Lesson of the Day

Writers: Ames, Clancey, Anaria, Len, Paula, Suzee
Date Posted: 7th February 2011

Characters: E'naer, K'ale, Cardella, G'wen, J'nor, J'darin
Description: E'naer teaches basic Dragonhealing to the new Weyrlings
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 23 of Turn 5

K'ale

Cardella

J'darin

}:Are we there yet?:{

**See the group of your hatching mates? That's where we're going, not
far now** G'wen rolled his eyes at Neath's whinny tone. She was tired
and cranky because she had felt it was right to watch and study Onnyth
a while back instead of sleeping like most of her clutchmates.

}:Yes well, I felt it only proper to watch how a queen conducts
herself:{ Neath's tone was huffy.

G'wen laughed and kept any biting remarks about how she was a green,
not a queen, to himself. Now where was Cardella? Or any other
friends of his, for that matter. He caught the eye of N'den and sat
as far away from him as was possible.

}:Where are we going?:{ Awenth asked her lifemate eagerly. She loved
everything, always eager and excited like a young child.

}:Will we fly today?:{ **Silly Awenth, you know we will not learn to
fly for many, many months.** The green dragon sighed, but kept pace
with Cardella as they walked. **We have class today.**
Awenth marched proudly into the gathering weyrlings, strutting her
stuff, not at all shy as she nuzzled with most of her clutch-mates.

"G'wen!" Cardella called out and rushed over to her friend, hugging
him. "I do hope our two don't decide to try and show each other up,"
she said, laughing as she looked over a the two greens, both seeming
to think they should be the center of attention.

"Good morning, class!" E'naer called over the chatter from his spot in
lectern. Behind his back, Eillispeth yawned. He waited patiently
everyone to arrive and take a place.

K'ale strode in and took his seat, Imalkyth trotting in next to him.
The young brown was growing almost in front of his eyes and had
finally stopped stumbling over himself in his haste to get places.
K'ale grinned and waved at Cardella and G'wen. Imalkyth crooned in the
general direction of the two greens. "Good morning!" he answered with
the rest.

J'darin leaned against Hasaarth behind E'naer. He was here merely as
an observer and helper for this class. Dragonhealing was definitely
more E'naer's speed than his, but he needed to help his 'Third, and
be around for the weyrlings as well. He liked these classes in which
he wasn't necessarily the primary instructor, though. It gave him a
wonderful opportunity to observe their young students and spot
potential trouble spots. Or trouble-makers! A faint smile curved his
lips at that thought, and he gazed around the room once more.

As always, he twitched a little internally as his eyes passed over
Cardella. Blast the girl. And more correctly, blast himself for
being an idiot and a fool twice over.

}:I do not understand why you worry so. I like her. You should like
her too, she is your student. {: Hasaarth 'sent with a trace of
smugness.

Rolling his eyes at know-it-all bronzes, he did not dignify that with
an answer, only turned to listen to E'naer. Sometimes he learned as
much as the weyrlings!

G'wen glanced at E'naer, gulped and then looked over at J'darin, who
was eyeing Cardella who was still laughing over the two greens, who
were glaring at one another. He remembered what S'vin had said about
looking at J'darin, and turned his head to spot his friend stumbling
in late, his perfectly formed little blue walking in with
considerbly more grace than his lifemate.

On the corner of Cardella's paper he wrote, I think we're going to
have trouble with those two.

Neath was puffing herself up. }:There won't be any trouble if she
learns her place:{

**Neath, do you want me to call in Genith and Onnyth and they'll teach
you_your_place?** Really, what was he going to do with her sometimes?
G'wen rolled his eyes at Cardella and ducked his head into her
shoulder.

J'nor ran in then, looking winded and slightly afraid. He'd been up
late the night before because Zoranaith had refused to sleep, and
couldn't force himself out of his cot on time. He ducked quickly into
a seat, a guilty expression on his face. He hoped they hadn't missed
anything important.

"All right, quiet down. Let's start with refreshing your memory of
dragon's basic anatomy. I will call a body part and you will find it
from your own lifemate. Compare the dragonets to found out what other
individual differences there is besides the colour of their hides,"
E'naer instructed the class.

"Ear knobs!"

G'wen glanced down at Neath. Like the rest of her, her earknobs were
long-ish and lean. He looked over at S'vin's Kadeth who had small
ones, which fit his delicate body. He turned to Cardella's green.
Cardella found Awenth and Neath's interactions rather amusing. She
nodded and grinned at G'wen's note, only to turn her attention to
E'naer as he began the class.

**Ear knobs?** She thought, wondering how different a dragon's ear
knobs could actually be. She looked to Awenth and noted her ear knobs.
Nothing unusual, then she looked to Neath and noticed her knobs were
slightly longer than Awenth's. She tilted her head at that as she
examined some of the other dragonets around. }:My ear knobs are just
perfect for me,:{ Awenth told Cardella who only smiled and replied,
**Of course they are my love.**

E'naer continued to call out body parts, easy ones first: "Left hind
leg, front paws, tail fork, back ridge." He spent few minutes
explaining to someone where the neck ridge ended and back ridge
started. "Eye facets, don't poke them with your finger! Tongue!"
Having 42 dragonets stick their tongues out for their riders was quite
amusing sight.

"And while you are looking into your lifemates mouth, check their
teeth. A sliver of sharp bone stuck between teeth can puncture the gum
and cause an infection."

K'ale followed along touching or pointing as appropriate and laughed
when Imalkyth stuck his tongue out at Neath instead of just opening
his mouth. "Hey," he said. }:What?:{ he just shook his head. **No need
to be a clown** }:Should I point my tail fork at her instead?:{ K'ale
closed his eyes close to bursting out in laughter he covered with a
cough.

G'wen saw the brown dragon and his lifemate's interaction and figured
sadly that it was about his Neath. He glanced over at Cardella, glad
at least that she seemed to take Neath's attitude in good humour. But
even so, he did have to wonder a bit at how many friends would he lose
because of her.

}:It doesn't matter, he's only a brown.:{ Her tone was confident.

**Yes, but he's my friend, and m'dear, you_are_only a green**

}:Yes, but I'm a big green:{

He rolled his eyes at that and quietly watched little Kadeth showing
his various body parts to S'vin without any fuss. When his friend
caught his eye, he mouthed, he's lovely.

**Awenth, come closer!** Cardella told her lifemate who had wandered
away to explore the other dragonets. She listened to E'naer's
directions and checked on each part that was mentioned. Nothing out of
the ordinary. }:Hmpf! I'm far from ordinary!:{ Awenth grumbled,
turning her head away from Cardella. **Silly, that is not what I meant
and you know it! Stop acting so fussy. I think the others must be
getting to you.** Cardella sighed and reached out a hand to rub
Awenth's head until the green turned back and looked lovingly into the
girl's eyes.

The dragonets were getting bit restless so Eillispeth called them to
order while E'naer contined listing body parts, finally moving to
difficult ones: "Sternum, genitals."

Imalkyth obliged his rider by showing the parts indicated. While K'ale
reached out to touch the sternum he only observed the other. He had to
cover up another laugh as the younger werylings had the typical
teenager reaction to anything to do with sex. He just smiled and
rubbed the browns brow ridges }:I love you mine:{ **and I love you**
he returned.

G'wen idly watched as one young boy tried to figure out
exactly where his lifemate's sterum and genitals were. Hold boys, they
were such native creatures. Cardella was doing well, he thought to
himself.

After awhile, they had gone through pretty much every part of the dragon
from outside. As a next step, E'naer spread out a dragon healer's
chart of dragon's internal anatomy. It wasn't very accurate, since no
one had ever done an autopsy for a dragon. Most information was from
what healer's had observed when treating injuries or examining related
species.

Ah finially, something more than what he had always known, growing up
in a Weyr and all. G'wen leaned forward to watch the greenrider with
more than his usual half crush on the man. Out of the corner of his
eye he saw S'vin do exactly the same thing.

K'ale leaned in with the others very interested in what the chart had
to show them. "Two stomachs?" he murmured. Then he flinched
embarrassed if anyone had heard him.

G'wen glanced at him, amused. In a low voice, he whispered, "of course,
where d'you think the firestone goes?" He'd seen more than his fair
share of dragons empting_that_stomach after his da and T'bel's lifemates
came back after threadfall.

"That's right, two. One for the food and one for the firestone. Now,
it's possible to a dragon to accidentaly swallow firestone to the
wrong stomach. That can cause something called phosphorine poisoning.
It's important to know who to activate your lifemates gag-reflects and
make him or her throw it up." E'naer was now in proper lecturing mode.

E'naer proceeded with instructing them how to make dragon to throw up
if they had eaten something they weren't supposed to.

Last updated on the February 25th 2011

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