
Xanadu Weyr - Candidate Barracks
A long, low ceiling room opens off the entrance hall to the arena, one wall slightly curved as it is set against the outer wall of the arena itself. Cots are set evenly the length of the room, in two rows, each with its own small press at the foot, for personal belongings. Wide windows are spaced along the outside wall, letting sunlight in, while other lights are available for the night time hours.
The night is silent, and very very dark. Icy rain and sleet fall outside, wind razing against the outside. It's far nicer to be indoors, particularly in a room full of heaters (otherwise known as candidates). Relion rolls over restlessly, and finally sits up, though, sleep having been elusive. He rustles quietly, a large male in a small cot, before standing, feet quiet on the floor, toes stretching against the chill of it briefly, before he pads across to a window, and stretches in front of it, looking out into the dark gloom, the splatters of ice against the window in front of him, his warm breath fogging on the glass. He rakes his hands through his hair once, then again, pulling the band out of the back, working some tangles out of it slowly, letting his mind wander.
The sound of someone padding past her cot has Tecoah stretching and coming out of the light, restless doze she'd finally managed to fall into less than an hour ago. She rolls over onto her side, eyes peering into the dark at the shadowy form that walks past and earning a disgruntled mutter from both of the firelizards asleep atop her blanket. The Runner turned candidate yawns and sits up, rubbing at her eyes and setting sock covered feet on the cold floor, "Having a hard time sleeping, too?" Her voice is quiet in hopes of not waking anyone else as she stands and pads near silently over to join him, her arms wrapped around herself to ward off the chill coming from the glass.
Relion startles at her voice and approach, turning his head in the dim lack of light to pick up the motion of another person, picking up her short, slim figure after some effort. "Yes. But not for lack of being tired. I feel like I still have one of those little minds from the egg-touching running around in my head. But I know that's not true." His voice is even, lower due to him purposefully staying quiet in the dark, which marks his age more clearly, he's not one of the younger boys. "Were you there, when we went?" he inquires quietly, and then offers a hand, despite the dark, between them. "Relion," he identifies himself.
Pest and Nuisance settle eagerly into the warm place their human friend just vacated, snuggling down with quiet chirups and warbles as the green and blue firelizards easily go back to sleep. Tecoah chuckles softly at the other candidate and leans with her back to the window and her hands tucked into her armpits, "I know what you mean. It was like that for me the last time I stood." She shakes her head, the motion hard to see in the dark, "No, I trying to get Pest to stop pestering the cooks for a handout." She rolls her eyes, "I swear that green is going to blow up so big she's not going to be able to fly soon." Beat, "And Nuisance isn't much better." She smiles at the introduction and takes his hand in her small one, "Well met, Relion. I'm Tecoah." The hand is quickly released and she tucks hers back under her arm, "So what do you do when you're not waiting for a baby dragon to walk all over you on the sands?" Sounds like she's one that's a little more ambivalent about the idea of Impression than some of the others.
Relion doesn't seem to react either way to her indifference regarding the Impression. Then again, good luck detecting much expression in the darkened room. He nods a little, taking in her name. "Tecoah, okay," he says simply, in the way that a person does to help their memory. He's not interested in forgetting fellow candidates' names, really. He smirks a bit, a chuckle of undertone as he glances to the sounds of the crooning fire lizards at her bed. His hand, when touched, is rough but warm; he's got a heavy build that suggests one of the more physical-labor jobs, which he clarifies: "I'm in woodcraft. Felling and the mill, mostly," he answers, angling his head to look towards the window, and a brief flash of white flurry hat gets blown by. "…but since I'm doing that in the afternoons anyway, it's… the same to a degree, baby dragon or no," Relion chuckles deeply. "What about you?"
"Runner. I'm one of the crazies that would usually be out in that mess come dawn." Not that Tecoah won't be out in it at least for a little while in the morning. She nods at his description of his craft, her smile lost in the dark, "I suppose it wouldn't be that different for you, at that." She turns towards the window, her nose wrinkling slightly, "Just try taking a dragon out on the traces, though…" Not likely to happen. Theres a light shiver and she hunches her shoulders a little before glancing back in his shadowed direction, "Can I tell you a secret?" It's something she hasn't told any of the other candidates before. Not this time around, anyway…
"I was actually in beastcraft, when I was much younger, for a turn or two," Relion says, smiling briefly. While he evidently wasn't in it for long, he's more saying it to let her know that he has at least an inkling of what she's talking about. If he can't see the smile in the dark he can still hear it in her words just after that, just as she'll hear his more calm, serene expression in his own. "…okay," Relion says, with brief surprise, a secret from someone he hasn't even seen clearly. He doesn't move, relaxed, tired, but clearly listening.
The anonymity of the dark is one reason that Tecoah feels comfortable sharing this secret, "I'm not entirely sure I want to Impress…" She shrugs and looks out the window again, "It's not like I'm not well established in my craft or anything. I just know that it's a good opportunity to get to know the people in one place a little more and to make friends with some people who will be riders at the end of all this." So they make good connections if she ever needs a rider for anything. There's a long pause and she leans on the window ledge, "N'shen Impressed the last time I was a candidate…"
Relion stays quiet while she shares, thinking it over himself, perhaps… or perhaps judging her for her condemning words?! Hard to tell. Another thing the anonymity of darkness brings. "I don't know what I want, really," Relion agrees, quietly. A brief smile, "Maybe it's a craftbred thing," he adds, "But… I figure if we're meant to return to our crafts… then that's what'll happen. I still think it's an honor, of a sort, to be included in this. A lifetime experience not everybody gets to do," Relion continues, and tips his head at her mentioning N'shen. Waiting for her to continue.
Tecoah shrugs and turns her back to the window again, "I guess so. I know I didn't want those two little flying stomachs when I got them a couple of turns ago." She shrugs, "I guess they wanted me, though." There's a tenderness in her voice when she speaks of her firelizards, even though her words are a little harsh. She nods, "Yeah, it is an honor. I know a lot of the people I grew up with around Fort Hold would have killed to have been Searched…" Which is probably one reason she didn't turn it down. As for the rider she mentioned, "N'shen's one of the Weyrlingmasters now. I think I heard that at some point, anyway."
Relion stretches his shoulders slowly, and nods a little bit. He's starting to yawn more. Thankfully. Maybe this talk with Tecoah can help coax him back to sleep again, just enough to drag him out of his own thoughts. "Oh…" Relion says, pausing. "Feel left behind?" He asks, slowly, frowning a little bit. Hard to see another person move past you. "Well. You're still ahead of me. I've never been searched, before this," Relion says thoughtfully. But shifts from the window, offering a very fleeting, and friendly-only, move of hand against her upper arm, unless she shies. Just a brief pat. "I think things'll work out. Even if -we- don't know, I think it's the baby dragon's job -to- know. Like your little flyin stomachs," Relion grins. And doesn't suppress the yawn. "Ug. Might be time to try to sleep again; sorry." He IS apologetic, he didn't mind being an ear to her.
Tecoah shakes her head, "No… I really don't. I've been happy with running. It's nice to be alone with your thoughts for a while from time to time." Or, in her case, most of the time. She chuckles softly and reaches out to offer a little pat of her own to his arm if she can, "Well, like you said, I'm sure the dragons will know." She just half hopes that she gets off lucky this time, too. She chuckles again when he yawns and makes his apology for being tired, "Don't worry about it." She stifles a yawn in return, "I think I'd better shove those two over and try to sleep a little more, too." She pauses and offers a smile, "Thanks for listening. I hope you can get some sleep."
"Sure. You too. And… don't worry either, huh?" Relion suggests with a grin that's easier to see as he moves away from the window and a light catches on his face and warm reddish hair, on his progression back to his cot. "I think we've got time. Too much time, really, I wish they'd hatch tomorrow and save us the grief of too much /thinking/," Relion chuckles. "Goodnight, Tecoah," he bids, silencing as another person near his bed turns over in her sleep. Woops. He leaves it at that, laying back down with a sigh into the otherwise quiet (well, except for various snores) barracks.