Many thanks to Anne & Todd McCaffrey for providing us with such a beautiful sandbox in which to play in. Any copyright herein is acknowledged to be a derivative work and honors all copyright and requests in the original work.
The days of Weyrling training continued without any such disruptions. Each day, G'ny rose, fed and oiled her dragon and lightly stretched the both of them out before breakfast. G'ny had despised mornings prior to bonding with Saleneth, but it was such a pleasant way to wake up, with the little green trilling encouragement and exchanging positive thoughts throughout the whole routine that she learned a whole new outlook for the time. These stretches were becoming the most important part of a Weyrling's duties, as these were the formative periods for wings that would need both strength and agility for flight.
In their morning drills, Tolluth led the dragonets in flapping their wings while attempting to balance on their hind legs and encouraged practice throughout the day, once they regained their energy back. A nap was still usually in order after these sessions. Concurrently, T'mir would start the youths with a lecture on the Major Holds, Minor Holds, and Crafthalls and Crafts that thrived in the region under High Reaches' protection. These facts are not just trivia, but the livelihoods of the people dragonriders were sworn to protect, so each Weyrling had better be prepared when it came to written exams, T'mir warned.
Once the dragonets awoke, they would become involved with firestone and wing formation drills. Although the dragons remained grounded, which only accentuated their awkward gaits, this drill served to familiarize the dragons with relating their telepathic link to one another into spatial terms. The Weyrlings would run alongside their partners, after having identified and picked up the proper type of firestone for the situation T'mir called out – dense Thread, sporatic Thread, overhead Thread, clumped Thread, Thread front, and the like. As the dragons still too young to actually chew firestone, they merely collected the called-for sack. Although these were scenarios this Weyrling class would likely never see in the middle of an Interval, it was important to pass these skills down for posterity – and to be prepared in the event of unexpected assaults on the planet. Thread was but a memory recorded in history books to the Weyrlings, as it had not fallen for over 160 Turns. Many rumored that Thread would never fall again. Fortunately relations were good with most of the local holders. T'mir and Moura regularly dispatched riders to be of use to these holds in order to maintain good relations and justify the tithes they still collected.
Overhead, the regular fighting wings conducted their own drills and would mirror the drill at hand at least once in the day, a lesson for which T'mir instructed the Weyrlings to be especially attentive. Sometimes he would not announce the occasion, waiting to see which of the Weyrlings would recognize the parallelism – identifying Wing patterns and sharpening awareness were both crucial skills for dragonriders. Although G'ny and Saleneth were often the first to catch on to these coincidences, they learned when to delay the revelation of their knowledge or at least signal their discovery to a friendly rider so that he may take the credit. G'ny was not sure if J'massy would have volunteered his share of answers without her help.
Two and a half months into training, Saleneth demonstrated the first maneuver that could really be considered a rudimentary form of flying. One morning, as she began one of her numerous self-initiated flapping exercises, she coupled the movement with a powerful spring from her hind legs. G'ny giggled at first and ran, concerned, to the side of her dragon on this first attempt, which culminated in the dragonet tripping snout first into the ground. A dozen brush-off/warm-up flaps later, Saleneth made her second attempt. This time, she was able to angle her wings enough to stabilize herself, landing back on her hind legs after a moment of her body being parallel to the earth. Although a stump in the Bowl was intended exactly for this purpose, Saleneth did not want to deal with the other dragonets who were still practicing balance on its edge. Skipping the crowded stump, Saleneth tried her form the next day from an elevated ledge of the Bowl up to which she was able to climb with her taloned forearms. Stretching her wings wide, Saleneth glided a good three times her length from the height equal to her own outstretched length she climbed. Delighted by her progress, she attempted the exercise a second time, this time adding in two flaps of her wings, giving her trajectory a second peak of altitude and another length of glide.
As the Weyrlings became more familiar with Wing formations, they began working with the Fighting Wings to supply firestone. Most of the time, the dragons would just hand off and carry the firestone without actually chewing it, as there were concerns about exhausting the known firestone mines during Interval when the rock was not needed for survival. At first, the Fighting dragons would have to land and wait for their Weyrling's delivery, but, over time, the anticipating Weyrlings would be able to gently toss the necessary package so that a Fighting dragon could catch it during a swoop close to the ground. G'ny, S'ten, and J'massy were assigned together mostly to C'lin's Wing for these initial drills.
C'lin was a lively, raucous man, the eldest of the still young Wingleader ranks. As part of their training together, C'lin would make sure that each Weyrling got a few minutes each day riding adragonback with one of his riders. Afterwards, he could often be heard coordinating swims in the Bowl Lake that occasionally earned the group reprimands from Lawana and the other Lower Caverns women for being late for dinner. C'lin, affable to a fault, would waive these criticisms off with a wink and a peck on the cheek or pinch to the waist of the stern woman. C'lin was known to get around the Lower Caverns. He often exposed his manly, barreled chest through the deep V he left flirtatiously unlaced in his jerkin. In private, he was said to be sensitive and a relatable listener. If supplies ever ran low in the Lower Caverns, he was the first to know, advocate for, and effect their replenishment – the longer he had to fly or the larger the load he had to carry, the more he relished the task for the heroism it would bring him among the ladies. S'ten and J'massey whispered their disapproval of his flaunting behavior in an attempt to warn and protect G'ny, but she always found him to be inviting but respectful. While he referred to her by pet names such as "darling," and "my sweet," and made references to her figure and appearance, he was always careful to stop short of anything that would make her uncomfortable.
"Forget T'mir's lessons, what would he, a bluerider, know about the ways of women? You come to me if you have any questions about mating flights!" C'lin offered. He was efficacious and blunt with the proposal, but never pushed his luck into unwanted, messy details. Still, G'ny preferred the counsel of her Weyrlingmaster even as the hours spent under his tutelage each day began to dwindle. G'ny, S'ten, and J'massy remained assigned to C'lin's wing for afternoon drills even as their dragons began to take more prolonged flight.
Starting in the fourth month of their training, G'ny would on occasion slip out from the free time allotted to Weyrlings after the evening meal to practice with Saleneth out in the Bowl. The stump now free as all of her clutchmates were exhausted, Saleneth would hop up, joined by G'ny, to practice balancing with the presence of her rider. At first, G'ny started with just firestone sacks, then she leaned with half of her weight. Finally, the two of them made a short glide off the stump together, G'ny clutching Saleneth's neck, around their sixth clandestine session together. By their ninth, Saleneth could take off from the ground, eek in enough frantic flaps to ascend high enough to execute a tight loop down, and land with acceptable grace. The feeling was exhilarating. There was no other feeling like being linked with her partner and have the cool night wind rushing through her hair. Being a dragonrider was every bit as wonderful as she ever imagined it could be.
The pair would only have a fortnight to wait to show off their new proficiency to their cohort. In the meantime, T'mir honed and tested in earnest the Weyrlings' skills in making, repairing, and inspecting fighting straps until they met T'mir's exacting standards. Many Weyrlings complained that they were not yet allowed to ride on their partners as their dragons became more proficient in flight. Finally, just before the season began turning for the cold in serious, T'mir instructed the Weyrlings mount their partners prior to the morning's first takeoff. At last, on the count of three, the dragons were instructed to take off with their partners. The chaos that ensued was evocative of those first few days of flapping failure, with more than one dragon scuffing his nose in the dirt. A few of the larger boys, R'nan and J'massey included, would both be applying numbweed onto scrapes they acquired when their dragons fell over under their unbalanced weight, pitching them hard into the dirt. Such disaster was exhibited by everyone except G'ny and Saleneth. Instead, they rose up to the height of the first level of Weyrs, descending in a controlled spiral to land in their spot of departure. By the time they were reunited with the ground, G'ny could feel the gaze of many pairs of eyes upon her. They are impressed, Saleneth summarized. T'mir clapped his hands in praise.
"Been practicing on our own, haven't we?" he inquired, an eyebrow raised. A sheepish color spread across G'ny's cheeks. "Nonsense, nonsense, such dedication to the craft is always encouraged."
The next thing G'ny knew, a flurry of bronze had swooped down into the training class and she was engulfed in one of C'lin's bear hugs. "That's my girl!" He bragged. "She's in my wing!" He announced to the Weyrlings and small group of dragonriders that had started to congregate, ruffling her hair.
T'mir continued his instruction for the rest of the Weyrlings. "You see, just because your dragon can fly does not mean he or she is ready for you to just hop up and start flying around together. You all will begin practicing with firestone sacks to get your dragons accustomed to added weight. Then, you will transition to a task in which you will finally be useful – elevator duty. Your dragons will be responsible for helping ferry supplies up to the weyrs. Make sure to check the board in the Lower Caverns for your extra assignments for the day."
That night, Lawana made sure there were extra helpings to be had at the evening meal. "It may not be occasion for a proper feast, but you two certainly deserve an extra helping tonight. I've even made a batch of nutcake," she winked at G'ny. As each dragon and rider pair successfully demonstrated flight together, T'mir began assigning weyrs. G'ny and Saleneth were the first to move out of the Weyrling barracks and up to a spacious weyr up towards the top of the caldera. G'ny enjoyed the privacy and view of being so high up.
At last, all three of the Weyrlings assigned to C'lin's wing were able to sustain flight with their dragons, and were invited to join the group on a sweep ride. Because the Weyrlings had not yet attempted the intricacies of traveling between, these first trips would be entirely flown and would remain local. After a sevenday circling the slopes of the High Reaches summit, C'lin decided it was time to introduce his newest Wing additions to some of the closer Holds. Their first trip out of the perimeter of the Weyr, the Wing flew to Pars, the closest Minor Hold. The trip over there took a little over an hour at a moderate pace. They would be flying there, stopping to rest, and meeting the inhabitants, C'lin informed the Weyrlings. C'lin must have alerted the residents as well, as a celebratory midday meal was already in the works when they arrived. Here too, C'lin's reputation preceded him, as he planted an overly-familiar wet kiss on the cheek of the Hold's Headwoman.
"Residents of Pars, it is my, C'lin, rider of bronze Ormath's, pleasure to introduce to you your newest humble dragonriders, ready to serve you in Pass and Interval." A sea of clapping met C'lin's announcement. In his deep alto, C'lin began, "Honor those the dragons heed, in thought and favor, word and deed. Worlds are lost and worlds are saved, from those dangers dragon-braved." The clapping faded as instruments were picked up and other voices joined in the legendary Harper songs.
The next sevenday, the Wing made a similar appearance at Keogh, and a sevenday after that at Ogren. These trips were about twice as long and the whole journey took up the better part of the day. G'ny enjoyed very much being in the familiar setting of a Minor Hold and long awaited the day she could make the journey to her beloved Radharc, where she would be reunited with her family, who she had grown to really miss. Many of the Holders remarked on the oddity of a female dragon rider. During the course of the midday festivities at this third destination, the Ogren Lady Holder approached G'ny.
"Greenrider," she began tentatively, "I am wondering, do you think you would be available for transport to Gathers? Ogren usually receives assistance for transport for high ranking individuals for the more important Gathers in a Turn, and it would just be so novel to be carried in by a woman. Plus, I would feel more comfortable with my daughters being under your influence, not that I impute any bad intentions on dragonriders." The woman requested, then added quickly.
"I will certainly ask the permission of the Weyrleader, and it is still a little early for Saleneth here to be lifting many passengers, but it would certainly be an honor and she is growing quickly." G'ny promised.
"Oh, excellent, I hope to see you! I am Mirdella," Mirdella affirmed. "And these are my daughters Midenna and Denalay. Though they are a bit young, they are well behaved and I think they deserve to attend their first Gather soon, although I think the long trek would be too much via caravan." She introduced, gesturing to two girls around eight and ten Turns each. G'ny continued her stay at Ogren with a new perspective, honored that she might be returning to ferry its inhabitants to important events.