La Nuit Du Chasseur ((Open!))

[Spiffy]

"You missed a spot."

"What? Another one?!"

"Yes. Just there. We can't have my princess having a dirty hide now, can we?"

"No, of course not."

Bella glared at Tironan, and he stared back, but her gaze was without the usual aggression. That, for the moment, was confined to Bellask, who's red eyes were focussed on Tironan. The group were sitting outside the wherling barracks on the small amount of grass they could find. Her brother had come over the barracks after his guard duty with the weyrlings finished at curfew too see the result of his sisters standing, and was almost bowled over by the fact that not only had Bellatrix Impressed a gold where, but a green as well! A double Impression! But He'd had little time to think on this before Bella drafter him into helping hr limp outside (something she'd've asked of no-one else) to help clean the dried egg goop off of her hatchlings that she'd been unable to clean off herself due to her spell with the healers.

"You'd want the best care for her if she were yours."

Never his.

"Oh give over Trixie, you know of course I would. Though I don't think I'd get quite a pedantic as you ov-- oi!"

Bella threw her cloth at him, laughing as it hit him in the face then ducked as he threw his own.

Sure he good guard? No see,

Bellask show him! Bellask will--

"You will do no such thing, sweetling!" Bella cut the green off gently but firmly, dabbing Bellask on the nose with a wet cloth until the green snorted. Bella had originally intended to wash Bellatrisk herself and give Bellask to Tiron, but the green had set up such a clamour and clamped down on Tiron's hand that each refused the company of the other. Bella, not wanting to have to clean both of them on her own while her brother did nothing, had set to working on convincing the gold that yes although no-one apart from Bellatrix was good enough to wash her, her Bellatrix was injured and tired and she trusted Tironan and besides, it would be good for Bellatrisk to set up relations with the guards for her eventual take-over. Any respect that Bella held for Zalmask had quickly evaporated under the onslaught of hate that she received from the two whers, even in the precious few hours since their hatching.

"Ronnie, you're upsetting them!"

The two continued their banter, enjoying each other's company under the stars, punctuated by comments - relayed by Bella - from the two wherlets. This was a Bella that nobody other than Tironan would see, and woe-betide anyone who disturbed the pair.

[S'yal]

Woe indeed.

A kitten was trotting out, recognized by anyone who had been in the wher complex long as Z's precious little kitten. The small animal had a pink ribbon tied around her throat, and behind her came Z. He scooped up the kitten upon seeing the wherlets, well aware that they were not yet aware that touching Cally meant death. Seriously. He would either kill you or transfer you to another wherhall where you lived forever in shame. The wherleader passed a curious look over the group, a look of misery coming over his face as he recognized Bellask. However, Bellatrisk was the new queen and Bellatrix a queenhandler... who he needed to talk to anyway.

Cally leaped off of him and ran in the opposite direction of the group, disappearing down a hallway as Z approached approached them. He coughed loudly so they would know he was coming and so that he did not accidentally overhear something he shouldn't. Looking sheepish, he rubbed the back of his head and distinctly wished Zalmask was with him. Of course, if the gold attacked him again he could dispatch her. He did, after all, have his knife with him.

"Tironan? Aren't you one of the weyrling guards?" He asked, arching an eyebrow. He didn't think they were allowed away from the weyrlings. However, he passed his eyes back to Bellatrix. "I'm really sorry to interrupt, but I was too... preoccupied at the hatching to talk with you." He tapped his fingers on his arm, looking down at Bellask. "It's about your gold and.... her." He gestured at Bellask, a look of pain passing over his face for only a moment.

"First, about Bellatrisk. You will be having private lessons with me. Zalmask will call you when it's time. Since my work schedule is rather... busy, I didn't want to have Zalmask wake you up in the middle of sleep with you having no idea why." His gaze lingered on Tironan, though only because he couldn't bare to look at Bellask. "As for Bellask, Warden has shared concerns about her aggression level. To prevent her being culled, i'm going to have to file her nails so that she can't hurt anyone until her aggression level goes down." He hesitated.

"I really don't want to cull her. So can you explain it to her so I don't have to? She probably won't listen if I try. If worse comes to worse, I can have Zalmask help me, but I would rather Bellask did it willingly." He looked down at Bellatrisk again, a scowl on his face now as he eyed the queen. Before he spoke, Zalmask rounded the corner.

"Now uh, I should probably go. Unless you need help with anything." He didn't want to discuss the gold's situation with Tironan there. He glanced at Tironan, and grinned almost mischeviously. "You're a pretty brave guy to oil Bellask. You know she nearly ripped open a girls leg?"

Z is going to get nommed.

[Spiffy]

Tiron noticed the approach of the wherleader before Bella, having been facing the right way, but Bella spun quickly when she heard his cough, scowling at whoever dared to disturb her time with her brother. But the expression turned to a sweet smile when she recognised the figure as the wherleader. Bellatrisk looked up, eyes flashing red, then looked away, refusing to look at him. She could tae him down, if she wanted to. Which she would, but her Bella had made it very clear that, for the time being at least, they needed the goldpair. Bellask just growled, but quietened when Bella shushed her, settling for glaring at Z. Tiron, for one, nodded respectfully.

"Yessir," he said when addressed, "I am." He paused, then realised that the goldhandler was waiting for some kind of justification as to why he wasn't currently doing that job. "It's past curfew now. They're pretty safe in the barracks, and I'm not allowed inside, so I'm off duty for now." He hoped that was good enough for the wherhandler even though it was true. He moved on quick enough, focussing back on Bella, who was a little irritated that someone was questioning her brother's being there. He had every right to see her!

She snorted slightly as he mentioned being preoccupied. "Weren't we all?" she asked rhetorically. She'd had enough problems herself, suddenly finding herself with two quite demanding female whers to look after, thankyouverymuch. She tittered silently when Z avoided her wher's names, but perked up when he mentioned private lessons with him and Zalmask. Ooooooohhhhhhh that could prove interesting. Veeeery interesting.

Bellatrisk no like. Hate. No work with Zalmask. It's called getting to know your enemy, Princess. You'll just have to get used to it. No Fine then, I'll go on my own and you'll just have to be the same as all the chromatics. No queening for you. The gold grumbled, shooting a hateful look in Z's direction. Alright. I go. But no like it.

Bella noted Z looking at Tiron when he talked about Bellask. This behaviour puzzled her slightly: she'd not been there when Zalsk had Impressed to Z and then died, at the hands of Bellask, and hadn't really been watching Z that much at the hatching, but she'd overheard the healers talking about it. Whatever the case, he obviously had a pretty big grudge against her green, and that she resented.

She was a little shocked, and angry, when he talked about culling her, or not, and filing her nails. She started to move angrily toward him, acting on impulse, when Tironan reached out and grabbed her arm. He released it hurriedly when Bellask snarled at him, but he'd done what he intended, and Bella stopped, looking at him. "It's probably for the best, if she's going to be like she was with me earlier, and you said she'd be friendlier with me because I was your brother. For others..." he left the answer open.

She scowled briefly, then relented. Had Tiron not been there... things may have turned nasty. But Bella idolised her brother, to the point of his word being law in some cases. It was really just as well that he had a level head at times like these, for Bella certainly didn't.

Bellask was growling and spitting away like a firework at the suggestion but, oddly, Bellatrisk was holding her back. If Belatrisk wasn't allowed to attack the wherleader then she sure as hell wasn't going to let Bellask get the pleasure! Bella glared at Z, despite the fact that he was recommending the preferable option.

"Oh I'll tell her al right--"

"Bella, think about this," Tiron cut in.

Much though she hated to admit it, her brother had a point. Bellask was violent and unthinking, she knew that, she'd seen it, and she knew that that behaviour could quickly get her into serious trouble. And a wher in serious trouble was a dead wher, end of story.

And she was not gonna give her Bellask up.

You don't like that idea, do you Sweetling? No. Tough. You're getting your claws filed. But... No buts! You'll have to get used to it so you don't kill someone, and you know as well as I do that you're gonna go after someone pretty soon. The green lessened her spitting, yellow tinges entering her eyes as doubt pervaded her mind. She was angry, so angry, but she didn't know why. She couldn't help it. Bellatrix sensed the wher's troubled mind, reached back to stroke her. It helped a little, but only served to confuse the green more.

Bella turned her gaze back to Z. "Fine, but I'm coming with her. And don;t expect her to be enthusiastic. But if that file even slips then Faranth help you."

She looked around as Zalmask appeared from around the corner, transferring her hand from stroking Bellask to Bellatrisk's shoulder in a precautionary measure. Bellatrisk saw her mother, her eyes flashing a deep red, a hiss rising from deep in her throat. But she seemed to remember herself and what Bell had told her, and turned her head away from Zalmask, the hissing not lessening in its intensity.

"No, I think we're fine for now," she said when Z asked if she needed anything.

Tiron was surprised when Z grinned at him, wasn't sure whether to take what was said as a complement. But the next comment shocked him, and he looked at Bella. "You never told me that!"

"So?" She asked indignantly. "That's what baby whers do. That bronze nearly took Bujare's foot off, and Bellatrisk opened my leg up too," she said, pointing at her bandage, but not seeing it as important to mention that Bellatrisk had also had at Z too. "Bellask was just a little more persistent than usual, is all."

"Well, technically she wouldn't even let me oil her," Tiron said, glancing at his hand which had been so recently nommed by Bellask. Just as well she didn't have any teeth yet.

[S'yal]

"Awesome. You know Milune? She's a nice kid. Gave Zalmask a foot rub when she was pregnant." Z nodded, obviously feeling wise as Zalmask wandered to his side. "No problem with it. I'm just surprised to see someone coming this close to the wher complex." Usually, people avoided it as much as they could. Whers were rather... territorial. Zalmask demonstrated by growling low in her throat at the guard, until a fwap on her nose from Z made her snort. She growled at him too, but he merely rolled his eyes. "Be polite." He scolded, a small smile on his face. Silly wher.

Z crossed his arms, eyes focused coldly on Bellatrix. Then, the girls brother spoke. He turned attention to him, his expression cool. "Bellatrix shouldn't be bringing her near you, even if you are a guard. I feel bad for not telling her, I was just very distracted at the hatching..." Yeah. Distracted. That was a good word for it. He swallowed against the sudden knot in his throat, and Zalmask pressed lightly against him. Let Bellatrix be as angry as she wanted- Z controlled her life now. She could cry and scream and throw as much of a fit as she wanted, it didn't change the fact that Z was still her superior.

As Bellatrix spoke, cold eyes switched from her to her brother. Then back to Bellatrix. He wanted to slap her for her disrespectful words, but he forced his temper down. Zalmask was not so levelheaded. She stepped forward with a low growl, eyes focusing on Bellatrix.

Hatchling-Gold's learn place. Zalmask kill Bellask if Bellask's not respect. She was wher- they enforced their ranks with blood. She also knew no one would question her if she killed the green. A firm mental command was sent to both wherlets to sit and stay still, more a show of power then anything else. Z growled something to her and she reluctantly stepped back, eyes burning red.

"Ignore her. She's upset about what happened at the hatching." Bellatrisk was ignored by Zalmask except for a glance, and Z nodded merely at the fact they had nothing else to say. He almost left, before he heard the two discussing Bellask's crimes. His face darkened, his pain showing again for only a moment.

"It would have been nothing, if she'd only gone after humans." He said between clenched teeth. "She killed her twin in the egg. After her twin had impressed. As you can see, this is pretty worrying behavior from something that doesn't have teeth yet." He didn't see the harm in mentioning the dead twin. Gossip about Zalsk was spreading around the prison like wildfire. Z was dreading when someone decided he was too mentally scarred to lead. Warden had already suggested he take a break.

As if.

"I don't want to bother you guys anymore. Bring Bellatrisk and Bellask to my office after the next lesson, and i'll take of Bellask's claws and start your first queen lesson." He glanced over the two, pausing. "Is there anything you want to ask, or did the older handlers fill you in on your wherlings duties?"

[Spiffy]

Tironan thought for a second, sorting out which of the Weyrlings was Milune. Finally he got it. "Yes, I know Milune. She Impressed that brown didn't she? Poor girl," he aded, thinking of the brown. He could not for the life of him see how she'd ended up with that one, how she'd deserved that. He didn't know what to say to Z's comment about the foot rub though, so lapsed back into silence. At least Z didn't seem to mind him being there. He shrugged. "Would one of them really attack another guard?" he asked, half-doubtfully now that Z had mentioned it.

Bellatrix met his cold arms-crossed gaze equally, not willing to back down an inch. Tiron was troubled by what he said next though. "Really?" he asked, looking at Bellatrix, who shrugged.

"No-one told me that," she said nonchalantly, even though Z had said as much himself.

She actually held back the smug smile that threatened when she saw the flash of anger in the wherleader's eyes, if only because Zalmask then approached, anger equalled in the gold as in her handler. Her expression soon changed to one of outrage. Tiron again held out a hand to hold his sister back, seeing the danger in the not-so-subtle changes in her body language. Kill her Bellask?! Never! The whers, for their part, growled at Zalmask's command, Bellask hushing up after a second or two and hid behind her sister, Bellatrisk just carrying on deep in her chest as she glared her hatred at her mother. But she obeyed, however much she detested that she had to.

Ignore her? Normally Bella took that kind of command as an incentive to do the exact opposite, but she was too busy seething to really do much about it other than to seethe a little harder. He looked as if her were about to leave, Bella mentally willing him to go away and leave them in peace, but he decided to be difficult and challenge her further.

"Well that's hardly my fault. I wasn't even there for that!" she said indignantly, even though Z wasn't directly blaming her for it anyway. Even though she was thinking, in the back of her mind, 'so that's what happened to the sad little thing in her egg.' Weak. Deformed. Worthless, the wrathful little green informed her rider. Would've died anyway.

But Tiron was a little more empathic to Z's mood, and had pretty much had enough of this ridiculous situation. Unlike his sister he didn't live for thrills. To him, confrontation was a job, not a hobby. He sighed and stepped in front of Bellatrix, cutting off her startled surprise by holding his hand up. He looked up at Z, eyes set in determination, but his voice was surprisingly soft when he spoke. " I - we - are sorry for loss." Yeah, he'd worked out who the wher in question had bonded to. "But what's done is done, whether the fault lies with Bella or the green, or both. I don't know, I wasn't there. But we can't change what's happened. I only hope that we can somehow make up for it," with that he turned a meaningful look on Bella, who looked a little surprised, as if thinking 'what, me?' "As far as I know, nobody's told Bella much of anything yet," he raised an eyebrow at her, the slight change in her expression telling him no, they hadn't, "so I feel a list of rules and expectations may be in order, so that we do not digress--" he was cut off by an indignant squeak from Bellatrix, but he silenced her with a firm "quiet." Bellask did not take the command so lightly, and readied herself to spring at Tironan. YOU WILL NOT ATTACK MY BROTHER! Bella all but screamed at her through their mind link, with wrath enough to rival that of the green's. Bellask, totally not expecting that from her handler, cried out and stumbled, falling into the bucket of water and causing it to slosh over the top and onto her, mewling in confusion. Bellatrisk snorted in amusement.

Tironan cleared his throat and continued. "--Digress again anytime soon. Then I think it best if you leave." It wasn't his place t say such things, he knew, but he didn't want to see his sister wound up any more than she was as it was, and Z had said as much himself. He knew Bella could be a menace enough by herself. With what he'd now heard of her two new additions, things could go even further downhill than they just had. He, as the only person whom Bella would actually listen to, was not going to let that happen, if he could help it.