CANDIDATE LESSONS Lesson 1; Rotation 1

[antinanco]

W’ri stood behind his desk, marveling at the idea that he had a desk now. Well, sure he had one in his Weyr, but he had paid good marks for that one. This desk, this desk was only bought by hard work and status. Slowly he ran one hand over the rough grain, removing the fine layer of dust that accumulated and adjusting the parchment that had every Candidate’s names spelt out in messy lettering.

Becoming Candidate Master definitely made up for being kicked out of Weyrleader’s Wing.

W’ri turned now and put all of himself into arranging the desk into neat rows. There were about twenty, but just in case more showed up the rider had dragged some extra chairs from the Dining Hall and arranged them in the corner. The Master triple-checked the board outside, just to be sure the notice he had put up about today’s lesson was still up, though he was sure that gossip had probably reached some faster than a bulletin. As the time for class to begin drew closer, he began fidgeting with the drawers of his desk in anticipation.

You can do it, Ri-mine!

[/i] Angth encouraged as the first, faint sound of footsteps echoed into the room.

“Yeah… but can I do it well?”

Before a reassuring answer came, the tidal wave of Candidates broke over W’ri’s head and he momentarily drowned in the sudden noise in confusion. But the bluerider somehow managed to steel himself and shout, “Oui! Anybody got any questions or anythin’? Or can we start right away?”

---

Attendance
Okay, this is a little complex. Think of a stop-light, if you have trouble. Red is for one post, yellow is for two posts, and green is for three. Once you’ve gotten yellow, you’re technically allowed to proceed to the next lesson. Then I will take your Candidate’s name off of the list for this lesson only, meaning they will never have to take this lesson again. Green is even better than yellow and not only will you be able to advance, but a green will translate as extra effort IC, making you more eligible for Rider’s Apprentice and other goodies like that. If you don’t get yellow or green, then you’re stuck at this lesson and will need to retake it. The next Rotation will begin next week. Everybody got it? Good! Let’s rumble.
Danar
Lanthos
Pasine
Venus
Burena
Malara
Rozen
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[hseru]

His first candidate lesson ever! Lanthos was so excited he could barely stand it, and Pep was catching some of his fever, frilling at everyone around him in agitation, but remaining quiet for the most part. Perched on his shoulder, the small, but bright blue stood out clearly against the earth tones of the candidate's clothes. He certainly hoped he wouldn't look too foolish or unintelligent, but he -was- new still, and a candidate... he hoped he could use what knowledge he'd gained from his first face to face dragon encounter.

Filing in with the other candidates, he moved to take a seat somewhere comfortably in the middle of the room. He couldn't help grinning at himself. Imagine, him, Lanthos, actually looking forward to a class! Well, the subject matter being different was a big help here, so he settled himself with as much grace as he could muster, fiddling with his hands on the desktop and trying to not look too eager.

Pep, looking around with a lazy fade to his eyes, slid down the boy's arm to land on his clasped hands, laying there and watching all the nothispets walking around. He then looked back and Lanthos with pleading eyes. Lanosup. Up. He begged, and the candidate returned the salamandyr obediently to his shoulder with a small laugh, where the small blue wriggled comfortably and settled in for a nice nap.

[hseru]

It felt different, being around people of her own age. Normally, Rozen was either with those older than her, or children in the Creche. Of course, that had changed when she announced that she intended to be a wher candidate. She was moved into the candidate barracks, and she found herself missing the quiet solitude of her little room conjoined to the back of the creche. The frivolities of those her own age wasn't something she would be able to put up with for long, or, at least she -felt- that way. She was still handling it well enough, but it was only a few days into her new life... well, she didn't feel like killing anyone yet, in either the figurative or literal term.

Feeling positive at that thought, Rozen scooted into the room behind most of the other candidates obediently going to their first set of classes, taking a seat somewhere around the back left corner. If she had to attend these classes, which were mainly for dragon candidates -the thought was one of slight disgust- then she'd be better off disappearing into the back of the room while they all chatted about the creatures. Sitting straight, she attempted to seem calm. She half expected ridicule for her taste in what to be a candidate for, but she mentally prepared herself for it, comforted by the familiar weight strapped to the inner part of her left forearm, even if she'd told herself that she wouldn't slip it from its sheath. It just would not do to have a candidate's blood on her hands so soon into her own candidacy.

She faced the new Candidatemaster with an attempted look of interest. Who knew, maybe she'd learn something about whers here. She perked up at the possibility.

[topaz]

Venus had heard mumblings about a Candidate Lesson being started during dinner a few nights before, and had gone to the bulletin board the day before to confirm the rumor. Yep. Their very first Candidate Lesson, with Master W'ri. Venus unfortunately had little idea who the man was and would have to wait for the lesson to discern his temperament. Therefore, just to be safe, Venus had made sure to get up on time, wash, dress nicely, and hurry out of the barrack.

The brunette wore dark brown hide pants over boots, and a white, loose fitting v-neck tunic. The shirt was cinched at her waist with a dark brown belt, engraved with a few delicate vines here and there, which accentuated her slender, but curvy, figure nicely. Walking with purpose towards the assigned room, Venus turned into the doorway and quickly headed towards the front of the classroom. Giving a polite bow to the Candidatemaster, Venus took a seat in the second row, just to the right of center. "Good day Candidatemaster W'ri." She said with a kind smile. Rarely deigning to talk to anyone specifically, Venus figured it couldn't hurt to be especially polite to the man who would be teaching her for the next, however many classes.

Glancing around quickly, Venus recognized a few of the other Candidates from the last Hatching, along with some newer faces. However she turned her attention back to W'ri as he asked if they could begin. She gave a slight nod, genuinely eager to hear her first Candidate Lesson.

[antinanco]

Pasine entered more reluctantly that she had long imagined she would. When she had first become a Candidate, she had been so excited to dive right in! Even though there had been no teacher then, she had dove right into the records in an attempt to try and teach herself. Danar helped, too, but still her learning did not equate to the full hands-on experience of a real life teacher. It was only since that one night that she had been apprehensive about this new Master… well, she had better leave that in the past for now.

Entering the classroom wearing a simple cherry blouse and black trousers, Pasine offered a tiny bow for W’ri then scanned the room for faces she knew. Only one was new; a blonde girl in the corner that looked to be about her age, if not older. Though her curiosity was peaked, a seat in the back just wouldn’t do. Besides, she could socialize with the new girl later.

Silently the Candidate slipped into a seat towards the middle of the classroom, an old habit that had never died from the weaving workshop. Her seat was a few over from Lanthos’ so she gave a small wave of greeting to him as well.

As soon as Pasine sat down, one of her slender arms rose into the air. “Yes, I have a question, please,” she stated serenely, taking advantage of W’ri’s offer, “Should we bow or salute when we enter? I was not sure which one to do.”

[/font]

[antinanco]

The first to enter was a boy, who W'ri have a curt but friendly nod to. The lad was accommodated by a little blue 'mandyr, which the bluerider eyed with a slight smile. "Next time leave the worm in your cot, please? For now it's fine, but 'm sure ya know how noisy those thin's can be. Rather distractin'."

From there on in, it was all girls. The first two female Candidates seemed nice enough, though, so he gave them a bob of the head in greeting as well. It was only as the fourth and final student entered that W'ri's cool blue gaze turned cold. "Salute! Yer a recruit in the dragon army against thread! Among other things..." he replied coldy only to Pasine, indeed remembering her ill fated night-time adventure, "Act like it."




Lesson 1: Welcome to the Weyr
As soon as the four teens sat, W’ri stood from his chair and pounded his desk with a paperweight like a gavel. “Quiet, quiet everyone! The lesson’s gonna begin now!” he hollered over the bobbing heads of the crowd, and then continued again at a more sane interval.

“A’right, listen. I know ya’ll haven’t had a Master in a long time. In fact, many of ya haven’t had one at all, so I imagine this is all pretty new. But that’s why ‘m here: to whip all ya’ll young’ns into shape! Yer all gonna have ta work harder than any past class ever had ta catch up in time for the next Hatchin’! But the payoff will be more than ya can ever imagine, as I’m sure ya’ll know, so hang tight and there’ll be no problems at all…” Pause, fidget, glance at paper. “Oh! ‘m getting’ ahead of m’self.”

“Y’all may call’ me Candidate Master W’ri, of blue dragon Angth. But if that’s too long, then Master W’ri will do sure fine. After the lesson we can go around for everybody’s names, but first… ” W’ri sat down in his chair and made a wide sweeping motion with both of his hands.

“Welcome ta Selenitas Weyr.”

“I know, I know, many of ya’ve been living here for a while. But Selenitas is still very different from a Hold, or even other Weyrs. It’s more open sexually, so ya’ll be growin’ up fast. But it’s also much closer than a Hold, since most here don’t have the huge extended families like Holders. Basically, the Weyrwoman and the Weyrleader are like a mum and a dad ta everyone in the Weyr. Right now those two people are-write this down, now-Kaegan of Gold Millieth and T’rid of Bronze Corinth. And instead of ranks by bloodlines, we have rank by rider. Startin’ from highest to lowest, it goes Weyrwoman/Headwoman/Mastercrafters, Weyrleader, Younger Goldriders, Bronze-riders, Brown-riders, Blue and Green-riders, Journeymen, Weyrfolk, Apprentices, Weyrlin’s/Candidates and finally Drudges. Here ya’ll be expected to do chores instead of a craft, though ya can certainly continue one in yer free time as an elective. There are five main kind of chores; Kitchen Duty, Firestone preparing, Glow changing, Serving Duty and bein’ a Rider’s Apprentice. Next lesson I’ll talk more in detail ‘bout each one, plus electives.”

Here there was a pause in the lecture as the bluerider lifted himself from the chair and began to pace the front of the class.

“So, what exactly is yer place in this new-fangled Weyr, ya ask? Well, it’s notta pretty one, let me tell ya that. Ya’ll have a curfew now-“ There was a pause to allow for the inevitable groans. “-Ya can’t leave the Barracks before seven in the mornin’ and ya have to be back by ten in the night. Ya can’t go into Rider Weyrs, the Hatchin’ Ground or the Weyrlin’ Barracks without my written permission, no matter who orders ya ta do what. That includes the Weyrwoman. Other than that, feel free ta go wherever ya like… after yer chores are done. Alcohol is frowned on and fightin’ is never allowed. Period. Plus on the social ladder, Candidates are just a bit above drudges and below everybody else. This means if someone asks ya ta do somethin’, do it. The only exceptions are if ya’ll are already doin’ a Chore, if there’s a Hatchin’ or a Touchin’”

“Touchin’s! These are really simple; just bow ta the Queen and go ‘round touching eggs. I’ll talk about it in more detail when the time comes. But when these happen, and they’ll happen at a predetermined date, yer rank is temporarily and instantly elevated to most important people in the Weyr. For that one moment, ya’ll will even outrank me and the Weyrwoman. But at that same moment ya’ll have one duty you MUST fulfill: get ta the Sands immediately. Same goes fer Hatchins’.”

“Hatchin’s! These are the moments ya’ll are puttin’ up with all these rules for. Everythin’s on the line, so it’s important to get it right. Ya’ll know when a Hatchin’ is happenin’, since the whole Weyr will shake with the dragon’s hum. Once ya hear it, the first thin ya’ll need ta do is get yer white robes, which are provided in the trunks at the foot of yer beds, and put ‘em on. One size fits all. Then ya’ll need to find me. It’ll be pretty easy, I’ll be hollarin’ at everyone down by the boat docks. When everybody gathers, I’ll lead ya’ll to the Hatching Grounds so we can enter all at once. Do not enter without me! Ya must wait. Inside, bow to the Queen, then make one semi-circles. If there’s a queen egg, make two; one for boys, one for girls. Easy enough? Then all ya gotta do is wait. Ya may NOT rush a Hatcling; ya WILL get mauled. And injured or disabled Candidates are not allowed ta Stand. Ya may NOT crack open an egg, since it’ll only ruin yer hands and the dragon will be a dud anyway. Ya may NOT leave the Sands ‘til I say so! Only once ya Impress are ya out of my control. And, most importantly, ya MUST NOT break the circle! Only exception ta this rule is if ya Impress, which I think all ya’ll will be capable—once I’m done with ya.” There was a glancing glitter in his eye, but one could not tell if it had been imagined or not.

“If ya do all of this right and still don’t Impress… s’alright. It even took me a couple of tries ta get Angth, so don’t get too down on yerselves, k? If yer gonna Impress, then it’s gonna happen, assumin’ ya do all yer chores and don’t get kicked out of Candidacy.”

Finally W’ri stopped. “Now before I overload ya’ll, are there any other questions?”

[/font]

[hseru]

Lanthos bobbed his head in acceptance to the Candidatemaster, perturbed that he'd have to leave Pep behind, and wondering if he even could. The 'mandyr certainly put his all into clinging to him. Maybe if Pep behaved during the lesson, Lanthos could ask afterwards if he'd be allowed to stay... Who knew?

He gave a small wave back to Pasine, smiling at her, but a little startled at the Master's suddenly cool attitude towards her. He'd been so amiable to begin with, what about Pasine had changed that? Curious, he wasn't able to discreetly ask before the Master launched into the lesson.

Much of the information was new to him, and he was surprised at the amount of sheer information needed to be a Candidate. It was obvious, of course, but he was taken aback by the sudden dive into the lesson. Quickly scrabbling for a piece of paper and a writing stick, both of which were in a small cubby in his desk, he tried to take notes on everything, his handwriting some mess of chicken scratch that he'd be hard pressed to re-read later.

When the Master finally stopped to ask for questions, Lanthos' hand shot up with his enthusiasm. "Yes sir, you said that if there's a queen egg you-" He glanced down, squinting at his notes. "-Make two semi-circles, one for the boys, and one for the girls. Are they supposed to form a complete circle, or are they next to each other, or opposite each other with the clutch between? And why is there a need for separation only when a queen egg is present?"

The idea of being mauled by any dragon, no matter the size, was a bit frightening to him, but he understood that at that point they were just babies. He merely hoped he'd be one of the fortunate ones.

----------

Well, the class was turning out to be much like she'd imagined. Some useful information about the Weyr, which she already knew, and more information about dragons, which she had little interest in. For the sake of being a 'good' candidate, she doodled notes on her paper. The marks did look like doodles too from a distance, until one approached to read what was there. The simple fact, was that Rozen couldn't write the notes word for word fast enough. She'd only really learned how to write completely a couple of turns ago, and she lacked the benefit of long practice.

Instead, she drew a menagerie of circles, arrows, and a few choice names to illustrate larger concepts. The top circle for Keagan, as the leader, with either the names of those below her, related to position, or the position itself. Then she drew small diagrams of the way to stand at a hatching, labeled male/female, and on and so forth, filling the page with erratic doodles without any alignment that still somehow made sense to her.

She looked around the class at her few classmates as the Master paused to ask for questions. So far, nothing really new to her, so she didn't need clarification on anything. If she didn't learn something about whers today though, maybe she'd approach him after class with her dilemma. She was willing to give him the benefit of knowing more than her in these areas, despite riding a dragon.

[ladybug]

Burena slunk in a few minutes late. She shot the Candidate Master an apologetic smile and dropped into a seat as he started talking. Frankly, she didn't see the point of this. She had been living in the Weyr for months already, and she had been through a Hatching. But she didn't want to get in trouble by missing the Weyr.

As W'ri went over the character of the Weyr, Burena listened with halfhearted interest. She liked the Weyr a lot and she certainly had no qualms with the liberal nature of things. In her Hold, she had been considered a floozy. Here, she was just normal, perhaps a little more flirtatious than average, but not a bad person for it.

Speaking of which...Burena's eyes wandered, and settled on one of the newer candidates, Lanthos. She considered him for a moment before forcing herself to bring her attention back to W'ri. The chores and curfew were a bummer, but she was used to it by now. And it wasn't impossible to sneak out. When the candidate master asked for questions, she raised her hand. "So, does standing a second time increase your chances of Impression?" She asked.

[Rei]

Two loud voices disrupted the mainly quiet classroom. “And I said you are dung brained sorry excuse for a wherrie turd! We would have been there on time if you wouldn’t have tripped me!” The first voice was shrill and feminine. “Oh Yeah well if you weren’t such a bitch and would have just accepted my apology the headwoman would not have gotten involved, and neither of us would have been late anyway!” The other voice Pasine would recognize as belonging to her boyfriend.

Malara and Danar entered the class room both fuming at one another. Danar didn’t even bother to apologize for being late as he strode over to an empty desk behind Pasine and sat. He glared silently at the wall ahead not bothering to waste anymore of his precious breath on the horrible blonde. Holdbred girls were so self righteous. Well except for Pasine of course.

Malara bowed to W’ri. “I am sorry candidate master but that horrible boy made me late. I won’t be late again. I am sorry for missing your no doubt wonderful introduction.” She purred making her voice sweet and innocent. “I would be more than happy to stay after an hear it again.” She smiled and sat at the front of the classroom. As skilled at manipulation as she was, Malara was sure she could get this idiot to pass her with the best marks in the class. Especially if she played up to his no doubt self inflated sense of importance.

[topaz]

Venus was slightly startled at the Candidatemaster's brash opening announcement, as well as his casual way of speaking. The Candidate had expected a slightly more...refined, teacher. But he did seem pleasant enough, and rather engaging.

Venus listened intently as he introduced himself and quickly talked about the Weyr in general. At the mention of writing things down, Venus hastily rifled through the compartment in the desk in front of her and pulled out a small piece of parchment, a quill, and an inkwell. Dipping the quill in the ink, and filling it, Venus began jotting down some shorthand of Master W'ri's lecture.

Ranking:
Kaegan of Gold Millieth & T'rid of Bronze Corinth
Weyrwoman/Headwoman/Mastercrafters
Weyrleader
Young Goldriders
Bronze
Brown
Blue
Green
Journeyman
Weyrfolk
Apprentices
Weyrlings/Candidates
Drudges

Chores:
Kitchen Duty
Firestone Preparing
Glow Changing
Serving Duty
Rider's Apprentice
craft elective(beastcraft/weavingcraft?)

curfew- 7-10
no rider weyrs/hatching grounds/weyrling barracks
no alcohol/fighting

Touching:
get there quick
bow to queen
touch eggs

Hatching:
humming
white robe in trunk
find W'ri/go to hatching ground
bow to queen
semi circles (queen egg=girls)
no cracking eggs
don't break circle until Impress

Then W'ri asked for questions and Venus continued her silence. She looked over her shoulder for a moment to the people who did have questions, listening intently. It seemed pretty straight forward to her.

Suddenly there was shouting outside of the classroom and two Candidates burst in. The female in the pair hurried up to apologize to the Candidatemaster, but the boy just took a seat. Rather rude, Venus thought. But no matter. He would get a punishment if Master W'ri saw fit. The girl meanwhile, seemed to be sucking up to their teacher, which didn't bother Venus as much. it was probably in her best interest to inflate his male ego a bit to possibly get out of punishment for being late.

The commotion settling down once again, Venus trained her dark brown eyes on the Candidatemaster just a few feet in front of her, awaiting his reply to both the questions and the Candidate's apology.

[antinanco]

Pasine quietly took notes throughout the lesson, frantically scribbling notes across the page with ink splotches randomly dotting the page. Her notes were almost illegible they were so rushed, and the Candidate huffed heatedly. She knew how to write and read quite well, in fact she prided herself in her sprawling script, but not at this pace! Why did he go so fast?!

She was just about to raise her hand and brave another onslaught when Danar appeared in a rather grand entrance. Pasine nearly smacked her forehead at his folly—but at least she didn’t have to worry about him cheating on her with that girl.

“Are you okay?” Pasine whispered as she glanced behind her, one arched eyebrow risen curiously. Danar jumped at anything to do with Impressing or Riding, so it was unusual for him to have been late, especially to the all-important first lesson.

----

W’ri chuckled at Lanthos’ question good-naturedly, the imaging, “No, no. Then how’d the dragons get in ‘n Impress? Two separate semi-circles that each face the eggs, son.”

Then a girl ask a question and the bluerider beamed at what interested pupils he had! “Statistically speakin’, yes. The more dragons ya see hatch the more likely one will be for ya. Even though people aren’t sure what exactly causes Impression, and some say some people’re never suppose ta Impress… I’ve never seen it in my lifetime, and ‘m a lot older than ya’ll!”

W’ri stood before Malara for awhile, his gaze again turning cool as his brain churned out some sort of suitable punishment. But the girl seemed sincere enough, despite Danar’s obvious incompetence, and it was the first meeting. With one last ice glare at the male Candidate to show that was strike two, W’ri turned to the other with a breezy smile. “Since it’s the first Lesson, ‘ll let ya off with a warning-both of ya. Next time I expect punctuality! Can’t be late if there’s a Hatching’… But please get the note from somebody who can write.”

The Master watched as the two late-comers seated themselves, then decided to fill the silence with an announcement. “Oh! Almost forgot! If anybody wants extra lessons ta learn how ta read ‘n write, ask me! It’s not a skill ya’ll need for riding or handlin’, but if ya plan on being Wingleader or Second, ya need to learn eventually, be it now or Weyrling Lessons.”

“Now that everyone’s here…” W’ri’s gaze seemed to hover on Danar in particular, “Let’s go ‘round the room and get ta know each other! Each of ya state yer name, where ya come from, what pets ya have and... uh, one random fact! Go!” He paused, waiting for the most outgoing of the group to start the cycle. It didn’t have to be any particular order; as long as everyone familiarized themselves with the people they’d be bunking and rooming with for an unforeseen amount of turns to come. Plus, he'd get to know them too and identify troublemakers like the little baby-makers over there...

[/font]

[hseru]

Lanthos held back his slight blush at the Master's laugh. That wasn't quite what he'd been asking, but either way, the question got answered, and that was what really mattered, right? Maybe he would try and be more eloquent next time...

It was nice to know that not impressing the first time didn't mean utter failure! Lanthos had been worrying about that one for a while, but now he felt a bit more relaxed. Of course, he'd like to impress the first time, but if not, he wouldn't let it get him down.

He watched as the two late candidates were reprimanded, but the Master let them off without further punishment. As for writing, well he could do that well enough. Glancing down self-consciously at his paper, he grimaced a bit. What a mess he'd made of the notes. Well, it was his script, not his writing abilities that needed improvement.

When the Candidatemaster asked for names, Lanthos glanced around a bit, before facing forward again and volunteering himself as the first to go.

"Uh, Master W'ri, my name's Lanthos. I'm from Selenitas Hold, sir." He pointed to the small blue salamandyr curled up asleep on his shoulder. "This is Pep. I also adopted a kitten, but I have to send him to my folks for a while because the candidate barracks don't allow them." He paused after that, apparently trying to come up with an interesting fact about himself. "Um.. my family breeds runners, and I hope to be able to eventually bring Brownie, my runner, here to stay at the Weyr." He flashed a small, brief smile at the thought of seeing his runner again, then settled into a more stoic expression of waiting, glancing around again to encourage the others.

----

Rozen merely listened as questions were voiced and answered in turn, occasionally jotting down a doodle or note to appear busy. She almost took affront at the Master announcing that he could help people with their writing skills outside class. Well, she was never going to be a wingleader or wingsecond, so she was going to just skip that offer all together.

When the topic of names and such came up, Rozen leaned back in her chair, clearly unwilling to voice so much as a word during class. She would wait until later perhaps, or maybe until he called on her. She couldn't hope to get lost in the 'crowd' of candidates in the room, but she could put off the inevitable. While waiting, she didn't even bother rehearsing her story, it was so old hat. She'd certainly told it enough times to have every detail memorized to perfection.

[Rei]

“I’m fine. I’ll let you know all about it later.” he mumbled to Pasine once W’ri’s gaze shifted. He stood when there was a pause. “I am Danar. Born and bred here in Selenitas. I have no pets currently to speak of and I am going to impress a bronze dragon.” He let the confidence he felt at the fact show in the last line then sat down abruptly. Boring. Class was going to be extremely boring, he already knew who was who and what to do at impression. He had seen plenty and already stood once. Pasine knew most of it to. Too bad he couldn’t just skip class. His more noble, weyr responsible side wouldn’t let him. Who would respect a Weyrleader that wouldn’t even go to lessons?

----


“Thank you master W’ri. It won’t happen again.” Malara purred politely before turning her attention to her classmates the perfect picture of an attentive student. Oh she would pat attention all right some of these idiots could be useful. When it was her turn she stood and smoothed out her dress before giving a smile to W’ri. “I am Malara. I was born at Lighttower hold and searched at Blossom. I have no pets. One random fact is I hate cooked eggs.” She gave the Candidate master another sweet smile, and gave a small bow as she sat down. When he looked away she gave a poisonous glance at Danar. Figures he would want a bronze. She hoped he never impressed at all. Stupid clumsy dim glow.

[topaz]

Venus brightened suddenly as Lanthos gave the first introduction. His family had bred runners, and hailed from Selenitas Hold as well! At least she had that much in common with someone, and the thought was rather comforting. Just before she turned back around to face the front of the class again, Venus spotted the look in the Candidate's face as he spoke of bringing, no doubt, his favorite runner to the Weyr. His obvious affection for the beast made Venus smile slightly, hidden from view however as she turned back to her desk.

Unfortunately the girl's improved demeanor was soured as Danar, the rude latecomer, announced that he would Impress a bronze, of all dragons. Venus' lip curled upwards in annoyance. What a prat. Thinks he can choose his dragon. Venus suddenly smirked, a vivid imagining of Danar being trampled at the upcoming Hatching by an irate bronze dragonet filled her mind, and placated her.

The other half of the latecomer pair then stood and gave her own introduction. Malara, who hates cooked eggs. Well it was certainly something Venus would remember about the girl. But, did that mean that she ate eggs raw? Venus' brows wrinkled slightly at the thought.

Silence had taken over the room then, and Venus decided that she might as well take her turn. Turning halfway around in her chair, as to address both Master W'ri and the class, Venus cleared her throat quietly. "My name is Venus and I also hail from Selenitas Hold where my family has been breeding runners for generations." She glanced quickly at Lanthos and gave him a sweet, acknowledging smile. "I don't have any pets to speak of here at the Weyr, but I wouldn't mind getting one. And uhm....a random fact.." She trailed off to a mumble at the end. "If I do not Impress....something," Giving a faint hint, to anyone who was actually listening, that she would like to try her luck at Impressing a wher. "..within the turn, I plan to return to my Hold and take over the family runner business." She shrugged, and smiled weakly, then glanced at Master W'ri. It might not be interesting, but at least it was a fact. She certainly had much more stake in Selenitas Hold then the Weyr at this point.

[hseru]

Rozen snorted quietly to herself at the boy who had decided he was going to impress a bronze dragon. He was far too arrogant for her tastes, and he reminded her sharply of why she disliked most higher ranking riders, and males in general. She wouldn't wish him on a wher, but she did hope he got a proddy green for all his troubles. The thought gave her a sense of pleasure, and she smiled a bit.

Fairly lax in her chair, Rozen perked up a bit as Venus introduced herself. If she'd heard correctly, the girl wasn't just a dragon candidate? So she wasn't the only one who could see the potential in whers, hm? Very well, introduction time. She was close to last anyway, so why wait longer.

Pausing only to see if another would speak up, Rozen stood to her full vertically challenged height. "My name is Rozen, and I'm from Blossom Hold. I intend to impress a wher." She gave a brief glance to Venus, then returned to her seat without further ado. Well, maybe the Master would be able to impart some wisdom to her now that she'd made the fact so public.