Weyrling Review - Aviday

Writers: Emma, Miriah
Date Posted: 16th January 2020

Characters: K'sedel, Aviday
Description: K'sedel does Aviday's Weyrling Review
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 1 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: D'ale, K'ale, N'vanik (not by name), F'aen, Irkkali

K'sedel

Aviday

K'sedel pulled up the next set of hides containing notes on the weyrling
class. He scanned them quickly, making sure he had a few points to bring up.

}:Nikornath, would you please ask Kobeth's rider to report here as soon as
she is free.:{

It didn't take long for Aviday's rapid footfalls to be heard coming down the
path to the Weyrlingmaster's office and when she arrived, it was clear that
she'd ran the entire way to K'sedel's office. She knocked, then thrust her
head in. "You wanted to see me? I didn't do anything wrong did I? I promise
that the grub on H'lub's chair wasn't me. "

K'sedel mentally filed away the note about a prank, intending to ask around
in case there was any fall out from it, not that putting grubs where people
could sit on them was the worst thing he had heard of, at least it wasn't
potentially fatal, just humiliating. "No, you're not in trouble Aviday.
Please take a seat, this is just a quick chat to see how you are going."

She slipped in, sat in the chair and curled her feet under her to keep
them from constantly tapping. She'd been scolded for it by some of the
Assistants, and she'd found that sitting on her feet was the only way
to keep it from happening. "I'm doing great! Kobeth is wonderful.
She's really fast and we're doing good in our drills too. We're just
waiting for a weyr to be opened for us. We even did great in our first
/betweening/. We're really excited about doing more stuff."

"How do you feel about becoming a senior weyrling?" Some were excited,
realising that graduation to the wings would happen shortly, others much
more apprehensive when they realised that all they were training for was
about to become real, and that they may have to face the possibility of not
coming back whole from flying a fall, to not coming back at all. Others
were realising that their age would hold them back, and while it was for
their own safety, it could affect them when they realised that their
classmates were having new experiences, including that of their dragon
participating in mating flights.

"I'm not nervous at all," she stated. "I mean, I know there's still
Blooding and other stuff we have to do but we're ready." Youthful,
brash confidence gleamed in her eyes. "I'm determined to be the best
and we're gonna be, just you watch. When can we start /betweening/ on
our own? I'd really like to visit Dragonsfall and surprise my Papa and
brother. I want to tell them everything I've been doing." The thought
of seeing the look of pride on D'ale and K'ale's face was more than
enough to keep her motivated, even when her green advised caution.

"That's a little way off yet," K'sedel said as he made a note to have her
observed further in drills. It might be a little over confidence, or just a
desire to impress. Over confidence could be a killer though, and he needed
to know which it was. "I'd like you, as a class to do some more drills, and
concentrate on knowing the best way for you as a pair to understand and
visualize what you need to be safe. A drill is one thing, but in fall, you
need to know exactly what you are doing, and it needs to be second nature.
Do you understand?"

Aviday nodded rapidly. "Yup. Kobeth and me, we're practicing as hard
as we can. We never ever shirk our duties and we always volunteer to
be first. Just ask any of the Assistants." Sincere in her desire to be
top of her class, even when she tended to get distracted during
sit-down classes, Aviday sometimes went to bed utterly exhausted from
her day. It didn't leave much personal time, which she was okay with
for the moment. She'd rather be busy than worry about other things.

"I see," K'sedel made another note. "How about after graduation, where do
you see yourself? In the wings, straight away, or a short spell as one of
the assistants here?"

"The wings." She perked up even more. "I wanna be in the Weyrleader's
wing. It's where the best go, isn't it? And I'll be fifteen by then,
so I'll be old enough." The thought of doing anything else was
horrible. What would she and Kobeth do as an assistant? Teach? The
thought of her teaching anyone was almost laughable. Most of the
Weyrlings were older than her anyways. "Can you tell the Weyrleader
that we work really hard? And we're quick?"

"We'll see," K'sedel said. Age was not necessarily indicative of a level of
maturity, and in this case it definitely seemed to be true. "Placement all
depends on the decisions of the Weyrleader and the other wingleaders, how
many dragons they need, and of what colour. There are no guarantees."

"Oh. Right." Her face fell for a moment as she realized that that had
been mentioned in classes before, but she'd forgotten about it. "Well,
wings are always needing greenriders, right? Because we're fast and
quick. Maybe the Weyrleader'll watch our drills and notice." She
mentally crossed her fingers in hope. Surely he did watch the
weyrlings just to see how they were doing. "When can we get our own
weyrs? Kobeth isn't really big, but she's getting too big for the
couch in the weyrling barracks. She's started sleeping outside."

K'sedel decided to handle the questions in reverse. "The Headwoman is
working with the staff here to make a selection available. You do need to
remember that they are going to be small, and most likely a good way from
the bathing pools and necessaries. But it will be your space, for you and
Kobeth. As for watching the drills, well it isn't always the priority of the
Weyrleader, he's a very busy man. But that doesn't mean he won't ask people
to watch and report back to him."

That brought a visible pout, but she nodded. "I guess I understand
that. He is pretty busy." She perked up again, her moods shifting
rapidly. "But that's okay. As long as he hears about us and all. And
the weyr thing is okay too. I understand that. We're gonna be brand
new, so the experienced riders should get the nicer weyrs. But it'll
be so _nice_ to have my own space for the first time. I've never had
that. Between my momma, and the creche and then the barracks..."
Aviday smiled at the thought. "Having my own weyr will be like I'm
really an adult."

Another note was made, one to suggest that she had an adult nearby.
Something told him that this one probably could, and likely would cause
trouble without discreet supervision. And if she didn't that trouble might
follow her to the Weyrling wing, maybe F'aen or Irrkali could partner her.
But musings aside, she clearly would need watching. "It'll happen for you.
Do you have any questions for me?"

She appeared to think about it for a moment, then tilted her head. "Do
you think I'm doing okay? I mean, is there anything I have to work on
that I'm not doing already? I really do wanna be the best."

Not exactly what he expected to hear, or rather not how he expected it to be
phrased. "You need to work on the big picture, when you are fighting fall it
isn't just about you and Kobeth, but all the other dragons in the sky with
you. It's a skill you develop with time, the best riders know what is
happening and how they can help make sure everyone gets through fall."

Aviday appeared to mentally chew on that, her brow furrowing. When in the
air, it was an effort for her to concentrate on more than just what she and
Kobeth were doing. If she started looking past that, it was so easy to get
distracted by everything that was going on with everyone else, and there was
a private fear that if she did that, she wouldn't realize what was going in
right in front of her. When she got distracted, Kobeth did too and she
didn't want her to get hurt. "So... how do you do that?"

"Drills, drills and more drills, that's why we do them," explained K'sedel.
"Then you'll find that you begin to know how to think of others in the sky."

"So do more drills. Got it." Whew. She could do that well enough. She just
needed to practice more. She didn't mind doing that. Sure, she got really
tired, but then she didn't have to think of unpleasant things. "Good. I'll
work really hard, I promise!"

"I'm sure you will," K'sedel said. "Right, I haven't anything else right
now, so you can go,"

"Yes, I will." She beamed and hopped out of her seat. "Thanks,
K'sedel!" With a wave, she left the room, almost skipping.

K'sedel let out a deep breath. That just proved that Aviday was going to be
one to watch, and not necessarily for the right reasons.
----

Last updated on the January 18th 2020

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Weyrling Review - Aviday