Lesson 7: Betweening

[Sparrow]

((...skipping some because technically I'm not running these and these guys will be graduating soon. =P Betweening is much more interesting than what we're just pretending they did, anyways. *brick'd*))

Ekirith had literally taken offense when it was suggested by a Green that he help out with Weyrling lessons too. It was true that they had been a little... hectic lately, or at least the possibility of them being taught had been, but that didn't mean he wanted anything to do with it.

J'ran felt they had a job helping out where it was needed though, especially as Wingleader, and K'laon and Amirinth were their seniors in experience, and they were Wingleaders too, so he felt he should listen to them. Ekirith had argued, but there really wasn't a lot the dragon could do when his rider made a firm decision, it happened rarely enough.

So, the pair waited on the edge of the lake for the weyrlings, anxious about their having showed up for one of the more dangerous lessons. J'ran didn't want to deal with anyone disappearing between, especially not when he had been in charge of the dragons doing it.

Ekirith wasn't so worried. These were his offspring they were teaching, they had to be perfect in every way, even if he didn't like a few of them. The Tans and Browns were just competition, and the leather-colored dragon had never been a fan of that. Still, he wasn't about to try and get some of his young lost between. This group was special.

~~~

((...*cheats*))

Artemisth would be first. She had tried and tried at hatching and everything following and today was the day! She could see it, the lakeshore with only the big Brown that had summoned them present! The young Barred crowed with excitement and broke into a lope, skidding to a stop just in front of Ekirith.

Artemisth and Salise are here, she announced cheerfully. First. She had inherited an extreme amount of her father's competitive gene.

Salise arrived a little after her dragon's announcement; she was perfectly capable of running but not as fast as a nearly-full grown dragon. She smiled weakly at J'ran and then put a habitual hand on Artemisth's shoulder before looking around. You happy now?

Yes. But it would only be temporary. My straps itch. The Barred was still growing, and her riding straps were hand-me-downs because of it, not the most comfortable. Salise sighed and set to adjusting them, wondering if her dragon would ever be content with something.

[ShadowReine]

Amazingly, yes, Artemisth arrived first...

...by a few dragonlengths. Apolloth's lanky form descended to the lesson area with B'can seated easily on his neck, although he dismounted as soon as the tan was down.

No sense walking when one had a perfectly good dragon. Just for good form, B'can saluted the wingleader, and then checked his straps again. He was, sometimes, paranoid about his harness. Better than being careless, right? Of course, the tan had settled a bit away from Artemisth...no doubt at his rider's strict instruction.

[Jenth]

So much time had gone, but Aresth's temper remained nother the less. The always moody brown had come to be a normal thing for R'mal to the point he bearly noticed it, except when he got vocal. As a hatchling Aresth could bugle as loud as any adult dragon but now the grown brown's bellow could make the ground quiver if he was angry enough. It was a wonder there had been no fights...

R'mal had insisted on walking, lefting his dragon wear in the straps. What felt right at first might not later. Refusing to walk with his rider Aresth had jumped ahead in a short glide, shaking violently to put extra strain on the straps. "Aresth! Stop it!" The red head yelled when he finally caught up. "If you snap even one stitch we won't be flying today!"

That stoped the brown in his tracks...

[Missa]

LEssons! Flying! Flying! Lessons!

A laugh met the blue's hyper comments, whirling eyes spinning with rapid green's and blues as his ever attentive rider tightened the straps along his neck. He was such a darling, her Bacchuth was. Like her, he'd never grown out of that hyperness that had made everything so much fun, he'd run along side her as Rosie continued to train, continued to keep fit and ready to run, simply beccause she'd never realised how much she'd miss it if she stopped, even for a little while. Though Bacchuth would always come before anything else, she couldn't help but be excited for the day when she could go home - fully graduated - and show everyone how far she, the baby of the family had come.

"We'll show 'em, hey sweetie? You don't need to be brown or bronze to be awesome." Bacchuth crooned eagerly in response to her words, shifting eagerly on his feet, being careful not to knock his lovely rider over, or step on the feline curling about her ankles happily. He loved Kitty as much as his bonded, and was always very careful not to hurt her.
"Are they too tight, Bacchuth?" Though Rosalind would seem the very type to give her dragon some stupid shortening or silly nick name, she never did. Bacchuth wasn't something to make fun of, he was the other half of her, and if he had sought her out, there was no way she'd ever make fun of him.

No! No. No! No. Neverever too tight. FineFine. We go now RosieMine? He asked cherrfully and when his rider laughed and nodded, the blue all but purred with contentment. Though she was careful to move Kitty out of the way before she ran back to Bacchuth, swinging herself astride his neck as the blue bent low for her. Almost instantly, he was off, and before she knew it, they were landing beside his siblings. Would she ever get tired of that feeling of excitement as Bacchuth pushed off from the ground.
"Hey guys!" Rosie greeted them all easily as she slid to the ground, waving happily as Bacchuth echoed her greeting with a chirpy one of his own.

[Sparrow]

J'ran looked over the small group with some distaste. Kelth's clutch hadn't been huge, but these dragonets weren't even half of the clutch Ekirith had sired. The Brown sent around an irritated summons to the dragons not present, but there wasn't a lot more he could do about it unless he planned to hunt them down. J'ran figured if those who didn't show would rather die between than come to a lesson, they probably weren't an asset to the Weyr anyways.

At least everyone here had riding straps and looked ready enough, even if the dragonets were either avoiding each other, looking ready to break their straps, or simply looking a bit overexcited. That could be just as dangerous... hopefully the Blue was just hiding his sense, or something. J'ran shook his head, wondered if thinking that all the dragons present were a menace to society was something that being in the presence of weyrlings simply did, and glanced uncertainly at Ekirith. The Brownrider was a worrier, but the Brown expected all of his young to be perfect so he was useful for keeping J'ran's worst doubts at bay.

"Today, as you should know, we'll be practicing betweening," J'ran said. At least he was well practiced at an 'in charge' sort of voice. "You should also all know that this can be dangerous, so I want you all to pay attention. We use between a lot when fighting Thread, and in a variety of other things, so it's something you want to know how to do, and should always be careful doing. No matter how good you think you are, something can always catch you by surprise and the results are never good when you make a mistake betweening."

"We're going to keep this simple at the start, all I want is for you to ride your dragons and between to that rock over there." He pointed to a boulder about a quarter of the way around the lakeshore. "All you have to do is get a mental picture of where you want to go, share it with your dragon, and, well, you should just go there. It's kind of hard to explain how exactly they go between. Be sure to concentrate on where you want to go, distractions can distort an image and end you up totally off from where you wanted to be."

It's not hard though, so don't worry. Ekirith rumbled. Mine and I will demonstrate. J'ran mounted as the Brown spoke, and Ekirith leapt into the air. It only took a few downbeats to reach a safe altitude, and with a pop the pair disappeared. A couple seconds later they reappeared over the boulder, and Ekirith hovered there a moment before flying back to the group.

"It doesn't take that long, especially when you're not going far. The general rule for betweening is that you should never stay there longer than it takes for a person to cough three times, and this shouldn't bring you anywhere near that." J'ran shrugged and slid off of Ekirith's back. "Who wants to go first?"

[ShadowReine]

We should set an example, Mine the tan said in B'can's mind.

The short boy considered for a moment, then nodded. With no bronze in the clutch, the tan rider had slipped into a leadership role of sorts. His dragon had given him no choice.

He lifted his hand. "We'll go first." Another check of the straps and then he swung himself up, helped by a handy forepaw.

Apolloth *was* a big dragon, and he sometimes...slightly..envied the greenriders the ease with which they mounted. "Just let us know when."

B'can studied the rock. A line of sight jump was supposed to be easy, and there was no fear in him at all. His trust in Apolloth was absolute. He waited to be given a signal, though, not wanting to alarm the weyrlingmaster.

Tan haunches coiled, the dragon eager to lift, but not yet doing so. Discipline was even more important in one who would lead.

[Sparrow]

J'ran nodded. "Whenever you feel ready, really." And when no one else was going, but they didn't look like they were about to.

Artemisth started angrily. Mine! We have to go first! She bumped Salise with her snout, irritated that she hadn't suggested it. Who cared about itchy straps anyways, she had to beat Apolloth!

We have to wait our turn, Salise replied with an uncertain glance at the Weyrlingmaster. We can go second.

But we always go second! The fun of arriving at the lesson first seemed to have disappeared. Artemisth didn't want to wait. But she couldn't go without Salise, and her rider most definitely wasn't ready, she wasn't even on the Barred's back. Artemisth had to settle for glaring daggers at Apolloth and sent a sour message to Ekirith. We'll go next.

[ShadowReine]

A wave of nervousness did flow through B'can as the great tan dragon lifted skywards, beating for clear airspace.

I will not fail you. *I* will never be lost

Not just words but a sweeping tide of utter confidence that drowned the flicker of fear, lost it within itself.

Being such a large dragon, the tan had to go higher than, say, a barred or green. Okay. Focus on the rock. They'd drilled for this, B'can formed the image in his mind, held it firmly, as if, almost, holding it in front of the dragon.

"Go," he whispered.

And dark, and cold, and he could not feel the dragon or the straps or...but he still felt that wave of confidence that carried them *out* into the air above the rock.

Apolloth, being Apolloth, just *had* to bugle triumphantly.

[Jenth]

Aersth snorted in disgust at Apolloth's display. So he went between, so what?! They were all going to do that and cause he just had to go first didn't mean he was any better then the rest of them! Nor when he mentioned how big he was. That sort of attitude from the tan was sickening and the brown placed him at the top on his 'most hated' list.

If you're going to go next, hurry up...please. I want to knock that tan down a level Aersth spoke to Artemisth, always more curtious with females. R'mal always thought it was to ensure that they would concider him as a mate when they all matured.

[Sparrow]

Artemisth rumbled at the Brown's comment. Oh, please do so. By then, Salise had mounted, and, once they got the okay from J'ran, Artemisth took off. Once they were clear of the ground, Salise focused on the boulder, feeling more and more nervous the closer they got to the actual betweening

Artemisth might have tossed her head impatiently, but figured now wasn't a time to distract her rider. She struggled at some assurance, mostly she just wanted to get going, and finally Salise whispered, "Let's go."

And so, Artemisth did. The dragon herself was a bit surprised to suddenly find herself in the freezing nothingness of between, but after a moment the fright passed and they soon found themselves above the boulder. Salise grinned. We did it!

Artemisth just glowered at Apolloth and then landed on the sand by the boulder; she at least had the intelligence to get out of the way quickly.

Ekirith rumbled, pleased that two of the weyrlings had already made it safely into and out of between. J'ran looked expectantly over the few remaining. "Who's next?"