Oh what a beautiful day (open)

[hrsegrl]

The Candidate was always up early although he would prefer to sleep in. He was usually assigned to the stables or herding in the morning because he had a lot of experience with those things. Today was an easy day at the stables. All of the runners were in good spirits, ready to go outside to the pasture to enjoy the soft breeze and the warm sunshine.

Caselo would not mind being one of them today. Instead he had to clean their stalls and scrub their water buckets. Two candlemarks passed before he was done. The sandy haired youth took his shirt off and tied it around his waist as he walked out toward the paddocks. He had taken a long drink of water from the cup he had brought with him before walking very far.

The runners were either sleeping, munching on grasses or running like their very tails would eat them if they caught up. He preferred to watch the ones who were more playful. There were a few colts in onwe of the paddocks that he particularly liked. Caselo walked closer and leaned against the fence. A large tree beside him blocked the sun from his eyes which made watching quite a bit easier.

Three of the colts came over to him on the fence. Greedy little buggers. "Crazy little colts. Get going. I don't have a thing for you." Caselo laughed. "Go on now." He tapped the one on the rump which sent him flying. The other two gave chase which only made Caselo laugh louder.

[LyricalBlue]

Iaslia hated runners, hated them more possibly than she hated losing. They smelled and they pooped everywhere and they made her sneeze. Dragons never made her sneeze, she much preferred dragons to runners. There was a good deal more of a dragon to clean but at least they didn't get hair all over you.

With her hair tied up messily, Iaslia trudged back towards the stables with two buckets full of water. Why didn't they have a system better than this? Probably to torture candidates she decided. As she walked by a boy leaning over the fence and snorted. Dimglow loved the darn things it looked like. As far as Iaslia was concerned they were better off as dragon food.

The urge to sneak off and watch the feeding grounds was rather strong. If there was one thing that the red headed candidate had a lot of was blood lust. She stumbled and nearly dropped one of the buckets and as the water sloshed out Ias spewed some lovely words any decent girl had no rights knowing.

Glowering down at the offending bucket, she readjusted it over her arm then walked onwards. Why did everything go wrong when she had stable duty. On top of having to carry water for these darn things, her nosed itched. Muttering under her breath, Iaslia continued on towards the stable proper.

[hrsegrl]

The young man barely noticed the noise the girl made. Besides, Caselo rarely took offence to anything. He was a very open hearted individual although not what one would call a sap. He turned to see where the noise had come from and laughed in spite of himself. She seemed to be having great difficulty carrying the water buckets.

Why they made girls do that, he wasn't sure. the boys were much more capable. He decided to be nice rather than to watch her having trouble. "Would you like some help with those buckets? I promise I won't tell a soul I helped you." Caselo smiled charmingly.

He had seen the red haired girl somewhere before. Probably lessons. Not that he ever paid much attention to those. In fact he had missed the last one altogether and suspected he would not be standing with his attitude towards them. He waited for a response because the last thing he wanted to do was spill the water and start all over.

[LyricalBlue]

Her first glance up at the other Candidate was one in which she was likely to spit nails. But as Caselo spoke her steely gaze softened. Well, as long as he truly didn't tell anybody help would be lovely. Iaslia hated to ever be accused of not pulling her weight and since it had been found out that the Weyrleader was her father, she worried even more. All she needed was doubt of her abilities and drive. Her father's daughter she may be but she was also a product of her fiery mother.

With a quick nod, Iaslia offered one of the buckets to Caselo. Well, even if he did like the blasted runners he had to be alright. At least he had some manners and that counted. Sharding runners should get their own water. A thought popped into her head and she nearly giggled outwardly; maybe next time she would use a runner to haul the buckets. At least it would be faster, even if it meant even more contact with the dratted beasts.

"Yes, thank you. And you'd better not tell." Green eyes harded once again in the effort to convey the threat. Iaslia had a tendency to be a bully, but she was not one to shirk any work. In fact, the harder she worked, the harder it was for others to keep up with her and that was just how she liked it.

[hrsegrl]

He took the bucket gently so as not to spill anything. He hated having to clean up messes because of not paying attention in the first place. Caselo shook his head people here just could not trust others. Something that he had a hard time understanding.


Rather than let her words go without a response he smiled and winked. "I'm no tunnelsnake. I said I would keep my mouth shut and I will. You must not know many decent people..." His foster family was a very trusting sort. Perhaps that was why they were drudges? He could not answer that question.

"Why do they put you on chores out here? Its obvious you are allergic to the hay." He was good at taking in a lot of details very quickly. Some might say he was a bit too nosey. "You should switch with people." Perhaps she did not like to do any chores so what did it matter she was more miserable outside?

[LyricalBlue]

Her eyebrows arched and for once, Iaslia had to really think of a response before simply spitting it right out. This runner boy had a point, one she could not argue with, well not much. She shook her head, red hair flying as usual.
"I don't shirk my chores. Besides what does not kill us, makes us stronger."

The serious expression in her eyes clearly emphasized how much she believed that particular idea. Her mother had believed in it and it had always been repeated liberally around her little weyr to both children. She wrinkled her nose and tried to fight off another sneeze, then simply laughed as she realized how foolish she looked.

"It may not be that bad of an idea." Admitting that fact was akin to admitting defeat for the stubborn young girl. But she really hated the sharding runners, so getting to avoid them... well maybe it was worth being accused of slacking in her duties.

[hrsegrl]

"Who would accuse you of shirking your duties? All people have their strong points and you can't help that this is bad for your health. I don't think any of the other Candidates would care. Besides soon we'll all have dragons and won't have to do chores any more."

He was smiling still. Caselo was ever the optimist. Nothing she could say would persuade him that he would not impress a dragon or anyone else he knew for that matter. Caselo found that perhaps people misunderstood her more than they cared to admit. She might be as a much a product of their pride as she was of her own.

Well that was deep. He reassured himself with a laugh. "I would not worry your flame haired head of yours. If you need someone to back you up, just let me know. I'm well trusted around here and I know you'd be better off not out here with the runners."

[LyricalBlue]

The surprises kept coming with this runner boy and suddenly Iaslia was unsure entirely of what to say or do. So, she simply blinked at him while he spoke and recovered. What a strange character and what a silly looking smile, it was hard to be cross with him she was willing to bet. And having dragons to care for certainly sounded a good deal better than chores. For one thing, dragons didn't make her sneeze.

Back her up? Did she look like she needed back up? Iaslia snorted in a rather un lady-like manner. Back her up indeed, Iaslia could handle herself; thank you very much.
"I can handle myself, thank you."

She picked up her bucket once more and started trudging forward to the stables once more. Males, they were all alike. Always thinking that females needed help, she had most of the Candidates properly terrified of her, she certainly did not need help.

[Redden]

Sighing softly to herself Nanyaa wanders out to the stables watching the sky, trying to pretend she wasn't about to clean them again. The work didn't really bother her so much as not being assigned the chores at the same time then her brother. The young candidate still has such a hard time dealing with other kids with out him around.

Pulling her long mousy brown hair from her eyes she looks up once more for riders not really paying attention to where she's going. Not far from the stable she looks down slightly to look for other candidates or well anyone, two she had seen around before seem to be caring buckets to the stable. Once more sighing she looks up again and walks forward, not seeing the nice sized rock sticking out of the ground. With a loud yelp and a tumble of limps Ny sprawls across the ground skinning her palms and knees.

Praying the two haven't seen her she keeps her dark eyes closed and just lays there for a moment, hoping the yell was just in her head.

[hrsegrl]

The bucket sloshed slightly as he walked though nothing was spilled, he decided not to walk any faster than he already was. Iaslia did not seem so bad, not as bad as she was described to be. Of course, all women were prone to their "moods". Caselo was not about to do anything other than what he had.

He just shook his head at her statement. Of course she could take care of herself she was a teenage girl. Since when did teenage girls ever know what was good for them? He did not care to discuss it with someone who had a reputation for a flaring temper.

What seemed out of nowhere Caselo heard a loud yelp . Setting the bucket down on the ground he looked to see who it was and instantly ran over. He really could not let some girl lay on the ground injured. "Are you alright?" Though Caselo was prone to smile in this case he kept a more serious and concerned look on his face. She was another Candidate, he assummed because he did recognize her. He rummaged through his memory and could only think that she was always around a boy, possibly her twin.

[Redden]

Feeling her face turn bright red as she hears the him ask if she was alright, lying there for another moment debating of if he would just walk away if she didn't respond. More then likely since he came so fast he'd want to help thinking she was hurt badly and that just wouldn't do.

Slowly Ny sits up keeping her hair in her face and head down so he can't see how red her face is. "I... I'm alright... thanks just tripped." Pulling her knees to her chest she just examines her hands not sure how else to react.

[hrsegrl]

What was it with girls today? They must be having a clumsy day in general. He better watch himself then. Next thing you know he'd have wine spilled on him in the Weyrhall. At least they were only causing harm to themselves.

He looked at her earnestly and decided she probably scraped herself up pretty good. "Mind if I help you up then?" Caselo stood and reached his right hand down to her. "I feel like I've seen you before but your name just slipped right out of my head. I'm Caselo." He said with a warm smile.

She was much more nervous than Iaslia. Scared as a wherry about to get cooked for dinner. Perhaps it was the embarrassment of falling. He wondered briefly if she was always shy and thats why he did not know her. Havalie was that type too. How shy people got anywhere in life he did not know but somehow they managed.

[Redden]

After a moment's hesitation she looks up at him finally, her embarrassment fading as her dark brown eyes stare at him suspiciously. Cautiously she takes his hand letting Caselo pull her up wincing slightly from the grip. Nanyaa's palms were scratched and bruised from trying to catch herself. She stares at him for a moment longer before realizing she hadn't spoken out loud yet.

"Nanyaa... I'm a fairly new candidate, not to many people take notice of us... er... my brother and I." She tries to smile but it feels strange, awkwardly she stands there rubbing her hands watching him carefully aggravated she could not just read him. Communicating verbally and nicely was not one of her strong points.

[hrsegrl]

Caselo waited for her to find her footing before he let go of her hand. Ahhh that was it. "Nanyaa." He tried the name out on his tongue before he decided it was pretty. "If you have scratches make sure you wash them. The healers say that will help prevent infections." He wasn't entirely sure what that meant but they had told it to him last time he was injured.

Now he had Iaslia who did not seem to like people and Nanyaa who was shy and startled by people to talk with. Neither of them seemd at all in the mood to open up about anything. What to say that won't offend anyone? Dragons were always a safe topic around Candidates.

It seemed neither of them were up to chatting so he started off, "I've been thinking about the clutch and I'm guessing at least one Bronze maybe two. Do either of you wager on Hatchings?" He did and gambling was not a good thing for him because he loved to win but could be somewhat of a sore loser when perchance it happened to him.