Death in the Afternoon

Writers: Chelle, Len, Paula
Date Posted: 7th September 2011

Characters: G'nir, P'nal, T'bel, T'eim, M'non
Description: The Weyrleader's Wing loses its wingthird and a wingrider.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 4, day 4 of Turn 6

G'nir

It wasn't a bad day for Thread fighting although it wasn't the ideal
day either. The sky was cloudy and the wind had a chill bite. It
wasn't cold enough to freeze the Thread. The Weyrleader's wing was
high up in the sky, battling the leading edge. G'nir leaned forward
and tossed more firestone to Nirreth's waiting jaw. He straightened
and turned to look the wing's formation. **Tell Jarith that Kelynyth's
drifting too much left again,** he asked Nirreth. The leading bronze
mediated the message.

}: Jarith said that he corrected her and he and his will have talk
with her rider after the Fall:{, Nirreth reported after a moment.

G'nir nodded, even if no one saw the gesture. He signaled the right
flank to go a bit more higher. **What is T'eim doing?**

T'eim--or more correctly--Ianth was trying not to be blown about by
the wind. His rider sighed, convinced his brown must be the smallest
one in the Weyr, as another gust of wind knocked them about. **We
really need to stop napping so much and do more exercise**he told his
lifemate.

}:Ianth! Pay attention!:{ Fanth snapped before turning her head for
another chunk of firestone. T'bel watched and inwardly cringed as the
lazy brown drifted off line again and caused little Beanth and her
rider to be exposed to the clump of Thread raining down. Fanth saw it
at the same time and, with a head snapping twist, flamed the clump
before it could hit the young girl. T'bel sighed and patted his
lovely green **Well done, love**

P'nal and Jodeth were fighting what they could in the middle of the Wing,
at the center of the array so he could see all of them and relay the orders
that needed to be sent out to only his wingriders as G'nir focused on the
other Wings to keep them fighting together. The brown held his ground,
flaming diligently. **T'eim is fecking off again** he thought momentarily,
before jerking to the right to get a clump that fell between the two dragons.
}:I have it, Monith!:{ Jodeth warned before he flamed the mass as it went
downward. And that was when they heard the scream.

G'nir's head whipped around to the direction of the scream, but he and
Nirreth were middle of thick cluster of Thread and couldn't do
anything about.

}:Ianth!:{ Fanth screamed, as the brown was mortally threaded beside
her. **Catch him!** T'bel urged her. Even though the he was a brown
he was small, they could do it. Out of the corner of his eye he could
see the wingthird just under Ianth. Fanth reached out and managed to
support his wounded wing.

"I got you!" M'non cried when Jarith stopped the wounded brown's fall.
The brown thrashed around.

}: Calm down!:{ Jarith commanded, putting the authority of many turns
as a wingthird into his tone.

M'non tried to reach out to see the rider when Jarith suddenly bugled.
}: He bit me! :{ the midnight blue dragon complained and instinctively tried
to twist away. But he and Ianth were just tangled up. Ianth's jaws had a
death grip on his wing. Literally a _death_ grip.

**NO!** M'non suddenly cried in horror when he realized that the brown
was having a death spasm. **Break away, break away from him!** He
commanded frantically. But Jarith couldn't break free from the brown.

}: Fanth! Move away! :{ He barely had time to warn the green.

Jodeth felt his panic. }:Jarith, go between and let him fall!:{ The brown issued
orders to bring the Wing closer together. They were allowing far too many
clumps down to the lower wings. }:Fanth, are you alright?:{ They needed to
catch the brown's rider, but he didn't want to lose two dragons and riders in
the process.

Fanth ignored all the commands as she tried to save both the brown and
the trapped blue. T'bel had no words to give her, as instinct had
taken over with the need to save their fellow wingmates. She was
rolling the ball under her when Ianth, in his death throws, took them
all /between/. A silence fell over the wing. The death rattle of the
brown, the howls of his lifemate, the panicked screams of the blue,
all were gone.

Nirreth had kept G'nir informed of the situation, even if they were
unable to help. The bronze now keened. "Shardit!" G'nir cursed to
the indifferent wind. ** All of them?** his heart was on his throat.
}: No, :{ Nirreth replied.

Far below them, Fanth winked out of /between/, her flank heavily
crawled from where she had forcibly gotten away from the dying Ianth.
She keened in distress and sorrow as T'bel frantically looked about
for Jarith and M'non.

}:Jarith is no more:{ Jodeth announced as he felt the loss of the blue.
Still, they had thread to fight. They would keen at the Weyr when it was
all over. }:Fanth, do you need the healers?:{

P'nal cursed under his breath. Now they were going to have to find
another suitable candidate and so soon.

"Shards!" G'nir said when he realized that M'non was gone. The
bluerider had been wingthird since the beginning of the Pass. He had
seen Weyrleaders come and go. He was hard to replace and presented the
kind of stability that G'nir was looking for in his wing. He pushed his
personal feelings aside. They still had Thread to fight. ** Send Fanth
back to the Weyr, she needs dragonhealers. Call in her replacement,**
he instructed Nirreth.

Last updated on the September 19th 2011

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Death in the Afternoon