Log: Fertile Grounds
Who: K'del, Milani
When: Day 13, Month 9, Turn 23
Where: Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr
What: K'del and Milani catch up over dinner and cover some 'fertile' ground in conversation, including the developing uses for the craft complex.
For those wanting to beat the dinner rush, this (relatively) early hour is the perfect time to take a mong. K'del's among this particular group, currently surveying the buffet with a thoughtful expression and two plates, which he seems intent on filling with a bit of everything: stew, creamed potatoes, a medley of green vegetables, bread. Every so often, he glances up and around, apparently keeping an eye out, but it's not so often that it really distracts him from the apparently vitally important task of plate-filling.
It takes a little while, but Milani finally waddles into the cavern and leans against the wall to catch her breath. A moment or two more see her pushing away from the wall again, heading for the Weyrleader when she spots him. "Remind me not to punch you when this one comes out," she teases him fondly as she nears and comes to a halt with one hand resting on the buffet for support, the other pressing into the small of her back. "I've been ordered off work, can you believe it?" Big eyes all round and mock-indignant, though clearly, she's joking.
K'del's eyes light when he first catches sight of Milani, though his expression turns mostly sympathetic given her stance and what she says. "Reckon I might need to remind pretty hard, way things're going now," he teases in return, giving her a rueful smile. "If it were up to me, you'd be sequestered in my weyr 'til it's all over, being pampered and spoiled until you can't stand it anymore. For now-- go, sit. Anything in particular you want?" With a wave of his hand over the buffet and it's offerings.
Milani laughs a little and mock 'punches' at K'del's arm lightly, but not so much as to knock plates askew. "Sequestered?" She puffs air out in a raspberry and shakes her head. "Now now then. I need to walk. I'd get all antsy and unhappy if I was sequestered. Though sign me up for pampering and spoiling," the headwoman adds with a cheeky little grin. The buffet draws a glance and a sigh. "Maybe some tubers. A little bit of the herdbeast? There's no /room/ for anything else. I'm back to snacking and nibbling."
The 'punch' makes K'del grin, but he makes an effort to consider her remarks 'seriously', before deciding, "Suppose we'd let you do that, sometimes. But only sometimes-- won't let my kid be born in the middle of the bowl, you know." He can't maintain his expression for long, the grin slipping back through before he's halfway through that statement. More sympathetic is his added, "Tubers and herdbeast it is. Now-- go and put your feet up. Be with you in a minute, promise."
"Sometimes? Hmmm ..." Milani makes narrow eyes at the Weyrleader next, though they twinkle with mischief rather than anger. "I'm thinking bath rather than middle of bowl. It's too cold out!" the headwoman claims and she puffs out a breath. "Okay. I'm thinking /right/ there," and she points to one of the nearer tables, before leaning over to kiss K'del's cheek and heads over for that table at a very 'hasty' waddle.
K'del is clearly far too amused to be a really /good/ jailer; he only grins at Milani, narrowed eyes or no. The kiss gets even more of a smile, accompanied with a quick bob of the head as she heads for the table; he then turns back to the food gathering, making quick work of it, now. The plates he sets down, when he gets there a few minutes later, contain more than the aforementioned tubers and herdbeast, and come with the excuse, "Just in case you feel like something else, too," as he settles into a seat opposite. "Or I'll eat it. I'm /starved/."
There's grunting as Milani eases down into a seat, then leans back in it, hands clasped across her belly. The headwoman's eyes even close while she's waiting on dinner to arrive, though they pop open as K'del returns. "Oh, thanks Kas," she says with a wry tone. "If I feel like I can get some extra bites in, I will," she promises. "Or let you clean off my plate!" Breath out and she sits up a bit, reaches for a fork to poke into those tubers. "Tithes are starting to come in more often," she notes conversationally. "Giorda's taking point on a lot of it this turn, though she's bringing me the manifests to go over."
"Good," says K'del, approvingly, managing not to make it sound patronising or condescending, thankfully. He obviously is as hungry as he claims, for he digs into his own plate without further preamble, nodding along to what Milani says as he chews. Swallowing; "Good. And she's coping all right with it all? Hasn't been anything unusual about anything? No surprises?" He scoops up another forkful, adding, "Guess I'd be surprised if something /was/ amiss, but you can never be sure."
Eating more slowly, which is pretty uncharacteristic, Milani smiles over at K'del between bites. "She's doing just fine. She's had plenty of practice, so Faranth forbid, if anything happens to me, she can step up," the headwoman says candidly. "I haven't noticed anything unusual so far, but it's early in the season still. I'll keep you posted if there's strange sea creatures in jars or anything."
K'del, with narrowed-gaze, and firmly,"/Nothing/ is going to happen to you. Not now, not ever. You hear?" He forbids it! But smiles, anyway, once he's finished saying as much, twisting some greens around his fork. "Great. Just in case. It's always good to keep up on these things, and-- well. Don't want our people going without, or anything. Especially if... I mean, it's /unlikely/, but I guess it's not impossible there'll be eggs, right?"
"Kas ..." Milani says gently and looks up at him for a minute, then smiles, reaches over to give his hand a little squeeze. "I don't expect anything will. But you know. Just in case. Giorda could step up." Casually: "I've let Tiriana and Teris know my opinion, though Faranth knows if they'll take it into consideration. Not that any of the assistants aren't good headwomen. They're a good bunch." She blinks at K'del for a moment or two though at that last comment. "Why wouldn't there be eggs? Isn't Szadath a good strong brown?"
K'del twines his fingers around Milani's to return the squeeze, nodding, though there's definite worry still in the lines of his forehead. "I know. I just-- don't like to think about it." His exhaled breath is followed by, with a definite frown to his face, a dull, "Because of the stupid firestone thing. Because Iskiveth is probably infertile because of it."
Fingers wound together, Milani smiles downward for a moment, then fishes out another bite of tubers and considers K'del for a moment as she eats that bite slowly. When there's no more mash left on the fork, she clears her throat lightly. "Are you sure? I mean, she did actually rise and everything. I just ... assumed everything was fine?"
K'del's shoulders get a light shrug. "No one's sure," he says, with an edge to his tone, frustration not quite restrained. "Always seemed likely she /would/ still rise-- like a green, right? Dragonhealers don't really know, say we'll just have to wait and see. But it just doesn't seem... likely. And even if she did produce eggs, they might not be viable. Or the dragons might be... stunted, or something. It's all theories." The whole thing obviously worries him a lot, though. "That'd be the worst thing. If she produced useless clutches every couple of turns for the rest of her life."
"You seem really worried," the headwoman says softly and she gives K'del's hand another little squeeze. "Kas, I'm sure it'll be fine. It's not like she ate gobs and gobs of the stuff for turns, right? Just a few bites was what I'd heard?" she peeks into his face curiously, head tilted to the side slightly. "I took herbs to keep from getting pregnant for turns like a lot of women do and I still wound up pregnant more than once." A little pause follows in which she plants her fork in the tubers and leans to bring his hand up to her lips to kiss lightly. "Try not to let it get you down? Besides, it's interval, even if there /are/ problems with her clutches, if Iovniath clutches another queen that'll probably be plenty. It's not like we're down to one queen on all of Pern with a Pass coming."
"That's-- it's--," K'del tries several times to get out whatever it is, but fails, shaking his head moodily, though he does manage to return Milani's squeeze. "Firestone makes queens infertile. Everyone knows that," he says, finally. "No one's tested it, because no one else is that stupid, but there it is. So. I just don't see how." He flexes his hand slightly, the one that he broke so many months ago, and finally shakes his head, his food, for the moment, entirely abandoned. "I get all that. It's just frustrating."
Milani just purses her lips faintly, then presses them together, like there's something she's holding back but she only scoots her chair over to thread her arm across his shoulders, meaning to give him a hug. "It'll be okay, Kas," the headwoman says again, with a lot of confidence in her tone. "It sounds like ... it's not really that that's frustrating you though," Millie adds gently, questioningly, gaze dropping to the flex of his hand.
K'del lets Milani sling that arm across his shoulder, and even leans in to the hug, but his response is an insistant, "No, that's exactly what's frustrating me." He sounds all the more irritated for it, too; all the more frustrated. "Maybe we should talk about something else."
Briefly, Milani rests her head against K'del's shoulder and looks out across the cavern, then she straightens, gives his back a gentle pat and reaches for her fork to make an effort at eating a little bit more off of her plate, letting the matter drop without comment. After a few moments of silence, she shifts the subject. "It seems that the crafters are settling into the craft complex pretty well. Kessian was asking a lot of questions about what to put in the greenhouse."
The crafters are obviously considered to be much safer ground, and, after a few moments, K'del's shoulders sink slightly, relaxing. "Mm," he agrees, firmly, still with the faintest of edges there, but definitely improved. He even picks up his fork again. "Been doing a bit of visiting, seeing how things are. Few people worried about winter, and having to get across the bowl for meals and whatever, but riders manage it, and weyrlings, after all, and we'll just have to keep the place stocked in case of real blizzards. They seem pretty pleased with the facilities, though."
"We'll just have to make sure that the paths stay shoveled well," Milani offers over about concerns for making it across the Bowl come blizzard season. "And guide ropes in bad weather. It's a nice space all things considered and it gives us some extra breathing room on this side of things," the headwoman notes. "Not that I expect we'll really need the space until the next Pass, but it's always nice to have more private rooms and family-sized quarters to encourage families to stay."
"We will," agrees K'del, around a mouthful of food, chewing hastily to get rid of it so he can continue. "Reckon it's come together really nicely. And they're doing good things in there-- organising things the way they like it, adding decorations and all that." K'del, obviously, approves. "Are many people coming forward to try and claim some of the private rooms? Now that there's some more space in there?"
"It seems like it'll help crafters to do their work better in that kind of space," Milani muses thoughtfully. "Do you think we'll get more who are interested just because of the facilities here?" she asks curiously, poking at those tubers some more, then switches over to spearing a slice of tomato, making a valiant effort to eat some of the nice tidbits he brought her. "There's /always/ interest in private rooms," Milani states with a laugh after she's swallowed. "People like their privacy."
K'del chews, chews, chews, swallows, before he can respond to Milani's remarks. "/Hope/ so," is his assessment, neither affirmative or negative. "That's what I'd like to see. Certainly-- well, it's letting people do different things, I guess? Dunno, though. Guess it'll depend on how things go in the future." He adds, smirking, "Guess that's true. Even the best roommate in the world is still... you know, a roommate. But there's not enough space for everyone. It always felt kind of decadent, going from a huge dorm to a weyr of my own within a matter of months." And then the weyr he's in now.
"It helps to keep relations between the Weyr and outside the Weyr stronger I'd think," Milani says slowly, twirling her fork amongst some lettuce leaves, which she should probably eat, but isn't eating. "And /yes/ on doing different things. More options. Even for riders, right?" Looking up at him with brows up, she smiles a little. "Definitely. I loved my little closet-sized single when I got it." Brows waggle. "All that privacy!"
Smirkingly, his mood obviously well and truly calmed, K'del says, "Hussy!" More serious is his added, "Would like to see more riders pick up crafts-- or just return to them. Really like the idea of us working together, you know? Better relations all 'round." His plate is pretty much empty, now, and he pushes it away, though his fork reaches out to be stuck through one of Milani's tubors, to be returned towards his mouth. "People're still getting used to the whole Interval thing, I think. The... freedom of it."
"Just the way you like me," Milani offers 'innocently' and flutters lashes briefly then makes a little face. "Wish I /felt/ more like a hussy right now," she quips mildly and finally puts a leaf of lettuce into her mouth, chews dutifully. "My mother's been doing more and more weavering around her rider duties. Not that she has that many now," the headwoman offers over and she slides her plate closer to that questing fork. "Yeah, they are at that. I think sometimes, it's hard to ... not look up and get worried about what might fall out of the sky."
"Better believe it," grins K'del, fondly, but with a side of open appreciation. "Guess it's hard to feel like it, though, at the moment. Won't be too long, though, and then he or she'll be out, and then not /so/ long after that..." He trails off, his fork picking through Milani's food cheerfully as he notes, "Glad your mother has that. Guess a lot of us /don't/. It's hard for a bunch of the older ones. Know what you mean about the sky. It's-- between thread and the meteors and all that. It's hard. People're wary."
Milani wags her fork at K'del 'reprovingly'. "At least 6 weeks after," she corrects though there's humorous mischief in her voice again. "Not so long as all that, no. And maybe a little break between babies, mm?" more teasing, likely. "You know, it's true, you don't really have any big hobbies other than ... well, the obvious, to keep you busy when you're not being Big Bad Weyrleader," Milani remarks thoughtfully and considers K'del for a moment. "We should see if we can't get you one. Even if it's just designing women's frilly things," she jokes further then wrinkles up her nose. "Oh definitely. Next thing you know it'll be bathtubs, or something equally ludicrous."
K'del makes a face, admitting, though there's some humour to his tone, "Was trying to think positive and forget the whole six weeks thing. /Six/." It's far too long, clearly, though, "A break is good. Not sure I can handle a third child in, you know, a turn or two-- to say nothing of /you/." He considers Milani thoughtfully, lips pursing together, then gives a slow nod; his wicked grin spreads further as he admits, "Designing frilly things. I could /totally/ do that. You're right, though: not really big on the hobbies. It's hard to imagine what I did, back before I was Weyrleader, but I reckon it'd help to have /something/ so's I'm not completely adrift if I end up /not/ Weyrleader again." Of bathtubs, he can only shake his head.
Leaning over to bump her shoulder lightly against K'del's, Milani abandons all pretense of eating and puts her fork down. "See I can totally see you getting behind designing what you'd like to see me turning up in your weyr in," she says with wide-eyed mock innocence. "It'd keep you busy. That, or dictating stories for illustration to an appropriately perverted harper," the headwoman adds, deadpan. "If you end up /not/ Weyrleader ... I have /some/ ideas of how to keep you busy at least. But shells, whatever will you do with all that time?"
Equally deadpan; "Skirts to the ground, long sleeves, high necklines, right? For all good, upstanding women." K'del can't stop his grin from returning, or his eyebrows from waggling, though he admits after a few moments, "I've no idea. It's like... I went from having no idea what I wanted in my life, to Impressing, to being a rider, to being Weyrleader, just like that. So here I am, all these turns later, and... I dunno what else to do. Don't really want to laze around, entirely, if that's what happens." He wrinkles his nose. "Guess I'd better give it some thought."
"Uhhh huh," Milani says, not believing those suggestions for a minute. "It's a lot of changes you went through," the headwoman agrees. "All while you were still growing up." She reaches over with a fond hand, aiming to tousle his hair lightly. "And now you're really all grown up but you've already done more than most people aim for their whole lives. So what /is/ next for K'del of High Reaches," she says laughingly.
K'del ducks his head as Milani tousles his hair, mostly amused by the action, though his expression inclines towards the thoughtful nonetheless. Whatever he's considering, though, is abandoned for the obviously farcical, "Maybe I'll join a craft and eventually be the first person to have been a Weyrleader /and/ a Craftmaster. Not sure I can go for the trifecta and become a Lord Holder as well, though. Logistics don't quite work."
"Ohhh, I dunno, we could steal more land from Lord Crom and set up our own Weyr-Hold thingie and you could be the Craftmaster of Perverted Tales, Lord of Two Acres along with Weyrleader of High Reaches," Milani continues the joking around, then she suddenly bursts out laughing and leans over to hug him for real this time. "I think you should take me home to bed, Weyrleader," she concludes more seriously. "And make good on some of those pampering promises. I miiiight just change my mind about letting you try out some of your 'craft' on me." Deadpan.
K'del's arms reach around to return the hug, snugly, as he laughs. "/Reckon/ I can manage that," he tells her, all cheerfulness - probably in response to the last of her suggestions, but who knows? He releases her after a few moments, but only in order to stand, then offer her both hands. "Reckon I have my work cut out for me, so we'd best get started."
"/Reckon/ you can," Milani rejoinders with a little lift of her chin and sets both hands in K'del's, though the little grunt and the need to heave herself out of that chair might off-set the whole flirty-thing they've got going on. "Lead on, good sir," she says gaily nonetheless, even if she has to sway like a ship all the way across the bowl.
K'del, at least, is there to help - useful, happy, helpful father-to-be, terribly obliging.
Really Useful Daddy.
When: Day 13, Month 9, Turn 23
Where: Living Cavern, High Reaches Weyr
What: K'del and Milani catch up over dinner and cover some 'fertile' ground in conversation, including the developing uses for the craft complex.
For those wanting to beat the dinner rush, this (relatively) early hour is the perfect time to take a mong. K'del's among this particular group, currently surveying the buffet with a thoughtful expression and two plates, which he seems intent on filling with a bit of everything: stew, creamed potatoes, a medley of green vegetables, bread. Every so often, he glances up and around, apparently keeping an eye out, but it's not so often that it really distracts him from the apparently vitally important task of plate-filling.
It takes a little while, but Milani finally waddles into the cavern and leans against the wall to catch her breath. A moment or two more see her pushing away from the wall again, heading for the Weyrleader when she spots him. "Remind me not to punch you when this one comes out," she teases him fondly as she nears and comes to a halt with one hand resting on the buffet for support, the other pressing into the small of her back. "I've been ordered off work, can you believe it?" Big eyes all round and mock-indignant, though clearly, she's joking.
K'del's eyes light when he first catches sight of Milani, though his expression turns mostly sympathetic given her stance and what she says. "Reckon I might need to remind pretty hard, way things're going now," he teases in return, giving her a rueful smile. "If it were up to me, you'd be sequestered in my weyr 'til it's all over, being pampered and spoiled until you can't stand it anymore. For now-- go, sit. Anything in particular you want?" With a wave of his hand over the buffet and it's offerings.
Milani laughs a little and mock 'punches' at K'del's arm lightly, but not so much as to knock plates askew. "Sequestered?" She puffs air out in a raspberry and shakes her head. "Now now then. I need to walk. I'd get all antsy and unhappy if I was sequestered. Though sign me up for pampering and spoiling," the headwoman adds with a cheeky little grin. The buffet draws a glance and a sigh. "Maybe some tubers. A little bit of the herdbeast? There's no /room/ for anything else. I'm back to snacking and nibbling."
The 'punch' makes K'del grin, but he makes an effort to consider her remarks 'seriously', before deciding, "Suppose we'd let you do that, sometimes. But only sometimes-- won't let my kid be born in the middle of the bowl, you know." He can't maintain his expression for long, the grin slipping back through before he's halfway through that statement. More sympathetic is his added, "Tubers and herdbeast it is. Now-- go and put your feet up. Be with you in a minute, promise."
"Sometimes? Hmmm ..." Milani makes narrow eyes at the Weyrleader next, though they twinkle with mischief rather than anger. "I'm thinking bath rather than middle of bowl. It's too cold out!" the headwoman claims and she puffs out a breath. "Okay. I'm thinking /right/ there," and she points to one of the nearer tables, before leaning over to kiss K'del's cheek and heads over for that table at a very 'hasty' waddle.
K'del is clearly far too amused to be a really /good/ jailer; he only grins at Milani, narrowed eyes or no. The kiss gets even more of a smile, accompanied with a quick bob of the head as she heads for the table; he then turns back to the food gathering, making quick work of it, now. The plates he sets down, when he gets there a few minutes later, contain more than the aforementioned tubers and herdbeast, and come with the excuse, "Just in case you feel like something else, too," as he settles into a seat opposite. "Or I'll eat it. I'm /starved/."
There's grunting as Milani eases down into a seat, then leans back in it, hands clasped across her belly. The headwoman's eyes even close while she's waiting on dinner to arrive, though they pop open as K'del returns. "Oh, thanks Kas," she says with a wry tone. "If I feel like I can get some extra bites in, I will," she promises. "Or let you clean off my plate!" Breath out and she sits up a bit, reaches for a fork to poke into those tubers. "Tithes are starting to come in more often," she notes conversationally. "Giorda's taking point on a lot of it this turn, though she's bringing me the manifests to go over."
"Good," says K'del, approvingly, managing not to make it sound patronising or condescending, thankfully. He obviously is as hungry as he claims, for he digs into his own plate without further preamble, nodding along to what Milani says as he chews. Swallowing; "Good. And she's coping all right with it all? Hasn't been anything unusual about anything? No surprises?" He scoops up another forkful, adding, "Guess I'd be surprised if something /was/ amiss, but you can never be sure."
Eating more slowly, which is pretty uncharacteristic, Milani smiles over at K'del between bites. "She's doing just fine. She's had plenty of practice, so Faranth forbid, if anything happens to me, she can step up," the headwoman says candidly. "I haven't noticed anything unusual so far, but it's early in the season still. I'll keep you posted if there's strange sea creatures in jars or anything."
K'del, with narrowed-gaze, and firmly,"/Nothing/ is going to happen to you. Not now, not ever. You hear?" He forbids it! But smiles, anyway, once he's finished saying as much, twisting some greens around his fork. "Great. Just in case. It's always good to keep up on these things, and-- well. Don't want our people going without, or anything. Especially if... I mean, it's /unlikely/, but I guess it's not impossible there'll be eggs, right?"
"Kas ..." Milani says gently and looks up at him for a minute, then smiles, reaches over to give his hand a little squeeze. "I don't expect anything will. But you know. Just in case. Giorda could step up." Casually: "I've let Tiriana and Teris know my opinion, though Faranth knows if they'll take it into consideration. Not that any of the assistants aren't good headwomen. They're a good bunch." She blinks at K'del for a moment or two though at that last comment. "Why wouldn't there be eggs? Isn't Szadath a good strong brown?"
K'del twines his fingers around Milani's to return the squeeze, nodding, though there's definite worry still in the lines of his forehead. "I know. I just-- don't like to think about it." His exhaled breath is followed by, with a definite frown to his face, a dull, "Because of the stupid firestone thing. Because Iskiveth is probably infertile because of it."
Fingers wound together, Milani smiles downward for a moment, then fishes out another bite of tubers and considers K'del for a moment as she eats that bite slowly. When there's no more mash left on the fork, she clears her throat lightly. "Are you sure? I mean, she did actually rise and everything. I just ... assumed everything was fine?"
K'del's shoulders get a light shrug. "No one's sure," he says, with an edge to his tone, frustration not quite restrained. "Always seemed likely she /would/ still rise-- like a green, right? Dragonhealers don't really know, say we'll just have to wait and see. But it just doesn't seem... likely. And even if she did produce eggs, they might not be viable. Or the dragons might be... stunted, or something. It's all theories." The whole thing obviously worries him a lot, though. "That'd be the worst thing. If she produced useless clutches every couple of turns for the rest of her life."
"You seem really worried," the headwoman says softly and she gives K'del's hand another little squeeze. "Kas, I'm sure it'll be fine. It's not like she ate gobs and gobs of the stuff for turns, right? Just a few bites was what I'd heard?" she peeks into his face curiously, head tilted to the side slightly. "I took herbs to keep from getting pregnant for turns like a lot of women do and I still wound up pregnant more than once." A little pause follows in which she plants her fork in the tubers and leans to bring his hand up to her lips to kiss lightly. "Try not to let it get you down? Besides, it's interval, even if there /are/ problems with her clutches, if Iovniath clutches another queen that'll probably be plenty. It's not like we're down to one queen on all of Pern with a Pass coming."
"That's-- it's--," K'del tries several times to get out whatever it is, but fails, shaking his head moodily, though he does manage to return Milani's squeeze. "Firestone makes queens infertile. Everyone knows that," he says, finally. "No one's tested it, because no one else is that stupid, but there it is. So. I just don't see how." He flexes his hand slightly, the one that he broke so many months ago, and finally shakes his head, his food, for the moment, entirely abandoned. "I get all that. It's just frustrating."
Milani just purses her lips faintly, then presses them together, like there's something she's holding back but she only scoots her chair over to thread her arm across his shoulders, meaning to give him a hug. "It'll be okay, Kas," the headwoman says again, with a lot of confidence in her tone. "It sounds like ... it's not really that that's frustrating you though," Millie adds gently, questioningly, gaze dropping to the flex of his hand.
K'del lets Milani sling that arm across his shoulder, and even leans in to the hug, but his response is an insistant, "No, that's exactly what's frustrating me." He sounds all the more irritated for it, too; all the more frustrated. "Maybe we should talk about something else."
Briefly, Milani rests her head against K'del's shoulder and looks out across the cavern, then she straightens, gives his back a gentle pat and reaches for her fork to make an effort at eating a little bit more off of her plate, letting the matter drop without comment. After a few moments of silence, she shifts the subject. "It seems that the crafters are settling into the craft complex pretty well. Kessian was asking a lot of questions about what to put in the greenhouse."
The crafters are obviously considered to be much safer ground, and, after a few moments, K'del's shoulders sink slightly, relaxing. "Mm," he agrees, firmly, still with the faintest of edges there, but definitely improved. He even picks up his fork again. "Been doing a bit of visiting, seeing how things are. Few people worried about winter, and having to get across the bowl for meals and whatever, but riders manage it, and weyrlings, after all, and we'll just have to keep the place stocked in case of real blizzards. They seem pretty pleased with the facilities, though."
"We'll just have to make sure that the paths stay shoveled well," Milani offers over about concerns for making it across the Bowl come blizzard season. "And guide ropes in bad weather. It's a nice space all things considered and it gives us some extra breathing room on this side of things," the headwoman notes. "Not that I expect we'll really need the space until the next Pass, but it's always nice to have more private rooms and family-sized quarters to encourage families to stay."
"We will," agrees K'del, around a mouthful of food, chewing hastily to get rid of it so he can continue. "Reckon it's come together really nicely. And they're doing good things in there-- organising things the way they like it, adding decorations and all that." K'del, obviously, approves. "Are many people coming forward to try and claim some of the private rooms? Now that there's some more space in there?"
"It seems like it'll help crafters to do their work better in that kind of space," Milani muses thoughtfully. "Do you think we'll get more who are interested just because of the facilities here?" she asks curiously, poking at those tubers some more, then switches over to spearing a slice of tomato, making a valiant effort to eat some of the nice tidbits he brought her. "There's /always/ interest in private rooms," Milani states with a laugh after she's swallowed. "People like their privacy."
K'del chews, chews, chews, swallows, before he can respond to Milani's remarks. "/Hope/ so," is his assessment, neither affirmative or negative. "That's what I'd like to see. Certainly-- well, it's letting people do different things, I guess? Dunno, though. Guess it'll depend on how things go in the future." He adds, smirking, "Guess that's true. Even the best roommate in the world is still... you know, a roommate. But there's not enough space for everyone. It always felt kind of decadent, going from a huge dorm to a weyr of my own within a matter of months." And then the weyr he's in now.
"It helps to keep relations between the Weyr and outside the Weyr stronger I'd think," Milani says slowly, twirling her fork amongst some lettuce leaves, which she should probably eat, but isn't eating. "And /yes/ on doing different things. More options. Even for riders, right?" Looking up at him with brows up, she smiles a little. "Definitely. I loved my little closet-sized single when I got it." Brows waggle. "All that privacy!"
Smirkingly, his mood obviously well and truly calmed, K'del says, "Hussy!" More serious is his added, "Would like to see more riders pick up crafts-- or just return to them. Really like the idea of us working together, you know? Better relations all 'round." His plate is pretty much empty, now, and he pushes it away, though his fork reaches out to be stuck through one of Milani's tubors, to be returned towards his mouth. "People're still getting used to the whole Interval thing, I think. The... freedom of it."
"Just the way you like me," Milani offers 'innocently' and flutters lashes briefly then makes a little face. "Wish I /felt/ more like a hussy right now," she quips mildly and finally puts a leaf of lettuce into her mouth, chews dutifully. "My mother's been doing more and more weavering around her rider duties. Not that she has that many now," the headwoman offers over and she slides her plate closer to that questing fork. "Yeah, they are at that. I think sometimes, it's hard to ... not look up and get worried about what might fall out of the sky."
"Better believe it," grins K'del, fondly, but with a side of open appreciation. "Guess it's hard to feel like it, though, at the moment. Won't be too long, though, and then he or she'll be out, and then not /so/ long after that..." He trails off, his fork picking through Milani's food cheerfully as he notes, "Glad your mother has that. Guess a lot of us /don't/. It's hard for a bunch of the older ones. Know what you mean about the sky. It's-- between thread and the meteors and all that. It's hard. People're wary."
Milani wags her fork at K'del 'reprovingly'. "At least 6 weeks after," she corrects though there's humorous mischief in her voice again. "Not so long as all that, no. And maybe a little break between babies, mm?" more teasing, likely. "You know, it's true, you don't really have any big hobbies other than ... well, the obvious, to keep you busy when you're not being Big Bad Weyrleader," Milani remarks thoughtfully and considers K'del for a moment. "We should see if we can't get you one. Even if it's just designing women's frilly things," she jokes further then wrinkles up her nose. "Oh definitely. Next thing you know it'll be bathtubs, or something equally ludicrous."
K'del makes a face, admitting, though there's some humour to his tone, "Was trying to think positive and forget the whole six weeks thing. /Six/." It's far too long, clearly, though, "A break is good. Not sure I can handle a third child in, you know, a turn or two-- to say nothing of /you/." He considers Milani thoughtfully, lips pursing together, then gives a slow nod; his wicked grin spreads further as he admits, "Designing frilly things. I could /totally/ do that. You're right, though: not really big on the hobbies. It's hard to imagine what I did, back before I was Weyrleader, but I reckon it'd help to have /something/ so's I'm not completely adrift if I end up /not/ Weyrleader again." Of bathtubs, he can only shake his head.
Leaning over to bump her shoulder lightly against K'del's, Milani abandons all pretense of eating and puts her fork down. "See I can totally see you getting behind designing what you'd like to see me turning up in your weyr in," she says with wide-eyed mock innocence. "It'd keep you busy. That, or dictating stories for illustration to an appropriately perverted harper," the headwoman adds, deadpan. "If you end up /not/ Weyrleader ... I have /some/ ideas of how to keep you busy at least. But shells, whatever will you do with all that time?"
Equally deadpan; "Skirts to the ground, long sleeves, high necklines, right? For all good, upstanding women." K'del can't stop his grin from returning, or his eyebrows from waggling, though he admits after a few moments, "I've no idea. It's like... I went from having no idea what I wanted in my life, to Impressing, to being a rider, to being Weyrleader, just like that. So here I am, all these turns later, and... I dunno what else to do. Don't really want to laze around, entirely, if that's what happens." He wrinkles his nose. "Guess I'd better give it some thought."
"Uhhh huh," Milani says, not believing those suggestions for a minute. "It's a lot of changes you went through," the headwoman agrees. "All while you were still growing up." She reaches over with a fond hand, aiming to tousle his hair lightly. "And now you're really all grown up but you've already done more than most people aim for their whole lives. So what /is/ next for K'del of High Reaches," she says laughingly.
K'del ducks his head as Milani tousles his hair, mostly amused by the action, though his expression inclines towards the thoughtful nonetheless. Whatever he's considering, though, is abandoned for the obviously farcical, "Maybe I'll join a craft and eventually be the first person to have been a Weyrleader /and/ a Craftmaster. Not sure I can go for the trifecta and become a Lord Holder as well, though. Logistics don't quite work."
"Ohhh, I dunno, we could steal more land from Lord Crom and set up our own Weyr-Hold thingie and you could be the Craftmaster of Perverted Tales, Lord of Two Acres along with Weyrleader of High Reaches," Milani continues the joking around, then she suddenly bursts out laughing and leans over to hug him for real this time. "I think you should take me home to bed, Weyrleader," she concludes more seriously. "And make good on some of those pampering promises. I miiiight just change my mind about letting you try out some of your 'craft' on me." Deadpan.
K'del's arms reach around to return the hug, snugly, as he laughs. "/Reckon/ I can manage that," he tells her, all cheerfulness - probably in response to the last of her suggestions, but who knows? He releases her after a few moments, but only in order to stand, then offer her both hands. "Reckon I have my work cut out for me, so we'd best get started."
"/Reckon/ you can," Milani rejoinders with a little lift of her chin and sets both hands in K'del's, though the little grunt and the need to heave herself out of that chair might off-set the whole flirty-thing they've got going on. "Lead on, good sir," she says gaily nonetheless, even if she has to sway like a ship all the way across the bowl.
K'del, at least, is there to help - useful, happy, helpful father-to-be, terribly obliging.
Really Useful Daddy.