[Candidates] Just Drink It *see note*

[Sher]

((IC attendance is "required"- as in they'll face IC repercussions for not having an adequate excuse for returning to the barracks by lights-out, but RP is not required. If your candidate is present, a two or three line mention is perfectly fine.))

01.23.3189

It was beyond strange. The candidatemaster had not been seen at the Weyr for half a month or more- since the day J'ain had received her promotion, in fact. Here she was, left with all the candidatemaster duties, and hardly any time to ride out on Search. Hardly any candidates either. Most of the lessons were the sort that were common sense for weyrbrats, but not all of the candidates they did have were of that variety of folk.

Today was a restday, so it was a good opportunity to arrange a light social meeting with the candidates. Get 'em talking, maybe more comfortable around each other. Some of them would be weyrlings in a few short weeks, and the sooner they started building cohesion as a group, the easier it would be for everyone. Some personalities were bound to clash, but the bluerider felt that she needed to try.

Evening was falling fast, a warmer evening than they'd had in a long time- or maybe it just seemed warm in comparison to the blasting cold of the blizzard. With the outer door to the Weyrbowl covered with an inner leather flap, a lot of he drafts were sealed out, and it was only slightly chilly in the barracks. A long table (in the middle of the walkway) and a stack of wooden boxes had been brought in for the evening, and J'ain herself had made a quick jaunt to Lemos Hold to provision the meeting. She knew it was breaking the rules, but she'd bought a large jug of citrus brew to help loosen tongues. Also to see how the candidates would react. Sometimes, introducing the stimulus of temptation was the best way to get a person's measure.

The other provisions were more along the lines of normalcy; a meat pie meant to be served cold, sweetrolls, and a small bowl of dried grapes. The bluerider rose to her feet as the last drudge entered the room, brown eyes flickering quickly to make sure the hooch wasn't visible where it hid under a bed. She smiled winningly at the guy, and hurried to take the clicking sack of wooden plates, cups and forks. "Thanks! I'd say two candlemarks before dawn would be soon enough," she added cryptically.

The guy nodded like he understood, knuckled his back wearily, and left with mumbled words about glow duty. J'ain was in the process of setting the plates and cups around when she heard the door open and the leather flap rustling as it was pushed to the side. She looked up with a ready smirk to greet whichever candidate had come to the barracks first. They'd all be here soon enough, or Ansith would eat them.

I will? a sleepy Ansith asked.

Shhh. Go back to sleep.

[Rust]

Rest days were some of the best days at the Weyr so far, Kogran thought. He did his best to stay out of trouble, which always seemed to ruin some of the fun, but he was taught that respecting dragonriders was important, and darn if he was really going to see if dragons were or weren't as friendly to people as everyone always said they were. That's why Kogran, despite wanting to run around inside the Weyr and talk to as many people as possible (and maybe start up some sort of game, while he was at it) he spent the day as far away as he could safely get from the Weyr.

He brought his leaf-stuffed sack and kicked it around most of the day, and when he was bored, he practiced climbing whatever rock faces he could find. Yeah, it meant he was sufficiently bruised and scraped by the time he headed back to the candidate barracks, but that was nothing unusual. He knew there was something going on later in the day for him and the other candidates, and as soon as he remembered, he collected his leafsack and ran back to the barracks, trying to be careful and run slower when he saw people in the halls.

Hoping he wasn't late, Kogran pushed aside the leather to get inside, and stopped in the entryway. Worried, he looked around, only seeing J'ain. Was she picking up everything, or putting it all out? Kogran felt his face get hot with embarrassment, so sure that he was late. He decided he couldn't just jump to conclusions, so instead of panicking and apologizing, he decided he should just ask. So, still holding the leather flap open, he asked.

"Am I late?"

[Snow]

Eavan took one last look in her looking glass. Her curls were being extra spiteful today and refused to stay out of her face. With a sigh she finally slipped a head band about her head that forced the curls to stay behind her ears. She preferred her hair to be down, but this would have to do. It wasn’t as if she were attending something as important as a hatching feast or a gather. It was just a simple meeting for the candidates with J’ain, but she still wanted to look good for it. Rather people liked it or not, the first thing someone saw about you was your appearance and if you’re appearance is sloppy then what are others suppose to thing about you? With a flick of her wrist she made sure the simple green tunic she was wearing was laying flat and then headed for the meeting place in the barracks.

The evening wasn’t as cold as the other evenings this sevenday had been, but it was by no means warm either. Eavan couldn’t wait for warmer weather, but then again the winter this Turn had been worse than other times she could remember. For the life of her she couldn’t figure out what this meeting was about. Sure she knew it was a social meeting of sorts, for not even the Candidatemaster would make them have a normal meeting on a rest day. At least she didn’t think they would. After all, everyone enjoyed a restday. Part of her wondered if it didn’t have something to do with the Candidatemaster. He’d been gone for half a month now, which was highly unusual. Luckily they had J’ain to keep things in order, but all that work had to be hard on one person and a newly instated person at that.

She’d reached the flap to the barracks now and saw that Kogran was standing in the way still holding the flap open. ”Come now, Kogran. You’re not late if I’m just getting here. Head on in otherwise you’re going to let all the cold in.” Eavan said as she gently pushed the boy, she really shouldn’t think of him as a boy since he was around the same age as her, inside the barracks.

In the middle of the walkway was a long table and wooden boxes set up. J’ain was putting down plates and utensils for all of them. Eavan’s eyes went wide and she moved towards the rider. ”Ma’am. Is there something I can do to help you? If I’d have known you were doing all this I could have aided you.” She gave the woman a respectful salute as she waited to be given a task.

[Sher]

J'ain smiled at Kogran, seconding Eavan's words to him with an emphatic nod. "Nobody is late, yet; not until lights-out," she said, with a half-swallowed sound that would've been suspiciously similar to a giggle- were it not delivered in her deep voice. "But if you want, you two can take the forks out of that box there and set them around. Oh, and knock off that saluting nonsense in here, Eavan, there's a dear." Ever the rebel, our dear J'ain.

The bluerider went efficiently about setting the last plates, then unceremoniously pulled out a box at the end of the table and plonked down on it. "Have a seat," she invited them as she leaned over to pick up the jug of spirits. She set it on the table with a flourish, definite mischief in the gaiety of her grin. "Come on, this is supposed to be a party. Relax! If you two make me start the conversation, I'm going to talk about childbirth. In bloody detail."

With a cheesy grin like that, it just might be hard to tell whether she was kidding or not...

[Rust]

Kogran stumbled awkwardly into the room at the slight push and moved off to the side to let Eavan through. Not late until light-out either, huh? He still had time to play, technically, but he may as well stick around and socialize. Not enough people outside anyway! He tossed the leafball onto his bunk and moved to help with the forks.

With a handful of forks, Kogran began setting them down when J'ain made the comment about childbirth. Startled, he nearly dropped the forks he was holding onto the floor, but he hugged them to himself quickly before he could. Looking startled and a little nauseous, he looked but at J'ain.

"Please don't. Childbirth is worse than watching dragons feed."

[Snow]

Eavan immediately dropped to a more informal posture. Being told not to be so formal was in itself an order, so she would follow it. ”Of course, Ma’am.” She said as she began to sit the forks around the table with Kogran. She took a seat where she’d be able to see who was coming into the barracks next. No matter what she thought was going to happen this evening, she certainly wasn’t expecting J’ain herself to pull out a bottle of spirits. It was a big no-no for candidates to drink and especially get drunk. Eavan doubted if she would drink any from that jug this night, but she certainly wouldn’t tattle on anyone either if the Assistant Candidatemaster was allowing them to do it.

A thoughtful expression crossed Eavan’s face. ”Honestly, I find it a slightly fascinating subject. I’ve only had the pleasure of helping Meklina when she gave birth to her little boy not that long ago, but all I did was hold her hand and encouraged her to breathe.” She then gave Kogran a friendly if teasing smile. ”Oh ho! Do we have a sensitive stomach, Kogran? A baby dragon will break you of that quickly, if you’re so lucky to impress.”

Briefly, Eavan wondered when the others would get there, but for now she would enjoy the company and get to know both of her companions better. ”So, J’ain, how are you enjoying your duties as Assistant Candidatemaster? I hope we’re not too much of a handful for you.”

[Sher]

Kogran's reaction was most satisfactory. "Worse? I suppose it could be," J'ain mused. "The screaming is what gets to me. The tearing flesh and the bloody mucus doesn't bother me. Not that I'd know from experience!" she hastened to add. It was easy to believe it of her, as mannish as she acted at times. Just now, her elbows were on the table, hands crossed each over the opposite arm. She glanced at the tall, fat candle perched atop a stone protrusion along the wall. It was marked with dye at regular intervals, marking the hours- or, as they were more commonly referred to, the candlemarks. The next half-mark would indicate the "curfew" for the candidates, but for the moment the candidatemaster's assistant wasn't concerned. Well, maybe a litle bit. It wasn't about to ruin her good cheer though.

A sensitive stomach? Was that the matter? Better that than a sheltered experience, J'ain supposed. Knowing oneself was never a bad thing. Even if you were unhappy with what you were, you could choose to try to change. There was much to be learned either way. "Kogran, if you feel you're going to throw up, kindly direct it away from the table- and try not to get it in that wavy hair," she teased. "I take it you've seen herdbeasts in labor before?" He was a beastcrafter- or, at least, a herd watcher. She remembered that much about him. It was hard to get a good idea of his personality, because he spent so much time away from the rest of them, out in the snowy fields.

To Eavan (a young woman J'ain had heard was assertive in the right setting), she directed a somewhat more serious glance. "You candidates are fine. But here I am, supposed to go wrangling up more candidates, and it just isn't going to happen without the Candidatemaster here to keep order." Frustration pulled the bluerider's thick eyebrows together momentarily, but she smoothed them with effort. A little too calmly- if glumly- she added, "There's a rumor going around that the Candidatemaster has abandoned the Weyr. I don't know if there's any truth to it, but unless he's had an accident somewhere... what else could be keeping him away?"

J'ain glanced toward the candle again. Where were the others...? Shards, too much longer and she'd just pop the top on that bottle herself!

[azure]

Julim entered the room a thick roll of sleeping furs under one arm. He carefully closed both outer door and inner leather lining before coming in further. He'd been scrounging, looking for things to make the barracks a little less barren and uncomfortable.

There weren't many Candidates here, and the few there were had settled mostly down at the end of the room away from the entrance. It was all cots, with no common area or place to spend some time before sleeping. He'd asked the head woman for permission to bring in some old furs to make a place to read and maybe talk away from where people were trying to sleep. Nights were long and cold this time of year and he knew from experience that some people needed less sleep then others.

Hopefully the Candidate Master, or rather the Assistant would let him use a couple cots to do this. If he got lucky she'd let him actually move a couple cots to make them look like low couches, but he didn't have much hope for that. Just having a place to read away from sleepers would be worth having though. If that wasn't allowed the worst case was he'd have a lovely warm bed with the extra furs. That wasn't bad for a worst case.

He was surprised to see the new seating area, but very glad to see there was going to be food involved. "Good evening ma'am" he said, nodding respectfully to J'ain. "I got some old sleeping furs for the barracks, I was hoping to make a place kind of like you made? Using a few of the unused cots?"

He tried to stay relaxed. Even if she said no, it was still a win situation, there would be a stash of extra sleeping furs. Now to try some humor. "I hadn't thought to add food though, your idea to make things more comfortable wins."

Oh shards. Had that sounded too disrespectful instead of being funny? It was supposed to be a meet and greet time, wasn't it? Humor was allowed at such times, as long as it wasn't disrespectful.

[Rust]

Kogran had put down all of the forks he had picked up, and he hovered with uncertainty at the end of the table. He didn't want to be accused of slacking, especially with Eavan around, but there wasn't anything he could think of to do to help out. Thus, he stood.

"I'm not going to throw up," He insisted to J'ain. "I've seen herdbeasts give birth! A few times. It was gross." Honestly, the only reason Kogran had been there to help was coincidence. He was good at watching, okay at brushing, but after the first birth, it was "clear" that he would be near useless in the future.

When Julim entered, Kogran watched and hoped attention to his less than stellar qualities would stop. He also chuckled at the joke his fellow candidate had told, although he didn't really have much to add, so he kept quiet and remained standing awkwardly at the end of the table.

[ambigious]

So it was a party for the Candidates, was it? For some reason that piqued Ophelia's interest. It would be a chance to get to know the other Candidates, to gauge their potential, to see if they could be useful to her. Thus, although she'd lived in a Weyr her whole life, Ophelia found herself packing all of her belongings into a satchel, her hazel eyes narrowed and concentrated. Her canine, Shade, lay by the foot of her cot, his furry head resting on his crossed paws. Although his eyes were closed, his ears remained perked, which gave the impression that he was still aware of everything going on around him.

Once she had finished packing, Ophelia swept quickly through her room to make sure that she wasn't forgetting anything else. Once that was completed Ophelia sighed and tossed the satchel over one shoulder. "Well, Shade," the young woman murmured as she ran a hand through her spiky black hair, "let's go join the party." A sarcastic drawl practically dripped from her tone. Alerted by the noise, Shade's eyes flashed open as he rose instinctively to his feet, his head easily coming up to Ophelia's waist. When she gestured and whistled he followed her out of her old quarters and walked with her towards the Candidate barracks. Although Shade's coat kept him warm, Ophelia had on a huge, whool coat that was currently wrapped around a sweater and then a tunic. It was sharding freezing at this time of year. Despite the precautions, Ophelia shuddered as she stepped outside, the chill wind nipping at her sensitive skin.

"Shard it all!" she muttered, her quick temper flaring. "If there's not a fire going in the barracks..." she continued to mutter as she tramped through the snow, her bootes leaving huge indents where she had been. Shade remained quiet as he walked, though his eyes darted around cautiously.

Once they reached the so-called barracks, Ophelia threw open the curtain, one after another, and almost barelled into Julim. A quick reprimand flew to her tongue, but she caught herself and instead muttered a curse. It wouldn't do her any good to alienate the other Candidates now. Instead she merely side-stepped the young man and scrutinized him as she passed, catching the tail-end of his comment. Unable to help herself, Ophelia whirled back towards Julim rhythmically, her movements betraying a dancer's background.

"I see you've mastered the art of flattery, which will get you everywhere in life," she said sweetly. It was hard to tell from her tone if she was being honest or sarcastic. "Do you need help with those blankets?" It seemed that Ophelia didn't feel the need to acknowledge J'ain, though she did glance over at Kogran and offer him a sideways grin in acknowledgement. Although he'd remained relatively unnoticed, Shade now slunk forward along the outer rim of the tent type structure to curl up on some unoccupied pillows, huffing contently.

[Snow]

Eavan smiled, partly in relief and partly as just a friendly gesture. She was inwardly pleased that J’ain didn’t find her a nuisance, nor any of the others, but in all honesty it wasn’t the others she cared about. Eavan only cared that she was thought of as a productive member of the weyr. ”Oh, I’m sure the Candidatemaster wouldn’t do a thing like that. I don’t see how anyone could abandon the weyr they belong to.” By the sound in her voice, it was evident how distasteful that idea was to Eavan. Being the zealous loyal weyrfolk she was, Eavan would never consider abandoning the weyr or anyone else doing the same thing. Thinking logically though…

”Surely if something had happened the dragons would know about it.” Eavan pointed out, but before more could be said another candidate arrived. Julim was his name, or so she thought. He carried with him bed furs. She listened carefully as he explained what he wished to do with them. ”That would be a grand idea! Perhaps just a little space to have as a sitting area that would make the barracks more cozy. What do you say, Ma’am?”[/color] She’d never had the opportunity to speak one on one with this boy, but she was the type of person to swiftly champion any good idea. His was a good idea.

Then another candidate came in behind dark haired candidate. A short, black haired girl that Eavan had yet to introduce herself to. There was something about the girl that rubbed Eavan the wrong way. She’d yet to put her finger on it, so instead of jumping to hasty conclusions which wouldn’t have been honest or fair, she decided to delay their meeting. However, with J’ain calling this social meeting of the candidates there was no way to get around delaying their meeting any more. She noticed that the girl didn’t properly address J’ain which instantly made her hackles raise, but she didn’t say anything, just narrowed her eyes at the girl.

[ambigious]

[ooc: I have a feeling that Eaven and Ophelia are going to butt heads a lot I'm excited haha, but I'll wait to respond until the others get a chance]

[Sher]

J'ain shook her head at Kogran, giving him the benefit of the doubt. He seemed uncomfortable with her attention, so she slid her eyes discreetly to Eavan, who was freely speaking her mind about the situation with the missing Candidatemaster. "We'd hope the dragons would know about it, anyway. You know, you can both take a sea-" She cut off the words and got up quickly as Julim came in, her heart leaping into her throat for a moment. With the bundle of furs he carried, she'd almost mistaken him for a drudge. She pulled her hand down from where it had leaped to half-cover her mouth, and let out an exaggerated huff of breath. "You scared me half to death," she scolded, for all the world like an older sister, but ended on a chuckle. She listened to his request, glancing toward the candle once. "Like I made?" she mused. "You mean, a place to sit?"

The bluerider pursed her lips as she considered Eavan's clarification. Shrugged. "I don't see that it would be any harm. I know the woodworker is planning to build some benches, and pad them with some leather, but the crafters are still so busy..." Her shrug was half-apologetic this time. "If you think you can devise something, you're welcome to. We've no shortage of empty beds." J'ain wasn't moved to laughter by his humor, though she did give a quick smirk. "Save the sugar, mister," she was saying, as Ophelia swept in. Here comes trouble. J'ain usually relished a challenge, and the word challenge seemed to represent Ophelia so far. Well, J'ain wasn't the sort to feel easily shorted by a lack of attention, but she wondered if she should call the girl down on her lack of etiquette anyhow. How silly. She'd just finished telling the first few that this was an informal gathering- but there it was. Something about Shade's human just put her slightly on edge. The mannerisms, maybe.

Sadly enough, with these four here, most of the candidates were now accounted for. One more, J'ain decided. After the next person arrives I'll pour the drinks. She muttered something about the bathroom and made her way toward the back of the barracks. The co-ed bathroom was frowned on heavily by some of the craftsmen that had helped build them- namely, the Hold-bred ones. She had to wonder what had possessed them to accept a post here? Surely they'd known what they were getting themselves into. Hah. One gold mating flight would probably send quite a few of them scurrying.

J'ain trotted back into the main quarters, to look for the time on the candle again. One fifth-candlemark left. Somebody was going to be late; she just knew it. The expectancy took the form of a sinking feeling in her stomach. She'd known she would have to actually reprimand someone eventually, but thus far she'd done a fine job avoiding the necessity...

[Rust]

All attention was elsewhere. Was he still expected to help, or should he stand around with everyone else? Standing. So boring. Surely, he could listen, but he needed something to do with his hands... or feet... or body. Kogran backed up until he was closer to his cot, trying his best to follow conversation. Once at his cot, he stopped, picked up his leafsack, and tossed it in the air a few times.

The first thing he thought was that it needed refilling. It was getting loose, thanks to all its use that day. Briefly, he considered whether or not it would be appropriate to toss it a little while he listened. He remembered being reprimanded for it in the past, before Sunset Weyr, but it was soft... and if he didn't throw it around, just tossed it lightly so it only came up to his chin or maybe barely left his hands, would get get in trouble?

Of course, he couldn't help but wonder what Julim's idea was. J'ain's "A place to sit" comment was pretty clear in some cases, but it wasn't quite good enough for Kogran to really get it. What kind of place to sit? was it just a place to sit, or something else? What would the cots do? So, of course, Kogran had to ask. "What are you making?"

[azure]

"I thought we could move 3 or 4 of the cots from the lines they are in to make a big u shape and put the furs on them. Then maybe the boxes or the table in the middle of the U and we have a place to sit and read away from our sleeping area and to talk without sitting on someone's bed."

Julim knew from his years as a Candidate that you had to be careful to keep a distance from the other candidates. Sitting side by side on your bed with someone could lead to touching - and end up with you being expelled from Candidacy. With so few of them here, that would be a bad idea.

It seemed like he had been given permision to do this, so why not go ahead? "Want to help? It won't take long to set up. The hardest part will be getting more glows. The baskets are big enough you can only carry a couple at a time" Sitting in dark corners was also a bad idea. He wanted a good amount of light.

Maybe they could toss the ball around too. Who knew how long it would take the Candidate master in the bathroom? She might be inspecting the place for all Julim knew.