A Rainbow of Questions [Candidate Lesson]

[Zen]

10th Pass, 6th Turn, 10th Month
Turn 2761, Autumn

S'bol, Yvinka

When S’bol had Nesporth call the candidates into the lesson room, it was only after all their guest teachers for the day’s lesson had arrived. S’bol rather liked this lesson, though it could be a bit tough to plan at times. Getting the right volunteers who also had enough free time, at the same time, was a bit of a scheduling nightmare. But! He had managed it today. Candidates could come up with some very interesting questions to ask, and S’bol looked forward to seeing what this group might come up with. He waited until the class had gathered and taken seats, several of them casting puzzled glances at the riders standing at the front of the room.

“Welcome to today’s lesson! I hope you all take full advantage of the time these riders are giving to you today, and that you’re respectful and take the lesson seriously, but also have fun with it. So, I’ve gathered riders of every color dragon here for you to ask any sort of questions you like. We place a lot of focus in our lessons on what weyrlinghood will be like, but today’s focus is on life after graduation and what your futures may have in store,” S’bol explained, in his usual, perhaps a bit overly excitable, manner. “Let me introduce everyone,” and he gestured to each rider as he named them, “Melana of gold Sularenth. You’re all rather lucky to have a goldrider in attendance, they’re normally far too busy. Thank you so much for coming, Melana.” He grinned at the young woman, recalling vaguely her time as a candidate.

“Ah, and this is B’rax of bronze Gamath, Wingleader of the Breeze Wing and Weyrsecond, and his Wingsecond, B’ram of brown Ganth. Then we have Rachel of blue Aslith, one of Mavros’s Searchriders, so some of you may know her already, and S’fin of green Rusath. And of course you already know me and Haella. Between us all, we represent all, hm, nearly all general perspectives between riders of different colored dragons, so you have access to quite a lot of knowledge and experience here,” the bluerider nodded affirmatively at his own words and looked around the class, “If you’re hoping to Impress a certain color, here’s your chance to ask a rider exactly what it’s like to be bonded to one. And if you’ve an interest in different ranks and positions in the Weyr, we have most of that covered as well! Does anyone have a question to start us-ah. Yvinka, go ahead!”

The girl’s hand had shot up and was waving enthusiastically, so it was difficult to miss her. She grinned as S’bol called on her and turned her attention to Melana, “So we learned that goldriders use flamethrowers to fight Thread, since queens can’t flame. What’s that like? Is it fun? Uh… ma’am?” She recalled what S’bol had said about being respectful, but she wasn’t entirely clear on how she ought to go about addressing a goldrider either. She’d never spoken to one before. Should she have said ‘my lady’? Weyrwoman? Goldrider? Oh well, too late now. Ever since she’d learned about flamethrowers she’d had something of a fascination with them, and she was dying to know more. To be able to spew your own flame, just like a dragon, who wouldn’t want to be able to do that?

[kevna]

Riasu - Candidate

She walked near the front of the crowd, desiring to be one of the first in the room. She kept an eye out for Lounessa, but her main goal was on the prize. Being the top of her class. She got bumped once by someone, but she didn’t bother to check who it was other then the quick side-long glance that confirmed it was neither her niece or nephew. It was strange they would be in the same class as her. Being older than them, even by just a few turns, yet being on the same playing field. She was happy for them, and also not surprised that they had been searched. It was literally in their blood.

She was somewhat disappointed when they entered and she saw all the riders, but not the dragons. Not that they would fit, but it seemed more appropriate, or would have more of in impact on the class if the dragons were present. Maybe she could offer the suggestion up to A’zael. A smile played at her lips when she thought of the handsome weyrleader, but she quickly pushed it away as S’bol explained the exercise. It seemed like a waste of a lesson to herself- but she had grown up in a weyr, and she could hear the dragon’s half of the conversation, which opened her up to a quicker understanding of dragon life. Still, she showed because this was what she was meant to do, and she meant to put every fiber of her being into the preparation.

Before S’bol had even finished, Yvinka (Riasu had made a goal of learning all the candidates' names, and had made good progress), had her hand raised. She directed it to the goldrider, Melana, which Riasu thought was interesting. Did Yvinka think or hope for a gold? Then again, which female didn’t hope for a gold? The question itself seemed a bit meaningless, and Riasu couldn’t help but add onto the question to give it a little more substance. She raised her hand to get attention and added, “Maybe you could explain a little of a junior weyrwoman’s responsibilities versus a senior weyrwoman’s responsibilities during threadfall, as well?”

‘Threadfall isn’t supposed to be fun-it’s a serious responsibility’ Riasu thought to herself. But didn’t think that would be polite, so kept it to herself.

Kekoa - Candidate

He trimmed gently on his gitar as they entered the room, but the further they got in, he swung his instrument around him so it hung on his back. He surveyed the room, just as his harper training had drilled in him, watching facial expressions, and the quiet conversations going on as everyone entered. He used this training not for a super specific purpose, but more out of curiosity, as well as a drive to find a suitable group to chat up, especially one with a pretty lady.

He brought his gitar back around, almost without thinking, strumming so quietly only himself and those directly around him would hear it. It helped him focus. The distraction from finding a group occurred when the two ladies asked their question of the stunning goldrider. They were too close to the front and too far away to reach, but he made a mental note so that he could chat them up later. Separately preferably

[tovaana]

Ceela;

Dragon classes! She’d never really been serious about her classes at home – but then again at Southern she had never really wanted to impress at the Weyr where she’d constantly live under the shadow of her family. She’d also been to all of them so often that she felt she’d bleed ichor for all that she knew about dragons. When classes started to get boring, Ceela had started skipping classes and dabbling in other crafts – but never in depth or long enough to apprentice herself to one craft in particular. She seemed to always circle back to dragons.

Now though, now that she wanted to impress a dragon, she felt certain of her future. She was relying on the conclusion that it had been her desire to not impress that had kept her from impressing at Southern. The idea of never impressing and aging out… well, it simply wasn’t an option for her. The first step was to not skip her classes, no matter how boring they’d be. At least she had Yvinka to both keep her company and keep things interesting.

She skipped in with the masses and plopped down next to Yvinka unceremoniously. She glanced around at the other candidates and smile, waving at Treyvin – glad to see that her persistent self had gotten him to come back, and spotted Kekoa. He was strumming that gitar of his, though she couldn’t really hear the tune from where she was. The blonde tried to catch his attention and shot him a wink and cutesy shoulder shrug before turning back to the dragon riders in front of them as they were introduced. She was disappointed that the dragons weren’t there – they were the best part of dragon riding. She also had never been good at listening during lectures, she’d much rather be doing something. Still, she’d make the best of it – and she was glad at Yvinka’s lighthearted question. The voice of Riasu piped in and she glanced over at the dark skinned woman with curiosity. That girl needed more fun in her life, she thought decisively.

Treyvin;

He’d been through a few lessons – but most of them had taken place back in time before the dragons eggs had been laid and while they were waiting for them to hatch. Upon arrival ‘back’ to the present time, he had removed himself from lessons and anything to do with the candidates. It had been too painful mentally and emotionally. All his friends had impressed and left him standing… well, sort of standing, not literally anyways. He wasn’t the sort to collect hoards of friends and trust everyone that crossed his path, so he avoided them and the new candidates to protect himself.

Then he had run into (literally) Yvinka, and then found out about L’rey… his half brother had impressed a bronze, something worthy of a father’s praise. He didn’t exactly know Treyjen or what would impress him, but he did what he could with so little information. He would impress a dragon – and it had to be as good or better than Codrath. Even if he got a better tempered dragon - though he knew that wasn't all he wanted.

So with this new found determination, he isolated himself toward the back corner away from the others. He practiced his mental blocks with focused breathing, listening to the familiar voice of S’bol start their lesson. He was too curious a soul to ignore the emotions around him too much – he was too used to knowing that it had become a sort of addiction of sorts. He had to know. It was part of his reality to get two facets, both the facial expressions and body language, and the emotions that coupled with it. 

kevna Zen

[Deleted]

Xanthia having gotten wind that a candidate lesson was happening, had made her way down to the room where the notice had said that lessons would be happening and found herself a seat near the front. Her impassive gaze resting on S'bol as he came in to speak. Her gaze briefly drifted over the guest teachers that also come in, including the Weyrwoman Melana. A weyrwoman busied herself with the lowly candidates? Well, seems things were looking up as she listening quietly to the introduction of the other riders, B'rax, a wing leader and Weyrsecond and another wingsecond, B'ram. Her posture relaxed at Rachel among the riders, briefly inclining her head towards the search rider who had saved her. Her eyes moved across to the other rider, S'fin he was called apparently. She'd have to make mental notes of these people, given there was a show of strength in the room, she wondered briefly if one of the candidates had upset them in some way. Her stomach dropped, although her expression remained clear. Had her mother gotten involved? No, that wouldn't be it, if her mother had gotten involved then she was sure that she'd have been taken back to the hold.

"I believe that since Threadfall is far out of our range at the moment, perhaps one should focus their mind onto what is expected of us as candidates and to prepare for the caring for dragons since I believe that is why we are as Candidates, Not Weyrlings." Xan's voice is flat, controlled and very matter of fact. Her eyes flicked across the other candidates in the room before looking to the riders. Her arms folded over her chest, her fingers lightly tapping against her arm. That motion would have been perceived as impatient but was in fact a heavily restrained attempt to calm herself with rhythmic tapping on the pressure point in her arm.

"Its not like we have no experience of what happens during a Threadfall, perhaps Weyrbrats don't see the side that presents itself to the Hold, each of us should be well aware of the terrors and injuries that come with Thread." Xanthia added on, closing her eyes for a moment as she drew a breath in. In her mind, there was no sense scattering focus on something that they may not be able to do for some time. Plus it was never a guarantee that one would impress a dragon so learning to fight Thread on dragonback was pointless in her book. At least, it was pointless until they had impressed.

Unless Mavros intended to send them out with flamethrowers beneath the wings.

[Deleted]

        Kylori

kylori had been among the first into the classroom, but held her silence while others asked their questions, trying to give herself a better idea of what sort of questions to ask the present Riders. It would have been better had they been somewhere large enough to entertain the dragons as well, since she found them far more interesting right now than the men and women that flew them. "So, on the note of care dragon care, how much variety is there to their diets, and is there a special oil you have to use on their hides?" She pursed her lips for a moment and considered the dozens of other questions rifling their way through her brain. "How much stuff are we supposed to make ourselves, and if we were part of a Craft, are we allowed to continue working our trades in a reduced capacity later on?" 

It wasn't like she was expecting to fail. But she did prefer to have a contingency plan or three in place in case something happened and she enjoyed her work otherwise. Not that she'd have much time for her work. Maybe she could try her hand with another Craft. Maybe. "Also- my last question, I promise. I know they can talk in your head... Are they like... an extension of yourself or are they kinda like their own big leathery people?"

[Taxx]

Lounessa was absolutely taking S'bol's advice to heart, and maybe it was rude of her to ignore the rest and focus all her attention on the Weyr- and Wingsecond, but that's what she was doing. She passed over the questions asked by the rest, truly caring nothing for the topics of Threadfighting and the duties of a Weyrwoman, senior or junior. She had her own questions to ask based on her own hopes for Impression, and she had no qualms about making her wants known.

She turned to glance back at Xanthia, one eyebrow raised as she spoke: "S'bol told us to do just that though, to look past our current rank and ask what we want to know about being weyrlings and what it will be like." Lounessa added a smile, not one beaming with warmth but a friendly one all the same, and then turned back to face B'rax and B'ram and continued with Melana, only adding her own twist to it. "And what sort of duties are meant of a Wingleader and a Second?"

[Alyx]

Melana and Gold Sularenth

S’bol had seemed quite surprised when Melana had agreed to take part in this little class experiment of his; she’d found it hard not to laugh at the rather stunned and slightly panicked look that had crossed the Candidatemaster’s features when she’d asked him to give her a time so she could make sure her schedule was open for the lesson. Sularenth, in her typical fashion, was both annoyed Melana was ‘wasting her time’ with the lesson while being angered that the Gold herself was not involved in the moment directly herself. The constant grumble was a warm presence in the back of the woman’s mind as the candidates began to funnel into the classroom.

Melana herself was seated in onto of the chairs up front that S’bol had had waiting for them, her posture. Her ankles were crossed and tucked back against the front of her chair, her hands resting together in her lap. Because of the class’s purpose, she’s made sure that she’d worked her leathers into her outfit; leather leggings and rider’s boots, offset by a soft, creamy goldenrod blouse that was cut perfectly for her, the cuffs flaring around her wrists like blossom petals. Her jacket, bearing her knots, hung on the chair in open view; her hair was pulled back into a loose braid rather than the tight one she wove it into for flying thread, but the effect was less off-putting for Melana personally.

Was this class really needed? Sula’s voice threaded into her thoughts as S’bol finished up. ‘I assume S’bol thinks it is? Besides, I think it's good they know what they might be heading for.’ Sularenth huffed. It seems to me the lesson would be better served with the Dragons present. ‘Love, you would be a distraction, and you wouldn’t answer questions anyway.’ You do not know that. I might answer them if they are not stupid questions. Melana sighed gently, doing her best to tune out the Gold’s mutterings as the lesson got underway.

She wasn’t shocked she was targeted for the first question, but the rabid series of them did take her back a moment. Melana scanned them all, gave S’bol a quick glance, then refocused on the class as a whole; She knew Riasu and Treyvin, but the others were generally knew faces to her. There was a lot of contradiction between the girls in the class, Mel wasn’t sure which one she should start with – the original question, or the critics of it? Thankfully, one woman spoke up to correct the other on the class’s topic, giving Mel a moment to center the conversation, starting with the girl who questioned the reasons behind the lesson.

“I can assure you, weyrborn children have plenty of experience with Threadfall. I grew up in the crèche of High Reaches Weyr, and I’ve had more than a few friends that lost family to fighting Thread, be they brothers, sisters, fathers, or mothers. If Candidates have questions about that, I’d rather they ask and get the answers now than blindly think that being a dragonrider is like all those idiot songs the harpers’ sing about romance and heroic escapes.” She got the feeling the even-toned girl really didn’t want to be here; she wasn’t sure if it was the not be in the class or the weyr itself, but it was a simple aura the girl had. She wasn’t pleased to be involved in the whole thing; Melana shifted her attention back to the original question.

“But yes, we do fly with flamethrowers, normally below the lower wings, so we are very rarely in direct fighting like many other riders are.” Was it fun? Melana smiled softly. “It’s a little like being a dragon yourself? You just pull the trigger and poof, flames. Sularenth regularly complains that she would be better at fighting Thread than I am; I would say it can be enjoyable in a lighter Fall when you aren’t as worried about getting overwhelmed with fall-through from the higher wings. It can be very boring as well though too since there are a bunch of Wings about you that can burn most of the Thread before you ever see it. Still, boring is safe, and it means the Wings are doing their jobs and I’ll take being bored over the chance of getting scored or overwhelmed, or worse, missing a burn myself.”

Raisu’s question wasn’t at all surprising; Melana knew the girl wanted to Impress high. “Well, the Senior Weyrwoman’s duties involve making sure the domestic side of the Weyr keeps working. Overseeing the tithes, assessing supplies, normally transfers of riders in and out of the Weyr to other Weyr around Pern. The Senior is also responsible for the general upkeep of the Weyr’s records, along with some diplomatic duties. The duties of the Juniors are a little simpler in the fact that as a Junior Weyrwoman, your main tasks are taking care of your dragon and supporting the Senior when she needs the help. She gives you a task, you hand it for her so she can focus on more impeding issues that might need her attention.”

The random question about crafters and dragon diet hadn’t actually been directed toward her, but she went with it anyway. “I’m not sure what you mean in a variety? Most dragons do just fine with a standard carnivore-based diet. They don’t require any supplements of fruits or greens to remain healthy. That being said, I know several dragons with odd off habits of craving things outside their diet standards; such as a few of the hatchings from the last patch enjoy sweets, and I think there is at least one Greenrider that says their dragon prefers fish over herdbeast.” She paused, weighing her answers carefully.

“As for crafters, It really depends on your Craft before you were Impressed. Most Leathercrafters or Weavers tend to carry on with their work more as hobbies than as an assigned task; Harpers, as well as Healers, often carry on easily without much change, though often Healers turn to Dragonhealing rather than a standard to help the Weyr. If you are in something like Minecraft or Shipwright, it might be harder, as once you Impress, your sole interest should be your duties to the Weyr and of course, your Dragon’s care. It’s very hard to go off on journeymen tasks when you have dragonrider duties to take up most of your time.”

The last question was a little harder for her to put into words, and Melana took a moment longer to consider it. “I would say… yes and no? For me, Sularenth and I think much along the same lines most of the time, and I often don’t think of her as a separate creature anymore. That being said, she is a very opinioned and often angry beast that is her own entity and makes that very clear to me on a regular basis.” The Goldrider smiled. “I would say they are their own big personality, but at the same time, you don’t often think of them as completely separate from you either.” She shook her head. “It’s very hard to put into words, I am sorry. It’s something that is very hard to understand if you haven’t felt it yourself. I hope I explained it at least a little bit better for you though.”

She shifted her seat, thankful the last question was directed at someone else. “B'rax and B'ram can answer that one much better than I can. Gentlemen?”

Brenna, Candidate

Brenna was quick to claim herself a seat with the others, both eager for the lesson and a little disappointed too. Would have been better with the dragons here! It wasn’t like she couldn’t go SEE dragons – her brother’s Bronze and Mari’s Green were only a quick walk away, but still – the chance to see other dragons she hadn’t met yet would have been wonderful.

She had questions, like they all did, but decided to keep them to herself for the moment. Everyone else already flung a bunch out, so she’d wait her turn? Some of the questions she found odd. Why would you care to continue on officially with a craft when you had a Dragon?! That just didn’t make sense to her. Riasu was all proper, right down to business, and trying to suck the fun out of the lesson. Brenna sighed, shifting in her seat; well, the woman was a little older than them and she wanted to be a Goldrider, right? Brenna supposed being a Goldrider might mean you didn’t have fun anymore.

She had to think a bit to remember Lounessa’s name from a previous lesson, but the girl’s question was right up Brenna’s path. Brenna didn’t want a flamethrower or a Gold Dragon. She couldn’t have a Bronze like G’rett’s, or so they told her, but she wanted a dragon to fly in the fighting wings, to make a difference in the fight her big brother was fighting. Her eyes shifted from the Goldrider as she handed the question off, keen to know what the pair of men had to say.

(okay, let's see... question answers for @kickflare kevna Zen @kylori I think in that order. Sorry for the delay, and Brenna in play finally!)

[Zen]

Yvinka, S'bol, B'rax, B'ram

Yvinka was only mildly interested in the answer to Riasu’s addition to her own question. While she wasn’t opposed to Impressing a queen dragon, from some of what they’d been taught about it already it seemed to back her into some sort of feminine corner like her father had always tried to do and she didn’t enjoy the thought of that. She was pretty sure she would much prefer a dragon that could actually flame and fight itself, but that didn’t dampen her curiosity about flamethrowers at all. Before the goldrider could answer, however, one of the newer arrivals spoke up with some nonsense that didn’t seem to have anything to do with anything to Yvinka. What on Pern was she going on about? No one had said anything about the ‘terrors and injuries’ that came with Thread. And Yvinka didn’t particularly think their own experiences with Thread were any comparison to that of a rider who literally flew in the sky and killed it. Mildly annoyed, she decided to ignore the girl, particularly when another candidate addressed her already. Whatever, if she didn’t want to learn about being a rider that was her own problem, and why was she even here?

She was far more interested when Melana started speaking anyway, and quickly forgot the odd girl’s weird input. Melana’s answer about the flamethrower and the additional information about fighting Thread as a goldrider made Yvinka frown a bit. She said it was boring because they barely got to do anything? More and more Yvinka was thinking she would rather not Impress a gold dragon. Not that she would deny one if it wanted her come hatching day. But Melana continued answering the myriad questions that had been hastily thrown out by several different candidates, and Yvinka was rather interested in the answer to each. She had known little of dragons before coming here so everything was new, basically. A sea trader hardly needed to know about the ins and outs of dragon care and being a rider, after all.

When Melana had finished, S’bol cleared his throat softly before B’rax or B’ram could take over answering the newest question aimed at the group of riders, “I’m glad you’re all eager to ask questions, but let’s try to let one question be answered before we ask more going forward, so everyone is sure to get a proper answer to their questions and nothing gets lost in the chaos, hm?” The bluerider grinned at the class, clearly rather pleased with how the lesson was going regardless. He cast a glance at B’rax and B’ram and gestured vaguely toward the class before them, indicating they were free to answer their question now.

B’rax was mildly amused by the apparent enthusiasm of the class thus far and settled his gaze on the girl that had asked about being a Wingleader and a Second. It was an odd question coming from a girl, but with A’zael allowing blue and green riders to hold Wingsecond positions, he supposed it was a natural course. “A Weyrsecond is the Weyrleader’s direct second in command, and much like how Melana explained the difference between a Senior and Junior Weyrwoman, a Weyrsecond will take on any of the Weyrleader’s duties that he assigns, to make his job a bit easier. Should the Weyrleader die unexpectedly, the Weyrsecond will assume all his duties until the Senior Weyrwoman’s gold rises again and a new Weyrleader is installed. In the hierarchy of the Weyr, the Weyrsecond is on equal footing with the Junior Weyrwomen. The Weyrleader generally chooses his Weyrsecond from among his Wingleaders, or from the Wingseconds in his own Wing.” He paused to let that information sink in a moment before he continued.

“A Wingleader ranks below the goldriders in the Weyr, but otherwise only the Weyrleader and Weyrsecond rank higher. In short, a Wingleader is responsible for everything to do with his Wing. This includes keeping track of the health of every rider and dragon under your command as well as each individual’s performance during Falls and drills, which leads into planning drills for the Wing so that we can work on shortcomings before the next Fall. If a rider in your Wing requires disciplinary action for any reason, it generally falls to the Wingleader to do so. A Wingleader must report any watch or sweep findings from his wingriders to the Weyrleader, and coordinate with the Weyrleader and other Wingleaders on the strategy for fighting each Threadfall we rise to meet. We must also coordinate with the Weyrleader and other Wingleaders on recruiting graduated weyrlings into our Wings. The ultimate distribution of Wing strength is up to the Weyrleader, but as a weyrling class nears graduation, Wingleaders start watching their drills and drilling with them in order to better recommend to the Weyrleader which new riders might fit best into our particular Wing. On occasion, a Wingleader may also be called on for matters of diplomacy, if a goldrider cannot be spared, or a Wingleader would be preferable.”

It was a lot of information, but there was a lot that went into being a Wingleader. That was the quickest way B’rax could think to summarize it. He glanced at B’ram and his brother gave a short nod, taking over for the final part of the question, “As for being a Wingsecond, your Wingleader may ask you to assist in a number of his normal duties, to lighten his workload, but in general, Wingseconds help ensure that a Wingleader’s orders are relayed and followed, particularly on Threadfighting days. While the Wingleaders are finishing up planning the strategy for the day’s fight, the Wingseconds are inspecting the straps of every rider in his Wing to ensure they are in good shape for the day’s Fall, ensuring that each rider is stocked with firestone to begin readying their dragons, and making sure each rider and dragon is physically able to fight, and if not, reporting it to the Wingleader. We relay the Wingleader’s strategy to each Wingrider and make sure the Wing is ready and prepared for our Wingleader’s call. During a Fall, it our job to help the Wingleader keep an eye on the Wing, and when any of our Wingriders leaves the fight so that their area of protection can be covered. We must also be ready to take over the Wing at any time, in case our Wingleader is injured or killed during the Fall. After a Fall, while the Wingleaders meet to discuss the successes and failures of the fight, it is the Wingseconds’ job to assign the most able bodied Wingriders sweep duty and send them to assist ground crews with cleaning up any Thread that got through our ranks and reached the ground.”

Yvinka blinked at the two men. Shells, that was a lot of stuff to do. She didn’t think she’d like to be a Wingleader OR a Wingsecond. The fewer duties she had, the more time she would have to do things she wanted to do.

[kevna]

Kekoa - Candidate

The room was chaotic it seemed. Everyone wanted to put in their two cents, but none of the questions, with the expedition of the first, had any fun flare to it. He wanted to roll his eyes at the seeming tension that was building, and instead caught sight of Ceela’s flirtatious wink. He responded with one in kind, wiggled his eyebrows and pointed to his gitar, mouthing, 'I have a song for you.' What was wrong with everyone? There were beautiful women literally surrounding them, why worry? He strummed a little louder as Melana took the chaos and turned it into answers, following her word cadence as best he could. He tried to pay attention. He really did. He could end up actually taking care of a dragonet he supposed, and fighting thread, though it seemed a far way off… Couldn’t they learn this later?

S’bol’s admonishment brought another chuckle to his lips, and this time as B’rax and B’ram listed the responsibilities of the-err what were the positions again?-he did tune out. He could care less. Literally. In fact, he was paying more attention to the music his fingers were picking out, he was trying to pick each third word, and it was kind of like a game. By the cadence of the words he could tell the sentences were coming to an end, so he gave a quiet flourish to end of B’ram’s words. It was a little loud, so he gave a charming smile and tilted his head.

“What a fine explanation, gentlemen.” Shells, now he needed to come up with a question. “Hmm, I seem to see so many greens and blues in the air frequently, and it suggests that rising occurs quite often for a green; how does the rising patterns of greens affect daily rider routines?” He asked, turning his attention to S’fin-well and Rachel, she wasn’t sore on the eyes, and much more interesting than the green rider. Haella wasn’t hard on the eyes either, and he allowed his gaze to casually switch from one to another, his smile wide and appealing.

Riasu - Candidate

Near the end of her addition to Yvinka’s question, out of the constant rumble in her head Riasu heard a familiar voice, the tone much the same as when she had first met the gold. Sularenth. She only caught half the conversation, as her attention had been elsewhere, but the impudent denial only confirmed her assumption. She couldn’t see Sularenth dutifully answering questions. She didn’t know the gold well, but didn’t feel like she needed to. From the brief encounters she had had, she felt like she knew the gold very well already. Riasu’s attention turned at the rude and snide remark, raising a challenging brow. Her mind had to scramble for the girl’s name-Xanita? No Xanthia. That was it… Which was the only reason she didn’t beat Lounessa to saying something, especially after another girl piped in veering even more off track from the original question.

Nessa was so much kinder, it was probably good she had piped up before Riasu did. Did no one pay attention to the instructions except for them? She smiled and waved at her niece, offering the space next to her as an invitation to join her. She turned her attention to Mel-impressed by how put together the answer was, and respectful. S’bol interrupted the transition to B’ram and B’rax to better educate them on taking turns, and Riasu rolled her eyes. Basic etiquette people. She didn’t care too much about the Wingleader’s responsibilities, nor the Wingsecond, she knew most of this already from her brother’s past responsibilities. Plus, being able to hear dragons during threadfall was enlightening. And a little… Heavy. Especially the keening. The screams. The worry.

She shook her head to clear it, and looked behind her to see who was complimenting the bronze and brownrider’s. Kekoa. She had heard he had quite the reputation. Still, he was charming. The smile was sweet. And the question brought a smile to her lips. Men. All the same. All porcine. She knew exactly what he was getting at.

[Zen]

S'fin

S’fin was actually mildly surprised at the question directed, at least partially, at him. To be honest, with Melana and B’rax in the room, he didn’t much expect to be paid much attention to at all, which was fine. Still, he’d agreed to come on the off chance that, particularly a young man, might be curious about riding a green dragon. Of course, it wasn’t that surprising that a question about mating flights would come up though. It just took someone bold enough to ask in front of the class. He glanced at Haella, because she had as much right to answer as he did, but figured he would start off and she could add if she wanted. The other riders could add their own perspectives on it if they wanted too.

“Greens do rise rather often. Depending on the green, she might rise three or four times a turn, during a Pass, at least. My Rusy only rose twice a turn before the Pass started, but now she rises three times,” S’fin spoke easily on the subject. He’d been a greenrider for near to half his life now and he was comfortable with everything it entailed, “Mating flights are all consuming for their riders, and that applies no matter what color your dragon is. If your male dragon is chasing, you’re just as consumed as the rider whose dragon is rising. S’bol may or may not have gone over this with you already, but it bears repeating. No one will judge you for what happens during a mating flight. You may not end up with your preferred partner, in the heat of it all.”

He gave a small smile, meant to be reassuring, “Mating flights are quite intense and about completely wear out the rising female and the male that manages to catch her, and their riders as well. As such, a greenrider whose dragon has risen, as well as the rider of the dragon that caught her, are given the rest of the day off to recover. So that might mean missed drills and a reassignment of sweep or watch duties. But golds and greens alike have better sense than to rise in the middle of Threadfall, so there’s no concern about any interference there. It seems a dragon’s instinctual hatred of Thread is stronger than their need to mate.” He glanced over at Haella then, “Anything you wanna add before the 'boys' add their bit?” He shot a grin at Rachel, because she was included in that on account of her dragon.

kevna Alyx

[tovaana]

Ceela;

Ceela’s eyebrows rose in interest at Kekoa’s silent message. Of course he did. Not that she’d complain at being serenaded again. She just flashed a smile in response before turning back to the conversation, busying herself by glancing at others and at Yvinka who seemed uncharacteristically focused. Well, she was new, she supposed. She tried to think back on what it had been like when things had been new – but it was hard to find that one turning point when dragons had been part of her life for so long. While she never spent a lot of time around her father’s bronze, she had spent plenty of time around other dragons, making friends with dragons even before she started her life as a ‘sort-of’ dragon candidate. Flying was a dream of hers – she thought perhaps even without a dragon if possible, which obviously wasn’t possible, but the dreams where she flew had been the most lovely. Flying on a dragon was close to that feeling – but she wanted to do it on her own, instead of being a mere passenger.

When the other two piped up with their questions she had felt a little confused at the repetition and randomness of them - but would rather that others asked questions than Ceela trying to fabricate one from something she might not know. She really didn’t care what color dragon she impressed. Her inattentiveness wasn’t a lack of interest on the subject; indeed she loved everything to do with dragons. The leadership information didn’t inspire her as much as other subjects, but it was a facet of dragonriding regardless. She rocked in her seat, feet kicking out in a slow rhythm, drawing random shapes on the ground. Her thoughts came in and out of focus, picking up bits of information on leadership and then glancing back as Kekoa asked his question. She stifled a smile and shook her head just the slightest. S’fin answered the question and she paid a little more attention, more curious at what Kekoa’s take on the whole matter would be, since she was certain this would come up in future conversations with the overly-romantic candidate. There was nothing romantic about bedding a random stranger, unless maybe – the green was taken with a certain other dragon. She had heard there were greens that took preference and chose a ‘mate’ so to speak.

She glanced back at Kekoa again to see what his reaction would be.

kevna

Treyvin;

Treyvin was less intrigued by the tones and voices, and more in the passive and feeling of contempt or disinterest or interest that kept swirling up and down and around. It was moments like these that made it easy to forget about his blockades, and also about listening. Especially when the feelings weren’t always about the words that were being voiced.

He tried desperately to focus, especially when it came to leadership. What if he couldn’t impress a bronze like L’rey? What would set him apart? And the hidden voice that was quieter asked – what would his father notice? Well, he was captain – that was a sort of leadership, perhaps if Treyvin became a Wingsecond? Or even Wingleader? His heart sped up excitedly at this concept, yes surely- this could work. He had to have options, since the color of the dragon wasn’t guaranteed. He tried paying attention to the best of his abilities, his mind distracted every once in a while by a random feeling that didn’t quite ‘go’ with the rest of the crowd. Why couldn’t everyone just feel the same thing? And be less distracting?

When the topic changed from leadership to dragons rising his skin crawled. It reminded him suddenly of when the gold had risen back in time. He gulped. He’d felt desire - the gnawing feeling that came from others, but it had been something he hadn’t realized would be so overcoming in a gold flight - almost enough to throw up. Enough of any feeling made him feel sick. Upon returning 'back' the frequent green flights were annoying when he was too close to the rider in question – luckily that was easier to avoid than the gold flights. 

“Do flights for green riders… and the ones chasing, do they feel like… or similar to when a gold rises? For the rider?” He piped up from his back corner, trying to be loud enough to be heard. He wasn’t sure that was clear, but he supposed it was a valid add on to the conversation - however they took it. He glanced between S’fin, Rachel, and Haella, not sure who was going to take the floor next.

Alyx Zen

[Deleted]

Xanthia run her tongue over the inside of her cheek. So apparently they had taken it as she didn't want to know, which wasn't the case, but she had wondered WHY so by putting her thought process out in the open as why she didn't think that they should be learning about thread, her comment on the differences between threadfall in the weyr and threadfall in the hold must have been misheard. She never said that the weyr bred didn't experience threadfall just that they're experiences of it were different.

She remembered hiding in the hold, fearing that thread would find a way in and devour everything living. Weyrbred saw a different... probably a more active side to it, she didn't know but she did feel that it was unfair that they had dismissed her words. Probably for the first time in her life, she bit her tongue. She had already started off a bad foot and it wouldn't do to go upsetting people further, given she had no long escaped her previous hell and it felt like the chances of her being returned to it would be increased if she were to point it out.

Silently, she watched over those speaking, making mental notes of what was said and what would of useful for later.

"So as candidates would we going in ground crews or assisting the injured?" Shards, she just couldn't help herself, they were going to ship her off back to the Hold because she couldn't her blasted mouth shut. Her fingers drum against her elbow's pressure point hard, making her arm twitch as it tingled. It had seemed a reasonable question in her mind, but then again, her previous statement had seemed reasonable as well and was seemingly misheard. Whelp, looks like she was going to be a very unpopular candidate here. Fardles.

[Alyx]

Haella of Green Tsulocanth, Melana of Gold Sularenth, Rachel of Blue Aslith

Haella thought the lesson was going fairly well so far? Other than the quick barrage of earlier questions, which Melena handled so sharding smoothly it made Haella wish she actually liked the goldrider, it seemed they were getting the flow down. A few still didn’t seem to understand the reason for the lesson…. Maybe they needed to explain it better next time? Maybe give the candidates a heads up the day before or something? She wasn’t too lost in her thoughts hear when S’fin took his turn answering; she also didn’t miss Rachel playfully sticking her tongue out and smirking at the Greenrider’s banter.

Did she have anything to add? Not right off the top of her head, but Tully was off chasing a running leaf with Fath so it was hard to focus? Treyvin’s voice rose from the class and Haella shot him a smile. “Green flights can affect some the same way, but a Green’s pull is nowhere as intense as a Gold’s – most Greenflights only affect those directly involved in it, but I do know some people are more sensitive to the pull of flightlust than others. Golds however… well….”

“Golds demand the attention, and if they are Rising, they want to make sure everyone knows it.” Melana’s voice was littered with a bit of dry humor as she cut in, and Haella gave a quick laugh. “You said it, not me.” Melana ducked her head slightly, smiling and waving the whole thing off. Haella again wished she liked the woman more, then looked back at Treyvin, “But yes, for the Green’s rider, the flight feels just as intense as if she, or he, were the rider of a Gold. Your dragons are intertwined with you on almost every level, and it's hard to block out something as intense as a Rise.”

“Rises are uncomfortable topics for a lot of people new to the Weyr; it often breaks a lot of taboos in the Holds and common families. I just want to repeat what S’fin said – no one here will judge you on a Rise’s outcome. We’ve all been there, It can tangle you up on knots that first time you wake up with someone you know, or worse someone you do know, in your bed after one. Know that, even then, we are here if you need to talk, alright? I know it is looking far, far ahead, but I want to make sure you aren’t ever alone with problems like that. You need to talk, find us.”

Xanthia's question was almost a whiplash, from Rises back to Thread, but honestly, Haella preferred Thread? Still, she wasn’t sure the girl understood the purpose of the lesson was to ask the Riders about being Riders, not about candidates? Still, it was a valid concern she thought and flashed the girl a smile. “Oh no, we’d never send the candidates out on ground patrol. That is normally handled by the local Holds, with one or two dragons overseeing to help. There really isn’t a point to teaching Candidates how to use a flamethrower if they don’t already know, because once you are on a dragon, unless it’s a Gold, you won’t be needing one.”

“Most candidate hm… chores I guess you would call them, are more mundane. Helping with the herdbeasts, cooking, sewing, running messages to the hold, and sometimes in the Healer’s Hall, yes. We want you whole and healthy when the Eggs hit the Sands after all, so it’s just not logical to risk you all out in a direct Fall.” Xanthia’s question did pose an interesting idea though… ‘Tully?’ Yes yes? ‘Can you relay something to S’bol for me?’ Oh, of course! What what? ‘Ask Blue Nesporth to ask his rider what his thoughts are on maybe having the Candidates help out the healers next Threadfall, or one in the future?’ Okay, hold on!

Haella felt the glaring beam of Tsulocanth’s direct attention shift off and exhaled gently, returning her attention to the class. “Any more questions? Come on, I know you all are curious. Now is the best time to ask them.”

(Answers for tovaana and @kickflare , as well as Zen for S'fin interaction from Haella and Rachel )

[Taxx]

Lounessa took Riasu's offer without question, shifting seats to sit beside her aunt as she kept an ear on the reply given by the Wingleader and the Wingsecond; not that she didn't take in what was said by Melana, but she really wasn't interested in the possibility of Impressing a gold, so apart from knowing the information for general purposes, it wasn't something she needed to know for future Impressions. She was far more interested in taking in what was said by the bronze and brown riders, and then by Rachel as she answered questions about her role in the Weyr.

And there was a lot to take in about the duties, but it made sense given that there was a lot depending on them- lives depending on them, and that meant they had to be at the very top of their game, and any less would be disastrous. She muttered the words back to herself, committing them to memory- and wishing she'd thought to bring something to write on so she didn't risk forgetting any of it. It wasn't like she could talk to them outside of lessons, they were were too busy, too important, to be bugged by a Candidate about their duties.

She nodded, but her next question was for Rachel and she leaned forward as she asked it. "Bluerider Rachel, can I ask what it's like being bonded to a male dragon? Are there any upsides or downsides to the difference between sexes?"

[kevna]

Kekoa - Candidate

Kekoa listened avidly. He couldn’t imagine his lust being driven by another’s lust. He wasn’t worried about people judging the outcome, he was more worried about who would end up in his bed. He preferred his women pretty, and well, to be female. Not that men couldn’t be attractive… He just didn’t swing that way. He decided he preferred his romancing and silver tongue to convince women into bed then the…. Dragonlust. He strummed as he considered.

He understood that women generally had the green and always the gold dragons, and men the other colors. Generally. I guess he could only hope to get a blue or brown. He did not need a bronze. From what he understood, bronzes took leadership generally. Not something he was in the least worried about. Probably a blue would fit him the most. At least if it were a blue, he would have more opportunities for the chase of the little greens and their female riders.

He caught Ceela looking back at him and gave her an eyebrow wiggle. Maybe she would get a green. He wouldn’t mind waking up to her at least once. Although, he was pretty sure he would prefer to ‘catch’ her on his own merits.

Riasu – Candidate

She was pleased when Lounessa moved to sit with her, and she moved to give her a friendly shoulder bump. It was still so weird they were in the same class… Not that their ages were so very far apart, but more of a strangeness that Riasu hadn’t impressed yet. She listened to the answers about Rises with little interest. She had been around them her whole life, there wasn’t much mystery there for her anymore.

Xanthia piped up again, bring the lesson back to threadfall, and back to being candidates. Some people just couldn’t follow directions. She shook her head. Again, as a candidate she wasn’t interested in those answers. She already knew what she would be doing. She would be assisting in the healer hall, most of her focus on the injured dragons. She wondered vaguely how this next threadfall would go for her. She would have to be careful. When a dragon in pain started to lose control of their emotions, her first thought would be to speak with them, command them. It was hard to be careful, and normally there was so much pain, that later the dragon wouldn’t even remember the occurrence of her speaking to them. She could only hope this would be the case for the dragon’s she encountered. She had a hard time not speaking to them when they were in pain. It was as if thinking about dragon's instigated the new and slightly louder voice in her head. It's excited voice and simple words were confusing. It was clear she would need the other half of the conversation in order to understand what the overeager voice was getting at. She could assume that the dragon was possibly Haella's as she had just finished speaking, and she knew Sularenth's voice; though she didn't know any pf the other rider's dragon's voices, so she could be way off base. 

Lounessa spoke up, and Riasu’s eyebrows raised. Now that was a question she had never even considered. She had gotten so used to hearing the voices of male and female voices alike, she hadn’t even considered what it would be like to bond to a male dragon. Not that she suspected she would… But still, what was it like?

“Nice one, Nessa.” Riasu said quietly, leaning closer to her niece. Lounessa would be an amazing dragon rider. Of that, she had no doubt.