Target Practice {Zero/O'rik}

[Zirin]

"Oh, don't give me that look, Iye," Nym grinned down at the amethyst before hopping up to grab a higher branch. Though they had only arrived at the rebel camp a sevenday ago, Nym felt like they had been running her ragged for much longer. When they weren't doing chores or lessons they were sleeping, eating or trying to catch up on missed work. Free time had become a thing of the past, so when an opportunity to slip away had finally come Nym hadn't hesitated to run off to the nearby forest.

It wasn't that Nym didn't like the stressful, busy environment. In fact, she loved the challenge that such a hectic schedule brought. It was her young dragon that she worried for. He could be touchy and irritable to begin with, and she had hoped that by leaving the more traditional Weyr he would be able to calm down. However, despite the higher number of 'mutant' dragons in the area, Iyiath still managed to get mistaken for a girl and teased on countless occasions; of course, his bright pink hide and overly feminine build didn’t help at all. She wanted a day off so he could relax and forget about his troubles. The dragon in question gave a worried croon from where he lay as he watched his rider climber higher, though it was something he had seen more times than he could remember in the nine months they had been bonded.

"Relax Iye, you know the best fruits are at the top. A-ha! Got one!" She called down before shoving it and a couple more of the ripe fruits into the pouch on her hip. Her descent was just as quite as her climb had been and before long the nineteen Turn old girl was back on the ground, safe and sound and making her way over to her companion. She leaned over Iyiath with a cheeky grin before placing one of the fruits gently between his head knobs and kissing his snout. What are you doing...? He asked warily, lifting his head as she skipped back a distance.

With another grin, the brown-haired girl pulled out one of the many throwing daggers on her person and took on a ready stance. "Target practice!" Bugling in alarm, Iyiath began frantically shaking his head to rid himself of the sticky fruit. "You'll only make it harder if you move Iye! Stand still!"

[Zero]

Mine...Mine, I'm sure I heard those firelizards over there laughing at me. The dark haired weyrling dropped his head and massaged his temple. "You know you could just eat them or step on them, right Kinuth? You do realize you're a giant compared to them." The green fell silent as he seemed to think this over. It was tempting but he didn't want anyone to get hurt! O'rik shook his head and patted the dark green shoulder as the two wound their way up the riverbank and through the forest.

They were skipping out on their daily chores, or to be more precise, O'rik decided to walk out early on his chores. They were just so boring. He needed a break and maybe even a swim. "C'mon big guy, in the water!" Kicking off his boots and wiggling out of his pants and shirt, Rik waded out into the river with Kinuth slowly following suit. The weyrling floated on his back for a few minutes enjoying the peace and quiet, save for a whiny comment from his bonded, when a commotion through the trees caught his attention. He groaned outright, thinking he had been caught once again neglecting his chores and sighed as he slicked back his wet hair.

It's safe to say though that what he saw took him completely by surprise. There was a little purple dragon balancing a fruit on her head and her rider....well, her rider was dancing around with a knife. For a moment he forgot to tread water and sank only to come up coughing a moment later. "Erm...don't mind us, just floating by. We didn't see nothin'."

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[Zirin]

Nymari nearly dropped her dagger as she jumped in surprise, spinning around in panic to look at the river and prepping to throw her knife if she had too. Iyiath took the moment of confusion to properly knock the fruit from his head, stomping on the darn thing for good measure. Oh stop it Mine. Iyiath huffed, sitting back down, He’s half naked, I somehow doubt he’s a threat. She supposed her partner was right, at least for the time being.

“Where I come from we call that sinking,” She called out, lowering her knife warily. Iyiath was right though… how much harm could he do from the river. She did notice his green though. Of course, it was pretty hard to miss a full grown dragon, not to mention she could feel Iyiath bristling just from seeing he was smaller than the stranger. She knew the amethyst would be no help here despite the way he was observing her; he had a hard time approaching the ‘normals’. At least they know how to relax. Iyiath watched the dragoness with a little bit of envy. Why couldn’t he have the rider who liked swimming instead of throwing things at his face?

[Zero]

As the woman spun around, and after noticing the knife was still firmly grasped in her hand, both O'rik and Kinuth sank a little lower in the river. This woman had to be crazy. Be nice O'rikMine, we did sort of sneak up on them. Do not give her anymore of a reason to wave that knife our way. The young rider scoffed and shot his companion a sideways look. As if he was nervous around a woman, even if that woman was currently brandishing a knife. Still he glanced at the spot where his clothes were unceremoniously piled and sighed inwardly.

"Yeah well, where I come from we don't throw pointy things at our dragons faces." Kinuth, ignoring his rider for now, cocked his head as he regarded the two strangers. Stretching his wings he gave them a good flap to shake the water off while accidently sending a small wave crashing over His' head. Hello, my name is Kinuth and this is my O'rik. Of course the green spoke for all to hear and his rider groaned lowly. Why did that silly dragon want to be so nice all the time? He only ended up getting his feelings hurt when the time came and they found out that he wasn't their typical green.

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[Zirin]

“I wasn’t really going to throw it,” She retorted, slipping the blade away and moving to scratch at Iyiath’s eye ridges. “I’m not stupid enough to endanger my dragon like that.” Nym always tried to be careful about referring to Iyiath when she spoke. Too many times, a slip of the tongue was all it took to pull the attention to him, and the teasing almost always followed. If she could avoid giving away his gender, then they would both be happier. Nymari glanced at the green as she spoke, not having expected to hear her. She was rather shocked by the tone of the voice; it was a tad deeper than she had expected. She asked the amethyst if he was going to answer. And give her a reason to taunt me already? No thank you. He huffed.

“Nymari,” She replied before pointing haphazardly at her bonded, “And my wherry here is Iyiath.” She gave the pink dragon another pat. You should tell her she has a pretty hide. Iyiath spoke to her privately, still nervous about actually socializing. It was always hardest with the normal dragons, and he even had trouble with the other new colours from time to time, but at least with other ‘mutants’ he had a common ground. Here, as far as either of them could tell, the two dragons had nothing in common. Tell her yourself, Iye. You have a voice. However, the dragon merely shook his head and remained quiet, though his eyes followed Kinuth.

“You from around here?”

[Zero]

Kinuth wiggled in his impatience for a response as he watched the other dragon. When it became obvious that she wasn't going to speak to him, the green whined and butted His with his snout. Mine, why won't she talk to me? The green gave the draconic equivalent of a sigh. It is because she does not like me...

O'rik groaned and massaged at his temple. This dragon was going to be the death of him. You're fine, Kinuth. Maybe she's just a little shy is all, like you. Even so he shot the woman a narrowed look, as if it were her fault his young companion was now upset. "No, we're not. We were at Benden originally, got bored and decided to see what trouble we could get into down here." Wading to shore, O'rik snatched up the small towel that he had brought with him and went to work drying off as best he could. Shaking the dirt off his clothes, and after making sure no bugs had crawled into his boots, he began to get dressed. "So what's your story?"

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[Zirin]

Nymari cocked her head to the side, not at all sure why she was being given a look like that. She hadn't done anything wrong! She stared right back at him, arms crossed in annoyance. Do you have to be so difficult...? Iyiath snorted, giving a draconic equivalent of rolling his eyes. This coming from the dragon who won't even say hi? She retorted. With a huff of annoyance, Iyiath waddled closer to the water's edge, his short legs making the movement look extremely awkward. Hello... He broadcasted his rather droll voice to make sure everyone heard him, hoping Nym would get off his back about saying hi.

"That's quite a distance to travel for just a little trouble," Perhaps he had come here to join the Rebellion then? She was getting tired of standing and it didn't seem like this guy would pose a danger of any kind so Nym settled herself on the ground, though she made sure she would still be able to draw out a dagger if she needed to. She couldn't help but give him a once over as he got out of the river. You're staring Mine.... She turned to glare at her dragon. "My story huh... It's the opposite of yours I suppose." She began, "Simply put, Iyiath hatched at Fort and we came here to get away from trouble," She didn't think he needed to know any more than that.

[Zero]

Kinuth waded through the water after His as O'rik headed to shore. The green wasn't too keen on allowing the man to wander too far. Her own sultry look went unnoticed as he flopped to the ground to tug on his boots. The amethysts greeting, however, caused him to glance up, an almost curious look playing with his features as he regarded the the purple dragon. Could it be? No, no...surely not. But that voice and those mannerisms...

Shaking his head, O'rik ruffled his wet hair and shot his own dragon a quick look before Nymari began speaking and gained his attention once more. That seemed like a likely story. After all, most riders with the mutated colors ended up finding their way into the arms of the Rebellion at some point in their lives. "Seems kind of odd to me that someone would come to Rindell to get away from trouble. You do know that the lovely rebels here kind of specialize in trouble, right?"

He shrugged and idly patted the green snout that had come to lay next to him. "So why were you waving a knife in your dragons face anyways? Just boredom or is that what they teach up in Fort these days?"

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[Zirin]

"You make it sound like there's only one type of trouble," Nymari gave a sad smile as she watched Iyiath. Of course they had come in the hopes of leaving behind the taunts and teasing, but it seemed to be something that would happen no matter where they went. "At least the rebels know how to make life exciting." With a snort, Iyiath hobbled back to her side and curled around her, still eyeing the others curiously. As nervous as he was to actually speak to them, he still wanted to socialize… it was only the nervous feelings from his rider that was stopping him from speaking more. The teasing he had gone through earlier long forgotten already.

"I wasn't waving my knife in hi-Iyiath's face. We were practicing. You know, like a hobby." She retorted, hoping her near slip would go unnoticed. She reached up to scratch at the amethysts’s chin, eliciting a deep rumble from the male. She scoffed. As if she would just 'wave' her knife around. She was a trained professional after all. Sure, her skills weren’t put to great use out here yet, but she could feel her talents would be put to good use eventually… hopefully once they had graduated.

"What about you hotshot?” She asked with a lazy gesture, “Does Benden teach you to sneak up on girls half naked, or is that just how you spend your free time?"

[Zero]

Well of course there was only one type of trouble, well two really. The kind of trouble that followed him with the interesting sort of mutation that befell his beloved Kinuth and the other that came about when he generally just didn't care about chores or whatever it was leaders and whatnot were currently blowing steam and causing a ruckus about.
O'rik flicked a beetle that was crawling on his knee before throwing a sideways glance her way and raising an eyebrow. Did she just? No, couldn't be. The young rider glanced from his quiet green to the girls amethyst and back again. Really, what were the odds that he just so happened to stumble across someone who just might possibly have a dragon with the same unique attribute as his?

What are you thinking, O'rikMine? Don't you worry your little head. Before he was allowed to dwell on his train of thought any further however, she was throwing a question his way once more. O'rik scoffed and rolled his eyes before leaning to rest his back against his dragons neck and lazily scratched his eye ridges. "Please I wasn't sneaking at all...no one was supposed to be out here. Besides even if that had been the case, the roles would have been reversed and I wouldn't have been the one half naked." He threw her a playful wink and a cheeky grin.

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[Zirin]

The very idea that she could have encountered someone who would understand what she and Iyiath were going through was something that had never crossed her mind before. She had heard that there were others like her Iye, but she had never yet met one. At least, she hadn't knowingly met one.

Nym's mouth dropped open in shock as this stranger made such a... such a crass comment! It wasn’t that she was offended, it had just taken her by complete surprise. Here she thought he had been more on the shy side! Iyiath, however, seemed to be more than offended. You pig! Mine isn't the type of girl you can do that with! Iyiath trumpeted deeply, rising to his feet and flaring his wings, trying to look intimidating. Nymari groaned and yanked on his tail.

"Sit down idiot." She scoffed before leveling a cocky glare of sorts at the man. "You're lucky the roles weren't reversed O'rik. I would have had a knife through you faster than you could blink." Was she confident in her abilities? Yes, yes she was. Iyiath was still growling, not at all happy. He turned to Kinuth, though his voice was broadcasted to everyone, Really Kinuth, why did a beauty like you pick someone like him?

[Zero]

Kinuth whined softly and butted his head against His' side. He knew the kind of trouble His comments got them in in the past and he had a feeling this time wasn't going to be any different. O'rikMine, be nice. I want to be able to keep these new friends... The man gave his green a casual pat on the head, still thinking little to nothing of his previous comment. It was a harmless jest as far as he was concerned.

Safe to say he wasn't expecting her dragon to react quite the way she did. He gave a startled shout as he found himself falling onto his back as Kinuth leapt to his feet and offered his own warning growl. How dare this female growl at His! Climbing to his feet, O'rik brushed himself off and thumped the greens shoulder to gain his attention. Easy big guy, take a seat. Kinuth huffed but grudgingly sat down anyways.

"A knife? Well that's a bit...rash, don't ya think? Besides, you wouldn't really stab me, Kinuth is too adorable to go between, not to mention I think I'm too good looking to get ran through with a hunk of steel." He threw another cocky grin her way and added a wink just for good measure. Mine, be nice now and...and wait, beauty? Why would she call me a beauty? He stood once more and now broadcasted his voice for all to hear. I am not beauty! I am handsome and strong and...and power!

O'rik groaned and dragged a hand across his face as he watched his young green stomp and flare his wings. Well so much for avoiding this topic of conversation. "Yes, yes you are Kinuth. You're the most handsome looking green Pern has ever seen." Ducking to avoid a flailing wing, O'rik stepped to the males side and patted the dark shoulder in an attempt to calm him. He glanced silently at Nymari and Iyiath, just waiting for the typical harsh remarks and snide comments that usually came when the bomb was dropped on his dragons mutation.

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[Zirin]

Nym was just as quick to jump up when it looked like things could become out of hand, but it seemed O'rik had things on his end under control. She gave Iyiath a disappointed look, but the pink dragon remained standing. She shrugged at his comment, not really wanting to tell him about her life as a guard. "Careful, I might just have to use you for target practice and I'd hate to ruin that handsome face of yours." She replied, earning a disapproving snort from her partner. What, just because you don't know how to take a joke doesn't mean I can't. Although, that cocky grin of his did earn a roll of her eyes.

"Did she just... Oh Faranth!" She clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle her laughter at the greens sudden outburst. There was no way! Just no way! How many times had she heard the same type of outburst from Iyiath? Speaking of which, Kinuth's words would likely be dawning on her amethyst in three... two... one…

She? SHE? Do I look like a lady to you? It's the pink hide isn't it? It's always the hide! By Faranth, pink is a manly colour! His broadcasted voice cracked once or twice in his annoyance, but otherwise there was no mistaking the droll masculinity it held. Iyiath stomped about, huffing and puffing like he had never been so insulted in his life. Nymari knew she should try to calm him down, but she couldn’t do anything more than laugh at the impossibility of the situation.

[Zero]

O'rik was still trying to get his companion to calm down and stop thrashing about when he first heard her laughing. So it had begun. First came the laughing, then the snide remarks would start to fly, and finally it all would end with Rik usually getting into a scuffle with the opposing rider. His scowl deepened as he haphazardly pushed up his right sleeve and took a step towards Nym, regardless of the fact that her own dragon was currently thrashing and raging about as well.

"Now you just shut your-..." All at once though his prior anger fizzled and died. He even stopped his forward advance as a mixed look of confusion began to cloud his features. Did her dragon just say what he thought it just said? "Kinuth! Knock it off for one second!" The green snorted and slapped his tail against the ground before turning to storm off a short ways down the riverbank, still speaking for all to hear. Well s-...he started it. He called me a girl first!

Shaking his head, he watched the green wander off before slowly turning his head to regard the giggling woman and her flailing dragon. What were the odds of running into another pair so like themselves? Surely this couldn't be happening. He rubbed at the back of his neck and for a split second wondered if he had hit his head on a rock in the river and this was just a hallucination. It was nearly unheard of to randomly bump into someone who just so happened to share such a random trait. "So...wait." Fumbling over his words Rik scratched at the stubble along his chin, taking a moment to at least try and gather his thoughts and ultimately failing. "Really? This isn't some twisted little prank?"

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[Zirin]

She clutched at her sides, trying to calm herself. She had the feeling if Kinuth really was a male then O’rik had likely gone through the same things she herself had; that unpleasant experience where others would taunt, tease and laugh because of her dragon’s ‘mutation’. If that was the case then no doubt laughing would only cause trouble. Not only that, but she needed to calm Iyiath before he caught his wing on a tree branch or something of the sort.

I’ll rip her throat out! Stomp on her tail! I’ll show HER who to call a SHE! Why I’ll… I’LL!! He was calling out, though luckily this time it was only for Nym’s ears. She ducked her head as his tail whipped overhead, and it was the movement that caused her to notice the way O’rik was approaching. If anything could calm her laughter, the threat emanating from the greenrider could; she had a hand on her dagger within seconds, crouched to throw it if he dared come closer. She prayed he wouldn’t as Iyiath’s thrashing was making it impossible for her to throw a knife without potentially injuring her own dragon.

I didn’t start anything! I tried to compliment y- oh. Did she just… He… Like me? The pink dragon seemed befuddled, his head cocking to the side in confusion though his eyes still whirled with the reds and oranges of his anger. “Yes you idgit! Just like you!” Really what were the chances… it had to be a lie. It just had to! Maybe that fruit she had eaten had somehow fermented and this was all just some crazy dream. In fact… she rather hoped it was a dream. After all, she had just threatened to stick a knife through the man’s face mere moments ago. With a groan, she slapped a hand against her forehead. How could she have been so stupid!

On the bright side at least, Iyiath had calmed down enough to drop on his haunches and give the others the draconic equivalent of sticking his tongue out, and it was the young dragon that replied to O’rik. I wish it was some prank! Who in their right mind would stick a strong dragon like me with such a sissy hide colour! It’s not fair! His voice was quick to change from whining to disbelief as another realization hit him.Wait! Nym! After everything we’ve been through you LAUGHED?! How could you! Nymari slide her dagger away once more, looking sheepishly from behind her bonded.

“Look, I shouldn’t have laughed, alright?” She finally said out loud, feeling like the most terrible person on all of Pern... even if the knowledge that Kinuth was male was still unbelievable. If the green hadn’t confirmed it himself she would have doubted the validity as well. “It was stupid and I just… You just caught me off guard ok? I never thought I’d meet anyone… you know… the same as us.”