Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds
Cradled in a cup shaped bite out of the mountain, this wide, grassy flat has become home for Xanadu's weyrling dragons. It's set surprisingly high above the level of the beach, visible from the eastern side of the grounds where a long path snakes its way down the hill to the sand dunes below. All other sides to the grounds are bordered by the hard granite cliffs, two entrances clearly visible. One is merely human sized and leads deep into the mountain, to the Caverns. The other is broad and high, the entrance to the Weyrling Barracks.
V'dim is in the field, leaning against Isobeth's side. The green is crouched down, rumbling as her wings are spread lazily. Talking aloud to the green, he folds his arms in front of him, glancing now and again in the direction of the barracks.
J'di comes walking in, Ikasuth at his side. One of the human's hands rest on the dragon's shoulder, stroking the brown hide gently. "Yeah, you'd be really cool at it, Ikasuth." Not a sycophantic agreement, but a fervent one.
Talsohlerrosaeth rumbles as she lands carefully in the grounds, folding her wings as she crouches. Mysia looks around, and waves to the Weyrlingmaster and the young weyrlings, before she climbs down from her dragon. "Good day."
T'maz and Dementh have wandered in having just gone for a swim after eating.
V'dim steps away from Isobeth's side, clapping his hands for attention. "Weyrlings! In line, now! Riders on the ground, ahead of your dragon." And he starts to walk towards them, arms still crossed, eyeing them as he nears.
Mysia leans against her own greens side as she watches the WLM and Weyrlings. Talso keeps an interested eye on them as well.
Ikasuth moves into permission, and rolls backwards so that he's sort of assumed a relaxed, devil-may-care attitude. His rider, though in name only, steps forward, and stands straight at attention. An attention that's very difficult to maintain with a smooth voice in his head telling him to 'relax a little bit'
T'maz watches with interest and moves standing in front of his dragon. Dementh flutters his wings at the Weyrlingmaster's approach. He seems excited.
"/Children/. That is what you all are, at this moment. You are learning new skills like a child in his harper lessons. And, as such, I expect you to listen. I expect you witnessed F'alk and Rakirikath, grounded as they are because of their failure to follow directions. I also expect that you do not want to be in a similar situation." Pivoting to head back the opposite direction, he waves a hand. "Straps on your lifemates, and wait next to them until I give you clearance to mount."
T'maz starts fixing the straps on Dementh who is shaking his wings a little."Stop that Dementh.. Now hold still." The brown holds still, eyes still whirling with excitement as the straps are placed on his body. T'maz fixes the buckles and stands beside his large brown almost at a military style of Attention.
Mysia looks over the weyrlings with a critical eye, she was an AWLM before the move here after all, even if she decided not to be one again when she got here. She however does stay silent, even if she moves away from her dragons side.
J'di nods once in the Weyrlingmaster's directions, and then turns around. "I know I told you about F'alk." He murmurs to his dragon as he prepares to place and adjust the straps on his dragon. "That's why I was at attention. No, no, it probably wasn't the most stylish thing I could've done. But it was the wisest."
V'dim glances sidelong at Mysia, nodding his head to indicate his approval of the extra pair of eyes before he eyes T'maz. A strap is tugged on experimentally, and then he quickly waves him up. "Mount up and strap yourself in. But stay where you are." J'di is eyed as he steps closer. "Quickly now, weyrling. Work, don't talk. Finish, and mount up. Your delay loses you your safety check." Perhaps V'dim just trusts him. Or perhaps just the brown.
Or perhaps they're all going to die. J'di nods, swallows once, and climbs up to sit snugly between Ikasuth's neck ridges.
Mysia nods back to the WLM, before climbing back up to Talso's neck and steapping herself in as she watches the pairs. Talso rumbles and rises to her feet, flickering her tail behind her.
V'dim nods his head to each in turn, thoughtfully, and then stops a distance away from them so he can be seen, but still heard. "T'maz will go first. Dementh will push off, take three wing strokes at then land. You will stay where you land, and hopefully will be out of the way of Ikasuth. Perhaps. When I give the signal, you may go." And V'dim turns, striding quickly of the way towards the side of the field. Raising an arm, he drops it, signaling for T'maz to go, the weyrlingmaster resting his chin in one hand as he watches.
Dementh pumps his wings and rises up for the three wingstrokes as T'maz holds onto the straps."Whoooohooo We're airborne!" «Now we land rider mine We did great and we did fine.»
J'di watches Dementh and T'maz go up, and smiles slightly, reaching down to rub Ikasuth's neck. "Yes, my friend, that'll be us next." He looks over at the Weyrlingmaster then. "Wait for the signal."
V'dim continues to watch T'maz and Dementh carefully - the other weyrlings managed the take offs, but well, landing seemed to be another story. "Patience, weyrling." He offers to J'di, not taking his attention off of the moving pair.
Mysia watches the first pair up as well.
J'di watches too, perhaps slightly more nervously than he or his dragon would be willing to admit.
T'maz watches looking around slightly, smiling with the exhilaration of being able to go up and down on his dragon.
V'dim watches T'maz for a moment before turning, pumping his arm for J'di's benefit. "Go ahead, Weyrling! Avoid your classmate, and be careful!" J'di receives no less attention then T'maz did, as he ponders.
Ikasuth flaps his wings once more, gliding down towards where they're supposed to land. The brown is drifting back and forth, pleased to feel the air, however shortly it's doing it for, gliding along his sails and knobs and muscles, reveling in the glorious feeling of flight.
Rakirikath marches proud green steps toward the other weyrlings and F'alk trails a pace behind with a regular look of a constrained yawn. They both pause, not far in.
V'dim watches the second brown land before turning his attention to the tardy blue pair. "Mount up. If you were here, you'd know that we were pushing off, taking 3 wingbeats, and then landing. Lets see how you do without having the benefit of watching the others, hm?" F'alk is eyed, while he lifts his arm, dropping it in indication of Tamasth's permission to take off.
Mysia watches the pairs interestingly. She glances toward the Cirilla and her blue as they arrive, and then to the younger greenpair as they arrive as well. Talso rumbles to the newly arrived pair.
Cirilia scrambles to Tamasth's neckridges, her face pale. But a promise is a promise. The little blue seems overjoyed and crouches low and catlike on the field. He's been waiting for this, and Rakirikath is given a smug snort. His lady is not afraid at all! His long tail twitches, a feline waiting to pounce the unsuspecting rodent before he springs to the air. One beat, two beats, three beats, the blue reaches the airspace he was ordered to achieve. Though his movements are still a bit unsure, he's proven himself to his lady love.
Rakirikath returns smug snort with a pressing, disbelieving one as F'alk returns eyeing with a faintly too triumphal smile. He leans against Rakirikath's flank. Somewhat stiffly.
T'maz turns and watches Cirilia from the back of Dementh."Whoohoo You did it!" He claps for Cirilia."This is gonna be old hat in a while." He laughs.
V'dim claps his hands for attention as he strides across the field, having Isobeth pass along to Rakirikath that the younger green pair should join the others by /walking/. "Weyrlings! You all did well for your first attempt, but I hope I needn't remind you that one success does not guarantee continued success." Folding his arms in front of him, he looks from one to the next, including F'alk in his next statement. "You all should spend time stretching out their wings - make sure they suffered no injuries, even minor ones. If you stress it, it could become worse." Pacing back and forth, "You will practice this exercise daily, each time lengthening the time and distance in the air, but /only/ under the supervision of myself or my staff shall you be on your dragon, do you all understand?"
Cirilia straightens atop the blue's neckridges. She nods firmly, "Yes sir." No worries there. Rakirikath can't even goad Tamasth to push her up on him without supervision. She mutters to the blue, "Because you could hurt yourself, that's why," eyes still trained on the Weyrlingmaster.
T'maz nods very fervently still with the smile on his face. Dementh beside him raises his wings again.
J'di continues low over Ikasuth's neck as the young brown brings his wings down for the third sweep, before gliding in for a landing, a very angry looking J'di on his back. "I know you belong in the air, Ikasuth, but we can't be disobeying an order like that." Although there's a very unspoken. 'Not yet', in there. J'di dismounts and nods. "Absolutely, Weyrlingmaster."
T'maz smiles at his dragon."Yes we'll be able to take more than one person up once you've gotten more wing strength."
V'dim inclines his head to all of them. "Stretch them out, and let them swim and relax." That's the most he's ever going to give them for a break, so they'd better take advantage of it. "I expect to see you all bright and early tomorrow." And then he's stalking off, Isobeth pushing off to glide off as well.
Cirilia salutes V'dim, replying with another "Yes, sir." just like any good daughter of an ex-WLM should. Tamasth rumbles quietly, and Cirilia shoots him a glare, "You heard him. I won't push a colt too hard either. So you'll be patient."