Girl Talk [Mizao/Joia/Aleni]

[Zen]

Candidate Mizao

After their lesson the Egg Touching, Mizao was left more curious than ever. She wished they could just attend the Touching already, so she could understand what all the experienced candidates were talking about. How the eggs... talked. If someone outside the Weyr had ever suggested to her that eggs could talk, she would have smiled, nodded, and quickly vacated the vicinity before the nutter got dangerous. But here it was the general consensus. It was crazy that it wasn't crazy.

With less than two sevendays as a candidate under her belt, she felt woefully unprepared for the upcoming Hatching. Luckily, she paid attention during lessons. Aleni was clearly an experienced candidate and Mizao was determined to get to know the older girl and hopefully benefit from her experience. Luckily, she had been assigned to afternoon chores washing dishes, and Aleni and another new girl (Jaya? Joya? Something like that) were assigned the same task. It would give her a good opportunity to speak with Aleni, and perhaps this new girl could become a friend as well. She was just thankful that Akai had not been assigned the same task.

In the kitchens, she stood before a large wash basin filled with soapy water and scrubbed away at trays and cups, casting a glance over at Aleni and... she was pretty sure it was Joya? She cleared her throat lightly. Making friends was never exactly an easy thing for her. She latched onto the first thing that came to mind, fixing her dark gaze on Joia, “I'm sorry... I'm not sure if we've been properly introduced. My name is Mizao. Welcome to Mavros.” She gave a pleasant smile to the new girl, “I am new here as well. It seems we will be learning together.” Her gaze flicked to Aleni, “How long have you been a candidate?”

Alyx Taxx

[Taxx]

Dish duty was not the worst chore she could have been signed up for, and Aleni accepted it gladly. And she had long since learned not to wear good clothes, for the risk of staining, so the patchy shirt was not one of her finest. Not that it mattered, she mused to herself, it wasn't like they were going to start comparing outfits. At least she hoped.

The voice pulled her from her silent commentary and she turned to Mizao. Aleni recognized her easily enough, having seen her around the Barracks and in lessons almost daily. But she was new, and Aleni hadn't really bothered to actually try to get to know her yet; now, she realized, the younger seemed to be trying to do just that. The question on how long she had been a Candidate was innocent enough, and there was no harm in answering. "Six Turns," she replied, barely meeting Mizao's eyes long enough to answer and then dropping her gaze again to the plate she was scrubbing. And she still had time- Candidates stood until their twenty-fifth Turn, so she was a ways from aging out. Plenty of chances left for a dragonet to pick her out of the crowd.

"Where- do you come from?" A bit hesitant on the question, unsure if she ought to be asking; but this was how conversation worked, right? Questions asked and answered, comments commented on? Wouldn't do to be prickly here when the younger girl was trying to be friendly.
Alyx Zen

[Alyx]

Candidate Joia

The lesson had been nothing if not... well, eventful was a good word for it? Plenty of new information to process, new faces to put names to - and one new face to avoid beyond any doubt. Joia was glad for the separate boy/girl dorms more than ever, and she was happier not to be sharing choir duty with the 'boy' either. Towel in hand, she duffed the plates and bowls dry as quickly as she could, not wanting to let the clean dishes pile up. The other girls were elbowed deep in the wash water, which meant Joia was working 2-to-1. She didn't mind though; it meant she was never left waiting for something to do, and it finished the chore all that much faster.

When Mizao looked her way, Joia grinned and shook her head. "Thanks, same to you. Seems a nice place, doesn't it?" She looked the plate over in her hands, setting it on the stack, and snagged up a new one. "And I'm Joia. Good to meet you too." Joia watched quickly as Mizao tried to pull Aleni into the conversation - Joia frowned only a bit when the girl seemed to resist just a bit. What, didn't the other candidate want to be friends? She supposed it was possible; she'd heard more than once that some candidates felt they were all in competition with each other, vying for the best post, best chances to Impress.

Six Turns?! Joia blinked at Aleni, for a moment feeling a bit sorry for the other girl. What did it have to be like? Making friends only to watch them leave the Hatching with Dragons and you being left behind? That would explain why she might not want to make friends... still, wasn't good to just be alone all the time right? "I’m from a little farmstead just north of Nerat Hold. I think my father once called it Darstead, but I'm not actually sure it ever had a name officially." Joia smiled. "What about you two?"

Zen Taxx

[Zen]

Candidate Mizao

Joia. Mizao repeated it in her mind a few times, so as not to forget. She nodded to the other girl's comment. Mavros seemed as nice as any place to her. Not that she had been many places in her life... more than some, she supposed, thinking of her sisters. She pushed thoughts of her family away quickly. It would be best not to dwell on them right now. Her eyes widened slightly at Aleni's answer to her question. Six turns of Standing.... Would she have given up by now? She thought so... maybe she would have gone back to the Smithcraft, had she been in Aleni's position. Tried to make things right with her father. There she went again.

She focused on Joia's answer to where she was from, hoping to distract herself from any more depressing thoughts. Near Nerat? That seemed a world away from her own home. “I am from Telgin. It's a minor hold some days travel from Telgar. I was training at the Smithcraft Hall when I was Searched, though.” She didn't particularly want to go into more detail. “Was it nice, your home near Nerat? Warm, I mean? It must be colder here than you're used to.” Geography wasn't exactly her strong point, but she had a vague idea where the major Holds and all the Weyrs were located, and knew of the more southern Holds' far warmer climates.

Alyx Taxx

[Taxx]

It felt awkward. But maybe it was just her- the other two didn't seem to feel the same. They were chattering away happily, answering Aleni's question on birthplaces, and soon enough it came back around to her. "Benden Hold," she replied. "I got lucky coming here- most Hold children go to Benden Weyr." She might have too, if she hadn't wanted to put as much distance between herself and her family as possible. "Near Nerat, though; that's pretty far, isn't it? Do you... uh... do you miss it?" Twisting off the almost question: 'do you have family there?' because she really didn't want to go into that. She had enough of it on a daily basis with her brother.

She liked it better here. Much better. And while six Turns of Candidacy was a bit of a stretch, she was still hanging on, still waiting. She wasn't going to give up her hope until there was no chance left. Maybe not in this clutch, but in one of them- surely there had to be a dragon for her.

[Alyx]

Candidate Joia

Oh boy, suddenly this talk became a lot about her, didn’t it? Joia blinked at the questions but gave a little shrug. It didn’t really bother her to talk about herself; she had nothing really to hide, did she? Well, other than the fact she was a bit backwater and farmer bright? Oh well. She finished drying the dish in her hands, tucked it into the stack, and snagged up another. “Smithcraft? Like shoeing runners, or making things?” She was interested; it sounded very hands on. As for the climate, she smiled. “It’s a little chilly, not gonna deny that. But just means I have to toss on an extra jerkin in the morning and I sleep with socks on.” Joia laughed. “Farmer stock are horribly adaptable. Not a lot we really don’t just brush off.” Finishing the plate in her hand, she focused on Mizao. “What about you? Is it colder or warmer than your home here?”

Aleni's question was a little harder to answer, mostly because she wasn’t sure how much they really wanted to know. The way the question came out, it felt there was more to it than was said, but Joia decided it was probably best not to pry. She gave a soft nod. “Yea, it’s a bit far. My parents already said they won’t be able to make it to the hatching when it happens – not with crops and my siblings underfoot. Probably best, I guess. Don’t want them to come all this way and have me walk off the Sand solo, you know?” She shifted, catching up another plate, and thought a bit more. “I miss it sometimes. If we don’t have lessons or Chores, something I find myself thinking about what I’d be doing back home about now. I missed the freedom a little too, you know-” She held up the half-dry plate and laughed. “My Ma would never have trusted me with her dishes. She’d expect me to drop and break ‘em.”

She glanced at the other two girls. “What about you guys? You miss being home at all?”

(*smiles* sorry Taxx; you knew the question was coming!! )
Zen Taxx

[Zen]

Candidate Mizao

When Joia asked about her work in the smithcraft, Mizao was more than happy to talk about it, “Well, shoeing runners is a rather basic task. It's one of the first things we're allowed to do as apprentices, seeing as the need for it out in the rest of Pern is rather high. I'm only an apprentice so I haven't had much chance to do more than what the masters have told me to do. Simple utensils are another rather mundane item apprentices are tasked with making. I prefer utensils to runnershoes, however.”

She scrubbed at a particularly caked on bit of food, focusing on the task briefly, “I'd also begun working under Master Dehlia. She's wonderful. It is quite a feat for a woman to attain mastery in the smithcraft. She makes the most exquisite jewelry and was beginning to teach me, when I was Searched.” She thought back to all the pieces she had seen her favorite teacher working on, the finished ones, before they were sent out to their commissioners, the most important women on Pern. It would take her a lifetime to ever be able to afford even ONE of Master Dehlia's pieces.

Joia picked up talking again in the lull, as Mizao reminisced about Master Dehlia, and she pulled herself from her thoughts to pay attention to the other girl's words. The conversation was turning back to home and Mizao shifted uncomfortably. Well, a question about the weather wasn't too bad, “Similar. It is a bit father north, so I imagine they'll get more snow than Mavros, might be a bit colder.” She wouldn't be certain until winter set in.

She listened to Joia talk about her home, thinking it sounded rather wonderful. Then it was turned back to her and Aleni. She glanced at the older girl briefly, trying to decide just how she wanted to answer that. “Well... I... haven't really been home in several turns. My... my father wanted me to focus on my work at the smith hall.” She fell silent for a moment, finishing off another dish, “I miss my sisters, though. Sarue... she's the youngest... she was only 3 or 4 when I left for the hall. Likely she doesn't even remember me....” And now she would never even know her.

That was enough of that. She drew in a deep breath, cleared her throat, “I miss the hall too, though. Master Dehlia was... something like a mother to me. I miss learning from her. But everything here is so new to me, it doesn't give me much time to dwell.” Thankfully. She looked over at Aleni, awaiting her own response to the question.

[Taxx]

Somehow she'd known the question would come up. It didn't make her any more thrilled when it did, but she'd still half-expected it. Quiet while Mizao answered, Aleni kept her head down, every bit of focus seeming to be on the caked-on mess on the plate she was holding. She was considering the question, though- lying about it would have been so much easier. A smile and a nod as she agreed, Yes, I miss it, and then pushed the talk past the thorny topic to another that was more agreeable.

But why? Mizao didn't seem to mind sharing her own memories with her home Hold, although her experience wasn't nearly the same as Aleni's own. She missed her birth Hold, it seemed, and the ones who had been there for her. Coming here was an opportunity for her, but if she ever aged out, she was assured a place back there, if she wanted to go back. No warm welcome awaited Aleni if she chose the same. "No," she replied, squaring her shoulders and jutting out her chin, speaking truthfully. "If I never Impress, I'll stay on here and learn a craft to be useful in that way. I doubt any of my family at Benden Hold want to see me again. And I'd rather not explain why. We just didn't end up agreeing about... things."

A step further in the request to not have to broach a topic she didn't want to talk of, possibly pricking at curiosity but making her own stand on it clear. Maybe, just maybe, someday she would explain it, but not right now, not when she hardly knew the two, and certainly not in the middle of a place where anyone could overhear.

[Alyx]

Candidate Joia

Joia felt a little like she’d brought up a topic that the others weren’t exactly comfortable with? Well, maybe not Mizao, but with Aleni for sure. The older girl wasn’t rude, but she was blunt enough to make it clear she didn’t much care to talk about her family before being brought or coming to Mavros. Joia buffed at the plate she was trying to dry for a few moments, wondering if she should ask more, or…. No, probably not. She didn’t want to make this conversation any weirder than she just had.

“Well, if they don’t want you back, I’m sure you are plenty welcome to stay right here in Mavros, right?” She did her best to smile at the other girl, but it didn’t quite work as well as she hoped. Okay… topic change. She looked from one to the other, and then sat her dried play aside before taking up another wet, cleaned one. “So you said in class that you’ve been on the Sand for hatchings before, Aleni?” She frowned for a second and then sighed. “Is what that loudmouth Shintagoi said in lesson true? About hatchlings killing people on purpose? It’s not…. Right?”

[Zen]

Candidate Mizao

Aleni's answer to the question made it rather clear that it wasn't exactly a question she had wanted to answer. Mizao paused briefly in her washing to look over at the older girl, offering a slight smile, speaking softly, “It's all right. I'm sure no one's trying to pry into personal matters.” Well she wasn't anyway, she couldn't exactly speak for Joia. Though the other girl's response to Aleni seemed to suggest the same, as she chose to move the conversation along rather than dwell on it.

Though when Joia brought up that loud boy from class, and hatchlings killing candidates, Mizao nearly dropped the bowl she'd been working on. Luckily she managed not to. She was rather eager to hear the answer to that question herself. Shintagoi's stories had been less than reassuring. But why would he lie? Just to... scare them? Was he trying to make it so they wouldn't Stand, so he'd have a better chance at Impression himself? Maybe....

Mizao sighed and shook her head. She had no idea if there was truth in the boy's words or not. She knew little to nothing about dragons beyond the obvious and the few things she had picked up since coming here. If hatchlings really were that violent... she wasn't certain she wanted to Stand after all. Well, all eyes on Aleni now. She stared at the older girl, hopeful for a positive answer to that question.

[Taxx]

Relief was almost overpowering, and Aleni took a short moment to breathe, grateful that neither was pushing her to talk about a time she wished desperately she could forget. "I hope so," she replied. "I'm sure there's plenty I could learn so I won't be dead weight. But I would like to Impress, more than anything." Admitting that much, because there was no reason to hide it. Weren't they all three hoping for the same thing? Being a rider was a goal Aleni had always hoped and strived for, and not until she had aged out would she let it go.

The switch to what Shintagol had said during the lesson made Aleni snort, a hint of her disdain for the boy's careless words. "Not on purpose," she assured, but then had to continue: "But maulings do happen, more often than not because the hatchlings are just so clumsy after hatching, and we're not made of stone. And sometimes Candidates do die as a result of those injuries. But no, I've never seen a hatchling deliberately walk up to a person and claw them out of spite. Shintagol's full of hot air, it's best to take what he says with a grain of salt. And never turn your back on the hatchlings."

[Alyx]

Candidate Joia

Aleni seemed relieved, setting in stone in Joia’s mind that leaving the topic of family was the right thing to do. Maybe, down the road, she could ask again, but she wasn’t sure if that would ever happen. It was clear that the older candidate did not want to talk about whatever family she had left behind, and by her words, they might be happier than her at the separation. It was sad; Aleni seemed like a nice person, in Joia’s eyes at least. She gave a quick nod. “Oh I’m sure; with all the stories, I think Mavros could use all the people they could get, rider or not. But yes, Impression would be the best, right.” She smiled as she dried the plate.

Aleni’s snort at the mention of the blow-hard male candidate made Joia giggle. Well, at least someone else thought about him like she did. The boy needed a duck in a deep pool in her opinion; it was not something she normally snap-judged on, but Shintagol just…. rubbed her the wrong way, she wasn’t sure why. Aleni’s words helped quite a bit, explaining that as far as she knew, the little hatchlings were out to spill their blood for the sheer kick of hit.

Joia drank in the advice offered by the other girl, nodding softly as she held the plate in her hands almost like she’d forgotten what she was doing. “So…. They are like any baby animal, in a way? Big and clumsy and don’t know what to do with their feet?”

Taxx Zen