Working for Bubbly Pies [Trelanvor]

It was freetime, and there was nowhere Nellaris would rather be than in the kitchen. She stood in the thick of things, kneading dough that she would make into her favorite bubbly pies later. There was a smear of flour under her eye and a smudge on the apron she'd donned to cover her clothes. Her sleeves were rolled up past her elbows and her palms were sticky with dough.

She wasn't necessarily supposed to be working, but Nell was often bored during free time. She didn't understand what she was meant to do with extra time. She had seen her peers play games and sneak away to unknown parts of the Weyr, but it held little appeal for her. Playing games wasn't productive. It didn't result in something you could see and feel and touch. Not like baking.

Smiling at the prospect of warm bubbly pies, she broke off pieces of dough and began forming them into round balls, which she placed neatly on the tray in front of her. Nell glanced up every now and then to ensure that the cook hadn't seen her yet. That woman was of the mind that well-rested individuals were the best workers, and she didn't like seeing Nell there when she was meant to have left. "When you're tired you'll make mistakes, and mistakes in a kitchen lead to burned fingers." Nell had heard it often enough, but she didn't heed the warning.

As if Nell could make mistakes! Practice made perfect. She was just practicing, after all. Nell simply couldn't see the harm in working when she wasn't supposed to.

Trelanvor sauntered casually into the kitchens. It was his freetime and the part of the day he liked best since he was able to decide how his time was spent. Unless he'd managed to do something to get extra chores instead. It was another hot and muggy summer day and he had little desire to hang around in the even hotter kitchens. His plans were to head to the nearby river to explore and do a little swimming. He'd donned clothes suitable for such things, a pair of worn trousers which ended in tatters above his knees and a loose fitting short sleeved short.

He winked at one of the young kitchen workers, getting a blush and shy giggle in return. Snatching a redfruit from a bin he slipped into into an old canvas sack he had hanging from his left shoulder. He knew better than to explore without a few items on hand such as a small jar of numbweed, a bandage roll he borrowed from the Healer Hall to name a couple things. Hiking through the brush often result in cuts and scratch which in the warmth of the South could become infected rather quickly.

He wandered a farther through the kitchen, keeping an eye out for one or two more "snacks" to take along with him. He was unsurprised to see Nellaris working away at some sort of baking project. He'd never met anyone who actually chose to work when they didn't have to before. She was the sort her normally avoided since they generally did not think very highly of his sort. He looked over the tray of neat dough balls as he walked up. How could anyone stand to do that kind of thing. It looked incredibly boring making row after row of them. He would have been tears, but Nellaris looked like she was actually enjoying herself. That was just wrong on so many levels.

"Nellaris, why am I not surprised to see you slaving away when you could actually be enjoying yourself. You can't keep hiding away in the kitchen my dear girl." He gave her a boyish grin as he leaned against the table, giving one of the dough balls a tentative poke. "You do know it's our freetime right? You are suppose to be having fun not working."