Trouble in the Making (Chores, Tags M'ta)

[Rowana]

T'ke kicked a rock as he stalked into the bathing area with his hands firmly in his pockets. It irked him that he had to clean up other people's messes all the time. Why could they clean up after themselves? Then he and the other weyrlings could concentrate on more important things. Not that there was much else to do besides chores and class. It would be months yet before Garaeth could fly, and until then it was the same routine as always.

Do not be sad! Garaeth chanted behind him. Look! Akyo has come too! T'ke turned his glare first on the blue weyrling and then on the bright red darter that danced in the air over his head, whistling loudly. "Oh great," he said sarcastically. "That makes me feel so much better."

Good! Either Garaeth still didn't understand the concept of sarcasm, or he chose to ignore it more often than not. T'ke sighed. "Just wait outside, Garaeth," he instructed. "There isn't a lot of room in here." All right Garaeth agreed willingly. But you should join me for a swim when you are done! T'ke rolled his eyes. "Maybe I will, now shoo!"

Unfortunately, Akyo somehow found staying with T'ke more fun than going out with Garaeth. As the boy glumly started to pick up a bucket to start cleaning, the vain darter had selected a spot by one of the pools and was preening himself vainly in his reflection. "You just watch that I don't splash you," T'ke said sourly, in a tone that said he might just do it on purpose. Akyo chirped indignantly and went back to his preening.

[Requiem]

So much, so much to explore! The small, elongated figure picked his way through the rocks lining the riverbank, stopping here and there to pounce on one or turn another over. He was looking for the perfect one to bring back to the large, mahogany shiny who taught him songs. Pretty Mandyr Shiny loved singing with his two bondeds. Yes, two, for he was nearly as closely linked to the large shiny as the more...medium-sized shiny who liked to grump and complain but still joined in on the songs. After awhile. It was fun when that one finally started dancing and singing, yes, but his first love was the large shiny. Such a perfect happy creature, and Pretty Mandyr Shiny adored him.

None of these stones were right, though. He wanted something special, that he did. Pretty Mandyr Shiny peeked his head up above the line of the bank and looked around, wondering where best to check next. Spotting the building, he scampered over, rising up onto his hinds to feel at the wall and see if it would hold him, his tiny claws seeking purchase. Oh, yes, this would do just fine. He scampered up the side of the wall and toward the window cut out of the stonework, his tail working to balance him as he perched on the windowsill and paused to look around him again in open curiosity. Ironically enough, anyone on the inside would, for once, have trouble noticing him, as he blended in perfectly with the sky outside.

The water below intrigued him, and he stared at the shimmering for a long moment, thinking about how nice and cool it would be to dive into the water. But he knew not to do so. Last time he'd found a barrel of liquid, it had definitely not been water, and it made his nose itch. That was no fun. He didn't swim too well either, and had to call for the medium bonded to come get him before he got too tired and sank. No, he would not try that again. Bye, the salamandyr told the water regretfully. Not today. Maybe later, when he was better at staying afloat, he'd come play.

Looking back toward the outside, a metallic flash caught his eye. Bye? What was that? Leaning out to see, his long, prehensile tail wrapped around the corner of the window opening so he wouldn't fall. It was a big shiny! Not as pretty as Pretty Mandyr Shiny's, of course. Nothing was more beautiful or better than his large bonded. Still, it was pretty. Maybe they could be friends? (He also thought that, if they were friends, the blue might give Pretty Mandyr Shiny one of the lovely shinies on his head as a present for Behruth.) Bye! the salamandyr called to the dragon, scampering straight down the wall and leaping for the baby big one's tail.

He skittered right up the creature's spine and whirled around on Garaeth's nose, displaying his frill prettily and bending his form in what looked suspiciously like the mandyr form of a bow. Bye, he told the dragon enthusiastically, introducing himself with a low fluting sound to accompany the word. He was Pretty Mandyr Shiny. Who was the lovely big pretty?

[Rowana]

Garaeth stopped dead half way outside when a small blue creature landed on his nose. Oh! he said in surprise. Hello there, little one. My name is Garaeth. It is a pleasure to meet you! He had never gotten to see a salamandyr so close before. His T'ke didn't like them or fire lizards. Garaeth hoped to change his mind one day so they could have one, but so far they only had Akyo by accident.

As if sensing the newcomer, the darter in question looked up from his preening. A worm! A nasty blue worm! On his perch! The monster would pay for entering Akyo's domain! Vanity forgotten, the darter rose with a squawk of rage. With no further warning, he dived towards PMS, foreclaws and beak ready for attack. Die worm! Die!

At Akyo's screech, T'ke dropped his bucket, showering his legs in water. He turned and stared. The world seemed to move in slow motion as his mind tried to comprehend the insanity of the seen. Garaeth talking pleasantly with an unknown salamandyr on his nose and Akyo diving in for the kill. Someone was going to be very very upset if Akyo actually managed to eat their salamandyr. T'ke started to run to stop the crazy bird, but he knew he'd never get between them in time. In his haste, however, he forgot the split wash water. His feet flew out from under him and he went sliding and skidding straight for Garaeth's large, blue rear.

Oh...shards...

[Requiem]

Gara, the mandyr crooned, giving the baby blue a full-body nuzzle. A nice name the big one had, yes. What was he doing way out here? Gara? Shouldn't he be with his medium bonded?

The young man picked his way along the shore, in no particular hurry, seemingly impervious to the heat; his clothing was dark and fitted, but he wasn't sweating or otherwise showing any signs of discomfort. His step had a predatory sense to it, even with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his eyes turned toward the waters of the river. He knew PMS was over in this direction somewhere. Trying to keep tabs on the salamandyr was like attempting to keep R'wign from bubbly pies. M'ta was likely to simply allow the creature to wander, but PMS had an uncanny habit of getting himself into not so good situations. Like...now... His head came up, Jabari exploding from his shoulder and winking Between as M'ta broke into a jog for the baths.

Pretty Mandyr Shiny sunk back on Garaeth's head in confusion, scrunching up tight. Gara! Why was the lovely attacking?! He wanted to leave, but he was afraid that if he did the big shiny would be hurt, and that wasn't good. Pretty Mandyr Shiny froze in indecision, only to start bouncing happily when his brown winged one appeared above and screeched at the mean flyer. The familiar voice cut through the sounds. "PMS! Come here." Fluting sadly to Garaeth - such a lovely big shiny! - the salamandyr dropped to the ground and darted toward his medium bonded, launching himself to latch onto the senior weyrling's pant leg and scurrying up to his shoulder.

M'ta had reached down, legs widening to catch the unknown junior weyrling by the arm. Strong as the small young man was, he still stumbled forward a few paces before he could halt T'ke's slide into the young dragon. Not that anything too bad would likely happen, but it would be quite unfortunate if the baby blue startled and accidentally trampled his rider to death, wouldn't it? The brownweyrling had acted without thinking. In fact, he released T'ke's arm as if it were bathed in acid the moment the boy wasn't sliding forward anymore. M'ta very much disliked touching men, particularly strange men.

Still, it was clear T'ke had been attempting to save PMS...so he resisted the urge to draw blade and start questioning the younger boy. Small though he was, M'ta didn't look like a kid once you got past his height. He stared down at T'ke for a long moment. "Sorry. He's too curious for his own good." The salamandyr had attached himself to M'ta's ear by the tail and was dangling upside down, eyeing T'ke curiously.

[Rowana]

Akyo pulled sharply out of his dive as a much large, brown worm appeared in his way. Curse the worms! This was one of the flying ones too. He knew better than to face one of those. With a cry of rage, he flapped off into a corner to sulk. He watched PMS moodily from his corner. Some day, worm. Some day he could catch it alone, and then they'd see who ate who!

T'ke had closed his eyes in anticipation of with Garaeth's rump and was therefore completely surprised when someone caught one of his flailing arms. Now that he wasn't slipping, he managed to struggle to his feet without further help and blink in confusion at his rescuer. His confused look quickly changed to an unhappy, nervous one. Great, an audience for his humiliation. At least Akyo hadn't managed to make dinner of the salamandyr after all. He could see the red terror licking his wounds some distance away. He would think of a way to punish him later.

Before he could open his mouth to utter thanks to the other boy, Garaeth came bounding over. T'ke! Are you hurt? The blue bobbed a greeting to M'ta, before nuzzling his rider in concern, which caused T'ke no end of further embarrassment. "Knock it off." He pushed the nose away, but gave him an assuring pat. "I'm fine." Oh good! Garaeth visibly relaxed. You are all dirty now too! he pointed out with delight. Now you will have to come swimming with me! The last was declared with absolute triumph. T'ke sighed in reservation. He had lost this round, and he knew it.

T'ke turned back to address M'ta. "Thanks," he mumbled, a little sheepishly. He wasn't used to people helping him. "I'm the one who should apologize, though. The red monster seems to have it in for salamandyrs. I've been trying to keep him away from them, but he always seems to track them down."

He had been too distracted by the tiny, blue creature on the other's ear before, but now he that got a better look at him he didn't seem that young. One of the older weyrlings maybe? T'ke had never bothered to meet most of the people that weren't in his class. Remembering his manners, he introduced himself politely. "I'm T'ke. And this is Garaeth." He thought about offering a hand, but thought better of it. His hands were currently a muddy mess.

[Requiem]

M'ta's lips quirked into what wasn't an entirely friendly half-smile, his eyes revealing a grim amusement as he tilted his head back to look up at the tall boy. Best guess? Somewhere between fourteen and sixteen. He would have put the range from thirteen to sixteen, except M'ta refused to entertain the notion that a thirteen-turn-old could be nearly a foot taller than him. This young weyrlingrider's expression, however, was what brought on the amusement; the boy didn't seem any more comfortable with M'ta's presence than he was with the blueweyrling's. Another part of M'ta's mind compared the two males and found them to be polar opposites. He was dark, small, and built like he hadn't enjoyed a day of leisure in his life - and didn't regret it. The other was tall, lanky, soft, and pale. There was a weakness hanging about him that took away from that height of his and, while it didn't exactly set the older of the weyrlingriders at ease, it made him less...twitchy.

It also helped that the scene between the blue and his rider seemed so familiar. Jabari's cry brought his eyes up, the brown circling above the creature that had attacked PMS before coming around to land on M'ta's shoulder, tail wrapping around the young man's neck. He was still a little puffed up, clearly in full protective mode. Ignoring the odd feeling of PMS dangling from his ear, M'ta reached up to stroke Jabari and try to calm him. The brown hissed at the red predator. No one attacked his hatchling worm! He'd better not see the nasty anywhere near the hatchling or he'd be quite upset, that he would.

The brownweyrling's brow rose at the boy's halting apology. He waved it aside with a hand. "If there's one thing I've learned, pets aren't always that easy to control - even when you share a bond. Don't worry about it." M'ta preferred to evaluate people on their own actions, not on those of their pets. A strange pet this kid had, but that wasn't really the point. PMS was just fine. The boy had attempted to help him instead of just standing aside and letting it happen. That was good enough for M'ta.

He nodded solemnly, crossing his arms over his chest. Pretty Mandyr Shiny crooned from his position on M'ta's ear. Gara! he agreed. Yes, this was Garaeth, his new friend. Did the medium bonded see? "I'm M'ta, Behruth's rider." Oooh, that scary Tidal weyrling class. M'ta almost smirked, wondering if they were being held up as terrible examples yet, or if that would come later. Both brown weyrlingriders were a bit...insubordinate. But at least they showed up, unlike most of the rest of the class. "The puffball over here is Jabber - uh - Jabari. And my earring is PMS." He prodded the salamandyr lightly with a finger, the blue latching onto that and coming with the hand. Gara? "Sleeping." PMS wilted. He'd wanted to show Garaeth's shinies to Behruth.

[Rowana]

T'ke raised an eyebrow at PMS skeptically. "PMS?" That must stand for something interesting. Possessing Minimal Smarts, maybe? Even now, the little creature showed no signs of even know how close he had come to being eaten. T'ke supposed it was just as well. At least Akyo hadn't traumatized him for life. Speaking of which...

"The red terror is Akyo, though it's Garaeth's fault that he has a name at all. I was hoping he would leave when he got older, but it looks like I'm going to be stuck with him." T'ke sighed unhappily. It would almost be better if they did share a bond. Then he might be able to get the beast to follow simple commands. Like: "Don't eat salamandyrs!" Akyo, for his part, had decided to ignore them all now and had returned to preening himself vainly. He had sighed away from the brown fire lizard, but glared after him when he left. He hated fire lizards too, but they were too big to attack.

Do you think Behruth and His will come swimming with us? Garaeth asked hopefully. He had yet to meet his brown cousin and loved to meet new friends. PMS was quite nice, so Behruth probably was too. Besides, more people meant more fun! T'ke shrugged. I'd have to ask. Garaeth waited for a moment of silence, then nudged his rider. Well? Ask! T'ke made a face at him. His blue was still determined to force him to socialize. He felt like someone with a nagging aunt following them around.

He looked back at M'ta. "Garaeth wants to know if you and Behruth would like to come swimming." T'ke smirked reluctantly. "He seems to think I need a bath." And he was probably right too. T'ke was now covered in muddy, soapy muck from his fall.