-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aerial Display Over Southern Boll Date: April 4, 1997 Places: Southern Boll's Skyspace, and Benden Weyr's Skyspace and North Bowl Game: PernMUSH Copyright Info: The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Kassi's Note: I've started this log sort of in the middle of things, right before we left for the display--I know, it sounds like I'm contradicting myself. What I mean is that I've cut out most of the preparing-RP, as that was linked to the arrival of the tithe train, which was linked to a hotsprings soak, and... well, let's just say that I didn't want the log to go on *forever*. ;) Most knot-chat, all page- chat, and all dragon-chat as well has been cut out. Items prefixed by <*> take place away from Lysseth while I'm riding her. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Log: <*> Settled between Adonith's neckridges, Alyssa looks around again, settles herself one last time, and with her fist gives the traditional signal to take the wing /between/. <*> Juliath disappears into Between. <*> Adonith disappears into Between. <*> Iridith disappears into Between. <*> Herath disappears into Between. <*> Lysseth disappears into Between. Between You gasp as the icy black nothingness of Between surrounds you! You hear nothing, see nothing, and feel nothing. The trip takes five heartbeats... Black... Blacker... Blackest! You suddenly emerge... <*> Lysseth emerges from Between with a blast of cold air! <*> Nicoth emerges from Between with a blast of cold air! <*> Kimbrith emerges from Between with a blast of cold air! Benden Weyr> T'lar says, "Are we where the gather can see us?" <*> As one the Benden dragons appear from the frosty emptiness of /between/, forming a traditional V shape in the bright skies of Southern Boll's warm airspace. Bronze Nicoth and the chromatic dragons compose the twin wings, with a purplish blue at point, while the golds Kimbrith and Herath wink into position below the others between the two flanking lines. Benden Weyr> Alyssa just checked. We are. :) Benden Weyr> Kassima says, "Yeppers. :)" <*> Settled between Adonith's neckridges, Alyssa glances over one shoulder, then the other, while the wing reforms to either side of her blue, who is at point. Her hand lifts high to signal for the initialization of the first maneuver. <*> Lysseth trumpets enthusiastically as she emerges from *between*, near the end of one arm of the wing. After a mere moment in formation, she breaks away at Alyssa's signal to swing out in the beginning of a spiral, veering far to the left of the wings and counting on the others to follow. <*> Tenli adjusts a bundle she's got attached to her straps. She leans forward, hand on her lovely green's neck. <*> Iridith lifts a wing and soars after Lysseth, circling around the far side of the formation. <*> Nestled in her familiar spot on Herath, Kindre and Kimbrith come nearly wingtip to wingtip as the other dragons begin the decent of the tiered spiral. Both in perfect synch, they form a golden bullseye of sorts, the swirling dragons twirling down like the colored stripes, completing the illusion. <*> Juliath moves next, silent but for the whistle of wind over wings, her rider tucked in low over her neck as the pair enter the spiral in neat formation, towards the golden center. <*> Lysseth spreads her wings and begins circling the formation, dropping a bit below and closer to the golds. Slowly, she tightens her circle and drops it further; it might become apparent that she's beginning a downward spiral, focused on the pair of golds. She spins until it's necessary for her to turn on a wingtip in order to avoid hitting either queen--then, folding her wings, she drops beneath both golds to dive for the crowd. It *almost* looks like she's going to hit someone when she opens her wings with a crack of air and buzzes past the spectators instead, trumpeting joyfully. <*> Nicoth pulls in one wing to follow the other's in the tightening spiral. Gold/bronze hide picks up and reflects back any light from the skies and the Gather. He passes so close under the queens it looks as if they will collide. <*> Adonith mirrors the greens' and bronze's adroit movements as they wing outward and downward, snout tucked downward for greater speed and a slightly more rapid rate of descent than the greens are using. The result is that the blue begins above the bronze and greens and, as the circle tightens toward the golds, he weaves between the others, rocketing along the crowds alongside Lysseth. <*> Iridith follows Lysseth's spiraling path. The tropical breeze whispers over her wings as she tightens her course, speed increasing. As she cuts under golden Herath by a fingertip, she bellows triumphantly at her own cleverness. Her voice as she whips over the gatherers' heads echoes back up from the jungle. <*> From atop Nicoth, Skimming over the heads of the crowd, Nicoth's mighty wings snap out into their full 60 meter spread with an audible crack. The wind of his passage cause dust to stir and cloth to ripple. <*> Kimbrith stays tightly beside Herath, to the right of the younger queen. Her left wing, a little smaller than one of Herath's, seems sometimes to be slightly above Herath's and sometimes slightly below, but always what seems to be less than a wing tip away. <*> Juliath continues on her silent path, a gold tinged green arrow in the evening sky, blending for a moment into a blur with the golds before zooming close over the spectators. Finally, she gives a bugle and sweeps up into the next formation. <*> Nicoth uses the warm air rising from the sea to lift him skyward back into formation on the wingtip of a gold and a green. <*> Lysseth extends her wings and sweeps them up in a single beat, adroitly using a thermal to rise back up to the level of the queens. On a whim, she spins in a sort of twisting backroll as she goes, coming rightside-up again just in time to ride the winds that flank Kimbrith and Herath. <*> Adonith sprints with his usual aerial alacrity toward the golds, bugling again as he leads the other dragons to a greater elevation. Between his neck ridges, Alyssa makes quick note of where the others are forming about Kimbrith and Herath, signalling again to the other riders. <*> Iridith uses the amazing speed she created in her dive to rise without wingbeats. When she begins to stall, she flips on her tail and drops into formation beside Lysseth. <*> Juliaths wings beat downward in a mighty stroke, then another, propelling her small body upward again into position near the golds. No fancy maneuvers here, just raw power and draconic energy. Meli returns Alyssa's signal as she and her green form into line. <*> Herath beats her wings steadily, the soothing tropical a welcome feeling pocketed beneath her wings. Flashes of bronze, blue, and green tint her free wing, while Kimbrith's glowing amber form reflects moonlit gold on her other. Kassima raises one hand from its place gripping her straps to return Alyssa's signal, as Lysseth shifts minutely to fly in perfect formation with the others. Her lashing tail and rapidly whirling eyes signal the dragon's enthusiasm and anticipation of the next manuever. <*> Adonith has this time located himself at the leftmost tip of the draconic formation, in which the dragons are flying abreast, and at his rider's signal the dragons, in synch with each other, begin peeling off in a leftward sideslip. Left wingstips dip, and the dragons begin to bank sharply downward toward the ground. <*> As her turn arrives, Juliath also dips leftwards, banking downwards. Smaller in size than the blue, she must adjust carefully to maintain the same rate of descent and spacing, so that the line appears as a smooth curve. <*> Tenli leans forward, squinting behind her goggles, adjusting her dragon's descent with thought and hand. The green feathers her wings to keep from dropping more quickly than her neighbor. <*> Nicoth gauges his move and speed carefully to compensate for his larger size and wingspan. He slips gracefully after the green, banking down and left. <*> Herath archs slighty upward, her neck stretching fully out as her rider leans completely against it. Dipping her muzzle, the young dragon's eyes focus seemingly upon the ground before her body follows the gaze. Adjusting to keep up with the quicker, agile dragons, she slides into position just behind the others continuing down and to the left. <*> Larger than her clutchsister, but smaller than Adonith, Lysseth calculatingly compensates for size in her own downward banking. She extends her wings so as not to fall too fast, though when the wind threatens to slow her down, she folds them to maintain the correct velocity. <*> Nicoth pumps his wings and rises, banking back right to complete the circle. With a ease of experience gained in nearly 4 years of flying Thread, he easily finds his place in formation. <*> As the wing reaches the bottom-most point of thr sideways descent, Adonith flattens his wings out and snaps back his wingsails, utilizing his youth, eagerness, and the gusty Boll winds to ascend upward in a forward and leftward motion. The wing begins to gain altitude in a curvaceous wave of draconic grace, each extreme of size -- from gold to green -- adjusting flight to evoke a smooth line of oneness in the Benden ranks. <*> Iridith rises into formation, one draconic unit in a smooth line of dragons returning to formation. Once back in line, she turns her head, left and right, eyes tinged with green-yellow excitement. <*> Juliath, as the others around her, complete the undulation of the wave, ending on a rising arc to settle back into a steady position and graces the warm air with a merry bugle. <*> From her gold Herath, Kindre squirms a bit atop the queen, apparently preparing or the next manuevers to be attempted by the troup. The gold, however, remains in perfect synch with the others as they reach the intended heights. <*> Once she has completed her part in the elegant and graceful wave, Lysseth turns on a wingtip to rise back up to proper flying heights. Her position is an exact replica of her place in the formation just after the Wing arrived from *between*, before any of the display had even begun, and she maintains her space with a proud determination to do all that she can to make sure that the formation is nothing less than perfect. <*> Kimbrith and Herath circle around, opposite to eachother, keeping their rise symmetrical. When they are high enough above the other dragons, Merla and Kindre reach into sacks their dragons are carrying, and begin dropping coloured rope down toward the crowd, and the other dragons in the flight. <*> Adonith bugles with just-contained excitement and, drawing in a deep breath, expels a gout of flame toward the initial clump of rope. With a sizzling POOF it disintegrates into ashes that float harmlessly groundward; the blue trumpets in self-congratulation and enjoyment of the event. <*> Nicoth roars and leaps forward at a clump of falling rope. He bugles his challenge to this false Thread as if it were the real thing. A gout of flame erupts from his muzzle searing the rope to black char. A quick backwing and he is again in formation. <*> As a clump of blue ropes twists and twines about itself as it falls through the humid, tropical air, Juliath dips her left wing almost imperceptibly, banking the touch necessary to intercept. With a narrow jet of bright orange, she sears the mass into ash, leaving behind only a gray smudge on the twilight sky. A slight shift, and she is neatly back into position. <*> A handful of mixed red and blue ropes falls, twisting toward the crowd, dropping quickly, down, down toward the crowd. It falls just past Juliath off to her right as she is occupied with a clump over her left wing. <*> Lysseth watches the descending ropes with rapidly whirling eyes, tail twitching with impatience that is not unleavened by excitement. A tangle of rope that resembles Thread to an eerie degree--save, of course, that Thread is usually not found in shades of brilliant blue, vibrant purple, and verdant emerald green--approaches her from above, rapidly carried forth by the same winds that the green rides to remain stable. She unhinges her jaw, displaying her long and wickedly sharp teeth for but an instant before the image of those is lost in a blazing burst of orange- gold. Rope meets dragonfire--and loses. The ash drifts down below Lysseth accompanied by wisps of grey smoke, as the dragon gives a crystalline bugle of challenge, pleasure, and triumph! <*> Tenli throws her weight violently against her suddenly-extended wings and rises sharply up toward a clump of ropes. Her tail lashes behind her as she belches out a great cloud of flame. She folds her wings and drops rock-like back into formation. <*> Nicoth notices a clump of Thread/rope falling toward the crowd. Diving out of formation, he manages to flame the colorful, harmless debris into black dust. The black dust filters down softly onto the watchers below. <*> Adonith swivels about on a wingtip, a midair pirouette intended to place him in exact position to flame a collection of entangled strands from out of the sky. He exhales perdition, the ropes combust, and with a bugle he performs another about-face, resuming his former course as if these aerial acrobatics were commonplace for him. <*> As a neighbor gouts spitfire towards a cluster, Juliath suddenly pulls her wings in, dropping rock-like a few dragon-lengths. With a *crack*, she respreads her wings, swooping back upwards and sending her own final gush of firey breath towards another hapless bit of rope. In short order, she returns to her place in the line. <*> Iridith sideslips just a bit , adjusting her trajectory to overtake a clump of ropes with the most efficient use of her foreward momentum. She times her arrival perfectly, simply spitting out the correct amount of flame to char the ropes into fine ash. A smug warble bubbles in her throat. <*> Lysseth furls her wings a bit to skim forward as she rises, looking as though she's about to meet a tangle of rope head-on. The yellow and pink patch does not find itself splatted against green hide, however; at the very last possible moment, she swings to the side and turns her head to flame. The fireball that eclipses the rope sears it into a mere memory, and Lyss dives *just* in time to avoid having her wing crisped by her own flame. She twists in her dive, spinning 'round and 'round before coming to a halt right in her proper place amidst the Wing. <*> Kimbrith drops below the other dragons, her weigh allowing her to fall quickly. She sweeps down, turning back in a wide arc, and ends up flying back, underneat the other dragons. Merla opens another sack, looking like she is going to drop coloured ropes this low...perhaps as a challenge to the others. Instead, a shower of red flower petals drop on the crowd. <*> Nicoth follows the gold in a dive for the ground. T'lar upturns a sack letting loose a veritable rain of small colored ribbons. The twisting rainbow showers the crowd. <*> Tenli digs her gloved hand into the sack she's got attached in front of her and strews handsful of flower petals over both sides of her dragon's body. They swirl in multi-colors in the green's slipstream, then drift softly down to the watchers below. <*> Adonith swoops downward at a reckless rate; ever the daredevil and speedster, he aims for very low and very frighteningly swift buzzing of the onlookers while his rider looses a full bag of purple poppy petals on the audience. Color streams in Adonith's wake in the form of floral softness, the petals floating harmlessly downward as Adonith sprints upward once more, a rumblechuckle of pleasure audible even to those on the ground. <*> Lysseth and Juliath break formation, each winging towards the center of the V. Once they are head to head, each turns to the side and begins flying in a circle--they are now head-to-tail, one following the other, like Yin and Yang. As though they had rehearsed the manuever previously, Meli and Kassima open their sacks simultaneously to empty them into the whirlpool of air created by their spinning dragons: Kassima's black, red, and green ribbons mix with Meli's black rose petals and the petals of lilies, dyed to a matching sable. <*> The Benden dragons reform into two wings -- golds beneath the fighting dragons. The formations circle back over the Gather about 2 dragon lengths above the ground. At a signal from the lead gold rider, all the dragons bugle loudly in salute to Southern Boll. <*> Adonith disappears into Between. <*> Lysseth disappears into Between. Between You gasp as the icy black nothingness of Between surrounds you! You hear nothing, see nothing, and feel nothing. The trip takes five heartbeats... Black... Blacker... Blackest! You suddenly emerge... <*> Lysseth emerges from Between with a blast of cold air! <*> Nicoth emerges from Between with a blast of cold air! <*> Juliath emerges from Between with a blast of cold air! <*> From the North, From the Benden Star Stones, M'nar's mint green Gelth rears on hind legs and bugles a greeting to green Lysseth and her rider, Kassima, welcoming them home. <*> From the North, From the Benden Star Stones, M'nar's mint green Gelth rears on hind legs and bugles a greeting to bronze Nicoth and his rider, T'lar, welcoming them home. <*> From the North, From the Benden Star Stones, M'nar's mint green Gelth rears on hind legs and bugles a greeting to green Juliath and her rider, Meli, welcoming them home. <*> Tabith emerges from Between with a blast of cold air! Benden Weyr> Alyssa woo, welcomespam. <*> From the North, From the Benden Star Stones, M'nar's mint green Gelth rears on hind legs and bugles a greeting to green Tabith and her rider, Tamma of Ista Weyr. <*> Adonith flies downward towards the north end of the bowl. <*> Tabith trills cheerfully to the watchdragon. <*> Juliath flies downward towards the north end of the bowl. You fly downwards towards the north end of the bowl. <*> Tabith glides down from above. <*> From Kheveth's ledge, Kheveth bugles, then croons a greeting to Tabith. <*> Adonith croons a polite greeting to Tabith. <*> Adonith flies downward to the ground. <*> Juliath flies downward to the ground. <*> Tabith circles lazily downwards, till she hears and spots Kheveth, then alters course to head for his ledge, warbling loudly to him. <*> Tabith lands on Kheveth's Ledge. You fly downwards towards the ground. You backwing for a landing on sands of the bowl. <*> Above, From the Benden Star Stones, M'nar's mint green Gelth rears on hind legs and bugles a greeting to gold Kimbrith and her rider, Merla, welcoming them home. <*> Above, From the Benden Star Stones, M'nar's mint green Gelth rears on hind legs and bugles a greeting to green Iridith and its rider, Tenli, welcoming them home. <*> Alyssa slides down the beautiful purplish blue flank of her lifemate to come to a rest on the ground, Adonith swinging his head around to regard her adoringly. <*> Nicoth backwings for a landing. You slide off of Lysseth's neck to land beside her easily. She rumbles, cocking her head down at you, and you rub her eyeridges gratefully. T'lar slides precipitously down from Nicoth's back. Kimbrith backwings for a landing. T'lar quickly makes a snowball and heaves it at Meli. T'lar makes another and another that head for Kassima and Alyssa. Kassima is grinning from ear to ear as she swings down from her dragon's neck. "Yeeeeeeeeehah!" she yells enthusiastically. "That was *marvelous*! Even if Lyss *was* trying to make me airsick." She stops talking just in time to get creamed in the face by a snowball. Astride Juliath, Meli, busy unbuckling herself and the empty sacks, doesn't notice in time and gets a face full of snow. "Pth pth" she says, spitting out wet stuff. Alyssa removes her helmet and goggles and says to those around her, "You all do Benden pro--" SPLAT goes the snowball in her mouth, and she splutters with surprise. T'lar ducks behind a bronze flank to prepare more ammo. Meli slips smoothly down from Juliath's neck to her foreleg and to the ground, giving her a gentle caress. Kimbrith sloshes her tail through the snow, aiming it over a certain bronze and a certain bronzerider hidden behind him. Benden Weyr> Emlyn says, "Did people enjoy the show there at Boll?" Benden Weyr> Alyssa says, "They seemed to have." T'lar is knocked flat by a tidal wave of snow. All that is currently visible are his booted feet. Benden Weyr> Kassima enjoyed it no end! :) I don't know if the Bollians did. I hope so. :) Meli nearly jumps down, landing in a neat crouch, her gloves already scooping up snow. A pat, a turn, a pat, and she has a nice round sphere, which she launches at what little of T'lar she can see. T'lar struggles out of the avalanche. "Heh. Who did that?" Merla glares at Kimbrith, "You shouldn't do things like that..." she says. It is clear from her tone that she is quite pleased with her lifemate. Alyssa wipes her face and just stares at the bronzerider. "Is that a way to treat your wingsecond?" T'lar takes the opportunity to lob a snowball at Merla. T'lar says "Sure." Meli squats down, making three more snowballs in rapid succession, holding two in her left hand and lobbing the third at T'lar, now that he's re- exposed. The others follow in short order. Kassima wipes off the white mask of snow covering her face, and gathers up the largest snowball she can. She aims it at whatever can be seen of T'lar. "Take that, bronzeboy!" she yells through her own laughter. T'lar dives back into the snowbank to escape the assault. Muffled exclamtions can barely be heard. Merla succeedes in ducking the snowball, but it hits Kimbrith squarely in the snout. The dragon promptly knocks her rider face first into the snow. Seeing T'lar thoroughly dealth with, Meli takes the chance to splatter Kassi. Hopefully she'll hit her face, though who can tell in the dark. T'lar wiggles through the snow trying to put Nicoth between him and his attackers. Jumping to his feet, he throws one at Meli and one at Kassi. Face? No. Ear, yes. "Hey!" Kassi exclaims, scrabbling at her ear. But she's distracted by a snowball that lands squarely on the *other* ear, making her look as though she is wearing a pair of white earmuffs. Nicoth uses one foreclaw to help Kimbrith bury Merla. Meli ducks, receiving T'lar's second lob on her shoulder, and just starts throwing half-formed snowballs at anything that moves. Including Juliath, who whuffs, burps out a tiny bit of remaining flame, and swats at the snowback with her tail, sending icy stuff flying. T'lar tackles Meli into the drift behind her. He tries to stuff snow down the front of her riding jacket. "Aieee!" Meli articulates at this action, batting at T'lar's hands and wrestling with him in the drift. If she can just get on top of him, she can bury him. Alyssa laughs quietly, shakes her head, and tosses with a very unpracticed way, a snowball at T'lar's head. That done, she places her hands on Adonith's straps and calls, "Good night, all." Kassima finally shakes snow off of her head, and sneaks up behind T'lar, trying to stuff snow down the *back* of his riding jacket. "Night, Lys!" she calls over, while at this noble task. "Clear skies--and thankee. You led the display well; 'twas a sheer delight to participate in it." T'lar is laughing so hard, he loses control of the situation and ends up beneath Meli. He realizes this tactical error a moment too late. Meli starts shoveling snow over T'lar as fast as she can. "C'mon, Kassi, help m'out here!" Kassima grins. "Gladly!" She kneels in the snow and starts scooping it over T'lar, like a canine trying to bury a bone in the dirt. Snow has found its way into all of T'lar's clothing. "Heh. Ladies....muf.. snort...I'm freezing here." Alyssa uses the oiled straps and an extended foreleg to mount Adonith and, once settled between his neckridges, she rubs his hide adoringly and receives, in return, a loving warblecroon. T'lar tries to wave goodbye to Alyssa. Meli pauses, rocking back on her heels. "Ah, well. Serves y'right." Grinning, her teeth nearly as white as the snow, she adds "I'll jus' have t'get you home an' warm y'up." Settled between Adonith's neckridges, Alyssa waves to T'lar, shaking her head with a smile, and calls, "Thank you all for such a fine performance in the display." Kassima grins and rubs a last handful of snow into T'lar's hair before scooting away. "You deserved it," she points out. "Just on general principal, t'say naught of throwing snow at *us*!" T'lar sits up and shakes like a canine. "Will you help me warm up? Can we invite Kassi up? Two could warm me up better than one." Adonith takes flight, using the thermals rising from the bowl to carry him aloft. T'lar says "You're welcome, Lys. It was fun." Meli waves a gloved hand at Alyssa as well, and calls out her good nights. "Thanks, 'lys. Makes f'a nice change from yellin' at weyrlings all day." Benden Weyr> Alyssa says, "Night all. And thanks. Good job." Kassima turns her back on T'lar--quite possibly a tactical error--long enough to wave up to Lys. "You're more'n welcome, Lys, and thank *you*! Clear skies t'you both!" Meli waggles her brows. "Wooga" she replies to T'lar's suggestion. T'lar can't pass it up. The snowball hits Kassi square in the back. Benden Weyr> Kassima says, "Night, Lysbabe. Thanks muchly; it was a blast. :)" Benden Weyr> Alyssa says, "Thank YOU all...you guys did the work. I just barked orders." Benden Weyr> Meli says, "Yeppers! Just think what we could do if we actually do this often enough to have a plan! :) Sweet dreams!" Kassima, unbalanced by the snowball, actually gets knocked forwards so that she tumbles head-over-heels and winds up peering up at the sky with a stupefied expression. Only for a moment, though--she's soon back up, snowball in hand, which she hefts threateningly while mock-glaring at T'lar. "Hit me from behind, will you?" T'lar says "Just trying to get your attention. Want to go up and get warm together?" Meli manages to rise to her feet, sneak around away from the drift, and haul her soggy butt up onto Juliath. "Warm good. Weyr good. Much sleepiness" she intones, then chuckles. Meli climbs smoothly up Juliath's extended foreleg and settles herself between the neck ridges, as the green gives a welcome rumble from deep in her throat. T'lar says "Good idea." T'lar is catapulted up by a quick movement of Nicoth's snout. He gets the bronze an affectionate slap. Kassima raises an eyebrow and peers up at the cave-Meli. "Wooga?" she echoes, somehow managing--Faranth only knows how--to waggle one eyebrow. Juliath takes flight, using the thermals rising from the bowl to carry her aloft. Nicoth takes flight, using the thermals rising from the bowl to carry him aloft.