Logs:Fighting the System
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| RL Date: 4 May, 2015 |
| Who: Alida, Ilicaeth, Edyis, Akluseth |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Drinks and unpleasant admissions are shared the evening of the weyrling's encounter with her Weyrleader. Ilicaeth and Akluseth have a better time of it. |
| Where: HRW: Rider's Lounge |
| When: Day 14, Month 9, Turn 37 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Cool, clear early evening. |
| Mentions: K'del/Mentions, Meara/Mentions, Quinlys/Mentions, Z'kiel/Mentions |
| OOC Notes: Backdated, and played over a period of days, IRL. |
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| The offer comes - of all odd channels - through Ilicaeth's direct communication with Akluseth, the youngling brown feeling the first true hints of the force of the blue's mind via a glancing swirl-scour of blisteringly hot, desert-dry golden sands upon the surface of the weyrling's waters. He's in decent humor as he rumbles casually to the little brown, « Alida's gonna have a few rounds... Edyis' invited fer one, if she wants. » It's now or never, kid! Will Akluseth have the chutzpah to be physically away from his lifemate for an hour or two? Indeed the blue shows his position as not far beyond the entrance to the Weyrling cavern, waiting with his own lifemate upon his neck. Akluseth's waters are troubled, A great swirling maelstrom of energy. The brown is over by the lake sunning. « She is elsewhere, I think just outside the weyr entrance. » A very sulky brown. Edyis is found near the weyr entrance, quieter than usual, but she accepts the invitation, her face looking suspiciously swollen. Sulky? Well, that doesn't bode well. Still, Ilicaeth tips his dusty hat to the young brown, offers him a parting swirl of finest particles to his head like an uncle might tousle the hair of a favored nephew, then withdraws. Give the blue and his rider a few moments to launch and glide lazily towards the Weyr's entrance, and soon Alida is dismounting in the growing darkness and stepping with slow intention towards Edyis. There's still enough of dusk's light left over to make out the weyrling's swollen, red eyes. Sigh. Speaking quietly once she's a little nearer, Alida volunteers, "All outta' patience for t'day?" in a strangely empathetic tone. "You could say that." Her voice at least doesn't sound tight. A hand runs through newly shorn curls, "Been a long, long shity day," sounding exhausted. "And it doesn't show any sign of improvement unless you mean to tell me you are buying." She attempts at humor, but it's lackluster. Indeed; those lurid green eyes look over Edyis' new haircut, a faint twitch of one side of her mouth the only way Alida reacts to that particular, new fact, though she perhaps does make the brownie's evening a tad less dismal with her offhanded, "Lucky fer both uv' us, I got a buyer fer one uv' the crates. Drinks *are* on me." Smirk. A gesture blithely urges the weyrling to join her, and in a smooth pivot about, the blonde's headed back towards Ilicaeth, his bulk awaiting them like a boulder in the growing darkness...except for the slow whirl of his faceted, azure eyes. If Edyis accompanies her, there's time for a low, soft-voiced inquiry of, "What an' who?" Made Edyis spill. Edyis says, "Drinks first. then you can hear all about my particularly awful night. With any luck the Lounge will be mostly empty." There's a spare nod from Alida, and not long after Edyis is done speaking, the two women are stepping up upon an obliging Ilicaeth's extended forearm, and settling themselves securely between his 'ridges. A safety snap apiece for both of them - Ed's lifeline to the blue secured into place by a quick buckling of a spare riding belt unrolled from her lifemate's gear - is quickly enough followed by a harsh tug/check of such, then a lift of fist to send the dragon skyward with a massive downstroke of eye-marked wings upon the night air. On their way up to the 'Lounge, the male gives a sudden barrel roll to make things more interesting, his chuff as he levels out something that might be filled with humor, if one could interpret such vocalizations. All Alida does is cackle fiercely at her lifemate's antics while gripping her legs tightly about his neck, while Edyis... Well, what Ed does is dictated by her own reactions to the aerial roll. In a double-handful of seconds, the rocky dragon is backwinging to a landing upon the narrow ledge, and then settling in order to allow his passengers to dismount...while voicing another low rumble and a showing of teeth that perhaps only Alida is used to. Grin. Ground, solid ground, there is solid ground. Edyis is quick to get off the blue, a little bit shaky and her newly shorn hair sticking every which way. Ahem. Nothing to see here. "Right... Don't show Akluseth that." Stepping into the bar proper. Exhaling as she gets the drinks and a quiet table near the hearth. "Well let's see, I got a hair cut, accidentally groped and then yelled at by the weyrleader." She takes a long pull from her mug. "Which about sums up my day," There's echoing humor in Alida's face, even in her eyes at not only Edyis' reaction, but in her lifemate's 'grin,' as well, the blue the recipiant of an affectionate, comraderly slap to his lowered jaw. (Totally a Vasquez/Drake moment!) He reciprocates with a careful nosebutt of his rider that leaves her staggering backwards and chortling at the blue, who chuffs once again, then soon takes off for a perch upon the Rim. As the two humans step inside, Alida notes to Ed, "He said, "What'll she give me ta keep quiet?"" Smirk-grin. As the two riders pick their poisons - and Alida does indeed pay - she awaits the weyrling's tale, Ed's upcoming words treated to a nose-wrinkle, a brow-lift, and a darker scowl, respectively. There's a sip of her smoother scotch on the rocks first before the bluie murmurs quietly, "Di'ja punch any uv 'em?" Eyeroll, smirk. "Z'kiel was shaving his head anyway, and it seemed like a better idea than letting Quinlys catch me without a haircut." Since both the brownrider and the bluerider probably know how that would have played out. "Z'kiel didn't mean to, at least I'm fairly sure he didn't mean to, I sort of ran out of the bathing caverns in a towel," For the last she exhales slowly. "It is against etiquette and protocol to deck your weyrleader, even if he may kind of deserve it." She shakes her head, "I don't know what the fuck I'm doing anymore Alida. I feel like my whole life has been shanghaied by a moody teenage boy with water on the brain, and no matter what I do, no one is happy." Drinking is chased by listening - something Alida can do well, if she's truly inclined - and the blonde's lips twitch into a spontaneous smirk for word of Z'kiel, though both Quinlys and K'del earn a faint curl of the bluerider's upper lip. There's a small bob of head and a faint shrug for the weyrling's words of not decking their Weyrleader, and - though she seemed about to say something else - the full rider changes her mental tack quickly in response to that latter statement. "Well...it kind-uv' *has*." Eyeroll-sip. "I know this ain't easy at all, 'r likely whatcha' wanna hear... But, ultimately, it's yer job ta' hang on, work *past* the rip currents an' whirlpools. Hopefully there'll be calmer waters, once 'e's got a Turn an' a bit more on 'im." A lift of her glass to the weyrling and another sip might silently say, 'Good luck.' Still, "I promise you; most uv' 'em *do* grow up." Unless the dragon in question is Teisyth, of course. Oh, almost forgot! "*Both* uv' 'em need a good beating...fuckin' holier than thou ares." Sneer. "Lemme tell ya; *any* uv my own weyrlingmasters would've been punched if they'd tried ta chop off *my* hair." Cue a pugnacious thrust of the bluerider's jaw, a blaze in her eyes that Edyis should know well: nasty Alida. "Even Maera, Faranth bless 'er." Smirk. "So; what did our oh-so-moral 'leader yell atcha' about?" "He was pissed because I told him I didn't want Akluseth. That I hadn't meant to impress him. I mean I should know better than to tell the truth by now right? That is the thing always getting me into trouble." She takes another long pull from her mug. "I'm not in control of my life anymore; those were the exact words. Like... like I'm just back to being something bartered and owned. I hate it, I fucking hate it." There's a lowering of heavily-lashed eyelids to conceal what's within Alida's greens as Edyis continues to speak, the bluerider sipping quietly from her glass as she contains herself and her reactions inside in order to try and better hear Edyis out. Give the woman a few silent moments to collect her thoughts and frame her words, and she'll reply in quiet alto, "I know wha'cha' mean." Sip. "I didn't mean ta Impress Ilicaeth, either. Then I get this sandstormin' chunk uv granite in my head, fuckin' around in my brain...reachin' places...*things* I never wanted ta unbury." Scowl. "I...I actually was incredibly resentful uv' him fer months, when I allowed myself ta admit it." Sip, lip-twist. "An' guilty as all shit over it." Scowl. Finally, her too-lucid greens lift to the weyrling's inky gaze, fasten there in their typical merciless fashion. "And *I* gotta lifemate who actually compliments me in many ways. Both guards, both warriors...pragmatic..." A few hand waves upon the air beside her hints at much more...but most especially an inability to vocalize her emotions well. A sudden, if lengthy sigh puffs the air between them, taints it with alcohol vapors before the blonde speaks again. "Sometimes...I *still* do resent 'im...on days when I miss bein' the only one in charge uv' myself...my life. When I *want* ta be able ta punch a Weyrleader 'r Weyrlingmaster, an' not drag down someone else who needs this place a fuckload more than *I* do." Someone like Ilicaeth. Alida still sounds bitter about this fact of her life. Though... "But most days, that shit either gets glossed over 'r even fer'gotten in the better stuff, Ed." There's a slight lean in over the table's top towards the weyrling, as if to share some massive, dark secret with her. "Like havin' someone closer-th'n-close: in my guts, in *me*, who's got my back without question...100 percent. Someone who cares about me so much that they literally live an' die fer me." The emotion felt about Ilicaeth is behind the slightly older woman's eyes, held partially in check by force of will, though her voice is intense. "*He's* the very first...*anyone* who managed ta reach everything inside me, an' not only come out whole, but embrace me for everything I am." A faint shiver courses over pale skin, making small goosebumps form before the bluie mutters, "He still tries ta slowly work on makin' me better, uv' course." Snert. "Damned fool dragon." Her tone is bitter-sweet over that, echoed by a harsh shake of her pale head. The young woman listens, and there is something pained in her expression. "I wish... I wish I could feel that way about him. Instead of looking at him and thinking, what a foolish mistake." Looking guiltily into her mug then as it is set down on the table. "Seems like all I can see around me anymore is the bars on the cage. I was whole before. I was complete before. I wasn't some lost kid looking for their other half. It's just... too much. And even if I had been prepared for it It wouldn't have been enough." Is there anything that Alida can honestly say to ease Edyis, or to give her hope? Want of such is seen in a twitching-down of the corners of her mouth, in the wrinkle that forms between brows...but all the blonde can struggle to come up with is a low, but blunt, "Then *own* yer mistake, Edyis." The lock of greens to inky eyes is unflinching. "I know I've said before, what's done is done. You Stood; he actually *did* choose you...an' there's no goin' back." Sigh, sip. "What would y' do in a life without 'im, if you screwed up royally?" Beat. "I *hope* ya'd take a few moments ta rage bloody murder to the skies over it, kick a few people in the teeth, be depressed fer all uv' a minute...and then pick up yer sticks an' *go on.* Even if only ta be able ta look people in the eye Turns afterward, spit on their boots, and say truthfully to their faces that "I *did* it. I did better than ANY uv you fuckers ever thought I could. I made this mess my OWN." The thoughts that wage war in her head are all too evident in her expression. What would life be like without the (not so little anymore) brown? It's probably not the path of thought the bluerider intended. It is a sobering thing, as Edyis meets that gaze and looks away in shame. "He is my responsibility now, isn't he? Same as my siblings, same as Esvay." She looks like she's been hit in the belly with an anvil. It *is* actually, though only partially, what Alida intended. And so, when Edyis looks away in shame, the bluerider allows herself to relax just a little, and actually moves one hand out to try and grasp one of the weyrling's own mitts, for a moment. "He *is*. And, when he gets older, you'll be his responsibility too, in some ways." Grunt, sip. "S'what it's like fer me an' Ilicaeth, anyway. *He* helps almost all the time with my... temper." Smirk. "Tries ta steer me towards somewhat better paths, when he can. Puts up with a lotta' shit that nobody else but *he* would." More alcohol is poured into her glass from the third-full bottle, lifted up to her inspecting gaze before the guard mutters, "It still ain't easy enough days, Ed... I won't lie ta ya. But... we *work* on'it a lot." Sip. "Team effort...an' ya both gotta be in on *that* all the way." To Ilicaeth, Akluseth projects « Since you are kidnapping and keeping my rider detained, mind catching me something to eat? I'm famished and she isn't listening. » Grumble, grumble. *Hardly* kidnapping. Edyis isn't a kid! Haw. « You got some stones, kid. » Swirl-smirk-scour. « Wherry; take it 'r leave it. » The blue lazily launches from the Rim, stalks the pens with half-lidded, blue eyes focusing upon a scrawny avian. As he tries to single it out from the rest of the panicing flock, Ilicaeth comments, « *She's* got a lotta' shit on 'er mind. Give 'er a little peace ta try an' sort it out, fer now. » Humans and their internal complications. (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) "I am a worse person with Akluseth, but it isn't his fault. If I don't tune him out I can't focus enough not to say the things I shouldn't say." She says with a frown, "But if something happened to him... if it was my fault, I wouldn't be able to live with the guilt." She exhales dark eyes glinting, the promise of more tears perhaps? It seems a day for them. "He's just so frustrating sometimes." She mutters with newfound irritation. Two giant boulders are heaved into desert sands with tremendous force, ocean tides seeping into the sands. Stones? Surely this is what Ilicaeth meant. « So long as it is a big one. Though... I probably should just go catch my own dinner. I could do it, you know. » (To Ilicaeth from Akluseth) That admission almost makes Alida flinch, but she holds back the reaction, instead offers a non-committal grunt, finally a nod. "He is who he is, you are who you are. Work ta'gether, Ed. Let 'im know that ya' need enough parts uv' yer head ta be off-limits ta him at particular times...when ya need ta concentrate, 'r whatever." A swirl of her scotch on the rocks leads into a thoughtful, "He'll likely want 'is own concessions, too. Only fair. Just be as up-front as you can with 'im. He deserves that as much as you do." Truth. "And, while e's' growin' up...*try* ta be as understandin' as you can about 'is bad points." Puff. "Like Ilicaeth reminds me sometimes, all uv us were stupid kids, once." Eyeroll. Oh! "And those times ya can't hold in the anger 'r the irritation...try ta blow it off in a way that does the least amount uv' harm ta both uv' ya." Beat. "Fer *me*, it's still beatin' a punching bag ta death..." A sip of her drink trails into an uncomfortable silence, into which he blonde somewhat shamefully admits - her eyes downcast - "An' sometimes - when I'm beyond livid - I punch *him*." Talk about feeling like shit. "With 'is full permission; because he c'n take it easily, without any injury." Nope; not quite right, kid, though the heaving of those prodigious boulders is reason for a cheer...though it's echo-y, and seems to eminate as a reflection of an arena's throng from another dragon's mind. Chuckle. « You gotta' do that only when *both* uv you 're ready. If *you* screw up an' get hurt huntin' before yer allowed time, it ain't only *you* that's gonna pay fer it. » Edyis will catch the Red Star. *If* Akluseth screws up or spouts off. It's not long before that 'large' (still scrawny, though) wherry is flown down, impaled neatly on talons, and then glided over to where the growing brown hangs out. Flop! « There ya go. » Eat hearty! (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) Ink-dark eyes lift then in surprise at the admission from her self-defense teacher. "Is it horrible for me to say that just knowing that, makes me feel better?" She lifts her mug. "Knowing that someone else struggles with it, not that any of it is ok, but knowing that it is normal for some pairs to feel that way." She exhales softly, "I can't imagine you ever doing anything that would really hurt Ilicaeth, even if you feel that way. So maybe there's hope yet for Akluseth and I." She muses. It's a mental sigh, all slithery and eel like. Petulant but not disobediant. The wherry? « THANKS MAN. » And he procedes to decend upon the lifeless beast with the intensity of sharks during a feeding frenzy. Feathers? POOF! There is a fluttery cloud of them forming. (To Ilicaeth from Akluseth) Edyis' surprise is reason for Alida to keep her guilty green eyes averted to her drink for a longer string of moments, the reaction a rarer one from the usually in-your-face woman. "Nah; not horrible." Beat. "In my eyes, 'r maybe the eyes uv' anyone in a much more complicated lifemate relationship, anyway." Nose-wrinkle. "We just... likely can't ever admit it t' the larger hoarde uv' pairs out there." Cue a negligent wave of the blonde's hand upon the air in the general direction of the Weyr-at-large. Not many folks could or would ever even begin to understand. There's a faint duck of head and an over-all darkening of Alida's features when the weyrling speaks of her never seeking to cause honest harm to the burly blue, and it seems almost as if she might say something else...but then silences herself. "There's hope, Ed. *If* you two work on yer issues almost every day. Little shit, big shit. A tiny bit, a whole lot. Whatever needs be; whatever works." Siiigh, stare. "And there's honestly likely gonna' be a few times when *neither* uv' ya are gonna wanna' have anything ta do with one another. Maybe fer seconds, maybe fer hours an' hours on end." Her guzzle of liquor preceeds the pinch of a nose as eyes water from the potent sting of even this mellow alcohol. "*Those* times, whether it's both uv' ya' at once, 'r just one uv' ya... Just *let it be*." Puff. "Maybe later you two'll be able ta try an' talk about it." « Welcome, kid... » Ilicaeth replies with cheeky humor to his 'sort-of adopted nephew,' the blue stepping away far enough to allow Akluseth to claim the wherry without feeling shadowed by the bigger dragon, though close enough that he can watch those proto-feathers fly...while internally laughing to himself. (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) "K'del accused me of fighting the system." She says after a long beat spent absorbing Alida's words. "Truth is, I haven't had much in the way of strict guidelines since I left Esvay. Points to accomplish, sure." Another pull from her mug as she thinks about it. "Weyrlinghood is different than anything I've done before. I'm used to marching orders and requests from people I'd go to the red star and back for, people I trust to have my back. This..." Sigh. Fluffy fluffy protofeathers. EVERYWHERE. He was hungry ok? The brown's enthusiasm only slowed by remembering that chewing is important. He doesn't seem to mind Ilicaeth's presence, the opposite in fact. Happy to have someone around after hours left alone against his own wishes. (To Ilicaeth from Akluseth) "Yeah? Well, K'del's a 'good ole boy' *from* the System," Alida spouts out low, though quite intensely, so as not to be overheard in this particular establishment. "He's got baby dick syndrome from bein' Weyrleader first at 17. Instead uv' learnin' how ta' deal better with whatever crap was handed to 'im, 'e let the rank go partly to 'is oh-so-superior head." There's ample venom in the bluerider's tight alto, that's for sure. "All 'e is now is a place-holder until some other bronze decides ta outfly Cadejoth...whom I personally don't have a thing against." Snert. His rider, though... Whee. "With two 'new' queens rulin' this roost, now, there could be some jarrin' changes comin' up in the next two, three Turns." Which the blonde looks both elated for and yet oddly wary about. But enough of her personal rant. Sip, squint. "You learned ta make yer *own* system in place uv what wasn't there for ya, Ed. Like I did, probably like Jo did, as well. We're...survivors. Adaptable - ta greater 'r lesser degrees - ta most systems an' people...includin' uppity ones like Irianke an' Farideh, 'r fatuous assholes like K'del." Oiy, rant starting again. Head shake. "Adapt to the best uv yer ability, but don't talk the fuckin' party line. Duck around wha'cha must, keep yer head low when the shit *really* starts ta' fly...an' ultimately, do yer own thing, be yer own person." Nod. "You see Jo hangin' around this shardin' morass uv' political fuckwittery, tryin' ta make Wingleader 'r Weyrsecond? Fuck *that*, my friend!" Snork, sip. "She's as free as she can be while still bein' part uv the Weyr and Wing, doin' 'er own things, pullin' 'er own strings." Siiiigh. Weyrlinghood? "I ge'cha." Sagenod, liptwist. Been there too many times, done that to death. Eyeroll. "I once tried ta explain ta Quinlys that people needed ta *earn* my full trust...that I couldn't just *give* it automatically, like some brainless machine." Scowl. "She took that preeeetty damned badly, let me tell you." Snicker. "Gave me some nasty words, in return. So, from that point on, I took only what I needed from 'er an' the rest uv' 'em ta learn how ta be a competent 'rider with a competent dragon...and took my own fucking lead on most uv' the other shit." A pointed look at Edyis is followed by her continued, low, "And *that*, my dear, is most uv' why the entrenched leadership uv' this place cannot deal with me." Ilicaeth actually lowers himself to his belly upon the stone so he can relax and watch not only Akluseth, but other dragons as they pass by upon wing or foot, though the young brown receives the lion's share of his focus. While their lifemates are on an unhappy rant, right now, the blue is content to mostly shut Alida's inner ire out so he can take in the re-energizing simplicity of just *being* in Akluseth's presence. And to the shower of those protofeathers comes a further one of mental feathers, their multi-colored plumages found in many of the tropics' avaians poofing hilariously all around the weyling dragon, like a ruptured feather bed being squished by bouncing kids. (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) Whatever Edyis had been expecting, it certainly hadn't been that. "Would you prefer an asshole like H'vier? K'del may have his flaws... but he's predictable and he cares. I can think of two bronze riders in the whole damn weyr I'd trust, and one of them doesn't want the job anymore." She pauses, brow furrowing, "Ok, Maybe three if we are counting baby bronzes." She muses with a deep sigh. "Being my own person is what got me into this whole damn mess in the first place. I'm not supposed to be myself I am supposed to be some cookie cutter version of a rider. That or spend my days eating dirt." Feathers become fishes, vividly colored and dancing on the currents. Unhappiness and frustration forgot in the wild dance of color. That he finishes his meal too quickly is probably damning for his rider. Still the little blue seems content to enjoy his uncle's company. Padding over and plopping next to him, looking very much like a kitten next to a full grown feline, learning to hunt. The motion is swift, and those floating protofeathers stood no chance against his might! The pounce has a mouthful of them before his tongue flicks in and out trying to get them to unstick. (To Ilicaeth from Akluseth) "I'd *prefer* someone more like Azay..." Damn it. Alida lowers her hot gaze to the tabletop, shakes her head, and sighs. "Some folk bitch about her style bein' too laid-back, too indirect, yadda-yadda... but bullshit talks, while money walks." Again, she's staring at Edyis. "Azaylia walked 'er walk...and the proof came after..." Swallow. "After she died. Enough people in this Weyr respected or loved her." Indeed. "Loyalty from bein' *herself*; not a cookie-cutter person." As for the weyrling's latter words, "And being a cookie cutter's gonna make it any easier? Y'll likely just be miserable, but in a different way." The bluerider suddenly pounds down the rest of her scotch, starts pouring another for herself...and then holds back half of what she was *going* to pour. No drunken binges tonight. "Be...selective in wha'cha stick yer neck out for. Like I said: choose yer battles." Unlike Alida, who made enough of her own Weyrlinghood a kind of muted war. Still, her maind can't help but return to their previous topic, and she finds herself muttering a low, "Any uv' yer fellow weyrlings stick out as potential leadership material?" Fish, feathers, and even Ilicaeth's (exceedingly rare) dolphins! They all come out to play in an utterly chaotic parade of impossible colors - all cavorting in Akluseth's blue and tropical seas - while the rich scent of tropical rainforest's loam swirls on the air with them. With the young brown's flopping down beside him comes a playful, though conservative bump of Ilicaeth's nose to the weyrling's back, plus a lazy flick of tail to brown haunches that feels much like a 'tag.' You're it. Or maybe those multi-colored, mental feathers are it, as they continue erupt, spray, and cavort upon the breeze. Ptooie! (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) "Too early to tell." She says of the other weyrlings, "I imagine the whole lot of us are still rough around the edges. Though next month, we will see who the weyrlingmasters think have the balls for it. Silver thread announcements start in month three if I remember correctly. Should be interesting since they posted for volunteers to go to Igen." She smirks, "I can tell you whose name will not be on the list. I think I got myself on Quinlys's shit list from day one. I'd be lying if I didn't say I have contemplated sticking a bucket of pitch above her office door. The thought sustains me through hours and hours of tedious essay writing." Tag? It's on, now almost taller than Edyis at the shoulder it isn't quite as comical as it used to be, or maybe it is since he goes after the blue's haunch with a playful bite, not enough to pierce hide but it might pinch a bit if the baby brown gets a good enough grip. (To Ilicaeth from Akluseth) "Fair enough..." Alida murmurs about a more slender sip of her iced drink, green eyes drifting around to take in the whos and wheres, whys of the Lounge before returning to Edyis. "That program's a carrot, anyway: bait 'em in, keep 'em busy an' under their thumb. Then use the whip an' scare tactics when the weyrlings in it don' jump through the hoops like good little pea-brains." Snerk. "Anyone c'n get on *that* particular shit list. Just think fer yerself." Eyeroll, sip. There's a wicked gleam in green eyes for thought of dumping pitch on the Weyrlingmaster's head, but Alida only comments, "Too hot, anyway. There's more...creative substances one can use." Smirkie. "How's exams?" All over that granite, greyed-blue hide are small and sometimes larger scars - bourne with pride and perhaps wistful memory - from Ilicaeth's 'battles' with his dam, with Tacuseth, two of the very very few dragons who would or will give him a real run for his money. Thus, Akluseth's bright pinch of a bite receives first a mock-creel from the larger blue, followed by rumbling 'laughter' and a light nosebutt to his haunches that might feel like a playful, but still firm punch to a human's bicep. He's not looking to harm the 'little' fella, but Ilicaeth's not treating Akluseth like a piece of glass, either. In time with his 'creel,' fish and feathers explode in a humongous puff of mental air. WHOOSH! (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) "Carrots happen to be quite good for you." She smirks back, with a lift of her shoulders. "I used to think maybe if I could get through weyrlinghood, graduate at the top of the class and prove my way into Savannah things would be ok. Reality is nothing like the dream it would seem. I will settle for getting through weyrlinghood, and figuring out the rest as it comes." There's a scrunch of her nose for exams. "I got a B- in Arithmetic." Unacceptable in her eyes. "But if it hadn't been for Ilicaeth playing dragon sitter I would have done worse. I'm getting better at blocking Akluseth, but he can be so distracting sometimes. I got A's in everything else." The nose bump has him all but flipping over himself to get away, tail twitching as faceted eyes regard the larger blue with intent scrutiny. Whoosh! It's the tail next, sufficiently far away from the tip for the little brown to go after it with gusto. Fishes and feathers punctuating his bold (in his own head) heroism. (To Ilicaeth from Akluseth)
« 'Cause yer the redfruit uv my eye... » Ilicaeth responds to the thought, his mind mixed sarcasam and genial affection. Humans... yeesh. (Ilicaeth to Alida) Snerk. "Fuck you very much, too..." Smirk. That last darkly humored statement is apparently not meant for Edyis, since Alida's gaze is turned partially inward for a few moments. "Doin' better than I did, overall. History was my personal pain. Only a B minus. A in Math. Mixed A's an' B's in everything else." Anyone in the know would...know, but enough of the uninformed might make the mistake of thinking of the blonde as a little to 'grunt-ish' to be smarter. Surprise, punk! Mental laughter of the genial, though still raspy sort accompanies Ilicaeth's leaping of colorful entities in their shared playground, the burly blue now tempting Akluseth with his often-twitching, rarely still tail...the overly-lengthy appendage flicking, vibrating, and playfully swatting and darting all over to tempt the growing squirt. En guarde! (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) "I take it you are still bitter about being stuck under F'manis?" Dark eyes lift to meet those green ones. She laughs, "Between Ilicaeth and Tacuseth I've been able to get a moment to think clearly. He's all energy, which can be nice sometimes, but exhausting others." She murmurs of her lifemate thoughtfully. She grins crookedly, "Never would have pegged you for a brainiac." Filing away that little tidbit for future reference. "It's etiquette right now that is killing me. I can't remember the proper forms of address to save my life, and I have six pages of notes on them." Sigh. "Maybe it will be better when we get away from basics." Draining the last of her mug ruefully. Attaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack! Pounce, retreat, pounce, retreat, hours of entertainment for any young dragon. (To Ilicaeth from Akluseth) The look Alida 'awards' Edyis for her inquiry says it all: 'You *think*!?!' Eyeroll. "Glacier's home. Our home." Period. No other Wing will ever do as well, an especially not the one that formely was home to K'del. As for being pegged as a braniac, the bluerider merely shrugs, and takes the last sip from her glass. Just another unknown facet of Alida that she seems to prefer to keep quiet about. "Etiquette?" Snert. "I was forced ta learn it while bein' a Guard. Fuckin' addressin' everybody in Pern's creation... "Lord blah; Lady blab-blah; Weyrleader suck-my-dick." Nose-wrinkle. "Basics 're tedious. Specialties, now..." Cue a wicked grin, the blonde slowly pushing away from their table, then standing slowly, stretching like a tiger. "One can hope." Yawn, snert. "Ilicaeth's glad ta hobknob with the littles, as long as they're not assholes. It's a nice distraction fer 'im." A look at the water-works clock behind the bar informs the bluie and perhaps Edyis, too that, "Looks like time fer you ta turn in. If you choose ta stay out after curfew, I ain't bein' a party ta it, ta'night." Smirk. Only once in awhile does Ilicaeth either allow his tail to be tackled, or find it honestly captured, those latter instances gaining Akluseth a wordless chuff of approval for his skill, though all of their play is enjoyed...up until there's a wordless summons to nab the two humans down from the Lounge. A slow sigh of faint resentment and much more inevitability is heaved, the blue moving cautiously to get to his feet as he informs the little brown, « Gotta' go an' grab ours. » A quick, affectionate 'whuff' is given to Akluseth's neck, if possible, before 'uncle' Ilicaeth seeks to move away far enough to spread his prodigious, eye-marked wings wide, and hurl himself skyward. (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) Edyis nods, looking to the clock herself. "I need to give Akluseth a good oiling." Her brows draw together, "And thank Ilicaeth for feeding him." A sharp frown accompanying the words. "I've been neglecting him today." Extra oiling and massage are definitely due. There's another breath. "And Alida? Thanks. It's nice to talk to someone who understands." It is the 'ours' that draws the little(er) brown's attention, tail twitching gleefully. Propped on his haunches awaiting Edyis's return. (To Ilicaeth from Akluseth) "Just think uv' all ya' have ta look forward ta oiling when he's at least Ilicaeth's size." Snork. "Done," Alida comments blithely, and informes Edyis, "He was happy ta do it. They've been having fun." Headbob. As the pair of women walk past the bar, the blonde passes over the stoppered bottle, pays the 'tender with the proper coinage, and then murmurs quietly to the weyling, "Not a problem. Figure *somebody* might benefit from some uv' my extra 'baggage.' Smirkie. It's only when the two women are out and finally flying upon the burly blue dragon that Alida attempts to pass over her small hip flask to the brownie with an alto, "Give ya a few more sips uv' our special, imported blend, if ya want. Maybe make it a little easier ta sleep, ta'night." Pause. "If ya get buzzed 'r open yer yap about this, I'll deny ever giving ya some extra." Yeaaap; it's lifemate time! « Be good ta yers, kid. » is all that the blue dragon has to say to Akluseth before he's taking his leave. Delivery upon request time! (To Akluseth from Ilicaeth) "He's going to be bigger than Ilicaeth." She realizes in mute horror." Edyis politely declines the flask, "Still only one drink. I'd rather not push things." Scratching at the back of her neck, "I'm glad it's turning out well though, hopefully I'll be able to furnish a weyr in six months and pay for some nice leathers." Ah the dreams of youth. "I really need to get back to Akluseth. I left him alone for most of the day." As she will. Alida tucks the half-full flask back onto her riding belt, the blonde then calling over her shoulder to Edyis, "And well before that, y'll not need someone else's wings ta ge'cha up here." Nod. As for neglect of Akluseth, there's a more measured, "if ya need more physical space, try meditating. Heard uv that from one of the families I sometimes visit." And take care of on occasion. "It seems ta help me at least half the time...focusin' on things I want to inside uv' myself, when I can't get away, physically." Still, "Don't neglect 'im, Ed. Even if 'e *is* tougher...bratlings need that nearness." Shrug. And down they glide, to land not far away from the upright, awaiting, perhaps even puppyish brown, Ilicaeth offering a quieter warble of re-greeting as he allows his passengers to dismount. "Night, kids," Alida intones thoughtfully, then guiding her blue into a launch skyward towards their own weyr. |
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