Yeah, that's right...Wing Practice!

Two klutzes and A'liran.  When he compared his list of wing riders to S'kef's winglist, T'rel had the distinct feeling that he had gotten the problem riders.  While shuffling them off on someone else was a tactical move that normally T'rel could respect, he would have respected it awhole lot more if that someone else wasn't him!

Berruth was ridiculously cheerful about the whole thing.  Of course he was.  He liked flirting...His bronze flirting!  With a brown!...with Besulth, knew Astoreth was beautiful and thought Shanith was the love of his life.  That only went to show his bronze was an idiot about females, and apparently males, but Berruth was his idiot. 

The bronze was hopping about in his yard with glee and T'rel smirked with glee.  Of the riders in his wing, only C'vir and D'hys knew that the wing practice was today.  This would be fun, if fun of the twisted sort.  Dressed impeccably, he walked to the the weyrbowl, Berruth prancing...no, male dragons did not prance they strutted...Berruth strutting in overly joyful circles around him.

With a fierce grin at the bronze he murmured, "Now."  Berruth didn't call them right away.  First he had to squeal, wriggle and strut in another small circle.  Then he sent the call to all the dragons in his wing.  Guess what!  Wing practice is today!  Right now in fact!  Isn't this wonderful?  We're in the weyrbowl and I can't wait to see you guys!  Isn't this so wonderful?!  Oh we're going to have a lot of fun!

Making the mental note to have Besulth call the others next time, T'rel shook his head.  Well sometimes you attracted more flies with honey than vinegar.  He deliberately focused on that rather than the fact that Berruth's words did not cultivate the impression he wanted to give as their wingleader.  Berruth pran...Strutted around him, overjoyed, even trumpeting when dragons started to arrive.  T'rel let him.  He'd bring the beast back under control when the wing was assembled.

[sup]Edit: I added Berruth's shorthand code -- HL[/sup]

Given D’hys’ usual cool demeanour, it was hard to read the man; which meant knowing his true feelings on his demotion from his short stint as a Wingsecond would never be known. The truth was he was furious. He was better than nearly every other rider when it came to discipline of the body and mind and D’hys was confident he was a better leader than most as well. D’ren had believed in him and gave him a promotion and D’hys did his best to shine brightly and not abuse his powers – mostly because he didn’t have enough time to settle in and do so. To have S’kef strip him of that power was humiliating in and of itself but to have a child from the first Katila hatching pretend he was a Wingsecond only buried his wounds in salt. After several days of fuming in private, D’hys came to the conclusion that C’vir was a sex toy for S’kef and J’ver. There was no other explanation for an inexperienced boy to have any sort of leadership.

He may have casually whispered that conclusion in an ear or two to see what sort of trouble it would stir up but for the most part, D’hys did his best to show he was unconcerned about his new role in the Wing. T’rel was a fairly decent bronzerider, as far as that kind went anyway. He wasn’t nearly as dull or dimwitted as so many others seemed to be and T’rel seemed like a man that would keep his wing in check. D’hys respected that and extra points were given when the bronzerider approached him in private. He may not have been Wingsecond in an official capacity but D’hys still had the trust of his leader and T’rel had asked him to assist in evaluations at the surprise first practice.

Several internal arguments were had over who he should tell, if anyone. His wingmates contained Z’ia, V’zire, and even Ravana though D’hys had yet to decide if any of those were good or not. In the end he went with only hinting to Z’ia a practice seemed likely to happen while his little greenrider buddies weren’t told a thing. Letting V’zire know when the practice would be would have earned him a lot of trust and adoration just as Ravana would have bought in even further that he was a nice guy but keeping in T’rel’s good graces ranked higher. He had already overthrown and replaced one Wingsecond; what was stopping him from doing it again?

As T’rel’s announcement was sent out, D’hys sat atop Zeianth in his freshly attended to riding leathers. The icy blue dragon was perched on some random insignificant person’s hut that sat on the border of the Gathering Square and offered a wonderful view. By now the owner had to be used to the constant thumping of dragons landing on the roof throughout the day and D’hys wasn’t at all concerned. It wasn’t like he would be there for long anyway. He only intended to watch everyone arrive, how they looked, and when they arrived. It wasn’t entirely his place to keep track of such things but D’hys wanted to have a full report on each person for when he was asked to step in. Besides, it was downright entertaining to watch people flounder around and he couldn’t help but wonder what state some wingmates would appear in.

The single hint had been all Z’ia needed, in order to sniff out what was going on, when it was going on, where it was going on and, of course, what he would need to do in order to make the best possible impression. Of course, making the ‘best possible impression’ tended to vary depending on the situation and who it was Z’ia was attempting to impress.

Z’ia was pleased with the image he had managed to paint of himself to the Weyr at large. He was generally viewed as a good-natured kid, occasionally tangled up in the wrong crowds or getting into mischief, but hardly a terrible person or a troublemaker. The black accusations A’liran occasionally spat out about him seemed to mostly go ignored – after all, A’liran was a known trouble maker! – and while Z’ia did pick up on some confusion amongst the population about his occasional appearances with S’kef or J’ver, most people chalked it up the a result of the occasional flights in which Aveleth won Rilaleeyth (though no one seemed to understand that, either). So, all in all, Z’ia was rather pleased.

The question then became – how was he to react to the wing training session? He had managed to scrounge around and dig up the most dedicated of details, right down to the timing, and while that was all very well and good, Z’ia was far more impressed by the skills he’d used to receive those results. They would prove useful, later, and he had every intention to exploit the newly acknowledged talents in gathering information for S’kef – namely about his wingmates, and the leaders. Unlike D’hys, Z’ia knew why C’vir had been elevated to the new rank, and he had every intention of keeping an eye on his classmate, whether S’kef asked him directly or not. The brownrider was capable of becoming a dangerous threat, if they lost their grip on him – or S’kef did, at any rate – and Z’ia rather enjoyed his skin being whole and healthy. C’vir would be watched, a task made easier by his lack of being in on Z’ia’s own entanglements with the Weyrleader.

You take too much pleasure in these games, Aveleth’s voice intruded on Z’ai’s thoughts, and the young man grinned impishly where he was seated in his hut, booted feet thrown up on the coffee table. He was decked out in perfectly maintained riding leathers, a cup of klah in hand as he petted Plague who was wrapped around his neck. Destiny was curled up in his lap, snoring lightly where she slept, while Chastity had vanished at the crack of dawn, undoubtedly to hover as close to D’hys as possible without him getting angry with her. That presently meant she was skulking on the far side of the hut Zeianth was perched on. Z’ia stood up slowly. “I enjoy games, Kiddo.”

I know. A short pause, then Berruth is calling to us, now. Shall we go? The dragon, who had been scrubbed from head to toe the day before, peered in the front door, nosing it open and tilting his head to stare at Z’ia with one eye. The sparkling colours of amusement and curiosity were bright within it. He is very excited.

“In a moment; we don’t want to be first, I don’t think.” Z’ia carefully picked up Destiny and placed her on the corner of the couch, the little firelizard cracking open one eye to peer at him  before snuggling down and going back to sleep. Plague stood up, stretching and spreading her wings before gliding over to land on Aveleth’s nose. She chittered quietly to the dragon, as she scrambled over his head and down his neck. Aveleth gave a giggling sounding breath, and Z’ia rolled his eyes heavenward in exasperation. Giggling? Seriously! Aveleth ignored him as the young man went to fetch his riding straps, and returned with them.

“Alright, we’ve wasted enough time.” Perhaps five minutes had passed since Berruth’s call, and Z’ia slipped the leathers over Aveleth and buckled them all into place, pushing his dragon backwards so they were further from the hut before climbing up on to the young blue. Plague took off once more, swooping around them and chittering before leading off in the direction of the Gather Square. It was only a short flight, so they didn’t bother with a trip between, but glided in, rising up several dragon lengths to avoid collisions with those that had opted for a quick jump between and circling lazily as they watched some of the others arrive.

Let’s land, Kiddo. Over to the side, towards the centre of the Square. There was no point being locked in against the buildings. Aveleth obeyed, gliding in quietly, and landing timidly off to one side, being careful to keep a respective distance from the other dragons as he folded his wings neatly and settled down. Z’ia unbuckled himself, and slid down Aveleth’s side, standing placidly with one hand on his dragon’s neck as he waited to see what would happen next.

A loud thud on the front door sent M'din flying from his bed in a dazed frenzy. Wake up! Wing Practice! Armath shouted, blaring his thoughts to his rider as his tail pounded the door to accent his words. A scuffling outside told the drowsy brownrider that his dragon was crawling over to his bedroom window, which was confirmed when a large blue eyeball poked into view. Get up and get dressed, M'din. We need to get to the Weyrbowl; Berruth called us for Wing Practice.

W-wing Practice? M'din slurred. Yes, all right. Clothes first. He rose, bustling, as he gathered his wardrobe from scattered untidy piles on the floor, under his dragon's one-eyed scrutiny the whole while. No, not the daisy shirt. Get your flying gear, the brown commanded. Though Armath was a playful beast at heart, he took Wing Practice very seriously and forced M'din to look and perform his best. He continued supervising as his rider dressed, pleased to see him wearing more appropriate attire the second time around. 

Hastily patting down his tangled hair, M'din toddled outside to grab his riding leathers. Luckily for him, he'd inspected them the day prior and found no issues with his gear. For being absent-minded, M'din took much better care of Armath and his riding equipment than he did himself.

"Okay! Let's do this," he told his dragon as he climbed into his saddle. "Hope I didn't forget anything," he added softly, mentally cataloging the items he needed for the day.

Armath sighed, Go put your boots on, buddy.

As if seeing his wiggling toes for the first time, M'din sheepishly muttered, "Ah, shoes. Yes, let me get those." Reappearing from inside a moment later, he mounted Armath again with a pat. "Thank you."

The brown blinked between in place of a response, anxious to arrive in the Square in a timely manner. Beneath his nervousness and fear of tardiness, Armath was absolutely thrilled about Wing Practice. He earnestly hoped they flew aerial drills today, desperate to show his skills and months of hard work. Armath was petite compared to his peers, but he flew expertly wanted everyone to know it.

They popped into the Gather Square beside Berruth, who seemed ridiculously enthused about the coming practice as he pranced in wide circles. M'din smiled and bounced a bit in his saddle with the excited bronze before turning to his rider. The stern-faced Wingleader looked cold, rigid, and demanding, and M'din gulped loudly as the joy melted off his face. The juxtaposition of the happy bronze and his strict rider made him inexplicably uncomfortable: he no longer had a grasp on what to expect in the next few hours.

Suddenly self-conscious, M'din mentally whispered, I wish I'd known we were going to have a practice. I'm a mess and I was supposed to oil you today! He saw ashy patches on Armath's knees, but heaved a sigh of relief that no cracks were visible on his hide. The timing of this is terrible. It went unspoken between them that the surprise practice was intentionally problematic. They'd been around long enough to recognize a Wingleader's veiled test.

Armath, unfazed by his rider's concern, calmly replied, We'll have to outperform everyone then. We may be a bit unprepared this morning, but they can't claim we aren't adaptable. The brown projected to Berruth and T'rel, Armath and M'din, reporting in. M'din gave a small wave, wishing he could face challenges with as much gusto as his bonded.

R’nd, Ayyonth sighed his rider’s name when the call to gather for an impromptu wing practice reached him. It was far too early in the morning for anyone to expect R’nd to be awake and functional – even if he had notice. From what the blue could tell, they didn’t have any inkling there would be a practice that day. Ayyonth nosed Larrikith gently to give her a warning that he was about to move sooner than planned. They had spent the night playing at guard duty to the ever growing dragonets and weyrlings B’jin taught while R’nd managed to seduce the greenrider back to his hut and large warm bed. That, however, meant that Ayyonth now had to go fetch his finally sound asleep human and get him to the Square as quickly as possible.

It was far too early in the morning for him to be awake! R’nd groaned when Ayyonth’s second, and louder, attempt to wake him succeeded. He grumbled aloud about stupid dragons and needing to work on their timing before trying to curl up further into his pillow and under the sheet. It didn’t work for long when Ayyonth’s usual low and soothing tones boomed in his head. Get your lazy backside out of bed! A wing practice was called for five minutes ago. If you want to make an impression as someone responsible, you’d best move it!

That got R’nd moving. With a curse, the bluerider was stumbling out of bed, trying his best not to kick, elbow, or disturb B’jin in the slightest before the usual routine of hopping around his room to find the proper attire began. They had far too many of these mornings where they overslept and had to run to a practice, chore, or class they were promised for but R’nd never truly minded. How could he? A lingering glance was given to the man in his bed and R’nd smiled softly until Ayyonth urged him to continue finding his leathers.

Once he was decked out in his riding leathers, boots tossed on and laced up properly for the most part, R’nd gave B’jin a quick kiss and apology for waking him though no doubt the greenrider would be back asleep in seconds and forget all about being so rudely awoken. He nearly tripped over his feet as he dashed outside, riding straps in hand though he had almost forgotten to grab those as well. Working together as a team that had practiced the routine of quickly setting the straps and mounting up possibly a bit too much in the past, R’nd was soon strapped in and Ayyonth was quick to head off for the Square.

As they glided in, R’nd’s vision was still a bit foggy from being barely awake but he did do a quick stock of who was already there. It didn’t seem like they were the last to arrive and for now, that was good enough for the bluerider. Then again, it also showed he could have taken a couple of minutes to tame his sex-mussed hair but fingers raking through the tangled locks as they landed near Z’ia was the best R’nd could hope for.

“You look far too cheery for this early in the morning,” R’nd commented quietly as he slid off Ayyonth. Z’ia always seemed to have an unlimited supply of energy and right then he wished his friend would share some of it. A quick glance was given to T’rel to make sure the bronzerider wasn’t judging his timing or appearance before fingers were back to attacking his hair.

K’tir stretched where he lay on his back in his bed before the realization that there was someone else in it as well struck him. That was odd. Typically his lovers didn’t spend the night and if they did, they were still gone by sunrise due to mutual understandings. Perhaps it wasn’t that late into the morning? It was hard to judge when he had an energetic brown dragon in his head and at the window so no light was coming through. Wing practice! I’m so excited to have them again, K’tir! But you need to get out of bed. K’tir sighed and rolled his eyes at the slightly whining tone Ghaeth picked up near the end of his babbling. “I know. I heard you the first two times. I’m moving.” He didn’t care that he was speaking aloud and possibly disturbing the other man. It wasn’t like he was going to let the guy linger in bed too much longer after he himself had to leave it.

Another stretch was given once feet hit the floor and K’tir was soon moving through the hut preparing for the day. Food was overlooked though a mug of day old klah was tossed back between slipping on clothes and his boots. By that point, Ghaeth’s excitement and K’tir simply being awake stirred the two firelizards he had Impressed solely for his children’s amusement. They were both given a quick pet to the head since they’d be horribly annoying if he ignored them from the start. “Go find the kids and stay with them for the morning. Shoo,” K’tir urged each to their preferred kid and he was once again thankful that the brats and flitters actually got along. He was able to send the firelizards off regularly when he wanted to be alone with his thoughts or his company.

A quick peek in was given to his lover and still feeling a bit frisky, K’tir ended up slipping into the man’s arms for a parting kiss and promise they’ll hook up again soon. Relationships weren’t serious in his mind anymore after the devastating breakup but a hot body that was on the same page as him when it came to simply enjoying the interaction without wanting anything else had turned into something K’tir had trouble turning down.

K’tir wasn’t necessarily a rule breaker or one to go against the norm but his hair was one thing he didn’t want to change. He knew it was expected of dragonriders to keep their hair trimmed short so riding helmets fit nicely and hair never blew into eyes but he had no intention of shaving his locks, especially when the threat of Thread still remained to be seen. So he quickly pulled it back and tied it up so it would stay out of his face for the practice, leaving T’rel with little to complain about in that department. His leathers would need a bit of a tune up and Ghaeth was due an oiling on the morrow but they were minor concerns to the brownrider as he strapped in and they took off for the Square.

Look at how many classmates are here! K’tir smiled at Ghaeth’s enthusiasm since he shared it as well. It was nice to see so many of his classmates had been put into the same wing as him. He wasn’t overly outgoing and social but he had spent several turns with them and knew the way they learned, trained, and played. It was almost reassuring as they began, again, with the wing practices. Most noteworthy of all was C’vir managing Wingsecond. He was proud of his classmate and occasional lover. It showed that even the newly Impressed riders knew what they were doing and had natural leadership skills.

C’vir had been congratulated at the time of the announcement but now K’tir wanted to smack the man. He could have shared the information about their first practice! K’tir had no doubts his fellow brownrider did know given his position and it was no doubt a test of some sort but it was still irritating given the lack of preparation and the man he had left in his hut in order to arrive in a timely manner. Still, he wasn’t last and while he was far from first, K’tir felt he was in respectable company and silently nodded to T’rel as Ghaeth barely contained himself from skipping over to see Berruth. Thankfully the big lug knew playtime was for later and was starting to slip back into a more professional manner for the practice.

---

ooc: Purposely left his lover nameless so one of his usuals can jump at the spot if they wanted to for any future interactions/mentions. Obviously not C’vir since he should be up and ready to go already :P Although I can see drunken slightly angry sex later on with a “you could have told me about the practice” being growled.

No need for nerves.

C'vir exhaled, his dragon's reassurance failing to leave him comforted. It still doesn't feel right. It still doesn't feel real. The brownrider, woken by worry far earlier than necessary, had several reasons to be apprehensive. It was his first wing practice as a Second,  and thus his first opportunity to either prove his competence or fail utterly. Almost worse than either of those two outcomes, he could instead end up demonstrating a passable mediocrity, which would mean this would be as far as he would ever get -- a Wingsecond of average ability appointed by a fluke.

Pensive, he continued to prepare himself for the morning, spreading a small amount of oil through his curls to keep them out of his face. He'd never before had cause to dread practice; Besulth was adept in the skies, and the pair worked well as part of a unit. He'd used drills as an opportunity to improve and observe, his methodical mind filing away conclusions about what was and wasn't effective in training. He had always -- consciously or not -- been preparing for this. All that was left was to put what he'd learned about leadership from a distance into practice.

C'vir pulled on his riding leathers, tugging them into place while he mentally reviewed the wing's roster. It was full of familiar faces, none of whom he'd mentioned the morning's unannounced practice to; he expected he'd catch some shit for his silence. There were sure to be one or two riders who, surprised or shorted by his promotion, would speculate on how the young brownrider came into his rank, suspecting him of being less than deserving. They would be right, partially, though unlikely to guess the real reason behind his advancement. He'd been named Wingsecond under somewhat unsavory circumstances, after making the accidental discovery that S'kef had more involvement in T'shiro's trial and the events leading up to it than most anyone in the Weyr knew. The promotion was intended primarily to shut him up, he was sure, and offered the added bonus of making him easy to monitor.

His hands tightened at his sides as he exited his hut and made his way to Besulth's hollow to give the brown's straps a final check before they were summoned. He still resented himself for accepting S'kef's offer, for finding ways to justify the man's motives, and for bending his own stringent ideas about honor to suit the situation. He couldn't dispel the disgust that accompanied the knowledge of how he'd earned his rank; he preferred not to think about his agreement with the Weyrleader. To redeem his own opinion of himself, he'd have to prove that he was worthy of his place as T'rel's Second.

How you got here no longer matters. You deserve this, Besulth rumbled firmly, fixing an encouraging eye on his rider. You'll be fine. Don't doubt yourself.
Easier said than done.

Berruth's expected call finally came, ending the agony of the wait, but signifying the start of what could be a very long morning. The pair was airborne over the Square before C'vir had a chance to collect himself. Besulth landed a short distance from Berruth, crooning in affectionate greeting. Try to keep the flirting to a minimum once we've started, the rider commanded, Berruth, Ghaeth, Armath, and Aveleth, in particular, in mind. He raised a hand to T'rel in respectful greeting, then settled in to watch the rest of the riders arrive. Ready or not, practice was soon to begin.

C'vir may very well feel like getting rather drunk after all this, which would make sex with slightly-angry K'tir totally plausible, haha.

Shanith raised her head and seriously debating ignoring the call.  Ravana had finally given in and taken a sleep aid a few hours ago, and was snoozing away, peacefully asleep for the first time in weeks.  In the end, Olemuth had to convince her to wake her rider and go. 

Ravana was woken and fumbled her way into her leathers, resulting in a disheveled appearance.  Shanith waited patiently, trying to help clear the fog from her rider's mind, then blinked as Ravana looked up at her. 

It'll be fastest to fly but you feel so odd...I don't know if I can keep you on.  Can you ride and I'll stay on the ground?  Ravana climbed up then clung to her green as Shanith ran to the gather square with the ungainly grace of a dragon on the ground.  She pulled up on the far side of the weyrbowl, making sure Ravana dismounted and walked beside her, crooning over the woman each time she stumbled.  Ravana made it to where the wing gathered, running on sheer stubbornness. 

Fatalisticly, Shanith thought to herself that at least the green rider was anal about tending her leathers.  She would have looked perfectly turned out if it wasn't for the way her hair stuck out all over the place in the messy braid Ravana had put it in, or the fact that her tunic was inside out.  Deciding that the whole lot of them could go screw themselves, the green settled. 

Reaching for Zeianth, she paused then decided.  Zeianth?  Mine hasn't been sleeping, so three hours ago, I convinced her to take a sleep aid the healers had given her as a last resort.  She can't seem to shake it entirely.  Can yours make sure she doesn't get herself seriously damaged?

Looking at T'rel, Shanith felt her lip curl in a soft growl, barely keeping herself from issuing a challenge.  Berruth couldn't order her around, he didn't have to will to control her, but others could.  Ravana reached up and murmured, "Behave.  We don't need his eyes on us today."  Even half awake and trying too hard to stay that way, Ravana knew that.

Gonna give some of the stragglers a bit more time to post, but I'll move things forward in the next day or two.

Zeianth slowly turned his head to stare in the direction of Shanith but didn’t say anything. He considered what it implied to have the green coming to him for assistance and wondered when he gave off the impression that he was someone to constantly run to for help. He supposed the firelizard attack and scaring them away had something to do with it and D’hys playing nice and offering his own hand for assistance would have sealed the image they were kind and looked out for others. Zeianth didn’t mind entirely considering he did like a few greens and found it his duty to help those that were weaker and meeker than himself. With a soft snort, he relayed the request to D’hys, head swinging around to look back at his rider and watch for his reaction.

D’hys’ gaze was travelling over the group, observing how and when they arrived and what they looked like. He could already tell most had let themselves go since the previous wings were disbanded and their physical evaluations would be poor at best. At Zeianth’s nudge, however, he took a longer look at Ravana and rolled his eyes at the woman. She couldn’t be entirely blamed for taking a sleeping aid so close to practice since she wouldn’t have known about it. If her morning had been free, she wouldn’t have seen the issue in sleeping in late.

“We’re not holding their hands today or any other day but we will keep an eye on her this once.” D’hys finally spoke as he watched Ravana seem to waver where she stood for a moment. Despite her state, she still looked to be one of the best in getting herself dressed in a timely manner. Idly, D’hys toyed with the idea of grabbing her some time for a quickie in a dark room and seeing how quickly she could strip down and redress.

We will lend a hand where needed, Shanith. Zeianth coolly replied as he followed D’hys’ mental order to glide from the roof down to the gathered wingmates. They landed closer to T’rel and C’vir but in a spot that would still be beneficial to aiding the drowsy greenrider should she need it. The things he went through to maintain a charmed image! Some days, it seemed far easier to let everyone believe the truth but it wouldn’t be nearly as fun.

He eyed the Wingleader and wondered when the practice would officially begin. It would likely be soon which would be interesting. There were still a few people missing but D’hys couldn’t say he was shocked over who they were. The troublesome lot from their wing were already off to a great start. He’d have fun whipping A’liran back into shape for T’rel though.

Cool eyes watched riders assemble.  He felt Berruth perk as he saw his friends Ghaeth and Besulth, nearly flirting with the browns before T'rel reprimanded him in advance.  He visibly deflated.  T'rel nearly patted him to calm him, but refrained from the gesture.  It wouldn't do to show such softness in public and Berruth would cheer up soon enough. 

He took note of who appeared most disheveled, but was happy with the state of his wing for the most part.  Ravana seemed drunk and he made a note that her choice of mate was dragging her down, then moved on.  The other klutz, M'din appeared to be as well turned out as expected.  Rn'd, Zia and D'hys, his blue riders were all well turned out and T'rel made a mental note to speak to R'nd about his assistant weyrlingmaster duties.  He could help settle his weyrmate's class into the wing when the time came.  Z'ia was supposed to be all about fun and games.  Perhaps he would be willing to work with some of the others when the time came to organize a bit of intrawing competition.  K'tir was neatly turned out, it made him happy to see that much.  He didn't know much about the men but he would find uses for all of his wingriders sooner or later. 

C'vir and he had worked closely for this.  While T'rel had his doubts about why the man had been placed in this position, an unknown rising to rank was always suspicious, he had to admit he was trying and had good ideas. 

He spoke softly.  "Lucky for some of you, I'm in the mood to give some slack today.  You will be evaluated today to find out what your skills are and where your strengths and shortcomings are.  First will be some group exercises, then you will each be individually evaluated by either C'vir or myself.  After your evaluation, you will be free to go, or to partake of the meal I've had prepared for us."  He hoped some would stay and mingle, but doubted it.  The riders here had gotten too used to functioning as individuals. 

His little speech given, he looked over his group, noting that some hadn't shown up.  Their names were noted, and he started warming up his group with simple stretches, taking them through them slowly this time.  C'vir would lead them next time, this time his task was to walk through the group assisting any who needed to be shown the stretches.  Berruth reached for the dragons, broadcasting to them all.  We won't be doing much today.  After the stretches, there will be some exercises, then a run around the square.  We will go for a flight then, C'vir will be watching us fly!

R’nd almost wondered if the kindness was some kind of trick. Were they supposed to trust T’rel was going to be in a good mood regularly and let their guards down? T’rel probably wanted to see how lazy and slack they’d get if they thought they’d get away with anything. Suspicion still doesn’t suit you. It’s nice that you don’t blindly trust everyone but he’s your wingleader. R’nd sighed with a glance to Ayyonth to give him a nod. The mood probably came as a reward for doing as well as they had for a surprise first gathering. There would still be hard work and possibly other rewards for good behaviour. It was too early to judge the bronzerider.

Spreading out a bit to give themselves room, R’nd joined in the exercises, not really minding the warm-up. He had a good work out that night but that was probably why stretching felt as good as it right then. A warm smile was given as greeting to C’vir but R’nd wisely kept his mouth shut. His time in R’nya’s wing pointed out that there was a time and place for socializing and it wasn’t during a practice. The stiffness that had been present upon waking so dramatically finally let up by the end of the stretches and R’nd felt more awake as well. Perhaps he’d get through the training in one piece without looking like a complete mess or fool!

Speaking of complete messes, R’nd’s gaze had landed on D’hys once or twice and caught the way the bluerider had been eyeing Ravana. The greenrider looked out of it and R’nd couldn’t help but speculate as to why and most of his theories came to D’hys doing something to her. He’d have to keep an eye on her for the rest of the morning and perhaps get a chance to mingle with her during the meal T’rel had kindly arranged for them. He was a social man through and through and wasn’t about to miss a chance to chat with his new wingmates in one place while getting a bite to eat.

Ravana distrusted T'rel and found herself checking for a motive behind his kindness.  Her mind was working slowly but it was working.  Unusually for her, she would have given her right arm for some strong Klah then.  She ignored the thought and took a breath, then started stretching out. 

Thank you, Zeianth.  Neither I or mine will forget this...well she won't once I tell her.  The dragon shifted to hover over her bonded, flexing a wing to shade her and watching the goings on around them then her rider. 

Berruth's words weren't acknowledged by the green, though she heard them.  She wouldn't speak to him, she was still mad at him for...for...for something!  She didn't remember what it was but she did remember she was pissed at the bronze!

Ravana winced as muscles gone stiff from chronic lack of sleep protested the action but moved through the first of the stretches, watching C'vir with foggy eyes.  Shanith warned her an instant before T'rel came up behind her and corrected her stance.  She made the adjustment, blushing at her own stupidity.  She had been taught this in weyrling training and practised it often as she did all the exercises and drills.  She should be getting them right after this long.

Refusing to acknowledge the emotions that stirred in her of the old inadequacy and fear she would always be this inadequate she followed C'vir's motions into the next stretch.  T'rel corrected her again on his next passing of her, this time with a word about her lack of effort.  She tuned him out, though made the corrections as best she could.  Shanith's tail was beginning to twitch and her eyes beginning to show flashes of anger.  We're not the only one's he's correcting.  Cool it.

The stretches finally ended and Ravana resisted the urge to lean on her green.  The dragon told her softly, Ayyonth's has noted your condition.  Bully for him.  I want to go back to bed.  Her tone was harsher than intended and she sighed and made a note to assure him she was fine as soon as she could.  She didn't want B'run accused of anything untoward.  She wasn't feeling much better but grim determination to tough this out had settled in the greenrider and she was working hard to at least pretend she was halt and hearty though she still wove on her feet slightly, and her body just wouldn't respond right.