The End of Spring Gather (Event Thread)

[kitsuneko]

Loraketh's shrieks soon joined Maeleth's as the senior queen reared back and roared at the strange dragons. None of them recognized these intruders, which meant they came from another Weyr. But which one?

The bronze leader spit out another stream of fire, and Maeleth had never wanted to be able to flame as much as she did at that moment. Alas, there were some downsides to being a queen. She climbed to her feet as a swift green blew a stream of fire at her. "Maeleth!" her rider cried, but she needn't have worried.

Though built for flying, the queen dragon was still swift on the ground, and she avoided the green's flame easily. The ground was rather heavily scorched, but she came away burn-free. She roared her anger at the green. How dare these weak, inferior dragons insult her, a queen, like that! She snapped her jaws out whenever one of them came close enough, but such chances were rare, and she dared not take to the air for fear of being mobbed by fire-breathers.

She watched as Maerath came to the rescue, attacking the other bronze head-on. With the foreign dragon otherwise occupied, she turned her attention to Loraketh, who was trying to reach out to her, as well as the two sub-queens. One simple word was repeated, and Maeleth added her voice to it as well. LEAVE! they all shouted at the strangers. Finally, they left, back to wherever they came from, but not before leaving a message behind.

Iskra had been keeping her eyes on the dragons, fearful of something happening to Maeleth, but whenever she could spare a moment, she took some time to help put out the fires started by dragonbreath. Now that the attackers were gone, things were slightly more under control, and she went to find Inali again.

S'bel, Maerath's rider, was already there. "Thank you, S'bel and Maerath, for helping to defend us," she told him with a grateful nod. Then she turned to Inali. "Yes, I'd rather like to know what that was all about as well. Does anyone know which Weyr they came from? Was it because of the new hatchlings?" She knew some people would be uneasy at the appearance of new colors, but would they really go so far as to pit dragon against dragon over it?

[Zirin]

Ad’os of Brown Soheath

Soheath’s eyes whirled lazily as he listened to the gossip, took part in the odd conversation, and most importantly watched His as the young man found a place to sit. Ad’os greeted those around him as he sat, his plate full of delicious morsels and he couldn’t wait to dig in. He hummed happily as he chewed a piece of roast and was just about to stick another bite full in when he felt a weird feeling coming from his bulky brown. What is it Soh? He asked. Not receiving anything more than a feeling of confusion, Addy glanced over to where Soheath was not standing, eyes whirling quickly with tinges of yellow, before following the dragon’s gaze to the sky. It was then he noticed the large number of dragons coming from between, many of which he didn’t recognize. He didn’t recall whether other Weyrs would be coming to the gather or not, and at first he assumed that they had been invited for the feast, but a warning thought from Soheath made him rethink the possibility.

He rose from his seat and was going to move over to calm the strangely worked up brown when suddenly Soheath lifted the front of his body off the ground, wings spread as he roared in anger. That was when Ad’os felt the heat; burning, scalding, overwhelming heat as flames shot overhead, singing the tips of his hair as he dove for the ground, Trouble and Atla betweened to safety before he had even hit the ground.

“Shards!” He yelled out, his voice adding into the yelling voices around him. He looked back to Soheath as the brown began his ungainly run towards the edges of the feast, hoping to meet his rider halfway there. There was no time for words, he had to protect his!

Rider and dragon reached one another as Loraketh’s voice rang out to the intruders. Wings spread, flapping angrily as lower ranked dragons dared to swoop close enough to attack, though lucky for Soheath no flames came too close to do much damage, though Ad’os could feel twinges of pain as flames licked at the brown’s wings. It appeared that the attacks were focused more on their queens then on the brown on the sidelines. A blue swung low then, flaming the ground nearby. Without thinking, Addy grabbed hold of a terrified child and pulled her underneath the dragon before she was hit.

“Do something Soheath!” He called, fear in his voice as he watched the tents and stalls, moment before bustling with activity, being reduced to nothing but food for the flames. Never in his life had he heard of dragons attacking humans! The brown took off, tail and talons alike slashing at any who dared come too close, though without flame of his own there was little he could do than defend. We found cover, don’t worry about me anymore Soh! Ad’os called through his link, not wanting his dragon to get farther into the fray but knowing he needed to.

With His safe, Soheath angled his wings, intent on fighting those who dared attack his queens. Avoiding flames where he could, Soheath scratched at the backs of any dragons stupid enough to get into range. A green shot past him and the brown lunged for her, taking her neck in his jaws as his claws found hold in her back. Flames hit him from behind, singing part of his rump and causing him to scream in pain and shock, letting his prey escape. He turned to find the attacker, but it had already slipped back into the rest of the enemy wing. He angled out of the way as more dragons swooped to flame and injure, his burns stung from the movement and stretching of his hide. Then it was over. He roared victoriously as the voices of all the queens, not just the golds, but the subs as well, shrieked through the air, forcing the attackers back to where they had come.

He landed on the ground, his sides heaving in anger and adrenaline, his eyes watching for his and the queens. The moment the dragons went between, Addy was running for the sub-queens, knowing the bronzes and their riders would be looking after the golds, and Soheath would inform him of anything else. The brown had returned his eyes to the sky to watch for any sign of the attackers returning. Reaching Talath and Aela first, Ad’os called to them.

“Are you alright?!”

---

Wher Candidate Korvin

Korvin was glad to have been near the edge of the feasting area when the dragons attacked. Having not grown up in the Weyr, he had only heard the rumor that dragons never harmed people. He wasn’t one to trust rumors entirely, his life had required him to always be on edge and prepared for the unexpected, so when the first flame left a dragon’s maw he was out of the immediate danger zone almost immediately, the dogs growling and snarling at his sides to any person that got near him. With flaming dragons above, and snapping canines beside him, Korvin was able to make a quick and easy escape.

Finding a somewhat protected area near a rock, he hunkered below, close enough to watch what was going on without putting himself or his companions in danger. Gray, fearful to begin with, had never been fond of fire and whined as she pressed herself into her human.

“Jus’ wha’ the hell is goin’ on here…”

---

Weyrling U’wa of Green Peniath and Dual Candidate Yufa

Oooh mine! Look at all the dragons! I didn’t know there were so many here!Peniath shifted from foot to foot as she spoke to both U’wa and his sister Yufa, having accepted the girl into her friendship circle with ease. She sent them both a picture of them, though both had looked up as she spoke anyways.

“How very odd,” Yufa spoke quietly as she watched, knowing the bronze wasn’t of Trelis; she had been at the Weyr long enough to know the golds and bronzes at least. U’wa nodded in agreement as he too knew the appearances of the higher ranked dragons. Cassim, still resting on His’ shoulder, hissed at the sky, and Fari jumped from U’wa shoulder, frightened by the tenseness in the air and the noise from the Epidote.

“That one… is not from here…” He mumbled, though it was from confusion, not from nervousness that had his voice quiet and mumbled; he was normally more confident around his beloved sibling. “DUCK!” He suddenly yelled out, forgetting confusion as flame erupted in the air. Hide Mine! HIDE! Why are they attacking! Oh Mine! What will we do! I want to get out of here! The three ducked in behind one of the tents, not sure what else to do, but it soon caught on fire and they were forced to run behind another one. U’wa and Yufa dropped to the ground behind a yet-unlit tent, hoping for a moment of respite to catch their breaths. Tears leaked from U’wa’s eyes as he watched the Weyr’s dragons launch into the sky to attack their unexpected enemies.

“D-D-Dragons don’t attack dragons!” He cried as Peniath pressed her small face into his chest, shaking from the light burn she had obtained somewhere between the last tent and this one. Yufa stood, “I need my medical supplies.”The healer-turned-candidate said aloud, thinking of the small bag in the barracks. Cassim, clever and independent despite having hatched only earlier that day, blinked between, returning moments later with the item. Pulling the jar of numbweed out, she quickly slathered some on Peniath’s injury before getting ready to run out in the fray. She clapped her hands to her ears as the voices of all four of Trelis’ queens screamed their command at the intruders. She sighed in relief as, one by one, they betweened, hopefully not to return.

“Stay here brother.” She commanded before taking a deep breath and running out from their hiding place. She had healer training after all, people would be needing her. She stopped by a young man who had been rather viciously burned, and started applying numbweed to him, speaking calmly as she worked, though inside her heart was beating quickly.

---

Weyrling J’dol of Topaz Kayath

How DARE that green wretch claim I am worthless! The topaz cried as she ran towards her dam, J’dol sprinting beside her. They ducked as flames came awfully close, and J’dol looked up once again at the attacking dragons. Never before had he seen such a thing. Sure, he had heard stories back home before about dragons going insane after their riders died, but these dragons had all come with healthy riders on their backs. What could have driven them to such insanity. Watch out! She called out as another dragon passed by overhead. Someone should be protecting us!

J’dol grimaced, having never felt as helpless as he did now. Kayath was right, they needed someone to protect them, since they couldn’t yet protect themselves. Maerath is in the air! Soheath too! They are fighting! Look Mine! Kayath called out, thankful that they, and other dragons, had taken to the air. Though the protection was for their riders and the golds more than anything, J’dol and Kayath were happy to have them in the air. With a quick message to Kayath, the pair continued their run towards Loraketh. Then Kayath stopped mid stride. What was she doing, running from these pathetic dragons. She was a Sub-Queen! Not some pathetic little green that would cry and run around like a wherry with its head cut off. Her change in determination came not a moment too soon, as the topaz felt a pull from Loraketh. Raising her head and spread her wings, she roared up at the offenders, taking strength from her fellow queens as they took strength from her. Together, they would show these poor excuses of dragons that Trelis was not to be messed with. LEAVE! She roared, both mentally and vocally, her eyes whirling with rage.

“Kayath, Kayath it’s okay, they’ve left!” J’dol yelled out a moment later as the strange attackers betweened, unable to deny the order of four queens. He stroked her neck, glad she had made it out unharmed. Keeping a hand on the large orange neck, he followed Kayath towards the golds. Mother, MOTHER! The young Topaz called out, Just what is going on? Her voice, for once, held a note of fear.

[Akira]

T'rian smiled happily as Inali spoke to him, and introduced him to the newest member of their family. Welcome to the family Ghost. I'm glad you're alright Inali. His voice was sweet, and loving as he spoke to his weyrmate. This was one thing he really loved about the end of spring. He loved seeing everyone get together, and have fun, and just be relaxed. He saluted Ad'os when he saw the brown rider, and nodded to his words. It's always fun when we get to take vacation's Ad'os.

T'rian words were light and playful as he spoke to the other rider. He waved at a few other people hew knew, but he was mostly occupied with his food. I remember Inali, and I'm sure you will host gathers that are just as good. He reached over, and tried to give the weyrwoman a hug, hoping that she wouldn't reject his advances. Stallorth meanwhile purred loudly as he looked around him at all the activity. Unlike his rider, he was content to just stay where he was, happily laying next to his mate.

Stallorth turned his large bronze head and roared at the intruders. T'rian jumped when he heard the sound of the dragons, and knocked his chair over. He wasn't exactly sure what had caused them to be so upset, that was until he saw a bronze dragon start flaming. WHAT ARE THEY DOING!?!?!?!? He practically screamed. Stallorth was now standing, his wings twitching with the anticipation of a fight. T'rian was debating between going to his bronze and fighting the intruders, and staying here with Inali.

T'rian didn't take long to make his decision, and was soon climbing onto his dragon's neck, and the two of them were soon flying through the sky, aiming head-long for the intruders. Stallorth opened his jaws, and let loose his own jet of fire. Though, they weren't close enough for Stallorth's fire to reach any of the intruding dragon's. Stallorth roared as loud as he could when he missed the chance to fight, and lit up the sky with his fire. Bot him and his rider were unhappy, and that's putting it extremely nicely. T'rian vowed to find out who they were, and teach them a lesson they would never forget.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

N'ck smiled and waved back at R'hard, wondering how many of the other weyrlings were there. He started looking around, and ignored Kichith's grumbling. He was quite surprised when a candidate had bowed to him, but his white dragon purred happily when someone finally acknowledged how important he really was. N'ck shook his head at his weyrling, and wished he didn't act like he owned the place.

He saw D'rek, and even though the other weyrling seemed like he didn't want to be around anyone else, he waved and smiled at him. N'ck wasn't sure what being nice to the other weyrling would do, especially since his own dragon didn't seem like the kind of dragon he wanted to get anywhere near. Kichith was extremely happy when His finally found a place to sit, it was a small table, and it was completely empty, except for them that is. The white weyrling laid down behind the chair that N'ck sat in, and his swirling eyes scanned the crowds for anyone, or anything, of interest.

N'ck covered his ears in pain when he heard the dragon's screaming, and he could feel Kichith curling around his legs, even he was scared. N'ck looked around, and saw that the Weyrleader had taken to the skies. He then started looking for the other weyrlings, wondering if they knew what in the world had happened. Kichith was growling and moaning as he wrapped around His' legs. He didn't know what was going on, but he felt as though he needed to protect N'ck in anyway possible, and if that meant keeping everyone away, then so be it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shenzi smiled and bowed back when a candidate spoke to her. Thank you. She was actually glad that her green flit was distracted at the moment. Absolum had re-adjusted himself on her shoulder, and had bumped Lady Tremaine's tail. She was currently hissing and growling at the brown flit, and was getting on Shenzi's nerves. Alright you two knock it off!! Her voice was a hiss of power, which actually made both firelizards jump, and stop fighting.

Absolum wrapped his tail around her arm again, and Lady Tremaine crooned apologetically and nuzzled up against Shenzi's neck. Shenzi sighed, and turned her attention back to the other Harper, and her daughter. I'm sorry about these too, please forgive them. Her voice was it's normal, gentle, friendly self. She hadn't meant to snap, but Lady Tremain was just getting on her nerves. There has to be a way to stop this. She sighed once more as the though crossed her mind, and she really wished she knew what to do with the green firelizard.

It is nice to see you again Kierah, and you too Leotie. She smiled happily, but almost collapsed with the pain she felt in her ears when the dragon's started screaming. She wasn't sure what was going on, and wished it all would just stop. That's when she saw a full wing of strange dragon's in the sky. What are they doing here?! She had come here thinking this would be a fun, happy gather that would lead to her meeting her nephew, but she guessed that fate had other things planned for this night.

She was extremely glad when the strange dragon's and their riders left, but she couldn't help but wonder why they had come in the first place. I'll be right back, I'm going to see my cousin and Inali. She had no idea if Kierah knew that T'rian was her cousin, but she didn't stay around long enough to find out. She started making her way through the crowd, or at least, trying to. She wasn't even half-way through the crowd when it seemed like other people had had the same idea she had, and were looking for the Weyrwoman and Weyrleader.

[Zero]

A familiar voice reached the bronze riders ears and S’val lifted his head in time to see S’bel, a fellow Wingleader, come and join him at the table. “S’bel! Good to see you my friend.” A friendly grin lit up S’val’s features as he spoke to the other Rider. Before he had a chance to ask him how the training in his Wing was going a mind shattering roar ripped through his skull. Instantly his hands went to his head in a vein attempt to block out the many cries but it was close to useless. “Reign! Look after the two hatchlings!” The brown flitter chittered as he leapt from His shoulder and landed on the table beside the blue and the Epidote. His wings were spread in a defensive posture as he tried to protect the new firelizards the best he could but if all hell was going to break loose then it would be pure luck if the two didn't perish.

Solarith! In a flash the large bronze popped between right beside the table His was seated at, bellowing his own violent challenge to the intruders. In a single bound the Rider was atop his companions neck and with a single fell of Solariths wings the pair were sent skyward and into the fray.
They dare attack us! Let us show them who they‘ve come to challenge!

The pair twisted through the air, launching themselves at a large blue. Fangs and claws met mid air with terrible accuracy. The larger bronze easily tore into the blues hide, ripping flesh from bone before spinning through the air and rushing back down to the ground and the chaos below. Solarith hit the ground running, tail lashing out to whip a scampering green away from the Weyrleaders and, of course, the Queens of the Weyr.

S’val dismounted in a haste, practically stumbling across the ground to get to the Weyrleaders side while Solarith continued to circle the area to fight off any other attackers. “Is everyone alright? Which Weyr did they come from, I’ll tear their Wingleaders apart!” Clearly heated and riled up, S’val looked from the two Weyrleaders to Iskra and finally S’bel.

----------

Fallon looked up from his plate as a plume of fire tore dangerously close to his table. "What in the hell?!!" Shouting out in surprise the man scrambled to his feet, shoving the table away and bolting in the complete opposite direction of the dragons and whatever chaos they were bringing. Before he had a chance to voice his very colorful opinion on the matter though a troublemaking green, which he could only assume didn't belong to Trelis, crashed close to the tables he was currently weaving through and flaming her little crazed head off.

Eyes narrowed with a scowl plastered on his face, Fallon dove to the ground once more. In an instant one of his larger knives had been unsheathed and was now clenched between his teeth as he all but glared at the dammed dragons that had disturbed his nice quiet meal. Oh yes. He was actually thinking about launching himself at the clearly larger creature and trying to cut its throat. Not for the defense of his home, leaders, or Weyr. Not even close. This was going to be for the slightly burned flesh he was now sporting on his left forearm.

Unfortunately for Fallon though, the rest of the Weyr and their bloody dragons had joined in the fight by then and succeeded in chasing off the foreign attackers before he had a chance to sink his blade into the dragon that had burned him. Pulling himself from the ground, the lad brushed his dark clothes off the best he could and slowly made his way back to the table, and food, he had previously vacated. He wasn't about to let good food go to waste and he needed to have a chance to inspect the recent damage to his arm.

----------

R'xth had been feeding his newest little gold flit when the cries of alarm and anger had gone up. It was clear neither the tiny gold nor his dark midnight dragon particularly liked the many cries as the flit wound her tail painfully tight around the lads wrist while Mideth urgently nudged his Riders side to get him to get up and move.
The previous playfulness the dark blue had shown earlier with the excitement of the Gather had quickly faded as he slipped back into protector and defender mode.
R'xthMine, we must go! Get up, get up now!

Rushed from his seat by his bonded, R'xth scooped up the little gold Aurora and the pair bolted from the tent and the danger. In all truth, the young Mideth was truly torn between protecting His and defending his Queens. His eyes were swirling a mix of yellow and red as he ran along side R'xth. "Don't worry Mideth, the Wingleaders and their Riders won't let these intruders lay a claw on anyone!" Breathing heavy as he spoke, the pair slipped behind a wine stall and hunkered down as gouts of flame and roars of dragons ripped through the air overhead.

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[Zara]

Daedra was glad she hadn't gone to the Gather now, even though Mrith and Massai had both pouted about it. There were sharding dragons attacking their Weyr! Their Queens! "Mrith, Massai, let's go." She walked quickly to her dragon who had already been prepared for Flight and was now sitting tehre, where they had been watching the celebrations below. Mrith gave a roar of defiance, Massai crying along with her. The Forest Huntyre would not be left out of this.

All FOOLS die! the dragoness hissed at those who dared to attack this Weyr and took off as her Rider, sword at her side, bow in hand and a quiver with just a few arrows on her back. This was it. This was the time to fight. They had dared to do this. They had dared, so let them die!

The green screamed in anger as she took off into the air, going after first the Green attacking her Queens, attempting to sink teeth and fang into her. Die fool![/color] she said to her, her voice full of anger and hatred. Daedra raised the bow and arrows. She was still learning and wasn't a great shot to begin with, but... She would try. She had to. What was she supposed to do? Let them harm Loraketh and Maeleth? She thought not! Loraketh was her Queen! They had to be protected! Protected now! She knew she was likely going to get hurt, but she would be okay, as long as the Weyr was okay.

----------

A'vin was enjoying some food and feeding his little Green when it started. He tensed and looked at the baby. HE had to make sure she was safe. He looked to the nearest person. A girl who had been bonded to by a flitter at the same time. "Watch her, please," he said, handing the Green to the girl who already seemed to be having trouble controlling that little Sub-Queen of hers. Well... She had another distressed flitter to look after right now.

I am coming, A'vin Mine! We will Fight! We will chase them off! For our Weyr! For the Queen! Vinerath soon appeared above him and landed not far away. A'vin wasted no time in mounting the large Brown. "Alright... Let's see what we can do." His dragon had his sword. Thank Faranth. It would be a lot harder without it. Above, he saw a familiar Green. It was Mrith! Going after the dragons attacking Loraketh and Maeleth! his heart nearly stopped at the sight.

Mine... She will be okay. We must Fight as well!

[Lark]

Loraketh crooned as the others started to finally come back and calm down. All Dragons here to Maelath and I. Bronzes, fly around the Weyr, search the boundaries. Browns take some postitions closer to home. Blues and Greens, Whites stay here and help get the destruction and flames under control. Weyrlings to me and Mine. The Gold gave orders quickly and with simple precision. Turning to Hers, the dragoness nuzzled Inali's back to get her talking.

Looking up, Inali looked at the people around her with wide eyes. She handed the message first to Iskra, then to T'rian. She knew from there it would travel around their little group. "They.....I don't understand. I think it may be the new dragonets Iskra. Who has given any information about them out? Please speak up, I'm trying to find out who this might be from. I know I wrote back home to Ista.....after all, Mivinth even was hatched there. Loraketh and Maelath were her daughters, I wondered if maybe they had experience with this before. They didn't answer except that they were shutting down any transfers from Ista to here until we figured this out."

She didn't know if it was Ista or not, but it could be. Still, her family? Her home? Would they really attack them? Ista was one of Trelis' allies....wasn't it? Loraketh crooned gently to Hers. You have done nothing wrong I assure you all. Her voice was heard by everyone, but it was focused on the new colors. "There are even new colors in the firelizard rankings now." That was Ara as she walked up. Avirith was walking behind her, the green crooning to Loraketh and Maelath as she tried to rally her weyrlings to her. "What should we do?" The greenrider, weyrlingmaster, looked at her Weyrleaders.

[Zero]

S’val turned to look at his bonded and for a moment their gazes met. A slight nod and a silent look between the two was all that was needed. Solarith stretched his wings a moment later at the word of his Queen and took to the air, intent to clear the skies along with the rest of his bronze brothers and make sure any stragglers were chased down and put into their proper place.

S’val turned from the fleeting form of his bonded and looked back at those gathered close by and for the time being simply listened to what the Weyrwoman and her Queen had to say on the matter. As the others spoke he busied himself by attempting to clean some of the blood splatter from the left side of his face and neck. It wasn’t his own, not all of it at least anyways, merely a splattering of the poor blue that had dared to get in Solarith’s way midair.
He turned to look at the rest of those slowly beginning to gather but he couldn’t speak just yet, his mind was still reeling as he tried to figure out what Weyr would dare attack another without so much as a warning.

The Wingleader sighed and ran a hand though his hair, only succeeding in smearing the ichor and making him look even more a mess, as his dark gaze flicked to the sky once more. Well, so much for his fine Gather attire. When Inali spoke up about who might have given any information out about the new hatchlings that could have brought on this type of retaliation his gaze fell from the others and his mind snapped back to the day when he had sent word back to his Benden home about the interesting hatching that had occurred. It couldn’t had been word of his family that had sparked this attack could it? Were Benden dragons to blame?

Finally he chose to speak up after feeling the reassuring tug on the mental bond he shared with his Solarith as the bronze continued to patrol the skies above. He had to after all. He couldn’t keep quiet, it was his duty to relay any information that might be helpful and if his words could have harmed his Weyr in anyway then he was willing to take whatever punishment came his way. “After the hatching I sent word to my family in Benden to see if they’ve had anything new come up with any of their hatchlings, be it dragon or fire lizard. I’ve yet to hear back but I didn’t think anything of it. I have a busy family, every now and then they forget to reply to their son down here in the south.” As he spoke one of the new flitter colors appeared on his arm, his Epidote Orion, and slowly began to work his way to his shoulder. He was accompanied by his brown Reign and the young blue Draco who attached himself to the mans others bloodied shoulder.

---------------

Ry peeked around the corner of the stall they had took cover behind and once he saw that everything had seemed to calm down. His little gold had settle nicely on his shoulder, though she didn’t seem all that put off by everything that had just transpired. In fact, she seemed to quite enjoy the bustle and excitement of it all. It had taken, R’xth everything he had just to convince her to stay put and out of harms way.
Mideth on the other hand had had a hard enough time keeping track of His and the little queen. It had been enough excitement to make his head spin.
Come R’xthMine. Avirith is calling the weyrlings to her, to see if we are all unharmed and to take count no doubt.

The lad nodded and hauled himself to his feet, wiping soot and dirt from his clothes as he did and the pair headed off towards the Weyrling Master and her green. When they arrived the two hung back a bit as they laid eyes on Weyrleaders and Wingleaders alike. It seemed all the big wigs of Trelis were gathered about trying to discern what exactly just went on. Rightly so too. Dragons attacking dragons! That was practically unheard of as far as he was concerned. Wasn’t that a sign of war?

Mideth crooned and nuzzled His in the back, nudging Ry over towards Avirith and Hers. After all it wouldn’t do well to get underfoot while the leaders were discussing. The midnight blue dragon walked behind His as R’xth took a stand a little behind the rest of the group. Gently stroking his new flit under her chin, Ry quietly listened in on the conversation the others were in the midst of all the while keeping his own opinion to himself.

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[kitsuneko]

The junior weyrwoman took the letter and read what was on it. Her eyes narrowed. In-pure...Iskra almost snorted. The new colors might be strange, but they all seemed perfectly healthy! Calling them impure seemed to be a bit much for her. The letter was passed to the Weyrleader as the weyrlings and their riders began to gather around Loraketh and Maeleth, who crooned comfortingly to the young dragons.They weren't her own children, but they were still of Trelis Weyr, and the children of her sister.

Iskra tried not to stare at the blood and ichor on S'val's face. At least it didn't look like he was hurt very bad himself, but the thought of dragons fighting dragons still hurt her stomach when she thought about it too long. Once S'val spoke up about sending a letter to Benden Weyr, she spoke as well.

"I sent letters out as well after the Hatching, to some of the Junior Weyrwomen at other Weyrs. Ista, Southern, High Reaches, a few others I think; I'll send you the full list later if you want." She gave a shrug. "It didn't seem important to keep news of the new colors to ourselves at the time; I thought one of them might have heard something about them before. Most of them have gone unanswered."

She frowned. She'd assumed the delay was due to her letters taking the long route to the other Weyrs, since she didn't have a fire lizard of her own, or the goldriders were still discussing it with their own Weyrwomen. But could there be another reason for the lack of response?

[Zirin]

Ad’os grimaced as he called Trouble to him, pleased that Atla followed her to him. Giving the flits an image of the firestone, he solemnly bid that they bring him as many as they could carry. Soheath moved closer to him, careful not to step on anybody, and when the flits returned he began chewing the stone. He finished the first few by the time they had returned with a second bunch. You’ll only have enough for a couple small flames at best Soh… Ad’os thought to the brown as he finished chewing. I hope I will not have reason to use it.

Ad’os nodded to Soheath as the brown took to the air once again. Finding an altitude he liked, he began circling the Weyr, namely the area around the focal point of the gather, where the queens currently stood. Some browns joined him in that area, while others spread out to other points in the Weyr to ensure there was a solid, ready defense. Addy didn’t like the idea of Soheath attempting to flame dragons out of the sky, but he wanted the brown to have equal ability in the air. After all, the other Weyr had flamed them, there was no saying they wouldn’t return after restocking.

For another Weyr to attack Trelis… it was such an absurd notion. He glanced back to where the weyrlings were gathering, his eyes lingering on the forms of Talath, Kayath, and Emiath. With the exception of the Garnet, they were well behaved, and though he didn’t spend much time with the weyrlings, he could see from here that there seemed to be no ill side effects to their strange colouring. How could the appearance of strange colours – colours that may not appear again, for all they knew – cause so much trouble? He frowned again as Inali finished speaking, troubled by the new knowledge of transfers. What if the Holds and other Weyrs followed this rogue Weyr’s example? What would Trelis do…

---

U’wa watched as his sister ran around, tending the injured as best she could with her limited knowledge, rather envious of her ability to go out and do something, instead of hiding like he was. Peniath crooned sadly down to him, assuring him that he would be able to do it one day too. Does it still hurt? He asked, looking at the light burn marks on her green hide. Shaking her head, she motioned for him to follow. I want to go find everyone else now Mine…. I don’t want to be here anymore… You don’t either, do you… let’s go find the others… Oh! Loraketh is calling us. We will find the others there, won’t we Mine?

To say the green’s less than enthusiastic voice was unnerving was an understatement. Gulping, full of fear that the attack would start again, U’wa placed a hand on Peniath’s neck and followed the green away from their hiding place and towards the other weyrlings. Reaching them, Peniath moved next to the first dragonet she came close to, rubbing her head into Mideth’s side, glad to see that some of her siblings had made it unharmed. She glanced about for the rest of them, her eyes whirling with worry.

---

Kayath snorted; annoyed that SHE wasn’t being included in the ‘adult’ business. SHE was a sub-queen, she should be in the thick of things, not going with her siblings to huddle and cower like hatchlings. She wanted to stay there, to find out why anyone could have hated her. She was beautiful and wonderful! Why would anyone want to attack her, or her less pretty siblings? She calmed slightly as Maeleth crooned down at them, taking comfort in the notion that at least they were cared for, not ignored. Come on love, you can yell at your dam later, let’s be a good sub-queen and do as told for now. Snorting again, but not wanting to ignore Hers, she settled down, though her eyes still whirled with annoyance and a tinge of uncertainty.

J’dol laid a hand on her side, looking over at Ara as the weyrlingmaster approached. No playful smile crossed his features this time, no, now was not a time for fun. He wanted to know the answer to her question. Would Kayath and the other two be confined somewhere where harm wouldn’t come to them? Would their freedom be stolen away from them now? He moved closer to the greenrider, though only in the hopes of hearing the answer better than from where he had been standing.

“We sub-riders need to know too, just what are we supposed to do?” He hated not knowing, but with Kayath only three months old... what could he do but sit back and let others protect them... He grimaced, hating the feeling of absolute helplessness. Even if he had a weapon of some sort, how could he face a full-grown, fire breathing attacker?

[Akira]

T'rian glared around him at the night sky. Why had they attacked? What was so wrong with a few new dragon colors? He shook his head, and gave Stallorth the command to land when Loraketh called. Stallorth was still growling furiously as he let the Weyrleader off, and took back to the sky to make sure that there were no more intruders in the sky around his Weyr. T'rian was glad that he had made his bronze dragon chew before going to the gather.

T'rian had that there would be no need for it, but now he was glad he had made him chew. He bit his lip as he took the letter from Iskra, and read it. I had wrote to Shenzi, but I hadn't said anything about the new colors. There weren't many people that T'rian would write too, and Shenzi hadn't known about the new colors until she had gotten here. He shook his head, thinking of what might have happened to warrant this kind of behaviour from another Weyr.

T'rian looked up at the Weyrling Master as she spoke, and nodded. He had noticed that, and wondered if these new colors would spread to the whers as well. Maybe we should put the Weyr on lock down Inali. At least until we've had a chance to talk to everyone that might have motive for attacking Trelis. His voice was a low whisper that was meant for the Weyrwoman's ears alone. It wasn't that he wanted to lock down the Weyr, but he couldn't think of any other solution.

T'rian turned his attention to the weyrling that had spoken up. He knew how the young man felt, but what exactly could Weyrlings do in a time like this? He turned his dark gaze on the woman that he loved, and wondered what she would think of the young, white weyrling's words. He smiled at the white pair, and was actually extremely proud of how brave the young pair was. T'rian bit his lip, and tried to think of something to keep them all occupied.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

N'ck gulped, and ran over to where Ara and Avirith were standing, thankful that he didn't have to keep looking back to make sure Kichith was following him. Kicheth crooned, and sat down with his tail curled around the boy. N'ck had never felt so scared in his entire life. He stood up, and Kicheth wrapped his tail around His' legs. N'ck knew that this was no time for him to be sitting down, crying over being scared.

He needed to be strong for those others who might be worse off than himself. There must be something we can do! Kicheth and I want to help, not sit here cowering like scared rats! His voice was louder, and bolder than he had intended, but he was glad for it. He noticed that the Weyrleader had smiled at them, and N'ck's confidance lifted a little. At least we got someone's attention. He reached over, and patted Kicheth as he sent the thought to him.

We did N'ckMine, but why can't we just go start helping? Why must we wait? N'ck shook his head, and shrugged his shoulders at his dragon's question. N'ck wanted to go start helping people, but he knew that they had to wait to get permission before leaving, or risk getting into serious trouble, and that was something that he didn't want. He especially didn't want to see how mad Loraketh would get if they disobeyed her, or Avirith for that matter.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shenzi slowly made her way through the crowd, and was just in time to start hearing people saying who they sent letters to. She knew T'rian had sent a letter to her telling her that Inali was pregnant, but as far as she knew, the man hadn't sent anyone else a letter. Shenzi looked over at the weyrlings as first one, and then another spoke up, both wondering what they were supposed to do.

Lady Tremaine crooned softly to Hers, even the green was scared. Which was something Shenzi never thought she would see. It's alright, everything will be alright. She made sure to whisper so that no one else would hear how worried the Master Harper was. Absolum loosened the grip he had on His' shoulder, and Shenzi shivered when she finally felt feeling going back into her arm. She smiled, and scratched each one of them on their chin.