Think left and think right [Rae]

[Lotty]

Raebeli was pleased with this. Very pleased. Even if they didn't find a wherry or whatever, then she'd be fine, she was having quite a bit of fun and they could always figure out another way to torture Demi. He was a rather easy target she supposed, and between the two of them it should be no problem. The most important factor though, was the fact that he had his arm over her shoulders. Oh my goodness! She was so easy to flatter, so easy to impress, it was hard for her not to swoon a little bit. Was that a little bit of a blush on her cheeks? Maybe, just maybe.

Leaning on her...yes that was nice. She wasn't the sturdiest person in the world, but when she was like this there was literally nothing that could get her down. Her eyes scanned the horizon to keep from showing Trell that girly grin of hers. Her sight didn't go too far though, the forest was thick with underbrush and vegetation. Cap'n was surely out there somewhere.

His treats? Oh he'd be upset alright, but maybe he'd get over it? She had never tested it before, but she knew that the bird did not like it when others didn't give up snacks for him. She reluctantly reached into her pocked and pulled out all the food: dried up fruits and nuts and bread crumbs. Here is was, and she was going to give it all up, "Sounds good. I don't know anything about setting up traps though..." No traps at all. The kind for animals and kind for people alike, so this was going to be all up to Trell, "What do we have to do then?"

Ah-ha, the tables were turned, he was going to answer all kinds of questions and she would learn something from him, "I promise not to give away the secrets of your wherry trapping," she offered as a light hearted joke.

((lolfailpost))

[rii]

It was a good thing Quintrell had recently become a wherhandler. Interactions with the fairer sex (and the thief would never find interest in another male) were kept to playful flirtations and charming smiles. Otherwise, if he had bothered to really watch for her reactions, Quintrell may have tried to press his advantage with the swooning girl. As it was, Quintrell didn't want to get involved with the potential 'harming your young wher' thing impressed into his mind. He had already made a fiasco of that when Anz's salamandyr had run.

Instead, Trel just casually kept his arm over her shoulders–a touch amused she had not shrugged him off. He tossed the broken limb aside before seizing her wrist, lightly, Trel leaned forward to sniff curiously at the assortment of treats. A frown marred his features as he drew back, releasing her hand. "I dun think they'll be able to smell it. I was sorta hopin' it would be bits of meat.. considering he's a predator n'all. I shoulda grabbed somethin' from the kitchens before we left."

Drumming his chin with free fingers, Quintrell again surveyed their surroundings. "We could just.. camp up in a tree and see if Cap'n scares anything back this way. I didn't bring enough rope for a snare. Would take too much time to make a net.. What do you say?" The thief rolled his face over to Raebali for her opinion. Pointing up toward the canopy with index finger–more specifically at a rather thick, sturdy branch above their heads. "Would provide a view."

Slipping his arm away, Quintrell walked over to the trunk, head craned back. "You and me, in the tree–" The thief paused, chuckling before continuing. Too good to pass up. He said the rest in a sing-song voice. "k-i-s-s-i-n-g." Winking at her, Trel reached up to one of the lower branches, testing it's strength before releasing it. "Unless your devious, hypnotizing mind has any.. better ideas."

[Lotty]

Aw drats. It was a shame that those stupid avian had not use for her trail mix...it effectively meant that her food was full of fail. A slight pout graced her faces and her shoulders slumped in something of disappointment, but nothing of true sadness graced her features. Not all was lost. She had good company - Trell and Guru alike - and it was a pleasant day...and not one to miss the silver lining...she stuck Cap'n's treats back in her pocket. He was going to be glad that those were not given up to the wherries, and what made her lovelies happy made her happy, so no complaints from this girl.

Climbing trees.....OK! What a neat idea. Nevermind the fact that she hadn't climbed a tree in turns and turns. Childhood was the last time if she remembered correctly...furthermore she conveniently skewed her memories so that her recollections of the little events were shown in a much, much, brighter light than the truth. Hindsight wasn't always twenty twenty, and as a result it seemed that she was going into this climbing business rather blind. Yet here she went and agreed anyway...but really there was no other choice in her mind, "I don't know about kissing Trell..." she said. She'd be a liar if it wasn't just a bit tempting...but it was jokes. Just jokes.

She craned her neck back and looked up the length of a tree. Now how exactly do you even start again? She turned back to her partner. He would know...he should go first and set an example. You know and prevent herself from being the one laughed at...."The only hypnotizing I'll be doing is to command you to get me up in this tree..." hint hint. Off in the distance she thought she heard one of Cap'n's predatory squawks, but in the reverb of the forest it was a bit hard to say. Hmmm better hurry up anyway.

[rii]

She certainly was an agreeable sort. Quintrell had the sudden thought that he should be a tad more responsible rather than give in to random whims. Although the thief wouldn't be who he was if he played by such rules. As long as he could stand on his own two feet he'd go wherever the wind blew–and his course would be just as erratic and temperamental. Why ever would he chain himself down? Yet, being more or less stuck at the Weyr was a hindrance..

Cute pout, though Quintrell didn't know the reason behind the expression. Not like she was asking him for anything and trying to sucker it out of him–and female persuasion worked quite well on him. "No? Yer gonna break my heart Rae." Shouldering against the trunk, Quintrell palmed a hand against his chest. Oh his aching heart. "I guess we'll have to settle for just a view."

He threaded his fingers together and held the intertwined hands down to present Raebali with a 'step'. Oh he was well aware she currently wore a skirt and helping her up the tree would give him something of a view. Quintrell had the capacity to be utterly shameless, but any voyeurism was just a perk to the moment. Following her up the tree would let him be able to catch her more easily if she slipped–her attire wasn't exactly practical for climbing. And who needed to be shown how to climb a tree?

Besides, she wasn't doing too good of a job hypnotizing him. Really, Quintrell was simply well-practiced at being difficult. Those ringed hands came up, the grin playful; harmless was he. "Alright, alright. We can send Guru first."

Hm? The bronze stirred as if he had not been paying mind to the two-leggers. Him? Go up the tree first? Well he was the best climber present, but he really didn't want to go first. They might be too ashamed to follow after such a demonstration of skill.. but if he must. Hopping from his perch, Guru used his sharp talons to skurry up the rough bark. He frilled from the lowest branch. See? Easy. Why he needed to show them something so simple was beyond him. His back arched smoothly as he bounded along the limb, frilling down at Raebali below. Even /you/ Yes, even she could climb it.

Quintrell glanced at Raebali, "Charming, isn't he.. " Lightly shaking his head, the thief walked over, seized the first branch and began to climb up the tree. Three branches high he eased out on one of the thicker limbs that didn't bend or waver under his weight. Good enough. The sack was taking from his shoulder and laid over the branch for a clean seat for the lady to sit. Well, it made sense with a bit of imagination and Quintrell had plenty of that. He dangled his feet down at Raebali, waiting to see if she would need help

[Lotty]

Oblivious...clueless...naive...whatever. She was practically fawning over him when he offered her a step up and totally missed the possible ulterior motives. Oh well, at least she wore underwear, and sadly Demi already knew that she had a wide variety of different panties so it wouldn't be too much of a revelation for the wherling. She lifted a foot up to plant it on the hand stool when he pull back nearly causing her to fall. As it was she just flailed a bit and tried to hide the fact that she had been so utterly clumsy. Clumsiness wasn't exactly a trait of hers and to be caught so goofy made her blush. Which of course he couldn't see...so she tried her best to play it off as if nothing had happened at all.

Oh so it was all up to the salamandyr to do the showing? Not quite fair. They were made to crawl and climb like that..she didn't have talons to climb with. So of course it was easy for him even though the smug little creature thought that even she could do it. Hmmf, if he was a real boy she'd give him a good smack, but as it was he was just like a bratty teenager stuck in draconoid form. Quick to forgive and forget she laughed it off and nodded her head in agreement with Quintrell...despite the fact that his comment was rather sarcastic in tone, "Charming is a rather appropriate description I'd say..." ok maybe a bit of skepticism leaked into the statement.

After the theif did an excellent job of showing her how it's done she approached the tree with the slightest hesitation before closing her eyes and making a spritely leap for the first branch. She missed. Keeping your eyes open is apparently a must. Landing on her feet, she tried again and grabbed hold; her footing was pushing against the tree trunk while she got up on the first branch and looked at the second branch that hung there ominously. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea? A little 'eep' came out of her as she pulled up herself up higher....to think she still had another level to go...this was such tiring work... "A little help please?" She reached her hand up...at very least he could give her some support. Just....don't look down.

[rii]

If Raebali had been about to take his offer, Quintrell completely missed it. He figured any girl would realize that being lifted overhead someone as quirky as himself would result in a casual glance up their skirt–even if he lied and promised he wouldn't. There were some things Quintrell just couldn't resist. Her stumble was seen as just that, a stumble.. at coming over to him to smack him for his suggestion.

What was she doing.. Trel's head tilted to the side, legs coming to a halt as he watched the mindhealer jump and.. miss. Brown eyes squinted down at her to see that.. yes, she had closed her eyes for her first attempt. An uncertain smile came almost nervously to the thief's face, a decidedly odd expression for the over-confident youth. Though, it was quick to transform into something more playful, sly even as he shifted on the branch to edge more toward the trunk.

A hand stretched down to Raebali. "You're adorable, know that?"

Of course she had to know that.. no one could be that cute without trying at least a little bit. /Too/ cute, Guru chimed in, already perched on the third branch and eyeing the mindhealer. Quintrell's eyes cast off to the side at the salamandyr, almost annoyed by his comment, but deciding not to growl at him in front of their present company. Wouldn't do to appear to be losing his composure.

"Yer not afraid of heights, are ya?" A soft question, barely holding back the amusement if she did suffer from vertigo. It wasn't that high–or so he thought. Just enough to see over the thick lay of foliage. The thief had not really looked around, more enthralled with his lovely company. Eeping, blushing, and stumbling about–oh she must be a devious one! Had to be. Clever clever girl. Not that Quintrell was complaining. Oh no, why would he ever complain about about a girl?

Well, there had been that crazy bluerider woman, covered in blood and brains. She didn't count as a female. More of a lunatic.

[Lotty]

"Adorable?" She'd be a liar if she said she had never heard that one before. Though it was hard to say if she purposely tried to full fill the description or if she really just was that endearing to the boys she seemed to run into. She wasn't going to think into it either, self reflection was important enough, but self analysis was a spiral into a world that might be a little too dark to comprehend. Tricky stuff that was and a little beyond her own abilities. She let the subject go with a joke...always a good way to deflect attention, "I guess my mind powers are working then..."

Yes, because this was all part of her grand plan. Not just her goofiness. She took his offered hand and pulled herself up, to the branch. She probably didn't need the help as much as she thought she did, but either way Trell didn't seem to mind all too much. Though the salamandyr was so suspicious of her. Was it really that hard to believe that a girl really could just be cute? She gave the bronze a critical look, but could never stay mad....what an irrational thing. Rae shifted over to her spot on the sack. So very, very gentlemanly.

"Not that I know of," she didn't think she had a case of vertigo...then again usually knowing about a fear of heights usually requires one to have been up high before. Rae's experience with heights was restricted to situations exactly like these. Up in trees...once she had been in a drum tower. Never had she gotten an aerial view of anything and she had definitely not been on a dragon before...those things might strike her senseless with fear. This was ok.

Besides, would Trell come and save her if she fell? And for that matter...was there any other way down? Oh no. That was the scary part. She wouldn't complain as long as she was seated and still but when it was time to come down...she'd be sure to be whimpering. She glanced down at the forrest floor below. There was no way she would would be able to jump down from here and land on her feet down there. Not without breaking her ankles. She felt the sudden need to scoot closer to Trell....just incase she began to fall.

[rii]

"Yes, adorable."

Her attempt to brush aside his words did not go unnoticed, and Quintrell's smile shifted to a more charming level instead of fun and games. Raebali was not the first, nor the last, female he would compliment–and if the circumstances were right, lavish them on her shamelessly. The more shy, the better. Currently only a couple of draconic creatures earned his gushing: Yosk and Spirte. People were a bit more tricky to handle, but Quintrell did take particular notice to girls who tried to shift attention away from themselves.

Raebali had not blush at his comment, but it had been casual tease, and the thief was growing ever more curious about how she'd react to more direct attention–especially now that he had her alone up in a tree. Quintrell was beginning to forget all about the original reason he had lead them out into the jungle. The notion floated around in the back of his thoughts, idling there until rising to importance, but there were far more entertaining things at hand.

Literally.

Quintrell kept his grip on her hand, intertwining their fingers once she was up on the third branch–merely guiding her as she came to sit. His free arm came around Raebali's lower back, resting lightly against her waist. "Don't wantcha to fall." The soft, teasing tone dipped back into his words as his dark brown eyes scanned her face. "So not only do yer mind healin' powers wherrify people n' unearth deep dark secrets, it makes guys pay well needed compliments to you?"

His head canted to the side, "You have a beautiful smile." His lips playfully morphed in a shocked oh, eyes widening–but just as soon he was back to the casual smile. "Quite the power ye have over me. What devious plan are ye formin'.."

[Lotty]

They were there to catch wherries? Who would have guessed? It certainly didn't look like they were planning to do such....they were looking awfully cozy up there now that Trell had his arm around her and all. Nothing like a little bit of innocent goofing off though. It was all so harmless. It would be a shame if they never did get around to catching themselves a wherry though. Demi really did have it coming.

Oh but it was sooooo nice to get attention. Interest was hard to come by when you spent all night in the infirmary. She wasn't one of the lucky ones with a nice day shift. She got to be up all night long...and then some if there was an emergency that required her help. Luckily enough for her that usually wasn't the case. All the crazies come out at night is what they so often said. Of course...if Trell was a fresh wherhandler that meant he was rather nocturnal too. Oh wow, looks like the two of them had even more in common than they had thought before.

It was probably not for the best to have Rae thinking along these lines...trying to see their compatibility. Good thing they didn't have astrology on Pern. She'd probably be asking for his sign and wondering if they matched. It was just that Rae was such a girl. For all of the times she had stood her ground or established her independence she still went weak kneed from a few good compliments. Obviously from her starry eyed expression this time was no different. She giggled. She had no answer for the boy other than to giggle in a coy manner and accept his compliment graciously, "Oh well thank you..." From the way she said it, one would never guess that the line had worked on her before.

"No devious plans I swear..." she held a hand up as if ready to take an oath. Pernese Girl Scout Troop 214 obviously.

[rii]

He still had her hand, Quintrell gave it a light squeeze before loosening his fingers–not letting go, but allowing Raebali to take back the hand if she wanted. The smile never changed, and Quintrell calmly let his dark eyes scan over the mind healer's expression. It wasn't a new look to him. He had met a few young girls of a similar nature during his travels. More so since coming to the south, but that may have been because he was older and noticing them. A subtle way of putting it. In reality, if there was a girl anywhere within the vicinity, Quintrell was usually there putting on his best smile, flirting with less than noble intentions in mind.

Good. She had accepted his compliment, it saved her from him pressing a dozen more on her with a mind for her to acknowledge one of them. "No need to thank me for the truth," The tone low in volume, moving ever more toward a whisper as he leaned forward, slowly closing their proximity. The arm remained around her waist, but now he raised the other, gently touching the side of Raebali's jaw to keep her facing him. Not forcing, if she wanted she could move away. "Are you sure you don't have anything devious in mind?"

Just a bit more and he could have kissed her, instead Quintrell paused, his gaze flicking away to bit of movement that had captured his attention. A wherry roosting a few branches higher than their current perch. It's head turned and covered by it's wing–apparently sleeping and unaware of their presence. What luck! Quintrell wouldn't have thought it possible, but he actually relied heavily on the fickle thing known as luck. He was somewhat blessed with the good kind.

"Don't look now," Quintrell whispered, still holding his close position with Raebali–but now his interest had swung to the wherry. One would think he'd be more interested in the girl, but the thief had a short attention span to begin with, and his situation between Raebali and himself was nothing new. "We have company. Hand me some of Cap'n's treats, would you?"

The hand fell from the healer's face. Quintrell held the palm upright, expecting to receive a bit of berries and nuts.

[Lotty]

A brush of the skin. His hand leading her face around to keep her eyes locked with his, but it was the fiery low tones that he spoke in that had her catching her breath. Hopelessly she waited for the two of them to bridge the distance between them. Raebeli had realized that there was no other direction that their flirting could have gone, and so she wasn't at all inclined to pull away or hesitate. No point in trying to play so innocent now...what was holding her back? She batted her eyes one more time, accepted another compliment with another grin, and then....

She was stopped. He told her not to look. Baffled, she immediately closed her eyes shut....well it would be guaranteed she wouldn't look this way! And in a hushed tone she squeaked, "What? What?" The sky could have been falling for all she knew, she was completely in the dark, which of course spurred her curiosity. One eye snuck a peek at the surroundings. She didn't see a sharding thing. What kind of trick was he trying to pull hmmm?

She opened both eyes again and immediately reached into that pocket of hers. Why did he want those treats? She thought they were useless by now? If he wanted them that badly though, well then they were all his. She pulled out a handful for Trell and dolled it out into his open hand not daring to question him. She sneaked a look up towards the canopy - her gaze following the theif's brief glances. There was a bit of movement up there...oh...OH! It was a wherry. Just like they had been looking for! It seemed like fate really did work out in mysterious ways...dumping into their hands an agent of destruction for Demi's room.

[rii]

Quintrell chuckled, a very soft sound as he was trying not to disturb the roosted wherry. Though it had been there the entire time without stirring to their raised voices. It didn't seem likely it would now, but that didn't stop the thief's natural reaction to be quiet. The source of his amusement came from the action of Raebali closing her eyes. So literal. It was cute.

"Thanks. Now here's the plan.." He curled his fingers around the treats, the grin wide across his features. He still didn't move away to give her back the personal space. And his tone remained in the low whisper. "I want you to take the sack and climb down.. I'm going to climb up there.. distract it with the food.. and try and knock it down. Just throw the sack over it.. if you can manage. We don't want to give it a chance to fly away. I'll climb down as fast as I can.. but I left the stick down there, just give a good thwack on the head to knock it out. It will be easier to carry if he's not thrashing.

"Okay?" Quintrell didn't wait for her agree to his plan. Why? He didn't need input. That was his plan and he would see it through. He planted a peck of a kiss on her cheek, slipping around her with an effortless sense of balance. For all the times that Quintrell fell or seemed to trip over his own two feet – all a ruse. A very well played one at that.

Carefully Quintrell climbed up the trunk, using the nearby branches to pull his slender frame up higher until he finally set a foot against the same limb the wherry currently sat. It's wings gave a slight flutter and the thief froze in his spot. Slowly he turned his head and eyes back to Raebali to check on her progress. He made an impatient motion with his head. Go on. Hurry up.

He only waited until it looked like Raebali was on her way down before moving on with his plans. Making a queer set of sounds that.. somewhat resembled a wherry.. Quintrell bounced on the branch. Instantly the creature roused, and the thief held out an offering hand. How many times in his past had he seen them trailing after caravans and people looking for handouts. Considering how close this one was perching to the kitchens it seems logical enough it would be of the same ilk.

Ever so slowly the thief moved forward, keeping the wherry's attention on the outstretched hand. They were not the smartest of creatures. Look this way! Ooh! Waving hand with foOod. Once he got close enough, Quintrell braced himself with his free hand and swept his leg at the bird. His foot caught it full force in the chest and down the thing fall in a stunned heap..

[Lotty]

She would go with his plan, she would follow him into the dark, she was all ears for whatever he had to say because he had just blessed her cheek with a kiss and sometimes for the girl it was just that easy to get to her heart. Of course a part of her was completely rational about this. People are fickle and boys like Quintrell no doubt had plenty of girls coming around him, he was so charming after all. Raebeli thought it rather naive to assume she was something special so she tried her best to hide the fact that she was so utterly taken with him. It was like the hypnotist had the roles all reversed...maybe secretly Trell was somekind of tunnelsnake charmer.

She watched for a moment as the blonde hade it up the tree before she realized exactly what it wa that he had asked of her. Oh shards, she had to get down from there! She crawled across the branch back to the trunk and uneasily got to her feet. The worst part was that she was expected to get this done quickly. Time was of the essence after all, and the thief was already up there. The mindhealer had to call upon some kind of strength she didn't know she even had, and one foot after another she somehow got down to the bottom branch before realizing she just had to jump at this point...in her skirt and all.

She closed her eyes - which seemed to be a popular method with her - and took the leap, which admittedly wasn't too far, but far enough that the wind caught under her skirt and lifted it up for that brief moment before she landed. Thunk! And her two clogs hit the ground and she lucky was all in one piece. One more thunk later and so was the wherry which after a moment of reflection and shock, she rushed with the sack. She somehow slipped the cover over but the big bird still thrashed and ran in circles around the tree as the girl searched for the stick to thwack it with. "Oh shards! Oh shards! Oh shards!" she repeated as she ran around looking for the weapon. Rather comical it was, especially since who would expect such profanity coming out of a girl like her?

Cap'n came back at just the right time. All along, he decided to go find food for himself. He had to eat sometime since he couldn't hunt people's pets anymore. Luckily he caught his mommy dearest having a bit of trouble with the weird looking wherry and decided to take care of the situation. Divebombing the creature the big darter gave the wherry a good whack on the head, although Rae had to come yelling after him, "Cap'n! Don't kill him!!!" Kill? Well why not? He hopped away from the knocked out wherry and gave his owner a questioning glance with his honey colored eyes.

[rii]

Quintrell hopped down to a lower branch. It shook under the impact, but no sooner had he landed was Quintrell grabbing an adjacent branch and swinging himself forward and simply dropping the rest of the way to the ground. His little show of acrobats went unnoticed as he rolled into a smooth landing. The thief ended in a crouch and simply.. watched, more than just a little amused as Raebali ran around in a fashion.. so similar to the squalling wherry. Flailing about as if their heads had been cut off.

A hand came up, but it didn't nothing to muffle the snickering that grew into a hardy, head-thrown-back laugh. Maybe he should have helped her out, but then he wouldn't be able to watch the show now would he? If the wherry got away because of his lack of participation the thief wouldn't count it as a loss.

When all was said and done, Quintrell was back up on his feet and he threw both arms around Raebali's waist and twirled her around in a celebratory circle. "You did it!" Well, Cap'n had done the final blow, but Raebali did manage to get the sack on the wherry. Not that he doubted her–alright, he had, a little, but the thief wouldn't let on to those negative thoughts. Why spoil the mood?

He set the mindhealer on her clogged feet and bounced over to the unconscious wherry. The flap was lifted to peer inside to see the chest still move. Good. It wouldn't be as funny to put a dead wherry into Dmitri's room than a live one. He tied the end of the bag closed with the short length of rope. A playful glance went to Raebali and her feathered-friend. "Cap'n helped out afterall. There might be hope for Guru yet."

Unlikely.

Quintrell chuckled while slinging the limp sack over his shoulder. "Think we should sneak this into his room while he's sleeping, or stash it somewhere until he wakes up?" He took a few steps toward the mindhealer, then gestured with his head for them to head back in one particular direction – assumingly the outdoor kitchens.

[Lotty]

YAY! It almost warranted celebration. Being such troublemakers was a good thing apparently? Yes. Yes it was a good thing. Which probably explained why she was spinning around now? How strange....one minute she swore both her feet were planted on the ground and next thing she knew she was being swirled about. The ground coming out from under her and greens and browns of the forrest floor swirled together in a dizzying mix before it was all over and she the thief had placed her right back to where she was supposed to be. She could only laugh though as she tried to keep steady and not lose her balance.

Cap'n kept near the sack until Trell motioned towards it and with a few flaps he made his way back up to Raebeli's shoulder. He cocked his head at her and even tugged a bit at a loose wave that fell out of her ponytail. These were all signs, he deserved a reward. He did help after all, the blond haired one even said so. So how about some treats? Rae patted down her pocket, where did it all go again? Oh yes, well, someone would just have to wait until they got back to the weyr...which shouldn't be long now that they accomplished the most painstaking part of their mission. She assured the bird, "You were such a good boy Cap'n! I'll find somethig for you when we get back ok? Ok?"

It was somewhat debatable as to whether or not the darter understood the words that came out of her mouth, but they still had a rather soothing effect on the creature. He would just hang tight for now, but if she didn't give him his due rewards, well then there would be major trouble! But they would cross that bridge when they got to it, for now, it was time to head back towards the weyr, preferably before the wherry came to and realizes that it has been kidnapped from it's natural habitat, "I think that we should sneak it in while he's sleeping. I mean the wherry will wake up soon and we can't hide it anywhere very well if it starts thrashing around...unless you have something in mind?"

Quintrell was awfully crafty after all, who knew what tricks were up his sleeve.