But soon enough you're gonna think of me [Req]

[Requiem]

His nerves had now completely settled. Even though it was unlikely, particularly in the last couple of minutes, that they were terribly noticeable...he knew the battle against F'lix's mind demons was won when the younger man leaned in closer. Nuzzled him. Smiles and mild looks. Yes, this was much better, much more familiar. Not that the other wasn't familiar, too, but that was turns ago, back when they first started associating.

The older man smiled a little wryly when he felt the hand working the ring loose from his finger, standing placidly. No, he wouldn't need to conceal that anymore, now would he? Just as he didn't need to keep his hair long, alter his apparent height and size. There was no further need to walk into Selenitas playing games that were unlikely to come to fruition for quite some time yet.

His hand lifted to ghost over the scars on F'lix's face. The young man's shame, but he didn't hide it anymore behind a curtain of hair. The hand with the inked band on his finger continued up into the other bluerider's hair. Tangling there after a moment. He kissed the man's jaw, nudging his nose up beneath it. "Weyr. Camp. Hiding place. Whichever you prefer," he breathed against F'lix's skin. Nipped his neck lightly. Withdrew his lips reluctantly, but he did nothing to put more distance between them.

"All I know for certain is that the ones from Ka'rys' wing, some weyrlings and a few others who escaped with them are all coordinating with each other to attack some of the tithe trains. Probably to get what they need. Seems likely they're all in one place, then." That and it would be just like the crazies, wouldn't it? Instead of dispersing in twos and threes and just keeping in touch, they'd make it easy for someone to wipe them all out at once. The Weyr mentality didn't fit so nicely into fugitive of war.

But maybe they weren't so crazy. In terms of survival it seemed stupid, but the dragons seemed to need that sort of networking. Hiding indeterminately wore on all social creatures. Even Inocenth. "We could go looking." The unspoken if you want was left to be divined. F'ur knew the suggestion would not be made by the 'boys' if he didn't voice it.

Terror perked up a little at Lilitu's voice, orienting on it. So far. Across the glade of shadows and evil predators and all sorts of other horrors. What she was saying was bad though. Thank, thank, he returned quietly to her. Then he did something unprecedented. The blue began a race of pure terror across the glade, fully expecting some rodent to snatch him up off the ground or an owl to pick him out of the air, his body wending in exaggerated, sporadic shifts in direction to throw them off.

At last he reached Lilitu and threw himself at her, coiling with her in a quivering mass of reaction. It didn't stop him from licking at her frill. Thank, Lililove. Lililove here. Thank. It wasn't the clearest message, but then, Terror was not the most eloquent of mandyrs when it came to mindspeech. Even if he communicated seamlessly with His on a level far deeper than simple speech.

[rii]

It was becoming difficult, F'lix noted with closing eyes and arms wrapping around his love, becoming difficult to remember the question he'd ask, and then to listen to the answer. Why did he bother asking anything in the first place? There were more enjoyable things to do with mouth and tongue. Mentally cursing, F'lix emitted a soft growl in response to the teeth. The younger rider's eyes opened to better focus on something other than the feel of F'ur's body next to his own. He settled his hands on either side of Fur's hips and drew a step away to add space.

"Oh. That." Cue a moment or two for F'lix's mind to catch up to form more words. "They should have robbed the northern tithes more. Er - well, he knows it's them, is all I mean. Sooner or later he'll catch them. Not like they can stop if they are trying to support a small weyr of people.."

One shoulder raised in an ambiguous shrug - both to the mild concern to warn the group of exiles and to F'ur's suggestion that they could go look for them. Right now, no, maybe later. "What about the others that are with you? They're probably expecting you.." Shouldn't leave them behind without a word. F'lix wasn't all that certain if he wanted to see them - or anyone other than F'ur. Quietly F'lix put forth his sort of decision on the matter. "I'd like to get Saboth around dragons that might remember him.. Ino.. Onyth.."

Later.

F'lix's fingers curled around Fur's waistband. A mischievous curve to his lips as he tugged the old man near, only to let him go and make a turn for his dragon. He made it a stride before pivoting, head cocking to the side, "Well?"

Lilitu hissed to herself as she watched the grass twitch sporadically with Terror's flight. That fool, no doubt he would get himself gobbled up by some tunnel snake and then what would she do? The dark green was just standing, shifting down Saboth's neck with intentions of fetching Terror, thoroughly scolding him, then shoving him into some crevice. Only the pale blue ended up trembling at her feet without her having to retrieve him.

Fool, She licked the top of his head. Not safe. Terror not fool, but fool. The fact Lilitu didn't bite or smack her clutchbrother showed enough she appreciated his words; that she cared for him more than she would ever admit. The affection didn't last long, as she bit down on the side of Terror's frill and forcefully dragged him further along Saboth - only a short ways before letting go and nudging him toward the crevices between the riding leather, blanket and dragon skin. Surely her frightful brother would find something to worry about, but it would be the safer spot for now.

The green hardly gave the blue time to protest, grabbing and pulling the blue into the shadows with her.. where she curled around him, tail twining with his as she settled her head on top of his back. Her eyes fell to a close - she missed simper - her fool.

[Requiem]

Well, darn. Space. Though F'ur couldn't be too terribly disappointing, considering this only presented him with the challenge of further diverting his weyrmate's attention. A game he enjoyed altogether too much, really. The older man merely nodded at F'lix's information. No doubt the exiles suspected that, as well, unless they all had fluff for brains. Necessities remained necessities whether the risk was high or no.

"That's what I meant by the boys," F'ur explained, amusement in his eyes. Clearly, he'd distracted F'lix more than the younger man was willing to admit. "A'emi and K'sel. Those boys. The ones you sent with me," he added in an explanatory tone that had more than just a small trace of teasing imbedded within it. As if suggesting that his proximity had also caused the younger man to forget his little squad.

The older of the bluerider's quite willingly allowed himself to be tugged forward, not breaking stride as F'lix moved away, even if a flicker of frustration that he didn't bother to hide lingered behind his eyes. He didn't stop when F'lix did, instead coming up behind him and brushing against the man's arm and hip. "Well, you're going the wrong way. We didn't pick a place easy to reach by dragon." Using his hip to turn F'lix roughly west, he leaned close. "Have him follow, kitten," he murmured against the man's ear before continuing on past him, the telltale swagger very much in evidence.

Oh, but he knew it wasn't safe! The small blue was still trembling in reaction for that very reason. Nevertheless, he docilely submitted to the bite on his frill, knowing that Lililove did not really plan to eat him. (Or probably didn't, given she hadn't yet.) Sorry, sorry, he whispered to her, scrambling to keep up with the green half-dragging him over the dragon. Please no eat, he added, just to be sure to cover all his bases.

The male obediently entered, submitting again to her tugs. Her closeness helped quell some of the trembling, though he was very, very worried about those nasty bugs with the sharp, painful pinchers that liked to hide in dark places like these. (Terror could only manage to eat those insects which did not look like they'd do nasty things back to him when he tried to consume them.)

[rii]

F'lix felt the hairs rise up along his neck at the waft of warm air from F'ur's mouth being so close. A stubborn smile spread across F'lix's lips; his eyelids drooping as he cast a playful side-long glance at his weyrmate. He turned with the push, but made no attempts to follow F'ur just yet. Instead F'lix let his eyes follow the older man's movements - drinking in the sight of him. After a moment F'lix calmly stretched his arms above his head before lowering and folding them behind his back. A decent distance had been made between them, but not enough to making talking difficult.

"I was completely knocked out by the time you all left. Saboth sent the coordinates on his own.. and by the time I woke up again.. after what he went through.. he couldn't remember enough to tell me who he had sent; or even where. It could have been the whole weyr for all I knew," F'lix quietly commented, his shoulders shrugging even though F'ur couldn't see it. He quietly picked his way after F'ur, making sure to keep a few stride's distance. "It was a few weeks before I could slip away to even make guesses at where he might have sent you all. This glade.. I had found old marks of dragon claws that landed here. Couldn't tell who had made it there."

There F'lix stopped his wandering mind, unwilling to let it go back down that dark beaten path that made him want to apologize without end about having given up on F'ur being alive. F'lix chuckled, blaming the distance for the depressing thoughts that were already beginning to crawl back to the front of his mind. "I'm glad they're alright - even if you dragged them into some madness of sneaking into the weyr." F'lix wrinkled his nose at the older man's back. It was almost strange, the way F'ur had .. what, watched after 'the boys' ?

"Meeting up with them might have to wait," F'lix muttered to himself as his gaze swept over his lover, quickly turning aside to avoid being caught red-handed. He turned enough in his stride to make sure Saboth had begun moving. In a louder tone F'lix added, "Terror isn't going to panic if Saboth flies, is he?"

Because, maybe it would better to fetch the salamandyrs than leave them behind. F'lix knew Terror rarely left F'ur - Lilitu's moodiness be damned. F'lix would rather deal with her growlings than a F'ur that nervously twitched at shadows. Avoiding situations that would give Terror a heart attack were always a good thing. Lilitu didn't wait for a response from the humans. She was mollified enough by Terror's actions. Come, A simple demand as she left the dark crevice and climbed down Saboth's leg to reach the ground. Or fall from sky like rock, 'cept splat at end.

She made a couple bounds through the grass before looking over her shoulder for the wary blue.

[Requiem]

F'ur might have protested the distance that F'lix allowed to grow between them, but, really, he supposed it didn't matter so much. (Though he really didn't see what the great hurry was considering they were far enough from the Weyr that no one was likely to stumble upon them out here. Especially since they'd have to adjust their behavior to suit a more public venue when they rejoined K'sel and A'emi.)

The older bluerider's pace naturally slowed as F'lix talked, and not for the reason one might suspect. His mind was on his weyrmate's words. No wonder he hadn't been able to make contact with the younger man. F'lix couldn't have found this place until late, when F'ur had already stopped coming to it very frequently. It hadn't occurred to him that Saboth might have acted on his own.

F'ur clearly didn't hear his weyrmate's muttered phrase, either, or he would have undoubtedly pounced on it. Instead, he commented, "Tch. They chose to join me. I simply made it clear I was going with or with them." The older man didn't add that they'd all had their own reasons - their own ghosts - for coming back to Selenitas. He didn't mind taking the blame for what was likely a foolish action. That was what he was for, wasn't it?

Terror was reluctant to leave his temporary safe haven, but it didn't feel nearly so safe with Lilitu gone, and then her subsequent words sent a thrill of fear down his spine. He poked his head out cautiously before sprinting down Saboth after her, the creature hugging close to her tail. She'd protect him from the monsters hiding in the grass, wouldn't she? He could only hope as much.

F'ur was more than willing to take advantage of the delay caused by the two salamandyrs and close the distance again with F'lix. He slipped his fingers between the buttons of the man's shirt and kissed him again, with a wry grin coming to his lips when they broke apart. "You realize we're going to have to make up for lost time...what's the rush, anyway?" the man finished in a murmur.