Waiting for news...

[J'zeni]

J'zeni spun the goblet on the table, staring at the scarred wood as he waited to hear about the Hatching at White Sands. He wanted to be there! He should there. His Candidates were there, all of them and he wanted to know what was going on. Did they Impress? Did they panic? Were they doing alright? Even though he had made his Candidates report back to him everything that had happened when they returned, if they were now Weyrlings it would mean not only were they out of his hands but they would simply be too elated to think about saying anything to him. So he waited.

Hopefully Dysmeth would tell Alvoradath or Tezorath about the Hatching and so J'zeni would know because anything Zora found out she immediately told Vor. Fortunately, J'zeni had his own way of discovering what was happening and sent Starjumper to Great Cliffs. It had taken him a few minutes to figure out how to get her there, he didn't want to bother Dysmeth. As much as he was part of the staff at the Weyr, he was still nervous simply speaking to the queen dragon or approaching Ampara unnecessarily. However, T'jozel and his brown dragon had yet to return to White Sands since he was still recovering from his Threadfall injury.

So Oreikanth had given Starjumper the coordinates to White Sands and plenty of images to send her on her way. She arrived there safely, leaving J'zeni in the Dining Hall with Starrest, still wondering what was going on. At least now he was receiving scattered images from the Hatching.

[halak]

H'lak was, as usual, in search of Klah, surprised to see the Candidate Master sitting there, looking nervous. Well, he would be, the bluerider supposed, with all his candidates off, potentially Impressing outside of his supervision. It had to be hard to let students go without knowing what was going on. He poured himself some klah, then poured a second cup. Klah was always good for the nerves, at least it worked for him when he was nervous. He approached the young man, putting the cup down in front of him. "Any news?" he asked quietly. "They'll do well."

[J'zeni]

J'zeni jumped when H'lak spoke to him and looked up rather surprised anyone was talking to him at all. Not that he felt himself a pariah, age and rank difference or anything, it was simply difficult to be where he was in life already. Not something he would have expected two Turns ago no matter how much he wanted a dragon back then, or how much he thought he knew about Candidate lessons. He sat up and straightened his shirt unconsciously as he gave H'lak a returning smile. For H'lak it was definitely unusual to see J'zeni alone and not with Kitti as the two were quite often together since even before they Impressed the twins.

"So far most of our group has Impressed." He didn't bother hiding the pride in his voice, why should he? "The Candidate from Crashing Seas, Talist, he Impressed right away. A bronze too. I don't know the details of all of it since Starjumper just got there. Dysmeth hasn't told Alvoradath anything yet either." The tragedy that awaited White Sands was moments away. For now J'zeni leaned back and gestured to the bench near him. "Care to sit? I'm surprised you're up this early. Its probably only you, me and the Watch Whers." He chuckled softly.

[halak]

H'lak sat sipping at his klah happily. "I'm always up this early," he admitted. "I go for a run or climb every morning. Kobaleth enjoys flying at dawn." His smile turned fond. Kobaleth adored flying in the first light of the dawn, greeting the sun. He also had a thing about flying into the sunset, trumpeting happily and singing heroic songs in his head, as if they were some kid of epic heroes flying off into the sunset after saving the day. "Kitti is still asleep?"

He sipped at his klah some more, pensive. "Our Candidates do well at White Sands, but it must be hard for you to not see them. I am sorry.

[J'zeni]

He lifted his eyebrows and gave a nod as H'lak relayed the information. "Hm... we must keep missing each other then.... do you ever run into K'ivan? I know he goes jogging and climbing." For some reason it struck him as odd that the blue rider should have the same morning habits as the dragonhealer. It wasn't as though rock / mountain climbing was a common past time and up until H'lak mentioned it, J'zeni thought K'ivan had the monopoly on doing the crazy feats such as scaling the side of the Weyrbowl. "Ah no, Kitti's in my office going over a lesson plan... since Vor couldn't sleep, neither could Zora and she woke Kitti up." It was always a chain reaction.

After H'lak finishes speaking, giving his brief words of reassurance, J'zeni continued to spin his goblet and eventually pushed it away from him because the motion was becoming annoying even to him. "I think I need some klah." He said abruptly and stood up. It was as though providence intended on him being standing as Starjumper witnessed the tragedy of the brown dragon taking itself into oblivion. J'zeni stood up straighter and shuddered, immediately seeking out reassurances from Alvoradath and finding both Vor and Zora there to comfort him. I am here, Zen. It never ceased to amaze him that Zora chose to speak to him as though he was bonded with her too, such was the psychic ties of the twins. It is all well, other-mine. You see we are all safe... Though he could not feel Kitti, he was positive she was reacting to what her gold was feeling through both him and her twin.

As J'zeni blinked he realized his eyes were stinging. Hastily he wiped the unshed tears away and cleared his throat. Turning to H'lak, he relayed the information he had just received, giving explanation to his sudden stiffening and tense tone. "A brown... Impressed and then went between. Starjumper's shown me images... and from what she can overhear, the hatchling was blind."

[halak]

H'lak nodded. "I run into him fairly often. We provide a good challenge for each other. I am not as adventurous as him, though, I just climb enough to keep up the strength in my arms and mostly, I just run. He makes it all the way to the top." He smiled. "Seeing him is what gave me the idea. One day I will beat him, but he has the advantage, for now."

He froze as Kobaleth relayed the same information. He had been eavesdropping on the Hatching through his friend Hopicath. He took a long sip of Klah, his face impassable. He took a deep breath after he swallowed, composing himself. "Was it one of our candidates?" he asked quietly.

[J'zeni]

J'zeni nodded at H'lak's boast. He had seen the dragonhealer in action, it was hard for him to believe anyone could 'beat' someone who on a sevenday-basis climbed the entirety of the outer or inner side of the Weyrbowl, depending on his mood. He oft did it without benefit of ropes or pitons to serve as assistance, only a nervous bronze dragon circling below as his safety net. While K'ivan did not regularly practice the craft of weaponsmithing, J'zeni knew he was able enough in a fight and stronger than he appeared. "He's been climbing the Weyrbowl long as I can remember... since he came here anyway."

After a brief consultation with Starjumper, J'zeni shook his head. "I don't recognize him. Not one of ours... by what Star showed me, he came from under the healers' awning. Don't know if he was even a Candidate?" J'zeni heard that a drudge from White Sands Impressed a few clutches back, now happily a blue rider.

[halak]

H'lak smiled. "Yes, he's very good at it." He remembered seeing K'ivan climbing for the first time. He had never thought anyone half that brave or strong. "Which is why I think it is a good goal to have, to beat him. A goal that is too easily attainable is less interesting than one that may take decades to come to fruition." As the scrawny younger brother before he had Impressed, H'lak had never been particularly strong or particularly valued. He admired what K'ivan could do and he had promised himself that he would work very hard to match the dragonhealer's strength and courage. He was a model of what a dragonrider should be, a standard to which H'lak compared himself.

He closed his eyes momentarily, trying not to think of the pain of losing a dragon. "Poor child," he murmured. "It is terrible to know such joy and lose it all at once."

[J'zeni]

At first J’zeni bristled when H’lak suggested he was going to beat K’ivan in rock climbing. The idea this still strange bronze rider could best the Dragonhealer rubbed the Candidate Master the wrong way. He furrowed his brows and licked his lips, saying nothing until his tension eased and he realized his reaction seemed silly. No doubt K’ivan would enjoy the competition and welcome it rather than have issue. Everyone knew he was the best, so there was no contest in J’zeni’s mind.

“Yeah… has to be tough.” He said instead, continuing the conversation about the betweened dragonet. The idea of losing Alvoradath caused him to shudder internally and simultaneously he chuckled. “To think a Turn ago the real impact of what happened wouldn’t have meant as much to me. You know, I thought I was simply not going to Impress? It’s one of the things I teach my Candidates that Impression is not the end or a necessity to a productive life. ‘course I wouldn’t trade Vor or Zora for anything…” He smirked. Even the complication of having to listen to two dragons and the innate connection he now shared with Kitti was part of him and he couldn’t imagine losing any of them.

J’zeni’s tone echoed the seriousness of his statement. It was something he truly believed, despite the fact he was now a dragonrider, he needed to ensure the Candidates understood that non-dragonriders were equally as important and in some cases even more vital to the running of the Weyr than the dragonriders. “…still I think it’s important that Candidates have the ability to understand even if they don’t Impress their lives are not over. Most of Pern isn’t Impressed to dragons.”