An Unfortunate Event (open)

[ayla]

Keenan glared down at his stomach. It was making noises that had interrupted his reading, and he was almost through with... well, he didn't really know what it was called, but it was about the old menace of Thread. It was the third such book he had read in the past week, but the most recent and thus the one with the best information. Of course, "recent" when speaking about Thread didn't mean much. Someone had asked Keenan why he was reading about something long forgotten. He had sworn at them until they went away.

He wished the same approach could be taken with his stomach, which, having finally been acknowledged, was practically snarling at him. Keenan snarled back before lifting himself out of the chair in the Candidate Barracks and starting off to the Dining Hall. He took a quick glance at the dark sky outside on his way down. Night, then. He'd been reading for about eight hours, then. Keenan noted mentally a distinct weakness in his legs, wondering briefly if his muscles had atrophied, then remembering that he hadn't eaten for at least eighteen hours. His mother always said it was unhealthy. Keenan didn't really care.

A quick snack, then back to work. He needed to finish the book as soon as possible. Keenan entered the dining hall, walking straight for the small table of food that was always there. He couldn't remember a time in the last week that he had actually eaten a meal at mealtime, so the bowl of fruit and plate of cold meat was always welcome in Keenan's mind.

He grabbed a plate and served himself a slice of what seemed to be herdbeast and some of the fruit that had been put out for hungry weyrfolk. It was the middle of the night, however, so there weren't many people there to take the food. This suited Keenan just fine; he had a table all to himself when he sat down.

[Wish]

Rave was amazingly awake at the moment, the blue trembling as he watched everything going on past His' shoulder. Tikrin however was half-asleep. Yawning wide, the candidate ruffled her hair, uncertain what to do at the moment. The lessons were just starting to kick up again, but thankfully he didn't have one for a few candlemarks. Stifling a yawn again, Tikrin finally started to head in a direction.

His feet ended up taking him to the dining hall, or maybe his stomach did, either way he was there. Looking around, the candidate sighed and shrugged his shoulders to send his flit airborne. With an unhappy chirp, Rave did just that, spreading his neon marked wings and circling above His' head. It wasn't long before the firelizard found something more interesting than watching the boy move through the line.

While Tikrin was having fun eavesdropping in on the oh-so-wonderful drama that was now almost a daily occurrence in the Weyr, the flit started heading up to a lovely smell. It ended up that the smell was none other than a heaping pile of meatrolls. Naturally, Rave didn't consider consequences, and he certainly didn't mind causing some trouble, but shards was he hungry!

Diving straight into the pile, he skidded to a stop, sending the rolls scattering in every which way. Immediately the drudges and cooks started waving their arms around and shouting, which only made the blue more spazzed-out and sent him flying around the kitchens and hall toppling over things and upsetting other firelizards which joined in. Before anyone could see it coming, the dining hall was a mess, firelizards shaking off piles of food, and weyrfolk groaning at the new found clean-up they would have to do.

Tikrin simply leaned against the wall nearby a male candidate he was pretty sure was new and took a bite of a meatroll that had flown toward him. "Well, that was....fun."

[ayla]

Keenan looked down at his plate of food, quickly making decisions about what he must eat in the dining hall and what he could take back to the Barracks. The meat, while somewhat portable, could get messy, and the recordkeepers (from past experience) did not appreciate meat juice on their records. The fruit could definitely be taken back, as long as he was careful about the juice.

He was just about to start eating when he heard a commotion behind him. Shouting, firelizard screeches, and the sound of breaking things. Keenan didn't have to look to determine what the cause was, but he turned around anyways. If there were flying things, he would have to know where they were to defend himself.

A stray mug of klah narrowly missed Keenan's head, and although he didn't get hit, the still-warm liquid drenched him from the shoulders up. His face dropped into a scowl. The plan for a quick snack had just mutated into snack, then bath. Keenan resisted the urge to shake his head like a canine; his food was relatively untouched by the firelizard extravaganza and he didn't want klah in it.

Keenan huffed and turned back around, ignoring the noise in the hall as best he could. His stomach, momentarily distracted by the pandemonium, realized again that there was nothing in it and gave the loudest groan yet.

He quickly and efficiently cut up a slice of the meat and stuck it in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Keenan was just about to cut another piece when someone spoke up in the general vicinity. It wasn't a shout, so it stood out in the loud area.

Keenan looked up and gave the man one of his trademark withering glares. "I don't happen to define 'fun' as getting soaked in hot liquids," he said through his teeth. Was he angry? Not really. Annoyed that the world had, yet again, decided to interrupt what could be a completely routine snack.

[Wish]

Tikrin could have given less than a white firelizard's tail about whether or not the other candidate was alright, or even okay. Honestly, he thought the whole thing to be pretty darn amusing, which naturally meant that he was content with how he felt. Still, he managed to shrug his shoulders in a whatever motion, glancing briefly at the other boy. Not half bad at least. Though too whiny. He quickly catagorized the other candidate, about to leave as he saw it was no longer worth it and his meatroll was finished.

Instead, a very unhappy looking head cook stomped over holding what looked to be, yep that sure was, his flit by the tail. Rave swung back and forth from the cook's meaty hand, nipping at her to no success. "This yours? Well you two get to clean it up. No holerin' or nothin', I say so, you do!" She dropped the blue onto the nearest table and thrust what was two mops into the candidates' direction. Groaning, Tikrin caught the mop that landed near him and sighed. "I officially am not feeding you any more treats." Rave simply tossed his head and chirped, completely unaware as to why His was upset.

"Looks like we'll be getting to know each other after all." Grumbling to himself and the other candidate as a few other candidates and drudges were rounded up to clean the mess, Tikrin kept an eye out for S'vrin or some other big-shot person he knew to get him out of this. Not that S'vrin would, but maybe, he certainly owed Tikrin for tipping him off about the attack. "So, what's you name kid?" He snorted as he talked, but his eyes were on the antics of his blue who was still rolling around on the table. "Watch out for him by the way...he tends to spazz out around this time of day." As if on cue, the blue hopped into the air and started to spiral around their heads.

[ayla]

Keenan managed to get a few bits of meat in before he was disturbed, yet again. This whole eating thing really was a pain in the neck; Keenan remembered again why he hated to be interrupted, even if it was his own body doing the interrupting.

This time, the disturbance was the head cook. Generally Keenan was on relatively okay terms with the much older woman. He didn't play pranks like the other Candidates, and he usually got his chores done as quickly and efficiently as possible. None of that seemed to matter, however, when the woman started yelling at him and the other Candidate, ordering them to clean up the mess.

Keenan pursed his lips and shoved what he could of his snack into his mouth. It turned out to only be one good mouthful, not including the fruit he would have to throw away now. He grabbed the remaining mop, which had clattered to the floor and stood up from his nice, quiet, boring bench. It was really too bad.

He wasn't happy about getting to know anyone. "I'm Keenan," he said, the words slipping out of his mouth almost as a reflex. The blue the other Candidate referenced was, as described, rather strange. Keenan wondered if he had always been like this, or if something had happened- he cut his train of thought off in the middle. No use getting distracted when the job would go much quicker if he concentrated.

Keenan carefully ignored everyone around him, preferring to stay in his little square and mop at the spilled klah around him. He would have happily (well, not happily, but not angrily) finished the job, if not for the ridiculous blue firelizard who collided with his head in mid-mop. Keenan raised one hand to his still-damp head, feeling for any injury or blood. His hand came away with traces of blood, probably from a scratch the firelizard's claws had inflicted.

"If he doesn't stay out of the way, I swear, I will knock him out of the air," Keenan hissed to the firelizard's owner. He didn't want the threat to be overheard. Anyone who knew Keenan would know that he was deadly serious - always was, in fact.

[Wish]

Rave hadnt meant to hurt him! He really handy meant to! Chittering wildly the Firelizard spiraled around the two boys in loose, lazy circles. The other one, not His, had simply gotten in his way! Totally not Rave's fault!!!! At the blue's whining Tikrin gave a heavy sigh and shouldered the mop mid-swipe. "Enough whining you, now help us out and grab that rag." The flit chirped happily enough, rolling himself up in a dry rag and rolling about then on the floor.

"Not all that useful but oh well." Tikrin shrugged his shoulders eying the other candidate. So his name was Keenan was it? Well he would have just as easily called him Subject 236, but that would make an awkward conversation topic wouldn't it?" Instead he simply nodded his head and went back to work, numbly doing the chore for a few moments before finally raising his head. He had intended to see how long it would take the other candidate to get mad at the lack of response, however true to her nature a certain healer apprentice ruined that.

"Tikrin, into trouble as always I see." A white haired figure slid into a seat beside the dark haired boy, smiling coyly as she observed the candidates' work. Popping her head back up, she looked Keenan over and then gave a light chuckle. "Well now introductions are surely in order. My name is Miyaka, this grumpy guy is Tikrin." She motioned to herself then him before crossing one leg over the other. "Aret you going to help Miya?" Tikrin raised an eye-brow at the girl who suddenly widened her eyes and clenched a hand to her chest.

"Me? You want me, little ol' me who's been hard at work in the infirmary, to help clean up? Shame on you Tikrin....besides its much more fun to watch." Her lips curved up into a smile as her hand fell to her knee and she leaned back against the wall.