The Rifted Riders

[Hakkaeni]

"That is very kind of you," He responded kindly to Jenst, "but I'm already finished. Thank you for offering though..."

"Wow! You're a fast cleaner, it took me a good chunk of the morning and afternoon to take the spiderwebs and dust out. If you don't need me, then, I'll be off", he replied. "See ya, in the barracks."
Then he ran down the corridor to go to the training grounds hoping that someone hadn't moved his lance and that it'd be intact.

[Gaelach Rose]

Kali shook her head, smiling. She was one of the first new recruits and had been there for quite some time.

"Well, shall we go? I bet Cen and Aera are getting impatient."

[Jenna]

"Night's probably getting impatient too," Xander added as she shook her head in amusement at Jenst. Poor guy just couldn't keep up with his lances.

At that moment, a handsome young man with dusty blonde hair walked down the corridor, obviously making a beeline for Xander.

"Bloody hell," Xander muttered when she saw him, as Midnight was suddenly wide awake and snarling, rattling her riff against the scales of her neck.

"Xander~," he cooed, "fancy meeting you here. Perhaps I can offer to escort you to your destination?"

"Buggar off, Marcus," Xander replied in a tone that made it VERY clear she was getting pissed, fast. Her normally crystal blue eyes had turned to ice, a change mirrored by Midnight's eyes as well.

Not deterred, Marcus continued to move in closer, confident that he could woo her.

((Yeah. Marcus is one of the few characters I have that I really don't like. Feel free to have at him. And write him, if you want.))

[Yllamse]

((Sorry for the later reply you guys, had an emergency to take care of and it took all night to do it.))

Jenst seems like a nice fellow, he thought to himself as he watched him run down the hallway, perhaps just a bit forgetful? I'm sure I can give him a supplement to help his memory.

Suddenly he felt the energy in the vicinity switch and felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. He felt the man heading for them before he actually saw him. He didn't like the vibes he was feeling and it caused him a bit of distress to see him try to hit on Xander when it was obvious that she wasn't interested. Unsure of how Xander and Midnight wanted to play this out, he slightly stepped in front of her in a makeshift defense.

Who's this clown?

Careful, Tiarc'rie! This one feels...

Annoying? That's the way I see him, he woke me from my sleep! With a shift of her tail and a soft twinkle sound, the man's hair went from blonde to hot pink.

[Gaelach Rose]

Seeing the change, Kali suddenly began to laugh at Marcus. "Hey, Mark, your hair turned pink!"

He looked to Kali, disbelieving. Kali smirked and pointed at his head.

"What are you talking about?" He asked in his smooth voice, reaching up his hand to hold a piece of hair in his fingers. "What the-?!"

"Hey, your complexion matches your hair!" Kali exclaimed, stepping forward; though she was smiling and laughing as she usually did, there was something intimidating in her step, an silent agressiveness.

[Yllamse]

"Hey, your complexion matches your hair!" Kali exclaimed, stepping forward; though she was smiling and laughing as she usually did, there was something intimidating in her step, an silent agressiveness.

A minor set back... Marcus thought as he casually got over his initial shock and brushed back his hair with flick of his wrist. He looked at his target and gave her his most seductive smile. I'm sure I can work this new hair color with no problem.

"Ah, I'm sure it does Ka~li! Nice of you to notice...perhaps we can speak later in greater detail on how goo~d it matches? I'm sure you agree?" The smile he used being an offensive one, "What do you think Xander? You're awfully quiet-"

Marcus bumped into an un-moving Jayce and frowned. He was certain he hadn't seen this pipsqueak before. He looked Jayce up and down in annoyance.

"Well, who let the trash in?" He asked casually as he hauntingly brushed the front of his uniform, "Doesn't the castle have better taste in who they hire as staff?"

Jayce frowned and crossed his arms. He knew a bully when he saw one and he wasn't backing down, "Are you deaf or just looking for trouble? The lady said to leave her alone."

"O~h, Xander! I know your beauty is enchanting but do you actually want to have the garbage men in the castle fall in love with you? What a pauper! You do know I'm her prince charming, yes? Why don't you go back to your status little man and find yourself some one more suitable for your station?" Marcus said as he tried to push Jayce back only to have the other young man expertly move his hand aside and forced Marcus to step back to regain his balance.

"I'm not defending Xander," Jayce replied in a low voice, "I'm fairly certain she can take care of herself but what kind of a man would I be to let a scoundrel like you harass her this way?"

"Paupers should go home and mind their own business..." He snarled at Jayce but the young man refused to budge.

"You should go wash your hair before it becomes permanent," he replied casually, "and who knows? It might start to fall out if you don't."

OH, what a good idea! Tiarc'rie replied as she twitched her tail again with another twinkling sound making an illusion unfold.

"What a ridi..cul..ous..NO!" Marcus cried out as he watched several strands of hair fall from his head, "You think this is funny pauper! I'll-"

"You'll do nothing of the sort!" Tiarc'rie cried out and with a deep breath she spewed a sparkly gas from her mouth into Marcus' face. The man's face contorted from rage to euphoria in a matter of seconds. With a snort Tiarc'rie paced around Jayce's head and settled in for another nap. "That should take care of him. The nerve! Jayce is a good healer not a Pauper!"

Jayce frowned as he watched as Marcus began to giggle to himself and he casually strode off into whatever happy he was experiencing.

"Well, that's one way to get rid of a jerk," he said as the pink haired man hummed as he jovially walked down the hallway.

[Jenna]

Midnight flew off of Xander's shoulder to land on Jayce's, giving him an affectionate nuzzle. Anyone who didn't like Marcus was golden in her book. "Remind me to thank your invisible friend later," she told him quietly, so as not to wake Tiar'crie.

Xander snorted. "This should be interesting. Word is that he quite proud of his hair." She turned to face Jayce and Kali. "Thank you, both of you. He's a right pain in my arse, and any help in dealing with him is most welcome." She gave both of them a friendly clap on the shoulder. "However, it would be a good idea to get to our dragons. Night will have already sensed what went on and will need to be calmed down."

[Yllamse]

Jayce was a bit startled at first when Midnight landed on him until the dragon nuzzled his head.

"Remind me to thank your invisible friend later," she told him quietly, so as not to wake Tiarc'rie.

"Sure thing," he said with a small smile on his face.

Xander snorted. "This should be interesting. Word is that he quite proud of his hair." She turned to face Jayce and Kali. "Thank you, both of you. He's a right pain in my arse, and any help in dealing with him is most welcome." She gave both of them a friendly clap on the shoulder. "However, it would be a good idea to get to our dragons. Night will have already sensed what went on and will need to be calmed down."

"Let me know if he tries anything again, I know you could take him but people like that are dangerous in my book." Jayce did his best not to sound very worried, "but you're right. We should get going. Aeraganon isn't used to being around many dragons and I worry that he'll start acting a bit..um...well...grumpy. I need to make sure he's settled in alright."

With one last look towards the hallway that Marcus disappeared to he walked behind the girls with thoughts once again gnawing on his mind.

[Gaelach Rose]

At last they reached the Dragons, finding Centriel talking quietly to Aeraganon, though they could not discern the words from this distance.

"Hey!" Kali called out, waving, and several pairs of Dragon eyes looked up to meet her.

[Jenna]

Nightwing's head snapped up when he sensed Xander approach, unfortunately it was almost too dark to see him, only his two icy blue eyes that seemed to almost glow with aggravation were readily visible. "That stupid Human did it again, didn't he?"

Xander snorted in amusement as she laid a hand on his flank, soothing him. "Aye, but they helped out," she said with a nod towards Jayce and Kali, "I imagine he'll be insufferable for a good while, though. His hair's pink and falling out."

Night made no attempt to stop the deep, rumbling laugh. "Serves him right, I say." He turned his attention to Jayce, lowering his large head so he could look the young man in the eye. "Midnight informs me that you stood up to the local slime. Thank you."