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Near the entrance to the Weyr is an outcropping of rock, and an opening on the southern side, screened by a black felt curtain, leads into a cave concealed within. From here a long, narrow passageway leads down to a much larger cave, the heart of the improvised CraftHall, from which several smaller tunnels spring. It is not a particularly large cave system, but it's large enough to have separate caves for all the watchwher handlers - apprentices with young whers or those waiting for a clutch (and learning about the Craft in the meantime) nearest the large central cave, journeymen and masters further back - and even an isolated cave at the end of a long tunnel for the brooding females to guard their clutches in privacy. No glows are allowed past the entrance cave, on pain of expulsion and possibly a beating from an irate watchwher if the foolish glow-bearer argues.

Clell's reapearence! -- Clell*Clesk, 15:51:33 02/10/06 Fri [1]
(( OOC: The first paragraph is from before. You know, the bonding and naming... Sorry it took me so long to post. ))

Clell grimaced as the knife sliced down his palm to make a small cut. The blue wher looked up. In the darkness, the boy couldn't see clearly; but he knew where the wher's mouth was, and he quickly shoved it in. Startled, the Watch Wher hesitated before it started the bonding. After a while, he got slightly dizzy; he shook his head. Finally, he was told that he could retrieve his hand, so he yanked it back eagerly. The Wher blinked before crawling over to the boy and curled up beside him. Clell quickly grabbed a piece of cloth and pressed it up to the wound. Then he looked down to the wher. "I shall call you Clesk." The newly-named Watch Wher opened his eyes in response before falling asleep...

Clesk was leading Clell in the watch-wher caverns a week or so later. They where trying to find the right one; but Clesk was being picky today. He moved from cavern to cavern, poking his head in (and sometimes his whole body) to look around before retreating. Finally, after what seemed like forever, the blue Wher found one that fit him. He curled up into a ball in a corner as Clell walked in and looked around. It was big enough for him; there was plenty of space for a blue Wher. Smiling, he sat down next to Clesk and closed his eyes, exhausted.

((Aso OOC: I have a question; do Whers project thoughts, sentences, or nothing at all?? ))

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Okay, so Christy definitely could have left the post alone... -- Ghys/Ghysk/, 11:03:35 12/14/05 Wed [1]
((Sorry, I left the computer to get a drink of water, and Christy, my cousin, stole it. She...Well, this isn't my original post, okay?))

Ghys took a fur as Ghysl directed her past Yima's cave. The warm fur was cool to the touch, but her body warmed up withing moments of draping it over her shoulders.
"Your choice, 'ysk," she told the green, keeping one hand- the one that held her staff- touching the greens back. The greeen sniffed past several caves, and ducked her head into several more. Ghys kept her count of strides- it would never do to lose her way in an unfamiliar cave system. Within a few caves of the one that housed Zeara and her bronze, Ghysk darted in, and sprawled on the cool stone floor.
Reaching out iwth her staff, Ghys could feel that the walls were only big enough for a blue well to pass through, so it would be perfect for a green wher and her handler.
"Fifty-four steps, girl, to our cave. Don't go off and clutch without me, okay?" Ghys asked her green, not caring that she sounding ridicouls, or that anyone with a light would see that she wasn't even facing her wher. With her back to the greens bulging stomach, Ghys settled the fur about her like a bed spread. Within minutes, the tired handler was asleep.
Not so with her green. She kept still to avoid awakening her tired handler, but her photosensitive, heat-seeing eyes were probing the room. There was a warm spot near a corner, probably just a weird heat reaction. Ghysk had seen it before.

((Anyone can reply, but she won't clutch until next week. Shards, guys, I'm sorry about my inactivity.))

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All right, everyone up here. -- Yima & Yimask, 17:39:08 08/23/05 Tue [15]
((I'm going to step things up a bit here; it's now about an hour before dawn. I'm assuming that Ghys, Ghysk, and Yimask have returned, and Zeara and Zearask have been introduced to Yima and taken in on probation. I'm also going to act as if Clell doesn't exist, because he didn't answer the last active check and hasn't posted for even longer than any of the rest of us.))

Finished with her first exploration of the caves, Yima returns to the spot where everyone else is gathered, finding them by sound and counted footsteps rather than depending on her wher to guide her. That's a dangerous trap to fall into, letting her watchwher do everything for her, and it's one she won't allow herself to fall into. "All right. I've checked out these caves, and I want everyone to get up, wake your whers if they're asleep, and get ready to move. You can hear which direction I'm speaking from, I hope - if not, you'd better learn, because I'll be expecting you to follow my voice a lot from now on. Once you're on your feet, walk in this direction until you meet a wall, put your right hand against it, and follow it to the first gap you meet. That leads to a cave that will work well for clutches, so I don't want any of you going down that tunnel just yet. Keep on going to the next gap, and turn down there. That entire tunnel has small caves all along either side. I want each of you to pick a cave, and head in there for the day. That's where you'll live and sleep. Don't take the first cave on the right, though - that's where 'Ask and I will be. I only have five furs with me, so Manethenre, Mikhal, Telomm, Ghys, and Keao, you may each take one as you walk past my cave. Oriana and Zeara will have to wait." She will, too, but Yima isn't worried about that. She's endured far worse. "I want you three with the young whers closest to the front, Keao too, with Oriana a bit beyond them. Zeara and Ghys, you'll be further back. There's another tunnel where I'll want you two to stay later on, but for now I want us all close together, because this is a fairly large cave system. Ghys, once you've picked your cave, let me know which it is so nobody else takes it, and then go to the hatching cave, because that wher of yours is going to drop any minute now. There's enough sand on the floor that she should be fairly comfortable." Orders given, Yima takes a deep breath. Her tone is usually a bit harsh, but now her voice is rough as well, hoarse from all the talking she's been doing over the past few nights. She's become unaccustomed to lecturing, and it's something she'll have to re-adapt to very quickly.

"I know you're probably hungry, and you with the babies, your watchwhers will be hungry by dusk today. For now, you'll have to live with it. I've been told that those dragon eggs are Hatching, so there will be a Hatching Feast this evening, and I'll go talk to people and make more comfortable arrangements for us then. Until then, be patient and try to sleep. It's what I'll be doing." Not that she'll sleep peacefully; Yima doesn't rest easily in the best of circumstances, and with so many strangers and strange watchwhers about, both she and Yimask will be restless. Still, it's good advice for everyone else. "If you need anything, I've just told you where my cave is, so come talk to me. Ghys, as soon as your green starts clutching, come let me know, do you understand? If I've left for the Hatching Feast, ask Manethenre to send me one of those silly flittery things - I'm not having them in here unless they serve some purpose." Reminded of the green's clutch, Yimask hisses softly, mantling her wings. As far as she's concerned, she should be the first to clutch in that lovely cave her handler had found. Yima is boss queen here - just as it should be, in Yimask's opinion - and that makes her boss queen as well. In a practiced movement born of long habit, Yima reaches down and raps her watchwher sharply on the skull, the closed fist nothing more than a tap when it finally penetrates through armor-like hide and thick bone. "Aaach, 'Ask, you can't ask her to clutch in the same cave she'll be living in, with an open entrance and all," she scolds, then addresses the green's handler directly, a touch of wry humor in her voice. "I think 'Ask and I will stay well clear of your Ghysk, though. Now-" and she's addressing all of them again "-go. Find caves that suit you, take your fur if I've named you, and try to sleep. If you or your wher can't sleep, you younglings and you with the blue, remember what I told you earlier about strengthening the bond and learning their noises, and work on that. During the day, the only excuse for being awake is working, because at night you'll need to be clear-eyed and aware of what's going on around you. The lessons are far from over. Keao, I'll be coming for you later, to explain how to approach a female watchwher, and then Ghys will talk with you after about Ghysk's specific preferences."

Yima pauses, knowing she's missing something but not sure what. Then Yimask yawns, exhaling the meaty aroma of her last meal, and she remembers. "In about a sevenday, if I think the babies can handle being alone for a few hours, I'll take you younglings out to visit the Weyr. You can visit friends and family, if you have any. Oriana, the same goes for you - no leaving your watchwher until I think the bond's strong enough. Zeara and Ghys, you're both Journeywomen, so I'd sharding well better be able to trust your discretion. You're free to come and go as long as I know how to get ahold of you, but if either of you do something stupid, I think I'm perfectly well entitled to confine you." At last it seems that Yima is truly finished, because the sound of her boots and Yimask's claws click in an erratic tattoo, the sound leading towards the cave she's claimed as her own.

((All right, ladies and gentlemen, you have your orders. Feel free to socialize a bit if you're quiet about it, and don't hesitate to approach Yima even though I'll be posting her on another board - that post will be several hours ahead, in RP-time, and won't affect anything here. Ghys, get those eggs clutched, please, so Yima can start beating egg-selection courtesy into the prospective handlers' heads. ^_~))

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Replies:
- Woot, I'm First -- Keao, 21:18:46 08/30/05 Tue
  - >Afraid of the dark< -- Oriana & Orisk, 17:41:41 10/12/05 Wed
- Fire Brimstone -- Zeara /Zearask/, 15:25:04 09/09/05 Fri
  - >Curiousity< -- Mikhal & Misk, 11:25:02 09/26/05 Mon
    - And what would YOU be wanting? -- Zeara /Zearask/, 18:19:33 10/01/05 Sat
      - >~< -- Mikhal, 09:35:32 10/02/05 Sun
        
        I.n.d.e.e.d. -- Zeara /Zearask/, 10:54:51 10/23/05 Sun
        
        >~< -- Mikhal, 06:49:31 10/25/05 Tue
        
        Drain the pressure from the swelling -- Zeara /Zearask/, 16:09:33 11/25/05 Fri
        
        >~< -- Mikhal, 07:47:56 12/01/05 Thu
        
        Whoa, way to much Green Day running through my mind right now -- Zeara /Zearask/, 15:13:32 12/01/05 Thu
        
        >~< -- Mikhal, 09:24:46 12/09/05 Fri
        
        Behind these hazel eyes -- Zeara /Zearask/, 17:27:36 01/01/06 Sun
- >Uncertain< -- Oriana & Orisk, 06:46:39 09/22/05 Thu
>~< -- Yima & Yimask; Oriana & Orisk; Mikhal & Misk, 12:20:41 05/29/05 Sun [7]
((Very sorry to have taken so long to reply; it's the end of my last year of high school, and things were very hectic for a while. >_< Fat Friar, I think I'll leave it with one hatching cave. Since dragons and firelizards don't match their cycles, I don't think watchwhers will either, so it'll be at separate times. As long as two clutches don't happen at once, I don't think the territorial thing will come too much into play - they'll have their own private caves elsewhere - and if worst comes to worst, there are other caves in the "living area" branches. And besides... *sheepish grin* I've already drawn the map. And I'm too lazy to spend another two hours re-doing it. But as I said, if it really becomes a problem, we could stick the greens in the smaller side-caves.))

"Yes," Yima mutters in reply to Ghys' comment. She can hear the green's unhappiness as well as its handler can, and guess at its source. "You do. And 'Ask needs to hunt, too." She rubs her forehead with one hand, then reaches down and thumps Yimask's thick skull affectionately as the wher stiffens and hisses in warning. /What is it, 'ask?/ Closing her eyes, she lets the wher send her a heat-image of their surroundings, centered on a strange human just inside the entrance tunnel. Oh, shards, not another interruption.... I'll never get anything done tonight at this rate, she fumes darkly. Biting back a snappish comment, the woman chooses to instead ignore Keao for the moment. She stands silent for a moment, turning over the circumstances, her desires, and her options in her head for a long minute, then shrugs. Bending over, she picks up the furs and begins distributing them to the children, letting the glowing eyes of their watchwhers and the little noises they're making be her guide. "Use those if you're cold," she says simply. "But try to stay awake as long as possible. Oriana, I want you and Orisk right next to the tunnel, with Orisk watching for any intruders. No, hang on a moment-" Darting for the tunnel, she reaches blindly for Keao, clamps down on the girl's shoulder, and drags her into the big cave. An irritated sigh escapes her. Another sharding child! she snarls to herself. "Hn. Now get ready to stand guard. Mikhal, remember, if anyone does come that Orisk doesn't recognize, you and Oriana will handle them. Ghys, take Ghysk out to hunt, and take Yimask with you. She'll help you find your way back, if you need it, and I have things to do down here." Yimask immediately squalls a protest, sensing the drift of her handler's faults, and Yima releases Keao's shoulder and spins away to glare down at the watchwher, hands on her hips. No one else may be able to see her posture, but the wher will. "Don't. Argue. You will go hunting with Ghysk, 'ask," she snarls, and Yimask whines and bows her head, defeated, before slinking towards Ghys and Ghysk. She hisses at the green, her natural ill temper augumented by this loathsome notion of Yima's, but the watchwher queen knows that in the end, Yima is capable of out-stubborning her. Better to go along with this strange green - at least she'll be keeping an eye on one of the strangers, well away where she can't be a danger to Yima. The hiss is the worst Yimask will do.

As soon as the green pair and the golden watchwher leave, Orisk sets himself in front of the tunnel entrance, mindful of the orders given by both his own handler and the departing Yimask. Oriana sits down beside him, resting her head against his muscular shoulder and patting his neck absently. She doesn't want to do this, but she doesn't think arguing would get her anywhere even if she had the courage to. Then a hand touches her shoulder, and Mikhal whispers a sheepish apology for startling her when she jumps and squeaks. He sits down beside her, and they quickly fall into an awkward, stop-and-start conversation that becomes a bit easier as they get acquainted.

Letting Ghys, Ghysk, and her own irate wher slip from the forefront of her mind, Yima stalks over to her pack - she'd been keeping track of her strides as she walked around, and knows exactly how far she is from it - and digs around inside, pulling out a pen and a scrap of hide. Once again she scrawls out a message, writing with the easy illegibility of someone who has been scribbling in the dark for years. Pulling herself to her feet, she quickly locates Manethnre, bending close and slipping the roll of hide into the girl's hand. "If your firelizards can get that to the Headwoman or the Weyrwoman, that would be best," she says roughly, as if she wants badly to snarl at somebody but doesn't want to be unfair to Manethenre. "Otherwise, just have them leave it in the Lower Caverns." Straightening and turning away, she relocates Keao, snatches the girl's wrist up in a strong grip, and drags her away from the rest of the group. Yima is multi-tasking. She can talk to the newcomer and explore the cave system on her own. Free hand out to keep her from walking into a wall, she reaches the nearest edge of the cave and begins to follow the wall, leading Keao with her by sheer brute strength. "Come along, child," she orders sharply. "Tell me your name while we walk, and you may as well tell me why you're here while you're at it." Yimask had best eat soon, because a good part of Yima's irritability at this point is due to her watchwher's hunger. Not all of it, of course. Yima wouldn't be Yima if she wasn't snappish, bad-tempered, and paranoid. But feeding the gold might help.

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Replies:
- Sharding Message Subjects -- Keao, 20:45:35 05/29/05 Sun
  - >~< -- Yima, 18:36:27 06/07/05 Tue
    - Mood ring reading- moody, with a likely chance of violence. -- Ghys /Ghysk/, 18:52:55 06/09/05 Thu
      - Perfect by Nature -- Zeara /Zearask/, 18:53:57 06/17/05 Fri
- Reply -- Keao, 19:21:27 06/09/05 Thu
- Stopping with the song -- Zeara /Zearask/, 18:27:49 07/27/05 Wed
New Arrival -- Keao, 12:01:53 04/25/05 Mon [6]
Now what? Uppon arrival to the Weyr, Keao had been directed to the entrance of the whatchwher caves and told to enter. But carefully. Those whers could be aggressive. Keao was nervous. Would the other people in the Wherhall know she was comming? She carefully tiptoed along the passageway, her bundle of belongings under one arm and her staff in the other feeling the way in front of her. A narrow passage certainly, probably only big enough for a few people and whers to walk in at once. It wasn't very high either, Keao could tell that from the sounds of her footsteps and the occasional drips of water from above. She could feel how much space there was around her, and now it seemed the space was growing. She was comming to the end of the passageway and could hear voices from in front of her and occasional chirps and other sounds. Those must be the whers. She stopped at the end of the passage before walking carefully forward into the larger space, waiting for someone to notice her.
(pardon the intrusion, she could maybe be a Candidate, if that's what you call it, for the next clutch. I read that there was a pregnant green wher and I thought this'd be the best time to bring in Keao)

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Replies:
- Hmph -- Fat Friar, 14:02:47 04/27/05 Wed
  - Friar, sweetie! -- Pup, 14:06:59 04/27/05 Wed
- And what if you can't think of one, do you still need a subject? -- Sylvie, 12:02:12 04/28/05 Thu
  - I'm afraid so. . . -- Pup, 07:18:05 05/01/05 Sun
    - But Pup! -- Friar, 08:14:41 05/01/05 Sun
Ghys (and the others, since she's still waiting on their replies to her last few questions....) -- Yima & Yimask, 16:59:51 04/21/05 Thu [4]
((Please excuse the short-and-crappy post.... I had all of two hours of sleep last night, and it's catching up with me something nasty by now.))

"...Lower Caverns." Just as Yima finishes her sentence, Yimask emits a loud rumble, warning her of an approaching stranger. Then it modulates into a careful greeting chirp to Ghysk, neither friendly nor hostile but merely wary, for the time being, just as she'd been with Orisk. When it comes to strangers, Yimask takes her cues from Yima first unless her own instincts tell her that something is up. "Who's there?" Yima snaps, closing her eyes and slowly bringing what Yimask sees to the fore of her brain. A woman. A wher, small, probably a green - no, definitely a green, because it's too small for a gold and males don't get pregnant. Knowing who the strangers are doesn't make her relax entirely, but she does move her hand away from her beltknife, having reached automatically for the hilt upon Yimask's warning. "Ghys. And Ghysk, I assume? It would be difficult for it to be anything else. I'm Yima, handler of gold Yimask and the Master of this CraftHall." The woman's voice is firm and uncompromising. This isn't like the children or even Oriana, who automatically deferred to someone with more knowledge of watchwhers than they, and this will be the first real test of her authority. "I see your wher is pregnant?" It's phrased as a question, but it isn't, really, and that's obvious despite the rise on the last syllable.

Chirping, humming, gurgling, and some odd noises that can't really be defined emerge from Yimask's throat as she does the watchwher equivalent of a cautious introduction. She's in charge here, and Ghysk will listen to her. Yima is her person, and not to be touched. The other ones are Yima's, and by extension hers, and also not to be touched. Ghysk can use their clutching cave once Yima and Yimask - Yima and Yimask, no one else - find it, but Ghysk has to remember that it's the gold's cave first and foremost. All of this is backed up by a wordless mental presence, a few emotions and images projected but most of it a combination of Yimask asserting her superiority and Yimask testing the green's attitude. The watchwher queen is a bad-tempered beast, even worse than her human, and just as paranoid as the woman at her side (though her paranoia is entirely natural, and not supplemented by some slight mental imbalances as Yima's is).

"Wait a moment, though," Yima adds to Ghys. "I was asking the children a few questions, I still want to hear their answers." Though of course no one can tell if she's turned her head, the pitch conveys her shifted attention. "I'll repeat. Any questions? And Manethenre, can your firelizards carry a message for me?"

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Replies:
- Blind to the Sun -- Ghys /Ghysk/, 12:49:14 04/23/05 Sat
  - Am I late? -- Manethenre, 14:12:26 04/27/05 Wed
    - Very very very late. But you still need to post R'ven, so we're even. Or something. -- Telomm - Brown Wher, 11:40:52 05/05/05 Thu