Home? [Teddy]

[Ember]

A brunette head peeped into the common room of the candidate barracks, followed by the rest of a slim young woman. She looked around the large room before sighing slightly. The room seemed empty except for her. She knew from experience that the candidates were probably off doing their chores as they should. The only reason she wasn't was because she had just arrived and had absolutely no clue what to do. The searchdragon's rider had been nice enough to show her how to use the little boat to get to the barracks but he was adamant about her going alone. Prude, she thought darkly. Although it was probably for the best...she didn't know which bed - bunk...damnit - was hers yet.

The girl tossed her small bag of clothes onto a couch and slumped next to it with another sigh. She should probably go search for the candidatemaster but she didn't know where they would be at this time of the day. Maybe nagging some candidate or other. Maybe in an office she didn't know about yet. The searchrider probably could have told her but she hadn't thought to ask. Maybe coming to the weyr wasn't such a good idea. Weyrs had never left her with many good memories. If Selenitas Hold was any indication, though, the weyr ought to be better than...there.

"Gah!" Thump. The bag she just pitched against the far wall was relatively soft but she had thrown it pretty hard. She had to get her head out of the past. She had ran away from the North to escape all the horrible stuff. That included those pathetic thoughts. All she had to do was make her place in Selenitas Weyr and get busy. Busy doing mostly chores, she mentally amended. When she made this her...home...she could begin to feel a little more at ease. What an abstract concept...home. Thinking about what home felt like she closed her eyes and sat back on the couch. Home...Could Selenitas Weyr be home for Nephele?

[dragon]

The sounds of things being thrown around and then someone - sounded young and female - attracted Emoyan's attention. As well as the fact that he didn't recognise the voice. There weren't that many candidates at the moment, so that meant this was either a new one, or one of the weyrfolk were struggling with something. Either way, it warranted his attention.

Voyager zoomed after the man as he strode toward the common room, taking the steps two at a time. No telling what who was up to ... they might be in trouble with something heavy. One never knew these days, especially after the attack. The bronze flitter preceeded him through the door, though, zooming around and barely missing a few of the walls as he made a huge circling arc around the room's perimeter. Alighting upon a chair back, Voyager folded his wings up and stared at the new girl intently. Though it was merely curiosity.

Emoyan stopped just inside the door, to take in what was to be seen. A young girl, a bag ... definitely a new candidate. "Good morning." He greeted, warmly, before continuing on into the room. "Have a nice trip?" He figured there was something up ... either this wasn't what she had expected, or she didn't want to be here, or ... who knew? She plainly didn't look terribly pleased by the prospects.

Pausing behind one of the many chairs in the room, he rested both hands atop the chair back in a relaxed fashion, waiting patiently for her to answer. He wouldn't rush her, not if she was half as put out as she seemed.

[Ember]

The sounds of footsteps and a faint fluttering sound caught Nephele's attention just before a bronze mini-dragon, fire-lizzard if she remembered right, flew into the room. It made large circles around the room. She almost grimaced a couple of times it looked like it would collide before she noticed the person standing just inside the room. They greeted her in a warm fashion before coming further into the room. Male. She looked back at the flitter for a quick moment before looking at the medium height man.

Then she smiled her most charming smile. "Oh, hello. I thought I was alone in the barracks," she said, glancing at the thrown bag in mock embarassment. "My trip was good thanks. The nice searchrider was even kind enough to help me figure out the boats." The smile remained on her face but didn't quite make it to her eyes. Sure there was a hint of it but not much for her to find amusement in at the moment.

Nephele stood up and wandered a little closer. "My name is Nephele. You don't happen to know where the Candidatemaster is, do you? I'm a new candidate but I wasn't told where I should go or what I should do now." She made herself seem helpless and in desperate need of his help. Guys, from her experience, liked to be depended on and seem like they were in a better state than her. The latter tended to be true...

[dragon]

"It is nice to meet you, Nephele." Emoyan greeted, with a small nod. "I am Emoyan, Candidate Master." He smiled in return, but likewise, it did not go all the way to his eyes. That bit was almost completely concealed, but not quite. "The girl's barracks are the top floor, and at the moment only the first three bunks are taken. You may have the fourth. There is a trunk by the bunk, for you to place your things in." He nodded at the bag where it rested.

"Feel free to settle in there, and then after that ..." He shrugged. "For today, you can do as you please. Explore, sit and rest, or, if you're more ambitious, there's a gather going on at Selenitas Hold. Quite a few people have been coming and going from there regularly, so it should be easy for you to catch a ride if you wished to go." Emoyan told her, with another smile. "Tomorrow, you will have lessons and chores to do."

Her 'rescue me' mannerisms were not lost on him ... though he didn't tip over into thier manipulating arms quite like she wanted. It did, however, peg her as Northern in his estimation. Southern people didn't tend to be that way. And being originally northern himself, he had seen a fair sampling of both cultural lifestyles. "Where are you from?" He asked, then, point blank. Was she a runaway? Or had one of thier searchers really had the gall to go north on Search, so soon after the attack?

[Ember]

"Then its very nice to meet you, too, Emoyan," Nephele said in return. Being on the top floor didn't make her too happy...That meant the guy's got the closest exit and also could block the girls from leaving if they wanted to. She really hoped they wouldn't want to. She listened as he gave instructions, secretly amused that she could do as she wished for the day. She knew about the Gather too. She had been more than happy to skip out on it.

Lessons, however, were an interesting way to fill her time other than chores. That meant she would most likely meet the other candidates too. Well, the girls she would likely meet later that night...He had mentioned three bunks being taken. That meant four female candidates so far. Made sense. There had been a Hatching not much more than a month ago or so.

She froze slightly as his last question interrupted her thoughts. She made a moue before speaking. "I came south from Benden Weyr. I was Searched in Selenitas Hold." That was a bit candid of her but he was the Candidatemaster. Besides, it wasn't like it mattered very much. Perhaps a little pity out of it...Hmm, wait a second... Nephele forced a sad face. She only wanted to skip out of the Gather because... "I unfortunately have no Marks or I'd go to the Gather. Looks like a bit of exploring the weyr for me." She sighed as if disappointed. Pity Marks wouldn't be so bad.

[dragon]

Emoyan nodded slightly, at her candid confession of where she was from. Benden Weyr... though he hated to have to do it, he'd probably have to keep a close eye on her. All the messes that had been going down lately, and most - if not all of it - were Benden's doing. There was still a saboteur rolling around, at that, and no one knew who it was either. "Okay, thank you. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to bring them to me. And we'll sort them out, alright?"

Voyager chirped, and then flew away again, back out the door he'd come in. Off to find Rascal and see what the brown was up to. Likely following Lamb around again, but there really was no telling. The girl was not interesting in the least ... she didn't even smell like she had treats in her pockets. Time to go find someone who did!

Emoyan was genuinely amused by her attempt to weasle marks out of him. "Well, I guess so, then. But, there are things you can do at gather that do not require marks." He hoped that she wasn't going to go around trying to manipulate people, though. Most had been burned on that already, and might take exception to it. Some of them were more dangerous than others, too. "Also ... don't tell anyone else you're from Benden Weyr, alright? For your safety."

The last thing he needed to deal with was a murdered candidate. A huge lot of people were still very pissed at Benden right now, and a new Bendenite was prime fodder. He would, naturally, keep an eye on her himself, both to make sure she didn't get into anything, and to also make sure no one decided to randomly off her. He vaguely considered taking her for a tour, but didn't think he had the time to do a full tour with her. His schedule was almost as busy now as it had been when he'd been a rider. He didn't know how a body could handle being a rider and a candidate master! Maybe he could get Rascal to keep an eye on her. The brown flitter seemed to have some sense in his head.

"Would you like me to move your bag for you?" He offered, aware that traveling could be taxing ... especially for those who had never been between before.

[Ember]

"There's no problem with me being from Benden is there?" Nephele asked, slightly alarmed but pretending not to be. They wouldn't send her back...would they? Not that they could return her to the weyr itself though. Well before the attack the two weyrs had been unfriendly towards each other. She careful avoided answering the help question. She was used to getting things sorted out her own way.

At the flitter's chirp Nephele turned to watch it fly away curiously. The little things were positively charming. Too bad there were so few in the North. She could go to the Gather and try and get someone to give her one but she didn't feel up to being in a big crowd yet. When the flitter disappeared from sight she looked back to Emoyan.

Nephele had to admit that Gathers did have dancing and good music. She allowed for a small laugh before replying. "I'm afraid I am not that good at dancing. I know the only way to learn is to dance with someone better than you but I'm always too embarassed that I might step on their toes." Part truth, part lie. Someone had once told her the best way to lie was to include an element of the truth to make it more believeable.

She blinked at the sudden warning from the Candidatemaster. Oh-ho! So there was still a lot of animosity to Bendenites. Quel surprise. Not. Nephele pretended to take a moment to digest the warning. "Then I'll just mention Selenitas Hold." Or nothing, by preference, she added mentally. The only one she intended to tell where she came from was Emoyan, who, by definition of being Candidatemaster, ought to know.

Fake grateful smile. "It would be nice if you would. I think I might get confused about which one exactly is my bunk without a bit of help," she admitted. She walked over to pick up her bag and wandered back closer to him. It wasn't really heavy but if he was willing why should she carry it?

[dragon]

"Well, not inso much. A lot of people here are originally from there." Emoyan assured her. "Though they left there for a reason, and became part of this place. Selenitas is something of a melting pot. People from all over. But ... given recent events, people are a little riled up, and are going to be a lot suspicious." He explained. "There have been poisonings, as well as an attack that left a lot dead, and many many more wounded and angry. Most, if not all, of that was from Benden. So ... until things cool down again, just don't say. Or, yes, you can say Selenitas Hold, too. Since that's where you were found." He nodded.

He took the bag from her and smiled slightly to her. Gesturing to the door. "All the way to the top, miss." He said, allowing her to lead the way. Stairs were kind of hard to miss, after all, and they only went one direction. She couldn't possibly get lost. The worst that could happen was she'd get distracted by the view from up there.

"Dancing can be fun. But I have to admit I've never done much of it myself." Emoyan replied, simply. Usually, that was because he was one of the Harpers, not one of the dancers. And it was something he still enjoyed ... playing his gitar. Though of late he'd done less and less performing for others. But then, the nature of the songs he tended to play had also changed. Less light, happy, dance type songs to the more meloncholy sort. And it would probably stay that way until his soul healed. "I imagine that a few people around would be willing to teach you. Lessons of all kinds seem to fly all over the Weyr. Sometimes older people teaching younger, sometimes peers teaching each other various skills." He shrugged lightly, shifting the strap of the back to his shoulder. It wasn't very heavy, but even so, much of anything was easier to carry from the shoulder.

Having noted her wistful look after Voyager, he started a new line of thought. "Would you be interested in a flitter, miss? There's going to be a hatching soon, I hear. And you could attend it if you wanted. I believe it is little Elle's maiden clutch." He suggested, lightly.

[Ember]

Nephele considered his words and was interested, and somewhat frightened, to know a lot of people were from Benden. Would anyone recognize her or vice versa? "Are you from Benden too?" she asked, genuinely curious. Self preservation, she told herself. Gathering important information on how to possibly deal with the man. She wondered about the metaphor too. Was Selenitas a melting pot or a tossed salad? Given she had nowhere else to go she had plenty of time to find out.

"Miss? Please, just Nephele will do," the young woman said with a hint of amusement. Being called Miss was just too weird. "I suppose you being of higher rank I should address you as Candidatemaster." She ascended the stairs somewhat warily with Emoyan blocking the only viable exit. She shook off the feeling and continued to listen to him.

Nephele shot an amused smile over her shoulder. "Two left feet?" She knew some people couldn't manage to dance even if they were taking lessons. She luckily had both types of feet but had never had the opportunity to really learn or practice. The things she could teach people weren't entirely honorable. Perhaps she should pick up some other skills though. They could come in handy later in life. Starting with dancing may not be a bad idea. What was the saying? Something about dancing and bedroom performance? She couldn't remember but she had always thought it was silly.

Caught up in her thoughts she was caught off guard by the suggestion. "A flitter?" It was probably her first genuine emotion that showed itself since their meeting. "I suppose they are charming creatures. No one would mind if I tried to get one?" She was a little skeptical that she would just be allowed to attend.

[dragon]

Emoyan shook his head, as he climbed the stairs. "No, I'm not Benden. Originally, I was Fort. But I'm Selenitas now. And always will be. Same goes for everyone else. Regardless where they came from - and they come from all over - they're Selenitas now." He remarked, simply. "There are very, very few who live here and are still loyal to thier old homes. We don't know who they are, but they're usually found out eventually. And when that happens, they either change thier tune pretty quick, or get sent back, or ... well ... Let's just say there aren't very many of them about. So long as you keep your head down and don't advertise where you're from, you'll fit right in, I imagine."

"Nephele." He agreed. "Alright. Yes, in formal occassions you should call me that. But in informal occasions ... plain old Emoyan will do." He assured her. Not to mention he was still quite new to the job, and being addressed as Candidatemaster was more than a little odd ... and also might get right past him without his realizing someone was talking to him. It was something he was going to have to get used to.

Emoyan laughed a bit, and shook his head again as they finished the last of the stairs. He stepped forward and opened the door for her. "No, actually. I fancy I can dance well enough. It's just that usually I'm behind the music. Not on the square itself. So I don't get a lot of practice." He told her, amused. "There's probably a few people who would be delighted to give you lessons on how to dance, if you were interested. Just ask around a bit, and they'll turn up eventually."

He shrugged lightly, while pleased to see a genuine reaction out of the girl. Something that hadn't been thought to death and plotted around! A true glimpse of who she was. "I don't see why anyone would. All you have to do is attend the hatching. If one of the hatchlings goes to you, then it's yours. Free of charge. There are gobs of flitters about the Weyr, they aren't sold. If you impress it, it's yours. I am not sure where the hatching will be, though, you'll have to ask. Healer R'wign is the one Elle looks to, so he'd be a good person to ask about it." Which reminded him ... he still needed to go see R'wign, see how he was doing.

[Ember]

Nephele listened with interest. He was alluding to spies within the weyr, essentially. She doubted any Benden spies who had been in Selenitas wouldn't know about some girl having run away. She doubted very much that Benden weyr even knew she had gone south at all. Instead she concentrated more on the fact that he was from Fort. "What was Fort like? I...knew how Benden was like but what little I heard about Fort really only related to the fighting."

Interesting. Those of rank here didn't flaunt it in other people's faces like those in Benden did. Odd to be able to call a Candidatemaster by his name. "Okay," Nephele said somewhat absently. They had reached the third floor by then and Emoyan opened the door. She stepped through it and looked at the rows of bunks for a moment. There was lots of room for candidates but she doubted even half of them were occupied.

At Emoyan's explanation she looked at him with him with a passable curious expression. "You can play an instrument? Which one?" She also gave a slight nod to acknowledge she'd heard his suggestion to ask around. At least between chores, lessons, and dancing her time might be sufficiently filled up. Just how did one go about 'asking around', though? It seemed awkward to just randomly go up to someone and ask if they could teach her how to dance. She let the problem fade to the back of her mind for the time being.

A bit belatedly Nephele realized her slight blunder. She stiffened ever so slightly in alarm before forcing herself to relax. One tiny mistake wouldn't, couldn't give him any real leverage. "Is that how you got your flitter? Just randomly showed up and he chose you?" Then they were similar to dragons in more than appearance. They impressed to people but they probably weren't as choosey as they're larger brethren. She smiled slightly and said, "I guess it couldn't hurt to have a look at least."

[dragon]

What was Fort like? Emoyan heaved a sigh, and shook his head. "Miss ... Nephele ... there was a reason I left." And he just left it at that. He didn't want to talk about Fort. Or any of his past, for that matter. The whole sharding thing was one huge mess. And not even a comfy mess at that. So, for him, it was a subject best left well enough alone.

He gestured down the row. "Fourth one down ..." He paused a moment, and then looked at her closer, with a speculative look. "I don't mean to imply anything, but ... do you know how to read? Arithmatic, things like that?" It wasn't something he generally even considered. But if he was going to be teaching these youngsters things, he needed to know what they already knew - and he did know that not everyone was literate. And some directions like 'fourth one down' would mean absolutely nothing to those who didn't know any math...

"Ah ... a little of a lot, but I'm most proficient at the gitar. Mostly cause that's what I own, so that's what I play most often." Emoyan shrugged, walking down to the fourth bunk and resting her bag on the trunk there. "There you go ... you can un pack your things into this trunk, however you see fit. I doubt we'll get so crowded as you'll need to share ... though there is a small chance you might have to. The trunk, I mean. Not your bed." He clarified.

"Well ... I acquired a flitter that way, yes. But ... not the one you saw. The one I saw I purchased at Gather. I have a brown, also, who I acquired by attending a hatching. And yes ... he just happened to come to me, instead of someone else. Eggs aren't handed out ... hatchings happen as a group. As a result ... things can get rather interesting. Up to and including half the clutch all flocking to the same person..." He shrugged loosely. "And no, it certainly won't hurt. The worst that could happen is you walking away empty handed."

[Ember]

Nephele turned away before her abashed expression had time to form. That was a bit untactful of her. She managed a contrite "sorry", feeling suitably awkward. She wasn't willing to talk about her past either so it was a bit unfair to ask about his. She made herself busy examining the room again. At his gesture she counted down the row and started moving toward her bunk. At his question however she stopped and turned to look at him with a look of suppressed annoyance.

She took a moment to collect her thoughts and calm herself. He hadn't meant to offend her. "I can read well enough I suppose. As for math...basic adding and subtracting I can do. Don't ask me to multiply anything higher than...oh, ten?" she replied. "I was taught a bit but but had to teach multiplication to myself so maybe I'm a bit confused there." Were their lessons going to include things like that? For the most part it was unneeded in her opinion.

He took the lead and went to the fourth bunk with her stuff and she followed. The conversation seemed to veer away from the topic of music so she let it drop. Looking at the trunk she lifted her bag up and opened the trunk curiously. Just a regular old trunk. She closed it again and looked at Emoyan as he spoke. Her lips twitched in a grin as he specified what thing might need sharing. She couldn't help but ask... "Are there rules against sharing?" One brow was raised as she asked.

He had two? So one could have like...a whole fair of them? Nephele found the mental picture very amusing but she hid it well. "How do you get one to stay with you?" Important detail. If she tried to get one she ought to know a fair bit about them first. The Gather had also gained more interest for her but perhaps another time when she had more Marks. Any Marks. Or she could just wait until her luck won out for her.

[dragon]

She could read. Good. And basic math ... very basic, but at least there was that. Emoyan nodded with approval. "Good." He commented, simply. "Just thought I'd check." He backed away from the bunk and trunk a few paces, before stopping again. "Some people who come through here can't, see." he explained. How one managed to get anywhere in life without knowing those things, he didn't know. But then ... he was a Harper, and therefore schooled far gone and again beyond most of Pern's people. Granted, he was not the best Harper ever. Being a dragonrider had taken precendence over that for a good many turns. But now, if time allowed, he probably ought to start brushing up on his records. Instead of just the music.

Emoyan laughed softly at her expression and question. "Actually? It would be really helpful if you gals would stay on this level, and the guys on the next one down. And I'd appreciate if you didn't all mob into the same bunk, too. But, if you really want to share a fur with someone ... that's fine. Just don't do it here. Things get a bit complicated if you do. It's actually prefered if you're not virgin when you Impress ... because that gets you into a deal more trouble once your dragon matures. But! A lot of that will be covered in lessons. Don't miss them." He said, with a wink.

"A flitter? Easy enough. Feed him. When he hatches, stuff his face with some sort of meat. Occassionally you run across one that likes sweets. But the sure bet is to have meat on hand, and feed them bits of it directly after hatching. After all, the way to a flitter's heart is through his stomach. Once you have him fed, it's unlikely he'll fly away from you. You have to really be mean to a flitter to get them to leave."

[Ember]

Nephele understood the necessity of asking but it still rankled a bit. Were some of the other candidates unable to read or at least add? Once you had one to ten mastered it was fairly simple. Sure they would need to learn what the numbers were called. Fifty simpyl was not five tens. That's why people got confused, in her opinion, when they started using numbers to describe numbers. There weren't many times in Benden weyr she had needed those skills though. How would they play out here? Would she have to pore of written documents and copy them out laboriously by hand? Yay for dusty archive rooms.

The young woman feigned a grin at Emoyan's reply. She wondered if his leaving out where was appropriate to share a fur was intentional or not. Clever if it was, lucky coincidence if not. "Woe is the candidate forced to go to lessons!" she excalimed in a comical voice, acting as if it was the single worst thing she'd ever have to do. The fake grin returned again as she waited to see his reaction to her mocking.

Nephele nodded understanding and wondered if there was an example of a flitter with a sweet-tooth in the weyr. Meat was in plenty though. No doubt she could go to the kitchens and scrounge up a few tidbits to satisfy the diminutive flitters. "I doubt anyone here would be so mean that they'd drive away a flitter," she commented off-handedly.