Please...

Writers: Rochelle
Date Posted: 31st May 2008

Characters: R'syl
Description: R'syl waits as his weyrlings move through Jumping /Between/.
Location: River Bluff Weyr
Date: month 9, day 12 of Turn 4

**Please Faranth...** R'syl pleaded silently, his eyes scanning the air in front of him, his whole body tensed as he waited impatiently, unable to breathe. **Please...**

There were a few days that stood out clearly in the minds of weyrlingstaff, days that could be either a glorious triumph or break the spirits of everyone involved. First flights were joyous for the weyrlings, but nerve-wracking for the staff who could only stand by and watch and hope that no one landed face first and break their necks or permanently damage their growing wings. R'syl knew from experience that flaming practice was a more frequently overlooked danger, with thirty to forty or more young dragons all trying not to singe themselves, their riders, or anyone else. Blooding was most frequently cited as the reason Weyrlingmasters retired since Thread returned, so many being unable to cope with the sight of their boys and girls returning in pieces, or worse yet, not returning at all. No one could contest the emotional agony of watching a young pair they'd nurtured and disciplined for months coming back in agony, forever scarred by the horrors they'd endured.

But /Between/ training... that was where they lost the second largest numbers. Weyrlings, some no older than twelve, being sent into the darkness on the strength of nothing more than their minds and faith in their dragons. Like in Blooding, some just simply didn't come back. And it was all the worse that the previous holder of this position had actually been lost during the exercise. So here he was, astride Usaeth's neck at the destination point, hoping against all hope and trying to throttle the sense of unease and near panic that always assailed him. He had been on both ends, at the start and ending points of the brief jump, and remained convinced that the destination was the worst place to be for the exercise. He couldn't see the weyrlings prepare from here, had to trust that his staff were managing everything. And he had to wait, just wait, in the cool air with his heart in his throat as he pleaded with the universe to let his weyrlings make it, trying not to wonder who simply would not appear.

The stress was slowly killing him, but there was no way he was going to rely on someone else to be at the destination. Someone had to be there for when the weyrlings came though, and he wasn't going to inflict the mental agony on someone less experienced with it.

About half the class had already gone, including Ariau and Alabieth. R'syl had found himself silently praising the girl's restless wandering nature, as she had learned as a child how to pick out the details of landmarks and memorize them to determine where she was. Between that and her harper training, she'd had no problems with the visulation exercises or /Between/, although he'd wondered briefly if there was going to be a fight when he saw how many of his staff were checking over her visulation skills. He'd actually been less worried about her and Alabieth than he'd been about any of the others.

Like the little green pair he was waiting on now.

**Please Faranth...**

}:She is coming.:{ Usaeth said suddenly, his voice calm as they hovered.

R'syl watched, waiting tensely for the brief popping noise that heralded a dragon from /Between/, hoping that she would be where she was supposed to be and not half a continent over...

With a startled expression on her snout, the green emerged from /Between/, right where she was supposed to be. R'syl let out his breath, grateful for the straps holding him securely onto his dragon or he might have oozed off. He watched as the pair realized what they had just done, and heard the distant happy shriek of relief from the girl and the triumphant bugle from the green.

**Tell Dwarkanath she made it through.** R'syl told Usaeth automatically in relief, although he knew the bronze was doing so. He gave a little victory pump in the air with his fist for the young pair, and then ordered them into the small formation of weyrlings forming behind him. He relaxed for a moment, taking a deep breath as he kept an eye on the excited weyrlings.

}:Cincrith is ready.:{ Usaeth said calmly after a few moments. }:He comes.:{ R'syl caught his breath again as the message came through, and felt his heart squeeze again in his chest as he watched the skies for the young blue.

Last updated on the June 1st 2008

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