Lesson 1

[glamourie]

Anzalorin didn’t notice any new arrivals. Much of that stemmed from a lack of focus; his gaze was settled on the green thing on that other candidate and it was so cute, it looked like a deformed fire lizard but it had a bib type thing. He wanted one of them. He’d never seen anything like that at Blossom Hold. Lady Holder Kilisto had a queen fire lizard, but that - that was most assuredly no flit like he’d ever seen before. What was it called, what was it’s name? He was tempted to ask, but then the Candidate Master began to speak and his attention was stolen away. He turned to look back at him, blue-green eyes widening slightly as the man began to launch into a positive tirade that reminded him a lot of an angry old auntie lecturing a two turn old. That was a bit uncalled for; he didn’t think they were acting that poorly. Lessons hadn’t started yet. When he arrived, there were only a couple others there, so it was obvious there was time; he could’ve moved his feet when the lessons seemed ready to actually begin and he wasn’t trying to be disrespectful, he was trying to understand. It was hard to understand when people kept making things so confusing by adding unnecessary complications to them. Why not just say what was wanted?

He was about to ask just that when the man continued speaking and said one thing that positively set Anz on edge:

“Not knowing the rules is no excuse for breaking them.”

That was a load of bull honkey, and he was tempted to call it as he saw it. Rules were rules, yes, and breaking them knowingly was unacceptable. Anz was the type to follow rules most of the time. He really was. He didn’t like causing trouble, he was not usually defiant of authority, and he didn’t have a problem with people being strict. But expecting him to be a mind reader was unacceptable. Plain and simple it was wrong. There was no way to know if you were breaking a rule if it wasn’t expressly stated and he wanted, very badly, to spit that out and tell the candidate master that to his face. As long as he made it clear what his rules were, Anz would follow them - but that statement was ignorant, incorrect, and simply put, rude. He had little tolerance for a lack of manners, especially when it sounded to him like the candidate master was looking for a reason to be angry and fuss. Well, Anz was through with that.

Rubbing his sore ear, he slouched back in his seat. His head bowed, unintentionally causing the long blond locks of his hair to fall over his face in much the same fashion as his fellow candidate’s, though he didn’t really acknowledge it. His fingers wringed together and he resigned himself to completely tuning out the candidate master until the lesson began. Since class hadn’t started, lecturing them on being late was ridiculous. More over, lecturing them at all before the lesson began was ridiculous. It was as though he expected them to be flawless little students from day in to day out and he wasn’t even going to bother. He would behave for the lesson (when it actually started, after Instructor’s Pet returned) but until then he was going to do something constructive. Like go over how to make Blossom Red Wine, which was something he was extraordinary at…

Or maybe stare at the flits. Turning his head, Anz fixed the brown fire lizard on the hearth with a curious look. He didn’t speak because he wasn’t to yammer his flapper. Yes, CANDIDATE MASTER EMOYAN - all caps for emphasis of mockery - was definitely an old auntie who thought s/he was dealing with a child; well, if he was going to be treated like one, he’d act like one, until the class started anyway. His feathers were officially ruffled… but at least the fire lizard was pretty. He wondered briefly what it’s name was, but knew he couldn’t ask. Silencing him was akin to beating him where Anz was concerned. He liked to talk… and not being able to do so made him feel something close to violated. He’d be glad when actual lessons began. He had a mother, thank you. He didn’t need a second one.

[Tashe]

Nautic sighed audibly as the Candidatemaster started talking. Yeah, yeah, they were possibly going to be the next generation, blaaah blah blah. Its not like they didn't already know that, and he certainly was not a kid, even though he admittedly acted like one. Attend lessons, and learn. Way to state the obvious Masterobvious. He sighed again, this man was not redeeming himself at all. It was like if Emoyan needed food, and Nautic had some, he'd eat it right in front of Emoyan. Eat it all up... all of it. He would give none to the ex-Bluerider. Crossing his legs the Wher Candidate itched the side of his face lazily, his focus was already waning, giving way to images of him scarfing down a bowl of rice and laughing heartily. He would have continued to sink into day dreams, except a painful bite to his ear drew him back to the land of the living. Badstonelovelyface. Chitchitbad. It took him a moment to realize Absinthe was both complimenting and criticizing the Candidatemaster at the same time. Watching as she flopped onto his desk, she flared her almost white frill, the black tips shaking slightly. He could feel even the plastered Green become slightly less exuberant.

Looking up as the man droned on, Nautic propped his head on his hand, blinking slowly like a dying fish. He certainly felt like one. Why did Anusha have to go and get her hand noticed? They could have started the lesson and maybe have spared them all from this prelude. Especially the fact that Emoyan kept bringing up the 'lateness' factor. Waiting till the very end, Nautic slowly flapped his unoccupied hand twice, disregarding the be quiet rule to speak up. "But clearly none of us are technically 'late'. So, by continuously addressing the 'absence' factor..." ME?MEME? The Salamandyr broad casted to everyone in reach of her mind. "No not you Absinthe, shush." He sighed and began again. "Where was I, oh right... is pretty much unneeded. Despite any preconceived notions, we do in fact unlike lets say Salamandyrs..." MEE? "...have the memory to remember something said upon being addressed. Now its common knowledge that repeating things is a good way for people to remember things, but I'm sure that we're old enough to know there are consequences to being late. BUT as I said before, those of us here are not and have yet to be 'late'. Unless, the lesson has started. Which then you would have broken your promise to lovely Miss Anusha, and thats just saddening to think about." He flicked his bangs to the side, uncrossed his legs, and recrossed them in the opposite direction. Oh, he knew Emoyan was going to react in some fashion to him, but as to how was an exciting mystery. He never said he wasn't cheeky when it came to dealing with adults.

Fluttering her wings, Absinthe made a clicking noise. But it was directed to the two Firelizards who had come into the room. Upflies! Lovelyflys! Looooooovelyflyyyys. Upcloudfly! She was excited, again, to see them. The Green didn't need a reason to be ecstatic, any little thing could set her off in her current mind-state. Flicking her frill up and down, she stared at the Firelizards, her mouth hanging open slightly.

[Avu]

Baaaaah. Three sentences in, and Rusahre was tempted to tilt his head back and snore just to make a point. Hi, Candidatemaster Emoyan, because clearly none of the Candidates knew his name before, hmmm. Rusa squinted at the man through his hair, deliberately blowing it up out of his face again, knowing very well it would only settle back down again. The Candidatemaster’s words made him slouch farther down in his chair, openly defiant as he flicked another curious glance at Absinthe, though he didn’t comment on the Salamandyr, since Emoyan was busy being downright degrading and Rusahre was busy listening so that he could do exactly what he wasn’t supposed to do – like sprawling in his chair; which he did, propping his elbows against the arms of the chair and interlacing his fingers across his abdomen. The threat to cut his hair actually made the Candidate hiss; his eyes narrowed behind said hair, and he defiantly blew at it before he passed a hand over his face to move it out of the way – where it promptly fell directly back again. Hnn. Rusahre actually tucked his hair behind one ear this time, and crinkled his nose in defiance at Emoyan, resisting the urge to, very maturely, stick out his tongue at the Candidatemaster. Who was he to dictate how they kept their hair…?

And as for ‘not knowing the rules is no excuse for breaking them’ – Rusahre actually had to bite his tongue to keep from commenting; what emerged was a noise of blatant disbelief, but at least there had been no words formed. Yet. The man’s offer to actually drag him into Hatching by ear made Rusahre smirk very, very widely, and the Candidate lifted his chin: Warning signs. It was very much obvious that he didn’t intend to keep his silence, the order to not ‘yammer his flapper’ aside; he had so much that he wanted to say, he could defend himself if Emoyan decided to throw questions at him, and he was not going to sit and copy down whatever he spat out at them until his mind turned to jelly – he liked his brain the way it was, please and thank you, and he didn’t want to hate the Candidatemaster. Rusahre really didn’t. At this point, Emoyan was rapidly edging towards strong dislike, however.

As Nausi spoke up, almost instantly after Emoyan finished, Rusahre actually smiled at the other Candidate, though his gaze didn’t linger. He was still listening to Nautic – and his little pet (he wanted one – what was it, a Salamandyr…?) – but his gaze snagged on Anzalorin and his smile widened as he bowed his head slightly to hide it – and promptly had his hair fall out from behind ear and sweep across his face again. Neglecting to tuck it back, Rusa raised his gaze to Emoyan again, quirking one eyebrow. One eye was still visible, but his other was concealed again, as well as his nose and lips. By the time Nautic finished, Rusa had already decided: He actually liked this Candidate class. Those two boys, anyway. The girls were…annoying. Very, very annoying, even though technically, it wasn’t their fault. The latecomers went generally ignored, too, and Rusahre spoke up as instantly as Nausi finished.

“He’s right – we’re obviously here, so why are we being lectured about being late and missing lessons? And I have a question too. If we don’t know the rules, how are we supposed to know not to break them? That’s like telling us to copy a record and telling us if we don’t get the right one, we’ll get kicked out, and not telling us which one to copy – it’s not fair.” He paused, shrugging as he tapped his fingers on the arm of his chair. “And isn’t it really hard to miss a Hatching? If you’re at the Weyr, then obviously you’ll feel it – er, hear it – when the dragons start to hum, and I’ve been told that at Touchings and Hatchings Candidates are immediately elevated to the most important people in the Weyr – and we need to get to the Sands, and queens generally broadcast a call when their clutch is Hatching, too, right? How could we miss that…? You’d have to be pretty…uh, pretty much literally dead…as for humiliating me in front of the queen, why do I care what the queen thinks? She wouldn’t throw me off just because my Candidatemaster decided that dragging me around by my ear was appropriate, unless she was ridiculously unfair; that’s good enough for me…” Both eyebrows rose (though only one was visible) and Rusahre tilted his head to the side, making his hair fall away from his face again, adding innocently, “I’m serious…I want to know.”

Uh-huh. Sure he did.

[hseru]

He was a bit disappointed in the number of other students to arrive after him and Anz, but any and all disappointment was suddenly and abruptly swept from his head as someone –The candidatemaster- latched onto his ear and hauled him up almost out of his seat in the most audacious manner he’d ever experienced. “Ow ow OW!” He complained loudly as his body followed the tug unwillingly, straightening in the seat. He was stunned dumb by the treatment as if he were some… herdbeast, and not a human who at least deserved the respect of the spoken command. Was the man being contrite on purpose to gain their dislike? If so, he’d done a bangup job of it by Zan. His surprise was covered with a fierce scowl as he purposefully crossed his arms before him (after checking his ear to make certain it was still attached) and slumping right back down into a posture that was just as, if not more so, disrespectful.

About to open his mouth and utter a string of wonderfully pithy phrases, the other candidates beat him to it, and two more candidates struggled in late, and then Emoyan was talking again berating them all as if they’d all straggled in half way through the lesson. It was ridiculous, really. The man was not going to earn anyone's respect that way, and if he expected them to cow down to some harsh words and mental beatings, well, he'd not have it. Zan was practically sputtering in sheer annoyance and a-typical anger. He’d already been through one harsh round of training at the hands of a psychopath (as he affectionately termed his father), he wasn’t about to sit through another quietly, not when he was well over the age of majority and should not be treated like a child. He’d come to the Weyr to do them a favor in helping with their short-handedness, and this is how he was repaid?? Oh, shards no.

Determined to pretty much ignore anything else the …master decided to try and impress upon them, and about five seconds from walking out of the class, Zan felt himself smiling a little at the responses the other candidates were giving, despite the fact that they were touching on all the topics he was so eager to naysay himself. He saw Anz’s response, somewhat expecting the silent protest, but he was surprised that the others didn’t seem to want to just sit and take the rough treatment either, and, well, he liked it. No to mention that he’d heard something in his head, and the source was a creature that drew all of his attention, and in half a heartbeat he knew he had to have one. The last boy’s response had him smirking openly though, and he turned back to see Emoyan’s face at the comment. Why, he’d learned more from that boy that he had from the Candidatemaster, in less time too. When Rusahre finished, Zan raised his hand much the same way Nausi had, enjoying the effort of letting his arm flop over the top of his head to he could point lazily at Rusahre, “I think we should let him teach the class. I’ve already learned that when a hatching starts, the dragons hum, the queen announces it, and that the candidates become top priority in the Weyr at that point, all in about a minute.” He ticked off each statement on the hand that had previously pointed at the other candidate, the arm still negligently lounging on top of his head. His nose suddenly itched, and he tugged his arm down in favor of scratching it, too busy leaning heavily on his other elbow to move that arm.

[wokaida]

Chehero sat listening with intent to Emoyan's words. Guild and regret filled through her, she had been late for the very first class. Did this mean she would have to retake this class over again because she had been late? Mentally the young woman groaned sinking low into her chair, she really didn't think she could stomach missing the few precious hatching's she could attend as it was. Watching the candidate master as he already seemed to have picked out the one in the class who would be the most troublesome Chehero pulled herself back into a strait position in the chair. She was going to need an alarm clock of some sort to make sure she woke up on time and got to classes as they were needed.

As Chehero clung to remembering every word the candidate master said she glanced around the room furrowing her eyes at everyone else. They didn't seem to be paying attention! Some where sleeping or near enough to it, some arguing or even back talking to the candidate master! What kind of respect was that!? Why didn't these candidates give him the respect he deserved. The first thing they should be trying to impress before a dragon hatchling was the candidate master wasn't it? So many questioned filled the candidates mind as she listened to the man speak. Well if they weren't going to be giving him the respect he deserved at least she was going to even if she was the only one to thought so.

Running her fingers through her hair Chehero's eyes seemed to catch onto the rather loud scene Rusahre was making. Shaking her head Chehero wished she wasn't here with them. She didn't want the candidate master thinking she too was obnoxious when it came to learning something. Especially when she had never seen a dragon before until she had been searched, she wanted to know anything and everything she could when it came to them.

[Rowana]

Merridan glanced around at some of the other candidates as they came in. It was a pretty big class and from the looks of things, a varied one too. She didn't have time to ponder this though, because their candidate master spoke to begin the lesson. Mer's face was fairly calm and polite as she listened. She liked how Emoyan commanded the class. It was the kind of teaching she was used to from her father and brothers. No nonsense, respect at all times, or else you would regret it. Mer had learned pretty quite not to disobey people like this. She had no doubt that Emoyan would keep his word about dragging them in front of the queen.

Auaran was watching Rascal and Voyager like a vulture from his perch. But he stayed still and quiet. His Mer had insisted he behave, and he could do that. Showing he could obey was just another challenge to prove himself better than other fire lizards.

[Sheari]

The new bandage felt so much better than the one she'd fashion earlier that morning. It no longer scratched but it still itched a little. Anusha still wondered how she'd managed to cut her hand on a flat wooden floor. A piece of glass perhaps? Come to think of it, she didn't recall seeing a stray blade. No one with sense would have left a blade out anyway. To be safe she made a note to check when she returned to the girls' room in the barracks.

Rubbing the bandage, Anusha entered the common room. It seemed Emoyan was done moving people. Good. This way he wouldn't have tempted to grab her by the ear like he had every other candidate in residence and haul her around. If she weren’t absently pre-occupied she probably would have rubbed one of her ears. With that in mind, she chose a seat next to the female candidate she'd met shortly after she arrived. Merridan was her name?

Anusha sat down next to Mer and leaned forward, putting her hands flat on the table. "What have I missed?" She smirked humorously. The candidate doubted she'd missed much if anything but it was always good to check.

[dragon]

Emoyan frowned pointedly at Anz, before flickering the same gaze over the other few insolent youngsters who dared to call themselves Candidates. Those lads were going to need some serious working over before they were even going to be worthy of standing at a dragon hatching, much less impressing one. "I will say this once. I see groins coming off of those seats in slouches, and I will kick them." Emoyan warned, shooting another pointed look at Anz, though it applied to all. "I said sit up straight, and I meant it. If your backbone isn't enough to hold you up, I'll happily tie your ears to the ceiling. Then you'll sit straight enough." And every line on the Harper's body made it clear he meant just that ... he would kick them in the balls, and he would tie thier ears to the rafters. Even if he had to peirce them first to do it.

"Just as all the pertinent rules are posted in the common room..." He turned slightly to point at said article. "... for all to clearly see and read, so to are lesson times. Lesson times are posted and will be followed. Showing up after the posted time counts you as late. This lesson has not begun yet becaise I opted to delay it. Posted time is what counts. You show up after that, you are late. Regardless of when lesson material is presented, on my discretion. If any of you can not read what is clearly written, then we will address this issue at a later date. You should all know how to read, and you will be given lessons if needed."

And then his gaze moved to where Rusa was sitting. The lad had at least made an effort to control his hair. That was all that Emoyan really wanted from them. Effort. To try, to the best of thier ability. He didn't expect perfection... but he did expect them to do to thier level best. So he didn't rile him about his hair again ... though at a later date he would strongly suggest a different haircut to the boy. Because, frankly, it did annoy him. He wanted to see the faces of his students. "You will miss a hatching because I will forbid you from attending it. You do not attend your lessons, and I won't let you go. Understood?" He said, simply, firmly.

To Zan, he had a similarly short, simple answer. "If the Weyr Leadership thought that the child sitting next to you was qualified to lead these lessons, he would be the Candidate Master. Do not question thier decisions until you have some idea what they're dealing with."

If these lot of boys didn't straighten up soon, they would soon regret even trying him. Emoyan was seriously not in a mood for them, and thier cheek would get them hurt faster than they would like. For while he was normally a easy going, cheerful fellow, the loss of his dragon still raked at him and made him irritable to start with. They were pushing all the wrong buttons on him.

He nodded slightly as he witnessed Anusha returning to class, and gestured for her to take a seat. Once she was seated, he glanced over the depressingly small class again. This did not bode well at all for the upcoming hatching, not at all. For when Emoyan spoke his word, he meant it, and would stand by it. "You haven't missed much, we waited for you. Now, before I begin the lesson proper, I have a thing of note that you should all know." He nodded toward Nautic and his pet. "It has been decreed by the Weyr Leadership to be illegal for any candidate or weyrling to impress one of those little things there. Salamandyrs, they are called. Nautic here has one already, and there is nothing for it. What's done is done. But the rest of you would do well to stay away from any clutch that would possibly disgorge any salamandyr. There is a reason for this, too, not a petty slight. Salamandyrs are much more potent mind mates than any flitter is. They are akin to dragons ... what they feel, so to do you. This includes everything up to and including thier runs, which are akin to a dragon's flight. And if you are bonded to a 'mandyr that is doing such a thing while you are bonded to a young dragon, it could traumatize and damage the mind of your dragon. If not do worse. So, admire existing pets all you like, but do not go to get one of your own until you either age out of candidacy, or after your dragon is fully grown." There was no malice or accusation in his tone as he spoke - and especially not at Nautic. It was a simple statement of fact that the Candidates had to know. "If any of you /do/ happen to break the rules, and impress a Salamandyr, you will be removed from Candidacy. We do not need brain damaged dragons flitting about the weyr..." Indeed, Benden did enough of that for them. No need to add to the problem on the home front.

Now, on to the planned lesson. "Now that that is out of the way, to you who are new to the Weyr and Candidacy, a warm welcome is extended to you. I am going to go over the basics of weyr life, and the basic needs at a hatching during this lesson. And once I am done telling you these things, then you may ask any questions you may have - provided they are legitimate questions seeking answers. I would appreciate if you didn't all suddenly start talking over each other, either. I don't have a hundred ears." He commented, with a softer expression, that on a better day might have been a slight smile. But today? It was all he could do to not backhand a few of the lads for thier impertinence.

"The Weyr is a large place, where Dragons and thier riders all live together, away from the Holds. This is because dragons and livestock ... let's just say they don't tend to mix very well. That and Holds don't tend to be able to house such large creatures en masse. In addition to the dragons and riders that live in a Weyr, there is also a certain amount of support staff that also live here. Weyrfolk, they are called. And they take care of everything that the riders themselves can't get to. Taking care of a dragon even when there is no thread to fight, it is a big big task. Thus the neccessity. The dragons and riders live in the lofy weyrs - at the convenience of the dragons, and the weyrfolk live in the lower caverns. Humans can't really fly all that well, so naturally they stay on the lower levels." He joked, lightly.

"I will ask that no one try to jump off the waterfall in the Weyr ... it is a long ways down, and I'd hate to have to spend a day scraping you off the rocks at the bottom. As Candidates, you will be expected to attend lessons - on posted times - as well as tend to some chores around the Weyr. These are not meant to be derogatory duties. Instead, they are to give you a deal of respect for the people who do these things day in and day out in support of the Weyr. Keeping a place such as a Weyr running is a big, never ending job. With your experience choring as a Candidate, as Riders you will all appreciate the Weyrfolk a lot more. This smooths over interactions all across the board, regardless of who talks to whom. Not to mention doing the chores helps you gain the wherewithall to take on the gruelingly physical task that is impressing a dragon. Dragons are a lot of work. Baby dragons are arguably just as much work, wrapped in a much smaller package. If not more work. This can be a huge obstacle, to someone who has never worked on physical tasks before. Other chores, such as the work in the archives, are designed to give you patience and concentration - also things that are required traits in Dragon Riding."

Emoyan glanced at the two flitters on the mantle for a moment, before taking a look over the class in general again. Again, he wished that more of them were there, in attendance. He'd have to go hunt the tardy members up, and corall them into yet another lesson. Which was a major annoyance. Teaching them all at once was far easier to do. It also did not impress him with thier level of dedication. "Hatchings happen when a clutch that has been laid by a Queen - those are the big, shiny gold ones out there - has reached maturity. The young dragons inside the shells break forth, and impress onto Candidates - that being the lot of you, at this moment. Once a dragonet impresses onto a Candidate, the two then become what is termed a Weyrling pair, and move on to a whole other phase of growth and training. Hatchings take place on the hot sands of the hatching ground. When a hatching happens, you should be in place before the first dragonet breaks its shell. Don't worry, all dragons and flitter ... and sometimes even the mandyrs ... will let everyone know that the hatching is eminent. This should give you enough time to get to your robes, change, and make it back to the sands on time. When you reach the sands, you will take to the sands at a measured and steady rate - no running. This can distress a Queen, and it is not unheard of for a Queen to chase Candidates back off the sands again. It is a wise idea to pay some form of homage to the Queen mother ... usually a bow or some small greeting is all that is neccessary. Hatchings can sometimes be quite fast, but sometimes they take a while to get all the way through. Those sands are hot ... be aware of your own condition. Passing out on the sands from overheating is not healthy, and can scare dragonets into betweening if they think you are dead... especially if that was your dragonet! Staying hydrated is an excellent way to prevent heat stroke or passing out. Actual Impression is euphoric, and sometimes can be climatic for some. But do not try to force impression on a dragonet ... this can get you mauled or worse, killed, by said dragonet. Each dragonet only has one, and if you aren't it, you aren't it. That's all there is to it. If a dragonet is coming your way, but is not impressing to you, it's generally considered wise to get out of the way. The dragonet won't chastize you for that if it was indeed coming to you. In general, behave yourselves and respect everyone around you, and you should do fine at a hatching. If you do not impress - don't panic. And for Faranth's sake, don't throw a fit. There is always another hatching. On occassion people do age out, but it's not really all that common."

"There is a curfew that you should all already be aware of. But to ensure that you do know it, the curfew is between ten in the afternoon, and seven in the morning. Between those times, you should all be in bed. And no where else. Breaking curfew will get you assigned some nasty punishments and added chores - likely in disturbingly unpleasant places. There are very few reasons to break curfew." Emoyan didn't even bother to tell them what those reasons might be ... the last thing he wanted to do was give that particularly unruly lot over there any ideas on how to go about executing rule breaking and then getting away with it.

"Now ... if you have any questions?" Emoyan asked, taking that moment to lean back onto the edge of the table behind him, resting his palms against the edge in a relaxed manner.

[Avu]

Pertinent rules posted – where now? Rusa squinted, and then rubbed his eyes, and then looked again. Those…were so not rules. Actually, unless his eyesight had mysteriously decided to fail him in the past…two seconds, the letters on the article at which Emoyan was pointing at said, very obviously, ”Defense Lessons”. Mouthing the words ”those are so not the rules” at Emoyan, Rusa refrained from commenting, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. He’d wait until after Emoyan’s lecture – likely he’d have a lot more to comment on then, anyway; might as well save it for the very end. Hnn. Defense lessons…? Oh – wait; it was clear that there was a piece of paper stuck up behind that piece; the white of the Defense Lessons sheet was darker than that of any of the other papers, and Rusa almost laughed out loud. Somebody apparently thought defense lessons trumped rules any day…? (Rusa privately agreed; he was betting that Emoyan did and would not, though.)

So distracted was he that Rusa almost missed Emoyan’s answer to his question – though Zan’s words snagged his attention, and Rusa grinned widely at Zanalorin, pleased beyond words. The sad thing? He probably could teach the lesson, and faster than Emoyan could. Anusha’s return to the room, however, with a new bandage, made Rusa stick out his tongue, oh-so-maturely, at the female Candidate, and he smirked slightly, tilting his head. Stupid girl – did she have to get cut…? They could probably be done with the lessons by now if it weren’t for her.

As Emoyan spoke…and spoke…and spoke some more, Rusa bowed his head, jiggling one leg impatiently. He barely noticed that he was doing it: Rusa could sit still when he wanted to, but usually those times were when he actually needed to be paying attention and the only reason he was paying even the slightest bit of attention right now was so that he could…basically bug the Candidatemaster. He actually kind of wanted to hunt down the Weyrleader and ask to be Candidatemaster’s assistant, too – though that was a distinctly sadistic thought. Just because he probably could teach didn’t mean that Emoyan would want him to. And he really doubted the man did: Must be hard, the thought that a child (of nineteen Turns; he was of age!) could teach the same things he did and better would not be an easy one to swallow, especially considering the condescending manner that Emoyan had started the lesson off with. He was…not as cold now, but that didn’t mean Rusa liked him any better than when he’d been dragging people around like herdbeasts.

The second the Candidatemaster finished and asked for questions, Rusa’s hand hit the air, and he drummed the fingers of his other hand on the arm of the chair for a moment before he spoke (ignoring the fact that he’d probably not given Emoyan a decent chance to call on him). “By ‘rules are posted’ do you mean they’re posted behind that paper advertising some defense lessons?” he queried, nodding at the bulletin board. “I don’t know – I didn’t really think to lift up all the papers and look at what was under ‘em; that’s probably why I – and probably everyone else here – completely missed them…?” He tilted his head questioningly to one side, and then shrugged before he went on. “Also. At the Hatching, I don’t see why we have to bow to the queen, unless she looks like she’ll be planning on eating our faces – won’t she be a lot more interested in her babies than us? I’d be pissed, personally, if I were the queen and the Candidates toddled over to me instead of going to the eggs…and isn’t that what the Touching is for, sucking up to the queen…? And speaking of which, weren’t you supposed to tell us about that, too? As well as the fact that we’re basically nobody and everybody but Drudges ranks us, and we still have to be completely civil to them?”

He paused, and then nodded at the obscured rules list. “And, as far as a list goes, I’m pretty sure some people don’t know how to read,” he added quietly. He did, but some people didn’t, and that wasn’t fair to them. “Shouldn’t you read those off, too…? It won’t be their fault if they don’t, and learning to read is hardly a one-day thing…” Rusa shrugged, still drumming his fingers absently. “I’m done. For the moment, anyway…kind of depends on what’s on that Defense Less – oh, sorry; Rules List…”

[wokaida]

Chehero winced at the rather strait forward stiffness the candidate master had been showing to the boys in the class. Not that they didn't deserve it, this wasn't a joking matter to be taken lightly. Turning to see the posted paper Emoyan was pointing at, the candidate took mental note of looking over that before she ended up missing the next class. Thankfully she had a good memory when it came to things but today had, horrible timing. Keeping an eye on the candidate master as he moved from one person to the next as they spoke out, she leaned back against her chair. Glad that she wasn't them.

Stitching her brows together when he mentioned the Salamandyrs. Those weren't the two creatures he had with him, were they? She was sure he had called them Fire lizards. While he cautioned against the impression of one and then went on to explain why. It quickly grew obvious she didn't want one. Sharing her mind with one other would be hard enough, but two? Wouldn't that extend her so thin she would be hard pressed to keep her sanity? If that was the case, she wanted nothing to do with them and would gladly steer as far away from them as she could. That is if they were different than the two fire lizards by the candidate master.

Blinking with a grin when a warm welcome had been extended to her, Chehero stifled a yawn. She had already been told about the waterfall. But, figured it would just be best to say nothing. As the boys would probably need the lecture, before they tried that and found themselves rather gone when they hit the bottom.

Chehero didn't seem to pay much attention to the girl who had come in later, obviously having been in and out of class before she had. That or she had been to out of it to notice her slipping out. Leaning forward in her seat when the candidate master had moved on to explaining the weyr and all the people and importance of them within. Chehero figured he would be right in not understanding their true importance until after she had impressed. If she impressed.

Her eyes grew wider as he went on to explain what would happen during a hatching. But curiosity struck and she slowly lifted her hand half way into the air. She was curious to see if they would be allowed to bring anything onto the sands, to keep them hydrated to prevent the heatstroke. Lowering it as he continued, and then another question rose she had to ask. Raising her hand again she waited, if she wasn't called upon or if her question wasn't answered durring this lesson. Chehero figured she could always just stay behind the class and ask it after right? But she really thought they all needed to know what to do once they impressed. What did the robes look like? Feeling stupid like she should have known these answers Chehero lowered her head.

It did help a little to know that working in the archives would be beneficial to them, something she had done so much of already being a harper. If only a journeyman harper. However the physical part, that seemed to be a fear above the horizon. She had no idea how physically demanding candidacy was going to be.

[glamourie]

… Singling him out was not a good way to earn his respect. Not at all. Anzalorin wasn’t normally defiant; in fact, he usually liked rules. However, he expected to be treated like a person, fairly. One of the key traits of that was being told immediately what was expected of him, in a polite manner, and not assaulting him because he wasn’t being flawless. He was flawed, yes, he was a person, he’d make mistakes. But having attention called to him was the absolute best way to irritate the blond boy. What had he done to make this old, irritable man unhappy? Aside from come to lessons on time, sit in the general vicinity of where he was supposed to be, and not talk when he was told not to? Yes, he was slouching, but expecting anything more was impossible. Anz gave Emoyan a look through his long blond hair that could only be described as murderous, and then sat perfectly straight, rigid even, in what was very obviously a mockery of the instructions. Expecting him to follow orders perfectly after being insulted that way was… simply put… ludicrous. At least he was pretending to be listening!

His gaze followed the candidate master’s hand as he pointed to the ‘rules’ and he raised an eyebrow. The paper indicated very clearly read something about defense lessons (he’d looked it over, decided it wasn’t worth reading, and then went on about his merry way). No where on there were there rules of any kind, what was he playing at? He was tempted to ask but - aha - not allowed to talk. Anz settled for a look that said what he was thinking: the man was clearly addled in the head.

Most of his thoughts were cut away when the man launched into a tirade about salamandyrs, and Anz turned, brushed at his hair, and looked at Nautic’s pet. How come they couldn’t have one, and he could? That struck him as entirely unfair. If they were going to be kicked out, he should have, too. Not that he wanted the boy kicked out, but he wanted one of those little pets. And he said ‘could.’ Which meant there was a possibility it wouldn’t, right? He was fairly sure that that was what it meant. The bit about hatchings ignored, Anz clicked his tongue. He was more determined than ever to have one, simply because the mean, ear-yanking guy told him he couldn’t. Was that petty? A little. He responded much better to politeness than he did insults, and the more he was dealing with Candidate Master Emoyan, the less inclined he was to play nice. Maybe he could try to Impress one and just hide it in his trunk. Or claim it belonged to Thora. Maybe she’d cover him?

The man just kept talking though, and the more he spoke, the more zoned out Anz became. It wasn’t personal. He just did not do well at trying to focus for long periods of time. His gaze remained snared on Emoyan’s face (still sitting bolt upright, comically enough) and he started --- counting the times the man’s mouth moved. It kept him listening rather than going back to staring at Nautic’s little pet; somehow he suspected staring off into space would get him punished or some such. Crazy man. He crinkled his nose a little at the description of Holds and was tempted to point out that a Green had Rose while they were hosting a Gather at his home hold - and the chaos the dragon riders caused. He wasn’t unfamiliar with that. Right. No talking. No talking. Zz. He was going to fall asleep. Too much other person talking, not enough movement. He fidgeted uncomfortably.

And then - then the other boy spoke and Anz choked, his glazed look vanishing. Bringing one hand up to his face to avoid snickering, he raised an eyebrow at Emoyan. He’d decided he liked that boy, whatever his name was. He was cheeky. He also was formulating a plan in the back of his mind. Obviously, Emoyan favored the girls in the class… and the only way to be his pet was to be a girl. Well, Anz had a huge collection of fabric, a lot of free time and some skill weaving. Maybe, just maybe, something could be done about the problem of being a boy…

[Tashe]

Folding a strip of paper into a tiny hat as he listened to Emoyan talk, Nautic put it on Absinthe, her frill making it look like she had odd sideburns. Entirely absorbed in making little props for his Mandyr, the Wher Candidate unintentionally zoned out when Emoyan started talking about Dragon hatchlings. Softly poking the Green's belly, Nautic quietly chuckled as she lept onto his finger and then slid off. He was so distracted by his Mandyr, he didn't come too until she randomly fell asleep.

Questions? Rubbing his eye with a yawn, the boy let his eyes wonder around the room, listening to the questions being asked. Flashing Rusa a smile as he mentioned something about a Queen ripping someones face off, Nautic fold his arms across his chest and sat back in his chair. Putting his hand up, Nautic waited a few seconds before asking his own question. "We're going to hear about Whers as well, right? Because I don't intend to stand for a Dragon Hatchings." Not that he, the resident Wher fanatic, hadn't spent a good portion of his younger days in the archives learning about the gorgeous beasts. Brushing up facts was something he was good at, and actually enjoyed. "I'd rather learn about angry Gold Whers ripping peoples' faces off. But then again, thats just me." Crossing his legs in the other direction, Nautic tipped his chair back slightly so that he was balancing on two legs instead of four.

For Whers, he would do anything, even listen quietly and intently when the Candidatemaster was speaking. It wasn't that the was scared of Dragons, he was more scared of bonding to one than anything. He could hardly deal with Absinthe, and hadn't Emoyan said they were more like bonding to Dragons than anything else? Plus, he was just entirely enraptured in everything that had to do with a Wher. He thought they were fascinating creatures, so unlike their Dragon cousins it was almost amazing they were related. Squirming slightly as his Salamandyr crawled into the collar of his shirt, Nautic made a small noise as her claws snagged his skin.