Few days after hatching/WeyrBowl/Lesson!

[Lark]

Incoming Saka.

Saka swiveled around from her sitting position on a rock to look at the girl who was getting closer to her. Plorath raised her head slightly, giving an inquisitive croon before laying it back on her front feet. Smiling, Saka waved and held out her hand. "I'm Saka, that's Plorath, and that up there is Tikorah." She pointed to the male hawk who was watching from a tree branch. The bird cawed for a moment, ruffling his feathers and looking from His Lady to the Dark One. "He still hasn't gotten used to her unfortunately, but he doesn't like leaving me." The smile she had turned to a sad one, and then it fell all together.

So, what are you going to write about then? Something good I would hope...hmmr...yes, you're brothers and sisters would like to hear about me of course, are you stupid? I know I didn't pick someone stupid Sakalas. I need someone who can keep up with me!

Of course I'll be telling my family all about you silly. Plorath hissed at the word silly, taking offense and hitting the ground hard with her tail. She didn't retort though, seeing as Saka was starting to write on the parchment again. "So, who are you going to write to?" The curly haired, redheaded weyrling glanced from her letter over to the greenweyrling. "Oh..and what's her name?" She nodded in the direction of the green.

She won't talk to me? Why won't she talk to me? Surely there's nothing wrong with me...is there? Saka shrugged, shaking her head. "I don't know why she won't talk to you Plorath." Snorting, the sunset got up off the ground and gave a leisurely stretch.

Folding in her wings again, she swept the groups with a quick glance before choosing someone to talk to, not before she nudged Bigroth though. he was coming with her after all, even a mastermind needed minions. Moving up to Sivith and the rest, the Sunset crooned a purr-like greeting and flicked her tail. Ummmr...hi there? Making her voice go up a bit in pitch and putting a slight, desperate and wondering tone to it, Plorath tilted her head to the side.

Bigroth chortled and shook his head, rustling his silvery wings. We were bored...you look like you're talking about something fun, can we join?

[Kaya]

Dear....no.

Uh, how are-? no.

Things have been interesting- No.

Oil sheets, ha, K'tar looks funny.
No. Gotta write a letter. Uh.

The Hold's winter-?
No no NO! This is supposed to be about me. Holt refrained from shouting but he had so much he felt he ought to tell his parents and wanted to know all about the Hold and how it had been in the months since he'd been gone, how his old friends were and their lives and his aunt's baby and ...oh, everything! But he was supposed to tell them about his life too. How could there ever be enough paper for that? Holt sighed and pulled pensively on the hair that curled just under his ear.

Frustrating?

Yes, but I'll figure it out. K'tar's waiting for me. Just hang on, I'll be done in a minute.

Okay.

The Blue took the cue and knew he would have to wait a while for Holt to finish writing. He sat quietly and observed, trying not to interfere as his Rider tried to cover the great amount of things that had changed in his life. It was no small feat for H'rarn, he was still reeling from the amount of things that continued to change.

I Impressed, his name is Korith and- Holt narrated to himself as he wrote. He'd gotten something down and that was a start and helped the letter start to flow. Maybe he could visit soon enough when Korith learned to fly. It didn't take long for him to fill up the front page and switch to the back. It took Holt maybe another five minutes to finish the letter, or at least fill up all the space and squeeze his name in at the bottom. The letter was addressed "Mum and Pa" and he was an only child. They'd know who it was from.

When Korith saw that his Rider was about finished with the letter he decided that having a third guy along for the walk might be fun and result in better games than just having two. Tag, wrestling, keep away; they worked better with three.

Hocteth, when yours is done with his letter would you like to come with Viarth and I to explore the jungle?

[Shoki]

Mau nodded to the dragonet as a form of greeting when Saka introduced her entourage, and gave a nod to the bird as well. She found the sunset's colors very enticing, as she had always been fond of warm colors. She wondered at the haze over the colors, wonder if that meant anything. "It's nice to meet you all." She spared an extra glance to the bird again, rather curious as to how she had so unique a pet. She listened to the comment about the bird still getting used to the dragonet and tilted her head. "Well, it should be fine, yes? Plenty of time for them to become acquainted. Thought I wouldn't know, I don't have my own pet. Beat doesn't count, and he loves everyone anyway."

Mau took a chance to look at how Quimyenth was doing, and gave a little sigh. The green had apparently decided to try her hand at conversation with the least intimidating (in her head) of her siblings. Mau would get her to be a very social green, but baby steps were fine. She turned back to Saka, and thought for a moment in order to answer the question she posed her. "A bunch of people I guess. Parents of course but I write to a lot of friends from places I used to live. What about you?" She paused before pointing to her green. "That's Quimyenth. Qui's just looking for people to play with her I guess. She should still say hi though." Mau sat for a moment, with arms crossed and staring at her dragonet.

Um, hi Plorath. Tell Saka I say hello. Qui was being a bit moody for some reason, something Mau frowned at. To try and fix it Quimyenth added, Its very nice to meet you and yours.

Mau sighed lightly. She didn't understand the dragonet's reluctance at all, but she would be a bit of a different person then she. There was still much to learn and if Qui saw it as learning then hopefully she would jump right in. "Well its a start." She paused for a moment then asked, "So, you like writing letters?"

---

D'ziel stared at the paper, willing it to be filled with writing. It didn't seem to be working though. A sigh escaped him as he tried to write what happened. He figured writing to his parents would be largely pointless. They lived here after all. His uncle was the recipient then, thought he had to think hard on how to assemble the words in his head. As he thought he started to fidget, something he was prone to. He tried starting the letter properly but most of it ended up being jumbled up and a mess. 'I impressed yesterday but Pounce made me late to the hatching.' was the first sentence and the order of events was not clear at all. Still he tried. After he looked it over he just sighed and put the parchment away for the time being. He really didn't like this kind of thing.

Hocteth watched the young man struggle with his letter, trying to figure D'ziel out. It was odd, as he seemed very organized with other things. Writing was different somehow. The moonlight watched with interest until he was addressed, raising his head to look at the blue dragonet. Before answering he took a look back at D'ziel to gauge his writing and watched him put the paper away with more then a little contempt. Mine, did you want to go-

Yes. Where ever it is, yes.

Hocteth was someone taken aback by this briskness of response but decided that this was proper. I would be happy to join in the exploration. Mine is done. It seems. The moonlight got up and stretched a little bit, waiting for D'ziel to get next him and give him a pat on the head. Hocteth liked the head pats.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K’tar had pulled some of the nearby grass as soon as he finished his letter, and was idly twirling it through his fingers while he looked around. He was far too well-schooled to fidget, but it was only that schooling that kept him still. He wanted to be off, moving, exploring, seeing the sights, running, anything but sitting or doing chores. Absently, he paused in his grass twirling and rubbed Viarth’s right eyeridge, eliciting a croon that made him smile. He paused in his rubbing, though, as the approach of the black-haze Sunset and the Iron dragonets caught his eye.

Mine, did you lose your hand? Viarth asked.

No, why? K’tar shot back, grinning. He paused a moment, then resumed rubbing Viarth’s eyeridge. The Sunset, who had Impressed to Sakalas, and the Iron had both stopped near Sivith, about five or six feet from where he and Viarth were lounging. Seeing that Holt was done, K’tar sprang to his feet, grinning. “Come on, let’s go,” he said.

Viarth stood as smoothly as possible. We should go all the way to the end of the paths, he said.

Not in…

Before K’tar could finish, Viarth interrupted. Mine, the oil hasn’t soaked in yet, I have to keep wearing the oil-sheet until it does.

K’tar made a faint as though to grab the sheet off Viarth’s body. Viarth dodged, which caused the sheet to slide off his head, though it still covered the rest of his body.

[Kaya]

"Alright Korith, K'tar has spoken. Time to go," Holt said as he got up at his own pace. He walked leisurely over to his Blue, still near the Moonlight, and gave his Blue a good scratch behind the eye ridge. "Are they coming with us?"

Yes, Hocteth and his Rider over there. He isn't very good at writing letters. Korith responded with a matter of fact tone. This earned him a bit of a glare from Holt who protested the claim.

Don't judge based on one observance, Holt instructed his dragon, the smallest bit of a scold in his tone.

Yes, H'rarnMine. Hocteth's Rider was bad at writing a letter today, the Blue corrected. Holt chuckled, gave his Blue a pat on the head and then turned to D'ziel.

"Ready to go, new guy?" he asked, offering a hand to shake. "Name's Holt - er, H'rarn works too - and you've met Korith, it seems. K'tar and I are glad to have you along."

[Shoki]

D'ziel straightened up and looked a lot more cheerful when the other weyrling came over to introduce himself. He returned Holt's outstretched hand with one of his own and gave a good hand shake. "Nice to meet you. I'm D'ziel. Glad to be on board for whatever this is."

We are going out to the jungle. Exploring.

"Ah, sounds fun. Can't wait to get moving." D'ziel was always itching to move and sitting still for a while doing something he didn't want to be doing was just the fire to the kindling.

We will not be exploring too far, will we?

Dunno. You nervous?

The moonlight snorted. I only want to be sure that you remember to be back to continue your training with the feline.

D'ziel chuckled a little bit. It sounded a little more like an excuse to him but he let it pass. He was still getting to know Hocteth so he couldn't be a hundred percent sure.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K'tar let out a quick laugh at the sight that Viarth made, purple head sticking out from a white sheet. Glancing back over his shoulder, he saw that Holt was standing over by another of their class, whose Moonlight was near Korith. Unable to hold still longer, he dashed over to the main entrance to the jungle paths, then spun back to face his friend.

"Race ya' to the waterfall!" he called. "Starting point's here!"

Viarth's tail twitched. Unlike His, he was fidgeting with excitement. The jungle paths were somewhere new, and games! They could play! Brother-friend-Korith had found a third to come along, Moonlight-brother-Hocteth, so they could have all kinds of fun. He no longer noticed that his hide was still too dry, nor was the loss of the oil sheet from his head any real concern.

[Kaya]

H'rarn spun around when K'tar shouted, in time to see the boy finish his statement and then take off running. For a moment, the weyrling stood glued to the spot, watching the Purple dragonet run off after his Rider. A very important question was keeping his feet immobile: Which waterfall?

Mine! Doesn't matter if we lose him! Korith insisted, giving his Mine a shove and then taking off running, hoping his Rider would be on his heels. It was highly likely Viarth's Rider had no idea where he was going and so the only way to keep up was to run. Even if you knew which, could you really say you knew the way?

Holt had stumbled forward but not missed a step, he caught his balance, took off running with his Blue and hoped D'ziel would have the good, adventurous sense to follow. "No way, K'tar!" he shouted. The PurpleRider had a head start, but they'd catch up. They'd win! A laugh built inside the bond between dragonet and boy, and even though it cost them precious running air they let it burst out into the open. What a better way to start an afternoon!

[Shoki]

D'ziel watched K'tar move quickly, spinning around to tell him what the goal was. The boy chuckled a little bit, watching the blue dragonet move, followed by his rider. D'ziel started running, making a remark to H'rarn as the got going. "Heh, you better win then." D'ziel himself loved to be moving, but he didn't think he was that fast a runner. He was going to give it a good go, or would have if he had heard his moonlight going at a good pace behind him.

"Hocteth, come on!" The lad looked over his shoulder to get a look at the dragonet, who was only trotting behind him. "This is a race buddy."

I like going at a speed that I can see what is in front of me without tripping. But I'll try to go faster. The moonlight started going at a better pace, though it still was not gonna be as fast as the other dragonets. D'ziel smiled a little in response. Hocteth was really interesting at times, but he did try for him. He tried to sprint a little faster as well, though he found he was splitting his time between following the other guys and making sure Hocteth hadn't fallen behind too far. The moonlight started going faster at that, not wanting to drag him back. Soon enough he was paying much less attention to the ground, and more for where the others were going.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K'tar hadn't been out on these paths very often, though he knew that at least one of them led to a waterfall; he'd done most of his exploring either inside the Weyr, or near the beaches, and as such, he'd only been out on the jungle paths a couple of times. He could here Holt gaining on him, and tried to accelerate to a faster pace.

Viarth now ran right beside K'tar, the oil-sheet having long since fallen off with the wind from his passage. As he ran, Viarth saw a wider-path-than-one-beneath-feet through the green-bush-things on his right. K'tarMine, we have not run-to-end-of-that-path, let us do so now! With that cry, Viarth bounded through the bushes and raced off down the larger path.

"But...!" K'tar's voice cut off as Viarth dived for the large path, which was already diverging from the course that it had held at the outset, parallel to the one they'd been on. He tore off after Viarth, catching sight of Holt and Korith, now much closer, easily under ten feet away, as he plunged through the bushes onto the path. He stumbled, only just catching himself against a tree, then ran on.

The path turned sharply, setting their course further away from the smaller path to the waterfalls. K'tar raced beside Viarth, emerging from the trees to see the ground falling away in front of him. He skidded to a stop, coming up level with Viarth's head. Viarth's nostrils were dilated as the young dragonnet sucked in air. K'tar opened his mouth to speak, to tell Viarth that they should rest for a while, but the young Purple saw that the path continued to their right and before K'tar could say anything, started racing down it once more.

Come on Mine! We must see what lies beyond this path! Blue-Brother-friend-Korith, Moonlight-brother-Hocteth, the path appears to end soon, just go to your right.

K'tar clutched his head. Viarth had shouted the last part, and hadn't bothered, or really, hadn't thought, to limit it to just the dragons, so that it had thundered through K'tar's mind.

Viarth! Wait! he called, but the dragonnet, already nearly at the edge of his vision, kept running.

Shaking his head to clear it, K'tar turned away from the sight of the herdbeast filled field and tore off after his dragonnet, not even noticing where Holt or the other Weyrling were.

[Kaya]

How long had they been running? Though his heart pounded and his lungs felt as if they could never bring in enough air, Holt kept going. He hadn't had much cause outside of ball games to run, but sweeping through the jungle, there was something amazing about it. Something in him promised to do it again, and again, perhaps alone a few times, to see how fast he could go, or could become. A lower hanging side branch scraped at his arm but Holt ignored it. He was going to catch K'tar. His feet dug into the ground and tore ahead just a little bit faster. This was going to hurt when he was done, but something about him loved it.

Then all of a sudden K'tar tore off through part of the underbrush to change paths as Viarth must have since H'rarn didn't see the Purple further ahead on the straight path. Keep up! Can you see? H'rarn asked his Blue, hoping that Korith was still on his heals.

YES! the response came. Korith's vision flooded his own and the mental image overwhelmed him. Holt felt his feet skidding to a stop, his brain screaming "I can't see! I can't see where I'm going!" His breaths came in gasps, sucking in the air not nearly fast enough. His legs burned and his head throbbed. "....where?" he gasped. His eyes had shut, Holt realized. He cracked them open and saw Korith looking up at him with great concern.

...too much? his eyes were pleading and filled with remorse.

"Ha,..." Holt tried to laugh, still out of breath. "You got...." some mind there. ...we can't lose K'tar. The weyrling started treading down the path, though a considerable amount slower.

We'll find them. Keep going, Mine. Korith encouraged.

Had Hocteth and D'ziel passed us yet? H'rarn wondered as he kept on down the path. Faranth only knew where they were going.

I'm not sure...

[Shoki]

D'ziel started speeding up as he ran, finally feeling less stressed. That letter writing really wound him up, as he was just discovering. The jungle was kinda nostalgic for him in some ways, so just the atmosphere made him feel better. Both of his grandfathers had at one time or another taken him down jungle paths to hang out and let him and Dan play. It felt like a long time ago though. He was thinking along those lines when Hocteth got his attention.

Mine, we are to change our course. The moonlight hardly gave the boy time to slow down before giving him a mental image of what he meant. It resulted in D'ziel not slowing down enough to avoid the tree that was on the curved path. The weyrling hit it and grabbed onto it, avoiding falling. Mine! Are you okay? The moonlight was there quickly, trying to see if a his was hurt.

"I'm okay. Just, warn be before you do that next time." He looked down at the moonlight, his face turning red from where he hit the tree. Hocteth's eyes were still whirling with worry so D'ziel smiled broadly and gave the dragon a pet. "See? All good. Now, let's catch up to everyone else, yeah?" The moonlight looked up at his rider and nodded slowly, seeming a little more reassured. With a grin, D'ziel dashed off, with Hocteth keeping pace behind him.

--

"We went the right way, didn't we?" D'ziel looked around, slowing as he walked. It was weird since he hadn't seen H'rarn or the guy that had been with the purple. K'tar was it? He better know this stuff, they would be in lessons together for quite a while.

The picture I got was accurate, we turned the right way. I think.

"Hmm. Maybe a little farther." He sped up a little and almost ran into H'rarn a moment later. "Whoa! There you are. Where's K'tar?" Hocteth gave lopping in behind D'ziel, looking more tired then his rider. The moonlight would most certainly give him a run for his money later though...

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

K'tar had a headache. Not that he hadn't expected one. He'd done enough running, mostly away from various persons of authority, to know that running for too long resulted in a headache. He also knew that he could run through it, which he would have to, because Viarth was not stopping.

K'tarMine hurry-up-run-fast-speed-wind-on-beach, we must reach end-of-path quick-time-soon!

I'm already running, Viarth! K'tar sent back. Normally he still had trouble with the thought-sharing business, but at that moment his mouth was occupied in bringing air to is lungs, and thus could not be used for a verbal reply.

Viarth didn't stop. He didn't even slow down. He was determined that his rider just keep up. After all, the world was out there, waiting to be seen, and the faster they got to seeing it, the better.

K'tar growled something under his breath, a phrase he'd learned from a particularly annoyed guard; a phrase which he, strictly speaking, was not supposed to know. Gritting his teeth, he tossed his head in a circle and forced himself to keep running.

[Kaya]

H'rarn was still sucking in deep breaths and trotting much slower than he was sure K'tar was running. Hopefully the path didn't split any more ahead. The waves of heat from running radiated from the top of his skin and his mouth felt dry. Sweat had damped the nape of his neck and made his hair dark and sticky. The scratch he had gotten from the tree a while ago was starting to smart worse and they were a good distance from the Weyr proper now. There was water everywhere in this valley but wherever he was, apparently.

At D'ziel's arrival and prompt he breathed out "Up ahead," though he wasn't sure if they would find the weyrling and his blur of a Purple dragonet anywhere. They could be on one of the moons by now at that pace. "How much further could he be?" Holt tried to ask optimistically but he wasn't sure himself.

Korith took up a springy step in front of him and gained quite a bit of distance so that the Blue reached the next curve in the thinning trees before his Rider.

I think I see a...big area ahead with no trees. ...is that where we're going? Korith asked, trying to send a less intrusive picture to H'rarn.

Faranth knows...

[Shoki]

D'ziel gave a short "Heh" when H'rarn responded. Purple dragons man. He had kinda forgotten the whole purple-dragons-with-lots-of-energy thing. All of the people in his family had impressed more on the mellow side with dragons. Well, he imagined his Grandma Andie had more of a time with her green when she was younger. Possibly. He'd have to ask sometime.

The boy and his Moonlight followed H'rarn somewhat confused about this 'race'. It seemed more like they were going to get themselves lost first before reaching where ever the end point was. D'ziel was only getting a vague sense of déjà vu rather then remembering anything and Hocteth was beginning to question the validity of this competition. Still, at least both of them were together and keeping pace with one of the other weyrlings.

"I hope we're close."

Hocteth seemed to agree with the statement, but was focusing his attention on the winding path, trying to make sure neither he nor his was about to run into anything. Again.