Idle Chatter [Open!]

Kahleena had always been prone to regular routines, and even after Impressing her dear Okalinath, the young woman’s pretence for such things had not diminished. Much like when she’d first arrived in the South, and at Katila itself, the first few months of being bonded to the little golden dragon were hectic, frightening, overwhelming and filled with tears. Kahleena was strong, though, even if the girl were completely unaware of that fact. Life went on, and she’d been through her share of mild scrapes enough to struggle to her feet and learn to cope.

The girl’s tendency for routine had quickly pulled her to her feet, and allowed her to cope with the demands of a hungry, extremely fast growing dragonet. Motherhood had been a good set up, but losing the child so early made Kahleena timid and anxious with her dragonet, forever worried she was going to hurt the little creature, or wake up one morning to find her dead – like she had with her infant son. Okalinath’s continued assurances were beginning to slowly be heard, but Kahleena wasn’t quite willing to accept her dragonets invulnerability; she was still a baby, after all, and just the week before had managed to lose a talon hunting!

It is fine, Kally. The young gold would have sounded exasperated, but Kahleena wasn’t quite sure she knew how to be anything but happy. Happiness is far brighter than the black of despair. The dragonet finished on a distinctive pause, that spoke volumes about the fact that she believed Kahleena to be in just such a pit. Kahleena sighed softly as she swept the cut vegetables into a pot and put it aside for the next worker to collect. A weyrling she might be, but Kahleena saw no reason for her to give up on the time and enjoyment she took by being part of the kitchen staff. Some of them still tiptoed around her, but most of them were used to the exaggerated bouts of oddness now.

Daily check-ins were done, to make sure lessons didn’t need to be attended, or that some type of ‘lesson’ or ‘gathering’ hadn’t been arranged with the other goldriders and the candidates without her being made previously aware, before Kahleena would tend to Okalinath and then mender her way to the Kitchens. They were warm, familiar and smelled so good! What is on the menu? The mild mannered question betrayed the lack of real interest Okalinath took in the subject, but Kahleena smiled none the less. “Stew and vegetable pies, mostly,” she mumbled, forgetting to mind-speak as she started on another pile of vegetables. “Some late blooming berries have been gathered, so there are bubbly pies for dessert tonight!” Okalinath’s eyes swirled with the pleasure Kahleena gave off in her girlish glee at the prospect of bubbly pies. Silly humans!

Kahleena laughed softly, ducking her head and chopping the vegetables into chunks, sweeping them into the pot and moving onto the next type without a whole lot of thought as she listened quietly to the gossiping chatter of the women (and a few stray men, mostly butchers) working around her. Sometimes, it could get a bit overwhelming, but mostly Kahleena enjoyed her work. When I am finished, would you like to go flying before lunch?

I would like that very much!

Completely open.

Kahleena isn't the most social creature, but she will recognise anyone that frequents the kitchens, is a bronze or brownrider, holds a rank she's been informed about in lessons, is a gold candidate and, well, most people though she might not know names.

Okalinath is 9 months old, and 25 feet long. She's perched on a roof somewhere in the sunshine. She is VERY social and loves to chat with other dragons.

Word had reached Rhaedalyn that a good batch of berries had been gathered and bubbly pies would be on the menu that night. She loved pies! In fact, she wanted to learn how to properly make them so there wouldn’t be a need to hang all over the people that possessed the skill. Rhaedalyn enjoyed baking, finding a bit of peace came in hiding away from everyone while in the kitchen and it was calming, maybe even therapeutic to knead and pound at the dough after a frustrating day. Cookies was where she excelled but Rhaedalyn had never given up on cinnamon rolls or pies. Today, she was feeling confident and would manage to bake something anyone would be honoured to eat!

Practically skipping her way from Barracks to Kitchens, Rhaedalyn was humming to herself with Muffin flying above head and in front of her. He loved being outdoors and especially loved what he thought was playing chase or racing somewhere. Muffin always won though sometimes Rhaedalyn was able to catch him but she was pretty sure he purposely let her or he was thoroughly distracted by something else. Today didn’t seem like one of those days even though she could tell Muffin was flying slower than usual. It didn’t matter though! The day was nice and there were bubbly pies waiting to be baked and devoured!

“Good morning!” She called out to everyone within the room. It didn’t matter if it was sunrise or sunset Rhaedalyn was always energetic and pleasant. Of course there were still things that could get her down or break her spirit but for the most part she was a bubbly mess of cheerfulness that drove many people insane. A wave was given to the few she knew well and enjoyed the company of and was oblivious to those that cringed at her presence within the cooking area. Her last few attempts had left quite the impression on the staff and victims alike!

Today, she thought she could at least start out with the easy tasks of washing and slicing the berries and if lucky, she’d be allowed to prepare the filling after that as well. First, berry prep! Meandering over to the cutting area, Rhaedalyn froze in her tracks as she saw who was already over there. It wasn’t that she had anything against Kahleena and disliked her; on the contrary. Kahleena was rather nice and they had decent conversations whenever they were together but it came back to one shiny and large reason for the discomfort the young tailor was now feeling. Kahleena had Impressed the gold dragonet last hatching when B’jin shoved her out at the right time and Rhaedalyn had been left alone again. There wasn’t a lick of proof that Okalinath was making her way toward the curly haired girl before Kahleena stumbled in front of her but it still hurt to see the Impression made and even now it made her frown because Okalinath seemed like such a wonderful dragon!

She could turn around before Kahleena stopped her and pretend she was never there to help out but that would be rude and everyone else would gossip about her behaviour. “Good morning, Kahleena,” she went with instead a basket of berries was grabbed and brought over to the counter. Muffin was still exploring and making his own rounds of greetings but soon joined as well, claiming a spot on an unused portion of the counter to eat a piece of meat one of the butchers had – hopefully – given to the flitter.

It was not unusual for excitable voices to fill the warm Kitchens throughout the day, and as a result, Rhaedalyn’s bright entrance didn’t attract an over abundant amount of attention from the young Weyrling as she focused on the rather amusing conversation that was going on between two middle aged women, as they bickered about what it might mean for the Weyr, what with Krypth being flown by Saquith instead of Tyrrisath, and the reactions Jada had had to the experience. Truth be told, however, while Kahleena found their opinions somewhat brash, she was mildly amused by their gossip and how a lot of what they considered ‘true’ was… so far off!

A greeting directed at her, with the inclusion of her name, was more than enough to collect Kahleena’s attention, whoever, and the young woman turned with wide eyes and upraised eyebrows as she tried to place a name with the cheerful voice. The slight dimpling of a worried frown vanished instantly as Rhaedalyn was recognised, Kahleena’s lips twisting up into a warm smile. “Hello, Rhaedalyn!” The basket of berries was noticed just as the other girl placed it upon the table top. “Oh!” The girl’s head twisted in both directions as she quickly looked around, before sliding a little closer to Rhaedalyn, fingers nipped out to grab a couple of berries and they swiftly relocated them to her mouth.

Flashing a guilty-as-sin grin at Rhaedalyn, Kahleena inched back toward her own workspace, giggling naughtily. 

Rhaedalyn giggled as soon as Kahleena swiped some berries to nibble on. That was a good reason as to why she liked the gold weyrling! It was nice to have someone she could be silly with and get into light mischief with. It may have been a sevenday or two before she started properly talking to Kahleena again after the Hatching that favoured one over the other, but Rhaedalyn simply couldn’t stay away forever. That short length of time had felt close enough to forever as it was! It was like when she didn’t see V’zire for a few days. It was like the world was about to end if she didn’t see him immediately so they could gossip and laugh together. Her friendship wasn’t as deep with Kahleena but it was still one she enjoyed when they were together all the same.

“I’ve wanted to do that as soon as I grabbed the bowl,” she confided while setting up to rinse the berries off. They were clearly fine as was but it never hurt to make sure they were spotless or something could change in the recipe. At least, that’s what she figured was something that went wrong the last time she tried to bake with berries! V’zire said the dessert was good but she saw the wince he made with the first bite and even her own taste buds didn’t think it was exactly right either. Today was going to be different and Rhaedalyn was going to make sure nothing was out of place.

First, though, a berry had to be tasted!

Rhaedalyn nabbed one and quickly popped it in her mouth and giggled again as she merrily enjoyed it. So sweet and so very delicious! After that she behaved and hummed softly to herself while pouring some water into the bowl to begin tumbling the berries about with her hands. Once she started scooping them out to pat them dry, Rhaedalyn glanced back over at Kahleena to see what she was up to. Muffin took that opportunity to follow the girls’ examples and swiped a berry of his own but he batted it around the counter to play with instead of eating. “Oh, Muffin. At least he’s not leaving little flour footprints everywhere.” It was early in the day though, so there was plenty of time for him to pull that stunt again.

“What have you been up to recently?” Rhaedalyn asked as a knife and berry were grabbed to start slicing and dicing.

Kahleena’s own giggle tumbled free when Rhaedalyn let loose her own, the blonde haired girl flashing another grin even as she ducked her head guiltily, trying valiantly not to catch the attention of one of the head cooks. The last thing they needed was one of the old bags to come over and start scolding them! Of course, that only made the girl burst into renewed giggles, and she bit her bottom lip to try and swallow some of them, dark brown eyes alight with her laughter and cheeks flushed from the swallowed giggles.

“They’re so good!” Kahleena whispered, eyes wide and the amusement lingering in her voice even as the guilt wrapped around each word, and she flicked an anxious look toward where one of the Head Cooks was located. The dessert Head was probably capable of making S’kef cower, which, of course, was another comparison that sent Kahleena into muffled giggles and she shot Rhaedalyn a look that was pleading for all kinds of things – she wasn’t insane, she promised! You are silly, my dear. Okalinath put in gently, peering through her young rider’s eyes to look at Rhaedalyn. Her voice was mild but gentle as she bespoke the other girl. She just stole more! The young dragon’s voice was filled with approval for Kahleena’s playful mood. It was very good to see her usually reserved and static rider having such silly fun!

“Didn’t!” Kahleena insisted, eyes huge as she turned to look at Rhaedalyn innocently. A moment later, however, she was flicking another berry at Muffin, giving him two to play with and smiling charmingly at the tiny creature. “He’s so sweet,” she gushed softly, a quote of many times, and wiggled her fingers over the bench toward the little one, enticing him to come to her for a gentle pat even as her gaze shifted up to meet Rhaedalyn’s and she smiled cheerfully. “Lessons, mostly,” Kahleena murmured thoughtfully, before a worried frown crept over her features, and the girl withdrew her hands back to herself, wringing them together anxiously. “Okalinath is old enough to fly, now,” the horror on the girl’s face was quite genuine.

What was she going to do, when her dear, sweet dragon decided to fly?! Breathe, my love. You’re going to pass out, Okalinath spoke gently, reassuring her rider until she felt Kahleena begin the process of breathing once more, the girl slumping back against the bench and continuing to wring her hands anxiously, a worried frown pulling her features together and making her look much older than her years.

Muffin chirped his excitement at having two little toys to bat around and after obliging the nice lady by letting her pat him on the head, he went right back to batting around the berries, chasing and pouncing them at random intervals. Rhaedalyn giggled again but did her best to keep it to a minimum now that she was cutting small things into even smaller pieces. It wouldn’t do to knick herself or worse! What a horrible start to her day that would be! No doubt it would be seen as a major flaw as well both physically and for her cooking skills and men wouldn’t want her. She already had issues with believing someone may want her one day so there wasn’t a need to add to the list!

“Lessons are so boring!” Rhaedalyn groaned in an exaggerated whisper. She had been lucky for a short while after the last Hatching. Candidate lessons had stopped and she had a little extra time to use either for sewing or down time but now that Krypth had flown again, Candidate classes were back and this time with a new instructor. That was probably the most tragic part of it all. She liked B’jin and his collection of blueriders. They made the mundane interesting and B’jin especially was easy to talk to – even if he had ordered her to sleep with a man if she wanted to Stand. Maybe this time there would actually be a dragonet for her and her efforts to please everyone within the Weyr and do things she never would have dreamed she would do wouldn’t be for nothing.

“Hm? Oh!” Rhaedalyn didn’t catch on at first but when she looked up and saw the horror on Kahleena’s face, she caught the meaning of it. Her friend had been married before being kidnapped for this new life and still felt like it would be cheating on the dear man if she slept with anyone else. Rhaedalyn suspected Kahleena knew the truth of the matter as much as she did but also didn’t want to believe it. Her husband would have written her off as dead and remarried long ago by now though the young tailor did hope he had mourned for Kahleena and that they had some sort of love between them. It was so dreadful to think about but Kahleena’s dedication to the man was sweet and Rhaedalyn still held onto the hope that she would find someone that would miss her and love her as much.

“It won’t be too bad. I don’t think so, anyway,” Rhaedalyn tried to comfort her friend but wasn’t sure how best to do it. If she was married to Z’ia and then had to sleep with another man because of a flight, she’d likely be just as terrified. “You could think of it as just a part of the job, right?” That probably wasn’t helpful but it was the only thing she could think of. It wasn’t cheating if it was required of your position, right?

Kahleena frowned slightly as Rhaedalyn tried to assure her the drama that would result from Okalinath’s flight would not be all that bad, and the girl’s expression betrayed her shock and dismay at such a sentiment. She thought Rhaedalyn would understand! As the other girl continued, however, Kahleena blinked and then her frown shifted into one of thoughtful consideration. “I… guess?” The girl rung her hands once more, before following Okalinath’s prompt to take a deep breath, and let it out slowly. Her eyes were still worried, but there was a gentle air of thoughtful curiosity about her as she continued to think about what Rhaedalyn had said.

Picking up more vegetables to chop, Kahleena finished her basket of items lost very much in thought as she mulled over what Rhaedalyn had said, not having though of that aspect before. She supposed it was a part of her job, now. Her entire life was about making sure Okalinath was happy and healthy and that she did her part as a gold dragon by clutching regularly, preferably healthy sized clutches that would further help the dragon population regrow after the effects of the plague. That, of course, would require her to sleep with someone and while she had absolutely no desire to do that, if she were lucky, Okalinath would be more like Nirinath and only fly once-upon-a-time and not at all like Krypth, who seemed to take Jada’s lack of a sex life very personally indeed!

“I hope she doesn’t fly very often,” Kahleena confided very quietly, afraid to mention such a thought too loudly or near anyone else, for surely that was like saying she only wanted to produce daughters! Oh, what terrible trouble such a sentiment could get her into! The girl’s dark gaze flickered around, making sure no one else had overheard her, and she flicked the last of her sliced and diced vegetables into the pot and set it aside for one of the cooks to grab. Washing her knife off carefully, Kahleena shifted to join Rhaedalyn at her bench, another guilty look being shot toward the other cooks before she put several berries in her mouth.

“These are very good,” she whispered gleefully, letting the juicy goodness of the berries and the company of her friend buoy her mood back up to the gentle enjoyment it had been residing at those few moments earlier. There was no need to dwell on Okalinath’s flights (or lack thereof) at the moment; she could do that at home (and had been every day for the past month) and not ruin her lovely companion’s own good mood with her sour worries! That wouldn’t do at all!

Some more berries were grabbed, but this time Kahleena followed through by chopping them up carefully and putting them with the rest.  “What do you have planned for today?” Kahleena asked suddenly, smiling brightly at Rhaedalyn and giggling as a stray berry came flying her way, and she gave it a flick with one finger to send it shooting back across the bench towards Muffin.

Thought I'd join in with some humor?

Oahvakeen's week had started with an order for some kitchen pots, pans, and specialty bowls. It seemed easy enough, and he completed the task on-time and without difficulties. When the client came by to pick them up, she glared at the stack, took a bowl in her hands, and proceeded to fling it at him. He managed to dodge, but then she knocked over the stack of kitchenware and began a tyrade on how inadequate and even insulting they were, and how dare he call himself a Sr Journeyman with such horrible skills. If only he had two minutes of kitchen experience he'd realize how he deserved his intestines to be dragon lunch for these abominations. His craft instructor snapped him out of his bafflement by suggesting he take it to heart and go spend some time in the kitchen. "Cook some things, it's not hard.", the words of his instructor had echoed in his head as Oahvakeen spent all of the previous day doing his best merely trying not to set the kitchen on fire, let alone not burn anything to the consistency of immolated dragon excrement. After angering every cook, hungry fellow, and anyone within the vicinity, his mission had been reduced from cooking to dish-washing duty. Cooking was certainly not easy. But at least now he knew he wasn't ever cut out to so much as salt a plate to taste.

"Can I-", Oahvakeen stood over the shoulder of a cook, who unblinkingly thrust a bowl of spices at him. "A-", he started, and the cook responded with a wide-arm swing that nearly connected a different bowl to Oahvakeen's forehead. He gingerly took the two bowls to a counter and examined them, noting how the contents fit the bowl and moved about. A moment later he handed the bowls back to the cook, who responded with a hybrid grunt-sigh of agony, annoyance, and relief.

"How about -", he tried to reach for a bowl with some raw meats, but found pain searing through his hand as the cook slapped his fingers away. "No.". It was clear he'd annoyed the cook past the point of cooperation. But he still didn't feel satisfied with his kitchen research.

Spotting two girls a ways away (whose names he didn't know), he approached them, and stood two feet behind Kahleena, watching over her shoulder. He said nothing, until he made a jerking motion to try to suddenly grab her bowl full of berries. "Ca-", he didn't bother to finish his sentence, having adjusted to the other cook's shortness.

He'd already begun to eye some utensils by Rhaedalyn's station.

“I hope she doesn’t either!” Thinking about flights and sleeping with someone you weren’t married to as simply being part of the job was all well and good and Rhaedalyn knew Kahleena would be able to do so, it could only get you so far. Krypth rose early and often which would probably be traumatizing enough but then spending so much time on the Sands must drive Jada even more insane! It took an incredible woman to bond to a gold, that was for sure! It was no surprise that Kahleena had Impressed and not her. Her friend had reservations but she was strong and would make it through those tough spots with ease and grace. Rhaedalyn currently wasn’t as confident in herself.

Rhaedalyn quickly followed suit and nabbed another berry and gave a conspiratorial grin to Kahleena, acting like they were the only two ever to do such a thing. She knew it wasn’t true since she had been in the kitchens in the past when B’jin was supposed to be helping but instead sat to the side and ate whatever came his way. But he was far more open about it and the cooks flat out gave him items so perhaps it was a bit different after all. He was obvious about it while they were sneaking a bite at random intervals. Their way was far more adventurous and fun!

A giggle was soon escaping again as Kahleena flicked a berry away for Muffin to scamper after. “He’s so much more behaved with you,” Rhaedalyn noted as she tracked his movements. He was a spirited little blue that loved games and leading her on chases but he was being rather subdued that morning while playing with berries. Not that she minded! They made her clean up his flour footprints and spilled sauce last time he had too much fun. “Oh, nothing really. I might visit V’zire in the afternoon and see how his new relationship is going. They’re so adorable together, Kally!” Rhaedalyn gave a dreamy sigh as she thought about V’zire and D’hys and the glimpses she had been given of the men interacting in recent times. They were so precious holding hands and the little kisses to the cheek D’hys gave V’zire made her want to swoon in her friend’s place! She was so happy she encouraged the relationship!

Lost in her dreaming, Rhaedalyn missed hearing anyone approaching and squeaked in surprise when a hand came down to take a bowl. Thankfully she had learned not to continue her task while her thoughts drifted away and she ended up with all of her fingers in tact when she startled and the knife lay safely on the cutting board. “Oahvakeen! You shouldn’t sneak up on women working in the kitchen,” she rested a hand over her heart as if afraid it would jump out of her chest from shock. She didn’t really know the man on an extremely friendly level but they had both been in Katila for a while now, had classes together, and she saw him from time to time in the Crafting Hall. So it was not only a surprise to have someone try to take the berries from them but a surprise in general that the metal-smith would find his way over to her. Then again, Kahleena was pretty and likely had suitors wishing for her attention so Oahvakeen was no doubt here to see her instead.

Kahleena giggled softly, then wiggled her fingers at the little blue, watching him with delighted amusement. A moment later, she turned to look at Rhaedalyn with wide eyes, and shook her head slightly, “Oh, no I’m sure he’s not!” She half whispered, half exclaimed, looking both flattered and horrified by such a statement. What if Rhaedalyn started thinking she was trying to steal her little darling?! Kahleena’s eyes widened further and she withdrew her hand from the firelizard, and focused instead on what her friend was babbling about.

Kahleena’s soft giggle was released once more as Rhaedalyn sighed over V’zire and D’hys, the girl delighted to see her friend so happy, though Kahleena still had a lot of trouble adjusting to the unorthodox relationships that were such a thick part of the society she’d been brought into. The young goldrider had never even heard of such a scandalous thing as two men being involved together, though she knew of a pair of girls that had been severely punished when one of the workers in her hold had found them kissing in what they had obviously thought was a well secluded spot. She really did her best not to stare when she saw them walking around or groping each other – in such plain sight! – but it was terribly difficult and usually kept the young woman’s features flushed a hot and healthy crimson. She was ever so glad her Weyrlingmaster was not so inclined to display his preferences – Kahleena wasn’t even sure what they were!

Lost in her own thoughts alongside Rhaedalyn in the silence that had been given to them when the other girl faded away into her own fantasy, Kahleena jumped when someone approached them, the girl being prompted into a vocal response of a soft squeal when Rhaedalyn squeaked, and then Okalinath was poking her nose into Kahleena’s mind, seeking to look through her young rider’s eyes as Kahleena clutched her chest dramatically, brown eyes as big as platters as she stared up at Oahvakeen. “I-it’s okay, Ok-kalinath.” She gushed softly, breath hitching as she tried to lower her heartrate. “I was dreaming!” The girl’s words were low, quiet but given as an enthusiastic reasoning for her rather outstanding response to Oahvakeen’s appearance.

“Can we help you?” Kahleena asked politely, not having heard the elder Stolen’s words even if he had managed to form the entire sentence. Her eyes were still quite huge in her face, and she reached over with a horrified glance at Rhaedalyn when Muffin came within reach, swiping the firelizard off of the bench and drawing him rapidly to her chest as if to say ‘no, he was not playing on the bench with several berries!’

What if he saw us eating them?!

What if he did?

The chatter of two women content in their conversations had been a rhythmical comfort, like white noise. It made sense to him that they wouldn't mind his taking various things that they weren't using and replace them back, and he felt that it was perfectly logical. Politeness played little part in his thought process. He played little attention to their conversation. Even if he tried, he could not make sense of all of the small gestures, names, and unsaid suggestions, it was too "feely" for his cut-and-dry tastes.

He seemed to have succeeded (I think?) in grasping the bowl, and took it away into his hands, sifting the contents in it and watching how they collided against the edge. Satisfied with having learned very little, he quickly tried to replace it as it was before. The woman seemed sheepish and perhaps startled, along with her dragonets. The other woman said his name with a rebuke, and hearing it, he shrunk back for a moment. He wasn't great with names and those of the two women eluded him. He realized one of his hands had begun to creep forward towards the other woman's utensils, and he withdrew it back, like a child caught with his arm in the cookie jar.

He knew he was supposed to say something, but what?

"I like food.", he tried.

He wasn't sure what kind of response that there was, but upon blurting out his grammatically correct sentence, but one that made no sense in the current context, even he knew that it was somehow wrong. If there was any other sentiment to the two woman's words and reactions, he was too thick to understand it.

"Why are you using that thing...", he pointed to the bowl, Kathleena's bowl, with the berries in it. "When you could use that thing...", he now gestured to a heavy cast-iron pot of size large enough to accommodate ten gallons. "Why that thing-", he pointed to Rhaedalyn's butcher kife. "And not that?", he held up a butter knife that had been cleaned and was being air-dried, and then replaced it quickly.

He felt uncomfortable after his unusually long speech, so he stepped back and held his hands feebly to his chest, as if they were tiny, withered hands, like a tyrannosaur's, not that Weyr folk or even Oahvakeen knew what that was. Some of him wanted to run away and hide. Most of him felt sure these two women would slice him up and devour his flesh using only their eyes and expressions as weapons. He took another step back, bumping a table behind him. A fork laying too close to the edge clattered to the ground, and he hastily bent to pick it up, and replace it as it was. (Not that dirty forks belonged on clean cooking surfaces anyways). Next, he tried to discreetly rub his sore lower back, not wanting the hurt to be apparent. It was only a little bump, but he was a lightweight when it came to pain.

Both of the women were attractive, one seemingly more bold and direct than the other. But feeling like a cornered rabbit, he could scarcely think of such things right now. It was all business and awkwardness. If only it was all business and no awkwardness at all.

"And you teach me to be like you.", he gestured towards the one who knew his name, Rhaedalyn, despite his not knowing hers. "And you.", he gestured towards the other, Kathleena. 

Kahleena continued to stare with wide eyes at the young man as he stared back at them, holding the bowl in much the same way she was clinging to the struggling blue firelizard; she wasn’t sure about the young man, but Muffin was currently playing the part of a life raft, keeping the girl floating as she attempted to understand what was going on – or at least, not look entirely stupid! Kahleena was hardly the brightest glow in the basket, but she did try to keep up with the events going on around her.

Oahvakeen’s first utterance caused the girl to blink in blatant surprise, and her grip loosened on Muffin, the blue firelizard darting free and dashing out of reach, though Kahleena was far too startled to act upon the creatures escape. “Okay?” she agreed softly, hands colliding with one another as she wrung them anxiously, wondering how she was meant to respond to that. Was he hungry? Did he want something to eat? Were they meant to stop their task and feed him? What did he want? She didn’t know what he liked! Anxious, Kahleena’s gaze flashed to Rhaedalyn, but she saw no answers in the other girl’s pretty eyes.

“Oh… Oh! Um,” Kahleena’s hands were attempting to dismantle her fingers as she anxiously wrung them, dark brown eyes deepening as she became teary and distressed, unsure what the man wanted them to do, and even less sure how to respond to his prompts. “B-b-because that’s f-f-for c-cooking?” She stuttered tearfully, looking terrified at correcting a man, but they were in the kitchen and he obviously didn’t know and it was her duty – right? Right? His request to be taught to be like them had the girl hiccup in surprise, a fat tear rolling down her cheek which she wiped away with her shoulder.

“L-l-like usss?” She stuttered, “b-but you’re a-a-a man.” She was so confused! Kahleena sniffled, her hand wringing slowly settling to be less obvious, as Okalinath sniffed around the edge of her mind, offering a calming influence and trying to put a stopper on her young human’s over anxious mind. He was just a curious boy! No need to fall to pieces!

Kahleena hiccuped again, flushing at the terribly inelegant sound.

bwhahaha. Kahleena is a laugh.

Rhaedalyn stared at Oahvakeen like he had grown another head. What was he on about? For the most part she kept her composure better than Kahleena did but still she stared in bewilderment and complete confusion. Was he asking them to teach him to cook? The way he worded his questions was odd though; it seemed like he was more interested in the function of items and why they were used over another item of similar properties. She didn’t quite know honestly. That was how she was taught and it just seemed to make sense!

Temporarily distracted, Rhaedalyn watched Muffin toss himself at freedom and go scampering across the table and away from Kahleena. She knew the blue flitter liked Kahleena but he wasn’t a big fan of fretting and too much extreme emotions. As soon as he had escaped, Muffin went back to batting the berry around, not at all concerned that the newcomer might not like him doing such a thing. Rhaedalyn wished she could be so carefree all of the time!

Kahleena’s stuttering response to Oahvakeen drew Rhaedalyn’s attention back to reality and the people in it. A hand was placed on her friend’s thigh in an effort to soothe her nerves and show a united front. “I’m not quite sure how to explain it either. I guess… some things are made to go on heat and some for mixing on the counter while other things are used because the size is perfect. Anything too big, whether a bowl or a knife, makes it difficult to manoeuvre.” Rhaedalyn bit her lip, worried her explanation was horrible and wouldn’t help at all. She didn’t know what else to say though! She especially didn’t know what to say about the redhead wanting to be like them but finally tossed together a meekly spoken reply.

“I don’t think you’d want to be like us. I doubt you would have a lot of fun if you were.”

Clue 19:

Nearby, some kitchen workers are gossiping.

“You won’t believe what I heard!” one of them said, eyes wide with intrigue. “I was talking to a girl who lives over in the weyrfolk hall…She said her friend saw some people burning garbage in the middle of the night one night. She thought it was weird, so she went back later and found a scrap of paper that hadn’t burned all the way…she said it was a report someone turned in. Said they found a clipped Tansy plant with footprints around it! ‘Petite’ footprints.”

“No way,” the other man says. “She’s just looking for attention. Did she keep it or anything?”

“No, she said she was too scared. Do you think someone out there is really destroying evidence?!”

“That’s nuts. If she can’t prove it, she’s lying.”

“Yeah, probably…She couldn’t even say what kind of people they were. Men or women or whatever..so no real detail…”

Once upon a time, there were two girls who were friends. They liked to talk in the kitchen, and giggled with delight as they worked. And then along came an ugly troll who ruined their fun, took away their things, and made them stop what they were doing. Oahvakeen felt like this, and the bewilderment in the two women made him feel ugly, awkward, and stupid. It was both a comfort and hinderance that the gentle-eyed one felt just as baffled as he did.

When Kathleena acknowledged his liking of food, he sensed that he had said something wrong. "Oh.", he murmured aloud, aware of the sensation of incorrectness now.  And why did she keep playing with her hands? Was something wrong with them? He peered at them, trying to see if perhaps she was was doing something that he hadn't noticed, like rolling up or kneading bread in her hands. But his inspections were fruitless and he gathered no answers. Perhaps her hands merely hurt, after all, the kitchen wasn't an easy place to work. "I'm sorry about your arthritis. In your hands. Sucks.", he mentioned with an uneasy gesture, coming to a conclusion and addressing it.

So, that was it. As Kathleena had said, the things but be for cooking. Yes, that made sense. Wait, no, that didn't make sense at all - weren't all of the things in this kitchen for cooking? He felt even more confused. He had begun to nod in understanding, but now his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. He tried to mask his expressions, but was hardly any good at it.

"I am? Oh, okay.", he agreed. "But I don't understand these things. I can't be very good... if I don't understand how it works.", his speech was inadequate for explaining what he was doing here, once more leaving out crucial information on the how and why he was here, and the very format of his words open for too much interpretation.

Rhaedalyn was speaking now and he hushed up to listen. She was a better explainer. "Some things are made to go on heat and some for mixing on the counter and some because the size is perfect ... difficult to maneuver.", he repeated her words out loud to himself, and held his chin in one hand in careful contemplation. "That explains a lot. What are you making? Tell me why you are doing that, why you do each step with each item, please? "

He felt distracted by all of the colors that seemed to flutter about, and for a moment, he associated the colors with dragons, realized dragons were in the kitchen, and that they could not possibly fit in the kitchen, and how dangerous all this was. He winced with alarm. And then he realized that no, they were firelizards, and there was no harm or badness.

"But I have to be.", he responded to Rhaedalyn's reply about being like them. He felt as if perhaps she were trying to say something more, something between the lines, but he couldn't grasp it, and let the thought go. "I have to get better. I'm not very good at this stuff. I don't get it."

Nearby, the whispering conversations of the cooks seemed to have changed. He couldn't help but take a long glance in their direction, letting his ears take in the conversation by default. After listening for a few moments in confusion, he realized that they were gossiping. Gossip was how folks got in trouble. He made a horrified face as if he had bitten into a lemon instead of a juicy berry, and shook his head 'no' slightly, as if to shake off the thoughts. He turned his attention back to the two women before him, but he couldn't help but falter. What could they have meant when those two cooks had spoke about footprints? No, no, he couldn't dwell on this now. He tried to convince himself that nothing had happened at all.

Kahleena took a deep breath, the sound uneven, before sighing it out softly. She was trying to relax, to get herself back under control. Okalinath’s gentle voice was whispering in her ear, and Rhaedalyn’s hand was warm and reassuring on her thigh. Kahleena turned anxious eyes fully on Oahvakeen, only to draw in on herself when she realised he was staring at her. She wasn’t sure which part of her he was staring at until he spoke, but the result was a hotly flushed young woman who was looking anywhere but at the young man eyeing her off.

“W-what?” Kahleena stuttered slightly, eyebrows drawing together above confused brown eyes as she glanced, unsure and confused, at Rhaedalyn before focusing back on Oahvakeen and blinking. The man was changing the subject, so Kahleena let the statement go without any further response. She was not even sure how to begin fixing that; it was not her place to make corrections to a man! Despite knowing that – and she did, she knew it wasn’t her place – Kahleena couldn’t stop the soft gasp as Oahvakeen asked to be shown how things were done, because he didn’t understand them.

“But you’re a man!” she exclaimed again, her voice a hushed whisper. Whether she was shocked by an admittance to not knowing everything (for clearly he should, since he was a man and they were by far the cleverer sex and how could he not know everything?!) or by his demand to learn such a womanly task as to how to cook, even Kahleena wasn’t sure. Okalinath watched the exchange with confusion herself, the dragon seeking to understand the events that were unfolding as surely as the three humans were.

Perhaps he seeks to spoil his mate? the dragon asked, bemused, and speaking to both girls. Kahleena, naturally quite shocked by such an idea, glanced unconsciously with scepticism towards where her dragon was located outside the building; men were not meant to cook dinner! That was the job of the woman! What kind of mate did this man have, that he wanted to cook her dinner?! Why was Okalinath coming up with such ridiculous notions?!

Kahleena’s confused gaze shifted from staring vaguely at the far wall, to glance between Oahvakeen and Rhaedalyn, waiting for the other girl to throw away Okalinath’s strange suggestion, and blinked at the man’s lemon-sucking expression, eyes widening as she tried to figure out what was going on. Her hands began to wring once more, her confusion picking up again.

bwhahaha. I didn’t realise her views of the sexes were quite that dramatic XD what a laugh.

Apologise for taking so damned long :|

Everyone seemed so confused! She had only wanted to come try her hand at pies again! Instead she was trapped in a conversation that wasn’t making any sense and it seemed like Kahleena was going to cry at any moment and Oahvakeen was so insistent on learning about everything and she was a horrible teacher! She had to try though since that was the polite thing to do and she didn’t want to get in trouble for being unkind or unwilling to do her share of the work. She was brought to Katila to possibly Impress a gold dragon – which she was failing miserably at – and to do tasks she was trained in. “I… well… everything has to be done in a certain order no matter what the craft is, right? You don’t put the buttons on the fabric before it’s become a shirt or pants, right? And the glass-smiths have to start with sand to even get the right material. Baking and cooking is no different. Everything has to be prepared before they can be combined with something else.” A fierce blush crept over her cheeks and Rhaedalyn quickly looked down at the floor, embarrassed over how much she had said and how poorly it had been explained.

Okalinath’s previous statement about a mate didn’t help ease the crimson look Rhaedalyn now sported as she thought about who the boy was with and picturing Oahvakeen trying to impress him or her with cooking. It was a sweet gesture, until Rhaedalyn realized her instructions might not be clear enough and Oahvakeen could end up poisoning his loved one. That would be truly horrible! She should try explaining again or suggesting someone with far more skills than she had to show him some simple but delicious meals yet she ended up blurting out another thought instead. “Who’s your mate that you want to cook for?” Absolutely mortified at herself, Rhaedalyn spun around to stare at the table, hands clasped over her big mouth. She loved gossip but even that was a bit too rude and nosy!

The confusion was multiplying at an exponential scale. Like two bunnies of opposite gender left to breed with one another and their daughters and sons and grandkids in one incestuous multiplying of everything until there was no more space to hold the confusion bunnies and they began to crawl on top of one another, one big mound of innocent, confused bunnies. The idea of that many baffled bunnies made no sense. Oahvakeen's brain couldn't compute it either.

Kathleena had asked 'what'. Oahvakeen stared blankly. Not at her chest or hips but at her face, and then in her general direction.

"What?", was all he could reply. He was just as confused as she was.

"I am?", he paused. "Oh, yeah, I guess I am." They weren't understanding. Clearly, they weren't understanding him. "But I don't know how to cook. I don't get why that bowl is shiny and that one isn't", he pointed towards a bowl that held berries, and then towards a large kettle. "Uhhh... I'm not sure what that is....", he relinquished. "I don't understand any of this except that this room is used for making food. That's all I know. Oh, and I know your names, and that it's a nice day. But that's it. I don't understand anything else in this room. I need to learn how it works and why you do this and that."

Rhaedalyn was a great deal more helpful, and he put his hand to his chin as he listened carefully, his eyes wide with unmasked listening skill. His expression was as if Rhaedalyn was explaining the secrets of the universe.

"Okay, so everything has an order...".

His eyes got caught on a nearby shiny thing. He reached over and picked it up, and turned it in his hands. One end of it was tiny, the other end very wide. It was a shiny metal, and when turned upside down looked like a cylindrical triangle with a tube attached to the tip. When he looked inside it, it made sense that things might be placed in the wide cone that pointed downwards, but it had a hole in the center of it where the tube was.

"Where's this thing come in...", he began to ask, but stopped himself. He flipped it over in his hands again so that it pointed up. He began to place it on top of his head, like a hat, but realized that it couldn't be right either. He sit it down hastily.


"There's so many things, I'm feeling overwhelmed. If I asked about all the things I saw and didn't understand I'd never learn anything....", he pondered his own words, as if considering how to proceed.

"W-w-what?", he blushed at Rhaedalyn's question. "I don't have one...", he tried to watch their faces. He found a retort growing in his brain, plucked it, and spat it out without thinking about it. "I thought one of you would be.", he said, his face blank. It was a joke. An awful joke, and his face wasn't doing a good job of conveying that.

"Do you both have mates?", he asked genuinely.

"I'll have to cook to test out my skills.", he tried to explain. "I'm a metal worker, so I create metal things - like cooking things. Like this.", he picked up a steel ladle, held it to his face, and made a baffled gesture. He set it back down. "My next client wants all new cooking things. She said that they need more and most of the old ones are getting too old. I made her some, but she practically threw them at me and said they were no good. So I have to make good kitchen things. But I don't know anything about the kitchen, and I can't go back with bad kitchen things. So I'll have to test them out before I give them to her."

He looked to both the ladies. "Please don't make me face that woman again. She'll eat me alive. She's scary. And old. And very scary."

Right, sob story, blah, blah, blah. But Oahvakeen wasn't a woman, he didn't want to talk about his problems for comfort - he wanted a solution.

"Please help me. I can make extra kitchen thingie-me-dooders if you help just for you two. I can even put your names in them. I just have to figure out how to cook and use these things. "

He remembered their horror.

"Whatever thing you show me to make, I'll make one for you both. Like a chopped carrot. I'll make one for you both.", that wasn't very appealing now that he thought about it. What, were women some kind of delicate vegetarians now? "Or a meat or a pie or a bread. You can watch me and  call me mean names behind my back if you'll just help me with my assignment. I'm terrified of this woman.", his plea was starting to sound like the plot for a cooking show with a horrible screaming perfectionist overseer.

Kahleena stared blankly at Oahvakeen, the young woman simply unable to comprehend a man that so insistently wanted to learn how to move his way through the kitchen like a woman. Of course, there were men that passed through the hot and work insistent area, but those were men carrying out proper manly jobs – like butchering the beasts, or bringing in fuel to burn in the fire; or they were men who were doing what Kahleena mostly expected of men in the kitchen to be doing: filching food!

Brown eyes widened in the girls face when the man reached over to grab a funnel, and tip it onto his head. Shock was foremost on her features, before her lip twitched and a soft giggle fluttered free. Her cheeks immediately stained in embarrassment at laughing at the actions of the fellow, but Kahleena couldn’t help it! He was so odd! Was he being serious? Perhaps this whole ordeal was a test! Perhaps he was making sure that the women in the kitchens were doing their dues and not trying to hand their work off onto men! That would mean they were passing, right? Confusion flickered once more behind her eyes and Kahleena shifted anxiously in her seat.

Then Oahvakeen was making a most outrageous statement and Kahleena sat back in her seat, chin lifting indignantly as she stared at Oahvakeen with disdain. Her? His mate? “I do,” she responded loftily, frowning at the man with a displeased expression. Was that what he was up to? Trying to find himself a bedroom mate in the kitchen? What was with all the desire to learn then? He was making no sense at all! Kahleena sniffed indignantly and frowned at the man for a moment longer before pointedly turning around and going back to her task, sorely insulted. She was married!

Not truly, dear, Okalinath put in, her voice gentle but pointed. And you are being terribly rude. I do not think he intended to offend you, dearheart. See? He just wants help with a task he’s been given. The gold dragon poked at Kahleena gently with mental jabs until the girl composed herself and turned around once more, her expression slightly more civil than it had been when she’d turned her back, but just barely. For all her timidity, it was quite clear that Kahleena took her personal life quite seriously, and was disinclined to take any indication of gossip about it well.

“Why don’t you just find the good ones we already have, look at them, and then copy them? You don’t need to know how to use them, to make them, surely?” Kahleean’s voice was confused, her frown puzzled as she tilted her head at Oahvakeen, brushing her hair out of her face with one hand as she continued. “One doesn’t need to know how to make a quill to use it, or paper to write on it.” She shrugged slightly. She still didn’t understand why he wanted to know how to use the implements. Knowing how to use them wouldn’t help him make them better – at least, not in her mind.

Rhaedalyn was growing increasingly uncomfortable. Trusting someone wasn’t an instant thing with her and she didn’t know how to react to the man. He was begging them but it all came out strange and almost intimidating. They tried to give answers but they didn’t seem to be the right ones and now she was worried he might do something drastic to get his way. When he brought up that he wanted one of them to be his mate, the world went a bit fuzzy around the edges for a moment and Rhaedalyn missed some of what had been said. They barely knew the man! Of course that would have been natural for some of the arrangements made back in her old life but Rhaedalyn had always wanted to meet the man she was meant to marry and they instantly connected and their feelings were genuine. She had genuine feelings right then for Oahvakeen but Rhaedalyn didn’t think they were the right ones to go with a proposal for being mated.

She wanted R’nya right then. Even her timid greenrider, V’zire, would know what to do. Tears started to well up as Rhaedalyn glanced quickly around the kitchen wondering if she should call out for assistance and if anyone would help them. Then, her eyes were snapping back to Oahvakeen. What if her lack of attention offended him and he raised his voice or waved a pot or knife around? He seemed rather quick at grabbing items nearby and there were far too many sharp and pointy objects for her liking. Thanks to having a far too overactive imagination, the flailing redhead before her was turning into a potential threat. She was confused, uncomfortable, and clearly wasn’t being of any help to the man. She was such a failure!

Muffin, sensing her distress, chittered and sent an image of R’nya at Rhaedalyn before vanishing. Her sweet blue was going to find their protective bronzerider! That was the last thing that was needed to send Rhaedalyn into tears as a sob burst free. “I’m s-sorry!” She wasn’t going to be useful in this state to anyone and she realized she had to get away from the entire situation. She didn’t even know how some items worked so how could she explain everything to the man that spoke oddly? She had tried but it proved she wasn’t very good at the task he presented them.

Jumping to her feet, Rhaedalyn was about to brush by Oahvakeen and never look back but she couldn’t leave Kahleena behind. The poor dear had been distressed far earlier into the conversation and she’d be left floundering on her own. Quickly, Kahleena’s hand was taken and another apology was stuttered out to the man she pulled her friend by and away from. The berries were forgotten as was the desire to make the perfect by that day. All she wanted was to cry in private at how horribly she had behaved. First, they had to get to that private area and despite not being athletic, Rhaedalyn did a wonderful job of dodging other staff before breaking free of kitchen and out into the sunshine. She didn’t stop, just kept running with Kahleena trying to keep up.

It wasn’t the most graceful exit or the most polite but she had to get away. Perhaps on another day she would bake something for Oahvakeen and have someone deliver it to him as an apology for her behaviour.

---

ooc: Kahleena moved with permission. I'd like to vote the thread is concluded. Oahvakeen can of course have a reaction post but the interaction between the three is likely done?

OOC  Misread Kahleena's post as "butchering the breasts"...


In his opinion, Kahleena has been the most helpful so far as she seemed to be understanding. But his opinions were deeply skewed with his thoughts on how she seemed as awkward and out of place as he did.

He felt baffled at how she seemed to suddenly stop responding and even he could now identify her new behaviors as unhelpful. But he couldn't pick up on the fact that he'd offended her or made her angry.

Rhaedalyn said very little and seemed to mumble out an emotion-filled apology with sparkling eyes. The next thing he knew, he was standing looking at a pot of berries, no Kahleena, no Rhaedalyn, and the two previous cooks shaking their heads at him.  He continued to gawk at the empty air for some time, trying to make sense of it all. But nothing made sense.

He gathered the things he had touched, put them all in a heap, and began to sketch them one by one in a notebook he produced. He gathered his nerve and asked the two cooks near the oven to help him again.  They explained to him how saucepans were used to cook steaks, how spaghetti strainers were used to hold liquids, and how measuring cups were only useful for shaping miniature pies when turned upside down. When Oahvakeen went back to the metallurgy late that day to forge his new creations, little did he realize that they would be even worse off than before.

-- exit--