Best to Speak Plainly

Writers: Aaron, Francesca
Date Posted: 2nd May 2024

Characters: Kailis, J'nic
Description: J'nic's Candidate interviews continue, with an interesting conversation with Kailis.
Location: Barrier Lake Weyr
Date: month 6, day 16 of Turn 11
Notes: Mentioned: K'lvin

Kailis

J'nic

J'nic looked at the information he had about the next Candidate he was
meeting with and smiled. He hadn't asked his weyrmate about any of the
Candidates who were also apprentice technicians but assumed they knew
each other at least a bit.

He stood and opened the door to welcome her. "Hello Kailis. Thanks for
meeting with me. Come on in."

"Oh. Hi. I figured it was pretty much mandatory," she said. Like being
asked to fix wiring and switches and changing light bulbs. These
things did happen.

"It is mandatory," the greenrider said, with a small smile. "I'm still
glad to meet with you though." She seemed to match the stereotype of a
technician: serious and seeing things in black and white. J'nic made a
mental note to keep his language plain, and perhaps blunter than was
his tendency. "Since I'm still pretty new to the Weyrhold, and to my
role on the Weyrlingstaff, it's helpful for me to meet with each of
the Candidates and get to know you a bit. I know you're an apprentice
technician. What projects have you been working on here?"

"Projects? Mostly popping in to fix little things," said Kailis. "I've
been shadowing a journeyman at the hydro plant, too." He would
probably consider that a project. "For learning new things."

He didn't want to derail their conversation, but had to ask: "Have you
been working with Sellek?"

"Oh, yeah, for sure. Wait, is he the one with the mustache?" Kailis
pantomimed a big bushy mustache. She was not always the best at
remembering names.

"Mustache and beard," J'nic confirmed. "He spends most of his time
working at the hydro plant. He's my weyrmate," he explained. "We've
agreed not to talk in detail about any Candidates that are also
technicians, but I know he's excited that there are a few. So, why did
you decide to apprentice?"

"Decide? Hm. I suppose I did decide. More or less. My father is a
Master, and I always wanted to learn what he was doing. Or, rather, I
was always taking it on myself to learn, and he elected to train me
such that I might stop disassembling his things without permission or
the full knowledge of how to put them back to rights with all the
pieces where they go," said Kailis. "Mostly that second one."

J'nic nodded. Her story was a fairly common one. "Sounds like a good
fit for you then. Why Candidacy then? Not that you can't do both."

"Eh, this one guy who was trying to install a new light fixture said I
could. Or. Well, I guess his dragon did. And it got me curious about
dragons, and the best way to figure something out is just to dive
right in," said Kailis.

Her nonchalance didn't surprise him too much. She wasn't the only
Candidate with this attitude. He supposed it would make it easier for
those Candidates to cope if they didn't Impress. "And what have you
learned, about dragons and dragonriding?"

"Oh. Not much, I suppose. But I've only been Candidating for a little
while. Is there a test?" the young woman asked. "I could probably
study up pretty quick if there is. I'm good at tests."

"No tests; or, at least nothing that would have an impact on whether or
not you can continue being a Candidate." If only it were that easy to
determine who would Impress. "Ultimately, the dragonets will choose.
We do hope that Candidate classes will help you better understand
everything that goes into being a dragonrider: the good and the bad.
Is there anything in particular you're looking forward to, if you do
Impress?"

"Oh, the flying, easily," said Kailis. "Isn't that the best part?" She
supposed there could be something else she lacked the knowledge to
understand. But a free, instantaneous ticket to anywhere in the world
seemed hard to pass up.

A smile crossed J'nic's face at her answer. "It is pretty amazing," he
agreed. "And, any concerns or challenges? I do need to at least
mention that gaining some experience with physical intimacy before
Impression can help you feel more prepared for mating flights. I
understand if I'm not the best person to talk with you about this, but
I am happy to talk through things, or connect you with other riders."

Kailis raised an eyebrow. But what the hey. He was fairly attractive
as far as men went, even if that was not precisely what she was
interested in, and if it was recommended...

"Did you want to have sex with me?"

An incredulous laugh threatened to escape and J'nic did everything in
his power to keep his expression neutral. He should have spoken even
more bluntly. He attempted to remedy that now. "I'm happily weyrmated,
to a man, so no. If you're looking to have sex though I can certainly
talk to some younger riders. Would that be helpful?"

"You said it was," said Kailis. "It's not on my personal to-do list,
though-- not with a man, anyway. Or my to-be-done list, I suppose. Am
I going to do it wrong if I don't practice?"

"It's not so much about doing it wrong. During a mating flight, you
won't really be in control of your actions. However, waking up naked
next to a man for the first time can be a strange experience, so it
can be helpful if you're not dealing with that as well as the
aftermath of your first mating flight at the same time. And sex can be
painful at first. A woman would be able to explain it better, but I've
heard it can take a bit of practice to learn how to relax your
muscles."

As he spoke, an idea was forming in his mind. "You know,
I'll check with the Weyrlingmaster to see if we can get some
dragonriders to come talk about mating flights with the Candidates. I
think everyone would find it useful to hear about what it's like, and
there will be time to ask questions."

"Anything else you want to talk about?" With the way the conversation
had unfolded, J'nic didn't have any other questions.

Kailis pondered for a moment. If she had been more or less willing to
boff this man she had never met based on something that she had
misinterpreted as a proposition, she could not imagine she would be
all that bothered by waking up next to anyone else in particular.
Maybe if they were rather smelly. That would be unpleasant.

"Nothing I can think of at this moment," she said.

"Well, Kailis, it was a pleasure talking to you. Feel free to come
find me if there's anything I can help with."

"Oh. Thanks. I will." Kailis offered her hand to shake.

J'nic shook her hand and smiled a final time. After she left, he gave
a small sigh. If he could turn back time and start this meeting over,
he would certainly do a better job of speaking plainly. However, she
had seemed unfazed and he felt he had a good sense of her personality,
which was the main goal of these conversations. Oh well. At least he
had learned something. And, he had a fun story to share with Sellek.

Last updated on the May 9th 2024

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Best to Speak Plainly