Oh my loves [toy stall][tags Sym and Momo]

[Kisha-Ra]

Darya wandered around the gather, munching on a bag of candied fruits. She normally didn’t go to gathers for shopping unless she needed something, dancing and drinking were enough for her. However this gather was such a welcome diversion from the state of the weyr at the moment that she’d come down earlier, besides that Azrath still wasn’t fit to fly so Darya had been forced to hitch a ride with someone.

For a change both her pets were perched on her shoulders. Either they were intimidated by the size of the gather crowd or, far more likely, they fancied the candied fruit. Imp offered a commentary on the gather that Darya could easily tune out while Bit just looked around waving her long tail and occasionally thumping Darya’s shoulder with it.

Oooooh Looklooklook. Bright shiny place. Go please? Imp suddenly bounced in a way that made Darya pay attention to him, if only because she was worried he’d fall. It was a bright stall surrounded by children that he’d captured the salamandyr’s attention, the brightly painted marionettes dangleing around the place proclaimed it to be a toy stall. Not a place Darya had much use for since she had no children (thankfully!) and no friends with children either. However it was easy to see why Imp was attracted to the bright colours and he wouldn’t shut up if she didn’t let him have at least a short look.

Imp bounced happily. Yes! He was going to the bright, shiny, happy people making place. Maybe he could find something to make a pretty like him better here if made so many people happier. The bronze salamandyr leaned forward and stretched up, his pet was tall but some of the humans here were taller. Oh so many things all bright and shiny! What was that? Pretties! So many pretties, all together but lots of others too, he’d better get there first!

Darya cursed as Imp launched off her shoulder and bounced onto someone else’s head. Thankfully it was a parent he jumped on rather than someone’s whining brat who’d scream the whole place down, as it was she was getting more dirty looks for her choice of language. She glared at a woman giving her a particularly dirty look and turned back to the stall just in time to see Imp disappear among a display of firelizard dolls. Green ones naturally.

Oh so many pretty prettyloves. Adore all I. Imp threaded his way between the ranks of firelizard dolls with his frill proudly raised, wasn’t he the finest specimen of a bronze they ever saw? But which one would he court above all others? There were just so many, and many other males waiting to vie for their attention, he’d better pick only one, or a maybe a few… Wait, why weren’t they watching him, why didn’t they chirp and chitter as prettyloves should? Why not speak to I pretties. Nice I. Adore you.

Darya sighed as she listened to Imp and shook her head. Stupid beast.

[glamourie]

Stupidbaby, thought a suspiciously quiet bronze salamandyr as Imp came into his view. Showoff was camping out at the toy stall, primarily because His had asked him to keep an eye on one of the stuffed felines (the BabyHis had pointed it out, but His did not want to carry it -- so how better to guarantee it wasn’t purchased except by telling Showoff to play guard ‘mandyr?). As the blue rider approached, Showoff ducked behind the nearest toy, trying to avoid being seen. Unfortunately, the toy he chose to duck behind was one of the fire lizard dolls - but it was big enough to hide his red-toned bronze form with remarkable ease, so long as he didn’t display or flare his wings in any way. He didn’t want to talk to Imp, he didn’t like Imp. Any salamandyr that Chased one of the flying uglies was an improper salamandyr to be sure, and he was convinced Imp’s egg got properly sat on before it hatched. No baby of his was that demented, or should have been. Imp’s must have been switched before hatching, it was the only excuse --- or maybe he was just a deformed talking uglyFlyer. Maybe that was it. Whatever it was, he was an improper ‘mandyr! Improper and broooooken!

But - wait. What was the broken baby doing? Confused, Showoff climbed onto the back of one of the green fire lizard dolls, clinging to it with his little claws (but carefully to avoid causing it damage). Was it - was the dumbBronze trying to flirt with them? Didn’t he realize they weren’t real stupidFlyers? Much too quiet to be real stupidFlyers. He liked these ones better - they were not so noisy, so annoying, and they were soft, good to cuddle with. But if the dumbBronze Imp thought they were real - and wanted to Chase them (so gross!) then Showoff could be obliged to… teach him a lesson about why the dumbFlyers were not as good as salamandyrs, yes he could.

Showoff resisted the urge to trill in maniacal glee and lifted one little claw to settle on the back of the fire lizard doll’s wings. Then his other foreleg moved and he snapped his wings against his back, tight as they would go, so that he remained invisible. Like a puppet master using a marionette, he began to move, causing the fire lizard doll’s wings to flap up and down. Then Showoff leaned to one side, making the entire doll lean to the side as well, in a remarkable imitation of a curious fire lizard trying to flirt. It was actually realistic in posture, if one ignored that the fire lizard was obviously stuffed and made of fabric. (Anyone with eyes in their head would be able to tell they were not real fire lizards from a simple glance -- though the colors and shape were right, they were stuffed, and slightly smaller than the average fire lizard.) Showoff barely kept himself from twitching his tail in glee.

If only he could trill and chirp -- but his ‘voice’ was scratchy and easy to identify. Somehow he doubted the dumbBronze would mistake him for a female fire lizard. Maybe he’d believe it was a mute flit. Wishful thinking? A little - but Showoff hadn’t expected the dumbBronze to believe the dolls were real in the first place, so --

[ravenmane]

Luckily for Showoff, Chatti was also at the Toy Stall. She was clinging to one of the marionettes while studying the merchandise below. The little Green was searching for anything Hers might like for the little humanpetbabyHers. It was not a difficult task, but she quickly became distracted by the approach of Imp and his humanpet. She bared her teeth at her half-brother/nephew's antics. He was flirting with uglyfliers that weren't even alive. Chatti knew that because she lived with one. ...StupidUglyImp hakdjanejdfn jaoleiandj ajdjajajajaja uck uglyfliers nmkanauekandddnakehenanha...Her voice was the softest whisper she could manage and only directed to her humanpet.

As she watched from up above, the little salamandyr noticed Showoff, the meanie queen-mother's mate. Chatti didn't normally have much interaction with the Bronze because she was with Wraith Hers, her humanpet, or humanpetbabyHers, but she was appreciating what he was doing. Showoff was teasing StupidBronze, but why didn't he make any noises? Well, he happened to be male so maybe he just needed help showing StupidBronze how stupid he was.

Chatti carefully climbed to the top of the stall and scrambled down its side. From there, she quietly slunk across the counter, ducking behind toys so not to be seen by Imp. Finally, the salamandyr reached Showoff's hiding place and crooned loudly s she scrambled onto the back of the toy's head. Despite her continuous words flowing from her into the mind of Hers, the green managed to keep her mindvoice was pretty much silent as she did a fair imitation of Eryn's flirtatious croons and chirps. For once, the Green UglyFlier had come in handy, but that still didn't mean Chatti would ever appreciate the fire-lizard. Yep, Eryn could go die and Chatti probably wouldn't bat an eye.

[Kisha-Ra]

Imp was confused, none of the pretties were moving, none were chirping, they all lay the same way. Why was that? His frill dropped a little uncertainly and he walked up to the nearest green. She didn’t move or pay any attention to him. A breeze swept past him and the bronze spun to look at what was going on. One of the pretties was moving! It must be a test. Naturally he had passed because he was so wonderful and now he got his prize. His frill flipped right back to full display.

Very pretty. Why hide? Why not sing for I? He inquired as he brushed past a non moving pretty to get to the interesting one. That was better now she wanted to make pretty noises for him. Imp nuzzled the green flirtatiously and then drew back. She was soft! How strange. It was nice though, and a very well marked hide with even spots of a darker shade running along the length and breadth of her body, and even on her wings. He nuzzled curiously at the markings. They felt different to the rest of her hide. How strange this little green was, and how pretty. Soft, nice pretty. Like soft pretty I do.

Darya laughed silently at her salamandyr and sent images of the scene to Azrath for prosterity. Her dragon wasn’t too happy to be disturbed but was highly amused. Bit wasn’t even amused, she hadn’t moved for Darya’s shoulder but her tail was moving more violently and her claws were flexing now. She disapproved. Totally. And why exactly did her pet think it was so funny?

Darya managed to stop laughing and breathe only when the firelizard doll flapped its wings and leaned to the side. How did it do that? Were there strings she couldn’t see? Well she needed to get Imp anyway, before he tried to mate with a stuffed toy. She did not want to go around flirting inappropriately with people because her pet lusted after a doll. It would be stupid. Darya closed in, slowly due to all the children about and sudden fits of silent laughter as Imp complimented the doll.

[glamourie]

What what what?

Showoff tilted his head to look over his shoulder, one wing twitching in agitation. Chatti’s approach had him curious and against his better judgment, he squirmed down some to accommodate her. Holding the wings of the fire lizard doll steady, he watched as the green moved up to the top of the toy’s head and then his eyes whirled vibrant, happy blues. His focus was on her as she started to make -- crooning noises? Why yes, yes she was. What a good clutch sibling he had! Pleased, Showoff nudged Chatti’s back with his head. He would’ve complimented her for her cleverness in deceiving the dumbBronze but there was no way he could do so without dumbBronze hearing, so nearby were they. He hoped that one gentle touch would be enough to assure her of his approval. He didn’t normally touch any salamandyr that wasn’t Dael if he could help it, after all. Showoff was a snob (that and other salamandyrs were icky and not worth his time).

Imp’s approach made Showoff focus more on his task. Took two salamandyrs (one practically standing on the other’s head in the form of Chatti) to navigate, but -- Showoff managed to move the toy’s wings again, making the right one flop over the face of the fire lizard doll almost flirtatiously. Studied the uglies, he had; at least, the very big ones. He had a big, flying uglyGreen that lived with him so he knew how they flirted. Of course, the toy thing didn’t work so well because it couldn’t yell at anyone who didn’t flirt with it, like his uglyGreen did, but it would work just fine for his purposes. Nudging Chatti encouragingly (again), Showoff backed up on the spine of the fire lizard doll and moved his long, spindly tail to the base of the doll’s tail. Forcefully pushing, he made the toy flop its tail to the side, then scurried around upside down. His claws grasped the base of the tail and he tried again, this time managing a more elegant twist - doubtlessly more believable.

Somewhere, it was likely that K’lir was taking immense amusement from the show. But his amusement paled in comparison to the shop keeper’s - a woman who was in her upper teens and was sitting on a stool picking her nails and watching the toy adamantly. Her position put the two salamandyrs in clear view, and she found it highly entertaining. Their antics made several parents motion her over to purchase some of the toys and she leapt up before scurrying to the counter to make a sale. Clearly salamandyrs were very good for business. She might even consider giving the toy feline to that greenrider for free, since his little monster was helping her make a profit…

[ravenmane]

Chatti wiggled slightly at Showoff's little nudge when she had crooned flirtatiously at Imp. The female had learned early on to associate physical affection so Showoff's touch was not misunderstood. As the Bronze made the little plushie move, Chatti was careful to make sounds that worked with the movements of the toy. When it hid its face behind its wing, she crooned almost shyly. ...dumbBronze dumb healeaufcn ajhkufilnaekub mnah mnahmnahmanh jheoiandkahj dumbdumbdumbBronze Impblimp hrealwbuealkfjah uglyflierimplove... Her voice continued to describe her feelings to her Bonded who was slightly confused as to what Chatti was talking about.

Lucky for both Chatti and Showoff, Ciara didn't know where her mandyr was so they could continue messing with Imp's mind. Her eyes were swirling a bright green-blue as she tried not to step on Showoff's face or sound more like a salamandyr instead of a fire-lizard. It was much easier to control her voice then carefully cling to the toy. Hers would not be very happy if she damaged it. That would make stall lady mad. Chatti had already disturbed a few stall keepers earlier, and Hers would not be happy of the Green managed to annoy yet another person while at the Gather. If she did, her humanpet would probably prevent her from seeing WraithHers which meant that it was in Chatti's best interest not to damage any merchandise.

[Kisha-Ra]

Imp ventured another quick nuzzle at his soft pretty when he didn’t get swiped at for touching her in the first place, she was nice, nicer than the mean pretties back home. What was this? His pretty little green was shy? She didn’t need to hide from anything. Her big fierce bronze would protect her. Imp looked around to see if there was something he could protect her right now to prove how well he could look after her. There didn’t seem to be but what were those humans doing? Buying prettyloves? They could buy prettyloves?

Come back will I soon love. Imp promised the toy firelizard and skittered back across the table. DarMine! D’ara where you go? Come now. Buy prettylove? Please get prettylove, want waaaaaaaaaaaant! The salamandyr hopped up and down on the edge of the table totally obnoxiously. For his trouble he was snatched off the table and held up in front of Darya’s face.

‘You are worse than the children Imp. That is not a real firelizard, it’s a doll you fool bronze.’ Darya scolded her pet. Imp looked back at her. Not real? Of course she was a real pretty, she moved, she made pretty noises for him. Moved. Sing pretty for I did. He argued his point to the best of his ability.

Darya shook her head at her squirming salamandyr, how could he possibly think a cloth toy was a real firelizard? Normally he was smart when it came to females, especially when it came to picking one close to Rising to follow around. Still it was entertaining and once it was away from whatever made it move the doll would no longer be a source of interest to Imp. She would kill to know how it was flirting with Imp though. Darya reached down to pick up a firelizard toy. NO! no that one pretty. This! This! Imp shot out of Darya’s hand and back to his pretty, he didn’t want the still one. Darya sighed and moved her hand to pluck the doll Imp wanted by the muzzle.

[glamourie]

As Imp announced his intention to be right back. Showoff dropped his little legs and panted, half-way to himself. It was hard work, moving a fatty like the doll! Drooping down to half-sprawl over the tail of the stuffed toy, Showoff turned his head to look carefully at Imp. His long, sinuous tail gave another startled flick and his tiny, multifaceted eyes whirled definite amusement. The dumbBronze wanted to buy the toy? … He really thought it was real. Salamandyrs were supposed to be smart. Showoff decided that Shadow must have gotten all the brains of that clutch. It was the only explanation. That or genius skipped a clutch -- because he and Lust both were smart, proper bronzes (even if Lust was a GreenBabyMater and a bigDungHead). Then there was the next clutch which had Manners, a proper bronze sometimes, also a GreenBabyMater… after that no bronzes at all but Star was not a BigDumb… and then Mushu. He was a proper bronze, and Fatty was a proper gold, even if Showoff didn’t like them. Yes, it must have been that genius skipped a generation, and brains skipped a clutch -- only explanation. Reason being: he was the only genius of them all! Boo boo boo.

He dumb, Showoff told Chatti privately (since Imp was far enough away to not hear them this time). Dollmater dumbBronze… no proper ‘mandyr. Bad baby…

Darya’s words made Showoff chitter very quietly to himself. However, when she picked up one of the other dolls and Imp reacted instantly, the bronze leapt back into his position and made the fire lizard doll’s wings move again - as quickly as he could. Must make it look real! Look real. Not that the dumbBronze needed any help looking the part of a fool. He was obviously lacking in the intelligence that most salamandyrs possessed. Showoff was just getting into his groove of moving the wings, though, when -- all at once -- the ground was moving. Earthshake! Earthshake! DOOM! Abandon the plot or risk demise!

Despite the over-dramatic nature response, Showoff did give Chatti some warning that he was going to move in the form of a loud, squeaky squawk. The salamandyr then leapt off the toy’s back. His wings flared and he glided semi-gracefully to the table top, where he turned around and spat at Darya plainly. His frill flared wide and he hissed. The motion made him look considerably bigger and more impressive, with the natural sunlight dancing off the red tones of the frill showing off his coloration dazzlingly; for all of his posturing, Showoff really was a very handsome little salamandyr… in appearance. Personality, not so much, but most people didn’t expect pleasant personalities from salamandyrs anyway.

Bad dung head, bad. You bad. He knooooows now, the bronze explained with an irritable flick of his tail and a look toward Imp. If his tumbling response hadn’t given away his antics (at least to Darya), the words would. Showoff was relatively well-known for being one of the more clever salamandyrs (if only he would use his powers for good instead of evil) -- trying to deliberately mess with another bronze’s head was completely not out of the spectrum of normalcy for him. Ruined it, you did. Ruined. Ruuuuined! Sistermine, she ruuuuuined! Sistermine make her stop! Sistermine being Chatti; Showoff very obviously remembered that the green salamandyr was his clutch sibling. Not that she was easy to forget. In fact, Chatti was one of a kind with the constant, endless stream of randomness that she spewed most of the time…