Prickly Discomfort [Aparicus, Lorenuo]

What in the world was he doing? He clearly wasn't thinking through his actions any more, and that should disturb him more than it was at the moment. Nejerc blamed it on the need to act, and ensure the flighty woman would be alright. The woman in question had run as if her life depended on it, and though he was a good runner he didn't have nearly as much effort into his run as the woman did.

He didn't know the woman well enough to have known she would act so adversely to something like a list of names. Suspects in an attempted murder, and she had only been on the list because of her personal garden and work with herbs. It had also been noted that she might have questionable motives, and that she was over looked.

The thoughts made Nejerc press his lips together in a firm line of displeasure even as he paused to look around him quickly. Where had she gone? He took a few steps and realized he'd followed her all the way to a small garden area. Nejerc took a moment to catch his breath completely as he trended more slowly looking around with quick assessing eyes.

She was close, he had been on her heels almost he was sure of it, but she's managed to vanish between one turn of the corner and the next. His heart still hammering in his chest from the run he moved toward the garden. As this was possibly Aparicus's garden he guessed that she had come here. Perhaps out of habit?

“Aparicus..” He called gently not wanting to frighten her any more than she already was. He'd chase her around the weyr if he had to. He normally would have waited for her to come to grips with her fear and panic but he wasn't chasing her just for himself, but for her. He needed to make sure she wouldn't hurt herself in her panic, and he had a present that she was supposed to receive and he was the only one who could deliver it now.. As it was he twirled the cinnamon stick gently between his thumb and index finger.

It was Nejerc hoped something that would help her relax and ease some of the panic he'd seen on her expressive face, and heard in her voice before she ran. That's all Nejerc could do was hope, and look. “Aparicus, it's alright it was just someone's mental ramblings.” What he didn't say was that if one person thought it then it was possible others would as well.

“B-but I’ve n-n-never hurt anyone… I swear…”  she whimpered softly from his left.  She’d turned down a trail in the garden and folded herself under one of the shade trees there that provided shade for the herbs that didn’t thrive in direct sunlight.  Even the shade trees had a purpose in her garden, for her garden.  Despite having only lost sight of her for a moment, her face was already tearstained as she hugged her knees close to her chest.  Her hair, which had been pulled back into a tail was falling lose after the run and now framed her face messily, a few strands sticking to her wet cheeks as she looked up at the man who’d persued her.  Did he think she could hurt someone?

Then again… it was not so long ago she’d managed to hurt Talian… and shortly before that… Sanderon.  Neither had been intentional though! …  maybe she was a terrible person…

Sniffling, she felt a fresh flood of tears threaten her eyes and she quickly looked down.  Better to keep her eyes downcast in case her crying upset the man.  While he hadn’t struck her as a man to get angry at her, she certainly didn’t know a lot about Nejerc.  That much had been proven clear in Talian’s room when Nejerc had threatened the healer.  As if that hadn’t been confusing enough, he’d threatened the healer because of her.  Because she’d been there.  If she wasn’t so terrified of her name on that list, she might have stopped to think about what such things might have meant.

Her bronze lizard was on the ground next to her, standing on his hind legs watching her as she curled up, his own eyes whirling in slow distress before he looked back at Nejerc.  If Cinnamon could narrow his eyes accusingly at the man, Nejerc got the distinct feeling shared with him that it was exactly what the bronze was doing.

Hearing her he turned to see her hiding under the tree and taking in her face he almost winced. He wasn't afraid of tears, but tear it all he didn't know Aparicus and did not know what would comfort her. He'd comforted his share of weeping children, but they were easier to understand and care for. As the fire lizard looked up at him Nejerc stared back at it a moment before lowering to a crouch in front of Aparicus.

“It's all alright. There's no reason to cry.” He used his harper voice to his advantage making it as soothing as he could. “There's no reason for anyone to truly suspect you Aparicus, it was nothing.” After a pause he held out the cinnamon stick to her. “Look here what someone was trying to give you.”

It wasn't completely true, the reason explained on the paper was reason enough to some. Nejerc himself however wanted solid proof, not just ramblings and thoughts. Aparicus herself gained nothing from D'ren's poisoning, not that Nejerc could think of off the top of his head. As it was she was either a really good actor or she really truly was feeling terrible about the whole affair.

What would Nejerc do if this wasn't enough to stop the flood of tears flowing across Aparicus's face? With children he could scoop them up and throw them in the air or cuddle them, but he doubted that would work with Aparicus she wasn't a child. The differences that came from childhood to adult hood were too large for Nejerc to have any idea on how to really comfort Aparicus. Perhaps he could treat her like a baby instead and hum to her until she stopped? He was still debating the idea when he looked at the fire lizard again to make sure it didn't leap for the cinnamon stick.

A fish!  A slippery, sliding, stinking fish!  That’s what his friend had become, it seemed, as every time Lorenuo managed to spot the slimy, scaly man he would disappear before the tall trader could make his way through the crowd without drawing unwanted attention to himself.  Seriously?  SERIOUSLY!?  Where the fuck did the man go now?

Lorenuo had seen Nejerc on the opposite edge of the crowd when the promotion of S’kef had been announced to the Weyr and while Lorenuo had been busy of late with his own distractions, he’d found the growing gossip juicy and needed to discuss it all with the man.  After all, there was nobody better in the Weyr to discuss such conspiracy with.  That was simple fact.

Still… Lorenuo hated fish.  ‘Jerk’ was a name seriously coming to mind as he prowled the Weyr again and again looking for signs of the man.  He had clearly not passed him leaving the center area… so that at least cut out half the Weyr… unless Nejerc was now making a habit of traveling circles.  And if that were the case Lorenuo might have blood on his hands soon.  Fishy, stinky blood.

And there he went again…  Lorenuo had dismissed the running girl from his thoughts as she passed him only to stop with his jaw dropping open when Nejerc passed by as well.  Stepping to the corner of the building he’d been walking past, he looked around the corner to confirm what he thought he’d never see in his confused friend – the man chasing down a woman.  While he was tempted to scratch the term fish from his mind, he decided to hold onto it for another minute as he let his long legs carry him in the same direction. 

What on Pern was his friend up to?

“Seriously?  If you’re going to spend your time chasing down women, Mr. Fish, you should bed them, not make them cry.”  He said as he entered the spice garden to find Nejerc facing that timid flower girl as she cried in the garden.  Realizing exactly who that running woman had been, Lorenuo lifted a hand to slap his face soundly.  “No wonder she was running away from you, Nejerc, you chose the most timid woman in the Weyr, one small attempt at anything sends her scuttling.”

His gaze swung from the fire lizard at the sound of a familiar male voice. He looked up to see his friend but at his friends words he raised an eyebrow a moment before looking back at the female then back at his friend yet again. “Excuse me?” The soothing was gone from his voice and his voice was dry, but held a hint of curiosity that some might have missed. “Mr. Fish?” He glanced around slowly a moment then looked down at the fire lizard and let his eyebrows raise further. “Mr. Fish is it?”

This was as close to joking and teasing as Nejerc had ever been. It would probably throw some off for him to show this face, but it was something he did when faced with his friends face. Lorenuo could occasionally drag it out of him, and sometimes at the worst moments. Like now, but that wasn't going to stop Nejerc from showing it.

He twirled the cinnamon stick in his fingers a moment making sure still that the fire lizard didn't leap for the thing. It was for Aparicus not him. “This is hardly what you think.” He said softly the amusement leaving his voice as he looked at Aparicus waiting to see if she'd take the cinnamon stick. “If you don't want the cinnamon stick, I'm sure I can return it. Though I don't think Talian would much enjoy it any more than I.” He said gentling his voice as he spoke to the weeping female.

When Nejerc bespoke Aparicus again, she had to drag her big round eyes that were momentarily debating fleeing again or crying more away from Lorenuo and back to Nejerc.  Blinking at him, she looked first at her lizard then at the stick in his hands.  “Why would Talian gift me anything?  H-he was mad at me… at us.”  She said softly, though her eyes watched the stick twirl in his fingers.  Twice now she’d gifted the healer with a bundle of the same cinnamon sticks to add flavor to his Klah, once as a thank you gift and once as an apology.  She couldn’t think of anyone else who would even have cinnamon sticks to give back to her.

Did that mean Talian was forgiving her? 

Again her eyes moved off Nejerc and to her lizard as he started letting out a string of angry warbles at the two men and spreading his wings as if to make himself seem larger.  Mouth dropping open in a large ‘O’, she quickly uncurled herself to scoop him back up and pin him to her stomach before quickly reaching out and snatching up the stick from Nejerc just in case that was what the bronze was finding so threatening, extra careful to grab it from the very end where her fingers wouldn’t brush his.

“His name is Cinnamon… not Mr. Fish.”  She said softly, as she rocked a little, shushing at the lizard as she glanced back up at the two men.

Ah! Finally some life into her instead of draining tears. Even if it was because her fire lizard had appeared to be making a display of itself. As she snatched the cinnamon stick from his fingers he drew his hand away to his own knees. “I believe you're mistaken, he was upset with me not you. Perhaps later you should check on your friend and see how his arm is?” It was a wild stab in the dark, a guess by the gift. Either Talian knew what Aparicus liked or he'd had nothing better to give her, yet still.. They way they had greeted each other had struck Nejerc as familiar.

He eyed the fire lizard a moment. “A rather sweet name for a feisty thing.” He said it more to himself than to Aparicus. Had he been trying to protect Aparicus from him and Lorenuo? Did that mean the fire lizard was threatened by their presence? Needing to be the only male around Aparicus? Or had he been reacting because of how she felt. She was clearly in distress but the answer was not apparent, and thought Nejerc might speak bluntly he didn't make a habit of speaking everything that crossed his mind.

Casting a side ways glance at Lorenuo he debated what his friend had said. 'most timid woman in the weyr, one small attempt at anything sends her scuttling.'  He would have to ask what Lorenuo meant exactly by that. Attempt at what exactly? Bedding her?! He looked back at Aparicus and skimmed a quick glance over her huddled figure. She wasn't hideous, but why would he take interest in her? There hadn't been any woman, or man for that matter in his interests for some time now. The thrill of activity behind closed doors had lost it's charm for Nejerc, and he had yet to find a good reason to jump back into that particular pool of trouble.

With the recent happenings in the weyr he had even less cause to show interest in anyone.

Congratulations! You found a clue!

Clue 10:

“Jada has been taking care of D’ren’s child,” one kitchen worker says to another, her tone dripping with suspicion. “Seems like she always is…and Tsuen never is!”

Another woman snorts dismissively. “Everyone is being too hard on Tsuen. She doesn’t like being told what to do by men, but everyone knows she loves D’ren. If anyone has a motive to kill him, it’s Jada.”

The other woman frowns. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” the second woman says, “He and Jada have had a lot of conflicts about a woman’s place…Jada was very outspoken about it early on. Besides, think about it…Everyone thinks Tsuen is unfit, and with her Weyrleader out of the way and the next flight not for a while…well…”

The other woman gasps scandalously. “You think Jada wants to be Weyrwoman?!” she asked in excited shock. “Well, her dragon has flown with S’kef’s twice now…”  The women’s gossip then fades to whispering as they walk away.

Lorenuo watched Nejerc’s reaction and recognized the slight play in his voice as he turned and called the firelizard ‘Mr. Fish’.  It tugged a smile onto his face easily.  Either Nejerc was growing slightly comfortable around the woman he’d never seen the man interact with personally – or he was attempting to comfort her.  Though why Nejerc, of all people, would put any care into the way a woman felt Lorenuo was slightly baffled about.  This was, after all, his friend Nejerc – not some soft hearted green rider.

Of course, the mention of the ‘honorary’ master healer baffled the Trader just a slight bit more, he pushed that aside too.  He’d get the answers he wanted now that he’d finally cornered the damn fish, but first he needed to be rid of prying ears and apparently distractions.

“Be gone woman, before I decide you’re too pretty to leave alone.”  He said easily, giving her a wickedly charming smile that would have sent pleasant shivers down a stronger woman’s spine.  This woman, however, he knew would take it as a dangerous promise.  Just as he thought, she paled and her little flitter-lizard puffed up with a whole new array of spitting and hissing as she quickly fumbled to her feet and took off once more.

A large hand rested on Nejerc’s hand as she left the garden, just to make sure the Fish didn’t take off after her again.  “Damn it man, do you know that you are the hardest damn person to track down when you’ve got something on your mind?  I swear, you go from point A to point B faster than a dragon jumps between – and when there are crowds of hysterical people between us it’s impossible for me to keep up, even with longer legs.”

Pausing as he heard voices on the other side of the garden wall came into earshot.  Honestly, the whole Weyr was abuzz with gossip and thoughts on the whole ordeal and attack on the Weyrleader and it honestly made Lorenuo grin from ear to ear.  As they finally moved out of earshot, he offered a hand down to his Weyrbred friend.  “So tell me what your thoughts are so far.  I’m assuming you haven’t been flitting around like a slippery fish for no reason at all.”

::  Exit Aparicus Stage Left  ::  Power-play approved by Self as I play both characters.

Nejerc would have gone after the female if his friend hadn't stopped him, as it was he eyed the retreating girls fleeing figure. Deciding she would be fine, at least Nejerc hoped. He looked at Lorenuo and took the offered hand to come to his feet. Sighing he lifted a hand to the back of his neck to rub a moment. “Indeed, I had an idea that I decided to investigate, that female came along and it was only later that I realized my mistake. I should have made sure she didn't follow me after all.”

“I thought I should question Talian on the Tansy that was used to poison D'ren. It was to mostly to give me a frame of time that D'ren had likely drank the stuff. It's apparently best served in a drink.” Nejerc said dryly folding his arms across his chest. “I realized that by asking these questions I was looking a little.. suspicious myself and that because Aparicus had come with me it looked equally bad on her.” Heaving a sigh he shook his head. “The situation quickly fell apart.”

He looked up at the sky over head. “There isn't enough information for me to make a clear choice on what has or is really going on. S'kef taking power, the weyr second stepping down? Tsuen.. being Tsuen. Tansy being used.. There's too much missing still. There's many who had a reason to kill D'ren but who really would?” He realized he hadn't phrased that right so he tried again. “Who would have the actual maliciousness to kill someone so well liked and strong? Who could kill someone and not regret it? Anger only goes so far.”

He looked at Lorenuo to see if he had made himself more clear that time around. There was still to much buzzing around in his head for him to actually speak, and it wasn't in an order that he could verbalize readily. There were chunks, large chunks missing from the information. While it might be possible that Jada wanted to be weyr leader he found it hard to believe she would poison D'ren. However much he speculated, it wouldn't be enough without proof...

“You looking suspicious?  Wouldn’t the person who poisoned D’ren have already known this information about the plant?”  Lorenuo asked, throwing in his own simple logic.  Honestly, he never thought as deeply as his friend on various topics though he did immensely enjoy tossing around the rumors they heard and theorizing on them in their spare time, so the attack and investigation was like a holiday to Lorenuo and he’d been eavesdropping every chance he got.

“Well just about the whole Weyr knows that he was poisoned and with Tansy.  Stop and think, who would benefit most from D’ren being down?  S’kef has some obvious advancement there – But who else?  Does anyone benefit in a second-hand way?  Like that green rider who’s always drooling at the man’s feet?”  he asked of his friend as he watched him consider the questions.