Shards of Distraction (Open)

[meadow]

It was almost time for the eggs to Hatch. There were rumors buzzing that it would be any day now. Sitting in the Weyrhall eating, Ferelese found it almost impossible to hold onto any conversation, to listen to anything anyone else had to say. How could everyone sit there, talking, like everything was normal? She could barely swallow her food, her excitement was so great.

Her siblings found her impossible to be around. All she could talk about was the upcoming Hatching. They acted like she was a bore, but really, what did they expect? And anyways, a Hatching in the Weyr should ALWAYS be the first topic on anyone's mind when it was about to occur. She couldn't see how any could blame her.

She didn't care what color she got. She just wanted to Impress. She wanted to have one of those glorious dragonets find her worthy to bond to. Setting her fork down, she cupped her chin her her hand, drifting off into her own thoughts. Daydreaming wasn't usually a big part of the active over energetic girl's lifestyle, but the past couple of days...she wondered what it would be like to be in the air with her own dragon...a chill ran over her and she ran her hand over her pebbled skin, only then realizing the Weyrhall was thinning out.

Shards, how long had she been sitting there? She wondered in dismiss. Lunging to her feet, she yelped as she ran right into another body, and was sent sprawling to the ground. Face immediately flushed with injured pride, she was nonetheless stammering an apology before she even looked up to see who she'd ran into. Ferelese needed to get her head out of the clouds and back into gear if she was going to Impress in a couple of days! She was sure the dragons wouldn't Impress a clumsy oaf like she'd been, dropping things through her own distractions, running into folk...

[Ise]

Akroma walked into the Weyrhall with nothing but a cup of klah on her mind. She had just gotten back from a patrol with a few of her fellow Dragon Shield members and now she just wanted to relax and enjoy a hot drink. By now the Weyrhall was mostly empty, a few people were still finishing up their meal and some others sat around chatting with each other. Now would be a good time to just sit down and relax for a little while before she went looking for her sister.

She got herself a cup of klah and a small plate of meat knowing that her brown fire lizard would be by soon enough. The brown had gone to give Erol the quick message that everything on their patrol had been good. She was walking by a girl sitting at a table by herself when the girl suddenly got up and smacked right into Akroma. She let out a yelp as her cup was jarred and splashed part of her hot drink on her arm. She quickly set her things down, wiping the klah off her arm and frowning a little as she realized she had lost half her cup.

She looked at the girl who had run into her, letting the girl ramble on for a little while. She pegged the girl as being young enough to be one of the candidates, the corner of her lips rising slightly before she interrupted Ferelese's apologies.
"Relax, it's ok. Nothing got broken so at least those in the kitchen won't get upset. And they don't keep their klah hot enough to burn."

[meadow]

Shards, she'd run into someone important too! Hastily grabbing her unused napkin, she offered it to the woman. She recognized the Dragon Guard, though she couldn't remember the woman's name. She was setting herself up for failure, she just new it! Her feelings plummeted, despite the woman's smile and amused words.

"Yes, I'm, yea....I should be watching where I'm going though. The...the Hatching is soon, and everyone keeps telling me that I need to just calm down about it," she really couldn't keep the thoughts of the Hatching from her mind. And anything in her mind tended to spill out sooner rather than later. "Let me go get you another cup of klah at least, please," without waiting for an answer, she grabbed the woman's drink and quickly darted away, ignoring a scold from someone nearby to slow down.

One of the kitchen staff told her off for darting across the room as she had, but she explained in rapid near incomprehensible tones the mistake she'd made and they quickly waved her off and replaced the cup of klah for her. With a quick yelp of thanks she turned around and headed back to the woman, at a much slower pace. After all, she didn't want to spill THIS cup as well. That would be too mortifying. And, considering the amount of bumps and spills she'd taken this past week, all too likely to happen if she wasn't very careful.

Reaching the woman, she gave her a wobbly smile as she handed her the cup of klah.

"Here you go! Sorry about the mess, I didn't mean to run into you but, well its still my fault."

[Ise]

Akroma took the napkin and wiped her arm off as well. Her wrist was pink from the heat of the klah but nothing that wouldn’t be fine in a couple of minutes. She just nodded a little as the girl babbled on before running off to refill her cup. She wiped the spilled klah up off the floor before she took a seat.

There was a soft ‘pop!’ and Akroma felt the familiar weight of Nalaar on her shoulder, his tail curling around her arm as he let out of coo of pleasure. She rubbed his head ridges before she gave him a piece of meat before she carefully untangled his tail from around her arm and set him down on the bench next to her where he could eat.

She turned as she heard the other woman coming back, slowly this time and with a full cup of klah. Akroma happily took it from her and took a sip of the drink before nodding.
“Don’t worry about it, accidents happen to everyone.” She took another sip of klah, looking the girl over from head to toe.
“I don’t think anyone can blame you for being excited about the hatching, everyone knows it’s coming. And everyone in the weyr is bound to know someone who’s a candidate and will be excited for them. My younger sister will be standing so long as she doesn’t do something foolish between now and then. Will this be your first standing?”

[meadow]

Hands clasped in front of her, Ferlese stared at the firelizard in admiration. She had always wanted one, but had been told there were more than enough of the flitters about without her getting one and adding to the 'ruckus'. There was an implication that her own energetic nature would be contagious to a small flitter and it would cause chaos. She'd been extremely put off by the idea, insisting no such thing would occur...but that hadn't budged her adopted mother.

Her eyes lit at the mention that the woman knew another Candidate. This woman was being extremely forgiving, she knew some of the older dragonriders or dragon guard would have snapped at her. And she was being patient with her. Hesitantly sitting across from the woman, she happily took to her favorite subject.

"Your younger sister? I hope she Impresses then. This is my first standing, I've lived in the Weyr my whole live but I just became a Candidate this Turn..." smiling with excitement, her nerves abuzz, she thought perhaps the woman wouldn't think it impudent of her to introduce herself.

"My name is Ferlese. Is this your sister's first standing? Is she excited?" Ferlese knew most of the Candidates were as excited as she was, but handling it...well...better she guessed was the right word. She hadn't seen any of the others charging into people or dropping things half the time.

[Ise]

"I'm Akorma. My sister is Razia, she's probably a turn or two older then you are. And yes, it's her first standing as well. My family lives near the Hold so we never really got searched. When I heard that a rider was going to the hold to look for candidates I made sure Razia and one of my other sisters knew about it." She took a sip of her klah and nodded to Ferlese.

"Yes, she's excited. She doesn't show it nearly as much as you do but I know her. I just hope that she stays out of trouble and doesn't do anything foolish when it comes time for the Hatching." She sighed a little the thought of her sister. Razia was a smart girl but she could be rash and she knew that some of the Northerners in the Weyr had been bugging her. Ah well she was sure Razia wouldn't do anything too stupid, like getting into fights or anything like that.

"Have you ever sat at one of the hatchings before now? I've never even sat at one so I don't know what to expect for it. I'm not even standing on the sands and I'm worried that I'll do something wrong. And nervous that some accident will happen on the sands." Razia would never believe it but Akroma was worried about her, she knew that accidents were common, especially with gold dragons. The thought of her younger sister being mauled by a dragonet rushing to get to someone else worried her.

[meadow]

In trouble? She couldn't imagine someone doing something foolish enough to not stand on the day of a Hatching. She didn't say that, it seemed rude to bring that up, rude enough that even Ferlese's normally unguarded tongue didn't just spill the thought into the air the minute it popped into her mind. Instead she laughed a bit.

"Everyone gets nervous something will happen to disqualify them. I'm a Weyrbrat, and I've seen other Candidates impress, never seen one be disqualified...but I still worry a bit about it. Even growing up in the Weyr...well being chosen seems surreal I guess. Because its such an honor, and such an awesome opportunity...well you know. But you shouldn't worry, it never happens really." Ferlese bit her lip and watched the firelizard again.

Dragons were the most amazing, wonderful creatures in Pern. To be given the chance to be chosen by one of them was the best thing Ferelese could imagine happening to someone. She knew she was still afraid some days that it was a dream, or a joke or something. It was a silly worry, she knew, but she couldn't help but feel that way. Almost like the honor was something to great to really deserve.

Nodding vigorously, she recalled the one Hatching she'd been allowed to sit at. It was an amazing, spellbinding experience. She'd only been allowed to because her cousin had been a Candidate. Balin had been left standing...but the whole thing had been awe inspiring. It was then that Ferlese had truly cemented her love of the dragons, when she'd known, watching the Impression take place, that it was the greatest honor on Pern.

"I went to one. I knew someone who was left standing. They didn't get mauled but...well it does happen. I'm a bit worried myself to be completely honest," Ferlese realized then that she shouldn't be so frank. The woman didn't want to hear her sister was in danger! But it was a danger...Ferlese didn't know how else to say it...scratching her head, her hand brushing through her short locks she sighed. "It's always a risk, but the best things always are risky right? As long as you're careful and smart, and keep you're wits about you you can avoid that sort of thing," her voice dropped, and she glanced to the side. Sometimes you could at least, she thought. She quickly smiled again. "I'm sure you're sister will be fine though. I hear touching the eggs is supposed to help with that kind of thing, and we all got our chance to see and touch them. It makes it easier for the dragons to find the person they want to Impress."

Her memory flashed back. The beautiful color swirls of the eggs. She wondered, if she was chosen, if she managed to be able to Impress a dragon, which of those eggs would hatch the dragon she was to bond to? Which ones held which colors. She shivered with excitement.

"Does she have a preference? I know a lot of the other candidates are saying what color dragon they might like. I don't care which...I just...I just really want to be a dragon rider," Ferlese said with soft fervency.

[Ise]

Akroma noticed Ferlese glancing towards Nalaar and let out a soft little whistle. The flit looked up and hopped up onto her forearm. He stayed perched there as she held him out to the girl. Nalaar hopped off Akroma's arm and onto the table in front of Ferlese, letting out a little chirp and tilting his head to the side as he watched her.
"So long as your gentle feel free to shower him with affection. I'm not worried that you'll hurt him but if you get a little rough he starts to think it's play time and you'll probably get bit."

It was good to hear that she didn't need to worry about Razia so much. Or at least not have to worry about her getting kicked out. Akroma was a bit selfish and had also worried that if Razia did something bad it would reflect poorly on her which had made it hard for her to relax and had only made the sisters annoyed with each other. But maybe it wouldn't be so bad, after all it had to be expected that problems would crop up with so many random people of all personality types and backgrounds being stuck together like this.

Akroma was less worried about her sister not Impressing. The two had already talked it over, it could happen and it was likely to happen with there being so many females to try and Impress the queen egg. Greens were willing to Impress to girls, and some blues as well though neither sister thought Razia would get a blue.
"Razia is smart even if she doesn't always think before opening her mouth. And some times she even keeps her wits around. But I'm sure the both of you will do fine out there. I know she enjoyed the egg touching even though she wouldn't talk about it much. I think it made her feel better about things at least."

Akroma had to think if Razia had ever talked about what color she wanted. She had joked about wanting a bronze because everyone would freak out about that. Other then that though her biggest thing had been complaining about the Northerners and whining about how she would be happy so long as none of them Impressed the gold. That wasn't the sort of information to share with others though so Akorma could only shrug a little.
"No I don't think she does. I know she's thought a little bit about Impressing the gold but I know she doesn't really expect that. I think she'll just be happy that she gets anything. And if she doesn't get anything then she'll just go back home or maybe try to find a way to make herself useful here in case she can stand at another hatching."

Even though Akroma had never felt the urge to be a dragon rider like Ferlese did she could understand it. The young woman had thought it would be a neat thing to be a dragon rider until she had learned that the dragons couldn't even fly until they were a turn old and even then it took another turn or two to have them trained enough to be useful. The thought of having to spend at least two turns away from being able to protect her people had turned Akroma away from even trying to be searched. Instead she had been offered the chance to join the Dragon Shield. She got to do what the dragon riders couldn't do and it hadn't even taken her turns to get the specific training. She enjoyed working with many of the dragon riders as well, yes some of them were a bit stuck up and acted too high and mighty for Akorma's tastes but she respected them and their lifemates.

[meadow]

Ferlese felt momentarily guilty for being so obvious about her interest in Akroma's fire lizard, but her adoration for anything dragon kind related quickly overcame any embarrassment. Holding out her hand, when the small adorable being indicated it would mind, she gently scratched behind its head, thinking about how wonderful the little creature was. She'd often thought that even fire lizards were more efficient and competent than humans. After all, they knew what they wanted, how they felt and they followed they emotions without the dramatic entanglements that often tripped up humans.

"Thank you, sorry I didn't mean to stare at him," she said a bit bashfully.

If her foster mother had seen her, she'd have laughed. Ferlese being bashful was a rare thing, it meant she'd actually felt bad about something, which was a rare occurrence indeed. She grimaced a moment at the woman's comment on her sister's nature.

"Well I have a similar problem I think. Usually I think something and it just pops right out of my mouth. I don't have a very good filter my foster mother says." She couldn't take her eyes from the fire lizard as she spoke.

So close up to one of the flitters, it was easy to see why people said they were descendants of the dragons. Delicate though they may appear, they were like mini dragons, their movements perhaps more bird like than a dragons. She was always over eager to help her friends with their little pets when given the chance, even if it was just to hold one while they did something. She so liked to see them happy...and to know she'd helped make one happy made her feel special.

The thought of not Impressing was terribly depressing.

"Well I'll definitely be staying here should I not Impress. I was here to start with after all. A lot of those left standing end up staying in the Weyr, there is always room for more I think around here to help out." Ferlese tried to sound cheerful, though just the possibility of NOT Impressing was like a dark shadow over her abundant excitement.

Trying to distract herself, she moved onto another subject.

"You're part of the Dragon Guard right Akorma? And all of the Dragon Guard are required to have a fire lizard to keep in contact? I was thinking, before I was chosen as a Candidate...well it sounded pretty awesome, being able to help protect without even having a dragon, and you get to have a fire lizard companion...well how do you become a member?" she asked. Whenever she'd hinted at becoming one, because part of her didn't really think she'd ever be chosen as a Candidate, her foster mother had given her a sharp look and told her she didn't have the patience for the training.

Of course she was actually fairly sure the woman was just worried about her in general. She hadn't actually been too thrilled when Ferlese had become a candidate. The woman was strict and hid her emotions well, but Ferlese knew when her lips tightened like that it meant she was concerned.

[Ise]

“Don’t worry about it. Nalaar likes attention, he’s more like a green in that aspect.” The brown looked over at Akorma, making an unhappy hiss that had probably been meant as a scolding before the hiss turned into a rumble of pleasure, much like a feline purr, at having his head scratched. Akorma chuckled a little at Nalaar’s reaction.

“I’ve tried to help my sister out and tried to get her to think before she speaks but it doesn’t really work. I doubt it helps that I’m her sister trying to act like a mother to her.” Akroma shrugged a little, there wasn’t much she could do about Razia other then hope she didn’t do anything dumb and support her and her wishes for becoming a dragon rider.

She didn’t mind Ferlese quickly changing subjects, after all she didn’t know what Razia would do if the girl didn’t Impress. The two had mostly avoided talking about it. Akroma figured everyone avoid that subject, it seemed like bad luck to talk about, like you had already given up on Impressing and were just going through the motions for the sake of it. For Razia’s sake, Akroma hoped that she would Impress, who knew what the girl would do with herself if she didn’t. This chance of being a dragon rider had more or less fallen into her lap, it would be a good pick for her and it was a respectable thing to be. Better then a harper or artist or something like that. Sure those professions had their places but they seemed so useless most of the time. A song or a painting wasn’t really going to help someone.

“Yes I’m part of the Dragon Shield.” Akroma couldn’t help but sit up a little, her chest puffing out in pride, and Nalaar did the same thing as well, mimicking her motions.
“And we all get a fire lizard. Golds, bronzes, and browns are all smart enough to be used as messengers and with enough training they can even be used to do a little bit of scouting. And while we don’t have dragons, we do help keep the dragons safer. We patrols the areas they can’t get to very well. But getting into the Dragon Shield is hard work. My father taught me how to use swords and gave me other training before I became a guard for one of the holds. Eriol, the leader of the Dragon Shield, saw me while I was training with some others and thought I would be a good addition. I jumped at the chance. I wanted to do more then stop fights between drunks.”

[meadow]

Watching the small dragon hiss, Ferlese bit back a laugh, not wanting to offend him. She wished that she's been able to Impress a fire lizard...of course Impressing a dragon would be even better. She wondered if maybe she'd be deemed mature enough for a fire lizard after she was a Dragon rider.

Getting ahead of yourself AND greedy! She thought to herself.

It was so neat though, how Nalaar and Akroma seemed to be so in tune with one another. Or maybe the fire lizard was just as happy about being part of the Dragon Guard force as Akroma herself was. She'd never thought about that before, but fire lizards WERE important to the Dragon Guard, at least thats what it sounded like. The flitters were as much Dragon Guard as their companion humans. Listening to the other woman made Ferlese sigh a bit, dejected. She didn't know the first thing about sword fighting...she'd gotten in a couple fights when she was too young to know better, but she didn't have any TRAINING.

She could just see her Foster Mothers face if she'd ever asked to be trained in any such thing.

"It sounds really neat, being a Dragon Guard. I'd never thought of them as...going where the dragon riders couldn't." It seemed strange to think there were things that dragon riders weren't as good at, or that the huge wonderful dragons of Pern couldn't do.

While she was envious, she reminded herself sternly that she was going to Impress a dragon. And then she wouldn't need to be jealous of anyone ever again, because she'd be the luckiest girl in Pern. She leaned her chin in the cup of one hand and watched the fire lizard and Akroma.

And realized she was late.

Jumping to her feet, she almost ran into some else, but managed to jump out of the way in time. This person had no problem cursing at her, but she didn't feel bad. After all, she HADN'T run into him! No need for him to be so grumpy about it.

"I'm sorry, I'm late, I got distracted and...it was wonderful meeting you! Thank you for talking to me and sorry about the klah again and it was nice to meet you too Nalaar!" Panicked when she thought of the SCOLDING she was going to get, she darted away.