Xanadu Weyr - Siebith's Weyrbarn
Covered in rough, weathered wood, aged by the weather and the sun, the irregular grayed clapboards outside of this weyrbarn lend the place has a rustic, masculine charm. White shutters and window boxes overflowing with brightly-hued tangles of flowers on the lower windows and flowering vines twine about the supports for the porch overhang add a feminine touch, softening the stark stone steps leading to it.
The worn stone floor of Siebith's area is just inside the large sliding door. The living area of the weyrbarn has an open, airy layout gives the utilitarian, bachelor-like plain white-washed walls and simple hardwood floors a sense of wide open spaces. A sturdy mahogany-toned table with chairs that somehow manage to match despite their variety accent the earthy, wooden tones of the kitchenette. The same dark reddish hues are in the door at the far side of the barn, as well as in the low-slung coffee table in front of the plush, worn couch. Dusky sea-blue rugs are scattered here and there. Dark golden curtains hang on either side of the many windows and partition off the loft up above, led to by a black wrought iron set of ladder-like stairs. Lilies arranged in glass vases on the tables provide a crisp of white counterpoint to the dark wood tones.
A new addition, the bedroom has walls of the same plain white, but the floors are made of newer wood, still shiny with polish. A four-poster bed of the same red mahogany takes up the most of one wall of the small space, a blue-and-cream linen coverlet spread on the wide mattress. A set of wooden bureaus take up the bulk of the wall opposite while another wall has been painted upon in the very center with a seascape mural, its crisp blue waters and sandy shores. The final wall is graced by a feminine-looking writing desk stacked with papers and bedecked with knick-knacks. Over the bed, a set of stained-glass windows allows golden-brown light mingled with white whorls and blue haze to shine into the room with the rising of the sun, though both panes are able to be unlocked and swung wide to accept lake breezes.
It's evening and Thea, who has been getting home earlier than she used to since D'had hurt his hand, has seen that the twins are settled in their beds, dinner dishes washed and put away. They say time heals all wounds and for this one the healers have shared with both D'had and Thea that it will be at least 2 months before his hand is healed and some months after that the strength is back to normal. The stitches are out by now and there are exercises required to strengthen the hand, otherwise it is to be kept elevated in a sling to keep the nerves from pounding and annoying him. Thea tries not to fuss overmuch but she's been watching that he doesn't overdo. Right now she's heading back into the living area of the weyrbarn to check on D'had with the intent that she'll hopefully prevent him from being bored.
D'had has found things to do to keep himself busy from time to time even if he has been found muttering about not being allowed to do certain things. When Thea returns to the living area he's settled on the couch waiting, having finished those exercises he's been assigned. "Come on and sit down, hmm?"
Thea smiles a slow smile laced with mischief as she closes the space to the couch. He was her target, after all and joining him was her intent. She's wearing nothing special - shorts, a soft t-shirt, hair brushed out of her prim office upsweep; but intending to relax. She's carrying two glasses of red wine, which she places on the low table within reaching distance of both of them. And then she's making herself comfortable beside him on that familiar old couch. "How was your walk yesterday?"
"Walk was fine," D'had replies, reaching for that glass of wine with his good hand. "Your day good?" he turns a question back, relaxing into the corner of the couch as she settles in close beside him. Taking a long sip he lets out a sigh. The day being over, that's a good thing.
"Day was fine," Thea returns back to him without any details whatsoever, a little grin sneaking onto her lips, leaning to drape an elbow on his shoulder, her chin resting on the hanging forearm of hers. This puts her eyes on a level with his. There's nothing more than that coming from her, but a subtle dance of laughter in the eyes that regard him.
D'had hasn't exactly had a good day since the incident, but then he hasn't told her he's been refusing fellis when the healers let him get away with it. That look in her eyes however does bring that smirk of a smile to his lips. "I ever tell ya how beautiful you are in this light?" he asks softly, leaning in to rest his forehead against hers.
Thea's lashes flutter in an attempt to tickle his eyebrows and there's a definite curve to her mouth as she answers impishly, "I don't remember, you may have. Why don't you remind me?" She's playful tonight for whatever reason. Oh, she likely has guessed he's probably skipping pain medicine, not that the healers have told her; they wouldn't. But there's a certain quality of the eyes when either pain-dulled or drug-hazed. Most people don't live with their beloved and not notice the subtle changes of the eyes. But if he's not going to tell her, she's not pushing him to. Her glass remains on that low table where she left it; she wants her hand free, lifting it to trace his jawline teasingly with her forefinger. "You didn't walk today?"
"Yeah," Donn replies to the question of a walk. "Just not as far as yesterday." As she runs that finger along his jaw he hmms, eyes closing for a moment before he tilts his head just enough to catch her lips with his. That's what she gets for teasing him like that. "Love ya babe."
The bright look D'had is the recipient of turns to sharp concern. She's probably asked him a thousand times since his hand was hurt and the question rises to her lips once more, "Are you feeling alr-" His mouth on hers interrupts that question though, and she knows he knows what the question should be anyway. She responds warmly to the brief kiss and when he says he loves her, she sighs. She'd usually say it back, but tonight she just asks simply, "Oh do you? Will you still love me when I tell you I was putting things away and found a certain magazine that I then threw away?"
Oh now that's just not fair! He had that safely tucked away where the twins wouldn't find it, but apparently it was not a weyrmateproof space even if it was childproof. Strangely he's not defensive in his answer, content, perhaps, with where he is. "That," he replies, "would be my daughter's get well soon," and he's intent on stealing at least one more of those kisses.
Well, if he wants to put away his own laundry, she won't open that drawer any longer. Just tell her. "Oh well, you don't need that girly magazine. You have me!" And though Thea doesn't sound angry, there's a very firm note to the way she says that and she drops her chin to eyeball him. Right? Right? "And if you're that bored I can take care of-" His lips find hers yet again. And so he's way ahead of her, apparently. At least tonight.
D'had chuckles. "Oh I know," he replies, "Couldn't let it fall into the wrong hands." It’s not like he could just throw it in the trash and have everything be fine. No, that likely would have been worse than her finding it in his drawer and he's perfectly happy with her putting away the laundry. As for taking care of it… "Please do."
And yet Thea is perfectly fine with throwing it in the trash, go figure. The empty wastebasket is a mute witness to where said trash went. Poof! Gone. Comfortable where she is as well, she's got a slow smirk for his 'please do' and thus reaches to relieve him of his glass, setting it on the table with one hand, the other gently resting on his chest presses him back to lie down. She'll carefully shift then to lie beside him and prop her head casually on her hand while she looks down at him, eyes sparkling with merriment. "Where would you like me to begin?"
Well knowing his luck if he'd thrown it away Muir would have come up with it or something and then he'd probably be in even more trouble than her finding it. D'had just smirks as she takes his drink and he rests back, "Wherever ya want?'
You never know with Muir, though he's not yet nine so likely would make paper airplanes out of the pages and never notice what was on them. It might've been amusing for the residents of the Coastal Road though, to find them floating down from the loft window. Thea simply lies there for a moment. Nothing? No pointers? This is Donn and here she is, offering to play. "How about here?" And she plants a series of tickling kisses across the man's brows. "This couch… is sort of where it all began." An opening for him if he wants to take it and talk about nothing. Or something, but he doesn't usually seem to.
D'had chuckles. "Try a little lower," he comments on her choice of starting point. Oh, it's not that he won't give her pointers, he's just letting her take the lead she started with tonight. "Is, isn't it…" he adds, pondering their couch. "Missed this ya know." No, he's not so much for talking.
Thea is a tease when she can get away with it. That pause where she just lay there without moving was part of it. And so is her next move after he says lower. She drops a kiss on each eyelid. That's lower, right? Leaning back she regards him with the same smile, "You mean while you were stuck in there?" Her head tilt indicates the direction of the infirmary. "I'm sorry it was so hard for you to be there."
That teasing of hers has a love-hate relationship with D'had. "Yeah, well," he relents, "Suppose it coulda been worse." It's more than suppose really, he knows it could have been much worse than it was, but that's all in the past and they're moving forward now. Leaning up he seeks to steal a kiss, "You have enough help around here?" He can do more, not that she'll let him until approved by the healers. Or he could at very least find someone to help when Hali's not available.
Aww. Well if he doesn't like teasing, as with talking, he knows what to do about that. About worse, the fear of that still lurks in Thea's eyes and it's not helping her that they haven't talked about it, either. His kiss doesn't interrupt any words though, she's merely letting a breath out in a sigh while the twinkle dies in her eyes. So that kiss, if he'd intended it to be brief is made longer and more passionate on her part, after which she drops her head to snuggle it between his shoulder and neck. Her answer to his question is a wordless nod.
Oh no, he's perfectly happy with that attention, but when she snuggles in, while he likes that as well it also concerns him when combined with the simple nod of an answer. "Then what's wrong?" D'had questions, hand reaching up around her shoulder. He knows that lackluster look in her eyes, it’s not nothing.
Thea's arm, the one that had pressed him back into the couch and had slipped afterward around his waist, tightens fiercely. "I'm just so glad you are here!" Comes her answer still from near his neck. And then she lifts her head to peer down at him again, adding with a funny little catch in her voice, "You know me, Donn. What's wrong is that I notice little things and worry."
D'had gives her a squeeze of assurance given those words. "I'm fine babe," he replies, "Ya heard 'em same as I did, just takes time ta heal up." She was there and that's what the healers said. Nothing has changed since except for time running its course. They're just words though, and while the might help he knows its likely not enough. "Sure there ain't nothin' else botherin' ya?"
Thea nods slowly. "I know you're better than you were," she finally says. Best put it that way! And she doesn't mention where it could have gone. Instead she admits, "You… don't take the fellis enough and you don't say anything about the pain and you seem restless. I… worry. And Shep seems to think there was a problem during your walk." She drops a soft kiss to his lips. "I don't know why you can't tell me these things, Donn."
D'had sighs. At least she's telling him what's bothering it about it all. "Don't need it," he replies of the fellis, he'll tough it out. Besides, if he's not saying anything about hurting she shouldn't be worried about it to begin with. Restless he can't argue with though, he is restless. "Ain't nothin' ta tell babe," he tries to explain.
Thea mutters, not satisfied, "I can see it in your eyes sometimes, though." But she doesn't press. He's a man and they'll do that. Part of her admires the tough pride that won't let him be a whiner and it's there in the tender way she smiles at him, "You are hopeless Donn, you know that?" As for his walk, she's outright skeptical. A dark brow lifts, "I got indistinct pictures from him of you sitting at the tavern bar hugging a blonde woman who then left… angry?" She's not sure about the last bit. A woman she says and here she is draped on him not shedding a tear. Are women strange and unpredictable creatures or what?
D'had chuckles, though as he shifts and puts pressure on his hand he cringes, biting his tongue to keep from saying anything little ears shouldn't hear or anything so loud as to wake them. Women are strange! Doesn't mean he doesn't love them all the same. "Yeah well…" he comments on his tavern experience, "There was that. Said somethin' I shouldn'ta apparently."
This could just be the calm before the storm, but Thea remains right there cuddled with him on that couch although she shifts to give him some room when he winces. She winces right along with him, perhaps catching the expression of pain on his face. "Careful, you alright?" But more importantly, "Why were you hugging another woman? And what did you say to upset her?" The pointed hint, "I already have a weyrmate?" Careful Donn!
"Just sore," D'had admits to that much when she asks if he's alright. As for that other woman at the tavern he could ask why she felt the need to spy on him with Shep, but he doesn't instead he just answers the question. "No," is his reply. He didn't say anything about already having a weyrmate, "She knows that. Asked her who knocked her up."
She didn't try to hide Shep tagging along and he likely knows the answer to why she'd send him along. Maybe it's the look on his face but she does say, "I didn't want you overdoing. And don't tell me you wouldn't, either!" But she's confused about his nonanswer about the hugging and since she's asked him twice now, simply withdraws, making the move to pull away "I thought-! I don't know why-!" Why's he hugging another woman and asking her THAT.
D'had snorts. Him, overdo it? Never. Okay, so he would and she knows it. No use arguing about it. As for the why, "Was sayin' hello." The part he's not catching onto is the idea that she doesn't know who it was. But then she's trying to get up and he's even more confused. "Hey, what'd I say now?" So he might be a little crass this evening, but lets just blame that on his refusal to take fellis. "Or all my women goin' crazy?"
You'd think Thea would get a clue from the casual way he's talking about saying hello to a blonde by hugging her while not batting an eyelid. But nooo, Thea's mind is not thinking logically at the moment. She pauses, still right there but looking like she's going to flee, blinking at him like he's gone daft. It's on the tip of her tongue to ask him did he take fellis after all because she knows he isn't drunk. "How can you not know what you said?" His 'all my women' shakes her up more than she would like and it shows. Not crying yet, but her eyes open wide with pain. "All what women?" Poor Donn, poor Thea.
Not drunk, no, but he is confused as all get out. That said he's the one trying to get up now, muttering to himself as the process isn't going as well as he clearly thinks it should. "Well between you and the girls.." meaning of course his daughters.
Oh! Ohhhh NOW the cluebrick hits Thea upside the head. She just sits there for a minute while things click into place. "You were hugging Darsce!" Because, yes. Blonde. Woman. And that, of course means he upset his daughter, not… some blonde by asking her about being knocked up. Her hand reaches out to forestall his getting up, hand to chest gently pressing him back down. "Darsce's pregnant?" Blink. Staaaare.
"Course I was huggin' her," D'had returns. Didn't they already establish this? He relents easily enough, laying back on the couch without putting up any resistance to that hand on his chest. "I dunno anymore," he admits, "She says she ain't." Which he has tendency to believe given her reaction to his original thought.
Thea actually facepalms, smacking her palm to forehead and drawing her hand slowly down her face with her fingers trailing after. "You never said it was Darsce specifically. So you know, I thought- nevermind." And here she just gets a sudden case of the giggles, collapsing on him in a weak gibbering heap of laughter. It beats tears though, right? "If she says she's not then maybe she isn't? Are you disappointed?" Best establish this before she asks her next one. Yes.
"No," D'had snaps quickly in reply to her question of disappointment though her facepalm and giggling get a raise of a brow in confusion, but he's not even going to ask about that. "She says she ain't she probably ain't, but if not her I still wanna know who is." Because he's convinced one of them is.
"Just checking," Thea says quickly into the silence that comes after his last and then she lifts her head, props her chin in both hands, elbows on his chest so she can better look at him down there. "One of them is pregnant." She says this slowly and with great puzzlement. "Are you… sure?" Waitwait he'd mentioned all his women awhile back so on this night of confusion she'll just cover everything. "I'm not. And I can assure you Marella isn't either."
"Well I know she ain't," D'had says of his youngest. That much he already knew given she's only eight! As for being sure, "I dunno, you said…" mutter mutter mutter. He's just flustered now and apparently hasn't been able to say anything right all day so…
D'had flustered. It's just so darn cute that Thea has to duck her head to hide the smile that sneaks across her lips despite her best attempt not to. And so she tucks her head back down by his neck again until she gets that back in control. She also takes the time to cast about in her mind what he thinks she said, but comes up with nothing. It seems that confused is just going around tonight. Lifting her head once more she tells him seriously, "I never said one of your girls was expecting."
"Might as well have," D'had replies. "Yer the one said 'grandfather'." Specifically that he was going to be one, which he's not going to say himself. Not his fault his thoughts went instantly to the girls.
Fault… isn't something Thea worries about much. It's a non-issue when you love someone. But the key word is 'grandfather' and it unlocks the confusion in her mind with sudden clarity. "Ohhhh! Grandfather!" And she's got that the happy-bright look in her eyes that she had outside the Infirmary. "I meant Natali." Pause. "Well, and Nash too. What did you think she meant by girly things?"
That's enough of that particular word thank you very much! He doesn't want to hear it right now. As for what she meant, "How should I know what that means?" Does he look like a girl? 'Girly things' are not something that he ever takes the time to think about unless there's a girl telling him what exactly that term means in her particular case. "You can go explain that ta the blonde," he comments with a wave of his hand towards the door. Not that it needs to be done this instant.
Okay no saying the G-word. That look on his face sends the message loud and clear. He absolutely does not look girlish in any way shape or form, one of the things Thea quite likes about him! One hand cups D'had's cheek, pats it gently, "Well… I'm pretty sure you had female relatives on that ship of yours. Cousins and things?" And he's been with her long enough to know a little something. "Trust me when I say the word 'wonderful' is not one used for the monthly 'girly things' that would bring a woman to the Infirmary. She said 'wonderful' and well. You know what that means." There's some logic for him! Finally. As for Darsce there's a blink, another brief stare. Then firmly, "Ohhhh no! She's your daughter. You're fixing that one!"
D'had snorts. Just because she said it doesn't mean he was listening at the time. They were talking about girly things, he was taking fellis at the time, there was no reason to listen to the whole conversation when his one goal at the time was getting out of the infirmary. "Don't mean I paid attention to 'em," those female relatives of his. Not in those situations anyway. And as for Darse, "She won't listen ta me."
Poor D'had. Does he have a headache yet? Well fellis and intent to escape would tend to cloud the focus of such auspicious news. That's why he has her! *cough* The admission he makes about Darsce draws a sweet and sincere smile to her lips, "You're her father. If she didn't love you, she wouldn't be mad at you; she wouldn't have cared. Just tell her you love her and you were upset that someone had hurt your baby girl." And she dips her head to catch his eyes, "Try saying a simple, "I'm sorry?"
Yes, but she didn't help much that day, now did she. "Yeah, well…" Yes, he does have a headache now. Way to ruin a mood. "I'll try if she'll listen," a concept he's not so sure will work, but then again he's had problems before - just not like this.
She helped him… to not be bored tonight though! And to know he's going to be a G-something. As for the mood… Gently, "Trying is all anyone can ever do, but if it helps, I think you will do fine, Donn." She's still trying to catch his eyes. "Don't be angry. I love you?"
Bored wasn't an issue to begin with? D'had gives up with a sigh. No use being frustrated tonight, he can save that for his attempt to talk with Darsce later. "Ain't mad." Not at her anyway. "Thanks babe."
With his hand out of commission, Thea was concerned about him being bored, if he wasn't. She does have his best interests at heart and tries to make his life sweeter. Well apparently she fails bigtime in that. As for his mood, she is still here, cuddled with him on that couch willing to help improve it… or at least get his mind off of it?
He's had days of boredom since the incident, yes, but tonight was shaping up to not be one of them with her and a glass of wine, but then she had to talk. Ah well, that's done, for now and yes, she's still here. D'had shifts making himself comfortable on the couch, arm around her while he rests his cheek against the top of her head. Yep, it can still be a good night.
Well at least that's all cleared up? XD