S'chol'nios
Previously: True to Spock's word, the light was quite sufficient for even David's needs. He glanced at the fire-pot where the asenoi created a pulsing light pattern. It changed colors randomly, going first from a deep red to a bronze, to yellow, and then back to red.
David turned at a noise in the doorway. Amanda stood there, a tray of several different dishes in her hands. Sarek stood and took the dishes off the tray, setting them down randomly on the table and said some words in Vulcan, but David could only catch a few words like "eat" and "hold". Sarek then pointed to some tapered sticks that were next to David's elbow. Amanda sat and then spoke.
"Sarek, do you recall how long it took for me to fully understand Vulcan speech? I am willing to bet that David has only been on Vulcan a short time. I believe it would be more courteous to speak in Standard." Amanda patted David's hand over the table as if to say, don't worry.
Sarek conceded to his wife's logic. "I did not know you had been here for such a short time. This was a misunderstanding on my part. The tapered sticks by your elbow are called jom'ir. They are the primary utensil used for the consumption of Vulcan meals. However, since you have only been planetside for a short while, I am sure we could replicate a fork for you."
David said shyly, "Yes, sir. I believe I will use the jom'ir, sir." He picked the jom'ir up and held them like chopsticks. He looked at Spock's hand and realized that the Vulcans did not hold them like the Asians did on Terra. The delicate jom'ir seemed to have a small notch where it slid in-between different fingers and the pinky finger had a little hollow carved out for it. Once David held the jom'ir in the correct position, he dared not let go. He glanced up at Amanda, who still had hers still so that he could get a good look at them. She gave him an encouraging smile and held her jom'ir for him to see until he felt he was ready to try eating with them. He scooped at the food with the jom'ir and managed to catch a morsel, quickly bringing it to his mouth with a small smile and a chuckle. Sybok allowed David a small smile, something which stunned him. He had NEVER seen a Vulcan smile, except for little children who apparently did not know any better. But the smile had vanished when he looked back and Sybok's face was covered by his hair as he concentrated on eating. David continued to consign small portions of food to his mouth until the dish was gone. He set the jom'ir down, praying that there was nothing else to eat for fear that he would have to hold them correctly again.