No Snakes Allowed! ||Ziii||

[Zirin]

Nymari could be cuddly now and again, it was just getting past her defensive nature that was tough. She was used to at least trying to put up a tough guy act to keep herself safe, and whetehr it was with her knives, or with teasing, it was the only thing Nym really knew how to do. The snake wouldn’t always going to come up in conversation, Nymari simply lacked anything else to go by. It was a failsafe of sorts for the girl until she knew more about him and, truth be told, she hoped she’d have the opportunity to learn more. Maybe you should be nice instead of always jabbing others… Iyiath cut in quietly, his head cocked curiously. He couldn’t understand why Nym was being so difficult!

“Okay there, tough guy,” Nym grinned, standing confidently as he struggled to his feet. She did frown slightly as she was forced to look up at him. Damn men, being taller than her! She cocked her head to the side, making no effort to hide her gaze as she looked him over. There was no way he’d take her down in his current state unless she was drunk off her rocker and maybe blindfolded. She wondered how much effort it would take to knock him off balance though, not that she wanted him to hurt himself any further or anything.

“I’ll pretend you didn’t call them toys,” She said lamely, not really sure what else to do short of simply pulling one out and showing him just how dangerous her ‘toys’ could be. Instead, she simply stepped closer so that she was almost flush with him, placed her hands gently on his chest and pushed lightly, testing his balance and hoping it wasn’t so poor that he would just topple over. Was it an excuse to touch him? Maybe, but he didn’t need to know that.

Iyiath’s eyes whirled happily as he watched the humans. He could feel His’ happiness, hidden behind her embarrassment, and it made him even happier than playing with Kinuth did. He couldn’t remember a time when His had been so relaxed – well, as relaxed as she could be while trying not to blush more - in the presence of another, especially since their run in with her mentor. Yours still looks grumpy Kinuth! Shouldn't he be happier? Look how red and smiley Mine is becoming just thinking about him! Nymari was beyond thankful that O'rik got distracted throwing things at his dragon, taking the opportunity to glare at her dragon again. When she finally had a moment to herself she was so going to take out her annoyance and embarassment on a poor tree.

The pink dragon warbled, jumping out of the way as seaweed went flying at Kinuth, only to drop into the water, rumbling in amusement and flopping like a fish. Nymari tried to be more subtle in her amusement, but she had to pull a hand to her mouth to stifle her own laughter. “I’ve never seen a dragon run that fast before!” She managed to force out between fits of giggling.

[Zero]

O'rik grinned as she stood up and faced him. Well, if anything, he now thought he knew one of her weaknesses; the woman just could not walk away from a challenge. His grin widened and soon turned into a smirk but that faltered slightly as she slowly closed the distance between them. Oh wait, what was she doing?! Instantly, out of reflex now, his gaze darted to her hands to check if she was holding one of her toys even as her hands came to rest on his chest. He breathed a small sigh of relief when he didn't feel a chilling sensation which would have meant she had unsheathed her little toys on him once again.

Well he sure as hell hadn't been expecting her to push him, even as light as it was. She knew he was wobbly! That was a cheap shot as far as he was concerned. His eyes widened as for a moment he lost his precious balance. He wobbled and teetered on his good leg and his arms went out for that "windmill effect" and with a good hop or two later he was good. Shooting her a mischievous look accompanied by his usual smirk, O'rik quickly took her by the wrists before she could pull away and using their close proximity, he attempted to knock her off her feet and pin her down beneath him. She might have had cunning and speed on her side but he was bigger and a little stronger. He would just have to work that for his advantage.

Meanwhile Kinuth must have managed to finally shake the seaweed off and could now been seen trudging slowly back up the shoreline. Reaching the other three the green flopped down on his belly on the sands and huffed in exhaustion. He was beat! That had been quite a run after all. Oh I do not like seaweed, RikMine. He lifted his head from the sand as Iyiath spoke up and he wiggled a little at seeing the two humans finally "playing" and spoke out loud. Oh Mine is happy, that's for sure! Though he is not nearly as red as Yours, but that is because he forgets to breath sometimes when Yours gets close. The young green cocked his head as he looked at the two humans. Why were they so red? Oh no! Were they okay? Breath RikMine! Breath! Still speaking for everyone to hear, O'rik groaned and shot a glare at his dragon. "Shut it, Kinuth! I am breathing!

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[Zirin]

He could call it a cheap shot if he wanted, but Nym was merely testing to see if he could match up to his own bluff. As he lost his balance and began flailing like a maniac, Nym couldn’t stop from giggling. It was just too easy, there was no way he’d put up a worthwhile fight if she meant business. If there was one thing she was learning about O’rik though, it was that trouble generally followed when he started smirking. She gasped in surprise as she suddenly found herself falling. Damn greenrider had better balance than it seemed! She had underestimated.

Lucky for her, Nym was a trained professional when it came to fighting, and though this particular ‘fight’ was a little abnormal, she still had the training to follow her instincts. She twisted, hoping O’rik would be caught unaware enough to be moved beneath her instead, but he had size and surprise on his side and she quickly found herself wincing as her back hit the ground. Once again bright red, she stared up at him, squirming slightly. How tough would it be to flip him over and reverse them? Well she could always use his injured leg to her advantage, but she didn’t think he’d take too kindly to such a low blow. “Lucky shot,” She grumbled, “You’re just lucky I don’t want to hurt you.”

Iyiath glanced over as his friend returned, now seaweed-less. Chortling in amusement, the amethyst stepped over to where Kinuth was flopped to reach out and poke his snout before stretching out in the sand to continue watching their silly riders. He forgets to breath? Well that’s just silly! Why does he do that? Nymari, despite her embarrassment, chuckled as the greenrider snapped at his dragon and, truth be told, she couldn’t resist trying to tease him. “So O’rik… does this mean I take your breath away?”

[Zero]

She couldn't have honestly been expecting him to play fair. After their little race the other day she should have known better. He let out a low grunt as they toppled to the ground. Even though he tried his best not to completely fall on and crush her he wasn't able to stop from coming dangerously close to accidently kissing her. He felt his cheeks redden and forced himself up enough to rest his weight comfortably on his hands, which were to either side of her, and looked down. Well he certainly had her at a disadvantage here and didn't mind at all that she was currently stuck under him. He wasn't complaining, at least till she somehow managed to flip him off. Which he was almost certain would happen.

"Lucky shot?!" Rik scoffed before grinning once more, growing a little cocky the more they remained in their current situation. "Luck had nothing to do with it. That was pure skill." He stuck his tongue out at her. "Told ya you wouldn't be able to handle me without your little toys."

Oh he was feeling pretty confident right now. That was until the dragons spoke up and his fears had been confirmed; she had heard what his green had said. Damn sharding dragon and his big mouth! Kinuth jumped a little as he was poked on the snout before his mouth twitched and he sneezed, sending a flurry of sand to cover the two riders. O'rik was quickly distracted once more however as Nym spoke up and this time he was certain he turned as red as a garnet. "I ah..well..." Struggling to get his tongue to work and gather his thoughts he dropped his gaze from hers and suddenly became very interested in a little shell sticking out of the sands near his left hand. Shards.

"No..I mean, well...maybe. I breath just fine." Clearly rambling, O'rik inhaled quickly to try and calm his racing heart and finally brought his blue eyes back to meet hers and for a moment they lingered on her lips. Finally coming to a decision after mentally battling with himself, Rik leaned quickly and kissed her. Well if she was going to make him flush with embarrassment then he was going to try and return the favor. Though of course that wasn't the only reason he kissed her, he had been wanting to for a while now, but she really didn't need to know that.

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[Zirin]

Oh shards he was close. Nymari took a deep, calming breath as he propped himself up, fighting her instinct to grab one of her ‘toys’ and press it against him. Instead she settled for resting her hands on his chest again, having no idea where else to put them just yet. She rolled her eyes as he spoke. “I guess it takes a fair bit of skill to fall over.” The hint of a smirk ghosted across her lips. He was turning this into a challenge, wasn’t he. Well, she would show him just how well she could do without her knives.

Her revenge would have to wait however. Nym simply couldn’t ignore O’rik now that he was as red as a garnet. It was worth getting covered in sand, for sure, to see him embarrassed. She knew she was just as red herself, but somehow it didn’t matter now that she was getting to see him flustered. She felt her heart catch in her throat as he met her eyes again and soon after she felt her breath stolen away as his lips pressed against hers.

Mere hours ago Nym had thought he hated her, and now he was kissing her! She froze at first, shocked at how bold he was, but after a moment she realized she could care less how bold he is, she was just thrilled to be kissing him. She knew she was an even darker shade of red now, knew that she wouldn’t be able to string two words together. Her hands clenched in his shirt at first, before one went to tangle in his hair, deepening the kiss while the other trailing down his arm. In a sudden, quick movement, she tried to push out his supporting arm so she could flip them over. If she succeeded, it would be a quick smirk and a cocky “I think I can handle you just fine .”

Either way, she was trying to hide how flustered he was making her, though the redness of her face and the pounding of her heart, so loud she was sure it could be heard, were dead giveaways.Iyiath rumbled in amusement. Silly girl, she’s beyond thrilled that he’s kissing her and she STILL feels the need to be on top! I don’t get her sometimes, Kinuth!

[Zero]

Kissing? Kissing! …what’s kissing? Oh! Kinuth lifted his head from the sand and cocked it to the side as he eyed the two riders rolling around on the ground. Is she helping you breath RikMine? I could help! The curious dragon flared his wings and scooted forwards on his belly, slowly inching his way over to the two.

Oh he was dead, he was almost certain of it. Surely his sudden urge to kiss her had caught her so off guard that there was now a knife stuck in his belly. His wild and overactive imagination was so distracted with the violent and bloody scene playing out in his mind that he almost missed how she clutched at his shirt. He was surprised really at her reaction, naturally he had expected Nym to push him away but here she was actually kissing him back and playing with his hair. O’rik nearly melted on the spot.

It was those few short seconds of bliss that fried his brain and he didn’t even see her next move coming. One second he was there, just enjoying the moment, and the next thing he knew she pulled a fast one on him and he had somehow ended up on his back. He blinked, more than a little caught off guard, as he glanced left, right, and finally ended back up at her. O’rik scowled, but it was playful in nature, and he knew that at least for the moment, she had the upper hand. “Lucky shot,” he mumbled, wiggling a little beneath her, as if testing which would be the best way to flip her off without wrenching his bandaged leg. He didn’t have many options and although he was taller than the amethystrider, she had him at a momentary disadvantage.

He thought fast. He couldn’t lose, not so early into the game and especially after he had initiated the little challenge. Maybe he could play the poor injured boy card and work this to his advantage? Hey, why not? All of a sudden O’rik’s face screwed up in pain and he squeezed his eyes closed. “Shards woman!” He squirmed beneath her, feigning another wince of pain as his hands came to rest on her hips and making a feeble attempt to move her off him. “Didn’t anyone ever teach you how to play nice?” Peeking an eye half open, Rik glanced up at her, hoping to hell that he wouldn’t crack a smile and that she might actually believe him. He mustered up a pathetic sounding groan and shifted under her a little more. His plan was foolproof!

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[Zirin]

Kinuth! Kinuth! Slow down or they’ll see you! Iyiath watched the green shuffle closer, immediately believing it was just part of a new game; seeing how close they could get to their riders before being shooed away. The amethyst dropped to his belly and copied Kinuth’s movements, his eyes whirling in amusement. He could feel His’ eye on him already.

Nymari grinned down at O’rik, her expression one of smug success as she watched him glance about. Ha! That would teach him to doubt her. “Luck had nothing to do with it,” She repeated his own words, shifting slightly as he wiggled to make sure she was decently balanced, hoping he wasn’t about to try to win back the top spot. She straightened up in surprise, however, at his sudden cry of pain and looked back at his leg.

“Sorry! I didn’t mean to…” Her voice dropped to a quiet volume and it was rather clear she felt guilty; last thing she wanted was to cause him more pain after all. If anything though, his sudden change in attitude just made her tense her legs, as if making sure she wasn’t going to be moved no matter what he did. She certainly didn’t want to bump his leg while she was moving! She frowned at his question, taking it more seriously than it was likely meant to be. After all, she had begun teaching herself how to fight when she was little more than nine Turns old, and within a few Turns of that she had stopped playing altogether to dedicate herself to her guard training.

“Well I… I stopped playing in order to train when I was young…” She mumbled sheepishly, feeling silly for not actually knowing how to ‘play nice’. She was used to roughhousing and dueling for fun. She glanced at Iyiath then, her eyes taking on a glossy look as she spoke with her dragon. He’s whining more than a hungry hatchling! After a brief glance at O’rik a grin spread across her face. She leaned back down towards him, prodding him gently.

“You know… You handled being stabbed so well. All this time I’ve been thinking you were a tough guy.” Her voice had a joking tone as she smiled down at him. After all, even after being stabbed he hadn’t exactly whined, complained perhaps, but complaining and whining were very different things. His sudden crybaby attitude was just… perhaps a little overboard? She was genuinely worried about hurting him of course, but the sheer level of moaning and groaning seemed just wrong for some reason. Nonetheless, she’d put an end to their game if he was serious. “Want me to get off? We can cart you off to the healers to get some numbweed, you big wimp.”

[Zero]

Well that hadn't gone exactly as planned. For a second there it actually looked like his little stunt had worked and he had coyly gained the upper hand but then she just had to go and throw out the name calling. It was his weakness, his sore spot, if she hadn't figured that out by now she would soon enough. Well that wasn't fair, even if did overact just a bit. Rik huffed and quickly crossed his arms over his chest, which was easier said then done considering their current seating arrangement.

"I don't need any stinkin' numbweed. I'm not a wuss." He replied in an almost pouting manner and glanced off to the side. He could feel the giddy and overly excited emotions coming from Kinuth and looked in time to see his dragon wiggling across the sands on his belly. As the two made eye contact Kinuth froze before quickly stretching his wings out so they covered his head. What are you doing? I'm invisible, you can't see me. O'rik shook his head and sighed. This dragon was going to be the end to his sanity.

He found himself wiggling and shifting under her once more, as if testing the waters. Suddenly he was fully aware of all the sand that had managed to get under his shorts and in his shirt during their little tussle and he realized how very itchy he was. "Alright, you win this one now get off woman... I'm itchy." Struggling a bit, he managed to prop himself up on one arm and with his free hand quickly brushed some irritating sand from his shirts collar before moving to lightly tickle her side. He was hoping it would help get her moving a little faster and not leave him with a knife in his belly, or something to that extent.

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[Zirin]

Nymari jumped a bit as O’rik’s hand found her side again, but unlucky for him Nymari was not exactly what one would call ticklish. Well, that was a lie, she had a few ticklish spots but she’d be damned if she ever let anyone find out about them. She gave him a cheeky grin, well aware that he was anything but a wuss, but she had to admit, it was oddly cute to see him pout about it. That said, she did still have the advantage over him, and part of her wanted to push him back down and cover him in sand. She wasn’t that mean though, and the sand in her own clothes was annoying enough to stop her from being a jerk. She did need revenge for the attempted tickle though.

“I look forward to our next battle,” She grinned, glancing back at his injured leg as she stood so as to not bump it. She dropped herself back down beside him quickly though, ignoring the sand, and leaned towards him, slipping her own hands to his side in a revenge tickle attack. She wondered if he was ‘immune’ like she was or not. Of course, she couldn’t help but hope he would be ridiculously ticklish, just to give her more excuses to mess with him.

“You know you’re never going to get all the sand off.” She said dryly, leaning back on her arms to watch him and the dragons, wondering what to really think about the greenrider. Had his kiss been just a ruse to catch her off guard, or had there been more to it? “You have one crazy dragon…” She mentioned after a moment, distracted as she watched Iyiath lift his own wings over his head to copy Kinuth. The amethyst took only a few steps like that before he tripped and sent sand flying everywhere, effectively coating those around him with a fresh layer of the stuff. Flailing, he quickly tried to get back on his feet before shuffling backwards. It wasn’t me! I swear. With a groan, Nym set about trying to get the worst of the sand of herself as well.