Don't Eat That! [Egg stall/open]

[hseru]

The infirmary needed more bandages and some of the more difficult to come by herbs, so S'lain had volunteered to make a trip to the Hold with Jaxith and ferry the items back. He was one of the most able of the riders who worked in the infirmary, and really, most of the dragon related injuries were on the mend, so he was useless for all but the most basic apprentice human healing anyway. In the end, he was glad to have something useful to do. The air was breezy and the day lovely, and they both enjoyed the short flight before blinking Between. Weather at the Hold was much the same, and they spiraled lazily overhead for a bit before finally landing in the open space saved for riders. S'lain dismounted, and walked briskly for the Hold, leaving Jaxith to stretch out to the side in the sunshine.

Stalker had insisted on accompanying them, riding in the collar of S'lain's flight leathers while they blinked out, and shuffling up to his head to ride in his customary spot after they winged over the Hold. During the attack, the obnoxious little creature couldn't be found anywhere. The blue hadn't been useful at all, unlike the many other creatures bonded to so many. Granted, some had lost their lives in the process, but they had helped. S'lain had almost... almost wished that Stalker hadn't returned afterwards, but he just wasn't the type to blame an animal for its own nature, so when the mandyr finally did show up, expecting praise, the bluerider couldn't be harsh to him as he had contemplated doing, and instead gave the blue a nice caress and some food for his voracious stomach.

S'lain was beginning to grudgingly accept the fact that Stalker was going to be with him for a while. The only good thing was that the mandyr wasn't as clingy as some of the mindpets he'd witnessed. He was perfectly happy to go off and harass someone else for attention, and the dragonhealer offered no apologies for the blue. It was the only source of amusement he could find from the creature, and a few sour people weren't going to ruin it for him.

The Gather square was full, as he'd known it would be. There were few things he could buy here to augment the infirmary, but perhaps he could get some things for his own personal stores. Liking this idea, he began to search for a stall selling herbs and such, unsure if he'd actually find such a thing.

Stalker flashed at everyone in passing, enjoying the many second glances he was getting. He was so worth a second, or even third and fourth glance from these uglies. Uglies. ShardingUglies! Yes, Uglies! The blue called, encouraging people to look at him. S'lain didn't even bother wincing at the wide-range broadcast and the increased number of people looking around, to finally settle their gazes on the area somewhere around the top of his head. He wasn't uncomfortable in crowds, so it didn't really matter to him if the little pest wanted to have all attention on him. The blue finally seemed pleased enough with the looks he was getting, and began looking around in his own right, interested in the wide array of curious and bright shinies everywhere.

One stall in particular suddenly caught his gaze. Eggs! So many delicious, wonderful tasty eggs, full of the yellow fluff that he loved so very very much! Mouth practically watering at the idea, his fading eyes followed the eggs as Hispet passed them right by, no nonono! Back, back! Fluffy, Back! GoUgly! He attempted to order S'lain. The bluerider glanced back, then shook his head. "No, those eggs aren't for you. We don't eat those." Don't eat? Preposterous. All eggs had one purpose and one purpose only. To be eaten! The yellow fluff was waiting! Abruptly launching off of S'lain's head back towards the stall, Stalker sailed on the breeze, oblivious to the mess he would cause. The dragonhealer knew exactly what was about to happen, and turned in a frantic effort to keep the pest from eating a very expensive snack.

Stalker made it to the stall in a short glide with his perfectly proportionate wings, and licked his jaws at the sight. These were Littlewing eggs. BIG ones. He quickly moved to the largest one near him, and wrapped his tail and body around it, starting to work with his claws at the shell. Oh, the fluff was so close, he could taste it. Before he had done the irreparable damage of breaking the shell totally, S'lain grabbed him, effectively stilling the digging, but unable to pry the creature off with only one hand. He looked pleadingly at the stall keeper girl. "Get your egg, before he cracks it." Nonononono, leggoUgly! Fluff, yum fluff! LEGGO!! NONONONOOOO!!! Stalker howled like he was being tortured to death, squirming and making to bite either the egg, or S'lain, whichever he could get his jaws on first.

[nightingale]

The young woman manning the stall let out a small gasp of alarm as she suddenly realized the trouble brewing near her carefully arranged display of flit eggs. She crossed over to S'lain quickly, her expression clearly irked and she snatched the egg from it's cloth bed and cradled it to her chest.

"And just what de ye think yer doin'?" She demanded in a vaguely Irish accent. "Letting yer silly little creature nibble on my eggs? What de'ye think, I just gather 'em up off the ground like hazelnuts?"

The young woman huffed crossly, turning her dark eyes toward examining the egg's pale violet surface for damage. The small green fitter who crouched half-camouflaged in her curly black hair watched Stalker with a murderous red glint in her eyes. Ugly blue thing...trying to eat their eggs...who did he think he was, anyway? Good thing he was so ugly, or she'd eat him...she didn't eat ugly things.

After a brief moment the woman gave her head a shake and sighed. "He's gone and wrecked it. Ye'll have t'buy it now." She told S'lain, tapping the ten mark price tag with a neatly manicured index finger.

[hseru]

Jerking Stalker back, and wincing as the blue finally tagged a bite on his hand, S’lain’s mouth fell open and he just stared at the price she was suggesting he pay for the mishap, forgetting all about the pain the blue was causing his hand in favor of the pain the little beast was going to cause his money pouch. Ten… ten marks!? Of course the mandyr had to pick one of the most expensive things to try and eat. Why hadn’t he gone for one of those smaller ones? The bluerider had a mind to toss him in a trunk and never let him out again after this.

“I’m really really sorry miss, he, ah, got away from me before I could catch him.” Suddenly realizing that Stalker was -still- biting him, S’lain shoved the offensive creature into his pouch and drew the string tight to prevent escape. Nononono Ugly, leggo. LEGGO UGLY, DARK, LEGGO!!! Scrabbling sounds came from the bag as the blue tried in vain to escape through the heavy wherhide, ‘shouting’ as loudly as he could. S’lain winced in apology to the woman.

“It’s not wrecked that badly, he didn’t even crack the shell.” The bluerider tried to reason with the woman. Ten marks… the number made him want to pummel Stalker and dip him in numbweed just for comedic effect. Surely with so many egg-eating creatures running about, this was a common happening? Besides, what was he going to do with a wrecked flitter egg? Surely not give it to the mandyr, not after this fiasco. Stalker would be lucky to ever get eggs again.

[nightingale]

The woman opened her mouth to argue, but a loud crack silenced her before she could form one syllable. The egg shuddered. "Shards and spring rains, now look!" She cursed, shoving it roughly at the bluerider.

"Ye expect me t'sell a hatched flitter egg? Not a chance sir! Ten marks, or we'll be needin' t'bring the lord holder into this!" The green flitter began humming softly. A baby! Oh, a baby! Lovely, nice baby! Had the ugly blue egg-eater woken it? Poor baby! not to worry! Hers would make sure it found a good home!

[hseru]

Stalker paused in his attempts to escape when he heard the humming. What was that? He knew that sound! NOnonononono! He shouted, but went mostly ignored.

S'lain almost fumbled the egg as she shoved it at him, but he was so scared of dropping the expensive thing that he finally clutched it tightly in his hand. He could feel the creature inside scrabbling and scratching to get free, and for a sudden, hearstopping moment of indecision, he pondered dropping it to try and make a run for it.

Fortunately for the flitter in the egg, he managed to crack shell before S'lain could actually make the escape plan a successful action, and a hungry creel filled the shocked silence as a dusky brown wing flapped against the outside of the shell, struggling to free the rest of its body. Pausing in his efforts, the brown heaved and the shell split in all directions as the good sized brown lolled out on S'lain's careful hand for a moment before creeling again in abject hunger. Wouldn't his please, please feed him!? He was starving and His would be a good good His if His would just feed him! But oh, it was bright and pretty out here, and he was still hungry!

Mystified by the brown flitter now clutching at his fingers as it searched for food, Jaxith's voice bloomed in his mind and snapped him from staring. Is that a new mind I feel? Here I thought you disliked the small ones. It's Stalker's fault... and I don't dislike flitters, it just sorta... happened. Cost me ten marks too... [/b] The last grumble was full of annoyance, but he was already bonding to the flitter, and there was no need to get the Lord Holder in on this fiasco. "I'll give you the marks, but do you have some meat I could feed this baby before his hunger gnaws right through his stomach?" He didn't even bother to mention that feeding and holding the brown would be rather impossible for him. Instead, he tried to transplant the flitter to the table just long enough to get the marks for the woman. The brown refused to let him go, pushing ever harder with his hunger, insisting he be fed, now.

[nightingale]

The dark haired woman gave S'lain a long and skeptical looking over, but eventually she seemed to conclude that there was no harm in helping him. She gathered the dark green flitter from her shoulder and allowed her to hop up onto the bluerider. "Don't ye be goin anywhere." She warned, then moved behind the counter and vanished as she crouched down to look for something.

The green flitter leaned in to examine the newly hatched brown, her tongue flicking out to touch his forehead lightly. He was a little brown! Little little itsy bitsy. So cute he was! What was the bad man going to name him? She thought he looked a lot like the stuff his shoes were made of. Maybe he could call him that?


The young woman returned a moment later, thrusting a small bowl of chilled meet toward S'lain. "Feed it and then give me the bowl back. I'll take my marks now if ye don't mind." The green flit hopped back onto her bonded's shoulder, trilling her agreement. Marks now, because stealing was bad and if he tried to steal she would bite him!

[hseru]

S’lain didn’t know if he really approved of the woman putting her green on him, he already had enough problems with creatures reacting badly to him. Fortunately, the green flitter was too preoccupied with the newly hatched brown to pay him much attention, and he appreciated the woman’s help more than he wanted to argue about her ‘watchflitter’. The brown paused in his creeling when the green’s tongue flicked lightly against his forehead, and he twisted up and around to sniff noses with her. Hello pretty biggreen. Would she like to be friends? He was soooo hungry, did she know where he could get food? His didn’t have any, but he didn’t want to leave His to try and find something because His was upset.

S’lain was glad when the woman returned with the meat, abruptly juggling the brown and the new addition of bowl in his one hand. Ok, she could be annoyed with him, but really, did she have to be so... inconsiderate? Sniffing at the bowl, the hatchling would have turned down the meat, but he was too hungry to resist even something so unpleasant as red meat. He gingerly took the meat, downing it quickly, but the bluerider was inundated with his displeasure at being forced to eat something so repulsive. He’d have to find out just what the brown preferred, but for now, he ate until he was sufficiently full, then climbed up S’lain’s arm to curl against the side of his neck, a tad disgruntled, but in a general good mood.

This left the bluerider’s hand free, finally, and he returned the bowl to the woman, and opened his beltpouch, from which Stalker flew with an angry squawk, landing on the ground to run away as fast as his little legs could carry him, shouting obscenities. Shaking his head with a sigh, S’lain withdrew the ten marks, handing them over to the woman without further preamble. “I really am sorry about the trouble. It wasn’t my intention to try and rob you.” He turned his head a bit to look down at the brown already starting to slumber on his shoulder, smiling just a little. “I’ll treat him well though, and thank you for your help.”