Grilled, Baked or Fried?

Writers: Chelle, Mirren
Date Posted: 29th January 2016

Characters: Asley, Zaeryn
Description: The two of them enjoy the fruits of their labor.
Location: Dolphin Cove Weyr
Date: month 3, day 7 of Turn 8

"So do you like it?" Zaeryn had asked for the fish they'd caught to be cooked, and the cook had been happy to comply, especially as she'd been given some in payment. She'd cooked them in butter and herbs and added vegetables to the side of each plate. She'd even helped Zaeryn pick out wine to go with the meal.

Asley sat at the table, eating her first few bites. It didn't take long till she was nodding and taking a few more. "Really good. Do you cook too?"

"Not as good as this. I wanted it to be really good, since you caught it." Why that was important, Zaeryn wasn't sure just yet. She knew she wanted to see Asley smile.

"Well it is. Dig in! I don't want to seem like a porcine eating half my plate before you've even had a bite." She took a sip of the wine and let it sit in her mouth for a bit before swallowing. This was likely one of the best meals she'd had since walking the tables except for the hatching feasts.

Zaeryn relaxed a little and cut a piece from her filet before popping it into her mouth. "Mmm." She nodded. "So fresh and nice. Almost as good as freshwater fish. Those are so different and so good."

"I had freshwater at Emerald Falls. Before that, all saltwater though." Emerald Falls had been the only time she'd lived inland. And she hadn't really enjoyed it that much so she didn't dwell on it. "Do you prefer grilled, baked, or fried?"

"Not fried, I don't like fatty food." Zaeryn grimaced. Then she had a thought and tensed. "Would you have preferred to have this fried?"

The printer stopped and thought about it. "Honestly being around fish most of my life, I've had it a lot of ways. Probably my most favorite would be a toss between pan seared yellowtail with orange sauce and spices or something like this. Fried is heavy. It's still good though if not breaded too thick." She hated people that overdid things. It killed the flavor.

Zaeryn relaxed again. "I agree. There's no point eating something like this if you're going to cover it with so many ingredients that you can't taste it."

"Any food is about like that. Except klah. You can never have enough sweetener and cream." Asley was quite sure about that. The printer finished part of her fish and then stopped to let it digest. "Do you like it here Zaeryn?"

The smith tilted her head. "Right here or here at the Weyr?"

"The Weyr," Asley supplied. "I mean I'm wondering if someday I could get the chance to see other Weyrs-not just Dolphin Cove." Journeymen were supposed to travel but due to her situation she wasn't as portable as other crafters.

"I don't know, I don't travel much. I suppose I could live somewhere else, it would just take some getting used to." She knew she wasn't that good with big changes, but she'd done it before.

"I didn't like Emerald Falls. Home was great and Topaz was okay too since they were both the same pretty much. And the Weyr is the Weyr. I don't know. I think I might like to see a little more of Pern if I ever got the chance though." Somewhere, deep in her mind, she was imagining some little cothold somewhere where she could work in peace.

"Have you ever been to the North?" Zaeryn asked. "I've always wanted to, but I haven't yet. The way people talk, you'd think it wasn't a part of Pern at all."

"I was born and raised there till my brother brought me to Topaz," Asley answered easily. "I'm from Southern Boll."

"Oh, you've been lots of places. Do you find it hard to get used to a new one? I'm not good with change," Zaeryn admitted.

"Depends on the new place and how it feels. If people are easy and I can find my niche, I'm fine. If people are not so nice and I have to watch myself everyday-not so much." She shook her head thinking about part of her time while she was at Emerald Falls. "Is it the new people for you or...?"

Zaeryn shrugged. "People, places, everything. I don't even like it if people move my tools."

"Oh well. I don't like other people touching my press sure. Other things aren't so bad." Shrugging, Asley could understand Zaeryn's point of view though. Her life hadn't allowed for it. She had to go to the Weyr when the Hall was ruined. She had had to go to the Hall to get her knots.

"You're lucky then. Sometimes I think…" Zaeryn trailed off.

"Think what?" she said curiously, finishing off the last bite of fish and taking a drink of the wine. It cleared the taste from her mouth and left behind a nice fruity aftertaste.

"That maybe there's something wrong with me. People keep saying I'm different and they don't know how to take me."

"Everyone's different. There's nothing wrong with you. You just know what you like." After all, the fish was good. Zaeryn's conversation was good. And she could obviously do her work.

"Things bother me that don't bother other people, and they bother me a lot more. I just… I've always been that way." Zaeryn was happy that Asley was listening, few people really did.

"I met a harper once. She was like that. There was a word that they used-sensitive. It didn't make her a bad person or anything. It just meant she listened more and felt more. Actually I'm pretty sure it made her a better harper cause they said her writing improved from it. So maybe Zaeryn it helps you to notice things that others don't." The printer wasn't a great philosopher but she did understand some things and she was bound and determined never to admit that being different was bad. After all, she differed from normal in some very significant ways.

Those words were like a light going off in Zaeryn's head. "I do notice things other people don't," she agreed. "I concentrate better too, and I don't give up on things. Well - if they're going well." If they weren't, that was a different story.

"So there you go. And I'm sure that makes you a better jeweler since it's such an exacting craft," Asley surmised easily. Her wine was empty but she didn't pour more. The mere fact that she was talking this much was a sign she'd had plenty already.

"Right," Zaeryn nodded. "You're so smart." She didn't mean to flatter, she was just being honest as she saw it.

"Oh...thanks..." Asley let that drift off, watching Zaeryn carefully. **I'm younger than her. Not too much though.** She'd seen riders go with people half their turns, after all. The only problem was would it even be possible. It was probably too soon to find out. "Maybe we can go walking after evening meal day after tomorrow?" Her next evening would be spent catching up with the reports she needed to submit to the Headwoman.

"I'd like that," Zaeryn replied, suddenly shy, but looking forward to spending more time with the printer.

Last updated on the January 31st 2016

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Grilled, Baked or Fried?