Dinner Conversation

Writers: Len, Emma
Date Posted: 14th February 2011

Characters: T'bel, G'wen, D'nev, Hanni, G'waren
Description: An already uncomfortable dinner gets even more awkward when D'nev joins the table of the rider who's green his blue caught
Location: Dragonsfall Weyr
Date: month 13, day 11 of Turn 5

"G'wen! Eat your tubers!"

The young man blinked and stared at his da, who was clutching his pint and looking away. He glanced at the other table inhabitants, mouthing "what's his problem?" It wasn't like his da to be so snappish. And over some stupid tubers? He half wished he had chosen to eat dinner with the other weyrlings.

T'bel leaned in close and murmured, "he's been like this since Manarth
didn't catch Fanth, sweetie, it's not you." He looked over to Hanni and
rolled his eyes, before sighing in misery. Ever since that had happened
just a sevenday ago, his weyrmate had been near impossible to live with.

"It happens, you don't always get the one you want in a flight," Hanni told G'wen. "Not that you have to worry about that for a good while."

G'waren looked up from his drink. "I can hear you three, you know." He
glared at each greenrider in turn.

T'bel felt like he was going to cry, with that look from his weyrmate. All that had happened was his Fanth got caught by another blue. Like he had any choice in that! Really, the man was unreasonable. He glanced at G'wen, who was watching some weyrlings like he wanted to be with them and not here. He couldn't blame the boy for that. Catching Hanni's eye, he shrugged his shoulders and sighed.

"Did you hear about Z'lan?" asked Hanni, hoping to change the subject.

However, before she could get too far with her gossip, another person
arrived at the table. "D'nev," she said.

Of all the people! T'bel glared at his friend, hoping he'd get the hint and go away. G'wen blanched slightly as well, thinking back to a night when the man had tried to flirt with him.

"I just wanted to say hello," the bluerider said. "And make sure that you
are okay about this, I know Manarth usually wins."

G'wen had a look that said, "run, man run!" as his father replied, "I'm
okay," in a curiously guarded voice.

Feeling completely flustered, T'bel added, "have a drink with us." As soon as the words came out of his mouth he wanted to kick himself.

"Are you sure?" D'nev wasn't that dense, but he could see that there was an 'atmosphere'.

G'waren sighed and indicated to the empty seat beside his son. "Go on, man. Have a pint."

"Only if you're sure," D'nev slipped into the seat and reached for a glass.

"If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have invited you to sit down," G'waren all but growled.

G'wen fidgeted before speaking up. "Onnyth's looking fine these days, isn't she?" Anything to break the tension, he thought.

"So my daughter says." D'nev said lightly, it might well be an open secret that they weren't really talking, but there was no point in becoming the talk of the weyrling barracks for a second time.

The young boy sighed with the slight reply. At least he had done his best to change the subject. Under the table he nudged Hanni's foot with a toe.

"So, I mentioned Z'lan," Hanni continued. "He had a huge fight with his
weyrmate. Caught her with a healer, and it was a rather less than
professional examination taking place, if you get my drift."

"Oh?" T'bel grabbed at it, happy to hear of someone more miserable than he at the moment. "So, what happened?"

"He threw a punch at the healer, and told her she could move out and in with her crafter if that was what she wanted, but that she wouldn't be staying with him."

"Well, it's about time! I'm surprised it was only the Crafter that he
caught her with."

"I did hear her described as a 'friendly' sort," Hanni grinned. She herself had had her moments, but not when she'd been seeing any one man for any length of time.

"Friendly? I heard her described as a feline, but never friendly, if you
get my meaning!" T'bel leaned against Hanni, giggling perhaps a bit too
much.

G'wen watched the whole scene with a bit of annoyance. How come very time he had dinner with his da and T'bel, something obnoxious happened? Last time it was T'bel being rude, now it was his da, and over something so silly, in his opinion. Anyone with half a brain had to know that there was no way Manarth could catch Fanth this Rising with him so recently recovered from a Thread Score. And Fanth had been so overdue to Rise, it wasn't like she and T'bel could have hung on any longer than they had. He glared at his da and surpressed the urge to kick him in the foot.

"Z'lan's description involved female canines..." Hanni glanced up at D'nev. "Got any salacious gossip to share?"

When he saw T'bel drop his head and his father look away, G'wen figured he was the only one to support Hanni. Leaning a bit into D'nev, hoping it would pass as flirtatious, he said, "yeah, any new gossip?" in the man's direction.

"No," the man admitted as he moved away from the weyrling. That was all he needed, a much younger teenager chasing him - then he would be the subject of the stories.

When he did that, G'wen moved much closer to D'nev, this time placing a hand on his knee under the table. He didn't know what got into him, other than extreme annoyance at his da and frustration coming out from dealing with an over agressive green. At least if the man got angry, attention would be taken off of the Flight.

"You need to stop that," D'nev said softly. "It won't be good for your
green."

Leaning close, the boy muttered, "please, that implies you think I care
about you." Really, the nerve of the man. All he wanted was to make him
uncomfortable enough to leave. Under the table, he gave Hanni's foot a
harder kick.

Hanni gave D'nev a look. "Is that S'lek I see waving at you?" There was a greenrider waving in their direction, it could easily be aimed at D'nev.

The bluerider turned, sure enough a greenrider was waving. "I, I should see what he wants."

G'waren perked up at that. "I should be going as well. You coming T'bel?"

Hanni took one last mouthful, "I'm done as well."

T'bel leaned over and gave the girl a kiss on the cheek and ruffled G'wen's hair. "I need to cut that, it's getting out of control again," he shot over his shoulder as he joined his taller lover and walked out of the dinning hall with him.

G'wen momentarily put his head down on the table to give it a bang before
looking Hanni in the eye. "What the bloody shards did we do to deserve that scene?"

"No idea," Hanni told him. "But you better be careful, think of Neath before you try a stunt like that again."

"What, I can't touch anyone?" He rolled his eyes at her. "I'd understand if I was getting...y'know...frisky or something with him. But all I doing was trying to making him nervous enough to just bloody leave. It's not like I wanted to go back to his weyr or anything. He's like...old!" He shuddered at the thought and pushed his plate away with the still uneaten tubers on them. "_And_he's slept with T'bel! How gross is that?"

"Neath might not understand that though."

"Well, she doesn't seem to mind if I give Cardella and Teseada a hug, so why is putting a hand on D'nev any different?"

"It's hard to explain," Hanni said. "The simple version is that if he gets annoyed enough, and his blue picks up on it, and it gets to Neath, or to the Weyrlingstaff, you could be in for a lecture, and extra chores."

"Extra chores would be a pleasure after_that_dinner. " The boy paused for a moment, his eyes unfocusing. "Ah, Neath's still asleep. So please, drink that glass of wine for the both of us having to endure that scene! What was D'nev thinking of, anyhoo, coming to this table after his blue flew Fanth. Men..." He rolled his eyes and thumped his head on the table once more for good measure.

"Who knows. Besides, if anyone has an idea how a man thinks, you have more of a chance of knowing than I do."

"Great, so we're both lost on that one."

Last updated on the March 21st 2012

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