(SCL) ~ Nobody wants to be the last one there.

[Rei]

Sydney sighed as she made her way across the weyrbowl. It was hard. Knowing that August… Au’st now was gone. She didn’t see him at mealtimes. Didn’t see him in class. Hardly saw him at all except for glances now. That little brown took up most if not all of his time. And the times that she could have seen him? Well the young woman found herself avoiding her brother. Something she had never done before. But his brown had seemed to dislike her on those sands. What if the dragons still did dislike her? What if Gus accepted that? What if her brother just didn’t want to see her anymore? She had found a friend in Kaius. But truth be told the candidate did still miss her brother. He was the only family she had left. He was still very important to her.

Emerald eyes looked out over the weyrbowl. Huh.

That boy she was supposed to be having this lesson with didn’t seem to be there yet. T’vis? Ta’is? Or something like that. All Sydney remembered was that he had that blue. The one that had been the last to impress. Wasn’t this the time she had been told? Was she maybe early? Well then. The candidate looked around for a few moments and then shrugged. Nothing for it. She’d just have to wait. Settling herself down on a rock near the lake Sydney looked out over the glass still waters squinting at the figures on the other side of the massive lake. Idly wondering what they were doing the dark haired girl picked up a small stone and flung it out over the lake. As it hit the surface and skipped sending ripples across the previously calm surface she smirked. If the lake was her life the stone would be her brother and the ripples sure adequately represented what his impression had done. Caused a lot of ripples. Some of which had been yet to disperse.

Curling her legs up into her chest Sydney rested her head in her arms and waited for her ‘teacher’ and his little dragon to show up. Nothing like rubbing in your failure on the sand by forcing you to interact with one of the little dragons that had just rejected you. Thanks Candidatemaster.

[Ivy]

T'vis was not pleased with the assignment he'd been given.
Or the Blue mindleech following him around.
Or just really anything right now.

Admittedly his overall impression of riders and the weyr as a whole had shifted - slightly. It was improving - slightly. Not very quickly though. He still clung to his dislike for riders and the weyr, despite the fact he himself would be a rider. For his part, Detrith was silent. Not that T'vis minded that at all, he was appreciative that his bonded only spoke when it was important. At least he didn't blither on endlessly about nonsense.

It was with these things in mind and a scowl on his face that he approached Sydney as she sat there by the lake. He approached from behind her and a brow arched, "Figured you'd get some rest in before doing some actual work?"

Detrith shuffled past his bonded to the girl and looked at her curiously with soft blue and gray swirling eyes. Still not speaking the young Blue nudged her then sat back on his haunches, just watching her intently as if waiting for something.

"You are Sydney right? The Candidatemaster sent you, yes?"

[Rei]

It was dangerous to be in your head for so long. Sydney found herself tossing rocks and counting ripples to keep her mind from wandering. A voice interrupted her careful counting and the candidate jumped in surprise before shifting upon her rock so that she could look down at T’vis. Emerald eyes narrowed slightly upon him for a moment before she responded in a flat tone. “Actually I was killing time because you are late.” For a moment the woman thought to add that she had more important things to do then sit here and waste time but eh. Sydney slipped down off her rock and adjusted her shirt. There was no sense in making a scene or starting a fight over something that trivial and silly. No matter how jealous she was that the boy who hadn’t even wanted a dragon impressed and she didn’t.

Speaking of the dragon. As Detrith shuffled over to look at and then nudge her Sydney smiled down at the blue. “Hello there.” She didn’t move to touch the blue though. Didn’t want to unintentionally offend him. From what she had heard and learned dragons were very smart. Not that she had ever had the honor of having one speak to her or anything like that. Really it was a rarity to have one bespeak you. Or so the candidate had heard. So she certainly didn’t expect such. Instead she introduced herself to both dragon and rider. “Yep he sure did. I’m Sydney. It’s nice to meet you both.” Giving them both a small nod she shifted a bit and glanced around. “So I’m supposed to be helping you oil your dragon I guess?”

It sounded simple enough. Oil a dragon. Plus the blue was still a little thing. Surely it couldn’t be that hard? To be honest Sydney just really wanted to touch the little dragon. Even living at a weyr she had never gotten to interact much with a dragon. Watch them yes. But she had never ridden one because she had never been properly searched and surely never had much face to face time with any of them. So even interacting with an awkward hatchling was a treat. Even if it was kind of bittersweet. They had all passed her up on the sands after all.

[Ivy]

Setting the buckets he'd brought with him down he nodded at her question about their task. "Yes. Oiling the bastard. Seems he constantly needs it." T'vis huffed a bit as he spoke, glaring at the blue who continued to sit and stare at the girl.

If you like her so much, you can go with her. No hard feelings or anything.

Unlikely. Was the short and simple answer Detrith returned with before falling silent again. T'vis shook his head, at least he got a quiet dragon - there was some sollace in that at least.

The blue's hide was nice and clean - and from the sweat on T'vis' brow it was obvious the weyrling had already cleaned the beast fairly well this morning. The only reason he had waited to oil him was because he was supposed to let this girl help him out. Leaning over he grabbed up one of the rags from the bucket and slapped it not-so-gently onto the young dragon's hide. Rubbing it around in a clockwise circle a few times he stepped back and offered the rag to Sydney. "Its not hard, doesn't take much thought or brain power."

Was that a snipe at her? He hadn't meant it to be, but it probably came out that way. "T'vis by the way. Detrith is his name." The blue rumbled lightly to the woman when his name was said as if saying 'Nice to meet you too' in not so many words. "Just make sure to get all of him, the rag is better for getting an even coat I've noticed. Especially along his back... rump... wings... some of his neck... His skin is thicker there for some reason."

For someone who wasn't fond of his new role in life or his dragon, T'vis seemed to have taken note of quite a few things about the little blue.

[Rei]

Sydney’s eyebrow raised as T’vis spoke. Did he just call his own dragon a bastard? She had remembered that the young man hadn’t seemed particularly fond of riders nor dragons when he had been a candidate. But really? He was going to insult his own dragon? The woman glanced down at the little blue staring up at her. He was so awkwardly cute and seemingly well behaved. Why in Faranth’s name would T’vis feel the need to insult the little thing? Before she could make any kind of remark the blueweyrling was grabbing a rag from the bucket. Green eyes narrowed upon T’vis as he simply slapped the rag on the dragon’s hide and began to rub. Sheesh you’d think he could be a little more gentle. All this was doing was making her irritation with him rise. Why the hell was he such a jerk? Figured she got the ass of the group. At least the dragon seemed nice.

When the weyrling finally offered the oil soaked rag to her and Sydney snatched it out of his hands with more force then necessary. She didn’t speak to T’vis just yet though, only let him know through the glare she shot his way that she was very not amused. The candidate waited till the boy finished his instructions before she dipped the rag in more oil and knelt near the blue. “T’vis is quite the asshole isn’t he Detrith?” She remarked cheerfully to the little blue before she offered him her hand to sniff. Content that the blue was okay with her, at least for the moment, Sydney began to rub the rag over his hide in the same clockwise circles that she had seen the weyrling perform. “I know it doesn’t take a brainiac to do it. That’s not the point. You’re coming off as quite the jerk to be honest.” Moving to rubbing along Detrith’s wing joints where she had noticed some flaky skin she continued. “You don’t have to be so mean to him either. If you didn’t want to impress why were you even on the sands in the first place? You know how many of us got passed up over you? Least you could do is pretend to want him.”

Smiling at Detrith she took a chance and reached out to rub at his eye ridge. Just because she had hardly interacted with a dragon didn’t mean she hadn’t observed how others did. They seemed to like being rubbed or scratched there from what she’d seen. “Obviously he chose you because you had something special he saw. Least you could do is believe that yourself.”

[Ivy]

T'vis just snorted a bit when the older candidate gave him an ear full. Instead of responding he just went quiet for awhile and watched as she worked the cloth over Detrith's hide. The Blue just softly rumbled to the woman as she rubbed him down with the oil, flexing his wing joints so she could get to some of the more itchy areas. When she scratched along his eye ridges a quiet croon came from the male, while T'vis watched a slight smile managed its way across his lips. It was brief, and he went back to frowning as soon as it was over, but still. It had been there.

Dark eyes continued to watch Sydney as she oiled his young dragon, and finally he sighed quietly. "I'm sure there'll be one for you next time. I'm sorry if he passed you up for me."

The words came out gruffly, almost harsh sounding in their tone - not like a true apology at all. However it was the best she was likely to get from the younger weyrling, and truly she was only getting it because the thick-headed young man had gotten past his bitterness to notice she was good looking. Then the break in his attitude had passed and he stepped forward to point to a dry spot on the dragon's hide that she had missed, "Missed a spot. Have to get all of him or the skin will dry and crack."

[Rei]

Sydney worked in silence for awhile before noting that the silence was actually a tad uncomfortable. Only because T’vis was still staring so it made her hyper aware of every action. Was she doing this right? Would she get a bad report if she wasn’t? If anything the blue at least seemed to be enjoying himself and that calmed the woman down for the time being. As the cloth ran over the Detrith’s hide she marveled at how shiny the oil seemed to make him. He really was a nicely put together creature all in all. Beautiful in his own way. Surely she wouldn’t have minded being bonded to him? He wasn’t nasty and sure he didn’t speak to her but then the candidate had been told that a lot of dragons found entering another’s mind intruding and thus distasteful. At least she could apprecaite a dragon up close and personal. Even if it was just a tiny one.

When T’vis finally spoke up it startled Sydney enough that she actually dropped the cloth she had been using. Whoops. Brining her emerald eyes back up to his face she examined it curiously. Was that supposed to be some kind of apology? Or was he being a snot about it? Shrugging she went back to applying the oil to Detrith. “I don’t know why you think you need to apologize? He obviously didn’t find me suitable and that’s not your fault. Nor do you or anyone else know if I’m ever going to impress. It would be nice yes, but I’m not under any illusions that I will. No dragon searched me out. I traveled here to be with my brother and then I asked to stand. So who knows? I may just not be up to snuff.” Dipping the rag back into the bucket the woman tried to sound nonchalant. But really that little fact was one that plagued her thoughts. No dragon had searched Sydney. The Candidatemaster had simply given her the go ahead to stand. Yet her full brother had been searched and taken and impressed. Still just because Gus did didn’t mean she would.

When T’vis spoke up again Sydney’s brow furrowed and then she looked to where he had been pointing. “Oh. Whoops. Well we wouldn’t want that would we Detrith?” Taking the rag she rubbed some oil into that spot as well and then set to looking for any spots she missed. As the candidate did so she glanced back at the weyrling standing close by. ‘So T’vis. Where are you from anyway?” Because honestly Sydney was a little curious.

[Ivy]

“You asked to stand?” T’vis almost seemed baffled by the notion that she would volunteer herself to stand and possibly get stuck with one of the big, useless lumps. “Why in all of Pern would you ask to stand?” A snort from the young man and he shook his head, watching as she fumbled then recovered the cloth. Waiting for her to finish speaking – and watching to make sure she got the spots he’d pointed out – he grabbed the second cloth he had in his back pocket. Dunking the dry cloth into the oil he got it nice and soaked then moved to Detrith’s other side. Helping her out would give him something to do, other than just staring at her. Not that she was hard on the eyes… but it would get a bit awkward here soon for both of them. Hormones and all.

“Lighttower.” Just the word alone would probably offer some insight as to his general attitude about the Weyr, dragons, and his Impression. Assuming the girl knew anything about the sea hold that is.

[Rei]

Sydney blinked at T’vis’ questions and the tone he used. He almost seemed flabbergasted. What was so weird about asking to stand? Sometimes the young woman forgot that not everyone liked the dragons or their riders. Though coming from Selenitas Hold, which was pretty much the most supportive of the weyr, sometimes she forgot that not every hold in the south viewed the weyr as something to aspire to. The candidate was pretty sure that her parents would have been extremely proud of Gus if they could see him now. Suddenly she realized that she hadn’t answered the blueweyrling’s question yet. Whoops.

Before she could begin to speak though T’vis had picked up his own rag and had started to help her oil Detrith. Offering him a small smile she tossed her dark hair back. “Of course I asked to stand. It would be an honor to be a rider. Protect and serve. But to be honest I mostly did it for my brother. I wanted to support him, the lazy lout, and the best way I could do that was by being right by his side. We used to do everything together. But he’s Au’st now. I wish I could see him more. But….well it is what it is.” Sydney finished and rubbed a particularly dry looking spot on the blue’s hide. Obviously she no longer wished to speak on the topic of her brother. There were still things that bothered her about that.

The one word answer to her question of his origins was almost grunted and the young woman almost chuckled in response. She caught herself though. “Ah. It all makes sense now. The grumpiness, the intense dislike for riders and dragons. You know I never got that? They protect you guys from thread too. So why in the heck are you Lighttower people so damn sour?” Maybe she hadn’t worded it the best but Sydney wasn’t trying to be rude. She was honestly just really curious.

[Ivy]

"There are plenty of reasons one has to dislike riders you know, not just being from Lighttower. Such as they are liars. Liars and cheats who abandon pregnant women and ruin their lives and turn them into liars too." Was he spelling it out? No, but he wasn't leaving much unsaid either. She could draw her own conclusions from his explaination if she wanted to, just as she had seemed to be done with talking about her brother T'vis seemed done talking about himself.

Nodding to another portion of Detrith's hide that looked a bit dull and dry he finished with where he was oiling and then checked over the rest of the Blue, trusting Sydney to get the last dry spot while he did so. Seeming fairly satisfied with the coating of oil his dragon had received he looked over the Blue's back at the young woman, making eye contact for a brief moment. "It isn't as bad as I thought it'd be. But don't tell anyone I admitted that."

With that said he smiled. Well, kind of. As best of a smile as he could manage with all the tension that seemed to fill the air between them. The edges of his mouth pulled up slightly and he shrugged a bit, "I think we're done here. Unless you have any questions. Don't worry, I won't tell the Candidatemaster what a snot you were. Nothing but a good review from me."

Was he... teasing? Maybe even flirting a little? Nah, couldn't be. But then Detrith crooned slightly and nudged Sydney's hand in thanks and gave away what T'vis was feeling with the blue-green swirling of his eyes. Interesting.

((Can stop now if you want, I just felt like it needed some closure. Sorry its been so long. ))