That Day {Freedomfighters}

[Admin]

Well, that day, that day,
What a marvelous mess,
This is all that I can do,
I'm done to be me.

Cold winds whipped through the bowl, tugging at available skin. They brought whispers of snow from the wastes and rain, but what ice had overtaken the Weyr had long retreated. Winter grew old and began to lose its hold on the land, and Crescent Bay hardly seemed as far north as it was much of the time. Sometimes it snowed. Sometimes it didn't. Either way, the harsh storms of the season were more than long gone. That afternoon, a not particular specific or important afternoon, brought light, whipping rain, a discomforting sort of weather but a less than dangerous one for most weyrfolk and dragons. With ice around the edges of the waterfall pool, the lake offered more of a danger than the air. Still, the inexperienced might be at risk in going too far, and it would be the inexperienced that would truly be testing the winds that day.

W'al pulled gloves onto his hands, having finished checking Kerath's straps for the second time. Bundled up in full winter flight gear, covered up from head to toe in lined hide, he was readying himself to face the wind outside of their weyr. Whispers of it, caught it eddies, hinted at the frigid atmosphere he would soon face. He wasn't fond of cold weather, and neither was Kerath, though the purple cared less than him. Taking a deep breath, the weyrlingmaster mounted, using a proffered legs and the straps to settle himself on Kerath's shoulders. Once his rider was firmly attached to his back, the purple dragon braved the fierce breezes of his ledge and launched himself into the air. He dropped, and then expertly caught himself and bushed himself higher into the sky. The cold chilled his hide, but his muscles quickly became alive.

Freedomfighters! Meet me and Mine in the bowl, in the field in front of the weyrlings' barrack. Despite the fact that all of the weyrlings in the class had been in their own weyrs for months, the open space outside of the barrack still offered an opportune space to meet. Please be dressed in full riding gear with your weyrling knots and pick up a bag of firestone from the stacks. Over the last few months, the weyrlings were being granted more freedom. Not total freedom, not too much more than their renegade guests though they were certainly more liked and got more independence than the new group of juniors. It had taken a little longer than it might have, especially under W'al, due to some setbacks in the purplerider's confidence with them. A'tra's injuries and his need to recover had certainly put a small damper on moving quickly forward.

However, things were back to normal, at least as normal as they got with his ragged group of youths. W'al shifted his butt around to keep it warm as he waited for the weyrlings to come, remaining firmly attached and perched on Kerath, his place of honor and where he was easily most often comfortable. He watched each of them arrive and land in front of him, careful to try to half chide and half encourage any jokes or slightly off-kilter actions. Using simple visual checks, he made sure that each of them had a bag of firestone and that their straps were properly set on their dragon's front. Beneath him, Kerath shifted, helpfully detecting the odd odor of the phosphorous-filled rock. He let out a rumble of greeting to them all. On his back, W'al grinned to all of the dragons and their riders. Perbiath was bigger than Kerath. My, how they had grown!

"We're a running another sweep today." They had done it before. With all of their basic skills learned, their lessons had turned to trying to teach them the nuances of dragonriding. Lectures had turned from the basics of dragon care to what came after, from wing positions to the etiquette of mating flights. "We'll only be flying out over the western side of the Weyr island and then betweening back, because of the weather. Out over the ocean, we'll do a bit of practice with rain flying and try some more difficult flaming dynamics." There wasn't that much to explain, and the windy weather made it difficult anyway. Kerath would be able to ferry any other needed instructions, so, with that, the purple took off at his cue. Keeping his thoughts with W'al, he rose straight up, wing straining and flexing, to hover the length of two blue dragon's above the ground.

The same V-formation we did last practice; the purple said, though the thought was also delivered from his rider. He waited, showing off all of his finite control in replace of all of his speed, as the weyrlings assembled behind him as they should. The wingseconds, Perbiath with D'lios and Socordiath with V'lin, would be right behind him, given their assigned rank within their almost make-believe wing. Gulath with N'tal and Upiditath with C'elin would be behind them, fanning out, since they were next in size and rank. Irath with Teslana and Avartiath with A'tra, given his previous injuries, were the last portions of the V. All of that left K'lay and Invidiath, who acted as the sweepers, a job that required skill, behind the rest. Let's go; Kerath cried once everyone was set. With a sweep of his wings, he pushed himself over the rim and surged forward.

Well, that day, that day,
What a mess, what a marvel,
We're all the same,
But no one thinks so.

[arratra]

A'tra had been up early, having been awakened by the wind and cold when it had managed to worm its way under the furs of his bed and flip them off. He'd spent a good deal of the time before W'al and Kerath had called them trying to figure out how to best get visibility while keeping the rain out of his eyes. His normal flight goggles, which had become a part of his everyday attire because he flew on Avartiath so often, would not work; he had quickly discovered that they would become coated in rainwater and render everything so blurry he wouldn't be able to see. Combining them with a makeshift visor partially solved the problem, but the visor kept coming off in the wind, and would likely do the same in flight.
Eventually he had rigged a sturdier version which helped. His vision still fogged up, of course, partly because the rain still managed to get to his goggled, but also partly because of condensation.

They settled into position, and Avartiath threw a quick glance over his shoulder at his rider. A'tra nodded, and shouted, "W'al, there's some sort of twister forming out to sea! I've seen a few of their like before, but not many. Bad flying conditions are ahead!"

[kia]

They were meeting again for lessons. Had it been just recently since they had a lesson? N`tal was still feeling down, but he was making great improvements. He no longer layed in bed all day, he actually got up and moved around his weyr. But he had still kept himself confined to his weyr. He did not want to leave it. His brain kept going around in circles, trying to figure what his next move was going to be. They would be graduating soon, and after that he would leave. That was something he had always planned on. He would leave Dalibor Weyr and their murderous ways. But Tesla... She was going to hate him for it. He sighed again. A new war had entered his mind and it was not abating anytime soon. He paced the floor of his weyr as he pulled his jacket on. Gulath`s already had his riding straps on and had been doubled checked. Ian was flying around, waiting for his chance to dive down and take his spot around N`tal`s neck. Ian, despite his tough appearance, did have a soft spot for his Mine.

"All right, Gulath. Time to go," he said, grabbing the straps and getting himself mounted on Gulath`s back. Ian flew down and snuggled up to N`tal`s neck tightly. But N`tal pulled Ian out, causing a large amount and very loud scream-like chirps. N`tal stroked the little Black until he stopped, his eyes red with anger. "Not today, Ian. I have big plans for you and the rest of the gang," he said, a smirk crossing his face. Ian picked up on what N`tal was thinking and the green returned to his eyes. The other Lizards gathered around Ian as he flew into the air, asking what their Mine had thought of. Gulath was the only left in the dark for the time being. He knew that N`tal would tell him later what had happened. With concern on his mind, Gulath pushed himself off his weyr ledge and into the sky, gliding down to in front of the Weyrling Barracks. N`tal quickly got off, went to fetch some firestone, and returned to Gulath. Before he had returned, he had grabbed a few smaller pieces of firestone and crushed them into smaller shards before hiding them away in his pocket.

They were going to do formations today. N`tal looked at V`lin and the SMALLER Socordiath as they took their positions as Wingseconds. He snorted with hate and moved Gulath to fly behind Perbiath. He wanted nothing to do with that stupid, slothful Blue and his slow, dimwitted Rider. He turned his head, though, to look back at Tesla and Irath as they took their positions. His face seemed to soften slightly at their appearance. He did not smile, but something in his eyes seemed to say that he was glad that they were there. He was glad they had not participated in the war. They were safe and would be able to live on. Varya was still in his mind and she would forever, but Tesla was at the forefront of it now. N`tal turned his head back forward and, as before, refused to meet W`al`s face. He still hated the man with great passion. When Kerath told them to go, Gulath followed behind Perbiath. They were up in the air and heading out toward the ocean`s. One of the other Riders had even pointed out bad weather. No kidding, you little... W`al had said something about the weather aready.

The luster in his eyes returned and some color on his skin. He mentally called Ian from where he was and the rest of the gang. He pulled out the small shards of firestone out of his pockets and offered them up to the Fire Lizards. He had been teaching his Lizards how to flame so they could improve. Breaking pieces of firestone carefully, he began to formulate his plan a little more clearly as he started to feed his Lizards some firestone. Mine, what are you doing? Gulath asked with concern. N`tal did not need to explain. Gulath saw in his Mine`s mind what he was planning to do. Gulath became worried for a moment. "Now, go on, Ian. You are the leader." Ian chirped and flew into the air, the rest of the Lizard gang following behind. The flew quickly toward W`al and Kerath. At once, the Lizard began diving and flying close to the Purple dragon and his Rider, tongues of flames coming out of their mouths. They dove close, the flame coming close to legs, faces, and other body parts the Lizards could get to. N`tal smirked at the sight. W`almay be already angry with that stupid Black dragon and his Rider, but N`tal was sending a message to W`al that N`tal still hated the man and wished to see him hurt or dead.

(( Arratra, sorry is N`tal seems to mentally pick on A`tra. =^.^;= N`tal just hates people in general right now. Please do not take it offensively. I like Atra and Avartiath. ))

[arratra]

Avartiath struggled to maintain control in the fierce winds; he kept drifting out of formation as the wind changed direction. His wings were not helping the situation any.
Shards! Avartiath exclaimed, as he banked hard to avoid colliding with Gulath, I can't stay in position!
With those gigantic wings, I'm not surprised, A'tra replied, And I agree that this is not going well!

He ducked as one of the firelizard gang shot over his head. A moment later another lizard swooped down, and hid in his jacket.
"Margras!" A'tra exclaimed, "What're you doing here?"
Margras didn't move, just hid there, shivering.
Little one, Avartiath added, What is wrong?
Margras poked his head out, but didn't answer beyond a general impression of fear.
That's... not good, A'tra said, I've never seen him like this before. He's not even carrying a glow.
Avartiath gave an impression of agreement, managing to settle his flight path in the correct position in the formation.

(OOC* I understand, Kia. N'tal is just mad at the world in general, and Dalibor in particular.)

[kyrillion]

Though Tesla had long been awake, struck once again by a bout of insomnia, she had not yet ventured from the warm furs of her bed. She'd pilfered some more scrolls and documents from the records room (though she always returned them when she was finished), and had spent the better part of the night and the morning pouring over them. She was in the habit of devouring any credible information she could find, whether it seemed relevant to her at the time or not, and her photographic memory filed it all away in neat little groups. There was an entire, well-organized and well-maintained library inside her mind, and as long as she couldn't sleep, she figured adding to it was a suitably productive use of her time. Irath, bored of such research and of the inane little facts or numbers that would occasionally drift through her head courtesy of her rider, was snoozing balefully on the couch. Arc and Coil, who through the occasional display of solidarity or support, had at last gained the indifference of the wrathful green (though she still didn't seem to care for them very much), were each a little pink ball curled up and seeking warmth from their favorite pair - Arc nestled between Irath's shoulders, and Coil snuggled up beneath Tesla's chin. Neither gave any indication of planning to move any time soon; not even the often scattered and social Arc. It was bitterly cold outside, and so pleasantly toasty in their weyr. They were quite fine where they were, thanks.

But it would seem they didn't have much of a choice in the matter. For soon thereafter, without relaying any part of Kerath's message to her rider or giving any indication that someone was bespeaking her, the green pulled herself suddenly to her feet and lumbered towards the pile of furs, dislodging Arc with a casual flick of the tail. It looked like Hers, such a skinny and gangly little humanthing, was drowning in heavy blankets, and the green scoffed loudly. Then, quite unceremoniously, she snaked her head down among them and seized Tesla by the back of her shirt, dragging her up and out of bed and depositing her, flailing and with an indignant "hey!" beside the trunk that contained her riding gear.
You will need warm clothes, TeslanaMine. I will not have you freezing while we are outside.[/color]
Irath! What are you...? Is something going on?
The girl, blinking to clear her cluttered mind, stared blankly around the room. What time was it...?
Do you plan on attending our lesson, or not?[/color]
Lesson! But when-? Oh, nevermind. Yes of course. I just need...
She staggered to her feet, casting this way and that about the room, trying to get her thoughts in order. They would by flying in formation again, in all likelihood. She'd need... Oh, Shards, where to start? A little warning might have been nice. Irath, finding her sleep-deprived and somewhat addled rider rather amusing, stretched out her nose to wuffle at Tesla's tangled hair. Irath! That tickles! And that was all the encouragement the green needed to follow Hers about the Weyr as she, after finally collecting herself, dashed about the room in search of her warmest clothing and some riding straps. You will be silly if you do not bring goggles, too, Mine,[/color] Irath chided, sounding quite like her usual, aggressive self - but her blue-red eyes spoke to her contentment. She was more good-humored, when alone with Tesla. It was everyone else that she couldn't stand - to varying degrees, of course.

Once the girl was suitably bundled up in winter clothing, she was forced to take an extra moment to run a comb through her hair; it'd been rather silly-looking before Irath had gone out of her way to tangle it more. But they were soon ready, and Tesla paused only to collect Arc and Coil (who settled themselves around her heck, beneath the collar of her coat) before scrambling atop Irath and settling into the straps.
What a clumsy humanling you are, TeslanaMine.[/color] The dragon remarked with a snort and, before her human could offer any sort of reply, she threw them off their ledge and into the rain. Once the requested firestone was collected, they met the others in front of the barracks, and while a still-sleepy tried her best to absorb what W'al was saying, her dragon was looking distinctly angrier than usual. The lessons always put her in a bad mood; particularly this latest ones, where they flew in formation. Not only was she forced to put up with her clutchmates, but she was placed at the back of the wing! It was outrageous! She was much stronger, far more powerful than that silly, flighty Upiditath! And as the others proceeded to arrange themselves in the requested 'v', the army-colored green flared her wings and snarled menacingly at her slender sister. She would hardly make a full meal, if Irath chose to eat her.

Irath, no! None of that. Tesla attempted to sternly reprimand, but it came out more worried than anything else. The grin, a growl still bubbling in her through, reluctantly shifted to stand behind Gulath - but not without a snapping of her jaws in Upiditath's direction for good measure. Sending an apologetic glance at C'elin, who she considered a friend (they had, after all, orchestrated a massive Weyr-wide scavenger hunt together), and a very embarassed look to W'al, who likely hadn't missed her green's display of temper, she got herself and the bag of firestone situated for flight, and waited for the others to take off. She rather liked being in the back, to be honest - she could see everyone, save for K'lay, and she liked being able to observe them - the way they interacted with each other, with their dragons. Human behavior was fascinating, even if she didn't always understand it.

When their little make-shit wing lifted off the ground, Irath waited a fraction of a second longer to let Gulath get a good head start on her - then, in her usual fashion, she surged off the ground, bringing her wings down in one, powerful stroke to get their momentum going. Rocketing up and after the group, she fell back into place easily. She wasn't a delicate or agile flier, but she was steady as a rock. A flying rock, which was a rather strange analogy, but the one Tesla liked to use. She could invision Irath as a dragon-shaped stone that someone had thrown with great force, and Irath was occasionally perturbed to find herself looking like some sort of hewn-from-stone gargoyle. It was never boring, seeing things through Tesla's eyes. As the group cleared the rim and set off over the ocean, the wind whipped furiously around them, raindrops becoming little projectiles that assaulted exposed faces and hands. Thank Faranth Irath had reminded her to bring goggles.

The group hadn't gone very far one something very strange, indeed, happened. N'tal's little troop of firelizards suddenly took wing, and as Tesla watched, began to dive-bomb W'al and Kerath, tongues of flame contrasting sharply with the storm. Eyebrows raised, the girl paled; what did he think he was doing? She didn't want to see him get in trouble, regardless of how much he continued to insist he didn't wish to be a part of Dalibor. And, even more than that, perhaps, she didn't want to see W'al and Kerath angry. They were such a happy pair, and had always been so kind. This wasn't going to end well for anybody and, try as she might, she couldn't understand his motivation. It never once crossed her mind, inclined to think well of people by nature, that N'tal might be fostering some sort of vendetta against the purplerider. Irath, sensing that Hers was upset, felt her anger spike. Eyes seething red, she reached out immediately to the blue.
Gulath! If Yours upsets Mine any more, I shall eat him.[/color]
She threatened with a menacing lash of her tail, but this only seemed to worry Tesla more.
Enough, Irath. Please. W'al and Kerath can deal with it. We shouldn't make things any worse...
I do not care about the stupid flying things. I care about you only, and I will not allow Gulath's to upset you.[/color] The green insisted with a mental snarl. As much as she held Gulath in high regard (well, higher than anyone else), his rider was another matter entirely, and her threat had been genuine. Tesla, feeling that things were spiraling rapidly out of control (her lack of sleep making the whole situation seem more dramatic than it might have otherwise), clung to the straps tried in vain to reign Irath's temper in.[/size]

[Admin]

The ocean prays for his demise,
But I swear to you I watched,
His heart pump blood into those veins,
Throwing punches at ocean waves.

W'al chose to expressly ignore it when A'tra mentioned the fact that the weather was bad. It probably wasn't the most mature thing to do, but the purplerider had never attempted to claim himself a mature individual. He also ignored Irath's temperamental actions and several other small observations. He knew when his insane bunch was simply being themselves and when they were actually going to do some harm. Ignoring them half the time was how he stayed so chipper. Onward, he led them, guiding Kerath as he did. The purple swept forward as the point of their formation, heading across the rocky design of the island. He was familiar with the outcroppings, and the rain and wind did nothing to break their steady pace. However, when tiny licks flames began to nimble at his thick clothes and Kerath's smooth hide, W'al quickly turned to examine their attackers.

If any of the weyrlings had thought they had seen the true abilities in flight of the lithe purple that was their weyrlingmaster, they were mistaken. Even as his rider twisted to examine who had screwed up, Kerath dropped his wings, pulling them away from the attacks of fire. He fell, twisting out the formation. Break off, hold your lines; he ordered without thought, knowing that some of them might struggle to continue if he didn't speak. Quick as lightning, the purple darted and wove through the air, easily escaping the firelizards that had thought to harm him and his rider. He had used such speed on occasion in the pursuit of females, but he rarely showed his true range of abilities. Each shift of his wing brought the desired result, and he rose from his fall like am airborne dancer, baring his sharp fangs. Eyes swirling red, he did not, for once, look like a pleasant creature.

Several dragon lengths above them, Kerath straightened, easily holding himself with powerful, controlled sweeps against the wind that buffeted him. Even as a flash of anger welled up in W'al, he carefully dictated calm instructs to a humorless Kerath. They knew their culprit. His firelizards were familiar to them. Go back to the Weyr. You're banned from between and flame until graduation. Fly straight or the watchdragon will tell us. You will only attend lectures, but you will be given extra chores and alternative exercises. Go! The purple spoke quickly, because they were still in flight even as he spoke. Once his instructions were given, he dropped again, quickly coming back to his original position, a blur of purple as he twisted in the air. On his back, W'al held on without the least bit of true strain to his body. He had long trained to be able to fly with his dragon.

W'al continued to ferry instructions through Kerath. The purple could already guess most of them. Pull back in formation. Irath, move up to take Gulath's position. Avartiath, switch sides, behind Irath. Invidiath, move up and take Avartiath's previous spot. No time could be spared to consider the pair that had been sent away and would no longer have to battle the wind and rain. Once the younger dragons were settled into their new positions, he lunged forward with a sweep of his wing. We'll avoid the ocean, but we can't change our betweening points; he explained them, voice becoming soothing and confident as he calmed. W'al, still solidly attached to his back, twisted to gaze back at his weyrlings. He offered them a smile and thumbs up, hoping that his collar, goggles, and helmet would show the gestures without revealing any of the strain in his face.

With the water from these seas,
To own a heart that's half of yours,
These bones are mere accessories,
Throwing punches at ocean waves.

[arratra]

A'tra started when Kerath abruptly vanished from view. When the order came to change positions, Avartiath smartly moved over to his new position, but not without a word of complaint.
Irath absolutely despises me, he said, Perhaps it would be wiser to give me another- whoa!
A sudden shift in the wind had sent Avartiath lurching to the side, out of formation. A'tra lost his vision completely; rain covered his goggles, and he was unable to wipe them clear.
Av! I can't see!
I'm getting us back into position, Avartiath said, both to his rider and to Kerath, But I'm having trouble staying in the formation.