Paybacks come in twos? (Tag’s R’wign, Open)

[Rei]

Sel’n walked through the dusty gather square, a squirming kitten clutched tightly against his chest. The little ball of spitting furry had not stopped screeching since he picked her up. The boy manning the stall had been more than happy to get rid of her. In fact, the only thing that had protested her leaving had been a fluffy gray kitten, that had tried to scramble out of the box twice before someone else had asked to hold him.

Ugly baby! QUIET!!! Dunghead miiiiiiiiiinnnnne. Nononononono Babie. Vanity was perched on the rider's shoulder positively writhing in fury. Hers had picked up a fluffy monster and a FEMALE one at that. HOW DARE HE. Sel’n frantically searched the crowd for the person he had bought the little monster for. “For the last time Vanity. I am not keeping her.” He hissed venomously to the small green as passerby stopped to stare. Shard it all. This was the last time he was buying anything for his weyrlings.

Suddenly Sel’n heard R’wign’s voice and he spun around to locate it. His jaw literally dropped when he saw the boy. What in Faranth’s name was he wearing and what was wrong with his face? So surprised was the Weyrlingmaster that he failed to notice his hissing biting ball of fury had grown strangely sedate.

The kitten was eyeing R’wign with clear blue eyes, hanging limply from Sel’n’s arms. A soft mew came from her throat and she blinked once before starting to wiggle with renewed vigor. Vanity was silent as well before staring at R’wign curiously. Dunghead Stupid? Funny Look Stupid. Babie you take. NO WANT BABY! The last words where uttered at the top of her tiny voice and Sel’n flinched violently, shaken out of temporary paralysis. "R'wign?"

[weaving]

“You think he’ll like him? He seems so sad? Maybe he’s sick…” Lennae held out the grey ball of fluff awkwardly to study it better. It was proving to be difficult to do much with a busted shoulder, but she was learning to manage. Revenge was very sweet, she’d decided, and while she’d originally thought to get him a firelizard egg, the kittens at the beastcrafter stall seemed to call to her.

“Isn’t the point of revenge that he doesn’t like him?” Jermayan let one eyebrow raise as he spoke, though his attention was mostly fixed on the kitten. He’d come along at Lennae’s request, having heard her plight. She’d said that she needed someone who knew the healer and while he certainly wasn’t best friends with R’wign, he’d worked with the man and would be more help than none. “Besides, he’s cute.” To accentuate his words, he reached out to scratch the kitten behind it’s ears. Almost immediately the creature began yowling, as though he’d somehow switched it’s ‘on’ button.


“Ugh, make it stop! What did you do?!” Shoving the kitten onto Jermayan, she covered her ears, grimacing in pain. She debated taking the cat back then and there. No one deserved this, not even R’wign and clearly there was something wrong with it. “Maybe it’s broken,” she grumbled, eying the kitten with no small amount of hate. People around them were beginning to stare and she was worried that sooner or later the kitten’s shrieks might earn them some death threats. Even with Jermayan doing his best to comfort the creature, it was still yowling up a storm. Stupid cat. This was why she absolutely refused to get a pet. All they ever did was cause trouble. Stupid, stupid pets.

As suddenly as he had started making noise, he stopped. Well, that was much nicer. Now all they needed to do was find R’wign and…there he was! “C’mon, he’s over there and, oh shells, what is he wearing?” She glanced toward Jermayan to find him watching R’wign almost dreamily, and though she quirked an eyebrow, she didn’t bother to comment on it. She’d leave that for a better time, when she wasn’t so bent on revenge, though it was interesting to note that even in a skirt, R'wign apparently had appeal. Or maybe Jermayan was partial to cross-dressing. Immediately she banished those thoughts from her mind. Thinking of the healer's sex-life was the last thing she wanted to do. It only served to remind her of her own lack of one.

She stood there, eyes darting back and forth between Jermayan and the brownweyrling. It was amusing seeing Jermayan less than composed, for it was something she doubted rarely got seen. As she watched, she noticed another man approaching R’wign was a kitten, which immediately caught her attention. She watched for a few moments with narrowed eyes. This was supposed to be her idea! Oh well, it wasn’t going to stop her from giving the kitten to R’wign. After all, what was she supposed to do with it?

“Alright, let’s go.” Grabbing Jermayan’s arm and snapping him out of his daydream, she dragged him toward the healer and the other person. “Hey R’wign,” she called out, smiling sweetly (almost too sweetly) at him. Oh yes, this was going to be good.

[glamourie]

-- Salamandyr. The voice speaking to him was a salamandyr. R’wign was getting good at identifying them - and he didn’t know any female ones that would actually speak to him. Certainly that voice did not belong to Brat, and she was the only female salamandyr he’d known at all. Fortunately, an explanation came quickly enough in the form of a voice saying his name in very slight disbelief, and R’wign turned around; he recognized that so-startled voice as Sel’n’s, and it drew a definite smirk to his face.

The source of the disbelief, of course, was R’wign outfit. He wore a dark purple skirt that hung low around his waist, falling to his ankles. It was extremely loose fitting, with slashes up the sides to reveal a bright purple inside; reversible, the skirt was. He’d ditched his top (actually, his whole outfit that he’d arrived in was in a large black leather bag he’d been carrying supplies around in) and his shoes. Around one of his ankles was a silver ankle bracelet with bells that he’d purchased from the Gather. He’d gotten his hair done up in a thousand tiny braids, each ending in purple beads that would be easy to remove if he wanted to keep the braids themselves. Over the right side of his face were varying shades of purple paint, surrounding his eye in definite swirls. He’d ditched the eye patch and replaced it with the glass eye he purchased, and was pleased with the fit; the false eye looked relatively realistic, but it was a startling shade of blue, as opposed to the dark green that was natural. Altogether, R’wign definitely looked far from normal. He couldn’t have blamed anyone for gaping. Hence dressing that way in the first place.

“Hello, Weyrlingmaster! I had to replace my old skirt after M’ta decided he was going to wear it. Tell me, do you think this one suits me?” Twirling on the tips of his toes (which caused the skirt to flare around him, up toward his knees), R’wign cocked his head to the side. “Maybe I should’ve gone with red shades. They say red is passionate. What can I help you with? Are you in need of treatment for feline scratch fever?” Yes, he’d noticed the little ball of fur that Sel’n was carrying - certainly he looked worse for the wear for it, too. Felines were evil. The scars lining R’wign’s torso and back were clear proof of that. “I should warn you I don’t have any supplies of any kind. The bag is full of clothes and fire lizards. Six now. You’re better off bothering someone else, someone like -- Jermayan!”

Whirling his attention onto the healer (he ignored Lennae, despite her speaking to him), R’wign bounced away from the table he’d been previously occupying. (If someone were to pay attention they would note several pieces of doll clothing on the table top, and Roxie was wearing a pair of black doll pants and a white-green gather-style shirt with holes cut in the back for her wings.) The brown weyrlingrider bounced from one foot to the other to make his anklet jingle before indicating his skirt playfully, “What do you think, red or purple? I’m really at a loss. I think I have enough to get a red one, maybe I should.” Hmm, hmm. So hard to decide. A low chirrup from behind him made R’wign look over his shoulder, as Crash climbed onto the table. He, too, was dressed in doll garments, but his were dark brown pants and a vibrant red Gather-style shirt. The baby bronze flopped over and then twittered pleasantly to the feline in Sel’n’s hands, obviously enraptured; R’wign ignored him.

The ball of fluff next to him though made R’wign turn back to Lennae and he raised an eyebrow before saying outright, “I don’t think Brat is going to approve, considering the way she reacted to Ellie’s flight. In fact, I bet she tries to eat it, and felines don’t make very good meals I don’t think.” Maybe they did. Feline kabobs. That would be a good way to deal with the wild ones that inhabited the jungle near Selenitas, hmm….

[Rei]

R’wign’s twirl did it. Sel’n burst out in laughter almost doubling over as the boy practically flounced toward Jermayan. He ought to have been horrified but the whole thing was just too ridiculous. The brown weyrling’s question was ignored. How could he answer when he was dieing in laughter? Vanity was a bit put out however. The boy was stealing her attention. Leaping off Sel’n’s shoulder she glided to R’wign’s skirt. Catching the fabric she quickly scampered up the lad and sat on his shoulder frilling. Pretty? Pretty R’wign? Vanity pretty? Vanity, R’wign pretty? Attention much?

The Weyrlingmaster straightened up and shook his head. Vanity normally bit people. R’wign obviously was special, perhaps because she viewed him as a way to get the attention which she craved. Finally regaining his composure Sel’n approached R’wign with a amused smile. “You misunderstand lad.” Thrusting the squirming kitten toward the healer his smile broadened.

“Congratulations on your upcoming graduation. She’s yours.” He promptly set the kitten down next to him where surprisingly she took a beeline for R’wign and began to purr like there was no tomorrow. “Look at that she likes you. Good you can keep the little demon.” He raised his arm displaying the scratches covering his arms. “Now what where you saying about feline fever?”

Vanity hopped upon R’wign’s shoulder and basked in the attention the lad was receiving. With so many stares it was easy to pretend some of them where for her. Catching sight of the fire lizards she cocked her head. What where they doing? Extra layers where for humans not winged uglies.

The little pointed kitten was beyond thrilled. She had found hers! This was where he was. Silly human thinking he could get away from a creature as clever as her. Blinking she sat, still purring, and mewed again the noise plaintive and demanding at the same time. Now he could pet her he could. The little winged ones where for the most part ignored. They where connected to her human. She could feel it and so she let them be. They where hers as well after all. She claimed them. Anything directly attached to hers she would claim. It was his and so hers as well.

Female Feline
Name: ?
Age: 8 sevendays

Appearance: This feline is striking. A pale cream color dominates her coat. It is accented by deep chocolate brown points of a color close to black. Her eyes are a pale blue reminiscent of the sky on a clear day. The points form a mask of sorts over her face as well as darkening her ears, legs, and tail. Her body is lithe and sleek, entirely feminine and she moves with a grace most felines could only wish to achieve.

Personality: This feline lives for one thing. Her human. All others are ignored as they are beneath her. Unless they are directly attached to hers by relation or bonding. That makes them hers as well. She doesn’t have much use for other felines or creatures. Her world is complete as long as her human is there. Even if he doesn’t necessarily pay attention to her, she still will not stand to have him gone. Attempts at rehoming her are doomed to fail. Not only because she will bite anyone else who tries to pick her up or even touch her, but also because she has the remarkable ability to find her human no matter where he may hide. She also will not stop looking until she finds him and is able to scold him for leaving her. Whether it be days, seven days, or longer, she will keep to her quest. The female is nothing if not determined.

She has very vivid memory and is able to recognize structures, people, and other creatures. Although she will rarely, if ever, interact with them. This large memory helps her put her remarkable sense of direction to use. For all intensive purposes, she is a like feline GPS system always set to R‘wign‘s location.

When alone with her bonded she is extremely clingy and loving, refusing to sleep unless she is touching some part of him. Loud and very vocal this feline is. Especially when she is displeased. Thankfully she is not displeased often as she is simple to placate. She has a high maternal streak that shows itself only towards her human. She will scold him if he is out too long, snuggle and lick him when he is upset, and generally dote on him. She will strive to be an emotional dumping ground for him and due to her gentle persistence she is likely to succeed.

[weaving]

As R’wign focused his attention on Jermayan, the healer blushed, causing Lennae to smirk as she noticed. Too bad the brownweyrling was straight, or so she thought. Besides, he was probably still grieving over Marra. Poor Jermayan. He’d probably never have a chance.

“I, uh, purple looks nice,” the healer managed to stammer out, trying his best not to sound like a twelve turn old girl with a crush. It was so difficult to think though, with R’wign dancing around him in nothing but a skirt. It was almost as though the brownweyrling was purposely trying to unnerve him, though surely he wasn’t being that obvious, though a quick glance at Lennae confirmed that he was, in fact, not doing a good job of hiding it at all. This was silly! He hardly even knew R’wign, so why did he feel so awkward around the other healer? He let out a soft sigh of relief as R’wign spoke to Lennae. He was safe. For the moment.

No want eat! Fluff is yucky! No good! Apparently Brat didn’t like having her eating habits insulted, and she let that be known quite clearly, clamoring onto Lennae head and flaring her frill while shouting at R’wign loudly. Eat good only! Not yucky! Am picky!

“Shut up Brat,” Lennae grumbled before answering R’wign “Actually, he’s not mine. He’s a present, for you. I wanted to thank you for introducing me to Darya at Ellie’s flight. It was nice meeting her and it’s all thanks to you.” As she spoke, she smiled sweetly, her words sounding entirely innocent though they were anything but that. She gestured toward the kitten, who was focusing intently on the kitten that Sel’n had given to R’wign. Suddenly, he squirmed out of Jermayan’s grasp, falling to the ground and immediately running after the other kitten.

Lennae watched all this with a raised eyebrow. Well, apparently this was going better than expected. While he wasn’t attached to R’wign, he seemed to adore the female cat, who did seem to like R’wign. Perfect.

Male Feline
Name: ?
Age: 8 sevendays

Appearance: Fuzzy. It almost all boils down to this one word. This kitten will be large. Immensely so. His fur is a collage of grey. Darker in some spots and lighter in others, interspaced between the spots are dark grey tabby markings. This gives him a ragged appearance that actually fits him quite well. His fur will need a lot of care so it does not matt. It is soft to the touch but very dense making the poor cat susceptible to tangles. His eyes are what makes him the most unique. The left one is a pale hazel while the right is half hazel half light blue.

Personality: This male is extremely laid back. He enjoys sprawling out in a sun warmed spot and napping. Attention and food is really all he desires from his human, and more the former then the latter. His world is a simple one. Eat, sleep, and…follow his sister wherever she goes. This male has a obsession with another cat to the point of almost creepiness. Where she goes he will follow. No matter where that may be. Across the river? So be it. Into the jungle? Yep. Past sleeping dragons. Of course.

His devotion to the smaller cat is legendary and if he is split from her for even a small length of time he will go into a deep depression. He will refuse to eat and mope about yowling for all the world to hear, until he is reunited with her. So what if she doesn’t give him the time of day? He loves her and that is good enough for him. His personality around her changes and he becomes playful and upbeat (when he isn’t napping). Her single mindedness to her human doesn’t bother him in the slightest. She can happily follow him. For he in return will follow her.

[glamourie]

Laughter? He was laughing? R’wign sniffed indignantly, and eyed Sel’n testily. However, he was quickly prevented from commenting by a salamandyr positively leaping onto his head. The response he got was agitation from at least two of his fire lizards. Roxie scolded, and R’wign rolled his eye up to look at the salamandyr. Then he lifted one hand and plucked her from his shoulder by the space on her back between her wings. It was a careful touch to prevent causing the little monster harm, but -- “Excuse you, little one, exactly what are you doing?” His eyebrow raised as he looked at her, and a slight smirk passed over his face. “Yes, pretty R’wign, very pretty R’wign. You’re upsetting my fire lizards, gorgeous, and I don’t think either of us wants a flock of six of them dive-bombing you. Let’s put you back on your person, shall we?” And he did exactly that, gently setting Vanity back on Sel’n’s shoulder where she belonged. His hand was jerked back quickly to prevent her from biting him. Salamandyrs weren’t notorious for their good temperaments and he doubted very seriously that the green would realize that he meant her no harm. He fully expected to be yelled at… it was unlikely the female creature would understand that if she stayed perched on him, Roxie would attack her. He didn’t want her hurt.

Then a feline was thrust at him, and all of R’wign’s thoughts came to an abrupt halt. He backed away from Sel’n as if burned, staring at the animal with his eyes as wide as they could go. His entire body tensed in obvious discomfort and he looked from the furry creature to Sel’n and back again. Then the feline was put on the ground and moving toward him. As she came toward his feet, R’wign recoiled away and half-scurried up behind Jermayan, ready to cower. He’d never made any secret of his dislike of felines, what in the world gave the weyrlingmaster the incredibly wrong impression that he’d like one? He had enough pets. He had six fire lizards, for Faranth’s sake! Like he could handle a ---

LENNAE?!!

The greenrider’s words made R’wign turn to her slowly. He was oblivious to the furball moving around his ankles, circling to and fro, for he was much more focused on the very unpleasant look he was offering to Lennae. If looks could really kill she would be lying flat from that one expression. He ignored Brat’s outburst with expertise and instead glanced from the ball of fluff crumbling to the floor, to Lennae again. It was definitely a very unhappy look. “Oh, how kind of you greenrider. I’ll remember that the next time you’re in the infirmary for anything.” Where was that stall selling ‘lusty’ weed? Did love weed grow around Selenitas Weyr? She was going down. So down. “Isn’t Brat Running soon?” The distinct edge of sweetness in his voice made it clear he was not at all innocent; the nicer R’wign sounded, the more dangerous he was. “I’ll have to remind Darya’s salamandyr… He’s a bronze, right? Since you like her so well - maybe he’ll Chase Brat, or her Azrath can Chase Amith. You two would make dashing weyrmates.”

Carefully, R’wign leaned down to grab the fuzz ball by the scruff of the neck and then thrust it at Jermayan. “Here you go. Kitten for you, love me,” he said, then eyed the other one curling around his ankles. No. No. No. Turning back to Sel’n, R’wign walked right over and wrapped his arms around the brown rider’s neck before pressing his lips firmly to the older man’s -- doubtlessly the best way he could think of to get his revenge: embarrass him in public. He was not keeping any fuzz balls.

[Rei]

As R’wign grabbed her Vanity gave a startled shriek. She positively writhed in his grip, her eyes shooting to a starting crimson. Sel’n flinched at the raw anger coming off her in waves. Nonono! Ugly dungface! Suddenly she stopped screaming, for she recognized a word. This was probably the only thing that saved R'wign's fingers from the threat of her teeth (besides his quick movement).

The little green mandyr frilled halfheartedly from her bonded’s shoulder before repeating to R‘wign. Gorgiss? Vanity Gorgeuss? Flicking her frill up and down she began to repeat the word a few times getting a feel for the pronunciation. Sel’n rolled his eyes. Trust the brown rider to avoid his mandyr's fury by pure luck and a compliment to his harpy of a mandyr.

R’wign’s reaction to the feline however had Sel’n almost feeling bad for the weyrling. He was that afraid of the little thing? Why she was smaller than some of his flitters currently. Surely the little ball of puff couldn’t cause to much harm to anything. The brown rider almost considered grabbing the kitten again, but common sense told him that wouldn’t be received well. So he let her alone, instead searching for something to say to possibly calm the lad a bit. He wanted revenge not mental scarring. The healers attempt to hide behind Jermayan though had Sel’n amused again. He almost looked like a frightened child.

Sel’n had to admit R’wign’s sudden focus on Lennae had him considering just up an running right then. While she was distracting R’wign he could make his escape and leave the kitten behind. The little female seemed absolutely enamored with him anyway. Strange animal she was, not because she liked R’wign but because of her reaction to him. What drew her to the boy? Before the brown rider could move to leave or even make sense of his thought R’wign was flouncing towards him. What in Faranth’s name? As the lad threw his arms around his neck the rider’s eyes widened in surprise, and then R’wign’s lips where on his.

The Weyrlingmaster’s response was immediate and he only just remembered R’wign’s chest. Sel’n had planned on simply shoving the lad in the chest but that would have been cruel. He didn’t want the healer hurt. Instead, he gripped R’wign’s braided hair with his good hand and tugged back until the other brown rider pulled away. Quickly letting go of the healer’s hair he broke the lad’s grip on his neck and stumbled backwards sputtering. “What in Faranth’s name has gotten into you R’wign?” The rider’s face was flushed and Vanity was far from happy. Miiiinnnee! No yours! Gogogogogogogo pretty dung head!

[weaving]

Maybe a feline hadn’t been such a good idea after all, especially after seeing R’wign’s expression when Sel’n presented his to the brownweyrling. Still, Jermayan doubted that Lennae would give up now. In fact, she’d probably be even more pleased knowing that it made the man uncomfortable. Somehow though, Jermayan didn’t think that what he’d done was worth this much trouble, though Lennae had begged to differ (“Darya is creeeppy! Seriously, yuck!”) and he couldn’t really argue with that. It was, after all, true. Maybe a firelizard would have been better. Annoying, yes, but at least R’wign wasn’t scared of them. Much of his worry probably stemmed from the slight crush he had on the man, though he’d never actually admit it.

Lennae smirked as R’wign tried, unsuccessfully, to hide behind Jermayan before realizing that Sel’n wasn’t the only one who had gifted him with a kitten. As he let loose his unhappiness, her smirk only grew, at least until he started mentioning Brat’s Run. The event scared her, but not because of his supposed threat. She didn’t like Flights and Runs were supposed to be just as intense, which meant nothing but trouble. It meant losing control, and probably ending up with someone she knew nothing about. At least with Amith she knew all of the riders, but she was completely unaware of who was bonded to a salamandyr.

“Don’t think I don’t influence who my bonded’s choose,” she snapped rather peevishly, though it didn’t much matter for R’wign had already stormed off after shoving the fluff ball back at Jermayan. The wherhandler was staring at the creature in confusion as if unsure of what to do with it, though he was quickly distracted by the fact that R’wign was…making out with Sel’n. Lennae was watching as well, though she seemed far more amused than he was. Yes, he hardly knew R’wign and he doubted that there would ever be anything between them (wasn’t R’wign straight?!) and the brownweyrling was probably only doing this to make Sel’n uncomfortable but it still made the healer bristle a bit, though he did his best to hide it. It would do no good to let the world know who his completely unattainable crush was.

“I’d be careful if I were you,” Lennae commented to Sel’n. “You don’t know what sort of diseases he might have. Best to get checked out as soon as possible.” The words were clearly meant as a jab at R’wign, for while she spoke her eyes remained glued to the brownweyrling. She wasn’t done with him yet, nor did she think that this battle would ever end. In fact, she saw it quickly degenerating into turns of pranks and practical jokes meant to make the other person’s life miserable. Well, she supposed she could live with that. How bad could it possibly get?

[glamourie]

Hair grabbing was so not fair. R’wign squirmed as he was jerked away from Sel’n and put on his absolute best pout (translation: most exaggerated, complete with wobbly knees and sniffles). However, even R’wign was unable to keep his composure as Sel’n stumbled backwards and he couldn’t help but snicker at the sputtering response. Success, in his book. How he would’ve loved to have that image burnt into his brain. As it was, he was determined to tell M’ta all about it because as far as he knew, his former room mate was no more fond of Sel’n than he was. (Not that he disliked Sel’n, mind, he just wasn’t fond of anyone in an authority figure and he had the impression that M’ta was much the same in that regard.) Vanity’s complaints though drew his attention quickly enough and the brown weyrlingrider addressed the salamandyr before her bonded, with the same sort of consideration he would have a human being. One of his eccentricities was always giving salamandyrs, flits, and even other animals, the same consideration he would people -- it often earned him funny looks or at the very least confusion, but then, R’wign thought pets were more intelligent than their owners most of the time (and he was often correct).

“Many apologies, beautiful little gift to salamandyrs everywhere -” He had, indeed, noticed her appreciation for being complimented. “- I thought I would properly thank him for giving me the fuzzy. I mean no offense. What will it take for you to forgive me?”

Glancing back to Sel’n, R’wign shifted his weight and then smiled. “Like I just told your little beauty queen - I thought I’d thank you properly. After all, it was such a considerate gesture to give me a feline. So thoughtful. It’s not like I’ve ever been mauled by them.” The slight punctuation in his words was emphasized by his fingers moving down to brush over the scars on his lower abdomen. Four turns later, they’d faded, but there were still definite scars wrapping from the side of his naval, over it and up his side, to his spine. Against his tan, the white marks were highly prominent. No amount of herbal solutions had fixed that problem, either. “Really, though, it’s much too generous an offer. You can have it back. Honestly. I’m sure the feline would like you much better than me - I have too many pets as it is.” Crouching down, skirt pooling around him as he did so, R’wign carefully moved to scoop the cub up. That one contact actually made him shake slightly (though he did his damndest to hide it) and he lifted her up before presenting the ball of fur back toward Sel’n. “Take --”

Lennae’s words made him freeze and he turned to look at her with a slight smile. Diseases? Him? Really? Less likely than her, but pointing that out would’ve been cruel. He settled for simply glancing from Vanity, then to Lennae, “Hey Brat, I think Sel’n has some food on his shoulder for you.” That would teach Lennae for trying to imply she could pick who Caught Brat. There were only two unmated bronze salamandyrs at Selenitas, so it was only a matter of which one -- and both were absolutely horrible instances for someone like Lennae. She was female which meant the flamingly homosexual blue rider in his class would probably cry on her when they woke up together, and the second option was Darya herself. Lennae was doomed, as far as R’wign was concerned, and he had absolutely no mercy for her after the felines. Which made him look back at the purring, almost adoring animal in his hands, squirming and trying to lick his fingers. Uuuugk. Felines!

What R’wign was oblivious to was Ellie. The gold, like her green and bronze, was dressed in gather finery: Brown leather-style pants and a cream shirt with embroidery on it; it looked downright silly, all things considered. His interaction with the feline made her fly over and perch daintily on Jermayan’s shoulder, trying to get a better look at the little fuzz ball. What was it doing? She chirped inquiringly to Jermayan before cocking her head to the side intelligently, waiting for an answer. Maybe he would be kind enough to explain why Hers was carrying around a fuzzy…?

[Rei]

Vanity practically purred at R’wign as he spoke. This boy was smart! Very much so. GreenQueenVanity. LikeBrownpestlike. Furgive? Furgive? BeautifulVanity Furgive Brownpest. The tiny green bounced in place and then frilled, the gesture meant to draw attention instead of frighten. Suddenly she paused and began to preen frantically. He had called her the gift to mandyrs everywhere and he was right! She was the Green Queen as her Lust King so often said and so she must look her part. Her obviously adoring audience needed to see her at her best. Sel’n just sighed deeply at his pet. Vanity… He couldn’t have possibly found a more suitable name.

R’wign’s words almost had the Weyrlingmaster feeling sorry for him. Almost. Had the boy not made weyrling lessons a sharding ordeal he would have possibly taken the kitten back. As it was R’wign was keeping it. No questions asked. Besides domestic felines where hardly the same thing as the wild beasts who ruled the jungles. Nope R’wign was stuck with her. As the healer extended the kitten towards him Sel’n stepped back again, for the little kitten flattened her ears and positively growled at him. Soon however the little ball of fluff was turned yet again this time towards the green rider. Sel'n was more than happy for the reprieve.

R’wign’s words however, broke through Vanity's preening. Hers had food? Well then it was for her! Not some fat ugly blob of a gold! MIIIINNNNEEEE! Mine Food! No ugly fatty goldpest blob food. Vanity food! She hissed and extended her frill as far as it would go, daring Brat to even try. She’d eat her alive she would!! Sel'n flinched as Vanity's nails dug into his skin. Faranth help him if Brat came over here.

Hero popped out of between just then, a small slab of red meat clutched in his front talons. The bronze hovered for a second absolutely confused. Then he caught a flash of gold. His gold. Fluting pleasantly Hero landed on Jermayan’s other shoulder and peeped apologetically to the man before shifting towards Ellie. How was his beautiful today? He had brought her some food if she would like it. What was she wearing? Layers? Did her’s put them on? They looked very nice but he preferred to see her stunning hide he did. His whirling blue eyes where fastened adoringly on her and then, Oh what was hers doing with a fuzzy?

[weaving]

At the mention of food, Brat’s head lifted to eye Sel’n hungrily. Hers hadn’t fed her for entire hour and she was positively starving! The ugly greenvilepest was ignored as she leapt for Sel’n, climbing up to search his shoulders with interest. She merely flicked her tail at Vanity, ignoring the ugly for the moment. Clearly she was the only one who deserved it, being the best queen here. Vanity was barely a blip on her radar, her only being that she could bring Brat more food. Yes, that would be nice. She could have an entire group of slaves, dedicated solely to bringing her food and pampering her the way a queen should be treated.

Where food? Want now please. Had the twolegged uglything lied to her about food? Surely not! He seemed nice enough and why would someone lie about something like that? Perhaps the Vanityugly had eaten it or hidden it somewhere. That had to be it! Clearly she was jealous of Brat’s superior looks and intelligence and she was just trying to spite her! Well, that certainly wouldn’t do. Everyone would realize that Brat was clearly better and then they would all come to take care of her and bring plates of food, all for her and only her. She wouldn’t share with anyone, especially the Vanitydimglow, who thought that she was somehow better than Brat, which obviously couldn’t be true. Silly green.

Lennae groaned as Brat leapt for Sel’n. There wasn’t really much she could do to help him now. The greenrider had little say in what Brat did, which often proved problematic, especially in times like this. She offered Sel’n an apologetic look and hoped that he would understand. Perhaps Vanity would even beat some sense into Brat, though really all that the gold needed to do to win a fight would be to sit on the green ‘mandyr. At least that way the fight would be short though then they’d have to deal with a squished ‘mandyr. R’wign and Jermayan were both healers though, so help wouldn’t be too far away.

Hello! Unlike most salamandyrs, Manners had absolutely no problem with firelizards and even welcomed their company. As Ellie landed on Jermayan’s shoulder, he let out a happy greeting, which was repeated to Hero as the bronze landed. Finally, company that would be nice to him! Brat did nothing but insult him, causing the bronze to have taken refuge in Jermayan’s hair.

Still holding the kitten, Jermayan looked from Ellie to Hero and then back again. Since when had he become a perch for firelizards? The gold seemed to be asking him a question, though he wasn’t quite sure how to explain. “It was a present,” he offered with a shrug. “Though R’wign doesn’t seem too appreciative of them.”

[glamourie]

The fun thing about salamandyrs: they were typically very easy to bribe. It was all a matter of knowing what the right offer was, and Vanity was clearly aptly named. If she was any more vain, she probably would have exploded from sheer joy at his words. R’wign resisted the urge to smirk to himself and his gaze followed the green as she turned to launch insults at the gold salamandyr who -- promptly ignored her. Comically, in fact. The sight was entirely too funny not to smile at, though, and R’wign set the feline down on the ground once more (gently; despite his obvious discomfort, he was incapable of being unkind to the creature). Gently, he leaned his bare foot over to nudge the cream-colored female toward Sel’n’s feet and he looked over his shoulder at Lennae. She was so going down. He was positive there were enough plants growing in the jungle that he could make her jump the nearest person, if he doused her drinks in it… and Sel’n? Well, he had the perfect revenge for Sel’n, in the form of a quite-pretty dress in blues and purples. He was going to pay.

Ignoring the pets (and Jermayan’s words), R’wign took the temporary reprieve to actually turn and bolt away from the felines and the two riders. He was relatively fast (given his height) on his feet and he ran as fast as he could away, jingling all the while. He did grab his bag from the table as he passed, but otherwise did not look back; his queen could catch up to him. If he ran, then Sel’n and Lennae would have to keep the fuzz balls, and he’d be free. Just where was Checkoth, though -- and how much would it take to convince the brown to take him home without Meira? He’d have to see - but he was not staying for them to keep trying giving him the little monsters, not at all.

Unfortunately, had he glanced backwards, he would’ve noticed as the cream colored female sprung back to her feet, mrrooowled and then darted after him through the crowd. He also would’ve been able to see the fuzzy feline trying to squirm his way free of Jermayan’s grasp to chase after the female. But R’wign did not dare look back, and thus he missed that he had a four legged tracking machine on his heels from which there was no escape.

On Jermayan’s shoulder, Ellie chirruped sweetly to Hero and nudged him with her head. Her eyes whirled pleasant shades and she flicked her tail back and forth before she regarded the meat piece. Twittering cheerfully, she shared an image of Crash with the bronze before flapping her wings animatedly. She wasn’t hungry, you see; she’d already eaten when the baby hatched, but thank you, thank you. Her little claws moved to nudge at her clothes and she bounced back and forth curiously before flicking one wing. She thought she looked quite lovely, all dressed up for the Gather like Hers was. She didn’t jingle like Hers though, no no, he made the prettiest noises. Sometimes she liked to try and sing with his jingling. But -- Hers was running away and she didn’t understand why. The inquiry about the fuzzy made Ellie chirp quietly to herself, her confusion evident. She didn’t really understand why they were trying to give Hers one of the MothFuzzies either. Didn’t they know he had her? Silly people.

Speaking! Speaking to her! Eyes whirling, Ellie bounced twice and turned around before leaning over to ‘sniff’ at Manners curiously. Then she fluted to him. One of the non-flyers that wasn’t unpleasant, how interesting! She thought they were all mean - mean like the fat one over on the loud greenthing’s person. Thoughtfully, Ellie rattled her pinions, then turned her attention up toward Jermayan and chirruped inquiringly. Of course Hers wasn’t appreciative, he had her, and the others. They were their own flight. Why did they need anything fuzzy? Her confusion evident, Ellie turned to watch R’wign run off before peeping to herself. He was leaving in such a hurry… They had obviously upset Hers! Hints of annoyance flared into her eyes before she quietly chattered at Hero in request. Would he keep an eye on Hers, while she tried to see why these ones wanted to force a fuzzy on him? Please, oh please?

[Rei]

As Brat leapt onto hers Vanity’s eyes shot to crimson and she didn’t miss a beat. Extending her frill as far as she could the green leapt for the bigger mandyr and sank her fangs into the gold’s frill. Miiiinnnne! OFF! OFF! Uglyblobgoldy! Sel’n cried out in alarm and reached for the pair, fully realizing he was about to get bit by at least one of the females. His preoccupation with the fighting mandyrs caused him to miss R’wign’s escape. “Shard it all you little terror Vanity! Get off Brat!”

Hero chirped back to his mate and returned her attentions with a quick nuzzle of his own. Oh hers had a new baby? How nice! The bronze turned his attention to the meat clutched in his claws and he placed it in front of Manners with a soft chirp. The nice bronze frilly could have it he could. His queen was not hungry and so it should not go to waste. Flicking his wings open Hero crooned to Ellie. Oh yes she did look lovely. She always did. Hers jingled? How very nice. He would like to hear he would.

The bronze flitter moved closer to Ellie as he saw the flash of annoyance. His gold should not be upset. He would help if he could. Tilting his head and giving an obedient chip the bronze leapt off Jermayan and circled him once with a high flute to Ellie. Yes of course he could watch hers! He would not let anything happen to him. He would protect hers as if he where his own pet. Dipping down into the crowd, Hero beat his wings quickly and sped towards the healer with the belled bracelet. The scene was probably one that would turn heads. A man in a dress was being chased by a kitten and a bronze fire lizard. Odd sight it was.

[weaving]

As Vanity’s teeth dug into her frill, Brat shrieked. Hissing, the gold used her much larger size to her advantage, doing her best to roll over and squish the green. NONONONONO! STUPIDVILE ASSHAT SHARDING SLUT SKANKY ASS HO. IS MINE! I BEST, I DESERVE! The colorful language had Lennae looking mortified. After all, Brat picked up the vast majority of her language from her which meant that she should probably start watching what she was saying more often. As amusing as it was to have the gold shouting such obscenities, she didn’t think that the vast majority of folks would like it and there were children around. She’d rather not feel the wrath of some angry parent whose child had asked them what ‘slut’ meant. She snatched up Brat, keeping a firm hold on her, though the salamandyr struggled, still yelling obscenities, while Sel’n got a hold of Vanity.

“Shut up or I’m going to feed you to a grouchy dragon and that’ll be the last of you,” she muttered at the struggling gold in her hands. No no no. I eat ugly winged flyers. With a sigh, Lennae placed the gold back on her shoulder, though it wasn’t long before she was distracted again, this time by Manners, Ellie and Hero. There was food there! She could smell it! She was clearly the most deserving creature on all of Pern, which meant that the food there must be for her. Scurrying over toward Jermayan, she completely ignored Ellie and Hero, snatching the food away from Manners just before he was about to take a bite from it. Before anyone could say a word, she retreated back to the safety of Lennae’s shoulder.

Awww…no share? Please? Looking quite dejected at his meal being snatched from him, Manners watched sadly as the chunk of meat disappeared in one gulp. Well, so much for that. Thank you, he told Hero anyway, polite as ever. Not even Brat it seemed, could rile him into anger. Jermayan reached up to rub one finger down the bronze’s spine, doing his best to console him. Poor little guy, always getting walked all over just for being nice. Guess the saying about nice guys finishing last was true after all.

“I think R’wign upset them somehow, and they thought it would be funny,” he told Ellie, trying to elaborate on exactly why the brownweyrling had been gifted with two kittens. He knew why Lennae had gotten him one at least, but Sel’n’s reasoning was a complete mystery. “It was either that or a firelizard egg.” With a slight shrug so as not to disturb Ellie from her perch. The kitten in his hands was growing fussy again, but he didn’t want to just let it go. What if it got lost? It seemed though that he had little say in what the creature did. The little ball of fluff managed to squirm free, falling to the ground and then promptly taking off after R’wign and his sister. Jermayan bit his lip as he watched the kitten disappear into the crowd. Hopefully nothing bad would happen to it.

[glamourie]

Brat’s greed actually surprised Ellie, who jumped back from the gold salamandyr in alarm. As she made off with the snack, Ellie’s wings flared back in agitation and she twitched them animatedly. However, she was spared from having to respond as Hero darted off after her bonded and she fluted to him encouragingly. He’d keep Hers safe, she trusted. He was a good bronze, her mate, and Ellie fully intended to keep him forever - just because he was good. Her tail animatedly twitched back and forth and she watched Brat with a distinctly disapproving gaze, and she briefly considered trying to pick the little fat gold blob up. Maybe she could take it back to the Weyr and it could be offensive there instead of stealing from the nice non-flyer. Her wings flipped twice and she considered for a moment before Ellie turned her attention back to Jermayan, her head cocking curiously. It was evident that yes, she understood every single thing that he was saying to her, and she was able to process the answers in a logical fashion; fire lizards were intelligent, even if they couldn’t speak.

Chirping in understanding, she leaned forward to nudge Jermayan’s cheek gratefully. Then she curled herself downward and licked Manners right down his back, that one touch meant to reassure. He was a nice non-flyer, he was, and she didn’t think it right that his queen was being so mean to him. She needed to be made to pay for that rudeness, and Ellie decided she would be the one to do so. She remembered that little malignant blight from her Flight and Ellie was not about to tolerate her rudeness again. She should’ve gone over the river, not the pretty males. Hmph. She would pay. She wouldn’t be hurt… but she would learn some manners.

Leaping off of Jermayan’s shoulder, Ellie flew around, circling casually so as to be distracting. Then she swooped down with a ridiculous amount of speed, her claws reaching down to snatch Brat by the middle of her body. At the exact same second, she fluted apologetically to Lennae, and then she winked between -- taking the gold salamandyr with her.

Seconds later, Ellie reappeared at the Weyr, right near the river where she’d first seen Brat. Daintily dropping the salamandyr onto the plush ground (so as not to hurt her), Ellie turned and flicked her tail. She sent an image to Brat of the forest and her Chasers, making it very clear exactly why she’d removed her in such a manner, and then winked between before the younger gold could retaliate. No doubt Ellie would be going back to her minething to make sure that he was rescued from the fuzzies that so seemed to upset him…