See, that was easy (Lark -- Emilia)

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

74.11.15|Sky over RMW|mid-morning

It had been a good practice, all things considered. Certainly it was a good thing that the rain which typically filled the sky during this season had been conspicuously absent for the duration, and things looked to be staying dry for at least the next hour or so, judging by the sky. For all of that though, the wing had still had to occasionally change maneuvers or put off practicing a given move, depending on whether or not Emilia and Nyneveth were in the air at that moment, and whether or not the Grey-Green pair felt comfortable trying the move as a part of the Wing.

I think we should play a game for extra practice.

You have a point. We could use it to work on that tandem rolling turn and the vertical-wing passes, the ones with the riders in the middle. Looking down, T’kar spotted Nyneveth and Emilia. Ancalanath immediately swerved and landed next to them.

Nyneveth, we will be working on rolling turns. Also, we will use cloud-tag for vertical-wing passes. Ancalanath lowered his head slightly, so that his near eye was level with Nyneveth’s closest eye as he was speaking.

“You up to pass off those final two maneuvers?” T’kar asked Emilia. This was going to be the last private practice session that they had for awhile, Emilia and Nyneveth had been participating more and more at practices, and, with any luck, they would successfully complete the maneuvers today, so that they would be able to participate in all the moves practiced in drill.

[Lark]

Things had been getting easy, at least marginally so for the grey-green pair. Emilia and Nyneveth both had kept to their promise all those months ago, attending every wing practice that their 'leader called. They had followed the rider and Flame through every drill, doing as they were told, even if it meant a bit of grumbling or fear on their parts. Oh yes, there had been much of that.

There had been days where the dragoness or rider, or at times both, had driven themselves more and more into their beds and protested the idea of leaving the safety of their weyr-cave. Still, the idea that T'kar and Ancalanath would only come after them was always fresh in their minds as well. No matter how much Emilia feared Nyneveth's musings, she feared her wingleader's disapproval more.

No doom has been met in a while...not since the death of the woman. She was always fated to die though...as we all are. Nyneveth's voice was a soft rumble in her rider's mind, Emilia shivering at the now rare accusation of fated nothingness that used to be a minute-by-minute occurrence. When the Flame spoke in her mind however, Nyneveth shifted her sight to echo the male's movements, her eyes settling next to his and her brief nod her only answer before nudging her rider up from the ground and onto the straps that she wore around her neck.

Which do you wish to do first Sparkles?

Nyneveth...be nice. Please?

Except the nickname no longer held the irritated flair that it once had. No, now it was a bit more gentle, more playful, and as of late, Emilia might have even said more flirtatious. Shaking her head to clear it, the rider turned big sapphire eyes to the Wingleader-Weyrleader, and nodded her own agreement. "What do you wish to start with T'kar?

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

“Rolling turns,” T’kar answered promptly. “That way they can be a warm up before the vertical wing passes.” The other reason, left unsaid, was because after the first few rounds of the passes, they would have to be completed by both dragons coming at each other from different directions, so that Emilia and Nyneveth would not be able to follow him and Ancalanath through the maneuver in its entirety.

Rolling turns first, that way we can end with the game, Ancalanath told Nyneveth, simultaneously with his rider’s words to Emilia. The RR Flame probably wouldn’t admit it readily, but he was pleased with the progress that Nyneveth had made. He’d also come to accept that Nyneveth would continue to adamantly refuse to call him by anything other than “Sparkles” (at least most of the time); contrary to the impression given by his protests to his rider, he really didn’t care that much. Of course, T’kar knew better than to take the protests seriously, but anyone bonded to a dragon with a temper learned to tell the difference between real protests and protests made just for effect.

T’kar grinned. He’d come to view Emilia in roughly the same light as his little sister, Alyga; certainly capable, but sometimes needing help with self-confidence. He thought she might have a crush on him, but that was something that he chose not to acknowledge. There was nothing he could think of that would result in more discipline problems than if he tried to follow up on it, whether it was there or not, the problems would be of different sorts, but equally present.

“One, two, three!” T’kar’s countdown until takeoff had become a standard over the course of nearly a Turn’s worth of extra practices. On three, Ancalanath sprang into the air, clearing it by a few dragonlengths, then hovering to allow Nyneveth to come into position behind him before slowly beginning the first of several rolling turns.

[Lark]

Nodding her confirmation of their task, Emilia took a moment to go over the procedures in her mind. It would look just so, they would go about it in such a manner as this, it would not be difficult. At least it won't be unless we suddenly careen into a tree or something. The rider shot her dragoness a you're-totally-not-helping look while maintaining an otherwise blank expression as she waited for the Wingleader's gesture to start. It had been as simple as counting to three, that's how he had explained it. It was standard, normal, easy to follow and nothing too startling. Simple...normal....not scary.

Unless you're counting down to our doom.

Sighing, Emilia looked at Nyneveth's head which had craned around this time to look at her rider. One, we're going to be fine. T'kar says so, and I believe him. Two, it would be counting up to our doom technically. The unnaturally sassy response brought a curious warble from the grey-green female, her eyes swirling a curious mixture of green and yellow. The two had no time to think anything of the exchange however as soon T'kar was giving the signal to takeoff, which meant Nyneveth was in the air after Ancalanath and executing the rolling turns. Bank, tuck in, roll, spread your wings gradually, then bank back out of it. They went like this over and over again in various patterns some memorized, some not.

On occasion Nyneveth's little form would wobble as she came out of a turn having taken it a bit too fast or too hard, but the next would be adjusted to work well until she got too cocky again and started thinking of anything but what she was doing. That had always been their downfall, the lack of attention to detail in that was normally used to either spout off how it wasn't going to work, or in Emilia's case trying to fend off such thoughts from her dragoness. Now though the grey-green did little hesitation, though on one particularly tight turn toward the end, having been thrown in as an extra to make up for one they had only half-way rolled through, she suddenly dropped her wings and plummeted downward in a spiral for a few yards before Emilia coaxed Nyneveth's wings out herself through their bond.

Not fun...wings need to work. Not. Fun. Crooning and beside herself, the grey-green shook her head from side to side and flapped the short appendages in question a few times before gliding in a few gentle circles around the training area. Is that good enough? Or would you like us to try it again T'kar? Emilia ventured to talk through her dragoness, the grey-green still spazzing out somewhere in the back of her mind, the stress ebbing away slowly though under the somewhat more calming presence of her rider. "We may need a small break first!" She called out this time as Emilia steered Nyneveth closer to Ancalanath, the dragoness hissing softly as she veered a bit too close and ducked under the flame before she could sidle up next to him, vying to circle around him instead.