'The World of Pern(tm)' and 'The Dragonriders of Pern(r)' are copyright to Anne McCaffrey (c) l967, 2000. This is a recorded online session, by permission of the author but generated on SouCon MUSH for the benefit of people unable to attend.

You walk over to the bustling Weyrhall.

A'ric tsks, "Such a pity I cannae give her wha' she needs." He winks.

Liwellan moves quickly to stand behind the crab crawling candidate "Where are you going?"

Starr is scooting back from Liw and A'ric in her undershirt and leggings. Drenched to the bone and her shirt dropped carefully upon A'ric. Now it appears she is trying to excape the pair, whimping and saying, "nononono! You can't! I'm a candidate!" she says, though there is something about her that shows she is obviously enjoying this.

A'ric pushes the wet garment off of his leathers with a glove. He smirks, "Aye, ye are....o' I'd do somethin' bout this, aye, Liw?"

Auralia strides back in, and then stops. "Starr? What on Pern...A'ric, Liwellan. What is going on?" And then, forcefully, "Put some clothes on, Starr?" What else can she say?

A'ric says "She put numbweed in the water th' others were usin' t' wash hands wi'. They dumped it on her clothes in retaliation.""

Starr whimpers a little, looking up at Liw. "Eep?" she manages, then sees Auralia and rolls to try and get ot her. But the numbweeded candidates simply stumbles some more.

Liwellan slips on her riding gloves from her pockets and reaches down to grab the girls arm "Ohh do stand up and tell Auralia what you've been up to..hmm?"

A'ric mmphs, "Get her t' her cot. She'll be fine later."

Does Aura want to know what happened? Probably not. Does she want to know what she walked in on? Probably not. She just stands there, and shakes her head, "Why do I always walk in on these things?"

Liwellan sighs "Well I could use help..you know she is taller then I am.."

A'ric looks over towards Aura, to see if she's going to offer said help.

Auralia pauses, looks at Starr, then at the others, and strides forward, leaning down, "Grab my arms, Starr." No questions asked, she's simply going to help. Yeah, thats right. The tall greenrider holds out said arms, holding back a giggle.

Starr looks wide eyed at Aura and whimpers again. "They were wasing their hands and I forgot to tell me it had numbweed in it and then they got numb in the hands and kept dropping tubers and then they drenched me in the numbweed-water and then A'ric made a comment about wanting to help and then I ringed my shirt out on him and then they said they were gonna give me a spanking!" she says, all in one breath, though ends up gasping at the end.

Starr does, however, manage to take Aura's arm with a hard grip. As she can't feel her own fingers she doesn't even know how hard she is squeezing.

A'ric grins, and watches, giving a good look over of Starr's body. Candidate or not, he can look.

Auralia yelps slightly at the tightness of the grip, but manages to keep holding, in an attempt to try and pull the candidate up. "Well," offers she after a deep breath, "Well." Head tilts towards the other two, and she manages to keep a straight face, reprimanding, "That wasn't very nice. You shouldn't threaten to spank candidates." She'd slap A'ric, but her hands are full. Shame. He gets a Look instead, "Don't do that, A'ric."

Starr makes a face and sighs. "Now I can't feel anything!" she says, standing all right but doing so clumsily.

"And theres nothing you can do but wait," comments Aura wryly, wrinkling her nose, "The only bad thing about numbweed. Other than the smell, of course. Hold on, I'll try and keep you steady."

A'ric smirks at Auralia, "I said I would ha'e liked t'. Nae tha' I were goin' t'."

"You're looking," Aura simply adds, "Don't."

A'ric snorts, "Nae rules 'bout lookin'."

Starr looks down at what is being looked at and sighs, eyeing A'ric. "Great, and I can't even tease him!" she says, as if this were the most woeful thing in the world.

A'ric chuckles.

Auralia looks slightly exasperated. But she hides it. Or tries to, "Well..." Comments escape her, and she simply stands there, helping support Starr in case she still needs it.

Starr makes a face and stands up, trying to step out of the hands and does...but wobbles on her feet and looks down at them. "I must remember that numbweed can be used badly..." she comments, starting to walk out of the hall. However, some fellow candidate sticks his foot out and down she goes.

Liwellan shakes her head and helps hold the girl up "Well she deserves one..and I wasn't threatening I had every intentions of giving her one.." Then looks at A'ric and smiles "They haven't said you couldn't look as far as I know."

"Careful!" Aura makes a face at the candidate who tripped the other one, and shrugs, "Whatever, whatever." She's stuck her foot in it now, hasn't she? Not much help at all.

Starr manages to get up on her own too, and sticks her nose in the air. Eyes fall on the candidate that tripped her, a dangerous look. He swallows and fidgets and she smirks. "That's right, better be careful! I'm not normaly this clumsy and you know it!"

Liwellan makes her way back towards A'ric, peeling off her riding gloves. "And besides..A'ric's always liked to look..even when he was weyrmated to me."

A'ric grins at Starr, giving her a wink, before putting an arm around Liw, "Aye, aye. I'll ne'er stop lookin'. 'S why I'm rarely weyrmated."

Liwellan looks back to the candidate and her fellow greenrider "See?"

A'ric isn't looking at Aura, though...

And thats a change. For the good? Who knows. She shrugs, "Whatever. As long as its nothing more than looking. Especially with candidates." When did she become in charge of them? Bossy greenrider that she is.

Starr looks at A'ric now, eyes narrowing and face turning red. "Hmph!" she finals says, turning on a heel and stomping out of the hall. Fave still red, wether from anger or embarassment it is uncertain.

Starr walks toward the Courtyard.

Liwellan lays her hand against A'ric's side and laughs as the candidate stomps out.

Auralia makes a face at the green and blue riders, and races after Starr. Thats what friends do, right?

You walk toward the Courtyard.

Starr stomps along, kicking at rocks and growling. Occasionaly she will stumble, but right herself and along she goes. Heading for the lakeside meadow. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid..." she chants under her breath.

Starr strides over to the Lakeside Meadow.

Auralia raises up her hands in disgust, and follows. What else can she do?

You walk toward the Lakeside Meadow.

"Wait! Starr!" Aura calls after the candidate.

Starr manages to stop and turns to look over her shoulder, face looking hurt and red. "What is it?" she asks, trying to keep the edge out of her voice, in respect to the rider.

Auralia walks forward, powerfully, her face concerned, "Are you alright? You went out so...rapidly. I'm sorry about what happened, and I'm sure you know it. Those two are..." She shrugs, sighing, "Need any help?"

Starr can't walk anymore and just slumps into the sand, frowning unhappily. "I was fine with Jayla and Laemir throwing numbweed on me, even A'ric's remark. But he has really been getting to me lately...you know me and him...before I was...well...anyway...and now he..." she just growls and throws up her hands, unable to explain and hoping you'll get her point.

Auralia slides down beside you, and says, touching your knee, "Starr? I know what you mean. He's...A'ric's lecherous. I don't much like his attentions either. He -was- nice, but now..He just bugs me a lot. I'm sorry that he had to be involved in that."

Starr sniffles a bit and wipes at her eyes, unused to all these feelings. "You don't understand! I...I felt something for him...and...and...he was my...I mean...I...I'de

never..." she can't speak, her throat is all tight.

Auralia's slightly confused, so she sits back for a moment. "Calm down a little, and then talk to me, huh? Take a deep breath." Not that it looks like it'll help at all, but anyway. "You liked him? And you went to his weyr with him?" Its only a thought, a guess, and she adds, "Your first?"

Starr sniffles and noddles, wiping at her eyes and taking a deep breath. "Yes." she says quietly, glaring at the water.

Auralia reaches an arm over as if to hug you, and then stops, simply nodding, "Then..I'm sorry." She sits there silently for a moment, before adding, "My first was dragon-related,believe it or not. But yours...I'm so sorry that it had to happen like that." What is she saying? Who knows.

Starr sighs a little and curcls her knees up to her chest, knocking her chin and making a face. "Not to mention that Liwellan person...she was just as bad, I think...I mean, I really thought he would care about me!" she says and sighs. "Shows me I have a lot to learn about civilized culture."

Auralia shakes her head, leaning back on her hands, "No, its just Weyr culture. A lot of 'em are like that, riders I mean. And Liw...yeah, well. I know. He's only after the good bits, and not the relationship bits. He doesn't care about any of us."

Starr sighs and shakes her head, wiping at her eyes again with a numbed hand. "I mean it Aura, you don't know nothin about me...no one does. When you grow up knowing only your mother and father and what they teach you and then suddenly your thrust upon the world...it's hard...very hard."

"N-o, I don't know anything about you. And," Aura pauses, sighing, "This is hard for me, too. Not knowing what to expect from you or anything. I don't know what to say that will help you. Only that I'm here, and I'll listen. Or try to."

Starr looks over at you, no longer frowning and just curious. A new respect glints in her eyes at your honesty and she sighs, looking at her hands. "I was holdless." she explains. "My mother and father were bitran, thrown out of their hold for now good reason but that. Made to fend for themselves down here and my mother was pregnant with me...I've only know being holdless. Living in a save by a cove, fishing, hunting and living by our wits." she says, sighing a little and shaking her head. "It's so wierd...I am so much happier here and yet I work a lot more now than I ever did being holdless. I love working, in fact..."

Auralia's face is expressionless - except for the caring that shows through - and she nods, without a word, swallowing before her words make it out, "I never knew, Starr. I never even realized. I...no wonder you're so strong. I always admired that in you." Her hands sit completely still in her lap, and she adds, softly, "I'm glad you're happy. I really am."

Starr glances at you, raising a brow. "Strong? Me...I'm like a kitten just born...I have no clue of what is happening to me. Sure I can act and do well with other people. I like getting to know other people...but all the other things. Liking A'ric, getting searched and all that...I have no clue about any of it."

Auralia shrugs a shoulder gingerly, looking straight at you, words firm in content and in diction, "Sure, you're strong. At least, thats how I see you. Always stand up for yourself, and all that. You never seem to show you have problems. Which," she adds, wrinkling her nose, "May or may not be a good thing." Lazily stretching out a leg, she adds, "I was just like that, believe it or not. Getting searched, all the rest. Only I never liked anyone. Except as a friend."

Starr nods her head slowly, sighing a bit. "I just don't get it. I'm supposed to be a nobody, suddenly I'm a somebody? Or am I even that? I do what I'm told as a candidate, but this is the one thing that has ever really scared me. I don't know what is going to happen or what even could."

Auralia pauses for a moment to formulate words, and then finally replies, "You were never a nobody. No one is a no body." A pet hate, probably, "You're just on your way to the rest of your life now. " Her voice softens, and she adds, "Talk to the others. I'll bet they feel the same way. It -is- scary. No one knows what is going to happen. I was lucky, one of the later searches and one of the first to Impress."

Starr sighs and nods, standing. "I guess your right...thanks for the talk, but I better go lay down fore I hurt myself."

Starr walks toward the Candidate Barracks.