I'll Bet You a Mark

Writers: Corrin, Duskdog, Francesca
Date Posted: 12th July 2024

Characters: R'bain, H'taysh, A'lin, L'rin
Description: The Candidates talk girls and make a bet.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 11, day 6 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: Ketlyn, Kailis, Aydhara, Casmari

R'bain

H'taysh

A'lin

L'rin

Lunch in hand, Rabain sauntered through the dining hall with Haysh,
bypassing their usual table where craft apprentices and general
laborers sat and mixed. When they called out, Rabain just laughed and
shrugged his shoulder -- and its new knots -- at them. “Not today,
boys!” He walked on, beelining for the table where he spotted Lenorin
and his brother eating.

“Is this where the candidates sit?” he asked with a smirk. It was open
seating, but that wasn’t the point.

"If it wasn't before, it is now," Haysh said, grinning. He pulled up a
chair by Arlin and sat down. "Guess what weeee got," he sing-songed.

"Hey!" Lenorin said in greeting. "The best Candidates sit here." The
brothers had gotten to know Rabain and Haysh during the construction
of the Weyrhold, so it was nice that they were all Candidates now. He
did feel superior though, having been officially Searched. That had to
count for something, right?

"What do you have?" Arlin asked, curious.

"Just picked up our new knots," said Rabain with pride, shrugging his
shoulder again so the loop with the white candidate thread bounced. It
had been hard to give up his hard earned woodsmith ones, but it was
worth it. Candidacy was an exclusive club too, and this was a once in
a life time adventure.

"Looking good!" Lenorin clapped Rabain on the back. "You'll get more
attention from the ladies now, including greenriders."

If it was possible to light up even further, Haysh did. "No kidding?
Have you guys been drowning in girls, or what? 'Cause I could
definitely use some attention from a hot babe or two. Shells, I'm here
for the ugly girls, too." He sat up a little taller, glancing around
as if expecting to see a woman or two looking in his direction even
now.

"Yeah, really. What's the girl situation like? Is there that much of a
difference?" Rabain turned to look intently at Arlin. "Lenorin's
biased. He's always had girls fawning on him."

"They know quality when they see it!" Lenorin interjected, but let his
younger brother respond.

"The main difference is that there are a lot of female Candidates, and
you see them all the time. There are chores and classes together. And
the weyrbred ones aren't shy about coming up and talking to us." He
found it a refreshing change from what he'd grown up with.
"Dragonriders are often open to getting help washing their dragons, so
that's another way to meet people."

Haysh nodded along enthusiastically, _mostly_ taking all this in. Or
the parts he wanted to hear, anyway. "Huh, yeah -- nice to work with
the girls so I've got time to work my charm on 'em! Haven't really got
to spend a lot of time side by side with girls that way before. Hey,
you got any recommendations? Who do you think would go for me?"

"Get ready," Arlin warned, knowing how excited his brother would be at
talking about all the female Candidates.

If he hadn't been holding a fork, Lenorin would have been rubbing his
hands together excitedly as he thought. "Well, let's start with who to
avoid. Tholela is tall and blond; nice figure, but I think she hates
men." He had tried hitting on her soon after becoming a Candidate and
been harshly shut down. "Unfortunately, there are a number of female
crafters. Ketlyn has nice hair and pretty eyes but is a little weird
and is a smith or something."

"Technician," Arlin corrected. He also hadn't really spoken to Ketlyn
but thought she seemed nice.

"Kailis seems fun, but she's also a crafter." Lenorin looked to his
brother, who supplied, "Smith."

"Maybe Tholela prefers brunettes," Rabain teased, grin flashing as he
made a mental note to try his luck. It was all in good fun though and
he leaned in eagerly for Lenorin's lecture. Forget Arlin's rundown
about working side-by-side and talking opportunities, _these_ were the
juicy details! "A female smith?" He made a face. "Hope she doesn't
look like the smiths I know."

"I dunno," Haysh said, considering it. "Muscles on girls is okay,
maybe. Like... so long as she doesn't have a beard?" He considered it
even longer. "Actually, a beard might be okay. If the glows are out.
We don't have to kiss."

"You need to raise your standards," Lenorin said, grimacing at the
thought of a bearded woman. "You know, maybe with the new goldrider
there will be another gold flight soon. If you're in the right place
at the right time, you could take advantage of that." Not that he had
done anything special when Riyanth had risen recently, but that wasn't
the point.

"I don't need dragon lust to help me," bragged Rabain. "I bet I can
get somewhere with Tholela before the new gold flies." Nevermind he'd
yet to meet her. The description had appealed, as had the fact Lenorin
failed.

"I don't need dragon lust to help me, either," Haysh asserted
(probably incorrectly). "But I _want_ it to help me. Maybe I'll just
take a look around and find the right girl for me. There's gotta be at
least one that's pretty and funny and ready to go! If you're going for
Tholela, I won't try to snipe her. I'll bet you a mark that you can't
before the next gold rises, though!"

Lenorin laughed with excitement when the betting began. This was
getting good. "You could try for Aydhara," he suggested to Haysh.
"She's the daughter of the new goldrider, so at least she's weybred.
Watch out though. I heard she spends time learning from the guards, so
who knows what she can do."

Arlin remained silent. He was used to these conversations when his
brother was around other men. At least things weren't getting too
extreme.

"I'll take that bet!" said Rabain, which was bold considering he had
about a mark to his name after sending home most of his pay before
entering candidacy, but as long as he was betting marks he didn't
really have... "If you try for Aydhara I'll bet you don't get anywhere
before the next gold too, but only a quarter mark because she's
weyrbred." Nevermind he had no idea what Tholela was. She'd already
proven to be a tough nut to crack anyway, if Lenorin was to be
believed. "And what about you, Lenorin? Arlin? Got your sights on
anyone?"

"No one in particular," Arlin said quickly. "I'm still getting to know
everyone." He hoped that was enough to get him through the
conversation.

"Well, I've already been seeing a greenrider," Lenorin bragged,
although he hadn't seen her in a few sevendays. "But, a Candidate who
isn't a crafter... maybe Casmari? She's another weyrbred one." He
hadn't considered her, but she seemed more promising than most of the
others.

"Which one is Casmari, again?" Haysh asked. "The uh... the one with
the real pale blonde hair? Oh yeah, you should try for her! Oughtta
be easy for you, Master Already-Bagged-A-Greenrider!" He was more than
willing to give Aydhara a shot, himself. She was pretty for sure.

"Yeah, she's pretty." Lenorin was warming up to the idea of
approaching her. "Ok, how long do we give ourselves? A few sevendays?"

"Till the next gold rises, I thought? But, uh, I don't know how long
that's supposed to be, actually," Haysh admitted.

"Right. Well, I guess that means we'll need to get working fast. It
could happen any day now." Lenorin was trying to remember if he had
any chores with Casmari or if he'd need to run into her somewhere
else.

"No time to waste," Haysh agreed.

Last updated on the July 27th 2024

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

I'll Bet You a Mark