Maelstrom Wing Drills [#2]

[glamourie]

You are being silly. There is nothing wrong with the new Wing structure.

So sayeth he who thought there was nothing wrong with sleeping all day long. Ka'rys cast Ciceroth a disapproving look as he sat down on top of the flat surface of one of the large rocks in the clearing near the base of the Drumheights. He'd decided it was his favorite spot for training as it was secluded enough that they could not be seen while on the ground, and there was a surprising lack of trees and greenery to burn. He'd made sure that it was big enough to comfortably fit the entire wing before deciding to set the drills there. It was a good spot, shaded by the cliffs so it wasn't too hot, but the ground was warm enough that the dragons would probably like it - Ciceroth liked it, at least, but he wasn't hard to please.

Despite the security of the spot, Ka'rys was worried, and he thought it was right to be. He had four riders fresh out of Weyrlinghood on his wing. Saraina, Rielana, L'ar and Cezine. Of them, one had managed to already get herself pregnant. Ka'rys liked children, but he found it disconcerting that a greenrider was so quick to already be giving birth - it made him question her reliability, among other things. He was fairly sure that Cezine was going to be a problem rider, if only because the fact that she was already with child meant she was fixing to lose out on nine months of potential practice, and by the time she had the baby she would need more time off -- all in all, it was a bad situation. By the time she was able to fly again, he was fairly certain the girl would be pregnant again. He kept that concern to himself. It wasn't his place to say anything. If she turned up to be pregnant again he would just shove her off on Shmee's wing, where she could do little damage, and was less likely to get herself and her dragon killed from the lack of experience in the air. Practicality at its finest. He'd give her a chance, though.

She wasn't the only one. Aliscia of Tanith, one of his few experienced riders, was also with child. Ka'rys had a touch more sympathy for the senior greenrider, simply because she was not so young. A few months off wouldn't rob her of the experience when she needed it the most. She already had the experience. Truthfully, though, he had to admit that spite was part of why he couldn't be angry with Aliscia. He strongly suspected the baby she carried was S'rei's, and that had to really, truly burn Shmee. He was thrilled. The Weyrwoman did not merit high on his list of people to be kind to.

Eliminating the two greenriders, he was left with D'ran of Brown Thorith, who he knew to be moderately skilled in the air, Z'hin of Brown Jessereth -- and he knew ridiculously little about him; he'd have to watch him, R'fuin of Blue Ylonth who was Benden-trained and should have been at least decent, K'nam of Bronze Bearinth who was probably going to be the person to save his sanity, and E'ri of Blue Bazeth, as far as he knew the reason for the young greenrider's pregnant state. Goodie, goodie. He felt as though he'd straddled himself with the dysfunctional group. While the Weyrlingriders doubtlessly had potential, he wasn't used to working with so many inexperienced riders. He was half-tempted to bash his head off the rocks around him. What he wouldn't do for S'rei as his second, Zadari of Sitath, Lauranna, Juliya, F'con and Robika. Alas, he owed it to the wings to at least try to balance them out well. Try being key word.

"I think I'm ready. We're just going to go over formations today. I don't think we'll do firestone drills. It'll be more suited if we wait, and let everyone get to know who they'll be flying with, and in what positions, for the moment," Ka'rys said, glancing up at Ciceroth. "Call them? Aliscia and Cezine too. They can watch. Even if they can't participate, it won't hurt them to know the Wing structures and layouts."

Be nice to Brennath's. You would not have wanted to lose your Little Hatchling either. It was the only scolding Ciceroth offered, and Ka'rys completely ignored it. He had no intentions of being unpleasant.. outwardly. The bronze snorted, exasperated, before calling to Brennath, Bearinth, Jessereth, Bazeth, Ylonth, Hokth, Snowquith, Tanith and Jeminorth all in time -- Good morning; the Maelstrom Wing Drills will be at the clearing at the base of the Drumheights. Rysmine requests yours all come - even those who are unable to between. Thank you.

- - - - -

Maelstrom Wing:
Wingleader: Ka'rys of Bronze Ciceroth
Wingsecond: K'nam of Bronze Bearinth

{ bronze / brownpair }
D'ran of Brown Thorith
Z'hin of Brown Jessereth
E'ri of Blue Bazeth
R'fuin of Blue Ylonth
Saraina of Blue Hokth
L'ar of Green Snowquith
Aliscia of Green Tanith
Rielana of Green Jeminorth
Cezine of Green Brennath

[boober]

This does not bode well. Cezine’s hands trembled slightly as she tightened the fighting straps with quick, harsh jerks. Up until now, she hadn’t even thought much about wing drills. Her head had been filled with visions of new clothes and babies. Now she was throwing herself a good old-fashioned hatefest over it. She was such a deadglow! How could she have brushed aside what was important?

Do not be silly, Minelove. It will be fine. If the green felt any discomfort with the sharp tugs on her flying straps, she gave no outward indication. With Cezine’s uncharacteristic mood changes lately, Brennath had had to be especially patient with Hers at times. And it looked as if now was definitely going to be one of those times.

How did he even find out? I hadn’t told him anything! Brennath offered a consoling croon.

You were going to anyway. You’re worrying over nothing.

That’s not the point! A particularly difficult strap was given up on with a frustrated huff. Feeling that an intervention was necessary, Brennath turned and swept her tail out to the side, catching her rider and pressing Cezine into her soft green side. “Brennath—“ Opening her wing, Brennath spread it wide and arched it around, effectively creating a glimmering green cocoon around her rider. The open side was filled suddenly with the green’s whirling gaze as she blinked at Hers.

Be calm. Take deep breaths. We cannot go to practice with you in this state. She paused, watching as Cezine did as she directed. You are being upset over a little thing. Soon you will have your noisy hatchling to add to E’ri’s and we will be able to fly as we were meant to.

But that’s at least five months away; and after that, I’ll need at least another month for the babe, and to heal.

What is the worst they can do, Mine? Permanent grounding will not come of this, and that is the worst they could do. This is not something you should be punished for and it would be silly to think so. Cezine leaned against her dragon, closing her eyes for a moment as she took deep, calming breaths. Brennath was right. The green rider’s eyes opened in vague surprise before flicking toward her dragon, who was still watching her closely with patient eyes. Not for the first time, she realized how smart Brennath was, and how incredibly lucky she’d been that day on the Hatching Grounds. She couldn’t keep a smile from her face.

“I’ve been silly, haven’t I?” This was admitted aloud as Cezine reached out and gave her green’s eye ridge a loving caress. Brennath merely rumbled quietly in agreement, or appreciation… or perhaps a little bit of both.

I love you anyway. Giving Hers a little nudge, Brennath folded her wing and crouched on the weyr ledge. She didn’t like to see Cezine lacking her usual quiet self-confidence, but that was all right; Brennath didn’t mind lending Hers some of her own. Come; we should not keep them waiting. Just because they will not let us fly with them does not mean we should be late. Wise dragon! Chuckling to herself, Cezine prepared to mount, but a thought struck her.

“Wait!” Brennath uttered a questioning sound as Hers darted back into the weyr. After a moment of rummaging around, she came back with writing utensils, which she promptly shoved into the small pack attached to Brennath’s straps. “We’re not going to just sit there and watch; I’m taking notes!” Crooning her approval at her rider’s cleverness, Brennath extended her foreleg for Cezine, who hopped nimbly enough onto her green from there. She was not far enough along yet that her movements were compromised; most people still couldn’t tell by a casual glance that she was even pregnant. It was a little more obvious when she wore snug clothing (and even more so when she wore none), but for the most part she just wasn’t showing a great deal. Confidence restored, the greenpair launched from the ledge and made their way toward the meeting place. Brennath actually crooned a pleasant greeting to Ciceroth as she touched down almost daintily. She would make every effort to be on her best behavior… not for them, but for Hers.

[kysseh]

It appears, LoveMine, that they have finally decided to place us on a wing not filled with weyrlings and incompetent shiny fat ones. And yet, you pick this time to be eggheavy. Could you not have waited? Tanith was grumpily asking Hers, and were it not for the whirling blue-green of the green dragons' eyes, Aliscia would have been offended. As it was, she knew that Tanitih was at least halfway teasing, and the chance to be on a 'proper'--to use Tanith's word on the matter--wing was overriding the green's irritation at the fact that her rider could not fly with her. The two were bonded closely enough that Aliscia could stand on the ground and snap out orders to an airborne Tanith, who would nearly always comply. However, that skill had been unpracticed for a short while, and while Tanith could fly circles around most of her wingmates, certainly, she could not between without her rider. That made for difficulties.

Aliscia was resolved to talk to their wingleader to figure out some sort of arrangement, though. She could fly with the rest of them for now, so long as they were not doing elaborate acrobatics or betweening. But as her body started to change, it was unlikely she could ride Tanith into the skies... even for a short length of time. There would have to be adjustments made, and while Aliscia felt mildly guilty about having to leave off Threadfighting for now, she knew for sure it would be the only and last time she would be pregnant in her life. She was nearing thirty Turns, and, frankly, she would rather not get pregnant again without a weyrmate to help her. Carrying a child was wearying work, for all the men couldn't understand about it.

At the bronze's request for the wing to come to the clearing, Tanith impatiently nosed Aliscia to hurry up, otherwise standing still so that Hers could get a move on with adjusting the straps. The green was antsy to get to drills, if only so she could get airborne and properly flying. Hers was still in no shape to do much in the way of flying, with one arm still immobilized and in a sling, but Aliscia had been kind enough to promise Tanith that she would find another rider to help the green keep from losing her competitive, aggressive edge. Tanith rather hoped it was The Goldling, just so she could further attempt to spite the senior queen, for which she had the utmost disdain. And surely, Hepaticath would not begrudge Tanith the use of her rider for a short while...

Sensing that the straps were finished, the green impatiently stuck out her foreleg, tail swishing back and forth in an almost feline gesture of eagerness. Hurry, Mine. I want to see our wing. she grouched, uttering a rumble of amusement at her rider's glare. Being eggheavy makes you slow. You should eat for more energy. You are so thin that even a weyrling could not make a satisfactory meal out of you. Now Tanith was being far more teasing than insulting, but she still received a light swat to the nose anyway for her impudence. Not that Tanith cared. She saw such violence as a rougher form of Hers' affection.

Aliscia slipped on her helmet and then swung herself astride the dark neck. She had flown with far worse injuries than this, and not throwing up this morning had yielded her a bit more energy. True, much of Tanith's teasing was not far off the mark. The greenrider was a bit thinner and a few shades paler than normal, but she was up and about and moving. If she could get ahold of some of that root that supposedly helped with the nausea, perhaps she could even start to hold more food down. Even as she gave Tanith the signal to fly, her mind was turning over possibilities, how to deal with this pregnancy and still maintain something resembling an active life. Her morning exercises had continued, only changed by the fact that she was lacking a functional arm. If Savitri could fly with Tanith for a bit in the mornings, that would help get rid of some of the green's massive quantities of energy. And-

Worry later, Mine. We are here. Tanith warned her before neatly folding her wings for a quick dive, letting loose an echoing rumble that was obviously meant to be laughter as Aliscia glared at her for her sudden movement. If I vomit, I'm doing it all over the back of your head, o idiotic one. Bring it. The green spied another of her color already present and let out a dry hiss. Greens. Young green. She strongly disliked other greens, especially dainty ones or graceful ones or sleek ones or... well, basically any ones but greens like herself. Those were tolerable because they could actually fight back. These Selenitas greens were too easy of targets to pick off. She instead landed nearer to the bronze, giving him a mildly disdainful look before huffing what could loosely qualify as a greeting. Blech. A bronze and a green... neither of which she liked. Blues were very nice, but browns... browns tended to be her favorite. And since this bronze was not Aslath's pet, he was not a tool for leverage. Shame.

Stop grumping about that gold, Tanny. She didn't properly interrupt the flight, so stop whining. You'll only get us both in trouble. Aliscia snapped silently at the beast, swinging down to the ground and nodding politely at the other two riders and their mindmates. Limited as she was by her condition, she was fairly certain she could contribute something to the wing. She and Tanith had fought enough Thread and dragons to be well-experienced in the air. If nothing else, Tanith could improve the wing's unity by uniting them in mutual hatred of her. Her stature-challenged Tanith tended to be very aggressive in the air and on the ground, and the greenrider was surprised when Tanith made no move to further aggress at the other dragons. Eyes narrowed suspiciously, she stared at the green, mutely wondering why she was being so deceptively docile.

[Kisha-Ra]

It is time for wing drills again.[/color] Ylonth informed his rider with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. The sun had just moved around to his ledge and the blue had been hoping for just a little longer to bask in Rukbat’s rays before he was expected to do anything. Reluctantly he picked himself up and stretched before wandering back into the weyr where his would undoubtedly be waiting.

R’fuin was full of nervous energy, as he sometimes got when he was facing new situations, in this case the situation wasn’t new but the people, or at least some of them, were. Even worse the newly graduated weyrlings had probably suffered at least one bad experience from Benden Weyr, which might mean R’fuin was in for some rough times. You are being rather silly.[/color] Ylonth commented idly. We are no longer of that place. Besides, the old ones will have seen more combat with our former allies, surely they would hold more of a grudge.[/color]

As always, Ylonth, you fail to comfort me. R’fuin declared extravagantly, covering his fears with flippancy. Ylonth snorted and waited patiently for R’fuin to get on with things, namely doing up all the straps. As soon as that was done Ylonth turned and walked back out to the ledge with more purpouse than he’d come in with.

It was strange how a few leather straps could change his dragon’s whole demeanour, R’fuin reflected as Ylonth lifted a foreleg in a businesslike manner, the blue could go from indolent lounger to this briskly efficient beast in a few moments, not that R’fuin expected the transformation to last.

Once airborne Ylonth did lose some of his official manner, gliding along to the drumheights and spiralling in for a landing in a way that could only be called languid. He bugled a brief greeting to Ciceroth and the greens and moved off into the sun as soon as R’fuin was on the ground.

[Tashe]

/Time to go. We've switched wings again... We are now under Ka'rys of Ciceroth./ Hmph... I suppose its better than being under F'rah. /Shards, I couldn't stand that Brown./ You can't stand anyone who you can't control. A few seconds passed before Saraina heard a loud snort of protest from the Blue, reducing her to a smile before heaving herself out of the chair she had perched herself on. After so many months at Selenitas, the young woman couldn't help but feel a little drawn to her original home, even though she got in so much more trouble there. She missed being a thief, she missed the rush it gave her, and the trouble she got in if she messed up. Shaking her head as she withdrew from the memories, Sara shrugged on her riding jacket before moving to get the leather's she'd need, both for her and for Hokth. Strapping on her riding leather's first, the newly ordained Bluerider paced herself onto the large ledge, which she unfortunately had to share with her neighbor. /Come on Rainmine./ Yeah, yeah. Don't push me. Slinging the Aft neck strap around Hokth's muscular frame, the young rider began the task of fitting Hokth with all his adornings.

"Come on. Help me up like the good little boy you are." Receiving a snort in response, Saraina smacked the blue on his hide before getting the response she wanted. Checking her own leathers after getting up onto Hokth's back, she found the harness to be ship shape. Quickly belting herself in, Saraina gave her blue the good to go, bracing herself for the almost immediate action afterward. Airborne in less than a minute, the unusual Bluepair swiftly betweened after making sure they both knew where they wanted to. As they appeared over the Drumheights, Saraina gave a fierce shiver, going into the numb sub-zero temperatures of the Between was definitely not one of her favorite things to do. Circling once before starting their decent, Hokth landed near his only current clutchmate, nodding to Brennath in greeting before helping Sara down.

Dropping to the ground, the young Bluerider hooked a finger through the side of her goggles before pulling them down around her neck. Knocking the tips of her boots on the hard ground to make sure they were snuggly on, Saraina moved away from her lifebond and toward the collecting group of riders, nodding slightly at Ka'rys before folding her arms. "Wingleader."

[reqqy]

It was exceedingly odd, to have anyone commanding him to drills...Stranger still that the command came in the form of a request. Jessereth stretched his wings, staring back over his shoulder to His, who had been informed - oh, five minutes ago. This is our first time with a wing since returning to Selenitas. Do you really wish to be late? Z'hin merely grunted. The strange system that supported his left arm in such a way as to render it almost as useful as his right was not something to mess around with. He carefully ran through the muscle movements, feeling the pull of the rods, and made adjustments. Each cable was designed to respond to the twitching of a muscle in the shoulder or arm, and would replicate a specific movement through a complicated system of hydraulics and nearly imperceptible pulleys. They'd asked if he'd prefer surgery, but he'd had enough of being cut open, and this extra hassle was worth it in Z'hin's mind.

"Now that I'm sure I'm actually working," the brownrider commented, casting a glare in Jessereth's general direction. He glanced at the sleeping form of Kalerary in his cot. She already knew they had drills today, and the girl seemed all right with being left alone for a little bit. Hrorek would keep an eye on her and inform him if there were any problems. Even now, the blue lay curled against her cheek. Throwing the riding jacket up over his shoulder, he stepped out onto the weyrledge and mounted Jessereth with an ease he'd never acquired while still at Selenitas - at least since the feline attack. Much as his demeanor seemed unchanged, there were little differences to be found everywhere for anyone who had known him.

The brown dropped from the ledge, languidly spreading his wings and rising high into the air, circling once just to stretch his muscles. You're not wearing your jacket now? Jessereth was genuinely curious. The brownrider had made it a point not to draw too much attention to the contraption along his arm since their arrival. Looks like I'm trying to hide it. We can put that idea to rest just by letting it be. And the questions? We were press-ganged into a fighting wing. They wanted all dragonpairs at full physical capacity. Jessereth rumbled his agreement. After all, it was only the truth. Not all of it, but hey, no one was expecting a full story at wing drills. They hadn't been summoned by the Weyrleader and his bronze yet for a private audience, so the full story might never have to be told.

The solidly-built brown - he could easily match the power of most bronzes, though he was only average size for one of his color - dipped into a dive, angling it with almost subconscious precision. Not too deep, not too shallow, wings spreading a few seconds before landing. One, two, three steps, and there it was. The wings carefully folded back into position and Jessereth immediately went into position for Z'hin's dismount. Selenitas brownrider Z'hin of Jessereth completed the mechanically fluid sequence by dismounting just as methodically. Thought it didn't look like they were in a hurry, there was no pause for thought. This was second nature to them.

Jessereth faded back, his head still held slightly low, even as he surveyed his gathered wingmates coldly. He didn't recognize one of the greens, but Hokth and Brennath (the annoying weyrling now grown up) were from the weyrling class after his own. Ylonth was barely known, but slightly familiar. His gaze flicked to Ciceroth, the strange bronze who 'requested' dragons report to wing drills. No true request, as it would be made a command if the dragons decided not to honor it. Seemed like a waste of time. Jessereth was very much against wasting time - or wasting anything, really. He felt something unpleasant and looked in the direction of His, noting the smirk with distaste. Jessereth huffed quietly. Z'hin always seemed amused when he was complaining to himself. Stupid human. You chose me. I still say I must have been disoriented.

The brownrider was mildly surprised at seeing Cezine there, much less...it looked like she either had gotten herself pregnant or was carrying a few extra pounds nowadays. He didn't let the surprise register on his face. Z'hin casually flipped her a wave of acknowledgment, not really sure how to deal with an old flame that had quite obviously found a new one while he was enduring the worst months of his life. Not that he'd thought of her much during those times. He moved close enough to Ka'rys such that he could hear the man if the Weyrleader decided to speak softly - and also to compare his face to Kalerary's, as it seemed an ideal time. Some who didn't stop to think might have pegged Z'hin for vain, what with the oiled back hair and the tight-fitting shirt he wore, but both were there for very practical reasons. He needed something skin-tight beneath the machine that aided his left arm, and oiling his hair prevented any of it from getting in his face.

No, Z'hin was merely practical. He did, however, smile rather wryly at Saraina. His own stance, his jacket still thrown back over his shoulder with a fist perched on his hip, was hardly any more formal than hers, but at least he didn't look sullen about it. Silly child. "Weyrleader," he corrected quietly. In the south, the distinction probably wasn't as important. It was potentially fatal in the north. Yes, the brownpair had learned to adapt quickly.

[randi]

Ciceroth's is not going to be pleased if we're late, the bronze dragon's amusement couldn't be hidden as K'nam rooted through the weyr, searching for the troublesome 'mandyr who had hidden the instant K'nam had started looking for him. Next time you'll listen and buy him a green rag or something to get his attention with, as I suggested. The bronzerider cast a glare over his shoulder at the dragon who was simply inclined to continue being bemused by the antics going on behind him. You're setting a bad example, Mine. There! A flash of bright blue and K'nam snagged under the cot, grabbing onto something that went taught before pulling off. A quick inspection was made before the wingsecond hurled Scamp's tail at Bearinth.

"You're not helping," the statement was met with a rumble of amusement as the rider grabbed onto a leg this time. Aha, something the little creature couldn't shed. "Gotcha," Scamp dug his teeth into the hand, but the 'rider pulled him out nonetheless.

The bright blue 'mandyr's frill shot up as he hissed unhappily. Helpnot nelp ping, he pawed feebly at the hand before K'nam pinned his legs to his side, holding him slightly aloft.

"Faranth help me, but Scamp, I want you to go to Fiona. You remember Fiona? She'll keep an eye on you until we're done with wing drills." No recognition seemed to work for the 'mandyr as he wriggled, his tongue stuck out the corner of his mouth. "She rides green," there, his head snapped up, "Raiyth. Remember?" He offered the creature a quick picture of the weyrlings, the color of the dragon making Scamp bounce lightly in his hands. Memill! He nodded enthusiastically as K'nam placed him on the ground. "Weyrling Barracks. Go." Unsure if he was being unleashed or not, Scamp scurried to the door, casting a quick backwards glance before trilling sinisterly and scuttling out.

"We're going to find him in a tree in the middle of the forsaken jungle, aren't we?" Seems likely. Maybe he'll find his way. How he gets up the cliff, I haven't the faintest idea, but maybe. K'nam mounted, pulling the straps tight. "Are we late yet?" Indicating otherwise, Bearinth leapt off the ledge, heading for the destination as K'nam kept an eye below, expecting to see the simple-minded bright blue plummeting from a weyrledge, but no such spectacle could be seen as they flew upwards and over.

There, K'nam pointed out the grouping of dragons not far away. Thank you, Mine. I'm not sure I ever could have guessed where the base of the drumheights was, the dragon snorted. They settled near Ciceroth, K'nam dismounting before giving a glance over those who were here. This looked like it was bound to be interesting, didn't it?

[flupine]

Again L’armine with the Drills. Why drills? Do they think we have nothing better to do. I have plenty of tasks for you to do without the help of drills.

I suppose that means that Drills have been called?

Yes, I would suppose so. But we are in another wing!

Oh? I thought I saw that somewhere….

Your humor leaves much to be desired, mine.

So does your Tact.

You are not the one who has to listen to a voice demanding your presence.
……
Hurry Up! It’s time for Drills.
Aggravated at L’ar sudden silence on the topic, Snowquith tossed her head to jerk it upwards away from L’ar, Why did she bother with him? Oh right…she loved him. The green hoped sideways, away from L’ars hands, which were doing their best to finish oiling her quickly. Thrashing her tail Snowquith managed to knock over a bucket of water, while another whip of her tail sent a bag of sweet Sand spilling across the ground, which was just about L’ar’s breaking point. He loved Snowquith but he would be the one picking up the sharding bag after all!”Snow!! Stop now!”

To say the least L’ar’s mood was black, he had woken with a small headache and thanks to Snowquith testing her limits, his headache was only growing to the point it seemed to consume him. And now Drills were being called and Sand was all over the ground, the bucket went flying who knows where and the bottle of oil was perched precariously within range of Snow’s tail. She did not look particularly apologetic either. Trying to calm down, L’ar ran his hand over his face and back through his hair. Why him? Heaving a deep breath out, L’ar walked over to pick up the bad and some dirty cloths off the ground to put up under the close scrutiny of Snowquith.

Gritting his teeth, L’ar walked through the process of harnessing and strapping up Snowquith in silence, his mood not boding any distractions or craziness on her part. L’ar was seriously angry just in general, he could never be angry specifically at Snow but he could get aggravated. Which he was. Snowquith however did not feel the need to be any nicer to her pained mindmate. No, she had no reservations about her actions and did everything possible to set L’ar off. Moving away from his hands, thrashing her tail about, the usual times ten. But as all great things must end, Snowquith’s enjoyment ended too. L’ar vaulted quickly into the high saddle and Snowquith reacted immediately by leaping for the skies instead of thinking of staying on the ground longer to tease L’ar. She knew he was not truly angry with her, which made it only better when she teased him unmercifully.

Landing in the clearing, Snowquith made a production of drifiting in a lazy spiraling circle until she touched down heavily onto the ground. Never hurts to make a big entrance. Unless it only makes your leaders think that your nothing more than a show off. L’ar snapped back to her without thinking and was instantly contrite. Besides the fact that hehated to be mean to her, she was his heart but she probably wouldn’t react to kindly to being talked thusly. Sorry Snow. But the Green was not looking at him, instead surveyed the gathered group before turning her head,ever so slightly towards L’ar. Her eyes were whirling a deep red, staring into L’ar’s. Look… that rude Green from the Queen’s wing was also moved to this wing… Tanith, was it?

L’ar recognized the threat in her deceptively curious words. Sighing, L’ar rested his hand on her spring Green hide a moment before walking forward to greet the Wingleader. ”Hello Weyrleader.” Smiling broadly, L’ar nodded quick, keeping a hand stretched out to rest lightly on Snowquith’s hide as she dipped her head down low to nudge his shoulder. What a loving pair they seemed to be at the moment, but L’ar was silently reassuring that he had control over Snowquith’s wildness. Sometimes she was a bit on the feral side...

[Administrator]

E'ri was ready as always. He had left the twins in the capable hands of one of the Crecheworkers. He also wanted the twins to get some interaction with others apart from themselves. And with he and Cezine busy here... As E'ri readjusted his goggles over his cap, Bazeth landed next to Brennath with a pleased croon at her. He would've nuzzled her, but he needed to focus on his duties. That was the job of a dragon, and distractions would prove ill for them all. But a croon was a good greeting to his green. E'ri, too, resisted the urge to perform some PDA, but he did come stand beside her. Sparing a glance at her, he couldn't help how his gaze fell right to her stomach. She was getting larger, he thought oddly. Well, not obviously so, but E'ri knew her well enough to know. Still, it meant their babe was growing. Healthy, too. Hopefully, anyway. He wanted this birth to be smooth so that both mother and child would be fine. Mal had twins, so it was hard. He hoped to Faranth that twins never happened in his family before now.

Focus,[/color] Bazeth's voice said sternly. E'ri chuckled. The dragon was right. He was worrying about the wrong things at the wrong time. Their top priority now was practicing for flaming Thread. Then he could fuss over Cezine. Bazeth, pleased that his rider was back to the task on hand, chose then to finally greet his leader. Greetings, Ciceroth,[/color] he said amiably. He liked the big bronze. He was intelligent and calm. He worked better with calmer dragons like himself-- particularly if they were experienced, like Ciceroth was.

Looking around, E'ri's eyes rested on Z'hin. He frowned. He hadn't heard that the man had returned. He had heard of the ill fates concerning the people who had gone with S'rei, but he hadn't expected either of them back. Yet here was Z'hin. Fortunately, he was unaware of his past with Cezine, or else he might take an immediate disliking to the man. It was bad enough that he didn't like the brownrider's looks as it was. Rolling his eyes, he gazed intently at Ka'rys with a nod of acknowledgment. Some of these riders were young. He could help with them if it was needed, since he was a veteran. He loved helping people out.

"You gonna be all right with the practice?" E'ri murmured to Cezine. He didn't know what she was going to do for this practice, but this question was fine, he thought. He was just making sure that she would be fine with whatever she was doing-- nothing inappropriate at all.

Yet,[/color] Bazeth added snidely. E'ri firmly shut him up.

[glamourie]

They were starting to arrive. Ka'rys looked up as the sound of wings filled the air and his eyes fell on the first dragonpair to appear -- none other than Cezine. A feeling of immense irritation passed through him that he buried deep down. He wasn't entirely unsympathetic to her, but her timing could not have been worse and he was fairly sure she was going to be unreliable. At least she'd come. He half-expected some whiny excuse that since she couldn't fly she shouldn't have had to be there. He would never have tolerated that, and the woman would have found out very quickly why Ka'rys had so few close associates. Tolerance for incompetence wasn't one of his better traits. His eyes flicked to Brennath as she landed and her arrival earned a soft croon from Ciceroth, nothing short of friendly, but professional, or as professional as the bronze could be when he was looking down at his, eyeing him with the kind of mirth that usually meant Ka'rys was about to take a nose dive into some liquid surface. None nearby, but after drills he was probably going to get dunked. The bronzerider had resigned himself to his fate.

The next arrival was the second pregnant one, but Aliscia worried Ka'rys less. He cast her a slight nod, and glanced over at Ciceroth, who turned and crooned to Tanith - much the same way he had Brennath. If he noticed her demeanor, it certainly didn't show. Ciceroth had dealt with worse. Ylonth arrived next, and Ka'rys raised an eyebrow before nodding to R'fuin, but his gaze lingered on the blue's antics with amusement... and the slight rumble that Ciceroth greeted him with made it clear the bronze, too, thought that sunning was a good idea.

Ka'rys quickly became distracted, though, by Cezine and Aliscia, and his mind went over the best way to keep them busy. He wanted them at drills, plain and simple. Even if they couldn't fly, they needed to be there to get to know their Wing. Besides, with any luck, Aliscia might be able to teach Cezine something on the ground. He doubted it, but there were some optimistic points about the prospect. He did miss Hokth's arrival (though not the greeting croon that Ciceroth offered) and he turned his head at the usage of his title only to notice another dragonpair he hadn't heard arrive. They'd been relatively quiet then. Ciss did not greet Jessereth, which struck Ka'rys as odd, but not half as odd as the sudden correction from Z'hin that he himself would not have demanded. He didn't like that title. He was more attached to the one the bluerider had been using - he was more likely to keep that one.

What's wrong? Ka'rys asked, glancing over at Ciceroth. The bronze watched Jessereth intensely, but offered no response. Ka'rys knew the look, though. Ciss didn't trust him - likely because he'd gone and come back under suspicious circumstances. Not that Ka'rys blamed him. He didn't trust Z'hin either.

The wingsecond's arrival fortunately distracted him and he turned to offer K'nam a curt nod. Honestly, his reasoning for putting K'nam on his wing were simple - he'd be less likely to complain about parting with him than the other wingleaders would, and he was the most likely candidate to become a new Wingleader if another needed forming. Ka'rys typically preferred brownriders, but the other bronzepair seemed competent enough... and he was surrounded by Weyrlings. He wasn't typically a good teacher, so Ka'rys hoped that F'rah had taught them well. Still, he edged over toward K'nam just in case, offering him a light nod as Ciceroth crooned to Bearinth with familiarity. He was half-way there when Snowquith arrived with her rider, and he turned to offer him a nod in greeting. No speech if he could help it.

E'ri's arrival earned a slight narrow of eyes that only got worse as he moved over to Cezine, but the bronzerider didn't say anything. He waited a few more moments before stepping forward to address the group, motioning effortlessly for them to come closer.

"Come over so we can talk - I don't like raising my voice." It wasn't a request. Ciceroth might have been nice enough to ask; Ka'rys wasn't. "First things first, some of you know each other, some of you don't. We're a Wing which means that you'll have to learn to tolerate one another, one way or another. In the sky we have one another's backs, better or worse, and that means that I don't want to hear of petty feuding. If you have a problem with people on this wing, it comes to me or K'nam - one of us will handle it, probably me. But there will be no fighting in the air. We're better than that. That aside, we're short two dragonpairs for the moment and hopefully Rielana and D'ran decide to grace us with their presence. If they don't, well, they'll have to catch up. You all likely know another's names, but for the sake of covering it, we'll do introductions." He took to pointing as he spoke, "E'ri of Blue Bazeth. Cezine of Green Brennath, on maternity leave - but here for the sake of meeting and getting to know the Wing. Z'hin of Brown Jessereth, L'ar of Green Snowquith, Aliscia of Green Tanith also on maternity leave and requested to be here for the same reason -- and your wingsecond K'nam of Bronze Bearinth. It goes without saying, but I expect him to be treated with the same respect you would me. Rielana of Green Jeminorth is not here yet, nor is D'ran of Brown Thorith and I can only imagine why they're not since neither cleared sick leave with me. That aside, we'll clear a space for them as if they were. You all should know who I am too - but for the sake of being fair, I'm Ka'rys and that's Ciceroth."

Turning to Aliscia and Cezine, he folded his hands behind his back. "Both of you have maternity leave requests - Cezine, for future reference, it would be polite to inform me of that yourself so I do not have to go and ask the Weyrlingmaster in advance." Was he scolding? Yes. "We'll be betweening today, so neither of you will be able to fly that part. I'd like it if you both could watch the formations and try to get an idea of where you'd be. When we're not betweening, I'd like it too if you'll be up in the air - so long as you can." He didn't add that he understood there were times when they couldn't, past a certain point. It was a given. "While on the ground, would you be willing to explain formation and flight patterns to Cezine, Aliscia?" Since she hadn't ever flown Thread before, the young greenrider was going to need all the help she could get. She'd be the oldest inexperienced rider in the sky. He wondered, silently, if she knew that. Or cared. Probably not. She struck him as the type to shirk duties.

[missa]

Mine, we have drills. Thorith stated calmly, whirling eyes patient as D'ran nodded once, signalling he'd already known this and was getting ready. They were in a wing of juniors weren't they? Kids who hadn't flown yet, naturally they would expect the more expeirenced riders to cover for them. That wasn't a big deal, it happened all the time. The older riders looked out for the younger ones, even if they weren't expected to. Knowing Thorith, the brown would be likely to take the time to keep an eye on the younger dragons, under the idea of checking they were doing it right rather than caring.

We're going to be late. Thorith muttered, annoyance colouring his mental voice as he turned his head to glare at his rider. Always with the thinking, one of these days, His was going to think too much and end up late to something really important. Even if he'd never been late to Thread, being late to Drill was just as bad. Noting that His still hadn't moved from where he was, though he was fully dressed rather than missing one boot. Bonus. Sort of.
Will you stop worrying about what might happen. The new ones may make mistakes. We did too. Now we are late, are you going to explain why you're late like the average weyrling? That worked, D'ran's head came up, eyes clearing of the thoughtful expression as he moved to Thorith's side. Ignoring the annoyed look as he checked his brown's straps before mounting up.

I apologise Ciceroth. We won't be late next time. No excuses from this brown, he could think of a few, like his rider was such a dimglow he'd forgotten that the world existed for a few moments. That would probably only annoy Ciceroth, so Thorith merely nodded his head in the bronze's direction, bending to allow D'ran to slide to his feet. Like his brown, D'ran merely nodded, expression sheepish and almost ashamed. He was one of the more senior riders, and he was late.

Mine-- Jeminorth began her reminder just as Ciceroth spoke, nodding her head once as she turned her head to where Rielana was currently trying to get Pride down from the wall, and where the salamandyr was promtly refusing to come down.
Drills Mine. We have drills. It's time to go, leave him up there for now. Jeminorth had no problem being late, it just meant working harder and as she wasn't particularly bothered by that, it wasn't a huge issue. She did not, however, want to listen to Hers getting a lecture.

"That's today?" Rielana's eyes went briefly to her green, then glancing around the weyr to see if she could automatically locate everything. Yes, she'd gotten days mixed up, she'd thought drills were tomorrow. It was really a miracle she'd remembered at all. Couldn't they take some notice of that, rather than realise that she was late, and one of the younger riders, thus should be there on time. That just... Wasn't Rielana though. She was always late, always scatterbrained, and hopefully that wouldn't carry to Thread.
I'm sure it won't. Check my straps and let's go.
Are they loose? Instantly she was worried, had she forgotten something else important? How could she forget to tighten them when she'd put them on?
No. It is good to check though.

I'm sorry we're late. No excuses, Jeminorth not sure Ciceroth wanted one or a reason even, and she really, really didn't want to upset her new wingleader. Even Rielana seemed to be trying, moving silently to stand with the others, blushing pink and ducking her head as she murmured an apology. She only really knew Cezine, but she did know the others by name, and Saraina and L'ar more so from sharing a weyrling class.

[boober]

Of course, Cezine had long since dismounted to lean against Brennath’s warm, sturdy side with her arms folded. Her head was angled slightly downward so that her curls covered her face but the truth was, she was sneaking some peeks at the wingleader. She wasn’t sure she liked him all that much, which was odd since it was her nature to like almost everyone until they proved themselves unlikable. Or was it that Ka’rys had proven himself unlikable in record-breaking time? Half of it was that he made her nervous, for all that it didn’t show on the outside. But Brennath was cool and calm; she didn’t much care for Ka’rys, to make Hers doubt herself that way. Weyrleader or no, the green was not impressed at all. This sentiment was passed onto her rider, which was mostly what was helping Cezine seem so nonchalant.

Brennath didn’t seem put off in the least that Ciceroth was greeting all the new arrivals the same way he’d greeted her. In fact, she was glad for it; it would have made her uncomfortable if he’d treated her differently. However, this train of thought was disrupted as a strangely familiar brown arrived next. Brennath watched as Jessereth landed and His dismounted, her tail suddenly snaking around her haunches and curling around to press Hers lightly into her side. Probably a mistake, as Cezine lifted her head to see what the issue was… and immediately caught sight of Z’hin. Her puzzlement at Brennath’s sudden bout of possessive behavior vanished, quickly turning to shock as her gaze rested on the brown rider. Alive. Z’hin was alive. The color had drained from her face and she looked as if she were seeing a ghost. Truthfully she wasn’t entirely sure that wasn’t what she was seeing. Had she lost her mind? Was he really alive and, by all appearances, relatively well?

Her first urge was to dash over and fling herself at Z’hin, if only to see if he was truly there and not just a figment of an overactive hormone-ridden imagination. But she had more self-control than that… and she also had Brennath, who turned and nudged her roughly. In fact, it caught Cezine off guard enough so that she stumbled into E’ri. Startled, she blinked and looked up at her weyrmate with wide, pale eyes. E’ri? When had he showed up? How long had he been there? Blinking rapidly, the green rider’s gaze flicked back toward Z’hin. He was still there; she’d half expected him to be gone, merely an apparition. So she wasn’t insane after all! Resisting the urge to laugh at herself, half in relief and half in embarrassment, she looked back at E’ri somewhat sheepishly. But the urge to look at Z’hin was tugging at her, as if there was some kind of taut line between her and the brown rider that kept trying to tug her gaze in his direction.

Fortunately, she’d broken whatever spell had come over her in time to hear E’ri’s question. She nodded, perhaps a little too rapidly. “Umhm. I’ll be fine.” But she said it like she wasn’t convinced; Z’hin randomly showing up like that had thrown Cezine off badly. How was she going to cope with this? Brennath crooned to Hers, not exactly ignoring Bazeth, but keeping her priorities in order. Cezine came before her mate, and the green would have been surprised if it had been different for Bazeth. “I’m all right Brennath.” Looking dubious, the green nonetheless took the time to finally turn her gaze to her blue and warble a sweet greeting to him. Just so he didn’t feel left out and all.

Fortunately, Ka’rys kept the distraction to a minimum by calling everyone forward. Cezine balked slightly until Brennath lowered her head and gave Hers a push to get started. Straightening, the green rider cast a glare over her shoulder at her dragon, though it was half-hearted as she walked over to the gathering circle around the wingleader. She only half-listened to his speech, her gaze flicking to Z’hin several times. Stop looking at him. The green’s words were sharp, like a mother scolding a wayward child. You cannot afford to be distracted right now; if you are worried about the wingleader, do not risk making his opinion of you lower by allowing yourself to be distracted. Although it might have seemed the green was siding with Ka’rys, she was really doing what she did best, and that was protecting Hers. Protecting her from criticism and unfair judgments was just as important to Brennath as keeping Cezine safe in the air.

Luckily, the green rider gave no indication that her green had spoken to her at all; she did, however, stop glancing at Z’hin and gave her full attention to Ka’rys. Z’hin was going to be a permanent member of this wing, by all appearances, and she would have to get used to seeing him. She firmly put all other thoughts of the brown rider out of her head… at least until after the drills were done. But it wasn’t hard, thanks to Ka’rys. As he spoke to her and Aliscia (though it was mostly his words to her), she opened her mouth to speak, finding his scolding unfair and irritating, among other things. She wasn’t a child! But instead of saying anything, she simply gave one nod in acknowledgment and kept silent. It didn’t matter what she said; nothing would help, and probably only make things worse at that. It seemed that Cezine lacked the explosive temper that many people typically associated with redheads….

[reqqy]

It wasn't lost on either of them, the lack of greeting from Ciceroth, but Jessereth honestly didn't care which dragons did or didn't like him, and Z'hin generally found it better to pretend ignorance to anything that might be considered - dislike. At least when it was exhibited by someone higher up on the social scale. The brown had seated himself and proceeded to take interest in something right above Ciceroth's head. The brownrider felt eyes on him, turning his head to glance at Cezine and E'ri. Z'hin paused long enough to raise a brow in questioning amusement before dismissing them as of lesser importance at the moment. E'ri looked - grumpy - and Cezine had quite clearly blanched. Fun stuff, he thought wryly. Always a joy to shock people simply by breathing.

This was definitely the man, though, the brownrider though, contemplating Ka'rys. But how did you tell someone you hardly knew that you had their daughter? Oh well. He'd have time to work that out - later. After drills. He glanced around again. K'nam and Bearinth had arrived. Didn't know them so well, other than from a distance. Another one of the weyrlings - well, former weyrlings. He'd have to get that into his head. Male greenrider. He made a mental note to steer clear, for, even when away from Selenitas, they seemed to...gravitate to him. He had no problem with the breed so long as they didn't try to get him to fulfill whatever fantasy they might have.

Z'hin shifted his attention back to Ka'rys as soon as the man began to speak, noting Jessereth's heightened presence in the back of his mind. Ever practical, Jess was. Wouldn't do to miss something important. It was the usual spiel, though, and the brown quickly lost interest. He didn't care much about names, after all, and he wasn't going to fight with anyone, because he fully intended to ignore them all unless absolutely necessary. Only two names were unfamiliar to Z'hin, and he stored away Aliscia and Tanith along with L'ar and Snowquith so he wouldn't forget later.

Then Cezine was pregnant. Probably by E'ri, given everything he'd seen so far. Z'hin mentally shrugged. If she wanted half a man like that woman born into a man's body, that was her business. Not like it offended him at all, though it would have if she'd chosen E'ri over him. Wouldn't even matter if he was interested or not; the brownrider was loathe to be passed up for such a puss. Kind of silly not to tell her wingleader, though. Surely she didn't think she could hide it? No matter. He frowned mildly, though, when the late arrivals hurried in. That was...interesting. Was this sort of thing normally tolerated around here? Having never actually flown with a full Selenitas wing before, he honestly didn't know.

Something told him a Fort fighting wing and a Selenitas Threadfighting wing probably weren't all that similar.

Jessereth glanced up, huffing in mild disdain. They were wasting time.

[kysseh]

Aliscia acknowledged the nod that Ka'rys sent her way with a faint nod of her own. She knew very little about the man, but he could not be a complete moron. Tanith was making a point of ignoring their wingleader, though she offered up a snort at Ciceroth in what could have been construed as greeting. Tanith hated bronzes as a general rule, so... that was about the most she could give him without feeling the need to pounce his tail afterward. Besides that, most of her attention was taken up with nuzzling up to Hers... and then glaring at any other greens who happened to get within a goldlength of her. She hated greens. Hated them. She did not snarl or growl, because Hers was tired enough as it was. But she did glare very much, especially at the green showoff. She made a mental note to smite that thing later.

Aliscia gave her dragon a warning look, though she need not have bothered. The green was behaving... so far. At Ka'rys' command--and oh, yes, it was a command--she happily ignored the little display that Cezine and her kept male were putting on, if only because it made her furiously envious in a way she could not suppress. It was her own decision to keep the child, but... still, it would have been nice to have a weyrmate to look over her. Did Cezine appreciate how lucky she was? Aliscia certainly hoped so. She would have given anything to have N'ri or B'rom back with her, a though which made her pale just a tad. Tanith stretched out her neck and gave her a reassuring nudge but said nothing, which only served to firm up Aliscia's resolve to manage on her own. She was mature enough to handle it. Who needed clingy men anyways?

She made a mental note of the names that Ka'rys offered forth, nodding politely at the other riders when she was introduced. Yes, she was on maternity leave, and if any of them dared give her a scornful look, she would kick him hard enough to put his balls into his throat. If he was male, of course... though the females were unlikely to be so ill-behaved. Then again, she did not know any of them, and her respect for Cezine was dropping by the moment. She had not even informed the wingleader of her condition? That was highly unwise and irresponsible... that and Aliscia was bewildered as to how she had become pregnant and stay that way with all the between exercises that weyrlings did. But, it was not her place to judge. She was going to be stuck with dealing with the young rider until one or both of them delivered, so she was loathe to pick fights now. Unless Cezine wanted to, of course, at which point Aliscia would have happily thrashed her. She did not want her fighting skills to get rusty, after all.

"I'd be happy to get into the air when we're not betweening," she said honestly in reply to Ka'rys, glaring sideways at her dragon when Tanith gave an impatient toss of her head. Obviously, the green was happy at the thought of getting airborne too. Tanith loved to fly. "And I'll do my best to explain." She glanced at Cezine and nodded, glad that the girl had not talked back. That was a good start, knowing her place. She would try to play nicely, if only to make up for the fact that Tanith was probably going to bite everything in range when she figured out that she would not get to fly Thread for quite awhile. The poor green. She was going to have to ask Savitri to go flying with Tanith a bit more, if only to keep the snarly dragon from venting her spleen on something.

The two latecomers earned a glare of annoyance. Aliscia was anxious to get on with this. She wanted to fly a bit with Tanith, and then sitting for a few minutes sounded nice. Her back hurt, and she felt... heavy, in a way she could not describe. It had happened the last time as well, so she did not think it too odd. She shifted her weight from foot to foot to ease the pain of aching joints, waiting for Ka'rys' instructions. Behind her, Tanith had arched her neck and was impatiently waiting to get airborne, standing stock-still in an effort to hasten things along. Her rider fidgeted, she stood still. Aliscia was still, and Tanith fidgeted. They tended to be an odd couple like that in many ways, mostly because their thoughts filtered back and forth in alternating loops. Outsiders probably found it amusing. The pair just found it irksome. They hated being idle.

[glamourie]

Rysmine, Thorith and Jeminorth come, Ciceroth offered before the two new arrivals had a chance to land, and Ka'rys immediately looked up to spot them. The pair did not receive a scathing look or a glare, but instead quite a pointed stare that said everything and nothing at once. He minded D'ran being late considerably more than he did Rielana, as the greenrider was much younger and this would be her first real drill. He expected mistakes from the Weyrlingriders. D'ran had no excuse, and the look he received was long, scathing, and alluded to anger. Ciceroth curled away from Ka'rys, recognizing the sure signs of annoyance in his rider, and crooned toward the two new arrivals in an attempt to lessen the blow of his rider's very-obviously irritated look. Hopefully he could keep them from having their feelings hurt, but they really shouldn't have been late.

It was fortunate - perhaps for everyone but D'ran and Rielana - that they arrived when they did. Ka'rys turned toward them and folded his arms behind the back of his head, a measuring look on his face. "D'ran. Rielana. How kind of you to grace us with your presences. In the future, if you are late, you will be grounded. As this is our first official drill together, I will let it slide, but do not be late again." His gaze flicked back to Aliscia as she spoke and he gave her a curt nod. "You're welcome to fly as long as you can, when not betweening. The same goes for you." He turned to Cezine and nodded. "As long as you feel that you can." It was probably the nicest thing he'd said to them -- in a sense, he trusted both Aliscia and Cezine's judgment when it came to what they could and couldn't handle. But if they overdid it, he would be the first one to jump down both their throats. The last thing he wanted was a miscarriage or worse at one of his drills. Even he wasn't emotionally broken enough to handle that in stride. Some things just did not merit saying, though, and he left that hanging in the air. Turning back toward the two late arrivals, Ka'rys added softly, "All right. What you two missed is basic introductions. I leave it to you to figure out the names of your wingmates."

On to business!

"Our formations will be sporadic, due to a great number of young riders. Rielana, Saraina, Cezine and L'ar specifically. Since you four are so young, I expect you to take example from older riders. My recommendation for you all would be to take extra practices on your own time in order to make sure you understand the flight patterns better; you will likely find your responsibilities have been cleared up some to give you more free time than most. Another suggestion - this goes more for Cezine than the rest of you - would be to attend the other wing drills, to get an idea of how a full wing works. You all are welcome to but - Cezine, since you won't be able to fly with the rest of us for most of the training, it is especially prudent to you." Most of his coldness had evaporated, and he truly did think that suggestion was a fair one. "These drills are specifically to teach us how to fly together as a wing - but we will also be doing firestone training, synchronized between jumps, and periodically practicing flight techniques to avoid scoring. I don't particularly like seeing my wingmates in the Infirmary, and I'm sure none of you do either, so I'll ask now before we start -- if you have something you don't understand, or are having trouble on, you are welcome and encouraged to bring it up. I don't want there to be any misunderstandings between us, not as a group, and not as individuals. The better understanding we all have between one another, the more likely this flight thing is to work. Any questions before I tell you your lineup and we get in the air, or are all of you ready to go?"