Real Cooking (D'ero

[Marnark]

Jarshan grinned at him. "You just keep trying to weasel your way into guaranteeing yourself another go 'round, huh? You keep assuming I'm going to turn up again." She pointed out. Even if it was almost pointless to threaten him so anymore. Insane as it was, it was working. He'd already hooked her into agreeing to another meeting, and she hadn't even really realized it at the time. Clever lad. Too smart for his own good. Pretty soon she wasn't going to be able to chastise or tease him about it. Or even yank him around.

Why was he sucking on his spoon though? Surely it couldn't taste that good. It was just plain old iron. Not very tasty at all, in her opinion. But he was acting like it was candy coated. Jarshan tilted her head to one side slightly as she only half listened to him list of things that were supposedly embarrassing to him. She didn't think for an instant that those things were half as embarrassing as he was making them out to be. He wouldn't have done it if it would have stung his pride too much, she was pretty sure. Menfolk were just that way. "Sticks take style and practice. Don't worry about it too much." She assured him. "Are you saying you don't do public performances, only private? You know, even that will get you ribbed by people..." Jarshan teased. If half of the young fellows in his class were even slightly aware of what was going on, she was certain some of them were giving him a hard time about any perceived activities, truth aside.

Jarshan only grinned slightly and shook her head. "No rashes, nope. I do admit that I don't much care for leafy greens. But I'll eat them if that's what I've got. Better than nothing." She confessed, before snorting, and flicking a gesture at the fire. "Was what I just force fed you pretty? It was cooked in a herdbeast's bladder for crying out loud. I can promise you no Lord Holder would even look at what you just ate, much less even think about considering it edible." She shrugged. "Don't worry about how what you make looks. That will come better when you have practice and confidence behind you." She assured him.

[Ise]

D’ero smirked a bit and gave Jarshan a shrug. He wasn’t trying to trick her into going out with him but hey, if that’s what it took he would do it. And it seemed to be working well so far. Sure he might be weasling her into agreeing to go out with him but if she didn’t actually want to do it she wouldn’t show up.
“Hey, if the strategy is working why change it? You haven’t said no yet after all. Though if you want me to ask you out in another way just say so.”

His spoon sucking was more just a habit he had when he was thinking.
“I think I’ll stick to using spoons and forks. Much easier, less messy. Though I’m sure it comes in handy for you to know how to use sticks to eat, you’re never stuck using your hands that way. And people can try to make fun of me for whatever rumors they hear. It’s a little less embarrassing if they don’t see what I’m doing. And it’s much easier to deny making out with a spoon if none of them saw it. I can keep a very straight face when I need to.”
D’ero was far less concerned about what his fellow weyrlings and riders thought about his relationship with Jarshan. It wasn’t his fault that most of them were probably just jealous that he had a very good looking woman to look forward to while they had nothing but their dragons.

“Oh good. Up North there are a few berries that make me break out. I haven’t seen any of them here though at least. And leafy things are ok once in a while but meat is a thousand times better.”
Ahh it was so nice to have a woman who thought the same way about food.
“And I thought the meal was very nice looking. You almost couldn’t tell that that was a bladder everything cooked in. I doubt any holder would know it was a bladder, they probably don’t even know what one looks like. And if I think things look really bad, I’ll just blindfold you and it’ll be a surprise dinner. That’s romantic isn’t it?”

[Marnark]

She hadn't said no yet. Wasn't that the truth. An anomaly that certainly had her scratching her head. She had ever reason in the world to tell him no. She had told many a fellow no before. So why didn't she? That was still a conundrum that she was struggling with and couldn't put a finger on. For now, she'd roll with it. "What other ways are there to choose from?" She asked, just to be difficult. Jarshan had to hand it to him though ... so far he was sticking to his word.

She had to shake a finger at him though. "Staying within your comfort zone and not rising to challenges leads to a mushy life that lacks in fulfillment." Jarshan warned, half in seriousness and half in poking fun at him again. "Besides, messy can be fun. You seemed to think so the other day, anyway..." It belatedly occurred to her that maybe she should lay off with the jabs and pokes she was hurling at him. But then ... maybe not. If he didn't like it, he'd stop spending so much time around her, wouldn't he? It was her natural state of being, and if he wanted to stick around he would have to grow a thick skin if he didn't have one.

"Berries?" Jarshan asked blankly. "Were they small, round, and black with a green-brown interior? No pit? Usually found on the ground?" She asked randomly. Not that she knew what kind of berries or what all grew in the north. But then, D'ero really couldn't tell if she was fixing to yank his leg again with the question either. When she wanted to, she could really pull a carefully schooled expression. "Blind fold? Me? What have you been smoking?" Jarshan asked. After all, blind folds were only something she wasn't liable to submit to, but also not something that would really hamper her. If she could run through a canopy in the dark shooting at things she couldn't see and still hit them ... really now. She should be able to identify the ingredients of any given meal blindfolded. Unless they were boiled together into a uni-taste mush that was carbonized half way. Even untrained in cooking as D'ero was, she was fairly confident that he wasn't going to be that bad a cook.

[Ise]

“Yes, there is some kinds of good messy. Food all over my lap is not one of them though.”
He paused and thought about that for a moment, a little smirk rising to his lips before he cleared his throat and tried to look more serious.
“If you feel like getting a little messy later though, well I’ll come out of my comfort zone for that.”
D’ero scolded himself a little for that but couldn’t be too hard on himself, she wasn’t helping him any. If she could make little comments then so could he. But the young man had never taken Jarshan’s comments too seriously. His feelings weren’t going to get hurt just because she teased him, and she had never said anything that mean to him either.

“No, red ones about the size of your thumb with seeds on the outside. Not poisonous either, everyone else in my family can eat them, it’s only me who has a bad reaction to them. I think they’re more of a cool weather fruit though, haven’t seen anything like them here and I would know pretty quickly if I had eaten something with the berries in it. Within a few minutes I start breaking out in a rash.”

D’ero chuckled a little at Jarshan’s reaction and shrugged.
“You eat with your eyes before you ever taste something. A blindfold would help my chances. Maybe. But so long as it doesn’t look like a pile of mush then I guess whatever I make won’t look that bad.”
He didn’t think he would do that bad of a job, but if he kept Jarshan’s standards low then she might be even more impressed with whatever he was able to make.

[Marnark]

This outing had the potential to go all kinds of places, and Jarshan wasn't sure she wanted to let him have his way like that. Granted, it would be a lot of fun, but it might give him funny ideas. She wasn't opposed to him, she had to admit that at some point. But she wasn't easy ... he was going to have to work for it. "Don't you wish." She countered, in a semi-teasing tone. She didn't want to crush his hopes, but she wasn't going to let him take the cake either.

"Oh, good. I'm glad it wasn't the lil black ones. Cause those are usually caprine turds." Jarshan nodded. "But no ... I don't have any allergies that I know if. But then, I've never had anything from the north either. I well imagine that there are a lot of different plants between here and there. Not to mention a lot of ocean." She pointed out. "Sure, everyone eats with their eyes first ... but everyone's got different standards. After all, a Lady will not eat cheese that has mold on it. But a cotlass will just carve the mold off and make lunch with it anyway. Am I wrong?"

[Ise]

"Yes. Yes I do wish."
He let out a wishful little sigh but grinned at Jarshan. D'ero was not foolish enough to think he would get that lucky but that didn't mean he couldn't entertain the thought for a little. He certainly wasn't going to try anything with Jarshan, at least not now. Her tone made it clear that no matter how charming he was, she wasn't going to be swayed. Which was fine with him, he hadn't expected anything in their relationship to be that easy least of all Jarshan.

D’ero let out a snort of disbelief at the thought of people actually mistaking turds for berries. Young children he could understand, he had been known to put just about anything in his mouth when he had been a toddler. But he had quickly outgrown that habit.
“No, I know the difference between shit and fruit. And by now, I’ve learned to not eat everything just because it looks good. Saves me from a lot of stomach aches. But if I ever get the chance, I’ll have to bring you North. If nothing else just so you can try some of the foods that we have up there.”
He glanced over at Jarshan, trying to gage her reaction to that statement. Having her take a trip North with his wasn’t going to happen any time soon, but he was interested in being able to take here there one day. It was his home after all and something important to him.

“True, I shouldn’t worry about how it looks too much. So long as it isn’t burnt too badly it won’t turn out that bad. I do want to make a good impression though and show that my cooking isn’t too terrible. Of course even if it is awful I’m stubborn. I’d just keep working at it until it got better. That’s what I did with the carving at least.”

[Marnark]

Jarshan smirked slightly, but did not deign to answer him. At least not verbally. Silly young boy. But could she really blame him? Especially after that auspicious intro she'd given him? Poor lad must be quite confused, the way she was flinging him around back and forth. It wasn't how she meant to be, not by a long shot. She'd have to find a way to make it up to him, to make up for being such a confusing person.

"Ha! Well, you were talking about berries making you sick and what popped immediately into my head were caprine berries." Jarshan snickered. "I was poking fun at you! Sheesh." She was really losing her touch if he couldn't tell when she was messing with him anymore.

When he suggested taking her to the North, she pulled a face, mouth twisting off to the side. "I don't think your Northern floozies are going to appreciate making my acquaintance, D'ero." She said, rather frankly. "I'm of a strange breed even for here." Not to mention the rather bred in hostility between the two continents. It ... just didn't sound like a good idea. Masquerading as a Northern wasn't going to work either, unfortunately. The moment she did anything or said anything it would be highly apparent. If nothing else, just from mannerisms and accent.

The more he blathered on about his cooking skills ... of which he yet to have acquired any ... the more Jarshan was beginning to wonder if the only way she was going to get him to shut up on the topic was to silence him completely. For a moment she eyed him, considering how best to execute that maneuver, giving what he was saying only half an ear.

[Ise]

"Well I just want to make sure you don't think I go around eating just anything off the ground! If you think that then I'll probably never get another kiss out of you."
The thought of never getting another kiss from Jarshan made him sad and almost pouty for a moment. He was not seriously worried about such things though, after all what would the point of dating someone be if you never kissed them.

"Well it's not like you'd be meeting just any Northern floozies. But yeah, I guess your right. Though I don't think you're that strange. A little odd maybe but nothing that bad."
He was slightly disappointed but didn't let that show. He was a patention guy after all and things between the South and North were bound to change a bit when Thread started to fall. Plus, he was the one who could tell the dragon were to go.

Taking a glance at the now empty bladder, D'ero slowly got to his feet.
"I'll go rise this out. When we get back to the Weyr I'll wash it out for you too since you were kind enough to make us dinner. Figure that's only fair. Then we should probably head back before it starts getting too late."

[Marnark]

Now that was something she hadn't even considered to think about! Mostly she had been poking fun at him, but he did have a point. She didn't think she'd ever kiss a potty mouth. In this case meaning literally. "Well ... you do have a point." She conceded verbally with a nod. For whatever reason she couldn't discern, the idea that he was thinking so hard on kisses that he was considering what to and what not to put in his mouth made her smile just a tiny bit. Silly boy. Maybe she would make his day and let him have one before she turned him back over to his dragon.

"You, my friend, are a whole other breed from the other Northerners. I mean ... you got on a boat, sailed across a forbidding and lethal ocean, and trekked through the jungle with no clue where you were going. It takes a certain type of person to even think about doing such a thing, you know." She reminded. "Of course you don't find me that alarming or offensive." Jarshan effected a shrug. "But knowing how some Holders here see someone like me, I can only imagine what your uptight Northerners would think." She explained.

Jarshan craned her head back as he got to his feet. He looked tall when she was standing ... but to have him stand up while she was still parked on the ground? Faranth he was huge! "No need. Just rinse it out, that's all it needs." She explained. "After that, it just needs to dry out before I roll it back up again." Jarshan paused a moment for effect, then asked; "Are you afraid of the dark, dragon-man?"

[Ise]

D'ero looked satisfied to know he had made his point. His kissing chances were still looking good then. The young man did let out a snort of amusement though as Jarshan spoke of everything he had gone through to get to the South.
"If I had known that's what I was going to be doing, I might have given this trip a second thought. But I went and drank too much, got bold enough to call Lord Holders out on being too scared and stupid to do anything. Someone important enough must have heard my drunken ranting because the next week I was volunteered for the expedition. And after opening my big mouth it's not like I could say no to going. Not that I mind anymore, there have been plenty of reasons to stick around."

"The dark? No. The dark doesn't bother me. Nor do any of the animals worry me so long as you're here. It's the tripping and falling on my face that worries me. You might be able to walk through her just fine in the dark but I'll have problems. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll get this cleaned up for you so it'll have a chance to dry out."
He headed towards the river, taking a few minutes to clean the bladder out and wash his hands off before he headed back to Jarshan, trying to shake some of the water out of the container.
"There wasn't anything else you wanted to do out here was there? I don't mind staying out here longer, it's just not going to be a fun walk for me if it's dark."

[Marnark]

Jarshan listened to his story with some interest. That it hadn't been his idea to embark on the journey here both surprised her and not at the same time. How often did a group of kids take off and do something like that? And yet ... what kind of idiot kid would think they could pull it off? It took all kinds she supposed. For she already knew that some of the expedition had come this direction of their own choice. Though each seemed to have different reasons. Some for honor, some for glory, some for knowledge, some out of sheer curiosity it seemed. "So you're not going to go home with your dragon once you graduate?" Jarshan asked. "I'd like to know your reasons, if that's not too nosy." It would be interesting to see what he thought was worth sticking around for. She already knew that the South and the North were worlds apart and different. In society, culture, climate, all of it. There was nothing the same.

"If you insist." Jarshan answered dramatically, though it was quite clear she was teasing him again. Grinning at him crookedly she got back to her feet and dusted herself off. Not that a whole lot of stuff was going to stick to her leather forestwear. She dug her toe into the soft soil of the forest floor, and flicked the dirt over onto the dwindling remains of the fire. Repeating the gesture until there was nothing left of the hot spot, she kicked the spit sticks over as well, dropping them down into the leaflitter where they vanished quite by themselves. "I really do think you worry too much about things that don't need it, and not enough about those that do." She added, though it was harder to tell she was still ribbing him.

[Ise]

“I want to go home but not to stay. I’d like to tell my parents that I’m still alive. I couldn’t tell them what I was doing when I left. I told them I was going to be going on a trip with the Hall to get more real world experiences and see some of the different breeds of runners. And the Hall thought I was going home to help care for my ill father. By now I’m sure someone has noticed that I’m not where I should be. But there are plenty of reasons to stay down here now. I Impressed a dragon for one, it’s not like I could go back to doing what I was doing before, beside I’m pretty sure that Horuth would eat my runners… But even if I hadn’t Impressed I’d still be sticking around. You alone would make it worth it.”
Even D’ero knew how sappy that sounded but it was true. Even when Jarshan was insulting him or his dragon he was enjoying himself.

D’ero did a double check of Jarshan’s backside just to make sure nothing was stuck on it. He gave her a little grin as he started to walk along side her, being a well behaved young man.
“Well what should I be worrying about then? We silly Northerners don’t know how to do anything right.”
He didn’t see what was wrong with worrying about falling on his face but he was sure there were more important things to worry about. He knew that a feline attack was a serious threat all the time but with Jarshan around he wasn’t as worried. She was a Shield member, trained to be on the look out for signs of felines and such.

[Marnark]

Jarshan listened as he reiterated what he felt he needed to do. She tilted her head ever so slightly in a curious fashion once he finished. "Okay, so obviously you'd get there via your dragon. But my question is this: what are you going to do then? Are you going to reintroduce yourself as a Rider, or are you going to hide him? What are you going to do about the ensuing panic that having him appear over the North is going to bring?" She asked. "Not only will the animals be unfamiliar with the notion, but if I hear tell right all them Northerners are convinced that Dragonriders are out to get them." That was for the ones that even still believed dragons actually existed anymore.

She was somewhat pleased to know that she did factor into his reasons to stay in the South, but not the sole reason at the same time. There might be hope for him after all. Jarshan considered him in silence as she thought about the implications of that line of events. She had to admit that she had assumed he'd eventually disappear off to the North and never be seen again. Maybe not?

A smirk could not be resisted when she saw him deliberately scope out a reason to stare at her backside for a moment. Boys. She shook a finger at him a few times but didn't say anything about it. "Apparently you Northerners are serious about filling the everything part of that sentiment." She told him. "You should be worrying about getting smacked for being a naughty boy. That can ruin your complexion for a whole day you know." She jabbed. But she was only poking at him again; she wouldn't smack him. Jarshan wasn't the smacking type. She tended to stab people instead.

With sure steps on her direction, she picked out a path back toward the Weyr that was more or less obstacle free for his poor, tenderly abused toes to not trip through. Even if it only gave her more ammunition to rib him with.

[Ise]

"I only plan on seeing my family. My parents don't live in the middle of a Hold which'll make it easier to keep Horuth out of sight. With the threat of civil war I doubt holds have expanded much or that new outposts are being built. I have a few ideas of where I could Between to, none of them more then an hour or two away from the farm on dragon back. And if we flew low it shouldn't be too hard to avoid prying eyes. And if someone does catch sight of us? I doubt the local population would even know what they were seeing. It was the Lord Holders who decided to exile the dragon riders. Maybe back then the peons and the farmers had a say in matters, but I bet they were riled up and lied to by the Holders. They may not have been happy with dragon riders but most of them don't want to shake things up that much. Give a person food, shelter and clothing and they'll be happy. They might whine about it and they may go hungry in the winters, but over all they won't want to risk losing what they have and coming up with less."
D'ero thought about it for a moment before shrugging. He had never given any thought to the dragon riders until the holders had started speaking of Thread. Riders hadn't been in the North for generations. Dragon riders and Thread had just been a way to spook children, 'if you don't clean your room Thread will fall and kill you!' or 'If you don't stop teasing your sister the dragons will come back and eat you!'. Since he had grown hair on his chest, D'ero hadn't given dragons, their riders, or Thread five seconds of thought until the holders had brought it up.

Folding his hands behind his back, D'ero chuckled. There were just some things he couldn't help doing.
"Yes, you slapping me would mess up my face. But it's a lot better to say I was slapped by the most lovely women in the Weyr then by telling people I tripped and landed on my face. And at least I only looked. I mean you may have had something still stuck to you, it would have been better if I had just brush you off first."
He grinned at her as he followed along side her, keeping an eye on the ground but spending more of his time looking and watching Jarshan. So far she didn't seem to mind his playful flirting, when she did he was pretty sure he wouldn't get much of a warning before she smacked him or did worse.

[Marnark]

Jarshan listened to his plans, but had to shake her head. "When you go there, you come out of between and land directly. Leave Horuth there, wherever there is. The more time you spend in the air, no matter how low you fly, you're going to get spotted. So arrive and land, come in on foot. I also suggest ... uh ... not wearing your flight leathers after you land. Leave those with Horuth." She suggested. "If that's all you plan on doing, I might go with you. But really now ... how are you planning on introducing me, have you thought of that? I'm not going to put on a dress and pretend to me a servant girl." She'd heard stories of women's station in life in the North. It wasn't pretty. She tended to believe them, for the typical Southern woman was barely any better. Definitely a patriarchal system outside of the Weyrs, where Queens ruled.

There was certainly nothing even remotely submissive about Jarshan, nor would she pretend.

Most ... lovely... woman in the Weyr? She had to wonder who he was looking at that he had got that idea. So far she she could figure, she was not only not the most lovely, but there were many who suspected she wasn't even a woman, despite her curves and endowments. She wasn't very ladylike at all. Jarshan had to sigh and shake her head, even if there was a slight grin there anyway. "Is there something you want, with all this buttering up you're doing?" She prodded. Which of course was a stupid question. Jarshan knew darn well and good that he wanted something. She even had a pretty good idea what he wanted.