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 Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 9:23 am
The flitt's sudden movement startled her a little but she managed not to jump, which was probably good given how nervous Shiver was. "It would be quite funny if the pink egg did come out blue," Layla grinned as she returned to rubbing Shiv's eyeridges. "I can see its rider getting teased a bit if it is, or if it picks a girl everyone saying they should have known from the colour of the shell!" Maybe it was a sweet, rather girly little blue. She could see herself Impressing something like that; so long as it was kind she could see herself Impressing just about anything!... Well, sort of anyway. It was still a bit much to get her head around really. One moment you were just you, and the next you were you, but joined to another soul. Amazing.
"What's it like in the boys' dorm at the minute?" Layla asked once she'd had another mouthful of her stew. "Everyone's very keyed up over in the girls'. Quite a lot of people are desperate to Impress the queen, a few are certain that they will, and that nobody else has a chance. There's quite a few who seem to just want to Impress, like me, but most of them are a bit..." she trailed off, searching for the word she wanted. "A bit tougher than me," she went on eventually with a sheepish grin. "You know, take on the world type girls. They say how much they don't care what anyone thinks of girl with fighting dragons, that they'll just ignore it, that they won't care... I think even the toughest of them must be a bit apprehensive about the idea though. A dragon chooses you, and suddenly you've done something wrong, stolen a man's dragon, though it's not quite as bad with greens as with blues..." She'd rather rambled on there, but hopefully Tofir wouldn't have minded and would answer her question. It would be interesting to know how the male candidates were reacting, she suspected there would be at least some parallels between them and the girls.
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Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:17 pm
"I just hope if it does pick a girl that it's willing to stand up for her," Tofir said.
If he got even one other person who came to him and said they couldn't stand the pressures exerted on them by the Weyr, he'd take the matter to the senior healer and have it brought before the Weyrwoman. It was too easy to cross the line between being traditional and preferential and being persecuting and discriminating. He would hate it if Layla was subjected to that sort of treatment. She seemed too pleasant.
"But I could definitely see that pink egg hatching a friendly, loving dragon, regardless of its color. Something about the color, I suppose. Even though I know color has nothing to do with the dragon." He rolled his eyes once more. That was one of the points they'd drilled into the candidates that had made Tofir think, Well, duh. If color had anything to do with anything, there'd be a purple dragon in this clutch.
"Though it would definitely be interesting to see a purple dragon," he mused. "I wonder what their preferences for Impression would be."
He shook his head. She'd asked him about the conditions in the boys' dorm. His face probably answered her question before he said anything, as it shifted into a grimace.
"Let's put it this way: I've given serious consideration to sleeping in a cot in the infirmary. There's lots of posturing and more speculation. There's also a fair number saying that the girls should be removed from the sands after the queen hatches, and kept off the sands until she does." Tofir had come very close to having physical words with a few of them over the matter. "They don't want any of their fighting dragons stolen."
He stabbed his last tuber brutally, thinking of the frustrating conversations he had with other candidates, particularly those born and raised at Telgar. The holders mostly believed the adage that the dragon did the choosing, and that they always chose the best rider, but they were easily swayed by the more forceful former weyrbrats' authoritative-sounding statements.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 3:55 am
"Yes... I hope so too." Especially if that girl was her; she just wouldn't be tough enough to deal with how this place would view her unless her blue backed her very strongly, or her green for that matter. She couldn't decide if she thought it was better or worse for those very few girls who Impressed a brown dragon. Shipped off to another Weyr as soon as possible, leaving behind all they had ever known here but escaping the hatred. It would be better if they were a hold born candidate she supposed, it would be rough to suddenly be thrown out of the home you had known all your life... Still, a brown wouldn't be interested in her so she didn't need to worry for her own sake... What about Yulu? She seemed like the kind of girl a brown would go for, if it was going to go for one. She hoped that didn't happen, she rather wanted her new friend to be able to stay here.
"A purple dragon," Layla forced herself to think about this, to dream something up for a purple dragon to be rather than worry about Yulu and browns. "Well, they would only Impress to homosexuals, no preference of gender. They would be any size from green to gold, and they would both Rise and Chase, but only other purple dragons... I don't suppose they would clutch," she grinned sheepishly at Tofir. "Implying even a hypothetical dragon that isn't gold might lay eggs is probably sacrilege or something!" Oh, and now she quite liked the idea of purple dragons. Again, they wouldn't be interested in her, but it would be lovely to see them, large and small zooming after one another without a care for other dragons.
"I can't say I care for that opinion," she went on with a shake of her head. "I mean, not just because it's unfair to us - dragging us off and tossing us on like that - but because it might upset the dragonets or something... And if a queen hatched and didn't see girls there right away she might go between!" What an awful thought. To lose any dragon like that was tragic enough, but to lose a queen also lost all of the dragons she should have clutched once she was mature.
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Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 9:08 am
Tofir enjoyed listening to Layla's speculations about purple dragons. He wasn't sure about them Impressing only to homosexuals, though. He preferred the thought that they'd Impress to anyone, being more pansexual. But he didn't bring it up to Layla. Her description was perfectly serviceable for a hypothetical dragon. However, he was positively relieved when she said they'd not clutch. Although he'd not been raised in the Weyr, he did find it somewhat uncomfortable to think of any color besides gold laying eggs. Pern would quickly be overrun with dragons at that rate.
"If that's what purple dragons are like, I'm sincerely hoping that egg's a green or something more normal, considering I'm extremely unlike to Impress a purple dragon." Yeah. Just a little self-interest there. He already knew there was one egg out of those nine that wasn't for him, and although he wasn't even sure he wanted to Impress, he'd lately been caught up a bit in the excitement of everyone guessing and such. Just a little.
"It's absolutely unfair - and stupid," Tofir agreed. "I didn't say I agreed with it, remember. I'm just saying that's one of the ideas going around. Slightly less stupid is the idea of having you girls all cluster around the queen egg. I suppose the reasoning here is that if you're all by the one egg the others won't notice you?"
He was unimpressed with his fellow candidates' reasoning, and spent as little time with them as he could manage. He'd probably continue to do so until after the hatching, and hope very hard that very few girls Impressed fighting dragons. More for their own sakes than his. Again, he wasn't even sure he wanted a dragon. It would throw his life completely off-track.
"Is it always like this around hatchings?"
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 5:34 am
Yes, she wouldn't Impress a purple dragon either... which in her hypothetical world was a shame, because she was sure that purple dragons would be absolutely beautiful. In the real world, the looks of a dragon came a long way down her priority list, but in the world inside her head where she could decide to have everything why not have beauty as well as strength, kindness, and all the other qualities her dragon would possess.
"Yea, I suppose that would be the reasoning," Layla nodded, pushing her now empty bowl of stew aside and picking up her cup of juice. "Given dragons Impress from the stands from time to time though it hardly seems worthwhile... Mind you," she smiled faintly and shrugged, "I expect quite a lot of girls will crowd around the queen if they think they can get away with it." If she didn't fear getting into trouble, would she be one of them? When the moment came, would she find that she desired a gold above all else? Life would be a lot easier... but a lot more would be expected of her... but... but... She didn't know. She wanted her fantasy world really, she supposed, where no matter what dragon chose her, everything could go her way... Or the way of her protagonist in any case.
"People do always get like this though," Layla went on with a slight sigh. "I suppose I'm feeling it more than usual now that I'm actually a candidate... Or maybe the hype is just bigger in general this time, because we got a gold egg, and after the last clutch it must seem more amazing than ever." She didn't want to criticize the three who had Impressed that day, they probably got a hard enough time as it was, but it was difficult not to judge them on their angry, proud dragons. Three greens, each with egos big enough for twenty queens. She hoped they didn't bully her dragon if she did manage to Impress, she'd never be able to stand up for it.
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 6:41 am
Tofir finished his tubers quickly while Layla spoke. One of the difficulties of speaking to people over food, particularly people he didn't know too well, was that it usually came down to a choice of eating the food while talking or between talking. Of course he was capable of talking while eating without showing the food in his mouth, but it was one of those things he'd been raised not to do in mixed company. So when Layla spoke he ate quickly. Probably looked as ridiculous as he would otherwise, but what could you do about upbringing?
"How often do they do that?" Tofir asked. "Impress from the stands, that is. I'd heard that the queen from High Reaches Impressed that way at their last hatching, and since I've not heard anything since I can only assume she's not making too bad a showing of it."
He also had his reservations about crowding around the queen. Queens were the largest when they hatched, he knew that even without having seen a young queen, but the greens he'd seen hatch had been pretty large and destructive. It seemed to him that if the queen became impatient or scared, being crowded couldn't be good for her, and would almost certainly be dangerous for the candidates who tried it. He didn't mention it to Layla, though. She probably had her own plan for how she'd comport herself at the hatching, and he hoped it wouldn't endanger her, but he wasn't going to be heroic if it did. He wasn't a hero.
"I hear you. The last hatching I attended I was really only there in a healer's capacity, and so I didn't have much to worry about in terms of dragons. It makes it difficult to maintain a professional objectivity about the whole thing now that I'm actually on the sands as a candidate." And he was still of two minds whether he wanted to Impress.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 9:06 am
Layla swirled her juice, and frowned thoughtfully at the question. How often had it happened that she recalled? "Well, it's not common," she said eventually. "I've seen more blues Impress girls on the sands than boys or girl in the stands, but it's not rare either... Another of the things we don't like to talk about I suppose," she shrugged, "often it's a fighting dragon that goes to the stands for a girl, so really everyone would just rather it hadn't happened."
And the girl still got a hard time, even though she hadn't been 'trying' to 'steal' a man's dragon. She didn't want to steal a man's dragon, she wanted to find her dragon. If her's was green or blue, clearly it had never been meant for a man... Nobody would care. She'd still be an outcast. Why did life have to be difficult like this? It wasn't the custom at High Reaches... still, for better or worse Telgar was her home. It would take an awful lot of make her try to leave this place, and not only because she might not find acceptance in the place she moved to any more than she had here. Home was home, that was all there was to it really.
"I hope I'm not too nervous on the day," Layla went on, nibbling her lip. "I mean I... I know I'll be scared, but what if I get so scared that if a dragon calls me I can't go to it? Or if I freeze up, and don't move out of a dragon's way, or... Sorry," she blushed and looked down into her cup. "You don't need to here me rambling on like this, you must deal with it enough every day as it is." Shards. She'd told herself she wasn't going to bother him with her worries, and now she'd gone and done it anyway. She was such a deadglow sometimes; people didn't like you if you made them think about things like that, if you were always jumpy, always saying how things could go wrong... but she couldn't help it. The words were out before she realised what she was doing, and by then it was too late.
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Posted: Mon Feb 08, 2010 12:29 pm
Tofir took a drink of wine. He always drank wine when he had the choice. Alcohol was far more sanitary than any other drink he could think of. It killed some of the things that grew in wounds and dulled pain. Not a bad sort of drink at all. He just didn't drink to excess, which was the important part. It would be hard for people to respect a mindhealer who was also a drunk. A mindhealer who could be extremely immature was something else entirely, since that was a trait a person could grow out of, theoretically. Drunkenness was something one grew into.
"Those are different odds than I would have expected." And then, because she'd mentioned it, his mind went off on another tangent: how did they manage to convince Telgar dragons to Impress mostly to male candidates? He hadn't noticed that they'd banned females from attending the hatching, or even standing at it last time, when there'd clearly been no queen egg. Was it something about Telgar's dragons specifically, that they preferred male riders to females when they were presented?
"I see. It seems unusual, though, that your dragons tend to Impress to male candidates more frequently. I'll be interested in seeing if that holds true for this hatching, when there will be a greater number of girls on the sands."
A very large part of Tofir was spiteful enough to hope that only girls Impressed at this hatching. He had friends among the male candidates, but he had not been raised in this sort of environment, and he sometimes found the prejudice against female riders stifling. And he wasn't even being subjected to it first-hand! However, he wasn't out to change the way things were, he reminded himself. He was here for research. And maybe a dragon.
"It's fine," Tofir said truthfully. "As you say, I deal with it every day, but remember that I do so by choice, so it's not as if I'm bothered by it. And as for the hatching, you'll be fine."
In a tone that was somewhat less reassuring than the one he'd just used, Tofir added, "And if you're not, you'll receive the finest medical care available, since I'll be with the healers at this hatching."
On the sands, but with the healers. Yay.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 7:33 am
"Well... I don't know if they really do or not," Layla shrugged, "I think maybe it's just that there tend to be more male candidates on the sands. Still though, I guess like you say we'll see what happens when the numbers are more even." She hadn't actually counted, but from looking around she guessed the ratio of male to female candidates was nearly one to one for this hatching. Telgar would not be happy at all if half of this clutch went to females.
"Maybe dragons here really do tend to prefer men," Layla mused. "I mean... well we've been taught that fighting dragons aren't for us, so maybe a lot of us are less open to them? Something like that..." She didn't want to think about needing medical care, she really didn't. She might have a leg half torn off, or be blinded, or have her spine snapped or... She needed to stop, she could imagine all of those things far too vividly, especially after having just eaten. Throwing up over the table was not the best way to make friends ever.
"I'll just keep light on my feet," she went on, trying to sound calm and failing quite miserably. "I mean, so long as I keep my eyes open and move if a dragon that hasn't spoken to me comes towards me I'll be fine... Right?"
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 9:28 am
Tofir nodded in agreement with Layla's speculations. He hadn't done a recent headcount of candidates, though he supposed he ought to sometime before the hatching, but he was a little amazed to hear that the numbers were so close. He couldn't imagine that the Weyrleader would be overly pleased if this new clutch went mostly to female riders. But it's not like they could take the dragons away from them once they'd Impressed. Maybe a whole clutch that Impressed female would take some of the sting out of it for the other women on fighting dragons at the Weyr. He considered suggesting this to Layla, but discarded the notion. It could go the other way, after all.
"The closed minds theory is interesting. I wonder if there's a larger number of holdborn females Impressing who Impress fighting dragons, and if the different upbringing has anything to do with it."
His mouth formed a thoughtful smile. There were so many interesting things he could research that he'd never considered at the Hall. He'd probably be here forever trying to do everything. He should probably consider specializing. Somehow. But how could he pick just one thing to focus on out of...
"I'm sorry," he said, breaking his train of thought forcibly. He could recover it later. "I can't help theorizing. My preferred area of study as a mindhealer is the link between dragons and their bondmates. It was something that caught my interest while I was training, and after a sufficiency of groveling I was sent here to pursue my research, but now that I'm here I'm finding more questions and variables than answers."
He smiled reassuringly at the girl across the table from him. "You'll be fine. I can't imagine anyone, human or dragon, would be interested in hurting someone as pleasant as you are."
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 11:48 am
"Thanks," Layla flushed slightly; she wasn't all that used to getting compliments from boys... Although admittedly Tofir looked more like a man than a boy... not that she was used to compliments from men either. "I'll just steer clear of any that look confused or scared, and I should be alright then." Everything would turn out fine. There, if she just thought that every second up until the hatching she wouldn't have time to worry. Not a practical plan. Still. Maybe thinking it every so often would help. A bit. Maybe.
"I... Well I guess you'd get bored if you ran out of questions," she went on with a grin. "I hope you manage to find answers to some of them though, it would be frustrating to wonder so many things, and never know the truth about any of it." If Tofir really did manage to find out vital things about how dragons bonded to their riders, it might change how candidates were taught, selected even... It was far fetched, she knew, but she stored the idea away in her mind anyway; she might be able to spin a story out of it to distract herself some time when she was feeling really stressed or worried.
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Posted: Tue Feb 09, 2010 4:04 pm
Tofir's response to Layla's thanks was off-handed. He was far more used to bestowing compliments than she was to receiving them. A simple, "You're welcome," and then he moved on to the rest of what she'd said. Her hatching tactics, as it were.
"That seems like a sound plan. I think I'll take my cue from you. And hope none of the scared or confused ones decided to wreak havoc with the healers. Now that would be problematic." Despite the fact that it would obviously be somewhat more than problematic, Tofir grinned. Weyr healers were a bit more fit than many of the healers he'd known at the Hall, perhaps because they led slightly more active lifestyles or had fitter patients, but none of them really looked like they'd be up to dodging crazed dragonets. Watching them try could be entertaining. Until the viscera came out, he reminded himself.
"But I really don't think this hatching's going to be as violent as the last. I wasn't really aware of the Flight as it happened, but I hear it was a better one that Shaith's, and that apparently makes a difference in the quality of the dragons. Or maybe their tempers? I'm a little unclear on that, or if it's just superstition."
He shook his head and smiled at his own ignorance. He would know everything there was to know about those things that interested him someday. The chance that he would ever run out of questions was slim. Very, very slim. There was always more to learn, particularly when it came to something as complex as the human mind. Or as alien and yet familiar as a dragon's mind. The thought of all that knowledge was pleasant indeed. And Tofir hoped to make his contribution to it.
"I'm sure I'll find some, but they'll only open up more questions, I'm certain. What I'd like is to be able to figure out a way to see if there's any sort of standard that all dragons hold their riders to, or even one that goes by color, other than sexual preference. But some days it feels like I'm trying to figure out why certain people love some people and not others - totally unclassifiable."
He took another drink of wine and watched Shiver slinking about the table, hoping for more food. As if he was hungry. Tofir knew full well that the flit would refuse any food offered to him at this point. If he didn't, he'd probably throw it up immediately. Which wouldn't be charming at all.
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 2:26 pm
"Yea... I guess it might just be one of life's mysteries. Still, we wouldn't be human if we didn't try to figure things out, right?" Curiosity killed the flitt, they said, but that never stopped people poking into things. Even she, afraid of so many things, wanted answers to the questions that popped into her head sometimes. Why five colours, for instance, and why were green flitts fertile when green dragons and whers weren't?
"We should get a better idea of what the dragons will be like at the Touching," Layla went on with a slight nod. "If any of them feel angry or violent, well, we'll know to watch them, right?" If she felt anything from the eggs at all. She might not. Her being on the sands might be a mistake. She might not even have the potential to form a bond. That was a horrifying thought. Not having the capacity to be chosen and loved by a dragon. Of course, not everyone could, but she hoped to the first egg that she did. Her father had been a rider, right? That's what she'd always been told, and the ability did seem to run in the blood at least to some degree, which was presumably one of the reasons all weyrbrats were allowed to stand.
"I really hope it's soon," she added with a shake of her head. "It feels like time is moving as slowly as treacle at the minute."
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Posted: Wed Feb 10, 2010 4:14 pm
"So I'm told," Tofir agreed, looking at his mostly empty cup and wondering if he ought to have another serving of wine or leave it at that. If he left it, he'd soon have no excuse to linger over dinner and converse with Layla. He enjoyed talking to her. She really was sweet, a delightful respite from the anxious posturing of his dorm mates and Yulu's sharpness.
"Of course, I'm also told on a regular basis to shut up and mind my own business and stop asking so many questions. I think people have been telling me that since I could talk." He shook his head, though whether it was at himself or the poor fools who couldn't silence him was unclear.
"That's true. Sort of an advance warning system." He grinned at the thought, and also wondered if the clutch Roseth and her sisters had hatched in had given any sort of warning. He couldn't remember if there had been a touching.
Tofir actually laughed when Layla compared time's passing to treacle. The picture it presented was clear in his mind and he had to agree with her. It did seem like time was passing impossibly slowly, and he was nearly perishing with curiosity about the Touching. He'd never attended one. Which reminded him...
"Say, sometime after the Touching would you mind meeting up with me, just to compare experiences? I'm interested in -" Everything. "- knowing how different people react to the eggs."
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Princess_Feylin Vice Captain
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Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2010 4:22 am
"Sure, I'd be happy to," Layla grinned and nodded, "I'd be interested in hearing about your experience out there too, if you wouldn't mind sharing." She'd probably try to find out how as many people had felt as possible; she might not have Tofir's expertise in researching things and she wouldn't be taking notes or anything, she just wanted to satisfy her own curiosity... She would avoid asking anyone who had said they were sure the gold was for them though, she could already guess the sort of thing they'd say. An instant connection with the little queen, I felt her reach out to me and tell me I was the one; something like that.
"I should get going soon," Layla said abruptly as she realised how long they'd been sitting here chatting. "I need to get an early night, so that I can get an early start tomorrow." She'd been planning on a quick supper, wash, and bed; her chores started early tomorrow. Still, she was glad Tofir had come over, even if it did mean she'd need to leave giving her hair a proper wash for tomorrow night; talking to him had been fun.
"Is there somewhere I could come and find you after the Touching, if I don't run into you before?" she asked with a tilt of her head. "I really would like to meet up with you again, to tell you about what I felt from the eggs... And maybe just to talk some more?" He'd been nice to her, but she had to remember that he was a lot older than she was. Beyond conversation about eggs and dragons, they probably had little in common... Still, she wanted to try and be friends, more friends was always a good thing.
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