An Ideal Pitch

Writers: Heather, Iluva
Date Posted: 4th December 2024

Characters: A'ris, Tiyo
Description: Aedris and Tiyo are both trying to escape the chaos of the Candidate Barracks
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 18 of Turn 12
Notes: Mentioned: E'kavas, M'thos, Chioneth

A'ris

Tiyo

The Candidate common room was in a state of sense-assaulting chaos
when Tiyo left and all signs pointed to it still being that way when
she returned.

She entered the dining cavern armed with fresh steaming klah and a
small stack of books in the crook of her arm, scanning about, hoping
to find somewhere relatively quiet to sit before inspection -- though
that seemed almost as impossible a task as the boys' side actually
passing inspection.

"Shit."

It was packed.

The evening meal had ended, but the hall was still brimming with
jovial riders, their heated opinions stirring the thick air. Well, at
least it was warm. Tiyo's eyes scanned again, trying to locate some
unknown pocket to disappear into. Absconding to E'kavas' weyr was
always an option, of course, but it was better to save that for when
she was well and truly desperate. Her brother had enough on his plate.

Her brow wrinkled; it wasn't looking promising. Just about to head
back to the barracks, resigned to the roughhousing and intrusions
therein, her eyes suddenly caught on the far corner. "Aedris," Tiyo
greeted with a smile. Relief emanated off her in waves as she slinked
toward the sole broad-shouldered figure at the end of the table. "You
mind if I sit?"

Aedris looked up, startled at first since he had been opening the
floodgates a little to listen in on the dragons' conversations that
evening. He found their conversations with one another fascinating and
not even just the gossip, but the way they talked about their days
with one another.

"Oh, Tiyo," he quickly slid his tray out of the way to make more room
for the girl. "Of course, sit down, please. It was hard to carve out a
spot in here tonight."

Tiyo slid down into the seat with a sigh, klah now well beyond their
elbows. "Thanks. I suppose everyone's betting on which of us _won't_
Impress now, huh," she grinned, the wrinkle now on her nose. It was
still incredibly loud in here, but at least it was more of a steady
atmospheric buzz, everything alive with imminent hatching talk. It
didn't quite have the same jarring reminders that your peers could be
animals, which was ideal.

"Believe it or not it is better than the barracks." Considering the
congestion, she assumed Aedris had been here a while. "You can't hear
yourself in there, let alone read."

Aedris made a face. "Yes, the boys barracks are..." he shook his head
as he trailed off. "Constantly there's pranks, wrestling, shouting...
Weyrlingmaster M'thos's children are by far the worst behaved. I keep
thinking that I won't have to endure it much longer, but what if I
impress and they do, too? Then we all just move to the Weyrling
Barracks together." He sighed at the thought.

"Faranth, there's a horrifying thought," Tiyo shuddered. "Especially
if their dragons are anything like them. Although," she paused, "maybe
they'll just be too exhausted." Although, maybe everyone would just be
too exhausted to hear. Or care. Or read. Yep. Problem solved. At least
they would have more important things to focus on. Better things.

Absently Tiyo passed over the more tediously termed top book entitled
"Leatherwork: Awl or Nothing" in favour of the sleeker volume below,
her thumb tracing up along its embossed spine, a brilliant cobalt
blue, though its face was a pale parchmenty yellow. Turning back to
Aedris, she asked in a more relaxed voice, "So how are you feeling
about your first time?"

"Nervous," he admitted, the emotion showing in his dark eyes. "I would
already be nervous just because it's new and overwhelming and at my
age, it feels like a lot of pressure to not be left behind. Add in
the fact that I can hear all the dragons talking," he gestured in a
circle above his head. "I'm worried with all of the heightened
emotions of a hatching that I won't be able to keep my brain properly
in tune."

Tiyo's eyes narrowed slightly as she listened to the mental monsoon.
Each scene Aedris painted was exponentially more unpleasant than the
last. And that
uncertain feeling of dread that grew from knowing something powerful
was coming, something that couldn't be denied, and coming all at once,
felt eerily familiar. Close.

"Shells Aedris, I'd be nervous. I am, actually, a little nervous for
you." Though she was smiling, her exhale was what let it return easy,
and reassuring. "But I think that's a good thing. Nervous is just
another word for ready, and you sort of need to be out there. Faranth,
with everything you just said I think your brain's working just fine,
even though it does sound - well like that." She made a face. Tiyo
also didn't trust anyone who went out there rosey-eyed, whooping and
cheering like an excited canine their first time. That was the
equivalent of going in blind and deaf, and Aedris seemed to be having
the opposite challenges.

With a testing sip of her klah, Tiyo's eyes wheeled slowly up to the
ceiling, "What do they think of it? Does hearing them talking about it
help?"

"They don't really speak about the upcoming hatching," Aedris said,
gesturing upwards to indicate the dragons. "They tend to only speak
about what is happening _right now_. Hearing them actually makes me
feel more pressured. What if I am destined to hear them but never be
paired to one of them? That would be cruel, wouldn't it?"

"Really?" Tiyo stared back in surprise. A part of her wanted to
disbelieve that dragons didn't talk about Hatchings, if only because
it made her wonder just how much she really knew about them. Another
part of her was filled with dark amusement and just wanted to bend
Aedris' ear during the next Goldflight.

"I guess the irony is that you're kind of paired to all of them
whether you want to be or not, aren't you. That'd be very a cruel
adventure." She said with a pained laugh. Nervous for him, yes, but
seriously worried, no. He seemed level-headed and responsible, and
plenty of hold and craft Candidates came off the Sands with a dragon
just a few short weeks (and sometimes days) after they arrived, and
few if any shared his gift. "You'll do well with a dragon, I think.
You're used to trying to balance all that chaos. A dragonet just
thrown into all of it will like that, too."

Aedris blushed a bit, which was lost a bit under his burnished skin.
"Thank you, Tiyo." Hearing someone else say he would do well with a
dragon was a profound compliment to the former farmer. "I plan on
staying here at Dragonsfall even if I don't Impress, though." There
were far more possibilities for his future at the Weyr than the home
which he'd run away from. "What about you? What are your plans?"

"Good." Tiyo purred, her voice firm and her elbowing of his light.
"You should. There's plenty to do here, and you've already got an edge
on some of it."

Aedris' next question had her snorting undignifiably into her mug.
"Faranth Aedris, I wish I knew. I've only got a few Turns before I'm
out. I feel like it'll happen. I hope so. So I _am_ quite happy to be
around them even if it's just like this," she gestured to the space
above them again, only this time meaning the brief dynamic of a dragon
initiating contact in someone's otherwise telepathically silent sea.
Like most people, Tiyo was still hard of hearing in that realm.
Aedris' gift was a little hard to fully fathom, but she envied it all
the same.

"But I have debated _begging_ Chioneth on my hands and knees if it'll
make it happen." She added.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that, she didn't seem very keen on
requests at the egg touching," Aedris said with a lift of his
eyebrows.

"I know." Tiyo sighed. It was something she'd been preparing for most
of her life, and the idea of having to just carry on without it... "If
I walk the tables and save enough marks I _could_ try something new."
But the way she said it made it clear that was hardly as desirable.

Aedris studied the brunette. "I think you could be successful at just
about anything, Tiyo. But I hope you impress."

Tiyo stared back again in surprise, unexpectedly touched by his
confidence. Apparently she'd needed to hear that from someone who
believed it and wasn't just trying to make a mark or two off it.

"Faranth Aedris, you know what would be ideal," she leaned in a tad,
head inclined the way people did when they shared secrets, "if we
_both_ Impressed. We could talk through our dragons and just tune out
the barracks. At least sometimes. Maybe the worst times."

Aedris smiled at the thought. It sounded lovely. "That would be the
best case scenario. I hope it comes true."

"Me too." Tiyo winked. Regardless of what came, she was glad to have a
real friend. "Fingers crossed."

Last updated on the December 10th 2024

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An Ideal Pitch