Logs:Missed Date
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| RL Date: 10 August, 2013 |
| Who: Rasavyth, K'zin, Telavi, Solith |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: K'zin was supposed to meet Telavi, but that didn't happen. K'zin should have sent word, but that didn't happen either. There are consequences. |
| Where: Questionably Painted Weyr (K'zin's), High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 27, Month 6, Turn 32 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: C'wlin/Mentions, K'del/Mentions |
| OOC Notes: Some angst and adult themes. Backdated and played via gdocs. |
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| Questionably Painted Weyr, High Reaches Weyr At the back of the weyr the cavern branches into two good-sized back rooms with a double-sided fireplace occupying the wall they share. The weyr even comes already decorated. It has an ornately carved bed and press in both of the rooms; the front area offers a polished rectangular table and six matching chairs, a set-up perfect for entertaining. Rugs are scattered across the floor, their colors bright and cheery to match the walls. But oh, those walls! Some artistic hand has painted mural on every wall, filled with bright colors and bordered by mixed fruits and vegetables. The mildest murals are filled with exuberant scenes of dancing people, but most of them are of a more... questionable nature. They're certainly not the sort of thing any concerned parent would want their children to see, though they give the weyr a definite party atmosphere.
Shortly after dawn, Rasavyth is finally making his landing. It's always one of his cleanest, his own ledge, with which he's becomes so familiar. K'zin is freshly cleaned and he makes short work of undoing Rasavyth's straps and hanging them up. He has to take time, too, to rub the dragon's neck with oil; the straps were left on too long and have chafed the hide slightly. Once that's done, then he's taking the packs from the straps and heading into the weyr. He looks exhausted. The contents are dumped on the table and his jacked is pulled off, leaving him strangely shirtless. Into his bedroom he heads, picking up only a pair of small jars from one of the bags to take with him - the rest can be left for later when he's more coherent. He's so tired, that he doesn't even notice quilt-covered, sleep-curled Telavi in the bed, not with the glows out and the hearth embers low. He thumps down on his side of the bed, and winces, before slowly reaching forward to start pulling off his boots. Sleepy Telavi is sleepy, and northern dawns are early. Behind him there's rustling, one hand swiping loose whiskey-blonde hair out of her eyes, but it's dim and she's sleepy and it just takes long enough to register that it really is him, at last, before her head sinks back down onto the pillow with a, "Hi." Hiii, warm, drowsy, a welcome back. It's dim, and in the moment maybe she is too, too drowsy to know just what time it is. "Augh!" Surely, Sleepy Tela didn't intend to send K'zin flying off the bed in surprise, stumbling over his half-pulled off boot and ending up on hands and knees on the rug beside the bed. But given that he's not hurt (or at least, not badly) it's the kind of exaggerated reaction that, while not intentional, might be quite pleasing. Or in this case, surprising in its own right. "Shells!" He swears as he struggles to roll onto his rump, blinking up at the bed. Only after a few blinks does he realize who's in it, and that he was supposed to be here hours ago. "Oh, shells." The second swear is more emphatic and he's yanking his boot off before crawling onto his knees and leaning against the bed his hands stretching toward the greenrider. "Tela, I'm sorry." Sleepy Tela did not, in fact. Of course, Sleepy Tela didn't intend much of anything and it's a wonder she actually made it to an intelligible word... but surprise means she's waking up fast, or at least faster, scootching to the edge of the bed to blink back down at him. "All right?" Two words! "That was quite a--" but then there's all that emphasis and he'd fallen and has he been drinking again? and, "What time is it?" Of course she reaches back to him, for all she still knows it's just after midnight, sliding her hands back behind his neck. Quieter, searching out his gaze, "Are you all right?" K'zin briefly considers lying. Rasavyth helpfully quashes that idea. Lies are best employed when they're actually believable. One thought to Solith and Tela will know what time it is. He's pulling himself up then, off his knees. "Yeah, I'm fine," At least from the fall, "Just exhausted." But maybe he's not entirely all right, really, for when he leans to try to pull at his other boot, there's an awkward movement to readjust the stretch of his body. "It's-- dawn." And he's supposed to have dawn drills today. Once the other boot's off, he's moving to try to slide onto the bed - if Telavi will allow him, now that she's at the edge of it. She's familiar enough with the way he moves-- and wakeful enough, thanks to the stumble-- to notice the awkwardness, but there's dawn and that's awkward and Telavi, apparently she's doomed to be a day late and a full mark short. "Dawn?" she can only repeat, like, 'How does that even happen?' And it's not-quite-promptly followed by, "Wait. You have drills, don't you?" Or is that a different day, has she forgotten that too? She rubs her forehead a couple times like that will clear everything up, and while her lying crosswise doesn't make it particularly easy to lie down at first, at least Tela winds up scooting back in an automatic making-room sort of way. It doesn't require much thought, which is good because, "She said Rasavyth said you were... held up?" Until dawn? "What happened?" There's more awkwardness to come. Because this is awkward. And as K'zin lies down atop the quilt, he shifts uncomfortably. He rolls onto his side, facing the greenrider. "Too tired for drills. K'del's covering for me." There's a silent moment in which, « Oh, did I forget to mention? » and « Ass. » followed by a remorseless cheery ooze. "Sorry, Tela, so sorry. I lost track of time. We got caught up in a green flight in Telgar when we were on an errand for the wing, and then I had some wine-- I had a lot of wine-- and-- sorry." He's sorrier than he should be for missing a date. Sorrier than he should be for a green flight and wine. K'del's covering for him. Now that he's close, physically at least, Telavi automatically curls just enough to bump her knees up into him, so her toes can tuck neatly along his shin... except then they slip back; it's easier to let gravity tilt them onto their heels, after all, and maybe it's just that, though as he continues to apologize, even her knees sink that hairsbreadth away. Maybe it's just the mattress. Or... not. Right now, the thing for a not-even-a-girlfriend to do is to reassure him that it's okay, not to worry. The important thing is that he made it back and won't have to fly drills and won't have to die between today. Except what Telavi's gut says to say is, her voice quiet and without particular inflection, "What else happened?" « It's not my fault you were so transparent. » Rasavyth shrugs off the blame that K'zin levies at his feet - for not reminding him that Tela was waiting, which he surely remembered, before Solith bespoke him. K'zin takes a deep breath. Lie! His instinct demands, but his expression, though torn, as he looks a Tela turns to one that's ashamed, but honest. "I slept with someone." Okay, then. If Telavi were looking in a mirror, she might recognize her expression as resembling one she's not-so-distantly seen C'wlin wear, with its lack of expression. What she says is, brightly, "It doesn't sound like you did much sleeping." For hours. And hours. The lack of expression and Rasavyth's keen insight have K'zin tasting the foot he put in his mouth. "Oh, fuck. Shit. Damn." Each swear seems like it's its own realization. "That's not-- not what I meant. I mean, it is but, it wasn't--" Even in the dim light, surely the crimson of his cheeks can be seen as he all-but-blurts his only defense: "It was a man." Each swear seems to be its own pinch at sensitive skin, the way Telavi twitches further, ever so fractionally, into herself. And of course it's not what he could possibly have meant; her eyes fall shut but she won't let it be for more than a moment or two. So she's looking at K'zin, or maybe it's past him, in time for his revelation to hit in a way quite different than what he might have imagined to be its reception under different circumstances; there's no intrigued, interested noise, no bright, surprised eyes, no praise for his getting past the inhibitions he'd confessed to her before. Instead she says politely, "Oh." Defense does him no good in mitigating things, so K'zin's only recourse is to throw himself to Telavi's mercy. "Telavi, I'm so sorry I missed our date night. I'll do anything to make it up to you. Absolutely anything." There's warning in his mind from Rasavyth. It's not a promise K'zin can keep. There are things he cannot tell her. Things he would, but for Solith. Sweet, simple Solith. He's moving to try to find her hands, trying to see her face, his expression one full of remorse. She doesn't say anything right at first, though her hands may be found curled into each other just below her collarbone, more tightly than he usually finds them for all that she doesn't resist. Hadn't they talked about K'zin and his promises before? "Remember that," she says anyway. What else can she say? She certainly doesn't want to turn her face to his, tilting it downward instead, putting it in shadow even if it's the shadow of his body. With his hands about hers, she says, "I suppose it was wonderful, fantastic, you couldn't have imagined a better introduction to the ways of men; you wore each other out, you know now that even cinnamon buns pale compared to, to male buns, you have seen the light... and that's why you didn't think of m-- of telling me that you'd wound up with other plans. For the night." It's a brittle sort of cheer. K'zin looks like he's been slapped. He hasn't, of course, and his fingers tighten around Tela's hands, a guttural sound of frustration growling out from his throat. "Do you want me to tell you it was awful? That I didn't like it?" He sucks in a breath, "I was an idiot for not thinking to tell you. I drank almost a whole skin of wine by myself before anything happened and then more. I know it's awful that I didn't let you know I wouldn't be back, or that I'd be late, but I didn't know. I sure as shell didn't plan for it to happen. An opportunity presented itself, and I shelling well took it because Ras is getting better at blooding, because the green flight tonight had a male rider that I could've seriously injured by not having a clue what to do if Ras had caught. It was badly timed, and I should've had the presence of mind to let you know something had come up, but I didn't. And I'm sorry for that. But I'm not sorry I'm not going to hurt someone in a flight." His tone has grown in intensity, but not volume. He's still speaking to her in hushed tones, his expression distressed and serious. To which she says with no physical flinch, despite the tightness of his grip, "I only ever want you to tell me the truth." Which is true as far as it goes, has always been true in what she's said to him and shown him before; it's just that it can never be the whole of what she wants. K'zin keeps talking and again and again she might say more, but it's too strong, she won't let herself do what she'd need to do to break into that, for all that it would be so easy. Instead, she waits. Even when she can speak again, her voice is lower than his. "I want it to be good for you," Telavi says, very clearly and very precisely, except for the part where it's chipped about the edges. "I'm glad," at least in her head, but she expects she'll also feel it later, counts on it maybe, "you got that opportunity. I'm glad it means you won't be as likely to hurt someone. It helps that you're sorry for not telling me. But it... doesn't help... that what you said, the last thing, it feels like it's set up to make it one or the other, someday-greenrider or me-- like being... sad... now could make it possible, even a little bit, that I'd want you to be sorry for not hurting someone else." When did the tears start falling? They're a slow, inevitable trickle down her skin like down the greenhouse's glass, but in the dimness, in the shadow... she can at least hope that they won't be seen. Tears! Tears! And they aren't his! Inwardly, K'zin panics. Rasavyth yawns, helpfully. "No, no, I didn't mean-- that." That it should mean that she'd want him to be sorry. "I just-- shells, you're crying." Obvious. And probably unhelpful to point that out. He's not certain about his next move which has him reaching to try to pull the greenrider into his arms, the moves tentative and doomed if they meet with resistance. As he makes the move, he says more things that may or may not help them: "I'm sorry for not letting you know, Tela, I really am, it was so stupid. I wasn't-- it wasn't me choosing someone else over you. It was me being stupid, and drunk, and forgetful. I was so focused before the flight on getting my errand done so that I'd be proved to be reliable in my wing, again, and then the flight, and I was all-- after and he was there and just wanted to help each other out--" Some things, probably less helpful than others. Like, details. Does Telavi believe him? How much does it matter to him, if only she lets him off the hook? She has a small nod for it, at least. Then, a touch sulkily, "You weren't supposed to notice." Except it totally earns him points that he did, however unwillingly given. Some might find it odd that not only does she consent to being drawn in, after a moment she compounds matters by burrowing closer yet, even scooting up a bit so she can tuck her nose into the hollow above his collarbone... but then again, she's gotten used to getting comfort from him as well as giving it, even when he doesn't know, and it seems even when he's caused its need. Her face is wet, but at least it's not snotty. His arms are around her, his voice resonating through her. It's almost like a bedtime story, except for the self-recriminating and the crying and its being light outside. It's in that vein that there's the near-whisper, "And then what happened?" "How could I not notice something like that?" Has he missed it before? K'zin has to wonder. As long as she's coming willingly, the wrap of his arms becomes more firm. He strokes her hair, holding her in silence until she asks. "Are you sure you want to know?" The bronzerider asks softly. It's not that he's unwilling to tell, it's just-- well, all of this has been so awkward already. Why is she crying again? The man tries to tilt her chin just a little, enough that he can get his lips to press a kiss to her forehead. "Can I ask-- is it that I forgot or that I was with someone else that's upsetting you?" Maybe it's a silly question given the parameters of their relationship to date, but this whole thing just feels... weird, so maybe it warrants a weird question. It may not be rhetorical, but Tela's wiggle of her shoulders is the closest she gets to an answer, and then he's stroking her hair and she sighs, beginning to relax that little bit more. "I think so," ever so slightly touched with question. "I just felt... like it." Maybe she shouldn't. Maybe she should know why. Interesting, distracting, sharing, including, or just the sound of his voice, or simply the passage of time... she doesn't. And besides, who else would he tell? For the moment pliant, Tela lets her chin be tilted, even if it does let a forehead's worth of her expression be more readable for the question that follows... including her mobile brows, which pull inward, because wasn't she trying to get over thinking about it? Weren't they? At least the tears have stopped, somewhere in there. She could deflect it, but he's trying and... "Let me think." Try to think. It takes her a minute, made easier by his nod, by the way he tucks his chin atop her head. "I don't like being forgotten," she finally admits in a small voice, like it's her own personal crime. The rest takes her longer, but she puts some effort into trying for at least relatively calm if not casual. "Apparently I like it less when it's because of someone else. I didn't... expect that. I think, I hope maybe it's also just things like... like how when people are tired it's easy for things to seem worse?" K'zin is silent as she speaks. Through the answer to his first question, and the pause that through her need to think. He is trying. Just the nod assures she can have the time she needs, his arms gently tightening as his chin comes to tuck itself on her head. His hands start to rub her arms and shoulders lightly as she speaks again. And pauses. And speaks. Finally, after his own silence, "No one likes to be forgotten." K'zin's tone is empathetic, soft, comforting. "I'm a horrible, awful, very bad person for doing it. I ought to be punished. And chastised and made to grovel for forgiveness." His tone holds both self-reproach and some humorous color, trying to-- He doesn't even know why, it just feels so serious right now, it's scary. "I don't have a good excuse for what happened, Tela, I wish I did. I wish I could say and this big important thing is the reason I didn't think, but I don't. I'm a thoughtless moron who doesn't deserve you." But that doesn't keep him from squeezing her against him, his face pressed to her hair as if this might be the last moment he gets to drink in her scent. The humor-- she doesn't entirely know why she stirs uneasily, it just feels like making light right now, it's... troubling. It's a small shift, nearly a stretch except leaving her less relaxed instead of more. At least Tela can summon some humor from her reserves, say, "Would you like that, if I turned you over my knee? Although not for the groveling, that seems more like a toe situation." Later, her wry not-quite-laugh agrees about that big important thing, unless it's for how clearly it was important to him to some degree. "I wish," only then K'zin squeezes her and Telavi loses track along with her breath, finding herself pressing a kiss into his neck instead, and this is starting to look far too much like cuddling. K'zin, as tired as he is, should be missing these things. Maybe Rasavyth is silently helping him observe the important subtle shifts for his own nefarious purposes. But if that's the case, K'zin's unaware of it. All he knows is he does notice when she stirs uneasily at his humor and he looks abashed. There aren't any words he has to make this better, so he just holds her. This is cuddling. He might have too many clothes for it to be the best kind of cuddling but it's a lot more intimate than most times between them. Intimate, but... so tired. So unless there are more words, K'zin's not going to be able to resist sleep for very long. He even has a shirt, though admittedly it's on her. No more words from Telavi, no completion of that wish, no asking again after anything more. Less tired than K'zin, she stays awake for a little while longer, her eyelashes now and again fluttering against his skin as she blinks until, at last, she closes them for good. It may be light, but there's no other duty or desire calling Tela just now from K'zin's arms... which doesn't mean she's not gone, quietly, by the time he wakes. When K'zin finally does awake, it's with a groan of discomfort, and then one of frustration when he realizes his bed empty. « Fuck.» Rasavyth simply rustles in his mind, dismissive. « She's only a woman. » K'zin glares at the air. « She's Telavi. » The distinction is lost on the dragon, or at least he pretends it is. |
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