A Wild Dragonrider Appears! [I'shan]

One of the kitchenfolk was staring him down as if he had recreated the plague and set it loose upon Katila Weyr. In a way, he imagine he had by letting Charath into the kitchens with him. But, he couldn't leave his green dragonet behind - not only would she still talk in his head, but she'd be whining the entire time about him not letting her have any fun. The kitchens were a playground for her, with so many people to play with and trick! Her latest antic had been an attempt to switch some spices on one of the cooks - but she was so big, and the spice jars so small that the cook had caught on fairly quickly to Charath's attempt. The dragonet had squawked at being discovered, and the spice jar in her mouth had been unceremoniously dropped onto the ground. Predictably it broke, and predictably the cook wanted to not only yell at Charath, but at Erisi as well.

He restrained his tongue, and Erisi restrained the urge to smile smugly at the man. Some people found Charath's antics endearing, so half of the kitchen was watching her games fondly while the other half was dreading her next mistake. In the end, everyone seemed to know better than to yell at her, and were kind enough to an exhausted Weyrling not to yell at him either. Honestly, all he had come to the Kitchens for was a snack. He was eating from a bowl of fruit, carefully plucking out the most appealing bits and eating only those. Every so often, Charath would wander back to his side, and in passing he'd slip her the tiniest bit of cooked meat that was supposed to end up in a pie. He didn't give her that much, but it was still enough to make the dragonet feel spoiled.

Erisi should have been more upset by the trouble Charath was getting into, but within his first day of knowing his dragonet, he had learned that it was better someone else got stuck at the end of one of her bad pranks than himself. Still, when she started to push the limits by reaching for some grounded flour, he stepped up to try and rein her in. "Don't."

Why?

"You'll get it on your face, and I just spent too long cleaning you up today."

I will be a white dragon!

"No, there's no such thing, you'll be a rare albino wherry," he answered with an amused snort. The green dragonet craned her head towards him, staring him down for a few seconds as if that would make him more aware of her displeasure at the comment. "Look," he deflected her attention towards a kitchenfolk, "they look like they can be spooked easy." And she was off, doing another of her stare-you-down-and-remain-absolutely-motionless tricks. It was kind of becoming endearing, in that very annoying sort of way.

I'shan wasn't necessarily looking for trouble that day, and Erisi was probably the last thing on his mind.

He was terribly bored, though.

He'd woken up too late to eat breakfast and lunch wasn't quite ready. It was quite the predicament for I'shan. He was hungry now.

The kitchens, therefore, were an obvious destination.  I'shan strode in like he owned the place, his posture proper and his gait relaxed, eyes moving lazily from one point of interest to the next. He smiled slowly as he made his way to the store rooms in the back.

He slid into one of the chambers and started looking about for something to eat. What he found, however, was much more delicious. He saw Erisi, his 'favorite' searchee, apparently in the middle of wrangling his unruly green dragonet. I'shan crossed his arms and leaned casually against the door frame, brown eyes locked joyfully on Erisi as he bickered with the little green.

"Hello there," I'shan said at length, genuinely amused by the fact that Eri hadn't noticed him yet. The green may have, but he'd seen no indication. "It's nice to see you again, Erisi...It's been a while."

He was delighted to see Erisi Impress. I'shan could acknowledge that a dragonbond was too amazing to deny anyone. But to see the boy Impress a green? Hilarious.

Charath wasn't paying the slightest bit of attention to I'shan, mostly because she was in the process of completely freaking out a young kitchenfolk. The green dragonet hadn't moved in quite some time, and the girl was glancing anxiously to the creature, and then anxiously looking around for Erisi. He imagined someone thought his dragonet had hit her head. Erisi slowly stepped to the side, closer to another person in order to hide himself from her seeking eyes. He wouldn't want to ruin Charath's fun - she'd find some way to get revenge on him for it. He stopped paying attention to Charath for the meantime, though he did smile when he heard a loud squeak from the girl. Whatever Charath had done, she was now laughing in his head over it.

His day was going better than the previous one, in terms of how he was handling Charath. Erisi still had his limitations, of course, and Charath was bent on pressing them. But, he was managing. Today wouldn't have been so bad until he heard a distinctive voice purring behind him. Erisi didn't even want to turn around and face I'shan. He even wondered if ignoring the man would encourage I'shan to disappear out of his life again. Erisi really didn't like the Searchrider, and even more, when he did look around, he was sad that I'shan's face wasn't bruised. It had looked a lot better with his fist against it.

Blue eyes stared distrustfully at I'shan, his gut churning unpleasantly with the knowledge that he now had to deal with the bluerider. "Your face looks worse than I remembered it. Are you sure you've been getting enough sleep?" Erisi had the capacity to be warm an talkative with someone, but he also had the capacity to be a total asshole who'd give anyone the cold shoulder. The truth was that he was usually the latter, and rarely the former. 

Are you volunteering him? Charath asked with wicked pleasure. The greenling was trying to climb up onto one of the tables, and a kitchenfolk was watching her aghast. They had no idea if they were even allowed to grab her to try and stop her. They were likely waiting for Erisi to control her. He wished them the best of luck with that one.

Charath's tabletop adventure caught I'shan's eye for a moment. He smirked a bit, genuinly endeared by the little green's efforts, though he secretly got a great deal of pleasure from how much trouble she seemed to be giving Erisi. The little wherry deserved to have to care for a dragonet that was every bit as much trouble as he was.

Ilveriath had been a lazy, compliant hatchling that followed newly-Impressed Ishellian everywhere he went. It was probably a good thing. Ilveriath was the first thing Ishellian had ever had to be responsible for. Had Ilv been some sort of terror, like Charath seemed to be, I'shan never would have been able to control him. I'shan liked the warm, protective feeling he got from his dragon, even though many expressed surprise that he wasn't in possession of a playful and active one like Saquith.

Could you imagine, though?

Ilveriath himself looked in on the situation through I'shan's eyes. The blue was always willing to provide his mischievous bonded a bit of support. In a way, Ilveriath was as much an enabler as he was a safety net. He didn't bother to bespeak either Erisi or Charath, but he did keep an eye on them as I'shan replied.

Erisi's comment set I'shan's spine bristling. The bluerider's pride was as easily damaged as always, but there was also the rush of confrontation to consider. As he stood, he wasn't sure if he liked these little catfights or not.

Ilveriath knew he did. If he didn't , why would he start them?

"Oh, really?" I'shan asked, chest puffing up just slightly. He knew what he wanted to say, but that was a real zinger...he needed to save it for later. Start slow!

"Well, you're welcome to give it a touch up if you like...I'm sure the Weyrsecond is eager to meet the new greenriders."

Someone was bound to interrupt them soon, not because they were starting to argue already, but because Charath had actually managed to get onto the table. She sat atop it proudly, blue eyes whirling with delight as she was now suddenly just as tall as everyone else! It was the simple things in life that Charath could enjoy sometimes. While this necessarily wasn't one of her pranks, it still made her feel delightfully wicked. She was someplace she was not supposed to be, after all. This was an easier sort of evil, one that when Charath was having bad days with thinking that she could resort to. Being a new hatchling, she was not even remotely close to being out of ideas - she figured the kitchenfolk deserved a break, and this way she could observe her bonded with ease.

You know, all the lesser dragons would not be able to handle your raging emotions. I don't think I'll ever be dull, she crooned at her bonded. Just then one of the weyrfolk finally gathered up the courage to extend their arms to her, encouraging her to get down. Charath for a moment fell completely silent and still, and then trumpeted into the poor person's face. Erisi would have laughed, if he wasn't dealing with his own problems.

"I hear he has a thing for Blueriders," Erisi answered hastily - his tolerance of I'shan had already been low, and right now it was considerably lower than the norm. "He'll do a better job of marking you up than I ever would - I'll leave him to it." Erisi folded his arms against his chest, and physical deflection of whatever intimidation I'shan had. The man was not a powerful looking creature, but they had history, and there were easier ways to rile Erisi up instead of physical intimidation.

Watch. I will get him to leave you be. Charath did not bother to speak to I'shan - she wouldn't belittle herself so. Instead, she screeched at him, a very clear warning to 'lay off' her bonded. Erisi couldn't say she didn't do anything for him!

I'shan paid insultingly little attention to Erisi, instead choosing to look over the new greenrider's shoulder and watch the dragonet's antics.

Ilv...she looks like she has some fire in her throat he said admiringly, though he was hardly doing so with innocence. Ilveriath easily picked up on the implications.

Isn't it a bit disrespectful to be thinking of her in such a way? he asked with just a distant hint of caution. He didn't really care if I'shan took it to heart or not. Ilveriath just wanted to make sure I'shan was aware of the wrongness of his thought process. If he decided to keep going down that path, well....he'd chosen his own fate.

You are no fun

I'shan narrowed his eyes a bit at Erisi's comment. The bluerider could feel the hairs on the back of his neck standing up at he thought of S'kef. Shards, I'shan was glad he wasn't a greenrider! How terrible it would be to be at that man's mercy. Not that such a fate wasn't impossible for him, albeit in a very...different way. He didn't appreciate being reminded of that.

"He likes greenriders even less," he said icily. Ilveriath's attention was roused by I'shan's sudden distress. Shhh, be quiet. Do not let his threats upset you Ilveriath urged softly, cushioning his rider in projected love. He knew how I'shan feared the lash. Just imagining the sting of leather on his skin was upsetting the fragile-egoed bluerider.

I'shan's face twisted in distaste, but before he could manage a comeback, he was assaulted by a piercing sound. He jumped a foot in the air and recoiled in surprise as Charath screeched at him.

He gasped and felt himself blushing just a bit. Oh no. No ma'am! That wasn't going to be the last word. Time for the big guns.

"...Your dragon's a screamer, huh? Like dragon, like rider? I always wondered, but...I guess I'll know for sure once Ilveriath flies her."

If Ilveriath had hands, he'd have slammed one into his forehead.

The smart thing to do would be to crawl up the Weyrleader's ass and inform him that I'shan had decided that taunting young Weyrlings was too much fun to pass up. Charath probably would have approved of the action, since it'd give them a chance to look nice and respectable to the Weyrleader. Erisi however, had a tendency to get angry, and when he got angry, he was less think first act later, and more act first and think later. His blue eyes grew colder, and the wealth of emotions that coursed through his veins even startled his own dragonet. She had been paying attention to begin with, and now her eyes flashed yellow with genuine alarm at how I'shan was talking to her bonded about her and how poorly her bonded was taking it.

Erisi wouldn't take any insult to his dragonet, and he would not stand for any such implications when his dragonet was only a few days old. For Faranth's sake, this man absolutely had no sharding shame, and someone needed to step up and beat some sense into the dimglow's head. Stop! You'll get us in trouble. You'll make us look bad! Don't do anything! I'll handle it. Please, it's all right. It's okay, I promise. Her eyes whirled a distressed yellow, though as she continued to talk her voice became less demanding and more coaxing, as if urging a child away from a temper tantrum. The Kitchenfolk observed her with concern, unsure of how to really act when a Weyrling and Dragonrider were on the verge of fighting.

I will get him later. He can do nothing to us, because you have me, and I'm the best green. His kind are nothing compared to us. We are better.

For some reason, her words worked, though he calmed down more out of concern for his dragonet's well being. He could hear the distress in her voice, and there was nothing in the entirety of Pern that could convince him that stressing out his dragonet so cruelly was a good thing to do. Still, even without acting in anger, he still had a few ways he could confront I'shan. He could take the high road and talk to D'ren, or he could stoop to I'shan's level. Either way, he did not doubt that if talked to D'ren, I'shan would attempt to wiggle into the Weyrleader's favor to somehow turn this situation back on Erisi. Charath would have voiced her opinion, which was vastly different from Erisi's, if he had not already made up his mind.

He leaned back against the kitchen counter, knowing that behind him Charath was trying to climb down to be able to get over to her bonded's side. "He'd have to catch her, and Charath would never let the Weyr's trash touch her. Like rider, like dragon? I feel bad for your's, since he got stuck with the lowest of people."

I'shan's face fell a bit. He realized quite suddenly that his tongue was out of control and in attempting to jeer at Erisi, he'd upset the little dragonet, too.

That is the logical outcome Ilveriath reminded, sounding disapproving but remaining gentle. Ilveriath tended to allow I'shan to wade off into his disasters, but this particular incident was going too far. He considered brushing against Charath's mind and apologizing to her, but he doubted it would do any good. He gave a mental sigh and settled down, content at least that I'shan seemed to at least realize that he was inching over the line.

The bluerider frowned a bit, eyeing Charath with curious sympathy. "I didn't mean to upset her. For all you know, I was coming over to congratulate you on Impression...Believe it or not, I've been bragging all over about you. Valerian, too," he said distastefully. He did feel a bit awkward about causing such a stir, but his indignant side continued to fester.

It reached a new level when Erisi dared to outright insult Ilveriath. I'shan scowled and took a bold step forward. "There's nothing wrong with Ilv," he said, his voice raising a bit higher than he would have liked. Ilveriath's presence quickly returned. Stop, dear... he whispered soothingly.

I'shan frowned again. "We'll just have to see, then," he pouted. His voice sank lower and he clenched his fist at his side, but he didn't dare raise it. He knew he was already pushing, but at least in this case Erisi had been the actual instigator.

Erisi was rude first, right? That's what counted. The fact that I'shan had approached him couldn't possibly count. That's what he told himself, anyhow.

In spite of his indignation, he did know somewhere, deep down inside, that he'd hoped for trouble.

Erisi scoffed. The last thing he expected I'shan to do was congratulate him. The first thing that he expected the bluerider to do, however, was make his life miserable. Obviously, any interaction he had to endure with the man made his life just a fraction more painful. That was why I'shan was going out of his way to antagonize him. The thought of I'shan's blue catching Charath made his skin crawl. He felt no desire for the man before, and would not now or in the future. He'd take Talian's horrible father-figure B'jin over I'shan - and that was desperation for him right there. "If you hadn't wanted to upset her, you wouldn't have said anything to begin with," Erisi pointed out cruelly. He had no patience when it came to I'shan, that much had been proven before.

I am here. Charath responded calmly, though she had no need to announce where she was, since Erisi could see her just fine. The green dragonet had came to her bonded's side, eyes watching I'shan intently. While he wasn't physically hurting her bonded, Erisi could get hurt in different ways. While she seemed to like Valerian better, she would likewise have no one messing with her Erisi. It would have been a cute display of love and the depth of their new bond, if both weren't absolutely agitated. If I'shan didn't figure it out now, he would later - Charath was just as horrible as the man she had picked for herself.

"I said something was wrong with you," Erisi corrected icily. With Charath at his side, he felt no inclination to actually harm I'shan. However, that did not mean he was going to back down and allow the man to have a little parade over him. If either of them were going to step back from this confrontation, it would have to be I'shan because Erisi was sharding tired of being pushed around. He really did feel bad for Ilveriath, who was an unfortunate dragon for picking I'shan. Whatever good quality the blue had seen in his bonded obviously had withered away over the turns. What was left of I'shan was a festering cesspool of jealousy and malice.

"You and your dragon are below Charath - she wouldn't let him come close to catching her." And that was a fact.

Don't you fight with him. It'll make us look bad. Charath reminded Erisi impatiently. She didn't exactly want to admit that she wanted Erisi to avoid getting hurt.

I'shan bristled again, eyes narrowing viciously as he zeroed in on Eri's own adamant gaze. Why had he even gotten himself in to this, he wondered bitterly? Hew knew the moment he stepped towards Erisi that it would end poorly, but now he was upset. Was he more thin-skinned than he imagined? Was he taken aback when Eri threw the first figurative punch? Or was part of him hoping that Eri's bite would have duller after his Impression? That maybe he'd come to realize that Katila wasn't so bad after all now that he'd experienced the miracle of the bond?

Moreover, I'shan wondered if these unusual thoughts were actually his own, or if Ilveriath's subtle, distant influence was introducing them. It wasn't like I'shan to sit around and ponder consequences, even he was self-aware enough to know that.

It is something to consider Ilveriath said in response to the unspoken question.

I'shan's back straightened and he lifted his chin, standing proud as he looked indignantly at the new green weyrling. "Erisi," I'shan said curtly, like he'd just taken a big bite of something sour. "I...."

How to say this? How did he explain that in spite of his cruel jabs, he'd actually hoped to see Erisi happy? After their last clashes, I'shan found it almost impossible to be truly polite to the boy, but on some level, I'shan still felt guilty for ruining the kid's life. But shards!

His expression softened visibly for just a moment as he tried to find words. So what was this after all, guilt? A desire to instigate? Boredom?

More guilt?

I'shan suddenly clenched his jaw shut and pointed an accusing finger at Erisi, his demeanor shifting like a lightning strike. "...That's why they call it catching!" he snapped cattily, the snap in his tone fueled by his frustration at being unable to articulate his true thoughts. He 'Hmph!'ed sensually at the little greenrider before spinning on his heels and walking away, acting like he'd won even though he felt like he'd lost.

Outside, Ilveriath was as gloomy as a rain cloud.

Erisi stood there, trying to read the flashes of emotion that appeared and then vanished on I'shan's face. The man was struggling to settle on an emotion when Erisi was steadfast in his decision to hate I'shan and be pissed with him. There was not the slightest amount of hesitance in this decision. I'shan had simply gone too far. When Erisi had rather been left alone, the man barged into his life again, his mind lined with every audacious thought possible. Charath was barely a few days old, and I'shan was leeching onto the opportunity that someday his dragon could fly her, just so the man himself could find a way into his bed. Either I'shan was saying it to take a dig at Erisi, or genuinely desired that outcome. Erisi would not tolerate it for either of those reasons. Shells, it was probably both, knowing I'shan.

See, he is backing down. You should listen to me more often. Charath's voice nearly purred in his head. The truth was that he hadn't been listening to her advice to keep out of fights. Rather, I'shan seemed to have come to the conclusion that it was better to back down now before things escalated. The man's attempt to retain his dignity while retreating brought a small sneer to Erisi's face. Ilveriath would never catch Charath, even if that wasn't really his decision. If Charath picked up on how much the idea repulsed him in the future, she could very well use it as a mild form of blackmail.

Faranth, she probably figured it out now and just wasn't saying anything, waiting for the perfect opportunity to bring it up. "What were we doing?" he asked with a strained sigh, only now letting the tension ease out of his shoulders. With I'shan gone, he could finally calm down again. Charath was pleased with the change of mood, because while she was fully capable of handling every mood swing that Erisi sent her way, it was far more fun to torment her bonded when he was in a good mood. It was easier on her too.

I was trying to give every kitchenfolk a panic attack.

"Carry on then, love."

Better them than him.