Weyrling Lesson 2 (Tropical)

[Administrator]

((Just for the record, this is taking place before the plot thread. xD))

D'vin walked into the empty classroom quietly. Seeing as they were still looking for a replacement Weyrlingmaster, D'vin had offered to substitute. It would earn him a little extra money, which would be useful. All he had to do was to teach these weyrlings the meaning of friendship or some nonsense. He looked at the clipboard. Oh, not the meaning of friendship. It was bonding, dragon care, and training work. He snorted. Training at Fort had been so much different. It was non-stop drilling and formations. Dragonets learned to fly at a much younger age at Fort... He frowned. The memories weren't the happiest to think upon. Looking over the lesson plan one more time, he sighed. Surely these weyrlings wouldn't appreciate needing to get up before sunrise, but they had a busy day ahead of them. He might take them on a run first, he figured. There were long runner trails through the jungle that could lead them in a loop back to Selenitas. He smiled drolly. No, he sighed. He could do that in the afternoon. When the sun was most high. He chuckled to himself again, apparently pleased with that notion. He wasn't going to let these weyrlings get off so easily.

Hiriarth, would you do the honors? he asked cheerfully as he took his seat in the classroom near the weyrling barracks. Hiriarth rumbled in amusement.

WEYRLINGS![/color] he blasted at the junior weyrlings, both humans and dragons. REPORT TO YOUR CLASSROOM RIGHT AWAY. THE LESSON WILL BEGIN IN FIVE MINUTES. ANY LATECOMERS WILL BE ASSIGNED EXTRA CHORES![/color] D'vin had to restrain himself from laughing. He was pleased that Hiriarth was willing to be equally hard on the weyrlings as he was.

D'vin looked at his chore sheet, yawning. Oh yes, would he assign chores. He would only do extra ones if they were late, though. Taking a seat at his desk, he looked through the entryway, waiting to see who would arrive first. Dragonets could fit through the door right now, so he expected the place to be filled to the ceiling with sleepy younglings.

--

Attendance (people with bolded red names are accounted for).

All punishments apply.

T'nmor of bronze Jedirth
S'adi of bronze Sitieth
Q'in of brown Russeth
N'tian of brown Elleoth
A'viar of blue Benath
L'ron of blue Fortith
T'ra of blue Gartoth
D'niel of blue Zorith
Devai of green Sendreth
Janisi of green Storith
Sikowy of green Linoth
Fiona of green Raiyth

[irbre]

Q'inMine, Q'inMine, there is lesson, Russeth stated eagerly as a brown head loomed before the brownweyrling, completely eclipsing his view in the form of a massive, brown draconic head. While some would no doubt panic and immediately set about to rolling to and fro in a tizzy, Q'in merely blinked sleepily, slowing returning to the realm of the waking. He had been having a pleasant dream, after all, even though he could hardly recall what it was about. The brown dragon leaned closer, huffing in his rider's face, urging him to get up.

We are supposed to be there in five minutes, he added somewhat belatedly, not bothering to figure that it had already been a matter of about two minutes, during much of which he had spent getting up himself, as well as trundling over to nudge Q'in repeatedly until the short weyrling had woken enough for him to interject. So we had best hurry. It would be bad to be late, especially since he said that anyone late would get extra lessons.

That, if anything, moved Q'in much quicker. Scrambling to his feet, the brownweyrling dashed over towards his pile of clothes, quickly sorting through the mess for something that even vaguely matched. Russeth watched with amusement as His scrambled about like a headless wherry, the brownweyrling attempting to pull his tunic on backwards more than once, failing spectacularly each time. Flicking his tail, Russeth padded over to the door to wait for His. Their roommates had already left some time ago, he assumed, for neither T'nmor nor bronze Jedirth were present.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity but was indeed only three minutes, Q'in burst out into the hall, followed closely by Russeth, the brown loping along at a languid pace while Q'in ran pell-mell ahead of him, almost falling more than once. Russeth, on the other hand, was surprisingly graceful, for even Q'in's fastest pace paled in comparison to that of a dragon. Yelling apologies as he ran, for he bumped into more than a few people passing him in the hallways. Russeth seemed more than amused, while Q'in was decidedly anxious to arrive on time so that he was not get extra chores.

Much to his surprise, he was among the first to arrive. Out of breath and flushed, Q'in moved quickly into the room, Russeth sliding through the doorway with ease. They're teacher was already present, of course, and Q'in moved around in a confused manner before finally making up his mind on where to stand, situating himself not too far from D'vin. Russeth moved to stand near him, rustling his wings comfortably, obviously not as winded as poor Q'in, who was huffing and puffing like a fiend, his face bright, all sleepiness forgotten in his haste to arrive.

[mangotango]

Wake up Mine. Wake up. We have lessons today, the voice told me so. Benath did not know which dragon had spoken to him by name. He knew it was the dragon of the one who would be teaching His, but that was about all. No doubt he would know soon enough, and the lack of knowledge did not bother him. His blunt snout bumped A'viar again, causing the boy to finally sit up, grimly accepting his fate. It was still dark outside, but that was a fact he noted only in passing. He was used to the dark, at least, if not the earliness of the hour.

It took him only a few minutes- precious minutes, which Benath's impatient urgings had reminded him- to get himself clothed and groomed. His sandy hair was still a little mussed, and his clothes were no where near wrinkle-free, but he was presentable.

My back itches, AviarMine. Benath said a little wistfully, pressing his head against A'viar's leg.

We have to go! Once we're there I'll scratch all your itches, Benath, I promise. But you don't want extra chores, do you?

I would not mind.

Well, I wouldn't want extra chores. Come on!

It was a faintly difficult thing to navigate the halls. Benath was all for running, his still-untried limbs fairly quivering with anticipation, and A'viar was all for taking it slower. He'd rather be a little late then have to explain why his dragon had run into doors. So a compromise was reached in the form of a quick, trotting walk that nonetheless allowed A'viar to steer clear of most people and obstacles. Benath's head swung from side to side as splashes of light and shadow played across his milky eyes.

A'viar stuck his head into the classroom, and was immediately relieved to see he wasn't the last one to arrive. He wasn't the earliest, though, and since he wasn't sure how long he'd spent guiding Benath around the corners, he moved to stand just inside, with his Blue curled at his feet. The young man watched D'vin cautiously, with a nervous- but hopeful- smile on his face. Were they on time?

Benath head-butted A'viar's hands to remind him of his promise to scratch all the itches.

[randi]

L'ron had been awake for about an hour before the call for a Weyrling lesson had resounded through his mind. Normally, he didn't wake up mid-night to be struck with insomnia, but things had changed over the last weeks. Refusing to think, he walked over to the slumbering dragon who had slept through the older dragon's call, gently touching one of Fortith's sharp wings.

The reason for the insomnia was, in large part, due to the nightmares the morbid little mind of the sleeping dragon created for his weyrling. Usually attentive eyes seemed to be unable to hold much of a focus as they travelled across the sleeping Fortith. It wasn't so much the nightmares that bothered L'ron, but the thought of being the closest outlet to enact these thoughts that bothered the blueweyrling.

However, he did not want extra chores, and thus tugged lightly on Fortith's wing. "Wake up." The dark head lifted, whirling eyes surveying L'ron carefully. "We have Weyrling lessons."

Something troubles you. Fortith stated, stretching as he woke himself up fully. Then again, when is something ever not? The young dragon mused, headed for the door. He turned his head, waiting for L'ron to come, which the boy followed the unspoken command.

"I didn't sleep well last night," the weyrling mumbled, stepping into the classroom, and feeling the light agitation and slight anticipation that usually followed when Fortith spotted Benath. He nodded at his fellow Weyrlings before looking over their teacher. Not knowing what to do, he simply moved farther into the room away from the door, watching as his dark blue scanned over his clutchmates and their Weyrlings. Almost as an afterthought, the blue looked back at L'ron.

I slept wonderfully.

[Kisha-Ra]

Regrettably, in certain circumstances, Janisi was morning person. In her home hold she would have been engaged in the hard work of trying to get the hold’s littles dressed and organised for the day. Storith, however, preferred to sleep much later than human youngsters, most likely so she had that much more energy for growing and causing later mischief, so Janisi was left alone to wander the Weyr in the cool hours of early morning.

Unexpectedly an unfamiler dragon’s voice blasted in Janisi’s mind, turning her back towards the barracks. She could feel Storith stirring, roused by the annocment of lessons. You know what Janisi?[/color] Storith’s happy voice inquired. Janisi fully expected her dragon to say ‘I’m awake now’ but this turned out not to be the case. We have lessons! Isn’t that exciting? I think it is. Hiriarth says we are to be there in five minutes.[/color]

I know that Storith. I heard.[/b] Was Janisi’s dry reply to that. Storith uncoiled her brightly coloured body from its currently recumbent position and stretched her short limbs indolently before looking around the room. Her Janisi had left the door open! Just a little bit, enough for an enterprising young dragon to get her claws in the gap and pull it open wider. Well pleased with her cleverness the two toned green trotted down the corridor to greet her chosen.

You know what? I’m coming to meet you! Look, here I am just around the corner. I found you! Now we can go and see what Hiriarth wants![/color] Storith bounded up to Janisi, ever so pleased with herself.

Janisi cocked her head to one side, considering. Storith was coming to meet her? How? Distracted by that question she very nearly walked into her dragon. She supposed Storith wasn’t really supposed to wander the corridors unattended but Storith was so pleased with herself that Janisi didn’t have the heart to scold her. All right, we’re going. Janisi interjected into Storith’s stream of babble about how she had opened the door. Try to calm down a bit?

Janisi was relived not to be the last person to arrive, though she was far from the first as the room was already filling up with weyrling pairs of all colours. Storith headed for the far side of the room immediately and Janisi decided she’d better follow, There was no telling what Storith had in mind.

[Administrator]

D'vin nodded, smirking as he circled the names of T'nmor, S'adi, and Devai. Both of his bronzeweyrlings weren't here. He would have fun giving them extra chores. "Well, weyrlings!" he announced jovially, putting his clipboard down. "We have lots to talk about today," he told them all, rubbing his hands together in what he hoped looked like it could possibly be intimidating or intense. "Today, we'll be doing some stuff right here in the classroom, then we'll go outside and work on your teamwork skills. All of you probably feel as though you're on top of the world, but we're going to have to break that to make sure that you know how to work together. I am not going to allow for any slop whatsoever. Because if you mess up even the smallest bit, I have a little surprise for the end of class. We'll be taking a five-mile endurance run today after you do your teamwork exercises!" he announced merrily, as though running five miles was the most exciting thing they could possibly do. "But, if you do not work well with the teamwork exercises," he added sternly, "You will have to run another mile for each mistake!" He smirked. He would so enjoy this.

"Then, after our run and some stretching, you may eat. Then, off to do chores! Then we'll maybe let you have some free time. Unless you make too many mistakes, in which case we will repeat the entire lesson," he told them. He wasn't lying. Getting up, he strode over to the closet, and pulled out a bucket. "First thing on the agenda," he went on, "is to build your bond with your dragons. You're going to be blindfolded, and you will walk through the weyrling classes building with only your dragonets giving you directions. You are not allowed to peek. Hiriarth will ask each dragon to tell him afterwards, so lying isn't going to work." He paused, then looked over to A'viar. He had heard of the dragon's condition, but fortunately had an alternative. "A'viar, don't take a blindfold. Instead, you be the one to lead Benath around," he told him, his voice stern so as not to think others were showing him pity.

He scowled. "All right, you have until Hiriarth says to stop. Do not leave the building. You may go to other classrooms and the hallway. And touching isn't allowed, so if Hiriarth hears of this, you'll be punished. All right? Go!"

[mangotango]

A'viar frowned, looking at the man. Lessons and then a run like that? Was this man truly mean-spirited? At the mention of mistakes, though, he paled. Benath was all about mistakes! If they held back anyone else, he'd feel terrible. This was already turning out to not be a good day...

Do not worry about it, Mine. We can do it, watch if we can't! Benath nudged his Mine's leg with his blunt muzzle. When D'vin continued with their mission (A'viar got a bit more pale until he gave them their own special assignment), Benath crooned happily. This'll be easy! We've already been practicing the walking. We'll have the advantage over the rest of them. The young dragon's tone was confident and cheerful.

A'viar was much less enthusiastic, but clung to Benath's good mood and didn't let it show on his face. He wouldn't look upset, and he would never, ever, do anything to make anyone think he wasn't totally fine with Benath and Benath's sight problems. He loved Benath, after all, and wouldn't let anyone think they were inferior.

Careful, Benath. Come towards me. A'viar cheated a little bit, using the dragon's sense of where his Mine was to get a little bit ahead. The blue moved carefully towards him, head and tail weaving slightly as he tested the air in front of him for obstacles. On the level ground such things were not common, but outside he was quite likely to trip. Even though they weren't going outside, it was good practice.

How close to each other are we allowed to get? A'viar figured he wouldn't be allowed to touch Benath, but didn't know exactly how close he could come. Better stop there

Benath obediently froze, his large, trusting eyes staring into nothing as he awaited His' next order.

Let's just go around the room for now... Avoiding moving objects! Forward, Benath. Forward. Left. Too far! Alright, just a little bit- perfect! It took a lot of coaxing, but soon A'viar and Benath were cruising around the room at a respectable speed, weaving in and out of chairs.

[randi]

L'ron listened to the plans of the dragonrider, but only felt his heart drop at the idea of Fortith leading him like A'viar led Benath. He didn't want to go into a blind world, didn't want to rely on the creature who enjoyed torment to keep him safe. Do not worry. Fortith commanded, stalking silently to L'ron's side. Yet, this command only made him more nervous than before.

Fortith rumbled, pleased with the situation. L'ron would learn to trust his judgment, to know that what he said was the way things were. He controlled his Weyrling's world, and the sooner the boy learned that, the faster they would be able to be content. He watched silently as L'ron fetched a blindfold, wrapping it securely around his eyes. Can you see? Even if L'ron cheated, he wouldn't tell Hiriarth. His bonded's misery was in his control. Anyone else interfering with that arrangement was merely an annoyance to be ignored.

"No," he mumbled, left in the dark. He waited for Fortith's suggestion, but he found himself deaf to the dragonet's voice, or the blue just wasn't speaking. Suddenly, he felt the near-purring voice in his head.

Spin in a circle until I tell you to stop. He argued in mumbles for a moment, but was met with only a stony silence. Shuffling his feet, he moved in an unmoving circle until he had no idea of which was he faced. L'ron tried to listen for Fortith's movements, but the dragon refused to budge. Walk forward slowly, until I tell you to stop. When L'ron didn't budge, the dragon added a snappy 'Now!' to it.

With hesitation, L'ron moved forward, feeling out the floor before stepping as if he might suddenly just fall off a cliff. A few unwilling steps and he became used to the rhythm, almost forgetting that he was supposed to stop until he placed his left foot ahead and Fortith half shouted Stop! L'ron held his breath for a moment before releasing it into a rush of air, the hot air almost immediately bouncing back to hit him in the face.

You're close enough to lick the wall. Fortith informed him, looking at the scant inches between L'ron's shoes and the wall. The weyrling stepped back, causing Fortith to lash his tail. Only when he said it was okay, could His move! Finally, he relented after a few solid moments of threatening silence. L'ron stepped back several inches, still unaware of where he was in the room.

Glancing about, Fortith wondered where to take His next. He hoped that the simple show of control would be enough to make the boy listen to him, though he was not above running the lad into a wall or another Weyrling should he continue to prove his inability to trust him, though he still doubted if he would tell the much larger dragon how His fared correctly. The idea of someone else mediating L'ron's punishment was almost unbearable. Do not move to the left or you will hit another wall. Fortith commented almost boredly, though the feeling of control running through his veins was exhilarating.

[Kisha-Ra]

Janisi gave D’vin a flat, hard look, which the weyrlingmaster probably didn’t even notice. She was used to hard work but thought D’vin was pushing them to see if anyone would push back, an extra mile for every mistake, whatever happened to a simple beating?

When she heard what they would be doing she sighed a heavy sigh, she wasn’t sure that Storith had a long enough attention span to lead her around. Would I let you walk into things?[/color] Storith asked innocently

Very probably Janisi replied as she took a blindfold and returned to Storith. Once blindfold to her satisfaction, which was to say what she believed to be the Weyrlingmaster’s satisfaction, she couldn’t see a thing except the dark cloth tied around her face.

Yes. Now we go too![/color] Storith said excitedly, Janisi could hear the dragon next to her getting up, straining her ears she could hear other dragonets moving about and the unsure steps of their bonded.

Come on, first we’re going out the door. You just need to walk across the room.[/color] Storith did so herself and waited for her Janisi to catch up. stop now you need to turn…um…turn…which way is this?[/color] This was going to be a very long lesson indeed.