Logs:Just Kas. And Millie.
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| RL Date: 1 December, 2009 |
| Who: K'del, Milani |
| Type: [[Concept:{{{type}}}|{{{type}}}]] |
| What: Milani and K'del escape their jobs for a walk one sunny spring afternoon. |
| Where: Lake Shore, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 10, Month 5, Turn 21 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: Nakasha/Mentions |
| Lake Shore, High Reaches Weyr The rest of the bowl may be barren, grass barely surviving at best, but here by the lake, it's brilliantly green in the warmer months: thickening and thriving in the silty, boulder-dotted soil just before it transitions to soft sand and thence to the cool, clear water itself. A large freshwater lake fed by a low waterfall, it not only provides warm-weather bathing space for humans and dragons, but has one end fenced off as a watering hole for the livestock in the feeding grounds. The water there is often muddier than the rest of the clear lake, whose shallows drop off abruptly several yards out into deep water, and whose edge undulates against the coarse-hewn bowl wall: here close enough to just be bramble-covered rocks, there far enough away that a narrow land bridge divides the main lake from a smallish pond. Between are several rocky outcroppings that form excellent makeshift diving points, though only one -- across the bridge -- has a set of narrow, slippery, quite possibly tempting stairs. Despite an occasionally nippy breeze, it's relatively warm and sunny at High Reaches today - and this, apparently, is all the excuse required to get K'del to drag himself away from his work for a while, and take Milani with him. As they head down towards the lake at a leisurely pace, Cadejoth flies above, circling over the sun-dappled water and then diving towards it, which makes K'del laugh. "It's nice, this time of turn," he remarks, sounding more relaxed than he usually does in daylight hours. Work breaks are very good things and while just about everyone else has been trying to get Milani to stay off her feet, the headwoman has happily welcomed the chance to shake her legs out. One of her arms threads through K'del's and she tips her head up to smile at his remark. "Beautiful, definitely. I swear, Reaches has the /best/ summers," Milani says with all the patriotic fervor of a true Reachian. "And it'll be warm enough to really swim soon too. I'm looking forward to that." "Better than Tillek's!" High Reachian transplant though he is, there's no real comparison as far as K'del's concerned; he grins as he says it, though, eyes bright and tone amused. "Should be, too. Be nice for you, I bet... Bouyancy and all." His gaze lingers on her for a moment, smile still in place, then sweeps back outwards over the vista, and a group of children running races along the shore ahead of them. "Well you know, Tillek is /big/. It can be fun down by the seahold. But I like home," Milani says contentedly and looks down at the basket ball she seems to have swallowed lately. "Mm. Lighter in the water," she adds with a merry laugh and tips her head down towards his shoulder. "Think we can get away for a day or two before I get too big to fit between Cadejoth's neckridges?" she asks after a moment. Though K'del bobs his head in merry agreement to the most of what Milani has to say, her question draws a pause from him, though his arm draws her closer at much the same time. "If I can possibly swing it," is his eventual answer. "Would look bad if I ducked out right after the Crom verdict, maybe, but..." He trails off into thoughtfulness, then adds, hurriedly, "If it's even remotely possible, I'd like to, though." "I know," Milani says quietly. "I've been thinking that once it's all kind of died down a little, you could stand a little break," she continues and snuggles into the curve of his arm a bit. "Drat that Aughan, you know," she says with a quiet snort and sticks her tongue out. "Almost makes me wish we'd fleeced him for more stuff back a few turns." An uneasy chuckle escapes K'del's lips at Milani's last comment, though it's the earlier ones he actually remarks on. "It'd be nice," he admits - he who has not been sleeping well, despite his claims to the contrary. "To forget for a little while. And just... be. Sort of feel like I'm drowning in it all, sometimes, you know?" His voice is low and while not outright serious, not light, either. "Reckon you could use the break, too. Before things get busy." That makes Milani's arm go sliding around K'del's waist, curving comfortingly in place. "Exactly," she says firmly. "Not get looked at and expected and everything for a little while. Recharge," the headwoman adds with certainty. Her chin tips upward a little, eyes searching his face. "I'd like to spend the time /with you/ before things get busy." K'del's eyes shut as Milani's arm slides around him, and his own reaches further, too. "To just be Kas," he concludes, with a little exhaled breath. "Instead of K'del, and the Weyrleader, and--" His eyes flicker open to meet her gaze, his expression somehow hesitant, and matched with a faint, barely-there kind of nod. "With me," he repeats. And then: the faintest hint of a smile, and a more determined nod. With him. Yes. "Just Kas," Milani echoes with a smile, "and Millie," she adds on and her other arm comes around from the front to squeeze him, albeit a bit awkwardly. "Everything's been kind of crazy lately. And no matter what you say, I know you're tossing and turning a lot at night." Guilty. It shows in K'del's expression, even as he reaches his own arms forward to give Milani a squeeze, his lips pressing a kiss to her forehead before he draws back again. "I'm not keeping you up, am I?" he wants to know, a shadow crossing his expression as this possibility comes up; it's also a subtle admission of guilt, made with the faintest forward tilt of his head. "But you're right: it has been crazy. All this, and Kash, and..." He breaks off, making a face. "I'm sorry." "No, I have to get up to pee a lot anyway," Milani says with a wry note in her voice. "I've been hoping /I'm/ not disturbing /you/," she confesses with a laugh that fades and her expression softens, a hand lifting up towards his cheek. "Kas ... it's okay. I didn't bring it up to make you feel guilty. I'm just a little worried." And she tries just a little humor: "I'm clearly not tiring you out nearly enough!" The twist of K'del's lips marks a note of wry amusement in the bronzerider, too, but it's as Milani reaches to touch his cheek that he actually responds. Taking her hand in his, he shakes his head; "Not just apologising over that. And /believe/ me, you're doing an excellent job at tiring my body out. Just my mind... but what I mean is, I'm sorry I'm so distracted. Kind of wish Aughan'd just make his decision and leave us to it, you know? Fallout is easier than... waiting." "You're allowed you know, to be distracted by big important things like Lord Crom being a bastard," Milani says gently, "again." And on that word she snorts. "But I know. Waiting is rotten," she says with a wrinkle of her nose. "All the more reason to go do something that has nothing to do with Crom, crops or dead bodies under rocks for a bit. Even if it's not until things /do/ settle down a little." 'Again'. K'del makes a face at the use of that word, though it's not as though he's denying it - or could, even if he wanted to. "It'll get better," he promises, sounding determined. "And we /will/ go away. And-- if it all goes the way it looks like it will, promise I'll not try anything too ambitious for a while... let things be quiet, for a bit. Just a weyr, bobbing along." He manages a smile. "Promise. If I can manage it, anyway." "A little bit of bobbing would be good, definitely," Milani says gaily and yes, that is naughty-tinged humor in her voice. "And I know you'll give it your best shot," she says confidently, gives him another squeeze. "THere's nothing wrong with looking for land though and growing things. It's not that it's a bad idea." K'del positively roars with laughter at Milani's naughty joke, enough that it makes a few of the other people down here by the water stare in that direction, though no one is actually close enough to hear the conversation. "Right. The idea was a good one, just the... Cromness of it. Bet I'll have trouble getting anyone to trust in a second attempt anywhere else, though." This thought makes him grimace again, but only for a moment - he breaks off from it to smile, ruefully. "But that can be worried about /later/." That laughter makes MIlani smile widely. Mission accomplished. She drums her fingers lightly against K'del's chest though, before speaking again. "Maybe not everyone, but there's bound to be some of the more holder-raised folks who'd be interested or even just people who /like/ to grow things," the headwoman says steadfastedly. "So when later comes around, maybe we can still manage it." Certainly, K'del's mood seems to improve, now that he's had his bout of laughter; laughter really is the best medicine. "Maybe," he allows, giving the concept some thought. "There were plenty of people who showed some interest... Guess the biggest problem was always Crom, aside from the few who hated the idea in general." Beat. "We'll see, I guess. Whether we get the chance again." He reaches to take her hands into his and give them a squeeze. "I feel better already." Listening at first, then just beaming, Milani nods just once. "Good. The world isn't quite right if you're not laughing," she claims in very schmoopy fashion and aims to thread her fingers through his, then shifts the subject slightly. "So, did you know that firestone can be used for big outdoor fires in the firepits above a hold, but it's totally poisonous to try to use it for heat inside?" The schmoopy only makes K'del beam some more, his gaze lingering on Milani as he smiles and smiles, letting her fingers thread through his. Her change in subject, though, results in several exaggerated blinks. "No," he admits, after a pause. "That's something I /didn't/ know. Where'd you pick that one up, then?" Grinning now with mirth still dancing in her eyes, Milani waves vaguely back towards the caverns. "Our resident miner. He was very happy to clear up a few points about rocks for me the other day, including firestone. He even /juggles/ rocks," she notes and leans closer to the Weyrleader, "with rocks." Sage nod. "And makes jokes about being a little addled because of one too many rocks to the head." Big round eyes. She is not making this up. K'del's brows start heading for his hairline, until, ultimately, there's nowhere further for them to go. "I knew he was a bit..." He trails off. "Weird. But. That sounds like more than a few rocks to the head to me." But in the end, it makes him laugh again, which makes for a very merry rest-of-the-walk before it's time to go back in. |
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