The Grand Tour! (Sol/any new Candidate)

[4horseshowgirl4]

It was a beautiful morning. It was about half a candlemark after dawn, and Rukbat was just starting to rouse itself and stretch its arms over Pern. Soft yellow light was slowly warming the land, making the dew sparkle, and wakening the chirping birds. They sang for the world, in their quiet, heart-warming way, affirming to the residents of Pern that, yes, it was time to wake up. Small spots of activity could be seen, but, in general, it was peaceful. A small, teasing breeze wandered over the land, spurred on by the warmth of the morning sun. On the horizon, tiny, hulking shapes began moving around; herdbeasts and runners, heading for their morning feed. In the Weyr itself, few were awake, and, looking at the Bowl, one only saw the multicolored dots that were the dragons, asleep on their ledges.

Of course, what would the Weyr be if there wasn't at least a little bit of hyperactive-ness going on at an hour where most intelligent people were still in their beds?

"Solsolsolsol!" Pratyba whispered as loudly as she could, shaking the young woman frantically. She was far too excited to stay in bed until she was shoved out of it, as was her usual habit. Pratyba was not exactly the most motivated person in the morning, but this morning was different. On most mornings, friends did not become Candidates overnight! Well, perhaps not quite overnight, but it had pretty late when B'nyur and Oveth had brought them back from the Gathering last night, and Pratyba had only been able to show Sol where the Barracks were before she crashed, fast asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. Now, with several solid candlemarks of sleep behind her, Pratyba was ready for action, and what could that mean but giving Sol the grand tour, of course? Who was better to show Sol around than Pratyba, the one who was kinda-sorta-somewhat responsible for helping her get Searched?

It was still too quiet in the Candidate Barracks, with most of them still fast asleep and enjoying that sleep. Pratyba didn't dare raise her voice any louder to get Sol up, or she'd have a mob of angry female Candidates after her for waking them up at dawn. She tiptoed out, as inaudibly as was possible for Pratyba, before sprinting towards the kitchens. Well, if Sol wasn't getting up, then Pratyba was getting breakfast! Was the kitchens even open this early? Her feet made a rather loud ruckus on the stone, the echoes bouncing around merrily on the cavernous walls. Finally, Pratyba entered the kitchen, pleased to find that one of the early-waking drudges had left out a plate of sweetrolls for the crazy people that were up this early, like Pratyba. She grabbed one and immediately stuffed nearly the entire thing in her mouth, enjoying cramming the sugary (or about as sugary as things got in the Weyr) pastry on her tongue. She swallowed it, grabbing a second one for herself, and, on second thought, a third for Sol.

Clutching the food next to her chest to keep it warm, Pratyba jogged back to the Barracks, considerably slower so she didn't trip and fling the sweetrolls who-knows-where. Knowing herself, she'd probably lose grip in them and they'd accidentally hit Fajra in the face or something bizarre like that. She was just talented like that.

Pratyba stalked silently back into the barracks, hanging the sweetroll in front of Sol's nose. "Get up!" she whispered rather loudly. "I have sweetrolls!" she added in a singsong voice, as if that alone could convince even the laziest Candidate to immediately jump out of bed and run all around the Weyr with her. However, Sol was likely to be as chipper as she was this morning, because, after all, this was her first official day as a Candidate!

[/font]

[Kila]

Sol had not fallen asleep until early that morning, and waking her was not going to be as easy a task as anticipated. On a normal basis, Sol would grudgingly rise at an early hour for some chore or another, motivated only by knowing that if she didn't she would have to endure someone else nagging her at the the time of day when she had least patients. Things could get violent. Nowadays she was used to it, though, especially with all the extra work she had had to be doing for her father once they had moved to Crescent Hold.

When Pratyba whispered frantically in her ear, Sol didn't open her eyes only because she thought she was still dreaming. The bed that she was in, however uncomfortable, was a bed inside Dalibor Weyr, right? How could that be true? Before yesterday she had never had any contact with dragons and their weyrfolk, so it was only natural that her present situation seemed fantastical. Nevertheless, it did jog her from deep sleep to semi-consciousness. The sudden grip on her shoulders and wild shaking that ensued shortly after, however, completed the job. Before she could even open her mouth to protest, Pratyba was gone, having miraculously not tripped over something on her way out.

Sitting up, Sol looked around the room, any irritation she may have had a candlemark earlier fading away into a new, queer feeling. So this is real, then... she thought. The glorious reality of the realization crept over her in time with the smile on her face. Quickly pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging them tightly to her, she withheld the building shout of joy growing inside of her. She was a sight to see, nestled in her semi thrown back sheets all tucked up and grinning like a child, her curls messy but her eyes afire. This was new- this was it. She had chosen it, after she had been chosen, and would see it through.

How angry her father must be! The thought made her smile even wider. At the Gather the day before she had rushed back to her house and gathered her things after she, B'nyur, and Pratyba had finished dancing. She had sought out Comnile and Tess, her two beloved younger siblings, and then her mother. She had told rather than asked her that she was going, kissing her on the cheek and skipping off before a word could be said against it. It was almost like running away from home, but she knew she would have to smooth things out later. But it doesn't matter! Here I am!

The silence that was punctured only by her feeling of dizzying elation was broken as Pratyba re-entered the room. It was not the enticement of any food that drew Sol from her bed, but she jumped from it and right onto Pratyba, flinging her arms around the candidates neck and sending them both crashing to the ground. They were already fast friends. "Pratyba!" she whispered tremulously. "It worked! I'm here!" She bit her lip and squeaked happily, effusively enthralled but still aware of the early hour and the people that must be sleeping around her. The fact that she had been shaken awake was already long forgotten.

[4horseshowgirl4]

Why did all of Pratyba's days seem to begin with crashing? Falling out of bed (or being rolled, pushed, yanked, etcetera, etcetera), running into something while her eyes were still gummed up with sleep, or tripping because, well, wasn't everyone a little bit more uncoordinated in the morning?: whatever happened, Pratyba always started her day with a bang, and not in the figurative sense, either. It was her own little curse. She thought that she'd been off to a good start, but here was Sol, ruining it! Far from being angry, Pratyba couldn't help but be amused, as she unfallably was.

"Listen, you really have to stop knocking me down!" Pratyba protested, her voice rather muffled as her mouth was being shoved against the floor. With some effort, she freed herself. Her older brother had pinned her down countless times, and Sol definitely weighed less than he did! "Eat or I'll eat it for you!" Pratyba ordered with as much firmness as one could in a whisper, shoving the sweetroll at Sol's face, before scrambling upright. "We can't celebrate properly in here! Let's go where we don't have to whisper!" Pratyba said quietly, grinning widely and tugging on Sol's arm. "Come on, slowpoke!" She galloped out of the Barracks, not really bothering to stay quiet anymore. After all, if anyone was going to wake up, they probably would have done it after they'd fallen to the floor, right? Pratyba knew herself well enough that she knew that her frequent tumbles were not exactly hushed. She just tended to do everything with an excessive amount of noise.

The minute that they were without a respectable hearing distance of the Barracks, Pratyba pulled Sol into a bone-crushing hug. "CONGRATULATIONS!" she yelled happily. "Can you believe it? We are Candidates together! Isn't this amazing? It's just, just..." Pratyba felt that words could not properly express the pure happiness of the moment, so she supplemented with a piercing, jubliant shriek. She truly shared in Sol's happiness, as she had known the other Candidate for the full length of the other's Candidacy, which wasn't long, but did that really matter? They were bestest buddies forever!

"Oh, what kind of friend am I? Come on, let's go! You gotta be able to get around this place!" With that, she grabbed Sol's arm energetically and dashed off, tugging Sol with her, whether the other liked it or not (though Pratyba was hoping it would be the latter; the former didn't sound like fun at all!). "Well, you know where the Candidate Barracks, obviously! If you can't find them, head to the place with the most ruckus. That'll take you there!" Pratyba paused, "or you'll find me!" she added, laughing and breaking into a run. They arrived at the Weyrbowl. Most of the lake was hidden in shadow, as Rukbat hadn't crested the ridge of the Bowl as of this early hour. "That's the lake, duh!" Pratyba said. "It's safe for swimming, unless the dragons decide to take a dip! Then it gets crazy! The Weyrbowl is the most amazing place ever. There's always something going on here: a female dragon's Flight, a new transfer, or just a few dragons or flitters playing like they were hatchlings again! Those are all the weyrs where the Dragonriders live. The Kings and Queens live the furthest up in the biggest weyrs, then the Sub-Queens, then the Sub-Kings, and then the senior-most chromatic riders, generally. There are always weird exceptions, though! You know B'nyur? He's down pretty low, by the infirmary, even though he's older than a lot of the other chromaticriders here. Well, let's move along!"

Pratyba sprinted around the Weyrlake, running through its shallow waters even though Fall was quickly chilling them. She had forgotten shoes, but her calloused feet had no troubles with the rough stone ground scattered with odd herdbeast bones and other assorted stones and whatnot. "There are the Hatching Sands!" she said, pointing inside with a sort of very unPratybalike reverence. "Kalith clutched in there. Look, you can see her eggs!" However, Pratyba didn't dare to even get within spitting distance of the small lip of stones that marked the beginning of the Sands. Kalith would bite her head off without a second thought! "Sweep, Grescan's Orange firelizard, clutched in there, too. Hey, are you going to try for an egg? I know I am! So, any questions so far?"

[/font]

[Kila]

Pratyba voiced her muffled protest and lifted Sol off of her easily, grumbling on about being knocked down but, as usual, not truly concerned about it. When they had both gotten to their feet, too excited to be sheepish, Pratyba wasted no time in shoving a sweet roll into her face. Not anticipating the other girl's action until it was too late, Sol made a face as Pratyba crammed the bit of food into her mouth. Sol suspected this was an act of kindness, yet at the same time intentional, for as she choked it down Pratyba tugged her away with no room for protest.

As soon as they had reached a decent distance from the barracks, Pratyba rounded on Sol and trapped her in a bone-crushing hug, shouting her congratulations at the top of her lungs. Deprived of air, Sol could only nod enthusiastically as Pratyba burbled happily. "Can you believe it? We are Candidates together! Isn't this amazing? It's just, just... AHHHHH!" Pratyba went on, shrieking happily at the end when she cast around and couldn't find adquate words. "I know! I know!" Sol rasped wriggling her way free when Pratyba minutely loosened her clutches. Pausing only to take in a great breath of air, she took both of Pratyba's hands in her own and jumped up an down. "I can't believe it- I'm so excited- It's just like we said- It's just- just- Ahhhhhhh!" Also unable to find to words to express her glee, Sol ended with another jubilous shriek.

When they had done, Pratyba siezed her yet again, lamenting how their friendship would be nothing if she didn't show her around, and running off with Sol willingly in tow. Thus began the grand tour. First, and obviously, she was shown the Candidate Barracks, then the Weyrbowl, the Weyrlake, the rider's personal weyrs, and lastly the Hatching Sands. The reverance in the air and detectable in the air marked this place as far more important than the rest. The fact that even Pratyba approached it cautiously lent credit to this theory.

"Wow," Sol admired, her voice automatically dropping to a low tone. She did NOT want Kalith to know they were peeping in, it just didn't seem... allowed. Or smart. "Can you just try for firelizard eggs like that? she asked of Sweep's clutch. "I hadn't thought about it... but yeah, yeah I'd like to," she decided, tickled by the idea. Of course Pratyba would try for one- it just seemed obvious to her that her friend would sieze every opportunity available- and she should too!

"No questions yet," Sol peeped, backing away. "Is that everything? I love it all so far!"

[4horseshowgirl4]

"Sure you can!" Pratyba replied in a hushed tone, or, as hushed as possible as Pratyba, which wasn't very quiet at all. She, too, followed Sol in backing away from Kalith's clutch. "Firelizards aren't like dragons, in that they're really picky about who they Impress to. Sometimes people make you pay for eggs, but, around the weyr, there's usually enough of them that they aren't the same luxury as they are in, say, a hold. I think Grescan will just be happy to get rid of them."

With that, Pratyba grabbed Sol's hand again. Enough dilly-dallying, they had sights to see and fun to have! "Of course that's not everything, silly! This place has to support itself, after all!" So, obviously, they were now going to go to the lower caverns, 'cause that's where most of them spent most of their days. She dashed off, relinquishing Sol's hand, but checking over her shoulder to make sure that the other Candidate was following.

Suddenly, she stopped by an entrance in the towering stone walls of the Weyrbowl. "Ladies and gentlemen, we will now be entering the lower caverns!" she said authoritatively, standing rigidly upright and nodding to her nonexistant audience. "Please keep all hands and feet inside the wagon, as tunnelsnakes and whers inhabit the lower caverns and can and will bite." She grinned wickedly, instantly abandoning her mock bravado and slipping into the dimly-lit tunnel. "Nah, I'm kidding, Sol, the tunnelsnakes are pretty shy," unless you're attacking them with sticks and brooms, Pratyba added, smiling, to herself. "And the whers are all bonded here. They're probably about asleep by now, anyway."

She spun around to lead the way and nearly fell flat on her face, catching herself against the rough-hewn stone walls. "Can you tell it's early?" she laughed, brushing any grit off of her hands briskly. "Let's go to the infirmary first, a favorite haunt of mine!" she exclaimed, feigning checking herself for broken bones. The infirmary was just inside the caverns, where it was easily accessible to both Weyrfolk and injured dragons. Pratyba knocked before opening the door and sticking her head inside, without really giving anyone inside time to react.

"Huh. No one's here yet." Pratyba said, closing the door quietly. "Usually B'nyur or A'mor's in here by now." She shrugged. "We'll come back later, if there aren't any patients. We might have to do some chores in there, depending on how O'sho assigns them. "Well, basically, if you hurt yourself, come here. If you're really hurt, someone will bring you here. Got that? Good." Again, Pratyba was not exactly waiting for responses before she dashed off again.

"The Wherhandler quarters are down thataway," she said, gesturing as she jogged along. "I wouldn't advise going down there-- the whers don't exactly like being waken up during the day, and they can get pretty nasty. Besides, it's really creepy in the dark when all you can see is a pair of whirling eyes staring straight at you!" Pratyba shuddered for effect before pulling Sol onward. "I'm sure the 'Handlers are perfectly nice people, but I don't dare try to invade the space of a pony-sized ball of muscle!"

She paused again, before she went to the kitchens: her favorite place. "Any questions, again?" Pratyba prodded good-naturedly. "Come on, I don't think you're an expert about weyr life after living here for all of twelve candlemarks!" she cajoled. "Anything?"

[/font]

[Kila]

Was that all? Of course it wasn’t all. What a stupid question; why had she asked that? Regardless, Pratyba didn’t seem to mind and soon Sol was again being dragged off on their heated speed tour around the Weyr. Excitement and novelty fueled their enterprise and the youth of the two girls was put to use as though they were young children at play. Perhaps that was why she and Pratyba got along so well, because at their hearts, they were both still children.

Abruptly they stopped at the main entrance to the Lower Caverns. Pratyba announced their arrival and imminent exploration of this section of the Weyr with authoritative bravado. Sol peered down the tunnel. It did seem awfully dark…. Wonderful! The perfect place for exploring. Even the ominous threat of biting Whers, which Pratyba quickly refuted and wrote off as having been in good fun, did not deter the allure of a new place. ”Whers and Tunnel Snakes don’t scare me!” Sol declared, standing strong and akimbo to prove her point.

The fearless duo began, but did not get very far. Pratyba promptly crashed to the ground. ”Yeah,” Sol agreed, ”I can tell it’s early.”

The infirmary, surprisingly, was empty. Sol had no doubt that Pratyba spent a great deal of her time here, and would know the healers who worked there. She smiled at the mention of B’nyur. The man was her hero- it was he and Oveth who had saved her from an eternity of baking at Crescent Hold and brought her here. This A’mor she spoke of she had yet to meet, though. She had also yet to meet, or even see, any of the Wherhandlers. She would probably not venture into their barracks unless she had a reason, for she was unsure as to how violent their temperament could be.

As they entered the kitchen their tour paused again. Pratyba turned to cheerily ask if she had any questions. ”None yet, my friend,”[b/] she said, shaking her head. ”I’m sure I’ll think of a million, but I have nothing now when it’s the opportune time to ask. You know how that works.”