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.
It's early morning and the fog has draped the grounds in mist. The trees are indistinct forms, looming in the distance. A faint breeze will send the fogs into swirling eddies from time to time. A larger shape begins to form in the mists, moving gracefully and obscuring a smaller shape that is there. A slightly stronger breeze blows through and the green becomes visible. As does her rider. Keziah is yawning a little "You know, it wouldn't be so bad if you hadn't needed an oil as well. I don't care if the babies are being fed, you need to tell me your hide was bothering you that much. Probably that extra herdbeast you ate."
Ooh, yay for new experiences! Aisuohkoth and Jessi just started emerging from the barracks not too many days ago, and today is yet another experience as the pait move out into the morning mist. The little green is pouncing along beside her rider who is busy trying to get rid of the attack of the yawns that she's having. "Aisu..seriously, it's a little too early don't y'think?" The green doesn't seem at all bothered by the early time, she's in awe of this grey stuff that makes it so easy for her to stalk and hide. "Fog, Aisu, it's fog." The green starts to fall back as Jessi keeps walking, disappearing into the morning mist, of course, Jessi's not quite alert enough to realize this until it's too late and she turns in surprise as there's suddenly nothing but silence behind her. "Uh-oh. Aisu, what're you up to?" The young woman calls cautiously. No answer, hmm. Of course, since her attention is now on trying to find her young charge in the fog, she completely misses Alosynth and Keziah's appearance from the fog themselves.
Volenth and M'trin follow a few minutes after Jessi and Aisuohkoth, though both are more subdued than the green pair. The bronze slinks along, his delicate head turning this way and that as he tries to take in the nuances of the mist and the way it leeches the color from everything around them. M'trin walks at his side with a hand resting on the reddish lines of his neck, murmuring answers to unheard questions as they go. "I have tried to paint it a few times," is more audible than the rest, "but it's hard to adequately capture. When you're a bit older I will bring a few of my canvases down." The pale green of Volenth's eyes show a hint of yellow and M'trin chuckles. "Settle down, soon enough." He is just raising a hand to greet Jessi when she slips into the fog on an Aisuohkoth-hunt, so he turns the wave on the approaching Keziah instead.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Aisuohkoth's tone is just that little tickle of soft fur against the minds around her, the gentle touch of velvet against flesh, nothing but those feelings come from the green, that and the soft tinkle of a giggle. Teasing? Taunting? No one will ever find her in this wonderful foggy mist.
Esiae seems much more alert this morning, at least compared to days previous. She's probably been up for several hours, because her hair is in a neat, damp plait down her back, and the piece of redfruit she's snacking on on the way out of the barracks looks like it's on the fresh side. Striding at her side is Sonyxaeth, draconic eyes wide with wonder at this fantastic new change to her world. "Remember when I pointed out fog across the sea? It's the same thing," Esi answers to some mental question, following shortly on M'trin and Volenth's heels. The gold pulls a few steps away from her rider, twirling through the fog and then watching the swirls and tendrils that result. "You're going to get dizzy," the girl chides, head shaking. A smile is aimed at Jessi and M'trin for their respective conversations, but it's a bugle of greeting that clues her in to Keziah's approach - Sonyxaeth has clearly spied Alosynth well before Esiae, despite her antics. "Ahoy there!"
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Volenth's touch is still like unfinished clay. It may eventually be rapier-sharp but today though he responds to Alosynth, the touch seeps out to encompass his clutch siblings. No words from him, but he steals the image and sensation of the fog that surrounds them and his mind reaches out on cool, damp tendrils to swirl around the feet of Alosynth's teasing touch. It is hard to hide from the fog itself is implied, but the words themselves never quite solidify.
As Jessi calls to her dragon, Keziah glances up towards Alosynth a moment and then nods a little as she turns her attention to the approaching weyrlings. "Hello, so good to see you all up so early." she notes with a smile as she waves to Matrin "I do hope you all are getting enough sleep." There's a pause "Course, Faranth knows I never felt like I did." she chuckles a little "Any problems, concerns or questions as all?" she asks as she leans back against Alosynth who whuffles gently in the direction of the young dragons, even as she cocks her head a little at the twirling gold.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Alosynth's soft golden furred mind drifts like seaweed in a lazy tied, soft and delicate and warm as a kittens fur. Pale green flows in amused eddies as her mind reaches out to the young dragons. There's a faint tickle of hairs directed towards Aisuokoth as the little one hides but there's a gentle warmth for all of them.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Sonyxaeth's mind pulses with drumbeats, slow, steady, and curious. It reaches out for Aisuohkoth, like the roll of a wave across sand, but just as quickly retreats when she is distracted. Fur… that is a new sensation, one that she greets with an interested flicker of far-off lightning. « Hello! » The word sings like a lone violin, pleasant but tentative as it spans out and encompasses them all.
Stalk…stalk..stalkstalk. The little green Aisuohkoth pads silently through the fog. Over there, a shadow, is that her? No, gone again! Maybe that shadow is the little dark green. Wait, that one's gone too. "Aisu?" That's Jessi's voice calling from amidst the fog. Of course, the greenling does pause in pursuit of her young charge to greet Keziah. "Good morning Miss Keziah Ma'a…" Bam! Down goes the petite young woman, bepounced from behind as she was distracted by her very mischievious greenlet. "Oof! Aisu!" Jessi is adequately pinned by the green. "Yes, that was a very good pounce, your stalking is improving, now will you please let me up?" Young woman asks as she tries to push her green off of her.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Aisuohkoth's soft touch swirls with ever increasing amusement. « Gotcha! » Loud and exuberant in that single word. « I am a good hunter, am I not? » This also said with a proud shuffle of velvet touch. « Can we hunt real food now? » The question likely directed to her lifemate, or maybe the bigger green over there. « I want to hunt those.. » She takes a moment to search her mind for the word she's looking for. « ..tunnelsnakes. »
M'trin runs his fingers through his hair - it appears he has decided artfully tousled is the best thing for weyrlinghood and the gesture doesn't cause it to go standing up in all directions. "He is up early, so I am up early," he replies. Volenth, the aforementioned 'he', just sniffs and flicks a dismissive tailtip before dropping his muzzle nearly to the ground as he takes in the way his height affects the density of the fog. "Don't ask him if he has any questions, please, for the love of Faranth. I, on the other hand, am not awake enough to think of anything." In spite of the rough quality of the words, there's a grin on his face that only deepens and he turns to take in Sonyxaeth's pirouette and Aisuohkoth's pounce. "At least someone's got some energy."
"What M'trin said. Also, sleep is for the weak," Esiae intones, shooting a suddenly innocent-looking Sonyxaeth a wry glance. "Or at least, so Sony would have me believe. Why sleep when there's so much /adventure/ to be had." This is said with an expansive, sarcastic gesture, which earns a light headbutt from the gold. "Ow, alright, I'm joking! I'm joking." There's a shared moment of mirth before Sonyxaeth returns to her experimentation, this time lifting and fanning wings to test the effects. "Mm, no problems, but certainly more questions than I can answer some days," she says, shooting M'trin an amused, understanding look. "Out of curiosity though, how far into the water can we go? We've splashed around a bit, and gone just deep enough for baths, but if I get one more request to go swimming…" She trails off with a good-natured look, which quickly turns to surprise when all of a sudden, Aisuohkoth appears out of the fog and promptly takes her lifemate out. "Ouchhh," she says with a wince, expression torn between concern and amusement.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Sonyxaeth bum-bum-bums appropriately when Aisuohkoth pounces, though where she learned that, it's hard to tell. « Very well-done, sister. » Rumbles of curious thunder reach out towards the bronze, however, the random rolls somehow forming into the basis for a song. « What do you see from down there, Volenth? » A beat. « Should I try? »
Alosynth drops her head to whuffle at the little green to coax her off a little. Keziah steps forward as well "Are you all right?" she asks after a moment. There is a hint of a smile though. "In time, you'll be able to just tune into her presence and it will be harder for her to sneak up on you. That and she'll get bigger too." she notes, and that amused look focuses on M'trin "I understand. Alosynth had an insatiable need to know about everything." There's a thoughful look for the young gold and her rider "Well, you really don't want to go out too far just yet, best just keep the feet on the ground. This way we don't have any accidental drownings." She frowns a little "Course, dragons can hold their breath for a good long time, but some are easily spooked." There's a pause and a thoughful look "Course, if she's anxious to be trying something, there are a number of fish that stay primarily in shallow water, and near the bottom. It can be quite the trick to actually coax them up outta the sand and muck and then catch them before they burrow back under." She smiles a little as she looks the gold over "Course, it takes some skills, so she might not be quite up for it yet." Is that a challenge? Nah. Alosynth is watching and then she shifts a little even as her tail flicks quickly towards the little green to get a touch on her before it pulls back just as quickly.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Alosynths gentle furs undulate faster as the little one pounces « Take care, ours are a little more fragile than we are. » The older green rumbles softly, hints of spice mingling with faint whiffs of sea salt. « A tunnelsnake is a wily beast. It takes training. To catch before they get you. » she notes in time with her tail touching.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Volenth projects « Volenth's misty tendrils play through Alosynth's kelp for a moment before growing bored with the limited attention span of the very young, when he draws them back to himself. There is only quiet from him for a few beats, but when Sonyxaeth offers thunder he has to reply with a crackling flash of lightening. « More fog, » is his short response, made rich by a wry note he must have stolen from his rider. « But you should try it. » Idly, the idea of hunting and presumably eating a tunnelsnake is met with a quick flash of distaste. »
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I'm actually getting used to it now." Jessi answers as she finally gets the little green off of her with assistance from Alosynth's tail-touch to distract her young charge. Aisuohkoth gives a quietly amused purrcroon and proceeds to turn her attention from her lifemate to the older green's tail. Hey look, it moves like hers! Aisu flicks her tail as well, and then slinks just a smidge closer to Alosynth nonchalantly, trying to let the fog engulf her and hide her position once more. Jessi makes it to her feet. "Fishing, of course now you want to try it." Oy, the green's isatiable curiosity just might be the death of the beastcrafter turned weyrling. Silence again from Aisuohkoth, soon everyone will know to watch out when the rambunctious green is silent. Behind ALosynth can be the distinctly dragonet shaped shadow, then suddenly Aisuohoth is leaping once again from the fog to pounce, or try to pounce anyway, the older green's tail. Jessi kind of covers her eyes. "Don't you remember what happened last time you pounced someone's tail?" No, of course the little green doesn't remember.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Aisuohkoth lets her tone pick up in pitch as she gets all excited about fish. « Fishing fishy fish fish fish! » Okay, a tab bit too singsong, but what does one expect, she's got full energy and she's excited to learn new things. But soon the tone drifts away again to the soft caress of fur and velvet. At least until she pounces. « Gotcha! » Of course, the excited word gets out before the green even knows if she succeeded in capturing Alosynth's tail
Volenth sits up, eyes whirling at all the talk of swimming and fishing and M'trin murmurs, "When it's not foggy. And yes, I am certain you will be fantastic at it." The little bronze watches his sister fan her wings, and after encouraging her to try watching the fog from down low, he takes his own advice and mimics her, rearing up on his hind legs to stir the fog soup with outstretched wings. It's enough to leave him in a brief bubble of clarity, and he snorts, dropping back. "The fog will come right back, don't worry about it," the weyrling half of the duo assures, then drapes his arm across the dragon's shoulders. He gives Esiae and Jessi both little smiles of sympathy. "I think Volenth is one of the less rambunctious and he still keeps me on my toes. Keziah… ma'am," he pauses with a little crinkle of his brow, then hastily goes on, "You haven't ever had a weyrling actually expire of exhaustion have you?" The smirk makes it hard to take entirely seriously.
Sonyxaeth visibly perks for the challenge, whether it was meant to be one or not. Fast-whirling eyes dart in the direction of the beach beyond the grounds, but a staying hand on her hide keeps the gold from bolting off to blunder into the waters immediately. "Wait until the sun comes out," Esi says, clearly rationalizing with the youngster, who pauses to listen for a moment and then relaxes. Brown eyes shift back over to Keziah, scrunched up with a grin. "Duly noted. You're right, I don't want her to panic if she can't touch the bottom, but that will keep her occupied at least until she gets a little bigger." There's a note of understanding in her voice, knowing that the amount of time it will take to master the skill will correllate with her aging. The tone flies right over Sonyxaeth's head - for now - especially since she's ducking her head to observe the fog from ground level at Volenth's suggestion. She rumbles with approval, especially when the bronze fans his wings. The patterns that made…! Esiae has to laugh, both for Jessi's attempted reminder for her pouncing green, and for M'trin's completely understandable question. Oh, the amusements one derives from the incredibly young.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Sonyxaeth's mind lilts, violins and drums working in tandem. « I shall, then, » she says, the music only intensifying with the results. Wonder, so much wonder that song expresses, flowing with excitement over even this, the smallest of things. « That was beautiful. So many delightful shapes. » There /is/ a crackle of amusement for Aisuohkoth however, thunder echoing in a deeper imitation of her sing-song tone.
At the question, Keziah glances back over at M'trin, there's a hint of a smile, but there is also a serious note as well. "I've not heard of anyone dying strictly from exhaustion. Though, I have head cases on Aivas about people who don't sleep at all dying. Course, if that's teh case we'll have the healers looking into you. One reason why we keep close watch on you guys. But, these first bits are quite tiring which is also why we give you time to acclimate yourself to your new situation before we bombard you with lesson after lesson after lesson." she smiles a little at that. "However, it is possible for a tired weyrling to get themselves killed, just the same as it is for anyone working while exhausted. Luckily, I do belive most of you are familiar with learning how to pace yourself in your jobs. That's the one nice thing about older weyrlings." Alosynth rumbles with amusement for the green as she flicks her tail under the young ones pounce. Kezi can't help but grin at that and then she nods to Jessi "Fishing in the shallows is just one of the ways that helps them to learn, as well as work off excess energy and get them some exercise. Course, you'll find that they'll get even more active, and then there are a ton of little things to do to catch their attention and keep them from getting too bored. At least now they are stll taking naps from time to time. Wait until they are constantly up." There's a pause as she looks at them "Have any of you found that yours like to be up in wee hours?" she asks after a moment.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Alosynth's winf-blown golden furs tantalize and are still amused. « Very good pounce. But you still need to practice. Little fish are good to practice on. » The green whispers in a tantalizing fashion. Her mind shifts to the other two. « There are many shapes to see in the fog. Just as there are many shapes to see in the water and along the sand. Patterns upon patterns, it is intriquing to find them. »
Jessi nods, "Aisuohkoth likes to be up at night most of the time. She reminds me of the felines in the jungles back home." Aisuohkoth is purrcrooning up at Alosynth now, and swatting lightly at the older green's tail with forepaws playfully. "And now apparently she's obseesed with fish instead of tunnelsnakes." Jessi takes a breath, then frowns a little. "She's gonna get even more active?" Oh dear. "But she's already so hyper and excitable." The young woman can't imagine her green getting even more curious. "How come, you know, she's the most hyper one? Or does she just seem like it because I have to look over her?" Not that she'd have it any other way. Young woman tries to send a calming touch to her green as the little one almost starts to pout. "No dearheart, you're just perfect, I know."
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Aisuohkoth sends pictures of the tiny flashes of fish swimming in the water, a picture captured from her own rider's mind. « Fishy fish fish » Yep, obsessed with fish..until she forgets about them anyway. A brief huff sent at her person's words of her being the most hyper. « Because I am the perfect one, my Jessi. » And then the tone brightens again after her rider's soft mental caress.
Volenth likes patterns, and at the encouragement from both Alosynth and Sonyxaeth he tries another. This time his tail joins in, whipping through the lower fog before he sweeps first one wing, then the other. In a hurry to see what he's made he leaps forward and then whips around, sleek enough to join Aisu in the pouncing but apparently more interested in watching the fog whirl and shift. "Not bad, though now I want to get a sheet and some paint and let you see what you can do with it," M'trin says with a chuckle. His bronze is apparently more interested than amused and leans over to nudge at him with his head. "Well not right this second. One step at a time, Volenth." This is not to say he was not listening to Keziah's explanation, and he nods thoughtfully when she finishes. "I'll try to keep that in mind. As for wee hours, Volenth doesn't seem to be on a very good schedule, though this is definitely early for him. He seems to only nap and doesn't go for more than a few hours at a stretch right now." The bouncy, pouty, fish obsessed green makes Volenth chuff his amusement, and M'trin grins. "Because she knew you, the beastcrafter, would have enough patience for her?"
Esiae listens carefully to Keziah's words, brow knitting gently at the implication that a tired weyrling could still get themselves killed. "Shards, I didn't think of that. I mean, I know that working yourself too hard can lead you to make mistakes, but…" Brown eyes drift over to where Sonyxaeth has crouched, still for once while watching the fog ripple and fan about Volenth. "We'll be careful." The warning is apparently good enough for Esiae, though her lifemate will definitely need constant reminding as time goes by. But for now, the girl wrinkles her nose, nodding over at Jessi when the greenie expresses dismay at them becoming even more energetic. "Shards, yeah. I'm going to be reigning Sonyxaeth in from every corner of the weyr." The very idea makes her look tired, but the others get distinctly sympathetic looks. "Sort of. I don't have it half as bad as you though, M'trin. Sony likes to stay up at night and watch the stars, but now, once she's asleep, she's down for the count." She gestures at her hair with a smirk. "Only reason I can get properly clean."
Keziah hmms a little "Well, that'll make things more interesting for you then." She notes to Jessi. "One reason for it though, can be a lot of napping during the day. It gives them energy for at night. "Course, as they take less naps and are more active, it is possible to get them tired out enough that they sleep a little longer at night. It's good to try early to get them on a regular schedule because once training is in full swing, it can be realy tiring to be up all day and all night." she notes. "And if any of the trainers feel you are too tired for such things as flying and betweening, you will be grounded for yours and your dragons safety. Course, that's several months into the future. However, I think it's always good to have a heads up. I'm not trying to scare you, just warn. It'll take time to find a good balance that works for both you and yours, and we will certainly be here to help you find that balance." ALosynth twitches her tail back and forth as she watches the little one play. She looks very much pleased with herself.
[Dragon/XAW: Xanadu Weyr - Weyrling Grounds] Alosynth's golden-furred mind gives way to visions of little sliver fish darting in the water, and then larger brownish fish that skuttle along the bottom and a gold firelizard diving in to snag one.
Jessi watches as her young charge plays with Alosynth's tail. "Well, she does take a lot of little naps. But she doen't often sleep real deeply. I mean, like, lots of times when she's napping and I try to get up to go do something she'll wake up and not want me to leave. Makes it hard to take a break from…everything." Aisuohkoth purrcroons softly at her rider, and finally leaves Alosynth's tail be so she can move over and ruuuuuuub her body against her Jessi and croon plaintively. "No, I didn't mean it like that Aisu, dearheart." And, well, for the next few minutes Jessi will be busy stroking over her green's soft hide and sighing. "I'd never want to get away from you, promise." Yeah, the young woman really needs to work on silent conversations with her dragon rather than audible ones.
M'trin shrugs off Esiae's sympathy with a wry grin. "I assume he will grow out of it, just like my niece eventually did. Right now it's like he dreams and then wants to talk about it, so he wakes up." Volenth has abandoned his misty artwork for the moment and slumps down on the ground, curing his tail around M'trin's feet and dropping his muzzle down on his forepaws with a dirt-stirring sigh. "But in between he's rarely as rambunctious as these two seem to be. It's more keeping up with him mentally than physically." A tail-twitch makes him smirk and pat a dark shoulder. "He would like me to explain that he could certainly wear me out if he wanted to and is in no way inferior to his sisters." Keziah's cautions make him let out a long breath and he drops down on the cold ground, leaning back against Volenth's ribcage. "I'll see what I can do about stretching out awake times. Maybe that will help."
Esiae seems to take this all in, rationalizing and tucking the information away for further on down the line. Her head bobs in an agreeing nod. "Thanks for the heads up, Miss Keziah. Forewarned is forearmed." She's back to using an amused tone at least before glancing askance at Jessi. "Can't help you with the break part, but if you ever want me to just grab you a roll from the kitchens, let me know." Suddenly, though she's sore and physically tired, the girl is very glad that her lifemate sleeps heavily at least. M'trin seems to be taking it in stride though, and she smiles for that. "Sort of makes sense at least, the sharing dreams. Not like he's just waking up completely randomly." There's a soft nasal laugh for the bronze's insistence that he's not inferior. "And don't you worry, Volenth, I'm sure that you're more than capable." Her mouth opens, perhaps to say more, when suddenly her expression contorts, shoulderblades wriggling. "Okay, that's definitely not me," she mutters, and indeed, Sonyxaeth is shifting her wings in an uncomfortable fashion. "Oiling time, feels like. Sorry guys, I'll be back." The girl loops her arm around Sony's muddied neck, pulling the dragon in close as they head towards the barracks and a little relief for rapidly stretching skin.
Jessi continues to soothe her green a few moments longer, until the same feeling overtakes Jessi. "I think..we're going to head in for a bath and some oil, so I can calm her down a tad." And with that, she's got Aisuohkoth up and is heading, dragon nearly pushing her, towards the barracks with a wave to those gathered.