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Go, Speed Racer


Date:  October 23, 2008
Places:  Igen's Weyrling Training Field and Skyspace; Small Lake 
Valley Near Fort Weyr
Game:  PernMUSH
Copyright Info:  The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey 
l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright.

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Kassi's Note:  Huzzah for timing--this make-up lesson in *between* 
reached the point where Kassi would take the class somewhere far away 
just as a sledding party was beginning at Fort Weyr.  Mirage thus gets
thrown into the snow for a change; Ch'ton and Kassi compete in a wild
sled race; H'sen meets one of the High Reaches Candidates, people 
catch up with A'riste and Eostarra, and Kassi spends money on what's 
soon to be the most fearsome(ly tacky) racing sled in all the land.

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The Log:

Kassima has on her determinedly non-somber clothes again. Remember when she
mentioned a jacket with tunnelsnake coils on the sleeves? She's got that
on--there's a green dragon painted across the back, for good measure--and
from someone she's borrowed silver earrings in the shape of 'snake fangs
too. Lysseth stands alert and still just behind and to her left.

Celane and Autryth emerge, side by side, from the Weyrling Barracks, the
tall young woman hugging herself excitedly. "And just think-- oh, all the
adventure's well be having soon enough!" There's a spring to her step (and
the dragon's as well) as they head towards Kassima. "Hello, Ma'am!"

H'sen crosses the training field hastily, scroll in hand, and disappears
into the barracks for a moment. When he returns, it is without the scroll
but with a sleepy bronze dragon. The boy pulls on his jacket as he trots
along, freeing his hand just in time to salute the riders as they take
their place for the lesson. Lekath lets out a noisy yawn then looks a
little bit more like he's ready to get down to business.

A'deth follows along at a slower pace after H'sen, evidently having come
from the same place. He salutes to the assembling folk, and moves to stand
near Jaelith.

Lysseth snorts, lashing her tail once across the dirt. "*Weyrlingmaster*,"
Kassima reminds. "Celane, shells, I don't want t'start the *between* lesson
making you run laps. Too demoralizing. G'dafternoon, Weyrlings." She
salutes them in turn; if her clothing's rather informal, the gesture isn't.
Flicking a smile to A'deth, "And Assistant Weyrlingmaster. Today you're
going *between*. Some of you have done it already, but most of you here
have nay. D'you all feel ready?"

Celane blushes deeply at her gaffe, correcting quickly, "Weyrlingmaster!"
And she makes sure her salute is formal and just right, to make up for it.
She glances from side to side, looking along the ranks of her fellow
weyrlings, and then nods fairly solmenly 'yes'. "Ready and excited,
Weyrlingmaster! Assistant Weyrlingmaster!" She's not one to make the same
mistake twice.

H'sen glances up at Lekath, who exchanges a look with the teenage boy. The
bronze snorts softly, and it's clear he has no sense of hesitation. H'sen
looks back to the Weyrlingmaster. "We're ready. We're confident in our
practice and everything you've taught us."

"Good afternoon, Weyrlingmaster," A'deth greets Kassima back quite
cheerfully. Jaelith rouses from her nap, and stretches, and shakes herself
out, grumbling faintly.

T'nnusen, salute given already, just nods and rubs at Dustenyth's eyeridges
when the blue lowers his head, snorting up a small cloud of dust. "Ready
here." It won't be their first *between*, but it seems saying that they're
ready might be appropriate anyway.

Kassima grins, lopsided and brief. "I'm confident in your practice,
likewise, and I'm believing you'll get through alive and well. Or you'd nay
be out here--so--mount up and get into standard V formation. When I signal
we'll go up, and keep in mind you always should go up a good distance
a'fore you jump *between*--you'll always, *always* come out high in the
air. Coordinates that take you close to the ground are faulty coordinates.
Each of you will visualize the Igen Star Stones and each of your dragons
will share that image with Lysseth and Jaelith." She inclines her head to
the waking green... hiding another smile? Just maybe. "*If'n* the ladies
say the image is good, then and only then will you jump *between* on my
order. Understood?" She's already hooking Lyss's straps with her fingers as
she asks, and Lysseth is rising from her settled place in preparation to move.

You place one hand on Lysseth's neck and she warbles down at you fondly.
You grin and scratch her eyeridges once before climbing up onto her lower
neckridges, using the riding straps and Lysseth's thoughtfully offered
foreleg.

<*> T'nnusen takes hold of Dustenyth's straps and hauls himself up with the
help of the blue's foreleg. Wings are re-settled as the blond buckles
himself quickly in, Dustenyth rumbling at T'nnusen's friendly slap to the
base of his neck, even as the blue remains facing stoutly forward, waiting
for his signal to take off.

<*> H'sen climbs up Lekath's forelimb to reach the riding straps,
scrambling to the bronze dragon's neckridges with a helpful nudge.

<*> Celane mounts Autryth.

<*> A'deth clambers up onto Jaelith's neckridges with the assistance of the
green dragon's riding-straps.

<*> From atop Lekath, H'sen buckles himself into the riding straps, feeling
nervous and excited at the same time. Lekath is a calming presence,
however, and the boy leans in and gives the dragon's warm hide a pat, just
reassuring himself of his presence. H'sen takes a deep breath and practices
the visualization. It's right, he knows it's right.

<*> Dustenyth waits while Tannu climbs up his side, and once he's buckled
in they move into their accustomed place in the formation. Though Dusty
shows signs of fleshing out to be a large blue, he's still growing, just
like the others! /That/ visualisation comes easily enough now to T'nnusen,
since it's involved in every return jump, though he's not so silly as to
think sending it /before/ trying to jump to it is at all a waste of time.

Kassima buckles herself into place and pulls down her flight goggles while
Lysseth positions herself smoothly in the formation. It's usual for Kassi
to look back over the Wing before they launch. It's been awhile now since
there've regularly been strap malfunctions, embarrassingly askew
formations, or a young dragon bouncing in place back there, but habits die
hard, and this glance in particular lingers for awhile. At length she's
satisfied with the look of them and her hand lifts, then falls: the
now-familiar cue for launch.

<*> Lysseth spreads her wings to their full extent, bringing them down with
a rush of wind as she leaps nimbly into the air.

You wing cautiously up into the Bowl.

You leap into the sky.

<*> Lekath leaps into the sky.

<*> Jaelith leaps into the sky.

<*> Dustenyth leaps into the sky.

Dragon> Igen Weyrling Wing sense that Lysseth spins out fine, translucent
threads of crystal towards each dragon in the Wing. << We will go
*between*, and return not far from here, >> she tells them. << You are to
hold the image of the *Star Stones* in the fronts of your minds. Show us
the visualizations your riders have given you. >>

Dragon> Lysseth and Jaelith sense that Dustenyth projects a well-practiced
image of the Star Stones.

Dragon> Igen Weyrling Wing sense that Lekath fixes in his mind a very
clear, precise vision of the Star Stones, a view from high in the air.

<*> Lekath follows up in formation, the lazy movements of his wings
practiced and seemingly effortless. The larger he grows, the greater his
skills grow and the more he enjoys each time they take to the air. At the
Weyrlingmaster's command, H'sen takes a deep breath and pictures the Star
Stones in his mind, passing it along to the rest of the wing.

<*> Jaelith rumbles approvingly at the Weyrlings as each image is passed on.

Dragon> Igen Weyrling Wing sense that Lysseth studies the images of those
who've made this trip several times before in no less depth than the
first-timers--and the hum of approval vibrating across the sparkling
strands tells them the verdict before words do. << These are the proper
coordinates. Very well, Weyrlings; be ready for the signal! >>

<*> Lysseth leads them in a slow, tight circle, or as tight as a small
formation can manage, while waiting for each visualization to come in; in
that moment when they all have and she's sending the Weyrlings her
approval, Kassima sits up the straighter on her neck. It's time. The
Weyrlingmaster repeats the earlier gesture and the green pair disappears
*between*.

<*> Lysseth disappears into Between.

Between
You gasp as the icy black nothingness of Between surrounds you! You hear
nothing, see nothing, and feel nothing. The trip takes five heartbeats...
Black...
Blacker...
Blackest!

You suddenly emerge...

<*> Lysseth emerges from Between with a blast of cold air!

<*> Dustenyth emerges from Between with a blast of cold air!

<*> Lekath appears from ::between:: with a flash of bronze dragon wings and
a bold trumpeting call announcing his arrival.

<*> Lekath emerges from Between with a blast of cold air!

<*> Jaelith appears from :: Between :: with a cold rush of air and a flurry
of dragon wings!

<*> Jaelith emerges from Between with a blast of cold air!

<*> Lekath reappears from Between with a triumphant bugling cry. Certainly,
this is what he was made for, and the pure joy he feels at finally being
able to experience this beats any other milestone they may have reached in
any other lesson. H'sen gasps from the shock of cold, then the shock of
finally returing to Igen's usual warmth. Previously, his trips Between
could probably be counted on one hand, and he still isn't used to it.

<*> Another successful jump -- Dustenyth doesn't roar this time, just sails
along after bursting out of the freezing *between*, the only sign that he's
just as pleased now as he was the first time is the faster whirling of his
green eyes. T'nnusen leans forward and gives the blue a cheerful slap on
the neck, and glances around to see that the others have emerged as well.
Good!

<*> Jaelith raises one clenched fist in a rather triumphant gesture to the
Weyrlings, and Jaelith bugles her approval!

<*> Jaelith bah. A'deth. :P

IGEN-> A'deth says, "Jaelith's got skillz."

<*> Lysseth was all set to be impressed by Jaelith's motor control, too. ;)

<*> (is just startled at A'deth bugling her approval, now ;P)

<*> From atop Jaelith, A'deth raises one clenched fist in a rather
triumphant gesture to the Weyrlings, and Jaelith bugles her approval! :P

<*> Dustenyth thinks that's a likely story. Uh /huh/. Shuts up now XD

<*> Lysseth bugles! Loud and ringing and clear: the Wing is intact! On the
Star Stones the watchdragon on duty echoes the call, his voice low and
reverbating. Weyrlings emerged from *between* are a welcome sight to more
than the Weyrlingmasters and their Wingmates. Kassima twists back and waves
her arm vigorously to all of them, and with Lysseth's pride in them so
evident it's obvious this is a gesture of joy and not reprimand.

Dragon> Igen Weyrling Wing sense that Lysseth's mindvoice mirrors that
pride: << You've succeeded! Here you are! That is *between*, and you're all
through it safe... you've done very well. >> And what's the reward for a
good job when you're a Weyrling? Why, more work. << My Kassima says, she's
heard of a party of some kind going on near Fort Weyr. Visualize these
coordinates. >> The green sends them the image of a Lake Valley white with
snow--not an image they would have practiced before, but one entirely new.
<< Repeat it back when you feel you're ready. >>

<*> On Dustenyth, T'nnusen blinks at that as it's passed along by
Dustenyth, and takes a moment or twenty to carefully go over the
visualization before passing it back to his dragon again to send along.

Dragon> Lysseth and Jaelith sense that Dustenyth projects the image back
after much thoughtful chewing on it. Yep, same picture.

<*> From atop Lekath, H'sen grins, seeing the Weyrlingmaster waving to all
of them. "We did a good job," he says, and Lekath gives a pleased warble in
reply. Everyone's here, everyone's alive. Of course the danger will always
exist, but once they've done it once, they should be able to do it again in
the future.

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "Hey, Igen!"

IGEN-> H'sen says, "Heya :)"

IGEN-> Kassima waffles. :)

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "Sorry I had to split. My pager went off, as I said. :("

IGEN-> H'sen says, "No worries :)"

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "Where's that sleigh-riding thing?"

IGEN-> Kassima says, "We're doing a *between* make-up, Ch'ton, and we'll
@tel to the Fort sledding shindig shortly; you can come with if you like? :)"

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "Oh, sure, 'cause I was going to Fort anyway. Might as
well join you guys. :D"

IGEN-> A'deth :3

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "Where to? :3"

IGEN-> Kassima says, "One tick, let me have Kassi pose the signal, and then
it's @tel #8772. :)"

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "Alright."

IGEN-> H'sen says, "The dragons @tel, and we'll go with them?"

IGEN-> Kassima says, "Yep yep, if you're on a dragon (or any object) when
it teleports you're taken along."

IGEN-> H'sen says, "ok, cool :)"

IGEN-> Janine says, "Well, if you visualize correctly. Other wise... ;)"

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "You may end up the next example of what can go wrong
when you visualize yourself underground."

Kassima waits once more to be sure everyone has the visualization down.
Longer, this time; it's new territory, she wants to be *sure*. But at
length Lysseth reports all is well, and her rider gestures, and a blink
later vanishes with her dragon.


Small Lake Valley Near Fort Weyr(#8772RFJ$)
This valley hangs in a small bowl-like depression in the ridges just west
of Fort Weyr, a short hike up from the Fort Hold Road. The relatively low
ridges that surround it are dwarfed by the bulk of the Weyr rising above
them. At the north end of the valley, a small mountain lake glitters it's
glacial blue, a small stream wending across the valley floor to spill down
into the next valley over a small waterfall. The rest of the valley floor
is gently rolling, small hills and inclines everywhere.
Here and there, holes are opening up in the ice that once locked up the
waters of the small lake. The stream runs freely now , burbling along until
it spills over the small waterfall at the end of the valley. The snow that
once coated the rolling valley floor is thinning along the higher reaches
where the sun shines the longest.

                              +rhelp is available                             
Contents:
Valioth
Acadia(#18778PIJce$)
Inneth
Pierzit
A'riste
Sunika


<*> Lekath appears from ::between:: with a flash of bronze dragon wings and
a bold trumpeting call announcing his arrival.

<*> Te'an jumps down Deneth's side to the ground, using her straps as
handholds.

<*> Barett vaults down Deneth's side to the ground, using her straps as
handholds.

<*> Eostarra vaults down Deneth's side to the ground, as the dragon warbles
a greeting.

<*> Jaelith appears from :: Between :: with a cold rush of air and a flurry
of dragon wings!

You slide off of Lysseth's neck to land beside her easily. She rumbles,
cocking her head down at you, and you rub her eyeridges gratefully.

H'sen unbuckles from Lekath's riding straps and swings down to the ground.

Inneth lands rather quickly, sending up a gout of snow when she hits the
ground. Acadia dismounts equally rapidly, and lands in snow halfway up her
knees. She wades to higher ground and waves greetings to everyone.

Moll climbs down Vmireth's side to the ground, the dragon's sparkling eyes
watching closely.

A small Wing of Igen dragons arrives together. By the size of most of them,
they're Weyrlings, not fully grown. By the wide grin on Kassi's face when
she dismounts.... "You've done wonderfully!" she calls to the Wing. Ah-hah.
First *between* jumps, perhaps? "Congratulations! Igen Weyr's duties t'Fort
and her queens, too," called slightly belatedly to any who might be listening.

A'deth takes hold of Jaelith's riding straps and slithers down her side to
the ground.

There's been a late snowfall -- more than enough to cover the hillsides
with enough snow for sledding and gamboling about; which, in fact, some
people have been gathering to do this fine afternoon. In other places, the
snow's started to turn to slush, inviting mud fights as much as the snow
begs to be thrown in a snowball fight. Sleds have been hauled out for
anyone inclined to ride them, while a few intrepid sorts have already begun
building snow 'Weyrs' to protect them from snowball-related onslaughts.

T'nnusen unclips himself and climbs down Dustenyth's riding straps, giving
the dragon a hearty pat on the shoulder as he does so.

Eostarra slips down off of Vmireth, landing steadily. She offers a smile
and wave up to Moll upon straightening.

H'sen slides to the ground from Lekath's shoulder, managing to look not
quite as clumsy as he usually does. He'll have to get better before the
young bronze is full grown or he'll break something important. He salutes
the gathered riders and then looks around. "Wow, snow." He squints a little
in the sunlight reflecting off the snow. "It's brighter than I thought it
it would be." Lekath tentatively reaches out and sniffs a pile of snow,
investigating it.

A'deth and Jaelith arrive a few moments after the other Igenites do, his
arms laden with... coats? For the underdressed Igen contingent. And gloves.
He moves to dispense them to his compatriots. "Since," he observes to no
one in particular, "It was so spur of the moment." Mercifully for the
weyrlings' pride, they're in ungarish shades of black and brown.

Ch'ton grins and slides off Mobeth, elated. The dragon is clearly elated as
well, his eyes swirling a pretty blue with pleasure. "Ah! It's cold. Not as
cold as between, but still cold." he pulls his riders jacket closer around
him. "Oh... and... snow! Look! It's snow, Mo!" and then he laughs at his
inadverdant rhyme. "Snow Mo! Hey..! Kinda like Mobath, eh?" And the poor,
abused blue snorts and shakes his big head pathetically. He ooohs at the
coats and gloves givin him, and slides them on. "OH! Cool! Well... warm,
but cool!"

Dragon> Igen Weyrling Wing sense that Mobeth snorts mentally, as well as
aloud. <<He comes up with some of the dumbest puns.>> his mind softens a
bit, though. <<Ah, but he's right. The snow is nice. I think I like it.>>

T'nnnusen frowns a little at all the snow, but lets Dustenyth land with the
rest of the group, saluting as appropriate and climbing down the
black-blue's side. Come to think of it, Dustenyth really /does/ look black
against all this white! He accepts a coat and gloves with a murmured thanks
and a faint smile, slipping them on over his leathers, as his dragon
investigates the cold wet stuff he's standing on with the tip of his nose.
Aaah! It /sticks/ to him! Get it off! Get it off! He shakes his head and
the snow on his nose goes flying, making the dragon pause. Yes, yes. Meant
to do that, of course.

Moll, having dropped off her passenger, quickly clambers back up between
Vmireth's neckridges and waves to the folks from High Reaches. "Have fun,
you hear?" she says with a grin, then the pair is up and away.

Moll vaults up onto Vmireth's back, as the dragon warbles a greeting.

Valioth finds shallower snow to land in, and A'riste dismounts, and looks
on quietly, though his expression brightens as the Igenites turn up. He
strides their way, his tenor voice lifting in song. "Print of extravagance,
shapes of a shared life / Left knee-deep in transcendental drifts: / The
isolate forms of snow are its hardest fact." In A'riste-ese, that may or
may not be a 'hello'.

Eostarra wanders over towards Te'an and Barett, Moll having left. She
trudges through the snow like one somewhat used to it, but is clearly not a
native of the cold. Her gloved hands shoved deep into her caftan pockets,
she sttands beside Te'an until she figures out what she should be doing.

Barett hops into the snow though for all appearances he looks displeased
with it. "Couldn't we have gone to somewhere warmer? Like, Ista?" He asks,
grumbling characteristicly of himself. He glances around to see all the
others arriving, and makes sure to do quick work to get away from the
greenrider he arrived with.

Kassima beams as much at A'deth as she did at the Weyrlings. "The thanks
I'd give you if'n there weren't an audience. Have you always been so
practical?" She trades her painted jacket for one of the black coats,
longer and heavier. Gloves at least she remembered to bring. It's not
exactly stylish, but she leaves her riding helmet on too. "'Tis beautiful,"
she says of the snow. "The temptation t'pelt you all with snowballs,
honestly... hey. Is that Eostarra over there?"

Te'an gets settled with Deneth, and oddly enough it appears he's content to
just sit over there with the green who's happily looking between all the
males that land. Rather than mingling like he might usually do, he just
sits himself down beside the green to watch the festivities.

A'deth leans against Jaelith's foreleg after he's distributed all of the
coats. "I have, but mostly in the dark... the butcher girl? It is. And with
the 'reaches. I wonder why she hasn't yet expired from the cold-- do the
Sands keep her warm, I wonder?"

H'sen gratefully accepts one of the coats from A'deth and pulls it on. He
looks around at the large number of gathered strangers. Maybe this won't be
so different from when he first came to Igen. He leaves Lekath amusing
himself by making talonmarks in the snow. "Snowballs? Sounds cold." Though
he's certain that someone will be pelted with snowballs before the event is
over.

Ch'ton awws. "We're not allowed to pelt each other with snowballs?" he
asks, letting the one he'd been building to toss forecefully at a certian
blonde rider fall back to the ground. "Oh, hey! It is Eostarra! Can we
throw snoballs at /her/?" Someone is /going/ to get snowballed before this
thing is over.

Dustenyth trundles Valioth's way, having noticed the snow the bronze is
standing in looks shallower. He rumbles a greeting as he nears. T'nnusen
meanwhile looks on with some amusement and shivers under both layers of
coat, the desert-born blond has never been anywhere this cold in his life!
"I wouldn't suggest throwing much of anything at her, she has a big knife,"
he comments to Ch'ton, and tries to catch Eostarra's attention with a wave.

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "I have the sudden urge to drench someone with snow.
Urrrgh."

IGEN-> A'deth XD

Eostarra indeed notices the Igenites, beaming as she sees them. She sets
off at a jog towards them, seeing as Te'an seems content to sit back and
watch. "Hey!" she calls, waving a small hand as she nears. "You guys can
travel, now? Great!"

A'riste grinds to a halt halfway to the Weyrling wing, though, and
half-turns toward the 'Reachians. "Fort's duties. Have you come to inflict
yourselves upon the slopes? ...Eostarra? I thought you were ripping dead
things apart at Igen."

"Just don't cause inter-Weyr incidents, that's all I ask." Kassima's
decidedly amused. "Other than that--throw snowballs, make snow-sculptures,
grab a sled, have fun, but for the love of the first queen do *nay* start
mud-fighting. We'd shower mud all over Igen coming home and then where
would we be? You don't have t'stick around us either." To A'deth, "You'd
have t'go out and roll on 'em t'be as warm as Igen. Bet their queen
wouldn't appreciate that. A'riste!" Now she spots that poetic young man,
and she waves to him. "Don't make me recite limericks t'answer you. Nay
anyone would appreciate that."

"Not /everyone/," drawls A'deth.

Ch'ton gives a big grin and a nod to Kassima. And then he turns to Mobeth.
"Alright, do it!"

Acadia raises her voice and calls out, "Anyone feel like sled racing, even
without M'yr to knock off course? Or does mud fighting sound better?"

Mobeth snorts and, chocking back an amused whuffle, flicks his tail deep
under then snow, then up, spraying the Igenites with cold, wet, sticky
snow, most of it aimed at H'sen and T'nnusen admitedly. Then, his job done,
he bursts into a fit of whuffles.

T'nnusen, just turning to greet A'riste, is showered in snow. He's very
still for a moment, and then wipes as much of it off of himself as he can
before it can melt and strides toward the Fortian. "And a belated hello to
the songster as well," he says with a smile and a shiver, digging snow
chunks out from the collar of his two layers and trying not to let his
teeth chatter.

H'sen tilts his head. "Sled racing? Is that just a good excuse to break
your neck?" He gets distracted by a spray of snow coming from the direction
of the dragons. Shells, he figured he would end up with snow down the back
of his coat before long.

Barett looks through all the unfamiliar people greeting eachother, and
scrunches his nose slightly. Rather than rushing into the thick of things,
he lingers over near the edges and watches the interactions with a
thoughtful expression.

Te'an hops down Deneth's side to the ground, using her foreleg as a step.

Eostarra drifts to a stop near T'nnusen and A'riste. "I used to be," she
answers the Bronzerider. "Then I was Searched by High Reaches. So, I'm a
Candidate, now." She grins at T'nnusen, opening her arms for a hug. "Look
at you boys. Already travelling."

"'A greenrider, hair white as snow / To a Fort sledding party did go; / He
got ice down his vest, / But his weyrmate protests: / How it got there, she
doesn't know!'" Kassima scoops up a handful of the snow and brandishes it
at A'deth. Something distracts her, however. "Sled racing? Ooh. I haven't
made a fool of m'self falling on m'rump lately." Mobeth's snow-shower
doesn't touch her since Lysseth stretches out a wing in time to shield. The
elder green shakes all that white stuff from her 'sail, snorting. "This is
the first trip *between* for some of 'em," her rider tells Eostarra.
"Everyone lived!"

IGEN-> Celane is epic fail x.x

IGEN-> Kassima awws and hugs Celane.

A'riste bends to gather up a handful of snow, and packs a loose snowball.
This, he lobs at Ch'ton, not too hard, though his aim is reasonably good.
"Hello," he chirps to T'nnusen. "You should all try sledding. You won't
break your necks--" he adds to H'sen, "--Maybe your noses if you don't mind
your elbows. The snow'll break your fall." And he beams at Eostarra, too.
"Congratulations! By that one?" And he jerks a thumb toward Te'an.

IGEN-> Celane says, "My RP time is just cursed."

IGEN-> A'deth says, "We went to fort, if you want to go sledding. XD"

"Go fall on your rump," A'deth purrs to Kassima, raising his hands to fend
her off. "I'll watch."

Acadia puts her fingers to her mouth and whistles loudly. "All right,
anyone wanting to race grab a sled and come join me off to the side. Let's
keep casualties to ourselves and not the innocents. This time." She grins
broadly, grabs a sled and heads for a less populated portion of the valley.

Ch'ton oohs. "Sled riding?" he asks, turning his head just in time to get a
facefull of snow. "Phhht. Hey. That's cold!" he says, using a begloved hand
to clean his face. "Ha! It's on now!" he giggles and scoops up a handfull
of snow, packing it hard and tossing it back at A'riste. "Hey, sledding,
though, count me in!" he says, jogging after the whistling woman and going
for a sled.

H'sen wanders around, looking a little lost. He reaches out to try to catch
the attention of a tall, brown-haired young man. "Hey, do you know much
about this area? What can you see from this hill?" He belatedly spots the
other's white candidate not and sighs. "Shells. Maybe you don't know either?"

T'nnusen gives the butcher girl a brief hug, since she's probably homesick
an all. "It wasn't my very first jump, but I've been kept too busy to visit
High Reaches yet. You never replied to my letter, you know." And he eyes
A'riste, "Sledding, from the looks of it, entails getting /closer/ to all
that snow. No thank you." Shiver, shiver. "First time seeing this much of
it, let alone from so close."

Barett blinks as his attention is drawn from whatever he was staring off
at, "Huh? Oh. No. Sorry." He offers, shortly, before offering a spreading
smile and shaking his head, "I'm from Tillek, but currently at 'Reaches.
Talk about feelin' a little lost." He admits with a shrug of his shoulders
and a furitive and uncertain glance towards the sleds.

Eostarra looks back over her shoulder at the indicated rider and his
dragon, Deneth. "Yeah, actually. They were the ones." She looks back to the
two young men. "And so, here I am. They brought a few of us over to join in
the fun. Never stopped to think you all might be here." She then returns
the hug by the Bluerider. "Aw, well, I understand. And I actually have it
all written, I just need to send it. I got a bit sidetracked the last
couple days."

Kassima crinkles her nose at A'deth, but she drops the snowball and steals
a kiss for luck and warmth, and then she joins those heading for the racing
zone. "Do we get t'name the sleds?" she asks hopefully. "Can I call mine
'Evildeath'? 'Twould intimidate the other sleds with a name like that. I
wish I had time t'paint wherry skulls on it."

H'sen grins, trying to focus on the conversation to distract himself from
how cold it actually is here. "Congratulations on Candidacy, at any rate,
and good luck as well. A lot of snow at High Reaches too, isn't there?
Haven't been there yet myself, but I'm sure we'll go before too long. I'm
H'sen, by the way. Bronze Lekath's rider of Igen Weyr."

A'riste acks as Ch'ton's snowball *whaps!* his shoulder, and dusts it off.
"You'll warm up from the exercise. Standing around'll just make you
colder." And he flashes Tannu and Eostarra a brilliant smile. "I'm going to
go make proper greetings to that one," and he waves airily toward Te'an.
"Diplomatic relations and all that. Since I don't think he's been."

Ch'ton blinks at his derranged Weyrlingmaster. "Uh.. Evildeath, Kassima?
Why not something like 'dragonspeed' or something" he snorts and tuggs his
jacket closer around him. "Hey, Kassima? How do you sled?"

A'deth waves cheerfully after Kassima. "Smash your enemies into the hill,
darling!" he calls after her. "Don't stop until you see blood!"

"Ah, thanks." Barett says with a slightly more easygoing expression,
loosening up perse. "Name's Barett, from Tillek like I said. Likely t' go
back once the eggs hatch at the 'Reaches. Not that I'd mind, y'see. I
accepted for the adventure'n stuff." He admits ruefully, before asking,
"Y'gunna try the sledding? I think I'll be passin' on it this time. More
fun t'a watch."

Deneth appears like a normal shade of green, but for all that Te'an's
withdrawn it might seem like there might be some glowing going on in the
next while. He sighs a little, pushing himself to his feet to search
through the green's bags looking for something that he pulls out. Just a
blanket, may as well be warm while watching sledding, right? A'riste gets a
wave, and a cursory look over.

H'sen smiles faintly. "Yeah, I thought the same thing myself, before
Lekath. Thought I'd go back to Keroon. You never know how things are going
to turn out." He glances over in the direction of the hill where others are
preparing to sled. "Ah... I think I'll hold off on sledding too. I wouldn't
want to go up against Kassima, truthfully. She may be our Weyrlingmaster,
but I don't think she'd hesitate taking off the head of a weyrling who got
in her way," he says, half-joking.

"I'll be a lot colder if I end up covered in snow again," T'nnusen argues,
stuffing his gloved hands into some convenient pockets. "I'll just watch
the others plow into one another from here, thank you. Off with you to play
diplomat, then," but he says it with a smile, regardless.

Acadia waves to Ch'ton and Kassima and says, "Looks like it's the three of
us. I'm Acadia of Fort, Inneth's rider. And the rules for this are, don't
hit other people, first one to the edge of the lake without going in wins.
Other than that, there aren't any. Sound good?"

Kassima eyes the sleds. "I only sort of know. It's been a long time. I
didn't do much of it at Benden or Telgar either--the last time was at High
Reaches, some sort of contest. I didn't die," she mentions brightly. "I'm
thinking we sit on 'em and they fall down the hill and we go flying,
whoosh!" It's a good thing she's more helpful in Weyrling lessons.
"Kassima, green Lysseth's," she introduces herself to Acadia. "A'deth's
going t'be so disappointed there's nay enemy-smashing, but I'm all right
with that."

Ch'ton nods. "Sounds good. Uh, how do you stop? I don't fancy getting wet
in this cold." he pauses. "Oh. Ch'ton, blue Mobeth's rider." he grins. "So,
just jump and fall? Sounds like I can handle it."

"Truth be told, I'd rather go back to Tillek, but... Yes, we'll see."
Barett says with a chuckle and a glance towards the Weyrlingmaster in
question. "Seems like she would, though I don't know her from a hole 'n a
wall." He admits, and nudges at H'sen, "Not a'scared are ya? You Igen sorts
don't get to see much snow, not like me who's seen nothin' but mounds of it
for what seems like forever."

A'riste groans quietly as, indeed, Valioth rumbles quietly at Deneth,
shifting so that the wintry light gleams on him just /so/. A'riste smiles
amiably at Te'an, though. "Fort's duties. Are you too cold? Would you like
a skin of klah? It'll still be hot."

A'deth wanders up to Eostarra and T'nnusen. To the Candidate, he remarks,
"They've been keeping you busy, then. I rode there for a very little while,
how do you like it?"

Acadia says, "Nice to meet you, Kassima and Ch'ton. You can lie on the sled
if you want, so you're less likely to fall. But that also means your sight
line isn't as good, and you might not see an obstacle in time to go around
it. And if you fall off, you can just get back on. Snow's not deep enough
to smother you or anything like that." She looks around the crowd and says,
"I'll be happy to arrange for hot drinks afterward, to warm us all up if
you want. Okay?"

H'sen makes a face at Barett. "Scared? No, not particularly. Though snow is
slippery and cold besides, and it seems like it would be rather unpleasant
to fall into the lake that everyone's sledding towards. How about you? If
you're around snow so much, this should be old hat to you. You probably go
sledding eight times a sevenday. Or maybe you're trying to trick me into
competing with you in something you're an expert?"

"Oh, just ignore him if you don't want to look at his posing. I know he's
trying to steal your light." Te'an says in a bored tone to the green, who
while she might be grumbling to her rider, seems quite happy to watch
Valioth with what might be considered rapt interest. When A'riste questions
him he just shakes his head, "Naw, I'm just getting comfortable. I'm used
to the cold, really."

Kassima bounces somewhat on the balls of her feet. "This has major
embarrassment written all over it. I can't *wait*. I'm good!" Bounce,
bounce. "Evildeath and I are so going t'win this."

"I haven't been around it 'so much'. I've only been at the Reaches for a
short while, compared to all my time as a dockhand. Somehow, I doubt I'm an
expert in sledding when you can't exactly sled on a boat." Barett says with
a smirk, and shakes his head. "Just not interested in getting snow down my
britches 'n all." He says, and peers at Kassima a bit longer. "Or going
down that hill with her on it. Seems dangerous."

Ch'ton rolls his eyes. "Right, then!" he says, standing behind his sled and
aiming just right, so that at the signal, he can fall on it and
wooooooooosh! "Ready!" he calls, likewise excited. Even Mobeth's eyes are
swirling faster than normal.

Eostarra looks up, nodding to A'deth. "They keep me busy, sir," she agrees.
"And I suppose I'm getting used to it. I like it, yeah. Not the same as
home, but nothing really is." She tilts her head back to the other, again.
Her expression goes a bit curious at T'nnusen, thoughtful.

As the three riders line up, an older man claps his hands and shouts, "GO!"
They're off!

"Represent us well, Kassima, Ch'ton!" A'deth calls out, cupping his hands
around his mouth. "Even if we're sissies in the snow, we can still whip our
enemies! ...Even if I'm from here... nevermind. Smite them!"

IGEN-> Eostarra says, "A'deth is awesome. Best cheerleader ever."

IGEN-> Desdinova *\o/* *\*\o o/*/*

H'sen nods somberly to Barett. "Indeed. A hill with Kassima on it makes it
just that much more dangerous." That's one rider one should never
underestimate. "You said you were from Tillek? That's next to the ocean,
right? Lekath has been bugging me about going to see the ocean ever since
he was a few months old and some trouble-making dragon told him how fun it
was to catch fish." He sighs. "I won't mind visiting a beach, I think, but
I get seasick on boats."

Ch'ton giggles, sure to be an embarassment to Igen, and flops belly-first
on the sled, letting his weight carry it foreward. "WHOOOOOOO!" he calls
loudly, giggling all the while. Snow flies up from the runners of his sled,
his rosy face sticking out from the wooden base and his hands gripping the
sides. "Whoo!" From the sidelines, Mobeth gives an excited bugle. Yay
Ch'ton! Go, go go!

Kassima leaps immediately onto her chosen sled, landing on her rump and
sending it skidding with her weight. "Evildeath! Gooooooo!" The sled, which
does not look so much like an Evildeath, does goooooo, but it has more to
do with Kassi tucking her knees together and hunching her shoulders and
generally making herself as aerodynamic as possible than any verbal
encouragement. This stops the rider from whooping with glee not at all.
Particularly as she doesn't quite miss an obstacle, and the sled bounces
over it, briefly becoming airborne. Getting your teeth rattled is *fun*!

A'riste rolls his eyes at the dragons -- Valioth seems to be doing his best
to look awesome and croon suavely to the very lovely Deneth -- and looks
back to Te'an. "If he's a bother, I'll try to call him off. He's always
slobbering over girls, it's disgusting." And he shudders.

Acadia leaps forward and lands on her sled belly first. This gives her
start a lot of power, but it also has her yelling in pain as her front is
squished but good. She races forward, using her one advantage: this is
/her/ weyr and she knows the territory better than the other two.

"Uh! I wish I was fatter." Ch'ton mumbles to himself. No fair! The other
two are bigger! He looks over, though, and tries to mimick his
weyrlingmaster's pose, trying to become aerodynamic like he would if he
were riding a dragon. "WOO!" he squeals as he hits a bump and is launched,
holding tightly onto the sled as he landed and every bone in him is jarred.
"OH yea! Hahaha!"

"Right next to it, yup." Barett says, glancing at all the people taking off
from the top of the hill and making certain that he's not in the direct
path of any incoming sleds. "Well, shouldn't be trouble for you to go to
the ocean, you got transportation right there." He says with a chuckle, and
shrugs his shoulders. "I like beaches and boats, and all'a that."

Dustenyth snorts at Valioth and just continues to look like inky black
/awesomeness/ against the snow, despite that he's really just a very, very
dark blue. But he's a growing blue at that, and so the allure of greens
hasn't caught him even as much as it someday surely will, and he goes about
digging snow away from a chosen spot to sit. T'nnusen shoots him an amused
look, then a curious one back at Eostarra. Yes? "I can't figure out which
ones are the kids, at this point," he comments of the sledders, and their
woops and hollers, "what happens if someone falls in the lake down there?"
H'sen's apparently not the only one wondering /that/ one.

After the second obstacle barely avoided, Kassima lets go of half her death
grip on Evildeath's sides to fumble her riding goggles down over her eyes.
She slides one of her feet more towards that edge to keep something like
control of it, and she gets the goggles on without any ignonimous crashing.
Crooked. But on. Tucking until her chin is bumping against her knees she
yells, "Get 'em, get 'em, get 'em! C'mon! Wheeee-heeeeee!" as she steers
around a rock and a rise in the snow on the side she chooses threatens to
tip her over... but doesn't, quite. She leans her weight forward, forward,
forward.

IGEN-> Ch'ton says, "No fair. Kassi's just gonna win 'cause she's more
comfortably built than Ch'ton! Poor midget."

IGEN-> Kassima, comfortably built? *Strikes a pose.*

H'sen watches the sledders for a moment, hoping for Ch'ton's sake that he
doesn't get in Kassima's way. He grins over at Barett. "Yeah, but it's not
like weyrlings can go anywhere they want unsupervised. And we just went
Between for the first time today, so I imagine it will take some time for
us to learn all the visualizations for all the Holds and Weyrs, not even
counting fun stuff like beaches. Fun stuff comes last when you're a
weyrling, even if you have time for it at all. Enjoy your time as a
Candidate is all I'm saying."

"Then the dragons get to go fishing?" Eostarra offers in amusement,
answering the question. "Everything going okay?" she asks T'nnusen.

"No, it's alright. She can tell him herself if she doesn't like his
attention. She's got a big mouth, and isn't afraid to use it." Te'an
assures, sighing and watching the sledding from the safety and comfort of
Deneth's side. She doesn't move away from him at all, just watches the
bronze as well as the dark blue though the interest wanes at the latter.

Acadia has managed to find a fairly smooth path so far, but her luck has
run out. Just as she moves into the lead, her sled hits a dip and is
airborne for a couple of heart-pounding seconds. When it lands, it rolls
and takes its rider with it. Acadia comes up sputtering snow and gets back
on, but now she's definitely in third place.

"The Fort Lake monster eats them," A'deth deadpans to T'nnusen. "Likes
competitive flesh. Every winter they lose a few sledders that way, even
though they /say/ it's just rockfalls and snowstorms." He pumps a fist in
the air in the name of solidarity toward the participants.

Valioth edges closer to Deneth. A'riste informs him severely, "No. We are
not visiting High Reaches anytime soon. You are not allowed to take us on
ANY MORE pleasure trips. No, I don't care if I have friends there. I'll
hitch a ride with someone else, you big bloody bronze pervert!"

Ch'ton grins and whoops at the loss of a sleder. Now it's just the midget
and Kassima. He scooches himself foreward, pulling on his sled to prevent
an overturn at the hand of a half-burried rock. He looks at Kassima,
grinning. Time to show her how evil evildeath really was. WOOOOO!

The young blue's interest is obviously more in making himself a nest in the
snow, which he continues to do, digging away until a wide patch of ground
is mostly clear and then sitting square in the middle of it, eyeing the
sledders after, his head slightly tilted to one side. How odd! They're
just... sliding down the hill on those /things/. Hmm. "Well, anything to
keep the Lake monster well-fed, then," Tannu deadpans back in response to
A'deth, a faint smile on his lips. To Eostarra, "Of course, why wouldn't it
be?"

Lekath looks up at the yelling from his rather artistic rendering of a
mishmash of dragon footprints in the snow. He may be bronze, but he's too
young even to know what a pervert is.

Eostarra nods a little, but says nothing. Her pale gaze then follows the
sledders, watching in mild amusement.

Te'an looks between A'riste and the bronze, and his green. Sighing, he gets
himself up to his feet, and assures the straps are fastened and nudges her
so he can get the blanket back into the satchel. "We better go." He says to
the green, who seems all sorts of disappointed. She warbles forlornly at
Valioth, but gets moving anyways.

Kassima's attempts to steer work *reasonably* well with Evildeath--that is
to say, the leaning and the twisting her body, less so the, "*Left*,
Evildeath! Left! Don't hit that stick! Eeeeeee!" and so on. The main issue
is that her course is somewhat wobbly as a result, spewing snow now and
then although an out-and-out fishtail she's avoided. Does she even know
what place she's in at this point? She has not the least idea. It's all her
and Evildeath. Woman and sled. Fighting the good fight against rocks and
snowbumps and everything that wants to keep them from that frozen water
shining so close...! That and blowing a raspberry at Ch'ton, because
taunting the enemy is simply required.

With the greenrider looking to saddle up and meander out, Barett seems
concerned his ride might leave without him. "Take me with you, Te'an!" He
calls out to the greenrider, "It's too cold to just sit around this place.
Fun to see everyone else having fun, though." He says lightly, and looks
hopeful for the trip home. "Nice t'meetcha H'sen. Maybe you'll get free
reign to travel soon and can catch the hatchin'. If not, I'll see you if
you come fishin' around Tillek if I don't manage to find a lifemate on the
sands!"

Eostarra sees the last of her Weyr is leaving. "Guess I need to go," she
notes, waving a small hand. "Come visit when you can." She turns and
trudges through the snow, over towards Deneth.

H'sen waves to his new friend as Barett makes a run for it. "Sure, I'll try
to come visit you sometime soon," he calls. "High Reaches or Tillek for sure!"

Acadia manages to make up some of the lost distance, enough to get within
earshot of the other two. Once she's close enough she suddenly screams
"LOOK OUT!" and shrieks as she falls off her sled again.

"Oh, shards you two. You can stay if you like. I'll send Moll to come get
ya." Te'an assures with a smirk, and a shake of his head. "Really, I just
think it's best if Deneth and I hit the sky and head back home. I'd not
leave you abandoned here."

A'riste at that shriek, whips around. He's a high-strung fellow, after all.

A'deth peers. "Maybe there /is/ a monster after all."

Tannu nods at Eostarra, "Will do," he promises with a smile, and then it
turns into a wince as he sees the one girl tumble off her sled again. "Are
we quite sure they're not breaking bones down there?"

Te'an vaults up onto Deneth's back, using her foreleg as a step.

Eostarra jumps up onto Deneth's back, using her foreleg as a step.

Barett hops up onto Deneth's back, as the dragon warbles a greeting.

Acadia rolls to her feet, and looks to see if either of the other two fell
for her shout. She can't win, but she might be able to take one or both of
them down with her.

Look out for *what*? Lysseth doesn't see anything terrible, *Kassima*
doesn't see anything terrible for all her quick glancing around, so
what--that snowdrift. It looks like... like a giant *tuber*, and for one
unfortunate moment the finish line is forgotten. She leans hard on
Evildeath and steers it right into the drift--absolutely destroying it,
yes! Winning? Um. Not so much. Getting Evildeath's runners out of the
enemy's carcass and back on the line takes too much time, though Kassi does
it anyway for the sake of finishing. She's beaming, regardless of outcome:
she did smash an enemy in the end!

Ch'ton snirks at Kassima and sails right to the finish line, before which
happens to be a bump, and while his hands are in the air, the sled hits the
bump and shoots out from underneath Ch'ton, leaving him hanging for a
fraction of a second before his stomach, chest, and face make contact with
the soft ground. He lays in the snow, giggling uncontroably, his hand in
the air with a thumb up. He's okay!

"Probably not," A'deth shrugs, and then applauds at Ch'ton's win. "They're
too happy to be in that much pain. Congratulations, Ch'ton!"

A'riste whews softly, and steps back toward T'nnusen and A'deth. "Don't
yell like that," he hollers to Acadia. "I almost went as gray as the old man!"

IGEN-> H'sen crashes. G'nite all!

IGEN-> T'nnusen says, "Night :3"

IGEN-> R'din calls ambulances.

IGEN-> Kassima says, "Zhai, H'sen!"

IGEN-> A'deth <3

T'nnusen applauds too, though he still thinks the snow is /far/ too cold to
be /that/ happy about being buried in it! "I'll put it down to another
tradition I don't understand, then," he chuckles, "and leave it at that.
Though I suppose you could do something similar with sand dunes, the
landing wouldn't be nearly as harmless."

Kassima picks herself gingerly up off the sled, brushing showered snow from
her arms, pushing the goggles back up--and then scooping up Evildeath to
try and hug it. Awkwardly. She informs the world with glee and shining
eyes, "I want t'do that again!"

Acadia shouts back to A'riste, "Hey, it was a calculated risk. I was losing
and needed a break. Making them crash was my only chance for a draw." She
grabs her sled and drags it to off her hand to Ch'ton in congratulations.

Ch'ton picks himself up out of the snow, his thin face red with cold and
fun. He looks up at the hand offered him, and he takes it gently, giving it
a shake. "Thanks! I had lots of fun. Snow's soft, luckily." he giggled
brightly and wrinkled his red nose. "Too bad we don't have snow in Igen."
he looks over at Mobeth, and nods. "Yeah. I don't think the sand-wherries
would like it either." he snorted, turning his attention back to Acadia.
"Seriously, though, that was loads of fun."

A'riste hrmphs, but without real rancor; he just looks relieved. "You at
least acquitted yourself well," he grumbles to Acadia. "Win at any cost and
all that stuff."

"You'd probably sand the skin right off your face," A'deth agrees to
T'nnusen, "If you tried it." He beams at Kassima in that, 'she's so cute
when she's insane!' kind of way.

"Definitely," T'nnusen agrees with A'deth, in that clinically interested
way he sometimes has. "Not to mention other parts if you weren't covered in
leather or something similar." And he chuckles with a glance over at
Dustenyth, "I doubt they would allow one to have a firelizard flaming in
front of the sled to soften the snow up, no. Not everything is improved
with fire." And the blue snorts at that, as though to say 'oh yeah?'.

Right, they were racing, weren't they? "Felicitations, Ch'ton," Kassi
offers, grinning at the Weyrling and nodding an emphatic agreement with his
last sentiment: fun, you bet. She pats her sled affectionately. "Who's
m'instrument of evil tuber death? You are! Ah, shells, I miss winter." Pat,
pat. "I don't suppose the sleds are up for sale?" With the hand not curved
around her snowkilling implement she waves cheerfully to A'deth: look,
honey, she lived!

Acadia says, "We all had fun, even without being able to crash into M'yr
and knock him off course." She chuckles and looks around again, spying a
caverns worker. "Will you all please excuse me? I think we all need some
hot klah and I see just the person to get it for us."

...Money? A'riste brightens. "They could be!" he chirps.

"It would slow the sleds down anyway," A'deth states rather pedantically.
"It's better when the snow's hard, so the sled can skip on top like a stone
on the water." He waves back to Kassima, too: good job killing inanimate
objects, honey!

"If she buys it, she can paint all the wherry skulls she wants on it,"
T'nnusen notes, faintly amused, and gives Dustenyth a look. "See? Fire
would make it /worse/. I actually worry about letting him chew firestone."
The last is an aside to whoever might be listening, "He gets this /glint/
in his eye whenever he thinks about it."

Kassima wades through the snow, with her sled, until she's close enough to
A'riste for haggling, which is never best done at a distance. "Keeping in
mind I'm nay made of money, but only a poor greenrider with too many
children making claims on m'purse...." Oh, liar. "How much would this one
cost me? I feel a compulsion t'train it into a bloodthirsty race-winning
beast. Mayhaps paint it black and red--with fangs. And skulls. The skulls
might be purple."

A'riste considers, and names an eminently reasonable sum-- because, he
adds, "It's too cold to haggle properly."

A'deth chuckles softly at Dustenyth. "Always good to see someone who enjoys
his work, I suppose."

Dustenyth just rumbles from his snow-cleared spot as a noncommital reply,
but if dragonic eyes can /have/ glints, there's certainly one there, as
promised. Mmm, fire. "I suppose that's one way to put it," Tannu nods.

"I really miss winter," Kassima sighs. "Hold on just a minute." The mark
pouch is under the coat *somewhere*. She pats, she rummages and eventually
she finds it, fishing out the amount asked for without even offering an
argument: "I don't want Evildeath thinking I don't think he's worth that,
y'ken? How could I expect him t'race well for me?" Turning to the Igenites
she hoists Evildeath up a little more to show them, saying very brightly
indeed, "Look what I bought! I could paint *fire* on him, too, couldn't I?
Yellow fire for Igen, purple skulls, black body and red runners, and if'n
naught else he'd win because everyone we raced against would be too busy
staring and saying, 'Wow, tacky' t'steer right."

"You have a marvellous command of the tacky, my dear," A'deth states quite
approvingly. "It would be magnificently obnoxious. You'll surely win next
time." 

A'riste just happily pockets the marks, and looks on as the others chatter.

It always ends up with this group making small talk, doesn't it? T'nnusen
doesn't frown, in fact he smiles quite smoothly and turns to A'riste. "You
should visit," he comments, "melt some of the snow off of you."

Kassima beams at A'deth. In her world this is praise. "'Twould look better
if'n I could cajole you somehow into painting at least the skulls. I do it,
they won't look very convincing *'tall*, only like... I don't know, purple
blobs with beak shapes. Would you?" She flashes A'riste another bright
smile for making her sled-owner dreams come true; she once again pats the
sled, and tries hopeful eyes on her weyrmate. It never works well when
she's trying not to laugh.

A'deth inclines his head; from him, those words probably were praise.
"Indeed. It would be my pleasure. Skulls and flames and all of it. We can
hang it from the ceiling like a chandelier when you're not destroying our
enemies."

A'riste moves to link a companionable arm through T'nnusen's, giving him
another brilliant smile. "I will," he states, "If you come back next
winter. I can teach you how to ice skate." As discreetly as possible, he
begins to try to tug the other youth away from the other two.

Tannu is very easy to lead about when he's of a mind to be led about,
considering. Right now is one of those times, so he goes along with the tug
without issue. "Ice skate?"

"'Twill do those too! Oh, beautiful. We could dangle knives from the
runners when 'tis on the ceiling," Kassima suggests. She grounds the sled,
now, resting one end in the snow and laying a proprietory hand over the
other. "And sometime 'twill convince you t'come riding it with me."

A'deth nods agreeably. "But not if we both lie on our stomachs. People
would talk."

"You strap blades onto your feet and glide around on a frozen lake. It
sounds a lot more stupid than it actually is, trust me." A'riste beams.

"Wouldn't that cut the ice?" T'nnusen blinks over at him, walking along
with. "And then you'd fall in."

Laughing low in her throat, Kassima steals her free arm around A'deth's
waist if he allows her. Coats can't compare to greenriders when it comes to
warmth. "Particularly since the sled's nay all that wide," she agrees.
"You'll paint me a racing sled, you'll keep me company on it--you're very
good t'me, beloved."

A'deth's faint smile is nonetheless warmly affectionate; it's mostly in his
eyes. He looks to the two lads, nods with some faint approval, and then
looks back to her. "It's cold here," he murmurs. "Let's go home. I'll paint
flames on the both of you. You can show me your skulls."

A'riste shakes his head at Tannu. "Ice thick enough to hold you for
skating's too thick to cut with a thin blade. I wouldn't put you in danger,
you know."

"I just have a bad record with water, if someone was going to fall in, it
would be me." T'nnusen points out, "Icy water at that. I heard that if you
fall into a frozen lake you freeze to death instantly." Carefully not
looking the way of the greenriders, nope. "I don't think that's /possible/,
frankly, but there you have it."

Kassima considers both young men for a moment, and her eyes take on the
glaze of someone talking to her dragon. "...Zacharath's willing t'come and
bring them home when 'tis time." She keeps snuggled to A'deth until the
blue in question arrives in the sky, dropping to deposit his rider in the
snow--Sh'sen waves to the other members of the Weyrlingmaster team. He's on
the case. Kassi tightens her arm in half a hug, smiling up, then drops her
hand to catch one of his; as they head back to their dragons and their
weyr, "Skulls. Is that what we're calling 'em now?"

A'deth laughs softly, waves to Sh'sen, and then drapes his arm over
Kassima's shoulders; he begins to lead her off. "Indeed!"