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Niko! Gyo' mind-screams, stopping mid wing-stroke, and roars, halting and trying to get as close to the ledge as possible, frantic for Niko and afraid a rock has fallen on her as well, or afraid that she has fallen off the ledge.

Niko shrieks as the floor falls out from under her as she falls, landing on R'nek. She shakes, and is then pushed away as another rock tumbles down. She stops rolling a few feet away, lying on her stomach with her arms over her head. She moans softly, and slowly lifts her head, dust falling out of her hair. She looks around, and sees R'nek with a fairly large boulder on his arm. "R'nek!" She scrambles over, and starts shoving at the rock, pushing it for a few minutes before she finally rolls it off him and over the ledge. She looks at his arm for a moment, before trying to lift him up, putting his good arm around her shoulder and walking as quickly as possible down the rest of the ledge, struggling to help him walk.

Mine, hurry, please... Gyo' sounds even more frantic, and he hovers in the air, his tail lashing in his frustration.

"Uungh?" R'nek moans incoherently as Niko struggles to roll the boulder off his arm. "Unnnnnh... I..." He coughs a few times. "I think it might be... broken..." He shifts around, leaning on her a little to help himself stand. "I'm... I'm okay." He winces painfully as a small pebble falls from the ceiling, hitting his shoulder. "Well... I could be better..." Suddenly he realizes that yes, the floor IS still moving, and it might be better to leave than to stand around talking.

Mine! Mine, are you okay? Get out of there! Famyroth pauses. Arizath is outside, and he'll take you to the ground. GET OUT!

"Arizath... he's outside." As the two reach the ledge after much struggling, R'nek begins to play the gentleman in his quasi-delirium and play the gentleman. "You go... first, Niko..."

Tikal hurried out of the lower caverns as fast as she could manage. Finally after what felt like an eternity, she was outside again. The ground lurched once more and she had to bend her knees to stop from toppling over. She looked about and saw chaos. Ryvana and her dragon where nowhere to be seen. Drudges, riders and weyrling had assembled in a mass. Dragons bugling...flits screeching...people yelling...and then there was the sound and movement of the earth itself. Tikal's eyes scanned for a safe place to deposit her "load". She spotted a relatively vacant spot, and half dragged half carried the stunned person towards it.

Pushing herself to a seated position, Ray looks around. Nobody seems to have noticed her arrival; there was a nearby crowd clustered around someone injured--she could see a prone form as the crowd shifted. Nobody seemed to be doing anything though, as the dragons continued calling out in alarm and fear.

Shifting the eggpot to her injured arm, she uses her good one to prop her as she slowly stands. None of the dragons had sent up a keen, which was incredibly fortunate, the Weyr was already so badly low on fighting dragons! But from the tone of some of the dragons's cries, there were definitely injured riders.

As she finally gets to her feet, one of her ankles buckles. Yelping, she waves her good arm about, gingerly trying to put some weight on her ankle to at least balance her.

When she's no longer in danger of falling over, Ray tries to figure out what to do.

Wrath! Call to the other Weyrs, tell them what happened. We need Healers. Tell them to come as fast as they can.

Good. Yes. I will do that. Wrath sounds relieved at Ray's idea, and sends out the call for aid.

Thinking really hard, Ray tries to call Isskio back. It takes her a few moments, but the little queen returns, squawking when Ray shoos her off from landing on her shoulder. "Isskio, I need Shadill." She visualizes the headwoman. "Find Shadill, bring her here." The flit vanishes, and Ray looks around again. No one she knows well is in the vincinity, and with her ankle, she knows she shouldn't move around. She shouldn't even be standing.

As she waits, she tries coming up with other things they should do. Hopefully there wasn't a lot of structural damage to the caves and weyrs, but Ray knew that optimism didn't save lives. Miners would have to go through all of the individual weyrs and all of the caverns and tunnels, to make sure nothing would collapse... they could send wings to live at other Weyrs, perhaps, until Benden was declared habitable again.

But that'd have to wait... right now she had to see that everyone had a place to sleep tonight, and that everyone who was injured was treated.

... She hoped those Healers would arrive soon. And Shadill. What was keeping the woman?

Though unfamilar with the Weyr and scared of what was happening, P'las realized that someone would have to start directing everyone to maintain a sense of order. That someone might as well be him. After all, he was the Weyrleader now, he might as well act like it! Question was, what should he do?! gonk

He noticed a few dragons flying, rescuing those stuck on ledges as portions of the Weyr began to crumble. The dragons had a easy time in the air as the shakings of the earth didn't affect them. But how could they get everyone on a dragon? There were several injured that he could see. Perhaps he should find Rayi. Maybe the two of them could figure something out. Now where was she...?

Close by, at the bottom of the stairs. There are a lot of people between you and her. Be careful...

The ground gave another heave and the bronzerider stumbled, almost falling. Instead he bumped into a couple of people, but no one was apologizing. It was impossible to prevent the collisions. Slowly and carefully, he made his way towards Rayi.

Arizath's whirling eyes watch the pandamonium and chaos below

"Shards, with all this confusion nothing will get done"

T'thia's voice had so much anger, frustration, and agitation to it that Arizath let loose an enormouse bellow, not a shrill cry of mourning, not a warble of pain, but an echoing bugle that roared over the crowd. The great bronze actually managed to put demand into such an unearthly sound. The outburst however startled T'thia. she looked down as hundreds of faces were turned towards her and her hovering dragon

"shells Riz, did you have to do that?"

it made them stop didn't it? what do we do now?

"contact Rayi directley, tell her we will help her in every way possible. we may be younger members of the wyre, but we still hold some sort of stature as bronze rider and dragon"

Arizath did as he was told and touched Rayi's mind directley

what do you need us to do?

Riz's voice was questioning but also gave the tone that him and T'thia were at the wyrewomen's service.

Tikal winced as the bronze dragon bugled overhead. She looked up and recognized T'thia form. Pandemonium was inevitable after such a traumatic event. She placed out her arm in a falconer-like way and firmly called her flits from the swarm. They came obediently, their eyes whirling in vivid red hues. Lapis, find any hurt people...bring them out of the crowd. Do you understand? The little blue cheeped and took off. Glint, I want you to go home. She sent him a picture of a caravan. Go home and tell father: "Quake, weyr hurt." Can you do that? With a chirrup the bronze took off and winked out of sight.