The Better Man?

Writers: Devin, Eimi
Date Posted: 17th February 2006

Characters: U'kaiah, N'vanik
Description: U'kaiah loses control
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 10, day 12 of Turn 3
Notes: Follows "What Did You Do"

N'vanik

U'kaiah was seething. That sharding bronzerider! Pretending to be all nice, to give him a drink and a willing shoulder to lean on and then turns right around and _stabs_ in him in the back! And with _Sarian_, one of his oldest and dearest friends? She had _agreed_ to it! She had willingly participated in it! How could she? How _could_ she betray him like that? After all their turns... Making him the butt of a cruel joke! What a laugh the two of them must have had as they showed their total lack of respect for him as their leader, as their _friend_! How could they do that to him? Hadn't fate played with him enough that he had lost Trae, and then Jaela, but now it had to take Sarian too?

Jaela was right.... Jaela had been so right... And U'kaiah had defended his friends. He had fought Jaela over them time and again. If he had just seen Sarian as she really was, he could have had more time... Just a little more time...

The wingleader walked into the nearly-empty dinning hall blindly. He didn't know where he was going. He just had to get away. And yet there, right in front of him. There he was... "N'vanik..." U'kaiah growled.

_He_ had start this! _He_ had gotten U'kaiah to trust him, maybe even like him, just so he could laugh at him as used his desk as his private fantasy. Just so he could rub into U'kaiah's _face_ what a fool he had been to trust people so easily! The wingleader's face grew red hot with rage as he closed the distance between them.

There he was, just smiling, laughing, leaning up against a table and flirting and touching that greenrider... Probably planning were to go next! And what was next? U'kaiah's very _bed_?! Furious fingers reached out and wrapped themselves in the sharding bronzerider's tunic as U'kaiah pulled N'vanik to his feet. "You want to have fun on my _desk_, N'vanik?! Let's see what kind of fun we can have on the _table_!" he roared as he slammed the rider back on top of plates and baskets. "How fun is the _table_ N'vanik?!" The wingleader ignored the cowering greenrider as he pushed the bronzerider off the other side.
"Get up you piece of wherry dung!"

N'vanik had no trouble following that order. He got up, lept over the table, and punched U'kaiah squarely on the jaw. U'kaiah stumbled back, but was too full of rage to feel any real pain. With a defiant roar he charged N'vanik, slamming his shoulder square in the wingrider's chest as they both fell to the floor with a crash of chairs. He ignored Kalamath's distressed cries and bugle of alarm as he pushed himself up.

"What, did you think I wouldn't find out about your little joke?"
U'kaiah screamed as his fist connected square in N'vanik's the eye.

Growling, N'vanik threw him off. "It wasn't a sharding big deal! But if you want to make something of it, _fine_!" To empahsize his point, he punched U'kaiah in the ribs. "I've been waiting for this for a long time."

A groan escaped U'kaiah's lips as he clutched his ribs. "Yeah, I'm sure," he said with a pained sarcastic laugh. "You've been planning your revenge ever since you found me in the bathing pool with _Trae_ I bet!" The wingleader lunged at N'vanik, catching him in the diaphram with a balled fist.

Coughing, N'vanik backed away a few paces. It took a few tries to regain his breath. "This ain't revenge, but thanks for reminding me." N'vanik smiled as he dove at his Wingleader, his fist hitting U'kaiah just above the ear. Loseth was roaring on his ledge. "You're a little too cozy with her."

U'kaiah could hear the ringing in his ears. "Cozy? By that you mean that I actually treat her like she deserves to be treated?" He grabbed the wingrider's shirt and threw him head long into the stunned crowd of mostly drudges, candidates and drunks that had formed. Hands reached out to stop the bronzerider's fall as others tried to stay U'kaiah's hand, but the wingleader would have none of it. "She deserves better than you! She _always_ deserved better than you!" A heavy boot found N'vanik's backside. "You're just lucky she isn't here to see how _pathetic_ you are without her!"

N'vanik whirled. He'd been having fun until now, but U'kaiah's comments enraged him. "_Scorch you_, U'kaiah!" He hit the wingleader under the chin, as hard as he could. When U'kaiah stumbled from the blow, N'vanik jumped on him, sending them both to the floor. "You are _not_ better than _me_!" He yelled as he grabbed U'kaiah's shirt and slammed him into the floor.

U'kaiah head hurt but he didn't care as with one feral, gutteral scream he rolled on top of the wingrider still clutching his shirt. He back handed the man across the mouth, his teeth bared and his eyes wild. "I was _always_ better than you!!!" His fingers wrapped around N'vanik's neck even as terrified onlookers grabbed at him, pleading for him to stop. But he ignored them as he lifted the bronzerider's head off the ground and slammed it back into the stone. "_Always_!"

Kalamath's alarmed cries broke into the raging fog. }:U'kaiah! U'kaiah! You must stop this! You mustn't hurt Loseth's rider! You mustn't! _Please_!:{ N'vanik's words rang in his eyes... 'You are not better than me...' U'kaiah looked down into the face of the bronzerider below him. As his dragon's distress and the sight of a battered N'vanik filtered in through the fury, his rage seeped out of him and into the stones like wine being drained out of a wineskin . He _was_ no better than N'vanik!
No better! In fact... he was worse... so very much worse! He had _attacked_ another rider. He, a _wingleader_, had intended harm, perhaps even worse on one of his very own wingriders. His face turned pale as realization hit him more painfully than any of N'vanik's blows had done. U'kaiah allowed himself to be pried off the rider by the frightened onlookers, his body almost limp in their hands. **Oh shards... what have I _done_?!**

Black spots were dancing in N'vanik's eyes, and Loseth's frantic calling was filling his head. }: N'vanik! Are you alright?!:{
**I'm okay,** he quickly assured. He was being pulled to his feet by unseen hands. A few feet away, he could see U'kaiah being held by several people. "Well, you had more in you than I thought you had." His voice came out sounding raw. N'vanik saw the shocked look on U'kaiah's face and a nasty smile curled his lips. "Brawling with one of your wingriders. That's very _responsible_, Fearless Leader." Although he was still seething inside, he made no move to shake off the restraining hands.

U'kaiah mustered his pride, and shook off the hands that restrained him.
"I'm all right, I'm through with him," he muttered. A few braver souls stood between him and N'vanik just to be sure. He turned and with deliberately controled steps he held his head high and walked towards the door of the dining hall closest to the Weyr exit.

**Kalamath, please come to the Weyrbowl. Hurry.**

}:I'm coming! Where are we going?:{
**Just take me away from this place...**

His hands were clutched into fists to hide their trembling as he took the last few measured steps out of the dining hall. As soon as his feet touched the shadows he broke into a head long run. What had he done? Faranth's name, what had he _done_?!

N'vanik watched U'kaiah leave, wiping a trickle of blood from his mouth.
**Go on and run, U'kaiah. You can't escape from yourself,** he thought with a satisfied smile.

Last updated on the February 17th 2006

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The Better Man?