Logs:A Complicated Man
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| RL Date: 20 December, 2008 |
| Who: K'del, Milani |
| Type: [[Concept:{{{type}}}|{{{type}}}]] |
| What: K'del and Milani enjoy the fine weather - at least until the topic of N'thei comes up. |
| Where: Diving Cliff / Lake, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day {{{day}}}, Month {{{month}}}, Turn {{{turn}}} ({{{IP}}} {{{IP2}}}) |
| Mentions: A'son/Mentions, Leova/Mentions, N'thei/Mentions, Tiriana/Mentions |
| Diving Cliff, High Reaches Weyr Thrusting out from the shadow of the mountain, this long and narrow clifftop might once have been a ledge, but a pile of bramble-strewn, graffiti-chiseled boulders where a weyr's mouth would have been suggests a reason for its abandonment long ago. Though its views of the eastern bowl are grand, particularly the lake itself and the yawning air entrance to the hatching sands, its location makes the diving cliff unique: jutting some ten or twelve feet above the deepest part of the cool, clear lake. Especially in summertime, many climb up the narrow stairs to seek the thrill of a swift fall into the water, but those who just want to enjoy the view can take those same stairs back down: carved directly into the bowl wall, worn and crumbling and slick from use, but enough for the careful to get the job done. It's high summer at the Reaches, one of the Weyr's best seasons, with pleasantly warm days and nights without the super heat of Ista or Nerat but not quite as cool as Telgar. Milani's been out swimming this afternoon, taking a break from duty. Maybe there was actual diving earlier, right now, she's baking in the sun and enjoying a moment of quiet with no kids attempting the jump. There may be no kids attempting the jump, but there's definitely diving afoot - below, there's the great splash of something very large entering the lake, and the screams of laughter and surprise from those drenched by the assumed wave of water that results. From the sound of it, the waves continue, the games taking on new levels of fun with the addition of another. It's a few minutes after this that the dull thud of feet on steps announces the arrival of another - K'del, shirt and shoeless, and very, very damp. That splash cracks open one of Millie's eyes and she tilts a look downward, smirks for the bronze dragon in the water. It's not until the footsteps sound on the steps though that she pushes up onto her elbows and looks expectantly towards where K'del's head is bound to appear any second. And there he is. "Hey there, handsome," she says cheerily, "nice water isn't it?" And there it is - K'del's head, and his body attached to it, too. He looks amused, not to mention pleased, with the presence of Milani, and her greeting. "Nicer when you don't take an unscheduled bath," he tells her, managing to sound at least a little serious, despite the grin on his face, as he wanders over to sit down on the stone nearby, his legs dangling over the edge. "Afternoon off?" "Mmm, maybe so, though it's hot enough out today that it might just be refreshingly cool," Milani replies, grin still chipper. The headwoman nods in answer to that question. "Restday, actually, so the whole day, though I did do some work this morning. And you? Break in classes? Getting enough sleep?" K'del, stretching his toes out as though he intends to reach the water even from this height, laughs. "I'm not sure who was more surprised - me, or the kids in the water. Shouldn't have been me, though: Cadejoth's never one to land on the shore when the water's right there, and he /did/ want a swim. But it was pretty refreshing." And he's drying already, so, really, no damage done. "Ah, restdays. Good. They're--" he frowns. "Going easier on us, at the moment. Giving us a break, like." Beat. "Yes, I'm getting plenty of sleep, I promise, Mother." Milani eyes that stretch appreciatively and rolls up a to fill sit, scoots over by the weyrling and peeks downward again. "Good to know about him, when in doubt, the splash is Cadejoth," the headwoman says with a laugh and shifts her hand towards K'del's bare back, fingers aiming to walk up his spine slowly. "Good for that, means you'll have more energy for me," Millie continues teasingly, hesitates a moment, then leans in to drop a kiss to that nearer shoulder from behind. She edges around again, moving to join him in dangling legs over the edge. "Mother. Ha. Not after what /we've/ been up to, my friend." K'del's back goose-pimples under Milani's touch, his posture straightening as if by instinct. "Sounds about right," he tells her, grinning. "He's like a giant dog, sometimes. Likes playing with the kids." Which is what he's still doing, despite having been abandoned by his rider, letting the children climb atop him, and use him to jump into the water. There are more goose-pimples, for the kiss to his shoulder; as Milani joins him, Kas puts his hand upon her leg, just lightly. "I take your point," he laughs. "Of course. You ask about my sleeping habits only to make sure I won't doze off on you." Beat. "Kidding, kidding." "A doggie dragon," Milani echoes, deadpan and peeks downward, smiling. "He seems like a real sweetie, Kas. You're lucky." Her grin turns just a little wicked as she notes those goosebumps and leans into K'del's shoulder lightly. "I know," she answers that, shoots him a fond look. "Overall, because I care. But specifically because we're both a lot more fun when we're awake." Both of her arms lift above her head in a lazy stretch. "So. Is it all balancing out better? Life, the universe, Cadejoth." "Am I? He drives me nuts, Millie. And-- well, he's not exactly what I /expected/. But." He draws in a long breath, extending that 'but' into the kind of contented, adoring sigh that so many dragonriders have for their lifemates. "He's everything, I guess." As she leans against his shoulder, he lifts his hand, drawing it around so that he can rest it about her shoulder lightly, still leaving her the freedom for that stretch. His head turns, letting him watch her, and he grins, fond, and pleased. "A truer statement there never was. I-- think so. Better, at least a bit. When I first got here, to the weyr, I mean, I was obsessed with finding my purpose. Then, I got searched, and I decided I knew what it was - had to Impress that bronze dragon. And then I did, and it was nothing like I expected, and I wasn't even succeeding the way I expected to. And... Maybe I'm getting there, now." She just tilts her head a little, looks over at him, brows lifted just a little, listening, waiting for him to work through that. "Everything. Wow. Yeah, I mean, I get that. Well, not /really/ but, I see it enough," Milani claims with a laugh, scootches a little closer when his arm drops around her shoulder. Her turn to let a hand rest lightly in the vicinity of his knee comfortably. "I wonder if anyone actually gets what they really expected from the sands. My mother certainly didn't but you wouldn't be able to tell now. And /good/ for better, definitely. I mean it has to be a lot you know, to get used to." Her fingers squeeze a little, relax again and trace a lazy little circle in the muscle just above his kneecap. "You do seem a lot more -- hmm, settled in your skin at least." K'del looks almost embarrassed, coming back to himself with a rueful chuckle. "Sorry. We must seem to go on. It's just... dizzying, sometimes." He squeezes at her shoulder, watching her thoughtfully. "No? Suppose it's better if people don't go out there expecting something in particular." His gaze shifts, watching, now, her fingers on his knee, the lake below. "Hope so. /Feel/ so. Better, anyway. Feels strange that I've still been here less than a turn, actually. Because it's home, now." "Not really," Milani answers, with a little shake of her head. "I suppose you could say though that I'm used to it. So - don't worry about it. And I can only imagine how that is, even when I see it from this side of things all the time. Her feet swing lazily above the void, the clear blue water far below. That finger? Still tracing. This time it's a square. Then a triangle. A figure eight. But her smile is blossoming wider than wide at him. "Oh I bet that feels pretty good, yeah? ANd here's home? Really? Kas, you know, that makes me happy, happy for you." "Suppose you'd have to be," K'del nods, considering this idea. "So many riders around you. At least you do understand, as much as you can. I think my family were... a little perplexed by it." While her fingers make patterns on his leg, his patter lightly, absently, against her shoulder. And he grins, meeting her smile full on. "Does, yeah. Does it?" More pleased, still. "Mm. Home. Maybe it was partly the way it was with my family, because they couldn't get the way things were for me, now. And, anyway, not like I /could/ move back, even if I wanted to. But yeah: this is home." "Pretty much, I'm weyrbred, I've never lived outside of a Weyr. For me, it's the holds that seem strange and confusing, though mostly through the ways and views of people who come here from the holds. WHat they say ... well it's enough that I know I could never live outside of a Weyr. Well, okay, maybe a Crafthall, but I'm not cut out for holder life," Milani says thoughtful and makes a bigger eight. "Of course it does!" The headwoman shifts a little, but only enough so she can slip arms around K'del's waist and hug him exuberantly. "No you can't, but it's good to feel like it's home here, not just you know, that you have nowhere else to go." K'del, considering this with interest, remarks, "Can't imagine that there'd be many weyrbred who'd leave for a Hold. Surely. Not sure I was ever really cut out for a holder life, myself, never mind that I was born one. Maybe, if I'd been an elder son, but... Wasn't much for me there. Plus, I always had to worry about getting a girl pregnant, and then having to /marry/ her." Not, by his tone, something he has any interest in. Getting drawn into that hug, he grins enthusiastically, returning it with both arms, squeezing tight. "True," he agrees, over her shoulder. "Nice to know I'd make the same choice, if I /did/ have a choice." "Mm. Definitely nice," Millie murmurs, turns to brush her lips lightly against his cheek. "As for weyrfolk going holder, no, probably not, some maybe, but it's probably just as hard to try to fit into that mold as it is to try to come up here from a hold," Milani says thoughtfully after she's loosened her arms a little. Laughing she reaches up to beep his nose lightly. "Mmm, don't have to worry much about that at all here, except maybe with certain girls who'll want to make a weyrmate of you and get all huffy when you say 'not interested', but most riders foster and most of the lower caverns-folk don't think much of it." She takes a breath, lets it out. "Speaking of which, you don't have to worry about that with me. At all. If it happens, I'll deal with it. Unless the mad desire to have a kid suddenly seizes either of us. But I wouldn't be looking to pin you to me in any way." "Can't imagine why you'd /want/ to do that," says K'del, with feeling, at the idea of trying to fit into the holder mold. "Don't get me wrong, I had a good childhood, liked living there a lot. But." She beeps his nose, and he pokes her arm in return, teasingly, and nods. "Some of the girls seem to think one night equals true love; learning to pick which ones they are, though, and avoid them. Though, really, I've enough girls to worry about at this point." His expression barely changes for her last, except that his smile twitches ever so slightly broader. "Assumed as much," he tells her, honestly. "Good to confirm it, though. Anyway. The whole mad desire to have a kid thing'd have to be yours - your body, not mine. Don't figure the guy gets to make those decisions." Milani lifts one shoulder. "Sometimes it happens, someone leaves, or meets a holder and falls head over heels. There's a reason right there," the headwoman says with a little sideways grin. That poke earns one in return. "Yeah, I know," Millie says, eyes rolling a little. "I mean, come on, a one night stand is a one night stand, just a little fun. True love is a lot more complicated than that," she notes oh-so-wisely, "and it doesn't always work out, no matter how true it is." A little snorty snicker answers 'enough girls'. "Oh so it's enough is it? Really? And here I thought you had /boundless/ enthusiasm for my gender." Could those blue-green eyes get any wider or more 'innocent' looking? That doesn't last long though before she nods, serious enough. "Oh no, if you really wanted me to keep one, you could ask. It's not like I'd be the one doing the raising anyway and I know some guys get a little funny about wanting their own blood out there somewhere. Just you know, no guarantees ever about a yes." K'del's nose wrinkles, at any of these possibilities, though he gives a reluctant nod. The return poke gets both of his hands up, like a shield: mercy! This doesn't stop him from sounding more or less serious, however, when he does speak. "Sounds like you speak from experience, on that one. Makes them look desperate, though, if they think one night could show them that. Most of them have barely said two words to me, you know? Mostly just 'yes, please'." His lips are twitching again, for that, amused. "Oh, I /do/ have boundless enthusiasm for your gender, my dear... I'm just saving it up to lavish on a couple of lucky recipients." His expression grows thoughtful for her last, head finally, slowly, inclining into a nod. "Huh. Not something," he adds, quickly, "I've any interest in. Now. But. Interesting, that you'd even consider it." That silent plea for mercy is answered with a smile and hands lifted in mock-protest of innocence. Milani leans her shoulder against his again, companionably, reaches for his far hand idly, seeking to thread her fingers through his. "I -- do." Something a little sad in her voice then she laughs. "Right. Which is probably /just/ how you like it," she teases him, no reproof there. "And ohhh, I see, focused pleasure. Not a bad strategy," she nods approvingly. "Mm, me either. Not now. Maybe not ever, but yeah, I would. I mean, if things had worked out for me and A'son, I would've, eventually. Probably would even have tried to do some of the raising myself. With him." There her mouth quirks up a little wryly a the corner. "Anyway, it didn't work out and I got used to the idea so, there you go." Beat. "You know. It might just be time to jump off together. What do you think?" a nod toward the water, eyes twinkling. K'del's eyes say what his voice doesn't: Innocent? My arse. He lets her fingers thread through his, squeezing against them, though he's watching her with his teeth resting on his lower lip, expression solemn. "I'm sorry," he tells her, with quiet honesty, squeezing her hand again. "Actually," he continues, more jovial, "I /prefer/ girls I can talk to. Before, or after. Or during." But he's silent again, as she talks about A'son, and children, and the rest. Again: "I'm sorry. But - jump off?" He's looking down, then laughing. "As long as you promise not to push me off, like Tiriana did last autumn," he tells her. "I prefer a more... controlled descent." "Half a turn now," Milani says with a small smile, dips her head to the side and straightens again, fingers squeezing back. "And me too, though in the end, if it /had/ worked out, I would be tangling up your sheets now," she points out matter-of-factly then nods, smiles for that preference. "Well good, because I'm not shutting up." Candid, Millie. "And well, you know, that could be one reason why do wind up getting lucky as much as you do. Not that you're all skeezy about the whole thing anyway, but if you were the sort to just you know, come in, do and leave, maybe /not/ so lucky." Amusement pulls at her lips but then she's nodding very seriously. "Oh no, no pushing. I'm thinking more like, back up, get good run going and /really/ jump. Go deep." A nod towards the water. "Have you ever jumped hard enough to hit the bottom?" She's rolling her eyes again. "Tiriana. OH! That reminds me, I got some dirt on Tiriana. Apparently she doesn't like it if you talk about her boyfriend to her. Or ask questions about how they're doing." Though K'del's expression is rueful, even outright solemn, he does remark, "And that would be /very/ disappointing for me. Like you /could/ shut up, even if you wanted to," he adds, his tone lightening altogether as he says this, teasingly. "Probably right. Though Raz seems to get her fair share - men and women - and I can't really see her talking to most of them. Different strokes for different people, I suppose." He seems to like her idea for the jump, nodding enthusiastically. "Oh, no, I haven't done that. Good idea." He laughs positively outright for the dirt on Tiriana. "Big surprise there. /Excellent/. I'm going to have to give that one a go. Though, thinking on it, taunting her about not living with him /has/ always gotten a response in the past. I'll just have to do more of it, mmm?" "Mm. I've barely exchanged more than a handful with her myself. Seems like a decent person though," Milani says with a little shrug for the other weyrling. She's tugging at his hand now though, scooting backward along the edge of the cliff to get to her feet. "Yeah, come on, let's see how we go!" Grinning from ear to ear, Milani seems much more like the teenager she still is than the responsible headwoman she can be. "Mmmhmm, puts her off-base at least, though, you know, it has to really /suck/ to be in their shoes. Her a junior here, him Weyrleader at Fort. I mean, I do sympathize. Because, been there, done that, only without the gold dragon." "She is," says K'del, of Raz, though anything further he might have said about her gets cast aside by Milani's tugging hand, as he follows her up to his feet, laughing. Teenagers together, then, enthusiasm bubbling up. "S'pose," he says of Tiriana, his nose wrinkling. "Doesn't mean she has to be quite so much a bitch about it - or, really, about /anything/. Everything. Whatever. Anyway: shall we?" Only a smile for Raz as Millie keeps tugging backward, all the way to the wall, grinning over at the weyrling. "Yeah well, I don't know that there's any kind of cure for that in the end," she notes philosophically. "But a little doom wouldn't hurt," she notes wickedly, bobs her head and takes firmer hold of his hand. "Ready? One ... two ... three ..." "Alas, no, probably not," agrees K'del. "But maybe a /lot/ of doom..." But. He squeezes her hand, as she counts, bouncing on the balls of his feet, unconsciously mimicking the kind of energy his lifemate shows. On 'three', there's no hesitation from the young weyrling, who hurtles towards the edge of the cliff, and more or less throws himself towards the water below. Laughter for doom and then Milani's racing along with K'del at equally breakneck speed. Leap for free air and it's almost like flying for a second and then whoosh. Down, down, down into cool water that splits open between feet and bubbles rushing and the surface dwindling away from view. Unless the jump parts their hands, Milani's not letting go. K'del lets out a triumphant yell as they drop, cutting it off part-way as the water rushes close - despite the height of the cliff, the drop is pretty quick. His hand is still clutching hers, even as they rush through the water towards the bottom, and the pressure pulls at them. His feet touch solid ground, and he turns his head, just barely managing a mouth-shut grin, before he pushes back up towards the surface, spluttering. Milani's eyes squeeed shut at some point, but they crack open and her cheeks are puffy with held air, a chipmunk grin for the weyrling as she hits bottom too and pushes off back through slanting sunbeams that light the dark depths of the lake towards the surface. It's a longish swim back up, but they've got momentum. When Millie's head breaks surface, then she laughs long, water dripping from the ends of her hair. "You know, I never get tired of doing that." Now though, her fingers leave his before their hands come up to the light of day, if only to tread water. Splashing above the surface, well clear of the children still using Cadejoth as climbing equipment, K'del can only grin - in between catching his breath. "Can't believe I was nervous about doing it the first time," he tells Milani, letting his arms float atop the water as his legs work to keep the rest of him clear. "It's exhilarating. Though," he grins, "Better in summer than, oh, /autumn/. Water's warmer." "You were? Heh, well it is pretty high up. I've been doing that since I was a little kid though," Milani says with a bright laugh, "can't imagine not doing it. Some summers, I'd get so tired out from jumping, climbing back up, jumping, over and over that my mother couldn't get me up in the morning. It's one of the few things that has a half a chance at really tiring me out. Well okay, that and a LOT of hidework." She leans back into a float too, feet paddling lazily. "And uh, yeah, damn cold in the fall. Freezes up pretty quickly too." "Nothing like this anywhere near where I grew up," K'del says, explaining away his admission. "Not sure I would ever have thought of trying it out. But. There was a /girl/." Isn't there always. Grinning, he adds, "Not much ever slows you down, huh? I'm still amazed you can sit still long enough to do any of that hidework." He dunks his head back, the short-cropped hair - just beginning to get long enough to show a curl again - sticking up as he emerges again. "No kidding. Brrr. Nice at this time of the turn, though." "No? How about ponds? Little places to swim?" Milani asks, hands moving back and forth through the water in slow sweeps of arms. "Ha. You were trying to impress someone huh? Nice." Teasing of course and then her head is shaking. "Nope. I'm pretty much all energy all the time, even when I'm sitting still. It's not as bad as when I was a little younger, so maybe slowing down /a little/," she holds up one hand, pinching air between fingers. Those curls earn a fond grin and Milani clears her throat. "Told Leova I was mising those curls of yours, good they're coming back, I will consider it highly unfair that you had to shave them off before I got a chance to run my hand through them properly." Big eyes though about the cold. "No kidding. Silly of anyone to mess around with pushing someone in at that time of the turn, but yeah, right now? All good." "We /did/ have a pond," K'del confirms, paddling contentedly. "And there was a rope, tied to one of the trees nearby, so you could swing in. Not nearly so far to fall as here, though. Mm. One of the girls in the kitchens, I think. /She/ was willing to have a drink with me, but her friends insisted I needed to prove I was good enough, and... And Tiriana pushed me in, before I could jump." The first time, anyway. Amused, he adds, "A little is fine. Wouldn't want you to /stop/ it." At mention of his curls, his hand runs through them, expression still a wicked grin. "Did you, now? Promise, you can run your hands through them all you like. Now, when they're longer - you know, whenever." For the last, he adds, "She did jump in after me. And I /was/ going to jump anyway. Just... in my own time, you know?" "Oh that sounds like a lot of /fun/," Milani says gaily about that rope-and-pond combination. "Oh shells -- not a fun way to spend an evening. Did they at least warm you up after?" Wicked, wicked, wicked. And laughing again. "Well, so long as I don't grow out of it, I won't," she promises, flicks a little water his way. "Good. Looking forward to it. Now. Later. Whenever." A nod for his own time. "Yeah, I get that. Pushy Tiriana." "Yeah, it is," grins K'del, fond for the memory of it. "Take you to try it out," he offers, "One day. When we're allowed to Between, and it's warm enough, which means probably not this summer. Oh, she was /most/ apologetic." The girl, presumably, and not Tiriana. "Made it up to me. She's pregnant, now - not with mine, some other guy's. Settled down with him." Alas, alas. He flicks water back at Milani, after hers hits him square in the face, and he laughs. "Whenever you like. My hair is yours for the touching. Mm. 'Pushy' is a good word for /her/. One of many." "Great! Next summer then, it's a date," Milani teases, flicks a little more water, aiming more at his chest than his face as his return fire hits her shoulder. "Oho, well then, as long as it earned you a good evening in the end, can't be all bad. Even if it was Miss McPushyPants shoving you in." A grin is flashed his way. "Wonderful, I'll be sure to take /plenty/ of advantage. And yeah, that's one of the most polite I can come up with." "You won't be too old for such things, next summer?" teases K'del, using both hands to send a low wave of water towards the headwoman. "Or perhaps you'll be tired of me. Mm, worth it, in the end. We had a few good nights, Geila and I, and then I got searched, and--" History. The rest is history. "You'd better. Sure I'll take plenty of advantage of you, in return." His head tilts into a firm nod for her last. "Most of the words I'd prefer to use probably aren't fitting coming from a weyrling, about a Weyrwoman." "Pfff, never!" Milani says with a wave of one hand, followed by both shoving back against that wave, laughingly. "Though, I /will/ be twenty come turnover. Well. Right before it anyway," the headwoman answers, looks up quickly at that statement, shakes her head. "Not like that for me, K'del. Other reasons, maybe, to stop sometime, but not that," Millie says lightly, smiles at him, litens. "Yeah, and then you couldn't and were going twitchily mad out of your skin for want of a good woman." Another splash his way and more laughter too. "Good. Turn about is fair play, after all," she points out, wrinkles her nose about Tiriana. "Yeah. Or a headwoman even. Especially since I have to work with her often enough." The wave crashes over K'del's arms and upper body, and he laughs, teasing, "Positively ancient, then. Twenty! Too old for jumping off cliffs and swinging from ropes. Though I rather hope not: fun should never stop being fun. Ah, I'm teasing, Millie," he adds, in response to her next. You and me-- as long as it's fun, and we've no other commitments to worry about, s'fine by me." His hand raises, after that, his left, stretching and flexing. Sadly: "There's only so much use a hand can be, I'm afraid. Women - that's where it's at." The hand drops. Splashes. "No worries on that score. Fun for everyone, that's my motto." He makes a face, at the idea of working with Tiriana. "Yuck. Glad I never will. Wouldn't mind Cadejoth catching Iovniath, though - but only because she'd be /that/ pissed off." "Oh yes, you know, on my last legs," Milani claims deadpan, but with that wicked gleam in her eyes as the water keeps splashing back and forth. "You'll have to tie me down before I stop having silly fun," she claims stoutly and nods easy acceptance for that other tease. "Good then, we're eye to eye and on the same page!" Until he does /that/ and she can't help it, she bursts out laughing in full, has to stop splashing too. "Oh man, K'del. Well. For what it's worth, those hands are talented enough for /plenty/ of uses. And I'll agree. About men. Though I'll confess to being just a little curious about girl-on-girl." The last makes her snicker again. "Mm. Doesn't hurt she's drop-dead gorgeous either, does it?" "At least they're lovely legs, to be last on," says K'del with a wink, sending forth another wave. "Good. And more good. And--" He just laughs, at her reaction, laughter begetting more laughter, those his expression is all innocence, and his shoulders shrug: well, it's the truth, his eyes say. "Oh, they're not bad, these hands. I'd just rather use them on someone other than myself." Her comment about girl-on-girl draws a salacious smile, as he leans in to mock-whisper, "I have to admit, I'm rather curious myself. If you ever want to give it a try... Let me watch?" Beat. "No. It doesn't /hurt/. Though I suspect she'd beat me black and blue, and then I wouldn't be gorgeous myself. So it would be quite a sacrificial move on my part, really." "Why /thank/ you, you flatterer you." Yep, Milani's recovered enough to get back to splashing back and forth. "Mm. Well, lucky you, I don't mind returning favors," Millie quips. The salacious request earns not a look of surprise, but one of assessment and then she's actually nodding. "Sure, three is fun, if you want to do more than just watch," the headwoman says candidly in like low-tones. "Good point. THough I hear that it's Satiet you'd have to watch out for in that department. N'thei had a bloody lip or something when he came out of that flight. Though of course there was a fist fight outside before the thing properly got started." K'del's expression is one of innocence: flattery? From him? Surely not. Her lack of surprise draws significant interest from the young man, his eyes just wide enough to suggest that he's at least a little surprised. But he says, only, "I'll have to give it a try, then, sometime. See for myself." His eyebrows raise for the comment about Satiet. "/Really/. And a fist fight. I keep hearing that Teonath is due for a flight before too much longer; may get to witness some of this for myself. Can't blame her, though. /I'd/ kick N'thei out of my bed, if I were a woman." "Definitely," Milani says with her bestest most winningest smile. About Satiet: "Mm. There were Telgari there, the ones who caught N'thei and A'son lifting stuff from Crom. My brother told me. That's how one of them was here anyway, he'd brought Remi over. The lower caverns were kind of a mess after. A lot of high emotions." Back to flicking rather than splashing. A face made about N'thei. "Yeah. Only way N'thei'd ever get in my pants is if I Impressed and Wyaeth flew my dragon." "Tease," laughs K'del, for Milani's comment, and her smile. "Now I'm not going to rest until I orchestrate such an experience." Tragedy. Life's tough. "Ah. I know relations weren't so good with Telgar, after that. Can see how... messy that'd make things. Your brother who isn't a rider? So at least he wouldn't've been directly involved. Hear gold flights are bad enough when you don't have all of that extra stuff." He follows her lead, flicking lazily, one hand lifting to run water through his hair again. "Yeah. Not that I know him all that well. Or, really, at all. But from what I hear." "You do that," Milani says with laughter in her eyes still, but she's not really kidding either. "No, the harper one," she answers about her brother though. "He just came running and hid out in my room after watching some of the craziness." The flicking stops though and Milani backstrokes a little to where it's shallow enough for her to stand, which is still a decent bit away from shore. Talk of N'thei has faded her smile and she looks up at the sky. "He's ... a complicated man." Generous, maybe. Nor has K'del taken it as entirely a joke; he looks thoughtful, for a moment, then determined, his head nodding sharply, though it's a thought that gets filed away, as he listens to the headwoman. "Hah, really? Must've been crazy," he remarks, following, though using something resembling breaststroke - light, easy pulls with his arms. "So he seems. Hard to know what kind of Weyrleader he is. For me, anyway. I don't know enough." "It was," Milani says simply of that day four turns ago when N'thei put himself forward and stepped in where Satiet had meant for A'son to be. "Weyrleader? Hm. In the end, not really much of one. What he's good at, isn't really wings. When he first stepped up, he tried but it didn't work out all that well. His 'second was the one leading most of the time. Politics? Well, there's where he pretty much wades in, gets things done. Somehow, for all he's ... rough, he seems to be able to get somewhere with Lord Crom, with ... other people." Millie's arms have folded across her chest and she's deadly serious now, thoughtful. K'del nods, very slowly, lips pursing together in thought as he listens. "Not a bad Weyrleader, then, for Interval. I guess." He at least has the grace to indicate, with expression and tone, that he's aware of how little he knows about this - that he's mostly talking out of nothing. "But. It wasn't Interval, effectively, back then. Do you think Wyaeth will catch again?" Beat. "No, I suppose that's impossible to really predict. We'll just have to see." "I -- guess," Milani says slowly and looks around almost fearfully. That question brings her gaze back to K'del and she nods. "Probably. They -- seem to have some kind of strange understanding." Beat. Whispered: "I hope ... not." K'del looks surprised for Milani's almost-fearfulness, his own head turning about as if to reassure himself, though more in a confused way than concerned. "Oh," he says, pursing lips, his head leaning in slightly as she whispers. "I hope you get your wish, then," he says, finally, matching her whisper with one of his own. "From what I hear, though, he wouldn't be surprised by /that/, from you." That doesn't reassure Milani either and her shoulders kind of tuck in a little and she looks down, lifts a hand to scrub through her hair. "I -- I know. I just wish we could sort things out, K'del. I do." And if he didn't mean to derail the afternoon, it's really not his fault that the tension between the Headwoman and the Weyrleader is what it is. K'del reaches out, obviously intent about wrapping his arm about her shoulder and squeezing. "I know," he tells her, his expression still solemn. "I wish it were that simple. I'm sorry - wish this hadn't come up." He's looking at the position of the sun, reluctantly noting the time. "Look, I need to do a couple of things, before the end of the afternoon. But... Can I distract you, later? We could go flying, or have a drink, or I could just carry you back to mine..." Her hand leaves behind quasi-rumpled, quasi-spiked and tousled hair in its wake as Milani smiles up at the weyrling. "It's all right, it's not like I don't live with it every day, it's just that mostly I stay busy enough not to dwell," Millie admits. "And in the end, there's not all that much I can do about it. I either find a way to win his trust back and we sort things out, or I find a way to get him to see that he can't mess with me, or you know, we just tolerate each other and carry on side by side, without interacting, as much as possible. She's looking towards the sun too, even as she leans into that arm a little. "Of course," Millie says understandingly about the things that need doing. "And I'd love to spend the evening with you." A hint of winsomeness returns to her face as her eyes lift to his. "All three of those, even." K'del squeezes, fondly, but nods. "But still: it's too beautiful a day to be thinking about such things, really." His expression is rueful, lips pursing together. "It'll work out, even if it's just the last option. Still. Wish /you/ were in managing the Snowasis instead of Tiriana." He leans down to, as long as she doesn't move, plant a kiss on her forehead, and, as he draws away again, nods. "All three, then. I'll come by, later." Reluctantly, and very slowly, he begins to draw away, finally heading towards the shore again in earnest, where his shirt and shoes lay, drying in the sun. "Mm, well you know, at least it's getting taken care of. I tried to make a point and it didn't work. My mistake," Milani says with a little lift of her chin. The kiss draws a brief blink and a look towards the kids, back towards shore. But she only smiles, nods. "Until later then." She lingers in the water a little longer, watches him walk off then after a bit, retreats back up the cliff to fetch her towel and head home. |
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