Difference between revisions of "Logs:Noms"

Feeding Grounds, High Reaches Weyr

Wedged between the lake and the rest of the vast bowl are the dusty feeding grounds. Here, the well-trampled ground is contained by a sturdy wooden fence, cutting right through one end of the lake to section it off into a muddy watering hole for the animals. Several gates allow people in and out, while at the back, large overhangs of rock provide the herd -- a mixed bag of herdbeasts, wing-clipped wherries, and fat porcines -- shelter from storms or the hot sun. What grass survives is usually bloodstained, but feeding troughs are stationed around the edges of the pen.

It's after her own dinner that Ilicaeth finally decides to assuage his own hunger, the red-eyed blue launching himself from some empty ledge that overlooks the feeding grounds so he can spy the slowly milling herds of herdbeasts and wherries from on high. He's one of the dragons that oft takes it upon himself to do his hunting down South, leaving the Weyr more food resources in this time of penury. But this evening, the blue's choosing to stick close to home; he's earned his 'right' to hunt there sometimes, after all. Out from the living cavern strolls Alida, her helmet and jacket donned against the pitter-pattering, light rain and chill, the woman strolling towards the feeding grounds as she takes some moments to spy Ilicaeth's progress with some short peers upward, and quick little dips into his hunting mind.

If either of the blue pair look up, they might see Cailluneth wink into being up high above the bowl, her pale hide cast silvery in the faint light of the moons. They make a lazy spiral downward, landing just beyond the feeding grounds, far enough away so as not to disturb the beasts Ilicaeth's hunting. For her part, the green is uninterested in the penned creatures; she shares a warm greeting with her brother, then lies down to do her own thing while N'ky approaches Alida. "Hey." The cold of between lingers on his riding jacket, while he removes his gloves and pushes his goggles up onto his helmet. "Got you something." And, indeed, he's got the handle of a little bag slung over one wrist, which he wiggles off to hand to the bluerider.

In his hungry mind, there's perhaps oddly only inklings of the battle lust that the blue is wont to experience under certain conditions: hunting is plainly not one of them, at least not this time. Penned food is pretty much no threat to a dragon, and therefor not viewed as something worthy of taking on, in that fashion. A wild wherry or southern great cat, though... Still, he's no slouch at this tame hunting thing, the blue circling lower, lower, though he's keeping himself downwind of the herds so as not to alert them to his presence. And as Alida makes her way right up to the pens of beasts, she notes N'ky closing with her, the blonde finally giving a soft grunt and bob of her head in acknowledgement before lifting her gaze to her dragon, once again. Blink. With the greenrider's words comes the re-affixing of her attention upon him, then a quirk of head to what he offers, the guard smoothly reaching out for said bag, and experiencing its weight when she takes it. "Should I be thankin' you before I look inside?" Her tones are subdued, mellow, though still clipped and fast, as usual.

"That depends, 'Lida." N'ky digs his hands into his pockets, choosing to look up at Ilicaeth rather than at the bluerider beside him. Cailluneth watches with mild interest too, though she keeps her distance both mentally and physically to avoid from distracting him. "How sick are you of eating stew?" Still the greenrider doesn't look down, though a slow smile does grow crookedly upon his lips, causing a shallow dimple to appear. "Our schedules seem to be impossible for me to invite you up for dinner, so I thought I'd give you dinner, instead."

Ahh... now *there's* a good reason to grin, and Alida does such, though in subdued fashion, as she opens up the pouch to see the mutton within it. Already, she's thinking of what she can make out of it, the woman having accrued various recipies from Kitchen workers in preparation for this private feast. "Thank you..." is murmured in pleased fashion. "Now I just gotta find a permanently cold place ta stash it, 'n dig deep enough that the like uv' Pyrite can't dig it up." Ilicaeth chooses this moment to stoop down rather like a falcon - though he backwings at the critical juncture before reaching the ground - surprising most of the herd into a late stampede. There's one big herbeast, though, that's frozen there in utter terror, unmoving... Like a nightmarish predator beast, the blue's wings beat at the air to keep him in place as his coppery claws *flex*. Sniker-snak; the beast is cleanly punctured through by front talons, the quickly-dying cow not even able to offer up a bawl of protest. Out of the pen area the blue quickly moves himself, then alighting some distance off to both feed and to allow the herd time to calm down again. Her eyes flicked towards that scene with a keen, visceral sort of pleasure, Alida quickly enough looks back to N'ky.

N'ky glances sideways at Alida, taking his eyes off the hunting blue for just a few seconds to be able to wink and smile at her. "You're welcome," he replies warmly, then laughs lightly at the need to keep it all away from firelizards. "Cailluneth doesn't like them. Too small, too noisy. She chases the wild ones away in Southern, when they come snooping after scraps." Snorting softly, N'ky tracks Ilicaeth's hunting technique with as much keen interest as Cailluneth does; the green watches with eyes whirling an excited blue-purple, and she bellows out a bawdy congratulations for his efforts when he pins a beast so deftly. It makes N'ky smile, almost reflecting Alida's pleasure in it - though he's surely living the moment through his lifemate. With idle airiness, he comments, "I still taste blood when she makes me." Will Alida remember that particular afflication that the greenrider suffered from in their early weyrling days?

Closing the pouch, then looping its drawstrings about her riding belt, Alida finally leans against one of the rails of the fence, mostly watching the herds, and Ilicaeth now, though he's somewhat farther off. "They have their uses..." is noted a bit drolly to her clutchsib of flits, the blonde then murmuring, "Ilicaeth is okay with 'em...as long as they don't get too pesty. He's been happy ta have mine scritch 'im where 'e can't easily reach...when I'm not there." The image that such a feat might bring to mind is perhaps worthy of a chuckle, given the massive size differences involved...as well as a twitching, wriggly, itchy blue. After Cailluneth's bellow and the blue's answering rumble of pride, "He likes ta' practice different techniques when huntin'; keeps 'im on the ball, 'e says." Cue a lazy grin of indulgence for her lifemate. A look over to N'ky for his assertion has the blonde noting, "At least y' c'n close it out most times, now." Right?

N'ky shrugs his shoulders, nose wrinkled in an expression of apathy. "Doesn't bother me now, so I don't have to tune it out. I've kinda got used to it, so it's not unpleasant... I think I sort of start to crave it in a weird way, when she's hungry. It's... hard to explain without sounding too gross, but I guess because Cailluneth enjoys it, I enjoy it, too? Maybe? I don't know." He shrugs again, looking at Alida now. "I've been on sweeps over Crom all day. Would you like to go get a warm-up drink with me?" With nothing more interesting than penned beasts to watch, Cailluneth gets up and takes to the skies, a powerful backdraft from her wings washing over the earth-bound people as she makes her way up to perch on the rim of the Weyr.

"Understandable..." Alida notes perhaps surprisingly to N'ky. "I like linkin' up tight with Ilicaeth when 'e hunts. Feels...good. Raw...like it's clearin' my head, body uv' all the crap accumulated there." Unspoken: from dealing with human garbage. Ilicaeth's finishing his first beast by now, leaving only the horns and hooves behind, quite suddenly launching himself from ground to sky only enough to flap wings a few times and clear the fence by a mere few meters. The steer closest to said fence finds itself tumbling end over end after one of the blue's paws strikes it rattlesnake-quick, the thing's neck and back snapped instantly with the force of the blow. Through the small thunder of the once-more stampeding herd and the snorts and lowings they give off comes the blonde's answer, barely hearable. "No thanks. Goin' dry ta'day." Smirk. "Don' let us stop ya." A glance out and up for Cailluneth's rising to the rim transitions into her eyes watching Ilicaeth land inside the pen, scoop up his kill in mouth, and then vault back out, so he can sup upon it not far from the humans.

That Alida gets it makes N'ky smile; he understands completely where she's coming from. "It's so much simpler in Cailluneth's head when she's hunting. And beautiful, too. It's beautiful." The greenrider sighs contentedly, brown eyes fixed on Ilicaeth as he comes in to catch another. "She likes to do it that way," he quietly remarks, nodding his head in approval of the clutchsibling's technique. But then Alida's response gets her a confused frown - she's going dry? Alida? Teasing, he says, "You are Alida, aren't you?" before aiming at giving her a gentle nudge with his elbow, and stepping back with a grin. "Enjoy your dry night then, 'Lida. Let me know when I can come up and have dinner with you?" That comes with a laugh and wink, followed by a quick wave before he turns to slosh through the muddy bowl towards the Snowasis.

"Simpler, cleaner, better..." Alida murmurs around the sounds of panicked animals and the soft rain, her breath pluming a bit upon damp and chill air. "Mhmm..." is almost murred in soft fashion, the guard smiling with a lazy warmth as she watches Ilicaeth move off to feed again, the blue's eyes slowing their whirl, and moving towards blue once again. With those words and his light nudge comes her own slender smirk-smile, and an only slightly-thoughtful, "I like bein' on the wagon fer a few days in a row, now 'n again. Proves ta me that I ain't gettin' dependent on booze..." A nod for N'ky's inquiry soon finds her saying, "As soon as we both get a breather." A casual lift of hand and wriggle of fingers is her silent farewell, the woman watching the greenie depart for some moments, then pushing herself off the rail to slowly approach Ilicaeth while he eats. All the better to share the experience with, my dear.