[prp] A treasure among tubers (Ionan, Falienn)

[Thaliawen]

Ionan had never taken into account how many tubers were needed for dinner at the Weyr until he’d been assigned that chore. He’d been astonished at the pile of tubers, but it was quick work if he focused, Ed found out. Talking tended to make chores go quicker, but they lasted longer if he became distracted. He worked at the tuber in hand, carefully avoiding his own skin as he did so. He’d found out the hard way that the knives best for peeling tubers didn’t know the difference between the skin of the tuber and the skin of the candidate.

And even if it had been sentient, Ionan didn’t think it would care. He imagined knives were the cantankerous sort. They were sharp of blade, maybe sharp of words, had they been able to speak.

He looked up from his tuber, setting the peeled one aside and taking another. There was another candidate nearby, should he introduce himself? He wondered, and then shrugged to himself. Why not?

“I’m Ionan.”

“ShinosBee”

 

[ShinosBee]

Falienn had always been deft of hand, nimble fingers rotating the tuber to peel it without more than a glance, or any hesitation. Honestly this sort of task was beneath him, but it was mindless, and it was easy, and it didn't take much thought. It was better than some of the fouler chores, but he still wanted to have it done as fast as he could and be on his way.

Thankfully the other candidates around had been mum, been focused, and hadn't talked to him. Or hadn't until one did, looking up from some deep thought or other (what could be so interesting about tubers?!) to open his trap. Ionan. Great. He met the other boy's stare head on, fingers still nimbly twisting the tuber, his peeling slowing but not stopping even as he kept his stare on the other candidate, not the tuber. "...Falienn," He eventually offered, because he could just tell this kid was the type to be social, welcome or not.

He set the peeled tuber aside and scooped up another, glancing at it, and then again setting to peeling without watching what he was doing. It was almost as if he felt his way along the root as he cut, sensitive fingers able to tell where the eyes and dips in the root were, what needed peeled, and how close his own hands were to the blade.

Thaliawen

 

[Thaliawen]

Oh, this boy wasn’t going to be easy to talk to, was he? Ionan didn’t pause in his peeling, setting the tuber he’d been working aside and taking another. He continued to work, only slowing when he got closer to his fingers.

“What do you think tubers does for us?” He asked, not looking up from his tuber. “My brother told me it builds character. Do you think that’s it?” Maybe it had something to do with being quick enough to avoid the knife, something with reaction time, but T’rel didn’t seem to know.

“Sorry. I’ve just been wondering that,” Ionan said, after a moment. Maybe the Weyr just needed the tubers peeled.  

[ShinosBee]

"What do tubers...what?" He was nearly blindsided by the bizarre question the boy asked. What do tubers do for us? His hands stuttered to a stop, the root held stock still as he tried to wrap his mind around the thought. Did...did Ionan think there was some deeper meaning to peeling the tubers? Did he think there was a point to this other than foisting off dull labor on the slew of candidates the Weyr had at their disposal? Falienn looked down at the half-peeled vegetable, the long spiral of skin dangling off to one side where he'd sliced it free of the paler inner flesh.

It. It was just a root. Just some starchy bit of food, fit to be baked or mashed or roasted.

"They just want them peeled, alright?" He snipped, brows pinching over his glacier-blue eyes. "I really doubt you're gonna build any character just from helping to cook dinner. I think you could never have touched a tuber and it wouldn't make a lick of difference to the dragonets, and that's what matters, right? It just. It takes a lot of food to feed a Weyr, and the Weyr has a lot of candidates with nothing much else better to do sometimes." He didn't really want to upset the kid, or cut down his ideas, it just...seemed so odd to put any sort of value, of weight, on the plain little tubers they were cutting up.

Thaliawen