Candidate Lesson #1: Introductions and Expectations

Vianne looked thoughtful, studying the subtle variations of dragon hide in front of her as she scrubbed, glancing at Antonia again. "How old is your son?" she asked, both curious and not yet sure what conclusions she was coming to about the people in charge of this place.

Asteriel washed in silence, enjoying the feeling of smooth dragon hide under her hands. The dust sluiced off the scarlet dragon, turning her hide from the color of old blood to a shimmering, fresh blood and ruby glory. Asteriel let her mind turn back to the first time she had touched her sister's dragon, Maraxith.

The sun was high in Eastern Weyr's bowl and near the bathing pools, Asteriel squinted against the bright noon day light. At the edge of the watch, a girl as lithe as a willow tree stood next to a half grown dragon.

"Come on, Aster. Maraxith won't hurt you." Casriel had assured her.

She remembered how much trepidation she had felt walking up to the cobalt, one of the first two in the world. His hide was a plum chased black with the barest suggestion of midnight blue. No matter his color, his hide had been as soft as any dragon's. With her eyes closed, he felt so different than her father's brown and could have been any half grown male dragon.

The memory faded and Asteriel blinked, looking back up at the great red dragon before her. Could she really hope to ride a dragon one day and what would it be. An aggressive cobalt like Casriel's, a sleek and daring fighter like scarlet Hesriath. Was S'riel right at all in his thoughts that she had what it took to ride a queen or was the green dragon of T'kals dreaming more likely.

'What is no color of dragon wants me?' Asteriel thought and the fear of it chilled her despite the warm light shinning down on them all. She couldn't fail to Impress;  would fate be so cruel as to make her] the black sheep of the family.

"He's six Turns," Antonia replied, a huge smile spreading across her face. Just the thought of Noaja brought her joy. "He's been spending most of his time with the... trader children." She herself wasn't entirely certain what the nature of the cavern dwellers were. Those that were candidates seemed mostly friendly, and Noaja was certainly happy with his new friends.

And anything was better than the abusive husband she had ran from.

"A family place, is it?" Vianne asked, interested. "I didn't - I wouldn't have guessed." That made it...better? More reassuring? Something along those lines. She couldn't be sure entirely how she felt, but Antonia was making a case for some kind of way. "Was this something you always wanted then? A dragon?" A remote canyon, an interesting mishmash of people from who-knows-where, doing who-knows-what. Intriguing, at the very least.

Antonia laughed, shaking her head. "I wouldn't have either," she agreed, "but Noaja loves Elicia. She seems to be in charge of the women who care for the little ones." She'd only spent a few moments with the older woman herself; she was always bustling about and making sure her all her charges were happy. "And Teagan has a lot of good things to say about her also." She raised her voice a bit to include the much younger girl in their conversation.

Teagan looked up, green eyes sparkling in the light. "Elicia is the best," she said passionately. "I was sad when I left to stay with all of you, but it's going to be worth it." She beamed up at Hesriath, imagining herself astride such a wonderful creature. "And everyone is so nice here... I'm glad the dragonriders brought you."

Antonia gave a shrug of her shoulder, meant only for Vianne. There seemed to be a lot of secrets around, but even the talkative Teagan had subjects she easily skirted when asked about regarding the canyon dwellers. "I never dreamed of a dragon," she said with a small laugh. "I was a cotwife, and I never planned for anything else. Now I'm a candidate, I guess."

A candidate, I guess, Vianne echoed in her thoughts, and smiled again. That did seem fitting, however it was she'd gotten here. Were people nice here? Well, they weren't terrible - beyond the means taken to get her there - certainly they hadn't done anything to her other than relocate her.

She couldn't lower her guard, perhaps, that would be stupid, but surely there wasn't a dastardly bone in tiny Teagan's body, and Antonia fully believed what she was saying. "I suppose if you don't miss home," delicate, that, in case the other woman didn't want to talk about it either, "there are worse things than making a new one."

The dragon's hide was warm and somehow soothing under her hands. Definitely worse things.

"No, I don't," Antonia said, a sad smile on her face. "As long as Noaja is with me, wherever I am is home." She glanced sideways at the girl, trying to be encouraging. "I suppose I'm lucky to have him here with me." Her smile was gentle, welcoming, trying to to let her know that it was okay to open up if she wanted to.

"Lucky," Vianne mused. "I'm not sure what I'd be doing if I weren't here, so I suppose I should be grateful for the opportunity to try my hand at..." she glanced around, her light eyes drawn back to the dragon they surrounded, "this. Whatever it ends up being. We can all have some adventure, no?" She reached out a(n admittedly soapy) hand to touch the other woman's elbow, in silent but clear thanks for the warmth.

Asteriel washed in silence, enjoying the feeling of smooth dragon hide under her hands. The dust sluiced off the scarlet dragon, turning her hide from the color of old blood to a shimmering, fresh blood and ruby glory. Asteriel let her mind turn back to the first time she had touched her sister's dragon, Maraxith.

The sun was high in Eastern Weyr's bowl and near the bathing pools, Asteriel squinted against the bright noon day light. At the edge of the watch, a girl as lithe as a willow tree stood next to a half grown dragon.

"Come on, Aster. Maraxith won't hurt you." Casriel had assured her.

She remembered how much trepidation she had felt walking up to the cobalt, one of the first two in the world. His hide was a plum chased black with the barest suggestion of midnight blue. No matter his color, his hide had been as soft as any dragon's. With her eyes closed, he felt so different than her father's brown and could have been any half grown male dragon.

The memory faded and Asteriel blinked, looking back up at the great red dragon before her. Could she really hope to ride a dragon one day and what would it be. An aggressive cobalt like Casriel's, a sleek and daring fighter like scarlet Hesriath. Was S'riel right at all in his thoughts that she had what it took to ride a queen or was the green dragon of T'kals dreaming more likely.

'What is no color of dragon wants me?' Asteriel thought and the fear of it chilled her despite the warm light shinning down on them all. She couldn't fail to Impress;  would fate be so cruel as to make her the black sheep of the family.

"This is an opportunity lots of people dream about as youngsters," she said with a chuckle. "And an adventure this is certainly." She covered Vianne's hand with her own and squeezed lightly. "And there's plenty of us on the adventure together," she reassured her.

Teagan had grown a little bored with Antonia and Vianne, and moved around a bit to scrub every last bit of Hesriath she could reach. She loved how the dragon's hide gleamed and sparkled with the water droplets and sun, and she was so much softer than she had expected.

She ducked underneath the water and swam around to the other side of the dragon, popping up right next to Asteriel. White blonde hair plastered to her face, she smiled at the girl she didn't recognize. "Hello!" she chirped. "I'm Teagan! What's your name? When did you get here? Are you from a Hold?"

"You are very reassuring," Vianne told Antonia, before turning back to the dragon. "I can see why you're such an excellent mother." She smiled, to show she meant it. "I always wanted an adventure."

That, too, was true. So. At least she felt better about that.

Asteriel looked down to see a young girl with pale blond hair and smiled. She reminded her of one of the younger girls that Jisa cared for, just with slight physical differences.

"Hi there. I'm Asteriel. I just got here from Eastern Weyr." Asteriel said and she couldn't help but grin. This Teagan was just as high spirited as some of her younger foster siblings. She seemed to shine under the light of the scarlet dragon.

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Teagan. Is this your first Standing?" she asked companionably.

Antonia smiled and gave a slightly choked laugh, tears briefly filling her eyes. "Thank you," she said, meaning every word of it. She felt reassured that she had made the right decision for Noaja by running that night.

"Your name is so pretty!" Teagan said, clapping her soapy hands together and showering herself with suds. She shook her head and giggled, turning back to Hesriath and once again attacking the lower half of her. "Yup!" she said proudly, beaming up at the older girl. "I studied very hard when the dragons came so I could be a candidate. What is Eastern Weyr like? I've only heard about it from the new harpers."

Her face was bright with curiosity... none of the dragonriders really wanted to talk about the Weyr that had sent them here. Maybe this new arrival could shed some light on the place where these amazing creatures had come from. She knew that there was some anger towards Eastern, but didn't really understand what was so different about these dragons than the ones that hadn't come to the canyon.

"Thank you." Asteriel said with a bright flush of pleasure. She often got compliments on her name, as she was sure Casriel did as well. R-I-E-L was four letters that followed in S'riels line as far back as his great-great-grandfather. His name had been T'riel and he had been a bronze rider some turns back in Fort Weyr's history.

"Welcome to Candidacy." Asteriel said kindly. "You are to be congratulated. Being Searched to stand at the clutch is one of the best things that can happen to a young girl in the Weyr. Especially if there is a queen egg on the sands."

Asteriel considered Teagan's question and how best she might go about answering it without offending Ashrah who stood nearby. Who knew how much pride the other dragonriders had amassed for their new Weyr in the little time they had been there.

"Eastern is a big Weyr but not the largest in all of Pern. That honor belongs to Fort Weyr or maybe Benden. I have never met any Benden riders but I suppose it could be true. Fort is the oldest Weyr, Eastern is the youngest or rather was before White Lightning Weyr was created." Asteriel said, calling on her education of such things. She had always paid her former Candidate Master his due attention and bent her mind toward her studies so that her father would never feel shame for her, nor Jisa either.

"Are you excited?" Asteriel asked.

Nodding to Breklynn in agreement, Jemma hoped the other Candidate would elaborate.  But the arrival of another girl interrupted anything she might have been about to say.

Smiling at the newcomer, Jemma wiped a hand on her trousers and stuck it out in greeting to Asteriel.  "Nice to meet you!  I'm Jemma.  Did you just get here?"  Realizing that might have sounded a little off, her grin turned sheepish.  "To the canyon, I mean, not here to the river, since, clearly, you just got here."

She still kept an ear out for Breklynn as they worked, just in case the other girl wanted to contribute to the conversation, but she knew that not everyone was inclined to talk about themselves.  If ever she was, Jemma would certainly welcome whatever she had to say with open arms.

A couple more new young people arrived-- one looking decidedly unhappy and being escorted by her cousin (because cousin's daughter was still a cousin, right?)  Frowning faintly, Jemma wondered what the young man's problem could be, if Dividia seemed to be dragging him in-- did he not want to be here and learn about the dragons, too?  She'd have to ask him or Dividia when she got the chance.

Of course, with Teagan's arrival and nearly endless questions, Jemma's own questions were answered.  But Asteriel's responses only served to pique her curiosity further, and when she was able to get a word in edgewise around Teagan, she asked, "Oh, really, you're from one of the Weyrs?  Eastern's where the dragonriders who are here are from, isn't it?  Were you a Candidate there?"

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A bit slow to follow the others due to catching up with a man who'd been a regular at the tavern until a few months ago, Revel figured the group of young people clustered around a scarlet dragon in the water was her destination.  The dragonrider who'd called them all together was somewhere nearby, but she didn't see a reason not to just join in with whatever they were doing-- which seemed to be bathing the lovely ruby dragon.

Giving Dividia a little wave when she spotted the older woman, she headed for the bucket everyone else seemed to be using.  "Mind if I join in?" she asked those closest, not sure if there was any sort of protocol to this, or if they were supposed to take turns, or what.  It certainly didn't hurt to ask, at any rate.

"Yeah, just recently." Asteriel nodded, glad that the other girl had noticed her and she didn't look like a fool talking to someone who would rather be left alone.

"I did just come from Eastern Weyr and yes, all the riders here are from that Weyr. I stood for clutches with your Weyrling Master's son. He Impressed a bronze not too long ago." Asteriel said pleasantly.

"Oh, so you've done this before?"  Excited at the thought of finding someone other than the riders who knew about dragons, Jemma glanced up from scrubbing.  "How many egg clutches did you Stand for there?"  She gave little thought to it potentially being a sore spot with someone who had already witnessed at least one other Hatching.

"Do you know all the other riders that are here?  I haven't met them all yet, but the ones I have seem nice enough.  And their dragons are all so pretty-- even the males!"

"Yes. I've seen standing since I was fourteen. I'm twenty two now but don't worry on account of me. My time will come or it won't; I have known that since I was a child. Some people Impress right off, at fourteen and then they are flying against thread by seventeen. Me, I'm kind of glad that I was given the time to grow up before bonding to a creature who at birth is little more able than a human infant. " Asteriel said, rinsing her scrub out to wash the suds away from Hesriath's hide.

"I think I would also want to be older...for my dragon's first mating flight." Asteriel said softly.

"Oh my, that's… quite a bit of time," Jemma remarked, wondering at Asteriel's words.

Some people Impressed right away, and others were left Standing for… Turns, potentially?  Sure, she'd heard such tales, but surely it didn't always take that long, did it?

Frowning slightly, she admitted she agreed with the other girl's assessment of preferring to be older when dealing with an infant, but why would dragons bond to young ones, if they couldn't handle it?  Did that mean sometimes the Candidates didn't do well with their dragonet, and one or the other of them suffered because of it?  "Is it… bad, sometimes, when the Candidates Impress too young, then?"

Of course, she couldn't fault Asteriel's logic when it came to… mating flights, given what she'd heard of them.  But surely, the dragonriders who Impressed young wouldn't have to deal with that until they were older anyway, right?

"Not bad." Asteriel said carefully and wondered for a moment if she had said too much. She did not what to come off as an insufferable know-it-all; she had just spent a lot of time in the Weyr. All her family, excepting Jisa, were dragonriders. It was from their experiences that she had taken her knowledge and formed her opinions.

"A dragon knows, that is what the riders say. However, there might be a difference between what a dragon knows in the moment and what he or she can predict in the future. Sometimes, its harder for Hold and Craft born people to adapt to the liberal attitudes of Weyrlife." she concluded.

Asteriel did not add that she was far from the greatest example of Weyr ideals. Her foster mother had been Holder kin and very conservative. She had taught Asteriel respect of a man in power, lady like qualities of modesty, kindness and responsibility. It was because of Jisa that Asteriel had grown into a fine young woman. A fine, chaste, young woman.

Considering the other girl's words, Jemma finally nodded.  "That makes sense.  So a younger person who was born at the Weyr might be okay Impressing, since they grew up around it all."  Since Asteriel had been around for so many Hatchings, surely she'd have some idea of what the dragons considered really too young?  "How old was the youngest person you've seen Impress?"

Most of the young people who were helping clean Hesriath were old enough that they surely wouldn't have a problem with their own dragon joining in on mating flights.  There was really only Teagan, and Jemma wondered just how prepared for that aspect of things the young girl was, since she seemed so enthusiastic about dragons.  Maybe she didn't realize that was part of the deal?

"Yes, I would think so. Given more time to come to terms with the liberal lifestyle of the Weyr, Weyr born candidates do tend to stand at the very earliest of fourteen turns." Asteriel said agreeably. Then she considered the question very carefully.

"Well, my sister Casriel Impressed at twenty four turns but she was on the sands. Our Weyrling Master was one of the few to Impress from the Stands. She was older than Casriel, if only just. I remember it well because when I was there that day. I was seventeen." Asteriel sighed. She remembered to smile, however. She couldn't envy anyone their dragon. It was not her place.

"I'm hopeful still. I don't mind being older than most of the others. Its good for them to have someone they can look to." Asteriel nodded.

Mardian was irritated. This was unusual for the relatively sunny-natured boy, but he'd really been excited about this whole Candidate thing... and when the job for Vid had taken longer than anticipated... well. The less said about that, the better. Even to the entirely intimidating woman known as the Weyrlingmaster. Not that she was likely to understand. Not without an explanation. Which he couldn't give.

Well, he thought. Better late than never, right? He shot a tight smile to his brother, Mardrist, who walked alongside him, and squared his thin shoulders as he approached the group clustered around the bright ruby dragon.

"Weyrlingmaster," Mardian said with a smile intended to be charming and apologetic. "I regret the necessity for our lateness. We are Mardian and Mardrist," he said, gesturing to his taciturn brother in turn. "And we'd also like to be Candidates."

Ashrah turned toward the voice that hailed her and Hesriath did the same. The green eyes of the Weyrling Master fell on the chest of a young man. She looked up and into the eyes of two young men. Two pairs of dark brown eyes meeting bright green. She stepped forward and crossed her arms along her chest.

"The necessity for your lateness." she said dryly. "That is a new one. Very well, Mardian. You and you brother are welcome to join the others. This is a hands on lesson. You will be familiarizing yourself with dragons by correctly washing, drying and oiling my own Hesriath." Ashrah said, tossing her head at the scarlet dragon who rumbled in brightening curiosity at the newcomers.

Mardrist looked up at the huge red dragon so that he could stop slightly glaring at the woman who was barely older than him, who spoke with the authority of Avidian himself. This was not his sort of idea of fun. However, Mardian had made a good case for it and Mardrist sighed to think again how anxious his brother had looked.

'Its like a new puppy.' the older boy had told himself. 'Let him cherish the feeling of something new in this shit hole.'

The kid deserved to have some happiness but Mardrist would be twice damned if he would let him go off alone. Who knows what these dragon riders really wanted? It couldn't be as simple as kindness who give every canyon brat a shot at the dragon. Why would they share their precious dragons with simple folk? They needed soldiers for their side. The dragons ensured that.

"Let's go." he said gruffly. "And stay close."