The Cow Boy (but not cowboy. Open.)

[Corvid]

In a way, not impressing had freed Sayden. Already this morning he had seen the new weyrlings up and about, learning their duties. He didn’t have to follow them, nor did he have to go back to the infirmary—he probably should be down there, waiting for some terrifying injury, but his father still wasn’t speaking to him. Enkal would get over it, he was sure, but until then the teen opted to stay far away. The man was curt enough at the best of times, and patients really didn’t need to see a fight. And so, for the first time in a few years, Sayden found himself with a bit of free time.

Before he really knew what he was doing, Sayden’s wanderings took him down to the bowl, and across to the herdbeast pens. This, at least, was familiar ground. He recognized a few of the heads that looked up at his arrival, ears twitching. Well, good—not all of his patients had been eaten yet. The teen glanced around, making sure he was actually alone before going over to greet the beasts. People tended to give him funny looks when he talked to food animals. It was a natural reaction, of course; forming bonds with something that might die later that day wasn’t always a great plan. He couldn’t help it.

Sayden went around the pen, inspecting a few more of the ‘beasts. Good; that one with the broken leg had healed nicely, and she hadn’t gotten picked off yet. It was comforting, being back out here—so less confined than the glorified caves he lived in. Leaning up against a fence, Sayden surveyed the herd before him. It might not have been the most glamorous of settings, but he liked it.

[hrsegrl]

Chores with the beastcrafters were always something Caselo looked forward to. He had fed the herdbeasts and the wherries and was making his way to the stables for a visit with that foal he had helped save. She was a pretty little thing and they had named her after him which he found funny. Casela, well it did kind of suit her.

As he was on his way he caught the other boy hanging around the beasts. Caselo was almost sure he had seen him before but the name eluded him. When he was close enough he waved. It was nice to see someone else with the same interest in the animals that he had. "Good day to you." He smiled. "Your a Candidate right?" He had to ask and make sure.

"That ones a nice looking girl, she's healed up very nicely hasn't she?" He continued to smile because ti was his way most of the time to have a smile on his face. The blonde was chewing on a piece of staw and looking at Sayden inspecting the herd. "Mind if I join you for a few minutes?"

[Corvid]

The appearance of another human startled Sayden, and he automatically corrected his posture before realizing it wasn't anyone that would reprimand him. It was another one of the candidates that had been out on the sands—pretty sure he didn't impress either. The lack of weyrling duties pointed to that conclusion, at least. What was his name? Something with a 'k', he was sure. Or was it 'c'? Sayden nodded a friendly enough greeting as he watched the other candidate approach, still trying to figure out a name. Caselo! Yes, that was it. He was pretty sure.

“Was a candidate,” Sayden corrected him, “It might well be a few turns until the next clutch, and I don't exactly have that long,” He was already eighteen turns, after all, and by the looks of it the other candidate had to be about the same. It was a good possibility they'd be too old for the next hatching. Sayden offered a faint smile. “But we can hope.”

Hell, hope was all anyone in the weyr had left. “By all means,” Sayden replied, gesturing to the open fence beside him. No lack of space, after all, and he didn't mind the company. “Caselo, right?” he asked, eyes on the herdbeast he had mentioned. She was a beautiful animal. Hopefully she'd get pulled out for breeding stock.

[hrsegrl]

"I don't think that we can compare the old Azirith's clutches to that of a young Aliath. I am sure that there will be another clutch in a turn or so. Thats the what Queens of the past produced." He did not follow records well but he had learned quite a bit all his turns as a Candidate. The feeling of knowing your time as a Candidate was drawing to a close was not lost on him. He was not a young Candidate himself at 19 turns of age.

The feeling of defeat was not one he wanted to relive at the moment so he went along with the change of topic. "Yep, I'm Caselo. For some reason your name is escaping me though." He usually remembered someone's name if he saw them around a couple times. There were a lot of Candidate aged boys at the Weyr though, so he did not get on himself for not knowing the other boy.

"What are you planning to do if you don't impress?" He always liked to know who wanted to do what, in case you needed someone with skills later on. Caselo was going to work with the Beastcrafters, he was almost an apprentice he was at the stables so much. Runners were more his thing but he didn't mind caring for the herdbeasts either. Wherries were a bit more difficult but he could handle them if the need arose.

[Corvid]

Sayden nodded thoughtfully at the other candidate's assurance, but remained silent, watching the herd. Even a turn or so might be too long, for them. Still, there was nothing wrong with optimism, and he wasn't about to argue the point. Hopefully—for both their sake and the weyr's—there would be another clutch next turn. With any luck it would be as large as the last, too. Although as far as he could tell, historically speaking it was still a small number. Everyone was talking about how sickly the young queen looked, too—not that he had seen the hatchling since impression. It was worrying, but better than no gold, he figured.

“Sayden,” he reminded the teen, finally tearing his eyes off the herdbeasts. There was no reason to blame him for forgetting; they had quite a few candidates, given the number of eggs, and he hadn't exactly done much to make him unique. Avoided it, actually—standing out always made him a little uncomfortable. It was probably a good thing that not everyone knew him by name. Sayden tended to pick up little details like that, but otherwise he'd have no reason to know the other boy. Not like they had actually met—that required talking.

At Caselo's next question, Sayden shrugged, and his answer was slow. “Until a few months ago, I was an apprentice healer. I'll probably go back to that,” he didn't try explaining the 'probably', that was...personal. Family issues. And although he liked the work, and knew it was vital, he still didn't feel like it was enough. Not that he could figure out a way to properly explain it. Instead, he glanced back up at Caselo, eyebrows raised in question. “And you?” he asked, switching the subject to one more comfortable.

[hrsegrl]

There was nothing wrong with thinking ahead. They really could not rely on one Gold and her daughter to repopulate an entire Weyr in the amount of time until Thread fell. He knew this as a fact. As everyone knew, but there had to be a way to preserve Pern and the dragons. At least he'd like to think there was. Caselo would rather not delve too deeply into this subject so much in such a short span of time. Somadin had the same thoughts the other night. With a sigh, he looked out across fields.

Sayden, he'd remember that next time. At least he better or he would really start to offend people. Not something the generally happy youth wanted to do. "Healing is a very interesting craft." That was all he could say, because he'd rather take care of injured animals than people. Probably because animals were innocent where as people brought much of their injuries onto themselves. "I've been helping out in the stables for a few turns now, the beastcrafters generally keep me under foot, so I'll probably keep on with that. Just saved a mare and foal on Hatching Day. Silly foal was coming out breach. They went ahead and named her after me but I was late for the Hatching. I suppose that means I deserve what I got." He grinned.

Somehow he got the feeling the other boy didn't want to talk much about Healing. Something wasn't right there. "You don't sound all that sure about the Healing. If your looking for something else to do, I overheard Master Phaedon the other day. He's looking for some apprentices." With an almost reflective pause he said, " Healing dragons can't be much different from healing people. "

[Corvid]

Caselo's story earned a sympathetic wince. Of all the luck! It was bad timing, but Sayden would have done the same thing. As it was, the shortened time he'd spent in the stables the last few months had been hard. This just served to remind him how out of the loop he was. For a moment he wondered which mare it was; he knew of a few that had been pregnant but hadn't heard about any births yesterday. “Gossi?” he guessed, naming one of the younger mares that had been pregnant. She was the farthest along, as far as he knew. Pretty little thing, it would have been a tragedy if she or the foal had been lost. Sayden's estimation of the other candidate went up a few notches, and he gave the teen a warm smile. Putting the life of a runner over his future was admirable.

Caselo's inference was all too accurate. Sayden's smile faded and he paused, trying to figure out what to say. “I've...been considering it,” he replied carefully, giving Caselo a sidelong glance. “There is some difference in the two, I know—I might be set back a turn. Probably less, though—I've worked with wherries and herdbeasts; they're closer.” On the other hand, having to relearn some things was still better than his current situation, and he hadn't realized Master Phaedon was actively looking for apprentices. If he had a real chance—well, it wasn't being a rider, but at least he'd be able to work with dragons. He gave the other teen a rueful smile. “Better than waiting for another clutch, right?”

[hrsegrl]

"Actually, it was Gossi. They've name the filly Casela. " He laughed. If it had been a boy what could they have done? There couldn't be two of him. At least he did not want there to be two of him. "Gossi is a little more tired than most after such a birth. I was acutally on my way to visit, if you are interested?" He had finally found another youth who enjoyed the runners as much as he did. It was refreshing.

Caselo saw the emotions changing on the other boy's face. Sayden was not the only person faced with such a decision. The future was uncertain. What could they really do if they never impressed. At least Sayden was an apprentice at something. Not that he had ever really wanted to do something that required him to be apprenticed. The only craft he'd be interested in would be beastcraft and they had plenty of appentices.

"I'd rather think of it as something to do inbetween clutches." He suggested as he moved away from the fence. "Well I'm heading to the stables..." He trailed as he walked away from the field full of herbeasts. He had to check on his little namesake.

[Corvid]

Sayden gave a quiet chuckle at the choice of names, privately pleased that he had guessed the right mare. See, he wasn't completely cut off from the animals. Yet. If he did become Master Phaedon's apprentice, there wouldn't be enough time for these visits—and he didn't have the excuse of visiting his mother down here, either. But he was getting ahead of himself. Hadn't even talked to the dragon healer yet. And just maybe, if he was careful, he'd get his mother to consider taking on an apprentice, too. She didn't really need one, but if Caselo had trouble finding a position...

Pausing for a moment, Sayden considered Caselo's offer. Well, it wasn't like he had anything else to do, and it had been too long since his last visit to the stables—at least two weeks. Besides, it wasn't like he ever needed an excuse to go see the runners. Mind made up, Sayden pushed off the fence and trotted after the other boy. It took him a second to catch up, and he fell into place alongside Caselo. Hah, look at him. Talking and choosing to spend time with someone, purely on a social level? He was becoming a harper. Well, that and he had a filly to meet.

[hrsegrl]

He had not waited for the other boy because Caselo was not someone who waited for other people to do what he planned to do. In the little spare time he had for the day, he wanted to be visiting the mare and her foal. When the other boy ran up beside him, Caselo smiled. It was his nature to make friends easily and quickly. Even some of the more difficult people he had met ended up being at least nice to him if not friendly.

Sometimes it seemed that knowing one was likeable made one more so. Confidence always helped anyway. It was the nervous types that worried him. "I take it you have a fondness for the runners too?" Not everyone at the Weyr felt that way. Especially not the dragons. He figured they did not get along because the runners were like food to dragons.

If he impressed he doubted he would have time to come visit the runners or even a need to. Dragons were far better companions with the ability to speak and to fly. Runners were great for those who never had a dragon.

As they approached the stable he said, "I believe they are in the second to last stall on the right. Tarja is in the stall next to her. She's due any day now."

[Corvid]

Sayden took a deep breath as he entered the stables. He loved the smell of runners that permeated the air here. “Oh, of course,” he replied absently, busy checking a few stalls. “Grew up around them and the herdbeasts.” True, most of his work—and play—had been centered around the stables as a kid. And, well, he'd always been enough of a lightweight to ride anything in the stables, and might have organized a race or two in the past. Not that he'd admit to that, no. Racing was a waste of time and money, and he was hardly that frivolous. Really.

Stopping by the mare's stall, Sayden peered in. Yep, there was the filly—gangly and awkward. Gossi was looking a little weary, still, but that was only to be expected. She was alert, however, and nickered softly as the boys approached. “Good morning, beautiful,” he greeted her back, then flushed pink as he realized Caselo had probably overheard it. Nothing he could do about it now, and it was a depressingly accurate statement. Yep, that was him—more luck with runners than girls.

He covered his embarrassment by entering the stall, spending a few minutes inspecting the mare and foal. Both seemed to be recovering from the ordeal, although only time would tell. “You did good,” he told the other boy approvingly. “And she's a cute little thing, isn't she?”

[hrsegrl]

The boy seemed most intrigued by the young filly. Caselo could smile because she was almost as much his as she was the stables. He took pride in saving her life even if it had made him late to the Hatching. Some things were meant to happen. Whatever the reason behind it, he knew he was meant to wait till the next Hatching.

"Yeah, her coat is almost blue its so black. She's going to be lovely. Nice legs on her. I wouldn't be surprised if she was a fast girl. If only they permitted us to race them..." He trailed off. Knowing it was not allowed did not make it any less of a wish. If he had been able to see a real runner race he may have lost his love for it. Seeing how runners throughout Pern were treated may even have turned him off of the sport entirely.

"Gossi is a lovely girl herself." He added and pet the mare's neck as she craned her head over the stall door. "She's gonna want a red fruit now." He grinned and walked to the feed room. " Here we are. Its nice and over ripe." The mare would prefer that over a fresher apple because it was more sweet. He held out the redfruit on his hand and watvched her chomp down on it. Though she tried to eat the thing whole, she ended up chopping it in half with her teeth. His hand was there to catch the part of the apple that fell.

She finished the first half, juices trickling out of her mouth, and went for the second half. "Greedy girl.." At least she was alert today, he thought to himself. He did not like to see them under the weather.

[Corvid]

Gossi watched Sayden closely as he inspected the filly, vigilant but not wary. She’d make a good mother, he considered. And Casela’s namesake was right: although she was still too young to tell for certain, her conformation was promising. But she was still a gangly baby, and there was no way to tell how that would change. “Even so, she’ll be useful. Dragons might be faster messengers, but…” he trailed off, feeling it unnecessary to state the obvious: even though they were fairly isolated from Ponaa hold, there would certainly be times when communication was necessary, and the scant dragon population was occupied. Sayden tilted his head enough to catch Caselo’s eye, and he gave a small, secretive smile. “It would still be good to know which of the runners is the fastest, wouldn’t it?” It wouldn’t be racing, per se, just a test of the beasts’ abilities. That was reasonable.

Sayden gave the filly one final pat, and moved his attention over to the mare. “She’s, doing great, considering,” he agreed, running a hand along her back. “Good appetite, and alert enough,” well, at least if the way she treated the redfruit was any indication. Gossi deserved every treat she got today, after all. He dug a hand into her mane for a good rub, but was mostly ignored in favor of the fruit. Ah well, that was understandable.

For a few more minutes Sayden remained silent, petting the mare as she finished her treat and began to search for another one. Sayden gave a faint smile. “You might want to mind your pockets,” he advised Caselo as Gossi pushed her head into him. Well, maybe she was a little greedy, at that. But how much could one more redfruit hurt?

[hrsegrl]

(so so so so sorry this is extremely late. I've been having Caselo muse problems. We can start another thread if you like. I figured I'd just finish this one off.)

“I don't see any great harm in racing but I guess they don't want to put grain to waste around here. These runners have to earn their living, I suppose. It would be nice though, just to see. I hear that at the Hold they have races during Gathers and such.” Caselo could not say for sure which of his many friends or foster siblings had told him that little tidbit of gossip but that was hardly relevant.

He watched the beautiful mare nudge the other boy. “Always do. The cute ones are the worst.” He winked at the mare and then walked away from the stall. “Oh! Flame it! I've got to go, Sayde. I forgot, my foster mother asked me to get some meatrolls from the kitchens for the little kids. If I don't get it now she won't have it before supper time, then I'll be really sorry.” He turned to leave and as he was about to duck out of the stables he said, “ I'll see you around.”