Lessons begin (Tag Pasine)(Thread complete)

[Rei]

Danar tapped the piece of parchment in front of him with his quill. He had rushed through his chores and midday meal and made it to the record room in record breaking time. Now he was just waiting for her. The burly lad had been in an exceptional mood all morning and had even whistled his way through chores a fact that had been noticed by that clown Cloar.

He had tried to pry into why Danar was so happy and even hinted that maybe he had finally gotten a girl. To shut Cloar up he had started to tease him about the two female candidates he was frequently seen with. So Cloar what are you Raylin and Saeo doing, are you having secret love making sessions? Could he get in on it? That had shut the other lad up.

He liked Cloar enough but he didn’t want people saying Pasine and him where lovers. That might scare her off and Faranth that was the last thing he wanted. No it wouldn’t do to have rumors flooding around. Pasine was a practical sort. She didn’t seem to understand jokes well. That much was evidenced by their encounter on the hatching grounds.

The candidate was broken from his thoughts as the sound of footsteps sounded from the hallway. Was that her? The brown haired boy sat up expectantly and fixed a smile upon his face preparing to wave her over to his table.

[antinanco]

The footsteps lead up to the doorway of the Archives and stopped, but the door didn't open. A sensitive ear could make out a slight ruffle of cloth and then the doornob jiggled as someone on the otherside struggled with opening. Finally Pasine appeared.

Pasine had had kitchen duty today, which was good in the fact that she had spotted Danar at midday meal and had been vaguely been able to figure out when to show up. But on the other hand, she somehow require a black stain of something on her red tunic, which she had reverently tried to wash out. There was no time to boat all the way over to the Barracks and back, not without being atrociously late, so she had to make do with adjusting her clothing so it folded upon the fist-sized stain. Hopefully if she didn't shift her body too much then it would remain hidden.

To make up for somewhat late arrival, Pasine toted two full mugs of klah that had foam nearly spilling over the sides. They were no longer steaming since, but they still retained a moderately hot temperature. It was starting to be a tradition to bring a mug of the holy elixir with her whenever she went to the Archives, as she had once done when working long nights in the Weaving workshop, but by the small, sly smile on her face you never would've guessed it.

"Hello," she greeted quietly, closing the space between them and taking the seat next to Danar in one motion. Placing the mug near Danar in a manner that would suggest it was his, she peered over the rim of the cup at whatever was on his parchment. So far he had only written his name, from what was visible to her. Good! She wasn't so late, then.

As she rose her eyes from the paper, she quickly scanned the room to see who else was in it. Among familiar faces with no names, she spotted many uneasy faces glancing at the liquid she had brought in, but none were exceedingly grumpy or looked like they were about to correct her. (She would never chance a spill on a scroll! Her cup was always firmly in her hand. They should be looking at Danar.) Neikolai must've been out and about with other Candidate duties, then.

Pasine returned her attention to Danar, who had an almost eerie cheery smile one his face, and piped in a serious tone, "So what shall we begin with today, Master Danar?"

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[Rei]

Danar followed Pasine’s movements as she crossed the room seemingly without effort even though she was juggling two mugs of klah. He would have reached out to relieve her of her burden but she had already brushed past him and set them both on the table. As she placed his mug close to him he smiled. How thoughtful. As she sat he ran an appraising eye over her attire. She dressed nice unlike some of the other candidates who looked like they could give a dragon load about their appearance.

The candidate nodded in response to her greeting. “Hello yourself.” He greeted her warmly. “Thanks for the klah. You are a lifesaver.” The burly lad took a tentative sip to gauge the temperature as Pasine scanned the rest of the room. Ah it was the perfect temperature he would savor this. Danar lad took another sip and set the mug down before pulling the paper closer to him.

As Pasine dubbed him Master Danar the candidate gave a chuckle. “Just continue to call me Danar. Master makes me sound like an old man.” He chuckled again then adopted a more serious expression. “I thought we could start by hearing some questions you have. I will write the questions down and then we will take them one at a time and answer them. We will fully cover the question before we move on to another. That’s the best way to start.” Danar paused quill hovering above the parchment. “You ready? Let them fly.”

[antinanco]

((I wouldn't say effortlessly. She's just has an addiction practice with klah. xD))

Pasine took a sip from her mug herself and wiped away the resulting cream-mustache with a little square of cloth that looked suspiciously like one of the few clean rags from the kitchens. It wasn't like she was outright stealing it, though. She would return it... later. Besides, hadn't she just spent candlemarks cleaning the mountain of dishes and arranging themin relation to size and thickness?! She had definitely earned a few hours with one puny cloth. The Candidate tucked the rag back into her pocket, her mind somewhere else entirely.

"Not a problem, it was all I could do after the meatrolls," she replied with a small shrug. It would have been rude to just appear at a prearranged meeting with only enough for one person anyway.

Clutching the cup close to her body (partly not to spill, partly to cover up her stain), Pasine gathered a far-off look as she sorted out her questions into suitable words. When she finally opened her mouth, it was the same effect as when the dams over the waterfalls were released: a torrent a questions surged out and threatened to swamp Danar.

"When is the Touching? How should we approach the Touching, and Aslath? Are we allowed on the Sands at times other than the Touching and the Sands? Why can't we have relationships during Candidatehood or Weyrlingship?" And Pasine paused at the final, dreaded question. This one was enunciated much more slowly than the others, and after there was a silence "What happens if we don't Impress?"

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[Rei]

Danar watched her take a sip and then returned his attention to the paper when Pasine’s eyes gained a faraway look. Ah she was thinking. The candidate almost laughed when Pasine let the flood roll on so to speak. He smiled as he wrote each question in a surprisingly neat hand. The ink flowed smoothly across the parchment and when she had finally finished so had the boy.

He held the paper up to examine it and checked off the first question. He turned to the girl and cleared his throat before he began. “When Queens lay their eggs the egg shells are soft and supple not unlike leather. If we touched them then it is probable that we would do damage to the unborn hatchlings. After a few weeks on the sands the shells harden enough to be able to withstand stroking although obviously not a large hit. That is when the Queen allows the candidates on the sands to become accustomed to the eggs. Aslath’s touching will begin in a few days if my calculations are correct. It has been a couple seven days since she laid.” Danar paused then and gazed at Pasine as if to see if she was taking all this in. He needn’t have worried, she seemed completely enthralled. That was good.

Danar took a sip of klah to wet this throat before beginning again. “When we group together for the touching we sometimes split into two groups male and female. Other times we all stay together. We listen to a short talk by the Queen’s bonded as to the proper techniques and pressure to use with the eggs. Then we are directed to approach the eggs and stroke them lightly. Of course before we even think of going near her eggs we must bow to the Queen. You may say something or not. It is entirely up to you.”

He smiled before answering her third question. “As far as whether we are allowed on the sands besides touching and standing the answer is no. A queen would never allow it. We may look at the eggs from the stands but never approach them save those two times. Like most mothers Queens are very protective of their eggs. Also if your constant watching of her clutch bothers her a Queen may chase you from the grounds. It happens sometimes with more protective Queens. Some Queens will not allow anyone there after the clutching until the touching and then not again until the standing.” Danar took another sip of klah and leaned back on his chair. He watched Pasine for a bit letting her digest the information he had given her.

[antinanco]

((Failpost, I'm sorry. >>))

Pasine's cup was made busy as it trekked the distance from her lips to her lap many times in the following silence. Besides the soft sound of sipping, she was quiet for a while as she digested the information and contemplated certain aspects. Lastly, had Danar 'accidentally' skipped over relationships and not Impressing, or was he holding them off to pace her?

Pasine's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she stared at the paper. She didn't like either option. Perhaps there was another reason...? Maybe Danar couldn't handle answer so many questions at once? That must be it! Why else would he have to write down the questions? Nodding her head slightly, the Candidate accepted this reality and moved along, right after lifting the mug to her mouth and drinking klah with eyes closed. Grey eyes flickered open after Pasine was done.

"Is Aslath a protective Queen? She didn't do much to that Wilding at the Clutching..." she queried and mentioned in one fluid, hurried statement, "And what of the others?" Pasine gestured towards the last two questions on the list, eager to eat the new information.

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[Rei]

((Was not fail Ant don’t worry <3))

Danar smiled as Pasine prodded him to continue. She was a glutton for knowledge that was not surprising considering how practical she was about everything. Almost as if she needed to form a reason for everything. The candidate took his time before answering. “Aslath can be protective but she is more laid back then some. I wouldn’t go testing that theory though she may just have been in an odd mood.” Danar took a long sip of klah then folded his hands on the table and stared at the last two questions as if contemplating them.

Finally he spoke in a level tone. “We are not allowed to have relationships in candidatehood because it might distract us from the task at hand which is acquiring our own dragon to help support the weyr. They want nothing to get in the way of that goal. No emotional attachments that may prevent a dragon from bonding as strongly to you I guess. I never really pursued the subject much. Plus if a female candidate were to become pregnant she would be banned from standing until the baby was born and maybe not let back into candidacy.” He paused as if considering his own information then nodded before continuing. “Weyrlinghood is a bit easier to answer. Intimate relationships cause feeling and emotions to unstable for an immature dragon to handle. You can damage your dragon perhaps irreparably by subjecting them to such emotion and feelings. That is why relationships in weyrlinghood are expressly forbidden.”

Danar took another sip of klah and quickly ran his eyes over the other occupants of the room. Some of them seemed to be listening to what he said others seemed put off that he was speaking at all. Ah well if they didn’t like it they were welcome to leave. The candidate dipped his quill in ink and marked off all but the last question. He then set the quill down and turned to Pasine. The lad cleared his throat before beginning. “In answer to your last question if you do not impress this clutch you will presented at every clutch until you reach the age of 22 in the hopes that a dragon will bond to you. If you are found to be unsuitable in every hatching and have reached 23 turns you are free to leave the weyr. If you choose not to go home you can take up residence here and do what you can to help out. That means being a healer, kitchen staff, or doing some other service.” He smiled at his fellow candidate. “But you need not worry about that because we will both impress.” As Danar took his last sip of klah he gave a sidelong glance at the girl to gauge her reaction to the information.

[antinanco]

Leaning back into her chair, Pasine sighed contentedly and took the longest sip out of her mug yet. When she was done she placed the cup onto the edge of the table, it's contents drained and her brain full. It had been a while since this feeling, and she took a moment to enjoy it to the fullest.

When she was done basking in the information, it came time to reflect. Usually this was done silently, but Pasine began churning her thoughts aloud for Danar's benefit. "It seems like it should be the other way around," she stated curiously, "Since in Candidacy you must prove you are responsible enough to get a dragon, that makes sense. But you already have the dragon, there is nothing they can do to you. And do not dragons thrive on strong emotions? Perhaps it would push them to mature and grow more quickly." She shrugged and leaned forward to pour over the paper once more. Sometimes she couldn't understand people.

"I do want to Impress, however" she affirmed strongly with a slight smile, "If I do not, the Weyr might not want my Weaves." Per usual Pasine, there was no humor in her statement. It was a down-to-earth fact, or at least it was in her world.

"And we both have time," the Candidate added as she returned to her quiet manner, mind in full gear by now. Of course Danar was confident: he was a Weyrbred boy with riders for parents. She was a Holdbred girl from a Hold that distrusted riders and barely even had one parent. The odds were unimaginatively unfair. She'd just have to put in the work, as she was now, to close the gap. Picking up a spare pen, she began jotting down some major points as she waited for Danar to respond.

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[Rei]

Danar tilted his head as he contemplated Pasine’s comment. “Yeah I suppose it makes sense but we are taught not to do it. I have yet to meet anyone who’s dragon was damaged by it but” he shrugged before continuing, “I am not willing to test the theory out on my dragon when I obtain it. There will be plenty of time for that after he matures.” He smiled at the girl she was a thinker that was for sure. She kept things interesting.

He frowned as she made the comment about the weyr not wanting her weaves. Now why would that be came the idle thought. The candidate thought he better not give voice to that thought though the last thing he wanted was for her to take offense. He contented himself with playing with the mugs on the table moving them here and there and finally leaving them alone altogether as he caught sight of Pasine writing.

“What are you doing?” Danar asked her, the curiosity evident in his tone he leaned over her shoulder and inhaled a sweet sent. Shards she smelt nice! He suddenly realized that sniffing her might not be the best idea. Shards. The candidate quickly straightened up and fixed his eyes upon the paper she was busy with.

[antinanco]

((http://i42.tinypic.com/ioqlw8.png))

Danar might not have been the smartest, but he made up for his lack of intelligence with unrelenting persistence that Pasine found appealing. He was certain he was Impressing and he wasn't going to let her forget it. A slight smile was hidden behind Pasine's hair. Plus, he agreed with almost everything she said. It was a new, if not pleasant, notion.

"I am just taking some notes in case I do need to remember what you've said. I don't think I do need it, since my memory is--" Pasine's head popped up from her writing pose as she suddenly heard a sniffling sound. What in Faranth's name was that?!

Slowly, ever so slowly, Pasine craned her neck around to gaze at Danar in bewilderment. "Do you... have a cold?" she inquired slowly. Her brows were raised so high that they were hidden under her hairline and her eyes were large with confusion and shock. Sure he hadn't been smelling her...

What did she smell like? Back to Southern she had the money to buy a few perfumes from a Herbalist, but here most of her time had gone to Candidacy and thus she had become the epitome of poor. Now she probably smelt like klah and fresh laundry, if she had any guess. Not necessarily bad smells, but definitly not something she would consider attractive.

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[Rei]

Danar nodded sheepishly as Pasine explained her note taking. It only made sense why hadn’t he figured that out himself? The reason probably was he had been too busy imagining kissing her. Would she kiss back? Would she slap him? Either way it looked like he wasn’t going to find out. The lad absentmindedly ran a hand through his hair. Shards why did he have to be so noble?

The candidate’s eyes widened as his student asked him if he had a cold. “Um a bit of allergies I think. You know with the pollen and all.” Danar’s tone made him barely believable. He mentally kicked himself that was a really lame excuse. With the way the plants have been drying out nothing had been flowering for months. Shards he was dim when it came to her. Ah well if he had any luck at all she wouldn’t be to put out if he told the truth would she? After deliberating for a few moments he decided not to risk it.

Instead he cleared his throat and stood up. “I think that’s good for today. Think of some more questions to ask me tomorrow.” The burly lad gave Pasine a wide smile. “Tomorrow we will go over dragon feeding and the proper way to feed new hatchlings. Oh and I will bring the klah.” Danar busied himself with gathering his scribbled notes. Having tucked them under his arm he gestured to the doorway. “Mind if I walk you to the barracks.” He asked politely. It never did harm to offer after all.

[antinanco]

Pasine accepted the excuse readily, despite Danar’s tone. Though she knew it wasn’t pollen season, pollen came from more than just flowers. There were tree pollens, grass pollens and even animal pollens! No, wait, those were dandruffs. She shrugged lightly. You could probably be allergic to those too, though.

Already there were a plethora of questions rattling about in Pasine’s mind. Did dragons have dandruff? Unfortunately she knew that they were irrelevant questions, and with so little time until Hatching she doubted they would ever get answered. Besides, Danar had already set up a perfectly rational schedule, a fact that Pasine was somewhat impressed with.

Slowly the Candidate got up, twisting in a somewhat awkward way so that her left side, the side with the stain, was kept away from Danar. Her notes remained on the table, completed but abandoned. Someone else could have them if they wanted, they would need it more that she. After all she had a tutor now, didn’t she?

Jays! If he walked her back to the Barracks, then she would never have time to go return her borrowed rag. It was a kind gesture so she couldn’t deny him straightforward, but she couldn’t imagine the consequences of stealing from a Weyr, especially if you were just a lowly Candidate. Scowling sympathetically at his allergies, she suggested, “Are you sure? Maybe you should go see the Healers instead.”

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[Rei]

Danar watched her rise and ran a hand through his hair absentmindedly. Crisis narrowly averted she had believed him. That was good. He made a mental note to himself no more sniffing her no matter how much as he wanted to. The inner workings of her mind were a complete mystery to him. It was as if she was an entirely different species. A species he couldn’t get enough of. He frowned as she mentioned the healers. Why would he need to go there?

Suddenly his sluggish mind caught up with her comment. Oh the allergies! Shards. How was he going to get out of this one? The lad desperately wanted to walk her back but he would probably have to fake sniffle the entire way to keep up the charade. Shells. His brown eyes scanned the room as he wrestled with his desires. Danar turned back to Pasine and gave a slight smile. “Perhaps I should take a trip to the infirmary. I hate to rescind my offer but your right I better go get something. Next time then?” He asked in an almost pleading tone. At least he was sure that she would be back if only because of her ceaseless need for knowledge.

[antinanco]

“Certainly,” she replied nonchalantly. But inwardly she was celebrating. Perfect! Now she could return the rag AND perfect her boating skills. If she was lucky she might even get to show off her naval prowess to Danar tomorrow.

Surprising, Pasine was looking forward to the next lesson. It held so much promise; even though she did risk getting sick by being near the ill Candidate. In her mind, the hazard was worth it. She picked up her empty mug and Danar’s, planning to swing by the kitchen to return the rag anyway, and made for the exit. Over her shoulder she called cheerily, “I will see you tomorrow, Danar!”

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[Rei]

Danar watched her pick up the mugs and head for the door. “Bye Pasine!” He called back cheerfully. He would get to see her tomorrow to. This was turning out better than he expected. The candidate gathered up all the notes including hers, tucked them under his arm, and sauntered out of the room whistling merrily. Yes life was grand! He had a pretty girl to spend time with and the prospect of a dragon looming on the horizon. His life was defiantly on the upswing. He exited the Records room and watched her leave before walking off in the general direction of the infirmary. Just in case she took a backward glance.