Monaco Bay Weyr - Candidate and Weyrling Barracks
Huge in its own right, this series of interlinked caverns is the complex that houses both candidates and weyrlings. Fashioned out of a multitude of hollows, it serves as a central gathering area as well as classroom. A number of deep pockets have been laborously smoothed to provide comfortable dwellings for the young dragons and their riders away from the weather of the central area, and affording them some privacy but not much. Above, the cavern opens to the sky, holding out the worst of the island's weather but allowing an aerial exit and providing natural lighting to the area. Branching off from this cavern is an opening that leads to the exercise yard, and another carved passage that leads onto the hatching sands - though this entrance is typically closed tight to prevent mischief.
It's early evening, and Dashiel has just arrived in Monaco Bay with a pack on his back and a white knot for his very own. He's gotten far enough that he's found the barracks and has been pointed to vaguely where the candidates are supposed to be but not quite to the point yet where he's picked out which of the cots will actually be his Hmm. Where to settle? He's got semi-frozen wet hair and a somewhat dazed look, because it's been enough of a day that even that simple choice seems like… well, it could lead to just about anything! Probably because it could, so where does he want to begin?
It's been just a little under a week since Quinn recieved her white knot and unlike the new arrival, she's already set up in a space of her own, with one of the cots found closest to the door leading out to the training yard. Her bed and belongings have been arranged neatly with strict care taken to how things appear, save for a type of holster-belt which hangs from the end of her cot, an empty sheath indicating that it would presumably hold a blade of some kind. It's empty though; Quinn had been given strict instructions to leave any of her weapons back in the guard barracks along with her uniform.
Dressed in clean work clothes, the blonde-haired woman is seated upon her bed and in the middle of rubbing some wax-like substance onto one of her boots laid in her lap. Her amber eyes glance up to the new arrival - the third so far - and she give a small nod. "Hey."
There's so much to take in, here. Dash almost startles at the sound - not that he didn't notice her before, but he wasn't exactly paying attention. Still, as his gaze focuses on her, he's got an almost grateful smile. She's one thing to focus on instead of everything at once! "Hey," he replies. "I'm Dashiel."
Quinn seems to be relaxed for the time being - a stark contrast to the usual militant attitude she sported - and pauses in the polishing of her boot to take in the boy's appearance. "Quinn." She responds, her lips hinting at a slightly awkward and perhaps forced smile. Without much idea on what else to say she clears her throat and looks back down at the footwear she's working on. "There's some towels around here somewhere, if you need one."
Dashiel nods. "Nice to meet you." His smile seems genuine enough, receding but not actually disappearing in response to her seeming awkwardness. His gaze turns away as she looks down, and he hehs. "Probably be a good idea. I, uh… I think I was expecting the wind to dry it? And I guess it kind of did, but then between…" He trails off there, with a bit of a shiver. "So yeah. A towel. And a bed, I'll need one of those." He glances back to Quinn, since she's gone and made herself the nearest thing to an expert here what with being here and knowing more than he does.
Perhaps not an expert, but willing to help all the same, it's poor Dashiel's actions of just standing there like a lost child that eventually causes the young woman to glance back to him. With a sigh, she places the boot on the ground and pushes herself up, stepping around her cot and towards the lad. "You can pick any bed you want. Probably not an idea to pick one next to a girl though." She warns, pointing towards another cot that has belongings around it. "That's occupied by another girl already, so you're free to choose any other." Making her way past Dashiel as he stands there, she approaches a stack of shelves with towels and assorted things used for bathing. Pulling one of the smaller hand-towels down from the pile stacked there, she turns and moves back to the new candidate, offering it him with another polite, yet awkward smile. "You arrived by dragon, then?"
Dashiel nods. Anything he wants, except the ones he shouldn't have! "Okay," he says, and surveys the options again. So many options, and…. eh, how about that one! It's a bed, it looks mostly like the rest, it's got nothing to vote for or against it. He strides over that way to dump his bag on it and thus make his claim, then turns back to… okay, first to stretch now that he hasn't got a pack on, but then to head over and accept that towel. "Thanks," he says with a smile, and nods before putting the towel over his forehead and then wiping up and back along his hair. "From Xanadu. And R'en seemed kind of in a rush, so…" He shrugs. "I hurried."
While Dashiel is drying himself off, Quinn takes plenty of time to examine her new candidate-in-arms. It almost seems as if she's analysing him and trying to remember every single detail, squinting her eyes at any part of his features which may seem out of the ordinary. When at last he's done with the towel she relaxes her pose, folding her arms loosely across her midriff. "Xanadu?" She exhales and nods slightly, glancing off in another direction and causing a few strands of blonde hair to drift down over her left eye. "Welcome to Monaco then. I'm from Cove Hold, but I used to be a guard here."
Dashiel scrubs the towel into his hair a bit. Be dry! Or at least don't drip on things. He nods again as he lowers the towel, then grins. "Cove Hold, huh? My mum's from there. I grew up at Paradise River Hold, though… so I guess that's not so much in common after all, probably." He shrugs. "I'm a technician, or… was?" That's how she put it, anyhow, but… "I mean, I still am, I'm just not doing that right now… right?" He maybe did not entirely think through all the ramifications of this plan before doing it.
Quinn makes her way back to her cot and softly drops back down onto the cushioned sheets again, picking up the boot she had dropped and resumining her polishing work. She seems more relaxed now that introductions were over with, at least. "I guess you still have your craft. I can't be a guard and a candidate at the same time, so.." Not pressing further on the topic, the woman switches to her second boot and begins to vigorously polish it in the same manner as the first. "Were you studying your craft in Xanadu?"
Dashiel nods slowly. "I mean, you'll still have the guard skills. Like…" What do guards do again? Oh! "Training, right? The physical kind, being tough and grr and all that stuff. You're good at that, right? I mean, you look it." Dashiel grins, then folds the towel in his hands, looking for a laundry hamper and then going to put it away there. "I studied at Landing, actually. The main tech hall. Xanadu was my first journeyman posting."
"Training, yeah. I know a few ways to defend myself." Quinn speaks matter-of-factly with a shrug and turns the boot over, polishing the second side of it. "I.. er.. Suppose it'll come in handy if I become a rider." She adds, although from the way she speaks the line, it's as if she's just sticking it on there. "I can't really believe I'm here, you know. I thought I'd be going back to Cove Hold by the end of this turn but.. I guess not." Trying to appear more social, the blonde girl looks up as her chore is finished and the second shoe is set down. "S'u brought me here about a sevenday ago. Still doesn't feel real."
Dashiel nods again, with a gleam of excitement. "Would you teach me? The training stuff. Because… Sindrieth said it was important." And if the dragon that searched him doesn't think he's doing well, maybe he'll get kicked out or… something. "Which I guess is a pretty good sign that it does matter, if you're a rider. I mean, the dragons think so." Or at least, one dragon does. Dashiel grins, going over to sit on the unoccupied cot next to Quinn. "I know what you mean." About the unreality. "I don't feel like I'm asleep… but at the same time… it wouldn't surprise me if I woke up in Xanadu tomorrow, y'know?"
Teach? The request takes Quinn by surprise and she blinks a few times in a dumbfounded manner at Dashiel. It slowly turns into a small smile, and a shrug. ".. Sure, I'd be happy to. I don't often get sparring partners." And the reason for that is going to be kept secret for now. "I can teach you how to wield a knife, a stave, a bow, or just use your fists. All of them are useful if you want to defend yourself." She leans forwards slightly on her own cot, resting her arms against her legs. "I'd like to think even if you-… we.. don't come out of here with a dragon, there's still a chance to learn something, yeah?"
Dashiel has a hopeful look as he awaits that answer, one that breaks into a grin as she agrees. "Thanks!" he says. "I don't know much… anything… about it, really, so… I'll probably be terrible at first. But I can learn!" He's picked up a craft, how much harder can it be? …yeah, he's going to find that one out. Probably with bruises. But educational ones! "We can all learn. Because you're right, it's… shards, I don't even know if I can actually picture a dragon. Not like… as mine. They're awesome, but how does that actually… I dunno, fit?" He shrugs, leaning back a bit with his hands on the borrowed cot. "I'm just this guy."
Quinn nods; his smiling and enthusiasm seems to be contagious, because it's gradually making the woman loosen up and invest in the conversation further. "It might be a bit tricky to begin with. We can start with unarmed combat and go from there. Even if you don't have a weapon yourself, it's still possible to disarm an opponent and take them down long enough for someone to help." Quinn explains, slipping her feet into the boots and beginning to lace them up around her ankles. "I guess I don't know what to think about.. The dragons. I mean, they seem like something that's.. Beyond me." She shrugs, looking up to Dashiel with a slight furrow of her brows. "I'm not planning on-.. I mean, I'm not sure I'll be picked by one anyway."
Probably doesn't hurt that it's a topic Quinn knows something about, either. Dashiel nods, listening to her. "Yeah, I don't think you should put a knife in my hand until I have some clue what to do with it." He grins. "Like, in tech, we don't let the apprentices play with electricity until after they've done the wiring /without/ current. Same idea." He nods about those dragons, letting his gaze wander back across the caverns to where he can see the edge of a dragon-couch. "I mean, maybe you will." Dashiel looks back to Quinn again. "It could happen. Some dragon already saw /something/ in you, or you wouldn't be here."
Quinn chuckles slightly at the prospect of Dashiel trying to swing a knife about, and furthermore at the thought of herself trying to figure out wiring. She'll pass on that one, thanks. Following Dashiel's gaze, she turns her head and looks across at the stone couch, swallowing nervously and giving a further nervous laugh at his comment. ".. Yeah. I guess they saw something in me, you're right." She nods a little too quickly, clearing her throat and eager to change the topic. Looking around, she finally spots his belongings left on his cot. "Did you bring some of your tech stuff with you? I wouldn't mind seeing it."
Dashiel tilts his head a little at Quinn's reaction to that, with a curious expression that… doesn't quite get to the point where he actually asks about it. Not before she changes the subject, anyhow. "Uh." What did he pack, anyhow? He should be the expert on this, but it's kind of all a blur. "Probably, yeah." He pushes himself up off the borrowed cot, and heads back to his. "I know I grabbed my notebook, at least… though that's not very interesting unless you already know what you're looking at." He opens up his pack and starts to search, some socks falling out onto the cot as he digs down.
Eager to move topic, Quinn soon pushes herself off the bed and follows after Dashiel back to his cot, clasping her hands behind her back as she watches from behind his back. She seems very interested on whatever he's brought with him and even his socks get a good stare too. "Well.. Maybe it'll be handy to learn how to fix some of the things around here? I could do with learning that. It might even give me some ideas for when I'm back on guard-.. IF I'm back on guard duty."
Socks, yep. Underwear that he hides underneath a shirt? Yeah, he's got that. There's the notebook in question, set to the other side from the heap of clothing. Dashiel's brow furrows a bit as he digs down, though he glances up to Quinn and nods. "Oh, yeah. Fixing stuff is.. well, you can fix a lot of things with just a little skill. Stuff like… turn it off and back on, or making sure nothing's loose that shouldn't be." He smiles. "Useful for anyone, guard or rider or whatever." Now, about his… aha! He's found a piece of wire, and his digging turns to careful excavation as he figures out where it's connected to pull it out.
Quinn nods in interest as she watches his belongings being pulled out. Yep, she's even going to peek at that underwear if it comes into view! Each thing is given the same amount of scrutiny before her attention is drawn to the wire that Dashiel is tugging on. She tilts her head, hair cascading down in front of her left eye again. With arms folded she adopts a silent pose, awaiting to see what magical, scientific wonder might be produced at the other end of the wire.
Dashiel has a wondrous… uh… well, one end of the wire is coiled around a dull grey cylinder, and the other goes into the back of a small wooden box with the curved membrane of a speaker on the front. "So… this was an experiment I was working with. This part," he gestures to the cylinder, "picks up when you move metal near it. And then you get sound from the speaker." He sets it down on the cot, wire stretched, and turns a switch on the speaker. There's a faint hum if you really listen for it, but not much notable - at least not yet.
Golden eyes follow the wire until the object is finally revealed, and Quinn tilts her head curiously. She's never really been one for tech, instead relying on good old-fashioned methods to getting her work done. "Detects metal? That could be helpful for checking on people with hidden weapons." Already the cogs are whirring in Quinn's mind for various applications of the tech, and she gives a nod of approval at the object. She can't really hear the hum over the sound of her own voice, but she seems to expect the object to do something nontheless. "Maybe we can go test it out somewhere? I'd like to see how it works in action."
"Well, I don't know if it'd work for that… though… if it was sensitive enough… maybe. I mean, it's more meant for seeing when small wires move near it instead of detecting anything at range, but…" Dashiel grins. "Let's go see if we can make it work!" There's definitely a crackle-twang as he picks it up - very much not a /pleasant/ sound, but the wire that's a part of it apparently counts as metal enough to show how it works! Which he'll continue to do, though given the unpleasant of the sounds it makes when just carried, he'll turn it off in between the tests that demonstrate it can, in fact, make sound when passed near metal objects. Only while in motion, though! Which he can explain, but probably mostly sounds like gibberish to a non-tech.