Wherling Lesson 2

[Requiem]

Dusk gathered. Whinny sat atop the barracks, her legs folded neatly beneath her, watching the hues that were an imprint of light that was no longer there roil near the horizon. She tugged absently at a piece of leather with her teeth, tightening the arm brace. A soft thud and the quiet shnick of nails clicking against the roof drew a small smile to her lips.

"Ah. Whisk. Come. Watch." He settled beside her obediently, dropping to his stomach and bringing his head within easy reach of her fingers. The two shared that moment until the lightness in the sky was all but vanished, Whinny letting out a soft sigh. "Et used tae be jest you an' me, Whisk. You an' me an' the dark earthy musk. Sometimes ah mess et." He huffed in quiet agreement, rising to his haunches and letting out a loud, whooping bark, a summons that any wher would recognize. Whinny gave off no indication of moving from her position. They wouldn't be staying in the barracks today, anyway. It was time to start training whers and handlers to recognize one another without the crutch of sight.

Whisk let out another series of short barks when the whers and their handlers began leaving the barracks, to make sure they could find him. He then fell silent, a dark shadow against the night sky. Only the peaceful blue/green of his eyes was visible to a human in this lighting.

The woman's face briefly pulled into a frown when she heard the clatter of the first pair mounting the roof, but it vanished just as quickly. She didn't turn or make a move. Waiting. Waiting for enough minutes that it was reasonable. Whinny was strict about punctuality - about everything, really - but she was a reasonable woman; she didn't expect anything that wasn't possible. "Come. Set. We haf tae spake about sum thangs...than we're goin tae the tunnels en the Weyr." Whinny still hadn't turned to face them.

---

Gold Rozsk, bonded to Rozen (Two)
Bronze Roisk bonded to Roivao
Blue Venusk, bonded to Venus (Three)
Blue Mask bonded to Malara (Four)
Green Cadisk, bonded to Cadil (Five)

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[Rei]

Mask exited the barracks first. His was close behind he could sense her. The blue wher stopped and swiveled at Whisk's next barks and he growled low. It wasn’t a threat just a noise to get the attention of his. Did she see? Up there. How were they to get there. Malara stroked her wher in thought and then spied a tree close to the barracks. “There Mask darling. That is how we will get up there.” She motioned towards the tree. Mask growled again the noise almost a purr as he rubbed his head against his. So clever his was. She was always so clever. She would go first. He would make sure no one crowded her.

Malara clambered up the tree easily. It reminded her a bit of the boats near Lighttower. That thought was pushed from her mind as she scrambled onto the roof. Mask leaped up after her, making both the climb and jump easier that she had. The blue handler got to her feet and approached Whinny, Mask at her side. The blue wher's eyes shot from passive green to yellow red as he settled on the roof next to his. He watched each movement with careful consideration. Malara absentmindedly stroked his head keeping herself silent. There was nothing really to say anyway.

[Rowana]

Roivao was second to exit the barracks today. Not that he really minded, he was not competitive by nature. Roisk, on the other hand was a little miffed to arrive behind Mask. Though they had so far avoided any direct confrontation, the bronze's opinion of the arrogant blue was no secret. Roi just hoped they would remain so tolerant of each other. With luck they wouldn't even have to interact after lessons were done.

Climbing up the tree took a little effort. Roi's injuries were still healing and pulled uncomfortably as he went. At least he was gaining his old strength back. It was a wonder what a few weeks of good food and decent rest would do for a man. Roisk jumped up after him, using the tree as a vault and his large wings to catch some extra air. The pair took their place next to Malara and Mask. Roisk sat protectively between His and the blue. No one would hurt anyone while he was around, and certainly no one would touch His. It seemed they were to wait for the others, so Roi sat quietly and without comment until Whinny decided to recognize their existence.

[ladybug]

Cadil made sure he was on time to the lesson. He was determined to earn his name, maybe not this lesson, but at least by the time he graduated. Cadisk followed placidly after him, looking up at the whers on the roof. "And just how are we supposed to get up there?" Cadil wondered aloud, and the green nudged him towards the tree. "Oh."

This had to be harder than it looked. Even as a child, Cadil hadn't done much climbing. He obviously couldn't stay down here, though. Cadisk gave him a push up and he grabbed at a branch, scrambling up the tree. He had a few close calls and scratched himself on the branches, but he made it, flopping down on the roof. Cadisk followed, eyes whirling in amusement at her handler's clumsiness.

It's too quiet here, Cadil thought nervously, nodding a greeting at the others before sitting down. Cadisk ignored Mask--she was scared of the blue, but she flicked her tail playfully at Roisk.

[hseru]

Fourth. The fourth ones to reach the place where fellow Wherlings were climbing up a tree to get on the roof. Rozsk was practically livid, but she kept the anger to herself and Hers, diminishing not an iota her calm composure as she slinked along beside Rozen.

They'd been awake for hours now. The pair had even been enjoying the rapidly dwindling dusky colors of the sky, a joy that Rozen had often liked, but had feared losing upon impression to her beloved whers. Now, being able to share it with the gold made the whole experience even better. Zeek watched with them, fluting and fluttering about. It was their reason for being late, actually. "We're not late, Rozsk." The girl reminded her gold, but the wher snorted her opinion on that matter. Anything less than first was late in her eyes. The brown flitter had been sent back to their room, grumbling the whole way, but Rozen knew he'd forgive her within seconds of their return, if he was awake.

She watched first Roivao then Cadil clamber their way up, noting which branches they used for anchors, then the almost painfully easy way their whers followed be comparison. She grinned just a bit -it's probably be even more different with her and Rozsk. The girl took a hold, and hoisted herself upwards, glad she wasn't a female who liked dresses. A few minutes had her at the height of the roof, and pausing to look with curiosity. What was the point of being on the roof? If anything, the mystery had her looking forward to another dubious lesson with their coarse Master.

She got herself up, and Rozsk followed with fluid steps, making very little noise as she landed on the roof, her large wings outstretched to allow her such a light landing. They joined the three already there, waiting in alert silence.

[topaz]

Venusk anxiously prodded His at the sound of Whisks call, and the girl protested only for a moment, and then got dressed. Peering outside her room as she tied up her last boot, Venus saw Rozen and Rozsk just pass through the doorway to the outside. Venusk playfully butted His on the back of the thigh to get her moving. He did not want to be late. No, no. Venus turned to pat the little slender blue on the head, and then headed out.

The pair was last, but not late, arriving just in time to watch Rozsk climb her way up the tree. What were they doing up on the roof? Venus quickly glanced up to see five sets of glowing eyes. As unaccustomed to wher behavior as she still was, Venus trusted Whinny as their wherlingmaster, and knew she wouldn't lead them up trees and onto buildings for no good reason.

With that Venus squared herself to the tree, feeling it with her hands at first, since there was barely any light. She could make out where the branches and knots were clearly enough, and could feel deep scratches where the whers had made their ascent. Having nearly no tree climbing experience, Venus made it up to the roof with a surprising amount of ease, and she was quite proud of herself. She then quickly took a place next to Cadil and Cadisk, waiting for Venusk. If the largest wher in the bunch could make it up, Venusk's slender figure should have no problem. Sure enough, the blue was up onto the roof in seconds, quickly heading to His and butting up under her arm. Venus smiled and stroked the blue's neck, sending him feelings of love and admiration for a job well done.

[Requiem]

Turning as the last of the wherlings filtered onto the roof, Whinny surveyed the new handlers and their whers with a critical eye, something halfway between annoyance and amusement touching her lips. The expression faded into her usual neutrality. "Yuh haf all notessed that uh bond with a whir es more than just hangin 'round tuhgether. Yuh feel eachother's emoshuns. Yer bonded gets upset when he - or she - can't sense yuh. This means goin an gettin drunk tuh the point that yuh pass out isn't good. They can feel yer pain, and they'll know when yer frightened or angry, and will respond tuh that. And yuh'll feel them. This means that yuh will have tuh learn tuh shield yer whir from yer pain at times, maybe even from yer emoshuns. If ye get angry and want to hurt someone, it's possible yer whir will respond by attacking, since yuh only communicate through emoshuns."

Pausing, she let these comments sink in. Then Whinny continued. "But before ye can learn tuh shield, ye must learn how tuh communicate. Tuhnight we are goin tuh the tunnels not bein used fur weyrs fur dragonraiders. Thar ye will be seprated from yer whir and he must find ye by followin yer scent, and by the sense of warmth an love ye must be sendin to 'im. So. Fiel' trip." With that, the Wherlingmaster rose gracefully to her feet and strode for the other end of the roof, Whisk bounding ahead. He jumped from the roof to the ground as the woman walked down the steps cut into the back of the handlers' apartments. The amused smile was back on her face. What were all those children climbing trees for. She was tempted to point out the back of the building as they descended behind her, since they clearly hadn't checked it out themselves, but refrained. That would just be rubbing their faces in it.

Whinny and Whisk led the small party to the edge of the cliff, descending into the tunnels running through the Weyr, now settling down as darkness gathered. The brownpair continued in silence until the musk changed, growing dustier, stale. The unused part of the Weyr. "Get yer whirs to stay with Whisk," Whinny commanded, waiting until the handlers seemed to have everything in hand. She herded the handlers forward, around the bend and out of sight of the six whers. Silently, she motioned each of the handlers to a door as they passed the empty weyrs, indicating they should go inside and close it. Halfway to the end of the hall, the woman turned and stood, nudging Whisk with a sense of loving expectancy. He urged the first of the whers to go in search of Theirs, waiting until Whinny prompted him again to let the next go, and the next.

---

GAME TIME! There are six doors leading into the six abandoned weyrs. I've sent (or will be sending if you read this too quick ) pm's to all of you with a quote or an image related to one of the numbers below. Reply to the post as normal, but put at the end the number responding to your riddle to see if your wher found your handler! There are prizes involved, to be revealed next time I post! Have fun!

1
2
3
4
5
6

[topaz]

Venus and Venusk listened intently to Whinny's lecture and instruction. Soon after the woman got up and began shuffling to the edge of the roof, Venus rose, but stopped. It might have been dark, but she could tell the woman was not going to the tree. Yet . . . as if by magic, she began descending down behind the building. Following tentatively after in the brownhandler's footsteps, Venus wanted to smack herself. Instead, she grinned widely and suppressed a laugh as the staircase revealed itself. Why the heck had everyone been going up the tree then? No matter the reason, Venus followed dutifully after her teacher, Venusk at her heels.

When they finally stopped in the pitch black recesses of the unused weyrs, Venus was very glad that her eyes had already been adjusted to the lack of light. Of course her sight was not even on the same range as her beloved Venusk's, but it was helpful none the less. As Whinny went over the instructions for the exercise, Venusk butted against Venus' thigh in his usual affectionate way, but there was a hint of yellow anxiety in his bright blue eyes. Venus smiled down at her blue, and caressed his head lovingly before they parted. As Venus followed Whinny, and was assigned her room, she continued to send her beast only the most adoring and reassuring feelings.

(Can I has numba two? 83)

[hseru]

Rozen could have laughed aloud at the stairs that materialized out of the gloom, but instead made a mental note to never follow the inclinations of others without first checking for herself. She'd seen them ascending and merely followed, and look what had happened. An interesting secondary lesson that had probably not been planned, but one she intended to take to heart, as the next time it might not be so harmless to follow another so blindly. Roszk shared in her amusement for the moment though, the gold following at her side with a smooth stride as the pair left the roof after the Wherlingmaster.

The walk through the caves near the rider weyrs felt good, and the time it took to reach the unused weyrs allowed her already gloom adjusted eyes to go further. Whinny gave her instructions, and Rozen passed them on, though Rozsk knew very well what was wanted of her. The gold sat demurely, her sharp nightsight making out everything in the darkness, the last foot of her tail twitching just a bit. Her eyes followed the form of Hers until she passed around the corner with the group, then she looked steadily around at her Clutchmates and the larger, much older Whisk. She would pass this exercise, and any more that came. She felt a return answer from Hers in vague agreement. Hers doubted? Well, she hadn't broken egg nearly last just to see Hers disappear down a cave. Hers would see, Rozsk wasn't one to be denied when her own abilities were the ones in question.

After several minutes of waiting, the gold felt the bond strengthen as Hers sent out a wave of affection and love, calling her. If whers could smile, Rozsk would have done so. She delicately scented the air, and was almost anxious to go when Whisk signaled her onward, taking the first few steps at a jog before slowing. She turned the corner, and slid through the caves like a glittering gold phantom, searching.

((Oh, I'll be takin that 5 if ya please))

[Rowana]

Roivao kept a hand on Roisk as they walked. He didn't like the idea of being seperated, but he could understand the importance of the exercise. He had done similar things with Iloth while trying to strengthen their connection. Roisk deserve no less determination from him. Waves of assurance calmed Roi's nerves. Roisk was not worried. His would be fine. Roisk would find him no matter how far or through what boundaries. Roi sent back his thanks and clung to that confidence as Whinny led him and the others away.

It was eery in the dark weyr. Even though he had spent most of his life until now in one, seeing it so cold and empty was like looking into one of his nightmares. He was alone in the weyr. Alone because Iloth was gone. He would never share a weyr with him, because he wasn't coming back. For a terrified instant, Roi forgot why he was there. He shrank into a corner, hugging his knees as the tears came again. Why? Iloth had been so sweet and caring. To die like that, full of fear and rage. It wasn't fair.

A faint concerned pull at Roi's mind pulled him back to the present. Roisk was looking for him. And here was, living in the past, and causing his bonded to worry. He had to stay focused. Iloth wouldn't want him to dwell like this either. Connected with Roisk's mind was a simple task. It wasn't so different from talking to a dragon. But with a dragon, he would simply have told or show him the way. With Roisk it was different. Almost like a game of hot and cold or having Roisk on the end of a string he couldn't see. He stayed focused on his bonded, tugging when it seemed to tighten and urging when it grew stronger.

Roi hoped they would find the right door. He didn't want to be alone in the dark anymore.

(Roisk choses door #3 ^_^)

[ladybug]

Cadil listened to Whinny's lecture, mentally hushing Cadisk when the green seemed like she didn't want to settle down for the lesson. He was finding it easier to understand Whinny after the first lesson. When she said they needed to shield their emotions at times, he frowned. It seemed difficult to do now, when he felt so connected to Cadisk, but maybe the concept would be easier to grasp further into training.

He stood to follow her off the roof, blushing slightly when he noticed the back stairs. All that tree climbing for nothing! Instructing Cadisk to stay with Whisk, he walked down the stairs and followed Whinny's directions into one of the rooms. He closed the door and waited. It made him a little anxious to be away from Cadisk, but it was just an exercise.

Cadisk concentrated, trying to sense out her handler. She could feel the tug of his mind and followed it like a physical sent. Cadil closed his eyes, focusing on the bond. Cadisk approached the doors, wondering which contained her handler.

((I pick door 6.))

[Rei]

Hide her emotions from Mask? Malara looked at her blue wher and wondered how such a thing was possible. She would have to practice it. Mask was so in tune with her that every slight insult she felt sent him into a rage. The girl frowned and followed behind the rest of her classmates Mask’s mouth parted in a warning snarl. Stairs? Well that was nice. Oh well. The blonde paused as she realized perhaps their was a lesson to be learned from this. Perhaps she shouldn’t have automatically assumed it was a test. Ah well no help for it now.

When they approached the tunnels, and where instructed to have their whers find them, Malara walked to Mask and positioned him feet away from the main group stroking his head lovingly. “You will stay until I come for you. Do not touch the others.” Mask growled a affirmative and lay down his whirling yellow eyes piercing the gloom and giving a sinister light to his features. As his descended into the tunnels the blue gave a warble. He would find his perfect he would she need not fear.

((Arrgh I HATE riddles. Dx. I pick door # 3 if we can pick the same door as someone else, if not I pick door 4))

[Requiem]

1 Venus
2 Topaz
3 Roivao Rowana; Rei
4 Malara
5 Rozen Hseru
6 Cadil Ladybug

Whinny watched with vague interest, noting the two whers that ended up at the wrong doors and mentally cataloguing them. Their handlers would have to work with Venusk and Mask to fix that. "Come out now," she called to the wherhandlers. "Fur those of ye that've found eachother, good. If yer whir went tae the wrong door, practice. Et will be uh test next time we meet."

The woman didn't believe in grilling people over a first attempt. Now they knew what they needed to work on. Nudging at Whisk again, the brown wher came trotting around the corner and stopped in the center of the hall, where he barked a command for the other whers to follow. Whinny trailed behind the whers at a more sedate pace, her eyes flicking to each of the wherlings as she spoke. "Yer whirs can see much better than ye in the dark. But we like tae try tae see anyway. Et's human. Ye can see with yer whir's eyes, though, and the best way tae learn tae do that is tae take yer eyes away."

Whisk had, by now, reached the ground level of the weyr and was bounding out into the cleared land beside the waterfall. Just as the wherhandlers were about to walk out beneath the starlight, Whinny handed them the silken blindfolds she'd brought along. "Spread out, then put em on. An we'll play a little game tae make this interestin. Roivao and Roisk will be tryin to catch Two an Rozsk. Cadisk, you've got Venusk. And Mask will be tryin to catch me an Whisk. If yer tagged, switch off."

Tying the last of the blindfolds around her own eyes, she reached out to Whisk, the night suddenly lighting up in her mind. He immediately moved by her side and she rested a hand on him. "Only rules here es no runnin, an ye can't get outta sight of me an Whisk or we'll call a halt to et. Now, go!"

---

Prizes!

3 marks to Hseru
2 marks to Rowana
1 mark to Ladybug

pm me with how you want these marks divided amongst your characters, and i'll pass that on so we can get the marks updated

<3 thanks for bearing with me! and good job with those riddles

[Rei]

Mask was angry, which really wasn’t anything new. He had allowed himself to get sidetracked. That would not happen again he assured his perfect with a soft rumbling growl. Malara absentmindedly stroked her mind mate as they walked. The wher was growing but he was still small. “It’s ok darling we will pass the next test perfectly, I assure you.” The blonde fell silent as Whinny began to speak. See with their wher's eyes? Dragon riders did it all the time. How hard could it possibly be?

Malara took the blindfold and Mask growled low his tail flicking back and forth. He was to help his catch the big brown one and hers? Malara sent a affirmative rather than speaking directly and the blue waited until his was ready. Then with a bound he entered the clearing and meshed his mind with Malara’s.

The girl staggered and stopped. She almost fought the meshing but a low croon from Mask was all the reassurance she needed. Opening her mind she allowed the wher in and let his eyes become hers. It was for lack of a better word, weird. Thermal vision was much different from her plain visual sight and it would obviously take some getting used to. The handler began to pick out a few shapes. Now the test was recognizing who they were based on the blurry thermal shapes. As she concentrated the shapes began to solidify and Mask growled encouragement. See it was not so hard they would do well here.

The blonde took a few steps forward with Mask at her side, for now just getting used to the vision. At least she was relatively sure she was going in the right direction. Whisk was easy to pick out being bigger than the other whers in the clearing.

[topaz]

He did not find His!

Venusk whined as he retreated from the empty room he had thought His was in. He tried so hard! As he plodded his way anxiously back to the starting point he saw His come out of the room next door. There she was! The blue butted up against Venus' leg, rubbing her thigh with the side of his head vigorously. Venus smiled and caressed his jaw as she always did. "It is alright my love. There's always next time. We'll get it." The pair lined up with the rest and listened to Whinny, then followed her and Whisk down to the bottom of the cliff face.

Once there, they listened to Whinny's instruction with interest and Venus happily put on the blindfold she was given. As soon as her eyes were covered, Venusk slid up against his handler's right side, craning his slender neck up her hip. Venus smirked and rested her hand on top of the blue's eye ridges. She could feel his slight anxiety that he would fail this exercise as well, but she quickly reassured him with a scratch of his eye ridge and a wave of warm, affectionate feelings across their link. He would do well. They only had to run away, right? And even though he was a blue and Cadisk was a green, he might be just as light as she, since he was so lean.

Venus then reached out to her wher's mind, specifically mingling her sight with his. Slowly, the bleak, dark surroundings came to life in vivid purples, blues, greens, yellows, oranges and reds. The entire spectrum! It was fascinating to just look at the landscape, but she had targets; Cadil and Cadisk. Locating the greenpair was difficult at first, but Venusk knew them well by their infrared signature, and sent His an affirmative when she found them. Smiling slightly, Venus began backing away from the reddish-orange blobs, Venusk following just as tentatively. No running? Well that wasn't very fun, but it was the rules. They didn't want anyone tripping over themselves in the dark . . . even if they could sort of see. It was definitely something to get used to.