Morning Meal {Tags Larissa}

[delina]

Yijii entered the Dining Hall slightly hesitantly. Usually he was collected and bold, but he was still unsure of his position in the weyr and what exactly was expected of him. It would take him a few more days to get completely settled into weyrlife, but he was sure that he'd regain his composure afterwards. It was hard to deter him once he got an idea in his head, so if he decided everything was going to be easy in a few days, it would be in his mind even if it really wasn't.

The candidate saw that the tables were mostly empty, it seemed that most weyr inhabitants considered the breakfast hour to be a little later than he did. He didn't mind eating alone though, he'd gotten quite used to it over the past two days he'd been at the weyr. Since he'd moved into the weyr, Yijii hadn't really interacted with many people besides his family. His uncle, K'ran and his weyrmate, P'ro, have ushered him through the halls several times, introducing him to random riders and attempting to get him to flirt with greenriders, whether male or female. Those escapades only ended with Yijii feeling very awkward, but trying very hard to hide it. P'ro and K'ran were very amused by the activity.

It didn't take him long to make his away down the food table to grab some fruit and dried wherry. He didn't eat much in the morning, but he did like a little meat and some fruit. Oh and klah, he could not forget the klah. Yijii couldn't function in the mornings without it.

Finished making his selection, he found a seat at the candidate table and settled down to eat. The wherry was a little overcooked, but other than that, the food was good. He dug in with a hunger that he usually reserved for midday or dinner. It seemed a different atomosphere bred different routines. He was okay with that, as long as too much didn't change.

[hrsegrl]

Larissa was up early helping in the kitchen. A couple of the women weren't feeling well this morning so her mother had her fill in. That is what normally happened. Having grown up the daughter of the Headwoman of Igen, she knew how to do almost every job a drudge should know and then some. She had been getting up slightly later than usual lately, mostly because she was put on laundry a lot. Her mother wasn't happy at her disinterest in the Gold egg on the sands.

The blonde figured some people wanted a Gold for the glory and honor and others because they wanted to make a difference. Larissa didn't want either. Not many people paid any mind to what she wanted though. After her short stint in the kitchen she decided it was time for breakfast. The second shift had arrived to relieve them. She noted that the weyrfolk table was full and seeing as she was being forced to be a Gold Candidate she might as well sit with the Candidates then.

Taking a tray and loading it with some fruit, a roll and water she walked steadily to where the Candidates sat. Lara knew very few of the Candidates other than her sister, Janirsa and Laszreen, whom she had shown how to sew. Seeing an empty space in front of a tall young man she decided that looked as good as it was going to get on this bustling morning.

Larissa spoke in her usual clear, calm voice, "Is this seat taken?" Some people liked to save seats for their friends though it was more common among the wings than the other tables. As she waited for an answer she noted the voracity at which the youth eating. He must be hungry. Cymmi, however disagreed. The brown firelizard lay curled around her neck rather pleased that they would be eating. She had already fed him to keep him from bothering the other cooks. Firelizards were going to be hard to train. What would they do if the riders found more and bigger and more destructive than Cymmi and his brother and sisters?

[delina]

Yijii was a little surprised when a girl took a seat across from him. Shard it all, an attractive girl nonetheless. If his uncle saw him, he wasn't going to hear the end of it for days. Well, maybe if he let them think he'd actually invited her to sit there, he'd stop his games, but he doubted it. Then again, he also doubted that his uncle would be awake this early. He wasn't much of an early riser.

"Of course not," he replied, offering up a smile. By Faranth's egg, he had something in his teeth. Ducking his head, he quickly used his tongue to rid his teeth of the offending tidbit of wherry. Usually Yijii was much more collected and able to handle himself, but it was a girl and girls just threw him, he couldn't seem to hold himself together. Especially when they were pretty, and she was certainly pretty.

When in doubt, though, make a joke. That's what Naiya had always told him. The thought of her still hurt, but he knew she was gone and there was no point in moping around because of it. It simply was a waste of time and he would lose time that could be spent actually doing something productive. Like joking, like Naiya had suggested. When he smiled this time, it was a wherry-free grin.

"I'm Yijji, and I promise, I don't usually go around with meat in my teeth." It was a weak joke, but jokes weren't his forte. He was much better at explaining why jokes were funny, or, better yet, how to efficiently make and distribute the wherry that had snagged itself so effectively in his teeth. Jokes, not so much...or not at all. He did manage to try, though, and he hadn't stuttered. It was progress.

[hrsegrl]

"Good." She smiled back and sat down, placing her tray in front of her. Larissa was not at all bothered that he had food in his teeth, he was eating after all. She took a bite out of her redfruit, not really in the mood to chit chat. The days seemed to be getting longer, never had she dreaded anything like this before. Why not let someone who actually wanted to impress, try for the Gold?

Lara responded to the young man after she finished off her red fruit. She giggled at his words but didn't comment on the meat. "Pleased to meet you Yijii. I'm Larissa and this is Cymmi..." She indicated her brown firelizard. "Are you new to the Weyr?"

The blonde then proceeded to drink some of her water which Cymmi was interested in. When she put the glass down the firelizard flew over and perched on the rim. He was not yet full grown and tended to think he was even smaller than he was. This act resulted in him tipping the glass over and spilling the water on his owner. "Cymmi!" She scolded and the firelizard, looking totally innocent, flew back to her shoulder and nuzzled her in the neck. "Remember darling, you aren't a baby anymore..."

[delina]

Yijji found the silence a little awkward, but far from unbearable. He just focused his attention on his food, being careful not to snag any more unsightly pieces in between or on his teeth. Even if she didn’t think anything of it, he minded. The candidate thought it made him look foolish and he hated to look foolish. Silently contemplating his new home, he spears a piece of wherry and was calmly munching on it when Larissa introduced herself.

“Well met Larissa. Quite a flitt you have there,” he complimented, a little shaky on his delivery, but overall, quite fluid considering his usual abilities when it came to talking with females. “Yes, I am new to the weyr. Perhaps you’ve heard of my uncles and my grandfather though; K’mir, K’ran, P’ro.” He knew that family was important within the weyr and he definitely had dragonrider blood running through his veins. He hoped maybe that would help him on the Sands.

Yijii let out a chuckle when the brown firelizard tipped his companion’s glass over. “You need any help cleaning that up?” he asked, watching as the water spread on the table. He was fond of firelizards, but he hadn’t seen many before. He supposed they were much more common in the weyr than they were at the hold.

[hrsegrl]

"Yes, and I thought they were just made up creatures before those riders brought them here. He has a blue brother and two green sisters. The only four firelizards at Igen Weyr." She giggled as the brown whirled blue eyes at her. "He's still growing into his wings." She explained the clumisness. The drudge took the towel out of her pocket. Larissa had been working in the kitchen and often found herself carrying the dish towels off without realizing. This time she was glad that she had done so.

"Its only water. I can get it." She said as she dried the area around her glass with a towel. The brown had flown back to her shoulder, with a difficult landing, he perched on her shoulder. "Oh. I've never met any of them but I'm sure they are great riders. My father is a dragonrider, L'var and my brother is as well. He's actually become Weyrsecond this turn. So its his dragon's clutch we'll be standing for." The irony of it all.

"What colors do they ride? Do you have a preference?" Lara asked amiably. She wan't all about who people were related to but since this was the way the conversation was going she would follow along. Her own preference? Not to impress at all. Dragons were wonderful. They were also a huge responsibility and even worse a Gold would be in charge of an entire Weyr full of dragons and riders and even the people who resided there who were non riders. It was all too much for her.

[delina]

Yijii was glad that Larissa hadn’t heard of the creatures before either. He didn’t feel quite uninformed about it all. He hated feeling stupid. “You’re lucky then to have him. How’d you get a chance to Impress him?” He didn’t mean to sound rude, but he didn’t think that a candidate would be on the top of the list for Impression to the unknown creatures.

The male candidate nodded, allowing her to clean it herself. He thought it was a little odd that she carried towels with her, but some people just needed to have them with them. Perhaps her candidate chores called for it, or maybe she worked in the kitchens. Yijii wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t going to ask.

“Thank you. They’re quite entertaining. My uncles have fun trying to introduce me to everyone and make sure they all know,” Yijii blushed. He’d almost added “that I was single,” but then he remembered that he wasn’t talking to one of his guy friends. He was talking to a girl, a pretty girl that he barely knew. It wasn’t as if he liked her or anything, but that simply wasn’t something that he was used to talking about with the fairer gender.

He quieted for a moment, trying to think of what to say. “I’d love to Impress any color,” he finally said. It was true. He just wanted to be a dragonrider! “I mean, every boy wants a bronze, but browns are just as large and majestic and blues are fun and flighty. And it’s not up to me. What color do you want?”

[hrsegrl]

At first Lara was taken back by what he had said. Just because she was a drudge didn't mean she wasn't good enough to have a rare firelizard and a brown one at that. "He was a gift from my father for my birthing day. We had gone to find out if the rumors were true. I've always hoped firelizards existed. I hope shipfish do too. They sound like lovely creatures. Anyway, I got the first egg, which didn't please my mother or the junior Weyrwoman too much. " Of course she neglected to mention her mother was the Headwoman. Lara didn't like people to know. Sometimes they got the idea that Larissa wasn't given as much work because of her mother's position. Honestly, she gto more because of it.

The blonde nibbled at her roll quietly. These conversations made her nervous. It wasn't that Yijii had said or done anything wrong, she just didn't care for the future her mother had planned for her. "I'm glad they are looking out for you. Just be careful... a lot of the riders like to try to seduce Candidates. You are fresh meat, as it were." Larissa was still a very pure and untouched woman. Her father would probably kick anyone's butt if they so much as looked at her the wrong way and her brother wouldn't be far behind him. This wasn't because she was close to either of them but rather the expectations of her family. Larissa was going to weyrmate well if anyone in her family had anything to say about it.

"All you boys say that at first. You'll know when you stand what color you'll be wanting to look your way and that will be between you and the dragon who impresses to you." Larissa took some more fruit from her plate to eat and nearly choked when he asked her what color she wanted. The truth was she didn't want one. Too much responsibility and women only impressed to Golds. She couldn't see herself in that sort of position. "All the girl Candidates are standing for the one Gold Egg. Personally I hope she chooses someone else."

[delina]

Yijii nodded, “You’re quite lucky.” He was fascinated by the little creature. They were really miniature dragons. “Do they speak to you like dragons can?” he asked, looking closer at the brown. He would love to Impress one of his own, but he had a feeling that he probably wouldn’t get the chance. It seemed that Larissa had attached hers by luck and even then she was met with a bit of opposition. He was just a candidate so he doubted that unless he found the eggs himself, he wasn’t going to be able to try to Impress a little one. He rolled that over in his mind as he chewed on a piece of wherry and sipped his klah.

The comfort of the conversation evaporated when she warned him against the more dangerous part of the weyr. Yijii blushed vividly, probably making it appear for a moment that such an event had happened, but nothing of the sort had occurred. “I’ll keep that in mind. I don’t think my uncles are like that. They’ve always watched out for me. They only do that as a joke and they’d make sure to protect me,” he stuttered out, focusing his eyes on his plate intently. This was not at all comfortable for him. He did not like talking about this with a girl. He was just glad that she seemed, well, uncomfortable as well.

Yijii shook his head, chewing a mouthful before replying. “I’ll be lucky to Impress, I can sincerely say that any Impression would be more than welcome.” He paused for a moment, taking in what she had said. “You don’t want to Impress the gold?” It took a moment for her explanation to sink in. “Well, I guess I understand. It is a lot of work. Why are you Standing then?” He knew that if he didn’t want to Impress, he wouldn’t take the chance of Standing and possibly Impressing if he didn’t want the dragon. It would just seem wrong and be too risky.

[hrsegrl]

The little brown liked being talked about. He began to look at the boy across from his mistress with more curiosity. “Not the same. I can sometimes sense what he’s feeling and he generally communicates with images rather than words. I’m hoping he’ll become a useful messenger when he gets older. I’m still getting used to what he likes and doesn’t. Training him is sometimes a little rough. He is rather stubborn.” She realized she was going on and on about him and stopped there. He was more interesting to her than anyone else, because he was hers. Larissa wondered if that was how being a mother would be.

“I’m sure that you’ll be fine. I just wanted to point it out. My family is always very careful around riders.” Especially Lara, after what happened to her mother’s chances at impressing. Larissa didn’t imagine that for herself but she wanted whoever she fell in love with to be with her first. So far no one had bothered courting her long enough to make her fall. She wasn’t the sort of girl to go after a man either though there were plenty of them here at the Weyr.

Seeing as they were both uncomfortable, Larissa decided that dragons were the lesser of two evils. “I’m not afraid of hard work. Gold dragons belong to those with an iron will, the most ambition, the sharpest wit and the hardest skins. I am nothing like that…” Larissa sighed. Her sister was much more suited to that sort of position. Why she had tp stand was part of the reason she didn’t think she should. Someone else wanted her to do it. A someone else, she rarely stood up to, her mother. “My mother is the Headwoman, my father is a Bronzerider and my brother is Weyrsecond. I have no choice. At least you boys have a good sized clutch to stand for. Saharth is a beautiful Gold, wait till you see her on Hatching Day.”

[delina]

Yijii grinned as he listened to her speak. He could see the pride in her flitt through her words, even if she wasn’t necessarily singing his praises. “I’m sure you’ll be able to train him just fine. He may be stubborn, but I’m sure he’s smart enough to realize that better behavior’s much more beneficial. How are you planning on training him?” He always had an endless supply of questions when it came to topics he was unfamiliar with. He never had problems asking if he knew the person wouldn’t mind answering. It didn’t make him feel inferior, he just wanted to learn a bit more.

Yijii nodded, still feeling the blush on his face. He didn’t reply, not wanting to continue the conversation on that thread anymore if he didn’t have to. The ideas of rape and seduction were foreign to him and he was completely uncomfortable discussing them. He didn’t want to discuss it, though he did appreciate her warning. Happenings like that weren’t discussed at the hold. They were pointedly ignored and Yijii quickly decided he liked it better that way. It minimalized the discomfort.

He nodded as she talked about the goldriders. It was true. They were for the best of the best, but he wasn’t sure why she didn’t consider herself worthy. He didn’t know her very well so he wasn’t going to say that she was those things, but he could see her rising to the job if it was given to her. When she told him about her family, he was a little surprised. She was from a higher rank, no wonder she was Standing. “You always have a choice,” he told her, a little surprised at his own words. Who was he to give her advice on choices? It had taken him turns to finally stand up to his own father and leave the apprenticeship. “I hope there’s a large clutch though, and I wish you the best of luck with or without Impression.” He didn’t want to wish for her Impression if she didn’t want it. It would be slightly counterproductive.

[hrsegrl]

"I think the secret to training firelizards is going to be through their neverending stomachs. Sometimes I postulate that he could eat a dragon." The blonde laughed at the thought of it. "Really, he'd do just about anything for a bit of meat." Cymmi was rather annoyed that she was laughing at him and he told her so with a rapid number of images of how little he ate.

The girl kept this to herself and managed to listen to what the candidate was saying. He was obviously new and didn't know about Saharth's clutch. "It is a larger clutch than she usually has. The Gold Egg is particularly nice to look at. Too bad we aren't allowed on the sands before Hatching Day. That is unless the Candidate Master arranges an egg touching with Junior Weyrwoman Jenafa. I doubt that will happen. Queens can be rather defensive of their clutches." Larissa wasn't one to keep people out of the loop.

"You know, I don't think Saharth will mind if we go to take a look from the Stands. You'll at least be able to see where everything is. If you have never seen a Gold dragon then seeing Saharth will be an eye opener." It could also help him coming Hatching Day. He would know how to get to the Sands in a hurry.

[delina]

Yijii laughed, “Well then that will make it a bit easier. At least you don’t have to get too creative. Food is usually a good way to encourage training. Are flitts anything like dragons?” They looked like them, he was curious as to whether or not they acted like them. He didn’t know too much about dragons, he’d just gotten to the weyr. His family was heaving inbreeded with weyrfolk and riders, but he hadn’t spent a lot of time with any of them talking about weyrlife or dragons.

The candidate’s excitement grew with her every word. Even if they wouldn’t be able to touch them, there were more of them than usual which meant that he had a good chance. He would give anything to be bonded to a dragon. It would prevent him from having to go back to the apprenticeship with his father and everything he’d heard of Impression was positive. His uncle got such a goofy look on his face when he talked to his dragon; it was so full of love and acceptance. It made Yijii wish that he could forge a connection like that, with a great majestic beast that was bonded only to him.

Swallowing his bite of meat, he took a sip of klah to clear his throat before replying. “That would be amazing. I’ve seen a few bronzes, but aren’t golds supposed to be bigger?” He looked down for a moment, “Sorry for all the questions, I just really don’t know anything about dragons and I’d hate to Stand at a hatching without knowing what I’m getting myself into. Dragons seem wonderful and I really want to Impress, but I know nothing about them.” He hated admitting his ignorance, but he didn’t think that Liassa would mock him for his lack of knowledge. She just didn’t strike him as that type of girl.

[hrsegrl]

"Other than appearance , they have similair natural behaviors such as feeding and mating. However they are not as high on the thinking end of things. Cymmi usually send me images and doesn't speak in my head like dragons can." She'd rather have a firelizard herself because they were something no one really knew about. They hadn't been seen for Turn and now her brown was one of four that were being studied to see if firelizards could be used as messengers.

Lara finished off her roll and her drink. She was beginning to feel full now. "Yes, Golds are bigger. It is more than their size that is impressive though. Something in their presence makes you feel that they are indeed the leaders of the Weyr and should be seen as the great and wonderful beings that they are." It was apparent that the girl had a great amoutn fo respect for the dragons even if she had no plans to impress, at least none of her own plans. Larissa was of the opinion that if they weren't trying to push it on her she might actually want it for herself.

"Don't worry about it. Trust me, a lot of Candidates lately have been hold or craftbred, due to the loss of Candidates at the Weyr from the diseases. They don't know any more than you do, coming to the Weyr. I was brought up here and know little of the ways of the rest of Pern. Ask me anything and I'll try to be of help." Lara was really, too sweet for her own good. Soem would call her a goody goody. She just didn't see anthing wrong with treating everyone with the same curtesy and respect as one would a Ranking rider.

[delina]

Yijii mulled that over for a moment. "So dragons can speak, send images, and send emotions but firelizards can only send emotions and pictures?" he asked, trying to clarify the information. He remembered K'lo telling him that he had to send his blue an image of their destination before they went there. Since then, Yijii had been practicing holding pictures in his mind so that when it came time, or if the time came, where he had to go between with his dragon, he could give him a picture. The candidate didn't like to be bad at things, so he practiced and learned ahead of time.

Lara's description of the gold was, well, interesting. The awe in her voice struck Yijii, making him wonder if she was just scared of Impression. She obviously respected and admired the golds, but maybe it was fear of failure that made her reluctant to Stand. But it wasn't his place to make such judgements on her character. After all, he'd just met her; what did he know? "So the golds are the leaders. Is it the same for the bronzes? Do they have that same air about them?" He knew that the bronzes mated with the golds, so they'd have to be...well...leaders as well, right?

Yijii grinned at her next statement. She was being very kind to him and her words were comforting. He wasn't just an oddball thrown into the weyr, there were others here that were just as ignorant as he was. "Thank you, and trust me, I'm sure that I'll find plenty of questions." The awkwardness about his manner was slowly dissolving as he talked with her more.