Kagen Hunt [Sketchy]

[Sparrow]

Nayarath had finished rampaging, finally. With her belly full and obstructing further antics, it was time to lay down and rest off the gallivanting and gorging. Leaving Kora alone outside the feeding pens, she found a broad, sunny ledge and was soon asleep. Lilac and Soot, after settling on her belly, were soon in the same state, worn out from joining the gold in terrorizing the herds.

Kora leaned on the fence, relieved that there was still one about to do so on. The herdbeasts calmed down quickly enough; they were used to Nayarath by now, and knew when she was done running them in circles around the pens.

She probably ought to find Squeak now, and wished that Lilac hadn't dropped off so quickly. The violet was much better than Kora at keeping track of him. All Kora knew was that he wouldn't have gone far- he didn't like being away from his little mismatched herd- but he would definitely be hiding. Nayarath hunting was hardly his favorite activity, but with her asleep, it was time for him to come out. Just where from though... that was the issue.

[Sketchy]

"It just never ends, does it?" T'ien stretched, feeling the bones in his back crack and pop as he shifted around a little, twisting from side to side. He hadn't counted on coming out here, but there just hadn't been time earlier to let Minalth feed. "Come on, you big over-grown lizard."

Minalth shook his wings out, giving a slow dragon shrug as he leaped from the ground, blowing dust in T'ien's general direction. There's company here. Minalth gave nothing away as he effectively swooped down on some prey, picking off a weak one easily and moving off to the side. Unlike some dragons, Minalth had no urge to stir them up. He was more intent on eating. Not to mention he was tired.

"Company," T'ien murmured as he searched around the pen. Finally spotting Kora, he headed towards her, he gave a tired smile, rubbing the back of his neck. "Does everyone know you're off?" With how busy things had been, he'd only caught glimpses of her- usually in a frenzy of planning, working, or building, it had seemed like. "Pretty sure you're always wanted somewhere, for something."

[Sparrow]

Another dragon coming to hunt probably wasn't going to be the most beneficial addition to Kora's search, but at least he quickly made it clear that he wasn't going to get all the animals riled up again. Nayarath still woke, at least somewhat, at the sound of another dragon, and lazily opened one eye to see who it was.

Minalth, she informed Kora, before dropping back asleep. Minalth was still young. Too young to chase her, and thus too young to draw her attention.

Minalth. T'ien. It had been a while since she had talked to him. Maybe she could just keep looking for Squeak and avoid his notice but... he was already headed towards her. Kora smiled weakly. "They know Nayarath's hunting, and I think they keep out of that." Or at least... they knew that she was. Minalth's appearance might keep up her cover a little longer. "I've got to find Squeak first anyway. Made the mistake of bringing him down and he ran off somewhere."

Kagen probably weren't the greatest excuse, but she did think it was probably not the best idea to leave him at the feeding grounds.

[Sketchy]

"Ah, that would explain it." It was well known, even to the weyrlings, that Nayarath was a terror to the herdbeasts. Leaning against the fence, he watched as Minalth ate, still proud of his dragon for mastering at least the basics of functioning as a bonded pair.

Minalth gave a polite greeting to Nayarath, but he was intent on gorging. He already knew that she was resting off her food, and even now the lure of a nice warm rock with a full stomach sounded wonderful. He mentioned it to T'ien, who ignored him for the moment. Minalth knew they would have to go back eventually; there were always chores to be done it seemed.

"Oh, poor guy." T'ien looked around, shading his eyes at the fenced area and frowned. "I can see how that would be a mistake," he replied, keeping his voice low and even. "Hopefully Minalth didn't terrify him more," he added worriedly. T'ien hadn't expected anyone to be down here, at this time of day. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced around. "Any idea on where to look first? I don't mind helping, though I doubt he'll come near me willingly." Oh T'ien. You're just so damn helpful.

[Sparrow]

"Mmm-hmm." Not that it was an explanation she was very proud of. She wasn't sure how to stop this particular habit of Nayarath's, which earned her a lot of frustration from the beasthandlers. It was a bit of a sore spot for her, but... well, she didn't know what to do about it. Nayarath was a little too big to force one way or another, and too big-headed to ask.

Kora shrugged. "Whatever state he's in right now, I doubt he can get much worse." Usually Lilac kept him company somewhere else, but today had been an unfortunate exception. "Anything he could hide under would be the place to check, I guess. Or tall grass. I don't know, I just started."

With another dragon here, he certainly wasn't going to come out on his own either. T'ien might scare him too, but hopefully Squeak would pick Kora over a rock for comfort. Soon as they found him, anyway.

[Sketchy]

T'ien agreed with her sentiments, even if she hadn't stated them: "Well, hopefully he remembers that you're a lot better to be around than whatever he finds out there... like herdbeasts and dragons and such." Minalth snorted at the tease and rustled his tail around a little. He is not on this side of the fence. I think. So look over there.

T'ien grinned at Kora. "Minalth is being helpful."

Hands on his hips, he surveyed the main patch of large grass, just out of reach of the herdbeasts trampling habits. "That might be the best place to look, then? You should probably. I can stand here and help from afar." He flashed a smile, teeth glinting for a second as he watched the ground. He'd make a point of watching the ground at least, to see if he could catch any glances of the sneaky kagen.

[Sparrow]

"I sure hope so." She laughed weakly. "Just so long as he doesn't try to befriend a tunnelsnake, we'll probably be okay." Hopefully there wouldn't even be any of those around. All the dragons and flitters always buzzing around would hopefully keep them away from here. By daylight, at the very least.

"Oh?" She wasn't sure how much the young bronze could do, but it was sure to be better than nothing. Lilac was usually the one keeping track of him; it seemed a little odd to think of not only a dragon, but someone else's dragon trying to now.

Kora shrugged. "Come along and maybe he'll realize you helped out." And if he ran, they weren't really much worse off than they were now. She headed for the grass, although she wasn't sure if a patch of open, sunlit grass would be where Squeak would head. Somewhere a little more shadowy would be more like him.

[Sketchy]

Watching her for a moment, he scrutinized over her face. Then he gave a faint smile. "It'll be okay, we'll find him." He hadn't realized how worried she was until he'd heard that particular tone. "Yes, Minalth checked with his tail. I'm afraid if Sneak was over there, he would have ran out with fear in his heart by now."

I was just being helpful, the bronze protested. Of course, T'ien teased silently. He was still getting used to talking to Minalth on a personal level.

"All right, if you say so." He followed her quietly, keeping an eye on the ground, watching not only for holes and dips, but also for Squeak. Even if the little kagen didn't like him, he liked Kora. "Do you have any food to bribe him with?" T'ien knew from experience that sometimes the fastest way to get a reaction from something - whether human or animal - was with food. Maybe she had some treats he liked or something. "I have some dried fruit, if that helps." He often kept it on him to nibble on whilst working. It was good to keep his energy up, after all.

[Sparrow]

"Yes, I know." She couldn't help but smile a little more sincerely at his concern. "I'm just a worrier. It doesn't mean much." That Minalth had checked with his tail, however, did give her some more legitimate concerns. He could easily have hurt a little cowering kagen.

But he hadn't. She wouldn't bring it up.

Kora scanned the ground, noting a boulder and heading that way. "Food? No." She didn't make a habit of picnicking while Nayarath fed. "Squeak's not generally too tempted by food anyway, although if you want... it doesn't hurt to try."

It was hard to predict Squeak's behavior. Who knew? He probably hadn't been eating all this time, so maybe he would be hungry. He could very well also be feeling too nervous to eat.

[Sketchy]

"Such a nurturer," he joked. "Gotta take care of all the weyr and all the inhabitants, hmm?" Pushing his hair back from his face, T'ien rummaged in his pockets. He finally found the handful of dried fruit wrapped in cloth. Smiling a little sheepishly, he handed some to her, offering a choice if she wanted to try with the food. Everything was more likely with Kora, in regards to Squeak. "Habit from my travels, I guess. Can't seem to leave the dining area without something tucked away for later."

It wasn't a fear of going hungry, just more that T'ien knew how unpredictable life could be. Just in case was a good enough reason for him. He stood back, letting Kora approach the shady rock. He nibbled absently on a piece of fruit, a few small chunks held loosely in his palm near the ground, swinging lightly as he watched.

You're staring. T'ien made a face. He hated when Minalth sounded so sharding smug.

[Sparrow]

"Even the kagen," she agreed jokingly. Luckily there weren't many of those around, and most of them were not as cagey as Squeak. She accepted the food, although she was still uncertain whether it would be very beneficial in finding him. Squeak would probably appreciate a treat once he was found though, so long as T'ien didn't mind her putting it to that use.
"Maybe that's a habit I ought to get into." Her fire-lizards would probably appreciate it more than Squeak or herself, but happy flitters were helpful flitters.

A furry grey nose poking out from behind the rock caught her attention, and Kora knelt as it disappeared again. She could easily take Squeak out herself, but better to give him the opportunity to come out on his own first. "Hey there Squeak, found you."

It hadn't been too hard, actually. Thankfully. Squeak poked his nose out again, sniffing, and then scurried from his hiding place into her arms. Kora stood again and walked back to T'ien, laughing a little. "Well, that wasn't so bad. Thanks for your help."

Squeak gave T'ien a suspicious glance, apparently not feeling nearly as grateful.

[Sketchy]

"It proves useful for dragons... people... kagens." He crossed his arms, a smile pulling at his lips as he watched Kora coax Squeak out from behind his rock. He was actually surprised how easy it was to find the little kagen; he was thinking it would take some time, at the least.

"The more to look, the quicker to find, right?" It was a proverb that proved fitting for the moment, even though T'ien wasn't prone to use them.

T'ien watched Squeak, seeming to make himself more comfortable as he watched in return. "Offering of friendship?" He held the small pieces of fruit he'd been holding, trying for a smile as he tried to hand them to Kora. As good as it was to find Squeak (he didn't want to see an animal in distress), he was a little wary. He knew the kagen didn't take to many people, and always felt as if he was a little out of place when the creature was around.

[Sparrow]

"I guess so." She wasn't sure T'ien had done much looking, but he had kept her from just standing around and fretting. That was beneficial.

Squeak, predictably, shrank back from T'ien's hand. He had clearly just had a mortifying experience and now people were sticking food in his face? Plus he could smell the same sort of thing in Kora's hand, and he would rather have that.

"Not today," Kora sighed. "You know, a couple weeks ago he got in a fight with Inolyn's kagen. I'm think over a mate? I'm not sure, but I know Squeak lost, and it's made him even worse than usual." Silly thing. Fighting with someone was out of character enough, she was pretty sure the only thing that would make him do it was a female. Even that seemed like a bit of a stretch.

[Sketchy]

Searching by proxy, then. T'ien could be be helpful, right.

Seeming to know what Squeak was thinking, T'ien joked with Kora: "I think he'd prefer your fruit over mine." Rummaging about, he found the small cloth and stuck it back in his pocket. He could always nibble on it later, or use it to bribe his brother. D'cien was almost always hungry, much like Minalth.

At the thought of him, Minalth stood, stretching his wings and digging around in the dirt a little as he righted himself. Glad Squeaker was found, Kora was so nervous.

T'ien flashed a smile at her despair. "Males can't help it." He crossed his arms and looked at Squeak a little closer. "He'll recover. Maybe he'll eventually woo the fair lady, too." T'ien's eyes moved back up to Kora's, one eyebrow arched. "She must be a great kagen, to fight over like he did."

[Sparrow]

"Probably." She offered it to him, and Squeak quickly proved the theory correct. "You just remember that's a gift from T'ien, alright?" He probably wouldn't, and probably wasn't even listening, but it didn't do any harm to try. Squeak wasn't showing any sign of paying attention to her though.

"Maybe." He had tried hard to get this one, maybe he would get lucky in the future. "I don't even know this one she was. I guess we'll find out when some pups turn up." Maybe Inolyn knew, but the female could very well have been a wild kagen, so maybe not.

"You may be overestimating the situation a little." Like T'ien just said, males couldn't help it.

[Sketchy]

He held his hands up in mock surrender, backing off to pick up the things he'd set down before searching for the kagen. "All right, you win. You're the superior gender, I'll admit it." He tucked everything back into his pockets, patting as he searched the ground to make sure he hadn't missed anything.

"How's Nayarath been?" It had seemed impolite to ignore the gold, but she had been fairly absent from this little outing. Perhaps the dragon actually liked the kagen and didn't want to cause him anymore stress... then again, it could be she was just enjoying her nap. "How've you been?" Eyes narrowed a bit, he studied her a little, looking for signs of wear and tear. He knew running a weyr could be exhausting- anything with responsibility was exhausting, and weyrs came with a lot.

[Sparrow]

Kora grinned. "Good to know." Although Nayarath would probably take a lot more enjoyment out of the statement. It was something she made a point of hammering into everyone's minds. Particularly that females were superior, and she was the most superior of the females.

Nayarath made Kora doubt the whole superiority thing.

"Nayarath's been well. Making the most of having a summer off the sands by sleeping and lying around just as much as she does when she has a clutch." Kora laughed. At least she didn't complain about it when it was a choice.

"I've been well too. Not a lot going on lately." Generally, if Nayarath was doing well, so was Kora. The gold's doings had more effect on her than most of the Weyr's general happenings. Since the last hatching feast, there had been no trouble at Nyocia, and little in its vicinity as well. The biggest news was Danac's new Lord Holder, but since Itunas was someone she already knew, for Kora, that hadn't been much trouble.

[Sketchy]

"A wise man knows when to admit defeat, or something like that," he quoted, raising one hand in mock solemnity.

Females are not superior, Minalth disagreed. Different. But not superior. Ever a stickler for being correct, Minalth stalked over towards T'ien and Kora, taking care not to move too quickly. His deep orange-bronze colour glistened in the sunlight as muscles shifted, lifting himself over a log that had grown over with grass and shrubs. He tripped a little on it, making a clatter as he glared at it. He still hadn't quite grown into his legs, it seemed.

T'ien flinched a little at the loud noise, hoping that it wouldn't startle Squeak. He knew he was a rather shy creature, and Minalth could make quite a rukus when he put his mind to it. Or didn't, in some cases.

[Sparrow]

"I think you've done it twice now. That's a good sign." Kora smiled. But it appeared Minalth had some problem with that, or something said recently. Now he was headed their way, moving like the usual young, fast-growing dragon... tripping on logs...

The sudden movement and noise Kora knew would have no good effect on Squeak, who had been momentarily calm again now that she was holding him, he had food, and no herdbeasts were getting killed by dragons. She gripped him tighter, but the kagen would have none of it and he struggled, his powerful hind feet coming down hard on her stomach and short claws tearing at her shirt.

Kora gasped, doubling over and dropping Squeak, who streaked back to his rock to hide. Nayarath's head snapped up, unceremoniously dumping Lilac to the ground, and she glared down. What's going on?!

[Sketchy]

"I can admit things. My brother, however, is incapable of even thinking he may have been misled." A quick grin was all he got off before the chain event caused all the movement with Squeak. Managing to drop the few things he was holding (he'd managed to get most of it into various pockets), he watched Squeak sprint away.

It took him a second to realize that she could have been hurt- the kagen did have claws, after all. Kneeling on one knee, he bent to examine her stomach, the shreds of shirt fluttering as he tried to brush them aside. "Are you okay?" When he looked up at her, though, his cheeks flushed and he hurriedly pulled back. He would NOT admit to anything that he had or hadn't seen. "I mean, are you bleeding? Did he get you?"

Minalth was now silent, watching with dragon interest, head turned to the side a little to watch. I don't understand why it's a big deal. You've seen women without their shirts before. I know you have. The dragon seemed a little smug at that, as if he'd figured out a very big secret of his bondmate.

Not THIS woman, though. And she's ranked above me. It's not... proper. He was still blushing a little, running a hand through his hair. Hopefully she wasn't angry with him.