Candidate Lesson 2 (R1)

[Ruby]

It was lesson time again. This time, Kemma had cleared most of the desks away, clustering five up front, near her desk. This candidate class was rather small, although considering that there wasn't a clutch currently on the sands, it wasn't surprising. Well, either way, Kemma thought it was rather silly to spread five students out in a classroom that could hold twenty comfortably. She figured it would be good for the shyer ones too. Today was about ranks, after all, and if a rider was shy around their Wingleader, they could get the whole wing killed by hesitating. The Candidates had better get comfortable with the idea of authority now, before it put them in danger.

She'd sent formal invitations out to the Goldriders of the Weyr, as well as the Weyrleader and his Junior, the Wingleaders, the Weyrlingmasters, and the gold Wherhandler, asking if they'd like to attend and explain their positions to the Candidates. None of them had let her know in advance that they were coming, but then again she hadn't asked them to, so she wasn't that surprised. It didn't really matter either way, if they showed up it saved Kemma some work, if they didn't, she'd just explain on her own. Now all she needed was candidates... and hopefully, ranking riders, and she could begin.

Candidates Here
Mutasim
Meira
Zolten
Raila

Ranking Riders
Goldweyrling Savitri
Weyrleader Ka'rys
Weyrlingmaster Aryna

[reqqy]

Now that he knew there was no possible way for him to skip lessons without drawing attention to himself - and losing his chance to Stand for the fifth time - Mutasim was actually early for the lesson. In fact, he'd been there before Kemma arrived, but the young man had merely attached himself to a wall and waited to see if anyone else would show up for a few minutes. In a rare mood, he'd decided to wear white, which brought out his skin tone in such a way as to make the scars that he didn't bother to hide fairly obvious. Thus far no one had assumed he was a fugitive and inquired anywhere, so he was fairly certain he wasn't going to be packed off to Bitra simply because he didn't cover them. Part of him even recognized now that, with Selenitas's relationship with the north the way it was, even if they did learn of his rather notorious past the weyr likely wouldn't do anything about it.

Jabari had decided that he liked winding himself around Mutasim's left arm for a change of pace, which was - rather awkward. But Muta allowed it. Yet another sign that his extreme paranoia was beginning to lessen, if only because he would never have accepted his off-hand being partially occupied in the past. He was still vigilant. Certainly, there was plenty enough he could accomplish with his primary hand, were anyone to spring anything on him. Yes, Mutasim was mellowing out just a tad. The almost casual perusal of the hallway attested to this. Then the young man offered up a mental shrug. So he was the first one. No point in remaining out here any longer.

Pushing up off the wall, he crossed the hallway and entered the room, pulling a face as soon as he noted just where the desks were. Mutasim wasn't much for 'coziness.' He liked his space, thank you very much, but as that wasn't an option...If she wanted them all right on top of each other, that was fine. She'd be getting a much more up close and personal view of him than she'd probably like. In his typical defiant manner, he moved to the desk directly opposite hers, slumping into the seat. His eyes came to focus on her with unwavering intensity. Jabari unwound from his arm and moved back to his shoulders, as his perch was quite awkward in the former position, and decided to look at Kemma curiously, too. Why did she have the interest of his boypet?

[Avu]

Meira sighed to herself as she wearily pushed her hair out of her eyes, slipping into her clothes. Candidacy was taking much more out of her than she’d hoped it would. Of course she’d anticipated chores, but it seemed there weren’t enough candlemarks in the day to hold all the thing she had to do, now. Biting her lip nervously, she shook her head. It was no good if she skipped Candidate Lessons, and at least she had a viable excuse for why she wasn’t doing something, or running yet another errand. Despite herself, Meira found herself slightly irritable and pushed it from her mind. Nothing was more important than Bonding or Impressing. The girl slipped quietly down the hall, her eyes lowered as she tried not to draw any attention. It would be bad if she ran into someone who demanded she do something that she had no time for…

And then she was there. No errands, nothing silly, had been demanded of her in the short time. Good. Uttering a soft sigh of relief, Meira opened the door, slipping in. She wasn’t entirely sure if she should be in this rotation or not, but she figured it’d be best to figure everything out, even if she wasn’t supposed to be there. She smiled uncertainly at the Candidatemaster, the same woman as last time, and her glance ran over the other young man there, who had a brown fire lizard with him. Oh, but fire lizards were beautiful. Meira stared, delighted, and then remembered herself. She could Impress a fire lizard if she wanted, later, but now was time for lessons. She moved to a desk, pulling the chair out and claiming it, uneasily shifting.

Oh, right. Did she have to tell Candidatemaster Kemma her name? Probably. Dipping her head deferentially, she murmured, “I’m Meira, Candidatemaster.” Good, now what? Meira relaxed—not all the way (what if she wasn’t supposed to be here? How embarrassing would it be to be turned out?) but enough to look more at ease with her surroundings. Tucking her hair behind her ear, she tipped her head, glancing around. Assuming that she was supposed to be here, what were they going to cover, today?

[randi]

Lesson time again, was it? Seemed a bit redundant to have to do these multiple times, especially over mundane things he'd known since he was little. Zolten would have skipped if he'd thought he could get by with it, but with the number of candidates present, he could not possibly see a way of missing without notice and he knew better than to risk his chances at Impression. He would never do such a thing, especially not with it being what felt like his last chance, not to mention the single link to his parents that seemed almost tangible.

Eventually wandering to the lesson room, he spotted only five chairs set out for the class. It made sense, in a way, but intimate sitting did not bother him. His eyes first turned to the two present, his usually goofy smile finding its way to his face as he sat down on one of the end desks. He could have one free side, at least. He wasn't claustrophobic; he just preferred to have room.

Turning his eyes towards Kemma, he grinned, but didn't say hello nor present his name. If she wanted, she could ask him for it, but otherwise, he wasn't going to waste his breath. This lesson was bound to be boring information he'd heard thousands of times in his life. He was just here to be recorded as such.

[kysseh]

Savitri was not sure why she felt compelled to respond to the candidatemaster's invitation. Perhaps it was because it was unlikely that the other goldriders would be able to attend. She had little enough time to spare as just a weyrling; Shmee and Kaegan were probably never free from things to do. Attending a candidate lesson would not be the worst candlemark spent. Besides, it was more interesting than reading yet another scroll about tithes. She had gotten a recently-copied one from the archives room and had spent several nights trying to puzzle through it. It was incredibly boring and complex, even to her. She would pay more attention to it when her brain was functioning a little more normally, which meant when Cath was not hungry or trying to go seek out entertainment.

Speaking of Cath...

She offered a polite and heartfelt 'thank you' to Bearinth and his rider as the bronzepair gently deposited her and her mindmate on the landing platform of the candidate barracks. She would not have brought Cath, but the little gold had positively insisted upon accompanying her mindmate. Granted, at the rate she was going, the gold was not going to be able to be carried after another few months... or perhaps sooner. But Hepaticath had wanted to come meet the candidates and keep a close guard over Hers, so Savitri had reluctantly acquiesced to the weyrling's wishes. Good thing the doors were large, or they would never have gotten through.

She stepped briskly along the hall until she reached the appropriate doorway and then entered the room, confident that Cath would be only a pace or two behind. The candidatemaster received a polite nod, and the goldweyrling offered a brief smile before settling to stand behind the desks. A nudge against her shoulder had her lift a hand to scratch Cath's eyeridges, the little gold arching her neck and settling beside hers. Both of the goldpair looked over the candidates, and Savitri's face split into a wider smile at the sight of a few familiar ones. Mutasim looked thoroughly displeased about being present, and the former-healer-girl.... Meira?... looked just as shy as before. She did not recognize the other boy and briefly wondered who he was.

Cath tilted her shining head to one side, watching the assembled group with a great deal of curiosity. One whirling compound eye focused on the back of each head in turn, and the dragon offered up a quiet croon. There are not very many. Where are the rest? she inquired of Hers, nosing lightly at Savitri's shoulder to make sure the young woman was paying attention. We need many more.

[glamourie]

He wasn't sure why he'd agreed to go to the candidate lessons, to be totally honest. It wasn't as though he had a lot of time. He needed to go over some of his plans... and... Shmee-proof them. It was utterly ridiculous that he had to plot against the Weyrwoman to accomplish the most simple of things, but Ka'rys had a total lack of faith in her, characterized by her excessive need to disagree with him on the most ridiculous of things. Although, she hadn't lately. In fact, he hadn't seen much of her at all lately. A normal individual might have taken that as a sign to worry and hunted her down to find out whether or not the Weyrwoman was okay; he'd heard.. whispers... of things. But Ka'rys wasn't normal and he was enjoying the peace. He'd likely suffer for it later on. Enjoy it while it lasted. Besides, he doubted Shmee wanted anything from him other than to walk off a cliff. So he settled for planning - planning and decidedly not bothering the Weyrwoman with anything. Which left his time filled by a lot of elaborate schemes, and then proceeding to poke holes into them. Problem was, he thought logically, and... she .. didn't.

Why, exactly, had he agreed to have what precious little free time he did have filled by people he probably would not like, rather than spend it doing something constructive, like sleeping?

Are you done sulking over impulse agreement?

Ciceroth's words startled Ka'rys and he actually jumped up from his furs. He'd been lying down, trying to 'nap' before the candidate lesson (he slept about two-hour shots at a time, never any more, often less), and caught up in thought. The fact that the bronze felt inclined to comment made him wonder just how long he'd been laying there. It wouldn't have been the first time that Ka'rys laid for an excessive amount of time lost in thought, losing track of everything around him. Ciceroth's job in their relationship was to keep him grounded in more ways than one.

He stood up and brushed his hair out of his face, then pulled on his boots. Ka'rys wasn't much for wearing shoes if he could help it, but if he was going out in public he could break his code. Once he was fully dressed, he stalked over to the edge of his weyr, where Ciceroth was curled up into the smallest ball possible that his large bronze bulk could accomplish.

"Is it time to go then?"
If you are still going. Here I was expecting you to have me tell them you feel sick.
"But I already agreed."
That has never stopped you before.
"When have I ever found an excuse to avoid something I agreed to?"

The bickering went on even as Ciceroth swept down to deposit Ka'rys outside the candidate barracks. Rather than stay, though, the bronze abruptly ended their argument by flying off again - back to his weyr, presumably to sleep. Ka'rys scowled as he left, then slipped, soundlessly, into the candidate barracks. Down the hall and into the classroom he went, before ambling over to one of the nearest walls. He didn't speak, though. Kemma had invited him. She'd call on him when she wanted him to talk.

[Ruby]

This was the second lesson- Raila no longer needed to make a good impression. NOW she could be fashionably late, just to enhance her coolness status. And fashionable she was- she spent the time she should have been spending getting ready for and going to lessons picking out what she would WEAR to lessons. Not that there were any boys there worth the effort- Mutasim was the only one, and every time Raila thought of him, she couldn't keep an ugly expression off her face. Stupid boy. And of course there was Zolten, but Raila already knew she didn't need to she didn't need to impress him. THAT thought changed her nasty face into a smug smile. Much better.

She finally decided on a pale yellow top and rather miniscule pair of shorts- it was still dreadfully hot out, after all. And she was going to lessons, not chores. She didn't need to be practical. Throwing a look at the pile on the bed, she decided against putting it away now, and headed downstairs to the classroom, in time to see a full-grown man vanish into the room in front of her. That was odd- maybe they had a guest speaker or something? There had been no indication of what this lesson was about, but who knew. It could be anything, here.

Imagine her surprise when she entered the room to see a small gold dragon taking up a bit of the classroom. And the man wore Weyrleader's knots. That must be Ka'rys. Had Raila been less used to the presence of rank, she would have stopped, mouth hanging open. What was the Weyrleader doing here? But she didn't, instead shooting Kemma a slightly questioning glance and took the desk next to Meira, leaning over to whisper "Hi!" and ignoring Zolten and the guests altogether.

[boober]

Aryna slumbered deeply, having made a wonderful little nest for herself out of her furs. The bed seemed almost to cradle her body, which was completely bare to the warm air. Her long ebony hair was spread across the bed, a few strands draped over her body. She was comfortable, sleeping peacefully, and didn’t intend to move anytime soon. Unfortunate that someone else had other plans. Mine. Mine, wake up. You will be late. The brown rider jerked at the voice of her dragon in her mind. Late? What? Instinctively, she flung her arm out across the furs, searching for the warm body that had been next to hers when she’d fallen asleep. Damn. She sat up and frowned, even though she hadn’t opened her eyes yet.

“What…? What’m I late for?” She began to slowly sink back down against the furs. She didn’t have a weyrling lesson to do today, so what was Dramuth on about?

Candidate lesson, Mine. You agreed to go.

Candidate lesson? Aryna’s sleep-fogged mind suddenly clicked into place and her eyes flew open as she sat bolt upright. “Candidate lesson!” Swearing vehemently, she bolted up out of the furs and hit the floor running. Her curses turned to include her brown, who merely watched lazily from his couch, vaguely amused as his rider flew about furiously, snatching various items of clothing from around the weyr. From a mound of the rumpled furs, Clover was watching sleepily, trilling quietly before settling back down with a yawn. She didn’t have to get up so why bother? Aryna was hopping across the room comically as she jerked one of her boots on. “Get up you lazy lump!” This was directed at Dramuth, who also yawned and stretched before rising gracefully and slithering onto the ledge. Aryna vaulted astride with hardly a pause and just that quickly they were airborne as the brown pushed off and glided down to land outside the candidate barracks.

Huffing as she tossed her unbound hair behind her shoulder, Aryna slid down to the ground, landing nimbly on her feet before bolting inside. It was unusual to see the brown rider with her hair completely unbound, but she’d late enough that she hadn’t even bothered hunting for anything to tie it back with. Blinking lazily, Dramuth slithered away from the barracks and simply curled up to nap while he waited for his rider to finish. Inside, Aryna slowed her pace as she straightened her rumpled clothes, smoothing them down against her skin before reaching up and gathering her hair back then releasing it in resignation. She had nothing to tie it back with so she might as well leave it alone. Shoulders back, chin up, she walked into the room as if she’d had every intention of arriving late. But it didn’t look like she was too terribly late; glancing at the room, it seemed quite empty.

Gray eyes flickered toward Savitri then to Ka’rys before the brown rider leaned back against a wall and yawned. Folding her arms and crossing her ankles, she proceeded to look bored/sleepy; clearly it wasn’t time for her to do anything yet. Looking at her now, no one would guess that just moments before the young woman had been frantically dashing about her weyr getting dressed.

[Ruby]

Kemma shot Raila a look, glancing out the window at the sun to note that the girl was at least five minutes late. If she kept this up, Kemma would have to give her a bit of a talk about how to not waste other people's time. The rest were there on time, though, except for Raen, who Mellith had just informed her would be taking a leave from lessons for a while. That was fine, but it meant an even smaller class. Oh well, hopefully they'd all get to know eachother better over the course of the next three lessons, and have a social circle all their own.

And Ka'rys was here- quite a triumph, Kemma thought, with a deferential nod for the Weyrleader. Savitri too, with her gold Hepaticath, and one of the Weyrlingmasters. Excellent. More might show during the course of the lesson, but that was just fine. She could get started.

Lesson 2 PART 1
"Hello Candidates, and welcome to our special guests today," she began, gesturing at Savitri, Aryna and Ka'rys as appropriate. "Please pull up a chair if you all would like one- I'm terribly sorry I didn't think to do it before hand, but the lesson should hopefully go fairly fast." She switched her attention back to the candidates, and went on. "As we're talking about ranks and responsibilities today, I asked some of the ranking members in the Weyr to come and say a bit about their jobs, and how they came to get them. We may have more people appearing over the course of the Lesson, so please try not to be too distracted. They'll all get a chance to speak.

"So, Ranks and Responsibilities. We're very lucky to have Weyrleader Ka'rys of Ciceroth with us today, although Weyrwoman Shmee of Aslath indicated that she could not come. Jr. Weyrwoman Kaegan of Millieth and Jr. Weyrleader R'non of Rath may or may not appear, but these are all important names to know. You should also commit to memory Gold Wherhandler Neirin of Neisk, who also may be coming. There are other important names, but those are the ones you should unquestionably know. They are the leaders of your Weyr, and if you fail to pay the proper respect to them, you are not only disrespecting them, you are disrespecting the Weyr as a whole.
We are also graced by the presence of one of the Weyr's Weyrlingmasters, Aryna of Brown Dramuth who you all may be training under in the future, and the newest Goldpair, Jr. Weyrling Savitri and Hepaticath.

"Unless you reach one of the top ranks, they are always above you and deserve the highest form of respect. Call them by their full title when introducing them, Dragon or Wher included, and call them either by their title or by Sir or Ma'am as appropriate. If they ask for something different, you should comply with their wishes. Basically, their word is law, and they usually have a good reason to ask what they are asking. Assume they do, and if you really want to know, ask your Weyrlingmaster or Wingleader, or me, about it later. We should be able to explain it.

"Beyond those ranks, which are gained mostly through the virtue of Impression or flight prowess, there are some that can be earned through merit. These are the ranks of Wingleader, Wingsecond, Weyrlingmaster, Weyrcrafter of various sorts, Searchrider, and, of course Candidatemaster. Wingleaders and Wingseconds are appointed by the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman, based partially on Dragon color and talent, and partially on ability. Usually Bronzes and Browns hold those positions, but other colors taking them is not unheard of if they are particularly talented and particularly senior. Weyrlingmaster, Searchrider and Candidatemaster posts are applied for, and selected out of that pool of applicants. Almost always, Candidatemasters and Weyrlingmasters ride the non-metallic colors, although once again, that is not universally true. Weyrcrafters are either Wingriders who rose to Journeyman level in their crafts prior to Impressing, or those who Impressed as Apprentices and went back for more training with the permission of their Wingleader, who usually routes it through the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman.

"Once again, all of these lesser ranks may be considered higher than you, if you are a Weyrling or Wingrider. They should be refered to by their whole title, although the dragon or wher name may be left off. If you gain one of these positions, you gain the privledge of calling lower riders by their names only, although that is usually only invoked within your own wing or among aquaintences. When addressing people of your own rank, either their full title or their name may be used, although usually simply the name is fine after the first meeting.

"Since we have guests today, I'll let them explain their own responsibilites, and then I'll cover whatever hasn't been covered, along with non-Riding ranks, in case some of you decide to withdraw from candidacy, or don't end up Impressing. Weyrleader Ka'rys will give us an overview of what he does as the Weyrleader, Weyrlingmaster Aryna will explain her role as Weyrlingmaster and how she decided to apply for the position, and Savitri and Hepaticath will let us know what it's like to deal with impending rank as a Weyrling. Which one of you would like to go first?"

((Candidates- You may react if you so desire, or wait until I put up Part 2.
Guests- If you aren't Savitri, Aryna or Ka'rys, feel free to jump right in, and give a quick explaination of what exactly you do. You may GM Kemma telling you to start, if you so desire.))

[reqqy]

It was Jabari who noticed Meira's staring, the brown's intrigued curiosity causing Mutasim to glance back at her. A brow rose mildly, his face neutral. What was she staring at? With a shrug, he turned his attention back to the Candidatemaster. If she wanted to stare, that was her prerogative, he supposed. Mutasim couldn't be bothered to try to determine the reason.

The candidate barely registered his two peers taking their own seats, other than to note where they were in the event that they decided to move threateningly. Neither one seemed the sort. That didn't really matter, though, as the worst threats were the ones that came from directions you wouldn't expect. Or from someone you'd placed some trust in. Speaking of evil...

He couldn't help but notice the sound of something much too large to be in this room moving through the door, the boy's eyes flicking over to the source - and lingering. Savitri. Couldn't say he was upset to see her - and that didn't wonder if her injuries were doing any better - however he was not expressly pleased to see the company she'd brought. The goldweyrling wanted him to meet Cath. Which meant that after this lesson, it would be a golden opportunity. That wasn't necessarily bad, but he hadn't expected it, which immediately made him uncomfortable. What was worse, though, was the possibility that Savitri would not be the only unexpected arrival.

He almost groaned to see his suspicions realized. Ka'rys. Mutasim knew the Weyrleader by sight. Handy thing to know, after all, being part of the Weyr. However, even if he hadn't, the bronzerider was clearly wearing his knots. If both Ka'rys and Savitri were here, that meant there would probably be more high-rankers filtering in. If the Weyrwoman came, he'd probably just get up and leave. It was better than flinging a knife at her to get her to shut up. Shmee was easily the biggest fool he'd ever heard of, and he certainly didn't want to give her the distinction of the biggest fool he'd ever met, too.

The next one to walk through the door - yes, Mutasim had given up trying to stare Kemma down out of morbid curiosity as to what torture was about to be heaped on him - was better than his worst fears. Not by much, though. He pointedly directed his gaze over her shoulder to see who would follow, ignoring the scantily-clad self-important creature from the abyss. Ah, one of the Weyrlingmasters. The one who was always scowling. It was odd, really, that Mutasim didn't think of her as the woman, but he didn't tend to think in terms of gender. Muta's hormones were in extreme repression, and likely to remain that way.

Finally, Kemma started. He forced himself to stop looking at the newcomers and pay attention. It was quickly becoming clear that this was to be one of his least favorite lessons. He hated listening to people who came into their power through a chance fluke, especially if they didn't seem to understand that it had nothing whatsoever to do with them. Mutasim wasn't exactly anti-authority, but he sure didn't hesitate to throw all such niceties out the window when it suited him. The candidate had no intention to rock the boat. He also had no intention to put himself in harm's way because some self-important fool got a brilliant idea. Besides, Mutasim couldn't stand idiots. Fatal flaw? Perhaps.

Just so long as Shmee didn't come, they should be all right. He figured it probably would be bad if he murdered the Weyrwoman in a fit of pique. Yes. That was - probably not the wisest thing he could do.