Food Thief (Open)

[kysseh]

"Hot, hot, haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaht..."

The whining would have been a great deal more appropriate had it come from a weyrbrat and not a fully grown adult man. The kitchen drudges avoided the complaining creature, leaving him perched on his stool that sat beside on of the counters. He had been there for half a candlemark, after they unceremoniously moved him out of the flow of kitchen traffic and into a spot where he was not making a complete nuisance of himself. Now he was just a minor annoyance, occasionally disrupting their work and discussions with some kind of noisy interruption. At the moment, said interruption was a dramatic complaint over the state of the meatroll that he had pilfered. It was, as he was so eloquently stating things, hot.

Perhaps you ought to let those hot things cool first. Dohulth suggested mildly from his perch on the cliffitops. The brown had abandoned His to the kitchens in search of a good spot for sunning, settling on a high spot that had plenty of space for him to sprawl out with no imitation of dignity. Lounging was something Dohulth did well, and as of that moment, the lazy gray-tinted brown was more than happy to just let the sun do the work of warming his body. Movement was overrated. Still, his contented mind was alert enough to be keeping tabs on His, who seemed to be making up for the illness by eating and exercising as much as his still-fragile health would allow him. Humans. They were so stupid at times. I know you need energy after that exercise, but would not a nap be more helpful? Phremath's will scold you. the brown added pointedly, his tone taking on a hint of reproach at the mental grumble he got in response. His was ever so difficult. Or /I/ will scold you, o bag of bones. You need rest.

That elicited a muffled snort from the dragonrider, who shifted his skeletal frame on his precarious perch in an effort to find a more comfortable spot. Atrophied muscles made bony protrusions even more noticeable and less padded. At the moment, the bones of his pelvis were making themselves felt as he tried to sit comfortably on his chair. Bother. Was this how muscle-less people felt all the time? I need food... he informed his mindmate as he juggled the meatroll cautiously from hand to hand in an attempt to keep it from burning his fingers. Very hot, indeed. Besides, I've had enough of laying in bed.

One of the passing drudges finally took pity on him and offered him a plate for his meatroll, which he gladly accepted. Now with the meatroll cooling and out of his hands, he could breathe on his poor overheated fingers and spare the drudges from his endless whining. He was grown up. Really, he was. "Thank you," he said cheerfully to the woman, a bit bewildered when he got only an eyeroll in response. Oh, was he being difficult? Shard blast it. He would make the gratitude more emphatic next time. Or... perhaps she thought he earned the burns since he had stupidly reached for the hot food. Yes, yes, that was probably it. K'von was fairly sure he had a reputation among the kitchen staff as having a shamelessly large appetite, which they had been free of for nearly a month. Hmph. Time to get them back on their game, he reasoned.

Perched on his bony shoulder, Dania was peeping politely and awaiting her own meal, expectantly eyeing the small bowl of meat scraps that K'von had swiped for her. She knew that was for her, but she was not so rude as to just take it. Hers would feed it to her, as usual, and see?! There it was! She carefully accepted the scrap of meat and held it between her forepaws, her dainty nibbling earning her a chuckle from the adult man. Silly human. Pleased with her food, she watched the passing flow of traffic, twittering a greeting in between bites at anyone who happened to pass by. It was a pleasant day to be fed, wasn't it?

[Rowana]

Farryl always felt better after a ride. She had been feeling lonely of late. It seem as though most of her friends were gone now, leaving few people for her to talk to. Even Peppeth had been quieter of late, making her feel bad for worrying her. At least riding Lyleeka took her mind off her concerns for a time. It was almost as good as flying, both of which left her hungry. She wasn't the only one. Snuggling into her neck, Zellos's stomach growled, but surprisingly he never asked for food. He didn't seem to care when he got fed, just trusted her that he would eventually. Hobbs, on the opposite shoulder, was trilling merrily as they made their way into the kitchens for a snack. He like their new friend. He could help keep Farryl happy.

Apparently she wasn't the only one in search of food, either. Farryl dodged nimble around a few drudges, swiping a bowl of meat scraps and fruit as she went. Then she pulled up a stool next to K'von. "How's the meatroll?" she asked. Maybe it was because she hadn't had much of late, but she was desperate for conversation. Even if that had been a lame start. Zellos snapped at the meat she held to him, barely glancing at the man or his fire lizard. PrettyFarryl. Good to Zellos. he crooned happily. She rolled her eyes, giving Hobbs a piece so he didn't feel left out. Sometimes her salamandyr sounded more like a lovesick puppy than one of his own kind.

[kysseh]

It only dawned on K'von after he nearly jumped off his stool that he should have expected company. As it was, the brownrider just barely managed to cover his surprise with enough dignity, grinning a bit at the young woman who settled down on the stool next to him. Getting old... and paranoid... and jumpy... he silently informed his dragon, resisting the urge to press a hand to his chest. He did not need a hand to feel his own pounding heart. It echoed loudly in his ears and subsided only once he was settled more comfortably settled on his perch, his finger still chasing his hot meatroll around the plate.

At her question, the grin became sheepish. "Ahh... it's very hot. Careful with 'em," he muttered in embarrassment, shrugging the unoccupied shoulder. He eyed her prize and then refocused his attention on his meal that said calmly cooling on his plate. Another poke told him it was still too warm to eat. Shardblastit. He was hungry. "How's the fruit? I guess the meat's okay." The latter of the statements was said with a degree of amusement, as the brownrider eyed the young woman's pets. Hmm. Apparently, the meat was very fine.

Dania agreed with this sentiment, for the little green flitter had finished off her morsel and was now trilling happily. Good food... and good company! She liked company. Her little green wings fluttered, head tilted over to one side as she eyed the salamandyr and flit with undisguised curiosity. After a moment, she trilled a pleasant greeting, winding her tail carefully around Hers' neck and wondering if the male things would come and play with her. After food, though, of course. Food was a priority, and already, she was eyeing the bowl of meat beside Hers' plate once more.

The mental prod from the flit was enough to get K'von to offer up another piece of meat, one which was gladly accepted by the hungry pet. "Good thing you're not demanding," he grumbled, earning himself a muffled chirrup in response. His gaze flicked back to the young woman, wondering what the best course of conversation was. Perhaps... well, introductions would probably be the most appropriate. "K'von of brown Dohulth. Wingsecond now, I suppose," he said, grinning a bit as Dania poked him gently on the ear with a forepaw. "This is Dania. You graduated in the last few months? Aslath's last clutch?" She did look awfully familiar, but he blamed the sickness for chewing holes in his brain to make him forget important things. Sharding disease.

[Rowana]

Farryl look apologetic. She hadn't meant to startle him. At least he hadn't fallen off the stool. She took a bite from the fruit and grinned back. "Cold," she announced brightly. "Do you want some?" It looked like it would be a while for his roll to cool down. She slipped a small knife from her belt and cut the fruit in half, handing him the one without the bite in it. Zellos clawed at her for attention and she rolled her eyes at him. "Greedy," She jabbed more meat with the knife and passed it to him. Zellos not greedy. Zellos hungry. He swallowed the treat happily and crooned, completely ignoring Dania. She was a silly thing and not worth his time.

Hobbs, however, shared no such reservation. He chirped happily at Dania, pleased to have met a new friend. He would love to play with her. Once the food was gone. They could both agree to that. He trilled a little tune. He was sorry the shiny one was so rude. He couldn't see how lovely and sweet she was. Farryl smiled at Dania, feeling Hobbs attention on her. Someone was enjoying himself at least.

She nodded to K'von, though a little sadly. Most of her clutchmates were dead now, and scarcely a quarter of them had made it to graduation. It was a sad story for Aslath's final clutch. Maybe they were cursed. "That's right. I'm Farryl of green Peppeth." The last green, she thought, but shook it away. Now was not the time to get all depressed. "The boys are Hobbs and Zellos. Don't mind master salamandyr," she added. "He has a rather high opinion of his own importance." Zellos snorted. Of course he was important. Any fool could see that.

[kysseh]

K'von fervently hoped the poor girl did not feel too guilty for nearly giving him a coronary. After all, the girl could hardly know how jumpy he was as of late. His right hand left off its molestation of the meatroll to rub at the scars across his left hand, an unconscious gesture of nervousness that had started back when the hand was first mutilated. Bad memories were associated with that day, though he rarely chose to dwell on them. Happy things had come out of that bad day, so he preferred to focus on those. Focusing on the bad things tended to lead him down a spiral of depression and loathing. No one liked seeing their own inner darkness. At least... no one sane, he thought.

At her announcement of the temperature of her fruit, K'von snickered, the tension leaving his frame as it became obvious that she was a friendly sort of person. It was sometimes hard to tell, but... since she did not decide to make a scene out of his surprise, he considered her decent. "Fruit? Cold?! Unheard of," he uttered in amusement, pleasantly surprised when she offered him half of her snack. "Oh... thank you. Want a meatroll?" he asked, gesturing at the tray of meatrolls that lay within his arm reach. They were still steaming, but, hopefully, they would cool quickly. At Farryl's scolding of her salamandyr, the brownrider had the decency to take her side by smirking at the little beast.

"Sharding glad that I don't have one of those little beasts. They all seem to be way more trouble than they're worth," he commented, eyeing Zellos as he demanded more food. Arrogant creature. "Good to meet you, Farryl. And Hobbs and Zellos." Weird names for the pets, but who was he to judge? His own firelizard was named after a human, after all. "So, you're a young rider. Which wing are you on? Not mine, I'm assuming." He was fairly sure the wings had been rearranged, but even so... as a new graduate, she might not even by on the high level wings. Perhaps she was still on a low-altitude one, he mused as he took a bite out of the fruit, smiling happily at the pleasant sweetness. Ah, but how he loved some things about southern living. The north had nothing that could compare to this sweetness, except perhaps in Telgar or Ista. Certainly not in Benden.

The melodic trilling from his shoulder alerted the brownrider to the fact that Dania had finished the meat scrap and was now paying full attention to the firelizard, her little head inclining from one side to the other. Such a nice flitter, he was. Not a nice salamandyr, but at least this salamandyr did not threaten Hers the way that Hers's mate's pet did. She flared out her wings with the intent to go say hello in closer proximity before another bit of meat again distracted her. Food first, right. Had to eat.

[Rowana]

Farryl laughed brightly at the fruit comment. It was so good to laugh again. "Thanks, but I think I'll wait," she replied to his offer with an amused smile. She didn't want to burn off her fingertips. She gave Zellos the last of the meat before finishing off her half of fruit. "Oh he's not so bad. At least compared to others I've met." At least Zellos didn't insult everyone he passed. In fact, he rarely talked to anyone but her, except to pick fights with other bronzes, which thankfully weren't present.

"It's nice to meet you too," she went on sincerely, trying to remember the most recent list of wings. "I don't think so. I'm on the Queen's Wing right now. Mostly other recent weyrlings like myself. I doubt we'll be moved anytime soon." She shrugged. She didn't really mind. Peppeth lack the endurance and size to ever fly well in a high altitude wing, so being in the Queen's Wing suited them just fine. "What about you? Aren't you a wingsecond now?" She thought she remembered him on a recent list of new wingleaders, but she wasn't sure. It seemed like they were always changing it.

Now that he had eaten his fill, Zellos seemed content to sleep curled against his mistress's neck. As long as the puny man didn't do anything to threaten her, he really didn't care that he existed. Hobbs, meanwhile, was more than happy to pass the time with Dania. He hopped down Farryl's arm so he could be closer while trilled a little tune for her. Did she like music? Hobbs loved to make pretty sounds. It always seemed to make His feel better.

((Sorry for the horrible lateness. If you'd rather finish this up, feel free to leave it here. ^_^)

[kysseh]

After so much death at the hands of Benden and the plague, being able to sit down and enjoy life was always so… refreshing. K’von certainly had a greater appreciation for life and the better parts of it, and laughter was certainly among them. That he had made the young woman laugh caused him to smile as well, dark eyes brightening with considerable amusement. “All right. I’ll pass you one after they’re cool, then,” he agreed amiably, gesturing with his chin at the rack of cooling meat-filled pastries. He felt movement on his shoulder and reached up to tickle Dania’s plump little belly, grinning as he was rewarded with a series of coos.

“They still seem like way more trouble than they should be,” the man commented offhandedly, nodding his head at the salamandyr. It seemed to be content to ignore him, but still… he did not like the creatures. Some of them were nothing but problems. But… on to happier topics. “The Queen’s Wing, hmm? Least you’ve got less to worry about during Fall.” In fact, she seemed quite delighted about it. The brownrider could scarcely blame her. Thread was not the most pleasant thing to encounter. At her query, he nodded a bit sheepishly, nibbling a bit at his piece of fruit. “Wingsecond, yeah. Not what I woulda picked, but hey… gotta do it. People depending on me, y’know?”

The little tune that the flitter made for Dania’s benefit did not escape the notice of either flitter or man, and K’von had to stifle a chuckle behind one hand, amused at the trill that Dania gave in response. “Are you two makin’ friends?” he addressed the flits, watching Dania eye her new blue acquaintance. Apparently, they were having a good time. ”He can hop over here if he wants. I don’t mind. My arm could use the workout.” The brownrider grinned, watching Dania nibble at a large scrap of meat. The little female’s gaze was fixated on the other firelizard, and she cheeped around her mouthful, fluttering her wings in an obviously delighted fashion. He could come keep her company, he could. She had food to share!