Me or My Cooking?

Writers: Dana, Eimi
Date Posted: 27th October 2005

Characters: Cinale, Daigoro
Description: Cinale brings Daigoro dinner as promised
Location: Vintner Hall
Date: month 8, day 22 of Turn 3

Cinale

"How're you feeling, hon?" Cinale asked once she, and the large tray of food she carried, were in his room. "Better, I hope? Have my herbal teas been helping?"

"Yes, it was very thoughtful of you to send those over." Of course, he had hoped _she_ could have brought them, but... "I'll drop the cups back by the kitchen tomorrow on my way back from my office."

After setting the tray down on the table, she turned around and perched on the edge of his bed. "It hurts to sit in a chair still, does it?" she asked, the expression on her face contrite. She still felt bad - it'd been _her_ fault he'd fallen down...

"Yes, sitting down, and leaning forward. But don't worry, I try to ignore it." He patted her hand gently. "Don't look so glum, Cinale. I'll be all right soon. You heard the Healer yourself."

"I did, but still... I should've paid attention to how _icy_ the ground was, Daigoro..."

"It's not your fault, Cinale. We all slip on the ice sometimes in our lives," he quickly reassured her. Despite the fact that Daigoro was basking in her sympathy, he never would want her to feel the stab of guilt. "And I did throw that pile of snow over your head."

That brought a grin to her face. "That you did. But you didn't so much as 'throw' as you did 'squash'..." She snagged a fresh roll from the basket and broke it in half, giving him one half while she nibbled on the other.

"And who threw snow and who first?" he asked as he took the roll and ripped a large chunk out of it with his teeth.

Her grin turned impish. "Me?"

"You figured that one out rather quickly, now, didn't you," he laughed. "Now, please tell a dying man that you brought him more than just _rolls_ for supper."

She rolled her eyes and grinned at the term "dying man." "Well, I brought him a few nice, _thick_ slices of the roast wherry - drenched in that sauce you love so much - and a bowl of freshly-tossed salad, and more herbs for your tea."

"What a beauty you are!" He moved to sit up to take a look, but the motion sent shocks of pain through his tail bone. With a grimace he laid back down. "Forgot about that for a second."

"You just be still. I'll serve you up a heaping plate." Rising, Cinale went to do just that.

He felt like an old man with his aches and pains and having some pretty young girl wait on him while he laid like a lump. Daigoro sighed heavily. It's only for a couple weeks and then it should be all better, he reminded himself. "Is there any tea?"

"Of course. I'll get that for you too," she told him, setting the tray gently on top of his lap. Going back to the table, Cinale poured him a steaming mug of herbal tea. It certainly wasn't the tastiest thing she knew he had ever had before, so she added some sweetener in it, knowing that it would improve the taste. "Here you are, hon." She set the cup down on the nightstand and took a seat on the edge of the bed, watching him as he began to eat.

"So what did I miss today? I only walked between my office and my rooms, and other places only when extremely necessary." He took a sip of the tea and smiled at her consideration. The sweetner definitely improved it a bit.

"Well, you missed Araster reprimanding a few of his imps for distracting my kitchen girls...but that's pretty usual," she chuckled. "They might be put under my watch for punishment...I'll probably make them wash and cut the meat..."

Daigoro chuckled. "There were a couple kitchen girls I distracted in my imp days, too."

One brow rose. "Oh? Tell me." Cinale brought her knees up and propped her chin up on them, her blue eyes glinting with amusement as she looked at him expectantly.

"You really want me to give up all my wild secrets?" He smiled when he saw the look in her eye. "Well... all right, when I was 14, there was a young girl, Spanya was her name. She was 17 and of course didn't know that a scrawny little runt was madly in love with her. I used to duck into the kitchen and steal cookies and made _sure_ I got caught, just so I would be assigned to kitchen duty and I could watch her work. Shards but she was beautiful, though. Long black hair and the brightest green eyes."

She grinned. "You _still_ steal cookies though, love. It seems like you haven't changed much in _that_ regard!" She wrapped her arm around her knees and tilted her head slightly to the side, her expression turning thoughtful. "And you didn't persue her when you came of age?"

"We had both moved on long before then," he chuckled. "No, by the time I would have been tall and stong enough for her to notice she was already married and started a family. And I... well, I found a girl who wasn't quite so pretty but suited me just fine. She had a different kind of beauty for me to fawn over."

"Which was?"

A slow smile spread across the Hallsecond's face. "Uh uh. It's your turn to tell me about what kind of imp _you_ first fell in love with."

Cinale actually blushed a little. "You're going to laugh and roll your eyes and call me 'typical' when I tell you..."

"Oh, and falling in love with the gorgeous older woman is _unique_?"
Daigoro laughed. He reached out and poked her knee. "Come on Cinale. I told you, didn't I?"

"Well... He was quite a good looking young man when he still apprenticed here... And he still is. But then he was Searched and Impressed a dragon..."

"Oooooh, a dragonrider," his brown eyes grew wider in mock surprise. "And what color did he Impress?"

"Blue."

"And was he attracted to you too?"

"He seemed to be attracted to most women, Daigoro." Shards, but her cheeks were hot... She smiled, ducking her head. "He's quite charming, and he'll sometimes come by on occasion..." She studied the stitching on her skirts. "But my feelings for him now don't go past affection."

"Good," Daigoro replied quickly. A little too quickly, he realized. "We certainly couldn't lose such a wonderful cook to the Weyr, after all." But the look in her eyes when she talked about him still made the Hallsecond feel a little... jealous.

She glanced up at him. "No...we certainly couldn't." She searched his eyes for a moment before smiling. "After all, the Weyr has too many good cooks already, doesn't it?"

"Far too many," he agreed. **And too many blueriders as well...** "And what would I do without you here to bring me meals and take care of me? When I'm injured, I mean."

"Oh, hon," she laughed. "I take care of you even when you're _not_ injured."

"True. But you take care of _everyone_ when their not injured. When I'm injured I can pretend that I have you all to myself for a while."

Cinale met his eyes, giving him a slow smile. "Me, Daigoro? Or my cooking?"

Daigoro's smile mirrored hers. "Don't you come together?"

She laughed. "I guess we do!"

The brewers eyes grew softer as he listened to that happy laugh. "Well then, I'll take both."

Last updated on the October 27th 2005

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Me or My Cooking?