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Renna felt an odd tightness in her chest -- like it was made of glass and the slightest tremor of panic might shatter it. Ichta was... interesting. Certainly. And she made Renna as nervous as she made her curious. Very odd. "So we are both candidates," Renna said, feeling the stupidity of the words even as she spoke them. Was this the calm after the storm? Or just the eye of it? Better play it safe.

"I've never stood on the Sands before." This whole not-asking-questions thing seemed to be going well -- and Renna didn't mind talking about herself, not at all. Especially if it would keep the waterworks to a minimum. Best to let Ichta volunteer information on her own... probably. Hm, where did she get that scar anyway? A freak firelizard ambush? Wherry attack? Slipped and fell? Ooooh, the possibilities.

A ghost of a smile -- progress! Of course, the way that Ichta was adjusting her shirt really only drew more attention to the scar. Renna eyeballed it like it was some kind of abstract painting, but she kept her lips sealed. Things were heading in a good direction; she would just have to fight the nagging urge to destroy the peace with her constant need to know more about people. For now. "We can head to the Sands when the next clutch is here together," she said, laughing. Of course, the laugh was a little too slow, a little too short, not the easy kind of booming laughter she would usually let rip. "It's no pressure on the Sands, is it? The dragons are doing all the choosing. You just have to stand there and wait for it." Renna shifted her weight to the other hip, but kept her hand in place like it was glued there.

Dare she ask a question? "So, um, you like it here? At the Weyr, I mean. I'm from Ista Hold so... weyrlife is very new to me. I'm just now learning the layout of the Weyr, trying not to get lost." So Ichta was a candidate too. It was true what they said; it really did take all sorts to Impress dragons.

Renna smiled, but it was restrained. Ichta seemed to be a lot calmer now -- at least from where she had been -- but the young candidate was still wary. "I've figured it out for the most part. I like coming here. Lots of dragons." She waved a hand toward the bowl. No need to admit just how frequently she decided to visit this spot and drool over the dragons that were not hers.

A brief silence fell, and Renna rocked back and forth on her heels, eying the scar. It was a pretty bad scar. Something that Ichta probably had to talk about a lot in her life. If she had to talk about a lot, then she might not mind explaining it to Renna, right? The girl pondered and stared and didn't really say anything.

Stare. Staaaaaaaaaaaare.

Almond brown eyes flickered away from the conspicuous scar on Ichta. "I come here from time to time," she said, meaning almost every day. "I don't know if I'll ever quite get over what it is like to have dragons so close all the time. They walk through the halls, live here, fly here. It's just... very different. For me." Even now, hearing the dull thud-thud of dragon wings beating against the air brought a kind of calm to the girl.

Oh -- had Ichta noticed Renna's staring? Well, it really was quite the interesting scar, probably with a more interesting story behind it, and honestly, Ichta had just opened the door. "Oh, I was just noticing your scar," Renna said, quite tactlessly. It didn't seem like a big deal to her. I mean, it was on the other girl's face. Surely people noticed it all the time. "My grandfather has a similar one. It cuts from his chin up to his nose. Got it when he was apprenticing." See? No big deal. Not at all. Lots of people have scars, but Ichta certainly did have a very, very cool one.

"Uh-what?" Renna stammered, taking several steps back at the sight of Ichta's distress. The other candidate looked like she was a tiny human bomb getting ready to explode -- countdown, begin? "I-I didn't mean, uh, I didn't, oh shards..." Putting her hands up, the copper-haired girl cursed several more times, internally, as she watched every step of progress drift away. What was wrong with this girl? Never in her life had Renna met someone more difficult to speak with -- and Renna talked to a lot of people. Still, all of things that made Renna very annoyed with Ichta also made Ichta all the more curious to her, and as a person who loved the stories of others, Renna found the promise of figuring out Ichta worth the effort -- probably.

And so, more rambling came: "You'd like my grandfather if you met him, I'm sure, I mean, I'm pretty sure you would -- not that I think I know what you like -- I just know that almost everyone loves my grandfather. He's actually the only reason that I'm here. At all. He helped me, um, trick my mom, so to speak, but, um, you probably don't want to hear about that, uh... right? And yeah, he loves dragons a lot, like I do, and like you probably do, and if he ever comes to visit me, I'm sure that he'll bring little gifts. See, because he likes to do leatherworks and whittle things and all kinds of cute trinkets and one time he even made me a tiny little wooden dragon, but my mom found it and smashed it and I didn't speak to her for, I don't know, a week or two, which is a long time when you share a room with someone. But you probably don't, um, don't care much about, um, my mother. But my grandfather is, uh. Awesome." Squinting her eyes, Renna kept her distance, waiting for another mini-explosion from the strange girl. Had she really just rambled more about herself? Shards, by the end of this, Ichta would know more about Renna than anyone else in all of the Weyr.

Did Ichta just... run away? Well, it wasn't so much running as a strategic backwards scramble. And she hadn't really run, just hidden. "Wow," Renna said, letting out a little sigh. Part of her was screaming throw in the towel! and wanting nothing more than to spend another hour or so watching the dragons in the Bowl. Yet, there was the part that remained and told her to try to get to know this little spazz. Who knew what interesting stories she had! Now... if only she would talk.

Okay, so --

1. Don't ask questions.
2. Don't point out her scar.
3. No quick movements.

The list was getting long, and Renna had the feeling it would only get longer. Fighting the urge to walk away, the young candidate took quiet steps toward the alcove that Ichta hid in. She stopped before the opening and flattened herself against the wall just before it bent inward to create the hiding place. She couldn't see the skittish candidate, but she knew she was there. "You are very confusing," she said lightly. Not an accusation, not a question, just a fact. "Sometimes I just say the things that come into my head." A pause. She traced circles on the floor with the toe of her boot.

"Do you... not like... talking?" Okay, so it was a question, but Renna decided to be a good girl and count to 100 before she said anything else. Perhaps Ichta would feel more comfortable once a silence fell.

1... 2... 3...

Okay. What... now? It wasn't hard to spot Ichta's discomfort at her proximity and so Renna backpedaled a few steps, putting her hands up in defense. This was eerie, and very slowly, it was beginning to wear on Renna's patience. Things were going from interesting to annoying -- but she wasn't giving up just yet.

Folding her arms across her chest, Renna reclined against the nearest wall. What would be neutral ground? Clearing her throat, she finally asked, "So... what about... dragons?" and hoped for the best. Perhaps Ichta needed interaction given to her in doses and this one had simply been too much.

Renna glanced down the hallway. Maybe she should just leave? Hm...