Time to Shine [Wherhandlers; plot]

[Ruby]

Piden had the night off of Watch duty - Zemaren and Swithin had that unpleasant duty today. That didn't mean the Bronzehandler wasn't busy, though. In a fit of responsibility (likely brought on by Pidesk, who seemed to feel the need to step up and be useful lately), the Handler had laid out reports on all the Watchwhers in his area, and had resolved to actually go check on Zemaren tonight. Make sure he was settling in, understood what the Watch was supposed to do, the whole deal. He was a fairly recent addition to the Watch, after all; couldn't hurt. That, and Piden hadn't been able to find anyone willing to spend the night with him at dinner, so honestly he was bored.

Not for long. As soon as he'd called Pidesk over and started outfitting him with his harness (the Bronze was big enough that a harness made it infinitely easier to mount), the world started shaking, then rolling, then bucking. It felt like whatever had happened down in the Mines a few months ago, but on a much more intense scale. Crouching next to his Wher, Piden held on tight, and Pidesk actually raised a foreleg to shelter his Handler's head. The pair, out in the middle of the room, were out of range of any falling/flying objects, but Pidesk took a fairly large chunk of rock to the flank before it was all over. A tiny trail of ichor seeped out, but Pidesk ignored it. There were more important things going on.

What was that? the Bronze asked once the shaking subsided, both Handler and Wher still frozen in the middle of the room. For once, all three of Piden's salamandyrs were silent, but since he wasn't having sudden suicidal thoughts, Piden figured they were all still alive, just scared and hiding. I dunno, Desk. Call the others, we've got to get to the surface. If something went wrong in the Weyr, it'll be us they're looking for... Pidesk obliged, stretching his mental call out to all the Whers he could reach, and trying for Uminth, too. He wasn't comfortable with other dragons, but he liked Uminth. Whers, meet me and Mine on the surface. We must help the day-people, for they can not see, Pidesk called, matching his mindvoice with a verbal roar. Day-people, tell us where we are needed.

Mounting up, Piden headed out of his room and into the hall. A glance back towards the Hatching cave made him cringe - the whole back half of the apartments had collapsed, it seemed. Hopefully everyone was busy tonight, but he couldn't dwell on it. Giving Pidesk the mental command to move, the pair headed for the surface, waiting near a drumtower for the Whers to assemble. Ugh, he hated being in charge... his fault for having an apartment so close to the tunnel to the surface, he figured. Ah well, as soon as Eikane, Roi or Demi showed up he was putting them in charge instead.

--

Helloooo, Wherhandlers!

This thread is for Wherhandlers ONLY. No one but Handlers are in the Apartments tonight. This is mostly a dispatch thread - post here and Piden will send your wherpair to another one of the active threads. Once there, you will want to help out people that are trapped, and/or get people from their weyrs to the surface.

Things to Note:
- Whers are excellent at going Between in small/close spaces, so they will be able to travel in to damaged and blocked off weyrs. This is, however, very dangerous - the probability for ending up in a ceiling that is now on the floor is very high. If you don't want your pair to die, make sure the Handler and Wher both have excellent visuals from a calm dragon AND a calm rider inside the weyr.
- The back half of the Apartments are destroyed. This means the higher your room number on the Handler Apartments list, the more damaged your room is.
- Whers working in the Mines tonight will need to get out as soon as possible, as they are already unstable.
- You are welcome to injure your Wher/Handler if you so choose, but injured pairs may have to stay behind rather than being helpful. Injure with caution, lest you be stuck doing boring things
- You may drop this thread and start posting in your assigned thread as soon as you have your assignment.
- Ask questions if you have them! Have fun!

[Rowana]

It was a quiet night and Roivao liked it that way. Teaching Wherlings had been one thing, but actually leading other handlers was something else. Roisk said he did fine when he needed to, but Roi still wasn't sure he was the best choice. It was so much easier when Eikane or Dmitri were in charge and all he had to worry about was thinking too much about dragons and the past. Still, his first few weeks of Guard Cadre had been fairly simple. He took most of the shifts so that Nysania would have time to be in the infirmary, and it was mostly a matter of being alert for possible dangers. So far, the worst thing they had dealt with was a lone wild canine.

Roi was just making his way back towards the apartments, when the ground trembled. Then it practically leaped and rolled in horrible shakes. Roi clung to Roisk's steady hide as a few trees and branches cracked and fell around them. Roisk bellowed loudly, planted his claws firmly into the ground as if that would hold it steady. Finally, the world seemed to right itself. Roi shook himself from his shock. They had to get back and see if the Weyr had been damaged! "Let's go," he climbed onto Roisk's back and the wher took off at a run. As they went, Roi did a quick mental check of his other chargers. Tiida was clinging to his neck, as usually, and adorable Belle was still sleeping in her carry pouch on Roisk's harness. How she could sleep through all that was a wonder. Puddleglum was flying over head, being his usually pessimistic self. The world was over, he moaned as he flew, no one would ever see the sun again.

Roi felt his heart sink when he saw the Apartments. The whole back half had collapsed. Had everyone made it outside safely? And they're rooms were this bad, what about the rest of the Weyr? Roisk heard Pidesk call and slowed to meet the other bronze as he came out. They were here and ready to help, he informed them promptly. They must move quickly to be sure everyone was safe. Roi didn't bother getting down as he called to Pidesk. "Is everyone safe? What about the riders and weyrfolk?"

~

Porita still liked to sew, even with all the new things she was learning. She liked nothing better than to sit in her room with a basket of mending and her darling Posk and Neyki to keep her company. She could be happy for hours just being left alone to make her own choices for once. Tonight was another of those nights, at least until the room started to shack. Porita screamed and curled into a ball. Memories of being trapped underground and separated from Posk overwhelmed her. This was so much worse than the mines. Surly no one would survive when Pern itself was breaking apart!

The next moment it was over. Posk nuzzled Porita with a worried croon. Why was she so scared? All was well now. They were safe and so would all her friends, he was sure of it! Porita raised her head slowly. The room was in shambles. Shelves had collapsed and the floor was covered with her things and bits of the ceiling. Remarkably, though, the room itself was largely undamaged. Porita go shakily to her feet, holding onto Posk as an anchor. Neyki flew to her shoulder, keening about the sorrow of the ruined furniture. Posk tugged Porita's skirt. Pidesk was calling, it was time to go!

Deftly, almost automatically, Porita let Posk lead her out into the night air. Were Hinsero, Faolan and her other friends alright? What about Ithanna and the other riders? She couldn't bare the thought of any of them being hurt! It was bad enough when it was only a small number of them in the mines. How would they ever help everyone in time? Posk tugged her over to Pidesk and Roisk as soon as he saw them. They were here! He announced brightly to the much bigger whers. What would they do now? Would they hunt for people like before? Think of all the new friends they could rescue! Of course they would all be safe, It was assured!

[Ember]

Having a gimpy leg was decidedly bad during an earthquake, Eikane decided. He wasn't sure what was worse...falling in the middle of his apartment or having Eikask run over and practically sit/fall on him in order to protect him from falling rocks. His gold was most definitely not known for her selfless personality. Actually, she was downright selfish, to the very core. The one thing she would give everything for was her handler though, no doubt about that. The gold didn't even seem to notice when rocks collided with her back, one leaving a small gash on her shoulder.

When the earth stopped trying to shuffle them and the apartment around he huffed and pushed at the gold. "Thank you, Eikask dear, but you really are quite heavy and sitting on my bad leg." There is no such bad part of Hers! "Yeah, yeah, just get up already. We gotta go help the daylighters." Must they? Couldn't they just let them fend for themselves or let Pidesk take care of it? Just lsiten, he was already taking charge. As Eikask trailed off mentally she let out a little growl. Didn't that mean Pidesk had all her attention?

"Well there, you have your answer, don't you?" The gold huffed and got off her handler, though she stayed close enough to allow him to use her as a crutch to get up. Eikane and Eikask made their way to the meeting spotm the former getting the latter to follow up on Pidesk's broadcast. Yes, pitiful daylighters, we shall save you if you tell us where you need us. Eikane rolled his eyes as he limped up to the handlers and, with a quick glance at Piden, took charge. "I'm sure there the others will join us when they can, but we shouldn't wait so long. Piden, Porita, you guys take the east side. One start at the bottom of the canyon, the other try and start at the top."

He nodded at the two to go then filtered some of what Eikask was streaming to him before turning to Ceryl - the greenhandler had just joined them and he almost considered switching her out for Porita, since he knew she and Piden had been in the same class but decided against it - and Roivao. "Roivao, Ceryl, I want you two to do the same with the west side of the canyon. I'll stay here for now and wait for others before I join in the rescue somewhere."

[Rei]

Darmosk and Darmori where on not on watch tonight, still the large bronze and his bonded were outside wandering throughout the forest simply because Darmori was looking for a certain flower for Ximera. The short haired blonde also had a rather irate and egg heavy gold clinging to his shoulder, her tail wrapped tightly about his neck like a choker. Suddenly Darmosk threw his head up from where he was sniffing at a fallen log and barked a warning, leaping towards his bonded just as soon as the ground began to quake. Talons digging into the ground the bronze’s overlong tail coiled about his bonded’s legs and waist as the young man clung for dear life to the large wher.

Tree falls! Watch out! Harmony shrieked before leaping into the air and snapping open her wings winging away from Darmori and Darmosk. As much as she loved them the eggs in her belly came first right now. Grunting in acknowledgement the large bronze grabbed Darmori’s shirt firmly and lunged forward dragging his bonded with him just as the large tree fell behind them. Some of the branches clipped the bronze’s flank and he growled in response. Luckily they had avoided being crushed though. When the word finally grew silent the handler looked back at the tree and then at his wher and swallowed arms wrapping around the large wher's neck as he buried his face into it. “You saved me Darmosk.” The large bronze rumbled softly and nuzzled his bonded. Of course. Silly Mori. He would always protect him. Harmony landed rather awkwardly on the bronze's back and hissed before demanding. Implove! Have to find Implove! NOW!

Darmori blinked at his irate golden mandyr just as Pidesk’s howl rang out and Darmosk tossed back his head to give an answering call. Come Mori. The weyr needed them now. Pidesk called and the little cranky one’s mate should be there as well. The handler nodded at his bronze before swinging up onto his back and helping Harmony back to his shoulder. “We better hurry Darmosk. I hope everyone is okay…” With another call out to Pidesk to alert him to the fact that they were on their way the bronze sprinted to the handler apartments. Pulling up beside his golden mother as he arrived Darmori gave Eikane a salute as Darmosk crooned to Eikask. “Darmori and Darmosk reporting for duty.” He said simply and seriously before Harmony scrambled down him and called out frantically, Implove! Implove where is!

~~~~

Nyssk had been roaming through the forest as he did most nights. On this occasion he had just picked up the faint trail of a feral canine when he felt a disturbance in the air. Nostrils flaring he picked up his head and mantled his wings just as the world began to tremble around him. Barking in surprise he locked his legs and rode out the seismic waves as branches rained down around him. A sudden explosion of pain that was not his own had the wher’s legs buckling as he fell to the ground with a snarl.

Trembling slightly the blue raised his head and frantically tried to fight away the phantom pain as he reached out for the mind of his. Protected number one! Raising his head to the dark sky Nyssk gave a heart wrenching cry and staggered to his feet. Gripping Nysania’s mind as firmly as he could the large male forced himself to his feet and started for the weyr. He paused as he heard Pidesk’s call and for a moment duty warred with the desire to find his bonded.

As her mind began to slip from him Nyssk actually whimpered quietly into the silence and glancing at the weyr turned to go meet Eikask and Pidesk. Moving up next to Darmosk he whined and moved to Eikask, boldly touching her muzzle with his own. Where did his mother want him? His was not long for this world. He could not reach her in time and they both knew this. His power was hers to use….

From behind Eikask came another soft rumble, the tiger striped brown wildling slipping out of the underbrush to bark softly to the gold. He would lend his domestic brothers and sisters his strength as well. With that message given he turned his head to croon softly to an approaching greenpair.

[Kisha-Ra]

Yosk snorted softly, blinking her overlarge eyes at the tremor that ran through the ground. ‘Another one?’ Yoalla asked, then clung to Yosk’s harness as the pale green charged for the nearest clearing and from there thrust herself skyward taking as close to vertical ascent as she could manage. Yosk did not want to be on the ground anymore, it was shaking so hard now. Look, it made the trees fall it was so angry!

Yoalla took stock of the ground below, which was indeed shaking in a true earthquake this time, sending branches, loose earth and rocks, and even entire trees tumbling off in new directions. While Yosk looped and headed back toward home Yoalla did a quick head count of pets around her. Thankfully Imp, who was the only hard one to find, being as he wasn’t bonded to her, was perched proudly on Yosk’s head, his front feet between the wher’s headknobs, and was muttering anxiously about Harmony. The Devil was a barely disturbed sleeping presence in Yoalla’s pocket, and Lao and Denial had appeared to swoop and dive around Yosk, evidently having decided they’d rather be in the air than in her apartment, a frankly Yoalla didn’t blame them at all.

Pidesk called, the green wher noted as a wher’s call rang out on the night air. Eikask too. The green added that last with trepidation, her hander, for some reason Yosk couldn’t quite grasp, held golds in deep despite and contempt, even though they were all beautiful. She wouldn’t have added it if Yoalla wasn’t likely to be angry that Yosk hadn’t told her. Tonight, however, Yoalla decided not to be stubborn and let Yosk go with only a token objection.

Yosk’s landing became a bound toward the other whers that were gathering. The wild brown was given a soft mental brush of affection and Nyssk a worried look. Beyond those brief reactions the green’s attention went to her golden sister in a query.

Imp didn’t care one whit for the affairs of whers, he simply launched himself from Yosk’s head with a cry of HarmonyLove! and made a beeline for his mate wrapping his tail firmly around hers. Worried about you. Not leaving again. Stay with HarmonyLove and Dari now. The bronze announced without asking anyone’s opinion on the matter. That would be fine with everyone, or it had better be because his mind was made up.

[Ivy]

Swithin and Swisk had been outside of the Weyr - night patrol was their duty tonight after all. The pair had been walking along one of the patrol paths when suddenly the world began to shake. Buck. Rock. Everything except fall apart beneath them. Swithin had been next to his Blue and threw himself over his frail counterpart - he would rather things fall on him than on Swisk.

Trees fell. Dirt flew around. The foliage around them once calm, serene, and stable had turned against them. Suddenly it was attacking them, whipping against Swithin's back as he did his best to protect his wher from damage. A branch snapped and fell across his back, causing the young man to yell out in pain. Then it was over. All was still - not a serene still but an eerie still.

Standing up slowly, Swisk huffed at His and turned to look him over. The wraith-like Blue gave a soft croon to His as he looked over the wound on his back, blood was trickling out but nothing seemed broken and Swithin was standing up. It couldn't have been that bad. Still, why had His put himself in such danger?! As the pair tried to regain their composure, the call for help from the Weyr came and Swisk relayed it to His.

Luckily they were close enough to the Weyr that it didn't take long to get there once Swithin managed to get on his wher. Swisk broke out into an odd version of a gallop until finally they had reached the Weyr. Swithin's eyes weren't the best in the dark, but Swisk's were. He could see there was a lot of damage and turned to the Gold for guidance. Where were they needed?

As he waited for directions to be given he crooned out to Yosk and closed the distance between them. His tail brushed against hers affectionately before his muzzle rubbed to her neck. Was she and Hers alright? He was so sorry he was far away, he hoped she was okay.

Swithin patted his Blue and cringed as he felt more blood roll down his back. The pain was dulling and though he couldn't see the wound he knew it wasn't too serious. Nothing that should keep him from helping others, though he wondered how much help his frail Blue could really be in such a situation. "Where do you want us?" His eyes darted to Yoalla and he studied her, she looked unscathed. Good, he knew Swisk was attached to her Green and he would hate to have either of them hurt.

[Sheari]

She had actually been eating. Emiliah, leery of the mines she was to help in since the tremors began had decided to take a break form her work and snatch something to fuel her. True to her quirky nature, the young woman had chosen to dine in the hallway of the wherhandler apartments. Emilisk lay curled on the floor, huffing puffs of air at the green Shrew. A silly game as they waited for their bonded to finish eating. It was with a squeak that Shrew alerted the others to the rumble of the ground. The wher already knew.

A wave of worry and concern washed over Emiliah and when the hallway moved and the sounds of thunder echoed through the stone hall she dove under the green wher for protection. Emilisk, ever the "guardian", shifted her body to best cover the one beneath her. Shrew curled around Her's neck in an almost constricting way, eyes a rapid yellow that made the whirling hard to see at all. The hallway was rather stable though she could see between the front legs of Emilisk how some of the apartments were damaged. A large stone fell and landed right in front of the little group as smaller ones fell. And then suddenly, it all stopped.

We are called, we must go to Pidesk, yes? When the area stopped moving, Emiliah shot out from her wher, slowly prying her fire lizard from her neck. "Come, come! We are needed!" she called back before her steps faltered. Emilisk shot Hers a sideways look. Running would only exert them more than needed. The green walked up to the young woman. It wasn't too far of a distance to the surface anyway. As the two emerged, Emilisk called to the now present Eikask, eying or distressed looking brother Nyssk; was he alright, and where was His? Returning her attention to her mother, Emilisk approached the gold. Where was she needed?

[Ember]

Eikane and Eikask watched as others joined them as they sent the previous group off. Apparently things we fairly bad on the eastern side and Porita and Piden would need more support. They'd also need to send a couple wherhandlers to the infirmary just to help out the healers and more people to the west side couldn't hurt. With an inward sigh, Eikane wondered about who to send where. Eikask was otherwise occupied with distraught babies and the wildling. The gold was definitely not known for compassion but she could understand the unbelievable pain Nyssk must be going through. A croon was her response to Darmosk but Nyssk was offered an ever-so-faint comforting brush of the mind. She appreciated that he would stick around and help despite the approaching death of His.

The goldhandler was relieved as more arrived and he gave them a grateful smile. So...Darmori, Yoalla, Swithin, Emiliah, and...two wildlings, or soon to be wildlings. "Swithin, I want you and Yoalla to help out in the eastern weyrs. The ground floor seems to be in trouble especially." He shook his head faintly at the whole thing. What bad timing for the daylighters. A good chance for the whers' use to shine through but...still, bad timing. "Darmori, Emiliah, you two go help out on the western side." He'd take Nyssk and the wildling to the infirmary.

Eikask crooned to the wild brown and nudged Nyssk gently but commandingly. We go to the healing place now. Together. While she trusted this particular wild brown not to do anything dumb she still wouldn't let him run around her Weyr unaccompanied. It was bad for a few reasons, namely: no human would recognize him. Another reason for him to go to the infirmary was that until people managed to get out it would be comparatively quiet as opposed to the chaos in the weyrs. Less people had been in the infirmary to start with. Eikask, before leaving with Hers, let out another long howl with a message broadcast. No longer was there a meeting spot, so contact her directly and she'd tell them where to go to help the silly daylighters.

((This thread is effectively closed. Ask me in the cbox or via PM if your wherhandler still needs an assignment.))