Weyrbrat vs Hallbrat

Writers: Francesca, Len
Date Posted: 1st February 2025

Characters: Sylvian, Diara
Description: Sylvian and Diara have a tense conversation while doing chores.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 3, day 13 of Turn 12

Diara was not looking forward to this. She had been assigned to the
kitchens and the head cook had walked her to a stack of pots and pans
to clean. And then that new, tiny Candidate arrived and she realized
they would be working together. Could she even lift the larger pots?
Giving a small "Hi," she got to scrubbing the first pot.

Sylvian stiffened when she saw the other girl. A few of the Holder
girls had said that one wasn’t friendly to them, would she be the same
to a Crafter girl? But she too had been sent here to wash the pots and
pans. “Hi yourself,” she said, as she took a particularly disgusting
pan and set about cleaning it. “At least this isn’t any worst than
what we saw at the Vintner Hall.” She signed a bit, wanting to get
back to learning the healer craft and not be stuck doing what she
could’ve been doing back home.

Diara had not realized the other girl was from the Vintner Hall. She
did not distinguish much between holdbred and hallbred Candidates, but
she knew many dragonriders went to the Tavern at the Vintner Hall,
which suggested it was not too bad. She scrubbed in silence for a
bit, working to remove a particularly persistent bit of burnt food.
Finally, boredom and curiosity won out over prejudice and she asked,
"Did you work in the kitchens there?"

“Not often, my da was a vintner so I worked more with the vines, so
out in the fields and in the caves.” She wrinkled her nose a bit,
remembering the more moldy parts of the deeper caves where the older
bottles of wine were aged. “How about you?” She just figured any weyr
kid had candidate lessons as soon as they could walk and talk.

"Huh." Diara was not quite sure what tasks needed to be done in the
fields, but did not want to reveal her ignorance. However, she was
happy to talk about her own craft. "When not doing Candidate things,
I'm an apprentice dragonhealer. I apprenticed as soon as I could, and
now that I'm a senior apprentice, I can help out a bit more than I
could before. I love being able to help dragons feel better and it's
wonderful when I can see the badly injured ones improve over time."
She finished scrubbing one pot and moved on to the next.

Sylvian stopped what she was doing and stared at the other girl. "A
dragon healer? Like a healer for dragons?" Now was her turn to feel
ignorant. "I..." She could feel her face flush, but at the same time
her voice was high with excitement. "I didn't know you could
apprentice for that. I've just been put into studies for the healer
craft and I'm so excited. It's what I've always wanted to do."

Diara's opinion of Sylvian immediately plummeted. Even the most
sheltered person from the most isolated cothold should know about
dragonhealing. What did they think happened to injured dragons?
Sylvian would stay at the Weyr until the Hatching, fail to Impress,
then hopefully go back to the Hall where she belonged. Well, the least
Diara could do was help Sylvian learn something while she was at the
Weyr. "Anyone can apprentice as a dragonhealer, but you need to
Impress in order to have a chance at walking the tables," she
explained. "And, during Threadfall, healers might sometimes help
support dragonhealers, depending on what's going on. Are you ok with
blood and things?" she asked, skeptical.

Sylvian knew by the way the other girl looked at her that she didn’t
think much of her. Flushing, she dropped her eyes and turned back to
her work. “Why no, I’ve never seen a drop of blood in my life!” She
muttered sarcastically. Really, who did this girl think she was, just
because she lived in a Weyr? Glancing over her shoulder, she sweetly
asked, “So you’re Weyrbred? How many times have you been left Standing
on the Sands?”

Now it was Diara's turn to flush, but she pretended to be unfazed. "A
few times," she admitted with a shrug. "I'm not in a big hurry though.
My Dad didn't Impress until he was 18, so there's time." She scrubbed
for a bit, annoyed with how the conversation was going. "Look, I don't
hate you or anything. It's just that a lot of people come here
thinking it's just like wherever they grew up, but with dragons. And,
it's not. If you want to be a healer, go for it." The Journeymen and
Masters would let her know soon enough if she was not cut out to be a
healer.

“You giving me your permission? How kind.” Sylvian gave the other girl
a disdainful roll of her eyes. “I don’t hate you either but I’m not
some vapid little holder girl that you’re going to push around.” She
stopped what she was doing to fully look at Diara.

Diara only met her gaze for a moment, before turning back to the pot
in front of her. "Well, ok then." She wasn't sure what Sylvian wanted
from her, but she didn't want a fight. She couldn't wait until the
Hatching was over.

With a sniff, Sylvian turned back to her own work. What no one ever
had said was how difficult it was to live at the Weyr, amounst so many
people who so obviously looked down on Holders. Her shoulders slumped,
this was such a lonely place for the Vinter girl.

Last updated on the February 11th 2025

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Weyrbrat vs Hallbrat