Filling The Position - Candidate Saibra of gold Chioneth

Writers: Devin, Heather, Suzee
Date Posted: 30th July 2013

Characters: Cyradis, N'vanik, Saibra
Description: Saibra comes to interview for the position of Dolphin Cove Weyr's Weyrwoman's Second.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 19 of Turn 7

Cyradis

N'vanik

Saibra

Cyradis looked up and smiled as she took her seat. "Welcome to Dolphin
Cove Saibra. We're very pleased you could visit with us today." She
put aside her notes and thought a moment. "So, tell us how you came to
impress Chioneth.

Saibra crossed one leather clad leg over the other. She had dressed
modestly for her meeting with the Dolphin Cove Weyrleaders. A pair of
her nicer, black riding leathers, and a simple, embroidered top that
revealed just enough cleavage constituted her outfit. Saibra wanted
Cyradis and N'vanik to see what she was like on an every day basis.
There was more to being a Weyrwoman than dressing up, after all. It
took hard work and someone that wasn't afraid to roll their sleeves up
and get dirty.

In her thirty-five Turns, Saibra had recounted her Impression of
Chioneth many times. First to her family, and then later to the
Candidates and Weyrlings in the Weyr, who were just starting out on
their journey as dragonriders. It was, as the cliche went, the
happiest day of one's life.

**At least, it was the happiest day of mine.** She thought.

Saibra's full lips tilted sideways into a fond smirk as she recalled,
"I was a skinny, snot-nosed brat when I Impressed Chioneth. Fifteen
Turns old and fresh out of the creche. I truthfully had no business on
the Hatching Sands, Impressing was only a game to me, and I did it to
spite my foster mother who had shown much hesitation over allowing me
to Stand. I wanted to show her that I could make my own decisions."

The goldrider's blue eyes crinkled around the edges as she recalled
the furious way her foster mother had planted her hands on her hips
when Saibra had stuck her tongue out and forcefully _demanded_ to be
allowed to Stand. Tulia, her foster mother, had never been able to
remain firm when she told Saibra "no", resulting in a wild, spoiled
weyrbrat that no one wanted to be around.

"Regardless of my intentions on the Sands, I sobered quickly when a
fellow Candidate was trampled by a blue dragon." Hatchings weren't
always the picture perfect event that people painted children for bed
time stories, "I was on guard after that, and rightly so, for in the
midst of the confusion, while the healers drug the Candidate from the
Sands, Chioneth hatched."

"Faranth knows why she wanted me, a scrawny child, but she did and I
wasn't complaining when I left the Sands with her. Having Chioneth
changed the direction of my future." Saibra was now anything but a
reckless brat. Some would even describe her as being too hidebound.
Not that Saibra overly cared what others thought, she worked hard, and
did her job, no one could fault her for that or hold her sarcastic
nature against her.

N'vanik leaned forward. "Why do you want to be a Weyrwoman's Second?"

**You are a direct one, aren't you, Weyrleader?** Saibra thought,
wondering if N'vanik was always so forward and straight to the point.

A small smile played across the goldrider's face, "Why do people want
to be dragonriders, Weyrleader? It is a calling, a sense of rightness,
knowing that you are made for that purpose. I've served as a goldrider
for twenty Turns. I have been working toward this goal every step of
the way. I enjoy the day to day duties that being a goldrider brings,
but I believe that I am ready, and able, to shoulder more
responsibility. As it is a dragon's duty to fly Thread, it is a
goldrider's duty to see the Weyr thrive. I believe I can help with
that."

Cyradis nodded "And what about your family. Do you have any children?"

"Two, actually. A son and a daughter, that I will be bringing with
me." Saibra's smile came more naturally at the mention of her
children. People were often surprised that the goldrider had children
at all, her sarcastic and sometimes hard to read demeanor left her an
intriguing mystery to most. Saidrene, her eldest, was a near spitting
image of her mother, and old enough to be considering Candidacy.
Kaibren, her son, bore such a strong likeness to his deceased father
that looking at him sometimes took Saibra's breath.

"We've had several goldriders leave in the past few turns. How do I
know you'll stay and help us provide some stability?" N'vanik couldn't
help a hint of accusation in his tone. He'd been burned too many
times.

Cyradis didn't smile, well almost. But she did bite her lips and fixed
her eyes on their candidate to wait for her answer.

Saibra was not overly surprised by the man's question, and she allowed
her eyebrows to arch in amusement as she responded, "I understand your
concern then, Weyrleader, if you have had a swinging door of
goldriders. I lived at my last Weyr my entire life, I think that
should tell you that I am not a flighty woman. I have two children to
think of and I would enjoy settling down permanently. I want stability
for my children, and a place they can call home. If I come to Dolphin
Cove you are stuck with me, for better or worse." She winked.

"What do you like to do in your spare time? Do you have a craft?" Cyradis asked.

Saibra turned her eyes back to the Weyrwoman, "After I Impressed
Chioneth, I began working with the dragonhealers. I managed up to a
journeywoman rank before Thread returned and I was forced back to my
duties." She had enjoyed the craft, and still worked in the dragon
infirmary some when she had spare time.

"Do you consider yourself formal, or more laid-back?" N'vanik
preferred laid-back people, but he could work with different types.
He'd agreed to take on D'hol, after all.

Saibra considered the question, "I would say I am formal when dealing
with my duties. I was trained by the Weyrwomen I worked under to show
a certain amount of etiquette and decorum at all times." The goldrider
liked rules and believed that they were meant to be followed. She had
her softer side, if you could call it that, which consisted of
sarcastic one-liners, and a throaty chuckle that she would hide behind
a slender hand whenever she found something amusing.

There were only a few more questions she wanted to ask but one was
important to her for the position they were offering. "What experience
do you have leading a queen's wing?"

"I have had intermittent experience leading the Queen's Wing over the
past twenty Turns. I was next in the chain of command after the
Weyrwoman's Second, so during the months that her gold was grounded
for clutching, or when the Weyrwoman was pregnant, I took her place. I
will admit that I have more experience with the Weyrlife side of being
a goldrider than the Wing side. With two Weyrwoman above me I was only
needed to fill in when the occasion called." Saibra answered
truthfully, she had learned a great deal from the two women that had
taught her how to be a goldrider.

"Do you have any experience training younger goldriders?" he asked,
thinking of Meledei. The poor girl had been passed from teacher to
teacher, and although she was getting along with Cyradis, the
Weyrwoman couldn't handle it all herself.

Saibra inclined her head, thinking back to one of her friends that she
had left behind, a much younger goldrider that had been like a little
sister to her, "Yes, I have trained at least two goldriders since
Impressing Chioneth. With the Senior Weyrwoman and her Second
overseeing most of the Wing's needs, I was left to look after the
younger goldriders and see to their training."

"And what about a weyrmate? Would you be bringing anyone with you?"

Sometimes there were bonuses if she were to bring another rider with
her to the Weyr. Cyradis knew she'd not be able to face going anywhere
else without K'deren in the future. Nor, for that matter, without his
children who'd become part of her life as surely as her own. That fact
alone tied her firmly to Dolphin Cove.

A vivid image of K'fel's face came to mind, but Saibra tucked it away.
The thought of her dead weyrmate no longer caused her to flinch, and
by now the pain had lessened to an ache that she could hide.

"No, I will only be bringing my children." She answered simply.

"Thank you for your time," N'vanik said. "We'll let you know when
we've made a decision."

Saibra smiled, reaching forward to grasp hands first with the
Weyrleader and then with the Weyrwoman, "Thank you very much. I hope I
will be seeing you again soon." She felt as though Dolphin Cove might
just be the place for her.

Last updated on the September 12th 2013

Welcome to Triad Weyrs!

Filling The Position - Candidate Saibra of gold Chioneth