Lets please eat correctly? [Open to everyone]

Andol stood in the kicthen as he slowly cooked his own meal that he was about to eat for dinner. Ever sinice he had come to the Weyr the candidate had made sure that he cooked his own foods, sinice he knew that it wasn't really right to ask the cooks to make the exact diet that he always tried to stick to and experiment with. No that had always been his job and his job alone, especially sinice he was the one who knew what seemed to work and what didn't. It had taken him many years and frankly he still wasn't done perfecting and making sure that his diet was prefect. Though he did have down that drinking just water all the time... was a great way to stay healthy, which why he laid off the juices and achcolal... except every now and then. People thought that his eating habits where strange, but frankly in Andol's mind... the results spoke for themselves.

The food that he was mixing in front of himself was a mixture of tomates, greens, and also some mushrooms that he had steamed up earlier. The candidate had made an large portion of the meal, because number one it seemed fair that sinice the cooks where letting him do this that he take some of the load off them, and at least make egough to feed another person or two. The second reason kind of went along with the first, except that Andol wanted to hopefully get someone else instrested in his eating habits so maybe he could help them to be a bit more healthy also. Plus if he had a second person it would make his experiments a bit more conclusive. It was not long before his food though was finished cooking, and the youth took a long waft of it... the soft smile that crossed his face so rarely showed that he enjoyed the smell of what he had made.

Filling up his water before putting his food in a large bowl, though taking a smaller bowl with him. He didn't want to spoil the food that was in the large bowl by eating directly out of it if others wanted some. He quickly found a table with the food that was his bounty for his own hard work as he saw it, and when he was done eating he would use the charcol stick and scarp of parchment to write down what he ate... and how much he ate as well as the recipe. It didn't take long before he had scooped himself out some in a bowl and had started to eat, not really caring about the world around him. His mind only was only thinking about the next pair of his data collection... oh and how might this taste if had some fish... oh and maybe if they would be healthy on this also... The young man had so many questions and yet so little time.

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BlueDragon - Since you lacked a description for this thread, I went ahead and added it for you. Thread descriptions help us keep track of what happens when in the liquid time of our site. I chose Early Evening, Early Autumn 231 AL since you implied in your post that this is evening, and Early Autumn is the current season.

Please remember to add descriptions to thread starters in the future :)

It had been a long day, and Jada was hungry. She'd spent much of the day with the little ones, and there was absolutely nothing that could sap energy like a two-turn old child clinging to your hip and wailing. Nothing. As she staggered her way towards the kitchen area, she waved at a few of the people she was coming to know. It had been almost a full turn since she had been taken from Fort Weyr, and in that time she had enjoyed quite a change in lifestyle. At her posting, they had eaten more vegetables and easily grown or foraged fruits, with a light helping of meats. Here, it seemed like she ate much the same thing, but it all tasted differently. Maybe it was in the preparation, or in the fact that she knew so many of these foods were the products of theft. Then again, who was she to judge? People and animals did amazing things to survive, and these riders were no different. She could admire their determination.

Right. Rumbling stomach! Jada broke into a trot, moving into the kitchens. She could grab something, just real quick, and then get back to some of her other tasks. She wanted to get some new lesson ideas jotted down, little things that might help bridge some of that communication gap. The children here lived a different kind of- Ack! Her stomach growled again, and Jada stared around, trying to decide what she could grab. And that's when she smelled it. Mmm, something delicious, and- she found herself grabbing a bowl, a piece of bread, and a few pieces of what might be boiled wherry meat (or fish? It was edible either way,) and trotting after the tall boy. He looked vaguely familiar, perhaps, but she couldn't place a name with his back. That was a big bowl, and he had two, so hopefully he'd be willing to share!

He sat down alone, which meant he was either waiting on one other person with which to share a meal for what, 6 or 8 people? Or he was really, really hungry. "Hey." Jada took a seat, beaming at the boy as she took a seat across the table from him. He was scribbling something, so she waited patiently for him to start eating before asking, "You mind if I have some of that? It looks pretty good." And it was already made. And not mystery meat.

Far was shirtless. Far was also walking by with a mug of some ale and a plate piled high with meat. Farlint loved him some meat. But not man meat. Just wherry meat, or other edible flesh. And some good Runner flesh, cause they could be sexy. He'd seen the haunches on one of the new ladies that had been brought in, and whoo-eee! Speaking of sexy, when had he missed this chunk of tall and curvy? She even had meat. He liked that. A girl who could- sit down with another man. Well poo.

His nose wrinkled, and he wandered their way, taking a swig from his mug. Setting down his big plate of MEAT, he said, "Well lookie there. Rabbit food." Hey, at this angle, he could look down the black-haired girl's shirt! No, bad. He needed to be on his best behavior. At least until after dinner. It looked like some of those things Meara had always tried to get him to eat, telling him they were healthy. If he hadn't loved her so much, he would have told her where she could put some vegetables. (Nalina had never tried to get him to eat vegetables.)

O'wain's belly grumbled loudly, so much so that had anyone been around they might have thought there was an angry dragon about. Wandering into the kitchen he helped himself to a mug of ale which he sipped as he hunted about for something to eat. The pickings seemed slim this evening and since he was too hungry to wait for something to cook and somone had pinched all the cooked meat so O'wain settled on grabbing a hunk of bread and some cheese. Satisfied he began to make his way to the dining hall, getting as far as the door before pausing, thinking for a moment and returning to pour himself a spare mug of ale. Couldn't possibly consider walking ALL the way back to kitchen to pour another now, that would just be preposterous. Grinning to himself O;wain made his way into the dining hall, hands full of ale, cheese and bread.

Entering the hall O'wain found he was not alone. Over on one table he spotted a few candidates, including Far with a plate of meat stacked ridiculously high though it was obvious that wasn't the only meat with the young man's attention. Sauntering behind them unnoticed O'wain leant over Far's shoulder, hooking a suitable slice of meat with a free finger.

"Cheers buddy!" O'wain chirped to him. "Was nice of you to grab some for me."

Before he could react O'wain half skipped away from the table, giving the other two candidates a wink and a cheeky grin. Making his way around the end of the table he found a seat on the opposite side, well out of Far's reach, and propped his feet up on the bench. Settling in he munched down on his bread and meat, gazing towards the trio with a cheeky grin still plastered across his face.

After a few moments of sitting there the young man figured that no one else would be coming to eat with him so he just settled down, and got some of the food out of the bowl with the laddle and put it into his smaller on. He figured someone would eat it later, he just kind of wished that someone would do so while he was sitting there so that he would be able to try and get someone to join in his little experiment. He sighed softly, well at least he would be able to eat his meal in peace. Besides you couldn't force anyone to take care of themselves, they would learn that lesson the hard way. The young man was so involved in writting down his notes, and his thoughts that he didn't even notice when the girl approched him with a friendly greeting. In fact, it took until she had started asking about the food before Andol realized that he had indeed attracted someone to him with his large bounty... and inwardly he could only smile... finally someone who wanted to eat decently for once.

"Yeah of course you can have some... here is a bowl if you need one." He handed her over one of the spare bowls that he had while saying, "By the way my name is Andol..." It seemed that this dinner might turn out better than the young man thought, that was of course until he realized that someone was joining them... and this one form the way the other was acting, and his words, seemed like he would end up turning out to be a spoil sport for the entire meal. His smart ass quip followed after the others words, and showed that Andol was indeed one who was pretty light on his feet when it came to going tit for tat with his words, "Yes and it seems that you have a plate that full of animal carcasses. Oh and could you quit staring down our fellow table guest's shirt... I am quite sure that she doesn't appericate it." Not only did the young man defend his meal, not that he had anything against meat... especially sinice he was going to be adding it to the ingreadates in his food tommorw, it was just he didn't like having his food called 'rabbit food'.

Besides it seemed like this one had a bit of an additude in first place, and really anyone who would simply look at another human being as simply a peice of meat... had quickly earned Andol's disgust already. Far would not be able to get away with simply being on his best behavior when around Andol. He then moved his legs so that he would be sitting in his seat indian style with his feet off the floor. The young man having slipped his sandles off in ordered to sit more comforntably, before speaking in a voice that seemed quite bored and went along with his slightly vacant expression, "Now then, I was curious what are your names?" His eyes looked at Jada when he spoke, because in a way... he could hardly care less what Far's name was. His impression on Andol had been soiled, and that was indeed somthing that was hard to fix. Though again he found the entire coversation intruppted by the suddenly arrival of another person, though this one was quite a bit older and form what he could tell seemed to be a bit more of a pleasent addinition to the group of people that they had gathered. It didn't hurt that the guy had also taken food form the annoying guys plate...

His eyes followed this one down to where he was now sitting at the end of the table, and it was probably the first time in this entire coversation that Andol allowed any emotion to show on his vacent facade. It was a soft smile as he called out to the man, "You know you don't have to sit all the way down there friend. Come down and sit with us, and you can have some of this food I cooked up. I can promise that the taste goes well with that which you are eating." Not only did Andol's face change a little... his voice also sounded slightly... inviting.

Ah, there it was! The boy with the mixed vegetables looked up and saw her, and Jada's response was as was properly ingrained: She smiled. So far he seemed to be a focused fellow, didn't he? The lad offered a bowl and Jada took it gratefully, nodding. "I appreciate it, I didn't think to grab a second bowl when I headed over this way. They have a lot of fruits and vegetables here, but I haven't had the time to indulge in mixing them together in a while." The Harper began to dish some of the salad into the bowl that Andol had given her when she connected his name. Andol. And his familiarity? Ah! Jada dropped her bowl, narrowly avoiding spilling the vegetables. "You are from Harper Hall too!" That must be why his face looked so familiar! He'd been an Apprentice at the same time she had!

Another plate thunked down next to her, piled high with Mystery Meat. Rabbit Food? Well, she supposed it qualified. She glanced at the pile of protein, then up at the lean young man grinning down her top. Well, shards. "He's compensating for something." She assured Andol, giving the mahogany-haired male a coy look, cheeks flushing as she fixed her neckline. Snitching a bite of the greens, she was relieved to find that it wasn't half bad! "Pretty good, Andol!" she couldn't help the compliment- or the fact it came out muffled.

"I am Jada." She pointed to herself, as if saying 'I am Jada' would make the lad look around somewhere else. "Do you remember me? We were Apprentices together!" It would be great to have someone else around who was part of the 'family' as it were. She lifted back up the bowl, sorting out a few more of the edibles and then set it back down in between them. "This looks great, thank you. Would you like a little of the Mystery Meat I picked up in the kitchens?" Offering to share was the least that she could do. "I think it's wherry, but I'm not quite sure."

Another man strode by, reaching around Farlint and snatching one of the pieces of 'carcass' from his well-laden plate. Right then, Jada found a hero. Apparently, so did her compatriot- Andol's voice warmed considerably to the new arrival. "Come on down." Jada agreed. "It's actually pretty good."

She put more in her mouth, to demonstrate.

Farlint grinned down at the cheeky little kid- who could very well be his own age, but who knew?- and said, "I love me some good carcass. Especially fresh carcass, still warm on the tongue? That's good stuff, right there. Gives me some good energy." Farlint was proud of his lean figure. (Okay, so he really didn't care.) But he was tight and masculine in all the right places, and as a Beastcrafter, he hadn't had much time to gain much extra fat. In fact, here at the Weyr, he was almost as active, with the duties he had been assigned, and helping that hulk, O'wain.

Speaking of which?

"I knew you were eying my meat." he told O'wain seriously. "And I don't blame you. It's delicious. I was just telling these two fine folks about the benefits of eating wherry. Or whatever this is." It was something fresh, that much was clear. And well-cooked, at least. No blood spurting everywhere. Always a plus.

He could apologize to the woman for looking down her shirt, but he wasn't really sorry. instead, he gave her a wink in response to the coy look. At least she wasn't being too uptight about it. She covered herself better though. Which was fine, actually. There was plenty more to look at in the dining hall.

O'wain laughed at Far's comment. "Yes I'm sure you were Far, though I'm betting that's not the only kind of meat you think will benefit them"

Leaning back slightly with one arm propping him up on the table O'wain polished off the last of his first mug. The other two candidates seemed nice enough, though the young man with the vegetables seemed a bit overly focused. The poor kid just needs to relax no doubt. He seemed to warm a bit though as he invited O'wain over which made the brown rider smile.

"I'd love some.....ahhh.....what was your name? But why don't you and your pretty young friend  slide down this way a bit, we wouldn't want poor Farlint catching a nasty case of 'healthy' from your meal now would we."

Now that he took a good look at the girl as she fixed her top against Far's prying eyes he saw she really was quite pretty. Her huge golden eyes in particular were absolutely captivating, definitely too good for Far. She seemed to know the other candidate, but hopefully they weren't involved or anything silly like that. Absent mindedly O'wain took another bite of his bread and cheese, his gaze not leaving those brilliant golden eyes.

The ribald humor that Jada was getting from the back-and-forth between the unnamed older man and the unnamed younger man was amusing to the Journeywoman, but little betrayed her opinion but a single twitch of her lips. "A case of the healthy would be terrible." she agreed with the Rider. "Poor 'Farlint' might bulk up or something." She signaled her willingness to scoot down by opening up a portion of the bench next to her, where the standing male (Farlint) might take a seat if he were so inclined.

And that was when she saw it.

The staring.

She wasn't quite sure what he was looking at, but maybe she had something on her face? Surreptitiously, Jada raised a hand and brushed it over her cheek and lips, to try and see if that would make it stop.

"Protein is supposed to help you grow muscle." Farlint told O'wain blithely. "I just want to make sure my fellow Candidates get their proper nutrition." Giving them meat indeed. Well, one of them anyway. The other one looked a little too angry (and male) for his taste.

But when the girl ganged up on him with O'wain, that just wasn't fair at all. "Hey," he protested, "I'm quite healthy. And you wouldn't believe my bulk unless I showed you." Was that coming on a bit too strong? Probably. No wonder she'd rather flirt with O'wain, at least he was staring at her eyes, not her breasts.

He was a dog, Farlint decided. A dog, and he should be punished.

Setting down his large plate of meat, the Candidate sat down in the vacated place and looked towards the woman as she wiped her hand over her face. "It's real nice to meet you, Jada." Well, she hadn't told him her name, but she'd told the boy across from him, and never let it be said that Far didn't listen to a woman.

Realising he was making her uncomfortable O'wain flashed Jada a friendly wink before breaking into a grin as he watched Farlint swoop in to the empty seat. The poor boy must have realised he was on the losing side of this fight.

"Really Far? You're offering to show her your bulk then trying to sweet talk her? I thought you were always telling me how good you are with the ladies."

Polishing off the last of his bread and cheese O'wain was struck by a brilliant idea. If Far wanted to put up a fight then he'd get a war like he'd never imagined. Maybe he could even get that other guy to loosen up and have a bit of fun.

"Hey slide some of those veggies over, I'd like to try them. If you wouldn't mind of course." he asked the girl, his grin turning cheeky once more.

The older man winked, and Jada could feel her cheeks burn with embarrassment. She hadn't realized just how obvious she had been. "Somehow," she said casually, aiming for the air, "I think I am missing out on something very important in this conversation." It was somewhat amusing, actually, even if she didn't quite understand all of the double entendres being tossed around. But at least she got the general idea.

"I can see that you have all your teeth," she agreed, "so I have no need to see your... bulk. I'll say you're quite healthy." though what teeth had to o with overall health.... ah, well, Jada was a Harper, not a Healer. "It's a pleasure to meet you too." He was handsome enough, with a pretty face, but he sure was laying the charm on a little thick.

She glanced back down the table, curious about the other man. "And who are you?" she asked, pushing the bowl his way. Andol had made plenty, after all.

It was a shame that she didn't want to see his 'bulk.' He did have plenty to show off, and not just being a pervert. Far was quite proud of his body. Came with being active. "I'm out of my element." he protested to O'wain. "I don't usually approach women in the dining hall." Even now, he was technically approaching the male candidate. He'd just taken a seat next to the more feminine one.

Silver-grey eyes watched the brownrider cautiously, considering. O'wain was competition, it seemed, and he hadn't even known the game was afoot! well, it was now, and Farlint refused to back down from a challenge. If he'd wanted to raise this girl's stock value, he'd just sent it on an explosion for the surface. "You're going to try some of those veggies?" Way to sound disgusted, Farlint.

That was disgusting. The desperate move of a desperate man. So much green, and meatlessness.

"Pass them back down to me when you're done."

"The names O'wain," the brown rider replied to the beautiful amber eyes, taking the bowl of veg from her. "and your's?"

Briefly O'wain's eyes flashed towards Farlint as the young man asked for a taste of the vegetables. As much as he liked him he had left himself way too open for such an opportunity. Chewing a small mouthful of the meal O'wain scooped up a suitably large hunk of tomato and looked back to his competition. "Wow this is really good Far, you really need to try some of this tomato! Here!"

Grin stretching from ear to ear O'wain launched the tomato from his spoon, flinging it directly into Farlint's forehead. Slightly he prayed the young girl had a sense of humour. Even embarrassing Farlint wouldn't be worth missing the opportunity to get to know her.

Jada extended left her hand extended towards the boyishly handsome O'wain. "It is a pleasure to meet you." she told him, and glanced down. What would he see when he looked at her soft hands, she wondered idly. Long, slender fingers, clean nails, neatly clipped and curved. Callouses on the last knocked and the pads of the fingers from a lifetime of playing instruments and writing down music notes. Stained lightly with the ink she used to make her notes. They weren't the hands of someone who had worked hard, but they weren't beautiful hands. Maybe he wouldn't look at them? "My name is Jada," she told him, and glanced across the table, at her fellow Harper.

What was the relationship between these two men? The Harper considered it, taking a bite of her food. It wasn't distaste, wasn't malevolence. There was rivalry, yes, but there wasn't the feeling of anything malicious in the way that O'wain and Farlint seemed to be competing for something. She was modest, and maybe a little naive, but not a complete fool. It seemed that she was the current source of their rivalry, but was she the prize? Or just the test?

It was ncie that the brownrider seemed to be enjoying the vegetables. Jada took another scoop without asking, and bent her head to take another bite. "Wow this is really good Far, you really need to try some of this tomato! Here!" Jada lifted her head just in time; tomato went sailing through the place her head had been, and there came a wet sound.

A splat.

Farlint really hated O'wain sometimes, almost as much as he respected him. They weren't friends in the way of I'shan and Farlint, but O'wain was a good old fellow and his brown was a handsome lad. There was respect, since O'wain had managed to live through a time when many other riders had failed. He had been abandoned, and yet remained strong, with a good sense of humor. Many of his brethren could not say the same. The Weyr was altogether too dour, and the Beastcrafter was not sure how he could change that.

He saw the beauty raise her head, and heard O'wain's playful words with half an ear. But he certainly noticed getting smacked in the fish face. The vegetables were... Farlint's handsome face contorted, and he bared his teeth in a broad smile, to please the brownrider. "I think," he said slowly, "Your tomato fell off your utensil."

Red went flying back across the table.

Just as he launched the missile O'wain noticed that the pretty young girl had stretched her hand out to him. "My name is Jada," he heard as he watched the sloppy red projectile splatter across Farlint's forehead. Eyebrow raised he admired the slender hand she offered, particularly the soft, olive skin. Tracing his gaze up along her arm O'wain once more became lost in her eyes and for a moment nothing else existed but those amber orbs before him. At least until a soft ball of mush thudded into his chest and fell into his lap. So, O'wain grinned to himself, battle had been joined it seems.

"My lady," he said regally as he swung around to stand at the head of the table and took Jada's hand. "For your own protection I suggest you take cover"

Taking the beautiful hand in his he spun the young maiden to her feet and placed himself between her and his opposition.

"We couldn't have a vision as perfect as your's marred in the cross fire of warfare." He explained with a bow. Before waiting for a response he turned and flourished his spoon, sweeping up the bowl of ammunition with his free hand.

With a wink to Far he proclaimed his challenge. "Stand good sir or I will have your head!"

About the time that Farlint threw something back, Jada decided to beat a hasty, wise retreat. "I do declare." she told O'wain dryly. "Such things are for men, not the likes of little old me." So yes. She could handle using him as a meat shied. He was much broader in the shoulders than Farlint, and would protect her better as she tried to finish her meal in relative peace. Poor Andol, however; he seemed to not be the recipient of such a gesture. "Maybe you could use something other than the vegetables to fight with? Like that meat you boys like so much." She nodded to Farlint's plate.

The fair maiden took the hand of the gallant knight and was quickly put in another castle.

Her knight lifted the spoon in his hand, loading it with ammunition, and Jada snuck backwards. This was not going to end well. She'd view it all from over here.

"Hey!" he protested, watching the brownrider get all gooey-eyed at the young woman in front of them. "She's my lady! Give her back; you will not take her to your tunnel, snake!"

Really? Had he just made such a poor example of a joke?

Jada was spun to her feet and placed behind the wider man, which was probably for the best as Farlint lifted up the vegetable bowl and hurled it at O'wain's head- bowl and all. "Have this, knave!"

"FOOD FIGHT." he heard someone yell.