[J'ray; Eavan; J'lin] Discovery...

[Sher]

((ICly, starting from the Weyrbowl, but I thought the thread should be located where the characters are going to end up. Snow, feel free to assume that Eavan was able to get permission from J'ain to go on this excursion.))

01.22.3189

Earlier in the day, a blood-bay stallion had come to the Weyr, plunging through snow as high as his chest and steaming from the effort. The whites of his eyes showed all around as he fought against the bit, not desiring to be any nearer to the dormant volcano that smelled of death and draconids. His rider, Jimbel, brought him skillfully back under control each time- but once they had passed through the ground-level tunnel usually reserved for tithes, the runnerbeast had gone wild, bucking and kicking and generally behaving like a tunnelsnake with a sore tail vent. He hadn't put up that much of a fuss when they'd been ferried across the river.

The message carried by the journeyman beastcrafter was from Lemos Hold, of course. Once he'd stabled Tricksy in one of the few stalls available- there just wasn't much call to ride a horse to a Weyr, unless it was going to be eaten- he'd delivered the message to Kadia of gold Rusith, the temporary weyrwoman. She in turn had asked for a few "reliable" sorts (and at least one rider) to assemble at the Weyrbowl and go remove a tree from a wagon path near the ferry across the river to Lemos. Then, naturally, they were to check out the aftermath of the blizzard elsewhere. It was all but a certainty that more damage had been done besides the one path that had been reported.

They'd all have to wear warm clothes, and bring axes in case they needed to hack trees to manageable sizes before moving them...

[Snow]

Eavan pulled on a long sleeve shirt over her other two shirts. She was also wearing two pairs of pants along with two pairs of socks. With all the clothes on she was wearing, it felt hard to sit down as she bent to pull on her good fur-lined boots. Once those were in place she stood and put on her warmest coat. The weather hadn’t take a turn for the worse or anything, but she was going to go outside the weyr today to help with clean up and some inspection of damage. Since that would mean being out in the cold for a while, she dressed extra warmly.

Eavan was so happy that J’ain had allowed her to help with this endeavor. She’d heard about the tree being down and that people would have to help move it. Eavan had wanted to help from the beginning, but she didn’t volunteer right away since she didn’t think she’d be allowed to help. However, once it was apparent that not many people were volunteering she had immediately went to J’ain and asked for permission. She had profusely thanked the bluerider and then had ran off to tell whoever was in charge that she would be helping.

”Well, just need to grab an axe now.” Eavan thought to herself as she walked out of the candidate barracks and headed to the meeting spot in the weyrbowl. She stopped and picked up an axe and was surprised that she was the first one to arrive at the meeting area. While she stood waiting in the cold she pulled her hat down lower over her ears and put her gloves on. The wind bit at her cheeks and her nose, making both of them sting. Once they got done with this they hopefully would be treated to a cup of hot klah and maybe a warm snack.

[weetia]

Portenth was grumbling as J'lin bundled himself as tightly as possible. I can't believe you volunteered us,[/i] he complained. It is warm here. It is not warm out there. The bronze already wore his straps, and his rider looked up from fastening the warmest coat he had.

We need to get used to flying in this kind of weather, he pointed out. It's better to be uncomfortable now, but well adjusted to it.

Thread freezes when its this cold, Portenth pointed out, petulantly. We will never have to fight when the weather is so cold.[/color]

No we won't J'lin agreed. But this way, everything else will seem warmer in comparison The rider had learned over the years that sometimes he needed to make Portenth do uncomfortable things, regardless of the reason. The bronze was especially fond of his creature comforts, and if he wasn't forced to sometimes do without them, he woulld get fat and lazy.

J'lin was adding a few things to their usual bags. Ropes, folded shovels, supplies for building a fire, and basic first aid equipment went in along with a sheathed axe attached to the straps. He frowned looking at the bags. What else might they need? Surely the downed tree wouldn't be the only damage from the blizzard. He had already retreived some meatrolls and other travel food from the kitchens, in case they were out long enough to need them.

Convinced that, if they needed anything else, it would take only a short hop between to retrieve it, the bronzerider began checking the second set of straps for a passenger. A candidate was coming along, one J'lin was vaguely familiar with since she had mostly grown up in the Weyr. Finally satisfied with his preparation, J'lin strapped himself in, and Portenth took off, grumbling all the way.

When they landed in the Weyrbowl, J'lin noticed Eavan with the axe, and dismounted, walking over to her. "We can strap that to Portenth for the flight," he said as he approached. "We need to wait for J'ray," he added, "but he should be here soon. Do you need to bring anything else, or would you like a boost up?"

[Sher]

((Shall we assume that J'ray is going to be a bit late? That, perhaps, he had to sharpen an axe? I want to keep this rolling. ^__~))

[Snow]

((That sounds fine. They can jump in whenever they're able to Perhaps Portenth can get word from J'ray's dragon of their delay?))

Eavan pulled her coat around her even tighter as a rather brisk wind whipped by. Her golden curls danced this way and that with the wind, making Eavan wish she would have thought to bring a hair tie. She was happy that she had put on extra stockings. Even with the ones she had on her feet was already beginning to feel a little bit cold. ”Where is everyone?” She thought to herself.

That’s when she noticed a bronze flying towards her general area. Eavan was amazed by the grace and magnificence of the beast. Even after being in the weyr for 19 turns she was still easily awed by the creatures that called Sunset home. Recalling her manners and her wits she broke the stare she had been giving the handsome dragon.

”That sounds fine by me, bronzerider.” Eavan said giving the man a simple salute. He was a bronzerider after all. ”I believe I have everything else. I brought along some tidbits to munch on if we get hungry, just some cheese and meatrolls. I know they’re no substitute for something warm, but at least it’s something.” She said pointing to the smaller pack slung over her shoulder. She moved up to his bronze without fear. ”Good day to you, Portenth, many thanks for conveying us in such cold weather.” Eavan said smiling up at the bronze and giving him a tender pat on the forearm.

Eavan couldn’t ever remember a time when she was scared of the large dragons. Probably due to the fact that she also couldn’t ever remember a time living without them around. Her mother was still a bit cautious around them, but she was hold born after all. ”Thank you. I’ve yet the pleasure on riding such a fine bronze fellow.” She said with a smile to J’lin, accepting his offer for a boost up. Eavan had only ridden adragonback a few times and it had only been on greens and blues. Portenth was by far larger than those.

[Mother Nature]

far and away, there was a trail under a tree
a wild green wher died there unable to flee
crushed by its fall where no-one could see
then ended the blizzard
which froze the wher's gizzard
and soon there came a hungry pack-lizard

Winter: the most difficult time for foraging, unless you were lucky enough to find something as eminently edible as this. The small, green-and-brown striped pack-lizard was a male, still growing and dependent on his pack for survival, but not so young that they were anxious about his exact location.

He started ripping into the partially-thawed wher carcass with abandon, claws parting the tough hide with considerable effort. By the time his little pack found him, the hard work was already done. As an adolescent male, he had a unique position of rank: most situations required him to submit to the dominant male, the clutchfather, and there were quite a few activities where any of the adult females could've bossed him around. Feeding was the main exception.

The striped pack-lizard puffed out his chest and let out a threatening hiss, asserting his right to feed as his older (much larger) but similarly-colored father stepped up to the carcass. For a moment the two traded glares; then they bent together to eat.

After a respectful pause, the three adult females and his two female clutchmates joined the males. So what if some of the meat was frozen? It was a pleasant change from chilled bark at least.

[weetia]

J'lin smiled at the candidate. "I brought some food, too, so I doubt we'll be at any risk of starving to death before Portenth can get us back here," he said lightly. Phaetelth is delayed,[/color] Portenth informed him, in almost a whining tone. We will have to move the tree without him?[/color]

Apparently, J'lin told his dragon, then he looked at Eavan. "Portenth says that J'ray is running pretty late, so we'll go on ahead, and see what we need to do," he said cheerfully. "And just call me J'lin." He grinned as she patted the dragon. "Don't be too nice to him now, or he'll have me recruiting you for his next bath and oiling. He likes to be pampered, and that's a lot of hide to scrub."

He helped her up, before remounting himself, and checking to make sure they were both strapped in correctly. When she said she'd never ridden a bronze before, he laughed a little. "Don't tell anyone," he joked, "but flying is flying and between is between. I doubt you'll notice much of a difference from the other rides you've had once we get in the air."

When J'lin was satisfied that they and their belongings were safely secured, Portenth took to the skies. When they had gained altitude, the bronzerider spoke to his passenger again. "We'll fly straight, so that we can check for damage between the Weyr and the downed tree," he informed her. "We should also look for any damage that might still happen. Even without more snow, if the top branches of the trees freeze over, they could get too heavy and fall over."

That means flying relatively low, he reminded Portenth. And not too quickly. We need to be paying attention to the terrain, not just getting where we're going.

[Snow]

Eavan nodded that she understood. Surely there wouldn’t be too much that two people and a dragon couldn’t handle easily enough. ”Do you mean it?” Eavan asked a bit excitedly. She’d never really helped anyone bathe a dragon before. She’d gotten supplies and ran them out to the riders and the weyrlings, but so far no one had asked for her help. ”Oh, forgive my outburst, but honestly I would love to help you bathe Portenth, J’lin.” He was a big dragon alright, but Eavan wasn’t a slacker when it came to working. Plus, she imagined it was far more fun to scrub a dragon than pots and pans.

Eavan adjusted herself comfortably on Portenth’s back. ”Don’t worry, you’re secret is safe with me.” She replied with a grin. It was the truth, besides the sizes there wasn’t much difference in flight. It was just the idea that she was getting to ride one of kings of the dragons that was thrilling. Eavan did believe rank was important, but she didn’t believe that the non-rankers weren’t important. Everyone, no matter rank, had an important job to do in the weyr and without those people things would not run smoothly. Even drudges were important. If it wasn’t for them the people who were suppose to run the weyr would not be able to as efficiently since they’d also have to do the cleaning and other grunt work. So Eavan would never treat anyone bad because of rank.

”Sounds like a solid plan. The last thing we need is more damage to the weyr. Hopefully J’ray will be able to join us shortly.” Eavan did her own small check of the straps holding her onto the bronze. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust J’lin, in fact he was more experienced than she, but one couldn’t help worrying about their own safety as well. ”Perhaps your handsome Portenth would be so kind as to knock down any tree tops that don’t look stable.” She suggested giving the bronze a pat.

[weetia]

Portenth was certainly perked by Eavan's enthusiasm. It was rare that he met someone who truly appreciated him, and it more than made up for the cold weather. She would love to help bathe me, he repeated smugly to J'lin. She will do well at the Hatching, he decided smugly.

J'lin managed to contain his snort of laughter. There was a reason Portenth wasn't a Search dragon, even aside from the fact that bronzes usually weren't any good at it. She'll probably do well enough, but not because she knows how to flatter a bronze, he replied.

"I'm sure Portenth can help out," J"lin agreed with her suggestion. "As long as we're careful about what it falls onto." They were already more than halfway to the fallen tree, though, and had yet to see anything else they needed to take care of. In fact, he thought he could see where the road was obstructed, because the snow in the road was undisturbed, and the snow beside the road showed runner prints.

"We need to land near the tree, and get a good look at it from the ground level," he said. "We could probably dig out the snow and ice around it to make it easier to move."

[Snow]

To say Eavan wasn’t enjoying the dragon flight would have been a complete and utter lie. Flying was probably the most exciting and thrilling thing to do on all of Pern. She was enjoying it so much, in fact, that she almost didn’t hear J’lin speaking to her as they approached the down tree.

”That’s probably a good idea. With the weather the way it’s been the tree is probably almost frozen solid to the ground. I hope our axes will be good enough to break the ice.” She said in agreement with him. Briefly she wondered when J’ray was going to join them. It would be much easier with three people and two dragons to clear this road and any other damage than with just her and J’lin. Not that she doubted their abilities. Even for a girl she wasn’t weak and had been able to lift many things she herself didn’t think possible.

”Think we’ll find any dead wherries to bring back? It’s never a bad thing to have extra food on hand, especially in the winter. That is if nothing else has gotten to them, they should be fairly well preserved with as cold as it’s been.” Eavan couldn’t help but think of things like that when she was doing something. It’s better to be over prepared than not prepared at all and adding more meat to the pantry was never a bad thing, especially when one could salt it and preserve it.

[Mother Nature]

The pack-lizards were used to the sound of wing beats, and didn't stop feeding to assuage any vague curiosity. The young male snarled at a sister that had come to close to the haunch he was gnawing at.

This was enough food for two days of eating; leaving it was not an option, especially when the threat from above was still nebulous. The older male, more experienced than most in the little pack, grunted a command. A female too close to the outside edge of the fallen tree let out a whine, but obediently crept toward the fallen trunk that'd trapped their dinner. Getting snapped at was more likely there- but it was less likely she'd be seen, and that was what the lead male cared about.

[weetia]

Portenth landed about his own length from the tree, his claws gripping at the top layer of hard-frozen snow. Slippery, he warned J'lin nervously. He extended his neck toward the tree, so that his passengers would be able to hold onto him most of the way toward it. The bronze breathed in, and was confused for a moment. I smell the tree, he told his rider. and, maybe, food? Something frozen, I think.

J'lin was already dismounting, and getting one of the folded shovels he had brought. With that in hand, he checked to see if Eavan needed a hand down, though she seemed like she had enough experience with riding to slide down on her own. It was just a slightly longer slide down from a bronze. "You might be right about the wherry," he told the girl. "Portenth thinks he smells something."

He walked to the downed tree, holding lightly to the bronze's neck with his free hand. He held the still folded shovel in the other, unfolding it when he got to Portenth's head. It would work a little like a cane to help balance him the few remaining steps toward the tree. He stepped forward, the mostly frozen layer of snow crunching under his feet, and his boots sinking barely into the softer snow beneath it. The ice was less even here, closer to the tree, less slippery but also less likely to hold his weight.

[Snow]

Eavan wasn’t worried about getting off the bronze, but the ground looked very slick indeed. She tried to make her descent down the side of Portenth as slowly as possible. Once her feet touched the ground she kept a hand on Portenth till she was sure she had her balance. ”Fardles, but this is slick. He smells something? Good. I thought it might be possible that something had to have died out here in the freezing cold.”

In the back of her mind she added to herself, ’As long as it’s not something other than a wherry or other food source.’ She’d wouldn’t not what they’d do if they found the body of some poor unfortunate soul that got caught out in the blizzard. Not that that possibility wasn’t totally unreasonable.

Eavan got her axe and began making her way to the tree along with J’lin. ”You’re a good sort to balance us, Portenth.” She said as she kept a hand on the bronzes neck. The ice wasn’t as bad nearer the tree. ”Well, should we start hacking this into two sections so it’s easier to move? We’ll probably also want to chip the ice from underneath it as best we can.” Eavan wasn’t meaning to sound like she was taking control of the operation.

[Mother Nature]

Now that the wing beats had stopped, the pack-lizards were torn between swarming shyly away and defending their food source. The canny older male hissed under his breath, staring at the older females in silent communion. They would go and return again; it was understood.

The young green-and-brown striped male did not understand. He was hunched atop the spine of the wher carcass, growling softly in excitement. Without warning, he slipped down to the ground and padded out of the shadow of the tree, head and body held low, his coloring obvious against the snow now that he was not under the shade of the tree. The meal he'd consumed, and the recklessness of youth, made him bold. The expectation that the other pack-lizards would be as protective of him as ever wasn't exactly a restraining influence either.

The older male made a weird moaning sound and spun, sprinting away from the dragon and the humans. Whether or not the wher carcass would be there when they returned was insignificant; the leader of the pack felt certain that his youngest son would not survive this encounter. All but a solid-brown clutchsibling fled with their leader.

[weetia]

J'lin was a little ahead of Eavan, closer to the tree, and he exhaled in shock suddenly, his breath visible in the cold air. "Stay back," he said, firmly, to the candidate. He had no idea what that was under the tree, but he wasn't ready to come any closer. He stared nervously at the green and brown thing, and then winced as it was joined by a brown one.

"I've never seen anything like that before," he said. "What is it?" He didn't step back or forward, trying to settle into a solid stance holding his shovel. At least the handle was somewhat longer than the axe, and he really hadn't ever used an axe as a weapon, so he wouldn't have been any better off. The two creatures were easily as big as some canines, and he had no idea how many more might be under the tree.

He didn't think he was all that stable on the snow and ice, though, and the creatures-overgrown crawlers maybe?-probably had the advantage there. Two of them might be able to really hurt him. He hadn't seen teeth or claws, but they were probably carnivores, so they were probably sharp. Axe or shovel wouldn't make much difference, he could only hold one off at a time. There likely weren't enough of them to swarm Portenth and take him down, though. If the candidate could get back up on him, she would be safe, and maybe Portenth could manage to bat one of them away. J'lin hoped there weren't anymore hiding under the tree.

They are small, Portenth said. They are no threat to me. His voice was worried, though, which surprised J'lin.

They are a little more of a threat to me and Eavan, he pointed out. His bronze already seemed to know that, though, and the rider stared hard at the lizardy things.

This wouldn't be a problem if I had firestone, the bronze grumbled nervously.

Well, we didn't bring any, J'lin answered. "Do you think you can get back up on Portenth?" he asked aloud, not daring to look away from the creatures and back at the candidate. He certainly didn't want some kid getting hurt while he was responsible for her.