Groups of candidates are scattered about the perimeter of the terraced hillside clearing brush. Tal is up on the crest of the hill, under the edge of the branches that overhang the area, hacking at the underbrush with a machete and leaving severed brush in his wake for others to collect into piles. When it's dried, it'll be handy kindling or something. It's a whole freaking ten degrees cooler today than it was yesterday, which makes 105 feel downright nippy (that's a lie, but the difference is still significant). There's even a breeze, which makes working out in the sunshine less of a danger to those unused to this tropical heat. Even so, everyone's drenched with sweat. Why are they not cleaning weed from the lake instead?

Loe has hobbies. Some of these hobbies require that she go places that no pretty pretty princess ought to be found, but there's just no way around that. There's no proper place for Valmoth to land, so she's left hoofing it back from the boondocks to somewhere that the blue can get more easily, somewhere closer to the Weyr, somewhere closer to where the hacking and chopping sound of those Candidates resolves itself from a curiosity to the identifiable. "Careful where you swing that thing," comes her sunny voice from a few rows of bushes beyond Talobi, a pale (if sun-and-sweat reddened) face appearing from around one of those bushes a moment later. "There are all sorts of dangerous creatures in the jungles, you know."

With their second set of sweeps done for the moment, Gruffith winks out from between high in the sky and lazily circles the fields, his bulky shadow falling across the group of candidates. Instead of heading back to the Weyr, the big brown and the small form of Keelie on his back, elect to check on the potential new riders. He lands with an earth-shaking *whomp* nearby, but not so close as to startle them. Keelie slides down his side, removes her helmet and approaches, squinting in the bright light. "Are any of you thirsty?" A waterskin dangles from her fingers. Can't have them passing out now, right? A grin as she spots Loe in the bushes, and Talobi, who she hasn't seen since she and K'lir brought him back to the Weyr.

Tal is…not…skillful with that blade. And thus the call from Loe is wise. He stops whacking, driving the point slightly into the earth as she appears, waiting for her to pass through. She's a rider and thus he (and presumably the others) salutes. "Ma'am," he says, as he's been taught, and nods to the rest of what she says, though a lop-sided smirk appears. He knows that well, but doesn't say so. "Yes Ma'am," he says dryly after she's spoken, "that's what they-" a chin tilt towards those nearby guards "-said. I just didn't expect to see one so…" Adjective substitution, "…soon." Sudden WHOMPS, be they near or a ways off, have a tendency to startle the uninitiated. Tal hits the deck first, then peers through the slashed greenery to see what the source is. Reflexes! Gotta love 'em. Aaaand it's a recognizable form with Keelie, so he pushes slowly up, brushing himself off while ignoring titters from the others. Another salute. And another, "Yes Ma'am." But he'll wait his turn.

A person just gets used to things, presumably. Little bits of information get filed away unconsciously: a shadow circles overhead followed by a sudden *whomp*, and you don't drop to the ground, you just assume it's a dragon. And then you peer curiously at the boy that did hit the deck, leaning far over to ask, "Are you all right?" The other candidates and their salutes… enh, Loe finger-wiggles a vague greeting, shifting whatever satchel-thingie she's carrying with a muffled clink of glass-against-glass, while she straightens to include Keelie in that finger wiggle. "It's practically a party out here in the middle of nowhere, isn't it."

Keelie's return salute to the group is relaxed; a formality she's never really been fond of. She has no qualms about handing Talobi the skin first, since the others are so busy tittering, and sends him a reassuring kind of smile. Like Loe said, you get used to it eventually. "Call me Keelie." Ma'am just… doesn't fit right for this former wilding. Gruffith watches from afar with more interest than is usual, finding nice shady spot under a tree. A big tree. "It is." Keelie agrees with Loe's assessment of the 'party.' "What are you doing in the jungle?" As far as she knows, Loe doesn't seem like the sort to hang out in bushes. She wears fancy dresses and ribbons. Still, she looks impressed.

Whomever their caretaker is today, must decide now is a good time for them all to take a break, the hand-motion waving them to do it. The handful of candidates Tal is with press forward for that water; he hangs back for the moment. "I'm fine," he assures Loe while a faint flush warms his ears and neck. He probably doesn't need to keep brushing nonexistent debris from his clothes, either but he does it anyway. Keelie's voice, closer than he'd expected, is a surprise as is that waterskin. He takes it slowly, holds it. "Keelie then," he says with a lop-sided smile before passing it to one of the others - youngest first - without drinking yet. "Thank you for the water," he adds for the group and side-looks at Loe -and her bag curiously. He heard that clinking. "Perhaps she is baiting the wildlife?" he suggests innocently enough and headtilts to as if listening for approaching creatures.

Loe's bag is perfectly innocent, guys. She even opens the top flap, turning hipside forward to show the pile of harmlessly snipped wildflowers strewn across the top of it, letting that speak for itself. Mind, wildflowers don't generally clink like glass, but - "What are you doing in the jungle, my dear?" she lilts back amiably, carefully re-closing her bag. If she noticed Talobi noticing the glass-sound, she manages to pretend that she didn't, just makes a nose-crinkly face at his suggestion. "You boys," with a look that incorporates the other Candidates as well, "have made enough noise to chase away all the wild things, I'm sure."

Keelie smiles in approval as Talobi uses her name, and then passes on the water to those smaller than himself, watching the eager young recipient dribble some down his shirt and pass it onto the next. "You are welcome. It was Gruffith's idea." She nods towards her dragon. Keelie steps forward to check out what Loe has in her satchel. Uh-huuuh. Innocent. Keelie appears to buy it in any case, upon spotting the wild flowers. "Those are pretty." She smirks at the return question. "We came from the skies, not the jungle." As if Keelie needs a reason to be in her favourite place, after all. Her mouth opens in protest as a boy with tight blonde curls starts to pour the water over his head - the kid next to him hits him on the shoulder. "We might need to get more." Another boy barks when Loe mentions wild things. Maybe they have heat stroke.

No, wildflowers don't clink, but Tal doesn't ask. He limits himself to subtle observation while his main focus follows that waterskin, ensuring that the youngest and smallest drink before the larger ones. "Or draw them straight to our position," he drawls in reply to Loe, but it's true, they have been making quite a racket. The barking kid draws a sudden growl from Tal - sounding genuine enough to be a real creature - and a black glare that clearly sends the message: 'lay off'. That waterskin finally makes the rounds and he lifts it, drinks sparingly then passes it back to her, flicking a look over at the lounging brown then back to her. "Gruffith's…idea?" Brows knit while he tucks that away. Hunh. Dragons think…and get ideas. "And why would he want to do that?"

Sweet as pie, Loe returns a thanks for the prettiness of the flowers that she clipped all by her lonesome and explains in a vapid little tone, "I'm going to dry them and put them in my weyr." She's very proud of herself for dreaming up this venture, too, so says the cheery way she pronounces this decision. The idea that something might be coming straight for them obviously hadn't occurred to her, and she lip-taps for a second as if thoughtfully before ending with, "Hmmm, in that case, I had better get back to the Weyr, lest dangerous things descend upon us. It's that way, right?" She points vaguely in the direction of the track the candidates had been cutting, nodding decisively to herself - looks right! - and starts off with a finger-wiggle of farewell, much like the finger-wiggle of greeting. NB: Valmoth drifts in lazy circles overhead, so she probably won't get eaten by wildcats or anything.

The barking candidate just wanted to bark a few times, ok? He's done now. No need to growl - or look at him with those nasty eyes, assistant weyrlingmaster dragonrider whoever is in charge person. Keelie takes back the now empty skin, attaching it to her belt, acting like nothing happened. Like barking and growling is a totally normal thing for people to do. "To make sure you are all ok." Keelie answers Talobi's question. "He is very fond of all of you." A squint towards the barking one. Maybe she did notice. Loe's comment about dried flowers has her looking thoughtful, but then she mentions something dangerous coming. Wait, what? "Bye," she calls after her clutchmate as she disappears into the trees.

Cue Tal blinking over at Loe with obvious bafflement. Not so much the drying-herbs-in-her-room thing as much as her whole…demeanor. He holds up one forefinger to forestall Keelie's answer about Gruffith while he watches Loe's departure with a sort of comical bemusement. "Nice…meeting you," he calls belatedly to the swish of bushes left in her wake. Does he know about her aerial body guard? Welp. If nothing else, Gruffith is teaching him to keep more of an eye on the sky, so he probably does see the blue up there…now. But still, "Is she for real?" he says finally with squint-eyed confusion over at Keelie. "Because most of the females I've met around here…aren't." As for Gruffith, he again considers the beast, thoughtfully this time. "Can we…go thank him…then?" That's one small step for mankind, one huge step for Tal. But don't get too excited guys. He'll do it without getting within licking distance.

Keelie blinks at Talobi's raised forefinger, smirking slightly as the boy watches her go. "That is Loe." She replies, like that should explain it. "We all have our secrets," is added quietly. "Some more than others. Rielle and Myziri are pretty real. As am I." A pause. "You wish to thank him?" She turns and grins at Gruffith, who has lifted his head from his paws, interested, still watching at a distance. "He says that is fine. Follow me." And so she leads Talobi, and some of the other candidates if they wish, on over to her dragon.

Also, Gruffith wants it to be known he doesn't lick TYVM.

Yes, well, as far as Tal goes, he thinks dragons are all big canines. With wings. That breathe fire. Guess he'll learn…eventually.