Warning: Contains some graphic language
Xanadu Weyr - Kitchens
It seems that with the fire that destroyed much of the kitchen, care has been taken to restore it to a condition well beyond what it was orignally. And thus state of the art equipment has been brought in from the various crafts to be used - stoves and large ovens replacing the hearths, while thin metal sheets have been installed over each countertop, for both ease of use and ease of cleanup. A large pantry remains generally open, containing a all the nonperishable goods, while a similarly large icechest contains the perishable goods.
Keziah is sitting off in a corner, her sulking and glowers at people have given her a place in relative peace, seeing as no one really wants to be by her. Who can blame them though. Sure, she hasn't started anything, but she's done so enough in the past that people are certainly seeming to expect her too, which just makes her all the more mad since she hadn't done anything.
Nervousness practically radiates from Lorelai as she slowly makes her way over to where Keziah is sitting, Ers'lan's spare jacket still draped around her shoulders, "Keziah?" She stops a few feet away from the hugely pregnant woman, just out of reach, and shifts uncomfortably, "Are you alright?" Her eyes flick down to glance at the older woman's stomach for a moment and then quickly back up at her face.
Keziah looks up at Lore "Do I look all right? I'm uncomfortable, the babes keep kicking, my back is killing me. I'm tired, and grumpy and I want to go home. If I wasn't so bloody pregnant I would go. I've been out in worse weather with the caprines. Still half tempted to anyways if it wasn't for the fact that I fear I'd fall and just flounder in the snow unable to get back up again." she notes and then sighs. "And I'm grumpy." Wait, she said that twice, well, she's double so.
Lorelai winces at the little tirade and wraps her arms around herself with a sigh, shaking her head at the thought of the rider fighting her way through the storm to get back to her weyr, "Please stay here with the rest of us." She looks truly worried that she might actually try to leave, "I wouldn't want anything to happen." For one thing, it would kill Lan and she would feel guilty, whether it were her fault or not, "And I'm sure it would kill Lan if you got hurt." Of course it would! She shifts her weight and, for some reason, looks like she's fighting back tears.
Keziah snorts a bit "I doubt it. He's lost interest. I knew he would. It's typical. I'm just an inconvenience now, not even worth the time to say hello too." she notes "Just another notch." she remarks and then sighs. "Sides, he's got Laera anyways. Who is much nicer and much sweeter than me. I'm just an obligation." She looks at the jacket "And he's got plenty of others who I'm sure are nicer too."
Lorelai shakes her head in denial of the fact that Lan has lost interest, "He hasn't. I know he hasn't!" Her brow furrows in distress at the thought. She steps closer and kneels down at the other woman's side, ignoring that she's kneeling on the kitchen floor, "I…" She sighs, "He loves you and Laera both." She makes a face and drops her eyes, "If anything, I'm the obligation…" Just why she would be an obligation, though…
Keziah snorts a bit "Aye, and that's why he ain't been around. That's why he be growlin' at me that he's busy. That's why he be turnin' and goin' the other way. He don't even be comin' by fer food." she snorts. "Likely thinks I'm grotesque anymore. Look at me. Laera looks so much better. She looks normal in her pregnancy. I look. I look obscene!" she exclaims and then just bursts into tears. It's been building and she can't stop it this time. At least not right away. However, so does turn to not be facing Lorelai and takes several breaths and manages to control things to a point "I know he be lovin' Laera. He'll always love Laera." she states simply, her voice ragged. "And why be you an obligation?"
"I…" Lorelai takes a deep breath and lets it out in a rush, "I'm sure it's not that. And don't think I've been feeding him anymore than I feed the rest of the Weyr! I've only done that once-" She cuts off and blushes, shaking her head at the thought that Keziah is grotesque, "You aren't. You're a beautiful woman that's about to bring new life into the world." She's just a little (or more than a little) larger than most pregnant women get. She sighs again and nods, "He loves both of you. He's told me so." Then comes the question she should have been expecting and the tiny baker blushes, looking away. For a moment, it seems as though she might not answer; not until she sighs and speaks in a quiet rush, "I think I'm pregnant."
Keziah is silent for several moments that it likely doesn't help Lore and then finally she states "How old are you?" she asks finally. "Can't be too terribly old?" she still hasn't turned back though. "After all, still doing lessons. Do bakers apprentices not have to worry about that sort of thing?" She shakes her head a little "Well, he's certainly not sterile. Wonder how many other fields he's looking to sow." she hehs a little. "Suppose he's lookin ta make sure in case he meets with an accident that does permanent damage."
Lorelai blushes brightly when she's asked how old she is, "I'm seventeen turns." She blushes deeper, if possible, and drops back to sit on her heels, folding her hands in her lap, "It wasn't on purpose, or nothing…" She sounds almost helpless, like she really wants the other woman to believe her, "It just kind of happened." At least it did from her perspective, anyway! She pales a little at the thought of him getting hurt and looks up with an almost terrified expression on her face, "You don't think he'd really get hurt, do you?"
Keziah lets out a sigh "That man has suffered more damage to the genital region that I'm surprised he can still fertilize." she notes bluntly. "Seventeen huh, only a little over two Turns older than my daughter." she notes and then shakes her head a little. "Well. I guess he's not done yet in making up for lost time." she shakes her head a gain "Not on purpose? You just accidently fell into bed with him and had sex? Or wherever."
Lorelai picks at one of her thumbnails, "Oh… He said that he'd thought he couldn't when I talked to him last." She blushes again when told that she's not that much older than the other woman's daughter and looks down at her hands, "I was fourteen when I met him. We were candidates together." She just didn't have a dragon on the sands when he did. The accusation (or question, or whatever) has her flushing deeper, her tone defensive, though she still doesn't look up, "It's just- I didn't intend for it to happen. I was just going to meet him for a picnic because I never did get to cook anything for him when we were candidates, and-" She cuts off and shakes her head, "I didn't know he had a weyrmate." Much less weyrmates!
Keziah looks Lorelai over as she she shifts once more in her seat. "Candidates huh? Well, I didn't have too much ta do with the candi's. Just the weyrlings." she remarks. "Well, he seems to be a charmer." she remarks "Even Mirai is quite smitten by him." she notes and just shakes her head as she looks the young woman over again "Well, yer a cute one, I'll give you that." she notes "So, does he know?"
The girl nods, nibbling on her lower lip for a moment, "We were searched at the same time, even." Lorelai smiles a little at the memory and shakes her head, "He argued about it, too." Her blush returns and she nods when the other woman comments on how charming he is and she nods, though doesn't comment. Then comes the complement and Lore turns scarlet, fumbling with the lower edge of the borrowed jacket and stammering wordlessly for a moment. The girl nods, "I talked to him about it yesterday. He said he'd go to the healers with me to make sure."
"Yesterday huh? No wonder he didn't have any time. Busy with work my foot." Keziah mutters under her breath and just shakes her head. "Well, least yer cuter than me. I don't think I'd be to happy iffen you were ugly." she notes softly. "Well. You have fun with him. Yer welcome to him. Course, maybe ya should hope ya ain't pregnant, that way he doesn't get tired of you too."
"I think he really must have been busy, though." Lorelai is willing to give Ers'lan the benefit of the doubt. Then again, she doesn't exactly have the same relationship with him that Keziah does. "I only got to talk to him for a few minutes before he and Zhaoth had to go. I kind of interrupted them while they were doing their pre-flight check." She blushes again, "Well, I think you're a lot prettier than me… I'm just a kitchen waif." No matter what she looks like, she's probably always going to think of herself as the young girl that started working in the kitchens just because she wanted to do something for the benefit of her Weyr. Then comes permission to 'have fun' with the other woman's weyrmate and the girl blushes deeper, "I, um… If it bothers you at all, I can stay away from him. I've only spoken to him twice in the last couple of months." She fights back tears, "I…" Seems she's having a hard time getting words out now, "I could ask to go somewhere else, even." That would certainly make it more difficult to see the brownrider.
Keziah snorts "What ya do has nothin' ta do with yer looks. After all. I'm someone who has had my arm up a caprine and pullin out a kid. Or heck I've even had my finger in a canine's anus clearing out their sacs. So if what we do as an affect on how we look. Then I must really look bad." she notes as she shares information which is likely more than Lore wanted to know. She just eyes the girl "Lan isn't one for one woman. I know this, and well he's made it quite clear that he's interest is no longer." she notes "So I really have very little say I guess." she shrugs a little even as her voice cracks as she looks away again.
Lorelai flushes for a moment before turning a little gray at the thought of what the older woman has done, shaking her head, "I've butchered creatures for dinner before." She's never delt much with them while they were still living, though. She swallows hard at the mental images and clears her throat, "The only living beasts I've ever been around are my firelizards…" And maybe that's a good thing. She blushes at the comment about Lan and shakes her head, "I really don't think he's not interested in you anymore, though… He said he was going to talk to you…" She winces, "After we found out for sure whether or not to expect another babe."
Keziah laughs "I've butchered critters too for Alo's dinner. I've also gelded many critters, sewn up prolapsed uterus's and shoveled more manure than you can shake a stick at." There's a pause "Course, I ended up tossing a bucket of porcine blood that had been slatted for cooking with on another poor candidate many many turns ago." she smiles a little at that memory. Course as the conversation turns back towards Lan again she frowns and is no longer laughing "Yeah well. I think I'd be surprised if he did. Not with how he's been actin'."
The list of things Keziah has done makes Lorelai turn ever more green and sick looking, though normally she wouldn't have that much of a problem with it, "I, um…" She swallows hard, "Can we change the subject? I've been feeling kinda sick to my stomach lately…" She looks apologetic and extremely embarrassed about the request. She shakes her head when the subject does change, "He promised. He said he'd talk to you and Laera both." She pauses, frowning, "I'm sure he just hasn't had time to yet, what with the storm coming in so fast, and all."
Keziah looks at Lore carefully and then nods "Think I could get somethin' ta drink?" she asks as a way to change the subject "And maybe something ta eat?" After all, food is always a good thing to fall back on for her. She just snorts a bit about Lan "He hasn't even had Zhaoth check in for him." she goes quite a moment "Maybe I'm just selfish. But it hurts that he's so distant." She takes another breath "I've.. I've wondered if I've made a mistake."
Lorelai nods, quickly standing and looking relieved at the request. Fetching food and drink is something she can easily do, "Of course!" She moves around the room for a moment before returning with juice and a plate of meatrolls and a couple of small sweetrolls, "The sweetrolls are something I've been experimenting with for a while. I think they're almost perfect now." She seems very pleased at that, too. The thought of Zhaoth not even checking in has her frowning a little, "I wonder why…" She trails off for a moment, "Maybe he's… well, maybe he's sulking because Zhaoth didn't catch Seryth?" Not that she would think that Lan would have aspirations of Weyrleadership, but still…
Keziah shrugs a little "Who knows. Who cares." she mutters as she seriously tries to not care about it. And not open up a whole other can of beans. She eyes the food and she smiles as she goes first for the meat rolls. She does like her sweets, but she's really a meat and potatoes kind of girl. "Thank you." she notes as she enjoys the fair and then takes a drink and then tries a bite of the sweetroll "Mmm, tasty indeed." she notes "So what brought you back?" she asks after a moment.
Lorelai shrugs, too, not really knowing what's going on in the man's head, but convinced that he does still care deeply about both of his weyrmates. She smiles at the thanks and waves it off as she fetches herself a glass of juice, too, "It's my job, right?" She was a kitchen worker before she was a baker, after all. She positively beams when her sweetrolls get Keziah's approval, though she shrugs again at the question, "I never really left. I just focused on my craft for a few turns…" She'd been left on the sands, after all, so, obviously, she was found wanting. Right?
Keziah ahs and nods "I know how that goes. I got tired of standing myself and devoted my time to my craft as well. I wasn't going to stand at the clutch that I got Alosynth from, but I was talked into it." she smiles "Sometimes it can take them a little while to get around to coming and joining us. Alosynth told me she was sorry for being late." she notes quietly "I was all set in becoming the stablemaster here and all too."
"Really?" Lorelai blinks a couple of times at that and offers a shy little smile, "Well, I guess I shouldn't give up then, huh?" She wrinkles her nose, "Not that I've been asked to stand again or anything…" And she certainly couldn't stand now, if she really is pregnant. She falls silent for a moment, "I, um…" A light blush flushes her cheeks, "When the babes are born, if you want, I'd like to help you with them. I'm sure you're gonna have your hands full, and all…" Especially if Keziah decides to get back to her wing duties soon after.
Keziah nods a little "Well, you're at a Weyr, and you're still in the right age. Shouldn't be a problem really." she notes "Though if yer pregnant. Well, you'll want to wait until after you've weaned or found a wetnurse." she notes. At the question she smiles "I'll take all the help I can get." she notes. "I know how much a handful one can be, and I've seen Thea's two, so I can well imagine three. I've been recruiting all that I can. And with Ers'lan being such an ass, I've half a mind to make Xe'ter honorary daddy." That'll stick in Lan's craw she's sure.
Lorelai blushes and nods, since she is still quite young, "I suppose you're right." She ducks her head a little, "And if I am, I'll probably ask Mama to take care of the babe for me." She might not be in her mother's weyr anymore, but she's still close to the woman. Then her offer of help is accepted and the girl positively beams, nodding quickly until Keziah mentions naming the Weyrleader as honorary father. Then she blinks quickly several times, "But… That-" She frowns, bringing one hand up to chew on her thumbnail, "They're Lan's though, right?" She might be weyrbred, but she still, apparently, believes in family.
"Aye, they be is. Ain't no other man I slept with. Got me in a flight he did." Keziah notes. "I don't sleep around." Which has been what most people considered the reason for her tempers. She needed to get more action. Or something. "When I told Lan, he told me I had to be joking. They couldn't be his. Course, afore that, Xe'ter had said if I wanted to, I could claim him as daddy." she notes "Told Lan that. Pissed him off good. He finally acknowledged the fact that he had ta be the daddy." she notes "But well, I raised me girls without a daddy. I can raise these three too if I have to." She then sighs a little and murmurs quietly "I don't want to though. So if I have to name someone else as daddy, I will."
"I wouldn't think you did…" Lorelai would never accuse anyone of something like that. What they do with their own time behind closed doors is certainly none of her business, after all! She can't help but blush a little at the turn in the conversation, though, nodding and making a face at Lan not believing the babes were his, "He didn't accuse me of anything, but he did say that he wants to make sure that I don't just have the flu, or something like that." With how long she's been feeling… under the weather… she'd be a lot more ill if she did have the flu.
Keziah hmmphs a little "Well, I suppose he's at leat come to terms that he is fertile. But at least he didn't accuse you of it beind someone else's." she notes quietly and then sighs, just one more imagined afront quite likely. "Well, I would hope yer not real sick like that. With all the food prep you've been doing."
Lorelai blushes deeply and shakes her head, her voice dropping to a soft whisper, "I've never been with anyone else…" She hides her blushe poorly behind her glass as she takes a sip of juice, "He didn't accuse me of anything other than maybe being mistaken." She makes a face at the thought of actually being sick, "I thought maybe I was for a while. I stayed out of hte kitchen and rested and tried to get better, but…" She shrugs eloquently.
Keziah hehs a little "Well, he seems to not accept things real easily "Heck, ya could even have a dolphin check ya. They'd no fer sure." she notes. "But some of the healers are real good at know'n fer sure." She finishes of her meatrolls and sweetroll and her juice as well and just runs her finger through the crumbs that are left. "Do you hope you are?" she asks after a moment.
Lorelai shivers at the thought of getting in the water long enough to have a dolphin check to see if she is pregnant, "I suppose I could… It'd just be mighty cold right now…" She can't help but smile when Keziah finishes off the hearty little snack, though the expression fades at the question and she frowns thoughtfully for a long time, "I don't know… I, mean, I've kind of gotten used to the idea, but it's… it's a complication I really don't need right now, you know?" She makes a face and reaches for the plate, providing that the other woman is finished with it, "If I'd known before that Lan was with you and Laera, then things would have been different."
Keziah snorts a bit "Would they have? He's well known fer likin other's be they men or women. And if you'ld known, and he kept on seducin ya or the like. Would ya have stopped him? I mean really stopped him?" she asks quietly. "And well, they are complications and all, but well you wither learn to work with 'em or ya foster 'em."
The questioning about if she would have really stopped him has Lorelai blushing brightly, the color creeping down her throat, "I would have stopped him. I don't wanna cause trouble between weyrmates. I've seen it before and I don't wanna be the one to cause it." She nods and shrugs one shoulder, "I'm not going to complain about a babe, but I sure wasn't planning on one." It'll be loved, at least; whether she tries to raise it herself or fosters the child with someone.
Keziah hmms a little and then nods and falls silent now. She seems to have run out of steam or something and she just sits there for some moments before she adds "Well, I suppose it was only a matter of time afore he fathered more. He does like his liaisons." she notes quietly. "Though mostly they stay just that." she says quietly "I'd hate fer ya to be hurt."
Lorelai offers a weak little smile of thanks and shakes her head, "I…" She trials off for a moment and blushes again, "I've liked him for a long time. Since we were candidates, honestly. If things had gone different on the sands…" She flushes deeper and trails off, falling silent for a moment, "He offered to let me stay in his weyr…" Her voice is soft, but she quickly continues, "I told him I couldn't, not until he'd talked to you first, at least."
Keziah ohs a moment and seems to look even more crestfallen "I see." she states quietly and just nods a little "I guess I should have expected nothing different." she murmurs "Well, I suppose at least he's trying to take care of his offspring, but well I guess it works well for having easy access. And if you're moving in with him. I guess it's no wonder he's been too busy." she sighs a little "I suppose I should just go find a dark corner to go to bed." she notes in a sudden change of topic.
"I'm not moving in with him." Lorelai shakes her head, very insistant on that little fact, "I like him, yes, but… No. It's way too soon, and it really just seemed like the only reason he made the offer was because I told him that I thought I was pregnant." The sudden change of topic has her nodding, "Yeah… That would be a good idea…" She's been feeling very tired lately, herself. "I'm glad we got to talk a little, though Keziah." She's been wanting to talk to her for a while, anyway, "If you need anything while we're stuck here, let me know. You need to take it easy."
"My bed." Keziah murmurs softly as she slowly gets up from the chair. "It umm, yeah, good to be meetin' ya." she notes as she stands there a moment to recenter her balance. I think I'll just walk around for a little bit. See if there is somewhere that isn't quite as crowded. I not be lookin forward to gettin on the ground, let alone gettin' back up again."
Lorelai wrinkles her nose and nods, "If I could get that for you, I could… Maybe there's a couch that you could chase someone off of?" At least then she wouldn't have to struggle to get up off the floor in the morning. Though, she would have to fight being eaten by the furniture… She nods, blushing a little and nibbling on her lower lip as Keziah goes to find somewhere to sleep.
"Perhaps. Or maybe I can find some bolts of cloth to sleep on in the store rooms." Though that could be just as awkward. What they need is a nice internal lounge or so. And off the quiet greenrider goes, looking more depressed than before. But at least she's not screaming and throwing things?
Keziah: "Not on purpose? You just accidently fell into bed with him and had sex?"
Ths made me giggle a little. Okay, a lot. XD
Lorlai: "I didn't intend for it to happen. I was just going to meet him for a picnic…"
A picnic. So thaaaat's what they're calling it these days. ;)
I kid, I joke…