Who

Jaelynn, Sa'id, Sienna, Th'bek & dragons

What

Some of the junior weyrlings are run through a mindlink training exercise. They come through unscathed!

When

It is afternoon of the tenth day of the twelfth month of the second turn of the 12th pass. It is the tenth day of Winter and 40 degrees. It is a bright, sunny day.

Where

Weyrling Training Grounds, Igen Weyr

OOC Date

 

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Weyrling Training Grounds

Here, a wide and spacious field, devoid of all but more of the glare of ubiquitous, fine white sand of Igen: not even a blade of grass dares lift its head against centuries of clumsy draconic antics. To one side, ever-present firestone bins are set, kept supplied by many a hand, while agenothree tanks line the curving angle just outside the barracks, primed and ready for use. Very often, a glimpse of classes in session or dragonets at play may be caught under the open sky under the watchful eye of diligent Weyrlingmasters and older dragons.


Staged are the most junior set of weyrlings in more or less even intervals with instructions in how to see. With one's eyes closed. It's not a bad day out and the standard issue weyrling jackets is among the finest things Th'bek's ever called his. Well, aside from the hunter brown near his side. "Put them on!" The order is given to twist the opaque cloths around the weyrlings' faces so they may learn to trust their dragon-vision. It's cheaper than cable. Th'bek double knots the cloth and waits for Tavuqth's inspiration.

Vojeth is not entirely certain about this exercise. Blindfold him and let him wander about the obstacle course? Sure, he could do that. The hulking bronze would be eager for such a challenge. But as Sa'id stoically pulls cloth over eyes to limit his vision, his shimmery counterpart is leveling a baleful look at the low constructions of plants meant to trip, and hinder, and hurt. "S'fine," the human half of this little pairing grunts. "I'm not easy to trip." To which he gains, in the low, creaking tones of leather flexed between strong hands (and in a tone that broadcasts to the others, « Unless I perform poorly. »

Jaelynn is with the other weyrlings, waiting for the days lessons as her gaze drifts over the area noting anything that seems different, or added, the order is heard and she looks back once she is handing the strip of cloth. There is a pause before she ahs a bit and sends a glance over to Otsoath. She goes about wrapping that bit of cloth around her eyes and ties it in place with a soft breath escaping her. Otsoath shifts in his spot next to Jae, his wings wiggling about and form quivering. His swirling gaze flicks towards his brown sibling. « This looks interesting! » His gaze drifts towards Vojeth with a soft warble escaping him. The brown is eager to get started on this lessons knowing he will do right by his rider.

Th'bek's man pride is suspended temporarily for him to ask, "is anyone else nervous?" Because the dragon at his helm may just as well walk him into a wall, another dragon, Kyara, or the lake. Cr'zel, one of Ay'den's assistants, cycles around the weyrlings to lend any aid with securing the blindfolds. He seems to be putting them delightfully tight when volunteering to help. Th'bek cleans his lips with his tongue and prepares to be lead astray though he believes deep down Tavuqth won't fail him. "C'mon, can we go already?" Continued blackness. Tavuqth has shut his eyes too to prolong the exercise, or sadism. "Mine's broken!"

« He would have to look for it to look interesting to him, » Vojeth points out, for Otsoath's remark. Even he is not so bold as to approach the more savage brown, physically or mentally. But that doesn't mean he can't speak REALLY LOUDLY to make certain Tavuqth overhears. « Let us try not to shame our chosen with our performance here. First to the other side uninjured may have first selection of the next meal's choicest pieces, and the bone to gnaw afterward. » What say, comrades? Vojeth thinks this is a sound plan! And having said so, snaps a wing out to prod Sa'id in the small of the back with the thumb-joint. "I didn't hear them call-" « Go! » And so it's the big guy who shuffles out first, those first few steps tentative as he tries to get a bead on this walking while dragon thing.

« In a sense they are looking.. Just through our eyes. » Otsoath offers back with a soft warble like sound escapes him while he is shifting on his paws standing up, tail slowly swaying about. A slight glance is sent towards Tavuqth and then he is looking over to Vojeth at the offer of a bet. « Agreed! » Is said quickly without much of a thought before he is looking up to Jaelynn, a soft croon is heard and his head bumps against her hand. Jae smiles and gives the brown's head a soft petting. She hears that Sa'id is to go first it seems, or are they to all go? The question and comment is heard from Th'bek. "Naw I'm not nervous.. Just relax, yeah? It'll all be alright."

Th'bek is not about to be singled out just because his life-mate is feeling wayward. Feet cautiously march directly in front of him, hands defensively hovering around abdomen height. Tavuqth, keeping his head the same angle as the horizon, unlids a set of lids to follow his rider then quickly overcomes Th'bek's stoddering pace. « This amuses me more than meat. » Always one to savor flesh, the brown revels in new experience all the more keenly. "Yeh Jae? You have Tavuqth drive you!" He is grinning foolishly but no one sees that. "Let's go, beast!" Now that a fuzzy dimness of ground can be seen, Th'bek starts looking less blind.

Vojeth hums amusement at Otsoath. « But Tavuqth had his eyes closed. » Because perversity. Not that the bronze knows the word yet but the concept is certainly one certain of his clutchmates have taught him in the past month. « And having your bones to chew will amuse me more, » he adds, oh so piously. Not for him many lids, both eyes are free and spinning now with the excitement of challenge as he turns his head to survey the course. The first obstacle, the easiest, a simple raised plank to step over, is studied- but here distance between Vojeth and distance between Sa'id and the planks become A Thing. The man is lumbering along with relative grace and the ease of familiarity- ladies love blindfold games, yo- when he collides, shin first, with the edge of the plank and knocks it right off its blocks. First injury, to the bronze pair!

"Well Point taken there Th'bek.." Jaelynn offers to the bit on Tavuqth being in the driver's seat. She will pass! Instead though she takes in a breath, seems more are able to join in the lessons, makes it more interesting that way perhaps? With a hard poke from one of the assistants Jae is moving forward looking rather relaxed at the moment, though in her head she is a bit unsure perhaps. Otsoath tilts his head, a soft warble escaping him as he ponders this. « We shall see who is chewing on who's bones! » Oat does love his bones after all, his gotten a slight collection already. Onwards though and his attention is firmly on the course that is laid out before his rider. « Right right oh good, warmer there! » Jae follows along, slowing inching by a crate that is turn at a slight strange angle.

Tavuqth enjoys the mantle of puppetmaster, skewing depth perception by using one eye only then tilting his skull 100 degrees to make a wall out of the ground. Tavuqth distributes an image of two dragons battling for the bone like two feral hounds then very nears Jaelynn and his link fades. Sabotage? The concept is not understood but he needn't have the intention to perform it. "I'm over here," Th'bek, starting to get sly to these 'malfunctions' is closest to a pair of wooden hoops he'll need to step through. His dragon, inspired by Sa'id's lapse, leaves Jaelynn and Otsoath to pull more strings. Th'bek's nose his the first ring but the nudge is enough to inform him how to operate this obstacle.

Poor Sa'id. First left to hop and curse at a newly bruised shin, then left to his own devices when Vojeth swings his head to the side to eyeball Tavuqth. The bronze does not approve. He radiates that emotion and an ominous shiver of tension runs through mottled bulk before a snapped, "Focus!" pulls him back to the course. Oh, right. Funny that such a bulky little dragon can sneeze so delicately when embarrassed- and yet he deos! Achoo. Back to business. A tunnel of hoops and hides yawns before Sa'id and this time, Vojeth's watchful guidance lets Sa'id fall to his knees in time to avoid a smack to the head when he crawls forward.

Otsoath shifts in his spot his head tilting and wings fluttering open while there is a bit of wiggling here and inching there. While he works hard to keep the path as clear as possible. There is a moment where Jae will have to duck down under some plank that is stretched out from a bookend and the brown pauses with a touch of worry. Jaelynn pauses and tilts her head, there is the movement from others, and then there is the images she is getting from Oat, there is a faint breath escaping her and she recalls the last image of something being at head level so she ducks down as she steps forward. Th'bel's voice is caught ever so close and she turns her head to send a 'glance' his way, not that she can see him. Though while doing this she is still walking and bumps right into an upturned chair that is close to those wooden hoops. Otsoath is looking towards his brown siblings, a faint rumble escaping him as perhaps he caught on that something wasn't all kosher from him with his rider, though as Jae bumps into that chair he rowls out and his attention is sent back to his rider.

The coalition of three assistants scrutinize the weyrlings' progress, commenting freely. "Let him walk you through th— good, good." D'jil addresses Sa'id in his characteristic nasally Neratian accent. "Th'bek and Tavuqth, get out of Telgar." Apparently D'jil also inspires comedic succor. The brownrider firms his jaw and wills Tavuqth to excel. He negociates walking a straight like a sober pro but must wait for two greens and their riders' right-of-way. Tavuqth hastens them along with a clip of his jaw to the air. Make way! "I see you, Jaelynn!" Th'bek waves as if they're in cars meeting at a common parking lot. "How's every doing? I heard something fall."

"Nothing fell." That's the fur-covered tunnel speaking, which means it must be Sa'id, grimly denying any mishap. No matter how much his shin might still throb! Vojeth has a little grace period while his man clambers through the tunnel which leads to…yes, yes, he's back to spying on the others' progress. « You lead her well, » goes winging towards Otsoath, a mental fistbump of sorts. As for Tavuqth, well…it is probably fortunate that Sa'id chooses that moment to scramble free of fuzzy shade and to his feet again. What is the purpose of three wooden steps up and three wooden steps down? Why, to confound young weyrling pairs, of course! Setting his jaw, the man extends his arms out to the sides for balance and proceeds up- no doubt determined to win more of that sweet, sweet awlm praise.

Jaelynn grumbles a touch and turns slightly to move along the path that is moving to the side, and then back to the other in a jig-zag like pattern made up from ropes, small strips of fabric hang down from the ropes which with the wind crackle and move causing one to hear things and need to depend on their dragons to now hit the ropes, which would make the strips of fabric come off. Near the center of the little path of ropes is a low to the ground set of thee crates which a person needs to step over. Though trying to 'see' such things even with a dragon can be a touch difficult. Otsoath warbles out happily at the praise from Vojeth. « Thanks.. » There is one things about Jae and Oat they have a rather strong connection, which at the moment is helpful, later on, well that could be an issue with other lessons. "I think everyone's alright.. So far..?" Jaelynn offers back to Th'bek, so far so good, just a few bruises right?

Tavuqth's wings hang laxly, a foot or so off the ground. They keep like a cape as he stalks by his rider, head severly craned to the left where Th'bek is migrating. Eight stones are diagonally rigged like stepping stones and there's quite a balancing act on the first one. In fact, Rev's teetering like a firelizard in a windstorm before he can judge his balance based on dragon sense. "Still upright!" Th'bek strongly confirms to Jaelynn. "Barely. Any bets F'in's back in the barracks sipping klah waiting for us?"

The upward steps are no difficulty for Sa'id, with Vojeth's guidance and his own acute body sense to help him judge the height of each. Coming down is more of a problem and requires the bronze to heave himself up to get a better look. In the meantime, Sa'id's stuck up there like a gold medalist without his medal. Fortunately, balance is not an issue and he stands comfortably, hip shot and arms folded across his chest while Vojeth turns his head this way and that on his thick neck. Stairs. Huh. « It makes no sense, steps that go up only to come right down again, » goes his opinion- but disapproval or no, he keeps his eyes at foot level while the human half of the pair begins to step carefully down. One, two, three… "Wouldn't take that bet."

Sienna and Kehemath walk out from the barracks, the pair coming to observe those working in the training grounds. For the moment both are silent, sideline observers. Though Sienna /is/ taking notes.

"Maybe! But he'll have to have a go at it soon enough." Jaelynn sends back about F'in. Right now though she is trying to figure out how to 'step' over that slightly divider before her, knowing her she could possibly not lift her leg up enough and then that would mean her going face first into the ground. Otsoath is there nearby trying to figure out how to judge it and then it dawns on him and the explanation is sent. His form wiggles about, rump lifted in the air and tail swaying around. « It's the high of two bones!.. Well maybe three! » Of course he uses /bones/ as an idea of how to measure it. Jae is at least able to get a good idea, as the angle she is 'seeing' it is strange and makes it seem taller than it should be. Though in the end she steps of it, and then it is on to the second which is higher than the first, and thicker meaning one could still catch it and perhaps stumble.

Tavuqth's visual clarity sharpens the sun as he checks its status, Th'bek relying on the temporary memory where the rocks were. As his body plunges to the second stone Tavuqth renews their setup by looking at them, Rev delves into his confidence for leaping (thank goat herding) and skims the remaining six rocks without incident. There's the sense of acclaim from his bond, like the swat of a good shieldblock. "Wonder how much longer," hiccuping just once, "—we've got." Tavuqth springs a sudden unplanned obstacle, that of his tail knee-height. Th'bek steps over it and, gently grasping the edge, carries the tail with him for a few steps. Who's leading who, creature!

For Vojeth, that is a question easily answered. « One more, » he sounds triumphantly, hammer striking anvil. But this is the doozy- rings above head height, to grab hold of and swing from one to the next. The bronze performs a quicker than usual walk, the effect of which is to leave him swaying like a ship in stormy seas on his way over to the posts support the array. He rears up, neck swanned as best it can to get a closer look. Sa'id, who is cutting his hands through the air to try to seize the first ring, comes a little closer with each attempt as his dragon sends corrections. And then success. Vojeth prowls along beside.

Sienna takes more notes!

This proximity harkens Tavuqth to fence Th'bek off, throwing a picture of two folds of skin. « Sunder the itch. » The teen bumps against the brown's flank and tries to locate the exact spot through Tavuqth's GPS. « That's an order! » More imagery: sorrel hide over a background of the eastern wall. Skin quivers like the flinching of a bovine to flies, but not effectively enough to make it null. His rider travels with his hands and finally thinks he has it, eyes blinking impatiently under the cloth. Upper spine above the tail. Several strokes of some blunt fingernails make a quick remedy. « Yes. » Green floods the dragonet's eyes as if the color will bleed down his bottom jaw. Rev peels off the blindfold, tearing a few hair strands with it (has spares). "Shells." For the experience or Rukbat spearing his vision.

One step, then another.. and then there is what a hole? Jaelynn makes it over built up dividers and jus when it looks like all is well, someone is falling down! Well up to her ankle that is. A soft mutter escapes the once Healer and she 'looks' downwards as her food is in a bunch of icky black mud, well she hopes it's mud at least. Otsoath warbles a bit and shifts back on his paws before he bounces forward and is off to the next obscale. Just keep moving! The next one is a net hanging down which has enough room for a weryling to crawl under it on hands and feet. Jae just looks unsure at this. "What does this do.. to help..?" She is confused, though the finish line isn't to far off. With a huff both Jaelynn and Oat are down in that army crawl sort of fashion.. Be the crawl, do the crawl, all is good! Or somesuch..

One hoop, another, swing by slow swing, Sa'id makes his way past this finaly obstacle. Upon the final jump that sees booted feet colliding with earth again, he pulls his blindfold off and glances back the way he's come. A low whistle purses his lips, soft but impressed- with himself, with Vojeth- before that same quiet pride is aimed at the bronze. Young thing though he is, Vojeth earns himself the sort of solid thump one might give a runner to the shoulder. It sparks a rolling purr of sound, like a growl without the lifethreatening. "That's how you do it," he rumbles at his lifemate before they amble- and lumber- off to the side to clear the way for other pairs just coming up fresh to the course.

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