Log: Complications For Madilla
Who: Madilla, Milani
When: 8/3/22
Where: Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr
What: Madilla's been feeling down about various repercussions of her pregnancy. Milani's got some comfort and understanding to offer.
Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr
Stalactites hang high above this enormous cavern like a jagged chandelier or an inversion of the Spires themselves, but shadows cling to them instead of light. Below lie great tables arranged in rows, each large enough to serve a fighting wing, while in the nooks and alcoves around the cavern's edge sit more sensibly-sized tables, from six- and eight-seaters down to intimate spots for just a couple of diners. The only really open space is around the kitchen entrance, smelling of food and rarely quiet, and by the nearby serving tables with their long buffet of the day's offerings.
Tapestries on the smooth walls -- some faded and others newly woven -- only slightly mute the sea of sound when a meal is in full swing, but they add cheerfulness augmented by the glowlight from wall sconces and the centerpieces of each table. Still, shadows always creep along the ceiling and into the mouths of the exits -- the myriad small hallways at one end of the cavern and, at the other, the twisting tunnel to the bowl near an array of coathooks and and hatracks -- and late at night, when the glows are allowed to dim, the chamber can seem very dark indeed.
It's a lovely, warm summer's afternoon and the caverns are relatively unoccupied as a result, it being still too early for dinner, and too late for lunch. For most people, at least. Whatever it is for Madilla, it doesn't seem to involve much by way of actual food, for despite the plate in front of her, the healer is staring moodily off into space, her arms clasped around a mug of something steadily cooling.
Sunshine outside and Milani comes in bringing a little of that with her, at least in the quality of her smile and the sparkle in her eyes. The headwoman smooths down slightly breeze-blown hair and tucks her pencil back up above her ear, fingers waving off a kitchen worker who looks up and mimes pouring something. Instead, Millie fetches for herself and its the clink of ice in her glass that might announce her approach towards Madilla. "Hello ... should I be trying to tempt you outside?" Cheery.
But Madilla is so lost in her own thoughts that she doesn't register Milani's approach until the Headwoman speaks. Her gaze flicks up, almost guilty in their hesitance, and the faint pinkness of her cheeks. She manages a smile, though, at least, and relaxes her stance so as to look a little more peaceful. "It's that lovely out there today, is it? You look well, Milani."
"It really is gorgeous out, Madilla," Milani says with a little smile for the healer and nods towards a chair. "May I sit? I did get a little warm, so I'm going to have a nice cool drink. Would you like a sip? Or a fresh glass of your own? And thanks. Hard /not/ to be happy when it's so nice out there."
"Maybe I'll take a walk later," says Madilla, not quite managing to convey any real intent to follow through on it. She nods her head, yes, to Milani sitting, but shakes her head to the rest, noting, "I think I'll stick to tea, for now. But thank you. It's-- just better. For now. How are you?"
"This /is/ tea," Milani notes lightly with a grin into her glass, makes the ice clink and plunks down in the next chair over, folding up long limbs in typical fashion and props her cheek up on her hand. "And a walk sounds nice. You know that one of the trees is leaning down low over the lake? It kind of looks like a lady brushing her fingers towards the water, especially at sunset when the shadows get funny." The headwoman smiles over at the healer, warmth in the expression. "I'm doing really well. It's about to hit the busy time of the turn, but for now ... I get to enjoy summer a little. And Milandra's really starting to explore a lot so it's a lot of fun."
Madilla's cheeks shade pinker, and she manages a laugh. "I should have known," she says, then. "Cold tea /is/ a good drink for summer. I hadn't seen that tree, no... perhaps I'll take a look." /Later/. Her head bobs along with what the Headwoman says, though it's not until she mentions Milandra that her expression truly softens; she looks delighted. "Oh-- I can imagine. They grow up so quickly. It's hard to believe."
"It kind of ... has the essenc eof summer in it? If that makes any sense." Milani tilts her glass a little, letting the ice slide and contemplating the flicker of light on amber liquid. "Especially when you spike it with a little bit of lemonade." Up come blue-green eyes and her smile widens. "She's so into everything and crawls all around outside. She's pulling up on everything and 'walks' while holding my hands. They keep telling me in the nursery she's going to walk before her first birthday. I can't believe it's only a month away."
A hurried nod marks Madilla's agreement, accompanied with, "It does. It's-- nice." Kind of a lame finish, but the healer is nicely distracted with talk of Milandra anyway, so perhaps that's why. "A /month/. It's-- almost impossible to believe that it's been that long already. A month?" Her expression turns rueful. "I suppose that means it's nearly a turn since I walked the tables, too. Walking, though-- I'm sure she'll be in to /everything/, then."
"Time just goes by so fast these days!" Milani exclaims, with wide eyes and reaches over a gentle hand towards Madilla's arm. "And you've done so well since, as a journeyman I mean. I'll bring Milandra in for her one year checkup next month. And maybe she'll have walking to impress you with." There's a little pause while the headwoman sips from her glass. "And you? Are you all right?" A sidelong look for any returnin signs of moody.
:gives Milani a quick smile as that hand reaches for her arm, and nods, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I look forward to seeing her," she says, firmly, before, having swallowed and then taken a deep breath, she answers the question. "I /ought/ to be. I ought to be over the moons, and-- but everything got complicated." She pauses, lifting her gaze to meet Milani's, her frown returning. "I'm pregnant. And it feels like half the people I care about are upset at me for it."
"Great," Milani says lightly about the appointment at least but then her expression sobers and she listens attentively to her friend. A breath is drawn in, her smile returning at the news shared. "Oh but Madilla ... that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you." Pause again. "Why ... is it complicated?" the headwoman asks carefully and this time her arm aims to slide around the healer's shoulders.
Madilla looks genuinely torn between absolute delight at Milani's reaction and bursting into tears-- in the end, she kind of does both, managing to smile genuinely as tears fill her eyes. She shuts them, taking several deep, composing breaths before, opening them again, she explains, "Delifa thinks I'm making a mistake, and G'brion-- /he/ thinks I did it to hurt him. Because he got his nose broken trying to protect me. And I just... I feel like I was supposed to not go after what I wanted, to make other people happy."
"Oh, Madilla," Milani says with a little sympathetic sigh and tighens her arm around the other woman's shoulders gently. "Shells. You know, I got some of the same when I was expecting Milandra. There were people who thought a hussy like me didn't deserve it and some who thought I should've waited to have K'del's and other people thought I should move in with Mik. And ... well you know, it's tough. Everyone has an opinion." She blows out a breath, brows furrowing slightly. "I can see why Delifa's opinion would cut pretty deeply. But honestly, G'brion? That's just being highly immature and totally his age. And let that one roll off if you can. He'll probably grow out of it as soon as he realizes he's not the center of the universe."
It seems to surprise Madilla, what Milani says first, and she turns her attention back to the other woman, her eyebrows raised. "Truly?" Her head shakes. "I thought-- it's a /weyr/. You aren't supposed to get judged for things like that here." She swallows again, and lifts one hand to wipe down her eyes. "G'brion-- it's just. I don't know. He's my /friend/. I thought-- I don't know. I don't think he sees me as a friend anymore. Surely he could at least have been happy for me, even if he disapproved?"
"Not /supposed/ to, but you know, people come in with different ideas and they don't just go away," Milani says quietly. "And some people still get jealous. I think the ones who made the hussy ones were mostly the ones who wanted to hook K'ndro /or/ K'del for themselves, only they don't really get it that they're not /hookable/." A little handwave. "Anyway ... I'm really sorry that Gabe's taken it that poorly. That's ... a really selfish way for him to look at it," the headwoman adds softly and pushes her glass aside, turning to offer Madilla a proper hug. "I don't suppose it'd help if anyone talked to him?"
Madilla leans gratefully into the hug, and even manages not to cry all over Milani's shoulder. She's silent until she draws away again, by which point she looks pensive. "I just... I worry that he's /right/. That I haven't thought it through. But--" She breaks off, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm /happy/. I want this." She swallows before she adds, "I don't know if it'd help. I don't know if he wants to talk. He seemed angry at me for not understanding why he could be upset." Pushing a smile back onto her face, she adds, "Anyway, you can't blame people for being jealous, you know. /Two/ handsome bronzeriders?" She can't quite sell the joke, though, not with a voice still thick with tears.
Hugs tight for long enough that Madilla can get the support she needs, then loosens her hold and leans back a bit. "As far as I can see, you've thought about it plenty. For turns in fact. Unless there's something ... I'm missing?" Brows lift questioningly. "But if you're happy then any complicated parts, that's your choice to deal with them and you're a grown-up." Milani's shoulders lift, drop down again. "It's not really his right to burden you with all that, Madilla. Honestly. Hopefully he'll get over himself and realize that what you need is your friends around you." And there Millie does pause and reaches out to touch Madilla's cheek gently, then roots around in her pocket for her hanky to offer over. Nicely folded neat linen square.
A genuine smile creeps back onto Madilla's face as Millie touches her cheek; then, dabbing her eyes with the handkerchief, she admits, "Turns and turns. I think it's more-- /who/ than how. But B'tal's one of my best friends. And he /offered/." There's more resolve to her tone as she finishes that, and after another swallow, and then, a blowing of her nose, she concludes, "I hope G'brion gets over it. I hope you're right. I think... maybe there are just other things going on with him. And so he can't /see/."
If Milani's got anything other than a reasonable opinion about B'tal-as-baby-daddy, she's studiously keeping it off of her face. "And he's a pretty sweet guy. And wouldn't be able to have kids unless you know, there was a girl-brown or bluerider who won one of Jeibeth's flights." There's no mention of W'chek just yet. And she nods again on the subject of G'brion. "Yeah. Too self-absorbed," the headwoman posits. "Though he's a weyrling so he has a little bit of a right to be. Having to sort things out with Pterath and all."
"/Exactly/," is Madilla's opinion. "He's always wanted children, too. So why shouldn't we be able to work together to get what we want? It... it may not be what I dreamed about when I was little, but it works for me." She, too, avoids the subject of W'chek, at least for now, though she admits of G'brion, "He's been having some problems with her. That /can't/ be helping. Should I... try to talk to him? Or wait. I don't know."
"It's still a little boy or girl who's half yours," Milani says gently and reaches for Madilla's hand to squeeze. "I just hope that someday, maybe for your second or your third baby, it'll be with someone who really really has the hots for you and you have the hots back for," the headwoman says sincerely. "I think it's a lot more fun to make a baby that way." Philosophical that, not censorious and then she furrows her brows, thinking it through. "How long ago did you have that talk with him? Because ... maybe a little bit of time to let things settle might be good if it's been recent. Let him get his head together and deal with whatever it is."
Despite everything, the idea of a /baby/ that is half /hers/, makes Madilla positively glow. Her fingertips twine about Milani's slightly, and she nods, though what the Headwoman has to say after that makes her laugh a little ruefully, her cheeks pinkening. "That's the only way there would ever be more than one," she says, firmly. "I don't-- I couldn't do that again." She thinks for a moment, then adds, "It was only a few days ago. The talk with G'brion. So... I'll give him a while longer. We'll see."
Teeth catch at Milani's lower lip and her free hand palms toward her forehead. "He didn't really know what to do, did he?" she murmurs sotto voce and wrinkles up her nose about B'tal's presumed talents or lack thereof in the uh .. babymaking department. Good thing it's not too busy in the cavern? Serious face back on, nodding. "I think that's probably a good idea. Let him cool off and all that."
Madilla turns scarlet, but it doesn't stop her from saying, "It was, uh, business-like." Which probably doesn't adequately describe the unpleasant reality of the whole transaction, but... This is /Madilla/. "I will. Perhaps... he'll even come to me. I'm sure we can work it out eventually." Which at least makes her look happier. "Thank you, Milani," she continues, genuinely. "I feel... better, now."
'Business-like' is echoed back silently, mouthed. And Milani's hand creeps up towards her hairline fingers threading through strawberry strands. Oh /boy/. "Mmmhm. Right. Well. If you want some ... pointers for the next time you decide to dip your foot in the pool, let me know, okay? Because it's supposed to be a lot more fun than /that/," the headwoman says with an expressive eye roll. She reaches for her glass, head bobbing. "I hope he will. All on his own. That'd be a sign of growing up a little," she points out with a sunny smile. "And I'm glad. Feel a bi more like eating now? Or would you like to come outside with me? I was going to go get a little paperwork and camp out by the lake again until I have to dive back into dark caverns."
That kind of reaction makes Madilla duck her gaze, suddenly awkward. Quietly, "I'm not sure pointers would have... helped. But. /If/ I do," and she makes it sound terribly unlikely, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." Of G'brion, she says nothing more, just nods carefully; after that, she gives her abandoned plate a glance, and shakes her head. "Maybe fresh air would be a-- good idea. I can't seem to eat much of anything during the day at the moment. And if it's as beautiful as you say it is..."
"Maybe not ... but ... there's some things could probably have helped," Milani says with a little sigh and leans over a little, aiming to bump her shoulder towards Madilla's. "Water under the bridge anyway." And there's her smile going bright like the sun outside. "Definitely, and I remember that. Baby messing with my appetite!" Big eyes. "I just need a few minutes to get what I need out of my office. I can meet you out in the bowl?"
Madilla accepts this with a nod, and she has a grin for the Headwoman for that shoulder-bump. "It worked," she agreed. "So-- it doesn't matter anymore. We were lucky." Very lucky. She gives her plate another glance, and a grimace, as she draws herself to her feet. "I hope it likes food /more/ when it gets out," she says, more cheerfully. Then, head bobbing, "In the bowl. All right. I'll see you soon, then."
"It should pass after a bit, but you know that," Milani says airily about pregnancy symptoms. "Or I can get you bean curd from the kitchen," she teases, eyes dancing for a common but not necessarily popular high-protein snack. "I'll see you in a few!" The last of her iced tea is drained, her clipboard caught up and the headwoman walks off briskly to get those papers, then returns to the bowl to track down the healer and perhaps subtly or less so, steer that walk past where the little kids are out playing in the sun.
Madilla's nose wrinkles at mention of bean curd, but all she says is, "It is /strange/ being on the other end of all of this." The not-healer end! But that's all she has to say, before she gathers up her dishes and then heads out into the bowl. Their path past the children brings a warmer-than-ever smile to her face, and so begins a very pleasant sojourn outdoors in the summer sunshine, all concerns, for the moment, put aside.
When: 8/3/22
Where: Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr
What: Madilla's been feeling down about various repercussions of her pregnancy. Milani's got some comfort and understanding to offer.
Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr
Stalactites hang high above this enormous cavern like a jagged chandelier or an inversion of the Spires themselves, but shadows cling to them instead of light. Below lie great tables arranged in rows, each large enough to serve a fighting wing, while in the nooks and alcoves around the cavern's edge sit more sensibly-sized tables, from six- and eight-seaters down to intimate spots for just a couple of diners. The only really open space is around the kitchen entrance, smelling of food and rarely quiet, and by the nearby serving tables with their long buffet of the day's offerings.
Tapestries on the smooth walls -- some faded and others newly woven -- only slightly mute the sea of sound when a meal is in full swing, but they add cheerfulness augmented by the glowlight from wall sconces and the centerpieces of each table. Still, shadows always creep along the ceiling and into the mouths of the exits -- the myriad small hallways at one end of the cavern and, at the other, the twisting tunnel to the bowl near an array of coathooks and and hatracks -- and late at night, when the glows are allowed to dim, the chamber can seem very dark indeed.
It's a lovely, warm summer's afternoon and the caverns are relatively unoccupied as a result, it being still too early for dinner, and too late for lunch. For most people, at least. Whatever it is for Madilla, it doesn't seem to involve much by way of actual food, for despite the plate in front of her, the healer is staring moodily off into space, her arms clasped around a mug of something steadily cooling.
Sunshine outside and Milani comes in bringing a little of that with her, at least in the quality of her smile and the sparkle in her eyes. The headwoman smooths down slightly breeze-blown hair and tucks her pencil back up above her ear, fingers waving off a kitchen worker who looks up and mimes pouring something. Instead, Millie fetches for herself and its the clink of ice in her glass that might announce her approach towards Madilla. "Hello ... should I be trying to tempt you outside?" Cheery.
But Madilla is so lost in her own thoughts that she doesn't register Milani's approach until the Headwoman speaks. Her gaze flicks up, almost guilty in their hesitance, and the faint pinkness of her cheeks. She manages a smile, though, at least, and relaxes her stance so as to look a little more peaceful. "It's that lovely out there today, is it? You look well, Milani."
"It really is gorgeous out, Madilla," Milani says with a little smile for the healer and nods towards a chair. "May I sit? I did get a little warm, so I'm going to have a nice cool drink. Would you like a sip? Or a fresh glass of your own? And thanks. Hard /not/ to be happy when it's so nice out there."
"Maybe I'll take a walk later," says Madilla, not quite managing to convey any real intent to follow through on it. She nods her head, yes, to Milani sitting, but shakes her head to the rest, noting, "I think I'll stick to tea, for now. But thank you. It's-- just better. For now. How are you?"
"This /is/ tea," Milani notes lightly with a grin into her glass, makes the ice clink and plunks down in the next chair over, folding up long limbs in typical fashion and props her cheek up on her hand. "And a walk sounds nice. You know that one of the trees is leaning down low over the lake? It kind of looks like a lady brushing her fingers towards the water, especially at sunset when the shadows get funny." The headwoman smiles over at the healer, warmth in the expression. "I'm doing really well. It's about to hit the busy time of the turn, but for now ... I get to enjoy summer a little. And Milandra's really starting to explore a lot so it's a lot of fun."
Madilla's cheeks shade pinker, and she manages a laugh. "I should have known," she says, then. "Cold tea /is/ a good drink for summer. I hadn't seen that tree, no... perhaps I'll take a look." /Later/. Her head bobs along with what the Headwoman says, though it's not until she mentions Milandra that her expression truly softens; she looks delighted. "Oh-- I can imagine. They grow up so quickly. It's hard to believe."
"It kind of ... has the essenc eof summer in it? If that makes any sense." Milani tilts her glass a little, letting the ice slide and contemplating the flicker of light on amber liquid. "Especially when you spike it with a little bit of lemonade." Up come blue-green eyes and her smile widens. "She's so into everything and crawls all around outside. She's pulling up on everything and 'walks' while holding my hands. They keep telling me in the nursery she's going to walk before her first birthday. I can't believe it's only a month away."
A hurried nod marks Madilla's agreement, accompanied with, "It does. It's-- nice." Kind of a lame finish, but the healer is nicely distracted with talk of Milandra anyway, so perhaps that's why. "A /month/. It's-- almost impossible to believe that it's been that long already. A month?" Her expression turns rueful. "I suppose that means it's nearly a turn since I walked the tables, too. Walking, though-- I'm sure she'll be in to /everything/, then."
"Time just goes by so fast these days!" Milani exclaims, with wide eyes and reaches over a gentle hand towards Madilla's arm. "And you've done so well since, as a journeyman I mean. I'll bring Milandra in for her one year checkup next month. And maybe she'll have walking to impress you with." There's a little pause while the headwoman sips from her glass. "And you? Are you all right?" A sidelong look for any returnin signs of moody.
:gives Milani a quick smile as that hand reaches for her arm, and nods, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. "I look forward to seeing her," she says, firmly, before, having swallowed and then taken a deep breath, she answers the question. "I /ought/ to be. I ought to be over the moons, and-- but everything got complicated." She pauses, lifting her gaze to meet Milani's, her frown returning. "I'm pregnant. And it feels like half the people I care about are upset at me for it."
"Great," Milani says lightly about the appointment at least but then her expression sobers and she listens attentively to her friend. A breath is drawn in, her smile returning at the news shared. "Oh but Madilla ... that's wonderful! I'm so happy for you." Pause again. "Why ... is it complicated?" the headwoman asks carefully and this time her arm aims to slide around the healer's shoulders.
Madilla looks genuinely torn between absolute delight at Milani's reaction and bursting into tears-- in the end, she kind of does both, managing to smile genuinely as tears fill her eyes. She shuts them, taking several deep, composing breaths before, opening them again, she explains, "Delifa thinks I'm making a mistake, and G'brion-- /he/ thinks I did it to hurt him. Because he got his nose broken trying to protect me. And I just... I feel like I was supposed to not go after what I wanted, to make other people happy."
"Oh, Madilla," Milani says with a little sympathetic sigh and tighens her arm around the other woman's shoulders gently. "Shells. You know, I got some of the same when I was expecting Milandra. There were people who thought a hussy like me didn't deserve it and some who thought I should've waited to have K'del's and other people thought I should move in with Mik. And ... well you know, it's tough. Everyone has an opinion." She blows out a breath, brows furrowing slightly. "I can see why Delifa's opinion would cut pretty deeply. But honestly, G'brion? That's just being highly immature and totally his age. And let that one roll off if you can. He'll probably grow out of it as soon as he realizes he's not the center of the universe."
It seems to surprise Madilla, what Milani says first, and she turns her attention back to the other woman, her eyebrows raised. "Truly?" Her head shakes. "I thought-- it's a /weyr/. You aren't supposed to get judged for things like that here." She swallows again, and lifts one hand to wipe down her eyes. "G'brion-- it's just. I don't know. He's my /friend/. I thought-- I don't know. I don't think he sees me as a friend anymore. Surely he could at least have been happy for me, even if he disapproved?"
"Not /supposed/ to, but you know, people come in with different ideas and they don't just go away," Milani says quietly. "And some people still get jealous. I think the ones who made the hussy ones were mostly the ones who wanted to hook K'ndro /or/ K'del for themselves, only they don't really get it that they're not /hookable/." A little handwave. "Anyway ... I'm really sorry that Gabe's taken it that poorly. That's ... a really selfish way for him to look at it," the headwoman adds softly and pushes her glass aside, turning to offer Madilla a proper hug. "I don't suppose it'd help if anyone talked to him?"
Madilla leans gratefully into the hug, and even manages not to cry all over Milani's shoulder. She's silent until she draws away again, by which point she looks pensive. "I just... I worry that he's /right/. That I haven't thought it through. But--" She breaks off, shaking her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm /happy/. I want this." She swallows before she adds, "I don't know if it'd help. I don't know if he wants to talk. He seemed angry at me for not understanding why he could be upset." Pushing a smile back onto her face, she adds, "Anyway, you can't blame people for being jealous, you know. /Two/ handsome bronzeriders?" She can't quite sell the joke, though, not with a voice still thick with tears.
Hugs tight for long enough that Madilla can get the support she needs, then loosens her hold and leans back a bit. "As far as I can see, you've thought about it plenty. For turns in fact. Unless there's something ... I'm missing?" Brows lift questioningly. "But if you're happy then any complicated parts, that's your choice to deal with them and you're a grown-up." Milani's shoulders lift, drop down again. "It's not really his right to burden you with all that, Madilla. Honestly. Hopefully he'll get over himself and realize that what you need is your friends around you." And there Millie does pause and reaches out to touch Madilla's cheek gently, then roots around in her pocket for her hanky to offer over. Nicely folded neat linen square.
A genuine smile creeps back onto Madilla's face as Millie touches her cheek; then, dabbing her eyes with the handkerchief, she admits, "Turns and turns. I think it's more-- /who/ than how. But B'tal's one of my best friends. And he /offered/." There's more resolve to her tone as she finishes that, and after another swallow, and then, a blowing of her nose, she concludes, "I hope G'brion gets over it. I hope you're right. I think... maybe there are just other things going on with him. And so he can't /see/."
If Milani's got anything other than a reasonable opinion about B'tal-as-baby-daddy, she's studiously keeping it off of her face. "And he's a pretty sweet guy. And wouldn't be able to have kids unless you know, there was a girl-brown or bluerider who won one of Jeibeth's flights." There's no mention of W'chek just yet. And she nods again on the subject of G'brion. "Yeah. Too self-absorbed," the headwoman posits. "Though he's a weyrling so he has a little bit of a right to be. Having to sort things out with Pterath and all."
"/Exactly/," is Madilla's opinion. "He's always wanted children, too. So why shouldn't we be able to work together to get what we want? It... it may not be what I dreamed about when I was little, but it works for me." She, too, avoids the subject of W'chek, at least for now, though she admits of G'brion, "He's been having some problems with her. That /can't/ be helping. Should I... try to talk to him? Or wait. I don't know."
"It's still a little boy or girl who's half yours," Milani says gently and reaches for Madilla's hand to squeeze. "I just hope that someday, maybe for your second or your third baby, it'll be with someone who really really has the hots for you and you have the hots back for," the headwoman says sincerely. "I think it's a lot more fun to make a baby that way." Philosophical that, not censorious and then she furrows her brows, thinking it through. "How long ago did you have that talk with him? Because ... maybe a little bit of time to let things settle might be good if it's been recent. Let him get his head together and deal with whatever it is."
Despite everything, the idea of a /baby/ that is half /hers/, makes Madilla positively glow. Her fingertips twine about Milani's slightly, and she nods, though what the Headwoman has to say after that makes her laugh a little ruefully, her cheeks pinkening. "That's the only way there would ever be more than one," she says, firmly. "I don't-- I couldn't do that again." She thinks for a moment, then adds, "It was only a few days ago. The talk with G'brion. So... I'll give him a while longer. We'll see."
Teeth catch at Milani's lower lip and her free hand palms toward her forehead. "He didn't really know what to do, did he?" she murmurs sotto voce and wrinkles up her nose about B'tal's presumed talents or lack thereof in the uh .. babymaking department. Good thing it's not too busy in the cavern? Serious face back on, nodding. "I think that's probably a good idea. Let him cool off and all that."
Madilla turns scarlet, but it doesn't stop her from saying, "It was, uh, business-like." Which probably doesn't adequately describe the unpleasant reality of the whole transaction, but... This is /Madilla/. "I will. Perhaps... he'll even come to me. I'm sure we can work it out eventually." Which at least makes her look happier. "Thank you, Milani," she continues, genuinely. "I feel... better, now."
'Business-like' is echoed back silently, mouthed. And Milani's hand creeps up towards her hairline fingers threading through strawberry strands. Oh /boy/. "Mmmhm. Right. Well. If you want some ... pointers for the next time you decide to dip your foot in the pool, let me know, okay? Because it's supposed to be a lot more fun than /that/," the headwoman says with an expressive eye roll. She reaches for her glass, head bobbing. "I hope he will. All on his own. That'd be a sign of growing up a little," she points out with a sunny smile. "And I'm glad. Feel a bi more like eating now? Or would you like to come outside with me? I was going to go get a little paperwork and camp out by the lake again until I have to dive back into dark caverns."
That kind of reaction makes Madilla duck her gaze, suddenly awkward. Quietly, "I'm not sure pointers would have... helped. But. /If/ I do," and she makes it sound terribly unlikely, "I'll keep that in mind. Thank you." Of G'brion, she says nothing more, just nods carefully; after that, she gives her abandoned plate a glance, and shakes her head. "Maybe fresh air would be a-- good idea. I can't seem to eat much of anything during the day at the moment. And if it's as beautiful as you say it is..."
"Maybe not ... but ... there's some things could probably have helped," Milani says with a little sigh and leans over a little, aiming to bump her shoulder towards Madilla's. "Water under the bridge anyway." And there's her smile going bright like the sun outside. "Definitely, and I remember that. Baby messing with my appetite!" Big eyes. "I just need a few minutes to get what I need out of my office. I can meet you out in the bowl?"
Madilla accepts this with a nod, and she has a grin for the Headwoman for that shoulder-bump. "It worked," she agreed. "So-- it doesn't matter anymore. We were lucky." Very lucky. She gives her plate another glance, and a grimace, as she draws herself to her feet. "I hope it likes food /more/ when it gets out," she says, more cheerfully. Then, head bobbing, "In the bowl. All right. I'll see you soon, then."
"It should pass after a bit, but you know that," Milani says airily about pregnancy symptoms. "Or I can get you bean curd from the kitchen," she teases, eyes dancing for a common but not necessarily popular high-protein snack. "I'll see you in a few!" The last of her iced tea is drained, her clipboard caught up and the headwoman walks off briskly to get those papers, then returns to the bowl to track down the healer and perhaps subtly or less so, steer that walk past where the little kids are out playing in the sun.
Madilla's nose wrinkles at mention of bean curd, but all she says is, "It is /strange/ being on the other end of all of this." The not-healer end! But that's all she has to say, before she gathers up her dishes and then heads out into the bowl. Their path past the children brings a warmer-than-ever smile to her face, and so begins a very pleasant sojourn outdoors in the summer sunshine, all concerns, for the moment, put aside.