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O`asis had been keeping an eye out, recently. He was the sort who knew about reading people - had to be, in his old line of work, in order to sort out the people looking for a fair deal from the people looking to waste time. Now that he was a dragonrider - just a Jr. Weyrling, maybe, but a rider all the same - he was beginning to find that these little skills of his were more important than ever.

Of course, that said nothing to the skills he hadn't developed yet. Like communicating with his dragon silently, so that Uktenath wasn't left to stare at him and puzzle out what his intentions were. You are looking for someone, Mine? The bronze asked, catching his bonded's eyes wandering but not certain why. I have not seen Galliath or His yet today....

"Not looking for them, looking for somebody new," O'asis replied discreetly.

This answer made little sense to Uktenath, who flicked his ears in faint annoyance. He knew that His would tell him what he was up to soon enough - he just wished that His would learn to communicate with him better, so that he would know more easily!

"For, you know. The Cause." He grinned at the dragon, who nodded slow understanding. O'asis had explained the Cause to him already. It was what they could do; how they could contribute, to protect the others. Sometimes it was very hard to understand how the things O'asis talked about helped the Cause, but Uktenath understood clearly that it needed, above all else, people. And so if His was searching for people for the Cause, it was good, and Uktenath should do all that he could to support him.

While O'asis was scanning the crowd, therefore, Uktenath rose to his hind legs to help him. This wasn't exactly an inconspicuous act, the little bronze craning its head around from as high up as it could reach in order to see the most of the breakfast crowd that he could, but for the few second's duration that it went on, O'asis was oblivious. Mine, what about him there? Uktenath asked, lowering himself down again.

O'asis barely caught a glimpse of Jaidev, but the moment of approval he felt seemed to be enough for the small dragon, who went forward ahead of him to approach the trouble-looking young man. Young as he was, the dragon was decidedly too big for the benches of the mess hall; that didn't stop him, however, from perching up the front half of his body on the seat across from Jaidev, giving the Candidate a most peculiarly appraising stare.

If it was possible for a dragon to look scornful, there was a moment where Uktenath did. Of course he didn't want the meat roll! He'd had his fill of good red meat already today; O'asis took proper care of him, enough that he didn't need to go around begging for table scraps like his unfortunate flit cousins.

The bronze turned his head reproachingly as his rider finally caught up. Mine, he thinks I want his food.

"Oh, does he now?" O'asis answered, rubbing idly at a spot on his elbow where he'd gotten jabbed in the crowds. People would make way for a little dragonet pursuing a mission, sure, but when the rider tried following after.... "Well, if he offered, it's only polite to say yes, isn't it?"

Uktenath made a derisive snort, dismounting from the chair so that His could sit. He was not going to eat table scraps, even if His really did think he should - which Uktenath could tell, he was only joking about.

Taking a seat, O'asis grinned at the boy across from him. "Things are getting pretty crazy in the Weyr, huh? I have to send Uktenath to get me a seat at breakfast, because Faranth knows that otherwise, I'd be sitting on the floor!"

Enough for a new Weyr - Was that wording incidental? No, it couldn't have been; not unless Jaidev was much, much smarter, or much, much stupider than O'asis had taken him for at a glance. Either one he could work to his advantage, but it would be best if he knew with. So he smiled and played along:

"No kidding! I've heard that there's someone in the upper circles pushing for one, you know," O'asis confided off-handedly. "They want to make one down in Southern. But I guess that the rest of them haven't gotten the cue yet. Makes you wonder, how many more people have to get sick before they catch up?"

Because there were that many people, by O'asis's count. He'd barely been at the Weyr long enough to enjoy his own bed before roommates had been enforced - and his little room had been terribly crowded once S'van had Impressed (but secretly decided against moving out, so brought Galliath with him to the alcove), and Nandeli had been banished from the girl's dorm. In fact, it had been the only one who belonged there - O'asis - who had slept on the floor for the few sevendays that arrangement had lasted. And even having Impressed, he still shared a weyr with two other Weyrlings; there was more room, but the numbers were no less alarming.

And it wasn't going to get better, O'asis was certain. With the Red Star nearing, dragons were naturally going to Search out more and more new Candidates; it was their job. And if the Weyr was not equipped to handle it, then nature would balance it out with another sickness to cut down their numbers. And O'asis was sharding sure, nobody wanted to see that.

Ah! But the conversation had continued, and O'asis was getting left behind.

"His name's Uktenath," O'asis introduced the little bronze, who grumbled in his ear until the blond informed Jaidev with a wry smile, "and he says it wasn't luck. But thank you. My name's O'asis, by the way; what's yours?"

Jaidev... O'asis reviewed his memory. He himself was still fairly new to the Weyr - Uktenath had come to him at only his second Hatching, and he hadn't arrived too terribly far prior to his first - but spending a lot of time around Nandeli got him the best rumors of everything, and he knew at least a few names from memory. That Jaidev wasn't among any of them wasn't a bad thing, either, given that the Nose was the undisputed dramateer of Ista.

He was worth the chance, O'asis decided. Uktenath agreed silently.

"It's the Junior Weyrwoman Favan," the bronzerider told the boy, "and she's not getting the support she needs just yet. When you get to sit up there, you know, away from the Candidates, it's easier to pretend there aren't as many people here as they are. They aren't the ones catching elbows in their sides just for trying to eat a meal, after all."

Then O'asis grinned, seeming suddenly very self-satisfied. His arms crossed in front of him - not defiantly, but a casually smug gesture. "They aren't yet, anyway."

That was it; bait, line, sinker. If Jaid was looking to grab onto anything, that would be the first thing his hand caught on. And from the way that he'd been talking, O'asis had the feeling he'd be one of the easiest catches he'd ever make; which was good. They needed more guys like Jaidev around, the Candidates that were really getting the worst of the situation (save the sickness; that had been indiscriminate, which was why two of O'asis's friends - including goldrider Nandeli - were still taking up space in the Healers' beds).

The immediate look of distaste on O'asis's face disagreed with that word, rebellion, as one taken too far. "We're talking about change," O'asis corrected Jaidev, "not rebellion. No change in leadership, even if it is a change in the status quo. This is a decision that is already natural, but hasn't gotten enough support to be seen through."

There will be new leadership. Either honest, or keen on this point, Uktenath insisted that his rider point this out.

"Uktenath is right; if things go as planned, there'll be a new Weyr, which is new leadership. New ways. And if you go there, it's something like a rebellion. Many of us plan to," O'asis revealed. "But it's necessary. For this Weyr above any other that might be. And the way we go about it is necessary; if a Weyrwoman can't get their attention to what's needed, how is a Weyrling like me, or a Candidate like you?"

It was disparaging, but true. The highest-ranked person O'asis had ever spoken to in a one-on-one manner between peers was S'kagi, and even then, that was only through accident. Ista Weyr was stratified; the Weyrleader didn't come to poll the Candidates on whether they were happy with the Weyr. Either they were, and they stayed for as long as they could, or they weren't, and they left. The system was good - until it reached the point, as it had, that enough people were willing to put up with so much, it became a health risk. The ILA was the only answer.

"There's little plans, little things. We aren't taking a stand; we're accentuating a problem. So say you're on kitchen duty, and you're making klah. The Candidates get the watered-down stuff; maybe some of the people in the upper reaches of the Weyr will get some, too? Or maybe the food is a little less well-done than it ought to be, because you're busy cooking for so many folks. Maybe you're cleaning, and you're in a rush, so you miss an obvious spot or two. Or you accidentally jostle someone carrying a heavy load...."

"It's all small stuff. Accidental stuff. Things that happen naturally, that would be happening, if we weren't so fardling careful to cover ourselves," O'asis explained. "Because we've been doing too good a job. The Weyr as a whole has. And until we get this new Weyr to split our success, it's going to be the greatest threat to our survival; both because it causes overcrowding, and because it hides it until it's too late."

"It's the best course," O'asis promised. "We do enough of this, and we're clearing the way for the talks that have to happen. Chances are, someone's going to swoop in, bring about the new Weyr, and grab all the glory - and if we all do our part, none of us will ever be known for anything we've done. No consequences, if we do it right... but no recognition, either, except among each other. But," and he smiled, peaceful and certain, "we'll have done the right thing, you see? And we'll have changed something. That's more than most folks in yours or my position can say."

That is because you are greater than those others, O'asismine, Uktenath informed him confidently. The Bronzerider smiled, but shook his head all the same.

"Don't be afraid to take initiative. Keep an eye out for what you can do," he instructed Jaidev, "and if you see opportunity but need help, come to my weyr and talk with whoever's there." Grinning now, he formed a confident fist. "We've got numbers; we'll make this work!"