Showing Them The Ropes...Or Knots
Dragonsfall Weyr
Amber Hills Hold
Vintner Hall
Healer Hall
Hidden Meadows
Dolphin Cove Weyr
Dolphin Hall
Emerald Falls Hold
Harper Hall
Printer Hall
Green Valley Hold
Leeward Lagoon Hold
Barrier Lake Weyr
Sunstone Seahold
Citrus Bay Hold
Elsewhere on Pern
NPC Weyr (NPC)
River Bluff Weyr
Seacraft Hall
Writers: Halyonix, Sia
Date Posted: 8th July 2024
Characters: O'rosin, Oriene
Description: Oriene befriends the new Candidate Obrosin
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 8, day 13 of Turn 11
He was just...sitting there. On his cot. Was he reading? No, it didn't look like it. He wasn't crying either, as far as Oriene could tell. She tapped her cheek in thought. That cot had been empty a few days ago so he must have been recently Searched. Eventually, she bounced over to him and said, "You must be new. I'm Oriene," and decided that the most direct course of action was going to be the best one.
Obrosin shut the lid on the writing tablet with a clatter. It was embarrassing enough that he was leagues behind everyone else. He didn't need a _girl_ knowing that too. "Hello!" He said hastily as he stood. "I am new. I was Searched just the other day." He paused a second, eyes wide. Panicking. She was _pretty_. "Obrosin. That's my name." He ended lamely.
"Obrosin," she repeated. "That's a nice name." She craned her neck a little, looking at the writing tablet. "Are you learning your letters?" she asked as she took a seat on his cot. "It's okay. A lot of Candidates do. Lots of Holds just don't teach it and the Weyr does."
"No!" Obrosin said quickly, pushing the tablet further and under the pillow. "Harpers didn't come to my cothold very often. My writing is sh-. Bad. Are you from the Weyr?"
Oriene shook her head. "Dolphin Hall. My family are all dolphineers. So I got to learn early but don't worry. You'll pick it up soon enough! Where are you from?"
"Dolphineers." He nodded as if he understood. He thought he remembered something from the harpers about that, but it wasn't something they had a lot of at his cothold. Once in a while they saw the shipfish in the distance, but they paid them respect by not getting too close. "Just a little fishing cothold, up past Topaz Seahold. It's on a little island off the coast, so the harpers didn't come by too often, especially after that hurricane."
"Oh, I remember that hurricane," Oriene said. "It did a number on some places! Even some of the big ones. I can't imagine how bad it hit some of those little islands. It's good that you made it out okay then. You did a lot of fishing? Was that your job?"
"Yeah, fishing. We got a couple boats that go out each day, and a bigger one that goes out for longer. Nothing fancy," He added hastily. He'd only heard there was a Seacraft Hall when he was trying to memorize all the different shoulder knots. "but I helped with the nets and brought in the catch. What do you do around here? Is there a craft you're studying?"
She shook her head. "I was studying dolphineering, like my parents, but..." She paused, then shrugged one shoulder. "I'm trying to decide if I actually _want_ to do that or if I'm just doing it because it's expected of me. So I figured I'd Stand until I couldn't any longer and then decide after that." She smiled, unworried. "I've still got a few Turns on that so no rush!" Then, she tilted her head to the side. "So if you know a lot about fishing, maybe you can teach _me_ something! Like...I don't know. Types of fish? Maybe different knots?"
All Obrosin could say to that was "Oh..." and a vague nod. That was so outside his realm of understanding. Fishing was never an expectation in so much as an immutable fact, and he hadn't thought of going against it, even when Searched. "Sure, I can teach you some knots. You might know most of them already, if you're used to bein' out with dolphins. Probably be easier than trying to describe types of fish."
"Probably," Oriene agreed with a giggle. "They all look pretty much the same in the water. Dolphins can tell them apart though. Don't ask me how. But knots -- well, if we're going to be dragonriders one day, we need all the information on tying sure knots, hauling firestone sacks and whatever else we get asked to haul. How about you show me one right now?"
"Yeah, sure! I have some thread from some mending I'm doing, if you want to practice?" Obrosin said. "That'll be one class I'll actually know something in." He got up from from the bed to retrieve the thread from the chest at the foot of his bed.
Oriene beamed, happy to have made progress with a new Candidate friend. "Sounds great!"
Last updated on the July 10th 2024