Not Getting Off So Easy

Writers: Eimi, Ames
Date Posted: 28th February 2011

Characters: J'nev, Kenza
Description: Kenza gets on J'nev's case...
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 9 of Turn 5

"No! Again!" She called out to the wing. Leading the training for the
afternoon had given Kenza ample opportunity to work off some steam.
She'd heard some of the riders grumbling about 'waking up on the wrong
side of the bed,' but that didn't bother her at all. In fact it made her
feel quite a bit better than she'd felt before.

"J'nev," she barked, "take your team up again, now. We'll follow. That
last attempt was pathetic if we are to fly forward wing next Fall."
Kenza was truly in rare form. She might have promised U'kaiah that she
would sit on her hands where J'nev was concerned, but when it came to
training, she could lay into him in her own ways, making the drills as
hard on him as she felt justified in doing. Moving quickly over to Solith she
mounted with little difficulty.

**Take us up, and tell Ankioth to take the lead again. Let's see how he
does when we _really_ put the pressure on him.** J'nev _was_ a good
flyer, but he was still young and had much to learn and Kenza decided to
use that to enact a little self-satisfying revenge of her own.

J'nev took a deep breath, raising his hand for all the people in his
group to see his signal. He could feel all their eyes on him as they
awaited his signal. His hand dropped as he suddenly became uncertain.
He wasn't used to leading in the Wing, being such a young bronze, and
had felt very proud when he was chosen to practice lead. But it was
proving hard than he had thought! **Wait, check with Kenza. She wants
us to be the 2nd or 3rd level this time?**

**Tell J'nev we don't have all day!** She heaved a rather frustrated
sigh as she watched him hesitate.

}:He is uncertain which level you wished him to be.:{

She wished she was closer so she could bellow at him in person. At least
it would have relieved some of her frustrations with him.

**Third, into the wind. Tell him to get moving NOW!** Solith relayed the
message and Kenza ordered her own group to take off. They would fly the
top and she had some plans to mimic what could happen if her wing went
lower than expected. See how he handled that situation.

J'nev could feel her displeasure as if she had bellowed it. Lifting his
hand once more and dropping it, they were all aloft. They took their
position just as Kenza had instructed. He did a quick check around to
make sure they were all in formation around him. **Tell R'ted that he's
a drifting to the left,** he said when he noticed a greenrider moving a
little further out than he should be.

**Now,** She signaled Solith and her wing to drop as though they had to
avoid a rather nasty clump of Thread. It was up to J'nev and his level
to be watchful and prepared. Kenza secretly hoped something, anything,
would not go in his favor so she could give him a piece of her mind without
breaking her word to U'kaiah.

The bronzerider did see them moving towards him at an alarming rate, but
instead of taking invasive reactions, he unwisely sent a message through
Ankioth, **Tell Kenza they're coming in too low!** What in Faranth's
name was she doing?!

**Shards!** She snarled, ordering her group to pull up fast. **Tell him
to land, NOW.** She was going to get her chance to have words with the
young, deceptive little bronzerider after all! Her team blinked
/between/ and soon made their own way back down to the training grounds
even as she ordered Solith to do the same.

She was already out of her riding straps and landing with a thud on the
ground only moments after Solith's feet hit the dirt. She wished she
could wring J'nev's neck for the little stunt he'd pulled in her office
that had landed her on the outs with U'kaiah, but instead she would
ground his arrogant self under her boots for his inability to think on his
feet. He'd have killed them all had it been a real Threadfall.

J'nev also was rather put out. She was supposed to be an experienced
rider! How could she have not seen that she was coming in too low! She
could have killed someone! Of course he knew he couldn't say it, but
shards, he was thinking it as he pulled off his helmet and slipped off
Ankioth's neck.

"You could have killed half your wing, J'nev!" She roared as she
approached him. "They waited for your command and you just sat there?
You were supposed to adjust. What if my wing had come in and found
ourselves in the midst of heavy Thread? Some of us would have /betweened/ instantly,
but the rest would have dodged the clumps, forcing _your_ team to be ready. You
_have_ to protect the dragons and riders you command, at _all cost!"

The bronzerider could feel his face burn with embarrassment, not only at
his mistake but that she was screaming at him in front of everyone.
_Everyone_! And they were all looking at him! "You didn't tell me you
wanted to practice that!" he shot back, feeling it had been a rather
cheap shot to not prepare him for the possibility.

She actually took pleasure in seeing the look on his face. It gave her
some retribution for the conniving he had done to convince her to battle
for her.

"You _have_ to always be prepared. Mount up. We'll do it again and
_this_ time, you _will_ be ready." She placed her helmet on her head as
she turned on her heel and started to march away, a rather triumphant grin
spreading across her face.

"You're shading right I'll be ready," he muttered under his breath as he
pulled his helmet back over his head. J'nev would be ready for
anything, now that he knew the Wingthird intended to play dirty!

She ran the drill again, leading her team up to the highest level and
dropping once again, waiting to see if J'nev would, in fact, follow
through this time.

He was ready and waiting. As soon as he noticed the upper level dip
down towards his, he took immediate evasive action and signaled to his
group to do the same. **Complain about _that_ why don't you!** he
screamed inside as he watched the group fall in line behind him and well
out of the way of the level above.

Kenza couldn't help but nod her approval at his response. He was a quick
learner. **Tell Ankioth that was better. He and his should lead the wing
into the wind. Our teams will follow his lead.** She motioned for the
lower level to fall into place as well, all prepared to follow J'nev as took
them into the strong headwind.

**Right.** Well, he'd show her! J'nev turned in a wide arch into the
wind to that the rest could follow comfortably. **Be careful not to go
too high,** he reminded Ankioth, knowing the hardest part of flying into
the wind was flying straight. With the wind moving over the wing and
creating pressure under, it was far to easy to lift higher into the air
than they wanted to, which would put them in danger of bumping into the
upper levels from below. He wondered if that was what Kenza was testing
him for this time.

She grudgingly had to admit he had done well with that task as she
watched some of the other young riders struggling a bit to maintain
their positions in the heady wind. Solith belayed her orders to them and Kenza
watched as they moved back into position.

**Time to practice replacements in these conditions. Have Yanith drop
out and Maranith take his place.** Yanith was currently flying to
J'nev's right. She ordered a few others to do the same. The wing had to fly like
a team, always aware of the others and _always_ aware of the Thread that
would fall from the sky.

J'nev was surprised at first when he noticed the people around him
disappearing. What was she doing _now_? As others slid in to take
their place he realized it was a replacement drill. **Alright, stay
steady,** he ordered Ankioth. **Be careful to maintain this speed.**

They ran through a few final drills for the day before Kenza ordered the
wing down once again. In a matter of moments, the riders had begun to
disperse to see to their other tasks for the day. Pulling her helmet off
she easily dismounted Solith, who quickly took to the air once again.
Kenza had to make some notes on today's drills, so she planned to head to her
office next.

As she passed by J'nev, he took of his helmet and called after her
rather smugly, "So Kenza, how do you think I did?"

Kenza paused and turned to look at the young rider. He had _actually_
done quite well in the circumstances, but she was still fuming inside
over what she percieved as his deception towards her that she was _not_ going
to tell him that.

"It could have been better, J'nev." Oh how she wanted to tell him off
about what she knew, but she had _promised_ U'kaiah she would leave it
be. But,could she berate him when he _had_ in fact flown well? That was
simply not her style, no matter how much she wished it to be. "Next time I put
you in charge of a level I expect you to be on the watch at _all_ times.
We'll try it again in a few days time, see what happens then."

That certainly wasn't the glowing admiration he felt he deserved right
then. Been in the wing less than a Turn and had lead a group in drills,
not only successfully but pretty well? And all she could say was it
could have been better? Why was everyone in this place so hard on him,
never saying a single sharding kind word! "Yes, ma'am," he muttered,
his ego deflated. Well, he'd show her!

Last updated on the March 21st 2012

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Not Getting Off So Easy