Log: Catching Up With Kai
Who: B'kaiv, Milani
When: It is a summer afternoon, 13:32 of day 21, month 8, turn 22 of Interval 10.
Where: Caverns/Snowasis, High Reaches Weyr
What: B'kaiv drops by the Reaches for a visit and catches up with Millie. It's been a really long time since they've talked.
Inner Caverns, High Reaches Weyr
Within the labyrinth of interconnected chambers that make up the inner caverns, this large, long cavern serves both as a crossroads and a comfortable place for weyrfolk to sit, talk, and keep a nosy eye out for who's going where. Colorful, seasonal tapestries add warmth to the smooth walls and reduce echoes, while large niches house clusters of chairs, and a waist-high stone shelf along one wall provides a perch for drinks or work for residents on the go. Worn brass hooks often hold jackets or other outerwear with workboots stationed beneath, the transitory nature of the cavern lending itself to being treated as a sort of communal foyer where snowy or muddy gear can be kept outside of living quarters. Smaller, higher niches at regular intervals hold glowbaskets kept fresh during the daytime and allowed to dim somewhat at night.
The largest tunnels lead to the main living cavern, to the bowl and to the Weyr entrance, but it's still easy for the uninitiated to get lost within this maze.
Early afternoon, just past the lunch hour means there's a fair bit of foot traffic away from the living cavern: people going back to tasks, changing shifts and so on. Milani's perched at the counter that lines this long cavern, which serves double-duty as corridor. At the moment she's speaking with one of her assistants, one foot dangling off the edge of the stool, swinging back and forth while she talks. ".... so that ought to about do it!" she says blithely and hands the other woman a list. The blonde assistant looks just a tick younger than the headwoman herself, heading off down a corridor briskly, while Milani looks back at the clipboard that's propped on the counter and marks off an item on her to-do list.
Most people are heading out, but here's a burly rider heading in, salmon-like. The river of humanity washes him up near the headwoman with a polite touch of hand to forehead for the departing blonde, and half of a crooked smile for the remaining redhead. "Hey. I was looking for you, kinda. How you been?"
Blue-green eyes lift, Kai's voice recognized and Milani smiles promptly. "Well /hello/ there. Long time no see, B'kaiv," the headwoman says with a little laugh and leans forward, arm extended, a hug on offer. "I've been well, thank you! And you? What's brought you to the Reaches?"
It takes the greenrider a moment to recognize the offer for what it is, and the subsequent hug lasts barely long enough to notice, but then Kai's falling into a spot beside Milani, hands tucked behind his back. "Been a'right. Chielyth went up." Because of course she's been dying to know. "Just visiting. You know her. Dunno who she's off with. Thought I'd see you and Vyshani, maybe."
That only makes Milani smile a little, amused and she leans her elbow on the counter, cheek propped up on one hand. "Ahh. Went all right?" The headwoman asks this pretty casually and then nods. "Sure, she's working in stores these days, Vyshani is, if you need help finding her."
B'kaiv shrugs and leans back against the same counter, trapping his hands behind him. "Yeah," he says dismissively. Then with more interest, "Yeah? Probably go look for her later. She's from a waystation. Think I heard she was working in th' stores. She like it there? Good at it?"
"Mm, I know. Was in charge of her while she was a candidate and then hired her for stores. She wanted to change things up a little from what she was used to," Milani says, still leaning comfortably into her own hand. "Day off? Or just no duties this afternoon? If you've got time, we could go get some drinks."
B'kaiv says, "S'when I met her." Candidacy. He watches traffic idly for a moment before returning his attention to Milani, offers her a one-sided shrug. "Supposed t' have drills in a couple hours. Dunno if we're gonna, though. If you wanna get a drink, I ain't gonna say no." He pushes off the counter, offering her an arm, and adds, "Opened that bar I been talking about, too."
"Ohh - here? Or down near Fort?" Milani picks up her clipboard and slides off her stool, slips her hand through the crook of Kai's arm companionably. "/Did/ you now? With your vintner friend? Or just on your own?" Her head tilts to the side in a listening attitude, gaze returning to his face with interest.
"Up here," Kai clarifies. "Took her t' Bolgur once, after, and I took some letters and th' like. S'nice place." Navigating them into the stream of people takes a few seconds, seconds in which the greenrider can be quiet, his face neutral. "Just me. I ain't - Su ain't at Fort no more. Off t' Benden. It's small. You ought t' come, some time. First drink's on th' house."
"She sounds pretty fond of home," Milani remarks about the waystation in question. "Though it's interesting she decided to stay." There's an apologetic look for one of the people they have to navigate around as they slip into the flow of traffic. Her hand crosses over though to give Kai's arm a gentle pat. "Well, congratulations on being the sole proprietor then," she says with a smile. "If I had down that way, I'll be sure to stop in."
It's a fact: short sentences are better for negotiating choppy waters. "Yeah," Kai agrees, noncommittal, with a nod in lieu of any sort of smile. "Calling it th' Dragon's Den. Weren't gonna give it no name or nothing, but a couple people said as they didn't know where they was going, going t' 'Kai's place', so I come up with something." A few steps farther on he adds, "How you been? Shoulda asked earlier."
"Sounds pretty ... cavey. Is it like a den in there?" Milani asks next. "And I suppose that would get confusing if they can't tell if they're going to your weyr or to your bar," she muses aloud as they move on. Laughter follows though and she gives his arm a squeeze. "You did ask. I've been good. I had a baby. Her name's Milandra and she's almost a turn old."
Kai says, "It's a old weyr," which ought to clarify things on the cave end of things. "I'll draw you a picture once we're sitting. Couple rooms and th' ledge." He glances over, slightly abashed. "Yeah, guess I did. Baby, huh? Shells, been ages since I seen you, then. Milandra. S'pretty. You call her nothing for short, or s'it always Milandra?"
"Okay, I've got some scrap hide on my clipboard and a pencil," Milani says with a little lift of her arm to indicate the clipboard tucked beneath it. "Sounds like a pretty decent space for a bar." She laughs a little, nods. "Yeah, I wasn't really going anywhere much when I was pregnant. Couldn't for a while and then when I could I didn't really feel like it much. The nannies call her 'Mimi' sometimes, I use her whole name, or 'Andi'."
The greenrider nods: hide, right. "Mimi's cute," says he, encouragingly. "Andi - I dunno, kinda sounds like a boy t' me. Guess young as she is, she ain't acting like neither yet. There's a lot of little girls at Fort running around in pants with th' boys," he adds by way of explanation. "I don't see no Andi-girl wearing no skirt or nothing."
"I'm not all that fond of 'Mimi', it's too cute. Too fussy, frilly," Milani tells B'kaiv. "Andi's solid and can go either way, girl or boy." She laughs though, nodding. "Thaaat was me when I was younger. Pants and running around climbing trees and fishing with the guys. Probably comes from having two older brothers and a sister who wanted to be a smith. We'll see though, Milandra's only just started walking."
"Little girls is supposed t' be cute," Kai argues back, though without any heat to his words. "Ain't like I know nothing about it. I'm th' youngest, and we're all boys. Just, you know. I had a girl, I'd make sure she were dressed up real pretty." He turns silent for a few steps, contemplating this nebulous future, and probably unaware of how unguarded his face and voice have gotten.
"Even if she didn't like it?" Milani queries, head tipped to the side again as they near the corridor that turns towards the Snowasis. "I hated skirts until I was fifteen or so. Until I got interested in boys," she notes with a grin. "Are you thinking about it? Having a family sometime?"
B'kaiv blinks at her, unable to process her utterly bizarre question. "Huh? Shells, I dunno. Nah. Ain't got a girl, or nothing. S'just...." He's quiet for three steps before shrugging. "Dunno. I guess. Ain't like I stay up late thinking on it, any road. Got this- know this guy," he adds, "as got a girl. Daughter. She's a few turns younger'n me. Don't suppose he never thought he'd have no family neither."
"Well it's the kind of thing you think of when you're a parent. What makes your kids happiest," Milani explains and moves o n up the corridor and slants him a sidelong look. "A good friend, this guy?" she asks him, again with the casual. "I have a friend here who ... hooked up with a pair of gay riders to have a family since they all wanted kids, but obviously, the guys won't be able to have a family without help from a girl."
Kai laughs shortly, though he isn't unamused. "If Chielyth were a girl, she wouldn't be wearing no skirts neither. Coming home all rips and tears, that'd be her." He shrugs off her question, more interested in the story. "Yeah? Ain't never heard nothing like that. They all gonna raise it, or what? Or - shells, ain't none of my business."
"Yeah, that was me before fifteen or so. And theeeen I started figuring out what kinds of skirts I liked." She gives the hem of her current skirt a little bounce with her knee as the go on. Milani's shoulders lift though at his question. "I'm not quite sure to be honest, but I think so? The baby's mother is the sort of person who really wants a whole family. You know?"
B'kaiv glances down at those skirts and back up at her, eyebrow quirked. "I guess?" He doesn't. "Dunno as I'd have no time t' take care of no baby, any road. Or I'd be staying back t' Fort a lot more, or Chielyth'd be calling her friends t' her. Guess with a couple dads - and shells, that's weird t' say! - there's more time, huh."
"Not full time no, you've got duties, but that's why Weyrs are set up the way they are for kids. Lots of people to help take care of them." Milani laughs a little, shrugs again. "Two dads and two moms in my family, though that was mostly before I came along. It didn't work out long term."
The greenrider 'huhs' again and falls silent for a few more feet to consider this strange and unusual concept. He eventually comes up with, "Sorry. --I been at Fort coming up on four turns, and every time I think I heard it all, there's someone as proves me wrong. I'll buy first round?"
"Maybe that's a good thing? That life can still surprise you?" Milani smiles over at the greenrider and nods. "Okay, you're on for the first. I'll get the second and we can see where that leaves us, which is hopefully, not too tipsy!"
B'kaiv only snorts and waves her into the bar ahead of him. "Unless your idea of a drink's a whole bottle of something, two ain't gonna get me tipsy. You wanna get somewhere t' sit? I'll order. You want anything in particular, or should I just tell them t' get your special?"
"I'm a cheap date," Milani answers gaily as they step through into the bar. "I'll have a glass of white wine, please," she tells Kai, gives his arm a pat and unlaces hers from his. "I'll snag us a booth."
Snowasis, High Reaches Weyr
The Snowasis is rarely quiet, and even then, the high-ceilinged former weyr is kept from echoing by the fantastical booths tucked into its convoluted perimeter. The secluded seating spaces have been shaped from the truncated stalagmites that escaped the smoothing of the main floor, and are both softened and separated by colorful hangings that are thick and opaque enough to make each corner its own private nook.
Some of the smaller stalactites still roam the ceiling, their jagged teeth tracing a bumpy, inverted spine to the hearth. There, a thick rug with a low klah table and comfortable armchairs and couches sit, their upholstery and cushions changed sporadically to match the season: bright, light colors in the summer, fresh greens and yellows in the spring, warm autumnals in fall, and clear, rich hues for winter. Small tables litter the rest of the cavern, enough to fit up to four people each, while stools stand along the smooth wooden bar behind which is the passthrough window to the kitchen. Glass-paneled cabinetry behind the bar provides a clear view of the available liquors, the many colors reflecting the soft light of glows tucked into strategic niches around the cavern.
Obvious exits:
Hallway Patio Ledge
A nod sends the greenrider on his way, ambling to the bar with casual familiarity. A knock on the bar to catch the keep's attention and the order's placed; a nod shows where they'll be for refill time. It's Kai who delivers the drinks - wine for her, a beer for him - and slides into the booth opposite. "You get drunk off a couple glasses of wine, huh? Good t' know." Professional interest, and all.
"Tipsy," Milani corrects mildly as she folds her legs up beneath herself, shoes abandoned under the table. "It only takes two hard liquors though to get me sloshed. I'd say four or five glasses of wine for the same level of drunk. One glass of wine without food is just a nice drink, two gives me that warm cheek feeling, you know, relaxed, mellow. Three makes me talk even more than I already do and without much of a filter. Four and I might be convinced to dance on the tables."
B'kaiv listens to it all with a crooked smile, hiding it now and again behind a swallow of beer. "Huh. I dunno if I'm more impressed you know all that, or by all th' drinking you had t' do t' keep track. Ain't a lot as know their limits that good." He drops his own drink a nod. "Been a while since I been too drunk t' stand. Have t' go straight t' th' whiskey and th' like t' do it. I just piss out th' beer."
"Oh it didn't take that much, really," Milani explains with a shake of her head. "I haven't really done any serious drinking since I stepped up as Headwoman, to be honest. Except for ... well just around when Satiet died." She picks up her glass, takes a sip. "I think it's good to know your limits. All kind of limits. Not just drinks." Her chin drops though at his last and she starts laughing. "Really? Should I get you a bucket?" Teasing.
The greenrider's face screws up at mention of the ex-Reachian Weyrwoman but after that he shrugs, returns to his drink. There's a snort for her tease, and a return of his one-sided smile, slightly shy this time. "Nah. Just saying you ain't gonna have t' worry about me singing or dancing on no tables or nothing. Unless it's a bucket of whiskey. This that sort of place?" he continues, waving around at the currently-staid environment. "It get loud, at night?"
A little friendly wink makes its way across the table and Milani lifts her glass again, a bigger sip this time. "No, not really, since Anvori started running it. It is louder at night and you know, it's still a bar. Things happen. But you probably won't find a peep show going on. There's other places for that. As for you on the tables ... I wasn't really worried."
"Yeah," Kai agrees, to 'still a bar'. "There's nights when you think everyone's asleep, and then th' next night you got t' stop four screaming matches and a couple brawls." He takes another look around at the decor, perhaps trying to imagine either activity happening in or around all the pretty upholstery. "Dance at Gathers, though. I see at one, save me a dance? You still dance, yeah?"
Milani makes a wincing sort of face. "Oof. Brawls. Yeah, don't usually have those kinds of issues, buuut, you know, it happens. People drink too much or get ruffled." She nods across the table. "Oh for sure I do. ANd I definitely will. Summer's not over yet! It'll be busy soon though with tithes coming in."
B'kaiv says, "Me an' Chielyth can bring you somewhere, if you just got t' get out for a little bit. Know you got friends here, and all, but." He shrugs anyway. "You like being Headwoman, huh."
"Thanks B'kaiv. I'd like to do that," Milani accepts with a sincere smile. "And I do get out with friends sometimes. But I'm always game for getting to know someone I'm friendly with better and gathers are fun." MIlani looks up at that and laughs. "Yes, actually, I do. A lot. It's ... it fits?"
"Fits," Kai echoes, face screwed up. "Huh." He doesn't necessarily understand, but he's willing to roll with it. "Well, good. Be pretty miserable if you didn't like what you're doing.'
"Yeah, it's something I'm good at and that I enjoy doing. So it fits," Milani elaborates between sips of wine. "And ... yeah. There's a lot of people I think that get stuck doing things they might not like."
B'kaiv says, "Me and Chielyth are pretty lucky, flying with Obsidian now. Started off with Flint - that's th' Weyrleader's wing - and shells, that were hard." He keeps his throat wet and continues, "Not flying with th' Weyrleader, but Flint drilled in th' mornings. Chielyth sleeps in th' mornings - always has done. So it weren't no good fit."
"What made that hard? I've met him, your Weyrleader and he doesn't seem like a hardass or anything." Milani asks and then oooohs as Kai goes on with the explanation. "So it was more of a schedule thing and her not being awake enough to deal."
B'kaiv lays a finger alongside his nose and nods. "Yeah. She were always real grumpy when we was with Flint. She'd sleep a couple hours, then I'd wake her up t' do drills, and she'd go straight back t' sleep. They was drilling pretty much every day of th' seven, too, so it weren't like she ever got t' sleep through." He shrugs off the months of sleep-deprived Chielyth by tapping the rim of his mug. "You ready for that refill?"
"Oh she must've been cranky. And she couldn't adjust? Change her habits?" Milani looks down at her glass, lifts it and takes a final sip. "Okay, now I am," she says of her drink and makes a perch out of her hands for her chin.
Kai says wryly, "/You/ try getting woke up in th' middle of the night t' do a few hours of work every night for a turn, see how happy you are." He waves off further discussion, though, to wave down the serving girl, and arrange to exchange their empty glasses for full. As she heads off, "Any road, Obsidian's a better fit, like you said. So both of us is happier."
"I've had a baby, I know what you mean," Milani says with a laugh and pushes her glass over so the server can take it. "Good. I'm glad that's all worked out." She also pulls out the marks to pay for the second round. "And if you want to catch a dance at a gather sometime, there's one coming up before the end of the month," she gives him the date and place. "If you'd like to go to that one with me." Which is a little different from 'maybe I'll bump into you'. "I should go check on stores though, after this drink - and I can take you to where I think Vyshani is."
'Baby' is met with a quiet snort, the gather with a silent consideration - of his schedule? - and a nod. "A'right. That'd be good." The rest of their break time passes with small talk and a few more snorts from the greenrider, as well as a long story involving one of Chielyth's recent daredevil escapades, twisty-turny hand and all.
When: It is a summer afternoon, 13:32 of day 21, month 8, turn 22 of Interval 10.
Where: Caverns/Snowasis, High Reaches Weyr
What: B'kaiv drops by the Reaches for a visit and catches up with Millie. It's been a really long time since they've talked.
Inner Caverns, High Reaches Weyr
Within the labyrinth of interconnected chambers that make up the inner caverns, this large, long cavern serves both as a crossroads and a comfortable place for weyrfolk to sit, talk, and keep a nosy eye out for who's going where. Colorful, seasonal tapestries add warmth to the smooth walls and reduce echoes, while large niches house clusters of chairs, and a waist-high stone shelf along one wall provides a perch for drinks or work for residents on the go. Worn brass hooks often hold jackets or other outerwear with workboots stationed beneath, the transitory nature of the cavern lending itself to being treated as a sort of communal foyer where snowy or muddy gear can be kept outside of living quarters. Smaller, higher niches at regular intervals hold glowbaskets kept fresh during the daytime and allowed to dim somewhat at night.
The largest tunnels lead to the main living cavern, to the bowl and to the Weyr entrance, but it's still easy for the uninitiated to get lost within this maze.
Early afternoon, just past the lunch hour means there's a fair bit of foot traffic away from the living cavern: people going back to tasks, changing shifts and so on. Milani's perched at the counter that lines this long cavern, which serves double-duty as corridor. At the moment she's speaking with one of her assistants, one foot dangling off the edge of the stool, swinging back and forth while she talks. ".... so that ought to about do it!" she says blithely and hands the other woman a list. The blonde assistant looks just a tick younger than the headwoman herself, heading off down a corridor briskly, while Milani looks back at the clipboard that's propped on the counter and marks off an item on her to-do list.
Most people are heading out, but here's a burly rider heading in, salmon-like. The river of humanity washes him up near the headwoman with a polite touch of hand to forehead for the departing blonde, and half of a crooked smile for the remaining redhead. "Hey. I was looking for you, kinda. How you been?"
Blue-green eyes lift, Kai's voice recognized and Milani smiles promptly. "Well /hello/ there. Long time no see, B'kaiv," the headwoman says with a little laugh and leans forward, arm extended, a hug on offer. "I've been well, thank you! And you? What's brought you to the Reaches?"
It takes the greenrider a moment to recognize the offer for what it is, and the subsequent hug lasts barely long enough to notice, but then Kai's falling into a spot beside Milani, hands tucked behind his back. "Been a'right. Chielyth went up." Because of course she's been dying to know. "Just visiting. You know her. Dunno who she's off with. Thought I'd see you and Vyshani, maybe."
That only makes Milani smile a little, amused and she leans her elbow on the counter, cheek propped up on one hand. "Ahh. Went all right?" The headwoman asks this pretty casually and then nods. "Sure, she's working in stores these days, Vyshani is, if you need help finding her."
B'kaiv shrugs and leans back against the same counter, trapping his hands behind him. "Yeah," he says dismissively. Then with more interest, "Yeah? Probably go look for her later. She's from a waystation. Think I heard she was working in th' stores. She like it there? Good at it?"
"Mm, I know. Was in charge of her while she was a candidate and then hired her for stores. She wanted to change things up a little from what she was used to," Milani says, still leaning comfortably into her own hand. "Day off? Or just no duties this afternoon? If you've got time, we could go get some drinks."
B'kaiv says, "S'when I met her." Candidacy. He watches traffic idly for a moment before returning his attention to Milani, offers her a one-sided shrug. "Supposed t' have drills in a couple hours. Dunno if we're gonna, though. If you wanna get a drink, I ain't gonna say no." He pushes off the counter, offering her an arm, and adds, "Opened that bar I been talking about, too."
"Ohh - here? Or down near Fort?" Milani picks up her clipboard and slides off her stool, slips her hand through the crook of Kai's arm companionably. "/Did/ you now? With your vintner friend? Or just on your own?" Her head tilts to the side in a listening attitude, gaze returning to his face with interest.
"Up here," Kai clarifies. "Took her t' Bolgur once, after, and I took some letters and th' like. S'nice place." Navigating them into the stream of people takes a few seconds, seconds in which the greenrider can be quiet, his face neutral. "Just me. I ain't - Su ain't at Fort no more. Off t' Benden. It's small. You ought t' come, some time. First drink's on th' house."
"She sounds pretty fond of home," Milani remarks about the waystation in question. "Though it's interesting she decided to stay." There's an apologetic look for one of the people they have to navigate around as they slip into the flow of traffic. Her hand crosses over though to give Kai's arm a gentle pat. "Well, congratulations on being the sole proprietor then," she says with a smile. "If I had down that way, I'll be sure to stop in."
It's a fact: short sentences are better for negotiating choppy waters. "Yeah," Kai agrees, noncommittal, with a nod in lieu of any sort of smile. "Calling it th' Dragon's Den. Weren't gonna give it no name or nothing, but a couple people said as they didn't know where they was going, going t' 'Kai's place', so I come up with something." A few steps farther on he adds, "How you been? Shoulda asked earlier."
"Sounds pretty ... cavey. Is it like a den in there?" Milani asks next. "And I suppose that would get confusing if they can't tell if they're going to your weyr or to your bar," she muses aloud as they move on. Laughter follows though and she gives his arm a squeeze. "You did ask. I've been good. I had a baby. Her name's Milandra and she's almost a turn old."
Kai says, "It's a old weyr," which ought to clarify things on the cave end of things. "I'll draw you a picture once we're sitting. Couple rooms and th' ledge." He glances over, slightly abashed. "Yeah, guess I did. Baby, huh? Shells, been ages since I seen you, then. Milandra. S'pretty. You call her nothing for short, or s'it always Milandra?"
"Okay, I've got some scrap hide on my clipboard and a pencil," Milani says with a little lift of her arm to indicate the clipboard tucked beneath it. "Sounds like a pretty decent space for a bar." She laughs a little, nods. "Yeah, I wasn't really going anywhere much when I was pregnant. Couldn't for a while and then when I could I didn't really feel like it much. The nannies call her 'Mimi' sometimes, I use her whole name, or 'Andi'."
The greenrider nods: hide, right. "Mimi's cute," says he, encouragingly. "Andi - I dunno, kinda sounds like a boy t' me. Guess young as she is, she ain't acting like neither yet. There's a lot of little girls at Fort running around in pants with th' boys," he adds by way of explanation. "I don't see no Andi-girl wearing no skirt or nothing."
"I'm not all that fond of 'Mimi', it's too cute. Too fussy, frilly," Milani tells B'kaiv. "Andi's solid and can go either way, girl or boy." She laughs though, nodding. "Thaaat was me when I was younger. Pants and running around climbing trees and fishing with the guys. Probably comes from having two older brothers and a sister who wanted to be a smith. We'll see though, Milandra's only just started walking."
"Little girls is supposed t' be cute," Kai argues back, though without any heat to his words. "Ain't like I know nothing about it. I'm th' youngest, and we're all boys. Just, you know. I had a girl, I'd make sure she were dressed up real pretty." He turns silent for a few steps, contemplating this nebulous future, and probably unaware of how unguarded his face and voice have gotten.
"Even if she didn't like it?" Milani queries, head tipped to the side again as they near the corridor that turns towards the Snowasis. "I hated skirts until I was fifteen or so. Until I got interested in boys," she notes with a grin. "Are you thinking about it? Having a family sometime?"
B'kaiv blinks at her, unable to process her utterly bizarre question. "Huh? Shells, I dunno. Nah. Ain't got a girl, or nothing. S'just...." He's quiet for three steps before shrugging. "Dunno. I guess. Ain't like I stay up late thinking on it, any road. Got this- know this guy," he adds, "as got a girl. Daughter. She's a few turns younger'n me. Don't suppose he never thought he'd have no family neither."
"Well it's the kind of thing you think of when you're a parent. What makes your kids happiest," Milani explains and moves o n up the corridor and slants him a sidelong look. "A good friend, this guy?" she asks him, again with the casual. "I have a friend here who ... hooked up with a pair of gay riders to have a family since they all wanted kids, but obviously, the guys won't be able to have a family without help from a girl."
Kai laughs shortly, though he isn't unamused. "If Chielyth were a girl, she wouldn't be wearing no skirts neither. Coming home all rips and tears, that'd be her." He shrugs off her question, more interested in the story. "Yeah? Ain't never heard nothing like that. They all gonna raise it, or what? Or - shells, ain't none of my business."
"Yeah, that was me before fifteen or so. And theeeen I started figuring out what kinds of skirts I liked." She gives the hem of her current skirt a little bounce with her knee as the go on. Milani's shoulders lift though at his question. "I'm not quite sure to be honest, but I think so? The baby's mother is the sort of person who really wants a whole family. You know?"
B'kaiv glances down at those skirts and back up at her, eyebrow quirked. "I guess?" He doesn't. "Dunno as I'd have no time t' take care of no baby, any road. Or I'd be staying back t' Fort a lot more, or Chielyth'd be calling her friends t' her. Guess with a couple dads - and shells, that's weird t' say! - there's more time, huh."
"Not full time no, you've got duties, but that's why Weyrs are set up the way they are for kids. Lots of people to help take care of them." Milani laughs a little, shrugs again. "Two dads and two moms in my family, though that was mostly before I came along. It didn't work out long term."
The greenrider 'huhs' again and falls silent for a few more feet to consider this strange and unusual concept. He eventually comes up with, "Sorry. --I been at Fort coming up on four turns, and every time I think I heard it all, there's someone as proves me wrong. I'll buy first round?"
"Maybe that's a good thing? That life can still surprise you?" Milani smiles over at the greenrider and nods. "Okay, you're on for the first. I'll get the second and we can see where that leaves us, which is hopefully, not too tipsy!"
B'kaiv only snorts and waves her into the bar ahead of him. "Unless your idea of a drink's a whole bottle of something, two ain't gonna get me tipsy. You wanna get somewhere t' sit? I'll order. You want anything in particular, or should I just tell them t' get your special?"
"I'm a cheap date," Milani answers gaily as they step through into the bar. "I'll have a glass of white wine, please," she tells Kai, gives his arm a pat and unlaces hers from his. "I'll snag us a booth."
Snowasis, High Reaches Weyr
The Snowasis is rarely quiet, and even then, the high-ceilinged former weyr is kept from echoing by the fantastical booths tucked into its convoluted perimeter. The secluded seating spaces have been shaped from the truncated stalagmites that escaped the smoothing of the main floor, and are both softened and separated by colorful hangings that are thick and opaque enough to make each corner its own private nook.
Some of the smaller stalactites still roam the ceiling, their jagged teeth tracing a bumpy, inverted spine to the hearth. There, a thick rug with a low klah table and comfortable armchairs and couches sit, their upholstery and cushions changed sporadically to match the season: bright, light colors in the summer, fresh greens and yellows in the spring, warm autumnals in fall, and clear, rich hues for winter. Small tables litter the rest of the cavern, enough to fit up to four people each, while stools stand along the smooth wooden bar behind which is the passthrough window to the kitchen. Glass-paneled cabinetry behind the bar provides a clear view of the available liquors, the many colors reflecting the soft light of glows tucked into strategic niches around the cavern.
Obvious exits:
Hallway Patio Ledge
A nod sends the greenrider on his way, ambling to the bar with casual familiarity. A knock on the bar to catch the keep's attention and the order's placed; a nod shows where they'll be for refill time. It's Kai who delivers the drinks - wine for her, a beer for him - and slides into the booth opposite. "You get drunk off a couple glasses of wine, huh? Good t' know." Professional interest, and all.
"Tipsy," Milani corrects mildly as she folds her legs up beneath herself, shoes abandoned under the table. "It only takes two hard liquors though to get me sloshed. I'd say four or five glasses of wine for the same level of drunk. One glass of wine without food is just a nice drink, two gives me that warm cheek feeling, you know, relaxed, mellow. Three makes me talk even more than I already do and without much of a filter. Four and I might be convinced to dance on the tables."
B'kaiv listens to it all with a crooked smile, hiding it now and again behind a swallow of beer. "Huh. I dunno if I'm more impressed you know all that, or by all th' drinking you had t' do t' keep track. Ain't a lot as know their limits that good." He drops his own drink a nod. "Been a while since I been too drunk t' stand. Have t' go straight t' th' whiskey and th' like t' do it. I just piss out th' beer."
"Oh it didn't take that much, really," Milani explains with a shake of her head. "I haven't really done any serious drinking since I stepped up as Headwoman, to be honest. Except for ... well just around when Satiet died." She picks up her glass, takes a sip. "I think it's good to know your limits. All kind of limits. Not just drinks." Her chin drops though at his last and she starts laughing. "Really? Should I get you a bucket?" Teasing.
The greenrider's face screws up at mention of the ex-Reachian Weyrwoman but after that he shrugs, returns to his drink. There's a snort for her tease, and a return of his one-sided smile, slightly shy this time. "Nah. Just saying you ain't gonna have t' worry about me singing or dancing on no tables or nothing. Unless it's a bucket of whiskey. This that sort of place?" he continues, waving around at the currently-staid environment. "It get loud, at night?"
A little friendly wink makes its way across the table and Milani lifts her glass again, a bigger sip this time. "No, not really, since Anvori started running it. It is louder at night and you know, it's still a bar. Things happen. But you probably won't find a peep show going on. There's other places for that. As for you on the tables ... I wasn't really worried."
"Yeah," Kai agrees, to 'still a bar'. "There's nights when you think everyone's asleep, and then th' next night you got t' stop four screaming matches and a couple brawls." He takes another look around at the decor, perhaps trying to imagine either activity happening in or around all the pretty upholstery. "Dance at Gathers, though. I see at one, save me a dance? You still dance, yeah?"
Milani makes a wincing sort of face. "Oof. Brawls. Yeah, don't usually have those kinds of issues, buuut, you know, it happens. People drink too much or get ruffled." She nods across the table. "Oh for sure I do. ANd I definitely will. Summer's not over yet! It'll be busy soon though with tithes coming in."
B'kaiv says, "Me an' Chielyth can bring you somewhere, if you just got t' get out for a little bit. Know you got friends here, and all, but." He shrugs anyway. "You like being Headwoman, huh."
"Thanks B'kaiv. I'd like to do that," Milani accepts with a sincere smile. "And I do get out with friends sometimes. But I'm always game for getting to know someone I'm friendly with better and gathers are fun." MIlani looks up at that and laughs. "Yes, actually, I do. A lot. It's ... it fits?"
"Fits," Kai echoes, face screwed up. "Huh." He doesn't necessarily understand, but he's willing to roll with it. "Well, good. Be pretty miserable if you didn't like what you're doing.'
"Yeah, it's something I'm good at and that I enjoy doing. So it fits," Milani elaborates between sips of wine. "And ... yeah. There's a lot of people I think that get stuck doing things they might not like."
B'kaiv says, "Me and Chielyth are pretty lucky, flying with Obsidian now. Started off with Flint - that's th' Weyrleader's wing - and shells, that were hard." He keeps his throat wet and continues, "Not flying with th' Weyrleader, but Flint drilled in th' mornings. Chielyth sleeps in th' mornings - always has done. So it weren't no good fit."
"What made that hard? I've met him, your Weyrleader and he doesn't seem like a hardass or anything." Milani asks and then oooohs as Kai goes on with the explanation. "So it was more of a schedule thing and her not being awake enough to deal."
B'kaiv lays a finger alongside his nose and nods. "Yeah. She were always real grumpy when we was with Flint. She'd sleep a couple hours, then I'd wake her up t' do drills, and she'd go straight back t' sleep. They was drilling pretty much every day of th' seven, too, so it weren't like she ever got t' sleep through." He shrugs off the months of sleep-deprived Chielyth by tapping the rim of his mug. "You ready for that refill?"
"Oh she must've been cranky. And she couldn't adjust? Change her habits?" Milani looks down at her glass, lifts it and takes a final sip. "Okay, now I am," she says of her drink and makes a perch out of her hands for her chin.
Kai says wryly, "/You/ try getting woke up in th' middle of the night t' do a few hours of work every night for a turn, see how happy you are." He waves off further discussion, though, to wave down the serving girl, and arrange to exchange their empty glasses for full. As she heads off, "Any road, Obsidian's a better fit, like you said. So both of us is happier."
"I've had a baby, I know what you mean," Milani says with a laugh and pushes her glass over so the server can take it. "Good. I'm glad that's all worked out." She also pulls out the marks to pay for the second round. "And if you want to catch a dance at a gather sometime, there's one coming up before the end of the month," she gives him the date and place. "If you'd like to go to that one with me." Which is a little different from 'maybe I'll bump into you'. "I should go check on stores though, after this drink - and I can take you to where I think Vyshani is."
'Baby' is met with a quiet snort, the gather with a silent consideration - of his schedule? - and a nod. "A'right. That'd be good." The rest of their break time passes with small talk and a few more snorts from the greenrider, as well as a long story involving one of Chielyth's recent daredevil escapades, twisty-turny hand and all.