Skeseth heads out from the Weyrling Barracks.
Sua is led in by Skeseth.

Uzasnyth heads out from the Weyrling Barracks.
Pae is led in by Uzasnyth.

Issryuith heads out from the Weyrling Barracks.
Hiza is led in by Issryuith.

Nylanth glides in from above.

While Mneoth is doing his own exercises, moving wings up and down in slow measured motions, Khena is doing hers, push-ups, and bellyrolls, the brown dragon keeping a careful eye on her making sure he's not the only one exercising. "You're doing just fine, Mneo," she says, panting slightly as she watches the brown move his wings. "No... I'm not tired. Are you?"

Sua seems to be busy checking straps, and seated by the shadow where her own lifemate lurks. Exercises? What's that? Definately not what this pair have in mind. The young woman tosses the leathers to one side as she gives the two whirling eyes a snort. "You're going to have to come out sometime... The sun's not going to hurt you, 'nyways." Skeseth gives a snort in return, stretching his wings out and giving them a few slow strokes as he glances towards Mneoth. Perhaps not mimicing the other brown, but definately trying to show that he is doing /something/ at least.

Pae, on the opposite side of the grounds, is observing Uzasnyth as he scrupulously flexes each wing methodically. "Good job, Uzi. You'll be such a good flyer!" The brown drinks the praise, emitting a long, slow purr as he continues; the other dragons receive a inquisitive stare, from both Pae and Uzasnyth, and nothing more.

Hiza is napping against a rock, thank you much, while Issryuith whuffles around, occasionally stretching her wings. Hiza's been napping for awhile, and Iss got tired of excersizing. After all, there's only so much one dragon could do at a time. So eventually she slinks toward Hiza and slowly, slowly settles down, trying to disturb her lifemate. Of course, Hiza suddenly springs to life, crying out, "Oh Issryuith that's wonderful!" before looking around a blinking. "Uhm... hi."

G'deon slides from Nylanth's neck and lands gently on the ground.

G'deon laughs softly as he dismounts, patting Nylanth on the neck softly before turning to the Weyrlings. "Good day everyone," he calls over, usually mellow voice tinted subtly with good natured cheer. "How are you all faring today?"

<Local> Mneoth senses that Nylanth turns an appraising eye over you all, his mindvoice a torrent of cool, cool water, spiced with the evergreens of autumn. << You all are looking very good. Growing into fine dragons... >>

Khena gets up slowly, stretching muscles as she turns to give the bronzer a broad smile. "Hello, G'deon. We're doing fine, thanks," she says, glancing at Mneoth out of the corner of her eye, seeing that the brown has stopped 'winging' and put his head on his forearms. "Been doing our exercises." As the good weyrlings they were. But, of course, she could only speak for her and her lifemate.

<Local> Mneoth senses that Uzasnyth basks in the praise, sunlight filtering warm and satisfied through his mindvoice. << Thank you. Pae says so too. >>

Hiza goes home.
Issryuith goes home.

Skeseth doesn't seem to be wanting to do those wing exercises, though he does slither out from the shadows for the moment as he spots Uzasnyth. Look who it is... Sua pulls at the leathers once again before getting up to her feet, amber eyes turned towards the arriving bronze dragon and rider. "Everything's well, G'deon, sir," she mumbles softly as she stretches her arms out, quickly scurrying closer in order to set a hand on her lifemate's shoulder before he gets into trouble.

Uzasynth angles his head to peer at Nylanth, mystified by the bronze's size. Ha. He'll be that big someday -- or close to that big, right? "Yes, Uzi, of course," Pae assures the brown, before saluting and warbling over at G'deon, "G'day, sir! I'm fi-i-i-ine!" Beam. While Uzasnyth eyes Skeseth, poised for attack -- in case he should comment on his tail.

G'deon follows his lifemate's example and studies each of the dragons one by one. "Aye, quite right, Nyls. More than half-way to being full-grown, I'd wager, though that point won't happen until they're about eighteen months old..." And aren't they just cute at this stage? "Any problems so far, Weyrlings? Overeating... constipation?"

Mneoth snorts softly, a deep rumble following the offended noise. Khena takes a few quick steps toward her lifemate laying a gentle hand on his brown side, her head moving from side to side in a warning motion. Don't want to offend the weyrleader or his dragon. Even if the weyrleader was an old friend. Another deep rumble escapes Mneoth's throat, and Khena sighs slighty, "he wants me to let you know, he'd never overeat..."

Skeseth is a good size large then Uzasnyth, but he really doesn't seem to show that. Hissing towards the sun-filled sky and keeping as close to the ground as possible while tail whips out behind him. Sua seems rather startled by the sudden question from the bronzerider. "Overeating? With 'im as thin as that... I'd don't think overeating is a problem. And definately not constipated." She eyes her lifemate for awhile, though clinging to his side. He's not going to get in a fight this time.

G'deon chuckles softly at Khena and Mneoth both, shrugging his broad shoulders a bit. "I didn't really think he would," he replies, winking at the brown 'ling pair. "But that wasn't really the point of my question I suppose... as long as that tail stays it's normal thickness you can forget worrying about purging. Though... you guys do know how, right? With the funnel and that stuff they make from the pergin berries?" He'll just assume they do... and if they don't they can ask. Such is the mentality of the Gid. "By now your dragons should be slowing down slightly in growth, giving their hides time to catch up. Which also means they'll be eating less. However, the daily baths and oilings will still be needed until they're full grown. When you're bathing and oiling them is the perfect opportunity to check their hide for things out of the ordinary... lumps, bumps, loose bits, broken skin. Just be careful around the wings still, especially if it's already injured."

Khena nods slowly, her arms snaking around the brown's neck, though she does seem to have to lift it up higher than a few months ago. A glance goes back toward Mneoth tail, just checking, though seeing no change in size of the smooth curved piece of anatomy. "Just checking," she mutters under her breath, a slight grin on her face as she looks sideways at Mneoth's slowly whirling eyes. "And your hide is just fine."

Sua does know all that, really she does. "Heard of 'nother 'ling that had to purge their dragon. It's not such a pretty sight it seems... And I don't think I'd ever have that problem for me, 'nyways." So she'd just stay silent and try to grab a hold of her brown's twitching tail. "He's slowing his growth? Really doesn't seem like it though." She pats the dark hide, glancing over towards the other dragons. "Your hide is better... I know, 'm jus' saying that. 'Cause y'know... They're all saying that." Snort.

Uzasnyth prowls away from Skeseth -- he isn't afraid, just /wary/! -- and closer to Pae. Back away. "Shhh, Uzi, it's okay. Be nice, dear," said rider says off-handedly, attentioned focused on the weyrleader. "I just finished checkin' over Uzi, sir, and he seems fine and all. He's talons are sharp, though, 'cause he sharpens 'em all the time. Is that okay, or should I make sure they stay kinda-dull?" Pause. "Uzi, hush. If G'deon-sir says we need to blunt your talons, we gotta. Psh."

G'deon leans against Nylanth's neck, scratching the bronze's chin softly. "As long as you keep the hide oiled, you shouldn't have to worry about cracks in the hide. Watch for the spots where the riding leathers are, too. They can rub into the hide and break open the skin. Either way, broken skin will keep you two grounded when it comes time to learn how to go between. And don't think you'll get away with something like that just because you didn't tell us. Your 'mate could get severe frostbite, and permanent damage. Those hides are there for protection, not to look pretty." He grins at Pae, shaking his head just a bit. "No, dragons' claws are razor sharp as soon as a sevenday out of the shell, and they should stay that way. Especially once they start hunting on their own. Which is soon."

"Hunting? Didn't think we had to feed 'em all the time on our own 'nyways..." Sua murmurs lightly, glancing over towards Pae and wiggling her fingers casually. She's as innocent as her dragon, of course, and only Skeseth would try to stray away from his lifemate in order to slither towards the nearest shadow. "No, love. You stay right /'ere/. There's nothing to do there." Snorting, the brown stays in place with only his tail snapping towards the retreating Uzasnyth. "An' my leathers have wool... Good 'nough, 'cause I don' want his hide to break open either."

Kearneth heads into the Weyrling Barracks.

Khena glances down at Mneoth's talons, slightly dug into the floor of the Training Grounds. "Make sense," she says, not explaining further what it was she thought makes sense. While paying close attention to G'deon's lecture, her hand idly rubs the mahogany headknobs. "Nothing'd get me to harm Mneoth," she states, looking quite determined to keep her lifemate safe.

Uzasnyth hisses at Skeseth, raising a paw threateningly; back off, buster. "Uzi! Stoppit! Bad!" Pae reprimands sharply, although the dragon doesn't complete subside, but does agree to lower his paw and sheath his talons. Hmph. "Yessir, then, I'll leave 'em. And I'm really careful about Uzi's straps." A triumphant beam ensues, as she wiggles her fingers over at Sua in response to her greeting.

T'am heads out from the Weyrling Barracks.
Farleth heads out from the Weyrling Barracks.

G'deon waves T'am and Farleth over, and turns it into a general gesture of beckoning the 'lings in a bit more. "All right, I'm just going to move on into a bit more anatomy, so make sure you all can see Nylanth and myself." He scoots back a bit to remove a pointing stick from the bronze's riding straps, folding it out to a rather handy length.

Mneoth rumbles as he watches the interaction between Skeseth and Uzasnyth, eyes whirling faster as he's clearly dissatisfied with the antics of the two. "Don't Mneoth, it's none of your business," Khena mutters, her hand falling down around the brown neck again, becoming restraining on the dragon. "Watch G'deon instead.." Something she's already doing herself, all the while trying to keep her lifemate from running interference between the other two dragons.

Farleth tromps over to join his clutchmates, rider in tow. T'am gives the others a hurried wave before settling himself between Farleth's forearms, in a position where he'll be able to see G'deon.

Skeseth isn't doing anything wrong, and simply staring over towards Uzasnyth. See that? He's a bad brown... This young dragon isn't even hissing! Until now. As soon as whirling eyes catch sight of the raising paw, he quickly tenses and hisses audibly. Silly threats won't bother him at all, and Sua is just sending nervous glances from the Weyrleader and towards her clutchmates. "'Nough, 'Seth. He's not going to do 'nything, see?" And as soon as she gets her lifemate to relax a bit, she focusing back towards G'deon and his bronze, only with a few finger-waggles towards T'am.

G'deon eyes the gloomy sky for a moment, but simply shrugs into his jacket a wee bit more, grinning at Nylanth for a moment as he shrugs at some unheard comment before turning back to the Weyrlings. "Hopefully you still remember your basic anatomy classes. For the most part I just want to cover those topics in more depth, especially the wings. But first... I'll let you guys know how not to get grounded. After all, as riders and dragons, you're meant to fly, correct?"

G'deon just offers a bit of a roguish grin, hand going into his pockets. "First of all, can any of you think of a reason you'd /want/ to be grounded?"

Pae isn't worried. Pae is frantic, scrambling in closer to Uzasnyth and coaxing him into docility. "Hush, Uzi. 'Seth isn't gonna hurtcha', if you don't bother him. Be nice!" Uzasnyth obeys, ignoring Skeseth and peering over at G'deon and Nylanth. "Thassa' good boy," brownlet beams adoringly, returning her attention to the weyrleader. "If you're pregnant, right? 'Cause if you go ::between:: lots when you're pregnant, it can hurt the baby, right? Yeah."

"Wan't to be grounded?!" Khena repeats, eyes looking somewhat doubtful at that question, then glances at Pae as she mentions 'pregnant'. Not an issue for this rider, but the former healer was probably right. "I'd not want to fly if Mneoth was hurt," she says, head nodding at some unheard comment from the brown, who's still watching his clutchmates carefully.

Sua sighs lightly, keeping her hand upon her lifemate's side as she glances once again over towards Pae, blinking quietly. She isn't going to say much more, because she knows well enough that her lifemate is the most innocent dragon in the clutch. Or rather, she just might be amused to see what might happen, as long as no teeth are bared or claws unsheathed. Just like shouting curses or playing a trick or two. Easy, right? But G'deon is who she should be paying attention to now, focusing back on the true problem. "Yea, for pregnancy... And I can't think of 'ny reason why one would want to stay /on the ground/. In the sky's good 'nough."

T'am shifts uncomfortably, trying to find a good spot. Pregnant? Nothing he'll have to worry about. He gives Farleth an amused grin. He can't think of a reason for staying grounded. Not a good one anyway. So he just leans back and listens. T'am has disconnected.
T'am rubs his eyes furiously and tries to muffel a yawn before slipping off to inevitable sleep.

G'deon grins just a little bit at Khena as he crosses his arms. "Perhaps I shouldn't have used the word 'want' exactly, but you guys are on the right track. You should never /want/ to get grounded I would think, but there are quite a few reasons why you might be in the future. As Weyrlings you might be grounded by your Weyrlingmasters for disciplinary reasons," cough, "but I'm going to tell you how you'd be grounded by a Dragonhealer. And how to avoid it." He pauses for a moment to see if they're paying attention. "There are two reasons why a rider can be grounded by the dragonhealers. Your dragon could be too injured to fly... or you yourself could be too injured or sick." Or pregnant, which in some eyes equals being sick. "There's another reason why applies only to weyrlings though... anyone know it?"

Khena grins ever so slightly at the mentioning of disciplinary reasons for grounding, a memory popping into her head as G'deon speaks. As to sickness and injury, she becomes somewhat more serious and tilts her head, frowning slightly as she watches the weyrleader. "Besides injury or discipline problems, you mean?" she asks, leaning further into the shoulder of her lifemate. Shaking her head 'no', she signals that she gives up on that question.

Sua is usually the clueless one around these parts of the Weyrling class, so she can simply blink over towards the Weyrleader. See, blink blink. "Well, it would make sense that a rider won't fly if their sick, or if it is their dragon as well." So she will just repeat the teacher and looks all nice and pretty, while Skeseth twitches his tail in boredom. Bored bored bored? No, he is simply staring towards the other brownlings with a slow whirl to his eyes, observing their every movement as his lifemate is the only one to participate in the class.

G'deon shrugs a bit in his jacket as he tries to glare at the Weyrlings, but to little effect. He's much too light-hearted for effective glaring. "Hmm... perhaps the weyrlingmasters haven't quite been as strict as they normally are. Anyway, if any of you try flying your dragons, with or without you, /or/ going ::between:: before you've been told by a weyrlingmaster they're ready, you will be grounded, for a very long time. You must be careful of straining you or your dragon too much, especially their wings. This is why your lifemates have been doing all those exercises." And let's not even think of a mistaken jump ::between::.

Pae coughs subtly, listening, as well as pondering the concluding question. "I dunno. What else could there be? I mean.. 'sides injury and misbehavin'? I dunno. Lifemate not being strong enough?" Brownlet shrugs, leaning against Uzasnyth idly. As the answer is given, she blinks slowly. "Oh. Gotcha'. I won't do that, sir, doncha' worry!"

Khena's eyes widen ever so slightly, surprised that /anyone/ would think of flying their dragons without a weyrlingmaster present. A stickler for rules, that's what Khena is, and her lifemate wasn't any better, the brown giving off a dissatisfied rumble at the thought of someone intentionally breaking rules that were meant to protect them.

G'deon smiles almost cheerfully as he continues with the lesson. "While there are many reasons for being grounded, one of the two most common have already been mentioned. Pregnancy. So if you don't want to be grounded, you'll want to take your contraceptives. And yes, even if you don't think you'll need it. You never know how certain..." Blue eyes flicker to the young dragons for a moment as the bronzer hesitates. Right, rule #5883, don't mention flights yet. "Um... certain situations can end up. But, enough of that. Do any of you know the other common reason for groundings?"

Well, hadn't the weyrleader already mentioned the other most common reason? In any case, Khena shrugs and turns her eyes back on G'deon averting them from Pae and Sua's dragons. "Dicsipline problems, right?" she says and grins, something that would never get this pair grounded.

Sua quietly stares towards the bronzerider, her nose scrunching up quickly. "Contraceptives? But they don't taste too good..." Says the one person who likes to skip those. However, she should know well enough that might be a problem soon enough, especially as a dragonrider. They usually get pregnant, either way. "An' I guess that you can get grounded when you have been scored bad 'nough? Dragon's sails have been torn up or something?" Which fits in the category of having the rider or dragon hurt, right?

Pae is now sprawled beside Uzasnyth, her head leaned against his foreleg. "Yessir, I'll make sure to take my green stuff! 'Cause Mammy said too." Too much information, but oh well. "I dunno. Discipline and injuries and pregnancy, but what else is there? Hmmmm..."

G'deon suddenly points at Sua. With the hand /not/ holding the wooden pointer. Whacking the Weyrlings is not a past time of his. "Exactly! Threadscore. And /any/ sort of threadscore will take you out of a Fall because it's too dangerous to go ::between:: with open wounds. The only kind of wound Thread leaves us." Cheery, no? "But no need to get into that too much right now, so as long as we were talking about flying, let's move on to the wings. Nylanth, if you could just kneel down a bit more and extend your right wing...." He moves out of the way a little as Nylanth extends his wing out, out and out! Big wing. "You'll probably want to have your 'mates do the same so that you can find these on their wings too."

Khena grimaces at G'deon's ever so discriptive talk of threadscore, nose wrinkling and brow furrowing. Yeah, of course something like that would put you on the ground, without a doubt. Breathing an inward sigh of relief as the bronzer moves on to the next subject, the weyrling releases her hold on Mneoth's neck, having the brown duplicate the bronze's pose. "G'wan, Mneo, let's see those beautiful wings of yours... I know you did your exercises, dear, but these aren't exercises. It's to let me see what your wings look like." In detail. As if Khena hadn't been watching and learning about every inch of her lifemates bulk since he was hatched.

Sua is quite a bit more startled now as the bronzerider points to her. She was correct? Really?! Amazing... She seems to beam now, her ego having been inflated just slightly as she bobs her head quietly. She was just going to that next-- open wounds. However, she will have to experience that for herself sometime in the future, won't she? "C'mon now, 'Seth. You heard 'im..." The youung brownling pats the side of her lifemate, moving out of the way as she expects his wing to come shooting out. But it doesn't, of course, and after a lot of glaring and muttering, Skeseth finally extends his wing out with a snort.

G'deon grins slightly at the Weyrlings as he begins... well, at the beginning of course, gesturing at the very front of Nylanth's wing. "This is the leading edge, the part of the wing that first meets the air and controls how you ascend or descend depending on the angles. Getting injured on this part of the wing will keep you grounded for a quite a long time. The main wingbones and arteries are up here, or attached to the leading edge at least. And repair of this area is extremely slow because we need to make doubly sure they heal correctly. Does anyone know why?"

Khena shakes her head, coming up short again. For all her time in the Weyr, dragon anatomy had never been included in any training she'd received. Hazarding a guess, though, she answers slowly and in a low voice, "because you wanna make sure it's done right?"

Uzasnyth gladly obliges, extending his wing carefully to allow Pae to study it. "I hope y'never get scored badly, Uzi. But I don't think you will, 'cause your /perfect/.." A pause, as she absorbs what the weyrleader is lecturing, and answers, "'Cause if that part isn't healed right, it could cripple a dragon for life?"

Sua glances from the large bronze to the smaller version on her own dragon, blinking silently until she wiggles a finger the Weyrleader's way. "It has to heal properly so that you can fly right afterwards?" It's a guess, right? And even then, this brownling doesn't like to guess a lot of times and simply shuffles closer to her lifemate as she idly bobs her head. Oh no, she will simply listen to what is going on in the class and stay quiet now. No reason to answer questions.

G'deon nods slowly as he reaches up to tap Nylanth's leading edge with the pointer. "Injuries like thread, bad landings and wing strains, which are all too easy in windy conditions, can be healed. With time. Taking off and landing are the most strenuous uses of your dragons' wings, though sometimes just staying in the air can damage an injured wing even further. All the more reason to keep them grounded until we know they're healthy again." The bronze rider waits a moment to see if the Weyrlings caught on to the seriousness of such injuries, then with a quiet click of his tongue decides to move on. "All right, this edge that moves out from the leading edge is the fingerbone, and this claw is the fingertip. Ever heard the expression, 'turning on a wingtip'?"

Khena's eyes follow the directions G'deon points out on Nylanth's wing, then turns to identify the same on her own lifemate's unfolded wing, her attention still tuned to what the weyrleader is actually saying. "Yeah," she mumbles, eyes lingering on Mneoth's wingtip for a moment longer, before turning back to the bronzer. "It's like a really fast, tight turn, right?"

Pae listens intently, occassionally glancing over at Uzasnyth's wing for confirmation. "Turning on a wingtip? Yeah, I've heard that before!" And now it makes sense. Yay. Uzasnyth rumbles.. because of lack of anything else better to do.

"Correct, Khena. The fingertip and forestay tip, here," as G'deon points out the very tip of Nylanth's wing, "provide by far the most maneuverability during flight. An injury here can also keep you on the ground for a long time because you could lose control in the air without them." He turns to glance up at his lifemate for a moment, quietly asking him to tilt his wing a bit so the 'lings can see the surprisingly delicate underside. He begins to trace with the pointer along the outermost of Nylanth's wing bones. "This one is the spar bone," then as he moves inward one by one, "and the mid-bone and inner-bone. Pretty self-explanatory I think. And these thicker portions running parallel are the batten ribs that help strengthen the wings." He then takes a step inwards to point out the taught inner sail of Nylanth's wing. "This would be the mainsail, this one is the secondary mainsail," moving back out again, "and finally the spar sail. And why do we call them sails?"

Again watching G'deon point out the various parts of a dragon's wing on his bronze, Khena then turns to find the same parts on Mneoth's wing, then turns back looking more or less surprised at G'deon's question. Why are they called sails? "Well, they /look/ like sails, don't they.. Like on a ship..?" Nothing surprising in that analogy. Not in this 'ling's mind, anyway.

G'deon nods quickly, gesturing along the filmy hide. "These are the parts that will actually get you and your 'mates into the air. An injury here is very serious, though a dragon can stilly fly with up to half the outer wings scored. Still, it's best to get back on the ground as soon as possible, not to mention betweening to get rid of the Thread. Damage to the inner sails is far more severe and requires a lot of reconstruction work. If Thread pierces the sail, it can go straight through and penetrate the dragon's side, putting major organs at risk. And with that... I think I'm done. Unless you guys have questions."

Pae observes G'deon while he points out the segment of the wings, nodding serenly with each gesture. "Yessir, gotcha, no questions here. Uzi doesn't have any either. Yay." Brownlet beams, amused and happy, 'cause the lecturing is finally over. Phew.

Sua stays quiet, you see, and will be quiet for the rest of the lesson as she bobs her head over to the bronzerider. But how can she resist without commenting on everything? Since her lifemate seems just about to fall asleep and she doesn't have much more than Skeseth to talk to. "Those are many names. Bit hard to remember, isn't it?" And that is her only question, really. Even if it really isn't a question. "An' no more questions from me... Us, actually." Yes, Skeseth gives a slight snort to make sure they notice he is still awake.

"No, no questions... You can put your wing down now, Mneoth," Khena says, glancing back at the brown dutifully holding his wing high in the air. "Are we done now, G'deon?" she asks, just out of curiousity, and because her lifemate is asking her to go exploring outside the Training Grounds. "Haven't you seen enough yet?!" They'd been around the Weyr, in everyplace a non-flying dragon could go, umpteen times already.

G'deon folds up his pointing stick with a grin. "Excellent. Well, I guess I'm done with that part then," he comments, sliding the apparatus back into the satchel attached to Nylanth's riding straps as the bronze stretches out his wings for a moment, then folds them neatly to his back.

Kearneth heads out from the Weyrling Barracks. Rianne is politely but /very/ firmly slid off Kearneth's neck and to the ground with a gentle thud.

"Yes, darling.. I know it's beautiful..." Rianne heads out of the barracks, swinging down nimbly off of Kearneth's shoulder as he blows out a long breath, attempting to catch her a bit at least.. but she doesn't need any help to land squarely on her feet and wink playfully at her dragon. With a long suffering noise, Kearneth pushes her forward towards the group already gathered there with a none too gentle nose. "All right, all right, dear. Don't get pushy now.... Hello everyone! I'm here to join you! How /are/ you all today?" Rianne asks cheerfully, sending everyone a bright smile al around.

G'deon rustles around in that same satchel, finally removing a small scrap of hide. He reads this over, glances at the Weyrlings assembled, then smiles gradually. "Excellent... All right everyone, we'll be moving on to exercises now. You all remember those, right? Stretches for those limbs and wings especially....." No significance there. Nope.

"Right. Of course we do... don't we, Kearneth?" Rianne says with a faint desperate raise of the eyebrow over to her blue.. who is already proceeding with the excercises mentioned, under his weyrling's wholehearted smile of thanks and blown kiss to him, which he receives with a nod of his smug dragon head. "That's right, dear.. Work those limbs. Move those wings!" Rianne says encouragingly, her eyes dancing as Kearneth seems to send a /definite/ mental communication at this, causing Rianne to lapse into smiling silence.

"No, Mneoth, why don't we just stay here a while?" Khena says softly to her lifemate, who's now prodding her with a dark muzzle, a slight rumbling coming from his throat, the brown impatiently wanting to get off the Training Grounds. "See? G'deon still has something for us to do," she says sternly, though they'd just been doing their exercises when the weyrleader had arrived. "Just do it again," she whispers, eyeing the brown, pinning the dragon with a piercing look.

Sua actually leaves her lifemate's side in order to get her discarded straps, glancing towards the arriving Rianne and those clutchmates that are still around. Curious, why is the bronzerider still here as well? But time doesn't go by too fast as she curiously listens to what he has planned next. "Exercises now?" Alright then. Skeseth seems to snort yet again, eyes opening to glance from one dragon to the other until they close once again. "That means you've got to get up, 'Seth. Understand? Get /up/." No response from the dragon.

G'deon watches the Weyrlings closely before grinning up at his lifemate. That's not a roguish grin in anyway. Noooo. "All right, very good," he says, walking among the weyrlings and dragons slowly. "Especially concentrate on those stretches today. Your 'mates will need them since they're all on the go-list for flying today."

"You're on a go list, Kearneth. Doesn't /that/ sound like a good thing?" Rianne says laughingly as she looks over to her blue, walking over to run her hand on the side of his wing, as if trying to help him stretch it out. With a bit of a snort, he oh so politely pushes her to up by his neck, shaking his head slightly. "Well.. /we're/ subtle today, aren't we, dear?" And with that, she nonetheless begins to stratch his neck lightly, causing him to emit a soft croon.

Khena spins on a bootheel, her eyes seeking out G'deon and /staring/ at him, surprise and wonder coloring the gray and green of her irises. "Did you say...?" she starts, Mneoth's head coming in next to her equally watching the weyrleader, though not as piercingly as his lifemate. He's calm about it, can't you tell. It had to happen one day, right? "So he'll be flying today?" Just wanting to make sure right? Obviously Khena is more excited about this than Mneoth is.

G'deon offers his most encouraging smile as he finally stops pacing and turns to the entire group. "Folks, and dragons, this is where all those tedious lessons, exercises, stretches and hours of sewing straps start to pay off. With a hop, skip and a jump, your winged 'mates are going to be airborne." Who says ex-Smiths have to be stuffy. Harpers aren't the only ones with theatrics. "Just continue to remember the ways to keep them there. In other words, don't get grounded. No flying without an older rider and dragon supervising. And /Do/ /Not/ /Even/ /Think/ of going between. Or you'll be grounded and in my office for the next month at least. If you survive the jump." Think they get it?

Rianne has disconnected.
Rianne suddenly swoons away.... Ahhh...

<Local> Mneoth senses that Nylanth spreads claret tones over the training grounds, encompassing all the weyrling dragons gathered with gently flickering flames of caution. << You have been exercising your wings well, but your first flight may be unsteady. Do not forget you will need the power of your hindquarters to get into the air. >>

Right. Of course those exercises had been good for /something/. They wouldn't have been doing them for nothing. Turning to give Mneoth an affectionate slap on the muzzle, Khena cracks a slight smile. "Keep working your muscles, Mneo," she notes, turning back to watch G'deon.

G'deon can't help but grin at Khena a bit. He's not all that old yet and still remembers Nyls' first flight... "Your dragons will take gradually longer and longer flights, just as long as they're always accompanied for now, and never out of your line of sight." Aren't lectures boring? He's trying to hurry to the good stuff. "They will learn to navigate the winds that swirl around the Weyr bowl, which are good practice for future flight in unknown areas. And make sure you guys get out into any sort of weather you can, save for the severe winds. Even full grown dragons stay out of that when they can. But Thread doesn't always wait for sunny days." He glances over at Nylanth now, a crooked grin on his face as he readies his own 'mate to tutor the young ones while still talking outloud. "After a couple of sevendays, once your dragon is confident in the air, he will be accompanied to the feeding pens and taught to hunt; and at long last you can put away at least one of your weyrling duties."

Sua is listening, and watching the other dragons start working on their exercises ans she glances towards her... lazy brown? Well, not exactly lazy, since she would never say that. Really... Her nose scrunches slightly as she moves closer, the straps in her arms and gives the brown a good poke. "C'mon, 'Seth. You listening, right?" And she glances over towards G'deon, head bobbing quietly as a smile slowly twitches up her face. No more feeding whenever they are hungry. That's good enough for her to hear!

Nylanth lumbers away from his lifemate, taking up a position near the center of the training grounds. His huge bronzen wings twitch slightly as he settles back on his haunches, snaking his neck around to fix a whirling eye on the weyrling dragons. /This/ is how one prepares to fly. Watch and learn.

Skeseth grumbles slightly at his lifemate's prodding, irritantly thwapping the ground with his tail before lumbering to the ground. Whirling eyes peer overly-intently toward G'deon as if Skeseth is attempting to prove something to Sua. A snicker... if it is possible... seems to emit from the brown's nostrils as he glares over toward Nylanth before leaning back amusedly.

Khena keeps Mneoth in check all the while listening to G'deon, having the brown do his wing exercises, readying him for what was not too far away an event now. Uncharacteristic for her, the weyrling actually displays her excitement, a rather large smile going from ear to ear as she turns her eyes on Nylanth, mentally prodding Mneoth to do the same.

"All right, Nylanth is going to show your 'mates what to do." G'deon walks off to the side a little. Better not to get bowled over by overly eager younglings. "Mneoth first, then Skeseth..."

"Mneoth.. First?" Well, color Necha surprised! Turning on a heel again, she moves quickly to her 'mate, checking the straps in a hurry, making sure everything is as it should be, then turns back to watch Nylanth's instructions. "Watch carefully now, Mneo..."

"Pay attention, 'Seth. You hear? You're up after Mneoth..." Sua snorts lightly, glancing towards the bronze that will demonstrate first before the other brown goes. And she must be the only one serious about this, as she gives Skeseth a glance before returning attention back on G'deon's lifemate. Arms cross against her chest, though the straps prevent her from getting into a comfortable standing position.

<Local> Mneoth senses that Nylanth rumbles, a bright flare subsiding to a roiling crimson. << Perhaps Skeseth's wings are not ready after all. >> A wash of indigo is sent toward Mneoth now. << Follow me, and do as I do. Run. Hop. Launch into the air. Then three flaps of your wings. >> Brandy-colored flames emphasize the number. Three. << Glide do the end of the grounds, then land. We will repeat the exercise to return. >>

Nylanth sets action to words, starting across the grounds in a demonstration. Abruptly he vaults into the air, extending wings which certainly are /not/ too clumsy to hold his weight, snaking his neck back to be sure that Mneoth is following properly.

Khena moves well away from Mneoth, probably more so than needed as she looks from Nylanth, back to her 'mate, to Nylanth again, jaw dropping as her gaze return to Mneoth. Brown follows the bronze's intructions to the letter; Run. Hop. Launch! Wings flapping thrice as he lifts himself off the ground, a bugle escaping his throat as he follows Nylanth to the end of the Grounds.

Nylanth backwings to land, neatly dropping his hindquarters to the ground, then his forepaws. One eye watches Mneoth in the air, the great bronze ambling his massive frame around to face the opposite direction now. Ready to demonstrate the return flight.

G'deon watches with a highly studious eye, closely following Mneoth's flight with a pleased smile. "Not too bad... careful on the landing," he mumbles quietly.

Skeseth glances toward Sua, blinking all lids innocently, before yawning widely and loudly and thumping his tail against the ground before turning quickly toward Nylanth, an apologetic glance going to Sua. And he'd promised he would be have. He just can't /help/ it. He sighs and settles back onto the ground, looking up toward Mneoth in curiosity.

Mneoth glides slowly in for the landing, his large wings performing the exact same movement as Nylanth, and losing speed and motion the brown suddenly finds his feet back on the ground, a surprised warble ringing across the Grounds. Nothing but a little tiny stumble on the landing. He was good, right?

Khena watches her dragon take off, glide and land, the former guard standing erect as she keeps her eyes firmly trained on the brown, gasping slightly at the stumple on the landing. "No... He's okay," she mutters under her breath, reassuring herself.

<Local> Mneoth senses that Nylanth rumbles encouragingly toward Mneoth, sparkling claret rippling through his mindtone. << Mneoth, you flew well. Repeat the exercise, returning to your lifemate. Skeseth-- >> black shoots through the claret, carrying warning-- << G'deon would like you to fly to me. Just the way Mneoth flew. >> Perhaps he was paying attention; the instructions will not be repeated.

Run. Hop. Launch. And it only takes a moment before Mneoth is safely back with his lifemate, though the landing is still not perfect. Well, it /was/ only the second time he tried this, wasn't it? Khena on the other hand, looks immensely proud as she watches Mneoth's return, walking quickly toward him as he lands. "You did great, Mneo," she says, throwing and arm around his neck, using the other hand to rub mahogany eyeridges.

G'deon grins at Mneoth and Khena for a moment. But no use intruding on their moment. Much better to watch Skeseth's first flight...

Sua glances over towards Mneoth, perhaps a bit nervous about having her dragon fly by himself that distance. "Careful, 'Seth. Right?" She gives G'deon a look, before turning back to watch her own lifemate in silence. She will watch and hope, correct? It's not like she has to worry at all. Skeseth is thin enough to simply be carried off in the wind, and that might be a problem there as well. They'd have to get a few dragons to pluck him out from the sky then! No, wait... Bad thoughts, bad thoughts!

Skeseth grumbles lowly, almost inaudibly, as he stares at the ground. Finally, looking Nylanth dead in the eye, the brown nods and stands. Stretching takes several moments, it seems, before the brown settles back on his haunches as Nylanth had. Large eyes peer toward Sua, a nuzzle probably barely seen by others, before looking back to Nylanth, ready to run.

Nylanth watches and waits, whirling jewel-faceted eyes fixed on the bony brown. His great bronzen wings are furled across his back now. We shall see whose wings will carry them.

G'deon folds the piece of hide he's still carrying and sticks it in a jacket pocket before hooking his thumbs behind his riding belt. "Okay, Skeseth, let's see what you can do..."

<Local> Mneoth senses that Nylanth flickers chidingly at Skeseth. << Do as Mneoth did. You fly alone. I will watch. >>

All eyes on Skeseth now... Or mostly those amber ones of Sua. She is worried enough for her lifemate as she shifts uncomfortably, dropping the brown's straps on the ground once again. "Careful now, 'Seth," she murmurs, perhaps repeated as she bobs her head slowly. "And you don't want to hurt yourself, either." Or hurt others, right? She glances over towards Nylanth and then his lifemate, still rather nervous herself.

Skeseth takes a deep breath, turning one last look toward his lifemate before those bony legs extend. He darts for a small distance before hopping and launching into the air. Breeze seems uncaught for a moment until the brown awkwardly flaps his wings three times. He begins to make the mistake of turning back to look at Sua when she speaks until he realizes he cannot yet manage such coordination. Clunkily, the brown twists to a stiff landing besides Nylanth, crooning proudly. Not the most beautiful acrobatics, but he succeeded.

G'deon nods, a quick smile of satisfaction on his face. "There you go. Okay, bring 'im on back, Nylanth," he calls out, adding the message silently for his lifemate as well.

Khena leans into her lifemate's shoulder as her eyes actually does follow the progress of Skeseth, Mneoth doing the same though maybe without too much interest. Laying his muzzle down on his forearms, he clearly signals that he is tired, and has had enough of lessons for the day. Even if it did include flying. And the adrenaline of that first flight gone already. "You think you could /pretend/ to be excited, Mneo," Khena mutters to him, sitting herself down beside him leaning against a brown shoulder.

Sua winces slightly towards her dragon's first flight, eyes widening quietly. "Is he alright?" But he lands, and it seems to look like that... Good! Because then this brownling can start breathing once again, bobbing her head with an audible sigh added towards the ends. "Good work, 'Seth! You were excellent!" Even if the others will not agree with it as well, but at least he is still in one piece and on the ground, correct? Correct.

Nylanth rumbles something like surprised approval, followed by a deep warble directing Skeseth to follow him. A few loping steps, a hop, and then the night-dark bronze launches into the sky, carefully demonstrating the one-two-three wingflaps and easy glide to the opposite end of the grounds, where he lands neatly near G'deon with hardly a puff of dust. Then his great neck snakes around, the better to watch Skeseth's efforts as the brown returns.

Skeseth croons toward Nylanth as if to say: Ha! I did it. Seeeeee? though he says nothing to the bronze. He looks toward Sua proudly, stretching his legs as eyes spin blue. He turns quickly, for the bronze is already on his way, and the brown darts behind. His hasty speed proves him well before he hops and launches upward, remembering to wave the cumbersome wings on time and descends with more ease nearby, folding his wings against his body and settling slowly to the ground. How exhausting!

G'deon chuckles softly, applauding the two browns quickly before grinning over at this lifemate. "What do you think, Nyls, will they pass for dragons someday?"

Nylanth eyes the two browns carefully, giving nothing away as he folds his wings and settles back on his haunches.

Khena is starting to nod off, her dragon's weariness starting to affect her as she sits leaned against his shoulder. "We should prolly get back to the barrack, Mneo... 'fore we both fall asleep out here," she mutters, taking hold of a strap to haul herself to her feet. "Are we excused now, G'deon?"

G'deon nods quickly to Khena. He'd just been speaking with his dragon, no worries. "Yes, yes. Of course. Go rest up kids," used relatively, "Pretty soon you guys can see how you fare in the pens. Until then..."

Sua strides quickly over towards her lifemate as soon as he lands, an arm going straight to the brown's side as she gives him a pat with the other hand. "Well done, 'Seth! We'll be flying together an' better than 'ny of 'em all. Really!" See the brownling beaming with pride. See the brownling growing as exhausted as her lifemate. "'M not too sure 'bout you 'Seth, but I should head to get some rest. Get out and practice more when we get in contact with 'nother 'lingmaster though." And so she simply slumps down quietly, perhaps to drag herself to her cot later on. At the moment, she can rest right?

Sua has disconnected.
Sua's eyes slowly close... Just relaxing, she's still listening.

Skeseth croons softly and stands slowly, following quickly after his lifemate. Aye.... And next time he'll have to remember not to insult the teaching dragon. Of course, sad thing is, he will forget soon anyway... and do it again...

Khena isn't all that excited anymore. Much to the blame of her ever so tired lifemate who just wants to sleep, and has gotten over any notion of flight. Even his first. "I can't believe you sometimes, Mneoth," the 'ling says, turning to G'deon to give him a wave goodbye then follows the brown into the barracks.