[Spooky Clutch] A Time For Blood

[Thaliawen]

Round one - day one - roll two
Blue Micheth
Hp: 12/12

He’d finally gotten Jailla to stop trembling and focus. They hopped between to sear a clump of Thread and overshot, again. They ended up directly in it! There was no denying the pain they were in, Micheth realized. His wings tingled and burned. He heard his rider give a cry.

Jailla visualized and took them between. It’ll all be fine? She asked, dryly. She winced.

We didn’t die.

Quote:

1. You appear from Between..... directly into a clump of Thread. It sears through your dragons wingsails, and you can feel it tangling up on your leg! The wherhide fabric doesn't seem to offer any protection at all, shaffit all! You finally remember to visualize and go Between, but you're certainly hurting. -5 HP Threadscore

 

[Thaliawen]

Round one - day one - roll three
Micheth
Hp: 7/12

One of his clutchmates was in trouble! Micheth bugles avwarning at Vedmath, hoping to prevent injury. Vedmath, be careful! he called. He hoped all his clutchmates would be. He never told them, but they meant a lot to him.

Quote:

6. As you're flying, you notice one of your wing-mates in trouble! You call out to them, to try to warn them, and hopefully avoid witnessing a catastrophe. Save! Remove all damage from a single roll for this Round!

 

[faesinger]

Round 1 roll 1- general grid
Therianth 10/10
Saves=0

Therianth, of course, saw Thread as a new game. Never mind that it could get them killed. Shahera was less eager to be in the air but she went up when asked. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to go, it was more that she was keenly aware that they might not all come home.

As she began her patterns, as instructed, she noticed that one of her wingmate’s was in danger. Therinath! She called. Watch out! Therianth quickly relayed with an image to help the dragon pair.

(holding the save for later!)  

[ShinosBee]

Round 1 - Day 1 - Roll 3: General Grid
Blue Strigonth: 11/12 hp
Held saves: 0

Quote:

6. As you're flying, you notice one of your wingmates in trouble! You call out to them, to try to warn them, and hopefully avoid witnessing a catastrophe. Save! Remove all damage from a single roll for this Round!

Flying at the tip of the spear wasn't just about leading the way, about spotting oncoming thread ahead of the group. It was about being responsible for everyone behind you, making sure they didn't fly into danger on your watch. Even, that meant, the ones you did not quite like the very most of all. Or those who did not like you. Strigonth was well aware of Hessianth's opinion of him, and no doubt the brown was seething back in the wing that he had had to fight with the blue at the lead.

But such petty malcontent thoughts like those the brown seemed apt to brew were unseemly. For lesser dragons. Strigonth wanted Hessianth strong, needed all of them strong. If they were hurt under his and D'mar's watch...well.

So it was that when D'mar, shifting to look back over the ranks atop him, spotted looming danger—the area the brown was fixating on, planning to blink to, the clump, blowing up from behind on an erratic gust, the telltale pause as a pair prepared to leap between—the blue cried out in a quick but steady warning. Ware, Hessianth! Thread in your path! There was no weight of command to his tones beyond that afforded to him by their temporary assignment as wingsecond, and that of the blue's own innate surety. Whether or not the brown and L'nik would heed their signal fell to them.

demon_pachabel

 

[demon_pachabel]

Round 1 - Day 1 - Roll 3: General Grid
Brown Hessianth: 14/14 hp - Saved by Strigonth!
Held saves: 0

Quote:

Your dragon spots a silver strand of Thread. You visualize the space you need to go to flame it, but don't take into account the wind, or your dragon's flight speed. Instead, you appear Between but have completely overshot your airspace and are now out in the open, exposed, and with no Thread anywhere near you. Shaffit all! Don't you look the fool. Whoops.

Strigonth wasn't Hessianth's favorite clutchmate, if the brown could be said to have one. There was some obvious favoring here or there that L'nik had noticed - Vedmath, Fantoth, and the ever playmate Therianth - but if he'd been asked a preference, he wouldn't have had one. His dislike of any obvious bossing had not gone unsaid, and any ire drawn for it had been laughed off.

Still, Strigonth's warning had at least pushed both he and L'nik away to safety before he'd lingered long and it seemed the damage done by Thread had been minimal - a little burning, but no lasting marks for their effort. The brown thrummed with displeasure at the idea of being in his brother's debt. Say thank you for us, L'nik advised. Hessianth did not. L'nik frowned, scanning the skies. Do it. he said more firmly, leaning his weight into it.

Red whirled in the brown's eyes as he leaned the thought out; Our thanks, Strigonth. It was as good as it was going to get, at least, but he didn't sound too annoyed at the least.

Then, away they blinked, off to chase after some strand of thread here or there. If it was even still there. Hmph.

ShinosBee

 

[faesinger]

Round 1 roll 2 - general grid
Therianth 10/10
Saves=1

Watching for Thread was sort of like watching for really strange insects that attack you, Shahera mused. Deadly super invasive insects. She spotted a little bit of Thread floating along, innocently dangerous. Giving the coordinates she and Therinath popped out of between only to see that Thread drifting innocently away from them. Wind. Hmm...  

[TheWishling]

Round 1 - Day 1 : Roll 3 - General Grid
White Brancath: 7/8 HP
Held saves: 0

Quote:

5. It's a classic textbook maneuver. An ugly strand of Thread is falling down, drifting, blowing, squirming on the wind. If it stays course it will put it right in your airspace. Your dragon shifts position, veers, and manages to catch the tangle with a belch of flame. Nothing to this Thread thing, nope!

As they moved again, in with their Wing, Isilje was the one that saw the thread first, directing Brancath's attention upwards. With a roar, the female twisted herself and puffed the thread out of the air with a confident belch of flames. She won. Cheering her White on, the girl was grinning, feeling confidence swelling in both of them now.  

[Smerdle]

Day 1 / Round 1 / Roll 2: General Grid
Brown Aleyath: 13/14 HP
Held saves: 0

Aleyath backed off after that, swooping as close to the ground as he could without landing. He just needed a moment to catch his breath, a couple of seconds to process the reality that was Thread before he rejoined the fray.

He wasn't scared.

He wasn't.


Quote:
4. No Thread is near you, and there's nothing really to be done. The winds are calm and you're in good spirits. You've got this. A moment to think, a moment to breathe. Look at you, fighting Thread like a real rider!

 

[Ruhane Chiisai]

Round 1 - Day 1 : Roll 0 - Tea Clutch
Green Zhenth

Faren had been working with firestone; the only cooking she was allowed to do, for a while, now, learning to measure it, learning proper amounts to feed, and now that skill was useful! She'd been weighing bags of the stuff for about 30 minutes, when she realized her Zhenth had managed to slip under another green's wing. The owner, waiting for their turn at bat for thread, didn't seem to have noticed. "Zhenth, come back here, before you get us in trouble!"

So I says to the other human, I says- Oooh, lookit up there! NICE SHOT, BRANCATH! Did you see that? Oooh, are you nervous? Don't be nervous, it looks easy! See? Look at Mich-Ooooh... Zhenth cringed as the pair zipped out, then into a big patch of thread, then between again.

"ZHENTH! Come back over here and help with this firestone, would you?"

The chatty green smiled up at the larger dragon and bounded over to Faren like a strider fawn, then bowled her over and nuzzled the now-prone girl. I'm here, my beautiful Faren, don't worry.

"YIPE! Zhenth... Zhenth... get off. You're... getting... too big for this!"  

[Smerdle]

Day 1 / Round 1 / Roll 3: General Grid
Brown Aleyath: 13/14 HP
Held saves: 0

You're all right. O'len's reassurance wasn't coddling, it was simply a statement of fact.

Aleyath nodded and flapped strongly, climbing back into position. Ahead, a wiggling bit of stray Thread caught both dragon's and dragonrider's attention, and they shared an excited mental exchange before chasing after it, charring it out of the sky just as they had been taught.


Quote:
5. It's a classic textbook maneuver. An ugly strand of Thread is falling down, drifting, blowing, squirming on the wind. If it stays course it will put it right in your airspace. Your dragon shifts position, veers, and manages to catch the tangle with a belch of flame. Nothing to this Thread thing, nope!

 

[Meepfur]

Round 1 - Day 1 - Roll 3: General Grid
Bronze Vedmath: 15/16 HP
Held saves: 0

Quote:

1. You appear from Between..... directly into a clump of Thread. It sears through your dragons wingsails, and you can feel it tangling up on your leg! The wherhide fabric doesn't seem to offer any protection at all, shaffit all! You finally remember to visualize and go Between, but you're certainly hurting. -5 HP Threadscore.
Saved by Micheth!

With the troublesome strap tightened to keep Dezerac safely secure, he and Vedmath wasted no time in getting back into the fray. They swooped and flamed, but before long found themselves in the path of a stray sliver of Thread. They flashed between to avoid it, but immediately upon reappearing, heard Micheth's warning. Without it, they would never have seen the clump coming down from above in time to avoid it. Vedmath veered deftly out of the way, bugling his thanks to his blue clutchmate. That would have hurt! Thank you for watching out for me, brother!  

[ShinosBee]

Round 1 - Day 1 - BONUS ROLL: Wingsecond Grid
Blue Strigonth: 11/12 hp
Held saves: 0

Quote:

You're asked to give the order to change formation. You don't agree with what Liat has suggested. Do you give the order? Or do you risk giving a different one? Only you and the Wingleader know what was asked... So what are you going to do? Regardless of what your character decides, roll 1 through 2 to see if your actions are justified.
If you roll a 1, quote three weyrlings and have them take -5 HP!

There had been a few close calls, a few near misses, and one rough moment with Micheth. Were the rare blusters of wind just that dangerous? Was the weather turning? D'mar's heart was rabbiting in his chest, and not just because of his own fumbles. Leadership behind a desk, wielding quill and parchment, was one thing. Leading in the field (or sky, as it was) was...different. Things happened quickly, and he could hear the blue's squeal of pain from the thread. The stakes felt much higher here in the middle of fall, and he'd begun to see how just a moment's hesitation or change of direction could be detrimental.

And soon he'd learn even more: the weight of burden a leader must shoulder for their choices, and the effect of those choices on those following them, trusting them.

His head snapped around as Liat called to him and Strigonth through Orioth, directing him to give the signal (he'd memorized them all, of course, as had the rest of the wing) to shift formations. The man's arm was already moving, hand curling into the right signal to inform the rest even as something began to nag in the back of his mind. With the wind they'd felt the edges of, that'd be... It's wrong...!

He'd been determined to play it safe this time, their first time out, to play so well the perfectly compliant wingsecond. Man and dragon grimaced, looking around as the sound of weyrlings screeching in pain from buffeting winds or loose-blown thread connected. It was the wrong call. I knew it, but...

It was the call Liat decided upon. She is the Wingleader... The blue's tone carried an unspoken 'but', and a whirl of orange slid across his eyes, feeling his rider's churlish twist of displeased smugness. Perhaps next time they would take more time to consider the order, and think about his own opinion. At this point, he grumbled to himself, he couldn't do much worse than had just gone, right?

Meepfur

Sorry Vedmath! -5 HP!

faesinger

Sorry Therianth! -5 HP!

demon_pachabel

Sorry Hessianth! -5 HP!

 

[ShinosBee]

Wingsecond grid p-part two...  

[Teiha]

This was nothing like the drills they’d flown dozens and dozens of times. Away from the Weyr, the Flight, including fully half of their clutchmates, was fighting for real. Already some of them were scored. Silviu and Aramath were standing at the ready for when they would be called up, the boy tightly strapped in and his hands gripping the blue’s neck ridge. Silviu appeared calm on the outside, but his knuckles were white under his gloves. Aramath’s eyes were just as white, occasionally reflecting the red flashes of flame that came from above. Both stared up at the sky as they listened to updates from Orioth and others, willing their siblings to be courageous, but most importantly safe.