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 Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 4:26 pm
Ren was stirred before first morning light by the sound of his father rising. Ulan was for his part considerate and kept the sound down to a minimum but Nehren had become attuned to it over time. His internal body clock learning to wake him in time to help. But this time he wouldn’t be leaving on the boat with his father. He didn’t think he would manage to sleep at all that night but he had surprised himself, a few hours starring at the ceiling and wishing the floor would swallow him after the embarrassing display last night he had actually drifted off.
He got up slowly, taking his time to stretch and change, making himself look halfway decent with a water basic, some scrub and brutal attack with the comb through any dark tangles. Doing everything with as little noise as possible. Stepping out to see his father gathering the nets and pulling on water proof hides for the trip out to sea, he actually gave a huff and a rough smile at seeing Ren and put his arm round him in a half hug making Nehren squeak in surprise before returning it lightly. Quite surprised that Ulan would incite such contact in the first place. “Take care of yourself Son.” he advised “Yes Da’.” Ren replied dutifully. Before seeing Ulan out the door, watching him down the path towards the Jetty before he was out of sight.
A heavy sigh came from his lips and he rubbed a few drops of moisture from his eyes before turning back inside, it was still just light and the faint sound of the morning chorus was starting. He started up the fur to make some Klah just to keep his hands busy but he still wasn’t sure he would be able to face L’thor after how last night had ended, his cheeks still went red as summer wine thinking about it and he decided against breakfast, instead he picked up his bags packed the previous night, and leaving L’thor to slumber on he crept from the house.
Across the small square and through the line of trees, everything still glistening with liquid gifts from the nights storm although only a chill remained and the sky was clear now of almost all clouds that would invade the blue. He could hear movement though, a farm and fishing village like this started early, there was plenty of chores to be done after all and as many of them as possible had to be packed into the daylight they were given.
And Nehren let his excitement creep back to energize him with the Morning sun. He would be going to the Weyr today, seeing more dragons, seeing a real weyr and maybe even the queen. Even if that thought was daunting he still let It play upon his mind as he neared the large barn in the empty field, opening the small side door and slipping inside he could see the outline of the sleeping green. He didn’t know why he had got the urge to come ahead, maybe just not wanting to face L’thor alone was enough and that without his father or brothers that house just seemed like nothing more than mud bricks and sad memories to him.
It was time to go and he was ready.
To bad he would have to wait just a while longer, setting down his bags and slipping into a sitting position on a old bale of straw he leaned his head back against the barn wall and was soon dozing again.
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Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:38 pm
Veyes woke up early in the morning just like every day and glanced around the dorm from just under his wool blanket. Having all these other people in the same room made it difficult to get sleep at times. He was thankful that he had chosen a wall bunk so he could stuff one ear against the wall when other candidates snored. In the first couple days, he seriously thought about shoving a sock in each mouth that opened while he attempted to get some facsimile of sleep.
He hadn't seen hide nor hair of L'thor since the first day he was dropped off and got the grand tour. One person told him that L'thor was out in the "field" again. Veyes could only sigh and thank them for the information. In his heart, he would have rather been flying with L'thor and Raith. But that was not to be...at least not right now.
So he woke and worked his way into the bathroom dragging off the night shirt and pulling on brown work britches and over shirt thankful that his mother had spent a little extra marks and a herdbeast at the market to at least get him some new clothes before this long journey. They weren't as fashionable as other candidates he had seen but at least to him they were good enough.
Since his arrival, it didn't take long for the Candidate Master to put him to work and soon much of the day reminded him of the farm. And as he went from one dirty task to another, he wondered if they didn't just give him extra to do because he didn't complain when told.
In some ways all this hard work was a good thing because most people didn't bug him while he worked. In fact, he really hadn't talked to any of the other candidates except maybe to say "Good Morning." before scurrying off to his chores for the day.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 5:31 am
Ren was not the only early riser. Having gone to bed far earlier than he was accustomed to, L'thor had awoken far earlier than he was accustomed to. It had been pitch black outside still and he had planned to just doze for a while, or perhaps work more on repairing his spare harness. As he had picked the leather straps up thoughtfully however, he had remembered that Raith was still wearing harness. He had made a quick job, a very quick job, of making himself presentable before creeping out of the house with his pack and over to the barn. River had been a dutiful flitt and accompanied him, but Dusk had just spread out across the vacated bed and slept on.
It had been the work of a few moments to rouse Raith and get the straps off, and then he had spent some time rubbing at the slightly roughed skin where the wet leather had rested. Without oil he could only do so much, but Raith had appreciated the effort and the attention. Once he had given her all the fuss his arms could stand, he had settled down between her forefeet and got on with that doze...
It couldn't have been very much later when Raith nudged his mind.
"The boy is here," she said, raising her head and turning it to regard Nehren with calm blue eyes. "You are hidden from his view; try to to startle him too much Mine."
L'thor nodded to that and, rather than leaping up with a hello or something he yawned and sat up slowly before pushing himself upright; he reckoned that should given Nehren a chance to compose himself. Haha. Poor lad. L'thor stifled his amusement thoroughly, allowing himself only a small smiled as River leapt off Raith's back and onto his shoulder. Pretty handsome flitts should go and wake their lazy brothers, he sent the feeling of that to his small companion, who squeaked and vanished.
"Good morning," L'thor said with a smile to Nehren. "are you ready to be off then?"
*****
Conomor stirred as a small nose poked him in the ear. Ah. Morning. He sat up with a stifled yawn and spent some moments making a fuss of Gilden as she scrambled into his lap. He could only ocupy himself with this for so long, however, and eventually he forced himself out of his warm bed and hunted clothes out of his trunk. Worn black britches his foster mother had been trying to persuade him to throw away for a turn, and a tough grey shirt. Well that was that then.
Yawing again, the stocky youth padded into the bathing room and hunted out his washing gear. He was having to shave every day now. It was really quite annoying. Half asleep as he still was, he didn't notice the other Candidate until he'd already covered his face his soap.
"Oh!" he blinked in surprise before offering the other youth a smile. "Morning Veyes."
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:01 am
Veyes glanced over at Conomor after washing off his face. He had been fortunate so far, his face still didn't sport any signs of a beard. In fact, he really hadn't grown much hair at all beyond what was on his head. In his own mind, maybe it was something he just willed to happen because when he was home he would had to have shared the long razor with his father. That alone in his mind could have stop hair growth or any number of other biological events.
"Umm...good morning...."He paused and furiously rifled through the names that he had heard over the couple days. "...Conomor." He was a little surprised to see someone else up as early as him because it was just before the crack of dawn. This was a normal morning for him, however, he was thinking about trying to wake up even earlier because the snore beasts drove him crazy at night."So...mmm...you got early chores? Usually don't see others up this early."
He hung his small wash cloth up on his numbered hook and then turned to gather his meager washing supplies up. He knew that the Weyr supplied many of these goods for the candidates, however, he didn't want to waste that which his mother packed for him.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:11 am
Conomor smiled and shook his head. "No," he said as he peered into his small mirror and set about his face with the razor. "I just get up when she does these days, no point trying to keep sleeping once she's awake." Gilden crooned unrepentantly from the bathing pool she was splashing about in, apparently unaware that her human would have liked to sleep for a few more candlemarks. "I think I'm actually free this morning," Conomor went on as he cleaned off the blade and then splashed he face free of soap. "Not quite sure what I'm going to do with myself yet but I'm sure I'll think of something," he shrugged as Gilden flew over to be dried off and fussed over some more.
"What about you?" he asked once the flitt had settled herself on his shoulder. "Drawn any nasty chores today?" Personally he didn't mind any of the things they were given to do. A lot of it was boring, yes, but somebody had to do it so there was no point moaning. The quicker you got on with whatever it was, the quicker it was done after all. In Conomor's eyes, whining just made you look like a brat. He hadn't noticed any complaining from Veyes yet, and as such he rather approved of the other young man on first impression. There hadn't been much time to get to know him beyond his work ethic, but Conomor had a feeling he'd get on at least reasonably with him on better acquaintance.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 8:59 am
"Ah...I see." His eyes shifted to the flit as she splashed around. Crawling into the bath might have been fun but not with a work day ahead. Although, he would have been happy for a few extra candlemarks of shut eye.
He tucked his shirt into his pants and dragged the well used leather belt around his waist. "Mm...I'm always up this early. I used to live on a farm so getting up like this ain't nothing." His hands rose to fingers through his lone mane of wavy hair that draped far down his back and he started to part the hair. Eventually he had three separate braids going that would finally be braided into one and clipped securely with a metal hair hook that had belonged to his mother. It was a bit feminine for the boy but they couldn't afford to buy him something of his own based on fashion. It did the job.
"Well, the chores aren't anything I can't handle. Umm.. today, I'm dragging in the new herdbeasts that I guess got brought up from another Hold. They got wind I worked on a farm so I get to gut and skin. Nothing new, just long. Then I get to to butcher it...they told me its like sending the meat to market so I just got to get the meat and the organs seperated then work into the particular cuts. Some gets to go to the Hatchlings and the other gets to go to tomorrow's dinner."
He grinned a little as he thought about it, he was learning that there were a few fringe benefits for taking on the jobs others hated, "Ain't so bad though. The women in the kitchen promised me an extra helping of fresh brisket and gravy with mashed sweet roots if I get them the butchered meat to them before lunch."
He peered closer into the mirror and check over his hair to make sure everything was tight. He didn't want to get his hair into all the blood and gore fortunately they did have aprons and other coveralls to help protect him and his clothes.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:11 am
Conomor chuckled softly at that and nodded; extra food was always a good thing. "Well, that makes you a lot more prepared for a hatchling than most then. I hear learning how to cut up meat right from the beast is one of the bits people usually find worst. I've gone down and watched how it's done over the turns, but never had a chance to try it... If you don't mind, perhaps I'll come with you and watch you for a little while? I'm hoping I'll have to know how to do it myself sometime soon, so a refresher on how the process looks at least would be good."
This time. He had to make it this time. The Touching was soon, and he was being ridiculously careful of himself. No more injuries, no more illnesses. He was going to the Touching, and then he was going to the Hatching, hopefully to be chosen by a hatchlings. Even if he wasn't though, just having made it that far would be an achievement so far as he was concerned. He was getting sick and tired of his stupid, impossibly bad luck.
From his shoulder, Gilden perked up at the thoughts of meat running through his mind, and expressed the idea that they should go and eat. Her human never ate anything interesting in the morning, but he always brought down dried flesh for her. It didn't taste as good as fresh, but it was good fun to tear the tough stuff up.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 9:50 am
Veyes glanced Conomor over once or twice. Although he wasn't that tall compared to him, there seemed to be enough strength in his arms and legs. What Veyes didn't want was someone holding him back from the goal - that extra serving.
Not that food was the shear motivator for his task from what he heard keeping up with these skills would help him if he impressed; but overall got more from honey than vinegar with the women in the kitchen and that meant little things like a better cut of meat, a fresh slice of pie...and one woman actually patched up his pants when it got caught on the fence.
"Yeah...they tell me that so it's an every morning thing for me unless they set me to something else. It ain't so bad once you get over the first cut. I know I didn't get along to well when I first learned to do it but you get over it pretty quick on the farm. Umm...sure. I can probably show you the ropes."
He put away his supplies back in his trunk and then waited for Conomor to finish before taking off to the location where the men prepared the kills. "At least, there are others that take care of the killing for me. I don't have to wrangle one with the knife myself. Not that I can't; but it means I get done quicker." He grinned a bit at that thought. He'd much rather be done with the roughest tasks early in the day before many candidates had even started.
"So did you see the eggs already?" That was always something easy to talk about at least. One on one, Veyes was a bit more personable, it was just in a big group he tended to back off.
He opened the trunk close to the meat locker and pulled out aprons, gloves and coveralls. "Pull these on and we'll get started. By the looks of it, I've got 4 to skin, gut and butcher up. Hope you ain't squeamish." He smirked back at Conomor to see his face just to get an idea of what to expect.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 10:11 am
Conomor grinned, his dark eyes shining as he nodded and hauled on the protective clothes. "Yes I've seen them! I go there every day at least once to see how they've been turned differently, trying to see them all from all angles." He smiled wryly and shrugged as he donned the gloves and shooed Gilden to sit a little way off. "Perhaps I'm getting a bit over keen, but this will be the first touching and hatching I've ever been to. My bad luck has been pretty incredible over the last few turns; always managed to be ill or injured when there was a clutch. Broke my arm day before the touching of the one just gone." Not this time. This time he'd get there; surely getting Gilden was a sign that his luck was changing.
"I don't consider myself squeamish," Conomor went on thoughtfully as he looked at the stained gloves he wore. "I've been up close to butchering before like I said but I've never tried it myself before." Smiling, he looked back up at Veyes. "If I start to feel queasy, I promise to just get out of your way. I don't want to be the cause of you losing that extra helping." Making people lose privileges and the like, even by the mistake, was not a good way to make future friends and allies. He was fairly sure he'd be able to handle the gutting and everything but it was always wise not to be too cocky, he felt.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:07 am
Veyes grinned back as he tugged the stained gloves on and then took a rope to tie them down so the muck wouldn't slip in; a trick he had learned over the year. "Yeah, I take a look late at night just before bed. I think their Mom is nosing them over just before I get there."
Dragging open the door to the work room, he looked over the 4 beasts and sighed. "These aint even half the weight as the ones at my family's farm. Not a lick of quality meat here. We're going to find a lot of stringy cuts today." He shrugged some as he got the knifes and other instruments out placing them on a table. Oh!...And we gotta put the bones in that vat over there because the stuff inside will clean off the rest of the crap and then the clean bones get used for needles and other tools later. Nothing gets wasted so if you don't know where it goes just ask."
The boy seemed to have better than his share of meat handling knowledge but after 16 years of farm life with a father like Havel; you learned your work really well. Ruatha was mostly a herd farm hold so while he knew a bit about grains and veggies because you always grew your own at the farm, he knew more about meat.
"Wow, that is some bad luck." He finally said after leaning against the first corpse and study the flesh, "You basically follow the same pattern for skinning a herd beast no matter how fat or thin. But when it comes to gutting, you have to take a better look because bigger ones tend to have more fat deposits and you want to make sure that you don't strike an organ with the knife or you might get bathed the the beast's last meal."
He then returned to the previous conversation as he started to show Conomor how to skin; "Mmm...well L'thor told me that it could take many times before the right Hatchling pops out. So I figure, I'm not going to worry too much if I don't impress right off. That just means I get longer to prepare. I got a few years from the Candidate Master said before I would have to start worrying. But...I do hope with all my heart to get lucky."
Deep inside though he did feel that small pang of worry; a tiny doubt probably implanted by all his father's harsh words over the years...What if the right one never showed? It would just dash all his dreams to the rocks if it happened. Then what would he do? He thought about all his various dreams and wondered which one would fill this ones shoes if bad luck followed him. But in the end, he had to push that thought aside and remain stalwart in his thinking. ONE DAY... this dream WOULD come true...
Normally, he'd let his mind wander at this point and dream about flying or doing something more exhillarating than the task at hand that he could have done in his sleep at this point in his life, however, with Conomor here, that wasn't going to be the case today.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 11:21 am
Conomor grimaced and nodded. "Yes. We aren't tithed the best of beasts. I find it a bit surprising really, I would have thought Holders would want dragons and their riders fed on if not the best then at least decent quality given they need to be in such good shape. Still," he copied the trick he noticed Veyes doing with the gloves and made a mental note to ask about it later, "perhaps things will change once the Thread comes." Things had better change. Right now it wasn't too big a deal, but once dragons were fighting the Thread every day, they and their riders would need all the strength they could get.
Still, that wasn't the matter at hand. He needed all his focus for this, or he'd probably slip and cut himself, which might then do him the favor of getting infected and counting him out of another hatching. Conomor took a firm grip on a knife and watched intently as Veyes worked. It was no less skillful than the work a tailor did so far as he was concerned, but you never heard anyone complimenting a well skinned and gutted beast. Ah well, some jobs were more thankless than others he supposed.
"I won't deny I'd love to Impress this time," Conomor said continued to watch Veyes' technique, storing every detail away for when it would be his turn to try, "but in the end... Well, I'll just be glad to make it. The rider's right; a lot of people don't find their dragon first try, second, third... I suppose we'll just have to be patient."
He could do that. He'd waited from the age of twelve until fourteen to ask to stand for a hatching - he hadn't felt mature enough until then no matter how much he had desired to try - and then he'd waited from fourteen until the present day without even getting to a Touching. Yes. He could be patient, and when he did find his dragon he would be ready for it. He'd read all the lore, he'd watched riders bathe all colours of dragon and helped his blood parents with their mounts. He'd watched the dragonhealers sometimes, knew the common problems suffered by hatchlings and now he was starting to learn how to cut up meals. When his dragon found him, he would be more than ready.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 12:06 pm
Veyes stripped off the skin in one piece with only a few minor sections that weren't quite perfect. "Ok...so this is pretty close to what they want with a skinning. I'm not a tanner so there's a few spots I don't get as well but most of the time I don't get complaints. They'll use this hide for all sorts of things and the tanner will take care of the rest of the process so we just hang them here." He took his skin over and placed it on some hooks then returned to the beast.
"I guess from growing up in the hold; I could see where they might think to take care of their own first. My family's farm has lots of different herd beasts. The Master Herder comes by every 8 seven days to check the stock and make recommendations. That's how my brother got lucky enough to go learn breeding. Around Ruatha folks raise herdbeast or runners so its a great opportunity if you get apprenticed. I just never got that lucky." He sighed a little wistful at the thought. "But I think I'm luckier to have gotten this chance instead." He grinned as he started skinning the second beast.
"Oh..yeah.. doing them all in order like this saves time. So skin first, then gut...then cut. So now its your turn to do this one. You think you can follow what I did?" He dragged the beast to the right side with a bit of a heave and waited for Conomor.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 12:13 pm
Conomor, scowling with concentration, nodded to the present expert. "Yes, I think I can. Stop me if I start to go wrong with it."
Well, here went then. Stooping down over the beast as he had seen Veyes do, he took a calming breath and began to cut. The feel of the dead flesh was strange, he had to admit, but he felt a little removed from it thanks to the gloves. Besides, it was only meat; if he was willing to eat the stuff he should be willing to handle it too. Moving far more slowly than Veyes had, he drew the blade along the hearbeast with meticulous care. He didn't want to make a mess of this and get Veyes into trouble for letting an amateur hack away at a hide.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 12:20 pm
The light was still dim in the barn although the sun was now quickly rising to set the sky to fire and bathe the morning in dewy warmth. The air carried a pleasing fresh if slightly damp smell after the storm and of course the smell of salt and brine from the sea was quite overpowering, but it was a nice morning for flying. Also napping it seemed for Ren was read to fall back asleep himself sitting on the hay before he was caught by the site of a rising shadow beside Raith. For a moment he panicked that someone had snuck in without just reason and ill intent but of course the green would not have allowed that. He chided himself gently as he took In L’thors thin frame. Trying desperately to show his embarrassment to the side. And failing epically.
He kept his hazel gaze down from the older male as he shuffled forward and nodded. “Yes, I’m ready.” he told him and hauled his bags over his right shoulder again. His family had all departed for the day, at the moment there was no large factor to hold him to his home it was the best time to leave. He stepped lightly over to Raith and gave the green a warm and friendly pat as a good morning greeting of sorts before pulling a few stands of straw from his jacket, anything really to avoid direct eye contact with the green rider. “Are we going to fly all the way there like we did from the hold or go Between?” he couldn’t help asking, he had heard about it of course, that dragons just vanished in midair, but he didn’t know more than that and he had a powerful curiosity about things like that.
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Posted: Thu Apr 02, 2009 12:21 pm
He watched Conomor carefully as his father used to of him but not with the same maliciousness that his father had. Instead, he got behind Conomor and put his glove hands over his to guide him when he was going a bit to far. "Well it isn't going to be as pretty but it's probably not going to be the worst one either. You're digging in just a little too hard. The skin is right on the surface so just guide the blade like this."
He tilted Conomor's hand just a touch then backed off again to let him get the hang of it. As soon as he saw progress he started to set up the third beast for the skinning process.
The room started to fill with the odor of blood and flesh and Veyes opened up a vent to start filtering out the smell then wander over to grab buckets. "Were going to need these for the blood because some will go to the kitchen for blood pudding!"
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