Who | |
What |
H'rik gets to know one of Igen's candidates, Jaune. Maybe Wendryth should be the one giving pep talks. |
When |
It is afternoon of the seventh day of the twelfth month of the fourteenth turn of the 12th pass. |
Where |
Weryling Training Grounds, Igen Weyr |
OOC Date | 06 Sep 2018 23:00 |
Weyrling Training Grounds
Here, a wide and spacious field, devoid of all but more of the glare of ubiquitous, fine white sand of Igen: not even a blade of grass dares lift its head against centuries of clumsy draconic antics. To one side, ever-present firestone bins are set, kept supplied by many a hand, while agenothree tanks line the curving angle just outside the barracks, primed and ready for use. Very often, a glimpse of classes in session or dragonets at play may be caught under the open sky under the watchful eye of diligent Weyrlingmasters and older dragons.
The afternoon draws on, lunchtime been and gone. So too have drills, so it's a perfect opportunity for Wendryth to head down to the training grounds and get some good staring in at whichever candidates might be there doing their thing. Physical fitness is a must for any aspiring Weyrling of course, and there's a group of the white-knotted people doing various exercises at the grounds. Some are jogging, others hefting sacks of stone; another group is even practising handstands. It's these that the bronze is staring at right now, with eyes that whirl curiously as one younger girl walks on her hands, giggling at the big bronze's interest. H'rik has found himself with a slice of free time between meetings, though he's propped himself against Wendy's foreleg, reading a hide and paying the odd bit of attention to the candidates when his dragon mentally prods him to.
Jaune is here, to play jester for H'rik's attentions. An apprenticeship as a Vintner allows plenty of chores that required lifting and moving heavy things. Usually barley or rye for brewing. So it isn't too much of a surprise that the young man wearing the white knot isn't struggling as much with the sacks of stones as others in his cohort. Up goes a bag, to settle across the top of his shoulder before the exercise begins. Step forward, kneel to place one's knee almost to the ground, then forward to stand straight and do the same with the other leg.
The girl flips back to her feet with a theatrical 'ta-da!', and Wendryth lifts his head to rumble approvingly. At least he's not bugling at them all - they'll probably have to deal with that come the hatching. H'rik rolls his eyes, though his expression is fond. The bronze's attention shifts, to the candidates working with the firestone sacks. Jaune is the focus now, as Wendy lowers his head to get a closer look at what the young man's doing. The blue-green in his faceted eyes whirl slower, intermingling as he gets a good old up-close look. Hope you don't mind a bit of dragon breath gusting your way, Jaune! H'rik hasn't noticed just how closely his dragon's looking, reading his hide again.
Having heavy sacks of firestone upon your shoulder and doing strenuous exercise will keep you from noticing things. But not for very long. Not when that 'thing' is a heavy breathing dragon with humid breath. Ugh. Even the wind is hot here. At the turn-around though is when Jaune notices those eyes rivetted on his action and he fumbles a bit. Swayying in place before starting once more. "Oh, an audience..*huff huff*…that's nice."
When he's noticed, Wendryth's mouth opens just a little - an expression that's his equivalent of a smile, but the numerous teeth now slightly on show probably gives off a rather different impression. it probably also releases a fresh wave of that breath that's never going to be described as 'fresh'. H'rik finally notices that his dragon's getting a little too close and personal with a candidate. "Wendryth!" He says aloud, pushing himself away from the bronze's leg to stand properly upright and look at what's going on. "Sorry," he apologises on his totally non-apologetic dragon's behalf (Wendy's still 'grinning' at Jaune). "He likes what you're doing. You seem like you've done this sort of thing before?"
Jaune is quick to glance around, to see if someone is going to yell at him about not continuing the exercise. But nobody is here eyeballing him except the dragon, so he'll let the sack slip from shoulder to settle onto the ground beside his foot. "Eventually you get bored carrying big sacks of things around as an apprentice. You invite games to make it more entertaining." He is still a touch breathy, deeper and deeper breaths as he stands with the two of them. "Is candidacy all the same? From clutch to clutch?" He'll take advantage of a dragonrider's attention for question time.
H'rik doesn't really do eyeballing, especially not when his dragon's already filling that role for him. "Ahhh," is the exclamation of understanding as Jaune explains. "Smith?" His guess is totally off - not that he knows this as yet - but he's put lifting heavy things and apprentice together and got out one of the crafts he knows for a fact does a lot of lugging stuff around. "I - would assume so. I Impressed my first time so I don't have a lot of experiences to compare. But Wendryth sired the last clutch, and that group of candidates had a different sort of feel. So I suppose they all sort of vary?" Which is his rambling way of giving an answer to something he can't fully answer.
H'rik isn't all that off, Jaune's eyes flicker over towards him and off the large dragon paying attention to him. "Not for about 6 years or so. I moved out of Smith to apprentice with the Vintnerhall at Benden hold. Being a larger apprentice meant..a lot of the heavier work went my way." No need to mention it as being a bit of hazing. To try and get him to go back. Nobody wants an uncommited apprentice.
H'rik will allow himself a teeny tiny bit of pride at guessing half right. "Ahhh. Can't you roll the barrels and things, though? Though I guess there's loads of other stuff to heave about - I'm more interested in the end product." He gives an apologetic, but also self-mocking smile. There's no comment made on the jumping from one craft to the other: H'rik was never much involved in them and doesn't fully understand their politics. Besides, he did his own abandoning of one path to take another, so he could hardly judge. "Hopefully nobody told you that candidacy was going to be easier work," he continues with that same easy smile, Wendy looking on as the humans talk.
"They put grain into sacks and not barrels. It took me a solid year and a half to be able to touch the end product. Another year to get to brew my own. But I waited it out." Jaune decides that he can still do the exercises /and/ talk shop with H'rik, and flips the sack back up onto his shoulder once more. Then to resume the lunging motions, but in smaller increments to keep close. "That was definitely never said. I am looking forward to some learning though. It seems like they're just trying to see who will break first."
"Huh." H'rik really doesn't understand the vintner craft that much, so Jaune's given him something to mull over. And possibly quiz Ramita about at a later date, if he remembers amongst everything else he has going on in his life. He's done his exercises already today, so he gets to lean back against Wendryth's leg and let the candidate get on with his thing. "At least you haven't been lured in under false pretences," the man laughs softly. "Yeah, it's tough. Being a rider is even tougher, though. It's all preparation - unfortunate, but necessary." There's a pause as he wonders what to ask the younger man. "Are you the first in your family to Stand, or…?"
Jaune reaches the other side of the track, short as it is, and his sack joins the others who had already finished. He had gotten interrupted earlier. His arms lift up and over his head to stretch back and forth to try and loosen them up again. "Oh no. People were very specific about it being difficult. Which is fine." His family, the question lofts his eyebrows up his forehead and he has to think for awhile. "I might have had a great grandparent stand at some point. But no. I can't think of anyone in my family who was asked to stand."
H'rik seems simultaneously amused and pleased in a leaderly sort of way that people are going into candidacy without too many disillusions about what awaits them. "Ah - so you could be a first of kind." He finds that particularly interesting; when he continues, it becomes clearer why. "I was the first in my immediate family to Stand and Impress. I've got some vague cousin relations who're riders too - but don't ask me to tell you the exact relations." There's another easy grin.
"Well. I suppose I should send a firelizard and let them know. They might want to be here. Whenever the eggs hatch." Jaune pulls at his shirt to wipe at his brow for a bit. "Big families are popular in holdborn. So I wouldn't be surprised if another of my siblings stands somewhere else. Theres enough of us." The shirt is dropped and it seems candidates are headed back to the barracks. "Thank you for speaking with me. I'm Jaune, by the way."
Now there's a difference between them. "You should," H'rik says, giving advice that he totally wouldn't accept if he was on the receiving end. Is hypocrisy part of being Weyrleader? "Maybe they can come be your own cheering section in the stands, all of them." Grinning, his - and Wendy's eyes - flick to the departing candidates in various states of bedragglement. "H'rik," he offers up his name in response. "Nice to meet you, Jaune. No doubt we'll cross paths again."