Logs:Boulders and Pigs
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| RL Date: 13 November, 2009 |
| Who: B'tal, C'sel, Ebeny, K'ndro, Milani, Shad, Tiriana, W'chek, Z'yi |
| Type: [[Concept:{{{type}}}|{{{type}}}]] |
| What: Browden's pigs are the cause of much havoc when the weyr comes out to remove boulders. |
| Where: High Reaches Farm, Crom Area |
| When: Day {{{day}}}, Month {{{month}}}, Turn {{{turn}}} ({{{IP}}} {{{IP2}}}) |
| Crom Fields Bare of trees, shrubs and buildings, the land given over to use by High Reaches looks bleak and empty. There are a few rolling hills that keep it from direct view of the surrounding holdings, fences providing the only real way to separate one person's land from another's. The soil here is better than it is in other parts of Crom, though still more rocky than truly good soil would be; in addition, boulders of varying sizes - from mere large rocks to truly impressive slabs - litter the ground, making it impossible to farm without first clearing the ground. Early spring has brought a thaw, the land no longer covered in snow, and, instead, intensely muddy. For today's activities, long tables have been set up, as well as a fire pit, though there's no shelter from the - sometimes outright bitter - winds. It's sunny at Crom, and if it weren't for the chilly wind, it would even be almost warm. The first group of riders arrived earlier this morning, bringing with them supplies for the 'party', and residents to help set that up, as well as enormous slings which will later be used to carry boulders to the Minecraft. Now, somewhere in the middle of the afternoon, the boulders are being moved by dragons and riders both, the dragons lifting from above, while people, below, dig around them to make this easier. A decent sized stack has been formed off to one side, and other dragons and people are in service gathering them together in the slings. It's not all work, though, and those not currently working their 'shift' have plenty to eat and drink around the fire pits. Despite the best efforts of a handful of the weyr's harpers, the atmosphere is slightly less party and more 'gathering', but then, the mud would make it hard to dance anyway. Amidst all this, K'del appears to be doing his best to prove he doesn't consider himself 'above' such manual labour. He's in the thick of the boulder removal, shovel in hand, and his shirt long since discarded despite the wind. Wiping the back of his hand over his sweaty forward, he glances up at Cadejoth who is attempting to pull this particular boulder free, and calls out, "That oughta do it. Give it a try?" Food and drink provision mean that the headwoman is along for the 'party' keeping things running though Milani's currently taking a break, sitting on a rock that's yet to be slung yet, watching the lovely display of shirtless men while sipping from a drink. Among those digging and sweating is C'sel, though his shirt is staying very firmly in place, thank you, in spite of the sweat plastering cotton to his back. The brownrider steps back as K'del calls out, shovel shifted aside and he look up towards the bronze dragon quiet, but expectant. However long B'tal has been here already, he's sort of just standing and watching at the moment, leaning against the shovel he's holding. You can't have shirtless men around and not expect a greenrider like him to not take advantage of the sights at least a little bit. In the hand not leaning against the shovel, he has a drink. Or had. He's probably finished it already. Jeibeth has been trying to do her part in helping with smaller boulders or even an extra little oomph for something larger. Anything to keep from wallowing around in the mud too much. K'del might not be above the actual manual labor, but Tiriana seems to consider herself in charge of directing others' work rather than doing it herself. Mostly, this consists of pointing at boulders, yelling 'you!' a lot, and periodically glowering pointedly at the slackers, as she does now at B'tal. Iovniath, of course, is having nothing to do with the whole venture: the gold perches to one side of the field, watching over everything regally. "No, not that one, /that/ one," Ebeny can be heard to insist, redirecting Laurienth's attention from dislodging a boulder that could send others in the stack tumbling down all over the place. "Yes, /that/ one," she repeats, now pointing out whereabouts in the nearest sling it would be best placed. The green rumbles her reluctance to move the right boulder, but carefully sets about manoeuvring it anyway and manages to settle it on the correct spot with the minimum of fuss once she's decided to move it at all. Then it's back for another one, a more sensible choice this time. Even after several hours of work, Shad is /still/ bouncing from his first-ever ride adragonback. He, like C'sel, is stubbornly clinging to his shirt, which is clinging to him with enough sweat to kind of make it count as not actually being there anyway, but it's the principle of the thing. He's working well away from K'del, digging a particularly stubborn boulder out of the muck and mire. "There. I think that's got it." He says finally, pulling back to let the dragon waiting to haul it off try to pull it out again. Shirtless? Check. Whether K'ndro would have actually /volunteered/ to be here or not today is a moot point, the assignment handed down without care of what he -- or anyone else for that matter -- might have preferred. But the large and well-muscled young man has been working with a will, heedless of mud and sweat both. Neither has Xadovith been complaining, moving as directed when necessary to assist in tugging boulders free from squelching, sucking wet earth. As he's slinking forward to do now, his rider dropping a nod to Shad in acknowledgement as he moves to get the ropes and what-all set in preparation for that attempted haul. "Go for it, Xado," he rumbles, backing up his own self as the lean, shadowed bronze starts to slowly, steadily back up. Cadejoth rumbles confirmation as all those who've been digging at his boulder withdraw, carefully adjusting his grasp on it to make sure it doesn't fall as he increases his wingbeat to lift it from the ground. The boulder goes squelch, and then comes free, making it easy enough for the bronze to carry it over to an awaiting sling. Before he gets the chance to set it down, however, there's a loud squeal from over by the food tables, as one of the young women working at slicing up a roast looks up - and apparently sees something that terrifies her poor (weyrbred) sensibilities: an onslaught of... pigs? Heading, apparently, straight for the food tables. Some people just don't care. Modesty? What modesty? Z'yi's stripped to the waist, applied to the task with the singleminded ferocity that typically only his fellow Snowdrift wingriders see from the big bluerider. "C'mon," he directs to his massive blue; Isforaith looks a bit dubious about this whole thing, but sets up his claws around a particularly entrenched boulder, gathering himself and his willpower to /pull/ so sharply that he barely avoids going ass over tiddlywinks. "Okay, a little less effort next time," Z'yi comments dryly, after laughter from the surrounding individuals drops off. Hey, it was a pretty funny sight. Can't blame him. Absently, Z'yi shifts, turning his head at the Terrified Noise(tm). His dirty hand leaves smudges of mire about his face as middle finger and thumb tweak at his temples. Oh man. Here we go. As the boulder is moved aside, C'sel's reaches into his pocket and withdraws a handkerchief with which to mop his brow. Corvinth, peers over from where he's poking a paw at a still-stuck rock and then looks up at the sound of piggies coming. Yum. Snack? Milani starts coughing, her last sip of drink going down the wrong pipe at the sound of that squeal and she looks over towards the girl who made the noise, brows lifted, then looks in the direction she's looking. Blink. Pigs? "Oh /my/," says the headwoman and sets her cup down, scooting towards the rock's edge. "Where did /they/ come from?" There's no panic from her at least. Shad's head snaps up at the sound of pigs. "What the ... " He starts. Those should not be clear out here in the middle of nowhere. He sighs. Accident, or deliberate? "Well, they'll change course when they get a whiff of dragon." He says. He hopes. If B'tal notices a certain glowering goldrider looking in his dirction, he's just going to pretend that he doesn't. He does, however, take the hint and he stops sightseeing and starts moving to get back to work. Of course that's right around when there are ... pigs? Headed straight for the tables. B'tal is too surprised to do much more than stare. Jeibeth is settling down a boulder ever so carefully but even she abandons such to look toward the squealing. Would it be too much to think someone brought the dragons a nice buffet, too? No fear, not even anger yet: it's only confusion that resonates in Tiriana's expression now, as she peers around at the commotion. "What the--?" she begins, staring dumbfounded for a moment. And then, because this can't be good, she takes off, jogging through the mud toward the ruckus. "Hey! Hey, what do you think you're doing?" she yells at the pigs. Like they'll understand that. Laurienth seems to ignore the noise after a quick glance over one shoulder, dismissing the sight before she's really had a chance to look, then really /has/ to look again, forepaws atop a boulder that she inadvertently pushes into the ground instead of moving. "Laurie, the..." Ebeny begins, words trailing off without getting anywhere with them and just stares in bemusement towards the tables. Paws go back and scrabble a bit to pry the boulder from the earth and park it where it should go, but the green's attention is more on the pigs than the task at hand. As the squealing girl - and several others to boot - duck for cover, the pigs get as far as the tables, knocking them down in a spectacular ramming effort. Not that their deliciously tasty luck seems set to last-- between Tiriana's yelling and the inevitable realisation of DRAGONS, is it any wonder that they scatter? Of course, that sends more people running, because these are big pigs, and they look hungry, which is not surprising since it's only barely the end of winter. K'del's jaw drops, and then he swears a blue streak, taking one step forwards, then holding it back. To the dragons, Cadejoth's comment is disappointed: « They are not dinner. We think. » Pity. This manual labour gig is hard. « Isforaith, Xadovith. Take your riders and find the holder. » In the direction the pigs came from, evidently. « Maybe we can chase them all back home! » Cadejoth has come to a landing, his neck extended to give himself a better view, though he doesn't quite leap into action... yet. When the pigs start scattering, Tiriana stops, and she just stares herself at them, then shoots a hard look at K'del. This has something to do with him. Right? « Though, if some should go missing in the attempt... » Iovniath insinuates her own thought into the mix, frigid fog sliding between dragons. « Well. It would be--unfortunate, no? » She herself is stirring for this commotion, eyes tracking the pigs in the field. « Sure, dad, » comes Isforaith's reply, the gangly blue maneuvering away from the pile of boulders. Z'yi turns a grin towards K'ndro, which isn't a little predatory. Isforaith doesn't deign to speak with Xado, though Z'yi calls over, "Never hunted Holders before, have you, K'ndro?" He grabs the nearest strap on Isforaith and lugs himself up with an economy of motion, Raith gathering himself for a leap into the air-- though obviously waiting for the bronze. Boom. Tables. And now there's more shouts and the carving girl is now trying to clamber up onto Milani's rock. Obligingly, Milani gives her a hand up. "We'll have to go clean that all up actually," the headwoman tells her though, legs dangling over the side of the boulder as she considers the mayhem. "Chase them away from the tables!" she calls out to some of those near the tables who aren't totally losing their heads. C'sel's shovel is set aside, leaned neatly against that rock as he heads over towards the tables. Could get funny, brownrider trying to shoo pigs away. Corvinth might be more effective, prowling on over and sticking his head down at piggy level. « Boo! » is the mental note, and the body language too. Oh boy. B'tal uses his shovel to whap just in case any of the pigs get too close for comfort but for the most part the greenrider is puzzled more than alarmed. Jeibeth is back in the air but she flies around so she doesn't disturb the pigs too much more terribly than they already are. « Maybe they don't want them anymore. Why else would they just be running around free. » Shad watches as the pigs take off, then glances over towards K'del, eyebrows high, before going back to rock-digging, letting the dragons and their riders worry about the pigs. « /Some/ could go missing, » relents Cadejoth, albeit not entirely; there's an unusual steeliness to his metallic-edged tone, twanging warningly. « But until we know why they are here... K'del says no. » Sadface. This doesn't stop him from launching upwards and taking a page out of Corvinth's book: terrifying the creatures does seem to make /some/ kind of difference, at least in the sense of driving them further away. « K'del says that if half of us come from each side, in a sort of v shape, we could scare them all back to where they came from. » His rider, dropping his shovel, begins to actually jog forwards now, calling out, "Calm, everyone. Stay calm. We'll sort out what's going on... Take a break?" Late, and probably there was a good reason for it at some point along the way, but Zhikath arrives with as little fanfare as he can manage given how many are already here. The bronze lands a solid distance away from the commotion, holding off on inquiring about it until his rider has actually dismounted. « What, » he inquires without going so far as to make a nuisance of asking, « is going on? » With his rider left asking much the same question of someone standing near the outskirts. There's squealing and pigs and chaos and even if /K'ndro/ has a 'WTF?' expression on his face for all of it, Xadovith... finishes pulling out that damn boulder. Which really only adds to his rider's WTF-ery. At least until his shovel is thumped down into the mud, there to tremble into stillness as Mik hops to to sling the tow ropes off his lifemate and swing up the straps hand-over-hand. Holder hunting. "Sounds like fun," is his return quip to Z'yi and then, somewhat delayed but hey, they /are/ moving, Xadovith launches to join his blue irritant. Er, brother. One mischievous brown on the loose and Corvinth's head cocks as some pigs go scrambling away from him. The undercurrent underneath curls of fog: Ha ha ha. « Will do, Cadejoth, » is the gleeful reply to the Weyrleader's bronze as he continues stalking piggy and leaps lightly over a fallen table and a crockpot to make it so. C'sel pauses for moment, waits until the brown has cleared the area before moving forward to help one of the staffers who was along to keep things going to set the table upright again. Milani finally scrambles down off her rock and corrals some of the others. "Okay, so long as they don't come rushing this way again, see what you can pick up that's salvageable and go from there." Brisk, business-like. Isforaith launches aloft in a flutter of denim-dark wings and the glint of rusted-iron runes. He takes point, and Z'yi defaults to hand gestures, a rolling fist and then a karate-chop motion towards the east to indicate what direction he thinks he pigs came from. Raith wings off with a burst of devilish speed, leaving his bronzen brother a sarcastic, « Try to keep up, will ya?» as he goes. Shad stops digging to watch the chaos, then glances over at the nearby riders. "Ummm, all animals have a brand on them, so the Holder knows where they came from for tithe purposes." He points at the fleeing pigs. "If you guys want to know where they came from ... " He lets it trail off. Jeibeth banks around to fall into the lazy sort of formation in an effort to drive the pigs away from their land. « Pigs, » she offers to Zhikath even if that probably doesn't really help his understanding of the situation very well. But it at least updates him as far as everyone else is. B'tal turns to look in W'chek's direction and he lifts and arm to wave and catch his attention maybe before turning back and starting forward to put himself to use somewhere. « We found some pigs, » explains Cadejoth to Zhikath. « Or maybe they found us? Either way! » This is fun! His rider seems to find it distinctly less fun; though he watches as his bronze takes off after more of the pigs, and there's a note of affection in his expression, his head is otherwise shaking. He stops, looking thoughtful, at the sound of Shad's suggestion; "Good idea," he says, approvingly, with a bob of the head. "Who wants to try and grab one? Or shall we try and-- leave it to the dragons. /Without/ hurting it, Cadejoth. Please." Isforaith and Xadovith (or, indeed, their riders) might well notice that there's a fence that's at least partially collapsed, not so very far away - it's the boundary fence, marking the end of the land that belongs to High Reaches, and the start of the land belonging to the next holder. /His/ hold is not too many hills over, a tidy set of stone buildings set around a grassy area. Laurienth still isn't permitted to go anywhere and edges over a little to sit and observe goings-on. Not without a snort to make the point that she's not happy. Content that her green isn't about to go tearing off, Ebeny begins to make her way across the field to try and help over there whilst boulders aren't heading towards slings in the same fashion they have been. It's debatable whether or not Corvinth is going to stick to 'not hurting'. His gaze is keen as he joins the formation to herd pigs. C'sel looks up as Shad speaks, nods once for the suggestion as others pick up on it and continues to help with the cleanup effort. There's a lot of trampled food, but most of the drinks, being in barrels and crocks and whatnot seem to be mostly okay barring a few smashed containers. K'ndro nods and lift his hand, confirmation of receipt of Z'yi's signal as well as concurrence. Try to keep up, indeed. Xadovith's arrowing off after Isforaith as soon as the smaller blue surges forward, and man, flying shirtless has really gotta suck. Keeping radio silence, just a snapping spark of light sent after that sarcastic comment. Ass. With broad wing strokes he cuts through the air, finding a position behind his brother at Mik's insistence -- letting the smaller, more maneuverable dragon take point just makes more sense and egos be damned -- and also gains a higher altitude. Silent at least until, « Yours sees, yes? » The fence, presumably. The new arrival is airborne again in short order, as though it might be easier to get a sense from those short explanations from a little altitude. « I did not think that they were ordinarily wild creatures, » Zhikath muses aloud. His rider is making his way in the direction of an offered wave, to draw up next to B'tal. "Does out plot just have the most completely half-assed fences in existence, or what?" That would be grousing, not a serious question. Roll out! Isforaith blunders forth, swooping to fly at a low altitude to Xadovith's high. The fence is, of course, duly noted. « Oh no, man, we totally missed the /giant hole in the fence/. Thank you /so/ much for pointing it out. Don't know what we'd do without you. » His snarkiness is accompanied by a zing of soured ale and the snide embers of a sardonic fire. Z'yi's fist-whump to the nearest neckridge quiets the blue's stream of derision, however, and they're silent as the pair vectors towards the hold, settled within that meadow. « Try to match my speed when we land, eh? » comes Isforaith's less-pitchforky comment, more game-on than snark-on at the moment. Z'yi makes another gesture, when they're over an appropriate spot clear of livestock, indicating his preference to a landing spot. K'del, for the record? Totally not going to acknowledge W'chek at all, even though his path takes him not far from the bronzerider and B'tal. He's Far Too Busy And Important. Plus, you know, not in the good books. "Ebeny," he says, his path taking him not far from her, either. "Can you get Laurienth to fly up a ways and see if she can see anything. Rather know that we're directing the pigs back somewhere... well, safe? If you know what I mean." Meanwhile, one of the dragons /has/ been successful in catching a pig, and word spreads pretty quickly after that. To Isforaith and Xadovith, « K'del says Holder Browden. That's whose place you'll find. » Holder Browden, then, would be the man walking out of the hold as the two dragons approach, his hands on his hips as he stares up at them meaningfully as if to say 'what now?' Jeibeth is there being good. She obviously considers trying to grab up one of the creatures in that moment where she dives toward them but since it only makes them scatter, she wings higher again and circles back to her adopted position. She doesn't try again once one has been caught even if it was sort of fun to watch them run away. "Hush," B'tal hisses at the bronzerider and he even moves a hand to thwap W'chek's arm before he hands over his shovel. "Here." Snapping at piggy heels seems to be the extent of Corvinth's particular misbehavior and it might have something to do with the very long, very intent look C'sel shoots his way as he stacks up what used to be cookies and are now mud-soaked slop. Maybe the pigs might wind up with a meal out of this after all. Smashed items are still smashed items that need removing from the ground for more than one reason, so that's what Ebeny sets to, without considering that they might be sharp and her hands might need protecting. She straightens and looks over towards K'del, hesitance or reluctance obvious in her expression, but all she says is, "Can do." Seconds after those two words, there goes Laurienth up into the sky, thankfully /not/ going after the pigs themselves, but doing as she's told, it appears. Zhikath keeps his distance from the pigs, seemingly not tempted, but watching with avid eyes. W'chek has, suddenly, a shovel, and no idea what to do with it. "I will not hush. I didn't come all the way here to hang around waiting while other people deal with livestock problems. Do they really think they're going to herd anything with dragons in the air?" He may be raising his voice a little bit. Not that anybody would ever ask him, because as everyone knows, W'chek is useless. And knows nothing about livestock. Except possibly that second bit. There's a brief note of apology in K'del's expression, albeit uncertainly shown, given what's in Ebeny's own face, but her agreement seems to soothe this away, to the point where he simply nods. "Thanks," is his honest response. "Let me know if she sees anything?" Sending Cadejoth is clearly entirely out of the question, since the bronze is still far too busy chasing - gleefully - some more of the pigs. And for once, W'chek seems to be correct: there might be some piggy movement, but on the whole? It's not doing that much good. Shad, after his comment, just goes back to working, trying NOT to look over at K'del, even if everything in him wants to go 'see? I told you. Something's up.'. He just concentrates on digging out another boulder. Since she's not really doing a whole lot of good, Jeibeth turns to circle back and around their land. B'tal is busy looking a little irritated at W'chek. He doesn't tell the bronzerider what to do with the shovel because he's saying instead, "Maybe if you could suggest something without sounding like such a... well, you, someone'd listen." « You are such an idiot, » Xadovith remarks off-handedly to Isforaith, as if he's simply remarking on the current state of the weather. If K'ndro's smacking the side of his face, maybe there's early hatching bugs? Not likely. At least after that, the bronze too shuts up, and as they near the hold he drops into a more strict formation with his brother. Safer than words, a pulse of light acknowledges the plan for a matched, imposing landing. K'ndro signals back to Z'yi, accepting of the choice and ready at his friend's signal to land in tandem and hopefully make one impressive show if there's anyone around to gawk. Wings sweep forward, back, then reverse the motion to backwing down in precise formation with Xadovith, the two descending in parade-perfect order. Or so one would hope, eh? Z'yi's hitting the turf before Isforaith is really even settled, moving forwards with a big grin. "Holder Browden?" he calls towards the man, High Reaches lilt infused in his tone. He seems to have no problems taking point, regardless of the fact that K'ndro ranks him -- or perhaps because of it? Yeah, you get to talk to the bluerider, bitch. Laurienth continues on a way ahead, focus on the collapsed fence, and it's this that she hovers over and circles a time or two. Ebeny stops still and stares off in that direction, but it's a further few minutes before she says anything that could be useful. "Laurienth says that if the pigs got through the fence, then shouldn't we direct them back through it and make their owner herd them up himself, since he was careless enough to lose them?" The greenrider blinks and amends, "Erm. So. Through the damaged fence, if they belong to the neighbouring Holder." Holder Browden? Not so much with the impressed, or the gawking; either that, or he's doing a very good job of hiding it. He fastens a dubious gaze upon the pair of them, but given Z'yi is the one who speaks, turns his attention more firmly to him. "Yes. What are you doing on my land?" C'sel tilts a look upward as Laurienth takes off, squinting against the sunlight, then dumps his handful of wrecked cookies into an intact but empty container. His gaze settles on Ebeny picking through shards and reaches over, hand to wrist. "Gloves?" he suggests mildly, brows up. Corvinth is still 'helping' with the herding, dipping low to snap at a squealer who starts really squealing in earnest and could possibly go running off even farther afield. That brings his rider's head up again and C'sel's lips press together, some internal conversation going on between the pair. The headwoman's got the staff who came along pretty well organized by now and busily triaging through what's wrecked and what isn't, gradually restoring order. "All right then, set up whatever can be ... unless we're done for the day," she tells one of the girls and lifts a hand to shade her eyes, looking off towards where the holder is. "I *am* me, I can't exactly act like somebody else," W'chek complains back to B'tal, but he heaves a sigh and offers the shovel back. "Maybe you oughta hold this. And I can go, uh, find somebody in charge--oh, hell, it's not gonna get lost here." He drives the shovel into the ground enough to get it to stand roughly upright, although who knows whether it'll stay that way. "C'mon," to his, uh, friend. "You can translate into not-asshole if it's so important..." He raises a hand to wave it in the direction the Weyrleader went. "K'del?" And he heads in that direction. Despite-- everything, K'del can't help his lips from twitching at what Laurienth says, according to her rider. "And she's probably about right. If, of course, we can manage to get them back through the fence... This," he admits, scratching at his nose. "Is not my strongpoint. What a /me--" The sound of W'chek's voice draws him to cut his words off shirt, lips narrowing, though, despite himself, he turns to fasten an eye-brow lifted stare at the bronzerider. Silently: yes? Parade-perfect, is certainly on the cards, Xadovith too disciplined and -- secretly -- pleased at the knowledge of the image he and his obnoxious brother make. With Isforaith's blocky bruiser's build, and his own sinister sinuousness, in contrast they're daunting. That their riders are all but a matched pair? All the better. Thank goodness dragons aren't easy to read, or the lanky bronze's amusement would cause trouble. K'ndro's dismount is just as reckless as Z'yi's, a beat behind only due to the greater height of Xadovith's back and without questioning the course things are taking, the younger rider falls into place behind the older. Lacking knots (nevermind shirts!), there's no indication that Z'yi /doesn't/ in fact, outrank him. Let Browden assume otherwise, if he chooses. He'll let Z'yi continue in the lead spot, but K'ndro does rumble out a very mild, "Do you perhaps keep porcines, Holder?" "Bullshit," B'tal murmurs under his breath for W'chek not acting like somebody else. But he follows anyway, leaves the shovel where the bronzerider stabs it into the mud and he stays a few paces back while W'chek addresses the Weyrleader. "Gloves," Ebeny echoes, blinking down at her handful of shards, as if only now realizing what a stupid plan picking them up without something put between skin and sharp has been. "Thanks," she says, with a smile for C'sel as she tips shards into half of a broken container and goes reaching into her back pocket for her gloves. The greenrider glances over at K'del again, repeats, "If..." and falls silent when W'chek approaches, going back to retrieving smashed things from the ground. "If?" C'sel prompts, catch up the butt end of an overturned and badly chipped mug, gaze sliding over towards W'chek and B'tal as they near. For all that, W'chek makes a really solid attempt to be civil, quite possibly because he knows he's already in the proverbial doghouse: "Get the dragons down. Land them. All of them, if you can," he offers once he draws up to K'del. "Pigs aren't sheep and I'm well aware of that, but I think if you get the *very large predators* out of the sky, you can get them calmed down enough to... uh, well, get them wherever they need to be that isn't here." There, that came out pretty well. He looks hopefully, not in the direction of the Weyrleader, but B'tal instead--like, hey, that was good, right? K'del looks, for a moment, like he's going to dismiss W'chek's suggestion out of hand. One of the fleeing pigs lets out a squeal of terror, though, as a dragon sweeps past, and it's just at the right moment; he hesitates, and then nods. "Worth a try," he allows, though his voice is clipped. "Cadejoth?" The bronze sounds less enthusiastic. « Everyone: land. /They/ want to do this by foot. » So not fair. "If we could get them near the fence at all, and then if we could stop them from just wandering back again. It's not our fence to repair, after all. Is it? Laurienth keeps thinking that us repairing it involves just sitting a dragon there," Ebeny says quietly, shrugging all those words away at the same time. "She's heading back now, anyhow. So she can't decide to sit there all day." "I do," says Browden, turning his gaze towards K'ndro, this time, his expression impassive. "What of it?" Shad just keeps on digging boulders free, letting the riders argue over how to deal with the pigs. B'tal smiles at W'chek for not getting his point across too badly but the smile fades back into a more usual expression as he watches the Weyrleader. Jeibeth lands on the far side of their land in a place that's as dry as she can manage. The greenrider glances around, eyes Shad but lingers near W'chek for now. Looking towards W'chek an the Weyrleader. "It would seem perhaps things are moving in that direction," the brownrider replies, eyeing the chips in the top of that mug and setting it aside. He sits back on his heels and makes a small face, pulling some squashed fruit out of the muck to drop into that container he's been using. "Perhaps until they set up a new rail ... they /could/ sit there." Beat. "Temporarily." "Because they're on our land, and if you don't retrieve them, we're going to slaughter them wholesale to feed the wild watchwhers in Southern," Z'yi placidly states, that grin just jocular enough to be mistaken as joking-- or perhaps that's the purpose. Maybe he /is/ joking! He stops, a comfortable couple of steps away from Browden, a 'now what do you plan on doing' look on his face. With the smile. He doesn't look back at Mik-- he doesn't have to. As the other dragons finally set down, so does Zhikath, careful not to put himself anywhere between the pigs in question and their way home. "New won't take them too long if they're on the ball. Fence repair's something you gotta be ready to do whenever. No idea why they weren't paying attention in the first place." Yeah, W'chek's already back to grumbling, but he manages to divert himself back to the topic at hand. "Anyway, does sound like it'll work." Browden seems to believe that the animals are on the Weyr's land, there's no doubt about that, but he seems to doubt the rest of it; alternatively, he could just be the kind of person with whom joking does not go down very well. Coldly, as he considers the pair of them, he says, "I have a fence. Where is my fence?" K'del's gaze slides from one rider to the next, listening to the solution they're coming up with between them and finally nodding. "That sounds reasonable. Let's get them moving, then, and hope that Z'yi and K'ndro get the holder sorted out sooner rather than later." Whatever that means. "You and Zhikath can have first shift sitting in front of the rail," he adds, over his shoulder, already trotting off towards the pigs with the obvious intention of getting involved in the herding. This way, pigs, this way! "Really?" Obvious surprise from Ebeny, but then she's looking rather relieved that Laurienth has returned and settled in one corner and /not/ doubled back to fence sit. She hesitates mid-reach for a large fragment embedded in the earth and shoots quite the apologetic look W'chek's way, though says nothing and stows the shard somewhere where it's not going to attack anyone. That seems to be most of them gone, at least the ones that could cause trouble. K'ndro would totally facepalm if he could. Why did he let Z'yi take the lead again? Did the man even pay attention during their diplomacy lessons in how to handle Holders!? None of that shows on his face however, his jaw setting as he somehow manages to keep his expression impassive. He probably has help, actually. « Does he /want/ to cause an incident? » Xadovith's garlic-infused tenor asks sharply of Isforaith. And hard on the heels of that, a shadowy tendril is snaking outward for Cadejoth, cutting out the blue to give a disgusted report on the current ah, proceedings. Poor K'del! K'ndro, meanwhile, is trying to keep his tones mild and polite, if a little distant. "It seems to have suffered some damage, as was noted when we flew over, following the herd's trail." Herd? Is that even the correct term for a pack of rampaging pigs? Oh well! "Your assistance, sir, and that of your folk to secure the animals without harm," and there's only the tiniest amount of stress on those last two words, "would certainly expedite their removal from our land. In attempting to assist our dragons are only like to frighten the beasts unnecessarily." See? He's concerned for the state of the livestock, really. And the relations between Holder and Weyrfolk, more importantly. Will he have any effect at all in soothing Browden? Well, that's probably less hopeful. C'sel's head ducks a slight smile caught in the corners of his mouth. "Shall we go help ... herd, in a moment?" he suggests to Ebeny with raised brows as food land seems to be getting all sorted out and back to rights, elbeit a lot less schnazzy than it was before Pig-A-Palooza. "Last I saw, about three dragonlengths that way," Z'yi replies right after Mik's nice little speech, issuing a thumb over his shoulder in-- that way! "Last I knew, it wasn't the weyr's job to be reporting to a Holder about where his fence was-- or his herds, either," he states, in that you-should-totally know better manner. Dark gaze scan the skies; "You have a candlemark to come retrieve them off the land we're working, Holder, or we'll take your lack of interest in them as your willingness to yield them as an advance tithe, eh?" A smile. Bright. It's brilliant! "Good day, Browden," with a chin-nod. He turns and moves off back towards Isforaith, who's sitting there staring at his rider in a pure wtf-wtf moment. « He's an idiot. You didn't realize this yet? » comes Isforaith's unenthusiastic reply to his clutchbrother. Yeah. He sees his future. Grounded. Grounded forever. Grounded in drills with /Zhikath/. Browden? Not happy. Coldly; "I will be speaking to your Weyrleader, Bluerider, for your disrespect. Good day." K'del? Just as not happy. The Weyrleader gets barely a few steps forward before he stops short, evidently having been appraised of the situation by his lifemate. "/Fuck/," he says, turning on his heel and marching back towards Cadejoth instead, leaving no particular explanation to those he's leaving behind. « /You/ are in SO MUCH trouble, » sing-songs Cadejoth towards Isforaith. « Your rider, anyway. Anyway, you're both supposed to come back, so K'del can come sort the situation out. Again. Did /all/ my kids choose idiots, or just most of them? » Despite this, things do wrap up after this (ignoring the outcome of K'del's conversation with Browden, of course): the pigs get penned back in, Zhikath guarding them, and the boulders? They'll just have to wait until tomorrow. There's a distinct huff of indignation from Jeibeth toward her sire. She certainly didn't choose and idiot. Not in the traditional sense of the word, at least. She and B'tal will continue to help as much as they can and then maybe even help Zhikath. Or, rather, keep W'chek company. Maybe. Ebeny glances over her shoulder towards Laurienth, then turns back to C'sel and nods. "Why not?" she answers, quiet laughter perhaps betraying just how ridiculous she thinks herding is going to look. Despite the chill, she takes her gloves off again and shoves them back into her pocket. "Come on, before they think they've obtained freedom. Not fair to give them false hope," she jokes, starting to head off in the right direction. Gee, thanks bro. K'ndro resolutely does not look at his clutchmate, though it's probably a safe bet he'd just love to sink down into the mud right about now and /never be seen again/. Xadovith doesn't deign to respond to Isforaith's comment, too intent possibly on the possibility that said idiot has just gotten /his/ lifemate in trouble by association. That there's annoyance in the roiling darkness of his mind before he returns to the habitual silence between himself and his brother, cannot be denied however. With just the correct depth to the nod he gives the displeased man, "Good day, Holder." That he's unhappy about leaving things as they stand, also a safe bet. But he turns back towards Xadovith, to swing up the straps and after that nicely match landing? Well, the bronze isn't waiting to make a similar show in reverse, seeking to distance himself from his idiot brother and his idiot rider. Mik's probably a lot more forgiving. Maybe. Resignation colors Isforaith's tone in reply to his sire: « He says that he learned diplomacy from Wyaeth's, » just as unhappy as the rest of them. Z'yi? Unaffected, as of yet. Wait until the aftermath. They break rank from the rest, however, and it appears that Z'yi knows that he's in trouble. But was it worth it? ... Of course, man. Of course. It doesn't take long to pack things back up on the staff side of things and the retreat from the field is orderly enough for the headwoman and company. C'sel pushes upright with another little smile for Ebeny and nods. "That -- would definitely not be fair," he replies gravely and heads off to be vaguely ridiculous at pig-herding while Corvinth settles down nearby to watch his rider take a stab at this, but far enough away that he's not spooking the oinkers. There's probably a lot of teasing mental remarks going on too, if anyone knows Corvinth. And thus do swine get corraled, at least one brownrider muddied, before all is made tidy enough for heading back to the Weyr. And W'chek? W'chek actually doesn't seem to be too put off by his so-called punishment. In fact, there's not a bit of griping about either herding pigs or his stand on guard duty. And if B'tal is there, well. Nothing to start a diplomatic incident with, of course. Today, he's behaving himself. And Zhikath is, if nothing else, very good at sitting there watching pigs looking imposing. |
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