Herdbeast Buffet

Writers: Duskdog, Francesca, Shawna, Sia
Date Posted: 9th December 2025

Characters: J'nic, W'yel, D'narion, Viseya, Riali
Description: The dragonets practice their hunting skills.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 10, day 23 of Turn 12

J'nic

While two thirds of the weyrlings were in a dragon nutrition class,
J’nic and Viseya took the rest to the feeding pens. The rain the day
before had given way to a beautiful sunny day. The young riders walked
across the Weyrbowl while their dragonets, having been cleared to fly
the previous sevenday, took to the air with more or less confidence.
The adult dragons kept an eye on them to make sure they kept their
distance from one another.

As the dragons arrived and got settled, J’nic turned to the weyrlings.
“This is the sevenday your dragonets will learn how to catch their own
food. You’ll no longer need to cut their food,” he said, smiling at
the sounds of relief. It was an exciting milestone, and one that
usually didn’t lead to major injuries. However, to minimize confusion,
other dragons had been asked to clear the area.

“Raileth will go first, so make sure both you and your dragon pay
attention to what she does. While all your dragons are currently
smaller than her, the technique is the same.”

Raileth launched herself into the sky and circled above the herd,
choosing her prey. She then dove in for the kill, grabbing a herdbeast
with both her talons. She landed near where the weyrlings were
standing and took a bite of the herdbeast’s neck, killing it quickly.

“In a moment, each dragon will have a chance to try hunting,” J’nic
said, turning back to the weyrlings as Raileth ate. “Don’t worry if
things don’t go very smoothly the first time. You’ll have plenty of
chances to try again this sevenday, and they’ll figure things out
pretty quickly. Today, please stick with herdbeasts. The technique for
wherries is a bit different. Before we get started, what questions do
you or your dragons have?”

After answering a few questions, J’nic continued. “Each dragon will
have a chance to try to get a herdbeast. They’ll each go one at a
time. Weyrlings, encourage them to select a herdbeast before diving,
and to move to the edge of the pen once they have one, to leave room
for others. Who wants to go first?”

W’yel _wanted_ to volunteer. He wanted to jump right in, and he could
feel Nymorith’s desire to do the same.

But what if they weren’t supposed to? What if someone else wanted to
go first? What if they were supposed to wait, because the bigger
dragons -- or older riders -- should have first dibs if they wanted
it?

}:We’ll go!:{ Nymorith declared, taking the decision out of W’yel’s hands.

W’yel blushed, but stepped forward anyway, giving his dragon a pat on
the side of the neck. “I guess it’s us,” he said sheepishly. “Do your
best, buddy, I know you can!”

}:It’s fine -- if I miss, I’ll just try again!:{ the blue said,
stepping away to give himself space to take to the air.

He could have taken more time to choose, but he was eager to try, and
he could feel W’yel just getting more nervous the more he watched. So
he circled only once, eyes on the herd, before picking out a beast
that looked to be the right size for him and diving before his rider
could really say anything about his choice.

Except, as he dove in and got closer, he realized the herdbeast was
bigger than he had expected. He aimed true, his talons sank into the
flesh, but it barely lifted off the ground at first; he had to flap
hard and strain to get it aloft enough to wrangle it over to the edge
of the pin as Raileth had done.

}:Look! I did it! I told you, W’yel, that it would be okay!:{

The herdbeast squealed and struggled, reminding him -- belatedly --
that he needed to kill it, too. He took a bite of the neck, partially
out of instinct and partially because he had just been shown, and the
beast’s struggles ceased.

“Oh,” W’yel breathed, part-impressed and part-guilty. He understood
the necessity of it, of course, but he disliked actually _watching_
the animals die. “I’ll have to get over that, I guess,” he mumbled.

“It does take some getting used to,” J’nic said. “Thanks for getting
us started.”

Dymith watched each of her clutchmates go with the intent to learn
from them, but was easily distracted watching the herdbeasts run from
one end of the pen to another. She shifted her feet and twitched her
tail in excitement, earning at least one annoyed look, but didn’t
notice. Riali tried to keep Dymith calm but wasn’t very successful,
and was relieved when the green let her know she wanted to go next.

As the smallest in the group, Dymith got into the air more gracefully
than others and circled around the herd, attempting to copy Raileth’s
earlier maneuvers. In her excitement, she forgot to select a herdbeast
before diving. That, combined with the herd moving in a direction she
didn’t expect, led to her landing without even touching a herdbeast.
}:Oops.:{

}:Go ahead. Try again:{ Raileth said encouragingly. }:This time, try
to anticipate the herdbeast’s movements.:{

}:Ok!:{ Dymith got back into the air. This time, she managed to grab a
herdbeast, although she ended up stopping it more by practically
sitting on it than through her talons. She quickly bit its neck.
}:It’s so warm and nice!:{

The phantom sensation of swallowing the meat sent a wave of nausea
through Riali and she gagged, covering her mouth.

J’nic looked at her, concerned, but she seemed to recover quickly.
After a prompting from Raileth, Dymith dragged the herdbeast to the
side, making room for the next dragonet.

Poor Rusaeth was one of the last to make it up into the air as the
dragonets learned to fly, his bulk and disappearing baby fat too much
for the comparable size of his wings. But he was aloft now, even if it
took climbing up onto the lake's cliffside and taking a running leap.
It was something they were working on, this taking off from the
ground, and it'd take much longer for the brown to build enough muscle
to make it possible.

Now he was aloft, though, he was just circling above the herd,
uncertain about which one he wanted. If he dove down he would have too
hard a time to get back up again, and he'd need to try and chase the
herdbeast on the ground. He could do it, he thought, even though
D'narion was already laughing at the thought of him hop-chasing after
the beast.

**Not the time to slow down, buddy.** His rider chided. **You'll make
the herd bolt.**

}: That'll happen anyway. They do not want to be hunted.:{ Rusaeth
answered, though he made his choice and dove down-

Only for most of his talons to dig trenches into the ground. A claw
caught on the selected herdbeast and it bellowed in panic. }: Oh, no.
No no no no.:{ The brown took off after it on foot. The herdbeast
fell after several panicked and horrifying minutes. The foolish
hop-hop of dragons did not make the carnage as funny as anyone hoped.

}:No, you're going to-:{ Cholsinth trailed off, realizing it was too
late as the herdbeasts panicked from the brown hopping after them. The
green tensed herself, waiting to see if she needed to intervene, but
the brown eventually managed to down his prey.

The greenrider moved closer to D’narion, commenting, “Well. He got the
job done. You can't fault his determination.” His execution? Well.
They could work on that.

The humour and color drained from D'narion's face.

“All right everyone,” J’nic said after the last dragonet was happily
eating. “You all did a good job. Starting next sevenday, you’ll come
here in the morning so your dragonet can eat before your morning
classes. Go on now. I’ll see you after lunch, when we’ll continue
yesterday’s class on weather charting.” He ignored the handful of
groans that met this news.

**How do you think they did?** he asked Raileth while walking to his office.

}:They did _not_ all do a good job:{ was the green’s immediate reply.
}:However,:{ she added, }:they will get better.:{

Last updated on the December 21st 2025

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Herdbeast Buffet