To Walk, Not Fly

[Dragonmage]

It was a fine summer day for everyone at Eden Weyr, well almost everyone. For one pair in particular, the day was not so perfect. The pair in question was N'vura and Skelth. The poor green was hungry, but hunting as a dragon usually did, by air, was utterly out of the question for her. Lopsided wings made flight for any length of time difficult and the kind of manuvering used in hunting almost impossible. If any other dragon and rider saw the green hunting, it would be horribly embarassing.

With the green walking, rather than flying like most dragons, it took them a short while to get to the beast pens. N'vura swung off his green and opened the gate to let her into the pen. Skelth, as usual, wanted to fly as little as she could, even avoiding it just to pop over the fence. Crouching close to the ground, the green began to stalk a herdbeast. Her flowing gait on the ground gave her an advantage at this because she would not have to hop as much and perhaps panic her prey that way.

Skelth leapt at a small, piebald herdbeast and brought it down. Tearing into the belly, she nosed for the heart and lungs first. They were the parts that she liked best but didn't always get. Sometimes other dragons would chase her away from her meal. Their riders would allow them to do so because the riders thought she should have betweened at her hatching rather than live when she looked so unnatural. Her rider had argued that by that logic, Eden Weyr would not even exist because it was founded as a refuge for mutants. N'vura's logic had clearly gone right over their heads, because they did not stop tormenting the green and to a lesser extent, her rider.

[Desert]

A deep shadow fell over the greenpair; one that grew in size at an alarming rate, and caused the herdbeasts to low in panic and mill about in the confines of the pen. Suddenly the air erupted into a frenzy around Skelth, as with thunderous wingbeats another dragon pulled out of a stoop. The other dragon landed heavily on his prey, snapping their bones with a sickening crunch -- for he'd brought down two beasts at once -- and stood poised for an instant over the carnage with wings held away from his body in a dramatic pose. Dharth, for what other dragon was big enough to perform a double-kill so easily, simply by landing with one beast under each paw, turned to observe Skelth's feeding before tearing into his own snack.

Good day, Skelth,[/b][/color] Dharth greeted politely, dipping his head to the green. I hope I find you and Yours well.[/b][/color] The big black let his haunches sink to the ground as he lowered his head to take a bite of herdbeast. As he began to eat, K'dran sauntered up to the pens in his dragon's wake. The blackrider nodded to N'vura, acknowledging his wingrider's presence, then proceeded to lean against a fencepost and stare into the distance.

A stocky emerald glided up to the pens and circled around Skelth, looking like he was about to swoop down and drive her off, when a sudden gout of flame made the burly male squeal in shock. The emerald turned to stare at Dharth, who was eyeing him coldly, maw agape to release another emmision. Have some manners, Plaenyth! Be off, fool -- you can eat later, and do not be a lazy wher and steal another's kill when you do. Away![/b][/color] A snap of the big black's jaws nearly took the tip from the emerald's tail as Plaenyth turned to flee from Dharth's wrath. The emerald's rider jogged up, looking indignant, when an icy glare from K'dran warned him off. Even though he was very much the lesser evil, many of Eden's riders were still wary of K'dran, as if afraid that his dragon's tendencies might have bled over. And if there was one thing that pissed K'dran off, it was situations such as the one he and Dharth had just deflected. Perhaps it was the recently awakened paternal instincts, who knew.

Dharth snorted in the direction Plaenyth had taken, then lowered his forequarters to the ground to look at Skelth more easily. Does that happen to you very frequently, Skelth?[/b][/color] he inquired, inclining his head to one side. He knew it did, considering she was technically in his wing, but it never hurt to ask.

K'dran ignored Dharth's conversation with Skelth, though he hoped the big black wasn't getting it into his head to try another of his mind-games. Instead, he glanced at N'vura. He really did pity the man's plight, having to put up with the Weyr's ridicule. A green in Eden Weyr was bound to be heaped with scorn, but a rather deformed one such as Skelth doubly so. And there was doubtlessly no way she'd be accepted into another Weyr, so they were trapped. K'dran had agreed to take the long-suffering greenpair into his wing when the dilemma came up -- a rare moment of compassion, since Y'zem didn't want a sport green in his wing. K'dran spared a thought of scorn for the insular fool and rolled his eyes. He personally thought the tempestrider was a singularly useless man, though his saving grace was a natural affinity for leadership.
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[Dragonmage]

Skelth only blinked to avoid getting dust in her eyes when Dharth dove down and crushed a herdbeast in each front paw. He was a rare beast among the dragons of Eden Weyr, one who would not bully her every time he had the chance to do so. In a way, she liked the big black. No, not exactly liked, the best way to describe her attitude would be a respectful, yet friendly distance between the green and the black. N'vura had nodded in acknowledgement of his wingleader, but since K'dran did not try to engage him in conversation, he let the silence remain.

Good day to you too, Dharth. I and Mine are as well as could be expected. And you and Your's?

Skelth's eyes had changed from a calm soft blue as she ate to a bright yellow-orange that looked very odd against her yellow-green face when the emerald had circled around her. Plaenyth was one of the several dragons who found it far easier to drive her off a kill than to bother hunting for themselves. She had to hunt more often than most dragons anyway, so why work for their meals and risk not making a kill on their first dive if she was already on a carcass and they could just take it? Her eyes whirled a happy deep green when Dharth flamed at the emerald and nearly bit Plaenyth's tail. Her head drooped as he asked the question that she tried so hard to pretend was not a problem.

Yes, Dharth. Other dragons often steal my kills, the lazy tunnelsnakes. I can not very well keep them away and I must hunt more often than most dragons anyway.

Skelth's deeply divided tail lashed about in frustration. What made them think they had the right to come in and steal the prey she had worked hard to catch? They could fly well and so had an easy advantage over the herdbeasts, one that she did not share with the mismatched wings that made any flight hard work for her.

[Desert]

Dharth shook his massive head slowly. More the fools they. How hypocritical. Eden was founded as a refuge for outcasts who had been looked down upon for their mutations, and yet they would heap scorn on you.[/b][/color] The big black used one forepaw to nudge his second kill over to Skelth. Here, I am not very hungry, so consider this a small repayment for the trouble others have visited on you in the past.[/b][/color] He gaped a slight smile at the green and winked one seafoam-wheeling eye encouragingly.

K'dran glanced sharply at his dragon. He'd seen this trend too often not to know where Dharth was going, and since the last trick like this the black had pulled, the blackrider had grown enough spine to object. Dharth, please don't start this again. These two go through enough without you being your typical self.

Dharth outwardly ignored his rider's comment, though mentally the big black seethed. And what does the welfare of one greenpair matter to you, K'dran? They are singularly useless as part of the wing, I don't even know why you let them on -- you should have just let that incompetent fool Y'zem deal with them. Keep your tongue behind your teeth if you value its attachment to your body,[/b][/color] he hissed. To hide the sudden eruption of red in his eyes from Skelth, Dharth closed them, as if he was basking in the balmy summer afternoon.

If someone tries to pull that stunt on you again, Skelth, please let me know. I would be a sorry Wingleader if I could not keep a few bullies in line -- I can tell you right now that Plaenyth and His are in for extra shifts of watch duty,[/b][/color] Dharth commented to the green, once his temper was under control enough that she wouldn't sense the ire through his mind-voice. K'dran rolled his eyes and considered walking away -- for right now, Dharth was still in the building of trust stage, and he figured it would be easier to alert N'vura to Dharth's conniving when he wasn't within easy reaching distance. At the moment there wasn't much harm in waiting, and K'dran didn't want to be mauled again. Dharth remarked that this was a wise choice, to which K'dran bit back a sigh.
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[Dragonmage]

Skelth's eyes changed to a whirling of shock as Dharth pushed one of the herdbeasts towards her. A black, a king of Eden, giving her the food that he had caught. This was something that she would never have expected to happen, not even in her wildest dreams. One paw delicately pulled the rather crushed beast towards her.

Thank you Dharth. You did not have to do that for me. I'm just a little mismatched green.

Carefully with one eye on the sky, where other dragons might dive from to steal her prey, Skelth returned to her meal. Her bulky head moved with surprising precision to pull out the best parts of the beast. The intestines made her wrinkle her nose as she pulled them out and shoved them aside. If Plaenyth really wanted those nasty parts of the beast he could have them. After she removed the bladder, gallbladder, and other parts that she had learned from experience made the meat taste bad, Skelth returned to feeding.

Soon enough, the carcass was stripped to almost bare bones. The green tapped the head firmly with a front paw and felt the skull crack under the force. Tearing the skin with her teeth, Skelth broke through the bone and slurped up the mushy brain. She was nearly done with this beast. There was just one more treat left. This was one that other dragons might not know about but she liked, even if it took a little work to get to it. Skelth took one of the long bones in her mouth and wriggled it back to her molars. The bone crunched and cracked as she bit down. If dragons could smirk, the green would have as she let the bone fall and pried it open. The anticipation of the taste was almost better than the taste itself. The marrow jiggled in the hard walls of the bone as Skelth licked it up. The process repeated with each of the long marrow filled bones she so loved.

The green paused as she dropped the last bone. Should she go catch another herdbeast and eat it her way? That might insult Dharth who had given her one of his, but the way he had landed on it had probably crushed the organs that would taint the meat. Just because some dragons would eat anything that was edible did not mean she would.

[Desert]

Skelth's shock was clear, in her posture, eyes and mind-voice, as Dharth gave her his spare kill. He gaped a smile at her as he answered, Do not say 'just', Skelth. No one of us is 'just' anything. The others may not see anything of worth in you, but they are fools blinded by prejudice. It was only an accident of birth that made you what you are, just as it did me and everyone else. Events out of our control do not define us -- the ones who believe that are naught but idiots, so their opinions do not count. Only a fool rises to the bait of another fool, and you are no fool, Skelth.[/b][/color] Dharth extended his head to gently touch the top of her head with the tip of his muzzle before pulling back nonchalantly -- as if it wasn't completely uncharacteristic of him to speak and act so with other dragons -- to attend to his meal.

Dharth picked up his herdbeast in his maw and tossed his head back a few times to arrange it properly in his mouth, then simply swallowed. The two he'd taken down were fairly small -- he'd told Skelth truthfully that he wasn't that hungry -- so it was easier for him to just eat them whole and not bother spreading gore about eating them the traditional way. Dharth was ever a neat eater, so he contempted the other dragons who dug messily into their kills and ended up with blood all over themselves. Barbaric. K'dran suppressed a snort at that -- listen to the grass calling the leaves green! There were times when Dharth could be ridiculously prim and OCD. If Dharth hadn't been the hulking, ill-tempered behemoth he was it would have been comical.

Once the herdbeast was nothing but a memory, the big black glanced over at Skelth, eating her own prey. Dharth could appreciate the neat, selective way she devoured the beast, so as if in approval of her habits he stood guard over her kills as she ate. Another dragon glided up, eyes whirling with greedy orange streaks, and looked about to pounce on the kill Dharth had donated until the black in question sent the chrome on her way with a baleful hiss. As she turned tail and fled, Dharth snorted scornfully. For all their snarky tempers, chromes were cowards deep down; he probably had only needed to level a harsh glare on the chrome to make her change her mind, but the vocalization had been audible to Skelth so she knew what had driven the bully off.

K'dran, meanwhile, was watching Dharth suspiciously. Really, what did he expect to gain from this? Dharth had played his games with others before -- it was something of a hobby -- but with this particular pair? It left a bad taste in his mouth to contemplate. He hadn't given a thought to it before, but not only had he not really cared before, but the victims of the black's machinations hadn't really had the preexisting troubles that Skelth and Hers did. K'dran sighed faintly and made a mental note to tip N'vura off to what Dharth was doing.

K'dran, if you ruin this, the consequences will be dire,[/b][/color] Dharth warned darkly.

A scathing snort was the blackrider's only response. He was too accustomed to Dharth's threats. He didn't enjoy the mauling, but he could take it, knowing full well that Dharth wouldn't inflict crippling or fatal injury. After so many Turns of being bonded to the behemoth he was as close to desensitized to such treatment as people got.

Dharth suppressed a growl -- he'd had to half-lid his eyes so that the streaks of red weren't obvious -- though his tail did twitch irritably. Otherwise, he outwardly looked the picture of indolent repose, lounging next to the feeding green. He hid the irate twitching of his tail by continuing the movement, lazily flopping the bifurcated tip side to side.
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[Dragonmage]

Skelth almost purred, if a dragon could purr, when Dharth brushed her head with his muzzle. Affection starved by other dragons as she was, it would be a miracle if the green was not seen hanging around Dharth constantly for a few days. Another dragon, this time a chrome, had clearly been circling the herdbeast that Dharth had given to Skelth from the big black's hiss. At the moment that she had caught sight of the chrome, the green had flared her mismatched wings and mantled over the carcass. The long electric green wing's spars dragged on the ground and threatened to tip Skelth over. With a practiced flip of the long wing, the green settled her wings to her back.

Thank you, Dharth. You are right to tell me that I was being a fool.

With a soft blue-green coloring her eyes, Skelth set to the second herdbeast of the day, the one that Dharth had given her. This would probably be enough for her. Even with the digestive problems created by the deep fork in her tail, she only had a green's stomach size. With the same delicate, graceful motions she had used on the first best, Skelth opened the belly of the squashed herdbeast. Flicking motions of her head tossed the bone shards out of her mouth. There was no good reason to cut her mouth up from the sharp points.

N'vura mused as he watched the pair of dragons. There were ways he had read about in the records of healing major wing sail injuries. Could those perhaps be adapted to help Skelth? If there was a way to attach the reeds used as support to her wingspars on the stunted wing and spread the cloth that was used as a surface for the sail to regrow on between the reeds and stitch it to the wingsail or something, perhaps the wingsail might lengthen and give her a more proportionate wing surface.

[Desert]

Dharth reopened one eye from his basking to regard Skelth evenly, the faintest of smiles touching his maw. I usually am right,[/b][/color] he remarked. But we all make mistakes.[/b][/color] The big black stretched his wings languidly; the span of one of the broad limbs easily threw a shadow over the green. As he withdrew the appendage to fold it against his back again, Dharth's wing-fingers skimmed teasingly over Skelth's shoulders. However, mistakes are not the end of the world. Our errors do not define us, nor do other aspects that are unchangeable and accidental.[/b][/color]

K'dran tried his utmost to ignore Dharth. Listening to his false concern and encouragement was irksome and distasteful, though he didn't quite trust Dharth enough to just walk away. He saw the spaced-out expression on N'vura's face and considered making conversation; no harm in that, and perhaps he could find a way to weave his warning subtly into the conversation.

Dharth left his head as it was, eyes open, unashamedly watching Skelth eat. His gaze wasn't disapproving or scornful, like so many were; if anything, it held a faint look of appraisal, and appreciation. A few streaks of seafoam injected into the calm lapis blue; playing this one well would lure her right onto his hook, and soon he would have another plaything until he grew bored.

ooc; grar short and ick, but it's a post. e_e[/size]