Firestone

[Miki]

Kia dropped down from the tree and brushed a couple dead leaves from her jacket. The Weyrling had been having trouble sleeping lately. A few sevendays before, she had gotten a parchment saying her father was ill. The family was doing their best to take care of him. She was so anxious for two sevendays. Then she got another parchment. This one was much more upbeat. Her father was making a full recovery. You might think Kia slept better then but no. She was still going to bed late and waking up early. It was proven from the bags under her eyes. She was still nervous that he might slip back into his sickness. So far he hgadn't so she had been sleeping a little more soundly. Today she had woken up pretty early and decided to go for a walk. Kylath, luckily, stayed sound asleep.

Kia hurried back to her barrack to get changed into her riding gear. Today was the big day. It was time to chew firestone and find out which wing she would be in. The young Weyrling grabbed her riding gear and went to change. Just as she finished closing her jacket, Kylath woke up. The Copper had grown to be the size of a fairly large Bronze. Kia had to live in a place big enough for the dragon. As Kia stepped towards the Copper, she released a yawn right in her human bonded's direction. "Oi, Kylath! What have you been eating?!" Kia yelled, her fingers plugging her nose. Kylath snorted playfully.

"The usual," she said casually and then lowered her head. "I am still tired," the Copper complained.

"That's too bad," her rider said matter of factly, "We need to go right now." With that she grabbed her riding helmet and jogged out the door. As she started off to the lesson area, Kylath jumped off the ledge and glided down to ehr rider. She touched ground smoothly. Kia was so excited. Kylath had been doing so well in lessons, surely she would now too. Kylath waslked a little quickly. Kia had to jog to keep up with the large dragon. There it is. Kylath snorted.

"I can see it, Mine," Kylath said, clearly holding back a laugh. Kia rolled her eyes and jogged onward. When she was close enough, she slowed down to a walk. Kylath had to slow considerably. "You walk so slowly, Mine." Kia shrugged and got herself a little more neat. She fixed her crooked jacket and pulled her pants down a little bit from their place above her belly button. She checked that her boots were clean and that Kylath had the straps with her. The Copper grinned proudly. Kia gave her a brief 'good' as reward and then greeted the Weyrwoman. She tried to keep her face void of sadness. She had neglected to tell anyone of her father's illness or her recent case of insomnia. She bowed down respectfully and when she rose she spoke.

"Hello, Christae, Sh'ron. Oh, and hello to you too, T'rin and Miya and Nike and K'dan." She gave a little giggle and smiled. It was clearly half fake but the other half was sincere. She had been getting along better now that her father had recovered. Kylath walked behind Kia and sat. She said hello to everyone too and then lowered her head by Kia.

"You are awful at this," she pointed out.

Thanks, Kia 'said' in response.

[Tenma]

Miya replied to Kia's hello with a curt wave of her hand, though it looked more like a flick. She didn't care much for saying hello to Kia, or her mutant dragon. She was annoyed with how much attention the copper got, and a bit upset that it had grown to such a large size. This meant that if the copper rose first, Reinath would be deprived of the strongest bronze.

You forget, Miyamine. I too am special. That mutant could never replace a queen like me, and her rider shall never be Weyrwoman, not even a Jr. Weyrwoman. Reinath explained with a snort.

Miya sighed. She knew that the gold was correct. Her attention turned back to Christae. She couldn't believe how much she was learning in only those few minutes. Surely learning to chew firestone was much simpler.

Maybe, but your lesson is preparing you for something more. You are not only learning to flame, Mine, but about caring for your Weyr if you should become Weyrwoman. I am a queen, and I will not always be doing the same as the others. Reinath was getting slightly upset.

I know, Reinath. I love you and I am glad that you are the one who is bonded to me. She reassured her dragon.

[nike]

Sh'iron sighed. He was, honestly, getting sick of waiting so long for the Weyrlings. Of course, they had been getting better each lesson that he was present in, but still! He shook his head, and then looked up when he heard a dragon flying down towards them. His eyes glinted up to see Kylath and Kia come in.
"Nice of you to join us," He said with a smile. "Alright, I've waited too long. The ones who come in late will be in charge cleaning up after the dragons when the lesson is over.

"Today you will be learning how to chew firestone. Firestone will be your last lesson, and then you will move into full weyrs, and be put into Wings. I want each rider to go grab two sacks of firestone, and then wait by your dragon," The Weyrleader paused as he watched the little group of Weyrlings stalk off, and come back with the sacks of firestone.
"You will learn how to flame on the ground today. And correctly. It will take the full day to produce a full flame. So do not be upset that your dragon is the last one to flame. It isn't a race. Now, let's begin."

†††††††††††

Nike had her full attention on the Weyrleader. She had heard this all before. So many Turns ago. But now it seemed new, and more exciting. A smile formed on her lips as she digested each word that Sh'iron spoke. At his order, she turned, and walked to the pile of firestone sacks, and took two sacks. Once back beside her dragon, the Healer droped them down, waited for more orders.

[Kandarra]

Not a race! said Amparath, clearly affronted. Did you hear him? He said it wasn't a race!

T'rin grinned. Not everything is a contest, my dear bronze, he said, and shook his head, still grinning at the bronze's offended tone. He went to retrieve the firestone sacks, realizing just how heavy they were. Though he had no trouble carrying them back, they still made their bulky presence known to his muscles. He was rather relieved when he was able to set them down by Amparath.

[Dragon]

K'dan nodded to Kia, "Hey. Glad to see you made it". He smiled at her then walked off and got his two sacks. He set them by Hydrath. ~You here that my dear blue. Soon we will be full riders. This is our last lesson he said~, K'dan pointed out to his blue with a smile. I know a certain reason why you are happy about that. ~And that certain reason can hear you because you never manage to block your mind from her. Well Nike knows that she is that certain reason. You both love each other and want to be together. Hydrath said, knowing Nike would overhear him. K'dan rolled his eyes then smirked and patted his dragon.

[nike]

Nevvanikea's heart swelled as she thought of being a full rider. So long it had been since she was allowed to just freely ride on her dragon without being watched, or flying with another rider and dragon. She would have her own weyr, and be able to have all the privacy that she needed, and wanted. Ruanth nudged her rider.
We should be thinking of now. I wish to be able to flame like the other dragons.
Ruanth, why do you want to be like the other dragons? As much as you try, you will never be like them.
Don't you want me to be like the greens? Like Tirith?
No! Ruanth, you and Tirith are different dragons all together. I don't want you to be like the greens! I want you to be the white that you are! Even if it does take you five Turns to fully mature.
Yes, alright. I still want to flame though.
Nike gave a small laugh, and then caught Hydrath's thought.
Hydrath, do you try to annoy your rider? The Healer asked the blue, her green eyes glinting with amusement.

[Dragon]

Yes I do thought half the time I don't mean to and do. Besides it isn't like he has to hide it from you. You love him, he loves you, you both want to be together. He often dreams of the day he gets to share a weyr with you. K'dan's face turned bright red with embarrasment. "Hydrath!", he shouted, accidently outloud. He then covered his mouth with his hands when he realized that was outloud and not a mental shout. Oops. His dragon laughed. K'dan glared at his dragon and tried to regain his composure.

[nike]

Nike smiled, though she kept her gaze on the Weyrleader who was quietly talking to one of his Wingleaders.
Your rider doesn't seem to like it though. Atleast I am the only one here at the moment who can hear you other than K'dan. She told the blue.
Ruanth snorted. Be careful Hydrath! K'dan could turn on you! The white warned the dragon.
A laugh escaped her lips, but she quickly hid her face by burying it in her dragon's neck.
Really? Nike asked the blue. Did K'dan dream about them having a weyr together? Wait, why was she even thinking about that now! Her first concern she be firestone!

[Dragon]

I am trying to get him to lighten up and yes he has dreamed of it. He can't wait for the day to be with you. He can't stand sleeping alone, without you. You two are mates and he wants to be with his mate. I can sense his dreams at night sometimes Nike. He loves you and wants to be with you more than anything. He honestly loves you. He blocked his rider from what he was saying to where only Nike and Ruanth could hear him. K'dan sat the bags down, clueless as to what his dragon was saying. He couldn't wait for their last lesson to be over.

[Tenma]

Miya turned away from the Weyrwoman and turned her attention to her fellow Weyrling. If she couldn't participate, she at least wanted to watch. Both K'dan and Nike had that glazy eyed look that meant they were talking to their dragons, probably even each other through their dragons.

She wondered what they were talking about until K'dan shouted and began to blush madly. She then smirked slightly, the smirk that Miya always gave. She knew now what they were talking about. Each other. Unlike others, Miya knew that Nike was pregnant with K'dan's child. That was from one of her flitts, she didn't remember which, spying before they got in trouble. He finger began to twirl in her hair. She loved knowing things others didn't, especially when she wasn't supposed to know it.

Eventually, you will know much more about the Weyr than the others, though I can't say if it is for good or worse. And some of those secrets can't be told, no matter what. You must learn when and what to say. Reinath explained.

Yeah, but right now, I am just a weyrling. I don't have that kind of information, so I think I will enjoy this while I can. She replied simply.

[Miki]

Kia gave a slight roll of her eyes. There was typical Miya. She couldn't help but wonder how the Weyrling was feeling about how large Kylath had grown. It had even surprised Kia.

The Weyrling smiled with joy. This would there last lesson! Then they would have their own Weyrs and Kylath would actually have room. She couldn't wait to see what wing she would be in. She patted the large dragon's hide approvingly. Kylath lowered her head and Kia obliged, scratching her eye ridges. Kia wanted to know everything. She couldn't mess up if thread fell. The Weyrling listened intently and immediately went to do her task.

Kia marched over to the bags and chose one that looked pretty full. She grabbed the sides as tightly as she could and lifted. It was surprisingly heavy and she strained her muscles a little to hold. Slowly she stepped to Kylath and dropped the bag. A couple of stones fell out. She hastily picked them up and hoped nobody had seen. Sure it wasn't that bad but she was really jumpy right now. This was nerveracking. Kylath might get hurt during training if a dragon, or Miya, shot fire at her on accident. Kylath nudged her rider encouraginly. Kia took a deep breadth and smiled up at her dragon. Okay, she said and nodded.

[nike]

((Considering it is just four Weyrlings, I'm going to just do the lesson.))

Sh'iron nodded as the small group of Weyrlings were ready. 'Shame,' he thought, 'we had so many Weyrlings at the Hatchings, and now we are down to what, ten?' He shook his head, knowing that Christae's hatching was the same. The Weyrleader took a deep breath. "Alright, T'rin, Kia, K'dan and Nike, I want you four to be in my group," Sh'iron said, to the four Weyrlings, and then gave the other Weyrligns group.

Then, once everyone was in a line before him, Sh'iron smiled. "Alright. Firestone isn't that hard. I will show you how to use it with Myranenth," he nodded to the bronze behind him. "Riders, I want you to take three peices of firestone, and stand beside your dragon. Feed the firestone to your dragon, and tell them to think of their second stomach. It may take while for your dragon to belch, and when they do, they may not produce flame. So, feed them a little more each time until a flame is produce. Once it is, you will learn how many peices will be needed for a longer, stronger flame that will sear Thread.

"Any questions?" The Weyrleader asked, waiting for a reply. He was standing beside Myranenth's head with a sack of firestone in his hand.

†††††††††

Nike listened to Sh'iron, and waited until she was allowed to go. During this time, she was calulating how much firetonse Ruanth may need. Smaller dragons needed less firestone. So mabey three would be alright. Since five or six could make a bronze flame.
The Healer shook her head when Sh'iron asked for any questions.

[Dragon]

K'dan nodded and took three pieces of firestone out of the sack. He fumbled one of them and quickly tried to catch it and the other two fell and trying to react quickly to catch all of them he fell flat on his face. He quickly got to his knees and picked the three pieces up and gave a meek smile, hoping nobody saw that. Clumsy. His dragon replied simply in which K'dan did not say anything back but simply stood to his feet and held the three pieces firmly. He stood next to Hydrath. He wasn't going to start feeding them to him until the others started as well. It would be just like him to jump the gun like that.

[Kandarra]

Ha, snorted Amparath. I will need five pieces just to flame.

T'rin grinned and gave him the three Sh'iron had advised. Think of your second stomach, he ordered, shaking his head when Amparath clearly expected more chunks. Amparath chomped the firestone noisily, and T'rin stood at his flank. Suddenly, the bronze belched and a tiny lick of flame appeared and winked out.

I flame! Amparath exclaimed proudly, and T'rin couldn't help but laugh; it had hardly been a flame. It was more of a flash. But T'rin slapped Amparath's hide supportively anyway, stifling a smile.

[Dragon]

Hydrath watched Amparath. I will flame. I want to try now.[/font][/size]Hydrath said impatiently. ~Fine. Think of your second stomach then~, K'dan said. He fed Hydrath the three pieces and waited for a moment. He thought perhaps nothing would happen but Hydrath did the same, he belched and a flash. It was barely noticible but it was there. Not to be considered a flame or hardly anything actually but it happened and it was a step in the right direction. Hydrath poked out his chest proudly. For a moment he thought he would be the last one to learn how to flame but maybe not now. "This lesson isn't over yet Hydrath. You have yet to 'actually' flame", K'dan reminded the blue and emphasized the word actually.

[Miki]

Kia grabbed three pieces of the firestone from the bag. Her dragon had her head up proudly. "I will need much more to produce something for I am so large," Kylath said proudly.

That's all nice, Kylath. Now let me feed you. Think of your second stomach, Kia said, a little annoyance in her voice. Kylath snorted and lowered her head to Kia. The Weyrling deposited the pieces in the dragon's big mouth, literally and figurativelly. Kylath chewed them a little and then swallowed. She gave a little belch but nothing came out. She had to think quick to explain. It was not hard to think of something and she made sure everyone heard.

"Aah, it doesn't work because of how big I am!" The dragon nodded as if she were the smartest creature in the world. Kia only rolled her eyes.

"Shut up and let me feed you more, Kylath," Kia said rather quietly. Kylath barely heard it but she listened. Kia fed the dragon two more pieces. Still nothing.

[nike]

Nike took out three peices, and tossed them in Ruanth's mouth.
Chew. Be careful not to bite your tounge, and think of your second stomach. Remember. The Healer lightly stroked the white's little neck. Ruanth swallowed the firestone, and then they waited. The dragon belched, but nothing came out but the acid smell of firestone.
Alright, we'll try again. The rider placed three more peices in Ruanth's open jaw, and then went through the same process. This time, only a tiny lick of flame came out of her mouth. Nike smiled, and this time placed four peices in the dragon's maw.

While she waited for the white to belch, she looked around at the other four riders. It seemed that K'dan and T'rin were doing alright, but Kia wasn't having any luck. Ruanth arched her neck, and her mouth opened to let out a longer, stronger stream of flame. It still wasn't as long as a full dragon's, but it was getting there. And so, Nike set to work to getting her dragon to have a mature flame.

†††††††††††

Sh'iron stood by Myranenth's head waiting to see the weyrlings to flame. "Don't worry, not everyone gets a flame the first try. Once your dragon produces a semi-mature flame, add one or two pecies after that to get a mature flame," He said, and then walked over to T'rin to watch the young bronze rider.

[Spirithawk]

Christae let Miya watch the other weyrlings. Perhaps one day she would be helping teach Weyrlings how to flame, perhaps even her own dragon's children. After all, she and Sh'iron would need a vacation sooner or later and they would need to leave someone in charge of the Weyr for the short amount of time the Weyrleaders would be gone.

After watching most of the dragons produce their first flicker of flame, Christae called to her pupil. "I want you to show me how you take apart and clean your flamethrower Miya. You will be responsible for your own gear and if I find you making someone else take care of it, you will be in trouble." Christae smiled. "My own mentor told me the same thing. I was so afraid of her that I never even thought about shirking my duties. I hope you will not shirk your duties because you are responsible and not just because I told you not to shirk your duties."

[Kandarra]

T'rin continued to feed Amparath a few pieces at a time, now trying four. Amparath belched loudly, but nothing came out. It happened again, and T'rin frowned.

"If you try to force it, silly dragon, it won't have time to digest. Just wait for it, okay?"

Amparath grumbled, but obeyed. T'rin fed him another couple of pieces, not knowing how much had built up in the dragon's stomach, and Amparath belched a minute later, sustaining almost as large a flame as Ruanth had.

"See? You just have to be patient," T'rin stressed. He fed Amparath four more pieces, and the bronze flamed again, this one a bit larger than the one before. "Excellent," he praised, slapping Amparath's hide.

[Miki]

"Are you feeling alright so far, Kylath," the Weyrling asked. In fact, the dragon's stomach was feeling a little unsettled but she refused to admit that.

"I only have a little stomach ache but it's because I ate a lot. Keep feeding me!"

Kia reached her hand into the bag and picked out three more pieces. Okay, Kylath, ready?

"Yes, Mine," Kylath said, clearly annoyed with Kia's carefulness.

Kylath, this is serious. You need to be cautious. Now, think of your second stomach and chew carefully, Kia told her dragon sternly. Kylath simply snorted and opened her mouth. Kia dropped in the three pieces and Kylath lifted her head and chewed. She swallowed and made sure for it to fall in her second stomach. Instead of belching, though, she lowered her head sickly. "Kylath? Are you okay?" Kia asked. Kylath walked a little away before she layed down to try and help her stomach. Just as the dragon thought it was getting better, she threw up a little. She extended her neck away so it was far away from everyone, especially her bonded. "Kylath?" Kia shouted worriedly.