Concentration II

[M'kel]

Eligibility: Bronzes and browns

Materials Available: Thick clothing and gloves. Fire lizards must be used. Flitter Mail recruits will be available for those unable to borrow from a friend!

Activities: Riders will need to collect 5 flags hidden in the tops of trees in one of the trickiest sections of the jungle. Their dragons will have a convenient ledge to perch on, on the volcanic wall of Araelen Weyr directly adjacent to the competition ground. Thus, the bronzes and browns will need to spot each of the brightly coloured flags (one gold, one bronze, one brown, one blue, and one green) and direct the riders to the appropriate tree. After struggling through the undergrowth, the riders and dragons will need to work together to direct the flitters up into the trees to retrieve the flags.

The Goal: Each of the flags will have a key attached to it, dangling by a string. The riders will then need to make their way to a tall pole in the middle of the competition field (directed by their dragons, of course), and there a box will be waiting. The dragons, who were shown the right key at the start of the competition, will then need to look through their rider's eyes and help them choose the correct one. All of the keys are fairly similar, so it will likely be the most difficult portion of the task... Upon choosing a key, the rider will open the box. Inside is waiting a delicious bubbly pie! This will either be a pleasant reward for the rider, or, if the wrong key was chosen, a spring will send the pie flying upward...into the eager rider's face. Oops!

Note: Even if you choose to rp the latter result, your chars are still eligible to win the competition, for they may have finished so quickly in comparison to others that it doesn't matter that they failed the last segment!

Distractions: The Search/Rescue competition is taking place directly above the Concentration competition. Missed paint will no doubt provide veritable bombardment for dragons and riders alike! Plus, aren't those green dragons just lovely when they glide through the air with such grace?

Procedure: Everyone wishing to compete will have 3 days to post in this thread starting July 21st. At this point, the winners will be determined from those who have posted by dice rolling.

[Spiffy .th !]

"First up!

The call went out and R'mekk secured his blindfold, Riki whirling round his head in excitement. The corner he had accidentally-on-purpose left open was immediately flipped down by one of the offials, in this case a drudge, and he sighed in resignation. Looks I'm depending on you then, Toot, he said, directing the thougt up to the miniature bronze sitting on the high ledge, though Faranth knows how he got there without flying.All right Mine! I'll guide you, Tutankhath replied with the mental equivalent of a wink. I'm depending on you so we can win this, Toot, don't let me down. And no jokes! The bronze Weyrlings eyes twinkled. Of course not, Mine, I would never. R'mekk flashed his dragonet a glance from behind his blindfold, saving his from crumbling at his bronzes ever-the-innocent looks. Just think though, if we win, the week old bronze and His beating the Weyrleaders! What fun would that be? R'mekk tried, knowing well his bronzes weakness for jokes and pranks, trying to make being serious sound fun for once. Tutankhath flapped his small wings in excitement, OK!

Reassured, the Weyrling stepped up to the starting line, supported by the drudge that had flipped his blindfold corner down. Remeber, Toot, direct me to the furthest flags first, and remember which colour key you were shown! Right Mine, it was the blue one! Fat load of good telling me that now, eh? Just show me at the end.

Go!

Forward, Mine. No, a bit to the right... thats it, now keep going. R'mekk complied, trying not to rush but still ending up snagging his face on a vine. Toot, you could have warned me that was there! I thought I was only supposed to give you dirrctions. And warnings! Oh. Mind the vine. Keep going! R'mekk bit back a scathing comment and stumbled on. He managed to stumble into three more vines, two trees and a rock before Tutankhath finally yelled Stop! That tree in front of you. Wheres the key? At the top, the direction was accompanied my a mental image of a green key, which he passed onto Riki who had settled onto his shoulders. Get the green key, Riki, the green key. The brown chirped, flying up to the key, grabbed it an betweened, returning a moment later with the key which he dropped into R'mekk's upstretched hand. Good boy. Now Toot, where's the next one? Three dragonlengths behind you, to the left.

The rest of the keys were retrieved with fewer fiascoes than the first as the trio got into a rhythm, except for the second to last key, when R'mekk went behind a tree out of Tutankhath's sight and ran straight into a log, bashing his head on the trunk and grazing his leg on a sharp branch, even as a dolop of red pain landed on Toot's neck, causing him to momentarily loose his concentration. Toot! Sorry, Mine! I got splatted and I couldn't see you.

When R'mekk was finally directed to the pole in the centre Tutankhath failed to direct him around a patch of brambles, which, stepping into, caused him to drop one of the keys in surprise and minor pain. He stumbled back, managing to scratch his leg in several places despite wearing his thickest breeches. "Shardit!" Riki chirped, holding the lost key which R'mekk tentatively took thankful that he had trained his flitter so well in stealing things, a trait which was finally being put to a fully legal use! Stumbling the last few steps around the thicket he almost walked into the pole, thanks only to Riki's warning squawk.

He only then realised that he had lost track of which key was which at the bramble thicket. Toot, which key is it?! Let me see them, one by one through your eyes. Not that one, maybe that one, no, nooo, maybe. Umm, I think it was the first one I said maybe for, it had that funny hole in the end bit. If you say so. Now, where's the key hole? With a little scrabbling he found the hole, directed again by Tutankhath, and turned the key to open the box... and the bubbly pie splatter didn't come.

What?? was R'mekk's dragon's startled query. Whipping off his blindfold just as the steward gave the all clear he glared at his dragon, after taking a few seconds to find him after the darkness behind the blindfold. You were trying to get me splattered, weren't you?! Tutankhath feigned innocence - very well. Me? Neve-

In the end it didn't seem to matter wether he got pie-splatted or not, for Tutankhath was cut off by a large dollop of paint that landed directly on R'mekk's head. His dragon Bugled in triumph, voice still of the high pitch of youth. R'mekk could only glare at him for a moment longer before guffawing himself. We did it though, Toot! We showed them!

The dragon didn't reply.

[.K.aci]

Let's get down to business - to defeat the Huns
Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?
You're the saddest bunch I've ever met
But you can bet before we're through
Mister, I'll make a man out of you

Thick wings back-winged on the clear sky, and Wingsecond H'aze slipped from the Bronze's back he was riding on. Dartagnath was oddly excited today - he had been looking forward to the competitions for awhile, and he KNEW that they would win everything they were doing. Which is everything we are eligible for, you big lug. A friendly slap on the neck of the full grown dragon, and the Bronze peered down at his. Of course! It is going to be fun, and the more things we are in the better to Impress the wonderful Gwynevith. Shaking his head, H'aze only slapped his Bronze again and sent him aloft.

Watching the Bronze spiral above, H'aze couldn't help but admire his dragon. They were both Full Rider's now, and Dartagnath had grown - the Bronze was full sized now. He wasn't the biggest... Alright, he leaned to the smaller side of average, but he more than made up for it. He was perfect. His proportions were beautiful, and H'aze loved watching the creature move. He was pure sinew packed in a lean body - muscles shifted and moved under the thick hide in a rippling manner as he took off to the sky and settled on the ledge he had claimed as his. The two-toned Bronze settled himself down carefully, laying down rather like a canine with his front paws crossed and his head perked up, eagerly waiting the call. His was on the grass, getting ready, when his head whipped up to seek the Bronze. Dartag, call Ritan. The silly critter is tucked with Amora at the weyr and is terrified of all the people.

Now the Bronze was irritated, but he did as he was asked, drawing the little Brown to him with promises of safety. Mine, why do you keep this silly one around? We could get another cousin. H'aze only shook his head at the dragon, mentally - his blindfold was being tucked on his face carefully. The poor drudge looked terrified to be touching the frightening young man with the bold markings on his face, but so used to it, the Bronzerider didn't even see. I've had Ritan before I had you, Dartagnath. I love him very much. If you want, I'll go to the next lizard hatching, but Ritan stays. Knowing where the love was, the light Brown flit sped down on seal colored too-big wings, landing safely in the arms of His. This was going to be hard.

Second ready?

The call for his turn came next, and H'aze shook off the nervousness he had. Thankfully Dartagnath was a very focused dragon, or he would be more worried about this.

Go!

[/u]

MineOwn... Errrrr, walk forward? H'aze stayed frozen where he was. Dartagnath, my love, going to do better than that? Errr.... Walk forward slowly? He was now worried. Alright, Dartag. Think about this. Where, how many steps, and how fast? The Bronze scanned the ground ahead of his, thinking. Alright, ten steps, medium paced, right infront of you. The man did that - and didn't fall. Alright. What next? Now we are going into the forest...Three steps forward and then take a big step up in the air. The man did that, trying to figure out what exactly he was stepping over. Show me a picture of that, Dart? It was a rock, the size of his foot. Stifling a groan, the man shook his head. Dart, I won't trip over that if you tell me it's there. Just send me pictures, okay? Work with pictures and words.

They slipped forward together to the first big tree, and Dart announced he should stop. Then was the hard part. "Ritan, go get the flag?" The creature wasn't willing to leave His's side. "Please, sweetie?" Oh no. It was scary up there! Whirling fear, he clambered up to His's shoulder and threw up his wings, hiding under them. Dart, help me out here. Little cousin, please go get the flag? Your's will be right there when it is found, and he will be so happy. Together, they managed to coax Ritan up and into the tree... But it took precious moments. Up he went, to grab the Brown flag, and they started the process all over again.

It went faster, in the end - Dartagnath got the words down quickly, and they managed to move together in a fluid grace... For the most part. H'aze ran into a tree branch that was too slim for Dart to see, and it whipped him across the cheek. The cut was slim and not at all bad, but Dart worried over him the same. He got paint dropped on him, all over his right arm, and it barely missed the terrified Brown. That took a few moments of soothing the Brown and convincing him NOT to flee. He tripped, at one point, by accident over a rock that Dartagnath had warned him about, and went sprawling - the blindfold thing was slightly scary. If he didn't have the Bronze to sling onto mentally, he would have been scared of a past resurfacing. But he didn't even think of that now - now he had fun. They managed to get even Ritan in the game for the last two flags - he was fine, once used to things.

So in they went to the grass field, making generally good time besides Ritan, and H'aze held the keys in his hand. It was up to Dartagnath to remember which one the key was.... Thankfully, the dragon had only been distracted once, with a nice bit of pain on his tail. Off the blindfold went, to peer down at the keys. Which one, Dart? The Bronze went over them meticulously. Not the one with the circular thing, and not the really heavy one.... Maybe the one with that odd shape... Or the jagged piece... In the end it was down to those two, and Dartagnath made his choice. The jagged piece. I am sure. Not doubting the dragon, he reached over and opened the box, eyes closed just in case - and he had a pie in his face. No! MineOwn, I said the jagged piece! Why did you grab the other one?

"Opps. Sorry Dart, I could've sworn that you ment this one when you said the jagged one." No! NO NO NO! MineOwn, you silly human! I meant the other one! Ritan licked the sweet pie off of his face, while H'aze laughed quietly, and Dartagnath had a fit on the ledge. Why was His so stupid?!

Tranquil as a forest
But on fire within
Once you find your center
You are sure to win
You're a spineless, pale pathetic lot
And you haven't got a clue
Somehow I'll make a man out of you

[/blockquote][/size]

[B'kay]

B'kay waited while Syth settled high on his perch, and then showed him a mind to mind image of his point of view. Though the image was distant and fuzzy for the rider, the dragon could see the trees clearly, with the scrap of fabric attached to each key at least minimally in view.

Excellent, the WeyrlingMaster thought, as the drudge secured the blindfold around his eyes. Having been blind, B'kay almost felt he had an unfair advantage over the other contestants. He had argued with his bronze about competing, in fact, claiming that, between lessons for the new Weyrlings and the extra duties this shell-cursed fever was causing for him as Junior Weyrleader, he really had better things to do.

Syth, however, saw the need for the diversion, and talked B'kay into entering.

Griz, B'kay's brown flit, however, agreed with the human ... strongly. He always tended toward the grouchy side as it was, and was grumbling now as he lit on the bronzerider's shoulder, and the starter called out "Go!"

The practice the bronze pair had had while B'kay was sightless most assuredly was helpful. Syth guided B'kay, through images and thought instruction, directly to the base of each tree, and the rider even knew what color flag he was holding when Griz, still complaining about scratches and brambles and having to climb way too high through the tangled branches, delivered each one. Bronze, Gold, Blue, Green ... only the Brown flag remained.

The Brown was, it seemed, high up in a tree around whose base was a thicket of brush which wore long, needle-sharp thorns. For the first time, when Syth said, "Halt", B'kay didn't halt quite fast enough and wound up impaling his shins on the spikes.

"Shards," he cursed under his breath, and then sent Griz into the tree. This tree also had thicker branches, which wound around one another, creating a labyrinth of bark and leaf through which the brown firelizard had to weave. Still, though, it was a matter of moments before he had the flag in his little talons and, overjoyed to be done with the task, he shot downward.

In fact, he shot downward far too quickly, and soon found himself being snapped back into the air!

The string holding the key had tangled in the branches, providing a slingshot effect. Griz soared skyward, flagless, and screeched angrily as he struggled to halt his progress. Brown wings strained as the air speeding by slowed, and he managed to right himself high above the top of the tree.

When he returned, he found the string hopelessly snared. He grabbed the flag, pulling with all his might. The fabric tore and shredded in spots, but the key would not budge.

Finally, with the encouragement of B'kay and Syth, the flitter began to gnaw at the string. If he could not untie it with flag intact, perhaps he could free the key from the flag altogether.

And, indeed he did ... however, firelizard that he was, Griz had not foreseen the need to hold the string on the side nearest the key.

As the string finally severed, the brown looked on in horror as the key plummeted through the branches and landed with a klink in the mass of tangled thorn bushes below.

Griz landed on his human's shoulder with an acid-angry chatter and tossed a keyless scrap of brown fabric onto the ground, chattering a diatribe that most clearly said, "I told you so!"

Well, they still had a four out of five chance, and Syth led B'kay flawlessly to the box. B'kay reached for the image of the correct key in the dragon's mind, and his hands went over those he held. Each of the four was close, but none matched all of the criteria. It didn't take the rider long to figure out that the key that would deliver a bubbly pie reward lay at the bottom of the thorn brush.

Oh, well. The rules were that the box had to be tried. B'kay found the keyhole, inserted the first key he picked up from the table ...

... And ducked.

The WeyrlingMaster left the competition carrying a bubbly-pie smeared, furiously screeching, brown flitter on his shoulder.

[Kitari]

((Griz cheering squad, right here!))


"That looked painful," T'ryis muttered, watching a contestant stumble over a log and wincing at the rider's pained yelp. You're not going to let that happen to me, right?

Oh, of course not, mine. I'm far too - is that Igrainth?! Oh no, just another green.

...

T'ryis gritted his teeth, glaring up at the amber-coloured brown lounging on a ledge far above.

How very reassuring.

Quiet, mine! We're about to get started!

With a reluctant sigh, T'ryis turned and allowed the drudge to secure a large, thick (and slightly smelly? Great.) blindfold around his head. The brownrider reached up instinctively to fiddle with it and whipped his hand back in surprise at the warning slap.

"No touching, now, or you'll be disqualified!"

Once again, the brownrider (that's right, rider! No longer a Weyrling!), gritted his teeth, but he held his tongue. Wickhath was having a merry time up on the ledge, enjoying his rider's discomfort to no end and excitedly awaiting their turn. It seemed to be a bit of a cycle between them... T'ryis would get worked up about things and Wickhath would laugh at his rider's foul mood. That dragon was insufferable some times. And yet, he usually managed to put a smile on T'ryis's face.

The brownrider was a little concerned about the strenuous nature of this challenge, however. His Threadscore along his inner thigh was still bandaged and extremely sensitive, so he would need to be careful not to strain himself too much. The last thing he wanted was to tear the score open. It had been a major injury, but due to its location, he was able to get around, if slowly and with a slight limp. Hopefully, Wickhath would be especially sensitive to that fact and take it into consideration today.

OOOH! GO GO NOW!

"WHAT?" T'ryis cried, stumbling forward and bumping into the drudge.

Oh, sorry, they just put the last flag up, and I thought it was our turn -

"You can go now!"

Oh yay! Now, take three steps forward, and one to the left, and...really, mine, do you call those steps?

"I don't have your big sharding dragon feet, that's for sure..." T'ryis replied drily, though a smile was beginning to tug at the corners of his lips. If nothing else, Wickhath was undeniably amusing.

Well then, you're going to need to take at least FIFTEEN steps to get where I wanted you to be. Much better. Okay, now...

T'ryis continued to pick his way carefuly through the jungle, hands held out warily in front of him to ward off stray vines or twigs. Twice he smacked his head on a branch, though it was mostly due to his over-reaction than anything else, for the sensation of brushing up against a tree on his left often caused him to jerk to the right and...bam.

Panther was digging his claws very tightly into T'ryis's shoulder pad, hissing his displeasure at this extremely rocky ride, but the blue was staying put. He was as excited as the rest of them at the prospect of winning this challenge and demonstrating their might, but the journey was a bit rougher than he'd expected.

Each time they reached a tree, confirmed by Wickhath to be correct, Panther zoomed upward, weaving amongst the branches and retrieving the flag. They were working quite well together. In fact, it was going almost too well.

Okay, you're going to need to jump, now!

What? Jump?! T'ryis demanded, beginning to feel slightly panicky.

Yes, jump forward, now!

...and T'ryis took a leap of faith. But his feet did not smack back down onto the firm soil to tell him he had managed the jump successfully. Instead, one sank up to the knee in slimy mud, and the other banged against a fallen log, thus causing him to topple forward. His Threadscore burned terribly, and the young man cried out, feeling his hands sink into something soft as well. Still, he managed to hold himself there: one knee propped on a fallen log, one buried in mud, and his arms sunk halfway to the elbow.

Oh darn. I thought you could make it. The brown sounded rather deflated. It certainly would have been marvelous if you had...

"Wickhath!" T'ryis barked, fighting the urge to tear off his blindfold and pull himself out of this mess. "Why didn't you just direct me around it?! What is this anyway, a slough?"

But that would have taken so much more time! Now come on, pull yourself out and keep going. Oh no. We've lost the little cousin, haven't we?

Sure enough, Panther had promptly disappeared between, taking to the air even as his person had done the very same. Popping back into the air above T'ryis's head, he began to chitter quite indignantly. He at least had been smart enough to know it would be a bad idea!

Grumbling to himself, T'ryis tried to block out the flitter and dragon long enough to heave himself upward. He was lucky for that fallen log, for it provided the leverage to free his hands. A moment of fear gripped the young man, as he quickly felt in his grip to see if he still had all three keys he'd collected so far, and luckily, he had not released them. Next, he began to pull on his other leg, forcing it slowly from the grip of the sucking mud. It finally gave with a small 'pop', and he fell forward onto dry land, rolling onto his back and breathing deeply in relief. He broke into a small coughing fit for a moment, before his breathing returned to normal. That blasted flu... It just had to get him, too. After a careful perusal, he found that his Threadscore was not, indeed, bleeding, and that gave him even more cause for relief, even though it was aching rather terribly.

"Let's not do something like that again, please," he muttered, when a force striking his stomach and a large squelch caused T'ryis to yelp in surprise.

Paint! How fun. Now, get up and keep going, still two more keys to collect! Wickhath informed him cheerily. In fact, if you hurry, AH!

"What? What?!" T'ryis demanded.

Suddenly, Panther burst into amused chitters, relaying an image of Wickhath with a large red spot right between his whirling eyes.

"Now that's more like it." T'ryis grinned, pulling himself to his feet and slogging soggily onward. Panther had a bit of difficulty freeing the fifth flag, for he was growing rather bored by this game at that point. However, T'ryis and Wickhath were able to talk him into it together, and the rider and flitt finally made it to the centre pole.

"Which one?" T'ryis asked, removing his blindfold and holding up the keys for Wickhath to 'see'.

Um...mm...

...Were you watching the competition above when you were supposed to be looking at that key?

Well I thought I saw...someone I knew, competing, and I was just seeing how everyone was doing, and that key-thing was so tiny and well...dragons don't have the best memories, you know!

"That's why this is a Concentration competition," T'ryis reminded the brown wearily.

Oh all right. I'm really concentrating now. I'd say...the one with the blue flag!

"Are you sure?"

No, but what's the use in arguing over it?

T'ryis had to agree with that, and so, with as much trust in his dragon as he could muster, he placed the key in the lock and turned. His eyes were closed and his breath was held, waiting for the mushy impact, but it never came.

"You did it!" T'ryis cried, a rare smile breaking through that stern facade, and he scooped up the bubbly pie to take an eager bite.

I did, didn't I? Bravo! We did quite well, today, I think!

And T'ryis had to agree.


((Oopsies! Please note new paragraph added near beginning. Forgot about his Threadscore...))

[D'gellin]

"ah...ah...ACHOO" D'gellin sneezed into his elbow, grimacing as he pulled away. Eugh, D'gellinmine, really. The young bronzerider scowled as he wiped his nose on his sleeve. Oh shove it, it's not my fault. One more word and I'll sneeze on you. He warned Lancetoth, though he failed to hide the smile behind his arm. Oh yeah, they laughed about it now, but D'gellin was actually fortunate today. The blasted flu kept rearing its nasty head at perhaps the most inopportune moments, so he was lucky sneezing and coughing were his only symptoms today...'Cause you know - just for the record - running noses and sudden bouts of nausea didn't exactly attract the ladies...Sad face...

Oh you can worry about disgusting the women later, D'gellinmine. It is nearly our turn! Lancetoth announced eagerly, stretching his neck out to see as much of the trees as possible. It was then that the drudge with the blindfold came, reluctantly and with the look of someone being forced to touch something dirty as she cringed away. D'gellin felt the sudden compulsion to cough on her simply out of spite - D'gellinmine! Oh I wouldn't - He gave an uneasy mental laugh. No really, honest, I wouldn't - Lancetoth simply raised a mental eyebrow, silencing a guilty D'gellin. Soon as the blindfold was in place and the drudge had eagerly excused herself - it was only a little flu! D:> - it was their turn.

Alright, D'gellinmine, take a few steps to your left. There is a key not very far off. It looks like there is an incline there however, so be careful![/i] Getting to the green key progressed fairly easily, Lancetoth fresh enough that his attention was on track. Now the key should be just above you - Wait, wait, wait! Where's Mother? D'gellin could have kicked himself! He'd completely forgotten about his firelizard! How on Pern had he expected to reach the keys without her? Despite the blindfold, he compulsively looked around, as though he'd actually see her fluttering about in the middle of no where. A quick summoning from Lancetoth and burst of cool air later and the large green had appeared, chirping and nuzzling D'gellin's cheek. Thanks, Lanny - You ready, Mother? We need to get the keys. Up in the trees. Got it? The flitter tilted her head, chirp inquisitive. Lancetoth? D'gellin asked helplessly, and Lancetoth sent Mother mental images.

Oh this was easy! Mother winged her way up effortlessly, snagging the key in her talons and depositing it in D'gellin's waiting hands. Oh your fantastic, Mother! I helped too! D: Thank you, Lanny. You're welcome, D'gellinmine! <3! Okay, so that's green down...four more to go!

The next three would have been fairly easy if Lancetoth hadn't begun to loose interest, attention straying to the darting green and blue (but especially green!) hides overhead. How had Lancetoth not noticed how pretty Elinth was before? And what was his D'gellin doing in that bush? When did the rider skim his leg on a rock? Oh enough griping, Mine! We have a competition to win![/i] bramble bushes, paint mines, obscured vision - overeager little blue flitters?

Mother squawked in alarm as Whirl burst from between much too close, flying about in excitement. He didn't know everyone was playing games! He wanted to play games too! How did this one work? OOOOOH SHINY! "Whirl, no!" The blue dove at Mother, intent on obtaining her 'shiny' for himself! The startled green beat it between with a strangled hiss, leaving the key to plummet! "WHIRL GET THE SHINY!" D'gellin gasped as Lancetoth's mind relayed the event, only to make himself burst out in a cough. (Sharding flu again! He should have brought one of those sucking candies with him...) Whirl was quick enough to catch the key before it was lost but he wasn't quite so good at giving up his prize. "Give it here, Whirl." The blue chittered giddily, twisting just out of D'gellin's reach. What a fun game! D'gellin sighed heavily, directing the flit to follow him instead. He'd have to bargain with the twit later if that was the key he needed. Until then, Whirl wasn't about to let anything happen to the sparkly shiny.

Hurry, Mineown! We are nearly finished! Step five large paces to your right![/i] Once he had reached the box, D'gellin ripped off the blindfold, blinking his light eyes in the bright light. "Ah...okay, which one, Lancetoth?" He spread the keys out, sending images to the bronze. Oh that is easy. The one from the gold flag. Lancetoth replied without hesitation. ...You're sure? Oh yes, I am quite certain. Now open the box! For some reason, Lancetoth's confidence was more suspicious than uncertainty but...well this was the bronze's show...D'gellin shoved the key in the hole, closed his eyes, cringed away in preparation, turned the key and!...

Ah-ha! We did it, D'gellinmine![/color]

"What - really?" D'gellin eased one eye open and, sure enough, the pie was still safely in the box; suspiciously innocent, yet immobile. The rider blinked, laughing in disbelief. "Wow, I'd thought...wow, 'atta boy, Lanny!"

Lancetoth snorted, a little put off. Your confidence in me is overwhelming, Mine. He suddenly wished he had given D'gellin the wrong key! That would show him! But perhaps he'd just steal the pie when D'gellin wasn't looking instead. That would be equally diabolical...muahaha...

[Tealah]

Niera bounced on the balls of her feet as the blindfold was tied over her eyes. She knew she didn't have much of a chance in this competition, since not only was Matiath just a baby she was the youngest rider competing in this contest. But still, it was really really exciting to be able to be part of it!

One of the older dragons had helped Matiath up to his high perch. Niera waved in his general direction. Isn't this exciting, Matty?

The calico-brown dragon chuckled. He'd not been keen on the idea of competing in the contest at first, but Niera was just so happy about it that he couldn't resist. And Matiath had to admit, he was starting to feel pretty excited about it too. All he had to do was guide Niera to each flag, and that wasn't so bad, really. Maybe they'd even beat some of the older riders for it. Yes, Mine, very exciting. We'll do really well today, I think.

Niera grinned upon hearing her dragon's confident words. I think so too. Is everyone watching us? The blindfold secured, the drudge stepped back. Something landed on her shoulder, small claws clutching her shirt. That would be Maya, the Weyrharper's gold flitter.

Niera had been surprised when Arysa had offered her Maya for the contest, since she hadn't a 'lizard of her own, but the harper had just waved her protests away, saying that since she was stuck in bed anyway Maya didn't need to be hanging around. "Besides", Arysa had said, "You being so young you need all the help you can get," before winking at her. Then she's sicked up, which was gross, and Niera had left with the gold on her shoulder.

"Go!" came the command from the starter, and Niera bounded forward energetically. Maya dug her claws in to keep from falling off, but that didn't bother Niera and the gold seemed to be all right with it. With Matiath's encouragement and directions, the girl wove her way between trees. She was small enough that she managed to avoid getting too caught up in tree branches, but despite the thick clothes and gloves she still got some nasty scratches when she tangled in a bramble Matiath hadn't spotted in time.

There's the first one, in the tree right in front of you, Matiath reported.

Niera stopped where she was. Maya, who'd left her shoulder sometime during the bramble incident, alighted once more. The weyrling picked her up. "Maya, can you get the flag? Up in the tree, see it?" She held the gold up towards the tree.

Maya chirped questioningly, looking up into the tree to see what this girl could be trying to tell her. The green flag, little one, Matiath told her, showing the gold his view of the flag and key. The gold peered up through the branches, saw the matching flag, and with a peep of recognition flew up to it, and brought it back down to Niera without incident. Her eyes whirled blue; hide and seek was fun! And she never got to play it with Arysa, because Arysa was terrible at seeking...

Niera moved on to the next one, this time managing to avoid the bramble patch. Maya had a harder time pulling this one, the gold flagged key, out of the tree, but she finally managed to untangle it and carry it down to the girl.

The last three were fetched without too much trouble, and Niera bounded back toward the clearing with the locked box eagerly. They were making such good time! Surely not of the others could have managed - SPLAT. Niera stopped so suddenly that she fell forward, barely catching herself in time to avoid faceplanting. Something had hit her and Maya squarely, splashing wetly all over her head and down her shoulders. Shock practically emanated from the gold 'lizard, and Niera just blinked.

It's paint! Matiath explained hastily. From the Rescue competition. Someone must have missed. It's ok, keep going. You're doing really well.

Niera beamed at the brown's encouragement, and - laughing now that she knew it was just paint - stopped in front of the box. "All right, Matty!" she called, pulling off the paint-soaked blindfold. It had left a streak of paintlessness across her eyes that made her look kind of reverse-bandit. "Ok, Matty, which key?"

Matiath was silent.

"Er, Matty?"

I think it's the blue one, he said finally. That is, I'm pretty sure it is.

Niera pulled the blue-flagged key out of the bundle, confidently sticking it in the lock. Paint-spattered Maya, perched on her shoulder again, leaned forward curiously at the same time Niera turned the key.

It wasn't the blue key.

Niera, dripping with paint and berries, burst out laughing. "Done!" she called out to the officials, throwing paint smeared hands in the air. This was great!

[Skye]

Kimber watched the contestants that went before her as far as she could see them before they disappeared into the thick vegetation. She frowned as she heard the grumbles and yelps of pain. She grinned to herself at the thought of this activity.

Mine, are you sure you want to do this?[/color] Ferth asked as he settled upon the ledge since it was their turn next. Kimber grinned and looked up toward her lovely colored brown. His coloration made him stand out among browns, he was also smaller the average, but she didn't care she loved him completely, and they were full riders now!

She laughed softly as the drudge put the blindfold in place. We'll do fine Ferth. I trust you, she assured her brown lovingly. She felt the brown's hesitation then his willingness. She whistled softly to call Emberlyn's green flit to her.

Speaking of her twin, she had mentioned she wasn't feeling well this morning. Kimber promised herself she would visit her twin later, but right now she needed to keep focused on the event before her.

Next Go!

Kimber grinned and waited for Ferth's instructions.

Alright mine. Take fifteen steps forward at your normal pace then turn left,[/color] the racy colored brown told his rider, who complied immediately. She yelped as she ran into a large rock. Was that your left or mine Ferth? she asked calmly, still laughing softly.

Oh dear mine this is why I didn't want to do this! You are right, it was my left turn right, your right and five steps forward and you'll be to the first pole,[/color] Ferth said apologetically. Kimber sent him thoughts of love and assurance as she followed his directions. Stop mine[/color] Ferth said and she did just in front of the first tree with the colored flag.

Ok, now just to get Taffy to get the flag, Kimber said and the brown was able to get the green fire lizard to get the flag. "Good girl Taffy!" Kimber cooed. She gasped as she felt cold paint fall right on top of her head. She laughed and shivered, thinking of how hard that would be to get out of her hair.

So continued the directions until they reached the box. Kimber left Ferth see the keys through her eyes, which was a disorienting feeling for both of them. Oh dear mine, I'm not sure I remember which one. No, I recognize it now! The one with the blue flag is the right one![/color]

Kimber grinned and found the keyhole. She turned the key and waited, but didn't hear a spring snap or feel a pie hit her. She laughed and took the blindfold off, taking her pie. She was slightly paint splattered, but didn't mind.

[Skye]

A'idin scowled up at the ledge where his brown was settling down for their turn at the course. He noted the drudge hesitating near by with the blindfold.

Mine you're scaring the poor girl with that look on your face,[/color] Gaelrith chided his rider. Well good! I don't want to do this stupid competition in the first place, A'idin snapped at his brown who just ignored him.

A'idin sighed and bent down so that the girl could put the blindfold in place, though he only needed it for one eye. He straightened back up and sighed again. He could already feel Gaelrith's distraction at watching the Search and Rescue competition above them. Gael! A'idin snapped.

What mine? The greens are so agile up there,[/color] the brown commented unashamedly. Before A'idin has a chance to comment they were called to go.

Next ready? Go![/b]

Alright A'idinmine take ten steps forward then turn left,[/color] Gaelrith instructed, his attention again drifting to the aerial display above him.

A'idin sighed and followed the instruction, stopping after finished the directions he was given. Now go forward three steps then right for two steps and you'll be at the first tree.[/color]

A'idin did as he was told, yelping as he ran into the tree. Gaelrith get your head out of the clouds and pay attention to the course if you're going to have me do this! Now get Skye's flire lizard here, she promised the silly thing would help he grumbled, waiting under the tree.

Gaelrith was finally able to get the blue away from his person after much coaxing and threatening.

The rest of the course continued much the same, Gaelrith getting distracted and A'idin running into things. Each time he reached a tree it took much coaxing to get the little blue to get the key.

Finally they reached the clearing with the box and Gaelrith deliberated over the keys for a long time. Ah yes. Its the key with the gold flag connected to it![/color]

A'idind hesitated, but placed the key into the key hole. He didn't feel pie splatter him so he took the blindfold off. Unfortunately, the spring was delayed in releasing and A'idin was smacked in the face with a pie.

"Gaelrith!"

[Cilnah]

“I’m not sure this is such a good idea, Ramseth,” Wi’red ventured as person after person went through the obstacle course of forest before himself. “You aren’t the greatest at giving directions, you know…” he added, as the person before him began the venture. He simply received a snort.

Don’t be silly, Mine! I am a bronze! I can do anything I so please. As he said this, the dragonet settled upon his perch, looking out over the forest. Even at such a young age, his eyesight was so much better than any human’s could ever be, and he knew that. Back on the ground, the new bronzerider muttered to himself, not caring to share the particular thought with his bonded. Just because of his color, it didn’t make him automatically good at such things! But there was no sense in trying to prove that to the stubborn little creature.

The boy sighed in resignation though, feeling the blue flit on his shoulder thrash his tail in excitement. He was one of the mail delivering flits, and he’d been more than happy to help in this new duty as well. Wi’red just hoped he could pay attention long enough to get him through this mess without too terribly much mishap. As the blindfold came down over his eyes, he sent up a quick, silent prayer to whomever might be listening. Please, oh please, let this be over without too much pain! The bronze just snorted, and set his eyes out over the forest tops.

“Ready? Okay, go!”

No, he wasn’t ready! About to give one last plea to his dragon, he was forcefully inturrepted.

Go left for thirteen paces, Wi’red-Mine. He sighed, and obliged, turning left and beginning, but he hadn’t gotten half a step before there was a sharp retort echoing in his mind. Not that way! I said left!

Wi’red promptly stopped short, receiving a squawk from his borrowed companion flit. “But I did go left!" he answered indignantly.

Your left, maybe, but not mine. the dragon answered with a mental shrug. Now, turn around and go fourteen paces in the other direction. And watch out for that low branch on the eleventh step!

Thus it went for the next few minutes, and two keys were successfully retrieved without any major accidents occurring. It was as he was trying to direct the over eager blue to the third key that it happened, the shoe dropped. Or rather, paint. Look out, Mine! Startled out of his concentration, Wi'red looked up, forgetting for a moment that he was blinded by cloth, and something very wet and unpleasant landed smack in the middle of his face. The boy yelped, resulting in a bit of paint on his tongue, and lept back...

Finding an exposed tree root and falling flat on his bottom. "By the egg, what was that?!" he demanded, wiping paint from himself as best he could. At least the blindfold had saved his eyes, he thought, scrambling up and spitting fitfully to get rid of the bit that had landed in his mouth.

It was paint! From the search and rescue competition! Ramseth answered, his tone indignant as he looked up at the blues and greens flying over head. Some wherry-brained dolt let paint fall on you! When I find out who did it, I'll make them pay, I promise I will!

Wi'red, much calmed after realizing what happened, simply chuckled. "Let's not worry about it, love. Let's get this over with. I'd like to get this paint off before it dries or I'll end up being a red head like Phelicia."

Ramseth grumbled, but consented, and continued to direct His through the maze of undergrowth, however, this next half was riddled with falls and bumps and bruises, thanks to the bronze continually glancing up to keep an eye out for stray globs of paint that might fall and ambush His boy.

Finally, though, finally, he had all five keys in his possession and his hand touched the pole. He took no little pleasure in ripping the blindfold off, blinking back the bright sunlight but reveling in his own eye sight once again. We aren't done yet, Mine, came the reminder, and Wi'red heaved a sigh as he studied each of the keys, listening to the idle comments from his bonded. Some were about the keys, but then again, some weren't. Finally though, he was directed to the fourth one he'd picked up.

There was a sigh of relief as he sunk the key into the hole, the last part of the contest completely forgotten in the anxiety of getting here. So when the sound of a spring unwinding hissed through the air, Wi'red was taken completely off guard. And ended up with a bubbly pie smack in the face. Up on his ledge, Ramseth sputtered indignantly, positive he'd chosen the right key. But the boy simply laughed. "At least it tastes better then paint!" he said, licking his lips. And on his shoulder, the little blue who had been so helpful chirped his agreement, lapping up the splattering with delight.