New Moon, New Guard [Dragon]

[FirebrandPhlox]

Chess shivered in the cool night and pulled her furs tighter around her. It was late spring, and even though the days were warm, nights on the mountains still had a chill about them. It was a new moon, so the inky black silhouettes of the mountains made jagged tears in the starry sky.

Chess was still getting used to being awake at night, though she wasn't sure she'd ever reallyget used to the nocturnal schedule of a wherhandler. So much had changed so quickly for her, leaving home, adapting to life at the wher, and of course, bonding to Kichsk.

Speaking of, the wher was attentively scanning the surrounding landscape, on alert for anything out of place. Chess had tried looking out too, but she could barely see five feet in front of her and gave up on that quickly. She sighed and turned to the pair that had been assigned to guard duty with her.

"It's darker than a black cat in a mine shaft out here. Mah eyes are no good out here. Let's leave the work to the whers. Mah name's Chess, what's yers?"

[Dragon]

Briolette, on the other hand, had been at the weyr and bonded to Briosk for seventeen and a half turns. She was old hat at this, which was part of why she and Briosk had been partnered with the newbies. Not that the other brown was a baby, but his hander was young. Young and new at this.

"Briolette, and the strapping beastie working with yours tonight is Briosk," the experienced brownhandler answered. Her eyes were next to useless, too, but she was still helping Briosk with his task. Not that he needed much help; he knew what he was about.

Brio inspected the other wher present; he had scars that spoke of a long and intense history as a watchwher. He was a touch bigger than Briosk, and more subtly patterned, not that Briolette could see much of him in the dark ... at least not through her own eyes. Briosk had far better nightvision than she did.

"We've been at this a long while," Briolette continued. "We'd be glad to show you two around a bit after watch."

[FirebrandPhlox]

"Nice to metcha, Briolette! Mah wher is Kichsk, Ah keep forgettin' to introduce him too. I'm new to all o' this." Chess responded to the older woman in a chipper tone. Kichsk responded with a low grumble of greeting. He didn't care to talk much while he was supposed to be working.

His handler, on the other hand, was happy to have a distraction from the tedium of staring into a dark abyss all night.

"Well, that'd be mighty kind of ya! We're both new here, still gettin' used to the weyr. It's so darn big! Ya think they'd give new recruits a better tour or a map or somethin'! Ah half expect to run into the skeleton o' some poor sap who got lost looking fer the dining hall. Ah just hope that doesn't happen to me and Ah end up as a cautionary tale to the weyrbrats."