The Meat and Potatoes of the Matter (K'ian)

[Ember]

What in the world have I gotten myself into? Qaena wondered to herself, leaving the thought open to Khiraeth if the green wanted to offer input. Why, you've gotten yourself into Rommy's weyr! There was a pause as Qaena waited patiently, knowing that her all-too-literal green would catch on to the seemingly requisite silence after she misinterpreted something. Oh! Funny person saying! Riiiight, well, you're going on a date? Well, to be exact Rommy invited you to eat dinner in his weyr, with His. Exciting, no? And I wouldn't let you refuse and voila, date!

Khiraeth landed neatly on Romeoth's ledge, opening up her broadcast to include him at the 'right' part. She crooned and moved to make getting off easier for Qaena since she was burdened a bit. Yours is coming soon, yes Rommy? Councilfolk have so much to do! Once Hers was safely off the green shuffled over to Romeoth and all but flopped against him. Cuddlessss! Oh look Nana, there's the table. Go on, then, you don't have much time. "But, Khir...this...I'm invading! And he's probably tired." It's not invading! We were invited! Qaena made a sound between a sigh and a moan and went about carefully moving the papers on the table to set up for dinner.

The least she could do if the dragons insisted on being the crafty beasts they were was make sure that K'ian at least had a good meal. She was absolutely not calling or even thinking of it as a date. An apology, perhaps. Or even a friendly dinner between friends-ish people? The papers she gently set down on a shelf and she placed the covered tray in the middle of the table before going back to Khiraeth to grab the glasses from her own weyr and the water skin. She set those down at the table too and stood awkwardly by the table for a moment. She felt like a bunch of bugs were doing the terran cha-cha on her stomach so she retreated to the dragons.

"Oh. I was so..." Qaena waved a hand at the table and at Khiraeth a bit unhelpfully as she left her sentence incomplete. "Well, yeah. So, um, hi Romeoth. Er, talk if ye will," she offered as she had begun to recently. Meaning he was welcome to talk directly to her if he was comfortable with it. Accompanying that she reached up a hand as a silent offer to scratch an eyeridge in greeting. She was fairly certain that she was so comfortable with the bronze because he was not human and Khiraeth pretty much considered him her BFF. Well, one of them anyways. She loved so many that she didn't really have a singular best friend. "You two will be the death of me."

[Zephyr]

K’ian was currently sweaty…and disgusting. He had been sparring with one of the younger riders. He was showing promise, probably a little too much promise…there was a small blood stain on the wife beater type tank top he was wearing. “ Okay. That’s good for today.” The man said, taking a step to the side and letting the boy fly past him. “ I like the enthusiasm. Make sure you have it tomorrow. Oh, and take a bath. You reek.” He could feel an amused chuckle in his mind. You don’t smell much better, K’ianmine. Tell me. Have you heard of baths? The large dragon mused, waiting on his ledge for a certain someone. “ Well yeah. I’ll probably take one when we get home. Um…are you sure you don’t want to take one before? The bronze was trying hard not to spoil his surprise for K’ian, a surprise he wasn’t completely sure that the man would like. Oh, once he got used to the idea, he’d love it. “ How can I take a bath before I get home if my bath is in my weyr?” Rom thought about this for several seconds but didn’t have the time to reply, because he could hear a Khiraeth!

Turning, he watched excitedly as the green with her rider in tow came into sight. Pleasant shades of blue colored his eyes. Yes. He is coming, but he might not be completely presentable. I tried to keep him from doing anything too strenuous, but if I had pressed it, it would have ruined the surprise. He let Khiraeth lean against him, covering the little green with a wing and nuzzling her neck affectionately with a little croon as he looked towards Qaena. Tell yours she can just move those papers anywhere. Not like he ever does anything with them.

This entire time, Mouse had been sleeping soundly on the giant second couch in the room. Ever since she had gotten sick, Romeoth had stopped thinking of the couch as his. He didn’t need two, after all, and while he didn’t exactly love Mouse, he was a little more fond of her. She had become more bearable now, and he wasn’t sure if it was because of what happened to her. When Qaena landed in her weyr, she was a little startled. Leaping up, the little salamandyr was no more than a speck on the couch, but it was her’s, and this weyr belonged to her’s. Who was invading it. Frilling, she leaped down from the couch and skittered over to the table. Twining her sinuous body up the leg, she ran straight over to the platter that Qaena had placed on the table and lifted herself up onto it with her front paws.

This what? She asked impatiently. When no answer came as quickly as she would have liked, the little green frilled indignantly and gave a little hiss. Thrashing her tail, she made a flying leap for Qaena, grabbing the girl’s shirt with her claws, she hung there for a moment, frilling and spitting. Noooo. You who? Here not good. Way goooo. She still hadn’t gotten used to speaking backwards, so obviously everyone should understand everything she says completely. GOOD NO. Quickly, she climbed up the girl’s shirt, to her head and promptly got herself stuck in Qaena’s curls. BADGOODNOHERELEAVEWAYYYGO The little salamandyr thrashed and flailed, probably smacking Qaena with her tail a few times in the process. At last, she stilled, still hanging from the girl’s hair. Well. At least she wasn’t falling. Baddd.

Romeoth watched all this with wide eyes. He didn’t quite know how to react. Um…Khiraeth’s…would you like some help? I could… He didn’t know exactly how he could help. He was so very big and she was so small that he would be afraid that he would hurt her, and that would make Khir sad…something her never wanted to do. Ever. It was at that moment that K’ian walked in, wiping his head with the towel that was hanging from his neck. He froze in place when he saw Qaena there, not at first registering the salamandyr in her hair. The tall man blinked, looking back and forth from Qaena to Khir and Rom sitting on the ledge. “ I…” He said, at a loss for words. It took him a moment, but he composed himself quickly enough. “ Qaena! It’s great to see you!” Closing the door, he made his way into the weyr, making sure to give Romeoth a positively scalding look. WHY didn’t you tell me she was here? Romeoth rumbled in amusement. I was afraid you wouldn’t come home. He said simply and privately to his.

Grinning broadly, he nodded to Khir. “ Looking lovely as ever Khiraeth. As are you, Qaena. You must forgive me for being all gross. I wasn’t exactly…expecting company today…not that it isn’t pleasant. If you give me a second to wash up, I’ll be right with you. It won’t take but a moment.” Stalking towards the bathroom, he stripped off his nasty clothes once he was in there and started the shower…silently seething at the sneakiness of dragons.

[Ember]

Khiraeth took a moment to absorb the knowledge Romeoth had provided with. She rumbled softly in amusement while also somehow managing to croon softly in understanding. Makes sense. 'Don't look a gift-runner in the mouth!' "Wrong one, Khir," Qaena called distractedly during her sorting of papers and food and such. Distracted as she was the girl didn't even notice Mouse, despite usually being so attentive to details around her. Perhaps it was because Khiraeth proceeded to try and wheedle the proper saying out of the girl, or because she was nervous, or maybe just because she unconsciously dismissed salamandyrs since Gneiss was just like that.

When Mouse finally launched herself at Qaena the girl made a surprisingly quiet "Eep!" and...well, 'flailed' would be the only appropriate term for the action she took. In no time at all the green was stuck in her hair and the weyrling winced a couple times when she felt the sharp sting of Mouse's tail. When the green finally stilled, so did Qaena. Her eyes were wide and she turned to Romeoth when he addressed her. "Umm, just...could you help me keep her calm? I don't really want to be bitten..." Shortly after entreating the bronze to help her out she started reassuring the green thoroughly stuck in her hair.

"Uh...Mouse, right? Yes, Mouse. I'm K'ian's - Your's' - friend," she began in soothing tones. She started to reach up into her hair with one hand when the aforementioned rider walked into the weyr. Suddenly it was like a freeze frame as a wide-eyed Qaena stared at a stunned K'ian...and Mouse went unnoticed. The bronzerider gathered himself though and things went back into motion. The girl looked down slightly and smiled at K'ian's greeting, mumbling something to the same effect. Khiraeth was thoroughly amused by the look the bronzerider sent Romeoth's way while Qaena wasn't looking.

So sweet! Thank's Rommy's! I think Nana would like to say you look fine, 'grossness' aside, The green responded pleasantly (and somewhat slyly). Qaena, true to form, was rapidly turning bright red and could do little else but glance up at K'ian. When he mentioned going to wash up she did find her voice again and said, "Okay, take your time." When he closed the door to the bathroom behind him she groaned. "Khiiiiir..." Before you complain about how I voiced your own thoughts for you, the green started playfully, you might wanna sort out the littling in your fur.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry, Mouse! Please hold still?" She raised her hands to the part of her hair the green had gotten herself tangled in, wary of any bites from an upset creature. Her hair was, thankfully, long enough she could see a little bit of what she was doing but it didn't bode well. "I might...need another set of hands for this. Or I could cut you out of my hair, I suppose?" Qaena actually grimaced at that idea. She liked her hair the way it was and she'd discovered as a young kid that she was not cut out for cutting it herself.

[Zephyr]

K’ian was busy speed showering. He wasn’t usually the type to stand around and enjoy his showers…they were showers. But he felt especially hurried since Qaena was standing awkwardly in his weyr. Why was she even here? Again, he inwardly cursed Romeoth, but he knew the dragon would only laugh at him. What Rom thought was good for K’ian was not necessarily what K’ian thought was good for himself. Then there was the girl herself. The bronzer liked the girl, he really did. She was adorable and quiet and nice to be around, but she was so young. The flight had been nice, fun even…would he have participated if Romeoth hadn’t insisted upon chasing Khiraeth? That much he didn’t know.

Romeoth, while K’ian was showering was still worried about Mouse. The salamandyr was still well and truly stuck in the girl’s hair, and she was unhappy about being so, but no amount of struggling was going to free her. She may have been stupid, but she wasn’t –that- stupid. She wanted to bite the hands that sought to untangle her, but Romeoth was a constant presence in her mixed up mind. The bronze dragon kept her from snapping at Qaena’s fingers. You didn’t bite friends’ fingers, did you? Could you growl at them? She wasn’t happy and wasn’t interested in sugarcoating things…all she wanted to at the moment though was get out.

Her chance when Kian walked out of the bathroom. He was only clothed in a towel and his hair was still wet from his shower. Unfortunately, he didn’t keep his clothing in the bathroom, so that meant that he would have to interact with Qaena with no clothes on. Great. Not that he minded, but he knew she would. Mine, you! Mouse help please. Girl stuck furry head. The salamandyr called out almost as soon as K’ian walked into the room and he realized, for the first time that there was a little green salamandyr stuck in Qaena’s hair. He stood and stared for a moment, blinking a couple times before he finally moved, walking over to help Qaena and Mouse. “ May I?” He asked. If given permission, he would move to help the girl untangle mouse from her hair. He had to actively keep the samandyr from flailing and hurting the girl further, but soon enough, out she came, and she ran straight up K’ian’s arm, little claws making red mark’s on the man’s skin as she hid on his shoulder, peeking out from behind his neck.

“ Sorry about that.” He said at last. “ I don’t know how she got caught in there, but I’m sure she was up to no good.” Realizing his currently unclothed nature, he moved over to dress. He didn’t care if Qaena looked or not. She had already seen…everything already. Why worry about modesty now. “ So, Qaena. What brings you to my weyr? Not that it isn’t always a pleasant surprise to see you.”

[Ember]

At least she wasn't struggling or biting. That was a good sign, Qaena thought. Not that it helped her get the 'mandyr out of her hair any easier. Perhaps less likelihood of her having to cut her hair if she continued to be still but the girl was kind of losing hope. Unfortunately for poor Mouse when K'ian stepped out of the bathing room in nothing but a towel and his hair still dripping wet...well, suffice it to say she was quite thoroughly distracted. She swallowed thickly as her face began to resemble a tomato. She forced herself to look away from him and to refocus on Mouse but the 'mandyr had other plans.

She called out to Hers which just brought the bronzerider's attention to her and her red face. Great. Technically she'd seen that and more at the end of Khiraeth's flight - and unlike a lot of flight-lusted people she remembered every single detail in full clarity - but she was discovering that the context of seeing someone naked or almost naked mattered a lot to her sense of modesty and embarrassement. This situation quite clearly embarrassed her. Not because someone was practically parading around naked but because of her reaction to it. Back at her Hold she hadn't...men hadn't been attractive!

And suddenly K'ian was right there in front of her and there was nowhere she could look without seeing him. The man was far larger than she was after all. She didn't really trust her voice at the moment so Qaena nodded gently at his question. You can breathe, y'know, beloved, Khiraeth gently reminded her, faint amusement tracing through her mental tone. Qaena blinked and realized she really had been holding her breath, which just made her feel silly. She'd slept with this man. Was there really any need to get so worked up?

Well...yes, but she should still at least breathe. She let out the breath she'd been holding slowly so as not to alarm K'ian - he was close, so very close! - and inhaled again. Okay, that was better. She ran a hand through her unruly curls when Mouse was freed and managed a reassuring smile for the man. "My own fault, probably. For invading..." Khiraeth snorted softly at her words. She still asserted that they had an invitation. Qaena's eyes drifted over to the happily cuddling dragons while K'ian went to change. His question brought out a rare, wry smile from the girl.

"Khiraeth decided to conspire against me?" She offered as explanation. The green crooned in agreement. "Well, uh, for me as she would probably put it herself. I don't get much of a say usually...so I decided I might as well make up for conspiring dragons by cooking dinner? If you want..." Qaena trailed off, her voice growing quieter because really most people would probably want her out of their by now.

[Zephyr]

K’ian…wasn’t really aware of Qaena’s discomfort. It wasn’t odd for him to walk around the weyr without a shirt, and even though they had slept together, he knew that Qaena was a little more modest than most. But, it wasn’t like he was –naked-. He was wearing a towel for Faranth’s sake. So, K’ian just stood near Qaena, cheerfully oblivious of her discomfort as he tried to dislodge a certain squirmy green salamandyr from the curls of her hair. Once he was finished, he grinned at the girl cheerfully. “ Now that wasn’t so bad, was it?” His eyes widened briefly when she spoke. “Oh?” Then he grinned again with his whole face a winked a little. “ You aren’t invading. I don’t think you’re capable of invading, Qaena!”

As he was putting some real clothes on, he listened to her words, glancing over to see the smile on her face. It actually made him happy see her smile. A real smile. He had a feeling that people don’t see this side of the girl very often, so he counted himself lucky that he was able to witness one of these rare moments. When she mentioned the dragon conspiracy, K’ian let out a hearty chuckle. “ Well, it seems you aren’t the only one. A certain copper monster didn’t tell me that you were coming either.” At the mention, Romeoth perked from his place snuggled around Khiraeth, tilting his head to the side. You don’t think he’s talking about me, do you dear Khiraeth? He asked his green companion, tail smacking the edge of his ledge in his amusement. His mindvoice wasn’t hidden from the humans, though it was clear he was talking to Khir well looking innocently at his rider. Elegantly curled neck twisted to look down at the green. I’m not a monster, am I? Why didn’t you tell me?” He feigned offense in his words, but his eyes told of the amusement behind his words.

The rider rolled his eyes, finishing dressing and walking over, quite barefoot, to where Qaena stood. “ Don’t you know?” He asked at last when he got back to her, giving a wry look to the dragons. “ Our dragons know best, at all times. You might think something’s good for you, but if your dragon doesn’t agree, then it’s automatically awful for you. And vise versa.” He was just too lazy to finish that thought.

Because…oh…my…god, Qaena mentioned FOOD!

Perking at the thought of food, K’ian’s eyes brightened considerably, and he looked over at the table, for the first time noticing the covered platter laying on top of it. If he had been a girl, he probably would have squealed all the way to the table. But as K’ian is a man, he did not squeal. Instead, he walked over with an expression full of unbridled, childish delight. “ Dinner, you say?” He stopped at the table. “ What is it?” He asked mischievously, wanting to pick the cover up, but not wanting to step on Qaena’s toes in case she didn’t want him to see what was under it yet. That didn’t stop him from looking at it…from all angles, trying to figure out what it was.

Part of K’ian’s excitement surely lay in the fact that as a manly man, K’ian had no culinary skills whatsoever, so he ate poorly when he didn’t eat at the kitchen…and Qaena is a woman, which auto makes her an amazing cook. Right? Well, that’s how K’ian thought it worked. Cue a certain bronze dragon’s facewinging moment.

Sometimes I don’t like being associated with that man, Khir.

[Ember]

K'ian's grin was infectious and she ended up returning it because, really, it hasn't been all that bad. Not to mention he apparently didn't mind her presence? "Incapable of invading? Don't tempt me to test that theory," she commented, surprised at her own boldness if her widening eyes were anything to judge by. Khiraeth brushed her mind with amused encouragement and the greenweyrling resisted the urge to scowl at the green. You were doing it again, she accused mentally. Oops, sorry! Was the green's not-very-contrite response. Khiraeth happened to rub off on Qaena if neither were paying enough attention. The green didn't mind but Qaena was still hesitant over the changes.

The girl flashed an amused smile Romeoth's way for his secretiveness and for the bronze's apparent nickname. She'd been in on the secret, of course, but that didn't make it any less amusing to her. I do believe he is, actually, Khiraeth responded to her friend with mock surprise, also projecting for both humans to hear. The green rumbled in amusement at Romeoth's accusation and she crooned mock comfortingly. I'm sorry, Rommy! I didn't want to tell you in case you got hurt! I still adore you, even if you are a monster!

Qaena at this point was stiffling giggles into her hand, eyes flashing animatedly as she watched the pair of dragons. "What is this? Some sort of dramatic romance scene?" It was with amusement-bright eyes that she looked back to K'ian with and grinned. "Sometimes they do know you better than you know yourself," she said lightly in defence of the dragons. In this case she wasn't entirely sure they were right but...oh well. The girl almost laughed at K'ian's reaction to her mentioning food. Perhaps it wasn't so much a surprising reaction considering he'd done something quite active but it was kind of endearing.

The girl approached the table seeing the bronzerider's obsession with staring at the cover as if he was trying to see through it. She'd take pity on him and reveal what she'd brought. Qaena wasn't the best cook in the world mostly due to little practice but she'd put considerable effort into this particular meal so hopefully it would be quite good. In answer to his question, she lifted the lid to reveal two nearly identical plates (one with quite obviously less of everything). There were baked potatoes stuffed with melting cheese, asparagus and mushrooms, and finally a steak seasoned lightly with spices. "Voila? Steak."

Because he's hungry? Khiraeth asked curiously. Speaking of food, when dy'ou think we can sneak off? We can totally say we're going to eat! Because clearly a date shouldn't be interrupted too much by meddling dragons. Khiraeth knew well enough that not every pair she attempted to set up would work and so leaving them to their own devices once put together would probably be best.

[Zephyr]

“ Okay, okay.” He said in response to her. “ I won’t tempt you into invading more if you buy my silence with some delicious food. K’ian wasn’t known for his subtlety in the best of times, and when he was hungry, he was as subtle as a brick (<3)…even if he hadn’t been hungry a half hour ago. Come to mention it, he was ravenous. He didn’t realize how much of an appetite one worked up when they were actually doing something pretty physical. You would think that he would be used to it by now, but nope. His stomach rumbled demandingly at the scent of the unknown foodstuffs. It was positively delicious smelling…and he had to keep himself from whining to Qaena that he wanted to see what it was now!

Rom rumbled affectionately towards Qaena, flicking his tail lightly against Khir as she lay snuggled against him. His eyes widened in feigned surprise when she spoke and he fake pouted, sagging himself dramatically against the green (not enough to hurt her). At last, he perked up again. Well then. That’s okay. It would be horrible to be a monster without friends! He said brightly, as he turned to look at Qaena. Should I be asking the same about you humans? He asked innocently enough, though the look K’ian gave him was enough to smolder. The bronze laughed. Geeze, you need to grow a sense of humor, K’ianmine. It would do you well.

K’ian didn’t seem to notice him, because right now Qaena was uncovering her food. If possible, his eyes widened ten times larger at the meal she had fixed him. The man had to keep himself from drooling all over it. “ What?” He said, not quite believing his luck. “ This is for me?” Both of you, Rom corrected, but K’ian largely ignored the dragon. “ I approve so much.” He grinned at Qaena.

Romeoth looked down at Khir. We should go now. I don’t think he’ll be paying attention to us with that food there, and I think yours will have too much to concentrate on with the attention mine is giving her. eyes swirling pleasantly blue, Rom stood carefully and walked to the ledge. Ladies first? K’ian seemed to have a similar mindset, even without think about it as he pulled out a chair for Qaena. “ Ladies first?”

[Ember]

Qaena stiffled giggles at the idea of buying silence with food. "Does that mean I could bribe you with food at other times, too?" Part of her really was curious if such a strong personality like K'ian could really be bought by some simple food a teenage girl had made and another part was...honoured, almost, that he automatically thought her food would be good. The soon to be graduated weyrling was incredibly amused by the expectant look on K'ian's face when her hand hovered over the platter. Just before she could show the food though she shot an amused look at the dragons once again for their sense of humour.

Then she got back to the task at hand - literally. The reveal was well worth the time it took in cooking the meal because K'ian's reaction was just great. Qaena found herself blushing at the approval of her food, a small proud smile on her face as she said, "I'm glad, since I did actually cook it for you." She didn't tell him anything about how she'd studied up on his favourite food or anything like that. Qaena was conscious enough of the norms in society to recognize that most would consider her something of a stalker. Not necessarily so in her case - if the person happened to be nearby then she watched them closely and she remembered details like when they had chores or drills to do. She didn't hunt them down or follow them.

It was during those inner thoughts within the few seconds after K'ian praised her food that Khiraeth and Romeoth discussed leaving. Ooh, yes, point taken. The green uncurled from her position against Romeoth so that they could both move freely, stretching her wings as much as she could on the ledge as the bronze offered her to go first. Don't mind if I do! She said cheerfully, slipping off the ledge without much grace. It was in the air that she danced about and was a marvel to behold. She let herself drop next to the weyrbowl wall before pulling out of the gravity induced dive.

Race ya to the feeding pens? She asked Romeoth, twisting and flipping back up to the height of his ledge and waiting for him to take to the air. When he did she darted immediately towards one of the many exits from the weyrbowl and out into the beautiful day outside. While the dragons had their fun, Qaena let herself be seated by K'ian with a faint widening of her eyes. She'd never been treated like such a lady by anyone before. A girl, certainly, but never like a grown up woman (which, okay, fair enough since she was only 17). She grabbed the plate with lesser proportions and set in front of herself and smiled at K'ian.

[Zephyr]

" Maybe." He said after she spoke, eyeing the spread that she had laid down on the table. To be fair, she had just caught him after he had been working out for hours. Anyone would be starving after that, and he wasn't looking forward to the generic meal that he would be getting at the dining hall. " Especially if you catch me when I'm starving." As an afterthought, he added. " Stick around, kid. That happens often." It was true. K'ian did stuff...a lot of stuff, a lot of physical stuff. So most of the time he was starving. And right now was one of those times.

The fact that she would cook something for him at all was enough to confuse her to no end. He had never had anyone cook anything especially for him before. He had been with women before. Plenty of women...but none had actually went out of their way to cook anything for him. Most of his relationships had been purely physical, so the idea that anyone would think enough about him to cook food for him was a foreign concept to the man...but he wasn't going to look a gifthorse in the mouth...not that Qaena was a horse or anything. Cue the mental flailing.

Romeoth was pleased when Khiraeth dropped from the ledge. After she had cleared, he dropped as well, probably not such a good idea for a dragon as big as himself, but it really wasn't feasible for him to try and "jump" off his ledge. He opened his wings as soon as he cleared the ledge and sailed after the green, going a slow loop around her as she did her crazy little flips. Showoff. He said to her in amusement as he followed her the path of her flips. After a second, he chuckled into her mind, sensing the humor in the situation. He knew that he could never beat her in a race unless that was a race halfway across Pern...and he knew she knew. Still, he was never one to pass up a challenge. Well...he was, if it was a stupid challenge, but he would never pass up an offer by Khir. He grinned at her for a second, ready to answer her question when he suddenly surged forward, past her, throwing a Readysetgo! into her mind. Of course he needed a head start. He was big and slow and she was small and fast.

Not that it would help any. He'd still get beat five times to Tuesday.

After she had sat down, K'ian took a seat himself, pulling his plate towards him. He looked at the food for a second, fighting an urge to dig right in. But that would be rude, a little voice in his head that was really a little salamandyr on his shoulder told him. Mouse, for all intents and purposes knew how ladies liked to be treated. And right now she was a lady and demanded some of that meat...only backwards.