Difference between revisions of "N'ky's Weyrlinghood Recap"

Latest revision as of 02:19, 4 September 2013

Weyrlinghood Month 1

N'ky is rarely seen without Cailluneth, and when they're together they're nearly always touching, if he isn't actually carrying her. They clearly have a very strong connection. For those that have experienced it (Ilicaeth, for example, when he broke N'ky's cot), she would seem to be the source of his new-found temper. She's not all hot-headed, though; quite the opposite, in fact, as she tends to use her colourful suggestions of thought and emotion to soothe and calm.

Weyrlinghood Month 2

It's no secret that N'ky was freaking out over the exams. Reading and writing aren't a problem, but maths? History? Eurgh. Lucky (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) for him he's nearly back to his old sleeping habits, which meant extra hours in the nights before the placement tests to spend poring over stupid hides. Just ask him. They're all stupid - especially those ones with numbers. He's gladly taken help where he can get it.

The studying didn't pay off as well as he'd hoped it would in the end; he just scraped by in history, but arithmetic was a disaster and he's wound up with extra work in both subjects. He's kind of embarrassed by it, but he's trying hard to get better.

On a slightly sadder note, Cailluneth is no longer small enough for him to carry. N'ky's a little down about it but of course he's proud that she's growing up to be so big... in all senses of the word - Cailluneth is by no means svelte! Perhaps all that carrying about has added to her hatchling tubbiness, because she's certainly round.

Following Kazavoth's incident with the wherry, it's no secret that N'ky was caught by weyrwoman Azaylia, after having snuck Cailluneth into the weyr's lower caverns to let her hunt tunnelsnakes. Cai's been crowing proudly about her kills, though N'ky is sheepish about getting caught and is adhering to the rules even more strictly.

He's been paired with C'ter as his mentor, a holdbred greenrider in his late 30s. It seems to be a happy enough pairing, and N'ky acts comfortably enough around the man.

Oh, and he's also having lessons with Madilla - they're working on getting rid of his stutter. Whether the classes have been working or he's more at ease around his fellow weyrlings, the end of the month does see somewhat of an improvement in his speech - though only when he's relaxed. Get him flustered and he'll stutter and stammer like the pro he is.

Weyrlinghood Month 3

Month three has, so far, been the least eventful for N'ky and Cailluneth. She's growing, he's stuttering less - apart from when emotions are high, of course. Nerves, excitement, panic and so on all bring it back full-force. In general conversation with most weyrlings though, he's comfortable enough to be more himself. With all of his catch-up work, Harper classes and other things on top of his weyrling duties, he's been busy enough to actually start sleeping through most nights due to pure exhaustion. Things have fluctuated with N'ky since Impression, and he's even had a couple of frazzled moments when he's just felt absolutely overwhelmed by everything happening, and by his want to make everyone happy. Slowly-slowly, he's learning to be just a little bit selfish by putting himself first - well, after Cailluneth, of course.

Cailluneth proved herself to be a fierce, successful hunter, having made her first kill under the supervision of Hraedhyth. She's got a habit of pinning a herdbeast down and latching onto its neck to bleed it out, and she's been wearing a good few bruises from flailing hooves as a trophy of her kills. When she's hunting, any dragon who's tried to reach her will find her mind very different to normal: it's wild, somewhat animalistic, driven by bloodlust and the thrill of hunting. Now that she's taller than the herdbeasts it's not quite as much of a game to bring them down as it was before, but she still likes to whip her food into a frenzy before leaping for the kill.

There have been more times when the pair haven't been seen glued to each other's sides, though they're still very, very close. N'ky still tends to stick only to the places where Cailluneth can be with him, which means he's only indoors when she's asleep, or when he absolutely has to be - and in the latter case, he's often distracted as he keeps in mental touch with her. They're still very touchy-touchy, and when together they're nearly always in contact.

Weyrlinghood Month 4

There's been nothing at all of note happening with N'ky this month. Cailluneth's finally taller than him at the shoulder and he's disappointed that he was overlooked for the silver threads, but that's about it.

By the end of the month his grades have started to slip significantly, and he's not putting as much effort - hardly any effort, really - into his remedial classes any more.

Weyrlinghood Month 5

N'ky's grades haven't improved this month; they may have even declined. Those still in remedial classes may talk about how he's failing pretty miserably, but no-one's likely to hear it from N'ky himself. If asked, he just brushes it off and changes the subject... if he's even around to be asked, that is. Outside of standard weyrling classes (which he's putting full effort into, even if he's not socialising much while doing so), he's rarely in the barracks. He's been spending mealtimes alone for the most part, though anyone who's spent time with him will notice that he barely eats anything, and only offers the bare minimum of interaction if he's approached. He's been spending most of his time somewhere in the Weyr with Cailluneth, normally at the far end of the lake, by the waterfall. She's very protective if anyone approaches, and if he's spoken to, N'ky quickly makes his excuses to leave.

Prior to Sabella's incident, N'ky was hesitant about flying; after it, there was no sign of straps on Cailluneth and the pair made no attempts at a first flight. Things changing and piling up around him made N'ky sink even lower into his funk;D'kan's attempt to pull him out of it did more good than he actually let on; N'ky perked up a little from his 'brother's' tough love approach, but it was Alida who did the most to drag him out of it.

It wasn't until the very end of the month, day 27, that N'ky was finally called into the Weyrlingmasters' office for the inevitable chat about his performance, while Quinlys led the other weyrlings in an aerial drill. No-one's likely to know exactly what Meara and N'ky spoke about, but someone may have noticed Isath flying up and out of the Weyr with two passengers on her back, trailed by Cailluneth. Anyone with eyes on the bowl later that night will have seen a triumphant-looking teenager slipping down from his green's back after winging in over the bowl's rim. Their first flight was out of sight, out of the Weyr, but it definitely happened - and it's been hard to keep them on the ground since. N'ky's new favourite haunt, even more secluded than the far end of the lake, is the Star Stones. N'ky still hasn't tested out of his remedial history and maths classes, and another new development at the end of month five is private Harper lessons. When he's not there, he seems to have a renewed passion for studying other things... especially any journals on leadership, wings and so on that he can get his paws on.

Weyrlinghood Month 6

The beginning of month six didn't start overly well for N'ky, who found himself overwhelmed and unable to properly balance the pressure of his wing duties, weyrling lectures, private Harper classes (he still hasn't tested out of remedial Maths, though he's doing better with History), lessons with Madilla, and extra studying to be prepared for the wingleader knot that, according to rumour, he's turned down once... though given the mess he's been for near enough the past two months, he would have been in next to no state to lead anyone.

With no prior warning, Day 15 saw him stop attending Flurry's drills in order to train with Cirrus, under their wingleader for the month, Aisha. It's a temporary arrangement but it seems to be working for him, if not for anyone else.

N'ky was amongst the last of the weyrlings to go hunting for a new weyr, missing out on the organised trips due to his extra work. On Day 17, he persuaded D'kan to go weyrhunting with him, claiming a small, shadowy, draughty location as high up the weyr as possible. By Day 18, he'd moved in.

The rest of the month was smooth as silk for him - moving to Cirrus and shadowing the wing's greenrider leaders, Aisha and J'madri, certainly had a positive impact on N'ky; the change seemed to be exactly what he needed to get back on track - there have even been rumours of him hooking up with one of Cirrus's blueriders, April, and the two of them being frequently spotted together at mealtimes is doing nothing to dispel them.

By the end of the month, he was handed a wingleader knot, to take charge of Flurry in Month 7.

Weyrlinghood Month 7

All the brushing up on leadership prior to being handed Flurry's Wingleader knot seemed to pay off for N'ky. Being matched up with Alida was definitely an advantage too, as they made quite the pair. N'ky surprised himself if no-one else with his competence and confidence in leading the wing, and was dedicated to encouraging everyone to achieve their best, especially in the relay races.

The final leg of the race against Cirrus had N'ky racing against April - someone who he's becoming somewhat of an item with. Cirrus already had a bit of a lead on Flurry by the time the handover to N'ky and Cailluneth to take the race home happened, but N'ky's fumbled catch whipped away whatever chance they would have had of catching up to win. Did he miss the catch on purpose, to let his sorta-girlfriend win? Did he just give up, knowing that Cailluneth wouldn't be able to catch April's faster Darcielth? N'ky knows what happened for sure, but he's staying tight-lipped.

He's also been seen more frequently with J'madri. There might be a touch more to whatever their friendship is, if the occasional lingering glance and unnecessary (but appropriate!) touching is any indicator to those prone to picking up on such signs. Given his preference for two of its wingmembers, what little spare timehad in month seven was spent with Cirrus' riders.

Weyrlinghood Month 8

Outside of wing duties and when not in the extra classes he's still taking (he's finally tested out of History, but remedial maths is ongoing and he's still attending speech therapy, too), N'ky spends nearly all of his time this month with Cirrus riders, especially April and J'madri.

He knows Sh'mel from his time spent with the other wing, and N'ky wasn't shy about backing the transferred-in leader up or offering advice when needed.

Weyrlinghood Month 9

Learning to go between meant freedom, and N'ky finally found himself with all of Pern at his feet... but he hasn't strayed any further than necessary for classes and the tasks assigned to him.

Senior Weyrlinghood

Graduating up into Cirrus and shadowing wings brought no special revelations for N'ky; he did well in some places, less so in others, bumbled through or shone depending on the day and the task. The real breakthrough for him came after he fractured his arm while ice skating with Alida; that led him to be assigned ground duties and missing out on a lot of wing shadowing.

Graduation Gifts

N'ky's Gift Chest Lovingly handcrafted and lacquered to a shine, this durable sepia-toned cedar chest is large enough to warrant the thick leather handles that are kept in place by aged brass fixings on the sides. Rich, ruddy brown-dyed leather runners adorn the chest, about an inch off the bottom and are kept in place by deftly carved wooden insets - leaving the semblance of an unbroken smoothness of wood to leather and then wood once more. Sturdily squat feet are padded on the bottom with softened leather to prevent scraping against the floor. Seared into the top of the one-piece lid is the badge of High Reaches Weyr a little to the left, with intertwined stylized lettering, 'N & C', immediately on the right. Just below the engraving is a narrow strip of glass that protects the leather-padded wooden hollow that contains a sprinkle of High Reaches's hatching sands, mingled with fragments of shells.

Within the chest are a number of gifts from the Weyr: A 'first aid' basket; a box said to contain 'whiskey'; an assortment of 'lotions' and skincare products; a slim, personal 'farviewer'; as well as a smaller 'ring' box with a graduation ring and 'token' held within. There's also a carefully wrapped 'egg' bauble.

Egg: An artist's impression of a dragon's paw, sturdily cast and with a flat base, protects within its gilded talons an egg of blown glass. The hollow, palm-sized ovoid is reminiscent of Cailluneth's hide in hue, yet still transparent enough for the golden grains within to be clearly visible. They may no longer carry the heat of the hatching sands, but they do hold tiny fragments of shell that vary in color, shape and size, appearing and disappearing within the sand each time the egg is moved. There's no way to be certain, but a piece of Cailluneth's shell could be in there. Somewhere.

Farviewer: A thin metal tube is covered protectively in a tanned wherry hide and can be pulled out to about the length of an average man's arm. Made of lightweight and somewhat... cheap materials, the stamp of Starsmith Hall is branded onto the protective leather covering, the eight pointed star visible in red ink. Meant for personal use, it lacks the power of the larger farviewers located at the Hall, but the closer arrangements of stars can be seen on clear nights.

First Aid Basket: Within a tidily bundled kit, a collection of basic first aid supplies can be found: there are hot bags for sore muscles, jars of redwort and numbweed salve, some herbal tea. Amidst the bandages and concoctions, there's also a small bottle of (poor quality) brandy. Perhaps that's intended as a joke? Or maybe it's medicinal!

Lotions: Another small woven basket claims the other half of the chest, opposite of the healer's first aid kit. Arranged artistically within a bed of sweet, mint-scented rushes are a several small containers of cosmetics. The assortment of skin moisturizers are scentless, but contain aloe vera and hints of numbweed, just enough to provide cool relief from sun rashes or wind burns. A collection of lotions are labeled with the different scents they contain: coconut, rose, lavender, and ging blossoms. A bottle of sun block, a pair of trimming shears, and nail clippers round out this particular gift basket.

Ring: This finely-cast silver ring wraps around N'ky's finger as if it were made for him. In the center is an inlaid portion with High Reaches Weyr's mountain-spire symbol in onyx, seven spindles reaching upward in silent testimony of the strength and protection of the Weyr. Tiny chips of prehnite spiral around the spires to symbolize Cailluneth's color. On the inside curve is inscribed their graduation date and the names "N'ky and Cailluneth".

Token: A token, which might be so easily lost, is found in the ring box along with the graduation ring. Stamped with Weaver Hall's emblem, a note is folded into quarters and is attached to the token. Written with a neat hand: %[ This token entitles the bearer to one free set of plain brown flight leathers from Weaver Hall, piped in High Reaches' colors.

Whiskey: A box of unvarnished wood bears the painted label 'Twenty-four turn old Single Malt', and a maker's mark in the shape of a sheaf of barley. Inside, carefully packed with straw, is a finely made square crystal decanter filled with a dark, tawny liquid, as well as two round glasses to match. The ball-shaped stopper has been carefully secured for transit, but, once pulled free, allows the release of the rich scent of a very fine whiskey.

Credits: All the gifts, including the box they come in, were purchased for you by the weyr, and were made by crafters and skilled amateurs from across Pern. The egg bauble is a special gift from Acting Weyrwoman Azaylia, in commemoration of Hraedhyth and Iesaryth's first clutches.