2024-07-17 - Grateful for this Attempt at a Stolen Glance

The crafter tries to get a clearer look at the shells, and Kanyoth tries to get a clearer look at the man's mind, to try and see what he wonders if he could just ...

Did this man want to touch the eggs too? Kanyoth very much did not want a repeat of that whole ordeal of a Touching day, but if he had to deal with more sneaky single visitors, he would prefer ones like this man rather than the vile woman Rhuman. (Oh no, did that count as pun? Was Ilrioth rubbing off on him too much?) This man reminded Kanyoth of the candidate man with the bandaged hand: both committed to service, both longing for a dragon but willing to accept life without one. Kanyoth liked the candidate man with the bandaged hand, had a great deal of respect for him. So that only made Kanyoth more curious about this similar man, possibly, even probably unrelated to the candidate man with the bandaged hand but similar in spirit. This similar man had even once been a candidate - but was now just barely too old for it? The age range of candidates already seemed quite broad to Kanyoth: there had been that young boy that was basically a human puppy, and that Assistant Candidatemaster woman who Kanyoth despised, but who was already old enough to consider having her own children and watching them grow up. And if Kanyoth and the rest of the clutch could, in fact, pick literally anyone, as this once candidate's thoughts implied, then who decided what the arbitrary candidate age range was? And why? Who decided this very worthy individual couldn't be a candidate anymore because he happened to be a mere one Turn too old?

It made no sense to Kanyoth, and he had a feeling it wasn't about to. But this crafter had given very useful information to Kanyoth, information the dragon would turn over in his mind frequently between escape attempts. All dragons had a human rider, and Kanyoth knew at this point he would be expected to pick one soon after hatching. He was more focused on obtaining freedom by hatching first: picking a rider was currently a secondary consideration to Kanyoth. But an important consideration, nonetheless, especially if Kanyoth was going to be stuck with the same human rider his entire life and wouldn't ever be able to pick someone else. It was good to know that he had options, a wide range of options, practically any human in the Weyr who hadn't already been claimed by a dragon. Kanyoth wished he could say thank you, but this former candidate man was too far away to be able to hear him, and he was already going farther, unable to linger in the Weyrbowl any longer. But Kanyoth would remain grateful all the same.