Cyclone Wing Drills # 2

[llew]

"Two days."

N'tia rolled his eyes.

"Fine. A week. You last any longer, and I will eat my. . . no, I will eat Ione."

A blue firelizard suddenly appeared, chittering wildly and clutching at the bronzerider's shoulder with his tiny talons, hissing at Kirayuth all the while. N'tia cried out in surprise and pain, and wrenched the terrified creature out of the air. He immediately set about damage control, stroking the twitching Ione hurriedly.

"You will do no such thing, Kirayuth, and for the last time, there will be no coup d'etat in this wing!" snapped the bronzerider.

"I know, Tiamine, I but tease." The dragon nudged his bonded in a rare sgesture of reassurance. He acknowledged the stress his rider was under.

Ione began to recover: he had stopped his squeaking, and was now allowed to climb onto N'tia's shoulder for his good behavior. From his perch he eyed his bronze rival with suspicion, clicking disgruntledly. Kirayuth crooned with mirth.

"I do not need this today, gentlemen," groaned N'tia. "Ione, Kirayuth will not eat you. I swear. Now get off me and go frolic somewhere between, like a good little beastie." The blue chirruped reproachfully, but gave one last snort in Kirayuth's direction and then disappeared.

Today N'tia could not do with a distraction. He had behaved foolishly last drill, when R'non's absence had left him opportunity to lead the wing for a day. But today he was not an Imposter-Wingsecond. The wings had shuffled once again, and this time he was an actual, bonafide, honest to goodness Wingleader. But Ka'rys had made it clear that he was promoted on a trial basis. One slip-up, one mistake. . . there had been no such threat in the weyrleader's actual words, but N'tia felt there was one lurking beneath the surface, anyway.

A glance at his wing's roster told him that he would be flying with some of what he grudgingly had to accept as exceptionally skilled riders. With one drill's worth of experience under his belt, he was prepared to receive the usual criticisms and dubious glances. "A Wingleader this young? This green?" He had to tread carefully with these people. . .

"Kirayuth, send out the call." N'tia crossed his arms, meditating. He was not nervous, per say. . . apprehensive, perhaps, but nonetheless self-assured, per usual. Today he would not prove to be a buffoon.

"Grouch," rumbled Kirayuth, then began his broadcast. "Cyclone Wing, please assemble at the practice grounds. We drill today."

- - -

Attendance List
Bold = In Attendance

Wingleader: N'tia of Bronze Kirayuth
Wingsecond: W'liam of Bronze Rinth

P'nor of Bronze Cyanth
D'vin of Brown Hiriath
K'von of Brown Dohulth
F'con of Blue Jackreth
Beka of Blue Thoth
Dorava of Green Aonith
Alaid of Green Aorath
Robika of Green Kmarath
Lauranna of Green Reysalth
Juliya of Green Eriannath

[Tashe]

/Time to go Conmine./ "This early? Heh. Guess I could spare a few more moments to this quiet. Since the Practice Grounds are not but a few hop, skip and jumps away..." Musing quietly to himself as he traced a design in the sky with his finger, F'con moved his hand from the air to his mouth as a large yawn interrupted the peace of the moment. /You are acting rather strange. Are you ailing? Does your body fell ill?/ "No my dear friend, even a hard-ass like myself sometimes needs to unwind and enjoy the Pernese Breeze." /Humph. You're lucky we are so close to the grounds.../ "Why are you in such a hurry? Just chill for a moment, take your time and relax." /ConMine lets go. I want to leer at the younglings that seem intent on being Wingleaders./ "Fine, alright. If you insist..." Rolling onto the larger part of his back, F'con drove his momentum forward and allowed it to carry him into a crouch. Leaning to the side to retrieve his leather jacket from the grass, the seasoned Bluerider cracked his neck before straightening up from his crouch. "Lets go then Mr.Wound-up." A few moments later, the Bluepair were on their way, each half compensating for the other's stride. Although the reason why the man wanted to walk and not ride was completely lost to Jackreth...

It took only a few, scant minutes to reach the edge of the practice clearing, and the Wingleaders were already in sight. Arching an eyebrow in amusement, F'con looped a finger around one of the straps attached to his Flight Goggles and pulled them down around his neck. Offering the young man a smile that bordered precariously on a smirk, the Bluerider instructed Jackreth to take a place where ever he found fit, using hand signs instead of thoughts. Angling himself so that he was still in respectful distance of the young Wingleader, F'con quickly relocated himself to the nearest tree, leaning against it in a bored and untroubled manner.

[kysseh]

Dohulth snorted and nosed lightly at his rider at the sound of a summons from the bronze, half opening his wide and long wings as he patiently awaited his rider's slow-rousing alertness. The brownrider had been particularly quiet that day, and his dragon knew that Benden and the fights was on His' mind. His' had had terrible dreams the night before, and they had kept the brownrider very subdued in temperament. The brown tilted his head to one side to watch the man carry the straps closer, wishing he knew where Phremath and Hers were at. The dragonhealer always helped to soothe His' spirits.

K'von, luckiliy, was too absorbed in his broody musings to note what was floating through his dragon's mind at the moment. The brownrider hated nightmares, hated to awaken with the memory of what he had seen and done. His normally buoyant spirits were down somewhere in the pit of his gut, and he could not seem to summon them back up. Very well. They would stay there, and as he tightened his well-kept straps, he turned his attention to more serious things. The straps received innumerable checks today. Maybe it was his serious frame of mind or just habit; he was unsure. But after ten minutes of meticulous examination--through which Dohulth patiently stood and waited--K'von was satisfied that he would not, in fact, be improperly secured. He slipped on helmet and goggles and then attached his usual small bags of firestone to the straps. Dohulth needed little in the way of stone for drills, and he required even less than the normal brown due to his size. That would be plenty.

Still careful about overusing the damaged hand, the brownrider finally mounted up and strapped himself on. Dohulth waited until his rider gave him the signal to go, and then the brown fell gracefully off their ledge. It made K'von's stomach flip every time, and the big man tightened his hold just to be on the safe side. Dohulth rumbled from beneath his legs. When will you learn, K'vonMine, that I will not let you fall? the brown asked, highly amused. When I learn how to learn... his rider replied, tightening his grip on the dragon's neck with his legs. He could scarcely hurt the best. Dohulth frequently, even now, reminded him to cling tighter... just so the brown could be very sure that His was still there.

The brown levelled out his flight and managed a lazy heading toward the practice grounds. Just to make sure His was alert, he drifted up to get some altitude and then dove suddenly, opening his massive wings and backwinging to land neatly in their designated place. K'von, appropriately startled by the move, started silently cursing at the dragon, who tolerated it with the ease of someone who was familiar with K'von's moods on the most intimate of levels. K'von was not angry with him but with himself, for his own lack of attention today. That had to change.

"Hello, wingleader," he called out, unstrapping himself and leaping off with practiced ease. His mindmate tossed his gray-brown head and then rumbled politely in similar greeting to the other dragons. They were not the first to arrive, but neither were they anywhere close to last. The brownrider's unbandaged hand came up to scratch Dohulth's eyeridges, which effectively distracted the brown from any sort of conversation. When His was unsettled, His was first priority. And His' mind was still unhappily rather closed off, which suggested turmoil.

[ravenmane]

Cyclone Wing, please assemble at the practice grounds. We drill today.

Cyanth lifted his head from his forelegs as he heard Kirayuth speak. His eyes slid over to glance at the sleeping figure of his rider and the two blue balls curled about nearby. Of course, Athol had claimed the spot on P’nor’s chest while the smaller Squee had been forced to sleep down beside the man’s feet. The Bronze rumbled with laughter before mentally prodding Athol awake. He felt some resistance, but the little creature was not able to resist for long. After a few moments, Athol stretched slowly and yawned before surveying the area around him. As soon as he caught sight of Squee so ear His human, Athol screeched and launched himself at the other blue creature. Cyanth chuckled again as P’nor shot off his bed at the screeching and screaming from Athol and Squee. The Bronzerider gave a colorful curse and attempted to pull away the two. “Why did I have to Impress both of you?! Just one would have been fine, thank you.” Athol scurried away from Squee at the sound of his human’s voice and launched himself into the air to land on P’nor’s shoulder. He crooned happily, and P’nor glared at him before turning that gaze towards his Bronze. What was that for, Cy? Cyanth chuckled a little more before getting to his feet.

I thought you wouldn’t want to miss your Wing Drills. DRILLS!!! P’nor groaned as he scrambled around his weyr in order to retrieve his gear and Cyanth’s. The Bronzerider’s face was one of annoyance and shame. “I can’t believe I forgot to begin Drills when I was Wingleader. How am I ever going to live that down.” Cyanth crooned softly as he watched his dress. Maybe you weren’t ready. I was nervous about leading other dragons in Fall. P’nor snorted loudly as he finished getting into his gear. After grabbing Cyanth’s gear, P’nor set to work checking the straps and making sure everything was where it was suppose to be. Hurry, or we’ll be later, P’norMine. Don’t worry about it. We’ll get there on time. The Bronze snorted before turning his gaze to the view around the weyr. After a few more moments, P’nor mounted Cyanth and sent him a picture of where they were meeting. Got it? Of course. Cyanth grumbled as he launched himself into the air.

The pair quickly blinked between, and as they emerged, P’nor noted that there was already two riders present not including the Wingleader. Cyanth began to descend in slow lazy circles above the area, and P’nor had to give him a good slap to get him to go faster. Making me go faster isn’t going to speed up the Drill, Mine. Too bad! P’nor muttered as his Bronze finally reached the ground. He quickly dismounted but remained beside Cy. The riders present were ones P’nor had only seen in passing with a brief hello, but that was it so he remained with his Bronze instead of socializing with the members of the Wing.

[reqqy]

Oh dear. Lauranna was primping again. This time, Reysalth wasn't even noticing a change in her own behavior yet, but primping from Laurie was a sure sign that Reysalth would be on the Rise sooner rather than later. The green stuck her head through the opening to the rider's part of the weyr, angling it to regard Hers curiously. Why are you spending so much time on your hair when we're going to drills? Laurie flashed a smile at her dragon, finishing threading another mauve-hued flower into the elaborate braids she'd bound her curls up into. "I doubt anyone will be complaining, Reys. Do just be a little patient." Much longer and we'll find the wing already flying. "Spoilsport."

Sniffing, she rose, taking the time to carefully adjust the fall of her tunic. It would seem like the normal garb for a wingrider, but for the simple fact that everything she'd donned was form-fitting, almost to the point where it seemed as if her curves would burst right out of the seams with a little excited movement. Fortunately for Laurie, the woman really had nothing she needed to hide; all the lingering fat from her pregnancy was truly gone by this point. Pulling on her gloves, she picked up her riding jacket and helmet and briefly checked over the straps that would secure her to Reysalth's back, weighing the bags in her hands. Everything was in order. Lauranna scampered up and settled in with a giggle. "I always love wing drills." Reysalth merely crooned in reply and launched herself from their ledge, her wings unfurling to catch the air and send them soaring well above the falls.

They circled the glade once, before coming to land as far from the two bronzes as Reysalth could manage without being completely disrespectful. She wasn't nearly as cold as before. The green's amusement mingled with the general good will of her rider. Strange, how Laurie always showed signs of Reysalth's impending Rise well before the green herself did.

Sliding down the dragon's flank well before Reysalth had any chance to adjust and landing nimbly on her feet, Lauranna giggled like a creche child playing in the scree piles, her small feet pattering the ground as she dashed toward the assembling riders. "Wingleader N'tia!" she cried out joyfully, coming to a halt at a distance that could be considered - slightly less than polite, but at least not confrontational. "Who would've guessed? Congratulations!" Her eyes flashed merrily. "You must have well and truly impressed our dour Weyrleader. Although, if you ever want to soften him up," and she edged closer, continuing in a stage whisper, "he's an absolute sucker for children. You should have seen him with my Miguel!"

Casting about her, she spotted K'von. "Just ask my dance partner over there. He saw!" The greenrider waved at him cheerily, even though he was still keeping his distance. Silly brownrider. Laurie barely spared a glance for F'con and P'nor. F'con still aggravated her, considering his continued veiled antagonsim toward her F'rah, and S'rei's distress of having to cover for P'nor when the man had been Blizzard's Wingleader didn't have her feeling too favorable towards him, either. But K'von was a doll and N'tia was absolutely precious. She couldn't help but think the youngling was cute, if mostly untried, and of course he'd have plenty of help from this assembly of veterans, wouldn't he?

Reysalth stretched langorously, allowing the sunlight to play off her hide and reveling in the fact that she was the only female here. She surreptiously slid toward Jackreth and Dohulth, her movements taking on an almost slinky quality. Another wing drill. Isn't it delicious? I've been positively bored sprawled about on a weyrledge all day, she uttered poutingly.

[randi]

It's time to leave it again, Mine. Since the graduation, Alaid had been hiding even more than usual, impossible to coax out save to eat, it seemed. However, wing drills were becoming a constant ideal, and, with the graduation, they had been sent to a "real" wing. We need to go... She had been strapped already, the girl listlessly going over them to ensure there were no cracks. There weren't any nerves about being higher up during Threadfall, not for Alaid. Any nervousness around her person was simply due to the fact that she had to trust people she didn't know, especially a bronzerider to keep her out of trouble.

She was reluctant to leave the egg as well. It had to Hatch soon, it was bound to, and every second away was a chance for it to start cracking and then be gone forever. That would not be the case, Aorath had assured her, though she had been slacking on her usual demands for Alaid's hiding for it, and she was grateful to the green for that.

After double-checking to ensure that she hadn't missed anything, she strapped in, heading for the practice ground quickly. However, a certain somebody caught her eye, the social dragon turning her head to look at him. Dohulth and His are here! That'd good, someone you can trust... Alaid shook her head slightly. No. He would assume her off-guard as he had kept her, but today she would just do as was instructed, regardless of his reaction to her.

Dismounting after Aorath landed, who trilled a Hello, Cyclone Wing! merrily to all present, Alaid leaned against her green, her eyes lowered. She wished she could vanish; she didn't want to be here, and especially not with someone who had already gotten past her shell once before. No, no, no, this was not good, despite Aorath's cheery mood. This was very bad.

[missa]

"Oh so I am allowed to go to drills?" The tone in Beka's voice was caught between annoyance and weariness, grabbing her jacket before bending to pet Anai's sleeping form. Pita, once again, was no where to be seen. Probably because Thoth had told him he couldn't come to drills, and that gave the brown flitter ample time to make mischief.
Of course, you will just tell the wingleader that I will not take you between. Thoth's voice was reasonable, stretching as Beka instantly frowned at him.

"Are you trying to draw as much attention as possible to me? Sharding dragon." Grumbling to herself as she ganced around the weyr to check she'd forgotten nothing, the blue rider finally stepped towards her dragon. As she reached up to check his straps, Thoth turned his head, nuzzling her side gently, rumbling when she laughed. It was impossible to stay mad at Thoth, even when she really wanted to.
"Stop that, drills are serious." Despite her words, there was the smallest smile on Beka's lips as she mounted.

Thoth was much more sociable than Beka was, greeting all the dragons there with a fairly cheery note to his voice, Beka, however, merely dismounted and leaned against Thoth's foreleg, waiting for the wingleader to speak, and the wingsecond to show up.

*

How on Pern did we manage to become wingseconds? W'liam's mind was still in a state of utter shock, especially since as Rinth stood from where he'd been curled on his couch, he slipped. W'liam personally had all the faith in the world in his clumsy bronze, but others didn't see it that way, they thought he should have grown out of it. Now, W'liam was almost sure they were late, they had to be, Rinth had fallen asleep and W'liam hadn't been paying attention...

You can't just be happy? Rinth teased as W'liam pulled a face and pulled his riding helmet on over his hair and hurried to Rinth's side. That was brilliant, wingseconds and late. They just went hand in hand didn't they? Reaching up to adjust Rinth's straps, and then double check them before mounting, W'liam chuckled as Rinth shifted happily, excited and eager to go.

Hello everyone! As always, Rinth was cheery, almost annoyingly so, but he did warn them as he landed, attempting a graceful enterence. Of course, the bronze only managed to stumble a few steps before straightening, there would never be a graceful landing from him.

[dragon]

Dorava! The cyclone wing is starting a drill. Aonith said, poking her head closer to where Dorava was reading something.

Dorava reached up and shoved Aonith's nose out of the way. "So? What significance is that to me?" she asked, grasping after bits of parchment that were escaping her in Aonith's breath. She grumbled under her breath as she jumped after the last sheet and snatched it out of the air. "Aonith!" she reprimanded.

We were assigned to the Cyclone wing, were we not? Aonith asked, lifting her head. She completely ignored the reprimand from her rider, having rather enjoyed watching the bits of parchment flutter about like half-crazed flitters.

Dorava lost all motion, leaving her in a rather strange looking pose as she thought back, trying to remember. When she realized what it was Aonith was saying, she started frowning at the green. "And now you deign to remind me?!" She hurriedly rolled the parchment up and stashed it in a safe place.

I didn't know I had to, but the more you stand there and blubber, the later we'll be. And that's not a good idea having just got here, is it? Aonith asked, crouching down as Dorava stalked over toward her with the riding straps.

"No, it's not." Dorava griped, throwing the leather over Aonith's neck and fastening all the straps securely in place. "Blithering wherry-brained flipper-minded....!"

I hope you're not referring all that to ME. Aonith said, twisting her head and neck back and forth to settle the straps on her skin.

"No, love. Of course not. It's me I'm irked at. Why didn't I remember that?" Dorava asked, as she fastened firestone bags to the harness. Once she was certain all was secure, she scrambled back into her weyr again. Snatching up her flight jacket, she quickly donned it even as she snatched up her helmet and goggles. Sticking her goggles in her teeth, she twisted her hair up into a knot before clapping the helmet on her head and hanging the goggles around her neck.

Giving the harness a last tug, she vaulted up onto Aonith's shoulder and scrambled into her place, snapping all her lines down securely. "Alright, let's get out of here."

Lifting her wings, Aonith moved quickly to the edge of the weyr, and shoved off, spreading her wings quickly to take advantage of every scrap of air to be had. She flew quickly toward the practice grounds, well aware of how late she and hers were. Not good at all.

Just breathe, mine. Just breathe. It's not the end of the world. I am sure everything will go just fine. Aonith offered reassuringly.

"Right." Dorava said, taking a deep breath to settle the flutterbugs in her stomach and clear her head. Being late was bad enough ... but to arrive in an irritated mood would be even worse. Thankfully, by the time they reached the ground again, Dorava had cooled off considerably, and was almost cheerful looking. She unstrapped, and slid off Aonith's shoudler before walking over to where most of the riders seemed to be grouping.

"Dorava and Aonith reporting." she said, hoping she wasn't too late.

[glamourie]

Kirayuth's calls us. Eriannath was amiable enough as she flicked her wings, stretching them out as far as her weyr would permit. Her eyes whirled playfully; she found Kirayuth funny, at least on the level that he was so much younger than she was. Eriannath was a lot of things but arrogant wasn't one of them. She didn't mind the idea of working with a younger bronzepair so long as they were respectful enough to recognize that greenriders were every bit as important as them in the air. Hers liked dragons of all colors; it would be impossible for Eriannath to really dislike anyone. She took a fondness to every dragon she spoke to so long as they were nice enough to her.

"Yes, I heard," Juliya said quietly as she finished tightening the green's straps. Once she was sure they were secure, she climbed onto Eriannath, her eyes flicking toward the ledge where her brown firelizard sat, watching her every movement. "Oh, don't sulk. I promise you'll have my full attention when I come back, Shine. You will." He'd been near-inconsolable since Rain's death, and Juliya couldn't blame him. She'd wept for the blue, too. But she would not bring him to a drill. First there was nothing for him to do, and second, it would look unprofessional. She was determined to try to give N'tia as much respect as she could. Lauranna could be counted on to undermine everything he said unintentionally. (Not that Juliya minded -- her Reysalth was highly entertaining.)

Shine chirped, and Eriannath crooned to him. Then the green positively leaped from her weyrledge spot. It wasn't high enough to support the speed she attained so quickly in a rapid downward ascent, but that was okay because Juliya's eyes fell closed, and before the pair could come close enough to the ground to be a danger, they were in the bitter cold of between - and then out again, circling the practice grounds with a fluid agility that was trademark to her color. Her circling continued downward at a spiral, creeping closer and closer to the ground before she landed on her own with a delicate sort of grace. Her wings flared at her sides, then fell closed and she crooned a light greeting to the assembled dragons before leaning down for Juliya to dismount. Once she was off, Eriannath rearranged herself more comfortably, her tail flicking curiously as she regarded the other dragons on the wing.

Juliya watched Eriannath for a moment, waiting for her green to settle herself, and then leaned back against her flank. A polite nod was cast to N'tia in greeting, but she otherwise did not speak; she wasn't sure what was meant to be said, although privately she was amused. No more flamethrowers.

[llew]

Names, names. . . as the pairs arived, N'tia silently took roll of each. He was not entirely familiar with brown and blue riders in general, but the process of elimination was fairly simple here. K'von was the one of the two brown rider in the wing he recognized, so D'vin must be missing. . . N'tia nodded politely at his greeting.

He scanned the assembled riders for more familiar faces. F'con must be the sour-looking lad, since the other blue rider was a woman. . . P'nor of course. . . and. . .

"Lauranna!" He had expected catcalls, not smiles. "Er, thank you. And for the tip, too. I'll have to see what I can do about, uh, procuring a distraction, in the event I encounter our Wingleader in a more dour mood than usual."

He glanced about quickly, and spying the Wingsecond, was glad to have an excuse to break away from Lauranna's warm, but nevertheless unnerving attentions. "W'liam! Rinth! Glad to see your could make it!" Though it was not entirely the truth. N'tia had seen enough of Rinth's clumsy maneuvering to be none too enthused by their promotion. But who was he to judge? He was merely a turn older than his second. Though their dual-inexperience would not bode well with the troops.

"One, two. . . two pairs missing. . ." he mouthed to himself. Satisfied, he jerked his head up to attention, and addressed the gathered riders.

"Judging by the number of veterans we have here, I'll assume that most of your know each other, so we can skip the pleasantries to make up for lost time. Today we'll be going over formation, as well as betweening, so unless any of you have objections, shall we get started?"

Kirayuth snorted. "This is short and simple, compared to your last filibuster."

The bronzerider ignored him, and with his customary abruptness, began to draw a formation in the sand.

[dragon]

Dorava was careful to pay attention to all that was said and drawn, hoping that she wouldn't forget anything. As she watched, she relayed what she saw to Aonith, so that the green might help with understanding where thier place in the wing was, and what thier part in it was.

Aonith, for her part, payed attention as well, along with taking stock of all the dragons about her. These would be her companions in the skies, and she would have to get to know them well ... though she felt at a slight disadvantage as she knew no one at all. Hopefully that would change quickly! She would be depending on them just as heavily as they on her.

Don't be so nervous, love. We'll do alright so long as we stay focused. Dorava told her. Now pay attention.

Aonith collected her wits about her, and focused in on what was important ... the rest would have to wait until later.

[neeuqtar]

((since P'tol and Llath just got moved to this wing, should I post here?))