Food and Sunlight [tags Vuvu]

[Tashe]

He had already visited the Candidate barracks, he had been told to settle in, and so he had. Eliah had waited around at the Barracks for a few hours, unsure as what to do, before venturing out into the world of Selenitas Weyr. He had to stop and ask people where certain buildings were, but they had seemed more than happy to help him. After wondering aimlessly about, the boy had returned to the main hall, having been tempted with the promises of food. Sure it was a little late in the afternoon to be eating, but the cooks didn't seem like they had stopped cooking for the day. There were in fact, quite a few people in the dining hall eating meals when he had arrived. Which surprised him. He had fully expected to have been met with an empty room. Eliah eventually plucked up enough courage to ask one of the seemingly busy cooks for some snacks, telling her that he had only just arrived from Hyphen and had not had anything to eat yet. In response he received a napkin full of dried fruits and meats, quite more than he had expected but in politeness, he did not turn it away. Which lead him to the place he was now. The River.

"Rishin! Rishin! Sit girl." Tearing the bit of dried meat in half, Eliah placed one of the halves on his Canine's nose, waiting a few seconds before giving her a command. He chuckled as the brown and white spotted female flipped the piece of meat into the air before catching it in her mouth. They had been working on this trick for some time now, and had only just mastered it before coming to Selenitas. He still couldn't believe he was here, it almost felt like he was dreaming, just on the verge of waking up but yet not able to let go of his sleep. He had truly expected the Dragon he had been searched by to just ignore him, he was just a small human anyways, one who had been silly enough to throw himself in her path. He had desperately wanted to leave, even if he hadn't been eligible for Candidacy, he would have probably still pleaded with the Rider to take him with her. He had been a stranger in Hyphen, someone who supported the Weyr because he realized that they were the only force saving them from being taken over by the North. And the rumors of what happened in the Northern Continent had not sounded at all lovely as the way they were living now. Sure, there were some things he disliked about the Weyr, but the good outweighed the bad. Plus, he actually wanted to be a Dragonrider. Woodcarving was fun and all, it was a good hobby, but for him it hadn't been his calling. Dragonriding was the only Craft, if you could call it that, that actually allowed you to be in the sky. To be high above the world, high above all the petty arguments and things that seemed to plague their lives. It was freedom. To a point at least.

Giving his dog the other half of the piece of meat, Eliah tucked his legs up to his chest, encircling them with his arms. It was quiet here, despite the distant splashing and mummer of voices, he enjoyed how peaceful it seemed. He of course, knew little of what had been going on here the last few months, so his naivety saved him from worry. Looking to his side, he retrieved a slice of dried Redfruit before returning his chin onto his knees, nibbling on the fruit as he watched leaves and other debris float at the will of the current. He felt Rishin curl up against his side, but didn't look down at her. Eliah didn't feel the need. He knew if he was tired from their trip here, she had to be too. At least he hadn't been carried in a sling, the poor Girl. He smiled as the wind made his lavender tunic flutter slightly, he had a feeling he'd grow to love it here.

[Avu]

Why food give stupid? Much better give me.

The Salamandyr eyed Rishin with a profound look of dislike. As far as she was concerned, the furry huge thing didn’t deserve that food he’d just eaten, nope. Not that RusaHers neglected her at all, but furry things simply didn’t. They were worse than flittery uglies – if that was even possible. Sylph darted through the grass, so rapidly that she was little more than a blur. Instincts prompted her to take cover with the human; the huge fat didn’t look mentally stable enough to recognize its superior when it saw her and therefore could not be trusted not to step on her or try to eat her like those darters sometimes did. She was too fast and too smart and too amazing to be eaten! The green snaked onto Eliah’s sleeve and, with a scramble, ducked beneath his collar, her tiny body flattening as a low hiss was offered to the canine. Icky icky canine, getting all that lovely lovely food. She wanted it. Sylph would have bounced on Eliah’s shoulder if she could have, but, after a quick glance at the canine, she darted down the Candidate’s hand, snatching a piece of the meat in her forepaws and stuffing it into her mouth before she darted back up Eliah’s shirt and slid to settle down directly on top of his head, chewing agreeably for a moment before she stuffed the remainder into her mouth with her forepaws and condescended to climb down onto Eliah’s shoulder.

See, see, Sylph told him, frilling proudly at him. Faster than stupid, smarter than stupid, see, see? Better. Sylph, I am. Best, SkinksisterMine and I am. Best. The statement was emphasized with her tail sliding around her knees before the green Salamandyr abruptly lost interest in him, preening for a moment before her head lifted to stare over a hill. Come, Rusa does, she informed Eliah briefly, and then dove down his shirt, curling up right in between his shoulders. Stupid! Hide me, the Salamandyr commanded. Not s’posed run off, Rusa says. The green curled up, oblivious to the fact that her invasion of Eliah’s peace and privacy might not be received well. All she was concerned with was that Hers would not be happy at all with her running off, even if it was just to the stupid with the furry miniature stupid, and that she hadn’t actually done any harm. Of course not. He could spare that piece of meat; it wasn’t like he was feeding it to anyone important. Hrmph.

I expect the little green spy fancies herself sneaky, Ahth commented briefly, the blue hatchling following silently on his Rider’s heels. Do you wish for me to retrieve her? I do not think the humanling will take well to your grabbing for her while she is hiding. The emphasis on the word humanling made his opinion of Eliah clear: Unimpressive, that one. Anyone who had a furry thing was; didn’t they know that Salamandyrs made much better pets? – Sylph could be downright useful. Could that furry? Ahth doubted it. R’ahre didn’t comment on Ahth’s tone. Arrogant, the blueweyrling was; he’d been around long enough to recognize a newcomer when he saw one, and canines as pets weren’t too common within the Weyr anyway. Most of the time, a boy as young as this one looked had a firelizard for a pet or something. And he felt a kind of superiority over Holdbred people in general; so stuffy, they were, so upright and stiff and so boring. None of which was passed to Ahth or obvious from the impassive look on his face as R’ahre looked down at Ahth and then shrugged one shoulder.

The blue completely ignored Rishin to slide gracefully right up to Eliah, the large hatchling’s muzzle hovering an inch or so away from the small lump that was Sylph; his breath was warm and Sylph squirmed visibly. You are spotted, Sylphspy. Come out. R’ahreMine is not very upset with you yet. Eliah was given nothing other than a dismissive look; so not worth it. Sylph squirmed upwards and popped her head out to glare defiantly at Ahth before she broadcasted (unlike Ahth, who spoke privately): Not out! Not wanna. Food here, see? Because, of course she wanted to keep Eliah. Of course she wasn’t afraid of being eaten by the canine. Of course she wanted to disown Ahth (her private mastermind blue, he was), and of course she wanted to let him claim R’ahre all to himself. Of course. She added, sulkily, Not R’ahreYours. RusaMINE.

Ignoring both of them, R’ahre tilted his head to look curiously at Eliah. Very young, he was, and while R’ahre recognized he was that young, too, at some point in the past, his mind didn’t actively grasp that. “I hope Sylph hasn’t been too troublesome,” he commented softly. Not really an apology…“She’s usually not as pushy.” But he was suspecting that the green was getting closer to her maiden Run, or perhaps she’d just seen some other glowing green and had been agitated by it. Either would explain…

[Tashe]

Why food give stupid? Much better give me

"Huh?" He lifted his head so that he could look to either side of him for the source of the voice. By the way it had worded it's sentences, he could have sworn it to be a child of some young age. But, there was no child to be seen. The voice had sounded so close, that it could have easily been right next to his ear. Had he imagined it? There were people down river, maybe the vocalization had somehow carried on the wind. Eliah preferred the latter to hearing voices in his head. His brothers had told him that it was a sure sign of crazy. He didn't notice the small reptile until it was on his arm, it's claws alerting him to her presence. "Ow!" He tried to remain still, deciding not to try and shake the creature off, lest it's claws dug deeper still into his skin. Into his collar did the reptile go with a hiss, that seemed to be aimed at Rishin. Who had lept up from the ground to watch with curiosity. Unsure as what to do now Eliah tried to give Rishin the piece of meat he had intended to give her in the first place, trying to free his hands so he could remove the reptile from his shirt. That action, of course, failed when the creature ran down his arm and snatched the dried meat from his fingertips before scrambling back up to his shoulder and then onto his head. Again, he held still, unaware that the creature who seemed to be using him as a dinning table was the one who had spoken only a few moments before.

A pressure on his shoulder told him that the reptile like thing had descended from his head. See, see. Faster than stupid, smarter than stupid, see, see? Better. Sylph, I am. Best, SkinksisterMine and I am. Best. It took him a full minute to actually process that the thing on his shoulder was talking to him. Mouth agape, he couldn't respond. What was going on? Had someone spiked his food with insanity powder? Come, Rusa does. The creature dove down the back of his shirt, seemingly coming to a stop between his shoulders, using its claws again. Which hurt. Stupid! Hide me! Not s’posed run off, Rusa says. His mouth moved but again no words came forth. What was this creature that spoke to him? Eliah had never seen the likes of it at Hyphen, and it stunned him. "Wh-what? O-okay I... guess?" Now he was talking to it. He hoped to farnath that he wasn't hallucinating.

Rishin's barking alerted him to another arrival. He looked from his Canine to his other side, just in time to see a Dragon slink up to him. Small dragon... but /big/ dragon to a small boy who happened to be sitting on the ground. Again, he asked the question of, what was going on? Was this how everyone was greeted upon arrival at Selenitas? He was rather frightened. Its not like an unfamiliar Blue Dragon comes up to you to breath down your neck at a creature that could talk to you, who was itself was hiding down your shirt happened everyday... did it? Not out! Not wanna. Food here, see? There it went, talking again. By now, Eliah was rather sure that he was not in fact tripping out on some hallucinatory drug. And to make matters worse, the young man who he had just noticed had to be the Rusa that the Greenthing had been talking about. Great. He was also a Dragonrider... er, a weyrling by his knots, but still... the Blue was his.

"Oh... uh, no trouble." So it's name was Sylph. Was her name or was it the name of the species? "Shhh Rishin." He managed the courage to reach out and pet his Canine, so that she would stop growling. Which she began to as he began to pet her head. "She uh... surprised me. I'm not familar with... talking creatures." He twisted his head slightly, so he could look more at the Dragon. "He's... friendly... right? Because I don't think... Sylph wants out of my shirt. Otherwise... I'd gladly, er hand her over."

[Avu]

Was the humanthing scared of her? How amusing. Sylph threw Eliah a look of blatant amusement before she scurried out along the rim of his collar and then settled on his shoulder again, spitting defiance at Ahth; the look she sent RusaHers was decidedly agitated. Didn’t he see her, wasn’t he going to give her attention? That blue fat thing – just because he was good at plotting didn’t mean she wasn’t, see? She skittered rapidly to his other shoulder and frilled at the canine, defiantly, before she darted down Eliah’s leg again towards the napkin containing the foods and stuffed another morsel of dried meat into her mouth before she turned to look at Rishin warily. She thought she was faster than him, but he was so much bigger than her and Ahth couldn’t outrun her but he wasn’t meant to go on the ground. Hmm, hmm…her tail twitched minutely, and then she pried the meat out of her mouth and used her forepaws to hang onto it, settling onto her haunches and eyeing the canine much more closely than anyone else. She wasn’t worried about them –

Ahth yawned, and then flopped down, not bothering to move farther away from Eliah; his eyes half-closed as he eyed the growling canine for a moment before he flipped one wing dismissively in her direction. R’ahreMine, the spy. Get her. The words were private, not even for Sylph to hear; it’d ruin the surprise if he did let her hear. And please, make this furry…thing…stop its silly noises. The blue glanced at Rishin again, and then a low rumble sounded in his throat; the blue was a large hatchling, and at four months, he easily outweighed and was bigger than Rishin, but His was much more vulnerable and instinct told him that growling was not good. And he wouldn’t accept His being hurt because of a silly furry thing. If he does not stop I will sit on him, the hatchling added briefly, stretching and then coiling his tail around his haunches.

R’ahre still ignored the both of them for the moment, rubbing his nose absently, eyes focused on Rishin curiously before flickering to Eliah. Not used to…talking creatures. Hmm, what’d the kid think a dragon was…? Well, maybe he was being judgmental – R’ahre knew he couldn’t properly comprehend not being with talking creatures. Benden Weyr for four Turns; his weyrmate’s green had happily spoken to him then, and once he’d come here after her death, he’d Impressed Sylph shortly after – and then Ahth. Holds must have been…really, really boring. “He won’t hurt you, if that’s what you mean by ‘friendly’,” the weyrlingrider responded quietly, deciding not to pass on Ahth’s threat about sitting on Rishin, since the canine had stopped growling. It wasn’t necessary any longer, and he wasn’t much for chattering to kids. Generally, they were very naïve, and that made him uncomfortable. “Sylph…has bitten people, but she won’t you.” Because he’d fed her.

Sylph. Get over here, or I’m banning Skink from visiting us.

That did it; the Salamandyr glared, stuffing the remainder of the meat into her mouth and then scurrying (around Rishin) to perch on R’ahre’s foot, hissing in quiet defiance. Stupid. Mine Rusa is, the green declared to Eliah. Bluepetmine Ahth is. You stupid, you furry pretty?

“Stop the insults.” R’ahre’s glance was stern. Just because he wasn’t fond of really young – kids didn’t mean he wanted them to be upset because of his mindmate. He still didn’t think either of them could do much wrong, but it was a possibility and – what was this kid, a Candidate? A new one, then, or a fosterling, maybe. Either way, he’d probably end up Standing for a clutch and he didn’t want Sylph or Ahth frightening him away from that. “And you said she wasn’t trouble?” he echoed, half-amused before he reached down, scooping up the Salamandyr in one hand and letting her scurry up his arm and onto his shoulder. “She wants to know your name,” he added explanatorily, shrugging and earning an annoyed mrrp from the Salamandyr. “And that’s a canine, Sylph.” Ahth rolled to his feet as well, sending an amused glance at Rishin before he curled himself around R’ahre’s legs, eyes gleaming before he looked at Eliah himself.

It doesn’t look as if it can do much, the blue observed critically. R’ahre decided he didn’t want to know if the hatchling meant the boy or his canine.

[Tashe]

At least the hissing coming from his shoulder wasn't directed at him. He'd rather not add another earing to his already large collection, especially not one that might weigh his ear down. He blinked at the small thing (he still didn't know what it was exactly) before watching it scurry down his arm, transfer to his leg, and then leap back onto the napkin full of food.

Rishin tilted her head slightly as the weird scaled-but-not-scaled thing raced around her Human's body. He was not afraid anymore, he did that often. Be afraid and then not be afraid. It confused Rishin. But as long as her Human didn't need protection, Rishin would not bark. She tilted her head to the otherside as the scaled-but-not-scaled female skittered down to the pile of food to get another yummy treat. Why did she get treats when she did not work for them like Rishin had? She woofed at the scaled-but-not-scaled Green, but otherwise stayed where she was. No fair to Rishin. Maybe her Human would feed Rishin treats later? But the growling large scaled-but-not-scaled thing deserved the bark she gave him before being quieted by Her Human again. Rishin did not like bigger things growling so close to her Human.

Oh good, he wouldn't eat him. That was the best news he had gotten so far during this whole fiasco. His nerves had quieted down a great deal since the world now seemed to be moving at a slower pace, and there didn't seem to be any more Dragons or creatures posed to pop out at him. Eliah's eyes slid down to the Salamandyr, with a small twitch of his nose. He was glad she wouldn't bite him, because he was actually starting to like the female thing. Despite her taking his and Rishin's snacks of course. Stupid. Mine Rusa is. Bluepetmine Ahth is. You stupid, you furry pretty? He partly got what the creature said, the names of the human and of the Dragon, but the second part was lost in translation. Again, it sounded as if he was speaking to a child. He wondered if all the creatures like Sylph sounded like that, or if she was a baby herself? She was certainly small...

"Oh, No trouble really. I didn't mind sharing my food with her. The kitchen gave me a lot." Eliah, despite his thoughts on Sylph, was glad she was back with her owner-? At least she didn't seem adverse to Rusa anymore, which was good. Nor did she seem hungry, at least the Candidate thought she didn't look very hungry. He could be wrong, seeing as how he had never actually seen these creatures before. Were they local to only Selenitas Weyr? It was then he realized he was being rather rude to the older teen, who was in fact, now his superior in rank at the Weyr. Rocking to his feet, Eliah stood up and faced the person that Sylph had called Rusa. He hesitated a moment before taking his hand out of his pocket, and offering it to the Weyrling he responded, "I'm Eliah, from Hyphen Hold. I was a Senior Apprentice Woodcrafter before coming here to be a Candidate." He paused. "And thats Rishin. We've only just arrived a few hours ago." He was still wearing his old knots, if only because he hadn't recieved his new ones yet. It felt weird that he was going to recieve knots of a lower rank, rather that ones saying he was getting promoted. What was the word, demotion? He was amused, but not entirely sad about it. He would just have to tell people he was a Senior Apprentice rather than have them see for themselves.

The gaze of Ahth still made him slightly nervous, like the gaze of the Green had before she brought him here. It wasn't necessarily because he was afraid of them, he just wasn't used to Dragons. Not many seemed to come about Hyphen on a regular basis.

[Avu]

“Stealing food isn’t the only way something can irritate people.” The comment was blandly stated, left open for interpretation; R’ahre turned his head to look at Sylph, who licked his nose and then rubbed her body against his jaw with a soft purring mrrrrt sound; see, see. She was perfectly capable of being sweet when she wanted to be – but only then; those two pieces of dried meat had upped her mood considerably. Intelligent, she was, but count on food to make her happy – any given day, any time. R’ahre had already exploited such an advantage several times before, though normally she was fond of him enough to just obey. Sometimes, bribes just had to be offered, though, or else he’d be tail-chasing her across the entire Weyr trying to make her not demolish some poor idiot’s room. Fun times? Still, Eliah didn’t need to know that, and the weyrlingrider was seriously tempted to make out Salamandyrs as being the most amazing creatures on Pern just for the hilarity factor when the next clutch Hatched. Though – that would be mean. Yes. Very mean…

The Candidate’s next words, fortunately, convinced R’ahre against such a course of action. Hold-bred, then. And very new; no wonder he’d been…jumpy. The weyrlingrider took his hand in the usual custom, nodding in greeting, before dropping his hand and rubbing his fingers down Sylph’s back. The Salamandyr arched her back under his touch even as he replied quietly, “I’m R’ahre; from…Nerat.” Which was the truth; he’d been born in Nerat. His home? Definitely not the Hold; he’d been happiest at Benden Weyr, however ironic that sounded. Happier here, with Ahth and Sylph, of course, but he missed his now-deceased weyrmate and her green. “That’s Ahth, and, like I mentioned before, this is Sylph.” He gestured towards the green on his shoulder. “She’s got a twin that’s missing part of her tail…named Skink.” One hand touched the tip of Sylph’s tail to demonstrate the length that Skink was missing. Oh, it’d grow back, but as for now, Skink’s ego (as far as R’ahre had seen) had taken a severe dip. Not that it was her fault; he blamed it on himself.

’liah, Eeeeeliah, Sylph echoed, the green’s tiny wings flaring open. ’member, ‘member – Sylph, I am. Best. Have tail, I do, see best? She turned in a small circle to show off, and then offered an agreeable croon. You want big wingy thing? Get one minebluething-like, is best wingy, see? Smartest wingy thing. Best is ‘mandyr, best. She didn’t know why people wanted wingy things, but they seemed to. Anyway, if this one did, then he ought to get one like Ahth, didn’t he see? – because Ahth was smartest, him and Baoth, but Baoth wasn’t hers and she couldn’t shamelessly advertise the green, see? Best, we are, Mine is. Make bad pretties ouch, we do. Bad pretties – basically, F’lix. And Lennae, though the greenrider hadn’t gone ouch yet because it was a much more delicate situation, hers.

Ahth awarded Rishin a narrow stare before the blue’s gaze returned to Eliah. Why do you bother, little spy? he inquired privately of Sylph, a note of disdainful amusement in his tone. He won’t Impress the best. There /are/ no better than we. /We/ are the best and /we/ have already Chosen. A pause. I would not Choose one who has a ridiculous /canine/ anyway…

Best second, Sylph amended graciously. Egotistical, who, Sylph and Ahth? Of course not!

[Tashe]

"I suppose..." Dealing with humans was hard enough for Eliah, but dealing with dragonriders has proven to be much harder. Not to mention the fact the three of them [R'ahre and entourage] had sprung up all of a sudden with out warning. The candidate was having trouble forming coherent sentences in his mind. Plus the height difference between them added another weight to the shyness scale. Eliah always felt small in the presence of those of a greater height than he, especially when they seemed to... loom? Shaking the Blueweyrling's hand gently, he immediately released it as soon as R'ahre loosened his grip. Using that same hand, he raised it slightly in greeting to Ahth, and then to Sylph. "Nerat? A Northern Fishing hold..." He paused, then continued almost to hastily after realizing that his comment had probably sounded weird. "Uh. There isn't much to do at Hyphen so I used to study the different holds when boredom struck. I mean it wasn't terribly boring there, but my craft... sometimes wasn't fun... So... um... yeah." Who sounded like a looser? Eliah did~. He felt tempted to smack his forehead with the palm of his hand. Normally, his shyness didn't act up into nervousness, but the sudden move in habitat must have screwed with his wiring. He usually kept silent to prevent himself from embarrassing himself, but today Eliah was throwing precautions to the wind and actually trying to speak to R'ahre. To his perception, it seemed to be failing.

Fortunately for his sake, the Green lizard spoke again, diverting his attention from R'ahre's face to his shoulder. So Sylph had a twin? He wondered if the twin was as rambunctious as Sylph. He himself doubted he could handle the female for more than an hour, let alone for his entire life. Especially if she had a twin. Did R'ahre own Skink? Or did she call another person her owner? He really needed to stop talking to himself, even if it was only in his mind. "Yes. You are... indeed the best... Mandyr?" He hesitated, then continued. "I do want a um... big wingy thing." Eliah glanced over at the Blue Dragon, who looked rather menacing in his eyes. He hoped the male was kinder than he looked. It was hard to concentrate with the female jabbering, it was even harder to piece together what she was saying. "Get one... like... Ahth? Oh, yes. I'd be happy then." He gave up after that. Eliah wasn't used to listening to a voice in his mind. Tucking his hands back into the pockets of his pants, the Candidate looked downward slightly, letting his bangs obscure most of his face and freeing his ears from them. "Sorry... if you're missing something... um, important." He watched as Rishin plopped herself down next to his feet, he could see her head as it tilted to the side as she inspected the human standing in front of him.

[Avu]

Well, yes, a Northern fishing Hold. Not the only thing Nerat was known for, but one of the biggest. R’ahre raised one eyebrow slightly, raising his hand to rub the bridge of his nose curiously. “Ye-es,” he allowed. Was he just paranoid? What was wrong with a Northern fishing Hold? The Northern part? A slight flicker of annoyance rose, a flame that wasn’t visible on R’ahre’s face and was forcibly quenched when the boy went on. He thought…studying Holds…was fun? Both eyebrows rose before he shrugged dismissively. “Well. Weyrs are never boring.” There was no emphasis anywhere in that statement, though the plural should have given something away; R’ahre wasn’t ashamed that he’d come from Benden Weyr. He’d still be there, too, if his weyrmate hadn’t died; hers was the primary reason for his leaving, not C’leon’s, though the new Weyrleader was…annoying. He might have outright said that he’d come from Benden, but he…liked puzzles, liked being cryptic to some extent. If this…Eliah…couldn’t figure it out, that wasn’t something R’ahre meant to fix.

He clicked his tongue audibly before he added, “How old are you, if I’m allowed to ask?” The last phrase had a slightly sardonic note to it, but otherwise it was impeccably polite; he wanted to know. The kid looked like – like he was almost too young to Stand at all. Fourteen Turns, maybe, but he didn’t look that old. Well, maybe he was, just…really small. R’ahre turned to look at Sylph again, and the green offered a small chirp before she turned to look at Eliah again and informed him helpfully, Older, RusaMine is. Twenty longs. And then – Very best, very best, I am. Second best, Skink is, Salamandyr. When dragons were added, then Skink was bumped back one to make room for Ahth, and followed by Baoth; the only reason Skink wasn’t constantly second-best was because she had such constant close association with fire-lizards, and Sylph couldn’t stand the sight of them.

Of course he’d be happy to get one such as I, Ahth agreed (ever so modestly). All Candidates wish to Impress. Is it not possible that he is in the wrong Weyr, though? I would not have been Yours if you were at the Other Place. R’ahre didn’t reply to the blue’s statement, a slight crinkle of his nose betraying his annoyance at the concept as his gaze flickered to Ahth; when he glanced back at Eliah, the irritation vanished into blandness and he shrugged one shoulder. “I’ll wish you luck, then. Millieth should be close to Rising; you missed Hepaticath’s clutch by four months,” he explained, indicating Ahth with a nod to show he’d Impressed the blue there. How funny, his wishing luck to a very, very young boy when he’d Impressed at twenty after Standing for four – five, counting the last – Turns before he’d Impressed Ahth.

“And no. I’m not missing anything important.” If it was that important, I wouldn’t be here anymore, R’ahre added silently. As it was, little was of any great importance to him. Weyrling Lessons, maybe, but that was more for Ahth’s benefit than his own; if he hadn’t Impressed the blue he wouldn’t be attending them, after all. Feeding, bathing, oiling, and loving his two mindmates took precedence over chores, too; he certainly wasn’t going to the Infirmary while there was still even the slightest chance of illness, and he certainly wasn’t fond of doing regular chores anyway. “I don’t suppose you’re familiar with the way the Weyr works?” he added, the note of inquiry in his voice barely palpable. It was actually quite a challenge not to talk down to Eliah; the boy’s age stuck in R’ahre’s mind more clearly than anything else and condescension was how he treated most Weyrbrats; ignore them until they did something worth acknowledging. It was tempting to treat Eliah the same way, but he was a Candidate and he might Impress.

[Tashe]

"I hope so." He really did. Weyrs had to be far more exciting than Hyphen, especially since he wasn't under the constant scrutiny of his father. Eliah might have actually enjoyed Woodcarving a lot more if his father hadn't been so controlling over what and where he did his work. It became more of a chore than a choice as time progressed. But now with his change in scenery there would be more things to do. Even if it was doing homework, or scrubbing the floors, or some other menial task that he was asked to do. He didn't mind laboring, so long as he was provided a place to stay and a chance at impressing a Dragon. Although if he was going to Impress one, he had better start getting used to the feeling of a presence, like that... what was it, Salamandyr?... in his mind. He had heard rumors of little reptilian looking creatures that were native to only Selenitas, and he felt a little more than embarrassed to have only just now realized that the rumor and Sylph were one in the same.

He looked up from the ground when R'ahre clicked his tongue. "I'm... a couple months over thirteen turns." He knew the minimum age limit for Candidates was twelve, but be guessed that he would be one of the younger candidates. All of the people he had ever seen that had been searched from Hyphen had been fifteen or older, that was a considerable gap in turns when it came to him. Eliah's attention was turned from the Weyrling to his Mandyr as she spoke again. He was twenty? Good gracious, Eliah's failure to realistically discern ages strikes again! The Candidate had figured the older boy for eighteen, nineteen at the most. But not twenty. Well, at least he was only two years off at the most. Which was good, considering he normally pitted people three or four turns older or younger than they actually were. In that department, he failed so horribly, he usually didn't even bother trying to guess a person's age. He just nodded slightly as Sylph carried on about bests and second bests.

Rishin 'ruffed', causing Eliah to lean slightly to the right so he could pet her head and neck. She apparently either liked Sylph, or wanted to chase her. He couldn't really tell, either way he was going to make sure that the canine stayed right where she was. "Thank you... I suppose, there's an upside. At least I'll be able to attend my classes without... er, sudden interruption." Straightening out, the Candidate was glad to hear he wasn't keeping R'ahre from anything. He would have been sufficiently embarrassed if he had. One can tell he is often prone to embarrassment issues. "Um. I bet... I'm missing a good portion of information, but I know... ranking, and that the Weyr is supported in part by... tithes. And um, I read the Candidate rules and..." That there, was the most he actually knew about how a Weyr worked. Yay for him. He had no doubt that a Weyrbred boy, even younger than him, probably knew a lot more about the going ons about the Weyr than he. Now ask him how a Hold was run, and he'd be able to tell you.

[ And then suddenly, an angry Green blur streaked out of the forest, lept onto Eliah's hand, scurried up to his head and launched herself off to attach to R'ahre's pant leg. Absinthe was not happy about being tricked out of her wine to do an errand for Her stupidlovehers. Dropping the small scrap of tightly rolled parchment she had been given, the Green trilled at Sylph before detaching herself and running away... rather running to her well deserved wine.

The parchment read:
- R'ahre!

Its been sooo long. I miss you. We need to do something with grapefruits again. You, me and Anzy. It'll be fun. Dinner tonight? I'll wake up early for it. Sorry so short, running out of space...

-<3 Nausi

This actually doesn't happen unless you want it too. XD Nausi was begging me to say hi for him. I can't deny him so here is the impromptu message. >>! ]

[Avu]

Thir…teen? He blinked, the extent of his blatant surprise, before he nodded slowly. Thirteen and a few months. Well, certainly too young (in his opinion) to be dealing with mating Flights and the like, but if he’d been Searched…okay. More power to him. R’ahre glanced around at Ahth, one eyebrow rising in a silent question, but the blue merely stared back at him, no response forthcoming either verbally or mentally, so R’ahre turned back to the kid-Candidate, pushing back the urge to pat him on the head. Trying to talk to him like an equal instead of like some little kid (because honestly, that was all Eliah was to him: Too young, too uncomfortable with dragons and firelizards) was difficult, but he managed a vaguely reassuring, “Oh, I heard there was some Candidate that’d just Turned twelve somewhere around…not Weyrbred, Searched like you.” Lots of Weyrbred twelve-year-olds around, probably, given that the minute they Turned twelve, most of them were zooming off to claim Candidacy. Not many seemed to Impress, though; the dragons seemed attracted towards the older of the Candidates.

His comment earned a half-nod before R’ahre indicated Ahth and inquired with a distinct bluntness, “How long were you planning to stay at the Weyr, assuming you don’t Impress the first time? Most people don’t.” Actually, most people did, it seemed, but he hadn’t; he’d Stood for almost five Turns before he’d Impressed Ahth and he’d only stayed at the Weyr because he’d a weyrmate. “Even if you aged out” – unlikely; nine Turns of being rejected would drive anyone batty – “you could still stay as Woodcrafter; Selenitas doesn’t have an official one yet.” One hand rose to stroke Sylph firmly to stop the green from blurting something out again, and at the touch, the green arched her back happily. “But you’ll also discover the Candidate rules can be very unfair,” he added dryly. “They say you can’t Impress a Salamandyr. That’s because some idiot’s green Ran and she nearly traumatized her hatchling, and Emoyan’ll happily give you a lecture if you ask, so I wouldn’t.” No love lost there; just because Sylph adored Skink didn’t mean he was at all fond of Emoyan, save for a grudging, forced feeling of camaraderie because of the green.

He’d half-paused when a green blur that looked decidedly and delightedly familiar came streaking out of the forest, R’ahre taking a swift instinctive step towards the green, eyebrows rising as the name started out of his lips: “Abby – ?” The words were interrupted by the green’s landing first on Eliah’s hand, up to his head, and then to his pant leg; the blue weyrling rider leaned down to catch the scrap of hide before it fell and he blinked bemusedly after the green before he glanced at Eliah, a small, dryly amused look entering his eyes. “That was Absinthe; she belongs to a wherling,” he explained, glancing down at the note before he slipped it into his pocket. “She likes to drink…” The latter was added absently before he glanced at Sylph, whose frill had risen in greeting, the tiny, pale green darting to the end of R’ahre’s shoulder to trill happily after Absinthe, her surge of delight obvious. Absinthe liked drinking, like Hers had said; if bribed correctly the other would help plot against anyone, would she not? Yes, she liked Abby, she did…

Abby! Nice, is Abby, the green pronounced cheerfully. Has wherface, Abby does. Spriteling too, is Sistermine. Has wherface, Spriteling ‘n Abby; want wherface too, do you? Of course, Sprite seemed kind of scared of her, but Sylph didn’t seem to notice it much; the green was resilient to dislikes given how many firelizards she loathed (and how they rightfully loathed her, too). Sprite was a Salamandyr; she was safe, even she wasn’t as pretty as she, Sylph, was.

A look of amusement passed over R’ahre’s face and he would have brushed Sylph off of his shoulder had that not potentially meant tossing her to the canine; he clicked his tongue at the green audibly and she scurried excitedly down to slide into his pocket; the amusement was replaced by alarm and R’ahre fished her out. “No tearing it up,” was his firm command, and Sylph flattened her frill before she turned to look at Eliah again and give a firm chirp. ’nyway, wingy-wanter, best, is Weyr. Has lotsa wherface ‘n wingies ‘n best is ‘mandyr. Want, you do? Clutched soon Hatch, Showoff and Dael. What, encouraging Candidates to Impress Salamandyrs, who, Sylph? Certainly not! R’ahre raised one eyebrow dryly at the green, who squirmed in his grasp and licked his palm in a show of innocent adoration, before she skittered down and onto Ahth’s muzzle. ’Mandyr better’n wingies, see? You get ‘mandyr, better get wingy.

The blue’s response to that? Was to give his head such a vigorous shake that Sylph lost her footing; another snap of Ahth’s head sent her splatting comically against Eliah’s shirt. She clung, skittering up it to his shoulder, and purred conspiratorially. If only she could get him to Impress; make Skink’s mad, it would, but Skink would see how funny it was, she was sure!

[Tashe]

Hyphen had just recently had a young boy searched, maybe that was the boy the Blueweyrling was speaking of. He hadn't known the boy personally, but news of searchings traveled fast when it came to his Hold. "If I don't impress the first time... I hope to continue to Stand for hatchings. I'm not going to give up if I'm rejected... if I'm meant to be a Dragonrider then I'll eventually be one. If not..." He paused and shrugged almost sadly, before offering R'ahre a tentative smile, "As you said. I could always stand in as a Selenitas Woodcrafter. I don't want to go back to Hyphen." He'd even become a Drudge before returning to his birthplace. Eliah had always felt stifled there, his admiration for Dragonriders always stuck out like a sore thumb and was often frowned upon by the older generations. Mainly the people controlling whether he did well, or not so well in his life at the Hold.

They couldn't impress Salamandyrs? Thats right, it had been one of the rules that he had read on the list. Salamandyrs... Ran? Like Whers? Were Salamandyrs to Whers like Firelizards were to Dragons? If a Salamandyr running disturbed a young Dragon, did that mean they were emotionally connected to their Humans? It had to be. Firelizards didn't make people act wonky, he had seen many a Holder's green go up. The whole concept of something that small effecting a Human so strongly was hard to grasp, and positively making his head hurt slightly. Letting his reasonings go, Eliah gave up and just accepted the account told by the Weyrling. Who, by experience, knew far more than he did about the Salamandyrs. Seeing as he had one himself. He really needed to stop questioning simple things, he'd probably learn more about them later on.

"Ouch!" Claws again. What was it with these creatures and their claws! He stood still as the unfamiliar Green Salamandyr scurried up his arm and onto his head, wincing when she scaled his neck. Fortunately the ordeal only lasted a few moments, ending when she launched herself off of him and onto R'ahre. Apparently the Salamandyr things could be used as a messenger system. He watched as the Green interacted with Sylph before darting off. It all happened so fast. Maybe she was in a hurry to get back to her owner? Rubbing his neck, the Candidate turned his attentions back onto the Weyrling and his companions. Absinthe. That was a pretty name. A Wherling? Well it looked as if Sylph liked the other Green, maybe R'ahre and Absinthe's owner were friends. But as Sylph began speaking again, Eliah lost himself in trying to understand what she was saying.

"Maybe. But I think, it would be good to wait... until after Candidacy." How ever long that would be for him. Accidents did happen though, and it was possible he could stumble into a Mandyr hatching. But given the implied effects of bonding to a Mandyr... he'd probably try and avoid the hatchings as if they were a disease. Firelizards were probably more his style, and better for his emotional growth. Something that a Dragon was sure to mess with if he impressed sooner than later. Twitching slightly as Sylph landed on his chest, the Candidate offered her a smile as she purred on his shoulder.

[Avu]

Absinthe’s intrusion and the note had made R’ahre loose his train of thought; for a moment, the weyrlingrider frowned thoughtfully, raising one hand to rub the side of his nose absently. Sylph seemed to have decided that this boy was hers, though R’ahre was sure her intentions were far from innocent. Oh, no; here was someone young enough, naïve enough, perhaps, to mold to her liking to do her bidding, and unlike Ahth, she had nothing wrong with bespeaking humans, she didn’t, not if it got her what she wanted. Ahth gave a low amused rumble; well-trained, Sylph had been, see? She’d do what he said, and if she could train the humanthing to do what she wanted, he could deliver orders through her. Yes…he approved wholly of this idea, the claiming of this humanthing. The blue’s tail wound around his feet and his eyes half-closed pleasantly; just as soon as Sylph convinced this child to do her bidding…the green’s chattering covered up her owner’s pause, though, R’ahre’s gaze lingering on her in amusement.

Wait not good, she informed Eliah firmly, ignoring his twitch and instead licking his cheek at his smile. See? Positive response was good. Faster better, have best. No other wingy-wanted have. the green explained, winding her tail around a fold in his shirt tightly. Not letting go, nope, not letting goooo. She’d enslave the humanthing yet. Jealous, they want. You want wingy, better get ‘mandyr. Smaller, smarter, nicer much. Better much, ‘mandyr are. She released her grasp on his clothing and turned in a small circle on his shirt to show off, flaring both wings and then frilling to display the nearly-black streaks on her frill – something she was very proud of. Easier care, nottas stupid. Better, Sylph went on, Show you, I will. You want show? She’d prove her superiority, see, and then he’d see.

The little spy is most arrogant, Ahth commented privately, the blue’s eyes still closed, the perfect picture of serenity as his tail curled more tightly around his legs, head upright with dignity. It is very useful, that she is so quick to take credit. I expect a little humanthing can do /some/ things, can it not? One gleaming eye opened, a jewel in shades of contemplative greens, streaked with cautious yellows, whirling rapidly as Ahth focused on Eliah and then closed his eyes again. He’d see; the blue was certain he could do something with the humanthing. There was always something – it was finding it that was the hard part. Convincing them to do it was really quite simple, most of the time.

Half-smiling at Ahth’s thoughts – yes, that manipulative side of the blue amused him greatly – R’ahre tilted his head back slightly before he said softly, “Like I was about to say before Abby dropped by…I doubt you’ll miss out Impression if you’re Searched so early.” His jaw tightened slightly. “I know people who’ve Impressed first Hatching, second Hatching…some who’ve Stood for Turns, but most people seem to Impress pretty early.” Lucky them, never have to face such a thorough rejection. Especially when a hatchling chose to between and you were left Standing. It had happened before and that level of rejection had sent R’ahre reeling; he knew he wasn’t a completely pleasant person to be around and that he could irk people to no end (not that he really cared, either), but that they’d rather die than chose him was…it really did hurt. A lot. Even if Seth had always reassured him that he was Candidate-worthy, even if he had Ahth to prove it now. “I’ll leave you and your pet alone once Sylph stops chattering,” he added absently, one eyebrow quirking at the Salamandyr pointedly.

She didn’t get the point. But then, R’ahre hadn’t really expected her to.