Logs:Raw

Raw
"I want to go hunting. At Igen."
RL Date: 1 September, 2015
Who: Z'kiel, Ahtzudaeth
Involves: High Reaches Weyr
Type: Vignette
What: Ahtzudaeth is indifferent to the glowing gold; Z'kiel, not so much.
Where: Oversized Chessboard Weyr, High Reaches Weyr
When: Day 13, Month 9, Turn 38 (Interval 10)
Weather: Cloudy. Damp.
Mentions: Irianke/Mentions




Further inside, there's a pair of 'pillars' by the door that are really just stacks of outsized checkers, one set of interlocking pieces stained darker than the other. Past those are a couple of dusty wallows for a dragon or two, the space designed with them in mind. The rock of the couches is smooth, but outcroppings behind them are rough, perfect for taking care of that awkwardly-located itch. The human parts of the weyr seem almost an afterthought, being small and rough-hewn. They're located at the bottom of a small series of steps, where a sitting area at the front boasts a couple of padded chairs and nothing else. The sleeping area at the back has a small fireplace and a couple of alcoves filled with a bed and a clothes press, respectively. The decorations here are the work of a woodcrafter, the bed ornately carved with roses and ships, its posts topped with pawns. Included here are the missing chess pieces from outside. Z'kiel always hated glowing golds. Always. Even from his days at Igen, long before Ahtzudaeth pulled him into his plans, Z'kiel despised it every time a queen glowed. In his youth, it was worse; it made his teeth ache and his palms bleed from digging his nails into them. Fists perpetually curled and shoulders tight. It got somewhat easier over the turns, but not by much. The weight of anticipation was more than enough to send him as far from the Weyr as possible. He could never relax into the sensation as many did. He couldn't tolerate the sensation of alien emotions influencing his own. And he raged. He fumed. He took his frustrations out by hunting - stalk, kill, consume. Having a girl around didn't help; he didn't bother. He just needed to be away. He was indifferent to the greens; their broadcasting was weaker, less important in many ways. It didn't carry weight. It didn't carry meaning. It didn't fill him with the same kind of restless energy. And, now, Niahvth was glowing - and entirely too soon. Z'kiel didn't care about that, no matter how much Ahtzudaeth tried to pry into the possibilities. He suspected something was amiss, but it was easy to chalk it up to Ahtzu being, well, Ahtzu. And if there was something odd? It didn't matter. None of that mattered. It was happening and there was no turning away from it. All he could hope to do was get far enough away that he could think again. Never mind that the sensation was supposed to be a pleasurable one. Others certainly seemed to enjoy it well enough. Some even basked in it. But not him. Never him. His nerves were stripped bare. Electric. Raw. He stalked around his weyr, teeth gritted and body tense. His nails cut deep furrows into his palms and the insides of his cheeks bled where his teeth bit. Primal. Hungry. Anticipation was a poor word for it, but it was the only word he had - and all of Ahtzudaeth's suggestions were flung back into the smoke-and-mirrors void of the bronze's mind. You're too calm, Z'kiel eventually sent. The bronze's indifference only made things worse somehow. He just couldn't pinpoint why. « No, » Ahtzudaeth replied with a chortle. « I'm just not interested. » You're supposed to be. « Have you ever known me to be what I'm supposed to be, Z'kiel? » The bronze shifted on his couch and pressed a section of his back against the rough ledge. « It is not yet time. » Are you at least going to chase, if you aren't trying to win? The very distinct impression of a raised, bushy eyebrow answered him. « It is not yet time, » Ahtzudaeth replied patiently. "And why not?" Z'kiel snapped aloud and rounded on the beast that sat, so placid and comfortable, before him. The other bushy eyebrow lifted and then came a low, deep chortling. « Because you need experience. You need time. » "Greens bore you." Z'kiel shifted all of his energy, all the rage and tension, into that avenue of thought. It helped - a little. "And golds don't interest you. You don't chase - and you don't care. Why." One set of lids shut. Then the second. « It is not yet time. » One set of lids over one eye slid open, giving the unnerving impression of a person doing the same. « In the meantime, you still have unfinished business to tend to. Plenty of duties to focus on. Stomping around here will do you no good, Z'kiel. » "And what am I supposed to do, when all the Weyr's like this?" He couldn't articulate it, but he could send it - the anger was oppressive, spawned by the inescapable knowledge that he didn't want to feel it. He didn't want to feel anything. Ahtzudaeth picked through the tangle of emotions and thoughts and, in the end, merely chuffed. « I don't want to be here right now any more than you do. We can go anywhere you'd like. » "I want to go hunting. At Igen." He could avoid the people; the game is what he wanted. Familiar game. Tricky game. « Then that, dear rider-mine, is what we shall do. And then, after, I do believe there are some formation charts you ought to memorize... »

Comments

Alida (19:57, 1 September 2015 (PDT)) said...

And THIS is also the main reason Alida doesn't like the horny gold-light glowing, nor when Ilicaeth decides he's going to pursue a green: SHE HAS NO SAY IN IT. It takes away her self-control. *toasts Z'kiel's anger* ;)

Faryn (20:29, 1 September 2015 (PDT)) said...

You're both weird.

Jo (20:46, 1 September 2015 (PDT)) said...

If not for the fact that she thrives on sexual energy (for pleasure and for control), without it Jo would likely be just like this. This was an interesting read.

Squishy (21:20, 1 September 2015 (PDT)) said...

<3 <3 <3 This was excellent, especially since it's another unexpected insight into Z'kiel and Ahtz