The Chore of Eating {Reky}

[purnip]

It was getting late. The sky was dim and stars were beginning to dot the heavens. Through the sky, still quite aloft, a bright shape was beginning to descend towards the weyr. At this time, they were alone in the great expanse. Other dragonirders attempted to get back before Rukbat could set, but B'wie liked to make full use of his time. The only reason he ever put a stop to his fieldwork was due to the darkness that made it so difficult to see a thing. His eyes were already affected by his tireless investigations; eventually he'd start seeing things that weren't there. That would be around the time that Sjanseth, his ever faithful companion, would remind him to do this or that. Sleep was normally what the White was convincing his rider to do, but this time around it was a simple matter of eating.

Earlier, when the sun was barely shinning over the Western Continent, B'wie practically held his nose to the ground, eying the writing form of worms and other creeping creatures that he had unearthed when moving several impressive stones. His interest in their peculiar anatomy held him fixed there for a while before his stomach rumbled for the upteenth time. Even Sjanseth was starting to get hungry. B'wieMine, I insist that we continue this investigation tomorrow. If you do not eat something soon, you shall collapse. His rider's hunger was that great. The White was nearly dizzy with it.

It must have been something impressive as well, because for once the man didn't put up much of a fight. Normally he'd ask for another minute or so, and there would go yet another candlemark in no time at all. "I suppose I should take care of physical necessity first, B'wie replied wearily, carefully placing the rock back where he found it. He had several other ones packed away anyhow. Some even had fossils on them, not that he knew much about them. He always assumed that creatures either get caught in molten rock or that their bodies get compacted into the dirt and the dirt itself becomes rock over time. He wasn't sure, but he was out there for that and many other reasons. How long it took for these fossils to form, he did not know. He thought of trying a few experiments when he returned to his weyr after dinner.

Hoisting a bag of stones and fossils he collected on to his back, B'wie clamored on to Sjanseth's back and the dragon took off, going between until they were just over Dalibor. Rukbat was barely evident on the horizon and most other dragons had settled into their weyrs.

Sjanseth landed in the Bowl, ducking to let his rider slide off his back. The White indicated that he would like to eat as well and B'wie gave him the go ahead. "Since when must you ask me to eat? You're free to do so as you please! Just remember not to bloat yourself."

The White snorted, holding his head high with an air of dignity. Hmph. I don't need to be reminded of that! You do! Eat slowly. Don't make me barge into the dining hall again. True that his rider had more issues with eating than his dragon ever had. B'wie was always so excited when he was eating that he would eat as quickly as possible to get back to his experiments. Later he'd be crippled in pain because of it.

"Seeeeeth," B'wie groaned, much like a child being nagged by his mother. "Don't. That was embarrassing! I promise I'll try to slow down."

Sjanseth stared his rider down in silence for a moment before turning away. I'm only trying to help. You lack foresight. With that, he spread his wings and took off for the feeding grounds.

B'wie watched his dragon leave, thinking only briefly about what Sjanseth said before shaking his head and making his way to the dining hall. "I? Lack foresight? Perhaps. But someone needs to make these discoveries," he muttered to himself as he went along.

When he reached the hall, it was still lively with the later dinner crowd. Many did not recognize the man; how could they when he was hardly around? They ignored him as he ignored them. His mind only went on recapping the events of the day, recounting strange mysteries uncovered and odd looking patterns in the rocks from dead things long passed. A kitchen drudge nearly poured soup on his cuffs because B'wie kept swinging his bowl to the side, forgetting what he was doing here in the first place. Eventually, after avoiding many spills and stains, B'wie had a tray of food to eat and he chose a table near the exit to eat at. He might pace himself, but he still wanted to be out of here and back at his weyr as soon as possible. There was science to do!

So in his daydreaming he proceeded to eat. He finished off a roll in four bites before Sjanseth snapped into his mind, ever reminding the rider to slow down. B'wie grumbled before nibbling at a dumpling in boredom. Eating was such a chore. He'd prefer manual labor any day, as long as it put him where he liked to be. Lately most of his projects had to do with the mineral compositions of Pern. Not that he actually understood most of his findings, but he tried to make them understandable to himself at least.

[Reky]

Today, he was in a good mood.

Screw the weird looks he still got for being a renegade (by now, everyone knew he was one). Today, nothing in the world could get X'ni down. He walked around like the cocky bastard he was, grinned like the devil inside him, shot people looks with the insanity of his mind, and stroked his orange firelizard as if she were an evil black cat. Honey was far from evil, though. She busied herself with clinging around his neck like he was the best thing in the world, trilling notes of love to him. Still, though, he made a sappy sweet firelizard look badass. He was just that good.

He'd made a habit of heading to dinner later than most. There'd been a particular pinkrider he'd had quite an argument with in the earlier dinner crowd. What was her name? Something stupid. Brindy? And her dragon, pink... a pink! And, she was a bitch. And because getting in trouble with the Weyrleaders wouldn't get him anywhere in life, he had been avoiding her for the past sevenday or so. It disgusted him how much of a well-trained mutt he was becoming, and he mainly did it all for F'lan... F'lan had him around his finger! Faranth! If he didn't have his lovely F'lan to worry about, he'd have taken that Brindy girl right there. He could think of a thousand things he'd like to do to her. He could make her cry, all right. Scream. Beg for mercy. Oh, he could... but then again, he couldn't.

Rules were stupid.

You're such a son of a wher. Enlith interjected.

What? Enlith, gorgeous, you're awake now? Wait, wait, why are you disagreeing with me?! You know you wanted to get at her, too. And her bratty pink.

Yes, I'm awake. Yes, I did. But you're still a son of a wher.

X'ni gave up. Whatever, Ennie.

Don't call me that.

X'ni went about filling up his plate. There was some rider ahead of him in the line... Faranth! Where was his dimglow mind right now? He was spilling all over the place! The serving ladies weren't at all impressed by this. Cocky thing he was, he made sure to make the serving ladies' lives as easy as possible, and showered them in smooth compliments and thanks. Then, he went off to eat, finding a nice mostly-unoccupied table for himself. He gave Honey bits of his sweet meats, because she was just so persuasive and darling, and ate almost half of his plate. Then he noticed that rider. The dimglow one.

Smirking, X'ni got up and transfered himself to B'wie's table. He set his plate down.

"Hellooo."

[/blockquote]

[purnip]

Impressions left on rocks were quite peculiar. I could have sworn one had Thread on it at some point. The spiral shapes were just as slender and sleek as described in harpers' tales! Perhaps I should show it to Fajra; this discovery could lead to something. I'm not sure what, but it could I'd bet. To know the enemy in all its forms is absolutely cru--

B'wie's thoughts were cut by the sound of a plate's dropping just before his own, the noise just sudden enough to snap him from his mental musings. His own bowl of soup was half finished and it was likely that the consumption of such only took place in enough minutes to count on one hand, if B'wie knew of minutes. With an expression of mild surprise he rose his head to properly view this new arrival. Just as with anyone else, both fellow weyrmates and former renegades, he had no idea who he was looking at. The visitor greeted him and in turn, B'wie simply blinked behind his big round glasses as if trying his hardest to fathom a ghost.

His response therefore, was delayed, but once he had processed this newcomer by shifting to a different gear in his mind, his face suddenly brightened with enthusiasm that fueled from the food he finally fueled himself up with. "Good afternooooon, ser!" His voice was eerie as he failed at being properly melodic. "Do have a sit! You may just prevent me from finishing another meal in record time!"

If the statement itself sounded sarcastic, it would have been hard to believe for long. The man was simply too happy and his words sounded awfully sincere. Besides, if anyone knew B'wie in the slightest, even so much as hearing tales of the eccentric fellow, they knew that if he had an opinion to speak, he wouldn't filter it in the slightest as he let it fly. He simply didn't seem to care what others thought of him. His head was always wrapped up in his investigations. In all truthfulness, he hoped X'ni would stay. It was better to relate his discoveries to a actual individual other than himself.

Well thanks. I thought you were talking to me the whole time, Sjanseth relayed, still perching somewhere above the feeding grounds were the herdbeasts grazed. If any dragon could be found under the definition of 'picky eater', it was this dragon.

Sjanseth often stayed connected to B'wie's mind, only because he was concerned about the man's habit of talking to himself and he wanted to be supportive of his rider's attitude. As...annoying as it got at times and as hazardous, Sjanseth knew that science was where his rider's heart lay. The White cared deeply for B'wie, despite their bickering, and he was the sort who would support him to no end. He did get jealous when B'wie desired human company for a change, but it was healthy he guessed. Sjanseth focused on the movement of his prey and continued to watch ever so patiently.

[Reky]

Score one for the home team -- brilliant choice of people, X'ni, he smirked. Already this rider seemed like he was going to be a riot. Loads of fun to toy with. It took quite an amount of self control not to laugh at the huge glasses and the odd way of speaking. He translated the urge to chuckle to his smirk, though, which twisted in a patented X'ni way. He stroked Honey's little head, and she purred to him.

"Why, thank you," X'ni said, voice smooth. "I'd love to." He leaned back in his chair. Honey detached herself from his neck for once, hunger overriding her adoration. She picked at the sweet meats left on X'ni's plate. While she busied herself, X'ni stuck his hand out across the table. With a toothy grin, now, he introduced himself. "X'ni, of Green Enlith. A pleeeasure to meet you."

From where she had been napping in their Weyr, Enlith was listening in again. She still maintained that X'ni was a son of a wher. Actually, she'd never told him that was a bad thing. Her tone had implied it but, in all honesty, most things sounded like an insult when Enlith said them. She was actually quite proud of her son of a wher. He was, after all, quite good at finding interesting people to talk to. Enlith was fully intrigued. This bespectacled rider was definitely something else.

I feel you there, Enlith, love. X'ni pointed out. He could feel the undersized green listening in. She didn't grace him with a reply, though. She just kept in touch with his mind. X'ni snorted, faintly amused by her interest.

[/blockquote]

[purnip]

Sjanseth finally made his move at the feeding grounds, striking like a bolt of lightning from his perch to a healthy young male beast below. It didn't get a chance to put up much of a fight. Much like a vicious lust-flight Green, he killed the creature just before its cry could leave its mouth. The dragon then proceeded to blood the kill; after all, Whites did not require nearly as much food as their larger cousins and he preferred his meat dry. This beast was just enough for him. He ate just as precisely as he killed. His maw and claws were all that were stained with any blood due to his daintiness from the creature's death and onwards. Caught in this state, he noted not the rider he spoke to or his Green. Unlike many existing Whites, he wasn't as openly friendly, especially when eating. Or he could be. It simply depended on the time and place.

B'wie couldn't feel anything from Sjanseth anymore. Sometimes it was just easy for him to disconnect from his partner and he certainly loathed that hunting and prowling feel. It simply wasn't in his deck of cards. Besides, he had sitting before him a fellow dragonrider! Someone to impart his wealthy stock of information to. Not that he suspected X'ni would care in the slightest; he didn't bother making any suspicions. In his opinion, his information needed to be heard by anyone who could perhaps understand it.

B'wie laughed aloud when X'ni dragged out the word 'pleasure', as if they had invented one of the funniest jokes on the spot. "Good good! A pleasure to meet you as well, X'ni, a pleasure indeed!" He sounded so enthusiastic that it might have been contagious. It was amazing to behold such a man such as this after a long day's work. One wonders where the hell he draws all this energy from if he hardly gets any sleep.

He stuck out his hand in one swift movement, nearly knocking his glass of wine over. "B'wie, rider of White Sjanseth at your service," he said, completely unaware of the wobbling cup that was steading itself. He might have looked like something out of a comic at the moment. His crow's feet were pronounced and his grin was wide, as ear to ear as a human's can possibly get. His hair was an utter mess after a days work, but its peculiar style allowed it to remain intentional-looking. His coat was covered in so much dust that it practically looked a pale tan. The hand he extended was actually clean, if not just a little dusty. He usually put on gloves when he was working in the field anyhow and he takes them off when he's eating or sleeping. "Recent resident of Dalibor. They couldn't quite handle me back at home." He said this so casually, as if he harbored no ill will. As a matter of fact, he hadn't. Home simply became...too sad a place to stay.

[Reky]

Of White Sjanseth, hmm? A Whiterider. Enlith found that particularly interesting. Whites were rare. Greens... greens were not rare. (Though, she would argue, one of her beauty and delicately small size was one such rarity.) She was lazing over her weyrledge, claws hanging over. Her tail flicked lazily behind her, and despite being relaxed, she still kept up a graceful, confident posture. She scanned the entire weyr before her. It wasn't a good view, she noted grumpily, since they hadn't given the renegades good weyrs at all, but she could still see some things. She could see a small dragon, a white one, eating in the paddocks. Hm. Perhaps that was the spoken-of Sjanseth? Interesting.

Back in the dining hall, the orange firelizard Honey was not quite as lazy. Full, she peered up at B'wie, tail wiggling behind her, and trilled him an adoring note. X'ni smiled down at her (she was such a dear), and then smiled his twisted smile back at B'wie. Well, wasn't he the character? X'ni simply raised his eyebrows at the wobbling, unnoticed wineglass, then saw B'wie's comical smile. A character indeed.

Thoroughly enjoying himself, X'ni picked up B'wie's wineglass and took a sip from it.

"Hope you don't mind," he purred afterwards, setting it down. "You know, my old Weyr couldn't handle me, either. I don't think any Weyr can, really. I wonder how long this one will last... Hmmm." He looked up thoughtfully, slowly, and his movements were rather reminiscent of a feline, or tunnelsnake.

[/blockquote]

[purnip]

At this point in the conversation, B'wie wasn't the one blocking out Sjanseth. The awkwardness level that his rider seemed to have conjured made the White feel embarrassed to be a part of any of it. It wasn't a complete cutoff; that couldn't and should never happen at all. He didn't feel ashamed of B'wie in the slightest. There was simply a dosage of this feeling that Sjanseth couldn't handle and it had been given. He finished up with the herdbeast quickly, going against his own promise to eat slowly, and trotted away at first to lick at the blood on his claws. First and foremost, he liked to stay as pristine as possible. Maybe the chromatic beasts could wear blood without turning heads, but a White looked ghastly when splotched with red. Imagine if someone angered him. He'd look like a sort of ravenous beast with red eyes. He dreaded to think of such a thing.

B'wie's hand was still extended over the table, but when X'ni had either forgotten to shake it or simply didn't wish to, he gave a nervous bit of laughter as he lowered his hand. His attitude seemed to be impossible to trample. Even as a few memories of his home brought the worst ones to mind, he managed to keep a smile on his face the entire while as if it was all he knew how to do. He retracted his hand and gripped the side of the table as if he were a sort of child waiting impatiently for a secret to be told. B'wie was simply coming out of his skin and hoping he could tell X'ni all about the fossils he found, especially that one fossil that looked to have had a bit of Thread on it.

He didn't even notice X'ni taking his wine glass, that or he didn't care at all. B'wie usually got wine only to take a sip of it anyways. He wasn't the sort to drink; the Whiterider much preferred to keep a clear mind. It was bad enough that he was absentminded to start. Imagine the man drunk; it'd be a national disaster.

"Not at all! You can drink the rest if you'd like," B'wie said quickly, still cheery but charging up with energy from the food he was finally letting himself digest a little. "Not a drinker myself but my father kept me convinced that a glass of wine everyday was the way to go! I don't understand why to be honest but dad's dad, so I ought to listen to his advice once in a while." He spoke so quickly at this point that his words nearly ran together, but this was all to save time. B'wie couldn't bear the idea of wasting a solitary second. Life was just too short for that!

But not X'ni, oh no no. B'wie could see he was a calm fellow, a slower sort, still intelligent but you know how it goes. He guessed that taking things slowly had its advantages as well, but B'wie was almost always about instant gratification. His hands finally hung before him as he rested his chin on them in the air, giving himself an almost mischievous and calculating look. "Haa, I see. I'm beginning to wonder the the same. The trick is to get out as much as possible and chase down your passions without letting anything stand in your way. No distractions! And as long as you don't hurt anyone people don't seem to mind it," he said, slowing down just the slightest bit. His grin then seemed to widen. "It's not like the Thread's here yet so there's no hard feelings if you want to do something for you. I see dragons as a key to liberation, not just a tether to a system." He snickered and put a hand by his mouth as if playfully imparting a secret. "But these days you can't quite tell what is and isn't acceptable anymore. I just go out and explore anyways until I'm scolded for it."

[Reky]

The white began to clean himself, and Enlith let her eyes drop closed and sighed lazily, soaking up the last little bits of sun that came in this time of the evening. She listened in close to the conversation at hand, a little worried. While B'wie wouldn't know it, he was definitely encouraging X'ni. It was amusing to her, though, how well this whiterider's words applied to Hers as well, though she was sure B'wie hadn't even started to imagine how exactly they did. The sunning green chuckled to herself.

"Oh, really? Thank you," X'ni smiled, taking another sip of the wine - this time, a longer one. He licked his lips, mind wandering at B'wie's mention of parents. X'ni's parents... hah. Well, they'd tried their best, he'd give them that, but trying to bottle up who your son is isn't exactly the way to go. They ended up giving up. Disowning him, you'd say. He didn't mind. He thought they were awful boring and dimglows anyways. They'd loved his brother, Daxis, far more anyways. Daxis was dead now, though. Dead and gone, which may or may not have been partly X'ni's fault.

While X'ni leaned back, sipping his wine, completely and utterly relaxed, his orange firelizard skittered forward, peering curiously at B'wie with adoring eyes. He looked funny! She loved him! Yes she did!

"See," X'ni said, smile dropping in favour of a more serious look, "And it's quite a predicament when hurting people is in the way of what you want most. I'm sure you understand. The awful part is that the higherups aren't so accepting of that, when in truth, they're hurting you by holding you down with rules!" He was quite enjoying acting the part of a deep-thinking, intelligent man, sipping wine. He imagined himself in a room of pompous lordholders, even. "If you ask me, they should think about laying off. But you know Weyrleaders and Lordholders and the like. They think they can control everyone. 'For the greater good,' they say!" Then, a sly smile spread across his pale face.

"But what if what we're trying to do is for the greater good, too? See, that's the part they don't get."

[/blockquote]

[purnip]

Sjanseth could sense he was being watched. He turned away from his grooming and stared off in Enlith's general direction, but he didn't seem to actually show off any form of disapproval. He didn't mind being watched at all, but he did wish to indicate that he was aware of it. He gave a slight dip of his head in greeting to her before continuing to clean off his claws. He was rather obsessive about cleanliness himself. He was still getting a vague sense of his rider's conversation, despite trying to ignore his rider's strange emotions. He could tell that X'ni was every bit as independent as B'wie, however his intentions and aspirations must be different. Sjanseth knew of no other man like his own rider. B'wie seemed a breed apart from other humans. It was his unique sort of attitude that attracted the White to him in the first place. No one could fill in for the strange man.

B'wie spared a glance at Honey, giving the creature a second's grin and a wink before returning his attention to X'ni. Not that B'wie was fond of firelizards, but he found this one to be rather charming. His attention never remained on them for long though. In the land of the living, all that seemed to really interest him once in a while were fellow humans and the occasional dragon. The rest was sort of like white noise.

The Whiterider's face seemed to get just a bit more serious as well as X'ni spoke, but he simply looked pensive above all else. His foot restlessly wagged underneath the table, as if all of his pent up energy HAD to be spent somewhere. The fact that B'wie was kept still this long was a borderline miracle. X'ni should get an award for picking this sort of topic out of the man.

"The rules aren't all that bad," B'wie said innocently, his brows raised as if he might have missed something and not realized it. "I think it's important to protect other people through law. I don't think one should simply be careless when pursuing their passions..." Then he gave a chuckle that evolved into more of a short laugh. "But I've done it! I do it all the time! Alas humans flaw in that respect. Shortsighted as we come, authority itself can be just as rash and thoughtless, as they are human as well." He seemed to suddenly teem with glee as if he were approaching a forbidden treasure. "Law is but another method of attempting to bend humans into something beyond human capability. But I don't feel like I'm being controlled at all!"

He sat back and put his hands behind his head as if remembering something very pleasant. "Ah yes, but I haven't been stopped yet! If I had that'd be a different matter entirely!" He then sat more properly, but it was evident by all his movement that simply sitting was becoming hard work. "Because I'd simply go about doing what I wish some other way. Still, by my own morals I would try not to hurt another soul. Yes! Moral! And not another soul."

[Reky]

Honey seemed a little disheartened at the lack of attention she got, but the disappointment only lasted a split second before she chirped happily at B'wie and skittered back to curl her bulky self around X'ni's neck. Even if the strange one with glasses didn't like her too much, she certainly liked him! She liked everyone, of course. Especially Hers! She nuzzled his cheek, cooed, and then went about napping.

X'ni smiled and stroked the little firelizard's head, before taking another long drink of the wine. He listened to B'wie talk, about rules and control and moral. X'ni was hardly human. Rules were the bars of a cage, to him, though easily broken or slipped through. He hated being controlled, and much preferred being the one in control. And morals? X'ni hardly had morals. There was nothing in him that told him not to hurt someone. Yes, he realized it was wrong, and that was the fun of it. People were so easily manipulated, not only by laws but by other people as well, and surely one of the reasons they existed was to give entertainment to others. He didn't care much for other people, save for the love of his twisted life and his dragon. He never felt guilt.

"Well," he said, giving a little shrug, "It is, after all, part of human nature to want to break rules. There's a sense of adventure in it." He took a sip of the wine. He quirked an eyebrow at how fidgety B'wie was becoming. "Still, though, call me crazy," (which he was) "I prefer things in a sort of every-man-for-himself way." Then, the wine was gone. He set it down on the table, and flashed B'wie a smirk. A trademark, twisted, sadistic X'ni smirk.

[/blockquote]

[purnip]

"I see," B'wie responded, drawing out his last word as he leaned back. He appeared to be analyzing X'ni from a bit of distance, but he wasn't being judgmental at all. B'wie had a specific method for cases he had yet to come across. True, he had met other human beings who only served themselves; in a sense he was something similar. The only difference was that he did what he was told, but he never did it all that well unless he actually cared about it. If people nagged at him, it went clear over his head. He lived an oblivious sort of life wrapped up in his own interests, but as careless as he would describe himself to be, he was actually more thoughtful of other people than he appeared. Other people weren't all that bad. He'd love company of others as long as they didn't get in his way of things. B'wie was like that anal old man who restored paintings in an art museum; he loved those with similar interests and sought to take on apprentices, but he had his way and if anyone got in it, they could end up trampled or tripped over just before being scolded. It mattered not who was in his path in that case. From a child to the Weyrwoman herself.

But he did respect authority, though it sounded like he didn't care much about it. It wasn't the kind of subject he put thought into. Boring really. He found the 'crazy' topic a lot more interesting. Now that was a word he heard flung in his direction at least once a sevenday. He gave a chuckle, finally, late after several seconds of silently examining the other man. Leaning forward and holding his head with one hand, he grinned something just as sly.

"Nothing crazy about that," he began, appearing to be a little too amused by this tidbit of info. His voice was playfully pitched like a mad scientist's. "But fascinating, yeees. Humans are strange creatures--strangest alive, I'll bet. But crazy? No."

He leaned in a bit, but then leaned back, repeating this motion like a child who needed to use the restroom. This was the stillest he had been since sleep. B'wie had to fight the urge to suddenly stand, but it would be rude to just quit this conversation, yes? Besides, this X'ni fellow was quite interesting. "What's your definition of crazy anyways? I've been called crazy before." He gave a small laugh. "But murderers have been given the same title, and I'd never! Must be broad. Perhaps we're all crazy in our own way."

I am not, Sjanseth replied, getting up and stretching his wings to prepare for take off. And neither are you. Obsessive, but sane.

B'wie didn't reply to that, but he felt no better hearing it. He didn't feel bad saying it about himself to begin with. He knew he could be eccentric at times, but he couldn't help it. It was as natural to him as breathing. If that made him crazy, then he was fine with it.

[Reky]

He was being exceedingly polite today. Enlith was slightly amused by it, though she knew his little mind was ticking away, imagining ways to push this whiterider's buttons and make him understand what sort of 'crazy' he really was, feigning manners all the while. The conversation was interesting for both members of the greenpair, though. X'ni, at least, was excited to have found someone who actually talked about shit like this. See, he wasn't a dimglow himself. He was extremely intelligent, at times, despite his his bipolar tendencies. On occasion, he thought about things like this. He just never really talked about it to anyone.

Though, he wasn't feeling some sort of connection to B'wie, despite this. B'wie was still just another plaything.

"Yes, yes, everyone is their own sort of crazy," he mused, swilling the wine around. "The people who always follow rules, no matter what? That's a type of crazy. People who clean lots, people who don't stand up for themselves, people who have odd habits. All a type of crazy." He smiled, and drained the last bit of wine. "Some people are just worse than others." There was something in his voice, then, that indicated he was implying himself in that general 'some people.'

"Though..." he continued on, setting down the empty glass. "I suppose it depends on your definition of 'crazy.'"

[/blockquote]

[purnip]

B'wie was being patient, more so than usual. If X'ni wasn't so fascinating in his own way, the Whiterider might have left with his frivolous hand gestures with the excuse of having things to do. Part of his unlikely stillness was due to a tiredness he had been ignoring for days straight. It helped to keep him from suddenly going rude and abrupt. His foot wagged without pause through the conversation because the energy had to go somewhere, but the energy wasn't all that strong in him this afternoon. His curious wide eyes met X'ni's as he listed to the Greenrider speak. His mind occasionally drifted to his discoveries of the day. Half of whatever the man said went in one ear and out the other.

Talk of crazy started to lose its luster though. A topic at a time was too slow a pace for B'wie to keep. He preferred a multitude of actions all at once to make maximum efficient use of time. He was tense with a sudden urge to depart, half his food still sitting there and getting cold but no will in the man to eat. His mind was finally catching up to his stomach. It shrunk so much from his lack of nourishment that it could hardly handle a fist-worth of food. Energy was slowly returning but an obstacle remained.

So he leaned forward to scoot out of his seat and stood beside the table, giving the Greenrider one of his merriest grins. Being ready for work again was always so...invigorating. Like a child who couldn't wait to play with a new toy, he looked forward to analyzing his rock samples as soon as possible.

"Insanity is no different from Beauty. It's all in the eye of the beholder. Or mind. Anyways, I've samples to study! Marvelous really. I believe I may have actually found an imprint of Thread upon stone! It's an exciting find, it is," he said with much enthusiasm.

But could he just up and leave? Should he offer the Greenrider to tag along? Most declined such offers. B'wie was...too much to handle at certain times. He would start talking fast and ignoring his guests if he really got into something. For a man who liked constant stimulus, he was actually very tunnel minded. Like a freight train running at sixty miles an hour, he simply wouldn't and couldn't stop. "It was a pleasure to meet you!" My oh my, he forgot the man's name...oh well. He bent to pick up his tray, as he usually threw out his own leftovers instead of leaving the job to drudges. "I hate to be so short but I truly can't wait another second. Life is short! Too much to be done before the end!"

[Reky]

He noticed B'wie's antsiness. As he scooted forward, to get up, X'ni resigned himself to the fact that his new plaything was going to run off. Ah well. He'd find some quiet drudge girl instead, he figured, toss her around a bit, or go and nap with Enlith. He remained calm, though, smiling politely. B'wie's motor mouth ran, jumping from something about insanity to rock samples. He was one of those science people, was he? X'ni chuckled.

"A pleasure to meet you, too," he said, still smiling up at the whiterider as he made to leave. With all that energy, X'ni half expected him to strike a pose and fly off like some superpowered human. It was an amusing image, to say the least. He felt Enlith tugging at his mind, having decided she was going to my whiny and attentionwhoring now. He'd go back to her in a few moments.

You'll have to pick me up, dear, he told her.

So much work. But Enlith obliged, reluctantly. The sunning had made her lazy.

X'ni twirled the empty wineglass around as B'wie left.

Alright, get out here.

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