Runnerbeasts and Ovines

Writers: Eimi, Stasha
Date Posted: 30th December 2007

Characters: Ch'lis, L'rew, A'mus (Animus)
Description: Chemalis and Animus have their first encounter with Larazew
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 7, day 6 of Turn 4

"How many more times am I going to have to do this?" Chemalis questioned exasperatedly. He glanced back at Animus as they left the class room where they just had the candidate meeting with T'mahl and Kapera.

"I don't know. Maybe until you Impress?" Animus was just as frustrated as Chemalis. "Shards, at least you haven't been standing sense you were thirteen."

Animus was right, Chemalis realized, but it did not make the upcoming hatching any less nerve wracking. He scanned the group of candidates as the filtered out of the class room. Some of them had been standing on the hatching grounds as long has he had, or even longer, but then there were the candidates who were just found on search, or had just come of age to Impress. Candidates like this Larazew, Chemalis thought to himself as he watched the candidate emerge from the class room.

He could feel eyes on him. Lazarew felt like people were always watching him at this place. But this guy was outright staring at him!
Him and his friend. Had they been talking about him? Commenting on his ovine smell no doubt. "What are you looking at?"

"Oh," Chemalis did not realize he was staring until Larazew called him on it. "Yeah, we were staring at you."

"You mean you were," Animus nudged him with some distaste.

"I was," Chemalis acknowledged with a shrug and a nonchalant face. "And we were talking about you, but everyone does that around here. You might what to get use to it." He tried to keep a straight face, but his laughter shined through his hazel green eyes. He could not help but start laughing.

"Ignore him," Animus brushed off Chemalis's behavior. "He's like that with everyone."

"I'm sorry," he apologized as his laughter died down. "I'm Chemalis, and this is Animus."

"Animal?" Lazarew asked with a suspicious squint.

Chemalis paused. He sniffed himself, realizing that he smelled heavily of runner beast, and that he had not bathed in the past day. "Oh," he felt embarrassed. "Sorry about that, I was working with one of the colts, and I haven't had the chance to clean myself."

"He's not taking about how you smell, half-wit," his friend cut in. "He was talking about me." He looked back at Larazew. "It's Ani-mus," he emphasized the ending of his name.

"But he likes to think that 'Animal' is what the girls prefer to call him," Chemalis added sarcastically with a wide grin.

Animus paused before he threw a playful punch into Chemalis's large belly as Chemalis chuckled again. "I wish," I wish he muttered to Chemalis.

"Right," Lazarew responded with an incredulous sneer. "And just what were you two talking about me for?"

"We're just sizing you up," Chemalis replied. "I mean, we have a lot of competition as it is and there aren't many dragons on those sands as their are candidates."

"Not that we'll Impress," Animus added on a lower note. "I've been standing for, what, five turns now?"

"What Animus is trying to say is we know our fate, but what do you think your own fate on the grounds will be?" He inquired, though there was something else behind his inquiry that he kept hidden. Secretly he hoped for a revelation such as a green or blue in Larazew's projected future.

"_Five_ turns?" Lazarew asked, turning to Animus. "Does it really take that long to Impress?" A hint of fear crept into his voice.
Five turns of waiting? Shards, he wasn't sure he wouldn't go crazy just waiting around for his future to begin.

"Sometimes," Animus shrugged. "Chemalis has only been waiting for three. It's like the Weyrlingmaster says. 'Your dragon just hasn't been shelled yet.'"

"Phf, what ever that means," Chemalis brushed off. "I already know I'll be walking off those sands with a tear in my eye, crying myself asleep.
You know, the usual. But hey, you might Impress. Some candidates Impress their first time, so you never know."

Shards. Lazarew hadn't even thought of the possibility that he wouldn't Impress for _Turns_. And what if he _never_ Impressed? One thing for sure, he was never going back to the herds! "We can stay even if we don't Impress, right? That's what the Weyrlingmaster said before."

"Yeah, you can stay," Chemalis shrugged. "I mean, I've been working in the stables with the beast master, and so has Animus."

Animus shrugged indifferently. "There's other things you can do too.
Some candidates that never impress become foster parents or kitchen help, go into healing..."

"The point Animus is trying to make," Chemalis's cut his friend off. If he had not Animus could have gone on and on... "Is that there's a lot of opportunity beyond Impressing. It's just that Impressing tends to be more favorable path among us candidates."

"Yeah, but I just want to be sure. If I don't Impress, no one can make me go home, right?" Not even his father?

"No, but why would you want to stay here?" Animus scoffed.

"I would," Chemalis responded. Being hold bred, and dealing with the ordeal with his family, he found it was a nice change living in the weyr.

Lazarew set his jaw resolutely. "I'm _not_ going home." Not ever.

"Don't worry," Chemalis replied to Larazew's self directed comment.
"I'm with you there. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love my family and all, but the hold..." He shook his head, "It's like looking at a flock of ovine, they all look an act, and think the same. But they weyr, their like runnerbeasts. Free, beautiful, unique."

"He's talking about the dragons," Animus muttered to Larazew.

"Ovine, huh?" Lazarew growled. What an interesting choice of animals.
"Well, you all look like a bunch of Wherry's asses to me."

Chemalis did not know what to say. "Did we say something wr-"

"You know, it might do you some good to hold your tongue and know your place around here." Animus snapped quickly at the younger boy, cutting Chemalis off. He did not take well to insults from anyone, especially when there was nothing done to deserve them.

"Animus," Chemalis attempted to calm his friend down. He could not blame him though. Had Chemalis been Larazew's age, he would have been just as upset as Animus, or even worse. He looked back at Larazew. "Look, I don't know what we said to peeve you off, but besides that..." he sighed in frustration. And he was such an attractive guy too, Chemalis thought. "I know what it's like to be new here, especially from a Hold. Now, I don't know what they've been saying about you or what you think they've been saying about you, Shards, I didn't know you who were until I saw you.
If you want to throw some insults around then that's your choice, but it's a good way of alienating people around here. When you're ready to cool off and act more mature, then Animus and I'll be waiting." He looked back over to his angered friend. "Come on Animus."

Lazarew sneered sweetly. Sharding bastard calling _him_ an ovine, will he?! "That's right, Animal, go play with your runners. In fact, you both take a good long look at the tail end of one. Maybe it will lay an egg you actually have a chance at Impressing!"

Chemalis felt his fist swell up, once he saw the pain of Lazarew's statement stab Animus. No, he reminded himself calmly. He would not say a word, he would not raise a hand, he was better than that.

"He's right you know," Animus replied to Chemalis, with a tear streaming down his cheek as they walked off from the boy.

"No he's not, he's only half right," Chemalis respond. "You'll Impress Animus." He patted his friend on the shoulders leaving Larazew to wallow in his own self pity.

Lazarew's nostril flared, his fists curled along the hem of his pants as he watched the boys retreat. He felt no self-pity, only determined rage. No one would send him back to that sharding ovine flock - not the Weyr, not his father, and certainly not a couple boys who stank of beasts themselves. They were no better than he was! None of them!
_None_ of them was better than he was! He'd show them in the Hatching.
He's show them all! And then they would know - Lazarew would be no ovine in no man's flock!

Last updated on the January 1st 2008

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Runnerbeasts and Ovines