A Day of Play

Writers: Aaron, Avery, Estelle, Heather, Miriah, Yvonne
Date Posted: 13th March 2024

Characters: Gienah, J'ler, R'hil, Orifa, Ki'ben, Kadira
Description: The DFW Weyrlings enjoy a day in the snow.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 28 of Turn 10

J'ler

Ki'ben

Gienah breezed into the weyrling barracks with a light dusting of snow
in her hair and far too much energy for a restday morning after a
gruelling sevenday of weyrling training. It wasn't long after breakfast
and most of the dragonets were curled up on their couches, drowsing
after their morning feed. Those weyrlings who weren't off visiting
family or spending their free time elsewhere were sitting around, some
reading or studying, others chatting quietly.

"Hey, my Da told me there's some sleds in the store room near the
stables!" she announced, hardly able to keep still in her excitement.
Growing up, she'd never even seen snow, much less gone sledding. "Anyone
want to go out and use them?"

While it was cold enough for snow, it was not cold enough for J'ler to
pass up an opportunity like that.

"Yes, easy!" he answered, hopping up from where he had been playing a
game of cards with little thought to finishing the game. He had been
losing, anyway.

"It's not locked, I hope?" he said. "Or do we need to get creative?"

Gienah shook her head. "I don't think so, but if it is we can just ask
the stablemaster for the key. Anyone else?"

“Count me in,” Ki’ben said, pulling a knit cap down on his head and
throwing a scarf around his neck. “If I have to look at one more page of
wing formations I’ll go crosseyed.”

R'hil sighed at the dropped cards, then stood as well. Sledding would be
more fun than sitting around. "I've been eyeing up the slopes near the
practice fields. I think there's a good spot for a jump."

"Sounds fun!" Gienah wondered if it would be scary, then figured if she
was going to fly on a dragon then she could jump in a sled, and besides
if R'hil could do it then she definitely had to as well. She looked
around for her other clutchmates, and caught sight of their blue
weyrling. "Kadira, are you coming?"

Kadira had been sitting on a bed, chatting with a friend. When Gienah
spoke, she looked up with a start. Gienah she liked, and she wondered
if anyone less pleasant was going... but then she spotted her brother.
"If J'ler is going, I have to go, don't I?" she said, grinning.

"Oh, don't make it sound like a chore!" J'ler stuck his tongue out at
his sister. "It'll be loads of fun, come on."

"Go where?" Orifa looked up, her brown eyes clearing from the habitual
daze that she'd acquired since Impressing Lalorth. "Did you say
sledding or something? We didn't do that at Amber Hills."

"They said sledding," Kadira confirmed. "Don't worry, I was fairly new
to it until we came to Dragonsfall. River Bluff had sand, not snow."

Ki’ben cocked an eyebrow. “Amber Hills gets a ton of snow. How have
you not sledded?”

"I wasn't allowed to." Orifa answered matter-of-factly. "My mother
said it wasn't proper of me."

R'hil whistled low. "Then you are _definitely_ going off the jump," he
said, tossing her his knitted cap. He had two from home and both of
them were ugly.

“Let’s all go be real improper, then!” Ki’ben said, leading the charge
out of the barracks.

It didn't take long for the weyrlings to find the two sleds in the
stables and charge up through the snowy paths to the slope in
question. The drills they'd been doing made the journey easier than it
would have been, but they all were a bit out of breath by the time they
reached the first tier of the slope.

R'hil squinted down the hill, trying to pick out the perfect line.
"There's that hump," he pointed at a small hump hidden beneath the
snow on a steep part of the hill. "I bet we can get some air if we go
over that. Anyone want to go with me?"

"Absolutely, I do," J'ler stepped forward immediately, eager to go
first. What was the worst that could happen? It was going to be a blast.
"Let's go!"

Orifa looked down the slope, her mouth opening in a little "o" of both
excitement and nerves. "I think I'll watch you before I try. "

"No, I'm going to race you!" Gienah grabbed the other sled and turned to
her clutchmates. "C'mon, who wants to leave Aglayath's clutch in the
dust? Or snow."

"Ha-- you wish!" R'hil's eyes glittered as he sat on his sled. "J'ler,
you push. I'll steer. And Chioneth might be the Senior gold, but
Aglayath hatched better dragons-- who chose better riders!"

"What do you mean by going over the hump?" asked D'lest, another
holdbred person who had no experience with sledding either.

Kadira swallowed, looking at the steepness of the hill. That looked
really scary to go down. Who thought that would be a good idea? The
other time she'd gone sledding, it was on the small, gentle hills that
were a little farther away from the Weyr. But this was a steeper slope,
and going over the hill sounded dangerous, and... What if someone got
hurt? She'd seen broken limbs before. They were dragonriders now. They
couldn't risk themselves in this...

}:My rider wants to go!:{ Ishath announced to Dath.

**What? No, I don't!**

}:Ishath's rider will go,:{ Esieth said, passing on the message, and
Gienah turned to her clutchmates with a gleeful smile. "Kadira, all
right! Girls against boys - this is high stakes now. You want to steer?"

"Ooo, you're so going to lose!" R'hil said.

"I do not want to steer," Kadira said firmly, "but I'll go with you."

"I've heard those words before." Gienah grinned at R'hil and dragged the
second sled to the top of the slope before taking her seat. She hadn't
steered before, but how hard could it be? "Someone start the race?"

Pleased to be a part of the activity but not actively participating in
the actual, rather intimidating, event, Orifa stepped up, waving a
hand. "I'll do it." She bit her lip, looked at both parties, took a
breath and yelled, "Now!"

Gienah felt the sled start to move beneath her, slow at first, then
faster as Kadira pushed them over the edge of the slope and jumped on -
and suddenly they were rapidly gaining speed until they were all but
flying down the snow-covered hill towards the hump that R'hil had
pointed out. She let out a squeal of sheer delight as the frozen ground
flashed by and the wind whistled in her ears, almost forgetting about
the race until she saw the boys' sled beginning to edge ahead. Frowning,
she steered a touch towards them. Did they have a better line?

R'hil was half-blinded by the snow kicked up by the toboggan, but he
could see enough to notice that Gineah and Kadira were starting to get
left behind. He leaned forward and hoped that he and J'ler were still on
track to hit the jump, and that J'ler wouldn't do something stupid like
put his feet out as brakes.

Oh shards, it was colder and icier than Kadira had expected. And going
faster, she thought as she risked a glimpse to the side to watch things.
The greenrider was shrieking in glee and Kadira was hugging on trying to
decide if this was a thrill or going to get them both killed before
their first flights. The boy's sled was clearly ahead of them and
kicking up more ice into their eyes and she scrunched hers shut and
leaned into Gienah's back, hoping lower drag and their lighter weights
would work in their favor.

The jump loomed--- and then they were airborne. R'hil barely had the time
to whoop before they were airborne-- and then landing with a painful THUMP.

Through narrowed eyes, Gienah made out the blurry shape of the other
sled lifting and then falling as they sped headlong towards the jump.
"Ooohhh...." Then her stomach dropped as they shot out into the empty
air and she let out an ear-piercing "WHEEEEE!" of delight before they
hit the ground in a storm of frozen white thrown up by the boys'
landing. For a brief moment, they had been flying!

"Aaaaaah!" Kadira's yell was finally one of thrill. The feeling of the
jump had changed her mind from 'this is both scary and thrilling' to
'this is just thrilling. She couldn't see how Gienah was steering, so
all she could do was hunch herself down in hopes it made them faster.

At the bottom of the slope, Ki'ben stood to determine the winner of the
race, while also trying to avoid being plowed over by either sled team.
He had both arms lifted and dropped the one on the right as the boys
zoomed past him first, followed shortly after by Gienah and Kadira.

"R'hil and J'ler are the winners!" he announced.

J'ler whooped and hollered and jumped to his feet for a victory dance.
He lifted both hands to R'hil for a high ten.

R'hil smacked J'ler's hands, then threw his arms in the air as he turned
to Kadira and Gineah. "We won! We won! Let's race again!"

Gienah jumped off the sled, shaking snowflakes out of her hair. Even
though they hadn't won, she was still buzzing with the thrill of the
ride. "Best of three?"

"Yeah, it's not over that easy!" Kadira said. This was a good day.
Fun. Uncomplicated with worry.

Last updated on the March 14th 2024

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A Day of Play