Dragon Rider Play

"Only if you think they'd all say yes." Blade said sarcastically as he took another wonderful bite.

Mark laughed a little. "You'd think he's never had food before..." He commented as he ate his own food.

Pat smiled a little. "It is very good," she agreed.

Blue finished less than half of his plate full then pushed it toward Blade. "Just take care that you do not get so heavy your dragon cannot lift you."

Blade shook his head, eating all of his food as well as what Blue gave him. "You have such little faith in me." He took care of the dishes.

Mark chuckled. "For as short as he is, Blade can sure pack food away."

"That means he will have a lot of energy. How ever will we keep up?" Blue asked.
"Cake!" Pat cried, bolting from her bench and running to the buffet line as the cooks set out dessert.
Blue watched in shock as the slender "lad" beat even Blade to the front of the line. "Did he just outrun Blade?"

Mark nodded. "I think he just did."

Blade poked Pat. "Geez. I didn't realize you could move that fast!" He had gotten in line just moments after Pat.

"That is nothing short of astounding," Blue said.

Pat glared at him then reached back and poked him back. "It's cake! And don't poke me. Please." She broke into a bright smile as she accepted a plate and started trying to decide what to get.

Blade moved back as Pat went to poke him. He still didn't like being touched. Blade thought a moment before getting some of everything. He didn't recall ever having cake before, but it smelled fantastic!

Mark nodded. "Maybe Pat has a lot more potential than we give him credit for."

Pat could barely keep everything on her plate as she carried it back to her seat and rejoined the other two. "Where's your cake?"
"I do not eat dessert," Blue replied.

"I am not a fan of sweet foods." Mark said.

"This is sweet?" Blade asked, honestly not knowing until he took a bite. His eyes got round as the flavor hit his pallet.

Pat couldn't help giggling at his expression. "Most of the sweet is in the frosting. Try the cake by itself."

Blade didn't care. He polished off this plate of food as well.

Mark groaned. "Great. We have given the ADHD guy a ton of sugar. What have we all done?"

"Created a fun time?" Pat ventured.

Blue just shook his head at them. "Come, Blade. Let us go explore the fighting ring. There will probably be some good targets to practice with."

Blade nodded and followed Blue. he was his normal, fidgety self right now.

Mark shook his head some. "I think I will be heading to the library. Want to join me, Pat?"

Blue checked the map then headed toward the training ring island. Curious how they'd connected the islands. Did that mean if a bridge ever broke they'd loose an island? Better not bring that up to Pat.

"Um, okay," Pat agreed nervously, putting away her dishes.

So far, Blade didn't seem to be incredibly hyper yet. He kept playing with his knife as they walked. Blue may notice it was the same knife he retrieved for Blade.

Mark smiled a little. "This is a pretty cool set up they have here, huh?" He said. He was only trying to make small talk.

Blue seemed to be ignoring Blade completely as they crossed over into the island. It was the flatest, barren island, with only a ring of grass around the edge, the middle sloping sharply down into a huge dirt arena that looked like it could be easily arranged for multiple purposes.

"I guess they really do want us to learn," Pat agreed timidly.

Blade slid down to the center of it and looked around. He put his knife away at the same time.

Mark nodded. "That's not exactly a bad thing though."

Blue drifted toward the archery range, finding a rack of longbows on one side. He picked one up, running sensitive fingers over the worn wood. "Not bad quality."

"What do you think of this place?" Pat asked.

Blade found some knives and swords and tested their balance. He found two he liked and walked over to Blue, sword in each hand. "Hey Blue, can you swordfight?"

Mark shrugged a little. "It's pretty cool. Not a fan or how they have the rookery laid out, and there would be adjustments I'd make to the nursery, but overall it isn't that bad."

(Sorry for the poof. I fooded)

"It is not a favorite pastime, but yes, I know how," Tithenor replied, putting down the bow. "Do you desire a match?"

(I'm thinking he can probably keep up with Blade, but not outright beat him. Least where swords are concerned.)

"What's wrong with the rookery? I thought it was pretty nice," Pat said, trailing her hands along the books.

(It's cool. I got distracted by something shiny.)

Blade smiled and threw him a shortsword, handle first.

(Blade is very good with any bladed weapon XD If he's using just a sword, and playing by the rules, Blue can probably keep up. If not, there's no way Blue stands a chance.)

"Well, it could be designed more efficiently and in a way that would allow the dragons to socialize easier." Mark said. He grabbed a book and showed Pat a more circular design. "Granted, some species are more social than others, but if they are all living in the same housing anyway, it'll be assumed they are social. This design allows the space to be heated or cooled faster as needed, and the circular design allows room for the dragons to nest as well as socialize easier."

(Maybe keep up only because of fast reflexes? Not asking to win, just not get beaten embarrassingly, make Blade work for it. XD Pat is the one who will beat the snot beaten out of her in everything.)

Blue caught it and moved out of the archery range, falling easily into a fighter's stance. "Shall we?"

Pat frowned at him. "They've been doing this for centuries, so I'm pretty sure they know what they're doing since they are raising fighters, not lap pets."

(Lol got it XD)

Blade grinned and lunged. The human was surprisingly quick and agile. His sword danced, and the user behind it was clearly very clever in using the weapon to full potential.

Mark frowned and closed the book, putting it back. "Maybe, but dragons are social by nature, and wild dragons being social with each other can be just as likely to rip your face off as fighters."

Blue wasn't totally surprised by Blade's speed considering his knife work, but he was a little taken aback by his style. He really shouldn't have been, but the elf was used to this being treated as a gentleman's game, all rules followed to the letter. Even so, he was good enough and fast enough to keep up with Blade, but that was all. He was stuck on the defensive, going round in tight circles and avoiding hits and giving none.

"Maybe you just have to wait until you see it put together with the actual hatchlings to understand how it works?" she shrugged. "Just because they are in a cage doesn't mean they won't be able to socialize, just not run off and get eaten by a Nazgul or something."

Blade smiled. "You have a good defense." He commented. yes, he was abiding by the rules, because he didn't think the elf would appreciate him playing like he would on the street.

Mark hesitated. He seemed a little bit of a stick in the mud on this, but wasn't going to argue about it anymore.