Lesson 5 (Desert Weyrlings)

[Requiem]

Lesson 5 (14 Apr 11 - 11 Jun 11)

Desert Weyrlings

Gold Nitrath ::: Impressed to Caden - 100/85/75/55/0 - 63
Bronze Epifayrmuth ::: Impressed to Mo'rya - 100/85/95/75/0 - 71
Brown Tenloceth ::: Impressed to M'ze - 100/85/85/0/0 - 54
Blue Lketh ::: Impressed to Er'ani - 100/95/85/75/0 - 71
Green Sprith ::: Impressed to Ashlyn (Current Absence Thread) - 100/75 /75/75/75- 80
Green Katearath ::: Impressed to Leilani - 100/85/85/0/0 - 54

How Grades Work:
0 posts - 0
1 post - 45
2 posts - 55
3 posts - 65
4 posts - 75
5 posts - 85
6 posts - 95
7+ posts - 100[/size]

And so, as it turned out, his 'last day' with the junior weyrlings had come and gone and now the baby dragons were almost ten months old. Originally they'd kept an active eye on the class just as they'd claimed, but that lasted less than a full tenday; everyone had more important things to do than acting as a glorified babysitter to a weyrling class. Neither was M'ta southern or soft. Short of teaching the weyrlings to sabotage Wastelanders or something, his methods were not much different than any of the Benden riders' might have been. Today was a strange day, though. The morning run had been cancelled and everyone was called to show up in the classroom, the dragons left to their own devices.

And instead of his daughter, M'ta had a wingleader for a guest.

Sneak lifted his head to peer at each student as they entered the room, clearly searching for any of those interesting salamandyrs that he really didn't stare at all the time. He curled his tail around the thick roll of paper M'ta was holding and tugged at it peevishly. Why hadn't His brought the blue one, at least? The brownrider ignored Sneak just as much as he did the weyrlings trickling in. Woe to anyone who decided to be late, though. "...cross the ocean, though I can't fathom why," the man was saying to T'san. Clearly they'd been here for at least a little while.

It was time. A brief glance around the room to catalogue who was there and who wasn't, and M'ta oh-so-eloquently elbowed T'san lightly in the ribs in a gesture to get on with it. At the same time, he handed the sheaf of parchment to the nearest weyrling to pass out to the class: a blank map of the southern continent. Obviously not a visual aid for the current topic of discussion which was, of course, Flights. T'san thought it would be fun and M'ta didn't want to talk about it. Perfect arrangement.

Behruth was out sunning downriver of the waterfalls, on a semi-shaded beach. Or he would be sunning just as soon as the day brightened and warmed about more after this dawning hour. He welcomed the younglings to come down from their new weyrledges and join him if they wished, but made clear it was an invitation only in the wordless exchange; their riders might be some time yet. M'ta didn't often do classroom lessons and wasn't sure how long it would go.

[Ember]

It was way too early in the morning, T'san decided as he fought back a yawn. Sure he'd volunteered to invade the weyrling lesson but still...so early! The stolen mug of klah from the kitchen was raised to his lips and he took a long swig, ignoring the heat of the drink. Nevroti had his tail curled around the man's neck and was all but hiding in his hair. Or trying to, anyways. The brownrider thought he'd managed to wake up early enough to avoid having the blue cling to him in fear during a whole lesson but apparently not. Why the firelizard insisted on putting himself in such situtions, T'san would never understand.

When M'ta stopped talking, he grinned and commented, "Feisty thing, ain't she?" He wasn't expecting an answer to his rhetorical question, especially not since it was about time to start the lesson. The elbow was apparently the silent signal and he chuckled. "Hey, brats," he started off. He really didn't care if anyone chose to take offense. He meant none and if they chose to take some that was their own problem. Plus, it'd be amusing if they did. "My friend the midget here decided I'd be better to teach you about what happens when dragons decide to get funky than he would."

Let it never be said that he was a stiff, boring teacher. "By now I'm hoping you guys understand the bond between you and the winged idiots that chose you. Happiness, sadness, hunger, whatever. You're stuck feeling some of it too, and vice versa," he said with a smile. He could talk badly about dragons but he could never actually mean it. "But...I'm getting a little ahead of myself. Does anyone not know what happens during a green or gold dragon's flight? Or salamandyrs' runs, for that matter?" He doubted, at this point, that they wouldn't. He'd said it earlier himself; they get "funky."

Dsoleth stretched on his weyrledge. A bit too early yet for good sunning but he might as well keep Behruth company if His was going to be preoccupied with M'ta anyways. He slipped off the ledge with a distinct lack of grace though he caught himself well. He couldn't be considered old just yet but he was certainly more experienced than some in Selenitas. The brown made a wide turn and headed towards Behruth. He landed a polite distance away to avoid scattering too much sand on the other brown. Fair skies, Behruth.

[Kisha-Ra]

Mo’rya was somewhat surprised that the morning run had been cancelled, that was normally on come rain, shine, or erupting volcanoes. Alright maybe not that last one but only because no volcanoes in the area were in the habit of erupting. That could only mean that there was going to be something worse going on, and whatever it was Mo’rya was going to have to face it with an excess of nervous energy, and one blue salamandyr. Wit was a regular lesson attendee, mostly because at any moment he might need food, affection, or something else only his bonded could give him. Sometimes it even seemed like the salamandyr paid more attention to the lessons than the weyrling he looked to.

Mo’rya had the fortune, or lack of it, to be first in the room, and closest to M’ta when something needed passing out. On examination of what he was handing around, the first handout ever, Mo’rya guessed that filling in the blank places would be a job for the class, probably for lessons to come, and therefore resolved that if this was the case he’d be finding one that was already done to look at.

Okay, the bronze weyrling thought once he was seated, this was not the topic that handout had led him to expect. He wasn’t convinced any of his mindmates were idiots though, well maybe Evil, but the honey loving blue seemed to be pretty wise at getting what he wanted, so really not even Evil. Did he feel things Epifayrmuth felt? The weyrling rider examined some of his own responses and found that yes, he did, at least some of the time. What did this have to… oh so this was, broadly speaking, about sex then. Well there was no need for him to get too involved with this discussion, he was far too young for girls, and apparently so were Epifayrmuth and Wit, Evil hated females and Ghost was one so they were discounted from his current thoughts.

Epifayrmuth reacted to the wordless invitation from his teacher by kicking away from his newly acquired weyrledge to join the brown. He found Behruth pleasant and restful company as well as a fine teacher, and besides, his own ledge wouldn’t be catching full sun for some while yet. The bronze landed as neatly as possible on the sand and sent a wordless greeting to both the adult browns before he arranged himself in a sprawl on the sand.

[Rei]

No morning run? Yeah that was just weird. In a way it even made Er’ani a little jumpy this morning. By now he was quite used to exercise every morning. Except if, Faranth forbid, he got ill. Which he hadn’t been in a long time. A curious glance was given the taller rider that was near M’ta. Hmm. Just who was this and what was he doing here? The albinowyerling quickly took a look around the room at his other classmates and then just kind of half slumped down in his chair. No running was bad enough, classroom time was worse. Since when did they ever sit around in class like this? The times had been few and far between. Silently the teenager accepted the blank piece of paper blinking at it in slight confusion before the taller man caught his attention with the greeting.

Hey brats? Wha? This brownrider, by his knots, seemed like he was a bit off. Did someone drop him on his head when he was little? Another glance given to his classmates before the guy continued and Er’ani paid closer attention. Obviously M’ta brought this guy here for a reason. But for what one the albinowyerling hadn’t the slightest clue. The teenager had to actually bite his lip to escape laughter as the topic became clear however. Dragons. Getting funky? Meaning mating obviously. Why didn’t this guy just come out and say it. It wasn’t like anyone here was twelve or anything. Well there was nothing for it the albino rider finally decided. If no one else would speak up he would. So without further fanfare Er’ani sat up and blurted out. “Yep they get horny, fly around for awhile making a lot of noise and end up having sex and bringing you along for the ride.”

Lketh didn’t even have to consider the offer when it was given. Social interactions were always interesting to him and the pale dragon liked spending time with those he was close to. Siblings and teacher included. There was no Er’ani his to fix goggles upon his eyes nor cover his hide in sun balm but the albino was well used to dealing without on occasion. Thus he quietly pushed past the curtain that kept the interior of his weyr shielded from the sun and walked out onto the ledge. Leaping off it he glided to the location the others were already sprawled in. A chirp and croon, that was Lketh’s traditional greeting, met all those present before the albino settled himself onto the sand near his bronze sibling. The sun was not yet bright nor harsh enough to cause the male any discomfort so he elected to stay near the others until it got bright enough for him to relocate to the shaded areas.

[Ruby]

No morning run today; Caden made a mental re-arrangement of her schedule. After lessons and before dinner she should have enough time to do it on her own. Maybe she should see if Er'ani wanted to come, he always seemed to enjoy it. She'd ask Mo'rya too, except that he really didn't seem to enjoy running, really. Maybe she should ask M'ta, too? Or see if she could borrow Teri? It would be nice to have the little girl along, to sing her something as she ran. Help her keep in time. She'd understand if he said no, of course, and... wait.

She'd finally reached the classroom, and Teri was gone, a Brownrider in her place. He looked familiar, although Caden couldn't place him, which seemed to be true for most of the bronze and brownriders these days. Nitrath wasn't shy, maybe she knew the Rider's dragon. Regardless, what was he doing here?

Caden didn't always do well with change, and this was no exception. The blank map was sensible enough, normal, but Caden had a theory on what this lesson was. She had vague memories of the first one she'd had; as a thirteen year old "boy", she'd sat in the back of the class and giggled with her friends, turning pink when they wondered which dragon would fly whose and ignoring the rest of what that implied. Then she'd learned quickly what could happen the first time Smath chased. He hadn't caught, hadn't even come close, and Caden had managed to keep most of her head together, but she'd still come out begging him never to chase again. Of course, they spent less than a turn together after that. There weren't that many opportunities.

It scared her. Being on the other end of that was not something she ever wanted to experience. Can you just not ever Rise? she asked plaintively, glancing awkwardly at Er'ani and Mo'rya (him especially) as T'san confirmed her suspicions, asking if anyone could explain what happened. Oh, she knew. There was no way she was saying a word. Instead, the Goldweyrling had to clench her fists to keep her hands from shaking. She dropped her eyes to her lap, doing her best to control her legs and her teeth, all of which felt like they wanted to shake right off her body. M'ta would know, truly, why she seemed so nervous - Nitrath's maiden flight wouldn't be the first time she experienced flight, she'd just be on the wrong side of it this time. Would the chasers know? What would they do?

It didn't matter. She hated being scared, but when that came it would. No sense in worrying about it now. It took Caden a second to realize that this line of thought was heavily Nitrath-influenced; the gold had elected to stay on her ledge for now, focusing on making Hers more comfortable. Well, that was fine with Caden. Unballing one hand, she added to Er'ani's light-hearted explanation, "Usually the male that wins takes the female whether she likes it or not. On the human side anyway, it's usually the female that chooses in the skies. And then the others - the other humans - they look for release too. It's not always pretty." I would never choose someone you did not approve of,[/i] Nitrath said, trying to calm Hers again. I would never hurt you. Could never.[/i]

What if you don't get a choice?

[Requiem]

Lesson 5 (14 Apr 11 - 11 Jun 11)

Desert Weyrlings

Gold Nitrath ::: Impressed to Caden - 100/85/75/55/45 - 72
Bronze Epifayrmuth ::: Impressed to Mo'rya - 100/85/95/75/45 - 80
Brown Tenloceth ::: Impressed to M'ze - 100/85/85/0/0 - 54
Blue Lketh ::: Impressed to Er'ani - 100/95/85/75/45 - 80
Green Sprith ::: Impressed to Ashlyn (Current Absence Thread) - 100/75 /75/75/75- 80
Green Katearath ::: Impressed to Leilani - 100/85/85/0/0 - 54

How Grades Work:
0 posts - 0
1 post - 45
2 posts - 55
3 posts - 65
4 posts - 75
5 posts - 85
6 posts - 95
7+ posts - 100[/size]

The typically punctual were on time, just as the typically late were late. M'ta didn't bother with the notion of waiting any longer for them. If they happened to come in later they could have a lovely one-on-one chat with him about it, where he would quite happily make them just as uncomfortable with the topic as he was. Yes. He could be quite vindictive at times, the short brownrider.

Speaking of things to be vindictive about...M'ta crossed his arms over his chest, the glower on his face clear indicator that T'san would not get away with the midget comment in the end. (Even if he was grateful to have the man giving the lecture, no matter how tripped out on fellis T'san sounded.) The Weyrlingmaster snorted openly at Er'ani's response. Just couldn't handle the circumlocution, could he?

M'ta almost audibly sighed at Caden's comment. "Riders bonded to females are just as eager as those bonded to males. It's an...instinctive imperative that you won't really understand until you go through it, unless you happen to have a salamandyr. If there are any regrets between the two parties involved, it's always afterwards, and it can be just as uncomfortable for the riders bonded to males as it is for those bonded to females." His eyes lighted on Caden. "This is not Benden," he added. "We do have Flightmoths here. You'll also find that some riders volunteer that service for others they have befriended or just because. Dragon Flights are well-regulated and nothing to worry about." Didn't need the goldweyrling freaking out all the greenweyrlings.

Behruth was not nearly so formal as Dsoleth. We can hope. A long day ahead. Crooning in welcome to the two younglings that chose to join them as well, he shifted his wings slightly, resettling them in a more comfortable position. Epifayrmuth, Lketh, this is Dsoleth. He and His lead one of the wings and they are very interested in you and all your classmates. He'll be flying with you today where I cannot.

[Ember]

T'san ended up chuckling at Er'ani's answer. Not quite what he'd asked but it was a good summary of events. "Got it in one, kid." His eyes flicked to the goldrider of the group and even he almost sighed at the answer. The brownrider was from Fort but he understood enough about the environment Benden Weyr had been to understand the concern. He couldn't say her fear was entirely unfounded considering the fac that they were currently hosting Wastelanders. The brownrider let M'ta say his piece before snorting. "You'd have been fine without me here," he grumbled lightheartedly.

"A lot of young dragons pick dragons they know and are comfortable with for their first flight. Not all of them, but a fair number of them." T'san glanced at M'ta before diving into more sensitive matters than general knowledge of flights and what happened. "I suggest that once your dragons are mature enough to handle it you find a person you're comfortable with to have your first sexual experience with if you haven't already. While flights at Selentias are well-regulated, as M'ta says, they're still...bestial. You'll be caught up in it along with your dragon but it's better to have your first experience elsewhere."

He didn't want to freak anyone out but he figured it would be better for them to know beforehand what they'd be getting into. "Also, I'm sure they covered this in candidate lessons but unless you're a participant, steer clear of the flightrooms during a flight unless you want to be a moth. Some people have more control than others during flights but most won't ask questions if you're in the vicinity. I think that's about everything? Any questions?"

Dsoleth dipped his head in agreement. Yes, quite a long day ahead of them. Especially considering the hour they were up. The brown wasn't as lazy as His but even he wasn't normally up quite so early in the day. The two weyrling dragons to join them were offered a greeting rumble as Behruth introduced him. It's a pleasure to meet you two. I know I'm no Behruth but I hope we'll get along. My apologies ahead of time for IdiotMine, Dsoleth said to the both of them.

[Kisha-Ra]

Well Er’ani’s explanation at least had humour to recommend it, Mo’rya thought, but he’d prefer something a bit more straightforward as an explanation. Still you could always rely on Er’ani to add humour to an uncomfortable situation. Apparently Caden wasn’t in the mood for humour today though, she looked distinctly uncomfortable for some reason. Well, she was a self-possessed kind of person, so she probably wasn’t looking forward to Nitrath’s Flight at all.

Or maybe she was nervous for some other reason. That thought arrived as Caden began speaking, far more clinical and much, much, less humorous than Er’ani. Mo’rya hoped a sensible comment from M’ta would make her feel at least a bit better about things, although if Caden was from the north (which Mo’rya probably should have work out by now, but had managed not to) he could understand why she was nervous, those wastelanders seemed a horrible bunch in more ways than one and they were northerners. Plus their dragons would probably be the main competitors for Nitrath, in fact there was only Kierjaarth and Epifayrmuth who weren’t wasteland bronzes. Maybe Caden did have a point with her worrying.

Once that was over it was Mo’rya’s turn to be nervous, as their guest continued, and went on to mention getting on with having their own first sexual experiences. At least it didn’t look like he was going to call anybody out, although the fact that Mo’rya was staring at Wit instead of looking around would probably give him away. He was definitely too young for that sort of thing, and besides who could he actually ask that kind of question? The only girls he felt comfortable with were in this class and they all felt more like his sisters than potential girlfriends, or whatever.

Ah, questions, well Mo’rya wasn’t going to ask any, this had gone one for long enough. Things would turn out all right in the end, they normally did.

Epifayrmuth looked more than slightly interested in the notion of flying, his eyes showed sparkings of amused colour over Mo’rya’s nervousness though. Honestly the way these humans carried on about it anyone would thinking mating was an insurmountable obstacle rather than a simple natural function. Most silly. The young bronze shifted slightly to look over Dsoleth more closely, interested more than anything else, though the brown’s purpose in being here was clear. Today must be devoted to flying longer distances than Behruth could manage.

[Rei]

Er’ani rather thought his comments where spot on. Sure he was just a tad uncomfortable about the topic. Still a virgin and all, although he’d seen the act plenty of times. It just wasn’t something he ever actively pursued. There were a lot of other things on his mind besides sex. Like dying hatchlings, Lketh and his issues, his dead brother being actually alive, and keeping M’ta as a teacher. Yeah sex just never ranked all that high with him, whether the topic made him nervous or not. At any rate the albinoweyrling dealt with the topic of flight like he dealt with all other topics that were painful or uncomfortable. He made light of them. It was his way to dealing. He’d let the others fidget on the outside for him. Like Caden. A mild frown was offered the goldrider along with a worried glance. Was she okay?

Dark eyes flicked to M’ta as the Weyrlingmaster started to speak. Er’ani was as used to Benden ways as Caden was. When a flight happened you got the hell outta dodge if you were anywhere close. Especially if you were a bit of a gangly kid like he was. So he could understand her worry a bit. But Selenitas still wasn’t Benden, not even with the Wastelanders around, as M’ta so kindly explained. So it should be fine right? Accidents happened sometimes. But less likely here? The albinoweyrling’s eyes went from M’ta to Caden to Mo’rya before finally settling back on T’san.

Find someone he was comfortable with and have sex with them? Okay….yeah he’d get right on that. He couldn’t even talk to a girl without falling all over himself let alone kiss one. On top of that the number of people the albinorider actually trusted was quite small. Meaning that he couldn’t even count them on two hands. More like one and possibly a half. So what was he supposed to do? Waltz up to some random stranger and ask them for help? Yeah not doing that. So that left him with his classmates. A quick glance was given them all as he tried to swallow the lump in his throat. So that left asking who? Caden? Did he even want a girl? That was a question he didn’t even know how to answer. Did he find boys attractive? Er’ani’s brows furrowed as T’san asked for questions. Yep needed to clown his way out of this one too. With a straight face he raised his hand and then blurted out. “I have a question. How do you know whether you’re gay or not?” Yep he went there.

Lketh tilted his head as Behruth spoke, red eyes moving to regard Dsoleth with interest. The brown was very interested in him? A quiet croon was offered the larger brown before the albino spoke. It is nice to meet you as well. No apologies are necessary. The young dragon didn’t get why some dragons apologized for theirs. It was not as if they dictated the actions of their riders after all. Pale wings flicked as the albino shifted closer to his bronze clutchsibling and then bespoke them all. We are traveling far today? Why else would Behruth not be able to go with?

[Ruby]

Caden fixed M'ta with an atypically harsh glare, but she knew that now was one of those times to keep her mouth shut. Really, she'd said too much already, and no matter what M'ta said she wouldn't be believing him until she saw a queen flight with her own eyes. T'san didn't exactly help, although he was trying, of course. Who was Nitrath supposed to pick that she knew? Epifayrmuth would never be able to keep up if he kept growing as he was, and Tenloceth was just as likely to have a hard time. As far as Caden knew, a Brown had never caught Millieth, and Nitrath was shaping up to be even bigger than her mother. That left her choices slim at best; Ja'kin was a decade older, H'nes two, and Mi'rah somewhere in the middle, not to mention that he seemed to be a complete failure. K'ian was at least less than a decade older, but she'd hardly had any contact with him, and as a Wastelander he had her automatic scorn.

So. What familiar dragon was Nitrath supposed to choose?

You worry too much, girl, Nitrath hummed, giving her rider the mental equivalent of a hug before dropping off her ledge, wings spread to catch her weight. It was a quick flight to the waterfall where her class was gathering, and Nitrath rarely passed up social opportunities. Plus, if she was able to cuddle up to Behruth, maybe Caden wouldn't glare daggers and Behruth's so badly. Her landing was still a touch rough - with so much of herself to haul around, she'd found it harder to adjust to touchdown that some of her siblings - but she managed not to throw sand on anyone, or fall on her face. Careful of her spikes, the Gold walked over to the small grouping, dipping her head at the two brown teachers. Hello, and I am sorry I am late. I had to speak with Mine; she is unnecessarily worried about what they are discussing in lessons today. Without further ado, she settled to the ground near Behruth, resting her head on her forepaws.

Once Nitrath had settled, Caden found her eyes drifting away from M'ta, anger fading as Nitrath's love for the brown bubbled to the surface. Instead, she found herself watching Er'ani, trying to figure out how the Albinoweyrling could treat this like so much of a joke. Mo'rya was quiet, although Caden expected that; the Bronzeweyrling seemed to have a rather sensible view of the whole thing, which was that it was someone else's problem until he was quite a bit older. Er'ani, though, she couldn't figure out. Of course, having your gaze fixed pensively on your fellow classmate while he asked straight out how you could tell if you were gay was not something Caden knew how to handle well. Suddenly, inexplicably embarrassed, she felt her cheeks flame and dropped her eyes to her desk, picking intensely at a bit of splintering wood. This lesson couldn't be over soon enough.

[Ember]

No questions from the bronzeweyrling or the goldweyrling. The one with the albino had a question, though, and man was it out there. "Er...?" T'san intoned curiously. Was the kid seriously asking that? Apparently so. He glanced briefly at M'ta only to realize the brownrider had no intention of answering that question with him present to do so instead. Fun. At least neither he nor M'ta were homophobic. Both had once had a male weyrmate (though M'ta didn't know that about T'san unless Meira had told him and he doubted she had). The brownrider ran a hand through his hair as he quickly thought of an appropriate answer. The immediate one that came to mind was probably a bit too crass.

"If you find men, and only men, physically attractive that's generally considered gay. Not that you can't fall only for a person's personality, but that's more open or bisexual than strictly gay." So many people were wrongly labeled. T'san was frequently considered straight since he'd never been with a guy at Selenitas. Not that he really abided by any labels ever set to him. "I suppose you can also be considered gay if you hate women," the man mused aloud. Some did choose male partners for that reason too.

"Aaanyways, any other questions can be asked later in private if you like. I don't bite and I'm fairly sure M'ta doesn't either. I say we move onto the fun part now. Distance flying!" No need to mention that it was the real reason he'd been asked to join them that day. Behruth wouldn't be able to handle the longer distance stuff. "So, if you'd call your dragons we can head outside and get going." T'san glanced at M'ta before giving the class a cheery salute and heading out. The shorter man could ass anything he wanted while he got Dsoleth ready to go. Heya you big brute. Time to bring the kidlets for a flight.

What cute younglings, Dsoleth concluded. As a biased father, though, he rather thought his and Jingth's children were far cuter. As the gold winged in to land, the brown greeted her pleasantly. Greetings. For whatever reason, riders do tend to be rather concerned about that topic. Dsoleth could never fathom why. Just like he never really understood why they needed to eat so often. Oh well. To Lketh, he replied, Far enough. No further than Selenitas or Blossom Hold. Although, for unpracticed dragons like the weyrlings that much flying would certainly tire them out. It wasn't like they knew how far the Holds were, either. In fact, IdiotMine is calling me right now to get ready. Please excuse me. The brown winged his way over to the barracks in order to pick His up.

[Requiem]

Lesson 5 (14 Apr 11 - 11 Jun 11)

Desert Weyrlings

Gold Nitrath ::: Impressed to Caden - 100/85/75/55/45 - 72
Bronze Epifayrmuth ::: Impressed to Mo'rya - 100/85/95/75/45 - 80
Brown Tenloceth ::: Impressed to M'ze - 100/85/85/0/0 - 54
Blue Lketh ::: Impressed to Er'ani - 100/95/85/75/45 - 80
Green Sprith ::: Impressed to Ashlyn (Current Absence Thread) - 100/75 /75/75/75- 80
Green Katearath ::: Impressed to Leilani - 100/85/85/0/0 - 54

How Grades Work:
0 posts - 0
1 post - 45
2 posts - 55
3 posts - 65
4 posts - 75
5 posts - 85
6 posts - 95
7+ posts - 100[/size]

Not so surprising, that the bronzeweyrling remained silent. He was, what, fourteen? Not younger than M'ta had been, but M'ta rather hoped that his case was not the norm, and so. Wasn't as if a man riding a male dragon really needed to concern himself with such matters. Caden's glare the weyrlingmaster affected not to notice; he'd had good practice, what with toddlers and a weyrmate given to perverse humors.

Er'ani's question, however, did provoke some reaction from M'ta, if only in the brief glance upward. Perhaps a request of help to some higher being in the effort to keep from strangling the boy. Difficult to say. He glanced sidelong at T'san while the man answered, but said nothing himself; the question was hardly a serious one, and even if it were, he still couldn't answer it.

M'ta wasn't even really sure what gay was. Oh, nominally he understood, and accepted the label with some measure of grace, but the brownrider couldn't say he was attracted to men particularly. Or women. On the whole, he weighed attractiveness on a scale of how much they'd sell for to the gambling houses at Bitra, and took some small measure of pride in the knowledge that he likely couldn't make the cut anymore. Mines. Yes...M'ta knew better than to voice that to anyone, particularly after R'wign's stares. Nor was it entirely helpful in this discussion. T'san's answer felt insufficient to M'ta, but he didn't much care to explore that any further. Er'ani wasn't really looking for an answer anyway.

M'ta smiled a rather predatory smile at the assurance that he wouldn't bite (his form of a joke, though no doubt the weyrlings would mostly miss it) before nodding to T'san. "We'll be gradually filling in those maps over the next couple of months," he said, eyes flicking over the wingleader's retreating back before returning to the class. He leaned against the desk beside him. "I'm working on getting permission to overnight at holds and make a trip of it. Don't hold your breath, but we'll see. Scoot." The small man shooed them out with a flick of his hand.

Behruth crooned his greeting to the gold as well. It does seem to hold more meaning for them, good and bad, the smaller of the browns agreed. He stood, stretching his body before tucking his wings back into his sides neatly. Behruth waited for the older brown to wing clear, then addressed the younglings again.We will fly as far as our wings will take us. I'm not sure what my limits are, either, so it will be an adventure for all of us. Dsoleth will stay with you if I can't...be sure to tell us if you're growing too weary, and remember that we must also make the trip back, so don't push yourselves past endurance. Come.

In short order the brown had settled near the barracks and M'ta had him strapped and ready for their departure, his daughter once again beside him. (Though he did not wish any ill for his dragon, he was still grateful for the circumstances that put him in this role; teaching suited the rider nearly as well as his dragon, surprisingly, and he didn't have to find alternative arrangements for his little one.) The short man gave the nod to T'san after he and his daughter were strapped in, one arm looped protectively around her.

[Ruby]

Oh thank Faranth. Caden relaxed visibly when the new activity was announced, her blush fading away. Distance flying she could do, and on Nitrath's huge, steady wings, she would certainly be able to keep up. Most likely they would have to turn around before the Gold was even tired, something that made Caden inordinately proud. The high-stamina dragon seemed to be her partner of choice; Smath had been able to keep up with small Browns if he had to, and Nitrath looked like she'd be able to out-stamina just about everyone. Maybe you do not have to worry about flight at all, Nitrath murmured, Maybe I'll be able to fly forever, and will never have to choose.[/i]

Caden rather liked that idea.

Rolling up her map, the Goldweyrling was the first to follow M'ta and T'san out of the classroom, suddenly very aware of her femininity in a way she never had been before. Like, really, ever. There was just the touch of swing to her hips, which she quickly smothered, focusing instead on moving as though she had something strapped to her spine (like normal). Her shirt was pulling across her chest more than it usually did, too. Suddenly glad that she towered over all her other classmates except Er'ani, she put on a scowl once again, stalking towards the dragons and clamping down on her (admittedly limited) imagination as she did. There was something very perverse about announcing an overnight trip to a bunch of hormonal teenagers who just got told to go have sex.

Nitrath mentally rolled her eyes at her rider, repeating the gesture physically once Caden was in eyeshot. Caden ignored her, strapping the Gold up and mounting as quickly as possible, forgetting for once the fiction that she'd only done this with this dragon. Everything felt more sensible when she was in physical contact with Nitrath - maybe it was the dragon's innate calmness spilling over or something, but Caden loved it. It felt so right. Where are we going, do you know? she asked, suddenly curious, and Nitrath repeated the question to the group as a whole. Where ARE we going?[/i]

[Kisha-Ra]

Mo’rya rolled his eyes, although since he was still looking at his desk it was a wasted gesture. Leave it to Er’ani to ask something that might take all day to answer, although Mo’rya supposed it might even be a relevant question. The answer however, was not a particularly enlightening one, how could you tell if anyone was anything-sexual with so many dragons, whers, and salamandyrs to confuse the issue? Was it even important?

Epifayrmuth leaned over to press his muzzle against Lketh’s shoulder in a silent gesture of affection to his albino sibling. He, too, was interested in where they would go and how far. A soft croon greeted Nitrath’s arrival, along with a low rumble at the gold’s comment. Mo’rya considers that he is too young to be concerned with mating.[/color] The bronze commented, letting his sister know that he was amused by the contrast between their riders.

Mo’rya instantly became alert at the mention of distance flying, that was really so much more interesting than any of that other stuff could be. Filling in maps seemed a little tedious to him, but if that was what it took to get to do the flying he supposed he could stand it. Maybe there’d be some interesting things to pick up on these trips. Mo’rya scooted out the room with aclarity when told, not bothering to look around as he did so. No doubt everyone would be scowling for one reason or another.

Epifayrmuth was almost as eager to be away as his chosen, though only the flicking tip of his tail betrayed that fact while he waited patiently for Mo’rya to arrive. Maybe it was only that the boy was unbothered by a topic that was causing the other young humans some difficulty but he did seem to be taking a long time over things today. Eventually the blonde boy did put in an appearance, and set to work with the straps almost immediately. It was definitely fair to say that Mo’rya was over his nervousness when it came to flying.

[Rei]

Er’ani’s eyes stayed fixed on T’san as the man answered and he gave a mild nod. Yeah. He already knew all that. Not like it mattered. The question wasn’t completely serious anyway. Regardless of whether or not he was confused about his sexual orientation. (He rather considered himself open anyway. He stuttered around girls but at Benden he did have one close male friend that he always wondered about. Well up until the kid and impressed and started treating Er’ani like dirt.) The weyrling actually uttered it more for joke factor and because all his other classmates were being so silent. He caught Caden’s blush nonetheless and swallowed in response. He hadn’t meant to upset her if he had. Better apologize. But later. Now so wasn’t the time. What would he say anyway? Yeah I’m sorry for making that more painfully awkward then it had to be? Dark eyes flicked from his teachers to his classmates again before the actual good part of the lesson was announced. Distance flying? Well he supposed that sounded alright. Lketh may not be as big as Nitrath, who was sure to be spectacular, and he wasn’t bronze but the albino was strong.

Only thing that sucked? That was a crap ton of sun, even with the protection sun balm would provide. They would have to fly in someone else’s shadow. Which would mean they would have to be careful of where they positioned themselves to help with air displacement. Son of a bitch. It will do Ermine. Do not forget my goggles. I won’t. The weyrling mentally assured his dragon before he quickly left his desk to gather all that would be needed. He exited a bit behind the rest of them and so was in perfect position to catch Caden’s readjustment of her walk. Why she wanted to walk all stiff like that he’d never know. Her ass was much nicer when she walked normally. Not that he’d ever have the balls to tell her that. Just like he didn’t have the balls to tell Erilena that when she bounced it made him want to stare. Well maybe it wasn’t so much not having the balls as it was not wanting to be knocked out by a girl. Ermine…. Please the matter at hand. Oh yeah that’s right riding straps. Yeaaah. He’d have to work fast. Outfitting Lketh would take much longer then the rest of his classmates. They didn’t have a almost full sized dragon to cover in protective ointment bah.

Lketh brushed understanding against Dsoleth’s mind. He had never visited a hold before. It should be interesting. With a companionable croon for his gold sister and bronze brother alike the albino rose from the sand and shook. And adventure? It sounded intriguing at the very least. Stretching near transparent and pale wings the pale dragon launched himself into the air to wing to the barracks and land beside his rider. As his rider got to work smoothing the protective balm over his hide with the help of Snowdrop Lketh stood completely and utterly still, wings outstretched so his could get those too before the goggles where fixed to his eyes. As Er’ani finally got to tacking him up he grumbled. “Sheesh. We need to cut down on the time this takes somehow.” Practice makes perfect. Lketh announced simply as his bonded finally managed to mount and settle into the proper position. “Yeah I guess. Either that or I have to acquire a slave.” He murmured stroking his dragon’s pale hide.