Lesson One: Tips and Tricks (Alpha Winglets!)

[zeis]

K'huna opened his yellow eyes for the first time that morning after the hatching, and stared for a moment up at the rocky ceiling of his eyling, rapidly collecting himself for the day ahead. He had not had a dream, perhaps because he was not a particularly imaginative man, or maybe because whatever nerves he had were jangled by the prospect of today. He preferred the former. The Wingletmaster rose fluidly from his bed, and ran a smoothing hand through his wavy hair, turning to glance at the entrance to Canph's sleeping chamber. He was not particularly surprised to find the red already awake and alert, as Canph had a bad habit of sleeping little, waking early, and disturbing his rider's rest. Glad for none of those interruptions his morning, he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and sent a grateful tendril of thought toward his bonded. You ready for this?

Are you? The sarcastic, and mildly smug reply made him snort, and got his feet moving to begin the morning ritual. He got ready for the day quickly, making himself presentable, and respectable after last night's festivities. The man had not only abstained from drink last night, but left the feast early to prepare himself for today. How's the weather? He was clear headed, and dressed crisply, if not finely, but for the work that lay ahead of him today. Warm, and there is a nice breeze. Good. His hands quickly drew his hair up into it's usual severe bun, before setting about donning and buckling his harness. Go wake them up. He felt an almost sadistic sense of glee radiating from the red, and he paused in his preparations to look sternly in the direction of the simourv's ledge. And don't be an ass about it. Tell them to meet up by the feeding pens.

Canph sent him a slightly disappointed and falsely sincere response as he leapt from his eyling at the very command. He had been up for some time now, perched at the edge of his ledge, and staring with hungry eyes down at the canyon below. Today was the first day of their class, though he was already beginning to think of it more as his class than K'huna's. He loved his rider more than anything, more, he supposed with some reluctance, than he loved himself. But the Wingletmaster was always so determined to do 'a good job', and could be so painfully boring. It was up to him to make the class bearable for the children, and he had planned and schemed for weeks on how he might make it more entertaining. He soared quietly over the Winglet Barrack, fixing it with sharp brown eyes. He called out in a friendly tone that didn't quite match the volatile red beast issuing it. Good morning, Alpha Winglets. Today is the first day of the rest of your lives... and you have a lesson!

How cruel is that? The red landed with an earthshaking thud outside the barracks, intending to wait and greet each person as they filtered out. He furled his wings close to his body, and maintained a steady contact with the minds of riders and simourv alike, urging them wordlessly from their beds. But the sooner everyone is ready, the sooner it will be over with. Wear something you don't care about getting dirty, and please head toward the feeding pens. Chicks, breakfast awaits you. He added as a last amused incentive, remembering his first days of life and his own ravenous hunger. He would have scaled the cliff-face of the eyrie if someone told him food awaited him at the top.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

K'huna glanced up patiently as each of the Winglets filtered in, human and simourv alike and followed by the massive Canph. The arena he had chosen for today was a large dusty field near the feeding pens, trampled bare of grass by the hooves of warhorses that were usually exercised here. The area had been cleaned and cleared for their use earlier this morning, and several large cattle, sheep, and goats had been freshly slaughtered. These animals were in various states of butchery, and being attended to by the Wingletmaster and several stable hands. They worked meticulously, finely chopping and pulverizing meat into small bits and cubes on well scarred butcher blocks. Off to the side of this grisly scene sat buckets of what appeared to be lumpy whitish porridge. Crouched by one of the disassembled creatures, hands bloody and clothes slightly spattered, the red-rider nodded acknowledgment to the group of students. He laid his knife down on the ground, and murmured for them to keep working, then rose, pulling a towel from his belt and absently wiping off his hands.

"Alpha class, your first lesson is the feeding and care of your simourv." He looked them over as he spoke, trying to make eye contact with each one of them at least once. It was a difficult task, there being twenty-five of them. "Riders, chicks, listen up, because what I'm teaching you today will become important routine for the rest of your lives." The man glanced briefly away from them as his red stalked around him to sit supportively behind him, looming over all and radiated a polite sort of attentiveness mixed with amusement. "You all have been around here long enough, I'm sure you've seen some of the adult simourv hunt, or at least eat. Canph?" In response to this cue, the red simourv set about tearing into one of the laid out cows with obvious enjoyment, making a bit more of a spectacle out of it than it really needed to be. He raised an eyebrow briefly at Canph before turning back to his class. "Your chicks are too young to bring down game, and they can't handle food in the same way Canph here can, at least not yet."

"Right now, their beaks aren't strong enough to tear through meat. And too large a piece of meat or a piece of bone could choke them." He jerked his head in the direction of the stable-hands beside him, who were still hard at work cutting the meat. "So their food will have to be specially prepared. I'm sure you all remember Ts'kal's lesson about gutting and skinning?" His voice was expectant, and a slight smirk crossed his face as he eyed them critically for signs of guilt or confusion. He was more than ready to crack down on them and drill any ignored lessons into their heads until it took. The man saw some people squirming, but continued after a small silence. "The same thing applies here. Gut, and skin the animal first, then-" He dropped down into a crouch, snatched of his knife, and started carefully carving meat away from the bone. "Cut the meat away from the bone. We don't want any bones getting past us, so double check your cuts to make sure you didn't miss anything. Don't be careless."

Once he'd freed a good slab of meat from the cow's side, he plopped it down on the butchers block beside him, and glanced briefly up at his class to make sure they were paying attention. Satisfied, he started dicing and mashing, a practice he slowed down considerably for the Winglet's to observe. "Remember how the meat your chicks ate looked yesterday? I bet you do, it's a hard sight to ignore." He paused with his knife to look pointedly at Canph, who perked his head and fixed him with such a look of faked innocence that K'huna couldn't help but chuckle. "Thats about the right size. Chop it up finely, and carefully. Don't be a fool and cut yourself, keep your fingers out of the way, and watch what you're doing." When he'd finished, he looked up at his collected students, and playfully waved his hand over the finished product. "This is the end result. Soft and fine enough for their beaks and stomachs to handle at this age."

"They can also eat nut mash. A balance of the two is healthier than one alone." He jerked a thumb over toward where one man was finely grinding and chopping the oily meat. "It's a less messy process. You break up the meat into chunks, grind it into a rough meal, and then mix it with water." Canph ducked his head over where the other men were working, causing a few of them to flinch away in surprise. His tongue darted out of his beak and neatly scooped one of the pails of mash clean with a pleased expression. The red reclined back smugly under his rider's disapproving look with an unrepentant lick of his chops. Shaking his head, K'huna turned back to his students, and stood as he wiped off his hands. "Yeah, its unappetizing, but you'll all get used to it. You'll need to prepare food this way for about a month and a half until your simourv can handle bigger cuts of meat. Even then their meals will be prepared until they are old enough to learn how to hunt." He paused for effect, and then addressed the simourv with kind voice and an amused smile. "That's when you're all a year old, before any of you ask. Until then, your riders will be preparing your meals."

He offered a scowling grin as he heard some groans from the collected students, and gestured for his aides to bring forward the pails of meat and mash. "Your simourv will be eating machines for the first few weeks. They will eat, then sleep it off, then wake up and eat some more. I'm not going to lie..." The man's grin faded as he fixed them with a serious expression, and a voice that was tempered with some sympathy. "It is very rough going until you get used to it. You will not get much sleep, you will not have much free time. These simourv are your life now, and they will depend on you to provide for them. I don't think any of you want to let them down..." He cast a lingering glance at his own Canph, before turning back to them and gesturing at the offered food. "We've prepared some food for them already this morning, but it's not enough to satisfy your simourv's hunger. That is where your lesson comes in."

K'huna pointed at the half butchered creatures behind him. There was more than enough meat left still to feed the whole class, and more than enough knives and cutting surfaces to go around. "Once your simourv have eaten, you'll have to demonstrate what I just taught you. All of you." He emphasized this last bit, furrowing his brow a little more than usual. "Canph and I will be watching, and helping if you need it. And approving your final results." He let that sink in for a moment, before taking a step backward and crossing his arms over his chest. "Once we've finished this exercise, and everyone is fed, we'll move onto grooming. So what are you waiting for? Get a move on."

[Kat]

Ri’ley did not have any clothes that he did not mind getting dirty. Just the previous day, he had lost two shirts and a pair of pants to the aftermath of the hatching, and he wished to preserve the rest of his wardrobe. He was fond of all of his garments, of his expensive and nice things, which he had brought with him from Sayaie. Even if he had a lot of extra diasks for purchasing clothing, which he did not without his old, steady source of income, Ri’ley would not have the chance to buy clothes of the same quality as he did in his home city, which was flooded with weavers, seamstresses, and tanners, at the Eyrie. Stupidly, the man had not brought his older clothing, the clothing he kept around for when he was doing surgery, which was already thick with old blood, and instead, only Ri’ley’s nicest garments traveled to the Eyrie. It was a mistake. The tatters of his dress pants of yesterday’s events proved that. After stressing about what he would wear to the lesson, Ri’ley’s eyes slowly opened, and the man was greeted to the current state of disarray that occupied his far-too-large living quarters. And this time, the mess was his mess. It was not Kito’s mess. It was not someone else’s problem; Ri’ley’s negligence led to the unfortunate sight which grew with every millimeter the man opened his eyes. The night before, he had stumbled from the infirmary, after a medic politely reminded him that he needed to sleep in his own room, and he had quite literarily fallen into bed, without bothering to organize his possessions. They were stacked in the middle of the room in a giant pile, as they had been left for him previously. He had been too tired to care, but now, after sleep, he found that the sight of his unorganized things horrified him.

Dionyph shifted his position as he awoke, the large hatchling rolling from his stomach to his side and leisurely extending his legs out to stretch them. Because the man and beast had been sharing a bed, each packed tightly into the space, Dionyph’s black legs pressed into Ri’ley’s back, causing the man to roll over himself to free up more space for the hatchling. Ri’ley rolled, unintentionally ,off the bed, so he fell to the ground with a definite and rather loud thud. From the ground, the mess looked more intimidating. The stacks of items loomed over him, casting a shadow across his body, and Ri’ley, despite his usual restraint, cursed rather colorfully as he rolled onto his feet.
Well, Ri’ley, you had to get up at some point. If you had worried about your clothing any more than that, you would have been late to class, and the Wingletmaster would have thought you were irresponsible. I want him to think that you are very responsible, because you are. I would have not chosen an irresponsible rider, so you can’t be late.
Ri’ley attempted to think through his simourv’s circular logic, but it was too early and he was too tired to process the creature’s words. Instead, Ri’ley groaned, rubbing the area on the side of his head where his cranium contacted the ground, and rubbed it softly. His head only ached the teeniest bit, but it did hurt, and Ri’ley was bothered by the fact he had fallen out of bed at all.
And, mine, I am hungry.
Dionyph’s mental voice sounded almost whiny because it was weak and thin. Although he had felt the empty feeling as soon as he had awoken, but as soon as it was named, the hunger almost consumed the man with its potency. It made no sense. He had eaten so much the night before. How was he so hungry? Ri’ley turned to look towards Dionyph, and as he spotted the large, black creature, he realized that he was feeling Dionyph’s hunger and not his own.
Well, we’ll have to hope the lesson involves food, because I can tell you need it.
Ri’ley stated. Dionyph had elongated his body by putting his front feet on the ground and leaving his back feet on the bed. Ri’ley reached out his hand and stroked the top of Dionyph’s head affectionately. The simourv’s feathers were still so soft. Ri’ley liked the feeling of Dionyph’s head, and he wondered if he would ever find the bond between him and the creature any less potent and powerful and amazing.

Because he had been so tired the night before, he had neglected to change his clothing, Ri’ley had to completely undress himself before he slinked to his trunk to start his search for appropriate clothing. He dug around, before he pulled out an older cream-colored shirt and a pair of brown pants. Quickly dressing himself, Ri’ley pulled on the shirt and then the pants, tucking the shirt in as he fastened the pants’ buckle. Ri’ley mourned not bringing a surgical overcoat. Then he could have worn that over his clothing as protection. Had he not thought that he would be dealing with blood and gore here? Or that he might get dirty? Ri’ley had been very naïve when he had packed, and the limited space of his trunk had forced him to make hasty and un-thought-out choices. The next time he heard of a rider traveling to Sayaie, perhaps Ri’ley would ask that rider to stop by Master Donovan’s clinic to pick up some other possessions. He should start making a list for when that occurred, so that he would trouble both a kind rider and his former master as little as possible. Dionyph was all the way off the bed. He rubbed his head against Ri’ley’s leg.
You look fine. Let’s go so that we are not late. Remember that we cannot be late.
Ri’ley shrugged his shoulders as he slipped on his shoes and walked out the door. He should shave before he left, but Dionyph’s hunger was making everything seem much more important and restricted by time. They needed to get to the lesson. Breakfast had been promised at the lesson. They needed to eat, or rather, Dionyph needed to eat, and Ri’ley needed Dionyph to eat.

The pair arrived at the feeding pens on time, and Ri’ley stroked his stubbly chin distastefully. He was not sure that not shaving was an appropriate action, but it was too late to resolve the issue, Maybe he would grow some sort of beard again, since he was already half-way there. Ri’ley watched K’huna intently, despite the fact that Dionyph’s intense hunger was growing more and more distracting. Ri’ley had to mentally engage himself, really concentrate on K’huna’s words to ignore the hunger. When the aid brought the pail of food, Ri’ley grinned appreciatively, and then he knelt down so that he was sitting with the bucket between his legs. He was now close to Dionyph’s height. Ri’ley fed the creature lovingly, his hands dropping meat into Dionyph’s open mouth carefully. Dionyph ate the food with extreme enthusiasm, but slowly and steadily, so that he did not accidently hurt his rider. Ri’ley remained rapt on his simourv. He stared with awe at the creature, all of his attention remaining on Dionyph’s form. Dionyph was astounding. He was Ri’ley’s everything. The man would think about the skinning and butchering of the animals, of the making of the food, right after Dionyph was fed. The hunger had to subside first, and while he fed Dionyph, Ri’ley’s attention was focused only on his partner.

[jaker]

K'to opened his eyes and slid out of bed, his body covered in scars as usual. He looked over to C'rs "I hate red simourvs, when they're arsy they're cruel and when their polite, their arsy!" he fell back onto the bed and sighed helplessly, "I miss the rainbow, he got me excited with his optimism and joy..." he whined. His chicken merely clucked and waddled about aimlessly, pecking it's face into the new surroundings. Yoooour Deeph need his beauty sleep K'to! his little simourv whined, poking its head out of a nest made of K'to's clothing. "Aye so do I Deeph, so do I..." K'to replied yawning, scared the red might come into the room, "nasty red coloured demon disguised as a simourv..." he muttered, getting dressed as fast as he can. He groaned as he thought about today, work was todays lesson, he just knew it in his gut.

Deeph stretched and crawled out his nest stood on his hind legs in a posedon't worry, the fabulous me gets breakfast! I'm hungry and need food for my beauty he chirruped, running his little claws through his feathers. "Well ya ain't gonna get any food when you spend your time prissying up for ages," K'to replied in retaliation to Deeph's bragging. And lazing about gets you what, mine?
"Well er, peace and humility! thats what!"

The two began to bicker over who was right, K'to's beliefs in 'meditation' and Deeph's shear love for his own looks. This would of certianly woke up C'rs with this fighting. "well Deeph, we should settle this like the pretties we are!" declard K'to jumping Deeph. But I'm the pretty one! Deeph yelled back, batting his claws at K'to. "aye aye, donchu scratch me!" K'to growled as he flinched at claws going near him. The two rolled along the floor for a good ten minutes before giving up and burst out laughin. "I think I won that one Deeph,"
No no, I won that with amazing grace, didn't you see?!

And so the bickering started over again. The bond between two self loving guys, how joyous it is.

Coming in slightly later than the other winglest, K'to had scratch marks on his face and clothes, with blue feathers sticking in his teeth but tried to remain casual about it out. Deeph looked up at him evilly I can't believed you bit me... he scorned quietly. "Aye? You were scratching my face, I got enough 'pretty' patterns as it is ya lil scrapper!" K'to replied under his breath. Evil looks were exchanged but turned into friendly smiles and both looked forward at the master with determined faces.

[Fox]

L'nan used to be an early riser. As a child, she was up with the dawn and always horrendously cheerful, and she couldn't understand why her mother never liked mornings. There was so much promise! You never knew what waited for you during the rest of the day! How could you waste such a prime opportunity to enjoy life? It was only after she began her tenure as an apprentice, and later as a full midwife, that Lea had decided to forgo the early mornings in favour of sleeping in, since she wasn't at all sure when next a call would come in the middle of the night. Even after becoming a candidate, the wake-up calls of Candidatemaster Ts'kal's obnoxiously cheerful rainbow, Aburoqaph, only really served to make the girl turn over and snatch an extra five minutes. So, it was for the first time in a long while that the new winglet was actually awake and alert enough to appreciate the sunrise.

Quite frankly speaking, the young woman had spent more than enough time lazing about in bed while the other Winglets were at the feast, and if she had been forced to remain in the infirmary one moment longer, she would likely have been climbing the walls in her boredom. The stitches itched, there was nothing to look at, and Eoreph was so hungry that the echoing hunger set off pangs in Lea's own stomach. And she never ate breakfast. The sky outside had still been dark when she left the infirmary, with a walking stick in her good hand and the other, still in its brace, thrown over Eoreph's shoulders. For once, L'nan was actually rather happy for her height, as it meant that her simourv's shoulders were at just about the right height. Mine, you shouldn't stress the stitches.[/color] The tawny's shy, whispery voice slipped into her mind quietly, and L'nan smiled. Lovingly, she rested her cheek on Eoreph's downy neck feathers, loosing a small sigh that was half boredom and half exertion. I know, dear. Thank you for helping me. We should see about getting you some food; I can feel you're hungry.[/i] A wave of affirmation was all she got in response as the pair continued their slow, silent trek to the Winglets' Barracks.

L'nan found her room, the fourth down the hall, simply by virtue of the fact that it was one of the few doors left slightly ajar. It was a large, cavernous space, but the former midwife really only had eyes for the pile of possessions in the center of the room. Gently pushing herself off Eoreph, who hovered uncertainly and kept close to Hers in case She should fall, Lea sat down gingerly to rifle through her trunk. It was a pain to constantly move so slowly when instinct made her want to be up and about as usual. She couldn't even have a nice relaxing soak in the baths, since it wasn't good to get the stitches wet. Eventually, she had changed into a long dress, one of the few that she had brought, made of a heavy, serviceable material in a lovely deep blue. Back in Itnala, propriety had led to her wearing skirts and dresses nearly all the time. Honestly, though, Lea wasn't all that fond of dresses, since she found that they constricted movement more than trousers did and she wouldn't shed a tear if any were ruined, but her newly-fixed legs were still tender beneath the bandaging, and at least the looser material of the skirt didn't chafe as much. Therefore, she was already dressed and putting her hair up into its usual tail (a somewhat difficult feat with one hand incapacitated) when Canph's called echoed through their minds. For a moment, Eoreph and she looked at each other, and then a rumbly growl filled the room that certainly hadn't come from a mouth. At the sheepish expression on the little tawny's face, the young woman burst out laughing, and, grabbing an apron out of her trunk, slung both arms around the tawny's neck to lever herself into a standing position. Let's get you some food.

The pair got to the feeding pens somewhat late, even though they had been one of the earliest to leave the rooms. It was already a little way into K'huna's speech, but what she had missed Lea was fairly sure she could figure out anyway. After all, Eoreph and the others were still babies, and no matter how mature the babies were, they still ate and slept, and ate and slept. That was something common to every species. When he dismissed them, the young woman made her way over to the nearest bucket and, with hardly a glance at the fact she would be plunging her hand into freshly butchered meat, perched herself on the edge of a butcher's station, and began to feed her hatchling. As she did so, a smile slipped onto her face, a smile that fully expressed how besotted, how in love, how awed she was by this beautiful creature who had claimed the woman as her own. [/size]

[Kilnarak]

N'raan groaned as a foreign voice in his head - Canph's - dragged him to wakefulness. He hadn't gotten overly much sleep the day prior, his attempts at napping throughout the day all aborted, and he had been dragged all over the damned Eyrie - from his spot in the gardens, to the infirmary, to the feast. He had hardly had the time to become acquainted with his new quarters before he threw himself upon his sparse bed - lacking all of his previous stolen pillows and bedding - and fell into a deep and dreamless sleep. As he awoke, the first thing he was aware of was the voice in his head, calling them to lessons. Next, he was aware that he was starving, or at least he felt as though he was starving. Finally, he was aware of the source of that feeling, Teimoph, and the fact that the young read had sprawled across his legs sometime during his sleep, and that he could not currently move them from beneath the hatchling's bulk.

"Nngh. Tei, y' weigh a ton. Ge' off," N'raan grumbled at Teimoph, pushing at the 'little' (at least in comparison to the adult simourv) red in a vain attempt at dislodging the creature. Teimoph didn't budge, only growled in a threat he didn't intend to back up and sunk his claws into the bedding, holding on. I do not want to. It is comfortable here. I want to sleep. And I am hungry. Teimoph flexed his claws again, ripping furrows in the mattress. Canph is too loud, he grumbled sulkily, then projected suddenly - loud enough for the entire barracks to hear, as well as, of course, his intended target - BE QUIET!

N'raan winced at Teimoph's mental shout, the simourv's growling voice echoing in his head. "Damn, Tei," he tried to sound indignant, but only managed to sound a bit awed. He hadn't realized the little creature could scream like that. Abruptly, N'raan began to laugh, and with a bit of squirming, managed to free his legs from beneath the hatchling pinning them. "Bet tha' woke up anyone still sleepin'. Tha' big bird said somethin' 'bout breakfas', 'though - since yer hungry... Mmn. Mayb' 'nii 'll be there 's well. Or tha' pretty R'ths..." His voice lilted sing-song a moment, and the red grumbled, curling about on the bed. Not so pretty. You don't need them. You have me.

There was a long pause then, as N'raan stretched and dressed himself - the same attire he had worn before, to Ts'kal's lesson in butchery - and belted his own long knife to his hip. N'raan could feel Teimoph thinking, considering, weighing the choice of getting up to eat or going back to sleep. Eventually the young simourv's hunger won out, and with a sudden decisiveness the red leaped from the bed to the floor. Teimoph paced over to His, lowering his head and butting it against the man's legs. I am hungry. Hurry. He growled again, softly, then proceeded to pace about the large and mostly empty room as N'raan - laughing! - finished his preparations to leave. Brushing his fingers through his hair to work it back into some semblance of order, N'raan made for the door. "C'mon then. Breakfas' awaits. Wonder 'f th' got anythin' fer m', t'?"

If they do not, I will give you mine, the little simourv snorted indignantly as he ushered His out the door. He was annoyed by the idea that they might not feed His, as well - and he wholly meant to stand to his offer, if they did not. Bristling, the little red stalked down the halls, pushing aside anyone who got in his way and clearing a path for His to follow.

Teimoph cast a brief glare up at Canph as the pair left the barracks, growling threateningly at the much larger simourv and pushing himself between His and Canph. Canph had proved he meant them no harm the night previous, but Teimoph still didn't care much for the larger red. He felt a slight, grudging sort of respect, but he intended to make clear that the big creature should not mess with him or His. N'raan merely offered the creature a nod of greeting and a slightly nervous smirk, before the two were past him and on their way to the Feeding Pens.

After they had arrived, N'raan was inclined to stay toward the back and look about for familiar faces - his brother, perhaps, or R'ths - keeping a good distance between himself and K'huna. Teimoph, however, would have none of this, and continued to shove at His until N'raan stood near to the front. He likely would have kept pushing until the two were at the feed-buckets had he not been suddenly distracted by Canph. Teimoph had not been listening to K'huna - His had said the man didn't deserve to be listened to, after all - but he did catch a snippet of what the man had said as he watched Canph tear into a cow. The littler simourv was interested in the process, watching how the elder red ripped chunks of flesh away from the carcass, threw his head back to swallow. He could do that, he was sure. Anything Canph could do, he could do - or so he thought, at least.

Thus, when they were released to their task, Teimoph did not move to the buckets, but rather he strode purposefully toward one of the half-butchered cows - shouldering aside any to get in his way. N'raan followed behind him, a faint smirk clinging to his lips. He cast a brief sharp look to K'huna as they passed the man, and then glanced about for Kenii again. While His was thus distracted, Teimoph proceeded to try and mimic Canph - while he meant to tear into the carcass with the same gusto the larger red had, Teimoph simply couldn't manage it. The meat was too tough, and he could only peel off the thinnest slivers of flesh. Still, he tried for some long minutes, snarling as he grew more and more frustrated with the endeavor. Finally he shrieked, angry, and slashed at the already dead creature with his claws, cutting great furrows into the body.

It was some moments before Teimoph finally wore himself out by attacking the dead thing and stalked back over to His. The small red's mood was foul, his posture belligerent, and he shoved at N'raan to get him to move to the buckets, to feed him as the other hatchlings were fed. Growling, he took the pre-cut meat and ground nuts from His' hands. Teimoph said nothing, only sulked and growled as he ate - hissing angrily at anyone else who came close. N'raan wasn't quite sure what to do to ease Teimoph, and so he made do with stroking the red's feathers with his free hand. "Y'll b' able t' d' tha' 'ventually, Tei," he wasn't very good at comfort, and the words sounded strange on his tongue given how softly he spoke them. The sense he got from Teimoph left him uncertain of whether his red appreciated the sentiment - a mix of love and frustration and rage. "'ll cut yer food 'til y' can tear 't yerself."

[Lan]

E'an roused with a moan that echoed around her large, empty new room. Her head hurt from the feast before and she had trouble for a second grasping where exactly she was. Images of the world around her faded in and out for several minutes as slowly her vision returned to her in less blurry forms. And then a voice entered her throbbing head... one less cheery than she remembered before. It was that red simourv... what was his name? Hell, she didn't remember. Nor did she care. It wasn't that bubbling rainbow. A sadistic grin came sloppily upon her countenance as she processed his words. The sarcasm was soo appreciated after what seemed like years or cheery not-so-goodness.

Still, while her mind had finally caught up with the times, her body was slow to respond. Sluggish, like moving through molasses she hoisted herself up from the covers and snatched a dirty shirt and pants from the floor next to her caught. It was already dirty... obviously she didn't care too much about making it any dirtier. But, as she began to pull her hair back to tie it out of her face, something was missing. She couldn't quite put her finger one it... Was it her roommate? E'an didn't have one of those anymore. What was it?

'BE QUIET!'

The shout made her lose her balance for a moment as she fumbled for a small hunting knife next to her cot, grumbling all the while. Yes, shouting for someone to be quiet would inevitably keep the peace. How thoughtful. E'an shook her head and, realizing what had given the call, suddenly discovered what it was she had been missing. Where was Kaslimeph? The blue hatchling wasn't on his couch. In fact, he was nowhere to be found. Kaslimeph? Where are you? E'an's thoughts projected to the best of her ability outward, seeking the mind that had been bound to hers. Great. She hadn't been a simourv rider for even twenty-four hours and her bonded was missing!

Jamming her feet into her shoes, she took off at a sprint out her door and down the hall only to find the blue offender trotting off with his fellow hatchlings without a care in the world. He was hungry and all the hatchlings were leaving, so how was he supposed to know that he had to wait for the sleeping irritable E'an to wake up before he went trodding off? It seemed perfectly fine that she meet him there. Kaslimeph waited for no one.

'Oh, there you are.' His voice came as she finally caught up with him. 'Not nice being left behind is it?' He added the last bit as an afterthought, deciding to tie it back to her previous action so she couldn't be mad at him.

'How did you-?' E'an began, indignant about being called out. 'You were sleeping!'

'And so were you... now hurry up. I'm hungry and Canph says there is food.' Kaslimeph snorted and continued hobbling with his awkward gait toward the feeding pens where their lesson would be held.



E'an listened respectfully to the lesson. The new bluerider liked this master better than her previous one... he was straight, to the point, and had a certain tone she thought resembled her commanding officer rather nicely. Meanwhile, the impatient Kaslimeph was busy eying the food. He was hungry... it was like this man was taunting him! Only his respect for the large red kept him from hopping and trodding over everyone to get at the food whose scent hovered toward him like a mouse dangled in front of an irritable cat. This wasn't a lesson... this was torture!

But soon enough the time came, and E'an "got a move on" in getting food for her new partner. Of course, it was never fast enough for Kaslimeph, but they managed together tolerably. Soon enough they had run out of provided food and it was E'an's turn to try to prepare her own meal. Taking up a knife, she went to approach the half-butchered cows, Kaslimeph padding along at her side. 'Teimoph is trying to take his own cow...' The blue noted, 'I want to try as well. I'm just as strong as he is, and smarter still. I could manage it.'

Oh no you couldn't, E'an responded as she shifted a large hunk of meat from the cow and proceeded to begin chopping it up. She had transitioned rather nicely into speaking to Kaslimeph with her mind. It hadn't been hard at all, actually. Perhaps it was because she talked to herself in her mind so frequently? If you had as much brains as you say you'd realize that Teimoph is lucky not to splinter his beak. And you're a bit smaller than him. Just let me do it. Another displeased snort came from the blue as he curled up next to her. 'Size does not denote strength... OR stamina!' Was all he replied. E'an gave him a sharp look and then returned to her dicing and chopping, with her distraction almost inadvertently slicing her finger open in the process.

No, it doesn't. And you're probably going to be the strongest blue out there. But not yet. You need time... and training. Looking over a small piece of meat she just cut off for anything undesirable, she tossed it over to Kaslimeph who caught it gratefully in his beak with a soft squawk.

[winged]

Dawn had risen once more above the foundling Eyrie, and for once, I'dou was not there to greet it with a leery eye and a scowl. The dark skinned winglet had yet to stir from her heavy slumber - a combination of too much to drink, and the exhaustion of several weeks span had dragged her down into insensibility, and there she stayed with no signs of stirring.

Laraph, on the other hand, had risen with impeccable timing to stretch and chirp a subdued good morning to the new day. Hunger wasn't far behind, and the hatchling glanced wistfully in the direction of her snoring rider before settling for curling up in her nest once more, grooming any wayward feathers that had shifted during the night. Rinsed and cleaned of the gore and muck that had sullied her plumage post-Hatching, the chick didn't have much to arrange before her distraction was whittled down to an occasional pluck here and there, brown eyes now trained on the still snoring figure of I'dou.

Slowly, carefully she picked herself up - padding over towards the cot where Hers lay, the gray sat at the bedside, before cautiously reaching over and nudging with her beak, careful not to shove. 'Morning I'dou! It's a lovely morning, you should come enjoy it with me!' Careful not to mention anything of her hunger (but oh was it there!), the little queen waited patiently for some sign of acknowledgment. Anything at all - anything!

'I'dou?' Straining to keep her voice as pleasant and airy as she could, Laraph started as her rider twitched, and then...

Rolled over. Oh, but she must be awake now! Brightened by the prospect, Laraph rustled her feathers and chanced another nudge. This one timed impeccably with Canph's cheery bellow - the combination of which earned a yelp and a jolted wakefulness from the young woman, before she toppled over the opposite side of her bed in her frantic movement. Laraph winced at the solid thud of her rider's body hitting the floor, before trotting around the end of the cot to peer happily down at I'dou's dazed face. 'It's morning! We should hurry, lessons are-'

The simourv's last few words were, of course, effectively drowned out by Teimoph's obstinate reply. 'Oh, Teimoph doesn't sound very happy!' I'dou bit back the sudden, overwhelming desire to point out the very obviousness of that statement, growling as she picked herself free of the sheet entangled around her limbs. She could just tell today was going to be LOVELY...

- - -

K'huna's lecture was a frighteningly dull affair - I'dou suffered it in a dismal silence, clothes disheveled and a lump the size of a goose egg forming where the back of her head and struck the floor in her wild flailing. Beside her, Laraph struck a radically different image. Well groomed and in a markedly brighter mood, the gray watched intently as K'huna's cleaver flashed, and more gobbets of juicy red meat were shoved into a pail. It smelled heavenly to the half-starved simourv, and once they were freed from their spectator roles she loped over to the closest bucket, digging in with little formality. 'Oh, this is good!' The nut mash she'd tried a dab of, but the meat was what satisfied her.

I'dou muttered something about the futility of baths, observing Laraph as she splattered herself in blood once more, before attacking the slaughtered carcass allotted her, her hacking slices afforded a touch more gusto than was called for as she took out her aggression and frustration on the dead animal. This at least took no thought - messy, but simple. And best of all, she wasn't forced to socialize. At least, no one in their right mind would care to chit-chat with a mildly manic looking woman with a giant knife. She hoped.

[crow]

Ever since she was a child, R’ths had always been an early riser. When she was younger, she had used the time to pick up and read a few books from the family’s miniature library. It was the only time of day when the house was quiet you see, and in her earlier years the girl had been a book addict of sorts. Then, as she got older, she used the spare time she had in the mornings to hone her combat skills as well as her speed and agility. These activities have become somewhat of a habitual routine to her, and the girl had never once broken the training regime. There was nothing in the world that could mess up her daily routine, and now, as a winglet, she was more determined than ever to stick to it. Or at least that had been the plan.

As per usual, the blonde had awoken before sunrise, stretching as she sat up in bed, her green-blue eyes adjusting to the morning’s darkness. This time however, she didn’t immediately rise from her bed. Still tuckered out by yesterday’s events, the girl decided to forgo her morning exercises in favor for sleeping in – Heaven knows she needed. She hadn’t been able to get any rest at all the day prior. From the moment of the hatching right up to last night’s feast, R’ths had been dragged all over the place by the newborn, Caidiph. Falling back onto the bed, the girl groaned into her pillow as she felt a headache start at the mere memory of the events that had transpired last night. While R’ths herself regarded the entire day as an ordeal, Caidiph, it seemed, had treated her first day as a game. Everything is a game with that one. The new winglet muttered under her breath as she recalled her simourv’s happy-go-lucky attitude towards everything that had happened. Normally, she would not have minded it so much, but considering the fact that she had been lacking in sleep for the most of time, R’ths would have rather had Caidiph be like most of her other siblings and just sleep.

At this point, a slight rustling of bed sheets caught the girl’s attention. Turning over so that she was now lying on her side, R’ths could only smile, a warm look in her eyes as she gazed upon Caidiph dozing beside her. Still fast asleep, the small green had curled herself into a tight coil on the bed, using her dark green tail as a makeshift pillow. The young simourv was peaceful in her sleep, only the tip of her tail twitched slightly as she continued to dream. As the girl watched over the sleeping Caidiph, R’ths felt her own eyes grow heavy again. With a yawn, the blonde closed her eyes, allowing the lack of activity and the quiet morning atmosphere to lull her back to sleep. A few more minutes couldn’t hurt.

When she next awoke, R’ths was greeted by the light of morning sun, and judging from its position in the sky the girl figured that she had slept for long enough. Rising to her feet, the girl gave a languid stretch and proceeded to get dressed. It took a while going through her belongings - it was true that she had put her stuff away the night before but she had done so carelessly and obviously it showed – everything was in a mess, but eventually she managed to change into a clean shirt and trousers. Sure, the outfit was plain and a bit worn, but it was comfortable and allowed her freedom of movement – she was happy enough with that. Almost fully prepared, R’ths had just finished brushing her hair when she finally noticed something was off; she couldn’t get rid of the feeling that she was forgetting something.

As she tried to figure out the cause of disturbing feeling, her eyes began to scan the room searching for anything that seemed out of place, but nothing out of the ordinary was to be found. The room looked exactly the way it did the night before, one side of the room was still bare – that side belonged to her roommate who had not yet returned from the infirmary – and the other side was where the blonde kept her belongings. Glancing around the room again, R’ths still was not able to find anything suspicious; the chest she kept in the corner had not been touched, nothing of hers had gone missing and her bed was empty. Everything was just as she- And then her eyes narrowed, a frown etched on her face as she let out a frustrated sigh as she finally realized what was wrong.

Caidiph

Caidiph was missing. And as luck would have it, the call for the first lesson sounded right at that moment. Not at all happy with the way things turned out, R’ths stormed out of her room intent on finding her simourv. She didn’t care if she was late for the lesson - she didn’t even care if she skipped it all together – right now the only thing that mattered to her was the well being of her green. Yes, the girl was more than upset with her little simourv, but she was far more worried about her than she was angry with her. Jogging down the hallway as she searched for the hatchling, R’ths was suddenly knocked off her feet by a small green blur – who then cheerfully greeted her with an excited trill. Good morning, Mine! Have you heard? The first lesson is starting! Before the girl could even try to get a reply out, a loud angry shout resounded in her mind. R’ths cringed at the projected voice – it had to be Teimoph, it just had to be – as she silently cursed the simourv. The day had barely started and already she was getting a headache.

Grumbling, the blonde stood up and straightened out her attire, pushing Caidiph aside as she did so. The simourv squawked at having been shoved aside like that, but mentioned nothing of it to her bonded. Without even having to look at Hers, Caidiph knew that R’ths was not in the best of moods and in an attempt to prevent Hers from becoming even more agitated, the green decided that perhaps it would be best for to ask to play later on. Yes that seemed for the best; lessons first, games next.

By the time the green pair reached the feeding pens, a number of winglets had already gathered there, all eyes on the new master as he spoke. R’ths herself paid full attention as she listened to him with respect, even Caidiph was quiet. The simourv’s brown eyes were wide as she observed the elder red tear into the cow, easily consuming the large amount of meat. Stealing a glance at her green, R’ths grinned as she placed a reassuring hand on her Caidiph. “Guess you’ll be able to do that too someday, huh?” Her answer came in the form of the rumbling of her simourv’s stomach. Laughing as they were dismissed, R’ths quickly made her way towards the bucket nearest to her and got to work on feeding her hatchling.

[Cy]

[/I][/color] For once, she didn’t mind the simourv’s stubbornness.

Even as she returned her attentions to the pair heading the class, not all of her focus went with it. Instead, it slipped away, wandering to details that were hardly relevant to the lesson at all. She studied K’huna, as a man rather than a teacher, before drifting off to look to the side to look to her classmates. She’d not been in the Eyrie long at all before the Hatching had surprised them all, she hardly knew any of them. She’d seen the faces before, but they weren’t familiar. Strangers surrounded her and it made her smile, strangely thrilled as she looked back ahead with the finals words of their teacher. And when he gave the call to go ahead, she moved forward with the rest of them, heading straight for the prepared meat and nut mash. Prissily, Shovaph tiptoed behind her, keeping her head up and her eyes pointedly averted from the crude Canph. As she fit herself up to the butcher’s table to reach into a bowl, no sooner did her fingers clasp about the meat than she was turning to the woman feeding her tawny beside her. ”You wouldn’t happen to have ever butchered meat before, have you?” She questioned in a kind whisper, smile upon her lips.


It was easy to dress for the occasion. His wardrobe was composed entirely of farmer’s clothes, things to wear when plowing the fields or tending the animals or fixing all the broken things. They were things that could be made dirty. So, clothed in simple ensemble, Ze’el made his way to the lesson, woken easily by both the call of Canph and the belligerent demand of Teimoph, and encouraged onwards by the warm reassurances of Dareph. Sometimes, it was embarrassing how much he’d come to rely on the red since the Hatching.

With the simourv situated firmly at his place against the man’s legs, Zeke made a place for himself on the outskirts of the crowd, standing tall enough to still see what was necessary and able to hear the teacher clearly. He was quiet through it all, listening and observing, and Dareph did the same. Though the red was interested in it all, fascinated with the way the older red dug easily into the body of the herdbeast with strength and ferocity, the lecture was neither intriguing or even boring to the man. He could remember the lessons that Ts’kal had given them on the art of gutting and skinning and he could remember having to handle meat at home. While his mother had been capable of plucking and dismembering the chickens, he’d grown up watching his father slaughter the larger animals and it had soon become his responsibility in his older years. Handling meat was nothing unfamiliar to him. Beside him, Dareph puffed up with pride for his bonded’s discreet confidence.

With the call to go and feed their simourv, Ze’el dawdled, allowing the rest of the winglet’s to rush forward and claim their partially filled buckets. Only once they were all distracted with that particular chore did he slink forward, head down and shoulders guarded, to find a bucket that remained untouched. Once found, he slid in, careful to keep his gaze focused on the food and only the food. Cautious of the close proximity of those around him, desperate to avoid physical contact with any of them, even if it was only the mere brush of their shoulders against his, he grabbed up the bucket by the rim and quickly retreated until there was space around him. Space that he could fill with his breaths and with his size as he relaxed enough to at least allow his shoulders to ease down. Holding the bucket with one hand, he reached into with another to pluck out scraps of meat one by one to feed to his Dareph, who patiently accepted each bit and scarfed it down with his hunger.[/ul][/size]

[Bre]

Just when I thought I'd be . . .

Canph called! Romaph's voice was loud in her head and M'rion was up like a shot, pulling pants onto bare legs before two seconds had even passed. Mornings were a quiet time and welcome in her mind, though not favored. In truth, the barrack room were she slept with her roommate and their simourvs was loud and annoyingly claustrophobic, but she was optimistic with the sun that had to be rising outside. Kicking up her heels, Romaph was already prancing about the room. Mornings seemed to be her bread and butter, sleep having left her refreshed after she had drained all of her energy the night before. Quick as could be, M'rion was dressed in the course of a few minutes, jamming her feet into boots and twisting her hair out of her face. She pushed the door open, not bothering hunt around for T'gan. Romaph pranced out ahead of her.

K'huna's lecture bored both M'rion and Romaph, but they stayed quiet, fidgeting as was necessary. They were about the middle of the line, near G'rael and Talmaph though not quiet right next to them. While M'rion knew it was important to be able to care for her new simourv, she already knew most of what they were covering. She was a messenger. Working with any terrain was something she had learned to do. Skinning and gutting didn't scare her off in the slightest. Not paying a wink of attention, Romaph shifted her weight from foot to foot, knocking into her rider's side ever few seconds. The green's energetic presence made M'rion smile, the only reason that the lecture was tolerable. Later, she was going to need to leave a letter with her old boss. She wasn't a messenger anymore. She was a winglet who got to stab big chunks of meat.

When they were dismissed to work, M'rion lunged forward and Romaph was right on her tail. There wasn't even time to harass G'rael and Talmaph! They had to go, go, go! Crying her delight, the young green followed her rider just for the sake of running, not really aware of what was going. It took M'rion shoving a bowl of meat in front of her face to slow her down. With Romaph placated with some of the meat that had already been there, the winglet started to prepare more pieces for her growing, downy simourv, removing skin from a waiting carcass with a swift slice of her knife. It wasn't very neat, but she did it with speed and a wild sort of precision. I like food! Oh, yes, I do! Romaph was singing in her head as she ate. M'rion smiled with amusement as she worked. It was the early morning, but there wasn't anything wrong with that.

. . . done with all the memories.

[zeis]

K'ii gazed anxiously out of the doorway of his shared room. Most of the other candidates had already left, but they hadn't gone with them. The first lesson was probably starting already, and they were missing it! For his part, the boy was ready and dressed, and wholly willing to go. It was Akaturiaph who refused to go. Akaturiaph, please... We need to go. No we don't. She said bluntly, gazing stubbornly at him from where she sat catlike on his bed. I don't feel like it. No one tells me what to do. She sounded rather matter-of-fact about it, and stretched her legs luxuriously outward.

The boy turned to face his young simourv with dismay, unsure how to handle the situation. He was no fan of lessons or rules himself, but he always did what he needed to do. It occurred to him that his green was acting like a child, like how he acted when living with his step father, but he had no idea what to do about it. Maybe the first lesson was how to handle willful simourv. Sighing, he crossed the room to where his simourv lie, and plopped down beside her, reaching out to stroke her side. Lessons are important... K'huna is going to teach me how to take care of you. He spoke falteringly, still unused to this mental communication and of having to speak in general. He was a quiet person, and it was strange to have that change in such an intimate space. I can't take care of you right if I don't know what to do.

Akaturiaph snorted, and flipped her dark green tail dismissively. I'm the one who's going to be taking care of you. She sat up, and moved to lay on his lap possessively. He looked worried, but there was no reason for him to. She knew what was best for him, and she was going to take good care of him. The green didn't need an outsider to tell her how to run her life. If anything, she should be telling K'huna what to do. Despite her assurances, her rider was radiating anxiety, especially over thoughts of their Wingletmaster. She didn't like it, she didn't like him either if he made hers feel this way.

What if he's teaching the simourv how to take care of us? He asked after a moments thought, meeting Akaturiaph's eyes with his own. You could be missing that. How will you know how to take care of me...? He furrowed his brow a little, and hoped beyond hope that she'd see the sense of that. She did. Grudgingly. ... If we go, will it make you feel better? She asked reluctantly, the idea of being around so many people already ruffling her feathers. The question made K'ii pause. On one hand, yes, it would make him feel better that they were there. On the other hand, they were undeniably later, and he wasn't on K'huna's good side to begin with... ... I think it would. Maybe.

Then we're going. Akaturiaph announced, and leapt down from the boy's bed onto the smooth stone floor. She was about to start toward the door when K'ii hastily jumped off the bed, and dropped into a crouch to hug her. "Thanks." He smiled, and quickly rose to a stand before darting out the door. Snorting, his green scrambled after him, and the two headed toward the feeding pens at a run.

It was no use, they were late. The Wingletmaster was already talking when they arrived. K'ii did not want to get caught being late. He was a sneaky guy, stealthy, and quiet. He had fooled K'huna once before on the day they had met, he was sure he could slip into the group of listening winglets and lose himself in the crowd. He spotted his brother, and cautiously started toward him, keeping a wary eye on his teacher. It was no good. The man's yellow eyes unerringly snapped to him at one point in his speech, and gave him a look that promised fire and brimstone before moving on. Damn.

Sighing, he resigned himself to listening to what was left of the lecture, and taking comfort in the presence of his green, who was pressed against his legs and glaring at everyone around them. Luckily it didn't seem like too difficult of a subject. Just cutting and preparing meat. Granted, he hadn't done so well at that last time, during Ts'kal's lesson. Hopefully he'd remedy that today. N'raan had given him some tutoring since then, so hopefully he'd do a better job of it. When the time came for them to try their own hands at it, he threw himself eagerly into the task, though he worked more slowly than all the others. He forced himself to be patient and careful, not wanting to add shoddy performance to his list of offenses today.

~~~~~~~~~

K'huna crossed his arms to watch Teimoph gnaw ineffectively at the cow's tough hide, and glanced briefly over his shoulder to raise his eyebrows at Canph. Remind you of anyone? It was only three years ago that Canph was that young, and he could remember how often the young red had ranted and railed against his inabilities. Granted it had been a bit scarier then. His generation of rider had no one to teach them how to do things. He smirked at the small wave of embarrassment that rolled of his simourv, and turned his attention back to the task at hand.

He paced around the winglet pairs as the young simourv ate and the rider's worked, watching them critically. His expression remained stern, but as he observed more of their efforts a small smile worked its way onto his face. He was pleased with how much they had retained from their Candidatemaster, and what they had gleaned from his own words. He only had to stop three or four times, to offer advice and correct the way a winglet held a knife or point out bone fragments the new riders had missed. It was a time-consuming and bloody process, but from the smiles on most faces, the reward of having their simouv fed was worth it.

Every simourv appeared to have eaten. Good. He put his fingers to his lips and whistled sharply to catch everyone's attention. "Messy work, isn't it? Towels are over there." He announced, pointed at an approaching servant heavily laden with ragged and important looking linens. "Trust me, you'll want some of that blood off you for the next part. Canph!" He and the red moved a respectable distance away from the dirtied area they had prepared the meals in to a cleaner patch of stand. "Look at the ground around you. See those stray feathers? Your simourv have already begun molting. They may be fluffy now, but that isn't going to last long. They'll grow fast, and their feathers are going to need to keep up."

He paused to bend down and snatch up a stray pinkish plume that had by chance drifted from Canph. He held up the large feather, relatively small in comparison to the largest a simourv had to offer, but still easily bigger than the mans forearm. "They are going to shed feathers frequently as they grow. It'll slow once they reach maturity, but until then... Your rooms are going to be filled with them." He smirked, and idly toyed with the feather as he spoke. "They're a pain in the ass to clean up, but they're valuable. We can use them for lots of things around the Eyrie, so don't throw them away." He paused and studied a few of the young simourv in particular. "From the looks of it, a few of you have tried bathing your simourv. I'm guessing it didn't go that well. You-"

You don't need to bathe us like dogs. Canph snorted, not seeming to care that he interrupted his rider, and not noticing the mildly exasperated look K'huna gave him. Just preen your feathers every day. Molting can be itchy, but it will get worse if you don't preen. You don't want to end up ugly, like K'huna. He dramatically whirled one wing forward, and set about preening and arranging the feathers with his beak. Like this! It feels great, and helps get rid of loose feathers. It keeps them neat, and free of nasty things like bugs. The red held out his wing and admired it for a moment for before folding it at his side. Just be careful not to pull out any feathers that aren't falling out anyway.

K'huna stared at Canph for a moment before returning to his class. "Your simourv's down feathers are supposed to keep them warm, but aren't great at keeping them dry. Once you get them wet, they don't keep your simourv warm anymore. Plus they take a hell of a long time to dry out. A sopping wet simourv could get sick." He let that sink in, frowning at the very thought of it. None of the adult simourv had ever gotten very sick, so he feared for the fate of the simourv that set the precedent. He did his best to make eye contact with each rider and chick individually as he continued. "Wet down feathers are also surprisingly heavy. If you're in deep water they could drag you down and you'd drown."

"Just be careful." K'huna shook his head, and reached out one hand to touch his simourv's leg. "If you're itching to get wet, stick to shallow water and sunny days. Or just a damp towel. Don't drench yourself, and riders, make sure you can keep them warm. Simourv aren't water creatures. Even adults here like Canph treat water with caution." The man patted his partner's leg fondly, and retreated from him a safe distance. "But enough with scaring the hell out of you... Canph, if you wouldn't mind?"

Canph, looking equal parts gleeful and malicious, flopped down onto the ground with a heavy thud, and rolled luxuriously in the sand. He chirruped and stretched in enjoyment at the feel of the warm grit in his feathers. The red looked very much like an oversized cat or dog enjoying a good roll. His efforts produced a sizable dust cloud that drifted over the assembled people, settling on clothes and sticking to bloodied surfaces before dispersing in the wind. K'huna coughed and cleared his throat with a grin. "That is a dust bath. Coats the feathers in dust, and helps protect against the elements. Also helps get rid of parasites, and most of the adult simourv love it."

Canph, who at this point was laying sprawled comfortably on his back with all for legs in the air, trilled happily at the watching group of students. It wasn't exactly the most elegant pose, but he really didn't care if he felt good doing it. Go ahead and try. He rolled onto his side, and lifted his foreleg to set about grooming his belly. Just drop and roll on some clean sand, then preen like I showed you!

[Bre]

She’s calling me . . .

With a shriek of joy, Romaph dove right into the dirt, flopping onto her back and wriggling about like a fish who had consumed some sort of psychoactive drug. Probably due to a lack of skill and plenty of enthusiasm to make up for it, she managed to quickly produce a dust cloud as big as the one Canph had shook up. She shed quite a few feathers, the downy, fluffy bits of green sticking to the ground. Amongst them were a few stray feathers of orange from her face. "I think that's enough, Rom;" M'rion eventually called, laughing the entire time. She was tempted to jump right down in the dirt with her green, but she was remembering that she had responsibilities. God, she felt like she was a mom. For some reason, she just kept laughing as Romaph leaped to her feet and shook the dirt out of her feathers. Then she began to laugh harder.

After her dust bath, Romaph looked like a scrappy, feathered dog who had lost some of its fur in a fight. It wasn't that anything was missing. It wasn't that anything was wrong. She was just growing and showing it, shedding herself onto the ground. Not knowing why her rider was laughing, the hatchling green pranced around, kicking up her heels to stir up more dust. "I think you should probably preen now, hun;" M'rion said, trying to find air to breath. Realizing that she had forgotten to do just that in her excitement, Romaph quickly sat down. She started to run her beak through her feathers, laying them straight. Several more of them also fell out, downy fluffs that floated lazily to the ground. Recalling her duty, M'rion leaned over and started to pluck them out of the dirt. They felt impossibly soft and delicate against her rough fingers.

. . . trouble in her family.

[Fox]

Eoreph ate voraciously, but daintily, and she tried her hardest not to get any stray flecks of blood on her light brown feathers. She was hungry-- extremely so-- but that was no excuse for ill manners. And the smell of blood, while certainly a welcome taste flowing down her gullet, still reminded the tawny strongly of the blood that had darkened the sands at the time of her birth. It hadn’t been a cow’s blood then; that had been the blood of Hers, Othokenph’s, Elahuph’s and Mhaliniph’s, and the memory still made Eoreph recoil. At the station, L’nan was satisfied that her bonded was eating quite happily on her own, and she was just looking over the butchering knife and the meat when a light, cheerful voice broke into her thoughts. Startled, Lea raised an eyebrow at the woman who had spoken; a pretty winglet perhaps a few years older than herself. ”No, I have not.” She admitted with a smile. ”Shouldn’t be that hard, though, right?” This last was more hopeful than anything as Lea shot the other woman a rueful grin, before picking up the knife to start on her project.

It was messy, messy work, and the young woman was glad that she’d thought to wear an apron, as the front was smeared with blood before too long. Blood didn’t affect L’nan any more, though, and as she inspected her handiwork, the woman was fairly sure that it was the right size and consistency, as well as free of bones. Of course, Eoreph made it disappear very fast regardless. It was then that K’huna called for attention, and the tawnypair found themselves staring in mingled shock and amusement as large red Canph went for a rather enthusiastic roll in the dust. Briefly, Lea coughed as the cloud of red dust washed over them, but she waved away the concerned probe that Eoreph sent her way. She was still getting used to this whole wordless communication thing.

”Do you want to try it, Eoreph?” She asked, resting a hand on the tawny’s shoulder. There was a certain reluctance-- as well as a horrified fascination-- to the hatchling’s movements as she agreed and proceeded to follow Canph’s lead, lowering herself to the ground to roll experimentally in a conveniently placed dust patch. The relief was immediate though, and L’nan felt the tawny’s pleasure as she rolled and wriggled almost comically on the ground. The new tawnyrider couldn’t quite stifle a laugh at the ridiculous sight of her bonded, but Eoreph was having too much fun to care very much that Hers was laughing at her. Bits of mottled brown fluff were borne away on a little gust of wind, dislodged by the action. Eventually, though, Eoreph rolled to her feet to preen in a slightly clumsy fashion; plainly imitating the older simourv, but nonetheless doing a reasonable job of it anyway. Lea snagged a feather as it fluttered past; one of the tawny’s longer ones. It was about the length of the woman’s hand, and shaded from beige to a lightly golden colour at the base with a darker stripe towards the stem. Jauntily, proudly, the feather went in her hair behind her ear, to dangle there until either it fell out and was not noticed or until L’nan found a place to put it for safekeeping.

[Kat]

Ri’ley was a perfectionist. He had always been driven towards working his hardest, and his father’s obsessive teaching had made the man obsessed with doing things correctly. He liked everything neat and clean, and he worked to ensure that his life was perfectly arranged. And so, he butchered meat with an obsessive but firm hand, which was a task he was quite apt with, as he knew how to cut flesh and muscle. He held the knife in an incorrect way, his hand cupping the blade so that he had more control over the tip. Ri’ley managed to pull chunks off the
meat that he carved. He was pleased with his work, and Ri’ley smiled slightly, as he pulled the chunks off for Dionyph. He worked slowly, btu that meant that he reduced the amount of blood spatter which flashed up towards his white shirt and his pants. He was still dressed in finery, far too nice for the situation, and so he liked to think that he was attempting to keep his clothing as clean as possible. Of course, there was no hope for the garments, but Ri’ley’s slow work did keep him cleaner than most of the other winglets. His slow work also meant that he was still cutting when K’huna and Canph started giving instructions again, and so Ri’ley did not look at the pair even though he listened as closely as possible to their words.

Ri’ley finally glaced up when the large red started to roll gleefully in the dirt. The man’s gaze turned just in time to see the red blur within the great dust cloud. Ri’ley did not like the notion of Dionyph rolling in the dirt. He understood that it was actually good for the little simourv, but the thought of dirt sticking between Dionyph’s feather’s bothered the man, who liked everything to be very clean, including, or especially, his life partner, whose health and wellness Ri’ley cared for beyond all other things. The dirt which Canph created floated towards Ri’ley, but the red was far enough away that the dirt did not intrude within the surgeon’s bubble. When Romaph dropped to the ground, though, her dust cloud spread all over the meat Ri’ley attempted to cut, and also coated the man himself in dust. He snorted unhappily, turning his gaze to glare at the winglet whom he did not know, when Dionyph decided to ignore Ri’ley’s sour attitude towards the idea of a dust bath and dropped to the ground himself. The black hatchling coated himself in the dirt, splashing happily in the sand until his black feathers had paled to a thin, gray-brown color. Ri’ley sneezed at Dionyph’s dust, the action was both involuntary and bitter, and Dionyph stopped, straightened himself, and huffed towards Ri’ley.
You’ll have to get used to it, mine. Stop being so difficult; you need to make a good impression, even if you are tired. Why don’t you help me groom my feathers.
Dionyph scolded as he scooted backwards towards his rider. As the black hatchling began to peck at the front of his body with his beak, Ri’ley started to weed out loose feathers on the black’s back. He worked methodically, making sure that he removed as many feathers as possible, as he ran his fingers through Dionyph’s soft down in an attempt to make all the feathers fall the exact same direction. The man was somewhat successful, at least in the small patch of back on which he worked, and he used the time to bask in the softness of his hatchling’s thick, midnight feathers.

[Vanman]

H’kan tossed and turned as he tried to sleep. The events of the previous night were still fresh in his mind. The injuries of some candidates, the colorful simorvs everywhere, and the egg shell fragments that lined the floor of the nesting grounds. He looked to his right, and saw his beautiful simorv Gaoph. A majestic red that he could now call is bonded, and he loved every minute of it. It was kind of like the euphoria that you get when you get a new Christmas present. He watched the red sleep so calmly. He decided to look around the gigantic room that was assigned to him. he did not have a roommate, for red simorvs grew to 50 plus feet long as an adult. Sony you’ll be big enough to fit this entire room, mine. But for now I’ll keep you in my bed, where I can keep you safe and warm.

He stood up and walked to the window and looked outside. The fall sun was beginning to rise over the Eyrie. It’s your first day is a winglet, don’t screw it up. he turned as he heard some movement in his bed. Do not worry, mine, I believe in you and I know you will excel in all you do. That is why I picked you and not another. For you were perfect for me.. Hearing this, he felt extremely proud and was honored to be picked by his bonded. He sat down next to the red and said to him, and I’m glad that you chose me, because you’re perfect for me. He pet the simorv as he heard the winglet masters simorv call from overhead. I guess that will be our new alarm clock. Let’s get you down to the feeding pens. he said as he put on some suitable clothes. I can’t wait, and they said there was going to be FOOD!

H’kan shown up on time to hear K'huna start his lesson. He can tell from the field that was just going to be a butchering and feeding lesson. H’kan paid attention to the size of the bits of meat that he cut for his simorv. He was going to cut a little smaller, just to be safe. He did not want to ruin one of the better things in his life. As for the skinning and the de-boning of the meat, he was prepared. It was just like a big fish with legs. He had already cut one for the candidate lesson way back when. He fed Gaoph, and it seemed that he was pleased. He felt that his job with me was done and that his was happy with the meat. He decided to work his way over to the nut mash. It seemed like an easy thing to accomplish, mashing and chopping some nuts was easy. He flew through on that section of the lesion easily. He looked around to see several people talking with other winglets. He needed to make some new friends, and he needed to do it soon.

K'huna Decided to move on to the next part is lesson, grooming. He said that simorvs, like birds, molt. It seemed that today’s lesson was going to be old news. Back in Itnala They had a pet chicken which provided eggs for them to eat. It was H’kans job to take care of the chicken and make sure it was well fed and taken care of. He knew that the Simorv removed fathers without his help. He only had to take the ones that had fallen, and save them. Fathers are always used for something. The next part of the lesson surprised him. The concept of a dust bath never made sense to him. Getting dirty to get clean somehow made him laugh. But whatever worked, he did not question. Can I try it!?!?!? It looks like so much fun and I bet it will feel real nice too. It was clear that Gaoph was excited. go right ahead but don’t hurt yourself. The next thing he heard was Gaph fall down with a thud and start rolling around. H’kan bent down to pick up one of the loose feathers. It was extremely soft in his hand. He knew where his next pillow was going to come from.