Alone for a Change [Ember]

[Avu]

Get over it, but not forget about it. Well, forgetting everything would be bad, and more importantly, it would be confusing. Meira hadn’t thought of it that way; previously her past was just an old skin, something she wanted to shed for good, but had never quite come away from her, clinging stubbornly. She shivered, shrugging, but didn’t speak, grateful when Ferneth latched onto the subject change. The past was not something she wanted brought up.

“Oh, Salamandyrs?” she asked, brightly enough, although there was just the slightest, barely perceptive bit of falseness to it; Meira couldn’t help brooding on some things. “They’re small, of course. A green Salamandyr…” She measured the length with her finger. “No wings, they’re land creatures…” She paused, uncertain as to how to accurately describe a Salamandyr. Even after meeting C’lryn’s green, Bite—an interesting experience—it was hard to describe them. “If they’re angry, they have a frill that pops up…they look like small fire lizards without wings, that have been adapted to land…if you can imagine that,” she said thoughtfully.

Bite hadn’t been the most encouraging meeting ever, but Meira figured their personalities, as with fire lizards, varied. Or at least, she hoped so.

The wher Candidate grinned as she glanced swiftly to Ferneth, head tilted thoughtfully at him. “Perhaps you’re just denying the truth,” she said wryly, although her fear of him had by now died down completely. He was just another Candidate and had no will to harm anyone. Kind of like Mutasim, only Meira had a hunch that the other boy would have no problem hurting another person, judging by how he had reacted to the mere presence of another male Candidate he said he hadn’t even met before.

She chuckled at the thought again. “Well, only if the fire lizard can read your mind,” she retorted. “You’re lucky queen fire lizard eggs can’t be defined from the rest, or the queen would be on you faster than blinking if there was a queen egg in her clutch. Suspicious little things.” Meira grinned, wondering vaguely what color fire lizard she’d want to Impress. Not a queen; they attracted far too much attention. A bronze? Maybe. A brown, blue, or green was preferable; judging by the amount of other fire lizards, they could easily melt into the background.

“Well, fire lizards won’t ignore you just because there’s a bigger crowd,” Meira remarked. “Or a bunch of Drudges would be toting around fire lizards on their arms.” She grinned. Drudges rarely got to see Hatchings, so she figured that they’d all crowd to see a fire lizard Hatching—a dragon Hatching in miniature. She glanced, slightly startled, at Ferneth; she grinned. There was no doubting whom that woman was.

“She might just send you on a million more chores and add a free lecture to boot,” she chuckled, scrambling up a steeper ledge on the riverbank.

[Ember]

Ferneth didn't catch on to anything fake about her as she spoke about Salamandyrs. From what she said they sounded a bit weird but not far fetched. The frill sounded amusing at the very least. "They sound interesting, do any of the other candidates have one?" If they did he'd probably look around for them and take peek at one of the land-locked fire lizard like creatures.

Ferneth grimaced slightly. "Maybe I am. Especially considering the reaction I got from some candidate on my first day here. Threatened to make a knife sheath out of my head. I still haven't been able to get a full night's rest, y'know? I keep thinking the knife happy kid's going murder me in my sleep!" Not two seconds after he said all that did he regret it. A small blush sneaked into his cheeks and he looked away.

After managing to get his embarrassment under wraps again he looked at her, pretending he hadn't just admitted anything. "You're right about that. And I'd be out of there just as fast," Ferneth said with amusement, pointing with a thumb behind him. Then he grinned and continued. "I'm sure the rider wouldn't let her scratch anyone up too much." Or am I hoping he wouldn't? Doesn't matter I suppose.

"Well that's true," he said, imagining what it would be like to see the Drudges of the weyr all with fire lizards. It would be a pretty funny sight. Meira may very well be right about the headwoman too but the thought just made Ferneth laugh. "Perhaps, but at least I'd have the satisfaction of watching her reaction," he pointed out. Ferneth didn't really mean it though. He wouldn't like a pet of his to hurt anyone, no matter how annoying.

[Avu]

“Oh, they are interesting,” Meira said with feeling—and they were. Interesting, odd, a bit out of whack—any of these statements would fit a Salamandyr to a tee. She shrugged thoughtfully. “I haven’t really met many of the Candidates, just a few,” she replied, doing a mental headcount. Her roommate, of course, and Raila, Mutasim, and now Ferneth. Was she missing anyone? She didn’t think so…although she had caught a glimpse of several others, but none of them had been adorned by Salamandyr. Mutasim had Jabari, of course…she shrugged. “I don’t know if any of them have been around long enough for a Salamandyr Hatching,” she replied, almost apologetically. “I mean, I know one has a fire lizard, but…” She shrugged. Said Candidate had known Uu’n, who had Impressed the first golden Salamandyr, but she hadn’t meant any Candidates personally with them.

Meira couldn’t help chuckling at the description, but she had a vague notion that it was probably Mutasim—judging by the Candidate’s reaction to, first, so much as seeing another male Candidate—he’d looked as if he was planning to demonstrate his prowess at throwing knives and kill him—along with the fact that Mutasim was a bit…‘knife happy.’ She touched the small dagger at her belt defensively. Besides, seeing him all torn up before lessons, like he’d been half-killed in a fight…yes, Mutasim did seem a likely choice for threatening someone. She tilted her head, glancing at Ferneth as they walked. “Was it Mutasim?” she asked in a matter-of-fact tone, smiling at the blush. It had to be.

How many knife-happy Candidates could be wandering around in one Weyr?

The wher Candidate grinned. C’lryn would probably stop Darling, yes. He hadn’t seemed the type to sit and laugh while his fire lizard was mauling someone else—had even gone as far as to issue a warning about his Salamandyr. That was not the behavior of someone who enjoyed seeing blood and gore. Meira winced at that. “If you tried to steal a fire lizard egg, he’d probably be mad at you, too,” she chuckled. “And I doubt he’d stop Darling then.” And the queen was well-trained—too much so to just attack, right?

She was smiling, amused, by the thought of an army of Drudges armed with fire lizards, when Ferneth laughed—no doubt about her comment with the Headwoman. Well, the truth was the truth. Either she’d shriek and storm and lecture, or she’d burst into the tears and make him feel sorry for her. Neither remotely appealed to Meira. “But you’d pay for it,” she countered. “Really, it one moment of hilarity worth twelve candlemarks doing dreadful chores like emptying chamberpots?” That had to be the most disgusting job ever thought up of to torture Candidates…she shuddered and injected a note of wry humor, “Of course, you could always bully the headwoman into doing that for you.”

[Ember]

Ferneth grinned as they walked. Are they interesting or just plain weird? he pondered, still managing to listen to her though. Well at least they were together in not knowing many people. The thought made him feel a little less of a loner in the weyr. "You have a point," he said thoughtfully. "Firelizards are a little more common than Salamandyrs. Maybe by the time you feel like Impressing a flitter there will be a Salamandyr clutch, eh? Then we'll both know someone with one."

Ferneth blinked with surprise and then smiled sheepishly. "It was actually. That was one very weird meeting, let me tell you." He shook his head and let out a slight sigh. Not quite the way he'd wanted to be welcomed to the weyr. At least he was still alive rather than pegged to the wall. Besides, I may end up being stuck doing chores or something with him. Maybe I can convince him I'm not such a bad guy. "So do you know Mutasim?" Ferneth asked curiously. Or did he have a pretty big reputation?

He chuckled at the thought of a rider with gold flitter tendencies. "That just gave me a rather amusing thought. I don't plan on stealing an egg though. That's just wrong," Ferneth said, hoping no one in the weyr would so something so bad. "Now I'm thinking going to visit wouldn't be such a good idea. I'd be too worried I'd be attacked now." The comment was made with a grin, so he was partially joking.

Ferneth thought about what Meira before shrugging and smiling. "Absolutely. Who knows, it may turn out that I get a cutesy, gentle one and she gives me less chores because of my adorable flitter. Although I am getting a little ahead of myself. I may not get one at all." He was still very much amused by the idea, no matter what he said.

[Avu]

Meira tilted her head, considering, mentally comparing the number of fire lizards versus Salamandyrs that she’d seen. Jabari and Darling, and a few fire lizards whom she didn’t know the names of but had seen around the Weyr, versus Bite and perhaps two other Salamandyrs. “That’s true,” she agreed. She paused, considering, and then shrugged; she found no illuminating comments to throw onto the conversation. The Candidate laughed at his suggestion. “I’d rather not have a Salamadyr, from what I’ve seen of them.” What she had seen was a shrill-voiced, rather prissy, spontaneous ‘mandyr—a far cry from the sweet fire lizards. No, if she wanted a fire lizard she’d stay with fire lizards.

So it had been Mutasim. She grinned widely. A weird meeting—that fit the time she’d met him as well. Dressed entirely in black, knives carried across his entire body. But he’d been kind enough, so perhaps it wasn’t entirely ‘weird.’ Did she know him? “I’ve met him before, doing Chores,” Meira explained. “We were in Archive Duty and we talked.” She added, “What happened? I mean, he didn’t try to actually hurt you?” It didn’t seem likely, but still. She had stopped ‘assuming’ things about people now. It didn’t work out too well at Selenitas. Lots of weird people were scurrying around this place.

She glanced curiously at Ferneth, although she, too, had been amused by the idea of Darling, such a sweet creature, descending wrathfully upon anybody. “I’m glad you know the horrors of stealing,” she chuckled. To be sure, she could see the right side in palming a few objects, but only if someone was desperate, or if—well, there was an exception to every rule. “As long as you don’t try to decapitate her eggs, I think Darling’s going to be just fine,” she returned tauntingly. “Or maybe you’ll have to pay her, distract her with something shiny.” Well, who knew? It might just work.

A cutesy, gentle fire lizard? The idea was much easier to grasp than the idea of a cutesy, gentle ‘mandyr. Well, maybe. “Only if you’re extremely lucky,” she giggled. “Who knows? More likely you’ll Impress a lazy one. The Headwoman’ll probably go crazy, seeing as she seems to enjoy pushing people to do as much as they can.” She bit her lip, still amused. Fire lizards and Salamandyrs provided so much amusement…

[Ember]

Ferneth smiled slightly, wondering what was so wrong with Salamandyrs. They actually sounded kind of cute to him. "Firelizards are pretty much exactly like small dragons. I guess they have more appeal than a flightless little reptile," he commented quietly. Ferneth thought it over a moment longer. Firelizards were more helpful he imagined.

He managed a grin at the question. Looking back on it was actually a bit amusing, although still a worrisome thing. "Well, I had just finished unpacking my stuff and was hoping to relax in the common room for a bit when he walked in. His firelizard came in first, actually. Anyways I tried to talk to him but he decided to give me a demonstration of his...knife prowess. I was two inches away from becoming a common room decoration," Ferneth explained dryly. He was frowning by the end, trying again to figure out what he'd done wrong.

Ferneth laughed at the very idea. "Oh no, soon the egg toll will become a regular thing for every clutch. We'll have to offer something to the gold just to Stand!" He paused to look around, noticing a nice little rock. He quickly went to grab it before returning to Meira's side. "Is my offering worthy enough for you, great queen?" Ferneth bowed and offered the stone to Meira jokingly.

"A lazy firelizard? Ooh, imagine one that's hungry all the time! The headwoman would send me out of the kitchen just to keep it from taking a bite out of every meal." He chuckled at the thought. "Who knows what type of firelizard you could end up with. They're as varied in personality as people apparently." Ferneth imagined all sorts of different firelizards as they continued to walk away from the weyr.

[Avu]

Meira grinned. “That, yes. Lots of people want their personal mini-dragon,” she agreed, her blue-gray eyes thoughtful. “Besides, ‘mandyrs aren’t much good for carrying messages or delivering things to people. And I don’t think they can go between. So fire lizards are more useful as well.” It sounded harsh, but she figured it was probably the truth, as she couldn’t think of anything a ‘mandyr could do that a fire lizard couldn’t. Well, except make their owners ‘enjoy’ their mating runs more intensely than would a fire lizard. But that was hardly a bonus.

She giggled at his description. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t get chopped to pieces, but I suppose you’re pretty glad about that, too.” Meira tilted her head, her eyes flashing over Ferneth. “Don’t you carry a blade at all?” she asked, surprised. It would be useful for defense, and it wasn’t as if Benden—she managed to stifle the automatic fear of the name—had forgotten about Selenitas. She ran one finger the length of the sheath at her waist, thoughtfully. “I doubt he’d really have hurt you unless you hurt him,” she added. “I mean…” Meira hesitated. He had been a bit…dangerous-looking…when he had seen that other Candidate, but still…

To hurt someone was a bit much.

Meira’s grin stretched a bit wider as she imagined a line of Candidates offering shiny rocks to a contemptuous queen dragon and begging permission to stroke her eggs. “Be careful what you say,” she warned teasingly. “It just might come true, and then where would you be when you couldn’t lay your hands on a particularly pretty stone?” She paused in her walk to wait for Ferneth as he picked up the rock and presented it to her.

Schooling her features into a more solemn look, Meira nodded curtly, accepting the stone. “It’s a very nice stone, Candidate. I suppose you can Stand, but if you don’t Impress this round, you’ll have to bring me a bigger bribe the next time around. Clear?” Her pale eyes were amused as she slipped the stone into her belt pouch with deliberate care.

A lazy and gluttonous fire lizard? The idea made Meira want to laugh out loud. Stifling the urge and giggling, Meira had to admit the headwoman wouldn’t be too pleased. “She must have to deal with people like that every day, never mind a fire lizard,” the Candidate said, her voice amused. “Sticking their fingers into every creation, never working…they must drive her crazy.” It’d make Meira a bit irritated, no doubt, but still, the idea of the extremely dignified, workaholic Headwoman in frenzy made her chuckle.

[Ember]

Ferneth nodded in agreement. They were tiny, flightless, and couldn't go between. Basically they were useful only as cute pets. Not that he would mind having one, but he'd prefer to have a firelizard after this conversation. "I guess I'd want a firelizard more than a 'mandyr at this point," he commented. He shrugged to indicate either would be fine though. He wouldn't reject a 'mandyr just because he wanted a firelizard more.

Ferneth chuckled along with Meira. Indeed, he was very much glad to be alive still. He had carefully avoided Mutasim as much as possible since then. He never really considered carrying around a weapon. In the South it wasn't as necessary as in the North. "No blades on me. I'm pretty sure having one would have made the situation worse anyways," he said wryly. "But I guess I ought to start saving up for one. The weyr seems to get a couple of attacks now and again..." Ferneth decided it was best not to pursue that subject and returned to the conversation of Mutasim. "I don't know. Maybe if I had decided to hang around the common room despite him being there I would have found out."

Ferneth's grin broadened into a full smile. "Woe is the one who cannot find a decent offering! That would be both amusing and highly unlikely. I could see it happening with firelizards though." The image was similar to that of Meira's but involved the much smaller cousins. He couldn't see himself doing the same for a firelizard as he would for a dragon.

Ferneth barely managed to suppress his laughter at the strange little skit they were doing. "Oh, thank you, great queen, thank you! Shall I fail to Impress I shall bring a much bigger stone next time," he replied when his turn came again. "Then of course everyone would be asking who gave what and if the queen liked it or not." Yet another thing candidates could gossip about. Hatchings would have to be called Giftings instead and Pernese queens would end up like the long forgotten dragons of Terran legends that sat on piles of gold. Ferneth didn't think of that last part though.

The tall young man considered her next words. That almost wasn't a bad idea but he could never pull it off. "I just thought what would happen if I started doing that but I doubt it would turn out well, huh?" Ferneth asked, amusement clear in his voice. Speaking of the Headwoman he wondered when they ought to head back. He didn't really want to leave Meira's company anytime soon.

[Avu]

Meira glanced sideways at Ferneth. “Sorry—did I put you off ‘mandyrs?” she asked, a bit guiltily. She hadn’t meant to do that—she had just been laying down the basic facts, what she viewed both of the species as—she really hadn’t meant to prove one was better than the other, although she did prefer fire lizards to ‘mandyrs. It was just how one thought about them. Some people probably preferred ‘mandyrs to fire lizards, and she didn’t mind that either. It was just opinion, and she definitely hadn’t meant to force her own opinion on Ferneth.

At least he could laugh about his run-in with Mutasim, although his point was valid. Having—drawing—a blade would make the meeting a bit more rough than it seemed to be. She made a wry face, chuckling. “I don’t think he likes men very much. But yes, a knife—just a small one—it would come in handy, I’m sure.” She half-stiffened at the idea of Benden attacking—they wouldn’t remember her, of course, but it still didn’t seem fun—and managed to keep her voice light. “There haven’t been attacks for a while, I don’t believe.” She sighed. “I’m sure you would’ve found out—no chance of reasoning?” she added dubiously.

It was true that fire lizards could probably get away with being a lot haughtier about who Impressed their clutch as opposed to dragons, since fire lizards could always go wild, whereas dragons would between if they didn’t Impress. Meira grinned at the thought—it just got more ridiculous to be offering a glittering stone, bowing, with the utmost respect, to a tiny queen sitting imperiously on her eggs and shrieking every once in a while. “People would be very irritated, not to mention there would be a lot more people stealing eggs,” she commented dryly. Who would humiliate themselves in front of a miniature fire lizard queen when they could just steal an egg, after all? The idea was sobering, but true.

She smiled as Ferneth spoke, drawing herself up and nodding curtly. “Very well, foolish Candidate. You had better trot to my clutch before I decide against letting you Stand.” She laughed at the idea of gossiping about offerings to a queen. “Of course, soon she’d give up on rocks and just want pure marks. You’d have to be rich to be able to Stand.” Meira had to giggle, amused by the way the conversation was headed.

“Well, if you did…” Meira had to consider for a moment. “I’m sure you’d be whacked, lectured, set upon, and of course sent off on numerous chores. But if you think a few tarts are worth that, I’m sure the headwoman could spare some.” She held her hand over her eyes, glancing quickly towards the sun, which had risen to its zenith. “We should be heading back soon, shouldn’t we?” she commented. It had been nice, and there was always the way back to talk, but the idea of going back to chores made Meira feel irritable.

[Ember]

Ferneth shook his head and chuckled. "Not at all. Just the way they sound makes me prefer firelizards. They're handier certainly. It's not like I'd turn down a 'mandyr because I'd rather have a firelizard though." He hoped what he said would reassure her that she'd done no wrong by him. He doubted anything she could do would make him angry at her anyways. He found her company very pleasant in fact.

Ferneth had to agree with her but of course he hadn't seen Mutasim around a woman so he couldn't tell the difference between how he treated each gender first hand. The idea of carrying a knife around intrigued him too. It's not like he had any skill with one in the first place. "I'll try and get a knife at the next Gather or something," he said thoughtfully. "Although I have no idea what I'd do with it, other than swing it around." He mimed slashing the air with it. He lacked any kind of form. He was definitely not a fighter. He sighed and shook his head but replied with words too. "Not with those knives on him...Or without a witness."

"Probably. They'd all sneak in at night and slowly the eggs would disappear. Sometimes I think firelizards are under appreciated. People use them as messengers and as pets but they Impress like dragons and are as loyal as a dragon most of the time. It is kind of hard to respect something so small though," Ferneth said sadly. He knew he probably sounded like a self-righteous dimglow but he couldn't help it.

He blinked in surprise and then laughed. "That would be kind of good for the rider. Then again they'd have marks covering the floor in their weyr but wouldn't be allowed to touch any of it because her gold wouldn't let her." Ferneth wouldn't be able to stand if that were the case. Obviously he was glad it wasn't and likely never would be. "Imagine doing that for whers too," he added as an after thought.

"Yeah I know. You couldn't pay me enough to suffer through all that," Ferneth said dryly. Not even the best cut of a herdbeast was worth that much trouble. Another hint that they ought to go back was the guilt of being away from the weyr too long starting to creep into his mind. "Unfortunately yes. Hopefully most of the worst chores are being taken care of by someone else. But honestly I don't hate chores that much. I used to have a lot of chores at home too. Sure they get tiring and annoying but they need to be done. At the end of the day I feel like I've done something. Besides, I learned my lesson when people don't do their chores."

[Avu]

Meira smiled, relieved. “Good—I didn’t mean to make you feel like you’re forced to prefer fire lizards.” ‘Mandyrs were always interesting, too—although she doubted even the vainest queen would like to be stared at for hours on end. Fire lizards seemed to be easier to accept and train—it helped if the creature being trained wasn’t shrieking curses at you mentally or something like that, which seemed to be typical of ‘mandyrs.

She shrugged at his comment. “Well, knives are pretty expensive, especially if you want a pretty one,” she said, grimacing at the idea of a pretty knife. If you were planning to slice someone up, did it really matter if your knife was pretty? She thought not, but apparently whoever made the knives thought differently. Meira shrugged. “You could always ask Mutasim for a knife,” she added, still amused by the reaction provoked by Ferneth’s mere presence.

The Candidate sighed wistfully at the idea of stealing fire lizard eggs—she wouldn’t steal, of course, but it made her oddly sad to think of the fire lizard queen after realizing her clutch had been severely depleted, because some people were spastic enough not to realize how intelligent they were—queens especially. “I know,” she agreed. “But we hardly know anything about fire lizards—and I guess the loyalty idea is odd to some people, since there are a lot of wild fire lizards, while dragons absolutely have to Impress—you see?”

Ferneth’s laugh startled her; Meira blinked and then smiled. His presence might have frightened Mutasim, but he was cheerful, easy to get along with. “Tempting,” she agreed. “Is it possible, do you know, to hide something from your dragon? Like, for example, if our queen’s Rider wanted badly to buy something, so she used her gold’s marks without permission, and didn’t want to let her know?” It would be an interesting development—to lie to someone who shared your heart, soul, and mind.

She made a face at the idea of the headwoman throwing a frenzy at anyone. She’d already had enough of it to have automatic pity for anyone on the receiving end of a lecture from her. Another quick glance at the sky. Yes, indeed: It was getting time to get back to the Weyr. “Right, then,” she agreed, spinning on her heel and starting back, pausing to give Ferneth a chance to catch up.

[Ember]

Ferneth smiled reassuringly. At least he hoped it was reassuring - his smiles hadn't exactly been getting a good response lately. "It's fine. I can judge 'mandyrs better when I meet one. I'm glad I got to hear a bit of what they're like before hand. I thank you for that," he replied. It seemed to him that the 'mandyr topic was running out of flame so he left it at that.

Instead he kept going on the knives, eyes widening in surprise at the idea of him asking Mutasim for one. "I think I'd rater buy one. If I asked for a knife from him he'd likely give it to me blade first, if you get my meaning." The older candidate was imagining it too. Not a pretty picture. Ferneth definitely counted that idea out as they walked. Plus he wasn't about to go looking for the boy. He wasn't that stupid.

Ferneth had to admit that she brought up a good point about wild firelizards. They didn't exactly look all that loyal when they were ignoring their humans or zipping around in wild swarms. He replied, "Not much individual people can do about it besides taking good care of their own." There were people who did appreciate the little creatures, an example being Meira and Ferneth.

He grinned at her expression and then listened to what she said. He frowned slightly though. It just didn't seem right to him. "Why would anyone want to lie to their other half? If I Impress a dragon I sure won't be hiding my thoughts from them." He realized he was probably overreacting. Not everyone was the same and some people had thoughts they wanted private no matter what. Ferneth shrugged before continuing. "But then there are those secrets people wouldn't want even their own dragon to know I suppose.

Meira's sudden turn confused the young man until he turned too and caught up with her. Right, duh, back to the weyr. "Time to go back to chores, chores, and more chores. Not to mention the lessons. You're in a different group aren't you? At least you have different lessons from me right now. What is Candidatemaster Kemma teaching you?"

[Avu]

Meira grinned at his response. Yes, it was a bit dangerous to ask an already paranoid person for a knife—no doubt they’d think you’d use it to kill them—but that was a bit dramatic, wasn’t it? Albeit true, she thought. “I’m sure if you explained it nicely…” she suggested, biting back a giggle at the thought. Now, Ferneth was being slightly paranoid. Perhaps Mutasim had just overreacted…or…something…

She sighed. “At least they’re capable of taking care of themselves, though,” she pointed out. “What with nobody thinking about them for Turns, they’d probably have died out if they couldn’t go between—things like that.” Meira felt slightly bad for fire lizards that didn’t Impress—not that they probably missed not Impressing—it was probably hard to catch food, small as they were, that couldn’t attack them back and possibly kill them. Between was a good refuge, but it couldn’t always be used in times like hunting…and imagine the stress a fire lizard queen must feel, if she knew her clutch was in danger from so many predators without even a wall between them and the world…She sighed, realizing she’d fallen silent. “I guess tame fire lizards do like being tamed? They don’t miss the wild, do they?” she asked doubtfully.

“I didn’t mean like—hide everything,” Meira corrected hastily, wondering if she’d offended him. “Well—there must be some things that they want to hide, you know. Like, if they don’t want to worry the dragon…” She nodded, relieved that he understood. “Or if, say, it was a surprise for the dragon or something.” She tilted her head, now considering. “I mean, I’m sure you get used to being read, but it seems a bit odd to think that someone will have complete access to all of your thoughts—you understand?”

His words made her grin, although they quite accurately described what she thought life at the Weyr was: Just endless chores. Right when you thought you were done, another one got tipped to the top of the pile and you were sent off again. “That’s right,” she agreed, and grimaced. “I guess they start a different rotation every few Candidates or something.” At his question, she fell silent briefly, wondering how to phrase their previous lesson in more…‘polite’ terms…

“Ah…” She glanced sideways at him, cheeks reddening slightly. “She was telling us that…that virginity when it comes to Impressing or Bonding…isn’t a good thing.” Oh, well, that came out rather more harshly than Meira had meant it to. “She said that if you’d already experienced…being Flown…it wasn’t as frightening when your dragon or wher Ran or Rose, or Chased.” She sighed. “Which is partially the reason I came out here—to think about that.” To prepare herself mentally for loss of virginity. Oh, what joy.

[Ember]

Ferneth ran a hand through his hair, seriously giving it some thought. He'd say 'what can it hurt' but isn't that what he's worried about? He felt like a big ninny and figured he probably seemed like it to Meira too. "Well maybe..." He mumbled in reply. He'd think it over more later as stopping to think in the middle of a conversation was kind of rude.

Firelizards was a more comfortable topic. "Maybe, but they're fast without going between, plus they're resourceful little critters." Fish didn't attack them back, which is probably why wild ones hunted those often. If they had survived so long the definitely fit into the category of being able to look after themselves. He was just as guilty of the silence stretching between them. He even started slightly as she spoke again. "How could they miss something they never had? If they thought they would miss it the firelizard probably wouldn't have Impressed in the first place.

Ferneth grinned at her point. "You're right I suppose. I actually rather like the idea of someone knowing all my thoughts. It's an interesting concept, really. You'd have your own personal confidant that could never hate you and would never abandon you,' he said wistfully. They could also give their opinion on whether or not you were being wherryhead too. The mindlink with a dragon was most of the charm for him. Despite the rank and power it gave someone, he mostly wanted to Impress to share that experience.

Meira's explanation made sense and he nodded. Too bad they weren't in the same rotation. Not that it mattered overly much. He paid a lot of attention to the candidatemaster during lessons and would likely ignore her entirely when Kemma spoke. It wasn't Meira's words that made him focus on her again but rather her silence. What was so bad about her lessons? The blush rising in her cheeks wasn't enough warning for him though.

His eyes widened and he paused in walking for a moment. His senses came back quickly though. He was moving again but he waited to reply for a moment. "That's seriously a lesson?" Was what he managed at first. Another pause. "I guess it does make sense but still...Are just suppose to up and...do it? I can see why you'd want to come out here and think now." The mere idea of...that...made him blush too. He honestly didn't know what to think about that. Wasn't that something you only did with someone you loved or as a result of Flight? Ferneth was at a loss of words.

[Avu]

Meira had to grin at his reluctance, and left the topic at that. There was really nothing left to say—she could probably come up with a reasonable argument as to why it was a good thing to get a knife or to ask Mutasim for one or something—but she didn’t want to work too hard—mentally or physically—when she was out on a walk to get away from such things. That would make the whole idea of ‘getting away’ rather redundant. She just wanted to relax now. Just get away…she sighed, closing her eyes momentarily to let the sun’s warmth wash over her.

She nodded agreeably at the fire lizard idea. “Mm, yeah…” she agreed. “I guess they can hunt in ‘packs,’ like canines, can’t they—a queen and her bronzes, for example? I mean, they could take down much larger prey if they had more…but they’re probably too intelligent to take that big a risk anyway.” Fish and small things like spiderclaws seemed to be much safer food—along with berries and nuts, although for some reason she couldn’t quite link the ‘green’ food with fire lizard consumption. Probably, she mused, because they looked so like the great meat-eating dragons…“Although,” she added wryly, “I guess it’s a good thing they don’t work together often, or we’d be out of runners and herdbeasts.”

It was—odd—that Ferneth thought it’d be nice to have someone know how you felt all the time—a new concept, as most people would probably want to hide some things. Meira supposed she could understand that—especially if Ferneth had nothing he wanted to hide from a dragon or wher. Meira, on the other hand, had a few choice feelings she would prefer to keep a secret from any Bonded or Impressed of hers. Such as a fear of the Flightrooms, and a slight wariness of males in general. Ferneth was different, of course, but…

“I guess you could see it like that,” she admitted. “But can’t dragons also be slightly sarcastic? And they won’t always agree with you—it’s rather hard to carry out a decent argument if half of you wants to agree with your mindmate, isn’t it?” She chuckled at the thought. “I mean, I’ve heard lots of Riders calling their dragons affectionately ‘stupid,’ or something—or teasing them—and I mean, you won’t always get along, will you? There’ll be clashes, too…” There always seemed to be clashes. Meira added, “But I—I see how it would be nice. Lots of people would kill for a bond like that…”

Meira was still flushing, embarrassed despite herself, at his reaction. She should have phrased it more—more gently. She could have…and she hadn’t…everyone shouldn’t be sprung onto that idea so quickly. “Yeah—that’s the third lesson,” she murmured, her eyes fixed determinedly on the root of a tree as they walked past it. His interpretation made her shudder, wrapping one arm around herself loosely. “From what I gathered…yes…” Meira couldn’t make herself look at him again. This was a rather awkward conversation—but at least now Ferneth wouldn’t be too surprised when Kemma sprang it on him…

She jumped in, though, to save her dignity along with Kemma’s. “I don’t know if she meant for us just to—you know—go and—and jump on a random Drudge—but I mean…” She hesitated, frankly bewildered. “I mean, I guess it’d be a better experience with someone you got to choose, as opposed to someone your dragon or wher forced on you…” Meira paused again, her cheeks now redder than ever. “Like, I’d rather…say…bed someone I’d talked to—you, for example—than just a random wherhandler I’d never met before—and then the Flightlust—it frightens people, too, I think.”