View source for Logs:Gustav and Taikrin don't kill each other

{{ Log
| who = Gustav, Gabrion, Taikrin
| where = Lake Shore, High Reaches Weyr
| what = Taikrin and Gustav reach an accord and end up bonding over exercise and exertion, of all things. 
| when = Day 17, Month 3, Turn 22
| gamedate = 2010.03.15
| quote = I think there's a marked difference between a scheduled bout and me getting really angry, say, and beating the living shit out of Gabe right this second.
| weather = 
| categories = 
| mentions = 
| ooc = 
| icons = 
| log = 
Taikrin is smokin' hot today! No, wait-- make that steaming: apparently, given the relatively mild late-afternoon weather today, Taikrin's decided to go out for a run. To judge from the steam literally rising from her uncovered head and arms, she's been at it for quite a while. Her pace is even and quite fast, until she abruptly stops and drops into a set of pushups in a clearing between decaying snow piles.

Gustav is well, sort of athletic. But today isn't one of those days for him. Instead he's just taking a leisurely stroll around the shore of the lake. It's perhaps understandable when he rounds a corner of melting snow and finds a person on the ground that he looks a little startled. She might not notice his backward step of surprise. But he's cool. He plays it off. After taking a couple of breaths and dropping his drawn back arms. "Oooh.. Hello there."

Taikrin pops to her feet in the wake of that greeting, staggering backwards a few steps with arms raised defensively across her chest. It takes a moment for her the startle instinct to fade, but as the gasping breaths begin to slow, she obviously recognizes Gustav. "Oh!-- hey." She stretches her arms out over her head, suddenly all casual-like, as if she hadn't been ready to fight him off just a moment before. "Didn't see y'there." Obviously.

That reaction doesn't do much to calm the guy who was just startled himself. When she pops up he holds his hands up too, he doesn't have a single thing on him. Really! Gustav watches the stretch of her arms and then lowers widened eyes onto her. Casually, "There are some very aggressive people in this Weyr. I think I was safer when I used to travel places on foot." His gaze sweeps from her to the piles of snow. "I missed you too. You were on the ground."

"They don't bother me much." Taikrin is ever-so-casual about this as she switches to thigh stretches, holding first one foot then the other up against her rear. "Y'gotta /be/ in the ground t'do pushups, y'know." As Gustav truly doesn't appear to be about to stab her, the faux-casual is fading into real-casual, and the tension -- aside from that brought about by genuine physical exercise -- fades from her posture. "Y'gettin' a few laps in too? Reckon it's prolly gonna snow again later, an' I hate runnin' in th'snow."


And since Taikrin doesn't seem to be attacking him for something he's not doing, Gustav is also able to relax. He shoves his hands into the pocket of his coat and gives the still frozen ground the once over. "I've just been running inside. Weyr's got a lot of twisty long tunnels for you to burn up your energy in. Less snow in them. Usually." Hopefully considering they're indoors. He can't help it if his eyes wander either, by the way. But he keeps the conversation polite and with his usual button pushing. "How've you been? You know, since."

Taikrin does eventually finish with the stretching, though she does occasionally bounce on the balls of her feet to stay limber. "Feel like I'm gonna run in t'someone, runnin' around inside. Ain't natural." The wandering eyes are met with an arched eyebrow and a quirked smile, but she doesn't protest. "Okay. Worked off steam pretty good, after. This helps, y'know?" Her right arm is extended, then flexed upwards as she adds with a deepening smirk, "An' I gotta get this thing back workin' right a'fore I can beat anyone's face in with it, so..."

All the bouncing and movement is enough to keep Gustav a good distance away. He's probably also had enough of touchy-feely with barracks people this past week. "I don't like being cold." He admits, rolling his eyes up to the clouded sky and then back down again to her, "Sure as hell getting out of here after this. That's for damn certain." The arm stretches earn a slight smirk. "You just stretching it out a lot or do you try and lift anything? Is it strong enough yet?" His head cants to the side as he considers the weaker limb.

"Gettin' out?" Taikrin lets out a low laugh to punctuate the statement, then shakes her head. "What if y'Impress? Y'can't just take off with a baby dragon, I don't s'ppose." Arms are folded across her chest, then, most likely for warmth to judge from the way the steam has slowly stopped rising off of her body. "Mostly stretchin', but I got some pretty light weights they got me usin', too. Drivin' me crazy how it ain't strong anymore, though."

"Getting out." At the mention of impressing Gustav grins, a lopsided doofy sort of one. He points to himself. "What dragon would be fool enough to impress to me? Highly unlikely. I did it mostly for the experience, I suppose. And now, well." There's a roll of his shoulders, a little hopelessness there. There's another curious look to her arm before his eyes find their way to her face, "I broke my leg when I was eight. That was a bitch. You don't realize how important walking with your two legs is until you only have one. I assume the arm has to be equally as obnoxious to lose full use of." The folding of those arms garners a shake of his head, like a person realizing something. "Jacket?"

Gabrion heads in from the bowl.
Gabrion has arrived.

"Oh, I dunno-- I reckon if th'dragons're wantin' criminals t'be their riders, they can't be all /that/ picky." Taikrin frowns, though it's the thoughtful sort. "Or did y'not get actual searched? I heard y'could just ask t'be a candidate, if y'wanted." She gives another little bounce, then, in an attempt to keep the blood flowing. "It was /really/ obnoxious. 'Specially when I wanted t'hit someone, an' my other one ain't so good at it." Mention of a jacket brings a short shake of the head, and another quirky grin. "Don't need it. Ain't that cold, an' I'm warm pretty good."

"I like to think they're kind of picky. Though..." Gustav tilts his head from side to side, considering. "I have met certain riders that left me with a poor taste in my mouth. And uh-" That one has him blinking a little and then really shaking his head. "Oh, no. I really was searched. I don't think you can choose to be one. But I'm not weyrbred so what do I know, right?" There's another lift of his shoulders paired with a grin. "Are you supposed to be doing a lot of hitting? I thought you were supposed to be having yourself." He pulls a hand out of his pocket to wiggle it at her.

Gabrion ambles over from the bowl with his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets. He spots Taikrin and Gustav and wanders in their direction, with a friendly smile on his face. "Hey," he says when he gets close enough for greeting.

Taikrin puts her hands on her hips, affecting a wounded look. "Hittin' people is still behavin' s'long as it's th'right people, y'know." Her arms drop quickly enough, though, and wrap back around her midsection. "I dunno exactly-- oh, Hey, Gabrion!" Taikrin offers a smile to the younger boy, then tilts her head in his direction. "Bet he knows if y'can just ask t'stand, 'stead of havin' a rider ask you. Eh Gabe?"

Gustav's smile deepens and he lifts his eyebrows at her. "I think some of the people in charge probably don't care if it's right or wrong. Dragon folk have some really strange ideas about fighting. They don't approve at all." Before he notices that Gabrion is approaching he starts to say something, "Speaking of which. I talked to Milani and I tol-" The call of greeting from the teenager and subsequent return hello from the woman stop him short. He quirks his lips into a careless smile which he directs Gabe's way. "Hello. Yes, he probably knows the answer. For us holders."

Gabrion knows a lot of things, and this is one of them. He looks pleased at being invited to hold forth. "Yep, you can, that's what I did. I'm weyrborn, so I had the right. And both my parents are riders, so that means I've got a decent shot. It runs in families," he explains. "You planning on hitting someone?" he asks Taikrin, grinning.

"Oh, y'd be surprised, I think. Plenty of 'em approve just fine; got t'go a round with Z'yi, an' th'Weyrwoman offered t'go a couple too, if I wanted." Taikrin offers this information with a smile that is both casual and terribly smug. "An' I ain't plannin' on hittin' anyone /yet/, Gabe." She brandishes a fist, teasing-like, at the other boy. "Though I did promise I'd teach y't'do some." It takes a moment for the previous conversation thread to register, though one it does, a curious -- and slightly wary -- look is slanted towards Gustav. "Y'told Milani what?"

"I think there's a marked difference between a scheduled bout and me getting really angry, say, and beating the living shit out of Gabe right this second." Gustav jokingly makes a move like he's going to do just such a thing to the younger of the three candidates. He stops short, naturally and with his hand hovering just over Gabrion's head. When she asks that question he just shakes his head, "Ah, nothing. Nothing important, really." His lips press into tight smile before he waves his hand around. "So what about this weather. I hear it's supposed to turn soon? That's nice."

Gabrion quirks his eyebrows at Gustav, unimpressed by both the threat, however mocking, and the sudden attempt at a subject change. "What brought that on? Did I pee in your klah?" he asks, and repeats Taikrin's question. "Yeah, what /did/ you tell Milani exactly? That wouldn't have anything to do with how she gave a bunch of us latrine duty, would it?"

Taikrin makes a vaguely disapproving noise in the back of her throat. "Gabe's too cute t'go beatin' on. Even if he is /totally/ askin' for it sometimes." There's more than a bit of teasing directed towards the younger boy, though a thread of seriousness is intermingled in there, too. "Y'got it too, huh? Well, s'what y'get f'r jumpin' on Saliqa like that. Y'could'a /really/ hurt 'er, y'know. What were y'thinkin?" She's genuinely curious about this, and though Gabrion has captured her attention for the moment, the look she slants at Gustav would imply that he's not getting off so easy, either.

Gustav sighs, his eyes rolling up to the sky. Second time tonight. "This weyr definitely lacks a sense of humor." He holds up five fingers to Taikrin and ticks two of them off. "Make that reason number too I'm getting out of here after dragon mania." The question on latrine duty doesn't get an immediate response, simply a skeptical lift of his eyebrows initially. Just enough time to listen to the woman there. "Yeah, really. You can't exactly rush into a situation like that and just start attacking someone." And as for anything about Milani he continues to remain mum, not bothering to explain any further.

"She was jumping on /you/," Gabe says to Taikrin, forehead creasing as he frowns. "I was just trying to get her off you! I didn't want her to injure your arm, and there was no reason for her to attack you." Gustav gets a severe scowl. "Yanh yanh yanh, you ratted, didn't you?"

"She was not!" Curiously, Taikrin's cheeks flush a bit pinker than the brisk conditions would otherwise account for. "Poor girl was gettin' thrown around, and even if she /was/ y'know I can handle a little thing like her with one arm behind my back." The rancor fades quickly from her voice, though, and she reaches out to offer a friendly punch to Gabrion's shoulder. "Heart was in th'right place, though. Next time just, y'know, look a'fore y'punch." Both eyebrows raise at Gabrion's accusation, though, and she turns a questioning look towards Gustav. "Y'did?"

Gustav's forehead wrinkles and he directs a look down at the shorter fellow. "The conversation I had wasn't ratting. And by the way yanh, yanh, yanh? Are you twelve? And did I invite you into this conversation that I was about to have with Taikrin? No, I did not. It is not one that I wanted to include you in. I was politely trying to skirt around telling you it was none of your business but I guess you're going to have to force me to go that route?" His eyebrows lift as if he's now just daring Gabrion to ask him one more time. "If you want to blame someone for mentioning your name you should go speak to your friend, Shad." Since Taikrin handles the Saliqa issue, he doesn't need to comment. Yay!

"No, I'm fifteen. What are you, six? Because that's how old I was the last time I had a 'conversation' with the /headwoman/ about stuff other people supposedly did that got them in trouble," Gabe retorts. He's too irritated with Gustav to respond to Taikrin with anything other than a grunt.

"Okay, boys." Eyes roll as Taikrin draws back a pace from the pair, hands going back to her hips in a posture that's not so mocking anymore. "Put the dicks back in th'pants a'fore someone gets hurt." She bounces on her toes again, several times, apparently feeding on the angery energy that seems to be growing. A finger is jabbed at Gabrion. "/You/ got caught -- deal with it." It then moves to point accusingly at Gustav. "An' you-- quit baitin' th'kid, already. Bloody shells."

"Baiting?" Gustav looks incredulous and practically sends that look over the airwaves. Trying to penetrate Taikrin's brain with it by the way his eyebrows shoot up. He takes a breath and then begins that head shaking again. "Fine. Fine. I won't bait the twelve year old. He'll likely smack me and then blame me for his own lack of impulse control." This of course, is just classic baiting that he performs while not even bothering to look or glance in Gabrion's direction.

Gabrion mimics Gustav in a high-pitched voice. "Fiiiine, I won't bait the twelve year old." Taikrin gets a roll of the eyes. "Whatever, I can take a little latrine duty, too bad /he/ can't admit to being a ratfink. I'll talk to you later." 'You' being Taikrin - not Gustav. With that, he turns to walk off.

"/Gabe/." There's a sharp warning note now in Taikrin's voice, which is echoed in the look she slants his way. She lets out a sigh, though, as he turns to leave, and relents enough to allow, "I'll catch up t'you in a bit. I think Firistan was lookin' f'r you." Arms fold back across her torso as she takes a step closer at Gustav -- the better to level a flat glare at him. "C'mon, enough already."

Gustav directs his attention towards the lake, not bothering to respond to the teenager when he walks off. In fact, he remains utterly silent until Gabe is gone, gone, gone. And by that we mean, out of ear shot even if visually he can still be seen. When he turns his attention back to Taikrin he notices the step closer and there's a firm shake of his head. "Oh, good. You can over-react and be angry at me too. That seems to be the running theme here. Perhaps you'd like to twist the truth and context of my sentences around to fit your own wishes, that would be perfect. This place loves scapegoats." He might be looking at her, might be making direct eye contact but it's probably all too evident by his tone that this isn't really /about/ her. Not really. His gaze drops off to the ground and he twists his mouth roughly before saying, "I kept your name out of it, best I could. Try not to incriminate yourself if you can. Or Saliqa."

"Oh, he was?" Gabe brightens up considerably and hustles off to find Firistan and make out with him in an empty storage closet somewhere, probably. They'll resurface in an hour or two looking mussed and happy.

Gabrion has left.

Taikrin pivots on one foot as Gabrion moves out of sight, moving to stand face-to-face with Gustav -- and perhaps a bit closer than is strictly necessary. "Look, you. Y'don't know me an' I /sure/ ain't gonna take crap from you." She sucks in a deep breath, and once she lets it out she's a bit calmer. "'Preciate what y'did f'r Saliqa, that was okay." Beat. "An' f'r me, I guess. Y'don't gotta, though. I don't mind takin' what I got comin' t'me." Eyes roll, then, as some of the seriousness fades away, replaced with a hint of a grin. "Y'don't gotta be such a-- a-- a martyr 'bout it, though. I ain't gonna feel bad f'r you. An' it ain't gonna get you into my pants, neither." Obviously she /was/ paying attention earlier.

Thankfully for Gustav he's at least a couple of inches taller than Taikrin so he's maybe not as worried by the face to face as he could be. No budging. But no posturing either. "I never said that you couldn't or that she couldn't. But I don't know if I think justice is always right. That letter said some things and the guy that opened them was... You know." There's a wave of his hand here. "I don't like the idea of someone doing the right thing getting hit with a blanket punishment because of some dirtbag." There's then /yet/ another headshake. "It's not about being a martyr. I don't care if you feel bad for me. I'm just frustrated. It feels like all the people here want to leap to the worst conclusions and act in the worst possible ways. If you stand up for yourself they just brand you more." The hint of a grin from her seems to call one to his own mouth. His lips twist wryly, "I think I gave up on that after the first time I met you."

"Yeah, I know." Taikrin's face screws up into a grimace at the mere mention of Trahalor. She takes a half step back, relenting, and scuffs the toe of one boot against the ground. "Still don't know why you all let a piece of crap like 'im get you all worked up. If y'would'a left it alone, he prolly would'a got bored a'fore bustin' in there." The toe stops scuffing, and starts instead to tap rhythmically against the ground. "Y'know..." Suddenly thoughtful, her gaze lowers a moment, then flashes back up. "Y'ain't gotta let 'em get t'you. Plenty of them folk ain't worth th'time of day." A quick grin, here and gone in an instant: perhaps Gustav was marked among those, before. "An' it's prolly good f'r yer health y'did."

"It's the principle of it. Just because you don't like someone doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want to them. Somebody has to say something or the whole order of things could just come crashing down." Gustav lifts his hand to mimic this with his fingers. He sighs and turns his head away, looking off. "I know. I used to just give it back just as good. The more you smile, the more you twist what they say back... It used to be funny to me. But lately it hasn't been. It's been like an onslaught." His lips pull to the side before he brings his eyes back around to her again. "And how do we start over? To get back to that good health?"

Taikrin shrugs noncommitally at all the talk of social order, but apparently she doesn't feel strongly enough to argue. As Gustav continues, though, she interjects, "That /ain't/ ignorin' 'em, that's rilin' 'em up. Feedin' in t'it. Only makes people mad, y'know. S'not th'same." She subsides, though, until Gustav turns back-- at which point she reaches out to punch him, friendly-like, in the shoulder, with a teasing grin. "Reckon yer lookin' pretty healthy t'me. Here we are standin' here an' I ain't had t'beat on you none." More seriously, she repeats, "Was a good turn y'did Saliqa. Didn't expect it-- reckon I had y'pegged a bit early, maybe."

Taikrin shrugs noncommitally at all the talk of social order, but apparently she doesn't feel strongly enough to argue. As Gustav continues, though, she interjects, "That /ain't/ ignorin' 'em, that's rilin' 'em up. Feedin' in t'it. Only makes people mad, y'know. S'not th'same." She subsides, though, until Gustav turns back-- at which point she reaches out to punch him, friendly-like, in the shoulder, with a teasing grin. "Reckon yer lookin' pretty healthy t'me. Here we are standin' here an' I ain't had t'beat on you none." More seriously, she repeats, "Was a good turn y'did Saliqa. Didn't expect it-- reckon I had y'pegged a bit early, maybe."

"You think? I always felt there was a difference between egging someone and putting your foot down." Gustav rocks back overdramatically and grabs a hold of his shoulder. "Ow! My arm! It's dead. I won't be able to use it tomorrow in whatever awful chore they've assigned us too next! Nooooooo!" He gives her an injured look, a silly pout of his lips as he 'rubs' the punch out. Still making faces. "I like Saliqa. She looks out for me, I hardly deserve it. Well, I don't always give the best of first impressions I've learned. People either love me or hate me."

Taikrin rolls her eyes at Gustav's reaction, but her grin is highly amused. "Baby. An' that ain't even my strong one." A squinty glance is aimed out towards the lake, and Taikrin is, at first, slow to respond. "She does that. Dunno what she's about, pickin' up strays like she does." Arms wrap once more around her torso, this time accompanied by a shiver. "Just s'long as y'keep yer likin' to bein' friendly likin', you an' me are gonna get on okay." There's a warning there, buried not-too-deeply under the otherwise teasing words. "I ain't afraid t'admit I judged a person wrong. S'actions what matter, 'specially what y'do when th'marks're down."

"Oh baby." Gustav lifts his eyebrows in what must be jest and he dances away from anymore punches. "Some people are good like that. They take care of people." The warning gets a much different lift of his eyebrows and a curiosity starts to form. His lips twist once more, though there's a hint of amusement there now. "I'll keep my liking to being strictly friends. Whatever my new comrade in arms asks of me." He applies his hand to his chest and gives a deep, overly grand bow. When he comes out of it, "Want to go for that run back? Before it snows?"

"Good." Taikrin's voice is gruff, at first, and her expression serious when she tears it away from the lake and back to Gustav. "Glad we got an' understandin'." But the bow brings about a return of her crooked grin, and she bounces on her toes again in anticpation. "If y'think y'can keep up with me. Y'got those long legs, but..." She dances a few steps away, only a little stiff from the encroaching cold. "... dunno if y'got th'drive t'use 'em proper."

Gustav even manages to not make any jokes about the absent holder woman. Instead he jumps to action and begins running in place, lifting his knees up high. "I have plenty of time when I'm not being a lazy fucking bastard. And right now, I'm feeling a little pent up. If you know what I mean. Lets do it, sister. See if you really have what it takes to outrun the Gustinator. Reknown worldwide for knocking the wind out of people." Yes, he looks ridiculous. One would hope it's on purpose as he dances along after her. When she goes, he'll go. She'll also probably beat him. Because he is kind of lazy. She'll be lucky if he doesn't cry on her!

"Hah! Big talker!" Taikrin pauses on the spot, but her posture is poised in such a way that she's ready to take off at a moment's notice. "Gustinator, huh. Well-- see y'at th'barracks!" And with that she's off, springing in a madcap dash across the bowl with barely a glance over her shoulder to ensure Gustav is following.




}}