Logs:Price To Pay
| |
|---|
| |
| RL Date: 21 March, 2013 |
| Who: Jo, Z'ian |
| Involves: High Reaches Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Z'ian's upset about the hatching party, and about Jo's role in it. |
| Where: Jo's weyr, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 1, Month 4, Turn 31 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Aishani/Mentions, N'thei/Mentions, K'del/Mentions, Vienne/Mentions, H'kon/Mentions |
| OOC Notes: This is backdated. |
  |
| It's the night of the hatching or really, it's the morning of the day after the hatching. That's how late it is now. Z'ian hasn't bothered staying up in his own place to wait for her to come home. Instead he's already there in Jo's weyr. He's not digging through anything, but he is at her table. His own work is spread out across the surface and he's plodding through it, even though he looks like he's getting very tired. With a sigh, he stares out towards her ledge and props his chin up in his hand. Tsanth is out there, taking up some space and actually... he's sleeping. He hasn't tried to stay awake with his rider. Traitor. When Tacuseth drops down onto his ledge, he doesn't even show any signs of shock or startlement to find part of his ledge occupied. Not even Jo as she dismounts with a quickness, the bronze firelizard already flitting about the sleeping Tsanth to announce his arrival. And, if the large bronze of the pair isn't aware enough, Mime lands and takes up residence right on top of his sleeping head. The convict rider is divesting of her riding things as she goes into inner sanctum of her weyr, and by the time she reaches her table where Z'ian sits, she's even got her black jacket off and draped over one arm. Not even looking surprised to find him there, "Y'seem comfortable, at my table," is her usual customized greeting. "I'm only surprised yer not stretched out on my bed." She lifts and drops her brows to him on that before she permits herself a welcoming grin to match any touch of innuendo before she continues on past him to put away her things. Over her shoulder as she goes in her hip-swaying gait, "Boreal has ya workin' even this late, Zach?" Tsanth lifts one heavy eyelid and seems to be looking up. There's a rumble of faint amusement from the dragon before he falls asleep again, not all that worried about the little firelizard taking up residence on his head. "Yeah, it's a great table." Z'ian comments dryly as he watches her move around the room. He slips the pencil back behind his ear and stares after her. "I was having a hard time going to sleep, so I figured I'd work on some of this instead. It's not much." The bronzerider isn't carrying his usual amount of light humor with him tonight, there's something dark and possibly frustrated to the pull of his mouth. "I never want to find out something like that, that way again. And I'm not talking about Bri- Aishani. Whoever the fuck she is. I'm talking about finding out you're in the middle of some person and a wall of possibly very angry people." Jo can pick up moods quickly enough by the slightly stiffening of her back and the brief pause of her dropping some things into the press at the foot of her bed, but she finishes the task quickly before she turns around to face the bronzerider. It's the next that comes after the brief silence that has her taking a few steps to be in Z'ian's view instead of behind him, and there are hands on her hips. "What, me backin' her up?" she tries to clarify, watching him closely with an unreadable expression in place. "What were they goin' to do to me, Zach? If they even so much as sneeze my way, I could take them. And, I had back-up." She's a little cocky, a touch arrogant, but that comes with her territory. Studying him now, "Hey now, I didn' even know she was goin' to make that sort of announcement. I found out like ya all did! But, I told her I would back her, and I don' go back on such a thing." "I don't care if you go out and back some angry herdbeasts at the feeding ground." Z'ian shakes his head, the frustration that was pulling so unpleasantly on the corners of his mouth is doing the same thing in his face. Straining it. "Jo, you are one person. Who else, Kaitlin? M'ron? Me? From the other side of the cavern? If you didn't notice, a significant portion of your wing walked out.." This probably doesn't feel like the type of disagreement that a person has while sitting down so it's probably not totally awkward that he chooses this time to stand up. "I already told you that I don't care about that. But you knew that it was something. You should have told me so that I wasn't completely unprepared." It's at this point that the pencil he has tucked behind his ear, falls out. "I noticed," Jo counters on her wing, her jaw tightening. "And the older ones that all this has somethin' to do with still want to give me dark looks. I've always gotten dark looks, so I don' care about all that!" But then Z'ian is standing and she's still standing too, searching his gaze as he speaks. She doesn't interrupt him again, her silence heavy. Where before her face was unreadable, now it's myriad of defiance, sulkiness, and even there's a touch of something recognized. When his pencil falls from him to the ground she doesn't bend to pick it up. Facing him, she slowly advances on him instead, attempting hands to grip Z'ian at his shoulders in the silence. On exhalation, "Ya were....worried." It's not really a question, but she's searching his blue-eyed gaze all the more. "I scared ya." Realization dawns, perhaps, and the bluerider closes her eyes and shakes her head as she adds, "I should have. Darlin', I....shit. Zach, I didn' mean to...give ya a fright or...upset ya. I mean....that's why yer angry, right? With me?" The pencil bounces off of the table and rolls across it onto the floor. He shakes his head, one hand lifting in frustration to stop it but missing. "Don't underestimate them. You've got two ex-Weyrleaders in your wing that have both come to the rescue of this Weyr, more than once together. This place has a long fucking memory." Z'ian doesn't sound like someone that's awestruck, just realistic. "Reaches needs peace with itself and it's not going to get it now." The silence falls and his shoulders sag when her hands come into contact with them. "Yes." That comes in one long exhale. "Damn crazy woman, of course that's why I'm angry with you. If that had gone poorly, there's no way I could have gotten to the other side of the living cavern in time." The bronzerider takes a breath before he lifts his gaze to her finally and pulls her into his arms, crushing her against him. Finally, "Jolie." Just her name. "A long fuckin' memory, but they haven' tangled with me," Jo quips with a look, still looking at least a little mutinous on the matter. Then, "Beauty of Glacier is if they want a piece of me, I'm down. We'll fight it out and then have some beers afterwards. That's the straight approach, and I'd rather anyone that's gotta problem with me for standin' with her to come at me that way. At least then it's over and done with." On peace, she drops the hard tone to something more resigned as she squeezes his arms and states, "It's far too early to be sayin' that and ya know it." But it's the next that has her somewhat silent when Z'ian confirms his worry, and she's looking at him with some bemusement. Then, "Ya were worried about me." Statement, again. "I never....no one really worries about me. Except Tacuseth, but we're both good on the self-preservation so...but you...." She blinks to that, then the next thing she knows, she's crushed against him and she's drawing those hands up to grip his shoulders. Her head dips down to his neck where she takes the liberty to kiss him there before she lifts up to meet his gaze at the sound of her full name. A touch wry now in his arms, "I ain' sorry I backed her up there," she speaks firmly on the Weyrwoman, "but...I should've said somethin'. Gave ya a heads-up. I ain' above sayin' sorry, so, I'm sorry." But she now pokes a long finger at his chest between them none too gently as she adds, "And ya know I can take care of myself, Hero. I welcome a good tussle. But....the sentiment. I get it, and it's kinda nice. Havin' someone worry 'bout me that's not in dragon form." There's a bit of sheepishness for that last, but at least it's faint enough through all the bravado. Z'ian just groans at that comeback that's full of her usual bravado. "I'd be more worried about them coming out of semi-retirement and kicking up dust. I don't think it'd be the usual straight up fight that you're used to." He's shaking his head on the idea of anything being too early to call. "K'del could have standed to wait I think, when she was Brieli. But now that she's a known Vijay, I don't know that he will. And there's still that crowd that's pissed at H'kon, I don't think it's all just faded away. Or that it will. I've been walking a fine line lately, too." The crushing pressure of his arms around her slowly releases in increments. "I'm not saying that you should be sorry. I can't even say that I'm- I don't know how I feel." There's another movement of his head before he tips his head down and kisses the top of her head. A second long exhale, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have waited up here all pissed off so I could scold you. That's fucked up too." For her response he smiles against her hair, "I know you welcome a good tussle." That response is probably more typical of them, the way they interact. It's that humor coupled with obvious suggestiveness. "Well of couple of them wanted to get a little vocal once Aishani made her announcement," Jo quips, not seeming to have any problems with trading the old name for the new with the Weyrwoman. "And Glacier wasn' the only wing that walked out today. I noticed ya still stuck around though, as I left." Z'ian's voicing concerns involving K'del, and the bluerider presses her lips together for that particular threat. "Had a talk with Vienne earlier today," she admits now, darting a glance at him. "She seems to get along well with him, so I suggested she go feel him out. Went to her after I talked to Aishani, even. She seems to have been walkin' a fine line, too, ya know." As he slowly loosens his hold, her arms settle more comfortably about his neck. "Ya don' know how ya feel?" she echoes that, brow lifting at him. But then he's apologizing and she's shaking her head and saying back, "Hey, forget it. Men act crazy when they're smitten," she seems to tease him quietly, her smile lingering now. "When they're worried. Startin' to think ya really want to protect a bad girl." That last has her laughing, leaning into him, letting whatever tension was there in her shoulders go in response to it. "Shit yeah," she pops back. Then, more soberly, "So ya act all authoritative when yer angry?" she asks now idly. "I wonder how pissed off ya'll get if I nick a prized possession of yers in yer weyr." She even flashes a challenging smile for it. "Yeah, I heard them. There were a couple from Snowdrift speaking up too. I think one of them was involved, back when." Z'ian makes a gesture with his hand against her back, probably meant to point or wave away. When she slips her hands around his neck he pulls away so that he can begin to make actual eye contact again. "I kept Boreal there. We'd all look like a bunch of damn fools to the out of Weyr people if the entire cavern emptied." How he managed to get them all to stay put isn't directly explained. But there's a certain stern look to his eye: they knew better. "She's so young. You barely know who you are when you're twenty. And she's been spending all this time pretending to be someone else? How does that work? It just explains a lot, maybe. I don't know if I can be angry at her the way we were all angry at her family then. Does the daughter suffer the sins of the father?" The bronzerider is shaking his head. "I couldn't help anyone out even I wanted to, not now." He chews against his lower lip and exhales. There's laughter for her tease and he lifts an eyebrow. "Why don't you go ahead and try it? See how authoritative I can get." Brows furrowing, "Do ya know what all this Vijay business is about?" Jo asks him when he speaks on Aishani - on her age, especially. "I've only heard the gossip, and I wasn' about to ask her myself, today. It's a big thing to admit who ya really are. As for how it works," and she shakes her head to that. "When ya got an agenda, ya do what ya have to, Zach. And if her family is as bad as yer makin' them out to be, then ya know the answer on sins." Her look is pointed. "Ya know my story. My agenda in ferretin' them out." She doesn't have to clarify who they are, either. His last has her laughing low as she banters back, "Maybe I should get authoritative instead. Ya still have somethin' of mine that ya seem keen to keep to yerself." Dark eyes drop towards the table briefly before she asks, "Are ya stayin' tonite? Cuz after the day I've had, I could use a real good, stiff drink about now." "When N'thei was our Weyrleader, he made some deal with the Vijays. To store some things, I guess. And they were supposed to be paying us?" He's fuzzy on some specifics, yeah. "What they were really doing was stealing valuable things. That got exposed, they got the boot. They were pretty pissed, from what I understand. Then they were responsible for some raids on caravans and it's rumored a couple more of your wingmates were involved in tracing it back to the group and Aishani's father. They raided where they were living, took everyone they could grab." Z'ian shakes his head and sighs. "It was messy. Then apparently, they decided a hanging was payment for theft. And they strung her father up outside of the weyr. The rest got sent to the mines or the work camps. She probably still has family in them." The bronzerider takes a breath and holds it in his cheeks. There's no enjoyment in telling her this story. Blowing out, "Yeah, I know." Z'ian looks at her long before laughing again. "Hey, look. I'm not stopping you from exercising your authoritative self." Teasing now, challenging her. "It might be a change of pace from me taking advantage of you all the time." He's so put out, yes. "If you still want me around after giving you a hard time. Though even if you kicked me out I'd probably have to sleep on your ledge. I don't think he's moving." That bronze out there, sleeping soundly still. When Z'ian tells her the run-down of the Vijays, Jo slips her arms from his neck so she could step back and go towards where her stored bottles are. The part about the hanging has her shaking her head - thievery injustice! - and selecting one of the smaller bottles of her collection lining the wall where her maps are tacked before unscrewing the top and returning to him. She drops into a chair at the table, leaving Z'ian to reclaim the one he was in as she takes a long, fortifying drink first. "Fuckin' harsh for theft," she finally speaks on the matter, leaning forward to set the bottle on the table within grabbing range for Z'ian. "Toss the man in the mines for doin' it, but, a hangin? Shit, he didin' even murder anyone! Right?" She looks to him then. She falls silent for a moment then before she says, "Ya know, I always thought there was somethin' about her, even back then. She might very well have family in the mines, and I might've rubbed shoulders with a few of them without even realizin' it." His tease on her authority gets a snort from her and cross of her legs as she leans back in that chair. "Soon," she seems to vow on payback, her eyes gleaming on what that payback could entail. "Gonna make ya sweat and worry 'bout it first. Gonna happen when ya least expect it. Ya might have to sit out of managin' yer drills for a seven when I'm done with ya, though." She nods to the last and gestures for him to take up the bottle if he hasn't already. "Yer stayin'," she says it firmly. "Mime won' let Tsanth leave anyway. He's rather fond of bronzes bigger than him." Z'ian slips back into his chair, leaning down and snatching his forgotten pencil off of her floor. He tosses it onto the table and leans across to grab her bottle. "Yeah, I agree." Tipping it back to his lips he takes a long swallow, shrugging for her next question. "I don't know. Maybe? He didn't seem like he was a very upstanding man. I wasn't privy to many of the intimate details of that affair. I'd only been riding a few turns then." He takes another quick drink before passing back across the table to her, beginning to shuffle his papers back together. "The question really remains what's going to happen next. Which is probably anyone's guess." He snorts on her claims of payback. "Oh, we'll see. I'll start to sweat and worry when you start to do something other than talk a good game." His mouth twists and he hides a grin. "I don't know if Mime could really stop him. But Tsanth likes small, shiny things so it wouldn't take much to distract him." "I'm not a very upstandin' woman," Jo notes, wry. "Does that mean I should get the noose tomorrow? I've done far worse than raid caravans, as ya know." Darkness flits through her tone as she says, but it doesn't stay. She leans forward to take up the offered drink then, knocking it back before she continues. "Anyway. Might be a long while yet before the question of what happens next gets answered. People need to recover. Even the Weyrwoman. Still gotta celebrate what really matters now, and it's those that walked off the sands this mornin' with their lifemates. Wagers need to be paid. Can' forget all that because of one announcement." Pause. "Or argument," she tacks on now, looking significantly at him as if she expects Z'ian to know exactly what she's now referring to. On personal paybacks with him, his banter has her scoffing. "So is that what I'm doin'? Talkin' a good game?" Chuckling and raising that bottle in toast, "Ya almost sound like ya want me to torture ya, Wingleader. Startin' to finally see things my way on pleasure and pain?" Because it could very well involve both, with her. That question gets a significant look from Z'ian now. "You know that's not what I was suggesting." The darkness flits through her tone and passes and he doesn't further drag the subject on by trying to explain it. "You think? I doubt that the people who strongly oppose her are going to wait for the shock to wear off. If they know what they're doing they're going to try and strike while the iron is still red hot." He lifts a sheet and glances it over, putting it on the pile and beginning to organize the different pieces. "I feel bad for those weyrlings. She turned that entire celebration into being about her, stole it away from her own dragon's hatchlings. Hopefully they liked the excitement." That's said in a wry tone with a quick twist of a smile, his blue eyes flicking up at her at the mention of 'argument'. "It is talking a good game. But hey, I'm still sitting here waiting in anticipation for the moment you decide to take some sort of action." His smile curves a little broader a quick display of his teeth. "I never said that I didn't see them that way to begin with. You just assumed I didn't because of how dashingly good looking I am." "I know," Jo says to his significant look. "It just makes me wonder about those out there that could jump from thievery to hangin' in one breath, is all. This whole Vijay thing is....curious." When he answers on people striking the Weyrwoman, there's a determined glint in her dark eyes as she takes a drink and passes the bottle over to him before saying, "Yer given fair warnin' now, darlin'. I don' mind a good tussle if it comes to that, like I said." She's confident enough to think she can fight them all, it seems. "Anyway. Those weyrlin's didn' look like they were sufferin' all that much for the party turnin' as it did. They still got their accolades. I lost a bit in the wagers, this time around." Pause. "Yer gonna make me wait and ask?" she now prompts on the argument, chin dropping. "Ya had a row with that woman Melliene and stormed out. Was it really about Vienne?" Z'ian's cocky last has her laughing and tossing her hair back. Classic Jo-flirting moves. "Talkin' so bold now, are we? I'd be careful," she teases, even if it's spoken deadpan now. "Ya have me all kinds curious now on how true that statement is. How much ya can keep up with me." It's likely ominous-sounding too, for added effect. "The whole Vijay thing is a fucking mess." Z'ian comments with a shake of his head. He sighs and finally shuffles the papers and pushes them off to the side, dropping his elbow onto the table. "Not everything is fought with fists." There's something regretful to his expression, his voice. Like he almost wishes that it could be. That she could just fight whoever it was into submission. "That's what you get for betting on eggs and teenagers. Neither of them are predictable." He laughs at her question now. "I didn't storm out. I went and got on the line to get myself some breakfast because it was early and I was hungry. Just because you didn't see me doesn't mean I was gone. Thanks for saying hello by the way." Not that he looks exactly put out or upset in all honesty. "Yeah, mostly. I don't see what the huge problem is other than Melliene's massive ego. It's not like she's using Vienne for anything." He shrugs his shoulders and looks amused. "Snowdrift can kiss my ass. This isn't a Pass, I don't have to worry about them not covering us and me getting killed or anything." His fingers splay out across his face and he smiles wolfishly. "When hasn't it been bold talk? Again, I hear a lot of talking and no action from you. So disappointing." He clicks his tongue. "Then I'll tackle them with booze," Jo counters on fists, undaunted. "Anyone can be bought, darlin. Just gotta find the right bargainin' mark." His answer on where he went from his argument has her drawling, "Ya looked so preoccupied and put out. Before I could even get over to ya, the announcement was made. Anyway, I hope Vi accepts yer offer. She'd be a good asset for what ya have in mind." It's obvious she knows the bluerider more than a little, and she could have said more on the matter....until Z'ian challenges her at the end. Nails click on the table surface as she glares at the bronzerider across her table, and then she's dropping both feet to the floor and pushing herself to stand. "Fine," she states, setting palms to the table surface so she could lean over towards him, making sure that he sees the welcoming trouble in her gaze. "I'm done talkin' politics. Yer done doin' work or I'll scatter yer hides all over my floor." She definitely looks like she would. He knows what she wants. She's not even going to ask. Yeah, that's why his hand has already inched over and is laying flat on top of the papers. "Not true. You can't buy everything in this world." Z'ian argues, watching her as she gets to stand. "We'll see. I haven't heard from her in awhile, maybe she doesn't to fly in the traitor wing with the Wingleader that catfights with other Wingleaders in the living cavern during important feasts." His smile is wry and the look in his eyes expectant as she leans towards him. There's a chuckle from the back of his throat and he pushes himself to his own feet, pressing his knuckles onto the table. "The works not actually that important anyway." He confides with a dismissive glance towards it. The bronzerider knows what she wants, but she'll have to come over there and get it because he doesn't move yet. "I," and Jo steps around that table towards him, exposed scarred arms and all, "disagree." She's close now, but she doesn't touch him just yet. She snorts on his answer with Vienne, the convict rider stating, "I was hopin' there would be hair-pullin', at least," in one of her dry teasing voice. "Ya both looked so close to doin' so." Then he's on his feet, but he's not moving forward and glares at him all the more for it. After moments go by, "Be glad the day's made me impatient tonight," she drawls, now flattening a hand on his chest and giving a good push that might take him from the table. Because there's now and urgency in her motions as she tries to steer him towards her bed, already tugging on his clothes as she tries to draw Z'ian into a heady kiss. "Of course you do." That's murmured amusement in his obvious mutual disagreement to her own. "She's not exactly my type. I like my women to be more on the spry side before I even consider pulling on their hair." Z'ian's absolutely proud of himself for having made her come up to him without moving. Like a good sport though he steps back and allows her steer him to bed, tugging his own shirt over his head and losing it to her floor. "We need to do this when we're still angry with each other next time." He suggests hotly before falling into that heady kiss, letting the current of her urgency carry them both towards the ultimate conclusion of the night. |
Leave A Comment