Ouch! Watch Out for that Sack!

Writers: Ames, Len, Suzee
Date Posted: 15th March 2011

Characters: K'ale, Cardella, G'wen
Description: Weyrlings practice tossing firestone sacks while mounted.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 1, day 16 of Turn 6

K'ale

Cardella

Cardella was already mounted on Awenth, the sacks of firestone hanging
just as she'd been instructed.

**Okay, Awenth,** she spoke to her green, **Let's show them that size
doesn't matter when it comes to doing our duties!** Awenth snorted
with agreement to that statement.

Cardella looked over to K'ale and G'wen with whom they were
practicing. "Come on boys, Awenth and I are ready to go!"

K'ale hefted one of the stone sacks as the dragons ran in a circle
around the training area in the Weyrbowl. For now they were still
grounded but the muscles needed to do this in the air had to be
developed. The assistant watching them yelled "Stop fiddling with it
and toss it!"

K'ale snorted and sent the thing flying toward Cardella. "Heads up
Cardella" he shouted.

Sitting tall on Neath, G'wen cringed and averted his eyes. Seeing the
speed that the sack had left K'ale's hand, he couldn't watch. Even

Neath turned her head away as the sack flew through the air to
Cardella.

Her eyes opened wide as saucers as the firestone sack came hurtling
toward her while Awenth was moving. **You can do this, you can do
this,** She kept repeating until Awenth tried to reassure her.

Suddenly the bag was there, coming right at them. Cardella caught it!
Though she felt the full weight of the bag as it landed on her,
knocking the wind right out of her. Awenth stopped running and turned
to peer at her rider. }:Mine okay?:{ She asked concerned.

**Yes, yes. I'll be fine. Keep running before the assistant yells at
us.** Awenth did as she was told. Riding the smallest of the three
dragons, she had no idea _how_ she was going to manage to toss the
sack far enough for either boy to catch it. **Get as close to Neath as
you can. I don't think I can throw it far enough.**

Awenth did the best she could before Cardella shouted, "G'wen, catch!"
She tried her best to heave the heavy sack, watching with dismay when
it seemed to be coming up short.

Neath stopped as the heavy sack landed a few feet shy of G'wen's hand.
:}What now?:{ she asked the boy.

**I don't know...** He looked to the assistant.

"Next!" yelled K'ale and unshipped another sack from the straps on
Imalkyth's neck. They'd pull that one back up later when they paused
to let the next threesome practice. **Tell Neath to get back in
formation** he said as they continued to gallop around the weyrling
track. }:Come on Neath, let's keep running. Mine will try another.:{

This time K'ale sent the sack flying again toward Cardella who
was still along side. K'ale was realizing that yelling was making him
hoarse and it was easier to have the dragons do the talking. **Have
Awenth's send it back to me this time.** That was a much easier way
to talk!

Neath balked at the command. }:He's not the leader today!:{

**Come on Neath, you and I are suppost to be leaders on the next
sevenday. Don't get shirty now** True, it was suppost to be N'den,
but he looked to be having more problems with the sack toss than they
all were. And their group of nine had been split into three groups of
three, so who knew who was suppsot to be leader of their group of
three. G'wen glanced once more at the assistant, who gave him the
signal to get back with Cardella and K'ale..

Cardella caught the sack once again and moved into place to toss it to
G'wen. This time she used all of her strength and watched as the sack
flew through the air towards G'wen.

He was so busy arguing with his green he never saw it coming. Until
it hit, that is. **Neath! Why are you looking down on me?**

}:Because you fell off of me.:{

"No! No! No!" one of the assistansts yelled. "Get up and try again!"
The young blue rider looked like he was going to tear his own hair
out.

Feeling more than a bit foolish, G'wen staggered up and scrambled back
onto Neath. He was gong to be sore later, he thought. That was a
long fall for such a little man. **Okay Neath, please be nice and
listen to K'ale's. We've got to be low man on the list know..even
Cardella managed to knock me off you** He wondered with a bit of
dismay what it was going to be like to try and catch one of K'ale's.
Maybe he would just keep throwing them at Cardella.

Swinging his own sack off its latch on the riding straps, he swung it
and yelled, "to you, K'ale!"

"Make sure you buckle in this time," the assistant called to the green
rider. "Fall off in flight and you likely don't survive."

K'ale's eyes widened as the sack came flying at him. His arms were
beginning to ache from the effort of the catch and toss. He caught it
a little awkwardly but got it quickly hooked to his straps. Then
picking another tossed it in a high arc that should just drop into
G'wen's waiting arms. "Back to you G'wen," he yelled.

And it did. G'wen felt a huge wave of relief and hooked it to his
straps. With another he swung it in his arm and called out, "Car, to
you!" The smaller green was just close by and, like K'ale had, he had
arched it high so it should drop right into the girl's arms.

It landed smack dab on her lap and perfectly in her arms. She beamed a
smile over to G'wen before taking the sack and turning to throw it to
K'ale. Gosh, his dragon was _so_ much taller. How was she ever going
to get the sack up to him? She tried to toss it high. It _did_ go
high, but then it came back only a short distance from her. Her cheeks
infusing with color at her inability to toss the sacks, she leaned
over to pull another from Awenth's side. She gave it her best toss,
but it still didn't look like it would get high enough for K'ale to be
able to catch it. She wished that the ground would just open up and
swallow her. **How are you going to survive this if you can't even
toss the _lightest_ firestone sack?** She thought with dismay.

The assistant called them off the course for the next three to take a
run at it. "The last couple of tosses were the best I've seen yet,
from all of you." He looked at G'wen, "Make sure you're always
strapped in, no more falling off Neath." Then he looked at Cardella.
"Remember when you start doing this in the air you will not have to
compensate for how much bigger a bronze or brown is than Awenth. You
can even rise slightly higher and toss down hill so to speak." He
turned to K'ale. "You need to make sure you don't over power your
target in your enthusiasm."

"Alright, go take a break and then we'll want you out here for another
run in a candlemark." The assistant waved them off.

"Ugh," G'wen muttered as he all but fell off of Neath for a second
time. "I never thought I'd get a sore arse and still have my trousers
on." He watched as the next group took over and the blue weyrling
assistant looked as if he was going to pass out in fury at the new
group.

Cardella was glad the ordeal was over for the time being. As she slid
off Awenth's back, she felt the stiffness in her shoulders and arms
already. Moving over to stand by her friends after they'd gotten their
final remarks from the assistant, she sighed. "I don't think I'm going
to be able to do this. I mean Awenth can fly, but what if I can't toss
those blasted sacks where they are supposed to go." She was frowning
as she tried to work out the kinks she felt in her neck and shoulders.

The smaller boy nodded in miserble agreement with her. "I think you
and I need to do a bit more muscle training."

"Not just you!" said K'ale with a laugh rubbing his sore muscles. "Do
we need to stand in a circle again?"

"Only if there's warm water involved," G'wen muttered, thinking of the bathing pools. A long soak and maybe a whinge at F'neb would be nice soon.

Last updated on the March 21st 2011

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Ouch! Watch Out for that Sack!