Hatching Feast (open!)

[Invisible]

The food all looked good, but K’mar found he had a hard time choosing exactly what he wanted. This was not normally a problem, but here and now it seemed like every time he reached for one thing something else looked better. Finally, aware he might be holding others up he just grabbed at random until his plate was full.

As he turned away he ran into B’santer who passed on congratulations and then before forgetting told the weyrling that J’fel wanted to see him. K’mar took the news with a nod the same as the good natured teasing about finally getting a dragon of his own. The teasing was swallowed with only a few choice curses for the other rider in his head. Once the small talk was done K’mar grabbed himself a drink and looked around to find the Weyrleader. He took a drink and grimaced. Juice. He’d wanted wine, but juice would have to do for now. He would get wine before going back to the barracks.

Once he spied J’fel he began to push through the crowd to get to his table. Along the way he was offered well-wishes by the well-meaning and those less so. All of them were brushed off with a tight smile, a nod, and a murmured note that the Weyrleader looked for him. When he finally broke free he closed the last of the distance between him and the other man. “You wanted to see me, sir?” he asked while trying not to let a piece of roast meat slide off his plate.

[Invisible]

The path to the door and the less crowded bowl outside was littered with people. Genet had very nearly reached the end of her ability to smile and play nice. Not that she was not a nice girl she told herself, but really. One more person offering condolences like someone had died and she’d scream. One more rider offering to console her himself and she’d punch someone. Genet needed no such sympathy or pity and the simple fact that she could not escape it without missing out on the dancing made her mood turn foul. “So very sorry,” she murmured to herself in a low mocking tone, mimicking the words of someone who had just taken their leave of her.

She had a cup of juice in her hand and a carefully wrapped piece of some sort of cake in her pocket. Maybe she could enjoy it outside. And miss the dancing she grumbled to herself. It was so not fair. Genet knew better than to think she might find dancing outside. Not any sort she would do anyway. “It’s not like I’m some…some weyrbred hussy,” she mumbled to herself as she dodged between a couple moving towards where the dance floor had been cleared. “Stupid Weyrleader,” she continued under her breath. “Stupid Weyrwoman letting him do stupid things. Serves her right he’s chasing down any woman who stops right under her nose.” If Genet had been paying more attention she might have noticed those mumbled words came out as she was passing by that Weyrwoman in question. If she had noticed Aderes standing so close she might have held her tongue. If she had noticed the senior weyrwoman standing close enough to hear she would at least have had the grace to stammer out an apology immediately. Unfortunately for the former candidate she noticed no such thing.

[Tabula Rasa]

It was convenient, or perhaps not at all, that Aderes was so very good at noticing and that, in the moment, she was listening for a specific voice in the murmur of the crowd. That it was not Salina, but Genet, whose words reached her made the words themselves no less amusing.

Head lifting, the weyrwoman smiled over at the scowling and growling candidate. "Genet," she called, airily and cheerful. "Another woman alone. Come and sit with me, and we can both have some company." Her free hand gestured toward an empty spot at a nearby table and she moved in that direction with the expectation that the girl would follow.

[Xinnai]

Salina latched onto the new subject at hand eagerly, almost a little desperate for the change in topic. She grabbed onto it as if it were a life preserver in a sea of inconsistencies and those soft, scolding reprimands. She felt like this pressure was just something everyone was forcing upon her and it irritated at the normally calm girl.

"Xyruth? What did he do?" she asked, hoping against hope that the mere mention of Ez's little blue would send him into a big long spiel of save her from his remarks and the tawny eyes that seemed to bore into her, making her feel guilty. Why should she feel guilty? She'd done nothing, had she? No, no she hadn't.

The hope seemed to be vain though. Ez'ki was adamant in his crusade to flay her to the bone with J'fel this and J'fel that. It wasn't as though she were in love with the man. Gentle flirtations and whispered intentions was nothing along the lines of that. She suppressed the need to sigh and smiled instead, pretending to preen at her friend's praise. "Thank you, I was a bit worried about the dress-not my normal colors, you know?-but I think it worked magnificently." She smiled, fingers touching the feather entwined sapphire among sun within her hair. "And it matches your feather."

[Invisible]

At the sound of Aderes’ voice Genet froze much like a herdbeast being contemplated by a hungry dragon. Shards. Had she heard? Should I apologize? If she hadn’t she’d just ask what for…And if she has and I don’t I’ll be in more trouble. Stupid G’tet. This is all his fault! There was at least comfort in blaming her twin for something. It was a little comfort, something to bring back memories of childhood when she never saw people of importance let alone got noticed by them.

Fixing a cheerful smile upon her face she turned to find the senior weyrwoman and chewed on her bottom lip. Which rather ruined the smile. “Oh, umm. I don’t- I mean, I was just going-“ She waved, sloshing juice all over her hand, towards the exit. Genet worried more about what might have been heard as she cursed herself for not being more careful. There was really no way out of this. Her hesitation might have been for any number of reasons but finally she nodded her head. “Umm. I guess I might. For a moment. I mean, I was-“ There was really nothing good she might say at this point so for once Genet shut up and let Aderes lead them to a table. At the table she let the older woman seat herself before finding her own chair.

[neopanther]

Ez’ki looked up, obviously he had been momentarily consumed by thought, “Hmmm? Xyruth?” He answered, tone still a little distracted as his mind kicked in, “Awww, he was just being silly, finally winning his never ceasing quest to best the sheets of the cot is all. I wonder sometimes did Faranth mistake him for a wherry, and give him the beasts’ brain as opposed to a dragons’.” rolling hand gestures made at the situation, He laughed it was entirely possible.

“Mmm.” He said observing her, “Peacock blue, you know, I don’t think the peacock could rival you now.” He smirked as he casually let his hand slide down the fabric of the skirt, a nice texture too, “You must have paid quite a bit for that, though I think...” He paused shaking his head. No. He would not tell her where he would have changed it to make it suit her figure a little better.

Ez’ki knew she was distracting him, he knew it, and decided it was time to raise it. “Well. You’ve sidestepped that subject rather royally, is he something you do not wish to discuss, Sassie?” Ez’ki raised his brows, leaning in as though he was listening to prized gossip, his tone lowering so no one could hear the covert operation that was going on here. “You know he looked at you as though you were some tasty morsel?” His head cocked to the side, slightly bemused to the degree that if he wasn’t he would be angry, “I think he has quite a lot planned for you. Or...”, his lips tightened, and is brows raised a little, but he let the sentence hang, she’d get the picture, especially with his unimpressed expression.

[Xinnai]

Salina laughed, shaking her head at the image that popped into her mind, a little snapshot of the blue battling with the sheets. She felt unease and tension disappearing. This was Ez, her best friend. She never had to be uncomfortable around him. "I would have given anything to see that. I'm sure it was bravely fought." She hid her snicker behind a hand. "It would make you wonder..."

She smiled, blushing a bit at his praise. "Thanks. It did cost quite a bit, but I decided it was worth it." She frowned, leaning forward to put her hand over his. "What? What do you think?" she prompted after he trailed off. She wanted to know what this master of all wardrobes thought. It'd probably help.

The next second though, she pulled back stiffly from their intimate contact, her face gone hard. She shook her head from side to side as he continued his little theory, her mouth pursed in a decidedly angry line. A shoulder jerked in rough semblance to a shrug as she struggled once more to hold down her anger. She never got angry like this and she didn't want to now.

"I don't want to talk about it, Ez'ki," she said stiffly. "That's for me to handle and think about, not you. It's nothing. Just two people flirting a little. Why do holdbred people always take it to such extremes?" she snapped, eyes glinting angrily. She was lashing out now, desperately seeking any way to make him stop. "We're not doing anything. He offered to walk me back. That's being a gentleman. And if you think I'm being some whore just because he gave me a ring, you can just forget it. I can handle myself."

She hadn't yelled, hadn't raised her voice above the whisper they'd been conferring in. She sat back in her chair, arms folded over her chest and glared at him, daring him to say anything against her judgement. She felt like hitting him, an emotion that appalled her, but was true nonetheless. This was her business, not his.

[neopanther]

He smiled, "I was just going to say that perhaps it would be better if the maker had crafter it for you, if he had, he - or she - would have gathered it, right about there." He tugged at the fabric, slightly right of her centre, just by her hip. showing how he would have pulled it tighter about her hips, dragging all the fabric up at the hem, and making her figure a little more feminine, older perhaps. "Mmm... but maybe not everyone has my taste." He smiled broadly, but the smile was soon taken from him.

Anger flittered through his eyes. He knew she didn't want to talk on it, but she didn't have to treat him like that just because he card. Shards but she was reminding him more and more of his little sister. His back stiffened, he became cold. "You have no ground to say that to me Salina," His words were terse, fraught, hard; he strained to keep himself back. His teeth were clenched together.
"My being holdbred has nothing to do with this. Perhaps your being weyrbred has made you blind to the obvious." His words venomous, all under his breath, kept quiet, so hopefully they didn’t cause to much a kafuffle.
He stood, leaned towards her, "You know, perhaps you can handle yourself, but you can’t handle him." His words bitten, "he's no gentleman Sassie. Mark my words." He was close to swearing at her, loudly. But instead he gave a few, terse, words and a shallow bow, "good evening to you weyrwoman" He stressed the word, for it made her sound like she was different to him, and he felt at the comment that perhaps that was the best thing she could be. If she was different he didn’t care.

But he knew that she wasn't.

He swore to himself verbally, took himself towards the feasting tables, where was a beautiful display of meat, wine and fruits available, but it all looked sour to his eyes. None of it made him hungry. He looked at it, his heart hollow, trying to repress the want to talk some sense to her, but she was headstrong, and wouldn't listen, not now. He was just lucky head managed to control him he could feel his anger raging.

Picking a few pieces to a plate, he sat - alone - unusually. And sat staring towards oblivion, food untouched upon the plate.

All he had to do now was pray J'fel didn't talk to him.

[Xinnai]

It was when he'd walked off, his words whirling in her head, that she felt like crying. Just burying her head in her hands right there and letting loose. But everyone would see and it just wouldn't do, would it? She had a new rank now and that gave her a distinction she wasn't used to. She was the junior Weyrwoman as of tonight and she knew people were watching her perhaps the most closely of all.

So she picked up her klah, fingers gone white about the mug as she downed the last few dregs, the taste slightly cold, slightly bitter. Just like she was at heart right now. She swallowed, eyes staring, replaying the conversation over and over in her heard, the words chasing circles around each other, nipping at the tails of one another.

What did he mean she couldn't control J'fel? She knew that. She knew no human could ever control another, not like he seemed to be implying. And being weyrbred was making her blind? Just what the shard did he mean by that? They were in the Weyr, they were living within the confines of the Weyr and by its rules. How could having that prior knowledge make her blind? She felt anger and hopelessness rising and angrily pushed it away. She didn't need that right now.

In a sudden movement, she was up in a swirl of blue, jack knifing up into an upright position and stalking towards the food, grabbing at the red fruit she'd wanted earlier but no longer craved. She stood for a moment, staring down at the fruit in her hand. But then the well-wishers began converging and she looked up, suppressing the blind rage and hopeless depression she felt, plastering a smile on her face and answering their thanks, first from the bluerider T'yril, then from the brownrider B'vek and on and on and on, trapped between the table behind her and the wall of humanity in front. More than anything at that moment, she just wanted to leave.

[Omnia Munda]

J'fel was aware of K'mar's approach a few brush-offs ahead of time. He was watching for Aderes - She's tall enough, I ought to be able to see her, he thought bemusedly, and with half his mind on that fact held off sitting down, settling instead for bending his hip against the table and his hand on the back of a chair, spine and legs an s-curve of carelessly territorial machismo.

He raised the hand he wasn't using to support some of his weight in that lazy shape and offered a clasp of hands as the new brownrider came near. "I do. Got to congratulate you properly, K'mar."

Of course the weyrleader had a grin for the older youth; in fact, that grin was almost conspiratorial and bright eyes went with it, like the pair shared a delicious secret - like K'mar was now part of an exclusive mens' club. It came with its own handshake: J'fel was unwinding himself from his slouch even now, a shoulder-slap coming from the hand on which he'd been leaning. It was punctuation for an easy question, toothy and fine: "So how's it feel?"

[Invisible]

It was an easy enough thing for K’mar to take the hand extended to him and clasp it in return. “Ah, of course, sir. My thanks on your congratulations.” Words he’d said many times in some variation or other since first being noticed after his arrival in the living cavern. It was here usually that the conversation trailed off and K’mar was allowed to go on his way, but it seemed that the Weyrleader had something else in mind. Conversation was never the weyrling’s strong suit, but he was determined to make a good show of it. For Volsteath’s sake if not his own.

Even with that resolve he still was unsure how to answer the question asked of him. How did it feel? How did someone answer that? What was he supposed to say? Was there a correct answer? An incorrect one? Would he get in trouble for saying something he shouldn’t have? What shouldn’t he say? K’mar stood in silence for several moments after the slap to his shoulder and the question was asked. Finally he found words he thought would work. “Hard to say, sir. It’s still hard to believe. Feels like it’s about time I guess. Or so everyone keeps telling me.” He grinned self-consciously at his own words and looked away from the younger man. “You’d think after this long I’d have something prepared to say.”

[Omnia Munda]

"Maybe. If you'd had something, though, who's to say it would still be appropriate now?"

J'fel dropped his hand from the weyrling's shoulder and closed it over his hand for a moment, then finally let the young man free. Resuming his serpentine slouch, the young weyrleader took a hard look at K'mar while the other man's gaze was averted. And what would you have said, I wonder, thought J'fel - and just as quickly, shoved that sentiment back under the lid of his mind.

"Well, I'll add my voice to the others, if you'll forgive me for the unoriginality: it's about time. I need men like you in the wings."

Somewhat like you, anyway.

"Suppose you're raring to go through the weyrling training and get in the sky as soon as you can?" J'fel found his grin again and applied it, giving his head a little jerk that flipped his tangled locks back from his forehead. More lowly he added, "Two of you'll be unbeatable in the games, mark me."

[Invisible]

As J’fel spoke to him K’mar listened, adopting an appropriate listening posture. It was not so hard to just listen to what was said. His mouth split into a grin at the words said even if a small part of his mind figured they were words spoken to all the new weyrlings. Minus the part about it taking forever, of course.

Still, this easy banter between riders came easy to him despite his concerns. Just two men each with their own dragon and their own plans discussing simple things. For K’mar it was more proof he had attained what he had always sought in life. He smiled again when spoken to and nodded his head. “I imagine as ready as all the rest to get in the air, sir.” This was what Volsteath had said he should do. Play nice with those in charge. It was not a horrible thing to do really. “Suppose we’ll have to see what happens once we’re there. Not sure what Volsteath’ll take to up there. But I appreciate your words, sir. We’ll certainly do our best not to let anyone down.”

[ignisfatuus]

He really didn't want to go, he truly didn't want to go. J'sen was content sitting beside the now sleeping Leeth. The Bronze was curled up in a very cat like manner at present. His hide shone brightly showing both the dragons good health and the effort J'sen had put into making sure he was spotless.

J'sen could just make out the din of the feast if he strained his eats but for the most part, he just sat there, on hand resting on the leathery hide and thinking. Right now, thinking was leaving his stomach tied in knots, or so it felt. Unknowingly, the new bronzerider had started to bite his lower lip. He was now part of the Weyr. He had a dragon. He could no longer travel in the caravan, sleep beside his family, go hunting with his father or do any of the activities that had made up his life before this, or at very least not on a regular basis. No, now he had Leeth. He did love Leeth, it felt like he was completely now as a person. But... but impressing Leeth was a very bittersweet occasion. While he had gained his other half, his life mate, he had lost his way of life. He was now doomed to spend large portions of his time in this Weyr, with these people. Would he become like them? Like the people who he had grown to despise? Turmoil and chaos ruled in his mind and in his heart at present and J'sen did not like it. He had been content, happy for the most part as a traveler.

One of the more kindly healers had come to check up on him. She distracted him from his maudlin thoughts as she checked his legs and asked about him. She took it upon herself to coax him to the feast. He should at least start to mingle with the other weyrlings, she said, Or at least watch them and learn about them that way if he didn't want to mingle. He was resistant but she was persistent and eventually, with a helping hand, J'sen got up and headed off to the feast. His gait was a little awkward initially but as his legs became less stiff it eased into something more natural. By the time he had reached the feast it was barely noticeable that he had hurt either of his legs.

It was noticeable however just how out of place and uncomfortable he felt. After the arduous events of the days, J'sen's guard had fallen. His mind kept flitting back occasionally to the sleeping Leeth. If anything happened to the Bronze in his absense... well he didn't know what he would do but he would do something.

He didn't want to be here. Not in the slightest. J'sen didn't know what he would say to any one here if he were to go up and talk to one of them. He didn't care either. He would just stay for a short while, watch the people then leave... That healer would then be appeased. No more nagging about going to the feast. He folded his arms and lent back against the wall, not too far from the door so he could make a quick and quiet get away when he decided to leave.

[Tabula Rasa]

The weyrwoman certainly behaved as if she hadn't noticed Genet's mutters. She sat with an easy expression on her face and offered the girl her cloth napkin for the liquid that had sloshed onto her hand. "These sorts of events are rather overwhelming, I always find. So many people so close together. And as a candidate, I imagine you had to endure the same questions over and over. The weyrlings do, as well, but the questions tend to be more pleasant and, at any rate, they have other things on their mind to keep them smiling."

She took a nibble of her vegetables, chewing thoughtfully before she spoke again. "You're G'tet's sister, aren't you?"