For The Dragons

Writers: AmajoS, Heather
Date Posted: 1st February 2019

Characters: A'nir, T'min
Description: Temmin's first day at the Weyr.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 8, day 2 of Turn 9

Temmin placed the two bags, one larger than the other, on the bed he'd
been assigned to and looked around. This was going to be his home for
the foreseeable future. He was used to sharing a room with his two
brothers, but there were a lot more than two other beds in here. The
place was empty, save himself, as it was the middle of the day, so he
plopped himself onto his new bed and indulged in a little self-pity.

He had only been gone from home for a few hours and already he was
homesick. Had he made a mistake saying yes to the Search? He'd been
told it was up to him, but it had been obvious that his parents were
eager for him to agree, and the idea of possibly impressing a dragon
of his very own was thrilling. However, now that he was here, in this
sea of strangers, worry gripped him. What if he -didn't- impress a
dragon at all? He wasn't sure he was the type of person that a dragon
would find all that impressive, despite what the Search rider said.
Sure, he would be able to learn his craft here too, and if he didn't
ever Impress, he could go home with Journeyman's knots someday and
that would be good... but still.

Anndil had been relieved when he'd been instructed to show the new
Candidate around and familiarize him on how things were done. It was a
lot better than the cleaning duty he had been assigned earlier that
day. As one of the eldest Candidates he supposed it made sense that he
was asked to show the new guy around. Being one of the senior
Candidates was a blessing and a curse, if he didn't find his lifemate
in Chioneth's current clutch, or the next, he would be in serious risk
of aging out of Candidacy.

"Hello there," Anndil approached, "I'm Anndil, one of the other
Candidates here."

Temmin sat up quickly, not expecting to hear another person's voice
just then. There was an older boy, grown really, with brown hair and
the kind of good looks girls back at his hold had swooned over. The
younger boy felt a self-conscious glower come over his face, knowing
that even if he -did- impress a dragon, it would never make him look
like this Anndil. No one would ever swoon over him. With an effort of
will, however, he shoved the thought aside. There was nothing he could
do about that and the last thing he wanted was to start off on the
wrong foot in this place. And this guy hadn't done a thing wrong. He
was being friendly, even. He'd left all his other friends behind, he
should try not to put off potential new ones right away.

He forced a small smile, all he could manage, and replied in a quiet
voice, "Temmin, I just got here."

Anndil smiled, taking the other boy's hesitancy as nerves, "Nice to
meet you. I've been sent to show you around the Weyr and fill you in
on how chores and classes work."

"Oh," Temmin stood up and nervously smoothed his clothes. "That's
good. I mean, I'm glad." He felt foolish now, the woman who'd sent him
here had told him someone would be along shortly to show him around,
but he'd forgotten.

"Come on then, we'll start with the major areas of importance," Anndil
said as they left the dormitory and headed in the direction of the
Dining Cavern. "All meals are served here, we have breakfast at the
seventh candlemark, lunch at the thirteenth and dinner is at the
seventeenth. So if you want to get a bite in before classes and chores
you have to get in the habit of getting up early. It's also the best
time to get a bath in because the rest of the day is pretty scheduled
out."

Temmin was no stranger to working all day, but he'd finished harper
classes more than two turns ago. "What sort of classes?"

"Candidate lessons," Anndil replied. "You'll learn about Weyr
etiquette, Weyr and dragon history, and all that stuff." Anndil had
been a Candidate at the Weyr already for a couple of Turns and had
already been through those kind of lessons.

That made sense, he supposed. He wasn't the only candidate Searched
outside the Weyr, he knew. He and the others like him wouldn't have
grown up here, learning things as they went like they would have at
home. And while all harper classes taught the basics of dragon
history, including the names of all the Weyrleaders and so on, he
imagined living in the Weyr would require a more detailed knowledge.
Still. Classes. He was not fond of sitting in a classroom for marks at
a time. "How long do the classes last?"

"Class lasts for two candlemarks. It's not all sitting in the
classroom, you'll do hands-on stuff too." Anndil led Temmin through
the Dining Cavern, "This is where you'll eat," he said as they walked
through and toward the lower caverns entrance. "The Headwoman assigns
chores and posts them here," he tapped a clipboard that was hanging on
a nail. "Unless you have a craft.... Do you?"

"I'm a miner. I was meant to go to the crafthall, but I got Searched instead."

"Right, so check with the Headwoman and they'll square away what they
want you to do during that time." Anndil crooked his finger for Temmin
to keep following him. "Down this corridor and we'll be at the
classrooms that are mostly used for Candidates and then weyrbrats who
are still taking harper lessons." Anndil informed him. "Any
questions?"

There was one, but he felt a bit silly asking it. "When, I mean I...,"
he trailed off, feeling foolish after all, all he had to do is go
outside and look up but he wanted more. After a moment he scowled in
determination to get the words out and blurted rather abruptly, "Do we
get to meet any of the dragons?" He kept his gaze pointed down, not
wanting to see the older boy laughing at him, but he hadn't come here
for chores and work and classes and food. He could have gotten all
that at the crafthall. He came for dragons and maybe one of his own
and he wanted more than anything to get closer to the great beasts. He
got to -ride- the Search dragon and it was the best thing that had
ever happened to him.

Contrary to what Temmin expected, a smile spread across Anndil's face.
"They're magnificent, aren't they?" he said before continuing. "If you
want to get closer to dragons, the best way is to volunteer to help
the goldriders in washing theirs. The queens are so large that their
riders are usually appreciative of the help. You could also ask around
in the infirmary to wash injured dragonriders' lifemates."

Temmin smiled a real smile for the first time since arriving, feeling
very pleased by the answer and even more by the fact that Anndil
hadn't laughed at him. He was used to being laughed at for asking dumb
questions, "I'll do that, thank you."

"Absolutely, that's what we're here for, right?" Anndil liked the genuine smile on Temmin's face. "Allright then, let's continue with the tour," he said, before leading the Candidate off again.

Last updated on the February 28th 2019

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For The Dragons