Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hello little green Condoroth! I am Dievath! The blue seemed positively thrilled that one of the weyrlings was speaking to him. He did so love the company! And they were baby girls, so he didn't need to worry too much about them. You and Yours will learn much today from Ialluth's. It is a lot to remember but it will come over time, so don't worry.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, K'lan of green Condoroth." H'dra seemed surprised when she said that she had not attended the feast, but then noticed the shape her arm was in. Ah, so she had been one of the unfortunate victims of the rampaging hatchlings. "I am very sorry to hear that, miss. Hopefully you will be able to attend the next hatching feast instead, though it really isn't the same." But there was nothing they could do to make up for lost time. The bluerider reached for his bowl and placed it gently on K'lan's head. He tilted it slightly so that it was straight and then reached for his scissors. Just think of it as shearing sheep. Keep the hand steady and the charge quiet and everything would be all right.

Of course he wasn't banking on the fact that the queenrider was going to freak out at F'sey. The screech made him jump, but thankfully he had just finished so his scissors hand wasn't anywhere near K'lan's head. He was a little surprised by the force but he doubted that F'sey would be rougher than necessary. There had been a similarly unpleasant dragon from his clutch but her rider had been able to keep a hold of her. Perhaps this rider was as aggressive as her dragon. He was just about to return to his cutting when his current charge decided to speak up. H'dra's eyes widened and even Dievath stopped his usual fidgeting to sit deathly still. Oh shards, had she really just….?

He cringed and quietly removed the bowl from K'lan's head. Oh well. At least he had finished her hair cut. It was a pity he hadn't been able to get to A'nt but that was life. H'dra gave his mentor a small, acknowledging nod before he returned his attention to K'lan. "I guess you're to come with me then." Dievath gave a low, worried rumble.

Well… M’al hadn’t imagined his first lesson would go like this. The weyrling fussed over his hair a little, mostly trying to get rid of the spare strands and the like. Later on, he figured he’d find someone to touch it up a little. Just because he didn’t have shame didn’t mean the Harper lacked pride. Rinfala’s haircut----or was butchery a better term----gave him pause.

Oh, and made him realize how lucky he was to have any hair at all. But even the bratty goldrider had gotten off better than poor K’lan, who had already broken her arm during the Hatching. M’al couldn’t help but be reminded of some of the lessons back at Harper Hall; Journeyman Xeran in particular was a big fan of reminding rowdy students that being in his classes was a sharding privilege, not a right.

Mentally, he made a note to make sure he behaved in classes from now on. These classes were pretty fardling important… learning how to care for Redhath was really all M’al wanted to do right now. Oh, and to correct his haircut. But that could come later.

Lucky Condoroth, Redhath grumped. Why should she get to eat away from the others? Mine! I want to go with her to eat! And why should Varth get to eat first? You got the first haircut. And we were here first! The blue clearly had different priorities than M’al. Grumbling to himself, the dragonet flopped down on M’al’s feet, eyes swirling with orange.

...Oh no. No, he did not just punish K'lan for standing up for her. K'lan had already taken a broken arm for her, and this was just...it was sharding stupid. But as F'sey had so thoroughly demonstrated, there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. Muttering colorful oaths under her breath, she stalked over to the corner, giving the rest of the Weyrlings the Say One Word And You Die glare before turning her attention to Arioth who was, to say the least, furious.

Varth gets first?! Varth should not get first! He is stupid and mean and arrogant! Pot calling the kettle black, perhaps, but at least she was keeping it to Rinfala's hearing. Eyes a vividly whirling red, she glared at Varth with such heat that it seemed like he might fry on the spot. Varth is stupid, she muttered again sourly, butting her head against Rinfala's leg for...comfort? Yep, comfort. Arioth wanted a damn hug.

"Shhh, shhh, it's alright," Rinfala crooned gently, snuggling up against the dragonet as she scritched behind an earknob. As the gold leaned into the scritches, the weyrling smiled, almost forgetting that she was sharding BALD and K'lan had taken the fall for her yet again. "Varth doesn't get the corner. We get the corner."

Was he... Was he serious?

Startled? Forget that. B'lin was in complete shock at this point. Blackmailing him with his dragon? The Weyrlingmaster? Only 19 turns, but his teeth felt like they'd been around for decades after he was done grinding them together so loudly Xanthoth almost winced beside him. What else could he possibly do now but turn around?

Except, he only got half-way through the motion when a small tug at his pants leg drew his intention to the companion at his side. The threat had effected B'lin a great deal, but Xanthoth? He didn't look like he appreciated the consequences of what was happening. That didn't mean he wasn't painfully (hunger pains!) aware of them.

You wouldn't eat without me, would you, B'linmine?

"No," B'lin answered, and for once, didn't think before he did so. It was as if he knew what he wanted to say before Xanthoth had even asked. The bronze beamed at his reply, standing straight and tall for all to see.

One day, we will be wingleader, and we will make choices not everyone likes. I don't agree with you, B'linmine, but I am on your side always. If we are hungry, then we are proud and hungry! So stand up straight, Mine!

The most unusual of sounds rang out just then. One unfamiliar to the Weyr, possibly even to the world. It was a quiet sound, barely loud enough for those around them to hear, but... B'lin was chuckling. "I really can't believe you," he mumured affectionately to the dragon, and he meant.

When he turned back to F'sey, this time all the way, he meant what he said yet again.

"Xanthoth says if we're hungry, then we're hungry and proud." Bad mouthing was not like him. He couldn't help it this one time, and Hell, what he was saying wasn't even anything near as bad as some of the more mouthy Werylings would drum up. "That's more than some of us have right now. I said it before: We'll accept the consequences."

... Oh. So it was going to be one of those days. Bright enough to know when to keep himself clear of a mess about to happen, A'bri simply nodded in response to the Weyrlingmaster's words. He did not want to interrupt. Really, he would have preferred not to be singled out so obviously, but he wasn't the Weyrlingmaster, and it wasn't his call. Privately, he agreed that perhaps F'sey was being rougher than warranted with Rinfala, but surely there was a reason. Even if the reason was simply to make it clear that he was in charge.

Varth, however, was entirely pleased to be singled out- only A'bri's warning hand on the back of his neck kept him from outright posing at F'sey's words. :I like this one, Mine,: Varth commented, his posture shifting juuuust a little as he pinned his wings back and sat a hint taller. :He is smart. He can see that we are better.:

"Easy does," A'bri replied, keeping his voice to the barest whisper. "Sit quiet, and play nice. We don't want to cause more of a scene..."

:I will be quiet,: Varth agreed, still looking pleased as punch. :I will show that I can be better than Arioth, I do not need to make scenes if she makes them. I will be better at lessons!: The Brown carefully avoided looking at Arioth, not responding to her furious glare. He did not need to- she was in trouble and he was not, and that made him better.

... Not exactly how A'bri had hoped to get Varth to behave, but it would suffice for now. And at least they weren't being ordered out. He might not entirely agree with the Weyrlingmaster's decisions (was perhaps agreeing even less now that the lovely Green was apparently being demoted to scraps for her rider's outrage, and that the schmoozing Bronze may well be facing no meal at all for his rider's decision) but damnit, they were there to learn. Didn't riders need to know how to take orders, even if they weren't keen on them? Not every assignment was going to be easy or pleasant, but if this is how they responded... And also A'bri was definitely unwilling to take a chance on Varth's food.

As B'lin stepped forward, Rinfala watched with a curiosity that quickly became admiration. He was solid, steady, and didn't flinch when threatened...whatever anyone else might say, she believed he'd earned that bronze at his side. She made a mental note to congratulate him later. It might not be appreciated, given her current status of In The Corner, but he deserved a good word for his effort. Temper soothed by this thought, she kept calmly scritching around Arioth's ridges and earknobs.

Proudly raising her head, Arioth regarded Varth and the rest of the class with what could only be described as a peaceful expression. Hers was scritching her, Hers was okay, and so everything was alright. Varth was just jealous that he didn't get her corner, which was better than any stupid food. She'd probably change her mind when the food was being doled out, but for now she was about as calm as anyone had seen her. We are best.

Aaaah, why did things have to be so messy?

H'dra quietly wrung his hands for a moment, thinking. Of course he could arrange for a decent meal for Condoroth, but he couldn't very well do that for both Condoroth and Xanthoth! That would be asking too much of the kitchen staff, not to mention taking advantage of their generosity. They liked him well enough but they didn't like him that much. There was only one thing left to do really. He would have to convince B'lin, somehow, that he should stay with the lessons and learn what he was meant to learn. Then he could convince K'lan one on one that F'sey really wasn't a bad guy and she should be more respectful of her teachers, especially since it involved Condoroth. Nobody was working alone anymore. They had to be more mindful of their dragons.

Steeling his resolve, he let K'lan continue walking and moved towards B'lin. F'sey had said his bit – and well, H'dra praised inwardly – but it didn't look like things were going in his favour. Xanthoth seemed to be talking to Ialluth, and he could feel Dievath's quiet curiousity at their conversation. His blue had never spoken to another bronze, mostly because they did not deign to speak with him, but he had never seen it that way. Still, H'dra was as curious as his dragon as to why Xanthoth wished to speak privately to Ialluth. Perhaps they were talking about something deep. But now was not the time to be thinking, now was the time for doing! H'dra stepped up in front of B'lin and lowered his voice to talk to the bronzerider (and was once again reminded how young he was, shard it all).

"Look, I know you want to make a statement and I know you're not doing it to be unkind or anything, but you would really, really benefit from staying for the rest of the lesson. If it's just the food thing then please don't worry! I won't let K'lan or Condoroth go untended, and they'll be fine and well fed, I give you my word." H'dra had that imploring look on his face that he did without thinking whenever he really wanted something. He could even do a reasonable puppy dog eye whenever he was pressed. "You really, really need to stay and learn today and there must be some kind of protest you can do otherwise. There's more to this lesson than feeding and it's stuff you'll need to know for the rest of your life with your dragon. If you would just stay then maybe we can talk about it later? Please?"