Breaking the Fast [Lan]

Losk like float. The wrinkly blue announced at the end of their shift in the Infirmary. He wiggled his frumpy body as Lonet finished washing up, almost as if that was his way of washing himself of the stresses of being in the Infirmary. As much as Losk liked to be of help, seeing so many people sick or hurting always stressed him out. He was also stressed because His Own was stressed. Shortly after their arrival of Dalibor and after the tragic events of that night, they had been working seemingly non-stop. Between double-shifts and Lonet's duty as a healer, the only emotions she had had time to exhibit were that of tiredness and, occasionally, frustration. It was much too much for the blue to take, although he still tried with all his might to make his very best Lonet happy. In order to relieve that stress, he tended to just float in the lake as its cool waters soothe his worries away.

"And float you will, honey." Lonet dried her hands and reached down to scratch beneath her bonded's chin, inciting another wiggle. She smiled and nodded to the Master on duty, then took her leave of the Infirmary.

Lonet watch float? Losk float watch? Yes-or-no see friend. Friend yes-or-no be there, friend... Losk wiggled again as he walked, trying to find the word he was looking for, New? Friend new yes-or-no be see. Lonet hummed and nodded occasionally as he talked, letting him know she was still listening with kind thoughts.

"I think I should eat now, love. You can float without me and I might meet a new friend in the Dining Hall to tell you about." As they reached a crossroads, Lonet knelt down and wrapped her arms around her blue friend. Light fingers scratched fondly in the wrinkled crags of his hide, reaching the places he normally couldn't. Losk gave a low, kind rumble as his tail wagged with satisfaction behind him. Yes. His Lonet was the best Lonet in all of Pern! From their parting he continued out into the Bowl where he moved toward where the dark, still waters of the lake lie in wait.

Lonet, meanwhile, went to the kitchens for dinner. It was breakfast time for those who awoke at such eerie hours of the morning, but as a wherhandler her schedule would always be flipped from most anyone else's. She moved quickly through the food line, offering a warm smile to the kitchen workers that had prepared her meal, then moved into the dining hall to make her seat at the Journeymen's table. As she ate her eyes wandered over to the Master's table, her mind wandering as well to the future when she might earn her right to sit there.

Her wandering eyes made their way inadvertently to the older Master that had been making himself comfortable at the table. As soon as Lonet noticed she had been staring she offered a polite smile, nodded her head, then returned her attentions to her own food. They were the only people in the dining hall, so she had ascertained, but that didn't mean they had to eat together. If he wanted to, she would be thrilled for the company. If not, they could both eat in mutual silence all the same.

However, he quickly seemed to have changed his mind about sitting down. Lonet watched him in-between bites with a curious expression. He appeared to be... preening himself? The Journeywoman grinned and raised an eyebrow in levity. Well, how nice. Perhaps he had remembered a woman he was supposed to entertain? Or a man... Lonet wasn't one to judge. She returned her attentions to her dinner once again as she pushed some of her pork around her to soak up its own juices. It was only when the sounds of a kerfuffle arose that Lonet set down her fork and watched intently at the interactions between weyrbrat and Master.

As the man told off the boy with more body language than verbal communication, the bluehandler's hand curled up to rest just underneath her chin in quiet contemplation of what was happening before her. From his low voice and his gruff mannerisms, she assumed him a man of hard work. From the knots on his shoulder and his original placement in the dining hall, she knew him to be a Master, in particular that of the Mining Craft. From his prior actions with the grooming she knew him to be a man of at least some vanity. Otherwise, she knew little about him... and she found this part particularly fascinating.

When he finally sat down she swallowed her last bite of food and offered a large, congenial grin. As much as she wanted to help him, she wished not to wound his manly pride. Also, he seemed perfectly capable of being able to move from one place to another by himself... and he seemed very good at sending away errant young kids simultaneously.

"Hello," Lonet replied, still managing to sound cheerful despite the exhaustion that was starting to seep in to her very bones, "And good morning to you too, Master. I'm pleased to have some company this early in the morning for... breakfast." She took a stab at what she assumed was the name of his meal. With the knots of a Master, it was unlikely that he was also a handler. Also, while she couldn't yet name all of the handlers, she at least knew all of them by face. Even so, he could always still hold the same hours of a Handler, despite having no photo-phobic wher. In the pause the followed her comment she took a small bite and chewed it in its entirety to swallow before engaging in conversation again.

"I'm Lonet, Journeywoman Weyrhealer and Handler of Blue Losk. What brings you to my side of the tables?" With her hand she gestured to the table they sat at, although she still held a warm and welcoming smile on her countenance. She introduced her craft first, it being of great importance to her since before she had even started standing for hatchings of any sort.

Lonet couldn't help but smile a little brighter when Tussbuul told her that she was the reason for his coming over. Even if the reasoning for his change of seating was obvious, it felt good to hear it. "My pleasure to meet you, Tussbuul. I'm glad you're here, up and about, instead of still convalescing in Telgar." It was a true statement. If he was back at Telgar Weyr she would not have his company right now, and the lack of boredom was more than enough of a reason to be glad for a person's existence. She noticed not his blush or any of his mannerisms that depicted any anxiety from their proximity. Instead, she noticed when he started eating and would do so as well and when he moved to start talking again she would follow suit.

For a long time this went on for a while as both ate their respective meals, joined in a dance alternating between quiet eating and light conversation. As the man's cough continued to linger at the edge of every sip of his drink, Lonet grew a tad worried for him. She knew that such coughs were common in men who worked in the Mines, but it was still nonetheless nerve-wracking to be around. As a healer she always felt she should be able to do something, although she knew very well there was nothing to be done.

"Oh?" Her voice escaped without her noticing as her new companion commented on the Alphahandler and Weyrhealers and Watchwhers. She listened with raised eyebrows, her eyes staring unabashedly in his right up until the part where he mentioned dragons. Lonet bit her lip, turning her attentions away from him as she fondled another prospective bite of food with her fork. Part of her wanted to tell him that he was right about dragons after all, but she held back. This was not the time for heavy conversation and tales of woe from her past. She let it slide for now. Maybe at a different, less early-morning hour she might tell him her life story. For now it was more polite to be vague on the details.

"I picked Losk up because I needed a companion, so my grandfather said." Her voice was far away as she stayed transfixed on swirling the last bit of food around her plate. "He keeps me company and he certainly is very helpful with my healing. Sometimes I think he gets a bit too invested in our patients, but that's not necessarily a bad thing." Lonet rest the handle of her fork on the side of her plate and paused to take a sip of the juice in her mug. After swallowing, she sighed, then looked up to Tussbuul's face again with a pleasant smile. "We do patrol as well. Shortly after our arrival we spent most of our time in the infirmary tending the injured whers, but things have quieted down now and we've taken on more patrol times. It's rather nice. Losk and I like having the solitary peace to clear our thoughts." She took another drink from her mug, then folded her hands at the edge of the table. She had answered some questions and now it was his turn.

"Of course, I'm more than happy to have company as well." Lonet's smile brightened as she acknowledged him with small gesture of her hand. "What brings you here to Dalibor, Master Tussbuul, if you don't mind my asking? I wouldn't have thought that the island would hold any interest to a Miner, such as yourself." She inclined her head to his knots. "Or is this merely a visit of convalescence? Although, that seems unlikely given the circumstances." Her first night at Dalibor wild whers had attacked and her Healer's Camp had nearly been torn apart by a rampaging gold. Considering that mixed with the tales and rumors surrounding the place, Dalibor hardly seemed the place to send a sick person to get better.

Fencing with wild whers? The thought of this man with a long, flexible sword trying to hold his own against a wild red was an amusing one, despite the loss that was still recent in all of the wherhandlers' minds. Lonet felt little in comparison to the others who had been here longer--she hadn't been at Dalibor long enough to know what Pride she was in, let alone know the faces of the dead--but she did feel sorrow for those that did know them. She also felt a great deal of sorrow for the individual who had lost their wher. But further than sympathy and stories, she could express very little.

Lonet smiled at his compliment of her word choice and nodded her head in agreement. Yes. She rather liked the word, especially since it held the meaning that the patient in question would survive. However, she liked more that he approved the word. The fact that he called it beautiful, as well, tickled her interest. A master miner with such a lovely vocabulary was an interesting individual indeed. The further their conversation went on, the more the healer felt strongly that she very much liked Tussbuul. More conversations held over such meals would bring pleasure to her normally busy nights.

Tussbuul seemed intent to keep talking, and Lonet was equally intent to keep listening. While his speech about his reason for being there was interesting, it didn't hit nearly as close to home as his grumbles about his healing therapies. His attitude toward his treatments amused Lonet, despite her clinical disapproval of his thinking they were needless. She had the same annoyance at the ways in which her grandfather would try to help her when she was less than stable. Knowing clinically that something was helpful was one thing, though. Feeling like it did any good was another. For this, she sympathized with the Master.

"It seems like you are quite strong, despite... especially walking up the volcano and back. Even so, there's no harm in trying to get even better." Lonet smiled kindly, her voice not judging but portraying a gentle amusement.

Another pause was given as he mentioned that having a wher would be nice. At first she thought he meant bonding to a wher, but he corrected himself quickly and the interest on her face on the proposition quieted. His accolades for wherkind pleased her, though, and she found herself grinning wider as he continued. His comments were nice. While dragons were heavily romanticized individuals, whers were often overlooked. It was nice to meet with someone who appreciated their steadfastness and hard-working loyalty that often went overlooked by most of Pern. Even she had overlooked them as a younger girl. Not anymore, though. Losk was her gentle teddy-bear and she was very grateful to have him by her side.

"If you ever need a wher to visit with during your treatments, I hope you would think of my Losk. He's a gentle soul and I'm sure he'd love to meet you. He does so like to feel he's being useful and likes to meet new people, even if he never remembers their names." Lonet took another sip of her drink, then rested her hand lightly on the wooden table. She watched him with interest, not intensely but in a sort of light pondering. "Maybe that's overstepping our familiarity, though?" Lonet asked, more of a rhetorical question that one she actually expected an answer to. "I apologize if it is... I'm just fond of finding reasons to visit with people I like." Not that this meeting was over. Lonet just liked to think ahead sometimes when it came to familiarizing herself with those she was fond of.

"How long to you plan on staying here, Master Tussbuul?" The conversation then took a turn for the lighter as Lonet easily picked up the tone of their previous jovial relations. "Has your absence made you missed by any family or friends?" Lonet knew just as well as anyone married to their craft that Masters tended to be lacking in close relations of most sorts, but she felt it polite to ask. Even she missed her grandfather sometimes, but the appeal of Dalibor was worth the distance.