Orzith roared loudly as she approached Adanuk Weyr. She announced to all present her triumphant return. From her back Tamika smiled. Y’know love. You don’t have to roar like that every time we return.
Orzith snorted. They should know I’m returning.
Tamika sighed and patted her dragon’s neck as they landed. "Turned out to be a fine specimen of a queen, didn’t you my love?"
Orzith glared at her rider, but the look was somewhat lost because of the smile also present on her face. What is that supposed to mean?
Tamika laughed, recognizing the challenge. "Well, you’re broody, full of yourself, loud, annoying..." Orzith reared and flapped her giant wings at her rider, knocking the girl over.
They were still laughing when they reached their weyr. Damian came happily bounding forward and nearly knocked Tamika off her feet again. She smiled and pet the watch-wher. "Calm down Damian. What’s got you so excited?"
Something’s got him excited. Can’t you feel it Tamika? Orzith sounded nervous.
"No." Tamika stood up. "What?"
Orzith shifted uncomfortably from side to side. I can’t tell. She spread her wings nervously. I don’t know, but it’s big.
Tamika nervously chewed her bottom lip. "This is bad. Really bad." Orzith never acts like this! She added to herself.
Orzith looked at her rider. I think we better go find Magika and Hyth.
"Okay." Tamika decided jumping to her feet and striding out of the weyr. "Now I know something is wrong. You never ask Hyth for help..."
* * *
"Tamika. Orzith is acting up too?" Magika questioned her as soon as she was in sight.
Tamika nodded. "Yep." She looked around the Weyrbowl of Adanuk Weyr and saw all the dragons, from hatchling to adult, acting weird. "What do you think it is?"
The Weyrwoman shrugged. "Dunno. You’re guess is as good as mine. All I know is that all the dragons are acting up in our Weyr and, according to Noisenth, all the dragons in the Weyrs around here too."
"Think it could be surprise Thread?" Tamika asked hopefully.
Magika looked at her and raised an eyebrow. "The dragons don’t panic over Thread. This is something different."
"They’re not panicking." Syna, the Jr. Weyrwoman, amended. "They just feel out of sorts."
"I still don’t like this." Magika declared. All the people of the Weyr stood around wondering what would happen.
The sky grew darker, as if a big storm was coming. The wind picked up and the air smelled of rain. "A storm?" Syna asked.
Tamika had spent lots of time outside as a child. She knew more about weather than anyone else in the Weyr. "A storm’s definitely coming." She agreed. "But Orzith’s never gotten uptight about bad weather before...." Her sentence trailed off. She could see something in the distance. It looked like.......Oh no! She yelled it so loud mentally that it hurt Orzith’s head. "Oh no!" She repeated it just as loud, out loud. "Tornado!"
Everyone turned to look at her, most people never having heard the word before. She frantically waved her hands and yelled. "Everyone inside. Take everything that’s outside inside. Or at least try to. Where’s Noisenth."
The golden-black queen appeared behind her. I am here.
Tamika always found in unnerving the way the giant dragon could bespeak anyone, but she firmly put that out of her mind. After all, that was why she needed the queen. "Tell all the other Weyrs around to batten down the hatches."
The queen nodded once. "Warn everyone first!" She screamed. The queen nodded and began projecting loudly her message. Everyone tried to not listen to her but it was hard. Her voice undermined everything else that happened.
"Torando?" Syna asked what’s that.
Tamika just pointed. The funnel was already approaching Adanuk at break-neck speed. Magika, Tamika and Syna ordered everyone into their weyrs and made sure everyone had something rock to be under. Noisenth finally stopped her broadcast when the giant windstorm hit Adanuk.
The roaring of the wind deafened everyone who could still hear after Noisenth’s broadcast. They could hear things flying around outside and pitied anyone who might have gotten stuck in it. Magika, Syna and Tamika, not to mention, Hyth, Succeth and Orzith, were all stuffed in Syna’s weyr. Needless to say it was a tight fight, but for the candlemark or so that they were all stuck in their the Weyrwoman and two Jr. Weyrwomen got to know each other better. Hyth, Succeth and Orzith almost killed each other. Finally the rumbling stopped and one by one the Weyr’s occupants ventured outside.
The damage was minimal, mostly because almost everything at Adanuk was rock, and in a few minutes, and a quick head count, everyone was accounted for. Another deafening broadcast from Noisenth proved that the other Weyr’s had suffered little to no damage, thanks to Tamika.
Tamika and Orzith headed back to their weyr, dead tired. Orzith flopped down on her dragon couch and spread out. Tamika laughed.
"Nice to have breathing room again eh?"
Orzith let out a contented sigh. You have no idea.
Tamika laughed. "That bad eh?"
I was stuck in a room with Hyth and Succeth for near two candlemark.
"You were the one who suggested we find them in the first place." Tamika reminded her lifemate.
Orzith snorted and drifted off to sleep. Tamika made a mental note: Orzith acting nervous, and talking to Hyth without threats, mean tornado.
Orzith snorted again. I heard that.
* * *
Read Tamika’s Weyrling Story!
Read Tamika's hatchling story.
Read Tamika's candatdite story.
Tamika impressed Orzith from Sapphire Weyr.
Tamika impressed Damian from Talor Cliff Weyr.
