A New Friend

Writers: Aaron, Heather
Date Posted: 5th February 2020

Characters: Tirraze, Ayressa
Description: Ayressa makes a friend in her Candidate class
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 15 of Turn 10
Notes: Mentioned: T'ner, V'rel, A'kades

"Hello," said Tirraze to the newest Candidate. She was older than the usual Candidate – the type that usually came in from the Holds when there was a gold egg on the Sands. But there was no gold egg. Yet.

"I'm Tirraze," she introduced herself. She always the opportunity to meet older Candidates. She preferred to befriend those who made her feel like part of the more mature crowd when she could.

"Welcome to Dolphin Cove."

"Oh, hi," Ayressa said to the unexpected welcome. "Thank you. I've actually been at the Weyr for over half a Turn. My weyrmate Impressed at the last Hatching," she said.

Weyrmate! Even more mature. Kids did not have weyrmates.

"Oh! Well, then, welcome to Candidacy." Tirraze wondered whether she and the weyrmate might have been a bit of a non-traditional sort as far as the Hold was concerned. That seemed to be a common reason for running away to the weyr with a Searchrider.

Though Tirraze was not sure they usually let you bring along lovers.

"You won't be staying with us, I take it."

"Yeah, I'll be staying with my weyrmate until I Impress.... Well, _if_ I Impress, I mean." Ayressa wondered if that would make it hard for her to form friendships. All of the other Candidates would be living together and sharing experiences that she would be missing out on - not that she wanted to leave T'ner's weyr to live in the barracks.

"It's good to be confident!" said Tirraze. "They say the dragonets catch onto it." Not that it had done Tirraze any good yet, but better to do her no good than to do her ill.

"Where are you two from?"

"Green Valley," Ayressa replied. "My weyrmate's brother is the Holder there. What about you?"

Tirraze's eyebrows rose. A Holder for a brother, well. That would explain who pulled those strings.

"I was born here, but we moved away. And then we came back," said Tirraze. She did not want very much to talk about her father's death, so she left that part out for the time being.

"My uncle is a wingsecond here!" she added. He was not her uncle by blood, but she still thought of him that way.

"Oh really?" Ayressa asked, genuinely interested. She wasn't sure if she would recognize the name, she still did not know many of the people at Dolphin Cove. "Who is it?"

"Bronzerider A'kades," said Tirraze, smiling with affection. "And my brother, V'rel, is a bluerider. What about your weyrmate?"

"Oh, T'ner is a bluerider too, Lehystrath," Ayressa said with obvious pride in her voice.

Oh! A man, after all. Even more peculiar. Tirraze wanted to hear more of that story, but she was not sure how willing she would be to talk about it.

"Maybe he'll be in my uncle's wing! Or my brother's. So," she said, "I didn't catch your name. What should I call you?"

"I'm Ayressa." She lowered her voice a bit. "And just between us, I'm a little nervous about these classes. I'm sure most of the information is rather routine if you're from the Weyr."

"Don't worry, Ayressa." Tirraze smiled. "If you need it, I can help you. And your weyrmate has done it all already. He can help you, too! But it's not so much to remember, really. You'll do just fine."

Ayressa returned the younger Candidate's smile, feeling slightly better. "Thank you, Tirraze. I'm glad I sat down beside of you."

"You're welcome! I'll remember to save you a seat from now on," Tirraze promised.

Last updated on the February 15th 2020

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A New Friend