Time and time again, the brown pair had flown in the skies. Time and time again, they had flamed Thread from the air. How many more times lay ahead of them? A'vayal truly couldn't answer that question as he and Kaivalth arrived out of between with the rest of their Wing, just below the new Wing that had been formed. It was so odd to the brownrider, seeing R'nianon somewhere other than the accustomed place in the Weyrleader's Wing, but at least that braggart Amaranth was somewhere else for a change. A'vayal had nothing against the bronzerider, but that dragon of his was an irritation, to say the very least. So, how long do you think Amaranth will last up there, my lad? he asked his dragon, stroking the bourbon-colored neck as he smiled.

Below him, Kaivalth crooned softly as he craned his neck up to glance at the honeyed hide of the bronze in question. He seemed a bit too eager to meet Thread, and the brown noticed the bronze's tail flicking behind him in irritation every so often. Well, while it's not really my place to say anything, he does seem a bit...overzealous, Kaivalth replied, rumbling softly in amusement as he waited for his turn at the deadly silver strands.

As they waited for the first of the Thread to slip past both Mayhem and Blazing Stars, A'vayal glanced down towards the lower levels, hoping for a glimpse at the Queen's Wing if they were there yet. When he couldn't see them right away, he figured it was for the better. After all, with only flamethrowers to protect them and their dragons, the queenriders might have a bit of a hard time in the heat of Fall. That was, if too much Thread slipped past the higher Wings, which A'vayal knew rarely happened with Libertas's Wings.

Relax, my rider, Kaivalth commented as he surged forward at his Wingleader's command. He flamed with an expertise that only a dragon of his age was capable of before flaring his wings, drifting back to flame at a clump that was about to fall behind him. Everything will be fine, that I can assure you. You needn't worry about M'kal, because we will catch all the Thread that comes near us!

The brown's confidence bolstered A'vayal's own, and as he glanced down one last time, he finally caught sight of Khaerisseth's crimson hide. She was beauty in motion at any time, and he wondered what her first Flight would be like before snapping himself back into reality. Now was certainly not the time to be thinking on such things, and as Kaivalth swerved to avoid a clump of Thread from hitting them, the young man was forced to grab onto the straps for dear life. Give a man some warning, Kai, he muttered to the dragon in a joking manner before glancing at the skies above them. There wasn't too much of the deadly silver rain slipping past the first two lines of defense, so he was confident that the Fall would go by rather well.

Threadfall was here once again, and once again dragons and riders rose as one to combat it. Two figures, vastly different, were entering into the air to join their wing from opposite sides of the sky.

First was Lyubovth, her green mottled black hide shimmering in the light of the day. She was lean and graceful in the air and it wasn't long before she joined the others that had already gotten airborne. Remi, hold on! This day we get to face our worst enemy. Thread falls today, and it is ours to flame out of the sky! The dragoness's voice growled lowly through her lifemate's mind, telling Remi more than anything else how serious the Black was about this Fall.

Remi shifted in her riding straps as Lyu brought them level with the rest of their wing. Her heart was pounding and she could feel the muscles of the dragon beneath her pumping as Lyu drew them closer and closer to Pern's most deadly menace. If she said she wasn't scared, she'd be lying, but this was what she'd been taught to do, and part of the reason Lyu had chosen her. They could do this, and they would!

The other to join the Churning Ash was a the slightly bulky form of Torlotath. The black speckled White was smaller than the female that had joined earlier and being a White he'd have less stamina than his wingmates but that certainly wasn't going to stop him. He'd gotten his lifemate up and ready in record time in order to join his Wing with the others that belonged there. Mariketa don't mess this up! I don't feel like having to save your hide from Thread if you do anything stupid. He would, of course, this was just the normal playful banter that occured between the pair.

Mari rolled her eyes in response to her dragon's words and just shifted so she could make sure she could reach the bags of firestone mounted on either side of her dragon. She knew they had to be careful, they always did, but Torlotath often faired far better than his wingmates during threadfalls so she wasn't exactly worried. Elation filled mahogany eyes as she spotted the others of her wing and she pumped her fist once in the air to show her excitement before she focused on the task at hand.

The day was bright, the sun clear against the blue sky without being blinding. Nidra shifted in her straps on Jaeldyth's back, checking each of the buckles one more time. They were all sound and firm. The greenrider looked back up towards the approaching Thread. The pair had fought the ancient enemy many times before, but every single time they were filled with the same excitement and passion of a weyrling flying their first 'Fall. We are ready. I am ready, Jaeldyth told her rider, staring eagerly off towards the silvery rain of her enemy. As am I, Nidra responded, eyes on the horizon. Clinging to her thigh was her blue firelizard, also eager to meet the Thread. The wingrider placed one gloved hand on his back, silently telling him to keep close to her so he wouldn't get chewed up by Thread.

When Thread began to fall, the upper wings got to it first. Nidra looked up to watch for any clumps that fell through. At first nothing fell through, but then two clumps made there way down towards Churning Ash. Lyubovth got hers, but Jaeldyth spotted the clump heading directly for Kaivalth at a bad angle. The smaller dragon knew she could get to it if they just swooped sideways. Moving on instinct, she moved forward towards the brown, speaking to her rider as she went. Kaivalth is in danger.

Nidra acknowledged the warning and braced herself for the sharp angle Jaeldyth was taking towards the clump of Thread. Her helmet held her curls down, keeping them from flying into her face and her goggles allowed her to see. Jaeldyth accessed her second stomach, building up a good flame. Coming in front of Kaivalth, she warned him of her nearness so he wouldn't flame her. Kaivalth, I am here to flame. And then she let loose her belch, fire shooting out to char the near half of the large clump.

Unfortunately, the wind caught the Thread and took it towards the two dragons more quickly. The charred ash created some burns on Jaeldyth's pale hide, but the part of the clump that had survived her flame caused more damage. A chunk of it had blown off and caught the green on her shoulder, just above where her neck and wing met. Bellowing in pain Jaeldyth flashed between to rid herself of the Thread burrowing into her body. Nidra met blackness and then they were in daylight again. A quick glance showed her a small trail of injured flesh in her thigh before her gaze sought out her bonded's shoulder. Jaeldyth looked bad, but they'd had worse injuries in the pass.

Are you alright to go one, Jae? Nidra asked, wincing slightly at the pain in her thigh when CJ moved to her other leg, chittering. Jaeldyth snorted, smoke trailing from her nostrils. She assessed the damage. I am alright, NidraMine. We can go on. The green's tone was assured though it was clear she was wary of another injury. They would need to see the healers the minute they got back to the Weyr. Kaivalth? Jaeldyth addressed the brown, wondering if he'd gotten hit too. I hope they're alright, Nidra thought, looking over the distance to see if A'vayal was still seated securely and unharmed.

Bera swung into the saddle, legs clamping tightly against the warm,soil Brown hide of her dragon. She checked the one more time before Patting the trembling shoulder of Morouth. The Brown moved, kicking off the ledge and gliding to Firestone stock. Impatiently, the pair waited to get filled up. Morouth was a monster of a dragon, so he was loaded with quite a few bags before they left.

Quivering in excitement, Morouth stumbled and skipped his way over to formation. The dragon was not so graceful on land,but once he got the wind to cradle his sails, he was another creature entirely. The dragonwoman could feel the great muscles beneath her tense as the Wingleader's arm went up, then on the down stroke the wing rose as one, before blinking between.

The Riders of Churning Ash had a few moments of piece as they hovered under the Mayhem Wing. Then, the Thread they missed rained upon them. Morouth ducked and swiveled as much as his great bulk could allow. Bera had to constantly remind her orange eyed beast of his limitations. She would not have her mount endanger others just because he was overenthusiastic and strained his wing. The appendage had been dislocated but a month ago in a Flight. He was fine now, but he would forever be at risk for dislocating it again. As the stout woman looked for Thread and strain in her dragon, she kept a careful eye on her wingmates, Morouth providing a running commentary. Although they had given up the position of Wingsecond some Turns ago, the instincts never died.

As the Fall went on, A'vayal and Kaivalth were as confident as ever in their abilities. After all, the pair had survived fourteen Turns of flying against Thread with little to no injury to either human or dragon, and they were not about to start now. Kaivalth wheeled and turned in the air, a deadly sky dance that was punctuated by intermittent spurts of flame whenever Thread ventured within striking distance of the large brown. Excellent flaming, Kai, the rider commented to his dragon, sparing a glance over the Wing to see how his fellow riders were faring. And I see Lyubovth and Torlolath are having an excellent go, as well. A brief glance downward ensured him that the lower Wings were doing fine, as well, including the lowest-flying Queens' Wing. Good, Khaerisseth was doing just fine, and for now, the brownrider needn't worry over his mate.

Meanwhile, the brown was just about to warn Lyubovth of the Thread headed her way, but the black caught sight of it and flamed it with very little problems. Nice flame, Lyubovth! Keep that up, and we'll be done in no time, the brown commented reassuringly to the female dragon just as he turned in time to see a pale green form drifting his way. The green, who he now recognized as Jaeldyth, was too close for the brown's comfort, but he understood why she was there once he saw her flame. Just as the brown was forming the words in his mind to thank Jaeldyth for helping him with the Thread, the wind roared around them, throwing the half-burned clump directly into both dragons. Kaivalth had moved to the right just enough to allow the green more flying room, and it was thanks to that simple movement that the brown didn't get hit squarely on the chest. Which, ironically enough, is what would have happened, had Jaeldyth not warned him of the impending danger and flamed.

However, despite that small bit of comfort, Kaivalth still got the brunt of the unburned part of the clump. The strands hit and wrapped around his left shoulder, scoring and burning his shoulder, neck, and wing joint all in the same breath. A fierce cry of pain erupted from the bourbon-colored throat as the brown's mind struggled to assess the damage done to himself and possibly his rider, as well as skip between to kill the living Thread now eating away at him. Every time the Thread tried to burrow into flesh, a new searing hot pain tore at the brown's mind. Finally, after what seemed like ages to the pained mind of Kaivalth, he managed to hop between, only to reappear moments later, the leading edge of his wing, the left side of his neck, and his shoulder a mess from the Thread that had burned into him. A'vayal! Are you alright?

Score on my leg, nothing more, the brownrider replied, reassuring his great beast that despite where the Thread had hit them, he had only received minimal damage. In truth, Kaivalth had gotten hit far worse, and that only meant one thing; they had to return to the Weyr, or risk Kaivalth falling out of the sky. We have to get back to the Weyr. You're in no condition to fly now, lad!

Right as always, my rider, the brown muttered, his voice tinged with pain as he roared a thanks to the green, who was still nearby. Thank you, Jaeldyth, but I'm afraid I'm out of the fight now. With that, the brown winked between once more, after informing his Wingleader that he had to return to the Weyr after receiving a bad scoring. Well, that certainly didn't turn out the way he had initially planned, did it?

050A00

[WIP :: Like my other two posts in Threadfall, this is an outline I will expand upon today after work.]

Lyubovth manuevers to flame the large cloud as it approaches her. She bugles her elation over destroying it successfully but this is short lived as she hears a pained gasp from Remi. Sensing her rider's pain, Lyu calls out just as Kaivalth compliments her.

Remi's entire right arm and part of her neck on that side get burned by the burning specks left over from Lyu's flame. Immediately Remi calls Lyu to go betweeen.

The Black goes between then returns and keens at the pain of her rider, demading almost immediately that they land but Remi refuses, saying they can stay in the Fall a little longer.

Remi braced herself against the searing pain her her neck and arm as she readied more firestone for her dragon; determined to stay in the fall no matter the pain she's in.

Lyu looks about for help and finally spots Morouth. Morouth! Morouth! I am in need of assistance! Remi is injured but refuses to let us land. Her arm and neck are burned, I don't know how badly, but she can barely move the arm! It's the one she uses to feed me firestone so I cannot flame as much. Please help! A large cluster of Thread falls towards the Black while she is unable to flame for lack of firestone. She manages a small flame to get some of the cluster before she is forced to blink between and then she reappears near Morouth. She'll need to rely on the Brown to keep her safe until she can get ground-side with Remi.

From across the sky, Torlotath berates the near frantic Lyubovth for not just ignoring her rider's wishes and going to the ground which gets him snarled at. The White then flames a small cluster of Thread before blinking between and reappearing to repeat the process.

Mariketa scolds her dragon mentally for meddling where he doesn't belong and a brief disagreement insues ended by Mari when she mentions they need to focus of fighting thread and not each other.

Reluctantly the White agrees and the two go back to fighting thread.

E9E9E9