I've been runnin'... (Open)

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

3077.01.18 | Late afternoon

K’tar was going stir-crazy. He still couldn’t quite fit his head around the idea that he was a father, although to be fair, the fact that so far the infant had had to spend almost all of his time in the infirmary didn’t help. Well, that and K’tar’s natural way of handling frustration or boredom. Speaking of boredom handling… Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that K’tar had been going stir-crazy.

K’tarMine, why must you always use the runnerbeasts-sharddit to leave Cliffside? You know they aren’t as fast as I am.

Yes, and unfortunately it’s rather hard to hide a large Purple dragon…

The people in charge already recognize you if they get a good look at you.

K’tar didn’t have an answer to that one, other than to take his heels to the runner, demanding even more speed. Veering off the road, he sent the runner plunging down onto the beach. The one disadvantage of not wearing his rider’s knots was that if the guards caught him he probably wouldn’t like what they’d do. He glanced back over his shoulder. The pursuit was out of sight, if only brief—

The runner veered abruptly and slid to a stop, causing K’tar to overbalance and nearly lose his seat. Standing there, having been hidden from sight behind the dune he’d just rounded, was a person.

No time to worry about that. K’tar slid off the runner, turned it around, and sent it running back towards the road by means of a well-placed slap.

[Shoki]

The person who was relaxing behind the dune watched K’tar for a minute, chewing on some dried meat. They watched as he sent the runner back where it came from, after nearly falling off it. They chewed a little bit more, trying to pinpoint a name for the face they were staring at. Ah, that’s right, it was K’tar. The man got up, dusting his pant off, before handing the rest of the meat to the Flame firelizard that was glued to his shoulder.

“Nice save. Who’s chasing you?” The other man stooped slightly, keeping his head down. He knew how this worked, he’d spent the better part of his youth getting into some wild times. Spent a good time now being a daredevil. When time allowed. He glanced around the sand for a moment before ducking his head back. “I think you mighta lost them.” He flashed a grin, before flopping down on the sand again.

“What are you going to do now? Anything fun?”

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K’tar actually took a step back. The other man was taller than him by at least a couple inches, and he couldn’t see the face. Nor did he recognize the voice.

Don’t be a dimglow, they couldn’t have known you’d take this route… K’tar flicked his eyes in an instinctive check for rank knots, then took an extra step back. They were there, all right. In fact, he was facing the Jr. Weyrleader. That left him with a bit of a dilemma. He certainly couldn’t tell the man what his real plans for the rest of the day were, although at least it wasn’t likely that the man would hand him over to whichever (if any) or Cliffside’s guards had pursued him this far.

“It could be, depending on how you define fun,” K’tar temporized. He was debating a rather elaborate scheme involving the cool water that the head cook favored for a drink in the summer and the rare white-root-wine that came out of Rolling Hills. Unlike more standard wines, white-root-wine was clear (like water) and he rather thought it would only be polite to help broaden the cook’s horizons.

“What about you?” he inquired. A little bold, perhaps, but it was best to distract the Jr. Weyrleader from the current subject.

[Shoki]

“Oh?” R’le looked at the other rider through his hair. It was in bad need of a cut, but he’d been busy. Once Retny started to complain, he’d have a go. For now, smooth sailing. “Now you got me interested. I have nothing to do, really.” At least until later tonight. Yinaire was sleeping when he checked the crèche before lunch, and for now he was just pacifying Burn. Quiorith had turned traitor to go flying with his Queen. Well, traitor was a strong word. Felt like it sometimes though. He couldn’t even trick T’kar anymore, what with him no longer being Weyrleader. He didn’t think he would be playing the same game as D’gan, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t practiced D’gan’s style of writing. You never knew.

“Come on, you got something fun. I can tell. Help a man chase away boredom.” He put his arm around the other man’s shoulder, as casual as could be. “What ‘cha got?” Burn skittered away from the new rider, attaching himself to the rider’s opposite shoulder. He was still chewing on the jerky though, so he wasn’t getting into trouble. Unlike what R’le was trying to do.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K’tar repressed the urge to grimace. He wasn’t sure what to try next, unless… When he’d first come to the Weyr, a fifteen Turn old who thought himself already nearly an adult, K’tar never would have been considering what he was considering now. R’le would have seemed both far too old and far too senior. Now though, from the perspective of a full rider, new father, and three more Turns, he was actually willing to try.

“You know the head cook’s cool water supply?” he inquired. Even as he did so, a new variant sprang into his mind. What if, instead of simply switching out the head cook’s drinking water, he switched all the water kept in barrels near the kitchen. It wouldn’t be that much harder, and the thought of what would happen when the cooks tried to bake something with it was simply glorious.

“Well, I’m thinking about helping her try a new drink. Might even help all the cooks find out how well the new drink can be used in place of water for baking.” K’tar was grinning. Even if R’le reported him, it would be worth it.

[Shoki]

R’le listened intently to K’tar’s plan then let out a laugh. Burn climbed down to the man’s back and clung there, away from the noise.

“Now that would be a show alright. Shards, I would pay fair marks to get a sample of those rolls!” He chuckled again, enjoying the mental image. He gave K’tar a pat on the back before putting his hands in his pockets and talking a step back. “I knew you’d have a grand idea, K’tar.” His mirth was interrupted. He knew he should enforce rules, what with him being Jr Weyrleader and all. His inner prankster wasn’t so interested in that. He wanted to skip work and have fun watching this all go down. His face went contemplative. It never once occurred that he was too old for this, or that he was a father now and should worry about being a good example or anything. He’d gallivant out into the jungle until he was old and gray in his mind, same went for this. Of course it was hard to suppress turns of habit.

“How were you figuring on not getting caught? Those barrels aren’t exactly small, an I am pretty sure half the weyr knows to watch ya.” R’le, always the critical trickster.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K’tar grinned. “Well, I happen to have some barrels that are about the same size and all, and if something were to happen that broke the one’s they have currently…” The grin grew even broader. “It seems likely that they’d be happy enough to accept replacement barrels, especially if they were being brought in full, from stores.”

“As to being recognized, Viarth tipped me off to this really cool trick. Turns out charcoal will darken hair, and as to the rest… they know to keep an eye out for purplerider K’tar, not some nameless drudge bringing them new water barrels. The hard part will be getting to the head cook’s private drinking water, unless you’re willing to help?”

K’tar’s grin was truly infectious as he caught R’le’s gaze. Really, the easiest thing to do would be to cause the diversion, replace the head cook’s water supply in the middle of it, and then slip off to be ready to bring the new “water” barrels.

[Shoki]

R’le chuckled. The other rider was pretty good, had most of the bases planned out. He also had the bonus of lighter hair, as R’le was quick to point out.

“Very nice, lucky you can do that. Trying to go from dark to light is a lot harder. You have to mix chalk powder with other stuff, it’s a mess.” Not that he had tried it recently. Harper hall escapades weighed heavy on his mind though. As much as it sounded fun, he was torn, and eventually he decided which side he would take on this.

“Sadly, I don’t think I’ll have a part in this. Can’t take the chance they are making stew today.” He put his hands behind his head, causing the Flame firelizard to scoot around his shoulder to his neck. “Ah well. I’ll just have to think of something else to do.” Hopefully something more fun then pushing papers around.