Can You Do It?

Writers: Jane, Vix
Date Posted: 7th October 2007

Characters: Mahantan, Seriand
Description: Mahantan calls Seriand to task for his poor performance in his classes.
Location: Dolphin Hall
Date: month 6, day 8 of Turn 4

"Sir?" Seriand called from the office door. "My, er - Journeywoman Renada said you wanted to see me now? Before classes?" It was subtle but it was the best the apprentice could do to remind the Dolphin Hall's master of apprentices that the time before classes belonged to the apprentices, not to their masters. Time enough to be ordered around once the day got properly underway.

Mahantan looked up from the papers before him, fixing the young man in a stare for a moment before replying. "Sit." He pointed to a straight-backed chair in front of the desk. "We need to talk."

"We _do_?" Seriand blinked a couple of times, trying to imagine why the master of apprentices needed to talk to him. Had he done anything wrong lately? Broken any rules anybody might have known about?

The Master nodded. "About your classes and how you're doing in them."

"Ahh. That." He smiled. "How am I doing in them?"

"It's your responsibility to know that."

"Oh. Well, I think I'm doing all right. Not anybody's brightest glow in the basket, but not too bad."

"And you think you're doing your best?"

Seriand nodded. "I can't imagine me working any harder," he said earnestly.

"Then you'll need to expand your imagination - as well as your efforts."

"Really?" Seriand sighed. "Apprenticeship is a very busy time," he offered, hoping the master dolphineer would agree.

"It is," agreed Mahantan. "One in which your first priority should be your studies and excelling in them."

"I don't do anything else but study," the apprentice said honestly. He worked hard at doing as little as possible and the enforced study goals were the only unavoidable thing in his life. "Oh, and chores."

The master dolphineer raised an eyebrow. "Indeed? I'd expect better results from someone who was working so diligently."

"Er - diligently?" Seriand tried not to grin. Somehow he thought the man might be less appreciative of his amusement that Journeywoman Yara had been.

"You did say that all you do is study. I'd expect better results in that case."

"I expect better results too," the apprentice admitted.

"And why do you think you're not seeing better results?" Mahantan asked evenly.

"I'm not sure." Seriand frowned, trying to think of something acceptable but unlikely. "Perhaps I need to do some of the classes over again? I might have missed some of the basics?"

"That's a possibility," the master conceded, "except that you seem to have absorbed the information from those classes. The question is your current classes and what you're doing in them."

"I'm afraid I don't have an answer," the apprentice said with a sigh.

"You need to find one," Mahantan directed. "As well as answers to questions such as 'is this the right craft for you?' If you cannot do the work, you might need to consider other options."

Seriand thought he might need to consider working a little harder for a while, until the master of apprentices' attention shifted to somebody else. "I'd rather be a dolphineer than anything else on Pern," he said, "And I will try harder."

"If you truly mean that, you should be able to catch up with the others and maintain your apprenticeship," the older dolphineer conceded.

"Maintaining my apprenticeship is very important to me," Seriand agreed, then added, perhaps unwisely, "and my family."

"Family is important but your own commitment to the work is what matters," Mahantan told him. "Can you put your craft above all other demands on your time?"

Seriand nodded. "I can certainly do that, Master Mahantan."

"Good, then I'll expect to hear better reports from your instructors."

Despite the apprentice's nimble mind he couldn't quite think of a response to that which would hit the fine line between appearing to agree and outright lying. Seriand didn't like to lie not when playing with the words was far more interesting. Without a retort he just nodded again and hoped the apprentice master would be satisfied with that.

Last updated on the October 8th 2007

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Can You Do It?