one hand. He lifted an eyebrow slightly. He didn't know S'rei played the guitar. Then again, he really didn't know much about the older bronzerider in the first place. He waved back, Mouse peeking out at Mhir. Brother! Hiiiiiiiii! The minty green was perfectly happy to see her clutchbrother, but she wasn't anxious to leave her perch, after all, the floor was terribly dirty and she didn't want to get her paws all dirty!

K'ian watched S'rei as he perched on the table, considering his question seriously for a moment. It wouldn't work to tell him that he had been getting lost looking for him...or that he was getting lost finding anything other than the dining hall. He had to admit that this was the perfect place the exiles could have found. If the wastelanders and Selenitans had found it, they would have gotten hopelessly lost. Somehow, though, K'ian didn't think the other would appreciate the compliment. So instead, the bronze settled for something else. " Very well, thanks. The rooms are very spacious. Some of us are having a better time at it than others. I heard Millieth was not very happy at all at having to move with eggs heavy in her belly."

[Requiem]

Sister? The baby blue crooned, then launched himself from His and flew a little erractically (he was still learning the use of his large wings) to join his clutchsister on Ki'an's head. Hi, hi. The 'mandyr proceeded to nuzzle up against his sister and bathe her with his tongue. What sister name? I Mhir, he offered, his name sounding like a purr as he crooned to her.

S'rei chuckled. "Is an egg-heavy gold ever happy?" He winked, switching into a different key and smiling at a drudge who hurried out with a tray of klah and some basic foodstuffs. The bronzerider pretended not to notice her withdraw to listen to the music at a distance. He was no great musician, but as long as you didn't sound like screeching cats the majority of the general population didn't notice the lack. Nodding to the tray for Ki'an to help himself, he added a little roguishly, "You seem to be captivating the young girls here."

It didn't take much imagination to figure out who he was talking about; the drudge may have responded to S'rei's music, but her gaze wasn't on the guitarist. "Little wonder. You have no competition. Certainly not amongst the bronzeriders." Somehow the words didn't ring of false modesty. Possibly because, even though he aged well, S'rei had most certainly aged. "Well, if you run into any problems, you know to come see me about it, yes? Or E'rro or Darya. Any of us will do."

[Zephyr]

Mouse was ecstatic when Mhir came to join her. She didn't like to get dirty unless she absolutely had to, and having someone actually come to her was how it was honestly supposed to be. Skittering up to join Mhir on her bonded's head, she trilled happily, nuzzling him and wrapping her tail around him. Pretty Mhir is pretty! She crooned lightly. It wasn't certain whether she thought he himself was pretty or merely his name. Whatever the case, she wasn't telling and it didn't really matter. Mouse is Mouse's name. Goooooood namies. She liked her name at least, that was good.

" Not particularly." K'ian beamed at the other bronzer, grinning in amusement. " It must be worse though when you have to change weyrs while pregnant." Not that he knew what it was like, not that he ever wanted to know what it was like. He just had to make sure that Millieth didn't get so irritated with them that she decided to eat someone. He had been listening to S'rei's music in the silence that followed. He had nodded to the woman, taking a bit of cheese from the plate. He hadn't really been paying attention to the woman herself, however, until S'rei spoke. "Hm?" He asked, attention fully on the older bronzerider for a moment. Eyes shifted to the kitchen staff. They had all looked away by the time his attention was drawn to them, but he grinned lightly. " Oh yes. Honestly though, it gets to the point where I don't notice much anymore." The man shrugged lightly, his grin shifting slightly. " Unless I want something." Rom would certainly be wingpalming right now if he had been around.

" Well, the way I see it, there is no competition when it comes to looks. It all comes down to strength." He mused, looking at the cheese he held in his hand for a moment. " Personal strength and the strength of one's dragon. Salenth and yourself are a good example of that." He nodded to S'rei. Look at how much the pair had been through, and they were still around. He didn't know what the future held, but when Nitrath rose, Romeoth would have his work cut out for him if Salenth chased. He listened to the man's other words, grinning at him after a second. " Thanks for that. I did have some questions, if you don't mind entertaining them." He asked, attention fully on S'rei now.

[Requiem]

Mhir returned the nuzzles contentedly. How lucky! Not all his clutchsiblings were as nice as Mouse, though he adored all of them anyway because that was what one was supposed to do with clutchsiblings. Adore them. Mouse and Mhir. Mmmmm, he responded. Same letter. That must make them super special clutchsiblings, yes? Want fly? Mhir take Mouse fly. Get yums. Yes?

S'rei watched the two interacting for a moment, making a mental note to limit how often Mhir was exposed to Mouse in future. Not because she wasn't sweet, but because a green and a blue mandyr spending too much time together was rather asking for trouble. He couldn't resist a snort at Ki'an's response to the girl's attention, though. "Well, I definitely have to give you one thing: you're honest to a fault," he answered with a wry grin.

A brow rose slightly as Ki'an proceeded to demur. Well. S'rei couldn't quite tell how genuine the younger rider was being, and seeing as how every bronzer worth their weight in fluff was at least an adequately accomplished politician, it was likely that Ki'an didn't mean a word coming out of his mouth. Even if he was trying to flatter S'rei, though, it was at least a tacit acknowledgement that the older of the two had something that the other didn't. "A common misconception," he responded easily. "The only power worth anything is the power or strength that comes from convincing others you're powerful. No other talents or traits will get you far if people don't care to follow you or respect you."

He flashed a smile at the Benden defector. "Ask."

[Zephyr]

It wasn't that Mouse was nice, necessarily. She just loved her family quite a bit, and enjoyed being around them. She was also very self orientated. Who wouldn't want to spend time with her? Who wouldn't be thrilled spending time with her? She knew she was a very pretty salamandyr and that she was tons of fun to be around. Yes! The mandyr was positively bouncing with excitement at the prospect of eating AND spending time with her brother! Yes! It was a win-win. She flared her wings happily. Yum yums! Mhir and Mouse get yums! she agreed happily.

K'ian was actually getting tired of having two salamandyrs on his head, so he was happy they were leaving. Not having to deal with Mouse's big mouth for a while was a plus. He listened to the older man's words, shrugging lightly. " I don't really see any reason to lie at the moment. After all, what position am I in to do so?" He wasn't stupid. He knew full well that the wastelanders' power was severely diluted at the moment. H'nes' death struck a fatal blow to their operation. Frankly, K'ian wasn't sure why the Selenitans kept he and the remaining wastelanders around. They certainly didn't have many fans hanging around.

His eyes widened slightly when S'rei spoke and he acknowledged the wisdom of the other man's words. It was true. H'nes had been proof of that. He hadn't been anymore physically stronger than K'ian, but he had held him, the other wastelanders, and the entirety of Selenitas in check. Wasn't the entire wasteland invasion proof of that? There had been less wastelanders than Selenitans, especially after the tithe theft, yet the Selenitans never uprose...when they could have very well overwhelmed the forces. Deciding not to think about it right now, he looked back at S'rei. " I wanted to ask about this...council of yours. I'm intrigued. There isn't anything like it in all the weyrs, as far as I know. How does it work?" The thought of keeping a weyr running without a weyrleader was a foreign one. There had to be times when the weyr had to accommodate for not having a weyrleader, but that only had to be until the queen rose again. From what he had heard, they had had a council even after Jingth had rose.

[Requiem]

Yums, then go we, he agreed happily, tail coiling in his excitement. This was going to be nice. He hadn't had too much of a chance to spend time with his siblings (or other 'mandyrs at all) just yet, because none of the people who were His' had a salamandyr of their own. The blue flattened himself as close to K'ian's scalp as he could. Climb on? Mhir take Mouse fly.

From K'ian's expression, he'd never thought of this before. S'rei couldn't help but smile slightly at that expression. Was it really such a novel idea? The bronzerider didn't think so, but then, he'd come to understand that the period during which he'd suffered from amnesia had changed him a great deal. In many ways he'd taken on a lot of Salenth's mannerisms and ways of thinking, and could even be accused of being more 'dragonlike' than the average man.

"Poorly," S'rei commented dryly. "The idea's sound enough. Having leadership that doesn't change every turn, with power spread between more than one person, maintains stability and prevents the sort of corruption seen under C'leon at Benden. The system's completely inefficient right now, though. It was the brain child of Ka'rys...the Fort interrogator. The implementation was poor. And trying to fix it with the Council already in place instead of before it was implemented...is like pulling teeth. We'll see how it goes. I'm trying to make it more representative. You know, have each member responsible for a certain area, and only bring the really big decisions to the Council as a whole."