Advice and Friendship

Writers: AL, Miriah
Date Posted: 6th August 2013

Characters: J'ackt, Meledei
Description: Meledei befriends a reclusive Jenackt and gives advice
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 2, day 15 of Turn 7

J'ackt

Finally out of the infirmary, Jenackt was having trouble acclimatizing
to weyrlife. For one, it was loud and for another, the steady crowd of
people who were taking part of the hustle and bustle of the weyr
admittedly rattled him. Working in the kitchen as a butcher didn't
bother him, but he had noticed another thing that he wasn't certain
how to take. The girls in the kitchen stared at him; more than once he
had been the subject of wide smiles, fluttering lashes and then
giggles. A few had attempted to speak to him, and by Faranth, start
brushing up against him and not only did it fluster him, he quite
simply didn't know what to do about it.

So, he started keeping to himself, isolating from the noise and the
eyes following him. He had noticed, however, that around evening
things around the weyr started to settle. It was then that he could
venture out and find some manner of quiet. He'd even managed to find a
small area near the lake that was for the most part isolated and he
wasn't often bothered.

It was there that he went this early evening, but not only for quiet.
His leg was still tender and aching, and despite the mild limp he had,
he felt the desperate need to practice. He had found a heavy branch
about the size of his old sword and working through the twinges in his
leg and the soreness of muscles, he began shifting through the
practice forms he had been taught.

Meledei was used to life at the Weyr, but even she needed some time to
get away. With T'nom unavailable and her own duties completed, she'd
decided to go to the lake and get out off the sands for a while. Time
alone could be important, especially if one just wanted to think and,
with everything going on, Meledei had things to think about. So she had
aimed for one of the lesser traveled paths that wound its way around to
more cut off areas. Except that there was someone already there.

The goldrider came to a stop and breathed, "Oh hello!", surprised to see
someone on that particular side of the lake.

Jenackt whirled, bringing the branch to a point towards the strange
woman before he could stop himself. His leg twinged in pain and he
hissed, then caught himself. He lowered the branch and exhaled with a
mutter. "Sorry."

"Whoa, hey." Meledei held up two hands, then dropped them after he
murmured the apology. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you. I didn't
expect anyone all the way over here."

He dropped the branch with a disgruntled sigh. "Neither was I." He
rubbed his leg and winced. The twisting about hadn't been a wise idea on
his part. He glanced at her knots, trying to decipher the bloody
confusing things. He'd had it explained to him, but he still didn't know
the intricacies of them yet. "Uhm...pardon..." He glanced again.
"Goldrider?"

"Meledei." She stepped forward to close the distance between them and
held out her hand, then noticed his pain. "Are you all right?" She
asked as Meledei let her hand drop. "Did I make you hurt yourself?"

He took a step back as she came forward, though the motion as an
unconscious one. "I'm fine" His words were carefully cautious. "Just a
wound that's still healing. I should have been paying closer attention.
" He scrubbed a hand through his hair. It had started to grow back from
where he had hacked it off and the strands were now hitting his ears again.

"Sorry to hear that." Meledei arched an eyebrow at the backward
movement but didn't make an attempt to close that small distance. "So I
gave you my name, but I don't think I have yours."

He shifted slightly. "Uhm..Amitko." He spoke softly. "I didn't think
anyone else came out here."

"Hi Amitko, nice to meet you." Meledei offered her hand again now
that he was a little less antsy. Well, a little. "I come out here
sometimes when I need quiet."

Blue eyes looked at the hand, then at her face, then back at her hand
before carefully taking it in a strong grip. He released her hand just
as quickly, his jaw twitching. "I just needed some where to go to
practice. I guess I can find some where else."

"You don't have to leave on my account. I was just killing time."
She opened a small satchel she had clipped to her belt. "I brought
food. Do you want a sandwich or something?"

He paused. His first instinct was to take food when he could get it;
he'd gone hungry more than once in his life and he hadn't eaten
dinner. But it was difficult for him to understand or comprehend the
idea of there being enough to share, or the generosity of the folk in
the weyr. He hung back and gave a minute shake of his head. He didn't
want to owe this goldrider anything, even if his stomach suddenly
gurgled in hunger. "No. But..thank you."

Meledei's nose wrinkled in amusement at the noise. "Come on, it's not
like I can't get more." Or him either, but Meledei had to admit,
sometimes she did get preferential treatment. "You're obviously hungry.
If you prefer, you can go to the dining hall."

He shifted a little on his feet again and shoved his hands into the
pockets of his trousers. "Don't like the dining hall." He frowned.
"People stare at me." He glanced at the satchel and then nodded. "I
guess if you don't mind."

"Nah. I'm not hungry yet anyway." Meledei closed the distance so she
could hand him the food. "So why do people stare at you?"

He watched her warily as she approached and then carefully took the
sandwich from her hand as though he expected her to snatch it back at
any moment. "Thanks." He moved away and sat on a stone, then shrugged.
"I dunno." He looked at the sandwich and then took a small bite. "They
put me in the kitchens. The girls stare at me and then..." His brow
furrowed deeply. "They laugh."

"They laugh?" Meledei arched an eyebrow, then moved over to sit down on
a stone near Jenackt. "You mean, they're making fun of you?"

Jenackt took another bite and shrugged. "Dunno. They just...giggle. And
whisper. " He figured it was because of the rumors that were
circulating, but in truth he didn't know.

"Are they...smiling sweetly at you?" Meledei had two thoughts about the
behaviour of the girls, and she was leaning toward one in particular.

He stopped and looked at Meledei, then blinked. "Uhm. More like like
wherries on the hunt, actually."

"Ahhhh, okay. Yeah. They think you are handsome." Meledei knew those
looks. As far as she knew she'd never had one on her face, but she'd
seen it on plenty of other girls.

He blinked again and stared at the goldrider. "Huh?"

"They think you like nice. And they're trying to get your attention,
because you're cute." Meledei's lips ticked up into a smile. Yep, he
was clueless and that probably made him all the more desirable.

Cute? Handsome? His face flushed and he cleared his throat and ran a
hand through his hair, obviously flustered. He'd not had any experience
dealing with girls his own age. His father had been full of his own
tales and what he termed was advice, but actual..ahem...hands
on...experience had been nil. "Oh." He scratched at his head and
mumbled. "Wish they'd stop."

"Well, I can tell you they probably won't - at least not for a while.
Maybe if you ignore them long enough, but even that's not a guarantee."
Some of the women in the Weyr could be pretty darn insistent. Meledei
wasn't one, but she knew plenty who were. "You know, it's okay if you
flirt back."

At that, he shifted his weight slightly and almost appeared to squirm
with embarrassment. He kicked at a rock and stuffed the rest of his
sandwich in his mouth and chewed slowly to swallow before muttering,
"Don't know how. Can't I just ask 'em to stop?"

Meledei nodded. "You could, though I recommend you be polite about it.
They don't mean any harm, they just like you." He must have been hold
bred or something to be so hesitate to charm the ladies.

"Thanks." The short word was sincere, but quiet. "Don't know much about
girls."

"Well, you might try talking to one. Say hello, ask her name, maybe ask
some questions about her." Meledei suggested as she leaned her arms on
her knees. "Who knows, maybe you'll like her."

He snorted softly. "Sounds too easy."

"It _is_ easy. Just talk to her like you would any other person."
Meledei didn't understand how guys or girls could think talking to
someone of the opposite gender was any different than talking to someone
of the same. It just didn't make sense to her, but to others it was an
issue.

There was a shrug. "Don't talk much." He shifted slightly again. He
wasn't used to it; he'd been alone for far too long and his limited
contact with others had not always been pleasant. He didn't know what to
tell them. What was he supposed to talk about without letting them know
too much? Gutting animals? Somehow he didn't think a girl would be too
interested in that.

"I've noticed." Meledei's lips quirked up again. "I seem to be doing
more of the talking here. But you should give it a try. You never
know, you might make a friend."

He finally let himself smile a little and it brought the evening light
to play over fine cheekbones. He then shrugged again. He'd had one
friend, and that was a twelve year old girl who'd presence had simply
faded away. "Never had one of those either."

"Well, I wouldn't mind having another friend." Faranth knew she'd lost
enough of them as of late. "There's always room for another." She held
out her hand again and leaned forward, then waited.

Jenackt looked at her and then her hand. "I'm probably not the type you
want as a friend." But still he looked at her hand and slowly took it.

"Really? Well, too bad." Meledei grinned. Her hold was first and yet
gentle. Her delicate seeming hands were strong, thanks to the hard work
it took to being a dragonrider. "Because it's too late now."

Last updated on the August 7th 2013

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Advice and Friendship