Something By Any Other Name... (Lilu)

[Ember]

So there he was again, sitting in the dining hall alone. A frightfully common occurrence for him. Kidem didn't mind though since he really didn't need constant human companionship to be content. It just got boring sometimes when he was enjoying his down time and wanted something interesting to do. He picked at his food uninterestedly as his cornflower blue eyes roamed the dining hall to see if there was anyone who seemed interesting enough to approach. He wasn't the most social of people but he wasn't afraid to go up to a random stranger and start a conversation. He supposed that might be due to the friendliness of the dolphins back at Blossom Lake.

Kidem's thoughts ground to an abrupt halt and a faint grin appeared on his face. There. With such bright red hair how could he not target a certain Lilu sitting a couple tables away? Besides, she was pretty enough to cultivate some interest in once she was out of her weyrlinghood - pesky little draconid babies seemed to like Impressing to pretty people because he'd heard Casandra had Impressed to a wher of all things. Talking with a weyrling might also prove a bit enlightening even if she wasn't receptive to some casual fun in the furs. Not that he really planned on Impressing but whatever.

The man scooped up his plate and cup and began moving over to the young woman. Late teens if Kidem was judging right. It was a bit difficult to tell though considering the epic Serious Face she had on. Really, no one should ever look like that while eating unless...no, they just never should. He approached the table with very minimal noise considering the lack of footwear. He really wasn't wearing much of anything, just a casual pair of knee length shorts and a thin, half done up button-up shirt. "Y'know, I don't think that food is going to get back up and runaway," Kidem commented with amusement.

[Aftershock]

Lilu sat alone at her table, carefully but quickly eating her meal. She was having a light lunch, just enough to stave off the hunger pangs, as Venideth had just reached the age where they could start actual aerial flight training, and she didn't want to put on any excessive weight that would strain the blue overmuch when he was just starting out on mounted flights.

Seeing some activity out of the corner of her eye, she reached out and slapped the plate Tselitel was lifting out of the bright flit's paws, knowing the little creature had just finished the meat Lilu had ground up for her and was trying to use the plate for an exercise weight. She'd had enough trouble cleaning up the messes from the green flit overexerting herself immediately after eating, and didn't feel like spending the time dealing with it today. Tselitel hissed a little as the plate was knocked from her paws, but beyond an offended flicking of her wings, she didn't respond, beyond subtly doing some small push-ups instead.

Suddenly, there was a man standing near Lilu, and apparently talking to her. Looking up from her interrupted meal, not hiding the irritation in her expression, she looked over the man for a moment, noting his extremely casual, almost sloppy, manner of dress, and met the man's eyes with an annoyed glare as she responded, "I didn't think it was going to. Did you need something?"

[Ember]

Kidem grinned wide at Lilu's reaction. How positively fun! Under other circumstances he'd dislike having so much attitude shown to him by some little girl but he was just out to have a good time during his meal before going back to chores. Or running off to see Yua for a couple days. Either, or. Travel was serious business, especially all the way to Blossom Lake. The man set his plate down on the table and plunked heavily into a seat. "My, aren't you going to be an effervescent experience! My needs are simple, my energetic eagle. I require some company to accompany my repast," he said grandiosely.

"Also information if you aren't too busy stuffing your face, mon cherie? Well more like I'm just curious about a few things. Like what exactly your mini-dragon there is doing?" Kidem asked, blue eyes staring at Tselitel while the green did some discreet push-ups. "Like, do they do that often or something because wow. Would not have expected that. Does your dragon do that too?" Smiling charmingly the dolphineer finally let Lilu potentially have a say because up until that point he'd been busy being a motor-mouth. All on purpose because he was hoping to befuddle her enough that she'd forget that she might not want company. Or something like that. Maybe.

He knew perfectly well about firelizards having grown up in the south but it was true that he'd never been close enough to one to properly examine it. Crafters with Dolphins usually found they had enough on their plate that they didn't need silly little pets. Yua already commanded all the attention Kidem really wanted to give to any one creature. She had wormed her way into his heart and that was something he considered a miracle as it was.

[Aftershock]

Lilu locked Kidem with a truly incredulous look as he motored his way through his questions and statements, though she didn't stop eating her lunch. When the man finally stopped for breath, she responded, "My 'mini-dragon', as you refer to my firelizard as, is exercising. She thinks herself tiny, despite her bulk, and I'm lucky if she goes one day without exhausting herself from overexertion." Spearing another piece of fruit on her fork and chewing it quickly (though no faster than she was before Kidem joined her at the table), she swallowed and continued, "As for my dragon, no, he does not do that. As far as I'm aware, Tselitel's behaviors are unique to her in that regard."

Tselitel, for her part, looked at the male with swirling blue eyes, and ceased her push-ups in order to pose for Kidem, flexing her toned muscles and obviously showing off for the man. She was interrupted in her showing-off, however, by the clatter of Lilu's fork hitting her plate, followed by Lilu herself standing and taking the plate in-hand as she said, "Well, it was certainly interesting meeting you, but my lunch is finished, and I have work to do. Good day," she concluded, turning to head towards the kitchens with her dirty plate and silverware.

[Ember]

Aha. That was a rather brilliant expression on her face. He ate while she talked, eyes flickering between her and the the firelizard rapidly as he absorbed the information. Kidem made a thoughtfully concerned sound over the green's health but made no more comment on the whole exercising thing. Besides, his mouth was otherwise occupied. Especially since he noted the speed she ate at and she had less overall than he did. He did swallow in time to roll the name around his tongue though.

"Tselitel...Tselitel. Good name. Good name for a stunning creature, right?" The man turned his attention to the posing firelizard then. At the clattering of silverware on dishware Kidem glanced mildly at his main company. Well then, that was a dismissal if ever he had heard one. Not that Kidem planned to listen to it since he most certainly wasn't done with his meal. He hadn't even gotten her name as of yet. He let her put away her dishes without him following her but he fully intended on catching her on her way out of the kitchens.

Which is exactly what happened. His intensely cornflower blue eyes watched her without discretion when she left the kitchens. He stood up with his own plate and fork and moved to fall into step beside her. "So what kind of work does a weyrling do, anyway?" Kidem asked before taking a forkful off his plate and putting it in his mouth. He could always return the dishes to the kitchens later on.

[Aftershock]

Tselitel chirruped in approval of Kidem's judgment of her, moving over to rub her muscular paws over his arm affectionately. However, when the man got up to intercept Hers, she screeched indignantly, and took off after the man, landing on his shoulder and whapping the back of his head with her wing to bring his attention back to her.

Lilu, meanwhile, sighed and rolled her eyes as the dolphineer intercepted her on her way out of the kitchens and continued to interrogate her. "A weyrling is someone who has Impressed a dragon at a hatching. I train with the rest of my class, those who also Impressed dragons at the same hatching I did, and learn the skills necessary to be a full dragonrider... or at least I would, if I hadn't already been a dragonrider before now. As it is, my duty is to train my dragon as he matures, and assist my fellow weyrlings in their training duties." She did not cease walking as she spoke, continuing on her way back to her room in the weyrling barracks.

[Ember]

Apparently the little green liked him. Or...not. Affection was replaced indignation and he barely felt the green land before she was smacking his head with a wing. "My, my, such a demanding lady," he clucked in genuine amusement, reaching up to his shoulder with the opposite hand to rub her placatingly.

As for Lilu...well. "Ah-ah. That just tells me what a weyrling is but not what a weyrling actually does. Just like being a Dolphineer means looking after dolphins, training apprentices, and rescuing people," Kidem said. That much was common knowledge to even Holdfolk like him who didn't much care about riders one way or another. Or perhaps it was just common sense. Baby dragon attached to your psyche? Look after it and learn how to adjust to it now that it's in your life.

Kidem left the comment about her previously having been a rider well enough alone. That meant having graduated from weyrlinghood but since she had a young dragon now...it wasn't hard for the man to make the logical leap and say she had lost a dragon already - how that made her fit for a second one if she had already blown it once he had no idea - and if the rumours about the tightness of the bond it would be a touchy subject. Not something he wanted to bother hearing.

[Aftershock]

Lilu took a moment to glance at Kidem's shoulder, noting his white knots, and said, "Ah, I see what this is about. You're a Candidate, and you're convinced you're going to Impress at the next clutch, so you figure you'd bother a weyrling to get a head-start on what information you'll need." Shrugging, her irritated expression softened a bit as she added, "A worthy goal, I suppose. From your clothing, I did not pin you as someone with the motivation to go above and beyond to succeed."

As Tstelitel chirruped with satisfaction from Kidem's petting (as long as he continued to do so... any pausing would be rewarded with yet another wing-slap to get his attention back where she figured it belonged), Lilu seemed to finally accept Kidem's company, and began, "Very well, then." As they walked, she explained the duties of a weyrling, from how they were taught to care for their dragons, to a dragon's need to be fed a certain way and bathed/oiled, to how they learned about riding straps, formation flying, and how to pass firestone from dragon to dragon during Threadfall. Her explanation was very generalized, just giving a sort of curriculum overview as well as a general "day in the life" for a weyrling.

She was just finishing explaining about rope drills when they finally reached her weyr in the weyrling barracks. Opening the door, she walked in, though did not close the door behind her, continuing her explanation as she sent a quick mental update to Venideth where he sat on his couch, explaining Kidem's presence. Venideth sat up, giving Kidem a look with swirling blue-green eyes... though with a quick, blink-and-you'd-miss-it warning swirl of red... before settling down once more, watching His and her new companion silently from his couch.

[Ember]

Oh. Well wasn't that a fun misinterpretation? Or misinterpretations. With a wry grin he glanced at his clothes and deemed the latter one fair enough. Certainly compared to others he looked more like some poor, laissez-faire type. Kidem had enough of an understanding of himself and others' perceptions to know that much. He was not exactly showing his best side to the weyrling, either, what with being in a decidedly more playful mood than serious. It didn't make the observations Lilu was apparently making about him any less amusing to the man.

Kidem let her run with it, more curious about what weyrlings did than bothered by her mistake. He could always correct her when she finished anyway. Trying to focus on her words, the dolphineer stopped petting the green only to earn another wing smack. He snorted in faint irritation and tried to coax the green into his arms for ease - reaching up to his shoulder like that wasn't comfortable, really. The choice to move was hers, however. He was stuck petting her regardless of her position or risk another smack to the back of his head. He was particularly annoyed by that feeling as it resembled his mother's childhood punishment when he did something she didn't like.

Lilu, for all her dismissiveness earlier, did not stop him from entering her room when they got there. For the sake of some privacy, Kidem did partially close the door behind him. There was still about a hands-breadth gap between the door and the frame but certainly no one could easily peer in. His attention (aside from subconscious pettings) focused more on the blue while Lilu spoke. He heard her words and acknowledged them as he'd been doing up until then but Kidem approached the dragon instead. In fact, he sat just outside of range of the blue, right in front of him.

Now, it wasn't like he hadn't ridden a dragon to the weyr or anything, he just let that dragon's rider settle him in rather than examine their dragon. Associating more with candidates than riders also meant he didn't get up-close examinations of any dragon, let alone multiple dragons. He figured his candidacy might be a bit lacking there but he wasn't genuinely interested in impression anyway. At a lull in Lilu's explanations, Kidem managed to slip in some words. "So that's why everyone gets all hot in the pants for impressing? Not to bash you and your choices, but it really does sound like more work than just about anything else."

[Aftershock]

Venideth watched the man carefully as he approached him... at least as far as one could tell. Without pupils, it was difficult for anyone to tell what a dragon was looking directly at, and what was in it's peripheral vision, without the assistance of a bond. He did not react otherwise to the Dolphineer's approach, however, his head lying atop his folded paws as he lie languidly on his couch.

Lilu, meanwhile, did not seem to take notice of the near-closing of her weyr door, instead continuing to explain as she cleaned up from her lunch and got ready for her flight practice. She stripped off her shirt, then her boots and pants, running a wet cloth over her face before drying it with a towel, then beginning to collect and put on her flight leathers. She seemed unconcerned about the presence of a male as she stripped to her breastband and smallclothes, her movements neither nervous or awkward from shame, nor languid and exaggerated to show off her well-toned body.

She had paused in her explanations after putting on her pants and boots to slip a thin cotton undershirt over her head when Kidem interjected, and she looked at him once more, having not paid the slightest attention to his presence beyond her explanations since he had arrived in her room. As she ran a brush through her hair quickly to remove the fluff from pulling the shirt over her head, she answered, "Being a dragonrider is, indeed, a difficult and quite dangerous job. I am unaware of your knowledge of such things, but there is a war going on between the northern Weyrs... a war I fought in before I came to Selenitas... and it's a war we cannot avoid forever. So, beyond the dangers of fighting Thread, there are the dangers of eventual dragon-on-dragon combat. However, it is also the most satisfying career one can have... the bond with a creature as powerful as a dragon, acting as one entity as you fly through the skies against either the threat of Thread or of enemy riders... being able to share the sensations of your bonded, to be able to feel the wind beneath his wings and the power of his claws and fangs..." Lilu seemed to stare off into the distance as she spoke of flight and the dragonbond, as if she was visualizing what she spoke of.

Shaking her head a bit as she came free from her reverie, she concluded, "It's a singularly amazing life, dangerous as it may be. If you are made... or chosen... to have the potential to share your life with a dragon, it is a true honor."

[Ember]

The dragon gave him no reaction that he could discern so Kidem quickly lost interest in him. A very select few dragons would bespeak others than their riders - or so the rumour went - and he was a bit curious to see what speech in your head felt like. If the dragon wasn't forthcoming, though, he wouldn't press for it. It seemed a touch to personal if te other party was hesitant. He was frankly more interested in Lilu deciding to change in front of him. Kidem was without a doubt a guy - one who liked to have casual sexual encounters at that - and watched her change neutrally.

One could admire the female form and not pounce said woman, after all. She was attractive, he'd give her that. Kidem made no attempt to hide the fact that he had been watching her change either. She showed no embarrassment for shamelessly half-stripping in front of him so why should he be ashamed of looking? When she launched into an explanation that there was a war going on he almost laughed. Well, she was definitely thorough in her instruction. He could appreciate that, even if he already knew about the war and simply didn't care. Dragonrider problems. He did, however, file away the knowledge that she had fought in the war...and likely lost her first dragon to it.

"Hmm," Kidem started off, seemingly non-commital, before saying, "I care little for the troubles of others and I am myself, only one person. The most satisfying life for me is to live how I want." There was a ringing confidence in his voice as he stood up and looked her in the eye. "Thank you for enlightening me, though. You made my food break much more interesting. I'm sure I'll see you around somewhere, missy." Which only highlighted the fact that he didn't know her name and she didn't know his. "If you feel like talking another time just ask around for a Kidem." He grinned and made a mock bow to her. "For now, I need to go back to my slave labour, if you don't mind?"

[Aftershock]

Lilu gave Kidem a bit of a searching look as he spoke, then shrugged, saying, "If you're a Candidate, you stand for hatchings. If a dragon finds you a proper bond, there is no choice. So, I suppose, if you so value your independence from being intimately attached to a powerful dragon, enjoy your freedom while you can."

After he introduced himself, and gave a somewhat mocking request to return to his "slave labor", Lilu replied, "Lilu, of blue Venideth. If you suddenly decide you do wish to know more about dragonriding and your possible future duties, you know where my weyr is, now. I will gladly help the instruction of someone who might be fighting at my side in the future." Pointing at the closed-over door to her weyr, she concluded, "I'm not stopping you from leaving, and the door is right over there if you need to attend to your chores."

[Ember]

Kidem grinned a bit wolfishly as she suggested he enjoy himself. He definitely intended to do so, although he'd come to the weyr for the self same reason of avoiding taking on apprentice dolphineers for the sake of his freedom. He'd attend the hatching like a proper candidate and likely be left standing and then go back to the responsibilities he had been avoiding. Yup.

"That I do, Lilu. If I do feel the need you can count on me coming to you," he said. Heck, he'd probably invade her weyr just for the sake of it. He was content alone but it was always more funny to interact with others. He gave her a jaunty farewell salute and shook his shoulder a bit. "Hey, lady, I gotta leave. If you want attention later you can come bug me in the barracks if you like," he commented to Tselitel. Walking out with someone else's firelizard might be a touch awkward.

Speaking of leaving he turned for the exit and walked out without so much as a glance back. He did, however, nudge her door enough so that it became partially closed again. It wasn't like it would take her much effort to open it or pull it fully closed if she wanted. Kidem had chores to attend to.

((Closed.))