From None to Hope

Writers: DL, Anaria
Date Posted: 10th June 2011

Characters: Daishii, S'ryad
Description: Daishii finds a familiar face in Surryad
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 7 of Turn 6
Notes: Mentor approved by Clancey

It was the end of Daishii's first morning of Candidate classes, since having
been Searched by a greenrider a few days prior. She knew a few of her
classmates, as they were from either the Harper Hall, or the Printer Hall,
but for the most part, she found herself surrounded by unfamiliar
candidates. Specifically, she found that there was no one around who she
could get the latest gossip from, and this disappointed her. As a girl who
thrived on hearsay and melodrama, not having confidantes was odd to her.

She found a boy who looked to be new to the Weyr, who seemed quite shy, and
kept to himself. Nodding to herself, she decided that he would be her first
friend.

"Hey... wait up!" she shouted at the boy's back, as he walked towards the
Dining Caverns. "You're Surryad, right?"

"Hm?" he asked, turning. His gray eyes narrowed as he tried to remember the
name of the girl approaching. What did she want? "Um, yeah, I'm Surryad," he
said, his tone confused. "You are?"

"My name is Daishii, I'm an Apprentice Printer, and I was just recently
Searched," she explained, blinking her large blue eyes in a manner that she
knew boys liked. "I just figured I'd say Hi since you seem to be new here."

"Um," Surryad said, then he remembered his manners and bowed, saying, "Hi.
I'm Surryad. And yes, I'm...new." He smiled politely. She was cute. Most
Weyr girls were though.

"Where did you come from?" Daishii asked, and then realizing that the
question was somewhat vague, clarified a bit. "I mean, where were you before
you were Searched to come to the Weyr?" She bet that he was Holdbred. He
seemed to be the type.

"Emerald Falls Hold," Surryad said, switching to a pace that would keep her
on his left. He honestly didn't want to talk about his origins but he
figured polite conversation would be acceptable. He didn't want to be _that_
Candidate - the one that snubbed everyone else because he thought he was
better, the one made fun of, or the one left out.

Daishii peered at the boy curiously, turning her head to the side a bit as
she studied him. "That's why you look familiar! We used to be in Harper
classes together when we were little, remember? I grew up at Emerald Falls,
I only left there when I was 12 turns and apprenticed."

"Oh?" Surryad said, slightly surprised. His gray eyes were lost in thought
for a moment. He wasn't very good at Harper classes - he had paid minimal
attention. "I guess maybe I was too busy studying," he finally said.

Daishii giggled a bit, "That's not how I remember it." Her tone was
taunting, but more in a flirtatious manner than a mean-spirited one. "If I
recall correctly, you were always lost in your own thoughts, more interested
in going out and seeing the beasts in the stables than in learning to read
or write."

The boy shot her a sharp, slightly surprised glance. "Perhaps," he said,
"What boy wouldn't? Runners are much more interesting than boring letters."
It perturbed him that she remembered him so well and he remembered nearly
nothing of her.

"I suppose that is true," Daishii agreed. "But now, we have the chance for
something even better than letters or runners could ever be. Our own
dragons!" She was getting more enamored with the idea every time she paused
to consider it.

Her attitude was mildly infectious and Surryad allowed himself a soft smile
of hope. "Yeah, wouldn't that be much better than runners," he agreed.
"You'd have to give up being a Printer though, right? If you Impress, I
mean."

Daishii sighed, "Yeah, that's the only bad thing. I mean, dragonriders have
_some_ time for a craft, but not nearly enough for me. Oh well, I do think
it would be worth it. Being able to go wherever you want on rest days,
having a lifemate... it sounds like a lot of fun."

"Minus the Thread part," Surryad said, looking up at the sky. "But I suppose
that's what weyrling training is there for. To make sure we know what we're
doing up there."

Daishii shivered despite herself. "I can't imagine ever getting over the
fear... fear of fighting, of getting hurt, of seeing your friends die... I
can't think of what it would feel like to leave my weyr every day never
knowing if I'd come back."

"It's not every day," Surryad corrected, "It is often. But not every day.
But...I see what you mean. I guess...I guess that's the trade-off. You get a
partner who will never leave you or let you down, but you have to risk your
life every time Thread falls."

"Yeah," Daishii said slowly, mulling over the thought. "Well, I hope that we
both Impress. That would be really nice." She flushed a bit. "I'm sure
that's awfully cliche of me to say, but I really mean it."

As much as Surryad had been looking forward to a new life at the Weyr, he
had to agree that it would be somewhat nice to know someone in his weyrling
group. "Yeah, it would," he said. And he added a soft smile her way. "Oh,
hey, we're here. So um...want to sit together?" he asked.

"Sure," Daishii said with a smile. "Oooh, it looks like roasted wherry
steaks today. Those are the best. Steer clear of the avian, though, the
cooks here seem to like cooking it until it's the texture of wood!"

"That sounds....so unappealing," Surryad said quietly. "Wood? Well," he
huffed with a slight smile, "That would assume I know what wood tastes like.
And I may be a farm boy but I've never eaten wood."

"I haven't done it on purpose," Daishii said, delicate nose wrinkling as she
thought about it. But we've been shown the paper making process before, and
it gets all over the place - even in your mouth!"

"Paper-ma..." Surryad repeated dumbly, and then said, "Oh, yeah! You went to
um...Printer Hall? Yeah, Printer Hall, right?"

Daishii nodded, "Yeah, I wanted to be a Harper, but back then they weren't
entertaining female apprentices. I thought about switching when the two
Halls were merged, but I realized that I liked Printing too much to stop."

"What's so great about printing?" Surryad asked, obviously unenlightened to
the joys of any craft.

"Well, I've always liked writing stories, and printing allows me to do that
- well, sometimes. And we get to see a lot of the new Harper songs before
anyone else does, and their books as well. And of course it's better than
being expected to get married and have a ton of kids," Daishii said, her
nose wrinkling in disgust.

"I thought all women wanted that," Surryad said ignorantly. Someone who
didn't want to get married and start a family? Well, maybe Daishii did
belong in the Weyr.

"No, not all women do. And I think many of the ones who do want that only
feel that way because they don't think that they can find something better
for themselves to do," Daishii said, shaking her head. It was frustrating
that women were treated so differently at the Holds!

Surryad looked at her uncomfortably. He didn't agree with how women in the
Holds were treated sometimes but what could he do? Besides, "We're at the
Weyr now," he said. "They said we can stay as long as we're useful. I'm sure
they need people who can read and write well for all the archiving here,
right?"

Daishii nodded, flushing a bit. "Well, yeah. I'm really glad that I got the
opportunity to come here. I don't know if I would have made it as a Holder's
wife or something."

"You and me both," Surryad muttered, then he realized what he had said and
quickly added, "I mean, not the wife part. For me anyway. I'd...I think I'd
be a terrible husband in a Hold."

"What makes you think that?" Daishii asked curiously. "I mean, you've always
seemed to be hardworking, at least from what I've noticed, that is."

"I'm not..." he shrugged, "Okay, well, I don't like guys, that's for sure,
but I'm not really interested in being married before I've gotten to do
anything in life." His tone was slightly bitter, briefly remembering his
arguments with his father about the duties of a good holder.

Daishii nodded, "Yeah, I can understand that. I mean, as a woman I'd have
children basically as soon as I could get pregnant after marriage. And then
I'd have to devote my life to tending to them and keeping my husband happy.
I wouldn't be able to do anything for myself!"

Surryad huffed, agreeing. But he added, "I'd be always working. I swear, if
I Impress a dragon, I'm never stepping foot on a field again. Maybe I'll
learn a craft besides...well...whatever it is I know."

"Well, hopefully you'll find a dragon, and that won't matter at all!"
Daishii said cheerfully, as she dug in to her lunch. She couldn't wait for
the Hatching. She only hoped that both her and her newfound friend would
manage to impress.

"Yeah, let's hope for that," Surryad agreed.

Last updated on the June 11th 2011

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From None to Hope