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+--- Thread: [G] [C] 741.11.29 | Tea Break (/showthread.php?tid=4738)
741.11.29 | Tea Break - Cazan - 02.Dec.20
Cazan groaned softly as she clutched her stomach and rested her head on the table. She just wanted to eat something and keep it down, but everything just smelled awful lately. How was she the only one having this problem with the kitchen's food? At this rate she was just going to give up and have to cook her meals herself.
She eyed Aederyn who was sitting at the desk, working on burnishing the edges of a vest she was working on. "Sorry for making you do so much today, my stomach is just acting up. I'll make it up to you and make you something nice. A jacket maybe or something else. It's the least I can do for your help with work and Lady."
At the mention of her name the gold firelizard popped her head up from the cushion where she'd been napping and she chirped, hopping over to try to wiggle her way onto Cazan's lap. She sighed and straightened to make room for the little lizard who immediately snuggled as close to her belly as she could. Rudi flew over to try to squish in as well, curling up with the little gold. "So, other than carrying messages, do you think we can teach Lady any other tricks? I'm not really sure what else she can do... she's Mal's firelizard really." Despite the words, Cazan gently stroked the tiny thing, and to make sure he wasn't feeling left out, gave Rudi a few pets as well.
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - A'ryn - 03.Dec.20
Running a finger along the edge she’d been working on, making sure it was as smooth as she could get it, the redhead nodded, satisfied. On to the next portion of the garment. Cazan apologized from her place over by the table, or, rather…on the table, and Aederyn shook her head with a smile. “Don’t even worry about it. I’m happy to help. I’m happy to learn. Knowing how to oil riding straps and the like has served me well, and done at least a little extra good in keeping me out of the Healer Hall, and I can’t thank you enough for that. I mean, I’ll go if I must, but I’m happy to avoid it if I can.” She pressed extra hard into an uneven edge that had been giving her trouble, then held the piece up to admire the cut, and absently wondered how it would look on her own lanky frame.
“Rudi knows how to alert…he did it for me on the traces all the time. Let me know when there was an obstacle or another Runner coming up…I bet once Lady learns to settle down, she could be a great little watch-lizard. She’s certainly smart enough.” Her back ached in an odd spot from hunching over the bench, and she stood and stretched. She glanced over to where Rudi and Lady had flitted over to the gold rider, and cocked her head when she saw a plate of untouched food across the table. Hm… “You really haven’t felt well for a bit, have you?” She strode over and cleared the plate, catching a small, faded whiff of the abandoned meal. While it would ordinarily smell delicious, she could understand how it could just make an already upset stomach worse. But a woman has to eat…”Would you like me to make you something? Nothing too crazy, I promise.”
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - Cazan - 03.Dec.20
Hearing Aederyn mention the Healer Hall reminded Cazan of how glad she was that she'd been spared from that particular fate when she proved she was an adept enough leatherworker already. That and Malvayth's initial screeching in objection at the thought of her precious rider being forced to do even more classes that she didn't want to do. Cazan smirked. "I don't think I'd do well as a healer. I think I'd be too... cranky with the patients. I'd end up doing magnificent stitches, they'd do something to tear them again, and I'd just get angry. No patience for patients."
"A watch lizard, huh? Think you could do that for me, Lady?" She gave the little lizard a pat. Lady chirped, tail swishing around for a moment before she settled back down. Cazan eyed the plate with a wrinkle of her nose as it was carried away. The meal had sounded appealing, she'd enjoyed it before, but once it had been put in front of her she'd wanted nothing to do with it. "It comes and goes, some days it's worst than others. I've mostly been feeling really queasy, and I think something has been going on in the kitchen. Things just... smell. If that makes sense."
Cazan drummed her fingers as she considered Aederyn's offer. Maybe if someone else cooked it would be better. Still, it was hard to think of anything appealing. "Something light maybe... toast?" She nodded. "I think I could probably keep something like that down."
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - A'ryn - 03.Dec.20
“Oh, no I get it.” Aederyn recalled any time she’d been sick to her stomach, the worst of which being when she had fallen pregnant. Everything made her sick. For lack of eating, she’d even lost weight during those three months instead of gaining. She sniffed the discarded plate experimentally, and found that it did smell at least alright…same as always. She raised an eyebrow quizzically at the plate as she dumped the contents.
“Toast? Of course. How about some crackers for later, too?” She had found salty things easier during that trying time…and it stuck for any other time she'd been sick. For those few months she’d practically lived on a particular cracker recipe. It was simple enough that most stations had the required ingredients, and it didn’t take more than twenty minutes to make, including both prep and actual baking. And it didn’t smell too strongly, either. There was something about that easy, bland subtleness that just eased an unhappy gut. Without waiting for an answer, she started to her new task.
Crossing to where Cazan kept her food she rooted around until she found the required items, slicing off a couple of pieces of bread from the loaf and setting them to toast in a pan by the hearth, while she mixed together some flour, water, a splash of oil, and of course a pinch of salt, into a bowl. For good measure, she started a kettle of water, too. Nothing helped a sour stomach more than a mild cup of tea. Remembering another trick, she whistled for Rudi and sent him after a small packet from her cubicle in the candidates’ quarters. “Small item retrieval is hit-or-miss. If it’s too big or too well hidden for them to find, it’s not going to happen.” Exchanging the toast in the pan with the cracker dough, she settled it back into the hearth to bake, she offered to doctor up the toast more before setting the slices in front of Cazan.
Just a bit curious as to the dragon-rider bond, wondering if there might be some correlation as the gold had just had her first Flight not too long previously, she couldn't help but ask... "How's Mal been doing?" a tinge of curious concern colored her voice. She hadn't seen much of her usual aerial displays as of late...
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - Cazan - 03.Dec.20
Cazan considered herself quite lucky to have Aederyn helping her out, because she certainly didn't make anyone toast back when she was an apprentice. She also didn't fool around with other people's pets, had quickly gotten bored and tried to get into newer techniques faster and probably had been more of a pain than any of her instructors had given her credit for. She thought over the added suggestion of crackers and nodded. It was impossible for crackers to smell bad unless they'd gotten wet or were covered in other foods. "That sounds fine, I think. Worth a try at least."
She quietly watched Aederyn cook, and found herself rather liking the idea of teaching Lady to fetch tools for her on occasion. "That sounds like a good trick to work on. Maybe I can turn it into a game, try doing it in reverse so that she puts things up too." One of the good things about impressing Malvayth was that she had learned to be flexible with how she tried to teach, and that games could be very useful for education and distraction.
After opting for only a bit of butter for now, Cazan took a cautious bite of the toast and was relieved to find that it did not make her stomach rebel. "This is very good, thank you." She took another bite, chewing slowly and thoughtfully she considered the question about Mal. The gold was currently curled up in the toasty sands, getting a nap in, but was otherwise fine for the moment. "She's doing well. She was grumpy about being grounded at first, but she's settling in. Lately she's been quite hungry and has been napping more, but every afternoon she gets to spend time with Taith so that helps. Lately she's been really hung up on the idea that the eggs are ours, and she got a little snippy with me when I tried to correct her." Cazan smirked and added, "Just think, this is something you can probably look forward to if you impress a gold."
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - A'ryn - 04.Dec.20
She smiled at Malvayth’s cheekiness. Their eggs… “Well, you are her rider…” Shrugging, she brushed it off to the queen’s playful attitude, but something about it didn’t sit quite right. “Shards, Impressing a gold? I don’t know how you do it. I’m still trying to wrap my head around the idea that I could Impress at all, let alone a gold.” She shook her head in amazement at the idea. “But it would be interesting, for sure.” She finished with a half laugh.
Rudi arrived with a small packet, chittering excitedly and dropping it close to, but not quite on the table. Leaning down with a sigh and a shrug, Aederyn retrieved the packet from the floor. “It’s a work in progress. But he’s gotten much better. For Lady, I’d start small like a spool of thread. They can’t lift much, even when grown, though. She’d probably respond wonderfully to making a game of it. And she’s smart enough to figure it out, I think.” She opened the packet, revealing some lightly fragrant herbs, dried and perfect for making tea.
The kettle was steaming now and she crossed to the hearth to retrieve it. Mint would do well for an upset stomach, she decided. As she was at her task, she smiled at the idea of Malvayth as a mother, curled around her—their, eggs…she’d be clutching soon, wouldn’t she? It had been nearly two months. Deftly crushing a couple of the leaves into a mug, she poured some water and set it aside to steep. She stole a look at the cracker dough, and figured it’d done around the same time as the tea.
It still nagged at her, though…their eggs… Another thought came to mind, and she stopped as she was bent over the pan. She knew what inevitably happened during a Flight, and while her queen was now limited to flying straight, surely Cazan had been between since then…but if not…The queasy stomach, the tiredness, the sensitive sense of smell…she couldn’t help but prod just a little bit more. “I guess the two of you will finish your between training once her clutch hatches?”
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - Cazan - 04.Dec.20
Cazan wondered for a moment what things would be like if a different dragon had locked eyes with her that day. Not that it really mattered, she supposed. She couldn't even really fathom not having the gold dragon in her life anymore. "It's a bit of a transition, to go from being alone with your thoughts to sharing. You'll probably do fine though, I think." She wasn't actually sure how well Aederyn would do with impressing, but it seemed a reasonable enough assumption considering she seemed adaptable and a fast learner.
She smiled at Rudi's antics, and tried to be encouraging about it. "Well, he got close. That has to count for something. And I think a spool of thread might be a good start. What do you think, Lady?" Cazan reached down to give Malvayth's firelizard another tiny pat and received a chirp in response before Lady hopped off her lap to go inspect what Aederyn was doing.
"Between training?" Cazan blinked, not expecting the jump to that particular topic. "We hadn't even started when she had her flight. So we'll have to do all of that once the clutch hatches to catch up. Luckily we're still being allowed to attend the graduation so far, so that will be nice. Just means we will have to ignore the ghosts and work hard afterwards to make sure no one regrets letting us go."
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - A'ryn - 05.Dec.20
Smiling in thanks at Cazan’s small compliment, Aederyn allowed herself to think, for just a moment, what it would be like with a queen as her own, and considered Cazan’s words…being alone with her thoughts and then sharing…it would be a change, but the more she thought on it, the more she warmed to the idea.
The slight minty aroma from the tea wafted to her and, determining that it was probably done, she moved to strain it into another mug. Nobody liked chewing on their tea. Leaf pieces removed, she retrieved the cracker pan and dumped the contents onto a plate, breaking them into actual cracker-sized pieces, offering Lady a couple of crumbs when she flitted over to join her. “Hey, it’s progress for sure. We just started on retrieving items when I got here. It wasn’t really needed before, but it’s actually pretty useful at the Weyr.”
Nodding as the gold rider explained, and added a bit more credence to her theory, Aederyn brought the plate and mug to the table. “Wait, are those real?” Her previous train of thought momentarily forgotten, Aederyn snapped her head up to look at Cazan, a doubtful but still wary look on her face. “I thought those were just stories to keep hold and hall kids from running off to join a Weyr…” She’d been between a number of times now, and while the sensation was still less than pleasant, she hadn’t seen any ghosts…
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - Cazan - 05.Dec.20
Cazan took a slow sip of the tea and smiled when she found it seemed to be helping. Between tea and toast maybe she wouldn't waste away while she waited for her stomach to fully recover from whatever illness plagued her. She nibbled on a cracker and was relieved to find it just as tolerable on her stomach. She gave Aederyn a nod. "As far as I can tell they are. A few people have tried to tell me otherwise but I swear I've seen one. Pretty sure at least."
Granted, Cazan had mostly kept her eyes closed to be safe, but she was sure that she'd caught a glimpse of something on one of those trips T'ryn had taken her on. That and she was sure something had touched her as well. "And I'm sure one touched my foot. Something did after all. Between is haunted. People are just determined to ignore it or don't notice the signs. I mean think about it! It's where dragons go when they're... you know. Done. Even some riders go there if they lose their dragon. It's got to be full of ghosts. They're just sneaky ghosts."
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - A'ryn - 06.Dec.20
“Huh.” She furrowed her brow, considering. “Sneaky ghosts…” she’d have to try and look around on her next trip between, if that was even possible…The idea of the non-space being haunted sent a shiver down her spine and she rose to make herself a mug of tea, Rudi flitting after her with his eyes whirling just a bit faster in concern. “Well, maybe, if there are ghosts, they’d be of the ‘we don’t bother them, they won’t bother us’ mentality. At least I’d hope so.” Her voice was measured and precise as she mulled over the thought. More research would be required. “Between is unnerving enough as it is. Not something I look forward to, if I do Impress.”
She stirred her tea and picked at a crumb of cracker forgotten in the pan, finding she still quite liked the easy snack, even when not sick. “If you’d like, I can leave you the recipe or just make a batch to have around for later. And the tea, too. I’ve plenty of mint. It grows wild in the area when it’s warmer. I saw it all the time running the traces.”
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - Cazan - 06.Dec.20
"I don't know, maybe they are, maybe they're just biding their time before they strike." Cazan took another sip of the tea followed by more crackers. She was feeling much better after finally getting something into her stomach. "It's not anything I want to test out, I'd rather stay safe and sane and not... whatever ghosts do when they manage to get a hold of you."
She felt Mal curiously poke around as the gold asked,
After more tea Cazan straightened up a bit more, her stomach happily settled down. "This tea is wonderful. And I'm not sure if I'll actually get around to trying to make it myself but you can leave a recipe just in case I want to give it a try. Otherwise an extra batch and some tea for later would be nice. I can reimburse you for that. Maybe I can actually get some more work done and make something for you. Oh, I could teach you how to properly take measurements and show you how I use them at the same time."
RE: 741.11.29 | Tea Break - A'ryn - 07.Dec.20
She laughed. “Well, thank her very much for me. I appreciate the offer.” Smiling, she started prep on another batch of cracker dough. This tea packet had been the last of the tea she’d separated out; the rest was in a jar in her things back in the candidates’ barracks, so she’d just have to get that later.
Her expression brightened at the possibility of learning more, and she nodded eagerly. “Measurements? Ooh, yes please!” She fetched the tape from its place at the bench and listened attentively, watching Cazan as she explained. The gold rider, judging by her expression, seemed genuinely confused and less than satisfied at the numbers she was reading when she measured herself. Hm…
Yes. She’d been there, herself. Nausea. sensitive sense of smell and taste. fatigue. Fluctuating measurements. The timeline was about right. The lack of going between would allow it, and Mal’s insistence on ‘their’ eggs confirmed it. Everything added up…did Cazan even suspect…?
Not wanting to irritate her and possibly send her into a hormone-charged mood swing, then a mood-swing triggered bout of nausea, Aederyn thought it best to leave the gold rider to it. If she didn’t know already, she’d figure it out soon enough.
A few minutes were spent taking measurements, and a few questions were asked on which numbers applied to which pieces, before Aederyn retrieved the second batch of crackers. Another mug of tea was made, and knowing it would be a life-saver for the gold rider, Aederyn excused herself to retrieve more from her supply before going to the afternoon session of candidacy studies. There would be plenty of time to learn more, anyway. She figured she’d be needed quite a bit for the next few months, if not longer.