Logs:Lythronath vs. The Pirates
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| RL Date: 28 June, 2014 |
| Who: A'rist, K'del |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: A'rist and Lythronath have a prisoner. |
| Where: Lythronath's Ledge, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 11, Month 2, Turn 35 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Azaylia/Mentions |
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 Lythronath's Ledge, High Reaches Weyr This ledge must have been damaged somehow, many turns ago, for there are definite signs of rebuilding across the ledge - not to mention deep pock-marks in the stone that must, surely, have been made by something harder than draconic talons. Long and wide, it's well sized, with plenty of room for a bronze and some company, with a pretty enough view out over the bowl, and a decent amount of afternoon sun. The entrance into the inner Weyr has been partially bricked up, suggesting that it must, once upon a time, have been much wider: as it is, there's still room for a bronze to reach the stone couch indoors, and the brickwork renovations have allowed for a better angling of the passage, keeping the weyr inside protected from the elements. Jagged stones sit on either side of the entrance, looking rather as though they were once part of the walls. « Come! » Lythronath, gleeful, the strength he feels in his jaws and limbs carrying into that one word. Also the smell of fear, sweat and urine, seawater. That smell remains present and changing, each change followed with intense focus, shared by conscious effort or by sheer focus. On his ledge, the bronze crouches, his tail swinging behind him, head bobbing, his prey cornered. The rider is there also, in a similar pose, hair matted down, the grin on his face matching his dragon's showing teeth. And the pirate... well, he's figured out that the best thing to be right now is still. Cadejoth is in the air again, these days, even if he's not yet permitted to put his wings to too intensive a use. Getting to Lythronath's ledge? That's not considered intensive - honestly, it's practically physical therapy, with those so-careful beats one and two and three, up the bowl. For such an invitation, he'll leave his eggs-- it could, after all, be important to share whatever it is with his mate. His rider's got the dubious grimness of one less confident; it falters rather visibly as the pair arrive, as he swings down and just... stops. "What the--?" Cadejoth can see and smell for himself now, sure. It doesn't change Lythronath's focus in the least, or the way his mind magnifies it. Magnifies everything, from his own ichor in his veins to the blood coursing through that man. That man, who turns wide eyes to the new bronze, to the new rider, back to A'rist, and inevitably, back to Lythronath and his teeth. "Found them," A'rist grins, sparing a look to his weyrleader. "Found--?" K'del sounds ever so faintly, well, faint, when he says that, seeking out the poor captured man for long seconds before he turns his attention back on to A'rist. For Lythronath, Cadejoth has no words, just the smug, ichor-pounding glee: found something fun! It is fun, isn't it? It will? Like a shiny rock he could take back to Hraedhyth. "Explain." "The ships," says A'rist, as if it was obvious, straightening up, almost looking puzzled. But then that man moves, and both young rider and young bronze counter as one. It's about there that the pirate starts screaming, all demands of being heard by the weyrleaders and returned to his shift and having reparations made. He's mid-sentence when Lythronath snaps his teeth, electric excitement funneled right back to Cadejoth. That sentence, it never gets finished. Blame the fact that K'del has a lot on his mind. Or the fact that, perhaps, he didn't really expect Lythronath and his rider to actually find anything. It takes him a few seconds, even now, to work through this new information-- and at the end of it, he's staring back at the captured pirate, and at that tirade cut short. "Don't terrify the man," he warns. "Just... where? Give me the details." "It's drawn out," says A'rist, voice casual, though it takes his posture a few beats to match it. "Got charts. Talked to some of the fishermen. It's the blue line." There are other colours, presumably, that were all failed attempts. Lythronath lowers his head a bit, a few clicking noises in his throat going along with the motion, warning, rebelling against K'del, maybe even. "He wouldn't be terrified," A'rist adds, "if he'd be more cooperative." "And? Were you seen? Are they... warned?" K'del's gaze falls back to the pirate, though it had, briefly, focused upon the younger bronzerider. The man has certainly captured his interest; Cadejoth's, too, though the slightly-smaller bronze is keeping his distance. "Would you be cooperative?" is his counter, quietly offered. It's followed up by a firmer, louder: "We're not going to hurt you. We've got... questions. That's all." The calm and easy is replaced with a bit of tension. "I'm not sure. We saw ships. This one," the gesture toward the man is haphazard, "was farther away. Tried to get away by swimming... not sure how much cover we had, if it was clear or not." What he is sure of? "They won't be able to hide. We'll know where they're going, where they could go, based on where they are." It brings another tirade from the pirate. This one, Lythronath doesn't cut off. This one, Lythronath seems to enjoy. Scream. Louder. K'del is, quite plainly, less happy in the face of these uncertainties; though it's not as though he was jumping with joy to begin with - not as such, anyway. His "Hm," is more thoughtful than anything. His gaze has narrowed slightly, and now-- "Don't tell anyone you've found him," he instructs the other rider, turning his gaze towards him meaningfully. "This has to be dealt with carefully. Very carefully." Cadejoth, abruptly, seems smug, that rattle of his chains just barely leaking out towards Lythronath. A'rist answers with a huff of air through his nose, timed with a sharp nod. And then, "But tell Hraedhyth." Spoken in that same tone K'del had jus used, back at the weyrleader. But louder, because that pirate is yelling again. His meaningful look is sent to his dragon. Who, this time, growls, to quiet that man. "Where do you want him?" is quieter. K'del's answer - "Of course" - makes him sound surprised, apparently genuinely so. "Of course Azaylia and Hraedhyth need to know. That doesn't mean we'll let it spread further than that." His voice is pitched just loud enough to be heard over the pirate, but only barely. "We'll have to put him in an empty weyr, for now. One with a door," and a lock, "so he can't get out of his own accord." The way he talks, it sounds like something he's had to do before. "We'll take him. Interrogate him." "You?" asks A'rist, an eyebrow raising, skeptical, as he turns toward Cadejoth. Toward the wing Lythronath fractured for him. When he looks back to K'del, A'rist draws himself up, hands hanging at the ready, weight shifting on the balls of his feet. Lythronath echoes the readiness, wings flicking, head bobbing. "What?" K'del has seen, must have seen, where A'rist looked; now, he raises his eyebrows, requesting the rest of the younger bronzerider's thought process. "Take him," answers A'rist. "Are you?" Lythronath clicks. "Why wouldn't I?" K'del's brow wrinkles this time, one hand sliding towards his hip. "I don't think he'll be all that pleased to take another ride with you. Cadejoth and I, though, we're safe." Cadejoth straightens, eager. He's ready! That pirate has gone quiet, and is watching the two riders now, even more than the bronze who continues to threaten. A'rist's eyebrow twitches a little bit, not quite raising again, but any doubts go unspoken, and any discontent is let out in a long glare at the man he's captured. "Tied," he decides. "And I'll gag him." There's a familiarity he doesn't go into. But surely if the man had been screaming blue murder from above the Weyr down, someone would have noticed. Already, here, certainly someone or other probably has. Indeed. And as if regular visits to an otherwise empty weyr won't be noticed - not to mention whatever political visits are required. No: either K'del has a plan for this, or he's not thinking things through. For now, it's difficult to tell which, his expression remaining impassive. "Good," he approves. "Keep him quiet. But... " Now, again, he glances at the quiet pirate, "Not too tight. He's our guest. After all, who's to say he's not just an honest merchant or sailor, caught up by mistake?" It doesn't sound like he believes it. "Whoever he was," says A'rist, a bit of that original smile pulling at his lips again, "he wasn't caught by mistake." The very respectable merchant is jabbering about just that when A'rist walks toward the Weyr. His, "Quiet," is probably not so much to blame for the man's protests turning to angry mutters as is Lythronath's screeching forward of talons over stone. But then, those two things aren't so separate, either. "I want," warns K'del, gaze following A'rist for one second and then a second, "A full report of what happened. All the details you can come up with." But the younger bronzerider is heading inside, and, too, there's both the pirate and Lythronath to attend to: the former gets a scowling glance, the latter the kind that says 'quit it' pretty clearly. From Cadejoth, « He'll make a mess if you keep doing that. » As it turns out, one does not need great skill at fighting, or even innate athletic talent, when one has a terrifying bronze who shows very little intention of listening to his weyrleader. « Already, » Lythronath answers Cadejoth happily, still menacing, still intense. There's some grunting and quipping. A'rist doesn't ask for help. And when the man is prepared for his journey: "You'll get that report. I'll copy out my charts, too." A significant look to the pirate. "I want to know what happens." At least he didn't preface the bargaining with an actual, spoken conjunction or anything. "This is ours." « More of a mess, » corrects Cadejoth. Not that he's not amused, mind you. Not that this isn't entertaining. While A'rist works, K'del stands back, hands clasped behind his back, gaze impassive but watchful. "Of course," he confirms. "And it's appreciated. You've given us a lead, at least." A pause. Then, with the faintest hint of a smile: "Options." That pirate makes a show of trying to yell around the gag, but stops soon enough. Apparently, being kidnapped by a beast of a dragon is exhausting. « More, » encourages Lythronath. But A'rist is stepping between him and his quarry, pushing at the captured man's shoulders to get him moving, watching his legs, perhaps taught by experience that they can do things. Like trip people. "We said we'd find them." Cadejoth, now that it comes to this, seems less than enthusiastic about having this mess of a man aboard him, but duty calls. Besides: he can fly now, and that makes most things better. His smugness radiates out of him, enough that his rider puts one hand to that green-bronze hide, and even smiles. "You did," he agrees. "And you have." He positively beams at the pirate in question, climbing back atop his dragon now so that he can help haul him up. Lythronath is far less pleased at having Cadejoth taking away his captive. The younger bronze can't contain a low, rattling growl, though it doesn't become a roar. Not yet. But he glares the entire time, and clicks his talons on stone, and bobs his head, and swings his tail. While A'rist, the traitor, starts pushing the man up. He doesn't quite dodge a kick in the process. « Mine, » Cadejoth is reminded. Fury. « Yours, » agrees Cadejoth, far more placid in his tone. « Next time, find us some Candidates for my eggs, instead. » Although maybe that's less fun. K'del, it must be said, looks a little unnerved by Lythronath's glare, and hastily turns his attention away, and onto the poor pirate, so terribly maligned. It can't precisely be comfortable, being pushed and pulled like this. Once he's situated, K'del hesitates, glancing back at A'rist. "This was well done. Thank you." « See more, » answers Lythronath, the playfulness that might otherwise have been in the taunt of his views of the sands and their contents (and there've been few days when he's not been pushing the borders set up by Hraedhyth, though today is one such) lost in the intensity. "You should leave," A'rist answers his weyrleader, tensing now. "We'll talk later." From K'del, now, only a nod - and then Cadejoth is taking to the air (less smooth than he was; more laboured, but still) and across the bowl. Surely no one will notice the Weyrleader pair visiting a far-off ledge. Surely. |
Comments
Azaylia said...
« MUCH better than a shiny rock. »
Lythronath and A'rist did good! ^^ And it's nice to see Cadejoth flying again, even if only a little. <3 This was a really entertaining scene. (The picture is also very fitting).
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