Size Matters

Writers: Heather K, Jelena
Date Posted: 24th April 2012

Characters: Naevyn, E'ril
Description: E'ril helps Naevyn and Eslith settle a dispute.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 6, day 18 of Turn 6

}:Mine, you are being ridiculous!:{ Eslith said with passion as she
observed her rider cutting another ridiculously small piece of meat.
She could understand caution, but this was downright absurd!

Naevyn, however, did not agree with her young green in the slightest
and held out the tiny piece of meat to Eslith, who gobbled it up in
one go. "You are supposed to chew! I don't want you choking, Es!" the
girl said in shock.

E'ril was doing rounds checking on the junior weyrlings as they fed
their lifemates. It had been about a sevenday since the hatching and
the new weyrlings still needed some extra instruction about how to
properly feed their lifemates. Also, it gave the staff some extra time
to get to know the behavior of each weyrling.

As E'ril walked around he spotted a green pair who were clearly at
odds with each other. Approaching them he said, "Good morning, ladies.
Everything going alright over here?"

"No, sir, not really," Naevyn said with a blush, trying to ignore the
indignant stare her lifemate was giving her. "Eslith won't chew, she
keeps complaining I cut the meat too small." She looked at the bucket
with tiny scraps at her feet. "But we are supposed to make them small,
right? To keep them from choking?"

E'ril nodded, "For now yes. Until they have better control of their
stomachs and teeth and can feed without gorging themselves or biting
their own tongues off. For now I'd just try to reassure her that she
will get fed plenty. Patience is not something easily learned by a
dragon her age."

"See!" Naevyn said, turning to her young green with a little smirk.
She was glad she had stuck to her own opinion, for once. At least when
it came to Eslith's health, she had a reason to want to think twice.
Eslith let out an irritated huff. }:Ask him if they need to be *this*
small.:{ she grumbled, taking the piece of meat from her rider and
chewing on it only after Naevyn gave her another stern look. "These
are the right size, right?" she asked, holding out a piece she had
just cut off. It was perhaps a bit on the small side, but not as small
as Eslith made it out to be by far.

"Hmm," E'ril murmured as he inspected the bit of red meat and
considered the situation. "If she is having problems with _that_ size
then you could make them a tad larger. Just to make her feel better
and it won't hurt her at all. As long as she takes her time and chews
fully." He cocked a brow at the tiny green. He also knew it wouldn't
take much for the dragonet's teeth to chew the meat but he preffered
his weyrlings to be a little over cautious in the first few weeks.
Otherwise he found they formed bad habits.

"Alright," Naevyn nodded with a small blush at Eslith's triumphant }:I
told you so!:{ Cutting the meat a little larger now, she looked at
E'ril hesitantly. "Do riders usually have trouble convincing their
dragons of things they think are right?"

"It really depends in the dragon's personality. Just like people some
are more stubborn than others. It's all part of the bonding. You two
are just getting to know each other." E'ril smiled at the pair. They
were certainly a good match and he would watch their progress together
with interest.

"Oh, alright," Naevyn nodded, feeling somewhat reassured by E'ril's
words. "She really does have a personality of her own." She didn't
know what she would have expected, had she given the thought serious
consideration, but she could never have guessed impressing would feel
like this.

"Oh they always do. Trust me, your classmates will find this out soon
enough if they don't already know. I can assure you sure will settle
down a bit. Just a bit though. The dragonet attitude still pops up
from time to time." He got close to the girl and whispered, "Even
Dawenth."

Naevyn couldn't help the giggle that escaped her. "Really?" she asked
as she continued to feed Eslith pieces of meat, slightly bigger now.

E'ril nodded, "Oh yes, Dawenth can be quite the gossip in fact. He
can't help himself if he remembers a piece of juicy news. Dragon
news though so it's things like who killed the biggest buck, had the
fanciest maneuver, or caught the most recent green. I'm rambling though.
You'll find out for yourself."

Naevyn actually giggled at that. She had never thought dragons would
gossip, much less about such curious things. It made sense though, and
it reassured her somewhat. "Dragons really are a lot like us, are
they? The way they think and act, anyway."

"They are indeed. It's part of the reason they choose to Impress on humans.
Otherwise I'm sure they would get bored rather quickly." After doing a
peripheral glance around the room, E'ril noticed that things were starting to get
more noisy as the weyrlings finished feeding their lifemates. "Well, Naevyn, it
would seem that it's about time to get to class. I've got to get
things ready for you kids. You finishup here with Eslith and I'll see
you in a moment then."

"Yes, I will," Naevyn said with a serious nod. "And thank you, Sir,
for your advice." At least Eslith was pleased to have been appointed
larger chunks of meat and she herself could be a little more sure of
what she was doing. }}:Just trust me next time.:{{ Eslith told her
rider smugly as she gobbled down her last piece of meat.

Last updated on the May 1st 2012

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