Keep Control {Open}

If Vesta could have scoffed and, indeed, understood what was said of her then she woud have done so. For the clean and perfectly sanitary Flitt to have such a gross misjudgment on her character was indeed shocking. As it happened, the thoughts of her Bonded were enough to make the tiny Flitt turn and stare for a moment. Kire could hardly go a day without bathing the Flitt. Still, she managed to grab Vesta off the table and hold her tightly in her hands trying to keep control over her. It was tougher than normal for the simple fact that Vesta could see so much wrong and messy. Still, she was bound to get tired eventually and Kire didn't want the little Pink to fall asleep on someone's plate and be eaten! How horrible! Vesta fought for a moment but calmed down when she was placed on Kire's shoulder.

Kire looked back at who had spoken and smiled happily.
"Of course. She likes to clean..." She trailed off and brushed some hair away that Vesta had begun staring at.
She listened to him and watched his movements as he introduced himself as Qosis. Kire nodded when he stated she was for the Whers. The thought of the upcoming hatching made her heart flutter with joy at the thought that she would finally be something more than a candidate. It was then that she realised this boy spoke a lot and barely let her get even a word in. Usually she was the one who spoke more than everyone else combined... Finally he stopped with an order to set the Alphahandler's place.

"Of course, I'm Kire by the way and yes I am a wher candidate. It's wonderful that you're standing for a dragon. Have you ever stood before? I've stood once for a wher but I don't think I focused enough on what was happening but this time I'm not going to let anything distract me." She had a determined note to her voice and the assertion that she was going to impress from Qosis simply served to raise her determination even more.

She took the cup and wandered over to the table. She noticed nothing amiss with Qosis' addressing of her, always happy to do what was asked of her if it was something that would make the job easier or faster. More importantly, she was absolutely pleased when she begun setting Ridan's place. Vesta kept her place, fixing Kire's hair every now and then with little chatters of annoyance.

Kire smiled happily when Qosis seemed to perk up completely when he started talking about Whers. It was absolutely wonderful to meet someone who was standing for the dragons yet who also felt that the Whers were important in their own right. She kept setting the tables accordingly and had finished with the Alpha table. It was a shame that the Whers didn't really get as much recognition as they deserved. She wanted so badly to remedy that fact but knew there was little she could do when there was a whole culture in Pern of people obsessed with dragons. Certainly, Kire had been a little interested in dragons herself but she had never wanted one. They were too big... Whers were so much smaller and so much more fascinating.

She looked at Qosis with an almost apologetic expression on her face. She'd heard so much about that hatching... So much had gone wrong and she feared a little for the next Wher hatching that something similar would happen. She would just have to push it from her mind. She would impress and there would be no problems. She didn't even mind what she impressed but wanted so badly to be a part of something bigger. She figured from the tones the other candidate had that he thought much the same. That he too wanted to be something more than a candidate or drudge in the Weyr.

She looked at Qosis sharply and with a little surprise when he drew her attention to the fact that she had made it seem as though they had some choice. Of course they did! When there were a whole group of candidates standing around they chose the one they thought the strongest.
"But of course! When there are so many of us standing around they choose the person they believe is the strongest. That's what blooding and feeding them is about." She replied happily, "I think that the Alpha tries to keep the hatching up to the Whers as much as the humans. It reinforces that the relationship is not one-sided."

Vesta was still attempting to keep the strands of hair from her bonded in the ponytail that constantly held it. She seemed to enjoy keeping Kire clean and pressed. Every now and then she would try to keep everything clean. She settled down a little when Kire kept her haid behind her ear and resigned herself to sitting on Kire's shoulder happily. Or as happy as she could be while not cleaning.

Kire laughed a little at the joke Qosis had made. She had heard many things about Ausk. Namely how fearsome she was but also a little about how... Different her run had been. Of course, she had met the red once just before the Wher had clutched and she had been as fearsome then as her reputation had described. If the Red heard her laughing just now Kire had no doubt that she would be on the dinner menu. So she cleared her throat a little and looked covertly around the dining hall for just a moment.

At his continued speech she frowned thoughtfully though. She was unsure as to how many did turn wild or, indeed, whether they even did. She supposed there were some but she thought, from the memory of the last hatching, that there had been no wild Whers. She was almost certain that all of them impressed to a candidate. She was about to respond when the boy before her let out a deep sigh. She watched him for a moment with a look of some concern causing her brow to furrow. He smiled to her suddenly but it shocked her still. Something was truly bothering the boy.

"What's-"
She broke off as he brought her attention to her cheeks. Kire could do little to hide the heat that rose to them as she touched them lightly with her hands. She followed him as he moved off and then coughed.
"Oh, well... I don't know about that..." She responded, a little flustered, "I mean, my parents were from a Weyr... I grew up in Ista Weyr. My father was a Wherhandler, mother was one of the staff... I was a dolphineer for a while too."
Towards the end of her explanation what confidence she had returned, and she smiled again.
"I think my father was wealthy but, I never really had much to do with him. That's normal though for Weyrbrats... "

The bounce to her step returned as she followed him and took plates and other objects from the trolley to place on the tables. It was true, her cheeks were a little cheeky... She had not really thought about it before. She looked back at the other candidate... He looked more suited to Wher handling than she did.
"What about you...?"
She observed his scars then and frowned a little. Perhaps it was some injury from working in the Weyr... She had seen more than one person wandering around with scars gained from being around large beasts with sharp claws.
"I can't imagine that you were a Holder... Herder perhaps?" She asked with interest.

Kire followed Qosis with a small, confused frown furrowing her brow. There was something a little... Different about Qosis and she could not quite put her finger on it. The very fact that she had noticed something not quite right had made her pretty pleased with herself. So pleased, in fact, that all thought of it flew from her mind as she set about placing the water on the tables and looked up suddenly when Qosis confirmed her guess as true. She had gotten something right!? This was truly a momentous day. Of course, Kire did not necessarily think precisely this especially when he expanded on what he had been. An ex-trader. That was interesting. He must have seen so many things in his time and done so much. It was also interesting to know that the children were not completely raised by the parents amongst traders. She would never have thought that possible.

He kept speaking and mentioned something about the Dolphins being as smart as a man. It was true yet she did agree with him in that most men... Or women... May indeed take this as an insult. She had spoken with so many of them as easily as she did a dragon or, indeed, Qosis before her. In some cases the creatures even seemed smarter than the humans they spent time with. They seemed to understand more about the world. Perhaps more like dragons than they realised.
"They are truly fascinating creatures. They're really capable of so much. But being a trader, you must have seen the whole of Pern!" She exclaimed, far more interested in what he had to say about being a trader... Even if it was something small.

She kept placing things on the tables consistently, with little thought put into what she was doing. Everything just seemed to work on an action, reaction base, where she was passed something and placed it almost straight away on the table. She took the mug gratefully from Qosis, filled and was about to drink from it when something pink flew forward and grabbed her hand with an indignant screech.

Unsanitary! How could Hers even think to drink from the same cup as another!? Vesta was so glad that she was here to keep Hers clean and tidy. She chattered a little, gripping the hand with tiny claws and eventually crawled forwards to hold onto the mug so it would be tougher to lift. Kire simply stood there a little bewildered. She coughed and laughed nervously before trying to tempt the Flitt back to her shoulder.
"She... Well... She's rather into cleaning." Kire attempted to explain.

Vesta's eyes were swirling until Kire placed the mug back on the table with an apologetic smile. She gathered the Pink into her hands once again and placed the mini-dragon on her shoulder. She would need to work on keeping Vesta under control. At the moment she seemed to be coping well enough but if she was to impress a Wher she needed to hold the creature's attention. She sent an image to Vesta of her room and it being messy. Vesta seemed to mumble for a moment and then settled down. Kire had just threatened to mess up their room unless she behaved. She stroked the Flitt lightly though to show that she was not really all that angry with her. Vesta crouched on her shoulder and sat there in an almost grudging fashion but slowly became a little happier.

As Qosis began talking about his travels and adventures, Kire stopped moving and setting the tables, staring at him in something akin to awe. She was just about frozen where she stood, placing things slowly on the tables listening to Qosis' tale. When he moved away she followed him almost without thought, listening intently to what was being said. When he stopped speaking she stood there, waiting patiently for him to continue his story thinking about everything he had said.

He'd travelled more than herself... That much was amazing to her but what was even more fascinating was the dangers he had faced. Brigands! People trying to keep something from another. She had always thought the life of a trader filled with adventure but she had never thought that there would have been this much adventure. She started suddenly when he did not continue.
"And then what happened? How did you get out of it?" She asked almost breathless, "It must have been absolutely terrifying."

Kire held onto Qosis' every word as he masterfully wove his tale. If she had only heard these stories she might have guessed that he had once been a Harper. The way in which he seemed to paint the whole picture held Kire in the moment as she stared after him. She felt like a child, listening to the stories told by the Harpers in the Weyr but this was far more than a story and that was what made it so real to her. Well, it was real and it had obviously happened only recently. Not during the last Pass. She smiled back at Qosis, eager for him to continue his story.

When he mentioned that their watch was a girl she tilted her head a little. She would have assumed that the role of watch would have gone to a male, particularly when she thought of what little she knew about Traders... What was more, the way in which he spoke suggested there was something more to this watch then he was letting on. Perhaps she was his sister or perhaps even a close friend. She realised at that moment she had not been paying enough attention to what was happening and was a little lost. Her eyes widened and she gasped when she understood what he was saying. They had let the brigands attack them? How brave! And Qosis only a child. She could not even imagine how that must have felt.

She was a little torn though between admiration and shock when he revealed that the Brigands had been disposed of. Kire wasn't really the type to condone violence but she also agreed with Qosis. These people had been dangerous... Her brow did crease briefly when he made light of the fact that those left behind were treated little better than wherries.
"It was lucky you had such a good watch. She sounds like she took her job really seriously. How did she see them so well in the dark?" She asked, "Especially when they were hidden in the sand."

She placed a few more mugs on the table realising that she had stopped what she had been doing to listen to Qosis.
"I don't think I could even imagine something like that happening to me. I mean, the Dolphins were amazing but nothing that exciting, or dangerous, ever happened"