[CANDIDATES] Too Hot

[Arcane]

It's hot and miserable outside. Far too hot to run laps. Think we can petition for a day off? Maybe to go to the beach?

[Dragon]

Siyanna lay flopped on the floor and stared at the ceiling as she sweated through the thin fabric of her shirt. She felt like she was lying in a frying pan, and Miss Priss didn't seem to be taking it much better. The gold flit was curled limply beside Siya as though trying to soak up any cold the floor might have to offer.

"Really, if we do much in this heat we're all going to collapse," Siyanna pointed out to the air. "At least part of the day off our usual schedule wouldn't be amiss."

[nineofswords]

Heiro fanned herself with her hand. She was wearing far fewer layers than normal for her, though she'd been at the Weyr for long enough that the communal bathing had quickly gotten her more comfortable showing more skin than her parents would've approved of. She still didn't like to show off the way some women did - she didn't think she had the figure for it - but in weather like this, it wasn't showing off, it was practically survival, even in the cooler air of the caverns.

She looked over at Siyanna as she spoke, briefly considering abandoning any sense of decorum and joining her on the floor. Then she winced as Siyanna's words registered. "While I agree that I would prefer a break," she said, "I don't think it'll be good for our future stamina as dragonriders if we slack off in our physical conditioning." Faranth knew that she'd come a long way in terms of her strength and stamina since coming to the Weyr, and it was in large part because she hadn't slacked off just because of discomfort. "But perhaps we could swim laps around the lake instead?" she offered. "That would be infinitely preferable to attempting to run in...this." She increased the speed of her fanning. "Or at least wait until the sun goes down..." That had to be cooler, surely?

[Dragon]

"It's not slacking to make sure that no one passes out from the heat," Siyanna pointed out. "Swimming would be a good change, or working out after the sun is down. It's almost enough to make me wish I was a wher candidate instead." Not that she was quite old enough to go out for a wher, but that was beside the point. The point was that they got to be nocturnal and move around when it was cooler.

"Honestly, I'll take anything that involves less moving about in the hottest part of the day," Siya continued. "I really don't want to end up fainting. I'd never live that down!" She shuddered dramatically, eyes on the ceiling.

[Windra]

With Ophelia happily preening her ever-shedding new hide up on the ledge above the door, Welleue found he could not take their eyes off her. They were such unique creatures, dragonkin ... The lot of them were unique. No two were the same. Even twins refused to adhere to that biological rule of nonconforming symmetry.

But they were listening. Welleue's eyes did not move but if their ears could twitch as a feline's would, they would be directed towards the conversation. "This heat is not so oppressive that I feel compelled to wallow in misery," they spoke frankly, warmly. "My homeland was nestled in a thicket of swamps and clouded mires. Humidity was ever-present. One became accustomed. Fort Weyr is fairly pleasant in comparison. But ... I have never been to the beach." A glassiness appeared over their eyes. "I have not dared to follow the river to its delta and thus never observed the crashing of waves. Certainly the smell of sea salt would waft over our encampment during harsh storms, but to witness that beauty ... !"

[nineofswords]

"Believe me, I have no desire to pass out either," Heiro said. She hesitated, thinking of how best to choose her words. She lost muscle mass much faster than she put it on, so she was always wary of taking too long of a break. But this was not a sentiment that other candidates shared, she new well, so she was not sure this would be a particularly helpful contribution to the conversation. "I am simply saying that I perhaps understand why our candidatemasters wish to find a compromise between stopping training entirely and pushing us to an unhealthy degree. Regardless, I am certain they will find a solution that works for everyone involved."

She glanced in surprise as Welleue chimed in. She hadn't had much call to interact with them, particularly with them being a wher candidate and having opposite schedules to the dragon candidates. If she tried to stay up for half the night in addition to her lessons, she would not be nearly so coherent as they sounded. "I do not think we intended to wallow in misery," Heiro said, immediately trying to smooth over what she perceived to be a potential conversational pit trap. "Siyanna was more worried about the health and safety of attempting to run as normal in this heat, which is a most reasonable concern." She smiled at them, turning as they spoke of their home. "It sounds a lovely place," she said politely. After all, there was beauty in everything, if one simply tried to look for it.

She bit her lip slightly. "While the beach does sound a lovely place to go, would the candidatemasters not simply have us swim in the Weyr's own lake?" This question she posed more towards Siyanna than Welleue. "It seems like a great deal of effort to get us all there when there is a sufficiently large body of water much closer by." She turned back to Welleue. "At any rate, I doubt it'll be as great an issue for you, as most of your tasks take place at night, in preparation for your chosen life's path. But I am certain you could always request someone to take you to the ocean? Surely someone would be happy to ferry you there, and relish the excuse to play in the waves." Her smile was encouraging.

[Dragon]

Siyanna eyed the ridiculously tall candidate with their flowery speech; she wondered how anyone could manage to talk like that while baking like this. "Pretty words aside," she said, "I was thinking more along the lines of Fort Lake than heading out to the White Coast." The lake was right there and quite convenient, after all.

At least the other girl seemed to be fairly reasonable on the subject. "A compromise would be perfect," Siya observed. Swimming, training after dark - any of it would work for her! Just so long as she didn't have to move very much during the heat of the day.

[Windra]

Welleue truly had not ascertained the class of the candidates about them. In their dullness - for they had to admit that the heat did draw on their energy, even if only a little - the wher candidates failed to realize that these two were not meant to forge the same path as them. Dragons called from the skies. Whers from the earth. Eventually those before Welleue would be destined to take flight.

"The heat is certainly less debilitating during nightfall," they confessed, vacantly plucking at the hem of their parka. Billowing shades of crimsons and golds caught Rukbat's light and glistened. "I do suppose a voyage to the ocean may be an exception, considering the current lack of eggs on the sand. Ahh, the last Hatching was spectacular! It would perhaps give us the chance to hone our skills with fishing and gathering."

Disappointment did not round on Welleue's face, though they felt it linger in the depth of their heart. Alas, the misty shores would have to wait!

"I would certainly be open to swimming past sunset, if that's something you would endeavor for? It is certainly a different beast to challenge the lake when you cannot see. Relying on your memory and internal compass can be quite difficult."

[nineofswords]

Heiro offered Siyanna a smile. "Compromises are often the best solution to most problems, I have found, although they are often not exactly what everyone wants." She was glad that Siyanna saw eye to eye with her about going to the lake rather than the ocean to swim.

Welleue fidgeting with their clothes made Heiro realize that the lankier candidate was in a jacket...in a heatwave. Faranth, how were they able to stay upright? She certainly wouldn't have been able to function in sleeves in this heat, let alone a jacket, but to each their own, she supposed. And she wasn't the sort of person to criticize someone else's clothing choices. Still, she'd keep an eye on them, and if they seemed at all disoriented, she'd insist they talk off their parka. Heat stroke was no joke, after all.

"FIshing and gathering at the beach certainly sound like excellent activities," she agreed. She wasn't sure how useful they were for riders, but she was not the sort to turn up her nose at learning new skills. "They would be a welcome break from the usual sorts of tasks we are asked to do. It would be a bit like a miniature vacation!"

Heiro winced slightly when Welleue mentioned swimming at night. "That sounds...dangerous," she said. "It would be much more likely for candidates to drown, and in the dark I'm not sure that anyone would notice in time to save them. For the wher candidates, if there were whers on the shore with their night vision, it might be safe enough. But for us dragon candidates, many of us would be tired by the time the sun went down, which would make it doubly dangerous to go swimming after dark. I think for us, it might be safest to stick to running laps after the sun goes down, rather than swimming them." She hated to contradict another candidate, but...well, it simply didn't sound safe to her. And if anyone died from a simple training exercise, she'd never forgive herself.

[Dragon]

"Yeah, swimming at night seems like a good way to have a bunch of candidates drown without anyone noticing," Siyanna agreed. Welleue seemed to have really latched onto the idea of going to the beach, but she doubted that was going to happen. They'd need a lot of dragons to take all the candidates out and back, and that was hardly going to happen for a pleasure jaunt, even one badly disguised as a lesson.

"But swimming instead of running during daylight would make us less likely to collapse from heat exhaustion," she mused, liking Heiro's suggestions, "and if we kept any running to after dark ... I suppose we could suggest it to the candidatemasters? D'fid and Estelle aren't unreasonable."

She didn't want to shoot down Welleue's suggestion of a beach trip again, but she also didn't want to talk about it more. She also didn't want to move, and unfortunately talking to the candidatemasters would involve moving ...

[Windra]

Welleue couldn’t really argue their point. They were correct, after all, that drowning was far more likely to occur when the sun set. Exhausted candidates daring to dip into the pitch black waters when the moons shone high faced the threat of submerging and never resurfacing. It felt alien to them, but not unreasonable. They were accustomed to trapping and hunting small amphibians that only belayed their existence when day would no longer flash upon their flesh. There were no dangers with teeth lurking in the waters beyond the errant tunnelsnake fleeting underfoot, but that was a danger one faced even during the afternoon.

The instantaneous longing for a home that was no longer there proved thick and viscous when mixed with the desire to behold the sea. Welleue pulled themselves away from such hypnotic vexations before their mind was lulled by softened despair.

Swimming before nightfall and running thereafter felt a suitable request given the current environment. These weyrfolk were simply not used to the heat! ”Perhaps a query could be suggested that you dragon candidates could join those seeking to attain a wher bond? Night training may prove a difficult adjustment, as you are not trained to rise when the sun does not. However, it may also prepare your body for the unsightly occasion that something out of the ordinary comes to fruition. Or even a minor adjustment – starting your duties in mid-afternoon and finishing at midnight?”