Grooming

[Kandarra]

Valkoran thought about her reply. "I'm not sure who we would talk to. Maybe a searchrider." He thought again. "That's all I can think of. But we can do that later. Right now let's get your stuff to your room." He stood and offered his hand to help Jessalyn up. "Rather, let me get your stuff up to your room." He grinned. He grabbed up her bags and began to walk towards the weyr again, up the big hill they'd stopped on, making sure she was following.

He led her into the weyr and into the other hall this time, and up two flights of worn stairs. "The dragonriders' weyrs are that way," he said, gesturing to the left. "Your room is right here." He walked to a room just a few doors to the right of the stairs. He placed her bags by the door and waited for her to unlock the door.

[maira]

Suddenly, putting her stuff away in her room seemed so unimportant but Jessa knew it had to be done. Once she had a room and was settled in the Weyr then she could worry about whether the dragons would decide she'd make a good candidate or not. Until then, she may as well follow Valkoran to the room that had been assigned her.

When he grabbed up all her bags before she could even manage to snag one, Jessa glared at him but then followed dutifully back towards the Weyr. She followed him to yet another new place in the Weyr and Jessa couldn't help but wonder how she would ever memorize such a huge place. The runner hold had been miniscule compared to the Weyr, and it was supposedly the smallest one on Pern.

Her head was still whirling with those thoughts when Valkoran led her up some stairs and then stopped in front of a door a little to the right of them. When he dropped her bags and stood waiting for her, it took Jessa a moment to realize he was waiting for her to unlock it with the key Uslanee had given her. Fishing it out of her pocket, Jessa fitted it to the door and let it swing open on its hinges as soon as she'd released the handle.

[Kandarra]

The door to the room opened and in view there was a window fitted with wooden shutters and a small table with two chairs. Valkoran took up Jessalyn's things and her hand and led her in. "Here we are," he said, dropping her hand and placing her things by the bed, which had fresh rushes placed on it and a few worn furs. "These rooms were just cleaned yesterday in anticipation of the visitors, so your timing is perfect."

Valkoran stood for a moment, wondering if she would stay here for long, or if she would be moved to the Candidate barracks. It was possible, and he really hoped she would be. To have his best friend along with him in this adventure would be something he had never dreamed of, and very comforting as well as exciting.

He smiled at Jess. "So what do you think?"

[maira]

When Valkoran took her by the hand and led her into her new room, Jessa couldn't help but smile. She had missed having her friend around so much! As he led her into her room, Jessa looked around in awe. Living with her parents at the Hold, Jessa hadn't had a room so large! Even though she was sure it was small compared to many of the rooms in the Weyr, it was still extravagant to her. She even had a table and chairs in her room, that meant she and Valkoran could share meals and go over some musty old records he might find interesting like they used to at the runner hold.

Jessa may not have been as scholarly minded as Valkoran but she still had a sharp mind. Talking with Valkoran about any topic was always fascinating for Jessa and probably because of him and the friendship they shared, Jessa was likely one of the more well rounded girls her age.

When he asked her what she thought, Jessa assumed he was talking about the room so she answered happily, "Its wonderful! You know that the room I had back home was barely big enough for my bed, let alone a table and chairs." Unable to contain her happiness with more than just the room, Jessa threw her arms around her friend and gave him a tight hug. "Everything is wonderful Valkoran! I never dreamed things could be so different outside of the Hold!"

[Kandarra]

Jessa seemed happy with her room, but Valkoran was surprised-- and pleased-- when she hugged him tight in her excitement. He hugged her back, wrapping his long arms around her gratefully. They stood there for a moment, hugging one another, and Valkoran laid his head on hers. He let go after a little longer and smiled at his best friend, a strange squeeze in his chest making itself known.

"I'm glad you like it. Now, let's sit, and I want to see these scrolls that you purchased for me." He pushed the weird feeling aside and mentally rubbed his hands together at the thought of new scrolls to peruse. He'd nearly gone through the entire weyr library already. He also wanted to share some of his knowledge about dragons and Hatchings and such, which he had done a lot of reading about.

[maira]

Once Valkoran broke their embrace and mentioned the scrolls she'd bought for him, Jessa threw all of her bags on her bed and started rummaging through them. It took her a few moments to find all of them, six in all, but once she did she turned around with a triumphant grin on her face.

Taking her armful of scrolls over to the table she arranged them by categories. All of them in some way or other were about the Trading Caravan culture on Pern. Some were about their trade routes, others were about their interactions with Holders, Crafters and Weyrfolk, and the two biggest were filled with the most recent copies of the travel logs of the Caravan she had travelled with.

"So," she asked, a giddy smile still on her face, "Pick your pleasure!" With that she gestured to the different scrolls spread out on the table.

[Kandarra]

Valkoran's eyes widened at the number of scrolls. Six? These would keep him busy for a sevenday. He invited Jess to have a seat and scooted close to her so they could both see the scroll he picked right side up. This one had locations, numbers of days, and general information about trades made. "This caravan sure made it a lot of places in the last 4 months. They even trekked up to Igen! Not a lot of hospitality or good weather up there." Valkoran was absorbed in the scroll. "And around here's where you joined them, while they were on Ista. I can't believe that they traveled all the way down here, on ships and everything. But I'm glad they did," he quickly amended, beaming at Jess. He continued to comment on the scrolls, listening to her input as they skimmed through them.

"These are wonderful," he exclaimed after they had looked through the scrolls for a while. "I'll have to get a closer look at these records later. I can compare them to the ones in the library." He turned to Jess and his grin of excitement changed to a soft smile. "Thank you. It was good of you to think of me."

[maira]

She couldn't help but smile proudly when she saw the look on Valkoran's face at the number of scrolls she produced from her bags and laid on the table for his perusal. The Caravan had insisted on paying her for the little jobs she did around the caravan and they had added up quickly. Instead of taking any form of money though, Jessa asked for the scrolls she knew would be appreciated by Valkoran and other things she had found interesting out of the goods the Trading Caravan had with them. She'd gotten one rather nice Gather dress, her first actually, but that wasn't something she thought Valkoran would be interested in at all.

When he invited her to have a seat next to him and he scooted close so they could both read what she'd brought for him, Jessa couldn't help but smile at his enthusiasm. She'd known he would like the scrolls no matter what they were about but the fact that she had actually experienced at least parts of the scrolls and she'd be able to actually talk about them, she knew he'd like that too.

Something that Valkoran said after looking at the scrolls for a while took Jessa a bit by surprise. "Why wouldn't I think about you Valkoran?" she asked him curiously in response. Then with a soft laugh she said matter-of-factly, "You're the reason I was with the Caravan after all, how could I not be surrounded by a bunch of scrolls and not pick up a couple for you?" Her smile was warm and friendly as she looked at him, oh how she had missed him! Their easy comraderie, his thirst for knowledge feeding her own, and the way he made her feel special despite being just another holder girl he'd grown up with. She always felt better after spending time with Valkoran, because of that and so many other reasons, Jessa treasured his friendship so very much.

[Kandarra]

Valkoran smiled somewhat shyly back at Jessa. "I suppose you're right. But of course you didn't have to buy these things for me. Thank you anyway." He gave her a one-armed hug and wondered at that weird sensation again, this time in his stomach. He looked at the scrolls, then looked back at Jessa; and there it was again. A realization poked at the back of his mind but he dutifully ignored it.

Soon it was out of his mind as he thought about the days ahead. Jess would help him in the stables, no doubt, and they could work with Dancer. He would show her the library and introduce her to bubbly pies in the kitchens. They might even camp out in the Weyr Bowl with a few scrolls and watch the dragons land and take off. All the things he did every day seemed ten times more interesting and exciting now that his best friend was here to share in them. He had missed their teasing banter and how there was no such thing as discomfort when they were together. He'd missed feeling like he could talk about anything he wanted and he wouldn't get strange looks at his topics of choice. And now the one person he could really talk to on all of Pern was here, and it made him want to smile constantly. Even now, a corner of his mouth was turned up at what was ahead.

[maira]

Jessa snorted at Valkoran's insisting that she didn't have to buy him the scrolls. She looked him in the eyes, an impish smirk on her face she said, "I can always go trade them for something else...." The words may have been a threat but her tone certainly wasn't. There was no way she would take back a gift she knew Valkoran liked so much. Then, with a little less mischief she added, "Besides, you probably would have done something similar if you'd been in my position." Except instead of scrolls, he would have found her something runner related.

When she was done talking, Jessa realized that Valkoran was off in his own little world at the moment. It wasn't an uncommon occurrence with her friend but it still irked her a bit. Grabbing up one of the closed scrolls, she poked him in the chest with one end of it. "Hellooo, Valkoran you in there?" she teased. He had a goofy almost grin on his face and she couldn't imagine what he was thinking about.

[Kandarra]

"Oh, yes, sorry," Valkoran said, snapping back to reality. "I was just thinking." About you, added a little voice in the candidate's head that he shooed away. "Now I know that was an empty threat, my dear friend Jessalyn," he said teasingly. Jess wouldn't do that to him, and he knew it as well as she did. "Of course, I could just take back that custom fit bridle for Dancer." He had a twinkle in his eye; the bridle had been a gift for Jessa soon after she got Dancer. He had made it himself special for Dancer's training and would never consider asking for its return, as Jess knew.

This got him thinking about Dancer and working with Jess again. Dancer might have regressed to some of his old behavior, and he might not have. In any case, Valkoran was looking forward to working with him-- and Jess-- again in the mornings. It was a great way to start a day out, if not a bit frustrating. He remembered when they had first started out, and by the end of the sessions Jess and he had been sweating more then Dancer. He shouldn't be that bad, Valkoran decided, because Jess would have worked with the runner even without him there.

He tried to un-entrance himself before Jess teased him more, and asked, "So, excited about working with Dancer again?"

[maira]

Jessa's eyes sparkled at the idea of working Dancer with Valkoran's help again. She couldn't wait to see Valkoran's reaction to how the young stallion was progressing in his training and so she jumped to her feet and grabbed up a couple of the scrolls and asked, "Where are you staying? We can go put these away and then you can put the rascal through his paces yourself. I think you'll be happy with the progress I've made with him."

She was still dusty and travel stained and she had been hoping for a bath but any inkling of those thoughts were gone at the prospect of showing Valkoran what she had managed with Dancer on her own. Some of the people of the Caravan had interesting methods they used with their runners and she had adopted some and adapted others to fit with Dancer's temperment. She had those methods written down on a scroll in her saddlebags but she was saving that for a special occaision for Valkoran.

[Kandarra]

"I'm in the Candidate barracks, they're down those flights of stairs and down the hall." Valkoran relieved Jess of the scrolls and grinned. "And I would love to work with Dancer. Though, aren't you tired?" He stopped halfway out the door, causing Jess to nearly run into him. "Because you can take a rest and get settled before we work with him."

Suddenly Valkoran realized that she probably hadn't had a real bath in sevendays, and she' been traveling nearly the entire time he'd been at the weyr. "You should at least get clean. You're rather dusty," he teased, and faked a cough. "As a matter of fact, I can't breathe..." He feigned a coughing fit and then grinned mischievously at his best friend.

[maira]

Jessa shrugged at Valkoran's question of her being tired. She was, but not too tired to see the look on Valkoran's face when he got on Dancer. Then Valkoran started teasing her about being dusty, even feigning a coughing fit.

Punching him lightly in the shoulder she said, "Fine, show me where the baths are and I'll get all this dust off me," here she stuck her tongue out at him, "and you can go put away your scrolls. When I'm done I'll meet you at the stables okay?"

She knew he was just looking out for her best interest, like he always did, and she couldn't help but be greateful. Actually taking a warm bath, instead of a cold one in a river, was going to be just the thing to relieve the few aches she had from travelling so long. Turning from him for only a moment, she gathered up some clean clothes then turned back to him and said, "Lead the way."

[Kandarra]

Valkoran grinned. He could always make her punch him, and he enjoyed it. But he'd also gotten her to agree to a bath, which he was sure she'd missed. He waited for her to get ready and then led the way out the door.

"The baths aren't too far from the barracks, just a couple twists away." He trotted down the stairs rather gracefully for one with such long legs, turning the corner to the other flight with ease. "We turn left here," he said, slowing to a normal pace, "and the barracks are over there," he said, pointing. "The baths are just down this hallway--" he made a turn-- "and here we are."

He had stopped in front of two doorways hung with animal skins. "The one you'll use is on the right. Don't want you walking in on any poor, unsuspecting, young candidate. He wouldn't know what to do." Valkoran grinned and squeezed her shoulder. "Have a good bath, and see you at the stables."

[maira]

Jessa followed where Valkoran took her and she was pleased to find that it wasn't that far away from her room. Not to mention pretty easy to locate too. When he pointed in the directon of the Candidate Barracks, Jessa looked and took note. Since that was where Valkoran would be staying she would need to know how to find him.

The feel of his hands squeezing her shoulders as he told her to have a good bath just emphasized how achy she was. She hadn't realized till now. She smiled warmly over her shoulder at Valkoran and then pushed her way through the right-hand hide covered doorway.

It wasn't long before Jessa emerged, skin flushed from hot water and hair still damp. She ran her dusty clothes back up to her room and then headed down towards the stables. Her long legs ate up the ground quickly as she half ran to get there. The bath had rejuvinated her and she couldn't help but give in to her excitement.

By the time she reached the stables, Jessa's wet curls were a little dissarrayed but she didn't notice or care. Her hair would be getting put back in braid as soon as she grabbed a thong from her saddlebags to do so.

As soon as she entered the stables, and her eyes had adjusted to the dark, Jessa could see Valkoran standing down the stable aisle with Dancer out in the cross ties grooming him and inspecting him. Even though he was almost two now and nearly full grown, he had started to fill out and Jessa knew that Valkoran was checking to make sure he was filling out evenly. Slowing her pace to a walk, Jessa made her way down the aisle and smiled when Valkoran looked up at her. "So what do you think of him so far?" she asked cheerfully.

[Kandarra]

Valkoran looked up to see Jess coming towards him, hair down and still rather wet. He brushed aside his own long hair and replied, "He looks great. He's gotten a lot of exercise from traveling with the caravan and he's muscling very well. If you'll tell me how much he's been eating, we'll reduce his portion because he won't be exercising nearly all day like he's been. Although not by much, he's looking a bit leaner than I'd like him at this point. Must be his high energy."

As if to demonstrate this, Dancer lifted his head into the air several times, like he was nodding. Really, he was just anxious to get moving. "His hooves look good and he's been well-groomed. And he's behaving very well in these cross ties. You've done a great job with him." Valkran beamed at Jess.

Dancer really did look good-- the traveling had done him good in his growing. In order to get him to muscle this much normally, they'd have had to take turns riding him through obstacles five hours a day. But the constant walking and trotting had done that for them.

"So," Valkoran said, pulling Dancer's tack from its newly labeled place in the tack room under Halo's and Shif's, "shall we ride?" He gave the bridle to Jessa and placed the saddle on Dancer's back gently, reaching under for the straps and securing them snugly. He ran two fingers under everything to make sure nothing would chafe, and waited for Jess to finish with Dancer's bridle.

[maira]

Jessa laughed when Dancer 'nodded' his head in agreement with Valkoran's opinion that he had a lot of energy. If there was one thing that could be said about Dancer, that he had high energy was deffinately it. He was a sweet horse but a little much for most people to handle just because he constantly wanted to be going, doing something.

When Valkoran continued to comment on Dancer's apparent health and behaviour, Jessa couldn't help but smile with pride. She'd really been hoping that he'd approve of her treatment of the young stallion and to hear him saying what he was saying just affirmed in her mind that she'd been doing well. As Valkoran had a way with runners, his high opinion meant a lot to her.

Once he was done examining Dancer, Valkoran asked if Jessa was ready to ride and she nodded enthusiastically. When Valkoran handed her Dancer's bridle, she undid his halter only long enough to slip it off his head and secure it about his neck. Once she had rebuckled the halter, Jessa caressed Dancer's face eventually working her way up to his ears. Placing her hand between his ears she gave a little pressure and Dancer lowered his head obediently for her to slip the bit into his mouth and the bridle straps over his ears and under his jaw.

She was just finishing the last buckle on his bridle and undoing the halter from around his neck when Jessa noticed that Valkoran was already done with the saddle. She smiled at him and asked, "So are we riding double or are we taking out Halo too?" Halo, though a calming effect for Shif was also a good companion for Dancer. Dancer didn't need the calming but he liked the company of other runners and tended to behave better with another along.

[Kandarra]

Valkoran watched Jess slip the bridle on Dancer with no trouble, and he smiled to himself. Jess was coming along, too, in her skills. She'd started out a more-than-nervous rider with Dancer, and had been quite jittery working with him. There was no sign of that now, however, and Valkoran decided that their time with the caravan had done good for them both. Although he hadn't liked that character he'd seen greet Jess so warmly and him not at all.

Mentally shaking that thought out of his head, Valkoran replied, "I think we'll double up today, I want to see him without a companion runner." He undid the cross ties and led Dancer out into an aisle where the candidate's head wouldn't hit the ceiling when he mounted; he'd done it before with his tall frame and been sorry.

He murmured some words to Dancer and gracefully mounted, hardly moving the saddle or himself. Dancer hardly stirred. He held out a hand and removed his foot from the stirrup so Jess could mount as well. "Easy, we haven't done this in a while," he said, only half-teasingly.

[maira]

Jessa nodded at Valkoran's decision about riding double. He would get a better idea of just how far Dancer had come without Halo along. When he led Dancer to a part of the stable with a taller ceiling before mounting she couldn't help but smile, Valkoran had likely hit his head a time or two before making a habit of going somewhere with more room.

Once in a more spacious part of the stable, Valkoran mounted up and then offered his hand to Jessa to help her up behind him. She placed her foot in the stirrup his foot had vacated, grabbed his wrist for stability, and pulled herself onto Dancer's back just behind the saddle. She settled in quickly, slipping her arms about Valkoran's waist and resting her chin on his shoulder out of habit. Once she was comfortable Jessa told Valkoran, "I'm ready, we can go."

As Valkoran gave Dancer the signal to go forward and the runner responded, Jessa smiled with a sudden flood of memories. Training Dancer had so far been a great chance for Jessa and Valkoran to build their friendship and they had spent countless hours together since she had taken on the task. Many of those hours had been spent just the way they were now, riding double astride the frisky young stallion. It was a comforting thing, something Jessa didn't realize she'd missed until she was back up behind Valkoran again. Without realizing she was doing it, Jessa squeezed her arms a little tighter and pressed her chin into his shoulder a little more firmly in a semblance of a hug. She had missed him so much!