Pickin' flowers [ Req ]

[Requiem]

F'ur stilled, though he hadn't been moving anyway and F'lix had his back to him, so it was unlikely the younger rider would notice. A slight narrowing of the eyes was the only indication of his reaction in that bland expression of his, the older man reading the scars with what could only be described as rapt interest. The normally flamboyant bluerider spoke in tones nearly as soft as F'lix's own. "Sorry to disappoint, but I hate being predictable," he returned lightly.

Benden riders didn't often have quite the range of scars Fort riders had. They tended to die before they could collect them, as it were. Fort was, and probably always would be, significantly smaller than Benden, and Fort dragonriders had to be more resilient out of necessity - if the war was to last as long as it had. F'lix's existance was chalked up primarily to youth prior, but now he found his interest picqued just a bit more. Seemed the kid had survived a few things, yes?

Hmmm. A challenge it certainly was, wasn't it? F'ur didn't even bother to look at the dragon winging overhead, knowing what he'd see. Wouldn't do to appear...nervous. Which he actually wasn't, strangely enough. Or perhaps not so strangely. Nerves were something F'ur rarely if ever suffered from. His head tilted slightly, the man peering at F'lix from beneath his lashes, using that slight veil to conceal the course of his eyes as he took in the frame of the creature before him. Evaluating. A quick one, mmm. Training was probably subpar, though. Not that the bluerider necessarily minded; he liked to play from time-to-time.

A faint flicker of movement, and F'ur's lips twitched into a stark half-smile. Had taken him long enough, hadn't it? Never reveal your hand...and never come from a point of disadvantage. "A noble purpose. They tend to like this area - though I'm sure you already know that."

The older of the pair dropped his own belt, his pants sliding to ride low on his hips without the leather to secure them to the man's narrow waist. Another dagger dropped from it's place at the small of his back. Undoubtedly F'lix had more than just the little toadsticker he'd divested himself of, but F'ur hardly cared. His realm was unarmed fighting...against any opponent, really.

Another graceful shrug, the hands still - as ever - gracing F'ur's pockets. His weight shifted to the balls of his feet and now his movements were silent but for the rustle of fabric - slow though they still were. He circled out into the clearing, not taking the most direct route. "If nothing else, it'll get the blood flowing," he commented. Was there just a touch of suggestiveness in F'ur's voice? Possibly, though he didn't intend it if it was.

The hunch of shoulders formed a pocket that partially protected his torso, though whether that was the intention of the peculiar stance or not was hard to tell. Not even F'ur could say; his style had been formed so many turns ago he had next to no recollection of the why's. From a dead standstill to a sprint almost instantly, the older bluerider fairly flew at F'lix, looking for all the world as if he just intended to run the other over.

Sudden cut to his left, sidestep with hind foot, the right shot out just above knee level off to F'lix's side and hooked sharply back. It wasn't a strike meant to cripple in this instance...unless F'lix was fool enough to move into it...but the move itself was a crippling move when employed with intent. Testing the kid's reflexes, mostly, that ever-present smile more feral than ought else at the moment.

[rii]

"Be assured then, you're a difficult man to predict."

He flowed, as that word being able to describe his smooth motions of remaining very light on his feet and keeping his side facing his opponent. The only style he really knew and it was meant to be done with a slender blade, not bare hands. But F'lix felt no desire to cut the Fort rider--how odd--because using an edged weapon would only make the encounter more dangerous, and if things went sour.. F'lix pushed the thought aside.

A smirk served as F'lix only response to words. Finally, someone who would act and not just spit out insults. As the kick came, F'lix not only reacted--bending his knee up and shifting his leg out of the path of F'ur's foot--the bluerider also acted. He matched the other's speed, hooking his own foot with F'ur's--not fighting against it, but going with the force of the blow, adding more power to it as it swung away. A motion done to unbalanced. F'lix brand of fighting revolved around using his enemy's energy against them, never fighting it. He didn't have the strength to win physically. He never had at Benden, so he developed a different style to incorporate speed over brawn. Just unbalanced them to the point where he could stab a vital organ or slice open a vein; or make them prone for a simple coup de grace.

Not quite so useful when he didn't have a blade to return an attack.

As he side-stepped, shifting low as he moved around F'ur, easily within arm's reach, his hand reached out, one finger tracing along the older man's bare ribs--as if it were a blade instead of a trailing touch. Mocking? Perhaps. Just a bit.

[Requiem]

Not bad. Not bad at all. A flicker of something that might have been amusement behind his eyes. Reminding him of a certain weasley greenrider, the minx was, and F'ur shifted his hips back with the new momentum behind his leg, falling into a dance that was almost familiar enough that he didn't have to think. F'lix would know he was getting to the older bluerider when and if those hands ever came out of the pockets...and not a moment sooner.

The hook kick that would have planted in front of his other foot now swung back to land lightly at his heel, the stance one that should have been awkward...but looked anything but. His head came up and he growled softly through his teeth in mock annoyance, the amused twinkle still behind his dark eyes.

Couldn't resist that touch, now could F'lix? F'ur was hardly surprised. Whether in jest or in earnest, there was something about proving your superiority that caused men to do such things, and he already knew the young one was arrogant. Never make a superfluous move.

The foot by his heel left his torso coiled, the whole purpose behind the strange positioning of his feet, and his torso unwound, elbow rising then closing on F'lix's wrist and pinning the Bendenite's arm, if only for a second until the other bluerider could react. His right leg swept out and around against F'lix's ankles, F'ur relaxing the muscles of his arm to allow the younger bluerider's wrist to slide free so as not to pull or break anything - or give F'lix anything to cling to - should the attempted trip prove successful.

Never one to take anything but a palm-strike to the face for granted, the older man was already dancing nimbly back, anticipating a counterstrike. He couldn't resist, though. "I'm not your prey, kitten." That little mocking move wasn't of much use without a blade.

[rii]

Strange, is the only word that came to mind as F'lix felt his hand being trapped by F'ur's arm--with hands still in pockets. He shot a curious glance up at the older man, but the knock to the back of his heels demanded his attention. F'lix shifted his center of balance by reaching down and back to plant his hand on the ground near his feet. Instead of falling backwards as his footing was lost, the youth brought one knee to his chest, his back arching up to twist the rest of his body up and over the hand still touching the soil. His other hand slipped free of F'ur's loose hold during the action.

F'lix ended up in a sprinter's stance, crouched low on all fours; one leg bent ready to propel forward off the ground while the other dug into the ground behind him as a brace. He swayed back, coiling to pouce at the retreating man when F'ur dubbed him kitten. Golden eyes narrowed at the pet name, and he flicked his gaze over the older rider before pointedly directing his line of sight at the discarded weapons. A questioning tilt of his head and F'lix peered side-long at F'ur. If the Fort rider felt he really needed better practice, F'lix would gladly go get his 'claws'.

The hand-to-hand combat was outside of his comfort zone.. especially when F'ur didn't even use his hands. F'lix liked his daggers, particularly a pair he constantly left in his room. (they tempted him badly to slice people open instead of just scaring them off, thus they remained out of his hands.) As for F'ur's style, F'lix had never dealt with such a--well, personally, he just thought F'ur was being odd. Hn. The young rider tilted his head further to the right, fingers coming up to his exposed neck line and mimicking raking motions over the prominent scars. "If you were I'd go for the throat. But--" He made a show of stretching his arms out, elongating his body before arching his back up and rising gracefully to his feet; playing out the feline characteristics. "--you're more of a toy."

Longing for something more than a few brief moves that toe-tested the waters, F'lix launched at the other. He got in close and fought to remain there to avoid giving F'ur enough room to properly deal out a vicious kick. Knees and elbows were used as F'lix set in motion around F'ur. The younger didn't pay much mind if any of them hit or were blocked--though something did strike him in the process, hard too. It should have hurt, and probably would later, but having a high tolerance for pain had it's perks. He faked with one hand then, gauging F'ur's dodge, snapped his other hand up the line of other man's chest. Fingers were folded back as he directed the heel of his palm at the junction of F'ur's jaw and throat.

[Requiem]

F'ur was oh so very tempted to show F'lix just why the man should be a little more cognizant of just how exposed he was at this moment, but he was a patient sort and if this had been remotely real, he wouldn't be fighting like he was. This was like how he fought with the pretty weyrlings when they brought in older riders back at Fort to train them up. First, it taught the kids not to let their frustrations direct their actions, but it also revealed the holes in their fighting styles in a way that was conducive to learning. (And the weyrlingmasters tended to enjoy pitting F'ur against the more unruly, particularly bronze and brownweyrlings to knock them down a few pegs.)

The bluerider quirked an eyebrow at F'lix's silent question, offering up another shrug that stated clearly that if F'lix wanted to play with pointed objects, he was more than welcome. "Come play, then," he murmured, not really caring if F'lix heard or not. Ah, and such an obedient little Bendenite he was, too; the polecat closed in the next moment, coming at him in a flurry of motion.

F'ur danced. There was little else that could be used to describe it. Torso and arms as yet uninvolved in the fight, his hips would twist, one leg sliding one direction, a little skip here or a sudden twirl away. He couldn't help the amused smirk that had taken control of his face. This was rather fun, dancing with the polecat. Gradually he began to follow some of F'lix's movements with the brush of a shoulder here, the thrust of a hip there, and at the last he managed to sink a knee into the younger bluerider's kidney.

Impressive, really, because F'lix didn't even slow. His response was a good one, too...F'ur was too close to escape the hand, his eyes narrowing to slits of mild irritation. And finally his hands cleared his pockets, the man twisting his head aside, the palm clipping his ear in the process. He hissed slightly through his teeth, his left hand catching F'lix's wrist, the right finding the elbow of that same arm. He ducked under the younger man's arm and twisted it behind F'lix's back. But F'ur wasn't in a particularly merciful mood at present; he applied pressure to the arm, knowing that F'lix would either find the ground with his knees or suffer a broken arm.

His breath wafted hot against the side of F'lix's face. "Mmm. Guess you'll have to be more careful what you play with kitten." Oh, he'd noticed the earlier expression. Still holding the man's arm by the wrist, F'ur's free arm snaked around in front of F'lix, tracing the line of his jaw mockingly.

[rii]

F'lix had the distinct feeling that he was the one being toyed with, but it didn't come as a surprise for him, he felt it from the beginning. In the back of his mind he knew F'ur's skills out-matched his own. Yet there he was, a product of his own twisted vices. He couldn't turn down the opportunity to brush with something so subtly dangerous. He enjoyed the friction, gave him a pleasant thrill, and his train of thought had veered off in perverse directions once or twice--but he blamed that entirely on his earlier frustration with the green's flight. Not like the former fort rider would put up with that. Why had he even let things go on as long as they did? Surely F'ur was manipulating him..

.. and still, with that knowledge, F'lix didn't back off.

But, as F'lix fought to stand against the twisting pain in his arm, a victorious smile graced his lips. He remained upright as long as he could in stubborn show that pain did not easily curb him. F'lix was certain he could find a way out, likely hurting himself in the process, but instead he finally buckled before his arm could break and fell hard onto one knee. His aim had been to make the older man get those hands out of the pockets, and despite being the obvious loser, he had succeeded. His arm and lower back ached dully, his senses muted the pain. However.. the warm breath and touch to his chin were an entirely different scenario, they translated to something akin to fire that burned--and not all in a bad way even though the gestures came off as a taunt. A mixture of emotions flickered through his eyes, flicking by to fast to translate them.

Tensing his jaw, F'lix didn't jerk away, yet. "Where's the fun in that?" And for the petname, he turned his face into the touch and bit down on F'ur's hand, hard enough to leave a lasting mark. He quickly released the hand, turning his face away and hunching his shoulders--well, one shoulder, as the other remained twisted behind him (and F'lix made no show of planning to escape). He anticipated getting smacked for the bite, and out of all things to hit him with, that one he did dread. It made his stomach sink and twist into knots.

He idly licked his lips while his mind returned to the challenge. F'lix had come still on the forest floor for a reason. It was not technically a win, in the younger's mind, it served enough for at least one answer. "So.." again his voice soft, the barest hint of a smile on his lips as he spoke. "What's your question?"

[Requiem]

Certainly stubborn, wasn't he? F'ur had landed himself in a similar position - mostly training with the others of his wing - often enough to know it wasn't generally an easy thing to ignore. (Of course, the older bluerider was usually similarly stubborn. It helped when you knew the person on the other end of it wasn't really going to break a limb.) Ah, there it was. F'ur sunk down with him, resisting the desire to remain standing and thus put even more pressure on the arm.

The bite caught him by surprise, and precious little did. He jerked F'lix back into him on pure instinct, as people (and animals) bit and scratched when they were desperate to get away, as a general rule, and F'ur had no intention of allowing that. Shards. What, was he trying to sever tendons or something? The older bluerider wasn't so proud that he bothered to hide the soft cry, the bitten hand bleeding now at F'lix's waist. He growled low in his throat, then, eyeing the other man's neck.

That would be so easy to sink his teeth into, but F'ur didn't like the direction such an action was leading him, so he disregarded the impulse. "Got teeth, do you?" he murmured, the voice rumbling deep in his chest sounding almost vaguely like a purr. "I'd keep them to myself before I find a better use for that mouth." The words were light enough, but F'ur wasn't joking, either, and that was clear enough in the tone of his voice.

He was altogether more serious than he usually was, this F'ur, and the smarting hand came around, careful of the nasty set of teeth F'lix had on him (F'ur half-expected to come down with some Bendenite disease after this) and urged the face around so the older bluerider could meet his eyes. He couldn't resist the slight grin at seeing his blood dripping onto the young man's neck and shirt. "One question, eh? Fine." He could play this game according to F'lix's rules.

His hand slid up, into F'lix's hair in a gesture that was all too familiar, but the Fortian's eyes were cold. "Since you clearly weren't part of one of Benden's crack teams, what exactly did you do?" His eyes narrowed. "Aside from adorn the furs of different riders."

[rii]

Hm, that tasted like blood. F'lix licked the corner of his lips again. Mhm.

A dark chuckled filled F'lix throat but he swallowed it down, letting a smile quirk at the corners of his lips instead. And what, pray tell, did the Fort rider intend as a better use? F'lix was sure F'ur could think of a few things, but the younger's thoughts only went into the gutter--and for that F'lix wanted to retort; the casual--threat?--sounded more like a suggestion and he too could think of better uses for his mouth. Such cheek would earn him a blow, likely, at least in his past that was how it normally ended. Then surely he'd hear something along the lines of how a fort man of F'ur's caliber didn't dirty himself with Benden vermin, right? It would be typical of their high-and-mighty attitude, ignoring that F'ur proved to be difficult to predict. He was still Fort.

Although F'lix silently wished F'ur would stop touching him outside the boundaries of a fight. It was unfair and deceptive, but that was Fort, wasn't it. Always trying to manipulate things with a sly hand and misleading smile. Hn--F'lix gave a sudden jerk, twisting his torso to pull at his trapped arm. He didn't expect to be released, but the pain would remind him that he shouldn't be enjoying himself.

F'lix tried to keep the hand away from his face, absently turning it into the direction F'ur wanted. He only met F'ur's eyes once, briefly narrowing golden eyes in a glare before quickly flicking his eyes aside. He busied himself with keeping the hand at bay by turning and tilting his chin and restraining teeth behind closed lips. Although the darkly amused part of him wanted to snap just to see how F'ur would punish him. Ah, perhaps another time; if there was another time..

"Yes, obviously I wasn't on the front lines." Amended by his poor grappling skills. But what was he suppose to do about that, ask F'ur for lessons? Ahahaha. Bitterness stabbed at his chest, sobering his thoughts. He mulled over F'ur's question, knowing it would be easy to tell little half-truths but playing lying games did not appeal to F'lix. The lewd comment earned a half-smirk from the Benden. Hey, nothing wrong with using his better assets to get what he wanted. "But that is a rather open ended question, isn't it.."

Fingers of his free hand raised to slide through the drops of blood tickling at his neck. F'lix then held the hand in front of himself for examination. His eyes took on a dark fascination as he examined the blood contrasting over his pale digits. As F'ur's hand slid into his dark hair, F'lix tensed and went very still, for the first time he felt genuinely worried. His pulse fluttered nervously but he calmly kept his half-lidded, dark gold eyes fixated on the blood. "I don't know what you want to know, or why it matters now to know it. I didn't have a set duty, more of individual tasks that varied with the situation. C'leon had taken notice that I can be quite.. " Sly? Cheating? Unethical? Unfair? "..underhanded when I want to be. Murder, theft, anything that remotely required stealth and not a head-on approach, I usually had my hand in it."

F'lix shrugged with one shoulder, knowing full and well he had just been a tool for those six turns, but being important at Benden coincided with a short life expectancy. Thus so F'lix liked being on the side-lines, no one took notice of him there. He doubted the information was of any use or leverage. It wasn't something F'lix actively hid from others. Of course, no one ever thought to ask. His blood-smeared fingertips hover over his lower lip, but his golden eyes had slid over to peer side-long at the Fortian. "The last thing I did for him was scout Selenitas before the attack."

[Requiem]

F'ur was tempted to make comments about F'lix's apparent 'shyness,' but he figured the smirk conveyed the fact that he'd noticed the younger man's unease well enough - perhaps better. Well, all F'lix had said was that he got a question, right? He didn't specify what kind of question.

F'ur's eyes narrowed, a blatantly pleased look behind them. The hand in the hair had the desired effect of quelling the kitten, or so it would seem. Almost as if he could smell F'lix's mild pangs of fear, the older bluerider leaned further into him, the fingers not remaining - quite - still. He made a show of looking at the blood sprinkling the young man's hand, as if trying to discern what it was that so intrigued F'lix. Did he really think F'ur wouldn't notice something so obvious?

The bluerider watched the rapid pulse, the smirk becoming starker with each passing moment. Oh, he was enjoying himself, he was, but the purpose of his actions at the moment had little to do with what anyone observing might have thought. F'ur was no Ka'rys; he wasn't trained in the torture and interrogation methods that the bronzerider was. But he still could read basic body language, and he could tell that F'lix wasn't hiding anything presently. Not that it was likely, anyway...for the damning bit of information was simply that he was Benden. Everything else was just icing on the cake.

F'ur met F'lix's gaze squarely. His own role was a delicate one, but he didn't have to work too hard to maintain it; he was naturally dominant, was the bluerider. "Then I have you to thank, do I?" F'ur murmured, pitching his voice low enough that F'lix would have to strain to hear it. "It was ever so dull here before you dropped a few hundred Bendenites in our laps. I didn't quite break my record of kills, but I came awfully close," he commented, a touch of maliciousness behind the words.

"Seems to me C'leon could have used some better information. Poor chap. He'll never live down being killed by a woman- and a particularly timid one, at that. After everything else is forgotten, that will still be sung about."

F'ur's head lowered, his cheek hovering less than a hair's breadth from F'lix's neck. He could feel the younger man's heat, and it amused him in a decidedly dark fashion. "Kitten...are we a bit excited?" His cheek brushed the neck where the pulse still skipped swiftly beneath the skin. F'ur's eyes never left F'lix's, clearly mocking him. "Don't be afraid, little one. You're too amusing to kill off right away."

[rii]

"I'm glad they entertained you." His tone was bored and F'lix curled his bloodied fingers into his palm and set it into his lap. The demeaning words did not come as surprise, and had little effect on the young blue rider. He formed no lasting attachments with the people at Benden, so to have them die meant little. The slightest show of a smile curved at his lips concerning the comment of C'leon. Oh he would not defend that man. No loyalty there, he had merely been the leader and F'lix either listened, or died. A very simple choice when put into perspective.

Excited? F'lix arched a slender brow at the other man. If excited translated into being worried a Fortian was going to snap his neck--then yes. Otherwise, even admittedly being a bit masochistic, the answer was no. F'lix felt more along the lines of confused. A player in a game he didn't know and no one had thought to read him the rules. He was enjoying himself, yes in a darkly amused fashion; but worried about playing the wrong card that could result in his death. F'lix did have the talent for pissing people off without even trying..

The hand in his hair kept him relatively still. While teased F'lix eyes slitted into one of his notable glares. Being touched around the neck or face always made him angry. F'ur had no right. They were sensitive areas, partially due to F'lix self-consciousness toward the scars. He liked scars, just not his own. Damn his pulse for not slowing down. But oh.. F'ur was not going to kill him right away, hm?

The younger put aside his discomfort in favor of turning his face down into F'ur's. His mouth opened, lips drawing back so teeth grazed the other man's cheek, nearly tasting the skin. Long fingers raised and threaded through F'ur's hair and, as things never were what they seemed in this situation, F'lix quickly fisted his hand and yanked the other away. He shoved he weight into the other's chest and attempted to awkwardly kick out at F'ur's footing. He wanted F'ur off of him. It didn't matter if his arm was still captive and he'd probably get dragged along for the fall. F'lix would not sit by submissively and take the treatment.

[Requiem]

It would have been a bit too much to say that F'ur was angry. Irritated might have been the better word, or maybe simply...peevish. He released F'lix's arm because it amused him to do so more than due to the pain of having his head suddenly jerked back, the bluerider taking the gesture as one of challenge. Or maybe he just was still worked up after that green's flight. Women couldn't really compare.

Regardless, his eyes narrowed, the man growling as his leg slid out to find his balance before F'lix could totally get the upper hand here. He still had the other bluerider's hair, though he didn't pull at it. In his case, he merely kept a hold on it to prevent F'lix from dashing off somewhere. If the younger rider wanted to play games (and in F'ur's mind the graze of teeth against his skin definitely constituted as 'playing games') F'lix had better be willing to follow through.

F'ur hadn't started it, but he was going to finish it.

F'lix's kick managed to push F'ur's leg back, the older of the pair shifting his weight back with it. The position was awkward, though so was the kitten's, and the older bluerider was quick to react. He palmed the ground with his free hand to steady himself, sliding his leg between F'lix's and angling it around to capture the younger man's left leg, drawing it back in a way that stretched F'lix partially beneath him, F'ur's hold on his hair making the position undoubtedly awkward.

"When I said I wouldn't kill you just yet," he grated, the hand on the ground rising up to slip under F'lix's shirt, fingers splaying across the younger man's stomach. "I didn't mean that I wouldn't hurt you." Nails dug into the Bendenite's flat abdomen. "Foolish kitten," he added, sinking his teeth into the juncture of shoulder and neck, just as he'd been tempted to before. He didn't break skin just yet, though, instead drawing back slightly.

[rii]

Where there should have been panic, there was only amusement tinged with dark pleasure. Both palms were flattened against the ground on either side of his uncaptured leg--which remained in a kneeling position under his body. A wicked smile stretched across his lips at the fingers digging into his abdomen and then--Mm, lovely--teeth sank into his skin. F'lix lips parted in silent bliss, golden eyes hazed over with the sensation. That felt good. But the younger refused to let the other aware of that turn-on.

Licking suddenly dry lips, F'lix laughed low and darkly--almost mockingly at the older man. Didn't the Fortian get it yet? Pain did not deter F'lix, it encouraged him. And he had been inviting it all along. He hardly felt it anyway, but the act behind it twisted with the touch of skin (or teeth) against skin sent a pleasant chill down his spine. Now he was starting to get excited. Although he promised himself--and Saboth's faint lingering of concern--that he would not let it go too far. Really. He'd stop. Honest.

And just how far did F'ur plan to play his game?

With a feral grin F'lix arched his body back against F'ur, suggestively sliding against the other. An amusing wonder came to mind, did the older man expect to have a blushing youth squirming beneath him? Ha. But if anything, F'lix was not reacting to an underlying lust. His actions were done to annoy the older man. "Growing up where I did, you get use to pain." A low tone of a purr. "Eventually you don't feel it anymore. You start to expect it, to like it, to want it. So go ahead. Hurt me."

As if to give incentive, F'lix suddenly rolled left-- bringing right leg and arm up to shove F'ur aside. The grip in his hair made his neck bend at an awkward angle but he jerked to get that and his tangled left leg free of the Fortian. He kept his right arm and leg extended in an attempt to keep F'ur at bay.

[Requiem]

If he'd had any reservations before (and there had been some, even though F'ur wasn't one to put much stock in what a Bendenite did or didn't want) they fled in the space of a moment. The invitation had been made. As far as the older bluerider was concerned, whether that invitation was true or false didn't matter...once invited he had the right to act on that invitation, and F'lix (whether out of desire or some sort of twisted sense of humor that didn't fully realize that F'ur was dead serious) had sealed his fate. There was no escaping it now.

The body arching back against him was not undesirable in its fashion, but it remained true that he mostly just had the desire to exercise his dominance over the little Benden spy. A play for superiority that involved far less blood and much more pleasure...because what better revenge was there, really, than forcing someone to like something they probably shouldn't?

F'lix's sudden movement caused F'ur to chuckle softly, the teeth closing harder on the younger's shoulder. It was mildly uncomfortable for him to have something jerked out of his mouth, but the blood on his tongue made up for that nicely. If F'lix wanted him to leave the mark of his possession, F'ur wasn't about to argue. He didn't hold onto the hair similarly, though. It was far more interesting to see F'lix overbalance because he'd used far too much force to attempt to extract himself from F'ur.

The older man figured he'd help him along a bit, twisting his torso down and jerking to the left just after F'lix did, his shoulder catching the younger bluerider in the collarbone with a not inconsiderable amount of force. F'ur was on top of F'lix in an instant, knees planted on the Bendenite's biceps. He smiled darkly, reaching behind himself to trail one hand over the young man's stomach, drifting lower. HIs other descended to F'lix's throat, lingering there. Threat or promise, it was hard to tell.

Leaning forward, he arched his back so that they were nearly nose-to-nose. "Tell me, kitten. Is it even possible for a Bendenite to satisfy a man?" His hand curled around F'lix's neck. "You seem much too soft to me."

[rii]

Marked. F'lix tilted his head to the side and rotated his shoulder to stretch the muscle around the bite. Yes, deep enough to leave more than a bruise. Did the Fortian mean to mark him? F'lix doubted it. Shame really, F'lix liked the idea of being claimed by the enemy.

Hips twisted away from F'ur's lowering touch. F'lix arched and pulled against his captor to test the strength of the restraining position. Hm, the younger was mildly disappointed of having his arms pinned. It limited his freedom to touch, or lick, bite--the last thought passed as F'lix's golden eyes swept admiringly over F'ur's lower abdomen visible just above the low-riding pants. Shards. F'lix tilted his head back and closed his eyes. Honestly, if he had resorted to these means to get his kicks, then it really had been too long since his last lay. He blamed Saboth for being so picky. Also the lack-luster selection of weyrmates not that he had bothered looking. Sigh.

F'lix relaxed against the ground, noting a particularly annoying rock jabbing into his shoulder blade. When he sensed F'ur's face nearing the younger turned his face away; always to the left in his subconscious act of hiding the scars from being seen up close. Eyes slitted opened and questioningly peered side-long at F'ur. Too soft? The words struck F'lix as a challenge and most of him wanted to prove himself; the other part of him wanted to put his limber body to use by bringing his legs up to wrap around his captor and pull him off. F'lix needed to put distance between them. Being so close made it difficult to think straight.

Yet the younger decided to remain relaxed under the weight pressing him down. His pulse still thrummed strongly under the palm curling around his neck. F'lix did his best to rise up at meet the face that hovered too near. He got close enough to kiss, or bite in that single instance, but he didn't--defiant as he was, F'lix lingered a breath's space away from touching the older man. "Unfortunately for you, you'll never find out."

[Requiem]

Your choices are...as good as ever, Inocenth commented from close by. Do keep in mind that if he decides to call on Saboth, there will be little I can do. He won't. Doesn't seem to want to Fly, Mine. I think you're wrong. F'ur was amused at that. Oh, he wants it. Trust me. Inocenth still wasn't altogether pleased. Why this one? I don't know. Because I can? Do I have to have a reason? When he's one of the Others? Yes. I have no desire to share you with one of Them.

F'ur, who was currently smiling down at F'lix and shifting his weight off the younger man's arms to make it easier for him to get at what he wanted, visibly stilled, a brief frown flickering across his face. Where in Faranth's name are you getting that from? He is, as you say, of Benden. And the first you've considered taking as yours since we came from the old place. No, he interjected, before F'ur could respond. The ones I win for you don't count. The man's eyes narrowed. What would I want with him, Inocenth? You make no sense. He's an arrogant, mouthy little Benden vixen. And how, aside from being from Benden, is that any different from your other mates?

Swift the exchange was, but F'ur remained motionless for a few more seconds, his eyes meeting the young man's in a more searching manner than they had previously. The sudden lack of desire to follow through wasn't all that surprising, all things considered, but he was determined not to let F'lix read that in him. F'ur captured the Bendenite's lower lip, biting at it with considerable less force than the bite that had left that angry mark in the younger man's shoulder.

"A shame." One of the fingers at F'lix's throat lifted to trace along the man's jawline. "I was just beginning to think the day wouldn't be so dull after all. But if you don't think you're up to it..." F'ur rose gracefully, dusting himself off. "Afraid you just missed your window of opportunity. Do enjoy the rest of your day." He let his eyes run over F'lix's frame pointedly, lingering in a few key places, and a smirk quirked at the edge of his mouth. A pretty thing, but Benden was definitely something of a turn-off - if Inocenth was right. Which F'ur wasn't so sure he wasn't.

Still straddling F'lix's waist, F'ur turned to walk away.