Eternal Summer Cleaning [OPEN]

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin looked up from their work and down at the other candidate. They had been so absorbed in the cleaning they had not noticed her approach. They had managed to reach into the far recesses of the closet and wipe down the shelves thoroughly, clearing out a decent collection of cobwebs that had taken hold. "Good," they responded simply. "Just about finished."

They reached into their pocket and pulled out a collection of abandoned trinkets they had found while wiping down the shelves. They held the items out in one of their massive hands: a string of colorful beads, a seashell, and several pointy teeth from some kind of dragonkin. "These yours?"

[nineofswords]

Scara nodded with a smile. "Excellent. You still feel up for moving the beds, or do you want a break?" She knew some people could be warn out from cleaning more quickly than others. It was mentally taxing in some ways, as well as being physically exhausting the longer a person had to do it.

Scara took the objects Quentin offered, curious, sorting through them. "Doubt they'd be mine, but let's see," she said. She scowled a little once she realized what the teeth were from. "Well that's...morbid. And feels disrespectful." She sighed and set those aside. "I should send these between, or find a rider who'll do it. Dragonkin go between when they die, they shouldn't leave pieces of themselves behind." Honestly. Some people just had no respect.

She examined the string of beads next. "I don't recognize this as being anyone's in particular, and I suspect whoever owned it has long since bonded to their dragon or aged out." It didn't look especially valuable, so she could probably keep it if she really wanted to, but if it was a rider's, she'd essentially be stealing from them and she couldn't stomach the idea of that. "I'll bring this to Molly or one of the candidatemasters, see if they know who it might belong to, and if not they can put it in a lost and found or something.

Finally the seashell. Scara turned it over in her fingers. It was pretty. [b]"Not mine," she said. "My guess, someone went to the beach, thought it was pretty, pocketed it, and forgot about it the next day." She held it out to Quentin. "You want it? If not, I'll see if any of the other candidates do." She didn't feel as bad about taking the shell. It wasn't as though it could be owned in the same way a piece of jewelry was. Shells and rocks were fascinators, but parts of the natural world that should eventually find their way back if they were left behind. She'd throw it back in the sea if no one had any interest in it the next time she was at the beach.

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin nodded. "I'm fine to move the beds." They still had plenty of energy, dusting some shelves and moving a few pieces of furniture was nothing compared to the full days of labor they used to put in on the farm.

They watched as Scara picked through the trinkets they had found in the closet, putting them aside one by one. When she offered them the seashell, they nodded. It was a pretty shell. Quentin could count the number of times they had been to the beach on one hand, and while they didn't have a particularly strong connection to the beach, they liked how the shell looked. It would be nice to have something that could be considered a decoration in their barren room.

Quentin held out their hand to Scara for the shell. "I'll take it, if you don't want it."

[nineofswords]

Scara grinned at Quentin's willingness to keep helping. "Glad to hear it," she said. "Some of our fellow candidates, they don't seem to understand that this time is supposed to prepare us for becoming riders. How much work that's going to be." She shook her head. "And it's not like they can just put off washing and oiling their dragon. Better to get used to the work now, while the stakes are lower."

Scara put the shell in Quentin's outstretched hand. "All yours," she said. She'd collected so many shells when she first got here, since they'd all seemed so pretty. She'd made some into jewelry, others into decoration, and still she felt like she was drowning in shells. She absolutely did not need another one.

She grabbed a broom. "If you move the beds aside, I'll sweep everything out from under them and then you can put them back where they were. That way I'm not holding you up for too long." She gave Quentin a warm smile. "I've really appreciated the help, by the way. It's made this go so much faster."

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin nodded at Scara's comments about work. She was very serious about doing everything proper, something they could relate to. They also didn't understand why the other candidates hadn't bothered to show up and get cleaning done.

They inspected the shell in their hand for a moment. It was quite pretty, and would look nice on their desk. It would be a quaint little comfort to look at when they were doing their extra letters practice.

"You're welcome." Quentin said plainly as they went to move the first of the beds. They were enjoying helping Scara out and getting to know her, in their quiet way."I like helping. On the farm we always helped each other." The left it at that and grunted as the pulled the first of the beds aside so Scara could sweep.

[nineofswords]

Scara quickly got to work sweeping up everything that had fallen under the first bed. It was hers, so there were various clothes that had fallen down there (that should absolutely be washed to rid them of dust bunnies, ugh) as well as mostly just the general detritus that tended to accumulate under beds.

"Ah, now I understand," Scara said with a smile when Quentin mentioned a farm. Candidates who came from farms tended to be the ones that were the least offensive of the holdborn, at least as far as work was concerned. "You're used to the work. Far too many people who come to Semaca don't realize that we're all but roughing it out here, and if they want to be able to coast along they should've gone to another Weyr. Not that the Northern Weyrs will let you slack off, but there's not quite the volume of work that needs to get done out here, you know? I bet you'd feel out of place at another Weyr, though, with all that stone hemming you in and very few plants about." Here, they were surrounded by greenery. It had been strange for Scara at first, honestly. She also had no idea what living on a farm was like and had to assume based on things she'd heard and depictions in tapestries.

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin nodded, they were used to the work and had been thinking it to themselves all afternoon. Slowly they were becoming more comfortable around Scara. She seemed understanding and nice. Plus she was a hard worker too. "Yes, I'm used to the work. It was just my family, there was a lot to do." They said. They wondered how their brothers and father were handling things without them around to help. Once they had a dragon of their own, they would make sure to go back and visit.

They grabbed a dustpan and knelt down to help Scara with the sweeping. The edges of their lips twitched up in the hint of a smile. "The plants are nice. Different from home though." Quentin had never even considered that living in most weyrs would mean being devoid of greenery, so they were thankful they had ended up in Semaca. Adjusting to candidate life was already difficult enough, without nature around them it would be even harder.

[nineofswords]

"Just your family?" Scara asked, a little shocked. She shouldn't be, she knew. Most farms were tended just by families. She knew that. But she'd never really sat and thought about it before. And...well, she'd only lived at a Weyr before. "Was it strange?" she asked. "Having so few people around, and only people you were related to?" She couldn't really imagine it. She was Weyr born and raised. She'd always had crowds of people around her.

"Oh! Thanks," Scara said, surprised and pleased that Quentin was helping her sweep too. She hadn't expected it. She quickly moved her little pile into the dustpan they were holding steady. "I almost feel bad, honestly, since you're already helping me move the furniture and dust up in the higher shelves of my closet." It almost felt like she was taking advantage of them. She had no illusions that some other candidates might do exactly that. She needed to keep an eye on this one, make sure that didn't happen.

Scara's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Different how?" she asked. Plants were plants, as far as she was concerned. They were all just green, right?

[FirebrandPhlox]

TW: Death mention

Quentin nodded. "Father, my brothers, and...Mama." Their face fell a bit. Their mother had passed so recently, and with all of the traveling and adjusting to candidate life, they had not taken much time to grieve. Did that make them a bad child?

Scara's continued questions kept Quentin from focusing too much on their mother. They emptied the pan into a nearby waste bin and put it down so they could sign. Family is all I knew. Being around so many people is strange to me.

"You're welcome," they responded as they went to move the first bed back into place. "It's no trouble," they assured her with a grunt as they pushed the bed.

Quentin looked up at the ceiling, thinking about how to explain the differences between the plants of the northern and southern continents to someone who clearly didn't know anything about them. To Quentin, the difference was as obvious as night and day, and something they had realized as soon as they were off the boat.

"Well..." they started, trying to formulate the words. "They're...bigger?" They sighed in frustration and went back to signing at a furious pace. The leaves are bigger and thicker, and a darker green. The fruits are much more diverse in flavor and appearance. Things grow taller and bigger here, and grow on top of each other in ways that would never last up north. They paused their signing and looked at Scara, suddenly realizing what they were doing. "Did you catch all that?"

[nineofswords]

There was a hurt there, something about their mother. Scara was absolutely curious - who wouldn't be? - but she wasn't going to pick at an emotional wound from someone she'd just met. She struggled for something to say though, something that would be encouraging, but it was hard to know what to say without knowing the exact nature of the hurt. Finally, she settled on, "I'm sure any one of them would be very proud of you for standing to be a rider," she said.

Being around people was strange? Holders were so odd. "Wasn't it frustrating, though?" she asked. "I mean, that's not a lot of people. If any of them was getting on your nerves, who were you supposed to spend time with instead?" That was the whole beauty of a Weyr, there was always someone else to talk to, something else to do!

Scara laughed. "No trouble for you. I'd probably hurt myself trying to move one of those dressers when they were full. I'd do one of these tasks and be winded and need another break."

Scara considered Quentin's initial response and tried thinking back to the northern plants. She guessed that was true? She hadn't exactly spent a lot of time looking at plants before, though. When Quentin started signing in earnest, though, she grinned broadly. She laughed when they asked if she'd caught all of it. "I think I got the gist," she said. "Something about leaves and fruit being different. More...diverse? Sorry, I don't mean to laugh, it's just...I probably should've guessed asking the farmer's kid about plants would've been what got them out of their shell. It's nice, seeing you so animated about something. Do you like animals too? I know slightly more about them and can actually contribute a bit to that conversation. I do actually know the differences between felines and canines, as opposed to Northern and Southern trees."

[FirebrandPhlox]

Proud of them standing. Quentin wasn't so sure that was how their family felt. They had barely finished the funeral proceedings for their mother before they left home to head down to Semaca. Their father and brothers were not just one, but two sets of hands short at the farm. Whenever they thought about all the work their family was subjected to in their absence, Quentin felt a pit of guilt form in their gut.

They considered Scara's question, being around a few people was what they were used to. That's just how it was. "If I needed space, I'd go care for the herdbeasts." The animals never chided Quentin for dreaming of life beyond the farm, and they seemed to appreciate the extra brushes.

Quentin gave a tiny, embarrased grin when Scara laughed. They had gotten carried away. It was so much easier to talk about plants and animals than it was to talk about themselves. "I like animals," they admitted. "Caring for the herdbeasts was my favorite chore."

[nineofswords]

Herdbeasts? Herdbeasts couldn't hold a conversation! How was that an escape from irritating people if you were left alone with your thoughts? Scara shook her head. She'd never understand Holders, but this one would just have to learn. She hoped it was sooner than later. And they were opening up well enough to her, so she had hopes they'd adapt well. "I'm...sure you taking on the extra work with the animals was appreciated," she finally said, realizing the silence had stretched on a little long.

"Nothing wrong with liking animals!" she said encouragingly. "Honestly, with your good work ethic and love of animals, I'm certain you'll do very well as a dragonrider. Hard work caring for an oversized animal is most of what being a dragonrider is outside of what squad you join and the tasks you are given. So you'll do just fine." She wasn't sure if they felt nervous about this at all, but it was good to assuage any fears before they started to crop up.

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin looked past Scara, contemplating what she said. They certainly hoped they would be a good dragonrider, if they managed to impress. They still weren't so sure if they would be though. They were confident they could care for a dragon and handle the physical tasks with little issue, but their continued problems with letters and being able to speak to others left them unsure they were fit to actually be a rider.

"I hope so," they said in an uneasy voice. They didn't want Scara to see the shadow of doubt falling over their face, so they turned away and with another grunt pulled the second bed away from the wall for cleaning.

[nineofswords]

Quentin seemed slightly less than sure. Well, that certainly wouldn't do, would it? "Trust me, I've seen plenty of candidates turn into riders in my time," she told them. "Plenty of candidates without work ethic become riders. Which is not to say that all riders lack a strong work ethic, plenty of them have a very good sense of duty. You'll take to it quite well, I've no doubt." She was confident Quentin would be a wonderful rider someday, and she hoped she was conveying that enough.

Once again, she took the broom to the debris under the bed. This one had been Naira's, so there were far more bird feathers under it. She pulled all of the floor detritus out from under the bed's spot, then picked up the feathers to add them to the pile she'd already started. There were other odds and ends, a loose sock or two that Scara would clean before returning to the new greenrider.

[FirebrandPhlox]

Quentin gave a solemn nod. They certainly hoped they would be a good rider someday. It was what they wanted more than anything in the whole world. But just wanting something didn't make it happen. And how much could another candidate really know when it came to whether they'd be a good rider or not.

They fetched the dustpan again and knelt down to assist with the sweeping. There was a lot more dirt and detritus under this bed, so they waited patiently while Scara collected the larger items. If cleaning a room was the mark of a good rider, Quentin and Scara both would go down in the annals of history as elite riders.