Cutting Class

Writers: Corrin, Yvonne
Date Posted: 8th November 2024

Characters: Halia, Sanvi
Description: Sanvi and Halia skip Candidate classes to gossip about their classmates on the beach.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 12 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: Lyndana, Ki'ben, Varethos, Ceauren, Aedris, Lakayric, Ekirim, Zorenh, K'aur, Oselle (not by name)

"There you are!" Sanvi plopped down gracelessly beside Halia at the edge of the summer lake. The early summer sun glimmered over the upper weyrlake and it was finally warm enough outside that Sanvi was wearing short sleeves. She set the basket she'd brought on the blanket between them. "I brought beer, dragontails and jammy pastries. And mustard."

"Sanvi, you're my hero," gushed Halia, pushing herself up to sit. "You kitchen girls always have the best perks. Cleaning staff just means I can help track down where someone's laundry went. Sometimes." She went for the beer first, cracking it open and wordlessly toasting her friend before the first sip.

Sanvi made a show of straightening the kerchief over her hair. "And I can make a killer soup, too. Glad you could join me out here."

"Well, this certainly beats another round of dreary lessons!" Halia smirked with a certain smug satisfaction before leaning in closer to Sanvi and continuing in a more confidential tone, "I tried to get Lyndana to come too, but she wouldn't ditch. Apparently this is the first clutch she's bothered to Stand for, can you believe it? I hadn't realized."

"I was also surprised when she stepped up, but a gold egg on the Sands brings out all the wafflers." Sanvi popped her own beer open with a satisfying hiss. "And _someone_ has to be there to fill seats. If I have to listen to another lecture on Weyr etiquette I am going to poke my eyes out."

Halia laughed. "You're right. With any luck, the classroom will be so packed with gold chasers and search bumpkins that they'll never notice we're not there. The classes are all for them anyway -- the bumpkins, I mean. I swear, there's another fresh dozen everytime I look." And she couldn't help but sound a little bitter about that. She didn't expect to Impress at this point, but each new arrival was more competition.

"They'll clear out after the Hatching's over and they leave the Sands alone. They always do." Sanvi stretched out on the blanket and turned her gaze to the weyrlake. Dragon hides flashed in the sunshine in all the hues of the rainbow, it seemed. Except violet. Why weren't there any violet dragons? "This is your last time Standing, isn't it?"

"Yup." Halia took a long swig of her beer and grimaced. "This is it. And when the umpteenth green passes me by, it'll be back to cleaning weyrs for the rest of my days. Shards. I've picked up after riders for so long. I just sorta hoped I'd one day be one. Get to travel about. Have others pick up after _me_." She broke off with a scoff of disgust and turned to fish about in the basket for the food.

"You need to find yourself a handsome bronzerider and weyrmate him. They don't make bronzeriders' weyrmates clean rooms. All the benefits, none of the Thread!"

"Find me a passably good looking one, and I'll give it a shot," Halia drawled as she heaped some mustard on the dragontail she found. "There's really just Ki'ben these days and he has a swarm of girls swooning after him already. ...Maybe this new clutch will give us some. I could go for Varethos on a bronze."

Sanvi laughed at that. "I suppose, but Varethos is so quiet! And honestly, with our luck there won't be a single bronze egg in that Clutch. Just that big darn gold and the rest are all little green dragons."

"That _would_ be just our luck. Or there's one bronze and he Impresses something utterly unbearable, like that new Ceauren guy." Halia sighed. "What about the gold? Who do you think 's gonna get it?"

"I _hope_ that it's you or Lyndana. I can trust you not to be smug about it." Sanvi paused as she ran through all the faces in the Candidate barracks. "As long as it's not Sybana I'll be happy. Now _she_ will be insufferable. I bet the Laundry dreads it every time she sends something to be cleaned. She's so _fancy_."

"Ugh, I _know_. I don't get why she came in the first place. Isn't being a rich, pampered holdbrat enough for her? I mean, _I'm_ sharding tempted by that life, even though I'd have to live in a _hold_." It would be hard to be in a hold, backwards as they were, but Halia thought maybe she could bear it if she had all the marks Sybana seemed to. But it wasn't like that was a real option for her. Some people were born with all the luck. "Shells, I hope she gets a green, though I'd pity the green. Can you imagine? Little lady holder won't know the first thing to do."

"She'll figure it out soon enough." They all did.

"You're too nice, Sanvi!" Halia protested with a laugh.

"Am not. I'm just looking forward to the party afterward. The menu the Headwoman's got planned for the Kitchens is _crazy_. And I'm looking forward to getting to dance. Proper dances, like a toss dance. I like those."

"Oh yes," she agreed gustily. "I love a good toss dance. ...Are you looking to partner with anyone in particular?" Halia punctuated her question by waggling her eyebrows playfully.

"Ki'ben, now. Just to beat you to him!" Sanvi winked. "I'd dance with Aedris. Those shoulders... mmm. But I think he'd be too shy if I asked him. What about you?"

"I-- Oh no, I just had a horrible thought. Besides Aedris, Ceauren is probably one of the strongest guys. He was a seacrafter or something. I bet he's good for a toss-- he's just so obnoxiously excited about everything though. Like a little baby flit."

Sanvi paused. "Okay, but a toss dance is when you _want_ a very enthusiastic partner. I wonder if he knows how to dance?"

"If he doesn't already know how, then I'm _definitely_ not dancing with him, I don't care how strong he is. It's not worth the lumps while he learns." Halia grimaced as if she could feel the falls already.

"You still haven't told me who you _would_ dance with." It was Sanvi's turn to waggle her eyebrows.

"Right, right..." Halia leaned back on her hands and considered the faces -- and bodies -- of their peers. "Well, I wouldn't say no to Ki'ben or Varethos. Aedris and Lakayric aren't bad to look at, they're just aren't really... exciting, you know? Lakayric would probably disapprove of tossing me too high. Only safe throws and catches for Mr. Proper Pants. Ekirim and Zorenh are a bit younger than I'd like, but I suppose they could be decent partners... Really Sanvi, it's lean pickings. Most of the boys our age who went into crafts are being rotated out on journeyman placements these days. I miss Garanlar and Rannick. I'd dance a toss with _them_ like a shot."

Sanvi groaned and flopped backward onto the blanket. "Shells, I have the biggest crush on Rannick! It's so unfair that he left us. Say..." She rolled onto her side to bat her eyes at Halia. "Do you know any dragonriders that would be willing to take us to Dolphin Cove for an afternoon? I want a new Hatching Day dress and I bet _their_ Headwoman isn't as stingy about new clothes. Plus it's so warm there, they probably have some real scandalous outfits."

"Oh is -that- how you plan on catching Ki'ben's eye?" Halia teased. "You dangle weyrmating in front of me as my way out, and then you plan to seduce the most eligible mark!" She huffed in mock offense, but the wheels were already turning in her mind. "There's a young brownrider I know, K'aur. I think he wants to impress me. I bet I could get him to give us a lift. I could use a new dress too."

"Perfect! Tell him I can swipe a bottle of whiskey or something if he needs a bribe." Sanvi lay back on the blanket and gazed out over the lake. No matter what happened at the Hatching, she was going to have a good time.

Last updated on the November 9th 2024

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Cutting Class