Trouble Comes In Small Packages

Writers: Devin, HeatherH
Date Posted: 5th January 2007

Characters: D'ren, N'kalen
Description: D'ren and N'kalen get together for some grub after drills, and Tural pops in.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 1, day 9 of Turn 4

N'kalen smiled as he approached D'ren. "Just how big is your Menanth now?"

"As big as he's going to get," the young bronzerider said as he returned the smile. "Which puts him right about in the middle compared to the rest of the bronzes here."

"Still, far larger than my Myanth. Are you headed to get something to eat? I am famished!"

D'ren nodded. "Drills sure do work up an appetite!"

The two riders headed to the dining cavern. N'kalen grabbed a tray and looked over the offerings. "Okay. We have lumpy yellow, watery green, and what appears to be stewed something. Hm...Decisions decisions."

"This is better than what we got at Harper Hall," D'ren said as he began spooning things onto his plate. "Sometimes I wondered if my food would try to get up and walk away."

"Oh c'mon. I am sure it wasn't _that_ bad!"

"You've never seen our cook's special recipe," the young man laughed.
"Thank Faranth it was only served every other sevenday."

"The weyr food has never been completely awful. It's always been at least edible. And Turns End is usually spectacular!"

"Mmmm . . . I can't wait for that." D'ren added another spoonful and moved on to the drinks.

N'kalen grabbed a mug of klah and headed to a table. "How does this one look? Doesn't seem too crowded, for now anyways."

"It looks fine to me." Setting his tray down, D'ren took a seat.

N'kalen settled himself on the bench and began to eat. A blue firelizard suddenly appeared over his head, chittering wildly. The flit zoomed around the table for a minute before diving onto D'ren's head.

The bronzerider ducked. "Hey!" he said in surprise.

As D'ren ducked, the flit missed and turned around for another pass.
~~ fun ~~
"Tural! Behave!" N'kalen called. The flit stopped mid-dive and ended up smacking into the table with a thud. As N'kalen laughed, the flit hopped up onto his shoulder and buried his head in N'kalen's hair.
"Well D'ren, I'd like you to meet Tural."

"Nice to meet you, Tural. That was certainly an entrance," he said with an amused smile.

"He is not the most graceful of flits. He is also _always_ into trouble. I have another flit, Scout, but he is usually curled up on or near Myanth. Tural on the other hand...likes to poke his nose into things."

"As long as he doesn't poke his nose into my food, I don't mind,"
D'ren said, watching the flit.

"We can hope he won't. He is usually content to eat mine for me."

"Better you than me," the bronzerider teased as he filled his fork.

The little flit looked up from where he was attacking a piece of meat and cheeped peevishly at the bronzerider. N'kalen chuckled. "I think he resents you not sharing, D'ren!"

He chuckled. "I don't mind sharing, if he only takes what I offer."
D'ren picked up a bit of wherry and held it out toward the flit.

Tural chirpped happily and hopped over to the offered piece of wherry and gulped it down. He looked at D'ren and meeped before hopping back to N'kalen's tray. "There, I think you made friends."

"I can always use more friends." D'ren smiled at N'kalen.

"Flits are useful friends, at least intelligent ones. This little wherry is just amusement."

"Amusement can be useful too," D'ren said after swallowing a mouthful. "A laugh or a smile can be just what you need sometimes."

"Don't get me wrong, I would not trade him away!" N'kalen fed Tural a bit more before he gulped down a few bites. "I've also got a bronze flit, who is a bit brighter."

"Two of them? I would have thought one would be more than enough," the bronzerider joked.

N'kalen chuckled. "Scout's the easy one. Always curled up with Myanth."

"Ah, so your dragon has a flit too."

"Well, I Impressed the wretch, but he prefers the company of dragons."

D'ren took a swallow of juice. "I'd feel the same, if I hadn't met so many nice people here."

"I've been in my weyr studying too much. I'm finally starting to study a bit less and socialize a bit more."

"What do you study?"

"I'm a Journeyman Dragonhealer. I try to keep up and study when I get a chance. It's hard when you are in a fighting wing."

"I'm sure it is," D'ren said. "I'm trying to get back to my Harper studies, and that isn't easy."

"What rank are you?"

"Junior Apprentice," he said with a slightly embarassed smile. "I was getting close to Senior when I was Searched."

"I know it's hard to find time, but if you really want to, you can slowly advance in your studies. It's a bit easier for me, since I am a dragonhealer."

"I'm sure I can. I know it might take a while, but I'd like to make Journeyman." D'ren hadn't had a strong desire to be a Master Harper, and now that he was a dragonrider it was even less.

"Keep studying. You'll get there."

D'ren smiled. "Thanks."

Last updated on the January 6th 2007

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