Makea sighed, thick lashes falling over storm grey eyes as she sat on the shore of the weyr lake. She had managed to find a steep end, so she was able to dangle her bare feet over the water. So at the moment, she was idly kicking her legs too and fro, sending out sprays of crystal droplets as she moved her legs. It was an almost nice day, so the water wasn't too cold. Well, at least it wasn't so cold as to make your legs feel numb, though Makea doubted there would be any sane swimmers out there at the moment besides the dragons. After a moment's hesitation, she lay back, spreading her arms straight up as she gazed at the sky. It was a bright, pure blue with nary a cloud to be seen. The only ones visible were the high, wispy ones that were the pure white. Well it seemed she wouldn't be cloud watching. So instead, she watched as dragons in the sky. There wasn't much activity at the moment, just enough to keep the candidate from growing bored. If she had her way, she'd be with her older brother. However, he was a rider and had his duties. That led to the thought of Shirael. He was probably with Keteina, she decided. He often watched their niece for their oldest sister, who was often busy as well with her duties. That was all fine and dandy for them, but it left a very bored Makea behind.

The sound of a dragon lumbering toward the water's edge would be easily heard just before the bulk of a large dragon rushed past the candidate, wings held slightly open to stabalize itself before slipping into the water. The great beast shone an intense gold, the beast's neck arched rather happily to be in the waters at last. The senior queen had given hardly a glance at the figure it had passed on its way to the water, but the rider that followed the dragon in fact would.

"What's this? A candidate with nothing to do?" It was a cynical tone, but hints of amusement would keep the comment from sounding too harsh. "I should ask the candidatemaster to alter the rosters, I suppose" The Weyrwoman stepped up beside the candidate, a large bucket of sweetsand and a few rags in hand. It was obvious what the woman was there to do, and Iolath seemed to anticipate a good scrubbing. "Want to learn how to wash a dragon, girl? I'd figure you'll need to know such an important skill if you are to Impress, and I hardly think Nako has given any of you the chance to do so with her blue." Iolath looked up at the girl now, craning over to regard her with great scrutiny before looking away. Alesia laughed at something.. probably something her dragon had said, but did nothing to divulge what was exchanged between the two for the candidate.

Makea frowned as she heard very heavy, rushing steps. Some large was coming that was very eager to get in the water. The girl sat up just in time for the Gold to rush past, sinking into the cool water. Makea couldn't help but blink in surprise for the moment at the dragon. She was pulled from her daze by the sound of a woman's voice. Craning her neck, she looked behind to to see the weyrwoman. As soon as the young woman had identified who the voice had belonged to, she had scrambled up from her sittng position, water dripping from her legs. She absently noticed that she and the weyrwoman were almost of the same height before forming an answer for her.

"Hello, Weyrwoman Alesia. I finished my chores only a little while ago," she explained, grey eyes studying the weyrwoman. She had never met her before, so the candidate took this time to fit the image of Alesia in her mind. She was so intent with this that she almost missed something that Alesia had said. A bright smile crossed Makea's face as she nodded. "Yes, I would love to learn. M'ndarb promised me that I could help him with Jaraith, but he hasn't had time yet." Feeling eyes on her, she turned and came face to face with Iolath before she looked away. This was followed by a laugh from the weyrwoman. Makea wondered what was so funny, but didn't ask. It was probably something about her, she thought resignedly.

A blue fire-lizard came from between, chirping loudly as he tried to gain both the girls and the weyrwomans attention. He swooped over her head, chattering loudly before he finally settled on the girls shoudler. Flaring his wings and screeching.
"Caeser if I hear that blasted screech of yours one more time, I swear I'm going to see if the kitchen workers could use you for meat rolls!" Acacia snapped, coming from behind the girl, hands on her hips. She smiled and bowed deeply to the weyrwoman and her gold.
"Now, Caeser. Heel!" She snapped, holding out her arm, the blue chirped unhappily but did as he was asked, settling, Acacia tapped his muzzle as he opened it.
"Now listen. You can go apologise to the Weyrwoman and her beautiful Queen for interuppting her bath." She instructed.

Caeser chirped, a 'do I have to?' chirp, but flew over to the weyrwoman, hovering infront of her, his head drooped and chirping a sad little noise that sounded like an apology. Caeser looked back at Acacia,
"Yes good boy. Now the Queen." She encouraged, the little blue turned his attention to the great gold and bowed his head, chirping another apology. Acacia came forward, blushing, she bowed to the weyrwoman again
"I do so apologise Weyrwoman." She whispered, moving to back of, a brown flit landed on her, utterly exhausted.

"Ah, there he is! Ok, Kiskith you were right but you can't have a bath, Iolath is." A womans voice came from the same direction the flit had, and the lumbering of a dragon behind her. Lyriania smiled reassuringly at Acacia as she took the flit from her hands,
"Thankyou, Flier isn't really strong enough to go off yet. Lil'Bit is still asleep." The woman said cheerfully, Acacia murmured something and bowed, her eyes locked on the green.
~Oh she's cute!~ Kiskith giggled in Lyriania's mind.
"I'm Lyriania, Lyra if you will, this great lump of moss is Kiskith, and the brown you had was Flier." Lyriania said clearly, before bowing to the weyrwoman
"Good day to you weyrwoman and to you Iolath." Kiskith bent her head to inspect the candidate,
"I-I'm Acacia." She turned back tot eh other girl, "I'm v-very sorry about my flit.. He's usually much better behaved." She whispered, something nudged her, and Acacia looked at the green with wide eyes
"What does she want?" She asked, Lyriania shrugged
"A scratch most like." She muttered going to sit down.

It was rare that the lake was deserted, so it didn't surprise Alesia to see others joining them. A vague nod was given as acknowledgement towards the apology, but Iolath snorted and rumbled low in her throat. As she heard what a greenrider behind her said, Alesia turned around, chuckling. "Nonsense. I'll have her coming out of the water to wash her on shore anyhow. They always seem to work it out how much space to give each other; dragons, that is."

Come on now, Iolath. You've soaked enough and you can very well soak for longer but I need to get back to work. The dragon groaned, allowing everyone to know her displeasure before slinking out of the water, thoroughly wet enough to recieve a good scrubbing. "Now, when you scrub a dragon's hide, you can rub with quite a bit of firmness, but don't press down harder than you can do comfortably. That's usually a good gauge of how hard to scrub. You just take the sweetsand," And she picked up a handful of it and placed it into a rag before beginning to scrub Iolath's neck with it. "You can use your hands, but sometimes they like the feel of a rag, so I usually bring a few just in case.. not to mention they cover more area" In belated, and probably uneeded explanation, Alesia looked back at the greenrider with a grin. "It seems I'm the on that has ended up doing Weyrling lessons. I'll have to lessen Nako's duties so she actually has time to be Candidatemaster I suppose."

(sorry if it's a bit stale. I'm still not quite awake)

Lyriania grinend at the other girl as she hesitantly scratched Kiskith's eye ridges, her expression going pleased when Kiskith crooned happily. Lyriania laughed and faced her Weyrwoman
"If Nako is busy, I'm happy to help, Kiskith thinks the candidates are cute." She added, almost as an after thought. Flier, chirruped and wound his tail tighter, sniffing in Acacia's direction.

Acacia looked terrified at first, give this great beast a scratch? Like a canine? At first she was appalled, but the DragonRider knew her dragon best. Acacia reached up a timid hand and scratched the green's eye ridges, grinning broadly as the green crooned happily.
"Oh she's so sweet! Much sweeter than Caeser." Acacia said happily, Caeser made an unhappy sound and Acacia shrugged
"Sorry, but it's true buddy." She said then giggled. Kiskith made a sound like laughter.

Lyriania bowed to the weyrwoman and turned back to Acacia and Kiskith,
~She has a good sense of humour mine. And she scratches well...~ Kiskith practically purred in Lyriania's mind, Lyriania laughed.
"Kiskith says you have a good sense of humour, and you scratch well." She petted the glistening hide of Kiskith and grinned at the girl
"I must say, you do. You joke with your flit as though he were a person."

Makea looked up at a chirp, noticing a Brown flitt which had just appeared. He seemed to want their attention, and he certainly got hers when he landed on her shoulder. So, she looked rather startled when the other candidate arrived, calling the flitt, who seemed to be named Caeser, to her. The girl had the Brown apologize to Weyrwoman Alesia and Iolath, which brought a small smile to Makea’s face. It was rather amusing to see a flitt grudgingly chirp at someone. Turning her head at the new voice, she watched as a rider and her dragon also arrived. Well, there were certainly a lot of people here today at the lake.

When Alesia spoke again, Makea’s attention was turned immediately to her. The girl scolded herself, since she should have kept her attention on the weyrwoman anyway. Well, no matter now. She watched as the Gold dragon came out of the water, soaking wet. When Alesia began giving her directions, she listened very closely, paying strict attention to what she was doing. Makea /did not/ want to mess this up. The tall girl took her own rag and followed Alesia’s example, placing the sweet sand into it before laying it on Iolath’s hide. She pressed down, gauging how firm she needed to scrub before finally moving the rag along Ioalth’s hide, making sure to stay thorough and consistent. As she worked, she idly listened to the conversation behind her. It was rather amusing, causing a smile to light up her stormy eyes.

Iolath gave a snort and leaned toward the girl, pushing into her hand so forcefully that it might have made her stumble back a bit. "Iolath!" The Weyrwoman vocally chastized the gold, giving her a long stare. Contrite, the gold turned her head and regarded the candidate as if to make sure she was uninjured. "She's used to me being ready for the antics she pulls. She merely wants to scrub a little harder right there."

She'd best be ready for things like this when she Impresses. Iolath remarked to her rider, mustering her pride a bit after having been berated for her actions. Alesia smirked. When, eh? The dragon visibly shrugged, dismissing her rider's comment more or less. The greens and blues know these things. They believe she will.

Do you? Alesia challenged.

I am no search dragon. I am the Senior Queen. Iolath made a 'hough'ing noise, mildly disgruntled, and Alesia found it best not to irritate her dragon much more. Dragons were fickle creatures, and usually quite enigmatic. If a dragon did not feel like speaking of things they didn't wish to explain, one would be hard pressed to get them to divulge it.

In response to the greenrider's offer, she chuckled. "I'll have to see just how this gets delegated, greenrider. I'm pretty sure with how scattered the duties are at the moment, there will be quite a few people doing some candidatemaster duties.. but I'll mention you to Nako since I'm sure she'll be looking for helpers... Lyriania, yes?" There were so few dragonriders to keep up with as it was that Alesia didn't have much difficulty remembering names. Luckily the additions following the transfers would probably be gradual enough for her to keep up with everyone.

Alesia watched the firelizard banter and frowned. Her own flitter that she had Impressed was currently in the care of the Weyrhealer. Whether the little gold would keep a bond to her was questionable, and she made a note to care for it whenever she could but in situations where her dragon was in need of care or she had to leave the Weyr, it had to be handed off to someone else. The creature was getting better slowly, and slept most of the day. The little bronze one stays with her. Iolath offhandedly mentioned, regarding the bronze firelizard that Alesia was already bonded to. Though she was rather attached to the bronze, she had never really thought to wonder what he did in his free time when he wasn't sending messages or bothering her.

Lyriania nodded,
"Yes weyrwoman." She replied in answer to Alesia's question regarding her name. Kiksith rumbled softly and then made a sound like a giggle, she nudged her rider, careful not to knock the candidate, Lyriania laughed
"What?" She asked, faking annoyence
~I wanna go in the water now!~ Kiskith whined, moving slightly, Lyriania laughed,
"Then go, you don't need my help anymore!" She said, Kiskith made a happy sound and went to the water gratefully.

Caeser chirruped and came over to Acacia, nipping her ear.
"Ouch. Go make yourself useful why don't you?" She asked, the blue chirped and merely tightened his grip around Acacia's neck. She watched the weyrwoman teaching teh girl how to sand a dragon with a smile on her face. She needed to learn this, even if she didn't impress, knowledge like that was useful.

Makea was startled when she could feel the dragon beginning to psuh against her hand. She ended up stumbling back and dropping her rag. With a small sigh, she picked it back up, placed more sand in it, and went back to work after Alesia repremanded her. "Its alright, Weyrwoman Alesia. I don't mind. Besides, if she does do this, it will help me learn to be ready, won't it?" she asked, rubbing harder as Alesia had advised. This was pleasant work, and Makea could almost lose herself in the motions of it. However, she kept an ear open to the other's conversation. So, Nako would be getting help, would she? That was nice to know. Hearing the greenrider, she figured the dragon would be entering the lake. She looked up from Iolath's golden hide to watch the green for a moment before looking back to what she was doing.

Conversation amongst other dragonriders always soothed Alesia, for no matter how serious and business-minded the woman was, she still liked socialization. There was much paperwork that had to be done, and it wasn't surprising that all this stress that kept her in her Weyr so much was even taking a toll on Iolath. When a woman isn't in the mindset for romance it's not surprising it would take a toll on the dragon's libido as well. Of course, natural urges would always win, and Iolath would indeed rise.. and probably soon. The intense urge to socialize and be in the crowd was stronger than normal, and the quirky nature would reflect in her dragon as well.

Iolath was reveling in the attention though, rather queenly in that she wanted everyone to pay attention to her. Though she cast a glance toward the green, she didn't show any sign that she disliked the green's prescence. Iolath's reasoning was that greens weren't a threat. There was no resentfulness or belittlement in the queen's statement, but moreso a matter-of-factness. The greenrider seemed content to be polite and quiet, which is something that had always made the Weyrwoman uncomfortable. In some Weyrs, they expected that sort of treatment but Alesia always wished to have only respect from the people she associated with, and expected no one at all to necessarily humble themselves to her. Of course, that doesn't mean she isn't a proud woman, or a woman who is afraid to put someone in their place for that matter...

The words of the candidate snapped Alesia out of her thoughts, and she grinned, staring off thoughtfully. "Yes, I suppose it would. I suppose all dragons can be demanding but I'd think golds would be a bit more pushy..." In response to that comment, Iolath pushed against her ridermine, but Alesia was ready for it and braced herself. "See what I mean?"

Kiskith made a contented sound as she waded in the water, her rider waited patiently for her to come out. The green was htere simply to relax while she and her rider had a small amount of spare time, Lyra had brought no sand for her.
"How do they breathe fire?" The question surprised her and Lyriania had to stop and process the question.
"You know.. I don't actually know. We got taught how to get them to do so in our lessons, but for the life of me I can't remember the mechanics." Looking at Alesia she smiled,
"I don't suppose you could help Acacia?"

Acacia jumped, she hadn't said a word, she'd been busy watching how the rider handled her queen, and admiring the golden hue of her hide. She opened her mouth to say so and blushed, closing it. The fact the dragonRider remembered her was honouring on it's own, she didn't need to correct her.
"That was me. Sorry." A girl about Acacia's age bounced up beside her, eyes alight with laughter.
"I'm Tracey."

Tracey smiled brightly, people! And two flits to boot, great, after coming to teh weyr she'd missed her canine, everyone here was so nice, you just had to relax. The girl next to her seemed about the same age as her, and on an impulse she linked her arm with hers,
"Now tell me, everything you know about the weyr. I know nothing of course-" She broke off, Acacia had the fleeting thought of her flit, she was as erratic a Caeser.
"Wow, she's really beautiful, look how her hide just shines, she's just...Wow." Tracey's eyes were glued to the gold, the Queen, a mega grin on her face.

Alesia looked up at the question, giving the greenrider a long look for a moment. In some Weyrs it might not have been prevailant to teach what little of the workings they know of because of the peak thread falling turns, but she herself had learned what little there was to teach them. Alesia made a mental note to give -every- dragonrider a refresher course on anything they might need to know, but obliged the woman by answering the question. "Well, we all know that dragons chew firestone, and create flame. We do not have the lost knowledge from the past, so we can't tell exactly what it is that creates the phenomenon. Of course, we all know tht what is expelled is gas. Flame burns dragons as well as thread so -obviously- there is no flame within them.. just the gas. It ignites when it hits air, so it's a chemical reaction. Firestone does not become combustable when wet with water, so it's the acids within the dragon's second stomach. Whether it's similar to the acids in their normal stomachs we do not know, but it's common knowledge that dragons were -made- to breathe fire, as well as firelizards"

Alesia tried to keep it simple, but talking about what little intricacies of firebreathing that the Pernese knew of was always at least somewhat lengthy. A new candidate bounded forth, causing Alesia to quirk a brow. Quite laid back, wasn't she? Iolath showed little offense to the lack of formality, since she was sufficiently swayed with flattery. "And speaking of golds.. they do not breathe flame... I don't know if that is common knowledge amongst the candidates or not that golds do not flame.. and as for the reason.. they just can't, and we don't try. Legend has it that it makes them sterile, while others say they just -can't- no one wants to risk their gold's fertility to try it out" A huge smile reached Alesia's features and she pat the golden shoulder affectionately. "I'd never risk her right to be a queen.. not matter how much I wanted to be a threadfighter" She laughed. I fly in the threadfighting wing, and you use a flamethrower... And I help injured dragons get to the ground safely. We are very important to the threadfighting wing because only I can bring the largest bronzes safe from the air. Alesia couldn't help but take a moment to smile with pride toward her gold. Yes, she was indeed a wonderful threadfighting dragon, even if she didn't directly fight it herself.

Upon having finished lathering the hide on Iolath's neck, the queen could more freely look toward her admirers, humming her appreciation to them. You are flattered too easily, Iolath.Alesia commented wryly.

They like me. I am the queen

They like you because most girls want a queen. Alesia corrected. She knew this wasn't totally true, but she had to keep it in her mind that she couldn't be biased and look for only the best for a gold candidate if there were a golden egg.

You wanted the queen. Iolath remarked coyly, and Alesia smirked. Whether the dragon was correct in the assumption was partly true.

I wanted the dragon that was best for me.

And you got me. We both win.

Acacia smield and nodded, Tracey looked utterly confused for a few moments,
"Oh I get it!" She exlcaimed, rather suddenly, then grinned. Acacia gently distangled herslef from the girl, watching as the green trundled out of the water.
"No! Kiskith don't you..." The green shook her wing gently, covering her rider in water.
"Dare." Lyriania muttered, wiping her hair out of her face. Kiskith giggled,
~Sorry mine.~

Acacia couldn't help it, she burst out laughing, unsettling Caeser from his perch. Before she'd come to the weyr, she'd believed all dragons to be stern, firm and truly very scary. Since coming here she'd learnt they could be flattered, and they enjoyed a good joke. Caeser chittered at her for a few moments until Acacia finally told him to shut up, with what little breath she had left.

Tracey giggled but stopped suddenly. Looking back at the Queen.
"Oops!" She murmured, bowing quickly, blushing.
"I'm sorry weyrwoman, I completely forgot, it's just I saw the dragons adn the flit and well, she's so beautiful-" The candidate hurried to explain herself, how stupid! To have forgotten to bow tot he queen and her rider, she might as well be sent home now.

The young candidate was now crawling up Alesia's nerves, and she gave the girl a sidelong glance. "At ease, candidate. This is an informal event we have going here. If you want, you too can grab a rag and some sand and help wash Iolath." Yes, anything to keep the chatty girl quiet. Though annoyed by the girl's antics, she smirked as the green showered her rider with water. "Devious beasts, aren't they?" Alesia, being quick at what she did, was now finished with the shoulders and leg of the queen and now motioned for her to stretch out her wing, washing the membranes with a soapy rag instead of the handful of sand she used for the rest of the dragon's body.

((What does she mean by 'oh I get it!' what does she get? lol))

Makea nodded slightly. “I can see. But, you have to think. Would a Gold who wasn’t pushy be as effective in a weyr? In a way, the queens need to be like that, if the weyr is to run smoothly. Besides, this would be a boring place indeed if Iolath wasn’t how she is,” she murmured softly, flicking her grey eyes to study Alesia for a moment before looking back to her work. She lost herself for a moment in the warm hide before her. It was smooth with no rough patches or striations. This Gold really did have a lovely hide. It was a wonder to Makea, and she delighted in studying every minute detail she could discover in the hide she was scrubbing.

The candidate was snapped back from her thoughts at the Greenrider’s question. She had forgotten how the dragons made fire? The girl frowned in thought. Shouldn’t all riders know that kind of thing? It was rather strange that one did not. But before she could hear an answer, a new person appeared. She seemed rather…peppy. Makea wasn’t sure what to make of the girl, except for the fact that she seemed entirely too happy, and that Makea would grow tired of it very soon, especially if she was going to chatter the way she was now. Makea found herself growing slightly annoyed, especially when the girl started to ogle the queen.

When the weyrwoman answered Lyriania’s question, Makea transferred her attention back, trying to ignore Tracey. She reminded herself that she shouldn’t judge, and that Tracey could be the sweetest person in the weyr. Instead, she listened to Alesia’s explanation, absorbing the information. It could turn out to be useful, especially if she Impresses. When the weyrwoman grew silent, Makea looked at her to see her gaze slightly unfocused, leading Makea to believe Iolath was speaking with her rider. The girl occupied her eyes by watching Alesia’s expressions, trying to determine what she and her dragon were talking about. Taking the earlier conversation into consideration, they were probably just speaking of that.

She almost groaned as Tracey yelled out. Makea leveled a look the girl’s way before looking to the Green dragon, who was coming out of the water. Seeing just what the Green was about to do, Makea moved farther along Iolath’s body so that she wouldn’t get wet, a small smile working its way to her face as she studied the now drenched rider. She listened to Acacia’s laughter. It was pleasant, relaxing in a way. Then Tracey had to speak again. What was she so embarrassed about? Makea quirked am eyebrow before looking back to Iolath’s hide, making sure she was thorough in her work. She almost groaned aloud as Alesia suggested that Tracey could help scrub Iolath. Oh well, she knew the girl meant well. She supposed she’d just have to get to know Tracey, that’s all.

Tracey however looked horrified,
"Me? Oh no, no, no... I'm really clumsy. No thankyou weyrwoman." She said, backing away. Either something tripped her or she'd tripped over her own feet. Knowing Tracey... It was the latter. She however giggled as she hit the ground, getting up quickly. She could tell immeadiately the other candidate was getting annoyed. She shruggede, it wasn't like she didn't get on everyones nerves everywhere.

Lyriania laughed, nodding,
"Yes, they are. Kiskith is only playing though, I guess I can forgive her." She teased, petting her dragons shoulder absently, Kiskith made her unique giggling sound and nudged her rider. Lyriania smield at the candidate,
"It's been a while since I heard the mechanics." She murmured, scuffing a foot along the ground. Kiskith nudged her again, nearly making the slender woman fall over.
"What?"
~Nothing.~

Acacia laughed as Tracey fell, then again as the green pushed her rider. Ribs aching she tried to regain her breath, even as Caeser made a small sound that told her /he/ wasn't amused. Acacia shut herself up hurriedly, blushing as she took small steps back so she could find somewhere to watch the Gold getting her wing washed.
"Do you have to be more careful with her wings?" Acacia heard herself saying, she blushed again and hung her head, berating herself, children should be seen and not heard...

Alesia grinned broadly at Makea's statement about golds. "I would suppose you are right. They have to be able to throw their weight around to control every dragon in the Weyr." But at the same time, Alesia frowned at that. "That's why a gold must have a strong rider."

Her attention was brought away from that thought at the candidate's refusal, taking note of her apprehension and quirking a brow. "That's just as well. I need to do Iolath's other wing and then I'll probably be able to send her off into the water. "How's our little helper doing, Iolath?" She queried the dragon vocally, and the dragon rumbled, eyes whirling with colors of contentment. "Well, it seems you are doing a satisfactory job for not being able to sense what she wants" The Weyrwoman grinned, clambering up onto the dragon's back to sit there in order to scrub the overhead part of both wings, having the queen lift them upward so that she could reach them.

"Some dragons like them scrubbed more roughly, but Iolath prefers a softer hand. It really depends on the dragon." Contemplating that, she looked at the strange, weblike skin. It had its own unique quality that made it seem interwoven with stronger chords to make a thin, yet tough membrane. "I believe it's very resilient to tearing, but I don't know how it takes to bruising and scraping." Hm, that made her eternally curious now, but Iolath didn't see what the big deal was about it.

Makea raised an eyebrow in surprise as the other candidate declined helping to clean the Gold. She had thought anyone would jump at the chance. Even she had. And it was truly a wonderful experience, she thought, feeling her lips curl into a smile. She looked over, watching the weyrwoman in favor of paying attention to whatever was going on with the other three. "A strong rider is needed for every dragon is a weyr is to run smoothly and efficiently. But it would be especially true of a Goldrider, right? A Goldrider has to control their dragons because the can be rather moody. No offense to you, Iolath, of course." she added, looking up at the Gold's whirling eyes before looking back to Alesia. When she asked Iolath about her, Makea looked down before smiling slightly at the praise. "Thank you, Weyrwoman." she murmured as her stormy eyes followed Alesia's progress up Iolath's back as she sought to scrub the Gold's wings. The candidate idly listened as the weyrwoman spoke of what her Gold preferred and about the wings. "I should listen to riders more often." she said softly to herself as she took her eyes off of Alesia.

"The rider of a gold has to be particularly strong because," Alesia had to stifle her laugher at the annoyance her queen showed, regarding the girl with a whirling, orangy hued eye before looking back to her rider, obviously beckoned by a silent command. "Queens have the ability to control every dragon in the Weyr, bar the other golds unless she is senior queen. If a queen is not controlled and raised to have manners and be respectful of other dragons, then a queen can be pushy, controlling and cause the other dragons to be very stressed and unhealthy."

"Moody.. I wouldn't know.. possibly. As moody as any female, but they're just.. regal I suppose. They know their place, and they have to be kept in check or else they can be the bane of the Weyr."

Acacia watched with an absorbed expression, she'd moved at some point, now sitting on the edge of the lake. Watching the Queen get scrubbed from a different angle. So it depended on the dragon, Dragons wings weren't as fragile as they appeared... Interesting. Suddenly, something grabbed her ribs, breaking Acacia's train of thought. Squeaking and squirming to get away, she fell into the lake, drenched through. Acacia coughed, shivering int he water, it may have been meant as a joke, but Tracey was lucky the water was shallow. Acacia had no idea how to swim.

Tracey laughed as Acacia fell in, she hadn't expected something that amusing to happen. As the girl came up spluttering, coughing and shivering, Tracey only laughed harder. Finally having to sit down before she fell down from laughing too much.

Kiskith reached out her nose to Acacia, helping her regain her balence in the sodden clothes. Lyriania moved swiftly to help the girl out of the cold waters, wrapping an arm around her.
"Thanks Kiskith." She murmured; the green made a small crooning sound and her eyes watched Tracey.
"T-thank-you." Acacia stammered, her teeth chattering half from cold and half from shock. All her life she'd never gone near water because she didn't know how to swim, to be suddenly dumped in it..
"You alright? You don't look it." Lyriania asked, Acacia managed a thin smile, the Rider had to be about the same age as she was, maybe a little older. She seemed older though.
"Uh huh. Just got a bit of a fright.. I can't swim so being dumped in water.." She trailed off, sneezing. Lyriania looked shocked, the poor girl could have drowned if the lake had been any deeper and no one had been around.
"You can't swim, and you were sitting next to the lake?"
"I w-was watching Iolath getting scrubbed."

At the first sign of annoyance from Iolath, Makea clammed up. She didn't want to open her big mouth again, just in case whatever she said angered the queen more. See, this was why she preferred to stay slent and not speak at all. So, instead of replying to Alesia, she focused on the commotion among the other three who were with them. It seems that one of the candidates, Tracy, had pushed the other in. Acacia couldn't swim, it seemed, so the experience left her a bit shaky. She shook her head and frowned at the patch of hide infront of her before attacking it with her cloth, scrubbing at it in hopes of earning Iolath's favor once again. She really didn't want the Gold angry with her...

((For obvious reasons, I'm ending this rp XD Can't have Alesia in too many places at once and the flight must go on... and I'm pretty sure she's needed there. lol))