Back In Time -- [TIMING]

[saidaltam]

[This is an open thread! That said, understand that, by posting here, you are agreeing that your character applied for the timing venture, impressed with Isiloth, or you have contacted myself or Zi to notify us that you wish to add your character to the timing plot and have obtained permission from one of us! BE PREPARED TO AGE YOUR CHARACTER TWO TURNS ON APRIL 7th. NO EVENTS IN THIS OR ANY OTHER TIMING THREAD WILL AFFECT YOUR CHARACTER ANYWHERE ELSE ON THE SITE UNTIL AFTER THE RETURN THREAD HAS BEEN OPENED!]

Siten had been scared senseless at the notion of jumping back in time a full forty turns, despite understanding its necessity, but understand, she did, and so, she went without complaint. Isiloth was nothing like at full growth, but she was strong and flew well, and her betweening lessons had gone exceptionally. It wasn't even their first attempt at timing, though all the previous ones had been by an hour here or an hour there, for the sake of practice. This, however, was the real deal, and between had lasted so vastly much longer than normal, until it felt as though all the heat had been sucked from her body, that Siten had begun to grow extremely nervous.

The rush of air across her skin and the sudden return of her beloved Isiloth beneath her, however, wiped away her anxiety in a flood of relief. They had made it.

From up here, she could clearly see the site that had been selected for it. The effort that had gone into preparing for this was obvious. Well away from anywhere, buried in the heart of a particularly sharp mountain range, but amidst the white mountain caps was a perfect patch of lush, vital green. With the range surrounding it, it would be nigh inaccessible, save by dragonback, and so far from any hold, from the Weyr, or from anything of real value, no dragonman would be flying here. There would be beasts, of course--the feral felines favoured the mountains and the forests, if she recalled correctly, and all the stone would be rife with tunnelsnakes. No feline or snake, however, was a match for a dragon, and anyhow, they'd known there would be risks when they'd planned this.

Signaling Isiloth, the pair circled downward, toward their new home, such as it was. The others would follow, she knew. Isiloth expected nothing less. There was a clearing near one end of the valley, large enough for even the bulk of a number of dragons, and it was there that Isiloth landed. Once she had settled, she skimmed the area dubiously before lowering her head to allow Siten to dismount.

[stolenhart]

Evonath remained in the air, circling the valley lazily. S'fet had been brought along with the necessary no-how to construct shelters and build suitable weapons and basically to keep the few riders materialistcally provided for. This looks like a good place, the brown said, banking toward the clearing. A large spring-fed pond took up one end of the valley, large enough for a few dragons to bathe at one time. It wouldn't take but a few days to get a corral up for feedstock. He was mentally making a list of things that needed to be done. It had been stressed clearly, before they left, that everyone here was equal unless attacked. In which case the ranking bronzerider was to order everyone forward in time.

Evonath landed with a huff next to Isiloth as S'fet dismounted. The brown had been loaded with bags of clothing and several tents. Each dragon carrying a part of something that could be used to create a short life here. In the event of an emergency. The under forty riders could go to Taskin or Garon to get emergency supplies but that was to be a limited use. "Shelter first", he said thoughtfully. Siten was to be the Weyrwoman in practice here so by his tone she should know it was a question.

Shelter first, then fuel for a fire. They had enough food for a month. Seeds to plant, there was redfruit on the trees, plenty of beasts in threes, food for the humans would not be a problem. The dragons could hunt for a few days but permanent measures would be needed before long. A corral for at least forty animals. The dragons at least wouldn't need shelter, this was so far inland he doubted the hurricanes ever came this far. "It's a good spot".

[kusuri]

D'mon held his breath as he prepared for a time jump of a length never attempted by the pair.He stroked the hide of his beast and Hatath hummed gently back at his rider,reassuring the normally fierce man.D'mon pictured the position of the sun in his head and gave his dragon the memorized coordinates.The coppery creature arched his back and lept toward the sky,blinking out of site to Between.

The cold was almost unbearable and the nothingness suffocating.D'mon almost panicked and lost their way,but steady Hatath was there to ground him and the bonded were hovering near the mountain.Sighting the mighty Isiloth,he banked sharply and cupped the air in his wings.Little by little,the great bronze lowered his great bulk,almost doubled in weight due to supplies strapped aboard.He swung his hindquarters out at the right moment and made an almost perfect touchdown in the marked clearing.

He nodded at Siten and dismounted.He was about to move and take the burden off his mount when he remembered who was really in charge here.He turned toward the Weyrwoman and awaited orders,while taking out a canteen.Once he got the water holder off,he offered it to the gold rider.

"Would you like a drink Weyrwoman?"

[saidaltam]

"Hmm? Oh. Thank you, D'mon, but I'm fine," Siten replied, then furrowed her brow, propped her hands on her hips, and took a long, slow look around. "Shelter for us, and a corral for beasts. Could I get one or two people working on setting up fires, as well? We'll build barracks, for now. We can always upgrade, later, and it's not going to hurt any of us to share our space for a little while. Mmm..." She pursed her lips contemplatively, then turned, counting heads quickly. "Two volunteers for fire building--we'll need at least one pit, and I'd prefer two. Then, I want four men on preparing the corral. Two of you, unloading supplies. The rest of us are building. I trust at least two of us can figure out how to manage a simple barrack."

She'd chosen barracks for more than one reason, of course: aside from their utilitarian function in the immediate, once individual shelters had been prepared (and with two turns of their lives being spent here, she had no doubt that they would be), the barracks would be easily converted for other uses. With thirty six people, however, it only seemed logical to her to divide up the work load. She just hoped that she was managing this... 'leadership' thing alright. Passingly, she wished she could talk to R'lyn about it later, but, of course, that could never happen, now. Well. She'd get by. She always had before.

[stolenhart]

S'fet knew where he should go, "I've built a building or two", he offered, "I suppose we should do two but Siten", he said, looking slightly nervous for what he was about to day, "Don't you think we should get the tents up first before we begin building barracks? we are gonna need wood that's been notched and quartered, barracks won't take an hour but rather a few sevendays. Latrines, fire pits, tents and the corral are prolly more important", he added, then offered, "I'll take a few riders out into the trees to mark suitable trees for the barracks and tomorrow we'll start cutting them down". The problem of the roofs would come later but at least they had the dragons to help and plenty of rope. Lifting trees out of the woods would be made much easier with the dragons as would plowing.

The riders might wonder how a simple Smith's apprentice came to know so much about everything but it was just as simple. S'fet had grown up on a farm, he'd built buildings and corrals before, plowed a field and planted crops. And a man his size rarely got out of those chores even once he had left the farm. A man with his muscles and work ability always came in hand when something needed to be dug, built, plowed or otherwise was a manual labor. His blue flitt Link settled on his shoulder with a disdainful sigh. He was not happy about being so far from a vast populatino he could annoy.

[saidaltam]

"Not to be rude, S'fet, but we have sixteen dragons and twenty-eight people assigned to this task. It might take us all of ten minutes to throw up thirty-six tents. A simple building, which is all I'm describing here, can be raised one to two days using just men. With sixteen dragons to help with the weight loads so that we don't have to slow down because human backs aren't strong enough to keep up, there is no reason that we cannot do it faster. We're talking about four walls and a roof. Amenities, such as a floor, can be added later. It won't take the firebuilders long to get the pits going, and then they can dig out the latrines." She turned, then, and raised her voice just a bit to make it clear that she was addressing everyone. "We all knew when we came back that this was going to be a lot of hard work, and it starts right now. Yes, every last one of us will be exhausted come nightfall tonight, and again tomorrow night, but when the rain comes through, I don't know about you, but I'd rather not be in a tent."

((And if anyone doubts the veracity of her statement, I politely suggest you look it up: the wood cutting will take the longest out of any of it, and with dragon claws to help the axes, even that will be easier. Yes, the adult dragons will be too large to do any of the fine-point work with the trees, but they can still take them down, and the weyrling dragons are small enough to do more.))

[kat]

Kyrsin had gotten her ride behind one of the adult dragons and their rider. It was only her second time on dragonback, but still the fifteen turn old girl found that though she didn't much care for heights, she was rather exhilarated about the whole experience. The trip into the cold of between while timing it, however, was another matter altogether. She wondered how the countless Weyrlings felt about doing it. True, they'd practiced for that and for nothing else, but the biggest of the greens weren't even the size of what she'd been told Ruth had been. Ruth, the small white dragon who'd been under 20 feet in size, was no sixteen foot green. She was sure Nemyath, the green who belonged to the boy K'ian, was about only thirteen or so. The small green just barely managed to carry her rider, but barely. Two bigger dragons flew alongside that pair, and though the flight was more of a 'glide' for them, they came out safely enough on the other end, a tired Nemyath landing immediately but looking proud.

Since she'd been informed she'd be going along as Siten's 'lady in waiting' of sorts, she'd been scared witless. Why did they choose her, of all people? She was a good drudge and a hard worker who never slacked off on her chores. She was quiet and unobtrusive, and liked to be left alone for the most part. Well, not entirely alone. Her flitt was with her. The loyal brown wouldn't have stayed behind for anything. Quite a few had brought theirs, as the small creatures would not be left behind, and nor did those they belonged to want to leave them behind. The brown was a reassurance and a comfort to her--something familiar amongst all the unfamiliarity.

She heard Siten giving out orders, but for once she wasn't sure what to do. when she was given instructions, she followed them well. But she was one of the only, if not the only, people without a dragon here. All the Weyrlings had come along with their young dragonets, though she wasn't sure why, exactly. Didn't just Isiloth need to age? Maybe Siten needed help...or people to order around? She felt bad for thinking that but the way the Junior Weyrwoman was going about issuing orders she struck Kyrsin as kind of...cold. Still, what did she know? That was the other reason she wasn't sure why she was sent. Her and Siten had talked only a few times, in passing. She wasn't sure who'd asked for her to come along on this timing trip, but she couldn't have refused, and wasn't sure she wanted to. It was kind of...exciting.

Taking a deep breath she meandered over to Siten's side--where she'd been instructed to stay for the most part. She'd been given lessons on first aid and healing, which had been pressing and yet she'd picked up on. Basic dragonhealing, too. What did they want of her, exactly? To watch out for Siten. To be there if the young Weyrwoman needed her, or was having a hard time. But could someone like Siten, so commanding and collected, ever be in need of her? She tended to undermine herself, an she knew it...didn't stop it from happening, though. Once by Siten, she cleared her throat, trying not to be nervous, and offered, "do you need some assistance...er..." here she paused. What was Siten? Weyrwoman didn't seem to fit, she was only a six month old Weyrling! She was a Junior Weyrwoman, but no one called her that. They called her by her first name. But they were on level with her, she was not a Weyrling. She was just a Candidate still. She flushed a pale crimson, very notable on her too-pale skin. "S-Siten?" she tried, her mouth feeling a bit dry. Was that too familiar? She didn't know what type of person Siten was, only that she was very capable and could take charge quickly if need be.

~~~~~~

K'ian was nervous about going back in time with Nemyath. She was the smallest dragon to be going back, by at least two feet. He had fretted, despite reassurances that she would be fine, that there would be bigger dragons alongside her, despite the consistent practicing. When they went into between he doubted he even drew a single breath, just hoped they'd come out safely. They'd never been between so long, never gone back so far. They had one place in mind, one point they'd practiced on. They would be fine. He had to believe they would be fine.

When they blinked out of between he inhaled sharply, looking down at the place they'd pictured in their minds for three months straight. They'd learned to fly earlier than was natural for any dragons. Learned to between far earlier, learned to go between, back into time. It was risky, and everyone knew the risk. Still, they seemed to have all made it safely. There'd been a couple of 'accidents' during practice. They were young, it was risky...they'd lost a couple of Weyrlings. He'd always feared he'd be one of them. But Nemyath's indomitable spirit shone through and carried them through with her behind him, and he behind her, every step of the way. They'd made it, and they wouldn't have to go ahead in time for a turn and a half.

*See K'ianmine, I did it! I DID IT!* bugled the small green proudly. K'ian could sense her exhaustion, sense her pride. He was proud of her, the smallest dragon here, who'd manged to overcome all to get here. "You did, Nemyath. You did well," he assured her, as they glided down to what would be their new home for the next turn and a half. He heard Siten giving out orders, and checked his green over before going over to S'fet. Building a shelter? One that could hold thirty-six people? He figured with the dragon's help it could be done in a day's time, easily. However, Nemyath was small and she had taken a lot just to get here. He'd be put to better use building fire pits with her to help collect dry wood. Even digging latrines would be easier on his green. So, "I could assist with the fire pits and latrines, Siten, if that's all right?" He glanced over at Nemy, who padded over, looking proud but her wings drooping more than the other dragons who were there. Then he looked back at Siten, hoping she would accept that and see why he'd opted for that. Anything helped, and even in battle Nemy would be used for delivering firestone and spying and the like...not fighting other dragons. She was gifted, he believed, in her small stature. He didn't like fighting, even if she might believe she'd be good at it. The thought of having her killed in battle made him sick.

[stolenhart]

So the plans had been outlined before they saw the site. Seeing it now, S'fet figured the plans probably wouldn't be changed that much. Never let it be said he wasn't smart enough to choose his battles. He gave Siten a politely formal bow, he'd get her back next sevenday when they practiced, and turned to unload his dragon. If someone wanted him to do something, they could just find Evonath and let him know where he was needed. He felt like he'd rather dig latrines that do anything else but with his msucles he might find himself hauling logs. Evonath looked around patiently while his rider approached.

I'm hungry, the brown nudged his rider as S'fet began reaching for buckles. "Again? You just ate yesterday", he teased Evonath who gave his rider the puppy dog eyes. That was a whole day ago, the brown answered as cavas tent bags hit the grassy ground. "You'll have to wait until later. If I dig latrines we might be able to sneak away for a bit", he told the dragon, who gave him a solemn look. "Think about eating trees or something", he said, as he finally got the harness undone. He began rolling up the harness, letting the dragon go. What good is a tree? The dragon grumped wandering over to the other dragons who hadn't been shanghaied into work yet.

[Femisis]

Bringing up the rear was H'dan and Marth, the latter of whom was complaining over the heavy load he was being forced to carry. Mine, hurry! This stuff is heavy![/i] He whined, shifting the burden a bit on his back as he waited for His to appear. They were one of the last pairs to go, so H'dan was checking to make sure everything they needed had either gone behind or was coming with or after them. Relax, dragon. We'll be going soon enough and then you'll miss your comfy Weyr. He told the Bronze wryly, recieving only a glum response in reply. They'd be fine, he knew, even if a but uncomfortable for a while, two Turns to be exact. This was only a small trial in the grand play of life. The only thing he was really worried about was whether or not Marth would be able to make the jump. Sure, he trusted his beast with his life, but he'd never jumped between before. Would they come out alive or be lost forever?

You don't give me enough credit.[/i] Marth said sourly as he extended a foreleg to allow His to climb into the saddle. I know When to go.[/i] That he did, especially with the coordinates he'd gleaned from those already there. This would be easy. "Well, what are we waiting for?" H'dan asked just as Marth hauled himself to his feet, putting a bit of weight on his left foreleg due to the extra poundage on his back. With a grunt, he pushed off from the ground, wings straining to get the altitude he needed before blinking between to a time before he was even born, or even before His came to be.

They came out of between none too soon. H'dan was a bit unnerved by the extra time it had taken for them to reach their destination, but Marth's unfaltering confidence had kept him from panicking. Now as the Bronze make his lazy circles to the ground, landing in a clear spot, H'dan slid from the beast's back and began to unburden the Bronze as quickly as he could. There were already signs of work being done which he clearly intended to aid with as soon as he got all of the supplies off Marth's back. I TOLD you I knew where I was going. He said smugly as he felt the straps slide from his shoulders.

"I know, I know." H'dan replied with a roll of his eyes. "Stick around for a bit until I know what I'm needed for." He added when he spied the dragon getting ready to take off on his own. Now, to see Siten... "I've unpacked all out supplies and everything is here. Where do you need me, Weyrwoman?" He asked as he approached her, his stance relaxed though he still spoke with respect.

[saidaltam]

"That would be fine, K'ian. Thank you." Siten pursed her lips, considering. This was not a small task they were undertaking, and she'd need people she could trust to get the job done in charge of these tasks. She didn't know K'ian well, however, and she wasn't certain he could, so she turned toward S'fet. If there was anyone here she trusted rather explicitely, he was it, despite his clear annoyance with her. "S'fet? Would you mind helping K'ian with that?" She took the time to go out of her way to make it sound like a request, as well. There was no point in agitating him further. If this wasn't hard enough already, alienating what was really the closest thing she had to a friend here was not going to help matters.

:Other than me, you mean,:[/color] Isiloth pointed out, and though her voice was still as chilly as ever, there was an undercurrent of warmth to the words that loosened the knot in Siten's stomach a bit. Somewhat relieved, she turned to H'dan. "H'dan, could I get you to pick out thirteen people and start on one of the barracks?" she prompted, before tilting her head toward D'mon. "And if I could get you to start on the other?"

Turning to Kyrsin, she propped her hands on her hips. "And you, I, and two others will be on the corral. That's the only real assistance I need, right now. Think you're up to it?" she asked the girl. Mindful of the timidity that Kyrsin had shown in the past, she made a point of keeping her tone a bit on the gentle side, but she'd have to talk to the girl, later. She was of no use to anyone, skittering about like a startled canine pup.

[kusuri]

D'mon was a tad dissapointed,but it didn't show.As he was given orders, he passed around his flask to anyone who wanted a quick sip before starting work.He waited for a suitable interjection before speaking.

"Weyrwoman Siten.If we can spare a person or two, may I suggest a lookout? Felines in these parts might not have fear of dragons and our livestock could be at risk."

He bowed before leaving, pointing to a group of men and women,commanding voice stirring them to action.His bronze relayed the message to the dragons in their temporary wing,and soon trees were being felled.Axes and dragon strength were used efficiently: A man hacked at a tree until it was deemed pushable by the dragon and then, TIMBER! Some people needed assistance, and D'mon patrolled while good Hatath relayed progress.Soon there was enough wood and people more apt at carpentry and building set to measuring.Nearby,The great bronze and a few other dragons were helping dig and smooth a foundation.
The dragon man knew that Lady Siten would not appreciate a man who just oversaw his workers,so he rolled up his sleeves and toiled alongside his group.

[saidaltam]

"That is an excellent idea, D'mon. We'll rotate it, so that if anyone gets too worn out, they can take a shift at keeping watch." She flashed him a smile, then turned, considered the attendants, and selected two of the smallest to send to watch before pushing up her own sleeves and setting about the work she'd assigned herself, beckoning her chosen assistants to follow. She'd never actually built a corral, before, but it seemed simple enough--just a fence, and she'd repaired a few fences, before.

Grabbing an axe, she set to work cutting the corral posts, with a little help from Isiloth in pulling up a tree of the proper size. Forty beasts would need a rather large corral, but with four of them and such a simple project, she had no doubt that they'd manage. The very first thing she did was to cut a base post, and once that was done, she was quick to set about chopping another three to match it, then line the three of them up. "Match your posts to this. One every five feet should do it, and for forty beasts..." She paused, considering. "Oh... let's see if we can't come up with a good forty posts. If it's not enough, we'll cut more. If it's too much, I'm certain the firewood will be useful." Using the post she'd saved for herself, she set about chopping more, finding herself very, very grateful for her Weyrling swordwork lessons.

[kat]

K'ian was very empathic and he could see that Siten looked to S'fet as almost a 'right hand man'. Since S'fet had worked with her during Weyrling lessons, he wasn't surprised. Only he had thought she'd assign him a more important task than assisting him in making fire pits...didn't she think he could do that? He wasn't sure what her motives were, but making a fire pit or two wasn't exactly a high profile job. Maybe she didn't have anything else she needed S'fet for at the moment? No matter, he wasn't the sort to worry about things like that over much. Another pair of strong hands would make the work go faster. He looked to S'fet to await his response to Siten's orders--he had no illusions about who was or was not in charge. Siten was obviously allowed to give the orders around here as the only goldrider present...even if she was a Weyrling.

Nemyath, meanwhile, was thankfully too young to realize that she found the male dragons interesting. She was already flirting and she hadn't even noted it. Evonath, after all, was a 'fine dragon', she thought! The young peridot green dragon pranced over to him, head high--until she nearly tripped over a stray fallen log! She stumbled and looked around to convince herself no one had seen. K'ian knew what had happened, but he only smirked and tried not to chuckle. She wouldn't thank him to laugh at that, funny though it was. She resumed her 'prancing gait' on over to Evonath however, sidling up beside him and greeting him with a draconian grin.

Hello there, Evonath! Guess what? A brief pause, as she looked at him with wide eyes, as if begging him to guess. Only she never gave him enough time to do so, before finishing gallantly, yours gets to work with mine! Isn't that wonderful? It means you and I, and here she headbutted his shoulder lightly, get to work together too! Isn't that great? She all but beamed at him, while K'ian rolled his eyes lightly and sighed not so lightly. She was a real piece of work, Nemy was. She acted as though she were Faranth's gift to the world, and yet the way she did it she didn't come off as conceited or anything--just like she'd drunk far too much Klah. He bit his tongue and raised an eyebrow in her direction, before his attention went back to S'fet.

~~~~~~

Kyrsin had expected to be doing something nearby Siten, so she nodded her head when the other girl asked if she might help with the corral. It was nothing new to her. She wasn't frail or anything, by any means. She'd been a drudge and part of that work had been doing repairs and building things like fences out of logs. Nothing fancier, like tables or chairs, though. That was Woodsmith's work, not a drudge's. So she was rather relieved that this was something familiar, something she wouldn't mess up or be unable to be useful with.

She took up an axe and got to work. If there was one thing she knew how to do, it was follow instructions, and the instructions here were clear. Make posts, set posts at the correct distance. That wasn't hard at all, at least not in terms of what she was told to do. The actual work was good old hard labor, though. She paused several times to wipe her brow with the back of her hand. Wood cutting was usually boy's work, but she'd still had a hand in doing it a few times--just not enough that it wasn't difficult still. Cask knew better than to sit on her shoulders or head while she was doing work like this, but the firelizard still watched her from the branches of a sapling.

Once she got into the work, she tended to block out all else around her. She made a good drudge, and a good worker. It was all she'd ever known and when she'd stood and not impressed, she fully expected that she might never be any more than a drudge the rest of her life. Still, something in her wouldn't let her just go back to the hold and not try again. She still had a chance, after all. She'd been searched, and that was something. Something was better than nothing. She set in another post, digging its hole and then placing it in, packing the dirt down hard. She had a smudge of dirt on her cheek and her hands were definitely dusty and in need of a good wash when they were through. She walked back to the pile and began to work at making yet another post.

She glanced over curiously at Siten, and wondered what sort of person she was. What sort of person did it take to take charge, and what set a leader apart from a follower? Everyone listened to whomever got gold, just because they got one. Did it matter what they were like, or did everyone instantly just obey them because they impressed that color? It seemed silly to her, in a way, but she would never voice it. To just follow a person based on them getting a certain color of dragon...no matter who they were, what they were like. Some people said gold's knew. Yet she'd heard of them choosing all sorts. All of those had had leadership qualities though, or inbred qualities that were expanded after impression. Did she have qualities that a dragon would like, hiding deep inside? She wasn't sure, but she preferred to think she did.

She continued quietly observing Siten while she worked. The other girl wasn't slacking off. She wasn't ordering people about and doing nothing herself. Kyrsin could respect that, especially growing up a drudge. She'd seen people who did nothing but order others to do the tasks they would not. But here was someone who was a leader and yet worked just as hard as the ones she led. Was that what made a good leader? She thought so, at least...