Logs:Teaching Children
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| RL Date: 7 June, 2015 |
| Who: Lilah, Kaelige |
| Involves: Fort Weyr |
| Type: Log |
| What: Kaelige is assigned child care duty, a clear mistake. However, it's he who gets the reprimand for obvious reasons. |
| Where: Nursery, Fort Weyr |
| When: Day 7, Month 13, Turn 37 (Interval 10) |
| Weather: Winter evening |
| OOC Notes: Disclaimer: Mild language |
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>---< Nursery, Fort Weyr >---------------------------------------------------<
A solid wooden door keeps most of the noise that the Weyr's younger
children make contained in the little warren of caverns that make up the
nursery. The main cavern serves as a playroom, its walls smoothed and
brightly painted to mimic a sunny day outside, lending the space a cheery
aspect. Stone shelves are staggered at various heights around the walls
alongside free-standing wooden cubbies to make things easy to reach for
both children and adults. These hold both supplies and toys tucked into
baskets for easy play and pickup.
Beyond the main cavern are several smaller caverns that serve as sleeping
spaces for both the children and nannies on duty. At the end of the
corridor is the head nanny's office with a desk, chairs and filing
cabinets containing records about each of the Weyr's kids. Brightly
painted clay figures and hand casts decorate the walls: memorabilia of
children past. Kaelige is reclined sideways on a bench, an elbow up on the table itself that he's leaning on, one leg extended, the other tucked underneath him. Children run around rampant, clearly not under any order. However, a collection of them have gathered around the younger-than-he-appears teen. A four-turn old girl is behind him, holding onto the hood that's long-since pulled off his head, though she fortunately refrains from tugging at it. There appears to be paste or something else unfortunate and sticky in his black hair, making more of a mess than normal. "Yes, she is awfully fat." Kaelige's words to one of the children asking about the pregnant woman reading a book to a younger girl in her lap. There's glares from the adult crowd. "But why?" The typical question to be chimed from a toddler regardless of subject matter. "Because a man fucked-" "-Kaelige!" One of the nannies knows better than to leave him entirely unattended. "What, did she fuck him?" "...Kaelige!" The warning is sharper, a gasp from the young lady aghast that he'd even dare. "It must be one way or the other..." He, for his part, has brows raised at the yelling as if the nanny means that neither occurred. "What's fucked mean?" A little girl mimicks dutifully, curiously, interrupting both and rolling Kael into a hearty laughter. "It is what Kaelige is, sweetheart," is the voice that drawls at the entrance of the nursery, Lilah's smile reserved for that little girl as she continues on, "But it isn't something that you should repeat, ok? It's a bad word." The junior weyrwoman lifts a hand to one of the nannies that starts towards her, as if to start an explanation or an excuse to the woman. Instead, her gaze slides to Kaelige and she issues the one word, "Outside," to the Candidate, before turning on a heel to step back into the tunnel beyond. To his luck his face is turned away from the doorway and away from Lilah when her voice rings clearly, authoritatively above the nannies whose warnings Kaelige had been all but ignoring. So as his laughter stops somewhat abruptly, it can't be seen if his expression drops or he keeps on smirking.To the little girl, Kael winks, one hand touching her head and messing her brown hair before he stands and turns to face the red-headed goldrider. There's not much of a readable look on his face aside from a perhaps overly pleasant grin. "How wonderful it is to see the weyrwoman, right guys?" The typical light voice of one talking to children, though his eyes remain on Lilah. The little girl sing-songs "Okay!" before running off giggling, a few of the others maybe a turn older collectively "Ooooo" as Kaelige is told to leave the room, and the sound follows him out as his deliberately slow pace takes him into the hallway. "Yes ma'am?" Curiously innocent, of course. "Remind me, Kaelige; what did I tell you when I offered you a knot?" is Lilah's reply to that innocent question, dark gaze falling over the young man with a weight of expectation. A brow even curves upwards, as she intends to wait patiently for that answer. "That there's a lot of work involved, and you Stood a bunch of times..." Kaelige drifts off, his memory seemingly quite selectively in those particular details. But even as he looks beyond her, as if trying to pull those tidbits of shared wisdom and warnings, eventually his eyes slide back to hers. His smirk dissolves slowly, maybe a bit more seriousness appropriately taking its place. He knows well she means about remembering his place, "I was just answering the question." As if that relieves him of his problem causing. "And what else did I say?" Lilah presses, even as he remembers, to hear the words spoken aloud by the Candidate. Kaelige studies Lilah quietly, "To remember my place." Although it isn't said mockingly, surprisingly, it is mechanical as if reciting from a card. He wants to say more, but he holds his tongue after, folding his arms slowly. A soft noise punctuates that answer, a thoughtful thing that catches on the goldrider's lips even as she studies Kaelige. She doesn't miss that desire to say more, and even invites, "Say what you have to say. It isn't as if you can get yourself into further trouble at the moment, is it?" "Is that a challenge?" Kaelige jokes in the light of danger, but his chuckle is a thin one and short at that. A sigh a he's sure he won't get much laughter in return, his shoulders slacking in the exhale. "I answered them truthfully, didn't I? And I was where I was supposed to be-" And he has paste in his hair, a line of brightly colored ink on his boot. Surely the fact he looks nearly ravaged by children counts for something. "Do you think that is the bar, Kaelige? Your bar is just being where you are supposed to be and truthful?" Lilah counters, but it isn't quite a dismissal of his answer. More, a challenge of her own, an opportunity. "Well..." Noted like he believes it's a yes to her questions, a small grin edging his lips. Kaelige studies her brown eyes carefully, cautiously but still with the taint of mischief or humor or both, "You have a very high bar." Comes what seems to be his real reply, and it's said as what's intended to be a compliment at that. "They seemed entertained. At least I wasn't sitting in the corner being a grump and ignoring the kids. Though..." And he looks away, a gloved finger tapping his stubble-touched chin, "I bet the nannies would rather us just stay out of the way." As if all the candidates are problem children. Lilah doesn't seem amused, but she doesn't seem upset by Kaelige's humor either. "And my bar is the one you should live up to, then," answers the junior weyrwoman, agreeable to that, at least. But her next words veer away from the topic of childcare and whether or not they were entertained, before she adds, "Kaelige--. Don't make me regret my faith in you." "Faith is a pretty strong thing to put in anyone.." Kaelige rubs the back of his neck with his previously freed hand, and as he speaks he pulls his hand back around to stare at whatever stickiness is now on his fingers. A look of faint disgust briefly passes over his face, unassociated with the conversation, "Seems like a lot of downsides and disappointment." He doesn't seem to be talking about himself anymore, but more of a mass statement, though it doesn't really. "Safer to think the worst and then be pleasantly surprised in the end." "It certainly is, and yet, I offered you a knot. I allowed you to Stand," replies Lilah slowly, watching Kaelige even as he discovers that stickiness. "And now you'll be Standing for Eliyaveith's children." The goldrider takes a step forward to the Candidate, into the young man's personal space as she drops her voice to a murmur, "If you push me, I will withdraw that faith and the knot that came with it. Don't cuss in front of children; watch your attitude in public and especially around Hattie. That bar should at least be low enough." Kaelige lets his hands fall back to his sides, whatever the material in his hair was, forgotten for the moment. Her warnings- no, threats- and her closeness to him at least put aside the joker. He stands still as she presses both word distance, bluegreen eyes oddly gentle in light of the situation. "And I will say..." He starts, allowing a beat to pass to accentuate his words, "That it means everything." There's no joking in that, no hint of the humor he'd laced everything else with. His voice is calm, soft, almost charming, his lips barely lifted in a suggestive smile, "Your gold's clutch is more important to me than I can really explain." His volume is lowered as he moves just slightly into her bubble, almost touching, almost in a whisper, but somehow not threatening. "I'll do what I'm asked to do," He says, hushed, "but you can't hold me to being excited about doing laundry." Lilah's lips twist into the hint of a smile, and she answers, "It is important to me, too. At least we are in agreement there." The goldrider even lifts a hand to Kaelige's dark hair, picking briefly at the stickiness there in an oddly maternal gesture that seems so at odds with the normal demeanor of the woman. "Faranth, I don't care how you feel or what you do in private. Just put on a good show." Kaelige watches her expression as she touches his hair, the gentleness truly at odds with his normal childish push back of anything and everything. "I heard your conversation." He skips over putting on a good show to reflect on something he derives as more important. "In the galleries." Kael clarifies, his voice seems older, aged. But how could he have? He'd been seen to go into the tunnels, into the crowds coming and going. "Are you really concerned?" Is he really concerned about her feelings? "Yes," answers Lilah truthfully, plainly, as she rubs her fingers together to get rid of the stickiness that now clings there, only a lingering thoughtfulness in dark eyes to be found by Kaelige's study. "We can't handle any more bad news. Not the Weyr, not Eliyaveith. And Eliyaveith-- can't afford any more mistakes, can she?" "No, we can't." Kaelige's inclusion of himself seems heavier than one might expect, but the light smile on his face might be meant to be comforting. Eyes narrow lightly, "But she is young. Youth make mistakes." He pauses, his word choice very intentional, breaking eye contact suddenly to turn from her, his head dipped down. His attention falls to his gloves which he pulls at the rims of, tugging them on tighter. "Even if something happens, you won't abandon her. Surely the Weyr wouldn't abandon her- she's too important for that- even if it does question her." While that should be a question since he doesn't know all the ins and outs of Weyr politics, he decides against it for the light of positivity. "Don't worry so much." He glances at her, a simple wink with that. "I will keep that in mind," is actually Lilah's answer to that, though the goldrider continues as a matter of course, "But you will need to worry more." And that seems to make do as her goodbye, since she doesn't offer any before she turns on a heel to stride away, abandoning whatever reason had her coming to the nursery in the first place. |
Comments
Kaleidoscope (00:36, 10 June 2015 (EDT)) said...
Haha and awww. I loved seeing Lilah dress Kaelige down, so rightly. I loved Kaelige's behavior with the kids and then speaking with some degree of belonging to the Weyr/the clutch, even if he has probably nefarious reasons~ Fun scene! <3
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