>As they entered the dining hall, Lacey realized how famished she was.
>"Come on, lets go grab a tray" grabbing Darrkon's hand & pulling him 
>towards the food.

Darrkon wathched Lacey fill her tray with what he considered a rather
large amount of food.  What she had on her tray now would last him for a
week.  Then he realized he was still thinking as a nomad, as someone who
had to conserve their supplies.  As he looked around the dining hall he
saw people with trays piled much higher than Lacey's tray.  He also
remembered his meals as a child which were generously porportioned
themselves.  Darrkon made a mental note to work on the way he thought of
things around the warren.  He knew it was the only way he could ever
truely fit in here.  Still he didn't take too much more food than Lacey.
No use in making himself look like a pig, or in getting out of shape by
overeating.

When he and Lacey sat down at a table, she first looked at him, then at
his tray, then at hers.  "Is that all you're going to eat?"  She asked
with a puzzled grin.

"Of course.  I'm use to eating small meals.  Honestly this is a lot of
food to me.  I doubt I could eat much more than this."  He lied.
Lacey's smile broadened, then she began eating.  As Darrkon reached down
for his food a sudden realization came over him.  "How am I going to eat
this?"  He thought,  "I should have thought of this before.  I can't eat
here without taking off my mask.  I've got to find some way to get
around this.  Maybe I should just leave."  He heard himself saying,
"Calindeth needs me.  I have to go!"

Lacey stopped eating and asked worried, "What's wrong?  Is there
anything I can do?  I can come along if you need help."

Darrkon had stood up and was about to leave but he stopped himself.  He
knew this time would come but he didn't think it would be this soon.  He
also knew that the lies and excuses couldn't go on.  If Calindeth had
problems every time Darrkon was faced with a difficult situation people
would start to wonder.  They'd think either he wasn't telling the truth
of he wasn't taking care of his dragon.  Neither option looked good for
someone who wanted to be a dragonrider.  He sat back down.

"Nothing's wrong."  He answered.  "I'm sorry I worried you, I just
wasn't ready for this."

"Ready for what?"  Lacey asked confused about his sudden change in
attitude.

Darrkon took a few slow deep breaths and began, "I wasn't ready for a
situation like this.  Eating here, in public.  Other people all around.
My mask, I never made it for an occasion like this.  I was always alone.
No one could see me so it wasn't a problem.  Now it is."  He could see
Lacey wasn't any less confused than before so he decided he had to tell
her about the mask.  He tried to find the right words but they all got
caught in his throat.  Finally his mind told him to go straight forward
like he always did in life.  He just hoped she didn't stop him too soon.
"I told you a little about my joining with Calindeth, about how I didn't
know I had joined with him because I was occupied at the time.  Well, I
was occupied by his mother."  He felt his leg begin to shake underneath
the table, a nervous habit he hadn't seen in years.  "She knew I was
there somehow.  She had reutrned with food for her hatchlings and 'felt'
my presence.  She attacked.  I defended myself, which wasn't really
necessary because she really wasn't interested in killing me.  Just
making me leave.  Calindeth told me that.  I escaped, but I was hurt.
She had bruised my body, broken a few ribs, and..."  Darrkon felt his
mouth go dry.  He wasn't sure he could continue.  When he looked into
Lacey's deep blue eyes all he could see was her caring, it helped him
mutter his next words.  "And she scarred me, my face...badly.  That is
why Calindeth found me by the river.  I was bathing my wounds.  My first
action after I recovered was to make this mask.  No one has seen me, the
real me, since that day."  As Darrkon looked into Lacey's eyes again he
didn't see disgust as he had expected.  He saw sorrow, which hurt him
even more