Spring - Month 5 of Turn 2717
Half Moon Bay Weyr - Corrals
Enclosed by a wooden fence on one side and the steep walls of the weyr on the other is a couple acres of grass that holds the Weyr's herdbeasts and wherry flock. While this dragon feeding area is smaller than most of the Weyrs on Pern, there is still enough room for a large dragon to swoop down and grab his dinner with relative ease.
The sunshine has held, but there is still copious mud thanks to those spring storms. And yet, weyrlings gotta eat! And Toith's gotta teach 'em! And R'sner's gotta… witness it. At least he's had turns of practice and, with Toith as a lifemate, unlikely to find anything that happens within that fence surprising or upsetting. And so the weyrlingmaster waits, casually leaning against the fence with an eye toward the bowl, while Toith lurks on the stone ledge and eyeballs the beasties in the pen. Mmm. Lunch.
On the one hand - hooray for finally being at this point! On the other hand - is it really much better? Z'tan already looks a little green as he follows along in Ysgieuth's wake, the bronze's pace careful as he picks around the mud puddles, deliberately avoiding them the best he can. Pausing, Ysgie turns his head to peer up at Toith, rumbling at her curiously. « Lunch? » Continuing past his life mate, Zel finds a place against the fence, leaning lightly on it, pointedly ignoring the contents.
/Hunting/! This is what Zeek has been waiting for, a chance to run free and destroy things as he pleases. Now to be fair, he's made friends with some of the corral animals so he'll be performing selective murder and consumption. The tiny blue scuttles along, wings and tail extended bizarrely before he finally pulls up next to his clutch sib and sends the mental imagine of an exploding jellyfish to the both of them. It's apparently a greetings. « Lunch! » Oh he is /very/ excited. Suyi isn't far behind, moving off towards the direction Z'tan was heading so that she can keep an eye on Zychaelth from a bit farther. She doesn't want to be splashed with blood if she doesn't have to be.
No Z'tan, it's not. sometimes, it's even /worse/, cause someone (i.e. the human) has to clean up afterwards. Fun times, cleaning viscera out of clothes. R'sner has probably worn a fair bit of Toith's meals through the turns, but seems less concerned about the mess to come and more concerned about the scuttling blue. A twitch of a frown for him, a resigned sigh, and then a push away from the fence as he goes to join the weyrlings. "Little for you to do except watch and keep tabs on their hunger," and maybe there's a more pointed look to Z'tan before he's flashing a glance toward the bronze. "No need to gorge. And please," now looking at Suyi with an expression of tightly controlled desperation, "no destruction of property, alright?"
« Lunch! » agrees Toith, even if she's decidedly less hungry than the weyrling dragons might be. But nonetheless, she'll haul herself up into a position of readiness, talons to stone, wings extended as she sort of leeeeeeans in what is undoubtedly a precarious position of readiness. « Watch'n learn, kids! Watch'n learn. » And with that, she dives. Allowing herself to fall off the cliff she points herself toward her chosen prey. A small wherry falls beneath her talons, the shriek of fear and pain cut off with a quick snap of its neck. « A'right, » and with a point of her head between blue and bronze, she asks, « Who's first? »
Isn't that what Candidate are for? Pretty sure, based on experience, that is what candidates are for. Z'tan grimaces a little as he glances back into the pen, maybe looking a bit green, before he nods to R'sner. "Right. No gorging." Eyes close for a moment, he spares at glance at Suyi, murmuring softly. "Good thing -I- haven't had lunch yet." Ysgie, however, looks -far- more excited about the whole thing, gaze watching Toith as she picks her own first meal, the bronze giving a little hopping bounce-flight to clear the fence, settling down just inside the corral to look around at the animals, flicking his tail at Zychaelth. « Him. »
"It won't be /that/ bad….maybe." Whether Suyi is directing these words to R'sner or Z'tan is unclear, but they probably work as a reply to both their musings. Zychaleth, grounded little blue that he is, proceeds to start clambering over the fence. And perhaps R'sner's words were a prediction because there's an ominous sound and while the fence doesn't break there's now going to be a large and unsightly crack in the wood. Whoops! « Watch me! » Well, after he's done watching Toith. Large eyes swirl, flicking towards on wherry and then another before finally settling on a medium sized looking morsel. It's with surprising speed that Zychaleth starts scuttling through the field, chasing the poor beast with mad fervor. « HAHAHAHAH! » The harsh cackling laughter is relayed to everyone. Though at this point…it seems he may have forgotten the purpose of this whole thing is to eat and not to play. It almost seems like he's feeding off the terror of the poor beats!
Too bad there're no candidates right now! MWAHAHAHAHA. Ahem. Z'tan's slightly green face is getting a whole lot of side-eye from R'sner as he keeps tabs on him. "You'll get used to it," is the only advice he has to give, though there's definitely a touch of amusement to be found in the weyrlingmaster. Amusement that promptly vanishes at the crack of fencing and the scuttling blue beastie. A wince, and inevitably a hand finds his forehead in a gesture that has likely become common around this particular pair. Rub-rub-rub. As if he can make Zychaelth vanish with will alone. "If he breaks it, you fix it," he declares.
Toith has settled down, not to eat, but simply to hoard her kill while the blue takes to chasing his. Amusement flashes in her mind, gleeful delight at the game that has been made of mealtime. There might even be the draconic version of laughter bubbling from her she's pointedly stating, « Ya do gotta catch it, Zych! Oth'rwise, it ain't lunch. »
"That's what you think.. -You- had no issue doing.. whatever it was you did to that giant fish." Z'tan grumbles in disagreement with Suyi, frowning at R'sner in turn. "If you say so." He just won't watch, kthx. "I still think we should just get.. giant tunnelsnakes or something to clean up the corrals after." « Faster, faster! » Ysgie chimes in as his tiny brother goes chasing his target through the grounds, though he lingers near the fence, sitting still, watching the other animals as they scatter in front of the chaos. « Wear them all out for me. »
"It didn't /break/, just…." Suyi doesn't even bother to finish that sentence, cause she's honestly started to expect making constant repairs courtesy of Zeek. Pretty soon she's going to be a pro at using a hammer. « But it's so /scared/! » Oh the elation in Zychaelth's voice can't be missed, but between Toith's words and the urging from Ysgie the blue appears to ready to go into beast mode. Wait, he's /always/ in beast mode. But his speed does pick up, unusually large eyes locking in on phis pretty and suddenly there's a quick leap. The poor wherry is caught between two paws and the pair go tumbling a few times as Zeek tries to bite into it. That leads to an unfortunate spraying of guts and blood in a variety of directions. "If this doesn't induce flashbacks to that whole fish thing….sorry Zel." But oh there's a hint of amusement in her voice. "NICE Zeek!"
"Mm. Still have to clean up the dragon, though," notes R'sner with all seriousness, even if there's a gleam in those blue eyes of his. "Nothing like pulling bones from between teeth or scrubbing guts out from beneath their talons." Ah, the joys of dragonriding. But maybe that's just Toith, who likes to play with her meal more than actually eat it. As for that fence not breaking? There's a long look at Suyi and then a pointed look at the cracked board, and then back to the weyrling. And then to the blue in the pen, who's finally deigned to make his catch. "Hm," is all Res has to comment in regard to the spray of guts and blood.
TOITH thinks it's grand, and will add her own « Nice! » to the mix. She highly approves of messes, and her mind basically zings with delight at the display of gore. « Good job, kid, » she continues, still just hovering over her wherry rather than devouring it. Maybe it's to spare poor Z'tan from additional blood and gore? Or not. Either way, « Ysgie! You're up! Knock 'em dead, » and then hysterical amusement cause… he's going to kill something so… he kinda does have to knock it dead.
Maybe Ysgie should have gone first - then the animals would be more chill and unsuspecting - or at least not still milling around nervously after Zeek's little parade through the corrals. Either way, he flicks a tail at the other dragons, before he is starting his own search for lunch, crouching (as if that could make his not-insignificant mass any less noticeable) to begin to creep closer to the animals, focusing in on one beast in particular, who is still standing with legs splayed wide and head down, catching its breath. A little hop and - he gets it - barely - right before the animal scrambles away in other panic. Perched on top the creature with his talons in it, he glances briefly at Z'tan, before he shuffles his bulk and settles down to dig in - though with far more grace than his brother, and far more daintily than one might expect for his size. « You are like a walking… Typhoon. » He rumbles at the blue as he settles in. « That is the right word, is it not, Z'tan? » He adds after a moment. "Faranth, why did I agree to this again.." Z'tan murmurs softly to himself, but at least the bronze is somewhat considerate. "Yes, Ysgie - A typhoon would probably be a good word to pick."
« Thank you! » Zych oozes satisfaction at Toith's assessment of what just happened, and while Suyi might be regretting some fence mending later, she looks quite proud. It seems that the blue truly is a force of nature. He pauses in his mauling of the poor beast to watch its the large bronze goes after his prey and once it's caught there's a loud warble and croon for the success. « And you are like a….Lady Holder, very neat, very graceful! » She can't help it, Suyi groans upon hearing this and winces slightly. "Sorry, he means well by that…." Even though it probably doesn't come off too nicely. She'll have to give him a talk about proper compliments at some other time.
Giving improper compliments is likely the least of R'sner's worries when it comes to Zychaelth, even if that particular sentiment was for Ysgieuth. But there might be a bit of a laugh disguised as a cough as Toith relays the compliment. "Nicely done," is his honest compliment for the bronze dragon's kill. "And very neat. Enjoy it," because some people (i.e. RES) have dragons that delight in making the biggest mess possible. "Look away and put your head between your knees if you feel faint," he advises, watching Z'tan carefully before he's glancing back into the corrals. It's Toith that seems to have briefly stolen his attention, however. Even if he's offering a reassuring, "They can go again, if they are still hungry after. Try a herdbeast?"
Speaking of that green… she's still just hovering over her dead wherry, as though content to keep a paw on its body and… nothing else. Hm. But perhaps it is because she is busy watching the weyrling dragons at their task, offering encouragement in the form of « Niiiiice! » and « more blood next time, » because there wasn't enough gore for her. « Really sink yer teeth in, » even if it was Ysgieuth's talons that did the killing. « HAHA, Lady Holder! Jus' don' call me that, kay? »
« At least -I- have some sort of poise and class. Unlike you. » Ysgieuth counters back to his smaller brother, lifting his head to peer across the distance, tongue flicking over the spots that dared get on his muzzle. « Mine needs me to be a good impression. Yours, well. » The bronze simply doesn't elaborate at that, so now it is Z'tan's turn to look a bit apologetic as he glances at Suyi. "It, uh, its fine. He can manage himself." But his back remains turned towards the corrals, and he spares a look at R'sner. "That's why this fence is here, right? For support?"
« No no, you are more like…» Zychaelth can't quite come up with a word, so instead he speaks in images. And the one portraying the green is one of her 5 times her usual size reveling in wherry destruction. His attention shifts to his clutch sib however and the blue's tongue lols out, maw parting in what appears to be a grin. « Thank you! » He's treating it like a compliment. But he's /also/ noticing how clean Ysgie is being about his kill. Which means the blue has to do the exact opposite. He picks up his own, shaking his head back and forth and /attempting/ to splatter more blood on the bronze. Whether he's successful at that is really up in the air. "Oh…."
"Sure." Support. Definitely there for support. That's why R'sner's leaning on it, all casual-like (albeit facing in TO the corrals) as he eyes Toith with growing suspicion, and Zychaelth with growing disapproval, and Ysgieuth with growing disgruntled-ness if just because he might be a touch jealous at how fantastically clean he is. So unfair. At least until good ol' Zych decides to help him out. A wince, a grimace, a shake of his head, and a long sigh. "Always one," mutter-mutter.
« Oh, I like it! » Toith highly approves of that mental image of her, and might even puff herself up just a bit more. Chest out, wings up, looking smug and satisfied over her still uneaten wherry. A moment later, perhaps prompted by fence-leaning lifemates, the green drops her head to start tearing into the meat. Guts first! « Nice, nice! Really slin— I mean, » and there's a snort, and perhaps the mental equivalent of an eyeroll as she's reminded of her role in this lesson, « Food's fer eatin' not playin', » or so says R'sner. « Butcha can roll innit if ya want, » she offers.
The rumble that escapes from Ysgie takes on a deeper, less amused tone as he gets splattered by the blue - intentionally, no less! - and he is crouching down to glare at the smaller dragon, tail beginning to lash back and forth as the rumble continues. « Please, would you -try- to be a gentleman? » He snaps sharply, before turning back to his meal, still eying the other two suspiciously, as if they may continue to make a mess. Humph, some dragons. Z'tan's attention drifts briefly over his shoulder at the dragons in the corral, groaning slightly. "Well, I guess it is bath time, after this." He murmurs, before pushing himself up from the fence carefully. "What's wrong with her wherry?" He asks idly to R'sner, eyes lingering on the green and her untouched kill.
« Pft. Gentlemen are ove'rated. Who wan's t' be fussy all th' time? » Some dragons, indeed. But R'sner has had a long time to come to terms with the mess-maker that is Toith, even if she's being decidedly un-messy in this moment. "It is the best practice," to bathe them after feeding. "Spot cleaning, at the least," even if, with Toith, there's no 'spot' about it. "Nothing is wrong with the wherry," he assures with a tone that tries not to be as sullen as he's probably feeling. "It's Toith. She's… near her time," and that definitely gets a grimace. But the green is at least dipping her head to begin feasting, even if she is doing so in a rather slow, almost begrudging manner. « If I eat it, I can't keep it, » she grumbles, pulling out her choice bits to set aside.
« Class is -not- fussy. » Ysgieuth counters to the green, shuffling back a step from her as he watches her pick out this piece and that. « And meat is not something you simply.. keep. » Oh, the bronze's poor sensibilities. « You shouldn't play with with your food. » He adds, carefully nudging his kill over to finish eating the last bits that he wants, before turning to peer at Z'tan over the fence. « Bath, now. -He- ruined my last one. » The blue gets a snort, even as he is shuffling to avoid any more collateral damage. "Ahh." Is all Z'tan can manage, narrowing his eyes at Toith as the green picks at her food, sparing a glance at Ysgie - who is clearly completely uninterested in the green - before he looks a bit relieved. "If that's alright with you, sir.. Apparently.. Bathtime."
« An' why not? » for keeping meat. For not playing with food. « Jus' cause you don' have an imagination don' mean I don', » is all very cheerfully delivered as Toith wiggles her nose deep into the belly of her wherry to every so carefully tear out the heart. And probably the whole ribcage in the process. Joy. « Blegh. Enjoy your bath, » and by her tone, it is clear that Toith finds such a thought utterly detestable. "She won't go up for a while yet, and he," a jut of R'sner's chin towards Ysgieuth, "Won't be chasing anything for months." Of which Res is probably rather relieved. How awkward would /that/ be? "It's fine," for bath time. "Enjoy your day, Z'tan. And well done, Ysgieuth," he adds toward the bronze. "That was very delicately done."
« Meat goes bad. Do you want that? » And this is why, apparently, some people can't have nice things - but maybe Zel can, though truly that waits to be seen. « I don't need an imagination - things either are, or they are not. » Ysgiueth replies with a humph, even as he is hopping easily over the fence, leaving the messy ones to their destruction, and headed towards the lagoon at a quick, hopping, gliding pace, leaving Zel to follow on his own. "Thank Faranth. I am not ready for -that-." Or at least, the insanity of the whole, dragon part of it. "Good luck.." He murmurs, before he is jogging off after the bronze - maybe he will have rinsed off any chunks before he gets there.