There's a wher in my weyr! [Rhi]

[RavenSong]

{desc=Z'dyn/Baihujinth/Fenrisk}There was one unavoidable fact about the white wherpair Fenrimere and Fenrisk.

They liked pranks. They liked them quite a bit, and both of Fenrimere's pillies were frequently roped in on their shenanigans. They found great amusement in their pranks, but tried their utmost not to hurt anyone.

After being encouraged to go make a cloth nest in somebody else's space, Fenrisk found her way up to Z'dyn's weyr. How she got up there was anybody's guess, honestly, but fortunately she'd managed to sneak in while the Ironrider was away to dinner. And so it went that she found all of Z'dyn's clothes, put them on his bed, and arranged them into a little nest. It took a while, since she was working without the assistance of the green and speckle that she usually got up to shenanigans.

Unlike usual, though, the white wher sat in her nest and just waited. She wanted to pounce somebody and giggle about it. Surely her intended target would enjoy her antics, yes?

Probably not. Not that she even knew Z'dyn's fear of whers. And so it happened that the little white wher, all six-and-a-half feet of her length nestled neatly and quietly into her nest, remained absolutely still as the Ironrider entered his weyr. Big eyes whirling blue and green watched him as he entered, eyeing the big Iron over at the entrance with curiosity while she waited for Z'dyn to get in range.

And then, the "trap" was sprung.

BOO! she yelled in his mind as she leapt at him, promptly dissolving into a giggling heap of blue-tinged white as she landed on the ground. Fenrisk get big ironbutt human GOOD! Iron-flyer! Hi! Fenrisk having fun! Iron-flyer have fun too? She sounded absolutely joyous.

[RhiaBlack]

::MineOwn, there--::
"SHARDING SHELLS!"

Before Baihujinth could warn His, Z'dyn got a faceful of the reason all his clothes were piled on his bed. Blue eyes went wide, and all at once he was flashbacked to that moment in the caravan. The bark of a Canine, the flash of red eyes, the scent of blood and feel of himself being tossed a few feet on his ass.

Which was where he ended up. Flailing, he hit his back, crab-crawling backwards in terror. Bai was helpless to stop him, as Z'dyn went through the door, and nearly fell backwards down the stairs.

Scrambling to his feet, the Ironrider ran like his life depended on it, adrenaline like molten fire through his system.

Over the last several turns, he'd managed to temper his fear of the ground-kept dragon off-shoots from 'locks up if he's in the same room with them' to 'wary, uncomfortable, but otherwise fine'. However, being confronted by surprise had caught him off-guard, and in that respects he did what he did best.

Z'dyn ran like a gazelle when something scared him that badly, and as he skidded to a halt outside in the Bowl, Bai was there to meet him. The Iron didn't have to speak to know how terrified the dark-headed man was, and with a sense of respect, he curled his neck and frame around his beloved His, and sighed heavily.

::It is all right, MineOwn. She is only wanting to play, she did not know. Most do not.::

He couldn't even speak. Sharp blue eyes focused up at his weyr, and Bai curled his tail around Z'dyn to half-cradle him against his side. He tucked his wing down over him, and frowned as best a Dragon could, before he pressed Fenrimere's thoughts. One of the handful of times he had ever spoken to another.

::You need to come retrieve Yours. Fenrisk has scared Mine, and he will not go back to our weyr until she is gone. Mine is scared of Whers. He is not angry with her, just scared. She surprised him, we did not know she was there.::

[RavenSong]

Fenrisk's joy faded swiftly when she smelled the terror that emanated from Z'dyn. Why was he scared? He wasn't a bad guy, was he? Nah, Ironbutts weren't bad guys ever. She reached out to touch Fenrimere's mind curiously as she went to Z'dyn's weyrledge.

Fenrimere, in the middle of breakfast, knew what had happened the second Bai touched her mind. Fenrisk's curiosity at Z'dyn's actions combined with Bai's words told her clearly enough.

Coming! she thought hard, hoping the Iron could hear her.

"Sorry, love," she said to the person she'd been conversing with. "Seems Fenrisk got inta a little spot of trouble. I've got ta go 'andle it." Waving cheerfully, the dark-skinned woman took off to the Bowl, stopping by the Iron.

"'Ello," she said. "Are ya th'lovely Iron tha' just told me about my wher scarin' ya rider? Fenrisk'll be down from there shortly." As Fenrimere spoke, Fenrisk slunk out of sight. "She's upset tha' she scared yer rider. Can I meet yer rider? I'd like ta personally apologize. Y'see, Fenrisk likes ta build nests an' forts with my clothes. Since we both enjoy prankin' people a lot, I encourage her ta go do it ta other people. She won' do it in yer weyr again, Ironrider." Fenrimere made a face as she twirled one of her dreadlocks around a finger. "Shardin' shells. I feel bad. Y'alright?"

As she spoke Fenrisk slunk into view. Whatever method she'd used to get up there had served her well to get back down again.

Iron-flyer? she queried shyly, keeping low to the ground as she slunk towards her handler. Ironbutt not bad guy? Why run? Fenrisk not understand.

"Stay, Fenrisk. Righ' there. Don' come any closer, now," Fenrimere said. Fenrisk gave a sad vocalization and laid down right where she was, a full ironlength away. "Now back away some, lovely." Fenrisk did as told, backing up her full length and then some before stopping. Fenrimere smiled. "See? 'Armless, unless yer some undesirable." The whitehandler thought she was helping. She definitely hoped she was helping. "An' since y'ride an Iron, I bet yer no undesirable."

[RhiaBlack]

Z'dyn's eyes locked on the White Wher as soon as she came within eyesight. They didn't move, not even when Fenrimere approached his Iron. Nope. Nopenopenope. Not much could come that close to reducing him to a kidlet again. There wasn't anything else he feared as much, and as often as he told himself that there were no wild Whers in the Weyr, shadows and darkness tended to make logic as hard to see as everything else.

::I would be said Iron, yes,:: [/b]Bai responded in kind, head craning to peer down at the dreadlocked woman in a stern sense of not so much anger as not-impressed.::Z'dynMine was attacked by a wild Black Wher before he came to Dalibor. Many horrible scars, many bad memories, almost no Mine left to be had. This is not your fault, or Fenrisk's. Not many know this, Mine is not usually so reactive, but we did not know she was there. I am certain that if Mine had known, he would not have been so scared.::

Z'dyn was cradled in against Bai's foreclaws and leg, and the King lifted his wing to peer down at His with curiously green and yellow eyes. Z'dyn's attention was still solely focused on Fenrisk, and in a rare show of blatant affection, Bai put his snout against his bonded's chest. A warm breath of air finally saw the Ironrider's attention shift, and he tore his eyes from Fenrisk to the face of his Iron.

::She will not harm you, MineOwn. I will see to that. Come. Hers is here, and wishes to speak to you.::

Z'dyn swallowed. Live your life like Q'sis was standing behind you every second of it, Zykeidyn. Don't let that self-absorbed Trader ever see you weak. Shifting, he blew out a heavy breath and laid his hair-tufted chin, mouth, and nose against his beloved Iron's lengthy face. Bai's tail set him upright with a nudge along his back, and though shaking like a leaf, Z'dyn managed a small smile. His heart was still pounding, his muscles were on fire, and it was all he could do not to constantly check where Fenrisk was. Even if he didn't do that, he never put his back to the Wher. Bai kept him in the loop as far as where she was.

"Got me shardin' good, she did." He stuck his hand out, once he did his best to make it stop shaking. "Apologies. Whers an' I, we don't have the best history. Not her fault, nobody's fault. Prolly wouldn't've scared me s'bad, if I'd known she was there. Then 'gain, defeats th'whole purpose of a prank, then, don't it...Z'dyn, of Iron Baihujinth."

::If Yours says it is all right, Fenrisk, you may come closer. Mine will be all right, so long as Yours and I are here.::

[RavenSong]

Fenrimere grimaced.

"Awww, shardin' shells, cutie, tha' is somethin' I think all wherhandlers oughta know. Y'know, to prevent somethin' like this from happenin' again. Not that it's likely, Fenrisk's th'only one who likes prankin' as much as she does. She ain' gonna hurt ya. Fenrisk's friendly as all getout. Exact opposite of her sister Damask. Little Fenrisk there gets all kinds of joy outta pouncin' at people, roarin' as she does so. She collapses in th'giggles afterward. Does it ta everyone, and I bet several have had t'change their smallclothes. Y'don', do ya? Anyways, I won' tell anybody if ya don' like th'idea." Fenrimere sounded pretty concerned for Z'dyn's well-being. Sure, she was typically uncouth, but something like this? It warranted genuine concern. She reached out to shake his hand, smiling softly. "Nah. No need t'apologize, cutie. I love ya 'air."

Fenrisk pressed against Fenrimere's mind when Baihujinth spoke to her. Fenrisk closer now? she asked.

"Yeah, y'can come 'ere, lovely. Careful, now. Ohhhh, precious. It's okay. 'Ee's not mad at ya. Y'just scared 'im." Fenrisk slunk up, staying low to the ground still as she went to hide behind Fenrimere's legs, looking up at Z'dyn. Her eyes held the yellow of worry mixed in among the typical blues and greens.

Fenrisk not mean scare bad, Ironbutt, Fenrisk said politely to Z'dyn. Fenrisk sorry. Ironbutt not hurt? Fenrisk try have fun. 'aaaah!' funny! Not run like bad guy. That not funny.

Fenrimere reached down to scratch behind the wher's headknobs. "Shhhh, pretty love. Y'sit pretty and ya might convince ol' scaredy-wher 'ere ta let ya closer." She winked flirtatiously at Z'dyn, smiling brightly. It didn't seem like the white scar hiding the pupil of one eye really affected her. "Trust me, cutie, she won' 'urt ya. Ain' too sure about th'other white, Tessk, but Fenrisk is a lover. An' she won' ever go t'your weyr again. Will you, Fenrisk?" The white swayed her head back and forth, approximating a human headshake.

No! Fenrisk not want hurt-scare. Just play-scare. Hurt-scare is for bad guys.

"Good girl."

[RhiaBlack]

Z'dyn recoiled at the movement, but Bai was right behind him - the Iron's tail furling up to press at His' back. Z'dyn looked around him, and Bai plucked his bonded's hair-ties from the scattered locations within reach. Both had come loose in the process of his run, and as a result the mass of nearly hip-length braids and dreads fanned out across his back, shoulders, and chest. He plucked them from Bai's claws, gathering the black lengths behind his head and neck - revealing the malicious scars across one side of his face, and his half-missing ear. Given it was summertime, the scarred arm was visible in the rolled-up lengths of his sleeves.

"Didn' think I'd ever have t'fess up, bein' honest. Don't spend too much time 'round the Lower Caverns, an' I'm in Upper Flight, so don't gotta worry much 'bout bein' ground-bound. Don't really see many Wherhandlers an' such."

His gaze lingered on the hiding Wher, a habitual step back towards his Iron that saw Bai curl his head down to one-eye his bonded.

"It's all righ'. S'pose I gotta get it outta m'system sometime. Don't mind if y'come visit, jus'....lemme know first. That way I'm not havin' another run-fit. Don't like bein' spooked'r surprised, never much have. Pops scared me good once, been skittish 'round dark places ever since. Wouldn't've cut it as a Wherhandler, I'm thinkin'. Don't like the dark. Well...not by m'self, at least."

Z'dyn shrugged, and Bai nudged him. The scarred Ironrider shifted in kind, and looked nervously towards his Iron, who simply offered His a knowing look. One of those 'you'll never know until you try' sort of deals, and Z'dyn exhaled with a ragged sigh that foretold his apprehension.

Shaking like a leaf, he kneeled down.

"She don' bite, does she?"
::If she does, MineOwn, my teeth are bigger than hers.::

[RavenSong]

Fenrimere giggled, smiling warmly at Z'dyn, her eyes noting his scars wordlessly. The black had certainly done a number on him, so she couldn't blame him at all for his fear. She'd likely be scared too.

"Nah, she doesn' bite anybody unless they're posin' a danger to th'Weyr. She's a good guard wher. Might mouth ya a bit, whers sometimes do tha' ta get a better idea of ya. Some'll nip, but Fenrisk'll probably keep 'er mouth to herself since she can probably smell fear rollin' off you in waves." Fenrimere knelt as well, keeping one hand on the small wher's shoulders. "Now, keep in mind, cutie, Fenrisk's a small one. Whers like Cilisk are big enough ta ride on. Ya'd see 'em comin', though. Maybe not th'darker ones, but bright ones and th'kings? Oh yeah."

Fenrisk carefully nosed Z'dyn's hand, her green-blue tongue snaking out to tentatively lick him, somewhat like a canine. She stepped forward carefully, pressing the top of her head against his palm, her inner eyelids closing as her eyes took on bluer tones and slowly lost their yellow.

Fenrisk no bite Ironbutt. Ironbutts good. What name Iron-flyer? she asked Z'dyn directly.

"Fenrisk also likes talkin' t'everyone. Pillie, flit, wher, dragon, person, doesn' matter to 'er. She's friendly. Only sorts she can immediately name, though, are other whers. You're named Z'dyn, are ya? I'm Fenrimere. Where're ya from? Sounds like ya might be seafolk, with tha' accent ya have." Fenrimere smiled warmly at Z'dyn, wondering if she'd found some common ground with the dreadlocked Ironrider besides their chosen hairstyle.

[RhiaBlack]

Z'dyn hesitated at first, closed his eyes at the lick before the white Wher's head rubbed against his palm. He cracked one eye open, and scratched gently against her head-knobs. Well, now. She wasn't so bad. All this time, and he'd never expect he'd actually be all right enough to -touch- one.

Her question tugged at the corners of his lips in humor, and he peered up at his Iron.

"His name's Baihujinth. Doesn't talk much, not us'ally unless he's gotta, otherwise he's pretty quiet."

Z'dyn had never touched a Wher before. He'd never gotten close enough to one to bother, and while his hands were still shaking, and he was still fighting the urge to blitz himself back towards his weyr, she wasn't being aggressive. He was all right. It would take time, but it was a good start all the same. Fighting back the self-doubt, he sank down to sit on Bai's curled tail, and continue scratching Fenrisk.

"Born't Cove. Had a brother there, lost 'im an' my Ma one Winter. Was terrible cold, strange times. They got real sick, after they passed, was me an' Pops for a while. I was thirteen turns, then, seems like s'long back. We set out with th'caravans, started Western, an' I got Searched some turns after I mended from gettin' attacked. Impressed Bai, they punted me out t'Fort short time after I made Wingsecond, come back after th'Plague hit. Ended up'n bed wi' Nara, Bai chased Simhath even though Irons don't chase Greens. Knew I was sweet on 'er. She's a handful, though. Lots we don't agree on, but I'm not th'sort likes spendin' Flightlust'n bed w'somebody I don't know."

His cheeks colored a bit at the admittance. It was a guarded weakness for him, one he had struggled to overcome. Trust issues he didn't know he had, not at first, that had turned gradually uglier after Fort's shenanigans. That's all right. He didn't have to tell anyone -why- they sent him back here.

He swallowed slightly.

"Slur's on account'a Ma. She spoke like this, too. Pops, he's all righ'. Talks plenty straight, me? Not s'much. Been workin' on it. Not near's bad as it used t'be. Gets worse, I'm tired'r drunk. Not often for the drunk part, lots for the tired part."

[RavenSong]

"Baihujinth. Mmm. That's an interestin' name y'got, Iron Baihujinth. One I'll prob'ly remember. Kinda rolls off th'tongue." Fenrimere focused on Z'dyn as he continued speaking. Fenrisk took another step closer and sat down, tilting her head this way and that as he scratched her head. It was a motion reminiscent of a domesticated pet feline. If she could purr, she probably would. Her eyes shut fully as he continued to scratch her head and she tried to rest her head on Z'dyn's knee. Fenrimere mentally pulled her back, though.

Ask firs', she chided privately.

"I'm from Cast Hold," she said. "Ran off for 'bout a week when I 'eard that m'parents were goin' t'either send me off Tillek way ta apprentice at th'Fisherhall, or marry me off. I got Searched by a pink, sorta... woulda if I 'adn't got shot with a slingshot in m'eye. Pink brought me here, I signed up fer whers... got my darling Fenrisk tha' clutch. Damask 'atched there, too. It was pretty vicious. Coulda been worse, though, I think. Coulda had more deaths. I don' like Damask all tha' much, either. Guessin' yer tired righ' now, cutie?" Fenrimere said, smiling flirtatiously. Sure, he'd mentioned a lady, but that wasn't about to stop harmless flirting. She wasn't going to actively pursue him.

Iron-flyer Baihujinth, Fenrisk said, opening her eyes again to peer up at the Iron. Like name. Not like wher name. Flyer name always weird.

"So wha' d'ya do 'round 'ere most often, Z'dyn?" Fenrimere asked, focusing her good eye on the Ironrider's face. "B'sides fly Thread. Fenrisk, my pillies, an' I like ta prank people. When we're not patrollin', it's what we're doin'. Fenrisk picked th'perfect person, since she came outta th'shell enjoyin' a good scare."

[RhiaBlack]

Z'dyn flinched at the head towards his knee, but Bai's iron resolve was as hard as his coat was without shine. Z'dyn paused at his recoil, before he set about petting Fenrisk's head once more.

"Yeah, gettin' close t'bedtime for me. Not quite yet, usually spend couple candlemarks talkin' th'day over wi' Bai, or spendin' time wi' Nara b'fore I hit the hay, so t'speak. M'Pink firelizard, she's clutched somewheres an' hid the eggs, so was gonna go lookin', see if I could find 'em somewhere, but got distracted."

Baihujinth chuckled, the sound transmitted across the mental space between himself and those present. Z'dyn rubbed the back of his neck with a small yawn, masked quickly when he exhaled the remainder into his fist.

"Explains yer eye," he nodded towards her, briefly taking his gaze from Fenrisk to peer that way, "Was curious, didn't wanna be rude an' pry, guess. Sure y'prolly seen mine b'now, too. There's more'n just m'face, but don't many get t'see the rest."

He snaked his arm around his own hip, almost thoughtfully, before the gesture realized itself in his thoughts and he flushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck again with the same hand.

"Uh...well...try t'stay busy, if I can. Helpin' Drudges, Candidates, sortin' out stuff'n the storage rooms, durin' the daytime. Any other time, go runnin', keep m'self up. Takes lots'a strength t'muscle this guy 'round, so have t'stay on top'a m'physical health, much's m'mental side. Short'a that, Bai chases every once inna while. Aside from that, can't say I'm much more'n th'borin' sort."

Baihujinth seemed content to keep His close to him, tail tapping slightly against the ground. Just the end, of course - given his size, it would probably dislodge anyone standing too close otherwise. Z'dyn re-gathered his hair, shoving several stray braids behind his ear - one of which was half missing, on his scarred side.

"Can't say I've seen many people, wear their hair like mine. Bai makes fun'a me all the time 'cause of it. Says I need t'cut it. Don't think anybody'll be confusin' me for a girl, they do, they need t'get their eyes checked."