17th February 2002
Logged by Ciera
Weyr Plateau
You stand on the broad grassy plateau of Ista Weyr, between the gaps in the Weyr Rim. An eruption long ago blew out the western wall of the Weyr, forming the plateau. The shadowy Weyr bowl stretches off to the east, and the five-pointed pinnacles of the Weyr Rim tower into the sky like fingers reaching to the clouds. West, the plateau drops off in a somewhat steep slope, down to the black sand beaches below. The glittering turquoise waters of the ocean are easily visible from here, stretching off to the horizon.
It is an autumn midmorning.
Caitilin comes out onto the plateau from the Weyr bowl.
Druseth spirals in for a landing.
A labyrinth of dragon to climb down, Lylia descends slowly down from the safety of Druseth's neck, to land on the ground with a soft *thud*.
Alymath spirals in for a landing.
Lis tries not to bump 'gainst any sharp joints as she slides down Alymath's forearm.
Trydanth spirals in for a landing.
D'renn slithers down Trydanth's side with only minimal help from the blue.
Trydanth is here, landing easily by the other Reaches dragons to let D'renn slither down his side and stride towards his wingsecond Ciera.
Jakith's voice resolves into a more normal bugle, welcoming his wingmate. Ciera grins as D'renn joins her and L'ife. "Come to play? I think the Tug of War is next."
Lis bounces down from Alymath's side with jocular excitement, trotting over to… who? "Oh! Lylia! Here to defend the honor Tsunami?" Someone ought to, those disreputable louses of the 'Reaches. D'renn is waved at with a cheerful smile, but he's on The Other Team for now.
Lylia and her vampiric lifemate arrive as a streak of shadow. Looooom. Dooooom. All those lovely words. A quiet rumble is offered to Alymath, a polite bob of the head as Druseth lends a foreleg to letting Lylia dismount. Good puppy. "Lis!" Ly gives a chipper wave, nodding her head as she praactically bounces over. "Of course. It's either that or stay and teach Druseth's little 'uns." Easy choice. Especially since this is a matter of /pride/. Tsunami, yo.
Squaln stands amongst the crowds and glances around for anyone he knows in particular. Lots of familiar faces loom about and around, and he finally spots a few friends. Grinning, the Herder waves to those he knows and goes back to waiting for the next event to begin. Tug Of War was it? Yeah. On his shirt he should have 'High Reaches Cookie' on the back. Snicker. Just to be festive..
D'renn pats part of Lis's anatomy in passing, stationing himself next to Ciera and L'ife with a nod. "Excellent… Tug of War is always fun. Hope we go up against Tsunami." And he makes a face at his fellow Reachians.
Tynabith flies away up high and disappears into ::between::
Sinead applauds as she makes her way over to the next event. "Yeah, this should be fun," she states with a grin.
Lis doesn't comment about Druseth little ones, because they're Cadgwith's too — and therefor Ugly. D'renn's passing pat is recieved with an indignant squeal (you can bet where it was) and she scowls after him with a muderous mutter to her wingmate, "They are going down. Completely and shamefully."
Nadine slips through the crowds of people until she can see the area where the tug-of-war game is to take place. She grins slightly. This should be good…
"/Utterly/," Lylia snarls cheerfully, a vigorous nod of agreement. "I mean. Look at them. They're. /Zephyr/." Hmph. They have a 'Z'. C'mon. Ly hops on her toes, gently stroking Dru's tail as it wraps around her waist. "We're goin' to win. Just watch."
Caitilin slips through the crowd looking for a place to sit.
"Personally, I hope we're up against whoever's got the weakest people." Ciera flexes one arm testingly. "This old body isn't what it used to be. Speed is one thing, but strength, now…" All the poor, decrepit Zephyrites. A toothy grin is flashed at the other 'Reachians. "At least," she says, making her voice loud enough to project, "my dragon didn't sire a clutch of hideous little monsters."
Vespurath spirals in for a landing.
Across shades of pine and sage, Tatia slides down Vespurath's side, landing on the ground with a slight bounce.
"Yours couldn't sire anything," D'renn points out prosaically to Ciera, completely ruining the other bluerider's point. "But yeah, I know what you mean about getting a bit old these days…. Maybe I should've just come later for the drinking competition."
Zeja finishes stretching out a rope, the center of which boasts over a pool of mud leftover from yesterday's activities. Pausing and stepping back, she places her fists on her hips and turns to the congregation with a grin. "Okay, folks! Keep in mind that this will be for fun, and people will be disqualified for unsportsmanship activity." She reaches down to straighten the rope again before spreading her hands to both sides. "On the left side, we will have Daniri, Caitilin, and En'pecee representing the Vigor Wing of Igen Weyr! And on the right, welcome Ciera, Squaln, and D'renn, who will represent 'Reaches' Zephyr Wing!" With a grin, she steps back, allowing the people to take their places. "Slowly pick up the rope. No pulling. Whenever I say 'three' you all can begin tugging. Best of luck to you all!"
Caitilin grins broadly as she takes her place on the left side of the rope.
D'renn makes a face in Zeja's direction, striding over to the end of the rope. "Lo, Squaln," he greets the herder genially. "Glad to have your strong young arms helping out me & Ciera… apparently we're getting decrepit."
"That's beside the point," Ciera says, waving off D'renn's protest. "He didn't, and that's what counts." Logic is a fickle tool. She perks as Zeja announces the teams, and starts striding towards the rope. "Come on. You can try out the drinking contest and get roaring drunk after we tug our way to victory."
As Daniri pushes her way to the rope, she stops suddenly at the sight of the mud. /Mud/? No one said anything aobut mud! With a groan, she slowly moves to the rope, waiting for En'pecee to go in front of her. She'll stay as far away from the mud as possible.
Sinead applauds for the two teams, mostly for High Reaches, but hey. "Wooh, go you guys!" is offered to the Reaches team.
A pout settles onto Lis' face as Zephyr is paired up with Igen, but she reassures herself - and Lylia - with: "We'll meet them later. If they win - they're old, after all." Nevermind that both she and Lylia are no spring chickens. Watching with hockey-fan-like ferocity, the greenrider leans on Druseth's tail simply because it's close.
Shirasuth spirals in for a landing.
"Hmph. Let's see if Ciera snaps like an icicle." Sulk. Lylia heard that, and the brownrider gives a flounce and a bounce as she hops over to lean against Druseth, a little 'hmph' escaping. Druseth's own growl is added in. He had cute critters. His preeeecious. Dru gives an affectionate tickle at the greenrider. Lyli just gives a little nod. "Yeah."
Caitilin still grinnig, steps behind Daniri… Besides, what good are her strong legs if she can't use them to anker the rope?
Squaln heads to join his team and eyes the 'enemy' with a smirk. The lad then grins at D'renn and Ciera, his fellow teammates, nodding as he does. "Hey D'renn, Ciera." he greets. "This should be easy." Blue eyes glance back at the other team. After all, it was /he/ who was captain of 'Reaches' last football game. Captain Demolition he is. Mwahaha. Intimidating.
Daniri looks at Caitilin, a horrified expression on her face. "You want /me/ up here?" she squeals, looking back at the mud. Tugging rope is fine. That's easy. But with /mud/ as a threat for losing?
Trydanth twitches out his tail to tickle Alymath. She's there, he likes her.
Zeja returns the face made to her by D'renn, then grinning and shaking her head. Those old 'Reachians… She steps further back—no need to get pulled into the mud accidently. She watches as each take their positions and nods. "Okay… Prepare your positions! One… two… /three/!" OOC: Formulate your poses and throw them out whenever you're ready. No pressure.
Caitilin looks at Daniri, "No worries, I've good strong legs and once I've set my feet, I'm hard to move." Grins over at the other team.
Shirasuth circles the Plateau momentarily, looking for a large enough spot to land in. Setting his sights on area large enough to accomidate his bulk, he backwings before coming to a gentle landing. Neck is lowered and foreleg raised to allow his rider to dismount before looking back up and rumbling a greeting to the other dragons gathered.
Tatia looks incrediably delighted to be at Ista - it's amazing. Most people at High Reaches were likely under the impression that she /couldn't/ smile that broadly. The greenrider pratically beams as she bounces down /easily/ from atop Vespurath and instantly weaves her way toward the familar faces of wingmates. "It's /warm/ here!" she states for those who may have missed the fact that the temperature is somewhat nicer than 'Reaches. She halts near Lylia as Vespurath takes up gaurd behind her, wiggling her smallish green form into a tiny open space. "What're we doing, again?" See, she's /really/ just delighted to be looking at something other than the stone walls of the groundweyrs and the infirmary - ah, the heady freedom of the ability to *between*.
Alymath dances fickily away from Trydanth, influenced by her lifemate's competitive fervor. Wings flutter in come-hither motions, hiding behind Shirasuth.
Nadine walks up toward the central bowl.
"Tatia!" Lylia gives a bright chirp, beaming with all the evil competative spirit the brownrider has. "Hey! We're doin' Tug-o-War. Tsunami is goin' to crush the competition." Hopefully. She's got her fingers crossed, anyway. "How're you feelin'?"
Nestled on the dusty warmth of Shirasuth's neck, K'nex is here! Through a bit of prodding, but here none-the-less. The brownrider quickly slides off his patient dragon and lands with a thump and a wobble, but not falling this time. "Yup, it is warm!" He grins, catching Tatia's remark and wandering over towards wingmates. It's obvious, but to folks from the 'Reaches it's /more/ than welcome. It's almost winter, after all. "Good question, what's going on?" He looks mildly confused, but mostly curious glancing aroudn at the crowd. Crowd. Shiver.
K'nex climbs careflully down from Shirasuth's neck, using the bulky brown's extended limb, and steps safely onto the ground.
The 'Reaches Zephyr team position themselves—Squaln takes up the rope in the back, anchoring the team, Ciera places herself in the middle, and D'renn provides his brute strength for the front. Heave-ho! Feet planted, the three hauls at the rope. "I think," Ciera pants, leaning all her wight into it, "That teams with two or more people over 40 Turns old should get some bonus feet or something." Like a Senior citizen's deal.
"Fabulous!" As in, she can now move without a waddle. Tatia grins at Lylia as she settles in next to the brownrider and turns her gaze toward the event with a curious blink. "Oh… we can /definately/ crush the competition in /that/," she states with a slight smirk before she catches a familar voice in the crowd and she stretches upward on tiptoes until K'nex's form, also moving toward them, is recognized. "K'nex! Tug of war - Ly says we're gonna crush the others," she states with that eerily happy smile that just keeps going… and going..
Lis gets sucked into the gravitational field of her gathering wing, beaming in shameless pride over the turn-out. "Tatia! K'nex! Oh, we'll win for sure!" Three scary females plus one frightened male equals the Tsuanmi All-Star Team. "Tat - you've /got/ to tell me sometime what Kazandar's problem is." Surely it's not mischievous greenriders leaving love notes from other male journeyman outside his room.
En'pecee moves in front of Daniri and takes a firm grip on the rope. Flashing a grin at the other team, he leans back and starts pulling as hard as he can. Caitilin braces her legs in preparation to the first tug of the rope. Grinning she starts to back up as her team mates begin to pull. Daniri gulps rather nervously and takes a good, strong grip on the rope, concentrating on hands as well as feet. Let Caitilin anchor, let En'pecee pull - She'll stay in the middle here and give support to whoever needs it most at the time. She leans back with En'pecee and Caitilin and yanks.
Valanth spirals in for a landing.
Shirasuth swings his head around to peer at the green slinking around behind him. A questioning warble is given before he slowly moves out from in front of the green and out of the way of the newly arriving blue.
Squaln tied the rope around his middle before the game actually started, so he's got a good grip as the anchor-man. Mwaha! Time to pull! Regardless of his teammates' ages, they're still gonna give it their best shot. Rider, rider, herder. Captain Demolition leans all the way back and pulling as he does, letting the rope support him. Puuullll! With the two riders pulling in front of him, he continues to plant his feet into the ground and lean backwards. All three pull with all their might. They're Zephyr!
That much cheerfulness scares poor little Lylia. Poor little Lylia edges slightly away, but keeps up the determined grin. "We /will/." Wing convergence. How lovely. Ly's main focus is on the current match, rider and dragon having equally sharp stares as they watch. Staaaaare.
The snow-bound riders' ages seem to be neither an advantage nor a disadvantage, nor does the make-up of the Igen team, as the rope's red-streaked center hovers back and forth above the muddy puddle.
K'nex nods his head pu and down slowly. "Ohhhh. Tug of war…We're not literally going ot crush anyone though, right?" He asks, squinting a little and looking around. It's bright out here. He's not used to it anymore. "Right, I'm sure we'll win…We've got a lot of people here." Strength in numbers or something. "Who's Kazandar?" Oh, wait…everyone seems ot be gettign ready?
Valanth floats down to the plateau, making sure to be nice and clear of the tug of war'ers before landing and letting his rider off before going to sidle over towards Esmeyath, finding a place to watch the silly humans pull on a rope. Amusing.
From Valanth's neck, Kia might be late but yes she's here just to watch for the moment. White clad rider clinging to the neckridges of her lifemate as she cheers for this or that tugger. Mind you of course after Valanth's on the ground she does yes slip down to head towards Zeja even if the greenrider is busy.
Alymath warbles mournfully as Shirasuth, her hiding-rock, moves away. She can't even flirt with him now, hero of her wing. Having forgotten why Lis is annoyed at D'renn (isn't that every day?) the green drags her remorseful form back to Trydanth. He still loves her, right?
"Kaz?" Well, that's /one/ way to get the eerily happy smile off Tatia's face. The greenrider turns to look at Lis, frowning slightly. "Besides being a grumpy old fart who's forgotten how to have fun /or/ be polite?" she questions easily, green eyes studying her wingmate. "Why? What happened? Have you been to Gar recently?" The frown deepens at K'nex's question, and she shakes her head in irritation as she replies. "He /was/ my mentor, ages ago," she explains, distaste quite evident from her tone. "Now he's just a big pain."
D'renn digs his heels in manfully - what else can he do in front of the love of his life (aka Lis). His riding gloves seem to be coming in useful as he grips onto the rope, trying to shift backwards, fingerlength by slow fingerlength…. His boots are getting nicely muddy, anyhow.
Trydanth loves Alymath, of course he does. No matter what her rider thinks. Craning his copper-tipped neck, the blue makes a fuss of the green.
Esmeyath rumbles her purring greeting toward her clutchbrother as she scoots nearer to him, muzzle pointing to the tuggers with amusement. Zeja raises a hand and calls out a cheerful. "Ki! Ya made it!" She remains many hands away from the rope, watching the teams with amusement.
Shirasuth didn't move away to avoid Alymath, more to let Valanth land. Content with the spot that he's found, he curls up in the sun, his eyes fixed on his rider and the other humans. Someone tell him exactly what the point of this is? But it's what Kex wants to do and since the sun here is warm, who is he to complain?
Daniri leans back farther, reaching hand over hand to pull the rope, synchronized with En'pecee. Caitilin grips the rope tightly, grins more broadly and digs in her spiked shoes to take a painfully slow step back. En'pecee chants encouragement, punctuated with quiet grunts as he tugs. "Go…team…go!" Grunt.
Jakith watches his rider pull on the rope with a certain amount of boredom. This is one he's never seen the point of. Honestly, if both sides want the rope, why not just cut it in two? Or let him get it for his group, for that matter. But for some reason that's not allowed…
Imbriath spirals in for a landing.
Zeja grins as she watches both teams prove their strength through their pride and exuberance. For a moment, her eyes follow the Igen team as they appear to gain nearly an inch over those representing Zephyr, and then, with a surprise tug of strength, those from 'Reaches gain more ground—over a hand. Can they keep that up, though?
Lis is just as much of a sucker as Alymath, hands clasped against her chest as she indulges in a swoon, asking Lylia about D'renn, "Isn't he just incredibly handsome?" Even with that beard. Oh, but she's supposed to be Kaz-bashing with Tatia. "Well, I just paid him a visit the other night. Gave him a nice little present and everything, and he turns into a raging lunatic." In one greenrider's biased opinion, anyhow.
From Valanth's neck, Kia bobs her head "Aye I did me and Valanth decided to come down and have a look. How's it going so far? Have I missed anything interesting really?" she peers at the tuggers again "Oh that Squaln!" and she wiggles fingers, sure distract the guy sheesh, and then she settles in aparently satisfied to watch someone fall in the mud
Valanth would find them another rope, if they really wanted one that bad. Strange, strange riders. An amused, throaty warble goes to Esmeyath as he watches the game. Does every one else [ the dragons] find this as silly as he does? What's the /point/.
Lylia just. Stares at Lis. For a very, very long moment. "Um. Riiiiiiiiiiight." Ly rolls the 'i' till her tongue nearly falls off, and goes back to shaking her head. "He'll look simply handsome covered in mud…" Though Ly actually likes the beard. Scruffy guys are… appealing.
K'nex once again finds himself nodding and 'ohh'ing at Tatia, only this time he throws in a small shrug just to be a little different. "Oh, I never had a mentor," he mumbles. Therefore, a non-existant metor can't be a pain. But he's already dropped the subject, since it seems to be an unplesant one and ihs watching the teams pull at the rope. Wait…What is the point? Wing pride?
Make that /two/ greenriders' biased opinions. Tatia's really open to Kazbashing at any time. Her eyes narrow a bit and she nods firmly, arms crossing over her chest. "Doesn't surprise me one bit.. he's done it to /me/ before!" Her gaze flickers out to the struggling teams as Vespurath moves foward a bit and Tatia takes advantage of the shift, leaning absently against her neck. "Why were you giving him a present, anyway?" She glances toward K'nex, then back toward Lis in curiousity.
Caitilin digs her cleats into the ground and pulls back, straining with the effort as En'pecee takes a deep breath, slackens the rope, then suddenly heaves back as hard as he can. Caught off balance by her team mates' movements, Daniri stumbles a moment, then steadies and pulls back as well, reminding herself that if her team loses, she'll go into that mud. Ick. Pull!
Zeja grins toward the herder Kia speaks of, shaking her head. "Never knew he had those muscles during candidacy!" she replies with a grin and wink, then turning with a grin toward Esmeyath, who informs the blue of her theories concerning this event and how it /surely/ isn't half as interesting as speaking with vines.
Grunt, grunt, grunt. From the porcine-like sounds coming from the leading bluerider on the Zephyrite side, D'renn might as well be in the mud already. Staggering back with the hand or so they've gained, Ciera groans and digs in ehr heels for a new grip. "Only… a little… more." A pause. "Jak, no, keep off of it." In the back, the herderish Zephyr stand-in is leaning all his weight into the rope. Squaln's feet scramble for purchase in the dirt, trying to drag the rope just a little more backwards. Heave! Ho!
Lis gives Lylia a hurt look, unable to understand why no one else can see D'renn like she does. Permanent beer-goggles, perhaps? "Well, it really wasn't a present," the greenrider explains to Tatia. "More of, say a fake love letter from Keris." Wince.
From Valanth's neck, Kia is laughing now her eyes streaming water as she shakes her head at Valanth "Really it's not so silly I promise. They just want /that/ particular rope." Zej gets a beam and she just starts cheering for no one in particular having a good time confuzzling herself and more than likely a few others
Tatia gasps. No, wait! It's not what you think - there's no horror at the thought of tormenting Kazandar from /this/ greenrider. It's simply that she needed to draw in a huge gulp of air so she could let it escape in a sudden fit of laughter. "Oh /Lis/…" She beams at her wingmate, hands coming together in a single clap. "That's /priceless/. Do tell me he didn't find out it was from you?"
Shirasuth will certainly agree with Valanth. Humans do some silly things at times, and this is just another example. But still, they're fun to watch.
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth thinks « Couldn't they just cut the rope in half and share it? »
<Local> Jakith senses that Ftoranth thinks « I was thinking the same thing »
K'nex having never met this 'Kazandar', Kez can't really form an opinion of the man, but all that seems a bit…outrageous. "Surely he can't be all /that/ bad, right? Otherwise why'd you bother to becoem his mentee?" It seemed logical in his head, at least. "A fake love letter?" Kex can't help but snicker a little. That's not a bad joke, after all.
<Local> Jakith senses that Imbriath thinks « Perhaps they need help in cutting it in half? One good chomp, I'd think… »
<Local> Jakith senses that Valanth thinks « Or they could get another rope. There sure areplenty of ropes around. »
Trydanth spares time from coddling Alymath to watch his rider grunting and groaning in the mud. Strange.
<Local> Jakith senses that he crackles, his thunder muted to a far-off, puzzled sort of roar. « I asked the same thing, and Ciera said that wasn't the point. She won't let me speed it up by pulling it away from the others, either. »
<Local> Jakith senses that Trydanth thinks, in a shower of amused sparks, that D'renn wants the rope all to himself.
<Local> Jakith senses that Druseth gives a mental drift of crimson lifeblood… just sprinkled with cinnamon. « Getting the other ropes would be the wisest action. They are strange. »
One would wonder that Trydanth hadn't seen that sort of stuff before. Lis, however, is seeing it for the first time. Eyes wide, she still manages to keep the conversation between her and Tatia going. "Well, no. I giggled and gave it all away, and then… had to distract him." Understatement of the Turn, right there.
With the strength exerted by the older folks, Reaches pulls Igen straight toward the mud. Hopefully the girls can save themselves from the sloshing! Zeja grins as she extends a hand to help En'pecee to his feet. "Good job! /Great/ job— all of you." She sighs happily and looks toward the Zephyr team. "So, do you folks have enough energy to face off Lis, Lylia, Tatia and Sinead of your local Tsunami Wing?" She grins to that group as she straightens out the rope, then stepping back for them to move forward. "Of course, if you want, Zephyr, you can choose a fourth person to help you out."
Caitilin laughs hysterically and doesn't even bother to try and stop her headlong plunge towards the mud… After all what's a little mud anyways?
Shirasuth continues to watch the silly humans fighting over the rope, his interest peaked. Surely they'll have to give up sometime. But the question all boils down to why?
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth thinks « Is there something special about this piece of rope? »
"I did that to him once," Tatia mentions absently, arms uncrossing as she straightens to peer at the ending of the match. "Fake love letters, that is.. I think we passed out four or five of them," she elaborates with a faint smile as she glances back toward Lis. "Distract him?" And then K'nex, who recieves a fierce frown. "Well, I didn't have many /options/ if I wanted to be promoted, now did I? Trust me, if you met him, you'd know exactly what we're talkinga about."
Daniri lets out a screech of "Aieeee!" and dives out of the way to avoid getting splattered into the mud. No /way/ is she getting that nasty brown stuff on her. She scooches away from the mud pit, gets up, dusts herself off, and eyes the pit with distaste. Which may be too weak a word, really, for Dani.
<Local> Jakith senses that Valanth thinks « It doesn't look any different from other ropes…. »
<Local> Jakith senses that Esmeyath thinks « Mine tells me that the winners get a piece of rope to hang from their shoulders. It sounds boring to me. Perhaps we should go find some herdbeast to bring back for the winning team! »
Ciera falls back as the other team gives, landing on her bottom in the dirt. Oof. Better than landing face-first in the mud, though. Picking herself up and dusting herself off, she peers around. "I'm up for another go. Who do we want as our fourth?"
Caitilin laughs and climbs up out of the mud. "That was fun."
D'renn also thumps bottom-down in the mud. "Ugh? Another?" Picking himself up, he grins. "Well, I don't mind facing off against Lis and Lylia… and there's L'ife if we need him, Ciera."
Lylia looks evil. Mwahahahaha. Hahahaha. That oh-so-innocent grin plays across her lips as she glances at her wingmates. "Looks like we get to take them on…" Mwah. Happy Ly. She'll prove to Lis that she's buffer than D'renn. And the rider struts forward, Druseth offering a dark, seductive croon.
Lis is not going to elaborate on her 'distraction' of Kazandar. Tatia can get that out of Kazandar with his arm twisted - if she can. "C'mon, guys! It's our turn!" A delighted shriek erupts from the greenrider, jacket thrown off in a dry patch as she notices how muddy D'renn's gotten. Lylia's is trotted after as she shows off her relative non-muscles in a sleeveless tunic.
Squaln gets pulled a little ways when the opposing team meets the mud. The herder then laughs as they all plummet into the slop. A hand still grips the rope and he looks at his teammates. "I'm ready for another go. Have 'em bring it on!" Mwahaha. Captain Demolition at his best!
Caitilin walks towards D'renn, "That was a lot of fun, if I had more time, I would stay for another go… " She grins around before adding, "I'm Caiti," then walks away.
Sinead chuckles as she offers a smile to her fellow team mates. Not bad, a few riders and a guard. "Yeah!" and with that she drops her jacket on the ground as she makes her way after Lis.
Caitilin walks up toward the central bowl.
Tatia loves to twist Kazandar's arm. One of her favorite passtimes, really. Her eyes light up at Lis's cry, and her jacket, too, is squirmed out of and discarded near Vespurath as she bounds toward the robe. Look! She can bound! "Tsuuuuunami!" Look out.. the battle cries have begun!
*At this point, D'renn and Squaln left, and Ciera took over @emitting them. Just for the record.*
Hyzen, glancing towards the ground far below, slips down the smooth hide of Imbriath and towards the ground with help of lifted paw.
Zeja straightens the rope once again, just for something to do. "Rider, you can join as well. I believe Zephyr has more joining," she comments to K'nex. Reminding the rules: Talk amongst ya'selves. Decide who will pose/how. Have fun. "Are we ready? One… Two… Three!"
Nuadayth spirals in for a landing.
Izz'y slides from Nuadayth's neck and lands gently on the ground.
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth's mindvoice is colored with a touch of amusement. «Another piece of rope? They fight over a piece of rope to get another piece of rope?»
K'nex holds up his hands in surrender at Tatia, "Whow. Sorry. I didn't know…There were lots of mentors where I was. I never met him. I'm sorry." Eesh. Make a /little/ comment and get snapped at. Sulk. The sulking doesn't last long though as he realizes it's Tsunami's turn. With a nod at Zeja, and a single glance back at his dragon, the brownrider marches up to the rope to join his other Wingmembers. Ts-Tsu-Tsunami!
The Zephyr team re-forms on their side of the rope. The lineup: L'ife in front, providing the brute strenght now that they don't have to rely on D'renn, who is now in the second position. Ciera in the middle. Gr'tel (looking a little plump as he tumbles off of his brown Hanselth to join the group) is next, and Squaln again wraps the rope around himself to take the back. And as the word three rings out, the mismatched assortment set their collective heels into the ground, grit their teeth, and pull on the rope. At least the dragons seem to be getting something to think about.
Duuun dun. Duuuuuun dun. Dun dun dun dun dundundundun… Lyli-shark. The brownrider hops over to the rope, slender fingers grasping it as she plunks herself right at the front of the group, gritting her teeth and getting ready ofr the death grip. The one used when playing tug-o-war with the weyrling dragons for her knot. Stupid weyrlings. And with that thought, her eyes narrow. Raaaawr.
Lis scoots into position behind Lylia, flexing delicate hands around the rope. She looks like her only asset to the team would be dead weight to foul up Zephyr, but one can't tell with these greenriders. A feral growl rumbles from her throat, bloodthirsty.
Hyzen has disconnected.
Tatia is directly behind Lis, providing greenridin' strength as her fingers wrap around the rope and her heels dig in with determination. If there's one thing this greenrider's got, it's a /whole/ lot of stubborness.
Sinead sticks herself on the rope, taking up the fourth position, right behind Tatia. Her sleeves are rolled up and she has an evil grin upon her face, the guard quickly gets into a ready stance, the glint of blood lust in her eyes.
K'nex isn't quite as, um, agresssive looking as some of his wingmembers are as he rather daintily picks up the rope, pulling up the rear of the Tsunami team. Then the brownrider grins, only semi-wickedly, and grips the rope tight, digging his feet in…
And look at that rope go! Whee! No… Wait… It's standing still. "Come on, Reacherfolk!" Zeja calls, cupping her mouth, as she eyes the object. It appears each side is giving the same amount of effort. And, if it's all right, we'll do one more set of poses.
Shirasuth is still intent on figuring out what this is all about and what's so special about this rope. And to that end he stretches his neck towards the group with the intention of giving the rope a quick sniff and thorough going over. Never mind that they're still all fighting over it.
Imbriath watches Shirasuth closely, whirling eyes as curious as any of the other dragons. Taking a step or two forward, away from her quietly watching rider, she stretches out her own head— more a long distance sniff, since she's not close enough for anything else. Did it smell different?
<Local> Jakith senses that Imbriath thinks « Bite it, Shirasuth, and see what they do. »
Izz'y goes home.
Nuadayth goes home.
Valanth sidles over to the side, looking around Shirasuth at the rope, peering at it curiously. It still only looks like a regular rope.
Lylia lets out a grunt of acknowledgement, nearly choking on her own tongue as she bites it, the pink tip peeking out from the corner of her mouth as she digs her worn boots into the ground, tugging as her face turns an odd shade of crimson. "Raaaaaaaawr," she mumbles. Huff, puff. Raaaaawr, indeed. She looks about ready to bite on the rope and pull with her teeth.
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth thinks « Then they would have two ropes and could stop fighting over it. »
<Local> Jakith senses that Valanth thinks « And that's good, right? »
<Local> Jakith senses that he thinks « I think the point isn't getting the rope. » A flash of realization. « It is making the other go into the mud in the middle. »
<Local> Jakith senses that Imbriath thinks « But they don't like /us/ getting dirty. Why should we allow them to? »
<Local> Jakith senses that Druseth still has a bit of puzzlement, the darkness descending as he contemplates it. « I believe you are correct. But still, that is without purpose. What greater meaning comes from that? »
Try projecting to someone or something!
<Local> Jakith senses that he thinks « Because we don't have to clean them? »
<Local> Jakith senses that Valanth thinks « What if we just shoved /both/ sides into the mud. Then maybe they'd each be happy. »
<Local> Jakith senses that Imbriath thinks « But they have to ride us to go home? »
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth thinks « And the rope were bit in half, none of them would get dirty… Right? »
Lis jams her heels into the acquiescent mud, grunting, "Almost… almost!" Taking one last - but fatal - step back. Landing on slippery, watery goo, the greenrider is ubalanced and soon goes down backwards in the mud. Alas, she reall ought to have tucked in her shirt, for it flies up embarassingly as she slides through the mud. Uh… maybe no one saw it?
Tatia is.. growling? Her eyes are bright with determination as her heels dig into the dirt, hands gripping as the robe threatens to slide along the palms and leave them raw. Her teeth clench as she draws in a deep breath, struggling with it as much as with the rope. Just ignore the fact that she's only recently become a mother - she's not letting /that/ stop her! "C'mon! /Move/ it, Tsunami!" That order isn't directed to anyone in /particular/, of course. Only those who may not be pulling their weight. Lis is simply given a /glare./ A /Glare/. "Lis! Get /up/!" Tat, of course, does not see the advantages this unfortunate accident may have.
<Local> Jakith senses that Imbriath thinks « I don't think they really want to get dirty. I think Shirasuth should bite the rope so that we don't have drippy riders. »
Sinead digs her heals in and continues tugging on the rope, putting in nearly all of her strength. "Come on team," she states, offering encouragment to the riders before a low rumble of sorts can be heard from the back of her throat. "Come on Lis, get up," she offers as she digs in and pulls harder.
<Local> Jakith senses that Valanth thinks « Mm-hm. 'Cause if they get us dirty, then they'll just complain more about having to clean us off. »
Shirasuth doesn't go quite as far as biting the rope in half, but he does give it a good sniffing and even a tentative lick, all the while avoiding the mud. Pulling back, he manages to look puzzled.
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth thinks « There is nothing special about this rope… »
K'nex lets out a squeak as the rope starts being /pulled/. Nevermind that that's the point. The brownrider is shifted the slightest bit forward before he digs his feet deep into the dirt, refusing to budge. Kez grunts with his eyes squinted shut with strain, unaware of Lis', um, predicament or Shirasuth's looming. Hands gripped on the rope so tight the knuckles are white, he tries to take a step backwards..
The Zephyr teams is pulling doggedlybetween the fat rider and the old ones, they don't have enough breath to waste in growling and whatnotwhen Lis makes her slip and inadvertently flashes the group. L'ife roots his feet, anchored but not pulling, and whistles loudly. D'renn looks rather alarmed, and calls out, "Lis!" Gr'tel and Squaln both ogle noticeably, and the Zephyrite pull noticeably slackens for a moment. "Get off it, all of you," Ciera pants, scrambling to take up the slack as all her male teammates react. "It's nothing you haven't seen before! I mean, honestly, it's /Lis/." The reminder has its intended effect, it seems, for the male contingent of the team snaps out of it, each of them putting his back into it once more, heels digging, hands gripping, and grunting like the pigs one could argue they are. But is it enough, or was that momentary distraction enough to upset them? Tune in next time….
Imbriath rumbles lowly, her head tilting as she withdraws it from its outstretched position. A sidelong glance to her rider before the green shuffles closer to the gathering of rope-curious dragons.
Lis is down for the count, leaving poor Tsunami with only four tuggers as their wingsecond wallows in the mud and self-pity. Cry.
<Local> Jakith senses that Imbriath thinks « Then why are they fighting over it? Why are they trying to get the other side dirty? » The green pauses to think, and then: « Why can't we help? »
Shirasuth is finally persuaded by the other dragons and has decided that he is going to help these silly humans and their fighting. Sticking his neck back out, he chomps down on the middle of the rope, right on the red marker.
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth thinks « There, now they don't have to fight anymore »
Zeja can't help but raise an eyebrow at the stubborness of the Tsunamis, though she meeps as Lis falls, and she shakes her head. That can't be good, can it?
Zeja actually frowns then, glancing up at Shirasuth. "Someone get this dragon away?" she murmurs before crossing her arms over her chest, eyes squinting toward the rope. Greenrider smiles at the loyalty coexisting between the wings. "Ooh…" she murmurs as one side takes the advantage. And then she "aaahs" as the other then take charge. At the massive wedged head looming, still, above her, Zeja holds up her hands and exclaims "Noooooooo!" as Shirasuth finds the rope. Hopefully the 'Reachians won't fall to far. Sighing, but not being able to fight a giggle, Zeja announces. "And let's give our congrats to the ten folks representing High Reaches Weyr!"
<Local> Jakith senses that Imbriath thinks « Maybe they'll stop fighting over that silly rope now. They each have a piece of it. »
Lis sits up in the mud, disheveled, dirty, and ready to draw blood. "Whaddya man we lost? Half of Ista sees…" mumblemumble "… and we /lost/?" With surprising agility, the greenrider gets up out the mud and turns on K'nex. Youuuuu.
Imbriath croons as Shirasuth bites the rope, whirling eyes then focusing down upon Zeja at her cry. Ruffling her wings, she backs away slowly— she had no part in this! Scrambling, as best a dragon can, back to her rider's side, she hunkers down and goes to watching passively.
Zeja shakes her head quickly toward Lis. "Nonono. No one lost…"
"Lis! Get your drunken self /off/ the ground and help /pull/" Tatia hisses as her fellow greenrider falls down and.. is out for the count. Shoulders setting, her heels dig in as firmly as possible in the muddy ground, and she /growwwwls/. Just dare to be the wingmate who let /this/ greenrider down. Lis may flash for the Cause.. but Tat punishes after. And just like that.. the tension is broken as the robe is.. bitten in two? Still pulling, Tatia goes flying backwards.. and woe to those who are behind her. Welcome to a muddy, piled mess of irritated Tsunamis. Clambering upward through limbs and rope, her eyes glitter dangerously.. and she turns with Lis. "K'nex." Oooo.. scary/
Lylia just. Sulks. "But… we didn't /win/." And that is her plaintive mope as she flops back on the ground, one of her legs flopping over Lis. Flop. "Wiiiiiin," she half-whine, half-growls.
Ciera can't quite decide, as she tumbles backwards in a heap with her teammates, whether or not she got the raw end of this deal. On the one hand, she's in a pile with four guys, rather than the girl-heavy group on the other side. On the other hand, the males are L'ife (a bit too perky), D'renn (no comment necessary), Gr'tel (fat as a porcine in the feed room), and Squaln (too young for her taste, and an apprentice to boot).
Nadine comes out onto the plateau from the Weyr bowl.
K'nex blinks once or twice between strained looks for the fact the Lis is down on the ground…and barely has time to realize all of this before /he's/ on the ground too with a rather sunned look and a rather sore bottom now. Whow! What happened? A moment of shock, then yelling, "Shirasuth! /Not/ a chew toy!" …Then our poor brownrider blinks again. Wait, angry riders bearing down upon him…"Umm…," he mumbles and twitters nervously. Don't hurt him? …Seems like a fat chance of that.
Sinead is pulling her heart out. "Lis, get up," she utters to the rider before the ropes bitten by the dragon, and she ends up falling flat on the ground, on her rear. "Ooh," she mutters as she peers upwards at the dragon. "You do know this was for people, not silly dragons," she notes as she stands and tries to dust herself off.
Bah. In Lis' book, not winning is almost the same as losing. And were it not for Tatia's joining her in hunting down K'nex, there would be some impromptu mud-wrestling right here. "I'm not drunk, and I don't have an idiot dragon who bites the tug-of-war rope in half!" Voice raises shrilly, warms up in the air, gesticulating to make up for her lack of height.
<Local> Jakith senses that Druseth gives a dark laugh, sinister snickers that echo across the emptiness, true amusement hiding shyly below it. « I think they are irritated with you, Shirasuth. » Just a little.
Tatia stalks behind Lis, playing backup to her fellow greenrider. "/How/ could you let him /do/ that?" she hisses, eyes flashing. "Honestly, K'nex! And we were /winning/!" Ok, nevermind the accuracy of that statement.. right now she looks ready to seriously maim her brownriding wingmate.
Shirasuth looks even more puzzled as all people seem to get angry at his rider. They each have a piece and don't have to fight anymore. He lumbers foward to loom over Kex, there for protection if needed. He's not going to let anything happen to /his/ rider.
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth thinks « What? Shouldn't they be happy now that they each have a piece? »
"Shouldn't a brown have more sense than that?" Lylia remains on the ground. Just. Bemoaning. "K'nex… K'nex… You should run very, very fast." And a little mud splatters on Lylia's nose as she struggles to move. Ick.
<Local> Jakith senses that Imbriath thinks « It's not /our/ fault they didn't explain it to us. »
Tynabith spirals in for a landing.
R'ley slides from Tynabith's long neck to a foreleg and with a soft *thud* from there to the ground.
Ciera picks herself up, grimacing at her now-dirty leathers. "K'nex," she calls, her voice sugary-sweet, "you had better be doing laundry for everyone after that little stunt your dragon pulled." She'll even protect him from the mob if he agrees to do the laundry. Generous, neh?
Daniri peeks around people. Ugh, more mud. She inches around to the side of the crowd, still trying to stay away from the mud, and waits for an announcement about the drinking contest.
<Local> Jakith senses that he laughs, a vibrant, if distant roll of thunder. « If I were you, I'd grab my rider before he winds up strung from here to the Star Stones. »
K'nex may be being stalked by Riders shorter than himself, but with him still on the ground they have the distinct advantage. Curled up on the ground and moaning, no less. "I didn't /do/ it! I'm /sorry/! Don't hurt me /please/! Can't someone just get a new rope," Kez wails. Run? Oh, he probably should run, but he's too bust beign curled up in a protective ball right now, thank.s
Sharrasi comes out onto the plateau from the Weyr bowl.
Zenethen comes out onto the plateau from the Weyr bowl.
Shirasuth rumbles slightly at the comment from Lylia. Of course he has sense. He gave each of them a piece of the rope so that they wouldn't have to fight over it anymore. Wasn't that the logical thing to do?
Sinead looks over to the other team. Running forwards she leaps, seemingly to tackle someone, which is exactly the intent as she heads for the ground, again, taking Daniri with her.
A moment of realization comes upon Ciera, her head tipping to one side consideringly. "Hey. If /their/ dragon bit the rope in half, isn't that rather like them cheating? Shouldn't it be like a forfeit on their part?" Hey, can't hurt to argue the technicalities.
Sharrasi has a cart filled with borrowable clean clothes, for those who hate mud.
Tynabith dives from the sky, a blur if incandescent copper that slowely as it comes closer forms into the shape of bronze Tynabith with his rider perched between two neck ridges. Doing a quick once over he searches for a place to park, err land, spotting a patch of empty grass the bronze backwings so R'ley can make a quick dismount before he swoops back into the air.
Tynabith goes home.
Lylia just glances up at Ciera, mud stuck to the tip of her nose. "We had to look at D'renn during the match. We're the ones at a disadvantage. And we had K'nex. That can't be cheating." Poor Tsunami. Poor, poor Tsunami. Druseth gives an amused rumble, slinking over and letting a tail drift down to help his lifemate up.
An old tippler, enters the area and has the look of Ista Weyr's retired wing on him. "The name's Sp'nger an' I'm here t'drink ye whippersnappers under th'table."
<Local> Jakith senses that Shirasuth is more than a little bit confused and his mindvoice shows it. <What did I do wrong? Isn't that what they wanted, the rope?>
A piercing SHRIEK fills the air as Daniri feels herself yanked into…mud. YUCK. She continues to let out small screams as she struggles to get out of the mud, completely disgusted with all the yucky stuff on her clothing and skin. As soon as she's out, she stands and seethes at Sinead for a while. "This..is all /your/ fault," she hisses, her face red. With a whirl, she snatches a random dress from Sharra's cart and stalks off to the weyr for an hour-long bath and a change of clothes.
Tatia stops next to K'nex to hover menacingly in all her greenridin', Tat-Glarin' glory. Beware. "Get /up/," she hisses, nudging at him with the toe of her boot. A bit harder than is strictly neccessary. "Honestly.. have you no spine? First you make us /lose/ the match, and now you're sitting here crying like a /girl/. You're /embarrassing/ Tsunami!" All said in a low, meant-for-K'nex's-ears-only hiss as she continues to prod at him with her boot. Hey - she only promised about /hitting/.
Daniri walks up toward the central bowl.
<Local> Jakith senses that Valanth shrugs in watery swils of perriwinkle. « I thought it was a very good idea. »
Aw. Lis has a soft spot for guys curled up in protective balls, don't you know. Her anger deflates from a broil to only a 'keep warm', stalking off with a disgusted snort at K'nex as she goes off to that woman with the clean close. Tatia can make him lick her boot.
Ciera sniffs at Lylia. "Hey. Lis /flashed/ our side.And we were mostly males, too. So that makes up for D'renn. And K'nex can't possibly be worse that Gr'tel."
Hyzen is laughing at her position next to her innocent-seeming dragon, making no move to hide her mirth from her fellow riders. "Rather ingenius of the dragon, though, don't you think?" she calls over, grinning widely as she steps away from her green and towards the converging others.
