Daily noms

[S'yal]

R'vis was not often spotted in public unless he was attending to his daily chores or watching the prisoners, as expected of a Weyrling. Today, however, was an exception. He'd finished with his duties for the day, and Rikath had managed to convince him that their time was better spent in the mess hall. After all, His needed to eat more. The boy was so skinny that the Blue worried that some prisoner would make the mistake of viewing him as the weakest link in the guards.

Of course, no prisoner would dare when they saw the Blue that was always hovering near R'vis, ready to bite the head off of any who threatened him. He loved his R'vis, and he decided to show it by licking the back of the weyrlings head. R'vis smiled as he hunched over his tray of food, poking at it with a fork every once in a while. He really wasn't all that hungry, but Rikath had insisted and he was perfectly willing to eat for his beloved Blue. However, all meat on his plate had vanished. The culprit was sitting smugly to the side, her brilliant head tucked against her chest and wings stretched wide. Empress had taken that food, and she wasn't sorry for it! She had been hungry! The pretty Gold was currently preening herself in hopes that a Bronze might come by and spot her, so then she would have -another- boy to boss around!

Mine, you need to eat more. Rikath insisted, headbutting R'vis' back and causing the boy to nearly faceplant into his food. Oops. Rikath was a bit rough, and when he had been a tiny dragonet this was perfectly okay. But now the Brownsized Blue was getting way too big for such things... though it wasn't like that'd stop him. Maybe just make him a bit more gentle. R'vis didn't mind, however. He enjoyed every contact with Rikath, and it wasn't like the big Blue was hurting him. If someone else treated him in this manner he'd probably have a heart attack... but with Rikath it was cherished. Empress! Did you eat all the meat? That was for R'vismine! He scolded the Gold, who merely stared at him with blue and green eyes.

"A-ah... it's o-okay Rikath... I d-d-don't like meat..." He stammered, and Rikath licked his head again, making the curly hair stick up in every direction. He quickly shoveled the vegetables on the plate into his mouth to make his dragon happy, before looking around. They were alone at the table, something R'vis was happy about. He had once taken to tagging after large groups for protection, but now that he had his Rikath he didn't need to do that. Now he kept to himself and his dragon... oh, and Empress. The spoiled Gold had just returned from a visit to his parents, where he'd sent a description of his dragon. They had excitedly told him to visit them the second he was able, and he was looking forward to it. He'd also noted that the Gold was glowing, but it was probably just because he'd oiled her extra today as a reward for her good behavior. Also because she was in an incredibly good mood.

[Wren]

It was a good thing that Auctor was a patient man, because otherwise he might well have throttled a few people today. It was too hot, he thought, in the middle of summer; it made the prisoners bad-tempered, volatile and uncooperative, and as the guardmaster, Auctor was the one responsible for making sure that they didn’t get too out of hand. It wasn’t the violent ones that bothered him; they could easily be overcome if enough people were set to it, no, it was the sly, clever ones that he had trouble with. They preferred to talk their way out of work, coming up with fine, pedantic arguments toevery reasoning that was offered to him. Most of the guards just got annoyed when this happened and gave the offender a good hiding. Auctor was far too sensible for that, but it still took all of guile to bend such prisoners to his will.

The result was that, by lunch-time, he was hot, tired and hungry from his mental exertions. He strode into the outdoor hall with an expression even stormier and sterner than usual. The first thing he noticed about the space was the half-grown blue sitting lodged between tables, behind a boy who was assumedly his rider. Auctor raised an eyebrow, dragons not often being seen in the mess hall, but quickly put it from his mind; so long as the dragon wasn’t causing trouble, Auctor didn’t care where it sad. The senior guard took a plate from the sideboard and filled it without really looking at what he was picking up, then turned back around and looked for a place to sit. Usually Auctor ate by himself, not because he didn’t like company but because he preferred to eat quickly and get back to his duties before something went wrong. Today though, there were no gaps in the groups of people eating, and the emptiest place available was where the dragon and his boy were sitting.

Auctor made his way over to their table and sat opposite the boy. Now that he could see his face he recognised him, though the name of the dragon still eluded him. He looked the boy over, taking in his ruffled hair and empty plate. “Good afternoon.” He said blunt manner, “R’vis, isn’t it?” Before he had even set down his plate the smaller of his two green firelizards, Sally, began to pester him for food, and he gave her a slice of meat without a second thought. The larger firelizard, Sammy, did not seem in such good spirits. She hoisted her plump body onto the table and glared across at the gold; Sammy was a dominant sort of creature who disliked other females, especially gold ones. The only reason she put up with Sally was because they were clutch mates.

[S'yal]

R'vis was most certainly surprised when someon sat at the table, his eyes darting up to look at the face of the Guardmaster. He blushed brightly as he realized he was in the presence of someone who outranked him by a good deal, and made every effort to be as polite as possible. He nodded shyly, receiving a little nudge from Rikath as encouragement. "Um... y-yes. You're the g-guardmaster, r-right? It's... v-very nice to meet y-you, sir!" He stammered out, occasionally hesitating as he tried to pick the best words with which to address the guardmaster. This was a man most certainly deserving respect... The guards didn't get much credit, but R'vis realized they risked much more then a dragonrider or Wherhandler. Prisoners were wary to hurt someone bonded to a giant monster, especially the wherhandlers. Whers did not go Between when theirs died... they went insane and started trying to maul whoever did it. But a guard? Life at the prisoner was much more dangerous for them.

Tell him I said hello. Rikath added, watching the guard with gently whirling eyes. I wonder if it's difficult being a guard? It must be very dangerous. They should get a dragon to protect them! R'vis smiled at Rikath's words, tilting his head to one side as was his habit when he spoke to his dragon. I'll never let anyone hurt you, Mine.

"R-Rikath says hello. He's v-very c-curios about g-guards..." He spoke hesitantly, the shy boy hoping that Auctor would stay to talk to him for a while. If Auctor didn't watch his step, he'd very likely have a blue weyrling idolizing him. R'vis wished he could be as brave as the guards were! Or half as strong!

Empress meanwhile, viewed the Green with disdain. She had no love for Greens, viewing them as hussies that far too often stole a Bronze or Brown away from her. They could keep to their Blues, Empress had no want for them... but the Browns and Bronzes belonged to -her-. Stupid hussy firelizards, they were so stupid they couldn't even remember their clutches... Empress grumbled before hissing at the Green. She received a scolding thought from R'vis, and immediately decided to sulk.

[Wren]

Auctor inclined his head at the boy’s greeting, roundly ignoring his stutter as if he didn’t notice. He didn’t quite smile, he very rarely smiled, but he made sure that his expression softened into more friendly lines than the glowering ones they’d had before. He could tell from the way R’vis blushed and hesitated between words that the boy was a little shy, and Auctor wanted to reassure him that he wasn’t about to bite his head off. If anything, it was rather gratifying to see that someone had some respect for him, even if it was a young, impressionable weyrling. “Nice to meet you, too.” He answered, his usually hard, stern voice softened a little softer around the edges.

When the boy mentioned his dragon, Auctor glanced at the beast; Rikath, that was his name. He nodded to the big blue in greeting, “A pleasure to meet you, master Rikath,” He said, “I’d be happy to indulge any question you might have on the subject.” Meaning that he’d happily answer any questions the blue had about guards, if he really was curious. It occurred to him that there might be a reason why R’vis and his dragon were sitting alone, away from the other human occupants of the mess hall. Perhaps it was just because the boy was shy around his peers. Whatever the reason, Auctor felt a little sorry for him; as unsmiling and grumpy as he might seem sometimes, he was compassionate at heart and liked everyone to be as happy as possible.

Sammy, meanwhile, was having no such kind thoughts. At Empress’s hissing she mantled her wings and raised her head, eyes swirling orange and red. How dare that gold hiss at her? Had she no respect? She settled down smugly when Empress was scolded; served her right, didn’t it? Auctor ignored the little spat; he was used to Sammy causing trouble with golds; the green had a rather stupid habit of trying to boss around any flitter she came across regardless of their size.

[S'yal]

R'vis smiled weakly, subtly reaching out and catching Empress around her middle before she could launch herself at the Green. He dragged her close to him and scratched at her eyeridges until she melted into a pile of firelizard goo, laying on the table and crooning at him. She'd evidently forgotten the rude little brat sitting across from the table, and R'vis really didn't want her to kill the Green. That would be very, very unfortunate. He looked up to Rikath for a moment as the Blue seemed to come to some decision.

Pleased to meet you, as well. The Blue spoke to the guardmaster, having decided not to speak through R'vis for the moment. This man seemed worthy enough for a dragon to speak to him... even if it was just a Blue Weyrling. Besides, R'vis stammered a lot and sometimes it was hard for people to understand him, then he got all embarrassed and sad. That wouldn't do! Do you work as long as Dragonriders do? Is it very dangerous? Have you ever been stabbed? His questioned were asked with the happy excitement of youth, eager to learn about guards. They were his comrades, after all.

R'vis fell silent, not sure what to say. His dragon was talking, after all. Occasionally Rikath stopped his waiting for an answer to bump his nose affectionately against R'vis' face... and nearly make him fall over. He simply smiled and rubbed the blue nose. He loved Rikath, really, even if he was a bit rough. "Um..." He finally found the courage to speak and voice his own little question. "D-do you t-talk to the p-prisoners often...? I'm u-usually too afraid..." He admitted.

[Wren]

Auctor was a little surprised to be spoken too directly by a dragon, it had only happened a few times in his life, and he still found the experience a little strange; he was used to sounds that had direction as well as volume, but Rikath’s voice seemingly had none of the former. It came not from any external point that he could easily locate, but rather it was inside his head, as if one of his own thoughts, it was everywhere. Of course, logically he knew it came from the dragon himself, but it didn’t sound that way. That he thought, must take a lot of getting used to.

He didn’t show any of this on his face, of course; he was well-practiced in schooling his expression into hard, unchanging neutrality, and when he answered after a brief pause, his voice was just as it always was. “I work as long as the riders, yes, but in longer shifts with longer breaks between them.” He said. Personally he preferred these hours to the ones graduated were expected to keep; how anyone could manage it was beyond him. “I’ve never been stabbed, no, thank Faranth, but, yes, it’s dangerous work, particularly when dealing with the more aggressive prisoners.” His tone gave absolutely no sign that he minded at all, indeed, he rather enjoyed his job.

Auctor watched as Rikath nudged his rider, and he noticed the easy affection between the two; the simple, uncomplicated love one held for the other. He was reminded, quite strangely, of his wife, and if he was a man who often smiled at happy thoughts, he certainly would have. He turned his attention to R’vis when the boy spoke, and he paused between mouthfuls to answer; “I tell them what to do. If they have a problem I listen and sort it out. They don’t need to be talked to beyond that unless they’re brought in for questioning, and the Warden usually takes care of that.” He looked at the boy, and decided that he liked his honesty; most people his age would never admit any lack of courage, and their boasting perpetual boasting was irritating. “I wouldn’t worry about it.” Auctor said now, with a slight movement of his shoulders that suggested a shrug; “You probably won’t have to deal with them unless any great number try to escape.”

[S'yal]

Rikath would have been surprised by the surprise, if he could tell that the other was surprised. As a weyrling, he wasn't yet aware of the fact that Dragons didn't often talk to those other then their riders and their weyrmates, but Rikath found it easier to just directly speak to others. It saved his R'vis embarrassment over his stutter, and helped people to understand what the pair were trying to say better.

Fascinating! I hope that my R'vis has plenty of breaks. He crooned, resting his chin on top of the weyrling's head. It was a peculiar sight, looking as if the Blue was about to eat R'vis' head. Not that he would, he loved his R'vis! I would be very angry if I was stabbed. Rikath informed the guard in the matter of fact manner that all children seemed to have. Of course, he wouldn't act on that anger. Just the thought of hurting a human made Rikath feel sick to his stomachs. As if he might vomit everywhere!

"Oh... y-you help them w-with their p-problems?" His eyes were wide with respect, and Rikath snorted. Hey! R'vis was supposed to be all respectful towards him! "Y-yeah... that would be v-very bad... Rikath d-doesn't hurt humans s-so we'd be in a b-bad situation if a-a riot started!" He sounded very thankful over the fact that Rikath didn't hurt humans. That would have made him sick to his stomach. Empress, meanwhile, shifted from the table to crawling up R'vis' arm and nuzzling against his face, pausing to give her Green 'rival' a nasty look. "D-do... the prisoners h-h-hurt each o-other often?"

[Wren]

“Well, yes, I think I’d be rather angry if I was stabbed as well.” Auctor agreed, having now grown a little accustomed to Rikath’s seemingly disembodied voice. Usually he would have pointed out, in his rather acerbic way, that one might well be dead after being stabbed, but it would be an obvious statement to make, and he didn’t think it was do the dragon’s apparently rather timid rider any good. Besides, R’vis was only young, and despite the fact that Rikath was already a pretty impressive size, Auctor had to remember that the blue was to.

He scowled a little at Rikath when he snorted, not being one to let even the merest hint of disrespect go, even if it was from a half-grown dragon. R’vos was so polite though, and apparently rather in awe of Auctor, that the guardmaster could not be truly angry. He was beginning to think that perhaps he ought to spend more time around ordinary people, and not just eat alone all the time. Talking to people other than just prisoners and his family gave him some perspective, he realised, and helped him keep his feet on the ground in a world where it would be easy to forget to be sane.

At R’vis’s question, he nodded. “The violent ones are always starting fights. A lot of them are supposedly recovered dusters, but the cravings fray their tempers and put them constantly on the brink of lashing out. Often, when there’s been a fight and I get them to tell me what it was about, it was something as seemingly trivial as someone borrowing a sock.” He shrugged. He’d been shocked, when he’d first come to Warden’s, by just how pugnacious the violent criminals could be, and it had taken a few sevendays for him to realise that the only way to deal with them was to get as tough as they were and cultivate an air of command. “Not all of them are like that though.” He added, for the sake of being balanced. “The calmer ones are alright if treated fairly. Some of them are candidates for the next clutch, as you probably know.”

Sammy, meanwhile, had seen the look Empress gave her and was entirely displeased. She launched herself across the table, hissing, but she was too fat to be very fast, and Auctor grabbed her by the tail before she could get anywhere. He pulled her back, and with a practiced motion, turned her little face to him. She wriggled and tried to break free, but Auctor held fast and forced her to look into his eyes, willing her to return to his rooms at once. She protested, but he insisted, and with an angry shriek she disappeared into thin air and Auctor was left holding nothing. Sally, the other green, gave a short whimper for her sister, but then she crept up onto the table, and holding her dark body low, gave a shy, rather apologetic chirrup of greeting to the gold.