Hurricane: Desperate Flood (5) (Part 3/4)

Writers: Devin, Clancey, Emma, Jane, Kaysea, Paula, Vix
Date Posted: 25th May 2007

Characters: I'lan, D'ren, J'darin, Br'nick, C'lor
Description: The Hatching Grounds begin to flood requiring drastic measures.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr, Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 19 of Turn 4

J'darin

- J'zestin -

J'zestin picked up one of the nets and headed across to the eggs, keeping a more than wary eye on the gold dragon.

"Living dangerously," he muttered to the bronzerider closest to him, "And that's _before_ we go /between/ from one cavern to another halfway across the Continent."

He placed the net between two eggs and manhandled them into position, feeling a sweat break all over his body out when he turned his back on the gold dragon as he worked. **Nieth?**

}:She knows you are helping.:{ As his bronze lifemate positioning himself to allow the net to be fastened under his chest J'zestin kept his doubts to himself. It was all very well for a gold dragon to _know_ that he was helping, even be demanding that he and Nieth help, but when it came to the crunch instinct might just tell her that this bronze was stealing her eggs.

**Comfortable?** the bronzerider asked as he tightened the last attachment point. It wasn't really comfort he was asking about, but if the load would affect the bronze's ability to fly.

}:Fine. We must hurry. She is anxious.:{ Anxious wasn't the half of it, J'zestin thought as he climbed up the bronze side.

He looked up into the darkness of the high cavern. Plenty of room to fly around; he knew that. And the same at the other end. And the dragons could avoid each other in almost any circumstances. Not so much avoid rock, he thought, remembering the perennial story of the weyrling in the rock.

}:I will not come out of /between/ in a _rock,_:{ Nieth grumbled as he took to the air in the great cavern. }:Look, we are first.:{ It was all that time in their younger days doing cargo work. Back when Thread wasn't even remembered and dragons were a curiosity that had to earn their keep. They knew how to load, disappear, appear, unload and collect their marks. This was a whole different situation.

**Visualization good?**

}:It is from _Nyith._:{ J'zestin smiled. Apparently a visualization from the senior gold dragon was undeniably perfect. **Let's go then.**

And they did.

**Whoa.** Coming out from /between/ into a cavern was a whole different thing from their normal appearance and for a moment J'zestin felt his heart thump in surprise.

}:We are fine.:{
**Yeah.** They were spiraling down to a height where they could make a landing that wouldn't damage the cargo. **Are those _eggs_ down there?**

He could feel Nieth's puzzlement. }:We were first.:{ The bronzerider nodded, leaning back as the dragon flared hard to touch down as gently as possible. **Must've timed it. Not a bad idea.** He unfastened his riding straps and swung down to the sands of Dragonsfall's Hatching Grounds.

}:We can do that next trip.:{ Busy with the net and the eggs J'zestin chuckled and said aloud:
"Perhaps we already did. Perhaps they are our next load."

}:I don't think so ...:{ Nieth wasn't certain and was completely distracted a moment later by seeing the eggs he had carried rolled over beside the other two. }:They are safe.:{ Overhead another dragon appeared.

**They are, but there are others that aren't. Come on, let's get back.**

}:WATER!:{ J'zestin winced at the bugle of protest as they reappeared in Dolphin Cove's Hatching Grounds and Nieth roared his disapproval of the water's encroachment. Perhaps they should have timed it back?

It was an incredible scene but Nieth was not interested in sight-seeing. He landed as close to the remaining eggs and the other dragons as he could and kept up a barrage of orders for his rider.
J'zestin figured the golden Nyith's agitation was behind the bronze's impatience, but certainly the real danger to the eggs wasn't helping.

This was going to be some flood if the Sands were under water. The lower caverns must be inundated.

}:Are they secure?:{
**All done.** He scrambled onto Nieth's neck and got a single strap fastened before the bronze launched himself into the air. **Slow down.
We'll time it on the way back.**

The pair and their cargo winked out.

It was reassuring to see so many eggs at Dragonsfall but Nieth wouldn't be comforted and protested at J'zestin's cautious unloading of the net.

"There's no _point_ in saving them from the water only to damage them here," the bronzerider said firmly, rolling the soft-shelled egg away from the forelegs of the bronze. "And we'll time it back so it just won't _matter_ that we've been careful here."

When he finally climbed up the straps and settled himself on Nieth's neck he looked around, checking for others flying overhead. One or two. Perhaps all the eggs were saved, already?

}:We must check.:{ Aloft in the Hatching Grounds J'zestin realized that with no external visual clues like the sun or stars, jumping /between/ times into a cavern was going to be difficult. Could he use the water? Not later, when the water must have reached the eggs. That would be too late.
But before? When the water was lower than it was on their last trip?
What would that mean? That this 'second' trip was actually their 'third'?

He tightened the straps, responding unconsciously to his doubts, and gave Nieth the best visualization he could.

Less water. More eggs. It had worked.

Nieth was more relaxed this time. Perhaps it was because the threat to the eggs was less, or because they weren't close to themselves in time, though that was supposed to be a problem riders suffered, not dragons.

J'zestin rolled eggs into the net and tried to test how he felt. All right, he thought. A few physical aches and pains from the sandbagging this morning, but nothing untoward. No dizziness or confusion. He was fine.

**Comfortable?** he asked, feeling a little echo of the same word, but that made sense. He always said it. It had nothing to do with timing it.

}:Ready to go. The water is coming.:{ Nieth could remember that from their last visit, couldn't he? Or sense it? J'zestin fastened his straps and allowed Nieth to get airborne into the cavern.

Dragonsfall. Timing it? Would they be the ones who had delivered those first eggs? No, Nieth had thought they weren't.

Timing it?

No, they didn't need to. They were here now and the water was flowing in below them.

They needed to go before they arrived again.

They disappeared.

- J'darin -

Hasaarth waited impatiently beside his mate, two eggs cradled in a makeshift sling that let the eggs nestle between his forearms and against his chest. One of the other bronzeriders – J'zestin, he thought – had already left on his bronze. It was vaguely troubling that the Weyrleader was not _first_ in the air, but it didn't matter who saved the eggs, did it?

}:No! It doesn't matter who. But _we_ will save them. We must save them. Hurry! We must go!:[ J'darin mounted quickly, watching as the other bronzeriders – so few -
raced back into view, their dragons beginning to appear in the Caverns to ready for the trips. As he watched them scurrying about the Hatching Grounds, he glanced up toward the sandbags and knew their time was rapidly fading. It would not be enough.

With a frown, he made sure Hasaarth had the right visual and two wingbeats later, they were blinking out of /between/ in Dragonsfall's Hatching Caverns.

The eggs were deposited gently in the sands, but it seemed there were no other eggs in view. Had they beaten the other bronzerider here?

}:I went to when we were here first. We are first. {:

J'darin looked at his bronze for a long moment, before he started refastening the makeshift sling around Hasaarth's chest.

***Just make sure we go back to after we left!***

And they were gone /between/ again.

In Dolphin Cove's Hatching Grounds, some of the eggs were gone, and J'darin thought they just might do it. Only about half of the eggs remained. The pair landed amid a flurry of bronze hides, and an anxious Nyith. Her agitation was nearly palpable in the air of the Caverns. Hasaarth was in a frenzy and nearly punctured an egg in his thrashing about with his tail.

Nyith turned and snapped at her mate, and Hasaarth bugled in response.
As if on cue, a trickle of water squeezed its way through the piled sandbags. They were losing time with the emotions running so high.
Turning to Hasaarth, J'darin physically laid hands on his beloved dragon.

**Listen to me. Focus, look at me. ** Once he had his attention, those eyes whirling angry yellow, he sent another command. **Get a hold of yourself, now, Hasaarth! You are the bronze! The father of these eggs. We _will_ save them! But not if you do not listen to me.**

Interminable, precious heartbeats passed.

}:We will save them. We will go back further. When they are safe.
And save them.:{ Not understanding this statement, but glad of the calmness underlying it, J'darin mounted for the second time.

This time, he knew Hasaarth was timing it. Their trip /between/ was longer than the previous one.

There were less eggs on the Sands then he would have expected. Only six or eight. They had gone _very_ far back. J'darin staggered a little as he jumped to the sands and began unhooking the eggs from their safe, warm place against Hasaarth's chest.

His vision blurred for a moment, which caused his dragon to creel anxiously.

}:You are fine. We went too far. I will bring us back to the right time. :{ He nodded wearily, and found the strength to regain Hasaarth's back, and the cold of /between/ enveloped them again.

When the cold let go of the pair once more, J'darin wobbled on Hasaarth's back as a very familiar bronze shape flew by them and disappeared with a crack into /between/.

Moments later, with Nyith and Hasaarth both screaming in agitation, he fell off of his dragon and hit the sands hard.

He knew nothing more.

Last updated on the May 25th 2007

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Hurricane: Desperate Flood (5) (Part 3/4)