Catherine
*After a moment of straightening his thoughts, just as they were beginning to reach the turn towards the surprisingly expansive dining room, Adenium spoke. After that intrusive thought, he tried to avoid looking at Circini directly, if just for a moment.* "I never knew Gila like you did, really... I mean, I knew him the past few years, and he's been... To be blunt, a *Dick*. You, uh... Know what he's been doing the last couple years, right? Moons, he's not the most savory of dragons, at least of late. He wouldn't match you at all." *They'd moved over to the dining hall. It had been used at one point while he was asleep, so the lanterns flicked much dimmer over the unset tables- it was less of an eerie lighting, and more of a... Natural, warm light, compared to the cold blue of tonight's moon. A stolen glance at Circini showed that really any light looked like the correct light for a Nightwing with his scale color. Still trying to get that sudden intrusive thought out of his head. Ugh.*

*A suitably weak laugh.*
Marian
Despite being exhausted, the sandwing merchant kept his cheerful demeanor, though it was hard to ignore the swelling beneath his eyes and the occasional moment he'd rub them while he spoke. "We have almost anything you could imagine- particularly thanks to the diversity of our crew... At the start of each quarter, I ask the different dragons onboard what their favorite meals are- or what sounds good so I can make sure we have something in-stock for everyone..." He paused his tired eyes squinting as if he was trying to form a coherent thought as his train of thought derailed for a moment. "Oh! And every week you'll be able to try something from someone else's tribe- if you wish of course- It brings the ship closer together, y'know?" He spoke of bonding over cultural cuisines fondly- and with a soft tone in his voice as he glanced back at Adenium. "So- we'll certainly have something to your liking in the back, I'm sure of it."

The nightwing seemed to notice Adenium's expressions changing at a glance as he scolded himself for some thought he must've been having- to which Circini couldn't imagine what it was, though he chocked it up to maybe the medicine messing with his head a bit seeing as the side effects were pretty strong, even for those more tolerant of them - he was just pleased Adenium wasn't one of the rare cases where a dragon would have an allergic reaction to it. 

Circini responded to Adenium as he prepared his food in the oven closest to the table Adenium could've posted himself at- he... Understood that the sandwing might not trust him very well... Not anymore- so it was crucial to make himself as transparent as possible moving forward- and part of that was giving Adenium the comfort of knowing his food *Wasn't* Poisoned or... Anything like that.

He took a camel out of the freezer - seemed to hold his breath for a moment- and blasted it with a current of superheated air - or rather, his fire put on the lowest flame - allowing the carcass to defrost in a matter of moments as he went about skinning, gutting, and preparing it carefully. "Yes- Gila has always been rough around the edges... With a taste for the dramatic if you couldn't tell. I have no clue what he'd been up to, to be honest with you. I left him behind many years ago- and... I've never once looked back since then." He had a somber, low tone to his voice that oozed with regret that certainly came from the guilt of his actions rather than the fact he left Gila behind. "He grew up in the poorest part of the Scorpion Den- everything he has he's had to fight for, kill for. It's not my place to speak of his past, but you deserve to know considering he landed you bedridden for three days and nights. Everything he does- every terrible deed- he's had it done to him first... That doesn't justify his actions, but it explains them- the world was cold, heartless- and terrible to him in the worst ways, selling smokeberries as a dragonet- the suffering he endured at the hands of his own family, and the amount of times he *Had* To kill- has made him so... So bitter." There was a sadness in his voice as he worked the entrails out of the camel - scraping them into a bucket on the floor in front of the counter he was working at. "He wasn't always so cruel though- He had hope... He had ambition to do better, he just- relapsed too many times, fell to far- he doesn't think he *Can* Change- so why try? He's so deep in his area of expertise- he couldn't get out if he wanted to- he couldn't just get out and fly away, he should leave you alone now- but if he left? They *Would* Kill him, not just gloat about it."

"Aye, but we did have romance- not something I think back on fondly though. We fed each other's worst traits, and let each other become our worst selves... Sometimes I wonder..." He nervously chuckled- about to say, 'I wonder if the world would've been a better place *Without* Me.' - but obviously he didn't want to drag the mood back to the floor, especially when there was a bucket of organs already there- wafting what must've been an enticing scent for dragons.

 "N-never mind..." He went about seasoning the prepared meat with salt, pepper, olive oil- sautéing a pan of vegetables, garlic, ginger, chives, shallot, horseradish roots, and a touch of chili pepper on the side to enhance the flavor of the dish- quickly blowing a plume of fire into the stocked oven that with a turn of some nobs let the fire climb up through the stovetop as he stirred, tossed and seemed to know what he was doing. "I suppose it might be a bit obvious, but as well as the captain- I'm the head chef on-board- I don't think I'm anything fit for the lavish halls of the Night Palace- but- tonight I'll try my best to treat you like royalty." He spoke with that same warmness he always seemed to have about him when he spoke to adenium about happy things - or things he enjoyed.

"You're fit to be up, no worries... I've been watching your recovery closely with the head doctor on the ship, Ash, a leafwing with quite the story to tell- she kept telling me 'Circini, you don't have to keep standing there waiting to change his bandages'- but of course, I knew better- what if your bleeding started up again or it scabbed over too much and too close to the bandages- then it might hurt if I was late to change them... Though, I suppose you *Were* Asleep- but what if you can feel pain while you're sleeping but you just can't remember it because you're asleep?" He gave a hearty chortle- "Ash says I worry a little too much when it comes to medical situations..." He seemed to trail off on a tired tangent that was only exemplified by the fact he was multitasking. "Especially you- she kept teasing me about how she's never seen me so invested in the health of another dragon besides that time Sallowthorn got a splinter and it got infected. She told me I was displaying symptoms, and when I asked 'of what'? She said I was bitten by something called the 'love bug'- can you believe that? They actually named an insect after the phenomena of being in love, when I asked her for a scroll on the insect, she laughed so loud I was afraid it was going to wake you up..."

He said all of this-straight faced as ever with there being a brief - awkward silence between the two that was only filled with the sounds of meat sizzling - then out of nowhere he seemed to turn bright red- his eyes widening for a moment as if he had come to some sort of realization as her cleared his throat. "Er- I uhm- well, your food's almost ready, I'll probably have to get started on the coffee a little late, I wish I had an extra set of talons but two pans keeps a dragon occupies- y-y'know?" Smooth as ever, and totally the best at shifting the topic of a conversation - there was totally, definitely no sign of anxiety in his voice... Totally... As he tripped over his words- and almost over his talons as he moved across the kitchen space in the process, he seemed to realize the fact that he might have feelings for Adenium- which he thought was both- ridiculous- and also- that he wasn't particularly deserving of anything like a relationship considering the life and thus love from other dragon's lives he had reaped in the past. 

With a few more carefully measures spices- and still a bright red patch on his freckled face, he finally finished Adenium's meal- setting it on a plate as the scent of cooked meat rose through the air and the sight of a colorful pallet of vegetables appealed to the sense of vision- he said he was no palace chef, but damn did it look ridiculously professional when he set the big plate in front of Adenium. "Please- eat up! You missed three days' worth of meals. Oh! But make sure you eat slowly, eating too fast might make your stomach upset because of the medicine we had to give you- and if you need some more painkillers - just go to the medical bay and talk to Ash, tell her you have a verbal prescription from the captain."

With that, he quickly got to work on Adenium's coffee, preparing it as his face settled back to its blacks and blues. He grabbed a large mug and poured the black liquid inside. "Any creamer or sugar?" He gently set the cup down on the table next to Adenium and decided to sit across from the sandwing- resting his head on the table lazily as his blood pressure settled a bit and the feeling of fatigue clawed its way back into his brain. "I hope everything is to your liking! If you have any complaints..." He yawned tiredly. "Let me know so I can make it better next time."
Joseph
And I need my computer for it ;w;