Disclaimer: I do not own Pern, DRoP, or any of the super cool things Anne made. I am a lowly fan who must write fanfiction to indulge in her cravings. ;D
Chapter One - Wake-Up Call
Candidatemaster Robika looked at the rising sun. Time to get a move on. With about one month until the Hatching, the Weyrwoman Shmee had shifted everyone into high gear. Which means the candidate lessons would start today, bright and early. It was exciting, for Robika- she had just gotten herself moved into the Candidatemaster-Weyrlingmaster rounds along with K'kor and N'lyn.
She liked Shmee's plans for candidacy and weyrlinghood, despite the fact that Shmee was, on average, an egotistical, yet exuberant, idiot. It worked in the way that one of the Masters would take a group of candidates, and be their teacher throughout their candidacy, and move through their junior and senior weyrlinghood, remaining with their original group of successful candidates. So after R'kir's retirement, she had stepped up to the plate, eager to put her teaching skills to the test.
And today would be her very first class. Putting on her best teacher-face, she strode into the hall where the barracks were situated. It looked rather like a dorm- there were four barracks in the long hallway, and each barrack could house 25 people in bunks. Boys were meant to take three and girls one, but with the present number of candidates, each gender got two barracks. Then in other rooms situated further down the hall there were the washrooms, common room, and a mini-kitchen. But today, Robika wouldn't need any of those leisure rooms. She would have them report to the hallway.
Putting a stout horn to her lips, she blew, and a sharp noise sure to wake them up echoed down the hall. Sure enough, she heard movements coming from inside each barrack, and Robika marched up to the first girl's barrack, predicting the girls would need more encouragement to wake up. Without bothering to knock, she poked her head in. "Rise and shine, girls!" she bellowed. "I'm giving you five minutes to be ready and in the hall."
After hearing a group groan from the girls, she left and did the same for the rest of the barracks, getting similar reactions. Smiling in satisfaction, Robika retreated to the entrance of the Candidate Hall, standing up as straight as her short body would allow with her arms behind her back as the candidates slowly began to trickle out. The occasional few gave her dirty looks, but Robika pointedly ignored them, knowing full well that they may be the ones who would cause trouble.
At the end of the five minutes, assembled before her was a crowd of fifty-eight sleepy-looking candidates. She smiled to herself. "Welcome, candidates, to Selenitas Weyr!" she announced, pacing across the entrance. "For some, you may have been born here, and for others, you may have only arrived just yesterday." There was a murmur of agreement from the candidates. "However, no matter when you came, who your parents are, or how wealthy you are, it is completely irrelevant in this class. Anyone caught trying to pull rank here will be given extra duties," she added. One blonde girl gave her a nasty look, her blue eyes glinting. Robika stopped pacing and met those angry eyes, and held a steady gaze with them. Sheepishly, the blonde looked at the floor. Satisfied, Robika placed her hands on her generous hips.
"My name is Robika, rider of green Kmarath, and I will be your Candidatemaster and, for you lucky ones, I will also be your Weyrlingmaster," she told them, smiling slightly. A timid-looking young girl raised a tanned hand.
"Yes?" Robika asked, nodding.
The girl cleared her throat, "Erm, excuse me for asking, but what happened to R'kir?" she asked, with obvious confusion. Robika blinked.
"What is your name?" she asked the girl kindly.
"Kinyora," the girl whispered, seemingly mortified that she dare ask such a question. Robika smiled slightly.
"No, I'm not going to bite you," she reassured the girl. "R'kir has decided, due to his advanced age, that he would retire. I am taking his place," she added, looking back at Kinyora, who blushed.
"Okay," she squeaked. Robika smiled, trying to get Kinyora to relax. She wasn't that scary, was she? When she looked back up at the crowd, she saw another tanned hand fly into the air. A boy, this time. Nodding to him, he drew himself up, running a hand through his black locks.
"Are you single?" he asked boldly, and his friends threw themselves into fits of laughter. She rolled her brown eyes.
"Yes, I am, but no, I am not interested," she said, sighing in exasperation. She didn't know some of these boys would try to get it off with her the moment she met them. He looked at her with his own large, brown puppy eyes.
"How come?" he asked in a mock-whimper and his friends all hooted. "Nice one, Saya!" one boy said, his eyes filling up with tears of laughter. Robika sighed.
"Because I am a lesbian," she replied with a large smile, sending most candidates into peals of laughter, more of at Saya's look of shock than of anything else.
"Shards," he said, heaving a dramatic sigh. Everyone giggled again. His friend nudged him, probably to take the winnings of what must have been a bet, and Robika cleared her throat.
"So you're Saya, and this is…?" she asked, jutting her chin toward his friend.
"Malflorin," came the prompt reply in a deep, gruff voice. She nodded, and continued speaking.
"So," she said, getting back on topic, "you will rise at this hour every day, except for restday. You will be seated for breakfast, then classes. Then chores, then another class before lunch. After lunch, you will have more classes until mid-afternoon, when you will have about an hour of free time. Then you will work with your partner-rider for the rest of the afternoon and evening. You will dine with them, and get to know them, etc. And, no, Shmee will not be doing any partnering," she added, a smile twitching at the corners of her mouth as she saw some girls look absolutely crestfallen. One red-headed girl rolled her eyes.
"Quit whining. Shmee isn't good at working with people, anyway," the girl said frankly. The blonde girl from before gave her a death-glare.
"Well, maybe we would like some experience if we are to Impress gold," she told the red-head nastily.
"Well, maybe some of us have heads too big for this class!" the red-head retorted. Frowning, Robika stepped up.
"What are your names?" she asked, looking to both of them.
"Yuvi," the red-head replied evenly.
"Erlora," the blonde said, still giving Yuvi a disgusted look. Robika sighed. The girls were already trying to cast each other down on the first day.
"Listen. Shmee just doesn't feel like it, and Yuvi is right, she does not work well with other people," she told Erlora. The blonde gave Robika a look of disgust. "Now, we'll have none of that," the greenrider said firmly, walking back to the front. She predicted Erlora would give them more trouble in the future.
She looked down the long line of candidates. She could save the rest of the rules for after breakfast. Maybe everyone would be calmer by then, with full stomachs. Robika needed food, too, she thought, feeling the slight discomfort in her stomach. Looking back up, she smiled slightly.
"Welcome to Selenitas Weyr," she said.
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