Xanadu Weyr - O'ric's Cottage
If this fairly plain cottage were lacking in one thing, that would be furniture. If there was something it was overflowing with, that would be clutter. Almost every inch of floor, and the few pieces of actual furniture, are covered in plates, cups, writing things, and discarded clothes in various states of cleanliness. Against one wall of the bedroom is a large trunk fitted with a sturdy looking padlock, this appears to be the only part of the cottage without junk tossed at it.
The time since the change in Weyrleader has bene unsettling for almost everyone, especially O'ric. With the threat hanging over his head of G'ene shutting down the Newes if he dares to put one foot wrong, he's been very careful to keeps things as dull as possible. While it has certainly spared him from the Weyrleader's wrath so far it has done little to please his readers, or the please O'ric himself. As a result he's been spending more and more time in the cottage, bored and sulking. Even now he sits at his makeshift desk and simply stares at a sheet of paper, unable to think of anything to write that will be 'safe' enough.
Nicca has been even more careful as of late to avoid her mother's office, particularly on the off chance that G'ene might be there, and the tavern as well, just to be safe. That hasn't, however, prevented the young woman from poking around, and making up tales, threatening others with inclusion in the Newes if they aren't careful. This morning was a bit of private reconnaissance, and from the looks of Nicca it went rather poorly, the girl sporting a bruised cheek bone, and mud on her knees, forearms and in her hair. "Oz.." She sulks briefly as she sneaks in.
O'ric glances up briefly before going back to his staring, though a moment later he glances up again and blinks. "Nic. What happened?" Immediately he jumps to several conclusions, none of which are very pretty, asking immediately "Who was it? I swear I'll rip his head off if he even touched you." and surprising even himself with the fact that he means it.
"Stupid little holder girl got all mad at me." Nicca winces, shaking her head a little bit, glancing down at her knees, and her hands, before sheepishly looking back at him. "Apparently Lady Johanna is a sore subject." She says with a little shrug, one hand gingerly lifting to touch her cheek before moving to rest her hand on his shoulder. "But.. Thank you."
O'ric frowns, almost offering to go beat her up instead. "Not the only sore subject by the look of you." Once she's close enough he slips an arm around her, drawing her close so that he can lean his head against her. "Too much to hope for that you found some suitably boring but still interesting news?"
"She's just lucky I didn't catch the fence. Then she'd have one of these to match." Nicca murmurs, shaking her head and slipping her arm around his shoulders as he pulls her close, fingers gently running through his hair, curling around his ear with a lingering sigh. "D'son's sister is suitably boring. And the runners are just as nasty at Black Rock as at Keroon."
O'ric sighs slightly, "Can't really put that in. Guess I just need to do the… no word yet about the Lady's condition, though it can only be assumed ot be stable. Or something. Shells this is dull. Would love to put something in about him getting knocked flat on his fat ass but then I'd definitely get kicked out. Shame your mother didn't punch him instead of letting him win, can't believe some of them actually like him!" His head leans against Nicca for a moment while he wallows in self-pity. "Putting a thing in about getting someone to draw the stories. Figure it'll dress things up a bit. Can't make the stories pretty, might as well put in some pictures."
"Maybe we should just start making things up. If its not true, no one can get upset." She offers, hmming softly, her fingers continuing to run through his hair gently. "I just can't believe Mother -slept- with him." A little shudder runs through her body and she makes quite the disgusted face, before gently moving to tilt his chin up. "Maybe he'll get distracted, and not read what's written there, then."
O'ric grins, "You mean go back to making things up? You'd be amazed how many people can get annoyed by little thing that aren't entirely true." At the mention of sleeping with he nods, "Yeah, well… not really her choice. I mean, you know how it is. Even Leth was… well…." For once Oceleth had been upset by it, instinct beginning to blossom but upsetting the brown rather than urging him to chase. "Bet if we slipped a nude picture in every issue he'd never read past it."
"Well, they don't need to know they aren't entirely true. Make them up about someone who'd never know.." She giggles a little bit as she ponders. "We could write about how Toban likes to… eat jelly on his.. fish." It seems as if its a game of madlibs for the news, gigging and nodding at the mention of the nude pictures. "Just find a few people to model, to rotate through." The mention of Oceleth, and she nods, stiffening a little, and squeezing him.
O'ric nods slightly, but it's clear he's unconvinced. "People find out, but yeah I guess we could do something. Slip it in somwhere and make it look like something else, then people won't know at all." he sighs a little, the idea not entirely appealing, "This keeps up I'l be writing the damned thing in code. Or just giving up entirely. half tempted to do a couple of stories praising Him for doing something good that he hasn't actually done, and see if he'll be happier that way. Guess in the long run he'd be a better friend than enemy.
"Maybe we should find a special bottle of booze for him.. Use it to get permission to go back to writing like we were." Nicca comments with a little grin, leaning to kiss him lightly, leaning into him with a sigh. "Not allowed to give up, Oz.." She says with a tsk, shaking her head, lightly tapping his nose. "Weyrleader fights off half dozen wild cats with bare hands?" She offers as a joking headline.
O'ric snorts something that was possibly supposedto be a laugh, but falls far short. "More like… I owe my life to G'ene says former wingmember. Or G'ene, a living legend." Even her kiss and tsk-ing doesn't seem to help much, "Can't your mother do something?"
"It'd be more amusing if we right something -true- without even knowing it." Nicca smirks a little, though she does shake her head at his alternate headlines. "Maybe.. I'm not sure if maybe she's just.. avoiding him. Doesn't seem like she has much control." Nicca's nose wrinkles up and she shifts, nudging him a little as if she would settle in his lap. "I don't think she'd let him throw us out, though."
O'ric shuffles back from the desk so that Nicca can take up lap space if she wants to. "All I got when I tried to talk to some of the others was that he's in charge of the wings, and isn't that bad really. I don't see it, but some of them like him so… maybe I'm just too used to R'owan or something."
Nicca settles lightly on his lap, shifting and tugging her pants to avoid covering him with any of the dried, caked on mud, leaning against his shoulder with a sigh. "I guess… Makes me glad I'm not a rider, though." She murmurs. An idle kiss to his cheek, and she gives him a little nudge then. "Hey… Promise me you won't run away?" She asks softly, as he thinks.
O'ric's arms come around Nicca immediately and he leans his head on her shoulder. "Promise. If I run you're coming with me, your mother would skin me if I didn't." he smiles, trying to joke. "Things will be okay eventually probably. We all just need to… get to know each other or something."
"She might skin you if you did too. Go on some lecture about expecting to see her children.." Nicca murmurs, fingers tracing his jawline absently with a little smile and a nod. "Vintners, I think. Bottle of their best… whatever it is he drinks." She contemplates, before grinning. "Bet I can get the marks from Mother too, if I try."
O'ric laughs, properly this time, "You don't think he'd realise we're trying to bribe him? I don't think he's as dumb as all that, just unpleasant. Funny, I never thought I'd find someone that scared me more than your mother does. And he still isn't quite as bad as my father so…." He pauses, shrugs. "Speaking of home, mother wants us to go visit again."
"Who said anything about bribery?" She says innocently enough, batting her eyes once or two. "We.. We just want to give him something for taking us his time, because want to hear about his tales of bravery." She murmurs in a sweet tone, her fingers dancing over his collarbone idly. And then, at the mention of his mother, she smiles and nods. "I'd love to, Oz."
"Riiight." O'ric laughs, shaking his head a little, "That sounds fake even to me and I'm probably the most gullible person you'll come across. Well… sometimes." He pauses a moment, then grins, "We could try to track down some of his old wingmates, I mean there must be stories around about him. Has to have been something that made him like that."
"Well, hopefully he'd have already been having some of the other stuff, so he had the edge taken off." She giggles, and then considers his option, nodding her head with a grin. "I think it sounds like a plan.. See what we can find out." She smiles, kissing him light. "It doesn't count as my turn day trip though." She murmurs absently. "That one, we don't work on."
O'ric tries his best to look innocent, "You have a birthday coming up? Oh, you should have said something." Immediately trying to change the subject he then follows up with, "Where is he from anyway? Ierne I know, but before that?"
"Maaaybe." She murmurs with a smile, giving him a little nudge, before she thinks about it and shrugs. "We'll find out." She offers, before she's giving him a squeeze. "Oh, and Oz? I need to stay with you for a few days. Resident's Hall is.. buggy." She lets that settle in as she invites herself over. "And, I need a bath, before we go tracking down any leads."
O'ric just blinks at her in reply. "Um… sure? What's wrong with the dorm?" All of a sudden he's perking up again at the hint of a story, a real story and not just the bland nothing he's been landed with up till now.
"I'll tell you after my bath, Ozzy." She offers, with a wink, ducking out to do just that.