Off we go

Writers: Ames, Clancey, Anaria, Len, Paula, Suzee
Date Posted: 27th April 2011

Characters: K'ale, Cardella, G'wen, S'vin, J'darin, E'naer, J'nor
Description: Weyrling pairs finally fly
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 22 of Turn 6

K'ale

Cardella

J'darin

Once again it was a day of firsts. Today they were going to actually
fly together. Imalkyth could fly alone and hunt alone and it was all
K'ale could do to stay bound to the ground. Of course he'd flown with
his da but nothing, no other thing was as important to him right now
than climbing up on his lifemate's back and reaching out to the skies
of Pern.

In the Weyr bowl they waited for the Weyrling masters. He kept testing
and adjusting their straps wanting to scramble up the side and into
his place. He'd been over every buckle and strap at least four times
while they waited but he started again ducking under Ima's neck.

Cardella was all but bouncing with excitement as she walked beside
Awenth to the meeting place. **We'll fly together today, my love!**
She eagerly told her green.

}:I have wanted nothing else!:{ Came Awenth's reply, her tone just as
eager as her riders. As they approached the gathering weyrlings she
spotted K'ale first and waved in his direction. Cardella had planned
to try and convince Awenth they should stand by them, but the green
beat her to it. She seemed happy to be near the much bigger brown and
even playful brushed her tail behind her into his.

"I think they enjoy each other's company as much as you and I do,"
Cardella said with a smile and a hug for her friend. "I'm excited!"

G'wen was walking towards the two friends when Awenth twined her tail
around Ima's. Now that was interresting, he mused to himself,
stopping before they saw him. Maybe they'd like to be alone. He
glanced around, feeling painfully shy for the first time since Neath
had hatched.

S'vin saw his friend strike that pose that so infuriated him all these
turns. How he hated that shy, indecisive 'no one loves me' look!
Running up, he caught the tiny green rider and threw him up into a big
hug. "If you don't stop feeling sorry for yourself soon, I
am_so_going to throw you under the meanest, roughest bluerider I can
find and keep you pinned down myself," he growled in G'wen's ear.
"And don't look at me like that, you know you'd love it."

J'nor and Zoranaith arrived then, hurrying over to the rest of the
group as they were cutting it quite close. They were running late
because Zoranaith had wanted to take a bath and eat with Lyriath, but
the green dragon had refused their invitation. J'nor forced the
worries away, and hid them behind thoughts of happiness over finally
being able to fly together.

Putting the smaller man down, S'vin turned and grinned at Cardella and
K'ale. "Hello you two! And stop glaring at me, Neath, if I do what I
just told your little G'wen, it'll be for your own good, trust me."
Indeed Neath was giving the tall bluerider her most blareful glare.
Kadeth, looking sheepish, nuzzled the big brown and the tiny green.

J'darin cleared his throat meaningfully as he appeared behind the
group of weyrlings. He put their ..excitement.. down to it being
their first day in the air, and smiled to take any sting out of his
sudden appearance. "Well, you all look ready to me. " He said,
instead, before heading to the front of the group to address them all.

His own emotions were roiling like the sea before a hurricane and he
had trouble keeping the smile on his face. Their first flights would
soon be followed by /between/ exercises, and besides Blooding, that
was the most dangerous part of their training. Generally he was more
excited than worried at this stage of their training, but this group
of weyrlings - especially one in particular - had him more nerovus
than any before. He just wasn't sure _what_ they were going to get
into next!

But still, it was his job, his and E'naer's, to train them and teach
them, and today was a big day for everyone.

"Everyone check your straps over carefully, please, and get ready.
The Weyrlingstaff and I also be by to check them." He said loudly,
so his voice would carry over their excited chattering.

After giving S'vin a look that matched his green's, G'wen turned and
checked Neath's straps one more time. Everything looked fine. The
neck strap was a tiny bit tight, but it didn't look like anything to
worry about. He glanced at it and noticed it was on its last buckle,
which was going to mean another trip to the tanner. That man had to
be starting to hate the site on him, he was in so much asking for
longer and longer straps.

S'vin, on the other hand, smirked and blew the smaller boy a kiss when
he glared at him. Ah yes, graduation to the senior ranks was going to
be fun, or at least the party for it would be. He was already
plotting just the type of man to pin G'wen under, and it sure wasn't
going to be some softy like that guy Teseada had picked!

}:Is my belly strap a bit loose?:{ Kadeth asked, concerned. His rider
snapped out of his daydreams and looked down, where the strap dangled
loosely. **Sorry, Kadeth!** The boy reached down to buckle it up
better.

Nervous energy over rode common sense to the point where K'ale didn't
even think about that fact he'd already checked the straps 6 times and
started on a 7th when J'daren made his comment. }:I think they're ok
mine!:{ **Sorry Ima, just want to be sure.**

Cardella smiled welcomingly to both G'wen and S'vin, but before she
had a chance to really speak to them, J'darin was there. The moment
had nearly arrived. She drew in a nervous, yet excited breath as she
began to check Awenth's straps. Everything seemed to be in order,
except one that was a bit loose. She quickly readjusted it, giving it
a gentle tug to make sure it was firmly in place. **Guess we have to
get used to your newest straps. At least you're not outgrowing yours
as fast as some of the others are!**

J'nor checked his straps quickly, with the ease of practice. They had
spent the past few days adjusting, putting on, and removing the
straps, until the whole process was practically second nature to them
both. J'nor was slightly dismayed to realize that in another few days,
these straps would be too small for the rapidly growing blue. **Ready,
love?**

}:I was born ready,:{ Zoranaith responded confidently.

E'naer circulated among the weyrling pairs, checking straps and
letting the Weyrlingmaster do the talking. He gave few tips or asked
to adjust starps from time to time. "Cardella, move that shoulder
strap inch forward, it's too close to wing joint. N'den, check that
your leg starps are right lenght. Odyne, loose up that one, it's
chaffing her."

K'ale was embarrassed by his difficulty at looking at E'naer. To know
his da had just.... well, He didn't want to think about it, and kept
his eyes averted for the moment. Of course that just made him feel
worse.

After hearing E'naer correct a few of the weyrlings, J'darin spoke
again. "Alright, its time. We're going to start by short flights, a
hop up into the air above the weyrbowl, take a few wingstrokes, then
glide back down to landing. If you do well, you may have another
chance. If Hasaarth or Eillispeth say to land, you will land
immediately, is that clear? They will also be close if your dragon
needs help." He knew the dragons would have been stretching their
wings alone for the last sevenday and they should be fine, but it
never hurt to remind eager weyrlings.

"The order will be K'ale, G'wen, S'vin, J'nor, Cardella, then N'ren,
B'tas, etc." He went through the entire list of weyrlings, then went
to stand near E'naer, so they could watch together. "Want to alternate
helping them, E'naer?" That way, one of them could speak to the
weyrling that just flew and assess his dragon, while the other one
monitored the next flight.

Hearing his name called wiped everything else from K'ale's mind. He
immediately scrambled up Ima's side and into his seat. He buckled in
and rechecked his fastening again. Suddenly he felt soothing feelings
flow along their bond and settled more comfortably into his seat. He
raised his arm and called "Ready." Powerful haunches bunched and
launched them into the air. He almost giggled with the adrenalin
surge. **Wow** A pleased and happy sensation flooded him. }:It's just
flying mine:{ Two impossibly short wingbeats later they were floating
back to land in the bowl behind the other werylings. He leaned forward
to hug the brown neck in front of him then he sat back up and whooped
at the top of his lungs.

G'wen's mouth went dry at the mention of his name second only to
K'ale's. He scrambed up onto Neah just a hair behind K'ale and was
adjusting straps and buckling in when suddenly the brown was no longer
beside them but over in the bowl.

}:Ima did well:{ Neath commently calmly before opening her wings and,
taking a powerful stroke, lifting herself--and G'wen--off the floor.
The boy's head snapped back with the force of her take off. He had
been so busy being busy that he wasn't ready. The big green took two
steady beats of her wings to find herself equal to where Ima had
landed. Gracefully, she landed.

G'wen rubbed his sore neck and grinned like a fool at K'ale. "We did
it! They did it!" **Neath! You're wonderful!**

}:Yes, I know:{

Kadeth snorted at her and told S'vin, }:don't worry, I won't take your
head off. You ready?:{

**Ready as I'll ever be!**

}:Okay then:{ The tiny blue flapped his wings twice and, like Ima,
bunched his hanches and jumped into the air. It took him more than
the two strides the other two had taken but he landed just as
gracefully as the green had done. The boy gave a whoop and hugged
Kadeth's long neck.

J'nor checked his straps one last time as they walked confidently over
to where the other weyrlings had taken off from. **Ready?**

}:Yep,:{ Came Zoranaith's confident response, as he jumped up into the
air. His takeoff was a bit weak, but he made up for it by beating his
wings a bit faster. He ended up slightly higher in the air than his
peers, and J'nor ordered him to land before they were yelled at.
Landing delicately, Zoranaith practically skipped over to the rest of
the weyrlings.

So far, so good. J'darin watched the eager pairs with a critical eye.
"Careful there, J'nor. But good recovery." He took the pause in
the action to address all the pairs that had flown. "All of you have
done very well, so far!" His voice was warm with approval. "Anyone's
dragon feeling pain or muscle soreness or tenderness? How about their
riders?" He waited for answers while the next pair got ready to go.
He knew Hasaarth and Eillispeth would be doing their own checks, but
it helped to talk them through the process.

G'wen ducked his gaze down so J'darin wouldn't see how sore his neck
actually was. He caught S'vin looking at him and gave him the thumbs
up. Just in time, he remembered that it was Cardella and Awenth's
name that was due next.

Someone had noted G'wen's problem.

}: Neath, wait until your rider is ready and gives you the go-signal,
:{ Eillispeth said to the green, gentle rebuke in her mind voice.

Cardella had felt heat rise in her cheeks when she'd been corrected
for her misplaced strap. She tried so hard to always do what was asked
of her. It was hard to take even the slightly criticism. Fixing the
offending strap, she listened to all the directions and then watched
as all the other pairs successfully flew together from the ground.
**What if Awenth is still too small?** She worried while she waited.

}:I am _not_ too small! You will see! It is our turn!:{ The eagerness
in her green's voice brought a smile to Cardella's face. Climbing up
she buckled herself in and patted Awenth's neck. **Let's go!** With a
leap, the green was in the air. In just a few wingstrokes they were
flying! Then, just as suddenly as it had begun, they made their
descent. So excited by the thrill of flying Cardella was all but
chattering away towards Awenth. The green, herself was far too excited
and as she landed, her back foot came down a bit heavier than
expected. The sharpness of the landing sent a shot of pain straight up
Awenth's leg and through Cardella's mind.

**Awenth? What is it?** She asked, concern written all over her face.

}: Are you all right, Awenth?:{ Eillispeth asked. She noticed the
landing going awary. Her rider was already running towards the young
green.

}:Hurts,:{ Awenth replied a bit unhappily, lifting her back leg up
which caused her to wobble a bit in place. Cardella immediately
unbuckled herself and tried to hurry off her dragon, not wishing to
put any extra strain on her. As her feet touched the ground, she
turned and leaned against Awenth. **I'm so sorry, maybe my weight was
too much,** Cardella felt terrible.

}:No,:{ Awenth replied }:I landed wrong.:{ She tried to reassure her
rider even though she was the one still in pain. She wasn't sure if
she should move it or stay still, either way she could still feel the
stab of pain in her leg as though she'd somehow twisted something out
of place.

J'darin swore as he spied the hurt Awenth had taken.. Then he swore
again as he saw it was his 'Third racing to assist Cardella and her
green. Grumbling a little to himself, he tore his eyes from the
scene, knowing full well E'naer would handle it appropriately, and
focused back on the other weyrlings. It was difficult, because he
wanted to rush to Cardella and cradle her and help her. Shards! What
was he going to do when she went /between/? He was crazy, he decided.
Crazy. To keep himself focused, he turned narrowed eyes on the rest
of the class, all gawking at the young greenrider.

"She will be alright, class. All of you that have flown, come with
me, and we will watch the rest of the class together, so you can note
differences in take off and landing styles. I will expect you to pay
close attention, yes?" He was only giving them work so they would
leave Cardella and Awenth to E'naer and Eillispeth. that would be
better for all.

"Where Awenth is hurt, Cardella?" E'naer asked.

"Her right back leg. She says she landed wrong." Cardella's face was
full of concern as she continued to try and soothe her dragon.
**E'naer will make it better, love. It's going to be okay.** She tried
to hide her fear from her dragon, knowing she had to remain calm, but
inside she was anxious and upset, thinking that somehow _she_ had
caused this.
K'ale was focused on Cardella and Awenth so it was Imalkyth that honed
in on the Weyrlinmaster's instructions and followed him where they
were directed. He shook off his concern for Awenth knowing E'naer
would see to it. His head whipped back around to J'daren and his hand
absently stroked the brown hide he straddled.

Last updated on the April 27th 2011

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