survival of the fittest {zirin}

[Elessar]

The River Delta: the next place of torture for K'dri and Nymari.

Unfortunate as it was, K'dri had been unable to talk his way out of continuing to teach the Weyrling. Apparently they were "a good match," or so those in charge seemed to think. K'dri couldn't fault them. The lesson on going between had run as smoothly as possible. Both Nymari and Iyiath were good at it, and the higher beings attributed that to his "good teaching."

Laying in the water of the delta in nothing but his skin and a pair of short, cut-off breeches, K'dri sighed. He had called Nymari here for another lesson, because apparently lessons were important or something like that. Unfortunately, the blue rider couldn't think of anything else to teach the Weyrling. Of course, he could easily do a lesson on flaming, but he wanted something more... entertaining.

Myth lay on the land next to the delta, watching his Bonded float on his back, staring up at the sky. The Weyrling pair would be arriving soon, and he still had no lesson planned. Well, good thing he ran well on instinct.

[Zirin]

She had hoped beyond hope that her next lesson would once again be with a different mentor. The between lesson had gone as smoothly as she could have hoped; the darkness of between had actually been comforting for Nymari. Why, she couldn’t really say, but in the back of her mind she couldn’t help but remember it was a quick trip between that had taken her away from the taunts and teasing at Fort to the mildly more accepting Rebellion.

She had been trying to cool off in the shade near camp, wearing shorts and a t-shirt in the hopes of keeping her shoulders from getting burnt, when the call came. It would have been fine, if not for the fact Iyiath reported that the dragon sending the message was none other than Myth. Can we just not go Iye? It’s probably a lesson on flaming, I can find someone else to teach us. The amethyst gave her a look, knowing Nym was too stuck up on attending lessons to simply skip out, even if K’dri weirded her out. Well… she supposed he wasn’t that bad; they had survived between training so she supposed he was at least a decent teacher.

It wasn’t long before the girl and her dragon were spiraling down towards the delta, Nymari completely confused as to what they could possibly be doing here for a lesson. At first she didn’t see K’dri in the water and was quick to dismount and cross her arms in annoyance. Myth! Hello again. We are both excited for another lesson. Nymari rolled her eyes and glanced at K’dri in the water. Was he.. swimming? What happened to being professional? She grimaced, wondering if he truly was just trying to weird her out as much as possible.

“Old man, you better not be wasting my time.” She did, however, avert her eyes from him, partially out of respect for privacy, and partially because she just didn’t feel comfortable with a half-naked man. Besides, while she hated the kiss stealing, pain in the ass bluerider, she did have to admit that he was attractive.

[Elessar]

Myth rumbled. He thoroughly enjoyed any time spent with the Amethyst, but did not say anything past a quick hello. Iyiath wanted another lesson, but Myth knew his bonded did not have one planned, so he stayed silent. The blue shuffled his wings and shifted his weight, however, making a bit more room for the Amethyst.

At Nymari's call, K'dri closed his eyes. "If you stop calling me old man, I promise I won't waste your time," he yelled back. Finally moving from his prone position of "float here in a depressed mood until my pain in the ass, attractive as hell student arrives," K'dri submerged himself completely under the water. He came back up quickly, however.

Running a hand over his head, he sighed and waded from the water, quickly kissing Nymari full on the mouth before moving away, knowing she wouldn't hesitate to stab him. Stab him! That was a lesson they could do! Aerial combat! Of course, that may not be the best idea... Back to the drawing board, he supposed...

[Zirin]

Iyiath was quick to settle beside the blue, wondering whether he would be involved in the lesson or not. He saw no sacks of firestone around so surely their lesson would not be flaming, but then what would it be? He wiggled and hoped he would get to do some flying with the (annoyingly larger) blue. Or if not, maybe he could convince his friend to go hunt with him while the humans did whatever they were going to do.

“Deal then, rider.” Nymari called out with a huff. There was no way she was going to use his name or show him any respect, not until he had proven he could accept her boundaries. Arms crossed, she heard him splash about, but didn’t turn to actually look towards him until she heard him stepping out of the water, only she had been so busy stewing about wasted time that she wasn’t quite quick enough. Turning to face him, she was once again met with lips on hers. He certainly didn’t hesitate did he? The man was getting wise to her, it seemed, for he was out of her stabbing range quickly, leaving her standing there with a hand on her knife.

“I’m sure there’s a rule out there about not harassing your students.” She growled, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. He was lucky she wasn’t the type to stab her superiors without good reason or she would have tossed one of her knives into the back of his head in a heartbeat. “I thought you said you wouldn’t waste my time.”

She glared at him and stepped towards Iyiath. Nymari was NOT keen on the idea of that sharding man trying to mess with her like that. Maybe she could just mount her dragon and fly away and pretend there wasn’t a lesson.

[Elessar]

He didn't miss that her hand had immediately gone to her knife. Good reaction time, at least. K'dri smiled before letting his face sink back into an expressionless mask. Why, why did she have to be a Weyrling?

Every time he thought of her, he was profoundly aroused, but also terrified for her. What if she died, just like his son had, trapped in thread? Iyiath was good at going between, but no dragon was perfect. K'dri sighed, looking to the sky, for the ever-burning presence of the Red Star.

"There isn't." He said quietly, stil staring up to the heavens. Threadfall would be coming soon. With as few riders as the Rebellion had, K'dri was almost sure that Nymari and Iyiath would be sent out to fight. The thought made his heart stop, and he turned, blue eyes stormy in their confusion. She just didn't get it, did she?

Moving toward her, he herded her away from the Amethyst and toward the trees, hoping to pin her against one. "You don't get it, do you?" He asked softly. "I do these things because I care. Don't laugh," he snapped before she had a chance. "I had a wife once, and a son. They both died. And it kills me, Nymari, kills me, that I should have any sort of romantic feelings for you."

He paused, and took a deep breath. "My son died in threadfall, and my wife died soon after from grief. These feelings I have for you... they hurt. Because soon you'll be fighting thread, and I'm afraid I might lose you. As frustrating and unyielding as you are, I care about you in a more than friendly way. I shouldn't, but I do. And I'm terrified I might lose you."

The rider stopped again before closing his eyes. "You remind me so much of her..." he whispered softly. But it wasn't just that she reminded him of his wife. Nymari was her own person. A person that he liked. He liked her boldness, her skill with a knife, her stubbornness... he liked everything about her. "I'm sorry."

He turned, leaving her where she was, and walked to his dragon. Resting his arms and head against Myth's blue hide, he closed his eyes to stop from crying. He couldn't let her see.

[Zirin]

There were plently of things she had expected from the man. A quick retort, a flash of annoyance in his eyes, perhaps even a threat of some sort, but the quiet voice and the clear confusion made Nymari do a double take. What was with him today? Iyiath cocked his head in confusion as Nymaria allowed herself to be herded away, too taken aback by her mentors sudden shift in attitude to put up much resistance. At his words, she didn’t laugh, but she did cock her head in disbelief, assuming he was simply trying to catch her off guard again.

Well, he succeeded, though she doubted that was his intention at that exact moment. His words though, did cause a rosy pink to taint her cheeks. She had never had a confession before, and she was having a hard time keeping the surprise from her expression, even as a look of understanding flashed through her eyes. The pain of losing someone… Nymari didn’t know it first hand, but she had felt Iyiath’s sorrow as he keened the loss of another dragon, and she knew her own sorrows at leaving her family behind.

She couldn’t answer though, between wanting to comfort him for his losses and hit him for speaking of her like she belonged to him, she couldn’t bring herself to move at all, much less say anything, and it wasn’t until the bluerider had moved away to lean against Myth that she was able to take a deep breath and move after him.

“K’dri…” She mumbled, tentatively resting a hand on his arm. What was she supposed to say? Should she be trying to comfort him? She didn’t know how, short of holding him. Should she be yelling at him for doing something she hated: protecting her. Her grip on his arm tightened and she tried to force him to look at her so she could jab him in the chest with her finger.

“Look here you. I’m a rider, I’m going to fight Thread.” She hissed, jabbing him again. “You moping about it isn’t going to keep me safe idiot. I’m tough, I can take care of myself, but I need you to teach me how to fight Thread. Got that. You’re the only one I trust enough to teach me right.” There was a fierce look of determination in her eyes, offset only by the remaining hints of her blush. At some point the jabbing of her finger had stopped until her hand rested against his chest and she looked up at him. Her voice grew softer. “And one day I’ll surpass you and prove you had nothing to worry about all along, okay?”

She couldn’t return his feelings, she didn’t warm up to others that quickly, but there was something about him that she couldn't help but connect with. Was it their similarities? Their shared love of knives? These encounters that, while frustrating were also interesting in a weird way? Who knew. She only wished she could comfort him properly.

[Elessar]

She didn't hit him. She didn't say anything. She let him move her, let him talk, let him explain. She didn't put up a fight. It was so... unlike Nymari, but K'dri was too emotionally overset to notice, which was equally unlike K'dri, who typically noticed everything.

He did, however, notice when she spoke his name and rested a hand on his arm. His body immediately stiffened, and he turned his face away from her, eyes closed tightly, his face screwed up in an expression of great pain. He didn't know how to react, how to deal with this, how to deal with her.

As her grip tightened, he turned, and was moderately startled when she poked him in the chest with a finger. He supposed it was her turn for a speach as she began to rant at him, her eyes fierce with stubbornness. He couldn't help but smile as she went on and on. Finally, the tirade ended, and K'dri realized her hand was still resting on his chest.

Nothing to worry about? That was impossible. But if there was any one rider he could put his faith in... it was her. But there was one thing... "You're no rider yet, Weyrling. You've got plenty more training before that." Shifting, he pulled her close in a hug before drawing back to kiss her slowly, warmly. He just prayed she wouldn't stab him.

Then again, if she did... at least he'd die semi-happily.

[Zirin]

Well wasn’t this shocking? It seemed she had actually managed to surprise him. Nymari took a slight feeling of satisfaction knowing that she was just as capable of catching him off guard as he was with her. It was almost as if he was proving he was a normal human, like everyone else. As bad as she felt for thinking it… it was a comforting notion.

As K’dri smiled, Nymari couldn’t help but give a confident smirk in response. Maybe she had done the right thing after all! For a bonus, she might even get a more useful teacher too! It was a best of both worlds scenario. Oh shards but he had to go and be picky about the details didn’t he. She frowned, pouting slightly as he called her on her wording.

“Just admit it; I’m pretty good for a weyrling.” She grinned, well aware that she still had many months of lessons before she would normally graduate. Did things work differently with the mentor system though? Either way, Nymari was a cocky young woman, but she wasn’t stupid. She knew the dangers of threadfighting, and knew she was still a long way off from matching the graduated pairs. She couldn’t think on it for long, as K’dri seemed into on making her feel awkward again.

She tensed as he pulled her into a hug and it took a fair bit of self-control not to yank out a knife and threaten him. Hugging was a form of comfort and, well, if it helped K’dri get back to his usual-pain in the butt self then she wasn’t going to ruin it just yet. She should have expected the kiss however. Her cheeks became immediately red again as he pulled away and kissed her. It was softer, warmer, than the other kisses he had stolen.

This time she did try to pull away, using her hands to push against his chest in the hopes of putting at least a little distance between them. “I’ll stab you next time… pervert.” She huffed, trying to pull away from him. That’s how it always was though, wasn’t it. It was always a threat of injury ‘next time’.

[Elessar]

She smirked, and he had the satisfaction of seeing the expression disappear at his words. "Alright, fine," he replied. "I'll admit it. You're fairly decent for a Weyrling." He grinned, knowing she was going for something better. He loved how arrogant she was, but without being a pariah.

Then it was her turn to tense as he hugged her. But she really should have expected the kiss. As it was, she didn't. She pushed him away, but made little more than a few inches of space between them. After all, he was taller and stronger than she was.

"Stab me next time?" He echoed. "Wasn't that what you said... last time? Admit it," he purred. "You like it. I can tell by that blush, and the racing of your heart." His eyes sparkled, and he smiled. "Let's test the theory." And with that, he kissed her, the kiss agains being soft and warm, gentle rather than forceful.

[Zirin]

Here expression clearly showed she had been hoping for something a little more than ‘fairly decent’. Hmph! She forced on an air of indifference as she replied. “Well, I’ll make you eat your words soon enough.” She would simply need to bump up her training. A rumble of amusement from iyiath was all she needed to know the amethyst was behind her 100%. As much as he liked Myth, the dragonet would happily help his rider prove anyone and everyone wrong.

Her blush deepened as the rider called her on her threat. Sharding, stupid, pain in the butt bluerider! “I do not! She hissed as he leaned in for another kiss, hating how gentle his kiss was in comparison to the strength in the arms that were keeping her there. Nymari certainly needed to train, and she needed to learn not to get within grabbing range of her mentor.

“Don’t test me rider,” She whispered, pulling away from the kiss enough to look into his eyes as the sharp edge of her blade bit into the unprotected flesh his chest. If he was going to call her on her threats, then Nym would simply have to prove she meant business. Why did his kisses have to be so.. loving? She could handle the forceful kisses he used to surprise her, they helped fuel her responses. This though… how was she supposed to respond to something so gentle.

She put more distance between their lips again, trying to will the colour from her cheeks. “Don’t get too cocky, rider. I’ll admit I flush easily, but don’t think that means you’re special.”

[Elessar]

He probably would be eating his words soon enough, which was sad in itself. Again: if anyone could be the best, it was her... and he wasn't just thinking that because he liked her. Nymari's stubborn determination made her the likliest candidate for perfection.

K'dri laughed, even as the edge of her knife sliced across his skin, opening a shallow cut that gently oozed blood. "I think you do enjoy it, and that you're just scared of the feelings it brings you," he said with a shrug, completely nonplussed that she had just sliced him open.

"And oh, I don't think I'm special. I just think you're hiding your emotions behind that lovely, stubborn facade you like to put on." He smiled, and turned. "So. Lessons. What would you like to do? Aerial combat?" He knew that would get her fired up!

[Zirin]

Nymari scoffed as he laughed, mildly impressed (and a little nervous) that he didn’t seem to mind being cut. It made him that much more dangerous in her eyes and made her rethink the distance she would try to keep between them from now on. She didn’t feel completely happy with the idea of stabbing her teacher after all, but it seemed it would take more than a few shallow cuts to get what she wanted.

“The only thing I enjoy is the feeling of my blades in my hand. You bring me nothing but annoyance.” She huffed, wiping the bloody knife on her shirt as he turned away. At least the idea of a lesson was calming. She was here for a reason after all. “Oh you mean you’re finally going to teach me instead of just weirding me out?” She grinned, wondering just what aerial combat would involve.

[Elessar]

"Liar," he snapped, pulling on his discarded breeches. Next were his boots, and then his tunic. "You enjoy flying with Iyiath, and being alive... and my kisses." Staring down at his tunic, where blood was slowly staining it red, he sighed. "You ruined a damn good tunic, girl," he growled, tying the laces of his boots rapidly. There. He was back to his normal self.

"And yes, I'm going to teach you. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stop weirding you out." He returned her grin with one of his own, and vaulted onto Myth's broad back, checking the straps briefly before he got ready to fly. He indicated that Nymari should do the same.

Myth spread his wings, and K'dri grinned. "Now," he called. "We're in the Rebellion! That means fights between dragons may, can, and will happen! You and Iyiath need to learn how to defend and attack when faced with a larger-- or smaller --enemy. I'll find someone smaller later for you to train with, but for now it's me and Myth!" Giving a blood curdling war cry, he held on tight as Myth leaped into the air with a roar.

[Zirin]

“Ok fine, there are plenty of things I enjoy. Your kisses, however, are not one of them.” She stuck her tongue out at him childishly. He could believe whatever he wanted, but that didn’t make it true! She only got red-faced and warm because he caught her by surprise, that’s all. “I didn’t ruin your tunic. You were the one who put it on, idiot teacher. You should have wrapped the wound first or something.” She crossed her arms, her face narrowed in disapproval. That said, she was actually happy to see his grumpy self again. He was much easier to deal with when he was like that.

“Darn, I was so hoping for a normal teacher too,” She gave a dramatic sigh and took her time getting on to Iyiath’s back, glad she had at least brought her goggles. She felt Iyiath rumble in excitement below her, feeding off his rider’s emotions. This was exciting, this would make everything else worthwhile. They were about to spring, when Iyiath’s wings suddenly dropped and he snorted. Small? SMALL? Is he making fun of me?! I’ll rip his arms off! Feed him to the wherries! Iyiath bugled as he leapt off the ground. He hated when his size came into question.