Freedom Cont.

[M'kel]

What in Faranth's name have I done? was the last thought that passed through M'kel's head before events began to unfold in a painfully drawn out manner. Kmarath's wing joint was yanked out of his grip as she surged forward. Her churning limbs frothed the sea, and the force of their sweeps caused M'kel to be buffeted by the swirling waters. He narrowly missed being swiped by a heedless tail, and the bronzerider had to struggle to keep above water in the resulting waves.

Tirenth bugled in surprise as he was hit in the side, the force of it causing the great bronze to stumble sideways. At the same time, Seath's great tail sweeps drenched him in salty water. None of this hurt the dragon, though; it merely startled the shardin' hell out of him. Hey! The cry was surprisingly young in tone, reflecting his distance yet to maturity. However, his surprise didn't last long, before he turned his whirling eyes on Kmarath speculatively.

The sea had finally calmed from the passing of the swift green, and M'kel found himself able to tread water without fear of being swirled around and under. He was too worn out to laugh, so the bronzerider merely breathed deeply, fighting his way back to shore. He should've taken off his sharding pants, too, for they were weighing him down terribly. By the time his toes once again dug into sand, the dragonrider was feeling exhausted. That was enough water play time for him. "Is everyone all right?" he hollered, wondering how others had fared in the dragons' antics.

As M'kel began to slog his way towards shore, Tirenth planned his next move. Even as he began to curl down into the frothy water, a strange sound and flash of movement caught his eye. The bronze's head swung, whirling eyes fixing on another flash of colours down the beach. M'kelmine! he rumbled, tilting his head for what he perceived to be a better view. His rider ignored the summons for his attention, making it the final steps and flopping out on the sand. It clung to his bare chest and arms in a sticky, unpleasant manner, but it was land.

Tirenth, unaware of his rider's attitude at the moment, continued to eye the flashing colours curiously. I think it's...yes. Little cousins. M'kel? The bronzerider groaned. Why wouldn't the voice in his head shut up? And he didn't have any cousins in this time, duuuuh. Just let him close his eyes and sleep...

M'kel suddenly sat straight up on the sand, jerking his head left and right to peer down the beach. "Where, Tirenth?!" he cried, hauling himself onto tremulous legs. "Might it be a clutch?" That was another reason he had brought the sacks strapped to Tirenth's back today. He'd hoped they might happen upon a fire lizard clutch, for Araelen was painfully lacking in the useful creatures. M'kel, himself, had never had the chance to Impress one either. Besides, he viewed them as the perfect tool for training future Weyrlings. As close to dragons as one could come, they could give candidates a glimpse of the challenges they would soon face.

How would I know if it's a Clutch? the bronze snorted, giving a small shake of his head at his rider. Although they are agitated about something. I would like to go see. With that, the bronze began sloshing through the sea in the direction of the flashing colours.

"Wait! Wait for me!" M'kel cried, oblivious of the others around him. He began jogging painfully through the sucking sand, trying to keep up with his lumbering dragon.

[Flamewolf]

The warmth of the sun felt good on her wet skin. Her eyes were closed, her arms raised above her head and resting on the ground. She was stretched out and relaxed, glad that she had hitched the ride with M'kel to the cove. Keldara was a water person, so this was...just like it used to be. And to her amazement, she wasn't afraid to embrace her past; the grin on her face grew and she never felt more relaxed than she was now in a few months.

But when she heard all the commotion, she just wanted to stay laying down, ignore it all...But couldn't. Her curiousity was just too much, so she opened her eyes and propped herself on her elbows. Her eyes narrowed in confusion as she saw the bronze dragon, Tirenth, splashing through the water, M'kel struggling to follow the huge dragon. What the... she thought and glanced to Alphi, who looked slightly excited. Pushing herself to her feet, she glanced around briefly before sloshing through the water once more towards the dolphin.

"Alphi," she called out, "what's going on?" She continued to walk into the water, glancing occasionaly to the dragonpair.

"Little Cooousinss," she squeaked, excitedly. "The dragoon ssaw them flyiing arouund."

The candidate froze in her tracks and shifted her eyes to the dolphin, then back to the dragonpair. "Well, let's go!" she said with a big grin, and started running after them. Alphi squeaked again and dived into the water, following easily as she caught up to Tirenth and swam beside him.

[etoile]

Elkie gestured for L'kas to follow. "What we need," she told him, coming back to the bags, "is your rope. Then we can tie it together, and then we have a trapeze!" She smiled brightly, and immediately dug back into the bags for the rope. Promptly sitting, she grabbed the stick from him, tying a secure knot on each side. Holding it up from both sides, she examined it for evenness. Apparently displeased, she shifted one side further to the side with a grunt. Her knots were quite hard when it came to trapezes.

However, she paused, tilting her head at M'kel shouting something. Then she caught the word "clutch." Eyes widening, she grabbed L'kas by the wrist pulling him. "Didn't you hear him? He said there's a clutch!" she said in amazement, not bothering to mention the specific word he had used was "might." Right now, she was intent on getting a hatchling, then soaring on the trapeze for the first time in days.

--

"I’m fine," Robika hollered at M'kel’s call. Swimming over to the shore, she shot an irritated look at the dragons. "Quite the adventure, hm?" she asked, shaking out her hair, then re-tightening the buns. They were dripping, she noticed, so she squeezed them. She hated it when her hair dripped.

However, no sooner had she done that than M'kel was off again. "Restless man, hm?" she asked dryly, now squeezing her shirt of excess water. However, he was saying something. Frowning, she heard him mention a clutch, and she was on her feet in an instant. "M'kel, do you mean to say there's a clutch around?" she called after her, still trying to sound sharp but the yelling took the edge out of her voice.

Yes, the little cousins are near, Kmarath told her cheerfully, slapping the water with her green tail. Cursing, Robika bolted after M'kel, going as fast as her stout legs would allow.

"Wait!" she called, trying not to get too frustrated with the sand that was sticking to her wet feet and between her toes. "I'm coming, too!" She wanted to Impress one- and by Faranth, she was going to do it.

[Journye]

L'kas watched with genuine curiosity as she put the trapeze together, brushing his agitated brown flit away from his hair as the small creature tugged on it. But the little brown was persistent and continued to chirp and trill, tugging at hi person's hair.

L'kas was about to snatch at the little brown when his wrist was grabbed. He looked at Elkie surprised then grinned as she mentioned what M'kel had hollered. That would explain his brown's agitation. He nodded and hurried after Elkie, Cael giving a final exasperated trill which might have meant 'Finally' and disappeared between

Seath was content to merely lounge in the cool ocean water, he had seen clutches before and his own already had one so he would rather relax then go chasing little cousins.

[M'kel]

((OOC: The next installment has finally arrived! Please note: The Hatching will occur in another thread back at the Weyr, starting this weekend (likely Sunday). This was merely an exciting thread in which to find the Clutch. Sorry if there has been any confusion! I hope it has still been fun to rp))

The rider's less keen eyes were gradually able to pick out the flashes of colour against the rich background of the light blue sky that had drawn Tirenth's attention. A large group of fire lizards was streaming in frenzied patterns through the air, their shrill voices barely reaching his ears over the pounding of the surf. M'kel frowned in disgruntlement, wondering at these uncanny antics. The fire lizards were so absorbed in their shrieking dives and spins that they seemed not to notice the approaching dragon nor people.

You better warn them we're coming, so they don't all die of fright. And see if you can calm 'em down, will ya? M'kel grumbled in his mind, the sharp cries of the fire lizards now perfectly audible. One last high-pitched shriek pierced the balmy air before all fluttering wings vanished from sight. Did you scare them away? he groaned. His curiousity had been piqued by this strange behaviour, and the rider had been hoping to determine the cause of the display.

Abruptly, wings of all colours reappeared in the air once more, and the cacophony of voices rose once again over the crash of the sea, however slightly more muted. The distressed screeching continued to dim as M'kel drew closer. Upon cresting a final rise, the bronzerider gazed upon the sight that had so disturbed these fire lizards. A golden queen lay crumpled upon an unmistakable, distinct mound of sand. Shocked, the rider stumbled to a halt, his hazel eyes darting swiftly about in confusion. The queen fire lizard raised her head, glaring balefully at this intruder, but the ichor staining the sand indicated her inability to retaliate further.

The dragonrider was stunned, unable to comprehend how a queen fire lizard had been so terribly injured while the rest of her group were flying all too well. It was then that M'kel realized the swirling patterns of wings were marred by unstable flight, for a number of the fire lizards had suffered some injury or another. His eyes slowly drifted across the sand, and there he found a number of others grounded, though their injuries weren't as severe as their queen's. Others have already gone between, Tirenth informed him morosely, the bronze having settled off shore to gaze at the depressing sight.
"What...happened?" M'kel breathed, too disturbed to speak in his mind. Tirenth was silent for a moment, seeking a coherent answer from the frenzied bunch of fire lizards. The swirling patterns grew more violent while the shrill cries rose in pitch once more. The only fire lizard rational enough at the moment to answer was the gold. She began chattering angrily, although her limbs barely twitched on the sand.

A flock of wherries attacked. They were more voracious than usual. The fire lizards were caught by surprise; the queen alone had been guarding her nest. The others came in, and the battle was fierce. They drove the wherries away, but not before their queen was injured so. The colours of Tirenth's mind were darker than usual, and M'kel realized that his dragon was reflecting the pain of the fire lizards. She needs to go between...but can't.

A sick feeling rose in the bronzerider's gut. The golden queen had fought to protect her Clutch, and now she was dying, but still she would not abandon the eggs. It was then that M'kel realized others had joined him, eyes eager at the prospect of Impressing a fire lizard today. As difficult as it was to do so, he needed to explain what Tirenth had been able to delve from the panicked minds. "The gold needs to go between. There was a wherry attack." It was a succinct explanation, but M'kel couldn't say much more through the thickness in his throat.
For the benefit of his companions, the dragonrider continued to speak out loud. "Tirenth, tell her the eggs will be safe with us. We will watch over her...children." The Weyr would gain fire lizards, but to M'kel's surprise, he was more concerned with assuaging this queen's fear and torment. His dragon relayed the message, using simple images and colours to convey their good intentions and sympathy for her pain.

The golden fire lizard gazed out at Tirenth for some time, then turned her fiercely whirling eyes upon M'kel. Her gaze locked upon his own, and the dragonrider couldn't help but wonder how different these fire lizards really were from their larger cousins. His eyes were fixed upon her, and he was able to discern the slight trembling of her limbs. Finally, she chirruped weakly, the resignation clear in her voice. Even if she stayed, she would not be able to last until the eggs Hatched. She would have to trust these two-legs, though it frightened her terribly.

With this plea pounded into Tirenth's and M'kel's minds, the fire lizard raised herself up and somehow made it off the ground, disappearing forever. Her fluttering group, including those on the ground, let out a terrible chorus of bugles, then vanished as well. Tirenth echoed the cry, though more mutely, and silence settled upon the abandoned cove.

"Well....we better gather them up, then," M'kel grunted huskily.

[Journye]

L'kas crested the rise just as M'kel was having his bronze tell the little queen they would look after the eggs. He bowed his head sadly as the queen and her group went between. His little brown bugled as loudly as he could as the group disappeared then landed on his person's shoulder and chirped sadly, nuzzling his head against L'kas' cheek.

L'kas moved to stand next to M'kel "I have a couple of extra sacks back where we beached. If you have any and can tell me where I can send Cael to fetch them so we don't have to make the trip back," he offered while still looking at the ichor stained little mound.

[etoile]

Elkie blinked, tagging along after L'kas. Were they hatching now? she wondered anxiously. On her tip toes, she looked over L'kas' shoulder, just in time to see the poor little queen launch herself between. She watched with a strange sadness, letting out a small, sympathetic crooning noise. The poor queen! She had never seen a flitter die before, and she never wanted to again.

Keeping her eyes to the ground for a moment, she finally looked up at L'kas timidly. She supposed now would be a bad time to ask if she could try out the trapeze. It wasn't as though she were being insensitive- it was quite the contrary, actually. She happened to be a very sensitive person. However, she needed something to get her mind off of this...

She coughed slightly. “Erm, L’kas, should we just go back to the trapeze?” she asked, figuring she should be the one to ask. She didn’t want him to forget about the trapeze in all the excitement. Or the dragon dancing, she thought wickedly.

[Journye]

L'kas glanced at Elkie and smiled softly with a nod "Yeah thats probably a good idea, I think M'kel has plenty of help to get the eggs home. I don't think they are ready to hatch yet," he said as he turned away from the sad scene to head back toward the beach "So what exactly needs to be done now? I believe Seath is finished swimming now and will be more then willing to help you out anyway he can."

[etoile]

Elkie didn't need to be asked twice. She pondered for a moment, trying to figure out how Seath could act as a swivel for the trapeze. She eyed them both carefully, playing out the images of trying to do her dancing in her mind. Seeing a way it could work, she grinned. "Come, come, come!" she said cheerfully, taking L'kas by the wrist to lead him over to the trapeze. She bent to the ground, picking up the ends of the rope in her hands.

"Seath, c'mere so I can teach you how to do this!" she hollered to the bronze. Looking to L'kas for permission, she held the trapeze up, twisting the rope around her wrists to the trapeze could dangle from the ground. "What I need you to do," she instructed, "is to carry this trapeze. I think if you can hold it in one claw, or even just tying the ends together and slipping it around a foreleg, we could make this work. Can you do that?" Her bright eyes found, met, and held the dragon's large ones, pure excitement in her own.

This was going to be awesome! She was nearly dancing just at the thought of having a chance to do this. Of course, she would ask Seath about the dragon dancing when they were already up- where L'kas would have no chance to protest. She drummed her fingers against the side of her thigh, excited for this to get going. She'd be back in the air soon, back where she belonged!

[Journye]

L'kas couldn't help but grin at Elkie's excitement as she led him over to the trapeze. He laughed out right as she called Seath to come over. The bronze seemed a bit surprised by this, but swam the finally length to the shore, careful not to splash the two as he waded out and shook his wings to dry them.

He tilted his head and leaned down close to watch her as she showed him what she wanted. He held out his foreleg so that she could do what she thought best as he looked at his rider. L'kas grinned and walked closer, leaning against Seath's other foreleg "You have him a bit confused, but he's willing to help," he said as he patted the bronze affectionately.