Log: Distraction Is One Way To Deal
Who: Jaeyi, P'draig
When: day 22, month 6, turn 23 of the 10th interval
Where: The Glass Fountain, Fort Weyr
What: In Fort's bar for a post-flight glass of whiskey, P'draig meets up with Jaeyi who distracts him in ways that don't involve bumping boots.
It's not been long since Chielyth went up and riders staggered out of the flight cave, P'draig among them looking a bit unsteady. He went for a quick swim with Jekzith who remains at the lake floating in the water, cooling down. His rider, still damp, perches in the Weyr's bar now, feet hooked around the legs of a stool, steadily working his way through a single glass of whiskey, jacket folded up on top of the bar.
Because she doesn't want to eat living cavern food-- really, she just doesn't want to eat much of anything but crackers lately-- Jaeyi eventually wanders on into the Fountain, oblivious to the fact that there was a greenflight; 'cause who has the time to keep track of things like that. Although her entrance is a little lackluster, her expression shading toward a pout, she brightens after a scan of the interior reveals a familiar brownrider at the bar. Even if he is drinking whiskey, noted with a brief nose-crinkle. "Paddy Paddy Paddy, always with the drinking," while she comes up to his stool.
Jumping a little, P'draig looks up from his contemplation of his whiskey briefly seeming startled, though that fades quickly as the brownrider recognizes Jaeyi. "Well hey there," he says with a slightly loopy grin and his gaze drops from the baker's face downward and back up again. One arm lifts from the bar, daringly aims to loop around Jaeyi's waist. "Flight," he says with a little shrug. "Felt like taking the edge of just a little bit. Just one glass. One." The glass, lifted, tilted back and forth is then set back down again.
The flash of enlightenment that crosses Jaeyi's face is replaced almost as quickly as it came by amusement. She permits the arm around her waist, patting P'draig's hand briefly with one of hers before she leans an arm around his shoulders in turn with an, "Ahhhh, gotcha. Whose?" Once the glass is back on the counter, she reaches to pluck it with her own thumb and forefinger, lifting it to gauge how much is left like she plans to drink it herself. She doesn't, of course, but taking booze from men-- or away from them-- is all part of the M.O.
"Chielyth," P'draig announces the dragon's name rather than the riders and for a moment, lets his head rest atop her shoulder, just breathes in. She takes his glass and Paddy watches with faint amusement. "It takes at least a full bottle of that stuff to get me buzzed," he informs mildly and then hops right to: "How've you been? It's been a while." Since he's seen her.
"Oh good," Jaeyi says brightly. "Then you should be plenty sober still if all you're having is part-of-one glass." She puts it neatly on the far side of the bar, like there's some sort of invisible laser beam fortress that prevents P'draig from just taking it, and answers his comment with a nod-nod-nod. "It has been, hasn't it. I haven't been to Ista in, gosh, almost a Turn now, I think. I've been-- oh, hit-or-miss, better lately. Do you know Kai? Because you should probably be glad you lost." Chatty with a side of petting.
"Sober, yes, mostly," P'draig agrees. "Where alcohol is concerned. Still have Jekzith pinging around in the back of my head a little, but it'll pass," he promises and lifts his head to look down at her with a little lopsided smile. "Has it been that long? Shells." The brownrider breathes out, shakes his head. "No, I don't know - Kai must be short for B'kaiv. I don't really know him but for the few minutes out the Bowl where he was you know, being proddy at me." His arm hasn't left her waist, but he's not making any moves either, could just be glad for the closeness. "I'm glad you're feeling better. He didn't mention any ... details, but T'rev said things had been rough," the brownrider offers up diplomatically.
Jaeyi's, "Awww," is authentic, genuinely sorry for P'draig's plight. "Do you want me to go some girl can come along and make you feel better?" she offers, just as authentically as her sympathy was, her arm relaxing a little across his shoulders though she doesn't go to all the trouble of pulling away from him. "They had been, but that's all over and done with now. Really, I have to say, if you had won that Flight, you'd probably be feeling pretty rough yourself about now. Kai's a bruiser and no love for you dastardly Istans, either." She tries to say that all stern and threatening-like, furrowing her brows into a thundercloud expression. She totally fails, of course, but it's the effort that counts.
"No, I'll be okay, thanks for the offer though," P'draig demurs and where her arm relaxes, his tightens a little, just a light squeeze, affectionate rather than fresh in nature. "Good, glad things've cleared up," the brownrider says sincerely. Both brows lift a bit at that claim though. "Dastardly Istans?" Breath out. "And what, you don't think I can handle myself?" he asks casually, head cocking to one side. "Though I'll grant I've spent more time in the kitchen for the last little while than serious training of any kind." The thundercloud attempt earns a chuckle and his free hand lifts, thumb pressing to brows lightly to smooth them back out. "Would you believe that you look /cute/ like that instead of scary?"
"I didn't say that," Jaeyi points out with regards to his ability to handle himself, relaxing her arm across his shoulders again, just as happy to have someone to cuddle with even if everyone has all their clothes on. Sex or not, affection is still awesome. "Just. Kai's mean, Paddy, and you're not. So even if you are all fighting and tough?" She turns her face to the smoothing thumb, nose crinkled up afterward like she's so disappointed at her failure to be threatening. "Probably, but it'd be gentlemanly of you to at least pretend to be scared, hmn? How's the restaurant?" No, the one thought has nothing to do with the other.
"Mean. Hm. So ... that wasn't just proddy?" P'draig queries, bemused. "Huh. He was getting up in my face a little about Hattie. Because of Gethin." A little sigh and then his shoulders lift in a shrug beneath her arm. "It's okay, hopefully it all went well and his green'll be able to settle down tonight. Jekzith said she was really riled." That thumb desists after a moment, fingers brushing her cheek gently for a moment before retreating. "Would it? Okay. Well then here, scared face." And he gives it his best shot, but it's probably more comical than anything else. "Good actually, we're opening up extra days and I've brought in someone for backup so it's not all on me."
Jaeyi shakes her head, both biting her tongue and not-really at the same time, aiming for some of that diplomacy that P'draig employed earlier; "Yeah, that wasn't just proddy. I'm sorry if he was mean to you, though. He-- well, sometimes he does things that are all right, but he can really be a prick." His scared-face makes her laugh, never mind he just got chastised for doing the same thing, and she leans to put a kiss on either of his cheeks as a reward for giving her a chuckle. "I'll settle for cute and you settle for not-scared and things'll be better, hmn? I'm glad your business is well! Assuming 'because of Gethin' means that one's yours, you could use the money to raise that brood of yours. How many is this for you now? Like, fourteen?"
"Hm. I'll keep that in mind if Chielyth's proddy again when we're around," P'draig says slowly, thoughtfully, digesting Jaeyi's opinion on the matter. "Not really mean, just you know, protective. Which, I get. Just you know, I'm not going to do anything to hurt Hattie," the brownrider says with a renewed bemused note in his voice. Cheek-kisses! Yay! "Okay," he agrees readily about cute and not-scared and leans back a little on his stool. Quietly: "Yes. Gethin's my son." Briefly his expression shades wry. "Five," he corrects that number mildly. "And they don't really cost me much, especially not at Ista where they can run around half-clothed most of the turn," Paddy jokes. "Don't have to keep them in winter gear and at this point, they're all more used to the heat than the cold." A faint note of regret there.
"Five. Five five five." Jaeyi shakes her head for each of those repetitions, taking in a deep breath at the end and letting it out with a laugh. "Four half-clothed ragamuffins and one little half-Hattie at Fort. And then T'mic's got... how many? Big family." The note of regret doesn't go unnoticed, and, leaning away enough so P'draigh will have to stretch his arm to keep it around her and she has to straighten hers to let her hand stay at the back of his neck, she gives him a more direct look now. "Why are you sad, Paddy? Little Istans are just fine, just as good as little Fortians."
"Six," P'draig supplies with another little loose grin. "And all of his are ... kind of all over the place. Mostly with their mothers or fostered. Mic's not really ... paternal," the brownrider tries for diplomatic again. "And two of them are actually grown up with two more well into apprenticing age," Paddy continues. "He got started a lot earlier than I did. Solla, she's older than you are." His arm adjusts as she leans and he laughs a little. "Just you know, I'm from the Reaches and impressed here. I've still lived in colder places more of my life than at Ista. But my kids will probably have a low tolerance for cold, except for Jaivery since he's being raised at Telgar by my brother and his mother."
With a playful smugness, Jaeyi notes, "So, between the two of you, my fourteen wasn't so far off, was it?" She nods about Solla's age, at least peripherally familiar with the greenrider in question if not actually face-to-face. "Well, I'm sorry your little ones won't all have thick skins, sweetheart, but. For what it's worth? I was raised at Boll, and-- if it hadn't been for getting sent here-- I'd've been just as happy to never know how cold snow really is." She pets the back of his neck a bit longer, just brushing his hairline, then adds with a sudden realization, "But now you have a reason to visit Fort even more, hmn? To see your new little one?" Like, 'yay!'
"Sure, for total numbers," Paddy lifts up a finger, "but really, there's just Palia and Dharia with me close to full time, Dylan half the time and all of the others it's more ... visiting," he says slowly, considering then laughs again. "I know. That's part of the sad. Because I grew up loving the stuff and having fun in it and that might be something they'll miss out on." His smile widens as she makes with the yay and he nods. "I have been, actually. At least twice a seven since he was born. Sometimes more if I can swing it, even if just to give Hattie a little break."
Surprised, brows raised and then knitted, Jaeyi asks, "Have you really? Sheesh, I have to start coming out of the bathtub more during the day and see who's kicking around the place. Ooooor you could stop into the kitchen sometimes and say hi." With the pouting. Just a little. "It's good that you help her. I don't know Hattie so well, but she seems like-- hmn, someone who could get herself overwhelmed. Isandre, her Healer, made it seem like things went pretty bad for her, I'm glad she and the baby are okay. And that you're here. I should've come to see you before now." With a thoughtful frown, bad her.
"I've mostly been coming in the afternoon or evening, Fort time, to help with Gethin so Hattie can sleep," is Paddy's elaboration there. "I didn't realize you were in the kitchens here," the brownrider admits with a slightly sheepish air. "Or I'd have come by to bug you for breakfast or a snack." A little more laughter. "Uh, yeah. Hattie and I share a uh ... certain tendency to overwork ourselves." More concession, with a note of amused self-deprecation in his voice that bleeds right away as she mentions pregnancy issues and he looks down at the bar for a moment, swallows twice. "Yeah. They did. Though not as badly as they could've and she's all right which is ... " he pauses there, breathes out. "It's just a very good thing. All around." He looks up at her though, gives a little shake of his head. "You're always welcome, when you have the time or feel inclined to visit Ista."
"Half the week," Jaeyi clarifies with a shrug. "The other half the week, I'm still at the Hold. Astivan gave me my job back, which I thought was pretty nice of him." When he looks down at the bar, she dips her head a little to try to catch his eyes even then, immediately apologetic for touching on a delicate subject. "It is good. All around. And, next time you're here, pop your head in and I'll send you off to Hattie and Gethin with some proper breakfast, hmn?" As for visiting Ista, she nods brightly and agrees, "I'll come around in a few weeks, likely, and criticize your food for you. I really am happy to see you. Not that we don't have cooks and Bakers here, but I like you particularly."
"Ahh, yes. That is pretty decent of him," P'draig says carefully, not privy to a lot of the finer details about the Hold. "You're happy with that kind of arrangement?" he asks next and then reaches over, aiming to catch her free hand with his. "Another friend of mine died giving birth. She was close to Palia and it's been really tough for her and then right on the heels of that, Hattie having trouble. It's just made me a little bit ... jumpy about it," Paddy admits, though at least he seems to be pretty well over any lingering flight effects due to conversational distraction. "But yes, next time I'm here overnight, I'll swing by to get Hattie a proper breakfast and make sure she eats it." For her last he smiles more widely again. "I'll look forward to it. I value your opinion." His head tilts to the side though, curious. "How come?"
Jaeyi mmmns, lengthy, thoughtful, giving it an honest contemplation. "I'm happy enough? It's all complicated and messy, Paddy, and you don't wanna know most of it. But I like cooking at the Hold, it's /such/ a kitchen. T'rev's here, though, and it's not like he can really leave, so." Shrug. "It's as close as I can get to eating my cake and having it, too." Yeah, all the talk of dying and nearly dying pregnant chicks probably isn't sitting too well, even if she opened that bag of worms, and she hastens to change the subject, absently lining up her fingers with his in a size comparison. "What do you mean, 'how come?' There's no 'how come.' I guess I could comment that I haven't slept with /most/ of the cooks here, but I prefer to leave it at 'just 'cause.'"
"Happy enough works, even if it's complicated," P'draig says lightly. "And ... if you do need an ear, try me. I've been around the block and through some pretty tough things," the brownrider adds gently. "And I hear you on the being near part, or you know, I'd never have left Fort," joking a little. He, unlike T'rev, does miss that tidbit of not sitting well, just takes Jaeyi changing the subject at face value, because Jaeyi does that a lot. Palm-to-palm, Paddy's fingers flex a little, then relax for that comparison. His hands are pretty big, you know, proportional to the height and build he's got going on there. "Oh, I thought you know, you meant my food. Professionally."
"Thank you, but that's why I have a mindhealer, so my friends can just be my friends and not all people that have to mop me up at the end of the night." Jaeyi makes a playful little face at the end of that, more a joke than anything serious. "I think I only had your food once, actually, when I came to the restaurant. That's not to say it was stellar, mind you, but I meant more happy to see /you/-you and not, like, food-you. If that makes sense. Just. It's nice to have a friend that knows the business, I guess, but isn't someone that I actually have to work with. I think sometimes it's sad we don't have a proper crafthall, don't you?" Her fingers curl presently, a loose fist in his palm to suggest he ought to fold it up in his now.
"Mm, there's a point there, though you know, who better to do a little of that mopping than friends hm?" P'draig's face lights with understanding and he nods. "Yeah. Talking shop without it being your shop, I guess," the brownrider connects the dots. "And I don't know if it makes me sad, but it could be convenient to be able to gather somewhere and trade ideas and everything," Paddy agrees partially. Good little boy: her fingers curl, his close over hers. Could be automatic instinct.
Jaeyi, with a grin, "Someone whose job it is to do the mopping?" She pats his cheek, though, affectionately grateful to add, "Thank you for the offer, really. It's sweet of you." Opening her fingers just enough to curl the very ends of P'draig's in her palm, she adds, "It's nice to just go around and taste each others' food all the time, sure, but it'd be nice to-- that, exactly. There's a lovely old pastry-maker at the Hold, I've learned a lot from him, but then you wander over to Harper Hall, say, and they're knee-deep in exchanging ideas and collaborating and here we are, guarding our secret recipes like misers." Sigh sigh. "Still pinging?"
"Okay," Paddy says with a little nod, gives her hand a squeeze, light. "Or collaborate on things," he agrees about food-making. "And I guess there's some bakers like that, but not all? I mean, I'm not really much for the whole secret thing, personally." To her last, he shakes his head slowly. "Not enough to be a problem."
"Oh, me neither. But-- this lovely pastry Baker, hmn? He's been very good and giving to me, but every recipe he shares, he has this little, 'but you can't just go telling this to everyone, now' warning, and shakes his finger at me." Jaeyi does it to Paddy as an example, tsk tsk tsk, which goes right into a pleased smile for his answer. "See? And no empty bottles of whiskey. I should do this for a living, distracting people." Pause. "Except, if I put that on a business card, people probably won't believe we just chatted. Oh well."
That wagging finger gets caught if Jaeyi doesn't pull her hand back fast enough, another lopsided grin on P'draig's face. "I had no intention of drinking a whole bottle. Just the glass," he says mildly. "I don't usually drink after flights." No, there's usually swimming it off, or company. "Though I do think you'd make a top notch distracting-person," P'draig says sincerely. "Regardless of what people think it might mean."
That wagging finger gets caught, since Jaeyi makes no effort to pull it away, only hooks it in P'draig's hand and glances back over her shoulder for just a moment, making sure someone's come along and taken away the partially empty glass. "No? Well, good, though why in the world you'd come in here if you weren't planning to drink or pick someone up..." Grateful for the sincerity of the comment, she looks back to him, pleased with herself; "Fall-back career, then. Keeping men harmlessly entertained. So they can go and see their babies before they go home, without smelling like whiskey or cheap perfume." 'Cause hers ain't cheap.
"Because it's a good place to get a glass of something and take to the barkeep and apparently for picking up distracting bakers, with no extra meaning behind distracting," P'draig answers, cheer and joking reasserting themselves. "Definitely a fall-back plan, if you can get it to pay decently," the brownrider replies, smile wide and then leans in to kiss Jaeyi's cheek gently. "Thanks, Jaeyi. It's good to see you. I'll make sure to drop in and try to catch up more often."
Turning her cheek to be kissed, Jaeyi beams and answers, "You're welcome, and I glad I poked my head in. I'm happy to see you, too." She rests her other cheek on his shoulder for just a moment, the fringe of a hug, then straightens with a quick brush of her lips across Paddy's temple. "T'rev's been bringing me peaches, and I think that's about the only thing I care to eat right now, and I think I'm faint with hunger." She probably exaggerates. "So I'm going now. Enjoy your night, kiss your baby, be good." Leaving P'draig to field the 'bummer, guy' consolations from the people who assumed he totally had a sure-thing there.
"Peaches?" That admission perplexes P'draig for a second, even as his arm goes around Jaeyi again for a light hug. "Enjoy," is what he concludes that thought with though, because hey, peaches. "I will. See you soon," the brownrider promises and lets her go, watches her out in fact and only grins for those stray 'bummer' comments, because hey, he's got a sure thing back home now that his head and Jekzith's are both clear enough to get there. But first, he checks back in with Hattie and Gethin before he does so.
When: day 22, month 6, turn 23 of the 10th interval
Where: The Glass Fountain, Fort Weyr
What: In Fort's bar for a post-flight glass of whiskey, P'draig meets up with Jaeyi who distracts him in ways that don't involve bumping boots.
It's not been long since Chielyth went up and riders staggered out of the flight cave, P'draig among them looking a bit unsteady. He went for a quick swim with Jekzith who remains at the lake floating in the water, cooling down. His rider, still damp, perches in the Weyr's bar now, feet hooked around the legs of a stool, steadily working his way through a single glass of whiskey, jacket folded up on top of the bar.
Because she doesn't want to eat living cavern food-- really, she just doesn't want to eat much of anything but crackers lately-- Jaeyi eventually wanders on into the Fountain, oblivious to the fact that there was a greenflight; 'cause who has the time to keep track of things like that. Although her entrance is a little lackluster, her expression shading toward a pout, she brightens after a scan of the interior reveals a familiar brownrider at the bar. Even if he is drinking whiskey, noted with a brief nose-crinkle. "Paddy Paddy Paddy, always with the drinking," while she comes up to his stool.
Jumping a little, P'draig looks up from his contemplation of his whiskey briefly seeming startled, though that fades quickly as the brownrider recognizes Jaeyi. "Well hey there," he says with a slightly loopy grin and his gaze drops from the baker's face downward and back up again. One arm lifts from the bar, daringly aims to loop around Jaeyi's waist. "Flight," he says with a little shrug. "Felt like taking the edge of just a little bit. Just one glass. One." The glass, lifted, tilted back and forth is then set back down again.
The flash of enlightenment that crosses Jaeyi's face is replaced almost as quickly as it came by amusement. She permits the arm around her waist, patting P'draig's hand briefly with one of hers before she leans an arm around his shoulders in turn with an, "Ahhhh, gotcha. Whose?" Once the glass is back on the counter, she reaches to pluck it with her own thumb and forefinger, lifting it to gauge how much is left like she plans to drink it herself. She doesn't, of course, but taking booze from men-- or away from them-- is all part of the M.O.
"Chielyth," P'draig announces the dragon's name rather than the riders and for a moment, lets his head rest atop her shoulder, just breathes in. She takes his glass and Paddy watches with faint amusement. "It takes at least a full bottle of that stuff to get me buzzed," he informs mildly and then hops right to: "How've you been? It's been a while." Since he's seen her.
"Oh good," Jaeyi says brightly. "Then you should be plenty sober still if all you're having is part-of-one glass." She puts it neatly on the far side of the bar, like there's some sort of invisible laser beam fortress that prevents P'draig from just taking it, and answers his comment with a nod-nod-nod. "It has been, hasn't it. I haven't been to Ista in, gosh, almost a Turn now, I think. I've been-- oh, hit-or-miss, better lately. Do you know Kai? Because you should probably be glad you lost." Chatty with a side of petting.
"Sober, yes, mostly," P'draig agrees. "Where alcohol is concerned. Still have Jekzith pinging around in the back of my head a little, but it'll pass," he promises and lifts his head to look down at her with a little lopsided smile. "Has it been that long? Shells." The brownrider breathes out, shakes his head. "No, I don't know - Kai must be short for B'kaiv. I don't really know him but for the few minutes out the Bowl where he was you know, being proddy at me." His arm hasn't left her waist, but he's not making any moves either, could just be glad for the closeness. "I'm glad you're feeling better. He didn't mention any ... details, but T'rev said things had been rough," the brownrider offers up diplomatically.
Jaeyi's, "Awww," is authentic, genuinely sorry for P'draig's plight. "Do you want me to go some girl can come along and make you feel better?" she offers, just as authentically as her sympathy was, her arm relaxing a little across his shoulders though she doesn't go to all the trouble of pulling away from him. "They had been, but that's all over and done with now. Really, I have to say, if you had won that Flight, you'd probably be feeling pretty rough yourself about now. Kai's a bruiser and no love for you dastardly Istans, either." She tries to say that all stern and threatening-like, furrowing her brows into a thundercloud expression. She totally fails, of course, but it's the effort that counts.
"No, I'll be okay, thanks for the offer though," P'draig demurs and where her arm relaxes, his tightens a little, just a light squeeze, affectionate rather than fresh in nature. "Good, glad things've cleared up," the brownrider says sincerely. Both brows lift a bit at that claim though. "Dastardly Istans?" Breath out. "And what, you don't think I can handle myself?" he asks casually, head cocking to one side. "Though I'll grant I've spent more time in the kitchen for the last little while than serious training of any kind." The thundercloud attempt earns a chuckle and his free hand lifts, thumb pressing to brows lightly to smooth them back out. "Would you believe that you look /cute/ like that instead of scary?"
"I didn't say that," Jaeyi points out with regards to his ability to handle himself, relaxing her arm across his shoulders again, just as happy to have someone to cuddle with even if everyone has all their clothes on. Sex or not, affection is still awesome. "Just. Kai's mean, Paddy, and you're not. So even if you are all fighting and tough?" She turns her face to the smoothing thumb, nose crinkled up afterward like she's so disappointed at her failure to be threatening. "Probably, but it'd be gentlemanly of you to at least pretend to be scared, hmn? How's the restaurant?" No, the one thought has nothing to do with the other.
"Mean. Hm. So ... that wasn't just proddy?" P'draig queries, bemused. "Huh. He was getting up in my face a little about Hattie. Because of Gethin." A little sigh and then his shoulders lift in a shrug beneath her arm. "It's okay, hopefully it all went well and his green'll be able to settle down tonight. Jekzith said she was really riled." That thumb desists after a moment, fingers brushing her cheek gently for a moment before retreating. "Would it? Okay. Well then here, scared face." And he gives it his best shot, but it's probably more comical than anything else. "Good actually, we're opening up extra days and I've brought in someone for backup so it's not all on me."
Jaeyi shakes her head, both biting her tongue and not-really at the same time, aiming for some of that diplomacy that P'draig employed earlier; "Yeah, that wasn't just proddy. I'm sorry if he was mean to you, though. He-- well, sometimes he does things that are all right, but he can really be a prick." His scared-face makes her laugh, never mind he just got chastised for doing the same thing, and she leans to put a kiss on either of his cheeks as a reward for giving her a chuckle. "I'll settle for cute and you settle for not-scared and things'll be better, hmn? I'm glad your business is well! Assuming 'because of Gethin' means that one's yours, you could use the money to raise that brood of yours. How many is this for you now? Like, fourteen?"
"Hm. I'll keep that in mind if Chielyth's proddy again when we're around," P'draig says slowly, thoughtfully, digesting Jaeyi's opinion on the matter. "Not really mean, just you know, protective. Which, I get. Just you know, I'm not going to do anything to hurt Hattie," the brownrider says with a renewed bemused note in his voice. Cheek-kisses! Yay! "Okay," he agrees readily about cute and not-scared and leans back a little on his stool. Quietly: "Yes. Gethin's my son." Briefly his expression shades wry. "Five," he corrects that number mildly. "And they don't really cost me much, especially not at Ista where they can run around half-clothed most of the turn," Paddy jokes. "Don't have to keep them in winter gear and at this point, they're all more used to the heat than the cold." A faint note of regret there.
"Five. Five five five." Jaeyi shakes her head for each of those repetitions, taking in a deep breath at the end and letting it out with a laugh. "Four half-clothed ragamuffins and one little half-Hattie at Fort. And then T'mic's got... how many? Big family." The note of regret doesn't go unnoticed, and, leaning away enough so P'draigh will have to stretch his arm to keep it around her and she has to straighten hers to let her hand stay at the back of his neck, she gives him a more direct look now. "Why are you sad, Paddy? Little Istans are just fine, just as good as little Fortians."
"Six," P'draig supplies with another little loose grin. "And all of his are ... kind of all over the place. Mostly with their mothers or fostered. Mic's not really ... paternal," the brownrider tries for diplomatic again. "And two of them are actually grown up with two more well into apprenticing age," Paddy continues. "He got started a lot earlier than I did. Solla, she's older than you are." His arm adjusts as she leans and he laughs a little. "Just you know, I'm from the Reaches and impressed here. I've still lived in colder places more of my life than at Ista. But my kids will probably have a low tolerance for cold, except for Jaivery since he's being raised at Telgar by my brother and his mother."
With a playful smugness, Jaeyi notes, "So, between the two of you, my fourteen wasn't so far off, was it?" She nods about Solla's age, at least peripherally familiar with the greenrider in question if not actually face-to-face. "Well, I'm sorry your little ones won't all have thick skins, sweetheart, but. For what it's worth? I was raised at Boll, and-- if it hadn't been for getting sent here-- I'd've been just as happy to never know how cold snow really is." She pets the back of his neck a bit longer, just brushing his hairline, then adds with a sudden realization, "But now you have a reason to visit Fort even more, hmn? To see your new little one?" Like, 'yay!'
"Sure, for total numbers," Paddy lifts up a finger, "but really, there's just Palia and Dharia with me close to full time, Dylan half the time and all of the others it's more ... visiting," he says slowly, considering then laughs again. "I know. That's part of the sad. Because I grew up loving the stuff and having fun in it and that might be something they'll miss out on." His smile widens as she makes with the yay and he nods. "I have been, actually. At least twice a seven since he was born. Sometimes more if I can swing it, even if just to give Hattie a little break."
Surprised, brows raised and then knitted, Jaeyi asks, "Have you really? Sheesh, I have to start coming out of the bathtub more during the day and see who's kicking around the place. Ooooor you could stop into the kitchen sometimes and say hi." With the pouting. Just a little. "It's good that you help her. I don't know Hattie so well, but she seems like-- hmn, someone who could get herself overwhelmed. Isandre, her Healer, made it seem like things went pretty bad for her, I'm glad she and the baby are okay. And that you're here. I should've come to see you before now." With a thoughtful frown, bad her.
"I've mostly been coming in the afternoon or evening, Fort time, to help with Gethin so Hattie can sleep," is Paddy's elaboration there. "I didn't realize you were in the kitchens here," the brownrider admits with a slightly sheepish air. "Or I'd have come by to bug you for breakfast or a snack." A little more laughter. "Uh, yeah. Hattie and I share a uh ... certain tendency to overwork ourselves." More concession, with a note of amused self-deprecation in his voice that bleeds right away as she mentions pregnancy issues and he looks down at the bar for a moment, swallows twice. "Yeah. They did. Though not as badly as they could've and she's all right which is ... " he pauses there, breathes out. "It's just a very good thing. All around." He looks up at her though, gives a little shake of his head. "You're always welcome, when you have the time or feel inclined to visit Ista."
"Half the week," Jaeyi clarifies with a shrug. "The other half the week, I'm still at the Hold. Astivan gave me my job back, which I thought was pretty nice of him." When he looks down at the bar, she dips her head a little to try to catch his eyes even then, immediately apologetic for touching on a delicate subject. "It is good. All around. And, next time you're here, pop your head in and I'll send you off to Hattie and Gethin with some proper breakfast, hmn?" As for visiting Ista, she nods brightly and agrees, "I'll come around in a few weeks, likely, and criticize your food for you. I really am happy to see you. Not that we don't have cooks and Bakers here, but I like you particularly."
"Ahh, yes. That is pretty decent of him," P'draig says carefully, not privy to a lot of the finer details about the Hold. "You're happy with that kind of arrangement?" he asks next and then reaches over, aiming to catch her free hand with his. "Another friend of mine died giving birth. She was close to Palia and it's been really tough for her and then right on the heels of that, Hattie having trouble. It's just made me a little bit ... jumpy about it," Paddy admits, though at least he seems to be pretty well over any lingering flight effects due to conversational distraction. "But yes, next time I'm here overnight, I'll swing by to get Hattie a proper breakfast and make sure she eats it." For her last he smiles more widely again. "I'll look forward to it. I value your opinion." His head tilts to the side though, curious. "How come?"
Jaeyi mmmns, lengthy, thoughtful, giving it an honest contemplation. "I'm happy enough? It's all complicated and messy, Paddy, and you don't wanna know most of it. But I like cooking at the Hold, it's /such/ a kitchen. T'rev's here, though, and it's not like he can really leave, so." Shrug. "It's as close as I can get to eating my cake and having it, too." Yeah, all the talk of dying and nearly dying pregnant chicks probably isn't sitting too well, even if she opened that bag of worms, and she hastens to change the subject, absently lining up her fingers with his in a size comparison. "What do you mean, 'how come?' There's no 'how come.' I guess I could comment that I haven't slept with /most/ of the cooks here, but I prefer to leave it at 'just 'cause.'"
"Happy enough works, even if it's complicated," P'draig says lightly. "And ... if you do need an ear, try me. I've been around the block and through some pretty tough things," the brownrider adds gently. "And I hear you on the being near part, or you know, I'd never have left Fort," joking a little. He, unlike T'rev, does miss that tidbit of not sitting well, just takes Jaeyi changing the subject at face value, because Jaeyi does that a lot. Palm-to-palm, Paddy's fingers flex a little, then relax for that comparison. His hands are pretty big, you know, proportional to the height and build he's got going on there. "Oh, I thought you know, you meant my food. Professionally."
"Thank you, but that's why I have a mindhealer, so my friends can just be my friends and not all people that have to mop me up at the end of the night." Jaeyi makes a playful little face at the end of that, more a joke than anything serious. "I think I only had your food once, actually, when I came to the restaurant. That's not to say it was stellar, mind you, but I meant more happy to see /you/-you and not, like, food-you. If that makes sense. Just. It's nice to have a friend that knows the business, I guess, but isn't someone that I actually have to work with. I think sometimes it's sad we don't have a proper crafthall, don't you?" Her fingers curl presently, a loose fist in his palm to suggest he ought to fold it up in his now.
"Mm, there's a point there, though you know, who better to do a little of that mopping than friends hm?" P'draig's face lights with understanding and he nods. "Yeah. Talking shop without it being your shop, I guess," the brownrider connects the dots. "And I don't know if it makes me sad, but it could be convenient to be able to gather somewhere and trade ideas and everything," Paddy agrees partially. Good little boy: her fingers curl, his close over hers. Could be automatic instinct.
Jaeyi, with a grin, "Someone whose job it is to do the mopping?" She pats his cheek, though, affectionately grateful to add, "Thank you for the offer, really. It's sweet of you." Opening her fingers just enough to curl the very ends of P'draig's in her palm, she adds, "It's nice to just go around and taste each others' food all the time, sure, but it'd be nice to-- that, exactly. There's a lovely old pastry-maker at the Hold, I've learned a lot from him, but then you wander over to Harper Hall, say, and they're knee-deep in exchanging ideas and collaborating and here we are, guarding our secret recipes like misers." Sigh sigh. "Still pinging?"
"Okay," Paddy says with a little nod, gives her hand a squeeze, light. "Or collaborate on things," he agrees about food-making. "And I guess there's some bakers like that, but not all? I mean, I'm not really much for the whole secret thing, personally." To her last, he shakes his head slowly. "Not enough to be a problem."
"Oh, me neither. But-- this lovely pastry Baker, hmn? He's been very good and giving to me, but every recipe he shares, he has this little, 'but you can't just go telling this to everyone, now' warning, and shakes his finger at me." Jaeyi does it to Paddy as an example, tsk tsk tsk, which goes right into a pleased smile for his answer. "See? And no empty bottles of whiskey. I should do this for a living, distracting people." Pause. "Except, if I put that on a business card, people probably won't believe we just chatted. Oh well."
That wagging finger gets caught if Jaeyi doesn't pull her hand back fast enough, another lopsided grin on P'draig's face. "I had no intention of drinking a whole bottle. Just the glass," he says mildly. "I don't usually drink after flights." No, there's usually swimming it off, or company. "Though I do think you'd make a top notch distracting-person," P'draig says sincerely. "Regardless of what people think it might mean."
That wagging finger gets caught, since Jaeyi makes no effort to pull it away, only hooks it in P'draig's hand and glances back over her shoulder for just a moment, making sure someone's come along and taken away the partially empty glass. "No? Well, good, though why in the world you'd come in here if you weren't planning to drink or pick someone up..." Grateful for the sincerity of the comment, she looks back to him, pleased with herself; "Fall-back career, then. Keeping men harmlessly entertained. So they can go and see their babies before they go home, without smelling like whiskey or cheap perfume." 'Cause hers ain't cheap.
"Because it's a good place to get a glass of something and take to the barkeep and apparently for picking up distracting bakers, with no extra meaning behind distracting," P'draig answers, cheer and joking reasserting themselves. "Definitely a fall-back plan, if you can get it to pay decently," the brownrider replies, smile wide and then leans in to kiss Jaeyi's cheek gently. "Thanks, Jaeyi. It's good to see you. I'll make sure to drop in and try to catch up more often."
Turning her cheek to be kissed, Jaeyi beams and answers, "You're welcome, and I glad I poked my head in. I'm happy to see you, too." She rests her other cheek on his shoulder for just a moment, the fringe of a hug, then straightens with a quick brush of her lips across Paddy's temple. "T'rev's been bringing me peaches, and I think that's about the only thing I care to eat right now, and I think I'm faint with hunger." She probably exaggerates. "So I'm going now. Enjoy your night, kiss your baby, be good." Leaving P'draig to field the 'bummer, guy' consolations from the people who assumed he totally had a sure-thing there.
"Peaches?" That admission perplexes P'draig for a second, even as his arm goes around Jaeyi again for a light hug. "Enjoy," is what he concludes that thought with though, because hey, peaches. "I will. See you soon," the brownrider promises and lets her go, watches her out in fact and only grins for those stray 'bummer' comments, because hey, he's got a sure thing back home now that his head and Jekzith's are both clear enough to get there. But first, he checks back in with Hattie and Gethin before he does so.