Difference between revisions of "Logs:Two Redheads, Two Whiskeys"

>---< Weyrlingmaster's Office, High Reaches Weyr >---------------------------<

  Made private by a thick, insulated door that blocks out most of the noise 
  from the barracks beyond, the weyrlingmaster's office is a comfortable,   
  quiet alcove. Instead of an imposing desk, much of the room is taken up by
  a large round table, with five chairs spaced around its edges. Beneath it 
  is a square rug pieced together from twisted rags that stretches from wall
  to wall, just barely leaving room for the long bookcases and filing       
  cabinets. On the back wall, a geometric tapestry and blue and black is    
  hung, providing both insulation and decoration.

True to his word, K'zin brings two bottles of whiskey with him, first thing in the morning. At least that much is a good way to start the day, even if the apologetic expression he wears when he knocks and slips into the Weyrlingmaster's office is reason enough to understand that they were brought for a reason.

The door to Quinlys' office is open, and the weyrlingmaster has obviously only recently arrived herself: she's busy making klah over the little hearth, her cheerful hum immediately interrupted by that expression, the one she sees as she turns at the sound of his knock. "K'zin," she says, after a heavy moment's pause. "What did you do."

"I made some mistakes," K'zin volunteers, his tone one of those obviously down-playing something that requires two bottles of whiskey. He crosses the room to open the drawer and neatly slide the whiskey bottles into their destined home there. "I talked to Yesia about mating flights," is a good place to start. "C'ris had to bail me out," is an honest way to end.

Quinlys does not, at least not yet, comment on the whiskey, or the way K'zin deals with it. It's probably a good thing it is too early in the morning to open it; certainly, the bluerider's gaze follows its path. "You'd better shut the door, sit down, and explain to me exactly what you said," she says, getting up from her position next to the hearth and sitting down at the table instead.

There's a quiet sigh as K'zin moves to do as instructed; he can't have expected less, but he still needs to express his resignation somehow. Once the door is closed, he turns and takes the seat he's no doubt expected to, his hands finding each other between his knees, shoulders slightly hunched. "It wasn't... the best talk that could have been." He starts, as though he hasn't rehearsed what to tell Quinlys. "I mean, I gave her the information, as best I could, perhaps a little out of order and she said she didn't know about-- well, the avians and the vtols. And I recommended she find someone to try things out with, of both genders, to not have confusion during a flight, and-- well," his cheeks are reddening under his dusky skin. "That's where things went awry."

"She... tried to seduce you in the training cavern?" Because, surely, that's where such a lesson would have taken place! Quinlys' expression has darkened, shadows crossing her face and showing every inch of her opinion on this story thus far.

"Well, no. Not exactly." K'zin answers the bluerider, looking increasingly uncomfortable, sitting back in the chair so his arms can curl protectively around his chest. "We were in her weyr," is said as though it shouldn't carry as much weight as it does. "I wanted her to feel comfortable," is added in a floundering yet defensive way.

A long, long pause follows. "And it never occurred to you that that might be... too intimate a location?" Quinlys' tone is bland. "It's not as though they have to happen in the training cavern, shells, but... I'm going to assume C'ris' inclusion in this story means you did not actually sleep with her."

"What?!" K'zin might have an answer for Quinlys about what did or did not occur to him about the appropriateness of locations. "Shells no. Do you really think I'd still be breathing if I'd slept with Yesia and went home to Telavi?" His brows lift; evidently, K'zin has faith in his girlfriend's appropriate showing of temper. "No," in case he needs to say it again, "C'ris and I decided we should have a signal - in case things went badly with one of the weyrlings, so the other could come, and gives each other an excuse to leave." At least they weren't planning on claiming natural disaster. "So I called him, and he came," simple. "We left." Then, frowning, "I left my helmet there." ... "And goggles." ... "And gloves." Possibly also any kind of maturity or manhood he might've been entitled to claim before that night.

Quinlys' expression goes through stages as K'zin explains: acknowledgement, then horror, and then outright dismay. Finally, "You... had a signal. In case you needed rescuing. From a weyrling." Silence. "Did I not train you properly? Do you not remember how these things are supposed to go? Fuck, K'zin. Is there anything else?"

"I didn't ever have it cross my mind to try things out with J'vain when he talked to me about mating flights," K'zin offers in his defense, with wide brown eyes directed at the redhead. "Maybe if it were you, but even then, I'd never have-- and she--" Clearly the problem here is Yesia; how is that not obvious? He stops because he's flailing, mentally. A heavy sigh later, "Okay, how are these things supposed to go? I'll try to refrain from asking you to try things out with me in case I've been doing it wrong all these turns," the last is added in an attempt at humor, an attempt he's obviously not sure is a good idea.

Another time, Quinlys would probably be amused. Right now... She rubs at her temples, and surely at least part of that reaction very much is because of Yesia, but that's not the point, K'zin. "Never do it in their weyrs, if you can help it," is her first point. "It's their territory. Sure, they may feel comfortable... but sometimes that means they're too comfortable. You need to learn to judge it; if you think there's any chance of... that, never risk it." Beat. "And then you start with..." she waits, eyebrows raised.

K'zin looks all the guiltier for knowing he knows this stuff and having fucked it up so poorly. "Tell me what you know about flights," he offers to the bluerider as he's been taught. "I started with 'so where should I start,' which I see now is not as good. I just was-- It was my first time." His first time, and it was with Yesia.

Quinlys' nod is, at least, approving; her eyes acknowledge what K'zin has said and she says, "Right. No-- K'zin. It's fine. I should've had you do it with me the first time, or with Tela. With someone who knew what they were doing." And probably not with Yesia, this is true. "Right. So. And then you correct any glaring misconceptions they have. Go through it all, step by step: proddiness, whether or not the greens blood, the actual chase. Etiquette as a chaser. And then the sex. You did the right thing in suggesting she sleep with someone first. But..." But.

K'zin listens with an expression of contrition. "Honestly, Quin," he has for her by the end, with a helpless look, "If I'd thought there was any chance that was going to happen... The signal with C'ris was in case things got hopelessly awkward, not in case of that." Well, maybe also that, but. "She's always been-- fine with me. I've never noticed any weird behavior or--" He shrugs helplessly. Then again, this is K'zin, so would he really?

Dubious, Quinlys raises one finely-sculpted red eyebrow. "She's a teenage girl," she says, which is probably a kind way of putting it, if still accurate. "And you're a not unattractive young man who has just told her to go out and have sex. In her very own private weyr. It's-- well, it's a lesson you needed to learn, isn't it? You won't make that mistake again. Sit in on some of my lectures, if you like. Take some notes. And avoid going to their weyrs at all costs. Encourage them towards sex with their peers."

"Yes, ma'am," is crisp, even if K'zin does dimple incorrigibly at Quinlys at her fleeting acknowledgement of his good looks.

Dimples. No. No, no, no no. Telavi is allowed to dimple. K'zin? No. "You can lead PT this morning," the bluerider says, rising to her feet. "And next time..." beat. "Just don't let there be a next time. And just so you know: if you ever did sleep with a weyrling, flights excluded, you would never work for me again." Dismissed.

"I love Telavi," is the first thing out of K'zin's mouth. It just pops out there and there's a blush accompanying. It's probably supposed to be in answer to Quinlys' last words, but given the sense of dismissal, the bronzerider isn't inclined to linger to try to explain himself. "There won't be a next time," he does promise before turning for the door with a grin. PT is one of his favorite things! There are dimples for that too.

"Gross," says Quinlys, letting the word follow K'zin out the door. But... at least she's more-or-less smiling.