Remnants of the Earth

The multiple train and shuttle rides to the ATC were beyond a nuisance for Rikeryn today. Lower castes seeing the Royal in his decorated uniform stopped no one from attempting to acquire signatures, acknowledgements, or whatever else the public demanded of him whenever he stepped outside his home. Being a Pilot has its merits and all but it does eventually get tiresome after all these years. Yet still a tiny piece of it is always appreciated.

Lets see here...
Cato Benda...

This would be a first, normally Rikeryn would only be requested for a small mentoring jobs. Mostly as a specialist for pyrokinetics but this one was unique. According to documentation it states that this candidate, outside of the basic qualifications, has no real psionic specialty.

A general psionic? And they want me to mentor him? Something doesnt seem right... what else we got...
age:13
gender:male
species: human
Ethnicity: Native Aedolan
Height:5'...

Rikeryn kept skimming through the documentation on this kid, still not understanding why he was assigned to him.

I'd hope this is a short-term deal. I dont imagine I can't do much for this kid. Hmmm...

Now arriving at the Advanced Training Complex.

Rikeryn stepped outside of the shuttle to be greeted with the all-too familiar structure of the ATC. Stepping inside the immediate smell of top-of-the-line cleaning products mixed with a gentle lemon breeze coaxed the inside of Rikeryns nose all too well.

Ahh, brings back the good times.

A couple of floors and some backtracking to rooms that he couldve sworn were there before. Finally making it to the room, he opens the door and is greeted with the typical scene. Anxiety-ridden, sweaty hands, a slight quiver to his form what he presumed to be Cato.

Be mindful of this one, Rikeryn. Hes been quite the talk between everyone lately.

Albeit he was used to it at this point, Riven's voice still as rash and brutish as ever, still shakes him to the core every time.

Appreciate a warning before you just click in like that. Thanks.

"Greetings candidate, I can imagine you already know why im here so lets cut to the chase. I don't know why I was assigned to you, nor how, but you're stuck with me until further notice. I have your documentation here on your history, medical records, everything. Yet theres something I can't put my finger to. Whats the deal with your psionics? I normally am assigned to Pilots that have the potential to be a pyro. What's your deal?"


 

Welcome! Happy to have ya!

"Probably not, half of them windup not knowing what to say. Also don't ever say that, we all need each other at the end of the day. Plus I wouldn't go ditching a friend for a hookup that ain't gonna happen."

Xalk didn't appreciate when people put themselves down, it reminded himself of who he was, and a little bit of who he still is. Although it may not have been what Dek was implying, he still took it that way.

"Hows the Raven's lifestyle? Must be fun being on a squad and all that."

Squads. The one thing Xalk wanted more than anything else right now. An entire teams  worth of people who care and lookout for one another. Who tell jokes, laugh, do drills, love, and just have fun being as one unit with a common goal.

Hey Nakiri,
       
        So even though i know you're never going to open this, I needed to get this off my chest for my own sake. I can't believe I'm actually doing this myself either.

I want to apologize for my initial actions in the chat. It was rude of me and just not who I am. I won't care if you call me a bumbling idiot in chat. I won't care when you and the others just shit on me like the piece of trash that I am. I just won't. Because at the end of the day I know there's a decent being inside of you and everyone of our fellow Pilots. It may be hard to pull out, may even have to forcibly drag it out, but it's there and I fucking know it.

I may be an idiot when it comes to people. I'm gullible, I try to impress everyone with stupid crap that no one cares about, I'm an attention whore who needs the spotlight 24/7, I used to lie in order to make myself look better. I may be all of those things, and many more, but at the end of the day I care about everyone. And as much as I don't believe myself for saying this, that includes you.

You are a handsome, vibrant, and dare I say sexy person to have around and I hope we keep it that way.

If you've made it to this point of the message I'd be shocked. Whether you decide to respond to this or not is up to you, I don't mind either way.


Sincerely-
        Xalk

≈Name≈
Rikeryn Perkhimote
≈Aliases≈
Kerry, Ryn, Pecks, Rikki
≈Age≈
He doesn't even remember at this point
≈Gender, Sexuality≈
Male, Has impossibly high standards
≈Species≈
90% Dragos Esfani, 10% Strelf, 15% Concentrated power of will 
≈House≈
Strelf: Archernar  Dragos: Terryn
≈Height≈
6'9 ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
≈Occupation≈
Pilot Royal, CO, Vintner
≈Residence≈
Penthouse in Margad that oversees personal vineyard


≈Appearance≈
Starscales
Riker-Ryn boasts a matting of scales across his body. Navy-blue scales line the outer portions of his arms, legs, and the top part of his tail. While also having a main presence on his back up until his wing (which is a direct result of melanism). Whereas a lighter grey blue sits on the inside clearly defining his chest, stomach, and proceeding to continue unto the inner part of his thigh and the underside of the tail. Occasionally there is a dull gold scale in a recognizable pattern across the navy-blue scales, with a large portion profoundly displayed on his Adam's apple reaching all the way up unto his chin. Afterwards, his face is completely scaless and shares the lighter grey-blue of his body.

Ahh, memories.. painful memories
Riker has a scar in the form of an upside down cross on the right side of his cheek.

Let's go cliff divin! -Oh wait
His wing keeps the same pattern as the rest of his main body, the webbing carrying the grey-blue until reacting the forelimbs in which the navy-blue scalage begins to take over. The wing's limb all converge onto one center joint which has a cracked claw.

Big Pimpin
He has a cane to help him walk, a gold swirl design makes up most of the shaft, with a diamond on top.

*Note: He only has one wing. Ragged, torn up, burnt you name it. The inner webbing is completely useless even before the fact it is impossible to fly without another wing.

Horny MoFo with godlike hair-
Riker's horns are that of any typical male Dragos. More crown like in shape and texture and only two, each starting at the base of his hairline just above his forehead and off towards the edges. his hair is a dark navy blue with a slight purple hue that runs effortlessly down his head and onto his shoulders. Most of the time he keeps it in a ponytail for convenience.

*Note: His hair is softer than a blanket fresh outta the dryer.

Weathered and cracked Ruby ring- Has it on a necklace that he never takes off.

≈History≈
Riker's birth was a surprise for the nest. Taking almost double the time for his egg to hatch, alongside with the decision to cull him was just a day away. The little runt managed to peek out just in the nick of time. Toppling himself over and looking up to his parents, all they could do was marvel at this cute being.

Childhood was a tad short lived for Riker, after his 21st birthday he began to hear other people's thoughts. Confused by this he approached his parents about it and before they could even speak, the biggest grin came across Riker's face as he yelled at the top of his lungs:

"I'm gonna be a Pilot!"

Candidacy was a hard time for Riker, learning how his telepathy worked and getting through each and every stage was intense. 

Stage 1 - 21
Stage 2 - 21
Stage 3 - 24
Stage 4 - 27
Stage 5-  31

Chosen by Riven, a very large dragon with four bone mandibles that cover her face and mouth. When opened, she reveals a total of 10 eyes across a mars red face. Her wings fold onto her body when not in use. Which is 99% of the time because she never does anything and just stays on her rock. Kidding kidding... she does a lot of work for the dragons, and is the best manager that the dragons could ever ask for. Can I go on now? Or am going to get threatened with being eaten again?

Anyways, jumping forward a couple years through remarkable service and a rekindling of bonds with his best friends from candidacy. The group decided to make a squad, they were known for flawless execution of missions nearly 100% of the time. Years passed and the squad was about to go down in history as THE squad to look up to. Then a call for war changed everything.

Edani war-
Their reputation preceded them, and Riker's squad was put on call for a mission to gain better ground and possible tactical advantage. An old abandoned mining shaft came into their sights. Riker motioned for the squad to follow in.

The tunnel looked to have had a direct lead right into the enemy's base. An hour passed as the team trudged deeper and deeper, eventually coming upon what looked to be a large opening that a straight drop of about 30 meters. Riker proceeded forward and tripped a wire that caused what felt like multiple explosions all at once. The tunnel began shaking, rubble dropping from the ceiling.

"The tunnel is collapsing! Move! Move Move!"

The team's effort of escape was in vain. Every squad mate succumbed to a crushing demise, some shorter than others. By the time Riker had seen the entrance only he and one other squad mate had managed to get this far, the one that mattered to him the most. He looked behind him for a split second motioning for her to grab his hand. Although fate hadn't had all of it's fun yet, the moment their fingers touched, she was crushed. Riker came to a full stop, completely forgetting the tunnel was still in collapse. 

"Aylia! No!"

Riker attempted to lift the boulder off of her, but to no avail. Aylia had already realized this. She caressed his face and spoke:

"RikerRyn Perkhimote, I'm glad we had the chance to meet each other, to be with each other ,my blazing light will shine on, but only if he survives."

Aylia managed to pull the weathered ruby ring off her finger and handed it back to Riker. "Take this, not as a something to remember me by, but as something to push you to keep on liv-"

Riker let out a bloodcurdling screech of pain and sorrow.

Another large piece of rubble broke loose from the still collapsing ceiling. Crushing the rest of Aylia and catching one of Riker's wings. Even as the world was caving in all around him, he wanted to keep Aylia's promise alive. He knew he couldn't lift the rubble off his caught wing. Grabbing a knife from his pocket and chomping on some nearby rock, he cut off his wing and fled the tunnel. Making it back to base with the only true memory of his squad right in the palm of his hand. The crystal had a large crack in it.

Post-war Riker picked up the rank of a Royal and became a vintner, ironic since he has a slight allergy towards red wine. He now lives in a penthouse in Margad overseeing his personal vineyard. He lives with his Labradoodle Ellie, who is his only known coping mechanism for when his PTSD hits.     

Cardinal- 31
Echo - 86
Noble- 219
Royal - 407

≈Relationships≈
Aylia- Out of all of his squadmates, this was his best friend and almost lover. Before Aylia, Riker was very particular about who he interacted with, especially in romance. The two graduated together, lived with each other up until her untimely death in the war.

Squaddies- Deceased and mostly forgotten, Riker personally went to each and every family of his deceased squad and apologized for his mis-guidance in leadership, most understood the situation, others took it out on him.

Ellie- Labradoodle and best-friend. Likes to hump legs and lick everyone he meets.

Riven- His dragon that is beyond selfish, rude, and borderline annoying. Riker was the only Pilot to be able to put up with her. She also likes to feast on people's desires by making them come true but with a catch. Is totally not the reason why Riker's entire squad died.


≈Personality≈

Grandpa you use it like this
Partially due to his age, and sticking with what he knows works. Riker tends to not be "caught up" with the young people when it comes to trends, upgrades, etc. 



Insert Nam err- Edani Flashback here
To put it simply he's a "deeply traumatized man suffering from PTSD, who because of the stigma of such things in Aedolis' culture, has not sought genuine treatment." -Nephero. Wartime really messed with Riker, lost one wing, the other was burned and torn, lost his squad, and just an all around horrific experience. Dragos pride themselves in the ability and freedom to fly, losing that ability felt as if he lost apart of himself. 

Devil May Care
"Instead he engaged in different coping mechanisms, up to and including exuding this 'devil may care' attitude in order to keep anyone from poking their nose in too deep about what he considers to be his weakest, most fragile self."-Nephero. Riker likes to put up this front of bravado to others in order to keep them away from him. No one can handle him during one of his trauma trips and no one should need to see him go through it. 

Big ol Carebear
Although his initial front may not seem like he does, he cares deeply for anyone and everyone. He doesn't prey on the weak, and will willingly refuse any and all physical altercations if need be. He admire's people who can put up with him. The last thing he wants to do is lose anyone else. He goes out of his way to do things for people sometimes unknowingly. You'll never know it was him unless he outright tells you. 

He has a memorabilia for each and everyone one of his squad mates he lost during the war. Although he has to keep them locked up for fear of a PTSD attack.


Fun Facts!
~He loves ice cream and pomegranate flavored iced tea and will usually finish half a gallon within two days.
~Has never gotten high nor plans to, but will take up the occasional cigar
~Has a special recipe of white wine just for him and any guests that come over so he can drink with them. *If any guests come over.
~At home he'll typically walk around with sweatpants on, only sweatpants though.
~Likes to fall asleep on the couch a lot

≈Abilities/ Gear≈

PyroKinetic/Mancer- All Dragos have this ability but some are more apparent than others. For Rikeryn, he can summon fire at will and manipulate it into any form needed be. The more condensed the flame is the stronger and hotter it is. Blue flames are very common for Dragos to conjure, however Rikeryn can control white flame, far hotter and denser than blue. Although he cannot make any white flame larger than the palm of his hand. Blue can be as large as his body, red and orange flames can spread over a large field. Manipulating a pre-existing flame puts a far less toll on his body than sustaining a created one.

Telepathy- Riker is a decent telepath, has gotten stronger in comparison over the years. Can read anyone with in about 5 meters or so. 

Mentoring - When Riker picked up Royal, he began mentoring for pyrokinetics. Seeing the youth invigorates him and helps him feel he has more of a purpose.

Flame Vambraces:
They help him control his flames better without using to much stamina to create em. Pre-loaded with fuel and other crud. S'about it

House Ability: None

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Current threads:

Ryun was a sight to behold, tourists lined the streets, and Xalk was just in pure awe of his second time coming to the beach. He matched his pace with Dekval's, a little glance towards his feet and the two appeared to be almost twins at this point, well at least in terms of walking.

"My treat."

A phrase that Xalk hasn't heard for the longest time. Proceedingly, Dekval's smile warmed his heart. To the point where a little bit of his stutter came back. "Uh, any-any place that I can grab a good cappuccino sounds great! I'm down for the one on the beach. Lead the way cap'. "

 

You're apartment is almost finished up! Just a couple more days and you should be all good to return! Thank you again for choosing Noble's Construction for your repair and renovation needs!

Great, gonna be at least another week until its finished. Xalk thoguht as he scrolled his phone. He had gotten used to these long train rides at this point. City and hotel hopping had given the chance to sprout his wings and enjoy the world, and at one point even the toxic wasteland outside of the domes.

The rail will be arriving in Ryun within 10 minutes.

Ah right, Im supposed to meetup with Dek soon. Hope an 8am wakeup call wasn't too hard to manage. Xalk scrolled through the music on his phone. Ey, this one brings back memories.

*THUD*

The drops echoed in Xalk's ears just before Trosko spoke. Laying against the boulder now splattered with an abnormal amount of blood. Xalk know Trosko's tail was strong but never imagined he would actually use it on him. 

"Get up weakling! I chose you from the program because you showed promise, now all you've done is wreak havoc on your reputation. You have aspiring potential to be a great pilot, but your lack of confidence sickens me to my core! You can barely communicate effectively with the others and its a damn shame to me."

The struggling coughs, and gasps for air, Xalk managed to speak "I-Im sorry, I just d-don't- BLEGH," Xalk keeled over "whelp t-there goes m-my l-lunch *cough*."

"Now I hope I don't have to warn you again, get your act straight or the others will decide your fate. The hospital will admit your wounds, tell them it was me that caused it."

With the giant flap of his wings Trosko was soon out of sight. Xalk looked over to see his belongings sprawled out all over the place. Once he reached his phone...

A single tear trickled down his face before he wiped it with the sleeve of his jacket.

We have arrived at Ryun. The speaker blared. Time does fly by.

Xalk stepped out looking for Dekval, until a light tap on his shoulder caught his attention. It was Dek, his smile seemed to be a little forced a bi-product of possible nervousness. It didn't matter to Xalk, but he noticed it ever so slightly.

"Nice to meet ya my man, the ride was fun, I actually realized a little too late that I never planned a meetup time, but I guessed it worked out." Xalk chuckled. "Alright you gotta help me out here though, I've never been here, so lead the way to them beaches." Xalk coudln't be happier and his smile showed it.

Xalk couldn't contain his excitement.  The 12 hour ride on the rail seemed to fly by, looking out the window watching the wastelands roll on by. There was some beauty to it, just enough to keep Xalk distracted. I can't wait to meet Raz finally. I wonder what I should start out with... As Xalk became lost in thought he began to show signs of drowsiness. After about 6 hours of excitement running through his veins, his body decided to shut him down before he could.

6 Hours later...

Xalk awoke to see he finally reached the station. He made his first step into Solarta he was awestruck by it's beauty and it's temperature. It was quite warm even for the night. He notified Raz that he had just arrived. Soon after Raz had offered to meet him at Manolins. Xalk was never one for coffee but he didn't mind. With a quick "On my way!" he was off to find Raz.

Entering Manolin's Xalk looked around, for some reason he couldn't find the albino man. Partially due to the fact he had never seen before in the first place. 

Lyra, even as hammered as she was, understood why everything was happening. Back down to a Cardinal. Great, he's probably gonna rip my arm off for this one. Lyra looked up with to Vaas and sighed.

"I get it, I just hope I can get a nap in soon."

Back upstairs in Xalk's home, Xalk had  begun to stir even before Yavul had arrived. With him finally opening his eye's right as he heard Yavul's voice. He sat up from the couch while grabbing his head. Ow, ow, ow, this really hurts. Wait... is that... Yavvy? Xalk looked around and saw Yavul standing in the doorway.

Whether it was the drugs Lyra had given him, or just the thought that someone actually cared for him, no one knew. But Xalk rushed over to Yavul and embraced him, burying his head into Yavul's stomach. Xalk's voice was soft and breaking easily.

"I-I'm sorry for being so n-naive. I'm just an i-idiot who doesn't know how to make any friends. I let her control me. I l-let you guys down. I'm sorry."

Xalk could only hope that Yavul couldn't feel his tears.

Lyra stood up staying as steady as she could. Although she was clearly in the wrong for manipulating Xalk, she still maintained her composure enough to speak respectfully to a fellow Pilot. Especially one that outranked her.

"Lyra Akvaarian, Pilot Noble sir."