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Chaton's Search


Date:  August 19, 2008
Place:  Igen Weyr's Main Beach and Candidate Barracks
Game:  PernMUSH
Copyright Info:  The World of Pern is copyright(c) to Anne McCaffrey 
l967. The Dragonriders of Pern(r) is a registered copyright.

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Kassi's Note:  First Chaton gets lectured by Iesia, then condemned to
toil in the latrines by Lysseth.  It's hard to say whether this is his
lucky day or not.  Since he doesn't have to get the wherries-and-vtols
speech from Coordinator Kassi, I think he lands on the lucky side of 
the spectrum. ;)

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The Log:

You amble over towards the beach to the northwest.

Chaton shrugs at the little lizard and stands up, his hand falling to his
side and his other hand moving to deleiver scritches. The candy falls into
his curled fingers and he holds it out as if it were new, offering it to
Auste. "Sorry. I didn't offer you one. Take it, as my apology." he says,
smiling as if nothing was wrong.

Mm, fire-lizard licked candy. A delicacy, in far away lands, you know!
Auste accepts this peace offering with a nod, popping it into her mouth
without a second thought. Om nom nom. "Ah," so Auste glances up from her
handiwork, "So you /do/ get to skip this part. Though I expect
leatherworking -" which is what they're building up to, really, what with
straps to make and mend and all "- Might be different again. More or less
like skin?" This last is just sort of... speculative, as she angles her
head towards Iesia. "Sit, if you want." Or if you don't. Whatever.

With one hand, Kassi hitches the straps slung over her shoulder into a more
comfortable position; with the other she tucks a tag of hair behind her
ear, although tidying up her uncharacteristically mussed braid with fingers
alone is a hopeless quest. She arrows for her lifemate still slumbering on
the shore. Or pretending to slumber. As Kassi approaches, Lyss opens one
jewel-bright eye and whuffs out a snort. "I've given you plenty of time,"
the rider protests. "If'n you wanted more, you could've told me a'fore I
came out here!"

Aconite will just soak in the scritches, chirring as loudly as a feline
might purr. Iesia smirks, just a little, at the candy Auste eats, but
nothing is said. Maybe she did know? "Very different," she tells Auste of
leather. "Have you ridden a dragon before?" but it's rhetorical, "The
straps are extremely thick. Skin is... very thin. A little stretchy, with a
bit of give, but extremely delicate compared to the thick wherhide. At
least, Daianth's and Malsaeth's straps are very thick." She blinks at the
offer, shrugs, and finds place to sit. Chaton is given a glance, and after
a moment of purse-lipped silence, Iesia tells him, "I need a word with you,
at some point."

Chaton blinks. "A word? Very well. Any time at all, Iesia. I'm always
avaliable." he says with a grin. Most likely a boring scolding for trying
to sneak candy to her firelizard, or for feeding her at mealtimes. He lets
his hand drop from Aconite. "If you want, we could have it now. I don't
mind. Unless you need it in private, and then we could just walk down the
beach a ways."

And Auste folds her hands together, propping elbows on knees and then chin
on hands, sewing forgot altogether. Grey-blue eyes are suddenly wide,
innocent - and only slightly mischievous. "Naturally. Go on as though I'm
not even here." Woo, I'm a ghost! As though to emphasize this point - not
even here, though I'm all ears - she follows Kassima's trek with mild
interest. Speaking of straps! She eyes that thick leather harness, then
looks down to finger at the thin material of the shirt she's got, and then
her lips purse - perhaps in contemplation.

"Mm. It is your choice. It is not exactly a private conversation, however,"
and Iesia's glance towards Auste is significant indeed, "You must decide if
it is something you would want gossiped about?" Nice and vague, hm?
Kassima's approach gets her attention, and her frown darkens, eyes
narrowed. But nothing is said, and a moment later, Iesia is as neutral as
she was before. "It is about Aconite."

"All straps are thick, and heavy, and after a rider's gone t'all the
trouble of hauling them all over Igen--*Igen*, Lyss, feel this sun?--her
dragon should have the decency t'wake up and let 'em be put on," Kassima
grumbles; she and Lyss aren't so far away they can't eavesdrop,
particularly not when that's one of the things they do best. "They aren't
something you want t'cart around at all times. Even if'n... nevermind."
Lysseth heaves a great sigh and permits Kassi to begin buckling the large,
wide, fleece-lined leather bands around her neck, watching the other humans
in hopes they might be more interesting than this argument.

Chaton thinks for a moment, then nods. "Very well. Lets go chat." he says,
smiling. "I'll be back in a bit, Auste." he turns to Iesia. "Lead the way,
then!"

"Then let's," and Iesia pushes off the rock she so recently sat upon.
Aconite is scooped up, the gold giving a startled cheep before she is
settled on Iesia's neck. "Down the beach there," and she begins walking,
assuming that Chaton will follow.

Sniff. As though she can't be trusted. Puh-lease. But Auste doesn't seem
terribly put off, and she simply shuffles forward her her perch, swinging
her legs over the edge instead and striking her heels against the rock. So
it's Kassima that gets her full attention, hands pushing her satchel out of
the way - discarded in favour of more interesting things. Sorry, Lysseth.
Just me. Though she does begin to pull a set of faces at the green:
squinching her eyes up, here, sticking her tongue out, there. And the
process of harnessing and buckling is absorbed, though in a lesser way than
her interest in pulling making those amusing faces. Tee!

Kassima calls after Chaton, "Hurry back, would you?" Has she mistaken him
for someone else? They've never met before, have they? "I give 'em fifteen
minutes," she confides to Auste. "Then, what think you, too crass t'be
following? Mayhaps twenty." She fixes the last buckle and smacks the straps
to make the D-rings jingle. Lysseth tilts her head to one side, considering
Auste very gravely for an extended moment. It may seem that She is Not
Amused. Except her eyes remain a whirl of blue and green, and at length she
lets her jaw drop open to display her own tongue--and teeth,
coincidentally. It might look threatening if her wingtips weren't waggling
along. "You are so bizarre."

Chaton turns back to Kassima. "If I'm not back in fifteen, send someone to
search for my body!" he calls, giggling, then follows Iesia down the beach.
"You wanted to talk?" he asked, figuring that to be a good way to start the
conversation.

Once they are a fair distance away - enough that eavesdropping would be a
feat indeed - Iesia turns to regard Chaton. As he did guess, she begins to
talk about Aconite. "I know you are slipping my Aconite food," and it's a
fact, not an accusation. "The occasional bite is one thing, but all that
cooked food is not good for her digestive system. She is a firelizard, and
she was built to eat raw meat, and raw fish." Her lips purse. "I do not
have a problem if you feed her either of those things, though you may find
the blood..." but she just shrugs.

"With /her/?" Auste jerks her thumb in the direction of the departing pair,
and the face she pulls this time is definitely not directed at Lysseth.
"Ten. Tops." Lysseth's expression recieves a startled giggle of delight,
and even a quick clap-clap of the redhead's hands; all of which, of course,
is suppressed momentarily, suitably rearranged into a more meaningful
countenance. "Who, her? Or me?" The girl seems content with either, and
that strapwork gets one last calculated once-over before her head swivels
about towards the shapes of Iesia, and Chaton. Hmm.

Chaton nods slowly. "Yeah." he teases his fingers back through his hair.
"My apologies." he says, blushing scarlet. "It won't happen any more." he
assures. "She's a beauty. I wouldn't want anything to happen to her." he
nods definitivly. "Nor would you, I'm sure." Of course, all the other
redheaded girl would see are a series of nods and, if she were positioned
correctly, a deep red blush.

"Lysseth," Kassima assures Auste. "I haven't known you long enough t'call
you bizarre! Whereas I've had her in m'head longer than I care t'be
thinking on... a'course, a day would be longer than I'd care t'be thinking
on." Dragons can't roll their eyes. What Lyss can do is snap her jaw shut,
snort, and sway to the side so her rider is nudged into windmilling for
balance--or would be if she hadn't stepped back in time. "What's with
them?" she asks then and tilts her head towards the departed figures. "Any
idea?"

"Indeed," Iesia tells him, ignoring the two gossip mongers further down the
beach. "The occasional bite is fine. It is when she devours whole meatrolls
daily that I begin to worry." She's clearly not sure what to do with a
chastised, blushing teenage boy, and shifts uncomfortably. "Eh..." Shift
shift. "That's it, really. Um. We can go back." Flee!

One akward grimace of a grin later and Chaton walks back to where the
others are, his cheeks still flush, the colour slow in its passing. "So!"
he says brightly, his voice perhaps a little too high. He coughs a little
and shakes his head. "Uh, right. So!" there, that was a bit better, and he
could feel the excess blush drain from his face, too. "What were you
saying, uhm... my apologies, I don't even think I know you..." he looks
/very/ confused for a moment. "Err.. I'm Chaton." he drawls out the
syllables. Sh-aah-Ton. "You are?"

"Something about Aconite, 's all I heard. Her fire-lizard." Auste casts a
speculative glance their way, just in time to catch Chaton's furious blush.
Heh. "He feeds her a lot - and she's pretty tubby. Maybe that's it?" The
young girl shrugs, and pushes herself in one fluid motion off her rock,
landing with one hand for balance on the sand before straightening.
"Where're you going?" With a nod towards those straps. "Or did you just
want to get her prettied up for the lake?" Because that seems an equally
likely prospect, at least in the girl's mind.

Kassima taps herself on the breastbone. "Kassima." Prounounced Ka-SEE-muh,
more or less. "You can do me such a favor, Chaton, if'n you're willing.
With your help, I can mayhaps finally get back to m'weyr--one of 'em--and
get back to exciting jobs like writing the Candidate chore rosters for
tomorrow." She pauses. "I'm nay going t'blame you if'n you think I'm nuts
for *wanting* t'get back to that. Ah! Now there's the story, Auste." The
greenrider turns and leans back against her lifemate's shoulder. "Mayhaps
an hour agone I finished scrubbing and oiling this fickle creature. Have
t'have her straps off for that, they don't take water well. She usually
wants t'laze in the sun awhile after an oiling, so I, because I'm kind and
obliging, gave her some time and found ways t'keep m'self busy until she
should be ready. She says after awhile, she's willing t'take me up
whenever. I come all the way back here. What d'you suppose happens?"

Just as eager to return to the crowd - or maybe it is to forget the
uncomfortable chat - Iesia resumes her spot on the rock, floppy hat
clutched as she tips her head up to regard Lysseth. "Lysseth, I must say,
you do look fine for a dragon of your..." Hm. "Well. You look fine." Best
not to insult the green by calling her old. And then lips are pursed, and
Kassima is eyed warily. Chores?

Chaton blinks at Kassima, then to her dragon, then back to her. "Uh... why
do you need my help to get back to your weyr? I mean... I'm not saying I
won't help you do whatever you need done... but can't she take you?" he
askes, refering to Lysseth. "But... I'll help, sure, and I don't think
you're nuts." he offers, thinking that, perhaps, she was. Just a little,
mind, but still. Who would /want/ to get back to chores? Especially when
it's such a nice day outside.

"I suppose," Auste's got a little smile playing at her lips as she taps one
finger on her cheek, "That the sun is just so nice she doesn't want to
leave? And you can't very well fly up to your weyr yourself." But that
magic word - chores! - catches at the redhead, and she, too, narrows her
eyes, a bit cannily. "Don't help her, Chaton," she mutters out of the
corner of her mouth, a whisper for the boy's ears only. "She'll just give
us more chores. Or, me, at least." And Iesia, suppose.

"Excellent and beautiful physique?" Kassima supplies on Lysseth's behalf,
as though this is the only possible thing Iesia could've meant. "She won't
disagree with you. Since I do the oiling, though, I'm going t'take *some*
credit." A soft snort from the dragon. Kassi's attention swings back to
Chaton. "'Tis a little roundabout. You understand, I get all the way here
and she doesn't want t'leave after all, at least nay until you," and she
points to the young man, "are installed in the Barracks, at which point one
*presumes* I can escape to the glories of chore scheduling. Woo-hoo, and
all that. 'Tis t'everyone's benefit if'n this happens soon, since the
longer m'brain bakes out here, the more likely I am t'put you all on duty
painting the Bowl sands lemon yellow, say."

Jaelith cracks open one eye and rumbles approvingly.

Not seeing the humor, Iesia wants to know, "How on Pern would we paint the
sand in the bowl Yellow?" and makes an irritated face. But she caught they
key word in there, and her lips purse as she glances from Lysseth to
Chaton. So rather than make further comments, she folds her arms across her
chest and just waits, faintly annoyed.

Chaton blinks, but the gravity of what's just happend hasn't registered.
His mind is occupied with a few things, mostly with wether or not he should
listen to his friend, Auste, and not help, or if he should... barracks?...
continue with... what barracks? At this point the shattered pieces have
reconstructed in his mind and the egg is now complete. His mouth goes round
and he makes a little "oh.". "Urrrm. I...." how did one go about saying
anything after something like that? Of course, he was fairly sure that he
had a rediculous look on his face that he would never hear the end of from
Auste or Iesia.

Auste, too, catches on rather quickly - hers was not the first Search to be
seen! - and Chaton gets an impatient little noise. "Go on, then. So that
she can go back to her weyr and then assign chores to /all/ of us." Sigh.
Such is the life of a hard-working candidate! Though she does have a little
behind-the-hand-cough - not a laugh, certainly! "And you said /my/ face was
funny."

Kassima's faint smile holds no visible edge. Her voice... no edge, but it's
rather dry. "With a great deal of patience." Most of her attention, though,
is on Chaton, as it should be. "I can make it more formal, if'n you like?
Igen seeks Candidates for Lhiannonth and Jaireth's clutch. D'you accept the
offer of Search? I *will* get up t'my weyr somehow if'n you don't, if'n I
have t'pester the watchrider or throw things at Lyss until she relents, so
if'n you say 'aye' do it on your own account. You don't have to. We'll be
delighted if'n you do."

Lysseth turns her head to eye Chaton meaningfully, the bright blue facets
suddenly very close. Say no. Go on. She dares you.

Iesia just arches an eyebrow at Kassima. Hm. Her attention goes back on
Chaton, and she waits (mildly impatiently) for his answer.

Chaton shakes his head and looses the look. "Err...of course I'll come help
you... and of course I'll accept..." he flushes all sorts of deep red now.
"What do you need me to...err.. carry?"

Jaelith, satisfied with the outcome, closes her eye again and -- to all
appearances -- resumes her nap.

IGEN-> Kassima welcomes Chaton, another Lyss-victim. ;)

IGEN-> Iesia says, "WOOT! Go Chaton!!"

IGEN-> Lanisa says, "Congrats! :)"

IGEN-> Auste YAYS!

IGEN-> Devany says, "Welcome and congratulations :)"

IGEN-> Chaton says, "Thanks. But, seriously, what hold-bred boy would say
no with a dragon centimeters away from his face? XD"

IGEN-> Iesia says, "A Crazy one!"

IGEN-> Chaton says, "Then again, who would say no anyway."

Look at those pretty colours! Auste twirls a strand of hair around one of
her fingers, grinning faintly. "Congratulations, then, Chaton. I suppose.
Now you get to sew all you want." And that has the girl looking, almost
sorrowfully, back at her satchel. "Which I suppose I should do, too." And
off she flounces! collecting the bag and stuffing the half-mended shirt
within and moving off to find a less sand-filled place where she might do
her handiwork.

Kassima shakes her head quickly: "Oh, nay, nay, you don't have t'help me
get there! But now Lysseth will *take* me, since she doesn't have t'do... I
don't know what she thought she'd do. Keep knocking you on your backside
until you said aye, that'd be like her." Lysseth's rumble is smugly
affirmative. It *would* be like her! Kassi glances over at Jaelith, grins,
and then says to Chaton, "You'll need t'move your own belongings into the
Candidate Barracks, though. Pick out a cot and so forth. I can take you
there when you're ready if'n you like. G'deve, Auste!" she calls after the
girl, raising a hand to wave.

Iesia grunts. "Congratulations, Chaton," she says, not as enthusiastically
as Auste, but is polite all the same. She shifts on her spot, and Aconite
offers a gentle warble. As the meeting place is abandoned, Iesia pushes
herself off the rock again, and with a bob of her head, starts back towards
the Weyr bowl.

Chaton nods. "Err. Right. I just have a few clothes and things... but I can
get them from mum later." he says brightly. "So... I suppose I should take
a look around the barracks and such." he smiles at Lysseth brightly, some
credit has to be given where it's due, and nods to Iesia. "I guess I'll be
seeing you guys around then." he says, and turns to Kassima. "After you, I
suppose."

Kassima nods to Iesia, and watches her go. Speculatively--but there's a new
Candidate here and it only takes a moment for her to shake off a thought
and focus fully on him. "Sounds good. We'll get you set up with your knot
and everything. Lucky you, you'll be on that chore roster 'twill set up! At
least you get the rest of today off," she offers as silver lining, then
strokes her lifemate's chin once, and starts towards the Bowl herself with
a gesture for Chaton to follow.

Chaton shakes his head. "Yeah. Lucky me."

Iesia walks over to the quieter north beach.

You trot off to the east.

You head south to the main entrance.

You walk down the long, winding path to the Inner Caverns.

You stride into the Candidates' Barracks.

Chaton strides in from the hallway.

Kassima leads the long way to this enormous Cavern full of, among other
things, far more bunks than Candidates for a clutch of twelve could ever
occupy. "You don't have t'be beside anyone if'n you don't want. Fortunate,
y'know, there's naught like living between an inveterate bed-wetter and an
enormous lad who snores. Or so I've been told... pick out whichever one you
want, 'twill fetch you a Candidate's knot."

Chaton nods slowlyl at her words, a snort passing from his guard as he
listens to her and think that maby she's not as everyone cracks her up to
be. He sits akwardly on a random cot that doesn't seem to be taken.
"Alright." he says, his fingers playing in his hair with his nervousness.

One of the tables holds drawers; one of the drawers holds knots. Kassima
digs a simple braid of white, black, and yellow cording out and tosses it
to Chaton. "The rules and the chores are posted for your reference," she
says. Indeed, there are sheets of hide pinned to one of the walls. "I don't
think 'twill find 'em too bothersome. Nay sex, nay drunkenness, show
respect, watch out for the heat. Mostly 'tis common sense, but d'you have
any questions?"

Chaton shakes his head. "Right. No, no questions. I dont drink, and I
dont... procreate... so I err.. don't think I'll have many problems." he
says, blushing furiously now.

Kassima grins at the young man; at least there's sympathy in it along with
the amusement? "Naught t'be embarrassed about," she says. "So long as you
know the mechanics of procreation. Which sounds horribly awkward, sorry.
If'n I have t'be explaining that, *that's* something t'be embarrassed
about, at least for me, but we'll worry about that later." Oh, joy! "For
now 'twill leave you t'get settled. All right?"

Chaton nods. "Umm... yes, yes ma'am. I'll see you about, then... to help
with the list and things." he says, abashed at the thought of having to get
/that/ talk from /anyone/.

"Kassima!" Kassi calls over her shoulder. "Nay ma'am!" Out she goes.

You wend your way out to the Inner Caverns.