Yu-um, food {Open}

[Dr'ym]

" Ah, she is always like that...I don't think she can help it. She really doesn't mean much by it, she just likes to have fun and meet new people." Sameric laughed as he replied to Tirasha.

Uli was enjoying her meat roll and Moon had gotten himself a piece of fruit from Sameric's plate.

Torimin giggled at Tinidor's question. " Only a little while cutie. Not long enough to meet anyone really." She smiled and picked up a pastry filled with some kind of jam. " Wow! This is good!" She said through her mouth full of pastry.

[ShadowReine]

Tinidor saw Torimin's reaction to the pastry and grabbed one himself, taking a bite and chewing and swallowing before he responded. "It is. They have some excellent cooks working in the Weyr kitchens," he said evenly and precisely. "I think it's one of the perks of living here."

Of which, in his mind, there were many. Even if he never did Impress, he could not see himself leaving the Weyr. This was his home. Even if he lived his life out as a drudge, he would not leave. There would be a sunshine flight soon. He had hope. Torimin, he decided, was grass. Sameric...sea, maybe? Or...hrm. Forest?

[Sparrow]

((Ala feels complimented. x3))

Tirasha nodded to Tinidor. "The cooks are amazing." Tianthe and Willow chirped their agreement too, both probably enjoyed the food a lot more than the Healer did. "I might just have to try one of those pastries..." Carefully slipping out from between those sitting around her, Tirasha stood and grabbed a few of them, one for her and each of her flitts. Tianthe had snatched hers and was nearly finished by the time Tirasha sat down while Willow, as usual, waited patiently. At the moment though, he was acting more of a show off than obedient, just trying to make himself seem like a 'good little fire lizard' in front of the other people and flitts.

[Dr'ym]

Sameric was smiling. " Yes they are very good cooks. Don't mind Torimin's manners...they are a little under-developed." He patted his sister's arm to take the sting out of his words.

" We were not raised to be very mannerable at the table." He grinned as he bit into a fruit. He watched Tirasha's flitters eat their jam-filled pastries and gave one, split in half, to Uli and Moon.

The Earth and Sand crooned in unison as they bit into the new offering. Uli trilled and nuzzled Hers. Moon drooled all over his piece of pastry.

Torimin sighed and ate a meat roll, drinking some juice after it. " So what?"

[ShadowReine]

Tinidor laughed. "Don't worry...you should see a wing of riders descend on the kitchens after drills. Bones and crumbs, I'm telling you." He munched on more of the pastry, finishing it and washing it down with some citrus juice. He was not feeding the firelizards, given they were not his. "Can I ask where you were raised?"

They had, after all, led into the question with their words about manners. Well, Sameric had. He could see the sibling likeness quite clearly, too. He hoped that both of them Impressed or neither...that they found their dragons at the same Hatching.

[Dr'ym]

Torimin smiled but kept eating her food. Sameric spoke up.

He turned to Tinidor. " We were born and raised in Wislon Hold, not that far from here. We really didn't have time to learn proper manners because we were usually helping our parents, me helping Father until he finished hunting or got done on a fishing trip."

Sameric took a long drink of his juice. " Torimin ususally helped me hunt when I went out alone. She also helped Mother in her Weaving for some extra Marks. Really we just ate quickly when we could."

He smiled at everyone gathered and bit into another meat roll.

[ShadowReine]

Tinidor nodded. "Me, I'm a weyrbrat," he explained. "My mother's..." And here he winked. "A cook. I think she even made those wonderful pastries. It tastes like her work." He paused, then, "My father rode earth." Hopefully the past tense would not bring down the good mood.

Yeah, they were holdbred, but used to hard work. He'd seen more than one holder girl who had never done anything more physically strenuous than hold a needle struggle at the Weyr. This one, he thought, would have no such problems.

[Sparrow]

Tirasha nibbled absently at the pastry. It was good, but she didn't feel much like eating. Tianthe and Willow watched it closely, waiting for the food to be offered up. "Well, I'm from Baltabee," she said randomly. Or at least that was where she had basically grown up.

Tianthe shifted impatiently on Tirasha's lap, her head swaying like a snake about to strike, now just waiting for a chance to simply snatch Tirasha's pastry. To spite the flitt, the healer stuffed the whole thing in her mouth and was then faced with the problem of keeping it there. Her skin flushed a soft peach as she cupped her hands over her mouth and struggled to chew.

[Dr'ym]

Sameric saw Tirasha struggle to chew the pastry and was instantly worried. " Tirasha! Are you ok? Sick or anything? What's the matter?" He placed a concerned hand on her shoulder and Uli squawked worriedly at Her's new friend.

Torimin watched her brother for a minute and then seemed to lose interest. " So you grew up here Tinidor? This place is wonderful! I don't ever want to leave!" She drank some more of her fruit juice and smiled. Moon moved back over to His and nuzzled up against her crooning. She distractedly scratched his small eye ridges and head.

[ShadowReine]

Tinidor grinned. "No plans on leaving myself. Most weyrbred don't, unless they have a real calling for a craft," he said, softly but firmly. "Me, I only want a dragon." He smiled at Torimin. "And you, of course, presumably want one, or you would not be here."

He glanced at Tirasha. "Are you alright, Tirasha?" Concentrating on Torimin, he had not seen he cause of the Healer's discomfort...although were he Bitran, he would bet on it being something to do with her pest of a firelizard. Maybe he was better off without one after all. Nah. They were too cute.

[Sparrow]

It seemed odd to have people asking a Healer if she was alright. Tirasha only nodded, there was nothing wrong except that the pastry did not quite fit in her mouth. Tianthe perched on the table, placing her paws against Tirasha's hands and looked at them curiously. Tirasha had no clue what the little Grass had in mind and pulled away.

Finally she swallowed enough to leave room in her mouth for more normal chewing and sighed softly in relief. Willow chirped, eyeing His in confusion. Tianthe slumped unhappily against the table.

"Well," Tirasha muttered, giving Tianthe a sideways glare, "I'm not doing that again." Both flitts looked almost relieved, although the Grass more because that meant she had a better chance at getting the Healer's leftovers.

[Dr'ym]

Sameric relaxed again as Tirasha looked like she could breathe again. " Good, you really sharding scared me." Uli chirped her agreement with Hers, her eyes still whirling a little red.

Torimin smiled sweetly at Tinidor. " Of course that's why I'm here! Me and Sameric are both here for lovely dragons of our own!" She continued to eat her food, picking up a piece of fruit.

Moon reached out with a claw and grabbed himself a meat roll off Torimin's plate. He nibbled it, but was already fairly full.

[ShadowReine]

Tinidor grinned. "Good luck. And be warned. Not everyone Impresses first time. Some do...some take turns." He relaxed as Tirasha seemed to be fine. "I've tried a few times myself. And not getting one at your first Hatching doesn't mean the Searchriders made a mistake. There was one guy who started Standing on his twelfth birthday...and Impressed a mineral three days before his twenty-second."

Which had to be some kind of record. Tinidor was not sure whether he envied W'rash or not. Well, he envied him at some levels. A mineral was a good dragon...but higher than Tinidor himself would look or aim. Earth or maybe sea, would do him fine.

[Sparrow]

"That must be where I've seen you before then..." Tirasha frowned slightly, her words focused towards Tinidor. "I have to go to all those hatchings and watch Candidates get mauled by dragonets. Don't any of you let that happen to you, alright?" She gave the three sitting near her a hard glance.

Willow crooned softly, he knew His didn't like Hatchings for the mere fact that people always seemed to get hurt. She never minded tending wounds but when they were inflicted by a newly born dragon... it just seemed to her like something that could be avoided if the Candidates weren't so worried that ducking out of the way would make it less likely they Impressed. Surely a dragon would prefer someone with the intelligence to avoid getting hurt...

[Dr'ym]

Sameric smiled soothingly at the Healer. " Don't worry, I can't vouch for the other two but I do not plan to get mauled finding my lifemate." He patted her hand reassuringly and winked.

Torimin grinned at her brother and nodded. " I do not intend to be mauled either. If the dragon does not speak to me, I'm getting out of the way!" She looked sideways at Tinidor and smiled. Moon and Uli both crooned.

[ShadowReine]

Tinidor nodded. "Yeah. You need to be ready to dodge. Most of the time, it's because the dragonet is going straight for his or her chosen and bowls somebody over getting there. They don't *mean* to hurt anyone, they're just kinda singleminded at that point." He shrugged. "Best thing to do is dodge. If they're coming to you, they'll stop. If they're not, you're safe."

He glanced at the siblings. "Plus, sometimes you'll know anyway. Sunshines don't pick boys and minerals don't pick girls. Dunno if there will even *be* a sunshine, of course."

[Sparrow]

Tirasha resisted the automatic reaction to pull away from Sameric's touch and nodded. "Just as long as you try and live up to your word." She had never really talked to candidate's much before and didn't know if they ever thought about what they would actually do on the sands. But this, at least, sounded good to her.

"Let's hope there is a Sunshine," she added. "We could use more dragons with Thread falling again." Tianthe rested her head on Tirasha's arm, apparently deciding that maybe she was good with food for the moment and closed her eyes. Willow watched Sameric, his eyes a protective yellow-green. The little Mineral was growing faintly suspicious of the Candidate, as he did with anyone who happened to touch His.

[Dr'ym]

Torimin drank some more juice as Moon ate another pastry. She was done eating, not that the fire-lizard was...she was sure.

Sameric smiled at the Mineral fire-lizard and Tirasha. " He's a protector, eh?" Sameric took a quarter of a meat roll and gave it to the Mineral. Uli on the other hand leapt over to him and crooned.

" Ha! She's trying to reassure him that I'm not going to hurt you." He smiled and his eyes widened briefly. He looked down and realized that his hand was still on Tirasha's and took it off, blushing.

[ShadowReine]

Tinidor nodded. "Or at least a female waterfall. Although with thread back, the smaller females are more likely to clutch too, they'll take up some of the slack." Not for the first time, he contemplated how he would feel if, say, a grass or a sand chose him. It could happen, even though he was definitely interested in females...he had seen very straight men ride females before.

"Protective firelizard," he commented, forcing his mind out of its one track...he had thought about nothing but hatchings lately, and there not even a clutch on the sands. "'Course, he's a mineral, they get that way, I'm told." If he got a firelizard, *then* he would want a female so he could use the eggs to trade for other favors.

[Sparrow]

Willow accepted the offering from the Candidate but still watched him nervously. Tirasha ignored the little transfer. "Yeah, Willow's a worrier." Grinning slightly, she gave the Mineral's nose a tap and although he gave her a questioning look his expression softened. The fire lizard also decided then to take some notice of the little Sand flitt and slithered off Tirasha's shoulder onto the table with a friendly chirp to her. Tirasha caught the slight movement as Sameric removed his hand and his blush and bit back a sigh.

"I'm not sure what to think of the clutches of the new colors though." Tirasha frowned thoughtfuly. "Even if they start laying eggs, we don't know what sort of dragons could hatch out. Everyone says that if Grasses could clutch they'd only lay Grasses, so I don't think these others could get us the larger colors that are best at fighting Thread. Except Waterfalls, I think." She tapped the table with her fingertips uncertainly, thinking.