Vignette: Palia and Paddy Find Out About Bailey
Who: Palia, P'draig, NPCs: Guys talking on the docks.
When: Not long after Bailey's death.
Where: Docks/Beach/Beach House, Ista Weyr
What: Palia finds out in a less-than-desirable way, that Bailey died in childbirth and nearly gives her father a heart attack doing something dumb.
She'd found out at the docks, sitting behind a crate while her papa haggled with one of the fishermen for spiderclaws. They were talking in hushed voices and Palia caught the name "Bailey", sat up a little and scooted along the edge of the crate, moving closer to hear better.
"Passed on, baby too," the man said in a voice heavy with grief. The world slid sideways and Palia's hands tightened in the fabric of her shorts. The girl's head tipped back against the crate, breath coming way too fast and she looked over to the place where Bailey's boat bobbed in its moorings, kept willing the trader to show up on deck, to wave to her, for everything to be the way it was supposed to be.
Palia pushed abruptly to her feet and ran down the dock, bare feet slapping against the boards. P'draig looked up with consternation as she flew by him. "Palia? What --" but she didn't stop, didn't hear the rest of what her father said.
She just ran.
* * *
It took Paddy a solid hour to find his daughter after he'd paid for the spiderclaws and found out from the deckhands what had happened. His own grief nibbled at the edges of his consciousness but it was Palia he was more worried about. She'd bonded with Bailey so closely, formed a friendship with the trader woman like he hadn't seen in his daughter before. Palia could be charming and outgoing, sweet and funny, but there was still that reserve to her sometimes, that wariness about some things that kept her close to her family without reaching out as much to others.
He'd noticed that her board was missing from the side of the cothold right away. The problem was that he wasn't sure which direction she'd gone in. There was too much foot traffic around the beach to sort it out, her foot prints vanished into a sea of sandy depressions just ten feet from home. He had Jekzith reach out for Aath, for Hazeth, let them know what was going on. Lanea would take care of Dylan, Miara would know to hang onto Dharia. He hopped on Jekzith's back and took a guess, turned the brown along the curve of the island to go check every surfing beach between the Weyr and the cliff arms that eventually cut off the ability to walk on around the whole island easily.
He'd guessed wrong the first time and sent Jekzith back to the sky above the Beach House through Between, set out again in the opposite direction. She hadn't actually gone all that far, he'd just chosen wrong.
* * *
A half mile from the Beach House, Palia paddled the board out beyond the surf line, out where the big waves formed. Big waves that she wasn't supposed to tackle. Big waves that she knew she /could/ handle but no adults in her life thought she could. She turned her board again and again, caught the big ones and rode them into shore, paddled out again, caught another. Over and over.
She knew better, really she did. But some part of her thought that if she caught enough waves, maybe it would bring Bailey back and she wouldn't feel the heaviness in her heart, the empty hollow in her gut anymore.
* * *
Paddy and Jekzith set down on the beach, watched her together as she slid along the ferocious curl of an azure wave. The sun slanted through the wall of water, dancing with it and catching blue and green highlights. P'draig felt panic deep down inside, but he made himself stay on the beach. If she made a mistake, if she lost her balance, if she ... fell.
Palia cruised down the pipe, one hand reaching to trail fingers through its arc as she sped for the opening at its end. Almost there ... almost there ... her foot shifted too soon and her center balance wobbled. She flung her arm out to counter and went spilling off of the board into the drink. The world spun around and around and she fought it, fought to head up not down, fought for the surface.
Paddy's heart leapt into his throat and he kicked off his sandals, slung his shirt off willy nilly and ran into the water, cutting through the crash of waves, for where he'd last seen Palia. Jekzith took off with a bugle to skim along with him, eyes whirling with hints of red. << Dive. Now. >> Paddy had no idea how Jekzith could know where he should go, but he took a breath and went under, eyes squinting through the churn. << Deeper! >> Jekzith from above and Paddy felt the touch of water along the brown's abdomen as he set down. Pushing further under, he saw the swirl of her hair, arms and feet kicking hard to come back up and reached out, grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. Bigger and stronger, he kicked for the surface, heading for where Jekzith made a break against the ceaseless incoming waves.
They broke water just shy of the brown's forelimb and Paddy pulled Palia into a proper rescue hold, reached one-armed to move them in close to Jekzith who bobbed up and down on the waves like a boat with surf breaking around him. "I've got you, Pali-girl, I've got you," he said as he heard start to cough. Moments later they were aboard the brown and Paddy held his daughter close in his arms, her wet head resting against his chest.
"I'm sorry, Papa," she said small-voiced and finally the tears broke. Neither of them noticed when Jekzith skimmed low over the water to pluck her board up from the waves. Palia cried and cried, head burrowing into her father's chest while Paddy helplessly rubbed at her back. He didn't say anything for now, except that he loved her. Back on the beach, he wrapped her up in a towel, collected his things and tucked them into the straps, then sat down and curled Palia back up into his arms.
They sat there for a long time, until Palia was all cried out and the sun was starting to dip toward afternoon. She'd been quiet for a while, just listening to the steady beat of P'draig's heart beneath her ear. She felt the hitch in his breath though and looked up, saw the tears on his face as he looked out over the water and without saying anything, reached up to brush at them with her fingers.
P'draig sniffled once, looked down at her and tried to smile. "She was my friend too," he said softly.
"I know," Palia answered solemnly and bit down on her lip. "I ... I won't do that again, Papa, I promise."
Paddy nodded once, reached down to tuck back sea-tossed sandy curls from where they clung to her cheek. "I know," he answered her in turn. "Grief makes people do crazy things sometimes. Just ... losing Bailey hurts, but losing you, would break my heart Pali-girl."
Palia's voice caught in her throat as she lifted her arms up around her father's neck. "I promise, Papa. I promise. I won't be stupid again."
P'draig just held her tight, let her lean against him while the waves continued to pound the shore. When she'd fallen asleep, exhausted and drained from such big emotions and the close call, he picked her up and took her home, curled her up in a nest of lightweight blankets in one of the hammocks on the porch and asked T'mic to keep an eye on her while he stepped out for a bit. There were some things he needed to try to take care of.
He came home at sunset, tired and heart-heavy, but he went to sit in a chair on the porch by the hammock where Palia slept, with the ledger from the restaurant and a book of recipes to work on some numbers and the next seasonal menu.
That night, he slept in the hammock with Palia curled up in the crook of his arm, just like when she was a baby, so that he'd be there first thing when she woke up in the morning and they could start to deal with the sadness and the inevitability of moving on.
When: Not long after Bailey's death.
Where: Docks/Beach/Beach House, Ista Weyr
What: Palia finds out in a less-than-desirable way, that Bailey died in childbirth and nearly gives her father a heart attack doing something dumb.
She'd found out at the docks, sitting behind a crate while her papa haggled with one of the fishermen for spiderclaws. They were talking in hushed voices and Palia caught the name "Bailey", sat up a little and scooted along the edge of the crate, moving closer to hear better.
"Passed on, baby too," the man said in a voice heavy with grief. The world slid sideways and Palia's hands tightened in the fabric of her shorts. The girl's head tipped back against the crate, breath coming way too fast and she looked over to the place where Bailey's boat bobbed in its moorings, kept willing the trader to show up on deck, to wave to her, for everything to be the way it was supposed to be.
Palia pushed abruptly to her feet and ran down the dock, bare feet slapping against the boards. P'draig looked up with consternation as she flew by him. "Palia? What --" but she didn't stop, didn't hear the rest of what her father said.
She just ran.
* * *
It took Paddy a solid hour to find his daughter after he'd paid for the spiderclaws and found out from the deckhands what had happened. His own grief nibbled at the edges of his consciousness but it was Palia he was more worried about. She'd bonded with Bailey so closely, formed a friendship with the trader woman like he hadn't seen in his daughter before. Palia could be charming and outgoing, sweet and funny, but there was still that reserve to her sometimes, that wariness about some things that kept her close to her family without reaching out as much to others.
He'd noticed that her board was missing from the side of the cothold right away. The problem was that he wasn't sure which direction she'd gone in. There was too much foot traffic around the beach to sort it out, her foot prints vanished into a sea of sandy depressions just ten feet from home. He had Jekzith reach out for Aath, for Hazeth, let them know what was going on. Lanea would take care of Dylan, Miara would know to hang onto Dharia. He hopped on Jekzith's back and took a guess, turned the brown along the curve of the island to go check every surfing beach between the Weyr and the cliff arms that eventually cut off the ability to walk on around the whole island easily.
He'd guessed wrong the first time and sent Jekzith back to the sky above the Beach House through Between, set out again in the opposite direction. She hadn't actually gone all that far, he'd just chosen wrong.
* * *
A half mile from the Beach House, Palia paddled the board out beyond the surf line, out where the big waves formed. Big waves that she wasn't supposed to tackle. Big waves that she knew she /could/ handle but no adults in her life thought she could. She turned her board again and again, caught the big ones and rode them into shore, paddled out again, caught another. Over and over.
She knew better, really she did. But some part of her thought that if she caught enough waves, maybe it would bring Bailey back and she wouldn't feel the heaviness in her heart, the empty hollow in her gut anymore.
* * *
Paddy and Jekzith set down on the beach, watched her together as she slid along the ferocious curl of an azure wave. The sun slanted through the wall of water, dancing with it and catching blue and green highlights. P'draig felt panic deep down inside, but he made himself stay on the beach. If she made a mistake, if she lost her balance, if she ... fell.
Palia cruised down the pipe, one hand reaching to trail fingers through its arc as she sped for the opening at its end. Almost there ... almost there ... her foot shifted too soon and her center balance wobbled. She flung her arm out to counter and went spilling off of the board into the drink. The world spun around and around and she fought it, fought to head up not down, fought for the surface.
Paddy's heart leapt into his throat and he kicked off his sandals, slung his shirt off willy nilly and ran into the water, cutting through the crash of waves, for where he'd last seen Palia. Jekzith took off with a bugle to skim along with him, eyes whirling with hints of red. << Dive. Now. >> Paddy had no idea how Jekzith could know where he should go, but he took a breath and went under, eyes squinting through the churn. << Deeper! >> Jekzith from above and Paddy felt the touch of water along the brown's abdomen as he set down. Pushing further under, he saw the swirl of her hair, arms and feet kicking hard to come back up and reached out, grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. Bigger and stronger, he kicked for the surface, heading for where Jekzith made a break against the ceaseless incoming waves.
They broke water just shy of the brown's forelimb and Paddy pulled Palia into a proper rescue hold, reached one-armed to move them in close to Jekzith who bobbed up and down on the waves like a boat with surf breaking around him. "I've got you, Pali-girl, I've got you," he said as he heard start to cough. Moments later they were aboard the brown and Paddy held his daughter close in his arms, her wet head resting against his chest.
"I'm sorry, Papa," she said small-voiced and finally the tears broke. Neither of them noticed when Jekzith skimmed low over the water to pluck her board up from the waves. Palia cried and cried, head burrowing into her father's chest while Paddy helplessly rubbed at her back. He didn't say anything for now, except that he loved her. Back on the beach, he wrapped her up in a towel, collected his things and tucked them into the straps, then sat down and curled Palia back up into his arms.
They sat there for a long time, until Palia was all cried out and the sun was starting to dip toward afternoon. She'd been quiet for a while, just listening to the steady beat of P'draig's heart beneath her ear. She felt the hitch in his breath though and looked up, saw the tears on his face as he looked out over the water and without saying anything, reached up to brush at them with her fingers.
P'draig sniffled once, looked down at her and tried to smile. "She was my friend too," he said softly.
"I know," Palia answered solemnly and bit down on her lip. "I ... I won't do that again, Papa, I promise."
Paddy nodded once, reached down to tuck back sea-tossed sandy curls from where they clung to her cheek. "I know," he answered her in turn. "Grief makes people do crazy things sometimes. Just ... losing Bailey hurts, but losing you, would break my heart Pali-girl."
Palia's voice caught in her throat as she lifted her arms up around her father's neck. "I promise, Papa. I promise. I won't be stupid again."
P'draig just held her tight, let her lean against him while the waves continued to pound the shore. When she'd fallen asleep, exhausted and drained from such big emotions and the close call, he picked her up and took her home, curled her up in a nest of lightweight blankets in one of the hammocks on the porch and asked T'mic to keep an eye on her while he stepped out for a bit. There were some things he needed to try to take care of.
He came home at sunset, tired and heart-heavy, but he went to sit in a chair on the porch by the hammock where Palia slept, with the ledger from the restaurant and a book of recipes to work on some numbers and the next seasonal menu.
That night, he slept in the hammock with Palia curled up in the crook of his arm, just like when she was a baby, so that he'd be there first thing when she woke up in the morning and they could start to deal with the sadness and the inevitability of moving on.