A New Roommate {Petal}

[Zirin]

Yufa ran her brush through he long, auburn hair one more time before beginning the process of putting her hair up in one of the decorated styles she liked to use on rest days. Despite being a dual candidate, she had decided to live in the dragon candidate quarters, partly because she thought it was nicer, and partly because she still wasn’t fond of trying for the whers. She considered, once again, dropping out of wher candidacy and going dragon full time, but the fear that father would one day track her and U’wa down still terrified her… she wanted to give herself the greatest opportunity to impress something. That way, even if father did find them, he would not be able to force them back to the Hold. The other reason was that she would get to stay in the same room she had the last time she was a candidate, and she had grown rather fond of the room.

Her hair now up, she stood and brushed off her dress. She needed to look her best today. She had heard rumour that new candidates were being brought in over the next few days, and on the off chance someone decided to stay in one of the other beds in her room, she needed to have a proper appearance. Cassim, seeing that His had finished her preparations, swiftly moved to land on her shoulder and take up his customary position around her neck. She reached up and stroked the little male absent-mindedly and she set to work on reorganizing her clothing. With the small amount of storage allowed in the barracks, some of her outfits were getting much too wrinkled for her liking, and she had taken to preparing the next day‘s outfit ahead of time to make sure it was presentable when she put it on. Cassim cheeped in her ear quietly, causing the candidate to jump slightly, as any noise from the epidote was quite rare. She stopped her movements and listened, noticing the sound of footsteps in the hall.

“Thank you, Cassim.” She said quietly to the little flit, glad he had alerted her. She glanced towards the door. Had a candidate arrived?

[shinska]

Petal was nervous. She had just arrived at the Weyr and didn't know where to go. The young girl's eyes darted left and right. Normally she didn't feel like this, but then again she had never been Searched before. With a deep breath she slowly pushed open a door that she had been told was of a single Candidate. Petal peered in and said, "Hello? I'm new here and I was told this was my room and I was to be sharing with...." Petal broke off and concentrated hard, "A Youfa?" Had Petal even said it right? Normally she wasn't like this, but having been Searched was still a new experience for her and Petal just wanted it over and done with. She gave a small smile to the older girl inside. Petal was only 14 Turns old, but the girl looked to be almost 18 Turns old, give or take a couple of years.

She waited for the other girl to say something, but stepped into the room and shut the door behind her. Petal dipped her head and kept quiet. She was new and was unsure of how things worked here at the Weyr. Petal did want to make friends though. She looked up and saw the Firelizard. "Oh you have a Firelizard? What's his name?" For Petal knew the Firelizard was male. Maybe talking about the older girl's Firelizard would help break the ice. Normally Petal was very polite, but right now she didn't want to do anything or say anything that angered the other girl off.

[Zirin]

Yufa glanced over what she could see of the girl in her doorway. In a way sizing her up; her hair, her eyes, her clothes. She was, overall, quite pretty and looked to be quite close to Yufa‘s age, though Yufa was already envisioning the different styles the girl could wear her hair in to show off her beauty. Pushing the thought aside for now, Yufa picked up the sides of her dress and dipped down in a light curtsy before replying to the girl.

“I am Yufa,” the candidate replied, “A pleasure to meet you Miss.” She wished the girl had offered her name, but the title of Miss would have to do for the time being. “Please come in and make yourself comfortable.” She added, motioning to the empty beds in the room. Cassim gave a light cheep as he watched Petal, well aware that he had been mentioned. Yufa was impressed that the newcomer had been able to tell her flit was a male, since he was a new colour. Did news really travel that quickly? Well, she supposed it would, with how quickly the news had spread in time for the gather. She moved a hand up to her shoulder, pleased when the epidote took the hint and slithered onto her hand. She then held her hand out to allow her new roommate to have a better look at him.

“His name is Cassim.” She introduced the male, who quickly slithered back up her arm to take his place around her neck the moment she had finished speaking. “I apologize for his behaviour, he does not seem to like being out in the open.” She was a tad embarrassed by him, since she had sworn to have him properly trained. Yet, while the flit had caught on quickly to some of her expectations, he never seemed to like being completely visible with nowhere to hide. He was, in the end, a sneaky little fellow. Yufa turned back to the girl. “Might you honour me with your own name, miss?”

[shinska]

Petal blushed. The other girl was almost like a drudge speaking to her mistress. "Please my name is Petal." Why was the other girl saying things like Miss. and honour? Petal had never been spoken to in that way before and was a little nervous. Petal sat down on the empty bed and looked around. Having been Searched was also another first for her. The young girl was still in awe that she had been picked for a Hatching or several. Petal had never realized the excitement that came with being Searched. So Yufa was the other girl's name? "It's nice to meet you Yufa. That's a very interesting name by the way." She smiled shyly to the other girl.

Petal had manners, but this was a new experience for her so she was going to be a bit shy for a little while. Her stuff was already there and Petal couldn't wait to start her new life. Being a Candidate was very exciting and an adventure that she was willing to see through to the end. A little shiver went up and down her spine, "How long have you been a Candidate? If its ok to ask." Petal blushed again. Hopefully she would be friends with the other girl. She seemed nice, but sometimes the surface didn't mean anything.

[Zirin]

While Yufa was no drudge, she had been raised to behave much like one, a result of having a rather sexist father and a generally weak-willed mother. She supposed her mannerisms were unnecessary in the Weyr, but it was who she was, and even if she wanted to she doubted she could change. She wondered briefly if She smiled warmly at the girl. “Thank you, Petal. My father chose it.” Though she had meant to hide it, her voice held a note of contempt as she mentioned the man. She continued quickly in the hopes of it being missed. “Your name is quite beautiful.”

She copied Petal, daintily sitting on the edge of her own bed as they spoke doing her best to appear warm and comforting, since the new candidate seemed to be a tad shy. Yufa simply assumed it was because this was a new experience for her. She didn’t doubt the girl would show her true self once the initial excitement and nervousness had passed. Then again, she could just be genuinely shy. She perked up at the question of her candidacy.

“This will be my second hatching,” She replied calmly, stroking Cassim as he slithered down to settle on her lap. She had not roomed with an experienced candidate the last time she stood, and she had constantly wished there was someone who could give her the information she wanted. There had been no one for her, but she was more than happy to be the experienced candidate for Petal. “I stood for Queen Loraketh’s clutch. My brother impressed. I was no so lucky.” Her expression faltered for a second, showing hints of sorrow and loneliness as she thought of her brother. She missed him more than she wanted to admit. The young boy had always come to her for support, and now she rarely saw him; with Peniath in his life, he no longer needed her. “This will be your first time?”

[shinska]

Petal nodded. "Yes it will and if you did not Impress at the last Hatching then something might happen to you soon. Who knows maybe you might get something better than your brother?" Petal smiled. A hint of contempt came from Yufa, "I take it you do not like your father?" With a smile she gently took Yufa's hand, "One way or another you do not have to worry about him. I am your new roommate and this is your life now so if you need anything, ANYTHING at all you let me know." The girl smiled to Cassim and Yufa. "Besides you have a Firelizard. From what I know of them they are very protective of their bondeds. And so you should be lucky and one of a new color as well." Petal liked Yufa already.

The older girl had already been at one Hatching with a second coming up. Petal hoped that she and Yufa could be friends. Petal knew she could use them and Yufa seemed like the best person to start with. The young girl had heard rumors of one of the Weyrlings. "Yufa. Is it true that one of the Weyrlings is a mean spirited boy who was paired with a mean spirited Dragon?" Petal hoped that if she did Impress that it wasn't to something as mean spirited as the Garnet. Though the other new colors, the Topaz and the Obsidian, seemed sweet enough. At least they seemed a lot nicer than the Garnet did.

Petal blushed. She was asking a question about a Weyrling that seemed to instill fear into a few people. The Obsidianrider made no secret to let others know how much she detested the Garnet and his Rider. Petal could not blame her. The last Hatching had been one of anger and pain. One Weyrling snapped at another to defend her friend. Maybe if Petal became friends with Yufa than something like that could happen with them. One standing up for the other. Friends like that were worth having and Petal wanted truly wanted Yufa to be her friend.