Roads Weyrlings Lesson 2

[Rei]

Roads Weyrlings Lesson 2 (From ~ July 19 - Aug 15)

So I started this lesson a little late >> Because I fail I’ll give you guys a bit of a break on post numbers this lesson. I’d still like to see at least three posts each. It’s not too much to ask. ~ <3 Lessons always run better with more people. ^^

If you have a * in front of your name that means you have completed the last lesson adequately. If you have a X that means you did not get enough posts in last lesson. Three X’s and your weyrling WILL be held back unless you have a valid excuse. Consider this your only warning.

Your dragons are four months old by this point.

Roll Call
* Ke'von of brown Ontehth (Sebz has a current absence post so will be excused this lesson)
X C'lan of blue Asiryth
X T'ri of blue Arhenaiyth
* N'rik of blue Ophiuchusth
X R'lyeh of green Keqesith
* S'vil of green Adaityth (adoptable)
* Roselle of green Tserieth
* Isori of green Aikelyth
* Qaena of green Khiraeth (adoptable)

1 post
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~~~~

Kaaoloth spread his wings out and glanced at the overcast sky. Hmm. Looked like it might rain. Or perhaps it was cold enough that they might get a little snow. They were certainly close enough to the mountains that it should be possible. A glace was given to the young dragons surrounding him. They had begun the lesson this morning with wing exercises, which they were still performing. A encouraging croon was given the youngsters. Very good. Now copy me again. This time be careful so that you do not lose your balance. With that the large brown reared up onto his hind legs and slowly beat his massive wings, being careful not to direct the air from them at his class. Just a little longer and then our riders will join us for the next activity. He promised the little ones, eyes whirling in a placid shade of green.

Sel’n glanced back at the young riders running with him and grinned. For the most part his group was always on time and punctual. Made things nice. He didn’t have much in the way of trouble makers in this group besides T’ri. Which reminded him. If normal threats were not working he might have to ask E’rro or S’rei what might be done. Or maybe he’d just convince Darya to pay T'ri a visit. She had been a Weyrlingmaster at one time as well. There had to be some type of motivation he could use for that kid. Pulling off his shirt mid stride, the brownrider pivoted to trot backwards and offer some words of encouragement to the weyrlings bringing up the rear. “Almost there! Just around this bend and then a final sprint to the dragons. First one there gets to start our next exercise.” With that the older man turned and put words to action, sprinting the last few yards to the waiting dragons.

Today’s group activity should be rather amusing. Well at least for Sel’n. Easing to a stop beside Kaaoloth the brownrider wiped the sweat from his brow and tossed his shirt over his shoulder before turning towards his panting weyrlings. “Bit of time to catch your breath before I explain today’s activity. You’ll need to pick a partner so you might as well all do that while you’re waiting.”

[dragon]

Aikelyth paid attention to Kaaoloth, and reared up on her back legs properly to beat her wings as he instructed. But her attention was not solely on the instruction and activity. A shimmer of worry reflected in her eyes as she suppressed the urge to drop and take off running after Hers. She didn't like being alone ... more specifically, she didn't like Hers being alone! Especially not in the jungle. There were scary things out there!

But, just in the nick of time, the rider group was approaching again, led by Kaaoloth's. Aikelyth breathed a sigh of relief and concentrated better on her wing exercises. Glad to see you survived your jaunt, mine. She greeted.

Isori offered a mental snort, but didn't reply otherwise. She was too busy trying to breathe adequately for the run in the damp air that was so very oppressive. At least it wasn't hot damp air. Nevermind she was plenty hot and sweaty enough! She tried to listen to what Sel'n said past her breaths, going so far as to hold her breath for a few paces to better hear him.

Running she was good at ... she was even a half decent sprinter. But endurance running? Not so much. There was only so far that she could run before she started struggling, her body burning for both air and from the strain to keep going an cover that ground.

But ... but but ... she hoped the next activity was a fun one, because she was going to be the first one there if she could help it, if only to have a few more moments to catch her breath!! Breaking out of the slower distance running pace into her more familiar sprint, Isori took off on her long legs for the dragons. Shards and shells if someone else beat her there!! Once there, she collapsed to a seat off to the side, gasping and panting for air lest she get dizzy. "Dragon riders ride. Not run. Why are we running?" She asked, more out of curiosity than contempt of the activity.

[Ivy]

Green and honey flecked brown eyes were fixated on the Weyrlingmaster up ahead of her as she jogged. Sure she was rather well put together physically, but still she was breaking a sweat and getting rather winded from this. At least Sel'n was too. Idly Roselle understood why T'ri was cutting lessons - she'd much rather be curled up in bed or really doing anything else other than running right now.

The females and younger ones try hardest. To prove something? Tserieth asked her bonded as the group of weyrlings jogged closer to where the young dragons were.

Something... like... that... Even her mind-voice sounded winded, pauses between each word as she replied to her Green. She could see her now, up ahead with Sel'n's Brown doing some wing exercises. Despite the heat coming from her body, the sweat rolling down her brow, and her being tired - Roselle broke into a smile at the sight of Tserieth.

The Green's attention was back on the larger Brown now, she'd managed to get a spot closest to him as she mimicked his movements with her own wings. She looked a bit awkward, yet graceful all at the same time as she flapped her wings up and down just like Kaaoloth.

[Rowana]

N'rik loved running. He liked to think he was very good at it. How else had he kept slow adults and bigger children from catching him all this time? Even so, never until Weyrling Lessons had he ever done this much running! Shards, was Sel'n trying to kill them. It wasn't long before N'rik was falling woefully behind the others. Even after an exciting growth spurt (during which he was sure he would rise to the tallest in his class) he was still painfully short and with the short legs that went with it. Long runs and fast sprints just weren't in his skill list, no matter what he might boast.

Nothing, however, not even poor endurance would keep him from being among the first to the next event. Anything had to be better than this! With a last burst of energy, the young boy managed to not be completely last when he finally flopped down next to Ophiuchusth. His dragon regarded him with dancing eyes, while Alph hid salamandyr chuckles from his perch on the young dragon's head. "Laugh...while you...can...you two," N'rik huffed, glaring at his mindmates. "Wait...till you...try it." Alph runs, the creature reminded reasonably. Blue brother has wings. Wings are for flying, Ophiuchusth added with a nod of agreement, a bit of an odd movement for a dragon, but he'd be picking up odd traits from all over lately.

"So? Alph has...wings...he doesn't...fly...either!" N'rik retorted with a triumphant look. Logic wasn't important to him, only winning the argument. His dragon kin opponents apparently needed time to consider that, because they paused thoughtfully before changing the subject. Who will be our partner? Ophiuchusth asked instead. "Huh?" distracted from his victory, N'rik just realized what Sel'n was telling them. Partners? N'rik didn't like choosing partners. For starters, he was still unsure about most of his class since most of them were so much older. Ke'von was a good guy all around, but he couldn't see him just yet. The only ones in the immediate vicinity were two of the girls.

N'rik eyed them with a mix of fear and uncertainty. It wasn't that he didn't like girls, far from it, but he didn't feel as comfortable around them as he used too. It probably had to do with the voice changing and the growth, or lack thereof, he'd gone through recently. He vaguely recalled his brother's mentioning something about it before he'd left. Well, Isori and Roselle were alright for girls he supposed. Shrugging, he strode over to Roselle, the closer of the two. With a look that made it clear he wasn't sure he wanted to do this, he held out a hand. "Partners?"

[Rei]

Kaaoloth watched all his weyrlings carefully and crooned in appreciation. Very nice. Well done all of you. Dropping back to all three of his legs he kept his wings partially unfurled for a moment before closing them completely and dipping his head to lightly nudge Tserieth, mostly because she was the closest to him. Now off to join your bondeds so we can get the next activity underway. Whirling green eyes examined all of his smaller charges. The large male was highly protective towards them all. Not to mention fond. His weyrlings they were, until graduation and would be even beyond that. A soft croon was offered to his rider. They are all yours now Selmine.

“Thank you Kaaoloth.” Slipping his shirt back on Sel’n regarded all of his weyrlings with a light smile. “As Isori spoke he chuckled. “Yes it is true that dragonriders ride. But we need to stay fit and agile. Our job is more then just sitting lazily astride a dragon. It’s a physically demanding job made all the more so difficult by the size you mindmates will grow to. How often have you seen a fat dragonrider? Not very often. Believe me one day you’ll thank me for the workouts.” Moving closer to his charges he gestured to Isori.

“You won the race my dear which means you’ll get to start the activity after this one.” Pulling out a few blindfolds he offered one to each weyrling. “Today we are going to work on letting our dragons ‘rescue’ us. This activity will help you better understand the link between your dragon and yourself. Your dragon will be blindfolded and you will hide from them. Once you have hidden yourself you will use your mind link to let your mindmate borrow your eyes. They will have to use your vision in combination with mental cues to find you. The partner activity will come after this one. So after you find your partner I need you all to blindfold your dragons and then split up and find somewhere on the training field to hide.”

Moving over to Kaaoloth he placed a hand on the brown’s single foreleg. “The training field is plenty big and has plenty of cover for your purposes. Avoid the river and if you see a red ribbon do not move past it. We have cleared the marked areas of any dangers so going past the ribbon is not something you want to do.” He motioned for Kaaoloth to crouch. “If you need anything or have questions about linking with your dragon have your dragon contact Kaaoloth and we will either do our best to explain or be there as fast as we are able. We’ll be watching you all from the air. Try and make the exercise difficult for your dragon. Once your dragon has found you tie the blindfold around your own head and let them lead you back to the center of the training field with their eyes. If you have no further questions you all may begin.”

~~~

Do not worry if you do not have a partner yet. You Won’t need one for a post or two yet.
I will be playing the adoptables as Npcs for those of you who do not have a partner.
If you have any questions feel free to Pm me or grab me on the cbox. ^^

[dragon]

Isori's mouth formed into an 'O' as she was handed the absolutely massive blindfold. They were going to what?! She cast a look at Aikelyth, who just looked back at her placidly.

What, you think I can't do it?

No, dear. I don't know if I can do it! Isori answered, tentatively walking over to her darling green and wrapping the blindfold around her face and tying it on. "No peeking." She admonished unnecessarily. Aikelyth was a very competent dragon, despite being green. Isori felt safe in Aikelyth's company ... there was nothing she couldn't handle.

The same couldn't exactly be said for Isori. Despite the posturing and bluffing she did, there were times when fear and uncertainty certainly gripped her.

You'll be fine. I know what I am doing.

"Of course you do, love." She paused and looked around for a moment, before jogging away from the group again, this time searching for a place to hide. Not that Aikelyth couldn't hear her trotting away. So she slowed to the stealthy escapee-in-the-middle-of-the-night that she and her twin had perfected back at the hold. Sneaking away on light steps, she moved on to find a suitable place to hide. Finding a tree, she circled around behind it and considered her choices. Jungle it may be, but there really wasn't a whole lot of hiding places from a dragon. Spotting a spot that had a lot of mushrooms in it, she stepped over there and sat down. Okay.

On cue, the young green rose from her seated position and started walking. No sooner than had she taken ten confident steps, she impacted a fallen log and face planted on the other side of it. Gathering herself up and snorting dirt out of her nostrils, she moved her head as if she was looking around. But instead she was using her own ears and nose, while trying to tap into Isori's vision. If Isori couldn't see in return, it wouldn't be very helpful at all.

Dropping her head slightly, Aikelyth moved out again, this time with a tid bit more caution for her toes.

[Rowana]

N'rik eyed the blindfolds critically. He hoped Sel'n knew what he was getting them into with this exercise. It was a good one, sure, but it had it's ups and downs for him and Ophiuchusth. Sighing, N'rik began to tie the clothe of Ophiuchusth eyes. He probably needn't have bothered. In the bright daylight, all Ophi could make out were the fuzzy shapes and colors of his siblings, their riders and the trees. He could do exercises and the like just fine on his own, but moving around much was tricky without guidance.

Fortunately, N'rik and Ophi had been working on sharing their sight long before this for just this reason, so the first challenge was easy enough. N'rik picked a large tree and climb up into the first branches to hide behind the leaves. Ready or not, Ophi! Ophiuchusth easily tapped into the boy's sight and used his ears to make his way slowly to the tree. He had a few misturns and near misses, but at least he didn't fall on his face. Soon, N'rik had hopped down onto the blue's back with a grin of victory.

Now for the hard part. Are you sure this will be safe? Ophiuchusth asked as N'rik untied his clothe and put on his own. "Nope," N'rik admitted with a sigh. "But we can't just give up without trying. Just try not to let me fall into the river." N'rik made a face at the thought. He was a good swimmer, but falling in blindfolded wasn't his idea of fun. I will try, Ophi promised solemnly. N'rik started off as confident as one could be when one couldn't see.

Tapping into Ophiuchusth's eyes was harder than opening up his own and it took N'rik several tries before they succeeded. When he did, he almost wished he hadn't. Why didn't you tell me it was this bad? he asked, worry and anger mixing in his mental voice. It would not have changed, Ophi pointed out, unconcerned. Besides, with your help, it does not bother me. N'rik wasn't so sure about that. How could anyone be alright with only seeing fuzzy shapes and colors? When Ophi looked at something that was too brightly lit, it even hurt! Four steps later, N'rik caught his foot on a rock and skinned knees and elbows as he crashed to the ground.

Oh no! Are you hurt? I said it was a bad idea, Ophi wailed unhappily. N'rik sat up and started to dust himself off. It's nothing, he insisted. He'd had far worse on several occasions. Besides, he was started to get the hang of Ophi's odd way of seeing in the daylight. But maybe say something next time? Right. I will try harder.

[cailan]

C'ln was running so late as he got out of the barracks and was putting on his clothes while his blue dragon was still sleeping. "We're so late," said C'ln as he finished putting on his boots then awoke his dragon quickly and grabbed some meat quickly. He got some meat for his dragon feeding him and didn't have time to get himself some food. While he got on the back of his dragon and they ran following the shouts of the others. It was horrible that they we're this late for their lessons.

He arrived looking around at the others and saw then heard the directions that we're given. The directions included finding a partner and looked around lost. It seemed that everyone else had a partner and he sighed. C'ln realized that they had to find a partner and hoped that someone new showed up for them to have a partner.

[Ivy]

Roselle eyed the much younger Weyrling as he came up to her. "Partners?" he'd asked. To this she just nodded. Better him than being stuck with Isori. Her attention went from N'rik to Sel'n and she listened intently. Hide and seek? Tserieth was secretly delighted by more games, but Roselle felt as if most of the lessons had too many games. Surely being a dragonrider was more than playtime, right?

Either way she did as she was told - after all she didn't want to be on Sel'n's bad side. She wrapped the cloth around Tserieth's eyes, Think you're up for this little one?

I am not little. And yes. I am.[/color]

Roselle rolled her eyes before taking off in a light jog. She ran diagonal from her dragon until she found a large bush. Hiding in it she peered out - she could see her Green from where she was, as well as Sel'n. I'm ready if you are.

Tserieth began to walk, slowly. She hesitated before each step as she was having a hard time figuring out how to 'borrow' her rider's eyes. Even when she managed to do so, she got confused. Instead of heading to where Roselle was hiding she headed right for Sel'n - bumping into the Weyrlingmaster.

Tserieth! Roselle scolded as her cheeks flushed when the Green nosed his side before turning and fumbling forward a few steps.

If you hadn't been so focused on Kaaoloth's then I wouldn't have run into him.[/color]

Roselle turned brighter red where she was hiding. She did her best to try and lead her dragon to her. It was a slow process but eventually Tserieth managed to get to her bonded - this was something the pair would obviously have to work on. Now it was Roselle's turn, and she was dreading it. Pulling the blindfold off her Green she tied it around her head and took a moment to adjust. She couldn't see a sharding thing with the blindfold on, and it made her nervous.

Standing still she tried to see through Tserieth's eyes. It took a few minutes before she finally got it and she staggered forward a few steps as she peered through her Green's eyes. I don't like this.

Be careful. Rocks ahead., Tserieth said, seeming non-plused by Roselle's discomfort. Getting Roselle back to the center of the field didn't take as long as it had for Tserieth to get to her, but still they weren't the quickest of the bunch. Finally where she was meant to be, Roselle took off her blindfold. "Well let's hope neither of us has to be rescued by the other any time soon."

[Rei]

Sel’n chuckled as Tserieth bumped into him and gently nudged the green in another direction. “Easy there sweetheart. It’ll get easier soon I promise.” Giving the young green a pat as she nosed his side he watched a couple of the other dragons for a minute, wincing as Aikelyth took her tumble. He relaxed when the young green seemed to be unharmed his eyes traveling to the rest of them before he mounted Kaaoloth and gave the brown a mental nudge.

Kaaoloth rose into the air swiftly as the weyrling pairs began the exercise and rumbled in contentment as he circled above the training field. Massive wings spread wide in a glide as they cut through the air. They do well Selmine. Yes they seem too. If only a few of them had a better work ethic. The majority do fine. You speak of Arhenaiyth and his yes? The older rider snorted and relaxed in his seat occasionally glancing down at the weyrling dragons as they bumbled their way to their riders. It is an issue you will fix I have confidence. With a half amused smile Sel’n gave the brown’s neck a rough pat. Better watch what you say wherface. I might start thinking you love me. That would be a terrible thing indeed.

Banking Kaaoloth reached out to brush reassurance against those pairs that seemed to be having trouble and praise to those who seemed to be performing quite well. We have a late arrival. Shall I explain to him the exercise? Sel’n snorted. Might as well. The large brown reached out to Asiryth and briefly explained the activity before stalling n a hover to take a final look at how his class was doing. Satisfied and with the first pairs already arriving at the middle of the training field Kaaoloth descended and back winged to a landing crouching to allow his rider to dismount before arching his neck and crooning affectionately to the young dragons. You have all done very well! I am proud.

Sel’n ran a hand through his windswept hair and grinned at his class as he unclipped a bag from Kaaoloth’s side. “Very well done! I think that went rather well. You all performed nicely.” Striding over to his students he set the bag down the started to remove some weapons from it. Lining them all up neatly he smiled at his class. “Our final activity for the day will be picking a weapon. We will then practice hand to hand combat with a partner of your choice. You will each take a belt knife. Then you will pick another weapon from the ones here. That will be the weapon you choose to specialize in. Over the course of your training you will be instructed in how to use the weapon and by the end of the course you should have at least a basic grasp on how to use it. Ability comes from experience. None of you will be a master by the time you leave me but you should know enough to keep you alive should you ever be thrust into battle.” With that he gave them all a unreadable look and stepped back. “One at a time please and then find a partner and line up. If someone is left out you will be partnered with me.” With a short nod he waited for them all to comply.

Kaaoloth by this point had hopped back to the edge of the field. Once there he sprawled out and crooned invitingly. You may come here and lay with me while you watch yours if you so desire my young ones. Your part of the lesson is done for the day. There was certainly no harm in cuddling with them all a little while the riders put on a good show yes?

~~~~
Pick a partner for the next part
The weapons you have to close from are

Bow and arrows
Dirk
Throwing knifes
Weighted gloves

[dragon]

Getting to the end of the staggering around blindfolded was a trick. It was something she was going to have to practice that was for sure. Mostly because she seemed to get a woozy sense of balance when she couldn't see where she was going, staggering this way and that. But Aikelyth was a bit help there, sometimes offering her snout to Isori's hand to keep her steady.

Once she was there, she was all too happy to take the sharding thing off. Tucking it into her belt, she waited expectantly. Finding the next item to involve weapons, Isori blanched just a bit. Of course, she should have expected this somewhere along the way. She considered what there was, accepting the belt knife that was apparently mandatory. After some consideration, she finally chose a bow and quiver set. It was probably her best bet, all things considered. Turning about to see about finding a partner, she leveled a finger at one of the other weyrlings. "You." it was all she said, but really ... need she say more? If the other was too dense to know what that meant, then she really didn't want to partner with them. What Sel'n had said was clear enough, she thought.

Now, she would wait for further instructions. Because right now she was pretty sure she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from the inside with the weapon of choice. But rising to a challenge was something she was particularly good at. Who knew, maybe she could get M'kai to help her practice later on?

Aikelyth trundled across the clearing to go flop down across Kaaoloth's tail. Resting her head on her front feet, she watched the riders. Will this be dangerous for mine? I am worried. I don't want mine hurt.
(tagging someone to be Isori's buddy??)

[cailan]

Cailan stood around trying to find a partner while his saw someone saw you and then looked around then said, "Me," as almost questioning iet. He said, "Okay," assuming that she had meant him though he might actually be wrong. The blue weyrling chose bows and arrows because it might be the one weapon that he might be able to use. While his blue
Asiryth was still behind him and he waited for further directions as he sized up his potential partner. He was thankful that the other lesson was over and that they ha a new lesson to start on.

It was a strange event that they would even have to use weapons when they rode dragons he put it off as one day they might be in a tough situation. C'ln really didn't care how to use weapons yet would learn what was required. The blue weyrling waited as he saw the others and didn't mind someone new the more he thought about it. His blue was looking at the green and he had to roll his eyes at this situation. A problem of Asyrith's was thinking that he was more then just a blue sometimes it seems.

[Rowana]

N'rik undid his blindfold and stood proudly. They had done well, hadn't they? At least they bothered to show up, unlike some people. N'rik could understand wanting to skip Candidate Lessons, but Weyrling ones? This was important if they wanted to retake Selenitas! Well he cared about training Ophiuchusth right even if half the others didn't care. He just worried about the dragon's eyes. He could see fine at night, but during the day it just got worse and worse. They were going to have to work hard on sharing sight to overcome that problem.

Seeing the pile of weapons made N'rik grin. Maybe if he'd been more closely involved in a real battle, he wouldn't have been so excited. To him, however, it was like getting to play with all those things your parents always told you not to touch. Now they were really treating him like a rider! He selected a knife that felt light in his hand and frowned at the other weapons. Bows looked too hard and he didn't really fancy a longer blade since it looked heavy to swing. The gloves were tempting, he'd been in plenty of fights when he was younger, but in the end he went with the throwing knives. That would give him a chance to sneak up on an enemy and he loved sneaking around. Carrying the blades carefully over to an open spot, he waved Roselle over when she'd picked hers. Much as he wasn't sure he wanted to fight a girl, it didn't look like he had many other options today.

Ophiuchusth made his way slowly over to Kaaoloth, a big, fuzzy, brown target even in his eyes. He flopped down happily in the shade of one of the trees near the older dragon's nose. He couldn't really see the teenagers from here, but N'rik would let him see once he was ready. Mine is excited, he commented thoughtfully. Is this a fun game? Alph winded his way through the grass to flop onto the blue's head. Fun is good, he declared brightly. Ophiuchusth nodded in agreement, causing the salamandyr to hang on tight. Fun is very good, he answered.

[Ivy]

As soon as they were done, Tserieth began waddle-walking her way over to Kaaoloth. Crooning to the larger, older Brown she settled in against his side before anyone else had a chance to. Roselle rolled her eyes as she saw this, her Green was a bit obvious - and far too young to be flirting with the Weyrlingmaster's dragon. Making her way towards Sel'n she looked over the weapons he'd brought out. She was going to choose the throwing knives, but saw her partner had already grabbed some. So instead she eyed the bow - that might be worth learning.

Picking it up she looked it over and weighed it in her hands. Letting her fingers run over its length she smiled and grabbed the arrows that went along with it.

You're going to hurt someone with that. Tserieth piped up from her position next to Kaaoloth.

I believe that is the point, little one.

While her Green didn't bother correcting her, Roselle could feel her rumble in displeasure - this only made the young woman smirk. Making her way to N'rik she nodded a bit, "Nice choice."