The view is great from up here! [M]

[Draconian]

"Tix!"

Varali hissed to her wee little rodent.

Things always went bad when she tried to keep him in the apartment. There was always some way for the little thing to sneak out and at this point in her life she wouldn't be surprised if the little shit teleported. A streak of orange off to the side and Varali gave an irritated stretch of her wings.

"He's very well trained, he'd never run away," she mimiced herself to.. herself. Ah. There. Little orange brat was right there. Staring at her. A little butt wiggle and Varali rose a hand. 'Don't you dare,' She started, staring at the rodent.

A defiant look from big soulful eyes. A butt wiggle to indicate that he was anout to jump...

"Tix!" Varali's little wings snapped closed to her back when she snarled out the word... Because Tix had landed himself on someone's head. Still, she rushed forward, frowning, "Can you please grab that rodent and hold onto him?" She requested to the humanoid landing pad, flushed with embarrassment and anger.

[ARAD V1.0]

"So, you hadn't slept in three days and still managed to pass all your tests flawlessly?" Sterak inquired with a soft frown, eyes reducing to slits as he looked to Lyah.

The girl nodded solemnly, feline ears twitching softly. "Yup," she quipped playfully. "And.. You also had the time to.. Play games and upload that footage?" Lyah chuckled softly. "I livestream. It gets uploaded during the time I play." The pilot Royal nodded slowly. "I.. I am impressed," he admitted at last, before shaking his head.

A soft scraping interrupted the two, Sterak frowned and glanced at Lyah, feeling something scurrying in his hair. "There's something on my head, isn't there?" He asked his pupil. Who by now had her mouth covered with her hands, giggling and snorting behind it, nodding frantically.

He glanced up at the voice calling out to them and snorted softly, before raising the claw of a hand, aiming to pinch carefully around the creature's neck, trying to pull it from his head, looking at it. "Well hello there," he stated coldly.

[Draconian]

Oooh... Anxiety.

Varali swallowed carefully, slowing down her pursuit of Tix once she realized who he had made a landing pad out of. Wings drawn tight to her back, heart caught in her throat.

Tix hung, looking at the horns woefully. Giving a scrabble of his arms before he gave up, tail hanging like a fluffy banner. A sad look to Varali and Tix remained between Sterak's fingers, not unlike a kitten held by its mother.

"Pilot Echo Varali Orion," She stated, introducing herself - she was one of many low ranking Pilots, there was no doubt he wouldn't know her, "I'm sorry, Pilot Royal Darchan, he snuck out. Usually he listens but..." Varali gave a helpless little shrug and gave a little nod to the candidate, but for the most part Varali ignored her - not because she wanted to, but because it wasnt her candidate nor was it her place.  She fixed computers and tech, not train future Pilots.

Smoothing her hand over the top of her head, she cupped her hands under Tix's wiggly-jumpy butt and frowned at him. 'You know better,', she told the rodent, surface thoughts that either psychic could catch if they wanted to. Tix gave a whine and looked at her, soulful big eyes, 'I don't want to hear it. Now ... Be good and stop bothering the scary Pilot and his candidate.' Varali froze, hands still cupped, her pale skin moreso. "Uuuuh... Sorry. If you drop him he'll... Stop using your horns as a means of sharpening his little claws."

[ARAD V1.0]

"Pilot Royal Sterak Darchan. Often nicknamed Oberon. A pleasure, pilot Echo Orion," he answered, glancing at the little critter pinched between his claws. Before dropping it off in her hands.

Lyah answered the nod with a soft smile, turning to a grin as her look passed over Sterak once again. "Pilot Candidate Lyah Brin. If you know GWO. Top player here," she said with the same soft grin.

Sterak glanced at her. "Not anymore. You resigned, remember?" This caused the Neko to pout slightly, ears flattening against her skull. But she said nothing.

"Relax, Pilot Echo Orion. I'm not on duty. I was just on a social call with my pupil here," he glanced at Tix. "And I'm not offended by it. A creature's mind is always a mystery, correct?" He added with a soft chuckle.

[Draconian]

Oberon?

Varali squinted, looking up at him for a moment. It sounded familiar but... Nothing clicked. It was a nickname and since he was a Royal there was no way she'd call him by a nickname. She filed it away for later use though. "I'm familiar, afraid I dont have much time to play though, between work, plants and pets." A little nod to the candidate and she looked down at Tix.

The little thing huffed and curled up in her hand, tucking his head under his fluffy tail.  Varali looked at the girls ears and tilted her head, visible disappointment "Its best if you focus on your cadidancy. If you're not a gracie the consequences of it are... Not so good." She went quiet but smiled, "I imagine you can pick it back up when you Graduate though. A number of Pilots play games." Not that she was good at them anyway.

"Usually a mystery.  My brand of brain-powers let me talk to him. Tix is just... a brat today," a little apologetic smile and a nod of her head and Tix lifted his again and faster than a blink of the eye, he was on the girls head, petting her ears and getting comfy in her hair.

"Tix! Get out of the girls hair!"  Almost visibly the critter glared at Varali and hunkered down.

[ARAD V1.0]

Lyah nodded softly at her response. "That's alright. As Sterak here so eloquently put it, I don't play anymore. For the time being."

"Hm? Oh? What brand would that be then?" Sterak inquired with a soft frown. Legitimate curiousity passing his face. He as a pilot was close on a very personal level to his dragon. They were more than partners. It was as if they were brothers. Though, so it felt from his side. No doubt his dragib would see it differently.

Lyah flustered as the creature came in contact with her ears, her lip quivering and tears burning in her eyes. Sterak glanced at her as she just froze up, not moving a muscle. But, without a word or even a gesture to free Lyah off Tix, he shook his head. "She's a.. Cat.. Human thing. Neko, was the term she tried to teach me. The ears are very sensitive," he explained, resting his hand on the chains around his waist.

[Draconian]

Varali looked to Sterak and then back to the girl. A weakness. It was tempting to remove Tix but she didn't. Instead, she watched him gather what he could of her hair and get comfortable between her ears, tail curling around her head like a fuzzy crown. "That's an unfortunately obvious weakness," Varali said softly, recalling briefly when a Pilot had broken her little useless wings.

To teach her, they said, what it felt like. That way she'd be prepared if it ever actually happened. "Uh... Faunopathy. I can ... read their little minds," she looked to Tix, comfortable on his new fluffy bed, though he eyed Sterak's horns like a prize.

Hanging out on a candidate was one thing. Hanging out on a Pilot Royal was very different. "Plants, too," she tilted her head, wings giving a little flutter, a display of nerves to betray her not-so-nervous looking outsides. "I'm sure my file says everything about me," she wiggled her gloved fingers, wondering just what her file said.

"If you want him off just..." she mimed plucking something off her head to Lyah, offering a cool friendly smile, "and if you're a cat thing I guess that makes me a bird thing," Varali smiled, stretching out her little colourful wings.

[ARAD V1.0]

Lyah had sunken down in crouch, holding her hands on her head and letting out an annoyed and uneasy moan as Tix scurried around, before hunkering down in her hair in a warm and comfortable nest of warm and well kept hairs. "Well, it's something we're working on," Sterak answered, leaving Lyah fidgeting under Tix for now.

"I see," Sterak answered, nodding slowly, before glancing at the rodent thing. His eyes filled with threat to him. Asking Tix to even try it. Before he turned back to Varali. His large, black and feathery wings moving slightly as he rolled his shoulders. "Possibly. But it's always nicer to talk to people, rather than reading files," he replied.

Lyah glanced up at Varali, before glancing up. She brought her hand up to grip Tix wherever she could and pluck her from his hair slowly. Careful and mindful of her own ears. "Neko's the correct term," she said, a shiver still in her voice.

[Draconian]

Varali didn't take Tix away, she simply watched the girl at the critter. Wings drawn tight to her back again, tilting her head. "She's very expressive," Varali looked ay Lyah, blinking before she turned back to Sterak. This guy was the sensitive girl's mentor? Poor kid. She smiled at turned to Lyah, Tix trying desperately to scramble out of her hands and climb up to Sterak's horns again.

Probably to gnaw on them.

"Have you had Pilot Nocturnus yet?" She asked the girl, pointing to her ears, "he has cat ears like you. Maybe his were sensitive too? I know he's a drill instructor, maybe you can ask him when you get back to the ATC." Varali smiled again before she glared at Tix, still trying to get to the horns.

"The files tell you more about me than I ever will," she replied honestly, looking away for a moment. "You know how thourough those things are."

[ARAD V1.0]

Lyah stood up, with a squirming Tix in her hand. "Hm. She enjoys drama a tad too much," Sterak answered, casting a glance at Lyah, who was keeping the squirrel under control for the time being. Frowning at how strong it was for such a little creature.

"I haven-ah!" At that, Tix managed to slip out of her grip, and leap for Sterak's horns.

The pilot Royal caught Tix in the blink of an eye, by his neck again, with an amazing amount of precision. "Hmm. No, you won't," he said with a shake of his head towards the critter, before at Varali again. Lyah got to her feet, rubbing her head with a soft moan. "This is gonna be a pain to comb out," she murmured. "I haven't met him," she answered to the pilot Echo.

"Possibly," Sterak answered, shrugging softly, holding Tix out to her. "Though, that doesn't make it more interesting than talking to someone."

[Draconian]

'Tix,' Varali pleaded looking at the orange fluff, she gathered him by the midsection and frowned at him. Imploring him to behave. A little gnaw of her lip and she placed him on her shoulder, where he hunkered down - but didn't stop eyeing Sterak's horns.

Great. Just what she needed. Her rodent pal enamoured with a Pilot Royal's horns. It was lucky for her that Sterak seemed to be in a good mood and didnt snap Tix's little neck. It would be inappropriate for her to thank him for that.

Tix looked at the fluffy ears again of the girl and the horns of the man before getting comfortable beside her neck. On a limb Varali licked her lips, "I.. uh... Should stop interupting you two. Mentoring is pretty difficult stuff," a nervous chuckle, "I could never do it."

[ARAD V1.0]

Sterak shook his head with a soft chuckle. "It was a social call," he explained. "I'm not really fulfilling any mentoring duties right now. Only getting familiarized with my pupil." Sterak nodded softly, glancing at Lyah. "Don't worry," his gaze turned back to Varali. "Mayhaps join us, Pilot Echo Orion?" He offered with a soft frown. "If you have no immediate duties, that is. Don't feel obligated due to my rank."

[Draconian]

A surprised look crossed her face before she quickly schooled her features. It wasnt a big deal. Right? Right. This wasn't famous Pilot Royal saying 'hey come hang out'. This was going to be a lesson or something for little candidate. Varali smiled and gave a hesitant nod.

"I was just headed out before my escape artist made his... escape." Varali licked her lips and tucked her hands against her sides. Then moved them to her hips and cleared her throat, wings doing a little fluttering. A glance to Steraks wings and she cleared her throat, "So...  I'd love to join you. What were you off to do?"

[ARAD V1.0]

Sterak glanced at Lyah, before snorting softly. "We were just about to have lunch," he answered with a soft shrug. "I know some places, but I'm open to suggestions." With that retort, Lyah sighed softly, before stretching slowly. "Let's just go to whatever place you had in mind, Sterak," she stated, glancing up to the demon fae hybrid.

Sterak nodded slowly, though not without an annoyed sigh. "Right," he said, nodding at Varali. "Come along, then," he said before making his way through the street.

[Draconian]

For a few moments Varali was concerned by how informal he was being with his candidate. She couldn't imagine being so easy going with her own mentor. Still, here she was, having accidentally invited herself to lunch. This was... Going to be interesting.

"So," Varali started as they walked, Tix snuggled against her neck to nap, "how's training going so far? You're still alive so... Well, I hope!"  A hesitant smile to Lyah and a look to Sterak. What an odd pair.

[ARAD V1.0]

An odd pair indeed. It wasn't quite often you saw something considered a demon or fairy king taking an interest in a simple Neko. But that was exactly what happened. And said Neko forgetting all about titles and calling said king by his first name without reserves.

And Sterak actually tolerating it. In public.

"It's going rather well," Lyah answered, frowning softly. "He'll never admit it, but considering where I come from, progress is real. That and I'm an amazing shot," she quipped, her ears twitching as she did.

[Draconian]

Varali nodded.

Wasn't Sterak concerned? Didn't he remember how difficult candidacy was? Perhaps simply having him for a mentor kept the other candidates away. Varali rubbed her arm and looked around surprised he'd gone through the effort of getting his candidate permission to leave the ATC, let alone the Citadel. 'You must really care for her,' Varali directed to Sterak, a personal line between the two and she smiled and nodded to Lyah.

"Well, I wish you the best of luck, it can get... Trying. Though, I'm sure with Pilot Royal here to back you up you'll be finished Stage 5 in no time." A nod and she tucked her wings to her back and let her hands hang at her side. A brief glance around, lips pursed, "Can't say I bother leaving the citadel often," A glance to Sterak and a curious tilt of her head, "I know some Pilots don't live there, Do you? I don't see you... Ever." In fact, this was one of the first times actually talking to him that she could recall at all.

[ARAD V1.0]

Sterak glanced at Varali, before letting out a soft chuckle. I care for any of my pupils. Letting them needlessly suffer and forgetting what it looks like on the outside of the ATC would be.. Inefficient. Sterak explained, his voice, even in another one's head, massive and overbearingly powerful.

Lyah nodded softly, a soft whince from her as she was reminded of some of the rather grueling training schedules Sterak put her through. She knew she'd be pushed to her absolute worst more in the ATC. But this man had a kind of way to push her even further.

"I live here," Sterak answered. "Though I'm more than often away from home on missions, being a Seeker and all that," he explained with a soft shrug.

[Draconian]

Maybe he wasn't so good at the privacy part of telepathy. A quick glance with teal eyes to his candidate, seeing her nod. Obviously she'd heard him, too. Gnawing on her lip slightly she grew awkward at the idea of not having a privae conversation if they needed it.

Varali wasnt sure if she was touched or worried that he was so... Soft. Then again, how nice would it have been to still get along with the person that guided her through that hell. Once a Dragon had chosen her, she had gone out of her way to avoid her old mentor.

"Seeker," she repeated the words, "I'm just in tech myself. Nothing fancy here," a little shrug and she took in a deep breath, looking away. This... Was so awkward. "Do you plan on being a seeker too, Candidate?"

[ARAD V1.0]

Or most likely, he didn't bother to make an effort to. Or perhaps Lyah, with her recent work and improvement, deserved to know. Regardless, it was heard.

"Nothing fancy?" Sterak asked with a soft shake of his head. "Maybe not," he agreed. "But nescessary. And by all means, I myself am grateful for your work. Don't sell yourself short, pilot Echo."

Lyah frowned softly, before shaking her head. "I haven't considered any direction yet, pilot Echo Orion," Lyah admitted with a soft breath. "I'll first work on getting through candidacy."