Difference between revisions of "Logs:Too Nice"

Weyrleader Complex, High Reaches Weyr

Only about a man's height from the ground, this low ledge is wide and flat, reached by a set of timeworn steps that hug the cliff face. As the ledge stretches back away from the head of the stairs, it simultaneously broadens out over the bowl and tunnels into the mountain to become a sort of antechamber, from which a passageway winds back to the Weyrwoman's weyr, the council room, the records room and the hatching sands. A small round table is set in a shallow alcove here, surrounded by four chairs that provide a waiting area for those seeking one of the weyrleaders. Another short flight of stairs leads upward from the tapering end of the ledge to the Weyrleader's quarters, while others lead to the further recessed junior queens' weyrs. While it's hard to get a good look at the lake from here, the view does encompass the majority of the bowl and the comings and goings across its span.

Iskiveth's little escapades in the feeding grounds haven't really stopped Teris from continuing using the far more private bathing chambers of one of the weyrs designed for the juniors. This time it's quiet a bit later, however, and the young queen is fast asleep in the weyrling barracks where she's still under the supervision of the weyrlingmasters' dragons. Her rider is done with her bath now, making her way quietly back down the stairs leading from one of those weyrs. She has a small bag slung over one shoulder that probably has everything a girl like her needs to take a decent, completely private bath.

Whether K'del's timing is good or not is a matter subject to personal opinion. As Teris makes her way down from the empty weyr, he is making his way in from the bowl, his meandering steps suggesting he's been at the Snowasis, and is at least a little bit drunk. He stops, short, as he spies the weyrling, and uses one hand to brace himself against the nearest wall as he blinks at her. "Nice bath?" His tone is drawling enough to suggest that, yes, he really has been drinking.

Fortunately the dark makes the initial glare that Teris shoots at the intruder of her privacy, even if she's got to expect this sort of thing now that she's left the weyr, a little less obvious. "Yes," she says, unapologetic, and continues her way down the stairs which brings her closer to the bronzerider. "You've been drinking." She sounds disapproving. That probably isn't terribly surprising, though, her sounding like that.

"Problem with that?" wonders K'del, rather more sing-song than he usually is. Must have been some night. Probably, half of Avalanche is wandering home like this. "Shoulda used my bath, since I wasn't around. Bigger than theirs, probably." 'Theirs' being the junior weyrs, presumably. He takes a few steps forward, too, after she does, still holding on to the wall. "So long as you enjoyed yourself, I guess." Beat. "Did y-- no, wait, you said that already. Nice bath."

"Yes," Teris returns, keeping a certain distance from him though not an awkward one. "But that's your business, not mine," she adds with one of those trademarked fake smiles. "I'm not going to use your bath. Doesn't matter if you're there or not. I can use a bath where no one lives there to hold it against me at some point." Because this is evidently what she expects K'del to do at some point.

K'del frowns. "My brain's kinda fuzzy at this point, but... why would I hold it against you? If I said yes?" He seems genuine about this, even rubbing at his temple as though this will help him understand better. It doesn't seem to do any good. He lets out a long breath, though, and slides back so that his whole back is lounging against the wall behind him. His eyes close. "Never really get how you think, Teris."

"You just would. Eventually. You're all the same," Teris says, the last a little more quiet than the rest like it was a thought that maybe wasn't supposed to be said out loud. "None of you give something for nothing," she continues on, giving him a critical sort of once over and perhaps attempting to assess just how much he's had to drink. She lifts a hand to run through and fluff out her still damp hair. "There's nothing to get."

"What, men?" K'del snorts, opening his eyes again to fasten a glassy-eyed gaze on the weyrling. Evidently, his hearing is still pretty good, even in this state. "Not as bad as you think I am, Teris. All talk. Don't push you, don't force you, don't-- really ask for anything, except maybe your friendship." The slurring makes this conversation oh-so-much more fun. "Anyway. Of course there's stuff to get. There's stuff to get about /everyone/."

"I know," Teris admits after a span of silence that could just as easily have been followed by her turning to continue down the rest of the stairs into the bowl. "I know you've been... decent." But it somehow doesn't really seem to set her completely at east with that particular subject. She moves again, a little closer, after glancing out toward the general direction of the barracks, and she shifts around to press her back to the wall before sliding down slowly. "What do you want to get?" she asks.

"/You/." K'del seems to register how that sounds a few seconds after he says it, and amends, hastily, "I mean... what you want out of life. Why you feel the way you do about things. What matters to you. You're eni-- eni-- /enigmatic/." And he's drunk. Did we mention that? He turns his head to look at her again, his gaze more searching than imploring. "I dunno. You confuse me, is all. You're not like most girls."

Teris seems to understand that he probably doesn't mean that the way it sounds like he means it and she smiles in some small amount of amusement when he amends himself. "Do you know what you want out of life?" she asks, which she seems even more interested in knowing the answer to in this somewhat drunken state of his. "What are most girls like? Don't think I'm really /that/ different, am I?"

K'del sucks in a long, low breath. "When I was fifteen, I wanted to prove I was worth something, that I was special. That was all I wanted. Now--" He tilts his head upwards to stare off into the distant sky. "Dunno. Scares me, maybe. What I do with myself when I'm not Weyrleader anymore. In the meantime... sex. Some booze, sometimes. Pretty easy to please. /Most/ girls, anyway, are easier to read. You're... you keep people away. Makes it harder."

"When I was fifteen, I think I wanted more or less the same thing," says the weyrling as though she's not entirely sure she's comfortable saying just that much. But it's possible the fact that K'del has had something to drink is making it easier for her. Or maybe it's just the whole everything else going on in her life right now making her defenses a little more thin. "Maybe you'll be Weyrleader for a long time, hmm? Especially if Iovniath has taken a liking to Cadejoth." There's a small snort of a laugh when he basically says he's like most guys but she doesn't point it out. "I wanted to be Headwoman at one point. But then I was Tiriana's assistant. And now... Now I really only have a couple paths ahead of myself, don't I?"

Her admission makes a light little smile spread across K'del's face; somehow, it seems to satisfy him immensely that, right here, is something they have in common. Or, at least, that's how he's reading that remark. "Maybe," he says of Iovniath and Cadejoth, though; "Reckon I'll spend my entire tenure waiting to be booted out. Hard thing about being Weyrleader-- you're easy to replace." He's silent after that, staring off into the distance for a handful of seconds before, slowly, "You'll be a Junior Weyrwoman. Maybe, one day, you'll be Weyrwoman. And... but life isn't all about your /job/. What else do you want from life? How do you feel about this whole Weyrwoman business?"

"At least you only need to worry about it every couple of turns," Teris is coming dangerously close to being reassuring at this point. "There aren't many other men that I can think of that I'd prefer in the position," she offers and even though it sounds like a compliment, it might not actually be. Not entirely. "My life has all been about my job," she tells him after that. "There isn't much... else." The last makes her think, shifting her bag to settle more carefully against her side. "Not very different from what I was doing, is it? There's just a dragon now. A stubborn, insufferable dragon. And a title. And I think that if I'm going to outrank the rest of the weyrlings soon enough, it might as well just start now. I don't see why they try to treat us all like equals."

K'del turns his head to blink owlishly at Teris, as though he can't quite believe she's being quite so almost-reassuring, and almost-complimentary. "Appreciate that," he tells her, apparently taking the comments at face value despite his initial disbelief. "Think that's kind of sad... not having life outside of work. Ought to. Need to get away from it sometimes. Everyone does." A few deep breaths - fresh air! clearing head! - later and he adds, "'cause you're a weyrling. You're all weyrlings. 'til you graduate, you rank the same. But don't worry... you'll get piles of extra work to deal with soon enough. Just to make it more fair. Unfair. Whatever." Beat. "Iskiveth seems like a lot of work."

"I don't," she counters, then shrugs. "I mean, it's not as though I've ever had a lot of friends or anything, you know? No reason not to work. Never really bothered me. But now they all seem to have friends and..." her voice trails off and Teris actually leans in closer, tilting her head like she might rest it on his shoulder if she can. "Soon enough," she repeats like that's not going to be soon enough. Leave it to her to be looking forward to that sort of work. Work that doesn't involve running laps around the bowl. "She is. I'm sorry she--" Beat. "We. No, I. I'm sorry I let her get out of hand. I've kept a close eye on her since."

Not only does K'del seem more than willing to let Teris put her head on his shoulder, he even draws his arm closer, apparently intent on draping it around her to give her a squeeze, and equally apparently, drunk enough that he doesn't let it hover warily first. "You've got me," he tells her, genuinely, letting that linger in the air before he adds, "I know. I'm sorry-- I was frustrated. /Do/ remember what it's like, when they're that young, and you're still trying to get the hang of it all. You will. It'll get easier. All of it."

Teris doesn't even protest this arm thing, comfortable perhaps in the simple safety of her knot and the moment. And maybe she does trust K'del a little more than she allows herself to admit. "Thanks," she murmurs back, her tone vaguely uncertain, but then easier, "I hope you're right. She can get some of the others revved up and she just... feeds off of it. Is it normal for her to be so... bold, I guess, do you think?" Teris doesn't lift her head but she does tilt it up slightly to look at the bronzerider.

Giving her a little squeeze - which is definitely not a grope - K'del tilts his head down to meet Teris' gaze. "Every dragon is different," he tells her, with a shrug of his opposite shoulder so that he doesn't, in the process, dislodge her. "She is who she is. But... she's certainly more bold than most little dragons I've ever seen. Reckon she'll probably always be a handful, but... you're strong. Pretty sure if anyone can handle her, it'll be you. And if all else fails, get Iovniath involved. Or Cadejoth. We'll help."

Suffering from intoxication or not, Teris smiles at the man she leans against as though what he's saying is exactly the sort of thing she needed to hear. From somebody. Anybody. And, with any luck, maybe he'll go get more drunk and forget it ever happened. "I will. She seems to like Cadejoth. Even if he doesn't follow along so readily as some of the others." Which makes a fond little smile pull at the blonde's lips.

Oh, no. K'del has been waiting far too long to get stuff out of Teris for this to go forgotten. Mostly. Probably. Who knows how drunk he /really/ is. His expression is reassuring, anyway, as he says, approvingly, "Good. I'm glad. You're allowed to ask for help, after all... we all need it, sometimes." More ruefully, he adds, "Hope she doesn't turn him around eventually. But... he's been more serious, recently. Less happy puppy and more... I dunno. Anyway. Maybe he'll stick with that, and be really helpful. I hope." Because that sounds /so/ confident.

"I don't like to," she says because it wasn't already plainly obvious that Teris doesn't like asking for help. She does lift her head properly finally and her hand moves back up to fluff out her damp hair that's chilled by the night air. She doesn't seem cold, though, at least. "At least maybe he could add some reason to her mad ideas. All I could get out of her about Szadath made it seem like he thought it was as great of an idea as she did." Beat. "Anyway, you were headed home, weren't you? Milani isn't waiting for you, is she?"

For the moment, K'del's arm stays where it is, despite Teris' lifted head. Quietly, he says, "I know." Silent for a few moments more, he then adds, "Hope so. Think so. He hates the idea of anyone getting hurt, at least... and well. We'll see." His gaze shifts towards the stairs that lead to his weyr, and he shrugs. "Not sure, she might be. Told her I'd be in late, whether she wanted to come or not. You're not keeping me, regardless." But after another squeeze, his arm drops drop away: he's not going to keep her from going, either, if that's what she wants.

"Sometimes I think you're too nice," Teris tells him and it might seem like it's kind of out of the blue even though she's pretty much told him that before. "You should go see," she continues, leaning to nudge herself against his shoulder before she's shifting forward to rise. "I should go get some rest before she decides to wake up and figure it's time to eat or something." She draws in a breath that recomposes herself, then leans down to pick up her bag. More or less back to the Teris that everyone doesn't really know or love all that much. "Thanks for... talking, though. I appreciate it."

Shrugging, K'del says, genuinely, "I care." About Teris. Probably about other people, too, but right now, she's the important one. He stays where he is, watching as she collects her things, then gives a short, sharp nod. "Guess I should. And you should. Good night, Teris. And-- you're welcome. Any time. Seriously. You know where I live, where I hang out." He's almost /too/ eager to help, the way he says that. But there's restraint in his expression, and in his stance, too, so maybe it balances out. Maybe. Anyway: he's drunk. That kind of makes a difference. "See you later."

Teris smiles, looks at him like she might say something else, then lets out a sigh. "Good night, K'del," is what she ends up saying and then she's turning to continue down the stairs to the bowl and finish her trek back toward the barracks. Sleep might not come all that easily after all this sharing but at least there won't be anymore sharing.

K'del watches her go, still leaning up against the wall until she's well and truly out of sight. Then, and only then, does he wobble himself away from it to stagger up the stairs towards home. And bed. Where... well, being realistic, he probably won't have any problems sleeping at all. Maybe it's worth noting, though, that he smiles as he goes.