Christmas Weyrlings (Lesson 5)

[Rei]

Lesson 5:
Classroom: Nutrition and First Aid Continues; Construction of First Individual First Aid Kits
Training Field: Dragonets Begin Following Riders in Ground Drill; Dragonets Taught to ‘Stand’ for Tack; Dragonets Taught to Aid Riders in Mounting; Proper Mounting Procedures

Sel’n yawned and rubbed his eyes. Kaaoloth crooned from outside. You are tired mine. I know but today’s lesson shouldn’t be too bad call the children please Kaaoloth. I’ll get some sleep in before Tidal wing drills. The big brown rumbled anxiously but complied.

Attention Christmas Weyrlings. Please report to lessons. Dragons outside on the field with me and riders to the classroom. Please bring your riding straps with you. Mine will be going over them today. The brown fell silent and turned his yellow whirling eyes toward the classrooms.

---

“Saeo, Cherilith, lessons.” Raylin called into their room as she grabbed her riding straps and joined Ebolath outside. “I do hope they are good enough.” They are fine Raymine you and Saeo did a nice job on them. “Yes it helps that Saeo was once a tanner. Plus I can sew pretty well. Your right I shouldn’t worry so much.”

They approached the classrooms, Ebolath giving a croon to Kaaoloth as Raylin entered the classroom and settled in a desk. Placing her riding straps on the desk she nodded politely to the Weyrling master as she waited for the rest of the class. The green weyrling frowned. Sel’n looked tired. Hopefully he wasn’t getting sick.



Christmas Weyrlings
Ke’rin of Bronze Jaymith
C’oar of Brown Frosstyth
A’fyr of Brown Rudolth
N’lai of Blue Kyssith
C’vin of Blue Mallowth
Saeo of Blue Cherilith
T’ke of Blue Garaeth
Za’x of Green Irylth
Raylin of Green Ebolath
Farryl of Green Peppeth
T’rea of Green Rioth(APC)
Morea of Green Heith(APC)

One post
Two posts
Three posts
Four or more posts (You are awesome )

[dragon]

Hearing the call, Frosstyth looked over at his. Classes, mine. Are you up to going out there today? He asked, uncertainly.

"I think so." C'oar mentioned, getting to his feet.

Bring our straps. Frosstyth added, then, getting to his own feet.

C'oar looked at his hands, disliking how he didn't have quite the control over his extremeties the way he used to. They were vibrating, as he tried to hold them still. Clenching them into fists, he held the tension, and then spread his fingers wide again. There. Steadier. Still not perfect, but ... maybe in time his system would heal fully. Hopefully so. He doubted he could finely aim a hammer, either, like this.

Ever since being sick, his muscles ached like he'd overworked them somehow. Only it wasn't going away like it should if that was the case. Instead, it persisted. It made him wonder how far the toxins had spread, and how much damage it had done before being cleared out. It was aggrevating. He should have known better! But he had eaten it. Hadn't it tasted off? He couldn't remember.

Heaving a sigh, C'oar took up Frosstyth' riding straps, threw them over his shoulder, and walked out. At least he didn't need a walking stick to stay vertical anymore, even if he did sometimes wobble. Frosstyth walked along behind, knowing better than to offer a ride.

Not only was C'oar not supposed to be riding yet (never mind he had been for awhile), but also that the offer might harm C'oar's pride. The lad used to be strong. And being reduced to a shivering wreck had hit him hard, mentally. And regardless of what Frosstyth had to say about it, C'oar was going to work at it until he had all his steadyness back agian. Regardless of how long that took.

That didn't stop the brown from worrying about his doing a faceplant while walking, though.

[ladybug]

Lessons, mine. Let's go![/color] Rudolth nudged his rider, who was taking a power nap. A'fyr was tired from being out in the forest yesterday, helping to gather food for the Weyr. A'fyr yawned and sat up, stretching before getting out of the cot. He gave Rudolth a scritch on the eye ridges--he head to stand on tiptoes to do that now, the brown was getting so big. He gathered his riding straps and together the pair walked to the lesson.

They parted ways at the door, Rudolth trotting over to join the other weyrlings with Kaaoloth and A'fyr sliding into one of the desks. He glanced over at C'oar, smiling at the other brown weyrling. "How are you doing, C'oar?" He asked. He had heard about C'oar's run in with the poison.

[topaz]

Roused suddenly from a peaceful nap, C'vin felt and intense pressure on his chest and legs. A loud crack. An overwhelming sensation of falling. A dull thud.

This cot is not sturdy at all. No, no. C'vin tried to groan, but the pressure was still blocking him from breathing properly. The Weyrling dared to crack and eyelid open, coming nose to nose with his jubilant blue wake up call, directly on top of him. "I...can't..breathe..." Oh you can too! You can talk can't you? That means you're breathing. Mallowth's voice was huffy and confident, as his muzzle rubbed against C'vin's cheek. Mal get off already! He exclaimed into the dragon's mind, as he tried to push the five month old dragon off of his lungs. Oh alright. I was only waking you up. Dejected and slightly annoyed at first, the blue dragon suddenly sent a burst of cheer over his rider's mind. Lesson's now Mine! You go to the classroom, and I go to the fields with big Kaaoloth. Oh and bring those straps you made last time.

As C'vin got up and picked out a dark blue tunic to wear, he assessed the damage. Each of the cot's four little legs had snapped under Mallowth's bulk, and the frame of the bed was now flat on the floor, at least a foot from where it was supposed to be. They're probably going to make me pay for that. I don't even have any marks. He groaned, much easier now without a Weyrling blue on top of him. Grabbing the riding straps he had made from the top of his trunk, C'vin turned for the door. Well come on! I can see some of the others have already left.

The pair hurried down the corridor, Mallowth out in front, excited as usual. He stopped at the door to the outside, and nuzzled his bonded's leg before they parted ways.

Mallowth made it to the field and crooned a hello to all present. He sat next to Rudolth and eyed the brown for a moment. He had not yet had a chance to talk to this clutchbrother. But that could not be so. Mallowth wanted to know all of his clutchsiblings! Plus this clutchbrother was big. Not as big as big Kaaoloth, but big enough to be considered big. Right. I like your nose clutchbrothermine. It is so shiny. The blue said with a warble, as he nudged the larger Weyrling's jaw.

- - -

C'vin quickly rubbed the sleepiness out of his eyes before he walked into the classroom, and greeted the Weyrlingmaster. "Goodmorning 'Master Sel'n." He then took a seat next to Raylin, giving her a smile, and laid his riding straps out on the desk in front of him, waiting for the class to begin.

[nightingale]

Saeo forced herself to swallow another mouthful of klah, trying not to think about how wretched the stuff tasted without any sweetening. It had cooled somewhat since she had brought it up from the dining hall, but the dark liquid was still hot enough to make drinking it quickly a painful experience and she really didn’t have time to finish it at her leisure. Mine, I am going to the field to join the others now. Cherilith told her, careful not to trample the cats underfoot as he made his way toward the doorway. Alright darling, have fun. The girl responded absently, giving both of the felines a little bit of a snuggle as they hopped up onto the bed next to her. Now, had she forgotten anything? Cherilith’s riding straps were oiled, Sooty was fed and safely put up on the top shelf, her makeup was on-

Her thought process was effectively ended as something soft and warm butted the small of her back. She turned on Cherilith with an impatient glare, only to see that the little blue was grinning at her. He waited patiently until his rider’s good nature got the better of her and tugged the corners of her mouth into a smile before snorting victoriously and trotting out the door. “Freckle, you take good care of Sooty.” Saeo told her salamandyr, rising from the bed and brushing cat hair from the front of her dress. Freckle mine. The glowing green told her resolutely, glaring down at the cats with a determination that said no playful kitten was going to harm what promised to be a continuous food source when it was fully grown on her watch. The girl smiled, blowing her mindpet a kiss before starting out the door toward class.

Ebolath, Mine and I have decided that you are looking far too thin. Jaymith rumbled as he pulled up behind Ebolath in the barracks hallway. There was something strange about the little bronze this morning -quite possibly the fact that the was a pie balanced on his muzzle. This he proffered amiably, brushing the tip of his velvety nose against her shoulder. Ke’rin-mine bought this from the people living near the river. It is called a pie, and they are supposed to taste very nice. Would you like it?

Ke’rin chose a seat next to the one Saeo usually saved for Farryl, offering the blueweyrling a small nod before settling his attention resolutely on the brownrider situated at the front of the class. He wasn’t going to so much as attempt to make eye contact with Raylin until he knew weather or not Jaymith’s ‘brilliant plan’ had ended favorably, mostly out of concern that the bronze would say something stupid and end up getting himself mauled a second time. Distantly, he wondered what the day’s lesson was going to be about. He hoped there wasn’t more leathercraft involved. The stuff was just so ridiculously hard to work with when you’d spend your life handling cotton and silk. What a shame that the idea of teaching dragonriders to make dresses was so absurd. If they ever had a class where they were asked to stitch together a party dress with a boated neckline, he might actually be able to prove himself as at least slightly useful...

[Rowana]

Have fun! Peppeth trotted off to the field after the others with a Tille spiraling happily around her. Farryl smiled and waved. The two greens had become almost inseparable, especially now that Hobbs had claimed the spot on her shoulder. Tille didn't have the patience to wait through classes indoors anyway. She would have much more fun outside.

She smiled to see Ke'rin talking to Saeo. Maybe that would help him cheer up more. She took a seat next to Raylin with her straps in front of her, just before Sel'n announced the lesson for the day.

Garaeth chirped a farewell to T'ke before he went to join his fellows. Good morning! he called with his normal cheer. T'ke had brought back the most wonderful surprise the other day and nothing could darken his spirits today. That self same surprise was what had T'ke in such a foul mood. He swore when he found the person responsible for putting an egg in his pocket he would make them pay. He wasn't sure how, but he would think of something. The pesky red darter that had emerged was safely stuff in his room for now. Like or not, he was stuck with the blasted thing.

He found a place next to C'vin as Sel'n started talking again. His straps weren't the best, but he hoped they would at least be serviceable. He wasn't the best at working with his hands.

[Rei]

Sel’n rose from the desk and walked to the front of the classroom. “Good morning students. Today I will be going over the riding straps you have no doubt been painstakingly working on. You will then proceed outside and we will tack our dragons and practice mounting procedures. Before that however you must construct your own first aid kit. We learned about first aid last lesson if you took notes you should do fine.” The brown rider motioned to a table laden with various bandages and ointments. “Once you have finished the kit please bring it and your riding straps to the desk. Once I have deemed both passable please go outside and find your dragon. Any questions?” The weyrling master paused for a moment and waved the first row towards the table before reseating himself at his desk.

Kaaoloth stretched his wings. Good morning young ones. Today we will learn some stretches that you will need to practice everyday for at least 30 minutes until you begin to fly. These exercises will help condition your wing muscles. I encourage you to commit them to memory and let you bonded know about them as well. Your mines will help you remember to do them everyday. The large brown flared his wings. Now follow my movements carefully.

---
Raylin watched each classmate enter and gave greetings to those she knew better. Soon the class had quieted and the green rider listened to Sel’n patiently. When he waved them towards the tables she rose and made her way over to the supplies. Now what where they supposed to include in these again? The dark haired girl brushed up against her roommate. “Mind giving me a hand? You the one with all the medical knowledge and I keep horrid notes.”

Ebolath watched Jaymith with an unreadable expression for a moment and then her eyes took on a blue coloring. Why yes clutchbrothermine thank you for noticing. She rumbled happily and curled her tail around her haunches. For me? She daintily took it and crushed it against the top of her mouth with her tongue. Swallowing she gave a croon to Jaymith. Thank you for the gift. Would you like to stretch next to me? Whatever problem she had had with the bronze had blissfully left her mind, replaced with his show of kindness towards her. Raymine Jaymith gave me a pie! It was very good. He did? Raylin asked her bonded throwing a curious glance in Ke’rin’s direction. How nice of him. Now pay attention love. You don’t want to get in trouble.

[dragon]

C'oar listened, as the instructions were orated. And then he moved to do as bid, to build a first aid kit. He wasn't doing terribly well, straining to get back past fuzzy memories. For a time, he just stood there and looked at the supplies, trying to jog his memory into clarity. Why couldn't he remember the particulars of the last lesson?

And while his note keeping was scant, he did keep notes. However: all his notes were back at his bunk. Which was not helpful at all in his current situation. So, resigned to what was more than likely going to be a failing grade, C'oar did the best he could, with basically nothing more than logic as he attempted to construct a first aid pack.

Frosstyth, meanwhile, watched in fascination and awe as Kaaoloth demonstrated the excersize, his own wings half lifted. And then he started enthusiastically participating in the excersize, himself. He wanted to fly! Ohyes, he wanted to fly. He not only wanted to fly, and take his with him, but he also wanted to be the bestest flier out there!

Talk about huge dreams!

[nightingale]

Good morning Garaeth! Cherilith cooed as the darker blue ambled into the field. He motioned for his clutchbrother to come and stand next to him , but did not have the chance to ask him about the red thing Freckle had spotted in his room before Kaaoloth called for their attention. Jaymith hobbled into the clearing with Ebolath just in time to take his place among the other weyrlings. Her crooned happily. More exercise! Wonderful! Exercise was his very favorite game! The bronze flared his wings wide, nearly buffeting some of his smaller siblings in his eagerness to follow Kaaoloth’s movements.

Saeo offered Raylin an abbreviated nod by was of answering her request. She wasn’t entirely sure if co-operating was allowed for this exercise, but that wasn’t going to stop her from trying. “Just grab what I grab and try not to be too obvious about it.” She murmured,directing her attention toward the assortment of medical supplies. Bandages of all types were availible, but she stuck to the multi-taskers so as to keep her bag from becoming too heavy. Now if it was a kit made for field medicine...then she should keep to the basics.

She bypassed the first section of herbs all together and grabbed a small jar of threadscore salve from the pyramid they had been stacked into. She also dodged both fresh and bottled felis for the sake of not misleading Raylin -the stuff worked wonders for pain, but in had to be properly prepared and in untrained hands it could easily become lethal- and went for willowsalic tablets instead. Mosstea and redwort solution also went into the bag -and then her progress was stopped by a rather perplexed looking C’oar. “Don’t.” She murmured briskly, giving his arm shove as he reached for a pile of freshly gathered Fellis leaves -a rather poor choice to be sure. She glanced over her shoulder briefly to make sure that the weyrlingmaster’s attention was elsewhere, then handed her bag off to him. Without a word of explanation she returned to the back of the line to start work on a new one.

Kei was quite good at taking notes -it was almost a talent really- and so while there was no brocading involved in this lesson he fancied that with the help of his small bound notebook he would be able to pass without too much difficulty. He wove his way in and out of the weyrlings as they searched the table for what they needed, pausing every few minutes to consult his notes and make sure he was looking for the right thing. When he was finished, he returned to his desk for the riding straps he had fashioned for Jaymith and carried them over to the weyrlingmaster. “Here sir.” He offered simply, arranging the first aid kit and riding straps neatly on top of his desk. With any luck, the state of his kit would help to detract from the less than stunning quality of his riding straps.

[Rowana]

Garaeth was pleased to take a place next to his clutch brother. He watched Kaaoloth demonstrate the exercise then tried himself. It was fun! To think that one day soon, he and T'ke would be flying through the sky! T'ke, sitting in class was less than enthusiastic. At least he did keep good notes. It didn't take him long to find all the items he thought would be needed in a first aid kit. Bandages, numbweed, and variety of ointments and medicines, everything T'ke hoped he would never have to use. When he was done, he brought both kit and straps to Sel'n for inspection.

Peppeth was delighted with the exercise and thrilled by the prospect of flying. She stood her tallest and flared her small wings with the others. Oh, to fly! It must be so joyous! Back in the classroom, Farryl was mulling over what she needed in her kit. She knew basic first aid fairly well. It had been necessary for living on the road, but some of these medicines she had never used before. She did her best though and brought what she hoped was the right equipment for Sel'n to see. At least she was fairly sure her straps were well done.

[Rei]

Sel’n was in his own world trying not to fall asleep when the first weyrling dropped his straps and first aid kit on the table. The brown rider raised his eyes to meet the bronze weyrling’s and opened the first aid kit. Ruffling through the contents he nodded. “Acceptable nice job.”

Next the weyrling master pulled the riding straps closer. He frowned as he ran his eyes over the stitching and gave the straps a few good tugs. “Well lad the leather is a bit weak and your stitching lacks strength. They will be fine for mounting practice but will never hold up in flight. I suggest you redo them before the next lesson. You may join the dragons but don‘t distract them. When Kaaoloth is done he will send Jaymith to you. You are excused.” The brown rider waved the boy off and motioned for the next in line to step forward.

Sel’n took T’ke’s straps and gave them a through inspection. “They are fairly well done. Congrats lad. Keep them well oiled.” Next the brown rider spread the kit out before him. “Yes also acceptable. You may join the dragons. Please wait for Kaaoloth to send Garaeth to you. Excused.” Waving to Farryl he examined her kit thoroughly. “You are missing a few items namely redwort and some calming ointments. Please gather those items. As for your straps..” After a close visual observation and a few tugs he nodded. “Very nice job please join the dragons. Wait for Peppeth to come to you do not go to her.” Sel’n rubbed his temples as he waited for the remaining weyrlings.
----

Raylin gave a relieved nod at Saeo and mirrored her exactly. Finished she stood in line and noticed Saeo hand her kit off to C’oar. The green weyrling made a mental note to have Saeo give her a quick quiz on how to properly administer the medications. When her turn came she laid the items on the table and waited.

Raylin breathed a sigh of relief when she was passed and told her riding straps were exemplary. She really owed Saeo a gift for her help with the leather and kit. The weyrling felt a bit guilty but the thought was quickly shoved aside wasn’t a weyr and a wing supposed to be like a family? So technically they should be helping one another right? Comforted by that thought she exited the classrooms and watched the dragons stretch.

[topaz]

C'vin quickly got up from his seat as instructed and made his way to the table of assorted medical supplies. He had taken good enough notes, even though his handwriting was less then neat, but he also had the knowledge of working with his father Brovin in the Infirmary for most of his life. His first sweep of the table, C'vin gathered the basics; a generous amount of bandages and gauze, a jar of numbweed, and another jar of redwort. C'vin then also picked up a small spindle of gut-thread and two needles, just in case of deep wounds, and a small canister of oil to be used as a buffer between the healer's hands and the numbweed when it's being applied. If Mallowth ever did get hurt, C'vin would be no help if he completely numbed his own hands. Taking a subtle look at what everyone else had picked out, he was satisfied with his selections, and returned to his seat to retrieve his straps.

The straps in question, C'vin was rather proud of. He was no tailor by any means, and his stitches were sometimes uneven, but he was confident - after double stitching over the weaker points - that they could hold up. C'vin had only oiled them slightly, and the hide seemed a little stiff, but with some more lubricant and some bending, he rationalized that they would do just fine. Walking up to Sel'n's desk, he laid down all of the medical supplies first so that the Weyrlingmaster had a nice view of it all, and then took the straps from his shoulder and spread them out next to the other items.

- - -

Mallowth stood up happily flaring his wings like big brown Kaaoloth. His wings were soo big! Glancing to his right at Rudolth, Mallowth suddenly had a realization of epic proportions. Rudolth! You are a brown, so your wings will be as big as Kaaoloth's! Yes? He made a mincing motion with his front paws in his excitement. I wish I could be as big as him. He said, turning his whirling blue eyes back up to his instructor. As he watched the big brown move his wings around, Mallowth tried his best to copy him. It was kind of like trying to swim in the air, just, only with your wings. Extend, pull, retract. Extend, pull, retract. Up, down. Up, down. This didn't seem like it was too bad of a workout. It was kind of fun actually, and it felt pretty good. He could definitely do this for thirty minutes a day. Maybe even more if it meant he could fly sooner!

[dragon]

C'oar was startled to suddenly not only be shoved away from what he was trying to gather togther, but also to then have his kit taken away from him. "Wh-?" He started, before realizing it was Saeo as she shoved her kit at him. He frowned for a moment ... that was cheating, wasn't it? She was studying with the healers, but ... Well, he wasn't going to argue. He nodded his thanks to her, and moved on, straps over his shoulder. He walked over toward the weyrling master, and waited in line until it was his turn to present Saeo's bag and his straps.

He only hoped that Saeo knew what she was doing.

Outside, Frosstyth continued onward with his excersizes, enthused at the idea of soon being able to fly. And today, his would legally be allowed to ride! That was a huge milestone! Not to mention if his got caught riding, he wouldn't run the risk of getting into trouble anymore. That was always good, too!

[ladybug]

Rudolth watched, with a mixture of jealousy and awe, as Kaaoloth demonstrated the exercises. Could he ever be that strong and graceful? The brown's eyes whirled a touch faster in distress. He didn't think he could ever turn into a big, strong brown like his teacher. He could definitely never be as handsome.

Still, he did the exercises along with the other weyrlings. It was easier than he had expected, and he began to cheer up again, enthusiastically flapping his wings.

A'fyr had, as usual, taken copious notes, and he had no problem putting the medicine kit together. When he was finished putting it together, he took the kit and his riding straps up to S'eln. He was proud of the way his straps had turned out. His woodcrafting skills came in handy making the straps, because he already felt comfortable working with small details.