Thems fightin’ words – weyrling combat lesson

[anhydrous]

I'dalyn had been expecting a sea of silent nods, but at the same time he wasn't exactly surprised to hear K'mar's voice. The Weyrlingmaster knew plenty about his new brownrider, both from his charges and by second-hand knowledge from Daisulyth. Many of the little dragons were especially talkative and anything of merit that the Weyrlingmaster's brown heard was quickly passed on so that his rider might ponder it.

While attempting to phrase an answer that would be too thorough for further questioning, I'dalyn shifted his gaze sidelong to Ez'ki. It seemed that his addition to the lesson was actually helpful! Inwardly I'dalyn glowed, stifling his pleased smile. Perhaps he could make a proper dragonrider out of him yet!

As another bluerider voiced his response, I'dalyn pressed his lips together in a stifled smile and nodded at their collective insight. "They're right, K'mar. While you might think it possible now, there will undoubtedly be a day when you will find yourself forced to fight." The way I'dalyn phrased it, this vague possibility wasn't just chance. It was guaranteed.

Nursing his muse that for now the blue weyrlings were severely outshining their larger contemporaries, I'dalyn posed K'mar a more personal question. "When that day comes, would you want to be unprepared?" His eyes laid heavily on the older man, eyebrow twitched upwards in what might be considered a dare. But of course, only an enterprising individual would read that far into such a simple gesture.

[Xinnai]

Salina listened to the opinions and questions voiced, stiffling her own urge to speak. They'd all have to fight at some point, wouldn't they? In one form or another. They were just being taught physical self-defense right now. As for words-politics-they'd been giving vague schemantics upon it.

The goldrider watched I'dalyn patiently, listening to his words, to the carefully formed possible insult they could hold. She glanced over at the brownrider they were directed to and sighed. K'mar, in an effort to put forth his own questions and opinions, was just making it harder on himself. Didn't he see it?

She was nervous about this lesson, there was no denying it. Especially as they'd all been separated-humans from dragons-and were about to get down to it. Yes, it was just self-defense, but all of those here were much, much larger than her, in height and mass. She thought she had a right to the slight nerves. Considering one of the boys gathered could easily throw her aside, like a fly.

[Invisible]

“As I said,” K’mar directed to I’dalyn since his question had been for him and not the other weyrlings, “I am not unwilling to learn self-defense, but I see only harm in learning further. A man who knows how to fight will use such knowledge to settle disputes when he might otherwise seek a less violent answer.” He was very careful not to look at anyone but the weyrlingmaster when he spoke. While his words carried no recriminations they might be taken that way and he did try to be careful.

Up until now K’mar had been quite willing and eager to go along with all lessons put forth. A model weyrling when it came to lessons even if he had not gotten along so well with some of those in his class. “I do not believe I will have to fight, sir,” he said with an air of thoughtfulness to his words. “It is a matter of choice. One simply has to be aware enough in any situation to not make that choice. Self-defense, sir leaves one prepared to keep from being hurt without having to learn excessive fighting skills one will never use.”

[anhydrous]

Th words that I'dalyn chose to answer K'mar could have been condescending but his delivering lacked the finesse to make them rude. "Regardless of what you happen to think and believe," I'dalyn said levelly, casually dismissing his fellow brownrider, "The entire weyrling class will eventually learn to spar." With a distracted twitch of his hand he blinked, letting his stare slide sideways towards Salina. Her subtleties were not lost on him, the curve of her brow curiously perched. "With the exception of our Weyrwoman, of course" he emended practically.

I'dalyn knew little of the young queenrider. They had spoken only briefly, all words passing between them a matter of business. What he did know was limited to J'fel's interest and the various meetings that they had held on her behalf, planning lessons for her pliable future.

Adjusting his stance to again stare out over the crowd of gathered weyrlings, I'dalyn let these thoughts settle near the back of his mind. Right now was not the time to dwell on the weyrwoman. He had spoken his part, now it was time to get down to instruction. "Separate into twos by dragon-color," I'dalyn said suddenly, searching out one of the younger lads and motioning him towards the lone goldrider. "Jh'na," he said with an encouraging smile, catching a glimpse of the weyrling from his position in the back of the group and waving him forward. "You'll be with Salina. Everyone else, find yourself a partner."

[Selvagem]

C’cao[/u]
Opheriath watched the gathered dragonets with patient quietness, though her thoughts were not far from Pharoth and the other dragons nearby. Watching Daisulyth and Finneth together was sweet, and the sight of them only served to raise her own awareness of herself, and her ever-so-slightly glowing hide. She was near to flying, certainly, even if the paleness of her hide hid the signs of it. She bobbed her head gently to Pharoth at his reply. Never one for words, it was the energy of her amusement, the playful coyness of her undertones, that spoke more than the words she chose and articulated.

It is my pleasure to do so.

C’cao, watching the weyrlings beside I’dalyn, had only half a mind on his green’s flirtations. His attention was focused more on the weyrlings and their opinions on the task at hand. He hid a smile at K’mar’s arguments, which he half-agreed with though he knew the folly of making such talk in a class for budding dragonriders. He had never been in a fight himself, though he had helped break a few up in his 4 turns as dragonrider (not least of all the recent Caminar brawl); and he knew well that what he learned in weyrling class had helped him greatly when things got physical and force was needed to dislodge combatants. Perhaps K’mar to, would learn so in time.

However it was, the greenrider could not help but feel a flush of pleasure at how I’dalyn handled the group. The brownrider accepted questions, answered them where necessary, allowed the weyrlings to have views and express them. A far cry, indeed, from the trembling and sullen silence of I’den‘s days. As the group began to split into pairs, C’cao stepped forward and meandered through them gently as Opheriath had done earlier, helping them find partners and spreading them out to give space for the movements they would soon practice.

*****************************

Th’dis, H’tio and Jh’na[/u]
Guiyath flared his wings a little, happy with Deoneth’s response to his query. The gold had always been polite to him, and he appreciated it. Appreciated, too, that it probably boded for his relationship with her. He stopped on the edge of the cluster of dragonets around Daisulyth, Pharoth, Finneth and Opheriath, and turned to address Deoneth casually.

That is good to hear. Thank you, Deoneth, my Th’dis is well too, though the laundry was hard on him as he is smaller.

Back within the weyrling group, Th’dis glanced at the girl whose dragon was getting so much interest from his own, and sighed softly. She was weyr-born, as he was, but he had only known her distantly, and more from word of mouth than any personal interactions. He knew she had been considered kind and motherly back then, but had never thought much of her except that she was…well, kind and motherly, perhaps. He knew there were rumours and speculation rife that she would be transferred like all the earlier Junior Queens had been, but on the off chance that she wasn’t…it would still be quite a few years before Guiyath was ready to fly, and he ready to assume a role anything more than that of a Weyrling Wing member. Th’dis sighed, turning his attention back to the class at hand, even though the back of his mind churned with thoughts he would never have considered without Guiyath. Unlike Salina herself, he had few fears for her safety – it was more likely than not that none of the weyrlings would dare to hurt the future Junior Queen of the Weyr, and risk the wrath of the senior riders in the turns to come.

H’tio and Jh’na were quiet at the back of their class, the green weyrling nodding to each argument raised by K’mar, Ez’ki and T’rad in turn, while his companion held a thoughtful silence. Jh’na could and often would consider the merits of every word spoken by others, but H’tio had his own opinions, and he much preferred to keep them. He was not as active a boy as Jh’na, and had certainly been in fewer scraps during their younger days back home, but he knew how to hold himself in a fight. Anyhow, were dragonriders not supposed to be the best fighters in all of Pern? H’tio had always looked up to them as such, and to them K’mar’s words were nothing short of nonsensical. He was only too certain that the older weyrling might be lying – K’mar had a nasty streak, as he shown only too clearly at the Hatching and its aftermath, and the brown weyrling highly doubted he had not gotten into a scrap or two as a youth.

Th’dis, small and indistinct amongst his elders, bit back a wry grin at the words of the others. K’mar’s words had also raised amusement in him, if only because he was weyr-born and knew too well what was expected of a dragonrider. That the similarly weyr-born K’mar would voice such opinions did not fit in with those expectations at all, and Th’dis was left wondering where the older boy had plucked them from. He could bet it had something to do with Volsteath – K’mar had changed a great deal since Impressing the brown.

But then, so had Th’dis. He smiled wryly, focusing rapt attention on the Weyrlingmaster as I’dalyn began to call orders. Turning to scan the crowd, his smile turned to a quiet sigh as he espied Z’dayi, not far off. Threading through the crowd slowly, the younger boy turned up by Tremaith’s weyrling with a polite nod.

“Good day, Z’dayi. Need a sparring partner?”

H’tio and Jh’na froze in surprise at I’dalyn’s announcement, Jh’na in particular standing with his jaw near-open. As the other boys filtered off to find their partners, the brown weyrling broke into a chuckle and slapped his friend on the back, with a quick mutter to be heard only by Jh’na.

“Well, you’ve always said you were good with the girls, aye? Good luck with her.”

He slipped off into the crowd to find a partner before the green weyrling could reply, deliberately trying to move away from K’mar and his lofty ideals. Jh’na, for his part, stood as he was a moment longer, staring at I’dalyn and gulping down his own nervousness. He was to partner a girl for the sparring, and a goldrider no less? The thought gave him stomaches of dread. Perhaps he wasn’t going to enjoy this sparring session so much after all. Turning slowly to locate Salina, the lanky youth strode slowly towards her, flashing her a gentle smile to show he meant no harm in any way. He had never really gotten close to her, not even in their brief time as weyrlings, and wondered now why he hadn’t paid closer attention to the proper address of a goldrider. If there was even one at all.

“My greetings, goldrider Salina,” the hesitance in his voice expressed his uncertainty. He paused, thinking on what to say, and in true Jh’na fashion he went on honestly, “Umm, not very sure if I’m to speak to you a certain way, but I’ll learn. “

He thought, looking at her, that she seemed nervous. Not surprising, perhaps, but it helped to know he wasn’t the only nervous one. He smiled again, “And if you’re thinking I’ll beat you up, don’t, ‘cause I won’t, ok? It’s just practice, won’t hurt.”

The dragonets, standing by the older dragons and watching their weyrlings, had mixed opinions. Mirabeth shook out her neck spines with relief at the Weyrlingmaster’s announcement, her eyes whirling shades of pale orange as she flurried her wings over her forepaws, Oh,I am so glad he will go with Salina, she will do no harm to him! And I believe Volsteath’s chosen has a point. If they never had to fight, they could so much more without all this fuss and inconvenience and ugliness. I hate ugliness, ugh.

I do believe you are right, m’dear, Runimeth regarded the clustered weyrlings coolly, I must confess I still do not fully comprehend just how this fighting thing works, or how it manages to bring about a fair and just solution of any sort. If anything, it appears very much to be strength articulated in brute force, and forced compromise. It is most disturbing that the small and weak should be disadvantaged so.

That is not necessarily true, Guiyath’s mindvoice, heavy and authoritative, cut through the conversation he had been listening on. The bronze dragonet turned to address his clutch-siblings, his shoulders even at his age already naturally higher at the withers than either of them, There may come a time when another wishes to hurt Ours. Will they stand to allow themselves to be hurt? Not everyone has the noble nature of Volsteath’s, after all.

If the bronze’s last sentence was heavy with sarcasm, it was indistinguishable beneath the heavy stone of his mind-voice. Runimeth and Mirabeth were silent a long moment – it was almost the first time Guiyath had ever spoken to either of them, and neither was very certain how to deal with the bronze’s advent into their personal opinions. At length, Mirabeth snorted through her nostrils as she replied.

You may have a point, Guiyath. Though for my part, I would risk anything to protect my Jh’na, even the discomfort of confronting someone.

As would I, lady of the emerald sails, Runimeth watched Guiyath quietly, But then, we dragonets cannot go everywhere. Were the place too small to fit us, our chosen will have to face the fight themselves.

[Xinnai]

Salina felt surprise ripple through her frame at I'dalyn's words. What had he meant, the exception of the weyrwoman? She would learn self-defense, but not how to spar? Pink lips gathered into a small frown at the very corners of her lips. Women had to know how to fight offensively and defensively as well, did they not? They couldn't expect the men to take care of everything.

She didn't loose the sigh that threatened to be expelled, focusing instead back on the weyrlingmaster. She listened with half an ear, realilizing that he was speaking of her again. Quickly, the goldrider flicked through her mental files, recalling his words. She'd be paired with Jh'na. The petite girl looked around, spotting the awkward looking boy with his orangey curls and pointed elbows. He looked shocked.

He approached nonetheless, awkward just as she was feeling. Lips curved into a smile and she chuckled. "Salina, please. I'm just a weyrling like you, Jh'na of green Mirabeth." She was watching him, nervousness increased slightly after getting a glimpse of who her partner was to be. He had her by a good five inches. And was much bigger throughout his long body.

Well, it would be good practice.

Eyes blinked and she let out a surprised laugh, touching his arm with warm fingers. She could feel a tenuous friendship in the making, perhaps. "Oh, that does help. Thank you." Smile flashed and she looked towards I'dalyn. "Well. This will be interesting."

Deoneth's golden head inclined a bit at the bronze's words. He was an interesting fellow, Guiyath. She enjoyed speaking with him. Mine as well. She's much smaller than the others, even Yours. She did much menial work in her life before me, but she still does not have the strength or the stamina that the others have.[/color]

[dragon]

D'ray:

Pharoth gave a pleasing, yet appreciative rumble. D'ray wasn't the only one who could chat up the ladies. His brown did pick up a thing or two and by far the conversation with Opherath would speak it. The brown shifted himself every so slightly to close a little more of the gap between himself and Opherath. A gesture she may or may not have understood the intentions behind. It didn't hurt for Pharoth to puff himself up, and show his true size. No slouch, no offbeat posture. Pharoth showed the powerful, muscular body he had. In human terms, flexing his muscles. He was showing off.

D'ray only lightly paid any attention to what his dragon was doing. Let Pharoth be Pharoth, he had his fun to watch. D'ray basically copied what C'Cao was doing by separating the weyrlings into their pairs and giving space for others. He came upon the two blueriders of the group that had so readily spoken up previously.

"Alright you two, this way", D'ray said as he motioned them to come to him and he led them off just slightly so away from the other pairs forming up, placing a hand on their shoulder in a friendly gesture as he moved them. "You two'll duke it out here", he said with a wink and walked off to continue the chore he had before him.

T'rad:

T'rad was a surprised when he heard just who he'd be set up with. If they were pairing off by color, then that would mean Ez. Wouldn't it? T'rad was certainly proven to be the younger and smaller of the two and Ez was becoming a close friend over this short time of weyrlinghood. Just how would this all play out? T'rad could only find out the hard way. Hopefully, this would just turn into a bit of fun and neither would be sent to a healer. This lesson already gave him some apprehension he hadn't really realized. Now, he was. Apprehension and uncertainty. T'rad knew those were rarely a good mix of emotions. But he'd have to bite down and go with the flow. Whatever happened, would happen.

He was actually caught off guard when the hand of D'ray was placed on his shoulder, he hadn't even realized he made his way over to D'ray in the first place when he called him. He was just zoned out at the moment. But that "friendly gesture" brought him back to reality. Reality that his friend was infact, during this exercise, his foe.

Paleoth was reflecting his rider's feelings but instead they mixed to form a level of nervous worry. It didn't help that Paleoth was so separated from his rider either.

[neopanther]

Ez’ki looked to his side as I’dalyn spoke of pairing into colours. T’rad? Ah well at least it would be not too much effort on either of their behalves. Besides he was on a high right now. Being selective perhaps – but he couldn’t help but beam to see K’mar patronised and put down as he had just been.
Satisfaction. Pure, unadulterated satisfaction glowed within him.

Perhraps a little surprised as he felt a callous hand take his shoulder. D’ray. He smirked, “Come then T’rad, sure we’ll give old K’mar a blast of a display.” He smirked, throwing a pointed look over his shoulder towards K’mar as he started to walk over to D’ray.

Where Paleoth is large, T’rad is small, let him have it easy Ez’ki. But good luck.[/i] Vivid and multi-purposed was Xyruth, an his tone was a much more elicit version of both. He gave one word, and it was meant in a myriad of ways.
I won’t hurt him, and I won’t be hurt either, thanks Xyr. Slightly arrogant, cocky to spout. But the pair were perfect for none but each other. I could not gain the effort to take it too harsh upon my friend now. But if I had K’mar against me? I might ‘slip’
Pern’s most suspicious accident I suspect it might be, Xyruth chimed mentally, accentuating his excitement with a series of chirrups from the sidelines as he sat with Daisulyth.