Candidate Assistance

Writers: Avery, Miriah
Date Posted: 28th March 2014

Characters: Ninaine, Talwynn
Description: Talwynn borrows Ninaine to help her wash her green, and learns a bit about the holdbred in the process.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 5, day 27 of Turn 7

Ninaine

With the gold egg on the Sands, there were even more new Candidates
than usual. Talwynn remembered well what it was like to be in the
barracks waiting for the Hatching, wondering what your fate would be.
Green dragon? Gold dragon? No dragon? How many of the youngsters were
little idealists who thought they were immortal? She decided it was a
good day to go 'be an example', so she picked up her cane and headed
down to the barracks, making sure to leave her glove off so they could
see the ruin of her hand. There were a few Candidates inside, and none
looked particularly busy.

Talwynn knocked her cane on the ground a few times to catch their
attention. "Who wants to help me wash a dragon?"

Ninaine jerked at the knock and turned. Her eyes fell to the cane and
slid upwards; as it did, her mouth dropped open in a horrified gasp
that she barely covered with her hand. What had happened to the woman?
Her eyes went to the knots on the woman's shoulders and she paled. She
was a rider, a green rider. Could that be...would that be what
happened to her? Her stomach quailed at the thought and she tried to
hang back, but someone, she didn't know who, nudged her forward from
the cluster of candidates. She stumbled forward in surprise and
blinked, eyes wide.

A few of the Candidates looked nervous, which she'd expected, and one
young man muttered something that sounded uncomplimentary under his
breath. That one earned a hard look and a point of the cane in his
direction, but she said nothing aloud. It wasn't her job to oversee
them. Ah, there was someone else coming forward. Talwynn looked over
the girl and nodded. She seemed younger and soft, and the greenrider
hadn't seen her Standing before. "Come along then," she said, turning
and stomping out of the barracks.

Once they were outside, she dropped the hard act and extended her good
hand. "I'm Talwynn."

Ninaine followed silently, her eyes flicking back over to the obvious
scars and useless hand of the mangled greenrider. Suddenly, she
thought it would be a far better idea just to go home. She didn't want
that to happen to her. Lost in her dismay, it took her a moment before
she realized that the rider was speaking to her again. Ashamed of her
rudeness, she curtsied, shook Talwynn's hand and spoke softly, looking
everywhere but that ruined arm. "Ninaine of Amber Hills, Greenrider."

The girl's grip wasn't entirely weak, a good sign. Talwynn could tell
that she was making the girl uncomfortable, and squashed the tinge of
doubt. It wasn't the first time she'd been an example for new
candidates and weyrlings.

"Pretty territory. The main hold, or a cot? By the way, we're going to
the inside weyrlake."

"The main hold, Greenrider. I was Lady Yanley's maid." She rose from
her curtsey and followed Talwynn obediently, but with some
trepidation. "I have never bathed a dragon before."

"That's okay. Riveth is used to strangers bathing her, she had
Candidates doing it for almost a whole Turn. I'll even let you skip
the oiling part, if you'd like."

"Don't I need to know that?" Ninaine finally was able to speak with a
little more strength even as she glanced again at Talwynn's arm.
Politeness kept her from asking, but curiosity was there, if hidden.
"I'm supposed to learn everything."

"You will eventually. I just don't want her size to intimidate you."
They were nearly there, now. "Of course, she's nothing compared to
Onnyth, and there is the chance at that gold egg, for you. Do you want
it?"

"Well, yes. That's why I'm here." Ninaine spoke softly. "If there
hadn't been a gold egg, my father would not have let me come." She had
thought that was rather obvious, but she kept her tone polite.

Talwynn had to carefully consider how to reply to that. She preferred
other Weyrbred folk over dealing with the Holdbred's attitudes.
Hopefully this meeting would give the girl something to think about.
"There is no way of guaranteeing who she'll choose, and you might wind
up with a green, you know."

The weyrlake wasn't that crowded at the moment. Riveth was waiting for
them in the shallows. A helpful staff worker had already set up
buckets of oil and sand so that she didn't have to lug them. At the
sight of her rider and the Candidate, the green let out a welcoming
croon and extended a forelimb, her eyes whirling happily.
"Ninaine, this is Riveth."

Ninaine blinked at the insinuation that she might Impress a green.
"Oh, I know the gold may pick someone else, but I'm not for a green.
My mother and father would never allow that. If I don't Impress the
gold, I'm to return home immediately. " She approached the green and
curtsied in respectful greeting. "Hello Riveth." Her eyes slid over
the green and then at the water. "Oh dear...I'm not dressed for the
water." She looked down at her skirts and then at the green. "She is
lovely though."

"What if a green has a different idea?" She wondered if the classes
had gotten to the idea that you couldn't control the dragons choosing
you, and when the girl said her parents wouldn't allow it, it worried
Talwynn that there was going to be some very upset Holders around.
Riveth came out of the water. "We can work around that," Talwynn said.

Ninaine frowned. "I really don't know. It's been mentioned, of course,
but I'm afraid that just isn't an option for me." She approached
Riveth very carefully, lifting her skirts just enough to free her feet
to move around the green. She kept her ankles covered as much as
possible. "Where would she like me to start?" She looked up at the
green and frowned, tilting her head. "How do you do this?"

"It's a lot like like bathing yourself. You mix sweetsand and water
into a paste, then use these large brushes to scrub it onto her."
Talwynn hefted one in her good hand. She'd gotten good at manipulating
the long brushes over the last few Turns, since she couldn't clamber
up and down as easily anymore.

Taking a brush carefully, Ninaine lifted her skirt and took a deep
breath. Since coming to the Weyr, she'd started becoming more used to
manual labor, but it didn't mean that it was easy for her. She had
been far more used to the delicate work of the ladies of the hold. She
found her arms and back more sore more often than she liked, but to do
her family proud, she didn't make complaints.

Following Talwynn's instructions, she made a paste of the sweet sand
and holding the brush awkwardly, began to scrub at the green's hide.

**What do you think of her?** Talwynn asked her green.

}:She can scrub harder. And she is fine.:{

"She thinks you're doing fine, and it's okay if you scrub harder. Hide
is tough," she said as she worked on her own patch. "Do you miss your
family?"

Her tongue poked out in her concentration, scrubbing with a little
more vigor on the hide. It was hard work and already she was
developing a light sheen of sweat. She was _not_ used to manual labor.
She grunted a little and paused as she considered the question. "A
little, but my father wanted me to come."

"Are your family going to come see the Hatching?" She felt a little
bad as she saw the other woman struggle a bit. She didn't want to kill
the candidates, just get some aid.

Ninaine didn't complain, but kept scrubbing down the side. "Yes. And
to take me home if I don't Impress. They think they might have a
suitable marriage arranged."

"Would that be something you want, or would you prefer to Impress?"

Ninaine had to bring her arms down for a moment, relaxing her
shoulders before the burn of activity set it. "It's not up to me." The
reply was simple and straightforward, with no bitterness, just simple
acceptance. "My duty to my family comes first."

That was a line of thinking Talwynn could understand. She didn't have
any experience of Hold life, but she knew duty to others beyond
herself, and she understood why Ninaine would feel pressured by it.
"Do you at least have some say in it so you know you'd like the man?"

Ninaine carefully spread more sweetsand paste onto the brush and moved
to scrub around Riveth's chest. She moved a little slower, her arms
protesting, but continued with stubborn determination. "Not really. My
parents are very traditional. It doesn't matter if I like him or not
as long as it helps my family's fortunes. I'll probably not meet him
until a few sevendays before the wedding."

"Are you okay with that?" She mentally had Riveth fully extend her
wing so she could keep talking while scrubbing. "I'm sorry if I'm
nosy, but your life is as foreign to me as I suppose mine is to you."

She dutifully scrubbed at the chest and winced a little at her sore
arms. They were starting to tremble. "I accept it." She replied. "Its
just the way things are, that's all. "

Riveth crooned again. }:She tries. She would be good for a dragon.:{

"I hope it works out the ways you want," Talwynn said, trying to be diplomatic. "She thinks you'd be good for a dragon."

"I'm honored she thinks so."

Last updated on the April 13th 2014

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