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.
Perhaps it isn't the best day for this sort of wake up, in light of D'had's indulgence the evening before at Balen Hold's gather, but they are on a restday so any repercussions the Weyrsecond might be feeling will at least be endured out of the office. Yay? And here comes Muir at full speed and at the top of his lungs into the bedroom. The boy is beet red in tantrum, his words illegible thanks to the tears, but among them is a repeated demand of some sort. And he's carrying something that looks suspiciously like miniature riding straps. From the porch there's the sound of Thea's quick steps (sadly not quick enough) and Marella's questioning little voice, by the sound of it, they're coming closer. Who mis-named this a restday?
D'had grumbles, rolling over only to wince as he's met with a screaming toddler. Ow. "Come 'ere," the Weyrsecond mutters, reaching to pull the boy up onto the bed if he'll let him. Just what it is he's crying about he hasn't quite figure out yet. "No tears, mommy's comin' and then it'll be all better." It had better be all better anyway.
Oh dear. That's a tall order for mommy. But indeed here she comes, her breathing just a bit faster than walking should make it. That she's been chasing Muir with a Marella on her hip is the likely reason. Muir, still howling and in possession of those straps, is in the process of climbing into that bed to get to daddy, so those arms that pull him up make the assault all the faster. Of course Muir is ignoring the woman behind him when Thea steps up to the bed with a breathless, "I'm sorry, Donn." Marella's lower lip is beginning to quaver, her eyes filling with huge tears as she watches her brother, one little hand reaching out as she pipes up helpfully, "Muir sad." Woe!
D'had mumbles something more to himself than anything as he sits up, allowing the boy to settle in beside him. Of course Muir might not be happy with just that. Dark eyes crack open to look up towards the female half of his family. Yes, he can tell his son is unhappy. The question remains as to why. He's not the most observant person right away in the morning. "I'll live," he replies to Thea, "But what's goin' on?"
Nope. Muir is left unsatisfied as his stream of words is left unadressed, so he holds up the straps under his daddy's nose. Thea's lips are set in a firm line as she reaches for them, leaning down to pin the stubborn little man with her eyes and an uncompromising, "Muir, I said /no/." Of course this elicits a high-pitched scream and a tug-of-war. Marella covers both ears and turns on the waterworks while burying her head in her mommy's neck, leaving Thea to let out a long, exasperated breath and settle onto the side of the bed looking totally overwhelmed. Nevertheless, she begins trying to pry Muir's fingers from the leather while answering D'had briefly, since Muir is too loud for decent conversation. "He found these on the way out to the nursery."
D'had sighs. This is just not turning into a good morning for anyone is it. "They ain't done," he replies. Not that that reasoning is liable to work on a three turn old, but it’s all he has at the moment. "You listen to your mother," he adds, voice stern as those words are directed to the boy.
Muir isn't listening to anyone, unfortunately. Thea flashes D'had a grateful look while leaning down further to say in Muir's ear (since it's unlikely he'll hear her any other way), "Riders don't cry. You stop it now or you won't ride." Marella takes that moment while mommy is off-balance to lift her flushed, tearstreaked face from where it's tucked, lean back towards her daddy, reaching for him with both arms. "Make him stop, daddy," she pleads. Thea pitches into D'had by the sudden shift, closes her eyes and counts to ten. It's clear she's reached her limit. "I can't take them to the nursery like this," she mutters at the end of that count, eyes still shut. Make today go away? It's a family collision. Yay?
Between Muir's screaming and his own sleep addled brain it's unlikely that D'had hears that remark Thea gives the boy. "Oh sweetie," he sighs, reaching out for Marella and pulling her into his lap with a slight frown at their mother. Yes, he can understand her frustration now. A reset on the day would be nice, yes, but unfortunately not an option. "They can stay here today," he replies, and hopefully they can figure something out before they have to go to the nursery tomorrow.
Thea's eyes open in time to see that frown and taking it as criticism of her mothering skills, pushes herself upright from D'had's shoulder where she had landed thanks to Marella's offsetting her. She turns her head away, muttering something while handing over her daughter, who curls into her daddy. Thea holds her hand silently out for those straps (which are actually finished). Muir, thankfully quieted while considering his options, locks eyes with her while deciding whether to hand them over. Nearly a full minute ticks by, then slowly, the rebellion not one whit diminished, the boy hands them over, his lower lip mulishly poked out. Eyes on her efforts to re-coil the straps, she notes with a remote-sounding, "I'm sorry. I got them up, dressed and tried to get them out so you could sleep it off."
D'had wasn't frowning at her so much as it was himself, but that will be something that has to be talked though later. As for those little straps, he hadn't gotten a good enough look at them to tell if they were finished or not, but it was a good excuse for why they couldn't be used yet! At least give him the credit for that. "It’s alright," he tries to assure Thea, "Ain't no good ta sleep half the day away." He's okay with having been woken up.
Leave it to Thea to misread the man, but the assurance does prompt her to look up at him, regret in her expression for her failure in preventing all this. As for the straps, there will be no doubt left when she says, "I finished them yesterday and forgot to hang them up. Muir saw them on the way out, grabbed them from the porch and took off at a run for Siebith." With a short laugh she adds, "I think he thought he could copy what he's seen us do so often and take off on his own." With a sigh, she lets out pent-up frustration, leans back against the side Muir is not taking up and adds, "I told Seryth not to let Sie wake you." Lot of good that did! Then belatedly, she asks, "How's your head?"
"Appreciate the thought," D'had replies with a chuckle. "Head's fine." He can take his alcohol. "Ah," he nods, amusement clear enough as she relays the story. "You're gonna make a good rider someday," he chuckles, wrapping the arm that's not holding Marella around her brother. "Just not today." To make that clear.
Thea gives her weyrmate a skeptical look, one brow raising. "In retrospect, maybe I should have continued to the dance floor instead of home." If he isn't hungover then just how drunk was he last night? Oh, saying 'not today' draws a protest from Muir. "I'm fly now!" At least he's using a reasonable tone. Marella lifts her head to give her daddy a bright look and she chirps sweetly hopeful, "Go for a ride?" Two pairs of eyes pin their poor daddy with that sort of look that says he's got the real power in the family and if mama said no, maybe he'll say yes. Staaaaaaare. Thea inhales, braces herself, clears her throat and says into the silence, "Actually, Donn, it's a fine day for flying."
"I'm thinkin' your toes are happy we came home," D'had teases, "Or they'd be happier if we had if we hadn't." If that makes sense, or so the look on his face is as he says it. "No," he replies firmly to the pair of them, only to have Thea say otherwise - sort of. "Sie ain't ready for the two of you." Or maybe daddy isn't, but either way…
"Maybe," Thea returns with a grin flickering the corners of her mouth, swaying to bump his shoulder lightly with hers. "The night wasn't a total loss, but I'm sure you don't remember that," she teases right back. Buttons and what-have-you. Marella’s disappointment is limited to a deflated, "Ohhh," and a wilt back to daddy's shoulder, but Muir's face is turning red. Thea doesn't argue, merely points to the boy's face. "Donn. I can't take much more of this. You said okay." Didn't he? She thinks he did anyway. And well, since he hasn't -said- anything to her about his fears, she doesn't know they exist.
D'had pats the girl's shoulder as she flops back against him. At least he doesn't have to argue with all of them about it. "Don't you start that," D'had says, turning to the boy at Thea's point. "You will get a spanking, now you tell your mother you're sorry and give her a hug. I already told you we aren't riding today." When he doesn't say, but not today.
Muir's face is still red, but the boy complies, crawling across D'had's legs to give his mother a stiff, resentful hug. Thea wraps her arms about the boy, eying D'had in complete perplexity over the boy's back. "We can't put this off forever, Donn." If the children aren't arguing, she at least voices her concerns. "I don't want the boy rebellious, nor do I want some other rider to give in to his begging one day when neither of us are around. And it's going to happen one of these days. The nannies have had it with his carrying on." She rests her chin on top of Muir's dark hair, her eyes seeking to both understand her weyrmate and express her concern. He's going to miss something special if he doesn't get it together.
D'had sighs. Yep, they're going to all gang up on him and he's going to give in. "Okay," he starts. "I tell ya what." He's going to try and strike a deal with the twins, good luck with that. Right. "Rider's don't just get to fly. They have to take care of their dragons too." He pauses, his look settled primarily on Muir being that he's causing the most trouble with the whole thing. "You help mommy take care of that brown of hers," he says, pointing towards Shep who's sure not to be too terribly far off. "If you can do that for three days," and here he holds up three fingers for the twins. "Then we'll see about going for a ride. But I don't want to hear anything more about flying until then."
At least he didn't mention Ruin, who, sensing Thea's rising misery has emerged to gloat over it out of D'had's reach, his purr of enjoyment choked off with that declaration. Shep understands enough through Thea's thoughts that he's cringing just a wee bit up there on the headboard as both children peer up at him. "Free?" Marella's trying to mimic her daddy's fingers, finally managing it by holding down her pinkie with the assist of fingers from her other hand, holds them up, smiling her triumph. Muir's looking mutinous. "Wanna ride now!" Thea sighs. "It's a wonderful idea, but…" She's looking worried as her gaze drops from Shep's fragile wings back to D'had with a shake of her head. She points out, "You're asking something impossible from a three turn old. Have you ever noticed their attention span? He's going to be asking when every five minutes. He's already been waiting for what seems like forever to him."
"Three," D'had repeats Marella as he ruffles her hair, only to turn a hard look towards her brother and threaten, "Do you want a spanking?" He's still watching the boy when he replies to Thea however. "Fine then, one. They're here all day, they can show they're old enough. Get 'em some scraps and let 'em feed 'im," he says with a nod towards the firelizards. "Sie needs a bath, they can help with that." Not that he's expecting their attention to last the whole bath, but they can wash a toe or something. Right?
"Don't spank me, Daddy," Marella says in a small voice. Because you, in her three-turn old mind, could mean her too. Obstinately, Muir retorts, "No, I wanna ride Bethbeth!" The boy is as stubborn as his daddy and the look he's giving back to his father is, 'Duh, dad, how much clearer can I be?' "Muir," Thea cuts in quickly, "We're gonna help daddy wash Bethbeth after we feed Shep." Hooray for re-direction! And the slightly-panicked look she shoots D'had over the boy's head for washing, hopefully he'll understand. Not in the lake, pleaseohplease! Don't drown my babies, they can't swim! It's enough to have Muir perking up. "Let's go!" And he's wriggling off the bed.
"Not you sweetheart," D'had replies for Marella. Sure, his voice could be a little more soothing in that, but he's still irritated by her brother's obstinacy. He shakes his head for that look Thea shoots him. They'll be fine. If it’s him and Siebith to keep an eye on them. And well hopefully he's smart enough not to think of the lake for location on that one.
"Thank you, Daddy," Marella says, her little arms reach up to pull his head down where she can bestow a kiss on his cheek for that 'reprieve', coaxing him sweetly, "Don't be mad, Daddy?" Muir's bottom half is hanging off the bed, toes seeking the floor in vain. His grunted, "Help me" has Thea absently reaching for the boy's belt to lower him enough so he can stand, all the while keeping her eyes on D'had. He'll have to forgive her. She's frazzled at the moment, not thinking about how smart he is but that there's no other way to wash a dragon but in the lake. Her turnday came and went unmarked, she hauled her weyrmate home from a gather without that dance last night, chased a toddler with a one-track mind hither and yon and may yet do battle with the nannies. Probably hasn't slept all that well from the look of her. So she stipulates, "Buckets. In the yard. And you need to eat first."
"Welcome baby," D'had replies for Marella's thanks, before reaching for Muir but then Thea beats him to it. "Yes Ma'am," he replies cheekily, salute to the junior included. "Get 'em started," he continues, going on the assumption that they haven't eaten yet either, "And I'll join ya in a minute." Because he hasn't gotten out of bed yet.
Muir hits the floor running for the cooler and the meat he's seen her take out for Shep, so Thea's not going to sit here and chit chat. That would be a disaster. With a nose-wrinkle at D'had, her tongue flicking out at that salute and Ma'am of his, she's leaving him in charge of Marella while off to avert at least one mess. Nothing she can do about poor Siebith's toes, is there. "Daddy you want cake?" Marella's got ideas for breakfast! "You want it in bed?" is the question Thea's calling over from the other room. Because if he isn't out of it, that's what's going to happen. The sounds from out there are… not reassuring.
D'had chuckles. "We don't eat cake for breakfast," he replies to their daughter. "But how about you go help mommy make sure your brother don't make a mess," he suggests as he sets her to the floor so he can get up. "I'll be out in a minute," he calls back towards Thea. He just needs a few minutes to get up and dressed to give the blue that bath.
When he does emerge, he'll find the table ready, hot klah by his setting but pushed well back from little fingers and flour-smudged twins, each standing on a chair pulled up on either side of the cooking unit watching while Thea flips pancakes. "Daddy doesn't want cake, Mommy," Marella announces in a woeful tone. Likely his arrival has triggered her memory on that. Muir perks. There's cake? "I want cake!" At least his shout is enthusiasm rather than temper. As for that help, the kitchen floor may be a mess, but at least nothing's burned?
D'had isn't long, but at least he's dressed and not in pajamas still when he does emerge. There's a chuckle again for Marella's woe and a shake of his head for Muir's enthusiasm, but at least it is that. "Thanks babe," he comments coming up behind Thea to wrap his arms around her waist and press a quick kiss to her cheek.
"Don't step in the egg," warns Thea absently as he approaches while focusing on getting the last flapjack to the stack on D'had's plate. "Pancakes, Muir. And you ate. You tummy is too full. But I'll make cupcakes later, okay?" She's flips the switch off on the unit, leans back into that embrace, but keeping alert to watch little fingers around that still-hot unit. "Welcome, Donn," she says with a half-smile for that kiss. "Marella, Muir let's feed Shep while daddy eats." Hopefully while it's still hot.
D'had glances down at that warning just to make sure he hasn't. Thankfully not. Stepping back he lets her away from the counter to lead the littles off to feed firelizards while he turns towards the table to grab breakfast while he has the chance.
And so one of the messiest days since the twins were in diapers commences at the weyrbarn. While D'had eats his breakfast, at the other end of the table the twins are feeding Shep, cheerfully oblivious to the bloody juices dripping everywhere, on them, the table, the firelizard. Later it's a muddy mess in the wallow out in front with Siebith likely dirtier than before his 'bath'. Muir has only had to be reminded 'tomorrow' about a dozen times in regards to flying. Won't -that- be interesting? And at least by the end of this 'restday', the twins are exhausted enough to drop easily asleep and the Weyrsecond and Junior have other options than dancing?
Because Thea has hidden the whiskey!!!