The Makings of Prank Legends

[D'gellin]

Degellin, fully conscious of the fact that there were chores to be done which he was blatantly ignoring, sat cross-legged on his bed. On his lap rested an old journal; his tome of pranks. His journal contained records of his monotonous life and efforts to expel the boredom. Most of those efforts had been resolved through all kinds of pranks and the like, many of which were found humorous only by himself and a few close friends. Everyone's a critic.

With a flourish of his hand, Degellin flipped the pages in his records to the next blank page. He eagerly crouched over the little journal, jotting down all the events since his coming to the Weyr. Nothing was boring. Well maybe the bread, bread was the same no matter where it came from. But there were just so many new things! Dragons were all over the place here, staring at him from the cliffs, swooping over the hunting grounds, disappearing into /between/ like some kind of magic trick. He felt very much like a little kid exploring a whole new world.

And he was enjoying every second of it.

Grinning, Degellin brushed some of his hair out of his face and closed his book. He carefully tucked it into his small bag of items brought from home. There was nothing spectacular, just a few pairs of clothes and other essentials. All were still packed of course. Force of habit had him keeping everything ready to up and leave the moment things became intolerable.

Bright blue eyes scanned the male's candidate's barracks, an impish light flickering beneath that deceivingly innocent baby face of his. Now that he was more or less settled, something needed to be done to commemorate his arrival; something big; something...something that was going to take some time coming up with. It had to be perfect. It had to be something that would be passed down for generations in the candidates' barracks as a legend. The trick was not getting caught. He put a hand to his mouth thoughtfully, mulling ideas over in his mind. But boy could he use some inspiration...Maybe some subtle insight from other candidates (whether they realized they were giving it or not) might do the trick...His eyes flickered up and around the barracks again, searching for his peers. Now if he could only find one...

[Journye]

Hunter shifted his heavy pack strap to a more comfortable position across his shoulder as he looked around the candidate barracks, whistling softly to himself. Well here he was and there was no backing out of it now, not that he wanted to anyway. He shook his head slightly to bring himself out of his thoughts and made his way to an empty bed. He set his stuff down on it then looked around again.

He was too excited to try to rest, but he didn't really know what he was supposed to do either. He spotted another boy and waved to him "Hello," he said, his voice deep and rich, carrying easily in the small space of the barracks.

[Kitari]

It was too much. She couldn't stand another minute in a room full of those giggling, simpering girls. Every day, a new one seemed to appear in the Barracks, whisked off her feet by the dreamiest dragonrider she'd ever seen. Which wasn't saying much, as dragonriders had been around for such a short time, Kitari doubted any of them had seen one before the Searcher who'd found them. Those girls could spend hours, hours, gossiping about the gorgeous dragonmen striding about the Weyr in their wherhide outfits. There was always a flock of the girls following the choicier dragonmen around in their free time. And they never shut up!

Last night, Kitari had been kept awake for hours by the latest arrival to the Weyr. She had been taken against her will, the girl said, but was, somehow, developing some kind of a hostage-captor love complex over the dragonrider who'd Searched her. Thus, Kitari had been forced to endure the mindless chatter of the other girls discussing this romantic interest until the matter had been exhausted. Yet, somehow, they were at it again! The behaviour was so demeaning, so weak, so pathetic... It was everything the Fishergirl despised. She wouldn't be surprised if half of them dove into rider's beds within the week.

Thus, the young candidate rolled her eyes one final time, stood up abruptly from her cot, and walked out of the Barracks. Her departure warranted barely a glance, so absorbed were the girls in their latest gossip. Once free of the thunderous chatter, Kitari took a moment to breathe out in the corridor. In the sudden silence, she felt a pang of sorrow, one she hadn't dared to acknowledge since she'd arrived at the Weyr. She missed the sea.

Moment over, she brushed these emotions aside. She'd always known her time on the sea was limited, for it was only a matter of time before she'd be tied to shore once again by her mother. The Weyr offered a different kind of opportunity, a different kind of freedom. Therefore, she wasn't going to be bound by restrictions anymore.

Kitari walked the short distance down the corridor and strolled right into the boys' barracks. She'd lived on a ship most of her life, so this kind of environment was exactly what she was used to. All of her friends had been lads on the ship, and it would be a relief to spend at least a short time with non-wherryheaded Pernese. "Hello all," she smiled, seating herself on an empty bed. Her grey-blue eyes shifted around the room, taking in the two closest lads. "I'm Kitari."

[Journye]

Hunter was a bit surprised when Kitari walked in, but it soon faded and he grinned "Hello Kitari, I'm Hunter," he said, holding out his hand in greeting, his icy green eyes sparkling with his smile. He looked her over curiously before sitting on the edge of his bed "Let me guess, the other girls are chattering like a bunch of nesting wherries? My sisters were bad to do that too," he said making a face "Going on and on about this man or that one. I can understand some of the things they see, but really should they go on and on," he said with a laugh and a roll of his eyes.

He tilted his head and arched an eyebrow slightly "I'm from a small hold, was apprenticed to the runner beast stable master. Where are you from if you don't mind me asking?" he said with a ready smile, curious to a fault

[D'gellin]

Degellin perked up noticeably as the sound of whistling filtered through the room. He was almost tempted to join in, but as he had never been able to master the art of the whistle, he chose instead to hum along to the dandy, probably feeling his first and last pang of homesickness. Who would have thought it would be the Harper Hall he missed? With a shrug at the thought, Degellin leaned backwards on his cot so he could see the new entry, a smile alighting his face so that a dimple appeared on both ends of his grin. "Hello to you too." Degellin chimed, his head hanging off the side of his cot, upside-down. "Name's Degellin. It's a pleasure to meet you uuuh.." He trailed off, not knowing the other boy's name. He probably should have asked that, but hopefully it would be supplied for him in his ignorance.

Degellin surveyed his peer from his upside-down position, his hair hanging out of his eyes. Well, this new kid seemed fairly down to the earth, but Degel couldn't gauge if that would make him a rule follower or a rule breaker. So he held off on diving into his scheming; best to get to know the other boy first.

But before he could even learn the candidate's name, another person waltzed in to the barracks, confident and apparently relieved about something. Degellin sat up and tilted his head bemusedly. The only bit he'd seen of girls so far in the weyr were gossipy little things that fawned over the riders. That was all fine and dandy if you were of rank and attractive but as Degellin's lack of dragon thus far and boyish attributes were the only thing the gaggles of girls seemed to see, none had approached him even for casual conversation yet. "You can call me Degellin." He offered after Kitari introduced herself, his smile returning, though it may have been a little more charming than the one flashed at Hunter earlier.

Degellin's mouth tugged down at one corner as Hunter described what he had seen of the female populace at the weyr thus far and Degellin nodded with grave understanding, though he couldn't help a small, devilish grin. "You almost sound disappointed - I wonder how that attitude would change if a girl showed interest in you." He leaned in conspiratorially to Kitari, eyebrows raised with incredulity. "For some reason I'm avoided at every turn. Could you look at this face and turn it down? I mean honestly, you'd think I had the breath of a wher. It's depressing." He said with exaggerated glum, rolling his eyes. "I don't suppose you would have much to say about that though if you're running away from this kind of talk." He added, resting his chin in his hand with a single quirked brow. His smile was intoxicatingly innocent.

[Journye]

Hunter looked over to Degellin and grinned as he righted himself from his up side down position. He tilted his head a bit as he listened to what the other boy said and chuckled, shaking his head "I think I'd be more disappointed if the did show such interest in me. I mean I wouldn't wanted to be followed around by a gaggle of gossiping wherry heads. Swooning because I happened to glance at them," he said with a roll of his eyes. "And besides we don't know what kind of liberties these riders would take with someone anyway," he said with a shrug.

"But your right she came here to escape gossip and here we are making males look as bad as those girls. I shudder at the thought of being considered as gossipy as that, so sorry Kitari. Please forgive us," he said with a wide grin and a chuckle as he shifted to a more comfortable position on his chosen cot, leaning he back against the wall at the head of the bed and stretching his long legs out and folding his arms behind his head.

He glanced between Kitari and Degellin and arched an eyebrow, glad to have met a couple of fellow candidates already, but he was still unsure about a lot of things, he had heard so many rumors about these dragonmen and he didn't know what to believe or what he was in for for that matter. He shook his head slightly and turned his attention back to the conversation at hand, saving his musing thoughts for later.

[Kitari]

Kitari returned the lads' greetings, leaning back on the cot and listening to their speech. A strand of curly, black hair brushed against her cheek. Earlier, it had fallen loose from the strip of cloth she'd used to tie back her short hair. Upon sighting it, one of the other female candidates had exclaimed in delight, demanding that Kitari let her 'do' her hair. At this entirely incomprehensible suggestion, Kitari had merely grimaced and moved away. There was nothing to 'do' with hair, except tie it back to keep it out of one's face on the ship. Honestly.

However, at Hunter's speech, the girl couldn't help but narrow her eyes slightly. He was assuming an awful lot, when all she'd said upon entering the room was 'hello' and 'I'm Kitari'. For all he knew, she could be one of those gossiping girls snootily marching into the boys' barracks to flirt without competition.

At Degellin's self-deprecating comments, Kitari smirked grimly. "Now what makes you think that? Just because I'm not gossiping with the others doesn't mean I'm blind." Her smile altered, becoming more gentle. She was used to this kind of behaviour from the lads. They were always seeking reassurance when they didn't find a gaggle of girls following them around, despite their modest claims. This was something familiar. "Maybe you should grow some facial hair," she quipped airily, jerking her head to get that strand out of her face.

Returning her intense gaze to Hunter, she stated, "I'm a Fisher. Or, I was. I lived on a ship for as long as I can remember, and I never wanted to be landbound. Hopefully I'll be taking to the air soon enough." Her confidence on the sea transferred to this candidacy, and if a dragon said she could Impress, she could.

[D'gellin]

Degellin raised his brows with an incredulous look at Hunter's lack of interest in the girls. "And miss all the fun you could have leading them on?" He grinned, looking off at some fantasy unseen by the other two. "It'd be their own fault for being wherry heads, so I wouldn't feel guilty pulling a few gags on them. It would put them in their place at the very least." His smile intensified as he looked back at Hunter. "It'd be funny to see what kind of glances would make them 'swoon' more." He snickered.

"Pfft, I won't lie. I like gossip." He rolled his eyes, placing a hand to his chest with exaggerated sincerity, as though lying would be the last thing on his list of things to do. "Most of it is so ridiculous it's actually funny. And in my line of work, it's pivotal to know who are the most gullible people in the immediate area." He didn't bother to inform them that his 'line of work' happened to be pranks. It was fun letting people guess for a while. He'd tell them soon.

In response to her suggestion to grow facial hair, Degellin lifted his chin slightly with defiance. "Well that's not fair, I /have/ been trying, thank you very much. It's not as easy at it looks." He took the seriousness off of the statement with a flippant grin. Being a late bloomer in the whole puberty department wasn't doing much for him either. It was only recently he got over the whole voice squeaking thing, but that wasn't something he was about to admit to a girl, let alone a fellow male. Goodbye dignity!

Degellin straightened himself up a bit at the talk of where Hunter and Kitari had hailed from, looking all sorts of proud. "I've uh, dappled in a few different crafts." He started in without an invitation, smiling self-approvingly. "I'm a Master Practical Joker and recently apprenticed in the Harper Hall. Future dragonrider extraordinaire, at your service." He added with an exaggerated bow, liking Kitari's idea of being confident about the Hatching. I mean, what dragon wouldn't want, /him/? Pff, they'd be lining up on the sands to impress Prank-Master Degellin!

[Journye]

Hunter returned Degellin's look with a half grin and a shrug. So what if he liked both genders, but to him males were just easier to like. He chuckled and nodded "True it would be interesting to see what looks would make them swoon more then the last."

He looked at Kitari and smiled "Ah a Fisher. No a offense but you don't see many girls doing that. It must have been great fun. I have never been on a ship, but perhaps one day," he mused thoughtfully and he looked at Kitari with a whole new degree of respect. He turned his attention back to Degellin and laughed softly, nodding "It is a bit harder to grow facial hair then it appears, but then again some have more luck at it then others. I gave up trying. Besides some people like a smooth jaw to pet," he said with a hint of a mischievous grin.

"A Master Practical Joker? I can see how that might get you apprenticed at Harper hall. What kind of jokes do you pull?" he asked as he sat up, his curiosity firmly taking hold now. He felt the same sentiments as his fellow candidate about impressing, but he didn't feel that he had to voice them.

[Kitari]

Degellin was certainly the playful type, Kitari could see. The usual, cocky display was familiar for the girl, and definitely one she could feel comfortable around. A gossipy boy, was he? That was believable enough. He certainly had the spunk to be delighted in hearing of other's 'woes' and turning them to his advantage.

Kitari couldn't help but grin at his defiant response to her suggestion, and she decided he wouldn't look great with facial hair, anyways. His face was too young yet for such a manly attribute. Then again, a young boy could change drastically in a short time.

As Degellin proudly spoke of his previous life, the pieces fell into place. A Harper boy he was, which explained not only his confident air, but his proclamation of being 'Master Practical Joker'. The Harpercraft was known for its carefree attitude. She doubted this boy had faced a day of hard work in his life. Not that she didn't respect Harpers, for their role as teachers and historians was necessary and amusing at Gathers. It did raise different Pernese, though, for members of the Fishcraft didn't have much time for pranks.

There was something about Hunter's speech that was almost...forced...to Kitari. He seemed to be rehearsing his speech about casting girls looks. Interesting. "No, there were no other girls aboard the ship. Some think it's bad luck, you know. Others just find it distracting." She grinned self-indulgently, tucking the curly strand behind her ear as a quick fix. "Not everyone's built for the sea. See?" Still smirking, she held her hands out in front of her, palms up. Her skin was coarse and roughened from Turns of hauling lines. "I've got a number of scars, as well." This was followed by a wink, before she turned to hear Degellin's response to Hunter's query.