Logs:A Challenging Month
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| RL Date: 19 July, 2016 |
| Who: Edyis, Jocelyn, Akluseth, Aidavanth |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Over a meal, Edyis tries to check in with Jocelyn, who's been pretending to cope. |
| Where: Mad Smithcrafter's Den Weyr, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 27, Month 4, Turn 41 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Lys/Mentions |
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| Warm shimmering waters glimmer unobtrusively. « Ed would like to know if yours would join her for a meal in her weyr. » The image of the wide ledge where the brown lounges, tail draping into the bowl is shared, and the implication that draconic cuddling is also part of his invitation should she wish it to be so. (To Aidavanth from Akluseth) The iron door is flung open to the chilly spring air, patchwork curtains moving with the air. Savory smells drift from further within the weyr itself, and Edyis is already dressed in her after work clothes, which consist of patterned pajama bottoms and a loosely fitted shirt sans sleeves. She's standing at the back of the room near a large wine cabinet, perusing the bottles and boxes stacked on the shelves. To Akluseth, Aidavanth might just, indeed, wish it to be so. She's certainly pleased by the invitation, and takes only a moment to check in with Jocelyn before answering in the affirmative. « We'll be there shortly. » 'Shortly' turns out to be about fifteen minutes later, with the orange-gold brushing her muzzle to Akluseth's in an affectionate 'hello' once she's landed. Jocelyn bites her lip once she's dismounted, fingers curling into loose fists at her sides. It's a measured stride that brings her to Edyis's door, and skirting the dragons gives her an extra moment or two in which to smooth her expression into a pleasant, if neutral look by the time she makes it into the weyr. "Edyis. Good afternoon." The dark circles from earlier in the month still linger under her eyes, but she at least manages to sound almost interested when she adds, "Something smells - palatable." Nuzzling is met in kind, with the smaller brown making room and a show of moving about the ledge until everything is to the gold's satisfaction and comfort. (To Aidavanth from Akluseth) Inside, ink-dark eyes take in every detail. Concern knitting together thick brows, "My stepmother's recipe. It's not much but a good stew and a bottle of something to wash the day's worries away usually puts me to rights." Edyis bites her lower lip a moment, waving the woman into the weyr proper where a couch lined with brightly colored quilts is stretched in before the hearth. "Something eating at you?" Her soprano ventures softly, as she moves back finally to select a bottle of something faintly sweet and refreshing. There's a gentle roundness to the queen's abdomen that grows a little more apparent each seven as the days continue on. Aidavanth doesn't quite find getting comfortable to be a complete challenge just yet, but there's a little extra fidgeting before she settles against his side with a sigh. « They're growing, » she says softly, likely unnecessarily. Their future children. (To Akluseth from Aidavanth) "There's something to be said for a good, mountain stew, " Jocelyn agrees, attention still on the move so as to better take in the ambience and the decor of Edyis's home. It takes her a moment to recognize the brownrider's gesture, then its destination. Carefully, she makes her way in that direction, settling on the edge of one of the couch's cushions. "I'm - " fine, has been her rote answer for the past few sevens to anyone who's bothered asking. A breath. "It's been a challenging month. First Lys - " She breaks off, lips pressing thin. "The Monaco negotiation is settled, however, and that's what matters." To Aidavanth, Akluseth projects « I wonder what they will be like, when they hatch. Do you feel them move as they grow? » "I am sorry." Is Edyis's response for Lys, chewing the inside of her cheek. "I had hoped she wouldn't behave so predictably." Letting her breath out slowly, she moves to procure bowls and cups, filling each before setting them on the small table before the couch. "I understand the need for candidates, but I wish Monaco could have been left out of it." She swallows slowly, shaking her head. "Personal feelings aside, however. It was a good move to make." Edyis settles deeply into the couch, just far enough away to prevent infringing on her space too much. To Akluseth, Aidavanth shifts again, the better to curl her neck closer to his. « We'll get to find out, together. » What they're like. As for feeling them move, she hesitates. « No. Sometimes the weight of their growing shells moves one way or the other, but I do not feel them. Jocelyn says, » thanks to her dragonhealing lessons, « that they have much growing left to do, even after they are laid. » Whatever Jocelyn had hoped for, it's long gone if the hardness that appears in her expression is anything to go by before it waxes faintly suspicious. "Predictably? How's that, exactly?" Eyebrows lift for an explanation, even as she sniffs appreciatively in the direction of the dishes despite herself. Lips pursing faintly for Edyis's opinion, the goldrider elects to pick up the cup nearest her in lieu of making an immediate reply, sipping the contents with a small frown. "I hope that's how history will see it. A beneficial step toward resolving the - relations between the two Weyrs." Edyis is quiet watching that shift of expression with a flicker of pain. "She approached me a while ago, and from the way she spoke, it seemed like she was giving up on something." Edyis bites at her lip again. Picking up the bowl and stirring the contents with her spoon. "I've always tried to respect the relationships of those who Akluseth catches. It's part of being a rider. Monogamy is a word that had to vanish from my vocabulary. I didn't want a rift to form between you two because someone else flew Aidavanth. Maybe that was inevitable, but I know how much it hurts to have someone you love tell you goodbye." Her gaze rests on the bowl. "Rifts - Monaco and Murder have gone hand in hand for as long as I can remember. Some of those scars will be difficult to heal." Rumbles deeply in his chest. « Lots of shells » Akluseth seems confident in this much at least. « Ed says I grew lots after I hatched, but I can't remember it. » (To Aidavanth from Akluseth) "She approached you." That comes out incredulously, and Jocelyn grimaces, grip tightening momentarily on her cup. Her other hand waves off Edyis's apology, head shaking quickly as if tossing off an irritant. "Akluseth's catch might have been a catalyst for what would have eventually happened, but hardly a cause." Rifts of all sorts can, indeed, be difficult to heal, and the redhead's shoulders stiffen as she silently reaches to trade her cup for the other kind of bowl at hand, putting away one spoonful, then another. To Akluseth, Aidavanth has a mental smile for the concept. « We'll have at least several shells, » she agrees practically. « I don't remember my own growth, either, but Jocelyn - » A pause, then, as she searches for the relevant memory and produces it: A view, from a little over five feet above the ground, of hours-old, little Aidavanth looking up at Akluseth. Edyis studies the goldrider, as though trying to read the sky for a storm. "In the Galleries," Edyis confirms, setting the bowl aside for her glass. "Seemed to think it prudent to make sure you were well looked after." Softness in her tone that usually is absent when discussing the former scullery maid. She watches Jocelyn again, her lips pursing faintly. "I promised I would be honest with you Jocelyn, and asked that you do the same with me, at least in private. I can see the circles under your eyes, the whitening of your knuckles. I know you are irritable, but I can't understand it unless you talk to me." Edyis points out gently, taking a long drink from her glass. Silvery bubbles dance around the shared vision, fizzing into a crisp image pulled from his own rider's mind, the first flap of light dappled wings as Akluseth learned to glide. « Ed says we won't get to teach them much, that the job falls to the weyrling masters. » He seems to pout over this fact just a little. (To Aidavanth from Akluseth) Swearing, Jocelyn carefully sets her bowl down to lean her chin on her fists, eyes closing briefly. "It's easier for me to be honest than it is for me to talk, " she admits at some length, finally lifting pale eyes to the brunette's after some moments pass. "It's - been challenging, " she repeats again, more quietly. And this time, she can't quite disguise the unsteadiness that enters her words, the corresponding quake that trembles through her frame when she inhales, exhales. There's an almost panicked look that flits toward the ledge, back to the stew, anywhere but at her meal companion. To Akluseth, Aidavanth is sure, so sure, that they'll still get to watch them learn and grow. She's also suddenly sure that her lifemate isn't doing the best job of holding it together, and regretfully disentangles herself from her comfortable nestle with the brown to stick her nose into the entrance of the weyr, however briefly. Privately, to her companion: « I think I should take her home. » The hand that starts to reach out in a gesture of comfort which halts midway. The indecision fades quickly, and Edyis reaches out in a gentle attempt to pull the woman closer, though in such a way that the gesture halts immediately if unwanted. "What do you need?" Her voice so soft and gentle, as though afraid Jocelyn might shatter. To Aidavanth, Akluseth projects « She wants to help. » Akluseth confesses, at last, a gentle current of dancing fish flickering through the waves. « She is afraid. Of pushing too far past the invisible boundaries, people keep around their hearts. » The goldrider stiffens, breaths coming quickly, but doesn't push Edyis away. Nor, it must be noted, does she willingly scoot closer, freezing into place. "I need this to not hurt, " she confesses angrily, although the bite behind her words seems more directed at herself than at the other rider. "Especially not here. Not - " That brief glimpse of Aidavanth elicits a long, slower exhale. "You've - been kind, Edyis. I - need to be alone right now." There's an apologetic, wavering look. "I'm sorry. The stew is very good, " just not good enough to stop her from getting to her feet and starting to stride toward the ledge, expression half-twisting into a silent sob once her face is quite averted. Edyis lets it go, with a nod of understanding. And the gaze that lingers on Jocelyn is full of things left unsaid. "Whatever you need, Jocelyn. We will be here when you need us. When you are ready." She doesn't press any further; Akluseth will accompany the pair back to their ledge if they allow. A mostly silent presence. Providing comfort in the way that he knows how. |
Comments
Alida (00:05, 20 July 2016 (PDT)) said...
Sadz. :(
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