Welcome to Gaia! ::

Despite always feeling that rest days were something of a time waste, today Lestenna was glad of having one. Her schedule differed from that of the majority of the weyr's riders', but not terribly much, and with drills stepping up and sweeps to be done every day, and thread perhaps as frequently as once a week...it really made that day off start to shine as brightly as her dear Uridith's hide did when she'd been oiled up. Of course that didn't mean her personal work stopped, and she'd often found her free days were well-spent learning more about those citizens of the weyr that she didn't come into regular contact with. It was important to get to know the candidates especially, she and Uridith had agreed, as they were going to be the next wingriders and wingseconds and maybe even weyrwomen and leaders of tomorrow.

During a Pass, thread was the number one cause of death for dragons, after all, and though High Reaches above all others were prepared, the young woman had no doubt that most of the older riders, herself included, would probably fall before the Pass ended. Knowing who might step up to fill their shoes was very important.

Most of them, she'd found as she watched from a more secluded corner of the dining hall, were about as interesting as you'd expect, all romantic notions and poetic ideals of tomorrow aside. Tired from chores, still rubbing sleep from their eyes, and often only half as tidily dressed as they ought to be. Children, in a word, they were more or less exactly like the children a portion of them were meant to be. A few here and there sported companions, firelizards they'd won or bought or found. No one knew what impressed a dragon, and what impressed a firelizard was simply food, but Lestenna had wondered before if those candidates the small dragon-cousins had chosen to stay with didn't exhibit some trait or quality that would make them a more notable choice to their larger, sentient siblings.

That boy there had one, and a bronze at that, sat perched around his neck. Her own meal finished, on a whim she rose to follow. Something about him niggled at the back of her mind—she didn't think they'd spoken before, but he seemed familiar. He had the look of the weyr about him regardless, and she decided that he must have rider parents with whom she was familiar somewhat. She called out as she approached where the boy had retreated to, not wanting to startled him from his occupation with the firelizard, or make him think she was coming to try to give him a chore or other task.

"He's a very handsome fellow, that one," She flicked a hand in the bronze's direction, the movement mirrored by the jut of her chin. "Still young? His appetite seems strong."

A voice caused Caderyn to lift his head, not having noticed that there was someone who had approached him. The woman was older then him, by ten years, he had seen her around, his father had pointed her out once, telling him that she was a gold rider. He had never learned her name though, it seemed that he looked familiar to her as well, even if she couldn't pinpoint where it was from.

Myrddin was still tearing into the piece of roll that Caderyn was holding out for him, the young firelizard just ignoring what was going on around him as he gorged. Caderyn couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Thank you." He didn't know if he should have accepted that compliment, but he felt right about it. He nodded his head answering her next question as well. "Just a week or so old. There was a hatching near a small hold. Word spread to both the Weyrs pretty fast." He looked down at Myrddin as he nipped Caderyn's finger, wanting more food. "I was lucky my dad has a rest day so that I could even get a chance of Impressing one."

Caderyn was going to say something else when he was cut off by a wherry falling from the sky. Caderyn jumped a little bit from the sudden action. The falling wherry had caught Myrddin's attention and the little firelizard let out a cry as he jumped from Caderyn's neck, before he could stop him, and attaching itself onto the wherry, trying to tear into it. "Myrddin.." Caderyn reached for the firelizard, grabbing him and trying to separate him from the kill.

((Not at all! I was hoping that would happen! >w< ))

Happy as she was with her shot, she was as startled as the owner when a bronze ball of fury suddenly launched itself at her kill. With a wild firelizard, she really should have expected that. For some reason she'd thought the ones at the Weyr would be more docile. She quickened her pace, running the last few steps towards them. She just hoped it didn't break her arrow!

Once she got there, though, she hesitated. She was going to reach for the arrow, but she wasn't sure how tame this firelizard was. Would it bite her? Choosing caution over potentially losing a finger (an especially grim fate for an archer), she instead stopped a short distance away. She recognized the younger man from classes and around the barracks, though she didn't know him well. The other she didn't know at all.

She ducked her head in a quiet greeting as she approached. "It was mine..." she answered with a resigned sigh. She looked down at the wherry, now slightly mauled. So much for a clean shot. She wasn't all that upset about it though. It's not like she really needed the meat anymore, now that people were feeding her for free, though she wouldn't have let it go to waste of course. She had been hoping to get a few feathers to make some new arrows, but there was always next time.

She cleared her throat awkwardly, not sure what to say. If something stole your kill in the wild, that was that. You either let it have it, or tried to scare it away. You didn't usually have to deal with the thing's owner. She rubbed her arm. She appreciated him trying to hold it back though. Especially since it seemed to be a bit of a struggle. "Umm... It can have the wherry, if it wants." she offered, lifting a finger towards the kill. "But can you get my arrow first?"

Well it was certainly generous of the archer candidate to turn over her rightful kill—or what was left of it—to the babe firelizard. She'd assumed the girl had planned ot take the wherry to the kitchens to give to the weyr, or would have cooked it for herself, so it was lunch in one way or another that was being given up. Pernese people in general were more lenient and generous with youngling. Young dragons, young people, even young firelizards, it seemed, though she agreed that the bronze probably could use some manners. Still, those would come with time; he was a babe yet.

She watched keenly as the boy intercepted the bronze to get the arrow back. His hatchling, his responsibility, but he handled it well. Already her mind was ticking off boxes, 'responsible' or 'takes care of his dragon's firelizard's troubles'. Good candidates in a future rider, certainly. Her own Uridith had more than once while growing knocked over items or tripped over people, and it had always fallen to Lestenna to resolve any issues that arose from it. A similar philosophy to that of 'the dragon decides, the rider complies' indeed. But dragons got their riders out of fixes now and then too, and no rider would ever leave a dragon to get in trouble without lifting a hand to help. No, the boy definitely had rider blood in him to some degree.

"A pleasure, candidate Caderyn," She tucked her chin in the very slightest of nods. "I am Lestenna, of gold Uridith," She paired her introduction with a kind, open smile. No rank in a casual conversation, it seemed to say, though who knew the depth she meant it. "And all you can do is keep at it. He'll come to heel eventually, if you're patient and kind. My own, and she's around here somewhere I'm sure, took quite a wild to settle down."

She took the arrow back from Caderyn and slid it into the makeshift quiver on her belt. "Thanks." she said, nodding gratefully. She lifted her shoulders magnanimously, unconcerned by Caderyn's apology. "I don't need it. I just wanted to practice." She crouched down and wrapped her arms around her knees, watching the little bronze pounce and rip at the wherry again, after crooning merrily at her. "I've met a few of them in the wild. It's not the first time one's stolen a kill from me. Trained or not, he's still friendlier than they were." she offered in some consolation. She'd never had a pet herself, so she couldn't say how hard it was to train them. Given that, she could hardly blame Caderyn when it was something she had never tried herself.

She stood, looking between 'candidate Caderyn' and the woman, who was apparently a rider. It was little late to salute now.. Fortunately, she hadn't seemed bothered by it. "Camilla. Or Cami. Either works." she said, curtly. Though she was still getting used to the complicated rules off etiquette, something told her that simply walking away to continue her practice at this point might be one of those things that was considered 'rude'. Since it seemed like she might be here for a little while, she stripped off her glove and leather arm guard and stuffed them into pouch outside her quiver. She had a feeling like she was supposed to continue the conversation, but didn't know what to say, so she just stood silently and waited for someone to ask something else.

Fortunately, another pair girls showed up shortly after. "Oh.. Was it?" she asked, not used to people complimenting her on that. She wasn't sure how to rate herself. She was about as good as her father, that was all she knew. Still, good or not, she was pleased that people were interested. She always liked sharing a skill when she could. Most of what she knew today came from trading talents with people. "I can show you, if you want?" she offered, taking the bow off of her shoulder.

More and more people seemed to be just coming right out of the woodwork as the morning rolled on! Or, rather, stonework, given that this was indeed High Reaches. It was interesting to see who came wandering 'round, as not everyone had the same rest day, nor did everyone remain on the same day from month to month, and Lestenna made a mental note of all of their faces. She'd never met the assistant weyrlingmaster, but she knew the woman's face (as well as that her dragon was blue, something of a mild rarity, or at least enough so as to stand out) and she tossed her fellow rider a casual salute. All riders deserved respect, from the weyrleader down to the simple wingriders. Perhaps not in equal measure, but still. That the candidates hadn't saluted herself wasn't really a bother—it was noted, but she took no offense. She was fairly new to the weyr, and not wearing her knots, and more than one of them had their hands full at the moment anyway.

"It seems your shot and your bronze," She commented to Camilla and Caderyn, respectively, "Have drawn a bit of attention." It was curious to note that of the four of them (herself excluded, of course), only one seemed to have sought out this bit of socialization. The other two candidates, and the assistant, seemed somewhat more inclined towards being quiet, almost awkward. What prompted a dragonet to choose someone? They never chose wrong, but people were so varied and individual. Amazing!

"It wouldn't be a mistake to learn to hunt. The weyr's always glad for fresh meat, and especially will be as the months and turns pass." High Reaches of all the holdings were set up to be alright in terms of supplies. Tithing was still generally accepted and would be kept up. Other weyrs might find themselves lacking food before long, having gone so many turns without demanding from holds that would now be insisting upon being defended. "Not to mention it simply being smart to have a way to defend yourselves, of course, should need arise."

A little more alert now, Cami was careful to pay attention to the other two's reaction to the new pair. She couldn't tell a wingrider from a weyrling from a candidate at this point, but she copied the gold rider's salute as the two women approached. "Is there good hunting around here?" she asked the weyrwoman in response to her observation. "If the Weyr needs more meat, I can hunt for it. That's no problem." she said, honestly just eager to be useful again. Especially for the Weyr that had first rescued her from thread, and now was housing her here in return for no more than the work she did as a candidate. She wasn't used to being provided for. It would be nice to be able to give something back.

"Well, if you want to learn. I'd be happy to teach you." she said. Lifting the bow again, she drew back the string and held her hand still by her face. She trained her eye on another small wherry, further in the distance this time. She closed one eye, following the avian with her bow for a few seconds, then released the string. Nothing happened, of course, since she hadn't loaded an arrow (she figured the last thing they needed was another firelizard shooting off across the Bowl, especially when they were all so nicely settled) but it was a demonstration of the basic movements at least. "Kind of like that.."

"Would you like to try?" she asked, holding the bow out to the others. "It might be a little hard at first; this bow is a heavy draw." she said, though if they weren't hunters then there was no reason they would know that term. She searched for another way to say it without the jargon, but words were not her strong suit. "That is.... The force it takes to pull back the string.. is a lot." she explained. "Normally you'd start on a different one, I did as well. But my other bows were destroyed, sorry."