Piden and the Wolf [open]

[Ruby]

Well, wasn't that an extremely convenient deus ex machina? Piden just blinked at Kaiusk who appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, to place her big golden body between the Handlers and the canine. Well, not quite out of nowhere. Piden had heard the thundering, and obviously so had the canine, but apparently both of them were too surprised by the Queen's arrival to do anything but blink. And drool, in the canine's case. Kaius himself showed up a moment later accompanied by King, who was probably the second most obnoxious salamandyr in the Weyr (following Shells of course, the Wherhandlers did seem to have a lock on the worst possible bronzes). Or maybe Piden just disliked King because Shells disliked King. Sometimes with his bronzes Piden had a hard time figuring it out.

Kaius. While the canine and the wher squared off, Piden was focused on the resident Goldhandler. He hadn't seen Kaius more than in passing in quite a while... months or more, if he actually thought about it. Granted, the Goldhandler had always seemed to have some sort of issue with Piden, which Piden never really got - their most common interactions were during Kaiusk's runs, when Piden was touched enough by Pidesk that he was significantly gentler and kinder than usual, and Piden had barely even tried flirting with Sena, or Kaius himself for that matter. But ever since the Goldhandler's girlfriend took off he'd been scarce, Piden realized. Why he chose to appear tonight was beyond the Bronzehandler.

Piden actually found himself slightly annoyed by Kaius's presence, at first anyway. He and Elynael had been getting along just fine, actually way better than Piden expected they would, and he was enjoying his 'hunt' with the Greenhandler. But when the Goldhandler offered a greeting, Piden smiled, raising his eyebrows and gesturing over at the canine. "Oh, you know, the usual; playing sidekick to this lovely lady, patrolling the Weyr and protecting it from vicious monsters. Yourself? Where've you been lately?" His tone was pleasant (and probably a lot less sarcastic than Kaius was used to hearing). If he was being 100% honest with himself he was glad to see Kaius out and about, now that Piden noticed how long the Goldhandler had been missing. King, however, was treated no different than usual - Piden shooed him and otherwise ignored him. Otherwise Shells would be here in a second and Piden didn't feel like that was a great idea.

The canine, for his part, seemed to be totally confused by this interaction. He barked at Kaiusk, apparently not afraid, but he didn't come any closer, either. He knew she was too big for him but he wasn't about to give up his territory so easily. Instead, in pure canine fashion, the big dog lifted a leg and proceeded to urinate on the nearest tree. Once he was done, his growl rose to a yap as he stared down Kaiusk. His territory. Piden ignored the dog now, too. With the gold there all the humans were safe unless this thing had a pack.

Pidesk was distantly aware that the humans had become safe because the Queen had arrived, and was relieved. This way he could focus all his attention on the feline. Elynask was obviously a seasoned hunter by her gait and stealth - she'd almost disappeared into the darkness, only her smell and her heat signature remaining. Pidesk would look forward to courting her, when she ran; it would be quite a challenge. Pidesk sent her a gentle pulse of admiration, quiet and shy, so unlike his handler. And then it was time. The feline spooked, Elynask made her move, and Pidesk followed her in. The feline's back snapped under Elynask's weight as Pidesk ripped out it's throat, turning his shoulder in to deflect the claws with his thick hide. Maybe a few scratches, but superficial only. Ever the gentleman, the Bronze declined Elynask's offer however, dipping his head in deference. Ladies first, especially ladies as impressive as she.

((Chey, does Ely actually want the dog? If so I'll make sure he's not eaten XD))

[Zephyr]

Honestly, Kai tried not to be so hard about how he thought of Piden. The guy hadn’t actually done anything do him, or flirted with him…even during runs. Which was surprising because Piden was notoriously loose with his flirting. The more he thought about it, the more he felt guilty about thinking badly of a guy who was sensitive enough about Kai’s…eccentricities to curb a key part of his personality. Kaiusk sent a pulse of awareness towards Kaius, letting him know that she would choose Pidesk if he chases during her next run if it made him feel better. Kai told her that, no that would not make him feel better and she should choose who she wanted. She then informed him that she was joking all along and returned her attention to the canine, amusement coloring their bond.

His attention was snapped back to Piden though, when the bronzehandler spoke to him, and he snorted, offering the other man a small, but genuine smile for a change. “Vicious canine monsters. I can see the danger.” It was a joke. Kaius knew how dangerous canines could be, especially in packs, but they weren’t anywhere near the danger kymans were. The goldhandler huffed a sigh, wondering when the wher presence had been assigned to protect the weyr against dogs. The other man’s question caused the grin to disappear, but he recovered it with a smirk. “Paperwork’s a bitch.” Though they probably both knew that wasn’t the whole reason Kai’d been essentially MIA for a while…and Kai wouldn’t be terribly opposed to talking about it, but not here. Piden was obviously just making conversation.

Kaius did make a mental note to go talk to Piden later. For whatever good that would do.

He walked up towards them, plucking King off of Piden’s shoulder with an apologetic smile. “Sorry about him. He thinks he’s a dragon or something.” The mandyr hissed indignantly and scrambled up Kai’s shoulder, ignoring any chunks he took out of the guy’s arm along the way. He flashed Elynael a warm smile and chuckled a little. “You won’t be quite so glad to see her when she eats your new puppy.” With that, he turned his attention to Kaiusk and touched her mind. Don’t kill it. The gold was a little annoyed and wanted to know if Kai wanted her to try and talk sense into the thing. Kaius rolled his eyes, but his wher got the picture.

Even if she wasn’t happy about it.

Canines weren’t as easy to talk to as humans, but she faced the thing, unfazed by its display of dominance. She asked the canine if it wouldn’t like regular meals and affection of the best kind along with a whole apartment – mostly – to itself. She then informed the canine that there was nothing quite like scratches and pets, especially around the eye ridges. Even if it didn’t have eye ridges, it could certainly appreciate scratches. Plus. She told him that she wouldn’t have to stomp him if he went along with this lovely lady to help protect her. Surely he could also appreciate that…and you know, life.

[Chey]

((It started out as a joke, but now I think she really should keep it. Having something to busy her time other than Nask and Handler duties would do her some good.))

Relaxing now that Kaiusk was there to protect Hers, Elynask turned her attention back to the Bronze. Pidesk was utterly adorable sometimes. Elynask sent a pulse of affection back at him and dipped her head as she took the first bite, tearing into the feline with relish. The hardened feline meat was tough due to the amount of pure muscle, but meat was still meat and she preferred this over finding a herdbeast. The chase was always the best, in her opinion.

Elynael watched with some amusement as the animal refused to back down on its territory. Provided Kaiusk was able to talk sense to it and it ended up tamed and trained, one way or another, it would make for an excellent guard animal. King hadn't been far off base about the animal. Elynael snorted delicately. "The 'puppy' deserves what it gets for trying to challenge a wher, especially one such ask Kaiusk. And at least it hasn't taken a chunk out of us before she arrived."

She didn't know what Kaiusk said to the animal, but at least it stopped growling. She listened to Piden and Kaius' exchange with something akin to boredom. True, paperwork was a pain, but it didn't make one disappear as long as he had, even if he did have much more of it than she. However, what kept him away from the general public was none of her business as a whole. She checked on Elynask and found that she was busy feasting. With a soft mental brush, she retreated and left her to her own devices.

Finishing the feline of was a quick matter. Just by herself, it didn't take long to devour a kill. With another wher, the process was made even quicker. She licked her muzzle clean, waiting for Pidesk to finish his fair share, rightfully won by being the one to take the kill. As he finished, she returned to Hers. She'd left Hers with a wild dog for far too long, in her opinion. At the reappearance of two other whers, the dog seemed to be re-deciding its life choices, sidestepping anxiously.

Ferocity aside, it can be quite a silly little thing. Elynask observed. You'd think that a Gold wher would be more than enough to make it see sense.

Dogs are extremely territorial creatures, love. Elynael put in, which earned a mental sniff from Elynask.

Let us hope it has some kind of use. Elynael knew it was pointless to argue that point with her wher, despite however reluctant she was to take it. It looks like she had a dog now.

True

[Ruby]

Pidesk gratefully dove in once Elynask started, enjoying the taste. The wild ones were always better, even if the poor feline didn't stand a chance against the two of them. Ah well, a hunt was a hunt and nature was the way it was. Pidesk preferred to hunt as his wild brethren did, even if something still lost it's life in the end. At least this one was lone, without a pride or babies to protect.

Piden flashed Kaius a smile that was probably inappropriate for the setting, given that in theory they were still being threatened by a vicious dog. He'd written off the Goldhandler as a boring prude for too long, maybe it was time to grab a drink with him or something. Assuming he drank? Ah well, that was a question for another time. Plus, Piden had to snort (attractively) at Elynael's comment. She was so right. "Oh, don't worry, I'm sure you wouldn't have let it take a chunk out of me, you look like you can handle that knife," Piden shot back.

The canine cocked his head at the wher, but he did indeed stop growling. His eyes glazed over pretty quick; it was pretty doubtful that anything penetrated, but once two more whers showed up it was clear he'd done the best he could. Step by step, he backed into the jungle, and all of a sudden another canine appeared. This one was smaller, probably female, and shepherding several pups. They dashed off into the jungle, followed by the male after he let off one more bark. That would show those big ugly creatures, he was going because he wanted to, not the other way around.

Piden pulled his mouth to the side, turning to face Elynael an putting a hand on her shoulder, looking deep into her eyes. "I'm sorry for your loss, looks like your puppy already has a lady to care for him. That said, dogs are smelly and slobbery and... do you hear that?" Looking over into the jungle, he furrowed his brow, suggesting to Pidesk that he investigate. As the Bronze headed into the trees, the shuffling Piden had heard turned into a whine, then a yap. "Ah, my mistake. Looks like there might be one left?"

[Zephyr]

He hadn’t missed that look, or the smile Piden gave him. It wasn’t really a look he’d ever actually gotten from the bronzehandler before because he had always been clinging to Sena, and as such, clearly would not appreciate such a look. Still, his gut twisted painfully when he thought of her, but perhaps it was time to move on. Maybe not move on with Piden, exactly. The guy wasn’t known for his love of commitment in any case, but move on with his life. It did him no good to be cooped up in his room all day, refusing to live or not acknowledging the simple pleasures of just having a good time with other people, not matter which forms that came in.

So he got over himself. He wouldn’t deny that Piden was an attractive guy, downright hot even, but that wasn’t exactly an unpopular opinion around the weyr. It wasn’t like he’d be condemned for considering him gorgeous, so Kai smiled back, the upturn of his lips a wry smirk bordering on wicked…but you’d have to be used to such expressions to be able to notice it. Probably slightly easier on Kai since he couldn’t flirt worth shit, but it was the thought that counted.

Then he turned his attentions on Elynael, and Kai just snorted his amusement. “I doubt he would have gotten away with that anyway. None of our whers would be so likely to let it live after something like that.” Kaiusk asked Kai if he could please pipe down, because she was trying to concentrate on the canine. She couldn’t tell if he was about to give in or not, when he suddenly started backing away. She relaxed visibly then, though she didn’t take her eyes off of him. The sight of the female and pups had her softening visibly. She was quite glad her bullheaded handler had kept her from eating the canine now. The canine disappeared, and Kaiusk’s stance turned from protective to playful as she noticed Pidesk and Elynask were back.

Spinning around, the gold practically bounded up to the green. Hello Elynask! Pidesk! She crooned to the bronze. She might have liked browns and blues more in general, but she was fond of Pidesk, even if he wasn’t particularly fond of her. He was very nice and always showed up at her runs, even when she didn’t pick him. She beamed at her sire, falling down onto her hindquarters. Kailove? She probed her handler’s mind, who was busy with the humans, but he acknowledged her with a look and a tilt of his head. I’m terribly hungry. The scent of blood surrounding the other whers was overpowering, and since she’d been deprived of a meal, she was feeling it. “I’ll take you to the feeding pens later.” Like the others though, Kaiusk preferred wild meat…but that proved to be a problem. She was too big and shiny and oddly proportioned to hunt in the woods by herself…she’d never catch anything.

Suddenly, she got an idea, and touched Elynask’s mind happily. You could teach me to hunt properly, Elynask…couldn’t you? OH! Pidesk too! It would be soooo much fun. This coming from the wher that’d been seconds away from ripping the canine to bits was a little disconcerting, but Kai just snorted and shook his head. “They’re not going to want to teach a lumbering gold. You’ll never be able to learn.” Kaiusk chose to ignore him for once, because he was wrong. There had to ways for her to keep her hide from being so bright. Now wasn’t the time to think about that, because Kai had perked again when Piden turned his attention to the trees and Pidesk went to investigate. Kaiusk sat up and padded after him, poking her head into the trees and crooning lightly, tail flicking back and forth happily.

[Chey]

Elynael was all but oblivious to the exchange between Kaius and Piden. She'd never much been one for reading facial features for a conversation she wasn't in on. She glanced at Kaius in acknowledgement of his comment, but didn't reply. Piden was awarded a small smile, one flickering to life across her usually emotionless face, and an arched elegant eyebrow. "You could bet on it."

She turned to watch the Gold wher, ignoring them in favor of watching the mutt react to her wher. Nask was much smaller than Kaiusk, but still fierce. Her eyebrow arched in surprise and her mouth fell open a little when the mother and the pups emerged from the trees. Well, well, well. It appeared that he had a family with him. She could hardly blame him for almost-attacking them, but she wasn't about to forgive him; if there'd been a scratch on any of them when Kaiusk had arrived or Elynask returned to her, the mongrel would've been glad to starve as opposed to face them.

"What a shame," Elynael commented dryly on Piden's remark. "I lost a wild mutt that would probably rather die than be tamed." As they retreated, Kaiusk lost her intimidating appearance and Elynask happily walked up and bumped noses with her. Hello Kaiusk, she hummed, it is good to see you indeed. There was a happy reunion betwixt the whers, who all appeared to be good mates, despite Elynael's slightly more than unfamiliarity with their Handlers.

Of course I'll teach you to hunt! Elynask ignored Kaius' objection. Your hide might prove a bit problematic, but easily solved, so long as you don't mind getting dirty. I'd love to teach you. I'm sure Pidesk will come as well, right Pidesk? Pidesk?

Elynask looked to the Bronze wher, but he was already a couple feet off, ignoring them ever so slightly as he crept into the underbrush where Elynask could hear yips and yaps and sense, if she wasn't mistaken, a small pup. Well, how about that? The night hasn't been a total loss after all, Mine. The statement was oozing with sass and dry sarcasm, to which Elynael gave her wher a withering look.

"Are you kidding me right now?" she sighed, but still nevertheless followed Pidesk and took a peek into the grassy foliage. It wasn't like a mother to leave her pup behind, especially with whers and humans this nearby. Sure enough, when she looked, she saw a small pup sitting in the grass all on its lonesome, giving half-hearted shrill barks at Pidesk that were clearly terrified, but it was still attempting to be brave.

"Just like your sire, aren't you?" she murmured, a wry smile tugging at her lips. Reaching down, she avoided it's tiny jaws and grasped it by the scruff of its neck, hoisting it up and it automatically curled up as if it were hanging from its mothers jaws instead of Elynael's fist. She saw why it had been left behind. Perhaps not of the mothers accord, but it was the runt of the litter, a little thing that wouldn't stand a chance against a bigger opponent.

I hope you're happy. Elynael sighed to Nask as she looked at the pup.

[Ruby]

Interesting smile on that goldhandler, there. Piden returned it angelically, although his eyes flicked up and down Kaius, unapologetic. Intriguing meeting, this was. He really would have to follow up. Piden wasn't normally one to be concerned about PDA, even if it was just visual probing, but for some reason he found himself glancing sideways at Elynael, subtly relaxing when she smiled at him. Not surprising that she didn't know much about the more senior handlers' charged relationship, but more importantly, he'd gotten a smile out of her. Piden raised his eyebrows back at her, adding a seductive smile an murmuring, "Good with knives, eh? I wouldn't have thought you were the type." His voice was low, though, and the comment was made right as the drama with the canine was wrapping up, so chances were neither Kai nor Elynael would catch it. He'd have to make it a point to spend more time with her, to. Where had he been all these years?

Pidesk followed Elynask into the clearing, sticking close to the green but dipping a head and knee to Kaiusk as usual, eyes whirling contented blue. Rubbing his muzzle against a patch of grass, Pidesk tried to clean the blood off his face - not the most polite way to greet a Queen, after all. His body language was significantly more formal, now, and he stuck to Elynask like a burr, although he rumbled gently at his daughter. Hello lovely. Pidesk was already heading for the bushes when the idea of hunting with Kaiusk was thrown out, but despite the distance between them Pidesk was listening, and he bristled slightly, then relaxed. He didn't like the idea of the Weyr's only queen out hunting dangerous creatures, especially with the Kymans about, but he wasn't about to fight her. If Elynask wanted to try he was happy to come, if only to make sure the ladies weren't hurt.

Pidesk crossed his eyes and crooned at the pup he found, trying to look as unintimidating as possible. Still the tiny thing was barking, but as soon as Elynask lifted it up it quieted down. Pidesk struggled out of the brush and headed back for the whers, scanning halfheartedly for something to hunt. Maybe he could find a wherry or some sort of wild cattle, that would be better.

Piden, for his part, had followed Elynael into the trees, smiling when she lifted the pup up. "Looks like a girl, and a runt," he said. Piden would be able to spot gender at a distance, after all. "Cute. You gonna keep it, mama Elynael? If not I'm sure there's a little girl somewhere in the Weyr that will take her in." Was Phai too old for a puppy? That girl could use a guard dog.