Enter the "King of the World"

[jack]

High in the sky, a Bronze shape appeared from between, his glistening coat shining in the sun as he began to glide, great wings spread regally. The dragon moved smoothly, his lean form stretched out yet relaxed, and even from a distance, one could tell he was an impressive beast. But…then he got closer. The small form that looked so huge in the distance, seemed to get smaller and smaller as he came closer to the ground, the stature expected of one of his color effortlessly shown to be…severely lacking.

Lower and lower he glided, circling…circling…and then, a graceful flip, strong legs connecting against the ground in a gentle dip. The dragon immediately gave a bugle of approval of his own action, straightening with a pulse of his wings as he shook himself, to the distaste of his rider.

“Shoth!” Down B’rak went, tumbling to the ground as his move to dismount was interrupted with the violent shake. Growling he sat up from where he landed, hands behind him as he stared up accusingly at the Bronze, who merely tilted his head and regarded him with an amused tilt of his head.

What are you doing on the ground, Mine? You look absurd.

“Well I wouldn’t look so ‘absurd’ if you hadn’t shaken me off, Shoth.” The dark-skinned youth replied as he got to his feet, dusting off his backside with a sigh, trying to ignore the snort and laugh-like chortle of his dragon as he did so. But there were few who could ignore Shoth for long, and when he set to looking about he was promptly reminded of that, as a heavy head was thrust into his arms.

Remove my harness, Mine. I want to explore.

“Not until we know where we can put it, Shoth. Its easier for you to carry it than me.”

Shoth snorted again, shaking his wings as a bird would ruffle their feathers, And your point? I need to survey.

B’rak rolled his eyes and looked around again, rubbing the back of his head absently, “Sure is a big place.” He mumbled after a moment, “Lot different from the other weyr.”

One should hope. We deserve the best, B’rakMine—I would have had to bite some squishy-folk if we had not been moved here willingly. It is much better suited to us.

“You mean to you. I’ll never be able to find my way around this place.”

Then I will drag you around. Shoth gave the draconic equivalence of a smirk and padded closer, reaching out with a paw to playfully knock his rider over, only to drop down on his belly, trapping the other beneath that same paw.

“Get offa me, you wherry-brained chunk of herdbeast rump!”

Haha! Not until you agree to take my harness of.

“Shoth, I’m not carrying that thing all-over the weyr looking for the leader!”

Then you shall lie in the dirt while I take a nap. Nodding to finalize his words he stretched out his neck along the ground, looking smug as they come as he kept his rider pinned and closed his eyes. Any minute now he’d have his harness off and he could set to business—let B’rak do the dirty work. Shoth just wanted to explore and get into trouble.

[Admin]

I'm not here for your entertainment,
You don't really wanna mess with me tonight,
Just stop and take a second,
I was fine before you walked into my life.

Mine, there's a bronze and it isn't Daidoroth. The Queen watched the dragon that had just appeared in the skies as he descended from her perch on her weyr's ledge. Daidoroth was their only King. They had a collection of browns and purples, such as Kerath and Odyth, but no other Kings. Well, that was at least how it had been. It would appear that was going to changing; they didn't get many guests on this little, out of the way corner of Pern.

That would be B'rak and Shoth; Fajra informed her dragon lightly, sitting cross legged in the middle of her weyr with a bronze firelizard twined around her neck. She was folding laundry, enjoying the day and the simpleness of the task. All of her clothes sat in perfectly manicured piles around her - two stacks of shirts, a stack of skirts, a stack of pants, and a set of dresses laid out over each other. Her hands moved effortlessly, identifying whatever article it was without even looking at it and then folding it in a flash.

For a while, Kalith was silent but her eyes remained fix on the bronze. The Queen was hidden, shade having fallen on her ledge for the time being, and she enjoyed just watching, eyes glowing in the dim light. Then she snorted as the new dragon preformed a flip to land and bugled in a rather egotistical fashion in pride of the movement. He looks rather small; she commented bluntly to her rider. She rose to her feet, stretching to flex her muscles.

Would you like go tell him that?

Yes, I would. And then the Queen was gone, just a flash of copper as she lunged into the sky. She bugled to announce her presence to the entire Weyr, and especially to this 'Shoth.' He didn't have a chance in trying to compare to her. She knew it and no one could argue with that. Who would want to? Circling about the bowl once, she dropped down a short distance from the bronze. He appeared to be lying down with something picked under his foot; she peered at the humanoid. It appeared to be his rider. What was this undersized creature doing? Her tail lashed from side to side. Her disapproval was painfully obvious, with her eyes swirling an irritated mixture of orange, yellow, and red.

Fajra folded one last article of clothing and then quickly hopped to her feet. Face composed and calm, she hurried to the stairs at the back of her weyr and started down them, heading for the bowl herself. What was her dragon going to get herself into? It wasn't like the Weyrwoman was worried about her dragon. The bronze was extraordinarily small and she could take him without question. However, she would prefer that their newest transfers not be immediately greeted by the Sr. Queen who was bent on, and known for, being extremely blunt. First impressions were important.

Hello, little bronze. Perhaps you would like to let that person up? As she spoke, a draconic smile revealed her lovely collection of sharp teeth, and the motion was fully intended to be threatening and aggressive. She was making a first impression! She was showing the bronze, who she supposed might be big enough to be a suitor or something, who was in charge and who was important around here. So far, Shoth hadn't exactly made the best impression on her. Pinning people to the ground immediately upon arrival was not something she particularly liked. It was silly and very stupid.

I can tell,
I just know,
That it's going down,
Tonight.

[jack]

Shoth was content to stay where he was, his rider squirming under his paw and the wind blowing just enough to be nice, but then came that bugle.. Curiously the Bronze lifted his head, a bemused expression on his maw as he tilted his head, lazily surveying the skies for the speaker...ah. There.

B'rak paused in his attempts to escape as a flash of intrigue burst into his mind and he blinked, glancing at Shoth before following his dragon's interested gaze and frowning. The dragon gave a rumble of a purr, eyes whirling enthusiastically as he shot a smug look at His. A Copper, Mine. How lovely.

"Great. Just what I need--the weyrwoman." Sighing he surrendered against his dragon's grip, an arm thrust over his eyes as he frowned. What a wonderful way to introduce himself to the weyr--pinned on the ground by a shrimp of a dragon.

The Queen landed and Shoth's smug look only increased, his tail flicking as he gave a rumble of a laugh, On the contrary, lovely, he chirped without a twinge of fear, his sphinx-like position proud as he stared steadily at the newcomer, I believe I'll stay right where I am. You see, I can do with Mine what I please, as you can do with Yours. And Mine was naughty, so I'll keep him where he is, hm? He chuckled and shifted, tilting his head at the other as B'rak lifted his arm, glancing at the Queen--relieved to see her rider was missing.

"I apologize for Shoth." He replied, giving his pompous companion a kick in the chest which was ignored, "He's...difficult sometimes," A sheepish look spread over his face and he looked again, making certain the Weyrwoman was missing, "I...don't suppose you can keep this a secret from Fajra..?" Fat chance, but he was going to take it. Maybe Kalith would take pity on the poor trapped rider..?

[Admin]

Cold finger on the trigger,
Behind a line drawn in the sand,
Anger rise,
We fight a war with much at stake.

Shoth had made a mistake. A big mistake.

Kalith was about ten feet longer than him and made of sheer muscle in an extremely slender package. She was young and fit and highly aggressive, if it was necessary. It wouldn't be smart to defy her just given that. What made it worse was that she was a Queen, she knew it, and she knew she was entitled to smack this undersized runt from here to the Red Star, so help her Faranath!

No, you can do what you want to Yours - that I allow; she hissed at him. She ignored the bronze's rider. (What useless creature would allow their own dragon to pin them like that?) Rearing onto her back legs, she spread her wings and shrieked at the insolent fool who dared to such defiance towards her . . . And call her lovely in such a patronizing way. How dare he do that to her, his Queen!

"I think it's going to be a little hard for her to keep this a secret from me;" Fajra commented dryly to B'rak, striding purposefully towards the two dragons and the rider, having heard his request to her dragon. She certainly didn't look much less imposing than her dragon, with face set, eyes flashing, and drawn up to her full height. "Kalith! If you lay one tooth or claw on Shoth, I will flay your hide;" she shouted at her dragon, voicing ripping through the air, just as piercing as the copper's shriek. She certainly wasn't blaming her dragon for her reaction. She agreed with the idea that the bronze had to pay for what he'd done, but this wasn't the way to go about handling it. She didn't need to deal with ichor and injuries.

Hissing, the Queen quickly obeyed her riders orders for the moment, returning to having all four feet on the ground and folding her wings back against her sides. That didn't keep her from arguing though. This insolent little crawler deserves worse than I can do to him; she growled. The comment was carried to both Shoth and her rider. Let. Your. Rider. Go; she ordered him, voice imperious and commanding by this point. She bent her will on him to make him obey. He would listen to her orders and bow to the Sr. Queen, or he would pay for his actions, regardless of what her rider said!

Overflowing with anger,
A soon to be awakening,
Will be martyrs on to glory,
Dawn finds us in this rage.

[jack]

Shoth laughed. Foolhardy thing that he was, he laughed. So fiesty. Giving a wide, toothy yawn he stood his ground, eyes whirling a lazy blue, with a flicker of red in the very depths, Mine is mine, lovely one, I will do with him what I please. As it is none of your business, and does not affect you, why don't you keep your pretty head out of it, hm?

And there was the Weyrwoman. A goofy grin--there really wasn't more he could do at this point--spread over the ex-miner's lips and he gave an embarassed laugh, rubbing the back of his head, "Yes, I suppose not. I was just hoping to avoid such an...inappropriate first impression."

He shifted and gave a cluck, proding at one of the dragon's claws, "Digging a bit hard, Shoth."
Shoth snorted and adjusted his claw, but still didn't get fully up, his rebellious gaze set on the Queen. She may be the lovely leader of the Weyr, but he would not bow to anyone, no matter who they were.

If its above you ability to punish, lovely one, He crooned, teeth bared in an odd grin, Then perhaps it isn't your place to judge, hm? The dragon shot a bit of a wink and seemed to smirk, the tip of his tail flicking slowly.
Come on, Shoth. Get off--you're acting like a toddler.
A toddler? The indignancy, Mine. I am far from a half-sized squishy. I am neither tiny, B'rak scoffed. Nor do I scream and rant like the lovely here.
Maybe not, but you're making yourself look bad. Now c'mon, get off me and I'll take your harness off, hm?
Ah? So you've given in? Good show, B'rakMine. Giving an affirmative nod, after clearly speaking to everyone, the dragon rose, carefully lifting his paw and helping His to his feet with an overall smug look to himself. You know we could have avoided this whole thing if you'd not been so rude, Mine.

B'rak rolled his eyes, but nodded, gesturing to the other to move a bit into reach as he expertly removed the harness, slinging it over his broad shoulders. "Again, I apologize." The man eventually spoke, turning to the others with a bow, "Please don't think badly of Shoth." He gave a pleasent smile, reaching up to pat the Bronze's side, "He was playing more than anything, he wasn't doing anything terribly bad.." A sheepish grin on his face he looked from Kalith to Fajra, "I hope this can be put behind us..?"

Well I don't. I did what I did for what I wanted, so there. Giving an approving snort he slunk from B'rak's side, sashaying lazily closer to Kalith, giving her a once-over before speaking, Lovely, your coat is positively gleaming this evening. Yours is quite efficient at cleaning. He shifted to show off his own shining hide, giving an amused whirl of his eyes, Mine is quite good as well. Perhaps they could exchange tips one day.

Shoth turned with a rumble, staring over his shoulder at B'rak, B'rakMine, ask the pretty squishy where you can set that ghastly thing. It needs to be oiled. Oh. And make some more rings for it, yes? The gold is dull against my hide--silver would gleam more.

B'rak rolled his eyes, chuckling as he inclined his head again to Fajra, "Ah-hem. Sorry. Ah..is there a place I can put this, miss?"

[Admin]

Fell on deaf ears,
Sacrificed someone elses freedom,
To be heard,
Destroy careless.

Do not maul the foolish bronze. Do not maul the foolish bronze. Do not maul the foolish bronze. Kalith repeated the statement over and over again to herself as she resisted the urge to snap Shoth's neck as he said more idiotic things and told her to butt out. Do not maul the foolish bronze. Do not maul the foolish bronze. Do not maul the foolish bronze. She continued as he suggested that, if she couldn't punish him, she shouldn't judge, smirking at her and winking as he said it. She kept her mouth clamped tightly shut so as to not say anything and possibly go and sever one of those important arteries. At least it would appear that Shoth was letting his rider go, in return for his rider removing his harness. It didn't feel like much of a win to her; it wasn't really. Something had to be done about this; someone had to take care of this affair properly.

Fajra had formed no high opinion of the pair, given their performance since their arrival. Angry the Sr. Queen was a foolish action on the Shoth's part. Not being able to control his dragon or even have any influence over him at all was no great measure toward B'rak. She didn't waste the words to answer as he apologized for his dragon after removing the undersized bronze's harness. Instead, she only busied herself when he asked where he could place the piece of equipment. Pulling out a piece of paper from her back pocket, she unfolded it and scanned down the list of names, some crossed out or noted with other things, until she found theirs. She didn't even actually look over at their assigned weyr; she knew where it was. It was simply that she was feeling a little irritated herself. She hated uselessness and this entire happening seemed very useless to her. Either way, she didn't have a chance to tell the other rider before things exploded . . .

The Queen had remained in deadly silence as Shoth moved closer to her. She remained silent as her called her lovely again, complimented her hide, complimented his own hide, and said several other ridiculously stupid things. And then he turned his head and called her rider 'the pretty squishy' among a long stream of extremely egotistical rambling. She waited until he was done waiting. She waited until his rider spoke. She didn't wait for him to turn his head back towards her. She wasn't squandering the opportunity. Instead, she took the opportunity with a vengeance.

A single set of claws flashed in the air, just for a moment, but that was all it took for her to strike out at the exposed hide on the side of the neck he had towards her. Feeling that the bronze might not get the idea he was a moron, three-quarters her size, she leaped into the air, instincts telling her to avoid a counter attack. Wings beat down in one powerful stroke and she was aloft, all in just an instant from her attack. Shrieking her hatred of the stupid runt, she rose but stopped, hovering a good length above the other dragon. RESPECT ME! RESPECT MINE! The message carried a heavy weight; it was like a blow itself, commanding, piercing, unavoidable, something you couldn't not hear. A Queen was designed to be able to control any dragon in a Weyr. It worked better with some than with others. She wanted the defiant bronze to listen to her, so he would listen!

On the ground, Fajra hadn't moved an inch. Perfectly aware of her dragon's actions, she had sighed, and then started to look over the list she'd pulled out again. She'd been thinking that she'd assign B'rak and Shoth ferrying duty for a few sevendays to teach the bronze a lesson about authority. A Queen was to be a obeyed. However, this worked too. It was just a scratch; it would heal. It was like spanking an insolent child, generally necessary for their own good.

Holding on to what they said,
Creates a path to our destruction,
Breathing life into whats dead,
Ignore the wrath of our dysfunction.

[jack]

ooc: ^^; Excuse Shoth's aggression. He's...a very stupid dragon.

ic:

Everything suddenly slowed down. Shoth, an instant away from turning his head, froze, his eyes's slow blue whirl bleeding crimson as they began to whirl faster and faster. His muscles tensed, neck arching as his wings tightened down on his body, claws digging into the ground.

It looked almost as though he were holding in his anger, calming himself down, but from the blanched look on B'rak's face, it was plain that the runt had no such plans in mind. The miner took a step forwards, one hand slightly up as he forced his will onto the other, an iron grip that steadily wrapped tighter and tighter, only to be shattered with one furious scream.

Shoth leapt up and back, wings snapping open as he spread all of his claws against the Queen, aiming to shallowly cut her side before his athletic flip ended in his feet touching the ground, immediately moving into a run. Back up into the air he went, shooting high above the group with an enraged bugle.

Left on the ground B'rak snarled, dumping the harness on the ground as he kept his eyes on Shoth, trying his hardest to ignore the Weyrwoman, who no doubt was getting prepared to either a) Allow Kalith to kill Shoth, which he couldn't really blame, or b) Have them both out of here faster than he could say 'sapphire.' But at this point, he couldn't care less. All that mattered was getting ahold of Shoth...which wasn't working so well.

[Admin]

Driving away from the wreck of the day,
And the light's always red in the rear-view,
Desperately close to a coffin of hope,
I'd cheat destiny just to be near you.

((Pft, it just means he deserves this.))

Shoth missed, his blow not even scraping against her hide. What did you expect? Kalith was a perfect mixture of size, strength, and speed, designed to be able to handle threadfall, and combat, if necessary, and she was ready. That undersized bronze wasn't going to land a blow on her! Seeing the changes in his posture and then feeling the changes in the air around her as he moved, she shifted her wings and slipped just out of reach of his attack. And she was smug about it, smug, deadly, and furious about his failure.

Seeing that the bronze was still moving now that he was back on the ground, she rose, each wingbeat sending her higher, and higher, and higher into the air. When he first launched himself into the air, Shoth shot up above her, but then she swept back, away from him, and was over them all, even him. Did he think he was going to have anymore luck against her in the air? This was her Weyr - she knew every air current, every subtle nuisance of it. She would have home court advantage here no matter what he did.

Hearing B'rak snarling and something fall to the ground with a clatter of leather and metal, Fajra looked up from her paper. Kalith had shown a fine degree of superiority in the fight so far. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and then opened them . . . But she wasn't looking through her own eyes anymore when she did.

RESPECT US! All the mental fury of the Queen and her rider were bent against bronze, but the cry was heard throughout the Weyr. It was not something they typically did, but the situation seemed to warrant it. Several dragons added their cries to their Queens - a yellow, sitting on her ledge, let out out a sad bugle, well her rider watched with bemusement beside her. Then Fajra spoke clearly through her dragon to Shoth. You and your rider have transport duty for two sevendays; the combined pair informed the bronze.

Driving away from the wreck of the day,
And it's finally quiet in my head,
Driving alone, finally on my way home to the comfort of my bed,
And if this is giving up, then I'm giving up.

[jack]

The Queen came up to his level and Shoth barrel-rolled, as if to tell her that although she had size and strength, he could out-maneuver her. He was slim and athletic, with sharper-built wings made for slicing through the air in a nose-dive, only to pull up ad shoot through small gaps. He would out-match her--he would!

I will respect you when you do something deserving of respect. Shoth crooned, the red in his eyes bleeding smugly away as he calmly circled the other, spinning lazily, But as of now, you are not but a temperamental lovely, lovely. Laughing to himself he flexed his claws, arching his neck as B'rak snorted down below.

Nevertheless, B'rakMine says we'll take that duty. Can't be all that bad. Yawning he began to glide lazily down, tip-toeing onto the ground with a distinctly disinterested flick of his split-tail, Its not like there will be grumpy lovelies and their pretty squishies to carry around..not that I could carry a lovely around anyways. Such immense size. He scoffed as he nipped at B'rak's hair thoughtfully, as though to rearrange it, You need a bath, Mine. Ah. And you can bathe me in the process. And oiling afterwards. Then you can fix that harness.

B'rak frowned and rolled his eyes, reaching up to pat his dragon's cheek, knowing that--despite Fajra's opinion on the matter--there wasn't a thing that could be done about Shoth. Shoth would be Shoth, and Shoth was King of everything in his mind. Now if you'll excuse us, lovely, I have business to attend to. Not all of us can spend our days simply looking lovely.

[Admin]

Yeah, I wait,
In the darkness of my lonely room,
Filled with sadness, filled with gloom.

Fajra restrained Kalith from just barreling into Shoth as he showed off, and it became easier as her spoke about her being temperamental, though not by much. The Weyrwoman blinked her eyes again so she could look properly, once again, with her own sight. B'rak wasn't bad, she considered, but Shoth was overconfident, brash, and offensive. The only problem with the bronzerider was being paired with that one and not having the will to be able to deal with him. And he would be dealt with.

Say good day back; she coached Kalith, expertly clambering up onto her back once she was on the ground again.
Good day, Shoth. It took all the copper's own will power to bring herself to follow her rider's forcefully said request.
And tell him that he will now be on transport duty for the next six sevendays; she concluded simply.
You and Yours have transport duty for the next six sevendays now; Kalith told the bronze, very smug and pleased about it. Then she was in the air again, launching herself high into the air and keeping herself up with a beat of her wings. And the reason you couldn't carry me isn't because I'm so big. It's because you're a little, useless runt and I'd never let you lay a lousy claw on me. And with that, she was soaring across the bowl, breaking contact with him firmly.

Kalith could use with a bit of time to cool off, psychically and psychologically. Fajra clearly picked the northern wastes in her mind, a favorite haunt in her mind, a place to work off the stress of situations like these, because they happened far to often. It was supposed to be fairly warm there right now, relatively anyway, since it was summer. You are a little temperamental, love; she commented passively.
Shush, you 'squishy'. They smiled together.

We kissed after takin' vows,
But that night, on our honeymoon,
Well, we stayed in seperate rooms.