Someone is going to pay for this...

[Shikai]

Whichever candidate had been given the task of changing the glows in the hallway clearly hadn’t done their job. Shandar grunted as his shoulder collided roughly with the stone, his eyes narrowing in irritation and frustration as he struggled to see through the darkness. If there was one thing he couldn’t stand, it was lazy people! Who exactly had shirked their duties? Shandar very much wanted to know, so he could have a word with them.

He growled under his breath and stopped altogether as he bumped into the wall yet again, folding his arms across his chest and turning his back to the surface to lean against it, in hopes that his eyes would adjust with a bit of time.

Honestly, this had been a bad idea, and he knew it, as much as he preferred to think through exactly what he would like to say to whoever was responsible for the lack of fresh glows in the hallway, silently taking out his anger on a faceless candidate. It was very late, well past the time candidates were supposed to be asleep in the barracks. In his defense, Shandar had been in the barracks at the appointed time, and really tried to settle down and go to sleep. Unfortunately, he seemed to have been struck by insomnia of late. The only thing worse than laying awake for hours upon end, held hostage by his churning thoughts, was what happened when he actually did manage to fall asleep.

Sharding nightmares. He had never been one for dreaming, or if he did dream, he almost never remembered them. Shandar longed to be able to sleep as he had before, even if only for an hour or two…But tonight, he simply wasn’t having any luck. He had no idea what time it was, but he had decided that he simply couldn’t stand the agonizing process of trying to sleep, with his thoughts nagging at him all the time. Guilt, mostly, both over leaving his sister (despite having little say in the matter) and the circumstances that caused his father to send him away from Shanti. That was undeniably his fault.

But he couldn’t stand it, he had to stop thinking about that! He had quietly gotten to his feet and slipped out of the Candidate Barracks with remarkable silence, deciding to go for a walk. Or anything, really, he didn’t have a plan other than to do something. Yet the Red Star seemed to follow him, for he had run into problems in his escapade upon discovering that the glows in the hallways around him had not been changed in some time. Shells, he couldn’t move a few feet without bumping into something! Would he ever get outside?

Well, his eyes had failed to adjust enough to make out anything in the pitch-black night, but he wasn’t going to turn back, even if that would really be the smart thing to do. Thread itself couldn’t drive him back to that sharding cot. Stubbornly, he resumed his shuffling through the halls, not even caring about the occasional jarring as he ran into one of the walls. But as Shandar turned a corner, the next thing he bumped into didn’t seem like a wall at all, not having nearly as much resistance. It seemed soft, not like stone! Had he hit a person? But who else would be out at such a late hour?

[C'lyn]

Myari sighed to herself as she moved down the halls, her eyes barely adjusted to the darkness. Someone really needed to change these glows. If those candidates were too lazy to do it she'd volunteer to do it herself. Someone could really get hurt wandering around at night, or if some emergency happened and people needed to move around.

She really should be in bed, but she felt so restless and agitated. Her blue had been trying all day to help her, but she was still upset over the way L'kas had been treating her. She made a face as she bumped into the way, hissing slightly at the bruising jar. He really had no right to be so upset with her and she kept telling herself she had had every right to slap him like she did at the beach party. But, now L'kas was avoiding her all together.

She grumbled softly and was about to turn the corner when she ran into something, or rather something ran into her and it definitely wasn't the wall. She yelped as she stumbled back, landing hard on her bottom.

"Shard it! Who in their right mind is out this late," she said, trying ot see in the darkness. That was really a silly question on her part, considering she was out wandering as well. If Valyiath had been awake he would have laughed at her for that comment.

[Shikai]

Shandar’s suspicions were confirmed when the thing he collided with let out a yelp, and he heard a soft thud that was likely some part of the person’s body hitting the ground. He reflexively adopted a defensive posture, squinting in the darkness as he struggled to see who he had run into. More than ever he cursed the lack of glows! Shards, he could hardly see a thing!

From the voice, at least, he could tell that the person was female, although he bristled immediately at her words. “What am I doing? You’re one to talk!” He growled irritably, glowering at the figure he was barely able to make out. “And it’s Shandar, I’m a candidate. Couldn’t sleep. Just thought I’d walk around a bit, but it looks like some wherry-brain flaked on their chores. You?” He reluctantly added, folding his arms over his chest as he stared through the black night air, slowly able to make out more of her the longer he focused.

Not that he would know who she was even if he could see her clearly. Shandar knew absolutely no one at the weyr yet, although he supposed he could recognize that accursed rider that had taken him from his hold. Granted, the man had had his father’s permission, but all the same, Shandar was hardly pleased with the situation. What in Faranth’s name was he doing at the weyr, honestly? He couldn’t imagine a dragon ever choosing him, he was aware of his faults. He was blunt, generally unsociable and irritable. While not wholly unempathetic, he was certainly no good at forming relationships or talking to others. How could anyone think him dragonrider material?

And even if he did have some sort of chance at impression, he didn’t want to. A dragon was a privilege he had proven himself incapable and unworthy of caring for. But what could he do in the weyr but be a candidate, now that he was rather stuck there? It was most frustrating having no say in his future.

[D'gellin]

"...going to have a long talk with this candidatemaster...Can't even get his charges to do their chores! This is just ridiculous!" A young woman muttered irritably as she stalked down the halls. The ghostly light thrown from her basket gave her agitated expression an almost demonic glow. "Sharding slackers. This will be the last time...unbelievable..." Although new to the Weyr, Cora took her self-appointed position as Headwoman's apprentice very seriously. After all, if she wanted to stay here, she certainly needed to prove her worth. Perhaps her abilities had fallen short back home but not here! Cora would be quite the success, rest assured. "No longer will glows remained unchanged! Not while I'm around." She warned the darkness around her, her glare and tone so venomous that, had the shadows been cognizant, they'd likely be shaking under her wrath.

And with that she deftly snatched up a dead glow and replaced it with one of the fresh ones from her basket. It didn't matter to Cora what abominable time of the night it might have been. Chores needed to be finished. And if the sharding candidates were going to skimp out, then by the first egg Cora would just have to do it. And subsequently pile the unwilling feet-draggers up with even more chores later. That seemed an adequate repercussion. Smiling with the prospect of revenge, Cora didn't realize she wasn't the only one still wandering the halls until she heard voices farther down the corridor. Halting, Cora gripped the basket with wide eyes. Who else could possibly be up this late? But more importantly what were they doing up this late? Certainly no good! Of that Cora was sure.

Quickly shifting from spooked to frustration, Cora stormed quickly down the hall, the glows in her basket likely announcing her presence well before she came upon Shandar and Myari. She stood before them wielding her basket in one hand and brandishing a glow in the other as she quickly seized them up with narrowed sea-green eyes. A young man and woman. Uhg. "And what do you two think you're doing up so late?" Cora demanded, gesturing at them with the glow. Well of course there was only one reason a boy and a girl would be up alone in the middle of the night. "If you must indulge yourselves, do so during the day. Hiding in the dark is hardly a respectable way to carry on a relationship." She snipped, tilting her chin up arrogantly. "Now if you're both so bushy tailed that you don't need sleep, perhaps you could spend your time in a more constructive manner and help me with-" She paused suddenly, reassessing Shander and Myari. "Are you two candidates? Shard it all, this is your job!" She cried, shoving the basket into Shander's chest. "Now you," She gestured to Shandar with her remaining glow. "Help your girlfriend up and you two can get straight to work. And there will be no complaining."

[C'lyn]

Myari got back to her feet and dusted her bottom off, narrowing her eyes to see in the darkness. She tilted her head slightly as the boy spoke, feeling her cheeks color as he snapped back at her.

She put her hands on her hips and leaned forward slightly, able to determine that he was taller then she was, not a hard feat since she was only 5' 2".

"I'm Myari, rider of Blue Valyiath, and I couldn't sleep either," she admitted, sighing. "And when I find out which candidates were assigned to change these glows I'm going to make them wash Valyiath for a full sevenday," she grumbles, her hands still on her hips as she balances on the balls of her feet.

She started to say something else, but then she noted the movement of ghostly glow coming down the hall toward them. She arched a brow slightly as the girl with the basket approached, eyes narrowing at the girl's tone toward them. Also narrowed because the glow of the light was harsh after so long in the dark.

"I am not a candidate," she snapped "Nor am I his girlfriend. And I am certainly not about to be bossed around by someone like you," she stands up straight, narrowing her eyes at the younger woman.

"If you ask nicely, I will more then happily help you finish changing these glows. Its dangerous for glows to be out when you're in a weyr and there could be an emergency at anytime," she said, her tone a bit softer as she glanced between Shandar and Cora.

She ignored the silent, sleepy laughter of her blue in her mind. By the first egg she hoped that L'kas wouldn't hear about this. She shook her head and looked the two over now that there was light to see by. She shook her head again and rested her hands on her hips, looking back to Cora.

[Shikai]

Shandar let out a noncommittal grunt in response to Myari’s introduction. He had never been particularly sociable, and hadn’t had any need to try to be before. Yet everything at the weyr was different from his old life, it seemed! He was cut off from his usual sources of occupation – training and caring for his sister, left instead with nothing to do but learn skills he was certain he would never use. What was the point of learning everything there was to know about dragons? It was quite a waste of time, in his opinion, and he did hate wasting time.

Shandar moved to go around Myari and continue his stumbling through the dark, not particularly caring if she thought him rude for leaving without saying a word. But his motion halted as soon as it had begun, for he realized that he could see something again as an eerie light approached. As it drew nearer, the candidate could tell that it was a girl, carrying a basket of fresh glows and replacing the many dead ones as she passed, restoring light to the hallway. Rather than show appreciation, Shandar glared at the girl. Surely she was the candidate who should have done her chores hours earlier! Better late than never, some would say, but for Shandar, both were crimes equally deserving of his contempt.

“It’s about time!” He muttered, but any further comments were cut short as the young woman suddenly began to speak, in a flurry of accusations that actually took Shandar aback. The ex-guard was hardly used to people talking to him like that! Sure, he was hardly polite to others and never censored his own tongue, but it wasn’t often that he received such treatment in return. Yet after getting past the momentary shock, Shandar bristled in fury. He cast a quick glance at Myari (now that he could actually see her) at Cora’s implications, and returned his gaze to the older girl. It was a good thing looks couldn’t actually kill.

“Wh-what?!” He sputtered indignantly as the glow basket was pushed into his chest.

“She is NOT my girlfriend! I don’t even know her!” He chose to argue that point first, even though Myari had already addressed it just moments before him. What an absolutely ridiculous notion! To another, perhaps, seeing a girl and a boy out together at this obscene hour, it was not an unreasonable conclusion to reach, but Shandar wasn’t about to be so forgiving. He’d never had the time or interest to pursue a relationship, and even if he had, it would be no easy task to find one willing to put up with him.

“This wasn’t my job! For your information, I spent all day cleaning in the sharding kitchens!” He wasn’t exaggerating about the amount of time he had spent on his chores either, regrettably. Such menial labor certainly didn’t look difficult, but it hadn’t taken Shandar long to find that such work was quite different from what he was used to. But far was it from him to ask for help or instruction. No, he was determined to finish on his own, no matter how long it took him! Or how many dishes were broken in the process. But he left these details out of his angry retorts, of course.

Shandar’s grip tightened dangerously on the glow basket handle as he glared at Cora. “And who in Faranth’s name do you think you are?! Like the Red Star I’m going to help you.” He spat, pushing the basket of glows back toward the other girl. If Myari wanted to help, that was up to her, but as for Shandar, he would have no part of it! It wasn’t that he minded work, but he was far too stubborn to do anything Cora asked after how she had gone about it. Shandar was not one to be pushed around, regardless of the possible repercussions.

[D'gellin]

Oh, by Faranth, people were simply impossible! Cora's lips pursed in frustration as the late-night duo retaliated. The girl wasn't a candidate? Cora blinked in the dim light, finally recognizing the older woman for what she was. Myari's shorter height had been deceiving. But age and rank meant nothing, unfortunately, to Cora. And while she was very good at attacking others, she was not quite so genial about being rebuked. Bristling like an angry feline, Cora's face flushed in indignation. Her already prim posture straightened, instinctually standing taller to reclaim dominance. "I'll have you know that I am the Headwomans' Apprentice!" She replied importantly just as Shander began to protest about the glows not being his responsibility. Her indignantly frustrated expression rounded on the candidate, just daring him to say one more word. She really had to hold her ground here or no one would take her seriously. Already she was off to a bad start! And this made her all the more irritated.

"If you had been listening," She replied with narrowed eyes "you would have learned that I am the Headwoman's Apprentice. Therefore it is my responsibility to ensure the Weyr is in good form. And if this means enlisting the aid of other Weyr inhabitants than so be -HEY!" Cora was momentarily distracted by the basket being shoved back at her! Shard it all, was there no respect around here? This thought, of course, didn't take into account her own actions, which she thoroughly believed to be just.

"Ooh! You can't do that to me!" Cora all but screeched in frustration, shoving the glow basket right back at him. "This is a candidate's job! Not mine!" She retorted, poking him in the chest with the same glow she'd been holding on to from the beginning. Then, turning to Myari (mainly because she could not stand to look at Shander when he was being so very impossible!) "If you are indeed not a candidate than I can not hold you to this task. However, as a Weyr resident, you should feel a proper obligation to bettering your home." She returned with at least an attempt at serenity. But her sea-green eyes still managed to look dangerous, as though trying to make poor Myari feel guilty for not doing exactly as the younger woman said.

((I'm sorry about Cora, guys. ^^;; She's a little...headstrong...))

[C'lyn]

(Hehe, Headstrong characters can be fun to play. Happy M'kel day hehe.)

Myari arched a brow and crossed her arms as she watched the exchange between the boy and girl. Headwoman's Apprentice? She shook her head at that, it was the first she'd heard of the headwoman taking an apprentice. Well, she'd picked a headstrong one, and an impolite one at that.

Myari's brow arched even further as the girl rounded on her again. She shook her head and frowned, her eyes narrowing. "Now, I just told you I'd be willing to help if you'd ask nicely, but you seem to be incapable of that. If you really are the headwoman's apprentice then I need to talk to the headwoman about teaching you some respect for the people you work for," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

She glanced up at Shandar then turned her attention back to Cora. "And it may be the candidate's chore, but if he wasn't assigned to it, you can't make him do it either. I suggest we go to the candidate barracks and wake up those that were assigned to this task and make sure they do it," she said, reaching out to take the basket from the girl. "Or we can wait until the morning and go discuss this with M'kel and the candidate master and allow them to decide the punishment for the lack of the candidates completing their tasks."

[Shikai]

Shandar’s eyebrows rose in an undisguised dubious expression as she announced herself self-importantly as the Headwoman’s apprentice. A faint smirk crossed his lips, but it was devoid of humor, merely a mocking gesture. The Headwoman’s what? Headwomen didn’t have apprentices! Did they? Not at his hold, but here…yet even here, an apprentice of any sort could be nothing more than an apprentice, she didn’t even outrank him, in his mind! And certainly not Myari, a dragonrider! How pretentious could she be, imperiously throwing out orders when she had no real rank to speak of?

“Oh? Why not?” He replied testily, his eyes flashing as she made to shove the glowbasket back at him. What was she going to do about it? Shandar wasn’t used to being challenged; most at his hold had known better. Fortunately, Myari intervened, taking the basket from the squabbling pair. Shandar glared at Cora as she poked him in the chest with a glow. Ok, this girl was really testing his limits. At this point, he couldn’t have cared less if she’d been a sharding goldrider, she wasn’t going to get away with treating him like that!

Thank Faranth Myari was there, certainly displaying more maturity than the other two. He listened to her suggestion, but shook his head, sighing as he tried to release the anger Cora had provoked. “No, no, let’s just get it done now. Might as well.” He said, closing his eyes and rubbing at his face with a brown hand, suddenly feeling tired, either from the arguing or the lack of sleep since his arrival at the weyr, or more likely, a combination of both. “If we all do it, it shouldn’t take long. I’ll find those candidates and be sure to give them a piece of my mind in the morning.”

[D'gellin]

Oh this was simply impossible. Cora could feel embarrassed heat rising to her face as Myari reprimanded her. The logic the rider spoke with clashed so strikingly with what Cora had been doing that she was beginning to regret speaking so sternly. Yes, she certainly had come off very strong. More like a temper tantrum. Shards but it was late! And she was tired. She really hadn't slept much since she took up her new role here. In her own defense, she had been working hard. But sleepless nights filled with horrible images of fire-breathing dragons wreaking havoc on the land weren't the most accommodating pictures to fall asleep to. If she slept at all, that is. So focused on making a hardworking early impression - to prove she could do this! She really could! - she'd often sacrificed sleep in favor of late nights and early mornings knee-deep in cleaning. Any place Cora entered was left ten times better than the way she found it.

And did anyone thank her for it? No, no one did. Nobody. And most certainly not the Headwoman. What a woman! More a force of nature, really. But stern. It was a thoroughly thankless job. Cora was emotionally and physically exhausted. But giving in now would mean sacrificing that little edge she could hold. If she let people do whatever they wanted or talk however they wanted to her, she'd loose all respect! They'd walk all over her! And Cora, thank you very much, was quite fed up with the trampling.

So when Shandar threw back a retort at her 'Oh? Why not?' with a horrible little mocking smirk, Cora was just about ready to round up and smack him in his sharding face! But she resisted, balling her hands into fists instead. Sharding...sharding...shaffit... "Because!" Was her thoroughly unsupported response. With another wave of frustration she found her eyes prickling with tears. She felt like a child. She was acting like a child. And in her stubborn worn-out fury she persisted. "Just because!" This accompanied with an agitated wave of her hand. Had she any respect to begin with? She was certain she'd lost it. It felt like everything was crashing down around her..

"No, this isn't something that needs to be taken up with the Weyrleader." Cora found herself replying, swatting away the notion. She was surprised to feel the fatigue in her voice now. Were her shoulders drooping? Quickly amending her posture she cleared her throat, attempting to assume her authority once more. "In any case, now that it's started it should be finished." She paused, lips forming a thin line as she deliberated something. But before she could speak Shandar relented. Did she...did she just win? He gave up? He gave up! HA-HA! She'd done it! She held her ground and survived! But instead of a triumphant grin, her small smile was genuinely thankful. Dragon nightmares or no, she did rather want to get some sleep. And three would certainly get this chore done faster than one..."Although I still believe anyone up frittering away time without purpose should do something constructive," She paused, her voice, though grudgingly, becoming a little smaller. Something she sincerely regretted but honestly felt. "I appreciate the help."