7/15/2011
12:34 AM
Logfile from Flandynn.
Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Beach
With a gentler slope to the water from the main beach and the way it is cut in like a cove, this is the most sheltered spot for bathing. The sand is the same white hue, there are just as many — or perhaps more — scattered shells. From here, one has a beautiful view across the lake, a scene more often tranquil than not.
People: Fl'ynn and Keziah
Dragons: Alosynth
Obvious exits:
Main Beach <MB> Water <NE> Weyrling Grounds <WG>
One the first clear day in awhile the firestone sacks have been brought again for the lesson. There are some groans from some weyrlings as they see it. Perhaps thinking that it's going to be another excerise of flinging the sacks back and forth at each other. It builds good coordination and strength which is likely why they've done so much of it. Keziah is standing off to one side as she's directing some other weyrlings to set the bags in a specific order.
What is this coordination and strength silliness? Well, at least a semblance of it. Fl'ynn is a wheel in the clog, well-oiled (figuratively). "Pretty sure my bicep is as big as a treetrunk now," he jokes with another of the nearby weyrlings, only to get a response about it being a sapling. Good-natured rough housing ensues 'til the teen is stumbling away, dimple-cheeked and grinning widely. "Good day, ma'am," is offered to Keziah.
Ers'lan and Briana, while their dragons might have already been on the beach waiting for their rides, appear from the waters edge. Looks like they were out swimming, as both of them slog into the shallows, having likely swam as hard and as fast as they could to get to the lesson on time, or, at least, near the appropriate time designated. Ers'lan and Briana both are only in their bathing gear and upon seeing the firestone sacks, Ers'lan salutes Keziah stiffly, "We'll be right back ma'am… Best get our gear." Zhaoth and Sahazyth sit quietly, waiting, as the two friends bolt toward the barracks in pursuit of their flying leathers or at least working clothes. Beach wear does not go hand in hand with flinging firestone.
for their riders*
Keziah watches as the two late weyrlings show up and then addresses those that are ready. "As you've learned in your previous lessons there are varying qualities to firestone, as well as the size of the chunks. In the bags you will find the lower quality in small chunks. Can any one of you tell me why that might be?" she asks as she looks them over and sees who remembers their lessons.
Briana races along with Ers'lan once she gives her salute, to change out of her own bathing gear, grabbing up her towel on the way through. After about 5-10 minutes she returns, still buttoning up her flight jacket as she returns. Her damp her pulling back into a runner tail to keep out of the way.
Fl'ynn fetches up with the other candidates once again, righted and not so scruffy with the earlier tussling. His eyes momentarily go unfocused, their dark murkiness lost as Kagenaith fills his attention up -and it isn't much later when the blue is scampering forth, somehow still managing grace despite his size.
<
While the lesson continues, it does initially take the brown and gold weyrling some time to return. The sprint from one beach side to the barracks, dressing, and sprinting back does take it out of a person. Thankfully, these two have been training for well over a Turn now and are conditioned to be as quick as they can on their feet. Ers'lan, while he was likely able to out distance himself from Briana, is jogging alongside her as they return, full flight gear on, from jackets, to helmets, to riding straps slung over their arms, to goggles and gloves. They were prepared as they were told to be on any given occassion. Sweat beading down his face, Lan gives a final lope toward Zhaoth's side, dumping straps onto the ground near his mount. Ers'lan salutes yet again, panting hard but looking as if he could go a mile or more longer. Good thing too, since his eyes as they scan the beachside, take in the firestone sacks. There is a brief nod toward Fl'ynn, but not much else, considering he's trying to get his breath back after the swim and the one hundred meter dash. An hand slaps Zhaoth on the muzzle affectionately, muttering, "Aye. Made it."
As the lessons progresses with questions tossed and questions answered and soon there are weyrs that are opening their bags. "Very good. Glad to know that you've all been paying attention. That knowledge will certainly do you well in the coming turns." KEziah says with a smile "So now than, chewing firestone doesn't always come naturally, they've been using their first stomach for all this time, so you will have to encourage them to swallow to their second stomach. Now, most will get this with out too much difficulty, but some dragons may get distracted and swallow it wrong. A little bit in the first stomach isn't much a cause for concern, however too much can make them sick for days. ANother thing to watch for is their tongue, biting it while chewing can be very painful and they will have to wait until it heals to try again."
Fl'ynn offers a salute Lan and Briana-wards, not near as smart as the sorts Kezia receives, but it is full of respectful acknowledgement. Hail there! Actually Kagenaith will do the vocal greeting; part could be because he so enjoys the sound of his own voice. Lesson is going on though, and it is a belated look that is shot to Keziah, muttering mostly to himself, "Hate it when I bite my tongue. Hurts something awful."
Ers'lan decides that all that running deserves a seat. It just so happens that Zhaoth is willing to provide it, sinking his chest down to the ground and crossing forepaws. Ers'lan climbs up and leans forward, regarding the sacks for a time. There's a bit of annoyance on his face as he has to slide down so soon after getting up and relaxing. He scoops up a sack from the pile as directed, regarding the material inside it. Only after does he take a seat again, pulling the sack of rocks up there with him, going through the pieces, regarding their quality. Zhaoth already has his maw wide open, showing off his razor sharp teeth, tilting his head down toward his rider when the firestone isn't initially passed to him, "Nay, wait fer the go ahead… Reckon we been through this before."
Lan may have restrained himself, but another weyrling is about to feed piece to his draogn "R'olf put that down." she states as she gives him the death glare and said weyrling slowly puts the piece down with a gulp. "Okay then, the stone will react with chemicals in the stomach and form a flammable gas. Your dragon will fill an urge to to belch and when the gas is expelled it will ignite in the air. Now if your dragon startles make sure that they will not inhale. Severe burns can result to the mouth, however the hide itself is more protected and they may just get mild discomfort. Also, make sure that they are not facing a person or a dragon. Flame is not something to play with lightly. There first flames won't be very much due to the quality of the stone as well as the need to learn how to position their head to aim and sustain the flame."
"I get that urge sometimes after eating dinner down in the caverns," Fl'ynn notes rather idly following Kezia's words about gas. This provokes a fit of snickering from a couple of the nearby weyrlings. The teen's smile doesn't quite diminish at all those, damn dimples making a showing. "When do we get to have the stone that makes the big flames?" This is pertinent to his interests.
Briana settles in to watch the lesson, even though her lifemate won't be able to chew firestone. There is an intensity to her gaze as she watches the task of the others and how they work with the firestone. Part of her job as junior to know everyone else's job.
Ers'lan is one of the weyrlings that chuckle, shaking his head at Fl'ynn as mirth slides over his expression. For the rest of it, he remains a quiet observer, even jerking his hand away when Zhaoth tries to snatch the piece of rock held out by the brown weyrlingrider. That earns a jab of an elbow into the brown's side, causing the dragon to snort, jaw snapping shut with an audible huff of air wheezed out.
Keziah may not seem like she's noticing much of the little antics, but she does catch those little things. "Fl'ynn, you'll move up in grade when the dragons get the hang of flaming and you'll get to practice with the moderate stuff. The good stuff is more expensive and not used in training. Not all full riders even get the good stuff. Typically those who have great need of it in flaming down large expanse of foliage. In days of old it was reserved for Threadfighting, but luckily we do not have to worry about that anymore." She then continues on "After flaming your dragon will need to expel the the remains, commonly referred to as ash. Those new to flaming will not always know when they are going to urp it up, so it could come suddenly. They'll soon learn to expel it where it won't be an inconveniance, like the ashpits. It's a wet gravelly mess and it smells very much bad." she notes after a bit. "Now, are there any questions?"
"I want to flame down large expanses of foliage," Fl'ynn concludes, and announces. "Right, Kagenaith?" The blue was starting to wander away, apparently a passing avian having captured his attention and the was this >< close to taking off and joining it in the tree -or something. Kagenaith aborts any attempt at flight, coming around to hoot an agreement with this 'mate.
Ers'lan does not give in to any indication that he has a question, crossing his arms with a chunk of firestone underneath the one. Zhaoth tracks the avian that had attracted Kagenaith's attention, wings unfurling slightly at the same urge to go chase it. Yet, he remains rooted on the sand, with his heavy tail flopping at his bony side.
Briana raises her hand to ask a question, "Without thread how often would we expect to have to take up flames with our dragons?" She asks as she sits upon one of Sahazyth's forearms, her attention intent on the others in her class. Sahazyth of course more than a little interested, extending her head to sniff at the stone curiously.
Keziah chuckles at Fl'ynn "Well, there will be time for that. FOr now you'll just learn how to flame. Soon you guys will be in the air and flaming rope as well. It used to be an excercise for practicing to flame Thread, now it is still a good training tactic and is sometimes used in games. Often times with rope that has been imbedded with various things so that they light up in pretty colors, like copper or sulfer and the like. As for how often, it all depends on your wing. Some do hardly any flaming or not at all. Others spend more time at it. It has it's uses with Search & Rescue and many times with still clearing areas." There's a pause and a glance towards Briana a moment and then she continues "It has also been used to repel renegades as well or to flush them out of hiding." she notes after a moment "Now, if there are no more questions I want you each to grab a chunk of stone and feed it to your dragon. Again make sure to pay close attention and encourage them and then stand clear. Now if you all will turn around you'll notice some wet straw bales have been set up as targets. You'll be practicing with these as you learn the amount that your dragons will need. As they become better at it, the lrager dragons can start using the larger chunks. Smaller ones now though help lesson the damage. Briana if you'll follow me."
Kagenaith turns to look at Zhaoth, it is almost a look of loss there, loss at the following of that avian. When the blue sighs, it is a full-body sort of collapse. Fl'ynn nods after Keziah, but she'll get a sigh as well. At being released to take stone, the teen is pouncing to do so, snapping up a rock (okay, maybe more than just one), and immediately tossing it to Kagenaith. In a prefect world, the dragon would have been paying attention and gobbled it up, but instead it bounces off of the blue's nose. "Hoi, open your mouth and chew this up." Next shot goes down the gullet.
Ers'lan frowns as he notes Keziah looking at Briana before speaking of the use of flushing renegades out of hiding, unable to keep his jaw from clenching and his hand from squeezing the firestone a little too hard, soft pieces of it flaking off. Flicking his tongue out, he leaps off the knee of his dragon, grumbling something that is probably related to the matter that got him to clench his teeth tight. Zhaoth flexes his wings as he clamours up once his rider is off him, stretching his talons and giving his own jaw a practice roll. Ers'lan does pause, this time to regard the blue pair, noticing immediately the first chunk of firestone bouncing off Kagenaith and the second going straight in, with no chewing involved. The brownling pauses, flinching a bit, "Oy, ya reckon he chew that stuff first. Get 'em ta cough it back up…!" Zhaoth flicks his tail, golden wisps of silk reaching out with a steely afterbite, « I could bunt him on the side. It could work to dislodge it back up. » Ers'lan waves a hand, "Nay. They got to figure it out. Open yer maw…!" Zhaoth sharply turns to obey, rolling his tongue out over his set of teeth, mocking a canine. Ers'lan slaps the tongue aside, "Get it in thar. Dun bite the damn thing, set it aside. Underneath the rock.. aye?! Like ya would with meat…" Eventually the tongue rolls back in with a flick and a gob of spittle splashed on Lan. Lan closes his eyes and just grunts, half shoving the rock into the dragon's maw. Zhaoth plays with it for a time, like a child would to a big hard ball of gum, rolling it side to side.
Briana gives a stiff nod to the comment about battling renegades, but tries to keep her features neutral. Her family having been caught up in one of those raids. As Ers'lan looks to her, she gives him a small smile as she hops down from Sahazyth's leg as she is beckoned. "it's ok" she mouths to Ers'lan. As she heads over to where she is directed she watches Kagenaith as well do his task before her attention becomes focused on the Weyrlingmaster. "Gonna learn the flamethrower things?"
Keziah gives a nod to Briana "Yes, you get to learn the flamethrower, no wish to have your gold turn infertile after all." she notes as she leads the goldrider over the the flame pack. "Now, this is fairly similar to Agenothree packs that the farmers use for their fields but has the capability of igniting." she notes and then goes through and identifies the various parts and the workings of it. "Flamethrowers can be a little more limiting since you'll be on the back of your dragon so you have a narrow field of use so you want to learn to be spot on." she notes. There's a look at Ers'lan and a raised eyebrow at his brief show of temper. Then she glances back at Briana and says in a low voice for the golds ears only. "Now, I know things haven't been always easy for you and with the flaming practice you may hear more remarks about your parentage. I want you to keep me informed of potential danger. I have no wish for weyrling to turn on weyrling." she notes and then turns back to others as she leads Briana to the straw. "Try not to waste the stone Fl'ynn." she notes and then watches the rest of the pairs.
HACK-COUGH-COUGH-HACKSOMEMORE A little bit slimy, pretty wet, that rock ends up shooting right back out of Kagenaith's maw -with a lot of sound and stomach-hitching. Fl'ynn cringes and ducks, nearly missing getting beamed in the head by the rock. "Holy shells…" Blink. "Now if you'd be so kind as to shoot flame out after you chew it, Kagenaith." He goes to take up that rock once more, waiting, and then popping it back into the near sweat-dropping blue. Crunch. While dragon chews, Fl'ynn scampers away from the business end of the beast, shooting a look down to Lan, and then to Briana. He missed paying attention to something in all of that, so it is a curious look. BURP. A trickle of flame emerges, and a lot of smoke from Kagenaith's nostrils. "Oi, what the shells was that?" « Flame? » "That was pitiful. I got defective stone." It couldn't be the dragon, nope!
Briana has disconnected.
Ers'lan turns an eye on Fl'ynn and Kagenaith at all the expressive noises, as does Zhaoth. The brown finally stops swirling the stone around in his mouth once it is clear that Kagenaith is not going to die choking on firestone. The lips of his maw are held apart, to show razor rows of teeth, and carefully he chews like this, as if not to get himself messy with the powder and chunks he soon causes the firestone to become. A couple more pieces are lobbed into the dragons maw, chewed on as well. Made to dust, with flecks and sharp pieces slopping out of his muzzle. Ers'lan puts a hand on his hip as he feeds Zhaoth more, unable to convince the dragon to close his mouth while he chews. Zhaoth takes a while to swallow what he has chewed, appearing at least once to heave back up the contents as they went down the wrong tube. Finally, the ordeal seems over. Zhaoth's ribcage seems to bloat. There's a wing flapped in fright, until the soothing mutter of his rider has the brown his muzzle toward the straw bales, "NOW! OPEN YER SHARDIN MOUTH!" Ironic, the brown didn't want to close his maw when chewing and didn't want to open it when expelling the gases. At least, with Lan all but yelling at him, the brown does so before the gout of flame spews out in a short but affective burst. The straw bale sizzles as some edges catch aflame, though not enough to actually keep it lit. At the end, Zhaoth's steely voice can be heard, « Again. »
Keziah watches as Briana targets in on the straw and moves her way down the line of weyrlings "R'olf, don't play with it." she notes to the rider as he was juggling it and trying to toss it to his dragon and causes said lad to drop it and looks abashed. "Well Fl'ynn, then pick a better stone." she notes with a smile "And perhaps a bit more as well." she adds and then comes to Ers'lan and Zhaoth. She nods as the brown manages a respectable flame "Very nicely done." she notes simple before she continues on down the line. "Continue practicing but don't forget that your dragon will need to expel the ash and when that time comes." She gestures over to some pail and shovels. "Then be sure to clean up." she notes as she steps back if there was any other questions and lets them practice."
Fl'ynn heard Keziah speak, but all he pretty much well heard there was 'more stone'. Don't have to tell him twice. In a bounce, Fl'ynn is doing just that, getting more stone! That isn't at all an evil laugh coming from him, not at all. Stone and flame. It completely works for Fl'ynn, and Kagenaith will be sure to be spitting the stuff 'til there isn't another rock or crumb to be found.
Ers'lan regards Keziah in his peripheral vision as she compliments their success, frowning where there should be an expected smile or a boast of pride. Instead, he seems to be pushed to feed more stone to Zhaoth, the dragon unwilling to let that tiny achievement get in the way of -real- success. Like Kagenaith and Fl'ynn, the brownrider pair are likely to work until there is no more to work with, at which point Zhaoth will concentrate on the removal of all the ash weighing him down.
Keziah watches the weyrlings, wincing a little as some do end up swallowing it wrong, unfortunately some will be in for some sleepless nights. One of the greens looks a little green as she sort of hunches up a bit, causing her rider some distress. "All she needs to do is expel. Oh she already did." she notes as the green expels a pile of smelly wet mash.