Logs:The Scolding
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| RL Date: 4 October, 2014 |
| Who: H'vier, Miska, Tayte |
| Type: Log |
| What: After the birth of Tayte's son, Miska has a few things to say. H'vier shows up and, for the sake of inclusion, also gets scolded. |
| Where: Infirmary, High Reaches Weyr |
| When: Day 26, Month 12, Turn 35 (Interval 10) |
| Mentions: K'del/Mentions, Tahvra/Mentions, Tayre/Mentions, Yvalia/Mentions |
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| Infirmary, High Reaches Weyr Two sets of double doors, one from the the inner caverns and a recently built set from the dragon infirmary, lead into the unnaturally hushed human infirmary. Despite fastidious cleaning, the scent of redwort and numbweed has long since soaked into every smooth-carved surface, along with other, subtler medicinal smells. Pristinely made cots are lined up against the walls; most of them are left open to view, but some in the back are surrounded by curtains for delicate procedures or critical patients. About halfway between the two entrances is the counter for the healers on duty; it guards the entrance to the storage rooms just beyond, their shelves and cabinets lined with meticulously labeled bottles, boxes, jars, and even vats of supplies. The Weyrhealer's office is also here, along with another side room for mixing up medicines and the like. A short corridor off the infirmary reveals a series of doors the lead to private offices and examination rooms.
Tayte's ocean eyes follow as Miska takes the babe, managing not to protest, even though she might like to. K'del's already been gone a time to fetch the girls to come meet the newest addition who, surprise!, is not a girl. This somehow makes her stare all the more at the marvel that is her new son. Her eyes finally flick to Miska's face when he speaks of worse, and new worry and stress flood her face. After the ordeal of birth, nothing is hidden; she has no energy for masks. It's meek when Tayte answers the charge laid at her feet, "I tried." She did! She tried. But obviously, not hard enough, if it truly was within her power to have prevented it. Obviously H'vier showing up will put everyone at ease. How he came to be here isn't important, either. Let's just focus on the fact that he's here at all. There probably aren't even any aids crying in his wake. And now the bronzerider is at the door, looming in the doorway, and looking at the baby held by the healer. "Is everything okay?" is all he says. It's, debatably, better than saying nothing. The initial assessment is easily over and Miska goes back to cradling the baby against his chest. "Did you? Even try? Because I'm willing to bet if you had, we wouldn't be here right now." He pins the vintner with an intense stare, but there's someone or something looming in the doorway, so his eyes steal away to take in H'vier. "Just in time." His tone and smile are cryptic, humor not quite there. "I-..." was all that Tayte managed, her eyes casting down into her lap, away from the tiny Tayte, in answer to the healer's further rebuke. So H'vier showing it is good for something. The sound of his voice effects an almost immediate change in her demeanor. First there's surprise, and then swiftly annoyance. But it's to Miska that she snaps, "Yes. I did. I stayed in bed. I did whatever you told me to do. I tried." A baleful glance slips to the bronzerider. Is it her fault that in her imagination (and perhaps in reality) he was out fornicating with everything that had a pulse and that that makes her own race? She's frowning next at Miska. "Give me back my baby if you're just going to be awful about things I couldn't control." So much for two nice people. Tayte has abandoned their ranks. It will take H'vier a few moments to really realize what's going on here. And maybe by then, Miska won't want to be pushing his protective buttons where his child and the mother of his child are concerned. But he's not quite there yet. When Tayte demands the baby back, the bronzerider steps in toward Miska instead. "I'll take her." It's not a request as he reaches out for his child. And he's apparently not caught up on basic details like the baby's sex quite yet. "Ah." One sound-- that is all that issues forth from the healer, as his inscrutable gaze swings from the bronzerider to the vintner. "I see." Miska might have been about to acquiesce to Tayte's demand for the baby, but H'vier is there, reaching out and the healer's own irritation - normal healer duties and lengthy birth weariness combined - comes to light. He places a protective hand on the baby's head and levels his eyes on the dragonrider. His words, however, are for Tayte. "It would be good to remember that your emotions pass on to the child." More genially, "Do you want the baby, or should I hand him over to.. what's your name?" The last bit, to H'vier. Well, one can hope that not all emotions pass on to a child, else the brief murderous look Tayte has for her demand for her baby and probably H'vier's counterdemand might give Tayre a truly unfortunate homicidal streak when he's old enough to heft Implements of Doom. Miska's words do have what is the likely the desired effect and she forces herself calm before answering, "I would like my child. Please." A brief flash passes in her gaze telling how much it irks her to have to say please when it's obvious the baby belongs with her. The bronzerider could probably flip his shit about the healer being a jerk, but it's that simple, innocent little pronoun that Miska uses that stands out to H'vier in a way that keeps him from letting loose. He looks at the baby, then over at Tayte as he repeats, "Him? It's a boy?" H'vier's bafflement gives Miska the opening to deliver the baby to Tayte, where it belongs. Pronouns do not matter much to the healer, who lets the vintner answer that question as he moves off to the side, hands clasped behind his back. He is silent, but watching. He might be waiting for the right moment to interject, or perhaps he's simply nosy. For all Tayte's mood, she accepts the baby with extreme care and shifts the blanket so she can press him against her bare chest, the babe barely having woken for the examination, and certainly content enough now, with mom's heartbeat to lull him, to go right back to sleep. It's been an exhausting day for tiny Tayre. The former vintner doesn't answer immediately, but rather makes sure the newborn is quite settled before she lifts her eyes to the bronzerider, rather ignoring the presence of the healer, but perhaps taking comfort from the fact that she is not being left alone to face him in her delicate state. "Yes. This is my son." My. It's an important word there. H'vier doesn't seem entirely sure how to handle this news. It's not like it's that difficult to comprehend. Most babies who aren't girls are boys, after all. He doesn't even react to Tayte's claim just now, instead asking with genuine curiosity, "What's his name?" He'll forget about the healer for the moment, too. Lucky Miska. Tense moment that it is.. Miska continues to stand silently to the side, never interfering, never moving. He's just observing for now. It's probably unreasonable to think that Tayte could keep information like the baby's name and sex from H'vier for long, even if he weren't now standing in front of her, but it doesn't mean she has to be happy about giving up that information. Her lips purse and her eyes close briefly to cover a look that would only make Miska scold her more, and says, "Tayre. His name is Tayre." Which is not what the paperwork says, technically, but you know, who's paying attention to that? "Tayre," says H'vier experimentally, more to himself than strictly out loud. It's only now that he seems to remember there's a healer still hovering in the room and he glances Miska-wards to tell him, "You can leave now." They don't need him to be here. Tayte is his patient, not H'vier, so it's to the vintner that he defers with a crisp undertone. "Would you like me to leave? Or should I stay?" Miska keeps his nonchalant gaze firmly on the bronzerider the entire time; likely he's dealt with these shenanigans and isn't put off by the intended snub. Tayte's eyes shift from H'vier to Miska and back and forth once more. She frowns again. She's going to get wrinkles! "I'll be okay, but, would you please check on us in about a little bit?" She'll give the bronzerider that long, although it doesn't look like she's about to surrender the child to him. Yeah. That's how it is. If H'vier's lips sort of pull up at the corners when Tayte tells Miska to go, that's probably just a weird coincidence. He doesn't wait for the healer to get lost before he's moving to kneel beside Tayte's bed, though. "I was supposed to be here, Tayte." It is the vintner's suggestion that has Miska turning and leaving, as quietly as possible. In reality, it is a good idea to hold that there is an infirmary aide or two lingering around the room just in case there is a need for the healer's assistance. The woman's eyes follow the healer for a moment, but H'vier is the one that requires her immediate attention. "We were supposed to be weyrmated and enjoying our happily ever after," she counters with a look that plainly says 'look how that turned out.' "You know that's not what you want," H'vier tells her in one of his more reasonable voices. "I could have come," he adds, a little sadly. "Yvalia came to me. But I didn't want to make it harder on you." See how mature and responsible he is? "You have no idea what I want, and what I wanted was never part of your equation." The one that summed up to her being dumped. Tayte looks both surprised and displeased by that revelation. "What. Did you finally decide to like my oldest since she's more coherently able to tell you about our lives than her sister?" It's certainly not a fair charge to lay on him, but... "You were the only part of that equation, Tayte," growls H'vier in a voice that's hopefully low enough not to bother the baby. "And fuck you. It has nothing to do with knowing about you." That's a lie. But probably not as big of a lie as some other things. "The only reason I didn't like her was because of K'del." At least he'll still admit that was a thing? But maybe he doesn't care about the other bronzerider's involvement as much anymore. Tayte just rolls her eyes disbelievingly at the first. She shifts back a little more in the pillows as though she might be able to put more distance between them. "What do you want, H'vier?" It's not the first time she's asked him and like the other times, though perhaps most justifiably now, she sounds tired. Tired of their repetitive dance. Tired of this old argument. Just tired. "I wanted to visit my child. My son." That might take a day or so of getting used to, but the idea already seems quite capable of putting a grin on H'vier's face despite his almost-anger just a moment ago. This time when he reaches out, it's only with one hand. You don't pick up babies with one hand, even if you're H'vier, so his only intention seems to be touching the infant with gentle affection. "He's beautiful, baby. You did good." The way Tayte shifts abruptly away from that reaching hand jars the small figure, but virtually nothing wakes a sleeping baby this much in the wake of birth. The blonde is glaring now. "My son. You gave up your rights, H'vier." Did he? Well, according to her anyway. "You may not be taking a wing away from me, but you've taken much worse. This is my child to raise. Not yours." Harsh. The bronzerider is somewhat taken aback by the woman's vehemency, his hand jerking back like he was reaching for fire instead of a harmless newborn. It's probably a good thing that Miska has left because H'vier wouldn't be thrilled about another man seeing Tayte treat him like this. Or maybe more how he reacts to the treatment by backing down and looking oddly hurt. "Tayte. Don't do this." "You broke my heart to keep from hurting me. You hurt me then, and every day since," almost definitely an exaggeration since at least a few of those days had been quite pleasant between them. Still, Tayte looks perfectly serious. "What assurance can I ever have that you won't hurt me every day from now until always if I let you parent this child with me?" Nevermind that they're already co-parenting one child together and she hasn't threatened that standing relationship, which is a little inconsistent. "I can't promise that I won't hurt you. Because I haven't been trying to hurt you. I don't know how to avoid something I'm not trying to do." In other words, this is not fair. But H'vier has the sense not to say it in those words, exactly. That Tayte is angry, of that, there is no doubt. And these answers H'vier have been giving are not 'fixes everything' answers; they don't make it all magically okay. There's frustration for that. But she turns her gaze down to the baby. The baby who is only called Tayre. It's some silent moments later that she sighs and dips her head to press a kiss to the sleeping baby's head. "Tayviere." She relents, at least a little. "His name is Tayviere." Then she levels a stern look on the bronzerider. "But we are calling him Tayre." Because Tayviere is a mouthful, but there's the makings of a good honorific there. "And you and I are never having sex again. We're over. That way. Do you understand?" The blonde gives him a very level look. "You've given up any claim you have to me. I'm the mother of your children and you are their father, and that makes us family, but that is all." H'vier looks at the baby when Tayte says his true name. There might be a hint of a smile. But that fades quickly enough, because his eyes are lifting to the blonde as she says the rest. He even opens his mouth to protest, but, in the end, doesn't let himself speak. Maybe it's that he knows this is how it should be. But it's probably more likely that he knows that's never going to actually happen. Either way, the bronzerider nods and all he asks is, "Can I hold him?" Tayte is not convinced. "If you do anything stupid to violate the agreement, so we're clear, I will take the children and leave the Weyr." And presumably go where H'vier cannot find them. "Do you understand?" She doesn't make move yet, to hand their son over. That's a bit, well, harsher. It makes H'vier pause before he nods, but he nods all the same. "No sex," he both agrees and perhaps wants to make sure this is the agreement he's agreeing to. Just in case it is for clarity, "Or doing anything stupid because you feel like you have some say in what I do with myself, particularly my body." Tayte eyes him. So it's probably a good thing he didn't punch the healer? Not that that has to do with her body or anything. But it would have been kind of stupid and because of her. "Right," is easy to say now for H'vier. No doubt the healer isn't the only one grateful for that. Tayte might require more of him, but K'del's already got the other important things covered by way of consequences. So she sighs, perhaps not entirely happy to be making even this much of a concession. Then she shifts, carefully, so carefully she shifts the sleeping baby into his arms, made tinier by the comparison. With the baby in his arms, H'vier is completely relaxed; the gentle giant that people probably wish he was all the time. He shifts, very carefully, to his feet, then heads toward the chair that Miska had been in when he arrived. He gazes at his son once he's settled in, and he's liable to sit there doing that as long as Tayte, or Tayre, lets him. Tayte watches him, expression nearly suspicious. When the healer reappears, it's with halting words she explains H'vier may stay. It's not really Miska or his assistants she's dreading explaining that one to, but fortunately for Tayte, by the time the girls arrive, presumably with K'del, Tayte has dozed off, despite herself. It was a very long night. |
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