[SS WEYRLING LESSON] First Manned Flight!

[Zen]

It was two sevendays after the hatching of Aerroth's firt clutch and the day most new riders wait so long for had finally came. Today, they would become true riders. They would fly for the first time and receive their weyr assignments. For the past two months they had been watching their lifemates soar, unable to join them, but today that would all change. K’ton stood before them all with Sorth lounging at his back. He had gathered them atop the plateau, the same they had climbed blindfolded with only their dragon’s direction. Even K’ton’s sour mood wasn’t enough to ruin this particular lesson. “Before we start, I’ve received your weyr assignments from the Weyrwoman. After your first flights, you are to continue flying with your dragons today, getting them used to carrying your weight. After dinner tonight you will move into your new weyrs and out my barracks. It’s getting much too crowded with all of you and the new younger weyrlings in there now too.”

He paused, looking distinctly unamused despite what one would think to be teasing words, and pulled out a hide with Karredy’s carefully written weyr assignments for her dragon’s first clutch of children. He called out each weyrling’s name, along with their dragon, and what number weyr they had been assigned to, “Melana and Sularenth, weyr 4. Srunae and Danovelith, weyr 4. B’zor and Litniroth, weyr 28. C’mor and Zardilath, weyr 28. K’zen and Pavalenth, weyr 28.” The next name he hissed through gritted teeth. Pregnant weyrlings, female Brownriders, something had to go wrong with every class didn’t it? “Mollin and Daltilith, weyr 32. Haella and Tsulocanth, weyr 32, Z’kar and Laverauth, weyr 37, Liesol and Hawedith, weyr 37, G’rett and Mastromideth, weyr 50, D’nel and Nadornith, weyr 50, T’yer and Muldiseth, weyr 57….” As he listed off the rest, he rolled the hide back up and handed it to Amaril.

“You’ve crafted your riding straps and they’ve passed my inspection. All you have left to do is mount your dragon and try not to fall off. Each of you will mount up one at a time, take off from the plateau to give your dragons room to adjust to your weight after takeoff, fly out over the lake and fly back here. After your initial flight you will wait for your classmates to take their turns and after everyone has flown, you are free to all take to the air. Do not overly tire your dragons or try anything stupid! Remember you still need them to move you to your weyrs tonight and if they’re too tired to carry you then you can go sleep with the whers because I won’t be allowing you back into my barracks.” The weyrlings had been learning under him long enough that they should know he was dead serious, "Now then, first up!"

OOC: As always, lessons are not mandatory, you do not have to post and your character will be assumed to have been present whether you post or not. I left this one open so whoever posts first can say K'ton called them to go first. He would be calling out everyone's turn so no one was pushing or shoving to go next as this is a rather more exciting lesson in character XD. K'ton's orders were for a simple first flight, but you do not have to obey him, if you'd like your character to get lost in the moment and go overboard, and then subsequently get yelled at X3

[madb]

Liesol shifted uncomfortably, feeling the dread build heavy and thick in her gut. This was absolutely the worst lesson yet—even climbing up the cliff, whereupon she had gotten promptly stuck, embarrassing herself and causing no end of trouble for K’ton, whom she must have apologized to instinctively every time she’d seen him, for weeks after—no, even that had not sent her into such a paralysis that she hadn’t been able to sleep the night before. Then again, she had not expected that particular lesson. This one, she couldn’t get away from! Her weyrlingclass hadn’t been able to contain their excitement, bubbling over about it, chatting in the barracks constantly and in the dining hall and while washing their dragons… And Hawey! Liesol sighed. Hawedith was also terribly excited about this whole mess.

They were getting weyr assignments today, as well, but Liesol barely paid attention to them. She wondered if she could fake sick—not as though she’d have to try too terribly hard, considering the state of her stomach at the moment—but dismissed that. Not only would she suffer the day in severe guilt, but she’d wind up having to do this on her own. With K’ton. And nobody in her class to hide behind. No, no, that did not sound like a good alternative.

Hawey huffed out a breath, her eyes whirling with excitement. I hope he hurries up, I want to fly!

All I have to do… Liesol felt faintly dizzy. She dug her fingers into the web of skin between her index finger and thumb, and tried to focus on the ground. Oh, sweet ground. How she wished she would never have to leave it, never ever.

”Liesol and Hawedith.”

Her head jerked up, eyes wide. What! No, surely not, she was in the back! Hidden! Why on all of Pern would K’ton have made her go first, it was no secret that Liesol was the most timid weyrling of her class, like the blindfold lesson had revealed—no, he couldn’t possibly. Liesol gulped. Was this punishment for having caused him so much trouble, before?

We get to go first, Liesolmine! Hawedith was of the exact opposite mood, though she paused in her giddiness to send a rush of soothing encouragement her rider’s way. I will not let you be hurt or scared. Do not worry, I am an excellent flier. Which was true enough, Hawey was gorgeous in the air, but also very fast and liked to show off and, oh, dear. Perhaps Liesol shouldn’t be thinking of these things.

Slow and, and steady… for me, dearest. Liesol took a deep breath. She had to get this over with. K’ton would totally make her sleep with the whers if she didn’t get this done by the end of the day… though, really, that didn’t seem too bad. At night, they’d all be awake, anyhow. Perhaps she’d track down the blue handler and his tricksy partner…

Hawey crooned as her rider swung herself onto her back; Slow and steady! I promise.

Oh dear. Hawedith looked rather tall from this perspective… The plateau, yes, we… we shall take off from there. Did you hear?

The green cheerfully affirmed that she had been paying very good attention, because this was her favorite lesson already, and if Liesol took a few deep breaths she could even close her eyes, Hawey wouldn’t be offended, and they could get through this and Lie would love flying, she’d just have to give it a chance!

Lie turned pale as Hawey began to move forward, and exclaimed; “No! Wait! I’m—I’m very sorry, I simply can’t…” Hawey made a concerned noise, turning her head around as her rider slid off her back and stumbled upon landing. She was trembling badly. Without lifting her eyes to meet anyone’s face, she bowed quickly to K’ton—“I’m so s-sorry, can someone else go first?"—and then fled to the back of the group. Her face was the color of ripe redfruit and she looked terribly ashamed.

The energetic green looked very much the opposite of her normal cheerful self, worried and concerned, the thoughts shared between them soft and private.

[Deleted]

T'yer .:|:. Muldiseth

The instructions seemed simple enough, as T'yer leaned against Muldiseth slightly. It was their first manned flight, and while the other weyrlings showed emotions ranging from excitement to mild terror, the brownrider pair exuded an air of calm. Muldiseth, for once, was standing proudly, rather than lounging. He was looking forward to this lesson, as he and his would finally be able to take flight together, becoming more of a unified body than they already were.

"Liesol and Hawedith."

Muldiseth's head turned to gaze over to where the greenpair stood. I don't know whether she will vomit or faint...possibly both. Muldiseth's voice was dry and humorless in T'yer's ears. Does it really matter? The sooner this is over with, the sooner we can move, and the sooner you can go find a patch of sunlight. Isn't that right, lazy bones?

The large brown dragon suddenly shook himself, much like a wet dog, knocking T'yer to the ground, effectively wiping the smirk from his face. T'yer rose and dusted himself off, catching Muldiseth looking at him with those self-satisfied, vivid green eyes. T'yer glared for a moment, before his face softened into a small smile. Why can't I stay mad at you, Muldy?

Because though you would never admit it, you love me. Just as I love you. Muldiseth blinked slowly at him, and for a moment they stood wrapped in the tenderness of the moment. It was broken shortly thereafter, though, by Liesol's exclamation.

"No! Wait! I’m—I’m very sorry, I simply can’t… I’m so s-sorry, can someone else go first?"

T'yer rolled his eyes, as Muldiseth watched the reactions of everyone else. Whispers rose up among the werylings, as eyes flitted from Liesol to K'ton and back. No one seemed eager to move, the earlier excitement giving way to an uneasy tension. "Great Faranth, really?" Come on, lazy bones, let's go. Muldiseth remained silent as T'yer swung himself onto his back.

Almost before T'yer was settled, Muldiseth broke into a run. The brownpair raced over the edge of the plateau, hanging for a moment before Muldiseth spread his great wings. T'yer's stomach dropped to the base of the plateau as they fell through the air, Muldiseth's wings catching the wind. A downthrust brought them level with the plateau, two more taking them even higher. T'yer held on as his facade of calm was stripped away. Like a wide eyed child, T'yer's breathing was deep and uneven, as he gazed around him.

They were now soaring high above the earth, the dragon's wings slicing through the air. T'yer risked a downward glance, discovering just exactly how high they were. His head snapped back up, and he felt Muldiseth's deep rumble beneath him. Long way down, T'yermine? You would know so better than I.

A warm contentment flowed between the pair as they soared. They were nearing the lake when T'yer noticed a shift in Muldiseth's movements. Hold on, T'yermine. T'yer tightened his grip on his dragon, as Muldiseth tilted ever so slightly to the left. T'yer's world tilted, literally, as Muldiseth pulled in a wide half-circle. When the brown righted himself, T'yer could see the plateau, and how everyone standing there looked like little ants from this distance.

Ants? T'yer felt Muldy poking around in his mind, and T'yer pulled forth a distant memory, a much younger version of himself watching little red ants marching around their nest. Muldiseth seemed satisfied with that, and they resumed their silent flight back to the plateau.

As they drew closer, T'yer sat up straighter, uncertain as to how they would land. Just hold on, T'yermine, and try not to fall off. I'll handle the rest. T'yer nodded once and swallowed a lump of uncertainty. He gritted his teeth and held on tight, as Muldiseth moved beneath him. Muldiseth tilted his wings into backstrokes instead of downthrusts, slowing his forward motion. The landing was heavy, jarring T'yer forward and almost sending him tumbling over Muldiseth's head. He held on, though, and when Muldiseth came to a halt amid a thin cloud of dust, He sat proudly upon the brown dragon, their first flight a success, at least in his opinion.

[Rhush]

Srunae :: Gold Danovelith

Srunae was, all told, relatively relaxed. Just don't look down, my darling. Okay, maybe not so much. While the gold weyrling didn't have any sort of debilitating fear of heights, she did have a somewhat debilitating fear of falling. An odd fear indeed, and the subject of much scrutiny at her least favorite weyrling lesson—the one when they had to go up and down a cliff without use of their eyes—but a fear nonetheless. While Danovelith continued to encourage Srunae in an attempt to help her pass her fear when the pair would be called, Srunae gazed somewhat nervously at the faces around her. She had double, triple, and quadruple checked her straps after K'ton had had his way with the leather, and she had the most sinking feeling that something bad was about to happen... Nonsense Srunae, nothing ill will come of this. The tanned young woman really couldn't be sure.

And then came the weyr assignments. Lovely, she could now get her darling Danovelith out of the cramped weyrling barracks and into her own weyr!... Well, almost her own weyr. Srunae wasn't entirely sure what she thought about sharing a ledge with Melana and her Sularenth; Danovelith was, of course, unbothered, as she could handle her sister without any issue. Srunae, however, wasn't sure she could stand dealing with Melana that often in a day—deal with her at work and then go home to share a home? It all seemed... somewhat worrisome, that. Danovelith seemed otherwise unbothered by the weyr assignments while Srunae continued to ponder them, wondering what the weyrs would even look like. Anything would be better than these weyrling barracks. Well... there was that, at least.

And then K'ton called the first pair to fly. Srunae's eyes widened. Oh dear... She thought, her eyes settling on Hawedith's green form. I'm sure she'll be... fine. Danovelith encouraged, crooning good luck to Hawedith. Srunae was aware of Liesol's worry about this lesson, and had been for some time; she was not nearly so sure of their success. It wasn't that Hawedith had seemed a poor flier-quite the opposite in fact, the green had been proving her acrobatic progress for some time-it was that Liesol seemed a timid rider. And, judging by her friend's slow, shaky movements to her dragon's side, Srunae was less worried about Hawedith succeeding in flight and more about Liesol fainting before they got off the ground.

There she was, on her dragon's green back now, good. Srunae waved Liesol forward encouragingly despite her own nerves, and watched as the greenrider paled more and more the closer they got to the edge. Oh dear... And then Liesol was apologizing, exclaiming her apology even, practically leaping into a heap off of her green, and running to the back of the group. Srunae, her eyes full of concern, moved from the front of the group to the back, her towering gold watching a brownpair take to the air in her place, her eyes half-watching K'ton. If the man was going to get upset, Danovelith would be thoroughly displeased.

"Liesol...?" Srunae said softly, quietly going to her friend's side. "Sweetheart? Would you like to talk about it?" She stayed a respectful distance away from the greenrider for the time being, despite her motherly desire to wrap the girl up in a hug and tell her it would be okay. Lucky for them the class was moving along, despite the bumpy start, and the attention Liesol had brought to herself was fading quickly. It would probably be a little while before Srunae and Danovelith would have to go, given that another greenpair was going now that the brownpair had landed.

(Just threw in an NPC/Adoptable/Whatever NPC pair to go after Muldy for the sake of making it seem like the attention has waned. I know this class has at least one NPC/Adoptable Green in it, so. XD)

[Deleted]

C'mor, Zardilath
Well, this wasn't a very ideal start to their first flights ever. One of the girls had completely lost her nerve and headed to the back of the line. So after waiting his turn, C'mor and Zardilath headed to the takeoff point.

...All right, Morry couldn't blame Maylin for going back down at ALL. This was very, very high and it would be very, very painful if a key part of his harness snapped and threw him off Zardilath's neck. (His harness straps had passed K'ton's inspection, but there were always freak accidents to worry about.)

What if Zardilath didn't take off right? Or Zardilath didn't LAND right? Or... or... sweet Faranth, he really wished he was anyone besides the Weyr's neurotic klutz. That meant he'd have found far less ways for his dragon's first flight to go horrifically wrong.

I'll try not to drop you, Zardilath told him.

TRY not to? Morry asked.

I won't drop you, Zardilath amended, flapping his wings experimentally.

Are we taking too long? Morry asked suddenly, shooting another glance at the other weyrlings below. It hadn't felt like much time, but...

Zardilath mistook his question as a cue to go, though thankfully not before Morry could feel him shift under his legs and brace himself for spilling off the cliff.

NONONONONONONO THIS WAS NOT FUN AT ALL! Morry flattened himself to Zardilath's neck as the blue struggled to find a good rhythm, already feeling queasy from the jerkiness. Oh shard it, shard it, shard it--!

The flight felt far longer than it was due to Zardilath's frantic and choppy wingbeats, but at least nothing in the harness snapped and no fatal freak accidents crippled or killed them. When they landed, Morry dismounted his blue as fast as possible, stumbled off to an uncrowded spot, and threw up.