Work and Reward [open]

[Coal]

Garienne might have been a candidate, but that didn’t stop her superiors from dragging her back to the kitchens to cook whenever she wasn’t actively engaged in a lesson. She supposed, as she dried pans vacantly, that she ought to be grateful; the candidates that didn’t have specific jobs to do were given a wide variety of chores, some of which were less pleasant than stirring a stew or turning a roast, but the worlds of candidacy and cook were so different that Garienne often had trouble adjusting her mind set from one to the other; in one moment she might be a pupil, in another, little more than a servant. It wasn’t even as though she enjoyed one more than the other; sure being a candidate might be more respectable than being a cook, but it still meant hard physical work as well being lectured in hatching etiquette and the like, which admittedly had been useful as well as interesting on the first run through, but now that her third hatching was fast approaching, were getting a little dry.

Still, at least her chores were now done for the day. The mad rush that was dinner was just calming down in the dining hall, and soon she would be allowed to have some of the food she’d just been feeding to the rest of the Weyr. Oh, there would doubtless still be some stragglers coming in for their meal; other candidates that had been held up by chores, drudges sneaking in for a quick bite, riders who thought themselves just too good to eat with the rabble (not that she was bitter or anything), but those would not be Garienne’s responsibility. They could serve themselves from the buffet table that the wolf-tailed had laid out a few moments ago.

Eventually the last pan was dry, and after putting it away the teenager went for her own dinner. She grabbed a plate and helped herself, not minding that the stew had begun to get cold. Spotting her, her bronze firelizard flapped down from the rafters and fluttered about her, crooning a greeting. Meerus disliked the kitchen, with all its hot bustle and noise, and so he generally waited for her in the hall. Garienne smiled a little to see him, her thickly-furred tail waving a little, but she remained quiet as she led him over to a vacant table at the back of the hall, where she sat. Meerus sat on the bench beside her, her only companion, his little head poking above the table, and Garienne rubbed it with a blunt-clawed thumb before dunking her bread into the stew. If she’d stopped to think about it, she’d probably be sad that she always ate alone, but she was so used to it now that she barely noticed.

[Na]

Sometimes Rasui thought that he would of faded away long ago if it hadn't been for Eildyr who could be quite insistent for a bronze fire lizard. So he allowed himself to be dragged by his clothes by the tiny bronze from where he'd been doing an inventory of various herbs to the dining hall laughing as he did. "I get the point Eildyr," he said amused, "You can let go of my clothes now, I won't go back." Eildyr trilled, but didn't release his clothes so Raz quickened his pace to keep from falling over or tearing his clothes. His stomach growled and he was reminded that he had missed dinner, as he'd been so focused on what he was doing. It happened all the time, and it was usually Eirlys or Eildyr who pulled him to the dining hall or left him a tray with instructions to eat it all or else.

"Eir's gonna be so mad at me." he muttered to himself, watching as Eildyr turned one baleful eye on him he could almost hear his firelizard say 'Ya think?'. "You better not tell her Eildyr, or else.." he warned, although there was a hint of amusement in his voice. He considered Eirlys his younger sister since he'd patched her up from an attack on her trader caravan, she didn't trust people or let them get close except him and he treasured the faith and bond between them. His ears and tail twitched fondly at the thought of her, before he stumbled having not realized his pace had slowed down. "Slow down Eildyr." he called out flashing passers by a cheeky grin. "You're gonna be the death of me one of these days, running me into a wall or something." The fire lizard slowed down slightly but Raz caught the distinct impression that it would be his fault for not paying attention. With a sigh he increased his pace, muttering under his breath about how he spoiled Eildyr to much, turning the corridor to the Dining hall. It was past the dining rush so the hall was mostly empty although Eildyr seemed intent on pulling him straight to the line. "Eildyr you can stop now! I'm here I won't exactly run away now!" Raz called out laughing, ignoring the few people in the hall as he grabbed his food. Only with his food in hand did Eildyr let go and land on his shoulder humming slightly, looking around Raz spotted a girl sitting alone in the back of the hall and with a bright grin on his face he wandered there. "Hey do you mind if I sit here?" he asked, his tone friendly and slightly flirty. "It doesn't seem right for anyone to eat alone."

[catnip]

Typically, the boy would have already eaten and been gone, but there had been no way that he was about to go to the dining hall smelling like dung. That was no way to make an impression, and so he had taken the time to grab a shower before heading to the dining hall.

It seemed he wasn't the only one, and after he snagged a plate of food, and a mug of klah, he made his way over to the table that one of the other candidates were sitting at. He didn't know the girl well, but he really should change that.

"So," he said, pausing at her table. He wasn't the only person there, an older man seemed to have the same idea, and he half pondered just moving on. No. It was an open table, and while he wouldn't just sit down, he saw no reason why he shouldn't provide the girl with a familiar face. Assuming that she didn't know the older man that was. "Have room for another person here?"

He could always leave if it seemed as if he was interrupting things.

[Coal]

Garienne paid little mind to the people coming and going from the hall as she ate, mostly in an attempt at not drawing attention to herself. Usually this worked; she was nothing remarkable to look at, neither pretty enough to draw admiration nor ugly enough to get revulsion, and seeing as her eyes were currently fixed on her food, there should have been no reason for anyone to notice her. At least that was the theory; in practice some people liked to be contrary, such as was the case with the jaguar tailed man that came in with a bronze firelizard of his own.

His loud, rather excitable voice made Garienne’s ears flick, and she couldn’t help but look up just for a moment to see who was disturbing the peace. Perhaps it was that one glance that drew the man’s attention or perhaps not, but either way she realised abruptly that he was heading towards her table. Rather startled, she dropped her gaze, hoping he merely intended to walk straight past her, but as his footsteps got closer and closer she realised that wasn’t the case. As he drew nearer Meerus launched himself from the bench and fluttered to her shoulder protectively, arching his wings to make himself look bigger while rumbling deep in his throat at the other bronze. He’d always been a territorial creature, distrustful of strangers and not at all fond of ‘rival males’, which meant any brown or fellow bronze.

Garienne did not try to quiet him as the man began to speak, instead she just looked up at him with an expression both wary and a little baffled. She didn’t pick up on any flirtatious tones in his voice, indeed it was quite likely she wouldn’t have noticed flirting if it was overt as it possibly could be, but even so she didn’t know how to react to his sudden appearance. He looked vaguely familiar to her, though probably because she’d served him before.

Before she could so much as try and speak, however, help came, or at least that was how she saw it at first. A grey-furred boy closer to her own age was also making his way over, and so Garienne assumed at first that he knew the older man, but instead it was her that he spoke to as well. For a moment Garienne was stunned into silence, then she blinked and dropped her gaze, Meerus still rumbling away. ”No, um, please sit down.” She said eventually, directing her words at man and boy both. What other choice did she have?

[Na]

Instantly Rasui grinned and sat down, while Eildyr simply ignored the other bronze more intent on making sure that his master didn't run away. Mentally Rasui had to laugh, Eildyr was a mother hen who didn't let anything get in his way of making sure his master was ok, even another bronze fire lizard. "Great thanks!" He said warmly, his tail twitching joyfully and made sure he left enough room for the other man. "This looks good," he commented lightly, "I hadn't realized how hungry I was, I guess skipping meals is bad for you." He laughed before holding out his hand, "My name's Rasui, I'm one of the Healers here, I don't know either of you so that can be either good or bad depending on how you look at it. Please just call me Raz though, I don't feel like a Rasui." He grinned again, before pointing to Eildyr. "This is Eildyr, he's the one responsible for dragging me here since I lost track of the time." He mentally winced at what he said, only years of practice keeping his face still in a smile and hoped that none of them knew Eirlys or if they did they wouldn't go running to her. All three of them were Tailed something that amused Rasui to no end for no particular reason, Birds of a feather flock together or something like that? he thought before shrugging lightly. Putting some food into his mouth and chewing thoughtfully, he looked around he actually liked the Dining Hall at this time it was quieter and he could be available in case something happened during the dinner rush.

[catnip]

Echlerov couldn't help but grin at the older man. It didn't seem as if he had any intentions more than having people to sit with, and once Garienne had said that they could sit, he did. "Thanks." He enjoyed having people to sit with, and it seemed that Rasui was no different if his babbling was anything to go by.

He couldn't imagine skipping a meal, but he guessed that maybe since he was a healer that his job might keep him that busy. "It's nice to meet you, Raz." the boy said, his tail twitching happily. Oh how he liked meeting new people. "I'm Echlerov, and I'm a candidate."

The boy was amused that Rasui's firelizard had been the one to drag him here, and he couldn't help but remark on it. "Some of them can be so bossy, can't they."

[Coal]

Garienne could only watch helplessly as the man, Rasui he called himself, chatted away, apparently oblivious to her mingled confusion and awkwardness. Still, he truly didn’t seem malicious, which had been her biggest fear; usually it was children or teenagers that tried to bully her, but it wasn’t unheard of for an adult to be unkind as well, and so Garienne was suspicious of everyone. She shook his hand a little warily when he offered it, not accustomed to even moderately high-ranked adults treating her with respect, and once both he and the younger boy had given their names she cleared her throat and said a little awkwardly; “Uh, I’m Garienne. I’m a candidate as well, and a cook.” She wrung her hands together under the table and looked sidelong at the boy called Echlerov. So he was a candidate too? She didn’t recall seeing him at either of the previous hatchings she’d attended, but then she’d hardly been paying attention to her classmates at the time.

Having apparently realised that Rasui’s bronze was not about to compete for dominance, nor either of the two humans present immediately likely to harm Garienne, Meerus finally stopped his rumbling. He didn’t relax entirely, however; instead he snaked his way around the wolf tailed’s neck so that he draped across both her shoulders and watched the proceedings through wary, half-lidded eyes.

Meanwhile, Garienne was listening to the conversation. She saw nothing odd in Rasui’s admission that he often missed meals; she missed most on account of the fact that she was usually stuck in the kitchens cleaning when they were served, though she did look curiously at the man’s bronze when he gave the creature’s name and said that it had been the one reminding him to eat. She also looked at Echlerov when he commented on firelizards’ bossiness, briefly wondering whether he had any flits of his own, but she held her tongue.

[Na]

((Sorry for the wait, school and muses weren't cooperating))
Rasui listened as they introduced themselves and nodded. "It's nice to meet you both," he said and it was. He didn't have Eirlys's knowledge of everyone in the Weyr, because quite honestly he needed to have his mind full of ways to heal people and dragons rather then who could potentially hurt him, which was why Eirlys knew everyone at least by name although she passed it off as a need to gossip. "My sister was a candidate, now she's a Dragon Rider I was so proud of her when she Impressed Hravarth." he continued fondly and Elidyr hummed slightly a response that he usually had when talking about Eirlys. Looking at Elidyr he nodded, "They can, but at least for Elidyr it's for my own good. I'd probably have wasted away by now had he not been around." He laughed as he ate another bite. "So have you guys lived here your entire lives?"

[catnip]

((It's alright!))

"It's a pleasure to meet you guys too!" The boy's ears twitched as he listened. It sounded as if he really loved his sister, and though he was curious about why he hadn't stood himself, the boy wasn't about to ask. It wasn't his place.

Answering a question like that though. No problem.

"I was raised in a Vinter cothold beholden to the weyr," Echlerov responded. He was more aware now how unusual that was, now that he had been meeting candidates that had been born, and raised, here at the weyr, and had decided not to mention that he was technically weyrbred. "Was an apprentice there too, and if I hadn't have been searched, I would have been going to the main training hall."