Zodiac Lesson Ten

[Rei]

Lesson Ten:
Classroom: Terrain Recognition Test and Special Training
Training Field: Emergency Fall Procedures Drills; Begin Formation Flying; Chain & Toss in the Air

Sel’n placed a sheet of blank parchment at each desk and then returned to his seat. Kaaoloth please call the weyrlings and inform them that today’s lesson will start in the classroom before moving to the training field. He felt the brown’s acknowledgement as a gentle brush on his mind before the room lapsed into silence. Blissful silence it was to. With Vanity napping happily in his sling, there was nothing to break the silence.

Attention Zodiac Class. Lessons will begin shortly. Please have your riders report to the classroom. The lesson will start there and end with an exercise on the training field. You are welcome to sun with me on the field as you wait for your riders.

Well nothing broke the silence until the first weyrling entered. Giving a nod of greeting to each as they entered Sel’n waited for them all to seat themselves before beginning. “Last lesson we practiced hand signals. Today we will be taking a test on terrain recognition. Before you is a blank sheet of parchment. I want you all to draw a map of the weyr as seen from the air. You are allowed to use your dragons as help if you need them.” Pausing he nodded to his desk. “After you are finished place the completed map on my desk. Once everyone has finished we will start the next part of the lesson.” Turning on his heel he paced back to his desk and lowered himself onto his chair. Nodding to the weyrlings he spoke. “You may begin.”



Zodiac Weyrlings

Meira of Gold Jingth
R’men of Bronze Weith
Merridan of Brown Chaoth
V’rael of Brown Taith
R’ahre of Blue Ahth
M’kai of Blue Futh
T’lor of Blue Shith
L’ka of Blue Lith
K’lir of Green Baoth
Nephele of Green Nuoth
Mina of Green Kunth
Anusha of Green Minth
Kalia of Green Huath

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Running Attendance

Meira of Gold Jingth ~ 10/10
R’men of Bronze Weith ~10/10
Merridan of Brown Chaoth ~9/10
V’rael of Brown Taith ~9/10
R’ahre of Blue Ahth ~10/10
M’kai of Blue Futh ~7/10
T’lor of Blue Shith ~8/10
L’ka of Blue Lith ~4/10
K’lir of Green Baoth ~8/10
Nephele of Green Nuoth ~10/10
Mina of Green Kunth ~8/10
Anusha of Green Minth ~10/10
Kalia of Green Huath ~9/10

* First # is times attended lessons, last # is the number of lessons that have been ran.

** There where a few lessons that did not get played Icly because we didn’t have a weyrling master. I counted those as played Ocly**

** You MUST attend lessons to graduate. Exceptions will only be made for those with special circumstances. If you approach me with a viable reason for your absence, I will decide whether or not to excuse you. Make up work is permitted but it will be done on your time not mine. Please contact me with any questions. ~ Sel’n **

[Ember]

Lesson time, was Nuoth's rather cheery announcement. Her wings fluttered as she waited for Hers to react. "You're awfully happy...what's up?" Kaaoloth says you are to go to the classroom and then later we'll be doing excercises at the training field. He invited us to sun with him while we wait four Ours. Nephele smiled and hastened to her beast. Of course the green was cheerful. She never felt unwelcomed at lessons but neither did she feel welcomed. Her clutchmates did occasionally praise her flying but beyond that she had no friends in their class.

They arrived at the barracks quickly enough and Nephele quickly dismounted, leaving the green free to go sun with the others. She entered the classroom and blinked. What was with the papers on the desks? Note taking was tedious...She smiled semi-flirtatiously at Sel'n before taking a seat in the front at the far end of the room. Waiting for the class hopefully wouldn't take too long. It was an understatement to say she wasn't fond of being delayed by the other weyrlings. She had other things she'd rather do during free time.

The task they were given made Nephele a little worried. She wasn't the best at drawing. She thought she knew the weyr well enough by now to be able to draw it but the quality...She pushed such thoughts aside as she began sketching her home, occasionally double checking with Nuoth while she soaked up the sun. Lucky beast, lounging around while she had to work. The green was amused at the thought but let it slide as she always did. Sometimes she wished Nuoth would banter with her. Oh well, adoration al lthe time was pretty good too.

Nuoth had landed in the field gracefully while Hers was still waiting for classmates. She greeted Kaaoloth with a faint croon as she approached. Even on the ground she had an easy grace that even Hers envied on occasion. How was it fair for such a big creature to be so graceful? The green settled on a spot a respectful distance from Kaaoloth and bespoke him. Greetings Kaaoloth. Are you and Yours well? Polite as ever.

[Avu]

Jingth spiraled, the gold dragon flaring both wings wide in an obvious delight in her flight as she swept neatly into the training field to land, one efficient backwing setting her down gently; her eyes whirled in rapid pleasure at the grace of her descent before the young dragon turned her head to look at Meira. A low croon burst from her throat and she crouched, watching as Meira dropped from her shoulder and loosened the straps for Jingth’s comfort, leaning momentarily against the queen. Jingth’s muzzle gently touched her forearm before the gold turned away, eyes spinning rapidly, to look towards Kaaoloth. Our Weyrlingmasters are waiting, MeiraMyLove. Come quickly. Her wings flared and a little glide took her neatly towards Kaaoloth.

As Meira started towards the classroom, Jingth fluttered her wings quietly before she immediately sprawled flat on her belly against the ground, content to stretch, catlike. Her head turned to dip towards Kaaoloth and the young dragon offered a pleasant croon towards the brown. She liked browns, did Jingth; they were nice. Better than bronzes or blues. Fair skies, Weyrlingmaster, she offered quietly, resting her head idly onto her forepaws. She was scarcely the picture of elegance and grace that she had been in the skies, but Jingth didn’t seem to care. She was comfortable.

Sliding into the classroom, Meira caught Sel’n’s nod and dipped her head in silent response, awkwardly chewing on her lower lip as she sat down, leaning against the desk slightly as she brushed against Jingth’s mind. At least the dragon was happy where she was. It didn’t take long for the others to arrive, anyway, and the Weyrlingmaster began to talk. And with each word, her stomach dropped a little. She wasn’t good at drawing. She wasn’t bad, but she wasn’t good either and maps rather evaded her. It was one thing to have it in her mind – and another entirely to be able to put it accurately on paper. Uhh. She picked up the pencil, twirling it experimentally in her hand, before she applied it to the paper. Started by sketching, yes…? Just a rough idea…and then add in the details.

Jingth, love – please help me? she inquired, nervously.
Always. Of course. the gold replied immediately. What do you need me to do?
The Weyr, from above, we need to draw it – could you provide me the image, dear?
There was no verbal response, but the image was flashed into her mind and Meira bowed her head, gratefully brushing against Jingth’s mind, starting to add in the Selenitas River and the buildings located on it. Hopefully Sel’n wouldn’t mind if his students were…artistically challenged? After she’d finished, the goldweyrling flashed the image to Jingth for approval, anxious, and the gold’s wordless affirmation that the image was (roughly) correct was beyond reassuring.

She stood up carefully, still glancing over the drawing to make sure she hadn’t missed anything as she made her way to the front of the room and set it down on Sel’n’s desk. Jingth touched her mind again, eager, with a hopeful, Are you coming out now? but Meira gave no response, uncertain, and the gold settled for flipping her tail idly as Meira dropped back into her seat and resisted the urge to glance around to see how far her classmates were.

~*~*~

A map. A map. Really?
Why are you asking /me/? Ahth inquired. The blue was curled, flat on his belly in a position not unlike that of the Terran sphinx, along with his clutchsiblings, eyes half-lidded lazily. He had nothing he wanted to say to any of them at the moment, after all. What’s wrong with a map? A brush of irritation was the answer and Ahth gave a quiet rumble. Does your definition of a map differ from mine, MyR’ahre? It’s just a picture of a place, isn’t it? That’s /easy/. A map of what? Curious, the blue peeked into his Rider’s mind and his eyes whirled in shades of amusement. Do you need my /help/?

The way he said ‘help’ made it derisive. The dark blue dragon’s eyes lidded again as he curled up, dropping his muzzle onto his hindquarters. R’ahre twitched, tapping the end of the pencil against the desk irately. Maps. Maps weren’t bad in general but he couldn’t make a map. He wasn’t a – er, whoever it was that made maps. He wasn’t. Sigh. The pencil tip etched out a vague, curved line that followed the line of Selenitas River, the bluerider tilting his head and scrunching up his nose in distaste as he marked X’s in the place of the buildings. He’d fill those in later, hmph. Proportions would probably be off a little, but ah well, and Sel’n was just crazy if he thought he’d get all the trees. They’d just be a mass. Labeled ‘trees’.

If Sel’n had a problem with it, oh well.

Stupid, Sylph informed him privately, wiggling from her position against his back – just shy of his right shoulder blade. Her claws tickled against his skin and R’ahre resisted the urge to squirm; she’d been most adamant about going to Lessons because she wanted to see if she could find any new targets, and R’ahre hadn’t the energy to argue with her. Head, in is. Ripping for paper. Her claws tapped again, and the green Salamandyr slid upwards, fortunately using his clothes to pull herself up rather than his skin; her head peeked over his shoulder slyly, watching interestedly as R’ahre added a shapeless mass to the paper. TREES, he’d written in. The buildings were simple rectangular shapes, labeled in abbreviations.

Is it very terrible? Ahth inquired, sounding vaguely amused as R’ahre crinkled his nose, added his name to the corner, and then stood, ignoring Ahth’s question along with Sylph’s mental stab of irritation as she toppled backwards into his shirt again. Up to the front he went, adding his paper to the pile, before flopping back into his seat, careful not to squash his Salamandyr as she poked her head out of his shirt again and licked the corner of his jaw. Bad Hers. Hmph.

[Rowana]

Lesson time! Chaoth called out pleasantly. He butted Merridan affectionately with his head, nearly knocking her over. Auran squawked at him, annoyed at having his perched disturbed. "Wow, Chaoth," Mer had to take an extra breath to recover. "You're getting too big to do that you know." Chaoth was very big, nearly the size of a small bronze and packed with muscle. Mer couldn't have been more proud. "Come on, you big lump," she chuckled. "Let's go before you squash me with love."

Chaoth dropped Mer off at the classroom. Are you going to go sun with the others? she asked with a wave. I thought I would do some exercises first, he admitted. Mer smiled knowingly. It wouldn't be a crime to relax for a while, you know. Exercises are relaxing, Chaoth retorted cheerfully. He landed in an open space near the others and began flexing his wing muscles with some of the flight exercises. Good day, everyone, he said pleasantly. Are you well?

Drawing was not something Mer was good at. Her lines always seemed too squigly and her objects out of proportion. She frowned at her map and added another ridge by the river. That looked a bit better. Vikky jumped onto the page and bounced on her large back feet. She would fix it! It would be perfect when she was done. She picked up a charcoal and made a long, ugly line down the middle. "Vikky!" Mer hissed, with a worried glance at Sel'n. She didn't want to cause trouble. She picked the fire lizard up and set her aside on the table. "It's fine, silly. Leave it alone." She looked at Auran on her shoulder. "I thought you were watching her?" The blue looked at her balefully. He couldn't be expected to watch the pesky thing all the time.

[Ruby]

Futh flapped heavily towards the Barracks, coming in a little low. Despite all the extra work the pair were putting in on the side, the Blue still had trouble getting all of him off the ground and keeping it there. Futh was just heavier than his clutchmates, heavier, wider, and more solid. There was simply more of him to move with less area. M'kai didn't care, of course, not in the slightest. As long as Futh was healthy, he was happy.

Settling at the door, he let his Rider dismount, Reina in tow. The green would not be left behind today, no matter how M'kai pleaded, so she had come along. As they dissapeared inside, Futh hop-waddled over to where his clutchmates were gathering, as usual looking like he didn't quite have his legs fully under control. He didn't even notice, though, and if anyone stared or teased he was oblivious. Ahth was there already, so he headed for the other side of Nuoth, not wanting to disturb his blue brother. Hello, everyone, was his elegant greeting, with an extra nod for Kaaoloth. When could they start?

M'kai was still settling Reina in her favorite "throne" on his shoulder when class began. He'd taken a desk in the exact center of the classroom, just for fun, and examined the blank sheet before Sel'n told them what to put on it. A map? Well, that was easy! Part of his training back at Benden had involved accurate sketching. Something to do with "interrogation and bargaining", which as far as M'kai was concerned had always been a poor misnomer for "spying, but we don't want anyone to be suspicious". He had never mastered it to the level of the Harper teaching him, but he was still certain to be better than some of his classmates. He quickly marked the paper out in a light grid, and reached out to Futh.

Foo, can you hold the image of the Weyr from above very still? I've got to draw it, Futh complied without question, and M'kai quickly filled in all his little squares. This was WAY easier with a dragon to help, especially when Futh was as... steady as he was. He didn't even flinch when Reina, bored, dissapeared from M'kai's shoulder only to re-appear in front of Futh's face. M'kai added his name to the blank side, and labels to buildings and important landmarks in a tiny scrawl, then turned in a fair rendition of his mind's image. Only back at his seat did he realize that Futh was still holding on to the image with all his might. You can let it go now, FuthLove, M'kai said gently, watching as it dissolved. Was that good? Futh asked anxiously. Perfect, was M'kai's ony response. His dragon WAS perfect.

[Rei]

Sel’n tsked as the last Weyrling turned in their map. Such a small class this time. Attendance was lacking. Shame really. Some of them should know better by now. Perhaps it was time that he concocted some horrible punishment for those skipping lessons? Standing the brownrider cleared his throat. “Alright. Now that the classroom part of the lesson is over I am going to give you a choice.”

He regarded the weyrling’s sitting in the desks before him curiously. “Today we are scheduled to go over emergency fall procedures as well as fire stone chain and toss in the air. Firestone training is still a few lessons away. I figure we can learn to chain and toss anytime. Today we will learn emergency fall procedures but in addition I want to teach you some defensive maneuvers to be used if you ever find yourself in dragon on dragon combat. Today we will learn basic maneuvers if you are interested.”

Sel’n scanned the class for reactions. “It is up to you of course. Think about it as you make your way to your dragons and let me know your decision after you have spoken to your mindmates. You are dismissed to the training felid. If you associate with any of your absent classmates let them know that they are still welcome to arrive late. However, If they do, they will have to take the test before they join the rest of us.” Standing up the brow rider gestured to the door before heading out himself.

Kaaoloth gave greetings to each of the arriving dragons as they arranged themselves more or less around him. Yes Sel’n and I are well thank you for asking. He remarked to Nuoth before rumbling happily to her. Polite his Nuoth was. (Kaaoloth considered all his weyrlings his.)

Jingth got a croon as well. Fair skies to you as well my dear. Nice his gold was. Very polite as well although it was easy to see the vainness most of the golds possessed. Young Jingth still was.

Ahth got a croon as well even if none was offered in return. Antisocial the blue appeared but Kaaoloth was not in the least put out. It took all types.

Chaoth was offered a bemused head tilt. Yes we are well. Odd that the brown would not take advantage of a brief respite. He might wish he would have at the end of the lesson.

Futh got a pleased croon. Hello Futh. You look well.

Pleasantries exchanged, the brown lay his head upon the ground and lidded his whirling eyes. The sun felt good today. All to soon it seemed the riders returned and Kaaoloth opened whirling green eyes to his rider’s touch. Ready friend? Today we will be doing maneuvers if the weyrling’s wish it. Always. Better question would be, are you up to it? You still look tired. I am fine. Turing from the large head with a final pat, Sel’n looked at his class. “Well what will it be?”

[Sheari]

There were no words to mark that anything had been done. The actions spoke for themselves, a routine that was well practiced and simply executed as it had for a while. Weith no longer woke His up by touching his mind. The futileness of that seemed to drag on almost mundanely. The bronze simply pulled the covers off of the bed, gently with his teeth, and nosed the drowsy and mildly annoyed man until he rolled and landed on the floor. R'men pushed himself up and sat against the bed. Her rubbed the sleep from his mind and shook the cobwebs from his head. Oh how he hated having to wake up in the early morning.

He deftly dressed and straightened his hair, splashing water on his face. Hurry up Mine, we will be late![/i] R'men just grumbled. He was not feeling well this morning and really wanted a mug of klah. Perhaps today's lessons would go by quickly so that he could hurry up and get one.

Climbing into the straps and tightening them down, the weyrlingpair launched off of the lip of the weyr, wings opening to catch them in their brief fall. Are you well, Mine? Weith's voice was coloured with concern. I'll be fine, Weith. Did you catch the lesson? You will be in the classroom today.[/i] An audible hum was the only reply. The pair landed, R'men slipping off and walking to where he was supposed to be. Weith went to a separate place from the group and curled up.

R'men looked at the blank sheet I think I have the right idea, could you confirm it for me? he asked Weith, flashing him an image before placing it down on the parchment. With a silent affirmation he proceeded to get to work.

~*~

Mine? We need to go to class. Kaaoloth has said that you will be in the classroom for the start.[/i] Anusha rolled over to see the green had woken up a while ago. Minth was curled up with head raised, watching Hers from the weyrledge. Her eyes whirled slowly in content, cool shaded hues of blue and green. Akos, nearly invisible for being maybe two inches long, rested on the end of her nose. He looked more a tiny scar than anything else.

The girl pushed back her blankets, stretched and pulled on a pair of sand coloured pants and a navy shirt. Hurry up, AnuMine.[/i] "I'm going, I'm going!" Anusha tightened the riding straps onto Minth before climbing up and tightening her own in. The green carefully balanced on her legs, haunches coiled, tail straight. They had been practicing and now her take offs were flawless, true they were slow, but the pair had yet to slip up. A clean launch from the ledge, wings snapping open, a glide into an updraft to the top of the canyon.

The green circled around and landed allowing Hers to slip off. Anusha walked to a seat in the class and looked at the paper. A simple enough task. Akos sat next to the stylus, his paws resting on the side with the ink on t, naturally. She drew and labeled the river and proceeded from there, little paws prints skittering across the page until she placed the Salamandyr in her pocket.

[Ember]

Map handed in, Nephele listened curiously to Sel'n's options. Emergency procedures hmm? That ought to be interesting. Her Nuoth was a good flyer and she picked up on things quick enough so it was never frustrating for the pair. She could see why they'd do the firestones chain and toss now but it also made sense to do firestone related things during the actual lesson for it. So what was the choice they had to make then?

She perked up immediately at the mention of defensive maneuvers. With attacks and whatever occuring around Selenitas any kind of combat training looked good to the greenweyrling. Her reaction didn't show on her face but she was quite excited at the prospect. Nuoth, what do you think? You up for it? With Hers so excited about how could she refuse? Certainly NepheleMine. She at the very least was decided. Defense maneuvers for her please!

Nuoth dipped her muzzle pleasantly at Kaaoloth's reply. He was a friendlier teacher than Inocenth had been. She'd gotten the distinct impression that Incocenth did not like being their teacher but it was obvious Kaaoloth liked them, if not the actual teaching. Her other clutchsiblings arrived and she returned the greetings of both Chaoth and Futh, assuring the former that she was doing well. By default she liked her siblings. None of them had ever done anything to her to make her feel otherwise about them.

Nuoth fluttered her wings and settled more to soak up the sun. She looked almost statuesque when her rider came out and leaned against her lightly. She raised a hand slightly to catch Sel'n's attention before saying, "I'd like to do the maneuvers." No reason was given but then none had been asked for or was really needed. Everyone knew why they might one day need to defend themselves.

[Avu]

R’ahre casually lifted one hand and ran his fingers through his hair, ending by swatting Sylph backwards into his shirt. The Salamandyr stifled a soft squeal of protest as she slid down his back, intelligent enough not to dig in her claws until she could latch onto fabric instead of skin. Her frill flicked, irritated, softly brushing against the small of his back, but R’ahre ignored her as he propped his elbows against the desk and rested his chin idly against his interlaced fingers. The Weyrlingmaster’s speaking made him turn his head slightly, eyes narrowing as they focused on the man. The idea of firestone training made him happy – very happy, even though there had been no mention of going between. Hmpff, were they never going to learn that…?

The choice they were given, though, dismissed the thought of between from his mind, and a smile spread across his face, widely, before he brushed against Ahth’s mind. Fighting. Want to learn? he inquired, not bothering to hide the approval in his tone. That was something worth learning. He’d seen dragons train for fighting before at Benden, and he knew how it was supposed to look – surely that already was an advantage over some of the class? Nevertheless, it would be interesting…and he did want to learn. Nothing more frustrating than being useless and unable to help if a fight did break out, and the Northern Weyrs did so love to attack Selenitas.

No. The reply was calm, thoughtful, but definite.
No – why not?
Because I am less than interested in learning how to inflict physical harm upon other dragons. There are more tasteful ways to go about battles.

His lips twitched into a faint frown as R’ahre stood, rounding his desk and starting for the training grounds as Sylph clawed her way back up to his shoulder and coiled her tail around his neck, the pale green Salamandyr hiding beneath his hair. “If you’d no choice,” he murmured under his breath, “I’d rather you knew how…” The words were not intended to be heard, for Ahth’s mind only; he didn’t even notice that he’d actually spoken aloud. Ahth always knew exactly what he was feeling and saying, after all. “Sylph, stop it,” he added, batting at her lightly as the green chewed on his earlobe, irritated by being swatted backwards.

There will always be a choice. Ahth’s words still retained the calm, definite, aloof tone, but he went on, Nevertheless, perhaps it shall be a tad more interesting than /Threadfall drills/. I shall indulge you. The slight lilt to the words ‘Threadfall drills’ made his opinion on such a necessity clear as day, but R’ahre didn’t argue as he strode to Ahth’s side and promptly settled directly in between the blue’s forelegs, leaning backwards against his chest as the dark wings gave a quiet flutter; as the Weyrlingmaster inquired as to their preference, his gaze darted up from behind his hair, which had fallen in front of his eyes, and he said softly, “Ahth and I vote for defense.”

~*~*~

I would like to learn how to defend myself, Jingth commented thoughtfully. The gold was sprawled on the ground, still, soaking up the sun that was falling upon her body. Part of her knew she was dazzling, the glow to her hide, and she knew that she wasn’t showing it off properly, but she didn’t care; she was so very comfortable sprawled as she was. Even if it was undignified, lacked elegance, the plowed-out position was nice. Still, that didn’t mean she wasn’t active mentally, and she was; the possibilities were blossoming even as she felt her Rider hesitate. Jingth brushed against Meira’s mind again, gently encouraging. It would be very helpful. I could, she pointed out, Protect you and the hatchling better.

Ummm, maybe… A quick glance around the classroom as the goldrider stood, shoving her chair under the desk automatically, and followed the rest of the class out towards the training field. One hand rose to tuck her hair behind her ear as she considered. It seemed like asking for defense lessons would mean accepting that Selenitas was, truly, definitely, irrevocably, part of the war, going to be attacked. On the other hand, not doing it was…naïve, stupid? Both words would fit, she supposed. Regardless, she was sure she’d be outvoted even if she chose the other way. And she could never deny Jingth, ever.

The gold gave a low, audible croon of delight as she made her way to her side; Meira’s chin lifted so she could meet the dragon’s eyes as she leaned against her, head falling against smooth hide adoringly, trustingly. One arm rose to wind as far as she could manage around the neck that dropped to her level, the velvet-soft muzzle pressing against her waist and her other palm, encouraging attentions. Her eyes were half-lidded pleasantly before Sel’n’s question made her turn back to the Weyrlingmaster, the picture of attentiveness (as long as one didn’t pay too much attention to the fact she was still stretched inelegantly across the ground) before she rumbled, low enough to be completely inaudible save for Meira.

“Defensive, please,” she said softly when it came around to her, feeling somewhat like an echo of the previous votes. Nobody really wanted to do any Thread drills, after all, and for her, it didn’t seem to matter; there was no queen’s wing anymore, no need to fight Thread, and therefore there wasn’t likely to be an emergency mid-Fall for her. She wouldn’t have minded it for the other weyrlings’ sake – it was important, after all – but…if they didn’t want to, that was their prerogative, she supposed. Besides, anything was worth the flare of adoring pleasure that she felt from Jingth at her words.

[Ruby]

The Blue was shifting on the ground, trying to display his purple spots to their best advantage. The brown thought he looked well! That must mean he was REALLY looking good- Kaaoloth was an authority figure, so he automatically had the right answer. Thank you, Futh replied, practically glowing. As he was sitting closest to Minth and Nuoth (and both were green), he sent them a private thought. I like Kaaoloth. He is a good teacher, I think, the Blue added, tilting his head slightly.

M'kai eyed R'ahre sideways when defense lessons were mentioned- both Weyrlings had taken them as Candidates at Benden, although R'ahre had far surpassed M'kai. M'kai himself was just a little too clumsy to be truly good at it, although he wasn't bad (except compared to Cr'oph). Whether the other Bluerider noticed the look or not, M'kai had already made his decision. He could protect himself if it came to it, but Futh knew nothing, and M'kai couldn't protect both of them. He got up, heading outside as he contacted Futh.

Futh unconciously mimicked his rider's sideways glance, tagging Ahth out of the corner of his eye. While M'kai was comparing himself to R'ahre, Futh was thinking about what would happen if he and Ahth were paired up to practice with eachother (which seemed likely considering the attendance today). Ahth was fast, and sneaky, and certainly capable of inflicting serious damage and making it look like an accident. I'd... rather not, he commented to M'kai. I need to work on my formation flying anyway, don't I?

M'kai went to stand with his blue, absently stroking his flank. The dragons were almost full-grown now, and he was still surprised at how big Futh had gotten so fast. When his turn came, he sighed. "I vote for defense, Futh votes against, so if everyone else thinks we should do it, I agree," he said, earning a disgusted snort from the blue. Sorry, Foo, he said without sympathy.

[Sheari]

R'men slipped the piece of paper on to the top of the stack and exited the classroom with everyone else. Kaaoloth's has given us a choice; firestone chains or defense.[/i] The man looked up with a tired expression as if looking at Weith would help him think more clearly. No, looking at the bronze did not help his thought process at all. I am just not up to anything today, Weith. There was a pause, I can tell by the fog.[/color] R'men looked around confusedly before shrugging his shoulders. Everyone else seemed to have chosen defense drills.

Family fun for all.

"Defense," he called out, not really caring if it was out of turn or even if he was heard at all. A firestone chain sounded like it required throwing things. Possibly redoing things if one person slipped up. Then again, defense they might be doing mock battles. R'men hated thinking in retrospect. His vote had already been cast. Oh well.

~*~

Oh, that looks really good, Mine,[/i] commented Minth as Anusha sent the green an image of her paper as she turned it in. She walked out to the training field and stood next to Minth, leaning against the dragon's shoulder. Akos crawled out of Anusha's pocket and slithered up to his usual perch; the very top of Minth's head. From there he could see everything! He felt so big and tall like the others...but he wasn't...so the effect wasn't quite complete. He sent His an image of a rock. "Go get it," Anusha said. The 'mandyr spread his wings and leapt off to collect his fancy.

That was odd.
Indeed it was.[/i]
You up for drills or firestone?
Say firestone, just to be different,[/i]

The woman contemplated for a moment. With the way things looked, the class turning out so small today, she mused they'd go for defense either way. "Firestone," she said. Yes, she had said it for the sole purpose of being different. She was feeling devious today.

[kat]

T'lor took up his sheet of paper, taking a seat and getting to work right away. It was no hard task, drawing a map of something he'd seen only a hundred times now. Shith was more than willing to help fill in the blanks, and maps were something T'lor was already quite efficient at. Travelers had to follow maps more than anyone, and he'd had his fair share of reading and filling them in. So, his sketching was pretty decent, and sharding accurate, if he did say so himself! He smirked, sketching in the different areas, almost sorry that he didn't have colored inks to fill it in with. Perhaps he would get a map of the Weyr done up after this, made by himself truly! Or maybe, there'd be a weaver who would be willing to do a tapestry of a map of the Weyr. It would look nice in his room, after all--if he could get a hold of the marks for it, of course.

Do not forget to add the tree over there, or over there, T'lormine!

T'lor grinned at the enthusiastic additions--though they were rather more details than anything--that Shith sent. He always noted things like trees or larger plants, for some reason. He also knew where all the larger rocks to sun on were! T'lor sketched those in, too, adding some shading to the rendering here or there, wishing all of a sudden he had more time with this map. Still, most had handed theirs in, and he was amongst the last to do so. He walked up to the front and placed it on the desktop, rather reluctantly. Perhaps he could ask for it back, later. He was sure Sel'n wouldn't mind.

Then, they were instructed to leave the classroom and head out to the dragons. Shith was waiting for him, and he blinked twice, once again caught off guard by how big the blue had gotten. He was so unusually marked, as well, that T'lor had to smile. His patches had not faded in the least, instead, he reminded T'lor of a canine pup he'd had when he was younger. Really, the markings that were more like patches were quite endearing. However, in the next moment, they were being asked if they'd like to do defense maneuvers. Well, they could count him in! Defense, in his mind, ranked up there in importance. Everyone on the caravan had been taught it, drilled it, and knew it. He felt Shith ought to, as well. It would aid if there were ever another attack.

I wish to learn, mine![/color] Shith agreed affirmatively, sealing the deal as far as T'lor was concerned. The blue's tail thumped the ground as if to emphasize his eagerness, and he bared his teeth comically, rumbling a low sounding growl. He hadn't ever stopped with the amusing body motions or facial expressions, either. Nor had he completely stopped wanting to mount Jingth, even though T'lor tried to keep that under wraps. At a turn of age, the blue should have been thinking more on greens than a gold, whom he would never catch. Still, some lessons had to be learne the hard way, and he had a bad feeling that Shith would actually dare to try and compete with the bronzes when Jingth rose. It'd be a hard lesson learned, for sure!

"Shith n' I are all up for it, Weyrlin'master. Ah think it's fairly important we know how to defend ourselves, just in case, yeh know what ah mean." He was sure Sel'n did, and he smirked wryly. Shith would know how to protect himself, if T'lor had any say in the matter. [/size]