Time to relax (open)

[summerrain]

"How can you be sure the Azure dragons are still cursed?" Wynah asked. "It's been so long since one of them Hatched that we can't be sure of anything." She looked up at the sky, a trace of a smile playing about her lips. "I'd love to be the one to discover something new about a dragon we thought we knew everything about."

She looked at Saphierah, surprised. "Abyss Queens are vain and controlling. I'd hate being Impressed to an Abyss. All they do is demand that everyone do exactly as they say, with no regard to anyone besides their Lifemate. You heard what happened at the Flit Hatching not long ago? That Abyss Weyrling was threatened, and her dragon tried to get into the kitchens to get between the Candidate and the Weyrling. I heard even the Weyrleader and a Wherhandler got involved." She shook her head. "No... Abyss are from Dark Mists, they were corrupted by the corruption of Dark Mists itself. Just like Bloods and Coppers. I couldn't handle such a headstrong dragon."

Wynah sat back down on the grass, looking up at the sky. "How many eggs do you think there's gonna be?" she asked the others. "I'm betting at least one Queen egg, even though the Rainbow was caught by a Cloud. A larger Clutch, do you think? Or smaller because it's a Cloud, not a King that fathered the Clutch?" She was getting into this, alright. Much more than usual. Of course, it was a lot easier to keep a dragon-based conversation going. Especially when she realized that her slip-up when she mentioned her parents went unnoticed. She didn't like talking about her past as a child living by thievery and tricks, having to steal food to survive.

Wynah leaned back, placing her hands behind her. "So are you two just gonna stand around or are you gonna pull up some grass and take a seat?" she asked jokingly. "We've got a good while until the Hatching, so it's alright to relax a bit."

[shapeshifter]

"You're right about the Azures, however, you can never be too careful." She paused and listened about the Abyss dragons, "And that's why I love them. They like control, like I do, but I myself freedom of myself and the thrill of danger." She smirked and then looked at Mobrey, "A hunt sounds absolutely grand! Y'all want to now? We have time to kill obviously!" She grinned widely and extended a hand out to Wynah, "C'mon!" She was almost bouncing with excitement.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Mobrey flopped down next to Karatos.

“I’d think it’d still be a fairly large clutch,” he mused, leaning back and closing his eyes. “The mother was a Queen, after all.”

Opening his eyes, he turned his head slightly to look at the shorter haired woman. “I bet Dyranor will give you good odds on the Queen egg though, the father not being a King and all.”

He lay there and listened to the two woman discuss Azures for a second or two, then snapped up to his feet in response to the longer haired woman’s question.

“Yes! Let’s go!” he exclaimed.

Karatos bounded up as well, panting to express his canine excitement over the strong happy feelings and the promise of motion.

[summerrain]

Wynah tilted her head to the left. "Dark Mists dragons only get gossiped about now," she said. "The only reputation each of them has is vain. They see themselves as absolute best. All they do is look down on others. The Bloods have an actual bloodlust, and it never gets sated." She crossed her legs and looked away from the others. "Honestly, I wish all the Dark Mist colors would just disappear. We're better off without antisocial dragons like that who don't understand teamwork."

She looked at her. "I don't hunt for sport," she said in a no-nonsense tone. "There are things in the Jungle that're scary. Big things with claws and fangs that won't hesitate to attack and kill you if you so much as intrude into their territory. Besides, we're not supposed to go out there anyway. Not after that Weyrling got kidnapped. You should both know that. And I'd rather not have to fight for my life any more, thank you very much." She stood and turned toward the barracks. "I've done that plenty of times... I thought that I'd be able to leave that behind when I became a Candidate here." She sighed.

"But you Weyrbrats wouldn't know about fighting for your lives, would you...?" She glared at the other girl. "Living the sheltered life of a rider's child, you never had to worry about finding your next meal, or whether you'll survive the night. You think hunting's nothing but a sport to keep you entertained until something exciting happens." She looked away, clenching her fists. "No one understands what it means to hunt to survive, to fight for your life... To worry about finding shelter or clean water... Even sinking to the desperation of thievery..." Her control was slipping. She couldn't let this happen, not when there was a Hatching soon. But... She couldn't help it. The happy-go-lucky attitude of this girl had gotten on her nerves. And the boy hasn't helped matters. Him and his canine.

"At least you got to meet your parents," she growled. "My father died in a hunting accident long before I was born. My mother died to give me life... I never got to see their faces!" Her shoulders began to shake slightly. "I've always envied sheltered children... Never knowing the pain of being thrown out onto the streets... Always having someone waiting for them to come home, someone who cared about that child's life..." She turned away. "Lucky brats, they were... Lucky brats with parents to take care of them..."

[shapeshifter]

"Wynah, I understand you were always in the streets...but look how far you've come." Saphierah was not exactly the happiest person in the world talking to this girl. "Have you not thought about how proud your parents would be of you? Stop feeling sorry for yourself and envying others. You have this one life, this one chance. Are you going to let it slip by you because you're holding onto anger from all of Pern? I may be a weyrbrat who barely knows my parents but guess what, everyone has a story and it was up to them as to how their story unfolded. You keep being so negative and your story will unfold negatively. Look at you now, you're a Candidate at Rainbow Mists! You get to stand on the Sands and Impress a beloved Mine. It's time to let go and think about your future!" She said, trying to show this girl that holding on to the past would only make things worse.

"Now, the Beach shouldn't be too bad? I just want to search for some eggs and we can all head to the Barracks! What if you get to find some firelizard eggs? It can't be all that bad of an idea!" Saphierah grinned and said, "C'mon...life's wasting."

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Mobrey remained silent. He was, for one younger than the two woman be several turns, not even really yet a young man, more of a boy, and secondly, he was a boy. From having observed several loaded conversations in the past, he had come to a set of conclusions about them: a) do not interrupt them, you will only make the people involved more emotional and the conversation more loaded, b) when someone was complaining, only offer help or advice if you are older than them, c) support change in topic, but with caution, lest your enthusiasm for a new topic give your intention away. Lastly, do not offer advice to women. Just let them complain, nod at appropriate intervals, and let another woman handle the advising.

“What color firelizard do you want?” he asked the women, smiling. “Be cool if you wound up getting one and your dragon wound up matching, wouldn’t it?”

[summerrain]

Wynah didn't say anything as the other girl spoke. She sighed softly when Saphierah finished. "You're right, I guess," she said in a tone of forced belief. "This is a new life..." She suddenly remembered the words of the traveling Harper that came to the cothold from Riverway. "We cannot change the past... Only our perceptions of it..." She almost smiled again.

"The beach... Well, we might have some luck there. That's where the last big flit clutch was found, after all," she said after a moment. She shook her head. "I wouldn't want to risk it with a Hatching so soon," she told them. "Caring for one is time-consuming, but having to care for a flit and a Hatchling? That's too much for me."

[shapeshifter]

"Well, even if you don't want one...still come with us? Adventure before we spend the next Turn caring for nothing but our mines?" She grinned and said, "Never know what's going to happen. One of us could be the next Jr. Weyrwoman!" She laughed and grabbed Mobrey's hand and tugged, "Let's get a move on."

Saphierah headed to the beach hurriedly. Once her feet hit the warm Sand after removing her boots, she sighed lightly. She set the boots off to the side and worked her way up to sand hills, moving the sand around gingerly with her toes. Nothing was found with the first hill. Time to move on and Saphierah trudged through the sands to the next hill she spotted.

[Ghost of Fire (Fëanáro)]

Mobrey was quite willing to get tugged along, and quickly took off towards the beach. He wished that there was a way to teach Karatos to hunt for flitt eggs and show him where they were, but he would have to always have a flitt egg on him for that to work.

Reaching the beach, he dug his toes into the sand. He’d kicked his shoes off at some point along the trail, and didn’t particularly care where. Karatos could find them, that was good enough for him.

He glanced around, then climbed the dune next to that Saphierah was climbing. Spreading out increased the odds, after all.