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 Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:09 pm
Terisa couldn't go to the Hatching feast, there was just no way that she could handle more crowds and she knew it. With that in mind, as soon as the hatching was complete, the girl tore away from the hot sands and ran at full stride to the candidate barracks. Her mind was reeling from the fear and happiness that had filled the grounds. One big reason she didn't like crowds was that the emotions other people expressed affected her so deeply. Seeing others cry made her tear up, and while others happiness usually did affect her positively, the completeness that the new weyrlings experienced only highlighted Terisa's loneliness.
As soon as she was within the cool shelter of the candidate barracks, the girl sank to the stone floor. She was greatly hoping that the building was empty because everyone else had gone to the feast, but even if it wasn't she couldn't hold up any more. With a gasp, she let the tears come, her sobbing silent, but profuse. Part of what made her cry was her early experience, but she also hadn't thought about what happened to those who didn't impress. She knew so little about the Weyr tradition, and she had obviously missed any of the information they had given regarding this situation. She now feared that she would have to leave, and she couldn't imagine going back to the Weaverhall, not after the stares of jealously she had received when she was searched. She had had so few friends even before, now she didn't know what she would face.... Pressing her face against the cool stone wall she leaned against, Terisa just cried, wishing that she was stronger and more able to handle situations such as this....
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:33 pm
Dusen had also decided not to go the the feast, though not for the same reasons. He was simply hoping for a bit of peace and quiet, before the feast ended and the rest of the candidates returned to the barracks. That, and he wasn't really sure about being around such a large crowd.
As he entered the barracks, he heard the sound of crying. Apparently some one else had thought that the barracks would be a good place to hide out too. It didn't appear that it was anyone in the boy's part of the barracks, so he headed over to the girls side. Hopefully, whoever it was, wouldn't be too upset at him for that.
"Are you alright?" he called out, as he entered the girls part, not noticing Terisa at first.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:50 pm
Once Kadri had left to go and find them some food, the hallways outside the room suddenly seemed very quiet... and somewhat lonely. Aydin eased off the bed and walked around a little, finally deciding he was all right now. He had no idea how long it might take his twin to find something to eat...
Then, in wandering near the door, he heard the faint sound of crying from somewhere nearby, and frowned slightly. Someone else who had missed the Hatching? Or else had gone and then hadn't Impressed..?
Easing the door open, he peeked out into the hallway and then moved out of the room slowly, padding down the hall toward the sound - until he spotted a girl sitting on the floor and another boy nearby. "Hello..?" he called out. "I heard crying... are you all right?" Aydin didn't even realize that he'd echoed the other boy almost exactly, concern obvious in his features.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 7:52 pm
Terisa had no hope of hearing footsteps in her current condition. She was trying not to be loud, but her breath wasn't coming evenly and she couldn't help gasping every couple of breaths. However, when the boy walked into the hallways she was sitting in, she did see him. Coughing a bit in her attempt to control herself, she was looking at her curled up legs when he voiced the question, and assumed that he already knew she was there. "I-I'm...." She could lie, of course, be it would be too obvious that she was lying, with tear streaks streaming down her face. Taking a steadying breath, she continued, "I'm scared...."
That was true enough, after all, since half of her current troubles did have to do with what her future would be. She knew none of the other candidates though, and when she looked up, she neither recognized the boy, nor was surprised about that. What she was surprised about was what he was doing in the girl's side of the barracks, but she didn't put a lot of thought into it, he probably had a good reason. Before she could answer further, the sound of footsteps distracted her and another boy appeared. Well, this probably looked a bit awkward, but never having been in such a situation, Terisa didn't realize how strange the situation would look to an outsider.
Wiping her eyes, Terisa nodded a bit, though her throat was still choked with tears, and so she didn't speak further. Two people, neither of whom she knew, and both with their attention on her. This wasn't a situation the girl was at all comfortable in, and so she looked at the ground, wishing she could disappear, and wishing she had made it all the way to her bed instead of collapsing in the hall.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:10 pm
"It's alright to be scared," Dusen responded, finally noticing the girl crying on the floor. She was vaguely familiar to him, and though he couldn't remember ever meeting her, he was pretty sure he had seen her at the hatching. Was that why she was upset?
He glanced briefly at the other boy who had followed him in, not recognizing him. Was he not a candidate? It didn't really matter, and Dusen turned back to her. He wanted to kneel down next to her, but it didn't seem like the best of idea. "What are you afraid of?"
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:17 pm
Aydin blinked at the two of them, and then shut his eyes for a moment, calling out mentally to his firelizard. Rynin had always helped him feel better when he was upset... maybe she could help here too. Come on little one, come here Rynin, there's an upset girl ... maybe you could help her feel better, we should help ... remember when you've helped me, come on now girl...
And with an inaudible sort of 'pop', a small dark green flit appeared just above Aydin's shoulder, falling slowly to land at the girl's feet with a soft croon. "There's nothing here to be afraid of ..." he added to the other boy's statements, softly.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:30 pm
Terisa turned her dark eyes on the first boy, looking at him for the first time. He looked to be about her age, and glancing at the other boy, that seemed to be the case for both of them. She knew that she should know them, they were obviously candidates if they were in the barracks, but she just hadn't had the courage to talk to anyone during her chores.... She realized that that behavior made everyone think she was stuck-up or something, but she just didn't know what to say.... His question, though, opened the door for her. What was she afraid of? Leaving, yes, being forced to leave the Weyr....
"Do- do I have to leave since I didn't impress?" Between her lack of female development and her painful shyness, Terisa appeared years younger than she actually was, her height being the only thing that marked her as old enough to stand at the Hatching to begin with. Though Terisa's attention was focused on the boy in front of her, she made a small yip of surprise when a dark green blob appeared at her feet. Once she recognized that it was a firelizard, Terisa's attention was exceedingly focused. She had only ever seen such small creatures from a distance, since neither she, nor her family, could afford an egg. She was amazed at how similar this little green looked compared to the dragonet hatchlings she had just seen. Her dark eyes widened at the croon, and she couldn't help but hold her hand out. The second boy's reassurance hardly registered in her mind, partially because she found plenty to be afraid of, but mostly because of the little green.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 8:56 pm
He noticed the little green appear, and immediately thought of his own. He hadn't informed his little one that it was safe to come back. It's safe now, Spring, he thought, calling out to the firelizard. The hatching's over.
He smiled reassuringly at the girl. "Of course not. Why would you think that?" Dusen asked, wondered. "There's still a clutch on the sands and I think one of the queens is due to rise soon too. You don't look like you're too old, are you?" He had ended up rambling, but maybe she was distracted enough by the firelizard not to care.
The little green must belong to the other boy. "She's very pretty," he commented.
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:02 pm
Aydin smiled when the girl was instantly fascinated by Rynin, who nosed at her fingers and kept on crooning. "She won't bite or anything... you can pet her if you want," he said. Then, "Her name's Rynin, and I'm Aydin..."
Glancing to the other boy again, he nodded both in thanks and agreement. "Yea... you can stay and keep trying to Impress up until you're twenty one. So don't worry about that. They aren't going to kick any of us out or anything."
"My brother said something to me too ... he said, since he and I didn't Impress this time, that just means our dragons weren't in this clutch. It'll be okay..."
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:16 pm
Terisa wiped some of the salt from her tears off her face, her mind distracted from her fear by attempts to remember the sands. Now that she thought about it, she realized that all of the eggs hadn't hatched this time, and that the candidates hadn't been allowed to touch the eggs on the other side of the grounds. "Oh... I-I guess I forgot..." She smiled at the green before shaking her head at the first boy, "No, I'm only 13 Turns.... Barely old enough to stand this time." For the first time all day, Terisa smiled at that, then absently pet the firelizard, nodding her head in agreement at her beauty.
She looked up at Aydin, "I-I'm Terisa." She was reassured at the boys' statements, "Even when there isn't a clutch on the sands I can stay?" Until she was twenty one turns? That was so long from now! She could stay at the Weyr for eight turns?! That was practically a lifetime to her at that stage of her life. "Our dragons weren't in this clutch? So they'll be in another?" Terisa's voice had taken on a tone that usually only younger children used when asking questions. The girl still had a lot of maturing to do....
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:42 pm
Dusen smiled in amusement. She was so young, or at least she seemed so. She was really only a few years younger than he was himself. Still, it had been a rather emotional day, and he couldn't blame her for being flustered. "I'm Dusen," he added, introducing himself. "I think that's how it works."
He wasn't completely sure if that was accurate or not, but it seemed right. At least he knew that they wouldn't be sent away right away, not with the other clutch still unhatched. "We can always ask one of the older riders, maybe one of the search riders, if you want to be sure."
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Posted: Mon Mar 23, 2009 9:53 pm
Aydin smiled down at the girl, finally crouching a little so he was more level with her gaze. Just a couple years younger than he and Kadri were, then. He'd thought she was even younger than that, with how small she was ...
"Well... I mean, it makes sense to me that if any of us were meant to Impress this time, we would have. So maybe it's supposed to be later for us." There was a little pause, and he shook his head slightly. "Kadri and I didn't even get to the Hatching... 'cause I was sick..."
He didn't really feel like mentioning that it had been going between to get here that had caused that. That ... would be kind of embarrassing, especially considering they were all hoping to be riders someday.
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 11:19 am
Terisa nodded to Dusen, indicating that she liked his suggestion, "Yeah... That sounds good...." Swallowing a bit of the snot that had been generated by her crying, Terisa realized that she was feeling much more emotionally stable now.... It was strange, normally after she cried she just felt empty, but maybe that was because she never talked to anyone about what made her upset. Having the two boys around reassured her, and they seemed much more able to think clearly about the situation than she did at the moment.
At Aydin's statement that he had missed the hatching, Terisa's face became sympathetic to his fate, as opposed to her concentration on her own unhappiness, "You didn't get to stand? I'm so sorry...." At least the girl had had the chance to impress, this boy hadn't even had that. When his reason for missing registered, Terisa's concern grew, "Are you feeling better now though? You look all right...." He didn't look pale or feverish at least, and what other kinds of sickness were there?
If Terisa had thought about it, she would have been surprised at her own ability to communicate at that moment. She was actually holding a conversation without stuttering or doubting herself. She was actually feeling comfortable in her own skin for the first time since she arrived at the Weyr. A sort of peace had over come her in fact, which was actually fairly typical after having an emotional breakdown, and the girl was quite happy to continue sitting against the hard stone and actually talking to people.
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 2:17 pm
So that was why he didn't look familiar, he hadn't actually been at the hatching. "I'm glad you're feeling better." He felt a little sorry for him, that he hadn't gotten to attend the hatching, but if he had been ill it was probably for the best. It had been rather intense.
"If you're doing better, Terisa, maybe we could move out of here?" He suggested. He would understand if she didn't want to, but he did have his own concerns. "I'm not sure that Aydin or I are allowed over here on the girls side; I doubt anybody actually cares right now though. They're all busy with the new weyrlings and the feast."
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Posted: Tue Mar 24, 2009 10:45 pm
Aydin smiled slightly at Terisa and nodded. "It went away pretty quickly, but ... my brother and I didn't go because of it. He decided to stay with me instead of going alone..." He trailed off with a little helpless shake of his head. He really wouldn't have been upset if Kadri had gone without him...
Then he blinked at the other boy's words. "This is the girls' side? I didn't even know there were different areas..."
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