lonely meals [FOXXXYYY!]

[Kat]

Before he heard about the rumor about L'nan and he, Ri’ley purchased a bouquet of flowers, as an elaborate apology gift to the woman. Even though Ri’ley had thought, and still thought, that Lea’s reaction at the hatchling about his care were unfounded and irrational, he knew that the woman would never admit that she was wrong. Therefore, in order to salvage a budding friendship, Ri’ley had to submit himself and apologize, harm or not. Dionyph disapproved of that attitude. While he thought that Ri’ley needed to make up with Eoreph’s, he also thought that by taking the blame, Ri’ley was lying to both L’nan and to the people around him. Dionyph did not like that his was lying to the bondeds of his siblings. Why, one white lie, like his blame-taking would lead Ri’ley to other lies, and that would be completely unacceptable. Ri’ley insisted to Dionyph that he had to apologize, and that Ri’ley would not lie to any of Dionyph’s sibling’s partners in any way any time in the future. The promise felt extreme to the man, but Ri’ley was pretty positive he could uphold it. He was not a dishonest person. In fact, Donovan had told Ri’ley—then Ripley, that he was too honest, as Ripley had refused to lie to patients under all circumstances, even when he knew he should. To the man, people’s health was not a topic to hedge the truth about; people needed to know where they stood in the world, even if the information was not what they wished to hear. How could a person recover under false pretences? But Ri’ley never made the lie to L’nan in the first place. Once he heard that people speculated that the relationship between him and the woman was sexual or romantic, Ri’ley immediately concluded that he could not give L’nan flowers, no matter what his intention. The gift of flowers could be so easily misconstrued as a lover’s token, and therefore, in order to prevent the further spread of a very false rumor, Ri’ley felt that he could not allow them anywhere near the tawny rider. Instead, Ri’ley had given them to one of the medics in the infirmary who he worked with the most, and who he was beginning to like, at least in matters of her company and work ethic.

The flowers had sat rather perkily and healthily in the infirmary for almost two weeks, and in that time, Ri’ley had made a point not to run into L’nan. He knew it was silly, to avoid her, but he was afraid that if people saw them together, the rumor would only procreate into a disastrous lie. The fact that Ri’ley was so busy all the time, mostly tending to Dionyph, which he tended to do in solitude, much to Dionyph’s disappointment, only aided his small campaign. He had not worked very hard to avoid Lea. Ri’ley just made sure not to leave his room when he heard her in the hallway, or to go to the kitchens at times he knew that she often ate. Which was why he was in the kitchens so late at night, only a half-hour before the kitchens closed, attempting to feed himself. Ri’ley was not very good at feeding himself; he often skipped meals solely because he forgot to eat them, to the extent that he would not eat for hours or sometimes entire days. So, he ate when he could, regardless of the women who he attempted to avoid, and tonight, he had spent his day tidying his room, grooming Dionyph, feeding his simourv, and trying to help the medics for a few brief hours. He had eaten when he awoke, managing to choke down an apple while he mashed nuts for Dionyph, but otherwise, he had not consumed much of anything in the day. It was easy to forget his own hunger when Dionyph’s hunger was so consuming. When Dionyph was hungry, he was famished, so terribly starving that Ri’ley lost touch of his own physical desires, and then when Dionyph was sated, the relief was enough to wash Ri’ley over with satisfaction for hours, no matter how little food the man himself had consumed. But now, after Ri’ley had fed Dionyph, the black hatchling was perfectly content, and Ri’ley realized that he himself was starving.

So the man stalked to the kitchen, and he hoped that there was some food left for him to eat. He had not really eaten all day, and he really hoped that the kitchens would have enough supplies left to feed him before he went to bed. He entered the kitchens, drawing himself awkwardly to the back where the food was held, and his eyes scanned over plates of lukewarm food. He grabbed the first plate he saw, which had some sort of poultry leg on it and some green beans.
”Are you sure you are not going to need more?”
A girl distributing dishes questioned as she leaned closer to Ri’ley and flashed the man a large, coy smile. Ri’ley turned to look at her, his eyes tired and dull. She had light red hair, maybe closer to gold than red, which she had pulled into a ponytail. She was a pretty creature, if a bit young for Ri’ley to notice; she had to be closer to Amaryllis’s age than his own.
”If I need more, I can come back. I have to be able to carry my food to my table, after all.”
Ri’ley said as he flashed her a small, hesitant smile, and turned to walk to one of the many empty tables.
”Oh, are you eating here? You usually take meals in your room. I can bring you another plate.”
The girl replied, as she lifted a plate of some red meat and carrots. The man was too tired to comprehend her notation of familiarity with him, and while Ri’ley knew he might need more food, he felt uncomfortable taking more than his share of food. He lifted his hand in a small wave, and shook his head.
”No, I’m fine, really.”
He insisted, but the girl moved to stand next to him with the plate of food regardless of his words. She leaned close to him again, moving her torso as close to his gaze as she could manage, despite a significant height difference.
”You’re the new blackrider, right? With the big hatchling?”
The girl questioned, as she turned a rather large pair of blue eyes towards Ri’ley, who nodded and paused, mostly because he did not want to answer.
”Well, I am one of two new blackriders. My Dionyph is currently sleeping in our room.”
Ri’ley explained with a small, polite, and clearly forced smile across his face. He wanted to go eat, but because the girl was asking him questions, he found himself hovering awkwardly in the middle of the cafeteria area.
”Is that so? He must be so large now. I haven't seen him since last week.”
The girl replied, as Ri’ley’s gaze shifted to look towards the tables. He really wanted to sit down. His feet were a bit sore from the amount of time he had spent on them, and he was absolutely exhausted. Her comment seemed to imply that she had not seen Ri'ley in a week either, a fact Ri'ley either did not comprehend or simply did not acknowledge. He also did not seem to acknowledge the fact that her current statement negated her inquiry about status in the Eyrie. If she recognized that Ri'ley rarely left his room without Dionyph, then she knew he was bonded to a black.
”He is growing very fast. Actually, I really need to sit, I really don’t need that extra food, so you can bring it back to the kitchens for someone else. I don't want to take more than my share.”
Ri’ley said as he attempted to increase the size of his grin. He was not sure why the girl insisted on talking to him. He did not have very much interesting to say, but he wished that she would become properly bored with his company and return to her work. The girl sighed in a disappointed manner, a sigh that Ri’ley did not notice, as she turned to move back to the kitchen itself. She still eyed him from her position, a small glimmer of determination flashing in her gaze. Ri’ley, finally alone, dropped himself into the closest seat, his body falling into a relaxed and slumped position as he began to eat.

[Fox]

(Prepare for a really, reeeeaaally rambly post. D8)

L'nan had first caught wind of the existence of a rumor from a new friend; T'ia of Green Shovaph when the woman had mentione hearing some things about her and Ri'ley. Prior to that, the midwife had been quite judiciously ignoring any inkling of his existence, stacking up her considerably ability to hold a grudge against the nagging voice of reason (incidentally, one that sounded a lot like Eoreph) that told her she had overreacted. She convinced herself that she was right, much to her tawny's worried frustration, and that Ri'ley was wrong. He was so blind to his patient's needs that he could easily steamroll straight over a person's opinion, and so stubborn that he would not admit to it. He maintained that saving lives was far more important, and though Lea agreed that saving a life must take precedence in dire circumstances, those two words were not what she would have applied if asked to describe the hatching. It had not been a question of whether half an hour would rob someone of a mother, a father, a sister or a brother. There were so many words that Lea could apply to Ri'ley's actions; the milder ones hovering along the lines of 'Invasion of privacy', 'insufferable', and 'completely insensitive'. If left to her own devices, the young woman would have happily allowed herself to spiral deeper into the destructive circle, blowing things out of proportion and generally convincing herself of it in the process. However, she was not to be left to herself. After all, L'nan had Eoreph, and what else was the tawny to do but sink her figurative claws in to prevent Hers from ruining what had been, before the Incident, a potentially fulfilling friendship on both sides. In all honesty, as Eoreph had told Hers plainly eventually, both parties were in the wrong. She and Dionyph's had presented two extremes, but Lea for one could not unbend enough to meet in the middle. Not yet. Eoreph would have worn her down eventually.

It was, therefore, almost lucky that the thought of people gossiping about her private life had made the young woman sit up and take notice. Otherwise, she might have gone on assuming that her life was her own and no one cared for its details but her. That was no longer true, as Eoreph pointed out helpfully. People would be all too glad to gossip about Eyrie's second tawnyrider and a one of the blackriders, and the appeal to Lea's strong desire for privacy had its desired effect. She had finally, finally sat down to think about things for the first time without the cloud of anger and resentment fogging her thoughts and had come to the conclusion, as difficult as it was to admit, that she owed Ri'ley an apology. For her reaction, if not for her stance. Eoreph's pride in her bonded's conclusion to swallow her somewhat misguided pride was almost embarrassing. Of course, once she had come to that conclusion, Lea rapidly found that Ri'ley was suspiciously absent. He was not present at the usual time when winglets fed their simourvs, did not eat with the rest of the Alpha class, and apparently spent the rest of his time doing goodness knew what. The infirmary had been one of the first places that Lea had stopped at, but again there had been a conspicuous absence of anything remotely tall enough to be Ri'ley. Her pride arrested the intention to bang on his door and demand to be let in, but it couldn't be denied that the woman's step faltered indecisively every time she passed the first room in the Winglet barracks. And yet, even with her actively searching (though discreetly) there remained a peculiar, six-foot-seven, surgeon-shaped hole in her day to day life.

After two days of it, Lea had come to the aggravating conclusion that he was avoiding her. And with her having made up her mind to apologise too! It was just her luck that the man she wanted to mend a friendship with actually seemed to care about silly rumors enough to actually avoid her. It was enough to make the woman throw up her hands in frustration and decide to stop looking there and then. He would surface again eventually, and then there would be hell to pay. This time, with her bonded's aggravation actually having a more valid source, Eoreph could only click her beak in defeat and watch and wait. Thus, Lea almost didn't believe her eyes when, upon arriving in the kitchens for an extremely late dinner after spending the evening wrapped up in the odious chore of mending, there was Ri'ley, standing in the middle of the floor chatting with a serving maid. Annoyance flared up in the woman and an unusually snippy smile slid onto her face. Nevermind; for the moment she would quietly get her food, plan her attack, and then she would strike when he could not run away. Quietly, inconspicuously, Lea slid over to the empty station to grab a plate of food (though honestly, she had just planned on grabbing a cold roll or something), with her eyes remaining all the while on Ri'ley and the girl. What she saw made her eyebrows shoot up as plainly the girl seemed to be coming on to Ri'ley rather strongly. Or, at least, trying to; the surgeon looked weary enough that Lea didn't think that the attempt worked at all well, and she was surprised at the flash of vindictive triumph that surfaced at the thought. Silly little girl.

L'nan seemed to forget that the serving maid couldn't have been that much younger than she was, and she brushed past the redhead on her way back to the station. Pausing briefly, the young woman shot her a look that was almost a sneer before breezing past her to plop down rather abruptly opposite Ri'ley. It didn't matter to her that such a seemingly possessive action would not help the rumors already circulating. She knew it would. Even non-existent private matters should be kept private, but sometimes rumors could be helpful. Lea still counted Ri'ley as a friend, and it was plain that she Did Not Approve. Shooting him a blithe but slightly derisive smile, despite that she had not spoken to him in a little over two weeks, Lea's first words to him were; "She was rather bold, wasn't she? I wouldn't have thought you'd like to have more rumors flying around, Ri'ley, dear." Sarcasm dripped from her voice in spades. Fixing him with a distinctly hawk-eyed gaze from over a mouth that was stretched into an expression that had turned frighteningly sweet, Lea then proclaimed quite clearly and audibly to anyone within earshot. "You have been avoiding me." Cutting to the chase was always so much fun.

[Kat]

L’nan was the last person Ri’ley wanted to see at his dinner. When she sat down, he had been halfway though eating a green bean, so he had been unable to protest her position. Of course, he would not have said a word even if he was not chewing on fibrous vegetables, but he needed some reason to blame himself for allowing Lea to sit with him. They were in public, and people could get the wrong idea. The kitchen girl’s eyes burned into Ri’ley’s chest as the knowledge of her gaze worried him. But Ri’ley shook his discomfort aside, and turned a smile towards L’nan. She was here now, and he did like her company. He was, in some ways, sick of having to avoid her. He wanted to talk to her again, and so, Ri’ley smiled, despite the nagging feeling that he was only increasing the amount of fodder for the gossipmongers. When Lea spoke, though, Ri’ley wondered exactly what about her company he had missed. Her accusation bothered Ri’ley, especially since he had not noticed the girl from the kitchens being bold in that manner at the time of their interaction. She had been a nuisance, an irritation problem with which he had to deal, but now that he reminisced on the conversation, she was being very forward and flirtatious. He was not sure how he had missed it when it occurred; he would have made sure that he clearly expressed disinterest if he had realized she was flirting
”But she’s not any older than my baby sister!”
Ri’ley protested, his voice quiet, so that the girl would not overhear.
”I would never even think about her that way.”
Ri’ley hissed, as he glanced quickly towards the girl, who was as young as he remembered her being. His eyes narrowed, as he turned back to L’nan. Perhaps the girl had just been being nice. Ri’ley liked to think that the people of the Eyrie took interest in Dionyph, if only because the man was so enthralled with the creature, it was difficult to remember that other people barely cared. That feeling did not occur because Ri’ley thought that he and Dionyph deserved people’s interest or because he felt entitled to people’s admiration, but rather because he could not distance himself from his own obsessive compassion for the simourv chick.

And then, L’nan stated the obvious issue that existed between Ri’ley and herself, and the man knew that he had to explain to her his actions, no matter how stupid or misguided they sounded when they exited the logic of his mind into reality. He paused, shoveling another bite of beans into his mouth so that he could use the time it took to chew them to formulate a proper reply, before he spoke.
”Rumors—make me uncomfortable. I just don’t like to feed them with anything in the hopes that like a fire, they will eventually burn themselves to death.”
Ri’ley explained, and his voice sounded meek and apologetic. He picked up the chicken leg and nibbled on it carefully. He wanted to eat as politely as possible in company, and it was difficult to eat the chicken in a cleanly manner. Ri’ley would try his hardest to do so, especially since he sat with L’nan, who he still wanted to cast a positive impression on, even if he had already made so many terrible errors.
”I Just felt that if we spent any time together, people might assume…”
Ri’ley continued as he wrinkled eyebrows together. After all, it was because they were friends that people had assumed that they were together. It seemed rational to Ri’ley that if they spent more time together, then people would assume they really were together in a romantic or intimate way.
”But I’m sorry that I’ve been avoiding you. I do like being with you.”
Ri’ley added, and he suddenly sounded so sad and so tired. He felt so stupid interacting with her in this manner. When he had been avoiding her, it made perfect sense, but now, Ri’ley was beginning to doubt his actions. She might never be able to forgive him for this, and now that they had reached this point, Ri’ley knew he would miss L’nan’s friendship if it came to that complete detachment.

And as he thought about how L’nan was never going to forgive him for avoiding her, Ri’ley realized that he never apologized for the first infraction in their friendship. He turned his gaze towards Lea, his eyes wide and almost vulnerable, as he sighed, abandoning his eating utensils on the table as he looked at the woman.
”I bought you flowers to apologize for my actions towards you at the hatching, but when I heard about the rumors, I thought it would not be beneficial for me to present them to you.”
Ri’ley admitted. He was not sure how she would take that information. He was not sure how he wanted her to take that information, but Ri’ley believed that the truth should be told. Dionyph would approve of his honesty, if the hatchling were awake. The kitchen maid watched the conversation with her gaze glaring at L'nan. The woman had to be the new tawnyrider, if the rumors were to be believed. The girl had assumed that the rumors were false, as neither winglet had been seen together since practically directly after the hatching. The girl leaned towards the conversation, trying to glean some words or phrases from the discussion between the two winglets without much luck, so instead, she watched their boy language, for any signs of romantic advances. This other woman might put a damper on her plans, but then again, there were other winglets in the class of interest, besides the gigantic blackrider. The girl just found them less appealing.

[Fox]

L'nan was aware that she could be more than a little bit acerbic if she wanted to be. It wasn't hard to push people just that bit off balance or find that raw spot and just keep rubbing. She even enjoyed it at times; being contrary just for the sake of being contrary. It was extremely tempting to do so now even. Ri'ley's protest, heartfelt and entirely honest though it was, rankled for some inexplicable reason. Briefly, Lea's brown eyes followed his quick glance to observe the kitchen girl dispassionately. She couldn't be older than sixteen, and possibly younger. Still, she was hardly the infant that Ri'ley was painting her out to be, even if Lea did think she was a little young to be so unmistakably forward. "Some girls are married with a brood by her age, you know." The young woman pointed out acidly, one eyebrow arched sardonically. "You might not think of her that way, but she certainly views you differently, trust me. I've had enough patients her age and younger..." She trailed off, frowning. Another comment of a less delicate nature hovered at the tip of Lea's tongue, but at the last moment she swallowed it. For someone as seemingly straight-laced as Ri'ley, she doubted that such a comment would be taken as jest. Truthfully, though, in her capacity as midwife Lea had dealt with the result of ill-conceived (no pun intended) tumbles in the hay enough times that she viewed the whole flirting process as somewhat silly. It had made her cynical, and somewhat suspicious of the male species as a whole when it came to such issues. It wasn't as if they were the ones who had to endure nine months of retching and swollen feet and carrying a child after bedding a girl.

As much as Lea wanted to let the poor boy suffer the awkward silence that would arise if she did not reply to his rambling explanation, she wasn't quite that mean. She was, however, somewhat annoyed that he had let such a little thing get to him. "So you like me, but not enough that you'll brave a bunch of silly rumors concocted by women with nothing but fluff between their ears?" She shot back sharply, brown eyes flashing. For once, she was completely serious; no smile decorated her face and instead her mouth pursed in disapproval. He was going about this all wrong; such a little thing was hardly something to lose sleep over, much less a friendship. "I expected better of you, Ri'ley." For a moment, Lea let the statement hang in the air as if to underscore her point, before she relented, leaning backwards and sighing heavily. With more force than was strictly necessary, she snatched up the fork and speared a sausage, but she didn't raise it to her lips. The conversation had just about shrunk her stomach to the size of a walnut. She speared it again. And again. And again.

Eventually, she let her fork clatter to the plate again as she shut her eyes briefly to try and think better. Looking at him right now wasn't helping. "Look." She began, her jaw setting stubbornly. "Here's how I see it. The way you're reacting makes it seem as if you're embarrassed by this, and that is exactly what they want. They do this for the scandal and the reaction of the people involved, do you understand?" Yes, it was mortifying to have people discussing things openly that should remain firmly behind closed doors, assuming that there was even anything there to begin with. L'nan did not understand why Ri'ley thought that ignoring it would make everything go away. It was almost as if he were a child sweeping the pieces of a broken vase under the carpet, despite the fact that he wasn't the one who broke the vase in the first place. She thought that it would be better to face this silly incident openly; show the people that there really was nothing to it besides friendship. They would get bored eventually and find someone else to bother. It didn't occur to Lea that perhaps she might just have a thicker skin than Ri'ley, or that he might not be as blase as she was about people speculating even when there was nothing there. "Besides, it's not as if the rumor is true." She added, rolling her eyes. Despite the seriousness of the situation, though, the young woman couldn't resist the opportunity to slide in a jab. "Unless there is something I'm missing here, hmm?" And she winked, lips quirking briefly upwards, perfectly aware of the kitchen girl's burning glare and playing up to it to the best of her ability. Lea was no great actress, but the effect came off as passably flirtatious.

Of course, she quite unwittingly dropped the act at Ri'ley's confession. She blinked a few times, eyes widening in disbelief at the fact that he had bought her flowers. It almost made her wonder whether she had heard right, but there was nothing else that rhymed with 'flowers', and in hindsight it seemed like something he would do. But still... Flowers? It was undeniably a gesture that L'nan would otherwise have classed as sweet, but in this circumstance it only made the guilt multiply threefold. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Well, I don't have any flowers for you- which was, um, sweet by the way, thank you- but... I am sorry also. For overreacting. At the Hatching." A grimace crossed over her face at the awkwardness of the apology, but she crossed her arms over her chest defensively anyway. She could feel the flush heating her pale cheeks. It was an apology. He should accept it. Eoreph, at least, would be happy.

[Kat]

As Lea spoke, Ri’ley’s eyes widened into a horrified awe. He knew that women were sexually mature as soon as they started menstruating, which could be quite young, but that did not mean that he wanted to think about young girls birthing children. To intensify his horror, Ri’ley had already established that this girl was the same age as his sister, and the thought of a sexually active Amaryllis mortified Ri’ley, who still viewed the girl as his baby sister, significantly younger than him. As Ri’ley contemplated a way to respond which was not completely emotionally charged and naïve sounding, he shoveled food into his mouth. After a pause, he shook his head.
”Why would she? I’ve barely interacted with her.”
Ri’ley decided to ignore discussing babies. Such avoidance was the best solution if the man wished to keep his sanity. And the kitchen maid, she bothered him, as if her interest was motivated by a force other than attraction. But then again, Ri’ley had trouble imagining that people were interested in him romantically. He had always been either the chubby kid or the tall kid, too awkward and lanky to be attractive, and too motivated, ambitious, and driven to pay attention to any sex. While some men focused on marrying young, Ri’ley believed that before he could even begin to pursue a wife, he had to establish himself first. He needed to be able to provide for a family before he began to make one, and so his years as an apprentice had been romanceless.

L’nan’s critique of his actions was fair, as he was allowing the opinions of other people affect his judgment. But people’s perceptions were important, and Ri’ley wanted to keep them as positive as possible in the first few weeks of his period as a winglet. Dionyph was always stressing the importance of having the people of the Eyrie like and respect Ri’ley. But Lea’s words stung. Ri’ley was allowing the rumor to drive him apart from a woman with whom he wanted to be friends. He tightened his lips, and turned his gaze slowly to Lea.
”I suppose it’s silly, but I just thought that perhaps I could try to mend things once the rumors had faded. I suppose I was being too hopeful.”
Ri’ley admitted with a small shrug of his shoulders. He hoped that L’nan could accept that explanation, as it was all Ri’ley had to give. As the woman continued to speak, however, Ri’ley shook his head, laying his fork on the table, and sighed. He disagreed with L’nan’s analysis of the situation. If they were seen together, the people who wanted the rumor to spread, who created it, would read into their behavior as romantic. The suggestion of a relationship between them would allow people to read into their behavior in a way which suited the false belief. It was best If they avoided each other until the tide of gossip wore down, as if people saw them together, they would fabricate signs of intimacy.
”But if people see us interacting, they may read our actions as more romantic than they are, and the rumor will only spread. I just don’t understand why people find my business interesting.”
Ri’ley huffed, his voice sounding frustrated. Making friends was hard enough for the cold man without the threat of gossip hanging over his every budding relationship.
The truth of the matter was that, despite his exacerbation in his tone, Ri’ley had a hypothesis about the nature of the rumor. As one of two new blackriders, Ri’ley represented a minority among the Alpha class. He was one selected to be a possible new leader, and so people were curious about him, and apparently, even facet of his life. And L’nan was just as interesting, if not more so, as she was the only tawnyrider in the entire clutch. She was a singular entity of interest. Ri’ley sighed again.

Even though Ri’ley had never thought of L’nan in a romantic way, the mere hint that he might see her that way made him flush a light pink color. His ears burned, and he knew that they were probably closer to being a red color than a pink color. The rumor was not true, but Ri’ley was not even used to discussing his romantic interests in any capacity, denying or admitting.
”It’s not true, but I just can’t stand that people think it is true.”
As he spoke, he realized that his statement might have a negative connotation which he did not intend.
”Not that you are not pretty or anything. I mean, not that other people might find you attractive, I just haven’t yet been attracted to you, and I didn’t mean to imply…”
As he spoke, Ri’ley continued to redden, as he realized he was talking himself into a bad situation out of which he would not escape without humiliation. The man pushed his plate aside with one of his elbows as he dropped his head into his hands to cover his bright pink ears.
”I’m not doing a very good job of expressing myself. This whole problem just has me worked up”
Ri’ley finally admitted, as he waited to remove his head from his hands until he felt the heat leave his face. L’nan must think he was completely socially inept. He decided to attack his food again, and after toying the beans around on his plate, Ri’ley dropped his fork for a second time, and lifted the chicken hesitantly, as if he could not decide what to eat. He was not doing a very good job of acting as if the rumor was not true. The problem was that he was so humiliated by the existence of the rumor, that discussing it made him embarrassed and shy.

And so, Ri’ley was pleased when the topic of conversation changed to L’nan’s apology. Ri’ley was rather shocked that the girl apologized at all to him, which made his expression brighten. She had been so angry, and she seemed so terribly stubborn. Perhaps he had underestimated her. He was also surprised at how impressed she was by the flowers. They seemed like a perfectly reasonable and normal apology gift to Ri’ley, who had been instructed with the way to deal with women by his flamboyant and charming former master. His lips turned into a small, and almost repressed or cynical, smile.
”It would have been sweeter if I had delivered them to you.”
Ri’ley replied, as he nibbled on the chicken leg a second time. He was not a very fast eater under any circumstances, which meant that when he was talking, he ate lethargically.
”But thank you for the apology. I am very sorry that I crossed a line.”
Ri’ley added with a small, bashful shrug of his broad shoulders.

Ri’ley then paused, his lips tightening into another smile, and shrugged his shoulders.
”I’d like you to meet Dionyph, by the way. I don’t think you two ever met.”
Ri’ley added as he continued to eat the meat off of the chicken bone. Even though he was eating finger food, Ri’ley managed to do so in a neat and tidy manner. He used his napkin often, and ate slowly and delicately. His lips turned into a small, close-mouthed smile as he chewed. He wanted Dionyph to meet everyone Ri’ley liked, and for others to meet the hatchling, who RI’ley loved with every inch of his large form. It seemed very negligent to Ri’ley for the two not to meet, especially since, even if it was only a brief moment, he had interacted with Eoreph.
”And I think he would like to see yours. He speaks highly of her.”
Even though the hatchlings had never officially met, somehow Dionyoh knew that Eoreph was a creature to be admired. The way all the hatchlings knew each other was unfathomable to Ri’ley, but they all did seem to know and respect each other as if they were so connected before their birth that they were bonded by soul and not just by genetics. Ri’ley gazed expectantly at L’nan, making sure to shell his gaze to her face alone, to avoid glancing the servant girl who still watched them. He did wish the blond would leave them alone.

((You are welcome to play nameless servant girl, by the way, if you wish. I wasn’t sure that was clear…))

[Fox]

It was startling to realise that Ri'ley, for all his competence as a surgeon, really was horribly naive about some aspects of the female sex. L'nan's eyebrows rose at the look of horror on his face; torn between amusement and disbelief. She could never understand what it was about the process of childbirth that had men running for the hills. It was a natural process; their mothers had had to have gone through it at some point for them to even be alive at this point. Amusement won out on the woman's face, dampening the last dying embers of her annoyance as she shook her head to mirror Ri'ley's gesture. "I don't know. Doesn't matter why it happened anyway; it's as plain as the nose on my face." With a roll of her brown eyes, Lea wrinkled the aforementioned feature before turning to give the girl a jaunty wave and her brightest grin. The girl, who had been puttering around the counter quite obviously trying to eavesdrop, abruptly looked as if she'd swallowed something distinctly unpleasant. "See? She doesn't like me at all. Wave hello, now." The teasing tone was back in her voice as the young woman shot Ri'ley a look out of the corner of her eye. The interaction with the girl was a brief one, though, as the other girl turned on her heel to carry something into the back, only sparing Ri'ley one last lingering look. Lea was hard-pressed not to laugh outright.

Still, the tawnyrider sobered rather quickly with the subject of the rumors. "Hopeful is not the word I would have chosen." She said, her dry tone making it clear that the adjective she might have used would have no doubt been less flattering. Reluctant though she was, Lea had in fact come to the same conclusion as the man some time earlier when she'd actually sat down to think about this. It grated severely, but she was thankful for the little blessings in that she and Eoreph were not such a focus of interest as I'dou and Laraph. Lea was a social enough creature, and yet even she winced away from the attention that was being showered upon her former roomate, now a junior grayrider. But even surpassing her desire for privacy was her sheer mulishness, and the young woman would not let some stupid rumors get in the way of a friendship. And that was final. "Then let them gossip." There was a fierce finality to L'nan's voice, and she laced her fingers together in thought, her plate of food still untouched. "Act unaffected. Honestly, if I were them, the fact that you're so flustered by this would tell me that I'd unwittingly hit on something real." Despite her assured manner, the young woman was unfortunately rather certain that this would be one point on which she and Ri'ley would once again disagree. It wasn't a pleasant experience; these discussions and the mental gymnastics it required to try and convince him to see her stance frankly just gave Lea a headache. But she was stubborn. She would stick this through if it was the last thing she did and she would not let him push her away.

She did take pity on him, though, when her teasingly flirtatious comment brought on a torrent of babble that at one point made her eyes narrow before he explained the unintentional insult away. He was blushing, which amused her. L'nan's blood vessels were usually made of sterner stuff; crass jokes and teasing innuendo did not faze her in the slightest. It was funny to see Ri'ley's face redden, so much so that he hid his head in his hands for a long moment after he stopped himself from continuing. Perhaps, in hindsight, it was good that he was not looking at her. Lea's mouth twitched uncontrollably for a moment and she raised a hand to try to hide it, though unsuccessfully. Watching her amusement at his expense might just have embarrassed Ri'ley further. By the time he had lifted his head and commenced shoveling food into his mouth, though, Lea had regained her control of her facial muscles, even if her eyes gleamed with wry amusement. "So I see." She commented shortly, her voice softening in increments. Briefly, she waved away his apology because having him do so simply renewed the awkwardness. "It doesn't matter. Aaand, I guess getting my first bouquet shall have to wait." She didn't count that one incident in these very kitchens. The greenrider had offered the flowers to N'raan; the distribution of the flowers, pretty though they had been, had been an act, a farce.

It might have been the fact that Ri'ley had picked up the chicken in his hand that brought Lea's attention to his plate, but either way, a frown crossed her face at the sight of the food still lounging there. He hadn't been eating that much so far, and if that was all he had taken, Lea was going to be very, very annoyed at him. But before she could address his deliberate malnutrition, Ri'ley spoke again. This time, Lea's brow furrowed in faint puzzlement before clearing as she recognised the name as the one by which Eoreph habitually called Ri'ley. Dionyph's. That would be Ri'ley's large black hatchling; the one that Lea had seen briefly on the Sands. "Eoreph and I would be honoured to meet him. She has mentioned him before, but- well- she's rather shy. I think she's been wanting to meet you both properly, though." L'nan smiled in a pleased manner, briefly succumbing to the helpless infatuation that, as a newly bonded winglet, she still felt for her simourv. She was flattered on Eoreph's behalf, rather similar to a parent whose child has been praised. And it was true that the tawny had wanted to be introduced more properly to Dionyph and His, as their first meeting on the Sands had been somewhat pressured and unpleasant. But Eoreph's own shyness and before this, her bonded's anger at Ri'ley had led the hatchling to refrain from making any sort contact with her black clutchmate. Before that could happen, though... Lea stretched across the table to grab hold of Ri'ley's plate. With an exasperated look on her face, she pulled it towards her and rather unceremoniously transferred the untouched food from her plate to his, before reaching out to place the refilled platter in front of him. "Eat more." She commanded flatly, fixing him with a look that dared him to argue. The amount of food he had consumed would hardly have been enough for Lea, and she was more than a foot shorter than Ri'ley. The surgeon would need much more than that if he didn't want to pass out from hunger.

[Kat]

Even though the girl worked to pick up food plates in the back, she still listened for signs of points of interest between the two people. She was not yet ready to relinquish her claim on the new blackrider, and the tawnyrider’s presence was just a great hindrance to her. For now, though, after that waving incident, the woman wanted to remain hidden from the female winglet, She could not hear much of anything from her position, so she cleaned up slowly, puttering around in an attempt to look busy while making as little noise as possible. Ri’ley scowled at the empty space where the girl had been, before he turned to Lea.
”I don’t like it. She acts like she’s entitled to my attention.”
Ri’ley complained, his eyes lingering on the girl. He disliked that the kitchen girl glared at L’nan in that nasty way. He disliked that she thought that L’nan had ownership over him in any way, even if the other winglet, even if she was just a friend, did have some claim over Ri’ley, or at least more than the caverns worker.

L’nan’s casual attitude both inspired and bothered Ri’ley. In many ways, she was correct. Why did it matter that people talked of them? Both the directly involved parties, L’nan and Ri’ley, knew that the rumors were false, and yet, Ri’ley could not stop the rumors from bothering him. His life would be so much better if he could detach himself from other people’s perceptions.
”That is easier said than done, as I am flustered by it all.”
Ri’ley hoped that as the excitement about the alpha class weaned, the attention he received did as well. Soon, there would be another class of winglets which would assume their place as the Eyrie’s new arrivals. Altaph would clutch soon, and the result, Ri’ley hoped, would be that some of the attention placed upon him and his class was deterred. It might be a vain hope, but Ri’ley clung to it. Why it mattered what people thought about him and L’nan, Ri’ley could not articulate. Both of the two involved people knew the rumor to be false, and yet it lingered over Ri’ley like a cloud of shame.

Even though Ri’ley was dark in both eye color and hair color, his skin was quite pale, and he tended to flush easily. He turned red when he was stressed, hot, or embarrassed, among other times, and now was no different. Ri’ley could also tell that his embarrassment amused L’nan, which was better than if it insulted her, but was humiliating all the same. After he finished gaining his composure while using food induced pauses, Ri’ley turned to Lea, a sheepish expression crossing his blushed face. Her comment about the flowers surprised him. He could not believe L’nan had never before been given flowers. Even Ri’ley had been gifted with such, as he was often rewarded with small trinkets or gifts after he helped patients. Although, he supposed that L’nan’s situation was particular as she probably dealt most often with married women, who were the least likely people to give a young woman flowers. And yet, he found it almost miraculous that no one had pursued her romantically either. The mixture of the two impossibilities was stunning, and Ri’ley’s gaze turned from sheepish humiliation to surprise.
”Your first? If I had known, I would have purchased a grander one.”
Ri’ley replied with a small, casual shrug of his shoulders. The flowers had been simple and pretty, as that was the proper type of flower to give to a female friend.

Dionyph had mentioned that Eoreph was shy, but that fact did not deter the hatchling from wanting her company. He did not mind quiet or shy creatures. He would talk to them as he would talk to anyone, and if they chose to respond, then he would be thrilled. Silence, though, was a fine alternative. Somehow, the black hatchling was understanding of silence, and he treated it in a correct and admirable fashion. He either talked over it, expressing his feelings as if the other creature responded, as he knew that the people or simourvs were listening to what he said, responses or not. Ri’ley smiled again.
”Don’t worry; Dionyph can talk enough for both of them.”
He responded. He knew and comprehended L’nan’s expression, as Ri’ley often gained a similarly infatuated look when he discussed or even thought about Dionyph. Ri’ly now understood the over-protective and cloistering parents who brought their barely injured children into his surgery. He had always thought that said parents were overreacting, and yet, now, he knew that he was every bit as obsessed with his simourv as those parents had been with their children, if not more so.

When L’nan took Ri’ley’s plate, he looked at her with a look of mild shock in his brown eyes. He knew that he needed to eat more, but he had been distracted. He picked up his fork forcefully, and began to eat at her instruction.
”I am an adult, you know. I can feed myself.”
Ri’ley muttered between bites. L’nan was treating him like a child, and he was older than she was. Still, there was something endearing about L’nan’s behavior, and Ri’ley grinned as he chewed slowly and carefully on his food. He was hungry, though, despite his hesitance to eat. The winglet was downright motherly, in a bossy way, although Ri’ley would never compare the girl to his mother, of whom Ri’ley was not found. The food was reluctantly shoveled into Ri’ley’s mouth as a slightly faster rate, as he attempted to appease L’nan. He imagined she would nag him horribly if he did not comply, and sometimes, it was better to follow orders

[Fox]

L'nan had not meant to turn Ri'ley against the girl. For a moment, she blinked in puzzlement at his scowl, before a pang of guilt shot through her. The girl had done no harm by flirting, even if she had hoped for something more. If anything, she had been annoying, but that was hardly a major fault. In fact, the woman had already dismissed the kitchen girl from her notice. "She's young still, Ri'ley. Young girls can make silly mistakes." Lea didn't even mind so much that the girl obviously disliked her; insults to her person rarely managed to strike their mark. Insults to her friends, now, that was a different matter entirely. The tawnyrider could be extremely protective of those that she considered friends, and to hear any of them badmouthed was an immediate way to rouse her more mother bear-like tendencies.

No one liked to be gossiped about. The knowledge that wherever she went there were likely to be a few people who whispered about her behind their hands, or shot her looks of dislike bothered Lea like tiny pinpricks on the back of her neck. It made her want to hit someone, or scream at them, or even just run to her room to hide from the scrutiny. But instead, she lifted her chin and shot the rumormongers looks of distaste, as if she could not believe that they had so little to do on their hands that they could go around wasting their breath on empty speculation. Pride was one sin that the young woman willingly owned up to, and it was evident in every line of her body when faced with such stupidity. Even just thinking about it, the brown gaze that rested on Ri'ley grew hard, and her chin lifted in an attitude that plainly said 'I dare you to try your luck'. "Grow a thicker skin." Was the only retort, and though it sounded distinctly impatient, Lea tried to diffuse it with a faint smile and a shrug of her shoulders. It wouldn't be a bad thing for Ri'ley to become less affected by rumors, but she wasn't going to fault him for it if he didn't manage to get over it. He wasn't exactly the most extroverted of people, after all.

It was true that throughout her eighteen years, Lea had never received flowers from a man. It stood to reason; at thirteen she had been absorbed with learning her mother's trade, and at fifteen she had been absorbed with living it. She had very quietly dissuaded most of the boys who had been interested, chiefly because she had had no time for them or for the frivolities that came with courtship. "You don't have to worry about it, though yes, my first. I think I intimidated most of the boys back home, actually." A roll of her eyes and a humorous quirk of her lips tried to bring light to a situation. It rather missed the mark, because Lea would have liked to been able to experience all that, but it was undeniable that that phase of her life was gone. She was only eighteen still, but with winglet life and Eyrie and everything else, the tawnyrider did not see herself having much time for it here either. Story of her life. "There was no time for boys and flowers. Chiefly because they were only boys still, and my life had no room for them." The admission was softer than her previous jest, and somewhat distant as L'nan fixed her eyes on a point just beyond Ri'ley's shoulder.

The young woman couldn't deny that she was curious to meet the hatchling who had chosen Ri'ley, and a smile lit her face at the prospect. "We shall have to arrange something soon, then." She agreed amiably, resting her head on one hand. After a moment, a grin spread across her face. "It'll be like a play-date!" Lea crowed, lifting her head briefly so that she could clap her hands together in delight. The name of the practice was rather unfortunate, but it was a pleasing concept all the same. Her grin remained even when Ri'ley passed the comment that he was an adult and could feed himself, though it could be said that the expression turned a little bit more wry. It did not strike as odd that she was ordering a man five years her senior to eat as if he were no more than a child. She was used to dealing with people older than her, and more often than not in the capacity in which she encountered them, grown men could act like the most unruly of children. "Adult you may be, but the feeding yourself part is doubtable. You seem to be doing a decent job of it so far, though, so luckily I won't have to feed you myself." L'nan quipped, raising an eyebrow at Ri'ley. "You really should eat more, though. That plate would hardly have been enough for me and I'm small." Her voice had dropped to an almost lecturing tone, though her expression changed to one of old frustration as she mentioned her size. Ri'ley himself outdistanced her by a good one and a half feet. The thought made her grumble; he hadn't been that tall eight years ago.

[Kat]

Ri’ley had been annoyed with the girl before he realized she flirted, and now that he realized that she was trying to seduce him in some manner, it only intensified his feelings of dislike. Had Dionyph not been slumbering comfortably in their shared room, he would have interjected and reminded Ri’ley that he was being unfairly particular. The simourv was constantly having to remind Ri’ley to check his temper, which was usually pretty controlled, beyond certain instances when Ri’ley became too worked up. The man was not mad now, but he was frustrated, and the simourv would have been able to convince Ri’ley to detach himself from his feelings of annoyance which were building into dislike. Dionyph was becoming quite adept at controlling his rider. The simourv knew Ri’ley intimately, and the knowledge the black knew allowed him to prevent situations before they even arose. Ri’ley welcomed Dionyph’s knowledge and expertise. The hatchling was slowly training Ri’ley out of negative behaviors, like the man’s temper, which was a detriment to him.
”But those mistakes do not need to make me miserable.”
Ri’ley growled, the words bursting from her lips in a small huff of air. He sounded gravely and curt, and his tone expressed a frustration which was, perhaps, a bit too intense for the situation. And that malice carried on to his reaction to L’nan’s next comment, which made Ri’ley scrunch his nose up into a scowl which consumed his whole face.
”I shouldn’t have to grow a thicker skin.”
Ri’ley snapped, the fact that he was still aggravated radiating across his body. He felt bad that he had snapped at Lea, which made the man sigh with frustration, and drop his head into his hands again.
”I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have raised my voice.”
Ri’ley muttered, fatigue at his own emotional outburst dripping into his tone as he glanced toward L’nan with large, brown eyes.

As Lea responded to Ri’ley’s question about flowers, he nodded in an understanding manner. Ri’ley had never possessed time for romance either; he was very busy with his apprenticeship, and he had never pursued a romantic relationship. In fact, Ri’ley had never considered romance at all. He had never wanted it. But unlike the tawnyrider, Ri’ley had never wanted or missed romance. He had never thought that it was something to be missed. Before he reached the Eyrie, Ri’ley had thought that once he finished his apprenticeship, he would find a suitable wife and start a family, but that had always been an event in his future. Now that he was a rider, Ri’ley was not sure what he would do for a family. None of the riders really had families, but Ri’ley, while he might be able to live without being in love, he wanted children badly. Someday, the man knew, he would be a father. It was an identity he was determined to claim.
”I can understand that.”
Ri’ley said, but as soon as he spoke, Ri’ley realized that he may have sounded insulting to the girl.
”Not that I find you intimidating, but boys are immature for a lot longer than girls, and you aged quickly.”
Ri’ley, in many ways, thought of Lnan as being more mature than him, even though he was five years older. It was hard to the man to imagine himself as an adult, even though he knew that he had been an adult for a long time. He hoped that Lea understood the sentiment of his words, and that she was not insulted by his statement. Surely, by now, she was used to him speaking poorly. It was only minutes before that he was babbling incoherently with his head in his hands.

Ri’ley liked the idea of arranging a meeting for Dionyph and Eoreph. The black hatchling might benefit from being around a quiet creature. Of course, the black was dutifully content to remain quiet around Laraph, but Dionyph’s relationship with the gray was different. And Ri’ley thought that the black talked too much. He did not talk inappropriately, but he talked a lot of words when he did decide to speak, which was often. Ri’ley loved everything about Dionyph, but it would not hurt him to have some of his melodrama curbed. And it would not hurt Dionyph to interact more with his siblings in a way which was not formal.
”I think a play-date would serve Dio well. He needs to play more. He’s very—serious.”
Ri’ley explained with a large grin at the thought of it. He would like to see Dio play with his siblings and not just greet them formally. The closest Ri’ley had seen was when Dionyph and Laraph played in the water, which was a short lived encounter, and Ri’ley had been emotionally quite upset at the time.

Ri’ley did not dare to tell L’nan that this was the first time he had eaten that day. He was very hungry, and so he took a few long minutes to gorge himself in the politest and most controlled manner he could manage. He ate until a large portion of his plate was empty, before he glared at the food the girl had given him.
’Are you sure I can eat this? I don’t want to deprive you of anything.”
Ri’ley added. He did not believe it was proper to eat a woman’s food if she was not finished with it. He listened to her critizism, and he shrugged, solely because he was not sure he could articulate his worry.
’It’s just that I don’t want to eat more than my share of food. I have no more right to it than anyone else, and I don’t want to be a burden to the Eyrie.”
Ever since the hatching, Ri’ley had felt that he did not provide enough to the institution. He was given Dionyph, and nothing in the world could compensate for that gift. So Ri’ley was trying to do everything possible to decrease his price to the Eyrie and to increase his productivity. He worked in the clinic to reply his un-payable dept, and he worried about eating too much because he did not want anyone to think that he was being over indulgent. Just because he was large did not mean that he could eat more than anyone else. While he might want or need more food, he would be greedy to take more than everyone else received. That was only fair, and Ri’ley believed in fairness. He hesitated, his fork hovering over the gifted food as he waited for another response. He was stll hungry, but Ri’ley, well, he would live.

[Fox]

It was no surprise to Lea to find that Ri’ley had a temper. Most people did, with varying degrees of sensitivity, and even her own temper was not something to be trifled with. Rather, she was surprised that he had lost it so easily; in the infirmary, weeks ago, his freezing control had been both frightening and horribly frustrating to behold. Now, it was absent entirely. L’nan had to wonder whether it was just the topic and the atmosphere or if his bonded status had something to do with it. She sat in chill silence as he vented briefly, and when he apologised, the woman raised an eyebrow. ”You shouldn’t have.” She agreed archly, always one to give credit and blame where it was justly due. For a moment, she just met Ri’ley’s brown eyes with her own inscrutable ones before she nodded, unbending. ”But it’s understandable. Forget about it, alright?” There had been enough apologies tonight to last Lea a lifetime.

There was really nothing to say to that statement, except to nod absently in agreement. It wasn’t so much that Lea had wanted the romance, but that she had wanted normalcy. Time to be a girl, laugh and giggle with friends, gossip about boys who were too immature for there to be any real interest on her part. It was ironic that years after she had thrown herself into her role as midwife, she would finally have the chance to do that, though at the moment Eoreph was taking up a good deal of her time. Eventually, though, things would begin to settle down, and there would be life as a winglet to adjust to. Right now, it was still very much a cycle of eat and sleep. But still, thoughts on simourv babies aside, L’nan realised that the most crucial thing that she had come here to speak to Ri’ley about remained unresolved. ”I hope you realise that I don’t intend to let you avoid me.” She said abruptly, not quite noticing that the subject change was rather sudden. ”The rumours aren’t going to change anything.” That last was more wishful thinking than anything else. Of course the rumours would change something, if only to make relations more awkward for awhile. That was the best case scenario. It could be so much worse if they let it. The man was perfectly welcome to try and dodge her at every opportunity, but now that Lea was on to him, there was no way that she was letting him do this again. In fact… ”I warn you now, I’ll camp outside your door if I have to so don’t you dare avoid me!” The grin that split her face was mischievous, but serious at the same time. She would do it, too.

For some reason, the thought of Ri’ley’s black being very serious was not at all surprising, though it was very amusing. He was certainly the wrong person to comment on someone being too serious. ”I think you’re perfect for each other in that case.” L’nan said with a bemused smile. ”You both need to lighten up a bit, hmm?” Ri’ley was getting better, though. Slowly, but steadily, he wasn’t quite as apathetic normally as he used to be, which was a great improvement to the tawnyrider. She had not liked the mask anyway. But yes, a play-date would be fun, and Eoreph needed to make friends with a few more of her siblings. Thus far, only Ze’el’s Dareph had made any sort of progress in drawing the shy tawny out of her shell. ”I look forward to it. I think Eo needs to play more as well.” It had been extremely adorable to watch the baby simourvs play, and L’nan was of the opinion that Eoreph needed to do more of it, if only because she was so much less shy when she played.

In Lea’s view, Ri’ley really, really needed to cultivate a greater sense of self-esteem. She stared at him almost in disbelief as he rattled on about not wanting to eat more than his share of food and being a burden to the Eyrie. As he finished, the former midwife couldn’t help the bark of incredulous laughter that burst from her lips. It took her a minute to control herself, but when she finally calmed enough to speak without laughing, there was still a broad grin on her face. ”A burden on Eyrie? You?” Lea shook her head in plain refute. ”Ri’ley, if anything, you’re lightening the burden on Eyrie. Haven’t you been holed up in the infirmary for the past few weeks assisting them? Honestly, you’re so helpful it’s actually rather ridiculous, and it makes me feel bad that I haven’t gone to do the same.” The grin lessened, but the smile on Lea’s face was still bright and undoubtedly sincere. She was almost amazed that he could still think that of himself. With another shake of her head, she waved her hands at him in an ambiguous gesture that really meant to say ‘Eat, eat’. ”Go ahead, eat it all. I’m not hungry, honestly.” Of course, L’nan’s stomach chose that moment to interject with an extremely embarrassing audible rumble. She blushed.

[Kat]

What L’nan did not understand about Ri’ley’s actions at the hatching, was that he had been completely and totally focused on his work. The stress and adrenaline of the situation led him to shut off his emotive capacity and to work as fast and thoroughly as possible. While Ri’ley’s temper often flared up when he was interacting with other people, when he entered crisis mode, the time where he had to work and only work, he slipped into a state of cold professionalism which he used to deflect the detrimental nature of his temper and his emotions. At the hatching, he had been in that sort of state. He had become completely apathetic to emotion so that he could focus on what really mattered, saving lives. Donovan had a similar state of being, one almost completely devoid of his friendly and charming nature, where he was focused and controlled. Donovan, though, still was able to keep some of his bedside manner, some of his charm and wit about him under such pressure, Ri’ley just became stern, cold, and almost calculating.
”I get very easily worked up sometimes. I’ve been this way since I was a child.”
Ri’ley grumbled, and then he turned to L’nan, a scarlet tone burning across his face and reaching to his large ears.
”I’m surprised you don’t remember if from when we were children. I seem to remember getting mad at you and calling you all sorts of silly names.”
Ri’ley had not remember that he had done that until just now, and it was the epiphany which humiliated him in that moment. He paused, his eyes flicking sheepishly downwards, as he nibbled on some beans again. He was still quite hungry, and since he wished to avoid showing her his embarrassment, he kept his gaze on his food.

L’nan’s sudden comment made him jerk upwards, so that his brown eyes met hers. He did feel badly about avoiding her, because he did like her quite a bit as a person, and she was the only person who really understood his work among the Alpha class. The medics were informative about medicine, but they did not share the newness and wonder of having one of the simourv chicks, but L’nan had both. Ri’ley should not squander their connection. Her conviction made him smile, and he turned to her grinning.
”I imagine you won’t anymore, although you have thus far.”
The comment was both a statement and an admittance. He had been avoiding her, and it was time that he owned up to his actions. He had wondered why L’nan had not previously confronted him about it, but then he had decided that it was because she was busy and emotionally tied up with Eoreph as he was with Dionyph. Dionyph consumed most of Ri’ley’s thoughts and time, and the man was sure that the other winglets felt the same way.
”And I’m afraid if you camped outside of my door, the nature of the rumors might change to musings on your insanity. I would not want that for the only Alpha tawny rider.”
Ri’ley announced, and his smile became a bit less amused and more smug. He, in some ways, did not doubt that she would do such a thing, at least metaphorically. He was easy to find. He was large. Dionyph was large, and people tended, to some extent, to care where the pair went. Ri’ley had only been able to avoid L’nan because she had not quite noticed that he was officially avoiding her. Now that he had confirmed it, there was no way that the stubborn girl would allow him to continue.

Ri’ley placed down his fork with a grand gesture as L’nan teased him. His face pinched into a mock expression of hurt, and he shook his head.
”I do not need to lighten up.”
The man announced, and his face remained serious for a brief second before it erupted into a large grin. Ri’ley continued to smile when L’nan agreed to his statement. He was sure that Dionyph needed to make more friends with his clutchmates. Right now, they were all his siblings, and thus he was responsible for their happiness and safety, but they were not friends. Ri’ley wanted his to have more friends.
”I think Dionyph needs more friends, too. Although I’m afraid he would disagree with me if he heard that statement.”
Ri’ley said. Dionyph would insist that he did not need friends when he had siblings to protect. He had a skewed vision of the world, devoid of any companionship beyond Ri’ley’s and maybe one day, a gray simourv, where he was the protector of many but close to few. Ri’ley felt that friendship was far too important to ignore, and that the black simourv needed friends. Dionyph seemed to know that Ri’ley needed friends, so it baffled the rider how the simourv neglected his own need.

When the woman began to laugh, Ri’ley could not understand why. He was not insulted, because he did not feel that she laughed at him maliciously, but he was confused. He could not fathom why she laughed at him so. He tightened his lips, as his eyebrows pulled together into a confused upper-faced frown. And when L’nan’s explanation came, Ri’ley only calmed his face, but he remained as confused as he had been earlier.
”I am lucky the medics allow me to work at the infirmary.”
Ri’ley had been honored and pleased when the medics asked him to come back to help. He had always thought that they were doing him a curtasy, because they found him helpful, but also because he was a blackrider, which Ri’ley was quickly learning meant that people automatically honored and respected him more than they should. He always felt a bit like he was upstaging the medics, or at least taking their patients and intruding upon their space, but that they were kind enough to let him work because it made him so very happy. He loved to work, and he was glad that he had an outlet for his passion.

Ri’ley raised a brow as L’nan told him to eat her food while he stomach growled. He stopped eating immediately, as he had already moved to her plate after finishing his own, and pushed the plate back towards her. Ri’ley was not going to take food from a lady, especially not a friend.
”I think you need the food as well. I promise that I will not stave to death before Breakfast.”
Ri’ley said as he turned his gaze to eye the kitchen door. He was sure that that little servant girl would bring him food, but he was not about to ask for her help. It would only make her more interested in pursuing him. Instead, he placed down his fork respectfully, and leaned back a bit in his chair, so that he could watch L’nan while she ate.

[Fox]

Truthfully, L'nan only really recalled the encounter now that Ri'ley had brought it up. Eight years was a long time, after all, and Lea had been at the grand old age of ten when she'd first met the fifteen-year-old surgeon's apprentice. There had been a whole host of unpleasant encounters after the first dislike had been established, but the name-calling incident had been one of the worse ones. Quite frankly, Ripley had pushed little Leannan to the point of furious tears, because she had been a sensitive child (and still was, to a lesser extent) and that had been a real shock to her- admittedly rather over-blown- self confidence. She had stormed off, though, and with any luck he had not actually seen her start to cry, though she had been tearing up rather spectacularly before exploding at him as well. Still, there wasn't much that really needed to be said. It had been an unpleasant encounter all around. "I think we've already established that you were an unpleasant boy. Not like I was much better." She commented wryly, lifting her shoulders in a faint shrug. "Can we just forget that whole episode, honestly? Because things have changed so much- we have changed so much that being stuck on something that happened eight years ago is rather silly." Not to mention L'nan didn't like remembering what an annoying little creature she had been. She was fairly sure that Ri'ley didn't like remembering his fifteen-year-old self either.

On the topic of his avoidance of her, Lea's mouth twitched briefly into a frown. She hadn't been letting him avoid her; she just hadn't really noticed. She had been too blinded by her own temper to realise that there was a conspicuous absence of 'gigantic blackrider' in her general vicinity. No response was offered to his first comment, but at the second she raised an eyebrow, plainly skeptical. "They're perfectly welcome to gossip on my supposed mental instability." Lea shot back, a roll of her eyes and a faint curl of her lip betraying just what she thought of the ambiguous 'they'. "Maybe it'd be a deterrent to people walking up to me and asking about you. Or me and you." Briefly she rolled her eyes, then paused, seeming to think about it for a moment. Then, mock-thoughtfully, she tapped steepled her fingers and narrowed her eyes at him, a sly smile tugging at her lips. "That might not be such a bad idea, actually." Not that she was actually considering it for merely that reason; she would do it if forced, but otherwise it wasn't an option that she would jump to immediately.

"You do need to lighten up. But tell me what your Dionyph is like! So Eo and I know what to expect." Lea smiled in anticipation of the meeting between their simourvs. She was truly looking forward to it, because Eoreph needed more friends and she wanted to meet formally the black that she had glimpsed on the sands. It was difficult to coax the tawny out of her shell when others were present; in private, she spoke freely to L'nan, though it was plain that Eoreph was not a creature of many words. But she needed to get used to being around her brothers and sisters and conversing with them; it would be good for her.

Frankly, Lea thought that the medics in the infirmary would have been immensely stupid to turn down a willing, competent helping hand. And Ri'ley was nothing if not competent. Sure, his bedside manner was somewhat lacking under pressure, but at least he could still work well under pressure. "Luck had nothing to do with it." She said softly, sending her friend a reassuring glance. It was tempting to ask him whether he thought that they might need an extra hand to bandage wounds or other such small jobs, but Lea made up her mind to ask the medics herself when she eventually made her way to the infirmary. They might not have much need for her on a normal day, but in case of any emergency, at least if she went to bandage and carry things, it might free up another medic to do some actual work. L'nan's offer of help wouldn't be anything special, but it was strange to not be around some sort of medical field.

The flush that stained her cheeks was nowhere near as bright as the ones she had thus far seen spread across Ri'ley's face. The tawnyrider's skin was fair, but on the rare occasion that she blushed, she did not turn as bright a red as some did. Rather, her cheeks and ears flushed an odd shade of pink, and she had to resist the urge to hide her face in her hands. Lea hated it when she blushed, because it felt as if her body was betraying her embarrassment to everyone within sight. Instead, she cleared her throat lightly, averting her eyes to the plate that Ri'ley pushed towards her. Reluctantly, she nodded to his statement before picking up her own neglected fork to eat, though she did so slowly and with marked hesitance. She was tempted to refuse the food, but the fact of the matter was that she was hungry, and with her stomach growling loudly for all to hear, it would be silly to refuse good food. Still, Ri'ley should not be made to go hungry. Raising her brown eyes from the plate, L'nan spoke, "You should ask for something else to eat. I don't think the kitchen staff will begrudge you an extra plate." Because just the fact that he would not starve before breakfast was not enough to satisfy the tawnyrider, and she narrowed her eyes at him, even as her fork rose and fell to bring food to her mouth.