Yummy Weyrling Lesson 9

[Requiem]

"Ummm..." His fingers toyed with the end of the small braid woven into his hair on the one side. That was always something you wanted to hear someone teaching you say, especially on this particular lesson. The weyrlings were scheduled to Between for the very first time.

X'rx glanced back at Eveyth, calm in her straps as she rolled a stone toward Rajnith in the hopes to get the younger green to play. No, she still hadn't been able to get ahold of Kyrahth. The green didn't care to talk to her, it seemed, though she was trying to locate Futh now. X'rx wasn't terribly sure of Cr'oph's brother, but at least he wouldn't be doing this alone - if Eveyth had any luck, that was. The senior weyrling was certain this was not how things were supposed to go. Almost certain. He shifted nervously from foot to foot.

"Just, um, check the straps again, please," he half-murmured, even though they'd done so at least three times already. He wasn't sure exactly how long he'd been making a fool of himself in front of the younger class, but it seemed like ages. Eveyth nudged him from behind. He would have to be louder if he expected to be heard. And what were they waiting for, anyway? The straps would be no different than they'd been the last few times. He raised his voice anyway to repeat the...request? Eveyth huffed softly.

Futh. Ioth. Kyrahth won't respond and Mine does not think we're supposed to be doing this lesson alone. Could one of you...? X'rx, meanwhile, was just staring at all the younger weyrlings rather helplessly, at something of a loss. It would have been different if it was something like...oh, formations or something. But Betweening? He didn't want to kill anyone. Was there a response yet? Not yet, but soon, the young green responded soothingly. Of a sudden, she hopped up onto a set of rocks. Let's play a game! Blues are a team, and browns and bronzes are a team. Whoever tags the most greens gets a prize! With a playful howl, Eveyth shot up into the air, leaving X'rx looking a little dumbfounded in the resulting swirl of dust.

---

Please plan to post at least twice by the end of the lesson on August 15th!

Bronze Kamath ::: Impressed to Rof'l
Brown Jagjith ::: Impressed to T'mund
Brown Nandath ::: Impressed to T'by
Blue Dhavalth ::: Impressed to Jazheera
Blue Pravinth ::: Impressed to T'ris ::: Betweened
Blue Madhavath ::: Impressed to 'Reine
Blue Viveth ::: Impressed to E'iah
Green Amalath ::: Impressed to Ruliana
Green Chandath ::: Impressed to Kalerary
Green Rajnith ::: Impressed to Tenlie
Green Upasanath ::: Impressed to Sari
Green Tarath ::: Impressed to Meagan
Green Balath ::: Impressed to K'fuzzi

Addition: Blue Shith ::: Impressed to T'lor

[Ember]

Jazheera felt sympathy for X'rx. She really did. But checking straps again? She looked over the straps briefly on Dhavalth without actually doing a thorough check. Disobedient? Yes, a little. The straps weren't going to change because they had yet to actually do anything. The woman's sigh echoed her blue's mental one. They were supposed to be doing...something. She wasn't sure what exactly but probably something to do with flying.

Dhavalth's patience for the lack of a lesson was wearing thin. He agreed with Jazz that they should be learning so that they could fly better. He was about to say so to Eveyth when she made a suggestion. A game...? Well, it was training of a sort. He launched into the air, the wind from his wings and the wings of other dragons making His stumble. She snorted as she regained her balance. Silly blue. As long as it resembled a lesson he was willing to go along with it. Didn't they all benefit from playing tag? Although if she'd be so good as to ask what they really should be doing...

Jazheera shook her head and held her position, watching the blue fly and chase after the greens. She noticed he seemed to go after Amalath and Rajnith more than the others. Likely because he knew them better. Amalath was his eternal best friend and Rajnith his roommate. He also made frequent attempts at Eveyth and Jazz couldn't figure out why until she asked. It would be advantageous to tag Eveyth since doing so would assist in my growth. He meant, of course, that tagging an older, bigger, more experienced dragon would only help him fly better. Him and his silly rhymes.

-----

Eveyth is asking if we could teach a lesson to the other class. Is that so, Iskierka responded coolly. The other class was not her responsibility to teach. Why should she bother. One from our class needs help. Though Eveyth and Hers do not come to the lessons we teach they are still our students. We do need to help them if they - Ioth. Are you telling me what to do? The blue retreated from her mind with a slight hint of fear. Oh no, had he angered His?

As much as Iskierka didn't want to be involved with the other class she supposed her dragon was right. It was X'rx asking for help and he hadn't yet graduated. Tell Eveyth we're on our way. The bluerider felt Ioth's brief surge of happiness before she went about pulling on her leathers. Eveyth, me and Iskierka can fill in. The blue flew down to the weyrling barracks, his harness clasped oddly in one paw. His hadn't taken the harness to her office since she hadn't been expecting to go flying for a while yet.

Iskierka met the blue outside and quickly got him into his flying straps before mounting and directing him to take them to the other class. She'd make it quite clear to their teacher the next time she saw him that she would not be covering his classes for him on a regular basis. She had enough to do without a second class, thanks all the same.

[kat]

Breaking a leg was what they had told him to do when he'd Impressed. The only thing they hadn't figured on was T'lor doing so quite literally. Well, more of a fracture. But it had caused the blueriding Weyrling to miss enough of his lessons that they had told him to simply redo all the ones he had missed with the next Weyrling class available. How embarrassing! To be the oldest dragonpair of the bunch was not flattering. Yet Shith was taking it all in stride and enjoying meeting the new dragonets. Today was their first time attending the Weyrling lessons with their new clutch. Lesson ten had been where they'd finished off and yet they agreed to join in on lesson nine to better acquaint themselves with the bunch. However when they got there they were surprised to see another Weyrling pair there. Weren't they with the senior bunch? He shrugged and took a spot up next to Amalath and Ruliana. He was usually pretty outgoing and bold--well, usually and then some. Still he had to admit being the only Weyrling not to graduate ruffled his feathers as it were. They would definitely notice that Shith was older than the rest of them. That and he had never been in a lesson with any of them before.

He shot the greenrider girl a quirky grin. Then when the older Weyrling started telling them to check their straps he did so. Then a second time. By the third time he was wondering exactly what was going on. It was one thing to obey orders and another thing to obey orders that made no sharding sense. They hadn't done anything but check their straps since they had arrived! What in Faranth's name was going on?

Aren't you going to check them again T'lormine?[/color]

Shith cocked his head to the side, his tail waving back and forth. Of course he also knew that they had already checked them. But the not-Weyrlingmaster had asked them to do it again. Was it some kind of game? Games were good. Then the green of the not-Weyrlingmaster was asking them to play a real game! Shith was delighted, his head whipping around to watch the greens take off. He was more experienced than all these dragons at flying. Even if he could not go between because they had yet to learn how. He had spent much more time actually flying and he was fast, oh yes he was! He took off in a sort of funny running leap to follow after Eveyth. She was bigger like him after all and so it was fairer, yes?

T'lor watched Shith take off but crossed his arms over his chest, frowning. It was only then that he turned to the young woman next to him and shrugged, putting on another winning smile.

"So, is this what th' Weyrling lessons are usually like this go 'round? I'm T'lor," he told her, offering a hand. Might as well get to know a few of these people. He'd be having the next few lessons until he graduated with them. Probably couldn't hurt any to get at least names and faces. Besides T'lor was a social creature--not like his cousin, Mihkal--and girls were the bomb.[/size]

[Kisha-Ra]

Frankly K’fuzzi was not too enamoured of learning to travel between anyway. Okay Selenitas weyrlings learned later in their development than the northern ones, but stories of how less weyrlings normally came back from their first lesson in betweening than started out, not to mention a few horror tales of young dragons and riders found entombed in solid rock (how could that happen anyway? If the rock was solid, how was there even room for the dragonpair in there?), kept floating to the surface of his mind despite his resolution to put on a confident face for Balath.

Balath, naturally, was not paying attention to K’fuzzi’s attack of nerves in the slightest. She had a beautiful baby firelizard to show off! Balath had insisted on bringing Jubilee to the lesson with them, and the green firelizard had been insistent about coming along, and no matter how many time K’fuzzi told the pair of them no, somehow every time Jubilee had ended up perched between Balath’s headknobs until it was just easier to ignore them than be late. He was beginning, as he checked over Balath’s harness yet a third time, to wish he’d just turned up late.

While her rider fussed unnecessarily with her straps Balath craned her neck around to the nearest dragon, turning her head to display the firelizard that had already flown around and chirped a cheerful greeting to everyone present (with K’fuzzi pretending he didn’t know her), Hello, have you seen my little green?[/color] She asked cheerfully, and never mind that this as a lesson. FuzziHers could check the straps while she talked as well as not.

Oh a game?! Her conversation, her firelizard, and the proximity of her rider, totally forgotten in the moment Balath squealed and flung herself skyward in an instant. Games were fun!

[Rei]

T’ris was arguing with Pravinth for about the fifth time on the proper way to wear straps. It was ridiculous that he had to dress the blue up every lesson as it was. The dragon was getting to old for this stuff. It didn’t matter much to the blue weyrling one way or another who taught lessons as long as his blue behaved. I think it is to loose. The weyrling gritted his teeth. It is fine. No definitely to loose it doesn’t look right and my scarf isn’t showing properly. T’ris my love fix it? Please. Not willing to argue anymore the man re fixed the straps for the fifth time in so many minutes and might have had to continue had to Eveyth took that moment to offer a game. Now he was nearly getting hit in the face by an enthusiastically flared wing.

The blueweyrling ducked with a few colorful sailor curses and watched as Pravinth flung himself skyward, gaudy ugly colored tablecloth scarf in tow. Faranth why him? Personality clashes aside T'ris couldn't make himself hate his dragon but still...why did he have to impress such a boisterous and ridiculous one?

~~~

Ruliana had taken her time to fix Amalath’s straps accordingly paying close attention to detail. A perfectionist the holder woman still was and it showed. The straps Amalath wore where well taken care of and the green herself was gleaming with health. Which was to be expected considering how much time Ruliana positively doted on the green. “I think X’rx is a little nervous.” The weyrling privately commented to her dragon as she rechecked the straps as directed. “Can’t blame him. Isn’t between supposed to be dangerous?” Dangerous or not I am sure we will all do fine. The pale green commented with absolute confidence. Resigned to wait, Ruliana placed a hand on Amalath’s hide and gently stroked the her dragon as she awaited instructions. Really the woman still wasn’t sure if she even wanted to be a rider. But there was no helping such things now. What was done was done. Had to make the best of it. At least Jazz was here to. That helped.

Ad Eveyth took to wing Amalath crooned and gently asked permission from hers before taking to the skies after her. Looping and twirling around her brothers she gave a sing song tease. To slow my darling brothers. You must try harder. Completing a loop around Eveyth she brushed the older green’s mind with happy appreciation. Games where fun~

Ruliana smiled at her dragon's exuberance and moved to stand closer to Jazheeera. Her friend however was ignored as she was suddenly addressed. Politely the greenrider extended her own hand to take T'lor's. "No normally our teacher is waiting for us. This is new." She offered the man a light smile. "Well Met T'lor. I am Ruliana."

[Ruby]

Rajnith eyed Eveyth's rock with obvious distaste, then fixed her gaze over the older green's shoulder in what was clearly the dragon equivalent of an eye roll. If she was going to play, it would be with something better than a rock. Didn't Eveyth know that was dirty, and came from the ground?

Do be nice, now, Ten chided, dutifully re-checking the straps for a third time. Half-way through, though, she glanced at Jazz, noticing that her roommate was already finished. She sped up, finishing her third check in record time, then turned back to X'rx. They'd be starting soon, wouldn't -

In a rush of wings it seemed like every dragon there moved, taking to the sky for some game Ten didn't understand. Rajnith didn't bother to fill her in, putting all of her energy into avoiding her brothers, Dhavalth especially. Unfortunately, the tubby little green didn't move any faster or more gracefully in the air than she did on land, although her wingspan was prodigious. Good for endurance, maybe, but not for tag. As hard as she tried, taps kept coming in, left and right, so Rajnith made the only decision reasonable for one of her stature and regality: she decided to stop trying, to become an easy target. That way, she wouldn't strain herself flying too hard, and it was good for morale, yes?

On the ground, Ten set about taming her now-wild hair, returning it to the fierce ponytail it usually appeared in. "Maybe, I shall cut it," she commented dryly to Jazz and Ruiliana, who had joined them. T'lor's arrival was greeted with a smile, but that was all; he wasn't talking to her, after all. Ten wasn't surprised.

---

Balath and K'fuzzi had the poor luck to be standing next to T'mund and Jagjith, who had spent the whole lesson so far mechanically going over their strap arrangement, T'mund mumbling a checklist aloud in just about the most obnoxious way possible. So it was that both T'mund and Jagjith looked Balath's way when she mentioned her new firelizard, clearly interrupted. T'mund decided since he had nothing nice to say, he should probably say nothing at all; Jagjith opted for the truth. Yes. I have. With that, both dragon and human faced forward, starting at the beginning of the strap checking ritual once again.

Luckily, their rudeness didn't have a long time to sink in. Within moments, all of the Weyrlings had taken to the air, Jagjith included. He looped up above the fray, calling, Browns and bronzes to me! We must have a strategy. There were less browns and bronzes than blues, but Jagjith just took that as a measure of his natural superiority. If they had a strategy, they could win!

Grounded, T'mund looked around for E'iah, but K'fuzzi was closer. The brownweyrling took a half-step in the greenweyrling's direction, but left it at that. They were just far enough apart to make conversation awkward, but just close enough to force it anyway. Good job, T'mund. "We are learning to Between today, are we not?" he asked, eyes on the sky rather than on K'fuzzi. Really, the question could have been rheotrical.

---

Next time you TELL me when we're running late, especially when X'rx is calling for us! Lessons, Futh, are more important than Kyrahth OR chess-boxing!

I thought you did not like Eveyth's.

I - what? Where did you get that idea, and what does that have to do with anything?

If you like Eveyth's well enough, why was I not allowed to chase her? Futh asked, colder than M'kai had ever heard him. M'kai gaped as they went between, reappearing below the game of tag and swooping in for a quick landing. We can take it from here, Ioth. Thank you for your generosity! Futh called, tone much warmer when bespeaking someone other than his mindmate. And Shith-brother! It is good to see you, and yours. Welcome, class. We apologize for our tardiness, he added, on wide broadcast this time. You may continue your game; Mine will instruct yours for a moment on the ground.

A distinctly sweaty M'kai swung down, unwrapping the protective hide he and A'emi used for fingerless boxing gloves. "Sorry, X'rx. They've got their straps all set, yeah?" He waited for an affirmative, then called the class over. "You may want to sit for a minute, we've got some serious talking to do before we get into the practical side of the lesson."

Leaning up against Futh, M'kai tried to push down the fear that seemed to be clogging his throat. This was the lesson where Weyrlingmasters were proved; everyone lost someone on Between day, but could he handle it? Could he keep the class calm? Well, no more time to think about it. "Last week, we made sure everyone who had never been between got a ride, so you all know what it feels like. It's very different to actually do it, so if you don't feel confident, feel free to sit this one out. However, if you do choose to sit out, you'll be taking extra tutoring with me or X'rx until you do feel comfortable, and make your first unassisted leap. We don't want to lose anyone, but you can't be a useful dragonrider until you can between. So... think about it.

"We've also practiced visualization, but for this first leap, you'll be taking an image from Futh or Eveyth. Once everyone is comfortable with that, we'll move on to your own visuals. I know you all know this by now, but I'll remind you again: The image of where you want to go must consume your thoughts. No 'Oh, let's hop to the top of the weyr cliffs, and then maybe get dinner?' cause you could end up in the main hall. This will be natural for your dragon, but alien for you. You have to focus, especially on the details, or someone won't come back. This is serious; if I see anyone goofing around or showing off, you'll be grounded and assigned extra chores. No joke.

"Now, let's get the dragons down here and get back in the air. We'll go one at a time. X'rx, do you and Eveyth want this end or that?"

Once he'd gotten the Greenweyrling's answer, M'kai hopped up onto Futh, taking their place at one end of the training field. It was a short hop, not more than four dragonlengths, enough that the Weyrlings could see the distance they had to cover without being close enough to get confused. There was a big boulder at the far end of the field, carved into a rough star shape, and that was the image Futh called up, sharing it with all of the Weyrlings.

Whenever you are ready, Futh said, his tone gentle and encouraging. We'll walk you through it. Me and Eveyth will both give you the image again, up here, then count down for you, if you'd like. It's scary, I know, but it has to happen some time. Shith, maybe you could start us off? Unless someone else feels ready? he asked. It was possible that his blue brother had already betweened, before His had injured himself, and it might give the younger ones confidence if they saw him do it. We'll take it nice and slow.

[Tashe]

Obediently he checked Viveth's straps again, wondering quietly if their lesson was ever really going to begin. Although then again... he had his reservations about this particular one. Frowning as he rested his head against the Blue's neck E'iah sighed deeply, hoping all the extra work he had put into their bond would pay off. It was still hard to fully connect with Viveth on a mental level, the paranoia could sometimes be all consuming when they were not participating in anything that required the large male's full attentions. They'd gotten to a point where E'iah could for the most part realize the separation in their emotions even when fully open to each other. Normally it was something the Weyrlings learned how to do much faster than he, but Viveth's irrational fear was powerful and sometimes more dominant than the calm that the boy tried to extend. It was fortunate that he had found a way to practically ground and center the Blue so that he could feed off of the certainty and purpose E'iah felt, he had had help from the Weyrlingmaster although it was something he couldn't fully explain. He had become a rock. Now he could fully enter the other's mind with a certain sense of security from the dark places.

But still, were they ready for this?

Viveth remained on the ground when the game of 'tag the greens' started up, prefering not to get tangled up in a power struggle against the Brown and Bronze. They already were out to get him and having the other Blues as teammates wasn't a good idea either, they probably didn't like him anyways. Plus Green's were fussy so he tended to not want to deal with them, even in games. Soon later Futh arrived with Weyrlingmaster M'kai to assist in the lesson, albeit a little bit tardy but nonetheless he came. Sitting down as he called them over, E'iah listened to what the Weyrlingmaster had to say. They could sit out if they wanted. Even though he was generally more relieved that the option was available for him to call upon, he wasn't exactly sure he wanted to. He had no problem concentrating on an object or a picture given to him and he was confident about his ability, but Viveth's? Sometimes the Blue's concentration could be spotty. Mine~. Do not worry. This is an important thing. If we do not learn it, how will we escape from other Dragons when they come after us? Fly? No, because they will know how to Between. In Viveth's weird way, it made sense that he'd deem this lesson important above all others. Its a perfect way to escape, to hide. That was what the Blue cared about. Rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands, E'iah gave a weary smile. He believed Viveth. The confidence that the Blue was exerting helped a lot too.

Swinging up into the Blue's riding straps, the Weyrling clipped his safety belt in. Now it was time to hurry up and wait for his turn. To pass the time and relieve some of the tension that he could feel building, E'iah played games with Viveth. Giving him riddles and questions to solve so that he not only staid entertained, but practiced with his concentration before hand.

[Ruby]

T'mund was not one to be left for last. To make matters worse, Jagjith was the kind of dragon that insisted on being first, especially when no one else was stepping up. Between didn't scare either of the pair; T'mund was 100% confident in his abilities and intelligence, Jagjith totally sure that what came naturally to the rest of Dragonkind would come naturally to him, as well. T'mund allowed a half-second of pause to see if Shith would step up (although really, Shith and T'lor would have to be literally leaping at the chance to go first to beat the Brownpair to the punch) before raising his hand, practically hopping up and down on the balls of his feet.

"Weyrlingmaster?" T'mund asked, then shouted to be heard over the distance. "Weyrlingmaster!" By now he was actually waving his hand in the air. Save your voice, Jagjith said privately before addressing the class as a whole. T'mundMine and I are ready, Futh. Please inform Yours that we will take the first leap.

True to their decision, T'mund was clipped in to his straps and Jagjith in the air before they were even done speaking. A few big sweeps of his wings had T'mund even with M'kai, who had taken the "start" end of the field. I am ready when you are, Jagjith offered T'mund and Futh, privately now. T'mund felt Futh and Eveyth give him the image, resisting the urge to add in the way the grass would be bending in the wind of Eveyth's wings. No sense in that. He'd take what he was given, and perform perfectly.

Closing his eyes, T'mund let his mind open up to Jagjith's, feeling the Brown's conciousness neatly fit in with his own. They were excellent at this by now, so it was no stretch for T'mund to offer Jagjith the image. With an idiot's confidence, Jagjith shook his head once, then dissapeared.

Three.

Two.

One.

A gasping, ecstatic T'mund and a supremly calm and collected Jagjith reappeared at the far end of the field, whole and totally intact. Simple, Jagjith commented privately, and T'mund laughed aloud, sounding quite a bit like a madman.

M'kai let out the breath he'd been holding in a burst. One down. Who's next?

[kat]

"Ruliana, mrm. Pretty name, Miss Ruliana," T'lor replied with a grin. He was distracted in the next moment by an excited Shith who bugled in recognition upon seeing Futh. He nearly crashed into the blue in front of him as he pulled a comical sudden stop. He seemed to hover for a split second before darting over to where his clutchbrother was.

Clutchbrother Futh! It is good to see you too! T'lormine is better now and we will graduate with these Weyrlings,[/color] he announced proudly. He was unaware that it was a matter of some mild embarrassment for his to be the only one not to graduate. Shith, who was spectacular in the water and air, was still all paws and whippy tail on the ground. He waved his tail back and forth so earnestly that he nearly took another Weyrling out but instead too out T'lor. T'lor had been coming to join Shith after excusing himself to Ruliana. He found himself on his backside and stood up grimacing. He was used to his long tailed dragon taking things out--just not that often him!

"Hey there M'kai," T'lor greeted his fellow bluerider. Was this who was here to teach them? That kind of made it even more embarrassing but T'lor wasn't about to let anyone else know that. He didn't fault himself for breaking a limb and he wasn't necessarily ashamed either. Not like failing because you weren't competent enough to graduate. Just not pleasant to be left behind was all.

Shith's next bout of excitement had him glancing over at the blue and sighing in amused exasperation. Shith however didn't notice. He was feeling honored that Futh-brother had asked them to go first. However he gave a disappointed croon when the brownpair decided they would go first instead. Not one to sulk over spilled milk--unless it was wasted food!--and so he piped up when M'kai asked who was next.

We are next, Futh-brother! T'lor and I will go next,[/color] the light with darker spots blue said confidently. T'lor mounted up with a friendly, "guess that's us," to M'kai. This was easy enough from anything he'd seen. To be taken seriously, yes. But easy enough.

After receiving the image from Futh, the blue took off and T'lor found himself holding his breath. They hadn't been allowed to between because they hadn't finished graduating. But Shith was full of confidence. If there was one thing he was good at it was visualizing things in his mind. The image was crystal clear and T'lor could see it as though he were looking at it. Trust it to Shith to make up for the lack of smarts--he was pretty wise but not always smart--with something else.

They were in between for the count of three. Just like he remembered being told. It was indescribable and rather creepy. Yet they came out at the proper place near Jagjith and his rider. T'lor inhaled sharply and realized there was a little bit of sweat on his brow. Shith didn't notice. He was too busy being proud of his accomplishment.

"Good job there, Shith. Nice job," T'lor amended. It hadn't been the most pleasant experience but it was neat. One day after graduation they would be using between to travel all over Pern. For now it was just kind of creepy...[/size]

[Rei]

It is our turn now. Amalath said with total confidence stepping up towards her bonded and crouching by the woman to allow her to mount. Ruliana smiled up at the pale dragon and grabbed onto the straps swinging herself up on them much like she would swing herself up onto a runner. After making sure that she was safely strapped in the greenrider gave her dragon the go ahead. Bunching her legs the green shot up into the air with a twist. A surge of adrenaline went through the dark haired woman and she smiled. Flying on Amalath was the best feeling in the world. As they leveled out Ruliana took a deep breath. I am ready Futh. Eveyth. The pale green circled once as she awaited the image. Passing it onto hers Amalath waited, all the while infusing her bonded with massive amounts of confidence. You can do this. Your mental pictures are always so clear. We will be the best yes?

Ruliana gave a little breathless laugh and patted the hide beneath her as she fixed the image in her mind. Yes. Of course my love. The greenrider closed her eyes. Ready? Three, Two, One. After checking the reference back with Futh and Eveyth both, Amalath transferred between. Soon the pair reemerged exactly where they where supposed to, the green voicing a bugle of happiness. The woman on her back thrust her fist into the air and for once allowed and excited whoop to leave her throat. “Perfect! That a girl!” In response the pale green gave an excited croon and landed moving quickly out of the way to allow the next pair to try their hand. I told you I we would be the best. It is not hard with you as a guide. The dragon responded voice radiating her pride.

~~~

The next pair to go was not having an easy time of it. No you have to wait Pravinth. Let them give us the image. The blue in question was prancing in excitement tossing his head like a wild runner. But almost everyone else has already gone. Hurry. This will make our adventures much more exciting and.. Stop it you are giving me a headache. T’ris responded with exasperation as he tried to put enough mental pressure on the bond to stop the blue from being quite so….irritating. Finally the images where passed to him and T’ris frowned. That didn’t seem right. Pass it again please Prav. With a snort of impatience the blue did so. Yes that was right. Or seemed to be anyway.

Pravinth was far to excited to sit still any longer and so leaping into the air he preformed a quick loop. Oh look over there.. Prav concentrate we need to jump like the rest. Okay. This was where the blue pair made their first and last mistake. Fixing the image in his mind T’ris had time for one cry of surprise before Pravinth automatically transferred in his impatience. There was no rechecking the image and unlike the pairs that had went before the seconds ticked away, the stillness broken by a heart wrenching death keen. T’ris and Pravinth would not be returning to the field….

Amalath’s already pale hide grayed to a sickly shade even as her voice raised to give tribute to the passing of her clutch brother. Ruliana covered her mouth with her hands, her legs tightening around her keening dragon even as tears started to fill her eyes. Wait…No....It couldn't be…How?

[dun dun dun]

[Ember]

Dhavalth's amusement had Jazz smiling faintly. She was content to just enjoy the moment before the lesson started but Ruliana's approach had her turning a warm smile on her friend. The one from a previous class started talking to the greenweyrling and Jazz decided not to butt in. He seemed nice enough and Ruliana didn't seem uncomfortable. Instead she focused on Tenlie and chuckled softly. "The problem with cutting it is the knowledge that once you do you'll start wanting to do stuff with it," Jazz responded with amusement.

The blueweyrling watched M'kai's arrival with a slightly critical eye. Teachers weren't supposed to be late. She didn't sit when he told them they might want to but she did listen. Ohhh! Right, this was supposed to be the between lesson. How could she have forgotten? Well, she was fairly confident. They had made sure that she got an experience with the super cold space and she thought herself more than ready to do it with Dhavalth.At the end of the little speech she called her blue down from the skies as he tagged Rajnith a final time playfully.

When he landed the woman scrambled up onto his back. It was harder for her than a majority of the class given she was quite small, even for a woman. She strapped in and patted Dhavalth's neck. Her pat plus her emotions were more than enough for the blue to tell that she was ready. The bluepair watched the first to go, the few seconds of suspense almost killer. As Jagjith came out fine and Shith after him Jazheera smiled. See? Clearly there was nothing to it.

Ruliana and Amalath went and appeared safe and sound. Then all of Jazz's confidence fled when Pravinth went. She waited...and waited...and realized when Dhavalth's bright blue markings faded and he keened that the blueweyrling and hsi dragon were never coming back. The blue suddenly launched into the air and she barely saved herself from smacking into the ridge in front of her. Dhavalth? Wait. Wait! We can't...I don't.... Someone must show them that it is still no problem. Why does it have to be us!?

We're ready Futh, Eveyth. Feel free to hold your breath! In other words, they'd do it perfectly. When Jazheera got the image she clenched her hands into fists on Dhavalth's neck and held onto the image. Be brave Mine, we'll be fine, the blue said gently before following Jazz's visualization as he went between. The icy cold of between made Jazheera clench her fists harder. The brief moment seemed like an eternity before they reappeared in the relative warmth of Selenitas.

She opened eyes she hadn't remembered closing. When she saw where she was she let out a "Yahoo!" as her blue trumpeted and moved out of the way. Dhavalth landed near Amalath and immediately nosed her. Do not dwell too much in mourning sister. If anything we should learn from Pravinth and his mister, he told her gently, though his voice extended to the others as well. It would not do to have everyone too afraid to try. Jazheera got off Dhavalth's back and all but collapsed on the ground. They did it! They made it through. Then the woman remembered T'ris and Pravinth and shuddered. Were they really lost forever in that place? That could well have been them. Really, Dhavalth was twice as reckless as she was...

((Iski is there, just kinda sitting off to the side if she's needed. Too lazy to psot her after all that.))

[raii]

Sari couldn't help the look of sympathy on her face at X'rx's uncomfortable attitude. She was almost happy when Upasanath relayed Eveyth's message. Sarilove! Sarilove! Eveyth says we are going to play a game! I gotta go fly now! And before Sari could say a word, her little green leaped into the air. Her lithe body twisted and she leveled out, flying out of the reach of her male clutchsiblings. With a soft snap she extended her wings, holding her position as she watched. Games were such fun!

Sari watched her dragon, turning her attention from poor X'rx, until the older bluerider arrived. M'kai called the candidates over, and gave them a rundown. Sari listened intently, her stomach clenching with nervousness. When he said to, Sari called to Upasanath. We are going between now. Come down. Upasanath let out an excited squeak, which Sari reprimanded. This is not fun and games. We could get killed. Try to be serious? Upasanath ignored her rider's comments. Sari could be such a buzz-kill.

Futh shared the image with the Weyrlings, and Sari shuddered again. She couldn't believe they were going between. Part of her was excited, but the other part, petrified. She definitely wanted to watch someone do it first, so she looked down and tightened Upasanath's straps. They are tight enough. Call down, SillySari. We will be okay![/color] She wagged her long tail much like a canine, nearly knocking Sari over. Oops, Sorry. Upasanath gave out a soft squeak, much like a giggle. Suddenly, her tone turned sour, and she let out a pained bugle. Her dear brother was gone!

-------------

Rof'l sent an encouraging grin at X'rx. The greenrider was a good kid, he knew that much. (Yeah, the thirteen-year-old called X'rx a kid.) After Eveyth urged the dragons into the sky, Rof'l approached X'rx. Before he could say anything, Kamath tugged on his mind. Don't. Watch me.[/i] Kamath couldn't help but brag as he leaped into the air, twisting and stretching. Rof'l sighed. Show off, he teased. He wasn't, however, above letting a brown lead.

He approached the brown, listening to his plan. He was content to follow his brother while Rof'l listened to the older rider. He called his bronze down, and Kamath followed. I want to go between![/color] Yes, he could follow a brown's lead, but he would always be first. Because first was best. He sent a dirty look towards Jagjith. Before he could go, a blue, not one of his brothers, went, followed by green Amalath.

Kamath felt distressed that they were so much later than their clutchsiblings. Pravinth, the gender-confused one went next, and Kamath glared at him too. He regretted this, however. Pravinth and his rider have gone forever![/i] he said with a cry. His blue brother broke the silence by being the next to between. Kamath growled, they were far too late already! We will go next, he said to Futh. Rof'l sighed. "Ask me first, why don't you."

He strapped himself onto Kamath, who took off into the air. Ready? Ready. They focused on the image that Futh had sent them. Suddenly, Kamath disappeared between. Rof'l held his breath, facing the cold of between. Before three seconds were over, they popped out, just above the rock. Kamath bugled, his brother's death already forgotten, and Rof'l cheered as well. They did it!

[Tashe]

One by one the others went Between, although one of their fellow Blues never reappeared. A silence settled over Viveth and E'iah as the realization hit all of them. Despite being in league against me... I am saddened that Pravinth and His have left us. He didn't don't know what to say. At least they're together. Yes. Yes at least they are. Leaning forward the Blueweyrling propped his hands on Viveth's neck watching as the others offered themselves to be next. Vi, lets see that image again yeah? Lets make sure you have it correct. Closing his eyes made it easier to visualize the rock at the end of the training field. Yes, he was significantly less confident now that someone really had disappeared, but because of the clarity in which the picture came to him he still believed they could pull through. Again, please. They passed the picture back and forth a few times before Kamath and Rof'l made their jump, pausing only to watch them come out on the opposite side of the field.

Are you ready Viveth? Yes. And we shall exceed expectation, because this is a most important skill. E'iah was relieved to hear that his tension was not translating over to the Blue, and if it was the young male was doing nothing to show it. Alright tell them we're next... We will go now Futh. Stepping clear of the others, Viveth launched himself into the air with a quiet rumble. He circled around so that he was facing the direction he wanted to go before checking in with his rider. Ready? Ready. Gimme the picture. Concentrating on the destination, E'iah felt the cold of the Between before he realized they had slipped into it. When they exited the void he began coughing, but that was something he expected would happen. Right now all he cared about was that they had made it.

You did very well Viveth! We made it! I told you we would. I just wish we hadn't needed to do it with so many of them watching. Look at them I can tell they are judging us. He said as they alighted on the ground once more. If he wasn't busy trying to control the hiccups that his coughing had turned into, the Blueweyrling would have palmed his face. Just like him to turn a happy occasion into something which he complains about. Oh well. He was happy.

Hiccup... Farnath damn it.

[Requiem]

A brief smile was reserved for Rof'l, decidedly braver than the greenweyrling felt. He'd been much less concerned about his own first jump with Eveyth; his girl never had concerned him overmuch. Neither human nor dragon half of the pair had any problem concentrating and...well, when it came right down to it, the only ones who could be hurt was they themselves. Hurt. Lost. But with Iskierka's appearance and M'kai's shortly thereafter, he swallowed the anxiety as best he could, nodding toward the end of the line he wished to take - as if it truly mattered - and wrapping an arm lightly around Eveyth's neck as she nuzzled against him comfortingly. The game was over, for now.

How were the younger ones to be confident if he didn't show any? Eveyth began sharing the image with the dragonpairs, calmly asking each of the young dragons to pass the image back to her first so she could be certain of it. Then the green gave them leave to jump. (It was an idea X'rx would not have had, and, not for the first time, he was grateful for Eveyth's cool sensibility.) All was going well enough until a keen rose up, starting from the dragons on M'kai's end and sweeping down the line. The young man visibly flinched, his dusky skin paling. Which? Pravinth, the green supplied quietly, her hide tinged with grey. That was when X'rx felt the first skip of panic from his green, a hiccup across their link.

The greenweyrling whirled toward the brownpair, but it was already too late to stop them. Eveyth's momentary concern had soothed. They didn't pass it back to me first, but I'm sure... It didn't matter how sure she was, however; Nandath, gone on impulse to search for his brother, may well have found Pravinth. But he certainly didn't find his way back. X'rx felt nauseous as the second ripple of keening sounded amidst the assembled dragons. He raised his voice. "Please...if you're not sure it's okay to let us work with you." The man nodded to Eveyth almost reluctantly.

Turning to those who hadn't yet jumped, Eveyth stated calmly, Don't go until I've checked your coordinates, okay? Everyone who has done that has been fine. A couple more made it safely, and X'rx was just beginning to think that they were safe from any further mishaps - his hands were shaking but he'd managed to somehow steel his expression, a large portion of that Eveyth's strength - when movement from M'kai's end of the line drew his attention. Tarath was capering about in a full-on fit at Hers, something that by all reports was not unusual, but then she suddenly took to wing and Eveyth straightened at X'rx's side. This time, as the seconds lengthened after Tarath vanished from sight, the pair expected the keening that started up.

Turning his face away, he nodded to Tenlie and Rajnith. "When you're ready, have Eveyth check your coordinates," he stated tightly, his arm tightening around the green's neck. Meagen he'd known. (He thought her a touch crazy, but he'd still known her, and strangely it left him more tired than the others had.) Only when the green had checked and approved the remaining weyrlings' images did the fist around his lungs begin to loosen.

[Ruby]

Three. Two. One.... Zero...

M'kai squeezed his eyes shut as Futh greyed out, picking up the keen moving down the line. T'ris and Pravinth. M'kai didn't know either of them that well, but Pravinth had always made lessons interesting with his insistance on being fashionable, and there'd been nothing wrong with T'ris, not at all. He'd certainly been shaping up to be an excellent rider. Just as the sound was dying, though, Futh picked it up anew. M'kai glanced frantically down the line, tallying colors and faces against his mental lists. T'by and Nandath were missing. Clenching his jaw against the pain that seemed to be welling up inside him, the Bluerider turned back to his class, prepared to comfort and console.

But Dhavalth was already in the air, offering to jump next. M'kai had Futh triple-check the coordinates, just to be sure, but everything looked fine. He gave the go-ahead, reinforcing Eveyth's words. Please double and triple check your image. Make sure you are totally confident before transfering, the Blue reminded the remaining Weyrlings. Luckily, Dhavalth's bravery seemed to have broken the tension, and three more pairs transfered safely. There weren't many left - a handful of greens, a blue or two. Even paranoid Viveth, who M'kai had thought would be far too afraid to go without quite a bit of coaxing, had made it.

A commotion just past K'fuzzi and Balath made M'kai look over angrily. "Hey!" he snapped, as Futh aimed himself in the Green's direction. "No horse-" He was cut off halfway through, though, as he realized two things. First, that was Tarath and Megs, the rider looking terrified as the dragon threw some sort of fit. Second, they'd gone between... and hadn't come back. The keen rose, but Futh stayed silent, landing as gently as he could. M'kai seemed to have gone mostly limp in shock, hair curtaining his face as he stared diretly at the ridge in front of him, understanding but not comprehending. She was gone.

Futh shook himself, forcing M'kai back to at least some usefulness. Without consulting anyone, the rider unclipped from his straps and stalked off into the jungle, his face a confusion of anger, terror, and tragedy. Futh stayed, turning to shield his dissapearing rider from view. Your Weyrlingmaster will be fine, Futh assured them, obviously trying to hide the shared pain in his voice. Please continue. Remember, we will be happy to offer additional tutoring if you find it necessary.

---

Tenlie swallowed hard when Rajnith keened, staring at the space T'ris no longer occupied. She'd liked the Blueweyrling very much - he'd helped her with Big Brother once, and had always been willing to talk. T'by, too - two lost in such a short span. Tenlie was starting to think that maybe she didn't want to go, after all.

But Jazz made it, and Ruiliana already had. The lines on her side of the field dwindled, the collection of surviving riders at the far end grew. It was time. She swung up on to Rajnith's back, settling herself between ridges and clipping in. She'd just looked to Eveyth and X'rx when Rajnith shuddered, keening a third time. She'd been facing away, so it took Tenlie a second to figure out who they'd lost, this time - Meagen and Tarath, both sweet although often absent.

The pause was longer, this time, with no brave Dhavalth to show them that nothing was to be feared and M'kai leaving to grieve more privately. Ten didn't know what it was between Meagen and M'kai, but it had been obvious to the whole class that something was there. There was no time to ponder, however - X'rx was asking for her coordinates, and Ten couldn't very well back out now, already mounted as she was. With a brief glance at the remaining weyrlings - Sari, K'fuzzi, 'Reine if he had stuck it out - she steeled herself and nodded, squeezing her eyes tight as Rajnith took off. Do not be afraid, TenlieMine, Rajnith said in the sweetest tone Ten had ever heard from her green. The Glasscrafter just held the image in her mind, offering it up to Eveyth for a final check.

Freezing cold and the day's comparative warmth followed in quick succession, and Ten let out the breath she didn't realize she'd held, opening her eyes. A strangled half-laugh came out, then Rajnith had landed and Tenlie dismounted, tears in her eyes. They'd be alright.

--

It was only a few moments before M'kai returned, eyes red-rimmed and face bleak. He re-mounted and clipped back in without a word, watching Rajnith and Tenlie dissapear, then successfully re-appear, looking pleased with herself. So what? All the successful jumps on Pern wouldn't bring Megs back.