Osasune trots out of the Candidate Barracks, pinning up a damp braid into one of her usual elaborate hairdos.
Ilesyn enters the cavern from her room, which itself is linked to one of the smaller tunnels, and strides, hands slung into her pockets, no where in particular. Osa, caught out of the corner of her eye, is huffed at.
Osasune huffs back at Ilesyn, stopping dead in her tracks. "Good afternoon," she says, politely, if a little stiffly.
"Indeed," agrees Ilesyn, perhaps somewhat sharply. "The same to you."
"Well, it /is/ a good afternoon," Osasune says, a touch defiantly.
Ilesyn tilts her head to the side. "Is it? I'm not sure. It's cold, and it's snowing again." She's still sharp, equally stiff.
"But... umn... they made that really good pie," Osasune says. "The spicy redfruit pie. And it's really good. And they made lots."
"Food, of course. That makes everything all right. Until it goes to your hips." Ilesyn gives a meaningful glance towards Osasune's torso, bitingly astringent.
Osasune glances down at her hips, then frowns a little. "Umn. But. I mean - you're... plump, too."
Ilesyn merely agrees, nodding her head. "But at least I don't make it worse by making food more important than it is."
"Didn't," Osasune says. "Just said it was something that made the day... good. I mean, that's assigning no more importance to it than you did to the weather. So... ha."
Ilesyn rolls her eyes, attempting to stand taller than she is, as if in an effort to tower over Osasune imperiously. "I know what I'm talking about. Food shouldn't be the difference between a good day and a bad one."
"And weather should?" Osasune retorts, trying to draw herself up to her full height. Which is sort of average.
Ilesyn's not tall, either, so it doesn't really work. "Weather makes a difference to everyone."
"Okay, maybe, yes." Osasune says, forehead squinching up. "But that's still a little weak and /must/ we do this?"
"Do what?" Ilesyn's eyebrows lift - again - and her expression turns surprised.
"The... the sniping," Osasune says quietly. "And the disapproving. And the not-as-friendly-as-usual."
Ilesyn hesitates, apparently at a loss. "Well," she begins, then pausing. "Well. Fine. As long as you accept that I still think you're an idiot for accepting candidacy."
"Oh, I know," Osasune says, sighing a little. "Agree to disagree, then?"
Ilesyn nods, finally. "I suppose so," she agrees.
Osasune rubs her cheek a little. "So. How have you been these past few days?"
Ilesyn digs her hands deeper into her pockets, somewhat-- uncomfortable? "All right, I suppose. It's been cold," she adds.
"Very cold," Osasune says. "But the snow is good for running the children about in. When I have nanny duty."
"You have to do that, as a candidate? I di--" Ilesyn cuts her own words off, and gives something of a smile. "I guess it would be fun to run in, for children."
Osasune's head bobs. "Mmmn-hmmn. And make forts, and throw snowballs. C'daer brought some weyrlings out to build a snow fort and have a snowball fight as well, a sevenday or so ago. It was quite fun."
Ilesyn nods her head, almost warmly. "I'm sure that would have been. I'm glad he's decided not to keep coddling them."
"Coddling them? C'daer coddles?" Osasune blinks a few times.
"Yes!" Ilesyn sounds quite disgusted at the idea, nodding her head firmly. "He does. When it was really cold, he kept them inside instead of having them do their drills."
Osasune's forehead wrinkles. "Oh. Well, people keep telling me you can bundle up against cold."
Ilesyn nods her head again. "Of course you can. Plus, weyrlings have to learn how to endure things. They shouldn't be coddled."
"Mmnhmm. Because if you're worried about frostbite, how will you deal with Thread eating your toes off?" Osasune says, blandly.
Ilesyn purses her lips, enthusiastically nodding. "That's exactly right. Dragonriders can't afford to be picky about the weather."
Osasune nods slowly. "That is a point, yes." She shifts her weight from foot to foot, looking vaguely uncomfortable.
Ilesyn catches that discomfort, her head tilting to the side with curious interest. "What?"
"They have to be really tough," Osasune says quietly.
Ilesyn nods again. "That's right, they do."
Osasune sighs a little, and glances down at herself. She gingerly takes hold of the pudge about her midsection, shifting it up and down a few times. "Hooboy."
Eonwar grumbles something disparaging about healers as he slumps past and heads to bed.
"Having second thoughts?" queries Ilesyn, her eyebrows raising again. "Are you sure that you have it in you to make the grade? Would you be able to cope?"
"They wouldn't have Searched me if I didn't," Osasune says, slowly. "I have to try."
Ilesyn points out, almost cheerfully, "They searched you because some dragon decided you had it in you, nothing more. They don't really know you - they may regret it later."
Osasune sighs, releasing her grip on her poodge. "I have to try."
Ilesyn shrugs lightly, her smile level. "If you must. That's an admirable quality: willing to try, even if you have doubts about whether you can really succeed."
Osasune glances over at Ilesyn, then smiles faintly. "Thank you."
Ilesyn draws her hands from her pockets, crossing them in front of her cheerfully. "You're welcome."
Osasune smiles, then, warmly. "You're a good friend, Ilesyn."
Ilesyn hesitates, somewhat surprised. "I am? Oh." she pauses. "Uh, thank you."
Osasune's head bobs. "Mmmn-hmmmn! I think so, anyway."
"Wow." Ilesyn really is taken aback, although she manages to smile brightly. "Er, so are you, Osasune."
"Oh! Thank you very much," Osasune says, nodding. "Er... but why are you surprised that I would say that?"
Ilesyn's expression is hesitant - and somewhat rueful. "Most people tend to prefer to dislike me, than consider me a friend, because I'm too honest."
"Well, I mean, sometimes it's, um, it's, well, I mean, it's hard to take. The honesty," Osasune says, forehead wrinkling. "But you never mean ill when you speak honestly. And you're being, well, honest. I'd rather have a friend who I always knew what they thought than one that would just... lie to me all the time."
"I'm glad you feel that way," admits Ilesyn, rolling her shoulders backwards stiffly, before her hands are once again deposited into her pockets. "Because I really value the honesty, and I wish people would just accept that that's what I do, how I am."
Osasune nods a few times. "Right. It's really important to you."
Ilesyn nods again, quickly, and firmly. "Absolutely right, it is. It's the most important thing-- I don't want to coat anything in sweatener, because if I do, people will never learn from it."
Osasune's head bobs. "Right. It, um, makes sense."
Ilesyn's smile wavers slightly, as she inclines her head into yet another nod. "I think so. So." She pauses. "Are you /enjoying/ being a candidate?"
Osasune cocks her head to the left. "Ummmn. Well. I mean, no more than I enjoyed being a, a not-a-candidate. Not really."
"And you're not apprehensive, excited, or interested in gloating about it?" queries Ilesyn, interested.
"I'm apprehensive and excited," Osasune says. "It's like... it's like, sometimes, I think, 'Wow! Imagine if I /do/ Impress!' and then I think, 'Oh, no - what if I /do/ Impress!' I flip between excitement and terror, really."
Ilesyn leans backwards - she's conveniently near a wall, so she leans up against that. "Mmm," she agrees. "So you're a little unsure about how to deal with it. Will you be disappointed, if you don't?"
"Maybe. Er... actually, I will be, I think. I'll get over it," Osasune says. "I don't really expect to Impress."
Ilesyn nods again, stretching her shoulders stiffly. "Not many people do, of course."
"No, not many at all. They choose so many. I must be an extra, in case another twenty people have... have sex or break their necks or something," Osasune says.
Ilesyn laughs brightly. "You ought to have /some/ confidence in yourself, Osa, dear. They search about double the amount they Impress, as I rem-- I believe," she ammends, quickly. "So you have, what, a one-in-two chance, or something."
Osasune blinks at Ilesyn. "You /stood/?"
Ilesyn uhs, uncomfortably. "Sort of."
"How do you sort of Stand and get Searched?" Osasune inquires, gawking.
Ilesyn blushes - this is highly unusual, and it obviously makes her highly uncomfortable. "It was for /research/ purposes," she insists. "That's all. I did it so I could write a paper."
"What if you'd Impressed?" Osasune squawls.
Osasune squawks, even.
Ilesyn shakes her head, confident. "I wouldn't have. There's no way."
"But, but, they say that anyone Searched - I mean, you could have," Osasune gasps.
Ilesyn is insistant. "I could not have."
"The dragons Searched you," Osasune protests. "I really think there was a possibility."
Ilesyn shrugs her shoulders again, sighing. "If you want to think that, go ahead. I can't believe it - I won't believe it, in fact. Besides which, what does it matter? I didn't Impress, and for that I am thankful."
Osasune gapes. "B-but... umn... uh. Yes. Yes, that is a good thing."
Ilesyn raises her eyebrows at Osasune again, pulling away from the cold wall. "But what?"
"I really think it was possible you could have. Impressed," Osasune squeaks.
Ilesyn rolls her eyes, huffily. "Fine. Believe that. But I certainly won't." She shivers, noting, "I'm heading to the caverns for something to drink. Do you want to come?"
Osasune's head bobs. "I could use something to drink. And something to ea---er. Something to drink."
Ilesyn smirks. "You should be dieting, Osa. To get into shape so you don't get kicked out of candidacy, or disappoint people if you Impress." She strides towards the Inner Caverns, still smirking.
Posted by Louise at January 29, 2003 04:40 PM