Early Morning Feeding|Open ^^

[elainsie]

]Rukbhat had hardly risen from beneath the horizon, its dim rays only providing a weak light to penetrate the darkness of morning and yet, if you looked hard enough, the form of a rider and a dragon could be spotted walking across the wide expanse separating Weyr from the Beast Pens.

From a distance it was hard to determine whether a male or female walked in the shadow of the smaller Jade, although had the light been just a bit brighter, and the viewer perhaps a bit closer, they would have realised.

Accalia had been glad of the walk from the Weyr, having met her dragon just on the outskirts of the Weyrbowl. Usually Rownith would have flown the pair down to the pens, Accalia afraid that if she took more than a few steps outside of their weyr she would trip and fall flat on her face for all the Weyr to see. However at this hour, few were about, and she felt confidant enough that they would come across no one else at the Pens who might see her fumble or make a fool of herself like she usually did.

}:You exaggerate, dear one. You have become a lot more steady on your feet over the Turns, and no one notices it to the extent you obsess over.:{

Accalia nodded, not unfamiliar with Rownith's reassurances, and while it did somewhat to calm her down, she still could not completely shake the feeling that everyone whispered and laughed about her behind her back when she spilt her klah, or ran into yet another rider coming down the stairs to the Dining Cavern. **I know you do not think it is so bad, but it's different for you. You are so graceful despite being a great deal larger than me, and yet my feet always seem to be in the way, or my arms in that position where one movement causes everything to go this way and the other. But if I had to choose between being graceful or having you, I would much rather trash the entire Weyr before give you up.** Even after their Turns together, Accalia could not get over her awe that the beautiful Rownith had chosen her from amongst all the Candidates who had vied for the Jade's attention.

The one other advantage of the pair's early visit to the Pens, was that with no other dragons about, Rownith's overly flirtatiousness was muted. There was no male around to impress, no female in which to feel jealousy towards. It could just be the pair of them, enjoying the cool breeze of the early morning as Rownith sated her hunger and Accalia watched on with fondness.

As they reached the Pen and Rownith chased after a rather large buck, Accalia stepped up on the fence, seating herself on the highest wrung, legs curled under the next post down. Rownith grabbed the creature between her front paws, the snapping sound of its back breaking reverbrating around the still grounds, as she settled back on the ground, and pushed a hungry maw into the flesh, her sharp white teeth penetrating deep within the animal. It had unnerved Accalia the first few times she had watched Rownith chase after prey and then demolish the carcass, but over the Turns her sensitivities had been lost, and she could watch the scene with an almost appreciation of its beauty, even if it was in a rather gruesome way.

**Don't eat quite so quickly, you'll make yourself ill.** Accalia commented idly, knowig Rownith rarely hardly heeded her words when it came to feeding time.

[Onyxaeon]

Broke the ring around it,
I can’t think about it.
I can barely start to even wrap my head around it.
Waters rise around us;
Sinking ships surround us.
I can‘t believe she even found a way inside to drown us.

<^Caileah^||^Asoth^>[/center][/color][/size][/b]

Mine. Mine! MINE! Asoth was bouncing up and down again, nosing her rider's side hurridely, as though Rukbat was falling out of the sky and about to crash into the Weyr. A low, barely audible grumble stumbled from Caileah's lips as she muttered something the Jade did not catch, rolling over onto her other side and burying herself back in the comforting warmth of the furs. It was far too early to be up, especially to that perpetually cheerful Jade who could only be Asoth. Mine! Asoth whined, prodding Hers with her snout more and snorting when her rider failed to rise yet again. She ceased for just an instant, studying her Mine for a moment before her eyes swirled a mischevious tint, the Jade's little neck lowering as she reached down, teeth gingerly grabbing a mass of furs and forcibly pulling them away from Caileah. The rider was taken with the furs, unfortunately, and brought rapidly into the floor. Asoth squeeked and started crooning her apologies as Caileah stared, dumbfounded for a few moments, up at her dragon. Faintly, she smiled, placing her palm on the rambling dragon's nose to cease her squabbling for a moment. "It's okay, love. I'm fine. Now, will you please tell me why you woke me up at Faranth only knows how early in the morning?" The Jaderider yawned, prying herself out from her coccoon in the furs and settling them back onto the bed before riffling through several drawers and getting dressed with slow patience. Cause it's beautiful outside and I'm hungry and you needed to get up anyway and I wanted to and you should do things like that more often and- Caileah held up a hand to stop the torrent of words, shaking her still fuzzy head to clear it of the muddled mass of reasons Asoth had jsut presented her with. With a sigh, she reached for a brush and tried for taming her locks. "Alright, I get it. We'll go get you some breakfast first, then I'll need some before heading back for a nap. I don't function this early in the morning."

Asoth pranced about eagerly, waiting for Hers on the ledge and barely pausing to allow her rider on before she took off, pinions flaring out to catch her slight weight as she glided carefully down to the feeding pens, watching the other Jade and her rider curiously for a moment before she turned, sliding Hers unceromonisouly off of her back and onto her arse as Asoth hopped over the fence and went looking in search of a wherry. Caileah sighed, heaving herself to her feet and dusting herself off, mumbling an 'ouch' for her sore bum as she walked over to the other Jaderider, somehow trying to fight back another yawn. "Morning. Did Rownith literally pull you out of bed, furs and all, this morning at the crack of dawn to be fed?"

Word Count: 507
Notes: Decent for a divided muse. -Pets Aeon-[/size][/color][/font]

[Desert]

A wash of hot, humid air reeking of sulfur and phosphine washed over K'dran, while a huge black muzzle hovered over his sprawled, sleeping form. The blackrider groaned and rolled over, burrowing under the furs to escape the attempts to rouse him.

If you do not get up I shall get you up, K'dran.[/b][/color] Dharth warned sharply, a rumbling grown bubbling up from his chest. His hot breath created a plume of mist around his rider's tousled head against the nippy winter morning air.

K'dran groaned again. "G'way." He tried to burrow further under the furs, but that tactic never worked long with Dharth. The big black took a fold on the fur in his maw and tugged, yanking the blanket off K'dran's body. Then the huge black muzzle enveloped K'dran himself, bodily lifting the rider out of the bed and plunk onto the floor. The breath was forced from K'dran's lungs at the jarring landing, and he balled up tightly to conserve heat, glaring murderously at his dragon.

Dharth chuckled slightly and pulled his head back out of the weyr. Good, you are awake. Now get dressed, I am hungry.[/b][/color]

The blackrider pulled on several layers of clothing with much bad-tempered huffing and stomping, and finally stalked to the porch of his treebound weyr to mount. Dharth took off into the cold winter air, the pre-dawn twilit gloom swirling around them and adding an extra bite to the air. K'dran gripped a back ridge and glared up at the sky, whick was vaultless and empty blue-black. A cloudless sky always meant colder temperatures, because clouds held in humidity.

Still, it seemed the the night sky and its twinkling myriad of stars were always the clearest on a bitter cold night. It was rather nice to crane one's head back and stare open-mouthed at the tractless reaches of the sky, with all its constellations and unexplored mysteries.

K'dran was snapped out of his reverie when Dharth landed with a jolt. He bruised his chest on an upraised dorsal ridge, cursing under his breath at Dharth. The dragon's amused rumble vibrated up through K'dran's body and sent a puff of steam from the black's parted jaws.

K'dran slid off his dragon's back and huddled into his riding jacket, still muttering sullenly to himself. He was not a morning person in the least, though Dharth took glee in rousing his rider at ungodly hours of the morning. He mostly ignored the two jaderiders and focused his attention on the splash of teal now spreading over the eastern horison, dawn's first stirrings.

He watched Rukbat begin to rise above the horizon, staining the sky with a spreading halo of rosy pink and molten gold. It was beautiful, to be sure. K'dran was never awake to watch the sun rise if he could help it, so as long as he was standing out here in the cold before daybreak he might as well enjoy the sights.

While his rider was watching the dawn, Dharth sated his appetite on a few herdbeasts. He watched the two jades as well, grinning to himself at the females' dainty manner. Jades were a perpetual amusement to the black, in the way that ants were fun to watch in their mindless scramble, antennae waving. They seemed to Dharth more like oversized fire lizards.

The big black finished his morning snack and stretched. He barely avoided buffetting Asoth with one wing as he fanned them to their fullest extent, though it was hardly on purpose since in the enclosed space of the beastpen his huge wingspan took up a lot of room. Good morning, Rownith, Asoth,[/b][/color] he greeted them politely, in a sociable mood for once.[/size][/color][/font]

[elainsie]

As Rownith ate, Accalia went over the things she needed to do today in her head. First of course she would need to get her own breakfast once Rownith was sated, her stomach sending her weak hunger signals already. And then she was meeting with a Journeyman Tailor to have some clothes altered that she had bought at the last Gather, then there were drills and then....

But her train of thought was interrupted at this point by the addition of the other Jade rider. So caught up in her owns thoughts she had not heard their arrival, and the other woman's voice startled her such that she had to grab tightly to the post to stop herself from toppling over. For this, she was rewarded with the top layer of skin being grated against the post a number of splinters imbedding shallowly. Trying to regain her composure quickly, and placing the damaged hand in her lap she shook her head in response.

"Quite the opposite in fact. I was the one who suggested we should come here so early. I thought it would be quiet at this time of morning. Rownith conceded, although grudgingly I may add. Then she realised just how hungry she was and it became a moot point. I'm guessing you were given little choice in the matter?" Accalia's face took on the hint of a smile.

While she had come here hoping to have the Pens to themselves at this time of the day, the other Jade rider's presence was not unwelcome. While not friends, she knew of Cailleah, and also knew the young woman was a rather shy and reserved person. This in fact made her the perfect company as far as Accalia was concerned, and she seemed not the type of person to make fun of her own misfortune and lack of balance.

And while Rownith would no doubt preen around a bit now with the addition of the other Jade, just to reassure herself of her own loveliness, at least there were no males around that required impressing.

However Accalia had just finished this thought when she was alerted to the arrival of yet another pair. And this time she felt her heart quicken in anxiety as she viewed the black and his rider make their way to the beasts. While she had accepted Cailleah as company the presence of a Wingleader was somewhat different. She could not explain what it was but Accalia always felt somewhat worse when around K'dran. The man's presence turned her into a bundle of nerves and of course this usual resulted in her becoming more clumsy than normal in her flustered state.

**Is the whole Weyr to join us this morning?** She thought privately to Rownith, now balling both hands tightly into her lap. **If you could finish up quickly than we can leave now. I don't want to disturb either pair.** Accalia added, contradicting her earlier message about eating slowly. However she knew her words were in vain. With the addition of the black in the pens the Jade would be going nowhere fast, delighted to have such wonderful company as a Black no less!

}:Good morning Dharth. And what entices you to my side so early? Surely the beasts would have remained had you come somewhat later. {: If not for the presence of Asoth, Rownith would have been perfectly content at the moment. Why did that other Jade have to come along and join, she thought somewhat grumpily.

Accalia noticed K'dran made no movement to join herself and Cailleah, hoping that perhaps the man would hold himself aloof while his beast fed. After all what could he possibly have to say to either of them? And how would Accalia come up with an appropriate answer without saying something ridiculous. As far as Accalia was aware the man knew very little about herself, and in her time at the Weyr she had very few exchanges with him. No there was no need to worry, she took a few calming breaths and smiled at Cailleah, even more glad for the other woman's presence. "Seems like it's busier than I thought it would be," Accalia added.

[Onyxaeon]

Broke the ring around it,
I can’t think about it.
I can barely start to even wrap my head around it.
Waters rise around us;
Sinking ships surround us.
I can‘t believe she even found a way inside to drown us.

<^Caileah^||^Asoth^>[/center][/color][/size][/b]


Asoth trotted about delicately, her clawed feet so lightly touching the surface of the ground that barely any vibration passed through it to alert her intended prey of an obviously heavy sleeper wherry. With a quick bolt, her neck shot out, extending just enough o have her jaws part, the ivory spears ripping through the wherry's tender flesh and tearing into tendons, muscles and bones. A soft series of cracks were all that signaled that beast had died of the impact, the rib cage shattering around the inner organs and making a right mess of things on the inside.

Padding back with a delighted step to her gait, she wandered directly up to Rownith and settled her lovely little prize down to feast, her snout roughly shoving its way through to tear away at the soft belly meat before her head inclined. She paused a moment, studying Dharth as though he had grown a second head and turned a royal shade of purple. It was a good mood today? Tail twitching lightly as if in a canine fashion, she perked up, her giddy, elated mood causing her to lose sight of Rownith simmering ill state of thought toward her as she looked up happily to her wingleader.

Good morning Dharth! While he was most likely not the morning person-dragon-she couldn't help but be the ANY time of day dragon, and her good moods just naturally flowed over into her mouth without thought on the matter. It was as though the emotional center of her brain was cut off from the frontal lobe, and her feelings were firing without check from the intelligence portion of her brain. Good morning to you too, Rownith. What drills do Yours and you have in mind for us today, Dharth?

Caileah nodded faintly, her arms crossing as she leaned carefully against one of the fence posts, her weary state lingering over and still heavily drowning her in slumber. "Asoth pulled me, furs and all, out of the bed," she stated softly, her head turning just a fraction to watch her graceful Jade pounce and catch herself a finely sized wherry that was to be her breakfast. As Accalia had, Caileah had grow quite used to watching her dragon's gory feedings, hearing bones snap clean in two and watching blood seep out from the puncture wounds. It didn't take as much for her as it did for most new weyrlings, though, because she had been raised entirely in the beastcraft and knew well what the animals that preyed on her family's livestock could do to their bovine. It had just taken a bit of imagination on her part to picture what a dragon could do and, once she had actually gotten the chance to see Asoth feed, it was nothing compared to the gruesome scenes she had pictured.

As her fellow Jaderider has tensed, so did a wave of uneasiness wash a slow tide across Caileah's muscles, though her reasoning far different than hers, she was certain. K'dran was her wingleader, and she a simple wingrider in the Black Sun wing. There was no telling what was exactly festering through his thoughts at any given moment, especially considering his Black seemed to be a right fine mood this day. She absently dipped her head in a brief, short courtesy, her eyes darting like a frantic doe back to Accalia for, though she was by all means timid and shy by nature, at least she could find some source of solace in the fact it wasn't just her that was unsettled. A weak smile touched her lips as she nodded to her words, eyes darting back over to Asoth as she sent silent prayer to Faranth that her Jade was not in a playful, flirting mood.[/font]

[Desert]

Dharth glanced over his shoulder at his rider after finishing his third prey item. He was, as usual, very neat in his eating; more so even that the two jades, for he wasted none of the meat by spreading it messily about. For such a big, sadistic dragon he could be quite civil when he put his mind to it. K'dran had never been disturbed by draconic eating habits, having been around them since he was a boy. Not much about dragonkind bothered him much; he'd been bonded to Dharth for too long.

K'dran, go be social. Those two jaderiders deserve at least a few words. One of them is your wingrider,[/b][/color] he commanded, a dragonic grin parting his muzzle. He sensed the two riders' unease around his own rider, and couldn't resist a bit of subtle manipulation. His good moods were when he could be the most sadistic, rather than his misanthropic fouler moods. K'dran rolled his eyes in response to the rising sardonic glee in the big black's thoughts. Oh come on. I am being social, so why not you?[/b][/color]

As both females spoke to him, Dharth turned his attention to Rownith and Asoth. Well, K'dran is so terribly lazy, I decided he should get up bright and early this morning,[/b][/color] he answered Rownith with a wry twitch of his tail. Probably the usual exersizes, Asoth. We still need to work on a few things before moving on to anything different.[/b][/color] Dharth was more the Wingleader than K'dran was, and even though he was a hard taskmaster to his wingriders, they did exceedingly well and were thus far the best-trained wing in the Weyr.

K'dran sighed heavily. In his current mood, Dharth would pester and cajole his rider until K'dran bent to his wishes, so the blackrider gave into the big dragon's whims and strolled over to the two jaderiders. "Morning," he remarked, stifling a yawn as he spoke. He had been half-listening to their idle chat as he watched dawn break, so he was able to jump right into the conversation. "It's interesting that your Asoth roused you like that, Caileah, because that's exactly what Dharth did to me. Though I think he took more malicious enjoyment out of it than she did," he added with a slightly sullen tone, jerking his head toward the feeding dragons.

In answer, a throaty chuckle bubbled up from the cavernous, scarred chest. Dharth didn't deny that he did indeed take much amusement from his rider's discomfiture when roused out of sleep too early. That was probably one reason why he blasted K'dran out of bed so early most days. It was just one of the little cruelties and taunts that made K'dran rue the day he'd been assaulted by the big black.[/size][/color][/font]

[elainsie]

By now Rownith was merely nimbling at the carcass of her latest wherry. Accalia knew the dragon was full, and yet she stubbornly denied she was, rather taking infintesimely small bites as if to prove her point. If only the black had not shown up they would have been gone by now, Rownith more than happy to curl up as she usually did after a large feed and Accalia safe from making an utter embrassment of herself in front of Cailleah or K'dran. She sighed inwardly, before respnding to the other Jade rider. "In that case I thank Faranth that Rownith never seems to have the urge to drag me out of bed. I believe the only time she would even think about doing so would be for a Mating Flight or perhaps if she believed there was some male dragon up and about that required her personal attnetion."

Her face took on a wry smile. Rownith was the complete opposite to herself in matters regarding males. While Rownith would preen and prance around them, revelling in the attention, Accalia was the type to try and shrink in the backgrounds and would under no circumstances approach any one she found attractive. The again Rownith was a stunning creature as far as Accalia's biased opinion was concerned, where as she was hardly the type to elicit lust within a man. As this thought crossed her mind she looked across at the delicate rider next to her. It was almost humorous to compare the two, Accalia far dwarfing the petite girl, and by association the younger rider making Accalia's own plainess even more apparent.

There was no doubt in her mind that this was why when K'dran finally deigned to approach them he directed the conversation the way of the pretty Jade rider. Although Accalia was relieved that she could keep her mouth shut, content to play the part of the mute watcher, her hands starting to feel clammy by his closeness, her heart beating a fast tatoo against her chest. She glanced down at her scratched hand, worrying at the splinters that had worked there way in.

}:Why are you so nervous dear one? It's not as if he's going to eat you. Relax, enjoy the man's company. Like I do.:{ Her tone taking on a languid, sensual tone. Accalia just shook her head, cringing inside. Rownith turned her attention back to the other two dragons. Jealous and petty she might well be, but the Jade was polite enough to acknowledge the other Jade's welcome. }:A good morning to you, you're hide is looking especially brilliant this morning,:{ Rownith admitted grudgingly, honest to a fault. She turned her triangular head back to Dharth, moving her body slightly so as to best catch the weak light, }:I am sure it will do him well to be up and about. And for I to have such delightful company as yourself.:{ She fluttered her wings up around her, before settling them down to her side, maintaining contact with the black as she did so.

**Shameless flirt,** Accalia shot at Rownith as she watched her dragon's display.

}:Stick in the mud,:{ Rownith replied, although the exchange was light-hearted between the two. }He's never going to look at you if you don't open your mouth and say something.:{

**Maybe I don't want to. Anyway he's talking to Cailleah, I would not want to interrupt.**

[Onyxaeon]

Broke the ring around it,
I can’t think about it.
I can barely start to even wrap my head around it.
Waters rise around us;
Sinking ships surround us.
I can‘t believe she even found a way inside to drown us.

<^Caileah^||^Asoth^>[/center][/color][/size][/b]


Aw, but those are so boring. Asoth mumbled sullenly, her spirits taking a dramatic plummet as though she had just been told her favorite type of meal wasn't in stock in the Pens anymore. True, Dharth and K'dran were strict Wingleaders and, even more true, the drills they had them to conduct daily were rigorous, but it was in the Weyr's best interest and there were good at what they did. No matter how much she hated the boring monotony to them, she couldn't deny those simple truths. I'm sowwy. I just don't like having to circle those odd end Roans when they get lazy, because I've got to fly circles around them to wake them up and then I can't work right. Asoth flinched when she said this, as if a thought she had not supposed to have said slipped unintentionally from her maw. Oh, she didn't want to get anyone in trouble! Taking a sudden bite out of her wherry, she hoped the Black hadn't been paying close attention. Especially not since it had been a slip of the tongue and she really was a gentle thing, pacifist and all. She was grateful when Rownith spoke, giving her the perfect out-or so she hoped-for her earlier slip up. Oh, you think so? Asoth lifted her head, craning her neck around to observe her glossy hide, the oiling from yesterday afternoon still lingering about heavily, for the only place she'd been since then was to bed, and not much could happen to someone while they were asleep. Thanks! Mine gave me an oiling yesterday and I guess it's gone and done its job. The Green perked up again, her spirits soaring once more as she gave a draconic grin to the other Jade's words. For once, she wasn't in an all too flirty mood-much to Caileah's sheer amazement and utter gratitude-and she was more than happy to stand by and let Rownith do all the possible flirting she wished, even goad herself into helping the matter. Mine doesn't glow on its own, though, like yours does. It has to have some help.

"Really? I'm sorry he's decided to be an early rouser this morning," Caileah feathered out, her words terribly light and, had it not been for the stillness of the morning air, it was probable no one would have heard her. Despite what Accalia thought, Caileah considered herself no great beauty, and was still terribly uncomfortable around most men.[/size][/color][/font]

[Desert]

"Oh, he usually does that. You should feel lucky, Accalia, that your Rownith doesn't rouse you so early." K'dran's tone was disgruntled, and he stifled another yawn and huddled into his wherhide jacket against the cool morning air.

Dharth watched the two jades with amusement coloring his eyes a jolly seafoam green. The females were an endless amusement to the big black, when he was in a mood to be amused. He let one eyelid slide closed in a lazy wink at Rownith as he spoke to Asoth. Oh yes, those roans are always a bit slow. They perk right up if you nip at their tail, though. Especially Chayth.[/b][/color] He rumbled a chuckle, remembering his Second's nervous reaction to having his stunted tail snapped at by his Wingleader.

Rownith's flirtatious behavior elicited a throaty chuckle from Dharth. he dipped his head to one side gallantly at the jade. You flatter me, Rownith,[/b][/color] he rumbled, letting his tail slither up to lightly tickle hers. Such a silver tongue you have, to a crusty brute like myself.[/b][/color]

K'dran tried to suppress his groan at Dharth's behavior. The big black was playing his favorite game, leading the female on by flirting back only to dash her hopes later. He knew better than to try and interfere, though, if he didn't want any more scars on him.

Then, the blackrider noticed Accalia's distraction, rubbing at her hand. He usually didn't take notice of that sort of thing, wrapped up in his own troubles, but once in a blue moon K'dran could be observant and come out of his shell. "Hurt your hand?" he asked, pointing to the limb in question. "I've got some numbweed, if you need it." He'd long ago gotten into the habit of carrying with him a small amount of numbweed, in case he needed it.[/size][/color][/font]

[elainsie]

The Jade was indeed pleased, her previous disgruntlement over Asoth's presence vanishing with the well-timed comment directed at herself. If anything made Rownith happy it was a compliment. }:Thank you, and your oiling indeed has worked well.:{ She replied her tone much more amicable, content to exchange words with the other Jade. However her atttention was still greatly upon the large black, and she delighted in the flick of his tail against hers. She moved closer, still far enough away that they were not touching, but she could feel the warm breath as he exhaled, taking a risk in that unlike most he could flame without stone.

}:I only speak the truth. :{ Her faceted eyes whirled green and blue as she extended the left wing and lightly brushed it against the hide of Dharth. }:And do I please you?:{ She cocked her head to one side, eyes level.

Accalia wanted to cover her face in shame. This was too much. How could Rownith behave like this, knowing how important this pair were in the Weyr, knowing the response Dharth's rider elicited upon herself? And yet the black seemed to be goading her on. She knew it could not end well, that the Jade would either tire, or the black eventually snub her, and then Rownith would be in a foul mood for the enusing sevenday. She bit her lip, wanting to admonish the Jade but knew the sentiment would be wasted, caught up in the attention she was recieving.

Accalia turned back to the rider's and with a start realised K'dran had spoken to her. She nodded her head in agreeance that she was lucky Rownith did not rouse her in such a manner, although the Jade easily made up for this in other ways, not daring herself to reply with words. No doubt they would fall out in an incoherant jumble, and the man think her touched in the head. She tried not to look over at him, rather keeping her gaze upon her hands, however it seemed this had had the opposite affect when he spoke to her yet again, knowing she would have to say something or appear terribly rude. "Yes, I scraped it earlier against the post." Her eyes could not quite meet his as she spoke, mositening her dry lips she continued, "And numbweed would really be quite helpful. Thank you," she added in a rush, her hair coming to fall around her face.

Rownith's attention wavered from the black for a moment as she became aware of the acute anxiety in her rider. She was glad to see her Mine had finally spoken to the rider, though she wished Accalia had at least looked at the man while he spoke. }:Let him see you dear one. It's not as if you are some monsterous thing that would repel him. And see he wants to help you.:{

**It's only numbweed. ** Accalia replied, shooting a glance at Cailleah, willing the other woman to continue the conversation.

[Onyxaeon]

Caileah wondered over the phrase 'unwelcome' as she studied K'dran and Accalia for a brief moment, for it was doubtlessly the feeling the conversations going on around her with the subtle glances coming from Accalia made her feel. Se remained in place for awhile longer, though, her eyes aimlessly darting back and forth from rider to rider as differing words flew from different mouths. It did not take long for her to gather all that she had from the other Jade's rider, as she was quite the sharp wit when she put her mind to figuring out some silly detail. Ah, so one fancied the other, eh? A very small giggle tried to find itself, scrambling up her esophagus as it attempted to make itself known as well as the Jaderider's amusement on the matter. A Black and a Jade? Right, and she and her Asoth were wherries with purple spots. It wasn't out of envy that the thought had entered her head-it was K'dran, for Faranth's sake!-but more along the lines of sheer fascination as to how on Pern such a thing, such a feeling, had managed to survive and not be crushed by some outward force was....unbelievable. Too unbelievable, in fact, and Caileah had to shake her head to clear it of the notion locked firmly in place. She was just being silly: it made too little sense to be possible. However, the screaming eye glare that Accalia was giving off as K'dran approached her was not a delusion, and she sighed gently. Well, she couldn't very well leave now: it was obvious the other woman wouldn't be able to handle the awkward tension between the two and, though Caileah did not have a horse in this race, she couldn't just stand by and watch her drown.

"How did you manage that? It looks like you've got a few good sized splinters there: you'd had to have attacked the fence to get something akin to those." Perhaps it wasn't the best thing in the world to say, or even a good thing, but at least it would keep the conversation going. Besides, that was all that was really needed to keep K'dran at bay for a little while longer as Accalia had the chance to recount her battle with the splintery fence post.

With Dharth and Rownith locked away in their silly conversations, Asoth took the time to pick at the last pits of clean meat on her wherry before she trotted away from the two, needing the room. Her sights were set on another bit of prey, perhaps a small doe, because that tough wherry had not quite managed to sate her palate. With her wings flared to their fullest, she stroked them several times to get herself airborne, riding in the easy wind currents above the feeding grounds as she took her time to pick out the perfect meal. When she did manage to spot it, her body angled, curving downward as she come up closer and closer on the doe before one swoop had caught the animal in her claws, Asoth kindly snapping its neck to rid it of the pain when she landed some green-lengths away from where she had been next to the other two dragons to continue to eat.

[Desert]

Dharth glanced at Asoth's agile hunting and nodded approvingly. Well caught, Asoth,[/b][/color] he complimented her. Jades, he had to admit, were useful creatures for all their flighty minds. As agile and deft in the air as they were, Eden's wings wouldn't be half as effective without them. Who needed greens when their mutant sisters existed? And with the myriad of other dragon colors that resided in Eden, none of the original colors were needed. It was a proved biological fact that variety means longevity, and variety was what Eden had in plenty.

Rownith's flirts redirected his attention to the nearer jade, and the bhig black gaped a wolfish grin at her. Who wouldn't be pleased by such attention? Especially by a dainty beauty such as yourself, my dear.[/b][/color] He curled his tail around to gently chuck Rownith under the chin. He let a few smudges of a more orangey color dilute the blue-green of his eyes as he hooded them slyly.

K'dran ignored his dragon utterly. He was incapable of stopping the big black when he decided to be mean, and though he wanted to warn Rownith's rider about Dharth's scheme, he decided that discretiwas the better part of valor. He didn't want to get mauled this early in the morning.

So instead, he fished around inside his riding jacket for the small jar of numbweed he usually kept in an inner pocket. He hefted the fist-sized pot in the palm of his hand for a moment before he heard Caileah's question; he paused to hear Accalia's answer, the faint hint of a smirk pulling at his lips. He wasn't sadistic by nature, unlike his dragon, but everyone giggles at another person's little mishaps. [/size][/color][/font]

[elainsie]

The Jade was in raptures, whatever others had said about Blacks it was clearly untrue, just look at the attention Dharth was lavishing on her. Why he was as smooth as any of those silver-tounged Roans, although a great deal better looking. The silly Jade was completely oblivious to the shot of orange amongst the gentle blues and greens of Dharth's eyes and unfortunately Accalia was too preoccupied to have noticed the change and was unable to warn her dragon to get away, and stop acting the irrepresible flirt.

}:Why thank you,:{ the Jade replied, }:You must certainly have an eye for beauty.:{ Rownith spoke vainly, preening herself as she spoke. She titled her head to the side as he wrapped his tail around her chin, the smooth feeling of his tail tickling her. She wriggled in response, this was such fun. Why had the other Jade distanced herself from them? Surely she would rather be in her position, although Rownith was glad Asoth had made no move to challenge her.

Accalia gave Cailleah a gateful smile as she started to speak, easing the tension Accalia felt within her, until she actually understood just what the Jade rider was asking her. Why had Accalia had to pay so much attention to her hand? She should have just left the balled up in her lap until she could return to her own Weyr and attend to it. After all it was hardly a serious injury, she had had many worse over the Turns. But now she had no choice but to recount the embarassing episode, and in front of K'dran no less. Between the curtain of her hair she had seen the grin cross his face, and oh how his mocking cut her to the core.

Pushing her hair behind her ears she turned to face Cailleah, speaking to the other Jade rider, not wanting to see the smirk that ghosted K'dran's face. "Well, I was not really expecting you earlier, I had thought it was just Rownith and myself, and I had zoned out so I did not hear you approach. And when I realised I had company I was somewhat startled, lost my balance on the post I was sitting on, grabbed out to stop from falling, and hence got this." She thrusted her hand out for the world to see, cheeks having taken on a pinkish tinge that surpsingly did something to make her look a little prettier than ordinarily.

[Onyxaeon]

Asoth continued to neatly pick at her doe, taking the care and time to separate the fattest pieces of meat to the side and only chew on the tender muscle for the moment. As soon as she had vaguely devoured the springy deer's muscles, she moved to taste the savory, delectable scent of the fatter portions, inhaling the smell of the raw meat as it wafted up and into her engorged nostrils. With a passing glance to Rownith and Dharth, she lowered her maw to the earth, spear like fangs tenderly picking up the fleshy meat and tossing it up about a foot into the air before her jaws parted wide, clamping down on the thick bundle of tissues and chewing thoughtfully as she observed the two. Seemed they were fine on their own without her interruption, though it had not escaped her flitty attention that the Black's eyes were swirling a faint shade of orange. With a lazy roll of her wings, she brushed it off. It was not her business to meddle, especially not in her wingleader's affairs. She mutely went back to munching on her meal, bending back down to repeat the earlier process all over again in order to occupy her time as Hers was doing in listening to Accalia's story along with K'dran.

Caileah's lips turned downward into a frown, her eyes playing over a mixture of hues all dedicated to indicate her sorrow for having caused the other discomfort of any sort. She hadn't seen her fellow Jaderider's stumble earlier this morning, and that made her feel all the worse for having not paid attention. "I'm sorry, Accalia. I didn't mean to...," she fumbled, eyes darting away as the petite being looked over to her Jade in a pleading manner. Can we please go now, love? I-I don't think I'm much welcomed here at the moment... Asoth slowly shook her head, swallowing a small chunk of fatty meat as she cast Hers a gentle, reassuring expression. Mine, it was not your fault. Don't fret over it: she'll forgive you. Besides, it's not like you pushed her down the stairs and broke her leg. Asoth! The Jade rolled her shoulders, shaking off the reprimand as she piled the last meaty morsel between her dangerous jaws. Well, it isn't. And, you didn't. Don't worry about it and, if you really want to go, I suppose we could, but I'd rather stay. You should too: you don't socialize enough. With that, Caileah muttered a soft oath, shaking her head in mild frustration as she turned back to look at Accalia and K'dran, her eyes never really on either of theirs, for looking either in the face at the moment was beyond unthinkable. Especially not after what she had just done to Accalia and K'dran, regardless of what was said, generally spooked her.

[Desert]

The smirk widened slightly as Accalia explained haltingly about her injury. "That happens. I've gotten enough splinters off that fence myself," he said with a snort, remembering how many times Dharth had tossed him negligently against the rough wood, embedding long slivrs of wood into K'dran's body in the most inconvenient, hard to access places. "Someone should sand these posts smooth." Then, he belatedly remembered the numbweed in his hand. "Oh right. Here's the numbweed. It's actually pretty handy for getting splinters out too, just slather it on and when it's dry the wood will stick to the salve and come out when you peel off with the numbweed." He took a step or two closer to Accalia and held out the pot to her.

Dharth let a throaty chuckle roll off his tongue and side-stepped closer to the jade. Oh, I like to think I have good taste.[/b][/color] He dipped his head down to give Rownith's headknobs a playful, flirtatious caress with his tongue. His tail slid down her chin and throat slowly, sensuously, and trailed down her ribs and flanks before it coiled almost possessively around the tip of her own tail. And what about you? Do I please you?[/b][/color] He cocked his head and parted his jaws in a grin.

While Dharth was utterly ignoring the other jadepair, K'dran had decided to try and make it up to the two other riders for his dragon's behavior. He couldn't do anything for Rownith's impending jilting, but he did notice that the big black had lost interest in the Asoth, and that Caileah had dropped out of the conversation slightly.

"What's wrong?" he asked the diminuitive jaderider, finally noticing her obvious discomfort. He still hadn't realized how edgy Accalia seemed; he was his usual socially oblivious self this morning.[/size][/color][/font]