Cold Shouldered (Open)

[Rii]

((Rii's note: Caution! Thread aptly named. Feel free to hop in for as short or long a stay as you like. :D ))

Sora sat at the midday meal, a plate of food in front of her that she really wasn't paying much attention to. Oh, she was eating it. She just was doing so on auto-pilot, her fork ferrying the mouthfuls to be chewed and swallowed, chewed and swallowed as if they were sawdust instead of well-made, healthy food. Well, maybe she would have noticed if it was sawdust. That would be pretty nasty to chew on, with the wood and splinters and all.

She was eating in such an automatic fashion because her attention was on her thoughts, and her thoughts were far, far away, wandering all the way to another continent before returning. Thoughts of home dominated as she tried to predict what everyone was doing right now. The first planting was probably ongoing, so plenty of work out in the fields. Plenty of hustle on the fence repairs too, as they ensured that animal life would be kept away from tender, tasty new plants. Old Rhilra would be switching her loom to the finest threads and looser weaves in preparation to make the lightest cloth possible for the hottest part of the Turn. It certainly felt like a world away from this temperate climate that was still climbing out of winter.

Winter. Brhrhr. This past season at Dalibor had been a rude shock to her Southern-bred system, and she had since decided that snow was an atrocity that she didn’t appreciate at all. Sora had spent the winter months inside as much as possible and between the temperature that kept her indoors and being denied the freedom to run wherever she pleased - stupid snow - she had consequently been even more grumpy and cold-shouldered (ha! ha! puns) than usual. No small wonder that she hadn’t socialized a bit outside of lessons and made some acquaintances. She’d been reclusive and offputting and only had a rough idea of who her fellow candidates were.

Not that it mattered. She wasn’t huge on making friends in general. Still, it probably wasn’t healthy. That’s what her mother would have nagged her on. “You need to get out more, honey. It isn’t healthy to spend so much time by yourself. Why don’t you find someone who shares your interests?”

And she’d told her mother that she wasn’t interested in anything, and her mother had thrown her hands up in the air in despair. “You never used to be so difficult, Sora!” Sora huffed softly at the memory and took a gulp of the water from her cup. I stay at home, behave, and work hard, and somehow I’m the difficult one because I’m not all buddy-buddy, she thought with a small, bitter smirk. Wonder if the dragons will think the same. Well, Enciath didn’t. I’ll show them that just because I don’t chatter doesn’t mean I’m less fit for this.

[RhiaBlack]

One did not simply eat lunch alone.

Lili wasn't precisely the sort to do that, despite the fact she had been taught far better not to talk with her mouth full. Her mother would tan her hide if she knew some of the things Lili had done while she'd been here...what...two turns now? Don't think about that. That's not something you want to dwell on, Li.

With a measured sigh, a shiver, and a screwed up expression of disgust on her features, she retrieved several meatrolls and a bowl of roasted vegetables, a couple rolls of bread, and a mug of klah. A swift browsing of the Dining Hall didn't seem to give her any direct attempts to vent the sudden rush of good humor that struck her - everyone there seemed to have a person or persons of interest to speak to. She didn't see Seph yet, or Seidon, so that nixed any attempts to convince the younger boy that spending time in the Lower Caverns, setting off K'var's Candi-dar, was a far more amusing idea than cleaning up after Runners or doing chores.

Wait....she was supposed to tell people that's what they were doing in the first place. A sly grin crept across her lips, before she spotted her. Sora sat alone, and by that regard, she was open season and at the mercy of Lili's sense of humor. Awwww yeah. Winter made her restless - back at home, the colder nights were spent wrapped in blankets, telling stories and sipping hot Klah, or learning ballads and music. Sometimes she missed it. Other times, not so much.

Wriggling her fingers against the tray she carted, the Apprentice Harper-turned-Candidate's boot-clad steps carted her towards Sora's table. Sliding into the bench across from her - ow, shard it, she'd have to break these britches in for such a task, that hadn't gone according to plan - she winced before setting her tray down, leaning on her elbows, and propping her chin on the heels of her palms.

A momentary stare with a Cheshire-cat grin, before she waited. Wait for it. Waaaaait for ittttt.....

[Rii]

She ate alone all the time, thank you very much. She preferred it, or so she would always claim. It meant a few stolen minutes where she didn't have to wonder what hidden motives people might have. It got exhausting sometimes, to be on her guard at every social moment, but... it was better than being caught out and made a dimglow of. Right?

...Okay, it got pretty lonely too, on top of being tiring. Life was a hollow thing when you didn't let yourself get interested in anything or attached to anything. Shhh. No one could know this.

It took time for the fact to penetrate that someone had sat down across from her at the table. Sora blinked, her eyes focusing on the older girl. Slender. White hair. White hair, which she only had seen in one or two since coming here, especially at that age. Only one of them was a fellow candidate. The name escaped her, though, and that irritated her; she was used to at least kind of being able to match faces to names, even if she knew nothing else bar 'rider, candidate, weyrfolk'. Blue eyes flicked from the hair, down to the tray, and then up to the expression. That feline grin.

It was the grin that made her pause, her fork hovering halfway to her mouth. Someone had decided that she was a good meal partner. Oh, joy. That meant she was probably going to have to be polite. Slowly, deliberately, she brought her fork up the rest of the way to her mouth, popped the bite in, chewed properly, and swallowed. The girl across from her was still watching and grinning. Sora's eyes narrowed, a rather suspicious expression crossing her face.

What did she want? No one looked at someone like that without wanting something. Something that was probably trouble. She felt herself growing curious in spite of her moodiness. Why didn't she say something? Or do something, other than grin? All of the questions bounced around in her head, begging to be let spill from her lips. She refused. No. Not yet. The silence lingered for moments longer than politeness generally dictated, before she finally broke it in a single, guarded word.

"Hi."

[RhiaBlack]

There it was. The shift in expression she expected from most people when confronted by an exponentially more outgoing personality like hers. Lili didn't accept silence, she didn't -like- it. Well, not all the time. Sometimes it was nice, especially when one was trying to avoid K'var. Don't move, Lili. He hunts by eyesight.

Shudder.

The grin widened at the indication of note, and she stuck a hand out towards the other Candidate with a somewhat candid - given the grin - manner of speaking that betrayed it for honest kindness and good-nature; not nosy hyperactivity. Though, the nosy part could be debated. Lili was as bad as a weyrbrat sometimes.

"Haha, hello. I've seen you around, but unfortunately your name completely escapes me. I don't think we've had chores or anything together. I'm Lilianai, most people just shorten it to Lili. Or even Li. Anything works."

The other hand plucked a meatroll from her tray, and she bit the end off, chewing thoughtfully. There wasn't an awkward bone in her body, not outside of Seph being around. Harpers weren't anti-social, not in her neck of the woods, and as such she had been groomed from an early age to learn how to wrangle conversation out of even the most unspoken people.

Call it charisma or just plain annoyances, she supposed.

"You always eat by yourself? Seems sort of lonely over here. I mean, I get the whole 'want to be left alone in peace' kind of thing, but I imagine we'll get plenty of that once we Impress. Stuck in a room and doing chores and lessons with something that's as needy as a clawless cat in a room full of loose tuna."

She sighed forlornly, in some sense. She wanted a Dragon, badly, but the thought of having to spend countless Turns without Seph there learning beside her - worse yet, having to wait for -his- Dragon to mature before she could make sided comments and probably-unwelcome advances towards him, what on Pern was a girl to do. Siiiiiigh. But still. Dragons were awesome, they were so very awesome, and the thought of getting one of her own was overshadowed only by the thought that she had three more seasons before she aged out, and stood the risk of being in the Stands, and not on the Sands, when the Hatchings came.

[Rii]

Apparently all of that… had been to get her to talk. To draw her in. For a moment Sora silently debated ignoring the outstretched hand and the cheerful greeting. No, that was no good; she could already tell that it probably wouldn’t deter this person, and who knew what she’d try next to get her attention? Better to just go along with her and answer. She’ll get bored with me soon enough, Sora thought cynically. As soon as she finds out there’s nothing interesting about me.

“Sora,” she offered as she took the hand for a brief, firm handshake. “Formerly of Hope Hold. I’ve seen you in lessons, but we haven’t had chores together yet.” Could have something to do with the not-yet-two-full seasons that she’d been here. She supposed sooner or later she’d have worked with all of her fellow candidates, barring whatever came of the Hatchings… well, there wasn’t even a clutch on the sands yet, as she understood. That meant she’d have plenty of time to get to know people.

At least, to get to know them as far as she was interested. Sora nodded at Lili’s inquiry. “Always. Well, almost always,” she amended, since she very much wasn’t alone right now. “Come in a bit early or late, there’s less people about, easier to find a spot on your own.” And not too many people approach a loner with a blank look on her face, so it stays that way. “It’s not so lonely,” she added with a shrug. She would have rathered cut her tongue out than admit to Lili just now that she’d been reflecting on the same thing. “I used to spend a lot of time off on my own when I wasn’t doing chores at home, got used to it. And, the way I understand it, if we do get dragons, we’ll never be alone. Not that I’m counting on it,” she added cynically.

Her brows lifted at that sigh, then drew together as she considered what it meant. Unhappy about something, she decided. Could she not actually want to be a candidate? Did that even happen? She didn’t know how Weyrs ran, but K’var had made it sound like it was entirely her choice when he and D’nari had Searched her. Or more accurately, Enciath and Argotath had, while they handled the formalities. “You don’t sound like you’re entirely looking forward to maybe having a dragon.”

[RhiaBlack]

"Oh, I am, more than anything else. Wouldn't be here if I wasn't, but after two turns waiting, I'm looking at aging out this coming Autumn. Two seasons to find my Bonded, then I'm stuck in the Stands hoping there's one still out there for me."

She looked momentarily forlorn, before shaking her head.

"Plus, lots of complications so far, it's going to be a long few turns afterwards, if it ever happens. I'm hoping though. Trying to keep my chin up, you know?" She shrugged. "I've got two sisters at home - in Tillek - so privacy and time by myself wasn't something I came by too often. Lots of the Candidates here seem to be that way - like to be left alone, that is. Makes people like me who are used to company, even if it's the silent sort, a little homesick. Granted, as long as I've been here now, I don't think I'll ever leave. If I don't Impress, might look at furthering my Harper studies, see if they need one of those here."

Lili took a long pull off her Klah, wiping her mouth proper with a napkin before leaning on one elbow. Her mother would have popped her if she had seen it, she was almost certain. Lili could hear the critical tone coupled with her whole first name now. Wince.

Good thing she wasn't, though. Freeeedom!

The pale-maned girl's eyes shifted over Sora briefly - more a measure up than anything else, but curious, too. If not a bit 'buuuh?'.

"The Candidatemaster says it's rare for anyone to get left standing to the point they age out, so I'm really hoping not to be a statistic and such. People like to be mean, though. One of my friends had some snooty Pinkrider telling him he'd never Impress, that a Dragon wouldn't want him, all that garbage. I never understood why people have to be sharding mean to our sort. I mean, I know we're bottom of the proverbial pole and what not, but nobody would be here if they weren't supposed to be."

There was a closeted sense of rage to the thought of Benal. Lili didn't like her very much, for obvious reasons, but there were rules in place. At least Seph had gone to talk to Jazz, at any rate. It brought her some measure of comfort. It didn't, however, distract her from Sora.

"You're not one of those super-influential Candidates or one of those Holdless, are you? There's a couple 'brats from some Riders, they get all uppity about it - some of them - and think they're better than us. That they deserve it more than we do. Dunno about you, but seems better to me to be from somewhere that doesn't have that sort of expectation. Speaking of - do you know where people are getting those firelizards from? I've seen a bunch of the others with one, sometimes more...I kind of want one, but they seem like a handful."

[Rii]

“Complications?” Sora inquired idly, her brows raising. That sounded like it had a story or three behind it, and she found herself kind of wanting to hear. Nine times out of ten, when someone chattered at Sora, she brushed them off, or just listened until they ran out of words without much comment. But… Lili’s words struck a chord, faint as it was. Even if she didn’t want to admit it, she was homesick herself. And so, she actually found herself talking for once.

“I guess I can understand that. Sort of. I mean, my older brother is espoused, so there were enough Turns between us that we were never exactly falling over each other anyway.” Her lips pressed together as she remembered - and refrained from mentioning - the missing Miraguel. Who knew what had happened to the middle sibling of their family. Doesn’t matter. He could be -dead- for all I care. “Besides, there was a lot of space back home. Plenty of paths to run and trees to climb. Easy to get away from people.” Sora sighed. “I got used to it. Not as much space here, since they don’t let candidates go far on their own.

Hah. Surprise, people are mean. She had to shrug a bit. “Some people are like that. There’s just no telling by looking at ‘em. If you let them get to you, they win. It sucks tunnelsnake eggs, but that’s life.”

The concept of her being someone important, on the other hand, was something of a surprise just for how ridiculous it was. She was plenty confident about her general competency, but she had no illusions about being a wonderful, shiny person. "What? Me? Influential?" Sora laughed bitterly. "No. I'm a nobody. Youngest child of a cotholder family. Not interesting, no ambitions except to keep my head down and get my work done, and done right. A nothing person." She flapped a hand dismissively. “Not sure how it’s handled here. Back home, people found wild clutches on beaches and sold them, or gave them away, and if they had a queen firelizard there were more eggs to share around. Sometimes it was just being in the right place at the right time. I never was.” She smirked a bit in self-mockery. “Too much time off on my own, maybe.”

[RhiaBlack]

Lili's cheeks flushed a bit, though it was quickly dismissed in favor of the affectionate sort of recollection of Seph in the stall with Heartbrother. She sighed, tapping her nail against the table briefly before looking around her. K'var came out of nowhere all the time, and she half suspected Argotath was listening in. She had no idea how well Dragons could hear. She narrowed her eyes as she looked around.

"I've got a huge crush on Seph. Broseph, I mean. That's his name. He's out by the Stables all the time, he's a Beastcrafter who's also a Candidate. He's..well...there was an issue with his brother at one of the Hatchings, so he's kind of being punished now, but he's been really worried that he won't Impress. I keep telling him he will, he's some four turns younger than me, but he's really sweet. Likes to keep his head down, if you know what I mean. Works really hard, doesn't really bother anyone. I've been trying to convince him that if we Impress together, he should be my Weyrmate, but I don't want to ask him that sort of stuff too fast. It almost seems really soon, and we haven't..."

Another look around her for K'var. I'm on to you, red-headed bandit man....

"...we haven't done anything...you know...that sort of stuff...but I've been trying to tell him - and the Candidatemaster's said, too, it's easier to kind of get it out of your system, get used to things before you have to deal with Flightlust, but once we have Dragons it'll hurt them. They'll get confused, they might between, all that, and I don't want to lose my Dragon, or him to lose his. It's just...really complicated. I half worry that liking him like that is making me keep standing. That maybe, somehow, a Dragon can tell I l...like someone else like that, and they won't Impress me."

She rubbed her face.

"So complicated, I guess. I kind of want to talk to K'var about it, he's got a bit of a reputation among the other Riders, so I hear, but he's a really nice guy. Blue Argotath Searched me with him, they're great. But by Faranth he makes me so nervous. I swear, he's got a sixth sense for when a Candidate is doing something wrong, he just pops up like a sharding jack-in-the-box. He's almost caught me with Seph a couple times already."

Lili grumbled a bit, before washing down another bite of meatroll with a mouthful of Klah. She stabbed at her vegetables casually with her fork, shaking her head.

"Well, it's good at least that you're not like them. I told Seph if I ever found out who that Pinkrider was that was harassing him, I'd punch her in the nose. It'd probably get me kicked out of Candidacy, but I can't sit around and let people pick on my friends like that. It's not fair that just because they're higher-ranked than we are, they can do whatever they want. I think he went and told the Candidatemaster about her, I really hope they do something. I guess as long as she leaves him alone, that's okay. Who knows. I'm like you, as far as background, I guess. Nothing special, people used to make fun of my hair a lot. Called me a freak, that sort of thing. Told me I wasn't normal, blah blah blah. Kids are mean. I've thought about just dying it a time or two, but if mother ever found out she'd tan my hide. Parents get so angry over the stupidest stuff, sometimes I don't think they understand. They forget what being a kid is like."

Lili wasn't really the hyper sort. She'd never been over-reactive much, beyond that one time in the stall with Seph, of course. Part of her was really afraid of getting a Dragon with that sort of mentality. She truthfully didn't know how to handle people like that. She liked peace and quiet, herself, much like Sora seemed to; sane and civilized people to socialize with, people who didn't like extravagance or flash and such.

"So have you thought about what kind of Dragon you hope you get? Colors and personality and all that? I hear Gold Callistath is supposed to fly soon, usually Golds have huge clutches, and with so many Candidates, I think this might be the time I get one. Though I sort of hope Seph and I Impress at the same one. Will make things a ton easier. Who knows, though, can't really tempt fate by being picky."

[Rii]

Sora listened to the words that tumbled out of Lili’s mouth with patient attention. So she’d been right, thinking that there was something a lot bigger behind ‘complications’. A lot bigger. “Sounds like an alright guy,” she replied carefully. She did like people who kept their heads down and worked. It meant they spent less time bothering her, and she spent less time shouldering what didn’t get done.

Her brows furrowed. Dragons not Impressing because someone loved someone else? The words came out a bit blunt, but she didn’t spend enough time around people to soften them. “I’m not claiming to be an expert or anything, but that sounds kind of stupid. Everyone loves someone. Some more than others,” she amended with another bitter smile. “But it’s not like you’re so wrapped up in yourself, or in him, that you couldn’t care about your dragon, too. I can tell that just talking to you, and I don’t even know you. Seems you’ve got a better chance of Impressing when you care about things than when you don’t.”

Her lips hooked in another bit of a grin, and she jabbed a finger at the girl across the table from her. “If you’re going to do something about you and your fellow though, don’t get caught. And if you do get caught, I don’t know anything about it, okay?”

“K’var, he Searched me, too. Well, one of his weyrlings did, and he confirmed it. He seemed okay.” That was a pretty big endorsement from someone who didn’t trust people. “I haven’t seen him since I got here, though. I guess with his class he’s busy, or something.” She offered a faint grin. “Or I’ve just been unnoticeable enough to him. Only time anyone’s really bothered me is when one of the herders chased me off of the stable roof. Said it would upset the runnerbeasts.” She rolled her eyes. It wasn’t like she’d been tapdancing up there. Just sitting.

“People are stupid. I always got nagged for not socializing, so I get a bit touchy about it,” she admitted gruffly. “Even the good ones, you think you’ve got a read on them, and they turn around and… well. I’d rather assume that they’re worse than they are, and stay away from them.” Now why did I go and say that, she wondered. This is the problem with talking around people, you end up saying more than you mean to. Well, maybe it’ll make her go away so I can be alone again. Somehow she didn’t hope for that as much as she usually did.

“I haven’t really thought about what I’d get. It seems a pretty big assumption that I’ll get one at all, for all that the dragons thought I’d be a good candidate.” Nothing person. “A black, maybe. Smaller and quieter. What about you? You’ve had a while to think on it.”

[RhiaBlack]

Lili grinned broadly, though she looked a bit sheepish.

"Yeah, I guess it is kind of silly to think that. I don't know, the way they tell us in classes, it's like we're supposed to be some sort of emotionless rock or something when we Impress. I've seen some crazy Hatchings here, a couple people got killed, even. I guess even trying to go into it expecting things is just setting ourselves up for disappointment. Surprises, too. Who knows. I think this is one of the only Weyrs where even the Dragons break the rules all the time."

She chewed over the last of one of the meatrolls, and prodded at the vegetables in moderate disinterest. Sora was so much more interesting than eating right now, after all. It wasn't every day she got to make new friends that seemed so much cooler than some of the people she'd gotten to know at Tillek.

"K'var's really nice. He just...I don't know. People with positions of authority can be a little bit intimidating sometimes. I'm used to getting into trouble, though. Used to give Ma fits back home. Always into everything, always kissing boys, but I was a lot less of a handful than my sisters. They got in trouble a lot more than I did. Papa used to laugh it off, but it made her so mad. She said he encouraged half of it." She grinned with a kind sense of recollection.

If she caught the flicker of discomfort, she didn't pursue it further. The whole thing was offered a small shrug.

"I've found that the people worth keeping around are the ones that understand how you are, and they accept you for that. They don't give you a reason to not trust them, and they're honest with you as much as they can be. It's pretty easy to tell when most people are lying, but I don't trust traders at all. Too underhanded, most of them. Used to twisting words to get what they want, and at the end of the day you just feel...cheated."

A mouthful of vegetables finally, before she shrugged again.

"I figure everyone gets one sooner or later, Jazz says in classes all the time that they rarely have anyone who ages out. Even at that, we've had a couple Impressions to people in the Stands since I've been here. Dalibor seems to have a pretty good record in that regard, so I'm trying to keep my faith that I'll get one eventually. Even if I'm not on the Sands to get it." She downed a mouthful of Klah.

"As long as it's not super hyper, I don't really mind the color. Something bigger, I suppose. Would like to feel like I'm not riding a horse into Threadfall. Not really picky on colors, though. I could probably handle a Red, but I doubt I'll get one. Not really interested in Queens, Sub-queens maybe, but meh. There's plenty of girls around here who would go great on them, some guys, too. There's a Tanrider here that's male. So I guess there's honestly no real limit on who can get what, outside of the Queens, I suppose. Never seen a male Goldrider. Would be kind of hilarious, I think, but meh." She shrugged. "I told Seph I'd be ok with just about anything. If we're going by the rules, and aiming high? Orange or Tan. Off-the-wall? Viridian or Brown, but those are boys-only so it will probably never happen. I'll probably end up with a Yellow, Gray, or maybe a Green. Probably a Green, not many people get the other colors around here. Lots of Greens, Blacks, Pinks and Blues."

[RavenSong]

The midday meal had come, and K'var was feeling particularly peckish. So were his two green firelizards, whom he'd left behind when he rode out on Search with D'nari. He didn't want their antics interrupting anything of importance. His lesson that day had gone a bit long, so he was just a little bit late to lunch. After getting his plate at a table that was mostly empty and still relatively laden with food, he made small talk there and departed, looking for Candidates to talk to.

He did that from time to time, a habit he'd made while he was Candidatemaster. Spotting Sora and Lili, he smiled warmly, completely unaware of the fact that he was their topic of conversation off and on as he breezed on up to them. He caught their discussion of dragon colors. Well, that was one question he wouldn't ask. Lili had some interesting goals, but Sora's were plain. He mused on that a moment as he arrived with plate in hand.

"Hello, ladies!" he said, that goofy grin of his turned on fully. Bip and Bit were on his shoulders, squabbling with each other as they tried to get at the meat on his plate. "Hey! Bip, Bit, stop that. Sora, Lili, do you mind if a crusty old man sits and shares lunch with you? Before my firelizards eat it, hopefully. HEY! Put that back, Bip." Bip had swiped a piece of meat, stuffing it in her greedy maw. She stared at K'var innocently, cheeks puffed out like a chipmunk. What? She had NOTHING! He couldn't prove a thing! The fat flit's antics left a window for the much smaller Bit to swipe a piece of meat too and eat it behind K'var's ear. Sneaky green. Sneaky, sneaky greens, both of them. He rolled his eyes. "If you ever have pet firelizards, ladies, I hope they're nothing like my greens. Bit is just like her dam, I swear. Only not fat." He eyed Bip at that point. Bip creeled piteously. She wasn't faaaat! "Oh don't give me that," K'var responded, shaking his head again. For all his bluster with the greens, though, Bip's condition made it clear he was actually pretty permissive with them. Loving, sure, but permissive.

[Rii]

Sora smirked a bit. “I don’t know, emotionless rock I can do. Nice to know it might be useful for someone other than me.” Oh, finally. Her plate was empty. She shoved it to the side, propping her chin in her hand. “Never had anything to do with dragons before Enciath popped up to stare at me and say she’d found me. So I guess I can’t say whether they break the rules here or not. Or anywhere else. Things being like you’re telling me here, I feel like I should invest in body armor after all.”

Not that she gave much of a damn about life, it seemed. But it would be a pity to get killed before she found out if she really was worth a dragon or not.

“Some kids like that,” she offered the observation that she’d made over the course of her watchful adolescence thus far. “Getting in trouble. Or seeing how far they can push before they get in trouble. I’d rather stay out of it - if others want to play around with the rules, that’s their own affair.” Sora pursed her lips, thinking over it before adding, “well, if it’s not really hurting anyone else, anyway.” Hence why she still sought rooftops, despite being chased off of them once or twice. It wasn’t technically against the rules, and it didn’t hurt anyone. Plus, if she didn’t have anywhere to run or climb, she would go stark raving mad.

She’d been expecting to hear the same nag, nag, nag about trusting people and smiling and all that wherry dung, so the way Lili refrained from insisting on it was… pleasant, almost. The people worth having around are the ones that understand how you are. She… liked that. Maybe this Lilianai was one of those worth having around. She’d have to wait and see, one meeting was definitely not long enough to work someone out, but the signs were good. “Traders are tricky,” she agreed. “Other Holdless, too. There’s kind of a bulk of them around here. It’s weird. What d’you think of them?”

Her lips twisted in another, there-a-moment-blink-it’s-gone smile. “You’ll get something that’s a handful,” she predicted in an almost teasing tone. “Maybe not hyper, but a handful somehow. Maybe two handfuls, keep you busy.” I’ll get empty sand.

Annnnd K’var chose that moment to arrive. The smile vanished, replaced by a dull, I-don’t-care expression. “Sure. If you like, sir.” His firelizards she watched from the corner of her eye. Apparently they had the weyrlingmaster wrapped around their little paws. And they were cheeky little buggers, too. There was a faint sense of amusement in her gut as they swiped food from his plate only to play innocent. She kind of wanted to pet one of them, but she didn’t want to ask even more. “We were talking about Hatchings and dragon colors,” she offered blandly. “Maybe you'd know, sir. Lili was wondering earlier how folk got their firelizards here.”

[RhiaBlack]

Lili grinned at the notion that she'd get anything that was a handful. Hey, it was a better track record than she had now, she'd been Standing for two turns. That had to be some kind of record or something...ok, maybe not, but shard it she felt that way.

Body armor wasn't a bad idea. One eyebrow raised. Worth saying as much.

"That's....not a bad idea. I know there were a couple Candidates that wore...leather chestpieces or something. A tunic of some sort under their robes after the last Candid--rather, he was Impressed when that other Hatchling killed him, so Weyrling, I guess...died. Lots of them were a bit unsettled. I figure if it's my time to go, there's not much that's going to change that."

She shrugged faintly. Traders were tricky, she was right. Lili had only met a handful, usually at the wrong end of the spectrum, so she was a bit wary of them.

"They're....I don't really know. Traders set me off a bit, I have to get to know them to trust them. I mean, it's not fair to judge all of them based off a couple of meetings, I'm sure there's some that aren't absolutely underhanded, so trying to keep my mind open as far as that. As for Holdless, I don't see what the big deal is about them, either. Not everyone's born to Hold folk, or Weyr folk, and some people have a hard life that puts them there. No reason to just shun them, it's not like most of them are marked or anything, after all. Some of them seem nice enough."

Lili nearly fell off her bench as K'var approached. HE'S EVERYWHERE, SORA. HE'S SHARDING EVERYWHERE! Every wher! BECAUSE HE COMES OUT OF THE DARKNESS LIKE A SHARDIN--

Recovering, she steadied herself, and flashed her best 'I swear I wasn't doing a single thing, nope, totally not talking about doing anything troublemaking with Seph in the Lower Caverns, just cleaning out tunnelsnakes, sir' smile. One hand pulled her Klah mug, still half-full, back towards her - from where she had nearly swiped it off the ledge.

She gave Sora that 'I told you, he's sharding EVERYWHERE' look, before she nodded at what Sora had mentioned about Firelizards.

"Yes, sir. Nobody was sitting with Sora, so I thought I'd come pester her for a time. More the merrier, one would suppose."

She had said she didn't mind, so Lili assumed it was all right. He was a Weyrlingmaster, after all, so she had to get used to him eventually.

Sharding everywhere.

Lili eyeballed him, then the flits. Part of her wanted one so badly, but she had no idea how to handle one. It helped to watch, of course, and she'd been doing plenty of that, but like having a Dragon it just seemed like it would be so much more complicated. Different, once it was her, and not just watching.

[RavenSong]

"Obtaining firelizards is pretty easy," K'var said, settling in at the table. Bip and Bit settled onto the table outright. They eyed the girls' plates, but knew better than to steal from other people. They stole K'var's instead. "Most often, someone will bring a clutch of hatching eggs in here during a meal so they can guarantee they don't Impress any of the baby firelizards in it. Other times, people give away eggs. These two dumb greens here fly pretty often, clutching occasionally. Bip laid Bit's egg right on my face when I was asleep because I wouldn't leave her alone about laying her eggs where I couldn't find them." K'var grinned. "Impressing them is pretty easy, too. They fly up to you if it's a huge hatching, and you feed 'em to reinforce the bond. If you've been given an egg, just make sure you have food when the egg gets harder. If I see anybody bringing eggs in here, I'll have Argotath tell you both. You can pet my greens if you want. They both adore attention. Bip's the fat one with the bright green hide, Bit's the duller green one with the vine on her side." Almost in unison, Bip and Bit looked toward the girls. K'var took that opportunity to eat a bite.

Bip crawled over to Sora, looking up at her with wide eyes whirling in blues and greens. Bit ignored Bip and went to investigate Lili, having gotten silent permission to inspect but a firm reminder to be polite. K'var was permissive in their own domain but when it came to other people, they knew how to behave.

"Do you ladies have any questions that your lessons haven't answered?" he asked. "I know Jasmine and Nimara are absolutely thorough, but sometimes there's stuff that comes up that requires answers from others. My son V'kyr had a few of those after Impression. Argotath ended up being a massive help there." He grinned outright. "The Sparkstarters are my first Weyrling class. Learning more as I go! Hah." Even as a novice Weyrlingmaster, though, he knew what he was doing.

[Rii]

Sora had to admit that she was a bit uncomfortable around the Holdless, but she also knew that the reason for her discomfort was in simply not knowing them. She liked to observe and formulate her own opinions, and having not had the chance to prior to coming to Dalibor, there was an extra shade of wariness in her demeanor when dealing with the subject. For now? She’d reserve judgment.

The look that Lili gave her at the weyrlingmaster’s appearance was worth solid marks. If she hadn’t been on high alert - danger, additional person present, initiate emotional lockdown! - she might have laughed, or at the very least grinned, neither of which were common for her. Her lips twitched, and she offered the older girl a knowing look. He smells it on you! One whiff of troublemaking and he’ll be on you like feathers on a wherry!

Luckily, conversation got diverted firmly onto the subject of firelizards, go go discretion-mode. A full rider with two of his own surely knew plenty about that annnnd yep he did. “So candidates are allowed to Impress them while they’re candidates?” Sora inquired warily. “I know a few at least that had ‘em coming in, obviously you can’t stop those.” It would hardly be fair to disqualify a healthy potential candidate just because they had a pet, but she wasn’t entirely sure of the rules surrounding pets once you were a candidate, aside from ‘keep them in control’. There seemed to be a sharding lot of rules for candidacy. She could only imagine that weyrlinghood was worse for it.

Well. Maybe one day she’d see for herself. Maybe.

And the fat little firelizard that crawled over to look up at her so beseechingly was distraction enough from that gloomy train of thought. She felt a rare bubble of interest well up inside her, extending a hand to rub a fingertip along the green’s head. She’d seen others giving their pets scritches, so she tentatively assayed more than a light touch. Alas, no scraps here, Bip. Just affection. Guarded affection, but affection.

Nope. One question was all he was going to win from her. She was back to being her usual prickly self, shaking her head quietly in denial of having any questions ever. Ever. Even if she wondered a bit at what things were like as a weyrling. Or a weyrlingmaster, that he was learning it on the fly, so to speak. “Things are pretty well hashed out. For me, at least.” There. That would keep him at the greater-than-arms-length distance she preferred.

[RhiaBlack]

Lili regarded Bit with a measure of intrigue that was normally only reserved for...welll...tiny adorable things that she thought were precisely that. She plucked a piece of meatroll off her plate, and offered it.

"Not for now, no, sir. I've been left Standing long enough that I think I've heard everything about twenty times over. I imagine I'll have lots of questions after we've Impressed, though - Rukbat willing - so I may have to look you up then. Of course, I guess that's a whole separate set of lessons."

She sighed forlornly, spirits only momentarily drained before the sight of Sora giving Bip a bit of affection amused her. She tugged on Bit's tail gently, playful in a sense before she offered up another piece of meatroll. Hey, have to let K'var get some food in somewhere, after all.

"Do Candidates always get left Standing so long? From what I hear Dragons don't make mistakes, everyone has a purpose if they get Searched, but by the First Egg I'm starting to get a bit worried. I mean...I've got a couple months until my Turnday, and then I'm too old to Stand. I was hoping I'd have a Dragon by now, but I'm trying not to let it bother me too much. A couple people have seemed pretty worried, and I keep telling them not to lose faith in the system, so to speak, but it's a little hard when I'm telling them not to worry and I haven't Impressed yet. I mean, I wouldn't mind going into the stands, and not on the Sands, but from what I understand Dragons sort of pay attention more to ones on the Sands, not up there. And I was hoping that I'd have some people in my class I've known from being a Candidate. Like Sora, or Seph, or Seidon, or Kira."

Another mouthful of Klah washed everything down, and she scratched her cheek with a small frown.

"Though I guess I shouldn't be picky. It would be nice, but ultimately I'm here to be a Dragonrider. No matter how that comes about, I guess."

[RavenSong]

K'var quickly inhaled his food, grateful for the reprieve from his greedy green flits while the girls entertained them. Bip crooned and leaned into Sora's finger, tilting her head so Sora was scritching just over her eye ridges. That drew an even louder croon from the fat green, the movement of the blues and greens in her eyes picking up speed. She didn't care that Sora wasn't offering food, the scritches were awesome. Bip laid down on the table then, rolling onto her side to expose her underside.

"Bip likes tummy rubs," K'var noted.

Bit, on the other hand, was quite interested in Lili. Food? Ohhhh yes. FOOD! Bit took the meatroll piece and devoured it quickly, the piece disappearing down her gullet with barely an afterthought. The tug to her tail had the jade-colored flit turning to investigate. Who dared touch her -- oh! More food. Bit was distracted from the tail tug by the food, which was taken and devoured with the same alacrity as the other piece. Bit then sat up expectantly and chirped. More?

"Oh yes, you can Impress firelizards while in Candidacy, unless you're one of a select few that can't manage to keep your damn pet under control. F'reki has a Weyrling like that right now. I'll have to ask once the Sparkles graduate, how that's working out there. May as well find out now in case I get one like that with my next class, whenever that is." He grinned. Lili's question made him furrow his brow.

"Sometimes they do get left Standing for a while, but Argotath's an official Searchdragon. Yes, all dragons can Search, but some show a greater aptitude for it. All of Argotath's Candidates have Impressed, here and back at Ista. You won't be his first non-Impression. Your dragon just hasn't hatched yet, don't worry. And even if you do age out and you're in the Stands, if your dragon feels you, your dragon will climb up there or demand you come down there. But you won't age out. Argotath's kids never do." He smiled reassuringly. He looked at Sora. "Enciath doesn't have a record yet, but Argotath said she chose well, so I bet you'll Impress before you age out as well." That bright smile turned on full bore again before he inhaled more of his food. May as well down his whole meal before his flits got tired of the girls and came begging.

[Rii]

Sora was privately delighted that Bip was responding so affectionately to her. As withdrawn as the girl was, it was hard to be bitter and guarded when a plumply adorable firelizard was crooning happily at you. The guarded neutrality of her expression softened a bit, taking Bip’s hint and K’var’s note of her preferences and starting to give Bip a good belly rub. “Well, that’s good to know. I’d hate to get in trouble if I happened to be eating supper and a firelizard landed on me.” She was a little dubious that a firelizard would choose her, but she expected she had a better chance of getting a pet than a dragon, no matter how much K’var talked about how well Argotath’s candidates did.

“I heard that D’nari, the one whose dragon Searched me, got left Standing a long time too. His twin, too,” she chimed in to bolster Lili against her uncertainties. “Both had under a Turn left like you, I think, or maybe just over.” The advantage of not talking to people much was that they tended to assume that she wasn’t listening even if she was nearby. This, of course, was untrue; she was pretty much always listening, tucking the useful bits away in her memory for future reference. Usually that amounted to knowing who or what to stay away from, or helped her get tasks done better or faster (or even before they were asked of her - it awarded her a bit of smug satisfaction to tell someone ‘yep, already done.’). It didn’t usually come to her offering comfort and reassurance to people. Which… she’d done a couple times with Lili, now that she thought of it.

Oh, shard it. Have I started to actually -like- a person? I was trying to avoid that! Ingrained habit was to keep people away, no matter what random dragonriding strangers might advise. Sora took a moment to review, her mind working busily as she continued to give Bip the belly rubs the green so loved. She’d been talking steadily with the white-maned girl from the time Lili had plonked herself down across from her. Lili hadn’t been bothered by her standoffishness, and more importantly, hadn’t tried to coax a change in it - like it was okay to distrust people. Somehow, that made Sora more inclined to see if Lilianai was trustworthy. She was cheerful, but not too cheerful, and she’d entrusted Sora with some of her secrets and worries.

Sora liked being trusted, even if she wasn’t very good at trusting other people.

...Like it. Shellcrack. I’ve made a friend.

[RhiaBlack]

Lili nodded, both at K'var's as well as Sora's reassurances.

"I just hope whatever it is, it's not hyper. Faranth knows that I get enough of that with my sharding sisters."

A slip of the tongue, and she covered her mouth. Great, Lili. Swearing in front of a Weyrlingmaster. THE Weyrlingmaster, at that. She winced apologetically.

"...oops. Sorry, I get...ahead of myself sometimes."

A measured sigh, though she continued to show Bit a fair share of attention. That's right. Pay attention to the Candidate, that is not the Weyrlingmaster's Plate you are looking forrrrr....

"Do you think there'll be another mauling or such at the next Hatching? That last one was pretty horrific, I think I've got to be bad luck or something. Every Hatching I've stood for since I got here has had something happen, usually bad, but if not that then just...strange. Has Dalibor always had really weird Hatchings?"

She really hoped not. The last thing they needed was someone getting hurt, least of all what had happened to Seidon a few Hatchings ago. She didn't like seeing anyone harmed, but Dragons were Dragons, after all, and not all of them were always nice. Not all of them were Argotath, or Callistath, or Wenth. Not all of them were well-mannered.

The thought of having a Red show up, or an ill-tempered Dragonet in general, made her frown. At least she wouldn't have to worry about Seph being out there this go-round, she wouldn't have to worry about him being mauled. Seidon either, if he wasn't healed enough to Stand. So that was a reassurance, at any rate.

"I kind of want a Firelizard, they seem pretty useful, and really cute. I thought about going out and looking for some eggs sometime, see if I could find any, but after that whole thing with the Holdless and the poisonings and that story I keep hearing about Candidates being sharding foolish and going out by themselves, I don't want to break any rules. So I guess I'll have to just check back in here more often, see if there's any nests people have."