Logs:Lesson Number One
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| RL Date: 30 October, 2012 |
| Who: Taikrin, Azaylia, Barnabas, Brieli |
| Type: [[Concept:{{{type}}}|{{{type}}}]] |
| What: Taikrin takes it upon herself to teach some riders a thing or two about fighting with the help of her impromptu assistant, Bones. |
| Where: Western Bowl, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 10, Month 2, Turn 30 (Interval 10) |
| Western Bowl, High Reaches Weyr The bowl's vast dirt floor extends in a rough oval from west to east, only sparse clumps of grass surviving between the crisscrossed pathways of daily traffic. To the northwest stand massive gates to the world beyond, allowing people, livestock, and tithes to pass beneath some of the seven jagged spires that stand sentinel over that area of the bowl. In late afternoons, their spindly, fingerlike shadows stretch over that end of the bowl all the way to the living cavern's hulking brass doors in the far north. Eastward, the bowl sprawls on toward the lake, sloping slightly downward to allow runoff from rain and snowmelt, but to the south it's caged by more cliffs of dark, rough-cut granite. Rocks poke up from the ground here, a few large boulders and many smaller outcroppings worn smooth in spots by time and use. A few ground weyr entrances dot the wall, the most frequented ledge set up like a patio while the largest ledge services the Weyrleaders' complex, directly beside the huge entrance to the hatching sands. A more human-sized entrance, left of that, leads to the galleries. Word has spread, as gossip does around the Weyr, that Glacier in general -- and Taikrin in specific -- has been offering to teach everyone a few tricks. It's not the first time it's been offered, so the skeptecism is less than usual for one of the brownrider's usual hijinks. Today, an area just off to the side of the entrance to the Caverns has been dragon-cleared of the drifting piles of snow. Szadath himself is nowhere to be seen, but Taikrin has climbered up onto a compacted boulder of snow and ice to await her supposed 'students'. In one gloved hand, she's idly flipping a wooden training dagger end over end. Hraedhyth is not missing this. Though her brown wingmate is missing, she can be spotted from a distance, lumbering towards the elevated Taikrin. Azaylia is jogging alongside, barely keeping up despite it. Thick fabric is stained and torn, patched, clothing warm enough to shield the junior from the falling flakes while maintaining her range of movement. With quickened breath, "Hello Taikrin." The brawny queen won't crowd, but she will curl into a semi-circle nearby, her bulk cutting down some of the wind that would otherwise reach the gathering folk. Bones has finally learned the value of a good coat, and having found one that has been neglected in the stores. It was no wonder why. Thick fur and leather banded together poorly and with obvious stitching, made from a variety of scraps. Heavy, ugly, and so long that it drags into the snow behind him as he walks. He pays no mind to the gathering at first, until a familiar bronze-skinned woman is caught from the corner of his eye, and his lumbering walk changes direction. "Yo, Zee!" He stands up a bit taller as he approaches her, his hair hanging heavy with the moisture collected from fallen snow. "Whatcha doin? This a party or somethin?" "Hey, Azaylia," Taikrin offers in her huskily deep voice, breath steaming in the late afternoon sunlight. "Glad you could make it. Reckon we won't have a ton--" A pair of greenriding girls, both young, have arrived -- and dragged with them a skinny boy who rides blue. The trio huddle together, whispering, while Taikrin hops down from her perch to look Barnabas up and down. "And who's your friend? Don't reckon I've seen him before." Rural Crom is thick in Taikrin's accent, though it's not quite fresh-from-the-boat any longer. Iesaryth is nowhere to be seen, unsurprisingly - and her rider is not initially apparent, not dragged along by Azaylia for once. Instead, Brieli has waited until there's enough people gathered that she can slink around to the back and try to go unnoticed, for all she might be taller than many of the others, and the 'crowd' isn't huge. Maybe the other goldrider will provide a shield, for all that Bri's not right behind her. And then there's the big dude with the crazy coat too. Azaylia visibly cringes, mittens turning into wooly balls as her face scrunches. "...Hello Mis- er, Bones." Taikrin's greeting is much more welcomed, expression smoothing out to a gentle smile. "This is, uhm..." The man is spared only a glance over her shoulder, motioning towards him in a half-hearted manner. "He's new." A shift in the other direction has her spotting Brieli, face even brighter as she gives a little wave. It'd be rude to call out, or perhaps the young woman is sparing her friend any... extra attention. "Taikrin is going to have us learning self defense." Because punching people is important. Bones is all smiles at seeing Azaylia, even with the flippant way he's addressed by her. "Yup. My feet finally got tired, decided this was good a place to stop as any." He stretches out a long arm towards Taikrin, hand put in front of her ready to be shaken. "Bones. Just Bones. Who're you?" "I'm Taikrin. Szadath's rider." The brown actually gets his full name as Taikrin takes Bones's hand to shake; her grip is strong and a little aggressive. "Welcome to hang around and learn a thing, if you ain't got anything better. Just gonna start with a couple of easy things, really, see where everyone's at." She sticks her practice dagger into the waist of her pants, then props hands on her hips. "Ain't a lot of you, but I reckon it's a start," she announces to the group at large with a cocky, lopsided grin. "First thing's maybe I oughta explain what we'll be doing, yeah? So's you all know what to expect?" Any further attention save the smile and the wave. Brieli returns Azaylia's greeting with a tight little smile of her own - though her dark look aimed at the other weyrwoman isn't as sharp as it might normally be. She shades a little more behind the others - and with a glance from the other knot of young riders to Taikrin, consideringly, then to Big Dude's back again, she appears to think the better of the exercise for some reason or another. It's as if she'd just paused momentarily as she shuffles through the snow of the bowl - and though her gaze is curious on the brownrider and her practice knife, she moves away, off towards the ground weyrs. Azaylia will take a moment to peek between Taikrin and Bones, before giving a relieved sort of smile as the two are introduced. And perhaps, the man isn't so scary with a raggedy old coat hiding his gruesome flesh. Whatever it is, she moves in a bit closer to the group that has formed, though it's missing a Brieli now. Her friend will get a look of concern until the brownrider begins to address the less experienced lot. "Yes sir. Uhm. Yes'm." She fumbles, though her smile is curious and her hands are folded diligently in front of her. Bones looks from dragon to dragon, trying to guess which one might be Szadath, and not having a clue if he should even be able to tell. Ultimately, he gives up with a shrug, and shuffles in with the other students. Taking a spot right next to Azaylia, he gives a grin, and commits to being the bad student by whispering a few words just for her. "You nervous, or ready to kick ass?" Though Taikrin undoubtedly notes Brieli's arrival and departure, the brownrider doesn't make a big deal about it; her gaze merely tracks the goldrider's retreating figure for a few paces. "You ain't gotta salute me. It ain't like I'm a wingleader or nothing," Taikrin teases Azaylia good-naturedly (though at least one of the greenriders must be acquiainted with her, since that earns an eyeroll). "There's probably gonna be a lot of touching and stuff, but it's all professional-like," and now there's an eyeroll from the other, which goes unheeded. "My thing is I want you all to know how to push off someone bigger and stronger'n you, if the time comes. You all know how a bronzerider can get when he's worked up by a flight." Apparently this is a laughing point-- at least Taikrin is guffawing, accompanied by the trio of other riders. "N-no, but, you're teaching us something important?" Azaylia doesn't mean to sound unsure, that's simply the way she talks. But, if the older rider thinks that being able to defend oneself is a required skill, then who is she to argue? Where others roll their eyes, the goldrider simply nods her head, taking it all very seriously. That is until, "Taikrin..." She smiles, at least knowing not to take the comment about bronzerider's seriously- even if her wingmate means it. Bones perks up at Taikrin's speech, paying attention, but unable to stop grinning in excitement. Weyr life has been tremendously boring for the last few days, and this is something that sounds like fun. Then a sudden laugh comes and throws him off balance, everybody getting a joke that he must have missed. It proceeds talk of bronzeriders and flights, more dragon terms that he wasn't entirely familiar with. His grin fades. "Okay so... where do we start?" "Hey, you can talk about it when you seen it, girl. Know what I mean?" That last is a grinning aside to the greenriders, who take it with aplomb. "Reckon we start, well, here. You want to help me out, Bones?" To the others, she explains, "Here, I'll show you sort of thing we're talking about. Biggest thing you gotta worry about is getting your opponent on the ground, giving him a quick kick to the balls, and running away. Ain't no need for heroics." With a wink, she adds, "Promise I ain't gonna kick you in the balls." Azaylia parts her lips in order to reply, only to feel her cheeks warm though complexion doesn't show much in the way of a flush. She is the least experienced here, at least as far as Flights are concerned- not counting Bones. Speaking of which, "You're not really going to- oh." The junior sounds a bit relieved, if only because the man doesn't deserve to be physically harmed. A mitten is lifted to hopefully catch the brownrider's attention, "U-uhm. Doesn't that seem a little... mean?" Wouldn't want to hurt her attacker, now would she? Durr. Bones immediately lifts his arms enough to slam a fist into his palm, snow shaking off his shoulders and to the ground below at the impact. "Awesome!" The talk of kicks to the nuts puts him right back into his element. He pushes rudely past the others to make his way up front, eager to be the practice dummy. "Nah she's right Zee, if you gotta put a fucker down hard and fast, a swift knee to the eggs'll do it every time! Heheh!" The grin drops for a moment, and he turns to Taikrin. "Whoops. sorry, s'your class not mine. Okay, so what do I do?" "Damn straight," Taikrin smirks at Bones, impressed by his enthusiasm. "Man, you know how to pick 'em," she remarks over his shoulder to Azaylia. "Alright, so-- reckon you look like a guy what knows how to handle himself, yeah? So I want you to come at me like you're gonna tackle me, like you ain't seen a pair of tits in turn and a half." The brownrider herself backs off a few paces, tosses the practice dagger into a nearby snow drift, and spreads her arms wide in a gesture of welcome. "Just go with it, yeah? Azaylia gives a whimpered sound, perhaps something that could be seen as a close-lipped argument. She didn't pick anything! Or, anyone. The junior places a hand against her cheek, exhale sounding pained as she watches the two playfully size each other up. "W-well... if you say so." And they both do. As Taikrin instructs Bones to tackle her, mittens fly up to cover the young woman's eyes. It's only a low growl from the lounging queen nearby that has wool covered fingers lowering enough to peek. Bone's grin drops a bit more now, though what was left could still certainly be called a smile. "Just uhh... just go with it?" He looks over at the students, then back to Taikrin, bringing his palm to the back of his neck and giving it a few rubs out of nervousness. "Well, alright. Count of three then." Bones was all for equality, but he had nearly a foot on the girl, maybe a hundred pounds too. So, fifty percent strength? "1..." What about one hundred percent strength but half speed? "2..." Nah, look at her. She's got scars, she's got muscle, she knows what she's doing. Seventy five percent power and speed. "3!" He charges with enough force for his coat to fly horizontally behind him, arms hurtling him forward as much as his legs. "RAPE RAPE RAPE RAPE!" Taikrin might be shorter, might be smaller, but she's viciously fast in a fight. She whoops in delight at Bones's exclamation, holding position until the last possible second. Then all at once she drops her weight and twists, grappling with him as she seeks to not only keep his hands occupied but to get her shoulder low enough into his mass to flip him into the nearby snowdrift. From somewhere up above, a spiraling brown speck bellows his enjoyment of the spectacle. Azaylia is frozen on the spot, fingers curling to harshly press fuzzy fabric into her face. While Bones' exclamation might be seen as humorous, seeing the brute in action is certainly no laughing matter. Her lips are twisted into a silent gasp, hidden behind those aforementioned hands. A squeal as the two finally make contact, her entire body flinching at the jumble of colliding body parts. Hraedhyth is thoroughly enjoying herself, bellowing to cheer them on as well as answer Szadath's roar. Bones takes the brunt of the impact to the top of his thighs, at the perfect place in his stride to be upended so perfectly it looks choreographed. With his long hair and coat wildly whipping through the air, he goes end over end, and lands flat on his ass at the ground behind Taikrin. "HA!" He recovers his senses quickly given the tremendous tumble, starting with a laugh, and then pushing himself up to his feet. "And then you kick me in the balls and run, right?" Poor, poor Azaylia-- and here the other riders are giggling along with Taikrin's wilder guffaws. The brownrider swaggers over to offer Bones a hand up, and kicks at the snow while she does so. "Got it in one. Quick kick, and run like a crazy wher's after you." To the others, she offers, "There, now. Ain't like I'm expecting you all to do it so fast, like, but the principle's sound. You get your shoulder in low enough, or get into their weight, and you can tip anybody over your shoulder or whatever. Gives you a good headstart. Get what I'm saying?" Azaylia finally lowers her hands, though one is pressed to her chest as the other tries to wave their instructor down. "S-so... maybe, if we, uhm, knock them over... enough, then we might not need to do the..." She kicks at the snow, sending a pitiful wave up into the air. Not wanting her reluctance to harm to be mistaken for insolence, "B-But I understand, it's an important thing to do in order to get away." The junior goes over it all, just to make sure she's got it. "Shoulder low, kn-knock them down..." Swallow, "Kick, and then... run." The last part she can do, no questions there. Bones is still all smiles, even with his tailbone achingly sore. It was worth the ride. As Taikrin was busy discussing the finer points of what he was just victim to, he dusted himself free of the snow he had aquired on impact. "Or maybe if you're lucky, I'll just smash my head on the ground after you toss me over. Then you would'n have to kick me at all Zee! Ha!" With a quick jerk of his head, he manages to get some of the hair hanging in his face back over his shoulder once more. "Aw shit. Sorry Tai. Still your class, I'll shut up." Bones was quickly promoting himself to teacher's assistant with his never ending blabbermouth. "No problem," Taikrin offers genially, with a good-natured slap to his shoulder. "Don't mind a little help none." She doesn't even correct his use of her nickname! "Remember, all you gotta do is get away far enough so's your dragon can come and get you. Ain't nobody gonna mess with an angry dragon, no matter what color he is. Or she is." Szadath has finally spiraled low enough to make a snow-splattering landing besides Hraedhyth, whom he greets with a brassy trumpet. "Alright, you lot," this to the three chromatic riders, "You all see if you can do each other." Beat. "Azaylia, you want to give it a try? See if you can put me into a drift? It really ain't so hard." Azaylia laughs this time, a nervous, quiet sound. "Hnhn. Ah, N-no..." She continues to giggle at Taikrin's question, not realizing that it's a serious offer just yet. Hraedhyth takes the time to snarl a low, pleased greeting at the landing brown, all but leaping to her paws. Let's see if she can throw him! The gold will slam her shoulder into the brown's side in an attempt to tip him like an overgrown herdbeast. When Azaylia doesn't move forward right away, a roar will be tossed over Szadath's wings- one that makes the woman jump-skip forward. "Yeep!" Which seems to be some sort of 'yes', as she puts some distance between she and Taikrin- taking up a similar stance from what was shown earlier. "O-okay..." The dragonless giant is true to his word, intent on letting Taikrin teach and students to flip. For the first time, dragons are worthy of his attention, the sheer size of the nearby scuffle enough to make his eyebrows raise. He starts to point at Hraedhyth and Szadath, but as soon as he opens his mouth to speak he sees just how little everybody else seems to care. Alright, that's normal then. "Relax Zee. Taikrin's a pussycat, aintcha Tai? Ha!" He gives a little shove at the brownrider's shoulder, and then takes three or four steps back. Szadath grunts at the impact, and though his lower center of gravity keeps him from going up and over Hraedhyth, he does draw back with an errant flap or two of his wings to provide balance. Then he holds himself upright with wings outspread, ready to grapple (or be more aptly tipped). "Don't you worry none," Taikrin assures Azaylia, with barely-suppressed laughter at the antics of the two gigantic, vicious-seeming dragons. "And don't you mind them none, neither. They probably ain't gonna come crashing over here." There's a little flicker of... something... as Bones's familiarity, but then she's putting on her easy smile as she approaches Azaylia. "Okay, so, this's harder if I ain't moving, but I want you to get the feel. Grab my arm here, and crouch down so's you can get your shoulder in my gut. Bones, you wanna show her where?" Because obviously the man knows his business. Hraedhyth is up for this game, rearing back and batting at the bronze as she attempts to keep herself steady with her wings. For all that she's a 'savage', the queen is far more interested in prolonging the wrestling match than she is in actually winning. Why should the humans get all the fun? Even Azaylia has to give a smile at her lifemate's ways, proving that there really isn't anything to worry about if she isn't panicking. Still, she takes Taikrin's arm as she's told and crouches, though her movements are stiff and jerky. Uncertain. She stops short of burying her shoulder into the brownrider's gut, given that Bones' assistance is required. She looks to the man with expectant, wide eyes. Bones is more than happy to help, finding his way over to the pair of them with a swift little jog. "Yeah sure!" He stands off to the side, taking a little moment to size up the two of them, and then giving his input. "Alright so... you got a few inches on Tai, that makes it a little tricky to get low on her, right? But.." he pauses, giving a glance to Tai to make sure she's alright with where he's headed with his advice. "... but if you widen your stance a little and bend your knees, y'can probably stay stable enough to put yer shoulder in right about here." He gave a few taps to Taikrin's stomach, just slightly below her belly button. "That seem right to you, Tai?" "Yeah, about uh-- about there." Taikrin's body is tensed, because she can't possibly have all of these people touching her and not be a little worked up about it. "Okay, so just to give you the feel for it, we're gonna have Bones here count, and when he says three I'm gonna give you a little momentum and you're gonna just pull me over as hard as you can, okay? You'll see, won't be too hard. And you ain't gonna hurt me, so don't worry none." Szadath would enjoy watching Taikrin fight, because it's one of his favorite things, except that fighting himself is his MOST favorite thing. He probably won't draw any ichor with his feints and nips, but there could be bruises. Definitely bruises -- the brown gives as good as he gets, for all his smaller size. Azaylia is also tense, and although every toned muscle in her body is tight it stops at her wrists, which makes her grip on Taikrin almost too gentle. Her eyes drop down to where Bones is tapping on the brownrider's body, looking dumbfounded as to how she's supposed to get that low. Still, the young woman tests her long legs by bending them a few times at the knees before giving a nod n' whimper. She's ready. Hraedhyth loves that about the brown, planning on wearing her off-color bruises with pride, if only because he'll be leaving with a few of his own. Oversized jaws snap-snap, and of course with these two there will be plenty of shoulder-checking. Bones takes a step back and tries to slip his hands in his pockets, only to remember that his coat doesn't have them. The problem of what to do with his grungy mitts is solved by crossing his arms over his chest, waiting to see how Azaylia will do. "Don't worry Zee. You saw how easy Tai put me on my ass right? Hehe, okay. One.... two... THREE!" When Bones calls out, Taikrin gives a little half-leap to provide some forwards momentum should Azaylia manage to get the timing and effort even a little close to right... Azaylia gives a sharp squeak at the sudden pressure on her shoulder, pushing up against it to try and support the older woman. A result of that is that she's too low, and with Taikrin's generous half-leap, the brownrider will go tumbling off the junior's back. It's less of a throw and more of a... fumble. She lets go of the arm and turns around, concern and perhaps a touch of fear on her face. "OhTaikrindidIhurtyou?" A breathless whisper spoken through the wool of her mittens. Hraedhyth will bellow her pleasure at the sight, which will likely give Szadath a clear shot. But only for that moment, then she's back into the fray! At least Taikrin knows how to fall? It's not the most graceful thing ever, but at least she manages to turn it into a sort-of roll and less of a splat. She still OOFs when she hits the ground, but then it turns into tentative laughter as she sprawls on her back in the snow. "Ugh, I reckon you might'a killed me." She's trying VERY hard to suppress her grin. Bones desperately tries to stifle a laugh at Azaylia's feeble attempt, giving a sound of pressed lips and spittle. "Pffft!" He isn't quite as good at making Azaylia think she's done well, but is already on his way to Tai to return the favor she had given him, offering a hand down towards her so she could get back onto her feet. "Yeah, that looked brutal! Ha!" His sarcasm is pretty thick. "Zee looks strong as fuck though, she'll probably get the hang of it quick." Azaylia is scrambling to help Taikrin up as well, leaving the heavy lifting to Bones and more mothering the brownrider. Ushering the other woman up, she busies herself with dusting snow off of the brownrider, murmuring her worries and apologies. The tall man will get a bit of a huff in his direction, lower lip looking a touch more prominent than it was before. She'll be easy enough to shoo, once Taikrin proves that she's fine. Oh, good. Azaylia is offering to help her up, which means that while she lets Bones have one hand to help her up, she can smoosh a handful of snow into Azaylia's head. "I'm fine! You ain't gonna hurt me; I've taken a lot worse. C'mon, let's try it again..." And so will the evening proceed, with simple lessons all around. And then-- food! And booze! |
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