A Candidate's Concerns

Xanadu Weyr - Shore of Lake Caspian
The cliffs that run along the shore come and go, various weyrs nestled along the tops of them or dug into the walls, but eventually they recede enough to expose a beach. The white sand echoes the rise and fall of the cliffs with a multitude of sandy dunes, endlessly creating tiny valleys that are constantly demolished and rebuilt by the frequent arrival or departure of dragons. The dunes smooth out as the gentle slope approaches the edge of the deep blue water. The sand darkens, and a shell here and there stands out for children to collect.
The beach narrows to the southwest, leaving a path barely wide enough for dragons in single file before cutting in to a smaller, more sheltered cove. The sands are the same white, the waters the same blue, but they're calmer and more tranquil, more protected from the winds that ruffle Lake Caspian and the currents that tug beneath the surface.
Rough, wide stairs lead up to the meadow above and the road that runs along the top of the cliffs, passing through the fields and heading for the river mouth that can be just barely seen from here. The largest of the staircases up the cliff is located near the docks that jut out onto the peaceful blue waters.


The sky is blue, the air is crisp, and though it is seasonably cold, it is nevertheless an enjoyable day. It find R'hyn out of doors, instead of holed up in office or weyr, butt planted on the planks of the docks, one foot on land, the other dangling in the air as blue-grey eyes watch kids of varying ages cavort and play up, over, and (in the case of paws and tail) sometimes under a big, blackened-bronze dragon. One of the youngest has taken to 'hiding' beneath one harlequin-printed wing, small shoes poking out from underneath. This seems to be a source of amusement for R'hyn and the gangly youth beside him, a thin boy with a mop of black hair that he sends over to check to make sure the toddler is alright. This leaves R'hyn all by his lonesome on the dock - but hopefully not for long!

Fish and game is definately not Kasle's favorite chore. At least she's managed to avoid going back out into the forest to hunt, though. Shudder! What if she were to run into that feline again?! No. Thank. You! She's quite content with spending the day sitting on the dock, drowning worms. With that goal in mind, the gardener-candidate makes her way down the beach with fishing gear in hand, heading in the direction of the Weyrleader and his hoard of children playing on their living jungle gym. She doesn't really notice all of the kids, or R'hyn, at first, being accustomed to seeing the occasional dragon sunning on the sand. When she does, finally, she stops short, "Oh." Dark eyes blink a couple of times and she finally offers a small smile, "Good day, Weyrleader." At least she recoginzes him by sight now?

To be fair, R'hyn is happy to be written off, pleased to be a face in the crowd. He's owning his position, for once, if only by dint of his knot being attached to the jacket he happens to be wearing, but he's perfectly content to just be R'hyn. It's why it takes him a second to catch on when Kasle stops short, why it's only that 'oh' that has his gaze pulling away from his family to the dark-eyed candidate, his air of general amusement brightening into simple pleasure for seeing a familiar face. "Well, if it isn't Xermiltoth's favorite candidate." Nevermind it is his only candidate - take the dragon-compliment and run! "Glad to see the weyrlingstaff hasn't eaten you alive yet. How are you?"

Wait… Kasle is Xermiltoth's favorite candidate? That earns a light blush and she looks down, chuckling a little nerviously and shuffling her feet, "I, uh… I guess so?" She shakes her head, smiling in wry amusement, "No, but I've had to give up spending as much time in the gardens." She does have chores, after all, and doesn't have the excuse of a craft to avoid them. She looks over at the bronze and younglings, "They look happy together." The young woman continues to where she planned to sit with her fishing equipment and starts getting things arranged to get started, "I'd really rather not have to do this particular chore, but…" It is supposed to help prepare for if she Impresses. Not like that is at all likely, but still.

If R'hyn notices the blush, he doesn't point it out, but gentle amusement plays around the corners of his mouth. Whatever the bronzerider is thinking, it garners the bronze's attention, golden heat shining down on the candidate's mind as though in affirmation before he has to focus on the little using his neckridges as a climbing wall. "You guess so? Only half-eaten, then?," the weyrleader teases, mouth pulling to one side in a wry gesture. "Ah, that's unfortunate. I'm sorry to hear it. I'm sure they miss your expertise. Hopefully it's been worth it." It's an invitation to talk about her experiences, or to let the topic change entirely, as suits her preference - he's only too willing to be distracted by mention of the kids making a jungle gym out of his dragon. "It's important to him that they're comfortable," he agrees, "you never know when they'll need to know how to ride." A shadow passes over his features, but is quickly quashed by a wide grin. "Who knows, maybe one of them will walk in your footsteps and become a candidate one day." His gaze settles back on the former gardener as she talks, reading between the lines for her meaning. "Hmm. Want to learn to do it the dragonrider way?" Just in case. Should the offer not be clear enough, there's a chorus of giggles and squeals as Xermiltoth rises from his repose, lumbering closer, whirling eyes fixed on Kasle.

Perhaps worth noting is that most of Kasle's bells are actually gone from her hair, though there are still enough near the ends of her braids to announce her every movement, including her nod, "Oh, it has!" She smiles blushing slightly deeper, "Someone left the nicest succulent and a package of seeds on my cot a little while ago." Something in the bag hanging at her left hip chooses that moment to move and she rolls her eyes, "Of course, I've also ended up with a wherry chick." And she managed to keep it alive, even with that sharding ginger feline in the barracks! "I just can't leave it anywhere or it'll probably get eaten." She smiles over at the jungle-bronze and nods sighing a little at the warming attention of the dragon, "At least he's willing to do that, though." She chuckles and shakes her head, "Well, with who their father is, I couldn't imagine them not." Being candidates, that is. She looks a little confused at his question, "The dragonrider way?" She blinks acouple of times and finally settles down to sit within comfortable conversational distance, shrugging a little uncertainly, "Um… Sure?"

"Good, I'm glad to hear it," is said like R'hyn means it, though a sharp laugh rather ruins his earnestness. "Oh no. I'm not surprised, between firelizards and stablecats and everything else, I'm sure that's a fulltime chore in and of itself. Is it here with you now?" Guessed of that bulging bag at her hip, blue-grey gazed focused on it for a moment before lifting again. "Fathers, mothers, sister, uncle. They're probably doomed," the bronzerider concedes with a laugh, "but they're also bullheaded and each their own person, even the smallest. If they refuse to stand out of spite, I wouldn't be surprised." He leans back on both palms, head tipping to consider her anew. "I was going to offer to take you out over the waters, see if we couldn't find something a little more exciting than dockfish, but I'm not sure how your little friend would fare." A nod at the satchel in question. "Perhaps another time, if you're ever interested." Xermiltoth backs the verbal raincheck with a low rumble, wings spreading wide before (slowly, gently) smooshing down on the heads of various and sundry kids, delighted screeches and dull thumps of palms against wingsail material audible even from the near distance. "Is your brother managing well? I remember you saying he was still rather shaken up, after everything that happened with the wildcat."

Kasle rolls her eyes and makes a disgusted sound, "Far too many felines, if you ask me." Ugh! She nods, "Only because I can't leave it in the barracks. I really think it would do better with if I could leave it somewhere warmer, but I wrap hot rocks and put in under it several times a day." So at least it isn't freezing to death, "I really don't know what I'm going to do with the thing, though… I guess give it to the herders and it'll go to the feeding grounds, eventually." Although… "It is kind of growing on me, though…" She can't help but laugh at the thought of anyone turning down being Searched, "Well, I guess we'll see in a few more turns." She looks a little disappointed at the thought of missing a chance to ride the big bronze, but nods, "Yeah… It's probably better for it to stay on the ground, at least until it's better able to self-regulate its body temperature." She flashes a bright smile, "I'd be very interested, though!" She shrugs, her smile fading into a worried frown, "I really don't know. I don't see him much, except in the evenings, and I think he's been going out to look for the feline that killed his firelizard."

R'hyn considers her predicament with a hum, head tilting in the opposite direction. "Perhaps he needs a little pen of his own? Latticed wood slats might be enough to discourage enquiring paws, provided he's not the…" A beat. "Gifted kind of wherry." Brainless. He means brainless, but is too nice to say it. "I'd offer to petsit for you, but I am pretty sure if I bring one more small thing into our weyr, Ila'den will… What is the dragonrider version of divorcing?" His mood is too jovial to match his words, as though perhaps this were an exaggeration on his part. "And yes, I guess we will. It's a terrifying thought." One he shoves aside, for now, returning smile for smile as he says, "It's a promise, then," before her worried words make his expression sober as well. "That's worrying. He shouldn't be going out alone," reads as honest concern, gaze drifting woodswards. Several thoughts come and go on the bronzerider's features, but perhaps none of them are appropriate for a relative stranger to say, because he settles for, "Perhaps the hatching will serve as a distraction for him. They're saying it'll be within the sevenday, now. Even if it's just an excuse to enjoy a good party…" He shrugs, as though to say, 'it's something.' "Are you looking forward to it?" It's an honest question, with no anticipation in his gaze, as though he's heard the gamut of answers and is curious for hers.

"That sounds like a marvelous idea, actually!" Now why didn't Kasle think of that? "Maybe something that I can move back to my own room after the Hatching…" The wheels are obviously turning, now. She chuckles and shakes her head a little, "I think it's just moving out?" And moving to a different Weyr, probably? She's not a rider, though, so what does she know. She shakes her head a little at his (hopeful) exaggeration, "I think we'll be fine. I'll have to find somewhere to stash it when the eggs finally do hatch, but I can probably get my parents to keep it until everything is over." She grins happily at the promise, but it quickly fades as the conversation drifts back to her brother, "Yeah… I keep telling him he at least needs to take one of the other hunters with him, but I think he wants to make sure that he's the one that kills it." Revenge and all that, though he'd probably call it justice. She bites her lip at the thought of the hatching being so soon, "I… think I am? I don't know how to feel about it. I mean, some of the eggs are…" She shudders, unable to really describe the experience of communing with the unborn minds within those hardening shells, "And there was one that…" She flushes and looks away in shame, "Well, I had to leave after touching that one." She ran off the sands all but screaming, she means, "I'm probably going to be walking off the sands alone, anyway, but I'm still happy to be able to be there."

R'hyn looks please to have helped, nodding along with her plans. "I'm sure you could find reasonably sized dishes to put in there so he can have food and water, too." It's all coming together! As for weyrvorce, her answer amuses him, sunbright laughter sounding as he nods his concession. "Alright, fair enough, that's accurate. Sounds like a hassle, though," and also an impossibility, but that's neither here nor there. His nod for her wherrysitting plans is distracted, concern over the adventuring candidate briefly outweighing everything else. "Well, he'll be weyrbound at least until the eggs hatch, at this point, but perhaps someone can talk to him." Someone that isn't his sister, though there's little doubt she knows him well. It's food for thought, anyways, thought he whisks away for later with a shake of his head and a small smile. "You aren't the first to tell me that. Xermiltoth has always made… questionable children. It worries me sometimes that maybe it's him, but…" He shrugs. "I suppose it takes all sorts." Though he might inquire after just which eggs left her with such feelings, there's a sudden din from the passel of children. One of them breaks away to half-collide against R'hyn's side, big eyes on Kasle before they focus up on her dad. "Hey, hey, Kit fell and she's bleeding, come see!" Away she flits, leaving a sighing R'hyn to push to his feet with a groan. "A dad's work is never done. Sorry to cut things short, but hopefully I'll catch you around soon. And Kasle?" The bronzerider pauses, a couple of steps away, weighing words as his gaze roves over her. "Don't sell yourself short, yeah? No one knows what'll happen until it happens." It's meant to be encouragement, but there's also understanding in the small smile he tosses her way before, with a wave, he turns to give his full attention to his family and their itty bitty woes.

Kasle looks relieved at the thought that Logain will be confined to the Weyr until after the hatching and nods, "Thank Faranth for small miracles." Not that this is a surprise to anyone, seeing as candidates have to be available at a moment's notice when the eggs start to rock. She nods, making a face, "I'm sure the hatchlings will all be wonderful." But the eggs themselves were still slightly traumatizing. Her eyes go wide when the youngling reports on another sibling bleeding and she nods quickly, "Oh! Yeah. No problem." She smiles, looking over at the dragon and kids in concern, "I'll see you." The encouragement gets another small blush and she looks down, "Yeah. Okay. I'll try to remember that."


Add a New Comment
Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License