An Afternoon Snack [OPEN]

[kitsuneko]

Rihard was still learning his way around the Weyr, since he'd only been here for two days, but his exploration was finished for the day, as well as his chores. It was still early in the evening, and it was the first time he'd had time to himself since being Searched. What would he do first? A grumbling sound in his belly answered that question. Food it was, then, and he headed to the dining hall, Hari perched on his shoulder.
It still amazed him every time he came here, just how big everything was to cope with the crowds of people that called Trelis Weyr home. There were rows and rows of benches lining the tables, though at the moment they were mostly empty, since it was still a bit too early in the evening for dinner and most of the Weyr's residents wouldn't be eating till later. Rihard was impatient, though, and he didn't like the sound of an empty belly. Even if he ate his fill now, he'd probably be hungry again later.
He grabbed a plate and loaded it up with as much food as it could hold before turning to the tables. There were a few older riders discussing business at one end, and of course the ever-present drudges, but aside from them, the dining hall seemed mostly deserted. Rihard shrugged and sat down at one of the empty tables. Maybe someone interesting would stop by. He hadn't spent much time yet getting to know his fellow candidates, he'd been busy with too many other things.
Hari hopped from his shoulder to the tabletop as Rihard sat down, and the brown fire lizard's eyes were latched hopefully on the boy's plate. Rihard shot a glare at him. "Don't think about it, you greedy monster," he said with a roll of his eyes. Hari crooned pitifully at him, and Rihard sighed and tossed him a meatroll. "Alright, as long as you stay quiet."
The brown did so, intent on his meal, only looking up once the meatroll was gone.

[shinska]

Aela headed to the kitchens and grabbed some food. After her chores she was very hungry and wanted to fill her belly. The girl piled her food with nothing, but the best and the freshest. She turned and saw another Candidate with a Brown Firelizard. "Crest I think you might have a playmate." A burst of cold air hit Aela's skin and the Blue Firelizard landed on her shoulder. She walked over to the boy and said, "Is this seat taken?"

Crest landed near the Brown and crooned, Play? He asked the Brown.

Aela smiled. It had been awhile since she had seen him act like a child. He had been such a good Firelizard recently that Aela was glad that he was looking for a friend to play with. "It seems Crest likes your Brown. Maybe they can play while we eat?" The girl waited for the boy to allow her to sit down. After all not every person wanted company when it came to meals. Hopefully the boy was not one of those who would rather be left alone.

[kitsuneko]

Hari looked up once he finished his meatroll, and after a moment Rihard realized he was staring at something. He turned around in his seat to see a girl approaching his table. She looked to be about his age, with curly auburn hair. She asked if the seat was taken, and Rihard grinned in reply. "Not at all!" he said, waving his arm at the empty seats around him. "As you can see, I've got lots of extra seats, especially for pretty girls. Are you a candidate too? Oh, and my name's Rihard," he added after a moment of pause.

The girl's blue fire lizard landed on the table beside Hari and crooned playfully. Hari, usually a pretty independent brown, stared at the other flitter for a moment, and Rihard poked him with the finger that wasn't holding his fork. "Yeah, Hari, playing sounds like fun, doesn't it? Leave us alone for a while."

Hari cocked his head to one side and chirped curiously at the blue as he half-flared his wings, clearly wondering which game to play.

[shinska]

Aela blushed. Was she pretty? The girl sat down and nodded at the same time, "Yeah. I'm a Candidate. First standing too." Excitement coursed through her body as she said that. And of course there was a Clutch on the Sands! She watched Crest tilt his head curiously at the Brown and she laughed, "He's confused silly. How about you show him your best game?"

Crest's eyes whirled a bright blue/green before beckoning to Hari. Hide-and-seek?[/color] The Blue loved playing those games. It was fun to do with other Firelizards because they could hide easily and if Crest ever came to Hari's hiding spot (if it was in dirt or something) then he would have a hard time seeing him because of his blending in.

Aela giggled, "Crest loves hide-and-seek and tries to play it with other Firelizards whenever possible. Since his thoughts are attuned to mine it almost makes it easy for him to find me and vise versa." She bit into her food, swallowed, and went on, "And my name is Aela. I was born in the fall 15 Turns ago." She smiled at Rihard. He was kind of cute.

[kitsuneko]

Rihard grinned at the girl. "Really? Me too! I just got here two days ago." He watched as the two fire lizards stared at each other, evidently communicating, and the blue's owner explained what was going on. He nodded. "Hear that, Hari? Go hide!"

The brown chirped at the boy and then took off, heading outside. Rihard caught a fleeting image of a comfy tree branch hidden by leaves outside the Weyrbowl, and he knew that was one of Hari's favorite places to nap. He smiled again and rolled his eyes. "Well, if he doesn't find Hari soon enough, I think he's going to fall asleep in his hiding spot. Sorry, he's...not all that outgoing."

With the fire lizards and their distractions gone for the moment, he took a moment to wolf down some of his meal before turning to Aela, as she introduced herself. "I'm a year older than you, then. So since it's your first time standing, I take it you're not weyrbred. Which Hold do you come from, Sollace or Apolla--or did you come from one of the crafthalls? I'm from a trader clan myself," he said by way of explanation, "So I know pretty much all of them. Just curious."

[shinska]

Aela sat down and watched as Crest disappeared to find the Brown. "I was born at Point Hold." The girl smiled at Rihard. He seemed like such a nice boy and he wasn't that much older than she was, one Turn was not really that much older. "I was sent the the Crafthalls when I was 13 and immediately took to healing. A good thing too. I like being an Apprentice Healer and I will do anything to help this Weyr. Trelis Weyr is a great place and I'm glad I was Searched."

The girl bit into her food and licked her lips playfully. The food was good and fresh. "Hey how do you feel about the upcoming Hatching? I'm looking forward to it myself." The girl felt excitement pound through her veins. She loved the fact that her first Hatching was just around the corner. What was in store for the Golden Queen's Clutch? Aela couldn't wait for the Hatching.

[kitsuneko]

Rihard continued eating his meal as he listened to Aela explain where she had come from. Healing was interesting, and they could never have enough Healers, especially with Thread on the horizon now.

He grinned when she mentioned the Hatching. "Excited? You bet! I'm not sure yet what I would Impress; I don't really think I'm bronzerider material, but...well, I guess we'll see. How 'bout you? Think you're gonna Impress this time around or wait till there's a Queen egg?"

He looked down at his plate a little while later and was surprised to find that it was already almost empty. He hadn't realized how long they'd been talking. "It was nice to meet you, Aela," he said with a grin. "Maybe we'll see each other around again? Aside from the Hatching, anyway. I'd better go, though, I've got a lot of stuff I still want to do and I don't want to get caught out after curfew." He passed his empty plate to one of the drudges and waved at the other candidate as he stood up.

[shinska]

Aela grinned, "I'll Impress what I Impress. If I become a Queenrider then great if not that's fine too." In her mind she felt happiness surge from Crest, "Well it looks like Brown Hari has been spotted." The girl giggle and saw Crest's hiding spot. "Now he's hidden and I guess that means Hari has to find him." The girl liked Rihard a lot. She smiled when he got up, "It was nice meeting you too Rihard." The girl waved back and finished her own plate.

She could not wait for the Hatching to take place and for awhile she felt Crest's fun at having a playmate. The 2 Turn old Blue Firelizard deserved some company. Once her food was done she gave her plate to the drudges and called an end to Crest's fun. The Blue was disappointed for only a moment before he was at Aela's side again. His eyes were whirling a blueish green and Aela fed him some scraps that she had snuck away. "Here you go you little terror. Eat up. Its time for me to do some chores."