A Nibble to Eat

[maurel]

Maurel wandered the Lower Caverns, the Dining Hall, the Kitchens, bored senseless. She had already spent the past hour or so doing vain things- removing wrinkles from her silver blouse, which she was wearing now, cleaning her hair, which now lay flat against her neck, still wet, and the such.. Ever since she had been Searched and brought to this dry, bland place, she had been doing a lot of that, since friendships seemed to be so hard to make here. In fact, since she was a bit intimidated by the older Candidates, and felt the newer ones were too silly to bother with, Maurel hadn't even tried as hard as she would have otherwise. Drudges here were practically hulls of actual people; they would answer your questions, true enough, but past that.. Not much. She'd tried to amuse herself with the Cooks and their assistants, since that had once been her own position, but they were so busy here at Araelen.. It just wasn't worth it. Nothing like home, she thought, still wandering. Nothing like it at all.

Maurel was now in the great Dining Hall, it's gently curved ceiling towering above her head. She glanced up at it and smiled gently. For some reason, it just made her happy to see things like a ceiling, a pretty floor, a glass window.. They made her feel rather other-worldly, in a way, like there was Pern.. And then there was Maurel. They were the strangest things that gave her that feeling, but she wasn't exactly about to debate it- that feeling was the only thing that Maurel could really remember from home that she still could feel the same about. Even her diet had changed drastically from home.. Speaking of which..

Maurel turned on the balls of her heels, and started up to the Kitchens, her stomach rumbling crossly. It had been hours since she had last eaten, and, though that was quite a large meal, considering the meals she normally would eat, Maurel was hungry again, and her stomach was not about to wait another moment. She smiled lightly again, silently teasing herself for being such a glutton.
'Hungry again? Really? After all those pastries and fruits and all that drink..? Keep that up, girl, and you'll be larger than the Holder back home, and you know as well as I do, of course, that that is not an attractive look for anyone!'
Ah, the simple joys of being able to argue with yourself. Maurel had been doing that a lot lately, with no one else to speak with about such trite manners.

[Journye]

Calysta rubbed at her eyes, trying to rub away the sleepiness she felt. She was still getting used to the bond with her Luneth, who was now fast asleep after an afternoon meal. She blinked and looked around the kitchen and smiled to a few of the drudges she knew, most of whom probably still gossiped about her favor among the male dragonriders before she had impressed. She shook her head and picked up a red fruit, absently testing its firmness with her fingertips, ignoring the look from one of the women preparing the evening meal. She couldn't deny that she felt at home in the kitchens, after all she had helped her mother in the Hold's kitchen for many turns before she was searched not that long ago. She sighed wistfully, not really missing that place, but still the kitchen was a comforting place and she probably would have begged to be able to stay on at the weyr as a kitchen woman for many reasons.

She smiled at the thought and took a bite of the sweet fruit, half closing her eyes as she savored the tangy sweet taste of it. She tilted her head as she noted someone entering the Kitchens, not able to place the girl, but then again new candidates had been arriving though it would be a while before another clutch was one the sands, but it was good to have candidates always at hand she supposed. She licked the juice from her lips before speaking "Hello," she said cheerfully, waving with her free hand to the other woman.

She watched Maurel curiously, appreciating the girl's taste in clothing, admiring the silver blouse. She briefly brushed Luneth's mind to assure herself that the little green was still sleeping so that she could take the time to talk to someone new.

[Shikai]

“There!” Anya clapped her hands together as the last slip of juicy red meat vanished into Lyonesth’s muzzle. The green looked up at her rider, her eyes whirling with contentment. Ah! That was most wonderful, Anya-mine! My stomach is very nice and full now.[/color] Anya’s mouth took over her face as it was stretched into an impossibly large, cheerful smile, and the girl laid a hand on her dragon’s head.

“No one can eat like you, Lyonesth!” She teased her dragon, and Lyonesth’s eyes whirled with sudden concern as Anya’s own stomach gave a fierce fumble. Mine, you are hungry! You need to feed yourself as well as me![/color] She chided, worriedly. “Hmmm…I suppose I do!” She answered, and returned Lyonesth’s food bowl to it’s proper place. She was quite a sight; her clothes stained from the meat she had had to cut up for her dragon, and her hair was clearly in need of a cut. Her arms were smudged with dirt from playing with Lyonesth outside earlier. However, Anya was oblivious, and would likely not have cared had she known. So the grimy tomboy and the green with stunning, gold-flecked dappled hide made their way to the kitchens together, walking at a patiently measured pace to ensure that her dragon could keep up with ease on her short legs.

However much she neglected her own appearance, Anya always ensured that Lyonesth’s was nothing short of impeccable. Her hide shown with brilliant health as a result of the oil Anya constantly, lovingly applied to it, and she was always full and healthy. The green was the pride and joy of her rider’s life, and Anya was almost never far from the green’s side. Their vast difference in appearances, however, contrasted quite comically, and a few of the weyrfolk chuckled as she walked by. Oblivious and unperturbed, Anya mearly grinned back.

As they finally entered the kitchens, they made a beeline for a lonely plate of meatrolls set out for snackers, and she quickly grabbed one and drew it to her mouth, taking an overlarge bite. Luneth’s is here, mine! And…another girl.[/color] Lyonesth interjected good-naturedly, and Anya looked up to see the two other girls. With her mouth full of food, she nearly choked in her efforts to smile and greet them, so she simply waved as she furiously chewed and swallowed her food. Her mouthful finally finished, she walked over to join them, Lyonesth walking beside her.

“Hello! I’m Anya, rider of Lyonesth!” She greeted in her in her usual, almost inhumanly chipper manner, gesturing proudly to her green.

[maurel]

Maurel slid into the Kitchens warily; she heard someone else inside, and half considered going back to her quarters. If it were one of the cooks, or even a drudge, Maurel didn't want to be given a lecture about taking food without earning it first.. It just wasn't worth it. Still, on the off chance that it was someone else in the same state as herself, she continued in, and was relieved to find it to be another girl, probably a few Turns her elder, Maurel figured, sizing her up mentally, maybe a Weyrlingrider, probably not old enough to be a full Rider. The girl greeted her, and the Candidate nodded, proceeding on to rummage through the pantry and shelves.

"Good morning." She replied stiffly, faking disinterest. "Bit of a slow day, today." Maurel was making small talk, and failing horribly at it. Meeting new people was always akward, even with her overly-chatty personality. Her salvation came, though, when another Weyrling rider entered the Kitchens, accompanied by her Green. Maurel blinked at the pair, bemused, and nodded slowly.

"Good.. Morning." She replied to the Weyrling rider, Anya's, introduction. "I'm Maurel, I'm a new Candidate here. What a lovely Green your Lyonesth is." Again with the smalltalk. How akward. The Green was quite pretty, though- she'd not seen many dragons with hide so distinctive, really, though maybe that was just a weyrling thing, markings to that effect. Would explain a bit. She glanced at the Rider herself, and was amused by her messy appearance. What a strange pairing that was. Maurel opened her mouth to continue to attempt conversation, then closed it, giving up, and turned back around to the shelves. A bit of wrapped leftovers from who-knows-when caught her eye, and she reached for it. Couldn't be that old.

"Any clue when this was fresh..?" She mummered, half to herself, and, without waiting for a response, unwrapped it, and took a bite. Yummy. Nothing quite like that just-gone-bad fish taste to wake you up in the morning. Maurel made a face, and continued to look for food. Lots of things to prepare something with, she noted. Maybe she could cook something up herself, though there were those meatrolls.. Eh.

[Journye]

Calysta turned and smiled as she heard Anya and Lyonesth approach, reaching over to pat the girl on the back as she nearly choked, shaking her head gently. She sighed in relief when the girl finally spoke. She smiled to Lyonesth before turning her attention back to Maurel when the girl spoke "My name is Calysta, bonded to Green Luneth who is napping at the moment," she said, nodding politely, mentally kicking herself for not introducing herself sooner.

She tilted her head as she listened to Maurel speak, wrinkling her nose slightly as the girl took a bite of something she pulled from the ladder. "We can help you cook something if you'd like. My mother taught me quite a bit in the kitchen at my former hold," she offered, not wanting to see the girl get sick. She glanced over to Anya with a tilt of her head "I hope your Lyonesth is well," she said with a smile again before turning her attention back to the new girl.

[Shikai]

Anya nodded as Maurel introduced herself.

“Ah, a new candidate! Nice to meet you! It doesn’t seem like it’s been so long since I was a candidate, and yet it’s so hard to imagine life without Lyonesth. Candidacy’s a fun time, so long as you’ve got something to do. Not as good as being a weyrling, but still exciting if you think about it.” She rambled amiably.

She watched curiously as Maurel took a bite out of something that had been lying around. Unfortunately, Anya deduced that the girl lost her gamble, judging by the face she made. She chuckled lightly, although not in a mean way.

“These meatrolls are alright.” She offered in an attempt to be helpful, and took another bite of hers. “Although…” Anya continued, as she moved the food about in her mouth, having been eating it too quickly before to actually taste it much, “they’re kind of stale…” She held the food further out from herself, looking at it suspiciously. Lyonesth, in an effort to be helpful, looked too with her large, whirling blue eyes, and she sniffed cautiously at it. She snorted, looking at her rider dubiously.

Anya’s eyes lit up as Calysta suggested that they cook something. “Cook? Yeah, let’s cook something!” She said, looking around the kitchen for ingredients, then realized she had no idea what to look for. “I’ve never really cooked much before, actually.” She added, speculatively, for it was true. At the smithcrafthall, the cooks had prepared the food for the hungry apprentices. She had not a clue how to go about making it for herself. Perhaps they’ll show me? Learning new skills is always a good thing! She commented to her dragon, who laughed in response. I’m sure you will make an excellent cook, Anya-mine! The food you prepare for me is wonderful.[/color] Yes, but you’ll eat anything! She answered with a grin. Will not![/color] Will too! Will NOT![/color]Such a mature pair they were.