>~< -- Outside the Weyr

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Date Posted: 18:23:15 08/20/05 Sat
Author: K'vren & Notusith, Pell, Nero, Osko, Meki
Subject: >~<
In reply to: R'dan 's message, "..." on 13:02:30 08/14/05 Sun

((I'm still not actually sure what K'vren can and cannot do; there's some confusion on that point with everyone in his Weyrling class. For now, I know he can fly, but don't know if he can go between, and for the purposes of this flight am going to assume he can't. I tell you this because I may get an answer on the subject before this thread ends, and if he CAN go between after all, I will proceed from there with that new fact without retconning the posts that say he can't. So hopefully this note will help prevent confusion.))

Above the jungle canopy, a navy-blue dragon wings its way towards the Weyr. Both Notusith and his rider are disappointed and frustrated; K'vren had been practicing the sailing skills that N'ris had taught him with a small boat when Notusith heard that the Hatching had begun, and the brownrider would have had both their hides if they hadn't put it away properly. By then, the Hatching had practically been over, with even the queen egg cracked, and hearing about it second-hand through K'vren's firelizards had possibly been even worse than it would have been if they'd just waited until later and asked someone about it. Firelizards were never very good at things like that, and neither the dragon nor his rider could get them to focus properly on the whole affair. But what is really depressing is that even after the boat has been put away, they still have to fly straight back to the Weyr. Their weyrling lessons, constantly interrupted and rather disjointed, had not included going between, and K'vren had lived with dragonriders all his life and knew how dangerous it was to try without proper training. He'd seen an impetuous young brown vanish in mid-air one day when he was six, and heard the dragons keening, and that had left an impression on him that had lasted all his life and restrains him from giving in to Notusith's begging now. The dragon can't outright disobey his rider, not when he knows deep down that K'vren is right, and so they race across the sky with the unhappy knowledge that they'll even be late for the Feast.

Once the Hatching is over, K'vren's firelizards return to their owner. They think this mad dash towards the Weyr is fun, because they can ride on Notusith when they got tired. Oh, they know that K'vren is unhappy, but for Pell, Nero, Osko, and Meki, that means that it's their solemn duty to indulge in silly antics until they cheer him up. One of their games, played primarily by brown Nero, is to dive under the canopy, whizz among the treebranches, and then appear from between right above K'vren and drop a leaf or twig on his head. The brown is just dropping through the trees for another go when he spots Riddan dangling from a vine below him. The boy catches his interest, and, game forgotten, Nero drops lower to circle around Riddan's head, chirping curiously the whole time. Then he calls to the other three, and they dive as well, leaving K'vren and Notusith staring curiously back at the spot where the firelizards have disappeared. All four circle around Riddan, chittering and chirping, until K'vren firmly demands to know what they're finding so interesting. Mental images of the boy flash back to him.

Eyes going wide as he recognizes the precariousness of Riddan's situation, K'vren shouts at Notusith. /Stop! Turn around and go back!/ He's already unfastening his riding straps, though he keeps a firm grip on them so that he won't fall off. /Back to where the firelizards dove in!/

But- the blue protests, then catches K'vren's urgency and turns - carefully, because his rider is being foolish and Notusith doesn't want to drop him. Reaching the spot where the firelizards had dropped through the canopy, the blue dragon circles uncertainly. I can't land in there, K'vren. I can't get through, and the branches would break under me.

/I know./ K'vren finishes his preparations. /Go as close to the canopy as you can, then circle as tightly as you can./ His dragon obeys, and the bluerider, in a moment of what he would call courage and anyone else (including his dragon) would call stupidity, drops from his dragon's back. Notusith trumpets in alarm and makes a failed grab at his plummeting bluerider, then barely manages to steady himself as something suddenly tugs hard on his harness. /It's all right!/ K'vren shouts to him. /Relax, I'm fine!/ And now that Notusith has calmed down a bit, he can't feel any pain coming from his rider's mind, though the dragon has been scared badly enough that his hide is mottled with pale grey-blue.

K'vren has tied his riding straps together to form a makeshift rope, and by sheer luck it's just long enough to get him to a branch that will bear his weight. It creaks alarmingly, but it will hold. From there, he climbs awkwardly down to the lowest branch he can get, only a few feet away from Riddan's vine. Every bit of his mind not focused on the climb is working to keep Notusith from sensing his fear. "Hello," the young man says, trying to be soothing, when he's finally level to Riddan. /Get away from him before you scare him into letting go, you silly flitters!/ he adds to the firelizards, who chirp apologetically and dart away in different directions. "I'm K'vren, rider of blue Notusith. Please excuse my firelizards. Would you like some help getting to the Weyr?" Plans are already forming in the bluerider's mind. K'vren doesn't come up with complicated or particularly ingenious plans, but on the bright side, they're usually fairly easy to carry out.

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Replies:

But planning can backfire. -- Riddan, 15:39:08 08/21/05 Sun
- Backfire? What backfire? -- K'vren & Notusith, Pell, Nero, Osko, Meki, 17:52:50 08/23/05 Tue
  - Oh yeah. The vine. Crush my dreams, why don't ya? -- Riddan, 11:08:49 08/27/05 Sat
    - If that thing breaks, it's not your dreams that'll be crushed. -- K'vren & Notusith, Pell, Nero, Osko, Meki, 19:54:05 08/27/05 Sat
      - As if he's any better... -- Riddan, 14:39:20 09/01/05 Thu
        True, but he's trying not to think about that part. -- K'vren & Notusith, Pell, Nero, Osko, Meki, 07:21:11 09/14/05 Wed