Sneaking Off (T'el)

[4horseshowgirl4]

In the end, it had been easy enough.

The incident at the end of Alizadehth's Hatching had freaked Raelle and Tossiteth out more than either would like to admit. There was no getting around the fact that Dalibor's senior Queen had flown at them, unchecked by the Weyrwoman, willing to maim or kill one of the renegades despite Fajra's earlier declaration. Raelle had abandoned her usual rashness and was extremely cautious, a trait echoed by Tossiteth. It was all fine and well for Alizadehth and Abeneth, usually together, to act bravely. It could be expected of massive and experienced Sjueth to be unafraid of Kalith. Little Tossiteth, though, was quite aware of what would happen to him if Kalith got to him before he had time to between the heck away from there.

At first, Xela had not minded her mother and her dragon holing themselves up in camp, with just a few short hunting excursions late in the evening, when Tossiteth's black hide and the darkening sky would hide their identity. However, while Xela was good at entertaining herself, making little buildings out of sticks or trying to write a poem in her head got old quickly. It wasn't long before she was getting restless and stir-crazy. In addition, Raelle had suddenly become overbearing and protective, unwilling to let Xela out of her sight, something the child had resented, especially since patience was not Raelle's strong point and the woman was spending much of her time hiding ranting and pacing nervously.

Xela thought the whole thing was stupid. If Dalibor really wanted to come after the renegades, they had enough dragonpower to search the entire continent to find the camp. However, as they had not, obviously they didn't care that much. They seemed like a pretty meek group, for their numbers, who clearly didn't care for conflict, which suited their band just fine. However, there was no telling Raelle that; Xela could barely say hello to her these days without sending her off in a fit of anxious, fear-triggered temper.

Fact was, Xela was quickly growing exasperated with her mother. She was quite tempted several times to simply yell Shut up!, but Xela wasn't an idiot. Raelle was still her mother; Xela was but ten Turns old. But, still, now that they weren't off bouncing from Weyr to Weyr, Xela was not so tied to her mother. She was old enough now to go apprentice in some craft if she wanted, or become a Candidate if she could just be Searched. She wanted to spread her wings and get away. However, she could not just leave the renegades like her mother had left Southern Weyr. She didn't have a dragon, for one thing. Or any other skills, really. Xela frowned. That was kind of a problem.

What she really wanted to do was see her father! At that thought, she smiled blissfully. T'el... well, he seemed pretty awesome. He was an Ironrider, for one, and he seemed so easy-going! Like when Raelle had been shouting at him, at their first meeting, and he'd just walked past her to come towards Xela, as cool as you please! The problem was, he had his own smaller camp outside of the main camp, and there was no point in trying to ask Raelle's permission to go there. Somehow, she'd have to escape Raelle's (and Tossiteth's) eagle eyes long enough to beg T'el to take her somewhere else.

The plan, once she thought of it, was simple enough. Raelle had gone inside their weyr, with Tossiteth sunning himself on the small ledge. Xela sat next to him, legs dangling off of the edge. "Tossiteth," she whispered. Tossiteth opened an eye to stare at her. "There is a giant mudhole here," she murmured, putting the image at the forefront of her head. Lazily, Tossiteth touched her mind and took the image. So? he finally said to her languidly, his interest piqued nonetheless. Xela, though more intimate with him than anyone but Raelle had any right to be, didn't sense this. "Keep this from Mom!" she hissed. Tossiteth said nothing. He paused for a few moments, as if considering. Why?

[/color] "Go roll in that mud hole," Xela whispered, eyes alighted with her delight in the brilliancy of the plan. Mud was a pain to get off a dragon's hide; Raelle would have to spend several candlemarks on the job.

And why would I do that?[/color] Tossiteth scoffed, setting his head back down on the stone and closing his eyes. Silly brat. "I'm sure Dalibor would love to know where our camp is!" Xela whispered triumphantly. Tossiteth's eyes immediately snapped open, whirling yellow with worry. He was cunning, yes, but too afraid of those lethal claws and teeth to be rational at the moment. Fine![/color] he agreed anxiously, lumbering to his feet and gliding off of the ledge.

Xela ran for it. Hopefully Tossiteth would get nice and muddy before he realized how little substance was behind her threat. There was no way she could get within screaming distance of Dalibor before the renegades found her, if Dalibor even cared to know where the camp was. But it had worked. And that was enough. It did not take her long to scamper to T'el's miniature camp. "T'el?" she called, voice strong and eager. "... Dad?" The word was strange on her tongue, but she relished it.[/right][/font]

[jack]

Sjueth was calmer than he had been in years, spread out with his hide to the sun and his wings stretched across the sands. He was quite fond of this place His had selected to live--a far-from-hidden place very close to a fishing pool and with a wide area free of trees--and even with the "threat" of Dalibor looming, didn't bother to hide his shining pelt. The Iron's eyes were closed, the spade at the tip of his tail flicking ever so softly occasionally, the metal ring in it jingly as it brushed against the sand.

A breeze drifted by and the dragon sighed, his heavy ribs shuddering with pleasure, and a bit aways from him T'el perked his attention, giving a lop-sided grin around the stick in his mouth. The blackette too was pleased with his hidey-hole. It was close and yet far enough away from the bigger group as well as the crazy blackriding chick, and while it was completely isolated from them, it didn't require much effort to search out Y'nis or D'ror for a little...entertainment on occasion.

He snapped the stick absently, spitting out the broken end and beginning to gnaw on the fresh, and leant back a bit, swinging his legs over the small pool. A small rod with a hooked string rested at his side, waiting for a bite. While he had dried fish waiting for him back with Sju, he...wanted something a little fresh. The tip of the stick twitched and T'el's eyes wandered, the madness in them oddly subdued in this peaceful situation. The stick twitched again and the man grinned, pulling it up expertly. The fish wriggling at the end was chunky and tasty looking, and T'el gave an approving cackle before tossing it over his shoulder and sashaying back towards his camp.

Before he could reach his silver blockade, however, Sjueth's mind touched his and he stopped.

The Iron's good eye was barely open, staring steadily through the woods at the small figure clambering through them. His tail twitched and then was still, his expression unreadable despite the amused shade that whirled absently in his gaze. A rumble of a chuckle echoed in the dragon's throat at the girl's words and his eye shut, T'el giving a displeased grunt when his vision was cut short and he was forced to use his own eyes. But belatedly he heard the last word and he paused--racking his mind for what on earth that could have been--and a light laugh sounded from him.

"Dad, huh?" He barked a few moments later, popping up in front of Xela as he rounded a tree, "I've been called a lot of things...but never that." He gave a shade manic of a giggle and sashayed away, heading towards the fire hidden by Sjueth's bulk, "Your name...." He looked up thoughtfully, tapping his chin as the fish whacked at him with his tail, "...Xela, correct? Hahaha. Strange strange."

[4horseshowgirl4]

Xela smiled subtly when she saw the first flash of Sjueth's metallic hide, glad that she had found the place successfully and also that they were 'home.' She heard a laugh, and her smile broadened. She didn't even consider the fact that it might belong to someone else other than the Ironrider; she instantly labeled it as T'el's, and stored the sound of it in her mind. Already she was learning about her father! The fact that he was laughing was already heartening. Poor Xela did not know of her father's true nature. Undoubtedly, the renegades had talked about T'el and his... misdeeds, but they would not let such things touch a younster's ears.

She would figure it out eventually. But now, now was a time for father-daughter bonding! When T'el appeared, Xela was tempted for a moment to dash forward and hug him, but she stifled that urge, and it wasn't just because of the ginormous fish he had slung over his shoulder. After all, they didn't know each other in the slightest! The fact that they were father and daughter didn't do much to overcome that, well, strangerhood. It would be weird! There would be plenty of time for that later!

"Yes," Xela said, pleased that he'd remembered her name, but why wouldn't he have? She was his own flesh and blood, for Faranth's sake! You just didn't forget that kind of thing. "Well, I've never been able to call anyone that, either!" she quipped, jogging after T'el's retreating back without hesitation, following him to his camp. She paused for a moment to smile up at Sjueth. A typical Weyrbrat, she wasn't intimidated or afraid of dragons in the slightest, not even when they were as big and scarred as Sjueth.

However, when she was standing by the fire, she was at a loss of what to say. What did you say to someone upon finding out he was your dad, but not actually knowing him for ten Turns? Xela clasped her hands behind her back, looking uncomfortable. Finally, "That's a big fish," she said, immediately wishing she could take back the incredibly stupid words, inwardly feeling like slapping herself on the head. "Do we not get supplies from Western anymore, 'cause that Holder's not in charge anymore? Is that why you're fishing?" she continued quickly, hoping to cover up her previous comment with something that sounded a little bit more intelligent. She wanted to make him proud of her, after all!

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[jack]

"Y'didn't, huh?" T'el glanced over his shoulder at the girl, a thoughtful--if unusually distant look in his eyes. A soft snicker burst that bubble, however, and he was quick to return his gaze to the path around Sjueth, hiding his blank stare. "I had a father." He quipped obnoxiously after a moment, his taunting tone a far cry from the anger that flashed on his face. Not at Xela--who he was endlessly intrigued with; I mean c'mon! He had a kid. A kid! HA!--but at the thing that made it so that he couldn't walk around calling people "Dad".

Sjueth touched his mind again, the Iron a massive wall to help him hide, and T'el wiped his expression back into his grin--the dragon's mild amusement at Xela's smile helping that. Clearly the Iron--while not nearly as interested in her as he was--had some absent intrigue as well! Snickering to himself about the matter he crouched down near the fire, almost violently smacking the fish down on a broad flat stone he'd had Sju move there to help him kill and cut up food. The fish seemed mildly stunned from the hit and lay still as the blackette--ignoring without taking his attention off Xela--reached to his side and pulled an impressive-sized blade from one boot, taking the time to check it for cleanliness before lifting it up.

He froze mid-motion, the shining knife a few inches above the fish's head, and he cocked a brow, lifting his head to stare blankly at Xela. "...it is." He replied slowly, an equally slow grin spreading to one-side of his face. Had she really asked such a thing? Honestly? Ha! This kid was a very interesting person. Not stupid--no, he wasn't dumb enough to assume she was lacking in the brain place--but...interesting. He let out a soft snicker, the knife moving to rest on but not dig into the fish's gills, and tilted his head to the side. The fish--his head trauma removed--took this as a sign to act.

Its broad tail flipped forwards powerfully, the child-sized creature smacking the young man painfully on the skull with a crack that sounded like something breaking. A yelp of surprise sounded, and the fish's head rolled to the side, the blade that had been gently touching its scales brought back and through its spine and flesh in light-speed reaction. T'el gave a soft huff, rubbing the place the fish's boney tail had hit it, and stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, ignoring the briney-blood that rolled down his cheek. Only after he was secure in the knowledge that the creature wasn't about to try and take him out again, did he set to cleaning it...and finally responded to Xela.

"We still get supplies, as far as I've been told." He chirped, sticking his tongue out in childish disgust at the pile of scales he'd cleaned from the fish, "But I like to fish." He sliced open the belly as he spoke, cleaning out the entrails and leaving a small pile of the ones he liked aside, while staring accusingly at the ones he didn't. Sjueth's tongue came and solved the dilemma, licking up the pieces T'el refused to even touch with an absent calmness similar to a family's old dog reacting to a child's face at a nasty vegetable. Grin back in place, the blackette lifted the fish and walked to a nearby puddle in the stone, washing off the blood and scales left behind. "S'how Sju and I lived for a long, long time."

Coming back, he plopped the fish down, beginning to cut it into strips and stabbing them onto wooden sticks he'd wittled to smoothness years before. "You get used to it...and then get antsy when you don't do it for a while." He glanced at her absently as he spoke, musing something before his attention again redirected and he set the sticks into the earth before the fire, letting the flames cook the impressive pile of flesh.

Chore finished he gave a hum of approval and set to cleaning his knife, noticing belatedly the heart and liver he'd set aside earlier. He plopped the heart into his mouth instantly, not willing to share his favorite treat, but while he chewed, cut up and offered a bit of the liver to her. "S'good." He explained simply, not offering up any nutritional goods or anything else for that matter. He'd be happy to eat it himself if she denied it.

Content with his job and pleased with the smell of fish beginning to drift, he moved away and leaned against Sjueth's hide, gesturing with his head that she could do the same if she wanted. Wasn't like the Iron'd do anything. "I'm noticing a lack of a screamy-mommy." He ventured after a moment, grinning to himself at the title of the angry woman, "She disown you or something? Ooor does she just hate my guts for some reason're another about some incident I'm sure didn't happen an' you just decided to be all curious an' come search out the bad guy?"

[4horseshowgirl4]

Xela didn't reply at first when T'el said he had a father. Well, duh. She was not totally oblivious; she knew how things worked. Which meant that she had a grandfather... again, obviously, but it was still strange to think about it. She was tempted to ask about him, but she held her tongue. She was sharp enough to see the flash of anger across T'el's face, having seen the same look cross her mother's face enough, so it seemed to be a sensitive subject to the Ironrider. But, then again, what if he wanted her to ask about him? Why bring it up otherwise? Finally, she summoned up enough audacity to ask, as gently and innocently as she could, "Had?" She figured the one questioning word would be sufficient if he wanted to answer, easy enough to brush away if he didn't. She was careful about not setting people off after ten Turns with a ticking time bomb for a mother.

She didn't flinch at the appearance of the long knife-- most renegades carried one, as made sense, she supposed-- but T'el's obvious response to her equally obvious question made her blush slightly. She did not enjoy looking stupid. Most people didn't, but Xela detested it more than most. Thankfully, the fish provided a welcome distraction. Xela jumped back in surprise when the fish's tail swept through the air, connecting solidly with T'el's skull. She didn't step forward again until he had safely incapitated the thing. She had thought about asking him to teach her how to fish... but now she wasn't so sure. There was no way she could have carried that massive thing back to camp, and there was the fact that it probably put up more of a fight than she was capable of dealing with. Maybe she could make the string thin enough that it would break with such a large fish... yes, she could do that.

"Would you teach me how to fish? It seems useful... when we weren't bouncing from Weyr to Weyr, all we had was what Tossiteth hunted, and overcooked wherry isn't exactly tasty," she said, though she was eyeing the heart and liver T'el had set aside with trepidation. She couldn't help but wince a little bit when T'el popped the heart into his mouth... honestly, the thing didn't look edible. It had been beating not a moment ago, it was probably still warm... yuck. When T'el offered her the liver, she hesitated for a moment before taking it. The cooking fish looked tasty. This? Not so much. Still, it would have been rude to refuse, so Xela took it, trying not to look at the slimy organ before she tossed it into her mouth, chewing slowly. It wasn't awful, but it wasn't delicious, either. She swallowed, smiling a thanks to T'el. Maybe it was an acquired taste.

When T'el gestured, Xela did not pause for a moment before taking a place against his side. She was not used to such a massive dragon, but she had long used Tossiteth for a couch. This was just bigger... and shinier... but essentially the same idea. She watched the flames cackle for a moment, before T'el asked about Raelle. Or, as he put it, 'screamy-mommy.' The name was quite fitting, actually... Xela might use it to refer to her mother in her head. The thought amused her.

"Well," Xela began, grinning mischieviously, "I'm not supposed to be here, but Mom's been holing herself in camp and not letting me out, either, 'cause apparently Dalibor dragons are going to swoop down at any moment and kill us all," she said sarcastically. "So I told Tossiteth that unless he rolled in the mud, forcing my mom to give him a bath and be too occupied keep me in camp for a few hours, I'd somehow tell Dalibor where we were." She quirked an eyebrow jauntily. "He's not the brightest of dragons when he thinks his own neck is on the line."

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[jack]

"Had." T'el repeated, working his jaw as though he were chewing something, before the irritation faded from his eyes with a long sigh. "A long, long time ago. But...my father is gone." The blackette gave a dry laugh, oddly lost for a being so completely insane. As the years had passed, it had become more and more of a reality for him. Sure, he was as crazy as they came, but part of his insanity was changing. The appearence of a child--his child--made it seem all the more noticeable. He couldn't go around without thinking forever.

A soft yawn and the man stretched out, resting one arm on Sjueth's back foot before glancing at the girl at his side, lazily reaching out to pat her head. He didn't know where the urge came from, but he did it anyways, and gave a soft smile when he let his arm fall back to his side, gaze wandering to the sky boredly. "Murdered. Brutally murdered. Be glad that...even if I am your father--" He paused to giggle at the thought, "--I'm just insane."

T'el got up after a few more moments, lazily thinking over her questions without seeming to be too interested in responding. Quietly musing, he went over to the fish, turning the sticks to better keep one side from being more cooked than the other. "You've never fished." He stated, more than asked, "But you're a renegade?" The blackette shook his head lightly, snickering to himself, "Take offense if you'd like, but your parent isn't exactly very good. Sounds more like she wants to glue you to her side, then keep you alive." He straightened to his full height--Sjueth peeking open an eye to watch with a draconic swell of pride as His's masks fell, and for a moment he was as sane as he had been before--and put both hands on his hips. "My father would roll over in his grave, knowing a grandchild of his couldn't take care of themselves for at least three days at five turns old. And you're what? Ten?"

He shook his head and strode over, kneeling before the child with an unreadable stare. He stayed that way for a good minute, simply studying her, before his usual, lop-sided grin spread into place and he giggled, reaching out to flick her in the forehead. "Ah well. I can fix that. I'll teach you to fish--but not right now. I already caught enough to feed two people and wet a dragon's appetite and there's no sense catching more than you can eat in one sitting unless you plan on leaving the next morning."

Snickering, he stood again--checking his fish almost as though he were a queen flit, sure her eggs were about to hatch any second now--before sliding over and plopping down besides Xela, chewing on a stick he'd picked up along the way. He listened to her explanation wordlessly, content to chew on his stick, and gave a soft hum of approval at the end. "Dalibor isn't going to attack us. And even if they do, it isn't like we couldn't run away in time. Or--if Bossman's in a particularly vicious mood--fight them off." He yawned, stretching again, and turned his head to look at her boredly, "That crazy lady's over reacting. As for her dragon..." He reached back, stroking Sjueth's hide lazily, "Well...I'll be the first to say I just don't like Blacks."