-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Morning Aftermath Date: August 16, 2004 Place: Telgar Weyr Outer Infirmary Game: PernMUSH Copyright Info: The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kassi's Note: A brief and slightly bittersweet scene. Dawnslight Wingleader R'var comes to the Infirmary to visit Kassi, who took a (fairly minor) 'scoring in the final Threadfall of the Tenth Pass, and the two Wingleaders end up talking about her injury and I'sai's, as well as what the future might hold for not only dragonriders in general but Wingleaders in specific. For posterity's sake, I've included the +bbposts detailing the Fall results for each of Telgar's Wings before the RP starts (though some were actually posted after this scene took place). :) -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Log: --- 27 Tarien Mon Aug 16 11:39 2004 Time off after Fall It didn't take long for the mandate to come down from the Weyrleaders -- anyone who participated in yesterday's Fall over the Benden area, whether as ground crew or part of the fighting wings, will be given some extra free time soon. Riders from wings who were not part of yesterday's fall will be covering the sweep areas and the watchriding duties; Wingleaders who flew the Fall are encouraged to give their wingriders a free day once the schedules are worked out. Candidates who participated as part of the ground crew or provided assistance for the healers are exempt from chores for a day. In addition, rumor has it that there's a celebratory party in the works, once confirmation has been reached that the Fall was indeed the last of the Pass. OOC: I'd like to extend a special thank you to all who participated in yesterday's event. Enjoy the RP around the free time, and stay tuned -- we do want to have some kind of celebration.;) Tarien .....................................TGW..................................... --- 25 Kassima Mon Aug 16 07:58 2004 Thunderbolt Threadfall Results All in all, the luck was with Thunderbolt Wing through the final Threadfall: all casualties reported were of the minor variety, with brown Siuenth sporting a tailtip 'score, bronze Servoth and green Riatth taking home one last Thread-marked wingtip each, and a handful of ash-burns scattered all around. The worst injuries (and they were bad only by comparison) belonged to Kassima and Lysseth. A piece of half-flamed Thread managed to score a line in the dragon's neck and rider's right upper leg, though in Lysseth's case it's not much more than a nick. Kassi took somewhat more damage, and a verbal beating later from the Healers for flying through the Fall anyway, but even that is not very serious, and the Wingleader is walking about quite well with the aid of a stick. .....................................TGW..................................... --- 28 C'vadan Tue Aug 17 07:45 2004 Skyfire Threadfall Results Skyfire has a proud tradition of giving its all in Threadfall, sometimes with tragic results. With the last fall of the Pass over Benden area, Skyfire presented itself accountably, but not without some losses. Polete and brown Tyroth was scored so severely they went immediately *between* and were never seen again. P'list's Valnith's wingsails are in complete shreads, so bad the dragonhealers have doubts the blue will ever fly again. I'sai took Thread across his right thigh with left a corresponding dashed line across bronze Taralyth's neck; the injury was minor, but required the pair to fly straight home. There were other lesser injuries. Within the day, looking very much his turns, C'vadan offered his resignation to K'ran as Wingleader, offering to stay on until the Weyrleader could decide upon his replacement. Those close to Cav know he was considering transfering to Fort Weyr in order to be closer to his weyrmate and family once the Pass was over, but the results of this last Fall convinced the brownrider it was truly time. .....................................TGW..................................... --- 29 R'var Sat Aug 21 14:52 2004 Dawnslight Threadfall Results The last threadfall bore witness to the change in Dawnslight wing. The infectious bravado of its new young leader found Dawnslight eager and enthusiastic for that last battle. Courageous and daring, these men, women, and dragons acquitted themselves honorably-- as can be expected of the Telgari. Happily, there were no serious injuries among the wingmembers, though gossips would say that R'var and Firianth suffer broken hearts, what with the good fight finished. .....................................TGW..................................... --- R'var walks in from outside the room. Somehow, someone has managed to talk a Healer into giving up an instrument table--it's been set up near the couch in which Lysseth is peacefully drowsing, and three riders have gathered around it to play cards. That Kassi is one of them would at least explain the bizarre choice of location. "...Augh! How d'you *do* that?" the greenrider groans, throwing down her hand and giving Jirel an evil eye. "Three hands in a row! If'n this weren't m'own deck, I'd swear--" A frosty mid-morning finds Dawnslight still warm in their beds, and others beds, hungover and bandaged. R'var lets them sleep. His boots have beat out a listless circuit of the weyr. Presently he drifts on by the infirmary-- his least favorite of places. Yet this time he hangs in the smooth tunnel doorway, leaning there, looking in. Kassima reaches for the deck of cards to shuffle again, her Wingmates--for Wingmates they are, to judge by their patches: Jirel and Ylysse--leaning back in their chair to faintly radiate smug. Jirel's left cheekbone bears an ash-burn, but neither of them have any real reason to be here other than the game. Like most of Thunderbolt, they emerged primarily unscathed. The Wingleader pair were the one exception. "Don't suppose you'd be willing t'lower the ante to...." That shadow across the entranceway gets Kassima's attention. She looks up. "Heyla, there," she calls towards the door. "Looking for someone?" R'var shrugs an easy shrug. "Only you," he replies. "You seem all right, considering-- but I think you'd be playing blackjack on your deathbed. How's Lysseth?" "Me," Kassima repeats; not quite a question, but surprised enough to be near it. "Thankee, then; well, unless you mean you have some dastardly Wingleader business t'discuss with me that involves reams of hidework, in which case I may have t'throw this stick at you and bribe a Healer into carrying me runnerback so I can make m'escape." A fleeting grin. "Wouldn't that be an image. Aye, I'm nay too bad. Only here because the Healers insist I let 'em fuss some. They must think the leg's going to spontaneously *explode* or something. Lyss--" She glances automatically back to her sleeping dragon. "She didn't take much, stars all be praised. Just that thin little line... which was more and more than enough. Mostly she's just still *tired*. How about you? Firianth?" "Firianth is sleeping in the lake mud." R'var smiles, a thin slice of a smirk. "It makes me cold. He will be fine. None of our wing sustained serious injury, though H'min fell off the table he was dancing on last night. Hardly a heroic venture to be sure.. I've left that out of my report." He is drawing his thumb slowly, contemplatively over the line of his jaw. "Do you walk?" Kassima makes an amused sound. "Nay t'mention that finding you asleep in the lake mud, in winter nay less, would probably nonpluss the screaming shards out of passers-by," she observes. "M'sympathy when time comes t'watch him. How drunk *was* he? I had a hunch Thunderbolt wasn't alone in cracking open the flagons." Speaking of Thunderbolt, her two Wingmates have sensed that their poker-partner is not going to be dealing any time soon, and have excused themselves, wandering off to likely pester Healers about visiting further indignities on Kassi. "Can," the greenrider answers. "With a stick. Hurts some. But they *say* if'n I let them fuss enough, I shouldn't even limp, eventually, though 'twill probably never look quite the same in a bathing suit. I hope they've told Is the same. We were lucky, really." R'var leans away from the door, slowly drifting in. He has always hated the smell of the infirmary. "It wasn't your time," he agrees. "What happened to I'sai?" Kassima uses her left leg, the good leg, to nudge out one of the erstwhile poker chairs in invitation. "Here's hoping," she agrees. "If'n 'twas and we missed it, who knows if'n we'll *ever* die? We might hang around forever and gleefully annoy the spit out of everyone. Either road, there's a morbidly amusing irony in getting 'scored the first time in the last Fall, anyway." She grimaces. "Same, only worse. As I understand it. A strand got him and Tear across his leg--broke his straps, methinks, so he didn't fly the rest of it. Tear took more marking than Lyss, but I don't know how badly Is ended up being. What I've heard suggests it's probably nay *too* bad." He has to grin at that, the 'what-if' of a missed date with destiny. "If he knew when to quit, and could, he will be fine." Though R'var has had a crush on the handsome weyrlingmaster, he doesn't seem too ruffled by news of his injury; I'sai, of course, can survive anything, and R'var is too smooth to show more than a cool shrug. "What will happen to us now?" he wonders, just as coolly. Kassima slants a wry look his way. "If'n that's a commentary on those of us who didn't know the when-to-quit part so well...." She's been close to I'sai for many Turns herself--as their two children might attest--and seems only vaguely worried, which might in itself be a further odd form of reassurance were one needed. A single dark brow lifts at the subject change. "Us. Us, as in dragonriders? Us as in Wingleaders?" R'var, seating himself across her, at this healer instrument table, says, "Both." "I," says Kassima, leaning back in her chair as best she can, the right leg still sticking out a bit awkwardly, "have nay intention whatsoever of retiring, or volunteering Thunderbolt's patch into retirement. What the others might do I couldn't guess. There are still drills for us t'lead, techniques t'perfect, pass on, all that. Riders, now... a bit trickier. We'll still drill. Still sweep. Still practice." Her shoulder hitches up. "Still take in tithes. And see how long it takes before the Holders start grumbling about that, or stinting us." R'var is slowly nodding his head. He has got a few minor ash-burns-- as everyone does-- but he is relatively unscathed. His mates always liked to laugh over their cups, declaring R'var too short to get hit by thread. It is true the turns have not put much more height on him, but he is unmistakeably adult, these days. "It.. it seems strange," he admits. "Are they certain this was the last? For true?" "Is and Tear are flying straight back," Kassi abruptly reports, appropos of nothing; her eyes have that half-focused look. "Or so Tear told Lyss. Good, good--that's what they *say*. The Weyrleaders had that meeting, supposedly, t'figure it out...." Her shrug this time is helpless. "They surely wouldn't have announced it if'n they weren't sure. Imagine if'n they weren't right. Faranth, there'd be chaos." [Editor's Note: Is had just let me know in page that Tear wouldn't mind relaying their status now that they were in the air. :) ] R'var dips his head in acceptance. "I will let you rest, Kassima," he tells her, after a moment of thought. His dark eyes are kind. "Or return to your cards. Faranth knows, there is nothing to do here." "You don't have to," says Kassi, with a quick headshake--then, wryly, "though I can well understand wanting t'be someplace else than *here*. Wish I had more answers. I suppose the real answer to, what if'n 'tisn't the last, is that then we just keep fighting, and part of me thinks that for a little while... just awhile, that might nay be so bad. I think I'm going t'miss it. The fighting part; nay the death." She flashes him a smile, her green eyes at once amused and rueful. "We'll find out. I'm glad any road that your lot got out of it clear." R'var, for a moment, catches those green eyes. He smiles a flash of a smile-- Nim's even teeth, with the slightest gap. She understands. He seems in accord: he'll miss the fighting too. Then he turns his boots away and walks off into the tunnels. R'var walks out into the bowl.