Friendly Competition
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyrhold
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: Estelle, Yvonne
Date Posted: 5th February 2021
Characters: Gienah, R'hil
Description: Gineah and Rushil have a healthy sense of competition
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 7, day 13 of Turn 10
Mentioned:
Different Weyr, Gienah thought as she ran her finger down the list that
had been posted outside the Candidate's barracks, same old chores. There
was no escaping it, not without a Craft, but at least there was more
variety than in the holds. Today, she found her name in a group assigned
to the stables, which was one of the tasks she liked best, much better
than scrubbing floors or laundry.
Now more familiar with the layout of the Weyr, she ran down the stairs,
out past the dining cavern and into the chilly outdoor air, her breath
coming in puffs of cloudy steam. There was already a dark-haired boy
waiting by the stables who she thought she recognized from classes
earlier, so she waved as she approached. "Hi! Are you here for stables
duty, too?"
He turned, stifling a yawn. "Yup. Better than laundry."
"Anything's better than laundry," she replied, rolling her eyes. Sorting
through sweaty riding gear and smelly underwear, yuck. She held out a
hand in greeting. "I'm Gienah."
"I'm Rushil." He stared at her hand a moment before remembering to take
it and give it one awkward, overly-hard shake. "Where are you from?"
"Emerald Falls, by way of Dolphin Cove. I was Searched for there
originally, but came here when my Da got a job with the herders here."
Gienah looked at her hand, then shrugged. "You?"
"Ah, around Amber Hills Hold," Rushil said, regretting that he'd asked.
He stuck his hands in his pockets. "What's Dolphin Cove Weyr like?"
"Hot! Even at this time of the Turn, it's warm enough to sit out on the
beach in the evening, and at night in the Candidate barracks you can
hear the waves crashing on the sands. The Dolphin Hall's just a short
walk down the coast and they're really friendly. One of the apprentices
introduced me to some of the dolphins! And there's always something
happening, like parties on the beach with music and dancing, or..."
Gienah would have carried on chattering if the stablemaster hadn't come
up to them at that moment, after sending two other Candidates who'd just
arrived round the back of the stables to unload a cart of hay. "Right, I
haven't seen either of you two before. Ever cleaned out stalls?"
"Yes, sir." Gienah nodded. "At Dolphin Cove, and before that, helping my
da."
Rushil nodded as well. "We have a runner back at home." It was a big
beast with wide hooves and long, silky hair at its ankles. It was a kind
and lazy creature, and Rushil had always wanted a runner that, well, _ran_.
"Good, then you know what you're doing. The four stalls at the back are
empty while the runners are out being exercised, so you can start there.
There's a wheelbarrow round the side, and forks and shovels hanging up
on the right-hand wall. Once you're done, you can ask Gelry over there
to help you move the other animals into the clean stalls." He pointed to
a young stablehand who was busy brushing down a runnerbeast in one of
the front stalls. "Don't try and do it on your own, some of these beasts
are skittish if they don't know you. Then you can clean out the rest of
the stalls. That ought to keep you busy, so when you're done, you can
go. Understood?"
Gienah nodded. If they worked fast, they might end up with some extra
free time. "I'll fetch the wheelbarrow."
Rushil followed her in and found a pitchfork and shovel for both of
them. He met Gineah at the back stalls and handed her two of the tools.
The stable was huge to his eyes. He stepped into the nearest stall,
evaluating the mess. It wasn't too bad; there was enough clean straw
that he could probably salvage at least half. "How long do you think
it'll take us to clean this many stalls?" he asked as he got to work.
She dumped a forkful of damp straw into the wheelbarrow and looked up
and down the stables. "Maybe an hour?" There were a lot of stalls and
only two of them, but some were completely empty with no straw at all
and didn't need cleaning. "Less if we work quickly." She eyed Rushil,
thinking. He was taller and stronger than she was, but not many
candidates had her long experience of mucking out. "Hey, what do you
think of having a race?"
He lifted an eyebrow. "You seriously think you can clean a stall faster
than me?"
"I seriously do." Gienah grinned. "First round, the back stalls. You do
the two on the left, I'll do the right. It has to be done properly, if
the stablemaster isn't happy with any of the work, that competitor gets
disqualified. What do you say?"
Rushil grinned. Competition made everything better. He held out his
hand. "I say you're going to lose. We start when we let go?"
She nodded and took his hand. "On my count. Three...two...one...go!"
At the last word, Gienah darted into the first stall and began
vigorously forking out the old straw. After a minute or so of work, she
was starting to get warm and the temptation to look over and see how
Rushil was doing nagged at her. But if she did, she'd lose precious time.
The manure was out and Rushil was busy forking the straw over to one
side of the stall to remove the soiled bedding. He glanced over at the
wheelbarrow and frowned when he saw how full it was getting. One of them
was going to have to empty it, but emptying it would take time-- and
Gineah would win.
She was having the same thought as she heaped another forkful into the
wheelbarrow, making a precariously high pile. If they weren't careful
they'd end up tipping it all over the stable floor, and the task would
take even longer. But she wasn't going to go empty it herself and give
Rushil the advantage.
"Wait - hold up!" She stopped working, leaned on her pitchfork and
pointed. "I'll go empty that, but you have to do it next time. Otherwise
it's not fair."
He hesitated. "All right." It would give him a little breather, anyway--
and the chance to see how Gineah was doing with her stalls. He leaned on
his pitchfork as he watched her wheel away, then stepped across the hall
to snoop.
Her stalls were frighteningly clean, and she looked like she was a
little ahead. Rushil frowned as he stepped back into his side of the
stable. Better to know now than get further behind. He could work faster.
Soon enough, she returned at a job, pushing the empty wheelbarrow, and
hardly paused for breath before grabbing the pitchfork and returning to
work. Having caught a glimpse of how far Rushil had got, she knew she
couldn't slow down now. **You can beat him!**
Before long, the wet and dirty straw was almost out and she spotted her
opponent heading for the fresh bale. Gienah grinned. He was ahead, but
not for long. "Hey!" She pointed to the wheelbarrow. "Your turn."
"Aw, fardles." Rushil propped his pitchfork up against the wall of the
stall he was in and took off with the wheelbarrow at a run. At this rate
Gineah would catch up-- but they both needed clean straw at this point.
He dumped the dirty straw on the pile outside, then raced back into the
barn to load it back up with clean straw to top up the cleaned stalls.
He was out of breath by the time he got back. Rushil looked over at
Gineah's work and groaned. He was going to lose!
Sensing victory, Gienah worked harder than ever to fork the new straw
into her stalls, taking care to spread it out in a thick layer so that
she wouldn't forego her win by not doing a proper job. As soon as the
floor was covered, she propped the fork against the wall and sprinted
down the passageway to where the apprentice was working.
"I've done mine!" she panted. "Can you help me move the runners?"
Rushil looked up from his stall as Gineah ran past and groaned. His
shoulders were starting to ache from forking straw and the wheelbarrow
of clean straw was just about empty-- and his stall could use a little
more. He debated going on another wheelbarrow run but then Gineah would
be too far ahead to catch. He dumped the rest of the wheelbarrow into
his stall, spread it around, and raced to join Gineah.
The young stablehand was clearly well aware of what was going on and he
strolled down between the stalls at a pace leisurely enough to increase
the tension. He took his time looking over each one in turn, his face
expressionless. Meanwhile, Gienah shifted her weight nervously between
her feet. If he didn't think her work was good enough, then Rushil would
be the victor.
"All right. These are fine, but this one here - " He pointed at Rushil's
second stall. "This is clean but it needs a bit more straw. You go and
get that, while I fetch the runners for her two." He gestured towards
Gienah's stalls, then turned and headed back towards the front of the
stables.
Gienah grinned and lifted a fist into the air. "Yes! I think we have a
winner!"
Rushil groaned. "This time. You won _this_ time."
"Sure. I'll be ready, any time you want to get beaten at chores again."
Gienah stretched out her aching arms and surveyed her winning pair of
stalls with pride. "Hey, look on the bright side. We're nearly halfway
finished! We'll be done here with lots of free time to spare."
"That's true." He eyed her up, thinking of a free half candlemark or so
to raid the kitchens or do whatever he wanted. Time was too structured
at the Weyr and any time of his own was treasured. "What do you say we
go two for two?"
Gienah considered. It would be a risk, since she'd only won narrowly the
first time, but it would get the stables cleaned even quicker and if she
did beat him a second time, the bragging rights would be so much the better.
"All right." She picked up the fork and bounced on her toes, ready for a
second round. "If you like losing so much, I'm happy to oblige. But
first..." She pointed to his stall. "You need more straw."
Rushil sighed and went for the wheelbarrow. "You're the one who is going
to lose this time. And if you start before I'm ready, you forefit."
"I don't need a head start," she pointed out, with a smug grin. "But
I'll give you one, if you want?"
"Ha! Like I need it!" Rushil tossed a grin over his shoulder as he
picked up the end of the wheelbarrow. "But if you're just going to stand
there and wait for me, you might as well help me pick up more straw.
Unless you need to rest...?"
"Not me." She jogged after him with as much energy and bounce as she
could muster. "When I win, I don't want you saying it was because I had
a rest. And besides, I want to give you a sporting chance. It would be
too easy otherwise."
The stablehand passed them as they went, leading one of the runners to
the newly clean stalls, and shook his head. If only all the candidates
had this much enthusiasm for mucking out...
Last updated on the February 19th 2021