Continued from: The Little Sperm That Could
Xanadu Weyr - Weyrleaders' Office
Office and retreat, this is the domain of Xanadu's Weyrleaders. The door is in the eastern wall, quite close to the southern end while the northern wall is dominated by big, expansive windows, framed by sumptuous deep blue drapes edged with a brilliant gold braid and tied back with a thick rope of braided gold and blue cord. In between, the eastern wall is covered floor to ceiling with shelves that house all sorts of records, manuals and supplies that are used on a day-to-day basis. The southern wall has the Weyrleader's desk — plain fellis wood, well polished and masculine. From behind his desk, the Weyrleader can look straight through the windows and out onto the main airspace of Xanadu. The western wall is where the Weyrwoman's desk resides: a lovely piece of furniture made of warm cherry wood. From her seat, a glance sideways gives her an equally good prospect out the window. There are a few other seats, some comfortably arranged around a low round table for small, informal meetings while there also some that can be drawn up to one of the desks.
On the south side of the door, the space is occupied by a low oblong table where refreshments can be set without someone needing to intrude. There is also an 'incoming' tray where incoming correspondence or similar items can be left.
Ers'lan walks up right behind Keziah with a wordless grumble, latches his hand underneath the back of her upper arm and uses the other to put pressure on her shoulder. He practically shoves her into Thea's office, muttering in her ear, "Ya better be havin a good explanation fer yer stupidity back thar."
As she's suddenly grabbed and pushed towards the other office and away from where she's going Kezi actually does something quite uncharacteristic. She screams bloody murder. If even fore a split second. For it cuts off when she hears Lans voice. There's panic in her eyes as she suddenly spins around, losing her balance and stumbling backwards, further into the room. "Stupidity? Stupidity? Yer a liar! You lie!" she's crazy.
The high pitched scream makes him wince and actually shudder. "Reckon ya jus made me DEAF on top of the rest of it…" he closes the door behind them, with a hand absently hitting the lock on the door. No need for people interrupting this meeting. He just might want to kill her after all. After the lock is secure, he starts to try cleaning out his ears, shaking his head with the annoyance of that high-pitched scream still echoing in there. "Aye… calling me a liar fer whar? Callin out me problems in front of all them people!" A pause and a glare at her, "At least when B'rdian berated me, he did it when no one was listening…" There's a small knock at the door and he holds his finger up to silence Keziah as he answers it, receiving the tray of klah, iced water, hard liquor, and a box of tissues. The odd assortment has his eyes lift but he accepts it, closing the door hard behind him, flicking the latch again. Setting the tray down, he rounds on Keziah again, "Ya going ta talk to me like a normal person now? Or ya going ta keep screaming and accusin me?"
Keziah stares at the tray as it's brought in and then she turns and looks at the room and then heads over to a chair and just slumps into it, facing away from Lan. She's quiet and she doesn't answer Ers'lan at all. Instead she's shaking just a little as the tears fall again, but she's trying to control it. Seeing the tray just took all the fight out of her and she just shakes her head a little at the questions.
The hard drink is what Ers'lan goes after when he's met with that scolding silence. He pours thoughtfully, eyes seeing the unseen in the bottom of that glass before he pounds it back. The angry heat burns all the way down but oddly is soothing to the man. Another shot is splashed into the glass, eyes looking back over toward the slumped Wingleader. The second shot? He pounds it as well. The anger is still smoldering just below the surface as he leaves the glass next to the bottle Thea sent up, striding over toward the woman, his tone stinging, "Iffin ya dun narh tell me whar in the name of the Redstar be wrong with cha, then I be having no choice but ta submit a report ta the Weyrleaders 'bout how ya conducted yerself today. Ya said it yerself, narh to let it happen again, whar B'rdian did ta me." He waits to see if that threat sticks and gets some manner of response.
Keziah just nods her head softly "That's exactly what you should do. YOu shouldn't let anyone do that to you. Even me." she says quietly. She's not fighting. It seems the fight has gone out of her. "I told you true. There is no excuse for what I said and you have no reason to forgive me for what I did." She reaches up to take her own knot off. "Perhaps this was a wrong decision. I don't deserve this knot. Maybe. Maybe I should leave."
The man walks over toward the desk, the palms of his hands outstretching on the surface as he slouches in an exasperated and exhausted stance. "Dun narh go all whimsical on me…" he sighs as he pivots and puts his butt up against the edge of the desk, crossing his arms with his chin jaunted down, "Why ya acting this way? Why I be lying to ya? I dun narh think I ever lie to ya…" His brows furrow some, snorting some, "Ya dun narh get ta beat yerself up like that, only I be allowed to since… ya beat me up all the time." A roll of his jaw as he looks for some measure of a smile from her, a break, before he pitches forward, going to her. His hands reach out to rest on her shoulders, pushing her back against the seat so that he would be better able to catch her eyes, "Whar is going on? Yer actin crazy… more than usual…" another tiny glimmer of humor.
Keziah looks up at Lan "You said you figured you were sterile." she says quietly "But I'm pregnant. There's no way I'd be pregnant if you were sterile. I don't have sex with anyone." she notes quietly "So I know it's you. It certainly wasn't Laera." There is no smile there. Despair? Confusion? "You weren't supposed to be the dad. I had a list." she looks back down towards the floor. Not that she elaborates on the list. "I'm not being whimsical. I'm useless as a wingleader. I can't even work with my wingsecond without trying to kill him."
Ers'lan lets his hands fall away from her as she makes Mr Oblivious make sense of it all. There's a jerk of his head back as if in denial, shaking his head slightly, "Tis a cruel joke ya do be playin…" very suspicious. Until, the quiet of her tone makes him lift a hand to his forehead, "Faranth…" he whispers, astonished at the revelation. "How… could that be…Laera 'n I have narh been usin herbs or nothin, reckon she be narh with child. Maybe yer lying ta me..!" He waggles a finger at her, stomping toward the one side of the room, hands on his hip, looking down at his shoes, muttering incorrigible curses. "A list?!" he turns a questioning look back over his shoulder, "Ya have a list!?" Of what, he couldn't begin to fathom, instead he pulls out a chair and folds into it, hands rubbing to cover his face as he stews.
Keziah shakes her "I'm not lying. It was confirmed today." she notes softly "I had a list. I wanted another baby. And when I chose the guy I wanted a baby by I was going to go ask him." she notes softly, nothing even thinking just how terrible that might me. "No strings. Just needed the sperm. Nothing else." Trust a beastcrafter to look at it that way. "It's no joke. And with Aro having been grounded, and then with my hand and well." she lets out a breath and then she gets up and walks over towards the window and stares out at the window at the pouring rain. "Why would I make this up anyways?" she asks without looking over at him. "I know I'm a terrible person, but am I really that terrible?"
"Confirmed. Good. Yer pregnant. Good. Ya like kids," he nods as if to make it more meaningful. He doesn't admit that it could be him, instead he mutters, "Reckon I dun narh know iffin ya had a romping good time with that Harper friend of yers…" Matrin. Yes. Blame the Harper. Always the Harper's fault. As for the list, he just stares at her. And stares at her…. and stares at her some more. It's a dubious look. It remains, he just blinks. Finally, a low murmured, "Wow…" that carries him to his shaking head and head that drops. "Reckon ya would narh…" he wrinkles his nose and drops his forehead into his hand, massaging his forehead as if it would alleviate the headache forming. "Nay…" he grunts as his head lifts only to drop back on a folded fist, chin pitched on top of knuckles, "Yer not. I reckon I jus dun believe it… narh 'cause it be ye, but jus because it be me!"
"What?!" Kezi does come out of her funk and she's up, chair falling to the floor "I sure as shells did /not/ have a romping good time. Not with You, not with Matrin. Not with anyone! Shards. What part of I didn't have sex with anyone don't you understand? Do I need to put it in other terms?" she pauses as she things up other terms and then just leaves it at that. "Yes, a list! I wanted to find the perfect donor." she notes "And shells, why would you be on the list anyways. You told me you were STERILE!" she kiks the chair and then yelps. POor chair. THat wasn't a crack was it? "The only man I've been in bed with since my last flight was you. It's not like I sleep around with anything that has a hole and a heartbeat."
Ers'lan looks up abruptly at the sound of the chair clattering to the floor. He doesn't move though, he remains stationary, with a wary glance toward her. "Reckon ya did spend some time away with that Harper, 'n he be a smooth talker 'n all that." He's just suggesting -that- could be the daddy, not him. He sits back after a while, letting her go on another rant. He waits, watches her kick the chair with a stern lift of an eyebrow. "Sit down befer ya hurt yerself, ya fool woman…" an off hand remark that he'd usually do regardless of the situation. After, he sincerely mutters, "Reckon that be why yer so uptight all the time. That be an awful long time ta go without! Even fer a woman…" he disapproves of her not having enough sex since as by his implied words, it makes her crazy. Then, as if he were asking for a death wish, "Be I on yer list iffin I wasn't sterile?"
"Bite me!" she yells at him "I don't want to sit down. I don't need to sit down!" She kicks the chair again. Yup.. that didn't do the leg any good. She winces and limps a little. No she did not hurt herself, she refuses. "Oh yes, Mr. Smarmy. As if. He could hardly handle eating a mud bug." she snaps. "No one needs to have sex all the time. It's bogus. No point to it but procreation, and by Faranth, you certainly fixed that right up for me. Get it through your thick skull or do I have to crack it open again?" she demands. She then stops and stares "What the bloody shards do you care about my list? Why would I put you on it! You drink too much. You've marinated the little things. It's no wonder you can't get Laera pregnant!" she mutters at her self and stomps to the door and pulls at it. Forgetting that it's locked, gets madder and kicks it. Ouch.
Ers'lan's face has grown unreadable, in the grand scheme of things. If a word had to be put to it, he'd look simply exhausted with the situation. He stalls her, "Wait, whar? Nah point but procreation? Yer joking right?" He hopes she was but with the cant of his head, it looks as if he knows she's serious, "Ya jus haven't had sex fer fun… and sex that do be getting ya feeling great… Like… relax once 'n a while! Yer always crazy and stressed out half the time." He throws up his hands as she again insists that it was him, standing up now from his chair as she turns to leave. The part about not getting Laera pregnant causes him to follow her stomping over toward the door, reaching to twist her around after she kicks it, using his man-handling ways to turn her and push her back against the door, "Calm down." He looks at her, "Whar ya want ta do bout it? Other than scream at me fer it?"
Wait, what does she want him to do about it? Keziah looks at him blankly for a moment "Admit yer not sterile?" she frowns a little and then sighs as she just leans back against that door. "It doesn't feel great. Just a bunch of grunting and sweat and mess. Then it's done." She then sighs a little and pushes against his chest. "Why are we in here anyways? I'm hungry." she almost pouts. She then looks up at him. "You really think I'm crazy. Don't you?" She sighs a little and shakes her head. "Best write that report then." She then jsut slumps and stops pushing.
He keeps her pinned there against the door, maybe to keep her from hurting herself further. "Reckon I did narh know it… but fine… maybe I be not whar they said I was." No one could really confirm it one way or another anyway - technology wasn't that great after all. His brows lift at the mention of it not feeling great, "Whhhhar?!" he looks stunned at the revelation, "It.. I… Keziah…" he stammers, as if such a thing was unheard of, "Ya… need ta spend more time with Laera. Talk to her bout it. That be my recommendation, reckon it be narh supposed ta just be all that.. but enjoyable." He sighs, holding her as she pushes against his chest, ignoring the mention of food for instead the last, which makes him frown at her, "Ya dun act like the other women. Yer afraid of somethin… dun know whar it be. 'Fraid ta fail, 'fraid ta live… 'fraid to enjoy yerself…'Fraid ta open yerself ta another…" He points and touches her chest, the hand soon drawing up to pick up her chin that slumped down at the report remark, forcing her to look at him, "No. Reckon I rather keep ya in sight." A beat, "I wish ya would tell me whar is really in yer head 'n narh jus scream and kick things…"
"I like screaming and kicking things." Keziah mutters under her breath. "And why the bloody shards do I even haveta act like other women? I'm not other women. I'm me. Keziah and why should I talk to Laera about it? Just cause I don't hop into everyone's bed at the drop of a hat." She grumps a bit. "I want to sit." she finally says and mutters a little "Why would you want to anyways? Keep me in sight that is. "I hit you, I kick you, I bite you. I call you filghty names and scream at you. You should want to keep me at arms length if not further away. Why don't you go away! I'm not afraid of nuthin'. I'm not afraid of you. I'm not afraid of anything!" Okay, so not true. But will she admit that? She just glares at him, daring him to argue. But well behind that glare is something else. Yeah. she's got her fears.
Ers'lan jaunts his head toward her, a light smirk on his lips, "Aye, ya do." Of course he listens to her when she goes off about being her own woman and all that, "Ya dun narh have ta get in bed at the drop of a hat… I be narh saying that! Just be sayin, ya should talk ta her, she can help ya figure out why it dun narh make ya happy. Just learn yerself and get used to it… dun be so 'fraid of it, of yourself enjoying it." He finally drops his hands away from the door at her request to go sit, allowing her space to go do that if she wishes. Until she does, he mutters, "Reckon I am a glutton fer punishment…" he regards her at the mention of not going away, "Iffin ya really want me ta go away, jus say the word. But I dun narh think ya want that…" A brow lifts at her denial to being afraid, nodding, "Iffin yer narh afraid, then tell me whar makes ya hit, kick, bite, 'n scream…" A challenge for her, aiming to dig at her secrets a bit.
Keziah shuffles over to the chair to sit down. Well she picks it up first and sets it upright. It wobbles slightly, seeing as one leg is sorta pointed outwards, not that she seems to notice it. She does pause before sitting in it and looks back at Ers'lan. "It doesn't make me happy because it's not better than a caprine ruttin' in season." she states. But she looks away as she says it. "Aye, you are a glutton fer it." she murmurs. She doesn't say that she does want him to go away and instead. "Nah, I guess not. Yer a good second." she murmurs, and has no problems saying that. She has no worries on his work performance. As for kicking and biting and all that "Why can't I do it just because I like to?" she mutters as she starts to sit. Now, does she fall and he laugh or what?
Ers'lan drops the sex topic, with an exasperated sigh, but he drops it nevertheless. Sliding a hand in his pocket, he regards the woman for some time, accepting her words yet not by the crease of his brow. Disappointment and frustration. A mixture of both settle on his features. He holds his tongue, bites on it, but stills it from snarking to her in regards to it. His arms cross as she keeps her walls up, "Right. A good second." Insulted? His tone suggested he felt slighted. "Reckon we're done here then, Wingleader?" The title tossed back in her face since she drew the line in the sand in the first place.
Keziah stares at him and then lets out a yelp as she sits and the chair collapses out from under her. She lays there, on the ground. Stunned a moment "What in the bloody shards do you want from me?! I compliment you and you get pissy. I scream at you and you smirk at me. I ain't the shardin' crazy one." She just lays there and closes her eyes.
Ers'lan can't help but laugh. Yes, he laughs. It's a harmless fall after all. "Ya brought that upon yerself!" he notes with a lecturing tone. His chuckles don't last as long as they would, since Keziah is snipping at him soon enough. "I reckon I jus want ya to stop expectin of me whar you can narh do yerself…" he leaves it at that, regarding her sprawled out, "Iffin ya dun want help, yer on yer own then…" More of a figurative that turns literal as he moves to leave, unlatching the door and making to step out into the hallway.
Oh the laughter, it grates on raw nerves. As the door opens and he starts to leave, Kezi stops her ranting and just lays there. She dug her own hole, she knows it and has no one to blame but herself. She sits up and just stares out after Ers'lan. Well, she did snipe at him to leave and now he's doing just that. And judging by her face, she's just plain miserable about it. Or something. And then very quietly she murmurs "I'm sorry."
The End?
I feel so bad for both of them!
Well there we go, rest of the log. And no thanks to Kezi, nothing seems to have been resolved. Or has there been a little crack in that shell Kezi has built around herself?
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
Quote: "Reckon that be why yer so uptight all the time."
I think he's onto something! /tease
Has there been a little crack in that shell Kezi has built around herself?
Each egg hatches a different way, but a crack at the right time speeds things up? XD
He could be…. ;) though I'm afraid what you might consider a good time not too mention how.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
Ers'lan, for the travesty of insulting my honor, I challenge you to a duel of words, sir! The loser will serve as a butler to the winner for two sevendays! En garde!
Just kidding. But seriously, Keziah would rather kill Matrin than kiss him! I do appreciate the vote of confidence though. ;)
Look at it this way. She kept you alive at least.
I reject your reality and substitute my own.
Matrin, you're just smarmy, you don't get to duel when you're smarmy!!! LOL
Poor Mat, you need to look for greener pastures!