Mistaken Whispers (Open/Cait)

Of course T'vax had known better--and really, Dav had too, though she tended to be a bit too hyper for her own good at times--but when did that ever stop teenagers from commiserating during lessons? Never, of course! Of course it didn't help any that Master Eraviya had been out to get the two Weyrlings since before they had even Impressed to their dragons! And with conspiracy on the mind--mainly discussion about Barrek the Weyrsmith and his ties to Tiv's father--it was easy for Davquil's mind to imagine some grand plot against her best friend at the Weyr. So, when the miniscule woman's voice crackled in the hushed silence of the other weyrlings, Dav blinked, confused for a moment. Servants?

Are servants like drudges? You wouldn't have some strange drudge take care of me would you?[/b][/color]

Davquil blinked, distracted for a moment by the hint of concern in Niekolgoth's voice, a crease appearing between her brows. What would she ever do with...oh. OH! Drawing in a deep breath, she clamped her lips together, her cheeks puffing out as she huffed through her nose, dark eyes sparking with anger as Master Eraviya further singled out T'vax. Picking up on her agitation, the purple-gray pushed up from where he'd been sitting and began to fidget; shifting his weight from one side to the other, his tail lashing out and inadvertently knocking into another young dragon, unfurling then furling his wings again.

As the rest of the class turned to stare at the "troublesome student" twin spots of color bloomed on Dav's cheeks and to anyone who knew her well enough--which was basically the entire class excluding the oblivious ones--could see that an outburst was on its way and when the tiny woman barked at T'vax to run the obstacle course, it was the trigger. Dav shot up from where she'd been seated hands on her hips.

"Now wait just a minute, that's not fair to single him out just because he comes from Blood! He wasn't the only one talking! I...was...aw fardles." The last bit trailed off into a muttering as Master Eraviya stared at Dav with an unamused expression. Several of the Weyrlings around her snickered or shook their head and Dav's shoulders slumped. Before the old woman could open her mouth, Dav turned on her boot heel and picked her way through the gathered weyrlings and then took off at a jog after T'vax.


Eraviya snorted and nodded slightly then returned to her lesson, noting the curled lip of a particular Moonlight Weyrling as she watched the girl with the male purple-gray go off to join the Chrome Weyrling. Korvalia would likely never be comfortable around her classmates who had cross Impressed and certainly not around a girl so rambunctious as Davquil. It didn't help any that Korinath didn't seem to hold the same discriminations as her rider. A glance at the Moonlight showed that she was drifting through the gathered dragons like the social flitter she was. Briefly the young woman found herself wondering what it would be like to have been her sister Rekkora; she'd received word of her stunning Impression not long after it had happened though the missive from her sister had arrived after the weyr had officially received word of the hatching of an Abyss and it's Impression to one of the ISW Candidates. I never thought she'd actually Impress a Queen, and an Abyss of all the colors?

Did I get to meet your sister before she left? I don't think I did? How do you think she's doing? From what I hear, being the lifemate of a Queen is not much different from other dragons; they are just larger and grumpier. Oh! Do you know what a servant is? Niekolgoth is asking everyone and Vilishanth says it's like a trundle bug but that doesn't make any sense. Senphorth says it's like a drudge but she's not sure. Were you a servant before I found you?[/b]

I was not a servant before you dear. Servants are people who attend Lords and their women and children. I was a cook, not a-- She trailed off as she felt Korinath pull away, no doubt to go spread the news that a servant wasn't a bug or a drudge but something else. Smiling slightly, she turned her attention back to the review, patiently awaiting the finish of the lesson.



When Davquil finally caught up to T'vax--and it was difficult as the man had quite long legs and the going was a bit tough--she was breathing hard and could barely gasp out a chagrin greeting to her friend. "Cranky...old...wher!"

Meanwhile, in the back of the weyrling group, Virvine winced in secondhand embarrassment. Eraviya didn't take nonsense from anyone, Blooded or no. She couldn't see well from where she was, given her height, but the Weyrlingmaster's voice carried just fine. She could see Throsnoth though, who had moved to the fringe of the jostling group of dragonets after catching a mistaken blow from Niekolgoth's tail. According to him, the others were gossiping over the meaning of the word 'servant'.

"I know you would never use such a thing, Virvi-mine," thought Throsnoth with pleasure. He did not like the thought of others touching, much less being bathed by someone who did not have his Virvine's deft hands and knowledge of exactly where to scratch.