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 Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 3:06 pm
"Alright, well if I have a hankering for something, I'll let you know but I try to keep good relations with the cooks. They feed me after I work in the meat locker so that's where I get some goodies every now and then." He patted the wrapper wondering what might be tomorrow's treat and hoping it was as flavorful.
"True. My brother's going to be really good at it. He's gotten a lot further than most of us." he said a little downcast thinking about how many generations he had been told did the same thing all their lives - work on the farm - die on the farm. He didn't want to be in that rut all his years. He hoped his luck might have changed now that he was here but it was way too early to tell, then again, here was different from the farm so in a way, his situation had improved quite a bit. "So you got any family in the crafts?"
He brushed back a stray strand of his chestnut hair as she answered about the dragons, "You're right, there is one egg out there thats crown is higher than the others. It might be yield a bronze or something. From what I saw from the crack the rest of the eggs are just small and colorful. I wouldn't be surprised if they were mostly greens." He thought for a few moments about the colors of the eggs furrowing his brow then said aloud, "I wonder why the eggs are colored as they are. Is it something from youngster inside or a random pattern?"
"Oh I am sure you could get your dragon out of the Weyr for Threadfall." he chuckled, "Just hope he's like your flit then all you'd have to do is lead him with a giant tart or something. His laughter touched right at the edge of his lips. He could definitely imagine Firyal with a big rope dragging a huge tart down the hall with a dragon sniffing and following behind practically drooling the whole way.
However, the next question kind of pulled him away from that mirth he felt. How should he answer that? Things really didn't go well for his first encounter with L'thor...in fact, they really had gone quite poorly. He glanced down for a second trying to think of the best way to say things without saying too much. "Ah...well we met out in a field...not too far from my family's farm. Raith spotted me on a fly over and...then not long after I was brought here." He skipped over almost every detail from his stupid mistake in trying to leave the farm, the argument that almost ending in a fight....and the death of his father...a terrible incident that had L'thor laid up for many sevendays. No, his search had been anything but pleasant but his family was better off for it all in the end. "L'thor and I get along pretty well." That part he could say was true and it brought a smile back to his lips.
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 7:24 am
Firyal had been raised being told that men think with two things, their stomach and their crotch. Even as a very young child, her mother had been very upfront with her about that sort of thing, as part of the upbringing that would make her forever leery of strange men and continually surprised when a man distinguished himself as better than her expectations. Veyes' preoccupation with food, therefore, didn't surprise her particularly. Instead it merely amused her. She liked when the world fit into the comfortable model she'd already picked out for it, even when the model itself was designed for disappointment. It meant she was correct in her observations and assumptions.
She wasn't sure what to say about the pride Veyes' family felt for his older brother's achievements. Her own family would have been unimpressed, but she had proven herself many times over an anomaly in that respect. Suddenly it occurred to her exactly what she ought to say: "There are a number of people who would say that being Searched would be an honor at least equal to finding a place in a craft."
Remarkably, Firyal did have family in the crafts, but only in the ones they considered respectable. "My maternal grandparents are both Healers. My grandsire works with those who are emotionally damaged and my granddam works with those who are mentally damaged - simpletons, as it were. My mother is an Archivist, and my father is a Miner."
Saying that he father was a Miner was a nice way to put it. It's usually how she explained her father's occupation. True, people who were familiar with Pern's geography would wonder how he managed to be a Miner in Nerat, but she would get stubborn if they pressed the point and refuse to say anything more on the subject. No one needed to know that he had been sentenced to life in the mines as a result of trying to murder her mother. So many people, Firyal included, believed that sort of imbalance could be passed on to one's children, and she didn't want people thinking that she would someday go mad with an axe.
"I don't know why the eggs are colored as they are. It's been proven that egg color has nothing to do with the color of the dragon inside - the pink egg on the sands at the last clutch would certainly have caused a stir if so - but it might have something to do with the personality of the dragonet. I suppose it's all in how you are at interpreting the eggs' patterns and colors and guessing what sort of creature might be so colored if you could see its mind." She shrugged and grinned. "Or maybe it's a completely random pattern, as you say."
"Well, should I Impress and find myself with a reluctant dragon, I will have to try the tart idea. Theoretically dragons are naturally inclined to fight Thread. It's some sort of biological imperative for them. But, honestly, I hope any dragon I Imprss is nothing like Numenor. He's a dear creature, but I don't think I could handle it if he could actually communicate in words."
Firyal got the disinct impression that much was left out of the telling of Veyes' story, and that it was probably not the usual sort of happy Search story she'd been expecting. Mostly she heard a lot of, "I was so nervous when they lined us all up and the dragon looked at each of us after the other. I was certain he (or she) would see nothing noteworthy in me, but then he (or she) looked at me and it was like my soul was pierced. I don't remember much about what happened after that except I was flying and then I was at the Weyr." For most people it was their fondest memory. Clearly not for Veyes.
"L'thor's a good man," Firyal agreed, though she actually found she remembered his dragon better. Raith was one of the calm, patient greens in the Weyr. What she remembered best about L'thor was that his weyrmate, D'los, had died about a turn ago in a training accident that should never have happened.
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:09 am
He glanced up at Firyal as she spoke about honor in the search, "I suppose its an honor, but it isn't like you've really gotten anywhere unless you impress. I guess for some, if they don't, they've gained a lot of works skills they might not have gotten otherwise so maybe that is the big take away. At least, you're going back with more than you came with."
He paused for a moment considering the a little more in depth..."My mother's proud of me getting this far, but unlike becoming a crafter...its all chance from here on out. It's a big dream but there's no way of knowing if the right hatchling will show up or not. At least with my brother, as long as he works hard he'll become a Master Herder. If I don't impress, I need to figure out where I'm going with my life because farming just isn't the answer for me."
"Wow...you have a lot of crafters, that is quite an accomplishment. My family could only manage to afford to send one of us off like that to learn." he sighed with that thought although he guessed for Firyal having all those crafters didn't make her life any easier. She seemed rather - opposite of the people she spoke of. It seemed to him that many opportunities surrounded her. But...considering what his own family had been like, he was certain that there were other families like his own - dysfunctional.
He grinned back scratched his head, "Well, the eggs certainly couldn't hide from a predator if they wanted to with those colors. Not that there are any predators out there that would take on a Queen so I suppose they can get away with looking so beautiful. It would probably take many hatchings to figure out if there was any connection between shell and the dragon inside. I wonder what line of work that falls under..." He pondered that notion because studying hatchlings and eggs seemed a rather interesting field of work. Maybe it was something that he could consider if he didn't impress. That was one thing about the Weyr, he thought more about how to work towards his dreams rather than just dreaming about them all the time.
"Yeah...He'd be telling you to feed him every hour of the day if he could talk. Not that he probably doesn't tell you in his own special way already." he said as he watched the little guy nipping at Firya all the while they were talking. "So where did you find Mr. Hungry anyway? My brother has always wanted a flit of his own since he saw his first one. I think they are cute but I'm not sure I am ready for what Con goes through with his waking him up when she wants something."
"Oh...yes...L'thor is the best. He's taken me flying and he's been showing a few things. And Raith, well she's my number one dragon. at least until I impress." he winked at Firyal because most people knew that Raith was a little bit vain.
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 10:39 am
"There's always opportunity to learn new skills at the Weyr," Firyal said with a wicked smile. "Why, before I came here, I had no knowledge of how to shovel dragon dung, or how to cook or serve food to hundreds, or how to butcher ten wherries in under two hours. Yes, there's lots of opportunity for education here."
Not the sort of education her family had wanted for her. They'd all acknowledged that she was intelligent, even if she couldn't get along with any of them, and they had wanted her to become apprenticed to the Harpers or Healers or something, but that hadn't worked out in the end. "It's mostly my grandparents. They're very good at what they do, and people pay them well to do it. The rest of us are lucky enough to benefit from their expertise."
"I'm glad we don't have to contend with predators at Ista," she said fervently. Firyal shuddered involuntarily. She'd learned some time ago that there were creatures which were willing to attack dragons - the felines on the Southern Continent. There were records of riders and dragons being badly hurt by the beasts. It shook her to the core to think that there was anything that would do so, though. Dragons were so large, and they were so important to Pern, the idea of any of them being lost to predators was horrible for her. She'd never seen Threadfall, obviously, but along with an elitist upbringing she'd be raised to fear the Thread which would fall during her lifetime.
"I think the Weyr's Healers are probably the best qualified to study dragons and Hatchings, but I don't know if any of them have devoted themself to the study. You could ask to do that, too. Every so often I've heard the Candidatemaster will assign people dedicated tasks like that, providing they do them well. If you don't want to work on learning to make and repair harnesses, that is." Maybe he was content working in the meat locker, but she couldn't understand it, and was instinctively trying to think of a way for him out of that job.
"Oh, mercy, food's just the half of it. Firelizards aren't as intelligent as dragons. Most of what his mind's on, from what I've observed, is food, sex, and investigating new things. I'd probably be subjected to an endless litany of 'What's this? What does that do? Why is she doing that?'" She scratched Numenor's eyeridges fondly. There were many things she liked about Ista, but Numenor was easily her favorite.
"He wasn't supposed to be mine. My roommate has a lover who's a bluerider in another Weyr, and he brought her a firelizard egg as a gift. I just happened to be the one around when Numenor hatched. There wasn't time to find Adrisa, so I ended up Impressing him. That was a lovely bit of roommate drama for a while." If by lovely one meant absolutely miserable. "Conomor and Gilden, you mean? Gilden's beautiful, isn't she? Kind of makes you inclined to forgive her, no matter how demanding she is."
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:37 pm
Veyes nodded in agreement and his brow furrowed just a hair. "Maybe I will have to talk to the Candidate Master about it. I think that I'd do well if they'd give me a chance; I don't mind working hard. It'd be great to be challenged if they'd let me get out of the meat locker. It's a job I already know but I guess it's a skill that others don't do as well. The only thing good about the meat locker is that I'll be more than ready to take care of my future hatchling's tummy."
He perked up when she talked about the flit escaping the more serious thoughts, "Oh..but those thoughts are just huge to a little guy like that. Considering in his small mind how much effort it would be to take down that herdbeast out in the corral or how to get you to do it for him." He smirked and started to laugh. "I wonder if he has big dreams about the female dragons." His imagination couldn't help but put him into the place of the small flit looking up at the gigantic dragon with love on his mind. Mmm...poor little guy. Hopefully, his inspirations aren't as grand. Yes, I bet he would talk your ear right off."
"Well, I guess you got lucky then with the egg. Or maybe the little guy just knew who he wanted to be with so he just hatched right out when he knew you'd be around thinking he knew a sucker when he saw one." That caused him to grin broadly because he had a feeling the little guy was an impish creature. "I can imagine it was a bit of drama. Glad I just have to deal with snoring dorm mates." He had a feeling that the roommate would not have been happy and with good reason but still you could never tell with creatures and birthing so he couldn't blame Firyal for doing the right thing when the little guy had hatched.
"Mmm...Gliden is a really nice looking flit. She has a habit of wanting to get into the shaving soap in the bathroom or investigate the bathing pool. As curious as yours, I think....and spoiled. But I believe L'thor's "kids" might be even more spoiled. When they were at my house they practically perched themselves on the table and sucked sausages out of my brother's fingertips. One of them got upset because the other had arrived first and was being pampered before him."
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 2:53 pm
It must be a Farmer thing, this obsession with being gainfully employed. Firyal had never seen the reasoning behind people's apparent need to be busy and useful. She didn't like being bored, true, but she preferred boredom and inactivity to endless drudgery. Besides, it was difficult for her to be completely bored as long as she had Numenor as her constant companion and her mind was still able to generate stories. And since the real world was rarely as interesting or as satisfactory as the imaginary ones she could create, she tended to prefer to have leisure time or be occupied at a task which posed no particular challenge to her.
"That's very true. I'm sure your hatchling will appreciate your familiarity with animal parts. One of the first things covered in Weyrling lessons is how to care for your dragon, and how to butcher meat in particular. It's amusing, in a cruel sort of way, to see how some people just turn green at the thought. I don't know what they think dragons eat." The last bit was almost a remark made to herself, and evidently something which annoyed her. Some people seemed to think that dragonets were capable of taking down herdbeasts all by themselves as soon as they hatched, and that they could avoid ever having to do any of the less pleasant jobs associated with dragonriding.
"I, for one, am pleased when he keeps his aspirations less lofty. It's incredibly awkward when he decides to fly a green or a gold." And it was. The only real advantage to the whole situation was that most firelizard owners worked out arrangements regarding the distribution of the eggs and that could be fairly profitable. The next time Numenor flew, she thought she might work it out that she got to keep one of the eggs for herself. She wouldn't mind having another firelizard. Not at all. Or a whole fair of them.
"Adrisa would never snore. She's much too perfect for that," Firyal said, grinning. She liked her roommate, and they'd long since made up about her getting Numenor. Maybe she should give an egg from Numenor's next clutch to Adrisa. It was a possibility.
"I can only imagine what a terror she must be around bathtime. Numenor enjoys it immensely." It took her a moment to realize that Veyes didn't mean L'thor had real chidren, which she thought extremely unlikely, considering his orientation, but was instead referring to L'thor's firelizards. Dusk and River. She was much better with firelizard names than she was with either human or dragon names.
"That's so true. He does treat them like children. But not his. More like he's an uncle that visits rarely and gives the children sweets and then leaves the hyperactive monsters to their parents. At least he has to deal with his own spoiled monsters." She could absolutely see either Dusk or River, but particularly Dusk, helping himself to someone's food.
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Posted: Thu Apr 16, 2009 9:22 pm
Veyes' rolled his eyes, "Yeah...I can see that. Sometimes they send a new candidate to work with me in the meat locker and usually it doesn't turn out that great. Besides green, they puke then run. Then, I get to wash down the floors before I can even start skinning. You know, I think that some candidates don't know what it's like to put in full day of real work. " It wasn't hard to get angry about the situation because at times he felt like most of the other candidates would do anything to avoid working for even a moment. He would have loved to have been one of the lazy ones at times but on the farm and with a father like he had that was an impossiblitity. Sometimes he wondered what an "easy" life was like and imagined how it would feel to sit around and do...nothing. But idle hands really don't do anything at all with their lives except grow older, so maybe that's why he always tried to figure out ways to get where he wanted to even when it seemed impossible.
He paused for a moment obviously a little grumbly about the matter, "All I can say is I'll do any hard work without complaining if its going to teach me how to take care of that hatchling that chooses me. That dragon's going to be depending on me and I won't let him...or her down by being lazy like some of the others are. I got my priorities straight even if I'm not as well educated or versed." His words seemed serious and quite passionate about the matter as if he had thought about it for a long time. And why not be serious about it? Raith said he had potential so he had to do his best. Maybe he could have a lazy day once the dragon was grown but until then; he'd make sure he didn't let go of the dream...not one instance.
As Firyal spoke of Numenor, Veyes started to grin. "So Flits start pretty early with those thoughts eh? Well I won't go planting any ideas in his head then." He then peered over at the flit wondering how much the little guy understood any of this conversation. "Oh Gliden's already popped in to the bathing pool when Con and I were using it. I know one day she'd going to scare me to death by latching on in the pool when I least expect it." He shuddered at the thought because she was a determined little thing when she wanted to be. At times he wondered if he should get a flit of his own but the prospected seemed rather distracting to his real goal; to impress a hatchling.
"Oh yeah...Dusk and River have it made. If I could be a flit; I'd be hope to be lucky enough to have someone that spoiled me rotten." He laughed at that point imagining the possibilities. "I'd probably be worse than any of the flits I've seen. Because nobody has ever spoiled me here so I'd need to make it up triple!"
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 8:27 am
A scowl crossed Firyal's face for a moment, but was quickly replaced by a smirk as she considered the many Candidates she'd met over the years who were unsuited to labor of any sort and suffered for it when chores were assigned.
"Some don't. Know what it's like to put in a full day's work, that is. But among those there are the ones who are willing to learn to work and those who seem to think that all they have to do is tough it out until they Impress, and that they'll never have to do any more work after that." Admittedly, she'd been unfit for work when she first came to the Weyr, but her body had eventually gotten used to what was expected of it, and she had taken a little longer to resign herself mentally to the idea that her time would be occupied with chores from that point on. She hadn't ever had to work before. But she'd made an effort, at least, which is more than could be said for so many Candidates.
"Of course, not all the work Candidates are put to serve any purpose as far as learning to care for dragons, but they still serve their purpose in the Weyr. If nothing else, the fact that the Candidates are doing the chores means that the riders have more time to drill and care for their dragons, and maybe even rest occasionally. But you've got the right attitude. Dragons don't care how well-educated you are, or even how fit you are to care for them, but it helps if you're willing to make the effort."
She smiled fondly at Numenor, who had hopped onto her knee and lay stretched across her lap much like a Terran housecat. He was not interested in the humans' talking, and the food they had was not fit for firelizard consumption, so he had little else to do except nap. Like his owner, he preferred to be warm when he slept, but Firyal gave off sufficient body heat for him to be comfortable.
"No, it's all right. Numenor's intelligent for his kind, but doesn't understand human words. He obeys some commands, and he can sometimes tell what I want him to do when I talk to him, but it's still up to him whether he acts on my wishes."
Veyes' tale of Gilden's antics in the bathing pool were amusing. Numenor liked to play in water, too. Sometimes in the morning they would swim together in the sea, playing silly games of Splash.
"I hate to tell you this, but the only people who really get spoiled are Goldriders, and only once their dragon's fully grown. You'll have to become a firelizard if you want to be spoiled. If you ever figure it out, please share your secret with me, though. The life of a pampered firelizard seems like it might be appealing. Particularly after a day of chores." Again, she grinned, joking.
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Posted: Fri Apr 17, 2009 3:36 pm
"I guess many of them just get all starry eyed about the dragons and don't think that it's a life time investment. Well, I've met a couple that I think are trying or want to learn so I know that there's others that take this seriously." Fortunately, he had met Conomor who has proved to him that there were others among the candidates that were willing to learn difficult tasks. And he felt like he was becoming Con's friend, which had been rather surprising to him but they seemed pretty compatible in personality and interests. " Yeah...well I guess I just look at any of the chores as what keeps the community going. My mother always said that even the lowly drudge like she was has a part in making a Hold function. So it must be the same here...at least that is what I think."
"Thanks. I try to keep a good attitude about it. Sometimes it's hard because there's so many uncertainties but compared to what I used to go through; this isn't so bad So I think I'll be able to manage." At least here, he didn't have to worry about his father coming home angry or otherwise. No worrying about what his mother might do to spare him the rod. It surely was a much better world. Part of him wondered how things were working out at the farm now that he was gone. He had to think that his mother was a very busy woman and his little brother, Hally probably had less time to play.
He smiled a little, "Yeah...well I won't ever be a gold rider in this life so I guess no spoiling is going to happen here." The thought definitely amused him and maybe that was the secret as to why so many girls wanted to be a gold rider - just to be spoiled. "So is that the allure of some girls to gold dragons? Hey wait! You have a chance at a gold so you have to promise if you do impress one, you'll have to tell me what its like to be spoiled. It brought a small chuckle to his lips being more of a joke than serious. Really, having a gold meant a lot more than just being spoiled - It was a lot of work to be a good Weyrwoman. He wondered if any of the candidates he had met of the girls were remotely up to that task.
"Oh I will be the first to tell you if I ever discover the secret. Then we can both be pampered for a change. I'd love to fly under my own power. That would just be so much fun!"
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 3:31 pm
"Your mother's right. Everyone's tasks serve a purpose." Firyal didn't mention that with the Weyr as overcrowded as it was, that purpose was frequently just keeping the young and rambunctious out of trouble. "But you can hardly blame them for being starry eyed over dragons. They are magnificent creatures."
As she praised the dragons, her hands moved unconsciously to stroke Numenor's supine form. He was more toward the unconscious end of the sleep spectrum, but at her caress he sighed in what was obviously contentment and shifted so that his head was propped up on one of her wrists. She cast a momentarily critical eye over him, checking his hide for patches. She'd have to rub him down later, but there were no obvious signs of peeling hide. He was fully grown, after all, and so it was less vital to oil him on a regular basis, though it remained important.
"Unless there's more to you, something we've both missed, I'm inclined to agree that you're not likely to Impress a gold," Firyal agreed. "Have you met a girl called Faranie yet? She's one of those who might go for a gold just to continue to live out whatever fantasy she has in her head in which she's Lady Holder of all Pern."
Faranie had been a source of irritation for Firyal initially, and were it not for her twin brother Firyal might have been far more inclined to dislike the self-centered girl, but her brother wasn't a bad person, and he sort of made up for his sister's personality. It wasn't fair, Firyal reflected, for her to poison Veyes' mind against Faranie if he'd not yet met her. Besides, for all she knew, Faranie could Impress the next queen egg and Veyes a bronze and the pair could someday end up Weyrleader and Weyrwoman. It wasn't her habit to worry about that sort of thing, though, and so she dismissed the idea.
"She's one of those rare folk who've been spoiled in the past," Firyal explained. It wasn't exactly a mitigating circumstance, but it was the closest she could come to forgiving Faranie for being so insufferable. "But in the extraordinarily unlikely event that I Impress a gold, I will tell you all about what it's like to be spoiled."
She grinned. In all honesty, she wouldn't want to impress a gold dragon. The thought of ever having to be responsible for the entire Weyr was daunting. There were enough queens that it was only a remote possibility, although she probably stood in a good way to be at least lazy if she Impressed a gold, since there were so many of them about.
"It is," Firyal agreed. "I love flying. Though having to actually supply the energy and strength to fly might take a small bit of the joy out of it." But not enough to make a difference.
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 5:28 pm
He nodded slowly, "Yes...they are. I just don't want to get my hopes up so high that I can't see the trees anymore. This place is so crowded as is with candidates and there's not enough eggs out there to take us all in. Some will end up going home." It wasn't a true he wanted to consider but there was that possibility; he didn't want to be one of those. Time wasn't critical yet for him but for others it probably was getting closer. He had to think like one of those people earlier so he could plan out his next steps for a worst case scenario. He still wanted to explore the world...somehow.
Watching her stroke Numemor gave him more opportunities for deeper thoughts, maybe a fire lizard would be good for him...if he ever found an egg or could afford one. "Ha...No..gold will find me attractive, that I am sure of." he smirked a little considering that it would be amusing if one mistook him for a girl but other things would eliminate that possibility...such as smell and thoughts.
"No, I haven't meet Faranie but from what I've seen of pairings maybe if she is that spoiled she'd have a very...umm...dominate queen that might whip her into shape." He turned his head just a little with a small grin. "I've heard that dragons tend to pick people that balances them out." After what he had seen around the Weyr - there were either spoiled and privileged folks or...people from the working class...or poorer all thrown together. The proximity between classes rubbed everyone the wrong way.
"Good...I then I expect a full report after you impress her and she becomes an adult." he laughed because it would be funny if it were to happen because Firyal didn't look like the type to need spoiling...might even get annoyed by it. "Oh I don't know, I'd take that chance!"
He stood up slowly from where he had been comfortably sitting realizing that as the time had passed sooner or later this room was going to have students pouring in soon enough. "You know, I'm not sure how long we've been talking like this...but isn't classes starting soon? I'd really like to talk longer but I don't want the Candidate Master to walk in and see us...umm...looking like we're needing something to do."
It was nice to actually hang out with another girl that seemed not so...prissy and giggly as some of the others he had met. Maybe if it were possible, he'd be able to find time to talk with her again. It was nice to make other friends around the Weyr and he didn't seem to do a bad job of it if it wasn't a big crowd of peers around him. "I...I had a nice time talking to you, Firyal."
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 6:30 pm
Although they'd been discussing it and basically said as much, it reassured Firyal to know Veyes wasn't putting all his hopes for the future on the idea of Impressing a dragon. Despite the large numbers of eggs lain and dragonets hatched, there would always be more Candidates than dragons, and the odds of Impression remained slim. Particularly form a young man who, in spite of his feminine hairstyle, seemed to be attracted to women. There were always fewer bronzes and browns, and although there was no rule saying blues and greens only Impressed to men who preferred other men, that generally seemed to be the way of it.
Firyal couldn't have said why, exactly, she felt relief at Veyes' acceptance of the risk of failing to Impress. Perhaps because of the unlikelihood. More likely, though, because she liked the young man, and he seemed to her very young indeed, and perhaps too innocent for his own good. She really wasn't in any position to make statements about others' innocence, considering she was that rare thing: a nineteen year old virgin weyrperson. For all she knew, Veyes had scores of lovers. Just because she considered him too young for her, and not at all her type didn't mean it couldn't be the case. The thought, however, did not ring true, and brought an amused smile to her lips.
He was mistaken, however, in his observation that dragons always Impressed to people who balanced them. There were any number of matches where dragon and rider were eerily alike, and that could be incredibly problematic, for though it strengthened positive aspects of the personalities of both, it also reinforced their negative aspects as well. And she'd seen very few riders whose dragons were their direct opposites, as the term "balance" would suggest. It was rare for a dragon to completely alter their rider's personality, though she'd watched a number of people have their viewpoints change abruptly. Still, the idea of having an "other half" wasn't unappealing.
She watched him rise and wondered what hour it was. She'd already decided that she was going to skiv off from her next round of chores, and so that made Veyes' preparation for departure a little startling until she recalled that he was new to the Weyr, and what's more one of those conscientious sorts who cared about being industrious. He was decidedly right about one thing, though:
"There will be classes in here soon, though you can usually hear the students at a sufficient distance to have warning and time to make an unseen exit. Still...your concerns are well-founded." She carefully shifted her drowsy firelizard from her lap to her shoulder, where he settled himself lazily so that half of his body was draped over her front and half over her back.
"It was nice to meet you, Veyes," she said, standing carefully, so as not to provoke any startled scrambling from Numenor. "Best of luck. I'll probably try mine with avoiding the Candidatemaster for a bit longer."
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Posted: Sun Apr 19, 2009 7:36 pm
Veyes glanced around just a little cautious; he had ever slacked off much in his life and mostly because it was safer to look busy than to be caught looking lazy. "Mmm...well it's not easy to just sit around when the Candidate Master could be anywhere. But...I know he's got a lot of other candidates out there that may not be nearly as good about doing their chores. So far he hasn't noticed me except when I ask questions in lessons." That had always been a sense of relief for him because really, scoldings made him nervous. There was always this feeling that someone would strike at him. Probably because his father never failed to do so. It was going to take some time to get out of that mindset and he knew it.
"So you're just going to hang out here?" he paused for a moment considering extending the stay just a little bit more; but there was always the chance of discovery. He wasn't too sure of the Weyr's sounds and the timing on the noise as he heard them. Although, he had discovered that going through some halls captured less attention than others. Eventually, he'd know this place like the back of his hand and soon he'd know the place well enough that he could tell reasonable 'story' just in case he ever got caught in a bind but until then he had to keep himself from getting into any trouble. "Well, don't go getting yourself caught. I'd hate to see you working extra chores on my account."
He laughed a little knowing that from meeting her, she probably already had a fine backup story in mind. "Next time we meet maybe I'll have a meat treat, then Numenor won't be too disappointed."
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