Dignity

This was completely beneath him, and Erisi wasn't just saying that. The young man was fairly confident that dish scrubbing was not in his job description. He was a Harper - at the very least he would instruct children over cleaning up after the slobs that this makeshift Weyr contained. His point was that his talents applied to a vastly different area of skills than the one they were forcing upon him. Sure, other candidates were getting stuck with the same tasks, or even worst ones, but if anyone in this Weyr had any sense, they'd give meaningless tasks to people who couldn't do anything else. That was what Erisi would have done, and well, he was fairly confident that the way he wanted things done was the right way for things to be done in.

Black hair was falling into his eyes, but he didn't dare brush them back with his hands - for one, they were dirty because the dishes were even more than disgusting; and secondly, the water had long ago soaked his hands, and he did not enjoy the feel of them touching the dishes let alone his own face. It was very likely at this point that Erisi was pissed at his own hair, rather than his general situation. If he had any more of a rebellious streak in him, though, he would have just not done his chores like he was supposed to. The threat of being put back on the sharding island was enough to get him to do what was requested of him. He wasn't a dimglow. He'd rather bake to death in a place with some luxury than a sandy beach with none.

He was sitting down with his legs crossed one of the other, and to his right was a pile of dirty dishes, and to his left was a pile of clean (if not a little soapy) dishes. He considered it a job well-done, because as far as he was concerned it was a sharding miracle that he was doing this in the first place. Erisi had successfully segregated himself from the other workers, because it was far easier to brood on his own than it was in a group. His lips were pressed in a thin line, brows knitted as he furiously scrubbed a plate down. Oh yeah, this was definitely beneath him. Erisi had sunken to an all time low, just by touching a single dish that he did not dirty himself. He could pick up after himself fine, it was picking up after others that he had an entire dragon-sized bag full of issue with.

He wasn't a team player sometimes, to put things nicely.

Erisi wasn't the only 'candidate' displeased with his assignment. When told that he was expected to make clothing, Talian wasn't sure what to say. He didn't say anything, actually, though his quizzical and downright offended expression should have been a clue; he had no idea how to make clothing. It was a menial though necessary task, but the frivolity of it wasn't what bothered him. It was the lack of thought. He was a healer! He was more useful in other positions. If the dragonriders were determined to make their slave-candidates pick up some of the weyr's random slack, he could have at least been assigned to something that required no skill.

Making clothing required knowledge of fabric and sewing. Talian had neither. He was more likely to waste a lot of time and destroy a bunch of materials than actually produce wearable clothing.

He trudged into the kitchen, searching something to hold water. After discussing the chores with some other unfortunates assigned to the same task, his particular part had been narrowed to softening and trimming leather and pre-washing fabric. Didn't they have crafters for this? Still, this was Talian's current task, and he was going to get it out of the way.

"Excuse me," he said softly, trying to get Erisi's attention. "Do you have something I could put some water in?" He was carrying a bundle of fabric and various other supplies with him. He still found it...unfitting.

The look that was sent in Talian's direction was not exactly friendly. To be honest, it was probably the exact opposite of friendly with a little dash of impatience to top it off. Erisi was having a rough enough time at doing his own chore. He did not have the time nor the desire to help anyone else with their's, especially some soft-spoken candidate. Erisi wanted to be done with his own chores so he could do nothing else for the rest of the day (which he was still a long way from accomplishing), and chatting it up with another candidate was only going to make things go slower for him. He felt justified in wearing an agitated expression on his face.

Wiping his hands on his pants, he pushed his bangs back out of his face so he could stare the other candidate down more effectively. Really, there was a whole group of weyrfolk in the kitchen, so why did Erisi have to be singled out? It was exactly like the time he had to deal with that bronzerider. People he did not want to talk to always had a way of talking to him anyways. "What do you think I'm cleaning dishes with, my own spit? Of course I have something to hold water in. Great job on asking something we both already know the answer to." Erisi was unimpressed, and probably was not in the best mood to be impressed to begin with.

With a sigh, Erisi considered ending the conversation there and leaving the other man to fend for himself. But, he was in a mood to vent, and there was some poor fool standing next to him to vent at. "I'm a sharding Harper, and I get to do dishes for a living. I am stuck in a miserable makeshift weyr doing dishes. Here, you can have my bucket, dump the crap out of it and refill it, and if I'm lucky maybe that means I'll have no chores for the rest of the day." He threw his arms up in the air in a severe gesture of not caring.

Talian looked back at Erisi with bland disappointment. Did this wherrybrain actually think he was that stupid? Talian knew he wasn't, so he didn't bother to defend himself. "Well, I figured you would take exception if I just snatched something without asking," he said. Coming from another boy, it might have been infused with sarcasm. Talian just told it like it was. With a weary shrug, he approached the took the basin Erisi had offered him.

Erisi's little outburst helped explain things. Talian nodded empathetically, though his expression was still rather deadpan and unimpressed. "I'm no happier than you are," he said as he took the bucket. He didn't elaborate on his craft or his rank; it didn't seem important in context.  He was just happy to have something to put water in, and hopefully to get away from this crabby person. Being yelled at like that was sure to get Talian even more depressed.

He took the bucket and began rinsing it out. He was silent and dour as ever, not bothering to look at Erisi, though quietly listening to him just the same. Erisi must have been another one of the unfortunate stolen. Talian was more inclined to excuse the cruel words with that in mind, but he was still somewhat skittish.

"I am pretty sure you put yourself in a bad spot to begin with anyways," Erisi commented with a dismissive snort. Talian had just made an unfortunate choice by seeking Erisi out for aid over anyone else. Erisi had thought that segregating himself from the core group was enough of a hint to leave him be, but people seemed to be incapable of taking his subtle hints. It was like he was inviting them over by being as off-putting as possible, and it made absolutely no sense to him.

Talian had taken his bucket, and he was actually unsure if he was happy about that or not. He certainly didn't have to share, but perhaps it was his fault for saying Talian could use it and expecting the man to pick up on the subtle inclinations of his tone that said to not touch what was his. Thinking on that, he decided not to bite the other man's head off for taking his bucket. Erisi would just get up and grab another one when Talian left. His legs could probably use the stretch, since he could not recall how long he had been sitting in the same position. Stiff knees were the worst, and he could use a small break from doing his chores.

"You sound a great deal more content than I," Erisi scoffed. He wasn't really buying Talian's sympathy ploy. In the end, everyone seemed to think it was better for the weyr to steal people from their homes and drop them off in deplorably hot conditions. "I'm assuming that your arrival was fairly jolly?" Why he was even bothering to try and talk to Talian was beyond him. Perhaps he was really just that bored, or perhaps he had gone too long without venting. Erisi was concerned that if he didn't express himself every so often, his mind would implode from all the frustrations it was trying to keep in. "Nothing beats getting drugged and swept off your feet to a new wondrously sunny land," he continued in a mockingly singsong tone of voice. At least he wasn't mocking Talian this time, and his singsong voice was far less grating than his normal one.

Talian turned his head slowly and shot a deadly serious look at Erisi. The harper thought he looked content? He narrowed his eyes. "No," he said simply, firmly, his voice filled with a blend of vague and layered emotions. He lifted the bucket and carried it to be refilled, though he paused before sliding out of the room.

He listened to Erisi's continued rant, the corners of his mouth twitching and gradually dipping lower. "You'd be surprised how many share your attitude," he said, thinking about all the less-than-content prisoners he'd encountered. He didn't stop to talk to most of them, but he knew they were there. The only person he'd run in to who seemed in favor of this cruelty was Lymsleia, and he had her doubts about her. She was simply too happy to be totally sincere. No one could handle kidnapping that well.

He cocked his head towards Erisi, awaiting reply before leaving. Like Erisi, Talian was a bit of a loner at Katila.  In Talian's case, however, it was less form desire and more from reality. Talian was far from a social butterfly, and he had little to discuss with anyone he encountered. Some small part of him almost wanted to stay and vent...

"Well, good, glad to know that not everyone here is delirious." Erisi did take a small amount of comfort in knowing that he was not the only one who was displeased with the situation. But, then again he doubted that anyone could be happy with being kidnapped. There was no active display of hate for the Weyr, though. With so many people being unhappy, one would expect them to band together and try and make a difference. Sure, they were all stuck down South with a bunch of twisted dragonriders, so there was no sure way to leave... but that didn't mean they couldn't make the dragonriders lives equally miserable. They certainly deserved some small amount of payback.

But, Erisi would never be the one to take the lead in such an idea, if only because he valued his hide too highly to allow it to be burnt back on Candidate Isle. He'd already been threatened with it once, and the idea of roasting in general was highly unappealing to him. "You know, perhaps it's because I've been running into more dragonriders than anything else. I haven't been particularly thrilled by Candidacy, and have been... avoiding a great deal of it." He did what was required of him, but it was clear that Erisi had not gone out of his way to make friends. This was the biggest stretch to talk to someone that he had done in a while, and Talian wasn't even that friendly to begin with. However, they shared similar views, and Erisi felt more at ease with Talian because of it.

"I was perfectly happy at home. I got to sing, and I got to drink, and I believe drinking is a little more frowned upon here. I think they could have at least asked me, then I could have gotten the pleasure of telling them 'No' before they did what they were going to do to begin with." Talian looked like he was leaving, which didn't particularly bother Erisi. If the man wanted to go, he very well could go. Erisi's judgment of him was less harsh than it was on others, if only because they were stuck in the same position. He did not like the man enough yet to flat out say 'come sit and chat with me'. That was a little... too forward for Erisi's tastes.

Since Erisi was bothering to talk to him, Talian didn't leave quite yet. That would be rude. He listened to Erisi's next spill and nodded throughout, his expression gradually souring more and more. He agreed wholeheartedly.

"I'm not interested in these dragons," Talian confessed. He didn't say anything about it, but he'd begun considering drastic measures to avoid it. He'd been informed that all 'candidates' were forced to stand the first time around. Since the mother dragon had mated, that meant Talian didn't have a lot of time to make up his mind concerning those drastic measures.

He realex a little, his posture becoming less rigid and his facial expression less minimal. He tended to amble his way through Katilan life as a zombie, but it really didn't suit him. Withdrawing was a means to an end, a way to protect himself. Since Erisi was no longer showing his claws, Talian figured he may as well calm down and enjoy at least a few minutes of human interaction.

"I wasn't asked either," he said, leaning idly against the wall and letting the bucket rest beside him. "But I don't know that I've met anyone who was..." He took a moment to think about the usual tone of the kitchens and dining cavern when he visited at mealtime. "...I see no reason why you couldn't drink. I see the...natives...doing it all the time," he reasoned softly. He wasn't a drinker himself. The academic side of him forbade the distraught side from picking the habit up.

"If we were interested in dragons, I doubt we would have dedicated ourselves to our craft, but then again I didn't think any dragons survived until I was forced down here." If he had a choice, he'd still be a Harper. It was a lifestyle he enjoyed, and felt like he had his own little niche in the world. Katila Weyr had completely thrown him out of his element, and now was expecting him to desire being a dragonrider on top of being a better Harper. There was no way to stress that he didn't want to be a dragonrider and have the other dragonriders understand that. They'd claim he was just having difficulty adjusting, and Erisi would claim that he wasn't going to adjust at all. It was his only method of stubbornly sticking a boot up some dragonrider asses.

For some reason, Talian was still lingering, and they were holding some semblance of a conversation between one another. It was the first time Erisi really actively engaged someone at Katila Weyr in amiable conversation. He had certainly thrown a few tantrums at those who deserved it, but genuine conversation was something he had been sorely lacking these past few sevendays. It was likely because he was so determined to hate everyone involved in this sharding Weyr. "If I could leave this place, I really would. I'd consider it the best decision I made in my entire life." He rubbed his hand over his face, wearied by the thought of his doom. There was no silver lining in this situation for Erisi. Rather, it was consistently bleak, and there seemed to be no light at the end of the tunnel.

"Well, you'd imagine that most of us would say 'no'. We had lives, and I think by our age we were done with foolish fantasies of riding dragons all across Pern." There would always be a childish wonder, but that was just that... childish. Erisi was grown up, set in his ways, and he did not doubt that many other Candidates were too.

"Hmm, I think that would be an excellent way to pass through Candidacy before they realize I'm just not going to Impress, by being happily drunk." Erisi actually did not enjoy being completely drunk, it led to things like... oh, getting kidnapped. However, he did enjoy getting tipsy. It would probably make him more likable. "You should drink with me some time, and if we're lucky we can forget that we were kidnapped altogether.

Talian's face hardened as Erisi spoke. The other young man expressed opinions so similar to those held by Talian, though his were much less hard-edged and cold in their connotations. Talian was quietly bitter towards the dragonriders, but he couldn't bring himself to rage at them so. Still, for someone so timid and used to shying away from the outrage of others, Talian took comfort in hearing Erisi's words. He wasn't alone in detesting the dragonriders for their cruel ways, swooping down on young men and women and plucking them away from their livelihoods. In some cases, those livelihoods were all they had.

The healer had lost a lot in his trip south. His life had finally started to work out. He'd achieved a job he enjoyed rather than one thrust upon him, he'd been recognized for his hard work..he even had a girlfriend, possibly even a wife or even a child. Instead, he was here, forced to do work he hated for people who expected him to embrace their way of life.

It just wasn't working.

He tossed his hair aside and reached for a nearby chair. He pulled it close and seated himself before clearing his throat to answer Erisi. "I'm normally not much of a drinker," he announced, "But I wouldn't be surprised to see them lay even more arbitrary rules on us once that mother dragon lays her eggs...So perhaps I should give it a try while I still can," he reasoned lightly. The prospect of going out and drinking with someone was new to him. He'd enjoyed a celebratory drink once or twice, but that was about the extent of it. He laced his fingers together in his lap and bit his lip.

"I may have escaped standing for a dragon, though," he said. He hadn't been directly told that he was 'unfit', but he highly suspected it based on how B'jin and the Weyrleader acted around him. "I think they've decided that picking me up was a mistake." Of course, such a realization was too late to help him.

So, this wasn't exactly friendship, but it was the closest thing Erisi had gotten to it since arriving at Katila Weyr. He had secluded himself out of sheer stubbornness. The Harper had wanted nothing to do with anyone in the Weyr, and thought that congregating with the other Candidates would undoubtedly be depressing. Erisi liked to complain plenty himself, but when it came to listening to other people complain... his patience was limited, if not nonexistent. He could handle this conversation with Talian, though, mostly because he was directing it. There was a certain feeling of security when he was in control of the conversation, dictating what they talked about and what they didn't. While he had seemed nearly completely antisocial before, it was most likely due to the environment.

He was far more vocal back home, whether that be for better or for worse. It was likely worse.

"You don't really look like the drinking type," Erisi drawled with an inquisitive arch of his brow. It was hard to tell whether he was disapproving of Talian's tame nature. He could already tell that the other Candidate didn't well... get out as much, he just didn't seem to be the type to enjoy drinking and partying. "So you should definitely get some experience in now rather than later. What's the worst that could happen, anyways? It's not like we know anyone here." It was very unlikely that Erisi would get so drunk as to embarrass himself. He needed that sense of control over situations at all times to get drunk off his ass. But, hey, sometimes it was nice to entertain the idea.

"What?" and Erisi definitely sounded envious when it seemed as if Talian had somehow managed to get out of attending a Hatching. Erisi had been trying to think of ways to get out of it without getting his ass put back on Candidate Isle. "...Really? Well, congratulations, they removed you from your life for nothing. That's pretty ridiculous - not that any of us really want to Stand, but they've kidnapped you for little reason now. They want nice little Candidates for their nice little dragons, more than they want us for our actual skill." He kind of felt bad for Talian, almost as bad as he felt for himself.

"Maybe they'd be nice enough to send you back home... but I doubt it. They're really not that nice."

"I'm not really," Talian replied. He'd seen the effects of alcohol often enough, but always through the eyes of a healer. "I've had wine with my meals on occasion, but that's the full extent of it." It was sometimes enough to be fuzzy, but that was it. He could see the appeal of it, but it jut wasn't the sort of thing he'd ever had time for. Even if it was, he warned himself away from such things. He had work, and his job was important...far too important to cloud his mind.  Maybe having one or two wouldn't be such a bad idea, though.

His attitude shifted in a more favorable direction when Erisi continued, expressing sympathy for Talian's plight. How odd, for someone to go from practically screaming at him to consoling him within a few minutes. He just shrugged. "They've already informed me that they won't," he said. "Thank you, though. You're right...it's ridiculous. They have some way of telling before they take us, but the dragon who took me made a mistake." That was putting it mildly. Of course, Talian assumed it was just a simple mistake, not that Larrikith had failed to notice his depression. He didn't know enough about dragons to know that depression put him out of the running. He just knew that as soon as he was told he was a candidate, he was quickly told 'actually, probably not'.

"They immediately told me that they really needed my skills, of course," he added glumly. That was less than ideal.  He left his rank out of the conversation and left it at that before he picked up the bucket and started towards the nearest hot water outlet. "I need to at least get to boiling this leather...Best to go ahead and get this out of the way, I guess," he said. He didn't mind
continuing the conversation while he did so, though. Perhaps he even sounded...hopeful?

Erisi looked unimpressed, mostly because he was. It was clear that Talian had grown up in a completely different environment than he had if only drank wine with dinner. Erisi resisted the urge to rub his forehead, "We are really going to need to fix that." Someone was going to have to introduce Talian to actual living. Eri's opinion of the man was that Talian did not enjoy life much at all. The other Candidate certainly seemed like the type who would sit down all day and work, forgetting to eat every now and again because his work was that important. That was the impression Talian gave off, which wasn't bad, but Erisi didn't consider it good either.

"That their dragons made a mistake doesn't surprise me. Maybe they're getting sick again," Erisi could hope. It wasn't that he actually wanted dragons dying all over the place again, rather he was just feeling particularly vindictive against these dragons in this Weyr. Perhaps it wasn't even the dragons that were the problem either. If there was a dragonrider specific sickness, then well, Erisi would be pretty content over the dragonriders here getting what they deserved. Maybe not a deathly sickness either, just one that made them all painfully miserable for months. That would be perfect.

"They're covering their asses," Erisi replied with a roll of his eyes. His dishes were momentarily being neglected, but he thought that was well enough. They'd probably be happy he was talking to someone, even if that someone was equally displeased with the current situation, and even if all Erisi was doing in the conversation was whining about Katila Weyr. It was improvement to... a very small degree, but any improvement was better than none. For a while Erisi had been determined to be of absolutely no use to anyone. "Honestly, who cares about working right now? This isn't even within my skill assets." Erisi was basically telling Talian to stop working completely to sit and chat with him. He figured it was doing two things for him at once, making a friend and sticking it to some dragonrider asses.

"Nor mine," Talian agreed. His own skill set was vastly different, and in his opinion far too advanced for him to waste time on making clothes that no one was even going to wear. He didn't argue with the riders because it was pointless. They would do as they pleased and there was little he could do to stop them. He may as well accept his fate and get it all out of the way.

Of course, Erisi was convincing in his own way. Talian shrugged and set the basin down in silent agreement before taking his seat once more. "I agree with you. And I guess with good reason, at least as far as self-interest goes...I would tell everyone the moment I returned home if they were willing to release me," he admitted. The whole thing left a bad taste in his mouth. People would find out one day, it was only a matter of time. The northerners would never forgive the dragonriders for this deception. They were suiciding themselves decades in advance!

That's what Talian's pessimistic mind imagined, anyhow.

He leaned back in his seat and frowned. "You're only the second person I've spoken to ," he said. Well, third. He wasn't counting B'jin at the moment, even though B'jin was the one he'd spoken to the most. He just didn't know what to make of the greenrider and preferred not to think about it for the time being.  He'd spoken to several other people in passing as well, but they hardly counted. Patients, fellow healers, things of that nature.

He wasn't sure what to make of Erisi yet. Talian's accepting side wasn't so bothered by the abruptness, and he'd never been a terribly independent person, so he didn't mind Erisi's insistence on control. Talian naturally assumed himself the more intelligent of thw two, but he took no pride in it, so he felt no need to show it off...at the moment, it was nice to not be alone. He'd tried to be a loner for his first days, but the greenrider B'jin had shattered that...and in a weird way, Talian was happy. Without someone, anyone to talk to, he'd gotten dangerously depressed.

"If, in part, the reason that they remove us from our homes is so we can use our skills here... it's pretty frustrating that we're doing dishes and... whatever it is that you're doing." Erisi honestly had no idea. He had been here long enough that he should be familiar with all the chores, but perhaps Talian was stuck with something so undignified that Erisi blocked it out of his mind. That such a thing could happened would be no real surprise to him.

Erisi smiled as Talian sat back down, the sort of smile that was derived less from happiness, and more from self-pleasure at convincing his companion to do what he wanted. It was a sort of subtle self pat-on-the-back. Obviously, chit chatting was far more satisfying than doing work that people with no skill whatsoever could accomplish. Then again, it wasn't like Erisi was much use in any other department. His teaching skills were less than favorable (he had not an ounce of patience, and was not invested in gaining some), and his actual interest really benefited nobody but himself. Singing and playing music was well and fine, but it really did nothing other than provide some entertainment value. Maybe that's what these dragonriders needed, though. They were all a little too serious for all the wrong reasons.

"I talked to the Weyrleader before, got snotty at him, got threatened in return. I've decided that conversation with you is preferable." He had a way of speaking that made it seem like talking with Talian wasn't that great, but better than talking with anyone else. It didn't seem intentional, since he was enjoying talking with Talian. His way of talking down on others was habitual - it sometimes made him very unpleasant company, since he only seemed to lighten up around friends.

"I'm Erisi, by the way. I think I've told you that I'm a Harper already." He might as well finally introduce himself, since he was starting to like Talian. Talian was a step up from every dragonrider and wherry-headed candidate in this Weyr.

Talian paused to consider potential reasons. "Well, they have me making clothing, something I have no skill in, nor do I need..." he mused. "My current assumption is that they are simply low on help. A normal Weyr would have a large population of children, would it not?" he asked.  Those children would be the ones doing the tedious chores then. The Weyr seemed understaffed overall, so why wouldn't the riders force their captives to work on menial but necessary tasks?

Of course, that was a perfectly reasonable explanation, but it didn't make Talian any happier.

"I'm Talian," he said. He couldn't remember if he'd given his name or not, but he offered it again for good measure. He didn't smile, but his eyes lit up with a faint dash of approval. Talian was one of the few people who could tolerate truly bad attitudes; Erisi hadn't even really ruffled him yet. "It's nice to meet you,  I suppose. As nice as it can be to meet under these circumstances," he said. "...I'm a healer."

"I've met the  Weyrleader myself, briefly. I didn't say much to him, nor him to me...He just came to remove me from the island." He didn't note why he'd been removed by the Weyrleader; said bronzerider had wanted to see the accidentally-stolen genius boy, of course. Talian didn't care for Erisi to know that, though.

"It's their problem that they're not making children, and also their problem that I have no intention in aiding them in that particular endeavor, and even less intention of filling a child's role in this Weyr." The way Talian explained their tedious chores made the chores somehow seem even more degrading. They really were doing work intended for children and people who had no skills. Each Candidate these dragonriders were picking out had particular skills, particular assets that would benefit the Weyr's population. These assets weren't even being used because the dragonriders needed all this menial chores done. It was frustrating, and Erisi had such a high level of dignity that it was embarrassing to him to have to do dishes. These were chores he did as a child, and he was not a child anymore.

"That sounds right. You definitely look like a Healer." That was a trade that Erisi would have never picked up. He didn't like the idea of stitching people back up, taking care of the sick. It would probably help if he actually liked most people - it seemed like a prerequisite to being a Healer. Shells, it was probably a prerequisite to being a Harper, and somehow Erisi lucked out. The only time Erisi was truly likable was when he was tipsy, and less inclined to snap someone's head off for being a wherry. Surprisingly, he was a happy, if not a little flirty drunk. In his case, it was much better than being an angry and emotional drunk, since he was already angry enough and emotional enough from day to day.

"See? He shows up to take you away from the island, and the next time I see him is probably because he'll be taking me back to the island." It wouldn't surprise Erisi, mostly because he believed that the dragonriders thought they were doing right by sticking people on an a sharding island until they calmed down. Erisi didn't care to hide his opinion about his current situation. He was unhappy, and he was just the sort of person to make sure that everyone around him knew just how unhappy he was. His only personal goal right now was to make the Searchrider that picked him up really regret it.

He looked like a healer? That was a new one, but he supposed it was a compliment. "I didn't know one could look like a healer," he said, the slightest shadow of humor creeping into his voice.  He wasn't sure why he was getting along so well with this abrasive man, but things could have been worse. Perhaps he didn't have to be totally alone here after all. The girl he'd met, Lymsleia, was nice...and the greenrider B'jin wasn't wholly terrible either, though Talian was still terrified of him on some level.

He rose to his feet again. "...Let me go ahead and cut this leather, then I would...love to have a couple drinks with you," he said. He hadn't been told not to, and it was his understanding that the rules didn't change until the mother dragon laid her eggs, and that hadn't happened yet. It felt weird to actually ask someone to drink with him. He'd never drank socially before.

He gathered the bucket and his bundle of leathers and looked towards the door. "How about this...come to the healer hall after the evening meal?" he asked tentatively. "I'm in the room at the end of the hallway on the first floor." He already had a bottle of wine in his room. He'd sipped on it a few times since arrival, since he'd been taking his meals in his quarters for the first couple of days. It didn't take long for him to realize that was unhealthy behavior, though.  He couldn't just shut himself away forever, like the Weyr didn't exist...

"What I mean, is that you just seem like the type of person a Healer would be, which is someone that is almost entirely unlike me," he answered with a little laugh. His laughter was the kind that was always seemed to be a little forced, and he likely was forcing himself to be friendlier right now. Talian was the first decent human he had bothered to converse with since arriving to Katila Weyr. He had snippets of conversations, small pleasantries to get through the day, pleasantries that were practically required by proper etiquette. Somehow, despite saying the right words to be pleasant... no one really believed him to be. That was also perfectly fine by Erisi.

"And I've got dishes to finish..." Erisi had interjected before Talian could finish his sentence. The expression that followed when he heard that Talian would like to have some drinks with him was one of mild surprise. He did not think he had been so pleasant that Talian would want to spend more time around him. Talian wasn't even the drinking type... so maybe Erisi had converted him. If there was any good that he brought to the Weyr, it was teaching Talian that drinking was a good idea. For Faranth's sake, the guy looked like a few drinks would do him wonders. "Oh, that sounds like a plan then. I'll meet you there."

Wait a second.

If Erisi had heard correctly, and there was nothing wrong with his hearing, Talian had invited him back to his room for a drink. The young man arched a brow, gave Talian a once-over, and decided that his hearing had to be wrong. It was that or Talian was completely oblivious to how that sounded. The healer certainly did not look like the type to be inviting people back to his room for anything less than innocent. So, whatever misconceptions he had immediately drawn up about Talian's offer he discarded. While he wouldn't have minded it if Talian was making that sort of invitation, he clearly wasn't, and Erisi was fine with that too. He'd very happily have a few drinks with a friend.

Faranth knew he needed some.