Lery had gotten an office set up off the Great Hall (as of 3/23); despite her protestations, several people considered getting her office set up a high priority.  As Headwoman, she needed an office that was reasonably accessible to visiting dignitaries.  If they ever had any, anyway.  She had made a legible copy of H'lee's list of potential Candidates.  Now that she had some semblance of privacy and she and Alina had gotten the base routines established, she had time to interview each of the potential Candidates.  She didn't have any particular order.

She had been adamant about having double doors that could open both ways: she needed foot traffic to be able to come and go at any time without worrying about collisions in the doorway!  When a person entered her office, the first thing they'd see was the sand table, which she'd managed to get built fairly quickly, and three stools haphazardly placed around it.  To its right, on the one flat, straight wall in the office, hung a map of Pern, a map of the Weyr, a slate with chalk, and a pegboard.

Behind it, against the wooden wall opposite the door, was a wood cookstove.  It needed some modifications, but for the moment, it was good enough to keep pots of klah and stew hot, and a warming bay for bread.  To the left was a table and a couple of benches from the cafeteria that Lery was, for the time being, using as a desk; she desperately missed her old desk and chairs.  To the left of that was a large, empty space; there was a door in the back wall, which was shut.

As each Candidate came in, they were offered a mug of klah, a bowl of stew, and a biscuit as they took a seat on one side of the table-desk.  Lery would attempt to draw out the reluctant and calm the loquacious.  After she'd gotten them to answer the interview questions, she would assign them a bunk (the first rooms were finished as of 3/20), chores, and classes.

#Site-Main-Plot

Shemov was practically frog-marched into the Headwoman's new office by the bluerider, Z'vier, who had just finished his shift on Watch, up on the tower.  While the young man was cautiously friendly toward the dragons, he was still very standoffish when it came to the riders, and being hauled off to talk another one of the strange people was not high on his list of things he wanted to do.

The odor of fresh bread and a hearty stew - both smelling better than anything he had cooked in his little hut on top of the tower - hit him like a hammer when they pushed through the door.  "This's Shemov, Lery.  Keoneth Searched him when he took his first stint as Watchdragon."

"Thank you, Z'vier.  Please close the doors on your way out, would you?"  The headwoman was setting a plate and mug on the public side of the desk, from which the enticing smells emitted.  She gestured at the bench, wordlessly inviting him to partake of the meal, while she seated herself across from him.  "Take a seat, Shemov.  I gather you weren't present for the big introduction speech H'lee gave our first night here, and I don't know what you may have picked up from the riders.  A lot of it will be covered in the Candidate lessons you'll be taking, but in a nutshell, there are almost 40 eggs on the Sands and they Impress on their riders, it's a sort of mental bond between dragon and rider.  Blue dragons are peculiarly sensitive to the kind of person who would make a good dragonrider, and when they pick someone out, we call that Searching.  Not everyone who is Searched ends up a dragonrider, and some people who aren't Searched do, so it's not a guarantee.  Anyway, this little interview is just so that I can get to know you a little better, so let's move onto that, shall we?"

Shemov sputtered and tried to interrupt the woman a couple of times, but she just talked right over him.  He set the bowl of stew down and glowered across the desk - or was it a table? - at her.  "An' wha' if'n I dun wanna be dragonrider?  I's perfe'tly 'appy, up toppa th' tow'r, all by'self, til yeh came.  T' dragons're okay; I cud live up d'ere an' share wi' one rider an' dragon at time, if'n yeh have'ta, bu' I'm nah sure I will.  I'm t'inkin' abo' movin' on, findin' 'nother quiet place tuh call mine!"

The woman didn't look surprised by his outburst; instead, she looked resigned.  "Normally, I would say that is your right.  As of right now, though, we can't allow you to leave.  And because you were Searched, you will be Standing at Hatching.  You are a little older than what we accept for Candidates, but you were Searched, and we're hard-pressed to find enough eligible people to Stand at this Hatching.  I'm sorry, but you're not going to have a choice this time.  If you Stand and do not Impress, we would still prefer that you remain in the Weyr; should you ever marry and have children, the fact that you were Searched means that your children would likely also be Searched.  But, unless there is a concern about the safety of the Weyr, we would not stop you from leaving at that point.  I see that you're not excited about this prospect, but let's try to make the best of the situation, shall we?"

She proceeded to run a series of questions by him, and before they finished, he realized she'd drawn more of his past out of him than he'd divulged to anyone else recently.  He was vaguely relieved that she didn't write anything down while interviewing him.  He wasn't sure about her memory, but most people couldn't retain that much information in a short amount of time, so she'd probably forget a lot of it.  At the end of the interview, she lifted a sheet of paper off a stack on her left.

"I know you aren't very interested in socializing with the rest of the Weyr, but I am going to insist that you move into the Candidate barracks with the others. I'll put you in the one that will only have one other person, however, so that you have a little bit more privacy.  You will also participate in lessons and chores.  Everyone contributes to the day-to-day success of the Weyr.  For chores, I'm assigning you to Group A; for the next week, starting tomorrow, you'll need to report to Nium in the Kitchens an hour before breakfast -- that's 5am, by the way.  In the afternoon, after lunch...let's see..." she paused to thumb through a couple other sheets of paper.  "Here we go.  Master Joryldin.  Come here to my office after lunch tomorrow and I'll introduce you; she'll show you where to go for the rest of the week.  You'll meet with Weyrlingmaster H'lee later; maybe he'll even have his own office by then!"  She made a note on the papers before restacking them where she'd gotten them.

Then she noticed he hadn't finished his meal.  "Eat up, young man!  You've a few minutes before Harper Timiny gets here, he will be giving you a cursory educational exam."

"Quarion, don't you have an appointment with Headwoman Lery this morning?" Master Eletia asked.

Quarion glanced at the clock and cursed under his breath.  "Yes, thank you for reminding me."  He stopped at the basin and washed his hands quickly, then took off at a jog across the Weyrbowl.  As he trotted out from under the shelter of the livestock cavern, he looked up, and up, and up, to the colored gems lining the rim of the volcanic crater: pyrite, cat's eye, sapphire, and emerald.  He wondered how long - and if - until they saw shades of citrine there.  He thought he could pick out Oreth, the blue that had Searched him, but he wasn't positive.

It took him nearly ten minutes to cross the Bowl to the Grand Entrance to the Great Hall.  He slowed to a more sedate stroll as he turned right and followed the wall to the Headwoman's office.  Despite the more leisurely gait, he was still a bit out of breath when he reached her door.  The one door was propped open and he peeked inside from a safe distance; he didn't see anyone inside, so he paused a moment to take a few deep breaths and then sidled up to the door and tapped on it hesitantly, peering around.

Headwoman - or should he be calling her Candidatemaster in this case? - Lery was at one of the boards on the wall, and called out when he knocked, "Come in!"  She finished whatever she was doing at the board before turning to see who it was.  "Ah.  You must be one of the Candidates..."  She started around the sand table toward the cookstove at the back of the room.

"Yes, uh, Journeyman Healer Quarion," he offered cautiously.

"Of course.  Come on in."  She paused at the cookstove and lifted a kettle off the warming pan, pouring two mugs of something - he guessed klah.  She pulled something out of one of the upper warming boxes and fiddled with something more before turning.  In one hand, she carried a platter with a steaming bowl of something, a biscuit, and one of the mugs, and the second mug was in her other hand.  She gestured to the bench with the latter appendage.  "Sit, sit.  Have something to eat and drink, we'll be here for a while."

He took the tray and sank onto the bench gratefully.  His day usually started very early, so it had been several hours since breakfast already, and he'd been on his feet most of that time.  After he'd eaten a few bites and had taken a few sips of the klah, she started questioning him: about his history, his ambitions, his current activities.  She was curious about his younger sister, Kait; neither she nor his parents had chosen to come to the new Weyr.

He'd eaten his way through perhaps two-thirds of the meal when she wrapped up her questioning.  She indicated that he should finish his meal.  "Harper Timiny will be here soon to give you a cursory educational exam, go ahead and finish eating."  She tugged a sheet of paper out of the stacks of paper on her desk.  "Do you have a specific schedule you need to adhere to with your Healer duties?"  He shook his head.  "In that case, I'm going to assign you to Chore Group A.  Starting tomorrow, and for the next week, please report to Nium in the Kitchens an hour before breakfast.  In the afternoons, you can return to your usual Healer schedule.  At the moment, I've only assigned one other Candidate to that group; he's a fairly taciturn fellow, I hope you can perhaps get him to open up a bit.  In the meantime, you'll meet with Weyrlingmaster H'lee in a week."

Harper Timiny knocked on the door shortly after.

Marrisha still hadn't quite adjusted to what had happened.  She hadn't been allowed to contact her family after her abduction, first by bandits and then by dragonriders (she still had a hard time believing in the dragonriders sometimes!).  Supposedly, some sort of vague communication had been discreetly relayed to her father, but she didn't know what it had said, or even if he had received it.  She worried about her sister and brother, and her goatherd.  She wondered what they thought had happened to her.  Silvara and H'lee had explained to her the need to remain in hiding and why she couldn't go home for a while, but that didn't make it any easier.

She'd encountered Headwoman Lery a handful of times since her abduction.  Marrisha didn't lack for self-confidence, but that formidable woman intimidated her!  So when she received a summons to the newly-enclosed Headwoman's Office, she dragged her feet and took her time getting there.  She arrived just as a man, a few years older than she, exited the office.  He looked around like he was expecting someone, but after a few minutes, left.  She had seen him down in the Beast Hold a few times, though she'd never officially been introduced; she thought his name was Kwarin or something like that.

Marrisha started toward the office door when it opened again and another person she'd encountered a couple of times let himself out.  He was a Harper, though she couldn't place his name.  She hurried up before he finished closing the door.  "Ah, Harper...could you hold that for me?  I'm supposed to meet with the Headwoman..."

The man gave a quirky smile.  "Good to see you again, Marrisha."  She cursed inwardly at her inability to recall his name.  "She's not in there at the moment, but she should be back any minute.  Go ahead and help yourself to something from the cookstove in there while you wait, I'm sure she won't mind."

The girl blanched at the idea of touching anything belonging to Lery without that woman's express permission, but slipped into the room as he closed the door behind her.  She stood there for a moment, fidgeting, before realizing she probably shouldn't stand in front of the door; it was a good way to get run over!  She took a few steps in and looked around.  The room matched its occupant: no-nonsense, completely functional, with an arched ceiling that made the visitor feel small.  The lack of a proper desk surprised her a bit - she had a hard time believing anyone as efficient as Lery would accept what was obviously a substitute for a real desk!  She wondered a bit at the large empty space on the far side.  Maybe she planned to keep a wher in here to further intimidate visitors, or to bite off the heads of impudent children...oh, she was being silly!  Then she caught sight of the sandtable to the right and tiptoed over to it.  She couldn't make heads or tails of its purpose.

Just then, the door latch mechanism clicked and a hinge creaked slightly as the Headwoman herself strode into her office.  Marrisha jumped back from the sandtable and tried to conceal her startled reaction and curiosity.  "Marrisha, reporting as requested," she curtsied.  Was it her imagination, or did Lery just give her a disapproving look?  She shifted uncomfortably.  "The Harper let me in on his way out and said you'd be back shortly."

The woman's lips quirked ever so slightly.  "And did he tell you to help yourself to some food while you waited?"

Marri couldn't decide if the woman was amused or annoyed.  She cleared her throat self-consciously.  "Ah...yes, he did.  But I didn't--I mean, I wasn't--" she cut off her babble when the Headwoman waved her hand and strode across to the cookstove, where she dished up whatever was in the pot and retrieved something out of the upper warming chamber.  She set the tray of food on the door side of the table, giving Marri another look that made the younger woman feel like she'd been caught doing something she shouldn't.

"Well, sit down and tuck in, Marrisha.  I thought you'd know by now that I don't bite."

Marri sidled in behind the bench on her side of the table-desk, making sure to tuck her skirts carefully in front of the edge before sitting down.  Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she caught another frown directed at her.

"How are you settling in?  I know it hasn't been easy."

The girl swallowed the bite of stew she'd just taken, without chewing it thoroughly, and paused to choke it down.  "The Weyr is amazing," she temporized.  She wasn't especially happy here.  She wanted to go home, to see her family, but they had explained and re-explained why she couldn't.  Logically, she understood it, but that didn't change how she felt.  She wasn't going to give the older woman yet another chance to lecture on how important their secrecy was!

Lery just watched her for a moment longer, making her squirm uneasily in her seat.  "I know your background already, so I'll keep this brief.  What would you do if you don't Impress a dragon?  We expect you'd be allowed to return home about six months after the Hatching - that should give us enough time to get safety precautions in place and announce our presence to the rest of the world."  This wasn't new information for Marri, but up to this point, it seemed that everyone had assumed that she would Impress a dragon and that would be the end of it.

"I'd go home!" she cried.  She flinched at the emotion in her own voice.  "At least for a while.  I think...if there was an easy way to go home when I wanted or needed, I'd come back here, though."

Lery nodded, and asked a few other seemingly-trivial questions.  "I know we've bounced you around a bit as far as things to keep you busy, but starting tomorrow, that should stop!"  The older woman smiled; Marri thought it was supposed to be a reassuring expression, but she didn't feel terribly reassured.  "You're already settled in in your Candidate suite?"  She continued after the girl's nod.  "Good.  You can expect to start getting roommates soon, I think.  You'll be meeting Nium in the kitchens tomorrow morning, an hour before breakfast, as part of Chore Group A.  After lunch, you can take some of your Beastcraft lessons.  We never did an education exam for you before, so Harper Timiny's going to be back in a bit to do that."  As though her statement had summoned him, there was a knock on the door and the Harper who had let her in earlier stepped in.  Lery waved to him to take over and, picking up some papers from her desk, bustled out on some other errand.

Nymine had been fidgeting all morning.  She'd been trying to get up the nerve to do something.  She was so frustrated!  She'd managed to finagle her way into meeting all of the blue dragons, but none of them had Searched her the way they did her sister!  She knew she was of age - everyone between the age of 14 and 20 knew they were of age! - and everyone knew that if one child in a family Impressed, the odds were really good that other children in the family would too.  Of course, none of them had actually Impressed, but Rineta was Searched, and that was really close, right?  So, the Journeywoman Herder had decided, if the dragons weren't going to Search her, she'd sharding well put herself forward!

But she wasn't exactly certain how to go about doing that.

Then she overheard Master Eletia asking Quarion if he was going to be late to a meeting with the new Headwoman.  Nymine watched the Beasthealer leaving, rocking back and forth from foot to foot, like one of her birds, until he was out of sight.  She heard a throat clear behind her and jumped.  "A blind wher could see you've got the bug, girl," the Master chuckled.

Nymine scowled.  "Was he Searched?" she asked, jerking her chin after the departed man.

The older woman nodded.  "Aye.  Off to his meeting with Headwoman Lery.  Guess she's in charge of Candidates or something."  The Master watched her for a moment longer, then walked off, chuckling to herself.

Still uncertain, Nymine went back to finish her chores.  She saw Quarion come back and thought he seemed flustered and distracted.  She wondered why, but couldn't come up with a way to ask him before he disappeared from the Beasthold.  Finally, she decided to grab the bull by the horns and go talk to Headwoman Lery, too.  She made her way through the Lower Caverns to the Great Hall, and after a few minutes hesitation, started toward the Headwoman's door.

Before she got there, the door opened and a woman, older than Nymine, but definitely not the Headwoman, scurried out.  Nymine thought it looked like she was crying, and she almost turned back.  But she gritted her teeth and marched up to the door.  Just as she was about to knock, she heard another throat clear behind her.  "Go on in, I'm right behind you," the Headwoman said.

Stunned, but unable to change course now, Nymine opened the door and went inside, seeing a man in Harper blue sitting at the desk.  She stepped to the side so the Headwoman could come in.  "Timiny.  You're still here."  Lery sounded surprised.  The man looked up and seemed startled that someone besides the Headwoman had come into the office.

"Ah, yes..."  There was an awkward pause, and Nymine knew she'd intruded on something.  "I can come back later," the Harper continued, standing up and picking up a couple sheets of paper.

"Just...give me a minute," the Headwoman said, closing the door behind the Harper and turning to give Nymine a scrutinizing look.  "Journeywoman Herder, of Candidate age...Nymine, right?"  Nymine met the woman's gaze, taken aback.  The Headwoman chuckled.  "Well, you aren't Marrisha, because I just interviewed her, and there aren't many other Journeywoman Herders whose older sisters were Searched."

That gave Nymine her opening, and it was her turn to clear her throat.  "Yes, uh, I've heard that we can present ourselves as Candidates, if we're of age."  Lery continued to watch her.  Emboldened by the silence, the girl continued.  "You already know my sister was Searched.  I've heard that, uh...um..." she paused, searching for a word, "...that whatever it is that the dragons key on, it runs in families.  So...here I am."

Lery nodded.  "Alright, give me just a moment."  She consulted a piece of paper she had in her hand, muttered something unintelligible, and stepped out of the office for a moment.  Nymine could hear her talking to someone, but couldn't make out the words, and then Lery came back in, closing the door behind her again.  "Have you eaten yet?"  Nymine shook her head, and the Headwoman produced a platter of stew and bread, and a mug of klah from the cookstove at the back of her office.

Nymine settled herself on the bench where the Headwoman deposited the platter.  As she ate, she answered questions that the older woman asked.  Quicker than she expected, she'd finished the meal, and it seemed that the Headwoman finished her questions.  "Okay.  I'm going to ask Timiny back in and he's going to give you a quick educational exam, and then that will be all until you meet with Weyrlingmaster H'lee later.  In the meantime, I'll make arrangements to have your belongings moved to the Women's Suite number 1 in the Candidate barracks.  You'll be bunking with Marrisha for starters, and you'll probably have another roommate soon.  You'll also be starting in Chore Group F - meet with Nium in the Kitchens tomorrow morning, an hour before luncheon!  Your Beastcraft classes will continue after lunch."  The Headwoman opened the door and let herself out, simultaneously letting Timiny back in.

Dynkel had been watching the clock all morning, anxiously waiting for the appointed hour to meet with the Headwoman.  He was too amateur in his training to have a formally declared specialty, but he had gotten into herding for the llamas; it had taken the exiles many years to steal some breeding stock after the dragonriders were destroyed, and even today, their genetic diversity was extremely limited.  As a result, they mostly had dark-colored animals, because nearly all of their original stock had been dark-colored, producing a deep brown, almost black wool.  He was thrilled when Master Eletia had managed to obtain one white-color buck for the Weyr's herd (such as it was).  Dynkel had spent most of his Animal Husbandry Practicum the previous spring studying, maintaining, and copying the herd's pedigrees, and proposing matches for future breeding successions.

Now, however, he was stuck in "Companion Animals: Care & Physiology."  How completely and utterly boring!  At least...it was until the dragonriders arrived.  They brought dozens of firelizards and firedragonets with them, and one of the Herders who had come with them was teaching a section on the miniature dragon-like creatures.  Although they didn't have wool, because he had been Searched, Dynkel figured he had better pay careful attention to what Senior Journeyman Herder and greenrider Laysa was teaching.  She had both a firelizard and firedragonet perched on the backs of two chairs.  It was taking a bit for Dynkel to adjust to hearing them referred to by the full descriptor rather than "flit" or "fret" that was the common terms he had grown up with.

They had looked at the obvious differences between the two: the change from 3 claws to 5, the broader forehead on the frets, and their size.  "Now, both of these lads are bronzes, but I'm sure you're aware that there is a certain amount of size variation within each color."  She paused to scan the class for nods of understanding.  "I selected Charmaine and Corman because they are both in the top 10th percentile for their species and their color, so it's as close to an apples-to-apples comparison as you'll get."  Dynkel looked at the clock again, and dragged his attention back to the lecture.

A second bronze firelizard popped in on the group, causing those who were less familiar with the creatures to jump.  "This is Peepin.  He's Charmaine's sire, but he falls in the bottom 10th percentile for firelizard size."  Charmaine ducked his head and cheeped a greeting to his sire, who landed on the chair back next to him.  Even though Peepin was clearly much smaller than Charmaine, he was still larger than Corman.

Someone's hand went up, and Laysa acknowledged them.  "Why is Charmaine so much larger than his da?"

Laysa nodded.  "Good question.  Anyone have a guess?"  A few people shifted uncomfortably as her gaze wandered around the room.

Annoyed by the lack of response from his fellows, Dynkel finally spoke up.  "Because his dam was larger?"

"Good!  Yes, Charmaine's mother, Betra, is a fair-sized gold.  She is only an average-sized gold, but that still puts her at the same size as the largest of the bronzes.  Her sire, Ribert, was a very large bronze, even larger than Charmaine; he was in the top 1st percentile for bronzes."  A gold firelizard appeared, settling on the table in front of the two bronzes, and they could see that she was only slightly larger than Charmaine, but quite a bit larger than Peepin.

Emboldened by his interaction, Dynkel raised his hand.  "Why would she mate Peepin, if he's so much smaller?  Wouldn't she naturally select a larger mate?"

Laysa chuckled.  "That's how selection often works, but not for the firelizards, firedragonets, or dragons.  It is more often the smartest, most clever male that wins the female, not the biggest or strongest.  We'll get into that more in one of the later lessons."  Peepin and Betra launched from the table and disappeared, making a couple of students exclaim.  Dynkel rolled his eyes, which brought his gaze back to the clock...

Laysa caught him looking at the clock again, and glanced at it herself.  It was just shy of 9:30am, and the local Master had informed her that Dynkel was to meet with the Headwoman at 10am.  She was sure the young man could make it across the weyrbowl in fifteen minutes, but she also knew she was losing his attention.  She made eye contact with the young herder, who flushed when he realized he'd been caught.  The greenrider fought back a smile, thinking how endearing it was to see a young man...oh, shells!  "Go on, Dynkel.  Just make sure you're not out of breath when you get there, since I'm giving you more than enough time to make it to her office!"

Dynkel couldn't hardly believe his luck!  He slapped his notebook closed and bolted out of the classroom, smirking at the jealous look Patelo shot him.  Normally, there would only be two or three students in this class, and Patelo was a senior apprentice, but since it was new, all of the Herders were being required to attend.  In fact, anyone who had bonded with a firelizard or firedragonet had been encouraged to attend the course.  He had noticed that Nymine, who should have been in this class with him, hadn't shown up.  Well, more chores for her later!  Mindful of the greenrider's reprimand, he took the interior route from the Herder's quadrant to the Great Hall, which allowed him to pass by his quarters and discard his school materials and change into something a little nicer and cleaner than the clothes he'd worn earlier for feeding the llamas and mucking their stalls.  Satisfied with his appearance, he set off at a brisk walk toward the Great Hall and Headwoman Lery's office.

To his surprise, he saw Nymine coming down across the Great Hall from the direction of the Headwoman's office.  She looked overly pleased with herself, and he scowled.  She hadn't even been Searched!

As he strode through the Great Hall, he caught the scent of whatever was being cooked for that evening's dinner...roast pig, he thought?  He was on the wrong side of the Hall to be able to make out what was turning on the spit by the Kitchens.  He had to admit, they'd had better eating since the dragonriders arrived, although he'd overheard some of the advanced Herders complaining about the strain it was putting on the herds.  In the meantime, though, it made his stomach rumble.  Sternly, he told it to behave itself; he'd fill it with lunch after this very important interview!

When he arrived at the Headwoman's office, the double doors were closed.  He stepped up and knocked firmly on the right-hand one, startled at the way it echoed.  He didn't hear an answer and tentatively tried to open the door, to find that it wouldn't budge.  Puzzled, he took a step back and looked around.  There was clock back in the Great Hall, but he couldn't read it from this distance.  He knew he was probably a bit early, but he would have thought the Headwoman would appreciate that, even expect it!  Not that he was normally early for things, usually, but important things, like this...definitely worth showing up early.  Suddenly paranoid, he wondered if he'd come to the wrong place and his gaze intensified as he urgently scanned the rock face that the doors were built into.  Maybe there was another roo--

The left-hand door swung open on squeaky hinges, and he winced at the sound.  They were new doors, why were they squeaking already?  A man in Harper blues stepped through the portal, took an appraising look at Dynkel, then leaned back in.  "It's your 10 o'clock, Apprentice Dynkel," he said to whoever was in the room -- presumably, Headwoman Lery.  Dynkel heard a murmur that he couldn't make out, then the Harper gestured for him to go into the office.  Relieved that he was, indeed, in the right place, the young man sidled past the Harper, who let the door swing shut behind him.

"Sorry about that, lad.  We had something we needed to discuss in private, and I wasn't expecting you for another five minutes."  Dynkel flushed and apologized, although there had been no hint of rebuke in the woman's voice.  She waved away his apology, rising from her chair and going to a stove along the back wall.  "Take a seat."  A clatter of metal on metal and Dynkel caught scent of something that smelled, if not as good as the roast in the Great Hall, at least tasty.  He watched the Headwoman closely as he took a seat in the middle of the bench.  As he swung his leg over to sit squarely facing the table, she turned with a platter that held a biscuit and a bowl of something, and two mugs of something to drink.  She set the platter and mugs down, and pushed the former and one of the latter across to him.  "Help yourself, I'm sure that roast in the Great Hall stimulated your appetite!"  The stew -- for that was what was in the bowl -- was thick and had a thin skein of grease on the top, just enough to capture the flavors and scents, but not enough to make a person feel like they were coating their mouth with it.  Gratefully, he tore off a bit of the biscuit, which was warm and wonderfully fluffy, and dunked it in the bowl, quickly popping it in his mouth, where his tongue confirmed what his nose had been telling him.

After he'd had a few bites of the stew, Lery set her mug down and leaned forward, lacing her fingers and setting her hands on the desk.  Guiltily recognizing the unspoken cue, he swallowed hard and took a gulp of klah to wash it down.  Then she began quizzing him on his life before coming to the Weyr, why he had come, what his aspirations were in his Craft, why he was so fond of the llamas, what his current schedule was like, and then, the oddest question, whether or not he had a younger sister.  Puzzled by that question, he nodded.  "I have a foster sister, Chiera, but she's only 12, and I was the only one of my family who came to the Weyr. I have two older sisters, Keltia who's 24, and Brynti who's 28..."

Shortly before he finished eating, it seemed that the Headwoman ran out of questions.  He finished eating while she sorted through a stack of papers on her desk.  "I'm assigning you to Chore Group F.  You'll meet with Nium an hour before lunch starting tomorrow.  And you'll be in Barracks 2.  I believe they've finally started getting signs put up down there, so you should be able to find it.  If not, ask one of the builders or myself or Alina.  Or Quarion, he'll be one of your roommates."  Then she stepped out, letting the Harper he had seen earlier back in and introducing him as Harper Timiny.

Aren, Erhom, & Lorler
Although it had only been early afternoon when the dragonriders and their passengers had left the shores between Fort and Ruatha Seaholds, it was nighttime at the Weyr.  Master Tikal, alerted by F'xal, gave the quintet a cursory examination and gave Lorler a hot concoction that quickly eased his cough and chills.  After the stress of the last several hours and their accumulated injuries, the thought-reader and the two boys were more than happy to accept beds in the Infirmary for the night, where a Healer could check in on Lorler to ensure that his condition stabilized.  They all had some trouble sleeping, mostly due to the time change: it was a 10-hour time difference!  But it meant that when Learyam came to find them at breakfast time, they were ready to get out of the Infirmary.

The Harper took them to the Great Hall Cafeteria first to get some breakfast.  There was a long table laden with baskets and tabletop burners keeping the hot food heated: baskets of rolls and biscuits, platters and baskets of fresh fruit, burners under bins of scrambled eggs with diced wherry meat and vegetables and oatmeal, and pans of wherry steaks and gravy made with an unidentifiable ground meat.  The three newcomers, especially Erhom and Lorler, were accustomed to eating as much as they liked, of whatever they wanted, prepared when they were ready to eat.  It was discomfiting for the boys to not be able to ask for exactly what they wanted, but there were enough options that Aren was able to divert a tantrum.  "Eat as much as you'd like, it's one of the new rules, that everyone is to eat as much as they need.  It's one of the more popular changes that Lery has put into effect!" the Harper chuckled.

"There are less popular ones?" the truth-reader asked while they ate.

"Definitely.  The one that is probably the least popular was reassigning the majority of the craftspeople to completing items for the dragonriders and candidates.  Many folks are still waiting to get furniture for their homes, or glass for their windows if they happen to be lucky enough to have windows, and they're not happy to have to wait even longer.  But the Carpenters and Masons are working double shifts to finish things, so hopefully it won't be long before they're back to working on the previous to-do lists.  It helps that about a third of the Riders are pitching in to help with the work."

"Only a third of them?  What are the rest doing?"

"Most of the rest are out hunting and foraging foodstuffs for the Weyr.  Most of the Weyrfolk have accepted that more readily once the rule about eating as much as you like went into effect!"  Both men chuckled.

The three newcomers about jumped out of their skins when a three soft but distinct trills tinkled across the chamber.  The Harper grinned.  "I'm particularly proud of that!  It was based off an ancient design called a 'grandfather clock' that Harper Timiny had in his books; there are four arpeggios, the first one plays at the quarter hour, the first and second play at the half hour, the first, second, and third play at the three-quarter hour, and all four play at the hour, and on the hour, a bell strikes a number of times equal to the hour, so in a quarter hour, it'll play the combination of all four and then be followed by seven chimes.  It's loud enough to be heard over noise in the Hall, but soft enough not to reach to most of the residences, so it won't keep people awake.  However, that is also the signal that I need to get the three of you to visit with Lery!"

The Harper escorted the trio to the dias that Lery was currently using for an office.  Aren's truth-reading senses were being strained to their limits as he listened to everyone around them, alert for dangers to his two charges as well as to the goals of the Weyr, but thus far, he hadn't found any.  As they left the Cafeteria, depositing their trays and dirty dishes in bins designated for that purpose, they met Lery coming out of the Kitchens.  She greeted them with not a hint of the exhaustion Learyam insisted she had to be feeling, after three solid days of trying to sort out operations in the Weyr.

"You got breakfast, good.  I've got a pitcher of klah, but that's about the best I can offer since I don't have a real office yet.  But we're not far from the Kitchens, if you're still hungry, we can make sure you get something more to eat!" she eyed Erhom with the knowing look of someone who has raised a teenage boy.  Lorler coughed, a wet sound deep in his chest, that brushed away all the humor of the moment.  "You've had a checkup, haven't you?  I haven't gotten the whole story yet, T'lon just said, 'There were complications,' which really doesn't tell me anything.  He would call a hurricane a complication," she wrapped up a little waspishly.

Lorler and Erhom nodded when she asked if they'd gotten a checkup.  "Yes, m'lady, Master Tikal has been very attentive.  He's provided us with a tea for Lorler's cough, and replaced the field bandage on my shoulder."  Aren was hesitant to describe too much about what had happened without Loraine's express approval.

Lery rolled her eyes when Aren called her "m'lady."  "Just 'Lery,' if you please.  If you feel the need to be formal, 'Headwoman' will do.  If you wouldn't mind at least explaining the cause of the injuries and illness, and what kind of political mess T'lon may have gotten us into, I would appreciate it."  She gestured at the chairs sitting around a table on the dais, and took the one that put her facing outward over the Hall, where she could keep an eye on everything.  Aren gave a terse report on how Lorler had been thrown into the ocean while bound, and that he'd been struck by an arrow.  He could tell that she could tell that he wasn't telling her everything, but she didn't press the issue.  "Well, young man, you'll fit right in with the latest transport ship that broke up in a storm a few nights back.  Lots of kids about your age, and most of them swallowed more seawater than is healthy!  No doubt that's why Tikal had some of that soothing concoction on hand when you arrived last night."

Aren asked a few general questions about the Weyr, how many people there were, how the setup was progressing, and the like.  He finally came around to what Learyam had said.  "Learyam mentioned that some people were less than enthusiastic about how things are going."

Lery gave an exasperated sigh.  "He's getting the brunt of the blame, I'm afraid, since it was his family's heritage that provided the information they used to start construction.  It's not his fault that he didn't have all the information...ironically, we were the ones that caused the issue in the first place!  Harper Timiny, who'll you'll meet in a bit, pilfered a number of historical documents from the Harper Hall Archives before we left, which meant that Learyam's ancestor couldn't salvage them before the AWs torched the place.  So our own trip forward created the gaps in the building plans that we're now trying to rectify as quickly as possible!  I understand now why H'lee complained about how thinking about timing it with the dragons makes his head hurt."  Lery paused to pinch the bridge of her nose.  "Now, if you don't mind, I have some questions for the three of you."  She refilled all four mugs with klah, and Aren gently reminded Lorler that he should add the packet of herbs Tikal had given them to it.

Over the next half an hour or so, Lery grilled them on their backgrounds, the kind of training they had received, what kinds of responsibilities they were accustomed to having, and what their personal interests were.  By the end of the exhaustive interview, Lorler was looking a bit worse for wear.  "On second thought, you can see Harper Timiny later.  I have a notice here that the first of the candidate barracks has been roughed in.  There's no furniture yet, but that is a fairly high priority, so you should have some within a few days.  In the meantime, I think we can spare one of the guest cots," she gestured to the side of the Great Hall were rows of cots were laid out, "to keep Lorler off the floor so he can stay warmer.  If the two of you don't mind bunking down on the floor with some bedrolls..."

Erhom did mind.  "That's not fair!"  Aren frowned reprovingly at the teenager.

Lery didn't bat an eye.  "You're right, it's not fair.  There are some who would tell you, 'life isn't fair.'  And while that's true, it is our job to see that it is made as fair as it can be.  But would it be fair to take a cot away from someone else who is already using it, just so you can have one?"  Erhom subsided into a sulk, but muttered something.  "I'm sorry, lad, I couldn't hear that," Lery chided, even as Aren scolded the teenager for not respecting his elders and his superiors.

"I said, 'No, Headwoman,'" the young man snapped, yelping as Aren cuffed him -- gently -- for speaking so sharply.

Lery pursed her lips.  This one's going to be trouble, she thought to herself.  Well, he'd have enough competition in his age bracket that it ought to straighten him out.  She gathered from the little bit she'd pulled out of T'lon that he wasn't very happy about being separated from his mother, and that was perfectly natural and understandable.  "If I understand the situation correctly, you also don't have the supplies and personal belongings you had intended to bring.  I can send one of the firelizards to fetch your bags, if you want to compose a note requesting specific items.  If the rest of the scheme is still intact, it wouldn't be unthinkable that Lady Loraine would send those belongings at the first opportunity, so it wouldn't be out of character."

Aren face relaxed with relief.  "That would be very helpful, thank you."

Lery handed him a sheet of paper and a graphite stick.  "Let me show you to your new quarters."  She paused to instruct someone to bring one of the empty cots down behind them, then guided them out of the Great Hall to a strange, vertical chamber that had steps cut into it, and led them down to the bottommost landing, then down a hallway that had a roughly carved sign that read, "Candidates" over it.  They came out into what previously, the three would have called a large chamber, had they not already seen the huge Great Hall cathedral.  It wasn't as open as the Hall above; there were huge bubbles that were being walled over by a veritable army of Carpenters, Masons, and even a few Smiths, as well as all sorts of assistants who could hold a board or swing a hammer.  Turning right, Lery led them to a wooden wall with a doorway cut in it.  "We haven't put the exterior doors on yet, we're prioritizing the interior doors.  She led them in and showed them the simple water closet, then the three bedrooms; all four of those had doors, which explained her comment.  "Ah, here's the cot for Lorler.  Get settled in, youngling, then help your brother and..." she paused, not sure what word to use for Aren.

"Uncle.  I'm not really, but they've called me Uncle Aren since they were little."  The man smiled and Erhom made a face.

"It's a good fiction to maintain for now.  Help your brother and uncle make a list of the things you'd like brought from home.  Aren, when you have the list ready, bring it to me.  I'll either be on the dais where we talked, or in the Kitchens, most likely.  If I'm not in either of those two places, wait a bit...I can't leave those two locations untenanted for too long or I start getting all kinds of firelizards looking for me!"  Aren acknowledged the instructions and thanked the porter who had brought the cot for Lorler.  "Oh, I almost forgot!  If you follow the wall a ways down, you'll find another chamber that's like a smaller version of the staircase chamber.  There should be some spare blankets making their way into there.  I don't think they've gotten any of the bathing facilities set up in there yet, but you might be surprised.  If not, go up to where we started, but take the middle hallway.  It leads to some communal bathing rooms.  A good, hot soak might do Lorler some good, although I'd check with Tikal before you do that."

"Master Tikal said it would," the older brother interjected defensively.

"He did, indeed.  Let's get your brother's cot set up and put together that list, then we can all go have a hot bath and maybe a nap.  I know we haven't been awake for long, and the day has just started!  But I'm already tired."  Erhom fought back against a yawn when Aren mentioned being tired, and Lery hid a smile.

"That sounds like a good plan.  The three of you will be required to participate in chore duties, but I haven't gotten all of that figured out yet.  Once Lorler's feeling better, I'll set something up for you, as well as getting you introductions to the various Crafts. In our time, all Riders were expected to study a Craft, although they were rarely used during Threadfall; however, a basic knowledge of all of the Crafts benefits all Riders, and as a Rider, there are certain tasks which you will have to do for yourself and your dragon which require that basic knowledge.  But for now, get settled. I'll have Harper Timiny come find you when it's time for lunch!"  Then the woman bustled out, no doubt heading back toward the dais that was serving as her office.

Ildel was the youngest of the Lord and Lady Holder of Exile Hold.  There was no chance of him inheriting anything in the Hold, although they had given him the same training that they gave their heir-apparent and spare heir.  When the opportunity arose to go to the new Weyr, he jumped at the chance, expecting that he would be put in charge of something important, maybe even running the Weyr, at least until the dragonriders showed up.  Not that he really believed they would ever show up, so he thought this was his chance to inherit.  Unfortunately, he didn't realize just how raw the Weyr was, and his training (which he had neglected anyway) was not sufficient to the task; not to mention, being only 24 years old, some of the Crafters weren't too confident in his abilities.  Instead of being put in charge of something important, he was assigned to helping organize and mark off designated areas in the Weyr.  Then, just as he felt like he was beginning to gain respect from the Crafters, thanks to his work in designing the layout of the Weyr (and especially the Craft Hall areas), the dragonriders showed up.

He had begun to seriously consider returning to the Hold.  Once the riders showed up, he had been relegated to being a menial laborer.  He'd found himself mostly hauling boxes and wheeling barrows.  One afternoon, he was kicking a rock along the ground, returning to the Lower Caverns after helping move a bundle of lumber out across the Weyrbowl -- what for, he had absolutely no clue and wasn't sure he cared anymore -- when a brilliant blue wall suddenly blocked his path.  Startled, he looked up...and up...and made eye contact with a sparkling chartreuse orb.  It was the closest he'd ever gotten to one of the dragons, and he took a few steps backward in surprise.  He jumped and loosed an undignified squeak when the dragon's nose followed him and huffed at him.  He started trying to walk around the dragon, but the beast's head followed him.  After a couple minutes, a rider jogged up and gave the blue's head a shove.  "Keoneth, stop being rude!"  The dragon huffed again, making Ildel flinch.  The rider looked at him.  "Welcome to the swelling ranks of Candidates."  Ildel wasn't sure that was a good thing...

---

A couple days later, he was sent a note instructing him to be at the Headwoman's office at 11am.  That irritated him further.  Not only had he been dispossessed of the position he thought he was going to have at the Weyr, but a woman was doing the job he thought he was going to have, and had been, to all appearances, readily accepted by everyone who had reserved judgement on him until it was too late.  But he had been told that he was not allowed to leave the Weyr until after the Hatching anyway, and he had nothing better to do...

He slouched up to the double doors, one of which was propped open when he arrived.  Scowling -- he'd never gotten an office, and he had been here for months! -- he walked in without knocking.  He pulled up short when he saw the maps on the wall to the right.  He recognized a couple of them as ones he'd helped draw, and was surprised that they Headwoman hadn't had new ones made by one of her precious riders.

He started when someone cleared their throat off to his left and his gaze snapped around to the table, behind which stood the interloper herself.  "Ildel, isn't it?  Lord Halen's and Lady Adilye's youngest son?"  He could only nod, astonished that she knew anything whatsoever about him.  Then his eyes narrowed a bit as he started wondering if the older Crafters who had been reluctant to accept his leadership had been telling tall tales about him...  "Good.  Close and bar the door, if you would, lad," she waved him off.

He hesitated as his anger at being displaced bubbled up again.  This was no better than his brothers treated him at home!  But that also reminded him that there was no going home, at least not for a few weeks, and he might as well make the best of it.  Again.  He kicked the doorstop out from under the door, not caring that it skittered halfway across the hallway, and closed the door.  The inside had a plank of wood bolted to it, which swiveled around the bolt, allowing the board to drop in behind the handles, effectively locking the door.  When he turned back around, he was surprised to see she was back at what was passing as a desk, and there was a platter of stew and a biscuit on his side.  "Would you prefer klah or some fruit juice?" the woman asked.

"Uh, juice, please," he stammered, taken aback.  Lery nodded and stepped over to the right of the stove, where there was a box sitting on the floor.  He realized it was an icebox when she opened it up and retrieved a pitcher of chilled juice.  She poured two tall glasses of it and brought them back to the desk, setting one next to the platter of food.

"This is what they're serving for luncheon today, so you might as well dig in.  If you're still hungry after, there'll be more in the Cafeteria."  Ildel warily sat down.  The stew did smell good, and the biscuit was steaming.  He picked up the spoon and hesitated, looking up at the Headwoman, who had sat down opposite him.  "Thank you, but I'll have some after we're done here," she smiled, correctly interpreting his look.  He shrugged and took a bite, quickly chasing it with a gulp of juice when he realized how hot it was.  After he'd eaten a few bites, she started asking questions about his life to this point.  He did his best to conceal the bitter anger he felt at being displaced, keeping his answers short and to the point.  Then she caught him off-guard: "And how do you feel about your change of circumstances since we arrived?"

He froze, the spoon halfway between the bowl and his mouth.  He forced himself to finish the bite of stew, watching the Headwoman and looking for any sign of condescension.  He took a sip of the juice and cleared his throat.  "It's been frustrating," he temporized.  "I don't have any Crafting experience, so I haven't been much help to them.  And clearly, you don't need my help."

To his shock, that elicited a bark of laughter.  "If you had thought to stop and ask, I would have happily utilized your skillset and knowledge.  You did some excellent work with the Craft Halls.  I haven't had time to get to know everyone yet, or I'd have recruited you sooner."

He stared at her.  "What do you mean?" he asked suspiciously.

She shrugged.  "I need people who know how to organize large groups of people and understand the complexities of operating a large community.  Although we brought several people with us who have those abilities, they're all just as handicapped as I am, by not knowing what the current state of affairs are -- what the political temperature is, the cultural and language shifts that have occurred in the last 1,100 years, and other bits of knowledge that may seem trivial to you, but actually are significant pitfalls for us.  If you're amenable to it, I'd like for you to start meeting with my staff and try to help with those questions."

He didn't know what to say, so he said nothing for a long moment, staring instead at a bead of condensation creeping down the side of his glass of juice.  Reluctantly, he agreed to the request, although he felt certain that she had made all of that up for his benefit.

"Good.  I know you've been living in one of the residences, but there's a very truculent fellow who needs a roommate down in the Candidate Barracks, and I'd like for you to be that roommate.  His name is Shemov, and he somehow had scaled to the top of the Tower and was growing a bit of food and had built a bit of shelter for himself up there.  No one even knew he was there until the dragonriders found him, and he hasn't had much interaction with other people.  His language is a bit coarse, he never learned to read or write, and he doesn't seem to be interested in learning, so I'm hoping maybe you can rub off on him a bit."

Ildel frowned.  He had been forced to share living quarters with one or another person since he'd gotten here, since no one was yet being allowed to live alone.  But he'd gotten pretty well settled in his current quarters...oh, whatever.  Just do it, get through the next few weeks, then you can go home, he told himself.  He shrugged.  "Alright.  Where is it?  I'll go get my things and move down there after lunch."  He intended to keep some level of control over the situation!

She gave him directions.  "In addition, you'll be part of Chores Group F.  Right now, you're the only one in that group, but it should be pretty well filled by the end of the day.  For the next week, starting tomorrow, you'll report to Nium in the Kitchens at 11am.  At 6:30am, I'd like you to come here to my office to meet with my staff.  In the afternoons, I'd like you to spend time with Shemov.  Come here after lunch tomorrow and we'll get something figured out."  He polished off the bowl of stew and gulped down the last of the juice, preparing to leave.  There was a knock at the door, causing him to try to rush through the beverage.  "Ah, that should be Master Timiny.  He's going to give you a short evaluation that will help tell us how your reading, writing, and math skills are.  I would hope," she raised an emphatic eyebrow, "that you'll score very well."  He wasn't sure whether to be offended by that statement or wary.  Meanwhile, she rose, taking the platter and her glass and heading for the door.  She unlocked it and let a man in Harper blues in.  "I will see you bright and early tomorrow, then," she said by way of farewell.  The Harper let the door swing closed but left the door unlocked.

Secha was sitting at one of the communal tables in the Cafeteria with some of her fellow junior apprentice Healers for lunch.  They were quizzing each other on the names and locations of the various muscles in the human torso, neck, and head.  They had a week until the class finals and Secha despaired of ever memorizing all the muscles; there were just so many more in those parts of the body than there were anywhere else!  Someone had started a game of trying to name the muscles that were in use while they were eating, which was making eating less appetizing.  The young Healer had her book out and was trying to memorize the muscles of the face when the quarter-til chime tinkled across the Hall.  A few of her classmates shot her jealous looks as they packed up and headed off to the Infirmary; she had a meeting at 13-hundred with the Headwoman regarding being Searched for a dragonrider and had been excused from afternoon duties.

Secha waved distractedly as they charged off, trying to understand why the "orbicularis oris" was around the mouth and not the eyes, where the "orbicularis oculi" were.  She flipped back a few pages in her book, finally finding the section that talked about the oris muscle, but nothing explained why both it and the oculi muscle were called "orbicularis."  She moaned and dropped her head onto the book, thumping it a few times.  Then a deep tone reverberated through the Hall and she squeaked, jumping up from her seat so quickly that she knocked the bench over, garnering her some irritated looks from others in the Cafeteria, which she ignored as she hastily slammed her book shut and crammed it and her notebook into her carrypack.  "Great, just great, be late to your first meeting with the Headwoman.  I wonder if they kick Candidates out for being late..." she muttered to herself as she slung the pack over her shoulder and took off at a run for the Headwoman's office.

To her relief, the Headwoman was not looking for her, nor standing in the door tapping her foot, which is what the young Healer more than half expected.  Instead, she found the Headwoman seated at her desk, poring over some papers of her own.  Out of breath from her sprint from the Cafeteria, Secha didn't need to announce herself, but as Lery raised her gaze to see who was panting fit to fall over, she felt the need to apologize.  "I'm sorry, Headwoman, I was studying in the Cafeteria and lost track of time, I can't figure out why the lip muscles are called 'orbicularis' like the eye muscles are when they're not even remotely in the same region and the book isn't helping at all, and--" she realized she was prattling on and swallowed hard.  "Sorry, sorry, sorry..." she trailed off, looking down at her feet guiltily.

"Well, I think we can forgive a little tardiness if you are actually studying," the woman said calmly, seeming unperturbed by the girl's chatter.  "Did you get enough to eat at lunch around all that studying?"

"Oh, yes, ma'am!  I heard you were the one who made the rule that we could eat as much as we like, and that has been wonderful, and I wanted to thank you for that!"  Ohhhh why can't I just give simple answers, why must I babble on so much? she thought to herself.  Her instructors were often having to remind her to stop talking, thank you, when she answered a question in class.

She missed Lery's lips twitching as the woman hid a smile.  This was quite a change from her earlier meetings, most of whom had been quite reticent.  It was like pulling teeth to get them to talk about themselves.  "Good, I'm glad you are getting enough to eat.  Would you like a cold glass of fruit juice while we talk?"  The Headwoman decided offering klah was probably a bad idea...

"Oh, yes, please!  Um, just water I think, I had juice to finish lunch with, it's sweet enough to be like having a little dessert."  Secha cringed inwardly, telling herself to stop yammering already.

Lery was glad to get up and get two glasses from the icebox because she knew she was on the verge of laughing at the girl's exuberance.  It reminded her so much of Alina and Allie.  By the time she filled the two glasses -- fruit juice for herself, water for Secha -- she had regained her composure.  Bringing the glasses back and setting them down, she asked a simple question: "So you're a healer apprentice, correct?"

Then the girl was off with the bit in her teeth.  She got some information about several of the other potential Candidates, including the girl's older brother, Taysen, who Lery had met the first day she was there when she had requisitioned supplies for her lists.  He didn't seem to be as loquacious as his sister, however.  Lery occasionally interjected with a new question to direct the flow of chatter, but Secha was mostly answering all of her questions with very little prompting.  However, she did have other meetings that day, so she carefully cut off the talk when they approached the half-hour.

"Thank you, Secha.  I'm assigning you to the women's barracks suite number 2.  You'll find Xilosci is already there--"

"Oh, she's in my class!" Secha exclaimed happily.  Lery smiled and nodded.

"--as well as my stepdaughter Nylee.  You will also be part of Chores Group F.  Starting tomorrow, you'll be expected to present yourself to Nium in the Kitchens an hour before luncheon.  Arrangements will be made with your instructors!" she raised her voice over the girl's kneejerk protest.  "Now, Master Timiny should be here momentarily to give you a quick exam, and then you can proceed with moving into your new quarters." Lery rose and headed for the door. As she stepped out, she paused. "And it's called 'orbicularis' because it circles, or orbits, an opening, or an orifice, and controls the opening and closing of the orifice. 'Oris' or 'oculi' tell you which orifice." Then she was gone.

Secha stared after her, for once speechless.

Rineta was furious. Her older sister had gone to their family residence and packed up all her things at lunchtime and took off for the new Candidate Barracks. Before Rineta had her interview! Rineta was the one who had been Searched, not Nymine! Her outrage completely destabilized her focus for her early afternoon session working on the lithophone she had been constructing out of some of the waste stone being drilled out of the Weyr. One of the chambers they had been working on had contained several dikes that produced basalt columns that were excellent sounding plates. Unfortunately, in her distracted state, she failed to properly secure one of the plates, and it dropped to the floor and shattered. "GAH!!!" she roared, flinging the wrench across the room.

She stormed out into the common area of their living quarters and headed to the icebox to get a glass of water. As she leaned against the counter and gulped her water, she noticed the time: just before half-past. It would take her 20 minutes to get to the Headwoman's office. Might as well leave now, she'd already made a mess of her lithophone. She finished off her water and took a minute to clean up before heading out.

She was a few minutes early, but the office appeared to be empty. The door was propped open and she let herself in. She gazed around the empty room, wondering whether she should wait outside. Then the inner door opened up and Lery came out. "Ah, Rineta. Right on time. Would you like something to eat or drink?"

Rineta realized she was feeling a bit hungry. "Um, if you have a piece of fruit or something small, I wouldn't say no."

Lery pursed her lips. "How about a biscuit or two? I'm afraid I don't have any fruit, unless you count juice."

Rineta bobbed her head. "That would be fine. Maybe a glass of the juice to go with it?"

Lery nodded decisively. "Have a seat," she instructed, gesturing at the bench on Rineta's side of the table. A moment later, she took her own seat, handing a napkin with a warm, buttered biscuit and a glass of juice over to the young Harper. "So. I imagine you already know, your sister presented herself to be a Candidate."

Rineta scowled and carefully set the glass of juice down before she felt the urge to throw it. "I don't think I could have avoided finding out," she growled.

Lery noted the teenager's aggravation. It wasn't unusual for siblings to quarrel, particularly if they found themselves in competition. "It's a bit unusual for a younger sibling to be Searched while an older sibling is ignored. Usually, both will be Searched. But it's not unheard of for one sibling to be Searched while the other isn't. Just remember, you're not competing with each other!"

Rineta didn't understand how they weren't in competition: there were only 39 eggs, and there were a lot of people between the ages of 12 and 30 in the Weyr. She didn't know how many would actually be Standing for the Hatching, but there would be a lot! She said as much to the Headwoman.

The older woman shook her head. "Yes, there are only 39 eggs right now. But in about 2 years, there will be another 40 or 50, and that many more every 6 to 8 months after that. Even if we have three times as many Candidates now as we have eggs, in two, two-and-a-half years, all of the Candidates we identify now could have Impressed a dragon. I'll tell you, right now, it's a nice change to have so many Candidates. We were struggling to find enough for all of the eggs before, and that was with the dragons' clutches being small."

"I thought they always laid the same number of eggs?"

Lery laughed. "Oh, Faranth, no! During a Pass, each queen can produce 40 eggs, although they're typically closer to 25 to 30. But during Intervals, they often lay closer to 10 or a dozen. It's hard to say how large the first new clutches will be at first. We're not sure what prompts the change in size, if it's some sort of hormonal change brought on by the presence of Thread, or if it's something like how animals go into heat on predictable schedules. It's said that the clutch sizes didn't increase after the first Interval after AIVAS plotted a way to stop Thread, which would seem to rule out a time imperative. It also means we don't know for certain that new clutches going forward will be larger. But we sure hope they will be!"

Rineta was shocked at the idea of 120 eggs on the Sands at one time. Well, okay, more likely 75, but that was still so many more than there were now. Where would they put them all? Then she revised that opinion, remembering how large the Hatching Grounds were. Then she was brought back to the present as the Headwoman started asking questions about her life, her ambitions, and her thoughts on the dragons and the Weyr. It seemed like there was no end to her questions, but all of a sudden, it seemed she ran out.

"Alright. I am going to assign you to Chore Group E. After breakfast tomorrow, you'll report to Bluerider S'nom at the dais in the Great Hall. You'll be running errands, and S'nom is a Senior Journeyman Scribe and has kindly taken on organizing assistance throughout the Weyr. And you'll be in the women's Barracks suite 3. Right now, your only roommate is Amaki, who is also a Harper. You should have your second roommate by the end of the day. Now, Master Timiny will be here momentarily to administer a short exam."

Pola had been assisting Kanorl and Taysen with trying to organize Stores, pretty much since the day she arrived. Although Taysen was in charge of maintaining the minimal computer system owned by the Weyr, he didn't have enough computers to have kiosks set up all around the Weyr, so they still needed someone to write notes down on paper, and to mark items off printed inventory sheets when deliveries were made. And every time a new delivery arrived, there was something "wrong" -- expected supplies that hadn't been delivered, unexpected supplies that had been, supplies stored in mislabeled containers...you name it, if it was an error in delivery, she had probably seen it by now! They trusted her to do the work because she had a small, tidy script that Taysen could easily read and transcribe into his computer system.

And then there was the fiasco of the last ship, the one that had been supposed to arrive the previous week. Although the majority of the supplies had been lost when the ship had sunk, the dolphins had also been able to find many of the containers. By the time they'd been collected, lots of the contents were waterlogged, but not all were ruined, and some were even dry. But there was absolutely no organization remaining! So Pola and some of the others were prying open shipping crates and checking the contents, fishing out what could be salvaged and sending the ruined items to the waste bins. Some items could be dried out and used as fire starters, other items could be put in the midden that produced the compost for their gardens. Residents were welcome to rummage through the bins to see if there was anything they thought they could use.

"Pola, are you still in Stores?" her handheld crackled, and she recognized Taysen's voice.

"Yeah, what do you need?"

"You were supposed to be at Headwoman Lery's office five minutes ago."

"Shells!" She clicked her handheld on, "On my way right now! I'll leave my clipboard here in case someone else picks up where I left off!" She set her clipboard down on an unopened crate and bolted for the stairs. The fastest way to the Great Hall would be going across the Bowl. Taking the stairs two at a time, she hit the main level landing at speed, charging toward the Beastcrafter offices. She dodged other pedestrians, soon entering the livestock shelter area and getting shouted at for running and spooking the animals. Exploding out the entrance into the Bowl, she scattered a flock of geese, getting pecked at and chased by the gander as she continued on her way. It seemed like forever before she reached the Great Hall entrance, and she had to slow down to make the scramble up to the Gather Grounds outside of it.

She noticed, as she sped through the Great Hall, that the clock now read a quarter past. Her heart was in her throat as she approached the Headwoman's office. She hesitated in the doorway, guilt writ large across her face. The woman behind the desk looked up, and Pola thought she looked disapproving. "I'm so sorry, Headwoman, I lost track of the time."

"So I gathered, when I sent a firelizard to Taysen to find out where you were. What were you working on?"

Pola rubbed her lip, then wrinkled her nose as she smelled the mildew residue on her hand. "Uh, trying to see what we can salvage from the shipwreck. Still have a couple dozen boxes to go through."

"Ah. How much was salvaged?"

"Um, I guess about a quarter of what was being sent? Of that, I think we've managed to save maybe half of it. A lot of it got wet and has spoiled."

"That's unfortunate. Well, down to business. Would you like something to drink, or to eat?"

Pola considered it. She was thirsty, but she realized that if she was drinking something, she'd smell the mildew on her hands every time she took a sip, so she decided not. "I think I will pass, thank you, though." She sat at the desk.

The Headwoman asked her several more questions. They weren't quite finished when a knock at the door announced Harper Timiny's arrival. He waited in the hallway until they finished. Okay, so I'm assigning you to Barracks Suite 3, with Amaki and Rineta, and to Chore Group K. Starting this evening, report to Alina in the Kitchens at 5pm."

The Headwoman took a sheaf of papers and left, letting Timiny in on her way out.

Kimta spent his afternoons working in the Infirmary, usually preserving herbs or mixing tinctures. Normally, he found that incredibly boring, but he happened to know that one of his fellow journeymen had already had his interview with the Headwoman, and that fellow would be spending his afternoon in the stillroom. As soon as he got a chance, he started asking Quarion about the interview. To his disappointment, there wasn't much Quarion could tell him. Apparently, the Headwoman asked personal questions and assigned him to new quarters and to a group to do chores for the Weyr, and then the Harper they'd brought with them gave him a reading, writing, and arithmetic quiz. How anticlimatic! Despite the letdown of his conversation with Quarion, he was still wound up by the time his scheduled appointment arrived.

He arrived at the door promptly as the four gongs sounded to mark the hour in the Great Hall, finding the Headwoman standing next to her desk, talking to another woman. Kimta thought he recognized her, but he wasn't sure. Lery looked up as he knocked on the door. "Ah, here's my next appointment. I'll have your group half-staffed after this. You'll have a full staff tomorrow."

"Thank you, Lery. See you after dinner?"

"Of course. C'mon in, Kimta, have a seat." The other woman turned and studied him for a moment, then left, closing the door behind her. "Something to eat or drink?"

"No, thank you. Dinner's not that far off. I'd have some water, though, if you have it?"

He heard a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort, but she was facing away from him and he couldn't be sure. "Well, just make sure you get enough to eat when you do." She turned back with two glasses of water and handed one to him. They both sat at the table. He absently wondered if or when she was going to get a real desk. All the makeshift things they'd been dealing with throughout the Weyr was obnoxious; but at least the Healers were getting first pick of everything. They actually had nearly all the equipment they needed, very few things were improvised.

"What is for dinner? It smelled good when I came through the Hall."

Lery smiled. "Roast pig. B'nin and Risoth finally tracked down and caught that feral boar that was terrorizing New Dorado and stealing their sows. Caught a second feral sow with him, so we'll be eating fresh pork tonight and putting up the rest. Back to fish and wherry tomorrow." Her smile widened a bit when he groaned. "Well, Alina will have my hide if I don't get you out of here on time." Then she settled down to business, asking him questions. "Alright. Timiny should be here in a minute. You'll be in Bunkroom #4, and Chores Group K. Head to the Kitchens and report to Alina at 5pm."

Unlike Kimta and Quarion, Taien had spent his afternoon doing rounds with Master Ryndena. They had checked on all of the patients who had been brought in from the sunken Eastway. Most of them were fully recovered, but a handful were still battling off the vestiges of pneumonia and other upper respiratory infections due to the long night they'd spent clinging to debris in the ocean. On top of that, there were a few Threadscores from the Fall they had experienced before the dragons arrived; those patients in particular were having their injuries thoroughly documented at least daily, sometimes more often. The AWs had destroyed many of the documents that showed the progression of Threadscore and its healing, so they were attempting to replace that lost knowledge.

Thankfully, they checked the victims of Thread first, giving his stomach time to settle before his shift was over. The injuries were visually disturbing, and sometimes became gangrenous, both of which made one disinclined to put anything in their stomachs afterward except a stiff drink, maybe laced with fellis. Unfortunately, his dinner would be further delayed by his appointment with the Headwoman. His stomach growled a protest as he trudged through the Great Hall, heading for her office. She was waiting for him when he got there, and he sank gratefully onto the bench when instructed to sit. He didn't notice the concerned look on her face, still remembering the amputation that one of the Herders had required when the arm he had lost to Thread had become hopelessly infected. Lery cleared her throat and he started, jerking his mind back to reality. "Sorry. Just thinking about...about Threadscore." He thought the Headwoman shuddered slightly.

"You're among those taking care of them?" she asked. He nodded mutely. "I see. Well, it's good you're getting some insight into what we face." Then she launched into several questions about his training and his past, which he answered as concisely as he could, sipping the juice she'd given him. "Alright, Alina's getting antsy, so I'm keeping this as brief as possible. Timiny!" she raised her voice, and the door swung open and a man in Harper blue came in. "Keep it short and sweet, will you? Alina is expecting him in the Kitchens. Oh, and you'll need to move your things to Bunkroom Four, but not until after dinner. Your Chores Group is K, which means you'll be reporting to Alina in the Kitchens at 5pm. She knows you'll be a bit late today."

Patelo, like most Herders, was up at dawn to feed the livestock.  They generally got fed an hour after sunrise and an hour before sunset, but that was tricky in the Weyrbowl, where "sunrise" didn't really occur until nearly 10am and "sunset" was at 2pm.  But there was plenty of ambient light before then.  However, this morning, his normal routine was disrupted by a summons to the Headwoman's office.  Well, at least he would be clean!

He still couldn't believe Dynkel's luck at getting an earlier appointment.  He'd heard that the older, but less-advanced apprentice had already gotten his own new living quarters!  Well, he'd have his before long.  He'd also heard that one of the girls had marched herself down to the Headwoman's office and demanded to Stand on the Sands with the other Candidates.  He didn't know whether that was true or false, but she had missed the class yesterday on the anatomy of firelizards, so maybe it was true.

He showed up at the office at the designated time, hearing the tone from the Great Hall's clock as he approached the double doors, which were both propped open.  Even as he rounded the corner, he saw the Headwoman knocking the doorstop out of one of the doors.  She waved him through the door, closing the other one after he slipped past her.  He perched on the edge of the bench seat and accepted her offer of a little breakfast, but kept it light.  "Still gotta muck stalls this morning.  I don't like to eat much before doing that heavy lifting."  The Headwoman nodded, seeming to approve.  He did drink a couple cups of klah while he answered her questions, however.

"Very good.  Well, first thing is you'll be in Bunkroom number five, with Liadon.  Your second roommate should be assigned later today.  You'll also join Kimta, Taien, and Pola in Chores Group K.  Starting this evening, you'll report to Alina in the Kitchens at 5pm."  He wondered who these people were, the names didn't ring any bells.  "Wait here, Master Timiny will be along shortly."

Lorali was annoyed. 8am was her normal time to meet with the ensemble she performed with, and they'd been preparing a set for the Hatching. Someone had dug up a handful of the ancient Thread-related songs, including one called "The Question Song" that seemed particular apropos under the circumstances. It was apparently intended to be sung by a treble, but Lorali was an exceptional soprano, and they had decided to adapt it. But today, she was meeting with the new Headwoman during her normal practice time. She had let Leqya and Veria know when they met to eat breakfast; Veria tried to console her with a reminder that they still had nearly a month until the Hatching, which was plenty of time to practice. Lorali grumbled.

She passed the time in the Great Hall, practicing her gittern fingerings for one of the other pieces they would be performing, where she would be playing rather than singing. Shortly after the quarter-til chimes, she slung the instrument and meandered her way to the Headwoman's office. She saw someone in Harper blue lounging on the bench when she paused and knocked on the door. She recognized the strange Master who had come along with the dragonriders; he was one of the ones who had scrounged up some of the songs they would be performing. "Good morning, Lorali! Well, I'll just step out for a bit. See you again shortly!" The Harper was entirely too chipper for Lorali's taste and she was glad when he left the room and closed the door behind him. For that matter, the Headwoman looked much too alert.

She sniffed, smelling klah, and looked longingly at the kettle on the oven. But she didn't dare have klah before singing, it created a burr in her voice, and she turned it down when Lery offered. Lery poured herself another mugful and took a sip before settling down to querying the journeywoman. Lorali was not physically imposing, and she couldn't help but wonder why she had been chosen by the dragons, and she asked the Headwoman as much.

Unfortunately for Lorali, the Headwoman just shrugged. "Even after all these generations, we still don't really understand what the dragons sense. Even the riders of the dragons who are sensitive to whatever-it-is can't explain it, and their dragons can't, either. If you ask one of the Search dragons what it is, they say something like, 'They just are.' So I can't help you with that question, and neither can anyone else! But remember, being Searched doesn't guarantee you'll Impress. We know that whatever it is, it is heritable, so it could be that you have the quality that triggers the Search instinct, but not strong enough to Impress, and it would be your children who Impress instead. Hard to say."

Lorali was disappointed by the answer, but not terribly surprised. If the traits they looked for could be easily identified, it would have been documented millennia ago. Of course...that didn't mean that they'd know the answer now, any documents could have been destroyed by the anti-Weyr dissidents...but then the riders would still now, right? Ugh!

"Alright, you will be moving into Bunkroom 4. Luthi is already there, and you should have your second roommate by lunchtime. You are also being assigned to Chores Group L. Starting tonight, you'll meet with Master Weaver Shyen at the southern exit of the Great Hall at 5pm."

Liasa was entirely too distracted this morning.  She hadn't been near the dragons since the day that Keoneth Searched her, but not for lack of trying.  She spent hours every day sitting outside the creche and sketching the dragons on their ledges, or as they came and went, or the glittering necklace they made on the rim of the volcano when they were sunning themselves.  At 9am, they would often be up on the heights, bathing in the hot pools, and she loved trying to capture the ephemeral image of them wreathed in steam and rainbows, but there was such a short window of time when the light was right! She hadn't yet gotten the nerve up to try to scale the footpath up to those hot springs, although she knew that others had.

And today she was going to miss it.  But she didn't really regret it, she was meeting with the Headwoman for her first Candidacy interviews!  As always, she had her messenger bag with her sketchpads and pencils as she skipped across the Great Hall, heading for her interview.  She was early, and couldn't help herself as she peeked around the corner and saw the Headwoman poring over something on her desk.  She slipped her small pad out and quickly roughed out a profile, hastily tucking it away when the clock rang the hour and flouncing into the office with a bright smile on her face. When Lery looked up and greeted her, and indicated that she should take a seat on the bench across from the woman, she slid her bag off her shoulder and perched on the edge. She accepted the proffered cup of klah.

Lery's questions about her past were so boring! Who cared what she had done in the past, it was what she was going to do that mattered, right? She flitted from topic to topic, barely able to contain her excitement at the idea of Impressing a dragon. As usual, she was completely oblivious to the effect her effervescent personality had on those around her. The interview was over much too quickly, she had barely even started daydreaming of everything she could do as a dragonrider!

"I'm assigning you to the women's bunkroom number four. You'll be roommates with Lorali and Luthi. And at 11am, you need to report to the dais in the Great Hall, where you'll meet with S'nom, as part of Chores Group J."

Neme was still feeling a bit under the weather after being rescued from the Eastway's wreckage, but she was mostly recovered. She still had a bit of a cough, which the Healers assured her would go away in a week or two, and she constantly felt fatigued, which they said would go away after she stopped coughing. However, it meant that she didn't go places quickly. She had not yet even seen the Great Hall; it was too far for her to walk, especially when food was delivered to the Infirmary, so she'd had no reason to go to that side of the Weyrbowl. The Healers had her sitting outside in the sun whenever they could, insisting that the warmth and the outside air would do more to clear her lungs than sitting next to a smoking fire all day.

She had barely seen the dragons that had rescued them, having fallen unconscious in the lifeboat that she'd been shoved onto by her parents. She had woken as the raft lurched into motion, and she remembered thinking that boats didn't fly. She woke up in the Weyr Infirmary almost two days later, subsequently learning that she was now an orphan. She was nearly her majority, and had been practically independent of her parents for some months, but it was a heavy blow to her heart. Then she learned that nearly everyone under the age of 18 that had survived -- which amounted to 43 of the 50 survivors -- had been orphaned as well. There were only a handful of folk over the age of 18 who made it. Although she had been quite ill on arrival, she was recovering well, or so the Healers told her. As such, she had taken it upon herself to look after several of the younger children and had acquired a bevy of little helpers. They were all under the age of 14, as the older ones were, like her, trying to be strong and independent, and she was certainly not the only person to have gained the affection of the children. The advantage for her was that she never wanted for anything, as her helpers were quite happy to make sure she had warm blankets or drinks or food.

While she sat outside one afternoon, half-asleep under a blanket, one of the dragons glided down and landed near the Infirmary, creating a stir among the livestock. The beasts were still instinctively afraid of the dragons, but had begun to learn that the dragons apparently were not dangerous to them, so the ruckus was not as significant as it could have been. But it still woke her from her doze, and she watched as the dragon approached the large lake, which she knew was quite deep and surprisingly cold, given that it was fed in part from the hot springs. She watched sleepily as the blue slurped water from the lake, and found herself wondering why she hadn't noticed that they drank water before. Then it -- he? she thought blues were male -- turned to regard her squarely with both eyes. Neme felt distinctly uncomfortable under that gaze and shifted, waking one of the littles. With a peculiar gait that reminded her of a rabbit's slow hop, the dragon approached the group, stopping near enough that, by fully extending his neck, he could just sniff at their toes. The snuffling woke one of the other children, who shrieked more in surprise than fear, but caused the dragon to recoil much faster than seemed possible for something that large. The other three littles woke and started clamoring as the dragon sat back on his haunches and regarded them curiously. The younger children stopped screaming after a moment, once they realized that Neme didn't seem to be worried and the dragon was no longer so close or threatening. All six humans studied the dragon as he seemed to be studying them, and after a few minutes, Neme spotted a figure running full-tilt across the Bowl toward them. "Oy! Ospereth! What are you--" the man reached the dragon and stopped talking as he bent over and tried to get his breath back. One of the children giggled.

That was when Neme -- and the littles, since they weren't about to leave her alone with a strange man or a dragon -- learned about Searching, Search dragons, and Impression, and Neme learned that the Ospereth's interest was because he had Searched her. A couple of days later, one of the Healers told her that she would need to go to the Headwoman's office and sent one of the Apprentices along to make sure she got there on time without straining her lungs overmuch. Her six assistants insisted on going with her, as well, much to the Healer's amusement, and he did not disapprove of their outing. They were disappointed, however, when they were not allowed in the Headwoman's office during the interview.

Lery, although seeming amused by the tagalongs, made it quite clear to Neme that they would have to separate. She protested, arguing that she had been effectively caretaking them since they had arrived at the Weyr after the shipwreck. "I understand, believe me. I'm a mother myself. But they are too young to Impress a dragon yet, and if you Impress, you will not have time to take care of them. That is the reason for the creche, and I will make sure they are well taken care of. That doesn't mean you can't see them, or they can't help you, by any means! In fact, if you do Impress, I would say you'll never have a shortage of helpers every time your growing dragon needs a bath! But they can't live with you. After you've met with Timiny, I'll have him take you and the children to meet Lorie, she's been helping set up the creche and get the other orphans settled."

Then Lery questioned her on her life before coming to the Weyr, and asked her what she knew about the other survivors of the shipwreck. She seemed particularly interested in how Neme and the other older survivors had "divided up" the younglings. Neme explained that they hadn't really done anything except be accessible to the littles when they had nightmares or felt lonely, and each child seemed to gravitate toward one or two adults and attach to them, and no one had ever really argued about it.

"You'll be in bunkroom 5 with Nemeia, and you'll get your other roommate later today, most likely. Tell Lorie that I've given permission for your assistants to help you move into the bunkroom; then they'll know where you are living so they won't feel totally abandoned. And I'll put you in Chores Group D, which will be in the mornings with Lorie in the creche, so you'll be able to help them settle in there, too." A clatter arose from outside, the happy sounds of children seeing a Harper and knowing that Harpers always had wonderful songs and stories for children. Neme looked mortified, but Lery only laughed. "When he gets untangled from them, he'll give you a short exam to check your education level, and then I'll have him take all of you to the creche." Still chuckling, the Headwoman let herself out of the office and Neme heard the chorus of "pleeeeeeease"'s.

"Oh, alright. Just a short one, though!" And the Harper launched into what had to be a completely off-the-cuff ditty about children ambushing Harpers in the hallways. Neme didn't laugh, but only because she knew laughing would trigger a spate of coughing, but she smiled and tapped her fingers on the table until he finished and disentangled himself, promising them another performance if they behaved themselves while he interviewed Neme. Laughter was writ large on his face, and his eyes crinkled as he entered and saw that even Neme was looking cheerful.

Safira had spent an inordinate amount of time around Lery and Alina, compared to most of the residents of the Weyr. That was because her Master, Shyen, had been Lery's primary resource for the first several days that she and the riders had been at the Weyr, and Shyen had relied on her children, grandchildren, and apprentice to help out wherever they could. You would have though that would make her less intimidated by the Headwoman, but to the contrary, she had watched this whirlwind getting started and had observed many of the changes first-hand as they developed. If she hadn't witnessed it for herself, she probably wouldn't have believed that one woman had made such a difference. And that was just plain daunting.

She spent most of the morning in her classes, and was excused early to make it to her appointment with Lery. She felt like creeping in and trying to be invisible, but she knew that not only wouldn't work, but it wouldn't make a good impression. But she was still feeling pretty timid when she stepped through the door, tapping gently on the closed side and looking for Lery. Surprisingly, the Headwoman was not seated at her desk, which is where Safira had expected her to be. In fact, she didn't seem to be in the office at all. The teenager hesitated on the threshold, not sure if she should go in or not. She about jumped out of her skin when she heard someone clear their throat behind her, and she scampered sideways into the room but out of the open doorway.

Lery strode in and headed straight for the cookstove in the corner. "Sorry, Safira, I needed to get some fresh klah from the Kitchens. Would you like some?"

"Yes, please." She accepted a mug of freshly brewed klah from the Headwoman and took a deep, appreciative breath, inhaling the steam before taking a sip. It was just short of scalding; in other words, just right. "Oh, that hits the spot, thank you." She opened her eyes to see Lery similarly engaged with her mug.

"Not quite as good as that first cup in the morning, but the first cup of a new pot is always good," the Headwoman sighed. Taking a deep breath, she settled onto the seat at her desk, and Safira hurried to follow suit. "Down to business. You have been a wonderful help this last week, but I haven't actually had a chance to get to know you!" Safira blushed with pleasure at the compliment. Then she didn't have time to think about intimidation or compliments as Lery interrogated her!

"Thank you, Safira. I'm going to assign you to Barracks suite 5, with Nemeia and Neme, and to Chores Group M. Starting this evening at 4pm, meet Master Herder Eletia at the entrance to the Lower Caverns by the Beasthold." A knock on the door heralded Timiny's arrival, and Lery handed over the meeting to him.

Like his fellow apprentice, Safira, Dryden had spent a lot of time around the newcomers to the Weyr. Unlike her, though, he'd spent more time around the dragons and their riders than around the other Weyrfolk. Every opportunity he had, he'd run off to do anything the riders needed, the way his little brother did for Lery. He had even snuck a peek into the Hatching Grounds and saw the eggs...which is when he had gotten Searched. They, along with their friend Ceraven, had dared to slip away after dinner one evening a few days after the riders arrived and scamper down the hallway leading to the Hatching Grounds. They'd heard that there were eggs on the Sands now, but everyone had been forbidden from going there "for safety." The boys figured, they had no intentions of hurting the eggs, and it couldn't hurt to look at them from the doorway. Of course, they didn't know that there was a dragon with the eggs...

In fact, they still didn't know that when they first crept through the Lower Caverns doorway. There was a fair sized section of floor that had not yet been covered in sand, and the eggs were beyond that. From where they stood, the eggs didn't have much definition, or any sense of size. "I thought dragon eggs were big," Ceraven whispered.

Dryden nodded. "R'yur said the queen eggs are longer than T'lon is tall!"

"Well, they don't look it from here. Let's get closer!" With a glance back down the hallway to make sure they weren't seen, the three boys tiptoed out onto the stone floor, grinning at each other. They didn't see the woman seated in an alcove behind and to one side of the entrance they had used.

As they got closer, Artie started to lag behind. "I don't think we should get too close," he hissed.

"Oh, c'mon Artie, they're not going to bite. Yet." The other boy's voice was just a bit louder, and it echoed in the huge chamber. Dryden shushed him hurriedly.

All three boys froze in place as a low growl reverberated across the Hatching Grounds and a large, blue shape rose over the eggs they'd been approaching. A blue dragon, his eyes whirling a yellowish-green, stared down at them. The three started to step backward, away from the eggs, and they yelped when the dragon sprang into the air, straight toward them. He landed between them and the eggs, causing all three to scramble out of the way. The blue head shot forward toward them and they turned tail to run. Dryden was sure he felt the dragon's teeth snap shut right behind him as he burst into the hallway half a step behind the other two boys. They didn't stop running until they were clear of the hallway. After they'd reached safety, they collapsed, giggling.

The next morning, Shyen had a note for Dryden, instructing him to report to Headwoman Lery's office immediately after lunch. He immediately thought of their illicit foray into the Hatching Grounds and started feeling guilty. His grandmother noticed the look on his face, but decided not to say anything just yet; if her apprentice and grandson had gotten himself into some sort of trouble with the Weyr, it was Lery's place to discipline him for that, and she would undoubtedly find out what it was later and could add her own punishment to whatever Lery had in mind. However, she didn't think that was the case, since she happened to know that Lery was holding Candidate interviews on the hour.

Dryden slunk out of the Cafeteria after he ate -- not that he was able to eat much -- and across the Great Hall toward the Headwoman's office. He hadn't seen either Ceraven or Artie at lunch, not that that was unusual. He felt miserable, after having all morning to mull over the summons and imagining all the things that could happen, wondering whether they had hurt the eggs in some way. But one thing bothered him: he didn't recognize the blue dragon. He knew all the dragons on sight by now, he'd spent so much time with them and their riders over the past week, and he didn't know that one.

He arrived at the office to find the doors closed. He stood in the hallway for a long moment, wishing he could just disappear the way Hagbard could. Then he trudged up to the door and knocked. "Come!" came the muffled response. He pushed on the door and edged into the room. Lery rose from her seat at her desk. "Would you like some water or juice to drink?" she asked, pouring herself a glass of water from an ice chest near her desk.

"Um, sure, a glass of water would be nice," he replied, his mouth and throat suddenly dry.

She poured a second glass and returned to her desk, setting both down. "Sit." Dryden forced himself to take the seat across from her. He hadn't yet made eye contact with her. "So. You decided to disobey the rules and sneak into the Hatching Grounds."

The boy's heart dropped to his feet, and he nodded miserably. "Yes, ma'am," he muttered. When she didn't say anything more, he dared to raise his gaze to where her hands sat, folded, on the top of the table. "We just wanted to see if the eggs were really as big as they say." He heard a "hmm" from the Headwoman. "We weren't going to touch them or anything!"

The woman sighed. "The rule is not there to protect the eggs, Dryden. It's there to protect everyone else. Brooding dragons are dangerous at the best of times, which these are not. You're lucky that Warrelith was apparently more interested in Searching you than in making an example of what happens to people who get too close to the eggs!" That brought Dryden's head snapping up. He knew what being Searched meant: Artie had been Searched, and he'd spent so much time around the dragons...but why hadn't Ospereth or Keoneth, the two blues who had, so far as he knew, done the majority of Searching picked him out before? And who was Warrelith? He opened his mouth to ask, but snapped it shut when the Headwoman raised a hand. "You've spent enough time with my husband that I know most everything I need to about you. Since you're so interested, and Warrelith seemed to like you, I'm going to assign you to Chores Group O. But instead of reporting to D'ver, you're going to report to Silvara in the Hatching Grounds. Once she's done with you, then you'll report to D'ver. You'll report there at 5pm every night."

At first, Dryden was excited by the assignment, until she told him what time to report for it. That meant he wouldn't get to see his friends at or after dinnertime! He realized that the Headwoman had found a way to turn what seemed like a choice assignment into a punishment. But she wasn't done. "And you're going to be assigned to boy's barracks suite 6, with Burlar. You'll have your other roommate later today." He didn't know who Burlar was. "Now, wait here until Harper Timiny comes to give you an exam."

Artie had found himself working very hard all morning for his parents. They didn't say anything, but he was sure they knew about his and his friends' illicit trip into the Hatching Grounds. They kept him busy through the normal lunchtime, so he didn't even get to see his friends. They sent him to get lunch a little after 1pm, so that he would be in the Cafeteria until the time of his meeting with the Headwoman at 2pm. After he ate, he started meandering his way to her office. As he approached, his face lit up: there was Dryden! But he didn't look very happy, he was dragging his feet and had his hands jammed in his pockets. "Dry! Hey!"

The other boy jumped, startled. He smiled weakly. "Hey Artie."

Artie started to feel nervous. "What's going on? Are we in trouble?" he asked anxiously.

Dryden just shrugged. "Sort of. I'm not supposed to talk about it until after you and Ceraven have been to see her..." He picked up his pace and hurried out through the Great Hall, leaving Artie feeling unsettled and even more reluctant to go to the Headwoman's office.

Finally, he heaved a sigh and finished the walk to the office, passing a Harper in the hallway. When he got there, the door was propped open, but no one was inside. He knocked, thinking maybe she just wasn't visible, but no one answered. Gingerly, he let himself in and edged onto one of the stools by the weird-looking table. He sat there, looking uncomfortable, while he waited.

"Ah, Artie. Good to see you again. How's Leena?"

Artie was caught off-guard by the greeting. "Uh, good to see you. She's fine."

"That's good. I'll be seeing her after your appointment's over, actually. Why don't you have a seat over here. Would you like some water or juice?" She was carrying a basket that clinked, and started pulling some glasses out of it and setting them on the counter by the icebox. Artie accepted a glass of water and changed seats as instructed, starting to feel a little better about the meeting. Lery sat down opposite him and regarded him sternly for a long moment, just enough to make him start to squirm in his seat a bit. "I'm going to give you the same speech I gave Dryden." Artie flinched, no longer feeling better about the meeting. "The rule about not going into the Hatching Grounds is not there to protect the eggs; it's there to protect everyone else. Dragons with a clutch are dangerous, it's one of three times in their lives when they are dangerous to people and there's no guarantee their riders can stop them. You three were very lucky not to be seriously injured."

The more she spoke, the worse Artie felt. He slumped over, his head hanging. "I'm sorry," he mumbled. Suddenly, he realized something, and his head came up. "Does this mean that I can't--" He stopped when Lery shook her head.

"No, we're not going to ban you from Standing. But you are in trouble, and so are Dryden and Ceraven. I've already given Dryden his punishment. You're going to be in Chores Group B. You'll report to Ashendel in the morning, after breakfast, and you'll be in bunkroom 6." She asked Artie several questions that left him confused and wondering what was going to be happening next. Then she instructed him to wait until Harper Timiny returned, and she left.

Leena was puzzled by the way her parents were driving Artie that morning.  It was almost like he was in trouble, but they didn't say anything, and it wasn't like he was being put to doing the worst jobs that was normally what happened when they were being punished.  Their mother took Leena to lunch while their father and Artie kept working, and then they switched when the women returned.  Teren came back at about 2pm without Artie, but Leena knew that her brother had a meeting with the Headwoman.  She had her own meeting at 3pm!

She took off at a jog at about 2:30pm, leaving from their small smithy.  She caught a glimpse of Artie turning down the hallway that led to their home, but he didn't respond to her call.  She hesitated a moment, then shrugged and headed on.  She was a bit out of breath by the time she reached the Great Hall, but she felt good as she slowed to a walk and finished her trek at a more sedate pace.

The door into the Headwoman's office was open, and Leena knocked shyly, peeking in.  The Headwoman looked up from her desk and waved her in to a seat across from her.  "Hello, Leena.  Would you like some water or juice?" the woman asked as she jiggled the stack of papers she was holding and set them aside.

"Some juice sounds good, thank you," Leena replied politely and accepted the glass.  She took a sip.  "I saw Artie on my way over, but he looked like he was in a hurry."

"Hmm.  Did you know about his and his friends' little...prank?"  The Headwoman looked irritated.

Leena blinked.  "Prank?  What prank?"

Lery studied her closely.  "Your brother and his friends snuck into the Hatching Grounds yesterday evening."

Leena gasped.  "He what?!" she sputtered.  She could believe he'd break the rules, but she couldn't believe he hadn't told her about it!  What that little...  "Do our parents know?"

Lery nodded.  "I informed them about it this morning when I sent the notes for your appointments."  She couldn't decide if Leena was outraged because her twin had broken the rules, or because he hadn't included her.  Not that it really mattered in the grand scheme of things.  "Well, at any rate, on to what you're actually here for."  She smiled and started in on questions.  The answers were fairly similar to Artie's, not surprisingly.  She wrapped up by assigning Leena to bunkroom 6 and chore group G, reporting to Shyen at 11am.

Hirana was rushing her latest job, casting gears. She wasn't sure what they were going to be used for, but there were a lot of them. They had an order for 200! And she had a meeting starting in 20 minutes, flame it all. Where was Tugar? He was supposed to be taking over from her so she could make it to her appointment!

At last, she heard footsteps behind her. "Finally! I'm supposed to be meeting with the Headwoman!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatevah," she heard Tugar's lazy drawl.

She growled angrily. "Will you hurry it up?!" It seemed like minutes went by before he stepped up next to her and took control of the pouring. As soon as he grasped the controls, she let go and sprang out of the way. She flung her apron on a hook as she raced out the door, ignoring Tugar's curse as her precipitous departure shook the ladle and spilled a bit of the casting media.

It was ten past the hour when she staggered up to the doorway. "I'm sorry, Headwoman, I was right in the middle of a job and Tugar didn't show up on time," she gasped, collapsing on the bench across the way from where the Headwoman sat. She gratefully accepted a glass of water and quaffed half of it while trying to get her breath back. The Headwoman didn't say anything while Hirana caught her breath, just let her sit for a couple of minutes. Once she had her breath back, though, the older woman started in on her interview.

"Alright. Well, I'm going to assign you to bunkroom 6, with Sindri and Leena." Hirana made a face. That little goody two-shoes? Ugh, she thought to herself. She knew who Sindri was on sight, since they were the same age, but she didn't really know much about her. "And Chores Group C, you'll report to Nadra or Eletia in the Beasthold at 7am."

Lyeala would probably have been late to her meeting with the Headwoman except that it was close to dinnertime, and her fiancée always made sure neither of them missed dinner. She had been completely absorbed in working a piece of apatite that was the exact color of Keoneth's hide, and she was trying to carve it into a likeness.

"Lyea, it's almost time for dinner, are you going to get cleaned up?" her fiancée called from the other room where he was peeling off his gloves and headgear from his day in the mine. He would keep an eye out for promising stones for her while he worked and bring them home to her if he saw something he thought might catch her eye. If she didn't like it, she would take it to the lapidary for someone else to take.

The young woman scowled at the section of stone she was working on that was stubbornly refusing to flake away. It took a moment for the man's words to sink in, and she jerked, looking for the time candle (candles! When would they get a clock?!). With an undignified squawk, she leaped up from her desk and bolted out the door, leaving Terther staring after her in confusion. She made it to the Headwoman's office with a few minutes to spare, for which she was relieved. She paused on her way through the Great Hall to gulp down some water and catch her breath before knocking on the door and entering when acknowledged. She gave a courtesy bob as she greeted the Headwoman and took the designated seat, and accepted a glass of redfruit juice when it was offered. She calmly answered the questions Lery asked her.

"I'm assigning you to bunkroom 7 with Theirasta. You'll get your second roommate tomorrow."

Lyeala cleared her throat a little self-consciously. "What about my fiancée? We've been living together for a while..."

Lery shook her head. "For the duration of your Candidacy, and weyrlinghood should you Impress, you'll live in the Candidate barracks. It isn't that relationships are completely forbidden to Candidates or weyrlings, but certain relationships can cause undue stress. Good, stable relationships can actually help a young rider and dragon, but until the Weyrlingmaster has had a chance to observe the relationship, they will be curtailed. You can certainly visit him, but he isn't allowed to visit your quarters," she finished with a sympathetic smile. Lyeala was very confused and unsettled by that revelation; after all, she and Terther were very much in love! "You'll also be assigned to Chores Group I, and starting tomorrow, you'll report to Master Ryndena in the Infirmary at 11am. Your other duties and class schedules will be adjusted accordingly!"

Skeldar sighed, stretching his back and shoulders as he got out of bed.  He was fairly hungry, but he had a meeting with the Headwoman.  Something about candidacy, which sounded like apprenticeship, but for dragonriders...he thought only the dragons could select dragonriders?  He headed toward the Great Hall at a leisurely pace.  Tantalizing odors wafted from the Kitchens and the Cafeteria.  A few minutes later, he tapped on the door to the Headwoman's office.

"Come in!"  The voice came from somewhere within the office, although he didn't see the source at first.  As he stepped inside, the Headwoman stepped out through the door at the rear of the room.  "You're Skeldar?"

"Yes'm," he nodded.

"Hungry?"

Skeldar shrugged.  "I am, but I figured on having breakfast when we were done, so..."

"If you want some, I've got some of the porridge and ham," Lery gestured at the stove.

He shrugged again.  "Sure."  He took a seat on the bench on his side of the table, and watched as she dished up a platter of food.  When asked, he accepted a mug of klah and a biscuit to go with it.  She let him eat a few bites in peace before she started asking him questions.

When she seemed satisfied with his responses, she looked at a pair of papers on her desk.  "You'll be on the male side of the barracks, in bunkroom 7.  It's not quite finished yet, though, they're putting the finishing touches on it right now, so you can move in this evening. You'll get your two roommates tonight, as well.  In the meantime, you'll also be in Chores Group M.  You will report to Master Eletia at 5pm in the Beasthold."

A knock on the door alerted them to Master Timiny's arrival and Lery left him in the Harper's hands.

Theram didn't normally eat at the same time as everyone else.  As a Farmer, he preferred to get out first thing in the morning and get some work done before taking a break to eat.  But his meeting with the Headwoman, not to mention all the chaos of the wee hours of the morning, had thrown his entire day into confusion.  He'd gotten into a habit of helping T'lon and Nadra with setting up the greenhouses that the bronzerider had designed until about 9am, then he'd break for breakfast and some studying, then work on the greenhouses again until 4pm, when he'd get dinner and study some more until bedtime.  But now he had this meeting at 8am...

He went outside as usual and resumed working on assembling the next wall on the next greenhouse.  He was close enough to the Great Hall to be able to hear the clock, if the door was open.  It wasn't usually open this early, but with all the bustle since whatever it was that happened in the early morning hours, they were open.  When he heard the quarter-til chime, he called for someone to take over holding the wall in place while Nadra fastened braces on it, then headed for the Great Hall.  "Someone needs to put steps in here at some point," he muttered as he scrambled up the slope.  He shivered, remembering how nearly all the greenery in the Weyrbowl had been decimated by Threadfall almost a fortnight ago, including the bank he was climbing.

He knocked on the door before he entered, checking to see if the Headwoman was there.  She had gathered up a stack of papers.  "You're Theram?  We're moving down to the Great Hall."  He backpedaled out of her way as she marched across her office, and followed in her wake back to the dais where her original "office" had been.  Now he was even more confused.  They settled on chairs at a small table on the dais.  "Sorry about that, but something's come up and my office is not going to be available for a few hours."

"O...kay..." Theram responded, not sure what that was supposed to mean.  "With all due respect, ma'am, I'm not sure what this meeting is for."

Lery looked surprised.  "Didn't H'lee tell you?"

Theram shook his head slowly, uncertainly.  "I haven't had any contact with H'lee..."

The Headwoman made an exasperated sound.  "You were Searched to be a Candidate," she explained briefly.  "As Candidatemaster, I do a short interview to get an idea of what your background and history are, and Master Harper Timiny will evaluate your education.  H'lee will have a short meeting with you, as well, to explain a bit more about what weyrlinghood is like."

Well, that clarified things, at least somewhat.  He had heard what "Searching" was about, and he certainly admired T'lon and the other dragonriders.  He wasn't really sure he wanted to be one, though.  But regardless, he did his best to answer the Headwoman's questions, and, afterward, to complete the Harper's evaluation to the best of his ability.  "Okay.  I'm assigning you to bunkroom suite 7, with Skeldar.  You'll get your third roommate later today.  You won't be able to move in until around dinnertime, though, the Carpenters are still putting the finishing touches on your suite.  And you'll be in chores group H, meeting with Nadra at 11am.  Your regular classes will be rescheduled accordingly."