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F'ren eyed the oncoming O'rer, maybe Viridith hadn't noticed him, but he seemed to be coming, he gulped and threw himself into getting the leather harness sorted on Toulonth, he begged the ancestors to let him do it right this time.

[Edit for roll .. yay] F'ren relaxed, suddenly it all seemed to click, and he remembered the proper order of things, He breathed a sigh of relief, even though his hands shook a little with the pressure. He swiftly buckled the straps on properly and tightened them correctly, hoping that O'rer hadn't noticed him stuggling before.

He spent the time waiting for inspection smoothing his riding gear down and making it look as neat as he could.

(understood)

F'ren looked down at his feet, he thought he had completed in time, but as O'rer pointed out, he hadn't. He nodded slowly without uttering a word. He didn't dare try and argue with O'rer, he was already punished until others had gone before, he didn't want to risk Toulonth being banned from flying him today. It was too important to both of them.
"What matters is that you did it right Mine, even if it did take you a long time, next time you will do it faster" she said, her faith in him unfailing, she'd known he would get it right ... eventually "We can wait, if there is only a few of us, then we will be able to show them how strong i am better" she said, her 'voice' coloured with happiness at the fact she was going to be able to take F'ren up into the sky .. even if it as after the main group.

Shards. He really had hoped that F'ren would make it, but there was nothing he could do now. Shooting the punished greenrider - and the silverrider too come to that - a sympathetic look, K'ro moved back over to Viridith. Climbing into position wasn't too hard - her shoulder was still only just level with his head, and he had excellent upper body strength - so it wasn't long before he was strapping himself in and waiting for his turn to take off... He still felt sorry for F'ren.

"He should have been slower," Viridith commented with a mental shurg, "he rushed, he panicked, and then he did not listen to the angry man. It is always best to listen to the angry man when he has power over you. They will still get to fly, they will just have to wait a while... We have to wait a while. We have to let the big ones go first."

"The big ones will always be first, Viri," K'ro said with a slight shrug, "there's not much we can do about that."

"I do not like answering to them just because they are big," the skinny green said slowly, only just truly coming to the conclusion herself. "They are not better than me. Theirs are not as good as you. They are not as patient. They are not precise. Why are they placed higher than us?"

"...Because." That was all there was to it, really. Oh, he understood that greens couldn't lead wings thanks to their low endurance but to be considered lesser in all areas wasn't fair. Still, it wasn't as if all opportunities were barred to greens. "Maybe one day we could be weyrlingmasters," K'ro suggested, giving Viridith's neck a pat. "We'd teach all those young riders and dragons to be just as careful and deliberate in action as you, how would that be?"

"...That would be good," Viridith's eyes faded back from dull orange to blue, "we would teach well. We shall work hard to earn something like that. We shall be perfect."

"We shall be as close as we can manage," K'ro put in, watching carefully to make sure they didn't miss their cue, "nobody is totally perfect."

"Hssss... If you say so."

V’al, having finished early, had plenty of time to watch Lerath’s clutch mates struggling with their saddles. He watched, half amazed, as their struggles grew more and more desperate, many eventually enlisting the help of others around them. Lerath, watching F’ren’s shaking hands with a tilted head, suggested he give some aid as well.

“Oh no,” he mumbled under his breath in response. It probably would have been better to let the bad saddling just be and wait for O’rer’s crotchety help, but he didn’t give that advice either. He needed to be airborne far too badly for such games.

When the command to mount came he all but dismissed O’rer once again, and quickly pulled himself up onto Lerath’s neck and adjusted the last straps for himself. We’ll start slow, he said in a measured tone, bending over the dark stripe down Lerath’s back and slapping his soft hide affectionately. Let’s get a handle on this first.

I am ready, Lerath stated once more, wings twitching and rustling against his back. He gave a bugle of encouragement to the queen. I have wanted to know how having you with me in flight will be. I have also wanted to try the maneuvers I’ve been learning with you. I want to know how well we will fly, and I want to…. He craned his neck back after they had lined up with the other dragons, and his eyes whirled a hasty speed as they looked through the tenuous clouds above. Mine! How high can we go!? I did not want to go too far from you before, but now we can see. We should try and see.

V’al smirked to himself and shoved at Lerath’s neck. Keep your head down for now. Don’t get O’rer all riled up.

Lerath gave an anxious keen and stamped at the earth, demanding speed from his fellow clutchmates. He needed to be aloft- now.

"She's getting big." S'kagi noted, sidelong, as Ofelia and her dragon settled, though he chose the slightly more traditional route of climbing up, letting Luvith stay upright, where she was quite visibly proud to stand out, and itching to get into the air. "You ok? You've got a little...um..." He gestured vaguely at her recently bloodied face. "Your nose is still kinda red."

Of course it was still red, small wonder after the... somewhat dramatic entrance she'd made to the lesson. He wished he had a scrap of cloth to offer her, but he hadn't exactly planned for dragons dragging unconscious girls with nose bleeds to the flight lesson, and what he'd seen out of Ofie, she'd probably wear wherry dung as an badge of honor if she'd gotten into the mess under her own power, and given that it was Ofelia... she'd probably come damn close to pulling it off, just on pure audacity.

"Hitath, if you'd please."

O'rer motioned for his lifemate to take to the air, needing her eyes in the sky to watch over the dragons and riders that would soon be flooding the space above the Weyr. He could count on Hitath to keep a cool head and keep track of where each dragonet was heading; she would be vital in preventing mid-air collisions that were always so popular with Weyrling flights (O'rer still chuckled about the one that had crippled a dragon a few years back. Poor beast, stupid rider).

The Green gave a bugle of acknowledgement before she was up in the sky, her radiant hide a green shine against the blue. She circled a bit before finding a good spot to hover, small wings beating at a strong pace to keep her airborne and stationary.

I am ready. Let them come.

"Alright, listen up. You are forbidden from attempting to go between as well as performing any acrobaic stunts. Anything that could be potentially dangerous for you or your lifemate will result in you getting pulled from the sky. Continue to screw up and there's a chance you won't even graduate from Weyrling to Wingrider. Am I understood?"

There was a loud cheering of 'yes!' as the Weyrlings all looked to their lifemates, ready.

"Queen first, then follow out. Watch yourselves and one another. You have two candlemarks from this point on to get the hang of it. Stay in sight of Hitath, and if you have any questions while in the air ask her."

[ There is no post order for this part - just assume the person before you (in color) has gone on. Just make sure to read one another's post to prevent any confusion!

Optheli, Kelvari, and F'ren are still grounded until the next post from O'rer. He is VERY KINDLY showing them how to properly put leathers on a dragon.

After the next post they may join the rest of the group in the air ]

G'brel's excitement only grew as O'rer proceeded to give them the final orders before they became airborne. She cheered along with the rest when he asked if everyone understood, and chose this point to mount her dragon as many others already had. Oh Lifth, this is so terribly exciting, the teen remarked, securing her riding straps and making sure that nothing was out of place. The nerves and excitement from all of the Weyrlings was palpable, and it was all the bluerider could do to stay in her skin.

Lifth, meanwhile, had his attention sharply focused on the front of the line. Serlaith moves. It has begun. He too was excited, though he channeled his excitement in a different way from His. It was plainly obvious through his eyes though.

The pair watched as the gold and her rider took off, and continued to watch as next the bronzes moved forward, followed by the browns and crimsons. Then at long last it was time for the blues to take off. This is it then, G'brel thought to herself, keeping a secure hold on her dragon. This was the moment she had dreamed of since she was a young girl, and she couldn't imagine any other she would rather be sharing this with. Show them how it's done, Lifth! I trust you.

As well you should. Brace yourself! he instructed, muscles tensing and hunching as he prepared to make the leap. In one powerful jump accompanied by the strong beat of wings, they were airborne.

This was... this was incredible! G'brel watched the ground disappear rapidly beneath them while the wind blew strongly in their faces. And yet with the powerful wings beating the air behind her and her lifemate below her, she had never felt more secure in all of her life. And free.

The blue was faintly amused by all of the emotions of awe and wonder and joy radiating from His, and his next remark was filled with affection. This is our time, Mine. No longer are we bound to the ground as the rest of Pern. From now on, we fly together.

Stop it! Don't make me cry on our first flight! G'brel scolded, quickly wiping away the small stinging sensation that had come upon her eyes. The blue let out a very amused rumble beneath her and she slapped his hide playfully. "Haha, very funny. I'm serious!" She couldn't help but grin though as she looked all about them while they flew along with the other dragons and Theirs. They had all made it, and those hatched of Brumanth and Alumanth were finally airborne. The bluerider let out a loud victory cry.

Lerath was rigid. Every muscle in his body felt as hard as the bones that lied under them, and V’al eyed the back of his beast’s head critically, anticipating the need to hold him back from an early launch. He often did. Lerath’s curiosity was insatiable, and it often led him into getting far too involved in things he had no right to be in. Luckily, his rider was never too social crippled to act. When Lerath had barged into the female Candidate’s barracks as an overzealous baby, he’d gotten confused and a little lost in the frantic cries of the girls and their strange concern with their state of dress. V’al had no trouble marching in and fetching his dragon, as he’d had no trouble with handling the offended weyrfolks Lerath had knocked down with his obtrusively held wings. Shame, V’al felt, was as ugly an emotion as cowardice, and he had nothing in his dragon to be ashamed of.

And Lerath’s launch was nothing to be ashamed of either. As soon as the brown before him was enough out of the way, he gave a rumble of warning and crouched before leaping into the air. V’al gasped, gripping the straps harder as the massive wings he’d seen sailing from the ground pumped around him, impossibly strong despite their seemed frailty. In a few flaps they were suddenly hurtling forward, and V’al gave a sharp cry of surprise and delight. He hunched forward, bracing himself with the saddle now, and it was as if a fire lighted in his belly. “Go!” he urged as Lerath banked smoothly in formation with his siblings.

His dragon only glided slowly away from the group, performing a casual and safe swoop over the ground. Feeling the frustration of his rider, he answered in a cautionary tone. Hitath is watching. We should wait for Serlaith.

V’al understood waiting for food to cook, waiting for the next in line, waiting for Lerath’s wings to develop, but waiting for a co-conspirator? He glanced skyward and thought it couldn’t have been difficult to slip past tiny Hitath without Moraia and her gold, but after twisting his fingers in the straps he internalized his fire to go and settled in for a boring flight. No, not boring. Surveying the land sliding past them was a thrill on it’s own, but he hungered for more.