I Told You So (Avu, Open?)

[Ember]

Ferneth had absolutely no idea which apartment was hers. That was a bad thing, since he needed to know in order to congratulate Meira on Impressing a wher. Sometimes he wished the weyr had a map or something. Not that a map would help in his case unless it was specifically a map of the wherhandler apartments. He wondered if he should just knock at the frame of every apartment and ask if it was Meira's residence. Eventually he'd find her, unless she wasn't there at the moment.

He heaved a sigh. What would he say after 'congratulations' anyways? It had been nearly a month since she Bonded, and even longer since he last saw her. Part of that was him avoiding her after their...experience in the jungle, the other part was being busy with chores and other things. Ferny finally found some time to go see Meira and her wher a couple hours after he third meal of the day. Since whers were nocturnal the candidate figured if he wanted to see the wher without disturbing its sleep he ought to find a later time to do so.

Ferny finally decided to simply ask where Meira was. He knocked poiltely, and quietly, on the door frame of the nearest apartment. It may even have been the right doorframe, but who knew? It could be some random stranger with a vicious wher. He'd heard the hatching was a bit disturbed because of a violent blue and that their blue clutchmate was injured when it was force-hatched. Hopefully it wasn't the apartment of that wherling and their blue.

[Avu]

The worst thing about not having a double room was the fact that she didn’t have her own bath, but during Candidacy Meira had become quite used to this anyway. It was awkward, yes, and at first she’d made awkward attempts to conceal herself while being thorough and quick in her bathing, but later she’d relaxed although she still tended to avoid other people when they were bathing. So she had chosen a time when Meisk was sleeping, still recovering from his trauma at the Hatching, to go and bathe. At the time she had chosen, most wherhandlers were either asleep or busy, depending on whether or not they chose to follow their wher’s nocturnal habits or not, so returning from her bath, she was relatively fearless. Well, fearless enough to wrap a loose shift around herself instead of a normal robe or tunic, with a towel keeping her hair out of her face. She felt the wher stir into wakefulness, and a flash of images and feelings crossed her mind. According to Meisk’s images—the blue wher seemed to amuse himself by peeking out the window when it was dark enough for him to see and then projecting the images into her mind, a running commentary of what happened when to him—which was not much—the room was still pleasantly dark, and he itched, and he wanted her back.

So Meira had pulled herself out of the bath to come and oil Meisk. She did so very often, since he was scarred; the last thing she wanted were the scars pulling tight and possibly breaking the skin again. As she was on her way back, the hallways were not quite as deserted as usual. There was one person, knocking on a door. A small, amused smile crept over Meira’s lips before she realized exactly who it was. Ferneth. Oh. That made a large difference, no? As the sudden nervous confusion shot through her, Meisk responded with a questioning feeling, bordering on fear. Meira hastened to reassure the wher, and then another, wider smile flashed across her face as she remembered exactly where she was.

“So, is there any particular reason you’re knocking on the door of an empty room?” she queried, amused despite herself. This room, if she remembered correctly, was one of the half-constructed doubles for Weyrmates or friends to share, and, being half-constructed, it was, naturally, empty of all human life. Meisk sent her another violent wave of confusion, and want. He wanted to be with her, to see what frightened—not frightened—all right, amended the wher’s feeling, what made her so nervous. She wasn’t supposed to be nervous so close to her own room. Meira responded sharply, You should be asleep, and received a sulky rebelliousness on the other end of her link. I promise I’ll be all right, Meira said.

Still rebellious, Meisk showed himself lying down obediently, but his eyes, flashing shades of concern, did not close. Meira occupied herself studying Ferneth, her eyes rather surprised. She had been, admittedly, avoiding him slightly since the time in the jungle; although he was a nice friend and easy to talk to, it was much more awkward after…that. The thought of that made her feel alarmed again, suddenly aware of her…far from conservative…covering, and immediately Meisk was wary and anxious again. Calming Meisk quickly, Meira blinked, half-delighted and half-surprised by his appearance. It had been so long, over a month’s time, that they’d last seen each other, if her timing was correct.

[Ember]

The lack of any response at all from the room was a big hint. Even people asleep in the day would have been woken up by that...right? Who knew with wherhandlers though. Disappearing from day life to join their whers at night. It was a bit odd but a choice some people made. Some liked the night because it was quiet and most were asleep. The night belonged to the wherhandlers and their companions. He wondered if Meira would like being isolated, save for her wher and the other handlers. His answer may not be too long away.

Ferny started at the voice, unmistakably the voice of whom he seeked. He turned to her to speak but ended up staring at her with an open mouth, a blush spreading across his cheeks. She was all but naked! So he had seen it before, he was under the assumption that would be the last time he would. Now she was...Maybe a month hadn't quite been enough time. Still, Ferny said he'd come see her when she Impressed. He averted his eyes and spoke at last. "You guys really need to make a map for this place. I don't know who lives in which room," he said, his old joking voice back.

"So, umm, would you like to change? I'd like to see your wher and chat for a bit but if you'd rather I came back another time I can." This was one of those moments Ferny hoped wouldn't happen. Talk about awkward. Despite being greeted by Meira in such a way, he rather hoped that she wouldn't mind his company for a bit. He knew that a lot of people didn't really like whers compared to dragons but he doubted that would bother him with Meira's wher. It had Bonded with his friend after all. How could he not like it?

Truthfully, he was a little worried he wouldn't like the creature at all. What if it was unpleasant or ugly? Not that he thought Meira would attract a mean wher at all. He personally didn't find whers ugly either. Just different. One could say he found a little something to like in everyone or everything. Ferneth waited for a reply. He may not get to see her wher at all this day.

[Avu]

Okay. Judging by Ferneth’s reaction, seeing her in such an outfit had not been expected. But that was hardly Meira’s fault, was it? She hadn’t been expecting anyone, much less him, to be anywhere near the Wherhandler’s Apartments at this time of day—nobody had been around at this time the other few times she’d been bathing. And the shift wasn’t that exposing, was it? She was tempted to check, but decided to pretend she hadn’t seen the blush on Ferneth’s face. That wasn’t to say she wasn’t red herself. The awkward silence was a bit more than Meira could take and Meisk’s wave of confused fear, combined with the already nervous awkwardness, was almost enough to send her running back for her room.

A map? For the Apartments? Meira considered dubiously, although the color still hadn’t faded from her cheeks. “Well, you can suggest it to the Weyrleader if you run into him. You’re more likely to get lost here than anyone else. Most people who come here know their way around.” Which was true, as nobody else visited the Wherhandlers much. At least, not as far as she had seen. Of course Wherhandlers had their friends and company, but still, the place seemed pretty empty, even with all the new Wherlings scattered around the place. Her voice, however, was not scolding; rather, she was gently teasing, her pale eyes amused.

So he’d been there to see her? Oh, Faranth above, wasn’t it just her luck that she’d been caught with…well. All right. Meira bit her lip. “Meisk can keep you entertained if you’ll wait while I change,” she suggested wryly. There was privacy in the Apartment, after all, with a kind of hallway and then the actual room. She slid past him, moving along the hallway for a few steps, and then pushed the correct door open. “This would be my room,” she said, and moved inside, pushing open the second door. “Me—ouch, darling…” The chubby little blue wher had come barreling towards her in his anxiety, all but crashing into her legs as he radiated anxious concern to the world at large, his eyes whirling with uneasy shades. As he caught sight of Ferneth, he let out an apologetic chirp and tucked himself tighter still against Meira’s legs. “Come on, dear, Ferneth’s a friend. He’s not going to hurt you.”

She glanced apologetically at Ferneth, automatically lifting the assorted bandages and twitching his broken wing, critically examining it. “He’s really shy,” she was explaining in an absent mumble as she did so, “Because, you see, during the Hatching he was Force-Hatched and he was hurt, so…” She finished her inspection, rubbing Meisk’s pale blue hide, and then crouched next to him. “Stay here, okay, dear? I’ll be back in a second.” Meisk chirped wistfully, butting his head against her and tucking it under her arm, pressing himself against her. “No, you have to stay. Just for a few minutes. I’ll oil you right afterwards, I promise.” Her words were mumbled, for Meisk’s ears alone. The blue wher shot one more anxious glance at Ferneth and then reluctantly disengaged himself. Meira straightened, glancing at Ferneth. “Meisk will stay here, if you want to take the time to get acquainted with him,” she suggested. “I’ll let you in after I change.”

So saying, she pushed the door open and slid inside. Meira whimpered plaintively as she closed it again, and then turned his gaze on Ferneth warily, clearly expecting the boy to do something to either win or loose his trust.

[Ember]

Ferneth managed to pretend Meira was in less revealing clothing but the blush still didn't go away. He'd likely be blushing for a little bit. It was mostly his fault though. Each wherhandler had their own apartment so they had more privacy than candidates did. Most candidates wouldn't walk around the barracks in what she was wearing. He considered Meira very lucky that she had impressed to her wher. She didn't have to put up with sharing sleeping quarters, or as many chores...but most importantly she had a mindmate.

Ferny grinned as he heard her reply. "At least I know my way to your apartment now. I don't really need to know where anyone else lives," he commented, still amused. He was good at not getting lost...outside. Inside strange places it was actually common to find him wondering where to go. Since he'd never been to the wherhandler apartments it wasn't too surprising he was lost. Ferneth wouldn't get lost the next time he visited. Not unless Meira moved into a different room. Hopefully that wouldn't happen anytime soon.

He chuckled somewhat nervously at the idea of being left alone with Meisk, but he'd come to see both of them, hadn't he? He jumped slightly as a blue thing moved towards Meira, worried that the vicious blue had actually bonded to the girl. Ferny noticed that the wher wasn't doing her any harm though. Meisk seemed nervous about him. Ferneth noticed the bandages and it dawned on him. Meisk was not the vicious blue at all. There were only two from Neisk's clutch. which meant this blue was the one that had been force-hatched. Poor dear. No wonder he seemed so shy, as Meira quickly confirmed he was.

"I'd heard about that incident. Not the most pleasant way to enter the world," he commented, already disliking the blue that had attacked the poor creature. He looked over Meisk. While he couldn't say that he found the wher pretty, he couldn't find it disgusting either. Meira spoke again so he glanced at her. "Alright." What else was he to say? He looked at the wher again. They were interesting creatures up close. Not as magnificent as dragons but he could see why they would appeal to others. He crouched down and tentatively offered his hand, palm up, to the wher. Perhaps it was a bit like a canine and would sniff him? Ferneth didn't really know but was willing to try.

[Avu]

While she changed as hurriedly as she could while still keeping her damp hair out of the way, Meira sent a question towards Meisk, who reluctantly replied with approval. Ferneth wasn’t being rude or anything…a small smile curved Meira’s lips in amusement. The blue wher seemed to dislike being too accepting of anybody except Meira. The door wasn’t a thick one, so she felt obliged to answer back to Ferneth as he commented on the Hatching. “Mm, no. I had to run to the Infirmary right afterwards…” Her right hand twitched as she recalled the pain of the knife. Apparently cutting her palm open in haste had not been a good idea…

Meisk, meanwhile, regarded Ferneth solemnly for a little bit, and then inched forward cautiously until he could sniff Ferneth’s fingertips, and then, opening his mouth, his tongue forked out and licked the palm of the Candidate’s hand in approval. He could stay with Meira. He was fine…until he did anything wrong…then he would be out. The pale blue wher raised his head, glancing back at the closed door, and chirped wistfully. I’m coming, darling. Wait a second. The question of her hair was irritating Meira. She ended up pulling it into a runner tail, and, after a quick glance around her room to make sure that nothing was out of place—it was rather cluttered with healing things for Meisk, but that was all right—she opened the door again.

“All right, come in,” she suggested, as Meisk shot into the safe darkness as fast as his legs would carry him, pulling himself onto her bed—he seemed to like lying there, if not sleeping there—and curling up, eyes fixed on Ferneth. Meira sat down next to him, absently stroking his head, and then said, “So, what’s been going on lately? I haven’t been going out of the Apartments much…” Which was true. Meisk had been terribly clingy the first few days, and she honestly couldn’t blame the poor dear. And then, adjusting herself to his schedule had been much easier if she was near him, since he could always wake her if she got too sleepy. Tending his wounds, oiling him, feeding and oiling Zesa, and otherwise training both fire lizard and wher had taken a good deal of time out of socialization time as well, but by Meira’s reckoning that was just fine.

[Ember]

Ferneth kept his gaze on Meisk as his friend answered from inside. He felt sympathy for the creature, injured at birth and no doubt wary of the other blue now. "I'm happy for both your sakes that he seems better now than at the hatching," he said, raising his voice enough so that she could hear him. Meisk had certainly had the time to heal between his hatching and Ferny's visit though. He still felt bad about not even watching the hatching. Wasn't it past curfew though? He doubted in that case Kemma would mind.

He looked back at the wherlet as he sniffed Ferneth's hand. He chuckled when the blue licked his hand. "Nice to meet you too, Meisk," he said quietly. He was glad their first meeting was pleasant. If the wher disliked him he imagined his hand would be feeling it. He glanced up at Meira when the door opened again, smiling when he saw her. The wher in front of him darted into her room and stood up, no longer looking up to see Meira. His height often did amuse him. There were a lot of people he didn't have to physically look up to.

Ferneth entered the room and looked around. It was a nice place for one person and a wher to live comfortably he decided. He leaned against a wall and noticed the various healing items. At her question he looked at her and grinned. "Oh, the same old thing. More chores, more talk of the firelizard clutch. I saw Mutasim again too." He patted the sheath with the knife in it on his left hip. It was easy to draw the blade from there and he was a quick learner, so his skills were steadily improving. So was his endurance. "What's the wherling life like? I did tell you that you'd Impress."

[Avu]

((I’m assuming this is after the fire lizard Hatching, as in it you mentioned Ferny wasn’t ready to face Meira yet, yes? [Plus, I want to play Zesa] I don’t know if this is after the ‘mandyr Hatching or not…so if you want to play Ferny’s ‘mandyr, you can go ahead?))

He was polite…that was odd. Meisk blinked at Ferneth, although he didn’t complain. The chubby little wher didn’t have much politeness aimed his way, after all, what with Derrisk on the warpath, and Zesa scolding him if he was too loud. Meira was always more affectionate than polite—yes. Polite was new. Meisk curled himself up in the blankets, his eyes blue and green. He actually perhaps liked this boy a little. He hadn’t been at the Hatching that Meisk could recall, and that was where the bad memories had taken root. He didn’t like those people.

Meira continued her absent stroking, listening as Ferneth spoke. “Chores, yes…” She paused, tilting her head to one side. “I thought most of your lesson rotation Impressed at the wher Hatching—aren’t you the only one in there now? How does that work out?” She only knew the people in Ferny’s lesson rotation because they’d been posted at the same place as her own when she was a Candidate, which of course she had to look at. At the mention of the fire lizard clutch, she smiled—almost guiltily. She hadn’t truly meant to Impress the queen; she felt rather bad that she had and Ferneth hadn’t Impressed. After all, she had Meisk and hadn’t wanted a fire lizard so badly, while he didn’t have a wher or dragon—and he had wanted a fire lizard. The tiny queen was currently out somewhere, frolicking near the river as was her wont to do. “I saw you there,” she recalled. “What did you think of them?” ‘Them’ meant the fire lizards, which she hoped he realized.

So he’d taken her advice? Meira had been half-joking when she’d suggested it. Seeing as there were no gaping holes in him anywhere, though, it seemed to be a good thing that she had suggested it. “Really? He gave you the knife?” She paused, studying him briefly, and then asked, “Do you know how to use it?” A knife was rather useless if it just hang there for show, after all.

“Wherling life…? Oh, tiring. Perhaps it’s just me, though,” she added contemplatively. “I mean, taking care of Meisk takes a while. I don’t know if the chores have been set up yet; Ellanie—our Wherlingmaster—hasn’t mentioned it. We still have lessons. So far it’s pretty basic, like avoiding light and heat…to adjust our schedules…that sort of thing.” Since she did have Zesa to consider, too, though, she was averaging about six hours of sleep a day—not particularly fulfilling. She grinned gratefully. “I’m glad you thought so, but I wasn’t so sure.” If Neirin hadn’t called her to help Meisk, she doubted that the wher would have been able to Bond, seeing as he could barely walk.

Meisk gave a sudden chirp, and Meira glanced around as a softer, higher voice answered the wher. Zesa’s bright golden form had appeared out of between. The small queen fluted at Ferneth, looping around the bed and landing carefully on the boy’s shoulder, her head tilted so her multi-faceted eyes could better study him. Meira blinked. “I thought you’d said you were going to the river,” she said blankly to Zesa, who blinked at her and cheeped apologetically. “Ah. Zesa got curious as to who I was talking to and came to look. I hope you don’t mind being a perch?”

[Ember]

Ferneth grinned somewhat, remembering the people in his rotation. He shrugged before answering. "Kemma said she would probably move some others to my rotation. There were a couple of rotationless people at the lesson who she'll probably move. Who knows. Maybe I'll be in my own rotation." The last part was spoken jokingly of course. The idea was interesting but lonely. He wouldn't mind it overly much but having someone to compare notes with, so to speak, is always a good thing.

The topic of firelizards was a little sore but it wasn't fair to avoid it. Meira had gotten the lovely - and curiously absent - little queen. He wondered what to say on the matter and decided a generic statement was best. "They are so very much like dragons. And cute too," he said, avoiding the fact that he'd seen her there. "So I guess I liked them. Not like I haven't seen them about before." He managed a convincing smile. Ferneth was still happy for her that she'd managed to Impress one - and a wher too! He chuckle at a memory and asked, "So are two hatchlings as hard to look after as you thought?"

It had been a very nice experience to learn from Mutasim. He could hardly be unhappy with what he'd received. Ferny was amused by her reaction. "Oh yes. Said he wouldn't need it until he grew a third hand. I thought of asking for some training too, so I do know how to use it now." He would demonstrate but he wasn't that good yet, plus he didn't want to unsettle her wher. If they were anything like dragons he was certain that blue would not be afraid to attack him if he thought Meira was in danger.

He listened with a lot of interest. He couldn't imagine becoming part of the nocturnal world, but he supposed it suited some people. Ferny just thought it was weird to live in the shadows of night. "A reprieve from chores must be nice, minus those you have to do for Meisk, right?" Again, he didn't mind that much. The type of 'chores' she seemed to have right now were done for her wher. That must be kind of nice in its own way. "Well, you guys are together now."

A sudden figure popped into existence within the room. He recognized the young gold from the clutch he failed to Impress at. Ferneth watched her with some trouble - she was fast! - before she landed on his shoulder. He regarded her curiously, eyes flicking to Meira for a moment as she spoke. "No, I don't mind." So he said. Yet he still felt a bit bitter that he hadn't gotten one though. He reached up with one hand, offering a caress to the beautiful creature on him.

[Avu]

Ah, that made sense. Meira hadn’t thought the Candidatemaster would one person in a rotation all alone. For one, it was a waste of time when she could just as easily teach four or five, and she wasn’t as cruel as to simply single out one person, limiting their socialization time with the others. “Well, you’ll get to meet other Candidates—that’ll always be good,” she pointed out, and then a small smile quirked one side of her mouth. “Of course, the first few lessons will be boring for you, since you’ve already had them where they haven’t…” But a repeat was always good, wasn’t it? It was easier for people, mostly younger children (but she figured it applied to everyone else, too), to learn by repeating—it was how they’d learned the Teaching Songs, after all, wasn’t it? And learned how to do things? You couldn’t expect someone to learn something accurately in one sitting.

“They’ve got appetites fit for dragons,” Meira commented dryly, as he mentioned the likeness of fire lizards to their larger cousins. “I can’t believe how much food one little hatchling can stuff down, while still eating as daintily as a Lady Holder.” She rolled her eyes, grinning slightly. It wasn’t an exaggeration—Zesa had managed to steadily eat her way through a bowl of meat a day, all the while making a great show of picking the best bits first, nibbling instead of gobbling. Surely not all fire lizards ate like that? Her grin softened into a smile as she watched him, a bit anxiously. “If you still want one,” she began, hesitating, “When Zesa clutches—I mean, I’ll probably have to open the Hatching for everybody to be able to come—but I can see what I can do about getting you an egg.” It would be a large egg, too. She thought a bronze or gold fire lizard could suit Ferneth quite well.

Hard to look after? The smile flicked into a slightly crooked grin as the memory returned. “Not really. I mean, Meisk is nocturnal and Zesa isn’t…” Which partially explained her exhaustion of late. “And so, there’s usually only one awake at a time, and both of them are pretty good about not being too demanding.” Of course, Meisk couldn’t help it that he was hurt and needed the attention, not the mention both of them needed to be oiled daily, but that was a small price to pay. “Right now, they’re only both awake because Zesa’s been trying to stay awake when Meisk is.” She rolled her eyes. “It’s not working out really well, unfortunately for her.” The queen was mostly trying to teach Meisk the call the Night Watch used, the chuffing call of a whersport followed by a howl, which she had perfected in her sweet soprano tones, but Meisk was too shy to try.

“If he does decide to grow a third hand, I think he’ll be a little too concerned with getting it cut off to get his knife back, truth be told,” Meira answered, raising her eyebrow in slight surprise. If Mutasim felt enough at home with Ferneth to joke about that, that was good, wasn’t it? “Do you qualify him as a friend now, or is he still an enemy?” she added, to clarify. It would be much easier if the three people she did think of as friends didn’t have the urge to kill each other on sight. Raila and Mutasim seemed to have something against each other, although what it was Meira didn’t exactly know. When Mutasim had seen Raila, if she recalled rightly, his face had immediately lost all emotion, and Raila had pointedly avoided Meira when she’d been talking to Mutasim. So. Definitely some aggression there. It would work out so much better if at least Ferneth and Mutasim got along, yes?

“Oh, it’s really nice,” Meira agreed, grinning more widely. “I’m just avoiding the Headwoman in case she decides to pin even more chores on me.” That would not be very good at all. “My chores for Meisk aren’t bad—oil, bathe, feed, and check his wounds. It’s the dragonhealers that really do most of it. Oh, yes, and there’s the Night Watch. Uu’n and Adith—you know, the photophobic blue and his Rider?—they organized it. Wherlings aren’t technically part of it yet, but Zesa, Meisk, and I all go to watch. It still doesn’t add up to much, though.” Which was true—all she had to do was take care of her own hand, which she’d had to slit open for Meisk to blood, and check for infection in Meisk’s wounds, and all would be good. Oh, and avoid Derrisk. Together. The word made her smile thoughtfully, her mind still lingering on the other blue wher and his Handler. “Hmm, yes—it’s nice,” she agreed. “For me it is, at least…for some of the others, I’m not so sure…like, Derrisk’s the blue wher that force-Hatched Meisk”—a corrosive shudder ran the length of the wher’s body and his muscles tightened—“and he completely controls Derrin.” She grimaced slightly. Poor Derrin; it couldn’t be too great being Bonded to a homicidal wher.

Zesa was returning the curious look from Ferneth quite openly, her eyes whirling. Meisk wasn’t afraid of him? That was a new one. If even the shy, paranoid wher wasn’t afraid, she had no reason to be! The young queen hummed approvingly at him, flicking her tail around his neck to make sure she didn’t fall, carefully curling her talons under her to make sure she didn’t scratch Ferneth. As he reached up to caress her, Zesa sniffed his hand and then rubbed her head along it, the first set of lids closing translucently as she thrummed, this time in pleasure. “At least now you know Zesa and Meisk both approve of you,” Meira said lightly.

[Ember]

Ferneth kind of wished the others were back in the class. At least he knew a couple of them by name. Meira was right though. He'd be able to meet others and that was always good. Still, he would much rather be able to get to know the people he knew better before meeting new ones. He sighed a bit wistfully. "There's not really a lot of time to get to know people during lessons, but at least it puts us in the same room, huh?" He grimaced at the idea of repeating a lesson. "I don't know if she'll restart the rotation on the first lesson. My rotation only actually did one before the wher hatching," he explained with some amusement. The poor people who didn't know a whole lot about the weyr before Impressing...

He chuckled at her description of firelizard eating habits. He figured that's the way her gold - Zesa, she had called her - ate food. He shot another glance at the little queen on his shoulder, glad that she seemed friendly. Meira spoke again, hesitatingly at first, but he appreciated the offer. His bitterness evaporated - although the disappointment hadn't - and he smiled thankfully. "I would still like one, but I don't think I could take advantage of our friendship that way," Ferny commented. "If, by the time she clutches, I still want one I want everyone to have equal chance to Impress one." He knew the sting of being looked over so he didn't want any special treatment.

"That's kind of handy, I suppose." There were undoubtedly times, just like now, that both were awake but neither needed attention. "Right now neither seem to need oiling or anything, but I'm no real judge," he said with a smile. He found it amusing that a firelizard would try so hard to be with a wher. It was really cute. H frowned suddenly, a curious question bugging him. "So is midday like the middle of the night for you and Meisk now?" If so his arrival was very early morning to her. He hated being woken up early but it seemed like she'd been awake before he got there...It was kind of weird to think of being awake at night and going to sleep during the day.

Ferneth chuckled at the hand comment. "Well said. I'd probably ru to the infirmary to have it removed as fast as I could." He sobered quickly enough at the question. He was a bit unsure of the answer himself...Well, not entirely so. Mutasim wasn't an enemy, but a friend? He considered it carefully and decided that he didn't consider Mutasim a friend. "While he's not an enemy I don't yet think of him as a friend. A friendly acquaintance perhaps." The only on he fully considered a friend in the weyr was Meira. He didn't mention that, of course, but that's the way he felt.

Oh no! The dreaded Headwoman. Meira's grin was infectious. "Hmm, I dare say she knows my name now. At least, I seem to be getting more errands and chores than before. Maybe speeding off to the firelizard hatching in the middle of kitchen duty wasn't such a smart idea," was the amused reply. He kept the laughter from coming to being as he listened curiously. Night Watch? Sounded interesting. He ahhed in recollection. Yes, he knew of the blue dragon and his rider. He envied her the easy life, as he viewed it. As she spoke of Derrisk he noticed Meisk's reaction and sympathized with him. Kind of how he'd felt about Mutasim...just not so openly. "I met Derrin once or twice. He seemed nice enough. Too bad he got such a mean wher. I doubt he'll have such an easy time of things."

Ferneth grinned as the queen on his shoulder accepted the caress. Such a little darling. He was really glad that Meisk and Zesa did approve. He didn't want to have to give up seeing his friend. Good to know they could share. "I was hoping so." A thought crossed his mind and he smiled. "Blossom Hold will be having a Gather, you know. Will you be attending?" Ferny looked forward to a Gather. They were always interesting and loads of fun. Although...his family may decide to go. The idea made him grimace slightly. That would be uncomfortable, to say the least.

[Avu]

Judging by the wistfulness in Ferneth’s sigh, Meira guessed that he hadn’t really liked having so many people rotate out of his lesson. Vaguely, she wondered how her own lesson rotation was getting on. Now there were just Mutasim and Raila, and…that other boy. Zolten. She’d only spoken to him once before, when they’d had to get Mutasim with his broken foot to the lesson—he seemed all right. Either way, she doubted lessons were incredibly enjoyable, what with Mutasim and Raila’s antagonism. But there were only four lessons; she’d stayed up to the third—so the next lesson should be their last, right? “I’m sure you’ll get time to socialize,” she assured him, a slightly amused note in her voice. “Before everyone gets there you could talk to whoever is there…as long as you’re not last to arrive.” One eyebrow rose questioningly. “Are you usually last to show up?”

Meira waited, slightly anxious, for his reply to her offer. Hopefully he wouldn’t take it the wrong way…surely Zesa wouldn’t mind giving up just one egg from her clutch? When greens clutched, their owners probably got rid of all of their eggs, or at least most of them, or the Weyr would be swimming in green fire lizards—so a queen, especially a sweet, quiet one like Zesa—shouldn’t mind giving up just one egg, right? His answer was rather unexpected, but Meira nodded quietly. That she could accept. She didn’t want people to get on her case about favoritism and start trying to make friends with her just for an egg, after all, but it seemed right to offer, at least. A flash of thought crossed her mind: Raila. Raila had been at Darling’s clutch when it Hatched…and she’d left, hadn’t she? Meira had gotten there late; she’d only just seen the girl leaving. “Hey, you were there for the entire Hatching, weren’t you?” she asked. “D’you know Raila? She left halfway or so through the Hatching; did you see why?” Did she decide she didn’t like fire lizards or something? It was a rather alarming thought.

An affectionate smile crossed Meira’s face as she glanced from Meisk to Zesa. “I was going to oil Meisk, but he doesn’t really need it—and Zesa likes to wander around by herself—she’d been down by the river, so she’d probably bathed herself there.” She tilted her head, considering his question. Midnight wasn’t midday for her…not normally. “Well, not really…I get up around seven candlemarks after noon, when Zesa’s still awake—she’s usually exploring the Weyr while I’m sleeping, so she comes back around then…and I sleep at noon. If I’m lucky.” A wry grin crossed her face. “Normally I don’t get to sleep until a candlemark past noon. I mean, I tried to get up at midnight and go to sleep at noon, and spend half the time with Zesa and half with Meisk, but…I don’t really know, I just like to stay up with them as long as I can.” She considered and the wry expression grew even more pronounced. “That sounds pretty dumb, doesn’t it?”

Wasn’t he sure if Mutasim qualified as a friend? Meira blinked anxiously at his pause, as if considering it…turning it over in his head…that surely wasn’t a good sign. Or perhaps he was just trying to see it from Mutasim’s view? Of course, she thought absently, a tutor at fighting didn’t necessarily have to be your friend…but it’d sure give them more incentive not to take their anger out on you if they were. Friendly acquaintance? Meira hesitated. She could deal with that, surely? …yes. Yes, she was fairly certain that was as good as it was going to get for time being, after what apparently had been a disastrous first meeting. “Fair enough,” she agreed. “So—his teaching you. How does he do that? Like, does he have you beat up a tree or something?” If what Mutasim had said about his knife prowess was true, he’d either have to do that or go easy on Ferneth…even in the Records Room, which had a certain way of mellowing everything, he’d looked formidable.

So he’d skipped out on chores to attend the fire lizard Hatching? “That probably wasn’t the brightest idea anyone’s had…” Did the Headwoman know his name, though? She probably had to, when she looked at the chores lists to find out who she had when…“It’s probably her way of getting revenge,” Meira said, mock-solemnity in her voice. “You know—you ditch her, she gets you back by loading you with chores.” She grinned. “Have you cleaned chamberpots yet? That has to be the one chore I never got, and I’m glad I didn’t.” Oh, yes, she felt absolutely horrible for any of the Candidates who did have to do that—and somebody certainly did when they had General Weyr Service. Derrin, nice? Meira turned from her thoughts to hear his opinion on the boy. Her interpretation of Derrin had been one of a childish, naïve sweetness, completely in love with his wher. “He’s really sweet,” she said. “Derrisk…eh. Well, anyway, he said he’d talk to the Wherlingmaster about what he can do to control Derrisk.”

Zesa was very, very happy that this boy was stroking her. The young queen rustled her wings approvingly, a low hum starting in her throat as she tilted her head so that just the right spot on her neck would be rubbed. It felt good. She fluted in thanks as she lightly looped her tail around his throat, balancing herself again, and removed her head from his finger, instead rubbing her triangular head against his jawbone. She liked this person…he was nice, like Hers was. Meira was watching Zesa, her eyes amused, but her gaze returned to Ferneth when he spoke. A Gather? At Blossom Hold…Blossom Hold had the reputation of being such a nice Hold. “I’ll probably go just to look around, but I haven’t got any marks.” She grinned wryly. “They don’t really pay you for being a Candidate, and while some Riders may give out marks for running errands, nobody I’ve met has yet. But I think I’ll go. You?”

[Ember]

Ferneth was glad there were only four. They didn't take up too much time and it was better to know what the candidatemaster taught before Impressing but they made him feel like a young child again, just learning his Teaching Ballads. He looked questioningly at Meira as she spoke. That was true. "Yeah. I did that a little bit before the first lesson." He remembered not getting much of a response at all. "There's also after the lesson to chat too," he added hopefully. The young man chuckled and shook his head. "No, not usually the last. Last time I was first I think." Just as soon as enough people were there Kemma had started the lesson though.

Ferneth's smile remained as he saw her quietly accept what he'd said. With a queen firelizard some people might just become friends with her so that she would make the same offer to them. If he knew of that happening he'd make sure to stop it, but he couldn't very well do so if he'd been promised an egg. She was probably safer than most, being a wherhandler and not often seen about with the queen. Ferny blinked when his thoughts were interrupted by Meira addressing him before nodding slowly. Raila? He didn't know many people by name, but there had been a girl that left early. "I remember her," he said disapprovingly. "She tried to touch the eggs. C'lryn quickly interfered and she left in a huff." He snorted in derision. You didn't do that with the eggs of someone else's firelizard. Dragons yes, but not firelizards.

He was interested to find out that Zesa wandered around on her own. Well, if she woke up earlier than Meira it made sense. It must be a bit weird to have a diurnal and nocturnal creature to look after. "Well let Zesa know if she gets bored during the day before you wake up she's welcome to visit me," he said half jokingly. He grinned at the explanation of her timetable. If he'd been closer he would have gently bopped her on the head to illustrate his opinion but he wasn't so he settled for words alone. "A bit," he admitted with amusement. "But it's nice to do for both their sakes, just remember not to stretch yourself too thin."

Ferny looked back on the time near the river with Mutasim. Yes, nearing the end the meeting had soured. Hardly friend like. He nodded in relief that she thought that much progress was good. The she asked about his lesson and grinned. "No, I think the trees are safe from me. He gets me to slash at him in slow motion. He would also slash at me and tell me how to dodge." Ferneth realized all too well that Mutasim could have easily taken that moment to injure him. That made him trust the boy's judgment, if not the candidate himself. "It was interesting and I've been practicing on my own since then."

Ferneth grinned sheepishly. "Well, I didn't exactly skip out. The Headwoman knew and did let me leave, so long as I came right back after. Maybe she thought I didn't go to the hatching because I came back alone?" Either way she was being harder on him than usual. He grimaced at the mere mention of chamber pots. "Not yet. I'm pretty sure I'll get that one soon though." He listened to what she thought of Derrin, feeling sorry again that the man he'd briefly met was bonded to such a horrible wher. "Hopefully something can be done about Derrisk. I can't imagine what it must be like to be the mindmate of such a terror..."

Ferneth chuckled softly at the firelizards thrumming in his ear. He felt the smooth tail around his neck as she started to rub against his jawbone instead of his finger. He dropped his hand and looked at Meira, waiting for her reply. He was lad to hear she was going. He grinned at the marks comment. He had none either but he was just as glad to go for the fun of it. "You'll see me there if you go. Most definitely. I have no marks to spend either, but the music and the dancing is always good," he told her, eyes sparking in excitement for the future fun to be had at Blossom Hold. The sights and sounds of a Gather were always bright and cheerful. Hopefully the north wouldn't decide to crash the party on them.

[Avu]

Meira, too, was thinking absently about lessons—not Candidate lessons, though; Wherling lessons. They were still pretty basic so far—things that she already had known—so she had been trying to get Meisk to interact better with the other whers, gradually shifting their position closer from their original place on the outskirts of the others, but the blue wher had been so terrified of getting closer to Derrisk that he’d nearly knocked her over trying to get closer to her. “After lessons most people bolt, just in case the Candidatemaster decides to assign them chores, though,” she pointed out wryly. He’d been first getting there? Oh, that was good…if she remembered correctly, she hadn’t been last in any of her lessons either…although when Mutasim had been injured, technically they’d all come in together. “Hmm—yeah, your rotation got the lesson on ranking in the Weyr, didn’t they? It didn’t go so well for our rotation; Kemma got the Weyrleader and Savitri to come in and talk…yours?” She raised her eyebrows questioningly.

Meisk had stretched out in the bed, his head in Meira’s lap, as she absently stroked him; now, he tilted his head, studying Zesa and Ferneth anxiously. No, he isn’t hurting her—see? She likes it, Meira told the wher solemnly, and Meisk chirruped at Ferneth, sounding rather as if he were deeming it appropriate that Ferneth be allowed inside. Meira rubbed him back into a somnolent state of relaxation, although the disapproving tone in which Ferneth spoke made her blink. Had Raila really done anything—? Oh. Touched the eggs? While they were Hatching? Well. That was just lovely, wasn’t it? She didn’t blame C’lryn—at least Darling hadn’t attacked the girl, yes? But Raila had been her first friend in the Weyr—she’d met C’lryn and Savitri before Raila, and liked them, but she didn’t really count them as close as Raila was—and she bit her lip, wondering whether or not she ought to defend Raila. But Shardit, she ought to have known not to touch the eggs…“Hmm…weren’t the eggs on a shelf? I couldn’t see them all,” she recalled. “They were too high up…could she reach them, or did she just—stretch towards them?” She wasn’t exactly sure why it mattered, but still, Raila was a friend. Of sorts.

She grinned at his offer of companionship for Zesa. “Don’t worry about her,” Meira responded. “I’m sure she’ll hunt you out now that she’s met you, but she’s got a kid in the kitchens she’s latched onto—a girl, seven Turns or so. She gets fed and pampered by her while I’m not around. She’s completely fascinated by Zesa.” She rolled her eyes, a grin twitching the corner of her mouth. Zesa was actually quite fond of the girl—whose name she didn’t know—enough so that her face appeared in the images that Zesa reported to Meira often—although Zesa still looked delicate enough to be breakable; the girl didn’t dare touch her more than the lightest stroke. But she got good food, yes? “She probably terrorizes the cooks…insatiable appetite.” She spent only a half candlemark or so with the girl before streaking off to chat with the other fire lizards, though, or explore the river. The first few days, Meira had been worried for the young queen’s safety, but she’d become accustomed to her independent streak. Meira grinned, deigning to look slightly chagrined, at Ferneth’s comment. “Zesa’s doing her best to stay awake at night—who knows? Maybe she can become nocturnal and I won’t have to get up during the day.”

They used each other to fight on? Well, Meira supposed that was better than a lifeless tree, but…a bit extreme. One mistake…but there hadn’t been a mistake, so there was no use fretting about it. At least Ferneth knew that Mutasim didn’t want to kill him now…that was good. Yes. “So if Benden or Fort attacks, you think you can stand a chance?” she asked wryly. It would take much, much practice to get to that level, of course…even she, having spent part of her life at Benden Weyr, wasn’t confident in her skills—not enough to stay there, anyway. “Wait, though,” she added, “Are you going to keep practicing by yourself, or is Mutasim like, your private tutor, now?” She remembered vaguely his offer to teach her self-defense; had he carried that over to Ferneth?

Wait, he’d gotten permission to leave, and the Headwoman still didn’t like him? Well. “At least she let you go at all?” she offered; it came out more as a question than a statement. His explanation was slightly confusing. “Minoath did speak to everyone,” she said, “When he called that the eggs were Hatching—and, you know. I mean, she would’ve heard it too; where else would you go?” She clicked her tongue sympathetically. “Well, good luck avoiding her…just pray that you transfer out of Kitchen chores and she’ll be off your case, although Archive Duty isn’t much fun either.” She nodded silently as he spoke of Derrin and Derrisk, although, now that she thought about it, Derrisk probably wasn’t so cruel to Derrin himself—he just really hurt the man’s socialization. Derrisk had really cared about Derrin, hadn’t he…? “Derrisk is nice enough to Derrin—he just doesn’t listen to what he says and apparently has the desire to annihilate anything that might threaten His.” She shrugged. “I guess it’s nice to have a permanent protector, although rather stressful.”

Zesa had fallen silent and showed every intent of staying comfortably on Ferneth’s shoulder, but Meisk, apparently, wanted the queen’s attention too. The golden thing was His’ pet; he liked her very much. He half-raised his head, beckoning her over with a chirp, and Zesa hummed softly at Ferneth before gliding to the bed and to Meira, looping the girl before landing carefully on her shoulder, her tail going around Meira’s throat as she leaned her head down to blink at Meisk. Meira left off stroking Meisk to rub Zesa, smiling at the idea of a Gather. Gathers were always such fun…even up North, if you knew the right place to go and when, Gathers could be quite amusing. “If I can’t find you, I’ll just get Zesa to. I haven’t been to a Southern Gather yet—should be interesting.” Dancing and music…hmm, yes. There had never been time (nor the will) to learn to dance…it would be fun to watch, though. “Have you ever been to Blossom Hold? They have a Dolphin Hall there, don’t they?”

[Ember]

Ferneth made a thoughtful sound when Meira mentioned bolting. He only ever bolted away from the Headwoman in fear of chores, although he could understand why others would. He as a little puzzled by her question though. His reply was slow and a bit tentative. He hadn't missed one, right? "No, I don't think we have. I'm pretty sure the next lesson is on ranking but Kemma hasn't even sorted out my rotation yet." He thought it over in his mind. He always looked for the message indicating a new lesson and he hadn't seen it yet. He managed to listen to Meira again and grinned. "If it didn't go well for your group I doubt Kemma will do that again," Ferny added in reply.

He watched with amusement as the blue wher seemed to relax, the sound he made doing much to reassure Ferneth that he wouldn't be attacked. The conversation about Raila's actions during the hatching turned his attention away from Meisk again though. He frowned slightly at the memory. Okay, so she hadn't exactly touched them, but she still invaded the queen's space. It was like walking uninvited onto the Sands when a gold's clutch was there. You just didn't do that to a clutchmother. He sighed, reluctant, before replying. "She just stretched towards them...You have to admit that she shouldn't have though. Darling certainly didn't like it." He was very obviously on C'lryn and Darling's side of things. He didn't know Raila personally so that also changed things. Perhaps if he was friends with Raila, like Meira was, then he wouldn't be so critical of her.

Ferneth chuckled at the story about the seven Turn old. "That's a good thing, for both Zesa and the little girl. If you really want to offer an egg to someone, that little girl is way more worthy of it," he said teasingly, winking to indicate this. He tried to imagine a young girl and the gold in the kitchens, terrorizing them as Meira put it. "I'm surprised I haven't seen her then. I seem to be put on kitchen duty a lot. Despite the proximity to the Headwoman I find working in the kitchens the best job around the weyr." He could have seen her but not noticed because he was busy. That would make sense. He smiled slightly at the thought of a nocturnal firelizard. "Oh dear, the whole weyr'll be up in the night to get a firelizard when she clutches. Or not? Meisk can't broadcast to all the same way a dragon can...Or can he?" Ferny questioned. "I suppose she's got some growing up to do first, huh? Do you know if any other wherhandlers Impressed a firelizard at Zesa's Hatching?"

Ferny suppressed a self-deprecating laugh. A chuckle escaped him instead. The question was a little absurd but meant sarcastically, or so he assumed. "Stand a chance...no. I certainly could be a distraction though. I do intend to get better. This weyr needs a bit more in the way of defense when Benden or Fort attack," he said, solemn by the end of it. He was surprised at the mention of more lessons. The time with Mutasim was interesting but he oughtn't push his luck by asking for another tutoring so soon. "For now I'll practice on my own and get better. Once I have a really good grip on the basics I may ask for more help from Mutasim again. I shouldn't bother him too much, as this is my task, duty, what have you."

He shrugged indifferently. "She did and I did go straight back, so I don't see why she got all weird about it. Or maybe she's giving me more chores because I'm dependable," he said, considering that possibility too. "Maybe she thought I went and did things in the forest." He grinned mischievously as he said it. It was obvious what he was referring to. He kind of hoped he wasn't transfered off of kitchen duty for too long. The sights, the smells! Ah, it was very nice to work when surrounded by tasty smelling things rather than other, less savory things you could smell. They were back on the topic of Derrisk and he grimaced a bit. "Keyword there being 'might?' Just about anything living could be considered a possible threat to Derrin, in the eyes of a wher." His tone was slightly apologetic for some reason. Likely because he felt bad speaking even a little bit ill of a wher in front of Meira. "Meisk is your own protector, in his own way. He just defends you in a different way." There was a slight pause before he hurriedly went on. "At least, that's what it seems like to me."

Ferneth watched the short exchange between the creature on his shoulder and Meisk. He felt the weight lift of his shoulder with a hum. Zesa landed on Meira and he smiled with a strange fondness for the golden queen. She was adorable. Ferneth grinned at the thought of showing Meira a Gather in the south. "I'll make sure to be noticeable," his amusement was evident, "so that Zesa can find me then. Don't worry, I'll show you how great a Gather can be. Mind you it is better with marks to spend but there's plenty of other things you can do. And I wil lget you to dance!" It was pretty easy to tell that Ferneth was excited, and rightly so! He grinned at her question. "Hmm, yes I have. The first time I went there it was all I could do to keep my sisters from going to see the 'pretty fishies.'" Despite speaking with a nostalgic smile on his face, there was a note of sadness in his voice.