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Writers: Francesca, Kurt
Date Posted: 4th December 2008

Characters: Quilya, Arrilon
Description: Arrilon and Quilya exchange thoughts about goals and vocations.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 12, day 19 of Turn 4
Notes: Posted w/ mentor approval.

Arrilon trudged to the dining cavern, not wanting to be surrounded by
people but very hungry. He had arrived at the noon meal a bit
later than usual, to avoid seeing his sister. She'd always had a
bubbly personality, but since Impressing had become even more so. She
radiated happiness, and he definitely was not in the mood for
that. He had only seen her twice since the Hatching, and had met
green Alaudath, but seeing the beautiful dragonet was a constant
reminder that he had not Impressed. It wasn't fair. So, instead
of bringing Kamalia down with his sadness and jealousy, he avoided her.

Once in the dining cavern, Arrilon took some food and klah
and sat at a fairly empty table. "Hi," he said to the person took a seat
across from, not bothering to look up and see who it was.

"Oh!" Quilya's gaze jerked up at the sound of Arrilon's voice.
She somewhat guiltily rolled shut the hide that she had been
perusing while she neglected her food. Technically, she was not
supposed to be bringing hides into the dining cavern to read, but
how else was she supposed to get all of her studying done and
still attend her duties at the infirmary?

"Uhm, hello," Quilya looked at the young man, trying to conceal the twinge
of apprehension that she felt. After a moment, she added, "How do you
do?" The small talk felt a bit awkward, but perhaps it was the nature of
small talk.

"I'm fine," Arrilon said, not quite managing a smile. There was no need
to spill his thoughts to someone he had never seen before. He supposed he
would start feeling better as the days passed. Now,
however, he wasn't even sure if he wanted to stay at the Weyr. Maybe it
would be best to go to the Harper Hall and devote himself to his studies,
rather than disappointing himself at every Hatching.
However, the Hall was currently at a Weyr, so he would still be
surrounded by dragons, and mating flights, and everything else that he
wasn't used to even after almost a Turn.

"Uh, how are you?" he asked the girl belatedly.

Quilya found Arrilon's behavior a little strange, but since he had neither
made crude remarks or unwelcome passes, nor had focused most of his
attention on her chest, she relaxed somewhat.

"Fine, more or less," the apprentice replied. "Just...brushing up on a
few things." She indicated the rolled hide. "Exam coming up soon."

"Oh?" That caught his attention. A quick glance at her knots showed she
was a healer. "What are you studying?" He knew nothing about healing,
and didn't find it interesting, but at least this took his mind away from
the Hatching, and his overly-happy sister.

"Proficiency exam," Quilya explained. "If I pass, I'll be promoted to
senior apprentice. I am almost certain that I've got everything down, but
I can't take chances. If I fail this test...I'm not sure what I'd do."
The girl sighed softly.

"You can always take it again." Like he could Stand for another
Hatching, if he wanted to. But, there was no way to study for a
Hatching; no hides to read or terms to memorize. That's what made it so
difference. His chances could be improving, or not, at each
Hatching and he wouldn't know. "At least you _can_ study," he
muttered.

"Take it again?" Quilya looked at the boy. "It could be another turn
before I'd be allowed to do that. Do you know how far behind I am
already? Shells, there are seniors my age that will be walking the tables
in a few turns, and here I am, still a junior. And what do you think
their opinion of me would be if I can't pass this examination?" She
forced herself to take a breath and calmed down. "Sorry. I'm a little
stressed over this."

After a moment she regarded him again. "So what do you mean by 'at least
I can'?"

"Oh, shards. I'm sorry!" Arrilon exclaimed with more emotion than he had
displayed thus far. "Uhhh,"he wished he could either erase the past
minute or disappear /between/. She must think he was a wherry.

"Please just ignore me. I just Stood at the Hatching and, well, here I
am." There was no need to go into all of the details. He wasn't looking
for sympathy. But, even in his bad mood he didn't want to bring anyone
else down; especially someone he had never spoken with before.

"Oh." Quilya closed her mouth after the single syllable. What was she to
say to that? "I'm sorry," she said at last. "I...I don't have any idea
what that is like, but I imagine that it must be
disappointing."

Now she pitied him. Great. He should have sat at a completely empty
table. "It is, but I'm fine." He didn't sound convincing, but that
didn't matter. "So, you joined a craft late?" Anything to change the
subject.

"Yes," Quilya nodded. Her fingers found her long braid and she ran her
hands down its length. "I was fifteen before I was admitted to an
apprenticeship with the healers here at the Weyr. My parents -- back at
Amber Hills Hold -- they intended for me to marry a man and give him
babies. By the time I was old enough to know that I wanted more and
actually do something about it, well, I was a bit older than most."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm nineteen and just became an
apprentice harper less than a Turn ago." Arrilon shrugged. It was a bit
embarrassing to have apprenticed so late but, like her, he
hadn't been able to before coming to the Weyr. "At least you're here now.
And, I don't know you at all, but you said you've studied a lot, so I'm
sure you'll do fine."

Quilya smiled a little. If only she shared his confidence. "I guess I
should not complain about a late start. I am just terribly weary of
having to take orders from younger apprentices who outrank me." She gave
a little shrug. "So...which would you prefer to be then? A
dragonrider, or a harper?"

"I don't know. That why I'm doing both." Arrilon smiled slightly. "Up
until the Hatching, I was leaning towards dragonrider, but since then, I'm
thinking being a harper full-time could be good." He
shrugged. Unfortunately, it wasn't possible to wake up one morning and
decide to Impress. It would happen, or it wouldn't.

"So...is being a harper your back-up plan?" Quilya asked, "or is it what
you really want to do? I _know_ that I want to be a healer. If the
Healercraft wont have me, I'll go back to my parents and Hold
life." She gave a bit of a sigh. "But...I can't go back. So I
_have_ to pass this test. I won't have any of the other options."

"It's nice that you're so sure. I like being a harper, but I like the
idea of Impressing too," at least most of the time. "Since I can do both,
I don't have to make the choice yet." Arrilon shrugged. There was no
point debating the pros and cons of fully devoting himself to one path or
another. "And, you know, you never have to go back to a Hold, even if you
can't continue to craft," he pointed out. "There's always room for useful
people here."

"All I want to be is a healer," Quilya said. "If I can't do that, I might
as well go home and make my parents happy, because I won't be, regardless
of where I am." She gave another soft sigh. "Sorry, that sounds very
defeatist, even if it is true." She tapped the rolled hide. "I should
probably get back to studying."

"Oh, of course." He couldn't cheer himself up, so there was no point
trying to improve her mood. "Well, good luck. And, uh, what's your
name?" he asked, a bit embarrassed.

"Oh!" Quilya had not realized until that point that she'd shared so much
of her mind without even bothering to introduce herself. "Sorry. My name
is Quilya. I'm not normally so rude. Too much on my mind. Uhm." She
paused a beat. "What's your name?"

"Arrilon," he replied, with a small smile. Not wanting to disturb her any
longer, he gathered is plate and cup and stood. "Well, nice
meeting you, Quilya. And, good luck with everything."

"Oh. Uhm. You too Arrilon," Quilya replied rather awkwardly. "Good
luck...finding what it is you want to do."

Last updated on the December 13th 2008

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