Lesson 11: Just stay awake! (N'rik/S'vil)

[Rowana]

N'rik yawned. He liked flying, but this going on and on for hours on end wasn't much fun. He was getting tired and cold, even with the heavy flying jacket he was wearing. At least Ophiuchusth was having fun. The midnight blue was made for night flying, so N'rik didn't have to worry about whether he could see or not. The trip had been to the desert and back, a practice in endurance, and so far it was going pretty well. N'rik was glad of company, however, to drown out the boredom.

Are we there yet? N'rik asked again. Ophiuchusth chuckled warmly. A little closer than last time you asked, the blue supplied in a helpful tone. N'rik rubbed his eyes. The clear night sky was lovely, but he just wanted to sleep now. Maybe we can try some of those new tricks from class. Truth be told, with Ophi's large wings, they were still pretty bad at them, but that just meant more practice.

Sure! Adaityth? Want to play a game? The young blue rolled neatly around his sister with a flick of his tail. A simple trick, but the only one he could really manage without fumbling his wings. Oh it was lovely to be able to see without all that awful light!

[neeuqtar]

It was nice flying at night with the blessings of the Weyrling Master. It wasn't as if he and Adaityth hadn't done a lot of night flying before, but now they were supposed to be doing it, and it was, well, glorious. Adaityth loved to fly, and she had impressive stamina for a green. Though there were no thermals during the night, with a good tailwind they could move at a good clip through the night air. Luckily for he and his classmate, they'd flown through mostly dead air towards the desert, changing into a headwind shortly before they turned around to head back home -- and the headwind became their tailwind.

Unlike N'rik, S'vil wasn't all that exhausted. Because he was used to being up at odd hours, he was quite awake and enjoying a friendly banter with his lovely dragon. Oracle had opted to remain at their weyr with the odd goodbye of Wind behind you, coming home to dying mountains. Touch the sky. Most of the time, S'vil had no idea what the salamandyr meant, but he figured that was likely normal with the little creatures. Oracle was always there when he was needed (or when something interesting was happening). He was very much like a tunnelcat in that way.

Oh yes, and then the bronzeling child will deign to touch noses with such a little green as me, and the whole sky will shiver with the scandal! It will be the talk of -- Oh! Adaityth exclaimed when her brother rolled over top of her with a tail flick. A game! What sort of game? she asked excitedly, flinging herself sideways into a listed stall drop, dipping beneath Ophiuchusth with scant room between their bodies as she pulled into a barrel roll, diving forward and down before beating her wings heavily to regain altitude to the right and front of him.

Usually, Adaityth would be hesitant to play -- that was a thing that greens and blues did, and she (even though she knew with sorrow that she was only a silly green) wanted to be as perfect as the metallics she yearned to be like. But she was in the air, and she was flying, and it was night -- none of those things mattered in the morning. The wind at her back was freedom from her pernicious perfectionism and colorism, and S'vil laughed aloud as she trilled back at her brother. Is it a flying game? I love flying!

[Rowana]

Ophiuchusth pulled up higher, admiring Adaityth's lovely rolls. Oh yes, a flying game! he agreed. He recalled his Kaaoloth's lessons about working in a team. The idea was to stay together, but not hit each other either. Tapping his stored energy, Ophiuchusth dived into a roll of his own, making Adaityth's space beneath her. Then he dropped farther and turned back up to meet her.

N'rik grinned, holding tight to the straps as Ophiuchusth moved. It was so much easier in the dark and amazing how well Ophi could now see. It was bright and clear through his eyes instead of murky blue and black with N'rik's own. "Alright! Ophi! Let's do it!" The blue angled slightly, turning sharply in a zig zag path in the air. Follow me, sister! Then your turn to lead! he suggested cheerfully.