Twiddle me this (open

[dragon]

Things were going well for once. Things were caught up, everything squared away, no real catastrophes to handle. It was a time for a breath of fresh air to be through. In this moment of apparent peace, Emoyan took the chance to do what was basically an inventory.

Which, wasn't really an inventory. More of a root through all his old stuff, figure out what was still pertinent data, and what wasn't. Trash the junk, refresh the useful, straighten everything out. His office always looked clean, neat, and orderly. But that was simply because Skink had this terrible habit of destroying anything left out.

Opening a drawer that was too heavy for a 'mandyr to move showed a whole different view. So today he was going through all his packed drawers and cabinets, sorting out scrolls and sheets and parchments, and occasionally finding a pen that had gone missing the turn before ...

It was almost like treasure hunting, amongst all the old files. But he only did it one drawer at a time, because he could see that look in Skink's eye, over there on the corner of the desk. The 'mandyr was eying it all with delight, dreaming up ways she could destroy it just as soon as he wasn't looking.

Which was precisely why he wasn't going to leave it all out ... he had to finish this. Fiddling with a charcoal stick between a few fingers, he thumbed through a stack of parchments thoughtfully. "Shards I keep some old stuff." He remarked, mostly to himself.

Trash yes? Skink asked.

"No, not really. Just old."

[Rowana]

Nabrik wasn't sure what he felt like doing today. For once, he'd actually done his chores and he was getting bored again. He considered going outside, maybe down to the river. Sometimes dragons relaxed down there. But just watching them wasn't fun anymore. He wished some of the candidates were closer to his own age. Most of them were fifteen turns at least and he was still barely twelve. At least no one could argue about his being there, and he was ready to give them a run for their marks if they thought they could pick on him.

Sighing, he stalked through the barracks, looking for something fun to do. Path trotted along happily behind him. She didn't mind the peace and quiet. It was much better than pulling her master out of scrapes all the time. Alph was content to, curled around the boy's neck. Nabrik's steps took him past the Candidate Master's office. Blinking, he stopped and backed up to stare at Emoyan, surrounded by his mess of papers.

"What's all this stuff?" he asked. He had a healthy curiosity, even for something as dusty as books and paper. He glanced over the room, used to it being much neater than its current state. What could have prompted the man to suddenly want to make such a mess. A nasty thought occurred to him and his eyes widened at the idea. "You ain't leaving, are yah?" His voice betrayed a bit of panic. True, Emoyan was an adult, but he was also one of the only ones Nabrik knew would take him seriously. He couldn't stand the thought that he might be packing.

Alph, normally pleasant and happy to greet other people, grew silent when he realized Skink was in the room. He watched her with intense eyes that oozed suspicion. She was definitely up to no good, he was certain. All of his kin seemed determined to turn against him, in his mind, and greens were some of the worst. Maybe because they were female, maybe because they were smaller and sneakier. Like a hawk, Alph watch her, daring her to make a move.

[dragon]

The stick stopped moving abruptly from its wiggling between his fingers, and Emoyan looked up at the young lad standing there in the doorway. "This?" He asked, lifting the stack in his other had briefly. "Oh ... just ... files." He smiled slightly, and set them down on top of the other parchments that happened to be right in front of him on the desk. "More or less notes and things of that nature. Records on you young people. When you arrive, when you become candidates, how old you are, your level of education, how many hatchings you stand for, how well you behave, your lesson roll call, all that sort of boring stuff. Basically ..." he shrugged a bit, and let it trail off for a moment. "Stuff. Reference material for the most part. Information that usually gets handed off to the Weyrling Master, once a Candidate Impresses."

The notion that he might be leaving gave Emoyan pause though, before he chuckled lightly. "I admit I've thought about it a few times. But no ... I'm not leaving. Not any time soon, I assure you. I'll be right here interfering with your fun for awhile yet." he promised with a gesture toward a seat.

Skink jumped to her feet at the sight of the two tagalongs that the kid brought with him, momentarily forgetting the trashing heaven that was the top of Emoyan's desk in favor of scrutinizing the two others. The canine was inspected from the safety of the desktop, Skink even going so far as to back away from the edge carefully, hunkered low as if to avoid being seen. But to the mandyr, she offered a curious chirp of greeting.

[Rowana]

Records? Nabrik raised an eyebrow suspicious. The old man knew everything they'd done since they'd arrived? Now that was a little worrisome. The boy wondered if it was possible to do some much wrong that he could get kicked out. Good thing they haven't talked to my dad too, he thought with relief. Or had they? Had Emoyan or someone else checked out his home without telling him? He didn't think so. It wasn't like he made his home Hold public knowledge, though the Candidate Master did probably know.

"Everything?" he voiced out loud. "Like, yah know about that first Hatching with Kale and all?" Emoyan hadn't caught him that time, but everyone had been too busy with post Hatching stuff to worry about him. He did feel a little bad about that now. He hadn't realize before what a mess he could have made, but no one was holding it against him. He wondered if the records also mentioned all those pranks he'd pulled while he was here. Just the kind of thing he wanted a Weyrling Master to see. 'Course, once he had his dragon, they couldn't kick him out. Could they?

Nabrik sighed with relief. "Well good," he said flatly. "Cause I ain't gonna break in a new Master now." He grinned mischievously, as if challenging Emoyan to just try and stop him from having fun. His respect for the man was probably the only reason less of that fun was had at the Master's expense...so far. Nabrik didn't take the seat, maybe just to be contrary, but moved closer to peer curiously over the man's shoulder. "Can yah guess what dragon I'll get from that?"

Alph was still watching Skink suspiciously from Nabrik's shoulder. He didn't answer her back, but felt a bit better seeing she was keeping her distance. The fact that she was keeping it from Path, not him, was ignored.

[dragon]

The suspicious look he got from the kid just tickled Emoyan completely. The mirth didn't show on his features in the least, but it was precisely the reaction he'd been looking for. Make the kids think twice about what they did, and maybe they'd be better behaved. Records were scary things after all, when you were a mischievous brat. "Everything." He assured the youth with a sincere nod, though he was interested to hear about some other exploit he'd managed to miss. The kid had been stalking the sands well before Emoyan had caught him at it, apparently. That ... would have to be noted, naturally. But he wasn't going to reveal that he wasn't all-knowing. Had to be careful with kids these days!

He did laugh, though, at Nabrik's comment about masters. "No, you won't have to break in a new Master." He agreed, before taking the lad by the shoulder and steering him back around to the other side of the desk. "This side of the desk is for Masters only." He informed, releasing the boy back on the side with the chair he'd previously gestured to. Nice he could be, yes, as well as stern. But he did not take well to kids crossing boundaries. Even small stuff ... it would lead to more, bigger stuff. Best to nip that in the bud.

"What color dragon you'll get? From this? Maybe. If I put that much thought and bother into it." Emoyan answered, with a shrug before picking up a stack and neatening it by tapping the edges on the desk's surface lightly. "There really isn't any point in doing that, though. I could be wrong, I could be right. In the end, the dragon knows best, and sometimes the darndest people get picked by the darndest colors." He shrugged slightly. "It would be immoral of me to either raise or lower expectations, and possibly even damaging. The best thing you can do is keep an open mind. Your dragon will find you, regardless what color it may or may not be. Once you have your dragon, it will be the world to you, and it will not matter what color it is or is not." he said, with a slight nod toward the boy. "Trust me."

Skink eyed the canine again, before bouncing across the desk, scattering parchments as she went, and almost knocking over an ink well. Used to her shenanigans, Emoyan caught it before it finished tipping over without really even thinking about the motion before it was completed. Skink wrapped herself around his wrist in the process, and wiggled up under his sleeve cuff so that only her head and frill were exposed, little eyes still fixed on the canine. The mandyr was pretty much forgotten in the suspicion directed at Path.

[Rowana]

Nabrik scowled, a curious expression on one so young, as Emoyan led him back to the chair. He had been nosy, he knew, but he hated it when people spoiled his fun. Maybe he'd try to sneak a look later, but he had a feeling that that was one transgression that wouldn't be taken so lightly. better stick with hoppers and crawlers, he thought.

"Maybe someday, I'll be Master," he challenged. Not that he wanted anything to happen to Emoyan, but he just liked to be contrary. Truth be told, Master business looked boring. He'd much rather be out fighting thread with his dragon. From the sounds of it he could end up with just about any color. He didn't know enough about any of them to care just yet. And he was pretty sure he wouldn't even if he did.

"Kale said they don't come in silver." He shrugged, but his eyes sparkled with the joke. It was hard to believe he'd been so naive. He knew far better now. A lot of the other boys wished for bronze, but as long as his could fly and chew stone, he could care less. "Guess I don't care neither."

[dragon]

Emoyan laughed lightly at the scowl that Nabrik tried to pull off. Honestly, on a kid so young, it was just cute. "Just sit, Nabrik. I didn't feed your dog to a dragon, so give it a rest." he prodded gently, pointing out the chair again. "Trust me, when you get older you'll wish you'd not passed up so many chairs in your life."

He laughed again at Nabrik's statement. "Maybe someday you will be Master." He answered. "But I'll tell you now. That's a long many turns down the road. But if that's what you want to be, you had best be sure to learn your stuff." He was pretty sure he didn't have to tell Nabrik that a lot of Candidate Masters didn't make the hack. Couldn't keep the job if they wanted it. Many got it, and got tired of it fast. Same for Weyrling Masters. He couldn't list all the Weyrling Masters that Selenitas had had, just since he'd been Candidate Master, much less since coming here. Of course, it hadn't helped any that he hadn't paid a whole lot of attention to that, either. He'd had other things on his mind.

"Kale said that, did she?" Emoyan asked. "And you're assuming that Kale knows everything there is to know about dragons, and what is possible and what's not?" He asked, in slight humor. Of course dragons didn't come in silver ... or at least, they hadn't. But one never knew. After all, dragons had not come in White, either, until the day that Ruth hatched. Anything was possible, was what Emoyan figured. Salamandyrs hadn't existed always, either. So, really, who was to say what could and could not happen? Or a four-winged dragon, for that matter? That could fly?