A Good Conversationalist

Writers: AL, Vix
Date Posted: 20th September 2008

Characters: Lirit, Drina, Drisha
Description: Lirit takes Drisha to her mother and convinces Drina to let her daughter dine with him.
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 11, day 24 of Turn 4
Notes: Takes place after "A Different Way Of Seeing"

"There you are!" The young woman rushed across the room, a toddler on
her hip but her attention on a slightly older child. "Where have you
been?"

In reply, Drisha edged behind Lirit, still tightly clutching his hand.

"Ah, am I to presume that I am now in the presence of Drisha's lovely
mother?" Lirit turned his face in the direction he heard the words, a
bright and cheerful grin stretching across his face.

The woman frowned as she studied him, knowing him from somewhere but
uncertain of the circumstances. "Has my daughter been bothering you,
Harper?"

"Bothering me?" Lirit looked astonished that such an idea could ever
been entertained. "No, not at all. We were having quite the
delightful conversation. She simply made what was turning out to be a
rather boring afternoon a little more enjoyable."

"Really?" Drina frowned at her daughter. "She's been with you for the
entire afternoon?"

Lirit cocked his head to the side. "No, I can't say for the _entire_
afternoon, but she's kept me company for a good while. She's a good
conversationalist, though I seem to have to explain a lot of things.
For instance, she insists that I can not see."

The woman studied him, a puzzled expression on her face. "Can you?"

"He says he sees with his hands," Drisha replied. "He can't do that,
can he, Momma?"

The harper clicked his tongue. "She just won't believe me when I say
that I can. Of course, it's only one of the ways I see."

"Oh!" Drina shook her head as if to clear it. "I hadn't realized at
first that you were blind."

"Blind, but only in my eyes." Lirit chuckled in amusement. "Drisha
seems to think that the only way a person can see is with the eyes."

The young woman nodded. "Yes, Drisha. People who can't see with their
eyes use other senses to get around." She offered a quick smile to
Lirit, though she knew that he could not see it. "My grandfather had
very poor eyesight late in life and needed to learn other skills to be
independent."

"Ah, so she understands a _little_ of what I speak." Lirit's grin
brightened his face. "See, I'm not so crazy, am I?"

"But it's not _seeing_," Drisha insisted.

"Don't be rude, dear," her mother told her. "It's _his_ way of seeing."

"Ah, see? I spoke the truth!" Lirit laughed again, a warm, vibrant
melody in its own right. "Now, I was hoping that Drisha would keep me
company during dinner. Eating alone isn't quite so much fun."

"I suppose that's alright," Drina responded. "Though she tends to gulp
down her food and to try to get out of eating her greens and meat."

"Ah, really?" Lirit clicked his tongue. "Well, one of my rules is
that you have to eat all your greens and meat."

"Of course," Drisha told him. After all, how would he be able to tell
what she was eating?

"Well then, if it's all right with your mother," Lirit extended his
hand to Drisha and turned his face toward Drina, "Then I say let's go
stuff ourselves."

"Momma?" the girl pleaded.

Drina uttered an exaggerated sigh. "Go. But you've been warned."

"Better hurry before she decides to punish _me_ along with you." Lirit
chuckled softly, taking Drina's hand.

"Thanks Momma," the girl said with her most winning smile, then shoved
the harper toward the dining area. "Let's go!'

"I'm going! I'm going!" Lirit's laughter rang and could be heard as
he continued out of the kitchen, the sound humming behind him for a
moment before fading away.

Last updated on the September 20th 2008

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A Good Conversationalist