[PRP] (Let's hope we don't) Crash Course (Salva/Cam/A'rell)

[DruidTigeress]

Sunny pulled on her riding gear at the edge of their ledge, watching dragons fly back and forth through the Weyr. It wasn't so long ago that on a morning like this the Bowl might be completely empty. In just a few short months since thread's return, the Weyr had gone from nearly empty to packed (or so it seemed to her, at least). Not that she was surprised. The ancient enemy must have stirred something in all dragons, just as it had for her and Altoth. The only difference between them and others was that they happened to be at a Weyr already when it happened.

The thought of dragons coming together from all over Pern, bringing with them their own individual strengths and opinions, was thrilling to her. Still, the fact remained that there were certain things (betweening and flaming for example) that everyone simply needed to know before they could work in a wing. The adult rider lessons, then, seemed like a brilliant idea to her. There was no sense throwing them in with the weyrlings as if they couldn't do anything! These were people that had been together with their dragons for turns, just in a slightly different environment. Each new rider had a uniquely different experience. Some knew more about flaming than most wingriders, but had never gone between. Others could cross continents with ease, but hadn't ever flown formations with another dragon. Usually, her lessons were one-on-one, but today, apparently, she would be working with a pair. How curious... she thought with a grin.

Swinging her legs, Sunny sat at the edge of her weyr until she saw the two dragons she had been tasked with meeting. Getting to her feet, she threw her arms around her dragon's neck before climbing onto his back, as was her habit.
Hey my big trundlebug! You ready?
Of course.

Altoth took off from the ledge, flying the short distance down to the Bowl. She'd asked today's riders to meet her by the lake. Altoth landed softly by the shore and Salva slid easily from his neck into the sand. "Hello, my lovlies!" she greeted them cheerfully, wasting no time in taking up a familiar tone. "Welcome to the Western Weyr Adult Rider Crash Course! (Though hopefully not litterally)." she jerked a thumb over her shoulder towards the blue dragon. "I'm Salva, and this here's Altoth, but you should probably just call me Sunny, since that's what everyone else does. Say hey, Altoth."
Greetings.
"Great! So- These lessons are really just to get you up to speed before you enter a wing full-time. We can work on anything and everything. Why don't you give me an idea of what your experience is so we can figure out where to go from there!"  

[MoonRazor]

"Do we have to?" There's was a frown knitted into Camriel's brow that said as clear as day how little she was looking forward to this.

Beside her, A'rell pulled Azoth's riding straps into place with a small, amused smile, and busied himself tidying up around the dragon's feet.

"Yes," he said simply, knowing his twin remained as aware as he of the obvious disadvantages they faced, coming in from outside of the weyr with no official training.

"As long as it's not another overblown egomaniac teaching us," Camriel relented with a huff, tightening Kith's straps and checking the white dragon over one more time before swinging effortlessly onto her back.

We must learn, Mine. Quickly! So nobody says you're a backwards weyrhold rider anymore, Kith put forth with a defiant huff, tail flicking left and right.

"RACE YOU TO THE LAKE!" Camriel said in evident agreement with her dragon. Kith blasted off the ground as if shot into the air, zipping away even as A'rell scrambled onto Azoth's back and the big brown heavily raised himself into the air with long, sure wingbeats.

The pair of riders touched down on the shore almost side by side, Kith's little white wings emphatically propelling all 13' of her though the air while Azoth lumbered along nearby, one wingbeat to nearly three of Kith's.

"Good morning, Sunny, Altoth!" A'rell said brightly as he swung himself down from Azoth's back. "Thanks for taking us on. I'm A'rell, Azoth. This is my sister Camriel and her Kith."

Camriel leaped lightly to the ground, dwarfed by both her brother and his burly brown. But she didn't seem to notice in the slightest as she stuck out her hand to greet Sunny. "Our experience is... well. Mostly the practical, survivalist stuff. We hunt, we fish, we work together really without thinking about it," she said. "But as for flying in formation, fighting tactics, dueling?" She shrugged. "Not so much."

DruidTigeress

 

[DruidTigeress]

"Lovely to meet you both!" she said brightly, as the two riders introduced themselves, taking the woman's hand. "And it's my pleasure A'rell, we're just happy to help- if we can." She folded her hands behind her back, listening to Camriel explain their history. "Well, that's not so bad! Sounds like you're already ahead of a lot of the riders we get here. Not that there's anything wrong with that either!" she added, quickly. They were grateful for every rider they could get, even those with no experience. But it did make her job easier.. She looked back between the siblings. "You say you would work together.. Does that mean you can fly in tandem? How about betweening? Because that's going to be important."

"In riders that already know how to between, in-air collisions are the number one cause of injury.. In my limited experience, mind you." she added, though even that small amount of experience witnessing such horrowing accidents was more than enough to imprint it strongly on her memory. "Number two is flaming accidents, but that basically comes down to the same thing: forgetting where your wingmates are during flight. Have you used firestone before..?" she asked, cautiously. Using his leg as a stepping stool, she pulled a small bag from on top of Altoth's back.

"We have a little bit to practice with. Not much, mind. Limited supply and all that.. But of course, you don't want someone's first experience with it being during threadfall." She pointed across the lake to a small, colorful glass buoy floating on its surface. "We can use that as a target if you want to give it a go?"