First Candidate Lesson

Norbert

Jaimes was up early. This was quite unusual for the Candidate. In fact, it was downright unheard-of. But the boy had intentional reasons for being up this early. Mischief. There was very little that Jaimes wasn't willing to do in the name of mischief. His sleep could suffer on his first full day at Xian Weyr in the name of a well-timed vengeful prank. Yes, he was friends with the Candidate called Cabriel now, but that didn't mean he was safe from a little harmless fun.

And Jaimes had learned by way of Oakley last night that Cabriel and she had been old friends. In fact, Oakley had even babysat his fellow Candidate when he was a baby and had known him since birth. So that meant that the impressive kiss that had so stunned him and dropped his jaw the previous night had been a farce. Cabe had been pulling one over on him. Jaimes nursed a grudging respect for his friend for managing to so easily pull the wool over his eyes. Normally, it took a practiced prankster to accomplish that.

But awkward, gangly as all get-out Cabe had managed it within the first night of meeting Jaimes. Well, Jaimes had a reputation to maintain! He would not be so easily bested. Now, none of his shenanigans would involve danger. He liked his new friend too much for that.

But he thought that he may start Cabe's first day a bit more interesting than the typical rise and shine. The previous night, he had sneaked away once all of his fellow Candidates finally had surrendered to his wheedling and pleading for them to dance in a big group, knowing he wouldn't be missed after the Candidate Master had given them all the freedom to indulge that night in a bit of Benden's finest. With the wine flowing, his absence wouldn't be noted.

He had stolen off into the halls until he found the specific room he had been looking for, and namely, the quarry that he sought within. Now, he had it with him, stashed away to help with his lighthearted prank this morning. He held a small container in his hand. He had already been to the Kitchens this morning, and now he had a small assortment of breakfast foods, and more importantly two cups of steaming klah. It would be irresistible to his fellow Candidate after a late night of drinking. Many considered klah Pern's premium hangover remedy.

"Wakey, wakey sunshine," he said, nudging his new friend, who so happened to lodge in the bunk next to his. He had set the klah on the nightstand next to Cabriel, and he held another mug in his hands. He took a deep draught as he waited for the other boy to respond.

"It'll be time for Candidate lessons soon, and so I took the liberty of grabbing us some food and drink, as we'll most likely be rushed this morning," he said cheerfully. If Cabriel took the bait and drank from the proffered mug, then he would discover that Jaimes had laced it with numbweed, which would make his whole mouth go numb as soon as he took a sip.

Jaimes had only entered in a mild amount, but it would be enough to slur the other Candidate's speech for a good hour, meaning that when he greeted his other Candidates this morning, he would sound like he was talking with a wet fish in his mouth instead of a tongue. He happily took a bite of the jelly-laden bread he had snagged as a part of their breakfast and munched.

***

Vox

Jackine had been dropped off at first light Xian Weyr time by the Searchrider who had ferried her here. She had slipped in the Candidate barracks quietly, with the Bluerider's whispered instructions that she should take an unused bunk, and then go and get herself some breakfast in the Kitchens.

Now, she was sitting at a table alone, with some cold juice in one hand, and a spoon to scoop up her porridge in the other. She was still chilled from between, so the hot breakfast had appealed to her. She had also grabbed some fried meat strips that shone with grease, and some fresh orange fruit that she had never tried before.

She was sure that there would be a Candidate lesson today, and chores later, and so it was important that she had a well-rounded breakfast. She saw that another Candidate was heading out of the Kitchens with a purposeful look on her face, so Jackine resolved to follow her.

Quickly shoving the remnants of the porridge in her mouth and washing it down with the juice, she left her dishes haphazardly scattered in her eagerness to follow the other girl. She didn't catch up to her until she arrived where the Candidate master was waiting for them, and so her greeting eclipsed them both.

"Hi! I'm Jackine. I just arrived this morning! This is a really pretty place." She commented, her tones eager and excited. There was an almost tangible buzzing about her -- she was very excited and it came across as rather hyper.

Tig Vox

It had been a while since Cabriel had been to a gig like last night. His fingers were sore from playing and his head slightly humming from the last few cups of wine as he was nudged awake.

"Shards man, it's barely first light and your waking me? If you're wondering which song the Funky Wherry goes best with, the answer in none of them." Cabriel said as he rubbed his eyes.
It was about that time he noticed Jaimes drinking from a mug as he offered up some breakfast. A swig of Klah might just be the kickstart he needs before Candidate Lessons.

"Much (yawn) obliged" Cabriel uttered as he grabbed the mug off the nightstand and took a hearty draught. "I've been meaning to ask, do you know much about the canawdaw..."

Cabriel paused...

"Sorry... I mean Mawsaw Hasaw."

He covered his mouth with his fist and cleared his throat.

"WHA... WHA E WONG WI MA TON!" "SARDIT DAMES!" "DI EW DU IS?" he stammered with an accusatory look at Jaimes.

Excellent. His first conversation with the Candidate Master would sound like he had 8 meatrolls in his mouth at once. Well done sir Jaimes.

"A GOS EW TAWK EW OAKWEE?" Cabriel uttered as he mentally connected the dots. "WEL PWAYED DAMES... WERRY WEL PWAYED..."

Cabriel pushed past Jaimes with as much dignity as he could muster to get to his clothes. It was going to be a LONG morning...

Norbert

(OOC: Okay, I can't resist telling you a story about dear Norbert. While he was writing the response about Cabe's speech becoming garbled, he had to sit there and figure out what each sound would sound like. So I come back into the room after talking on the phone with my mom to see him sitting with the laptop with his mouth open, murmuring, "AWGAHMAH..." and various other things to try and figure out what Cabe would sound like. LOL!)


Jaimes watched curiously as his newfound friend took a sip of his numbweed-laced klah. He took a few casual sips of his own plain klah as he watched the affects. He was very interested to see what Cabriel's reaction would be to his numb mouth, slurred speech, and possibly even uncontrollable drooling over the next hour. Cabriel did not know that the effects would only last for an hour. Jaimes was the only one that was privy to this information, having tested his prank on himself before daring to try it on anyone else. He would not disclose this particular fact to his new friend, however. Half the fun would be watching his fellow Candidate not know what in the blue shards had happened to him.

James's only reaction to Cabriel's sudden revelation and resultant swearing was an arch of one dark eyebrow. He calmly nibbled at some of the breakfast foods he had brought for them as he waited for Cabriel to stop running his mouth.

"Number one, the funky wherry will soon become a dance sensation that sweeps the NATION, and I will be known as its brilliant and revered creator. Number two, I don't know any more than you do about the man. I suspect that we will find out more in a few more minutes. And number three, my dear CABE," he paused for effect on the cutesy childhood nickname that Oakley had let slip when he had conversed with her the previous night about their mutual friend, "I did talk with the charming Purplerider last night. I will neither confirm nor deny my involvement with your current predicament. But I am guessing that the devastatingly handsome person who did do that to you probably used numbweed...very effectively I might add, and laced your klah. By the way, it turns out that I am among many other things, prodigiously talented at understanding your particular brand of garbled speech. I don't know why that should come as any surprise to me, but shockingly, it does."

He had already dressed himself, so he just merely waited for his friend to ready himself for the day while eating some more breakfast items. The rest of the plate of food, he took in hand as he gestured towards the hallway, "After you, my good sir. I believe we have a Candidate lesson to attend."

***

Vox, vleap, foulee

Jackine smiled in a friendly way at all of the other Candidates that had accumulated while she waited next to Craiss, and said, "'Lo everybody. I'm Jackine. Nice to meet you all. Sorry I missed out on all of the fun last night. Was the food good? The music and dancing? Ooh, I bet it was." When she was hyper, she had a penchant to ramble. The breeze that filtered through the surprisingly pleasant morning air failed to stir the great cloud of hair that framed her face in a full afro.

Exzeter decided to provide a brief summary of the event to the other girl. "Food, Good!" She said with a raised thumb. "Music, Good." She raised both thumbs "Dancing, Excellent!" She said, briefly mimicking the Funky Wherry. Exzeter preferred to use nicknames for people she met, deciding to call this one the Afro Candidate. She watched as two more candidates joined their group. It wasn't as many as she expected, and already tired of waiting, she scurried back up the tree and looped her legs around a branch, viewing the group from upside down.

foulee

Jorah foggily rolled out of bed, stifling a yawn that threatened to pop his jaw. He'd been dreaming about dancing, but his partner could only yammer in endless gibberish. Bizarre. While James and Cabriel made their way out of the barracks, he sluggishly pulled his clothes on, wishing the Candidate Master had the decency to start the lessons a little bit *after* the first light of morning.

As he dragged his weary feet towards the door, he noticed that at least one boy was still snoring very loudly. Jorah didn't want to be late, but also didn't see why he shouldn't give a fellow candidate a chance to make it out for the lesson as well. "Oi!" He said, shaking Prentis' shoulder vigorously. "You're gonna be late for the lesson, kid. Wake up."

Feeling as though he had done his duty as a peer, Jorah then jogged outside to join the other Candidates.

***

Tig Thunder Norbert Rae Harbinger vleap

H'skal watched as the candidates slowly filtered into the Weyrbowl, noting that the group wasn't entirely present just yet. Exzeter definitely caught his attention when she swang down from one of the nearby trees. He blinked at her in surprise, taking in her wild appearance, and then gave her a nod of acknowledgement right before she ascended the tree again. }By Faranth.{ Was his only thought to Conleth, who was looming not twenty paces away from the gathering.

Craiss beamed a smile at Jackine, "Well met!" She exclaimed. "I'm Craiss -" When Alea leaned close to ask her question, she nodded emphatically. "Yeah," She replied quietly. "I think we're meant to start any minute now."

As though on cue, H'skal put two fingers up to his mouth and let out a piercing whistle for attention. Afterwards, he crossed his arms and smiled. "Greetings, Candidates. A good chunk of you are here on time. That's a good sign. Every lesson is going to have the same basic format: lecture and activity. If you're late for the lecture, you get extra chores. If you don't follow my directions, you get to oil my Dragon. Easy." He then turned and walked over to Conleth, retrieving a satchel that was hanging from the Bronze's massive side. He tossed the bag through the air so that it landed in front of the cluster of hopefuls.

"In there, you'll find a bunch of colored sashes. Everybody gets one. When you pick yours up, state us your name, and list one official Weyr position. Then, form a line at the exit of the Weyrbowl and tie the sash around your eyes as a blindfold."

Having come in on the tail end of the directions, Jorah didn't immediately move to comply, waiting on the other candidates so he could follow their lead. Craiss was eager, though, and picked up a blue sash after two or three other people had done the same. It was silky to the touch, so she kept running it through her fingers as she waited for them to complete their part of the directions so she could answer as well.

Vox Rae Norbert

Jackine smiled at the other girl who had introduced herself. She seemed friendly, which was good. The Candidate girl was eager to make friends. She couldn't help but notice that the three boys that were there so far were really handsome. Perhaps Craiss had a crush on one of them already, and then Jackine could help play matchmaker! The Candidate simply adored making love connections. So far, her attempts back home had fallen flat, but she wasn't discouraged. She forced herself from her thoughts when the Candidate Master whistled to get their collective attention. It wasn't like Jackine it be all in her head when so many other fascinating people were around.

"I'm Jaimes. And of course...the Weyrleader," said Jaimes, holding a tan silken sash casually in one hand. He arched an eyebrow at Berelai and waggled it suggestively at her. As she walked off, he curled his mouth into a rather wicked grin, and aimed a flick of his scarf at Cabriel with his one free hand before bounding after the curvaceous female Candidate.

Thankfully, he had eaten a large portion of his food, otherwise he would have spilled it all across the Weyrbowl as he half ran, half galloped to join Berelai. He stood right behind her, and loosely tied his sash about his face, wondering what in the blue shards they were about to do.

"'Lo everybody. I'm Jackine, and it's nice to meet all of you. Headwoman is a position I know about," said Jackine next as she played with the ruby red scarf in her hand. She loved the vibrant color of it. She, too, headed towards the exit of the Weyrbowl, lining up behind Jaimes, who was now doing some sort of martial arts moves while blindfolded. She giggled softly at him while tying her own sash about her head.

Kaeli managed to slip herself into the group of candidates just as H'skal was giving his instructions, idly brushing a twig from her hair and smoothing her already dirt-spotted shirt. She'd been up early enough to snag a bit of fruit and poke around, losing her firelizard Koko somewhere in the underbrush along the way. She knew the flit would find her way home, and wasn't worried--getting to the lesson on time was far more important, she reminded herself!

Her attention firmly on Conleth nearby instead of H'skal's words, she missed the instructions, but her attention snapped to the others as they started speaking. Oh, well! That wasn't hard to figure out! She glanced at the sashes, eyes brightening when she caught sight of a lovely dark green. She practically snatched it up, a grin lighting up her face.

"I'm Kaeli!" She'd missed the feast, and then spent probably too much time exploring, so she hadn't yet had a chance to meet anyone. She offered a little wave at H'skal. "And, of course, the Candidate Master is one position!" Had anyone said that yet? She hoped not! It was a terribly obvious answer, with him standing in front of them, but she was already distracted, following those candidates who had started off to the bowl's exit.