Be Very Afraid (Candidate Lesson)

[Cathaline]

Callistath and Kalesk had clutched four days ago, and ever since, the three Candidatemasters had been quietly talking amongst themselves and with Kalenna and Avalle. No doubt by now their charges were quite expectant; those who had been standing awhile knew that things changed once there were eggs on the sands. The air of anticipation was heavy as the summer humidity, and at last, early one morning, they were all called together in a large (very large) group outside the barracks, dragon and wher candidates alike. Everyone who expected to stand at this hatching.

All three Candidatemasters were present; this, in and of itself, was unusual. Once she was sure all of the Candidates had arrived, Jazz gestured them silent at the same time as Weslieth honked happily into their minds, Quiet, please! Really important information coming![/i]

"Hello, everyone," Jazz said at loud volume, to make sure she carried to the back of the crowd. "I promise we won't keep you long from your breakfast or your beds. We currently have an unusual situation on our hands, and after much discussion, we've decided how to proceed with it. Please hold all questions until the end, and remember you're always able to come to us with them if you don't want to speak in front of everyone."

Taking a deep breath, she said, "Based on the timing of the clutchings and the way that eggs...react to each other, we believe there is a good chance that Callistath's and Kalesk's clutches will hatch at the same time. This hasn't happened at Dalibor before. Really, I don't think I've heard of it happening anywhere, but that's not important. If they don't hatch simultaneously, even if they hatch just a few candlemarks apart, everything I'm about to say will be rendered moot. But we have to prepare for the worst case scenario, here...not that I'd call it bad. Just different.

"If there are dragonets and wherets on the sands at the same time, we cannot guarantee you anything. Some of you have asked to be dual candidates, and that's great. But here's the thing: every single one of you who is eligible to be chosen by dragons is also eligible to be chosen by whers. Many of you wher candidates could be chosen by dragons, if you're not egregiously old." She winked at Tius. "We don't have two hatching caverns and even if we did, we have many dual candidates who shouldn't have to choose, so we're going to plan on the assumption that almost all of you are now dual candidates, willing or not.

"If you will not stand for one species or another, we understand. Don't need excuses, just understand. We still can't guarantee anything, though - both dragons and whers Impress from the stands. If you want to take a pass on this one, it won't harm your standing as a candidate. If you want a little distance, you will be expected to put on your robe and sit quietly in the front row of the stands. I hope that most of you will stand normally, though.

"Since we are now treating...most of you..." Another wink to Tius. "As dual candidates, we've decided to alter our traditional policies. You will not be standing in groups of men and women. We will make this clearer when we take our trip to the sands to view the eggs next sevenday, but we expect you to line up in front of both clutches, wher candidates closer to Kalesk, dragon candidates closer to Callistath, duals somewhere in the middle. All other hatching rules remain the same, and you'll be hearing them over and over and over for the next month, so I'll just give the quick rundown for the newbies: you do not go to the sands without express permission from one of us, from Avalle, or from Kalenna, assuming you can contact them without going onto the sands. We will take at least one supervised trip to see the eggs, where you will follow all directions given by one of the five of us. There will be no touching or approaching the eggs. You may go into the stands at any time to sketch or contemplate, but please stay far back and be quiet and respectful. If one of the queens changes her mind about allowing that privilege, then it's gone, so try not to ruin it for everybody else.

"Arrive promptly at the hatching when called for, wearing appropriate clothing. Sandals are traditional, boots are okay. If your white robes need alterations for your body, see one of us; do not undertake alterations yourself, even if you're a Weaver. Leather armor can be worn under the robes, and we will help you find some if you desire another layer of protection. Long hair tied back, and brushed, please. All of you will be required to carry a knife in case you are chosen by a wher and have to make a blood bond. Stay still, don't talk, don't move around unless you are gently getting out of the way of an oncoming dragonet or wheret. Drop and play dead if you are attacked, then stand up again if you can once the threat is passed. Under no circumstances fight a hatchling. If you are too injured to continue standing, call for the healers. None of you should be attempting any kind of first aid; do not try to move an injured candidate. Exceptions may be made for briefly putting pressure on an open wound until the healers arrive, but only if you are standing beside the injured party. Do not move from your place on the sands to try to help someone else. And if people start giving directions, the hierarchy is Weyrwomen - all of them, but especially Avalle - then clutchmothers, then us. Nobody else has the right to tell you what to do. My understanding is that K'var of blue Argotath will be your weyrlingmaster and Lyrnn of blue Lyrsk will be your wherlingmaster; if you Impress, you take orders from them, not us, and proceed immediately to the feeding area."

Jazz laughed a little. Some of the kids were looking a bit dazed. "Don't worry, you'll get so many repetitions of all these rules you're going to want to strangle me before we're done here. Oh, and here's the one I really want you to listen to, under the circumstances: think gentle, positive thoughts at the hatchlings. Even if they just mauled your best friend. Even if you're scared. Even if you don't want to Impress them. If you can't handle the thought that there's no queen egg or if you can't handle the thought of Impressing a wher, you don't belong on the sands. Period. Negativity can cause angry hatchlings to attack you and anxious hatchlings to go between. Our priority is not you getting exactly what you want. Our priority is making sure that as many hatchlings as possible survive and happily Impress.

"On to business. Since we're going to have to treat all of you as dual candidates until this is done, one way or another, your lessons will be changing. Same times, different curriculum. Wher candidates will be learning dragon lessons, dragon candidates will be learning wher lessons, in addition to the usual. Don't worry about it too much, they're not that different. You still have the same schedules - dragon candidates won't be shadowing anyone on patrol - but we want to make sure that if this does happen, all of you are as comfortable as possible with the future. Counseling will be available in my office, as per usual. Yusk is present for hugs when she isn't on patrol. You know the drill. Any questions before we set you free?"

[Kiran]

Four among the candidates were able to ruminate on the news in their own way. Imber had been expecting something of this, had even said so to be of her fellow Candidates not too long ago. It had been in a musing sort of way, but she couldn't deny some sort of pleasure that she had guessed at what would be happening. It only made sense in the end. They didn't want any of the hatchlings lost. She knew what her place would be. Right in the middle of everything.

Kira was also thinking about it, she had only taken part in two hatchings, but this was something completely unexpected. A wher? Well.... After two hatchings, and her luck no better than it had been when she first arrived, Kira decided then and there she wouldn't mind Impressing a wher. That was that, in the end. If her destined was dragon or wher, she would love them all the same. What other choice did she have? Besides, at this rate she was looking at possibly aging out. Kira wanted to give herself the chance to do so gracefully. Besides... There was still a chance she wouldn't Impress this time as well. The real question was whether she wanted her family to come see. What if they watched her mauled? But it was a hatching, and that was something worth celebrating. ....Right?

Jafari felt like he couldn't breathe. Possibly... Possibly getting a dragon? No way! He couldn't even begin to imagine it. .... He didn't want it, either. He wanted to be a handler, like his friends. If he got a dragon, then his whole world would be turned upside down. They joule have different classes, different living schedules, everything! And... And he didn't want that. But he did want a chance to Impress. And if that meant chasing a dragon, then he would do it. But he would stay on the farthest side away from the dragons he could. Just in case.

Of the four, Quellyn was the most ecstatic. A double attaching, the likes of which had never been seen before! This was worthy stuff of a song or ballad, for sure! An epic battle for Impression! Candidates fought for, killed for perhaps! Though, he reflected on this last bit, perhaps he wouldn't want them killed for or dying for. That wasn't that nice. That was actually rather sad. Especially since he didn't want to be one of the ones that might be killed. As exciting as it might be, he didn't want that. But he would most certainly take the rest of it.

[RhiaBlack]

Lili had heard the rumors, but seeing all the Candidatemasters there was affirmation. A dual clutching/Hatching. Her jaw set slightly. In all truth, she wasn't fond of the idea of Impressing a Wher. She wanted a Dragon - not that she had anything against it, of course, an Impression was an Impression, after all. She just wasn't too overly fond of the whole 'confined to night-time' deal for the rest of her life. She liked her sunshine, and Whers weren't exactly prone to that. Not that she couldn't sit up and watch the sunrise, that was.

Here she was, thinking like she'd Impress. There were a ton of Candidates here. Some of them she'd never spoken to, probably never would; at least while they were Candidates.

The back of her mind tickled with the thought that there was a chance things could go wrong. That people would be mauled, that - Faranth forbid it - people would be killed. The thought made her ill, and for a moment she had to close her eyes and shove it back into whatever dark corner it came from. There was always a chance, Lili, but if it happens to you, it happens. That's the way the cookie crumbles, that's the risk you take when you agreed to do this.

A slow breath out, and she tried not to think about it. Don't think about it, and there's less a chance of it happening. Jazz said positive thoughts, shard it, that's what you had better do. There was no way she was going to think negative -anything- out there. Smiles, nods, sunshine and rainbows until everything was over.

Seph would be safe, hopefully. He'd be in the Stands, but if Seidon was able to stand, he'd be on the Sands with her. Plots and plans. Without the limitations, she intended on standing beside him. If something came towards him maliciously, with any luck she'd be able to take it. Seidon had been through enough.

This was her last shot. A few months from now, she'd be too old to Stand. A few months from now, she'd have to look at joining the Wher program, and who only knew where that would lead. Seph didn't seem to mind, though, so there was that. At this point, she wasn't sure if they would Impress at the same Hatching or not. She had no idea, though having both Seidon and him in her class would be fun. Kira and Sora, too. She found herself surprised - so many people she knew, now. Then again, standing for so long, it tended to happen.

Lili's fingers laced behind her, and she frowned markedly against the formidable facade she put up. Hadn't there been a Wher hatch at the last Hatching? Surely they weren't vicious? Lili regretted not going to watch other Wher Hatchings. It might have prepared her for this a little better than current, but there was no amending that now. She was about to get a front-row seat to one.

No armor. As much as part of her wanted to, there was no reason. If a Dragonet or a Wher wanted to kill her, there wouldn't be anything stopping that. No reason to make herself uncomfortable on top of giving herself a reason to panic. False security, too. She'd stood before, it was going to be sharding hot out there. Especially with the Summertime air. No, no armor for Lilianai. No armor, ever, as much as she was sure Seph might try to convince her, after what happened to Seidon.

It was a wait-and-see type of event, no less. She would just have to wait, and see.

Z'dyn regarded the massive group with a measure of surprise, peering from just outside the entrance to the Dining Hall. With a mouthful of meatroll and a mug of morning Klah, he perched on Baihujinth's broad shoulders to watch. He would have preferred standing just at the doorway, but people were trying to get through, and blocking the entry/exit was rude. As he had reminded his Iron so many times since Impression - Be nice.

::Huge group'a Candi's, Bai. Those all fer Dragons?::
::Both, MineOwn. Kalesk and Callistath have both clutched. They are concerned for both Hatchings happening at the same time, and they are warning the younglings of this.::

Mmmm. The sound was the only confirmation that Bai received, before Z'dyn shook his head.

::Gonna be blood on those Sands. 'Specially if there's Reds.::
::I am aware, Mine. We will go, and tally up the casualties once it is over.::
::Sorta morbid t'go thinkin' like that, lunkhead. Yer negative, gonna hurt somebody. I'll leave you at home an' go by m'self. Don't make me say it.::
::Do not be ridiculous, Z'dynMine. I would not dream of doing such a thing, let alone not attending. One must figure out how the new recruits will do, and what better way of finding the strength of one's character by being under pressure from the start? And I am always nice.::
::You think too much on this stuff, an' if y'were, wouldn't have t'keep remindin' you.::
::At least Unath's will not be there.::
::What'd I say.::

Z'dyn swallowed a mouthful of Klah, critical blue eyes settled on the pack of younger boys and girls. Men and women, in several cases, before they traveled across Jazz-

::I saw that.::
::Y'saw nothin'.::

--and back to the Candidates, with a flick of Bai's neckridges. The rest of the meatroll consumed, he wiped his hands on a napkin and settled back in his seat to continue watching.

Z'dyn hoped that come a few sevendays' time, he'd still see all of them there - be it with dragons, whers, or still Standing. Death was all-encompassing, and they had seen so much of it these last few months. Shells, these last few turns.

Sadly, he didn't think that would be the last of it. There was never a normal Hatching at Dalibor. Part of why he liked the Weyr so much, but it had its banes as well as its boons. They would just have to hope for the best, prepare and expect the worst. Of course, the Candidatemasters were doing a fine job of just that - preparing.

[Raining]

For his third and possible final hatching (whether he impresses or not), it was going to be another double... although this time sharing the sands with a wher clutch. Aleksandr was probably among the candidates who were absolutely not liking the idea that they may impress to something from the other species. Wher's... honestly... whers made him super nervous. Sure they were great for guarding the weyr, but he just... wasn't fond of them at all. Sure some dragons can be violent and unpredictable, but in his mind wher's were worse.

What caused his nerves to jumble into fifty thousand knots, and his head to spin slightly, was when the sharding knife was mentioned. If any of his dragon candidate... fellows impressed to a wher and had to seal the deal right next to him he would probably panic. A little bit of blood was one thing... but a lot of it was not. Blood was probably higher on his list of dislikes than spinners and maybe pillies, blood was meant to stay in the body for a good reason.

Hand over his face, he just focused on Jasmine's voice... or tried to. But even as all of these negative thoughts rushed through his head at once, he couldn't deny looking forward to this hatching. At least... well they were warned about everything and given options. As much as he would rather not impress a wher... he would stand as he normally would. There was nothing he could do, so he may as well make the best of it and impressing was impressing, right? He would be thrilled with anything... and if his was meant to be a wher... well so be it. Though his heart was in the skies on the back of a dragon, he wouldn't regret impressing a wher... if he had to.

This was just another hatching. Plain and simple... though he was sure K'ius wasn't going to like this either.

---

Riocard was as impassive as ever. Where 'sandr's expressions were read as clear as an infants picture book, Riocard let himself hide any emotion he was feeling. During his time here, Riocard had practically walked in blind... learning about how a bond truly works... well he wasn't as ecstatic as he was coming in. Dread was a good word for what he was feeling, because he worked hard at keeping others out and now a dragon... or Faranth forbid, a wher would have free reign inside his head.

Other than his slight distaste for the gnarly sub draconic creatures known as wher's... he didn't mind getting thrown in with the Duals.

Any dread or fear he felt behind his impassive mask, he smothered immediately with his thirst for knowledge and his insatiable curiosity. Well because now there is ample opportunity to learn about... whers on top of what he already knows. This being his first hatching, he's looking forward to attending.

Though for some reason... his heart pounded behind his chest. Since smothering feeling has become a norm, he could barely pinpoint why.

[maruset]

Really, the idea that they were going to fit in more lessons was what Letorin focused on the most. He did enjoy learning, and he had been curious about whers.

The idea of getting a wher partner was something of possible interest. He had never really thought about it, but as he got older, the idea of applying as part of the wher program in addition to being a dragon candidate did appeal to him. This would be a good chance to see how things were as a dual candidate. He had plenty of friends who had been dual candidates, and he definitely had some interesting chats with Newt over whers. So this was going to definitely satisfy a lot of curiosity for him.

The idea of carrying a blade made him mentally grimace a bit, but it made sense. And a blade would make a much cleaner cut than a bit. He still had marks on his leg from the one dragonbite he had gotten. Letorin could vividly imagine what a wher bite would look like. Better the clean, straight mark of a blade.

The idea of K'var being their weyrlingmaster made Letorin hope that he would get to be part of this class. The man was the father of his friend, and it seemed like he had done a good job with D'nari and G'lin's class.

He bounced a bit, though he knew by the time the hatching came along, he was going to be bored to tears with the repeated going over of the rules. And the worst part was he knew that as soon as the hatching started, people would forget half of them. Or ignore them. Which just made the candidatemasters go over them even more next time.

Still, at least there would be new things to learn now, and he was happy with that. And crossing his fingers that his partner might be born in this hatching.



Orkia just nodded absently. She was already a dual candidate, so it was most a case of everyone else doing the same thing that she did. Though there was going to be a -lot- of eggs, and she just hoped that this hatching was going to go through okay. The last one had been hectic. She did glance around, looking for her brother. She was hoping that nothing happened to him this hatching, and she'd have to snag him after this to make sure that he was careful.

And to let him know that, if he wanted, he could wait out this hatching. She still was going to stand, since she was waiting for either of them, but she didn't want Kaija to think that he had to stand if he didn't want to.

The looks on some of the faces around her made Orkia grin, and she had to bite her lip to keep from laughing. Some of those were far too funny, and she had to fight to keep from laughing. Didn't want to interrupt the Candidatemaster while she was talking. That was going to be rude.

She already had her blade, and would have to show some of the people she had fallen in with on what was recommended to her. It was better if everyone had a good knife anyway, especially during a wher hatching. She figured it was better to have a good knife than have a wher bite you for the bloodbond. Though some of the wher were so tiny and cute that she couldn't wait to see how this clutch came out.

[mopsy93]

Carissa was fully prepared to Impress a wher or a Dragon, after all she was one of the official Dual Candidates before the announcement of a possible Dragon and wher clutch. Except some of the older wher Candidates, in theory any of the wher Candidates could Impress a Dragon and vice versa. Whether or not this turned out to be true in practice was another story all together, then again stranger things had happened at Dalibor Weyr. Besides having all of the Candidates stand in a line together, nothing was terribly out of the ordinary about the instructions given to them. For safety’s sake, Carissa decided that it would probably be a good idea to wear leather armour underneath her tunic during the hatching even if it would be even hotter wearing it. Even if the father of the Dragon clutch wasn’t what you would call the normal father of a Gold clutch, this was going to be Carissa’s first Dragon hatching and she would not be sitting out of it.

The other Candidates seemed to have mixed feelings about the possibility of Impressing a Dragon or a wher, of course the Candidates that were already Dual Candidates were unsurprised about this revelation but the others had mixed feelings. This was understandable of course, having been trained and taught about one (Dragon or wher) only to find out that you have the possibility of Impressing the other was not something most people readily accept. The possibility that some of them could be injured or even killed set her back a little, but she knew that if she was going to Impress she had to put those thoughts in the back of her mind and hope for the best. After all if Impressing a Dragon or wher was as easy as Impressing a Fire Lizard everyone would be eligible to Impress and all the young people would be going to the Weyrs at a chance of Impression.

[Digitalis]

Tamren didn't have any prior experience with hatchings from dual clutches, though he knew Dalibor had had them before, if not from a dragon and wher at once. (Well, disregarding Yhisk. But that had been just one unexpected egg, and she'd acted a lot like a dragon anyway.) At first he had figured that Callistath's hatching would be pretty much like Wenth's, just on a much larger scale; after the double clutching, however, it became obvious that it wasn't.

The candidate listened to the Candidatemaster's words, but he couldn't help feeling ill at ease with the whole situation. He wasn't nearly as familiar with the workings of the wher program as he was with dragonriders, and he definitely preferred to Impress a dragon; however, there was no way he was going to sit out one entire hatching just on the off-chance he might Impress a wher by accident. He'd just have to take that risk. He felt a little bit of relief that the Candidatemasters were at least trying to prepare them for the possibility of Impressing something that they weren't expecting. He still really hoped that, in his case at least, it would not be necessary.

-----------------------------------

As soon as the candidates were called together, Phaenna was on her way, and she hovered nervously on the edge of the crowd of candidates. One hand was in her pocket, fingering the small pebble she'd retrieved from the sands after Wenth's hatching, stroking it for luck as she had many times before. She bit her lip nervously as she listened to Jazz's words.

The last hatching hadn't been bad, but she knew perfectly well how violent hatchings could be, and wher hatchings had a particularly violent reputation. She had put even less time into thoughts about Impressing a wher than she had Impressing a dragon; to tell the truth, the whers often intimidated Phaenna, and she did not relish at all the thought of cutting herself to feed her blood to one. She would carry a knife with her anyway, since she'd been instructed to by the Candidatemasters, but she really hoped she wouldn't need it.

In fact, the more she thought about it, the less sure Phaenna became that she wanted to stand for this clutch at all. Practically everyone seemed to take it as a given that this hatching was going to be more violent than the last, and she still had doubts that she'd even attract a dragon's attention--perhaps she'd be better off watching it from the stands? It would be embarrassing if all the other candidates stayed on the sands and she was left out though, and anyway, she had found it exciting watching a hatching from right down on the sands with the rest of the candidates.

[birdi]

You didn’t really have to be an old hat at this to realize something was different, not with the way the candidatemasters had been all hushed-up and secretive—or, heck, it was all over the air, like the entire weyr was building up to something big. Inanna was completely unsurprised when they gathered the large group of candidates together. What she was surprised about, was that they’d dragged out the wher-candidates as well, right before those guys were supposed to head off to bed. Must’ve been real important then…

Inanna yawned, having just woken up herself. She’d been getting in the bad habit of oversleeping lately, candidate lessons, chores, and the like not half as demanding of her as her craft had been. Reminding herself that it really wasn’t that early in the day, she forced herself to focus.

Holding her tongue, Inanna listed as the candidatemaster spoke. This sounded like a disaster. Surely, it would’ve been better to enlist the help of another weyr and have either the dragon eggs or the wher eggs transferred over to a free hatching area? Let the duel candidates pick, better that then whatever mess this would cause. From what she’d learned about dragons and whers here, the mix of young babies hatching on the same sands at the same time would most certainly lead to bloodshed.

Then again, what did she know? She’d barely been here a month.

Inanna considered leaving, briefly. She hadn’t been entirely sold on dragons when she was first Searched and whers… she hadn’t even considered whers. It just hadn’t been an issue at the time, you know? But now that she’d gotten here, a part of her stubbornness sort of balked at the idea of walking away. What did that say about her? That she was cowardly? That she couldn’t take on a challenge?

Besides… what if there was a baby of either kind out there, that needed her? Seemed irresponsible to back out now. What did she have against whers anyway, besides for the fact that she didn’t know much of anything about them?

No, what she needed to focus on was being prepared. Inanna mentally ticked off all of what would be allowed on the sands. She was most definitely going to wear that leather under her outfit, and a good pair of thick hide boots would offer at least a little more protection then candidate slippers. Tying and pining her hair out of the way was a given, didn’t want to give the little bitras something to tug at and bring her down with…

[Maggie]

Kaydian watched the candidate masters with wide, terrified eyes. His hand fluttered up reflexively to pet Pretty's hide as she crooned gently at him and preened his hair. Jarith's hatching had been fine, but Counieth's and Wenth's and what he had heard of Ausk's... It seemed that every hatching that went by, he had more and more doubts, it was more and more frightening. He looked over at Yuri, wanting reassurance. He would be needing those Yusk hugs. All of those Yusk hugs. He wasn't certain how he felt about the news that he was a dual candidate. Wher hatchings were the things of his nightmares, but whers... He hadn't met a lot of whers, but the ones that he had met seemed nice. Some of them were terrifying, but some of them were Yusk. He would love to be bonded to a Yusk. That mitigated the fear a little bit.

Tamarine wasn't too perturbed at the news. She was used to the violence of wher hatchings. This one would be bad, but they all were. Paksenarrion patted her foot with a feeler, reassuring her that all was well despite the tension in the air. Tamarine smiled down at her. "I know, Paks, it's fine. There's going to be dragons too, this time." There would be, but it was doubtful she would Impress. She was a wher candidate by choice, she had never been Searched and she was on the older side.

Heel heel heel, the pillie complained. She was not pleased that her person deliberately put herself in danger.

Idra's eyes narrowed slightly at the announcement, although other than that she kept her face in a cool, pleasant expression. She had no intention of getting near one of those difformed things. Having one bite her and scream in her head was enough for one lifetime. She would be for dragons or for nothing. It did not look like she would have a choice now, however.

[Chimera]

There was someone in the hatching sands with Kalesk.

It was Callistath.

And her clutch.

There'd been rumors, hushed whispers and loud talks 'round the dining hall tables about it. But even Dardranel, prone to flights of fancy and whimsy, getting lost in her imagination, she had not thought it would happen. And it did. Just the same way she thought the plague wouldn't come to her family, but it did.

A multispecies hatching was no plague, for all the maulings and even perhaps death it would contain. Dardranel was still excited for the hatching. Maybe she'd get a wher. It would be weird getting used to the nighttime schedule if she did...and the blood bond wouldn't be fun. She'd heard a wher had bitten his new handler's butt. Hopefully that wouldn't happen.

The rules seemed to go on endlessly and endlessly, like some sort of waterfall of words. Still, the half-dazed Candidate got the basics.

***

Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhards. Really. Out of all the Weyrs. Really. I knew it. If we hadn't come here there'd be no Weyrleader Lord Holder, no damn dragon and wher simultaneous hatching.

He had no one to grump at, not while the Candidatemasters were talking. He listened sullenly, not being able to grumble to anyone but his own mind. Lanorun shifted awkwardly, near the back of the crowd but sticking out as one of the tallest there.

He sincerely hoped he'd get a wher, and Nori and Ran would get dragons.

...The wher Candidate wasn't someone who hoped a lot.

[Dragonwher]

Aside from having to re-center himself as he arrived to the discussion in time to have a cheery dragonvoice honk his brain, Randiel was fairly quiet. He was thankfully saved needing to keep his flits settled by Aela and Farkas deigning to stay with Majere in his as yet current room. As that left him able to focus on the candidatemasters. He did end up looking faintly interested in the idea that a Dragon might end up choosing him. He wasn't especially fond of flying though; but if it happened he'd deal with it. But while definitely hoping one of Kalesk's offspring Chose him first. And deep in his heart he was no little bit glad his sister was a Weyrling now; he'd have been worried sicker than a dog for her otherwise.

But as he went down that mental path he quickly stifled his thoughts and returned full focus on the Candidate masters. As he stood and only moved enough to nod in response to everything said his 'gears' were turning a bit. It was a good thing his sister was already chosen for another reason; less stressful than his worry of her being mauled. What if they'd confused their potential partners?, that would have made for an interesting story to send home. But he kept the amusement out of his face for the most part aside from a small smile. A small smile he was using to focus on the good in the situation to provide a block to the tensions rising in the people around.

Though he couldn't deny he would never be as tensely worried about a hatching as he had been when it was his sister on the sands. Likely the candidate masters were partly intending this chat to reassure as well as inform. And Jasmine's almost playful antics with Tius were helping further loosen Randiel up. Sure he hoped death wouldn't happen this time; feeble hope though it was with Kalesk's hatchlings and Callistath's on the sands. But Randiel felt nothing but respect for Kalenna and her golden one; surely she'd do better about keeping her children in line than that great golden wherryhead who was mother to his sister's dragon.

Thoughts like that however he was even quicker to bury, lest one of the candidatemasters bond-mates felt it and he got in trouble. So his thoughts soon boiled down to simply hoping he survived this double hatching that might be loaded to the Stands in chaos; with or without a new bond to worry about. No matter what type of bond it was; he'd make do as best he could since the Candidatemasters wanted them all to be sure they knew how to care for their bonded even if it wasn't what they'd learned about from the time they started here. Though Randiel wasn't sure why he thought this, but he was fairly certain this next hatching he'd likely have more than just the blood bond marking to bind up by the time he walked off the sands. After all, Ausk's hatching had been quick and there weren't as many chances for him to get cut.

[Zephyr]

They were being called. Addy was curled up on a couch in the commons quietly reading until breakfast came. She didn't usually wake up this early, but when she'd heard the summons for candidates, she was glad she had. She put what she'd been reading to the side gingerly, stood up on her long legs and joined the stream of candidates leaving the barracks.

Unfortunately, she hadn't gotten to know any of the other candidates, not for lack of trying.

That didn't mean she was just going to be a wallflower! Her eyes scanned the crowd, and fell upon someone who looked like they could use her influence...and he wasn't too terrible on the eyes either. With a smile and a bounce in her step, the girl swept up to Riocard and leaned on him without any preamble. "Hi!" She said brightly, flashing that winning grin at the kid. "I'm Adelaide!"

No one could ever accuse the girl of being unfriendly.

Ranthian's entrance, on the other hand, was decidedly more quiet. He was still trying to wake up, and it probably wouldn't be the greatest thing in the world for him to try and socialize when he was feeling like this. So instead of subjecting anyone to this, he entered without any fanfare. He didn't even glance around to see if any of his siblings were present, just leaned against a wall, blinking groggily while the lesson started.

The boy let out a huff of a breath. Was this really that important? He didn't really care what he impressed to. He'd probably just be irritated that he had to actually wear a shirt the entire time. Of course, he realized, being irritated at his state of clothing would probably count as negative thoughts. Glancing around for the first time, he saw his oldest brother...and Lanorun was looking decidedly surlier than normal. So, plastering on his best smile, he squeezed through the throng of candidates and shoulderbumped his brother affectionately, his way of telling Lano to lighten up a little bit.

This is gonna be fun.

Adelaide also thought the potential for a double hatching like this would be fun, and her smile was massive, leaning on Rio like she was. She didn't say anything, but if the boy had tried to tactfully slip away from her, she'd just continue leaning on him.

No one needed to be so grumpy on such an exciting day!