Characters | Al'dru, Rezia, Ise, Z'an, Abrael, Kera,C'rus |
Synopsis | The weyrlings have a pair of guest lecturers. |
Out-of-Character Date | January 6, 2015 |
Igen Weyr - Weyrling Barracks
Nearly equal in size to the Hatching Cavern, the barracks are immense, easily one of the largest of the caverns that sprawl through the cliffside at Igen Weyr. Accessible though a wide entrance meant to admit wind-trailing dragonets, and lighted by small windows cut into the rock, as well as the newly added electric lights, the weyrling barracks provide a place for growing dragonets that haven't reached their full size yet. A path leads though the cavern, on either side standing stone hollows that form the weyrling couches, with a cot and clothespress for the rider beside them. A small alcove in the back houses several large bins are placed along the short ends of the walls nearest the entrance tunnels, containing supplies of oil, food, and water for the young dragons and their riders: a vat of oil and paddles for spreading it onto itchy hides, and various containers kept filled daily with fresh meat. There are also materials available for making riding straps later on in the training sessions. A training chart is posted near the doorway, informing the weyrlings of the lessons they will need to follow.
Al'dru arrives into the barracks, quickly getting some of the rowdier boys into line and nodding to a few favorites. "There, is everyone here that wanted to be for this lecture?" He stops after a moment, looking around for something before he continues. "We're going to have Riders C'rus and Kera from the healercraft here to speak to you tonight. C'rus from Fort, and Kera from Xanadu. Please be welcoming for them."
Ise looks up from her couch and nods, giving a gentle smile as she notices Al'dru and the other's approach. That smile dings into recognition that maybe she should salute. And so she does, offering up a quick one as she stands. "Sir, Sir, Ma'am." She says, before sitting back down next to Niskath.
Rezia is never one without Pralayth by her side - and this lesson is no exception. The mottled brown serves as a comfortable thing to lean against, but only after the requisite round of salutes are given, of course! Once all's done and it's time to settle in, the trader does so with a lopsided smile and a hand tucked up under the brown's chin to give him a steady series of rubs.
Z'an aligns himself with the others, hardly stifling a huge yawn. With eyes full of sleep, he scans his surrounding and perks. Well, yes, salute! He must salute. Recovering a bit of himself, he briskly salutes, mimicking Ise. He doesn't raises his voice but nods to each person instead, trying to be…welcoming?
Kera makes her way into the barracks with the other riders, the greenrider tossing the last bite of dried meat in her mouth and chewing on it determinedly. Gaze drifts around the room as Al'dru gets the ball rolling with introductions, head dipping forward to each when she makes eye contact. "Hello everyone." is attempted, though it may come out muffled around the bite of dried meat she's trying to finish.
C'rus had been surprised to receive an invitation to address weyrlings, but he's never one to turn down an invitation to talk. He follows Kera in and lets his eyes slip over the crowd of weyrlings, and young dragons as well, "Hello." he says to everyone with a half wave of his hand, "Fort's duties to Igen and her queens." he adds. Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, "We are going to be talking to you today about what it means to be a craftrider, and how is very possible to continue with your craft after impressing, and even starting one should you wish."
Ise was going to ask about starting a craft, so that's good that the pair are going to be going over that as well. She sits back against Niskath for the time being, looking from Kera's dried meat to Mokusoth. "Don't get too close to Mokusoth with that, ma'am. He will be /dying/ to try it." It's said fondly, but an honest warning none the less. It is /food/ after all…and Moku loves all!
Al'dru moves to settle in at the back of the room with the trouble makers, slapping Ch'arm on the back of the head, and giving him a hissed "Pay attention" to get the boy focused on something besides the green besides him.
Rezia, meanwhile, is just sitting there pretty comfortably and listening - but there's not much she's going to chime in with! There is, at the very least, a warm smile for the pair and a brief glance askance to her fellow weyrlings before she's right back to focusing on the discussion at hand.
Luckily for everyone, Mokusoth seems to be…dozing for now. But the scent of food will certainly manage to float dangerously closer the brown's nostrils and that's worrying Z'an right now. The former Harper, shifts as discreetly as possible to bring himself in front of his sleeping stomach of brown. Casting Ise a feigned glare, he straightens some more. "It….shouldn't be a problem…." his voice lowers then, almost inaudible. Only those close to him may hear. "….for now…." *cough* His attention is on the Fortian bluerider now.
Kera chuckles to Ise as she wipes her fingers off on her pants leg "I'll keep that in mind." It was a firelizard sized treat, so the young dragon wouldn't have had too much to enjoy. Glancing back around her gaze settles on C'rus as the bluerider, nodding agreeably and adding her own two marks. "You do have to keep in mind, your priorities shift quite a bit. Even after your graduation, your dragons will still need alot of your time and attention. So your study time dwindles. Progressing through your lessons takes longer than what you may have been used to before your dragonmates chose you."
Ahh yes. Hungry dragons. They never really stop being hungry at that age. Thankfully they eventually do learn to hunt and can feed themselves, "What she is saying is true. Your priorities do change and things do take longer, but if you really like what you are doing it isn't that much of a problem. It just sort of becomes part of the routine. I know that alot of weyrlings will look to the rescue wings, or guard wings, or even the diplomatic wings. Those get alot of attention, but weyrs would not function without craft wings. We are just as vital to the functioning of the weyr as the others. Often times we can even be a source of income." C'rus says with a smile on his face.
Ise nods as she continues to listen, leaning against Niskath as she listens to the pair. "I'm interested in that." Ise says, speaking honestly. Even if she's a bit embarrassed about it. She looks around the room, flushing some.
"And…I assume that taking classes at the Hall can be arranged or, will it be delivered at the Weyr?" Z'an raises his hand as he asks his question, obviously interested as well. Mokusoth is still sleeping and by the way the young brown starts to snore, it's now obvious to everyone.
Al'dru nods, listening in and even smiling at some points before he settles back on his chair. He seems to like certain points more than others, or perhaps he's just pleased that the weyrlings are listening."
And obvious it is indeed! With each seconds, Mokusoth's snoring is filling the room quite loudly making Z'an sweats with deep embarrassment. Without waiting for an answer, he coughs, trying in vain to cover his lifemate's breathing. "Sorry…I mean…he will….gimme a minute…" And he kneels, nudging the young dragon's head and pushing him so he rolls to one side. Quite a hard task as he's been growing tall and…..wide! Poor weyrling…
Al'dru turns to look at the others. "Do you have other questions about being a craft rider, things different when you're in a craft and already a rider?"
Kera looks among the weyrling pairs as C'rus continues, her weight shifting gently from one foot to the other even as she keeps both feet firmly in place. Z'an's question has her looking to C'rus briefly, he's the Journeyman here, not her. But she peers back to the group. "Each Hall works differantly, but I'm sure that arrangements can be made with the the crafthall you are interested in." A quick few seconds as she orders her thoughts "There are several aspects of Craftrider. There's riding sweeps with your wing for one. They can be boring most days. But it helps keep your dragonmate's in shape."
Rezia shakes her head to Al'dru at his question, after momentarily being distracted by Z'an's efforts to move the immovable. She flashes a dazzling smile to C'rus and Kera and Al'dru - and she -is- listening, so there's that. Even Pralayth seems to be paying keen attention, shifting forward just a little to better look at the visiting craftriders.
C'rus glances over to watch as a dragon falls asleep. They do fall asleep at interesting times when so young. It is definitely a normal thing, "No need to be sorry. It happens." The question he answers is a good one and he feels he can dovetail on what his weyrmate said, "Yes. Every hall is different, but most will work with you. One of the things that nice when you graduate is that travel to and from wherever you need to go is very easy. So if you have a class you should be able to attend. You'll work it out with whoever your wingleader is. I have found that attending classes has not been a problem with my schedule. Though I'm spending most of my time in the infirmary itself."
Al'dru continues to keep Ch'rm and Ch'lie on track near the back of the classroom. "What about folks who were not in a craft before, but might like to be in one now? How would they go about it, say for example, starting with the Healercraft?"
At Al'dru ' s question Abrael finally engages, lifting her head up from where her face had been hidden behind her hair. Not that she was quiet and still with no movement- A steady stroking of Saethiath's head has kept /that/ ball of energy still (Miracle? Yes )
Niskath gives her version of a soft chuckle and the feeling of a warm fireplace, with deep reds and oranges fills the room along with the soft tinkling of laughter. "Now be nice, Nis." Ise says to her green, reaching out and rubbing her hand over her dragon's eyeridges. She turns and listens to the two visiting riders. "What if you're just starting?"
Kera smiles at the little interactions she spots, between weyrling and awkward young dragons, around the gathered group. A few dips of her head as she agrees with a point mentioned during the chat. The Weyrlingmaster's question has her head canting to C'rus. A few quiet murmurs between the two healers and she looks forward again with an encouraging smile. "Normally apprentice's are around the age of twelve turns." A grin to Ise's interest in her Hall. "But if you are truly interested in joining the Healer Hall, go to your Weyr's infirmary and speak with the posted Journeyman. Likely, you can become an infirmary aide and see how things progress from there."
C'rus nods his head in agreement with Kera, "Or if you are interested in another craft you could talk to some of the crafters around the weyr, your wingleader, and perhaps a few others. Later in your weyrlinghood there will be lots of time to think about what you want to do for the rest of your life, but it doesn't hurt to get a jump start on it now. Age is a factor though, but not an impossible one."
"Is there anything else you can tell us, something that makes you appreciate being a craft rider more, or something that you don't like about it?" Questions Al'dru. "I mean, not everyone chooses to go down this path."
"How…" Abrael is almost in audible as she opens her mouth, but it is soft enough that her almost question is lost under Al'dru ' s question. Silent she falls again, rubbing at Sae.
"Okay." Ise says to the pair and hears Abrael's voice as she opens up a how.. She looks over at her best friend and nods at her. "Go ahead, Ab." She says, softly. "You can ask." She tries to help
Al'dru turns right at the sound of one of his weyrlings, having Eranzath give her a nudge. "Speak up girl, if you have a question. Won't have you hiding back here. Besides, you have more sense than these two I'm keeping a watch on."
Kera gives a grin at Al'dru's question "Well, as I mentioned, there are several aspects to being a craftrider. I guess they vary from craft to craft. But speaking as a Senior Apprentice in the Healer Hall: I do sweeps with Asteroid Wing, duty shifts in the weyr infirmary, and have even spent a few sevendays at a time at the Hall. Training, study, or tests of one form or another." She nods and looks from one weyrling to another as they try to speak up at the same time. Chuckling as they sort themselves out, a quick glance and smile to C'rus before she looks back to the weyrlings, waiting for the soft-spoken weyrling to speak up once more.
Abrael is the youngest person in the room. That alone would make it hard for her to speak up. But with attention on her? That is hard. Her hands pause in their petting and Saethiath shakes off the pets and draws herself to her feet. « Boring.Ju st ask so we can /go/.» Saethiath is already following through as she darts away to the far side of the barracks where her much abused chase toy rests in a corner. Coloring bright red Abrael can't hide and though her voice is soft, she does ask her question. "How… do you know what the right craft is? If… you don't have one?"
"I always thought that I'd be a healer for the rest of my life. So in many respects that hasn't changed. I have always loved being a healer." C'rus replies to Al'dru's question, "I suppose the things I dislike about my job are the same things I would have disliked about it even if I hadn't been a rider. I'd say that being a rider has benefited my work more than it has harmed it." he says with a glance around the room, "The other thing you will be wanting to consider is that your lifemate will want a say in what you do. I had quite a few conversations with Jaicoureth before I agreed to continue." He then is able to turn his attention to Abreal's question, "It's a fine question. I'd say that perhaps you could talk to different crafters…maybe even shadow them when you have time and are allowed. That would be the best way I think."
Al'dru tilts his head. "Is there anything else, C'rus, Kera? That you could share with us, about being partnered with a dragon and still being an able craftrider, that you can think of?"
"I think that she should train under a harper. She's a talented painter, so she's got that going for her." Ise says of Abrael, before she nods to the pair. "Thank you for coming, it's been most helpful." She beams towards the pair.
A quick smile at Ise, thanks for her support. Once Kera answers Abrael has to turn her attention to Saethiath who requires someone smaller to get her toy out from where it has disappeared under a cot.
Kera nods and adds thoughts "And it should be something you enjoy doing. No need to be shadowing beastcrafters if you don't like animals." She's thoughtful while C'rus speaks his perspective. In a break in the chat, she speaks up again with a sigh to give her own answer to Al'dru's question. "I think some things have become easier to handle since impressing Moncerath. Some days when no amount of training or knowhow can help your patient, those used to be really tough. But Moncerath helps me though it."
Al'dru moves to help the other two riders leave the barracks. "Thank you so much for coming out and talking. Really gives the younger ones something to think about and aspire to. Can't say how much that helps us here at Igen."
C'rus nods his head to the weyrlings, "Clear skies. I wish you all the best of luck as you decide what to do with yourselves in the future." he says before he follows Al'dru toward the door to continue to go about his evening.
Kera smiles as the chat wraps up and "It was nice meeting each of you." A quick wave and she's moving along with Al'dru and C'rus "Thanks for the chance to chat with your newest riders Weyrlingmaster."