A little company, please?((Tag Zacha/Zask))

IC Time: Month 9; Late Winter
IC Setting: Dining Cavern; after flit/dragonet hatching

Tiaholt was in the dining cavern, wanting company. She wanted someone just to talk to. She got a glass of water with asking permission. She went to the very back of the cavern and took a seat. She watched the people crowding in for an early breakfast. She grinned at all of the people and to think of all that ...... she shook her head. No, she wasn't going to do that. Her mother wanted her become a dragonrider. She had to work on not seeing other people as targets and see them as actually people.

Tia closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands. She laid her head on the table and slinked down in her seat. She was ashamed and couldn'y make things work. She was frustrated because, she watched all these people living their lives and wanted their life. She wanted a better life but how? Something had to change and soon.

She tried so hard not to do the things that she thought about, even when she that hunk of a bronzerider, M'urn. Why was she like this? Who will help her to achieve what she came here to do?

Being another year older did absolutely nothing to Zacha's appetite; he ate just as voraciously at sixteen as he had at fifteen, which was precisely why he was at the Dining Cavern right now, piling his plate with food. Dinnertime had come again, and he was, Zachariah though cheerfully, hungry enough to eat a dragon. Or maybe just Zask would do. He glanced at the blue who was standing beside him, tail twitching. Not food, the wher returned shortly, snorting. Of course not, the teenager replied amiably.

Had seven months really gone by, since he'd Impressed to this wonderful creature? At the risk of sounding like an old person, it seemed like last week instead of several months. It had certainly been an amazing time, too - being part of such a bond was something he'd never imagined. And not only that, but it was with something entirely new - not new like the dragons, but something found and unplanned. Whers. How could he possibly have been lucky enough to stumble across the hatching as he had? He knew some adults that spoke of Gods and greater powers, and that's all he could make of it. Fate that had drawn him to Zask.

But that was a bunch of crazy deep thoughts that was distracting him from food. Plopping a last scoop of potatoes on his plate, he set off with Zask in search of a table. Zask trotted along beside him contentedly, cheerful as usual, perfectly willing to eat with his handler in the Dining Cavern, provided that he get some of the meaty pickings. It still attracted some looks, but the pair paid no attention.

Zacha glanced down at his icy blue wher, grinning. He was a bit of an odd one, with his strange personality - normally cheerful as can be, but also apt to get irritable at small things. He'd flare up quickly enough but also calm down afterwards within a blink of an eye, back to his normal optimistic self. Zacha had long since gotten used to it, and by now it was almost amusing when it happened.

He'd gotten used to a lot of other things, too. Like the whole speaking-in-your-mind thing. Zask didn't talk like dragons were supposed to - his speech remained more babyish. Still, it was neat, and much more than dragonets or firelizards did, after all. He remembered well the first time Zask had disclosed his name - for several days Zachariah had referred to him mostly as "bud", but one day, when he was 'talking' with the blue (more like lecturing, because Zask wasn't really talking back), at the mention of Zacha's full name - Zachariah, the wher had suddenly piped up, saying, Zask! It had taken Zacha a few moments to understand what he meant, but after the blue had repeated it another time, he understood. That was his name. Zachariah and Zask.

And then the first time he'd shared with Zacha how he saw the world. They'd been hanging around the caverns (Zask liked it there, because he couldn't stand the light outside), and Zacha couldn't see, the world was dark, and then it...wasn't. A picture slid into his head, one with myriads of red and white and bluish purple. Zask had explained to a confused Zacha that that was how he saw things, and he'd been sharing it with the boy so that he could see, too. Now that had taken a long time to get used to.

Food! Zask reminded him sharply. He was hungry; he didn't have time for getting lost in memories. Zacha aimed a playful kick at the wher, who dodged it by jumping out of the way, letting out a playful warble, good mood returned. "Fine then, glutton, let's find a seat." A lot of the tables were full - in fact, it seemed as if everywhere was either stuffed full or completely empty. He wasn't about to squeeze in with a bunch of strangers, but Zacha didn't want to eat alone either. That wasn't much fun.

Then his eyes fell on one table near the back of the large space, with just one other residing. A girl, with short blonde hair - which was pretty much all he could tell of her, because she had her head on the table. That was odd. She looked pretty depressed, and Zacha found himself heading towards her table, led by a natural desire not to see any woman saddened like that. He slid into the seat opposite her, setting his loaded plate down without touching the food just yet, and Zask curled up by his feet. "Hey," he said by way of greeting. "Are you okay?"

Tiaholt hoped that the boy wouldn't come back and sit down in front of her, but he did. She looked up.

"Hey. I've been losing a lot of sleep lately, now that my father's missing. I wish I could find him but I don't know where to start looking." Tiaholt said. "That's why I have been outside lately. Every morning, that's what drives me outside." She said. "I might say I don't care, but I do. I say a lot of things that I don't mean, I got to changed that."

Tiaholt was an intelligent 16 year old. Not a whole lot of things got her down, but he dad going MIA she was worried about him although she wouldn't admit it. She was a hard arse, pretended to be emotionless because she didn't want to deal with the pain of anyone leaving her again.

It didn't take the girl long at all to respond; in fact, Zacha had barely picked up his fork - deciding that there was no harm in eating while he spoke; he was really hungry - before she raised her head and was answering him. First just a congruent greeting, then an explanation. It was sort of rambling, and Zacha really didn't understand it - her dad? He was gone? What was it she might or might not care about? - but he listened all the same, and nodded slowly when she'd finished.

Zachariah had always been the 'sensitive' type when it came to girls; he was growing to be a lot more interested in them that way, but never pushed himself on anyone, and always listened. Right now he was listening to a tired, distraught girl of about his age - pretty, yes, which he couldn't quite ignore but tried to - and now...he had to say something. He didn't like seeing her down, even if he didn't really know what he could do about it. Maybe just talking to her could make her feel better. The question was...would it be better to ask her what happened, or try to distract her?

"I'm sorry," he said first, which was a good thing to say no matter which way he went. Her dad was missing...that he could relate to. His father had died years ago. "I'm sorry...about your dad." He grasped onto the part he understood. She actually spoke as if he'd seen her outside, or as if they were already friends, though he'd never met her before, but he made no mention of it. She was tired, it sounded like. Babbling a bit. It was okay. "I hope you find him." His voice was tinged with sadness. "My dad died in Threadfall, and it took two days to find what was....left of him." Two days of not knowing where he was or what had happened to him. Zacha understood.

Zacha didn't really want to talk about that, so he grasped onto something else she'd said. "You say a lot of things you don't mean? What kind of things?" Then he berated himself; was that too insensitive? Beside him, Zask warbled reassuringly, rubbing his side, before popping his head up to chirp a greeting to the girl his handler was speaking with. He cocked his head and gazed with happily swirling eyes at the girl, his whole posture saying Hello! though he didn't speak aloud.

"I push people away that want to talk to me, want to get to know me. I'm trying to find a hobby that will keep my mind of it. I have given up on this dragonrider business at least for now to focus on what I need to do and to discover who I am. All I remember is moving here...the rest is a blur. I don't even know my mother that well. All this is strange and new. I'm afriad to settle down and make this my home. If I do that, I must leave all the earthly pleasures behind; ice cream, chocolate, milkshakes, cookies. If I don't, then a part of my past will always return to haunt me."

She reached out to take Zacha's hand and caressed it. "I am so sorry. And the bit about no money? I can get use to that. So many people were greedy, so greedy that it hurt others. I can't be that person anymore."

Tiaholt eyes widened as she gasped in fear when she noticed Zask. She had never seen a wher before.

"Uh- I don't mean to be inconsiderate but.....ummmmmm.......what is that?" She pointed to Zask. Fascinated with him, she went to get a closer look. She was hesistant to touch the wher. "Whoa." she gasped in amazment. "Way cool!" She laughed. She hasn't laughed since the day to came here. It hard for for to even smile, anymore. So much sadness in her with with father going LOA and her mother not even talking to her. She was getting depressed again. She hated that. She cursed under her breath. "Please, don't let me get this way again." She sighed. She started to cry. Crying for all the sickly dragons, crying for her father, her mother and crying for all the hatchlings that never even got a chance to be born.

Ever since the meeting with Aria, she has changed her perpsective on being a dragonrider. "Being a dragonrider is supposed to be a wonderful, happy time. I cry for all those who have sickly dragons and those who never got a chance to be born. I don't know. I don't know if I can handle it.....all the moods, all the things that come with it. I'm Tiaholt, Tia for short."

"You're not pushing me away," Zacha pointed out, trying to cheer her up. It sounded like this girl was very insecure about herself, but at least she was trying to change, to make a difference; that was good. He felt a bit awkward in this position, listening to the problems and fears of a girl he didn't even know, but he tried to think of something wise and reassuring to say. "If you look around a bit, you'll find something you like to do. I know a lot of people who can do a lot of cool things." She did need a hobby, he thought - something that made her happy and kept her mind off of her sorrows. "If you stop worrying about everything, and let life go on, maybe you'll find yourself, too. Find who you really want to be, and become that person."

Shells, but he was turning into his aunt (who, of course, wasn't his real aunt at all). All this psychologist stuff. But if it was working, then that was something. "There are a lot of things we all leave behind, but we gain things too, a lot of good things. My family is gone, but I have this guy right here," he pointed out, petting Zask,

She'd taken his hand, which made him feel a bit...odd...but he was quickly distracted - she'd noticed Zask. He felt, like a small snap inside his mind, Zask stiffening in irritation. Not that! Zask. Zacha grinned down at him, and added to the girl, "That's Zask, my wher. Oh, and I'm Zachariah. Zacha." He hadn't introduced himself before; he hadn't realized that till now. Zask sulked for about a second, then shrugged it off and chirped happily, enjoying the girl's laugh. He reached up, allowing her to touch him.

Abruptly his conversation partner was crying, asking not to 'let her get this way again'. Zacha blinked, taken aback by her sudden mood swings. Sad, happy, sad again...how was one to take it all in? "Don't cry..." he pleaded, not realyl sure what to do now. "E-everyone grieves for the sick and the dead, but...it's a part of life. Humans get sick, humans die. So do whers, so do dragons. My father used to say you can't have life without death..." That had been when his mother died, and his father had tried to comfort him. Zacha had come to understand that concept well. Death was something everyone had to deal with. Not fun, not happy, but, indeed, a part of life. "But if we spend our whole lives thinking of death, what usse are we?"

Tiaholt smiled at Zacha.

"You know, your right."She touched Zask on the snout. He was a great destraction. She laughed again. "He is just amazing! Are they different than dragons?" She asked. She was facinated with Zask, she couldn't keep her eyes off of him. "How old is he?"

Then she turned her attention to Zacha but still scratched Zask. "Where are you from? I'm sorry I unloaded on you, Zacha. I also want to apologize for how moody I have been." She smiled again. She reached out for his hand again. "Good. That means I'm doing something right, huh?"

She stood up and sat back down and began eating.

"Let's eat!" she said cheerfully.

And she was happy again, just like that. It was a good thing, of course - happy was always better than sad - but it still took some getting used to, her mood swings. Were all girls like this? Well....at least she wasn't crying now...The wherhandler smiled at her, nevertheless glad he'd made her feel better. "Good. Nice to be that every now and then," he joked lightly, grinning at her attention to Zask, who was looking profoundly happy for the attention. And he made Tiaholt laugh, which was something it looked like she didn't do too often. She had a nice laugh.

"Yes, they're different from dragons," he confirmed, nodding. "They're a lot smaller, and I don't know if they can fly...they have tiny wings, look. And they don't talk nearly as much; Zask only says a word or a few words every now and then. Like baby talk. But they're just as wonderful," he added fondly, running a finger lightly down the blue wher's spine. "He's about...nine months old now? Yeah. Nine. He was born during summer."

Tia turned large eyes on him, though kept scratching Zask, who was leaning into it now, crooning happily. "That's all right...sometimes you just need someone to talk to about it, right? That's what Aunt Claudia says. She's a psychologist, so I guess she'd know." Then he paused. "From? You mean, where on Earth? Jamaica, but I don't really remember it well. Pern's been my home a long time." As everyone's, and he knew there were a lot of kids born on Pern, but to him, even though he'd come here when he was nearly five years old, it felt like his whole life.

"Of course you're doing something right. I don't think it's possible for anyone to do everything wrong. There's something good in everybody, my mother used to say. Anyway, what about you? Where are you from?" At her suggestion, he grinned and nodded, digging into his food enthusiastically. "Sounds good to me."

Arikyu warbled happily as she flew in. She saw Zask and crooned to her cousin. She nuzzled him in a greeting and purred. She gently pawed his tiny wings and mewed a little. She sat down next to Zask and licked him on the snout, trilling happily.

"That's Arikyu. She likes everyone. She's very outgoing. It seems as though my little Arikyu feels sorry for Zask because of his tiny wings." She chuckled. Tia took a bite of food and sipped her drink.

"You know, I think I found a hobby...cooking." she smiled and laughed. "Yeah, like I learn how to cook!" she said sacrastically. "I don't have the patience." Tia smiled again. "I'm from New York in the States. I'm too much of a hurry. People say I need to relax and that I'm too hyper for my own good." She stood and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you for listening."

Warbling coming closer turned the blue pair's heads. Zacha smiled to see the green dragonet; he liked the things, though he wouldn't want one chasing after him. Zask was quite enough. Aforementioned blue wher was warbling happily back to his little cousin, and returned the nuzzle, gently, of course. He didn't object to the pawing of his wings, and the feeling Zacha got from his mind was cheerful and rather amused at the green's antics. Cousin like Zask? he inquired, projecring his words into Tiaholt's mind as well as Zacha's.

"There's your answer, Zask," Zachariah pointed out when Tia said that Arikyu liked everyone. At the last of Tiaholt's words, Zask snorted, quickly offended. Not tiny! Just right. "Of course they are," the wherhandler reassured his blue absently, used to such reactions. Zask kept up a pretense of anger for some seconds more, then let it slide away as Arikyu licked him. He blew air playfully into her face, and licked her little nose back.

"I can't really get into cooking either," Zacha agreed, shrugging. "I mean, I can cook some, because my dad wanted me to learn how, but I only do when I have to. But if you look around, you're sure to find something that suits you." Like math suited him, he added silently, but decided not to say that out loud. He had a feeling that she wouldn't be as fond of mathematics as he was.

Then Tiaholt did something that Zacha was completely unprepared for: she kissed him. On the cheek, but...wow. For a long moment his brain refused to comprehend that that had just happened, then he snapped back into focus, realizing how weird he must look, standing there staring at her. "Uh...sure," he muttered, and wondering if his blush could be seen under his dark skin. "A-anytime." Wow. She was thanking him, and standing up. Was she going to leave now? After that? What was Zacha supposed to do? What did people do after other people kissed them unexpectedly?

In the back of his head, Zask was laughing at him. Zacha didn't blame him.

Tia was thirsty. "I am going to get more drink. I'll be right back." She walked off and a minute or two later she returned with two drinks and water for Zask.

"Here ya go, boy. It's getting warm out there." She smiled. "Is it alright if I feed him these meatrolls?" There was a whole plate full of them. She sat the two drinks down on the table and sat herself back down.

"Oh, yes. She likes you very much." She laughed and smiled. Arikyu warbled with excitement at Zask's lick on her snout. She rubbed up against him and purred.

She was not leaving. She was going to get drinks. Okay. And Tia seemed very unbothered about the whole kiss thing...well...maybe she did that sort of thing a lot. Not that he was suggesting she was that kind of person! Zacha immediately countered his own thoughts, horrified. Of course not. Just she didn't seem to view it as...a big deal...and he probably shouldn't be making a big deal out of it; after all, it had only been on the cheek. But Zachariah just wasn't used to such things as girls kissing him - not that he wanted them to - or didn't want them to, for that matter. Shells, it was confusing to think about.

And Zask was still laughing at him. Zacha still didn't blame him. He was being an idiot, but he at least managed to snap out of it enough to sit down again and start eating. No need to make Tiaholt think he'd never been approached by a girl in his life...of course he had. There was the time he'd spent with Alicia, and she'd definitely been flirting with him...Well, he hadn't realized it at the time, but it still counted!

Tiaholt returned, and Zacha managed a "Thanks," coupled with a smile to her, taking a gulp of the drink she brought him. "Of course you can," he added, nodding. Zask reached forward eagerly, waiting for her to feed him. He was old enough to hunt for himself, but the glutton would never turn down offered food.

Warbling, Zask nudged Arikyu with a wing, playing with her. She was a very small cousin, but she liked him, and that was good. The wher enjoyed these little pets people carried around, and he wouldn't have minded having one, but his handler didn't want one for himself, so Zask contented with playing with others' pets. Good! Zask likes cousin. Zacha glanced at his blue, then looked down at his food, at a loss for what to say but casting around furiously for a topic. There had to be something intelligent that could come out of his mouth!

"So...your food good?"

That was not the show of intellect he'd been looking for.

Tiaholt put down the plate of meatrolls and scratched his headknobs and chuckled.

"Yes, it's good. Thank you." she said. Arikyu loved the attention she was getting from Zask. She rumbled a giggle and allowed him to eat. She laid next to him. Boop came running in.

"Calm down you too." Boop was excited to see a new face. He sat in front of Zachah and gruffed at him.

ooc: sorry I have cut this short. Time for bed..lol.

"You're welcome." Brilliant. Just brilliant. She probably thought he was right stupid for asking that...but she had said thank you. So maybe she was glad he'd taken interest? But what a dumb thing to say! Could he really not have thought of anything better? Zacha was so failing at life right now, and Zask was offering no help, lost in the pleasure of being lavished with attention. Thanks for the help, the boy grumbled internally, to which Zask replied, without looking up, Zask's being silly. Stop fretting. Which was no help at all in the way acha had been hoping for, but good advice nevertheless.

Idiot. You get all fussed over a cheek-kiss... His self-derogatory thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of a large black canine, who rushed over to Tiaholt's side. Zacha grinned, admiring it; he'd always liked dogs. A fine one, muscular with black fur and rusty markings on his face, chest, feet and tail. The dog made a 'gruff' sound at him and Zacha laughed, reaching over to pet it. "Hello to you too! What's his name?"

Zask, meanwhile, moved away from the large black thing that had suddenly taken an interest in his handler. The wher scooted away, eyeing the canine warily. What are you? be inquired of the canine, and Zacha felt the blue grow disgruntled when the dog did not answer. It's a canine, Zask, and it can't speak. It's a pet, like the firelizards are, but it comes from another planet. Zask wrinkled his nose, reaching out to touch the canine's nose with a cautious paw. Can't talk? Stupid? he asked, to which Zacha had to laugh. No, it just can't. Like firelizards can't talk. It's not stupid, it just doesn't have that ability. It barks instead.

Realizing Tia was probably wondering why he'd burst out laughing, Zacha turned to her to explain. "Zask asked your canine what it was, and I told him it couldn't talk, so he asked if it was stupid. Just...kind of funny." Well, not nearly as funny the way he told it, but it really had been amusing..."I assured him it was quite smart, just not able to."

Tia smiled. The kind of smile of interest in Zacha. The kind of smile that let's you know that they liked them. Now it was her turn to blush. Boop licked Zask and titled his head and sniffed the meatrolls. He turned his nose up at it and portrayed the 'what is that' feeling. He grunted and snuffed at it.

"Boop's more a meat and potatos kinda canine. He thinks it's the sh*" She laughed. I got him here right after I got here. The ship didn't allow animals of any sort and it didn't matter if they were in cages." She grunted and laughed.

"It's okay, Zacha." She could read people like the back of her hand.

Zacha turned just in time to catch Tia smiling in a way that made him glad his skin was dark enough to hide his blush. He'd seen people smile like that at each other before, and he couldn't believe Tiaholt was turning it on him. After all, she'd just met him! Not that he didn't, well, like it. He offered a sort of embarrassed small smile back, not wanting her to feel bad or anything, because she was blushing too.

Zask, meanwhile, was busy trying to fathom this 'canine' thing. Blatantly staring at the creature, he wasn't prepared for it to lean forward and lick him. The wher wrinkled his nose; the canine's tongue was slobbery and hot, and Zask wasn't sure he liked it. However, this 'Boop' did seem to be trying to make friends, so he leaned forward to nuzzle the large creature. It was Tia's pet, and so was the green cousin, and if the dragonet tolerated it then it couldn't be too bad.

"Well if you don't want it I'll take the last one," Zacha informed Boop, snatching the last of the meatrolls. "If you don't mind," he hastily added to Tia, remembering the manners drilled into him by Aunt Claudia. He munched and swallowed before answering his conversation partner. "He's nice. Boop's a funny name. I used to want a dog, but Aunt Claudia didn't want one in the house, so..." He trailed off, shrugging.

"Thanks." Another small shrug. He just wasn't doing too well at this conversation, was he? Zacha looked down at his plate, then Tia's; both empty. Looked like the meal was done. It was probably getting dark by now, and Zask would want to go outside and play or something now that he could stand to be out there. Zacha glanced from Tia to Zask and back again. "So, do you need to be somewhere? I promised Zask I'd take him down to the lake for a swim once it got dark. You could come if you wanted."