A Chocolate Mountain Campout [Kila]

[jack]

The lake was calm and still, not a ripple across its surface and not a spot on its glass-like visage. On it Rukbat flashed brilliantly, the reflections of slowly drifting clouds lazily passing over it. A Brown form flashed in and out of the clouds without warning, and just as spontaneously it began to dive, growing closer and closer to that glassy pool. Bright red eyes glinted in it as the creature soared just above the surface, his wingtips dipping into the water and leaving claw-like trails upon the lake.

Mesreath bugled as he lifted from the water, sprinkles of liquid shot of in ever direction as he pumped his wings and soared upwards. A touch against his mind and fingers on his neck turned the heavy beast, and he tilted himself into a direction change, spinning once before flaring his wings up and slowing. Durian, grinning on the Brown's back, urged him down to the ground, and he obliged with delicate precision, touching down with a loud boom. The Brown snorted, taking a good look at the world around him, before with a sigh he knelt, letting His slide from his back. Immediately she set to undoing his straps, setting them on the ground where they would be out of the way, before she stripped herself of her outer flight gear, heading towards the water merrily.

Her dragon was quick on his heels, and the duo dove in in unison, Mesreath moving to keep the rider in view at all time as she swam and enjoyed herself. A good two hours later and both were shuffling out of the lake, Mes taking a spot on the shore to stretch out and sun. Absently, Durian joined the heavy creature, curling up against his side for a nap. She dozed off easily, relaxed in these easy-times. A few minutes passed and Reggae joined them, draped over Hers's belly like a small pink blanket.

Hours would pass and neither would stir, even the ever-vigilant Brown settling off to sleep. Only when Rukbat had set, and everything was dark, did the massive creature stir, opening one red eye to find everything dark. Instantly on guard he stiffened and straightened, nostrils flared as he peered blindly through the shadows. A low growl of disapproval rumbled in his chest, and he curled himself protectively around Durian, suspicious of being here this late at night. But Durian herself, didn't wake. She was comfortable, relaxing in this summer evening with a big brown furnace to keep the night-chill out.

[Kila]

Mesreath was not the only Brown about in the darkness. The other beast of a similar hide was not precisely of the same species, but bore yet another similarity to Mesreath that was so unusual that it almost bound the two in some way.

Nadysk prowled through the dark, eyes aglow as he swept his head back and forth as he passed through the Weyr. He and His were on patrol alone tonight and he walked ahead of her, staying alert to keep his beloved bonded from any harm and to compensate for not having a partner on this patrol. Nadya followed, seemingly completely unconcerned and at ease, but she did not miss a trick. She was not tense like her Wher, but she knew what she was doing. Was she lazy at time? Yes. Infuriatingly lax? Yes. She did not take her duties lightly, but it did not always appear that way.

Mine… someone by lake. Brown dragon. Nadysk came to a dead halt almost immediately after entering the Weyrbowl and delivered this message. Mesreath might not have been able to see through the curtain of black that hid them all from normal eyes, but Nadysk could. Nadya slowly came to a halt by his side, peering in the direction that her bonded was pointed. She placed a comforting hand on his head and rolled the new information seriously through her head. There was a renegade who rode a Brown, which made this a potential problem. But this Brown seemed rather small…

Mesreath at that pointed raised his head and growled. Nadya and Nadysk could see his eyes glow red across the Bowl. But he will not be able to see us. Wordlessly the Wher pair began to slink forward, disappearing silently into the darkness and the landscape. Be careful, my love. They approached at an angle, taking care to not be seen. It quickly became apparent the Brown by the lake could not be a renegade. His hide bore no scars, which Nadya vaguely remembered being told he had from the Weyrwoman’s Queen, and he was small yet for a Brown. His is there too. Sleeping, Nadysk informed her. So they must be from here, Nadya deduced, straightening from her assassin’s crawl. Nadysk, will you please talk to them? He can’t see us, but I think he knows someone is close by. Let them know we’re here.

Nadysk easily agreed, moving in front of her protectively and reaching out to the dragon and rider not far in front of them. It would be very bad if the other Brown lashed out- then Nadysk would have to chew his claws off. He would never let anyone dangerous near His. Hello. We here, don’t be scared. Mine wants talk. Okay?

[jack]

At the sound of another dragon--or what Mesreath thought was a dragon, until he thought about it a moment and dubbed it to be what Mines referred to as a "wher"--the larger Brown stiffened, his growl growing louder as he curled protectively around His, one wing spreading slightly to hide her further from view.

I am not scared. He snarled in response, his eyes whirling faster as he looked around, looking for the "attackers" while knowing he'd never find them in all this dark. Who wants to talk? The dragon added after a moment, his attention flicking downwards for an instant as Reggae stirred, her eyes blinking open with a sleepy chirp. As the Pink stood, stretching like a cat as she crawled out of the "nest" Mesreath had made, the Brown's eyes again rose, searching for the invaders. Picking up on his mild distress, Reggae gave a trill of questioning, only to be snarled at.

Angrily, she squealed at him, and from her hideaway Durian sat up with a glare, fully expecting she would have to smack the dragon as he made a half-attempt at eating the Pink again. Instead she found herself in complete darkness, on something that was definitely not a bed. Confused and drowsy, she ran a hand through her hair, grumbling under her breath. "Mes...what're you doin'..?"

[Kila]

Nadysk withheld the low growl that was growing in his throat- he would not yet give away their position for such a whim. He did not like the way that this dragon was snarling at him and His. If he felt like they were threatened at all there would be a big problem. Nadya sensed this and stroked his head to calm him. She seemed relaxed now, though not unalert. If this dragon was from Dalibor they had nothing to fear. He was probably young, based on his size, and didn’t know better. If she paid more attention to the other people in the Weyr she would have no doubt heard about this unique pair.

Patrol Handler wants talk, he growled once Nadya had calmed him down some. Manners, love, she warned. Nadya. Nadysk. he said grudgingly at her urging. He did not want to give away any information to this aggressive dragon who had interrupted his watch. He could still be a threat… but Nadysk would bend to the will of his Handler.

Nadya’s keen ears picked up speech when the unknown Brown’s rider stirred. As a Handler she had to be able to not only navigate the darkness, but identify any potential enemy that might be lurking in it. So, in addition to sight, her hearing was also very sharp. Did you hear that, Nadysk? Odd… it sounded feminine.

[jack]

For a long moment Mesreath was silent, although at the speed his eyes were whirling it would almost have made sense for steam to rise out of his nostrils as he let out a long, annoyed sigh. Delicately he turned his attention on Durian, ducking his head to nudge her gently with his nose. Nadya and Nadysk wish to speak, Mine.

With a grumble--still bleary and a bit confused, although the feeling of grass beneath her was a sharp reminder of where she was--the Brownrider gave a yawn and nodded, squirming to get to where she could partially see out to the great...dark night. "Reggae, glow." She mumbled, rubbing at her eyes even as she sent an image of a lit glow to the little pink, telling her to fetch other flits for help if she needed it. The Pink gave a chirp of agreement and was off, betweening

Durian made no move to introduce herself or speak until Reggae reappeared with a trill, a good-sized Bronze that the rider had never seen on her tail with a glow in his grip. Cogs lazily drifted down and set the glow in Durian's outstretched hands, giving a noble dip of his head before he was up and off again, betweening back to the dining hall where His was attempting another experiment.

Glow in hand and vision slightly better, Durian squeezed completely out of Mesreath's grip, sitting on the dragon's abnormally thick tail. Posessively, the Brown loomed behind her, glowing eyes and partially lifted wings giving him an intimidating look. "Good evening!" The girl called, not entirely sure where the others were, but not too concerned with it as she inspected the glow, "Uhm...would you..mind coming where Mes can see you? He kinda freaks out if he can't see things he doesn't know."

[Kila]

The voice was definitely feminine, and that made Nadya happy. She loved running into people, especially other girls at nighttime. Who was she? Another girl that was bonded to a Brown- it was very intriguing. Nadysk watched with mistrust as some flitter, presumably the girls, brought a glow. Both nocturnal creatures, Wher and Handler, squinted a little at this, as though they had been looking up at the sun. Bright, Nadysk growled distastefully. It’s okay, dear, Nadya replied, stroking his head comfortingly.

Nadysk growled in audible protest when the voice asked that they come into the ring of light cast by the glow. He did not want to accommodate the dragon that had growled at His so disrespectfully. He did not want His to go anywhere she might be in danger. And he did not want to go in the light. Nadysk, calm down, Nadya said, chill and agreeable as ever. She did not feel as though she were in any danger. Come on, there’s no need to upset them. Nadya gave him a final pat on the head and then walked forward with perfect ease. Nadysk bore his teeth and shook his head but quickly followed, melding to Nadya’s side protectively.

”Hello,” Nadya said, stepping into sight. The soft light of the glow revealed her pale, exotic features. Both she and Nadysk’s eyes glowed in the semi-dark like felines. Now she could size up to girl and dragon too. The fact that she was indeed female, and bonded to a Brown at that, was quickly confirmed. The girl was not feminine, so to speak, but her gender was never in question. She looked strong, and once again Nadya was intrigued. What was her personality? Who was she? These questions, however, she did not let show. She instead stood before them with her hands calmly in her pockets and a small smile on her face. ”Hello. I’m sure Yours informed you this, but I’m Nadya. This, of course, is Nadysk.” She again let her hand rest on her Wher’s bristling head. Nadysk could not calm while Mesreath was on the offensive. ”He can calm down, y’know. We’re not here to cause any harm. I’m the night watch tonight. We came by to see that you were okay. What are you doing out here?” she asked, her voice low and soothing in the night.

[jack]

Curious eyes watched attentively as the Brownpair slunk into the light, and Durian blinked in mild surprise at the woman's appearence. She wasn't so oblivious to be surprised at the wher, but even she wouldn't deny Nadya was more of a shock. The rider tilted her head and stared for a long while as Reggae slunk into her arms, tiny eyes whirling with unabashed intrigue. But while Durian was trying to remember if anyone had ever mentioned a female Brown Handler lived at the weyr, Mesreath was setting them both with a dirty glare.

"I'm afraid there's nothing I can do about calming him." The brunette chirped with a smile, "He's always like that--he even sleeps convinced he'll have to wake up and eat an intruder." She grinned and Mes gave a low snort, shifting uncomfortably about her as he settled ever so slightly--clearly still quite keen on staying wary.

"My name's Durian." The Brownrider offered up at last, dimming the glow slightly for the other's benefit, "And this is Mesreath and Reggae." The Pink squeaked pleasantly as she was introduced, but Mesreath was silent, the ferocious whirling slowing in his stare, but the dark tone to his eyes refusing to leave, "To be honest, I don't know what we're doing here. We took a swim earlier--Mes desperately needed a good bath--and took a nap. Clearly we over-slept."[/b] The teenager laughed and patted the dragon's tail, and his eyes lightened slightly, the heavy set creature giving a soft grumble before relaxing considerably. Well...considerably for him.[/size]

[Kila]

The two girls regarded each other with mutual, unhidden interest as Nadya stepped into the light of the glow. The two Browns regarded each other with unmasked mistrust and dislike. When Durian finally spoke Nadya easily decided that she liked it- the younger girl chirped like a bird. Nadya half expected her to cock her head and begin to preen. Nadya liked her smile too, even though the words from behind it were not the most encouraging. Nadysk, for one, didn’t care for them.

”He’s that protective, huh?” she inquired with a wide smile. ”Sounds like a clingy weyrmate- no offense, Mes, old chap,” she said, amending her words as a cordial afterthought. The analogy was not meant to be offensive, and came across good-naturedly, but it was not her intent to send the much larger Brown into a rage. ”It’s a wonder you don’t get crushed. I wouldn’t be able to handle being suffocated like that.”

”Durian,” Nadya repeated when she was given the name, testing it out in her own low voice. ”A pleasure,” she said, nodding her head to her. ”And thank you.” She had dimmed the glow for their benefit. Nadya moved forward a little, remaining just inside the outer glow of the ring of glow light. Nadysk followed her silently, still pressed sullenly to her side. Nadya briefly made suggestive eye contact with Durien. The more she dimmed the glow, the closer Nadya could come.

”Reggae seems to be quite the cheerful little thing,” she commented, moving on abruptly. She would see if Durian would play her game, but the window of time in which she might have realized there was a game on had been very brief. The Pink had chirruped cutely like her bonded, which made Nadya chuckle. ”I don’t have any pets m’self.” Nor did she want any- she found them obnoxious. But that was not good conversation. ”So your alibi is that you overslept,” she verified, her eyes twinkling. ”Can you stick to that? she teased. ”If so, well, I guess Nadysk as I can let you off this one time.” Nadya leaned against Nadysk with a smile. Mesreath had relaxed a little, so Nadysk had been able to as well. He was still on guard, though, and felt compelled to protect and covet his like the other Brown did. What was his problem?

[jack]

Durian blinked, tilting her head, and smiled as Mesreath voiced his complaint to the woman's words with a loud, rumbling growl. "He's my own personal bodyguard. Not so bad a thing." Fondly, she reached up, and Mesreath pressed the underside of his chin into her palm, allowing her to scratch at one of his more favored places. Even while his eyes whirled with slow pleasure, however, he stared accusingly at the other pair.

"Well, you get used to it. He's actually really careful not to hurt me--and while he likes to sleep curled around the bed, he never intrudes too far." She grinned, and tilted her hand to get at a soft spot, her expression brightening when the dragon let out an unconscious sigh of appreciation, "No matter how possessive and protective he gets, I can always control him. That's what makes a good rider, isn't it?"

Nadya moved forwards, but even if Durian caught the glance, she didn't dim the light any further. Perhaps not as untrusting as her Bonded, she nevertheless was unwilling to shorten her own comfort zone in an area surrounded by the other woman's element. So instead she simply smiled and nodded, pretending that she hadn't caught the glance at all. "She is." The Brownrider replied as she stroked the Pink's delicate head, the tiny creature's eyes whirling with happy cheer. Ever sweet, ever happy. Ever snippy. That was her. Little Reggae.

"Reggae's my only pet. I've had her for a great amount of time--she's very dear to me. Even if Mes an' her fought like wherries when they first met." The teenager laughed, and leaned back further against Mesreath's flesh, feeling as he breathed behind her. "Of course I can stick to it." She added as an afterthought, eyes flashing as though insulted the other would assume otherwise, "Its true."