R1 Lesson 2

[dragon]

-Rank and Responsibilities – Who the people of rank are, how to treat them, learning that all candidates are equal no matter what, how to do each chore.

---

Everything had been corrected since the last horrible attempt at a lesson. Emoyan had started keeping a close eye on that bulliten board, as some nitwits had apparently decided it was funny to repeatedly cover up all the pertinent data posted upon it. And some of it was some rather bizzare attempts at pranks ... for the most part, it had all flopped horribly so far as Emoyan was concerned. Regardless what it was, it was taken down. If the article in question happened to be something semi important, then he reposted it elsewhere on the board, off everything else.

After the last round of class with this lot, Emoyan had no idea what the lads were going to attempt to do... but he had a pretty good idea they weren't going to miraculously turn into star pupils. Quite to the contrary, he rather expected that some of them were going to go out of thier way to be difficult.

But if they were going to try to make him go hunt them down, it wasn't going to work ... attending to lessons was thier responsibility, and if they didn't show, they didn't graduate. And if they didn't graduate, they wouldn't stand. If they didn't stand, they had no shot at a dragon. So basically, it all boiled down to one thing: how bad did they want a dragon?

This lesson was going to be a little more in depth on things, so Emoyan had collected together a few notes just to make sure he kept everything straight. It wouldn't do to confuse himself in the middle of trying to teach the class, after all.

---

Lesson 2

Anzalorin
Anusha
Rusahre
Merridan
Nautic
Chehero
Kaerlin
Zanalorin

---

Names in green have been accounted for.

[Avu]

He’d been ready first, so he’d left for the Lessons first – Rusa simply could not bring himself to wait for Nautic, Anz, or Zan. For once, the Candidate was actually excited about lessons – he couldn’t wait for them to start. Ignoring the odd looks he received as he paused outside of the door of the Candidate Lessons, Rusa crinkled his nose and smirked, examining his reflection briefly in the glass and reaching up to touch his hair gingerly. He’d gotten his hair braided into two thick braids, one on either side of his head, and tucked a wilting daisy behind one ear – unfortunately, he didn’t know anyone who kept make-up and was willing to lend it to them, so his face remained the same – but that was okay; pulling his hair back had revealed his eyes, which he was certain were stunning enough deal without elongated lashes: The starburst of brown, gold near the center and rimmed with darker brown, had never been more obvious. That was hardly the reason for the looks, though. His top half looked relatively normal (if a bit more obnoxious than he usually went with): A bright orange shirt that he’d borrowed from Anz, draped over the sheath of his belt knife – and then, a bright, emerald green dress edged with lime green fabric. It brushed around his ankles, leaving his regular boots very visible to the eye.

Rusa also had grapefruits.

Two of them, to be precise. They were in his shirt, making up for his lack of natural breasts. It had been bloody hard to make them stay where they were supposed to – but they’d managed all right, in the end. Pausing to reach down and tug the hem of his skirt straight, Rusa pushed the door open, sweeping into the room without so much as a glance for Emoyan before he sat down, front and center, in the room, sitting bolt-upright and primly folding his hands in his lap before he looked up at Emoyan – and then flicked a deft glance up at the Candidatemaster, tilting his head to one side and widening his eyes in what could only be described as a very feminine expression as he smoothed down the skirt deliberately, and then spent a moment fussing over his hair before he leaned forward to smile brightly at Emoyan.

“I got grapefruits just for you,” he commented cheerfully, winking as he glanced pointedly down at his not-so-natural chest. “One of the Drudges said someone’d been starting a rumor that you liiiiiked them…” Actually, that someone had been him, because he’d told the Drudge that he was getting the grapefruits for Emoyan, but Rusa neglected to mention that fact: Emoyan didn’t need to know, even if the Drudge in question would probably tell him if she was asked. “Thought you’d like it if we…ah, indulged your tastes, hmm, Candidatemaster?” Completely unruffled by the ridiculous appearance, Rusa went on, “I was thinking about braiding green ribbons into my hair, but I wasn’t really sure – it might have been an overload of green; what do you think?” He pointed at the skirt for emphasis, and then, plucking at his shirt, added, “Anz lent this to me – I think the contrast is very nice, don’t you…? Green and orange, hmm…maybe green and red would’ve gone together better, I wasn’t really sure…alas, we don’t all have the amazing taste that you do in clothes…”

He didn’t actually have anything against Emoyan’s clothes – Rusa didn’t judge by something that silly – but it didn’t stop him from mock-bowing before he straightened again, keeping his back poker-straight as he stared straight at Emoyan, eyes as wide as he could manage. For about a minute. Then he leaned forward again conspiratorially, and added, “Don’t tell anyone, but I think I’m the prettiest of all of your Candidates – but really, don’t tell; they’d get jealous and say I was being vain. I’m not – I think it’s true…” The level of his voice made it obvious that he fully intended everybody in the room and just outside to be able to hear; he was hoping one of the other three would hear and play along – but if they didn’t, Rusa was perfectly capable of rambling some more. Emoyan would probably think that he just liked to make mischief or something – which Rusa kind of did, but not without reason. As far as he was concerned, this was revenge for being treated like they weren’t capable of comprehending Pernese in the previous lesson. What goes around comes around…

[glamourie]

Maybe he’d like them better in dresses.

That, at least, was Anzalorin’s logic as he preened and ran his hands over his chest. He looked ridiculous, he knew -- but then, Anz, no matter how feminine in some mannerisms, did not look like a woman. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t look feminine enough to be mistaken for a woman. Still, in a dress that was red enough to look like that of a lady of the night, with golden hems around the bottom and the high collar, he definitely looked silly. The dress had long sleeves that were poofy and loose around his arms, but the top was high enough not to make the fact that he had grapefruits tucked into his breastband entirely obvious - at first glance. True, no woman’s breasts were that round, but it was more believable when the tops of them couldn’t be seen. His light blond hair was tied up on either side of his head with gold ribbons, and the strands bobbed just above his shoulders. Several strands hung free, framing his face. All in all, he did, at least, look cute. Ridiculous, but cute. He could’ve passed for going to a costume party!

But well, it wasn’t a costume party he was headed to. It was candidate lessons. Unfortunately, he was pretty sure Emoyan would not see the humor in his current ensemble. Nevertheless, the man had brought it on himself by blatantly favoring the females in the previous lesson. Assuming logically, if he was favoring the girls, aside from crushing on them (which Anz was convinced was the case), it was plain that the man didn’t like males. So he (or rather, they) wouldn’t look like males. They’d look like girls, and they’d definitely be worth a second or third stare the whole time. But in Anz’s ‘humble’ opinion, he was by far the prettiest not-girl-girl candidate of the day. He had the best dress! … He’d made it himself!

Slinking into the common room only moments after Rusahre, Anz moved to his usual seat. However, rather than sit down, he offered Emoyan a flourishing curtsy, hands pulling at the ends of his skirt to make it more evident. Then, when he did sit, it was an almost lady like posture, complete with resting his hands on his knees and his knees close together. Back alarmingly straight (still mocking of the last lesson when he’d been yelled at for, Faranth forbid, slouching), he looked like a perfect little hold bred girl. He had practice, though, being hold bred himself. The only thing that was wrong was that his dress was not nearly as nice in cut as most of theirs - but Anz was no weaver; while he could make clothes look nice, he couldn’t do it on the fly, and he didn’t own a dress proper for the occasion. He’d rushed it, but at least it looked nice enough.

“Hello, Candidatemaster Emoyan~ It is a pleasure to see you again.” There was almost genuine cheeriness in his voice. He didn’t dislike Emoyan, but he did dislike the man’s treatment of him. Maybe the outfit was spiteful but -- he had it coming, so sayeth Anz. Calling him out in class was evidence of that. If the man couldn’t be respectful to them, why should they respect him?

[Tashe]

He bounced slightly, making the two bulges under his tight, black shirt rise and fall slightly. Adjusting his flowy sleeves, Nautic strapped on the bracelet that he had gotten on of the girls to let him borrow. He was pretty, if he could say so himself. His skirt rode low on his hips, it was a grassy color with back and mauve tassels, and the belt that he had tied on had silver disks on it that jiggled when he moved. It was definitely a Gypsy skirt if one had ever been seen. He had done his hair back in a fishtail and had braided a Sungazer into the very end. Although some of the blond strands were too small to fit and fell around his face in wisps. If his grapefruit had been just a little smaller, he could have sadly passed off as a more masculine female. "Thats what I get for being such a cute man." Ducking as a shoe was thrown at him by one of his roomies who wasn't in his rotation, Nautic skipped out the door laughing, his bare feet padding softly against the ground. He then of course, remembered he had forgotten something, and had to go rushing back to put on the eyeliner and blush he had stolen from his mother. He was glad that he had actually asked a female friend how to put them on properly, otherwise he would have done too much of each. A few moments later, he skittered out the door once more and headed down the stairs, the disks chiming quietly as he moved.

As soon as he hit the landing his entire demeanor changed, suddenly moving as if there was nothing wrong with the world (i.e that he was incredibly happy to be there). Injecting a slight bounce into his step to make his 'boobs' bounce subtly, Nautic flounced over to the Candidatemaster. Clasping his hands in front of him, the Wher Candidate offered Emoyan a smile as he dipped into a slight curtsy before fleeing over to a seat next to Rusa, but not before stopping in front of their other cohort. "Oh my gosh, Anzie!" He put a hand to his face. "I absolutely love your dress. Its so pretty! You're gonna have to make me one!" Tilting his head slightly, Nautic smiled before slipping into the seat he had chosen before turning to Rusa. "Rusa. My boobs are soo big." He pushed up at them whining, making the Grapefruits shift. "I just don't know what to do with them any more!"

[Sheari]

This time around she hadn't forgotten. She'd even made sure that she was woken up in time to attend todays' lessons. As she rolled out of her furs she was careful to dismount the bunk properly, using the outside of her injured hand so she wouldn't aggravate it. On the thought of her hand she looked at the floor before jumping down. There were no stray knives (not that many girls carried them anyway) and no pieces of broken glass as far as she could tell. Pleased with the results of her cursory glance she dropped from the upper bunk and proceeded to dress herself.

She donned an old blue tunic that had faded and a pair of trousers that were a dark grey. She pulled her hair back into a loose braid with a white ribbon, the kind often used to tie shut records that were rolled. Anusha preferred these kinds as opposed to the kinds other women wore. They were meant to last and not look good. After looking at herself in some glass she headed down the steps of the barracks to attend lessons. When she entered the room she stopped dead in her tracks.

Of all the days she could have chosen to wear a skirt, she was glad she hadn't today.

Three of the boys in the class were wearing dresses or skirts and had donned mock breasts. Anz and Nautic were seated and Rusa was next to Emoyan. It appeared he was rubbing it in. Anusha couldn't hold her laughter. "Master Emoyan, you can borrow my ribbon if you like as I see you are the only one without," her smile was very humorous but she meant it. She'd even braid it in herself if he wanted to. Some how though, she doubted that and she was waiting for him to just loose it and explode on them.

She took the seat she'd had last time as well as the posture the guys had had last time (why not?) and looked again at Anz and Nautic. "You have a lovely bracelet Nausi, and who did your make-up? I must know!" No she didn't.

[Rowana]

Merridan trotted down to class with a bright smile. What new things were they going to learn today? Anything new would be good, so long as Emoyan didn't ramble on about history or the like. Mer hated being bored. She would much rather learn physical activities, or at least something that would lead to them. Like learning more about the dragons they might one day impress.

Mer came around the corner and stopped in her tracks. There were two girls she had never seen before, and yet they looked strangely familiar. They shouldn't have new candidates in their class, that was what the other was for, so who were they? Mer came around for a closer look and nearly collasped to the doubled over in an attempted not to laugh out loud. She had her hand over her mouth but her eyes sparkled with delight.

Anz, Nausi and Rusa looked more like girls than she did! In fact, with her short cut hair, flat chest and pants, she looked very much like a boy. And Anusha was even offering Emoyan a ribbon. Mer almost couldn't take it anymore. She struggled over to her seat, trying to act as though this was perfectly normal.

"I guess they're all hoping to impress a queen," she said reasonably, jerking her thumb at the boys. She grinned jokingly. "Does that mean I can go for a bronze in their places? Surely we have more than enough girls now." She waved at the others and winked at them. They looked fantastic and silly all at once. It was priceless.

Auran humphed. He did not approve of silliness.

[dragon]

Emoyan looked up as Ruse entered the classroom ... all decked out like some clown version of a woman. His brows ooched upward slightly in silence, and that was it. It was ... utterly rediculous looking. But, hey ... if the strange lad wanted to look like that, that was his call. Emoyan was not going to dictate how the candidates were dressed ... so long as they were actually dressed in some form or fashion.

He grunted, in response to Rusa's gushing of comments. "Everyone's entitled to thier own oppinions, I suppose. Just leave them on the table when you're done with them." He commented, mildly. And then the others started arriving ....

This class was apparently going to be even smaller than the last one!! And ... all three of the lads present were wearing girl's clothes and grapefruits. There must be a new fad going around that he hadn't heard about yet. That or there was some sort of attempt at a joke going on. It didn't matter, though...

Other than Emoyan was pretty sure the boys were going to be having back aches or neck aches by the time class was over, with such large .... fruit ... strapped to thier chests. However they had them hung...

"Good morning, class." Emoyan said, nonchalantly, looking them all over. "I see you're prepared for the performance and everything. Nice to see some attempt at preperation in you ... could pay off later on in life." And he actually grinned slightly at the lot of them.

"Today I am going to teach you about ranks and responsibilities. Some of this I covered breifly last lesson, but we're going to go into a little more depth today. For instance, people of rank that you ought to know: The Weyrwoman is Kaegan, she rides Gold Millieth, and the current Weyrleader is K'roi, of Bronze Gareth. The Weyrleader is in charge of putting together Wings and other such duties, and this individual will change out about once a Turn, give or take a few months. The Weyrwoman is a steady leading figure, and only changes out upon the death of the last one. She handles the more subtle aspects of Weyrleading. Most everyone knows to respect her, as she has the ear of her Gold - naturally - and that Gold can make any other dragon obey her wishes."

"Following up these two individuals are the Jr. Weyrleaders. This currently is Savitri, of Gold Hepaticath. And Jr. Weyrleader Ka'rys, of Bronze Ciceroth. They act as supporting leadership figures to the leading pair, filling in whatever gaps are needed, helping to take care of the huge job that is leading a fighting Weyr. And this goes toward Threadfall as well as defense from other Weyrs."

"Other people of note are the Headwoman, the head cook, the Weyrling Masters, the Candidate Master, and Wingleaders. Wingleaders lead the various wings - naturally. The other individuals mentioned are in charge of thier various stated segments of running the Weyr as a whole. These people are to be respected at all times. I have some sheets here that list everyone mentioned, for you to memorize. I know - seems like a task. But it would behoove you to do so." At that, Emoyan handed a peice of parchment with the said list on it to each of the students. "Some of those idividuals change out, from time to time. But for the most part, they're fairly steady."

"Alright. As Candidates, you are all equal to one another, regardless of age, previous ranks in crafts, or otherwise. Now, you are all Candidates. And as Candidates, you are also expected to do chores around the place, as well as attend lessons. I have explained to you already in the last lesson why this is done. Now I will tell you about the various chores."

"Kitchens Duty is one assignment you may receive ... and likely will, before you impress. Chores rotate out from one group of Candidates to the next, so you get a chance to do everything. In the Kitchens assignment, you will be working - naturally - in the kitchens. This is the realm of the Head cook - who is on that list there you have - and you will obey any task this individual assigns you. Within reason, of course. No random requests to murder people, after all. You might be asked to do anything from washing dishes to mopping the floor to peeling tubers. Whatever they require of you at the time, it will likely vary from day to day."

"Archive Duty; This is a rather easy job, physically, compared to the others. Unless you happen to get asked to move huge tomes around. Most records are scrolls, and those are not heavy. While this is a rather dusty area to work, you'll likely only be asked to organize records, copy records, make ink, or other such tasks. Fairly lightweight work, but it does take reading skills, and a deal of patience."

"General Weyr Duty; This is pretty much random ... whatever you end up being asked to do, really. That could be changing glows, folding laundry, washing laundry, cleaning boats, or whatever. I really can't tell you what all kinds of chores there are needed done in a river Weyr ... I did not attend Candidate chores here. The Headwoman will tell you what you need to do. It could be physically taxing, but it is not guranteed."

"And I guess that's it, for this lesson ... now you may ask any questions you like." Emoyan told them.

At least they were semi behaving this time ... sitting up, paying attention ... with maybe the exception of Anusha possibly. She was slumping a bit far to be practical.

[Avu]

Oh, pooh – what kind of reaction was that?

Rusa crinkled his nose at the Candidatemaster, and then leaned back in his seat just as Anz entered; the Candidate turned and grinned widely at the other boy’s appearance, and then at Nautic, though the wher Candidate’s comment on his boobs being too big made Rusa sprawl over one of the arms of the chair, sitting diagonally with one arm hooked over the arm and the other resting loosely on his stomach. “I’m so sorry, Nautic – we’ll have to see about downsizing those next time,” he answered seriously, nodding as he reached up to check his wilting flower and then dropped his hand back again. “Or we can just get one of those breast-band things that help with like, support or something…they’ll probably have it at the next Gather if you specially request for ‘em.” Whether or not it was true, Rusahre had absolutely no idea, but he was mostly just rambling: It was his way of trying to grate on the Candidatemaster’s nerves, because normally, he was quiet. Anusha’s entrance – followed by Mer’s – just topped it off, especially considering that they had, apparently, corrupted both of them, judging by their comments.

Primly sitting upright again, Rusa turned to press one finger solemnly to his lips, shaking his head vigorously at the two girls. “Shhhhh,” he insisted in a loud whisper, winking at both of them to make sure they knew he was kidding. “He’s talking, he’s talking, shhhhh or you’ll miss it…” Whereupon he whirled back around to face the front, arranging his hands in his lap and sitting bolt upright again (between his completely serious expression, the braided pigtails, and his posture, Rusahre rather thought he resembled someone who had been struck by lightning or something equally dramatic).

The Candidatemaster’s lesson would have sent him into a stupor of boredom had Rusahre not been plotting. His eyes widened innocently as the man went on about ranks and their responsibilities, and he fidgeted in his seat slightly, crossing his legs at the ankles and tucking them underneath his chair before he actually squirmed, as noticeably as he could, biting his lip as if trying to hold in a comment. It was…a complete act. Rusahre didn’t act like this, normally, and likely everyone but Emoyan would notice it, as all of them had seen him outside of Lessons before. Emoyan, however – well, if the Candidatemaster thought he was stupid, that only gave him an advantage – one that Rusa fully intended to exploit, should it ever come down to that. The ranting of ranks and the paper passed out were both ignored, as was the explanation on chores. He knew all of it already, though he might have to glance over the paper later – but the Weyrleaders’ names he had down just fine, and he could probably rant off the Wingleaders and ‘seconds as well.

Question time!~

Rusa’s hand hit the air, and he leaned forward, smoothing the paper in his lap as he spoke. “Are the Weyrleaders couples? Like, you know – Kaegan and K’roi; Savitri and Ka’rys – couples? And speaking of Savitri, she’s huge, isn’t she? Do Southern women come that way, or do they do something…? Oh, and I just noticed – there are a lot of ‘K’ names in Weyrleadership…can I change my name to something that starts with a ‘K’? Then,” and he gestured towards Mer, nodding at her to credit her with the suggestion, “I can Impress gold and take over for Savitri, and we can all have ‘K’ names.” He crinkled his nose up slightly, and then added, “Oh, and – um,” and he bowed his head as if shy (it was actually to disguise the fact that he wasn’t blushing), “I’ve got a question about the last lesson, too. You said that pregnant women couldn’t Stand, but – but how do you get pregnant…? I’ve asked, but nobody would tell me; they all turned bright red and excused themselves, and – I mean, nobody’s ever explained…could you, please…?”

Because, yes, of course he was virgin and completely innocent!

[glamourie]

Oh Nautic was hilarious. It took all of Anz’s self-control not to crack up laughing hysterically at his fellow candidate’s remarks, and as it was, he reached down to put his hands on the edges of his dress’s skirt before half-bowing in a fairly decent imitation of the way hold girls would curtsy. Sitting sort of ruined the whole dramatic flare, but that was all right - it got the job done. There would be no doubt as to the playful nature of his response to those who knew him but outwardly -- outwardly it almost looked genuine. If one ignored his outfit, anyway. With the clothes that he was wearing, well, it was nearly impossible to take anything that Anz said or did seriously, even to Anz. He could just imagine how he and the other candidates looked to everyone else. Ridiculous? Perhaps. But Candidate master Emoyan had made it clear he favored the girls. What better way to garner his favor?

“I would be more than happy to craft you a dress, Nausilove, just come by after lessons and we’ll get you fitted right up. I’ve got the most ravishing pink-and-white floral pattern that I just know you’ll love,” he replied in as high a voice as he could manage, with a dramatic wave of his hand. His amusement was doubled by the arrival of another candidate who… apparently had been corrupted by their evil. It took all of his self-control not to laugh hysterically at Anusha’s words, and he bobbed his head happily at her, causing his pigtails to bounce in the process. Yes yes, a ribbon for Emoyan, maybe that would get the gigantic stick out of his butt. Anz normally liked authority figures, but he would swear up and down on his life that he had phantom pains in his ear, all caused by being hauled around by it. Ears were not designed for that purpose, and it had hurt. Grrr.

-- hoping to --

Spinning around, Anz gave Merridan a wide grin before bopping his head in agreement with her words. He dare not speak though, for at that moment Mr. Lecture-a-lot launched into his tirade. He glanced over at Emoyan and very deliberately twirled the end of one of his pigtails in his fingers the entire time the man spoke, his gaze locked squarely on his face. He wondered briefly if it was possible to have a practical lesson instead of one where they were lectured. Couldn’t Emoyan have paraded all the individuals in question in front of them? He wouldn’t recognize them even if he saw them, though the names were familiar from his snooping in the archives (about salamandyrs, no less, but that was a secret). Ah, but he was saved from asking any questions as Rusa launched into his own little shpiel and --

“RUSAHRE!” he burst out, leaping from his seat at the last question. “You shouldn’t be asking Emoyan that!” For all appearances, it was him defending the candidate master. Except -- Anz immediately ducked over next to Rusa’s chair, kneeling by the arm (still looking at Emoyan and thus paying attention to the lesson, even if he was being disruptive), “You might give him ideas.” He leaned forward to whisper loudly to his fellow candidate. “I don’t imagine ear-grabbing is any more popular among the older population than it is among us, so I’m betting our candidate master is single. You needn’t rub the salt into that wound, heartless one, you’re so very cruel. Not to mention it’s awkward having a man explain that sort of thing to a lady.” He jumped up, whirled around, and raised his hand. “Caaaandidate master, I have a question -- can we have a lady please explain where babies come from? It’d be very awkward for you to do so, what with you being -- well, you’re a gentleman and it would just be inappropriate for ladies like us. You understand, I’m sure.”

… He was just making up for Zan’s absence. Really.

[Sheari]

He rejected her ribbon. He didn't even acknowledge that she'd offered it! But like how the guys would have acted when they were being...guys...Anusha simply sat down in her chair and dramatically tossed her head to the side in an attempt to scatter hair across her face. A few strands few and she quickly positioned them to cover her eyes as she slouched and took on the demeanor Rusahre would have had. She knew she failed utterly but at least she'd put forth the effort. With her hair now in place and her braid even more loose she took the paper and looked it over.

Weyrleaders was the topic for today. Millieth and Kaegan were the Goldpair and K’roi and Gareth presently assisted them. They lead the entire weyr, blah blah blah. Anusha found she was honestly bored this time 'round. She'd been to Selenitas before, working in the records room. People often didn't take notice of archivists and the stereotype was that they didn't talk much. But indeed they spoke almost about everything they wrote down. Subjects of conversation that was hot turns ago was still talked about by the usuals of the archives.

When Emoyan spoke up about the Junior Weyrleaders she look peculiarly at him. Hadn't there just been a flight? She was a little surprised by how the Candidate Master spoke as though Ka'rys had been Junior Weyrleader for a few months. This was something records keeping did not prepare her for. When writing down the result of a flight that's all that was written down. The queen to Rise, the list of Chasers and the victor of the event was generally all the made it to be put in ink. No one really cared about the dynamics and the details. If someone did want to know they'd ask by word-of-mouth.

She listened half-heartedly to what Emoyan was saying as he continued to speak. Yes, she knew it was important and she should probably be listening up (and sitting up) but she knew about chores already; at least the archive chores. She listened as he began to talk about general duty. Puffing hair out of her face and letting it fall back into place. General duty entailed almost anything. Kitchen duty required usually cleaning but, like general duty, could be anything.

And when he said he was open for questions, the antics began.

"But Savitri doesn't have a "K" name! She has an "S" name!" she said pointedly at Rusa. "Besides, "S" comes after "R", but if you really want us to we can call you Kusahre." It sounded horrible, simply horrible. And then she remembered he was usually either sarcastic or quiet so she sat (or rather slouched) back in her chair and puffed the hair in her face. She didn't know what his usual expression was since he usually hid it behind his curtain so she just mock scowled at the world. Oh yes, when your Candidate Master gives you lemons (or hauls you around by the ear) the best thing to do is scowl.

Anz was the one to speak up first about Rusa's new topic about pregnancy. Well then, this new subject was not awkward at all! "Rusa dear, if you're so curious about pregnancy, why don't you find someone who's pregnant and ask them?" She withheld the comment she wanted to say--'why don't you try to get pregnant yourself?'--But that would have come off very poorly.

What did pregnancy have to do with lessons or chores anyway?

[wokaida]

Picking up the pace Chehero was getting irritated by the fact she hadn't found the proper schedule listings. Someone had thought it funny to keep it covered up, which didn't help the poor candidates case much at all. The only reason she had managed to hear about the class was through word of mouth and even then, it wasn't quite that accurate. After all, it apparently happened to be the wrong time. Something the small candidate quickly discovered when she reached the door to the class room. Ready to burst into tears for being late a second time, Chehero quickly sniffled in a deep breath of air before entering.

Slipping quietly to the back of the room, hopefully she hadn't been noticed and wouldn't have to retake the class. Though even if she did there wasn't much she could do, maybe next time she should just ask the candidate master himself for the proper time instead of just relying on the constantly covered, and moved, paper on the wall. Tugging on the loose strand of her hair Chehero was thankful she had at least made it in for part of the lesson. Though she had missed the beginning talking about the weryleader and werywoman, she had slipped in with time to hear the rest of the lesson from the headwoman onward.

Glancing nervously around the classroom Chehero stitched her eyebrows together, confused about the other males in the class room. She hadn't noticed this before and it really wasn't something she had been introduced to ever. The wery was turning out to be a very strange place, and so very foreign to her she almost wanted to crawl back to the Harper hall and continue her journeyman-ship. It didn't help much that her classmates had decided to ask some rather un nerving questions. Didn't they have mothers to teach them manners? Or more importantly private lessons that should not have been needed to say? Turning her attention to Anz who promptly spoke up.

Slinking a little into her chair blushing Chehero opted to remain invisible, what if she was going to be called on to answer the question because she had been late to class. That would be a punishment for sure, something she couldn't' and wouldn't handle well. Putting that aside, how had the boys even come up with such a question in the first place. This wasn't something that needed to be covered what it!?

[dragon]

Emoyan listened patiently as the zoo broke loose in his classroom, and when the ruckus died down again, he had only a few comments for them. "Where babies come from is a question best asked of a Healer. They can give you all the prescision terms and locations of everything that you may or may not want to know. I would highly recommend R'wign, as I am fairly certain that the head Healer will have time to give you all a nice class on such things. Not to mention the head Healer will also be the most knowledgable." Emoyan told them. No ... he was not going to play ball with them ... he was going to make them take thier rediculous zoo elsewhere!

"Letters of names have nothing to do with leadership positions." Emoyan added, before pointing at Anusha. "I know that you know the rules for the classroom. You have blatantly broken them. Two weeks additional chores latrine duty." He told her, sternly. "Next time, mind the rules."

And then he pointed out Chehero. "Chehero. I'll be needing you to stay after class." He said, simply.

"Anything else?"

[Avu]

Rusa spun to face Anz as the boy burst out with his name, and widened his eyes in false shock, before he bowed his head contritely in response to the other Candidate’s words, eyes as wide as they could go and mouth turned downwards to hide the blatant amusement that he felt. He covered his mouth with his hand, eyes swiveling to Emoyan nervously, and he cringed backwards in his seat, nervously hooking his feet around the legs of the chair and using them to push himself farther back against the chair, the other hand reaching up to adjust his flower in a show of false anxiety. “Oh – I’m sorry! I’m really sorry,” he blurted, shaking his head to and fro while keeping it bowed, determined not to show his amusement; in that moment, he wished his hair had been kept down so as to hide his face properly, something that braided pigtails simply could not manage. “I didn’t think – I know – I mean, I know ladies don’t like being handled like herdbeasts – it didn’t occur to me. I’m so sorry, Candidatemaster, I promise it won’t happen again – ” Sure he did. Bobbing his head emphatically and wringing his hands, Rusa flicked his eyes deftly up at the Candidatemaster, biting his lip.

He turned to grin widely at Anusha, though, making it clear that he appreciated her input; her position tickled the Candidate immensely and he twirled one pigtail (short, it was; his hair brushed his shoulders and collarbone, but he couldn’t manage a decent pigtail. Hnn.) around one finger nervously. “I’d love to, but when my ma was pregnant with my little sister” – his imaginary, nonexistent sister, mm-hmm – “she was so touchy – I don’t want to be slapped. It would hurt and I could maybe break a nail, and – and that would hurt…” Oh, he was so overusing the female stereotype there, but – it only emphasized the femininity, as far as he was concerned, and Emoyan wasn’t responding well enough for his liking. He’d have to keep pushing, then – and he would push.

The Candidatemaster’s response – as well as appointing Anusha extra chores – made Rusa’s hands freeze, and his glance flicked apologetically towards the girl; he hadn’t meant to get her in trouble…but that had just settled it. His making Chehero stay behind went more or less unnoticed; he got up, and waltzed over to Emoyan before he draped one elbow over the Candidatemaster’s shoulder, leaning against him in a blatantly friendly way – even overfriendly, perhaps, for he quirked one eyebrow slightly. His pose wasn’t nearly as precarious as it looked; if Emoyan decided to move, he’d still be able to keep his balance just fine – because honestly, he didn’t trust the Candidatemaster not to move. If he did, Rusa would probably just stand there for a moment, and then, belatedly fall over and then start to harangue him for ‘letting a lady fall’ or something, but –

“Want a grapefruit?” he offered, reaching down his shirt and worming one up again before he shifted it to the hand draped comfortably over Emoyan’s shoulder – more or less shoving it into the Candidatemaster’s face. “I heard you liked ‘em – can’t figure out why; I can’t stand them, myself, but – if you like that one, you can have…hmm. One, two, three, four – five more…” With each number, he pointed at the appropriate grapefruit-boob. Rusa was more or less completely unconcerned by the fact that he was ridiculously lopsided now. “If you don’t take it,” he added, cheerfully, “I’ll leave it on your desk – you can have it later; we couldn’t have such a big grapefruit going to waste, now, could we…?”

[subtlemystery]

Late again! He was really making a reputation for himself, wasn't he? The hilarious thing was, Kaerlin wasn't actually going out of his way to annoy the candidate master, he was actually doing his best to make it to lessons some what on time. Unfortunately, it wasn't working. Usually, if Kaerlin wanted to annoy someone it was pranks and useless fun, not something as important as missing a lesson, or nearly missing one as the case was.

"Sorry, I'm la-" Though completely out of breath and apologetic, he couldn't help but face the classroom with shock. Why were all the boys ... Wearing skirts? Blinking rapidly to try and catch up with whatever joke was obviously playing with his vision, Kaerlin summed up the most likely answer. He was still dreaming. Or he'd passed out from running so much and then started dreaming, because that was much more logical than what he was looking at right now. If it was a joke though, intended for the candidate master, why hadn't he been told about it?

"Did I miss something? How come I didn't get the memo?" If he'd been told, Kaerlin certainly would have done something about finding a skirt to wear. The bright colours he favoured on a normal day didn't live up to the fact that Kaerlin was fairly sure most of the males sitting there were usually disinclined to wear skirts, it was a good joke though... Why hadn't he been included?

{Fail }

[glamourie]

Rusa delivered, as expected. Anz glanced up at him, then scurried back to his seat, straight-backed and listening properly. He raised an eyebrow at his fellow candidate and resisted the urge to smirk, but that was only half of his response because Anusha’s words drew his attention over to her. His head cocked to the side curiously and he went back to toying with the end of his pigtails. Why was she being a buzz kill? He decided not to ask, though -- he’d done enough speaking. That and at that exact moment, another candidate came in. He saw her out of the corner of his eye and he mouthed ‘Sit, quickly’ to her in an attempt to help -- but the damage was done. She was seen. He knew that Emoyan had seen her because the candidate master began speaking almost immediately after Anusha had and -- much to his surprise, he scolded the girl and not him. He’d expected scolding, after all he’d spoken out of turn and had scurried across the room. Though maybe since he hadn’t taken his eyes off of Emoyan, it could be qualified as obeying the rules. Who knew. The man was weird.

His response was also boring. Almost lamenting the lack of hilarity in the class, Anz bowed his head only to see Rusa stand and his blue eyes followed the other candidate searchingly. However, when he started counting off, Anz promptly removed his left ‘boob’ and held it close to his chest defiantly with a glare pointed right at Rusa.

“Don’t you be volunteering my breasts for another’s consumption. I plan to eat them after class!”

He really did, too. Nothing against Emoyan but grapefruits were delicious, and if he had to go around lugging them on his chest awkwardly, he most assuredly was going to get to enjoy them. He felt he’d earned the right to eat them. Emoyan could have all the rest. He claimed his own, thanks. Realizing how lopsided he must have looked, though, Anz pulled the collar of his dress out and down some, then quickly stuffed the grapefruit back into the breastband. It took some adjusting (which had to appear comical to any viewer) but he managed to level out his ‘boobs’ with some relative ease. Then he folded his arms underneath them and quirked an eyebrow, daring someone to comment. So what if the right one was bigger than the left one. WHAT OF IT?!

Speaking from behind him made Anz look over at Kaerlin and he raised an eyebrow before frowning. No dress. But his words made the frown turn upside down and he shrugged his shoulders absently. Late comer. “We figured you have enough trouble getting to lessons on time without strapping grapefruits to your chest, we didn’t think you’d make it at all if we made you top heavy,” he said playfully (and it was meant as a joke, no harm, no foul). Actually, he didn’t know why Kaerlin wasn’t included, but then, Anz would’ve been very happy to make him a dress or skirt if he’d just asked. His fault for not actively participating with the group of boys who were dressed like girls. Speaking of which, where was his brother at when all the insanity was going down?