Once he was ready to face the day he pushed the curtain open and stepped outside, glancing around for any other Candidates he could head to the dining hall with.
Kiriwar was an early waker as it was, and he rolled out of bed with a smile, stretching his arms over his head with a groan. That was a good night of sleep, he mused, as he gathered his clothing and dragged them on. He probably should go bathe soon… And shave, goodness. He rubbed a hand over his cheeks, marveling at the new stubble there and chuckling quietly. His wavy hair was tied back in quick, small braid, before he moved to push back the curtain of his alcove, stepping out as he tied his shirt closed. Once fully dressed, he glanced around to see if there was anyone around, catching the gaze of the other boy that had stepped out of his alcove as well. Immediately, he smiled, lifting a hand in greeting. “Fair morning.”
At first Davian hadn’t seen anyone and he was a bit disappointed, he always preferred a good chat over walking through the Weyr alone. He was about to head off but then he saw and heard someone, grinning he lifted a hand as well. ”Aye, fair morning indeed.” He looked the other Candidate over trying to figure out if he had seen him before. He looked vaguely familiar but he couldn’t even come up with a guess to his name, which was understandable Davian hadn’t been at the Weyr all that long after all. He took a couple quick strides towards the other male and held out a hand. ”I’m Davian of Ista Hold.” He smiled, his dimples showing, luckily once he got himself out of bed the Candidate was a morning person.
Kiriwar was more than welcoming when he was approached, lifting a hand to take Davian’s and shaking it firmly, brown eyes warm. “A pleasure to meet you, Davian. I’m Kiriwar,” he said simply, marveling at the touch of the other boy’s hand and keeping hold for a moment longer than usually. He smiled even more when he saw the dimples on Davian’s cheeks, his own appearing on his left cheek. “A pleasure to meet you indeed. Were you heading down to get something to eat, by any chance?” He pointed down the hall, tilting his head and looking hopeful. “I’m starved and I’d love some company.”
Davian’s honey-brown eyes flicked downwards at their joined hands for a moment when Kiriwar didn’t immediately let go. When they did let go he opened and closed his hands a couple times unconsciously, it felt warm, like a ghost of Kiri’s hand was still holding his. He pulled his mind from the unusual feeling and nodded in answer to the other boy’s question. ”I was actually, and company sounds great. I still get lost in this place sometimes.” He laughed, and turned towards the direction of the dining hall. ”An extra-big bowl of porridge sounds great right about now.” As if to agree with him his stomach began growling at that moment.
Kiriwar felt that light warmth of Davian's hand holding onto his for a moment, but was distracted from it by the sound of the other's voice, that warm light coming back into his eyes. "Ooh, that does sound wonderful... and I hear you on the getting lost thing. I think I know where I'm going, and then I suddenly realize that I'm somewhere completely different," he said, laughing, the sound a pleasant rumble in his chest.
Davian chuckled as they began to walk towards the dining hall. ”Luckily I don’t get lost nearly as much as I used to, I got assigned as a message runner a couple of times and that really helped. People aren’t all that happy when their messages are late.” He shook his head a bit thinking of the first time he had to take a message to the Rider’s weyrs, he got completely turned around and had to end up asking for directions.
As they walked he slipped his hands into his pockets, taking a side long glance at Kiriwar. He wondered how old the other teen was, he had a strong feeling it was older than him. Lately he seemed to be running into a lot of older candidates. Realizing he was staring he looked away hurriedly and cleared his throat. ”So, did you stand at the last Hatching?” He was curious to know what the experience was like having missed it himself while he took care of his sick sister.
"Ah, that definitely would be a help. I'm memorizing landmarks, myself," said Kiriwar with a flash of a smile, glancing over at the other, noting that his gaze was still on him, but not commenting. He found that he did not mind all that much. "I didn't stand at it, no. I came here afterwards, so I'm hoping to stand at the next Hatching," he explained, nodding once. "Did you stand?" Another glance over at the other, this one curious and thoughtful. The other did not seem like he had. Something about the way he asked told Kiriwar that he hadn't.
Seeing the smile directed at him gave the younger candidate a strange feeling, it wasn’t good nor bad just…different. Putting it out of his mind he listened to Kiri’s words a bit disappointed but he didn’t let it show. Hearing his question he shook his head, dislodging a few strands of hair from his ponytail that fell against his cheek. ”No, my sister, Davril, was sick so we both missed the Hatching. A bit disappointing, I would’ve liked to see the Queen egg hatch, but…” He shrugged a bit, ”Family first.”
"I can only imagine what it's like," Kiriwar said, his voice wistful and a sigh escaping him. "I never thought I might even get the chance to see one in the first place, but here I am!" He laughed, shrugging one shoulder and looking over at Davian, before asking curiously, "Is your sister a candidate too?"
Davian glanced around as they walked making sure they were still going in the right direction, given that the dining hall was so close to where they started from he’d feel like a complete idiot if he managed to lead them in the wrong direction. He nodded at the other Candidates words, he had felt the same. It was odd to think that at first he hadn’t even wanted to come to Ista Weyr to be a Candidate, he had wanted to stay home, but then his father pushed him and his sister wanted to go and so he went. And now that he was here he couldn’t imagine leaving without Impressing a dragon. At the second inquiry he nodded. ”Aye, we’re twins and both got searched at the same time.” As he spoke they reached the dining hall and he headed for the porridge and klah. Glancing back at Kiriwar he smiled. ”What about you, any brothers or sisters?”
"Twins?" echoed Kiriwar, before smiling broadly as they stepped into the dining hall now, taking in a deep breath of the wonderful smells of food. "Mm.. I have two brothers," he said as he followed Davian towards the food, getting some soup and fruit for himself, picking up a mug of klah as well. "Younger than me, but more troublesome than any other brat that I've met." He chuckled wryly, sipping at the klah to relax that touch of temper that rose in him at the mere thought of his brothers. "But they aren't candidates, thank goodness."
Davian laughed at the reaction, ”Mmm, yes twins, we used to cause mountains of trouble when we were younger.” He filled his tray with a bowl of porridge which he filled to the brim, some yellow fruit, and a cup of klah. As the smell of the food rose up to his nose his stomach rumbled again reminding him that he needed to eat more and talk less. Hearing the other Candidates words he laughed heartedly. ”You shouldn’t meet my younger brother and sister then, they cause more trouble than the worth. I’m pretty sure they cause more trouble than I used to,” He grinned, he used to be quite the trouble maker back in the day, but he had grown out of that stage luckily for everyone. Glancing around the dining hall he spotted an empty table and headed in that direction. ”My younger siblings aren’t either, they’re too young, six and four turns.” Reaching the table he slid into a seat, sipping his klah once he was settled.
"My siblings could be, I think... they're twelve and fourteen turns, so just scooting in the age group. But I don't know if they'll be Searched or not. If so, I hope they end up somewhere else," Kiriwar sighed, before wincing and offering a sheepish smile as he trailed after Davian to sit at the table with him, hoping he wouldn't mind if he stuck around a bit longer. The other boy was a pleasure to talk to, and he wanted to keep the conversation going. "Did you have any sort of craft before you came here, if I may ask?"
Davian chuckled at that, he didn’t blame the other boy, if his younger siblings got searched he hoped his brother and sister would end up at a different Weyr as well. He had spent years looking after him and he didn’t want to have to continue to do so even when he was living his own life. Catching the smile Davian realized he probably should have offered for Kiriwar to sit with him. He had just assumed that was what he’d do. He didn’t want to make the situation more awkward, so instead of saying anything he just smiled at the other Candidate as he sat down, hoping he’d understand.
He had just taken a large bite of his porridge when he heard Kiri’s question and he cursed himself mentally. He seemed to have the worst luck, every time he ate with a companion he was always mid-bite when they asked him something. He chewed and swallowed quickly, trying not to choke as he did so. Once his mouth was empty of food he managed an answer. ”I didn’t, my parents both work with cloth, ones a weaver and the other a tailor, but I spent more time exploring Ista Hold then I did learning any craft. What about yourself?” He had a feeling that Kiriwar had some sort of craft, he was too well muscled to have just done nothing his whole life.
Kiriwar was relieved to find his company still welcome, seetling beside the other boy and sighing contently. He ate a bite of his own soup as he waited for Davian to respond, smiling reassuringly and giving him time -- he had a gift for asking questions at the wrong moments, it seemed. But he waited patiently, then listened attentively, nodding once. "Ah, I see... I'm a Vintner myself. I'm an apprentice, even though I'm a bit old for it... And I got searched at just the right time. My father was preparing me to become a journeyman, so I wasn't expecting to end up here at all." He chuckled, shaking his head a little as he bit into piece of fruit. "Did you grow up here at Ista, then?"
Davian chuckled to himself, how ironic that one of his first friends (for he was beginning to consider Kiriwar a friend) would be a Vinter, when he himself could barely drink wine without getting completely drunk. Taking another sip of his klah as he listened to Kiri talk he scrunched up his nose a bit, it needed sweetener. He nodded in response to the other male’s question. ”Aye, I’m a hold brat,” He chuckled and then reached out to snag the sweetener, his bare arm brushing against Kiriwar’s as he did so. He felt a shiver go up his spine which he tried to ignore, as he spooned the sweetener into his klah, there must have been a draft or something, yeah, that was it. He was so busy trying to ignore his strange reactions that he didn’t realize he had already put four spoonfuls of sweetener into his klah and was about to add another.
Kiriwar watched Davian for a few long moments as he put in the sweetner, before reaching out to catch his hand before he could add in the fifth spoonful. He smiled at the other, gently drawing his hand away from the mug. "You might want to try it, Davian, before you add anymore," he said, a lightly teasing tone in his voice. He could only wonder what had the other so distracted, or... perhaps if he liked having that much sweetner in the klah. He never found it that bitter, but he could have completely different tastes. "I myself grew up outside of Ista. It's very different for me."
Completely lost in his own world of distraction Davian jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his. Glancing downwards he realized what must have happened and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks. By the shell, he didn’t blush! The fact that he was embarrassed enough to blush and that the whole situation involved another male made him blush more, which didn’t help any. Clearing his throat he nodded, trying to play it cool. ”Oh, yeah, good idea.” Putting down the sweetener he took his spoon and stirred the klah before sipping it. He nearly choked, it was way too sweet, but he tried to play it off, taking another small sip. He nodded at Kiriwar’s words, he could imagine. ”I’ve never actually seen any other Hold or Weyr then Ista, so I can imagine how different it is.” He wondered what it’d be like if he had been Searched and ended up at a different Weyr.
He tried to think of something intelligent to say so the older Candidate didn’t think he was a few glows short of a basket. The only thing his mind kept going back to was when Kiriwar had caught his hand, he didn’t know why and he certainly didn’t want to bring more attention to it, so instead he fell back on what every Candidate liked to talk about. Dragons. ”So, are you hoping to Impress a specific colour of dragon?”
The sheer amount of color that rushed to Davian's cheeks amazed Kiriwar, and he almost wanted to touch them, but he held back, slowly letting go of the other boy's hand and smiling reassuringly once more. There was no way that klah could taste good at all... but he gave Davian kudos for drinking from it anyway, sipping at his own. "Does that taste any good?" he asked after a moment, brown eyes twinkling with amusement as he watched Davian unwaveringly. "It is different... but in a good way. I've experienced a lot more in my days here than I had in the last few years at home." He paused when asked about dragons, humming thoughtfully and tilting his head. "To be honest... any dragon would do. But I like Browns... I think I would like to Impress a Brown. What about you?"
He had just taken another sip of the horrible klah when Kiriwar asked about it. Luckily he managed to swallow before he burst out laughing. ”Not really, it’s pretty horrible.” Putting down the klah he pushed it away from him a grin on his face, glancing over at Kiri he noticed the other Candidate was watching him. He felt the blush that had just barely died down starting to creep up again and he shifted a bit in his seat, looking down at his plate as he selected a piece of fruit to eat. He wasn’t sure why this boy’s attention was making him feel different than anyone else’s. Of course, he knew some men preferred the company of other men in their beds, and while Davian had never actually shared his bed with another he had of course fantasized about it. But that was with women, another man had never come into the picture. He had always thought that he was interested only in women, but taking another side long glance at Kiriwar he had to wonder if maybe he was wrong. Not that it mattered because he didn’t even know if the other teen liked boys. Pushing the thoughts out of his mind, or at least trying to, he attempted to pay attention to what the other Candidate was saying.
He nodded at his colour selection, Browns were nice. ”Hmmm, well I don’t know too much about dragons but I think I’d like to Impress a Blue or a Brown…As long as it wasn’t a Bronze, I’m not sure I could handle the responsibility that goes along with a bronze.”
Kiriwar noted Davian seemed to be a touch uncomfortable when he noticed him watching, so he looked away, focusing on his plate and eating another spoonful of soup, letting the other have a moment to himself. He really was quite darling, an an awkward way... Kiriwar couldn't say he wasn't drawn to the boy or that he didn't find his sweetness appealing. When Davian spoke again, he looked up, curious to hear what the other's answer would be. "Ah, yes, I have to agree with that," he said, laughing softly. "Not that I'd ever Impress a Bronze. I don't have the... tastes required to ride a Bronze." He flashed an awkward smile, shrugging one shoulder.
Having given up on his klah Davian instead worked on his porridge and fruit after he spoke. This time he was glad his mouth was full when Kiriwar spoke because it gave him time to process what he said and come up with something that wasn’t just a shocked squeak. It was true he didn’t know much about dragons but everyone knew that certain colours of dragons only were Impressed by people with certain sexual preferences. Now that he knew that the other Candidate liked other males Davian wasn’t sure how to react. It didn’t bother him, it was his own thoughts about Kiri that we’re confusing. When he finally swallowed his porridge he looked over at Kiri. ”Oh,” He smiled, almost shyly his dimples barely showing. ”I, uh, I’m not sure if I could Impress a Bronze either.” He felt another blush flood into his cheeks and he looked away from the older Candidate. Shards! What was wrong with him? He flirted with girls easily enough, why was this so different? He stared at his tray, poking around in his porridge with his spoon, but not eating, aware that his cheeks were still bright red.
Aha... Now wasn't that interesting? Kiriwar looked at Davian through the corners of his eyes, considering, before a smile curled on his lips and he nodded slightly. "No?" he asked quietly, his voice having just a hint of something deeper in it, his fingers idly playing with a grape, as he looked over the other in a new light, brown eyes full of approval. Then he leaned a touch closer, blinking slowly. "Do you have dimples, there, Davian?"
Davian managed to tear his eyes away from his oh so interesting porridge to glance at Kiriwar as he spoke. Hearing the way he spoke Davian chewed his lower lip lightly trying ot come up with a response. He felt like he was a mouse and Kiriwar was the cat playing with him. He turned to look directly at the older Candidate about to answer him and he suddenly found himself face to face with him instead. At the question he blushed lightly but couldn’t help but grinning, his dimples really showing. They had always been a hit with the girls around Ista Hold, and it seemed like boys liked them to. Or at least Kiriwar did. ”Yeah, I do…you like them?” His mind was spinning trying to grasp the fact that he was sitting in the dining hall flirting, albeit badly and awkwardly, but still flirting with another male. His eyes flicked from Kiri’s eyes to run over the rest of his face, pausing at his lips for half a second before moving back to look into his brown eyes.
Kiriwar would have grinned, but that would betray the delight he was feeling at Davian's reactions to his questions. "I do," he murmured, lifting one hand to gently brush long fingers over Davian's dimples, a soft purring sound coming from him. "They're adorable." Kiriwar had a weakness for dimples, he would admit, given that he had one of his own -- but only one. "I'm missing a dimple," he said, bringing up a big smile to show Davian the tiny dent in his cheek. This was all rather... personal, for such a busy place. Kiriwar glanced around a little, feeling Davian's gaze on his lips, before looking back in time to meet the other boy's gaze. "Would you like to go somewhere a bit quieter?"
As Kiriwar’s fingers brushed across his skin Davian felt a definite shiver run down his spine and he had to stop himself from turning his head towards the other male’s finger tips. His food sat on the table forgotten, his undivided attention on Kiri. He smiled as the older boy complimented his dimples and when he showed his missing dimple Davian caught himself having the urge to reach out and caress Kiriwar’s cheek, but he didn’t have the confidence to do such a thing. He was floundering around just trying to flirt without losing his head, let alone touching and whatever else came next. ”It’s kinda cute…that you only have one.”
When Kiri offered to go someplace more…private Davian bit his lower lip thinking about it. He wanted to but this was all new and different to him, he wasn’t exactly sure what Kiriwar was expecting from him. But, if you didn’t take risks there was no chance of reward, right? Right. So Davian nodded a smile pulling on his lips. ”Lead the way,” Unconsciously he licked his lips, slightly nervous about what was going to happen next.
"Just someplace with less people," Kiriwar said reassuringly, smiling broadly at the other boy as he got to his feet, completely forgetting the remainder of his food. He reached out to offer a hand to Davian, curling his long fingers around the other boy's and drawing him a bit closer. Hopefully, they wouldn't be stopped or bothered... "Only if you're comfortable," he murmured, stepping closer to Davian and looking down at him with a slightly worried gaze, offering another charming smile, his dimple appearing on his cheek again.
Davian nodded at the reassurance, it was good knowing that Kiriwar wasn’t going to take him to some deserted tunnel and accost him, or anything. Not that he thought Kiri would do such a thing, he seemed nice enough after all. Davian got up after the other Candidate, taking his hand and stepping closer to him with only the slightest hesitation. When the older boy came even closer, Davian realized they were nearly the same height, their eye-line on the same level. Lifting his free hand he placed it on Kiriwar’s chest, his finger tips playing with the fabric there. He returned the smile and nodded slightly. ”I am, I just…haven’t done this before.” He smiled crookedly knowing that Kiri had probably already figure that out from his awkwardness.
"I can tell," Kiriwar murmured with a playful smile, placing his free hand on Davian's hip for a moment, before he stepped back to begin to lead Davian out of the dining hall. He could feel a few eyes on them, but he didn't look back, just leading the other boy out of the hall and down a few tunnels, to take the two of them out of sight from anyone else who may have been exploring the area. Once they were tucked away, he turned to face Davian, blinking slowly down at the other boy with a soft smile on his lips.
Davian blushed at his words, but there was a smile on his lips. They were close enough that the brown-haired boy would barely have to lean in and their lips would meet. But before anything like that could happen Kiriwar was already leading him out of the dining hall. He couldn’t help but glance around a bit, aware that there were people looking at them. He didn’t mention this though, instead he brought his eyes to stare at the back of Kiri’s head and tried to ignore them.
Once they were out of the dining hall he relaxed a bit and glanced around trying to figure out where Kiri was taking him. He thought these tunnels looked slightly familiar, but it was hard to tell one tunnel from another. When they finally reached their destination he faced the older male, mirroring his smile. Trying to take some initiative and not look like a total nervous wreck Davian reached up trailing his finger tips along Kiri’s cheek until they reached a stray piece of hair that had fallen out of his braid. He tucked it behind his ear, finger tips grazing his earlobe while at the same time he leaned forwards and very lightly pressed his lips against Kiriwar’s, nervous that he might do it wrong. He didn’t know if kissing boys was different than kissing girls.
It was a relief to see that Davian was relaxed now. Kiriwar smiled at the other, glad for their closeness in height -- no stooping for either of them to make this work. He closed his eyes partway and relaxed himself as those gentle fingers went over his cheek and touched his hair, the light touch over his ear making him shiver. A moment later, the soft feel of Davian's lips on his drew a small sound from Kiriwar. The Vintner leaned into the kiss a little, his hand catching Davian's to hold onto it and lace their fingers together, while the other moved to curl around the other boy's hip, pulling him close again. This felt... sweet. He liked the softness of Davian's kiss, finding the hesitance about his actions to be rather charming. Carefully, he moved in closer to make the kiss a bit firmer.
Davian could feel Kiriwar shiver under his fingertips and it was nice to know he could elicit such a reaction out of the older and obviously more experienced male. His own brown eyes fluttered closed as their lips met, lacing his fingers with the other male and squeezing his hand lightly as he heard the Cinter’s reaction to his kiss. His other hand rested on the side of Kiri’s neck, stroking the skin there. He didn’t resist when Kiriwar pulled him closer, in fact he pushed up against the other male, pressing his lips more firmly against his.
Kiriwar's eyes closed all the way when the kiss began more confident and explorative, his hands tightening their hold on Davian when he pressed close to him. The Vintner leaned back against the tunnel wall, pulling Davian with him to keep him close, his hand trailing down the boy's side, then up his back. His lips moved gently over the other's, before he carefully turned his head to mold their mouths together firmly.
As he was pulled closed and he felt Kiri against the wall of the tunnel he squeezed his hand, his thumb running over the other male’s. Davian could feel Kiri’s hand exploring his body and he shuddered, his hand sliding up to the back of the Vinter’s head, his fingers working their way into his hair. As the kiss intensified, Davian’s lips parted, his tongue snaking out to explore Kiri’s mouth.
-snips the rest moar for appropriateness-
