[EVENT] Crime and Punishment

[Arcane]

The weyr's dirtier tasks have many pairs of hands to tend them these days, as D'fid and Estelle assign candidates to remedial menial labor to atone for their mistakes in the recent wher attack.

[Fel]

"I didn't do anything wrong, it's asinine that I'm stuck in here with you screw-ups just because I was pissing when the whers showed up," Spensa griped from her chair. Her bitten calf was healing, but not quickly enough for her to stand for long. It meant she was stuck doing nothing but scrubbing pots, a task that could--unfortunately--quite easily be done seated.

"I didn't run away like a coward. Unlike some people."

Spensa very much missed the entire point of the reprimand, it seemed.

[Windra]

Welleue had their height to make up for what Spensa lacked. They diligently swept dust from the tops of cabinets that would have been more difficult for the others to reach. Their voice was caught in the humming of some old harper ballad - but only just so, not wishing to impede upon their fellow candidate's rambling and thus become the target of such ire.

And yet as they drew back with a pile of hidden away trinkets stashed by some mischievous fire-lizard, wafting plumes of dust to accompany their removal, Welleue could not help themself. "We've all made quite the err in our judgments, it would seem." They stepped off the stool - for even some spots required a bit of assistance to get to - and briefly lost footing when settling down on their injured knee. Ligaments would heal, but they were prone to soreness. Welleue caught themself with an elbow on the counter. "Let us simply keep our heads down to accept what has been divvied out to us. I would hardly appreciate being on the darker side of our Weyrleader's humor. At the very least, Estelle was generous enough to insist we not be removed from candidacy considering ... all of that venture's events."

[Arcane]

Mithras did not think herself too good for menial labor. She had two perfectly functional hands, after all, and already thought she spent too much of her time in lessons that didn't really help anyone.

She wouldn't have minded this "punishment" in the slightest, if she wasn't stuck here with Spensa.

"I think we should all be helping the weyrfolk more often, not just when D'fid and Estelle are upset," Mithras said, self-righteously, as she scrubbed her pot vigorously. Why would this stain not come out?

Oh, right!

She'd forgot the soap.

"The dragonriders should help more too. We're all in this weyr together, aren't we? So why shouldn't we all do our part in maintaining it every day?" she smiled, trying to keep up the mood.

She hummed to herself as she cleaned before admitting, "Although I agree the punishment is misguided. We were all willing to fight. If the dragonriders had helped us and given us weapons, maybe our strength in numbers would have driven off the whers before anyone died. Riders are too proud and determined to do everything by themselves. They should be happy we wanted to help."

[FirebrandPhlox]

Costanza looked up from the floor he was scrubbing with a huff. "Hey, I will have you know that I wasn't running away. I was running to get help. I'm not stupid enough to think I'd have a chance against a wher, even with a weapon."

He didn't enjoy being called a coward (even if it was an accurate description), and he enjoyed being assigned extra chores because of the failings of his classmates even less. He had done everything correctly! Called for help when there was trouble, listened to the rider when he showed up, it was absolutely ridiculous that he was being forced to scrub floors because some of the other candidates decided to try running into the woods away from help, or even worse, fight the whers head one.

"Are you stupid?" He asked Mithras, looking up at her from his kneeling position. "Trying to fight the whers is what got us into this mess. Some of you were just too convinced you had to play the hero instead of following orders and just getting out alive."

[nineofswords]

Bronson

Bronson was one of the few candidates who hadn't been injured, which in and of itself was totally unfair. Everyone else got cool scar, and all he had was a lousy scratch that hadn't even needed stitches. And as if that wasn't enough, he was being punished along with everyone else! For not even doing anything!

And Spensa was saying exactly what he was thinking, as if the day couldn't get any worse.

"Some of us didn't run like cowards and we didn't try to forsking bite our rescuers!" He was wiping down tables, and was trying to do it as slowly as possible to avoid being given another task.

He rolled his eyes at Welleue. "I was just using the bathroom when the whers attacked, and then I got picked up by a rider!" That was literally all he'd done! "I do not deserve to be here! And I'm not going to keep my head down just because you're scared of the Weyrleader, or whatever! He's gonna change soon anyway, so who even cares?"

And then Mithras joined in. Faranth, why was everyone insisting on being a dimglow today? "No one's stopping you from signing up for extra chores," he snapped at her. "And when exactly are you expecting the riders to help with chores? During threadfall? Should they scrub pots instead of mending their straps?" He scoffed. "Dragonriders don't have time for basic chores, that's why Weyrs exist." Everyone knew that, or apparently everyone but Mithras.

"Finally, someone is talking sense! Thank you!" he said in response to Costanza. "We're still just candidates, why would any of you fools think any of us could handle a creature with razor sharp claws that weighs several tons?!?" These people where supposed to be the next generation of dragonriders? They'd get themselves killed within a season with this kind of incompetence! Maybe it was a good thing there were so few golds and bronzes, or else people like this would get them killed every day!

[Windra]

Welleue

They shrunk back a little at Bronson's bite, but it was not a deterrent. Welleue sorted through the fire-lizard hoard. Trash ... trash ... spoiled food ... missing fork ... trash ... something shiny? Picking it up, Welleue spun it around in their fingers. "I jumped onto the back of that green. To be completely honest, I was not thinking of the repercussions at that moment. That glorious beast rolled over onto me in a moment, and I was hurt. So no, going toe-to-toe with a watch-wher is ill-advised, but given the circumstances ... Many of the dragonriders appeared rooted to their places, were they not? Estelle, bless her soul, was severely outnumbered and the other riders had scattered ... "

Welleue could see a number of flaws that had kicked off in their 'after-school activity' that lead to disaster and death. Distinguishing the item in their hand as a tarnished mark, they considered pocketing it but instead laid it on the table closest to Spensa. Then they moved the stepping stool to a different location and began scrounging through the mess on the top of that cabinet.

"Although I would not argue against another excursion into the wild wood, whers or no whers," Welleue admitted casually. "I am curious as to their reason for attacking us, and perhaps wonder if they would entertain the notion of seeking a common ground despite the bloodshed. Although, I believe I have enough sensibility and will to survive to avoid that particular situation again."

[Fel]

Spensa rolled her eyes at Wellue's assertion that they should be what, sucking up to the Weyrleader? The Weyrleader was a brownrider, which was a point or ten in his favor, but that still didn't mean they needed to stay on his good side at all times. Besides. As Bronson--unfortunately it had to be Bronson--rightly pointed out, it wasn't likely he'd be Weyrleader for much longer in any case.

"For one, running away 'to get help' is still running away instead of standing to face your attacker. Especially when you left your chore partner to die. Though I suppose given how badly he did fighting back against the wher, it may well have been just a case of culling the weak." Spensa had once thought that Aydholin was someone with the right ideals, and maybe he was, but he clearly wasn't very good at actually upholding them.

"For two, Ogatath had it coming. That was stolen valor! And you were totally going to fight the wher, Bronson, you just got grabbed before you could."

She gave Wellue a look. They may have been a fool, but at least they weren't a coward. The same went for Mithras it seemed, though she was by far the greater fool of the two of them. Thinking they should do more chores, really? "It wasn't ill-advised, it was brave. You just lacked the skill to do anything of actual use. And I agree, we should go camping again. Riders don't just decide not to fight Thread because they got hurt one time."

[FirebrandPhlox]

"Wait, wait, wait," Costanza said as he rocked back on his knees, sitting on his legs so he could properly look at his fellow candidates. He turned to Spensa, aghast."You're telling me you bit the dragon that came to rescue you? Were you raised in a cave or something? Why would you even do that? Are you a complete savage?"

As other candidates chimed in about wanting to go back to the woods, he just shook his head in disbelief. "You want to go back? Are you kidding me?" His voice was becoming more frantic as he gestured emphatically at Wellue and Spensa. "Riders go back to fight thread because it's their job. Camping is not our job, and going looking for wild whers that attacked us unprompted is also not our job. We're here to get trained to be riders and handlers, and that's it. Until we get bonded to our dragons or whers, we have no business being out in the woods with all that. None!"

He let out another exasperated sigh and muttered under his breath. "I swear, if I get stuck with any of you in my wing..."

[nineofswords]

Bronson rolled his eyes at Welleue. "Oh, you weren't thinking things through when you jumped on a wild wher's back? Color me shocked to hear that that particular plan was not well thought out. And whers aren't glorious, they're all...gross and lumpy, and they can't even talk properly." He scoffed. There really was no helping some people. It was probably a good thing that Welleue wasn't a dragon candidate. They'd probably just get themselves and several other members of their wing killed in their first threadfall.

"I wasn't trying to fight the wher because I wanted to," Bronson snapped at Spensa. "I didn't want to see a fellow candidate get mauled in front of me, and I was trying to buy some time until someone with a dragon could come bail us out! I didn't think I could actually win, you dimglow!"

"She's unhinged," Bronson told Costanza. "She's constantly going on about how browns are the best dragons, but then she tries to physically fight one that's trying to rescue her. She makes no damn sense."

When Spensa agreed they should go camping, Bronson wanted to disagree on principle. Also, because it was the smart thing to do for a guy who didn't want to get mauled. But so many other candidates also thought they should go out again, and only Costanza so far disagreed. Bronson had areed with him initially because everyone was being such dimglows about it all and because no one agreed that anyone had done the right thing. But if he agreed with Costanza, he'd be on the losing side of 3 for going back out and 2 against. He'd rather be on the winning side, even if he thought it was a bad idea. So he scoffed at Costanza. "There's a difference between having sense and being a coward," he told the older candidate derisively. "If you wouldn't be willing to go on another camping trip just because of some dumb whers - particularly when we've seen how fast dragonriders respond in a crisis - I'm not sure you have what it takes to even be a rider."

[Windra]

Welleue's mouth morphed into a frown. "Gross and lumpy? I will have you know that, according to the records of Harper Hall and the various Weyrs of Pern, whers have been known to be a substantial aid to those traversing caverns and mines where the air is befouled from decades of isolation." They scurried down the stepstool to fetch a rag and climbed back to wipe clean the dust accumulating on wooden edges. "Perhaps they have difficulties conveying emotions and thoughts through mindspeak, but they certainly make up for the lack of communication etiquette with sheer strength and hardiness!"

Once cleared, Welleue ran a finger across the surface and inspected the tip for residual dust by rubbing one against the other. It was clean enough. By now their throat was parched. Welleue stumbled off the chair and towards the cauldron filled with slightly aged k'lah. It was still hot, for which the candidate was grateful. They paused after making their own mug and went back to fill several others, setting them on the countertop for his current company to grab.

"Perhaps our next venture could be under the shield of more riders and several wher handlers to make diplomatic conversation a possibility," they spoke after swishing the earthy liquid between their teeth. Welleue's gaze settled in glancing between Costanza and Bronson. "It cannot be helped that Costanza is fearful of returning to where we faced such extreme danger. Cowardice and survival instincts often intertwine, you understand?"

[Fel]

Spensa beamed at being called a savage. Really, that was just about the highest compliment someone could give; calling her fierce, warlike, ferocious, untamed? Who wouldn't want to be called that? Well, other than prissy people who seemed to think that they should be of the Blood, sitting around and doing nothing all day even though that sort of life would be utterly boring, but they had no sense and therefore didn't count.

"Well obviously I was raised in a cave. The Weyr caves at Benden. It's not like I'm some... unworthy Holdless." She made a face at the thought of that sort of criminal scum. If she was ever Weyrleader, she was going to make sure the Weyr did something to deal with them.

"And even if browns on the whole are the best dragons, Ogatath doesn't count. He picked Daphne. There's clearly something wrong with him, he's defective. I mean, she was more concerned about the state of our trousers than anything else, even with whers to be fought right there!"

She gave Wellue a look. It seemed they were as foolish as she'd thought. "Why bother with diplomacy when we can simply best them in a fair fight? If they hadn't ambushed us, we would have been able to slaughter them all, and we'd be wearing wherhide boots right now."

[FirebrandPhlox]

"Stop calling me a coward! It was a calculated retreat!" Costanza yelled at Bronson. That was a downright lie, he was absolutely a coward and hadn't been thinking as he had been running. Still, he didn't like being called out for what he was, especially by other candidates who clearly were incapable of making rational decisions.

"I can't believe any of you! You seriously all want to go back and camp again when those whers made it plenty clear we're not welcome?" He was so flustered he was now gesturing wildly as he spoke, face bright red. "One of our classmates died, even with the riders responding as quickly as they did! Who's to say that doesn't happen again if we go back out there? The whers might be even more dangerous now. They aren't going to be stupid to try and fight fair." He scoffed at Spensa's insistence they could beat them if the circumstances had been different.

"Marching back into enemy territory isn't brave, it's downright stupid. Riders are supposed to analyze risk, not just blindly charge into danger!"

[nineofswords]

"Yes, gross and lumpy!" Bronson insisted. He was not the only one who thought that, surely. Why was Welleue so surprised to hear it? He rolled his eyes. "Oh come on. Dragons are way stronger than whers could ever hope to be. Especially the bronzes. The only reason dragons don't do that stuff is because they're too busy fighting thread and can't fit in mining tunnels. Honestly, if people just made mining tunnels big enough for the whites, they could probably do that and we wouldn't even need whers!" And that'd finally be a use for the weird color, too.

"What? Diplomacy? With whers?" he asked as derisively as he could to show exactly what he thought of that. How was this dimglow a candidate at For Weyr? How had they not been kicked out into drudgery for being unsuitable to bond to anything? Oh, wait, that was right, whers took anyone as long as they were there when they hatched. Naturally. Because they weren't any better than firelizards when you got down to it.

"Ogatath is definitely defective," Bronson muttered half under his breath. He and Spensa could agree on that, at least. Unfortunately.

Bronson snickered at Costanza's obvious distress. "Preeeetty sure that's the definition of cowardice," he said nastily. "And it's not like the whers were fighting fair before. They showed up when we were all split up and when some of us were relieving ourselves. But now we know they'd be coming for us, so we could be ready!" He would absolutely tell the candidatemaster if this got far enough along. He didn't actually wanna die doing something this stupid, he just didn't want to try to stand out in the wrong way like what Costanza was doing. "Look, it's sad someone died, but that does happen to riders all the time. We need to get used to that, right? That's just as important as 'risk assessment', right? I mean, fighting thread is pretty risky, so riders have to have a little bit of a more relaxed sense of danger." Not that he'd die. He'd ride a big strong bronze and be the most perfect dragonrider Pern had ever seen. The next hero people sang ballads over!