Blacker Than Black

Writers: Ames, Heather, Suzee
Date Posted: 19th July 2013

Characters: D'naz, Malyna, L'cor, Jeyme, M'lak
Description: The weyrlings take their first jumps /between/
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 23 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: C'baz

L'cor

Jeyme

He was nervous. This was his first official time leading the /between/
exercise as Weyrlingsaster Second. They'd spent countless candlemarks
and sevendays working on visualization. D'naz was still worried.

**What if I haven't practiced with them enough? What if something goes
wrong? _I'm_ the one responsible if something happens.** It was a
burden that had been weighing him down for days now. The normal,
jovial person had been replaced by a rather solemn, contemplative man
as he prepared himself to face the challenging day ahead. No other day
besides blooding was as dangerous for the young werylings. Dolphin
Cove hadn't had a problem with /betweening/ in some time now, and
D'naz hoped to keep the record clean.

Moving out of the small office near the weyrling barracks, he took his
place in the center of the space and waited. The weyrlings would be
coming soon. Today marked the beginning of their passage from junior
weyrlings to senior weyrlings....**If they all survive,** he thought
rather mournfully.

Excitement and nerves collided in Jeyme's stomach as she and Quinneth
made their way to where D'naz waited patiently for the group. She had
only been /between/ once when she had been Searched and brought to the
Weyr. The thought of going into the empty, dark void alone was scary.

}: I will be with you.:{ Quinneth promised.

Malyna and Cayleryth soon joined the others already gathering. She was
an excited ball of nerves. She waved to Jeyme as she approached and
moved next to the other greenrider.

"Today's the big day. I can't believe it's finally here," she said excitedly.

M'lak sauntered up to the two greenriders with a knowing smile on his
face. "Ladies," the young weyrling rider said by way of greeting. "I
am sure Jaralth and I will do amazing today. We've been ready for this
for _such_ a long time. I bet we are the best weyrling pair of the
bunch."

Malyna wanted to roll her eyes. M'lak was okay, but he was
over-confident and bragged alot about his abilities.

"I'm sure we'll _all_ do great today. D'naz has trained us well, we
should all be able to make the jump /between/ as long as we stay
focused," Malyna told the overly cocky weyrling.

Tonuth continually assured L'cor there was nothing special or exciting
about what they were going to do and L'cor just rolled his eyes. His
lifemate's bravado. He was beginning to develop some of those 'bronze'
tendencies the the more mature dragons displayed.

L'cor didn't swagger like M'lak but he did walk toward where the
others were gathering. "Morning everyone."

D'naz waited until the weyrlings had assembled before he addressed the group.

"Today is a _very_ big day for you and for the Weyr. More so than
anything, today is the day that moves you forward as weyrlings. Once
our lessons here are finished, you will graduate to senior weyrling
and continue your training using the skills you practice today." D'naz
paused and took a deep breath.

"We have done everything we can to prepare you for this day. It is an
exciting, yet dangerous time. You _must_ be diligent in your imagery.
Even one small issue with the image your share with your dragon can
lead to devastating circumstances. I caution you to not be overly
confident. Take your time to envision all the details. This skill will
take time and practice. Today we work on a
very short jumps /between/ one at a time." He waited for all the
weyrlings to process what he had said before he would continue.

L'cor took the speach in and turned to look at M'lak with a frown when
he made some kind of barely heard comment under his breath. "Do you
mind," he hissed. "We're trying to listen here."

"Alright," D'naz called the group to attention again. "We're going to
begin. It is your job to fashion the image of the far rock we visited
yesterday. Remember to include all the details around it as well. Once
you have your image, you must share it with your dragon. Your dragon
will then share the image with Keluth before anyone makes their jump.
Alright whose going first?" D'naz asked. "Let us know when your image
is ready."

L'cor raised his hand "We will sir," he called. Then he formed a
careful picture of the rock they'd spent so much time studying
yesterday. He then pushed the picture to Tonuth who shared it with
Keluth..

Keluth assessed the image, checking for fine details that might
interfere with their jump.

}:It is good:{ He informed both D'naz and Tonuth.

"You have the go ahead son. Have Tonuth lift off a bit, fly towards
me, then hold the picture in his mind. His instincts will take over
from there. Good luck." D'naz gave the instructions and then waited.

Malyna was watching, anxious and eager. She'd formed her image, then
agonized over the tiniest details.

}:Your image is good, mine,:{ Cayleryth told her to calm her rider.
**Let's hope so. Let's see how L'cor and Tonuth do.** She hoped that
all would go well for the pair.

L'cor winked at his friend C'baz then nodded to the Weyrlingmaster.
**Up we go** he said to his lifemate and Tonuth hopped into the air
and hovered there for a moment. Then he reinforced the picture he'd
already given him **Let's go there**

Blackness deeper and colder than the darkest night grabbed him and he
counted still holding onto the picture of the rock. His hands clenched
where he'd had them though he couldn't feel it until with a crash of
sensation and a gasp in the warm air they burst back into the air
right above the stone!

}:See? I told you it was easy:{

}:They are safe,:{ Keluth informed D'naz. He instantly let out a
breath of relief.

It was Jeyme's turn next and she exhaled with determination, steeling
her nerves as she and Quinneth shared the mental image with Keluth.
Once they were given the go ahead, Quinneth leapt into the air and
then pulled her rider /between/. Utter darkness and cold enveloped the
young pair. Panic clawed at Jeyme's throat.

}: Calm yourself. I am here. We are together.:{ Quinneth's voice was confident.

Jeyme gasped a warm breath of relief as they reappeared, now above the
the rock. What had felt like an eternity in the darkness had only
taken a couple of seconds.

"We did it!" Jeyme thumped Quinneth.

Malyna was next. She had agonized over her image, but was confident
all would go well. **Please let it go well,** she thought to herself
when they were given the okay to proceed.

}:We will do fine, mine. I see the rock clearly. All is well.:{
Cayleryth soothed her rider. Then taking to the air, the pair started
to move towards the Weyrlingmaster Second. Then in an instant,
coldness so cold she thought she would freeze to death and darkness so
dark she thought she'd never again see the light of day, surrounded
her. She knew the routine, but this time it was different. If her
image had been off even just a bit, they would never emerge again. She
counted like she'd been trained and just when panic began to make her
think all was lost, she was blinded by the light of the sun.

"We made it!" She shouted so loudly she was sure everyone could hear
her. Cayleryth sent a feeling of smug satisfaction as if she'd known
all along that nothing would go wrong. The pair slowly descended
towards the rock to join the others.

D'naz guided a few others through the process, until a certain voice
broke through the others.

"Come on!" The impatient voice declared. "We've been waiting long
enough. Our image is _flawless_. We should have been first." M'lak was
grumbling loudly, giving off the air of indifference and selfishness
in his words.

"M'lak. We have an order for a reason. You are next after G'lart.
Please make sure you are in the right mindset before proceeding,"
D'naz looked towards the young man with worry and dissatisfaction. He
could deal with arrogance, but over confidence was _not_ a good trait
in any rider.

Finally, it was M'lak's turn. He sent his image through to Keluth and
was given the go ahead. As the pair took to the sky, he bespoke his
dragon. **I think we should make a grander entrance than all the
others. Let's arrive at the _top_ of the cliffs that are above the
rock. We'll just envision the rocks below a little smaller and all
will go well.** He was eager to put on his own little _show_.

As the pair began their journey, Keluth sensed something amiss. He
tried to speak to M'lak's dragon, but the contact was not received.
Then M'lak blinked into the space of /between/.

}:Something is wrong with their image,:{ He told D'naz, who turned to
look at his blue with sudden speed. His heart started racing in his
chest. Keluth reached out to the dragons waiting for the weyrlings on
the other side. Time seemed to stand still as the seconds ticked away.
Then, a keening cry arose among the dragons nearest to them. Keluth
picked up the anthom. M'lak and his young dragon were gone. Their
changed image had sent them hurtling into the blackness of /between/
never to return again.

The piercing pain came from Tonuth like a knife in his gut

}:Gone, gone, Jaralth is gone:{ He keened with the other dragons and
L'cor couldn't help "M'lak," he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Jeyme gasped, her hand flying to her mouth as she stared at the empty
space that M'lak had vacated. How could he be ... Gone? Quinneth's
alarm and despair were mirrored in her anguished bellow.

Malyna gasped and covered her face. "No," she moaned. Cayleryth joined
in the keening heartwrenching cries of the dragonkind.

D'naz took the loss hard. He closed his eyes and wished he could turn
back the hand of time. He'd failed already, and he'd only been Second
for such a short time.

"No more today," he barked, his voice hoarse with unshed emotion.
"We'll continue with the rest tomorrow." He waved the waiting weyrling
pairs off. While he sensed their disappointment, he knew their
emotional state needed tending to before any more dared the jump
/between/.

**I need to get away,** D'naz informed Keluth. He moved towards his
blue, mounted and the pair were skyborne. **Just fly. Straight. I
don't want to _see_ anyone. Make sure the others handle the weyrlings
for now.** The blue relayed the needed messages and then took off into
the sky with his rider on his back. The pair would go and seek solace,
alone, and in private, before returning to face what this devastation
would cause.

Last updated on the July 23rd 2013

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Blacker Than Black