The Master of Tact
If men had to have babies, they would only ever have one each. ~Princess Diana
OOC Date: March 30, 2010
IC Date: Day 6, month 5, turn 22 of Interval 10
Who: Madilla, G'brion
Where: Madilla's Room, HRW
Madilla and G'brion visit and talk about stuff, including Milani and W'chek and B'tal and Pterath and taking care of babies and healering.
It's a couple of hours past dinner, though still not terribly late, and after a fairly exciting conversation with B'tal earlier, Madilla has settled back down to get some work done. For the moment, that means pinning together bits of fabric for quilt patches; she leans over the table carefully, using the light of a nearby glow-lamp to keep herself from squinting too much.
G'brion knocks on the door and waits for permission before pushing it open and venturing in, cautiously. "Madilla? Oh, good!" He breaks into a smile when he sees her. No telling who else he might have been expecting. "You're making a quilt!" he observes. "Wow, I didn't know you knew how to do that."
Permission is quickly given, and as the door opens, Madilla leans back to turn her attention towards the new arrival: she's already smiling, but it's entirely possible that her smile broadens further as she identifies the visitor. "Hello, G'brion," she greets, warmly. Flicking a glance back at the quilt, she nods, cheerfully. "It's a hobby. And more, apparently-- I've been commissioned to make one for one of your clutchmates. A weyrwarming gift from her mother. How are you, anyway?"
"Good," G'brion says happily. "Not quite as itchy." Though his arms are still red and scratched up - just not quite as bad as before. "Wow, that sounds like a... really nice gift." His smile freezes in place for a moment as it occurs to him that /his/ mother probably won't get him a weyrwarming gift, but ANYWAY! Moving on. "I, uh, I hope I'm not interrupting, I just thought - it would be nice to see you. If you don't mind me visiting, I mean."
Does Madilla notice the way his smile freezes like that? If she does, she doesn't comment on it, instead waving the weyrling forward. /That/ topic gets abandoned, and she even puts down her box of pins and draws her chair away from the table. "Of course I don't," she promises, firmly. "Come in-- take a seat? I'm glad you're itching less."
G'brion does come in, and he pulls up a chair and plops himself down in it. "Yeah, that salve helped. Thank you," he says simply. "How's it been going? Are things alright in the infirmary? Nobody lost any limbs?" he jokes.
"Good," says Madilla, pleased. "Did you ever figure out what was causing it? A reaction to something?" She twines her fingers together, watching G'brion, then, grinning adds, "No lost limbs, thankfully. A few spring colds, and otherwise-- much the usual, really. I miss you in there."
G'brion shakes his head. "No, I changed my sheets and all that stuff but I dunno. I still do itch sometimes just - not as often." He shrugs - it's a mystery! "I miss being in there," he says of the infirmary with a sigh. "Meara says I can't take shifts again until after I graduate, which totally sucks."
Madilla frowns, obviously not pleased with this inexplicable itching, but nods, nonetheless. "As long as it's getting better," she concludes. "But if it doesn't-- we'll take another look at it." She pauses before continuing, though gives the greenrider an encouraging glance. "I suppose it does." Suck, presumably. "But... it's a busy time, weyrlinghood. I suppose you have to try and concentrate on one thing?"
"Right, that's the idea," Gabe says, and sighs, frustrated. "Because Pterath is only little, and all that. She said it's like having a baby. Taking care of one, actually, not just having one. I don't think it's fair. Milani takes care of her baby and she still gets to be Headwoman. But you can't really argue with the weyrlingmaster, and Pterath was freaking out at me and I was itching, so I was just like 'whatever.'"
That frown lingers, something hovering in Madilla's expression that she doesn't remark on. Instead; "Milani has other people to help take care of her baby-- you can't get other people to care for Pterath, I suppose. At any rate, you have to trust that the Weyrlingmaster knows what she's doing, don't you? That's why she's in charge. I'm sorry-- but it's not /so/ long, really. And it's worth it, isn't it?"
"She does?" That's new information to Gabe, about Milani. "Yeah, that's - I mean, I can't leave her at the nursery, or whatever. But... yeah. Well, anyway, there's nothing I can do about it, so I might as well just suck it up I guess. I'm going to go see Syef when I get a chance and get some stuff to read, so I can at least keep up with that in the meantime, you know?"
"Her mother helps out a lot," confirms Madilla. "I don't know how she'd manage, otherwise. Delifa's the same. I don't--" She breaks off, looking suddenly enormously thoughtful, a smile hovering just around the edges of her mouth, though she doesn't let it linger. "That's a good idea," she adds, finally. "Talking to Syef. A little reading can't hurt anything."
"I guess it's a good thing you're not having a baby, then," Gabe says, trying to tease Madilla. "Without /both/ of us the infirmary would probably have a cave-in or something." He grins.
Madilla turns /scarlet/, and has to shift her gaze away from G'brion. "Of course," she agrees, nonetheless. "What would they do? Without /both/ of us."
"Sorry," Gabe says quickly - he's at least observant enough to realize that he's embarrassed Madilla. Hopefully not fatally. "I ran into W'chek the other day," he mentions, and frowns slightly. Then he asks, "Are you mad at me? About - all that stuff?"
Madilla shakes her head hurriedly, attempting a smile. "It's fine," she assures him, though there's something not-quite-buried in her gaze. "He-- oh, no, of course I'm not, G'brion. It's better. That I knew. Know. He didn't hit you again or anything, did he?"
"No," Gabe says, making a face. "He said I deserved it, though. And that I was being a pussy about it." Grumble grumble. "Zhikath pissed off Pterath, too." /That/ part seems to amuse him. "She told all the others that he sucks to play with. Apparently he doesn't know how to pretend, or something."
"He's--" But Madilla doesn't finish the sentence she starts, and shakes her head instead. "That doesn't surprise me. From all I've heard, Zhikath is... not really into games."
"Mainly she was mad because she figured out he was the one who hit me but - well. She forgot. So I guess it's no big thing," Gabe concludes, and makes another face.
Madilla can't help it: she smiles. "She's protective of you. Of course she is! That's good." Continuing without a pause, she adds, "Maybe just stay away from him. And then you'll both be fine."
"Yeah, that's pretty much my plan," Gabe says. "Anyway, I doubt I'll... have any reason to like, get in his business again. Everyone kinds of knows about him, now, so..." He shrugs.
Despite herself, Madilla's response is, "Poor W'chek." Beat. Hastily, then, "Not that I feel sorry for him because of what he's done. But because... he's so obviously /unhappy/. I wish he weren't. Anyway, I'm glad you're going to stay away. I just wish B'tal... but he /loves/ him."
"Well, it's stupid to let someone beat on you," Gabe says firmly. "I mean, he's a nice enough guy, I guess, but he's being a complete dumbass." He means B'tal. "But whatever. It's his business, I guess, I'm not going to get all up in it. With you it was different - you didn't /know/."
Madilla doesn't seem /thrilled/ by the idea of B'tal being a complete dumbass, but mostly, she just seems like she can't grasp the whole thing: how /could/ someone let it happen like that? "It is," she agrees, finally. "He's happy. I-- can't argue with that. I /am/ glad you told me. I'm sorry that I got you beat up, though. Still." She probably always will.
"Well. Shit happens, I guess," Gabe says. That about sums it up; he shrugs and changes the subject. "So how are things with you otherwise? Are you still learning stuff now that you're a journeyman or do they just make you work all the time?"
Pushing her expression into a smile, Madilla nods quickly. "I think we always keep learning things... I suppose it's just less structured, now. I mean, I learn things as I need to, rather than to fulfil class requirements. So mostly, it's all all work."
"Hmmmm." Gabe listens, nods slowly, and thinks that over for a moment before he finally asks, "Do you like it? Compared to being an apprentice?"
No hesitation there: "I /do/," says Madilla, firmly. "I like... I thought I'd find it intimidating, but it's not. I manage my own time, to some extent, and what I learn. I have more freedom, too. I didn't think I'd like that, but... I've grown used to it."
"You didn't think you'd like it?" Gabe squints at Madilla. "Huh. I wouldn't mind getting to do whatever I want, when I want. I guess I'll get there eventually. You been getting any weird interesting cases?" Ah, healer gossip.
"I was... worried," says Madilla, hesitating a little over this. "It's so much easier when someone is telling you what to do, and what to learn, and making sure that you're not making mistakes." She doesn't seem to be /too/ impacted by this now, though! She's more than content to segue into some interesting cases after that, continuing the conversation for some time longer before it is, inevitably, too late to continue. She does /not/, for the record, make any further reference to B'tal.
OOC Date: March 30, 2010
IC Date: Day 6, month 5, turn 22 of Interval 10
Who: Madilla, G'brion
Where: Madilla's Room, HRW
Madilla and G'brion visit and talk about stuff, including Milani and W'chek and B'tal and Pterath and taking care of babies and healering.
It's a couple of hours past dinner, though still not terribly late, and after a fairly exciting conversation with B'tal earlier, Madilla has settled back down to get some work done. For the moment, that means pinning together bits of fabric for quilt patches; she leans over the table carefully, using the light of a nearby glow-lamp to keep herself from squinting too much.
G'brion knocks on the door and waits for permission before pushing it open and venturing in, cautiously. "Madilla? Oh, good!" He breaks into a smile when he sees her. No telling who else he might have been expecting. "You're making a quilt!" he observes. "Wow, I didn't know you knew how to do that."
Permission is quickly given, and as the door opens, Madilla leans back to turn her attention towards the new arrival: she's already smiling, but it's entirely possible that her smile broadens further as she identifies the visitor. "Hello, G'brion," she greets, warmly. Flicking a glance back at the quilt, she nods, cheerfully. "It's a hobby. And more, apparently-- I've been commissioned to make one for one of your clutchmates. A weyrwarming gift from her mother. How are you, anyway?"
"Good," G'brion says happily. "Not quite as itchy." Though his arms are still red and scratched up - just not quite as bad as before. "Wow, that sounds like a... really nice gift." His smile freezes in place for a moment as it occurs to him that /his/ mother probably won't get him a weyrwarming gift, but ANYWAY! Moving on. "I, uh, I hope I'm not interrupting, I just thought - it would be nice to see you. If you don't mind me visiting, I mean."
Does Madilla notice the way his smile freezes like that? If she does, she doesn't comment on it, instead waving the weyrling forward. /That/ topic gets abandoned, and she even puts down her box of pins and draws her chair away from the table. "Of course I don't," she promises, firmly. "Come in-- take a seat? I'm glad you're itching less."
G'brion does come in, and he pulls up a chair and plops himself down in it. "Yeah, that salve helped. Thank you," he says simply. "How's it been going? Are things alright in the infirmary? Nobody lost any limbs?" he jokes.
"Good," says Madilla, pleased. "Did you ever figure out what was causing it? A reaction to something?" She twines her fingers together, watching G'brion, then, grinning adds, "No lost limbs, thankfully. A few spring colds, and otherwise-- much the usual, really. I miss you in there."
G'brion shakes his head. "No, I changed my sheets and all that stuff but I dunno. I still do itch sometimes just - not as often." He shrugs - it's a mystery! "I miss being in there," he says of the infirmary with a sigh. "Meara says I can't take shifts again until after I graduate, which totally sucks."
Madilla frowns, obviously not pleased with this inexplicable itching, but nods, nonetheless. "As long as it's getting better," she concludes. "But if it doesn't-- we'll take another look at it." She pauses before continuing, though gives the greenrider an encouraging glance. "I suppose it does." Suck, presumably. "But... it's a busy time, weyrlinghood. I suppose you have to try and concentrate on one thing?"
"Right, that's the idea," Gabe says, and sighs, frustrated. "Because Pterath is only little, and all that. She said it's like having a baby. Taking care of one, actually, not just having one. I don't think it's fair. Milani takes care of her baby and she still gets to be Headwoman. But you can't really argue with the weyrlingmaster, and Pterath was freaking out at me and I was itching, so I was just like 'whatever.'"
That frown lingers, something hovering in Madilla's expression that she doesn't remark on. Instead; "Milani has other people to help take care of her baby-- you can't get other people to care for Pterath, I suppose. At any rate, you have to trust that the Weyrlingmaster knows what she's doing, don't you? That's why she's in charge. I'm sorry-- but it's not /so/ long, really. And it's worth it, isn't it?"
"She does?" That's new information to Gabe, about Milani. "Yeah, that's - I mean, I can't leave her at the nursery, or whatever. But... yeah. Well, anyway, there's nothing I can do about it, so I might as well just suck it up I guess. I'm going to go see Syef when I get a chance and get some stuff to read, so I can at least keep up with that in the meantime, you know?"
"Her mother helps out a lot," confirms Madilla. "I don't know how she'd manage, otherwise. Delifa's the same. I don't--" She breaks off, looking suddenly enormously thoughtful, a smile hovering just around the edges of her mouth, though she doesn't let it linger. "That's a good idea," she adds, finally. "Talking to Syef. A little reading can't hurt anything."
"I guess it's a good thing you're not having a baby, then," Gabe says, trying to tease Madilla. "Without /both/ of us the infirmary would probably have a cave-in or something." He grins.
Madilla turns /scarlet/, and has to shift her gaze away from G'brion. "Of course," she agrees, nonetheless. "What would they do? Without /both/ of us."
"Sorry," Gabe says quickly - he's at least observant enough to realize that he's embarrassed Madilla. Hopefully not fatally. "I ran into W'chek the other day," he mentions, and frowns slightly. Then he asks, "Are you mad at me? About - all that stuff?"
Madilla shakes her head hurriedly, attempting a smile. "It's fine," she assures him, though there's something not-quite-buried in her gaze. "He-- oh, no, of course I'm not, G'brion. It's better. That I knew. Know. He didn't hit you again or anything, did he?"
"No," Gabe says, making a face. "He said I deserved it, though. And that I was being a pussy about it." Grumble grumble. "Zhikath pissed off Pterath, too." /That/ part seems to amuse him. "She told all the others that he sucks to play with. Apparently he doesn't know how to pretend, or something."
"He's--" But Madilla doesn't finish the sentence she starts, and shakes her head instead. "That doesn't surprise me. From all I've heard, Zhikath is... not really into games."
"Mainly she was mad because she figured out he was the one who hit me but - well. She forgot. So I guess it's no big thing," Gabe concludes, and makes another face.
Madilla can't help it: she smiles. "She's protective of you. Of course she is! That's good." Continuing without a pause, she adds, "Maybe just stay away from him. And then you'll both be fine."
"Yeah, that's pretty much my plan," Gabe says. "Anyway, I doubt I'll... have any reason to like, get in his business again. Everyone kinds of knows about him, now, so..." He shrugs.
Despite herself, Madilla's response is, "Poor W'chek." Beat. Hastily, then, "Not that I feel sorry for him because of what he's done. But because... he's so obviously /unhappy/. I wish he weren't. Anyway, I'm glad you're going to stay away. I just wish B'tal... but he /loves/ him."
"Well, it's stupid to let someone beat on you," Gabe says firmly. "I mean, he's a nice enough guy, I guess, but he's being a complete dumbass." He means B'tal. "But whatever. It's his business, I guess, I'm not going to get all up in it. With you it was different - you didn't /know/."
Madilla doesn't seem /thrilled/ by the idea of B'tal being a complete dumbass, but mostly, she just seems like she can't grasp the whole thing: how /could/ someone let it happen like that? "It is," she agrees, finally. "He's happy. I-- can't argue with that. I /am/ glad you told me. I'm sorry that I got you beat up, though. Still." She probably always will.
"Well. Shit happens, I guess," Gabe says. That about sums it up; he shrugs and changes the subject. "So how are things with you otherwise? Are you still learning stuff now that you're a journeyman or do they just make you work all the time?"
Pushing her expression into a smile, Madilla nods quickly. "I think we always keep learning things... I suppose it's just less structured, now. I mean, I learn things as I need to, rather than to fulfil class requirements. So mostly, it's all all work."
"Hmmmm." Gabe listens, nods slowly, and thinks that over for a moment before he finally asks, "Do you like it? Compared to being an apprentice?"
No hesitation there: "I /do/," says Madilla, firmly. "I like... I thought I'd find it intimidating, but it's not. I manage my own time, to some extent, and what I learn. I have more freedom, too. I didn't think I'd like that, but... I've grown used to it."
"You didn't think you'd like it?" Gabe squints at Madilla. "Huh. I wouldn't mind getting to do whatever I want, when I want. I guess I'll get there eventually. You been getting any weird interesting cases?" Ah, healer gossip.
"I was... worried," says Madilla, hesitating a little over this. "It's so much easier when someone is telling you what to do, and what to learn, and making sure that you're not making mistakes." She doesn't seem to be /too/ impacted by this now, though! She's more than content to segue into some interesting cases after that, continuing the conversation for some time longer before it is, inevitably, too late to continue. She does /not/, for the record, make any further reference to B'tal.