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"Don't wave your food around," Bereck chided reflexively, in the manner of most parents across the globe. He then appeared to notice that he had done this, and looked faintly embarrassed. He cleared his throat. "Sorry, force of habit.... I still won't be up to anything like that for a while. Anyway," he nudged her leg with his knee and gave her one of his little half smiles, "it has been a very long time. Even if I weren't currently... delicate," to put it delicately, "I wouldn't feel.... Comfortable? Right?" He waved his free hand, as if it could pluck a more apt word out of the air, or perhaps even just solidify in his head what he did feel precisely. "Regardless," he shrugged, "if you were saying you wanted to wait - which I think you were - I agree, for a variety of reasons."

He reached over towards Alina's hand again then but made no move to take it. Instead he kept smiling his little smile and tuned his own hand palm up, offering rather than demanding and taking contact.

Good; everything was understood and agreed on. Bereck gave Alina's hand a squeeze and nodded slightly. "It's not as if there's any rush." They were both older now, yes, and they had lost twenty turns but they had plenty more ahead; these were more likely to be happy if they were at least somewhat circumspect.

Humm.

Glass in one hand. Alina's hand in other hand. More food desired. This equation was not satisfactory. Bereck thought about this for a moment or two, right up until the solution chirped in his ear. "Oh, hello," he turned his head a bit to look up at Sanguine. "Down," a couple of his fingers twitched away from his glass to indicate the arm of the chair; the red flitt hopped down obediently. Bereck held her gaze and then held his glass out to her. "Hold." Sanguine chirped and did as she was told, sitting back on her haunches and grasping the drink in her forepaws.

Looking rather pleased Bereck reached across to take a piece of cured meat and a bit of bread. "Useful things, now they're taking to training. How's your egg coming along by the way?" he quizzed once he'd chewed and swallowed.

Bereck shrugged. "It took me a while to name most of mine; I think it's worth spending the time to come up with a good one. Mmh, yes. Cups, plates, quills, anything really. These three," he waved his hand to indicate the crimson on the arm and also the silver and the green on the back of the chair, "they're good at that kind of thing, patient with it. They're with me most often so they're best trained for useful little things like that. Marrow is shaping up to be a big boy so I'm going to train him for deterrence - as a silver he'll have an intimidating flame along with teeth and claws - and for pest control. Vena on the other hand," the green hummed as her name was spoken, "is a very clever girl indeed; I'm working on fine object recognition with her, teaching her to take very precise images and know that its important to bring the blue book that looks exactly like this rather than any other blue book let alone a green one. As for Sanguine," Bereck twitched a fond smile and stroked her head with two fingers, "she seems to have taken it upon herself to be a mother wherry; she tells me when she thinks I need to eat, sleep, rest and so on. The others all have their tasks too..." he had been going on for a while already, hadn't he? "...but I won't bore you with the details for now. Let me see your brown some time when he's awake? I've got a pretty expert eye for firelizard hatchlings by now."

"Oh. Well. Good." Bereck appeared mildly flustered by this but pleased all the same; he had been rambling off - again, as he so often did - but he had forgotten that Alina was one of the few who didn't go glazed and get bored.

"He probably will," he continued after a moment, looking up as he felt the silver shift in response to feeling himself thought about. "Scalpel is more aggressive than he is, but likes a bit of space to himself so I'm training him up to guard places; my office, my weyr once I have one, anywhere I'd like to have eyes to make sure uninvited guests don't slip in. I also thought I could try to teach him to be... a sort of specific office messenger. If I'm out he shall be in, and when somebody comes into the office he has to tell me who they are. If I initially think it's alright for them to be there he's to leave them alone, and I'll tell the other healers - and others who might be looking for me - that if he's there and I'm not they can give him a note to take to me."

He did feel a bit like the crazy flitt man, even Alina's words had implied as much, but as each one had a use he refused to feel self conscious about his growing collection.

"Mmm." Bereck half lidded his eyes and sank back in his chair, a bit of residual tension easing. The wine was relaxing him, or was that the company? Maybe both. "Some would, some wouldn't. I don't think any of these three would mind... Ick wouldn't know the difference. Cap and Carp would be fine, but I'm not sure about Scalpel. Perhaps the ones without collars are the ones people should watch for.

"I'm improving faster than I expected, so I thought perhaps we could plan a trip to Ista for after the hatching?" Bereck said, abruptly changing tack as he reached over for a bit more cheese and a grape. "I should be well enough to fly by then, I know a few points quite well and its a kind climate. A picnic somewhere secluded and maybe visit the Hold, see what exotic things they have on offer.... I wonder if they've a gather on near that time we could attend. The Traders stalls are usually relatively civilized; we can avoid all of the loud drunken ruffians." Gathers were not good fun in his books, but perhaps that was just because he was always a healer on duty at them rather than reveller.

He had been about to splutter something a bit defensive about the implication that he would enjoy something so crass as a gather, but she went and made it all better with her last comment and her confirmation.

Having started to tense Bereck relaxed again and squeezed Alina's knee, taking his glass from Sanguine and having a slow sip of wine at the same time. "I... suppose I am. It will be good to feel capable again. Good to go somewhere with you, too. I can't think of anything I really need or want at the moment but I'm sure something would catch my eye. Gathers are like that." Another issue with them; so many frivolous temptations that he might want in passing but didn't need and soon wouldn't look twice at.

He would be going with Alina though. If anything he would be looking for something for her.

"...'Lina?" Her knee got another squeeze before his arm slid back around her waist. "I'm... pleased that you like the sound of it."

It was Bereck's turn to flush a little again then. Date. How long since that word had been used at him in that context? Twenty something years he supposed. "Yes, well, can't hurt to drop in. We might find there's something worthwhile. If not it might at least be good to catch up on news." Second date. Bereck sipped at his now nearly empty drink feeling oddly both very old and very young.

"So what do you think to the crimson clutching?" Bereck said as he passed his drink back to Sanguine and thus thought of the colour. "Berath has been helping her," he added, brows knitting and lips pressing together for just a moment. He felt guilty for having asked that of his bondmate given how he knew it upset her that she'd never been offered a choice as the red atypes were, or a certainty as golds were. It wasn't fair. She would be a better mother than any dragon alive.

"No, it's just on my mind." Bereck shook his head, having almost forgotten their earlier topic of conversation. He was careful to close Berath out then, subtle layer by subtle layer. She was dozing so she didn't notice him doing it. "It upsets her, but I made her do it. Somebody else could have, but I made her... at least I asked her and she couldn't refuse." Date. You were supposed to talk about good things. Bereck swiped his wine back from Sanguine, extracting a surprised squeak from the flitt, and finished it off.

"Anyway, enough about that, how about some more wine?" He held out the glass to Alina, trying to look brighter than he felt.

He felt guilty, and selfish.