Stop to smell the...something (open)

[ShadowReine]

OOC: Should kick out Phly's character. I don't think she's coming back

Karisna grinned a bit. "Oh, don't worry. I plan for everything, doesn't mean I worry. There's a difference. I think it's healthy not to assume you'll get what you want."

To make sure she would be happy no matter what. She had, of course, plenty of time to Impress. "I do hope Nayarath rises fairly soon. I don't know how far off due she is, though."

And with three juniors, she wouldn't rise as often as she would if she was alone. But then, that evened out. "Or maybe the other violet will go up. The one who didn't just rise. I don't remember her name at all, though."

[Sparrow]

OOC: Yeah, we can send all the inactive characters with her and they can start Inactive Weyr. ;P

Long-term plans sounded like 'just in case' things to Jackie, which translated to 'worried about something going wrong'. But if that wasn't how Karisna felt about them, she wasn't about to argue. Even if it was unhealthy, Jackie generally assumed things would go right, nixed plans, and simply wasn't going to fight a person on something she had nothing to do with.

"Is she off due?" She had only heard Nayarath was expected to rise soon. That could very well be the reasoning behind the assumption though.

"The first one, right?" Jackie didn't remember her name either. She had known it at one point, but all she could remember now was started with a K... or something. "I really haven't heard much about her, it would be kind of funny if she up and rose amid all the talk about Nayarath."

[ShadowReine]

OOC: I like that. Especially as if people come back, they can always transfer their characters back out of limbo.

"I'm not sure. I'd have to ask the Weyrwoman...and even though she's very nice and not scary at all, I wouldn't want to bother her."

Karisna reached up to scritch Lightning's chest. "The first one. I can't remember...gah. I hate when I forget somebody's name. I saw a violet firelizard around too...very cute, although I'm very happy with my two boys and certainly don't need another one."

Some people might have been disappointed to have two eggs both hatch male, but a tan was almost as good as a bronze and Wave was *very* cute.

[Sparrow]

OOC: Really? Hm.

"Have you ever talked to her?" It sounded at least like Karisna knew a bit about the Weyrwoman. To be able to say someone wasn't at all scary- especially someone of her rank- would probably take a little first-hand experience.

"I suppose we can ask someone about that other Violet. Or I could, I've got a better excuse for not knowing." She laughed. Newbies had every right ignorance. "And I'd definitely have no idea about the name of a fire-lizard."

She had seen a few Violet flitters around at home, but they seemed rarer even than Golds among the fire-lizard population. "Your two are very cute though."

[ShadowReine]

"Once or twice. Not often...of course, she's a busy woman and wouldn't really have reason to seek out a Candidate. And they keep *us* pretty busy, too."

Kari kept scritching Lightning. "They are. They were even cuter when they hatched...baby dragons even manage a certain amount of cute, despite their size and the fact that they hatch with all their talons and teeth. They need them to break out of the egg."

Dragons, unlike birds, did not have egg teeth. "I'll probably...Shador. Her rider is Shador." But she...still couldn't remember the dragon.

How embarrassing! And Shador was pretty unforgettable. Especially if you were male...

[Sparrow]

"That's true." Jackie grinned. She couldn't help but wonder how Karisna had ended up talking to her then, and if maybe she would ever get that chance. The Weyrwoman would make a useful friend, no doubt about it. But that was probably aiming way too high.

"Yeah, I'll bet." Babies of anything were generally cute. "And at least you know that even though the dragons have all their teeth and claws, they aren't really going to hurt you." So it wouldn't be as bad. She had heard that Candidates sometimes got accidentally mauled at hatchings, but a dragon would never hurt someone on purpose. Injury was another thing Jackie had high hopes of avoiding though.

Jackie paused, thinking. Shador of Violet... "Kelth! I remember." She laughed. A short name, but apparently... forgettable, despite how much news the Violet had gotten in her lifetime.

[ShadowReine]

"They might accidentally bowl you over, though. When you get out there, if a dragonet starts coming at you full belt...step out of the way. If it wants you, it will stop. If it wants the person behind you..."

That was the best direct Hatching advice Karisna had. But would one ever... No. She was *going* to stop thinking like that right now.

"And that's it. Kelth. The first violet. How could I forget the name of the first violet?" She wondered what it must have been like for Shador.

Would there be even more new colors, even more riders forced into that situation. She glanced, for a moment, at Lightning...far from the first tan firelizard, of course, but unmistakeably *not* a brown.

[Sparrow]

"I'll keep that in mind, thanks." Maybe it seemed like common sense... but also someone might get so excited seeing a dragonet rushing for them that they wouldn't move. It was probably something she would do, but hopefully not. Jackie had a reminder now, at any rate. That ought to help.

Jackie shrugged. "I forgot it too, so I figure it's not too bad." It would be if they were actually talking to Shador, but luckily they weren't. Kelth's name was another thing she couldn't forget.

Still, Jackie had a better excuse for forgetting. Quip gave her a sour look. Hardly.

[ShadowReine]

Karisna shook her head. "There are so many dragons and people here, that keeping all of them straight is tough. But the Weyrwomen, though..."

She let out a breath. "Queenriders, wingleaders, I should be able to remember them. Maybe I should get an old hide and write them down or something."

This was so embarrassing. At least she could remember Kora's name...who's dragon might well be the mother of hers, if she was fortunate.

Very fortunate. But surely a gold queen like Nayarath would produce a good sized clutch with plenty of greens and barreds in it, and surely ONE of them would like a girl like her. Her lips twitched into a smile at the thought.

[Sparrow]

“I think I’ll tag along and study it, but I probably won’t be of much help making the list.” Well, until she had been here a little while. Jackie usually didn’t have much trouble with names, but obviously all the excitement had done some brief damage to her memory.

She did have a lot to learn now, which probably wouldn’t do much for her either… but with a queen not even having risen recently, she had time. Jackie was pretty sure that she at least knew all the queenriders (well, now she did), the Weyrleader, and Weyrsecond… plus Gwen and Tyrth and Angel and Razuth, simply for being oddities among the riders, but little more than that. Oh, and Meagen and Toath, of course.

Well, nine was better than Quip could ever do.

“So, where’re we headed? I think we’re losing the ‘tour of the Weyr plan’.” Making sure they both knew the names of everyone important was good too… but a far less obvious excuse if Meagen came Candidate hunting.

[ShadowReine]

"How about the storage caverns? It's good to know where everything is kept...especially if Meagan or somebody decides to use you as a gopher."

Which had happened to Kari more times than she could count by now. Not that she blamed them...if she was a rider in the middle of something and there was a convenient Candidate to go get the blanket from the storage rooms, she'd make use of that person too. "Or if you need something yourself. You can requisition, if its reasonable. No furniture until you have your own room, or anything like that, but if you need a thicker or thinner pillow..."

The Weyr looked after its own very well, and Candidates, for all their lack of status, were important. Nobody wanted any of them to be so uncomfortable they *left*.

[Sparrow]

"Sounds good." Although Quip would make a better gopher.

"So you have to ask before you take something for yourself, but if a rider sends you... do you still have to find someone for permission to grab whatever?" That would slow things down, but if Candidates could only take certain things for themselves... it had to be kept track of somehow.

Or maybe the weyrfolk just figured they would notice someone walking off with a chair. Jackie grinned at the idea. That might take a little explaining.

[ShadowReine]

"Depends on what it is. If its furniture or something expensive, the rider will usually give you a bit of hide or something to prove you're on an errand for them."

Wave nudged Kari's hand. Why was Lightning getting petted and he wasn't? "Mostly, you just have to be reasonable and remember that stores are for everyone. Not just us and not just the riders, either. Sometimes the kitchen staff will send you down there to get stuff, too...you need to know where the wine cellar is."

She grinned, at that little tease aimed at the general rider population. Some of them drank...a little too much, if you asked her.

[Sparrow]

"Oh, right." That was just common practice, she should have thought of it. Eh. Jackie just hoped she would never have to actually get some furniture... or anything similar. Big, bulky things were a no. Especially if the rider expected her to carry it to their weyr and not just to the Bowl for pickup.

Jackie laughed. "Yes, the ever important wine cellar." She didn't quite get it- she had snitched some wine a few times and never really liked it. But maybe she simply hadn't drunk enough to enjoy it each time- it seemed like the people who did enjoy it drank a lot.

It was something to try later. Maybe Nyocia would have better wine than there had ever been back at home. Dragonriders tended to drink a lot, or so she had heard.

[ShadowReine]

Kari grinned. "The other thing that's really important is klah. A lot of the riders have to get up insanely early, so they drink a lot of klah."

Now that was the thing she herself was not so keen on. True, it opened one's eyes quite nicely, but even so, the flavor of it was bitter, bordering on vile. Even the Weyr's klah, which was better...no doubt because of the practice the cooks got.

She shook her head a little. "One of the cooks here makes the most fantastic bubbly pies, by the way. If you like them." Not everyone did, some found the treats overly sweet.

Kari liked them, but didn't go crazy over them the way some people did.

[Sparrow]

Early Jackie could do. She was fairly used to being up at all sorts of odd hours... for various reasons. Klah, however, was something she very rarely tried. It tended to make her jittery, which was no good when one's job was in needlework. It didn't taste great either.

"Well, I can prepare klah, I guess." It had been a fairly common chore for her at home, being a natural early riser rather than someone who needed the help.

"Really? I do like bubbly pies." Sweet things, on the other hand, were a go. "Maybe we should head to the kitchen instead." Jackie had missed breakfast that morning- the kitchens were a likely spot for her to be looked for, or simply recruited.

[ShadowReine]

"Depends. If we go to the kitchen, we're likely to end up being put to work. However, there's always the chance of cookies."

Ah. The kitchens. A place every Candidate both wanted to be and emphatically wanted to be nowhere near. Often at the same time. At least once she had her dragon, Kari thought, she would not have to deal with ending up stirring stew at odd hours.

Except maybe for herself. When she had her dragon. She felt it more firmly as a when...she oscillated on the matter. There was something about failing once at anything that made one worry about trying it again. She told herself Nayarath would lay a big clutch.

She even, right now, believed it.

[Sparrow]

"A risk possibly with sweet rewards." Jackie laughed. "Tough decision. But you're the guide."

She would work for treats. Working for a potential future with a dragon that would be long in coming was far less tempting, but cookies and pie were immediate. Tempting, but it also depended on the chores. Cooking really wasn't her thing, even if Jackie could do a few basics.

Washing wasn't really either. She wasn't fond of pruny fingers, although she would probably have to get over that soon enough. Dragons required bathing, especially young dragons. It was a shame there was so much work involved with them, but it was an exciting enough career to make up for that. Or so she assumed. Hopefully Jackie hadn't gotten herself into far more than she had bargained for by coming here.

[ShadowReine]

Kari changed her course, Lightning flitting from her shoulder to zig zag ahead of them. The tan was a good size even at his age...not fully grown...and would likely be quite big for a firelizard, with a long wingspan.

"Cookies are worth a lot," she mused. So was a future with a dragon but, of course, she did not hear Jackie's thoughts on that.

She oddly had the other girl pegged as possibly a blue type...but what did she know? She had watched others Impress and that one unexpected pairing, the bronzen hide of Razuth enwrapped around the girl he had chosen. Nobody would forget that in a hurry.

Would there ever be another female on bronze?

[Sparrow]

Jackie watched Lightning flitting about ahead of them. Yes, she definitely wanted a fire-lizard. They were always so fun and cheerful. Not like Quip- currently. It was uncharacteristic of her to be so sour, but Jackie didn't think she had ever seen an unhappy flitter.

They seemed to be headed to the kitchens now, and although Jackie had little desire to work... treats. And maybe if she did some chores on her own, she would get on Meagen's good side ahead of time. That would probably be good. Maybe it would also exempt her from chores later that day. Hopefully.

Even better would be to avoid all work, but they were headed in a direction unlikely to help Jackie in that goal. That decision seemed to have been made though, so it was time for another out of the blue question.

"So did you do anything before coming to the Weyr?"