Slip 'n Slide {Bre}

Lady sing the blues so well,
As if she mean it,
As if it's hell down here,
In the smoke-filled world,
Where the jokes are cold.

When Brisk came gliding down the hallway, skinny legs carrying her muscular body as best they could, she stopped short of the puddle that had seeped out into the corridor from the spillage that had occurred. Anger briefly overtook her, pounding through every fiber of her being. Water did not belong on her floor! Water belonged in the lake! She bit back a snarl, luminescent eyes locking on Kire and Kisk and the nasty flitter that was with them. Dirty creatures! Ruffians! Vagabonds! Surprised by the green's sudden flash of temper, Bri quickened her step. She'd been a hall behind her wher but quickly caught up, stepping in the water to place herself between Brisk and the individuals who were cleaning. She didn't look to be in good spirits, but she was not upset like her wher. She analyzed the situation coldly, expression carrying little of its usual animation for a moment.

However, a grin soon split her face and she shook her head. She wiggled her toes, bare to the ground, in the water, splashing them in the shallow puddle. Brisk glowered up at her handler, then peered around the stocky girl's legs to glare at the nasty, incompetent Kire. Bored with her wher's sour mood and aggression, Bri laid her hand upon the green's thick hide. For once, she was the calm one in their relationship, exuding a cool air of confidence. Everything was fine. There was no reason to be angry. With those helpful hints in her head, Brisk remembered herself and calmed. She shot Kisk a look of disapproval and then sat down, looking off down the hall as if nothing at all had occurred. Bri gave it a moment, still eying Kire and Kisk with a certain callousness behind her smile. She moved her hand from Brisk's neck to her thigh, tapping her fingers against it

"Mhmmmm;" was all the greenhandler ended up saying. She rolled one of her eyes back towards her prim green, surprised that the wher wasn't being more polite now that she had gotten over her impulsive, primitive, instinctual reaction. It wasn't like she minded. Brisk actually being rude was something of interest; it was amusing. However, one must test reactions. One must say things and do thing. The green turned her head to look back at Bri, the two of them having a momentary staring contest. Then the young handler spoke once more, finally articulating words, though she no longer looked at Kire. "Hello." Immediately, Brisk pulled herself up and parroted the word, looking at Kisk with her nose in the air. She could not be worse than her handler, not when it came to matters of manners and politeness! Hello. Her voice had an edge of distaste.

Stretches out like branches of a poplar tree,
She says I'm free,
Sings so soft as if she'll break says,
I can sing this song so blue,
That you will cry in spite of you.

Look around your world, pretty baby,
Is it everything you hoped it'd be?
The wrong guy the wrong situation,
The right time to roll with me.

Bri watched the wherling struggle to apologize and figure out what to do for a few moments. Good to know how high the blackhandler would jump. However, there was only so long she could watch Kire struggle. "There are mops and cleaning supplies in any of the storage areas. Lots near the wherlings' barrack;" she provided at last, trying to be somewhat helpful. She wasn't angry. A little water had never hurt anyone who hadn't been unconscious. She liked the way it felt on her toes. Brisk, meanwhile, liked Kisk's compliments, but she still didn't particularly like him and she did not like the water. She did not return his loud greeting, nor did she act like it was anything less than a favor on her part that she should speak to such a filthy creature. I Brisk; she told him, answering his question out of manners more than any desire to be familiar with him.

Grinning in a careless manner, lips skewed on her face, Bri draped her arm over Kire's shoulder. Oh, wherlings! They were just so adorable and awkward. "Come on, I'll help you out. You didn't mean it." She steered the blackhandler-in-training through the water in search of a mop or two. She wasn't helping because she loved chores; she was doing it because Kire was a shiny new toy with which she could play. If she could get something out of it and have some fun, it would be worth it, and she was so great at having fun, if what she tended to do could be called fun. Brisk moved to follow her handler, but Bri staid her, grinning and glancing back over her shoulder. "Stay and keep anyone who comes along from slipping in the water;" she ordered. Trying to look dignified with the menial task she'd been assigned, Brisk sat back, snout still pointed in an upward direction.

And I don't think I have ever seen,
A soul so in despair,
So if you want to talk the night through,
Guess who will be there.

Don't look at me that way,
It was an honest mistake,
Don't look at me that way,
It was an honest mistake.

Brisk was not amused with Kisk's hopping and splashing. She was at her most regal, and thus her most vengeful and authoritative. Deciding to be as sensible as a green wher could be, she directed her attention to the problem that was most easily removed: Vesta. Go; she ordered, hissing at the firelizard. Pets didn't clean. Pets were nuisances like her handler's canine. With her demand given, Brisk turned her head away from Vesta and acted until the pink did not exist, fully expectant that the tiny creature would disappear as per her request. She fixed her gaze upon Kisk, though he was only a muddled shape in the dim corridor. No move. Wher noble guard. You wher; she told Kisk. Though she knew that she was not the ruling force in the wher quarters, she was not afraid to keep a young jester in place. She would make him mind his manners and his duties.

Bri chuckled at Kire's comment, obviously not as worried as the young wherling. She kept her eyes forward and her arm on Kire's shoulders once Brisk had her marching orders. "And she thinks she's the shardin' Lady Holder of Fort;" she drawled, jerking her head back to indicate who she meant, even though Brisk was no longer in sight. "I have no idea why she picked me out of the group. I showed up naked to her hatching." Unashamed. Unabashed. Exactly the same as she had been that day, though time had wrought subtle changes upon her philosophies and outlooks. She leaned her head closer to Kire. "I think she thought it was an accident or a mistake, but between you and me, it wasn't." She grinned and waggled her eyebrows, far from innocent. With that, she tugged Kire around a sharp corner and up the main drag of the wher quarters.

Don't look at me that way,
It was an honest mistake,
Don't look at me that way,
It was an honest mistake.

The telegraph cables hum,
And few can decipher who the message is from,
And it deliver it quietly,
Cause some don't get much company.

Kisk received no approval from Brisk. He was doing it all wrong! He wasn't listening to her at all, was he? No! Kisk no noble! She was outraged by his incompetence. After all, he was supposed to be listening to her. She had told him exactly how to be an impressive, noble wher guard, but he wasn't doing it. He was just being rude now, not listening to her. Rude and incompetent, making him both a danger and a nuisance. Stupid Kisk, not that she would ever call him that. She was careful not to let her rage show. She stuck to mild righteous indignation, following her own instructions and staying stationary like a proper wher on guard. No move. Still. Still! She was firm with Kisk, as that was her mothering style. Children needed guidance, structure, and discipline. Kisk was most definitely a child. In fact, he was a particularly immature one. She hated immaturity.

Bri was pleased when she got Kire to laugh. That was the spirit! The wherling just needed to relax a little. She chuckled as she continued to guide the younger girl towards cleaning supplies, though actually cleaning anything up was low on her priority list. She was there for the fun, not for actually being helpful. While she may have seemed like she was there for Kire, she was truthfully only there for herself and her own entertainment. She wasn't malicious, but she also wasn't the kindest of creatures. "It certainly was interesting. No one in my class has ever forgotten me;" she drawled, grinning like a wolf in sheep's clothing before she briefly became more serious and contemplative. "And I suppose she must have. Most people think whers don't see very well, but truthfully, they see much better than most of us." What a pretty thought. Wasn't she so metaphorical and deep?

The harbour becomes the sea,
And lighting the house keeps it collision free,
Understand the lay of the land,
And don't let it hurt you.

Lady sing the blues so well,
As if she mean it,
As if it's hell down here,
In the smoke-filled world.

If Brisk could have facepalmed, she would have watching Kisk try to keep from moving. She was not enjoying this pupil of hers. She wanted a pretty little lady or a handsome little gentleman. She didn't want Kisk. Why had her handler saddled her with this incompetent student, a black unworthy of her intellect, pose, and experience? Because her handler was an inconsiderate pain in her rear, that was why! Not fun. Important. Still; she barked at him, not enjoying his belittlement of the task in front of them. Standing guard was not her favorite job either, but she did it because it was important. She protected others because that was what a wher did; it was the right thing to do. Though she was trying to maintain her air of noble gentility, she was beginning to lose her temper. She would ignore him, she decided, staring pointedly down the corridor, wanting him to notice her ignoring.

Bri paused for a moment, looking up at the ceiling, obviously thinking quite hard. Or at least putting a lot of effort into making it look like she was thinking hard. "I'm trying to remember the last time I did something ladylike. Maybe when I was four? Five? I have a great memory after that point, but things star getting fuzzy right about then;" she drawled. Truthfully, she hadn't thought too hard about it. There were moments, little flashes, of her remembering her manners, of her playing nice, but she didn't particularly care for or against those times. It was unimportant. "I suppose Brisk and I share good taste in mates. She likes Flask. Well, I think she likes Flask. He won her run and she doesn't hate him. With whers, I think that constitutes liking." Whers were not the cuddliest of creatures. Brisk was pretty nice, but other the end of the spectrum was, for instance, Ausk.

Where the jokes are cold,
They don't laugh at jokes,
They laugh at tragedies,
Corner street societies.