Welcome to Gaia! ::

"So what does the First Wing do that makes people think that?" Maybe she was forgetting herself by prying into Weyr politics, but she did find it genuinely interesting. Besides which, she was going to be living there so best get as good an insight now while she could. Who knew if she would actually talk to this rider again and other might not be so willing to discuss this with her. Besides which it was a good idea to learn what the wings did. If she did end up impressing then she'd be expected to know what the wings did and which she would work best in. Even long before she had a chance at that she would be expected to know it and if a certain wing's task was something that suited her then she should try to excel at it's aspects to get chosen to squire there. Never mind she had totally forgotten to thank him for serving her. And odd feeling of excitement was creeping up on her,

Smith crept off his bonded's shoulder, sneaking his way as best he could to try and get a good shot at Vanavia's plate, after all, if she didn't see him do it then she couldn't tell him off for it.

Vanavia went quiet for a long moment, a small frown tugging at her features as she thought about the concept. She could see the reasoning, if their job was that risky then it seemed fair they earn some kind of benefit for it. She could see the appeal too of wanting to be in the wing that got all the glory and perks, but something still nagged at her. "Surely not everyone wants to be in the First Wing? What happens if a candidate doesn't want to be in the Wing that faces all the danger? Does a candidate have the option to refuse?" It seemed unfair that a candidate that did well may be picked for a task they never wanted to take on. She could never see herself being anything near to an 'elite warrior'. The whole idea of being a Dragonrider was risky and dangerous enough to worry her already. Vanavia didn't need to go joining the most dangerous fraction of it. No matter what the privileges. She'd rather be alive than privileged. Which really showed her sheltered life since the holder girl had always been privileged.

Vanavia realised then that all her questions were probably prying into things that weren't her place to question. She was also away that she was not making very good company for a celebration, her mother would be ashamed if she knew. So the girl immediately wiped her frown from her face and stuck her polite smile back on. "What is being bonded to a dragon like?" That always seemed to be a point of wonder, she'd heard people say that Dragonriders told of how wondrous it was, but this would be her first time to actually ask one herself.

Shortly after her question was asked however her trouble making blue darted forward, snatched the largest piece of meat he could and made for his escape. Which lasted all of three bounds. The blue was just over a month old and he had been far too greedy, grabbing a slice of meat that dragged on the ground so he could all but waddle to try and escape with it.

"Smith!" Vanavia hissed under her breath at the blue. She couldn't very well have people seeing him behave this way, but she could never control the blue. Smith turned his head and looked at his bonded, clearly thinking this was a game. The blue twisted around to face the pair and wiggled his rump, ducking into a crouch and doing his best to shake the piece of meat back and forth. If Vanavia wanted it she would have to stand and reach over the table to get it. The blue even dared a playful growl as his owner covered her eyes with one hand at the firelizard's behaviour. She was done for now if her mother found out.

Now Vanavia may have spent a lifetime learning to control her facial expressions, but it was impossible for her to not turn bright pink as the blue continued to wave his bottom in the air. There was no denying the blue was cute, but the girl was convinced she had ended up with the least obedient firelizard to ever crack shell with the way that Smith behaved. She couldn't get him to do anything she asked and he was only a month old! The girl dreaded to think what he would be like when he was grown. Vanavia peaked over her fingertips at the question, it was certainly a valid one. Smith could comfortably lounge on the slice he had grabbed and the cooked meat appeared to be too tough for him to shake pieces off. Never mind biting off more than he could chew, he'd be lucky if he got a bite off the slice. Expression softening, Vanavia quickly glanced around to check nobody was watching before lifting herself to lean across the table and pluck the slice from him. Earning a squeal of protest.

"Well come here then, you silly boy." Sitting back down the girl tore more acceptable chunks from the meat and handed them to the eager creature. Smith trotted over and sat on the table in front of her, positively ecstatic at the treat he was being given. Vanavia turned her attention to S'ol, she could still listen while her hands were busy.

"That makes sense. I suppose if you were good enough that you were chosen before the wing you wanted to be a part of had a chance to choose you, then really you could take whichever path you wanted once you impressed." This of course would not be the case for her, Vanavia could not see herself excelling in the more aggressive aspects of candidacy even if she tried. The best she could hope for now was that maybe her education would let her skate through without being called out on not being a fighter. She would have asked S'ol if there were opportunities for those that impressed to not be fighters, but Vanavia feared that would make her look like a coward and that perhaps Zaqueth's choice would be decided as a mistake if that happened. She could only imagine the reactions if she was effectively dismissed from candidacy before even getting to the Weyr. No, best to just go with the flow of things for the moment and try not to think about it.

A smile played over Vanavia's features at the Bluerider's description, she'd heard that comparison before. Still, she found it hard to imagine. How could you not know there was a piece of you missing? Perhaps she wouldn't impress because she didn't feel a part was missing. The insinuation with the Search was that not everyone could impress, did that mean those people were already whole to begin with? The idea of never being alone again had her eyes shifting to Smith. The blue was a sight, with meat juices now covering his maw and front as he made a mess of himself. Smith made her feel not alone, she'd been alone many times before he had come along, but now there was that constant presence in her mind. Even if it never seemed to really be thinking anything groundbreaking. Perhaps a dragon was like that, only smarter. Like having a person attached to your mind instead of Smith who seemed far more animal in the way he functioned. Still if it was so hard for S'ol, who'd bee a part of it for turns, to describe then it would be nigh impossible for her to fathom it, even with Smith. Who had just opened his mouth for more meat even though he'd not swallowed the last mouthful.

"Finish what you have before opening your mouth, please..."