To Live and let Live [open]

[tarra]

(OOC> In which Katar acknowledges she has a softer heart than she'd wish to know...)


The second day after the felines' attack on the Selenitas feeding grounds, a rider stood atop a massive branch within the jungle, watching the play of leaves overhead in a soft breeze. The fresh morning light streamed through the trees, highlighting her pale hair, the quiet set of her strong features, and the freshly bound bandages over her right forearm. All around her rose the trees of the jungle, ancient giants built of time and toil, their mighty boughs strong enough to support even the weight of a slender blue dragon and his bonded. Sonarth perched himself on one of them, just adjacent to his rider's, his calm blue eyes a mirror of the middle shades of his hide as he scanned the trees and the ground below them.

Bright though the morning was, there was little brightness in Katar's heart. She had made the journey here only after much consideration - considerations forced on her by the same event that had marred her arm with new bandages just two nights before. Even after that, however, she had not been able to find it in herself to kill the creature she had raised from cubhood: from a helpless mewling bundle of fur into a wild snarling beast of the forests and shadows. And nothing that Sonarth - all teeth and flared wings at having his rider inadvertently bitten by the blooded and distressed feline - could say would change her mind.

But of one thing there had been no doubt: the feline could no longer stay with her. The bluerider had watched her closely since she first came, had noted how the cub grew more morose and solitary even as she grew, her eyes growing ever less playful and ever more watchful with age - a stalker of the night in the making. In retrospect, had she known what she knew now when she first came to Selenitas, she would never have taken in the offspring of the feline that Sonarth had slain that first week in the Weyr. But what was done was done, and it was time to let go what should never have been allowed to come in in the first place.

Crouching over her branch, Katar's eyes found the wooden weaves of the crate on the ground far below. One side lay open, ready for the yearling feline to take her leave when she had woken. Even in parting the bluerider had taken care to ensure her yearling's survival as much as she might. Past months of feverish haste spent reading up on felines, on everything and anything that might help her to raise one, now went to good use in the choosing of the release spot. The coordinates came from fellow riders who had conducted a major feline hunt in this area just days ago, clearing out most of the local beasts. They were not likely to hunt this spot again for a while, focusing their attention on more densely packed feline populations elsewhere. With some luck the yearling feline would find the area still vacant, and be able to set up with some young roaming male before other felines staked claim to it. Thin though her chances of survival were, this was better than releasing her randomly into another pride's territory (and claws).

And the yearling had proven, quite adequately, that she knew how to hunt for herself.

The bluerider shifted in her spot. They had waited most of the morning for the effects of the drugged meat to wear off, and it seemed it finally had. The streamlined head of the feline, fur fuzzed from having lain on one side too long, emerged from the crate as the yearling took stock of her surroundings. Sonarth inclined his head as well, eyes now on the big cat below though he raised his muzzle every so often to scan their surroundings. Katar found she could not tear her gaze from Sereina. Long minutes trickled by as the feline stayed frozen, her twitching ears and nose the only indication she was alive in the vibrant noises of the forest all around.

Then, with a slinking motion so predatory it was chilling to watch, she slipped out of the crate into the cover of some nearby bushes, her patterned pelt blending in perfectly, and was gone. Katar perched staring at the spot where she had vanished, memories sifting through her mind; until the soft touch of her dragon's thoughts brought her back with a start.

Mine, it is getting cold. We should go.

Cold, yes. Now that he'd mentioned, she could feel the cold the cold so keenly her fingers had gone numb. She nodded mutely as Sonarth slipped over the branches and reached out to sidle onto her bough, the movement of his limbs smooth and subtle as he presented his shoulder and the harness to her arms. She clambered up, unfeeling hands and legs somehow pulling her into the gap between the neckspines and then clipping her own harness into place. The blue leapt upwards as soon as she had secured herself, and at the frigid touch of the open air on her face an image of the Weyr flared into her mind. She wanted to get away, yes; away from everything she had just let go of forever.

They disappeared between, leaving only the wind mourning through the branches of the forest below.

*************

The impact of what had been done took time to sink in, and left the bluerider in a half-fuming, half-depressive mood that lingered in the way she took on her daily chores. Sitting in her weyr, polishing her boots for perhaps the fiftieth time that day and incurring wary glances from Sonarth at the ledge, she was forced to admit she missed the padding paws and warm sense of an extra body in the weyr. Skittles lay crouched on one side of her owner, her eyes quiet and her body still as she pressed up against the bluerider, purring softly through her tiny frame. With a sigh, Katar set down the (by now very shiny) boots and scooped the small black cat onto her lap.

"You miss her too, I guess," she muttered, "But it's all for the best. She'd been killed or killed someone if she'd stayed."

The room suddenly felt too small, and rising the bluerider gently dumped the black onto the bed before she made straight out the doorway. She had not intended to go anywhere in particular, but it was not long before she found herself moving in the general direction of the forest fringes between the Main Hall and the Hatching Grounds. These places themselves she skirted, preferring not to encounter anyone if possible. In a sense it was rather fitting, she reflected: perhaps, in the shadows of the forest, she might find some peace.

[kat]

"Kyno, I'm boooored!"

Rayne hadn't been drinking as much as she would have liked lately. Not drinking meant no fun. Kynoath opened one eye lazily and fixated that slowly swirling blue-green gaze on her rider. Rayne had been complaining all morning that she was bored. The green had decided to ignore her for the most part. She was not bored. She was sunning herself and enjoying Rukbat's warm rays. Hers needed to either find something to do or stop complaining and just enjoy the day. Or so the green had told her several times to no avail.

"Kyno let's go do something. I'm bored," Rayne said yet again, standing and stretching her muscles. The past few sevendays had been nothing short of uneventful. She had missed the firelizard hatching--not that she was even sure she would have wanted one!--and nothing more exciting had happened other than that. A small fluffy white feline rubbed up against her legs. It too had stretched and yawned and now it mewled at her as if to inquire what they would do now.

"See, Winter wants to go do something too. C'mon and come with us!" Rayne's voice was petulant and pleading and yet Kynoath was having none of it. She closed her multifaceted eye and sent lazily,

Then take the fluffy white thing and go find something to do. I am sunning and I will not move until I am good and ready.[/color]

Rayne shot the dragon a sulky look but knew that she meant what she said. She leaned over and stroked the white feline, who purred happily at the attentions before leaning too far in just as Rayne stood up again and falling over. She quickly righted herself and began washing her tail as though nothing had happened.

Rayne had quite suddenly found herself the adopter of the feline when the Weyrling who had owned her had been killed. It was always tragic when someone died and yet even more so when a Weyrling pair did. She hadn't had the heart to say no when the idea was presented to her. After all the only responsibilities she had were to her wing and to Kyno. She had no other pets or priorities and although the little feline had taken a whole three sevendays to warm up to her she found she rather liked having the attention whoring creature around. A fluffy little warm ball that insisted on crawling under the furs at night and wanted attention at all times, Winter was a feline of which Rayne had grown very fond. She had always liked felines but since Impressing had never bothered with any creature other than her green. It was nice to have the white critter around though. She was comical, loving and clumsy--a constant source of amusement. Even Kynoath begrudgingly adored the feline. Winter padded out to where the dragoness was and curled up in between her large forelegs. Rayne sighed and shook her head.

"All right, fine. You two can just stay here and laze about. I'll go for a walk," she muttered under her breath. Much to her dismay she was ignored by both feline and dragon. Her brows knitted as she stalked off feeling quite sorry for her predicament.

She found herself walking quite a while before she even stopped to ponder where she was going. By the time she realized she was out of doors she decided that she'd simply skirt the forests that lined the edges of where she now stood. No need to go into them. Wild felines and other nasties lived there. While she was armed with a dagger in each boot and one hidden up on her leg? No dagger was going to help her against a pack of felines. Better safe than sorry. Plus was that another person up ahead? With a grin she began jogging towards said person. Boredom managed, perhaps?

She didn't have a drink on her, all the more to her sorrow. But she felt like socializing and not like being out here all by her lonesome. Besides what if this person wouldn't mind going to have a bit of a social drinky-drinky with her? That idea perked her up. It had been at least two sevendays since she'd had a real drink. That was two sevendays too long! As she came up alongside the stranger she stopped her jogging. Shardit. Why did this person not look like she was in a good mood? Was it another case of a depressed or moody individual who had come way out here to be all alone? Unfortunately she ran into a lot of those. Well, she was determined that she not let this one be one! She would do her utmost to provide friendly conversation, cheer the girl up and try and convince her all she needed was a nice solid drink! And so,

"Hey there! Nice day for a walk don't you think?" [/size]

[tarra]

Katar, when depressed, was reckless. Thoughts of felines and other jungle dangers flashed through her mind and were thrown aside as she ducked into the shade of the frosted trees. The cold touch of the air beneath the trees brought some rationality back into her, and she paused in the shadows, one foot raised in a curiously cat-like fashion as she contemplated the dark depths speckled with silvery icicles. Here, amongst the wild things and away from the confines of other humans, she felt oddly...comfortable. Familiar, even. Perhaps it was simply the frustration in her crying for release, (or just that she had spent too long already in the company of a wild beast), but she relaxed enough to walk again, and to realize she had been pacing hard, stamping almost, all the way to the forest edge.

Her senses, heightened by the myriad of minute sounds all around, twitched suddenly to the feel of another person nearby and she froze. Inclining her head, the bluerider gazed back towardsit, towards the open light which indicated the path back towards the Weyr. Sure enough there was someone - a female someone by the curve of her figure - coming at her, silhouetted against the light. Bemused, she made no move to slip away until it was too late.

"Hey there! Nice day for a walk don't you think?"

The question was casual, light; not at all something unexpected on any given day of course, but Katar was too stunned at meeting such a question in such a place to respond immediately. By the time she made herself turn to greet the other woman properly however, she had also recognised her as a greenrider and ex-Fortian (yes, she did tend to find out who was who, eventually), and could manage a soft smile for her. A wry smile, though that was probably not visible in the current lighting. Had the other woman been a former Bendenite, Katar would have had every inclination to simply turn tail and flee into the forest. As it was however, she inclined her head in greeting.

"Well...it's a little cold, but otherwise good," it was such a lame opening the bluerider might have cringed if she were in better mood; she tried not to anyway, "And a walk always refreshes the senses."

She rattled her brain for something more to say....and failed. So she settled for the simplest and most clichéd of phrases, "What brings you out on such a day?"

Because, really, she had come out here to be alone and a companion was the last thing she'd expected. But she was not willing to be unfriendly either, and if they could just get introduced things would probably get smoother...

[kat]

If Rayne noted any expression the other young woman might have made it certainly didn't show. No, she was all smiles and looking pleased to have come across someone. Nothing cured boredom than being bored with someone else after all! It was true that the weather was a little chilly. Even more so under the shade of the forest canopy. Yet dangers aside it was a nice place to be. The scenery provided more depth and wealth of plant life than anywhere else. There was birdsong and that feeling of majesty and mystery in the forests. True there was risks as well and yet felines didn't tend to stray this close to the Weyr. The dragons likely kept them at bay and they weren't even really more than a few feet in.

"Boredom."

The answer was short and simple. Very to the point, though Rayne usually was just that. She shifted her stance a little as she inspected the other. Bluerider was it? That was all she could remember about her. No matter though. She would probably find out a lot more now that they were meeting for the first time. New meetings were delightful after all. Even if they did not involve alcohol. There was something about the other that was ruffling her proverbial feathers though. As though she were wistful and perhaps unhappy about something. She was pretty good at picking up on things like this. Even if they weren't clearly seen by others or all that obvious.

"Rayne of Green Kynoath," she offered with a curious smile. There was a question in her eyes that might merely have been leaving the other open to give a name--but was not. Of course the other would reply with a name and perhaps a rank. Bluerider was something she knew. Dragon name was not. The questioning was not for that however. She was curious to know what the other was doing out here. Riders were of course free to come and go as they chose. Not many came here though. Especially unaccompanied by dragon and human alike.

"What brings you out here?"

And there it was, the question which might tell her what she wanted to know. Or might not. It really depended on this other person. She might not give much away or she might reveal the answer without holding back. Rayne didn't really have any personal secrets. No vices that could be hidden. Just the secrets of others and those she could keep no matter what state of mind she might be in. No matter how inebriated she would be more likely to jump off a cliff rather than tell--though she had jumped off of cliffs before. Cliff diving was fun!

Kynoath was sleeping soundly. Even though there was the constant presence of her there it was muted and Rayne wondered what dragon dreams the green might be having. She kept that wondering to herself for the time being. She was too busy awaiting an answer and sizing the other young woman up. She looked rather capable with that same sort of aloofness Rayne recognized in herself. Wild child or just a lone canine, as it were? New people brought new questions and curiosities. Rayne was fond of both and speculated and analyzed a lot before actually even getting to really know. Guessing at things was fun too after all.