Difference between revisions of "Logs:Poor Plan, Poor Protection"

While Tayte has been "thinking about it," she's been avoiding H'vier except for late night visits once every few days to "tide him over." A woman as experienced with H'vier as Tayte knows better than to expect him to keep a promise of monogamy if he's not getting any. Or at least once every few days had been the plan, but last night her plans had been interrupted by the bronzerider showing up at her door. They hadn't made it to the bed. Really, they barely made it past the door. And then tonight. Tonight. Tayte couldn't stand the thought of being alone. So she arranged for Vali to stay elsewhere for the night and got a ride to Reisoth's ledge. No one was home, so she stoked the fire in the hearth and settled in to wait. He had to come back sometime, right? Of course, the last time she thought this, he came back with someone... But tonight he had Tahvra, so surely he wouldn't come back with someone else... Right??

The only person H'vier comes back to his weyr with is the person he's supposed to be coming back with. Tahvra is getting a little fussy, but maybe that's just because of the hour. Or maybe she doesn't like flying that much. Possibly more likely is that she misses her mother and H'vier won't let her keep pulling on his beard. The bronzerider is trying to comfort the girl, bouncing her gently as he walks inside. He's clearly surprised, though not guiltily so, to find the vintner here. "Tayte? What're you doing here? I thought I was supposed to come to you."

Tayte is... jumpy. When the footsteps come, she's up from her seat where she was working on one of the knitting projects she left in his weyr. Carelessly, the project was left where she'll not likely easily find her place again. There's no answer for H'vier just now, but instead she's moving to him, to them, pressing herself up against the man and burying her face against the little girl. "I missed you both," comes the answer though perhaps it doesn't ring quite entirely true, "so much. I couldn't wait. I got finished and I just-- came up. I hope that's alright." Ocean eyes turn up to H'vier's face and there's a very vulnerable quality to them.

When Tayte ends up pressed against them, H'vier has an arm moving reflexively to wrap around her. He'd really like to think she missed him, so he doesn't comment on the validity of that claim. "Of course it is. You can come here whenever you want." Because he definitely isn't bringing any women here for her to find. "Is everything okay?" His hand moves from being wrapped around her to rise up and brush her cheek with the backs of his fingers.

Here is Tayte's smile, the fake one. The one covering stress, and distress. H'vier probably knows that one too, but she'll use it anyway, "Fine." The tone is cheery. "How'd she do tonight?" The quick subject change comes with the woman making exaggerated smiling faces at Tavi and offering up her hands to take the child if H'vier's willing to surrender her.

He's not buying it. But given their relationship of late, H'vier is a little hesitant to press for details. They might involve him in ways he doesn't want to fight about, after all! "She was great. She doesn't seem to like beer, though." He sounds serious, but he's probably kidding. Maybe. But he shrugs as he lets Tayte take Tavi from him. What're you gonna do?

"What?" Tayte freezes, mid-motion of drawing Tavi to her. "You didn't." And then, wide-eyed looking up at him, "Tell me you didn't." Way to rile the protective instincts! Maybe it's because she's already so far onto the edge.

Will it help if he laughs? It doesn't really matter because he does it anyway. "Faranth, woman. Of course I didn't. Give me some credit." For all his shittiness at being a significant other, he hasn't been a completely horrible father. Mostly. Even if he does generally seem to favor Tavi over Vali in ways that are sometimes obvious. "So are you gonna tell me what's bothering you?"

The laughter makes Tayte exhale heavily. The mother draws her daughter close, hugging her and turning, moving toward the bed to settle in with her and fix the fussing the easiest way there is. So there's no answer for him until Tavi is at the breast. Then Tayte lifts her eyes toward him, "If something happened to me, you'd take care of Tahvra, wouldn't you? And you'd let her see Vali? You'd make sure they had a relationship?"

When Tayte lifts her eyes to him, his are unsurprisingly focused around Tahvra's general vicinity. But the question apparently trumps even boobs, so H'vier's lift to hers after a moment. "Sure. Of course. But what do you mean if something happened to you? What could possibly happen to you?" It's not like vintners lead particularly dangerous lives.

"Nothing," she smiles. It's fake. It's so fake it's not even a good version of fake. "I just, you know, got to thinking while I was unpacking, and I needed to hear you say it." La la la, nothing going on. Tayte looks down at Tahvra.

"Bullshit." That's what H'vier thinks about that, eyeing Tayte sternly before he's turning to pour himself a drink from his assortment of alcohol that just doesn't match the vintner's.

Tayte blushes. How she could expect not to be found out is anyone's guess. Maybe she really is just that blonde. "I think-- maybe we should move in with you." Is that enough to distract him from what she's not saying?

H'vier turns back at that, drink in hand and the bottle he didn't put away forgotten about. It's a successful distraction. "Really?" He shouldn't question it. He should just grab it and run. The bronzerider makes his way back to the bed, waiting to react too much in case this is some weird, cruel joke.

"Yeah, maybe." She did remember to say maybe the first time, right? "Maybe we could just try it out at first and see how it goes?" Which isn't committing so much, so that's better, right? Tayte looks away from the bronzerider and to the little girl in her arms. "Tavi should be with you more often."

Right. Maybe. Did he hear that the first time? Probably. But not as an actual maybe. "Well. Sure. I think that sounds great. You should both be with me more often." And Yvalia, too, probably, but he must forget to mention her. H'vier leans over to kiss Tayte's forehead once he's next to the bed again, then sits down on the edge. "Suppose if we're just trying it, I shouldn't ask to move into a bigger place yet." It's sort of a question but not really, feeling her out more than anything.

She leans into the kiss lingering on a lean even after the kiss is over. "I suppose that would depend on how comfortable you and Reisoth are here." Tayte's answer isn't very telling. "Shouldn't a wingsecond have a weyr with a little more space?"

H'vier's gaze drifts down to where Tahvra is nursing. But he's listening. Well enough to know she isn't really answering him. "A wingsecond doesn't need any more space than any other rider." Considering he's the sort of man that expects special treatment because of the color of his dragon, that's pretty mild. "But I'd like us to be comfortable. You won't be able to move much into here."

Curses! Caught. Tayte looks uneasy. "I don't know, then." Her gaze sweeps the weyr. "Comfortable is good. But..." Maybe she can't think of a but. "Maybe you should? If we try it and don't like it, you'll still have Tavi some nights as she gets older. Unless you wouldn't like that?" The blonde is chewing her lip. She seems to want to stick a toe in the water and leave it there a while instead of just jumping in.

He's looking at Tayte now. H'vier is sometimes overbearing and oblivious. But right now he's not missing Tayte's uncertainty. "Are you sure this is what you want to do? I can wait until you're sure, baby. I'm not going anywhere." He glances down at Tahvra again, but this time it's actually at her and not just her mother's boobs. He lifts a hand to brush his fingers against her hair affectionately. "Of course I want her some nights."

Damnit, why can't this be one of those times? Tayte can never catch a break. "I'm sure. Okay. Yes, let's do this." That's an awful lot of agreement for someone who doesn't sound happy. Maybe it's because she knows K'del will disown her.

His arm lifts to wrap around Tayte's shoulders, hugging her against his side as he kisses whatever part of her head is easiest to get to. "It will be great. You'll see. Everything will be great." H'vier is optimistic.

If only Tayte shared that optimism. Fortunately, since he's kissing the top of her head and she's pulled against him that way, he can't see the flicker of inward dread that comes onto her face. Did she just let one fear push her into something equally fearsome in a whole different way? "I think I ought to keep my room in the crafters complex, though. You know, for quick changes between vintner duties and the bar, in case I can't get a ride up." This is added quickly, and the look that she gives him when she finally does raise her eyes is oddly guilty.

"Sure. Don't see any problem with you keeping it for a while. If you want to keep it longer, though, maybe you should move into one of the smaller rooms." Which, of course, will make it hard for Tayte to move back too easily. Win-win for Havi. "You shouldn't have a problem getting a ride, though. That's what elevator duty is for."

"Right, but rides take time, and the room is on my way from the workroom to the bar and on the ground floor. I'll never get something as convenient. Besides, where will you go to crash if you get too drunk to ride Reisoth up to the weyr?" That's legit, right? Tayte moves away from him, but only so she can lay the now sleeping Tahvra on the bed and gesture toward his couch so they don't disturb her with continued conversation.

If H'vier is starting to look a little dubious about this whole thing, that's probably because he is. He rises to move, though, grabbing the bottle he'd used to pour the drink he hasn't really touched so he can take them both to the couch and settle down. He waits for Tayte to join him before, "I've survived turns and turns of getting up to my weyr without having somewhere on the ground to run to." He finishes off what's in his glass in short order before pouring himself more and setting the bottle aside. "If you need somewhere to keep hiding from me, then fine. Do whatever you're comfortable with, Tayte." He's sounding a little less thrilled. But only a little.

"Yes, but you have a dragon. You don't have to wait for the elevator dragon to come down from wherever it is and then have them wait for you to change because you don't have a way to ask them to come back. What if I get stranded up here-- or wherever you find for us," since clearly that's his job, "and I miss my shift? Is Reisoth going to let himself be available to us-" she and the girls, "-whenever we need him? And how would he even know." Tayte moves from where she settled initially beside him into his lap; it's a tried and true distraction tactic. "I'm not trying to hide from you, Havi." Then, "This is all just moving quickly. Two sevens ago I had my heart broken, now I'm back with you and it's confusing." Because she's dealing with feelings; something they both do exceptionally well.

"You aren't going to get stranded anywhere." H'vier seems quite sure of that, anyway. "Maybe I should find you a firelizard. Then you can just have it bother Reisoth whenever you need him. And he's not busy with me." Whenever he wouldn't ignore something as simple as a firelizard, anyway. The move into his lap is distracting. But not enough to keep him from asking, "If it's moving too quickly, why are you in such a hurry to move in with me now?"

"Does your dragon even like me?" It's a good window to ask the nagging question. For all that Tayte is probably hoping that's a distraction along with her subtle shift of position, she does give him a truthful (if you don't count omissions) answer, "You make me feel safe, Havi. And I love you."

"Sure, he does," says H'vier a little too quickly to maybe be entirely true. "I mean, he doesn't not like you. But it's Reisoth. He barely tolerates me. He knows you're important to me. And he likes-- What? No. I'm not telling her that." The last is said in the general direction of the ledge, louder but probably not loudly enough to bother Tahvra. "Anyway, see? He's fine." He sets his glass aside so he can wrap both arms around Tayte. "I want us to work, Tayte."

And now Tayte wants to know, "What aren't you telling me?" She eyes H'vier. Not the ledge-direction, H'vier. It's a stern sort of look. One of her best 'Mother' looks. It relents a bit as she says softly, "We're working on that. But it takes time to mend a heart." She cants her head to one side, "Doesn't it yours as well?" Because wouldn't it have hurt him that she slept with someone else? Albeit someone not at all threatening to what they have.

"It's nothing. He just-- He thinks you're a 'stabilizing influence.'" Quoting the dragon himself. Romantic, right? "He thinks you're good for me. Us." Possibly because she keeps taking him back after he screws up. The rest? "I was angry, Tayte. But I dealt with it. I'm fine now. And I know you didn't fuck someone else because you don't love me."

It's probably true that if H'vier isn't wasting his arguably limited brain power on finding something living with tits to stick his dick into that he has that much more to put toward useful pursuits like... not becoming Weyrleader, again. Tayte looks thoughtful at what's relayed. "So he doesn't hate me?" She feels the need to clarify this before saying, "If anything, I slept with him because I love you. He's hardly my type, really." Because Oliwer is gay, oh, and nice! Although one might argue that nice and uninterested is up her alley along with too interested and mean.

"He doesn't hate you," agrees H'vier with a smile that maybe shouldn't flicker into existence. But it's gone just as quickly. "Well, he won't ever be touching you again, anyway." He makes it sound like it's Oliwer that would be trying to make it happen again. "And you'll never have a reason to bother with anyone else."

"Except if you don't happen to find your way back after the next gold flight." Tayte answers with a sigh. "Then Faranth only knows who I'll end up in bed with next." Maybe that's meant to be motivation for him to never not find his way back to her again. "The man I was with isn't interested in me anyway," maybe she doesn't realize she told him Oliwer's name; she was distraught at the time. "He didn't even want to go a second round. I'm sure yours was much more satisfying." That displeases her, of course, and now she does move to try to slide off his lap.

"I will. I promise." Promises have always worked out so well for them. But H'vier always does sound like he means them when he says them. "The man you were with is a weak, soft fag. I don't know what you saw in him in the first place. Even if you are damned gorgeous, I'm surprised he could get it up." H'vier looks a little disgusted just thinking about it, but not distracted enough to try keeping her in his lap. "All I remember is that it wasn't as good as you." Eh? Ehhh? That's good, right?

The fact that her attempt to slap him is delayed is probably only because she's so shocked. Whether the strike lands or not (she's not really in a good position for it, to be fair), there's a rebuking delivery of his name, "Havi!"

That he doesn't react that much to getting slapped might only be because she didn't hit him hard enough to warrant a bigger reaction. "What?" It's asked like H'vier has absolutely no idea why she's upset.

"He's a perfectly nice man who was very kind to me when you were being a complete asshole! Don't talk about him like that." Or at all. "And how would you even know what he's like?" It occurs to Tayte to demand as she continues to try to work her way off of his lap.

H'vier still isn't entirely willing to let Tayte out of his lap. But since they're in his weyr and there isn't really anywhere for her to go, he doesn't force her to stay there. "I met him. Had a nice chat." That's all.

"You met him?!" Her surprised exclamation is enough to wake Tahvra, and the dirty look Tayte gives H'vier is definitely 'Now look what you did!' "What did you do to him?" She demands further before turning and heading for the bed and the now crying baby.

"Why do you assume I did something to him?" H'vier sounds hurt and offended. Sort of. "I just gave him a reason not to let it happen again. He's fine." Because why wouldn't he be fine after a nice, civil conversation? H'vier rises, too, after picking up his glass to take a healthy drink. Clearly his supervision will be helpful for making the baby stop crying.

"Because you're you, Havi!" Tayte sounds exasperated. "I didn't meet you yesterday. I gave my brother a hug and a kiss on the cheek and you wanted to break his nose. So, I'll ask you one more time," the hard edge to her voice is probably why Tavi is crying more, not less, as her mother rocks her. "What did you do to Oliwer?"

H'vier doesn't say anything immediately. But the hesitation, at least, probably suggests he might actually tell the truth when he does finally speak. "I told him that if he touches you again, I'd kill him. He started talking shit." That's right. Oliwer talking shit. "So I hit him. And then I left. That's it."

It's a good thing Tayte is holding Tahvra when he says this. Because otherwise, she'd probably hit him again, but harder. "Havier!!" Not Havi, not even H'vier, but the way his mother might have scolded him when he was young. It's counterproductive to settling Tahvra down, as she only cries harder; people are yelling, why? Why?! Tayte takes a second to calm herself so poor Tavi can be less scared and confused. "I came onto him. He probably didn't even want to sleep with me. If you wanted to hit someone over it, you should've hit me. If you ever touch him again, I will leave you forever." But apparently hitting her is okay. Oh, Tayte.

The bronzerider frowns at Tayte for upsetting Tahvra further. Maybe for her using the name that's no longer his, too. "If he didn't want to, he wouldn't have fucked you." That's just how men work, according to H'vier. "And if you ever fuck someone else again, it might be you I hit instead of them." Or in addition to. The way his voice has risen, a little angry now, is sure not to help calm their daughter.

Nevermind that she suggested it; him saying that has her going wide-eyed and moving to scramble off the side of the bed with Tahvra in arms. Her intention is to go for the ledge, not even thinking to get Tavi's winter gear or her own travelling cloak that might be sufficient for the both of them at least until they're on the ground. Hopefully Reisoth will be on the ledge, and hopefully he'll be amenable to providing them an escape. So, Tavi cries and Tayte panics. "This was a mistake. Forget I came up here. Forget I said anything," forget she agreed to anything. This is going well!

Reisoth is on the ledge, but right now he's mostly just blocking Tayte's path to actually get too far onto it. It's not threatening, at least, so there's that. But he is watching the woman with an odd curiosity whirling in his dark eyes. "Tayte," H'vier sounds a little weary as he calls after the woman. "Stop being stupid and get back in here. Please. You're going to make our daughter sick."

Tayte, in one of her possibly less stupid moves, doesn't go back, as requested, but rather turns imploring ocean eyes up to the dragon, "Please, Reisoth. Take us down?" She certainly has noticed that he's blocking her way, but maybe she thinks he can be reasoned with.

That's okay, H'vier is perfectly capable of coming out to the ledge. When he does, he's carrying both Tayte's cloak and Tahvra's winter things. He seems to intend on putting the former around both of them. Reisoth doesn't respond to Tayte with anything but a blink, and he still makes no motion to allow her to mount. "You could jump," notes the bronzerider, "But I wouldn't recommend it. Put this on and you can go." See, he's reasonable.

Now he's reasonable. Tayte turns, putting her back to Reisoth, the lesser evil, arms curled protectively around her daughter as if he might hit Tayte now for good measure. At his words, her arm extend as though to take the items from him, nevermind that there's no way she can carry it all like that and the baby.

H'vier might be reasonable but he looks far from happy. Fortunately there's only dim light to see his face by. "Put it on," he repeats, voice a little cooler. Reisoth is silent behind Tayte except for the rustle of his wings against his sides.

Tayte can officially be termed over-reacting when she takes a step back into Reisoth when confronted by that cooler tone.

"You're being foolish," H'vier tells her in no uncertain terms. He gives up trying to help Tayte into her cloak, dropping both that and Tahvra's things on the ledge before he's moving closer to trying pulling his daughter out of Tayte's grasp.

Yes, yes she is... but not so foolish as to hurt Tahvra. So, at least she seems to trust him that much, relinquishing the little one to her father. Then she's crouching to sweep up the cloak, not rising again as she pulls the thing around her shoulders.

To his credit, H'vier doesn't just turn around to take Tahvra back into the weyr. Maybe it has something to do with the brief rumble that rises up out of Reisoth's chest. And maybe it's the way the bronze keeps staring at his rider that makes H'vier say, "You know I wouldn't hurt you. Not really." Other than her heart, evidently. And if he got angry enough.

"Wouldn't you?" Tayte asks, slowly reaching for Tahvra's winter gear.

"Have I ever hurt you before?" Physically, anyway. H'vier probably means physically.

"Have I ever given you reason to?" More importantly, would there, could there ever be a reason to?

"You fucked another man, Tayte," is H'vier's quick response, angry in a way he has no real right to be considering he was with some woman before that. "And I wanted to do a lot worse that hit him once." Which may not actually be helping his point much.

"After you fucked another woman!" Tayte riles. "Thereby making null and void any promises we made to one another." Yep, still his fault. Tahvra's still crying. Tayte moves to H'vier but only because she has to put the babe's winter gear on. "Don't get a bigger weyr. We're not safe with you-" at least she corrects herself here, "I'm not." Which was the whole point for her, shh, don't tell Havi!

"You know what? Fuck you." Maybe the crying baby is getting to him. H'vier helps as well as he can to get Tahvra's gear on, but he's obviously pissed off at her mother. So once it's situated, he says, "Get out."

"Gladly!" Tayte answers, moving to nimbly sweep Tahvra out of H'vier's arms and go to Reisoth. If the dragon will oblige her, she'll start climbing through the sob that wracks her chest.

H'vier lets Tayte take their daughter and he watches as she goes to Reisoth. The bronze lowers himself down to help make it easier for Tayte to mount with the child in hand, but his rider makes no motion to assist them.

She doesn't need him. Not even when her foot slips a little on her way up. She perseveres. Then they are mounted, then they are buckled, then they are ready to go. Tayte keeps her eyes averted, but there are tears in them. She hushes her daughter, though likely the smooth flight of the bronze will do more for Tavi than either of her parents since the yelling began.

There's no averting of H'vier's eyes. That's just not him. He watches all the while with a stoney sort of expression and probably doesn't turn back into his weyr until Reisoth has dropped gently off of their ledge. The bronze takes the pair on an easy trip to the crafter complex, assuming that's where she'll want to go. Once he's landed, Reisoth lowers himself carefully to let Tayte dismount, head turned just enough to watch her with one big eye.

The assumption is a good one. Tayte's started to pull herself together on the ride down, so she is more careful and less tearful in dismounting. Tavi, lulled by the motion of flight and tired from her own tears, has fallen asleep once more. So Tayte lingers a moment to say, "Thank you, Reisoth." She starts to turn away but then abruptly turns back, saying, "My best friend thinks I am crazy for loving him. Some days I wonder if he isn't right. But you must see what I do in him, mustn't you? I'm not crazy, am I?"

When mother and daughter have dismounted, Reisoth's wings settle against his sides and he lingers to see them inside so he hasn't moved at all when Tayte turns back. But her questions fall on silence. The big bronze blinks slowly at the woman, eyes whirling a soft shade of green in their dark depths. After a few moments, his head shifts closer and he sighs. Maybe it's sympathy.

It's a moment on Tayte's end before she offers up a hand. She doesn't seem to expect much; but some dragons like that kind of thing. It's not that she's never touched Reisoth, just never 'just because.' This isn't really lacking in reason either, but it's not apparent anyway.

Reisoth breathes against Tayte's hand for several moments. Then he's tilting his head just so and leaning to press his angular muzzle gently against it. He keeps his head still, waiting for Tayte to draw away rather than withdrawing himself. The barely audible rumble he finally offers isn't threatening but instead somewhat apologetic.

She waits, patient; not one to force him, but there's a look of relief and a flash of gratitude when he finally does. Her hand's tension softens against his muzzle, though she doesn't scratch because who knows what exactly does Reisoth like. Instead she simply stays a five count and whispers, "Thank you," before taking three steps back. She turns and moves toward the crafter's caverns, keeping Tavi close as she escapes the cold and hopefully this wretched, wretched night.

The bronze only moves once Tayte is heading toward the complex, long wings mantling while he tracks her progress until she disappears. It's not until then, and maybe a few more minutes beyond, that Reisoth is back in the air to return to his ledge and lifemate. Someone has to deal with H'vier.