First Weyrling Lesson

[Rust]

02.22.3189

Originally, N'rak was planning on holding a lesson the evening of the hatching. It had been early, so after the feast and some rest, he was hoping to gather the new weyrlings and explain to them what their new responsibilities would be, their new schedule, and so on.

It wasn't as easy as he thought it would be when he made the plan. There was enough unrest about the "mutant" dragons that N'rak felt that he really had to spend time understanding the issue before he could figure out how to teach Ophelia and Pr'en. It wasn't that he wasn't offset by the unusual dragons too; they were upsetting. The difference was that N'rak wasn't about to condemn them for it, as... uncomfortable as it was going to be.

He did try to be around as much as he could manage between running around. He talked to the weyrlings, answered any questions they had, let them know where food would be for their dragons, and considered apologizing for being busy. He did get enough time to tell them that morning feeding would be at 6:00am... that day.

He helped them through feeding the dragonets, and had klah brought for them. There was enough time before breakfast for their first real lesson. Thankfully, the Weyrling barracks were large, and the biggest thing in the room was Keth, who was lying patiently in an unoccupied space not far from the entrance as the feeding finished.

"Alright everyone, up here," N'rak said, motioning for everyone to come up by him and Keth. "This is our first real lesson. I think you got a chance to oil your dragons yesterday while I was busy, and I see that a lot of you have firelizards, so even if you didn't, this isn't entirely unfamiliar to you... but we're starting out with bathing and oiling and basic care this morning before you get breakfast."

[Snow]

Eavan knew one of the hardest things to acclimate to when impressing a dragon was getting up so early for feeding. Lucky for her, she was use to getting up early. Eavan couldn’t say she was strictly a morning person. She is one of those people that has to get up early, but doesn’t go to bed early. A cynical person would say she tried to do too much during the day, but an optimistic person would say that she was very productive.

N’rak, the Weyrlingmaster, had came early that morning to help them feed the new hatchlings and was even nice enough to bring klah for them. Eavan was thrilled, Irieth was feeling much better than the day before and it showed in the way she had pretty much inhaled her food. Eavan had to call her to task a few times for not chewing properly. She still couldn’t believe that she had impressed at all, let alone to a gold. A what a marvelous gold she was. Eavan knew she was biased, but she couldn’t help it.

”Eavan, I have an itch on my rump. Will you be a dear and scratch it for me?” Irieth asked just as N’rak was telling them that their first lesson was to be on bathing and oiling. ”I’ll get it and make sure you’re hide is nice and oiled before I head to breakfast. Barely out of the egg and you’re already growing.” Eavan said scratching Irieth’s eye ridge. Her voice was so full of love and pride it caused Irieth to trill happily.

Eavan got up then, Irieth trotting along right beside her, and got the things needed to properly bathe a dragon. ”You’ll be sure to get that itch won’t you? Oh, and please be sure to buff my hide very well.” Irieth said as she sat down in front of Eavan and waited for her bath to begin. She had an eye on her clutch mates, not for any particular reason except for the fact that she felt protective of them. Eavan then set about to cleaning her beautiful gold.

[azure]

Pr'er hadn't slept very well. He kept waking up and checking to see if Lycath was still there. It all seemed like some fantastic dream.

She ate well, both because she was hungry and because it pleased him. She was such a sweet girl, and so shy! How could he do other then adore her? She was built like a racer, all fine bones and high strung. Would she be fast in the air?

The klah was very welcome, as was the help in how to wash and oil Lycath properly. He could not wait to see if the metallic sheen was his imagination.

When he'd finally finished, she was mostly asleep, snoozing in the sun. She was gorgeous! Like smoke. silver smoke. Not as gleaming white as Opal, there were darker and lighter swirls. Like silver tarnishing? She was so beautiful!

Lycath was full and warm and had room to stretch out. Pr'er's warm hands had washed her clean and then spread wonderful soothing oil on her. She could feel his admiration and love and was basking in it. He thought she was beautiful and special. It was so nice to relax into that feeling and not worry about everything. Her clutchmates were mostly feeling warm and happy too.

I am so glad you like me. I was afraid you would rather have my pretty green or gold sister. She still was a little shy about talking to Pr'er. It was so much easier when she had hidden in her egg and echoed back what she felt. She wouldn't do that to Pr'er though. She needed to feel him too much to bounce it back.


________J'im

Vizioth was as hungry as if he had just hatched. It was painful, he was so hungry. J'im fed him as fast as was safe, the meat had to lay well in his stomach or the hatchling's stomach would hurt. Chewing a bit helped, and so did refusing to feed Vizioth so fast he would gulp. After all the stories he'd heard over the years it was so strange to be doing it himself.

How the heck was he supposed to bath and oil and keep the sharding bandages dry? Slowly and carefully was the answer. He had to be careful with Vizioth's scratches too. He couldn't help the scowl on his face as he tended the scratches. Babies shouldn't be hurt and despite his pride and attempts to act older, Vizioth was a baby dragon.

The scratches were healing well, he had to admit it. There was no swelling or heat to them, just ugly green lines on his pale bronze hide. Other then that, he was a lighter colored bronze. He looked really gleaming in the sunshine, it was very clear what color he was. No one would ever mistake him for brown, though the brown of the clutch was dazzling himself.

Vizioth was listening to J'im's thoughts. They were confusing and interesting. J'im thought Vizioth was a perfect bronze, which was true, and he loved Vizioth's color and shaper. That was nice as well. The anger at the scratches on Vizioth's hide were a little confusing. J'im was angry he was hurt at all, angry at himself for not preventing the fight and angry at the blue who had done it. That much he got, but there was more. It was very strange. Vizioth continued to listen and learn, trying to understand his rider.

I will be your perfect bronze Vizioth said drowsily. I will learn to not let dragons scratch me again. I didn't see him and I didn't want to hurt him.

That stopped J'im cold. Was that what he was projecting? That he wanted his dragon to be the image of a perfect bronze? He didn't want that! He didn't want to be a stereotypical bronze rider either. Shard it all! Who knew there waas so much thinking involved after impressing?

I like listening to you think. There is so much to learn. Vizioth was so sleepy. He wanted to snooze and feel His near and warm.

Carefully J'im slid down to lean against Vizioth. He let the bronze's warmth and comfort wash over him, taking away the ache in his hip. He had never felt anything like this. His face relaxed into a smile as he drifted with his dragon's presence in his mind.

[weetia]

K'lar guided his well-fed blue to one end of the weyrlings lined up in front of the weyrlingmaster. He gave one worried look toward J'im before looking away, determined not to have Carmith start another rant about the bronze. He was too late, however.

They do not need your help, the blue informed his person stiffly. Why do you care about that bronze anyway, he asked, frustrated that K'lar would be thinking about anything except him.

I care about the fact that J'im is hurt, and it will be hard for him, K'lar corrected carefully. He rested a hand on the blue's neck soothingly. I know that I will not be helping him, Carmith. Someone should, though. It isn't his fault.

While K'lar knew that it was probably a lost cause to ever get his blue to like Vizioth, he was determined that there would be no more violence. Hopefully, the poor memory of dragons would work in his favor, and in a few days or so the blue wouldn't even think about the bronze. Until then, he would have to keep Carmith distracted to avoid hearing his complaints about the hatchling that thought he could have anything he wanted because he was bronze.

So K'lar looked straight at N'rak, almost obsessively attentive. I need to pay attention to the weyrlingmaster, he told Carmith firmly. It would be bad if we get in trouble for not paying attention to the lesson. K'lar knew if he held his conscious thought entirely on the lesson, it would be hard for his blue to think about anything else, so that was what he did.

----------------------------------------------------

P'tal was one of the last weyrlings to return to the barracks, because her rather large brown was one of the biggest eaters in the clutch. She had paid close attention to how fast he ate, but he seemed more willing than some of the hatchlings to actually chew his food, so her worry might have been misplaced. Getting him back to the barracks had been more difficult, though, because his very full belly made him sleepy and slow. They waddled into the room, and P'tal saw that there was just enough space next to Pr'er and Lycath for them.

Why didn't anyone else want to be next to them? Drinath asked her worriedly, and P'tal gave him a surprised look, wondering if he had picked up on her own concern.

They were probably just saving the space for you, she prevaricated. It was probably completely innocent. She remembered then that she still hadn't found an opportunity to speak to Ophelia, and she knew she would have to be more careful how she expressed herself to the other girl. Ophelia was much more prone to take offense than Pr'er, after all.

P'tal smiled over at the sleepy gray next to Drinath then. She really was quite pretty. She had to admit that Ronith looked rather disturbing to her; so many colors on one hide were a little jarring, but the silvery colors on Lycath were so lovely. Ronith was impressive, she reminded herself firmly. He didn't have to be pretty, and Ophelia probably thought he was anyway.

She looked at the weyrlingmaster then. Bathing Drinath would probably be fairly straightforward, but she was a little worried about how she could tell how much oil was enough. Should she keep rubbing it in until there was so much that his hide stayed moist because it couldn't absorb anymore? If she did that, then every speck of dirt would stick to him, negating the point of the bath.

I itch, Drinath interrupted her thoughts. Will the oil be enough? Will they give you enough for me, or just enough for a smaller brown? His whirling eye focused warily on her. What will you do if they don't give you enough oil? The question echoed earlier concerns that he would not be allowed enough food, and P'tal shook her head, sighing.

They will give me enough oil, she promised him firmly. Even if the first oil they give me isn't enough, I will ask for more, and they will give it to me. She knew that if any hatchlings had to worry about being shorted, it wasn't Drinath. In other clutches the female brownrider might have been the oddity, but Lycath and Ronith made her Impression of Drinath a complete nonissue.

[ambigious]

The moment she'd awoken the next morning, Ophelia became aware of two things simultaneously: her thigh still throbbed in muted pain, and she instinctively reached out to feel an angry presence searing through her mind. With a blink, the young woman rose and rubbed her eyes, attempting to rid them of sleep. The first thing her bleary gaze saw were a pair of molten red eyes gazing down at her, slightly offset by the brown head that held them. You have slept too long. Wake up,[/i] Ronith demanded, which earned him a light snort. "Be nice, you big brat." Brat?[/i] Ronith thundered, and flared his metallic bronze wings in stark fury, eyes flashing. How dare you![/i] Ophelia sighed deeply as she rose to her feet and headed to the bathroom to change, Ronith stalking on her heels.

Don't ignore me.[/i] For a split second they both remembered that moment on the sands when she'd walked away, and Ophelia instantly spun around, stung with guilt. "Ronith, I'm sorry..." she reached out to stroke the bismuth's eyeridge, but he merely snorted and turned away, waddling back to his bunk. Don't let it happen again.[/i] With a slight shake of her head, Ophelia finished dressing, splashed some water on her face, then guided Ronith out of the barracks to the Weyrbowl to feed. Some of the other Weyrlings were with her, but she was far too tired to say any sort of verbal greetings. The events of the previous day had tired her out more than she realized. As for Ronith, the two walked in amiable silence, though the bismuth still reeked of annoyance.

Once they got outside and Ophelia began feeding Ronith cubes of meat, she noticed somthing interesting about her dragon. Although he'd seemed quite large to her at the hatching -- probably because he was all she could see -- at the present she realized he actually appeared to be the size of a blue. Yet the glorious glow of his hide suggested that he would grow to be larger, especially his large wingsails and metallic sheen. Ophelia admired these things proudly as she fed the dragonet, admonishing him and receiving a hiss of reproach when he tried to eat too fast. Once he had finished, the pair walked back to the Weyrling barracks, once again in silent companionship.

The moment they entered the room, the scent of warm klah reached her. "Wait here," she told Ronith and strode over to pour herself a glass. Hopefully it would help wake her wary senses. With a snort, Ronith waddled over to join the other Weyrlings, an imperious step in his short stride. Oddly enough, he chose a spot next to P'tal and Drinath, on the other side of Lycath and Pr'er. Why? Because he felt superior standing next to a brown dragonet, which is exactly how it should be. Once she'd poured herself some sweetener, Ophelia took a sip of the klah and returned to Ronith's side. A quick nod of her head was given to P'tal in greeting, and Ophelia cast a quick glance around the rest of the room, acknowledging Pr'er, J'im, and Eavan with similar nods. She was still too tired to talk, however.

I itch. You will bathe me,[/i] the bismuth commanded his rider, who couldn't help but roll her eyes fondly. "You really need to stop telling me what to do," she murmured to the dragonet, even as she noticed a flaky spot of hide on his dorsal ride. You need to start obeying,[/i] Ronith snapped back, eyes whirling angrily. "So touchy." Luckily for all of them, Ophelia was still too besotted with the angry brute to be irritated, and merely laughed at the little creature. Rather than respond, the small brute seethed silently.

[Rust]

K'ran and Marith already had a fairly comfortable relationship. Marith tended to listen more than talk, which was comfortable for K'ran. She even liked Ari, even when the little gold was taking little slivers of her own food. Even better was that feeding Marith wasn't as... horrifying as Kogran thought it would be. He didn't like raw meat, but it was in pieces, and not horrifically bloody. He wasn't aware that he'd have to be doing more of the work himself soon enough.

The trio took their places with the other weyrlings, Ari flying circles above everyone's heads and Marith watched the little gold flying with vague amusement as Kogran got himself some klah and washing supplies (since he saw Eavan take them as well, he figured that's what he was supposed to do).

He stood beside Marith and looked uncertainly at her. I'm looking forward to being cleaned and oiled. She told him. K'ran smiled at her, and Ari, who could kinda evesdrop, projected the image of the oil and her skin to communicate that she wanted to be oiled as well. Marith rumbled in a dragon's version of laughter.

N'rak looked out over the group. They made him a little more nervous than any other group he had recently, but... he could handle it. It would just be a little different this turn.

"Anyone who hasn't gotten stuff can get them there," N'rak said, pointing. "Now, usually, the best way to wash a dragon is outside, but it's not warm enough. For now, we're going to do the washing inside. We have sweetsand and water and pieces of old clothing."

To demonstrate, N'rak picked up half of an old shirt and got it wet. "It's a lot like washing your own furs or clothes," N'rak explained. Says you. "Or yourself," he added, as he rubbed the cloth over a patch of Keth's hide."The important thing just to be sure you wash everything, which can be harder in a lake. Hopefully, your dragon will tell you if you missed a spot, or what you didn't wash properly. If not, you should encourage communication. You're partners, and if you can;'t communicate about a simple washing, it'll be harder during threadfall."

N'rak put the damp cloth down. "I'll give you help as you start. We'll discuss oiling after, and I'll discuss treating wounds with those with injured dragons. Does that sound good?"

[weetia]

K'lar went up to the supplies, gathering everything he needed. He headed back to Carmith with his hands full, and dropped the cloths loosely over the blue's neck while he carefully put the bucket on the ground. He wet the cloth thoroughly before wringing it out into the bucket. He began rubbing at his dragonet's hide firmly. You'll tell me if I rub too hard, right? he asked the blue.

I will be fine, Carmith insisted. He turned to look over his shoulder at the hip K'lar had started cleaning. I am not easy to hurt, he added smugly, and K'lar winced. The blue was probably easier to hurt than he thought, but it would do no good to explain that to him.

There was a dark swirl of midnight blue, almost black, right where K'lar was rubbing at that moment. Whimsically, he rubbed in the direction of the swirl, following the dark color, before returning to rubbing straight up and down. I'm glad you're a blue, he said, deliberately. It wouldn't hurt to remind Carmith of exactly how happy he was the right hatchling had chosen him. If you were any larger, this would take forever.

--------------------------------------------------------------

You've got a lot of hide to wash, P'tal was telling Drinath as she started scrubbing on his shoulder, standing between him and Ronith. And you're going to keep getting larger. When you're full grown, my arms might fall off from scrubbing you. She was just lightly teasing, completely cheerful since she had never seen a reason to avoid hard work.

However, Drinath turned whirling eyes with a hint of yellow in them to her. Am I too large? he asked in a wounded tone. Do you wish I were a green, or just smaller? I will be as strong as some bronzes, I know it.

P'tal had to stop for a moment, and rub at the brown's eye ridges instead of scrubbing his hide. I love you exactly as you are, she told him quickly. I was just teasing you, I didn't mean for you to take it seriously. I like taking care of you, and even if it gets to be hard work, hard work makes me feel good. When Drinath had calmed down a little, she returned cautiously to the scrubbing. She hadn't known the brown would be so sensitive, she would have to be more careful in the future.

[Snow]

Eavan was almost beaming with joy as she scrubbed at her tiny gold's hide. The buttery cream color was...well it was perfect she thought. She was lighter than Coreanth and Rusith, Eavan mused and, of course, as all rider's thought, she was the prettiest gold on all of Pern. Irieth was practically beaming with happiness as she picked up on her rider's affection and because of the cleaning she was getting done.

"Ah yes, that's the spot. It really itches, but you are getting it. When you are done with bathing me I wish to go speak to Marith. I wanted to speak to Lycath as well, but she is about fast asleep now and I do not wish to disturb her." The gold announced as Eavan finished the washing and began oiling her skin.

"Of course, dearest. That is fine. I would like to see how K'ran is getting along. He's a good boy." Eavan said as she buffed Irieth's hide into shining perfection. Irieth told her when she thought her hide was shiny enough and then made her way over to the green and her rider, Eavan following behind. "Hey, K'ran! How's it going? Marith is looking beautiful!" Eavan said to K'ran as they approached.

"Good day, Marith. How is your bath coming?" Irieth asked politely as she moved to stand in front of Marith.

[Rust]

K'ran was doing his best. He really was! It was just hard to know where he had washed and where he hadn't. Marith was patient with him, and reminded him of spots he missed or had already washed, and told him when he should switch to oiling instead of washing.

"I'm sorry I'm no good at washing," Kogran apologized. He was still really weird with the concept of thinking and having Marith understand, so he tended to speak with her out loud. Don't worry about it. You'll get better. was her response. She glanced over to see Irieth and Eavan headed in their direction, and quickly informed K'ran, who looked up from awkwardly oiling Marith's wings.

He smiled at Eavan's comment in a silent agreement. "Thanks. Irieth looks amazing too," he replied as he finished up the wings. "I'm okay but the washing and oiling is hard. I'm glad Marith tells me what I'm doing wrong. I have a hard enough time with furs and clothes." He smiled again, more embarrassed this time, at Eavan.

Marith bowed slightly to Irieth; as much as she could, anyway, with K'ran holding one of her wings. You look beautiful, Irieth. Your rider knows how to make you shine. My rider is a slow learner, but he means well and tries to listen. Do... do we have business? Marith's last question was a little hesitant. She was unsure if she had forgotten something important, and she couldn't help but wonder why the gold of the clutch was gracing her, a green, with her presence.

[Snow]

Eavan smiled even warmer at K'ran. "Thanks! Can you believe it K'ran? We actually did it. We're riders now. I know it might seem a bit...monotonous at first, but don't worry it'll get more interesting later. I don't know about you, but I'm still so flabergasted that Irieth even wanted me. They're all so perfect."

Eavan knew she was rambling a bit, but she couldn't help herself. She was still so giddy after impressing when she was starting to think that she wouldn't impress ever. "Do you need any help? It looks like you've done a marvelous job of cleaning her. It's a little easier cleaning a dragon that can talk to you, than a bed fur that can't. Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it."

Thank you, Marith, you look lovely yourself. I'm sure he will learn quickly. He must be a good rider, otherwise you would not have picked him. She replied in a jovial tone. Dragons are smart when it comes to who they chose. They would never chose someone who would be bad for them. No business. I just wanted to see how you were doing and talk." Irieth was a personable gold and it would probably take her clutchmates a while to figure out that most of the time she just wanted to talk with them and see how they were without some other motive behind it.

[Rust]

Looking down at Marith, K'ran nodded. "I really didn't think I'd impress at all! I knew you would and I'm not surprised you got a gold. You're always talking about the weyr and how much you love it. It makes sense." he said, rubbing oil on Marith's head. K'ran liked Eavan; she was a little pushy, maybe, but from what he knew about queens and queenriders, he supposed it was logical. Still, for some reason, he hadn't expected it.

He continued with the headknobs. "But um. I don't think I need any help. I'm almost done."

Meanwhile, Marith had her eyes closed as she listened to Irieth, enjoying the last of her cleaning. He will be a good rider, but he needs work. It'll be hard for him to pay attention to both me and the small gold, Marith had forgotten Ari's name, so "the small gold" would explain it. but he can do it. There were so many reasons why his lack of talent didn't matter to her, but Marith was she that the gold didn't really need to hear it. It was between her and K'ran.

I apologize for asking. I was afraid I had forgotten something, and didn't wish to make a fool of myself.

[Snow]

Eavan giggled and blushed a bit embarrassed. Like most girls, she had occasioned the thought of impressing a gold, but in all honesty she never thought she would be one to do it. She loved her home, not just because she had hoped to attract a gold, but because of a deep-set loyalty she felt to the weyr. "Well, generally with hatchings it's the opposite. The dragon's always know and they're always right."

We are all young still, there is a lot for all of us to learn. Irieth stated wisely. She was ready to learn what she needed to become a leader for the weyr. Though she absolutely adored Coreanth, deep down she felt that being the only daughter of her dead mother she was to take up the leadership one day. When that day comes she wants to be sure she is ready and worthy of it.

A large yawn escaped Irieth's mouth. "Tired, lovey?" Eavan asked. Yes, it's seems that a full belly and clean hide makes me very sleepy. The small gold replied. "You're growing, for awhile it'll feel like all you do is eat, sleep, and bathe. Don't worry, before too long we'll be soaring in the skies. Eavan said to reassure her dragon, but Irieth sent back feelings of worry. "What is it, Irieth?" She asked scratching her gold behind her head knobs. The thought of flying makes my stomach go in bunches.

Eavan frowned slightly. A dragon scared of flying, that was one she'd never heard of, but it didn't make her love Irieth any less. "Don't worry, Irieth. Once you learn how to, it won't be that bad and you'll probably even love it after awhile." Irieth felt a bit more reassured, but still huffed. She would just cross that bridge when she got there.

[weetia]

P'tal scrubbed for what felt like hours. Drinath was quite large, and he loved the attention. She had also discovered that she wasn't able to scrub him too hard. Maybe if

she were stronger she would need to be careful; as it was, the harder she rubbed, the more Drinath loved it, almost like a massage. He was drooping in satisfied exhaustion by

the time she started oiling his hide. That didn't please him quite as well as the scrubbing, though he didn't mind it. Her arms were sore and tired by then, and she was glad

that the oiling seemed easier on her aching muscles. Hopefully, as he grew, she would get more stamina, since if she'd had to wash a full-grown brown today, she would surely

had dropped from exhaustion long before she was halfway done.

You are strong enough,Drinath told her, in a drowsy voice. You will be stronger when I am larger. It will be fine,
P'tal smiled. For all that Drinath had worried about getting enough supplies, at least he had plenty of confidence in her. She would be enough for him, even if his

weyr was too small, or they ran out of oil. She certainly didn't plan on disappointing him.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

Carmith was not quite as sleepy and sated as his brown brother, I should be closer to the middle, he told K'lar firmly. It is warmer there, he added, though he had not complained of being cold. K'lar shook his head as he rubbed more oil in the joint of his blue's wing. He wanted Carmith at one end of the semicircle of dragonets, and Vizioth at the other, but he wasn't going to explain that to his hatchling.

There would also be less room to stretch out, and you're a big blue, he pointed out. Maybe they're a little warmer, but probably not enough to notice. You'd notice being cramped. He kept oiling, deliberately not looking away from Carmith, and certainly not at the bronze. The blue finally relaxed, starting to get sleepy as K'lar finished with the last of the oil.

[Rust]

K'ran got the last patch of Marith oiled as Eavan spoke. He nodded slightly, almost sure he knew what Eavan was saying, but slightly unsure. She meant the hatchlings knew who they should impress, but he wasn't sure what she meant about opposites. He was about to ask, but Marith interrupted him.

Don't forget the tiny one! She seems a little itchy. Have you been oiling her? Marith asked as she watched the tiny gold buzz about. K'ran turned his attention to Ari as well. He didn't want to say out loud (and he wasn't yet completely sure how much Marith could understand in his head, or how exactly to project his thoughts to her) that in the week he had Ari, he had only oiled her twice. Of course, he felt awful. If he couldn't take care of a firelizard, how could he care for a whole, massive dragon? Thankfully, Marith could understand him just fine.

Don't worry. You'll take good care of me, and the little one. I'll remind you so you won't forget, and you'll get better. Now, can you get that little thing to come here? K'ran muttered "I think so," although he was slightly confused at how he and his dragon would talk without him speaking outloud. It made sense, but it just felt weird. In fact, he had forgotten all about his old question, and had a new one for Eavan.

"You talk to your dragon through your mind, right?" He asked her as he held out an arm to Ari, who was defiantly circling the two pairs. Marith, unbeknownst to K'ran, informed the little gold that she would be made less itchy if she landed on K'ran's arm. With a happy chirp, Ari landed just moments after K'ran asked his question, and walked up his arm and onto his head.

-

Nobody really seemed to have much issue washing their dragons. Well, besides it being tiring work. They'd appreciate it much better when the washing could be done outside, N'rak was sure. He stood by Keth for a while, observing and discussing with his dragon. Since the washing and oiling was nearly done, he really needed to talk to the boys whose dragons had fought.

He went to K'lar first, unsurprisingly. Keth already liked Carmith on principal. A blue who would fight for what was his? It was a good feeling.

N'rak walked over after patting Keth on the side fondly. "Need any help?"

[weetia]

K'lar was very focused on his blue, but he felt the weyrlingmaster's approach. He straightened reflexively. Some small part of him almost expected to get into trouble for Carmith's actions the day before, though surely weyrlings couldn't be expected to have controlled their hatchlings before they Impressed. If K'lar actually were to get in any trouble, it would be fore jumping in despite knowing better. Really, he and Julim...J'im...had both known better, being weyrbred. Both of them had tried to separate the dragonets anyway, which was more stupid than brave. He couldn't imagine not having done it, though. K'lar couldn't imagine how he would feel if Carmith had killed...

He stopped that thought, since he was carefully not thinking about J'im's hatchling, and really didn't want to think about what could have happened anyway. It hadn't, probably more because of Irieth than because of his and J'im's stupidity. "I don't need any help, sir," he answered carefully. His ribs barely stung today when he stretched, and the bruising would probably be completely gone in a few days. "Carmith is probably a little larger than I expected him to be," he smiled ruefully at the rather large blue who was quite proud of his size, and preening a little at the comment. "but I can manage." He did glance worriedly over at J'im, for a brief moment, before looking fixedly back at Carmith.

"He's still a little sensitive about...yesterday," K'lar admitted very quietly. "I'm trying to keep my distance to avoid causing more problems, but I feel like I should be helping since J'im is having a hard time right now." Carmith was very sleepy at this point, so he didn't really notice K'lar talking about the other weyrling. Of course, Carmith's problem was with the bronze not his person.