Lost In Time (Mopsy + Open)

[Kiran]

Imber ran her fingers over the necklace she had chosen for this adventure. She was intimately familiar with death, her entire family having perished, and after some thought, Imber had decided that she wanted to leave something behind of herself. Just in case. Because with the upcoming hatchings that were due to happen close to each other, one a dragon, one a wher, Imber knew that the chances of serious injury and possible death were high.

She was unusually prepared for that and rather calm about the idea. After all, everyone died at some time, right?

But unlike her parents and grandparents, she had no blood relations left, no children of her own to carry on her memory. Imber simply had a single, simple carved wood necklace that her brother had made her. And no one to give it to. She had considered deeply what she would do with it to leave some sort of small legacy, and the best she could come up with was going deep into the caverns and leaving it for someone to find.

So off she went, heading into the caverns. But quickly enough she came across a fellow candidate. Imber gave her a small smile, knowing it was only polite. "Good afternoon!" She said pleasantly. "How are you doing?"

[mopsy93]

It had been a couple of months since Callistath’s latest flight, which had abruptly ended the evening festivities of Western Hold’s first gather with chaos. Thankfully at least some of the riders and Dragons had presence of mind enough to take the Candidates, Weyrlings, and Wherlings back before things really got out of hand. Quite honestly Carissa didn’t know what to think of the new Weyrleader besides being unconventional, not just a Brown rider but the Lord Holder of Western Hold! She would’ve liked to think that it would pass quickly and things would go back to normal, probably by Callistath’s next flight with any luck. She also knew that Lord D’lios had many enemies and it would not go unnoticed considering past actions, not the least of which was the assassinations that occurred just before the pass and recent death of a blue wher at Crescent Hold. Thankfully Kalesk’s run, though very close to Callistath flight, had been more conventional being won by Bronze Cilisk. Another girl came up to her, a girl that she vaguely remembered as being a fellow Dual Candidate. "Good afternoon!" the girl said pleasantly. "How are you doing?"

“I’m good thanks and good afternoon to you too!” said Carissa smiling a little.

[Kiran]

Imber smiled at the girl as she replied pleasantly. Carissa had always been a very nice girl, nice to her even in class. They were both duals, and that meant they were in all the classes together, though with all the candidates that we're there (especially given the increase the closer that they got to a hatching) they hadn't ended up on chore duty together very often.

Too bad. At least this was an opportunity to get to know each other fairly well.

Imber tilted her head, glancing around the hallway. "So what are you doing here? Busy? If I've interrupted you going somewhere, or doing something, then I'm sorry. I was just going down into the caverns..." Imber's words slowed a bit as she considered what to tell her fellow Candidate. Would her real reasons of going down there seem too macabre? Probably. Death seemed rather off-putting to people. Best not to mention the leaving a legacy part. "I figured that I would go exploring down in the caverns a bit. I was thinking of leaving something down there for future candidates to find... Or perhaps even myself, a few years down the line. Would you like to go with me? I'm worried I might get lost."

It was a flimsy excuse for going down, but close enough to the truth that Imber didn't feel all that guilty for leaving out the death part of it. Imber fixed her hazel eyes in the girl intently, wondering what she would say or do. It wasn't a normal question or suggestion for activities around here, most would want to talk over klah and sweet rolls and music, or go swimming, or any number of a dozen other things. Imber had never been one for the normal things, though. Would Carissa?

"I can underhand if you don't want to. I don't mind at all. If I'm careful and pay attention, I won't wander too far off the beaten track." Something else to throw the girl off the real reason she was going down there. The offer to come was issued, but there was no pressure to accept. Now the ball was in Carissa's court. Miner kept her eyes in the girl, not realizing that she was staring without blinking. It was an unconscious thing that happened when she bothered to really look at people, a rare occurrence in and of itself.

[mopsy93]

It took Carissa a little effort to remember but she did recognize the other girl as Imber, a she had been one of the first people to come here, Carissa knew precious little else about the other girl though. For that matter she didn’t know that much about anybody else for that matter besides Tamren who she had met and talked to during the gathering at Western Hold. That had been also cut short by the suddenness of Callistath’s flight, there hadn’t been much talk between the two of them since then. “You’ve not interrupted anything really, considering the sheer number of Candidates there are now I do not do as much chores as I used to,” said Carissa. “By the looks of things you don’t either, with two Queen clutches on the way things are bound to pick up for us Candidates admittedly. Thinking about what happened during Callistath’s flight is what I was doing when you came over to tell the truth. I don’t have anything else to do, so I might as well come it’s not like I’m expected anywhere for a few candlemarks yet. If we get lost I can always call for Janvia, my little Green Fire Lizard, if need be.”

[Kiran]

Imber nodded understandingly when Carissa said that her chore load was lessened. "Don't worry, after the hatching the chores for the candidates will be back to normal. If we don't Impress, we will not only pick up the slack for the others, but we will have some additional chores, like cleaning up the hatching sands. That can be interesting. Egg goo, shell shards. Blood, if there's an incident on the sands. The last hatching, for the tan Wenth, that was simply astonishing because that was the first time in a long time that no death or even blood spilled on the sands. The one before that, though.... We cleaned up the blood of the candidate - weyrling, I suppose, since he managed Impression before he got his throat ripped out - that had been out there. It was pretty traumatic for a lot of the ones who witnessed it."

Imber was very casual and matter-of-fact about the whole matter. The candidate didn't recall in time that such evenhandedness, some could perhaps say callousness, towards the whole bloody mess could be taken to mean she was cold hearted or uncaring. But by the time the words had come out of her mouth, it was too late to modify her expression or tone of voice. She paused for a moment, then added with a morose look, "That was such a shame. I hope that this hatching goes as well as Wenth's. We all do, always."

With that, Imber motioned for Carissa to follow her down the hallway, the glowbaskets lighting their way. She looked over and took in the newer Candidate thoughtfully. "I believe that they are warning the other Candidates that they might Impress something other than what they are in classes for. I'm surprised that they haven't enforced dual classes for everyone. Just in case. We will be very lucky at this hatching, since if we Impress then we will have been prepared for either possibility." It was a statement meant to ease the girl's mind, or if she was excited, meant to elicit gossip. "What do you hope to Impress? What color? I was thinking that I would like a black. They seem very calm and understanding, though blues are much the same way.... With the exception of Mifth, of course. That blue is.... Exuberant. Extremely exuberant. Though that might be the dragon part, not the blue part. A blue wher might be different."

(Question is IC, just what Carissa might want!)

[mopsy93]

“My sister Talena Impressed a Blue wher at High Reaches Weyr, Talensk is calm enough I guess especially for a blue but doesn’t really have any other outstanding traits that I can think of off the top of my head,” said Carissa walking along side Imber. “I’m not too thrilled about the possibility that Red Dragon or wher will be present, you know how aggressive they can be. I don’t really have any preferences in terms of a specific colour, a few sevendays ago I didn’t even know that I could Impress a Dragon at all since I originally came to the Weyrs as a Wher Candidate. I don’t think that I would be able to be in charge of making important decisions for people besides myself on a regular basis so I doubt I would Impress a Queen even if there was one on the sands. Wenth’s hatching wasn’t without its own drama you have to admit though, I heard the stories about how a wild wher egg managed to find its way onto the sands. That certainly caused a little bit of confusion when a Green wher suddenly hatched in the middle of a Dragon hatching, thankfully as you said that was the only unexpected thing to happen at Wenth’s hatching.”

[Kiran]

Imbed gave a hum of thoughtfulness as the girl spilled out her guts and reasoning for this, that, and the other. A small smile flits on her face. "Well, when all is said and done, the dragon picks the rider. And the wher." It was a vague philosophy, but the candidate was willing to expand her explanation. "You might not see something special in you, but dragons and whers are our other halves. They see something in us. So whether you Impress a black or a Queen, it's because they think you have something amazing about you." She gave a small smile at the other girl, then glanced around.

They were at a good spot to go off the beaten path, so to speak. Imber grabbed the nearest glowbasket, making sure that there was enough light from the others placed nearby so that the right spot would be illuminated, and started off into the darkness of the lower caverns. "Come along! If we're getting lost, we're getting lost together." Imber started down the one hall, which branched to the left and right. She went left, deciding it didn't matter one way or another. The purpose was to bring this down to the depths of the caverns.

"So you're still rather new here, right? But you were here for the goldflight. Do you have an opinion on that, or would you prefer not to talk about it? I know that a lot of people are frustrated by the whole situation." She glanced from side to side, looking for another path down that seemed reasonable. Truthfully, the candidate didn't care one way or another about the situation, but it seemed a good way to distract her from the whole wandering-into-unknown-depths thing they were doing. Most would be suspicious of it, so Imber was glad that Carissa was up for the adventure.

[mopsy93]

Maybe she said too much, but then again Carissa hadn’t gotten much time to talk to the other girl until now as they walked deeper into the Lower Caverns of the Weyr. Carissa didn’t really know or care about the other girl’s motives for going down so deep into the caverns but at least it temporarily put her mind off of the recent events in the Weyr. “I would like to think that Lord D’lios being Weyrleader won’t last too long, though really that is just wishful thinking really,” said Carissa. “I don’t know or care that much about politics, though I do know that Lord D’lios even before Impressing Perbiath wasn’t exactly popular among the other Leaders. This of course made even worse by his recent wining of Callistath’s most recent flight, which many seem to have doubts about. As long as things don’t get too out of hand and it doesn’t happen again I don’t really care either way, even if it does I doubt that I will do anything drastic. I can’t say the same thing for other people though, they are entitled to their own opinion after all.”

Carissa really did not know what to think about the new Weyrleader, especially with all the rumours flying about, but she had decided to at least try to stay neutral about the situation.

[Kiran]

Imber hummed once more at the girl's words. "Yes, the flight caused a lot of trouble. And you're right, he wasn't all that popular. But unless the riders plan on staging a revolt and replace him, going against Pern tradition for all these years, then there isn't much that can be done about it. At least he will only be weyrleader until Callistath's next Flight, but that is still four Turns from now. Four turns is a long time around here. I'll almost be too old for Dragon Candidacy by then." She shot Carissa a smile at that. "If I'm still a candidate and haven't Impressed by then, of course."

Her attention turned towards the halls again. This time she made a right, and then another right, the caverns dark and empty down here. Yes, this was good. Deep and dark and close and forgettable, unless someone decided to go exploring. And there were enough twists and turns that it would be unlikely to be found for a while. The walls were rough and uncared and unworn by most anyone's use. "Getting close. Should have asked you if there was anything that you wanted to bring down. I'm doing a time capsule of sorts. I have something that I'm leaving for myself sometime in the future. To remember."

Imber had finally shared what she was doing down here, though it wasn't entirely truthful. "It might have been fun for you to leave something as well. We could come back later with something if you would like. Maybe after the hatching? I hear that sometimes the Weyrlings... wherlings too... will get a bit of the egg that their dragon or wher hatched from and keep it as a memento. If you manage to Impress, then maybe you could get that and leave it down here." Because however this worked, it was going to be an eventful hatching.

"There are so many Candidates that I am hoping I don't Impress, truthfully. I think that I'll be so caught up with what is on the sands that if I Impress I'll forget what to do." She shot Carissa a small smile, not really serious about it, but thinking that it would be nice to Impress at a smaller, quieter, less eventful hatching.

[mopsy93]

“There are a good enough number of fertile female Dragons to cover the gap, including two other Queen Dragons,” said Carissa. “It’s very likely that Copper Jainath will rise for the first time between then and now of course. With the Sparkstarters graduated the Rainracers’ own graduation is only half a turn away. Can’t say the same thing about whers though, even Queens lay at least one dud egg per clutch plus there’s not as many of them. Greens and Cyans are fertile, but the most you’ll see out of them are three viable eggs at a time.”

The rooms that they arrived in looked pretty unused with how far down they went into the twisting caverns and passages that made up the lower portion of the weyr. Quite frankly Carissa would probably have troubles making it down there again on her own if asked. “My father, named Talcar and a Minor Holder in Tillek, still is under the impression that I will eventually come back home after a couple of turns and eventually marry to a respectable man. Among other things that he tried to use to entice me back home with is this ring,” said Carissa pulling out a rather simple but well-crafted ring from a pocket. “Too bad for him that I’m not all that interested in that sort of thing, might as well leave it here I guess. It’s not like I’ll be wearing it anytime soon.”

[Kiran]

Imber nodded. "Yes, there will be plenty of hatchings between now and then, but if the issue is the weyrleader... He will still be weyrleader for four turns. But yes, it's highly unlikely that I will still be a candidate by then." She grinned over at Carissa. "And I doubt that you will be one by then, either. Even if whers lay less eggs than dragons."

Her eyebrows raised at the sight of the ring. "Makes sense," she said quietly. "I'm glad that you were able to get away. This isn't a bad place to be, all said and done. I know that I can't say much, since I've lived here all my life, but I can't imagine anyplace else I would like to be. After all, there's not anyplace else that you can have pillies or have such... Interesting hatchings. At least, that's what they say." She glanced off to her left and saw what looked like a good place to drop off their items. "This look good to you?" It was a small little cavern room, ba except for a few rocky outcroppings.

Imber took the necklace out from her pocket and deposited it on one of them. "There. I hope that whoever finds it enjoys it." Her own legacy. Who knew when or by whom the necklace would be found? The idea of it made her smile. They wouldn't know who left it there, but that didn't matter. It was a bit of her, an important one.

[mopsy93]

“Looks like a good place as any to put this ring,” said Carissa crouching down she placed the ring beside the other girl’s necklace. “Maybe whoever finds this will find a use for this as well, at this time I certainly do not have any use for it.” Standing back up Carissa glanced once more around the room examining cavern closely. “I do not think that I would remember how to get down here if anybody asked for me to for whatever reason. It was good to get away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the Weyr even if it was just for a little while. Whatever happens from now on I do not have any regrets, I’m glad that I got to talk to you Imber,” said Carissa giving the other girl a quick smile. “Maybe we should do something like this again sometime, preferably after this next hatching assuming that we both survive that is. We’re both hoping for the best and preparing for the worst, isn’t that right?”

Carissa might have been a little tired after all the walking, but she was glad that she did it even though it was not terribly exciting; on the plus side she had some one on one time with another Candidate.

[Kiran]

Imber smiled at Carissa's observations and words. "Yes, even if we can't find our way back to this place specifically, it would be fun to do another one of these. Next time, lets invite some of the other Candidates. I think that a few others might enjoy something like this. It seems like a good adventure, and if we get lost then there would be a lot more people to make noise for help." Practical stuff, there. And it would be... Fun.

Something else she could do, for a small legacy.

If they survived this hatching, of course.

"I think I would like to do this again, yes, especially after this next hatching." She gave Carissa a soft smile. "I'm sure you will get an excellent dragon." Though from Carissa's words, Imber was garnering that even the new Candidate had some suspicions that they might end up dead. At least one Candidate. But possibly multiple ones. Imber was okay with that. She could take the fall for someone else if she stood in the right place. She wouldn't mind dying like that.

"Come one. I think that I'm feeling a touch hungry. We can go back, and I can introduce you to my pillie, Lovely. She's a very nice pink, rather dreamy..." Imber kept talking as they headed back to the main hallway, leaving their treasures behind in the darkness for someone some other time to find. Whomever that person (or people) would be.

[mopsy93]

“Janvia might be able to help us if we get lost next time, hopefully there will be a next time, by sending a message,” said Carissa. “There is a pretty good chance that either of us will Impress a wher, we are Dual Candidates as you know, but I do hope that you are happy with the Dragon or wher you Impress regardless. Yeah I guess that I am getting a little hungry, should probably be getting back anyways, people might start to wonder where we are and what is taking us so long. It would be interesting to meet a pillie close up even if she is a pink.” With that thought the two girls walked through the various unexplored caves and passages making their way back up to the more habited part of the Weyr. Carissa did not know what might happen during the next hatching but that was in the future. Today it was about getting to know a fellow Candidate, explore the depths of the lower caverns a bit, and maybe even meet a pillie up close. There would be time enough to worry about what might or might not happen in the future after all.