Xanadu Weyr - Main Docks
Jutting out from the land are the platforms that make up the main dock of Xanadu Weyr. The extruded plastic makes an odd sound when footsteps echo across it. From this dock, two others protrude taking opposite directions, each for a special purpose.
Mur'dah stomps down to the docks, boots ringing on the wood planks until he reaches the edge. Perfect. If they end up having a fight they can push each other off. This will go well. "Got a lot on my mind right now but I need to know how to tell Kera I'm not interested without fucking it up," he says bluntly, "just so I can do it and not have to stress out over it any more."
Ka'el follows Mur'dah, glancing back to Kanekith with…no. He's not worried! The bronze will do fine by himself. He's a big boy! … He exhales then looks ahead, focusing on Mur'dah and his stomping, brow arching. Well .. the guy just did lose a grandfather…that he never liked. He follows him to the edge of the docks, peers over at the dark water, then to him. "Oh." Kera? Phew. He's not sure what he was expecting. Something heavy like..loss or something. "Just tell her. … eh, gently I guess," he says as an afterthought. "She's .. seriously in to you. You really didn't know?"
They might talk about loss later, who knows with the way their conversations go. Mur'dah sighs, rubbing fingers through his hair. "Tell her gently. She's…really into me? No I didn't know, how could I know?" he asks, frustrated with himself. "I mean she asked me to Fort for that festival, but that was just fun. Hanging out and stuff, I thought she just wanted a ride and some company. Not, like…a /date/. We've…hardly ever gotten along how could she like me?" He's trying to talk her out of it, from afar!
"You're askin' me how girls work?" scoffs Ka'el. "Shell if I know! But I do know that despite everything, she likes you. She probably dumped that bottle've perfume on you because she liked you. Anyhow, point is, she probably likes ya more now because you took her to the festival on Fort. That's why she got all..weird the other day in the Caverns. You talk about seein' other girls, she gets moody." He leans against a wooden post, eyeing him in the half darkness. (There are probably lights around here somewhere, right?) "She named her firelizard Mini Mur'dah. She gets flustered when she speaks about you to anyone. An' she was probably really happy when you two went to Fort together, right?" He raises his brows. "She wants to be your girlfriend. Unfortunately for you, she's probably gonna take it hard even if you do let her down gently." He pauses. "Do you have any words? For her, I mean."
Mur'dah sighs heavily, jerking his fingers angrily through his hair and swearing under his breath. "Ugh, she talks about me to other people?" Is he blushing? Maybe a bit. "Well yeah, but…it was a really good festival!" Clueless. "Words? I…nothing that's /good/. I mean, I know the 'it's not you, it's me, let's just be friends' thing, which is TRUE, but that's horrible."
"Okay," says Ka'el, holding up his hands. "Let's try an exercise. You be you. I'm Kera. You say to me what you think would be good. My advice? .. Compliment her, y'know? About how good a person she is. You have fun together. Things like that because it's true. Mention how you're glad that your relationship has gone from bad to better and that she's a better friend, friend, than you thought she'd be when you first met. Mention friend a lot so she gets the idea. Alright?" He squares his shoulders, rubs his hands together, than points to him. "Go." Lights, camera, action!
They're going to role play? Really? Mur'dah gives Ka'el a level look, but then he takes a deep breath and gathers himself. He can do this. "Hey, Kera." That's awkward, seeing Ka'el's face. "Um. How are you?"
Ka'el tosses his hair. Which is ridiculous because his hair is like, short. But hey, girls toss their hair and he's pretty sure Kera…might. So, hairflick it is! "Hi Mur'dah!" his voice is … slightly higher in pitch. Ok no, it's much higher in pitch. But he's supposed to be pretending to be a girl! A fifteen..sixteen…however turn old she is girl at that. "um hey so, I was thinking. I had /suuuch/ a great time with you at Fort's Winter Festival. It was totally amazing. So um, I thought maybe you and I could like, do something again? Like maybe go to Eastern or something together. That is, if you don't mind taking me." .. He barely stops himself from adding a 'teehee' in there. Mur'dah's been spared that much.
Mur'dah /stares/ at Ka'el. "You're a little too good at this," he growls, before he's back in character. "Yeah, that was fun. We had fun just, hanging out. As friends, you know. Friendly…like. And stuff. Heh. Um. No, I…wait." And he breaks character again. "Should I take her? I mean that's kind of my job…"
Ka'el snorts. "I can't help girls love bein' around me." Snerk. Aaaand back in character! .. no. Out of character again. He wrinkles his nose a bit. "That was…eh. All right." He doesn't sound overly convincing. "And you have two options here. Option one: Don't take her. Tell her that Fort was a one time thing and you don't want to make it seem as if you're going on dates if you keep taking her places. That way, you make it clear that you're not dating and you're turnin' her down in the same go. Option two: Take her. It's your job to take her, sure, but it isn't your job to take her an' hang out with her while she's there. If you do take her, make sure y'make it clear that you're just doing your job and you're not lookin' to date anyone right now. Tell her.. you feel like maybe she's putting more into it than you are, and you don't want her to get the wrong idea about what you guys are. .. Make sense?" Because he's not one hundred percent sure if he's making sense.
Mur'dah rubs his hand over his face. "Fuck it, maybe I should just go out with her. It'd be easier than this shit," he mutters. "I really don't want to hurt her. I like her as a person and all…she's nice, I'm just…not…not romantically interested you know?" Siiigh.
Ka'el shakes his head. "Don't," he says with a small knowing frown. "Don't go out with someone just because. It'll suck, trust me. Bein' honest might suck too, but…it's the better thing to do. The right thing. Aren't you all about righteousness an' shit?" he teases with a smirk. "Anyhow. I really do think that she'd still want to be your friend after. I mean..she'll be a girl about it because she's a girl, but she likes you too much to just write you off."
Mur'dah snorts, shaking his head and rubbing the back of his neck. "Righteousness," he mutters. "Right. No. Yeah. You're right. I need to talk to her. Maybe when I get back from the funeral and stuff. Just…tell her. And I hope she's not like, forever devastated. That would suck and I'd feel awful."
"Forever devastated?" Ka'el ponders the phrase. "I…don't think so. I mean, you're nice and all but you're no Adonis." Or insert your favorite Pernese equivalent there because I don't have one! His words are meant to be teasing though. Lightly teasing. Gently playful. He glances over at him and after a moment, claps a hand on his shoulder. "Sorry about the funeral and everything. S'gotta be hard. Kera'll be alright. So will you. Waitin' til you get back will be good. And it's better she hear it from you than anyone else, or I'd offer to .. help out a bit with that." He pauses, brows lifting a little. "You've got this, then? Just be honest and mean what you say."
F'lar? Mur'dah snorts. "Yeah, I…I've got it, I guess," he says, returning the shoulder clap. "Thanks for your help. Just have to get through the next few days. Not sure how Mom is feeling about it, and we got this paperwork…" He shakes his head, rubbing a hand over his face. "Decisions, decisions."
"You're leaving soon, you said?" asks Ka'el as his hand slides from his shoulder. "If I don't see her before you all do, will you let Marel know I said I'm sorry for her loss an' I'm thinking of her?" Poor Marel. And Thea. And all of them! He watches the brownrider for a little while longer then looks out to the lake. "She's not bad you know. Maybe one day, your feelings'll change. Time has a funny way of doin' that sometimes." He smiles, slightly. "You ready to head back, or gonna stay here a while?"
Mur'dah nods, "Tomorrow morning. I will," he says with a nod and a little smile for Ka'el's concern for his sister. "Who, Kera? You think I should go out with her? I know she's not bad. I'm not repulsed by her or anything. I'm just not attracted to her." Great, Mur'dah. /Don't/ say that. "Eh, I don't feel like a lot of company right now," he admits. "I think I'll stay here, but you can go back if you want to. You don't have to sit here with me." Because he's sitting, dangling bare feet off the dock and staring at the water thoughtfully.
"Not right now, no," Ka'el answers. "But maybe sometime…if your feelings change." But who knows. Maybe by then hers will have too and they'll be stuck in this neverending cycle! He glances back towards the beach where he left Kiena and the rider whose name he never did get. Thoughts linger on the bluerider, but his eyes go back to Mur'dah. "If you want company, I'll be company. If you want to be alone, I know how that is," he says empathetically. "What do you need?" Company, or alone time?
Mur'dah considers for a long moment before he finally shrugs. "Company," he answers. "But I feel bad just abandoning Kiena back there…."
Ka'el plops down on the wooden planks next to Mur'dah, his legs dangling over the edge as well. Enough said, apparently. "She'll be alright. She needs to get out more anyway. Make more friends here than just me an' you," he says, assuming the two of them are friends considering they said hi to each other. "She's been here long enough that most should at least know of her. I hardly think anyone does. It'll be good for her."
Mur'dah nods, "Yeah," he agrees, hands pressed between his knees. Then he turns his head to glance over at the bronzerider. "My uncle is the Holder now." Just in case Ka'el doesn't follow all of Mur'dah's family. He doesn't expect him to. "Gave me paperwork today that would get me a third of the hold's profits from the camilid breeding they've got up there. And a shit ton of back owed marks, starting from when I was named heir. If I sign." Don't hate him.
Uhh. Ka'el watches him as he speaks. His uncle is the holder? Congratulations to him! .. he guesses. He follwos but in the same breath, doesn't follow. Why is he telling him this? His head vaguely tilts as he goes on. Paperwork. Profits that will go to him. Lots of marks. Rich and privileged kid as he assumed from the get go. A brow eases its way up as silence begins and then stretches for a few seconds. A handful of seconds. "..So… if you sign, you get money of your own an' you can pay me back for all the strife you've given me through the turns?"
Mur'dah snorts. "Yeah. Or I just push you into the sea. What'd that cost me?" he says dryly, before he sobers. "I know what it looks like," he mutters. "I didn't ask for it. I don't have to sign." But. Marks.
"More marks than you'll ever inherit," snorts Ka'el as he looks into the ocean. "I'm priceless." A smirk, but when he looks back at him, it begins to fade from his face. Browarch again. "You never do ask for it, but here it is, an' … why wouldn't you sign?" he asks. "What happens if you do? Do you have to go away? Live in Cold Stone? Or do you get to stay here an' have marks delivered to you every however many sevens?"
Mur'dah shakes his head. "No. I mean, as far as I read in the paperwork. I just…get it. But. That's odd." Now he's questioning. "There has to be more to it than that. I'll need to read it again. I'm…well. Not in the best spot to be signing life altering paperwork right now. As for why I wouldn't…I don't know. Feels weird? I shouldn't have said anything. Now people will know and it'll be weird."
"People'll know? Why? You think the first thing I'll do when I leave the docks is go cryin' out to everyone that I pass that Mur'dah's getting money jus' for bein' alive?" Ka'el asks, eyeing him. "Nobody's going to know it from me. It's not my business to tell. And yeah, if I were you I'd read it again. Look for fine print. Doesn't seem like gettin' free money should be as easy as signin' a paper and callin' it a day. But…" he glances over at him with a smirk, "I'm not a rich boy like you. Maybe that's how the world works for your lot." He's kidding! Really. He pushes at his shoulder a bit, a smirk evident.
Mur'dah scrubs his hands over his face, a muttered 'sorry' heard from beneath his palms. The joke doesn't go over very well, though Mur'dah does sway with the shoulder push. Hands fall with a heavy sigh. "I feel like I should feel sad," he says, staring at the water. "But. I feel really happy that he's dead. And that sounds awful."
Ka'el shakes his head once. "No it doesn't. Not if he was a bad person," he says, watching him. "Maybe it's relief you feel? Not happy but…relieved that he's gone and not around to .. hurt or bother anyone again." Not that he knows the whole story regarding his grandfather, but there's been enough for him to know he wasn't the nicest of fellows. "You'll go, pay your respects, and then come back and not have to worry about any of that again."
Mur'dah exhales softly, chin resting on his palms, knees against his thighs. "He was a horrible person," he says softly. "You know how Marel and I were born? He tried to choke our mother, and the stress of it started her labor early." He shakes his head, face twisting with anger. "Horrible bastard of a man. And now he's gone. And I'm going to support my grandmother and my mother, who loved him in their own ways, despite it all. Then I'll come home and…life goes on."
Ka'el's eyes widen. "No shit." Brows furrow as he peers across the water. How could her own father hate her so much that… His brows lower, as do his eyes, a frown curving his mouth now. "Your ma… told me to ask you and Marel about your grandfather. When I was in the infirmary, she came. Her and N'shen. They had me tell her what happened, and she said…she'd seen it before in her home. I didn't think she meant herself though." He combs his fingers back through his hair, his frown lingering. "Yeah. Life goes on. .. Maybe better now for her and you and everyone else if that's how he was."
Mur'dah glances sidelong at him. "You mean the whole thing with your brother? Yeah, he was really controlling of her. Disowned her when she accepted search, wouldn't let her see her mother…he was horrible. It's /good/ that he's gone but people are still sad. How are you doing? Is your brother…?"
"Wow. I never would've … thought that of her or her family," says Ka'el with a slow shake of his head. "I mean, I look at your ma and she seems so .. in control of everything. So sure of herself." He looks down, peering at the silvery surface of the water, unable to see his reflection from where he sits. His mouth twitches a little at the question of his brother. "Gone," he says, looking at him after. "They sent'm away to work in the mines up in the mountains of Crom for two turns. Can't come back before then. … Better than bein' exiled, I guess. He apologized for everything. He's always been a pretty good actor. Would've made a grand harper."
Mur'dah nods his head a bit, rubbing the back of his neck. "She wasn't always Senior," he says quietly. Obviously, but he's implying that there is always growth in a person's life. Quiet for a moment, Mur'dah nods and peers down as well, bare feet swinging. "What do you think about that?"
"It's hard for me to imagine her as anything but," remarks Ka'el with a vague smile. "And…I know it's weird, but I'm glad Kinden lied an' isn't in exile. I'd worry about him every day. Wonderin' where he was, if he was ok. At least this way, I know for two turns he's alright, and then he'll be back home after. What he did, I already forgave him for. What N'shen thinks he'd do, I know he wouldn't. So.. I think it all fell into place the way it should've. Just like it will for you, after this."
Mur'dah tilts his head a bit. "How'd he lie?" he asks, glancing briefly at the bronzerider, and then back at the water. "You forgave him that easy? That fast?' There's no judgement in his tone, just curiosity. "What does N'shen think he'd do?" For being the Weyrleader's brother he sure doesn't know much.
Ka'el nods. "What's my other option? Hate'm for the rest of my life? We grew up in the same house. I know why he did what he did. It wasn't just because of Kanekith. He's resented me since they day I was allowed to apprentice here an' he wasn't. I got away an' he felt stuck." He swings his legs slightly. "I know he lied about bein' sorry for what he did. He's never going to be sorry for hurtin' me, but it was either that or he'd be exiled for…forever I guess. That's what N'shen told me. He and your ma also said that if I didn't tell them who did this to me, then likely whoever did could go after someone else close to me to hurt me more because he got away with it the first time. Someone like Sori." He frowns. "I didn't want to give his name, but after that… well, how could I risk that?"
Mur'dah grimaces with a nod. "Yeah. No, you couldn't risk that." And the teen shudders at the thought, hands tightening around the edge of the dock. "You two doing better?" He's chatted with Sori in passing but the two of them haven't had a heart to heart since the last one. And no massage, either.
"Think so," Ka'el answers. "With the eggs and everything, it's hard to tell. She's been on the sands for so long and then I got hurt. She was with me then. … Would've been nicer if I didn't feel like I was bein' split in two the whole time," he says, smirking. "I haven't seen much of her since the hatching. The day in the caverns when we did marshmallows as the first an' last time since. May check on her tonight. See if she needs anything." What would she need? A blanket. Firewood. Who knows. He'll find some excuse to swing by. "Kalsuoth been alright? Seems like I hardly see'm."
Mur'dah nods, silent and thoughtful. "Oh, yeah, he's fine," he says with a shrug. Then he pushes to his feet. "Thanks for chatting with me, Ka'el," he says, offering him a hand up if he wants. "I need to go get a few sacks of firestone for the…pyre tomorrow."
Ka'el looks up and takes the hand to help pull himself to his feet too. "You don't have to thank me. .. We're friends, right?" A smirk and he pulls him in for a manhug, thumping his back before letting go. "I've got an extra sack in Kanekith's couch if you want to take that," he offers with lifted brows. "Kanekith doesn't need it, and we've got some in Galaxy's storeroom, so I won't miss it."
Mur'dah grins, "I'd like to think so," he says, returning the manhug. "Thanks, I'll just go grab it. I appreciate it." With a little salute, the brownrider meanders off, waving to Kiena and Ph'rys as he goes. And shortly after, Kalsuoth gets up to follow.