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17-04-01: Food
Hanneke sits at one of the tables set asside for apprentices, rather empty for the time of day in all...

Hanneke sits at one of the tables set asside for apprentices, rather empty for the time of day in all truth. The young apprentice has a bowl of stew in front of her, ignored, and is slowly attempting to pin back a piece of hair that has escaped from it's otherwise perfect pinned formation atop her head.

Tarin is most definitely not slinking now. But she does walk normally to inspect the night food left out by the hearth. "Hmm," she says.

Saldia grins in delight as she sees that their is food still available and she follows after the rider and pours herself a mug of klah and also finds a snack to chew on "You don't like rider?" She nods at the apprentice in greeting as she moves away from the hearth with food and drink.

Tarin straightens from her inspection. "They never put the good stuff out here. But I know where they keep everything in the kitchen. I'll be back in a minute."

The apprentice returns Saldia's greeting, eyes moving inoxerably towards Tarin, one hand raised in greeting to the visitor--Saldia, at least, she's likely enough seen from afar. "Good--late eve, to you both," she murmurs, polite, restrained.

Tarin returns, bearing a tray. There's some crusty golden bread, and some soft, pale cheese. And also strawberries. And did we mention the cake? A large, beautiful slice of quadruple-layered chocolate cake. And that stuff on it ain't no icing, sister. It's probably something like a ganache. Fudgy goodness.

Tarin sets down the tray with a clank and says to Hanneke, "Who rained on your parade?" she asks, sitting.

Saldia glances from her basic fare and then to the riders and shakes her head "Who did you chat up in there to come up with that." She takes a sip of her klah and shakes her head "See people do help riders, they do not give that out just to anyone, especially not apprentices. Her own slightly older bread is bit into and chewed thoughtfully.

"Ma'am?" Hanneke, seen in the thesaurus under 'vacuous', stares in confusion for a long moment, her spoon grasped at in an attempt to do something; which only leads to it's slip into the bowl in front of her. Her eyes move towards Saldia, rueful nod following--and a stream of words, "I think they do that intentionally; don't feed us good stuff so that we'll work, and gain rank, and then be able to get better food. It's a--a--" she fails to come up with the word, and goes silent.

Tarin laughs and shakes her head. "You think I /asked/ someone for this stuff? There's no one in there now. The bakers won't even be up for another two and a half candlemarks. The only reason you guys don't know where to find stuff like this is because apprentices spend the whole day in classes, rather than cooking and junk."

Tarin shoves the tray out further. "Help yourselves, if you want some." She takes a liberal slice of cheese and applies it to some of the bread.

Saldia grins at Hanneke and nods "Indeed, or only on special occasions does food like that reach our tables." She glances at Tarin "How come you know so much about it rider?" She sticks out her hand and takes a piece of cheese for her own bread "I am Saldia by the way." She glances at the tray and shakes her head.

Hanneke gives the tray a glance, then, with exagerated cool, returns to her stew--although her expression at the stew-covered spoon she digs out from it's depths is hardly appetising. "No, thank you." Head raises, a twist of a smile accompanying her expression towards Saldia, "Quite so. Although, it must be awful good for us, since we won't get fat if we don't have lots of really good food, you know?"

Tarin answers with the obvious answer. "Well, I wasn't always a rider, was I?" She takes a bite, chews and swallows, and adds, "But me, I think all this stuff's pretty healthy food."

Saldia chews on her cheese and bread and points at the cake "You think that is healthy? Did you used to work here or something in the kitchens?" She sits back and yawns slightly, as the studying she has been doing today catches up with her.

Hanneke notes, sounding far more as if she's puppetting someone else than speaking her own words, "Even good food can make you fat if you eat too much of it because you can't get rid of it all by moving around. So it's better not to eat too much." The young apprentice parrot gives the cake a glance, then turns back to her stew. Ew.

"For a while," Tarin answers. "And sure it's healthy. Just look at it. It's all made with milk and flour and eggs and stuff, isn't it? Except the strawberries, of course." She isn't tired at all. But then, at the weyr the first line of rider punishment stuff is night sweeps. You fly enough night sweeps, and you don't get so tired at night.

Saldia shakes her head "Rich food is not healthy, especially around apprentices who are more than likely to gobble it and then it sits heavily in their stomachs." She shakes her head and rolls her eyes "I have been studying too much." She grimaces "Food nourishment and food disorders. Boring stuff but necessary."

"And sugar." Sugar, be thy enemy. Especially Hanneke, who gives her almost tubby middle a disparaging glance. "Strawberries are fruit, though. They're--nutr--nutri--er, good for you. Mother says so." The apprentice attempts to school her expression into one of composure, but a silly little grin pervades. "Food nourishment and disorders? I just study law."

Tarin shrugs. "Food is food." She eats some more of it. Tarin applies very simple standards to what she eats.

Saldia grins at Hanneke and shrugs "I study everything and anything that is required at harper hall and at the moment food is one of our units." She smiles at Tarin "That is very healthy of you to think that, much better to eat then not eat." She yawns again, belatedly covering her mouth.

Tarin blinks, a strawberry halfway to her mouth. "Well, duh," she says. "If you starve, eventually you die. Is that what you spend all your time in classes trying to learn?"

Hanneke nods sagely -- at least, she attempts to look sage -- and agrees, "Oh, so do I. But--I'm going to do law, 'specially." Tarin's statement calls for a giggle, and Hanneke is never one to refuse a call, so she giggles.

Saldia smiles and shakes her head "It is not that simple, some people will restrict what they eat and so become thin and ill and then yes eventually die but never very simple." She glances at Hanneke, wondering why she is giggling, the study of law does not sound very funny "Oh law?" she says quietly "Is it hard?"

Tarin shakes her head. "If that's all there is to healing, it must be easy to get a knot. Next thing you know, you'll be telling me that jumping into a fire can hurt the bottom of your feet. Oh, and if you fall off something high enough, you're likely to break a bone."

Hanneke's still giggling--woe on those who have to listen. Struggling to control herself, the apprentice shakes her head towards Saldia, "Oh, no. You just read, and know stuff. I don't know what it means, but I know it." Hardly encouraging. Tarin earns another glance, brow furrowing.

Saldia's lips quirk as she listens to Tarin and shakes her head "I wish it was all that simple and yes what you said are all true but do you know how to fix the burns on the bottom of your feet once you stepped into the fire or heal your broken limbs after you jumped? That is what healing is, we have to look at the causes and how to cure them but if we study the causes maybe we can stop people doing silly things like jumping in fires."

Tarin mutters something that sounds suspiciously like "mumble mumble not that silly mumble."

Saldia looks distracted with all the events that are going on around her, that her eyes glaze over through overload of information.

"Seems awfully confusing to me." Hanneke shakes her head, a stray curl almost escaping from it's lofty pinned formation, one hand automatically moving up to tuck it in again--horror of all horrors should it become entirely free.

Tarin is distracted from her mumbled affront by Hanneke's repetition of the gesture. "How come you don't just cut it off?

Hanneke gasps--all good and proper and entirely horrified at the very idea. One hand moves protectively towards her hairstyle, head shaking rapidly. "Oh, I couldn't. My hair is my--" she pauses, then blurts out, "One beauty!" She smoothes it gently, vanity evident.

Saldia finishes her snack and reaches forward to hold her mug, part hand warmer and part something to do with her hands and she shrugs "I prefer herbs but being an apprentice study all." She glances at Tarin "Cut what off?"

Tarin just looks highly amused. Well, look at her. If she thought that much about beauty, she'd have to have a much lower opinion of herself than she, in fact, does.

Quite true. Hanneke, however, is not amused. Again she smoothes at her hair, pressing it into place perfectly. Vacuous expression is hers for a while, before she jumps--"Oh, excuse me! I think I ought to go to bed. Good night!" Is that because her vanity has been affronted? Or--well, whatever the reason, she darts from her chair, and positively runs, heedless of her appearance until she gets to the doorway, which seems to remind her; she moves out sedately.

Drawing open the door, you pass into the yet more chaotic outer hall.