Mustard Stained Candidate Notes

Writers: Shawna, Sia
Date Posted: 15th August 2025

Characters: D'narion, Viseya
Description: Donnarion gets a candidate interview. Viseya eats on the job
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 7, day 21 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Kedolin, Sybana, Cholsinth (J'nic)

Donnarion heard the whispers of candidate interviews before he was actually called, so he decided the best thing to do was head on over to Viseya's office and knock at the door. "You were going to call for me, ma'am?" He asked as he opened the office door. "I overheard Cholsinth."

Viseya jumped, and the “come in” that followed the knock was strangely muffled. When Donnarion opened the door, it was to find the greenrider chewing, a half eaten sandwich in one hand. “I’m going to need to remember your little talent makes you a little too quick..” She sounded more amused than annoyed as she set her lunch aside. “Have a seat. I suppose you know why I’ve called you in, too?”

"Were you planning on eating really fast, or was this supposed to be a later meeting?" Donnarion asked, though he dropped into the chair opposite her anyway. "I heard Cholsinth and Raileth talking about it and knew I was going to be next."

“Just remember, ‘do as I say, not as I do’ when I’m giving reminders about not letting your dragon eat too fast or take too big of a bite,” Viseya joked. “So, you decided to cut it a little close before deciding to be a candidate. Any particular reason you’ve decided to try now?”

"Well, there's a lot of reasons." Donnarion said with a shrug. "I figured I might as well while I'm here. Get the whole "Weyr" experience by Standing for a clutch or two. Even if I don't Impress, at least I can say I did it. And we're technically weyrfolk. My father was a bluerider at Dragonsfall Weyr. Besides, I could tell Kedolin wanted to give it a shot. I don't think he would have done it without me pushing."

“Not exactly the heroic speech most candidates give,” Viseya said dryly. “Have you considered what might happen if only one of you Impresses?” Expecting that to take a moment, she rather pointedly took another bite out of her sandwich.

"Nope." Donnarion said merrily. He paused for a moment, just to see if she'd try to swallow the entire piece while he waited. Then, he continued, "Well, I still have my crafter contract here for a few turns. I'll stick around if Kedolin Impresses, and then we'll see. Maybe I'll want a new, exotic posting. And that's the same if it's just me-- I'll have a dragon that can go anywhere. It's not like we'll never see each other if one of us takes a post on the other end of the world."

“True,” Viseya said, “but a dragon will change things. Priorities if nothing else,” switching the subject slightly, she said, “How are you finding the noise? I hear that can be a problem. It’s not too distracting?”

"Nah." Donnarion said with a shake of his head. "Kedolin has more trouble with it, but I'm fine. I like the chatter. It's like always being at a party. And it's sort-of like getting to meet a really famous harper every time I get to put a face to a name. And if I don't focus on it too hard it all just fades into the background." He did like to focus on them, though, often to the detriment of whatever he was trying to do.

“And during Threadfall? Does it make it hard to focus?” Viseya leaned back in her chair to study him. Not that threadfall wasn't distracting for everyone. Anyone with ears could hear the dragons keen and scream.

"I have no idea, I haven't been in Threadfall." Donnarion said with a shrug. "I guess we'll find out. The flurry of activity right before is exciting, honestly. Threadfall overhead is only like…half a candlemark, if that, and I don't think I can hear all of them from down here. Maybe the range only goes to the low-altitude wings? It'll be different if I'm ever in the middle of it, but isn't that the same with everyone?"

“Interesting,” Viseya moved to mark down some notes, “I didn’t realize the range would have made that much of a difference. The dragons can hear each other across Pern.” Putting her pen aside, she said, “You’re right, though. The first time is a shock to everyone.” Perusing her notes for a moment, she said, “So, your father was a rider. Did he also have your talents? Do you have any other dragonriders in the family?”

Donnarion shrugged. "I'm not a dragon. I can't imagine hearing all the dragons on Pern. That'd be way too many." He paused for a moment, considering how much he wanted to brag and how much Kedolin actually wanted to tell people. "My father can hear dragons, too. It's part of why he left the Weyr after his own dragon died." Another pause, then a grin, "I'm pretty sure my cousin is the latest goldrider at Dragonsfall. My father is brothers with Lord Daryngad of Skyvale Hold."

“Really? That’s uh… Sybana, yes? Why choose to stand here, then? Wouldn’t it be easier to Impress somewhere where your cousin was a weyrwoman?” Viseya added a few more notes.

"Oh, probably. It's where I would have ended up if I'd gotten Searched or demanded birthright, I suppose. But I didn't really _live_ at the Weyr, and I don't know Sybana enough for her to pull any kind of favours. Father didn't ever bring us to Skyvale before Saeruth passed." Donnarion frowned a moment, considering, "I guess that's probably why, too. I don't know much about his life at the Weyr, really. I don't think I'd like his shadow there. Barrier Lake was looking for glasscrafters on contract. Kedolin wanted to try Standing, so here we are. And hey, if we Impress, the Weyr gets to keep two excellent crafters permanently."

“There is that, although I don’t know how much time you’ll have to spend on your craft after you Impress. It’s not like it was before Thread returned. Your rider duties will keep you busier than mine did when I was younger,” Viseya warned.

"Oh yes. Feed the dragon, bathe, the dragon, oil the dragon." Donnarion droned, though he was still grinning, "Exercise the dragon, entertain the dragon, fight Threadfall. There's still a steady rotation of dragonrider-crafters through the forge, though. It's not all day, every day like us unImpressed do, but it's frequent enough that I don't mind. Not yet, anyway. I might feel differently if I do Impress, but right now? I'm happy to find out."

“You forgot the most important part,” the greenrider said dryly, “All the poop. That feeding has to go somewhere,” after a moment, though, she grinned. “Well, do you have any questions?”

"Scoop the poops." Donnarion said with mock seriousness. "That too will pass, if you pardon the bad pun. They learn to /between/ after a couple of months, don't they? Aside from that, I don't have any other questions. Is there anyone I should send in after me? I can delay a few extra minutes so you can finish your lunch."

“Send your brother in, if you would. But count to thirty first. Good luck, Candidate,” she gave him a brisk nod of dismissal before picking up the rest of her sandwich.

Last updated on the August 17th 2025

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Mustard Stained Candidate Notes