What are you doing?

"Shh! Just watch."

I'm not making any noise. Watch what?

"Over there...can you see?" L'zarus shifted in his squat to allow Benneth a closer look. The blue squinted and saw the slight red blur that was moving under the Weyrlingmaster's dragon, occasionally joined by a golden glimmer.

Can't he feel them? "They aren't touching him, just the riding strap that they're chewing through. They're also winking between repeatedly, so he won't have time to feel them." L'zarus explained, grinning at Benneth.

He'll fall off when he shows the weyrlings how to take off, won't he get hurt? L'zarus shrugged. "Depends on how far they get before the strap gives, Ryu and Kyofu aren't chewing all the way through, just until there's enough for it to feel snug but actually be quite weak." The two flits popped from between and landed on either of L'zarus's shoulders. "Good job guys, here." He offered them each a chunk of meat he'd saved from Benneth's dinner. Each took their piece and disappeared again, no doubt to fight on who got the most.

Benneth and L'zarus stayed in their hiding place until they heard the Weyrlingmaster say, "Alright, now let me show you how to take of properly." He swung himself into the flying straps, prattling on about how to make sure that they were properly attached and fit your dragon well. Then his dragon looked to the sky and bunched up his hind legs to make this his most graceful takeoff. It sure would have been, he left the ground perfectly with proper body control and everything, except his rider. The Weyrlingmaster slid right off, still attached to his flying straps. He landed hard on the ground, unhurt except for his pride and having he wind knocked out of him. The class exploded with laughter while his dragon circled back around and landed next to him, distressed.

"Now is when we exit." L'zarus murmured to Benneth and they swiftly flew off to their weyr to watch from a safe and un-blamable distance. A few dragonriders ran to the flustered Weyrlingmaster, stifling their laughter as they helped him up.

That was priceless...do you think he'll find out?

Benneth had settled on the ledge next to L'zarus with almost a grin on his face. "How could they? Only if someone saw Ryu and Kyofu blinking between and saw us on the other side of that building." Since coming here, L'zarus had pulled a number of pranks which all mysteriously were never solved. This was his boldest yet, pulled directly on an authority figure. He didn't want to cause injury, not physical anyway. A little hurt pride never killed anyone, it kept their ego in check. L'zarus believed that the Weyrlingmaster needed a little deflation anyway, so did Benneth. He'd been on their backs ever since they'd started weyrling classes, about how the two needed to be "team players" and how "an overprotective dragon is no excuse to constantly separate yourselves from your classmates." Benneth liked people and other dragons about as much a L'zarus did, and made it a point to attack anyone who got too near him or L'zarus.

The blue snorted and settled himself on the ledge to watch the "committee" meet below, inspecting the chewed-through strap and the headwoman as she prepared a strong cup of klah for the weyrlingmaster. It will take those fools the rest of the day to figure out what happened. The other weyrlings have already spread it about the weyr. I suppose they'll conclude it was a tunnel snake or somewhat. Smiling grimly at his own prank, L'zarus carefully oiled his newly-braided flying straps and stowed them well out of the way of tunnel snakes before turning in for the night, leaving Benneth to keep vigil on the weyrbowl.