Wherling Lesson 3

[kysseh]

Swithin had not a clue what he was doing.

Oh, for all his silence, the tall, still gawky teen was not unintelligent. His brain worked just as well as anyone else's, and he could be quite creative when it came right down to it. The truth of the matter was that he was not quite as socially skilled as some of his peers, and he tended to come off as rather slow given that he took time to consider his words before they emerged from his mouth. Or, that was usually the case unless his lovely Ellanie was involved. Then he just stuttered like the adolescent he used to be.

The thought of teaching made him nervous, and the wherhandler idly rubbed one of his work-calloused hands along the scars on his arms, looking over his gathered lesson materials. Blindfolds, sacks full of stone... yes, he had everything. With Ellanie indisposed, he was the only one available to teach the young ones, but that meant he had to triple-check things before the lesson got started. He hated to forget things. A nudge to the underside of his left elbow alerted him to the fact that he had nearly forgotten to take one thing into account, and his hand drifted to stroke the head of his bonded companion, offering the skeletal blue a rare smile of affection. He loved his Swisk, Swithin did. Sure, the blue would never be large or fast or strong... but he would always be the best companion a man could ask for. Swithin would not have had his life any other way.

Swisk seemed to sense affection and rubbed his pale head against the tall handler's arm before tipping back his head and letting out a barking cry. Swithin recognized it as the sound that his wher had used as a young thing, and he had always translated it to something like, "I'm here! Come find me!" Evidently, Swisk understood that the wherlings should be here, and he was encouraging them to come along. His handler was grateful for that. He had left a note with specific directions and a map on each of the wherling's apartment doors the night before as well as a reminder note earlier this night. They should be arriving soon at the spot he had designated.

The place he was occupying was just at the edge of the jungle, and a dip in the ground and a nicely-sized rockpile marked it from a good distance. The rockpile was actually not the focus of the lesson as it was the cave beneath it that Swithin intended to visit. The cave was not exceedingly deep, but it was large enough that all the whers could fit inside relatively easily. Yes, they would have good fun with that, but that was for later. First, the wherlings needed to arrive, and Swithin hoped it would be soon, which Swisk reiterated with another bark that trailed off into something like a howl.

Attendance:
Piden of Pidesk
Jermayan of Jermaysk
Rilyer of Rilyesk (I)
Derrin of Derrisk (I)
Meira of Meisk
Ceryl of Cerysk
Hennai of Hensk (II)
Kalushka of Kalushsk (II)

[Ruby]

And arrive Piden and Pidesk did. The pair had decided to set a good example as the clutch's resident Bronzepair (or rather Pidesk had decided this- Piden would have been totally happy to sleep in, but incessent barking made it hard). So they were here practically early, Pidesk chipper and in incredible spirits, Piden smothering yawns and smoothing wrinkles and unruly hair. The sun had set a while ago, and Pidesk had had to sit at his handler's bedside in boredom while his lazy handler slept the night away, so the Bronze was even more energetic than his usually upbeat self.

Piden yawned as they came over the edge of the slight depression where Ellanie- no, that wasn't Ellanie at all, Piden realized. He recognized the man and the Blue from the Night Watch meeting, but hadn't caught his name. In fact, they had been near Ellanie. Maybe an Assistant Wherlingmaster? Piden wasn't aware that there was one of those, but it didn't totally defy reason. Weyrlingmasters had assistants, why not Wherlingmasters?

The pair headed into the pit, and Pidesk gamboled up to the other Wher, snapping playfully at the Blue. His sandy hide glinted in the moonlight, and Piden couldn't quite cover an adoring smile. The blue might not like it, but to Piden, everything Pidesk did was the cutest, most wonderful thing ever. That was an odd feeling to Piden, still- he realized now that he'd never loved anything before in his life like he loved his bonded. His parents, Saphor, even Red- all these paled in comparison to the stupid, wonderful, obnoxiously playful beast before him.

But now there was a strange Handler to deal with. As Pidesk effectively introduced them both to the Wher, Piden approached the Handler, inclining his head respecfully (for the moment, at least, he would behave). As he straightened, he met the man's brown eyes and smiled. Why, this wasn't a man! Shards, this boy could only be a few years older than Piden himself. The smile shifted a little, looking a little less genuinely friendly and a little more... well... friendly. "Piden of Pidesk, pleased to meet you," he offered, trying for the moment to keep seduction out of his voice. This was the Wherlingmaster for today (or something), it was probably a bad idea to do something Piden would regret right off the bat.

[neeuqtar]

Time for another lesson, Uu'n, Adith said, far more cheerful than he truly had to be. Uu'n grinned. Well, his dragon might be amused that he was going to lessons again, but Uu'n was actually enjoying himself. Learning new things was surprisingly interesting for him... if he'd actually stopped to think about it, he was mellowing, just a little. The environment of Selenitas was not nearly so tough as the environment of the mines, and though he was becoming a warrior, perhaps he wasn't quite so... murderous, or so careless with life. You're still as tough as stone, though, the blue said softly, leaning to the side and making a wide turn back towards the Weyr, looking lazy from the ground but at high speeds.

Glad to hear it, Uu'n replied, crouching atop his dragon. He tightened his grip on the handholds of the specialized "saddle" he'd designed. Okay, wingover-foreflip and upward rake, then roll to the left and take me down! The dragon didn't pause. With the ease of practice, the blue threw himself to the side, a wingbeat taking him up before he dropped to the side of an imaginary enemy, raking the area where wings and flank would be, before flipping forward and back, defending with talons before coming up behind the "enemy." With a war-cry of a howl, Adith flicked himself into a vertical dive, wings tucked close while Uu'n leaned tight to his dragon's neck, holding on with the strength of his hands.

The dragon dropped down over the river, racing along the curves of the Selenitas, coming rapidly up on the gathering whers. Ready? the dragon asked. Uu'n sent assent. Now! Uu'n kicked off of the dragon just as Adith flipped sideways and suddenly flared a backwing. He tucked into a roll, skidding on the ground before sprawling into a mound of leaves. He grunted and stood, shaking dirt and leaves off.

"That worked well," he grumped as Adith powered into the sky with a howl. He caught sight of Swithin and Swisk and waved, heading over. "Swithin! Swisk!" he called, heading over. He stopped a couple feet away and dipped an excessively, well, excessive bow before righting himself with a cocky look in his eyes. "I'm here for lessons again. Luckily not so late this time." His earrings were all uninfected still... except for the one in his cartilage. It was getting all red and swollen... which suggested that he had better get his bluerider bum off to the healers, shardit. And he'd paid good money for that hole...

[Avu]

Meira was studying the map. Again. It was, apparently, the newest location for Wherling Lessons, and unless Meira was much mistaken (along with the map) it bordered the jungle. The jungle was...an interesting...place to hold a lesson, no? She much preferred the previous lesson spot, but eh...a new place would be fine, along with a new experience for Meisk, and that was always good, yes? The blue wher nudged her arm suddenly, an apologetic, questioning chirp emerging from his throat as he reared, placing his foreclaws in her lap, tilting his head at her as the image of Ellanisk and Hers, and the other wherlings, appeared in Meira's mind. "Lessons. Yes, we're about to go," Meira assured the pale blue wher, affectionately pressing her lips against the creature's nose and then glancing around for Zesa. The gold flitter had expressed the desire to come with them to their lessons, and yet, now she was curled up, happily sleeping, her vibrant golden hues vivid against the dark brown furs. Perhaps she would just leave Zesa here, today...? But as soon as the thought flitted across her mind, Meisk dropping from her lap and padding to the door, waiting silently, Zesa's head came up, a questioning trill sounding in her throat.

Well. "You should probably stay and sleep, or you'll be terribly tired tomorrow," Meira pointed out, but the queen already had glided over to her, curling her tail around Meira's throat with a soft, sleepy chirp as she nuzzled her head against Meira's collarbones. She was quite apparently there to stay. "Fair enough," Meira sighed, trotting after Meisk and pushing the door open. The blue wher slid into the night, a ghostly, pale blue shadow drifting soundlessly, surely, through the dark, followed by Meira, dressed in much darker shades of brown, Zesa standing out brilliantly even in the darkness, a golden scarf wrapped around the girl's throat. Meisk was in his element in the darkness - his pale hide all but emphasized his lack of sun-exposure. He pranced happily, stumbling once or twice but always popping back up at Meira's side, teasing Zesa playfully. The flitter was much too sleepy to really care, but Meisk seemed delighted anyways - for once he was better than the queen, who could not see enough to fly confidently at night - and it delighted him to no end. In flying, in socializing, Zesa seemed always to have the upper hand and despite Meira's consoling, Meisk still loved it when he was clearly better than the gold flitter.

Both Meira and Meisk stopped, though, as a barking cry rang faintly. "A wher?" Meira murmured, more for her own benefit than either Meisk's or Zesa's. Both had spent more time around whers than any other draconic creature; the cry of a wher was undoubtedly recognized. Zesa cocked her head, humming softly, her eyes gleaming in the darkness; Meisk, mid-prance, stiffened slightly, and, to Meira's surprise, the image of another blue wher was transmitted to her. She recognized him from Night Watch, although his name evaded her for present moment. "Ellanisk?" she asked uncertainly, as she moved forward again, Meisk now trotting at her side, his wings outstretched for better balance. The blue wher shook his head, whuffling softly. No, he was quite certain, it wasn't Ellanisk's call. Meira shrugged as Meisk led her happily towards the edge of the jungle, until, at last, the wher who had called them came into sight. No, it wasn't Ellanisk. Did that mean Ellanie wasn't teaching them today? Meira frowned slightly, surprised, as the blue wher uttered another bark and a howl. Zesa sat straighter on her shoulder, tail lightening from around Meira's throat. She recognized that cry, vaguely. It wasn't exactly like a whersport's - the call of the Night Watch - but it was close enough for her to make the connection. The barking whuff followed by a howl. The queen loved that sound - she had been trying her best to teach it to Meisk, but the blue shyly dodged away from doing it.

Now, Zesa reared onto her hind legs, one claw balanced lightly on Meira's ear, as she trilled back at Swisk, ending in a soft fluting call that sounded more like an instrument than a howler's cry - but it was recognizable, no? She was very pleased by that call. Meisk chirruped a shy greeting to Swisk, butting at Meira's legs with his head as the girl approached cautiously, mumbling a slightly incoherent greeting that sounded like a rather confused, "Hello..." A bit rude? Yes, perhaps, but she was a bit preoccupied trying to figure out exactly why their Wherlingmasters had unexpectedly changed. Zesa had gone back to a more curled position around her neck again as she crouched uncertainly, drawing Meisk into a hug. Uu'n's yell of greeting to the Bluehandler reminded her of his name.

Swithin and Swisk, yes. "Um, Meira, of Meisk - pleased," she murmured. "And Zesa," the girl added, as Zesa flicked one wing in greeting at the other Bluehandler.

[weaving]

Though Jermayan knew where the wherling lesson was to be held, it didn’t get him there any faster. In fact, he had followed the directions on the map yesterday evening precisely because he knew that if he didn’t, he would be unreasonably late. The young man had just finished infirmary duty, giving him just enough time to run back to the apartments, grab what he needed, and dash to the meeting place. Knowing where it was in advance saved him both time and a headache and he silently thanked himself for his foresight.

Jermaysk was up ahead, sending his bonded images of what he saw. Though Pern’s two moons both hung in the sky, the young man still had a tendency to trip over branches hidden in shadows or, more often, his own two feet. Despite his protests, Manners had decided to come along for the ride as well and rested quite comfortably curled around Jermayan’s wrist. Honestly, he saw no reason to ban Manners from the lessons. The ‘mandyr was friendly to everyone and was quickly learning to stay out of the way. He was far better behaved than many others of his kind, for which Jermayan was grateful. A creature that spit insults at anything that so much as breathed was the last thing that he needed.

As they neared the meeting place, he could see that he certainly wasn’t the first to arrive. However, it didn’t look as though the actual lesson had started yet, for which he let out a breath of relief. He had made it on time. As he looked closer, he frowned slightly. Where was Ellanie? He looked closer, recognizing everyone except for a young man and blue wher. Was he to be the one teaching them tonight? If so, what was wrong with Ellanie? Was she sick? She hadn’t come into the infirmary during his shift. Well, there was only one way to find out.

Jermaysk circled around back to Jermayan, having deemed the area safe. He stayed near to Jermayan as the covered the last distance to the rest of the group, though broke away once they arried, barking a happy greeting to those already present. Jermayan was more quiet with his greeting, settling for a wave and a smile. The wave woke Manners, who immediately had to add his own welcome.

Happy night! He called to all, adding a trill to accent his words. Jermayan’s smile broadened at the bronze’s words, though he glanced toward the stranger who was to be teaching them. Would he mind?

“Good evening. I’m Jermayan, this is Jermaysk and this,” he held up the wrist that Manners occupied, “is Manners.”

[Ember]

Cerysk was bounding ahead of her Handler as usual. Although not the brightest of whers she was most certainly lovable and very friendly. The girl couldn't have been bonded to a better wher in her opinion. Naturally every handler and rider probably thought this of their own companion. The jade green wher stumbled ahead and Ceryl giggled. She didn't seem to be growing out of her clumsiness, likely due to her build. It was an oddly endearing trait though. Cerysk paused and barked encouragingly. She loved Ceryl but wanted to see the others now. The girl tolerantly sped up.

A bronze blur passed inches from Ceryl's face and the girl fell back. Heir came and fluttered in front of her, scolding her for leaving him behind. How could she not bring him along to show off and protect Zesa? Ceryl sighed as she stood up, images of the queen and the now empty bowl of meat flashing through her mind. "Fine then. We're almost there so sit on my shoulder and behave, okay?" she told the flitter. She had meant for him to stay in the apartment to avoid a confrontation between him and the bronze salamandyr but he was determined to come along.

After that the three arrived soon enough. Cerysk quickly went to greet all of her clutchmates with an affectionate nuzzle. She didn't greet Swisk quite so enthusiastically but did acknowledge and act friendly with him. Ceryl was amused and made her introduction while Cerysk saw to the whers. "Ceryl of Cerysk, with bronze Heir Apparent," she said a bit stiffly. She kept a schedule that did not need her to interact with others very often so she didn't know them very well at all.

In fact, Swithin she didn't know at all and U'un only vaguely. She wondered where Ellanie was and was not afraid to ask about it. "If I may ask, where is Wherlingmaster Ellanie?" At the very least she was polite about it, easily seeing how he could take offense to the question. She hadn't heard of any changes so he was likely just teaching them for one lesson, maybe two....right?